Short-Term Visiting Scholars Program at Michigan State University for Nigerian Scholars 2017

Application Deadline: 23rd February, 2017

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: Nigeria

To be taken at (country): Michigan State University, USA

About the Award:  In academic year 2017 (August 2017-May 2018), FIVE short-term post graduate student scholar positions are on offer: 3 at the Masters level and 2 at the PhD level. The Masters Level positions will be awarded for a maximum 1 semester, and the PhD Level ones, for a maximum of 2 semesters. The student’s primary academic supervisor (from a Nigerian University) is expected to actively participate in the program. The advisor will be invited (and funded) to visit MSU for a period not exceeding 30 calendar days.

The invitation has three accompanying obligations while the supervisor is at MSU: 1) give at least one presentation in the faculty of agriculture and 2) another in an African studies research forum as well as 3) interacting with other MSU faculty in related areas. It is the project expectation that this interchange will enhance on-going research collaboration between MSU faculty, IFPRI researchers and Nigerian scholars. Upon return to Nigeria, the professor will organize presentations and seminars for students at department, faculty and university levels at the home institution. The professor’s visit must occur within the duration of the residence at MSU of their student, the short term scholar.

Short term visiting scholars will enrol in analytical/technical courses such as Statistics, Econometrics and Agricultural Development. The courses will be taken for credit, and depending on the Nigerian University requirements, will be available to count towards the scholars Nigerian degree program. Also, while at MSU, the scholar will be expected to continue research work on their selected topic in addition to the course work. They will work under the supervision of MSU faculty/IFPRI researchers. The scholars tenure will be considered a full time position with the expectation that the scholar will invest the requisite amount of work, study and time to be successful. See (blog address) to review the experiences of the current scholars.

Type: Masters, PhD

Eligibility: Applicants must

1. be Nigerians studying in the area of Agriculture,
2. be at Post Graduate level in an Accredited Higher Education Institution in Nigeria.
3. be of good academic and moral standing in their academic institution having the equivalent of a minimum GPA of 3.5 out of 5 (or equivalent for a 2nd class, upper division).
4. With regards to good moral standing, applicant must be found to be fit and proper persons and in no way have any pending disciplinary cases before a duly recognized and constituted disciplinary body.
5. Applicants must also have a demonstrated interest in an area being studied by researchers working under the Nigeria Agricultural Policy Project, and must be willing to accept the responsibilities attached to participation

Selection Criteria: Candidates will be selected on the basis of their previous research and academic achievements, the short write up (included in the application packet), their ability to demonstrate strong commitment to research and their academic advisor’s willingness to participate in the program.

Number of Awardees: 5. 3 Masters, 2 PhD

Value of Program: The Short-Term Visiting Scholars Program will cover travel related costs, lodging and meals, and a monthly stipend of $1,000 for up to 3 months for the Masters Level, and for up to 9 months for the PhD level. Travel related costs are limited to visa fees, visa procurement travel related costs, and round trip air tickets from Nigeria to East Lansing, Michigan USA. Other benefits include medical insurance for the duration of the short-term visiting scholar program at Michigan State University. Due to the short-term nature of the program, no support in any kind whatsoever is provided for dependents.

How to Apply: Applicants must submit the following documents:

1. A completed expression of interest application form: found at http://fsg.afre.msu.edu/fsp/nigeria/App.pdf
2. A short write up on the role of research in the Nigeria Agricultural Policy Process and how the applicant’s work fits into this.
3. A writing sample (e.g. research paper, chapter of University Project/Thesis etc.)
4. Official Copy of Student’s academic transcripts (must be signed and stamped by the Registrar of the Institution of Study).
5. Updated CV showing publications and awards
6. A letter of recommendation from the applicant’s head of department or dean on official letter headed paper
7. A statement from applicant’s primary academic advisor indicating willingness to support the application and the advisor’s availability to work with the Feed the Future Nigeria Agricultural Policy Project and participate under the Academic Advisor segment of the Award. Form downloadable at:

http://fsg.afre.msu.edu/fsp/nigeria/willing.pdf

Application documents must be submitted to FTFNAPP@msu.edu by 11:59PM (Nigerian Time) on 23 February 2017.

The email should have on the subject line: “Application for 2017 FTFNAPP Short-Term Visiting Scholar Program at MSU”. All application materials need to be submitted as attachments to a single e-mail, preferably in a “zip” file. Successful applicants who have been shortlisted will receive word of acceptance and details on next steps by April 1, 2017. All enquires related to this call should be addressed to: Project Specialist, Feed the Future Nigeria Agricultural Policy Project, Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI 48823 and submitted to: FTFNAPP@msu.edu

Visit Program Webpage for details

Award Provider: Nigeria Mission of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and implemented jointly by Michigan State University (MSU) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHRCR) Internship 2017

Application Deadline: 30th September, 2017

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: All

To be taken at (country): Geneva, Switzerland

Type: Internship

Eligibility: Applicants to the United Nations internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:

1. Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university   degree or equivalent, or higher);
2. Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent);
3. Have graduated with a university degree (as defined in the link below) and, if selected, must commence the internship within a one-year period of graduation, as provided for in section 11.4 of the present instruction.

