30 June, 2008
Oil
Prices Won't Be Falling Anytime Soon
By Omid Memarian
Although some policy-makers have blamed producing countries for steadily rising oil prices, many experts say more fundamental factors are a growing demand-supply imbalance, a weak dollar, and market speculation
What
To Do About The Price Of Oil
By Robert Weissman
Current pricing arrangements are generating profit gushers for the large, integrated oil companies — ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco and the like. While the price of oil is going up, these companies’ drilling expenses are not. Oil can trade at $40 a barrel, $90 a barrel, or $130 a barrel. It still costs ExxonMobil and the rest of Big Oil only about $20 to get a barrel of oil out of the ground
It
Was Oil, All Along
By Bill Moyers & Michael Winship
Oh, no, they told us, Iraq isn’t a war about oil. That’s cynical and simplistic, they said. It’s about terror and al Qaeda and toppling a dictator and spreading democracy and protecting ourselves from weapons of mass destruction. But one by one, these concocted rationales went up in smoke, fire, and ashes. And now the bottom turns out to be . . . the bottom line. It is about oil
Democrats
Back Covert US Attacks On Iran
By Patrick Martin
Leading congressional Democrats have given their approval to a vastly expanded program of US covert warfare against Iran, according to an article by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, published in the New Yorker
Tactics
That Ended Apartheid
In S. Africa Can End It In Israel
By Bill Fletcher, Jr.
With humbleness, with love, with compassion for Palestinians and Israelis, I believe in the possibility that both can live as neighbors with security, dignity and respect. As it did in South Africa, corporate engagement, including divestment, can help make that possibility a reality
Fighting
Mind Control
By Peter Chamberlin
In the wisdom of the elite planners, America was put on trial without our knowledge. The verdict was given, that America must be conditioned to "embrace post-industrialism," in a new political reality that is described as "friendly fascism." We cannot accept that verdict. The hour of our summary execution is nearly upon us. Will we accept this unjust decision, or will we fight back against our programming and unseat those who have usurped the Constitution and driven us to World War III against our will?
Kashmir:
Another Public Uprising
By Syed Ali Safvi
Protests over land transfer have snowballed into public uprising, and with People's Democratic Party (PDP) pulling out from the coalition government it has already trigerred a major political cricis in the State. It is one of those issues which has united the Kashmiris, irrespective of the political divide. There is no denying the fact that the issue will have a gargantaun impact on the forthcoming assembly elections
29 June, 2008
More
Signs Of Israeli-US Preparations
For Attacking Iran
By Peter Symonds
The visit by US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Mike Mullen to Israel yesterday is one more indication that the two countries are actively discussing a military strike on Iran. Mullen’s trip followed news that the Israeli air force carried out a major exercise earlier this month involving 100 fighter jets, backed by midair fuel tankers and rescue helicopters, flying some 1,500 kilometres westward over the Mediterranean Sea—roughly the same distance as eastward from Israel to Iran’s nuclear facilities
Preparing
The Battlefield
By Seymour M. Hersh
The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against Iran
Iran
In The Crosshairs: As Fears Of
An Air Strike Increase,Little Opposition Is Heard
By Ira Glunts
This lack of articulated opposition to military action against Iran, especially by members of the Democratic party and their supporters, increase the chances that the Bush/Cheney administration will widen the war in the Middle East either directly or by using Israel as a proxy
Real
Journalists Don't Make $5 Million A Year
By Chris Hedges
Unlike the media's Brokaws and Blitzers, real journalists don't have cozy relationships with the powerful. Real journalists are feared
Obama:
Walking A Thin Line
By Timothy V. Gatto
One can only surmise the intentions of both Obama and McCain. Saber-rattling and posturing towards attacking Iran would seem to be counter-productive to reaching the 70% of the voters that cast their votes in November. If both candidates don’t care about alienating this 70% than there must be a good reason, the facts behind their behavior are fairly obvious, that is, if one simply follows the money
The
Audacity Of Arrogance
By Joel S. Hirschhorn
Let’s start the revolution by not voting for either the Democratic or Republican presidential candidate, but instead voting for an independent or third party candidate. I recommend Ralph Nader, whose integrity and populist policy positions truly support we the people
Senate
Overwhelmingly Approves Bill
To Fund Iraq War Until Mid-2009
By Jason Leopold
The Senate overwhelmingly passed a $162 billion emergency spending bill late Thursday to continue funding the occupation of Iraq and the war in Afghanistan well into 2009, without a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops
Turkey
Beyond Kemalism
By Mir Adnan Aziz
The generals today see Mr. Gul and his party as a threat to their hallowed status. The Turkish President is commander in chief and has a veto power. No wonder the generals, still cocooned in the fading Kemalist legacy, refused to visit the presidential palace as Mr. Gul's wife wears a headscarf
Silent
Emergence Of Hindu Terrorism
By Subhash Gatade
What is common between Kathmandu - the capital of Nepal ; Thane, Vashi which happen to lie in Maharashtra; Tenkasi, which is part of Tamilnadu and Indore, which lies in Madhya Pradesh? Aprops there seem to be no commonality, although a close look at stray sounding incidents in these places brings forth a pattern which has serious import for the manner in which (non-state) terrorism is viewed in this country. It is disturbing that media which calls itself 'watchdog of democracy' and which has no qualms in stigmatising the minority community on unfounded allegations of 'terrorist acts' has suddenly gone mute since the perpetrators of terrorist acts in all these cases belong to the majority community
27 June, 2008
No
Ice At The North Pole
By Steve Connor
It seems unthinkable, but for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year. The disappearance of the Arctic sea ice, making it possible to reach the Pole sailing in a boat through open water, would be one of the most dramatic – and worrying – examples of the impact of global warming on the planet. Scientists say the ice at 90 degrees north may well have melted away by the summer
Zionism’s
Dead End
By Jonathan Cook
Separation or ethnic cleansing? Israel’s encaging of Gaza aims to achieve both
US
Fed Caught In Global Turbulence
By Nick Beams
The US Federal Reserve Board’s decision on Wednesday to maintain its benchmark interest rate at 2 percent was not so much a policy decision as the expression of the growing paralysis in government and central banking circles in the face of the powerful forces now at work in the US and global economy
Robert
McChesney's The Political
Economy Of Media (Part II)
By Stephen Lendman
McChesney's book is a compilation of his best political economy of media work in the past two decades. It contains 23 separate offerings under three topic headings. In them he covers "enduring issues" and "emerging dilemmas." Part I of this review discussed some of them. More follow below. The entire book is must reading and contains new material never before published
Iran
Not Pursuing Nukes, But U.S. Will Attack
Before ‘09 :Scott Ritter
By Jason Leopold
Scott Ritter, who was a Marine Corps intelligence officer for 12 years, is speaking out about what he sees as history repeating itself regarding U.S. policy toward Iran and the inevitability of a U.S.-led attack on the country, which he believes will happen prior to a new president being sworn into office in January 2009
Sikh
‘Jatha’ Awaits Nod To Visit Shrine In POK
By Ashutosh Sharma
With the Government mulling over weekly cross-LOC bus service in the state as part of cementing Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) between India and Pakistan, hopes have rekindled amongst odd 122 people of Sikh community, who migrated to this part of state after partition, to visit their religious shrine Gurdwara Dehri Sahib of Sant ROCHA SINGH in Rawlkote. They have been waiting since the start of bus service between the two countries to visit other side of dividing line to pay obeisance to their native place
26 June, 2008
Humanity's
Melt Down
By Mike Davis
Our world, our old world that we have inhabited for the last 12,000 years, has ended, even if no newspaper in North America or Europe has yet printed its scientific obituary
After
The Oil Crunch?
By Mark Lynas
The end of cheap oil helps renewables, but makes far dirtier alternatives viable. A low-carbon future will demand brave leadership
Will
The World Survive GM Cultures
And The Damage To The Earth's Eco-Systems?
By Siv O'Neall
Monsanto and the other major biotech companies – Syngenta, Bunge, Cargill, etc. – are all set on owning the world's food supply. Monsanto is by far the leader in this nightmare of destroying organic agriculture and millennia-old biodiversity
George
Carlin's Gift To Apocalypse
By Carolyn Baker
Over the course of three decades, George Carlin placed American capitalist, consumeristic, imperialist culture under the microscope of humor and dismembered its façade. We thought we had it bad during those years, but little did we know what the twenty-first century would bring us
The
Iran-Divine Strake Connection
By Andrew Kishner
To a few individuals in the civilian and defense communities, Divine Strake was more than just an exercise to determine the lowest nuclear calibration needed to destroy a hardened underground bunker in limestone geology. The 'other' purpose of Divine Strake, one that I personally never had much belief in, was to conduct a 'dry run' on an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. Such an event would have disastrous radiological consequences not just for Iran, but also Pakistan, China, and other nations in that entire region
Don't
Give Your Consent To Slavery –
Fight Fascism!
