30 April, 2012
US And Allies Ramp Up Plans For Military Intervention In Syria
By Chris Marsden
Accusations that the Syrian government is either wholly or mainly responsible for breaches of the United Nations’ ceasefire are meant to provide a pretext for military intervention by the imperialist powers and their proxies. The US and European media, meanwhile, is acting as a barely concealed propaganda instrument tasked with preparing public opinion for the latest criminal adventure in the Middle East—a war for regime change in Syria to follow those waged in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan
Destroying Africa With Western “Democracy”
By Thomas C. Mountain
Western style “democracy” is destroying Africa. It seems everywhere you look in Africa you see elections marked by violence and bloodshed. “Buy, rig or steal” is the name of the game and if that doesn't work, send in the French army and UN “peacekeepers” and rocket the presidential residence and just take over by brute force
Confessions Of A Drone
By David Swanson
I began to think that humans have fear, and that lacking fear is what makes drones like me better warriors than humans. But that idea had to be revised when I was told that one of my pilots had been fearless. I was told that, right after he disappeared. I was told that he had ended his own life. He had made himself cease to exist. If he'd had no fear, then it was something else that had been causing him to malfunction in certain circumstances. What was it?
The Value of Bradley Manning
By David Swanson
Pvt. Bradley Manning faces possible life imprisonment for opening up windows into the unsavory actions of the U.S. government and many allies around the world. A valuable new book examines what turned the 24-year-old into one of history’s great whistleblowers
Egypt Just Annulled Mubarak’s Natural Gas Giveaway,
Will Sadat’s Camp David And The Zionist Embassy Be Next?
By Franklin Lamb
The removal of three humiliating shackles for Egyptians, the gas give-away scheme, the 1979 Camp David Accords and the US forced recognition of Israel, constitute a strategic national security objective for most of Egypt’s 82 million citizens. According to the results of an opinion poll, conducted for Press TV and published on October 3, 2011, 73 percent of the Egyptian respondents opposed the terms of the agreement. Today the figure is estimated at 90%
Censorship By Australian Taxpayer-funded ABC And University-Backed The Conversation
By Dr Gideon Polya
The taxpayer-funded ABC is an important institution in the intellectual life of Australia . The Australian universities–backed and academic-based web magazine, The Conversation, potentially has a comparable role. However censorship by both the ABC and The Conversation subverts and perverts this role
Treaties That Gave Away The Store
By Kavaljit Singh
As India grapples with the Vodafone and 2G fallout, the Bilateral Investment Treaties it signed a few years ago are coming back to haunt it
Labor Repressed Labor Struggling
By Farooque Chowdhury
Capital is waging its class war against labor in covert and overt, in economic and political, in legal and illegal forms. It’s capital’s desperate effort for its own survival. Randomly picked information/news shows the grim realness of the state of labor
In Abolishing The Death Penalty, Connecticut Joins The Civilized World
By Mary Shaw
On April 25, with a stroke of the governor's pen, Connecticut became the 17th U.S. state to abolish the death penalty - and the fifth state to do so in five years. This reflects a growing momentum to end capital punishment in the U.S., which is the only major industrialized Western nation that still claims for itself the "right" to kill its citizens
28 April, 2012
Russia Prepares For A US-Israeli Military Strike Against Iran
By Clara Weiss
Russia has undertaken intensive preparations during the past few months for a possible military strike by Israel and the United States on Iran. According to recent reports, the Russian General Staff expects a war against Iran this summer, with enormous repercussions for not only the Middle East but also the Caucasus
Can Renewable Energy Sustain Consumer Societies?
By Samuel Alexander
With little recognition, Dr. Ted Trainer has spent the best part of a decade tirelessly surveying the best available data on renewable energy and other technologies, and he has recently published the culmination of his efforts with the Simplicity Institute. Contradicting widely held assumptions, Trainer presents a formidable case that renewable energy and other ‘tech-fixes’ will be unable to sustain growth-based and energy-intensive consumer societies, with implications that are as profound as they will be unwelcome
Is Climate Change An Emergency?