Number of Awardees: Not specified

Value of Internship: United Nations internships are not remunerated and interns are not considered officials or staff members of the Organization. Travel costs and living expenses must be borne by the interns themselves or by a sponsoring institution. Interns are responsible for making their own travel arrangements and for obtaining visas. In Geneva, interns are provided, upon arrival, with a Swiss ID card for the duration of the internship by OHCHR’s Administrative Section. They are also provided with a U.N. ground pass, a library card and general information about OHCHR and the United Nations.

The relationship between the Organization and the intern is one of mutual benefit. Interns are assigned to an organizational unit of OHCHR according to the needs of the Office and their own areas of interest. They are involved, inter alia, in: researching human rights issues, drafting analytical papers and reports, providing substantive and technical servicing of meetings, backstopping fact-finding and technical cooperation activities as well as field operations and supporting other OHCHR activities, depending on the exigencies of the Office. As part of the internship programme, OHCHR endeavours to brief interns through a series of information sessions on human rights issues conducted by staff of the Office.

Duration of Internship:

How to Apply: To be eligible for an internship with OHCHR, you have to apply through the UN Careers website .  Please visit the UN Careers website to see current internship opportunities with OHCHR.

Visit Internship Webpage for details

Award Provider:  United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHRCR)

World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Internships 2017

Application Deadline: 15th September, 2017

Offered annually? Yes

To be taken at (country): Switzerland

About the Award: The WIPO Internship Program supports WIPO’s mission to promote innovation and creativity for the economic, social and cultural development of all countries through a balanced and effective international intellectual property system, enabling interns to learn about the core values and initiatives of WIPO.

The WIPO Internship Program provides an opportunity for interns to complement their educational experience and to develop their professional skills and experience through participation in work in an international context. WIPO also benefits from the contributions of interns, who bring fresh perspectives and knowledge of the latest research in their specialist fields.

Field of Study: Candidates don’t have to be a law graduate to intern with us. We’re interested in talented people from a wide range of backgrounds. Some of the key backgrounds we’re looking for include:

• Law
• Economics/statistics
• Information Technology (IT)
• Technical cooperation
• Project management

• Administration (finance, human resources, procurement, program planning)
• Translation
• Marketing/communications

Type: Internship

Eligibility: 

Education

Completed first-level university degree or higher.

Graduates will be eligible to apply for an internship no more than two years after completion of their most recent university degree or postgraduate studies.

Skills

Proficient computer skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other relevant IT programs/applications).

Good analytical skills.

Languages

Excellent knowledge of English.

For most internships, excellent drafting skills in English are required.

Knowledge of any of the following WIPO working languages would be an advantage: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

Qualified candidates from unrepresented member states of WIPO and underrepresented geographical regions are encouraged to apply. Please visit our website for further information on the above.

Candidates are required to complete a cover letter / letter of motivation as part of their applications.

Interns are expected to work full time.

An internship shall not, in any way, be interpreted as a commitment to future employment with WIPO. Interns are not eligible for employment on a temporary appointment or a non-staff contract for a period of two months following the end of their internship

Number of Awardees: Not specified

Value of Internship: 

• Wherever you’re coming from, WIPO will request a Swiss “légitimation” card for the duration of your internship. This card functions as a residence permit.
• WIPO provides medical insurance for the duration of your internship.
• Interns receive a monthly stipend which can help cover the cost of living.

WIPO shall not be responsible for arranging travel, visas and/or accommodation nor shall WIPO cover any related costs. If necessary, WIPO may provide the intern with assistance in obtaining an entry visa.

Duration of Internship: 6 weeks to 12 months

How to Apply: The application process for internships is not area-specific. In other words, we don’t publish vacancy announcements for specific positions. To apply for an internship, you must submit your candidature through the Internship Roster, which is advertised year-round.

Visit Internship Webpage for details

Award Provider: World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)

Apocalypse as Liberation

Elliot Sperber

The doomsday clock has been adjusted to reflect the conclusion of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists that doomsday, or apocalypse, is closer now, in 2017, than it’s been since 1953. But might apocalypse, in some respects, be a good thing?

Derived from the Greek term Apo, which means ‘away from’, and Kalyptein, which means ‘hidden’, apocalypse literally means ‘away from the hidden,’ the exposure of secrets – in other words, Revelation. But just what is being revealed? And how does this literal meaning of the term fit with its figurative meaning, with its identification with the end of the world?

When our very way of life (organized by a toxic, coercive, plutocratic – i.e., capitalist – system) is revealed to be the essentially destructive, alienating system that it is – when what is still, to some degree, a secret becomes broadly acknowledged – the first type of revelation leads to the second; the revelation of this Order’s fundamental injustice leads to the dissolution of popular support. And, as history repeatedly demonstrates, when popular support for, and faith in, a given order evaporates, that concrete order quickly collapses. In other words, apocalypse should not be construed to simply mean the end of the world. Rather than the end of the world in general, apocalypse may refer instead to the end of a particular type of world: the end of the unjust world in which, as our sophisticated military technologies and our entrenched poverty equally illustrate, culture and barbarism are not only inextricable, the former serves the latter.