By Peter Chamberlin
Soldiers must refuse to lay down their freedom and their lives for the war machine. Everyone must stop playing along with our farcical electoral system. Don't vote on November 6, send them a static-filled signal of our own
Waiting
For Godot In Equatorial Guinea ...
The Rest Of The world Waits Too
By Agustin Velloso
While members of the opposition to President Teodoro Obiang's regime are detained and tortured in prison merely for being in opposition, international human rights organizations are denied entry to Equatorial Guinea
A Sick And
Hungry Nation
By Teesta Setalvad
Even after 60 years of democracy, India remains one of the unhealthiest places in the world. Four out of five of our children are anaemic. Between 2001 and 2006 when India’s economy grew by almost 50%, the child nutrition rate (a number that measures the percentage of children under three who are moderately or severely underweight) dropped by just a single point, to 46%. Almost 25% of women who give birth do not receive proper antenatal care. These shameful figures are from the National Family Health Survey
25 June, 2008
Tipping
Points Near On Global Warming
By James Hansen
Democracy works, but sometimes churns slowly. Time is short. The 2008 election is critical for the planet. If Americans turn out to pasture the most brontosaurian congressmen, if Washington adapts to address climate change, our children and grandchildren can still hold great expectations
Israel
Training To Attack Iran
By Peter Hirschberg
Israeli defence experts were not surprised by a New York Times report over the weekend that the Israeli air force had recently conducted what appeared to be a rehearsal for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. Israel, the experts say, has never taken the military option off the table and they therefore expect the air force to be training for a strike in Iran
Elections,
Capitalism, And Democracy
By Charles Sullivan
Because so many of the people on the political left fear that John McCain will become the next president, they have allowed themselves to see the very moderate democratic candidate, Barach Obama, as a desirable alternative to the decidedly ghoulish McCain, rather than supporting a genuine progressive like Dennis Kucinich, Cynthia McKinney, or Ralph Nader. They thus perceive Obama to be far more progressive than he really is. Such comparisons lead us down a dichotomous pathway that assures a continuous drift to the right
Robert
McChesney's The Political Economy
Of Media (Part I)
By Stephen Lendman
McChesney is today's most notable media scholar and critic. Whatever he writes merits reading. This book is a compilation of his best political economy of media work in the past two decades. It contains 23 separate offerings under three topic headings - Journalism, Critical Studies, and Politics and Media Reform
Obama
Should Filibuster FISA Law In Senate!
By Timothy V. Gatto
When the Senate votes on this bill this week, I expect to see a filibuster if it looks as if the bill will pass through the Senate intact. This is what the American people expect from a genuine leader, not vague promises of “change”, but concrete steps to return to the rule of law in this nation. He must understand that he doesn’t have to be president to make this happen; he can show his courage right where he is
Americans
Do Not Want Change
By James Rothenberg
To see real change we must begin to think critically of our government, our institutions, our social policy, our foreign policy, and our economic policy. It’s not all bad and much of it is very good, but we must acknowledge the difference. Above all, “tell the children the truth” (Bob Marley, Babylon System). That all governments lie and that all advertisers lie and that governments and advertisers are in the same business and the name of that business is control. And that the greatest tool a child can have for understanding the world is skeptical thought
24 June, 2008
War
Threats Against Iran
Overshadow US Elections
By Bill Van Auken
The US election campaign, rather than offering the American people any real opportunity to vote for an end to the war and occupation in Iraq, is increasingly overshadowed by threats of new acts of military aggression against Iran
The
Coming War with Iran:
It's About The Oil, Stupid
By Joe Lauria
The American oil wars are being launched out of weakness, not strength. The American economy is teetering and without control of the remaining oil it will collapse. There will be massive chaos in any case, when only enough oil remains for the American elite and whomever they choose to share it with
Climate
Chaos Is Inevitable.
We Can Only Avert Oblivion
By Mark Lynas
At best we will limit the extent of global warming, but Kyoto barely helps. Does humanity have the foresight to save itself?
Iraq:
Whoever Wins, They Lose
By Ahmed Ali & Dahr Jamail
Iraqis seem divided on who they would like to see as the next U.S. president, but few believe that either will end the occupation
Iraq
Social And Refugee Crisis Is Worsening
By Sandy English
According to a report issued last week by the human rights organization Amnesty International, the plight of nearly 5 million Iraqis displaced from their homes since the American invasion of 2003 is worsening in nearly every respect
Criticize
Obama And You Are A Racist
By David Truskoff
Criticize Israel and you are anti-Semitic. Criticize Obama and you are a racist. The Washington Post has signaled the start of what will be the ugliest political campaign in American history. A campaign that will apply the dirty tricks of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the dirty tricks of the republican master of dirty tricks Carl Rove. The sad part is young liberals are falling for it and taking the bait. They will soon choke on it
The
Daymare That Remains In New Orleans
By Eileen Fleming
Our sister and brother citizens on the Gulf Coast have been forgotten by most; for out of sight is out of mind. Hearts turn cold and harden when we forget to remember what had once pierced them apart. But, redemption is always possible and we the people can do something, when we know the truth
Kristol
Pandering Again
By Timothy V. Gatto
William Kristol must believe that he is extraordinarily sanguine and the rest of us extraordinarily stupid when he wrote his column in the New York Times today. The column entitled “Someone Else’s Alex” was in response to a Move-On.org ad that showed a mother with a one-year old baby named Alex. and saying that her son would not be available for Senator John McCain’s 100 Year War in Iraq
Another
Man's Freedom Fighter
By Hamid Golpira
As they say, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. Now some members of Congress are trying to pass legislation to remove the former South African president from the U.S. list of terrorists by his 90th birthday on July 18
At
A Time Like This…
By Chandi Sinnathurai
Much talk is circulating once again, about pressure being put upon Sri Lankan state to go for rounds of peace talks with the Tamil Tigers. It could be seen on the surface as good news. But, when you look at recent history of talks and its utter failure to achieve any thing, makes one think twice if not suspicious of the whole process
23 June, 2008
On
Humiliation, And Gaza’s Dying Children
By Ramzy Baroud
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, "as of 26 May, 64 children had been killed in the conflict since the beginning of the year -- more than the total child death toll for all of 2007. Fifty-nine of the deaths were in Gaza and another four victims were Israeli children."
Why
Israel Won't Accept A Two-State Solution
By Bernard Chazelle
Within 10 years, Jews will be a clear minority in the population west of the Jordan, so a democratic unitary state (eg, modeled on South Africa) would mean the end of Israel as a Jewish state, an outcome not everyone would greet with cartwheels
Today's
Despot Is Tomorrow's Statesman
By Robert Fisk
Millions believe Bashar al-Assad plotted murder. Now France is honouring him
Finally,
The Oil...
By Tom Engelhardt
More than five years after the invasion of Iraq -- just in case you were still waiting -- the oil giants finally hit the front page… Last Thursday, the New York Times led with this headline: "Deals with Iraq Are Set to Bring Oil Giants Back." (Subhead: "Rare No-bid Contracts, A Foothold for Western Companies Seeking Future Rewards.") And who were these four giants? ExxonMobil, Shell, the French company Total and BP (formerly British Petroleum)
The
Supreme Court, Habeas, John Yoo
And Murdoch's Wall Street Journal
By Stephen Lendman
What's ahead is anyone's guess. Repressive laws won't be repealed. Illegal wars won't end, and extremist judges still dominate the federal bench, one favorable High Court decision notwithstanding. Deserving detainees are still denied justice. Their ordeal continues because influential war criminals are featured daily on major opinion pages where truth and righteousness lose out to hateful viciousness, and the nation slips closer to tyranny - thanks to men like Yoo and Murdoch
The
Authoritarian State In Place
By Gaither Stewart
So calm is Italy that when the neo-Fascist Defense Minister announced his decision to send army troops to patrol city streets, most people shrugged, more absorbed by the European Soccer Cup and making a living than the devastation of political-social Italy. People act as if what is happening here were happening in another country or on another continent. Not in Italia. Only isolated skeptics here and there, like the marginalized Left opposition, ask ironically when the first curfew will be posted. And, one might add, how long before martial law arrives?
