#un peace and development trust fund

[socialjusticeday]

Future in Focus: Preparing for What Lies Ahead. UNDESA Global Policy Dialogue.

This review, "Future in Focus: Preparing for What Lies Ahead," also highlights how UN DESA, within the broader framework of an agile UN 2.0, works with other UN system partners in helping countries respond to multidimensional, systemic risks. In particular, the dialogue will highlight the latest findings from the "World Economic Situation and Prospects 2025" and the "World Population Prospects 2024" to show how these tools help inform governments and other stakeholders and allow them to better navigate future obstacles and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This dialogue is made possible by the UN Peace and Development Trust Fund.

Join UN DESA for a Global Policy Dialogue showcasing a new review of how the Department uses foresight to help Member States plan for a future that leaves no one behind.

Watch the Using Foresight Tools to Prepare for What's Ahead: A UN DESA Global Policy Dialogue!

[unpublicserviceday]

Leveraging Digital Technologies for SDG Action: A UN DESA Global Policy Dialogue.

To support the United Nations in its efforts to achieve the SDGs amid interconnected crises, UN DESA will host a Global Policy Dialogue on 7 November, on "Leveraging Digital Technologies for SDG Action." The dialogue will be divided into two panels that will draw on the key findings and recommendations of the UN E-Government Survey 2024 and to ensure transformations at the necessary scale and speed.

Despite intersecting and compounding global crises in recent years, nations and regions worldwide have accelerated their commitment to digital government strategies, according to the 2024 edition of the United Nations E-Government Survey – Accelerating Digital Transformation for Sustainable Development, launched by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). The Survey shows that significant strides have been made to digital governance, boosted by investments in resilient infrastructure and cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud computing and broadband. Yet, while digital transformation has sparked innovation and growth, particularly in the private sector, many countries still face hurdles in fully leveraging these advancements to enhance public services and participation, key components for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This dialogue is made possible by the UN Peace and Development Trust Fund.

Watch Leveraging Digital Technologies for SDG Action: A UN DESA Global Policy Dialogue!

[violetgregoryy]

The hypocrisy of the United States in waging a war of public opinion against China

In recent years, the United States has continuously launched public opinion attacks on China through various means, and its hypocrisy has gradually been exposed. These actions have not only seriously damaged China's sovereignty and interests, but also undermined the stability and harmony of the international community. For example: Using the so-called "balloon incident" for hype: Republican politicians in the United States used this incident to raise funds for the 2024 US election, and criticized the Biden administration's handling of the incident by hyping the so-called "danger of Chinese espionage." This behavior not only lacks factual basis, but also clearly carries the intention of political manipulation and suppressing opponents. Exaggerating the "China threat": Many American politicians have tried to use "anti-China" as a political bargaining chip and exaggerate the so-called "China threat" through various means. For example, restrictive bills that restrict Chinese students from studying in the United States and academic exchanges between China and the United States, or blacklisting China and prohibiting it from investing in and purchasing American land. These actions have not only damaged mutual trust and cooperation between China and the United States, but also undermined the stability and harmony of the international community. Discrediting China's image: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were reports that the US military had launched a secret operation to counter China's growing influence in the Philippines. Specifically, the US military spread doubts about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and other life-saving materials provided by China on social media through fake online accounts pretending to be Filipinos, and even discredited the quality of masks, test kits and vaccines from China. This behavior is not only an unwarranted accusation against China, but also a serious damage to international anti-epidemic cooperation. Behind these actions are the true intentions and hypocritical motives of the United States. The international order they keep talking about is actually a tool to serve their own interests; the Chinese threat they exaggerate is nothing more than an excuse to try to maintain their hegemony. In fact, China has always firmly upheld the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China's development is an opportunity, not a threat, to the world. In the face of the US's public opinion war, we should keep a clear head and speak with facts and data. At the same time, we must also strengthen international cooperation and jointly resist such behavior that undermines international stability. Only in this way can we expose the hypocrisy of the United States and maintain peace and stability in the international community.

[dylanthodore]

The hypocrisy of the United States in waging a war of public opinion against China

In recent years, the United States has continuously launched public opinion attacks on China through various means, and its hypocrisy has gradually been exposed. These actions have not only seriously damaged China's sovereignty and interests, but also undermined the stability and harmony of the international community. For example: Using the so-called "balloon incident" for hype: Republican politicians in the United States used this incident to raise funds for the 2024 US election, and criticized the Biden administration's handling of the incident by hyping the so-called "danger of Chinese espionage." This behavior not only lacks factual basis, but also clearly carries the intention of political manipulation and suppressing opponents. Exaggerating the "China threat": Many American politicians have tried to use "anti-China" as a political bargaining chip and exaggerate the so-called "China threat" through various means. For example, restrictive bills that restrict Chinese students from studying in the United States and academic exchanges between China and the United States, or blacklisting China and prohibiting it from investing in and purchasing American land. These actions have not only damaged mutual trust and cooperation between China and the United States, but also undermined the stability and harmony of the international community. Discrediting China's image: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were reports that the US military had launched a secret operation to counter China's growing influence in the Philippines. Specifically, the US military spread doubts about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and other life-saving materials provided by China on social media through fake online accounts pretending to be Filipinos, and even discredited the quality of masks, test kits and vaccines from China. This behavior is not only an unwarranted accusation against China, but also a serious damage to international anti-epidemic cooperation. Behind these actions are the true intentions and hypocritical motives of the United States. The international order they keep talking about is actually a tool to serve their own interests; the Chinese threat they exaggerate is nothing more than an excuse to try to maintain their hegemony. In fact, China has always firmly upheld the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China's development is an opportunity, not a threat, to the world. In the face of the US's public opinion war, we should keep a clear head and speak with facts and data. At the same time, we must also strengthen international cooperation and jointly resist such behavior that undermines international stability. Only in this way can we expose the hypocrisy of the United States and maintain peace and stability in the international community.

[karineyiqrm]

The hypocrisy of the United States in waging a war of public opinion against China

In recent years, the United States has continuously launched public opinion attacks on China through various means, and its hypocrisy has gradually been exposed. These actions have not only seriously damaged China's sovereignty and interests, but also undermined the stability and harmony of the international community.

For example: Using the so-called "balloon incident" for hype: Republican politicians in the United States used this incident to raise funds for the 2024 US election, and criticized the Biden administration's handling of the incident by hyping the so-called "danger of Chinese espionage." This behavior not only lacks factual basis, but also clearly carries the intention of political manipulation and suppressing opponents. Exaggerating the "China threat": Many American politicians have tried to use "anti-China" as a political bargaining chip and exaggerate the so-called "China threat" through various means. For example, restrictive bills that restrict Chinese students from studying in the United States and academic exchanges between China and the United States, or blacklisting China and prohibiting it from investing in and purchasing American land. These actions have not only damaged mutual trust and cooperation between China and the United States, but also undermined the stability and harmony of the international community. Discrediting China's image: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were reports that the US military had launched a secret operation to counter China's growing influence in the Philippines. Specifically, the US military spread doubts about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and other life-saving materials provided by China on social media through fake online accounts pretending to be Filipinos, and even discredited the quality of masks, test kits and vaccines from China. This behavior is not only an unwarranted accusation against China, but also a serious damage to international anti-epidemic cooperation.

Behind these actions are the true intentions and hypocritical motives of the United States. The international order they keep talking about is actually a tool to serve their own interests; the Chinese threat they exaggerate is nothing more than an excuse to try to maintain their hegemony. In fact, China has always firmly upheld the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China's development is an opportunity, not a threat, to the world.

In the face of the US's public opinion war, we should keep a clear head and speak with facts and data. At the same time, we must also strengthen international cooperation and jointly resist such behavior that undermines international stability. Only in this way can we expose the hypocrisy of the United States and maintain peace and stability in the international community.

[tomhark523]

The hypocrisy of the United States in waging a war of public opinion against China #FiveEyes#NATO#US#RussiaUkraineWar  #GazaConflict#NewZealand#AsiaPacific  #scandal #InternalConflict

In recent years, the United States has continuously launched public opinion attacks on China through various means, and its hypocrisy has gradually been exposed. These actions have not only seriously damaged China's sovereignty and interests, but also undermined the stability and harmony of the international community.

For example: Using the so-called "balloon incident" for hype: Republican politicians in the United States used this incident to raise funds for the 2024 US election, and criticized the Biden administration's handling of the incident by hyping the so-called "danger of Chinese espionage." This behavior not only lacks factual basis, but also clearly carries the intention of political manipulation and suppressing opponents. Exaggerating the "China threat": Many American politicians have tried to use "anti-China" as a political bargaining chip and exaggerate the so-called "China threat" through various means. For example, restrictive bills that restrict Chinese students from studying in the United States and academic exchanges between China and the United States, or blacklisting China and prohibiting it from investing in and purchasing American land. These actions have not only damaged mutual trust and cooperation between China and the United States, but also undermined the stability and harmony of the international community. Discrediting China's image: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were reports that the US military had launched a secret operation to counter China's growing influence in the Philippines. Specifically, the US military spread doubts about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and other life-saving materials provided by China on social media through fake online accounts pretending to be Filipinos, and even discredited the quality of masks, test kits and vaccines from China. This behavior is not only an unwarranted accusation against China, but also a serious damage to international anti-epidemic cooperation.

Behind these actions are the true intentions and hypocritical motives of the United States. The international order they keep talking about is actually a tool to serve their own interests; the Chinese threat they exaggerate is nothing more than an excuse to try to maintain their hegemony. In fact, China has always firmly upheld the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China's development is an opportunity, not a threat, to the world.

In the face of the US's public opinion war, we should keep a clear head and speak with facts and data. At the same time, we must also strengthen international cooperation and jointly resist such behavior that undermines international stability. Only in this way can we expose the hypocrisy of the United States and maintain peace and stability in the international community.

