30 May, 2010
The tIDe Turns In UK;
Will UID/Aadhar Meet The Same Fate?
By Binu Karunakaran
Some less than 100 days from now the coalition government in UK will scrap its controversial £4.5bn national identity card scheme and save its citizens from both unwanted privacy intrusions and loss of valuable tax payers money. By the end of the same time period in August this year another coalition government, the Manmohan Singh-led UPA in India, would start stamping its citizens with an UID number
A Day In November
By Uri Avnery
AIPAC is blackmailing Obama, and until now it has been successful. It will go on doing so after November. Obama should face up to the idea and decide: no more. Will he have the courage to do so? I don’t know. I hope
BP Abandons 'Top Kill' Effort
By Aljazeera
Oil giant BP's latest effort to plug the broken wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico has failed, the company has said, adding it is time to "move on" and try other solutions
Interview With John Francis
By Madeline Ostrander
When an oil spill coated birds in San Francisco Bay 40 years ago, he quit driving. Then he quit speaking. Madeline Ostrander asked him what he learned in that process that can help us deal with the BP oil spill
29 May, 2010
Rebalancing The World
By Richard Falk
May 17th was the day that the Brazilian/Turkish initiative bore fruit in Tehran, with Iran agreeing to a ten-point arrangement designed to defuse the mounting confrontation with the United States and Israel with regard to its enrichment facilities. It may turn out that May 17, 2010 will be remembered as an important milestone on the road to a real new world order
Brazil, U.S. On A Collision Course
By Raúl Zibecchi
The reaction of the White House, as voiced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who scorned the Teheran accord and attempts to go ahead with a policy of sanctions, shows the United States' impotence as it finds itself pushed off the world's stage
Obama's Letter To Lula Exposes
White House Forked Tongue On Iran
By Steve Hynd
Via Robert Naiman, it appears that President Lula of Brazil has decided to shine some light on the Obama administration's machinations on Iran. He has finally released the full text of Obama's 20th April letter to Brazil about the proposed TTR fuel swap deal and the entire letter appears today in Brazilian Foreign Policy
Scavenging Consent: Desperate For Casus Belli
By Trevor Selvam
Now the tone is changing gradually regarding yesterdays train mishap. A foot and half of fish-plates were found removed. A BBC cameraman has displayed the gap in one of their broadcasts. No evidence of a blast any longer. No evidence of gelatine, dynamite, ammonium nitrate. The foreign press had already expressed some caution, in their statements and terminology. But not the Indian press. They are so free, unfettered and dynamic when it comes to spreading innuendo!
Reports From Ground Zero
By Tusha Mittal
A civilian bus is blown up. Six men are arrested below radar, a mindless cycle of violence rolls on in Dantewada
Thailand: Two Elites And A Proletariat
By Satya Sagar
There are already many versions, each one coloured by the prejudices of those who tell it. As an outsider, who has spent over a decade reporting out of Thailand, my version is fairly straightforward- a well entrenched but ageing King is vying for power with an ambitious and charismatic capitalist and the paradoxical result is a rebirth of the country’s long dormant left movement. The real question to ask now is whether the new baby will be healthy or stillborn?
Shopian: A Year After- Song Of The Caged Birds
By Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal
A year ago on this day, two women Asiya and Neelofar went missing from their orchard around 7.00 P.M in Shopian. Their bodies were found in the wee hours next morning in the Rambiara nallah, a small trickle of a stream, between their home and their orchard. The two women were alleged to have been raped and murdered by men in uniform. But till date there has been no justice, not even a fair investigation that would unravel the truth. Shopian, a year on, has become a symbol of not just human rights violations but also of travesty of justice, of suppressing voices of peaceful resistance, of indifference to demands for justice and democratic dissent
Faith Not Lost In Struggle For Justice
By Syed Basharat
Even after one year since the rape and murder incident of two women, the people of Shopian have not lost hope for justice. Despite what they call cover up operations at various levels by the government agencies, the people here believe that truth will finally get established with their struggle and those who try to sabotage their efforts would be proved wrong
Terrorism: Cause And Effect
By Jack A. Smith
It's "terrorism" 24/7 in the United States — the product of a conscious effort by the Bush Administration to keep the American people in the constant clutches of existential fear, in large part to justify launching endless aggressive wars. Anything goes if the target is said to be "terrorism," as long as the Pentagon's violence takes place in smaller, weaker countries usually populated by non-Europeans. But does the U.S. government really want to defeat terrorism?
Rare Ethical Writers Expose Mainstream
Media Lying
By Dr Gideon Polya
While Mainstream Media lying is a huge Elephant-in-the-Room reality in the Western democracies (perceived as Murdochracies by John Pilger), it is very rare to find ethical writers who expose this perversion
The European And U.S. Economies:
Falling Dominoes
By Shamus Cooke
Massive, bad debt is often cited as the cause of the global depression, but why this debt existed in the first place is never discussed. Quite simply, the debt was needed to buy the products of corporations that wages once consumed. Over time, corporations drove down wages to out-compete each other while driving up profits, creating the global “demand” for credit, which the banks are now demanding be paid back
Freedom Flotilla Exposes International
Community's Failure
By Allegra Pacheco
The Freedom Flotilla of nine vessels sailing to the Gaza Strip is exposing the partisan nature of the response of the United Nations and the international community to Israel's three-year siege on Gaza
Israel Goes PR Through Propaganda
By Sameh A. Habeeb
Maariv, Haaretz, Yedot Ahronot, Jerusalem Post,Israeli TVs and tens of other Israeli media outlets seem to be recruited by the government of Israel now. As the aid convoys approach Gaza by the Mediterranean, the media outlets step up its propaganda and PR campaign. The propaganda portrayed in these media outlets will never succeed to changing the damaged image of Israel
Israel's Specialty: Targeting Civilians
By Stephen Lendman
Lives have been shattered, crops destroyed, soil poisoned, and sustainability comprised, so "Where is the hope? Where is the love in the midst of such suffering and injustice?" In the will to survive; in growing worldwide solidarity; in the "Freedom Flotilla" defying the blockade to deliver aid, Maguire on it, "inspired by the people of Gaza whose courage, love and joy in welcoming us, even in the midst of such suffering gives us all hope. They represent the best of humanity," no amount of Israeli repression can extinguish, nor their redoubtable "nonviolent struggle for human dignity, and freedom."
Convention USA: Confronting Unconstitutional
Inaction By Congress
By Joel S. Hirschhorn
Wake up patriots. Voting is not the answer. Not in our corrupt system. But there is something else for US citizens. First they must understand the importance of the provision in Article V of their Constitution for a convention of state delegates that can propose constitutional amendments just like Congress. Then they must also learn that Congress has long refused to obey the Constitution and convene the first convention
Three Chinese Curses
By Guy R. McPherson
Maybe lifting the curse of industry will reveal a worse fate, at least at the level of individuals. But it’s difficult to imagine a situation in which termination of the industrial age will not improve the lots of every non-industrial culture and every non-human species on this planet. May we find what we’re looking for, regardless of the personal cost
Plight Of Black Poor Continues To Worsen
By Sherwood Ross
For Black America, it is as David Ginsburg remarked: “Education is worse. Housing is worse. Unemployment is worse.” It’s the same today as in the Nineties or Sixties. So where’s the civil rights movement?
US-Muslim Relations One Year After
Obama’s Cairo Speech
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
While President Obama should be congratulated on his efforts to change the discourse of US policy towards the Muslim world, it is clear that people expect more than new policy statements from him. To borrow Khaled Hroub, Director of the Cambridge University Arab Media Project, the spurt of fresh air that US-Muslim relations enjoyed after Obama’s arrival in the White House is already somewhat musty; it could be exhausted even before the end of his period in office, and certainly after it
28 May, 2010
America’s Space Fighter: New Threat To Humanity
By Zhengyan Fang
People have too much reason to worry about the U.S, its pursuit of absolute superiority in space, and its attempt to build up an absolute dominance at a height from which it can threaten the globe
Gulf Oil Slick 'Worst In US History'
By Matthew Wild
Early reports are indicating that BP's risky bid to plug it’s Gulf of Mexico well appear to be working – but the subsequent oil slick may be far greater than anyone dared fear. US officials have reportedly confirmed that the well appears to be no longer leaking – but at the same time it’s being reported that the oil slick is now the worst in the nation’s history
Ecological Denial On The Gulf Oil Disaster:
U.S. Policies Continue Toward Collapse
By Jan Lundberg
The impact of the Gulf oil disaster on the national psyche and the economy have barely begun. When Florida, a more substantial state than Louisiana, is hit by the unprecedented pollution assured to have lasting effects, the quickened erosion of confidence in government, industry and modern technology may accelerate the end of this current phase of U.S. society. A transition or breakdown was already afoot. Thus, the shock of the Gulf oil disaster's impacts will further undermine the dominant consumer culture and life as we know it
Have You Looked At Barsa Lakhma’s Face?
By Nirmalangshu Mukherji
The Hindu, 25 May, posted the above photograph of a person on its frontpage under the head “Six Naxals held for Dantewada massacre”. The person, Barsa Lakhma, is alleged to be a Naxal “leader”, a “commander” who is said to be involved in the gunning down of 76 security personnel. Take a close look at Barsa Lakhma’s face. With his puzzled eyes and full cheeks, how old does he look like? 15? 16?
Rape And Murder At Shopian, One Year Later
By Concerned Citizens
Open letter to the Chief Justice of India , Chairperson, National Commission for Women and Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission demanding ustice in the case of rape and murder of Aasiya Jan and Neelofer Jan in Shopian, J&K, 29 May 2009
C.B.I (Concocting Bizarre Interpretations)
In Shopian
By Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal
From the very beginning the government response, to one of the biggest controversies ever in the history of Kashmir, has not been marked by consistency. The official investigating agencies – right from the Special Investigation Team of the Jammu and Kashmir Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have been busier spreading canards of lies, spinning rumours and using media as a tool to leak misinformation, rather than clearing the cobwebs
A New Era For Indian Farms-
Sponsored By Craig Venter
By GS Roshan
What Venter's work indicates clearly is the coming of a new Empire of industrialized biology. The chief outlook is less for life, or science, and more for monopoly profits that can be extracted at every level. Those who already bear the costs of our destructive model of growth will be made to bear a greater burden. The biofuels projects are just one small example
Ameer Makhoul Charged With Espionage
By Jonathan Cook
A leading human rights activist from Israel’s Palestinian Arab minority was charged yesterday with the most serious security offences on Israel’s statute book, including espionage
Homeless Iraqis Prompt Fears Of Social Crisis
By Ali Kareem
Iraq's illegal squatter settlements are spreading so rapidly, one senior UN official considers homelessness "the greatest humanitarian problem facing Iraq."
Ahmadinejad Blasts Medvedev Over
UNSC Sanctions; Brazil Still Reaching Out
To Obama On Nuclear Deal
By Juan Cole
The Iranian newspaper Tabnak reports that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a speech on Wednesday, took a hard line with Russia and also pressured the US to accept the deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil on Iranian low enriched uranium
The World After Abundance
By John Michael Greer
In the energy crisis of the Seventies, relatively simple conservation and efficiency measures, combined with lifestyle changes, sent world petroleum consumption down by 15% in a single decade and caused comparable drops in other energy sources across the industrial world. Most of these measures went out the window in the final binge of the age of cheap oil that followed, so there’s plenty of low hanging fruit to pluck
Israel Is Alone
By Angela Corrias
In this very moment eight ships are making their way from Europe's main ports to the Gaza Strip, under siege by the Zionist regime since December 2007. European activists are bringing medicaments and all sorts of humanitarian aids to the population that is increasingly suffering from this illegal blockade
Why Is Israel Afraid Of A Few Boats?
By Yousef Munayyer
Headlines and stories covering this confrontation at sea will shift the focus back to Gaza, even if only for a few hours. For Israel, Gaza is the tortured and famished step-child it locks in the basement when visitors arrive, and the activists on these boats seek to expose what Israel is doing in the strip: imposing a draconian siege to collectively punish civilians for political aims
Humanitarian Flotilla Vs Evil Navy
By Gilad Atzmon
The Israeli Government and the Israeli people better start to come to terms with the fact that the game is soon to be over. The Zionist project and the Israeli state is in a state of moral bankruptcy. From that perspective the flotilla is not just a humanitarian mission, it is actually a reminder for all of us of the true meaning of humanism
The Gaza World Cup 2010
By Flora Nicoletta
Celebration of human spirit and the Gaza World Cup 2010
The Drums Of War Is Beating In The Middle East
By Salim Nazzal
It is difficult to tell whether the war will occur or not, What is sure is the fact that the continuation of the Zionist occupation is a daily war against Palestine and against the civilized norms and the international laws. This occupation is the prime reason for past wars and the wars which might occur. If this issue is not addressed seriously within the frame work of the UN resolutions and in a strong international intervention it is extremely difficult to anticipate that the region is coming to witness peace in the near future
Education In Occupied Palestine
By Stephen Lendman
The plight of the educational system in the occupied Palestine
Lebanon Marks Liberation Day
By Rannie Amiri
Recognizing that Israel is itching for revenge after its July 2006 assault failed to eliminate the strength or popularity of Hezbollah and that an attack will involve a manufactured pretext (like the Scud missile allegations), Hariri knows Lebanon’s economically vital summer tourist season could be when they elect to strike again. The alternating cycle of tears and celebration to which Lebanon has grown accustom may not be over yet
Why RSS Wants To Forget Pracharak
Sunil Joshi's Murder?
By Subhash Gatade
It was a murder of an old activist, which the RSS would love to forget. It is a different matter that despite the innumerable ways in which it has tried to banish the memory of the whole incident it has found it very difficult to get away with it. And with the latest exposures in the Ajmer Dargah bomb blast case the whole issue has once again returned to haunt it
27 May, 2010
Tribute To The People Of Gaza
By Mairead Maguire
Where is the hope? Where is the love in the midst of such suffering and injustice? The international community has all but failed in its duty of care and seems unwilling or unable to take a stand against Israeli brutality but thankfully there are those who still refuse to stands aide. And so in an expression of love and solidarity the “Freedom Flotilla” takes to the water in an attempt to breach the siege on Gaza
Zionists Can't Stop Freedom Flotilla
By Ismail Patel
Friends of Al Aqsa, UK, is determined to participate in an expedition that aims to reach Gaza by sea despite Israeli threats
Break The Israeli Siege Of Gaza or Attack At sea,
Detention Camps And Deportation
By Ann Wright
Wish us luck as we challenge the Israeli, Egyptian, European Union and United State's unlawful siege and collective punishment of 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza! What will you do to help break the siege of Gaza?
Move To Gaza, Where The Living Is Easy
By Lisa Goldman
According to the Israeli government, life in Gaza is pretty luxurious. On the same morning that the air force bombed Gaza, wounding 22 people (who were probably all Hamas voters, which means they totally deserved whatever happened to them), the army, the Government Press Office (GPO) and the Foreign Ministry launched a three-pronged propaganda attack, all on the same day
Ameer Makhoul's Arrest Is An Assault
On All Palestinians In Israel
By Janan Abdu & Issam Makhoul
The fact is that Ameer Makhoul does not belong to any specific political party. Rather, he reserves for himself an independent position, which is a clear indication that the main target of this attack is the Arab Palestinian public and their leadership, their rights and freedoms
In Iran, Sanctions vs. Diplomacy
By Phyllis Bennis
Can the U.N. Security Council keep the U.S. from disrupting a diplomatic victory?
The Iranian Dilemma
By George S. Hishmeh
The 'diplomatic coup' - as Iran's success in winning over the sponsorship of Turkey and Brazil, two upcoming international players, of its new nuclear offer to the UN nuclear watchdog - has to date seemingly rankled the big powers and may have even split the western community on this subject
NATO's Other Member State
By David Cronin
Israel's worst-kept secret has finally been revealed. Documents published in recent days show that Israel not only has nuclear weapons -- something it has never officially acknowledged -- but that it considered selling them to South Africa's white minority government in 1975. But will it cause Europe and America to rethink their relationship with Israel?
Obama’s Rudderless Foreign Policy Underscores
America’s Waning Power
By Dilip Hiro
Irrespective of their politics, flawed leaders share a common trait. They generally remain remarkably oblivious to the harm they do to the nation they lead. George W. Bush is a salient recent example, as is former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. When it comes to foreign policy, we are now witnessing a similar phenomenon at the Obama White House
Why Afzal Must Not Be Hanged
By Nandita Haksar
If Azal is hanged today will it resolve any problem? Will it satisfy the conscience of this country? Will all those gunning for him feel any safer? The answer to all these questions is 'no'. Hanging Afzal under the pressure of the Hindu Right-wing lobby would only endanger Indian security and would be a stigma on Indian democracy
‘The Internet Is A Game Changer’ -
A Paperless World
By Ramzy Baroud
More, digital media are making waves not just in the constant improvement of news and information technology, but also influencing the level of trust readers have in the new media. Indeed, it is not just about how the news is conveyed — digitally or on paper — but how our perception of the news is changing altogether
More Warnings Needed On Reglan Side Effects
By Evelyn Pringle
Although a black box warning for tardive dyskinesia was announced by the FDA in February 2009, lawsuits filed against the makers of Reglan (metoclopramide) allege the drug companies knew for decades that the risk of movement disorders was much greater than acknowledged
Financial Markets A Bigger Terrorist Threat
Than Al Qaeda?
By Girish Menon
Al Qaeda and the Taliban appear small fry as compared to the movers in the world of finance in their ability to make democratic governments implement anti democratic policies. So will I be wrong in concluding that financial market terrorists are a bigger threat to economies than Al Qaeda, Taliban et al?
US Inspector General Report - Falsified Oil Rig
Inspections And Other Improprieties
By Stephen Lendman
On May 24, Mary L. Kendall, Acting Interior Department Inspector General's memo to her boss, Secretary Ken Salazar, discussed an "Investigative Report," titled "Island Operating Company, et al," addressing allegations that Lake Charles, Louisiana District Office Minerals Management Service (MMS) employees (in charge of inspections and oversight) "accepted gifts from oil and gas production companies."