Small
Farmers And The Doha Round:
Lessons From Mexico's NAFTA Experience
By Mritiunjoy Mohanty
The paper is divided into three parts: Section I briefly introduces how developing countries have sought to protect the interests of small and marginal farmers in the on-going Doha round and the current state of play in those negotiations. Section II discuses the integration of Mexican agriculture in global markets under NAFTA and why the brunt of the adjustment was borne by small and marginal farmers. And finally, Section III proposes an alternate model of agricultural modernization centered on small-farmers and why for developing countries the stakes are much higher than for Mexico
Top
Dems Hand Bush Key Victories
By Jason Leopold
Since the electoral victories in November 2006, the Democratic-controlled Congress has approved more than $300 billion in emergency spending bills for Iraq and Afghanistan without the benchmarks or withdrawal timetables that Pelosi and other leaders said they would demand
A
Journey Interrupted:
Being Indian In Pakistan
By Murtaza Shibli
In ‘A Journey Interrupted’, Farzana Versey weaves a collage of her experiences that she acquired during her four visits to Pakistan in six years; a journey of exploration with continuous negotiations and constant reconciliation with her own identity of an Indian Muslim woman
21 June, 2008
Mother
Earth's Triple Whammy
By John Feffer
Gas prices are above $4 a gallon; global food prices surged 39% last year; and an environmental disaster looms as carbon emissions continue to spiral upward. The global economy appears on the verge of a TKO, a triple whammy from energy, agriculture, and climate-change trends. Right now you may be grumbling about the extra bucks you’re shelling out at the pump and the grocery store; but, unless policymakers begin to address all three of these trends as one major crisis, it could get a whole lot worse
What's
Coming Down The Pike?
By Jeff Berg
Jeff Berg questions the claim by the "industry insider" that oil shortage is a myth
Rays
Of Hope From The Gaza Ceasefire
By Ali Abunimah
After the unremitting hell that Israel has inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza, one can only feel relief and even joy at the ceasefire agreed between Hamas and the Jewish state that took effect this week. Its significance extends well beyond Gaza and opens new possibilities as the disastrous Bush Doctrine begins to lose influence
Israel
Has Won The European Cup:
A Special Relationship
By Arjan El Fassed
With the return of right-wing governments in France and Italy, EU policy has tilted more towards the line of the Bush Administration. As France, led by President Nicolas Sarkozy, takes over the EU presidency on 1 July, it is expected that the tilt towards Israel will continue
Palestine
In The American Imagination:
Religion, Politics And Media
By Ramzy Baroud
A study of the political, religious and cultural factors underlying the pro-Israeli bias apparent in the Western media today, as depicted in the mainstream news and television programmes
Obama
Insults Half A Race
By Glen Ford
The Democratic presidential nominee-apparent seldom speaks directly to Black people, but when he does it is usually to denounce individuals once close to him or to criticize The Race in general for some moral failing. Thus it was no surprise that Barack Obama used the occasion of Father's Day to give Black males the back of his hand, no doubt to the delight of millions of potential white supporters
Oil,
Iran, Israel, And USA: The Stakes
By G. Asgar Mitha
The question now is will either the US or Israel or both attack Iran before the Bush term ends or will the responsibility fall on the shoulders of the next Republican government under McCain or the Democratic government under Obama? Whoever it is, the question that is settled is that both the US and Israel are determined to attack Iran under any or all circumstances
20 June, 2008
Big
Oil Cashes In On Iraq Slaughter
By Bill Van Auken
Four major US, British and French oil companies are getting their hands on the petroleum reserves of Iraq for the first time in 36 years, based on no-bid contracts, the New York Times reported Thursday. These deals reached with the US-backed regime in Baghdad have placed the five-year-old US war of aggression in the clearest possible perspective
Holocaust;
New & Improved
By Amir Tajik
I know that eventually the truth will prevail and people around the world will do their best to stop the new and improved version of the Holocaust currently underway in Palestine. We have to break through the barriers and tell everybody the truth. We cannot allow history to repeat itself. Ironically, it is those who keep the story of the Holocaust alive, are now the ones creating another
Obama:
A Zionist President?
By Ghali Hassan
Just after winning the Democratic presidential nomination on 04 June 2008, Senator Barack Obama kneeled and crawled before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) gathering in Washington DC. He begged his audience that he will “do everything in his power” to unconditionally support Israel. It was a humiliating U-turn for millions of people
Obama’s
Circle Of Hawks
By Lance Selfa
Barack Obama has a team of veteran warriors advising him on foreign policy issues
Obama's
Chicago Boys
By Naomi Klein
Now is the time to worry about Obama's Chicago Boys and their commitment to fending off serious attempts at regulation. It was in the two and a half months between winning the 1992 election and being sworn into office that Bill Clinton did a U-turn on the economy
Snapshots
Of Life In Baghdad
By Robert Fisk
The dangerous face of ordinary life has been captured by Iraqis on their mobile phones – reaching the places Western photographers can no longer go
Israeli
Attack On Iran:
“Not A Matter Of If, But When”
By Stefan Steinberg
An Israeli military strike is not a matter of if, but when, according to the German magazine Der Spiegel. The latest edition of the news weekly carries a four-page article entitled “Plan to Attack” devoted to preparations currently underway in Israel for air strikes against Iran
Arrests
For War Resistance Increase Again
By Bill Quigley
There have been over 15,000 arrests for resistance to war since 2002. There were large numbers right after the run up to and invasion of Iraq. Recently, arrests have begun climbing again. Though arrests are a small part of anti-war organizing, their rise is an indicator of increasing resistance
A
MAD Foreign Policy: America’s
Irrational Defense of Israel
By Robert Weitzel
Since there is no overwhelming strategic or moral reason for the United States to continue its “non-negotiable” support of Israel, that country should be treated like any other ally and not like an over-indulged adolescent. It is time Israel makes its own way in the world. To assume it is incapable of doing so is anti-Semitism worthy of the brush stroke, and a MAD policy we can no longer afford
An
Immodest Proposal:
Sink Your Teeth Into This….
By Jason Miller
Let’s face it, my fellow freedom and burger loving Americans. It is becoming painfully obvious that our non-negotiable American Way of Life is increasingly under attack. Yet while our meat consumption may be a wedge issue our foes are using against us, it can also be our salvation
Democrats
Give White House
Another Blank-Check For Iraq
By Jason Leopold
A Democratic engineered emergency supplemental bill to continue funding the occupation of Iraq and the war in Afghanistan to the tune of $162 billion is expected to win bipartisan support, aides to leaders in the House said late Wednesday
SuperCorridor
Defeat? Don't Bet On It
By Stephen Lendman
The title refers to the I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) portion of the North American SuperCorridor Coalition (NASCO) project. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) announced that, for now at least, it nixed this part of the $184 billion scheme
Skewed
Media Approach To Terrorism
By Yoginder Sikand
The arrest of some activists associated with the Sanatan Sanstha, a radical Hindu group, for planting bombs in theatres in two towns in Maharashtra recently, has barely been given any attention in the Indian media. Had the men behind these planned attacks been Muslims, obviously the Indian media would have reacted very differently-furiously, fervently. This clearly shows the sharply skewed manner in which the debate on 'terrorism' is being conducted
18 June, 2008
Devastating
Inflation In Sri Lanka
By Saman Gunadasa
Over the past few weeks, the Sri Lankan government has announced unprecedented price increases for fuel and transport, further stoking what is already the highest inflation rate in Asia—nearly 30 percent—and provoking deep social unrest.Life for ordinary working people and the poor is becoming extremely difficult, because of a combination of soaring global oil and food prices and the government’s ever-increasing spending on its reactionary war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
Top
Pentagon Officials Developed
Brutal Interrogation Methods At Guantanamo
By Jason Leopold
Top Pentagon officials developed the harsh interrogation methods used against detainees at Guantanamo less than a month before the Justice Department issued two now repudiated memorandums that gave interrogators legal cover to employ the tactics, according to documents released Tuesday by the Senate Armed Services Committee
Legalizing
Occupation:
Bush’s Last Manoeuvre In Iraq
By Ramzy Baroud
Time is running out for Bush. If no treaty is reached by the end of the year, his administration could find itself pleading to the Security Council for another extension of the mandate. This would be an embarrassing and dangerous scenario for US diplomacy because it would allow Russia and China to re-emerge as important players wielding fearsome veto powers
Home
To Too Many Widows
By Ahmed Ali & Dahr Jamail
Just about everyone in Iraq is a loser as a result of the occupation, but none more than women. One of the more obvious signs of that is the very large number of widows.The Asharq al-Awsat Arab media channel estimated in late 2007 there were 2.3 million widows in Iraq
Condi
Bids A Quick 'Hello-Goodbye' To Lebanon
By Franklin Lamb
Secretary of State Rice's aircraft kept its engines warm and its fuselage surrounded by the US Secret Service and Lebanon's Internal Security agents as she dashed into Beirut for less than 275 minutes en Route to Ireland yesterday. Her secret arrival here in Beirut avoided protesters which greeted Bush on the same day during his similar 275 minute touchdown in Ireland, both en route to Washington
Can
You Pass The Israel-Palestine Quiz?
