Teaching Climate Change
To School Children
By Eugenie Scott
Imagine you’re a middle-school science teacher, and you get to the section of the course where you’re to talk about climate change. You mention the “C” words, and two students walk out of the class. Or you mention global warming and a hand shoots up. “Mrs. Brown! My dad says global warming is a hoax!” What should you do?
Growth And Free Trade: Brain-Dead Dogmas Still Kicking Hard
By Herman Daly
There are two dogmas that neoclassical economists must never publicly doubt lest they be defrocked by their professional priesthood: first, that growth in GDP is always good and is the solution to most problems; second, that free international trade is mutually beneficial thanks to the growth-promoting principle of comparative advantage. These two cracked pillars “support” nearly all the policy advice given by mainstream economists to governments
Obama Caves In To Catholic Church, Religious Right On Contraceptives
By Kate Randall
President Obama on Friday caved in to pressure from the Catholic Church and the religious right, announcing that religiously affiliated employers would not be compelled to provide access to birth control as part of medical coverage for their women employees under his federal health care overhaul
I Ran From Iraq And Now I Rack Up Iran: A Road To Suicide
By Dan Lieberman
Americans are strangely unaware of the counter-productive polices of their government, which have placed them in physical and economic jeopardy. From the Gulf of Tonkin to the Persian Gulf, they cannot see through the haze. From Vietnam to Iran, they have walked a road to suicide
The Fate Of New Truths: Peak Oil Appears On "Nature"
By Ugo Bardi
With the publication of a prominent article on "Nature" in January 2012, the concept of "Peak Oil" has made another step forward in the debate on resource depletion. This article has made me rethink of the past ten years of work that I did as a member of ASPO, the association for the study of peak oil. Were we right with our prediction of impending peak oil? In a sense, yes, but the crystal ball is always foggy and it cannot be otherwise. The ASPO predictions were basically right but, as all predictions, they were approximate
Mainstream Media Lying Hides Corporate, US And Zionist Subversion Of Australian Democracy
By Dr Gideon Polya
Australia is one of the World's oldest democracies but is now a corporate-, US- and Zionist-perverted country in which neocon, pro-war, pro-US, pro-Zionist, corporatist Australian Mainstream media remorselessly censor news, reader comments and foreign perversion of Australian democracy
Sophisticated Beasts?
By Maryam Sakeenah
Joyce Carol Vincent was a successful 30 year old with an active, busy social life. Her dead body was discovered three years after she quietly died all alone in her flat while watching T.V. When it was noticed she was not paying her bills, some officials checked her flat, only to find a skeleton on the couch before the T.V, which had stayed on for three years. That is the isolation, the loneliness and the distance that exists among people in our urbanized modern lifestyle. That is the soullessness of contemporary civilization
Tied Stones And Loose Dogs
By Souzeina Mushtaq
When the education system of Jammu and Kashmir state is already on a ventilator, another death blow to it came in the form of the Examgate scandal. State’s honorable Education Minister, Peerzada Mohammed Sayeed misused his official position to help his foster son, Imam Souban clear the 10th standard examination in 2009, with the help of present chairman Board of School Education, the then deputy director academics and other four officials
UGC's Dubious Manifesto On Higher Education In The 12th Five Year Plan
By Rajesh Sharma
The University Grants Commission recently published a 129-page document titled Inclusive and Qualitative Expansion of Higher Education which spells out the Commission's vision for higher education in the country for the 12 th Five Year Plan (2012-17). This is virtually a manifesto of the neoliberal profiteering ideology, inviting its wealthy corporate adherents to come and dig their fangs and claws into the body of ‘the commons'
10 February, 2012
Pentagon Plans US-Backed War Against Syria
By Chris Marsden
The Pentagon has drawn up plans for military intervention in Syria. A military strike would be coordinated with Turkey, the Gulf States and the NATO powers, according to reports that acknowledge such plans officially for the first time. The plan is described as an “internal review” by Pentagon Central Command, to allow President Barack Obama to maintain the pretense that the White House is still seeking a diplomatic solution
Western Shenanigans Against Syria, Iran
By Dr. Ismail Salami
The volatile situation in Syria generated by the Saudi-Qatar-funded Wahhabi armed group known as the Free Syrian Army and backed by the West is now an accident waiting to happen
Targeting Iran
By Ghali Hassan
The world is witnessing the emergence of a powerful U.S.-led military force aimed at dominating the world through violence and state-sponsored terrorism. It is utmost importance to support Iran's right to self-defence and oppose any U.S.-Israel aggression
Israel Vying For War: Attacking Iran Will Not Repeat History
By Ramzy Baroud
If history ever repeats itself, it does so only when we fail to learn its important lessons. Israel might be prepared to take such chances, but why should the rest of the world?
