is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment. He has published and posted articles, fiction and poems at hundreds of venues, including, TMS, The New York Times, Village Voice, Redbook Magazine and Counterpunch.
He has published 2 novels and 2 collections of poetry, and his dramas have been produced on PBS-Atlanta and elsewhere. He has performed his poems at the Carter Presidential Library and Museum and has taught in universities in the US and Japan, and in US public schools and prisons.
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
— From “The Sermon on the Mount”
Interviewer’s Note: A man who has published more than 150 books and 1500 articles on peace and related issues; the founder of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment.; a man who has worked as a mediator with the U.N. and with various nations in conflict around the world, should need no little introduction… but I will recommend previewing the bio-data at Wikipedia and then beginning to sort through Johan Galtung’s omnibus of articles, plays, books.
Prof Johan Galtung
Briefly, extracted from Wikipedia, etc.: Born in Oslo, Norway in 1930, Galtung first served as a professor at the University of Oslo, and subsequently at various universities around the world. He is known for his contributions to sociology, political science, economics, history, anthropology and theology. “He has developed several influential theories, such as the distinction between positive and negative peace, structural violence, theories on conflict and conflict resolution, the concept of peace-building…” Frequently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize [which he should have received long ago!], he was awarded the international ‘Right Livelihood Award’ in 1987.—G.C.
Gary Corseri: I’m here in the Washington, D.C. area, with Johan Galtung–master teacher, and originator, since 1959, of “Peace Studies” programs at universities around the world….
Johan-sensei–When my wife and I met your wife and you, informally, for lunch a week ago, we discussed doing an interview. And you sent me some ideas about your current interests, including, the crisis in Ukraine, which seemed of paramount concern to you just now. So, we’ll start with Ukraine today, but, knowing you a little, being a little familiar with the treasure trove of your work, I’m certain that our talk will ramify and develop its own course…. But, first: “Why do you want to talk about Ukraine?
Johan Galtung: I’m working on it! I’ve been in Skype contact with the parties—the enemies!–… and there are many! It’s a complex crisis. Moreover, both Russia and the United States are involved. They’re both former super-powers, and there is in Ukraine the possibility of another major war… which might soon become a nuclear war. Also, I focus on Ukraine now because it is closer to the area where I used to live—in Spain…. And, because the dangers seem to be more imminent.
Gary Corseri: Yes, I learned just last night, scanning the news: this is the 3-year anniversary of the Maidan protests. So, it’s topical.
And, of course, for the purpose of this interview, I’d be remiss if I did not get your reaction to the US presidential election…. And the results figure into Ukraine…. Because, Donald Trump made a big issue of working with Putin. Do you believe him, do you believe that possibility?
Johan Galtung: I think there is a big difference in the campaigner Donald Trump, with his horrible remarks, and all his prejudices, and the President-Elect—who announces himself as the President for all Americans! While we are focusing on Ukraine…, I was particularly interested in a statement made by a member of the Trump team about the 200-year relationship between Russia and the United States: the point was made that Russia supported what became the United States, against the French and the English empires. And that was Tsar Alexander I! So, from the beginning of the American War of Independence in Concord, up to the end of it in 1812….
Gary Corseri: Excuse me…., you’re conflating the… what we call the “American Revolution”… with the “War of 1812”?
Johan Galtung: Yes…. It was all part of a “long stretch” of history. I’ll note here that to the British, the “Redcoats,” your “War of Independence” was a terrorist war! And the terrorists won!
Gary Corseri: Right! I don’t think most Americans would frame it that way…, but I think it’s important to reflect on that….
Johan Galtung: Now, that first century of cooperation with Russia continued up until 1917—the Bolshevik Revolution. And the 2nd century has been very far from the first…. Now, in the Putin-Trump working model, there is a clear intent to turn back the clock to the earlier kind of cooperation.
It helps to have a long time-perspective! This is the first time in my life that I have heard of a President-Elect, or a President, having an historical perspective! I didn’t find it in Clinton, or the Bushes, or in Reagan…. I didn’t find it in general. Not even in F.D.R.! That means that Trump is breaking a taboo—the anti-intellectualism of the U.S.; because, in order to have a perspective of 2 centuries, he needs a little help from some intellectuals who have that knowledge! On the other hand, Putin doesn’t have that problem. He is surrounded by intellectuals, and can confer with them as much as he wants. So, I expect these two men to cooperate. And they have announced that the first area of cooperation will be—not Ukraine, but Syria….
