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30 June, 2015

Bank Closures Impose Deepening Misery On Greek People
By Alex Lantier

Stock markets closed sharply lower in Asia, Europe and the US Monday, as a weeklong bank holiday designed to avert a collapse of the banking system went into effect in Greece and European Union (EU) officials escalated threats to expel Greece from the euro zone

Before The Dawn
By Kathy Kelly

When will day break? I haven't a clock nearby to tell me when, but I can't go back to sleep. When I see the children adapt so readily to the schooling denied them, when I watch my young friends struggle eagerly to take the small steps allowed them, sowing seeds of mutual understanding or planting trees in Kabul, and when I read such grace and dignity in the words of Mohamedou Ould Slahi after years of torture, I have to believe that a dawn will come. For now, it remains a blessing to work alongside people awake together, even in darkness, working to face burdens with kindness, ready to join with kindred spirits near and far, faces aglow with precious glimmers of a coming day

Libya War: The Unknown Costs And The Indemnified Interventionists
By Farooque Chowdhury

Today's Libya is a collapsed country, an epitome of failure in “humanitarian” interventionists' “intelligence” driven by business interests. Still the interventionists are not brought to book

The UN vs Eritrea
By Thomas C. Mountain

I spent Monday, June 22 in Geneva, Switzerland protesting alongside over 5,000 fellow Eritreans in front of the UN “Commission of Inquiry” offices... We were there because a UN “Commission of Inquiry” had just issued as nasty a lot of lies about Eritrea as one could imagine. But then none of the 3 Commission members had ever been to Eritrea and two had even called for “regime change” in the country?

Russia vs. China: The Conflict in Washington Over
Who Should Lead America's Enemies List

By Michael T. Klare

America's grand strategy, its long-term blueprint for advancing national interests and countering major adversaries, is in total disarray. Top officials lurch from crisis to crisis, improvising strategies as they go, but rarely pursuing a consistent set of policies. Some blame this indecisiveness on a lack of resolve at the White House, but the real reason lies deeper. It lurks in a disagreement among foreign policy elites over whether Russia or China constitutes America's principal great-power adversary

The Globalization Of War. America's "Long War" Against Humanity
By Dr. Ludwig Watzal

The world is on a brink of America's instigated wars against all countries that would not succumb to political pressure by the U. S. Empire. This "globalization of war"-doctrine is, according to Michel Chossudovsky, professor of Economics and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) in Montreal, Canada, the centerpiece of America's hegemonic project in order to gain world domination

American Gandhi: A.J. Muste And The History Of
Radicalism In The Twentieth Century

Book Review By Staughton Lynd and Andy Piascik

American Gandhi: A.J. Muste and the History of Radicalism in the Twentieth Century is the most comprehensive and thoroughly-researched account of the life of A.J. Muste yet to appear. It is particularly valuable in its treatment of the years that Muste devoted to building a radical labor movement, 1919 to 1936. This review limits itself to that period of Muste’s life

Jhelum’s Repeated Warnings
By Mohammad Ashraf

After the last year’s destructive flood which reflected the River’s annoyance, it has given two more warnings before it strikes in the most devastating final way!

29 June, 2015

Greek Collapse, Global Turbulence Loom As Syriza Imposes Capital Controls
By Robert Stevens

The Syriza government imposed capital controls Sunday and announced the closure of Greek banks after the European Central Bank (ECB) said it would freeze the emergency loans it had been making to keep the country’s banks afloat

Stupidity And Intelligence: Science, GMOs And Our Food
By Vandana Shiva

As a species, we as humans are falling behind the slime mold and bacteria to make an intelligent response to the environmental threats we face. And our intelligence is being thwarted by the false construction of the living Earth as dead matter, to be exploited limitlessly for human control, domination and greed

Capture, Smear, Contaminate: The Politics Of GMOs
By Colin Todhunter

A well-worn tactic of the pro-GMO lobby is to slur and attack figures that have challenged the ‘science’ and claims of the industry. With threats of lawsuits and UK government pressure, some years ago top research scientist Dr Arpad Pusztai was effectively silenced over his research concerning the dangers of GM food. A campaign was set in motion to destroy his reputation. Professor Seralini and his team’s research was also met with intense industry pressure, with Monsanto effectively targeting the heart of science to secure its commercial interests. There are numerous examples of scientists being targeted like this. A WikiLeaks cable highlighted how GMOs were being forced into European nations by the US ambassador to France who plotted with other US officials to create a ‘retaliatory target list’ of anyone who tried to regulate GMOs. That clearly indicates the power of the industry

The Human Rights Crisis Is About Domination, Not Perception
By Neve Gordon and Nicola Perugini

The main crisis of human rights is not about perceptions, but about its complicity with domination

Postcard From The End Of America: Centralia, PA
By Linh Dinh

Just as there are so many ways for a man to die, there are countless methods for a place to be destroyed. Unlike a dead man, however, a wrecked city or country most often doesn't disappear entirely, but lingers on as a shadow or zombie, or it becomes an entirely different place. Most American cities have become zombies, while the country itself is a swearing, staggering, fist-waving zombie with a gazillion cruise missiles strapped to its bloated and festering carcass

America's Got War 
By William J. Astore

Poverty, Drugs, Afghanistan, Iraq, Terror, or How to Make War on Everything 

May The #LoveWins Victory Spur Us On To Increased Political Involvement
By Robert Barsocchini

#LoveWins is a tremendous, hard won victory of popular persistence and pressure, a new and vibrant illustration that cultural change can be made when a population cares deeply and applies unrelenting, ever-increasing pressure until the job is done, the non-negotiable goal achieved

The Sordid Tale Of Ikhwan
By Sheikh Shahid

With India's Defence minister, Manohar Parikar's bilious remarks of neutralizing 'terrorists with terrorists' & the subsequent chain of killings in sopore, of some Jammat affiliates & surrendered militants, by unidentified gunmen, the latent memories of 90s once again aroused the fear of the sanguinary Ikhwan amongst the people. A wave of panic & paranoia has taken over the valley especially in this northern town of Sopore, the nucleus of resistance

Good And Strong: Remembering Praful Bidwai
By Anitha.S

In the case of Praful Bidwai, good and strong has been always the same person. This is what made him remain unflinching in his convictions, uncompromising in his style of writing, humane in his behaviour and consistent in his involvement. This could be why he did not achieve much, become member of many committees and earn awards and accolades. It is indeed a privilege and honour to have known – a good and strong one like Praful. This makes the intensity of the missing more

28 June, 2015

"Shah Commission Report - Lost And Regained":
The Dark History Of 'The Emergency' Republished

By Countercurrents.org

On this 40th anniversary of Emergency, a silent emergency is prevailing in India. Thousands of under-trials are wallowing in prison while criminals found guilty by the courts of the land roam free. A war is declared on the Adivasis and farmers who are trying to protect their forests and farms. Their forests and farms are forcefully taken away and given to industrialists at a pittance. Thousands of farmers are committing suicide every year and nothing is being done by the government. The right to freedom expression is being violated. Even the 'Iron Man' of Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) L.K.Advani recently said that the recurrence of Emergency can not be ruled out. In this context we are republishing the Shah Commission report in full

India Is Now World’s Fastest-Growing Major Polluter
By Sajai Jose

For the first time ever, the year 2014 saw India’s carbon dioxide emissions growth accounting for the largest share of global emissions growth, according to a new global report. India’s CO2 emissions from energy use had increased by 8.1% during the year, making it the world’s fastest-growing major polluter

Obama's Push For Corporate Rule: A Moment Of Opportunity
By David Korten

The goal of Obama’s surprise alliance is to finalize a series of international agreements—the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), and the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA)—each of which will strengthen corporate rights at the expense of human rights, democracy, economic justice, peace, and the healing of Living Earth. Leaked text from the secret negotiations that are crafting these agreements reveals that contrary to the claims of proponents, virtually every provision would weaken democracy and undermine the ability of nations, people, and localities to shape their economic destinies

King Obama, His Royal Court, And The TPP
By Ralph Nader

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – a global corporate noose around U.S. local, state, and national sovereignty – narrowly passed a major procedural hurdle in the Congress by gaining “fast track” status. This term “fast track” is a euphemism for your members of Congress – senators and representatives – handcuffing themselves, so as to prevent any amendments or adequate debate before the final vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership – another euphemism that is used to avoid the word “treaty,” which would require ratification by two-thirds of the Senate. This anti-democratic process is being pushed by “King Obama” and his royal court

In Baghdad, Organized Destruction
By Cathy Breen

Two days ago an email came from an Iraqi doctor in Baghdad in response to a brief greeting I sent for the month of Ramadan. “Thanks so much for remembering us…In fact we are the same if not worse. Our hearts are broken at the organized ruining of our country. We are targeted by those criminals and gangs coming from everywhere, even from the west who are all witnessing this drama and, if not supporting it, are keeping silent. We wonder what sin we committed to face this gloomy black fate. In fact, what is going on is beyond words. “

Malaysian Pressure Forces MH17 Investigation To UN
By Eric Zuesse

Malaysia, frustrated by the refusal of the official international investigation-team to produce any clear evidence yet of whom to blame for the downing of the MH17 Malaysian airliner over the Ukrainian civil-war zone on 17 July 2014, has finally forced the team to request the UN to investigate. They've forced the original four nations on the team to accept UN adjudication of any final report. This will enable a court-proceeding to make the ultimate determination of guilt

The Beginning Of The End For Kagame?
By Justin Podur

Kagame and his once-patron, Museveni of Uganda, were once touted by the US as the 'New African Leaders'. But perhaps they are approaching their shelf life. If so, they may suddenly be ushered off stage and replaced some time soon. If the West remains the arbiter of what happens there, the people of the region can have little to hope for from their replacements

Lower The US Flag On The 4th of July!
(Or: I’ll Take Down My Flag, When You Take Down Yours!)

By Gary Corseri

"I have no love of the Confederate flag; but, just as frankly, I have no love of the American flag…. (Yet, from the age of 5, I was compelled to stand and “pledge allegiance” to that flag. I had no idea, of course, what “pledging” or “allegiance” meant then!) On the 4th of July, when Americans raise their flags as a proud symbol of their “freedom,” will anyone dare to lower their flags to half-mast to commemorate the 60,000 Americans who died in a now-acknowledged “unnecessary” war in Vietnam-- let alone the millions of Asians? Would it be disrespectful even to suggest such a gesture?"