Viewed from this angle, apocalypse should be welcomed, and the sooner it comes the better – before Trump’s crude and frantic projects (the roundups, torture, and walls designed to shore up a dissolving traditional order) preclude the possibility of an emancipatory apocalypse and leave us with only the traditional variety: global holocaust.

2 ½ Minutes to Midnight – Our World in Peril

Robert F. Dodge

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announced Thursday its latest nuclear Doomsday Clock. In so doing they moved the symbolic minute hand ahead 30 seconds to two and one-half minutes till midnight. Midnight represents nuclear apocalypse. The decision to move the minute hand is made by the Bulletin’s Board of Directors in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes 15 Nobel Laureates. The Clock has become a universally recognized indicator of the world’s vulnerability to catastrophe from nuclear weapons. This is the first time the clock has moved 30 seconds and is only the 19th time since its inception in 1947 that the time has been changed.

In moving the hand to 2 1/2 minutes to midnight the clock setting is the closest it has come to midnight since 1953, when scientists moved it to two minutes from midnight after seeing both the U.S. and the Soviet Union test hydrogen bombs. It remained at that mark until 1960.

Rachel Bronson executive director of the Bulletin said in making today’s announcement, “Make no mistake, this has been a difficult year”.

Explaining its move, the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board said:

“Over the course of 2016, the global security landscape darkened as the international community failed to come effectively to grips with humanity’s most pressing existential threats, nuclear weapons and climate change … This already-threatening world situation was the backdrop for a rise in strident nationalism worldwide in 2016, including in a U.S. presidential campaign during which the eventual victor, Donald Trump, made disturbing comments about the use and proliferation of nuclear weapons and expressed disbelief in the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change.”

The Clock has ranged from 2 minutes to midnight at the height of the Cold War to 17 minutes till midnight with the hopes that followed the end of the Cold War.

Nuclear weapons and climate change represent a clear and present danger. Retired Marine Corps General Anthony C. Zinni, former commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East has stated, “We will pay for climate change one way or another. We will pay to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today, and we’ll have to take an economic hit of some kind. Or, we will pay the price later in military terms. And that will involve human lives. There will be a human toll.”

We know what needs to be done and how to do it yet no one in a leadership role has shown the political courage to take the necessary steps. Nuclear weapons are not even on the radar of our congress. Their phones are not ringing off the hook about nuclear weapons. However, new legislation introduced this week by Rep. Ted W. Lieu (D-CA) H.R. 669 and Sen. Edward Markey (D-Ma) S.200, would block the president from using nuclear weapons first in a crisis, without a vote. Nuclear weapons and climate change are not Democratic or Republican, Blue or Red issues. They are survival issues.

The time to ban nuclear weapons is now. Today’s announcement by the Bulletin further corroborates the dangers confirmed by recent climate science. Even a small regional nuclear war using just 100 Hiroshima size bombs out of the 15,000 weapons in today’s global stockpiles would potentially kill up to two billion on the planet from the climate change and global famine that would follow. There is no escaping the global impact of such a small regional nuclear war.

There is no adequate medical or public health response to an attack on one of our cities by even the smallest nuclear device. We cannot prepare and plan for the outcome of a bomb detonation. Prevention is the only option for risks we cannot cure. This is our prescription for survival. We all must play a part in this abolition movement. Remaining silent is not an option.

The people of the world are making their voices heard and demanding a change of course from the status quo. The United Nations will negotiate a nuclear weapons ban treaty this year to be signed in early July. This treaty will put nuclear weapons in the same illegal status as other weapons of mass destruction including biologic, chemical weapons and landmines. At that point nations who maintain nuclear arsenals will be pariah nations outside the realm of international law.

We the people must take action for our future and that of our children and planet. It is time to call our representatives and demand action to abolish nuclear weapons and to stop the new nuclear arms race we are embarking on. They can be contacted at (https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials). The time for action is now, before it is too late. What will you do? It’s 2 1/2 minutes till midnight.

Cmore: South Africa’s New Smart Policing Surveillance Engine

Michael Kwet

“Ever watched a crime drama or spy film…where a team of technicians are sitting in a darkened room full of big, fancy monitors that enable them to constantly track and follow a Jason Bourne-like assailant with great precision, in real-time, while being in constant communication with a team of operatives and controlling traffic lights and surveillance cameras seemingly at will?  That is the kind of advanced shared situational awareness that the Cmore system can enable.”

These are the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) words to describe Cmore, South Africa’s high-tech domestic surveillance system.  A “platform for shared awareness”, Cmore covers vast geographic expanses, enabling real-time surveillance and analytics of “entities” of interest and “incidents” such as service delivery protests.

Cmore: Watching over South Africa

Post-apartheid South Africa looks increasingly unstable.  It is among the most unequal countries on earth – a situation which worsened within races since the transition to formal democracy in 1994.  The poor majority continues to face conditions of extreme poverty as neoliberalism ensures wealth remains in the hands of a few.  In the past decade, public protest rates are at record strike levels by global standards, while a new progressive student social justice is taking the country by storm.  In 2015 and 2016, #FeesMustFall protesters shut down the national university system and colleges in a unified struggle for free education, decolonization of curriculum, worker rights and sexual justice, among other issues.  It is the most powerful student movement since the 1976 Soweto uprisings.