Gary Corseri: As difficult as Syria is, as thorny and horrible, it may be easier to deal with than Ukraine?
Johan Galtung: Well, they are both very complicated, but Syria is the more immediate concern now. And, you see, Putin has an 8-point plan for Ukraine…. It is known all over the world. They can work with that. It’s based on “Federation”; that is, if you have a State with 2 nations that hate each other, you can keep the State, but make it a federation! (Russia, itself, is a federation of something like 190 “nations”!) Putin says, if you don’t like the word, “federation,” call it “decentralization”! I expect Trump and Putin to cooperate about Ukraine on that basis.
Gary Corseri: For me, Putin’s plan seems to incorporate a lot of Galtung’s thinking: Find mutual interest…. Something I gained from reading about you—basic info on Google, and articles that can be downloaded, and, of course, your weekly columns at the TMS (Transcend Media Service site)–… the idea of the “buffer state.” My wife, also reading about you [in Japanese] told me about your work with Peru and Ecuador: they had this border clash, this crisis, and you came along and said, Let’s make this neutral territory, turn part of it into an international park, administered by both countries, share in the profits from resources carefully (in terms of the environmental impact) extracted… and all can profit from it. And, I believe it was a Peruvian leader who said: It will take 9 years to work this out, and—
Johan Galtung: It was an Ecuadorian who said it would take 30 years to get used to the idea, and then 30 years to implement it! But, we reached an Agreement after just 3 years, and began to implement it 3 years later!
Gary Corseri: And now it’s a peaceful border…. So, we can be somewhat optimistic about Putin and Trump working together, embracing new kinds of ideas, creating mutual benefits.
Johan Galtung: I must say that I’m more optimistic about Mr. Putin than about Mr. Trump. Some of his bad, old habits—from the campaign of Trump–, mainly, to be angry and react thoughtlessly to any kind of criticism– seem to have surfaced again. I hope he will be wisely advised….
Now, let us return to Ukraine…. There is, in fact, no country in the world for which the “name” of the country expresses the nature of its problems! For example, if you say, “Deutschland,” you mean the land of the Germans. “Norway” means “the way to the north!” But, “Ukraine” in Russian means, “At the border!”
[Here, JG pronounces the name in Russian.]
…. So, imagine: for centuries Catholic Europe is pushing Eastward; one country after another falls to the Crusaders, or the invaders, but that all ends “at the border,” at Ukraine. From 395, with the break-up of the Roman Empire, Ukraine is mostly Greek Orthodox! And, it has been divided all these centuries, invaded repeatedly by the West.
Gary Corseri: And, that’s true now! An article by John J. Mearsheimer [“Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault,” Foreign Affairs, 2014] describes the work of the N.E.D. [National Endownment for Democracy], spending some $5 billion between 1991 and 2013, funding “more than 60 projects aimed at promoting civil society in Ukraine.” Of course, “civil society” is just another misnomer or euphemism for Western values! When Russian leaders look at the chaos of the US-supported and largely-funded “Orange Revolution,” they do not see “civil society” so much as “social engineering.” And that is “engineering” aimed at Russia itself! It’s the spreading of surface “Western values”—the memes and myths, but not the realities of exploitation and militarism; extremes of wealth, power and poverty.
Johan Galtung: So…, what to do? We have a “nation” divided by religion, and language….
Gary Corseri: And, ethnicities….
Johan Galtung: Basically, you have 2-nations-in-one. So, how can you elect a president from one of those “nations” and not expect conflict?
Gary Corseri: And the answer is?
Johan Galtung: Well, they could learn from the Swiss! Switzerland is basically 4-nations-in-one. Their “presidency” rotates among their different ethnic and language groups. The President’s Cabinet represents the different groups within the State: there are 3 German-speaking members; 2 French; 1 Italian; 1 Rhaeto-Romansh.
Gary Corseri: Rhaeto-Romansh?
Johan Galtung: Yes. Or, Ladino–they often call it that… It’s a special Swiss group—not connected with the nation of Romania…. The point is, the Ukrainians could do something similar in a federation of their own.
Gary Corseri: A rotating presidency and proportional representation in the Cabinet. And both “nations” are recognized within the federation. One “nation” is not trying to force its language on the other!