By Jeffrey Rudolph
While it is undoubtedly true that carefully selected facts alone do not constitute an informed opinion, answers to the following questions should not be ignored if one is to understand the Israel-Palestine conflict. And, while a strong commitment to a cause can blind some people to contrary facts, I appeal to such people through the words of the famous British economist, John Maynard Keynes: “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”
Doug
Dowd's "At the Cliff's Edge" (Part II)
By Stephen Lendman
Dowd's book is an essential text for students and adults. It's a critical review of 500 years of history that brought us to today's unprecendented dangers. Part I covered four and one-half centuries through WW II. Part II continues the story to the present
A
Carrier Pigeon Named Solana
By Parviz Esmaeili
Former White House spokesman Scott McClellan revealed that President George W. Bush "manipulated the sources of public opinion" in the run-up to the Iraq war, so what is Iran's guarantee that Condoleezza Rice -- who is the warrior princess of the neoconservative cabinet -- will keep her word and the 5+1 package will not prove to be another lie?!
Why
Narendra Modi Loves To Hate
Prof. Ashish Nandy?
By Subhash Gatade
Prof. Ashish Nandy, India's leading intellectual acknowledged as the founding fathers of postcolonial studies has recently got a new 'identity'. According to the Gujarat Police he is now an accused in a criminal case supposedly for 'promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth and language.' Definitely neither Prof Nandy nor many of his admirers would have ever imagined in their wildest dreams that a day would arrive when he will face prosecution for his writings. But as they rightly say it, in Gujarat things happen bit differently
Can
We End Gender Inequality?
By Rahil Yasin
The UN recommended some actions to governments to eliminate the discrimination against women in its Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. Pakistan must follow the UN declaration as well. Unless and until there is a proper campaign by both political and civil society to alter the anti-women sentiment in our society, the atrocities against women would continue, to the detriment of society as a whole
“Only
Ash Knows The Experience Of Burning”
By Dr. Nilanshu Kumar Agarwal & Dr. Jai Prakash Kardam
An Interview with Dalit Writer Jai Prakash Kardam
Standing
With The Poor Is A Crime
By Gladson Dungdung
Binayak Sen, Prof. Jean Dreze and Kirity Roy are paying the price for their passion, courage and extraordinary work for the poor
17 June, 2008
Afghan
President Threatens Pakistan
By K. Ratnayake
President Hamid Karzai Sunday threatened to send Afghan troops across the border into Pakistan, claiming that it would be an act of “self defence.” The Western-backed regime in Kabul together with the US-led NATO forces occupying the country have blamed elements of the Taliban acting from safe havens inside Pakistani tribal areas for stepped-up attacks on their forces
Bush
Inspires Least Confidence As World Leader
By Jim Lobe
While historians here debate whether George W. Bush has been the worst president in U.S. history, a global consensus that he inspires the least confidence of all the world's major leaders appears to have emerged
Taking
Back The Republic
By Gore Vidal
On June 9, 2008, a counterrevolution began on the floor of the House of Representatives against the gas and oil crooks who had seized control of the federal government. This counterrevolution began in the exact place which had slumbered during the all-out assault on our liberties and the Constitution itself
Real
Human Casualties Of The Mortgage Massacre
By Carolyn Baker & Melissa Taylor
One family's true saga of a bursting housing bubble, the corporate corruption that engendered it, and the painful reverberations through their lives
Scarcity
In An Age Of Plenty
By Joseph Stiglitz
As food and fuel prices continue to increase the world must look to new patterns of consumption and production
Judge
Rules In White House’s Favor
In Missing Email Case
By Jason Leopold
A U.S. District Court Judge ruled Monday that the White House’s Office of Administration does not have to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request related to how officials in the office handled internal discussions about millions of missing White House emails
How
About A Fatwa Against Triple Talaq,
Wife Beating,Child Marriage…..
By A. Faizur Rahman
Is terrorism the only anti-human issue against which a fatwa deserves to be pronounced? Has not the misinterpretation of the Quran on sensitive issues such as divorce, stoning to death for adultery, wife beating and child marriage defamed Islam enough? How can these self-appointed spokesmen of the Muslims ignore the fact the organisations in which they are members continue to victimize Muslim women through arbitrary legal decisions in the name of the shariah?
Nepal
Waits A Republic Regime:
Diasporas Dont Favour Koirala
By Nava Thakuria
The Nepal diasporas in America are in the mood of joy as their country has transformed from a monarchy to a federal democratic republic. While feeling optimistic about the future of the Himalayan nation without a king, they expect a greater role for the Nepali people living abroad, primarily in the United Sates. However, most of them don't seem to prefer GP Koirala, the present prime minister of the interim government at Kathmandu as the first president of Nepal
16 June, 2008
The
Oil Era Reaches Its Desperate Endgame
By The Independent
An increase in Saudi oil pumping might well have the desired effect of bringing down the price somewhat. But what if it does not fall low enough to ease the pain of the world economy? How long before our political leaders return to Saudi and its Opec allies to plead for more? And what will be the political price extracted for this? What we are seeing in this desperate horse-trading is the endgame of the oil age
Doug
Dowd's "At The Cliff's Edge" (Part I)
By Stephen Lendman
At age 89, Doug Dowd is a wonder. He's still active, vibrant and thankfully so. His latest book is "At the Cliff's Edge: World Problems and US Power".The book is panoramic in scope. It's long and detailed, and this review covers its highlights in hopes readers will get the volume for it all. Plus the character of the man who wrote it and now working on a new so far unfinished book with likely more offerings ahead. Approaching age 90, Dowd is resilient, dedicated and continues to write and teach. We're all the better off for it. Read on
No
Discourse For Americans
By Timothy V. Gatto
Someday the American people will indeed wake up and see what this nation has done in their name. They will see what we have done in the name of this “Global War on Terror” that was invented to keep our Military-Industrial-Complex running. We have replaced the Soviet Union with Muslim fanatics. We have replaced our own national interests with political aspirations of those inside of Washington. We have replaced commonsense with our common fear. This cannot continue forever
McClellan
Testimony May She Light on
Niger Forgeries
By Jason Leopold
Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan’s testimony later this week before the House Judiciary Committee promises to reignite the debate over the “16 words” in President Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address that claimed Iraq tried to purchase 500 tons of yellowcake uranium from Niger and how the White House’s response to the bogus intelligence lead to the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame
Another
Bakery, Another Parzania
By Harsh Mander
The carnage of 2002 changed everything for Abdulbhai and Noorie.... Today, more than six years after it was charred in the flaming carnage of 2002 in Ahmedabad, their small cottage bakery remains shut. The rebuilt furnace stands forlorn and empty, the metal trays and moulds piled unused and rusting in a corner, like the skeletons of the dead. None of their former clients agrees any more to buy their flour biscuits, cakes and bread, although these were popular in the past
15 June, 2008
The
Love Stories Are Gone
By Ali al-Fadhily
As statistics go, at least 655,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the occupation, now in its fifth year. Every one of them has left behind once loved ones to mourn the loss and to think of what might have been
Obama
Is A Hawk
By John Pilger
John Pilger reaches back into the history of the Democratic Party and describes the tradition of war-making and expansionism that Barack Obama has now left little doubt he will honour
An
Open Letter To The Obama Campaign
By Timothy V. Gatto
We heard your speech at AIPAC and we are supposed to believe that you seek to turn America back into a peace loving nation that respects International Law? We are supposed to blindly accept that Iran is major threat to Americans and support Israel like it’s our 51st State? What has Israel done for my family except to fund politicians that desire more intervention in the Middle-East? Don’t you realize that only 20% of Jewish-Americans donate to AIPAC and that the rest are predominantly Liberal Democrats? Why must you pander to the right? Is being President so important to you that you would sell your soul?