By Bill Henderson
Could we have already emitted enough greenhouse gases in the last decade - could there be enough GHGs in the pipeline already - to lead to a fast temperature increase and a cascade of die off in at least vulnerable and very important high latitude ecosystems leading to some variety of runaway climate change?
A Long Story With A Short Ending
By Dennis Lyons
An imaginary scenario of scenes from the future. How we may progress over the rest of the 21st century, and what are the questions we should be asking.
Values For The Future
By John Scales Avery
In the world of the future, a future of changed values, women with take their places beside men in positions of responsibility, children will be educated rather than exploited, non-material human qualities, such as kindness, politeness, knowledge and musical and artistic ability will be valued more highly, and people will derive a larger part of their pleasure from conversation and from the appreciation of unspoiled nature. These are the values that we need for the future - a future that belongs not only to ourselves, but to our children and grandchildren
1,000 Reasons To Strike On May 1: A Day Without The 99%
By Mickey Z.
We are not alone, we can make a difference, and what we're "gonna do" is occupy a goddamned strike on May 1
East Africa At The Brink: Hidden Hands Behind Sudan’s Oil War
By Ramzy Baroud
For a sustainable future peace arrangement, Sudan’s territorial integrity must be respected, and South Sudan must not be pushed to the brink of desperation. Rivalries between the US, China and Russia cannot continue at the expense of nations that teeter between starvation and civil wars. And whatever hidden hands that continue to exploit Sudan’s woes now need to be exposed and isolated
To Save Palestine Is To Save The World
By Nahida
I often pondered as to why the name Holy Land was given to Palestine? What is it about this land that justifies or legitimizes such a description when in fact that land, through myriad of foreign invasions has witnessed some of the cruelest, most barbaric, most unholy, most immoral human behaviour?
27 April, 2012
Humanity Must Stabilize Population, Consumption
Or Face 'Downward Vortex' Of 'Ills'
By Common Dreams staff
It is urgent that humanity work towards equity of consumption and slow the growth of the world's population or we'll head towards a "downward vortex" of ruin, according to a report published today
Economic Recovery Brings Return To Growth Of CO2 Emissions
By World Watch Institute
Although global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) declined slightly in 2009, the beginnings of economic recovery led to an unprecedented emissions increase of 5.8 percent in 2010. In 2011, global atmospheric levels of CO2 reached a high of 391.3 parts per million (ppm), up from 388.6 ppm in 2010 and 280 ppm in pre-industrial times
US Steps Up Drone War In Yemen
By Patrick Martin
President Barack Obama has approved much wider use of drone-fired missiles in Yemen, according to press reports Thursday, quoting unnamed US government officials. The result will be a much higher death toll from American attacks in that country, which has joined Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Libya and Somalia as a battlefield for the US military and CIA
Rights Of The Indian People In Danger
By Peoples' Solidarity Concerns
The freedom of Indian people as envisaged in the Indian Constitution is threatened in a major way. What we are witnessing and experiencing today is nothing but a creeping entry of a `Silent Emergency’. We therefore, call upon all social and political organizations, activists, people’s movements and concerned individuals to raise their voice on this grave tissue – For if we do not raise our voices now, we will not even have the basic democratic freedom to raise our voices tomorrow. We call upon all democratic forces to attend the following meeting on April 28th in Bangalore at 3.00 pm at Xavier Hall, St. Joseph's College (PG Block) Lavelle Road, Bangalore
Insight Into The 9/11 Debate: 'Economists Are Scared'
By Lars Schall
An interview with United States economist Paul Zarembka regarding informed trading activities prior to the terror attacks of September 11
Rio+20: Creating Resilient Agriculture
By Gordon Conway
Food security is critical to the mission of Rio+20. Already, somewhere between 900 million and a billion people are chronically hungry, and by 2050 agriculture will have to cope with these threats while feeding a growing population with changing dietary demands. This will require doubling food production, especially if we are to build up reserves for climatic extremes. To do this requires sustainable intensification – getting more from less – on a durable basis
Bradley Manning: A Totalitarian Show Trial of State Secrecy
By Michael Ratner