Johan Galtung: The language issue is extremely important—
Gary Corseri: To be “educated” in Europe is to be at least bi-lingual. For me, the rebellion of the Russophone part of Ukraine is quite understandable. Resentments have been brewing for generations. We’re in a nascent stage of such conflicts in the US…with our growing Hispanic populations, especially in California and Florida. And the Anglophones and the Spanish speakers don’t know how to encounter each other; and both groups resent any sense of “special treatment,” or “favoritism” or impositions from a distant central government…. You have written about the importance of language in fostering “cultural violence.”
Johan Galtung: It’s one of the key factors. You see, for “mediation,” you have to listen to all the parties…without criticism. And you ask, “What does Ukraine—or any other State—look like if your goals, your ideals are realized?” And then people explain their visions, they look forward.
Gary Corseri: And you have written about “sychrony.” It’s kind of “Eastern”: time periods interacting—future, past, present. As opposed to “diachrony.” That’s what we have now! We’re diachronous, situated in a particular space-time. But, you’re saying, imagine and visualize the future. And, interact with that idea of it.
Johan Galtung: Yes, but not a long “causal flow.” Gandhi spoke about the “unity of means and ends.” We cannot do terrible things to achieve wonderful results! And we can’t project way into the future, hoping that “expedient,” but immoral, measures now will turn out fine then!
Gary Corseri: “Unity of means and ends.” I wrote that one down, from your paper on “Cultural Violence.” [Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Aug., 1990)]. Gandhi was speaking about 2 things: the “unity of life” and the “unity of means and ends.” And you wrote: “No life… particularly no human life, can be used as a means to an end. If the end is livelihood, then the means has to be life-enhancing. But how do we understand ‘unity’? A reasonable interpretation… would be in terms of closeness, against separation. All forms of life, particularly human life, should enjoy closeness and not be kept apart by steep Self-Other gradients that drive wedges in social space.”
Johan Galtung: You must listen to all parties without criticism. After they have expressed their ideals, you ask if their ideas are legitimate. You ask about their “historical perspective.” Then, you are probing “deep culture,” deep understanding.
Gary Corseri: Aldous Huxley quoted Blake about “cleansing the doors of perception.”
Johan Galtung: If “contracts” have been made between parties, one party cannot just “walk out.” We must be very clear about that.
Gary Corseri: That’s the importance of “historical perspective,” seeing how compromises, resolutions were made in the past. That’s the importance of language, too—being sure the other party is understanding us in their language, not just ours!
Johan Galtung: …And all the time working towards a more inclusive future…. Bridging legitimate goals will take creativity! So, Gary, you quoted Gandhi on unity…. Gandhi was a genius. Another genius of the 20th Century was Einstein. Do you know what Einstein said about “unity”?
Gary Corseri (shrugging): All I can think of is E=MC2.
Johan Galtung (smiling): Einstein spoke about the “unity of space-time.” I am trying to understand different kinds of unity; and encourage others to think in terms of greater unity!
Gary Corseri: You’ve taught me a lot in this short interview. I hope this little introduction to your work will encourage others to dig deeper, to understand more. So, one last question: How do we apply your thinking of the past half century and more—I think our readers will not mind my wishing you a happy 86th birthday!—how can we work towards a more peaceful world? Can we have hope?
Johan Galtung: To be so “alienated” within one’s society or nation or world, as to feel “hopeless”—that is to suffer a terrible kind of cultural violence!
Gary Corseri: Realism and hope…. Can that be a “unity,” too?
Johan Galtung: I’ll let you answer that…. But, imagine this. [He points to a mercator-projection map on his office wall–] Let’s say, our modern world can be divided into 8 great regions: There’s the Anglo-American world, including, Canada; there’s Latin America; Africa; the Muslim world; the E.U., or the European region; Russia—which is really a “nation of nations,” a federation; East Asia; South Asia. Since the end of the Second World War, we have tried to unite the world in the United Nations! What do we have there? Something like 200 bickering nation-states. They compete to be heard in that forum. Then there is a Security Council, awarding the privilege of the veto to a fraction of the numerous states….
People are working towards new kinds of unions, new unities. The SCO, for example [the Shanghai Cooperation Organization], with Russia, China and India working towards greater cooperation; and Iran is an associate member. We hear much about the New Silk Road, a high-speed rail system that China is developing, crossing from the port cities of China to ports on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. There is also the “New Silk Lane,” which we hear less about—China and other nations in Africa and across south Asia, uniting in trade along the old sea lanes, with a fleet of better, faster ships.