Study, Aim, Fire
By Gregg Shotwell

I can understand the fear and trembling union bureaucrats must feel as the guillotine of Right to Work For Less sows and scythes its way across the working class consciousness. If workers aren't required to pay for services they don't respect or feel they need, it's quite likely deadheads will roll and no one will miss the toll they charged for lip service. If you want to predict the future, don't speculate, study the past. In light of the knowledge gleaned, examine the present. The history of the future is planted, not buried, in the here and now

Blackmailing By Bankers: People In Greece Are Going For Referendum
By Farooque Chowdhury

People in Greece are going to referendum on July 5 to deliver their verdict on the question: Shall bankers be allowed to blackmail or no? Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, has proposed the referendum on the Eurogroup’s austerity proposals

Bill Gates's Idiocy (or Is It Psychopathy?)
By Eric Zuesse

Bill Gates was interviewed in the Thursday June 25th Financial Times, about global warming investments, and he said some remarkably stupid things, but explaining what he said requires a lot of intelligence; so, maybe what he said isn't actually that stupid. Might he be an idiot savant? Perhaps there's a deeper truth here

Those Struggling For Housing Right, Termed ‘Encroachers’ Police Singling Out Activists
By National Alliance of People’s Movements

Mandala evictees who are struggling for their housing right were termed as ‘encroachers’ when the Collector, Mumbai Suburban, Mr. Shekhar Channe was reached out by a small group of concerned citizens, yesterday, to request stay on demolition until the survey of all the evictees take place under a housing scheme

26 June, 2015

In The Warming Arctic Seas
By Subhankar Banerjee

The United States, which assumed the chairmanship of the Arctic Council in late April, is currently leading the process of large-scale industrialization of the Arctic Ocean, not “environmental stewardship” that Secretary John Kerry insisted at the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Iqaluit, Canada. In light of this significant public policy decision, it is not difficult to imagine that the Paris climate summit, which will commence soon after Shell completes the drilling season in the Chukchi Sea, will be more about lofty rhetoric to save faces, not the sincere actions desperately needed to mitigate climate change

US, NATO Powers Intensify Preparations For Nuclear War
By Thomas Gaist

The NATO military alliance is preparing to implement a more aggressive nuclear weapons strategy in response to alleged “Russian aggression,” according to NATO sources cited by the Guardian Wednesday evening

Latin American Revolutions Under Attack
By Andre Vltchek

Do not take the Latin American revolutions for granted. They inspired the entire Planet. They brought hope to every corner of our scarred Earth. But now they are themselves in need of our support. If left alone, they would thrive for decades and centuries. But the Empire is once again on the offensive. It is shaking with fury. It is ready to invade, to smash, burn to ashes all the hopes, all that which had been achieved

Firsthand Accounts Of Israeli Massacre In Gaza
By Robert Barsocchini

The UN has now released its investigation into Israel’s 2014 massacre in Gaza. While the report covers crimes committed by both Israel and the comparatively defenseless resistance bands in the Gaza refugee ghetto, international law experts remind that this does not mean there is any equivalence between the “sides” or the gravity of their violations

Pentagon Admits For First Time To Testing Mustard Gas,
Other Lethal Chem Weapons On 60,000 African Americans Circa WWII

By Robert Barsocchini

The US now officially admits to conducting human experiments with mustard gas and other chemical weapons on 60,000 African Americans, as well as Japanese and Puerto Rican people. This is in addition to other human experiments the US carried out on African Americans, Guatemalans, Marshall Islanders, whom mainstream US culture referred to as “savages“, and others

Percentage of Health-Uninsureds in U.S. Rises by 1.7% 
Since Obama First Promised to Lower It by 100%

By Eric Zuesse

On 23 June 2015, Bloomberg news bannered "Uninsured Rate Falls to Lowest Since Obamacare Implementation” and reported that, "Last year, 16.3 percent of adults under age 65, or about 31.7 million people, lacked medical coverage, according to a CDC survey published Tuesday. That's down from 20.4 percent a year earlier [2013, when Obamacare started].” 

“A Boot Stamping On A Human Face –Forever”
By Javeria Younes

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.” Perhaps the author of these words, George Orwell, could not have expected his prophesy would materialize quite as it has today. Torture has become a hard-hitting reality of our time; it is no longer an issue of prisonersof war or alien combatants. It has now seeped into the very core of our society and the criminal justice system

Healing Our Wounds: Restorative Justice Is Needed For Albert Woodfox,
The Black Panther Party & The Nation --
An Interview With Law Professor Angela A. Allen-Bell

By Angola 3 News

On Monday, June 8, 2015, US District Court Judge James Brady ruled that the Angola 3's Albert Woodfox be both immediately released and barred from a retrial. The next day, at the request of the Louisiana Attorney General, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay of release set to expire on Friday, June 12. On Friday, June 12, the Court responded by scheduling oral arguments for late August and extending the stay of release at least until the time that the Court issues its ruling later in the Fall

Nobody Spat On American GIs!
By Jerry Lembcke

We need to reject the political, economic, and militarist logic that leads to endless wars, and to remember the inspiring history of returning veterans who, along with the anti-war movement and GI resistance, brought the troops home from Vietnam

25 June, 2015

NATO Announces Expansion Of Military
Force Targeting Russia

By Niles Williamson

NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels Wednesday and Thursday agreed to the enlargement of the organization’s Response Force to 40,000 troops from the current level of 13,000. On Tuesday, ahead of the meeting, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced the positioning of hundreds of American tanks, military vehicles and heavy artillery pieces in the Baltic States as well as Poland, Romania and Bulgaria

Smash NATO Before It's Too Late
By Dr. Ludwig Watzal

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a war-prone institution that poses the biggest threat to world peace. Since the disappearance of the Soviet Union, which turns out to be the greatest disaster for the stability of the international system, NATO expansionism and aggression is rampant. Although NATO was established to contain the Soviet Union, in reality, however, it has always been a complacent vehicle for U. S. hegemony

Update To US War Manual Makes It Easier To Defend Killing Journalists
By Robert Barsocchini

“The classification of journalists as ‘unprivileged belligerents’ is leading experts to conclude that the U.S. Department of Defense has given the green light for soldiers to kill journalists.” The classification could also be used to justify the continuation and/or extension of other types of illegal treatment of journalists, such as torture or indefinite imprisonment, which the US practices

The Day The Earth Died: And Why Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Etc.,
Were Virtually Silent About It

By Eric Zuesse

What the U.S. Senate did on 23 June 2015 was to hand America’s sovereignty over to international corporations. It gave President Obama what he had been seeking with unprecedented intensity, and which he has called his “legacy”: it’s the power to transfer lots of America’s democratic national sovereignty over to international corporations — that is, to the roughly 100 individuals on this planet who own the controlling blocks of stock in the world’s large international corporations, the people who are the real beneficiaries in all of this

Fairness Is Our Life’s Mode; It Determines All Our Interactions - It’s Our Security
By Lionel Anet

The elution of equality to be plausible in the present competitive socio-economy is dependent on economic growth, its capitalism fatal flaw. It’s Life’s fatality, a growth that can only be sustained with unsustainable fossil fuel that’s also changing the chemical composition of the biosphere. That change took only two century, but for nature to revert back to a benign state will take millennium, or never if we don’t act soon

Veganism, Harm Reduction, Moral Baselines, etc.
By Mickey Z.

The basic goal of my individual choices is harm reduction. I have no illusions I can decrease suffering but I know I can put some of my values into practice by making conscious anti-exploitation choices, e.g. not using my meager money to support sweatshops or factory farms; circuses or the automobile culture; chemical manufacturers or vivisection labs; and so on

Five Things That Won't Work in Iraq
By Peter Van Buren

What If There Is No Plan B for Iraq?

Statement of The Committee of Concerned Alumni,
Students, Faculty and Staff of Brooklyn College

The struggle to save Worker Education continues. This battle is an integral part of the defense against the class warfare waged on unions, public education and institutions, the working class and those who work toward a democratic society, and human rights and opportunity for the oppressed, not hedge funders and warmongers. Please join the movement to save worker education at CUNY. Spread the word and repost on social media

Praful Bidwai Is No More: Rest in Peace Comrade
By Subhash Gatade

Praful will be missed by thousands and thousands of his readers (this pen pusher included) who were 'groomed' by him in a career spanning more than four decades. For them he was one such voice who remained uncompromising in his strident criticism of communal fundamentalisms of various kinds and the crony capitalism which is having a field day these days. He was a leading voice for nuclear disarmament and peace as well and had written extensively on it

24 June, 2015

UN Report Details Israeli War Crimes In Gaza
By Jean Shaoul

The report into Israel’s war on Gaza last summer by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) found that both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes during Israel’s war on Gaza last summer. But while some newspaper headlines may give the impression of equal blame, the UNHRC’s commission of inquiry nevertheless highlighted the disproportionate nature of the killings—2,251 Palestinians of whom 1,462 were civilians were killed and 11,231 injured, compared to just 67 Israeli soldiers along with 6 civilians killed and 1,600 injured

Is BDS Replacing Iran As Israel's Blackmail Card?
By Alan Hart

My own view is that the BDS movement as it currently is should now give priority to putting its act together to press the governments of the major powers to put Israel on notice that it will be isolated and sanctioned by the whole world if it does not end its defiance of international law and denial of justice for the Palestinians

Thoughts On Pope Francis’ Laudato Si
By Herman Daly

The encyclical calls out the opponents and forces them to defend themselves. To give them the benefit of the doubt, they may really think that Francis is rendering to God what actually belongs to Caesar’s oligarchy. But neither Caesar, nor the market, nor technology created us, or the earth that sustains us. Thanks to Francis for making that very clear when so many are denying it, either explicitly or implicitly

BP Data Suggests We Are Reaching Peak Energy Demand
By Gail Tverberg

Some people talk about peak energy (or oil) supply. They expect high prices and more demand than supply. Other people talk about energy demand hitting a peak many years from now, perhaps when most of us have electric cars. Neither of these views is correct. The real situation is that we right now seem to be reaching peak energy demand through low commodity prices. I see evidence of this in the historical energy data recently updated by BP (BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2015)

The Die Is Cast - To Survive We Must Be Friends
By Lionel Anet

What’s needed is for the power behind the political leaders to imagine their future and their children’s future. We must help them see that, furthermore, it’s possible to do it before it’s too late; also, it may be possible to start on that track very soon. We need to follow up on the Encyclical “Laudatum Si' ” by Pope Francis, and the Lancet Health and climate change: policy responses to protect public health. We only have a narrow window of opportunity to change humanity’s direction, how narrow that opportunity is can only be found out after it’s too late

Militarism's Hostages
By John Scales Avery

Do our “Defense Departments” really defend us? Absolutely not! Their very title is a lie. The military-industrial complex sells itself by claiming to defend civilians. It justifies vast and crippling budgets by this claim; but it is a fraud. For the military-industrial complex, the only goal is money and power. Civilians like ourselves are just hostages. We are expendable. We are pawns in the power game, the money game

The B Vocabulary: The Western Left And Its Sterile ‘Field of Ideas’
By Ramzy Baroud

Over the year, I realized that the term ‘left’ is not exclusive to a political ideology, but a mode of thinking championed mostly by self-tailored ‘leftist’ western intellectuals. I grew to dislike it with intensity. But that has not always been the case

In Memory Of Martin Luther King— What If?
By A D Hemming and Bati Ahmed

To knock down any attacks on patriotism Dr King could have exposed this deal with the Nazi devil at Ft Hunt had this information been available at the time. The facts on the Nazi spy network of Rienhard Gehlen get through to the most brutal truths about the fraud of the Cold War and all that came from it including Vietnam

Comforting A Baby Is Violent
By Robert J. Burrowes

If you want a powerful adult, do not frighten a baby or child out of expressing their feelings

Suggestions To Muslim Personal Law Board
By Mike Ghouse

While applauding the position taken by the All India Muslims Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), we hereby acknowledge a few key points about the politics of International Yoga Day and pleased to make a few suggestions. It is a delicate issue, and I pray that Muslims will follow the principles set in motion by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and commit to mitigating the conflicts and nurturing goodwill for the common good of the society

Sri Lanka: Sub-Inspector And His Assistant Convicted,
Sentenced To Death For Murder

By Asian Human Rights Commission

On 23 June 2015, the Negombo High Court judge M.Z. Razeen found Sub Inspector Suresh Gunaratne and one of his assistants guilty of murdering Gerald Mervin Perera in November 2004. The two policemen have been sentenced to death. Another case of torture is pending against the same Sub Inspector and several other police officers who were attached to Wattala Police Station in 2002 for torturing and seriously injuring the victim, Gerald Mervin Perera. Gerald suffered a kidney failure because of the torture he suffered in custody in 2002

23 June, 2015

The Lancet: Fossil Fuels Are Killing Us... Quitting Them Can Save Us
By Jon Queally

Comparing coal, oil, and gas addiction to the last generation's effort to kick the tobacco habit, doctors say that quitting would be the best thing humanity can do for its long-term health

On Brink Of 'Sixth Great Extinction,' Humanity Must Conserve Or Die
By Nadia Prupis

It's official: the planet is entering a "sixth great extinction" that even the most conservative estimates show is killing off species at rates far higher than the previous five mass die-offs—and humanity is both at fault...and at risk