On 24 April, a hearing in one of the most important court martial cases in decades took place in Fort Meade, Maryland. Yet, in spite of the grave implications, not to mention the press and public's first amendment right of full and open access to criminal trials, no outside parties will have access to the evidence, the court documents, court orders or off-the-record arguments that will ultimately decide his fate. Under these circumstances, whatever the outcome of the case, the loser will be the transparency necessary for democratic government, accountable courts and faith in our justice system
Trickle-down Gulf Wreck-onomics
By Robert S. Becker
A disturbing survey of the Gulf region, why and where the "BP oil spill" has expanded into the massive disaster widely predicted (but officially denied). And the oil drilling industry adventure is surging, Trickle-down economics with a vengeance
West Coast Unions Cave In To Democrats
By Shamus Cooke
The big public sector unions of California and Oregon had their courage examined recently — both were found lacking. The unions backed down from a challenge from their respective Democratic governors, before any fight could be waged
The Big Empty: Eating Cheetos With The Hungry Ghosts Of A Corporate State
By Phil Rockstroh
Due to the consolidation of wealth and privilege into fewer and fewer hands, thus requiring escalating amounts of officially mandated surveillance and brutality to maintain social order, the natural trajectory of unregulated capitalism tends towards hyper-authoritarian excess, even towards fascism
Agitating Argentine Oil
By Farooque Chowdhury
Argentina is nationalising Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (State Petroleum Reserves, YPF), controlled by Repsol, Spanish oil and gas company and it is creating furor among all concerned with capital. Argentina will be an experience useful to the countries and the movements struggling to recover people’s resources, assert sovereignty over public resources, and aspiring to challenge neo-liberalism in respective economy
Coming End of US Wars For Wall Street
By Jay Janson
Former Veterans For Peace Director Elliot Adams and the Coalition to Ground the Drones indict military and personnel of Hancock, NY Drone Air Force Base along with their chain of command up through Obama. History of the court of public opinion’s power. Goals of the new Prosecute US Crimes Against Humanity Now Campaign noted
Five Years on – The Eastern Province of Sri Lanka
By Mihiri Weerasinghe
This article explores the economic, political and social developments in the Eastern Province during the past five years. The research for the article was carried out in the eastern cities of Batticaloa, Ampara, Trincomalee. It is based on one to one interviews with 20 stakeholders. Respondents were grouped into six categories; former Eastern Provincial Council Members, academics, journalists, businessmen, civil society actors and women’s groups
Siachen: Icy Graveyard
By Nazia Nazar
The heart bleeds at the recent Siachen tragedy not because the casualties belong to Pakistan army but also due to the fact that they were all human beings who left behind their families in a state of unending sorrow. Today, the victims are Pakistani soldiers; tomorrow might be horrible for Indian military deployed in Siachen, as you can defeat your enemy but not nature
Kashmir: A Wrong “Verdict”
By Adil Akhzer
Manu Joseph has announced his verdict - Kashmir is Happy. One of the prominent Indian journalist and Editor in Chief of Open Magazine. Joseph soon after concluding his Kashmir visit proclaimed “Kashmir is happy”. Joseph has come to the conclusion as during his brief sojourn, he has met a few Kashmiris working for 'Aircel', has discussed the Kashmir issue with some "eminent" Kashmiri scribes, has enjoyed a Gondola ride in Gulmarg and has also listened to the speech of District Magistrate in Kashmir village
Justice For Bathani Tola
Online Petition
One of the survivors of the massacres who lost six members of his family, responding to the acquittal, asked, “Who, then, killed 21 people that day?” We, the undersigned, believe that the entire country and our system of justice, owes the people of Bathani Tola an answer to that question
25 April, 2012
James Lovelock's Climate U-Turn
By Dr Andrew Glikson
It remains a mystery as to the nature of the evidence or reasons underlying James Lovelock's statement that he was 'alarmist' about climate change. Unfortunately, these statements are inconsistent with up-to-date climate data sets
A Plea For Rio+20: Don’t Commodify Nature
By David Korten
"As alert citizen groups are pointing out," writes Korten, "the proposals being advanced would result in the ultimate commodification and financialization of nature for the short-term benefit of the same global profiteers who created the mortgage bubble that brought down much of the global economy in 2008."