So, yes, there are terrible dangers to confront, cataclysmic challenges to overcome…. But, imagine now, that the regions could unite, and that the people of the regions had representative democracy, and they chose a regional leader…. Then, the 8 regional leaders sit around a kind of Arthurian Round Table. All are equal there. And they try to understand each other. They describe their visions of their ideal world together, develop their historical perspectives together. They report to their citizens about what they have done and what they have learned.
Gary Corseri: We have to change the machinery, the mechanisms—political, economic, social—that have governed our world since the end of WWII….
Johan Galtung: And longer than that! Do you think we might make progress then? Might we have greater understanding then? A world at peace?
Gary Corseri: How do we develop such a vision?… If we could teach the children to think in new ways! Shouldn’t a “democratic” society enjoy the “autonomy” of peace?
Johan Galtung: Certainly, there would be differences; but we would dialogue about our differences. We would recognize our “contracts” with each other to work towards peace, to develop “closeness,” recognize and work against what I have described as “direct violence, structural violence and cultural violence.” That has been my life’s work: to develop modalities to understand how the three kinds of violence destroy us, how they interact, and how we can re-create ourselves. Can we strive for anything less?
Gary Corseri: “‘T’is a consummation devoutly to be wished….”
Johan Galtung: Hamlet, isn’t it?
Gary Corseri: Yes…. And I think of some lines from Tennyson, too, which I memorized long ago:
“Ring out the old, ring in the new….
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
“Ring in redress to all mankind….”
“Ring out a slowly dying cause….
Ring in the nobler modes of life….
“Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace….
“The larger heart, the kindlier hand….”
The mantra in ou times is shorten o even block the heart, and forget kindness, putting the hands safely tucked away lest they extend themselves to a worthy cause.
One very good way to bring peace specially cultural peace would be to integrate the Hijiri and the chrisitan gregorian calendars. this would truly give us the technical peace which Einstein and Gandhi would be proud of.
The Hindus, Buddists and the Jews are using the lulni solar calendars and they are more peaceful culturally.
Searching the origins, cause and resolution of a conflict in language, culture and what not, after $5 billions have been thrown into the country in the form of weapons and corruption, with the result of a massive impoverishment and violence, is that really intelligent?
Stop sending weapons, stop funding gangsters. Ukrainians are a great nation, they will get out of the trap we spent so much money to get them in.
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He has been a radio producer (Earthstar Radio, San Francisco), organized and worked with the homeless, and is an advocate/activist in the nonviolent protest movement for safe energy, human rights, and peaceful solutions.
He is USA Vice President of the World Constitution and Parliament Association whose mission is to build a parallel world body to the United Nations, an emerging Earth Federation with a Provisional World Parliament under the Earth Constitution.
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First published at:
">Roger Kotila PhD Dr Gary G Kohls MD[/caption]
is a retired physician who practiced holistic, non-drug, mental health care for the last decade of his forty year family practice career. He is a contributor to and an endorser of the efforts of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights and was a member of MindFreedom International, the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.
While running his independent clinic, he published over 400 issues of his Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter, which was emailed to a variety of subscribers. (They have not been archived at any website.) In the early 2000s, Dr Kohls taught a graduate level psychology course at the University of Minnesota Duluth. It was titled “The Science and Psychology of the Mind-Body Connection”.
Since his retirement, Dr Kohls has been writing a weekly column (titled “Duty to Warn”) for the Duluth Reader, an alternative newsweekly published in Duluth, Minnesota. He offers teaching seminars to the public and to healthcare professionals.
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">Gary G Kohls George Monbiot[/caption]
Studied in Oxford University, columnist with The Guardian newspaper, also the author of the bestselling books The Age of Consent: A Manifesto for a New World Order and Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain, as well as the investigative travel books Poisoned Arrows, Amazon Watershed, No Man’s Land, How Did We Get into This Mess? Politics, Equality, Nature and other.
Prof Johan Galtung was born in Oslo. He earned the PhD degree in mathematics at the University of Oslo in 1956, and in 1957 a year later completed the PhD degree in sociology at the same university.
Prof Johan Galtung received nine honorary doctorates in the fields of Peace studies, Future studies, Social sciences, Buddhism, Sociology of law, Philosophy, Sociology and Law.