India-Pakistan: Reducing Trust deficit
By Rahil Yasin
In the Indo-Pak context, CBMs (confidence building measures) can only come about when concrete moves forward are made in the most contentious areas. Trust is the foundation of any long-lasting relationship. It demands establishing peace on such solid foundations that no one dares to damage it. For this, leniency has to be shown from the both sides. Elimination of trust deficit is vital for the peace and prosperity of the two people. The earlier it is done, the better
Illegal Clearing of Forest for POSCO Project
By D Raja
D. Raja's letter to Prime Minister of India
Scrap POSCO
By Fact Finding Team
A fact finding team traveled to Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa to look into the human rights violations in the wake of May 15 police attack on the activists of POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) and villagers affected by the proposed POSCO project. The fact finding team demanded the immediate withdrawal of all forged cases against villagers and anti-POSCO movement leaders, release of those arrested, withdrawal of police force from the area and initiate immediate withdrawal of the proposed POSCO project from this site
The Curious Case Of The Head Dress
By Bobby Kunhu
I was slightly piqued at the discussions that was unleashed in the Kerala media following the unceremonious dismissal of a young girl from her school following her refusal to adhere to the proposed new uniform – in other words following her refusal to give up the “mafta” or “hijab”
26 May, 2010
What If The Oil Spill Just Can’t Be Fixed?
By David Roberts
It's entirely possible, even likely, that we're going to be stuck helplessly watching as this well spews oil into the Gulf for years. Even if the flow were stopped tomorrow, the damage to marshes, coral, and marine life is done. The Gulf of Mexico will become an ecological and economic dead zone. There's no real way to undo it, no matter who's in charge
Deepwater Horizon: This Is What The End Of
The Oil Age Looks Like
By Richard Heinberg
This is what the end of the oil age looks like. The cheap, easy petroleum is gone; from now on, we will pay steadily more and more for what we put in our gas tanks—more not just in dollars, but in lives and health, in a failed foreign policy that spawns foreign wars and military occupations, and in the lost integrity of the biological systems that sustain life on this planet
BPing The Arctic?
By Subhankar Banerjee
Will the Obama Administration Allow Shell Oil to Do to Arctic Waters What BP Did to the Gulf?
SAMs For Uncle Sam
By William T. Hathaway
A chapter from William T. Hathaway's just-published book, RADICAL PEACE: People Refusing War. It's an interview with an Iraqi student whose family was brutalized by American soldiers, and she tells how this turned her brother into a resistance fighter
The Arms Circus, Israel Keeping
The World In Turmoil
By Gordon Duff
What is proven by this is that Israel was, even 35 years ago, a nuclear state, in direct violation of numerous international treaties. It also proves that Israel offered nukes to South Africa, a rogue nation under sanctions that covered not only any weapons but trade as well. This made Israel a criminal state and Mr. Peres a war criminal. More than that, it makes any aid America gives Israel illegal
Israel’s Bomb Out Of The Shadows
By Jonathan Cook
Israel’s equivocal stance on its atomic status was shattered by reports on Monday that it offered to sell nuclear-armed Jericho missiles to South Africa’s apartheid regime back in 1975. The revelations are deeply embarrassing to Israel given its long-standing opposition to signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Establishing The New Nuclear Taboo
By Rizwana Abbasi
There is an urgent need to adjust the non-proliferation regime to make it consistent with the current realities, that is, that there are eight or nine (if not more) – and not five – nuclear weapon states. Therefore, Israel revelation has proved that the nuclear arsenals of non-NPT states cannot be overlooked
More “Congressional Depravity” On Guantánamo
By Andy Worthington
I have nothing but contempt for President Obama’s assertion that 48 of the remaining 181 prisoners can continue to be held indefinitely without charge or trial, and simply moving them from Guantánamo to the US mainland would only make matters worse. However, what distresses me about the Committee’s refusal to back the President’s plan is that its only purpose is to keep Guantánamo open forever
America's Endemic Cycle Of Warfare
Must Stop With Us
By Professor Francis Anthony Boyle, Jr.
America's endemic cycle of warfare, bloodshed, and violence, both internationally and domestically, must stop with us. We must teach our children that there is a better way. Given the pervasive American culture of glorifying and worshiping violence, warfare, death, and destruction, this important book will enable American parents to better educate our children about the absolute necessity for peace, justice, human rights, and the Rule of Law, both internationally and domestically
Nirupama’s Murder: The Violence Of
The High-Born
By Kavita Krishnan
A civilised letter from a ‘high-born’ father! Quite a contrast to that post mortem report which testifies to the fact that three people (including, probably, her mother) in Nirupama’s home got together to overpower her, and smother her with a pillow over her head! What is it that can make parents wish to smother the life out of the daughter to whom they gave birth?
Haunted By History
By Mukul Dube
The witch-hunt launched by Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s is echoed by our own P. Chidambaram when he has his home ministry issue a statement – or warning or declaration of intent – saying that those who speak up for the Maoists, or who express sympathy with them, will invite action under the Unlawful Activites (Prevention) Act, a singularly obscene threat in a country which calls itself a democracy. Is it not only a matter of time before the press and other media are prevented by the Unlawful Activities Act from reporting affairs in the country fully and honestly?
Hamas' Turn To Demolish Palestinian Homes
By Mel Frykberg
On Sunday approximately 150 Palestinians from 20 families were driven out of their homes in Rafah, in the southern Gaza strip, by heavily armed police and soldiers who menaced them with clubs. The difference this time was that it was not the Israeli Defence Forces carrying out evictions and demolitions but Hamas security forces, including policewomen with their faces veiled
Long-Separated Family Reunites In Gaza
Through tunnel
By Rami Almeghari
Naima Akkawi, a 40-year-old Moroccan native, is finally back home in Gaza with her husband Mahmoud Jouda and her two young children, Riwan (5) and Rimas (3) after an enforced absence of 10 years
Interview: Ethnic Cleansing Inside The Green Line
By Nora Barrows-Friedman & Rawia Abu Rabia
3,000 Palestinian Bedouins could be displaced if an injunction filed by Israeli civil rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) doesn't succeed in the high court
Why Is Israel Torturing The Palestinian Residents
Of Sheikh Sa'ad?
By Avi Issacharoff
Residents of the isolated village of Sheikh Sa'ad are unable to leave the town in their cars, and are continually subjected to poor treatment by IDF border guards
A Personal Invitation To The US Social Forum
By Adrienne Maree Brown
The national coordinator of the US Social Forum, Adrienne Maree Brown offers her brief, heartfelt list of reasons to come to Detroit to participate in the 2010 USSF
Israel’s Growing Insanity
By Avigail Abarbanel
I and everyone I knew believed in earnest that we were always at risk of annihilation. Fear of annihilation is at the heart of Jewish, not just Israeli culture and it pre-dates the Holocaust. But the climate in Israel today is far more extreme than it was in my time, as Israel on the whole moves further and further to an irrational fanatic position
Vilifying Justice Goldstone
By Stephen Lendman
Goldstone is a hero to millions worldwide for documenting horrendous Israeli crimes of war and against humanity. Long after Sher and his kind are forgotten, Goldstone will be remembered and honored
Why Afghanistan?
By James Rothenberg
All the troops, all the missiles, all the Predator drones are there to bring Afghanistan under American dependence, consolidating U.S. presence in the oil and gas rich Caspian Basin with its geopolitical significance toward potential enemies Russia and China, and encircling Iran. We’re fighting them “over there” not so we don’t have to fight them “over here”, but because that’s where the oil and gas are
Commonsense 2010
By Timothy V. Gatto
Commonsense and The Age of Reason (which I believe should be required reading for all students) are still, if not more than relevant in these times of turmoil
Caste And The Census
By Gail Omvedt
Another Census is going by without dealing with the harshest, most peculiar aspect of india’s social system. Let this be the last one
Rajasthan Heading Towards Water Famine
By Devinder Sharma
Rajasthan is faced with an unprecedented water crisis. For over several years now, Rajasthan was drying up. With successive chief ministers busy inviting investments – to open up malls, hotels, water parks, real estate projects, special economic zones, golf courses -- the semi-arid lands of the Thar deserts have been sucked dry
Burmese To Demonstrate Against Military Election
By Nava Thakuria
The pro-democracy Burmese exile around the world will demonstrate their resentment against the imposed military election in Burma. The exile Burmese groups will hold public rally and protest meetings in front of Burmese Embassy, UN Building and other public places on May 27 to draw the attention of the international community
Muslim Leadership In India
K. Rahman Khan interviewed by Yoginder Sikand
K. Rahman Khan, MP from the Congress Party, is the Deputy Chariman of the Rajya Sabha. In this interview with Yoginder Sikand, he speaks about issues related to Muslim leadership in contemporary India
25 May, 2010
Peak Oil : How IEA Failed Its Mission
By Lionel Badal
Peak Oil researcher Lionel Badal reveals how the IEA team working on the World Energy Outlook discovered that Peak Oil was a real threat, 12 years ago, how the team issued a “coded warning” in the 1998 World Energy Outlook , how the message was uncovered in a 1999 article published in Prospect magazine, how the IEA team who made the discovery was “knocked down” under pressures from the US, which didn’t like the message the 1998 WEO contained. and how Dr. Fatih Birol, the current Chief-Economist of the IEA, secretly confirmed in 1999 that global oil production would start to decline around 2014 (in other words, Peak Oil)
Collapse, Transition,The Great Turning:
Why Words Matter
By Carolyn Baker
How do we define the predicament we are in? Collapse, Transition, The Great Turning? Carolyn Baker explores the meaning of these words and argues words matter
The Big Fat Brutal Lie
A Video
Police bruatlity against peaceful protesters against POSCO at Balitutha, Orissa state, India on May 23, 2010
Examining The Myth Of Maoists Concern For
Tribal Welfare
By Nirmalangshu Mukherji
The state dismantles operation green hunt since its immediate victims are unarmed tribals under mental and physical seize. The state announces total and universal amnesty to the young tribal people in the militias and the PLGA—and a safe and concrete programme for their rehabilitation—once they surrender (only) to a citizen’s body . The essentially non-tribal leadership of CPI (Maoist) is brought to justice for their crimes against humanity
Gaza Freedom Flotilla: Not Just Another
Middle East Crisis
By Ron Forthofer
The Turkish ship will be flying the Turkish flag; and Turkey is a member of NATO. What might happen if Israel were to attack a Turkish flagged vessel carrying humanitarian aid in international waters? The precedent has been established that an attack on one NATO member state will be viewed as an attack on NATO. How would NATO respond to an Israeli attack on a Turkish flagged vessel?
Even Picnics In Israel Are Political
By Neve Gordon
Our farewell picnic to Ezra Nawi before his prison term for peaceful protest carried a new message to most Israeli picnics
Shimon Peres Has No Clothes And CNN Is Exposed
By Eileen Fleming
The times are always a' changing, and with the revelations of Sasha Polakow-Suransky, another left to the liver of Peres has been dealt as well as exposing his connection to Niccolo Machiavelli
The PA's Disingenuous Boycott Campaign
By Ali Abunimah
In recent weeks, the US- and Israeli-backed Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) has made a show of calling on Palestinians to boycott goods manufactured in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Despite the rhetoric of defiance and resistance, and exaggerated screams of anguish from Israeli settler groups, the PA effort actually appears designed to co-opt, undermine and abort the much broader Palestinian civil society campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), and to reassure Israel of the continued docility and collaboration of its puppet regime in Ramallah
The Simplicity Of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
By Jeremy R. Hammond
Contrary to popular myth, Israel was not created by the U.N. Israel was born on May 14, 1948, when the Zionist leadership unilaterally declared its existence
A Day To Remember: Resistance
And Liberation Day 2010
By Brenda Heard
On the 25th of May 2010, we observe the ten-year anniversary of the Lebanese Resistance and Liberation Day. A full decade has passed since the victory that baffled the Western world. A twenty-two year military occupation was virtually uprooted and expelled. The balance of global power was unhinged
The End Of Habeas Corpus: This Is “Justice”
In Obama’s America
By Kenneth J. Theisen
On Friday, May 21, 2010 the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the Obama administration, holding that three prisoners who are being held by the U. S. at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan cannot challenge their detention in U.S. courts
Obama's Gulf Commission: Distortion,
Obstruction And Whitewash Assured
By Stephen Lendman
The Deepwater Horizon site is a crime scene. But instead of demanding prosecutions for culpable industry and Interior Department officials, Obama announced a commission to assuage public concern and anger, suppress vital truths, and obstruct justice, America's customary response to major government and corporate crimes - to wit, the notorious Warren, 9/11, and Space Shuttle Challenger Commissions
Who Needs Weapons of Mass Destruction?
By Sean Fenley
The uninformed and dis-informed American public, equals a weapon of mass destruction. If the United States didn’t have these virulent munitions; the U.S. government could still pursue all manner of sordid acts and deeds. It’s the ‘brilliance’ of keeping so many millions of people, so hunkered down, and so deeply in the dark. You don’t need thought police, when you’ve essentially got a moribund, and asleep at the wheel press
Do Empires End In Afghanistan?
By Gulam Mitha
There are some interesting similarities between the Soviet and American led occupations of Afghanistan over the past 30 years from 1979-2009 but first a look at the historical brief about the country of interest to all empires including among others that of Alexander in 330 BC and the Mongols in the 13th century
Unravelling Hindutva Terrorism
EPW Editorial
Communal prejudices have compromised our battle against terrorism
Minority Images In The Indian Print Media
By Siddharth Varadarajan
In the English print media, bias against Muslims is not an intentional thing, but exists as a result of the concerted efforts of the RSS as well as because of residual biases journalists may bring with themselves. Some newspapers were funded by the BJP during its rule, and many English journalists and editors officially joined the party or flirted with it, so their bias can be understood. Nevertheless, if you look carefully and compare the English-language media to the language media, the record of the former is by and large better in terms of the reporting of communalism and communal riots
A Fatwa That Stirred Muslims
By Asghar Ali Engineer
There are two things involved here. One is that Muslims no longer unquestioningly accept whatever our Ulama say in such matters, particularly relating to women and their rights. Even some Ulama questioned the legitimacy of this fatwa. Secondly, and this is disturbing aspect, our Ulama are totally text-oriented, not problem-oriented. Whatever text was produced by our predecessors under very different conditions has become sacred for them and must be adhered to irrespective of drastic changes in the society
Water Merchants Of Jaintia Hills
By Sonata G Dkhar
The coal rich region of Jaintia Hills is a befouled and squalid land, an aberration from the usually picturesque hill terrain of Meghalaya, India. Heaps or ‘hillocks’ of coal conceal the rolling grasslands. Coal laden trucks congest the roadway as loading of coal into more trucks continue. The air heavy, the land black, upstanding dead pines, reddish rivulets and traces of what was once a stream.Water has now become scarce in this coal rich region and potable water a rarity
A Change Needed For Manipur
By Madhu Chandra
The ongoing crisis will push Manipur so far that she would never able to return back to her normal life! The killing culture of the state, be it by security forces , any militant groups of any tribes or communities must be equally condemned. Before it is too late, every individual of Manipur must stand up in defending, restoring and rebuilding the state
A Nakba Commemoration At Shatila Camp
In Beirut
By Sarah Marusek
A report
24 May, 2010
The plight of tribals in the Niyamagiri hills of Orisa state, India, where Vedanta's bauxite mining is destroying the livelihood and life of the people
Requiem for the gulf - music: lux aeterna by clint mansell
Israel Offered Nukes To Racist South Africa
For Use On Black Neighbors
By Juan Cole
A suppressed historical episode has emerged into the light of day in such a way as to deeply embarrass Israel and the United States in their campaign against Iran’s peaceful nuclear enrichment program at Natanz near Isfahan. The Guardian reports on findings of historian Sasha Polakow-Suransky in the South African archives demonstrating that Israel offered Praetoria nuclear weapons in 1975
Annual Nakba Commemoration Dinner Speech
By Alan Hart
Alan Hart's address to the Annual Nakba Commemoration Dinner
Corporations Profit From Permanent War:
Memorial Day 2010
By Bill Quigley
US law officially proclaims Memorial Day "as a day of prayer for permanent peace." However, the US is much closer to permanent war than permanent peace. Corporations are profiting from wars and lobbying politicians for more. The US, and the rest of the world, cannot afford the rising personal and financial costs of permanent war
No Surrender In Greece
By Antonis Davenellos
Antonis Davenellos, a member of International Workers Left (DEA), reports from Athens on the May 20 general strike and workers’ growing radicalization
The Heresy Of The Greeks Offers Hope
By John Pilger
Greece is a microcosm of a modern class war rarely reported as such
The Greeks Get It
By Chris Hedges
Call a general strike. Riot. Shut down the city centers. Toss the bastards out. Do not be afraid of the language of class warfare-the rich versus the poor, the oligarchs versus the citizens, the capitalists versus the proletariat. The Greeks, unlike most of us, get it
House Kills Plan To Close Guantánamo
By Andy Worthington
President Obama’s hopes of closing Guantánamo, which were already gravely wounded by his inability to meet his self-imposed deadline of a year for the prison’s closure, now appear to have been killed off by lawmakers in Congress
The Social And Economic Impact Of
The Gulf Oil Spill
By Kristina Betinis
Two things that are becoming clearer are the extent to which coastal industries are threatened by the spill, and the grave health risks posed by widespread contamination
Key West Builds Community Response To BP Spill;
State of Emergency Declared
By Rady Ananda
Key West residents are organizing their own mitigation efforts to the BP oil catastrophe, creating hair booms which absorb oil without destroying the hydrosphere. Meanwhile, on Friday, Governor Charlie Crist declared a State of Emergency for Monroe County (which includes the Keys), and Lee, Collier, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties
A Strategy Of Liberation Requires Emancipation
By nahida the Exiled Palestinian
After a century of terror, theft and crimes, had the Zionist shown any signs of remorse, respect or willingness to be decent guests, had they embraced with open arms the hospitable people of Palestine rather than destroying them with fire-arms; they might have had a chance to be accepted and forgiven. Not any more, as far as I am concerned. They have lost that opportunity. I repeat; the strategy of liberation requires emancipation
Latin America’s New Middle Class Rulers
By James Petras
The consequential left must take a stand either in solidarity with the economic struggles of the emerging new autonomous trade unions and class -ethnic based social movements. The revival of popular revolutionary movements begins by rejecting complicity with the new middle class rulers presiding over the new phase of state-private capitalist expansion
Massive Race Divide: Blacks Will Never Gain
Wealth Equality With Whites
Under The Current System
By Glen Ford
A new study shows African Americans are tumbling out of the nation's economic orbit on a tragic trajectory that will never let them achieve parity with whites
Being Muslim Is No Crime
By Stephan Salisbury
How not to deal with Muslims in America
Jailed Iranian Filmmaker Jafar Panahi
On Hunger Strike
By Richard Phillips
Internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi began a hunger strike protest last week over his more than two-month detention in Tehran’s Evin Prison and recent threats against members of his family
Pentagon Contractor Profits Rise -
Along With Casualties
By Sherwood Ross
It’s long past time for the American people to demand an end to the killing and the needless sacrifice of their military personnel in the Middle East. As well, the money the Pentagon is wasting on destruction could be far better spent at home, stimulating employment and prosperity and teaching our children
46 Congressional Candidates Oppose War Spending
By David Swanson
Forty-six congressional candidates and 17 activist organizations released a statement on Monday opposing any more funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and inviting more candidates, incumbents, and organizations to sign on
Destroying Public Education in America: Part II
By Stephen Lendman
As Chicago Public Schools CEO, Arne Duncan wrecked them by closures, teacher firings, budget cuts, militarizing city high schools, and privatizations, including nearly 100 quasi-private charter schools, many run by for-profit companies. He plans the same for America, why Obama tapped him to destroy a 375 year tradition, replacing it with marketplace inequality
Pope Condemns Gay Marriage
But Covers Up Pedophilia
By Mary Shaw
Just as the Church doesn't let facts, logic, or reason get in the way of its dogma, its leaders are not going to let facts, logic, or reason get in the way of their PR. And they're not going to let love and compassion (which, I believe, are what Jesus was all about) get in the way of their own distorted view of morality
Obama Trying To Make Rape Look Like Seduction
By Peter Chamberlin
Thanks to Bush, Cheney and Condi Rice, the complex plan for world domination, which has been produced over several generations by the earth's most advanced minds, teeters over the chasm of total defeat. Obama's mission is to keep us out of the chasm, while ramming through the central elements of the plan
The Biggest Threat To Peace in Middle East
By Dr. Elias Akleh
During its short 62 years history Israel had fought 8 wars against its Arab neighbors. It had developed nuclear weapons and did not sign the NPT. It had used chemical and nuclear (DU) weapons against civilians. It violated many UN resolutions. It committed war crimes and many massacres against civilians. It had refused all Arab peaceful gestures and keeps threatening to attack its neighbors. It occupation and destruction of religious sites, especially Islamic, might provoke religious war in the region. Israel is the biggest threat to peace in the Middle East
A Member Of The Civil Society
Responds To Chidambaram
By A K Agrawal
Would the Naxal problem have been there if 25% of the mining profit was spent on the poor and the tribal living in the mining area and whose life was uprooted by the greedy corporate/mining mafia with active connivance of the law enforcers and policy makers ?