Three GOP Presidentials Commit Crime Against Peace Under Nuremberg Principles
By Jay Janson
Mitt, Newt, Rick vow to bomb a foreign nation, a crime against peace indictable under Nuremberg Principles, which, when they was signed automatically became part of the US constitution. At Nuremberg, Nazi media personalities were indicted for promoting war. They stood alongside Nazi officials who ordered the wars and generals who executed criminal orders
The Iraqi People: Criminally Neglectedby The International Community (PDF)
By Dirk Adriaensens
Open Letter to The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights NaviPillay
Genocidal Racist Charles Dickens , Indian Holocaust And UK - US Muslim Genocide
By Dr Gideon Polya
This week the English-speaking world is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of arguably the greatest Victorian era English novelist Charles Dickens. However ignored in the celebrations will be the reality that Charles Dickens, like many of his English and British contemporaries, was a genocidal racist
Egyptian Blood And “The Silent Hand” Of Omar Suleiman
By Thomas C. Mountain
When Egyptian blood flows in the streets, whether from “Ultra” football cadre or Coptic Christian, or both together, there is the silent hand of Omar Suleiman behind it all, pulling the strings needed to create just enough murder and mayhem so as to legitimize continued military rule
A Ruling Class Alliance In An Agitating Egypt: One Year After Mubarak’s Ouster
By Farooque Chowdhury
Class collaboration between the Egyptian military junta and their neo-political allies, the Muslim Brotherhood, now confront the people standing for democracy. One year ago, the matrix of collusion was not evident to many. One year ago, the actors on the Egyptian political stage had different robes
Learning From La Venezuela
By David Swanson
Cindy Sheehan has published a book. If Venezuela makes it to the top of the list for the next U.S. war, this book will be a valuable tool for confronting the propaganda. But why wait? Our government has attempted a coup and is openly funding opposition groups. Why wait to consider what it is we're paying to try to undo?
The Cycle of Civilization
By Peter Goodchild
The main difference between ours and previous civilizations is that, from now on, the cycle of “civilization” cannot be repeated. Oil is not the only mineral that will be in short supply in the coming years
Resources And Anthropocentrism
By Guy McPherson
We see finite substances and the living planet as materials to be exploited for our comfort. We treat resources as our entitlement
Why Did Palestinian Refugees Come To Lebanon?