BBC's
Pro-Israeli Bias
By Stephen Lendman
BBC views the conflict from an Israeli perspective. It features government officials to explain it, and reports whatever they say as fact. This turns reality on its head, makes lawless actions justifiable, results in double standard journalism, and lets Palestinians suffer the consequences
The
Beginning Of Global Order
By Pablo Ouziel
Going back to those truckers whom I saw furious yesterday on the motorway, people must begin to see that they were not obstructing normality, but rather pointing out an abnormality which global citizens must unite to correct. Yesterday, we should have all stopped our cars in support of the truckers, because by supporting the truckers we would be supporting ourselves
Israeli
Government: "Immoral,
Unethical And Illegal"
By Eileen Fleming
The outside world, for the most part, is unaware of Israeli Government's Policy of demonization, willful destruction, of the Muslim Institutions, one by one, in an attempt to destroy the spirit and resilience of the Muslim Communities, not only in Hebron but throughout the illegally occupied Palestinian territories
Is
The U.S A Genocidal Nation?
By James A. Lucas
Maybe the collective mind of our people is engaged in an internal struggle over whether it wants to approve of the killing by the U.S. of large numbers of people which in some cases approaches genocide. Many people now seem to be so fearful of terrorism that they will approve of almost anything our government does
The
USA: Hurtling Towards
A Catastrophe, Head On
By G. Asgar Mitha
America is blinded by its own misconceived idea that the modern barbarians are coming to destroy it. America does not realise it has gone to the land of the modern barbarians---the terrorists to weaken itself. It could learn a lesson from ex-USSR
Punishing
The Weak
By Zia Ur Rehman
Corporal punishment is one of the main reasons behind school drop-outs
12 June, 2008
On
A Potential War With
And Propaganda About Iran
By Vahab
Invasion of Iran by a US military force is possibly imminent. Likely many people cannot fully grasp the extreme devastation that such a horrifically brutal attack could bring, especially as mainstream media often covers up much of this sort of news -- news involving shocking vivid portrayals of ruin and torment
Bush
In Germany Beats Drum
For War Against Iran
By Stefan Steinberg
In his last visit to Germany as president of the United States, George W. Bush used a joint press conference Wednesday with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel to reiterate his threat of war against Iran
'Special
Weapons' Have A Fallout On Babies
By Ali al-Fadhily & Dahr Jamail
Babies born in Fallujah are showing illnesses and deformities on a scale never seen before, doctors and residents say. The new cases, and the number of deaths among children, have risen after "special weaponry" was used in the two massive bombing campaigns in Fallujah in 2004. After denying it at first, the Pentagon admitted in November 2005 that white phosphorous, a restricted incendiary weapon, was used a year earlier in Fallujah
US
Air Strike On Pakistani Military Post
Kills 11 Soldiers
By K. Ratnayake
Wednesday’s air strike sent an unmistakeable message that the US will not allow Pakistan to threaten its interests. The latest deaths, however, will only intensify the mass opposition in Pakistan toward Musharraf and the US government
Why
The Oil Price Is High
By Paul Craig Roberts
In my opinion, the two biggest factors in oil's high price are the weakness in the U.S. dollar's exchange value and the liquidity that the Federal Reserve is pumping out.In an effort to forestall a serious recession and further crises in derivative instruments, the Federal Reserve is pouring out liquidity that is financing speculation in oil futures contracts
Our
‘Cheap Oil Fiesta’ Is Over
By Joyce Marcel
There are no cheap or easy solutions in our future. But the first thing to think about, Kunstler said, is rebuilding the public transportation system. We should demand that rebuilding the railroads become a serious issue in the current presidential election. That’s a good place to start
American
Complicity III
By Timothy V. Gatto
What about what your children are learning? Will they be good little fascists and salute the flag every morning in school as they learn that we invaded another nation for their resources? Is this the legacy you want to leave them? Is this our “American Morality”? You have to decide where you stand
A
Failed Project For The New American Century?
By Tim Buchholz
So the war in Iraq led to an increase in the short term, but looks like it will lead to a decrease in the future. The dollar is reaching new lows and people are starting to invest in Euros and Yen instead. Our housing market has crashed. Our deficit continues to grow. And even PNAC’s website, www.newamericancentury.org, has been taken down, saying only “This account has been suspended. Please contact the billing/support department as soon as possible.”
Logic
And Israel’s Security
By Jeffrey Rudolph
Having worked at a few information tables representing a mainstream Israeli peace group, I have come to better understand the mindset of many well-meaning Montreal Jews who reject the need for Israel to pursue a peace agreement with the Palestinians
The
Long Road Ahead Will Be Hard Earned
By Vincent L. Guarisco
There is a promising future awaiting us. We can change our stars. Hope is not lost unless we choose to give up. For me, I awoke from this nightmare long ago while standing at the Vietnam Memorial with my father in the Winter of 82. But each moment can redefine who we really are, so get busy. Perhaps, after reading this, we will all become the heroes we always knew we could be
DOJ
Official: Rumsfeld Personally
Approved Of Brutal Interrogations
By Jason Leopold
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld personally authorized the use of brutal interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay despite warnings from the FBI that the methods amounted to inhumane treatment, was possibly illegal, and would not produce reliable intelligence, a Department of Justice inspector general testified Tuesday
Pakistan:
Exorcising A Legacy
By Mir Adnan Aziz
The task of those elected is now to organize the removal of a rejected Mr. Musharraf and exorcising his legacy. The people have defeated an autocrat's agenda and simultaneously created the conditions for peace. We have every reason to believe the gun has been silenced and there will be political stability and economic recovery. We hope, this time around, a wronged nation will not be let down by those in whom it has reposed its trust and faith
Politics
Of Identity And Intolerance
By Ram Puniyani
On fifth of June (2008) a group of followers of Shiv Sangram Sanghtan (SSS), led by a former MLC of Nationalist Congress party, attacked the house of editor of Loksatta, a prominent Marathi daily, Kumar Ketkar and tried to break open the house. They, as per their leader, were expressing their spontaneous anger against Ketkar, who according to them had insulted Shivaji in his editorial
How
BJP And Congress Are Bailing Out
Dow Chemicals !
By Subhash Gatade
India's main opposition party BJP which is yearning to come back to power at the centre has accepted a donation of $ 2,500 from Dow Chemicals, which acquired the 'Killer' Union Carbide company, which caused the Bhopal gas tragedy
11 June, 2008
Fuel
Protests Sweep Across Europe
By Carlos Alejandro & Paul Mitchell
Spain is the latest country to be hit as a wave of protests against high fuel prices has spread to France and Portugal
Permafrost
Threatened By Rapid Retreat Of
Arctic Sea Ice, NCAR Study Finds
By NCAR
The rate of climate warming over northern Alaska, Canada, and Russia could more than triple during periods of rapid sea ice loss, according to a new study led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The findings raise concerns about the thawing of permafrost, or permanently frozen soil, and the potential consequences for sensitive ecosystems, human infrastructure, and the release of additional greenhouse gases
On
“Farewell Tour” Of Europe:
Bush Steps Up Threats Against Iran
By Bill Van Auken
In a joint communiqué issued after a summit meeting in Slovenia Tuesday, the US and the European Union threatened to impose new and tougher sanctions against Iran, going beyond those approved by the United Nations Security Council, if the government in Tehran does not bow to demands that it halt its uranium enrichment program
Making
Sense Of Collapse:
Funeral Procession Or Party Time?
By Carolyn Baker
It is now obvious that collapse has a life of its own; it, not we, are in charge. There is much we can do in response to it, but nothing we can do to prevent it. Each day that I report the daily news to readers and subscribers, I grieve a bit more than the day before, and at the same time, the sigh of relief from my body grows longer and larger. So many tragic endings making possible so many new beginnings. The funeral has begun, AND it's party time
Exposing
Bush Administration Corruption
By Stephen Lendman
Information for this article comes from long-time business, finance and political writer and analyst Bob Chapman who publishes the bi-weekly International Forecaster. It's power-packed with key information and a valued source for this writer. He obtained voluminous material directly from its source. People need to know it. Read on
Target
Iran: Christian Fundamentalists'
Road To The End Of The World
By Yoginder Sikand
It is not only because of insatiable greed for oil, or because of America's addiction to war or because of Bush's obvious mental instability that America and its allies now seem hell-bent on attacking Iran, although these factors are certainly important. Equally crucially, the current wave of fervent war-mongering in the West directed against Iran owes to the enormous clout wielded by Western Christian fundamentalist organizations who, following the invasion and destruction of Iraq, which they had so fervently abetted, are now calling for a repeat performance, this time in Iran
Strutting
Fascism And Swaggering Militarism
By Gaither Stewart
For God’s sakes let’s don’t waste time on the propaganda of “supporting our troops over there!” Or defense of America’s values! Or the future of our children! Or the war on terrorism! Let’s don’t waste words on that. As if in their strutting and blustering they had a monopoly on care for our sons! Let the generals and the industrial-military complex and our new administration (hopefully) support our boys “over there” in the only way that really counts—by bringing them home
Katrina
Meets Kucinich
By David Swanson
For a refreshing view of Hurricane Katrina and of global climate change, I highly recommend the following two articles of impeachment, introduced in the House of Representatives on Monday evening by Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Bush
Needs To Be Impeached NOW!