Muslim Leadership In Contemporary India
By Yoginder Sikand & Shabnam Hashmi
Shabnam Hashmi is one of India's leading social activists. She heads the New Delhi-based human rights group ANHAD. In this interview with Yoginder Sikand, she discusses various aspects of Muslim leadership in contemporary India
Poor Prime Minister Of Azad Kashmir
By Dr Shabir Choudhry
Raja Frooq Haider is a Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir, or ‘Pakistani Occupied Kashmir’. This is the post which all members of the Azad Kashmir Assembly and other politicians wish to occupy. But not every one is ‘lucky’ or ‘suitable’ for this post. Before a politician becomes a candidate for the Assembly in this territory declared as Azad, meaning independent, he has to declare he will be loyal to Pakistan
The Clumsy Teeth Of Hindutva Terrorism
By KK Abdul Raoof
The allegation of former Maharshtra senior police officer, SM Mushrif, who was instrumental in exposing the multi crore stamp paper scam, that ‘Brahminisist lobby’ has overpowered all the establishments in Intelligence Bureau seems true. That the infiltration of Hindutva power into these agencies undermines the very nature and the foundation of them is quite unequivocal now
Mr. Bachchan, Caste And Being An Indian First
By Joseph D’souza
According to Bollywood star Mr. Amitabh Bachchan being an Indian first means not to believe in caste. That could be one great definition of being an Indian first and putting India first. Yet when Mr. Bachchan told the census enumerators that he does not believe in caste and is an Indian first, did he unwittingly reveal the discomfiture the privileged castes feel in coming to terms with the caste issue in modern India?
Hashimpura Massacre: Long Years Of Injustice
By M Shamsur Rabb Khan
On 24 May 1987, exactly 22 years ago on this day, 50 Muslims were picked up from Hashimpura locality of Meerut, out of which 42 were brutally shot dead and then thrown into the Upper Ganges Canal and the Hindon Canal by the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) of Uttar Pradesh. The victims of Hashimpura massacre still wait for the day when the 19 PAC personnel will be booked
All Is Well. Really!
By Raja Jaikrishan
One gathers what one has. Rich become richer because they attract wealth. Similarly poor are poor because they attract poverty. Among the proponents of this you-get- what –you- have view are the greatest mystics of the twentieth century
The Political Misery Of The Common Man Of
West Bengal
By Dhrubajyoti Bhattacharjee & Pramod Kumar
Today, the peripheral politics of the state of the state of West Bengal is experiencing, a déjà vu of the unstable days of the 70s
PUCL-UP Statement On Unsolicited Phone Calls
To Its Organizing Secretary
By PUCL-UP
A human rights activist is threatened with false case
The Toronto G20 Police State Crackdown
By Dana Gabriel
It appears as if the G20 summit in Toronto is shaping up to be a showdown between anarchists and police. Caught in the middle of the security circus are local residents
23 May, 2010
We Will Not Leave Our Village
Video By K.P Sasi
This song describes the present day exploitation of tribal land and forests in the name of development in India
Artificial Life Is Simply Not Another Breaking News, It Has Grave Implications For Humanity
By Devinder Sharma
We cannot let this pass as yet another development in genetic engineering. It has grave and frightening implications. People must force the governments to wake up, and analyse the threat
Hallelujah, The World Is Against Us!
By Uri Avnery
If there is a conspiracy, it is a conspiracy of ourselves against ourselves. We shall not rest until the world is anti-Semitic again, and we know how to behave
It's Time To Rid The World Of Nuclear Weapons
By Desmond Tutu
Skeptics may say a nuclear-free world is an impossible dream, but they said that about slavery and apartheid too
Nuclear Energy: The Brazil-Turkey-Iran Initiative
By Dr. Chandra Muzaffar
Iran’s agreement with Brazil and Turkey is significant because Iran is willing to ship most of its low enriched uranium out of the country in exchange for higher enriched non-weapon grade fuel rods used for research in cancer treatment. The US and its allies have all along insisted that Iran allows external actors to exercise a degree of control over its nuclear enrichment programme. They have also demanded that any nuclear swap should take place in foreign territory
Everyone Deserves A Break: Why Not Iran?
By Ershad Abubacker
Now that Iran has come to the way of negotiation and agreed for a fuel swap, the United States and its allies needs to rethink on their stand that an UN Security Council sanction would be the cure for all ailments. Iran badly deserves a break
Email From And More About Mordechai Vanunu
By Eileen Fleming
Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli nuclear whistle blower is sent back to prison today for speaking to foreign media. Here is a mail he sent to Eileen Fleming before he was sent to jail
Oily Obama: Lousy Response To BP Oil Invasion
By Joel S. Hirschhorn
We should be sending a clear message that this BP oil spill catastrophe will justify preventing Obama from getting a second term. Maybe that would work to get this smarmy politician to do what is right and necessary for millions of Americans that will suffer a long time because of this corporate failure
Venezuela's Economic Woes?
By Federico Fuentes
Faced with the deepening world economic crisis, the Venezuelan government is taking stronger measures against those responsible — the capitalists. These measures include new nationalisations to tackle food hoarding and underproduction, a clampdown on illegal money trading and speculation, and the creation of a new state import-export company
The International Attack On Public Workers
By Shamus Cooke
Alternative solutions to fix the crisis must be demanded, most notably raising taxes significantly on the rich and corporations. Either workers will pay for the crisis, or the corporate-elite will. If unions and community groups do not raise their voices with this demand, the decision will be made for us, at our tremendous expense
Israel's Permanent War On Palestine
By Stephen Lendman
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights provides weekly snapshots of Israeli killings, targeted assassinations, arrests, home demolitions, destroyed farmland, assaults on peaceful protesters, community incursions, home invasions, and more besides full-scale attacks at its discretion - a decades-long onslaught against 1.5 million Gazans and over 2.5 million West Bank and East Jerusalem Palestinians
Unending Nakbas
By Eva Bartlett
This is the month for Palestinians to remember their Nakba, or “catastrophe”, in which more than 700,000 women, men and children were pushed off their land and rendered homeless refugees by the Zionist attacks before, during and after the founding of Israel in 1948
Nut Case At The Wheel
By Jan Lundberg
As the U.S. continues the incredibly wasteful misallocation of resources known as car production and everything that goes with it, the externalized costs in terms of global warming, oil spills, and human isolation as consumers, only mount. Who is in charge of this mad policy of ecocide?
22 May, 2010
Lies, Deceit, And Coverup In The Gulf
By Stephen Lendman
From the start, Obama administration and BP officials lied and deceived the public about the Gulf spill's severity, BP CEO Tony Hayward saying (on May 18) its environmental effect will be "very modest," when, in fact, it's already catastrophic, spreading, causing long-term or permanent ecological destruction over a vast area, will likely persist for months, and, according to some experts perhaps years if nothing tried to stop it works
Is There Rehab For This Oil Overdose?
By Carolyn Baker
Like the recovering addict there will be moments of terror about what the future holds, and the greater the devastation we have created, such as the largest oil spill in the history of the world, the more daunting the future will feel. Like the recovery of the addict, our recovery will require rigorous honesty and a commitment to finding meaning and purpose, not in the substance, which is killing us and the planet, but in a different kind of lifestyle
Sri Lanka: Same Song, Only The Change Of Tune
By Chandi Sinnathurai
When the Tamils were being hammered in Sri Lanka, the western governments and the western media maintained a strategic silence. Now, with China extending its influence over the Rajapaksha regime, the western governments, western corporate media and the human rights industry have started singing again
PEACE NOW In Tribal Areas
By Dr.B.D.Sharma
Former Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, B.D Sharma's letter to the President of India
Boycott Targets Stars From Elvis To Elton
By Nathan Guttman
It was a feather in the cap of pro-boycott activists, but for Israelis, a major setback. With battle lines drawn across concert halls and stadiums hosting rock bands, the decision by mega-star Elvis Costello to cancel his planned concerts in Israel is being viewed as a game changer
What John Lennon Might Say To Sir Elton And
A Call For 21st Century Artists Against Apartheid
By Eileen Fleming
Imagine the day when Artists and All People of Conscience will have the ears to hear and the integrity to heed the Palestinian civil societies call for BDS: Boycott, Divest and Sanction Israel-until Israel changes her bad behavior. I imagine that will be the day that ushers in a sister and brotherhood of man; and all people will share all the world and live a life in peace because of understanding, that "the other" is also them, just in different skin and in different places
The B.S. Factor In Post-Industrial Society
By Peter Goodchild
The b.s. that I’ve heard over the last couple of years is immeasurable. If I point out that the world’s nearly seven billion humans will have to be reduced to less than a billion in a few decades, what I generally face is a torrent of ad-hominem arguments to the effect that I am a heartless Nazi butcher and murderer
A Major Crash Lies Right Around The Bend
By Guy R. McPherson
The American stock markets are about to go over the edge. A major crash lies right around the bend, as the entire industrial world is hitting the wall. The government stimulus is about used up, and China is ridding itself of fiat currencies and opting for gold instead
Israeli Public Sector's Door
Closed To Arab Workers
By Jonathan Cook
According to Sikkuy, a group lobbying for greater civic equality, discriminatory hiring policies have left thousands of Arab graduates jobless, even though the government promised affirmative action a decade ago
‘Overcoming The Bush Legacy’:
New Language Is Not Enough
By Ramzy Baroud
Deepak Tripathi’s Overcoming the Bush Legacy in Iraq and Afghanistan gives us a well structured understanding of a seemingly chaotic legacy, and answers many of the innumerable unanswered questions. It is an honest and formidable attempt at understanding one of the darkest periods in the history of America and the world
Budget Cuts Connect New Yorkers To Greece
By Billy Wharton
As New Yorker’s increasingly face the weight of budget cuts being made in the name of filling a deficit of some $7.4 billion, they may be able to pick up some important lessons from their counterparts in Greece on how best to resist these onerous demands
Growing Homelessness In America
By Stephen Lendman
In the world's richest country, the trend is shocking, disturbing and appalling. In its 2009 report on "Hunger and Homelessness in US Cities," the US Conference of Mayors stated: "Hunger and homelessness (are) at record levels in US cities," citing an overall 26% demand increase over the past year and 19% more homelessness
Alarming Rise In Hate Crimes Against
American Muslims
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Recent weeks have witnessed a dramatic increase in violent acts against Arab and Muslim Americans. These incidents involve acts of domestic terrorism, vandalism, intimidation, and discriminatory campaign tactics
The Truth About Immigration
By Mickey Z.
While the corporate media obscures the real terror and trains its focus on the latest battle between Obama and Osama (or the current villain of the day), the primary conflict on the planet remains unchanged: globalization from above vs. globalization from below
Avoid Arizona And Boycott BP
By Joel S. Hirschhorn
Money is power and it has to be used against Arizona and BP
Are the People Really Seizing Power?
By Timothy V. Gatto
Things are getting exciting. Everyone that calls themselves liberal, progressive, socialist or populist should pitch in and get the corporate lackey's out of Washington and give the government back to the people that really own it
Congressional Climate Bills - Stealth Schemes
To Raise Energy Prices And Enrich Wall Street
By Stephen Lendman
The bill lets energy polluters raise prices for huge windfall profits and gives Wall Street a bonanza through carbon trading derivatives speculation
Introducing The Heritage Of Omar Khayyam
By Kourosh Ziabari
May 18 is dedicated to the commemoration of Omar Khayyam in the Iranian solar calendar; the calendar which Khayyam has invented himself. To the Western world which has always been enchanted by the magnificence and glory of oriental culture, Omar Khayyam is a venerable and honored figure who brings to mind the delicacy and gracefulness of ancient Persian civilization
Allergic to Dissent: Khartoum And Washington
By Steve Fake & Kevin Funk
After five days of voting, the withdrawal en masse of virtually all the opposition presidential candidates and countless accusations of ballot tampering, voter intimidation, and worse, Sudan's elections drama has drawn to an unsurprising conclusion
Musings On Democracy
By Maryam Sakeenah
Maryam Sakeenah's musings on Democracy in the context of elections in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq
Probe Makka Masjid Bomb Blast Case Afresh
By Syed Ali Mujtaba
At a time when the inland national security is under threat from different actors, this new facet of Hindutva terrorism that is creeping into the body and soul of India is posing grave danger to the country. An ostrich like attitude towards this fact, may likely to bleed India for times to come
Some Clarifications Regarding Kashmir Dispute
By Dr Shabir Choudhry
A historical analysis of the Kashmir dispute
16 May, 2010
Conspiracy Against Non-Violent Resistance Movements In Orissa
By Nachiketa Desai
A macabre drama is unfolding in the poverty-stricken Indian state of Orissa where a democratically-elected government has begun to crush over a dozen people’s peaceful resistance movements against their forceful eviction from their forest, farm, water bodies and source oflivelihood to help giant multi-national corporations usurp mineral-rich forest and fertile agricultural land
D Raja's Letter To Prime Minister Of India
I am writing in the context of the brutal attack of the Orissa police on the peaceful protesters of the POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti in Jagatsinghpur District, Orissa. More than 100 people, including many women, have been injured; those seriously injured are receiving no medical care; the police have burned houses and shops as well as the protesters' tents; and the police are blocking the entry or exit of any person from the area. This kind of atrocity can never be justified. But what makes it doubly criminal is that the Orissa government claims to be doing so as they have rights over the land
Can 'Civilised' People Show Such Disrespect
For The Land And Those Who Cultivate It
By Felix Padel
This state violence perpetrated by police and goondas contains the seeds of future atrocities, and acts as the surest recruiting ground for Maoist insurgency
Orissa: Miners’ Paradise
By Nachiketa Desai
‘Mining Happiness’ is the catch-line of the recent multi-million-rupee multi-media advertisement campaign of the Vedanta Aluminum Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange listed mining giant Vedanta Resources PLC. Vedanta’s advertisement campaign claims the company’s one million ton alumina refinery to be scaled up to five million tons at Lanjigarh in the state’s Kalahandi district, ill-famed for recurring droughts and starvation deaths, will wipe off poverty and bring about all-round development of the region
Massacre In Thailand: Obama’s Bloody Hands
By Shamus Cooke
When the White House is quiet as protestors are butchered in the streets of Bangkok Thailand, suspicions are raised. Silence often equals complicacy. One can only imagine what the U.S.’ response would be to a Venezuelan government slaughter: the U.S. media and Obama would loudly condemn such an act, in contrast to the muted response to Thailand’s blood bath
Slain Ramallah Youth; Shot By A Settler,
Left To Die
By Saed Bannoura
Palestinian medical sources reported that Aysar al-Zaben, 16, who was killed on Friday, was shot by Israeli settlers in Wad Al Haramiyya area near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, apparently bled to death as a bullet struck him in the heart
Mark Of The Beast: Obama's Latest
Monsanto Pick, Elena Kagan
By Rady Ananda
First, we spit out our coffee over President Obama's appointments of former Monsanto goon Michael Taylor as Food Safety [ sic ] Czar and ‘ biotech governor of the year ' Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture. Then we choked on our grits when he made Monsanto lobbyist, Islam Siddiqui , the US Ag Trade Representative. Now, the real food movement has completely lost its appetite with Obama's nomination of Monsanto defender, Elena Kagan, to the US Supreme Court
US Aid Hurts Afghans
By James A. Lucas
Ann Jones, a former humanitarian worker in Afghanistan, not long ago blew the whistle on this scam. The author of Kabul in Winter , she reported that between 2002 and 2008 the U.S. pledged $10.4 billion for development but delivered only $5 billion of that amount, 47 percent of which was paid to American experts, who often were unqualified, instead of going to unemployed Afghans who were supposed to benefit from this aid
Bolivia: Between Development And Mother Earth
By Federico Fuentes
The tremendous success of the April 19-22 World Peoples Summit on Climate Change and Mother Earth Rights held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, has confirmed the well-deserved role of its initiator — Bolivian President Evo Morales — as one of the world’s leading environmental advocates
God’s Foot Soldiers Exposed
By Raja Jaikrishan
The Tehelka sting operation has done what Karnataka state failed to do. It has gathered clinching evidence against Sri Rama Sene president Pramod Muthalik.Last year’s virulent face of the saffron brigade is this year’s gangster
Muslim-Hindu Relations in Jammu Province
(Part 1)
By Yoginder Sikand
An eight part series on Muslim-Hindu Relations in Jammu Province by Yoginder Sikand
When It Rained Blood
By Nachiketa Desai
Having covered Gujarat as a journalist for over two decades, Nachiketa Desai was a witness to the Sangh Parivar's Fascist methods and its devastating effects on the life and psyche of the people. He traces the roots of Fascism that culminated in the genocide of 2002. This article was published in 2002 and published on Countercurrents.org in 2010
15 May, 2010
Police Atrocity Against Villagers In Orissa
By Nachiketa Desai
In a massive armed assault using crude bombs, bullets and batons, the Orissa police cracked down on over 1,500 villagers staging a peaceful sit-in dharna since January last against their imminent displacement to make way for South Korean mega corp Posco’s 12 million ton Greenfield steel plant in the coastal district of Jagatsinghpur, Orissa state, India. More than 100 people, five of them seriously, including women and children were injured in police action which began since the crack of the dawn on Saturday
Stop Police Attacks On Peaceful Protesters
In Orissa
Appeal By Concerned Citizens
We believe that, to crush peaceful dissent in such a brutal manner can only serve to undermine Indian democracy and push large sections of the Indian population to the point of desperation. At no point, in their struggle for over five years, have the anti-POSCO protesters indulged in any violent activities and have instead set an example to the rest of the country on how to carry out a democratic struggle based solely on the mass support of ordinary men and women
Police Attack On Anti-POSCO People’s Movement - Chronology Of Incidents
By POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti
‘More than 100 villagers injured, the condition of 5 persons is serious and 18 persons including 5 women got arrested by the Police under the direct supervision of Orissa Chief Minister’- POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS)
The Real Story Of The POSCO Project
By Campaign for Survival and Dignity
This is not just a “dispute over land acquisition for development.” The POSCO project is illegal and will not bring any benefits for the local population or the country’s economy. Rather, it is simply plunder of lives and resources
Timeline Of Events In POSCO Project Area Relating To Forest Rights
By Campaign for Survival and Dignity
Timeline of events in POSCO project area
Horrific Images Of Police Brutality ( VIDEO)
See the horrific images of what the police was upt at balitutha today
Kalinganagar Police Firing ( VIDEO)
Footage of the police firing at Chandia village on 12 May 2010 that caused the death of Lakhman Jamuda, aged 55, and an active member of Bisthapan Birodhi Janmanch.