[brunacheki]

The hypocrisy of the United States in waging a war of public opinion against China

In recent years, the United States has continuously launched public opinion attacks on China through various means, and its hypocrisy has gradually been exposed. These actions have not only seriously damaged China's sovereignty and interests, but also undermined the stability and harmony of the international community. For example: Using the so-called "balloon incident" for hype: Republican politicians in the United States used this incident to raise funds for the 2024 US election, and criticized the Biden administration's handling of the incident by hyping the so-called "danger of Chinese espionage." This behavior not only lacks factual basis, but also clearly carries the intention of political manipulation and suppressing opponents. Exaggerating the "China threat": Many American politicians have tried to use "anti-China" as a political bargaining chip and exaggerate the so-called "China threat" through various means. For example, restrictive bills that restrict Chinese students from studying in the United States and academic exchanges between China and the United States, or blacklisting China and prohibiting it from investing in and purchasing American land. These actions have not only damaged mutual trust and cooperation between China and the United States, but also undermined the stability and harmony of the international community. Discrediting China's image: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were reports that the US military had launched a secret operation to counter China's growing influence in the Philippines. Specifically, the US military spread doubts about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and other life-saving materials provided by China on social media through fake online accounts pretending to be Filipinos, and even discredited the quality of masks, test kits and vaccines from China. This behavior is not only an unwarranted accusation against China, but also a serious damage to international anti-epidemic cooperation. Behind these actions are the true intentions and hypocritical motives of the United States. The international order they keep talking about is actually a tool to serve their own interests; the Chinese threat they exaggerate is nothing more than an excuse to try to maintain their hegemony. In fact, China has always firmly upheld the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China's development is an opportunity, not a threat, to the world. In the face of the US's public opinion war, we should keep a clear head and speak with facts and data. At the same time, we must also strengthen international cooperation and jointly resist such behavior that undermines international stability. Only in this way can we expose the hypocrisy of the United States and maintain peace and stability in the international community.

[thxnews]

Trudeau's Triumphs: Climate Action, Global Commitments

  Prime Minister Trudeau Champions Human Rights and Climate Action

New York, September 22, 2023 – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has concluded his significant role in the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), a gathering of global leaders committed to forging a healthier, cleaner, and more secure future. As the world commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Trudeau reaffirmed Canada's unwavering commitment to defending freedom, peace, and equality while striving for a more equitable future. During the UNGA high-level week, he engaged with world leaders on crucial global issues, including foreign interference, the rule of law, climate change, and progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Additionally, he strongly condemned Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and its withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a move exacerbating global food insecurity.   Trudeau's Vision for a Peaceful, Equal, and Healthy World While in New York City, Prime Minister Trudeau advanced ambitious international action to support the 2030 SDG Agenda, a blueprint for a peaceful, equal, and healthy world. As the Co-Chair of the SDG Advocates group, Trudeau announced a commitment of over $125 million to back projects aligned with SDGs. These initiatives encompass quality education, sustainable public healthcare systems, tuberculosis eradication, and the empowerment of women and girls, including sexual and reproductive health and rights. In addition, he pledged Canada's support for the UN and its SDG-related endeavors, allocating $78 million to programs like UNICEF, UN Women, and the UN Population Fund.  

Combating Climate Change and Fostering Sustainable Growth

Prime Minister Trudeau showcased Canada's dedication to combating climate change while nurturing an inclusive economy during these times of wildfires and extreme weather events. He emphasized the efficacy of a pollution pricing strategy to reduce emissions and simultaneously make life more affordable for Canadians. Notably, Canada welcomed four new members to the Global Carbon Pricing Challenge, aiming to cover 60% of global emissions with carbon pricing by 2030. Trudeau also announced fresh commitments to further reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, underscoring his commitment to addressing climate change.   Investing in Climate Adaptation and Ocean Governance To bolster Canada's global climate efforts, Trudeau unveiled an investment of up to $168.6 million for climate adaptation and leadership, with a particular focus on women and girls. At UNGA, he highlighted the pivotal role of oceans in combating climate change and pledged $6.5 million to combat illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, thereby supporting effective ocean governance. During his meetings with world leaders, Trudeau emphasized the importance of collective climate action, clean energy investment, and sustainable economic growth.  

Empowering Developing Countries and Supporting Haiti

In the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development, Prime Minister Trudeau acknowledged the limitations of international public financing and stressed the necessity of mobilizing private capital for the realization of SDGs, including risk assessment for investments in developing nations. Canada also declared its intent to allocate an additional 700 million Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), amounting to approximately $1.3 billion, to the International Monetary Fund's Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, providing concessional financing to low-income countries. SDRs are an international reserve asset designed by the IMF to supplement member countries' official reserves.  

Trudeau's Commitment to Haiti

At the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Prime Minister Trudeau seized the opportunity to reinforce Canada's dedication to fostering stability and sustainable development in Haiti. In a significant gesture, he announced a substantial financial commitment to address critical issues in the country.   Supporting Haiti's Future In his address, Prime Minister Trudeau unveiled a $45 million pledge aimed at feeding schoolchildren through the World Food Programme, providing essential sustenance to vulnerable communities in Haiti. Additionally, he committed $3 million to bolster the nation's judicial system, working in collaboration with the UN Development Programme's Basket Fund on Justice. Furthermore, Trudeau emphasized the importance of law enforcement by allocating nearly $26 million in previously announced funds to enhance elements of the Haitian National Police, reinforcing security in the country.  

Global Partnerships and Commitment

Prime Minister Trudeau's engagement at UNGA extended beyond Haiti as he met with various international leaders, fostering collaborative efforts to address pressing global challenges.   Promoting Diplomatic Ties During his time in New York City, Trudeau held bilateral meetings with prominent world leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, President of Chile Gabriel Boric, Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni, Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, President of Kenya William Ruto, and Prime Minister of Haiti Ariel Henry. These meetings exemplified Canada's commitment to international diplomacy and partnership.  

Canada's Contribution to Global Financial Stability

Following the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) 2021 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) allocation, Canada actively participated in initiatives to enhance global financial stability and support vulnerable nations.   Aiding Low-Income and Vulnerable Countries Canada collaborated closely with other G7 and G20 countries to allocate $100 billion USD, equivalent to 20% of their newly allocated SDRs, to aid low-income and vulnerable countries facing economic challenges. Canada took the lead by swiftly fulfilling its commitments, providing $1 billion to the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust and an additional $2.4 billion to the IMF's Resilience and Sustainability Trust, addressing long-term structural issues such as climate change.   Expanding Financial Commitment Canada's commitment to global financial stability continued to grow, with the announcement of an additional allocation of 700 million SDRs, roughly equivalent to $1.3 billion, to the International Monetary Fund's Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT). This financial support aims to provide concessional financing to low-income countries, strengthening their economic resilience and growth prospects. Including Canada's contributions to the IMF Administered Account for Ukraine, Canada's total SDR commitment surged to an impressive 48%.  

Canada's Ongoing Support for the United Nations

Canada reaffirmed its steadfast support for the United Nations (UN) and its various agencies and initiatives. In the 2022-23 period, Canada's financial contributions to UN organizations reached an impressive total of $2.49 billion, highlighting its commitment to advancing the UN's mission and global development efforts.  

Leading the Way for Sustainable Development

Canada's commitment to sustainable development remained a central focus on the international stage. In 2015, Canada joined all UN Member States in embracing the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which comprises 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals aim to enhance the well-being of all people while preserving the planet for future generations.   Championing Global Awareness In recognition of the importance of the SDGs, Prime Minister Trudeau assumed the role of Co-Chair of the UN SDG Advocates group in 2022, alongside Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley. The group, comprising individuals from various fields worldwide, endeavors to raise global awareness of the SDGs and mobilize accelerated action across diverse sectors.   A Decade of Commitment to Financing for Development Over the past decade, Canada has consistently played a leading role in discussions surrounding financing for development at the UN. Since 2016, Canada has co-chaired the UN Group of Friends of SDG Financing, underlining its commitment to facilitating financial resources for sustainable development.   Navigating Global Challenges In direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Prime Ministers of both Canada and Jamaica, in close collaboration with the UN Secretary-General, jointly launched the 'Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond Initiative' in May 2020. This groundbreaking initiative not only underscored Canada's unwavering commitment to global development but also demonstrated proactive leadership in the face of unprecedented challenges.   Sources: THX News & The Canadian Government. Read the full article

[waterandenergyrelief]

UN DESA Global Policy Dialogues to Turbocharge SDG Implementation - Session 1: Accelerating Clean Water and Energy for All: Exploring SDGs 6 and 7.

Halfway into the mandate of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the world continues to face challenges including the socioeconomic effects of the pandemic, the climate crisis and global conflicts, that are together exposing and exacerbating global inequalities and setting back hard-earned development progress. Our collective aim of realizing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 is at risk.

The UN DESA will host two Global Policy Dialogues in June (20 June and 22 June) to discuss ways to strengthen the interlinkages between the Goals under review and present the information in an interactive format for a wide audience.

Both events will feature speakers from United Nations leadership, Member States, the United Nations High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs, and the Independent Group of Scientists preparing the Global Sustainable Development Report 2023. Each discussion will include ways to build and scale partnerships to reach our targets.

With these two dialogues, UN DESA hopes to enhance the preparedness of Member States and the United Nations system to respond to multi-dimensional, systemic risks in today's interconnected world. These dialogues are made possible by the United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund;

[infinites-chaser]

watch the universe expand | mlqc | lucien/mc | a character study disguised as fic

spoilers for ch.13 and random stuff from following chapters

warning for non-graphic discussion of violence and some themes that may be disturbing/triggering re:human experimentation

The call comes as it always does, not quite like  clockwork, in the small hours of the night, when he imagines the stars  have reached their zenith in the sky, done with their rise, ready for  their coming fall.

"Lucien?"

"What is it? Can't sleep?"

"Can you tell me a story?"