By Franklin Lamb
In most private and public schools in Lebanon, sensitive political subjects have long been culled from textbooks by polarized confessional watchdog committees seeking a proper education for their children. UNWRA schools are forbidden to teach Palestinian history in Lebanon or even their history in Palestine lest the US Congress cut UNWRA funding
Palestine Needs A New Struggle Strategy
An Interview with Salim Nazzal
Palestine needs its own spring. Palestinian leadership needs to review its policy following the Arab Spring. They need to think of a new struggle strategy on light of these developments
U.S Apology For Nuclear Weapons And Open Disclosure Of Nuclear Weapons By Israel And Iran
By Mary Hamer
The purpose of this paper is to request the U.S. , Israeli and Iranian Governments and Military-industrial complex officials for full, open disclosure regarding their nuclear agendas. Only with honest talk can these three countries secure a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the Middle East conflict
Strengthening U.S.-Canada Security Interests In North America And Around The Globe
By Dana Gabriel
Defense Minister Peter MacKay has also indicated that if necessary, Canada's armed forces are ready to offer assistance in Syria. More than ever, the U.S, and Canada share a more common approach to advancing security interests in not only North America, but around the globe
Elliott Abrams' Dark History In Latin America And The Struggle For Justice
By Cyril Mychalejko
Elliott Abrams, a former high level State Department official during the 1980s, testified last week that the Reagan administration knew that Argentina's military junta was systematically stealing babies from murdered and jailed democracy activists and giving them to right-wing families friendly to the regime
The Framing of Kevin Cooper, On San Quentin's Death Row
By Hans Bennett, Prison Radio
In this interview, author J. Patrick O'Connor discusses his newly released book Scapegoat: The Chino Hills Murders and The Framing of Kevin Cooper , explaining why he is convinced of Kevin Cooper's innocence. O'Connor asserts that the police and prosecution orchestrated an obvious frame-up that continues to be upheld by federal appeals courts, albeit with the blatantly unfair rulings by US District Court Judge Marilyn Huff blocking critical forensics tests that had been ordered by the US Ninth Circuit Court in 2004
Trial And Terror Of The Gujarat Pogrom Verdict
By Farzana Versey
Will the Modi government and the honourable Supreme Court order a probe, for the report does mention that people were burnt alive? How did it happen? Or did it not happen? Did Gulberg Society just disappear? There has to be other “prosecutable evidence”. Whose job is it to find out – the victims, the NGOs or the intelligence agencies?
American Model Of Electoral System Detrimental For Democracy In India
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
India suffers from democratic deficit and true representation of its marginalized and minorities and an American model imitation would be suicidal for the very health of democracy with unfettering invisible powers in the hands of crony capitalists will only prove detrimental for the idea of India which stand for social justice and democratic values
Sri Lanka : The Agony Of Political Lies
By Nilantha Ilangamuwa
What we are seeing today in Sri Lanka in terms of the institutional setup is the result of the cynical manipulation by the President and the members of his family. Indeed, they may be attempting to change the entire history of the Nation. Their attitude is simple. If you kneel before us then you are a patriot of the Nation; if you do not you are traitor
US Congressional Hearing On Balochistan
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
The subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing on Wednesday (2/8/2012) to discuss the target killings and human rights situation in Balochistan and termed it a matter requiring urgent attention
Kashmir: Forgive And Forget
By Burhan Majid
Ever since the third generation Abdullah rose to throne as the State’s Chief Minister, he continues to bat for the setting up of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission(TRC) which, he believes, would help to find out the truth behind the widespread atrocities perpetrated, by the Government forces, in the State of Jammu and Kashmir
Gita: Not A Religious Book?
By Ram Puniyani
The Madhya Pradesh High court has ruled that “Gita is essentially a book on Indian philosophy, not book on Indian religion”. This judgment gave a sanction on the decision of M.P. Government to continue with the teaching of Gita Sar (Essence of Gita) in the MP schools
Shahid Lives, Shahids' Never Die
By Subhash Gatade
In one of his last interview Shahid Azmi told the correspondent how he grew up seeing the police barge in night and day in their slum, terrorising and kidnapping people,which bred in him a hatred — nafrat — for the police. It was noteworthy that he gave a positive direction to this hatred and went down fighting for the people
Home Ministry, UIDAI Misleading State Govts And Citizens
By Gopal Krishna
State Govts pretend ignorance about Parliamentary Report rejecting central Govt's UID/Aadhaar
India's Affirmative Action Politics As Seen Through Tamil Nadu's Specious Quota Law (PDF)
By P Radhakrishnan
The report ‘Justification of Reservation under the Tamil Nadu Act 45 of 1994 on Quantifiable Data’ by the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Commission, headed by retired high court judge, M S Janarthanam is fraudulent and farcical
07 February, 2012
US And Israel In “Lockstep” Against Iran
By Peter Symonds
The danger of a US/Israeli attack on Iran was made clear in comments by US President Barack Obama to NBC News on Sunday. Obama not only repeated the mantra that “all options are on the table,” but added that the US was working with Israel “in lockstep as we proceed to try to solve this, hopefully diplomatically.”