In parallel, computer and military technology has undergone rapid development.  The digital revolution is offering powerful new tools shaping the conduct of human affairs, with dominant influence from the US military and its frequent ally, Silicon Valley.

Within this cauldron of affairs, the CSIR – Africa’s largest R&D organization – developed Cmore.  Mimicking the West, Cmore is a “comprehensive portal” integrating internal and external data sources to conduct surveillance, defence and policing operations.  Internal “forces in the field” – say, patrol units – use the Cmore Mobile app on mobile devices for movement coordination, real-time feedback and communications within the surveillance network.  External sources feed data to Cmore through sensors like “Public Webcams”, “Image/Video” resources and unmanned aerial surveillance drones (UAVs).

The software system consolidates information from different sources to watch over South African spaces.  Using a centralized server, Cmore can coordinate geo-spatial planning and perform predictive analytics as a function of “modern security” to allegedly prevent “future crimes”.

South African authorities now “Cmore” of maritime waters and national parks – the central focus of its initial development.

But Cmore also targets border areas to police immigration, a cause for concern given South Africa’s anti-immigrant troubles.  More controversially, these new Jason Bourne-like surveillance systems enlist participation from the South African Police Service (SAPS).

SAPS and CSIR – Partners in crime

In February 2014, the CSIR and SAPS signed a memorandum of understanding “aimed at improving the country’s safety and security”.  At the time, soon-to-be suspended police commissioner Riah Phiyega hailed it a “critical milestone in the journey of transforming the SAPS”, with CSIR tech offering “smart technology, smart planning, and ultimately ‘smart policing’”.  The agreement seeks co-operation with “other players in the national security sphere”.

Over the course of development, the CSIR began thinking about using Cmore “for police”, a key developer, Priaash Ramadeen said.  Details and slides in Ramadeen’s CSIR presentation showcase Cmore’s tools for policing categories frequently pursued by the SAPS in the streets, such as theft, illicit drugs and public protest.

Experiments involving the SAPS include “crowd-control concept demonstrations”.  More than 77 organisations have registered with Cmore.

The CSIR-SAPS partnership, as well as Cmore’s surveillance system, received scant attention from the media, academia and NGOs.  Much like United States police forces, the SAPS releases little detail about many policing practices.

With little press or public transparency, South Africa has so far been spared of controversy surrounding the smart policing revolution it is in fact deploying.  CSIR’s surveillance technology aims to “improve police management in…crowd and riot control”, integrate intelligence, enhance command and control and use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) as an “eye in the sky” for “unrest situations” and “illegal border crossings”.  Facial recognition CCTV cameras on the streets, UAV surveillance and vast data collections used for predictive policing are a growing part of South Africa’s “defence and safety” arsenal.

Controversy in the making?

The smart policing revolution has come under fire by civil rights and liberties organizations – especially in the United States.  #BlackLivesMatter and civil libertarians have drawn attention to studies finding de facto racism in predictive policing software, as well as a concentration of surveillance equipment targeting poor black neighborhoods.

#FeesMustFall students are being monitored by police intelligence.  In 2016, CCTV cameras sprouted like mushrooms at Rhodes University – while management is withholding details.  Society now faces controversial high-tech surveillance in public spaces.

How much longer until South Africans discover smart policing?

Searching for Peace in a Troubled World

Graham Peebles

Throughout his Christmas message and in keeping with the hymn of the time, Pope Francis repeatedly called for Peace in our World. “Not merely the word, but a real and concrete peace” brought about by changing those attitudes, patterns of behavior and socio-economic systems that bring about conflict. Peace not simply in relationship to armed conflict, but peace for all people in a range of situations.

“Peace to our abandoned and excluded brothers and sisters, to those who suffer hunger and to all the victims of violence. Peace to exiles, migrants and refugees, to all those who in our day are subject to human trafficking. Peace to the peoples who suffer because of the economic ambitions of the few…. [and] peace to those affected by social and economic unrest.”

Ending War

If we are to find answers to the many crises facing humanity, we must first end conflict and establish peace, – within ourselves, our communities, between groups and nations. It sounds like a platitude but it’s the simple and urgent truth – we must learn to live peacefully together.

Since the ‘Cold War’ ended in 1989 violent conflict had been decreasing, but according to the Global Peace Index (measures: ‘the level of safety and security in society; extent of domestic or international conflict; and the degree of militarization’), in 2016 this trend was reversed, albeit marginally.

Terrorism, they found, is at an all time high, battle deaths are at a 25-year high, and the number of displaced people is greater than it’s been for sixty years. The ‘impact of terrorism and political instability’ measure was the area with the most severe levels of deterioration: Deaths from terrorism increased by 80% compared to 2015, with 94 of the 163 countries surveyed recording at least one terrorist incident, and 11 countries suffering over 500 deaths, compared with five the previous year.

In addition to the heightened terrorist threat, of significant concern is the US military build up in the South Asia Sea, where China is being encircled (see, ‘The Coming War On China’ by John Pilger). As well as the concentration of NATO forces in Eastern Europe, where Russia is being contained – or threatened depending on your point of view. Whilst American and allied nations paint China and Russia as the aggressors, such US sabre rattling is provocative and increases, rather than defuses tensions.