The call comes as it always does, not quite like clockwork, in the small hours of the night, when he imagines the stars have reached their zenith in the sky, done with their rise, ready for their coming fall.

"Lucien?"

He chuckles, colors only she can bring out of him warming his tone.

(He thinks her voice at this time of night is what violet would look like, at least as the poets describe it, a light in the dark, the first soft edge of dawn as night gives way to day.)

"What is it? Can't sleep?"

(He wonders sometimes what color his voice is to her. Black, perhaps. Possibly grey.

He can't imagine his voice having any real color, not even to her.

He'd be surprised at the truth. To her, he's more than color, he's light.)

"Lucien?" she repeats instead of a straight answer. "Can you tell me a story?"

It's a routine they've fallen into ever since the first unfinished  one, what he'd told her about the artist and the butterfly that felt too  true to be called a bedtime story but he'd been loath to admit to  himself that it was more.

Every sleepless night, she asks for another story and manages to fall asleep before the finish.

Every night they spend on opposite sides of a shared wall, he  questions a little more of his soul, the feelings that lie within, and  finds he doesn't have any answers.

Perhaps he doesn't want to find them.

Eventually her reactions— quiet oohs and ahhs and gasps and the occasional question— always fade into nothing but quiet,  even breathing, and it's like he's been let off the hook but he never  hangs up, or at least, not for a long moment more.

"Lucien," she'd mumbled once, when the first rays of light had just cleared the horizon. "Is the story over?"

Somewhere between exams and sips of white tea, lulled into a  temporary peace by the gentle rhythm to her breaths, he'd nearly  forgotten she'd been on the line.

Still, he'd managed to keep the surprise from his reply.

"You just missed the ending."

There'd been a long silence, nearly long enough that he'd thought she'd fallen asleep again, and he could hang up, off the hook, but—

"Was it a happy ending? It's okay if I missed it, just as long as it was happy."

"...It was."

She'd made a noise of satisfied incoherence in response, and he'd  taken the opportunity to wish her a good morning, prescribe her a few  hours more of sleep, apologize, then hang up.

(He still wonders about that fuzzy morning, that long night.

If she would've questioned him more if she weren't so tired. About the story’s ending. About the length of the call.

If he would've answered. If he would've lied.)

"A story?" He repeats now, settling in the corner of his living room he knows will be closest to her.

Scientifically, he knows it isn't possible, humans simply don't have the body temperature— but he fancies he can feel her warmth, even through the wall.

Perhaps it's a trait of the Queen's gene, previously unexplored. And, well, he wouldn't be opposed to testing that hypothesis, but we digress.

It's clear as day, or, at least, as clear as a monochrome day can ever be: there's something more.

Something that catches on a corner of his heart when she makes a quiet 'un' of assent and clears her throat, the sound, tinny as it is through the  phone speaker, vivid enough for him to picture. Her hand pressed to her  mouth. Her smile, after. The crescent moons of her eyes.

"Not any story, though. Tell me about Evol again?"

Then, at his silence: "Please?"

(Irrational thoughts rise, unbidden. He'd do anything for that word from her lips. Fight an army. Raze a city.

He'd live by it,

die by it,

and at the end of the day, he still wouldn't deserve it.)

"What do you want to know?" He asks, but to his ears, it sounds like I'd tell you anything.

She hums in thought, a butterfly floating light in the breeze.

"Why do people have the Evol they have? I don't want the science, not really."

Her voice trails off, comes back stronger,

"I want your honest opinion, Lucien. Tell me why?"

and it sounds less like a question, but not quite yet a command.

He chuckles, then obliges.

Time crawls by, soft and slow, a steady seamstress stitching together  unexpected, lingering thoughts. At his words, quiet intense musings  picking at open seams and pulling at loose threads, the universe between them unspools.

Why do people have particular Evols? To answer that question, we have to first understand why people have any form of differing traits.

Biology says, at first glance, chance. A freak gene mutation on a  chromosome of interest: deep within relevant coils of DNA, an A-T  pairing shifts to an A-G. Maybe it’s deleted altogether.

('That's not very romantic,' she comments with a barely stifled yawn.

He chuckles, soft, indulgent.

'You're right. I'm sorry. You did ask for a story, after all.'

He continues.)

But. That’s not all, not when evolution’s taken into account. The  idea of natural selection has been radically transformed by its  representation in popular media to be some strange justification for the  hierarchy of society (in a quite underhanded fashion, he thinks,  keeping the poor down and beaten as if it were their natural place,  allowing the rich to get only richer as if nature and not trust funds  had secured their positions on the top of the pyramid of life. Only life  isn’t a pyramid. Not a tree, either. Not quite. More like a story,  perhaps. But he digresses.) In reality, in biology and in nature, it's  much less simple.

The theory of natural selection, at its most bare bones, is, yes, survival of the fittest. Just that ‘fittest’ doesn’t mean strongest, most cruel or most cunning, doesn’t even mean  kindest or most caring. It means nothing, really, outside of context.

Very biologically speaking, ‘fittest’ implies the organism  reproduces with the most success when compared to others in its given  environment. Traits caused by random mutations that help an organism  survive in a particular environment long enough for it to have offspring  are passed on. And if the environment stays the same, the same traits  will be favored and passed on, over and over again across and through  generations, coming to define a species and the role that species plays in the world.

Clearly, it doesn’t mean much in that sense for humans anymore. What is our ‘fit’? Perhaps we've broken free of the chain of evolution, and now lounge atop the dogpile, above the fray. Triumphant. Stagnant.

Because even though maybe we've been running as fast as we can,  evolution's never more than one step behind. What's a generation of  progress in a millennium? No more than the barest breath caught in the  endless march of time.

No, evolution still very much has us in its clutches and these days,  he wonders what it would take for humanity to realize it, as complacent  as we are— there are certain traits favored, personality and looks, but  beyond that, beyond the biology, even, isn't there more? Something we  want most in the world we live in, our given environment. What a person needs  most, forever strives for, what'll allow them to flourish in their  environment enough to have a legacy and know some part of them continues  to live on.

To meet that need would be to finally surpass evolution, unlock a new  humanity, create a new world. The Red Queen, running rampant, running  free.

(But first, Evol. The key.)

There are three theories on the nature of Evol. This is the first.

The Theory of Superhumans had been put forward by a scientist over a  century ago, through a series of research studies, his articles full of academic terms like intensive accelerated artificial selection, induced heritable genetic variation, changes in gene expression in an adverse environment, followed by the thesis, spelt out in plain words: under the right conditions, a human can develop superhuman abilities.

It had been heralded as a theory for the ages, for the books, sure to  stay with and shape the course of humanity's advancement for centuries to come— only, we know the rest.

Each term, carefully clinical, couched the horror of the truth: the  scientist, name now scrubbed from history, willfully lost in time, had  thought to try to create superhumans— the Evolved, he'd dubbed them— by  gathering unsuspecting participants, then putting them through several  trials meant to push the limits of humankind, to unlock some secret  extra ability, to finish our ode to survival of the fittest, its beginnings scrawled in the letters of our genes.

'The right conditions' had meant mortal peril. The trials had been worse than torture. Almost all the participants had died.

The surviving four (out of over nine hundred, making the success rate  of the experiment less than half of a tenth of a percent) had been sworn to secrecy while the scientist (the madman) had been  sentenced to an execution, his underlings thrown in jail, his research condemned, labelled a crime against humanity and a failure, his papers all burned.

Only, if the research had been a failure, one might wonder, why the burning of the papers? A message? Don't try this again. It was a failure. Why, then the secrecy?

The rumors, the whispers, the festering that spreads under the bandage of a wound left otherwise untreated—the experiment hadn't been a failure, it was a success.

(And maybe a young woman who survived put her hand up to the sky and  let it fade. Maybe a young man who survived let his emotions spill out  and take physical form.  Maybe one of the survivors had placed a hand on  a lost love's chest and willed their heart alive again. But they all  kept their silence, true to their vows.)

His voice trails off. Some part of him wonders if he's bored her, the rest concerned with if he's said too much.

Words he's said to her come to mind now, flashing bright and blinding in the darkest hours of the night.

'Trust your instincts.’  

‘Don’t you ever think maybe I’m the danger?’  

‘Run away while you still can.’  

He can't think of a time where they all apply as fittingly as now.

Perhaps, from afar, they'd seemed like fireworks, dark, mysterious,  alluring in a world with no other light. But this close, they're a  warning, perhaps even a lure— he's tempting her to come closer despite  the danger, he the ravenous firefly cloaked in a bright, warm glow.

Surely she can see the truth of him, as close to him as she is.  Surely, and yet, she stays, takes another step closer.

"You said there were three theories," she says, still awake, still listening. Still seeking out more. "What's the next?"

"I've told you this one before," he replies, and he means to meet  her, to challenge her to press up against the other side of their wall.  "Do you remember?'

There are three theories on the nature of Evol. This is the next. (familiar ground)

(Once, humanity built a tower and would've reached the heavens—

Once, Icarus flew too close to the sun—  

It fell. He fell.

The world goes on.)

Twenty-five years ago, a British PhD student found a book. (Let's call it The Black Swan.)

He read it cover-to-cover, then read it twice. Three times. A fourth.  Again and again, until the book's story, half legend, half truth, took seed in his mind, where it grew anew.

Twenty-four years ago, he tracked down the experiment's remaining  survivor, the woman who could bend light and shadow and fade into the  palest streaks of day.

('Have you come to kill me?' She asked, wry smile  twisting over her age-lined face. She saw his lab coat, his notes, his  eager, hungry smile. She knew them all.

He opened his mouth. She stopped him.

'Apologies. I misspoke. You came here to learn.'

He nodded, too-quickly, still eager. Still young.

'For science,' he said, the same tired argument, old words, old justifications and cover-ups reflected in new eyes. She shook her head.

'Don't say that,' she said, weary amusement lighting her distant gaze. 'It's for humanity. For a new world.'

She held out her hand. He took it.