Ukraine's President Poroshenko Says Overthrow of Yanukovych Was a Coup
By Eric Zuesse

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko requests the supreme court of Ukraine to declare that his predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, was overthrown by an illegal operation; in other words, that the post-Yanukovych government, including Poroshenko's own Presidency, came into power from a coup, not from something democratic, not from any authentic constitutional process at all

Neither Forgive Dylann Roof Nor Ourselves: Quandaries Of American 'Democracy'
By Gary Corseri

Ultimately, Dylann Roof is responsible for his unconscionable crimes. But, so is the society that spawned him. It’s a matter of theology and teleology: If we are not responsible for our “good” and “bad” deeds, then we reduce ourselves to automatons or actors driven by “biological determinism”—and not amor, not free-will, not “liberty” or “democracy”— but hereditarianism and genetic aberrations conquer all. But, if we deny the medium we thrive or perish within, the matrix of connections and processes we are bequeathed and bequeath, then we surrender to the impulses of solipsism and megalomania

When Temple Bells Drown The Earth's Heartbeat:
Earth-Based Spirituality Versus Organized Religion

By Aparajita Sengupta

Trying to listen in on our planet's heartbeat on a quiet day, someone might figure out that the mysteries of the universe are never going to be solved in temples or mosques or churches

Must Read: The Drone Eats With Me: Diaries From A City Under Fire
By Vacy Vlazna

I read The Drone Eats With Me: Diaries from a City Under Fire by Atef Abu Saif in almost one sitting - resenting that I had to break to cook and eat dinner. These beautifully written searing diaries recounting each of the horrific 51 days of Israel’s monstrous war on the people of Gaza sweeps the reader into Atef’s anguished experience. An experience so dreadfully encompassing of the dark depths of human sentience that it is simultaneously personal and collective

22 June, 2015

Resist Fascist Invasion Of FTII
By Shini J K

In a country, which is proud of its so called ‘culture’, we the students of its best film school, is on strike, for the last eleven days, against the cultural fascism of this Great Nation, for the existence of this institute, for the generations who made cinema, their life and politics, and definitely for ourselves

America's U.N. Ambassador Continues Standing Up for Nazis
By Eric Zuesse

Our U.N. Ambassador, Ms. Power, recently visited the scene of this overthrow, in Kiev, and she presented there “Remarks at the October Palace," on 11 June 2015. Her first big applause-line to the assembled hyper-nationalists was: "As one of the great rallying cries of the Maidan put it: Ukraina po-nad u-se! Ukraine above all else!” That phrase resonates deeply among Hitler-admirers in Ukraine's population

Sopore Killings
By Abdul Majid Zargar

In a span of less than one month, six civilians have been killed in Sopore in quick succession at the hands of “Unidentified Gunmen”. There is a strong reason to believe that killings are the result of a covert operation hinted at by Union Defence Minster few days before the first bullet was fired to announce its launch

Belittling The Vice President Of India: Another Fascist Agenda
By Subhash Gatade

Both these incidents where a concerted attempt was made to denigrate the office of the Vice President brings into sharp focus the modus operandi of the RSS and its affiliated organisations. They have no qualms in spreading falsehoods, stigmatising communities, breaking procedures, targeting institutions. With each passing day one is witnessing that their voices are becoming shriller and adamant

21 June, 2015

“Laudato Si”: A 21st Century Manifesto For Earth Democracy
By Dr Vandana Shiva

"Laudato Si" is first of all a call for a change in consciousness and a world view from the dominant paradigm of the domination over nature and its destruction, to one where we see the Earth as our Mother, as our common home

New Hope For Avoiding Catastrophic Climate Change
By John Scales Avery

New hope that such a catastrophe for human civilization and the biosphere can be avoided comes from two recently-released documents: The Encyclical “Laudatum Si' ” by Pope Francis, and the statistics on the rate of growth of renewable energy newly released by the Earth Policy Institute

Marxism, Ecological Civilization, And China
By John Bellamy Foster

Chinese environmental laws have hitherto been characterized by weak enforcement, suggesting the dominance of profits over environmental protection. Such an overall development path is, if it should indeed continue on this same basis, is clearly non-sustainable, threatening to replicate some of the worst aspects of Western capitalism. In the age of planetary climate change alternative models must be found. This cannot be accomplished simply by technology but requires new ways of living. If China is truly to succeed in creating a new ecological civilization it will have to go in an even more radical direction, further removed from the regime of capital that has characterized the West and that is responsible for today's planetary ecological emergency

IMF Violates IMF Rules, To Continue Ukraine Bailouts
By Eric Zuesse

The IMF, whose bailout operations are absorbed by the taxpayers in the member countries whenever a particular bailed-out nation defaults, announced on Friday, June 19th, that it will "continue to support Ukraine through its Lending-into-Arrears Policy even in the event that a negotiated agreement with creditors in line with the program cannot be reached in a timely manner.” Though this new “Lending-into-Arrears” policy violates two IMF rules, it was justified by the IMF's Managing Director Christine Lagarde on the basis of the Ukrainian government's “continued efforts to reach a collaborative agreement with all creditors.” 

Public Didn't See Last Two World Wars Coming Either
By David Swanson

While I’m not suffering under the delusion that violence is Russia’s only or wisest or most strategic response, neither am I urging Russia to turn the other cheek. Having been saddled with a U.S. identity when I’d prefer a local or global one, it’s not my place to tell Russia what to do (could I improve on Tolstoy?). But I can tell the U.S. public to wake up and put a stop to this madness before it kills us all. World War III is not inevitable, but it is clearly headed our way if we don’t change course. And changing course would give us our best shot at avoiding environmental disaster as well

Why I Won't Do Yoga This Sunday!
By Dr. Shah Alam Khan

I refuse to participate in this blatant cultural revivalism not because Yoga is a Hindu tradition (if we can dare label it Hindu!) but because I cherish the freedom of cultural identity which the constitution of this land has given to me and to millions of other Indians. Not that Yoga curbs or temporarily halts this cultural identity, but revivalism of the sorts which this government is hell bent on unleashing definitely produces fear and apprehension in the minds of common people like me. The agenda of "one people, one empire, one leader" is what needs to be debated and rejected

Parliamentarians On 'World We Want Beyond 2015':
Sexual And Reproductive Health And Rights In Focus

By Shobha Shukla

The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs are a new, universal set of 17 proposed goals, with 169 targets that 193 countries (who are members of the UN) will be expected to use to frame their post-2015 development agendas and policies over the next 15 years, once the MDGs expire at the end of this year

20 June, 2015

Worldwide Displaced Population Reaches Record 59.5 Million In 2014
By Evan Blake

Worldwide forcible displacement due to armed conflict or persecution is at its highest level in recorded history, according to a report released Thursday by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The annual Global Trends Report: World at War estimates that a record 59.5 million people were forcibly displaced by the end of 2014, with the largest recorded annual increase of 8.3 million and a staggering increase of 22 million from merely a decade ago

Racism In USA:Psychology And Perception Fail The System
By Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava

The worst fears are here to stay. In USA again on the racial grounds innocent people have been killed in African-American church by a very young white fellow. Nine people died on the scene at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church when young white men shot them dead. A 21 year old young white men Dylann Roof was arrested and presented before the magistrate on the charge of killing nine innocent black people. Dylann Roof also raised racially inflammatory statements during killing. This killing has brought out reality of racial structure in the US society

Why Are Some Lebanese Sunni Muslims Becoming
Sympathetic Toward Da’ish (ISIS)?

By Franklin Lamb

The extreme’ ideology of Da’ish and its embrace of brutal violence have allowed it to quickly attract the attention of millions worldwide and is estimated to have resulted in thousands of recruits, many being from Lebanon. The group's ability to effectively leverage social media and disseminate its message -- with near instantaneous global repostings -- has enhanced its success. Governments around the world-including Lebanon have been ineffective in significantly curtaining its actions

Weeding Roses In Kabul
By Martha Hennessy

Of the estimated six million child laborers in Afghanistan, 60,000 work in Kabul, competing for meager wages. They sell bread and shine shoes on the streets to support their families so that they may eat. The June 2015 CIA World Fact Book reports that it is impossible to estimate the numbers of children out of school, however, in Afghanistan's teen and adult population, the literacy rate is 38.2%. Among females over age 14, only 24.2% can read and write. How can the street children achieve a better life if they remain illiterate?

European/Russian Crisis Created By Washington
By Paul Craig Roberts

The hope is that Washington will cause its European vassals to rebel by pushing them too hard into conflict with Russia. The hope that European countries will be forced into an independent foreign policy also seems to be the basis of the Russian government’s strategy. Perhaps intellectuals can help to bring this hope to fruition. If European politicians were to break from Washington’s hegemony and instead represent European interests, Washington would be deprived of cover for its war crimes. Washington’s aggressions would be constrained by an independent European foreign policy. The breakdown of the neoconservative unipower model would be apparent even to Washington, and the world would become a safer and better place

International Yoga Day: Yoga Must Reach To Gandhi's 'Last Person'
By Ravi Nitesh

There is an ongoing debate over Yoga. Unfortunately this debate is not concerned with objective of yoga, rather only on its socio-political aspect that took religious turn by questioning if all religions should do yoga

19 June, 2015

Heaven Belongs To Us All – The New Papal Encyclical
By Brigitte Knopf

With his encyclical “Laudato Si” the Pope has written more than a moral appeal without obligation. He has presented a pioneering political analysis with great explosive power, which will probably determine the public debate on climate change, poverty and inequality for years to come. Thus, the encyclical is also highly relevant to me as a non-Catholic and non-believer; the implications of the encyclical are very apparent through the eyes of a secular person

Climate Change Is A Crisis We Can Only Solve Together
By Naomi Klein

The hard truth is that the answer to the question “What can I, as an individual, do to stop climate change?” is: nothing. You can’t do anything. In fact, the very idea that we—as atomized individuals, even lots of atomized individuals—could play a significant part in stabilizing the planet’s climate system, or changing the global economy, is objectively nuts. We can only meet this tremendous challenge together. As part of a massive and organized global movement

European Union Extends Economic Sanctions Against Russia
By Alex Lantier

The six-month extension of European Union (EU) economic sanctions against Russia, agreed Wednesday in Brussels by ambassadors from all 28 EU members states, marks a milestone in the war drive waged by the imperialist powers of NATO against Russia

NATO Lies To NPR
By Eric Zuesse

On June 17th, U.S. National Public Radio (NPR) interviewed NATO's and America's General Ben Hodges, who is the Commanding General of the U.S. Army in Europe, which is "NATO's most senior land forces command.” He said (after 4:54 in the audio): “This notion that somehow, Russia, you know, has no choice but to respond or that the West is being provocative, really, I don't think rings true at all. … We're building up on NATO's borders. These are NATO countries, these are allies of ours, that are concerned based on what Russia is doing on their borders, and they've asked for assurance that their allies are there.”

In The USA – “I Cannot Write!”
By Andre Vltchek

It was the first time in many years that I had missed my column, my essays, for several weeks. Even when I was arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Kenya, in Senegal, I still managed to write. I managed to write after a deranged, evangelical and fascist preacher paid hotel staff to poison me in the Indonesian city of Surabaya. I wrote in many warzones and desperate slums, from Iraq to Mindanao, from Haiti to Marshall Islands. But I couldn’t write in the United States of America. Not one single line, not one word. Not this time

Purging Al Qaeda: The Assassination Of Nasir al-Wuhayshi
By Dan Glazebrook

"Celebrating the death of al-Wuhayshi as if it means the death of AQAP is a very flawed way to look at this," commented Adam Baron, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, to the International Business Times. For one thing, the assassination immediately catapulted AQAP military chief Qassim al-Raymi to the top position in AQAP. Yemen analyst Hisham al-Omesiy says that Raymi is “more dangerous and aggressive” than Wuhayshi, and predicts that “you will be seeing a more aggressive Al-Qaeda” from now on

How To Be An Infamous Underground Writer
By Mickey Z.