06 February, 2012
After Russia’s UN Veto, US Talks Of “Coalition Of The Willing” Against Syria
By Jean Shaoul & Chris Marsden
The veto by Russia and China of a United Nations Security Council resolution will not halt ongoing preparations for Western-backed intervention against Syria. The discussion on the resolution was a political manoeuvre from the outset, designed either to force Moscow and Beijing into agreeing to a UN cover for a Libya-style operation against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, or justify a predetermined alternative route to regime-change
Exposed: The Arab Agenda In Syria
By Pepe Escobar
There won't be another Libya-style no fly zone; after all the Assad regime is not exactly deploying Migs against civilians. Washington, Ankara, and the House of Saud-Doha duo - has a different long-term geopolitical agenda. Not to mention crucial Syrian neighbor and trading partner Iraq; Baghdad is on the record against any regime change scheme
Occupying Corporations:
How To Cut Corporate Power
By Bill Quigley
Massive corporations now rule the earth. But they are recent arrivals which can and should be dispatched. It is time for people to again take control. The legal fiction of corporate personhood and the constitutional rights taken by corporations must cease. Join the efforts to cut them down to size and restore the right of the people to govern
Is There Such A Thing As Ethical Capitalism?
By Kerry-anne Mendoza
In response to a growing realisation that neo-liberal capitalism is morally and literally bankrupt, Britain’s political leadership have provided three visions of ethical capitalism for us to aspire to. So, is there such a thing as ethical capitalism? And why is this question being asked now?
Beyond The Bubble Economy
By David Korten
We've finally learned that a growing financial sector isn't the same thing as actual economic improvement. So how can we stimulate the real economy?
Yet Another War For Israel
By William A. Cook
Given Israel's threat to attack Iran sometime in the next three months, it seems appropriate to question why the nations of the world at the UN should not immediately intervene and stop this rogue state, that creates havoc with impunity because it controls the U.S., by forcing the U.S. aside. This piece approaches this issue by providing a litany of reasons why this action is needed now
If You Want To Fight Cancer, Turn Those
Pink Ribbons Green
By Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez
If you really want to make a difference in the war against cancer, forget about those ridiculous pink ribbons. Use the power of your wallet and your ballot to insist that the government step up and do its job in regulating the industrial agriculture sector
Don't Stay Silent About Our Climate Change Crime
By Bill Henderson
Seven to ten billion people are at risk of premature death in this hell on Earth we are creating with the unintended side effects of our present use of an extremely beneficial source of energy
The Psychology Of Systemic Collapse
By Peter Goodchild
What might be called "the Pollyanna Principle" is the belief that "everything will turn out all right in the end." It might also be called "the Doll's House Principle," with reference to Ibsen's play. But closing our eyes to the grim reality does not change the facts
Behind The Scenes: The Secret
NATO Report on Afghanistan
By Thomas Riggins
We are spending 2 billion dollars a week to support the war against the Taliban and both our "ally" Pakistan and the Afghan government we set up and are "defending" are on the side of the Taliban. General Petraeus retired just in time. If he runs the CIA as well he did the war in Afghanistan the decline of US imperialism will be well underway
Electoral Mandate, Fake Encounters
And Rule of Law
By R. B. Sreekumar
The Apex Court order (25th Jan, 2012) entrusting enquiry to a retired Supreme Court judge, Justice M. B. Shah, of all 21 extra judicial killings by Gujarat Police from October 2002 to December 2006, is welcomed by all law abiding citizens. This has confirmed that the Modi Government has unabashedly subverted the Criminal Justice System, to delay and deny Justice to riot victims and carry out its false propaganda of high voltage threat from militants to Narendra Modi and Sangh Parivar leaders
SC/STs And The State
In The Indian Constitution (PDF)
By Anand Teltumbde
62nd Republic Day Special Lecture at Dr BR Ambedkar Research and Extension Center, University of Mysore, Manasgangotri, Mysore
Sri Lanka : Illusion of Freedom
By Nilantha Ilangamuwa
The cruelty of abusing power has now reached a peak after the introduced of the 18 th Amendment to the Constitution by President Mahinda Rajapaksha, which allowed him to stay in power indefinitely and murdered the possibility for any balance of power while buying legislators from the opposition
02 February, 2012
Toward An Economy Of Earth
By Guy R. McPherson
We need to develop a new economy because the current version is not working. The industrial economy is destroying every aspect of the living planet. And, as it turns out, we need a living planet for our own survival
Danish Journalist Tom Heinemann
Denied Visa To India
By Neha Dixit
Tom Heinemann, award winning documentary film maker from Denmark has been denied a visa by the Indian Embassy in Copenhagen. . The reason: In 2005 he made the film "A Killer Bargain” on the working conditions at i.e. Danish companies in India
The Fallacy Of The Tragedy Of The Commons
By Marq de Villiers
If the various natural systems of the earth, especially the air, the water, the land and its minerals, and the complex life systems they sustain, are indeed “the commons,” how do we guard against the “tragedy of the commons?” If no one owns the resource and anyone can use it, how do we protect it from depletion?