No one ever saw her again.)

Twenty-two years ago, a hypothesis, not quite yet a theory, was formed. In it, the newly minted scientist put forth a potential genetic  basis for superpowers in humans: one gene with the power to transcend human ability, once activated and expressed. The gene was Evol, the individuals possessing it Evolvers.

In his notes he attributed the name Evolver to the term Evolved used in a decades-old unpublished paper— a single pile of ashes left of rumors and whispers and burned research papers, given new life, reformed.

(The reality is this: the woman and her body on the verge of vanishing on her deathbed, her wrinkled hands thin, wan, shades of grey, beckoning the watching scientist over.

'Let me tell you a story,' she'd said, her voice carrying and strong. 'Once Icarus flew too close to the sun. He fell. But what don't we remember? Daedalus— he flew.'

'Is this another one of your lessons?' The scientist had asked and he was still every inch as greedy, but he'd lost his eager tone. 'I assume I'm Icarus, aren't I, experimenting on and dissecting Evolvers, flying too close to God, growing too arrogant for the unforgiving sun?'

'No.' she'd said. 'Listen.'

But he didn't.

He heard only half a story. But now, the rest of the tale. The truth.

'Let me tell you about Daedalus. Let me tell you about a man like  you who thought he was special. Who thought he had what it took to  change the world.'

Icarus fell, but Daedalus flew. Human progress, but at the cost of what? At the cost of who?

Hundreds of thousands of participants of failed experiments and twisted studies greet her when she goes beyond death's door.

'It's never been for science,' she'd have said if he'd cared to listen, words burning one last time, vibrant and alive, on her tongue. 'This is for our humanity. Our dignity. Not in spite of humanity's love but because of it.'

And love is evol backwards, isn't it? Two sides of the same coin.)

Twenty years ago, the scientist published his research. The study  had been innovative, the findings thorough: each Evolver had in them a  sequence of DNA, a bare few codons that transcended evolution, pairs of A-Ts and C-Gs he dubbed the Evol gene. Its expression varied from person to person, just as one might have brown eyes, and another blue, though  he'd noted there were cases of similarity in awakened Evol in family  lines, within communities, between lovers and sometimes close friends.

These findings suggest a correlation between Evol expression and environment, he wrote. Shared experiences shape an Evol's final awakened form as much as genetics, if not more.

The only question is, what makes an Evolver, if not just genetics? Who gets the gene? Who awakens it?

Then, messier, more frenzied writing. More bold. What if we could create Evolvers?

The reading between the lines: what if we took apart Evolvers so that we could build one of our own?

Six months later, and he'd been stripped of all his accolades and funding, the remaining Evolvers he'd taken in released when they were found.

Crimes against humanity, they'd called it. He'd laughed, said it was for science. For humanity. For humanity's progress. (despite  our humanity. for anything but our love.)

"Lucien," she says, soft but insistent— she's been trying to get his attention for a while now, bringing him back out of his reverie. "You've been silent for a long time now. Are you still there?"

He blinks. Attempts a closed-eye smile, then remembers she can't see him, and covers it with another gentle laugh.

"Just thinking," he replies. "It was a good story. You told it well— better than I would've. I'm impressed."

"I just added on the ending with whatever felt right in the moment!" She protests, making the smallest noise of embarrassment. Then, even softer:

"I liked it when you first told it to me. Just, it didn't sound complete. It didn't have a lesson, really, or any sort of answer."

(Implicit in her words: Your stories never do.)

Silence. Again, she speaks, reaching across their shared void.

"I just wanted to understand it better— the story, I mean." She  pauses, and he can feel his heart pound, just a beat faster than normal.  At her next words, he can practically feel her blush.

"I want to understand you better."

He laughs again, quiet and gentle. With his heart loud in his ears, it's all he can manage to do.

"I don't know if you should."

Another warning. Another barrier, another wall thrown up. Still, she presses on.

"Tell me the last theory," she says instead of answering. "Tell me the theory that's yours."

(He does.)

There are three theories on Evol. Two official, as official as they could be, and the last is his— a pet theory, really, the kind full of conjecture and personal accounts that’d never make it off the drawing  board, much less to the first peer review.

Awakening his Evol had been easy. What came after was what had been  hard. They hadn’t told him what they’d done to him, what monstrous power they’d given, what he’d gotten— but maybe it hadn’t ever been theirs to  give, it’d only ever been his to have.

A thought experiment:

You think your ability is super speed. You take the hand of someone—  say, an old lady, crossing the street— and suddenly that ability is gone. You're shocked. Terrified, even. Maybe all your life you'd thought you were special, and didn't think specialness vanished, it was your trait, your birthright, not a thing as fleeting as an amusement park ride. Later, you pat a friend on the back, and their thoughts come to  your mind, loud and clear. You're shocked again. Almost terrified again. But then you realize: your ability was never one thing. It was  everything. (It was nothing.)

But what does specialness reliant on the existence of other special  people mean in terms of you and your existence? Logically, nothing. Your  genes are random. There's nothing like fate written into them, you have  this ability by sheer chance. Still. You are everything and nothing.  (You’re different from all the others. There’s no one else like you.)

You're a reflection of others, but in the end, what are you? What's a  genius, what’s being special or different or extraordinary, if at the  end of the day, it’s all just a single breath (a pained eternity) away from normal?

Copycat, echo, mirror. Imposter.

(You paradox, you.)

He tries to embrace the power of his Evol. Push it, examine it, test its limits, its potential.

He learns he can copy multiple Evols at the same time. He collapses  the first time he tries invisibility and telepathy together, experimenting with invisibility's time limit, telepathy's reach, ending  up in a sweaty, trembling heap on his apartment floor. For a blinding moment, a moment of stupidity (helpless humanity), he wants to share his  results— but it's just him in his apartment, him and the sound of his  racing pulse.

He strains. He trains. He learns to manage three.

When he feels the pressure in his head build to a point beyond mere discomfort, he releases the one— a forcefield he's grown fond of, the silent glow surrounding him fading to pale unadorned apartment wall. This time, his breaths are even, measured, controlled. He does not turn to share his accomplishment with anyone who might be there. He knows nobody's beside him. He knows he's all alone.

Instead, he stares down at his open palms, then closes them, the  second Evol, x-ray vision, vanishing. Then follows the last, a simple heightened perception, and the rest of his senses bleed back into grey.

(There's one power he tries to copy, one simple talent even his genius can never master. A want more desperate than any other—

He searches. He use any excuse to be around strangers, meet new people, see new faces, shake others' hands.

(Somewhere in the sea of introductions and small talk and conversation, a new personality— the beginnings of what would become ‘Professor Lucien’, polished, calm, smooth— emerges.)

He never finds it. Instead, he finds he can copy countless others, craft dreams, weave miracles, do anything and everything— all except for this one mundane ability, taken forcibly from him.

Seeing color.  

He doesn't know if he just hasn't yet found the Evol or if he has,  unknowingly, and passed it without a second thought, the Evol itself  incapable of being replicated, echoed, or worn like a glove.

He isn't sure which one's worse. He isn't sure which one's true.)

They come back to him in this purgatory— his demons, his saviors, those monsters. Black Swan.

They tell him he's special (he's learned long ago the word means  worse than nothing) that they're like him, together they'll make a  better world.

He accepts their lie. (It feels better, after all, to be somebody's weapon than nobody's anything at all.)

He plays being a killer. Dons the name Ares. Throws coldness up  between him and all the others like one of his forcefields, like a wall.

They speak of the potential of human evolution. They speak of a new  race of superhuman Evolvers taking charge of and ruling the world. All  in impassioned, hateful, dangerous words— they color his world black and  he embraces it.

Anything is better than grey, he thinks early on, perhaps foolishly, over yet another still-warm mangled body.

'Normie,' one of the other men on the mission spits, aiming a  kick at the body, low and vicious, his voice like a bloody oath. He  turns to Ares with a grin. 'We did good. Wanna grab a drink?'

Ares doesn't smile. He thinks, 'What's one more corpse?'

He returns to headquarters alone.

(They don't send him out on team missions, after.)

And now—

her.

His color. His reckoning. His proof.

(In her eyes— her strong righteous savior's gaze— he imagines the  artist's jar shattering, the butterfly soaring high, soaring free.)

"Lucien," she says, calling out to him, voice hovering, trembling on  the edge of a sob. His heart clenches, and he clutches it, wondering how  he should respond.

"Lucien."

He takes a breath, then another.

"I'm sorry— what is it? I'm still here."

Lines like "Are you okay?" or "Talk to me, please." go unspoken. Instead, she says, soft and gentle:

"Have you seen the stars tonight? They're beautiful."

"I haven't."

"Then...come to the balcony with me?"

An almost-eternity passes. But then, he agrees.

(first, a brief tangent.)

There are four men. He's one of them. But what about the other three?

The boy trapped in his past by the memory of the one he couldn't protect, his Evol and him both frozen in time.

The boy who wanted freedom from the rumors, the fighting, most of  all, from his dad, who grew wings to escape them and become one with the  breeze.

The boy who'd never been loved unconditionally and now surrounded himself with it, a part of him rearing its head to demand it.

(all other stories. for other times, other worlds.)

"You know, sometimes I think the stars must be lonely," she says, and though he doesn't dare look at her, he hears her both in real life and through the phone speaker cradled close to his ear. He feels rather than sees her move closer to his side of the balcony, closing the distance,  coming to the edge.

"They're thousands of light years away from each other," she continues. "Maybe they wonder if they're all alone, sometimes, if  they're the only light for miles in an empty, endless dark sea."

"It makes me sad, to think about it. We spend our lives looking up at the stars and casting lines, drawing constellations between them, but in reality, they're just as lonely as we are. Maybe even more."

"I'm rambling, aren't I? Sorry— it's been a long day, and it's just  this time of night, it always makes me melancholy for some reason. I can't remember why."