So, to those who wonder: How does one become one of those cool, edgy, infamous, underground writers like Buk? A. While talent and luck and good networking skills and being based in the U.S. all have something to do with it, of course, here’s the first and most important step: do not be a woman

Yoga, Politicians And Corporates
By Vidyadhar Date

The celebration of Yoga day on Sunday , June 21, by the BJP government and politicians and corporates is fine. But they need to remember that Yoga is more than a grand spectacle of mass physical exercise. True yoga is a way of life and it is a rejection of everything that the politicians and corporates have come to represent, power, profits, dominance, greed, exploitation. Yoga calls for restraint, ethical behavior, discipline, respect for the environment and the whole life around

India: The Economic Cost Of Violence In 2014
By Abdul Rashid Agwan

The latest report of the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) shocks the world by its assessment of the cost of violence the world has paid during the previous year. The report “Global Peace Index 2014: Measuring Peace and Assessing Country Risk” was released yesterday. India stands 143rd among 162 countries on the Global Peace Index and heavily squandered its national wealth on the anvil of communal, caste-based and class-based violence

Kashmir's Murky Waters!
By Mohammad Ashraf

Last year's flood, the worst of the century not only inundated the city of sun in murky waters but brought out the muck which has been enveloping Kashmiris for last 68 years now!

18 June, 2015

"Care For Our Common Home" Mother Earth
By Pope Francis

An extract from Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si. "The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all. At the global level, it is a complex system linked to many of the essential conditions for human life. A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system. In recent decades this warming has been accompanied by a constant rise in the sea level and, it would appear, by an increase of extreme weather events, even if a scientifically determinable cause cannot be assigned to each particular phenomenon. Humanity is called to recognise the need for changes of lifestyle, production and consumption, in order to combat this warming or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it"

Could The Global Problems Of The 21st-Century Have Been Predicted
By The Neo-Confucian Officials Of China's Past?

By C Ikehara

"Moderate prosperity" is just what the leader of China promised in a recent speech which I feel reflects the thinking of the Neo-Confucian ruling elite from the Ming Dynasty onward as to their belief that more important than growth was control. They realized the wisdom of the words of reformer Wang An-Shih of the earlier Song dynasty who said, "The state should take the entire management of commerce, industry and agriculture into its own hands, with a view to succoring the working classes and preventing them from being ground into the dust by the rich."

U.S. House Debates And Votes Down Withdrawal From Iraq/Syria
By David Swanson

Wednesday afternoon, by a vote of 288-139 with one voting "present" and five not voting (roll call of who voted which way is here) the U.S. House of Representatives voted down a resolution (H.Con.Res.55) that would have required the President to . . .

By Definition, An Aggressor Cannot Act In Defense
By Robert Barsocchini

The statement that Israel has the right to defend itself against Palestine is similar to the statement that if, say, the US annexed, occupied, and started building illegal settlements in Cuba (the parts the US isn’t already illegally occupying and using as a torture camp, Guantanamo), then the US would have the right to “defend” itself against Cubans acting in retaliation to US aggression.Everyone aside from blind fundamentalists and/or the hopelessly corrupt would laugh at the notion that in such a situation, US action against resistant Cubans would be “defense”. Likewise, the world laughs at the idea that Israel can “defend” itself against the vastly more outgunned Palestinians resisting Israeli aggression

Israel's Battles In Sports, Law, And Science
By Justin Podur

When people stop making Israel an exception to their consciences, to their sense of fairness and of justice; when people start thinking of Palestinians as human beings deserving of rights and of Palestinian children deserving of safety even while they do things like play soccer; when that happens Israel's advantages in billions and weapons won't be enough. When that happens, a just resolution of the conflict with equal rights for everyone will be possible

Time To Erase Israel’s Green Line
By Neve Gordon

About fifty students sat on the concrete floor of a makeshift shack, absorbing the desert heat as they listened to Salim talk about the imminent destruction of Umm al Hiran and Atir, two unrecognized Bedouin villages located twenty minutes from my apartment in Beer-Sheva. On May 6, the Supreme Court ruled that the villages could be destroyed, paving the way for the government to proceed with its plan to build a Jewish settlement called Hiran in place of Umm al Hiran as well as to replace the adjacent village Atir with a Jewish National Fund forest. If these plans are actualized, approximately 900 Palestinian Bedouin citizens will be forcefully relocated from their homes

Morsi: Sentencing Justice To Death In Egypt
By Chandra Muzaffar

It is utterly disgraceful that the first democratically elected president of Egypt has become the first Egyptian president in history to be sentenced to death by the highest judicial and religious authorities in his country

365 Days: Democracy & Secularism Under The Modi Regime
Press Release

Damage to India’s ethos may be irreversible, Civil Society report of One Year of Narendra Modi government. Violence, and Sangh Parivar threats, against religious minorities mounts; Government targets Education, Social sector, Dissent, Media, Science & Culture

17 June, 2015

Why We Fight For The Living World: It's About Love,
And It's Time We Said So

By George Monbiot

I see the encyclical by Pope Francis, which will be published on Thursday, as a potential turning point. He will argue that not only the physical survival of the poor, but also our spiritual welfare depends on the protection of the natural world; and in both respects he is right

Meet The Woman Behind #BlackLivesMatter—The Hashtag
That Became A Civil Rights Movement

By Liz Pleasant

Alicia Garza and two friends first tweeted #BlackLivesMatter to spark a conversation after the death of Trayvon Martin. Three years later, their hashtag has become a movement

Oppression of African Americans Is Not A Liberal Invention
By Matt Peppe

The most important accomplishment of Black Lives Matter has been to make these issues visible to so many people across the country. Unfortunately, many who benefit from white supremacy are determined to keep it invisible. As the national conversation shifts to confront systemic racism and discrimination, conservative confirmation bias is difficult to overcome. But in the end the facts speak for themselves. The more they lead to real social change, the stronger the conservative backlash will be at those who bear the message. Fortunately, the movements that have developed have shown every indication they are up for the challenge and are in the struggle for the long haul

Ten Myths About Greek Relations With The European Union, The IMF And The USA
By Jon Kofas

Greek myths advanced by apologists of austerity and neo-liberalism

Neil Young Is Starving The Poor! The Pro-GMO Lobby's Latest Scapegoat
By Colin Todhunter

The pro-GMO lobby's latest scapegoat is Neil Young who recently released an anti-GMO/ Monsanto album

Just Politics: Iran, Like The Rest, Is Not Blameless
By Ramzy Baroud

Iran is part and parcel of ongoing conflicts, has contributed to some, reacted to others; it labored to defeat US ambitions, but also cooperated with Washington when their interests intersected. It is as sectarian as the rest, and abashedly so. This is not an attempt at implicating Iran, but an attempt at an honest reading into a war involving many parties, whose hands are equally bloody

Fake Degree-Organized Racket Defaming Indian Education Standard
By Mousumi Roy

Recent arrest of Law Minister, Jitendra Singh Tomar, of present Delhi local government has added to new dimension, to show the extent and level this organized racket is operating in our country. In lighter side, this episode has become talking point as “Munna Bhai LLB”

Fact Finding Report On Illegal Detention And Custodial Torture Of Juvenile
By Koraput Youth Association

Shaken by the media reports of illegal detention and custodial torture of a 13-year old Dalit boy Sankar @ Rahul Garada, members of the Koraput Youth Association (KYA) decided to intervene into the matter and make all efforts to give justice to the juvenile victim. A first step in this direction was conducting a fact finding and for this five youth members of KYA visited the victim and his family to get to the core of illegal detention and custodial torture incident

16 June, 2015

U.S. May Position For A War Against Russia,
Russia Says It Will Respond If U.S. Does So

By Eric Zuesse

On Saturday, June 13th, The New York Times bannered, "U.S. Is Poised to Put Heavy Weaponry in Eastern Europe,” and Russia's response to the announcement wasn't long in coming. The Russian equivalent of America's Wall Street Journal and Britain's Financial Times, which is Kommersant (or Businessperson), headlined on June 15th, "US may redeploy heavy weapons to the borders of the Russian Federation,” and reported that, "According to sources in the Russian Government, the implementation of this plan will force Moscow to post on the border with the Baltic countries Russia's own offensive military capability that can destroy US facilities in the event of a hypothetical conflict.”

Ukraine And The Apocalyptic Risk Of Propagandized Ignorance
By David Swanson

I’m not sure if there’s been a better written book published yet this year than Ukraine: Zbig’s Grand Chessboard and How the West Was Checkmated, but I’m confident there’s not been a more important one. With some 17,000 nuclear bombs in the world, the United States and Russia have about 16,000 of them. The United States is aggressively flirting with World War III, the people of the United States have not the foggiest notion of how or why, and authors Natylie Baldwin and Kermit Heartsong explain it all quite clearly. Go ahead and tell me there’s nothing you’re now spending your time on that’s less important than this

Can America Heal After Ferguson? We Asked Desmond Tutu And His Daughter
Interview By Fania Davis & Sarah van Gelder

It’s quite amazing how powerful “I’m sorry, please forgive me” can turn out to be when it is genuine. But the genuineness will be tested, in fact, by whether you are prepared to make up as far as you can. Are you ready to provide material resources that will seek to redress the balance? In the United States, that’s schools, and housing, and work, job.....

In Their Own Words: US Intelligence On AQI And The Syrian War
By Judy Bello

We might infer from these reports and the unfolding realities of the war that the criminal network in Syria now belongs to the CIA, who use it to train fighters and move them into and around the country just as AQI did prior to 2008. They no longer need to move them across the Iraq border as ISIS controls that border. They merely have to restrain regional US air forces from bombing ISIS convoys on the 500- 600 km journey across the desert from Raqqah or Deir Ezzor to Mosul and Ramadi

Israel’s Race To Economic (And Moral) Bankruptcy
By Jonathan Cook

Two recent reports suggest that Israel could face catastrophic consequences if it fails to end the mistreatment of Palestinians under its rule, whether in the occupied territories or in Israel itself. The Rand Corporation’s research shows that Israel could lose $250 billion over the next decade if it fails to make peace with the Palestinians and violence escalates. Ending the occupation, on the other hand, could bring a dividend of more than $120 billion to the nation’s coffers

The Hoax of Climate Denial 
By Naomi Oreskes

Why “Politically Motivated” Science Is Good Science 

Reflections On China’s South Sea Trouble
By Thomas Riggins

The U.S. involvement is adventuristic and provocative with regard to the PRC’s activities in the island chain and on the same level with its provocations against Russia over NATO expansion in Eastern Europe and its attempt, along with the EU, to assert its interests in the Ukraine at the expense of Russian interests and those of millions of Ukrainians who wish to maintain friendly relations with both Russia and the EU. Here the U.S. seeks to drive a wedge between the PRC and its neighbors

Why Are FTII Students Again On Strike?
By Ajithkumar B. and Kamal K. M.