The Peak Oil Crisis: Election 2012
By Tom Whipple
Although it is likely that the President and his Secretary of Energy understand that a decline in world oil production is not far away, it is simply not a topic to be raised prior to an election as the political risk is simply too great. Someday, likely within the next decade, the US and the rest of world's governments will have to acknowledge there is a problem here
The Hydrogen Dream
By Luis de Sousa
Cesare Marchetti proposed hydrogen (H2) as a large-scale energy vector almost fifty years ago. The main concern then was to find a simple way to feed transport systems with what seemed to be a fountain of energy about to come from the expanding nuclear park. The nuclear dream is largely gone, but hydrogen lives on. Is this dream about to come true as a piece in the transition puzzle to a post-fossil fuel world?
Nuclear Fusion
By Tom Murphy
Our energy future is highly uncertain. Commercial fusion may come along decades down the road—mid-century at the earliest—but even then it is yet another source of heat that we can use to make electricity. Another step (mobile storage) must accompany fusion development to replace petroleum functions, and even then at significant disadvantage in energy density using current technologies. So yeah—I hope it helps us out one day. But I’m not sure we can wait that long
Malvinas in Britain’s Imperialist Claws
By Dr. Ismail Salami
The simmering tensions over the Malvinas Islands or Falkland Islands (off the coast of Argentina in the South Atlantic) as called by the British occupiers have become a matter of great concern as the UK decided to deploy destroyer HMS Dauntless to the islands
Prophetic Politics: Charting A Healthy Role For
Religion In Public Life
By Robert Jensen
A review of Walter Brueggemann, The Practice of Prophetic Imagination: Preaching an Emancipatory Word
The West Versus Iran
By Jahanzeb Hussain
What are the odds that the US will accept Iran as a free country? That depends not on the American government but on its own people, as well as the people of the Middle East. On its own, the US will not cease to be an empire. One has to look at the Arab Spring and the Occupiers at Wall Street because hope comes from what they are trying to achieve
Sonoma County Daily Attacks Occupy Movement
By Shepherd Bliss
The Sonoma County daily’s Press Democrat Feb. 1 editorial “Occupy Movement in Ashes” is wishful thinking. Our phoenix will rise during this month. You wait. You watch. You see
Jungal Mahal And Recent 'Peace' Efforts
By Dipankar Chakrabarti
The Maoists must take into cognizance the ground reality. They should ponder over the desertion of other anti-CPI(M) forces from their side as well as large number of their cadres and sympathisers . They also need to be circumspect about their gradual isolation from the civil society and the common people in the wake of their excessive dependence on armed action and autocratic control over the mass organisations
Thane Cyclone: An Indication For
Re-visioning Disaster Management
By Rajkumar
It is time that our disaster management efforts needs a radical revamping in integrating concerns and direction in preventing potential damages caused to sustainable livelihood models of the communities which are not easily understood and left un-noticed
Take It or Leave It: Hunger or NFSA?