By Timothy V. Gatto
This is a country of law. When those laws are broken and circumvented, we lose the basic principles of whom and what we are. President Bush should be held to the same standard that we hold all Americans. To do less would impugn our reputation and make America a nation that let’s itself be dominated by lawbreakers
McCain:
The Man Of Honor!
By Leigh Saavedra
Personally, I don't like studying the candidates by looking into their love affairs and moments of imperfect judgment, particularly in personal matters, but as long as the 72-year old John McCain, is going to be portrayed as the one to restore honor to the White House, I believe the whole story must be told
The
General Election Is Set:
Where Do Iraq And Militarism Fit?
What Is A Peace Voter To Do?
By Kevin Zeese
What can peace advocates do? Your vote may not be the most important action. Indeed, it is predictable where the Electoral College votes for approximately 39 states are going now. So, no matter whom you are planning to vote for take action today. Write to all the candidates. Urge them to end the occupation of Iraq, stop threatening Iran with military attack and prevent future wars of aggression. Tell them it is time to invest in the civilian economy by rebuilding U.S. infrastructure, responding to climate change, providing for the basic necessities of the American people and to reduce the investment in the military economy. The candidates need to hear from you
General
Moeen Purge 1/11 Key Players
In Power Struggle To Regain Supremacy
By Saleem Samad
A major power struggle occurred in the military quarters recently. A silent coup d’état is in progress in Bangladesh
Palestine
Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation
By Jim Miles
This has been one of the most difficult books that I have ever read. It removed me from my academic detachment with which I read the majority of books and took me into emotions ranging from frustration, sadness, melancholy through to anger and belligerence. A compelling read, yet at the same time I had to put it down every so many pages in order to contemplate, digest, or simply escape what in sum could be called the constant inhuman brutality of one human against another
10 June, 2008
Obama
And McCain: Two Sides Of The Same Coin
By Timothy V. Gatto
People reading this know the truth, they know what I’m writing is the truth. We are backing people that support our world-wide agenda, whether it is right or wrong. Obama showed his true colors when he spoke to AIPAC. He is too young to realize that this world is being manipulated by moneyed interests that are after power and control
Obama,
Israel And AIPAC
By Uri Avnery
How is it that a man like Obama, the son of an African father, identifies so completely with the actions of former generations of American whites? It shows again the power of a myth to become rooted in the consciousness of a person, so that he identifies 100% with the imagined national narrative. To this may be added the unconscious urge to belong to the victors, if possible
Potential
Future Hyperinflation
By Stephen Lendman
Time alone will prove Walter Williams right or wrong. But given current economic conditions, the financial malpractice that precipitated them, continued mismanagement since then, and resultant dangers they created, it pays to examine his analysis. It's not for the faint-hearted and hopefully won't bear out. But it's happened before at other times in other countries, and when it hits it ruins lives and savings. Is America now headed for that type future? Williams thinks so, and here's his argument
Selling
War:"What WE Say Goes."
By Gunnar Garbo
When Hitler's troops invaded Norway in 1940, their bomber planes also spread leaflets declaring that the troops considerately came to protect the Norwegian people and secure our freedom and independence. In warfare lies like these are common. Recently two non-profit journalism organizations in the US documented that during the first two years after 11 September President Bush and his top officials issued at least 935 false statements about reasons for attacking Iraq. Bush led with 259 lies
A
Million Questions With One Answer
By Peter Chamberlin
According to our State Dept. there are approximately a dozen separate anti-Semitic beliefs, the worst of which is the claim that wealthy Jewish-Americans economically control the government, the media, international business or finance. The other most serious intolerable anti-Semitic claim is that the brutal Israeli repression of the Palestinians is comparable to the fascist tactics that were employed by the Nazis against another Semitic people in Europe. If anti-Semitism is the spreading of lies about Semitic peoples, and both of these "canards" are proven to be true, then it is the government that is spreading the lies about its ally Israel
Human
Rights Violations: We Can Stop Them
By Paul Buchheit
We in America dwell on our positive values, pride ourselves in wishing these values on other people, and condemn any obvious violation of our beliefs. But our actions are causing long-term suffering around the world. We need to take a closer look at ourselves. With the end of our own abuses against the developing world we might regain the right to criticize China
U.S.
Military’s Middle East Crusade For Christ
By Robert Weitzel
From Fort Jackson, the Army’s largest basic training facility, where trainees are encouraged to attend Campus Crusade’s weekly “God’s Basic Training” programs, to the U.S. Air Force Academy where students are pressured to attend the Crusade’s weekly “cru” (short for crusade) Bible study, American military personnel are, as Campus Crusade’s Scot Blom gloats, “government paid missionaries” when they complete their training
Leaders
With No Conscience
By Rand Clifford
Of all the damage Cheney and BushCo have wreaked upon humanity, there could be a redeeming quality in that people with conscience are having their souls rubbed in levels of carnage that can only be achieved by psychopaths reaching epitomes of power. Nothing new, except the sheer scale of the lesson
Fascism
Of Size-Zero
By Amrita Nandy-Joshi
The emphasis on ultra-thinness is about capitalism and power
Pleasantly
Surprised, In Islamabad
By Yoginder Sikand
Islamabad is surely the most well-organised, picturesque and endearing city in all of South Asia. Few Indians would, however, know this, or, if they did, would admit it. After all, the Indian media never highlights anything positive about Pakistan, because for it only 'bad' news about the country appears to be considered 'newsworthy'. That realization hit me as a rude shock the moment I stepped out of the plane and entered Islamabad's plush International Airport
08 June, 2008
The Failed
Harvest Of Food Policy
By Aseem Shrivastava
Any way you cut it, the food crisis in Southasia and around the world is bordering on the critical. And the culpability extends all the way from the Chicago Board of Trade to the power corridors of New Delhi, as organised greed takes control of our lives and diets
07 June, 2008
Destroying
African Agriculture
By Walden Bello
Biofuel production is certainly one of the culprits in the current global food crisis. But while the diversion of corn from food to biofuel feedstock has been a factor in food prices shooting up, the more primordial problem has been the conversion of economies that are largely food-self-sufficient into chronic food importers. Here the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) figure as much more important villains
Why
Obama Won
By Stephen Zunes
Obama was able to defeat the once-formidable Hillary Clinton because he was perceived to be the better candidate among the increasingly progressive base of the Democratic Party
Australia:
A Vote For Bigotry
By Ghali Hassan
Can you imagine the outcry if an Australian city council rejected a proposal to build a Jewish school? You don’t need to imagine. Anyone who dares to utter a single word against it will be labelled “anti-Semitic”. Australian politicians from the Prime Minister and his herd to the herd of the Opposition would be outraged by such an “Un-Australian” decision. However, when an application for an Islamic school was rejected, the support for bigotry was unanimous
Engaging
Syria: Losing Ground
By Ramzy Baroud
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision to engage Syria has been met with much scepticism in Israel and the Arab world. There, media discussions of Olmert's intentions fall between the following parameters: breaking the Iran-Syria-Hizbullah alliance, isolating the Palestinian opposition headquartered in Damascus, and diverting attention from heated corruption scandals dogging him at home
An
Award For The Voiceless In Gaza
By Mohammed Omer
As I write, I am still thrilled and honored at such recognition. But since those first minutes during which it was explained that I would have to be in London by 16 June to receive my award, my thoughts have been racing, seeking a way to get out of Gaza. How can I get out at a time when Israel is not allowing even the most urgent medical cases to leave for treatment, a policy that, according to Gaza's ministry of health, has led to the deaths of more than 165 people?
