Dr. Michael Cairo is a Professor of Political Science and the Program Director of International Affairs at Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky His most recent book is “American Presidents and Israeli Settlements since 1967.” Land and territorial claims dominate the conflict in the Middle East. The United Nations created Israel and Palestine in 1948. In June of 1967, during the Six Day War, Israel conquered the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Jerusalem. Palestinians have worked to develop an autonomous state. Several attempts have been launched to bring peace over the past several decades. After the October 2023 attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians, Israel launched a fierce counterattack against the Palestinians, where reportedly over 80,000 Palestinians were killed. Devastation applied to homes and Infrastructure, health services, clean water, and sanitary services, to mention a few. US influence is weakening due to siding with Netanyahu and not being as committed to rebuilding Gaza.

March 14, 2026

Jonathan Granoff, President of the Global Security Institute, discusses a myriad of issues ranging from nuclear proliferation to developing effective, peaceful coalitions and programs. The world is in a more dangerous position today, regarding nuclear weapons than at any point in time. 13,999 nukes exist in the world, whereas only 2% are necessary to destroy the world. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the foundation for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Actions in Venezuela, attacks on US allies, and bombings of Iran upend the Rule of Law. Allies can no longer believe in the US’s umbrella of nuclear protection. The US is not living up to its national and domestic laws. Every citizen should ask policymakers and politicians to eliminate nukes, reduce poverty, and to protect the climate. Disarmament and nuclear proliferation should be taught in the schools. Nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction are not partisan issues.

March 8, 2026

Steve Schlesinger is a Fellow at the Century Foundation in New York City. Mr. Schlesinger authored "Act of Creation: Founding of the United Nations," and he is an expert on the UN and international issues. The League of Nations was the forerunner of the UN, which was created in 1945 where over 60 million died. The UN has been vital in preventing World War 3, providing humanitarian assistance to hundreds of millions of refugees, developing partnerships with groups such as Rotary International to eliminate the scourge of polio, and sending peacekeeping troops into dangerous areas to restore stability. Other basic UN services are to develop international agreements to safely move aircraft, ships, telecommunications, mail and weather information worldwide. The Trump administration has drastically cut US donations to the world body, which is damaging the US and the world. The US benefits more from the UN than probably any other country.

March 8, 2026

Rebecca Shoot, immediate past Executive Director of Citizens for Global Solutions, is an international lawyer and democracy and governance practitioner with extensive experience supporting human rights, democratic processes, and the rule of law on five continents. She is a Co-Convener, Washington Working Group for the International Criminal Court. She is the Co-Convener, ImPact Coalition on Strengthening International Judicial Institutions. The UN 80th celebration operates in close coordination with the Pact for the Future. The pact offers how to set out a broad agenda to strengthen multilateral cooperation on sustainable development, international peace and security, science and technology, digital cooperation, youth empowerment and global institutional reform. The United Nations has to be understood as a political and normative process, not just reformative or managerial. To be more relevant, the UN must move from consultation to co-creation with a multistake feedback loop, reform the veto authority and possibly select a female secretary-general.

February 27, 2026

Jerry Glenn, a futurist, serves as the executive director of the Millennium Project, and authors an annual publication, “State of the Future.” He was the executive director of the American Council for the United Nations University and was deputy director of Partnership for Productivity International. The State of the Future 20.0 Report is the most comprehensive and largest document covering 15 global challenges that affect the world. It is a tool for The UN Council of Presidents of the General Assembly which is an organization to help the 193-UN Member States determine its logical role in dealing with one of the thorniest: AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). Managing the transition to AGI is the most difficult management problem humanity has ever faced, A few other challenges to confront include Zero-Sum power geo-politics; the climate crisis; and global collective intelligence systems for water, energy, food, economics, education, gender, crime, ethics, and demographics.

February 27, 2026

Judge Thomas G. Moukawsher is a Connecticut complex litigation judge and former lawyer, legislator and lobbyist. He is the author of “The Common Flaw: Needless Complexity in the Courts and 50 Ways to Reduce it.” He recently authored various articles on the Supreme Court's immunity ruling and what it means. President Trump has taken the country into full retreat of world leadership by withdrawing from several international organizations such as the World Health Organization and Paris Climate Agreement. Most hard hit are vital UN agencies that directly benefit the US. He wants to divide the world into fiefdom of dominance by China, Russia and the US, powered and legalized by might makes right, rather than depend on the Rule of Law. As the US voluntarily sidelines itself, China will gladly fill the void. Almost 100-years ago, similar actions occurred that destabilized the world and led to two major World Wars.

February 14, 2026

John Seager, President and CEO of Population Connection, has authored numerous articles and op-eds on population growth and development. Studies have shown, when given the choice, most women prefer to have smaller families and families want to make their own decisions. Soft power is critical to saving lives and free people from tyranny and disease. These efforts have been undercut by the decimation of USAID and withdrawal from the UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. Population issues should not be pollical, but bipartisan as in the past. The educational materials fit into each state’s educational requirements to be objective and informative. Modern contraception is a transformative tool to help people plan their families. If there is a decline in population, according to a Goldman Sachs study, communities that lose population will also lose schools, hospitals and employment opportunities. The recent Republican bill will close hundreds of hospitals in the U.S.