The central government, in blatant disregard to all conventions regarding academic administration appointed Mr. Gajendra Chauhan, whose claim to glory is having acted the part of Yudhishtira in the TV series Mahabharata. He has also acted in a number of soft porn flicks. He is a ruling party man. Except four members from the film fraternity who have resigned, all other appointees to the newly constituted GC are functionaries of various organisations of the saffron brigade who have nothing to do with cinema

NAPM Denounces The Land Acquisition Bill 2015
As Anti-Farmer-Labourer And Anti–Democratic

By National Alliance of People’s Movements

On June 15, National Alliance of people’s movements (NAPM) delegation led by Medha Patkar and comprising of comprising Advocate Sanjay Parikh, Sowmya Datta, Vimalbhai, Madhuresh kumar, Kailash Meena, Hasraj Ghevra, Shabnam Shaikh deposed before the 20 member Joint Committee on the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015

15 June, 2015

US To Station Troops, Heavy Weaponry On Russia’s Border
By Barry Grey

In a brazen move to prepare for war with Russia, the United States is planning to permanently station battle tanks and other heavy weaponry and maintain a force of up to 5,000 US troops in the Baltic States and other Eastern European NATO countries that were once part of the Soviet Union or its periphery

US May Change Its Baltic-East Europe Policy: Military Strength May Increase
By Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava

US defense ministry has decided that Eastern European countries now need the better military preparedness hence strength full military needs to be stationed in this part of the Europe. According to a report in “New York Time” USA may station 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers; and with equipment sufficient for about 150 soldiers may be placed at three Baltic nations; Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and about 750 soldiers may be placed at Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and possibly Hungary

US, UK And Anglosphere Human Rights Abuses
And War Crimes Trash Magna Carta 800th Anniversary

By Dr Gideon Polya

15 June 2015 marks the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta by King John at Runnymede. Magna Carta notably gave English “free men” freedom from arbitrary, non-judicial imprisonment, dispossession, outlawing, banishment or destruction by the ruler, a freedom that was variously progressively extended to all citizens and subjects in the Anglosphere over the next 8 centuries. However the US, UK, Apartheid Israel, and Australia have continued to grossly violate this freedom in the 21st century

Ignoring Reality, Subverting Morality: GMOs And The Neoliberal Apologists
By Colin Todhunter

Because any type of critical analysis that links the GMO issue with the system these neoliberal mouthpieces defend and which touches on the concerns outlined in this article is met with mockery and name calling from them - it's all ‘anti-capitalist’ twaddle or conspiracy theory mouthed by a bunch of ‘green blob’, immoral, self-serving hippies, so they say. They seem to think projection passes for debate. It doesn't

Why We Should Support Raif Badawi
By Devika Mittal

Raif Badawi is undergoing the punishment for the charge of “insulting Islam”. He is imprisoned. He had received the first 50 lashes in January. But since his wounds remain unhealed, the punishment has not been repeated. Badawi’s case is or should be for everyone who speaks and respects “Freedom of Speech”, “Secularism” and “Justice”. Here’s why we all should support him and demand his immediate release

An Open Letter To Mr Gajendra Chauhan By An FTII Student
By An FTII Student

As protests against the appointment of Mr Gajendra Chauhan as new chairman of the Institute gather steam, with students on an indefinite strike since 12 th June and a joint protest being organised in Delhi on Tuesday at 11 am in front of I&B ministy in solidarity with the strike, here is an open letter written to the newly appointed Chairman by a FTII student. Facts are also coming to the fore that not only Mr Chauhan but four of the eight members nominated under ‘Persons of Eminence’ category to the society also have saffron connections further demonstrating how the Sangh Parivar is keen to change the very ethos and nature of these institutions and establish its regressive agenda

Where Do Ram And Allah Live?
By Ram Puniyani

Lord Ram and Allah are almighty and the mortals like us, including the breast beaters from communal formations, should prefer to see that the housing is provided to all the mortals, ordinary people so that they don’t have to live on the pavements-slums and suffer the ignominy. Can one hope that rather than presenting the past in a one sided; divisive manner we look at the story from all the angles, and put forth the rational one. We need to cultivate our faith for well being of all our society as a whole on the lines of Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam

13 June, 2015

Pentagon Seeks Network Of New US Military Bases In Iraq
By Thomas Gaist

The Pentagon is preparing to develop a network of new US military bases in strategic areas of Iraq, General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Thursday. The new US garrisons will house further deployments of hundreds more US troops, beyond the deployment of an additional 450 US forces announced by the Obama administration on Wednesday

US Imperialist Strategy In Tatters
By Serge Jordan

A year after ISIS captured Mosul, the jihadist group controls about half of Syria and a third of Iraq – more territory than ever before

Exponential Growth
By John Scales Avery

Exponential growth of any quantity with time has some remarkable characteristics, which we ought to try to understand better, since this understanding will help us to predict the future. The knowledge will also show us the tasks which history has given to our generation. We must perform them with urgency in order to create a future in which our descendants will be able to survive

Stopping Obama's “Legacy” ‘Trade'-Deals: Did Reid Finally Do It?
By Eric Zuesse

President Obama has many times made clear to congressional Democrats that the most important thing in the “legacy” that he hopes to leave behind from his Presidency is his big-three ‘trade' deals: TPP with Asia, TTIP with Europe, and TISA for international services including banking and insurance

Rising Corporate Military Complex In India: A Critical Appraisal
By Rahul Varman

The enormous expenditure in the name of nation’s security has remained opaque and mostly outside public scrutiny. Most of the data and information employed here are drawn from the print and web media, Government documents available in the public domain, and reports by consulting firms and policy institutions. One could find almost no research studies based on primary data – pointing to the abysmal failure of research institutions to study such a vital aspect of the Indian economy and polity

12 June, 2015

Earth Has Warmed As Usual, With No Slowdown
By Tim Radford

Forget about the so-called “hiatus” in global warming. The planet’s average temperatures are notching up as swiftly now as they did 20 or 30 years ago. A team of US researchers has looked again not just at the data for the last 60 years but at how it has been collected, and done the sums again. They conclude, in the journal Science, that the “estimate for the rate of warming during the first 15 years of the 21st century is at least as great as the last half of the 20th century. These results do not support the notion of a ‘slowdown’ in the increase of global surface temperature rise.”

Climate Action Is In The Air
By Hoda Baraka

Just next week, we will welcome the Pope’s climate encyclical, which we expect to issue a clear moral call for action. Soon after, the medical community will weigh in on the health impacts of climate change with the new Lancet commission report. And the people will keep marching: mobilizations are planned across Europe and around the world. Just this morning, activists with the German group Ende Gelande hosted an action training outside this conference center to prepare for a mass protest of the Rhineland coal mines, the largest source of CO2 emissions in Europe, located just 40km from here in Bonn

The Future History Of Political Economy – Part 2
By Eric Zencey

Thermodynamics in Economics: Revolutionary portent, future history

Message From Fr. Miguel d'Escoto To Zaid Aziz And Family Of Tariq Aziz,
Former Deputy Prime Minister Of Iraq

By Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann

Former Iraqi deputy Prime Minister of Iraq Tariq Aziz died last week in prison from a heart attack. Here is a letter to Tariq Aziz's son from a former friend from Nicaragua

German Companies Stop Sales of “Roundup”
By Eric Zuesse

According to Swiss supermarkets, German companies have announced halting sales of Monsanto's glyphosate herbicide.  In 1971, Monsanto patented glyphosate. Today its glyphosate (“Roundup”) constitutes two billion US dollars in annual sales

Lebanon’s Palestinian Camps Protest UNRWA Aid Cuts
By Louisa Lamb

Hopefully, sooner rather than later, UNRWA will find a way to gain funds and continue providing assistance to these noble people, and hopefully the world community will do what their claimed humanitarian values demand, and return them to their country, Palestine

Dalit-Adivasi Women Rise Up: A Swabhiman Yatra Across Odisha
Press Release

Dalit Adivasi Mahila Swabhiman Yatra travelled more than 3000 kms across 11 districts of Odisha, conducted more than 45 village/street meetings, several public rallies in towns and submitted memorandum at District Collectorate of all districts. The Yatra team comprising of Dalit leaders from Haryana, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, volunteers, leaders and cultural activists from Odisha and several Dalit Adivasi community women leaders who travelled from village to village, town to town, district to district are now witness to brutal and heinous crimes against Dalits & Adivasi’s and Dalit women in particular

11 June, 2015

Poll Finds Mass Opposition In Europe To War Drive vs. Russia Over Ukraine
By Alex Lantier

The findings of a poll published yesterday by the Washington, DC-based Pew Research Center, showing broad opposition in Europe to a NATO war with Russia, underscore the anti-democratic character of the US-led war drive against Russia over Ukraine

Protesting Workers Occupy Finance Ministry In Athens
By Countercurrents.org

About 200 members of the communist-leaning Greek trade union PAME have occupied the finance ministry building in Athens, blaming the government for its inability to pull the country out of the crisis. There are plans to organize protest demonstrations throughout the country including capital Athens

Are We Prepared To Change To Prevent Climate Change?
By Christiane Kliemann

Don’t you think it’s high time we listen to our children, get out of our comfort zone and do all we can to safeguard the Earth for them? Consume less, share more and stand up against fossil fuels, urban sprawl, destructive infrastructures and resource extractivism. And, above all, fight for an economy that can fulfil everyone’s basic needs within the natural boundaries of a healthy planet

The Top 1% of America's Top 1%: The 15 Peak Years
For Top-End Income-Shares In U.S., 1913-2013 

By Eric Zuesse

So, we've met our masters, the top 1% of the top 1%. They like things just the way they are, but they want more of it. More poverty for the masses (or else in foreign countries) means more money for themselves; it's increasingly the American way to super-wealth. “The economics are compelling,” says one aspirant to billionairdom, in that last video. But, “No, I wouldn't want to live here.” It's just a proven fact; this really is the way to succeed, and successful people have no qualms about it

"They Demolish And We Rebuild"
By Jen Marlowe

A Palestinian Family’s Struggle to Stay on Their Land

Condemn The Killing Of Children In Encounter In Jharkhand
By Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association

Like the ‘encounter’ at Sarkeguda three years ago, this encounter at Bhalwahi village, too has resulted in the casualties of minors. And in a replay of the 2012 encounter, the security forces have termed these children as part of a Maoist squad. International jurisprudence on children in armed conflict has been continuously evolving in order to protect children from violence. The Jharkhand DGP D.K. Pandey’s comment, in response to the killing of minors, that the “bullet does not differentiate” displays a remarkable lack of training in any humanitarian law, or indeed of the law of the land

Sri Lanka : Deterioration Of The Legal Intellect (11):
Small Miracles That Can Be Achieved Through Justice

By Basil Fernando

In this series of short essays I have attempted to demonstrate the terrible situation of institutions of justice- police, prosecutors and the judiciary- through some samples. I have also tried to show how intricately linked are the political and societal crisis plaguing the country and the sad state of justice institutions. In this essay, I will try to go through the same exercise by narrating stories which stand in opposition to the Sri Lankan experiences

10 June, 2015

G7 Pledge Of Zero Emissions By 2100 Masks Worsening
Climate Emergency And Need For Urgent Action

By Dr Gideon Polya

The June 2015 G7 pledges of (a) zero emissions by 2100 and (b) avoidance of a plus 2 degrees C temperature rise were greeted as “the end of fossil fuels”. Unfortunately (a) the World will exceed its Terminal Carbon Budget for a 75% probability of avoiding plus 2 degrees C in about 3 years, and (b) a plus 2 degrees C temperature rise is disastrous for Humanity and the Biosphere, yielding at equilibrium sea levels “at least 6 to 8 metres higher” according Dr James Hansen of NASA

Obama Hints At Escalation Of Iraq-Syria War
By Patrick Martin

President Obama ended the G7 summit in Bavaria Monday with a press conference where he took several questions on the deepening crisis in the Middle East and North Africa, and dropped hints of an impending US escalation of the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)

Why EIA, IEA, And BP Oil Forecasts Are Too High
By Gail Tverberg

The world economy would need to contract greatly in order to shrink down to the oil available. Such shrinkage might be accomplished by a cutback in trade and loss of jobs. Debt defaults would likely be another feature of the new smaller economy. Such a scenario would explain how future oil production may deviate significantly from the forecasts of EIA, IEA, and BP

Storm In Maggi’s Cup
By Vandana Shiva

Lead-laden Maggi is a wake-up call. It’s a reminder for the government of its role and responsibility in regulating corporations to ensure that public health and safety are not compromised