State Councilor of St. Petersburg, Russia. Founding President, Global Harmony Association (GHA) since 2005. Honorary President, GHA since 2016. Director: Tetrasociology Public Institute, Russia. Philosopher, Sociologist and Peacemaker from Harmony. Author of more than 400 scientific publications, including 18 books in 1-12 languages. Author of Tetrism as the unity of Tetraphilosophy and Tetrasociology – science of social harmony, global peace and harmonious civilisation. Director, GHA Web portal “Peace from Harmony”. Initiator, Manager, Coauthor and Editor in Chief of the book project “Global Peace Science” (GPS).
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First published at :
">Leo M Semashko Robert C Koehler[/caption]
writes for the Huffington Post, Common Dreams, OpEd News and TruthOut. He considers himself a “peace journalist.” He has been an editor at Tribune Media Services and a reporter, columnist and copy desk chief at Lerner Newspapers, Chicago. Koehler launched his column in 1999. Robert Koehler has received numerous writing and journalism awards over a 30-year career in USA. He writes about values and meaning with reverence for life. He is praised as “blatantly relevant” and “a hero of democracy”.
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First published at :
">Robert C Koehler Robert J Burrowes PhD[/caption]
has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?‘
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">Robert J Burrowes Prof Richard Falk[/caption]
an international relations scholar, professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University, author, co-author or editor of 40 books, and a speaker and activist on world affairs.
Since 2002 he has lived in Santa Barbara, California, and taught at the local campus of the University of California in Global and International Studies, and since 2005 chaired the Board of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. His most recent book is Achieving Human Rights (2009).
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First published at :
">Richard Falk Dr Gray Corseri, PhD[/caption]
is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment. He has published and posted articles, fiction and poems at hundreds of venues, including, TMS, The New York Times, Village Voice, Redbook Magazine and Counterpunch.
He has published 2 novels and 2 collections of poetry, and his dramas have been produced on PBS-Atlanta and elsewhere. He has performed his poems at the Carter Presidential Library and Museum and has taught in universities in the US and Japan, and in US public schools and prisons.
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First published at :
">Gary Corseri Antonio Carlos Silva Rosa, Editor, TMS[/caption]
born 1946, is the editor of the pioneering Peace Journalism website, TRANSCEND Media Service-TMS, an assistant to Prof. Johan Galtung, and Secretary of the International Board of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment.
He completed the required coursework for a Ph.D. in Political Science-Peace Studies (1994), has a Masters in Political Science-International Relations (1990), and a B.A. in Communication (1988) from the University of Hawai’i.
Originally from Brazil, he lives presently in Porto, Portugal. Antonio was educated in the USA where he lived for 20 years; in Europe/India since 1994.
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First published at :
">Antonio Carlos Silva Rosa
John Scales Avery is a theoretical chemist, Associate Professor Emeritus, at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He is noted for his books and research publications in quantum chemistry, thermodynamics, evolution, and history of science. His 2003 book Information Theory and Evolution set forth the view that the phenomenon of life, including its origin, evolution, as well as human cultural evolution, has its background situated in the fields of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and information theory.
He is an Indian citizen & permanent resident of Australia and a scholar, an author, a social-policy critic, a frequent social wayfarer, a social entrepreneur and a journalist;He has been exploring, understanding and implementing the ideas of social-economy, participatory local governance, education, citizen-media, ground-journalism, rural-journalism, freedom of expression, bureaucratic accountability, tribal development, village development, reliefs & rehabilitation, village revival and other.
For Ground Report India editions, Vivek had been organising national or semi-national tours for exploring ground realities covering 5000 to 15000 kilometres in one or two months to establish Ground Report India, a constructive ground journalism platform with social accountability.
He has written a book “मानसिक, सामाजिक, आर्थिक स्वराज्य की ओर”on various social issues, development community practices, water, agriculture, his ground works & efforts and conditioning of thoughts & mind. Reviewers say it is a practical book which answers “What” “Why” “How” practically for the development and social solution in India.
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">Vivek SAMAJIK YAYAVAR Prof Ravi Bhatia[/caption]
worked as a mediator for the church in Belfast; as faculty at The School of Peace Studies, University of Bradford, and as Executive Director, the Right Livelihood Award Foundation. He has founded several Indian NGOs, is an Officer of the Order of Canada, and a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment.