February 14, 2026

Dr. Jean Krasno is in the faculty of the Department of Political Science at the City College of New York and is also a lecturer at Columbia University. The “United Nations: Policy and Practice” is her most recent book. Dr. Krasno was authorized by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to organize his papers for publication. She is now leading a campaign to elect a woman UN Secretary-General. The UN was created in 1945 to eliminate the scourge of war, promote economic and social development, and enhance human rights worldwide. The UN has had nine secretaries-general to lead the organization. Emphasis is on selecting a woman when SG Guterres’s term ends. The next UN SG must be an effective communicator with the 193-member states in the UN General Assembly and the various publics around the world. Most Americans are mostly unaware of how important UN services impact their lives every day.

February 12, 2026

Chuck Collins is the Director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies, where he co-edits Inequality.org. His newest book is “Burned By Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power Ae Ruining Our Lives and Planet” Inequality is a major problem . Humans daily lives are being disrupted by people with immense power in the areas of health, wellbeing, environment, housing costs, and democracy The Second Gilded Age and Robber Barons perpetuate the myth of the Trickle-Down Theory. The middle Class is shrinking, and Project 2025 wants to gut labor unions, eliminate child labor laws, and decimate workplace safety. Big money robs Americans of their vote and voice. The UN can play a critical role in convening its members to develop standards to limit corruption, money laundering, and offshore banking, along with the G-20 countries moving forward more rapidly with their Global Wealth Tax.

February 12, 2026

Mark Wentling is an international development and humanitarian assistance specialist with over 40 years of relevant experience. He attended the U.S. National War College; international strategic studies program for selected senior members of U.S. armed forces and civilian Foreign Service agencies. US foreign assistance to poor people across the globe was a cost-effective and relatively efficient program. The Trump Administration weakened America’s soft power reducing influence over the policies of other countries favorable to the US, alienated many of our allies, cut off business, defense, trade and cultural opportunities, destroyed markets for many American farm products and killed thousands of our poorest and sickest allies. By surrendering America’s leadership, China, and other frenemies of the US and democracies, will be delighted to fill the leadership vacuum. No low-income country can trust the US again to be a dependable partner. Future assistance programs should focus on 42 of the poorest countries.

12.24.25

Robert L. Dilenschneider, founder and CEO of The Dilenschneider Group, is one of the world's foremost communication experts and leadership coaches. Dilenschneider is widely published, having authored 18 seminal business and career development books. His latest book is “Character: Life Lessons in Courage, Integrity, and Leadership.” He discusses the traits of several leaders. Nelson Mandela, who was jailed for years, won the first all-race election in South Africa and created the Reconciliation Commission, as well as being a role model both at the UN and for potential young leaders worldwide. Other outstanding leaders included Eleanor Roosevelt and John McCain. Eleanor Roosevelt used her White House platform to work on a variety of social issues such as women’s suffrage, civil rights and leadership at the United Nations through the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. All of the aforementioned exhibited courage, integrity, and dedication to being effective.

12.24.25

Enrique Dussel Peters has a Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Notre Dame. Professor at the Graduate School of Economics, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México since 1993. He is Coordinator of the Center for Chinese-Mexican Studies of the School of Economics at UNAM and of the Academic Network of Latin America and the Caribbean on China. His most recent book is “Latin America, China & Great Power Competition.” The US appears to be abandoning the Bretton Woods structure and some UN programs. US leadership with President Donald Trump is no longer dependable. Withdrawal from international institutions is foolhardy and counterproductive. Many experts are touting China as the emerging world leader. China is using Soft Power, such as the Belt and Road Project, to accomplish foreign policy goals. Eliminating USAID by President Trump damaged the reputation, alliances, efficiency and effectiveness of the US in many areas of the world.

December 6, 2025

For over four decades, Kevin Cassidy has held senior roles within the United Nations system, the International Labour Organization (ILO), and has consulted for the World Bank. He is currently an Executive Fellow at the Iacocca Institute at Lehigh University and as the Co-Founder of iC One Global. His Global Village programme and UN Partnership train students to thrive in a global economy. As a Consultant for the World Bank, he helped develop strategies, partnerships, and reforms that drove a transformation in Uzbekistan’s elimination of child and forced labour in the cotton sector. The UN has never been more necessary than it is today. Another project is to develop a wider set of audiences develop an understanding of the UN and multilateral systems and its indispensable value; UN is critical in lowering trade costs, moving ships, planes, mail and weather information worldwide, and is invaluable to the US and world.