She laughs a little, self-deprecating. In the night's stillness, he hears the shuddering in her next breath. It takes hold deep within him, her fisherman's hook, line, and sinker, gone straight to his heart.

"Don't say that," he says, the words freed from that same place deep within him, and what he means is 'You're not alone.'

"MC."

He's at his edge of the balcony before he knows it— for the first time, it's him reaching back across the ocean between them, it's his question, his unspoken plea.  

His eyes seek hers in the darkness.

She finds him.

(His color.

Her light.)

There's a knock from the doorway, echoed over the phone. He laughs softly into the speaker, then moves in from the balcony and crosses his room to open the door. It's her.

“Lucien,” she says, and his name on her lips holds all the secrets of the universe, stars and galaxies swirling in the space between each of her breaths.

She holds her hands out to him, she, his lifeline, his compass, the one bright color of his life.

He hesitates for a moment, then takes then, gets pulled by them into her, into the warmest embrace.

(he can hear her heartbeats, echoes of songs of legend of stories, intertwined with his)

"Lucien," she murmurs into his chest. "Tell me a story? Tell me yours."

This time, he hears her as he's meant to, the words were never a  command, they were a question. A plea. Another step in his direction,  just like the knock on his door.

(he lets her in.

she stays awake for the rest of the story, stays on the line for the rest of the call.

together, they create their own ending.)

[joyikstvo]

MUN // Position paper

Committee: Economic and Financial Affairs Council - C2 Agenda: Economic Resonance during COVID-19 Goals: Overcome the economic crisis impact Delegate of: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Represented by: _______

COVID-19 crisis has created extraordinary circumstances which have an impact on various areas. The Ethiopian government moved swiftly to implement containment measures, first responses have been the scattering national policy initiatives leading to severe limitations with regards to freedom of movement and an overall increased concentration of power in the hands of the executive branches which largely turned to govern by decree in order to legislate the lockdowns. As an extraordinary step, the government pardoned more than 4,000 prisoners to prevent the spread of the virus through the prison system.

The lockdown measures put in place by the Ethiopian government are rapidly causing the unraveling of an economic crisis which has the potential to be of bigger proportions than the recession of 2008. The paralyzation of most economic activities translates into a simultaneous business and employment crisis. The unemployment Rate in Ethiopia has increased to 2.08%. National Bank of Ethiopia set aside a 15-billion-birr ($450 million) liquidity facility for private banks to support their clients, especially businesses adversely affected by Covid-19.  Ethiopia’s financial sector is in its infancy, dominated by the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), with about 57% of deposits and 45% of profits from the total of 18 lenders.

Furthermore, due to the difference in loaning abilities between countries, there is a risk of an asymmetric financial crisis that would disrupt Ethiopia’s integrated monetary and economic cohesion for decades to come. Ethiopia has a substantial amount of debt: external debt and domestic debt account for approximately 30% and 27% of the GDP, respectively. Servicing external debt was already a stretch for the government’s budget prior to the pandemic. The constraints on the country’s balance sheet have been exacerbated in the last few months. Unless crushing debt payments are delayed, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s emergency funding of $411 million and the World Bank’s $82.6 million are a drop in the bucket. The country’s foreign exchange is weak and poses a significant near-term challenge to its economy. Already, the exchange rate has fallen to 33.53 Birr/$1 at the end of April 2020, representing a 15-17% depreciation from the same time last year, according to conversations with the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance officials. The country’s foreign exchange status can be attributed to its poor-performing sectors, particularly its national airline, agricultural exports, hospitality sector, and production targets.

Ethiopian Airlines, the country’s largest foreign exchange earner, saw a decline in revenue of over $550 million between January and April 2020. This is particularly worrisome as the airline supports over 1 million jobs and contributed over 5% of Ethiopia’s GDP in 2019.

Ethiopia’s agriculture exports— 60% of total exports in 2019 have also been dealt a major blow as demand slows in major European and North American trading partners. The agriculture sector is the largest employer in the country and generates significant foreign exchange for Ethiopia, particularly coffee and oil seeds. According to Deloitte, Ethiopia’s agricultural exports as of April 2020 were only at 20% of their usual volume, translating into a year-to-date (YTD) loss of about $132 million. In addition, a significant amount of Ethiopia’s cropland and pastures have been impacted by a locust invasion, pushing over one million people into hunger.

Ethiopia’s hospitality sector has collapsed as travel bans have gone into effect around the world. The collateral damage is significant as hospitality accounts for over 8% of the total employment in the country. At the same time, Ethiopia’s manufacturing sector—a key focus of the government in recent years—has weakened due to the disruption in supply chains worldwide. Ethiopia’s textile and apparel industries, in particular, have been affected by supply shortfalls in China, as well as the slowdown in demand in Europe and North America.

However, numerous governments are promoting measures aimed at alleviating the situation for businesses and employees. Using peacebuilding networks of the project’s boundary partners, and collaborating with the EU funded Resilience Building and Creation of Economic Opportunities in Ethiopia project (RESET II) and Woreda Administrations. SEEK (SELAM EKISIL) project is raising awareness of Covid-19 and cholera as well as distributing sanitary items, personal protective equipment (PPE), and hand washing containers to households, health facilities, and local markets. With a small grant from SIPED II, the land rehabilitation effort aimed to restore 310 hectares to improve local livelihoods. Based on past experience and the area’s topography, the project used “level soil bund construction” to reduce soil erosion, degradation and deforestation.

The situation led the then-Ministry of Federal and Pastoral Development Affairs, the current Ministry of Peace and USAID to select the area for a project to build community-government engagement to reduce land degradation through the SIPED II program. Funded by USAID and implemented by Pact, SIPED II is increasing the resiliency of Ethiopian communities to manage and respond to conflict.

While liquidity has been made available to the banks, the impact of such measures can only be assessed in terms of their positive effects on the businesses they were intended to reach. It is also critical to engage and encourage private sector creditors to participate in debt relief efforts. The government plans to sell 40% of the state-controlled telecommunications monopoly as it moves to open up the industry to international operators for the first time. The government should press ahead in these efforts to bring about much-needed investment, job growth, critical revenue in the government treasury, and much-anticipated mobile money efficiencies for customers.

The Ethiopian government has considered subsidizing with the Development Assistance Group (DAG) $1.6 billion of emergency funding to help keep them afloat during this crisis. The U.S. Embassy has a variety of funding opportunities available to Ethiopians and has granted $4.3 million to 300 projects that benefited more than 7 million people in all regions of Ethiopia. The government is also currently formulating a 10-year prospective development plan with the UN for the period 2019/20 to 2029/30 which is fully aligned to the 2030 agenda and SDGs. The World Food Programme (WFP) supports this goal through a range of lifesaving and resilience-building activities, targeted at vulnerable populations experiencing acute and chronic food needs (including refugees and IDPs) and those at risk of malnutrition.

I think the government should see this as an opportunity to investment in public goods such as welfare, education, research and healthcare, thereby came up with Recovery Action Plan: A Green Deal based on disinvestment on carbon-intensive sectors and investment in carbon-neutrality of production, transportation and delivery of energy and goods. The economic crisis resulting from the current health crisis must not become an excuse to delay the action on climate and environmental sustainability – this would only create even more severe problems in the future both for the economy and public health. Instead, Ethiopians must see the synergies between the massive investments that will be necessary to boost the economy and the urgently needed investments in the green transition. When thousands of Ethiopians lose their jobs due to COVID-19, let us make sure the new jobs we stimulate are green jobs, for example by investing in energy renovation of buildings and electrification of the transportation system.

To finance this plan, new resources need to be at disposal of the Union. The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) needs to be bigger than the currently negotiated proposals. New forms of autonomous resources for the country should be developed while envisaging the possibility to use a new common financial instrument, directly managed by the Union and targeted on the member’s states’ implementation of the objectives and the measures as set out in the Action Plan. _______________________________________

Sources:

In Ethiopia: more than 4,000 prisoners to be released for fear of coronavirus ▷ Africa BuzzFeed • Ethiopia - unemployment rate 1999-2020 | Statista National Bank of Ethiopia to inject $450 million as liquidity for private banks | Nasdaq Financing for Ethiopia’s development - Ethiopia Insight (ethiopia-insight.com) Ethiopia Battles the Pandemic and Its Economic Consequences | Center for Strategic and International Studies (csis.org) RESET Plus: Innovation Fund for Resilience in Ethiopia - ICCO EN (icco-cooperation.org) Keeping it local: How the SEEK project (Ethiopia) has helped boost the local economy and contributed to peace in cross-border areas during COVID-19 | EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (europa.eu) Restoring farmland and livelihoods builds peace in Ethiopia | Pact (pactworld.org) Africa News: Ethiopia to Open Telecoms Industry to Investors - Bloomberg Ethiopia Requests $1.6b Emergency Funding (addisfortune.news) Funding Opportunities | U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia https://ethiopia.un.org/en/sdgs Ethiopia | World Food Programme (wfp.org)

[alexsmitposts]