The Roots of Conflict

So in the midst of a world in turmoil and transition, what do we need to do to create peace? What are the causes of conflict and the obstacles to peace? In order to approach these questions it is essential to understand the relationship between society, in all its forms, and the individuals that make up society.

Is society and all that takes place within it, something separate from us, or, as the great Indian philosopher J. Krishnamurti repeatedly said, we are the world and the world is us; “our problems are the world’s problems.” It is a statement of fact that in many ways is self-evident; there is violence and intolerance within society e.g., because we ourselves are violent and intolerant.

Any change within the world is therefore dependent upon there being a change within us; “to put an end to outward war, you must begin to put an end to war in yourself.” One follows, and flows from the other.

Recognizing the inter-relationship of the individual and society opens up other enquiries, chief amongst them what we might term agitation, or elicitation.

A multitude of qualities and tendencies rest within all human beings – some good, some not so good, and whilst we accept the logic of Krishnamurti’s assertion, it must also be true that the nature of the society within which people are living, its values, beliefs and methods, encourage certain attitudes and types of behavior. Therefore the ‘question of peace’, and how it can be realized, needs to be approached both from the perspective of the individual and his/her role and responsibility in bringing it about, and from an understanding of the collective atmosphere within which we are living, and how one impacts on the other.

Injustice and tension

We live within a world fashioned by certain structural constraints, political, economic and social systems (including religious), ideologically rooted, promoting certain values. Ideals, many of which, feed selfish attitudes of ambition, and self-aggrandizement that in turn strengthen divisions and engender separation. And is peace possible in a world where such attitudes are encouraged?

These systems have been designed in an attempt to order society, to exert and maintain control, and, so the models proponents maintain, to establish practical methods of meeting humanity’s needs. These needs are universal: Food and water, shelter, clothing, health care and education, all of which are decreed to be, not simply needs, but rights – Human Rights, and are enshrined as such (articles 25 and 26 UDHR). But, much like peace, these dedicated ‘Rights’ remain little more than pretty words upon a dusty page of exploitation and apathy.

In every country in the world such Rights are dependent upon the size of a person’s bank account. If you happen to be born into a poor family in a either developed or developing country, and/or are part of a ‘minority’ group, your rights will be denied or restricted; if fate decrees you live in Sub-Saharan Africa or rural India e.g., the chances are food will be scarce, housing basic, health care and education poor or non-existent. In contrast, if you are born into an affluent family, why the world and all that is in it, is yours. The wealthy live in complacent bubbles, and have little or no idea or indeed interest in how the majority of people exist.

The prevailing economic system has allowed for the concentration of wealth and with it political power, into the hands of a hideously wealthy elite, whilst condemning billions to lives of poverty and suffering. Income and wealth inequality is greater than it has ever been, a recent report by Oxfam revealed that “ the world’s eight richest billionaires control the same wealth between them as the poorest half of the globe’s population [3.6 billion people].” Can there possibly be peace in a world where such inequality exists?

This division of men, women and children based on money, privilege and social standing is totally unjust. There seems to be an assumption amongst the privileged that those living in the developed nations are entitled to be as greedy, selfish, rich and powerful as they like, whilst billions live in crushing poverty. Such inherent injustice is a cause of tension, resentment and conflict – all of which run contrary to the cultivation of peace.

These feelings of hostility have been suppressed for years, for generations, but are now beginning to surface as anger and frustration directed towards systemic injustice, and governments that have constructed policies for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many.

Neo-liberalism is the inherently unjust and blind system – devoid of compassion. It promotes the decrepit idea that some are more deserving than others; some are entitled to live lives of excess whilst hundreds of millions literally have nothing. It pollutes democracy and relies on voracious consumption, which is poisoning the planet, for its survival.

Social injustice promotes separation and works in opposition to humanity’s underlying unity. It is one of the principle causes of conflict, and if we are to inculcate peace it is a poison that must be driven out of our world. This means we need to design new, just systems, which work for everyone; economic and political models that hold as their principle aim the goal of meeting the needs – addressing the Rights, of every human being.

To achieve this requires nothing more than the principle of sharing being firmly planted at the heart of human affairs; sharing of the world resources, including food and water, as well as the skills, knowledge and technologies, amongst the people of the world – based on need. Making sharing the guiding ideal of systemic change will allow trust to flower, and where there is trust peace becomes possible.

Change of Heart

In order for sharing, along with cooperation, tolerance and understanding, to fashion the political, economic and social systems and thereby create the conditions in which peace becomes possible, a major change in attitudes is required. A shift in consciousness that allows social responsibility and a new imagination to flower, because as Krishnamurti states, “to bring about peace in the world, to stop all wars, there must be a revolution in the individual, in you and me.”

A revolt against ingrained, selfish ways of thinking and acting is needed to bring about such a movement, and fundamental to such a change is the recognition that humanity is one.

