542. WE NEED TO MOVE FROM COUNTING WOMEN TO LETTING WOMEN COUNT.
-The core issue is not just the existing gender gap; it is the power gap. (Achim Steiner, UNDP) This means that we are talking about addressing women’s autonomy and embarking…
541. THE AUTOCRATIC CONTROL OF DISASTER CAPITALISM HAS GONE OFF THE RAILS. (Rob Wallace)
-(Globalization): I know your enemy well; he is the same we have here. (Nicolás Guillén)
540. HOW OFTEN ARE NGOs THE EXECUTIVE ARM OF PHILANTHROCAPITALISM? (Eduardo Luque G.)
-Too many NGOs still follow a charity approach and call it development. 1. Philanthrocapitalism is a huge business generating something of the order of 150 billion a year. These organizations…
539. ALLOW ME TO DECONSTRUCT THE IDEA THAT THE MASSES HAVE BEEN THE AGENTS OF HISTORY.
-History is the long and tragic story of the fact that privileged groups have never given up their privileges voluntarily. (Martin Luther King) -Fake news are not new. In the…
538. WHAT COMPLICATES OUR HUMAN RIGHTS WORK IS THE LACK OF INFORMATION WE HAVE AS RELATES TO HIDDEN, SEMI-HIDDEN OR FALSE TRUTHS.
-This is the truth. These are the facts! The truth will be constructed from the facts. 1. Mind you: Before any truth, there is a judgment that is not objective,…
537. SPONTANEOUS SOCIAL MOVEMENTS ARE INCREASINGLY AND FREELY MOVING IN THE DIRECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS.
-THE ROLE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS TODAY IS TO ACCELERATE THIS RAPIDLY SPREADING TREND. -True, we have a wide diversity of local human rights (HR) activists; the challenge is to…
536. IN POLITICS, EVERYTHING BOILS DOWN TO KNOWING WHO WIELDS POWER WITH WHAT PURPOSE AND IN THE BENEFIT OF WHOM. (Louis Casado)
In the class from which most of us come from, overriding emphasis is placed on preserving the status-quo -If you want to know who controls you, look at who you…
535. FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, IMPROVED TERMS OF TRADE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN FOREIGN AID.
Never forget: Much of external funding (deceptively called ‘foreign aid’) is spent on goods and expertise imported from the North -External funders are good at throwing products at development problems,…
534. THERE IS NO PURSUIT OF A COMMON GOOD IN CURRENT DEVELOPMENT TRENDS.
1. Government and corporate policies (that all to often are indistinguishable) are important factors in determining development and indeed human rights (HR) policy. Any analysis that ignores the impact of…
533. IT SEEMS THE TIME IS OVERDUE FOR THE NUTRITION PROFESSION TO STAND BACK AND EXAMINE ITS WORLDWIDE WORK DISPASSIONATELY. (part 2 of 2)
As used today, the Food Systems concept is a non-political attempt to make issues technical -The UN and external funders embarked in the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement have ended…