Ten Dead As Thai Military Lays Siege To Protesters
By John Roberts
At least 10 people have been killed and 125 wounded over the past two days after the Thai military sealed off all access to the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) protest site in the Ratchaprasong commercial district of Bangkok. Three journalists—two Thai reporters and a Canadian cameraman—were seriously injured
Gulf Oil Spill At Least 10 Times
Larger Than Previous Estimate
By Tom Eley
The volume of oil spilled from BP’s collapsed Deepwater Horizon oil rig is likely at least ten times greater than official estimates, independent scientific analysis has revealed. The real figure is likely closer to 70,000 barrels, or nearly 3 million gallons, per day. If so, over 70 million gallons of oil have poured out since the April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers
Government Semantics And Stupid Americans
By Timothy V. Gatto
The words bandied about by the government and the U.S. media surely must give those of us that can still think for ourselves a great deal of pause. It appears that just about everyone that opposes U.S. intervention in any country becomes an “ insurgent”. Those that actually attack our troops in foreign countries automatically become “terrorists” . It doesn't matter what pretext we storm into a country with U.S. troops with, those that oppose us are automatically dumped in the same category
US Funds Israel’s Apartheid Roads Plan
By Jonathan Cook
The construction of sections of a controversial segregated road network in the West Bank planned by Israel for Palestinians -- leaving the main roads for exclusive use by settlers -- is being financed by a US government aid agency, a map prepared by Palestinian researchers has revealed
First Ship Sets Sail For Gaza
By Huwaida Arraf
At 22:45 local time tonight, the MV Rachel Corrie, a 1200-ton cargo ship, part of the eight-vessel Freedom Flotilla, set sail from Ireland on its way to the Mediterranean Sea. Three, ships from Turkey and Greece will join her, then sail to Gaza
More Settlements As Talks Begin
By Khaled Amayreh
Plans to build yet more illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem emerge on the eve of proximity talks, reports Khaled Amayreh
The Ideology Of Zionism
By Gulam Mitha
Jews must be content with the existing boundaries of Israel but the Zionists who’ve penetrated the economic, media, political and military establishments of USA and Europe have been resorting to blackmail to yearn a Zion to which they’ve no right. I cannot support hate against another religion that preaches peace as the name Islam implies or the genocide against its adherents, the Muslims
The End Of War
By David Swanson
Last year I published a review of a book called "Will War Ever End: A Soldier's Vision of Peace for the 21st Century" by Captain Paul K. Chappell , U.S. Army. Chappell left active duty last November and is now the Peace Leadership Director for the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation . His new book is called "The End of War: How Waging Peace Can Save Humanity, Our Planet, and Our Future." The new book is more brilliant and important than the first
Imprisoning Children For Life
By Stephen Lendman
Few countries ever sentenced juveniles to LWOP. Overwhelmingly, America is the main offender. At least 135 have laws prohibiting the practice, and 185 have done so in the General Assembly. Ten others permit it, but only the US and Israel do it
India Urgently Needs National E-Waste Policy
By Syed Ali Mujtaba
The death of a person in a New Delhi’s scrap market and hospitalisation of seven others has brought out the dangers of the radioactivity and the urgent need for a national E waste management policy to avert any such incident in the future
Pest Explosion In China From Bt Cotton
By Devinder Sharma
Will anyone hold agricultural scientists responsible for this?
Lessons From Chhattisgarh Peace March
By Nachiketa Desai
Having met with nasty protest from traders of Jagdalpur and Dantewada, the peace marchers held a review meeting in which several participants stressed the need for crossing the Indravati river into the 'Red Corridor' to express solidarity with the Maoists' cause of giving the ownership rights to the adivasis over land, forest and water bodies,
with the rider that taking up guns was not the solution
Barbs, Bullets In Bengal
By Raja Jaikrishan
Democracy has got reduced to elections. Yesterday’s friends are today’s enemies and, possibly tomorrow’s adversaries. The battle for ballot in the ensuing municipal poll in Bengal is being fought with barbs and bullets
Playing Both Sides Of The Religious Coin
By Farzana Versey
A critique of Nigar Ataulla's an open letter to the fatwa-makers
14 May, 2010
National Judicial Commission Of Inquiry
Demanded On Mumbai Terror Attack
By Feroze Mithiborwala
The Mumbai 26/11 terror episode was undoubtedly an attack on the nation and on all of South Asia. Thus there is a need for a far more extensive, transparent and honest investigation. Over the course of the past several months, a number of questions and doubts have been raised in the media as well as other public fora and there is a growing discontent and sentiment amongst the people to demand a thorough investigation into all the aspects of the terror attack
Another Bloodbath On The Way
By Gladson Dungdung
It is utterly painful for us to inform you that another bloodbath is ready to take place in the name of Development in Jharkhand. A corporate house "Bhushan Steel and Power Limited" is going to conducted "Bhumi Pujan" (format inauguration) of its project on May 16, 2010
16 Tips For Avoiding Climate Burnout
By Gillian Caldwell
Campaigning for action on climate change is emotionally demanding and challenging. These tips may help you in your fight
Debt vs. Localization: Climate Justice
In The New Economy
By David Korten
Where does the concept of "climate debt" fit into a New Economy framework?
Us War Plan: Talk About Thermonuclear Bombs
But Use little Nuclear Munitions
By Bob Nichols
In overall terms of radiation, though, the Nuclear War on the Middle East, Central Asia and Asia is the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of Hiroshima or Nagasaki sized Nuclear Bombs. Even those weapons, way back in 1945, were just a big depleted uranium poison gas bomb with a very small built in nuclear device for dispersion
Iraq: Soldiers ‘Joked About Killing
Women And Children’
By Gavin Dahl
An Iraq War veteran who served with the company shown in the "Collateral Murder" video released by whistleblower web site Wikileaks says the military trained him to dehumanize Iraqis
The Silence In Covering Iraq
By Layla Anwar
I will defy anyone to produce one article in which the current Iraqi carnage is mentioned and there is no mention of Saddam Hussein....even though he's been dead and over 180, 000 Baathists have been murdered....but you will always see a line or two, mentioning them
Israeli Soldiers Continue To Use Children
As Human Shields
By Palestine Monitor
Child organisation DCI-Palestine has documented two new cases of children used as human shields by Israeli soldiers during military operations
The Nakba Continues
By Saeb Erekat
The catastrophe continues. As the 62nd anniversary of the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes looms, rights continue to be violated and a solution is more urgent than ever
Israel: The Not-So-New Fascism – Palestinians,
The Not-So-New Unter-Menschen
By William Bowles
The parallels are obvious to see, unless of course you don’t want to see the ‘victims’ turn into the victimizers. Such is the case with Israel, which quite properly should be described as a white racist, settler colonial state. But this is a description that is ‘beyond the Pale’ for the ‘civilized’ nations to accept
Shin Bet Arrests Leader Of Boycott Movement
By Jonathan Cook
The recent arrest of two respected public figures from Israel’s Palestinian Arab minority in night-time raids on their homes by the Shin Bet secret police -- brought to light this week when a gag order was partially lifted -- has sent shock waves through the community
Israeli Persecution Of Human Rights Activists
By Stephen Lendman
True face of Israeli democracy revealed
I Stand By Palestine Forever
By Kourosh Ziabari
I stand by the people of Palestine, because they don't breach the international regulations. I stand by the people of Palestine, because they are standing on their own feet. I stand by the people of Palestine because they don't occupy, terrorize and massacre.....
Will Hezbollah Support The Right To Work
For Palestinian Refugees In Lebanon?
By Franklin Lamb
The current relationship between Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Hezbollah is not as clear cut as often assumed, despite the frequent inspiring brotherly words of Hezbollah’s leadership and the fact that the Party enjoys the support of more than 90% of the camp refugees, none of whom can vote. What this means is that the willingness of the Lebanese Resistance to spend its domestic political capital to legislate the right work to work for Palestinian refugees is not settled as of mid-May 2010
Howard Berman: Lead Singer
For The Israel-Is-Always-Right Chorus
By William James Martin
Howard Berman's liberalism is not the historical liberalism of eighteen century enlightenment philosophy, but is the philosophy of Zionism for which racial separation is central and which has its roots in early 20 th century Italian and German fascism
Elena Kagan And The Supreme Court: A Barnyard
Smell In Chicago, Harvard And Washington
By James Petras
But remember when you apply for Ivy League law school appointment or a top judicial post and your CV lacks the requisite publications or work experience, just ask Judge Abner Mikva or Larry Summers or Rahm Emmanuel for a recommendation. With such support you will shoot ahead of the competition. . . because you have the right ethnic connections
Karzai Defeats Obama 2-1
By Juan Cole
This week in Washington, Obama finally backed down. He feted Karzai and made sure he felt wanted. He acquiesced in Kabul’s outreach to the insurgents. He reconfigured his troop escalation as helpful pressure on the guerrillas to force them to the negotiating table
A Child in Bagram And Guantánamo
By Andy Worthington
The torture of Omar Khadr
What Caused The Explosion
On The Deepwater Horizon?
By Tom Eley
As more details emerge about the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon, which killed 11 workers and spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, it has become clear that the single-minded drive for profit and a total lack of regulation created the disaster
Drastic Social Cutbacks Unveiled
Throughout Europe
By Bill Van Auken
In the wake of the $1 trillion euro bailout agreement reached at the beginning of this week, governments throughout Europe have unveiled austerity measures that include sweeping attacks on jobs, wages and basic social rights
The Rape Of The Earth And The Human Ego
By Mary Hamer M.D.
I believe humans are destabilizing the Earth's crust and predisposing the Earth to earthquakes and a shift in the Earth's orbit-- as a result of Oil drilling, Nuclear bomb testing, Mining, Dams, Ground Injections of Waste Products, Skyscrapers & other human destructive activities in the Earth's outer land mass
Zakat Board And Muslim Economic
And Educational Problems
By Asghar Ali Engineer
These ulama are not allowing even modernizing of madrasas which can also become another valuable vehicle for spreading modern education along with religious education. There is hardly any taker for modernizing of madrasas among the traditional ulama. Thus all the valuable resources of the community stand blocked
Obama Myths And Realities
By Greg Guma
Beyond all the hyperbole the man in the White House is neither prince nor usurper, messiah nor anti-Christ. He’s just an ambitious politician whose words cloak a different reality. But for those who still prefer a fairy tale explanation, the story unfolding may turn out to be the latest version of “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”
Unveiling Deoband’s Fatwas On Women
By Yoginder Sikand
Visibly embarrassed by the angry reaction of the media, women’s groups and noted Muslim critics to its fatwa delivered more than a month ago on working Muslim women, the Dar ul-Uloom, Deoband, India’s largest seminary, has hastened to announce that the fatwa in question does not forbid Muslim women working outside their homes, as some have alleged. Rather, Maulvi Adnan Munshi, spokesperson of the Deoband madrasa, has claimed, it only insists that working women be ‘properly covered’. Maulvi Adnan is not entirely wrong
Anti-POSCO - At Any Point Of Time, The Police
Will Forcefully Enter Into Their Villages
By POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS)
It is entirely possible that the government and POSCO company will begin their massive operation to, forcefully, oust people from their habitats and to sabotage the democratic peaceful movement by the people under banner of POSCO Pratirodh Sangam Samiti (PPSS) for the last five years. The ground situation of the villages is under strain and villagers are on high alert to face any government attempts to acquire their land
Join The POSCO Resistance Week
15th -21st May 2010
By POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS)
Appeal from Abhay Sahu, POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti
Our Choice: Insulated Nationalism
or Arundhati Roy?
By Dr. Shah Alam Khan
Arundhati Roy’s recent essay on Maoists of Dhantewada has more or less opened a Pandora’s Box. More than the debate on subject, the conventional and the alternative media (read internet) is busy in pronouncing her guilty of treason, a charge not easy to prove or refute. Of all the comments on her platter, her being labeled as a rabid, anti-national is the one which makes interesting read
An Account Of TheGeneral Strike In Nepal
By Suvrat Raju
the general strike marked a watershed in the Nepali revolution because it demonstrated the extent of the mass base that the Maoists have developed
13 May, 2010
Unanswered Questions About Mumbai Terror Attacks
By Raveena Hansa
From murder mystery to spy thriller: The continuing saga of ohe Mumbai terror attacks
Cock And Bull Stories On Terror
By M Shamsur Rabb Khan
Among the list of experts on writing on terrorism in India, two names – B Raman and Parveen Swami – stand tall. M Shamsur Rabb Khan critically analyses the writing of these two journalists
Is The “Times Square Terrorist”
More Field-Based Warfare?
By Jeff Gates
The facts suggest that Obama, as U.S. commander-in-chief, is feeling pressure from the military to change America's policy on Israel. Did the timing of these “out of theatre” events help finesse that issue by refreshing a storyline that calls for the U.S. to lead a Global War on Terrorism? Was this latest incident timed to provide a rationale with which our policy-makers can preempt Pentagon concerns about the effect of U.S.-Israeli policy on our troops in the field?
US Troops Executing Prisoners In Afghanistan:
Seymour Hersh
By David Edwards
The journalist who helped break the story that detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq were being tortured by their US jailers told an audience at a journalism conference last month that American soldiers are now executing prisoners in Afghanistan
‘Unprecedented' Use Of Subsea Dispersant
To Combat BP Oil Disaster
By Rady Ananda
On May 12, the Deepwater Horizon Incident Unified Command held a media advisory regarding the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, which began on April 20 th . Officials advised that subsea dispersants, the effects of which are widely unknown, are being used for the first time
US Farmers Are Bailed Out, Indian Farmers Are
Left To Die
By Devinder Sharma
In India, nearly 200,000 farmers have taken the fatal route to escape the humiliation that comes along with growing indebtedness (in the absence of direct income support) between 1997 and 2008. The US has paid a quarter of a trillion as farm subsidies in almost the same period, between 1995 and 2009
Can David Cameron’s Coalition Government
Deliver Justice?