German Banker: Obama Is Destroying Europe
By Eric Zuesse

Interviewed on June 6th by German Economic News, the chief economist at Bremer Landesbank, Folker Hellmeyer, says that because of Obama's sanctions against Russia, German exports declined year-over-year by 18% in 2014, and by 34% in the first two months of 2015 (no later figures), but he asserts that "The damage is much more comprehensive than these statistics show,” because those are only the “primary losses,” and there are in addition “secondary effects,” which get even worse over time

Exposing Lies, Telling The Truth
By Robert J. Burrowes

I have just read Andre Vltchek's new book 'Exposing Lies of the Empire'. Let me tell you something about this book of 800 pages. Vltchek writes with passion and poetry, describing the true horror experienced by the world at large, living at the gunpoint of the imperial powers, while also describing and drawing you into a world of progress, culture and refinement that exists in some places and, so we are tantalised, might exist elsewhere too and even, perhaps, one day for us all

The 1915−1916 Armenian Genocide: An Ideology, Course And Consequences
By Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirović

The Armenian genocide is one of the most important and influential instances of ethnic cleansing, people’s transfer and economic dispossession in the history of modern times. As the first 20th century’s genocide, the Armenian genocide has to be, and is, taken into consideration as an example and pattern for subsequent genocides in the coming decades. As such, it is of cardinal historical significance, and it is critically important that today’s generationscan properly understand this case study of inhumanity

What This World Needs Is Some Really Honest Journalists
By Ramzy Baroud

I write this with the depth of understanding of one of those who was voiceless and under the thumb of a brutal occupier for most of my life. If there is anything this world needs, it’s an honest breed of journalists - who take no sides but that of the oppressed. We can’t really find resolution to the tragic events unfolding around us until we understand the truth of how we got into this grim reality in which we find ourselves. Telling the truth is a good place to start

Global Political Quagmire: Leaders Who Could Not Lead
By Mahboob A. Khawaja

The informed global community wishes to see dialogue, reconciliation and opportunities for peaceful settlement of conflicts. Have the Two World Wars resolved any problems facing the humanity? What is the cure to raging indifference and cruelty to the interests of the whole of the mankind? The 21st century new-age complex political, economic, social and strategic challenges and the encompassing opportunities warrant new thinking, new leaders and new visions for change, conflict management and participatory peaceful future-making

Sri Lanka : Deterioration Of The Legal Intellect (10):
"Justice System" As A Threat To Democracy And Rule Of Law

By Basil Fernando

In countries where modern justice systems are established, completion of a criminal trial within a year is now the rule. In Sri Lanka, when victims of crimes are strong enough not to discontinue their participation, a trial can go on even after 14 years

The Fualtlines Of Jaitapur And The Geological Suprises Of The New Century
By VT Padmanabhan1, R Ramesh, V Pugazhendi & Joseph Makkolil

While the ongoing Nepal earthquake which came in being in April 2015 is still shaking the Himalyas and the IndoGangetic belt, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the public sector undertaking – the Nuclear Powr Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) have been placed in an awkward situation as they have no credible explanation for selecting a high seismic risk coastal zone for the biggest nuclear power park in the world which will house six French Areva reactors with a total installed capacity of 10,000 MW(e). Besides the other common issues of cancer and genetic diseases, impact on the farms and fisheries, possibility of an earthquake is the immediate concern of the people in Ratnagiri, Mumbai and other Western Ghat states

It’s The Business, Stupid!
By Parvez Alam

Politics is all about business and economics. Business conglomerates are running the world and not the elected governments. The recent Oxfam report 2015 says that “1% of the world’s population will own more wealth than the other 99% in 2016.” This is grave issue of inequality where democracy prevails in more than 80% of the globe. Democracy stands for building egalitarian society, that’s what common masses believed and accepted as the political system. But it seems that ideals of democracy is muffled and twisted for the ruling class

Vegetarian Vigilantism
By VidyaBhushan Rawat

Vegetarianism is basically considered to be a ‘nonviolent’ approach towards nature and our food habits. People who did not like ‘animal slaughtering’ and ‘cruelty’ on them would often turn vegetarians. Many people are vegetarians because of their taste for the food others are because of basic cultural values they inherited. The war in India is not just being vegetarian and non-vegetarian but gone further. It is a well thought action to isolate Muslims and Christians on the basis of their food habits even when the facts are that not all of them eat it. Contrary to this, a very large number of caste Hindus eat beef. It was never a taboo with communities of Dalits and Aadivasis. But the politics behind the whole debate actually intend to communalize the matter further for ulterior political profits

Political Economy Of Beef Ban
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Habits, culture, principles, ideologies are meant for poor but for these ‘sellers’ it is profit even if they have to sale the sentiments of the people and lit a fire to kill people if that give them business. The right wingers in India will never touch an issue which is ‘economically’ as well as politically loss making. Beef ban and the noise subsequently help it both the way, a booming business of export and rich crop of hatred to harvest during the elections. Shame!

09 June, 2015

G7 Leaders Escalate War Threats Against Russia
By Thomas Gaist

During their second day of discussions in the resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the German Alps on Monday, the leaders of the major imperialist powers affirmed their commitment to a policy of escalating strategic and military pressure against Russia

The Reversal of Kerry's Ukraine Statement Came From Obama, Not Nuland
By Eric Zuesse

When Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland on May 15th contradicted her boss John Kerry's statement of three days earlier, in which Kerry had warned Ukraine's President Petro Petroshenko not to violate the Minsk II agreement, and not to invade Crimea, and not to re-invade Donbass, the source of this reversal was actually U.S. President Barack Obama, and not Victoria Nuland (as the State Department had reported)

10 Reasons The TPP Is Not A 'Progressive' Trade Agreement
By Ralph Nader

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is formally described as a trade and foreign investment agreement between 12 nations -- Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam. The White House is now pressuring Congress to Fast Track through the TPP. Fast Track authority, a Congressional procedure to limit time for debate and prohibit amendments to proposed legislation, has already passed in the Senate, although only after an unexpectedly rough ride. Here are 10 reasons why the TPP is explicitly not a "progressive" trade agreement

What's Wrong With The Obama Administration's Trade-Deal Arguments
By Eric Zuesse

Barack Obama wants to bring the world into international fascist control more than has ever yet existed on this planet. If he succeeds, he will thus be the most harmful political leader in world history. His deals must be stopped. They are horrendous

Fear And Learning In Kabul
By Kathy Kelly

That message of courage and compassion will not -- and cannot-- always prevail. But if we take note of it, and even more, if, learning from its example, we take action to exemplify it ourselves, then it offers us a path out of childish fear, out of panicked collusion in war, and out, perhaps, of war’s mad grip. We ourselves arrive in a notably better world when we determine to build it for others. Our own education, our own victory over fear, and our own arrival as equals in an adult world, can begin or begin again – now. So let us begin

A View From The Other 96%
By David Swanson

Exposing Lies of Empire by Andre Vltchek is an 800-page tour of the world between 2012 and 2015 without a Western tour guide. It ought to make you spitting-mad furious, then grateful for the enlightenment, and then ready to get to work

BBC Panorama Programme: Promoting GMO And Cultivating Ignorance
By Colin Todhunter

I wasn’t expecting much. So I wasn’t disappointed when I didn’t receive much. I’m talking about the BBC Panorama programme on GMOs that aired in the UK on Monday 8 June. The title of the programme was ‘GM Food – Cultivating Fear’. So it was pretty much clear what was to follow

The Zionist Lobby Goes Wild Over BDS
By Ludwig Watzal

The Zionist Lobby sees "delegitimization of Israel" as an existential threat. The BDS movement seems even more dangerous than the non-existent Iranian nuclear arsenal. But the real problem is the Palestinian people. They are still in their country that the Zionist colonizers regard as theirs as many members of Netanyahu's government mentioned recently. The problem for the West is not BDS, which is overdue, but rather Israel's "ethno-religious-supremacists" regime, which looks like an "Islamic State" disguised in Jewish garments

The Postmortem Of Scrapping Telecom Services In The Kashmir Valley
By Dr. Fayaz Ahmad Bhat

Now the question is why government and its agencies can be responsible for scrapping telecommunication services in the valley? What are the objectives and motives behind scrapping mobile service? For finding out the answer to these questions one needs to go back into the history and understand the context in which development has taken place

08 June, 2015

Freedom Of Expression:A Victory In IIT-Madras,
Now Stand In Solidarity With Kancha Ilaiah

By K.P. Sasi

Now it is time to work on the human rights violation and violation of freedom of expression of Kancha Ilaiah. Prof. Kancha Ilaiah is certainly one of the most prominent Dalit intellectuals in India today. The harassment on Kancha Ilaiah indicates another important signal. The message is loud and clear: `If we can do this to Kancha Iliah, then we can do it to any ordinary Dalit, Adivasi or Muslim.' It is high time that the same collective energy all over India which was expreessed in the case of Ambedkar-Periyar study circle, IITM, is exhibited on the issue of police cases on Kancha Iliah

Ban On Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle Lifted
Press Statement By Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle

Yes the ban is lifted. Or in the words of the IIT M admin, the recognition is reinstated. Whole world knows why this ban was imposed. The facts are, we were instructed to change the name of the study circle by the DOS, the illegality of acting upon an anonymous letter, the intervention of the HRD ministry, the open admission of Mr.H.Raja (state vice president of the BJP) that he demanded the IIT M admin to ban study circle like ours

Enough Of Erdogan: Verdict In Turkey Election
By Farooque Chowdhury

Tayyip Erdogan’s dream of turning an all powerful president has been stalled by the Turkish voters. The just concluded parliamentary election experienced the voters’ negation of a dreaming sultan. To many, it’s a victory over political corruption. Erdogan was seeking a two-thirds majority to turn the country into a presidential governing system

Archbishop Romero, Assassinated By US-Backed Terrorists During Mass, Beatified
By Robert Barsocchini

The Telesur news outlet is currently featuring an interactive piece covering the life, murder, legacy, and now beatification of Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero

"It's Like A Jail," An Account Of Life In Lebanon's Refugee Camps
As Told By A Syrian-Palestinian Refugee

By Louisa Lamb

Lebanon’s 12 refugee camps have become more crowded since March of 2011, but in large numbers starting in mid-December 2012, when Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp was heavily bombed. Between 70,000 and 90,000 Syrian-Palestinians have entered Lebanon and are staying mainly in Lebanon’s 12 refugee camps. Most were forced out of Syria because of persistent and accelerating civil-sectarian war, while others have left because of the lack of resources

The Geopolitics of American Global Decline: 
Washington Versus China In The Twenty-First Century 

By Alfred W. McCoy

For even the greatest of empires, geography is often destiny. You wouldn't know it in Washington, though. America's political, national security, and foreign policy elites continue to ignore the basics of geopolitics that have shaped the fate of world empires for the past 500 years. Consequently, they have missed the significance of the rapid global changes in Eurasia that are in the process of undermining the grand strategy for world dominion that Washington has pursued these past seven decades

Hasanu Survived, Trust Died: Story Of A Victim Of Atali Communal Violence
By Ravi Nitesh

Though Hasanu survived, but what died, was the trust that he had for his fellow villagers. Probably Hasanu’s wounds on head, ear and body also may get healed, but what about the trust that was broken?

Sri Lanka: Deterioration Of The Legal Intellect (9):
The Rape Victim Who Got Hell Of A Justice

By Basil Fernando

Rita, a rape victim visited the Magistrates Court 24 times between 2001 and 2004. Then, the case was referred to the Attorney General for the filing of indictment. The visits she made to the High Court thereafter, and reasons for postponements, are catalogued as follows

Manipur Ambush And The Retaliation
By Campaign For Peace And Democracy

We feel that the ongoing combing operation is an emotive revenge following the ambush. The armed rebels must have fled; but the onus is being imposed on the villagers who live in and around the battlefield. It is similar to a situation when two vehicles met with an accident and the blame was on those who were living near the accident site. There were instances in the past, when the Indian army killed some rebels in a village and the rebels held the villagers responsible for it. The two characters are similar. We disagree with it

07 June, 2015

Renewable Energy Will Not Support Economic Growth
By Richard Heinberg

The world needs to end its dependence on fossil fuels as quickly as possible. That’s the only sane response to climate change, and to the economic dilemma of declining oil, coal, and gas resource quality and increasing extraction costs. The nuclear industry is on life support in most countries, so the future appears to lie mostly with solar and wind power. But can we transition to these renewable energy sources and continue using energy the way we do today? And can we maintain our growth-based consumer economy?

