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Our 37th year
of publishing The International Observer
The Latest Issue
VIEWING THE WORLD
The president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) called for
an international conference to restart peace in the Middle East during a meeting of the United Nations Security
Council on 20 February. Addressing the Council for the first time since 2009, he proposed that the meeting be held by the middle of the year, that parties
refrain from unilateral actions during negotiations, the US suspend the move of its embassy to Jerusalem, and that Israel halt its settlement activity.
March 2018
Defending a multi-cultural and diverse
world, the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), on 20 January, warned against getting used to hate in
language, mindsets and symbols: “We must reject those who fail to understand that as societies become multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural,
diversity must be seen as a source of richness and not a threat,” he underscored. In his remarks, the UN chief cited examples from around the world showing the
rise of the neo-Nazi threat as well as the growing concern that such groups are trying to “rebrand themselves” and present themselves as kinder or gentler to
win wider favor – “They are less crude and more dangerous.”
Presidential BIG record –
Unsavory Statistics: He is known to use BIG letters in his internet outbursts. Here is one he did not
send out: Donald Trump made 2,140 false or misleading claims during his first year, fact checker Glenn Kessler of The
Washington Post wrote in a half-page article on 21 January. The New York Times, on 29 January published a two-page
spread authored by Jasmine C. Lee and Kevin Quealy “All the People, Places And Things Donald Trump Has Insulted on Twitter Since Being Elected President of the
United States.”
About the newly recurring shutdowns of the
US government, the Truman Project under its President Michael Breen, commented on 19 February:
“It is entirely disingenuous to paint this historic failure to keep the government operating – despite a single party controlling both
houses of Congress and the White House – as an attack on defense spending or our military….
To be clear: The military will continue to be funded through the Republican shutdown, and the Congress can choose to
pass legislation ensuring pay for military and Department of Defense employees as they did in 2013…. Leaders in Congress know all of this, making it unclear why
they would borrow talking points from their notoriously uniformed president. This shutdown is the result of
infighting within one party concerning the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Trump Administration made the deliberate decision to throw
the lives of DACA recipients and their families into legal limbo, and they did so maliciously and to no security benefit to the United States.”
February 2018
Beijing’s assertiveness and activity are characterizing the Middle Kingdom’s role abroad. After continuing positioning in Africa and the
Americas and the “Belt and Road” initiative, the Communist Party of China (CPC) is now energizing the party-to-party approach and taking it worldwide. From 30
November to 3 December the “CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties” High-Level Meeting was held in in Beijing. Designed to find influence in foreign
non-communist parties, the initiative is portrayed as one to consolidate and deepen friendly cooperation to promote global development, share prosperity and
guide the world’s future, notes Xinhua.
Turkey’s repressive president is making sure that his country is receiving close attention from international organizations and
countries alike. Cozying up to Iran and Russia and picking fights with the United States of America may even jeopardize the nation’s standing in the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). While the government will reject any form of affiliation, such as associate or privileged membership or partnership, other
than full membership in the European Union (EU), according to the Minister for the EU Affairs, neither France nor Germany are currently willing to welcome it.
The new Austrian government even adopted opposition to Turkish EU membership as part of its program. While its
majority Islamic population is a problem for some EU members, resisting admission is strategic, political and personal. Bordering on the volatile Middle East, a
next door member would expose and involve the EU immediately in conflicts and unsettled situations there. The Ankara government’s bloody conflict with its
Kurdish citizens, the political feud with a former ally and his supporters, continuing violation of human rights and cultural and democratic values of the EU,
progressive Islamic influence in public affairs, and the relentless pursuit of the president for near total control of the government, weigh heavily against
proceeding with membership negotiations.
Bolivia’s Constitutional Court, packed by presidential supporters, has come up with a new ploy to justify staying in power
perpetually. It recently ruled that term limits are a denial of human and political rights.
January 2018
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