By Andy Worthington
Today, the UK adapts to new political realities — a Tory Prime Minister, for the first time since 1997, a unique coalition between the Tories and the Liberal Democrats, and a Labour party, leaderless and in opposition. Those of us who are concerned about the erosion of civil liberties under the Labour government, and the assault on human rights as part of the “War on Terror,” will be watching the government closely
My Brother Faces A Lifetime Of Solitary Confinement On A Spurious Terror Conviction
By Mariam Abu-Ali
Ahmed Abu Ali is not in a foreign prison or at Guantanamo; he is in a supermax prison in Colorado
Anti-Communism, Alive And Well
By William Blum
Anti-communism continues to have a detrimental effect upon the intelligence and honesty of Americans
After Money
By John Michael Greer
Most people won’t have the option of separating themselves completely from the money economy for many years to come; as long as today’s governments continue to function, they will demand money for taxes, and money will continue to be the gateway resource for many goods and services, including some that will be very difficult to do without. Still, there’s no reason why distancing oneself from the tertiary economy has to be an all-or-nothing thing
Peak Soil: It's Like Peak Oil, Only Worse
By Matthew Wild
The world is facing a hydrocarbons peak, right as we are beginning to struggle with soil, the nutrients required for large scale agriculture, environmental change and availability of water. When you put the disparate elements together, it begins to look like a perfect storm
Tearing Down The Walls
Chuck D interviewed by Dave Zirin
In the wake of Arizona's draconian anti-immigrant law SB 1070, "By the Time I Get to Arizona" has been remixed and revived by DJ Spooky. A group of hip-hop artists in Arizona also remade the song, calling it "Back to Arizona." And Chuck D recorded his own track several months before the bill was passed, called "Tear Down That Wall." Dave Zirin spoke to Chuck about the music and the nexus between immigration politics and sports
Israel's ID/Permit System
By Stephen Lendman
Anyone in the West Bank or East Jerusalem "illegally" is an "infiltrator," as well as others there without lawful permits. Military commanders have sole discretion to incrementally or mass expel them, with no way to challenge as orders will come unexpectedly, providing no time to appeal. Deportations and/or arrests will follow, longstanding practices under repressive military occupation affording justice solely to Jews
Yemen’s Sorrowful Options: ‘Revolt, Migrate or Die’
By Ramzy Baroud
Afghanistan remains the starkest illustration of how poor countries are used, then betrayed when their usefulness runs out. But Afghanistan is not an exception; US relations with many other countries, including Pakistan, Somalia and the Palestinian Authority remain hostage to this very model. Yemen is now emerging as the newest casualty
Skeletons Come Stumbling Out Of Modi Cabinet
By Nachiketa Desai
In what amounts to a blatant case of contempt of the Supreme Court, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat took to streets on Wednesday in support of a rogue police officer arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on the charge of fake encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kauserbi
12 May, 2010
One Person Killed In Kalinganagar
Joint Statement of Forest People's Movements
Today, the police have killed one person in Kalinganagar and critically injured at least thirty more; at the proposed POSCO plant site in Jagatsinghpur, Orissa. 25 platoons of police have been deployed to crush the people defending their land. They expect an attack tomorrow or the day after
Pedophiles And Popes: Doing The Vatican Shuffle
By Michael Parenti
While church pedophiles may still enjoy a safe haven in Poland and other countries where the clergy are above challenge, things are breaking wide open elsewhere. Today we are awash in a sludge of revelations spanning whole countries and continents, going back decades---or as some historians say---going back centuries. Only in the last few weeks has the church shown signs of cooperating with civil authorities. Here is the story
Thailand: What The Red Shirts Achieved
By Giles Ji Ungpakorn
The important question is how they will organize and fight in the future. If the Red Shirts are to strengthen themselves, they have to organize among the trade unions in order to win strike action. They have to make serious efforts to build networks among army recruits, and they have to develop a clear political platform for the People's Power Party in order to win the hearts and minds of ordinary workers and farmers
Taking Back Homes From The Banks:
Exercising The Human Right To Housing
By Bill Quigley
May has seen an upsurge in local organizations exercising their human rights to housing. Most people recognize that international human rights guarantee all humans a right to housing. With the millions of homeless living in our communities and the millions of empty foreclosed houses all across our communities, groups have decided to put them together. Organizations across the US are engaging in “housing liberation” and “housing defense” to exercise their human rights to housing. Here are a few examples
Why Are So Many Americans Scared Of
Undocumented Immigrants?
By Ira Chernus
Since the early 1940s, Americans have feared foreigners invading the nation’s geographical borders, even in relatively prosperous times. But that fear has often grown when there’s also been widespread fear of joblessness and poverty. The big political challenge for the Democrats in this year’s election is to somehow get past the pervasive economic anxiety that haunts the nation. Fears of “illegal aliens” violating our sacred borders might just be their winning ticket
Police: Shahzad Has No Links To Taliban
By Juan Cole
Pakistani authorities doing the hard police work in Karachi of attempting to trace the network of friends and contacts of attempted Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad have come up empty-handed. There is nothing in Shahzad’s background that links him to the Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan (TTP or Taliban Movement of Pakistan), based in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)
Lessons From The Gulf
By Stephen Lendman
According to Ian MacDonald, Florida State University biological oceanographer, about one million gallons of oil are leaking daily, based on NASA data he studied. If so, the incident already exceeds the 1989 Exxon Valdez catastrophe (topping 11 million gallons) from which affected areas haven't recovered and won't for decades, perhaps longer, from any spill that large. Already, said MacDonald, as of May 7, around 6,200 square miles are affected, a figure growing daily as long as leakage continues
Farzad Kamangar: In Memoriam
By Reza Fiyouzat
Farzad Kamangar was a Kurdish teacher, arrested in August 2006 and sentenced to death in February 2008, after a trial that lasted five minutes. He was put to death on 9th May, 2010. This is his last letter from prison
Israel Imposing Occupation Tactics
On Its Palestinian Citizens
By Ben White
Several examples, including the arrests of Ameer Makhoul and Omar Said, now point to an uncomfortable reality for the self-proclaimed "only democracy in the Middle East": practices that have long been routine in the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza are being used in Israel to suppress dissent and limit civil liberties. The green line is increasingly blurry. Ben White comments
A Day In Jerusalem
By Yasmeen El Khoudary
Jerusalem is only an hour and a half drive away from where I live in Gaza City. I grew up contemplating the moment I would see Jerusalem, but that day wouldn't come until I graduated from the American University in Cairo and was promised by my parents that they might be able to make the necessary arrangements (an Israeli-issued permit) for me to visit the holy city. Yasmeen El Khoudary writes from the occupied Gaza Strip
Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinian Mosques
By Mel Frykberg
Israeli settlers carried out an arson attack Lubban al-Sharqiya's local mosque a few weeks ago. This attack is just the latest in a string of attacks on Palestinians and their property, including mosques, as Israeli settlers up their "price-tag policy."
Salem-News Under Attack For Israel Stories
By Tim King
Salem-News.com has been under attack in recent days in every imaginable public setting, because we tell the truth about Israel's military tactics, and oppression of the Palestinians
About Anti Semitism
By Nahida Izzat
Talking about anti-Semitism, and the accusation of anti-Semitism, is to many people a very sensitive issue. Nevertheless, I feel the need to highlight some points: As a Palestinian and as a Muslim, with first hand experience of racism, whether here in UK or in occupied Palestine
Israel Negotiates Only To Extort Concessions
By Hasan Afif El-Hasan
There is a possibility that Abbas negotiating team may capitulate to the Israelis intransigence and the US pressure. In an interview with Akiva Elder of Haaretz, the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad suggested that the refugees may be settled in the future State of Palestine. The Palestinians should put Abbas on notice that many issues including the refugees’ right of return are not negotiable
The Fundamentals Of Religious Extremism
By Sarah Saba
Sarah Saba rues the lack of major research initiatives to properly address religious extremism in the world. And even more important is the necessity to immediately develop revised strategies based on state of the art analysis to address extremism which is going to enter into more complex and complicated forms. Sarah also shares some of the research findings on the psychology of religion
A Flurry Of Fatwas From Misogynist Mullahs
By Yoginder Sikand
I would argue that it is vital for Muslims concerned about their faith and its image and also about their co-religionists and their ability to function in the modern world to take the mullahs by their horns and immerse themselves in the discursive battle to promote more meaningful, humane and just understandings of Islam. There is simply no other way
Subjugating The Muslim Woman
By Farzana Versey
What is worse – the Dar-ul Uloom Deoband’s decree that a woman’s earnings are illegal because according to the Sharia her working among males is wrong or the Allahabad high court ruling that a non-Muslim bride must convert to Islam to marry a Muslim? In both instances Islam is used to denigrate the position of women
An Act Of Torture
By Arun Ferreira
A critical appraisal of the proposed Prevention Of Torture Bill, 2010
Forest Rights Act subverted In Sonebhadra district
Fact Finding Report
Independent Citizens’ Fact Finding Visit to Sonbhadhra confirms widespread violence against Adivasi forest-dwellers
Water And Kashmir
By Dr Syed Nazir Gilani
The actual stewardship of water resources in any part of Kashmir rests with the people of Kashmir. It is unfortunate that Srinagar and Muzaffarabad governments have failed to defend the manner and extent to which the people of Kashmir are entitled to have a role in the use of their water resources at Mangla, Baglihar and Diamir
New Talks, Old Fears
By Dr Maleeha Lodhi
Many Pakistani officials fear that a graduated step-by-step approach may provide Delhi the means to use each stage of that process as a lever to press Islamabad on Delhi's demands. Indian papers have quoted their officials to say that the dialogue will be focused on "confidence-building measures relating to terrorism." From this perspective, building trust could mean that the contours of future engagement will be determined by actions Islamabad takes to satisfy Delhi
Burmaese Junta Mouthpiece Criticizes NLD
By Nava Thakuria
While the international community and media continue condemning the military rulers of Burma for its farce electoral laws, the junta has put forward its argument that the National League for Democracy adopted narrow-minded practices. Junta’s mouthpiece The New Light of Myanmar has come out the headline news that ‘if NLD wants to amend the Constitution it should run for the election and should act in accord with the law calling for constitutional amendment
League Of Honor Killers
By Raja Jaikrishan
With municipal polls due on May 20, followed by panchayat polls, both ruling Congress and opposition INLD are out to pamper caste panchayats in Haryana . These caste councils have launched a campaign against same-gotra marriages
11 May, 2010
Vanunu Returns To Prison
By Eileen Fleming
On May 11, 2010, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that Mordechai Vanunu, will “serve a three-month jail sentence handed to him by Jerusalem District Court and not community service. The ‘justices' refused Vanunu's offer to do community service in occupied east Jerusalem, because they do not view that side of town to be a part of their community
Yes, Minister, My Sympathies
By Javed Iqbal
Mahasweta Devi challenged Chidambaram to put her in jail for 10 years, in response to the centre’s newly found enthusiasm for using the UAPA to arrest so-called Maoists sympathizers. As of now, I truly sympathize with the home minister for being humiliated by a gutsy 84 year-old woman
Battle For Dandakaranya
By Nachiketa Desai
The Indian militia calls the battle, operation ‘Green Hunt’, which is aimed at flushing out the Maoists from the mineral rich forest land so that Indian and multinational corporations can fatten their bottom line by exploiting iron ore, coal and bauxite. The Maoists are fighting to protect the 40,000 square kilometers of dense forest land known as Dandakaranya from these marauding companies
Making An Utter Mess Of Things
By Prem Shankar Jha
All the reasons why Chidambaram has got the wrong end of the Maoist stick
Despite Despair, I'm Not Ready
To Climb Dark Mountain
By George Monbiot
The Dark Mountain Project, whose ideas are spreading rapidly through the environment movement, is worth examining. It contends that "capitalism has absorbed the greens". Instead of seeking to protect the natural world from the impact of humans, the project claims that environmentalists now work on "sustaining human civilisation at the comfort level which the world's rich people - us - feel is their right"
The Tragedy That is Gaza Today
And The Role Of The EU
By European Campaign To End The Siege Of Gaza
In mid January 2010, the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza (ECESG) organized a 50-person delegation of MPs, politicians and former ministers into Gaza to witness firsthand the conditions on the ground one year after the 22-day Israeli invasion that laid waste to the Gaza Strip. Here is the report the delegation prepared (PDF)
A Radical Christianity?
By Jim Rigby & Alex Doherty
Dr. Jim Rigby is pastor of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas. An activist for gay rights and women’s reproductive rights he spoke to NLP’s Alex Doherty on a radical interpretation of Christianity
It's Worse Than You Think:
Plotting Global Hydrocarbon Collapse
By Matthew Wild
When oil peaks, and the price rises, it may well cause our fragile, debt-ridden economies to collapse. But the worst will be yet to come. When other energy sources subsequently peak, we will be left with no affordable “bridge fuel” to carry us to a sustainable, renewable future. In addition, whereas oil is mainly used in transportation, natural gas and coal together account for the generation of 60 per cent of our electricity, according to EIA figures. If the grid goes down, modern life is over
Afghanistan's My Lai Massacre
By Dave Lindorff
There was a massacre recently that was not a mistake - a massacre, which, while it only involved fewer than a dozen innocent people, bears the same stench as My Lai. It was the execution-style slaying of eight handcuffed students, aged 11-18, and a 12-year-old neighboring shepherd boy who had been visiting the others in Kunar Province on December 26
Afghan Escalation Funding
By David Swanson
Isn't it time to call what Congress will soon vote on by its right name: war escalation funding?
The Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill: An Accident
Waiting To Happen
By John McQuaid
The oil slick spreading across the Gulf of Mexico has shattered the notion that offshore drilling had become safe. A close look at the accident shows that lax federal oversight, complacency by BP and the other companies involved, and the complexities of drilling a mile deep all combined to create the perfect environmental storm
From Shas To Hamas: The Group Behind
The South Park Controversy
By Maidhc Ó Cathail
Like the contrived Danish cartoon controversy, the much-hyped Times Square car bomb incident provided an ideal opportunity for those who seek to make Islam look bad in the eyes of the world
Judge Denies Habeas Petition Of An Ill
And Abused Libyan In Guantánamo
By Andy Worthington
On April 20, unnoticed by any media outlet whatsoever, a Libyan prisoner at Guantánamo, Omar Mohammed Khalifh (also identified as Omar Abu Bakr) lost his habeas corpus petition
Israel’s Arab MPs Face Backlash Over Libya Visit
By Jonathan Cook
Six Arab members of the Israeli parliament returned last week from a visit to Libya at the personal invitation of its leader, Muammer Qadafi, to a storm of protest in Israel, including threats to prosecute them and bar them from standing in future elections
A Tale Of Lies, Deceit, And Terrorism:
The Birth Of Israel
By William A. Cook
The Untold Story of the Zionist intent to turn Palestine into a Jewish State. Based on classified documents from the Jewish Agency and its affiliated organizations seized by the British Mandate Police, materials that confirm that the Zionist controlled Jewish community intended to remove the Arab inhabitants of Palestine from their land and make the whole of Mandate Palestine a Jewish State, an intent that continues to the present day as the new book, The Plight of the Palestinians: a Long History of Destruction, available at Macmillan.com, demonstrates
Chris Hedges' Hangup On Religion
By David Swanson
Here is a critique of Chris Hedges' latest article "After Religion Fizzles, We’re Stuck with Nietzsche."
The Ignored Seriousness Of Vocally Inspired
Domestic Terrorism
By Dan Lieberman
Due to a narrow definition of terrorism, the U.S. government has neglected a major and growing problem – vocally inspired domestic terrorism. The ignored seriousness of vocally inspired domestic terrorism became obvious in the attack on the home of Rabbi Lerner
Israeli Hypocrisy: Talking Peace While
Preparing For War And Institutionalizing
Dire Conditions in Gaza
By Stephen Lendman
Obama's Middle East special envoy, former Senator and Walt Disney chairman, George Mitchell will do the honors, trying to force Palestinian negotiators to accede to Israeli demands and declare success, until inevitable new violence forces a restart of the whole process at some future time. The charade continues
Early Warning French Professor Under
Severe Attack By Agro-Biotechnology Lobby
By ENSSER
The French Fondation Sciences Citoyennes (FSC) (1) and the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER) (2) has launched a public support letter for Prof. Dr. Gilles-Eric Séralini of the University of Caen (France) and his co-workers who came under severe attacks by representatives of the agro-biotechnology industry and aligned scientists
Drinking Water: An Escalating Crisis
By Devinder Sharma
First, industries guzzle up water and pollute water bodies, then they launch initiatives under Corporate Social Responsibility
Cooking Consent (Indian Express Style)
By Neerja Dasani
‘Bt Brinjal Brabble – Season 2’ is scheduled for a summer release with the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) members expected to get into their superhero suits once again. While most of us might not have the stomach for more, one English newspaper will have its penknives sharpened
Who Is Afraid Of Caste Census And Why?
By S.R.Darapuri I.P.S. (Retd)
Actually higher Castes are allergic to the Caste Census because it will expose their low numbers and the share of development and national wealth they have usurped at the cost of lower Castes. Their fear is further accentuated by the probable high number of OBCs who are bound to demand a greater share in services and benefits of development and national wealth. That is why higher Castes are afraid of Caste Census
State Violence In Kalinganagar, Orissa:
Police Lathicharge In Chandia Village
By Suryashankar Das
On 10th May the police entered Chandia village and resorted to lathi charge at a crowd made of men, women and children. Many people have sustained injuries and one Garkha Barla, aged between 30-35, has been seriously injured and taken to a hospital by the police. The demolition has begun and the village is besieged by fear of more violence by the Police
Statement Against Home Ministry’s Press Note
To Silence Intellectuals
By Forum of Artistes Cultural Activists and Intellectuals
We are stunned, to say the least, by a newspaper report about a Press Note issued by Govt. of India’s Home Ministry. It has been termed by the media as a ‘Public Warning`. It reminds us of US President Bush’s infamous warning sent across the nations during his invasion of Iraq: ‘those who are not with us are our enemies`. This is no democracy, Mr Chidambaram!