The Futility Of Expecting Peace And Honesty Under Capitalism
By Lionel Anet

Competition has a further important asset for the few billionaires, it sets the tone of society, which glorifies and envies winners and despise losers. But that is accepting a disparity in the allocation of all resources, which is the right to have more power than others, with a better life style, good health care, able to get better legal advice, and so on. Competition’s purpose is to create inequality of importance, which in capitalism are wealth and power, and that is unfair and is not only dishonest, but the competition justifies and glorifies the exploitation

Is there A Single Development Model That Works?
By Jon Kofas

Lower global poverty, gender equality, basic education and health care, and a sustainable future for all people are desirable goals of many human-centered rather than market-focused people for the past two centuries. The question is which development model can achieve such goals if the political economy is structured to serve narrow class interests

Obama Sidelines Kerry On Ukraine Policy
By Eric Zuesse

Kerry was reaffirming the position of Merkel and Hollande, the key shapers of the Minsk II agreement; and Nuland was nullifying them. Obama now has sided with Nuland on this; it's a slap in the face to the EU: Poroshenko can continue ignoring Kerry and can blatantly ignore the Minsk II agreement; and Obama tacitly sides with Poroshenko and Nuland, against Kerry

Reports On 2012 DIA Docs Noting Extremist-Led,
Western-Backed Syrian Insurgency Gain Momentum

By Robert Barsocchini

A former marine with years of experience in Syria and the Middle East, Brad Hoff, broke the story about 2012 DIA docs that state the insurgency in Syria is driven by Islamic extremists, and predict the establishment of an “Islamic state” in Eastern Syria

U.S. State Department Identifies Posada Carriles As
Planner Of 1976 Terrorist Attack On A Cuban Airliner

By Prensa Latina

A declassified 1976 U.S. State Department document identifies Luis Posada Ca­rriles as the most likely author of a terrorist attack on a Cuban airliner that year which took the lives of all 76 passengers aboard

Interpreting The Demonstration At Garmisch-Partenkirchen
By Vivek Kumar Srivastava

The protest at the G7 meeting at mountain town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in South Germany has been peaceful but the minds of many are in the state of agitation. The demonstrators aimed to highlight the issues like globalization, climate change, poverty and inequality

Our Icarus Moment: Technocracy, Plutocracy, And The Need For Sense
By Romi Mahajan

There is no higher expression of arrogance than technocracy. Plutocracy and technocracy have become the twin theologies of our times. “We see what you cannot, we know what you cannot, we do what you cannot so follow our lead “technocrats not so subtly intone as they increasingly take over the world

Manufacturing America's Dreams
By Gregg Shotwell

Auto companies shield their low-tech exploitation of workers behind high-tech displays of mechanical prowess. The less a consumer knows about the blood and guts of manufacturing, the easier it is to buy the dream. So how does America think all this crap gets built?

Taxation Without Representation—Déjà vu
By William John Cox

The U.S Supreme Court's acceptance of a case about the allocation of voting districts will have consequences far beyond the millions of U.S. taxpayers its ruling may deprive of representation. A decision that only counts voters, rather than all persons, will undermine the very foundation of the Republic

Modi’s Bangladesh Visit, India Wish list And Peoples Agenda
By Anu Muhammad

At the moment, people in Bangladesh are struggling to save Sundarbans, which is under attack by India’s NTPC. We hope that people of India will work against it, will actively mobilize opinions to scrap the project and to save the Sundarbans. That has the potential to set an example for a new level of people-to-people solidarity for democracy, humanity and development in the region

The Fuss About One-Rank-One-Pension (OROP)
By S.G.Vombatkere

It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that OROP is a matter of simple justice. Some Veterans say that governments playing with their patience at the behest of vested interests that delay or deny OROP, are figuratively playing with a bomb with a slow-burning fuse. Only time will tell whether the Maha-Rally will result in grant of OROP, or whether the vested interests succeed in destroying the bond between the soldier-veteran on the one hand and the government on the other

06 June, 2015

US-Backed War On Yemen Leaves 20 Million Without Food, Water, Medical Care
By Bill Van Auken

The US-backed war against Yemen has left some 20 million people—nearly 80 percent of the country’s population—facing a humanitarian disaster, without access to adequate food, water and medical care, the United Nations top aid official informed member nations of the UN Security Council this week

Albert Einstein, Scientist And Pacifist
By John Scales Avery

Besides being one of the greatest physicists of all time, Albert Einstein was a lifelong pacifist, and his thoughts on peace can speak eloquently to us today. We need his wisdom today, when the search for peace has become vital to our survival as a species

25 Ways World-Leading Climate Criminal Australia Threatens Planet
And Invites Boycotts, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS)

By Dr Gideon Polya

Greedy, rich Australia is a world-leading climate criminal country that with 0.3% of world population is responsible for 3% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution and is politically overwhelmingly committed to a derisory “5% off 2000 GHG pollution by 2020” and to unlimited coal, gas and iron ore exports that will see Australia exceed by a factor of three the whole world's terminal Carbon Budget that must not be exceeded if the world is to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2 degrees Centigrade temperature rise

Save The US Postal Service Before It’s Too Late
By Andy Piascik

Perhaps you’ve noticed there are fewer post offices around. In the past decade, the United States Postal Service has closed almost 200 facilities nationwide in an aggressive effort to do away with and eventually privatize an institution that is older than the country itself

Jammu Shehar Naa Dain Meri Maa…? O My Mother, Don’t Send Me To Jammu…?
By Simran Kaur

Sikh social media is abuzz with the killing in Jammu, flashing back to the killings of 1984. Meanwhile, in Canada, a significant number of Sikhs are vociferously protesting the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration, that has been designated for June 6, one of the bloodiest days in Sikh history in the twentieth century. And in the United States, some Sikhs are rallying against “India Day 2015" being held in San Francisco on June 6. To them, it’s incomprehensible that the first week of June can be about anything but the massacres of June 1984, especially when June 2015 continues with clear evidence of oppression

Kashmir: Mysterious Attacks And Distant Peace
By Imran Khan

With attacks on mobile towers in Kashmir resulting in death of two people and the subsequent threats to several others having links with cellular companies the mobile communication came to a halt few days before in Kashmir leading to many problems in communication, business, studies etc. The panic and anguish was quite clearly seen among general masses with such mysterious attacks. Though both government and militant groups denied allegiance to such attacks however both kept accusing each other for these attacks

Kashmir: Oppression Inevitably Breeds Resistance
By Sheikh Shahid

The grip of Indian establishment was made slippery as the Sang-baz were high on the drugs - The drugs of Freedom. If today, Kashmir seems relatively calm it is not that the sentiment of Aazadi is dead, but that in absence of a resolution the summers are bound to return anytime, with a renewed dynamism. Hence, a solution to Kashmir conflict is to be found without the banal time-buying tactic, that only provide a silent impetus to the bloody summers

Modi Visits Bangladesh, But Teesta Is Not Even In The Agenda
By Taj Hashmi

I think it is time to appraise a) if India’s Bangladesh policy under the Hindu Nationalist Modi government is somewhat more benign and friendly than what it was under his predecessors; and b) if Bangladesh will be getting its due share of waters from the Ganges, Teesta and Barak. I have not yet seen any such sign. What I see is: Modi is not even going to discuss Teesta, let alone giving Bangladesh its due share of the waters, “this time”. One wonders, if there will ever be a “next time”!

Withdraw Police Case Against Prof Kancha Ilaiah
And Revoke The Ban On Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle

By People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism

A case has been filed by the Hyderabad police against well known Dalit writer and academic Kancha Ilaiah on a complaint by Vishwa Hindu Parishad members for hurting their religious sentiments. The complaint was filed on the basis of Ilaiah’s article Devudu Prajasamya Vada Kada? (Is God a democrat?) published in a Telugu daily on May 9. The police action against Ilaiha has come around the same time that the IIT Madras has derecognised a student group Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle that organises discussions around socio-cultural and political issues. While many political parties and groups have justifiably come out in support of the APSC, it is surprising that Prof Ilaiah has received little solidarity

05 June, 2015

US Officials Consider Nuclear Strikes Against Russia
By Niles Williamson

A report published by the Associated Press yesterday reports that the Pentagon has been actively considering the use of nuclear missiles against military targets inside Russia, in response to what it alleges are violations of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. Russia denies US claims that it has violated the INF by flight-testing ground-launched cruise missiles with a prohibited range

Buffaloes And Flies In The South China Sea
By Linh Dinh

Odds are high fighting will break out again in the South China Sea. Pushing weapons of mass destruction, Uncle Sam rakes in many coins from all crises, so he has billions of reasons to stoke the flame, but it's anybody's guess if he'll risk his turkey neck when the missiles fly

The Future History Of Political Economy – Part 1
By Eric Zencey

Economics Ignores Thermodynamics

Hindutva ki Paathshala (The School of Hindutva)
By Braj Ranjan Mani

A spontaneous satirical verse in solidarity ofstruggling students of Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle at IIT–Madrasand other educational campuses,who are up against caste and other forms of injustices in Indian societyand resisting the Hindutva onslaught to stifle their voice

'Derecognition' Of Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle
And The Shrinking Of Democratic Spaces On The Campuses

By Subhash Gatade

It is important to emphasise that the 'derecognition' of Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle has rightly raised the issue of shrinking of democratic spaces on the campuses, growing attacks on freedom of expression and the Modi led government's attempts to bulldoze every such voice which is not ready to join the team of its cheerleaders. Interestingly not much attention has been paid to two important related issues: one concerns RSS's vision of 'Indianisation' of education and the prevalence of casteism in higher education

Shrinking Campus Spaces In India
By Parvin Sultana

Campus should be the most liberating spaces where young minds must feel free to question. The banning of the Study Circle have set a dangerous precedent which has limited the issues and questions that students can raise. The systematic assault on freedom of expression and democratic values of respecting dissent and differences marks the gradual progression towards an era of authoritarian control and intolerance. If dissenting voices continue to be stifled in this manner, in the long run it will weaken the very foundations of democracy

Modi’s Bubble And The Chumcha (“Yes Men”) Culture
By Mike Ghouse

Prime Minister Modi is making all the classic mistakes of a man sitting inside the bubble, oblivious of the chaos outside the thin veil of the bubble. The men who keep him in euphoric status are called “Chumchas” – the “Yes men” of India who will ultimately let their bosses fall from grace

Modi@365: Let Them Eat PM Modi's Speeches
By Radha Surya

In its own interests the Modi regime should embark on a course correction. Apparently the BJP has now set its sights on gaining a majority of 370 seats in the Lok Sabha. Unless radical changes are made in the current trajectory not all the monogrammed suits in the world and not all the bandhini in Gujarat and Rajasthan will take the Prime Minister to the pinnacle that he covets

Criminal Justice System In India
By Rayees Rasool

In order to mitigate the conditions of the undertrial prisoners the first and foremost thing that has to do is to bring down their population drastically. This cannot happen unless all the branches of the criminal jus-tice system work hand in hand. The presence of large number of undertrial prisoners is really shame to any criminal justice administration .For this we have to take these undertrials out of the prison or not to keep them for a long period as well as not to sent more undertrials to the prison

04 June, 2015

February Cease-Fire Collapses As Fighting Re-Erupts In Eastern Ukraine
By Niles Williamson

Renewed fighting broke out Wednesday between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists around the rebel-held city of Donetsk. The fighting reported in Maryinka and Krsnohorivka, a few miles west of Donetsk in government-controlled territory, was the most serious between the two sides since a cease-fire which came into effect in February