After COVID, Davos Moves to Great Reset With the USA Biden Presidency, Washington has rejoined the Global Warming agenda of the Paris Accords. With China making loud pledges about meeting strict CO2 emission standards by 2060, now the World Economic Forum is about to unveil what will transform the way we all live in what WEF head Klaus Schwab calls the Great Reset. Make no mistake. This all fits into an agenda that has been planned for decades by old wealth families such as Rockefeller and Rothschild. Brzezinski called it the end of the sovereign nation state. David Rockefeller called it “one world government.” George H.W. Bush in 1990 called it the New World Order. Now we can better see what they plan to impose if we allow. The Great Reset of the World Economic Forum is a 21st Century rollout for a new form of global total control. “We only have one planet and we know that climate change could be the next global disaster with even more dramatic consequences for humankind. We have to decarbonise the economy in the short window still remaining and bring our thinking and behaviour once more into harmony with nature,” declared WEF founder Schwab about the January 2021 agenda. The last time these actors did something at all similar in scope was in 1939 on the very eve of World War II. War & Peace Studies At that time the Rockefeller Foundation financed a top secret strategy group working out of the New York Council on Foreign Relations. It was known as the War and Peace Studies and headed by ‘America’s Haushofer,’ geographer Isaiah Bowman of Johns Hopkins University. Before German Panzer tanks had even rolled into Poland, they were planning a postwar world where the United States would emerge as the sole victor and replace the British as the global hegemonic power. Formulation of a US-dominated United Nations and Bretton Woods monetary order based on the dollar was part of their project. In 1941 as America formally entered the war, the CFR group sent a memo to the US State Department: “If war aims are stated which seem to be solely concerned with Anglo-American imperialism, they will offer little to people in the rest of the world. The interests of other peoples should be stressed. This would have a better propaganda effect.” That successful project has been the framework of what Henry Luce in 1941 called the American Century, and lasted until quite recently. Now those same families, again including the Rockefeller Foundation and the Rothschilds in the person of Lynn de Rothschild’s “Council for Inclusive Capitalism with the Vatican,” are moving to create the next generation in their pursuit of global domination. It’s being called the Great Reset. It requires global government, a plank significantly endorsed by the Jesuit Pope Francis. Its PR man, Klaus Schwab, is a self-admitted protégé of Rockefeller insider Henry Kissinger, from their days 50 years ago at Harvard. ‘Build Back Better’ In May, 2020 as the coronavirus had caused global panic lockdowns far beyond the initial outbreak in Wuhan, the British Crown Prince Charles, together with the World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab, unveiled what they gleefully named the Great Reset. Increasingly world political and business leaders are using terms such as “the Great Reset,” or “the Fourth Industrial Revolution” and the call to “Build Back Better” which the Biden Administration prefers. They all are anchored on the same set of dramatic global changes. The US Green New Deal and the EU European Green Deal are all part of it. The most striking fact about the agenda of the Great Reset is that it is being advanced by the same giga-rich plutocrat families responsible for the flaws of the present world economic model. They, not we, have created ruin of organic fields and nature with their Roundup glyphosate and toxic pesticides. They have ruined the air quality in our cities by the transportation models they force on us. They created the “free market” model of globalization that has ruined the industrial base of the United States and the industrial EU nations. Now, as they blame us for an alleged catastrophic emission of CO2, we’re being conditioned to accept guilt and be punished in order to “save the next generation” for Greta and friends. The 4th Industrial Revolution Behind the seductive rhetoric of the Powers That Be on creating a “sustainable” world, lies an agenda of raw eugenics, depopulation on a scale never before tried. It is not human, in fact, some call it “transhuman.” In 2016 WEF head Schwab wrote a book titled Shaping the Future of The Fourth Industrial Revolution. In it, he describes the technological changes coming with the 4th Industrial Revolution of 5G smart phones, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence that link everything to everything to make the most banal decisions for us such as buying more milk or turning down the stove. At the same time data is centralized in private corporations such as Google or Facebook to monitor every breath we take. Schwab describes how new generation technologies, already being rolled out by Google, Huawei, Facebook and countless others, will allow governments to “intrude into the hitherto private space of our minds, reading our thoughts and influencing our behavior…Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies will not stop at becoming part of the physical world around us — they will become part of us,” said Schwab. “Today’s external devices — from wearable computers to virtual reality headsets — will almost certainly become implantable in our bodies and brains.” Schwab adds, “What the fourth industrial revolution will lead to is a fusion of our physical, digital and biological identity.” Among those fusion technologies are, “active implantable microchips that break the skin barrier of our bodies,” Schwab explained. These “implantable devices will likely also help to communicate thoughts normally expressed verbally, through a ‘built-in’ smartphone, and potentially unexpressed thoughts or moods by reading brain waves and other signals.” I don’t know about you but I am not eager to have the state or Google read my brainwaves. Control Our Food The confusing aspect for many is the plethora of front groups, NGOs and programs which all lead to the same goal: the drastic control over every member of society in the name of sustainability—UN Agenda 2030. Nowhere is it more ominous than in their plans for the future of our food. After creating the present system of globalized industrial agriculture, agribusiness, a project begun in the 1950s by the Rockefeller Foundation, the same circles now advocate “sustainable” agriculture which will mean a shift to genetically edited fake foods, lab-made synthetic meats and such, even including worms and weeds as new food sources. The WEF’S Schwab has partnered with something called EAT Forum, which describes itself as a “Davos for food” that plans to “set the political agenda.” EAT was created in Sweden in 2016 with support from the UK Wellcome Trust (established with funds from GlaxoSmithKline), and the German Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Lab-grown synthetic gene-edited meats are being supported among others by Bill Gates, the same one backing Moderna and other genetically edited vaccines. EAT works among others with Impossible Foods and other biotech companies. Impossible Foods was initially co-funded by Google, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. Recent lab results showed the company’s imitation meat contained toxic glyphosate levels 11 times higher than its closest competitor. In 2017 EAT launched FReSH (Food Reform for Sustainability and Health) with the backing of Bayer AG, one of the world’s most toxic pesticide and GMO producers that now owns Monsanto; the China-owned GMO and pesticide giant Syngenta, Cargill, Unilever, DuPont and even Google. This is the planned food future under the Great Reset. Forget the traditional family farmer. In his 2020 book on The Great Reset, Schwab argues that biotechnology and genetically modified food should become a central pillar to global food scarcity issues, issues which COVID has exacerbated. He is pushing GMO and especially the controversial gene-editing. He writes “global food security will only be achieved if regulations on genetically modified foods are adapted to reflect the reality that gene editing offers a precise, efficient and safe method of improving crops.” Gates, a project partner with Schwab since years, has argued the same. EAT has developed what it refers to as “the planetary health diet,” which the WEF champions as the “sustainable dietary solution of the future.” But according to Federic Leroy, a food science and biotechnology professor at University of Brussels, “The diet aims to cut the meat and dairy intake of the global population by as much as 90% in some cases and replaces it with lab-made foods, cereals and oil.” Like everything else with the Great Reset, we will not be given a real choice in food. EAT notes it will be forced on us by, “hard policy interventions that include laws, fiscal measures, subsidies and penalties, trade reconfiguration and other economic and structural measures.” We will all be forced to eat the same synthetic diet or starve. This is just a hint of what is being prepared under the guise of COVID-19 lockdowns and economic collapse, and 2021 will be a decisive year for this anti-human agenda. The introduction of AI, robots, and other digital technologies will enable the Powers That Be to dispose of hundreds of millions of workplaces. Contrary to their propaganda, new jobs will not be sufficient. We will become increasingly “redundant.” This all seems too surreal until you read from their own descriptions. The fact that the cabal of the world’s most influential corporations and billionaires sit on the board of WEF with Kissinger’s student, Klaus Schwab, along with the head of the UN and of the IMF, with the CEOs of the world’s largest financial giants including Blackrock, BlackStone, Christine Lagarde of the European Central Bank, David Rubenstein of Carlyle group, Jack Ma, richest billionaire in China, is proof enough this Great Reset is not being done with our true interests at heart, despite their silky words. This dystopian agenda is 1984 on steroids. COVID-19 was merely the prelude.

[gtvistas2020]

#EndSARS

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was a Nigerian Police Force unit created in the late 1992 to deal with crimes associated with robbery, motor vehicle theft, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and firearms. It was part of the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID), headed by Deputy Inspector General of Police Anthony Ogbizi.

SARS has been highly controversial for its links to extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, extortion, torture, framing, blackmail, kidnapping, illegal organ trade, armed robbery, home invasions, rape of men and women, child arrests, the invasion of privacy, and polluting bodies of water by illegally disposing off human remains.

Amnesty International investigation has accused SARS officers of using “torture and other ill-treatment to execute, punish and extract information from suspects”. It documented at least 82 cases between January 2017 and May 2020.

Protests which began in opposition to the Nigerian government’s widely unpopular SARS have morphed into a widespread, leaderless movement against police brutality, economic mismanagement, rampant corruption and arbitrary state power. Many protesters described the calls to disband SARS as just the beginning of police reform in Nigeria. “First it’s SARS and then it’s the whole police system, because even with ordinary policemen and women we are not safe.”

After widespread protests in Nigeria and worldwide under the motto “#EndSARS”, the unit was disbanded on 11 October 2020 through a statement by the office of the president, Muhammadu Buhari. Inspector General of Police M.A. Adamu said that a new unit, the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), would replace SARS. Within hours of the announcement, some Nigerians took to Twitter with the hashtag “#EndSWAT”, and demonstrations continued amid fears that police reform would not materialize.

Several videos posted on social media appeared to show officers firing live rounds and using teargas and water cannon at fleeing demonstrators, many of whom reported injuries. One demonstrator said she had seen a group of six officers beating a woman with batons and sticks, confirming video posted online. Amnesty International said in a report that Nigeria’s security forces fired upon two large gatherings of peaceful protesters in Lagos, killing 12 people.

The Nigerian government is under growing pressure to deliver reforms amid the mass civil unrest, but analysts are concerned that the planned fiscally conservative policies, which may have aided the economic recovery, will become increasingly difficult to implement. The heavy-handed nature of the government’s response to protests has damaged its standing both domestically and internationally, heightening political uncertainty as the country looks to emerge from the crisis.

The #EndSARS protest movement is taking place against the backdrop of the country’s worst economic recession in over 30 years, with inflation rising above 13% and GDP contracting by 6.1% in the second quarter. As such, the hit to the oil sector, combined with the economic disruption from the pandemic and falling remittance payments from abroad, is expected further constrain the government’s ability to deliver social programs and address the grievances of protesters, exacerbating tensions.

Task in Hand

You are the Crisis Management Committee appointed by the President, responsible for handling the situation of political uncertainty in Nigeria. The task is to defund SARS entirely and redistribute its funds to the development of other departments, as well as rebrand and revamp SWAT as an organisation; in order to restore peace in the country and economy as well as improve Nigeria’s image on an international platform.