Tear
Gas And Bullets In Bil'in VS
International Nonviolent Solidarity
By Eileen Fleming
On June 6, 2008, Vice President of the European Parliament Luisa Morgantini and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Maried Corrigan-Maguire were assaulted by Israeli Forces with tear gas during the weekly Friday afternoon nonviolent protest against the wall and military occupation in Bil'in
End
Of Hindu Rashtra:Birth Of A New Nepal
By Subhash Gatade
Any close watcher of the Nepal situation would tell you that Jaswant Singh is not alone in having and expressing a negative opinion about the developments in the newest republic which has seen the end of 250 year old monarchy and the end of the 'model Hindu Rashtra' much espoused by the Sangh Parivar organisations. In one of his recent outbursts, Mr Ashok Singhal, the International President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad is reported to have compared Jihadists and Maoists who would together bring further calamity to the tiny country
06 June, 2008
Three
Fundamental Necessities Of Life In Jeopardy
By Michel Chossudovsky
There are many complex features underlying the global economic crisis pertaining to financial markets, the decline in production, the collapse of State institutions and the rapid development of a profit-driven war economy. What is rarely mentioned in this analysis, is how this global economic restructuring forcibly impinges on three fundamental necessities of life: food, water and fuel
Iraq:
Animals Too Struggle For Survival
By Ali al-Fadhily & Dahr Jamail
Amidst the huge and growing death toll, it has been easy to forget that animals, in their own way, are finding it hard to survive in Iraq
The
Death Grip Of IPAC And The Gun Lobby
By David Truskoff
If the candidates now running for the US presidency and seeking to become the most powerful figure in the world, can not address the fact that the Gun lobby and the Israel lobby have a death grip on the congress then they can not fulfill the promise of change they all are presenting to Young Americans. If they can not get the guns off the streets and out of the hands of criminals and they can not change our foreign policy because IPAC will not allow it then the sinking ship will only sink faster
Chavez
Revamps His Intelligence Services:
The Corporate Media React
By Stephen Lendman
Reports keep surfacing about new threats against Hugo Chavez. Given past ones, they can't be taken lightly. Chavez is alerted and reacts accordingly. Case in point: revamping Venezuela's decades old intelligence services. It's long overdue and urgently needed given the Bush administration's tenure winding down and its determination in its remaining months to end the Bolivarian project and crush its participatory democracy
Our
Urban Nightmare
By Mir Adnan Aziz
On May 23, 2007, the world reached a seemingly invisible but momentous milestone. For the first time in history the world's urban population outnumbered the rural one. Now more than half its human population, 3.3 billion is living in urban areas. By 2030, this is expected to swell to almost 5 billion. Many of the new urbanites will be poor. Their future, the future of our cities and the future of humanity itself, all depends very much on decisions made now in preparation for this growth
Discussing
Democracy In Islamabad
By Yoginder Sikand
Voices for genuine democracy and social justice are increasingly vibrant and strident in Pakistan today, and, contrary to what Indians (and Westerners) have been programmed to believe, Pakistan is not a failed state on the verge of being taken over by religious radicals
Gujjars
Of Rajasthan And S.T. Status
By Dr Javaid Rahi
This article examines whether the ST demands of Gujjars of Rajasthan is a genuine one and is it falling within the criteria of ST status as provided by Schedule Tribes Act
Orissa:
Profiteers vs The People
By Elisabeth Abeson
A determined action has marked the beginning of the end of “the POSCO era” – a particularly sinister period characterised by Orissa government's support of a corporate land-siege which threatens to rob farmers, forest dwellers and indigenous people of their lives, livelihood, and cultural heritage, writes Elisabeth Abeson from Orissa's Jagatsinghpura
Marauding
Mourners
By Amrit Dhatt
Twenty-four years after the massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi following the killing of Indira Gandhi, a lawyer and a journalist get together to write a hitherto hidden account of the 1984 catastrophe called anti-Sikh riots. A review by Amrit Dhatt
05 June, 2008
Secret
Plan To Keep Iraq Under US Control
By Patrick Cockburn
A secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election in November
Five
Years on, Saddam's Successor Resurfaces
By Nicola Nasser
For the first time since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in April 2003, the deputy of Saddam Hussein, the late President of Iraq, Izzat Ibrahim Addouri has resurfaced, despite a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, in a lengthy interview with Abdel-Azim Manaf, the editor-in-chief of the Egyptian newspaper Al-Mawqif Al-Arabi, not a mainstream, on May 26 to lay out the strategy and tactics of the Iraqi resistance led by the former ruling party, Al-Baath. Addouri's resurface and the resistance strategy he has laid out represent a direct challenge to the U.S. occupying power
More
US, Israeli Threats Against Iran
By Peter Symonds
Strident remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on Tuesday once again raised the prospect of a military attack on Iran before the end of the Bush administration
Gaza’s
Imminent Explosion
By Dr. Elias Akleh
Worst from death itself is watching your young children, your old parents, and your siblings die of starvation, lack of medicine, and on the hands of Israeli terrorist army. Abandoned and pushed to die in a corner without any alternative Gaza Palestinians will not take it silently. They prefer to die struggling for their rights and for their freedom. This is the only choice left for them
The
Black Days Of 1948
By Dr Marwan Asmar
The Palestinian Diaspora of 1948 in which over 750,000 people were forced to leave their homes was made virtually at gunpoint. Today as Israelis celebrate their 60th birthday in a bombastic fashion, Palestinians remember their Nakba of destruction and turmoil signified by their uprooting from their land. It is this monstrous equation that has to be driven at the forefront by scholars, academics, journalists, commentators, politicians, and activists so that the world is educated about the Israeli holocaust to the Palestinians
Awakening
To Abrupt Climate Change
By Bill Henderson
Will we know? I think the majority of us will stay in denial till the flip or till we die if our death happens first
"Terrorism":
The Gujarat Way...
By Fr. Cedric Prakash sj
In a predawn "swoop" on Sunday, 1st June, the City Police Commissioner O. P. Mathur, filed a complaint against the Resident Editor of the Time of India, Mr. Bharat Desai, a Correspondent, Mr. Prashant Dayal and a Photographer on charges of Sedition" and "Conspiracy against the State" for publishing a series of articles detailing his connections with a mafia don
04 June, 2008
What
Will Be At Heart Of Obama-McCain Race
By Jesse Jackson
What does Barack Obama think? We know he thinks the election is about change. He’s spent much of the last few weeks arguing with McCain about Iraq. But for Obama, Iraq is an obstacle, not an obsession. Now it is time for Obama to lay out the stakes, to describe what he will carry in the wagon that he wants Americans to push. That begins not in Baghdad but at home
Republicans
Prepare To Play
Terror Card In 2008 Election
By Bill Van Auken
The Republican Party and its presidential candidate Senator John McCain are preparing to wage their 2008 campaign on the same essential issue that the Republicans have used to contest the last three national elections: terror
But Obama!
Americans Are Not "Compassionate"
Nor "Generous" Toward Iraqis, Afghanis, Somalis
By Jay Janson
Obama felt obliged to mention Truman and Kennedy as models, but both were exceedingly pro-status quo and not pro-change. Help Obama! Expose media!
Choice In
November -
Nader v. Twiddle Dee or Twiddle Dum
By Stephen Lendman
This is the same JFK/RFK incarnate, a fresh new face, the "great liberal hope," the smooth-talking campaigner who understands who butters his bread. The same goes for Clinton and McCain. Never for Nader, and it's why he's disdained. He's beholden to people, not entrenched interests; the rarest of political candidates - an anti-politician who says what he means and means what he says and has lifetime achievements to prove it
Winter
Soldiers Hit The Streets
By Dahr Jamail
In a clear change of strategy to energise public anti-war sentiment, Iraq veterans led a determined demonstration of hundreds through the streets of downtown Seattle last Saturday, following regional Winter Soldier hearings at the Seattle Town Hall
Bush
Vowed US Would "Kill" Anyone
Who Interfered In Iraq
By Jason Leopold
President Bush reacted to the deaths of four Blackwater contractors in Fallujah in 2004 by proclaiming in a hastily arranged video conference with officials that the United States would "kill" anyone who threatened to derail the "march to Democracy" in Iraq, according to a new book released last month by the former commander of US soldiers in Iraq
The
Anti Terror Fatwa: But Who Is Listening?