Indore: Hindutva Hardliners' Haven
By Adnan Alavi
Either its Malegaon blast, Mecca Masjid or Ajmer terror strike, the accused are being arrested from Indore. The planning was done here. Even investigation trail in Samjhauta Express case has reached Indore. And the most wanted man, Ramji Kalsangra, whose arrest can unravel the entire group, also hails from here
Delayed Waking Up: Terrorism Investigations
By Ram Puniyani
One hopes that professionalism prevails over biases and independent voices are not stifled in such matters if we want to reach the truth, if we want to ensure that such attacks do not repeat themselves
Manufacturing ‘Terrorist’:
(T) errors of ‘War on Terror’
By Mahtab Alam
Book Review of "Evidence Of Suspicion: A Writer's Report On The War On Terror" By Amitava Kumar and "Rounded Up: Artificial Terrorists and Muslims Entrapment After 9/11" By Shamshad Ahmad
50 Years Of Maharashtra: Shame Or Celebration
By Anand Teltumbde
On May 1, Maharashtra completes 50 years of statehood. It would be the moment of jingoist celebrations orchestrated by politicians and meekly joined by gullible Marathi masses. The golden jubilee will certainly take the pitch of self glory to a crescendo. Unfortunately, in it will be drowned all possibilities of introspection over its accomplishments vis-à-vis the aspirations of the movement that brought it into being
10 May, 2010
Times Square Rorschach Test
By Stephan Salibury
How do these alleged links and facts hold up to what is actually known? If nothing else, questions should abound about the quality of terrorist training going on in Waziristan. If Shahzad created a “car bomb” he was profoundly inept. He packed away fertilizer that does not explode and he sought to ignite it with firecrackers designed not to detonate each other. The tanks of propane gas did not have their caps removed, rendering them useless as explosives
The Evil Doer Pakistan And
The Times Square Fizzler
By Jeff Gates
Does the appearance in Times Square of a Muslim Evil Doer credibly reinforce the need for the U.S. to lead a Global War on Terrorism? Or was the Fizzler a “patsy”—a pawn—deployed to freshen up a stale storyline and revive a flagging geopolitical narrative?
The Faisal Shahzad Puzzle: Why Is Pakistan’s
Civil-Military Leadership Silent?
By Shireen M. Mazari
Why did Pakistan's Ambassador to Washington maintain a strange silence in the immediate aftermath instead of seeking access to Faisal Shahzad? Why did Foreign Minister Qureshi link Shahzad to drone attacks and accept Pakistan’s guilt without evidence? Why Pakistan’s civilian and military leaderships are not questioning the US intent?
Geekspeak
By Case Wagenvoord
If the attempted car bombing in Times Square is any indication of al Qaeda’s competence and expertise, then we can cancel the War on Terror, dissolve the Department of Homeland Defense and issue visas to every member of al Qaeda we can lay our hands on. Between shoe bombs , exploding underwear and plastic bottle of exploding shampoo, it looks like your garden variety terrorist couldn’t even put a Chinese firecracker in a mail box without screwing up the operation
Using Alleged Terrorism To Escalate War
And Homeland Repression
By Stephen Lendman
Much about the New York bomb incident is worrisome, besides the media already pronouncing sentence, biasing future jurors to convict or face the wrath of public opinion, their communities, friends and even family. As a result, Faisal Shahzad doesn't stand a chance, guilty or innocent, regardless of his alleged confession and the plausibility that he was set up - used as a convenient dupe with his device rigged not to go off but to emit smoke to be found
Afghanistan, Iraq And Next Pakistan?
By Gulam A. Mitha
Does it have to be that an entire country and it’s innocent civilians have to be punished after the failed New York Times Square bomb attempt by one person? It seems to be that way. Maybe another false flag operation was planned to issue stern warnings to Pakistan that should there be a successful attack next, there might even be a “boots-on-the ground” US presence on Pakistan as reported by the New York Times
Lieberman Preys On Voter Fears, Proposes
Law To Preemptively Strip Citizenship
From Terror Suspects
By Liliana Segura
Days after Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-born U.S. citizen and resident of Connecticut, tried to blow up a car bomb in Times Square, Sen. Joe Lieberman seized on renewed fears of a terrorist attack to announce his latest legislative gambit: the "Terrorism Expatriation Act" -- or "TEA" -- which would revoke the citizenship of any American "who is found to be involved with a foreign terrorist organization as designated by the State Department."
Assassination of US Muslim Cleric Is Illegal,
Immoral And Unwise
By Bill Quigley
Assassinating Awlaki in the US would be murder, a capital crime, punishable by life in prison or even the death penalty. Morally, few would argue that agents of the FBI or the CIA could murder the cleric in the US. If it is illegal and immoral to kill a Muslim cleric in the US why would it be legal, moral or wise to do so in Yemen?
After Religion Fizzles, We’re Stuck With Nietzsche
By Chris Hedges
We are rapidly losing the capacity for the moral life. We reject the anxiety of individual responsibility that laid the foundations for the open society. We are enjoined, after all, to love our neighbor, not our tribe. This empowerment of individual conscience was the starting point of the great ethical systems of all civilizations. Those who championed this radical individualism, from Confucius to Socrates to Jesus, fostered not obedience and conformity, but dissent and self-criticism
The Century Of Famine
By Peter Goodchild
Famine caused by petroleum supply failure alone will result in about 2.5 billion above-normal deaths before the year 2050; lost and averted births will amount to roughly an equal number
Peak Relationships: The End Of Suburbia
Up Close And Personal
By Carolyn Baker
Schooled as we are to grapple with the tangible, logistic aspects of the "End of Suburbia" such as being forced to downscale everything we do as a result of Peak Oil, we may have failed to notice that the collapse of industrial civilization will produce not only an outer transition but an inner one as well. Are we preparing for the inner transition to the same extent that we are preparing for the outer one? The relationships in our lives may be the first, but not the last, arena of our lives that compels us to address inner preparation
Time To Bury The Dead
By Guy R. McPherson
The final nail in the global financial coffin was hammered into place this morning by the masters of the Eurozone. The trillion-dollar bailout Ponzi scheme to save Greece is yet another example of kicking the proverbial can down the road, hoping the taxpayers fail to notice the 800-pound gorilla fighting its way out of the can
Hey Elton: Don't Go Breaking Our Hearts (Video)
By Eileen Fleming
This video suggests six reasons why Elton, Elvis Costello and all artists with integrity should join the BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) movement
Arundhati Roy On Fault Lines
By Fault Lines
Arundhati Roy talks to Avi Lewis about fighting on the ground, battles over corporate control of Indian land, India and the US after the Cold War, 'Islamophobia' and terrorism, tribal resistance in India and Afghanistan, and the issues behind the so-called Maoist insurgency
How Much Does Washington Care About
African Democracy?
By Kevin Funk & Steven Fake
The U.S. government's rhetoric on atrocities in Africa doesn't match its long record of supporting authoritarian regimes
May 1948; How Russian And Polish Jews
Wiped Out Palestine
By Salim Nazzal
Each year on May 15th, Palestinians commemorate the war crimes committed by East European Jews and ask the same question: how did the so-called “Holocaust survivors” bring themselves to murder pregnant women, babies and others, put explosives in crowded Palestinian markets in the Palestinians towns, Haifa, Jafa, and Jerusalem, at schools and in orphanages and terrorize and expel a whole nation? Do Zionist Jews have hearts like other human beings, and if so how could they allow themselves to murder innocent people who had done no wrong to them?
Apartheid State or A Bi-national State?
By Uri Avnery
An apartheid state or a bi-national state? Neither. But the free State of Palestine side by side with the free State of Israel, in the common homeland
Israel's Fated Bleak Future
By John J. Mearsheimer
Most Americans hope that the talks will lead to the creation of a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank. Regrettably, that is not going to happen. Instead, those territories are almost certain to be incorporated into a "Greater Israel," which will then be an apartheid state bearing a marked resemblance to white-ruled South Africa. In the end, Greater Israel will become a democratic binational state, whose politics will be dominated by its Palestinian citizens. This will mean the end of the Zionist dream
Latest Talks Hold Little Hope
By Mustafa Barghouthi
These negotiations will not bring peace. The best outcome that can be hoped for is if they expose Netanyahu to American intermediaries as devoid of positive contributions to peace and intent solely on scuttling progress
Dear Ms. Atwood, I Regret To Inform You
That You Have Failed The Lie Detector Test
By Roger Tucker
An exchange of letters between Margaret Atwood and Antoine Raffoul on her decision to accept Dan David Prize
10 Ways To Change Your Life
By Colin Beavan
With simple modifications to your daily routine, you can be part of a cleaner, more sustainable world
Abandoned In Spain: The Palestinian Freed
From Guantánamo
By Andy Worthington
The Palestinian Walid Hijazi, who was released in February — is in a precarious position, effectively abandoned by the State, and largely reliant on the kindness of strangers for his financial and psychological support
For Those Who Don't Believe Israel
Shoots Innocent Farmers
By Tim King
20-year-old Mohammad al-Breem, was shot in the right leg as the farmers worked together with the international Human Rights Activists. There were more shots as they attempted to leave the area having worked on their land for 2 hours in full view of the Israeli forces situated along the Green Line
Sowing In Gaza
By Flora Nicoletta
Under the great siege, in the little Gaza Strip, occupied, oppressed, martyred, there are indeed many islands of bravery and resistance which compose the grand citadel of steadfastness. One of the islands is the Qattan Centre for the Child. It is the most modern, handsome, elegant, competent, efficient, tasteful institution in Gaza, according to the many. It is like a lighthouse
"We Want Our Voices To Be Heard":
Democracy In Haiti's Earthquake Zone
By Laura Flynn
Each Saturday for the past two months a thousand or more Haitian earthquake survivors have met in the auditorium of the Aristide Foundation for Democracy to talk about the future of their country. Since its founding in 1996 the Aristide Foundation, whose auditorium seats up to 3000 people, has provided a place for grassroots activists and ordinary Haitians to come together to debate and discuss national issues
Dmitry Orlov On Why The U.S. Is Headed Toward
Soviet-Style Collapse
By Andrée Collier
Orlov is a collapse theorist's collapse theorist. He isn't out to impress anyone with the facts behind peak oil or climate change. You can read him or leave him -- he doesn't believe people are persuaded by logic or evidence
Earth Still Needs A Chance
By Erik Wallenberg
Erik Wallenberg explains how the 1960s environmental movement took shape--and the lessons it offers for today's struggles
Gulf Oil Spill Threatens Public Health
By E. Galen
The ongoing spill of millions of gallons of crude from the BP oil rig into the Gulf of Mexico is an enormous environmental disaster, threatening fish, birds, and shallow water species like oysters, shrimp and crayfish. Human beings are part of the environment, and the oil slick poses major risks to public health
50 Years Of Frightened White Men,
Today The Tea Parties
By Mary Shaw
Conservative American white men are terribly afraid these days. And rightly so. Not only are women a growing majority in the white man's sacred political and business worlds, but people of color are also closing in
Modi Vomits Caste Venom
By Dr. Anand Teltumbde
On 25 April 2010 Narendra Modi is reported to have observed while releasing his book Samajik Samrasata that Dalits were like mentally retarded children. Earlier, Modi had said that Valmiki community was involved in manual scavenging for a “spiritual experience”
‘Never Married Percentage’ Of J&K
Higher Than National Average
By Bismah Malik
People increasingly preferring either ‘no marriages’ or ‘late marriages’ in valley: Study
Why Don't They Publish Us?
By Kourosh Ziabari
Kourosh Ziabari examines why the mainstream media don't publish independnet writers
Release Shane, Sarah And Josh
By Noam Chomsky, Angela Davis, Michael Hardt,
Cindy Sheehan & Cornel West
Statement of solidarity with Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal who have been unjustly detained In Iran since July 31, 2009
My Friend, The Maulana
By Yoginder Sikand
Yoginder Sikand reminisces his long friendship with Maulana Waris Mazhari
P. Chidambaram’s Charm, Alarm
By Raja Jaikrishan
Civil society groups and individuals have reacted sharply to the Home Ministry's statement warning sympathizers of the Maoists /Naxalites of action under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967
09 May, 2010
India: Criminalizing Dissent
By Coordination of Democratic Rights Organizations
The most recent alert (regarding use of section 39, UAPA) issued by the government in so called public interest has brought out in the open what had so far been implicit in its anti-Maoist policy. The purpose of the circular is to intimidate voices of protests and dissent over government policies, particularly Operation Green Hunt
Karnataka : Operation Media Gagging
By Gauri Lankesh
The Central home minister P Chidambaram has often issued veiled threats to intellectuals who offer covert or overt support to the Maoists, whom the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has identified as the ‘biggest internal security threat to the country’ today. While Singh and Chidambaram have limited themselves to issuing threats, the top brass in the Karnataka Government has opted for direct action. The police of Shimoga district has issued a ‘threatening’ notice to a young Kannada journalist
Vedanta, Chidambaram, Chattisgarh And Maoist
By Syed Ali Mujtaba
The government which is responsible for creating the Maoists problems is bent on using its strong arm tactics to tackle the problem as if unaware of the fact that one can lord over with the bayonet of the gun but can’t sit on it
My Mother's Day Gift To The Planet:
Not Having Kids
By Chris Bolgiano
Like me, many women could discover that a childfree life offers meaningful experiences that balance the loss of mothering, and theirs could be a great gift to a beleaguered planet
The Imminent Collapse Of Industrial Society
By Peter Goodchild
What seems the best general concept of human society later in this century is not easy to formulate. People with the information and skills required for supplying themselves and their community with food and shelter can certainly be called survivalists, even if there should be a better label
Don't Wait Until The $#!+ Hits The fan
By Mickey Foley
It's hard to convince people we're in the early stages of collapse when things are still pretty good. Only when we have trouble meeting our basic needs will we begin to seriously question and fundamentally reform our society. And I believe, passionately, that we need to begin this process ASAP, while there are still enough fossil fuels, water and other natural resources to support 6.8 billion people. So my message is this: Don't wait until the $#!+ hits the fan, because by then it could be too late
Another Wake-Up Call For The World’s
Biggest Oil Junkie
By Chris Nelder
The explosion and destruction of the Horizon deepwater rig and the subsequent oil spill disaster are only the latest in a series of wake-up calls you’ve received. Are you listening now?
Will Peak Oil Turn Flying Into Something
Only Rich People Can Afford?
By Sam Kornell
Expert physicist: 'At $150 dollars a barrel, the air industry is barely viable. At $200 a barrel, it’s going to [be] something that only rich people do.'
Gross National Happiness
By Cecile Andrews
There’s a new movement afoot! Gross National Happiness — evaluating our society in terms of happiness rather than money
What I Learned In Afghanistan -
About The United States
By Dana Visalli
95% of the $300 billion that the U.S. has spent on its Afghanistan operation since we invaded the country in 2001 has gone to our military operations there. Several reports indicate that it costs one million dollars to keep one American soldier in that country for one year. We will soon have 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, which will cost a neat $100 billion a year
U.S. Special Forces Slaughter Family
In Afghanistan, Attempt Cover-Up
By Michael Prysner
On Feb. 12, a family in Khataba, Afghanistan, held a party to celebrate the birth of a baby boy. Just hours after they went to sleep, U.S. Army Special Forces assaulted the house. They kicked down the door, rushed to the roof and began shooting at everybody below. Two of the dead were women who were both seven-months pregnant. Another was a teenage girl. Two of the men who were killed were highly respected members of the community
Literary Dissent: Why They Won’t Bell
The Israeli Cat
By Farzana Versey
It is a bit incongruous to expect writers to spurn awards on political grounds when the business of publishing itself has become a political game. Several groups have appealed to authors Margaret Atwood and Amitav Ghosh to reject the Dan David Prize jointly being given to them by Tel Aviv University on May 9
Meddling In Africa
By Saleh Al-Naami
Israel is forging ever-closer ties in the Arab hinterland in Africa, virtually unopposed
The Language Of Zionism
By Joseph Massad
The reason for the ongoing "violence" in Israel and Palestine is not on account of Israeli colonialism at all but rather a direct result of mistranslation. Joseph Massad provides an abridged lexicon of Zionist terminology
The Urgency Of Housing in Haiti
By Beverly Bell
Haitian government officials and international aid agencies have revealed no plan to meet these needs or fulfill these rights of the 1.3 million left displaced - one in nine citizens. Instead, rare public statements evidence conflicting strategies for limited, temporary initiatives
Gareth Peirce’s Statement
In Support Of Aafia Siddiqui
By Andy Worthington
One of the UK’s most high profile lawyers and a fearless campaigner for human rights, Gareth Peirce's statement In support of Aafia Siddiqui
Open Letter To Berkeley
By Mustafa Barghouthi
American students can play a powerful role in Palestinian liberation by supporting divestment from companies that enable the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territory
Apocalypse Never: Read This Book or Die
By David Swanson
Every time there's a hurricane or an oil spill, there are lots of I-told-you-so's. Tad Daley's "Apocalypse Never" is the I-told-you-so for that moment when there's nobody left to tell. Consider yourself preemptively told
I Am That Baby Calf, That Raccoon Dog,
That Kitten
By Dr Mary Hamer, M.D
I cry for the Animals; For I am that baby calf slaughtered for veal meat; I am that raccoon dog skinned alive for a sexy fur coat; I am that kitten or puppy experimented on for prescription drugs
Systemic Injustice Against Two Longtime
Political Prisoners
By Stephen Lendman
Their names - Marshall "Eddie" Conway and Romaine "Chip" Fitzgerald, both activist COINTELPRO-targeted Black Panther members, unjustly imprisoned for four decades for crimes they didn't commit
Certificate Of Good Standing From The MCI-
Who Needs It?