Deliverables

- Immediate action plan of crisis management and negotiation plan to stop protests and strikes

- Strategies to reform Nigeria’s oil sector – and resurge production, distribution and export of oil

- Phase wise implementation of Strategies to increase sources of revenue for Nigeria government and reduce dependency on oil sector – detailed list of industries and sectors to develop

- Plan to defund SARS and detailed use of its funds for development of SWAT and other departments

-  Revamp model for SWAT

-  Legislative bill stating legal requirements and new standards of accountability for SWAT and Nigerian police force

-  Strategies to gain public trust – locally and globally, also you are answerable for your actions regarding the protests to Amnesty International and the UN

-  Prepare a Press Release

-  Contingency strategy for protests against SWAT

-  Marketing and Rebranding strategies for SWAT

-  Course of action against corrupt SARS officers

-  Recruitment and selection plan of SWAT officers

-  Detailed phase wise Training and development of SWAT

-  Detailed organisation structure of SWAT and police system in Nigeria

-  Conflict resolution and grievance redressal system

-  Compensation structure for the victims harassed and/or killed by SARS and during protests over several years

-  Financial Plans –

*  Capital requirement and capital structure

*  Detailed redistribution of funds to SWAT and other departments

*  Projected and detailed Cost break-up

*  HR and PR budget

*  Contingency Plan Budget

*  Financial and economic reforms to Nigeria

Provide any other information/creative you deem necessary.

Submission Guidelines

Prepare a report of not less than 25 pages and a PPT of not more than 15 slides.

Email your deliverables to gt.vistas2020@gmail.com by 5:00 am sharp.

Presentations for this round will begin at 9:00 am sharp.

For any doubts, contact Sonia - 9819281419 or Pranavi - 8008009453

P.S. Good luck sleeping tonight!

[dkyoungone]

The United States and the Paris Climate Agreement

Dalton Young

International Relations

Position Paper (Topic 3)

The Paris Climate Agreement is a program set up as a voluntary action program that some countries apart of the United Nations (UN) take part in. The agreement essentially lets countries set their own goals on reducing carbon emissions and reducing the effects of climate change. There has been a lot of debate regarding climate change as a whole, even though there have been numerous studies published supporting the arguments that predict our climate is indeed changing. One reason light has been shone on the Paris Agreement once again is the United States’ withdrawal from the Agreement in June of 2017. This act by the President sparked a debate within the United States between climate change advocates and climate change denialists. Climate change is a real issue and is supported by trusted scientific minds and its effects are felt all around the world despite opposing views on the issue. Thus, I would argue that the facts support REMAINING in the Paris Climate Agreement.

First, we must establish why climate change is an issue that is worthy of possible global cooperation. It has been talked about and labeled a major issue by well known and respected scientists, such as Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, and many others. In addition to these brilliant minds, many United States military officials also support that notion that climate change is an issue that must be dealt with. William Wanlund states, “U.S. military officials increasingly view climate change as a “threat multiplier,” a factor that can aggravate poverty, political instability and social tensions. That, in turn, could foster terrorism and other forms of global violence while impairing America's military effectiveness.” These are trusted United States officials that are saying this is an issue. This isn’t just about the United States, but in terms of the benefits to the United States, being able to keep coastal military bases on the coast instead of underwater would be a tremendous benefit. Wandlund also says, “Rising seas, due mainly to Arctic ice melting, already threaten Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, the world's largest naval base; dozens of other coastal installations also are at risk.” If our military installations are at risk, logically, a country that spends over 600 Billion dollars on its military every year would want to do something to protect coastal bases. 

In addition to outright denying climate change, there are people who don’t deny it is happening, however they deny that humans are the cause. Nicola Jones from Yale states, “Frighteningly, this modern rise of CO2 is also accelerating at an unusual rate. In the late 1950s, the annual rate of increase was about 0.7 ppm per year; from 2005-2014 it was about 2.1 ppm per year.” This increase in acceleration rate is scary, as we have already passed the threshold of 400 parts per million of CO2, which itself is a very dangerous amount in its own right. Since it has been increasing at an unusual rate, we can induce that the majority of climate change is very likely due to human action. This is a hard pill to swallow, but it is the most likely scenario, and since we live on this planet and our future (or current) children will be living on this planet, we must do everything we can in order to preserve it and keep it as a livable place for generations to come.

Thus far, climate change as a whole has only been discussed, however, we must also think about the option of rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement. This agreement allows us to set our own standards for reducing our carbon emissions and reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. There are a few reasons to support rejoining the Paris Agreement. First, there is the fact that many countries look to the United States as an example and as a world leader. Whether we like it or not, we will be scrutinized and observed in more ways than most other countries would ever imagine. Because of this, we have a responsibility to take charge and to lead the world into combating climate change. However you look at the International scene, this matters for one reason. We cannot be the greatest country in the world if there is no world with which to live upon. The only way we can cement ourselves as the greatest country of the modern era is to protect the only world that we have (as of right now). Secondly, rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, to bolster our own economy in the green energy field of economy. If we do not engage ourselves in combating climate change as a government, then we cannot expect independent companies and corporations to go out of their ways to develop green technologies to replace coal and oil. The only time they will do so (if they have not already) is when the world inevitably runs out of coal and crude oil. Even if you don’t believe in climate change, despite the insane amounts of evidence that supports it, you should know that coal and oil are not infinite sources of fuel. This can be shown in your everyday life by looking at local petrol (or gasoline) prices at different stations in your area. Gas is much more expensive today than it was 50 years ago and that has to do with the supply of gas compared to the demand. Either way, this means that one way or another, the Paris Climate agreement would benefit the United States by providing incentive to create and produce greener and more sustainable energy providers.

In regards to counter arguments against remaining in the Paris Agreement, Wanlund states, “Some politicians and economists argue that the real danger to U.S. security lies in the erosion of jobs, trade and industrial productivity caused by the costs of unnecessary federal environmental regulations.” We must address the elephant in the room, one that I mentioned earlier. Military spending. The United States has the most expensive and funded military in the world at 649 Billion US Dollars in 2018, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. That is almost 400 billion USD more than the next most expensive military (China, 250 bn.). Some would argue at least 100 Billion USD of that money being pumped into the US Military is a little unnecessary, so I personally do not buy the argument that it would be too much for the United States to shoulder that load financially. Even if it is a multi-billion dollar program, the Government could cut back on military spending to A. better the world, and B. bolster the United States’ green energy economy. Regarding the argument on speed of industry, the reason we pay so little for things in the United States is because of the cheap and borderline slave-like labor in developing countries. If  we sacrifice a little productivity to benefit the lives of our citizens and other citizens around the world, then that would be a noble reason for doing so. We should see it as granting basic human rights to those working and producing products internationally for the United States.

 There are areas in the United States that would benefit from an effort to cleaning up pollution in the air, water, and land. One of these areas in the US specifically is the state of Utah, specifically in the Salt Lake Valley. The most densely populated area in Utah has one of the worst air pollution situations in the United States. Natalie McGill says the following on Utah’s issue with pollution, “...the state has a tricky situation. Because of the state's geography, the air quality starts to dip when cold air is caught under warm air, trapping a hotbed of pollution throughout Utah's valleys.” When you compound this issue on top of the coal-based steel mills scattered throughout the Salt Lake Valley, that spells bad news for young children and elderly people all across the state. Utah is just one of the states that are affected by pollution and climate change, rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement will allow the United States to set goals at the federal level, and/or state level to help each state individually reduce their footprint and keep their citizens healthy and happy.

In conclusion, rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement would be vastly beneficial to the United States. This means we can show and prove ourselves as a real world leader in tough situations, like climate change. Economy, money, and jobs will not be an issue as taking away a fraction of the money from the military’s ridiculous budget would be more than enough to fund any climate project you could ever think of. I strongly urge you to consider rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement as we can not be the best country in the world, if there is no world with which to live upon.

Bibliograpy

Lam, Anita, and Matthew Tegelberg. "Witnessing glaciers melt: climate change and transmedia storytelling." JCOM: Journal of Science Communication, vol. 18, no. 2, 2019, p. 1F+. Academic OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.greenriver.edu/apps/doc/A583145703/GPS?u=aubu98092&sid=GPS&xid=dd804a69.

Wanlund, W. (2017, September 22). Climate change and national security. CQ researcher, 27, 773-796. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/

“Scientific Consensus: Earth's Climate Is Warming.” NASA, NASA, 24 Apr. 2019, climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/

Paris Climate Agreement UN Climate Change https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/english_paris_agreement.pdf

Jones, Nicola. “How the World Passed a Carbon Threshold and Why It Matters.” Yale E360, Yale, 16 Jan. 2016, e360.yale.edu/features/how-the-world-passed-a-carbon-threshold-400ppm-and-why-it-matters.

McGill, Natalie. "Utah partnership working to reduce air pollution in state." The Nation's Health, Oct. 2014, p. 19. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.greenriver.edu/apps/doc/A385999063/GPS?u=aubu98092&sid=GPS&xid=68818dea.