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First published at -
">Vithal Rajan Rene Wadlow[/caption]
is the President of the Association of World Citizens, an international peace organization with consultative status with ECOSOC, the United Nations organ facilitating international cooperation on and problem-solving in economic and social issues.
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">Rene Wadlow Baher Kamal[/caption]
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Baher Kamal
Egyptian-born, Spanish-national secular journalist. He is founder and publisher of Human Wrongs Watch. Kamal is a pro-peace, non-violence, human rights, coexistence defender, with more than 45 years of professional experience. With these issues in sight, he covered practically all professional posts, from correspondent to chief editor of dailies and international news agencies.
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Credits :
">Baher Kamal Rosa Dalmiglio with Lama Mongolia[/caption]
She is a member of the China Council Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe (special art, culture and humanity), which touches the hearts of all people and portrays the strong willpower so encouraging to 60 million Chinese disabled persons.
Ms. Dalmiglio is Intermediary Agent of CICE, Centre International Cultural Exchange, a direct subsidiary of the Ministry of Culture, People’s Republic of China. CICE is a comprehensive institution engaged in cultural exchange programs, professional publication and presentation of cultural art works such as exhibits, receiving foreign art troupes and artists, holding international cultural research programs, and producing intercultural and interreligious documentary films.
She is a member of China Disabled Person’s Federation, CDPF. She is also a member of the International Women Federation, which is concerned with the financial ethics of women s enterprises in underdeveloped areas.
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credits:
">Rosa Dalmiglio
Director, Guru Arjan Dev Institute of Development Studies.
A recipient of Cultural Doctorate of Philosophy of Economics from USA. He is an active member of various professional bodies, namely -
He participated and presented papers in various International/national/regional seminars, conferences etc.. He remained member of the Academic Council of Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar. An unwearied researcher has about 200 research papers published in various international and national journals of repute and 15 research monographs to his kitty. Besides, he has authored/co-authored /edited 15 books which have been well received and highly acclaimed during his three decades of professional career. He was honoured by various national and international awards, namely, Guru Draunacharya Samman, Vijay Rattan Award and so on.
Dr Ron Paul served in U.S. House of Representatives three different periods: first from 1976 to 1977, after he won a special election, then from 1979 to 1985, and finally from 1997 to 2013.
During his first term as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Paul founded the Foundation for Rational Economics and Education (FREE), a non-profit think tank dedicated to promoting principles of limited government and free-market economics. In 1984, Paul became the first chairman of the Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE), a conservative political group founded by Charles Koch and David Koch 'to fight for less government, lower taxes, and less regulation.' CSE started a Tea Party protest against high taxes in 2002. In 2004, Citizens for a Sound Economy split into two new organizations, with Citizens for a Sound Economy being renamed as FreedomWorks, and Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation becoming Americans for Prosperity. The two organizations would become key players in the Tea Party movement from 2009 onward.
Dr Paul proposed term-limit legislation multiple times, while himself serving a few terms in the House of Representatives. In 1984, he decided to retire from the House in order to run for the U.S. Senate, complaining in his House farewell address that 'Special interests have replaced the concern that the Founders had for general welfare.... It's difficult for one who loves true liberty and utterly detests the power of the state to come to Washington for a period of time and not leave a true cynic.'
He is known nationally and internationally as a pioneer figure in the study of culture and psychopathology who challenged the ethnocentrism and racial biases of many assumptions, theories, and practices in psychology and psychiatry.
In more recent years, he has been writing and lecturing on peace and social justice. He has published 15 edited books, and more than 250 articles, chapters, book reviews, and popular pieces.
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Credits:
">Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. Jason Hickel[/caption]
He is international consultant of the UN – FAO and international consultant for sustainable development and sustainable future of humankind of Universal State of the Earth - USE.
On 8th October 2016 he was appointed as The Chairman of the Humanity, Nature, Space and Environment protection Committee of the USE, the Supreme Council of Humanity - SCH from Athens, Greece and London, UK.
He is researcher working on: Nature; the Nature, Space and Environment protection; the Climate change system; System thinking; Globalization and global studies; Networking, Complexity and Swarm research: Sustainable Development and Sustainable Future of Humankind. He was among the pioneers researchers (1986 – 1994) to apply nature, space, and environment protection in a local community by activities we call today Local Agenda 21 Processes – a holistic program for survival of our civilization under new challenges of the third millennium.“Commencing from Local Community Sustainable Future and moving towards Sustainable Future of the Global Community of Humankind”.