We are brothers and sisters of one humanity, and when this underlying unity is sensed the focus on the individual self, with its various self-centered constructs, begins to fade. Harmlessness and responsibility for the group, which is humanity, is fostered, allowing peace within to grow. As the Dalai-Lama states, “what leads to inner peace is cultivating a compassionate heart.”

New systems that take the fear and uncertainty out of life, and unite people instead of dividing, will aid such a shift, but as Krishnamurti made plain, an economic revolution, “without this inward revolution is meaningless,” and would probably not take place. “For hunger is the result of the maladjustment of economic conditions produced by our psychological states: greed, envy, ill-will and possessiveness.”

An ‘inward revolution’ that recognizes our essential unity, dissipates selfishness and allows for peace of mind to quietly settle, will lead to a revolution in how life is organized, and will quite naturally lead to peaceful relationships within individuals, amongst communities and between nations.

The New Censorship Wars Begin: Porn, Sex Trafficking & Backpage

David Rosen

On January 10, 2016, the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a 50-page report (along with an 800-page appendix) on Backpage.com.  The report accused the website of concealing evidence of criminal activity by systematically editing its “adult” ads to remove terms that facilitated sex trafficking of underage youths and children.

Sex trafficking involves the exploitation of females and (less often) males for commercial sexual purposes.  Sadly, many victims of such trafficking are underage young people, including children.  Such trafficking is a form of pedophilia, both illegal and immoral, a violation of consent, often involving rape and child porn.

In October 2015, Backpage management refused a Senate subpoena and held in contempt of Congress, the first time it had done so since 1995.  The report culminated an 18-month investigation claiming Backpage hid sex trafficking operations of underage girls behind terms like “lolita,” “teenage,” “rape,” “young,” “amber alert,” “little girl,” “teen,” “fresh,” “innocent” and “school girl.”  It insisted that the website engaged in criminal activity to conceal sex trafficking operations by removing these key words from 70 to 80 percent of the ads.

Backpage is one of the leading worldwide online companies promoting commercial sex, operating in 97 countries and 943 locations; it is reported worth more than a half-billion dollars.  Drawing upon data from a variety of federal agencies, including the Justice Department-funded National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the study asserts that the website is involved in three-fourths (73%) of all child trafficking reports.

Based on the Senate report, it appears that Backpage’s management knowingly facilitated the sex trafficking of underage (mostly female) young people.  As such, the company’s management may face federal and state prosecution.  The new Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, might well pick-up on the Senate’s investigation to initiate one of the first anti-sex campaigns of the Trump administration’s renewed culture wars.

The Senate document, as could be expected, is a remarkably flawed analysis.  Most revealing, the report does not include an estimate of the total number of underage people in the U.S. subject to sex trafficking.  It fails to acknowledge the latest 2015 analysis from the U.S. Congressional Research Service that notes: “The exact number of child victims of sex trafficking in the United States is unknown because comprehensive research and scientific data are lacking.”

Equally troubling, the report lacks an analysis of America’s 21^stcentury sexual culture, let alone an acknowledgment that, over the last half-century, sex in the U.S. has become a $50 billion industry.   These weaknesses are likely to ensure that the report ends up lost on a shelf somewhere or floats unread on a website filing cabinet.  Without contextualizing child sex trafficking within terms of the larger changes remaking American sexual culture it will be impossible to end it.

The report was released by a Republican-controlled Senate subcommittee only days before Donald Trump was to inaugurated president.  Its release begs the question as to whether there is a relationship – real or symbolic – between Backpage’s sex trafficking of underage females and the ascendency of the nation’s first hedonistic commander-and-chief?  Will a possible prosecution of Backpage signify the limits of porn and prostitution during the reign of America’s 45^th president?

Trump’s sexual practice are, like his tax returns, a mystery.  Analogous to his “vast” business operations, Trump’s sexual proclivities seem equally vast.

Summer Zervos, a former contestant on “The Apprentice,” is the latest of some two-dozen women who have publicly declared that they had been groped or otherwise sexually assaulted by the nation’s 45^thpresident.

The Russian secret service likely hacked the DNC website and – equally likely – is the clandestine report that “the Don” engaged in a water-sports gala with a couple of Moscow’s finest sexual performance artists.  And why not?  Who knows how far a once oh-so hip, adventurous Club-54 type macho guy pushed the boundaries of sexual pleasure?  Hey, with a hit of coke, why not hookers galore, s&m play, homo-eroticism (but always as the top) or sex with an reputed “underage” female?  Other a-moral hedonist with total power – like John Kennedy and Bill Clinton – have preceded Trump to the Oval Office so why should anyone expect less from him.

***

Siting NCMEC data, the Senate report claims that 4.5 million people are trapped in “sexual exploitation” worldwide and in the U.S. “over eight in ten suspected incidents of human trafficking involve sex trafficking.”  Going further, “NCMEC reported an 846% increase from 2010 to 2015 in reports of suspected child sex trafficking—an increase the organization has found to be ‘directly correlated to the increased use of the Internet to sell children for sex.’”  In most media reports siting this study, the intentionally-misleading term “suspected” does not appear.