By Salil Kader
The Deoband fatwa might do little to change the mindset of groups indulging in terrorist activities. Nonetheless, the fatwa might prove to be crucial in guiding scores of youngsters as it, in a way, gives a directive against taking the path of violence to achieve one’s goals. The fatwa will also go a long way in clearing fallacies about Islam in the minds of those influenced by the propaganda being carried out against the faith. The Deoband fatwa, in that sense, bridges a major gap and could prove to be a guiding star for the generations to come
03 June, 2008
"Enough
Is Enough, It's Time To Get Out"
By Dahr Jamail
Dozens of veterans from the U.S. occupation of Iraq converged in this west coast city over the weekend to share stories of atrocities being committed daily in Iraq, in a continuation of the "Winter Soldier" hearings held in Silver Spring, Maryland in March
Fascism:
The Night Of Broken Glass
In Rome-Part II
By Gaither Stewart
The United Nations High Commissioner For Human Rights, the Vatican and opposition parties today criticized the recent decision of Italy’s newly elected rightwing government headed by Silvio Berlusconi and his neo-fascist allies to criminalize illegal immigration to Italy as well as for recent attacks on camps of Roma nomads
Masculine
Pathology: A World Out Of Control
Ruled By Men Who Are Obsessed With Control
By Wanda Marie Woodward
If the world is to survive the malignant rampage of leadership that is endemic in virtually all institutions and organizations, people are urged to become informed about the spectrum of masculine pathology---narcissism, sociopathy, and psychopathy---and purge it from global power structures. It is this spectrum which exists at the top of global power with an uninformed and obedient following which form the underpinnings of a world headed toward annihilation
"The
Hope Of A Victimized People"
By George Bisharat
More and more people are recognizing that a Jewish state built on expulsion, repression and ethnic privilege will never know rest. Justice, equality and mutual respect are the salvation of both Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs. Ahead, perhaps distantly, a bright future awaits them
Why
A Cultural Boycott Of Israel Is Necessary
By Remi Kanazi
It is clear that even cultural dialogue with the Israeli establishment has only proven to normalize the occupation. Tutu once declared, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Now is not the time to be neutral, nor the time to be reticent; it is the time to act
Desolation
In Myanmar
By Brian McAfee
In the aftermath of a major natural disaster, the ongoing tragedy that is playing out in Myanmar is unnecessary and criminal in nature. The military junta, that had initially withheld relief aid from reaching the majority of the population most negatively impacted by the May 2-3 cyclone, have reportedly stolen many of the goods and have blocked some people's access to them
When
Will Obama Throw
Jimmy Carter Under The Bus?
By Jerry D. Rose
Obama cannot agree to any of Jimmy Carter's four totally reasonable positions on U.S. foreign policy, and the ex-President must go under the bus with the rest of the crowd. How and when this will happen will await the vicissitudes of a campaign
Will
McCain Name Torture Ships For Big Donors?
By David Swanson
The United States maintains secret prisons on ships in the ocean in order to detain people outside the reach or even the knowledge of any system of law, the better to torture the ever-living cheney out of them. Over at the Black Commentator, Glen Ford (now at the Black Agenda Report) has been calling the Bush Cheney gang pirates for years. And the point is not just that they're criminals, but that they are outlaws, killers, and thieves who operate outside any national allegiance or system of laws or morality
The
Persian Question
By Hooman Majd
As Iran once again becomes the centerpiece of the foreign policy debate between the two likely candidates for president, analysts and commentators continue to weigh in on the glaring difference between the positions of Senators Obama and McCain on how to tackle the Persian question
Babbling
Brooks
By Thomas Riggins
David Brooks has written an open letter to the presidential candidates. Brooks means by "reality'' ''right wing reality'' not anything that relates to the real world. Brooks tells the trio of aspirants that their debate over talking or not to Iran will be irrelevant once one of them is the White House
Iranian
Neoconservatives Go After Obama
By Soraya Ulrich
Responding to an Open Letter to Senator Obama on Iran
Defeating
The Mind Set
By Amjad Malik
People of Pakistan are elated by coming nearer to the fall of General Pervez Musharraf and considering it a beginning of a new era where rule of law, constitutionalism and justice prevails. They consider this as an end of the status quo, dictatorship, and rule of establishment, however they are hardly aware of the fact that General Musharraf was just a pawn, a little piece of a big jig saw puzzle
Article
Writing Equals Sedition?
By Subhash Gatade
Whether the police commissioner of a city and his colleagues are an incarnation of the state itself? Any sane person would reply in the negative. Perhaps the (newly appointed) honourable police commissioner of Ahmedabad has a different take on the whole issue. It is not for nothing that he has filed a case of 'sedition and treason' against the Ahmedabad edition of the Times of India supposedly for carrying a series of articles which questioned his alleged links with a Mafia Don
02 June, 2008
Iraq
Death Toll 'Above Highest Estimates'
By Ahmed Ali & Dahr Jamail
The real number of the dead is far higher than even the highest declared in death tolls, many Iraqis say
Why
Is South Africa Being Torn Apart?
By Thandokuhle Manzi & Patrick Bond
Even if racially defined geographical areas have disappeared from apartheid-era Swiss-cheese maps, the economic logic of drawing inexpensive labor from distant sites is even more extreme , now that it no longer is stigmatized by apartheid connotations
American
Complicity - Part II
By Timothy V. Gatto
Just think about the lies Bush has told and then make believe for a moment that it was Bill Clinton who had done the very same thing. Can you do it? Then ask yourself why Bush is still the President. Ask yourself if the American people are indeed complicit. If you say that it isn’t the people but the media who are complicit, ask yourself why the people can’t change the media? I ask myself this question everyday
The
Substance Of Obama's Liberalism
By John Pilger
America's war on Iran has already begun. In December, Bush secretly authorized support for two guerrilla armies inside Iran, one of which, the military arm of Mujahedin-e Khalq, is described by the State Department as terrorist. The U.S. is also engaged in attacks or subversion against Somalia, Lebanon, Syria, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bolivia and Venezuela. A new military command, Africom, is being set up to fight proxy wars for control of Africa's oil and other riches. With U.S. missiles soon to be stationed provocatively on Russia's borders, the Cold War is back. None of these piracies and dangers has raised a whisper in the presidential campaign, not least from its great liberal hope
Palestinians
Trapped At Crossroads
By Nicola Nasser
Firing home-made primitive rockets at Israeli targets from the Gaza Strip, the mass sweeping through the Palestinian - Egyptian border crossing of Rafah in January and the series of ongoing peaceful demonstrations at Gaza's crossing points with Israel are not an aggressive demonstration of self-confidence, but more a show of defensive despair and weakness against the tight Israeli military siege
Water
Wars In The West Bank
By Ron Taylor
That the next war will be about water is a commonly expressed sentiment in Palestine. This may not be the case – there are many other reasons for conflict here - but the unequal division of this life source could well provide the spark for the next eruption
Washington
Planning To "Checkmate" Chavez
By Stephen Lendman
Stay tuned. November approaches in both countries. The Bush administration's tenure is short. But it's got plenty of time left to incinerate two continents and end the republic if that's its plan. An inert public needs arousing. Michel Chossudovsy says we're "at the crossroads of the most serious crisis in modern history." It's part of a "war and globalization" process. The stakes for humanity are incalculable, but rogue states don't weigh them
The
Washington Post And "Victory" In Iraq
By Jeff Berg
The geopolitical victory by default of Iran in Iraq is now a fact. Whether this fact will be allowed to stand by the two countries that have lost so much as a result of their ruthlessly violent enterprises may be the most important political question of our generation. For Iran is not Iraq. Their military was not devastatingly weakened by Gulf War I. Their society was not ravaged by over a decade of sanctions. Sanctions described by two of the bureaucrats who were put in charge of the operation as "genocidal"
Our
Beautiful Home
By John James
We, as humans, have to accept responsibility for damaging the beautiful home we live on – indeed, the only home available to us or our children
The
Corporations – Killers Of Democracy
By Siv O'Neall
It's way too late at this moment to ask the question: Are we going to lose our democracy? We may not all have noticed it yet, but the Big Corporations stole our democracy a long time ago
Kashmir:
A Call For New Realism?
By Murtaza Shibli
It is high time that the Hurriyat Conference and other Kashmiri leaders learn from their previous blunders that have contributed and perpetuated the sufferings of Kashmiris. They must unite in order to achieve realistic goals and direct Kashmiris towards a path that is away from unending suicide and destruction. In order to achieve this, the Hurriyat Conference must undertake wider consultations and evolve ideas with one voice and one vision built on peace, reconciliation and progress
Living
With DDT
By K A Shaji
Damning reports. Alarming statistics. There's a strong case against India's lone DDT manufacturing facility in Kerala but the plant shows no sign of shutting down