He is independent researchers with many domestic and international publications and talks. Together with many researchers in co-operation worldwide within philosophy, operational research, global studies, case studies and complex problem solving research, system thinking, requisitely holism, networking and complexity, swarm research, integration and disintegration of matter and energy and universal upbringing, education and lifelong learning. He is contributing a systemic, requisitely holistic and a better understanding of the present. His latest research within the system theory, system thinking, networking, complexity and swarm research may provide a possible answer enabling people to better understand our world of humans.
During 2014 he completed 50 years of research work (1964 - 2014). This year he completed 50 years of been Dr. Vet. Med. Since 1986 he worked on the protection of Humanity, Nature, Space and Environment and completed 30 years of research.
For research on the climate change system and the book “System Thinking and Climate Change System (Against a big “Tragedy of Commons” of all of us), Ecimovic, Mayur, Mulej and co-authors, 2002, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize 2003. His work on “The Information Theory of Nature” was his second nomination for The Nobel Prize during 2007 in Physics. His third nomination for The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 was for “The Environment Theory of the Nature”, published in the book “Three Applications of the System Thinking”, Ecimovic, 2010. Within last 10 years he has contributed trilogies: “The Nature”, “The Sustainable Future of Mankind” and “The Life 2017” – please see at: www.institut-climatechange.si
I grew up in Chile, got my medical degree there, began an academic career in 1970, and left for the USA due to the military coup in early 1974. My first job in the USA was working as a public nutrition professor in the international programme of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee.
I started to travel to Africa in 1975, and worked a year in Cameroun in 1980 helping to prepare their five-year nutrition plan. I then moved to New Orleans, to Tulane University’s School of Public Health, and taught in the department of nutrition for ten years, before moving to Nairobi where I was an advisor in the Ministry of Health. Seven years there got me into extensive consulting in Africa, often on nutritional issues. In 1995 moved to Vietnam where I worked for two and a half years in the Ministry of Health as a senior primary health care advisor.
Many years of touching the reality on the ground, in Latin America, then the USA, then Africa and Asia, has made me understand that the real challenge is in the social and political determinants of malnutrition. I have devoted my writings and teaching to that. Over the years, I have found an important shift in my colleagues’ attitude and understanding towards acknowledging the basic causes of malnutrition. But yet I see little happening as a result. I submit that it is our guild’s lack of experience in the political arena that explains this dichotomy. I devote much of my energy to bridge this gap, and am a fervent advocate of empowering claim holders to demand needed changes from duty bearers. Nutrition is a perfect port of entry for that. Equity, social justice and people’s empowerment in a human rights sense is what really will make a difference.
There is no alternative but to deal with nutrition problems as indivisibly linked to social, political and environmental problems. We need to address them as such. The question is: are we all prepared to do that? The answer, in my view, decides whether we are part of the solution or part of the problem. Travelling and living in different parts of the world has reinforced my conviction that we need to get down from our academic ivory towers, and need to change the curricula of our young and upcoming colleagues, to give them the tools to act in such a context. To me, public health nutrition cannot be anything but that.
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">Claudio Schuftan Dr MD Prof. Ram Puniyani[/caption]
Sai Prakash
December 7, 2016 @ 1:58 PM
Dear Prof Gary
The mantra in ou times is shorten o even block the heart, and forget kindness, putting the hands safely tucked away lest they extend themselves to a worthy cause.
hari malla
December 7, 2016 @ 3:02 PM
One very good way to bring peace specially cultural peace would be to integrate the Hijiri and the chrisitan gregorian calendars. this would truly give us the technical peace which Einstein and Gandhi would be proud of.
The Hindus, Buddists and the Jews are using the lulni solar calendars and they are more peaceful culturally.
Hari Malla
Shri Ram Dingh
December 7, 2016 @ 7:22 PM
I really like content of the interview
Laurent Fournier
December 8, 2016 @ 4:48 PM
Searching the origins, cause and resolution of a conflict in language, culture and what not, after $5 billions have been thrown into the country in the form of weapons and corruption, with the result of a massive impoverishment and violence, is that really intelligent?
Stop sending weapons, stop funding gangsters. Ukrainians are a great nation, they will get out of the trap we spent so much money to get them in.