David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is executive director of World BEYOND War and campaign coordinator of RootsAction.org. Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie and When the World Outlawed War. War adversely impacts all living things on the planet. W. Bush lied to Congress, the UN, Americans and the world to fabricate flimsy bogus evidence to illegally invade Iraq. Many legal scholars consider Bush and Cheney to be war criminals. Corporate media were complicit in the war propaganda machine. The UN General Assembly should adopt Uniting for Peace to override a US or Russian veto in the Security Council. The Monroe Doctrine is a unilateral declaration by the US to control South America, keep Europeans out and spawn gunboat diplomacy that does not have the force of law. The destruction of fishing boats in the Caribbean is an illegal act that borders on war crimes.

Dr. Joe Young is a Professor at the University of Kentucky and Director of the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce in Lexington, KY. Previously, he held several positions at American University. The recent Israeli peace swap and cessation of hostilities is a welcome respite, but it is more difficult to get the logistical issues resolved. A 2-state solution is the only logical answer to bring peace. US and Europeans should be committed to Ukrainian sovereignty and security; and not kowtow to Russia. Blanket tariffs are taxes mostly on the consumer. Unemployment, Inflation and costs of living have risen dramatically. The US helped create the UN, Bretton Woods Institutions and a stable world order, which are under attack. China is moving rapidly to fill the US void in the WHO, the UN, and other institutions to be the world leader. A power vacuum will not remain long without being filled.

Dr. Francisco Javier Bonilla is a historian of Latin America specializing in environmental history, infrastructure, and urban development. His research focuses on Panama and the wider Caribbean, examining how water, cities, and U.S. empire have shaped everyday life across the region. He received his PhD in History from Carnegie Mellon University and is currently turning his dissertation, Downstream from the Locks: The Technopolitics of Water in Panama’s Urban Borderlands, into a book. If the US wanted to seize the Panama Canal, it would be illegal due to its status of neutrality. Much like the USA, Panama has a burgeoning inequality that breaks along racial and social lines. Wealthy elites and corporations are purchasing media outlets. Due to pressure of the US and Corporate Media a vigorous discussion seldom occurs re: the future of the Canal and extra-judicial bombings off the coast of Venezuela, with little or no proof of guilt.

Irene S. Wu, Ph.D. is author of “Measuring Soft Power in International Relations.” She is a lecturer in the Communications, Culture, and Technology Program of Georgetown University and a former fellow at the Wilson Center for international Scholars. Her other books include Forging trust communities: how technology changes politics, and from iron fist to invisible hand: the uneven path of telecommunications reform in China. Soft power, as opposed to hard power, is essential to persuade another country without the use of violence. Examples would include USAID, economic aid, international trade, US Peace Corps, UN projects and People to People Programs. Elimination of the successful USAID program and withdrawal from WHO have been detrimental to the perception of the US and accomplishments of many of its foreign policies. China, who is assuming more of a leadership role, has developed one of the largest infrastructure programs called the Belt and Road project.

Steve Schlesinger authored "Act of Creation: Founding of the United Nations. “ The UN mandate expanded since it was formed on June 26, 1945 to achieve three basic goals: eliminate scourge of war, promote economic and social development and enhance human rights. The US was the most important player at the UN; however, it is considerably weakened since the Trump administration withdrew from the UNHRC and WHO, and applied counterproductive policies that make China stronger. The UN covers the world in working with Rotary to defeat polio, helping companies move ships, aircraft, mail and weather information worldwide, providing assistance to refugees and combatting climate crisis and dozens more. Polls show most Americans support the UN. Now, the US is the laughingstock of the world for its counterproductive policies at the UN and surrendering its leadership. Generally speaking, most of the us Media have been incompetent in coverage of the UN.

Mike Tidwell is a journalist, author, and climate activist living in Takoma Park, MD. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) from 1985 to 1987, where he taught fish farming in the village of Kalambayi. His most recent book is a detailed examination of the dramatic impacts of global warming in his own front yard, called “The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue: A story of Climate and Hope on One American Street. “ He founded the Chesapeake Climate Action Network in 2002. The climate crisis is moving at an even more rapid pace in every area of the world. Tacoma Park, MD, is the first city in America that experienced the elimination of a gasoline station and the substitution of an EV charging station only. The Trump administration is being counterproductive by promoting fossil fuels rather than enhancing clean energy policies.

Dr. Benjamin Houghton is a postdoctoral fellow at Lancaster University, UK, where he researches transnational repression. He holds a PhD from Durham University, UK, in Government and International Affairs. He is the author of “China's Strategy in the Gulf: Navigating Conflicts and Rivalries,” and has published two other books and several articles on global affairs. China intends to have friendly relations through its policy of “strategic hedging .” China launched the Belt and Road Project, one of the largest infrastructure programs in the world, with the goal of pursuing “soft power.” The recent dismantling of USAID, and withdrawal from WHO, has allowed China to fill a leadership void. The key to reducing the possibility of war between China and another country is to reenter the nuclear deal that Trump negated during his first term, and reinforce areas of cooperation, such as the reduction of piracy through the Red Sea Dialogue.