By Sachin Kumar Jain
The National Food Security Bill, in its present form, is not adequately endowed with a vision to address the very structural causes of Food and Nutritional Insecurity in India
02 February, 2012
US, RussiaClash Over Washington’s
War Drive Against Syria
By Chris Marsden
The United States, France, Britain and the Arab League are pressing for the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution on Syria, while denying that it is intended to pave the way for Western military intervention. Debate over the Arab League resolution has stalled, with Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, expected to veto it. Last night, diplomats at the UN leaving negotiations for the night said that “key differences” remained between the different countries
The Commonwealth Of Nations -
The Squalor In Some Member Countries
By George Venturini
This third and last part was originally titled ‘The poverty of countries’. It was clearly too broad and unspecific; broad in that what follows relates mainly to two Commonwealth countries, with some consideration about the United States because from there came that greedy, testosterone driven, male dominated, recent episode of American-born corporate criminality which is euphemistically called ‘the global financial crisis’; unspecific because the word ‘poverty’ is variously defined but does not include consideration of filth and misery, which seem to be the two constituent elements of squalor - even of an immaterial kind."
A Journey To The End Of Empire
By Phil Rockstroh
A Journey To The End Of Empire: It is always darkest right before it goes completely black
A Response To "Angry About Inequality?
Don't Blame The Rich"
By Paul Buchheit
Not an angry response, though. 'Amused' is probably more accurate, since a little research shows that James Q. Wilson's article "Angry About Inequality? Don't Blame The Rich" is filled with the tired old defense mechanisms of people eager to justify a 30-year transfer of wealth to the rich
Anti-Semitism And Israel’s
Inherent Contradictions
By Ramzy Baroud
How could anti-racist endeavors themselves become the subject of accusation by Halili and others like him
No Matter Who Wins, Americans Lose
By Joel S. Hirschhorn
Why am I so sick of all the media attention to the Republican presidential primaries and all the blabbering about President Obama’s advantages and disadvantages for the coming election? I just cannot get excited. My answer may also be yours: No matter who wins, our nation loses
The Italian Movement For Boycott, Divestment
And Sanctions (BDS) Against Israel Gains Strength
By Stephanie Westbrook
Over the weekend of January 21-22, the third national meeting of the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) against Israel was held in Bologna, Italy. Roughly 80 activists from over 20 Italian cities representing groups, associations and political parties throughout Italy participated
The Importance Of Being Leader Of
The Opposition To Obiang Nguema
By Agustin Velloso
A trivial comedy for serious politicians set in Equatorial Guinea
Tea Labourers Dying Of Hunger In Assam
By Barak Human Rights Protection Committee
Barak Human Rights Protection Committee (BHRPC) has learnt about 11 recent deaths due to starvation, malnutrition and lack of medical care in Bhuvan Valley Tea Estate, a privately owned tea garden, in the district of Cachar in North-East Indian state ofAssam. The conditions of at least 5 others are so bad that it would be hard for them to survive a month without urgent medical and nutritional intervention
FDI In Retail: Danger Signal
For The Indian Economy
By Sachin Kumar Jain
Indian society is at the mercy of the market today. Multinational companies are being given ownership rights to our resources and the people are being viewed as nothing better than captive consumers. That’s the hidden implications of the policy reforms we are witnessing today
On Course Correction: Why BJP Secretly Hates
OBC Reservation
By Samar
The writing is on the wall. You can delay this process of course correction but you cannot stop it. No one can, not even those who started it in the first place. The people are on the rise and they cannot be tricked anymore
Joint Statement On Brutal Corporate Attack
On Peaceful Protesters In Odisha
By Concerned Citizens
We are extremely shocked and distressed over the barbaric inhuman violence on peaceful protesters especially woman by the security guards and hired goons of Jindal steel plant in Angul, Odisha
Where Did All Of These Go?
By Gagan Rism
Gabbar's ‘Aak-thoo' is thing of past. And so is Om Prakash's whiny ‘aa haaan haaaan…' before delivering a dialogue and Utpal Dutt's ‘eeeeshhhh……'. Neither are seen anymore the miserly, cunning old Sahukars in our pastoral romances, nor the picnic-songs in the picturesque valley of Kashmir . At times, it leaves one wonder – where did all of these go?