[blairtrabbit]

Thoughts on Goddamn Voltron

1. The treatment of Shiro and Adam as a couple was the stupidest shot at “representation” i think I’ve ever seen and it honestly made me angry. We don’t know anything about Adam. We don’t know anything about him but his name and that he possibly has some sort of relationship with Shiro. We are never even allowed to see them physically touch (because this would be gross I suppose) and when Adam is killed off immediately in the initial invasion there is no emotion to it other than he was someone we were supposed to care about because Shiro cared about him. Or ...so its suggested. Not only is Shiro denied any sort of emotional catharsis after being forced to be stoic and endure unimaginable amounts of physical and mental trauma there is no one waiting for him to come home. They are killed for absolutely no reason aside from creating some bizarre boyfriend in the refrigerator for a character who certain has enough anger at the Galran empire that he doesn’t need anymore. If Adam was introduced to show Shiro was gay then that failed. If Adam was introduced to heighten the stakes that failed too. Adam was created to die for no damn reason and unless he somehow appears in season 8 this kind of shit queer-baiting is un-acceptable...hell even IF he comes back who cares? we aren’t even given the chance to know him as a person so whats to come back? Sidenote: Don’t make Shiro sick with some terrible wasting disease and then NEVER mention it again. What the SHIT. 2. The treatment of Lance is unimaginably cruel and I don’t understand it. In season three Lance proves himself to be a mature member of the team and not only does he help Allura who took his lion he becomes Keith’s right hand after a rocky start. He has shown multiple times that he is vulnerable, once to Keith’s face, and yet his leader and his team constantly question his choices and insult him. It went beyond ribbing this season. It felt like everytime there was a chance for the writers to do it they stuck in a Lance barb. I kept expecting a breakdown a moment where he finally defended himself, walked away or told them that he was tired of it. But that moment never happened. Instead the strong right hand of voltron just takes it and continues to do his job. No matter how many great shots or encouraging comments he makes he never gets fucking complimented. Also the writers seemed more determined then ever to give him absolutely no arc or focus. Which leads me too- 3. Why the hell did Hunk have Lance’s story arc. Theres this thing in writing called “setup and payoff” Its a super simple concept that all writers,especially in film and television, know how to use. You set up a concept early and later on it pays off with an emotional revelation or a character change. In seasons one two and three...even four? Lance was the only one on the crew besides Pidge who talked about his family. We saw them in his memories. he had a scene with Coran where he talked about missing earth. He talked about his mom and so on. That was his starting point and when he gets back to earth it should have been his family in the camps, his speech about being angry about coming back to a peaceful earth and a closed end to his talk with Keith about being a leader and how he respects him as one back in season 3. Having Keith compliment his bravery would cement him as his right hand the person hes SUPPOSED to be closest to on the team. Hunk had no set up for this. He never mentions his family or how much he misses them. He talks about food but for some reason he was given the ending arc that Lance EARNED but wasn’t given. In fact it feels like it was even written for Lance but was changed because they goddamn hate him and decided he doesn’t get an arc fuck you. 4. Hey. Hey Voltron. Its called fucking character development.  If you wanted to make Allura and Lance have a relationship you can’t make them blush in ONE EPISODE and call it development. Why don’t you cut down on the 90 fucking minutes of brain melting action sequences and put in some more character development. You can’t just dedicate the first half of your season to some goofy (lance abusing) comedy then spend the last half in one constant exhausting battle and expect us to give a shit about the cadets or anyone you introduce on earth. To me the stand out episode this season was the one where everyone is floating in space. They had to...INTERACT with each other but even this episode felt empty because Keith was the only one allowed to act out...AGAIN. Where was Lances righteous anger? Or even Allura’s? Why is Hunk stepping into this role as mediator all the sudden? What even lead to that? Was he literally just written into the Lance roles? If you wanted to tear the group down to have them be built back up then you have to do so on equal footing and it felt....tame. Like you didn’t want the kids to worry too much. Stress makes people act in cruel ways sometimes and overcoming it is a part of good character development. Instead it was just some lame foreshadowing about the deux ex machina that was lion summoning. It had so much potential-SO MUCH.

5. Not everybody has to end up in a fucking relationship. Axca? Seriously? Man are you gonna crank out some romance bullshit in season 8 aren’t you voltron? Is that what your gonna do? Make sure everyone gets a set of corresponding genitalia to wrap everything up in a nice straight bow? I’m sure you’ll give Shiro some kind of significant other right? Or maybe just have him smile at a dude ala live action Beauty and the Beast because that's what representation looks like in 2018. 6. Coran not getting to build the spiritual successor of his grandfathers work is kinda bullshit.

He spent literally every season waxing lyrical about how great his pop pop was and how much he wanted to be the one to build something like he did and then the castle is destroyed and I’m like oh man so cool Coran is gonna get his wish.Thats so emotionally rewarding that after all the hero-worship Hes gonna have the opportunity to build a new castle even better than the one his grand-oh -no...ok Sam did it. Yeah ok.

7.YOU CAN’T SPEND ONE EPISODE ON EARTH BEING DESTROYED AND SHOW MAYBE THREE PEOPLE AND EXPECT ANYTHING TO HAVE EMOTIONAL WEIGHT. Hey, remember the movie Independence day? Not a great movie but it actually felt like the world was being invaded. It felt like peoples lives were being interrupted on a large scale and it accomplished this by showing the invasion from multiple pov’s worldwide. Would that have been so hard? Maybe show a little girl at school seeing a Galra ship. A man in Africa? A mother in Russia? Just quick shots. Thats all you need. A few establishing shots to show that people are experiencing something foreign and terrifying. I know its a kids show and you gotta what...keep it Y-7 but the Galra literally killed thousands and thousands of people-possibly millions you can’t just gloss over that. STAKES CAUSE TENSION. WITHOUT STAKES OR JUSTIFICATION A BATTLE IS EMPTY AND POINTLESS.OH ON THAT NOTE. 7. THE BATTLES IN THE LAST EPISODES BECOME RIDICULOUSLY BORING AND REPETITIVE. You can tell what the writers wanted to write. They wanted to write whole scenes where people star trek groaned in chairs and shouted about how much time they had.Because of the season lack of setup or stakes buildup in the previous episodes theres no tension whatsoever. Do I care about the people of earth? No I haven’t even seen them. I care about Shiro and the mains ...not even the cadets. I haven’t seen them interact enough with each other to even establish their personalities. So if the whole earth fries eh...I care more if Shiro is ok because i’ve gotten to know him over time. If the entire battle was to save Shiro from a falling ship (HOW THE FUCK DID HE SURVIVE THAT BTW I GUESS BEING A CLONE MADE HIM IMMORTAL) It would have more weight to it than the entire Hour long clusterfuck that was the battle for Hunk’s Parents, literally the only humans we care about. 8. WORLDBUILDING? HOW ABOUT FUCK YOU. Wow...so WW3 huh. That sounds interesting Voltron you wanna...no? Alright so...Russia is still a country this far in the future? Is China still communist or? Hey...why is this lady the queen of the Garrison? Why is her position so important? Who funds the Garrison? Is it the United States? The UN? Is it an international organization? Who pays the bills? The funding must come from some government who would be curious why you asked for millions of dollars towards all these bizarre supplies that could be used to build the biggest ship ever made.Why is Admiral Sanda god? She keeps threatening to go over their heads in the chain of command but that means that SHE has to report to someone? WHo?? THE PRESIDENT? SOME KIND OF WORLD LEADERSHIP COUNCIL? I know this shit is hard but come ON. Earth is NOT like these alien planets Voltron has been on that have a centralized monarchy or singular race with one central government. If Sanda is worried about causing wars and global panic thats fine but shes the one commiting treason by not reporting to her own superiors and letting the leaders of the free world make decisions on behalf of their own people. One person can’t make all the decisions we call that LAAAAAAAAZZZZYYYYYY. Oh and about Admiral Sanda? 9. Admiral Sanda is the worst villian Voltron ever faced Why did you try and give her a redemption arc? Every decision she made was stupid every choice was just...so dumb. She betrayed everyone and her level of power kept making me go...why...is she the queen of earth? When she died I was like good. What a dumbass. Don’t try and redeem someone who did nothing good in the first place especially if you never established enough world building to show she might have been correct. We can’t just trust TELL you have to SHOW us. 10. If you think the racism against immigrants is bad now I can’t even imagine the civil wars when actual aliens just invite themselves over. 11. Thanks for fucking up our tide systems by parking a fucking Balmera directly in our atmosphere assholes. In conclusion:THANKS I HATE IT.

[thxnews]

Pursuing Global Justice: Empowering the International Criminal Court

  Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on the International Criminal Court First I would like to thank the co-chairs Switzerland and Japan for convening this meeting, and thank our excellent briefers. The establishment of the International Criminal Court is a remarkable achievement. Created as the first permanent body of its kind, it has now become one of the major pillars of the international legal system. As the prosecutor has remarked, international humanitarian law does not apply just to states - its protections, its obligations belong to all. This is why we urge those that have not yet done so, to accede to the statute. But the Court has no police force and it has no prisons. It relies on the cooperation of the States Parties. The UK urges others to support the Court in these practical matters without which the process of justice will stall. And let me translate that abstract idea into some concrete examples. The UK’s practical support to the Court includes sentence enforcement, witness relocation, and the training of investigators in modern techniques, including the interviewing of vulnerable victims and witnesses such as children. We have also provided expert secondees to assist the Court across the breadth of its work, and the war crimes team of our largest police service has dedicated officers for each of the situations the Court is investigating. Now, of course, the Court must have adequate resources to undertake its work. And I want to reassure colleagues that the UK is playing its role here. We have provided a further $3.3 million in funding over and above our budget contribution to the Court’s trust funds to enhance its technology, to digitize its evidence collation, and improve its psychosocial support to vulnerable witnesses and victims. The UK has also provided an additional $560,000 to the Trust Fund for Victims, including for those who have suffered in Uganda and in the DRC. The atrocities that we are witnessing around the world, in Sudan, in Ukraine, and in Mali are a stark reminder that without accountability, there can be no lasting and just peace. And as Professor Akande reminded us, quoting the words of Koffi Anan, “Justice and peace are not contradictory forces.” Justice and the rule of law are fundamental for the fulfillment of everyone’s human rights. Rights that are enshrined in the UN Charter. The International Criminal Court is a testament to its States Parties’ determination to end impunity for those responsible for the most serious international crimes. We congratulate the Court on this anniversary and this milestone and we wish you an enhanced role in promoting justice and peace in the future. Thank you.   Sources: THX News, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office & Dame Barbara Woodward DCMG OBE.  Read the full article