As the truism goes, prostitution is the oldest profession … and hookers of all ages in the New World date from the earliest Dutch settlement.  New Amsterdam’s first madam is reputed to be Griet or Grietje (“Little Pearl”) Reyniers, a lively bawd or doxie.  In 1668, when taunted by seamen on a departing sloop with the cry, “Whore! Whore! Two pound butter’s whore!”  She allegedly lifted her petticoat, pointed to her naked backside and replied: “Blaes my daer achterin.”  Repeatedly assailed by respectable citizens, she thumbed her nose at them, insisting, “I have long been the whore of the nobility, now I want to be the rabble’s.”

A quarter-century later, Lord Cornbury (Edward Hyde), Britain’s captain-general and governor-in-chief of New York and New Jersey between 1701 and 1708, was arrested by New York police for prostitution, soliciting soldiers along the waterfront.  In is reputed that he opened the New York General Assembly of 1702 in an exquisite formal gown in the Queen Anne style—a hooped gown with an elaborate headdress and carrying a fan.

America has been a battleground over commercial sex, along with other forms of unacceptable forms of sexual expression and experience, since before the nation’s founding.  Today, however, premarital sex is engaged in by two-thirds of American women and teen girls; between 1964 and 1993, the high-point of the culture wars, the teen birth rate fell 61 percent, to 24.2 births for every 1,000 adolescent females from 61.8 births.

The 21^st century sex culture seeks to fulfill the separate goals of both procreation and pleasure.  Most consequential, what was once considered “immoral” or a “perversion” has been normalized.  The Supreme Court legalized homosexual marriage and while commercial sex is legal in only a handful of rural Nevada localities, it is estimated to be an $18 billion business.  Pornography, driven by easy Internet access and DIY amateur content is estimated to be a $10-$14 billion business.

One consequence of the “mainstreaming” of sex is that sexual values have shifted from a moral issue, “sin,” to a legal concern, “consent,” be it private or public.  Formerly forbidden sex practices – e.g., oral sex, homosexuality, s&m — have been “normalized,” integrated into acceptable sexual life.  (Sex toys, now rebranded “sexual wellness products,” is estimated to be a $15 billion business.  Today’s only true sex crime is the violation of consent, whether involving rape, pedophilia, child porn, sex trafficking, intimate partner violence, knowingly infecting someone with HIV/STD or lust murder.

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Backpage’s CEO, Carl Ferrer, appeared before the Senate investigative committee in response to a subpoena.  He refused to address any specific questions, claiming both a First Amendment media free speech right as well as his Fifth Amendment right against self-incriminating.

Backpage uses Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) to contest both federal and state (e.g. CA and NJ) “censorship” efforts.  The Act was originally passed in 1996 to regulate the distribution of obscene or indecent material to children via the Internet.  However, the following year the Supreme Court ruled, in Reno v. ACLU, the Act unconstitutional and, in 2003, Congress amended the CDA to remove the indecency provisions struck down by Reno.

Section 230 states: “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”  It protects online publisher from all liability, civil and criminal, except liability under federal criminal and intellectual-property laws.

A day before the Senate released its report, the Supreme Court refused to hear a case brought by three Massachusetts and Rhode Island victims of forced prostitution and who accused Backpage of sex trafficking.  The Court backed a Boston lower court ruling that the CDA protects the website from being held liable for content its users publish on the sites.

Government entities — federal, state and local – have long conducted wars against unacceptable form of sexual expression and experience.  Since the nation’s founding, religious zealots, along with well-intentioned secular moralists, battled ever-increasing forms of illicit expression, censoring unacceptable media sexual representations and arresting legions of sex workers.  Over these centuries, books, magazines and comic books have been burned; drawings, pictures, post cards, photos, films/videos and websites have been suppressed; and birth-control information and devices – as well abortion procedures – have been criminalized.  Over the last century, numerous Supreme Court decisions have halted the suppression of “obscene” materials.

Often forgotten, for a brief period before World War I, many cities and town across the country enacted “Red Light Abatement laws” to regulated commercial sex.  While New Orleans’ Storyville, San Francisco’s Barbary Coast and New York’s Tenderloin were the most notorious of the dozens of “red-light districts” that flourished, others operated in Sioux City (IO), Eau Claire (WS), Waco (TX) and East Grand Forks (MN).  The Christian right was incensed by this effort not simply to regulate prostitution, but to maintain the health of sex workers and stop the spread of venereal disease to their clients.  In reaction, it mobilized a campaign to not simply suppress local districts, but to pass in 1910 the White-Slave Traffic Act (i.e., the Mann Act), a federal law ostensibly intended to halt interstate commercial sex; the first major victim of the Act was Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion.

Newly-inaugurated Pres. Donald Trump quickly signed an executive order reinstating the global ban on overseas discussion of abortion by individuals and organizations receiving federal funding.  He has insisted that one of his first actions will be to appoint a conservative to the Supreme Court.  The Backpage controversy may lead the Republican-controlled Congress to either remove or tighten CDA Section 230, thus increasing the possibility of a federal prosecution of Ferrer and an attempt to shut down the website.  Well-intentioned liberals like attorney David Boise and NYC deputy mayor Carol Robles-Román have joined the campaign. A truly conservative Court could go along with such an effort, initiating a new era of censorship.