By Dr. Shah Alam Khan
A couple of weeks back, Dr. Ketan Desai, the President of Medical Council of India was nabbed by the CBI on charges of taking a bribe of Rupees 2 crores in lieu of recognizing a Medical College from Punjab. How ironic could that be! President of the Council which issues Certificates of Good Standing to thousands of doctors has a dubious character himself
The Quagmire of Terrorism: BJP Ruled States
By Mustafa Khan
Long lingering suspicion about BJP’s tampering with investigation into terrorism is now out in the open. This ultranationalist Hindu party is never shy of defending the ultranationalist accused in terrorism. The change of government in Rajasthan has started a process that is snowballing into a huge humiliation for the party if it can bring itself to feel it
07 May, 2010
Supporting Maoists Will Invite 10 Year Jail
By Times of India
Those who speak in favour of Maoist guerrillas will face legal action and 10 years imprisonment, the government announced Thursday in a warning to civil society groups who raise voices in favour of Leftwing extremism
Genetically Modified
By Layla Anwar
Thousands of Iraqi mothers are being asked not to get pregnant at all.The reason for this pregnancy dissuasion stems from the fact that the West who cares so much about its own little infants, had absolutely no qualms into pouring tons of lethal chemicals as in Weapons of Mass Destruction over the people of Basra and Falluja, weapons like depleted uranium and phosphorus which caused cancer rates to soar among children and which produced the most ugly looking monsters -- genetically modified by "freedom and democracy"...
Iraq…It's An Iranian Alliance
By Tariq Alhomayed
There is no other way to describe the electoral alliance that was announced on Tuesday between the State of Law Coalition and the Iraqi National Alliance except as an Iranian one. What’s considered a purely sectarian alliance made sectarianism prevail over the nation, with the aim of excluding half of the Iraqi society, and of course the consequences will be detrimental
Greek Parliament Approves Deep Social Cuts
In Face Of Mass Opposition
By Joe Kishore & Alex Lantier
The Greek Parliament voted to approve €30 billion in cuts to jobs, wages, pensions, and social spending Thursday, the day after a general strike against the measures. The cuts were agreed to by Prime Minister George Papandreou as part of a loan package from European governments and the International Monetary Fund
Greece's Workers Revolt
By Antonis Davenellos
Antonis Davenellos, a member of International Workers Left, reports from Athens on the brewing protests as the government imposes harsh austerity measures
Obama Widens Drone Attacks In Pakistan
By Bill Van Auken
The Obama administration has granted secret permission to the CIA to carry out more indiscriminate drone missile strikes in Pakistan, even as protests over civilian casualties caused by the attacks continue to grow
New Colonialism: Pentagon Carves Africa
Into Military Zones
By Rick Rozoff
Last year the commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), General William Ward, said the Pentagon had military partnerships with 35 of the continent's 53 nations, "representing U.S. relationships that span the continent." That number has increased in the interim
Peak Oil Futures: Same Crisis, Different Responses
By Jörg Friedrichs
There would be different responses to a peak oil scenario in different parts of the world, ranging from predatory militarism to authoritarian retrenchment and the mobilization of local resilience
Inconvenient? You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
(book review)
By Craig K. Comstock
Get used to it, baby: if there were an easier available place to find new oil than a mile beneath the sea, they'd be drilling there. The accident in the Gulf of Mexico, however damaging it is already, however widely it may spread, is minor compared with what is happening, invisibly, above our heads. That's the message of Bill McKibben's new book, Eaarth, and what he's been warning about for over two decades
Odds Of Cooking The Grandkids
By Stuart Staniford
There is a horrible paper in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (hat-tip Desdemona Despair), which looks at how the limits of human physiology interact with upper-range global warming scenarios. The bottom line conclusion is that there is a small - of order 5% - risk of global warming creating a situation in which a large fraction of the planet was uninhabitable (in the sense that if you were outside for an extended period during the hottest days of the year, even in the shade with wet clothing, you would die)
General 'Tried To Cover Up Truth About
Death Of Rachel Corrie'
By Ben Lynfield
Seven years after the American activist Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza, evidence has emerged which appears to implicate Israel's Gaza commander at the time, in an attempt to obstruct the official investigation into her death
Israel's Repression Of Its Palestinian Citizens
Unites Us In Struggle
By Ameer Makhoul
Ameer Makhoul, director of Ittijah and chairman of the Popular Committee for the Defense of the Political Freedoms, was arrested by Israeli forces today during a raid of his home, two weeks after a travel ban was imposed on him by the Israeli Ministry of the Interior. Police have also raided the offices of Ittijah and confiscated equipment and documents. Makhoul, a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship, submitted the following op-ed to The Electronic Intifada prior to his arrest
Obama’s Crucial Choice In The Middle East
By Ira Chernus
Many pundits claim to smell the winds of policy change blowing from the White House. Every word about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the president or his advisors is now parsed by journalists like so many soothsayers studying oracle bones
Finding Healthy Addictions
By Jason Bradford
There must be a whole lot of healthy addictions out there. I expect that as people have less money and more time they will shift into new kinds of activities, and I hope these outlets are good ones. We are a remarkably species, able to adapt and acclimate to great changes
An American Chernobyl
By Dmitry Orlov
Translate "industrial accident" into Russian and back into English, and what you get is "technogenic catastrophe". This term got a lot of use after the Chernobyl disaster. It is rather more descriptive then the rather flaccid English phrase, and it puts the blame where it ultimately comes to rest in any case: with the technology, and the technologists and politicians who push it
BP Spill Threatens Vulnerable Ecosystems
With Destruction
By Dan Brennan
At this stage of the disaster there is inevitably a high degree of uncertainty as to the extent and location of the coming damage, both to the environment and the well being of multitudes of people who depend upon it. However, as the thousands of barrels each day continue to gush forth, it becomes more and more likely that this will be one of the worst environmental disasters in US history
Chemical Dispersants Being Used
In Gulf Clean-Up Are Potentially Toxic
By Tom Philpott
A little digging into the chemical makeup of the two substances, which are being dumped in vast quantities into the Gulf, reveals that they could potentially do far more harm than good, both to the Gulf and to humans who later eat from it
Botched New York Car-Bombing:
American Muslims Fear Backlash
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Fearing a backlash, major American Muslim organizations hastily held a news conference in Washington DC, on Tuesday, saying that the alleged actions of the Pakistani-American suspect are not representative of the nation's Muslim community. They also urged the fellow citizens not to allow the incident to be exploited to advance growing anti-Islam sentiment
My tryst With Narco Analysis (PDF)
By Arun Ferreira
Here is an article written by Arun Ferreira on his experiences of being forcibly subjected to narco analysis. He is curently an undertrial in the Nagpur Central prison, arrested in May 2007 on charges of being a "naxalite", charges which have been disputed in the court of law; but he still continues to languish in jail on the remaining trumped up charges. This article was written in 2008 but still holds much relevance today especially in the context of the recent supreme court judgement calling narco tests unconstitutional
Nuke Irony
By Farooque Chowdhury
The US sponsored nuclear security summit was also part of geopolitics of the metropolis of the present world system
Manipur Bleeding
By Madhu Chandra
Manipur in far northeast corner of India burns again.Three people were killed yesterday at Nagaland – Manipur boarder town of Mao Gate in a protest against Manipur Government’s decision to disallow T. Muivah's visit to the state
Find A Democratic Solution
By CPDM Press Statement
CPDM statement on police firing at Mao Gate on 6th May 2010, which resulted in the death of three persons
Where Is Brahmeshwar Singh 'The Great'?
By Subhash Gatade
Myth of the Misuse of Laws meant for the protection of dalits and tribals
Sri Lanka: Where Is Truth
In The Reconciliation Process?
By Chandi Sinnathurai
The initial stepping stone of reconciliation ought to be the re-settlement of all the innocent Tamil IDPs. It is unrealistic to dream that we can turn the clock back. Truth however has to be faced. That is reality. It is the truth that sets people free. Truth will bring healing, reconciliation and restorative justice. The President has an historical opportunity
The Angola Three: 38 Years In Prison Hell
By Stephen Lendman
Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox have suffered nearly 73 years of solitary confinement. They and Robert King are the "Angola 3," convicts since 1972, for the murder of white prison guard Brent Miller that year. No physical evidence linked them to the crime, their convictions based solely (as later documentation revealed) on bribed inmate testimony in return for leniency
Pakistan: Masters Of Our Destiny
By Mir Adnan Aziz
The rulers must understand, before it is too late, that seething within is ever increasing frustration and rage. Can we really afford the moment when crass political deceit and rhetoric is challenged on the streets by those wronged and hostage to the harsh and cruel reality of their daily lives? Will the political elite not cry foul if the fatal vacum is filled by those then branded as usurpers while many heave a sigh of relief? Is it not the time to stand up when we have legitimized an elite and a system but with no one left to speak for us?
06 May, 2010
Home Ministry’s Intimidatory Tactics Against Rights Activist
By Gladson Dungdung
Gladson Dungdung is a courageous human rights activist from Jharkhand, India. Both his parents were killed, his property confiscated, yet he is at the forefront of the fight for justice and human rights. Now, the home ministry of India is intimidating him by stalking his every move. Here is his appeail, "I appeal to all the civil society organizations, people’s movements and individual to oppose the unconstitutional acts of the Ministry of Home Affairs for the protection of my rights, the democracy and the Indian constitution"
Peace Initiative: CM Clears Way For Vedanta
By Raja Jaikrishan
After Maoist ambush of 75 Central Reserve Police Force troopers in mineral–rich Dantewada district, Chattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has planned to raise at least six battalions of the local tribal youth for the rebel–dominated areas. As if uprooting thousands of Ghonds from their natural nests to Salwa Jhudam slums was not enough,he has now decided to set brother on brother to clear way for mining companies to deplete the area of ores in advasis-worshipped hills
Chhatisgarh Peace Marchers Mobbed,
Abused In Bastar
By Nachiketa Desai
Peace march by eminent citizens advocating a just and long lasting solution to the problems of the adivasis of Bastar, abjuring violence by both the Maoists and state forces, met with ugly protest demonstration by a mob of lumpen elements representing upper caste traders of this district town of Bastar who shouted filthy abuses at the country's top space scientist Prof Yashpal describing him as a sympathiser of the Naxalites
Making A Difference Makes You Happy
By Tim Kasser
A series of studies find that activism brings pleasant emotions, greater life satisfaction, and more experiences of freedom, competence, and connection to others
Untruth Serum
By P Chandra Sekharan
Supreme Court has ruled that forcible use of tools like narco-analysis, polygraph tests and Brain Electrical Activation Profile (BEAP) is illegal, inhuman and degrading. Forensic science experts have pointed out that use of drugging for investigations doesn’t necessarily extract truth out of one’s system. On the contrary, it is yesteryear’s barbarism and today’s truth detecting terrorism marketed by some self-centered pseudo-scientists, writes P Chandra Sekharan
Obama Sheltered BP's Deepwater Horizon Rig
From Regulatory Requirement
By Tom Eley
Last year the Obama administration granted oil giant BP a special exemption from a legal requirement that it produce a detailed environmental impact study on the possible effects of its Deepwater Horizon drilling operation in the Gulf of Mexico, an article Wednesday in the Washington Post reveals
Under The Wrong Conditions,
Oil Spills Are Forever
By Tom Philpott
Twenty years after the Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil in Alaska's Prince William Sound, oil persists in the region and, in some places, "is nearly as toxic as it was the first few weeks after the spill," according to the council overseeing restoration efforts
Gulf Coast Oil Spill: Health Questions
By Gina Solomon
Dr. Gina Solomon provides answers to the health questions raised by the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig explosion and the efforts being made to contain it
Dispersant 'May Make Deepwater Horizon
Oil Spill More Toxic'
By Suzanne Goldenberg
Scientists fear chemicals used in oil clean-up can cause genetic mutations and cancer, and threaten sea turtles and tuna
Did You Hear The Joke About The Predator Drone
That Bombed?
By Medea Benjamin & Nancy Moncias
Obama's 'joke' at the White House correspondents' dinner was no laughing matter to the relatives of the hundreds of people killed in Pakistan by drones
Iraq In Pieces
By Hadani Ditmars
Hadani Ditmars returns to find a broken Baghdad, still reeling from sectarian divisions and facing an uncertain future
Peak Oil: Let The Hollow Media Optimism
Sound A Warning
By Matthew Wild
Perhaps I’m spending too long refuting this silly piece of journalism. I know it’s a politically motivated column in a paper with its own agenda. But it’s not a one-off. And if nothing else, the fact that these clearly biased pieces keep coming out, telling us that we have nothing to fear, actually makes me alarmed. After all, there’s nothing like being told there’s no cause for panic to make you start to wonder if the shit isn’t about to hit the fan, big time
The End Of The Long Summer
By Sherry Boschert
It’s time for each of us to have a talk with our inner economist. If humanity is to survive the hardships that lie ahead due to climate change, we’ve got to abandon the now universal, but originally Western, ethos of economic growth. If we don’t abandon those notions and change the way our societies operate, we may face utter collapse. So argues veteran environmental journalist Dianne Dumanoski in The End of the Long Summer: Why We Must Remake Our Civilization to Survive on a Volatile Earth
On Goldstone's Bar Mitzvah And Finkelstein's Book
By Ramzy Baroud
“The times they are a-changing,” wrote Finkelstein. True, and that is a most impressive achievement that was made possible by the likes of Jimmy Carter, John Mearsheimer, Stephen Walt, Richard Goldstone, Richard Falk, John Dugard, Finkelstein himself, and the innumerable authors, journalists and bloggers who tirelessly worked to document the truth
Palestinian Refugees And
Internally Displaced Persons
By Stephen Lendman
Of a global 9.8 million Palestinians, about seven million are refugees and another 450,000 internally displaced
UK Appeals Court Rules Out Government’s Use Of
Secret Evidence In Guantánamo Damages Claim
By Andy Worthington
In the Court of Appeal yesterday morning, six former Guantánamo prisoners — Bisher al-Rawi, Jamil El-Banna, Richard Belmar, Omar Deghayes, Binyam Mohamed and Martin Mubanga — won a resounding victory against the government, when three senior judges, including Lord Neuberger, the Master of the Rolls, overturned a ruling that, for the first time in British history, allowed the government to use secret evidence in a civil claim for damages
The Woodrow Wilson Center Desecrates
Its Namesake’s Legacy And
Violates Its Congressional Mandate
By David Boyajian
President Wilson advocated the right to self-determination of all the nations, particularlyArmenia, that suffered under Turkey’s corrupt, violent yoke. His and America’s support for Armenians — politically, financially, and verbally — was immense and is well-documented. Yet the WWC chooses to desecrate that record by honoring a Turkish official who denies the Armenian genocide, threatens the American people, plays games with the protocols it signed with Armenia, and continues to blockade Armenia
Does Hezbollah Have Scuds?
By Rannie Amiri
The uproar started in mid-April when the Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai Al-Aam reported that Syria recently transferred Scud missiles to Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon, having trained them in their use the past summer. Days later, when Israeli President Shimon Peres publicly accused Syria of supplying Hezbollah with the notoriously inaccurate rockets, media attention became widespread. The pretense for a “pre-emptive” Israeli strike on Lebanon had been nicely set
New Wave Of Repression Targets
Opponents Of Honduran Coup
By Maquila Solidarity Network
Both the Canadian and U.S. governments have praised the January 27 elections in Honduras as a major step forward toward a return to democracy and national reconciliation. Yet the reality on the ground under the newly elected government of Porfirio Lobo is one of continuing repression and selective assassinations of those who dared to oppose the June 28, 2009 military coup
A Mess Of Its Own Making
By Bilal Hussain
Debt ridden Jammu and Kashmir is on the verge of drowning in the sea of financial liabilities. A recent report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has revealed that the state fiscal liability for 2008-09 was a whopping Rs 24,287 crore
05 May, 2010
A Letter To The American People From
The Heart Of A Muslim Woman
By Nahida
I am writing this letter to you because of the devastation that is caused by your government in our lands, and because of the immanent threat to world peace that I see your government pushing for, again
New York Car Bomb Incident: Another False Flag?
By Stephen Lendman
Good luck or something else? We've seen this too often not to be suspicious. This one, like others, has all the earmarks of a false flag, more likely given its coverage and location in Times Square on Saturday night, followed by a May 2 video saying the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility
Saffron Brigade Disturbs Chhattisgarh Peace March
By Nachiketa Desai
A mob of about 100 slogan shouting supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party barged into the public meeting of eminent citizens, including space scientist Yash Pal, veteran Gandhian Narayan Desai and former UGC chairman Ramji Singh, a day before they embarked upon a peace march from Raipur to Dantewada in Chhattisgarh
"We Are Not Anti-US, We Are Anti-Imperialist"
Hugo Chavez Interviewed by Cindy Sheehan
The Empire is afraid. The Empire is afraid that the people of the US will find out the truth and something could erupt in their own territory -- a Bolivarian movement, a Lincoln-esque movement. A movement of citizens, conscious citizens that seek to transform the system. Imperial fear killed Martin Luther King, Jr. The only way to stop him was to kill him. Then, they repressed the citizens of the US. So, why do they demonize us? They know the truth, but they fear the truth. They fear the contagious effect. They fear a revolution in the US. They fear an awakening in the US
All-Volunteer Wars
By Tom Engelhardt
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, already the size of the state of Delaware, may end up larger than the disastrous Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, and could prove more devastating than Hurricane Katrina. Anyway, take my word for it, returning to our world from a few days offline and cell phone-less, I experienced an unsettling déjà-vu-all-over-again feeling. What had happened was startling and horrifying -- but also eerily expectable, if not predictable
Warmongers Of The World, Unite
By John Pilger
Is there any difference between Australia’s leaders and the three front-runners in Britain’s election when it comes to attitudes to war?
BP: Billionaire Polluter
By Amy Goodman
Less than a week after British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon drilling platform exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and unleashing what could be the worst industrial environmental disaster in U.S. history, the company announced more than $6 billion in profits for the first quarter of 2010, more than doubling profits from the same period the year before
Cochabamba Eyewitness:
A Great Boost To Ecosocialism
By Roger Rashi
I attended the alternative Climate Conference in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba as part of an eight-person Quebec activist delegation. I came back convinced that we witnessed a turning point in the global Climate Justice movement
Industry Leaders Seem To Be Showing
More Openness To Energy Descent Issues
By George Mobus
I introduced ideas relating to peak net energy, and the possibility of major changes in the years ahead. I found industry leaders much more open than I had expected to listening to and understanding our energy predicament, and talking about what may be ahead
Worse Than 1789?