The Child Veterans of South Sudan Want To Know, Will Americans Support Them? 
By Nick Turse

U.S. assistance and nation-building efforts in South Sudan have had anything but the desired effects either for Washington or South Sudan. No less clearly, President Obama's gamble that looking the other way when it came to child soldiers would, in the long run, facilitate the end of their useimploded in 2013 with devastating results. Despite this, Zujian refuses to sour on the United States or at least its

TTIP And EU-India Trade Talks: Big Business Setting Policy
With Public Participation Blocked

By Colin Todhunter

On Thursday 4 June, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on an appeal taken by Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) against the European Commission for withholding information related to the EU’s trade talks with India. The documents in question were deemed 'sensitive' and 'confidential' when access was requested by CEO in the public interest. The Commission was accused of discriminating in favour of corporate lobby groups and of violating the EU’s transparency rules. The Court has however ruled against CEO. The decision risks deepening the secrecy shrouding EU trade policy

The Good, Bad And Uncertain About Recognizing ‘Palestine’
By Ramzy Baroud

One could argue that the recognition of Palestine is much bigger than Abbas as an individual or a legacy. These recognitions demonstrate that there has been a seismic shift in international consensus regarding Palestine, where many countries in the southern and northern hemispheres seem to ultimately agree that it is time to liberate the fate of Palestine from American hegemony. In the long run, and considering the growing rebalancing of global powers, for Palestinians, this is a good start

Freedom of Speech V. Freedom of Religion:
Anti-Islam Armed Rally Outside Phoenix Mosque

By Abdus Sattar Ghazali

Amid recent rise in Islamophobia, an anti-Islam rally was held on Friday (May 29, 2015) outside the Phoenix mosque. This was the second anti-Islam rally outside this mosque within two weeks. The first one held on May 17 garnered far less public and social media attention. Last Friday's anti-Islam rally gained attention around the country on social media

Canada's Devolution: From Peace Seeker To War Crimes: To Radioactive Denouement?
By Robert Snefjella

Canada's recent international role includes being a serial participant in wars of aggression – that which at Nuremberg was deemed the greatest crime. Organized mass murder of people and the destruction of their infrastructure, not as an act of self defense; blowing babies to bloody bits, reducing homes to rubble, this is the stuff of 'wars of aggression'

Modern Life, Light Pollution, & Fear Of The Dark
By Mickey Z.

Light pollution comes in many forms, including sky glow, light trespass, glare, light clutter, and over illumination. Whichever version you encounter, make no mistake, it’s working against billions of years of light-dark regularity

Delhi Stands In Solidarity With Awas Haq Satyagrah In Mandala (Mumbai)
Press Release

Protest held at Maharashtra Sadan; Memorandum given to the Resident Commissioner

The Pro And Anti-India Question In Bangladesh Politics
By Farooque Chowdhury

Bangladesh politics can’t escape India question. It was always there. For a long time, it can be assumed for obvious reasons, the issue will remain live in the politics. No one, if the person or the factor means politics in Bangladesh, owns any sense to ignore the issue

Manufacturing And Undermining National Icons: RSS Style
By Ram Puniyani

The play with the icons goes with the long term program of the cultural and social manipulation for building a society with the hegemony of Hindutva politics, a politics which derives its name from a religion but at core is the political agenda of elite of the Hindu society, irrespective of the fact that some from the lower strata of society are also co-opted for this political agenda. It’s due to this that RSS focuses a lot on propagating the culture of a variety which is sectarian and backward looking, the agenda of Hindu Nationalism

Higher Education In India: Fresh Visions And Visionaries, The Need Of The Hour
By Cynthia Stephen

The vision of the excluded subalterns needs to be recognized. It needs to be central not only in documents but in social life. Well-qualified educationalists and policy makers with energy and the political will from the subaltern and excluded groups, including women, must be given opportunity to apply national commitments to national change. Then there may be equity and equality in Higher education in India. Clearly, one Prof. Thorat is insufficient to bring about the paradigm shift that is required. Will the policy makers and the political class have the courage to do what it takes?

03 June, 2015

Modi@365: Perception Over Reality!
By George Abraham

Is what we see with this government is perception or reality? About five years ago, the campaign of the ‘Gujarat Model’ has surfaced building up the image of Modi who is said to have transformed Gujarat into a modern miracle. Today, the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) report, which was published recently, tore apart the tall claims of the state government led by former the Chief Minister Narendra Modi, particularly in terms of agricultural growth, social indicators, as well as public spending on social infrastructure, fiscal discipline, right to education, and law and order. Gujarat is ranked 12 among states for its Human Development Index, and has a permanent underclass mainly consisting of minorities. Unless the citizen on the street is vigilant, he may be once again swallowed up by the ongoing hoopla of an imaginary world! When it comes to ‘achche din’ let reality be real!

Confidential Document: Soros's Plan For Ukraine
By Eric Zuesse

A hacked document from the Ukrainian Government, in which George Soros, on 12 March 2015 (a month after the Hollande-Merkel Minsk II ceasefire agreement had been signed), advised Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko how to re-arm and resume the war against the Donbass region in Ukraine's far east

40 Reasons US Jails And Prisons Are Full Of Black And Poor People
By Bill Quigley

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) reports 2.2 million people are in our nation's jails and prisons and another 4.5 million people are on probation or parole in the US, totaling 6.8 million people, one of every 35 adults. We are far and away the world leader in putting our own people in jail. Most of the people inside are poor and Black. Here are 40 reasons why

Some Israeli Leaders Do Sometimes Tell The Truth
By Alan Hart

Still today, 48 years on, there are relatively few people who know the whole truth about how Israel set the stage for war in June 1967 to grab more Arab land. The single most decisive event that made war inevitable happened on Thursday 1 June, four days before Israel launched its attacks. What was it?

Washington Politicizes Football
By Paul Craig Roberts

Whether or not FIFA decisions are tainted by bribery, the purpose of the “investigation” is to cast doubt on the decision to hold the World Cup in Russia. The World Cup is a global spectacle and conveys prestige on the host country. Washington intends to deny this prestige to Russia. That is what the “investigation” is about

A Real Threat - ISDS
By Ron Forthofer

Drafts of the Trans-Pacific Partnership scheme includes ISDS. Unfortunately both our senators and our representative are likely to vote in favor of TPP and ISDS unless they hear from us. It is up to us and others around the world to stop the TPP and ISD from wreaking havoc on the 12 nations involved in the negotiations

Iranians Rise Against The Pending Nuclear Agreement
By Akbar E. Torbat

To preserve the status quo, the Leader Khamenei has accepted the US demands behind the scene, while in public he is saying otherwise to restrain the opposition. Khamenei has told the opposition to cooperate with Rouhani’s administration. However, he has rapidly lost support due to his backing of Rouhani to seal the agreement. The opposition feels this agreement will convert Iran to a de facto US puppet state and therefore it should not be signed

Mapping Refugees Protection Under International Law:
Legal Desirability And Human Rights Suitability

By Dr. Nafees Ahmad

Refugee rights are matters of international law to the extent they derive from one of the accepted trio of international law sources: treaties, custom, or general principles of law. But while technically correct, this facile response fails to do justice to real disagreements about how rules derived from custom or general principles are to be identified and, more specifically, about whether general rules of recognition can fairly be applied to the identification of human rights norms

Prof. David Mumford Expresses Solidarity With Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle
By Prof. David Mumford

"I was deeply shocked that the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle was "derecognised". I believe campuses must allow open discussion of divisive issues even when it offends some people so that all aspects of an issue are out in the open. Today's youth are tomorrow's leaders and one wants them to think deeply about the direction in which we are all headed"

The Social And Legal Paradox Relating To Marital Rape In India:
Addressing Structural Inequalities

By Shalu Nigam

To address the issue of violence against women in a comprehensive manner, the journey has to begin from every household and from every person. It is essential to make home a safe place for women and children. Therefore, until the discussion around the issue of respect to women and their dignity within home is initiated the situation of women is not going to improve. It is essential to view marriage as an equal partnership. The need of the hour is to embrace the concept of consent within marital relation

Atali Speaks
By Ravi Nitesh

A report on Atali communal violence

02 June, 2015

With US Air War In 10th Month, ISIS Advances In Iraq And Syria
By Bill Van Auken

With the US-led air war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) now in its 10th month, the Islamist militia continues to make territorial gains in both countries, inflicting serious losses on the military in Iraq as well as both government forces and rival Islamist “rebels” in Syria

United States And Sauid Arabia: An Oily Co-Dependence
By George Venturini

One shudders trying to imagine what comes next after President Obama sets aside billions more dollars worth of arms sales as planned at Camp David in May this year. If the entire Middle East will go on fire it will be because of the 'policy' of the United States. How can the United States pretend to protect democracy and human rights, liberty and the 'American way of life' while waging wars with and selling deadly weapons to terrorists ands the most oppressive regime on earth ? Why does the United States, the self-anointed beacon of liberty and freedom, maintain such close ties with an oppressive regime as Saudi Arabia ?

Dead Syrian Children And Drones On The Wing
By Judith Bello

Recently the Pentagon admitted to killing two Syrian children in a drone attack last fall when they bombed a group of al Qaeda fighters in the suburbs of the Syrian city of Aleppo. At the time they claimed this group was a critical target because they were high level operatives associated with Al Qaeda who were planning attacks on the United States mainland..

Material World: Indigenous Suicides
By Alan Johnstone

Throughout the world indigenous peoples suffer from high rates of alcoholism and suicide. Relocation, epidemics, depopulation, and subjugation have put indigenous peoples everywhere at high risk of depression and anxiety. Small-scale, hunter-gatherer societies provide several: excellence in hunting, storytelling, or as a healer. Whatever its size, complexity or environment, a central task of any culture is to provide its members with a sense of belonging and purpose. What happens, then, when a people's way of life is destroyed through disease, genocide, loss of territory, and repression of language and culture?

Kovvada, Mithi Virdhi And Jaitapur NPPs Are
Bound To Make ‘Achche din’ A Distant Dream

By Buddhi Kota Subbarao. Ph.D.

Flooding India with nuclear power plants to climb up on the nuclear electricity curve would deprive funds to renewable energy sources. While the rest of the world including those countries who are trying to sell nuclear plants to India are climbing up on renewable energy curve, it will be unwise for India to invest in nuclear electricity. The present generation has no right to burden the future generations of India. Narendra Modi going ahead with nuclear power plants at Kovvada, Mithi Virdi, Jaitapur and other places would make his promise of “Achche Din” (Happy Days)a distant dream

Koodankulam Nuclear Reactor's April Fall: Beginnning Of The End?
By VT Padmanabhan, Joseph Makkolil

Is this the beginning of the end of the steam generator? According to a report in the Times of India, “the the Station Director of KKNPP, announced on 21 May 2015 that the the first unit producing 600MW, will undergo annual maintenance for 45- 60 days starting from the first week of June 15”. The systematic decline of the power level during 40 continuous days with a froced shut-down in between and the plan to place the reactor, which has not even worked for one full year, on a longterm maintenance outage lasting for about two months are clear signs of a deep-rooted problem

GMOs - Altered Genes, Twisted Truth: The Silence From The Royal Society Is Deafening
By Colin Todhunter

The Royal Society’s record on GMOs has been shameful (as a prominent public body in the UK, it is certainly not alone in this respect). Given what is at stake, its silence towards the issues raised by Steven Druker is little better

Dalit-Adivasi Mahila Swabhiman Yatra In Odisha
Press Release

We seek your support and solidarity as the Dalit-Adivasi Mahila Swabhiman Yatra travels to Odisha from June 1-10, 2015. After Haryana, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, we are now moving to Odisha to learn, seek support and build our communities in addressing the multiple levels of violence faced by Dalit and Adivasi Women

 


 

 





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