Not unlike the strategy of throwing out the baby with the bathwater adopted by the Christian right a century ago, the new Trump administration, Republican Congress and a conservative Court may well impose greater restrictions of online speech and voluntary adult commercial sex.  This will likely drive child sex trafficking further underground.  Failure to isolate this illegal and immoral practice will only make it harder to prevent and put more child victims at risk.

One of the few groups to oppose the repressive spirit of the Senate investigation – and Backpage! – is the San Francisco-based, Erotic Service Providers Legal Education Research Project (ESPLERP).  The question remains why more “progressives” have not considered the issue?

The Long War: Turkey’s Difficult Struggle Against ISIS in Syria

Patrick Cockburn

The Turkish army is suffering unexpectedly serious losses in men and equipment as it engages in its first real battle against Isis fighters holding al-Bab, a small but strategically placed city north east of Aleppo. Turkish military commanders had hoped to capture al-Bab quickly when their forces attacked it in December, but they are failing to break through Isis defences.

At least 47 Turkish soldiers have killed and eleven tanks disabled or destroyed according to the Turkish military expert Metin Gurcan writing in al-Monitor. Isis have posted a video showing a Turkish tank being destroyed, apparently by an anti-tank rocket and Isis fighters looking at the wreckage of other armoured vehicles.

The Turkish military intervention in northern Syria, known as Operation Euphrates Shield, which began on 24 August last year has also led to heavy civilian casualties. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, citing local witnesses, says that 352 civilians including 77 children and 48 women have been killed by Turkish artillery bombardments and air strikes over the last five months. Drone footage taken by Isis shows that the buildings in al-Bab, that once had a population of 100,000, have been devastated.

Turkey had intended to make a limited military foray into the territory between the Turkish frontier and Aleppo city 40 miles further south which would make it a serious player in the Syrian conflict. It would drive Isis from its last big stronghold in northern Syria at al-Bab and, above all, prevent the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) from linking up their enclaves at Kobani and Qamishli with one at Afrin, north west of Aleppo.

The strategy has proven far more costly and slower to implement in the face of determined and skilful Isis resistance than Ankara had foreseen. It wanted primarily to rely on Arab and Turkman militiamen under Turkish operational control, though these would be nominally part of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) umbrella group. These proxies would be backed up by Turkish artillery, air strikes and a limited number of Turkish ground troops.

The plan seemed to work in the beginning as the Turkish forces took over the Isis-held town of Jarablus, where the Euphrates River crosses the Turkish border. But swift success here came because Isis did not fight, its men retreating or shaving off their beards and melting into the local population. But when the Turkish-backed FSA advance failed to break through Isis lines in and around al-Bab, Turkey had to reinforce them with its own units which now do the bulk of the fighting.

Turkish leaders blamed their problems partly on the US which has failed to make more than a few air strikes in support of the al-Bab offensive. The US does not want to aid militarily a Turkish intervention aimed primarily at the YPG, who have proved the most effective US ally against Isis in Syria. The YPG has at least 25,000 battle-tested ground troops who are backed up by the massive firepower of the US-led air coalition. Ankara is hoping that the new Trump administration will be less cooperative with the Kurds and more so with Turkey.

Isis is using an effective cocktail of tactics similar to those which it employed to slow down the offensive of the Iraqi security forces in east Mosul which took them three months to capture. These tactics include frequent use of suicide bombers driving vehicles packed with explosives (VBIEDs),often especially armoured in Isis workshops so they are difficult to stop.

“Isis uses VBIEDs to disrupt its enemies’ field planning, organisation and morale,” says Mr Gurcan. “With tunnels, Isis maintains mobility, despite air attacks.” As in Mosul, Isis is able to move small mobile units containing snipers, specialists using ant-tank missiles and suicide bombers from house to house without exposing them to superior enemy fire power. The Turkish forces have been unable to encircle al-Bab and cut the main supply route to Raqqa, the de facto capital of Isis in Syria.

Turkey benefited at this week’s peace talks in Astana in Kazakhstan from being one of three foreign powers – the others being Russia and Iran – with ground troops in Syria. It had previously provided crucial aid, sanctuary and a near open border to the Syrian armed opposition. Reinforced by a diplomatic marriages of convenience with both Russia and Iran, Turkey has acquired significant influence over the outcome of the six-year long war in Syria. But the slow military progress at al-Bab shows Turkey’s growing military engagement in Syria is coming at a price – even in its initial phases.

The fighting in and around al-Bab underlines an important weakness of the plans announced at Astana to bolster the current shaky Syrian ceasefire announced on 30 December. The two most powerful rebel military movements, Isis and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, are not included in the ceasefire and have no reason to abide by its terms. On the contrary, Nusra has launched an offensive in west Aleppo province to eliminate rebel groups sympathetic to peace talks and a ceasefire.

Significantly, Isis is showing that, despite claims by the Iraqi and Syrian governments that it is facing imminent defeat, it is still capable of fighting on multiple fronts. It holds west Mosul in Iraq with a population of 750,000, recaptured Palmyra in Syria in mid-December and has repeatedly attacked the Syrian government enclave in the provincial capital of Deir Ezzor over the last ten days. The Russian air force was compelled to launch intense air strikes to help the Syrian army hold the city.