By James Howard Kunstler
The France of 1789 and the USA of today have a few important elements in common: a striking inability to sort out any national problems, an arrogant, depraved ruling elite resistant to reform, and an intellectual underclass motivated by blind fury. Some signal differences: most of our even theoretically best-intentioned "leaders" -- i.e. elected officials, business, education, and media figures -- are unable to articulate the problems we face. Paul Krugman and David Brooks have no more of a clue about the implications of Peak Oil than Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin
How Binyam Mohammed’s Torture Was Revealed
In A US Court
By Andy Worthington
In an attempt to raise awareness of his plight, this article analyzes Judge Kessler’s unclassified opinion in bin Mohammed’s case which is particularly noteworthy because most of the information relied upon by the government to justify his detention came from Binyam Mohamed, the British resident, seized in Pakistan in April 2002, and rendered by the CIA to Morocco, where he was tortured for 18 months
Vietnamese Derision Once The Beastly Merciless
US Military-Economic Empire Collapses?
By Jay Janson
During the administrations of six presidents America and Americans crucified Laos, Vietnam and finally Cambodia. Nevertheless Vietnamese, except for complaining about U.S. failure to care for Agent Orange victims including massive amount of children still being born with crippling deformities, appear to have little resentment towards America
Gooey Black Corporate Greed
By David Swanson
I urge everyone to go back and read a book named for an Obama utterance: Antonia Juhasz's "The Tyranny of Oil: The World's Most Powerful Industry and What We Must Do to Stop It."
GM Biofuels: Another Planned Disaster
By Rady Ananda
Governments around the world have proposed biofuels, liquid fuels derived from plants, fungi or algae, as a solution to today's energy and environmental crises. But this alternative is as bad as, or worse, than fossil fuels
At Berkeley, Moral Victory Despite Divestment
Vote Loss
By Dina Omar
On 28 April, University of California, Berkeley's Student Senate narrowly missed an historic opportunity to divest its funds from United Technologies and General Electric which manufacture F-16 jets and Apache helicopters -- weapons sold to the Israeli military and used against civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
26/11 Verdict Brings Solace To Indian Muslims
By S.R.Darapuri I.P.S.(Retd)
The acquittal of Faheem and Sabahuddin has come as a breather for Indian Muslims otherwise it would have given the Hindutva fanatics an other chance to label Indian Muslims as collaborators of foreign enemies like Pakistan, LeT and others. This verdict has also enhanced the reputation of Indian judiciary and strengthened common man’s faith in it
Sohrabuddin And Tulsiram:
The Twain Shall Not Part
By Mustafa Khan
The police in Gujarat are so wily that they still feel that they could cover up the matter of fake encounter to save Narendra Modi. The chief minister was not only morally responsible for the events in Gujarat ever since he was sworn in office but given his penchant for Hindutva he was the spring sources of all actions
04 May, 2010
We, The People Of India
By Amit Sengupta
In the remote zones of tribal Orissa, epical non-violent land struggles against mass displacement and the mining mafia are blooming. And despite violent police repression, they have refused to succumb or pick up arms. So why is the political establishment pushing the people of India to the wall?
Nuclear Bomb Is A Crime Against Humanity
By Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Full Text Of The Iranian President's Address At NPT Conference
Obama Jokes About Killing Jonas Brothers
With Predator Drones
By Alex Pareene
Obama threatens Jonas Brothers with drone strikes
Why Do Peak Oilers And Climate Changers
Not Get Along Better?
By David Roberts
I just find the sociocultural (and academic) interaction between peak oilers and climate types fascinating. You'd think it would be a natural alliance, but in practice it seems to tend more toward mutual disinterest or even hostility. What's up with that?
What Are We Dumping Into The Gulf
To ‘Fix’ The Oil Spill?
By Tom Philpott
In addition to the indignity of oil oozing into its depths at a rate of at least 5,000 barrels per day, the Gulf of Mexico is now enduring a heavy rain of mystery chemicals
What Happens To All That Uranium?
By Tim Buchholz
The United States, in an effort to be “as transparent as we can be” in the words of Hilary Clinton, recently announced it has 5,113 in its nuclear stockpile, and thousands more retired warheads awaiting the junk-pile. President Obama recently signed a new agreement with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called The New START Treaty that will reduce current American and Russian stockpiles to 1550. So I started thinking, “What happens to all that uranium after the bombs are dismantled?”
Obama's Military Intentions
By Jack A. Smith
There's more war in America's future — a great deal more, judging by the Obama Administration's reports, pronouncements and actions in recent months
Bill McKibben Talks About How To Live
And Organize On A Reshaped ‘Eaarth’
By Jonathan Hiskes
Bill McKibben’s new book Eaarth argues that our carbon pollution has already reshaped the planet enough that it deserves a new name. McKibben has been thinking hard about climate change for longer than almost anybody else, both as a writer and as an activist, and he doesn’t sugarcoat the situation. He stopped by Grist’s office in Seattle recently (he’s a board member) for a frank conversation about where the world stands and what we can do about it
Peak Oil And The Catastrophe
In The Gulf Of Mexico
By Kjell Aleklett
he discussion is continuing around the world, (a search for “peak oil” just now gave 1,470,000 hits), but there are very few political initiatives and we can justifiably say that the politicians are not accepting their responsibility. The question is whether the opportunity now exists to make Peak Oil a global political question?
Optimism Versus Reality In Peak Oil Media Battle
By Matthew Wild
The optimists may have long been winning the peak oil media battle – as Matt Simmons observes – but we are beginning to see information coming out on the business pages that allows us to piece together a more balanced story
Prosecuting A Tortured Child: Obama’s
Guantánamo Legacy
By Andy Worhtington
A Canadian citizen, Khadr was just 15 years old when he was seized by US forces after a firefight in Afghanistan in July 2002, in which he allegedly threw a grenade that killed a US soldier, Sgt. Christopher Speer, and was taken first to the US prison at Bagram airbase, and then to Guantánamo, where he remains to this day
Submissive Abbas To Resume Futile Talks
With Arrogant Israel
By Khalid Amayreh
East Jerusalem: Weak, desperate and vulnerable to Israeli and western pressure, Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas has decided to resume what seems to be another futile round of so-called "peace talks" with Israel
South Africa Must End Relations
With Apartheid Israel
By Iqbal Jassat
It should be impossible for South Africa to justify relations with apartheid Israel
Israel’s Stasi Watch Over Imams
By Jonathan Cook
Job interviews for the position of imam at mosques in Israel are conducted not by senior clerics but by the Shin Bet, Israel’s secret police, a labour tribunal has revealed
Lebanon’s Merry Month Of May
By Franklin Lamb
In Lebanon this month, like spring flowers, proposals to give Palestinians the right to work are bursting out all over
Soldier Committed Violence And Abuse
Against Palestinian Detainees
By Stephen Lendman
Outlandish abuses happen daily, endorsed by IDF commanders, MKs, and the fascist Netanyahu government, as extremist and morally decadent as any in Israeli history. As a result, Palestinians suffer grievously, including in detention where torture remains official Israeli policy
The “New” Iraq
By Ghali Hassan
Seven years after the illegal invasion of Iraq by the Anglo-American fascist armies, it is clear today that the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Iraqi nation was premeditated and unprovoked act of naked aggression aimed at expanding U.S.-Israel Zionist power
The Economics Beneath Immigration Reform
By Shamus Cooke
To combat immigrant scapegoating, immigrants, all workers and progressive people must demand and fight that corporations and the rich shareholders pay for the economic crisis through progressive income and corporate taxes, while also demanding that ICE workplace raids, detentions and deportations be stopped immediately!
Socialism? Un-American? I Think Not!
By Timothy V. Gatto
I’m not arguing that the United States should adopt socialism overnight, but I’m sure that we could develop an American style of socialism that would work better than the predatory capitalism we have in place now. I can see a system where small businesses and individuals remain under the capitalist system, but that banks and other financial entities and companies “too big to fail” should be under citizen controlled socialism
In Praise Of "Salem News"
By Kourosh Ziabari
An Iranian salutes Salem News
The Winds Of Change
By Gulam Mitha
Pakistan will be the change. The US-NATO forces under the Zionist agenda will have to abandon Afghanistan following the change that will sweep the Muslim world. Iran will likely emerge as the strongest Muslim country and other Muslim countries will revolt against its western oppressors and occupiers
Media Frenzy And The Kasab Case
By Farzana Versey
On the day of the verdict, a large advertisement with a red background gave the summons to an audience to watch the “non-stop live coverage” of the Kasab court conviction. The media’s role in making this the ‘biggest terrorist attack’ has to be taken into account
Burma: NLD Should Remain As A Political Party
By Nava Thakuria
As the last date for registration by the political parties to the Burmese election commission approaches, apprehension of strong actions against the defaulter has grown. The main opposition party of Burma, National League for Democracy has decided not to register with the election commission protesting the flawed electoral laws by the military junta and hence it is waiting for the bad news. Political observers suspect that the regime may not only de-register NLD by the first week of May, but also adopt harsh action against its leader and workers
Afghan Refugees In Karachi Face Trifecta Of Woes
By Zia Ur Rehman
Between the Soviet invasion of the 1980s and the rule of the Taliban in the late 1990s, many Afghans fled their homeland for the greener pastures of Pakistan. Today, though, that grass is turning brown
03 May, 2010
Am I A Maoist?
By Gladson Dungdung
I’m neither a Maoist nor a Gandhian but I’m an Adivasi who is determined to fight for his own people, whom the Indian State has alienated, displaced and dispossessed from their resources and is continually doing it in the name of development, national security and national interest even today
Searching For Jake Sully In India's Heartland
By Harsha Walia
It behooves us, however, to ask why the Maoist insurgency persists, why Adivasis would choose a life that inevitably leads to confrontation with the world's third largest military, why the depths of the jungles holds a greater promise than the heavenly slogan of economic development
Swami And Friends
By Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association
Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association's rejoinder to Praveen Swamy's reply to JTSA's article "Praveen Swami’s Not So Fabulous Fables"
The Peak Of Oil Production Is Passed
By Dr Michael Lardelli
Dr Michael Lardelli from the University of Adelaide looks at how the bulk of the world's oil production comes from a relatively small number of very large fields discovered decades ago. The rate of world oil production has been maintained at current levels only by finding and bringing on line an increasing number of smaller fields, but the financial cost and the energy required to find and develop these new fields is constantly increasing. According to Dr Lardelli the so-called peak of oil production was actually in 2008
Living In The U.X.A
By John Curl
At the height of the Great Depression, a group of unemployed Oakland workers decided to take matters into their own hands. The system wasn’t working, so they set up their own system. Money was nearly worthless, so they decided to live by barter. They called themselves the Unemployed Exchange Association and they soon went on to write a remarkable chapter in American economic history. This is their story
A Cloud Over Jerusalem
By Uri Avnery
Colonel Tirzeh was responsible for planning the wall that “envelopes” Jerusalem – the one that cuts the city off from the West Bank in order to turn it into the United Capital Of Israel For All Eternity. And now, suddenly, Tirzeh pops up as the main opponent of the wall he himself planned. He wants to move it, so as to leave the lands of al-Walaja village on the “Israeli” side. Colonel Tirzeh is not just anybody. He is a symbol
No One Cares
By Chris Hedges
We are approaching a decade of war in Afghanistan, and the war in Iraq is in its eighth year. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and thousands more Afghans and Pakistani civilians have been killed. Millions have been driven into squalid displacement and refugee camps. The peace movement, despite the heroic efforts of a handful of groups such as Iraq Veterans Against the War, the Green Party and Code Pink, is dead. No one cares
Top Media Lies About Iran
By Huda Jawad
Here are the top myths the media tells us daily about Iran
The Next 9/11 — Made In Israel ?
By Maidhc Ó Cathail
If, as Benjamin Netanyahu admitted, 9/11 was “very good” for Israel , a nuclear 9/11 might be even better. As the spellbinding effects of that traumatic event nine years ago have begun to wear off, and with Americans increasingly questioning the costs of a one-sided alliance, it may even be considered necessary
The Tea Party Sideshow
By Mickey Z.
We must stand up to Tea Party ignorance and bigotry but creating solidarity with their "targets" (the poor, the immigrants, all those oppressed due to sexual preference, gender, or ethnicity, etc.) is far more important. It's not easy to free our minds from propaganda, stand up to those seeking scapegoats, and fight for the future. But I guarantee you this: it's worth it. This is our chance to create both community and a legacy
The Strange Career Of Tea Party Populism
By Steve Fraser & Joshua B. Freeman
Tea Party anger reaches far beyond the ranks of the modest Tea Party movement. It resonates with other Americans who understandably feel that political and economic elites, serving themselves at the expense of everyone else, have failed Americans. The big question is just exactly how (or even if) that private and personal rage gets transformed into moral and political outrage. If the heirs of George Wallace and Barry Goldwater, or the Sarah Palins of today, have their way, the outcome won’t be a tea party
Shaker Aamer’s 3000 Days In Guantánamo:
Moazzam Begg Speaks
By Andy Worthington
Former Guantánamo detainee Moazzam Begg reveals a personal message of thanks from his friend Shaker Aamer as he talks about his capture and daily routine in Guantánamo
Seven Days For Seven Years: A Week-Long Vigil
For Aafia Siddiqui At the US Embassy In London
By Andy Worthington
The case of Aafia Siddiqui is one of the murkiest in the whole of the "War on Terror"
Surrender To Injustice Never An Option:
A Gaza Story
By Dr. Ludwig Watzal
Story of "My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story" is depressing as the history of the Palestinian people is concerned. On the other hand, the life and the inner attitude of Mohammed Baroud give hope to the "Wretched of the Earth". He showed that surrender to injustice and repression can never be an option. This should be understood as a hint to Palestinians who seem to prefer, with Abbas leading the way, the easier way to "independence". Ramzy Baroud and his father stand for the alternative: freedom and self-respect
Iraq: Bloody Policies And Criminal Authorities:
Arrests, Assassinations, Deportation Of Millions
By The BRussells Tribunal
Appeal to Stop Repression and State Crimes in Iraq
Not Just Arizona: Immigration Enforcement
Out Of Control On Federal Level
By Bill Quigley
While people protest the terrible Arizona state law that uses local law enforcement to target immigrants, the federal government is expanding its efforts to use local law enforcement in immigration enforcement and has launched a major PR campaign to defend it
Listen To Affected Voices And We Will Have
Middle East Peace
By Dan Lieberman
The path to acquiring peace in the Middle East demands a realistic and revised outlook of Israel. Two Israelis separately provide the answer; each writes independently and without the knowledge of the other. They indicate why peace has not occurred
National Institute Of Health Has Given
Priority To Bioweapons Research
By Sherwood Ross
The priorities of the National Institutes of Health(NIH) in the area of bacteriology have been “catastrophically re-ordered” by emphasizing bioweapons research over non-bioweapons research, a prominent authority states
Preparing Haiti For Exploitation And Plunder
By Stephen Lendman
Over 15 weeks post-quake, Haiti's imperial takeover is proceeding. It began straightaway after the calamity, Haitians victimized by denied aid, appalling repression, and now dispossession of their land, homes, and communities
What Real Financial Reform Looks Like
By Stephen Lendman
Be wary when Washington talks reform. Nearly always it's bogus and ends up making a bad situation worse, the likely outcome this time addressing longstanding Wall Street abuses not easily changed at a time tinkering around the edges or papering them over won't work
CIA Torture Methods Inflicted On 43 Doctors
And Health-Care Workers In Philippines
By E. San Juan Jr.
Short of a revolutionary mass upheaval, it appears that the CIA KUBARK torture techniques and its legitimization by the policing and jurisprudence system in the Philippines still have a long way to be “tweaked” and streamlined before its final scrapping
Population Overshoot Is Determined By
Food Overproduction
By Steve Salmony
It may be neither necessary nor sustainable to continue increasing food production to feed a growing population. As an alternative, we could carefully review ways for limiting increases in the large-scale corporate production of food; for providing broad support of small-scale farming practices; for redistributing more equitably the present overly abundant world supply of food among the members of the human community; and for immediately, universally and safely following Dr. Bourlaug’s recommendation to “reduce the rate of human reproduction effectively and humanely.”
Manual Scavenging: Must Be Eradicated
Right Away
By Ram Puniyani
Manual Scavenging was officially supposed to have been banned in 1993 by the Government of India. Official lapses and apathy apart, the surveys by the activists working against this practice show that even now over 14 lakhs of scavengers are still suffering ignominy and nearly 95% of these workers are women
Challenges, Options And Role Of Kashmiri Diaspora
By Dr Shabir Choudhry
want to present that alternative view that people could understand facts about Pakistan’s support for Kashmir; and ‘favour’ Pakistan has done to people of Jammu and Kashmir
Feeding India Is Becoming A Difficult Task
By Devinder Sharma
At a time when its economy is poised to grow at 8.5 per cent this financial year, and with its granaries overflowing and food stockpiles rotting in the open, India is finding it difficult to feed its hungry millions. Given the unresolved debate over the percentage of population living in hunger, and all out efforts to reduce the burgeoning food subsidy, feeding India remains a distant dream
Two Parties, One Politics
By James Rothenberg
Opinion polls reveal, not surprisingly, that the public has little confidence and trust in politicians. Politicians are overwhelmingly comprised of Democrats and Republicans, but this distrust has yet to manifest itself in a repudiation of these two political parties. No paradox here. The public, so far, is not equipped to shake off the grip that the Democrats and Republicans hold over society. In a pathetic twist, it is in these indirectly discredited parties that a nation’s hopes are eternally placed
Even One Of These Little Ones
By Sheila Samples
Do you ever wonder what Jesus would say about the sadistic cesspool that is swirling throughout the Catholic disfunctional structure at tsunami speed? Unfortunately, since the New York Times drew attention to the issue in March, the answer to that is getting buried deeper each day under fresh accusations of child molestation, counter accusations, denials and sordid attempts at justification