An Update On Global Net Oil Exports: Is It Midnight On The Titanic?
By Jeffrey J. Brown
A study of the top 33 net oil exporters in the world, which account for 99% plus of total global net exports, and which we define as Global Net Exports of oil (GNE), shows that GNE fell from 46 mbpd (million barrels per day) in 2005 to 43 mbpd in 2010 (BP & minor EIA data, total petroleum liquids)
Obama Invokes Holocaust To Ratchet Up War Threats On Iran, Syria
By Bill Van Auken
President Barack Obama used a visit to Washington’s Holocaust Memorial Museum Monday to unveil a set of new sanctions against Iran and Syria and to promote the administration’s use of “human rights” as a pretext for aggressive war and regime change
How To Tell If A Candidate Backs War or Peace
By David Swanson
David Swanson's interview with a Democratic candidate who has just about wrapped up his party's nomination for Congress here in Virginia's Fifth Congressional District
Remember Huge Civilian War Deaths On Armenian Genocide Day (24 April)
And Australian Anzac Day (25 April)
By Dr Gideon Polya
24 April is Armenian Genocide Day that commemorates the beginning of the World War 1 Armenian Genocide (1.5 million Armenians killed). The Armenian Genocide was precipitated by several months of shelling that culminated in the 25 April 1915 Allied invasion of Turkey in the Dardanelles at Gallipoli led by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), this being commemorated in Australia and New Zealand as Anzac Day
Another Problem With The Voter ID Law
By Mary Shaw
Opponents of the voter ID law say that it will disenfranchise voters who don't drive and don't have an easy way to obtain a government-issued photo ID. And they point out that those people most likely to be disenfranchised also tend to vote Democratic. They also point out that cases of actual polling place fraud are extremely rare
Mega Dams In North-East India: Are They Necessary?
By Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisations
Interim Report and Press Statement of CDRO Fact Finding into Mega Dams in North-East
24 April, 2012
Why Fukushima Is A Greater Disaster Than Chernobyl
By Robert Alvarez
The radioactive inventory of all the irradiated nuclear fuel stored in spent fuel pools at Fukushima is far greater and even more problematic than the molten cores
Koodankulam: PMANE Announces Indefinite Hunger Strike Starting May 1, 2012
By People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy
The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) plans to resume indefinite hunger strike from May 1, 2012, International Workers’ Day
Occupy Wall Street: What Is To Be Done... Next?
By Slavoj Žižek
How a protest movement without a program can confront a capitalist system that defies reform
Roots Of Occupy: Wall Street Has Always Been War Street
By Mickey Z.
Thousands upon thousands of racketeers for capitalism helped lay the foundation for a well-informed global movement with passion, endurance, and diversity. These racketeers have brought us to the brink so we must complete the task of bringing down the system that spawned them while cultivating new models of human culture
Tax Day With The 99 Percent Spring: Occupy Nothing
By Fritz Tucker
The 99% Spring – at least what I witnessed of it on Tax Day – is a separate movement, devoid of occupation and participatory organizational structures. It seems to be doing its best to recapture the hearts and minds of the many people who were radicalized last fall, as well as those who were disenchanted by OWS' shortcomings. In a testament to the power of language, however, the 99% Spring has blatantly co-opted the most popular slogan from Occupy Wall Street—“We Are The 99 Percent!”—which was an incredibly vague, meaningless slogan that practically begged co-option
US Makes A Pact With Its Afghan Puppet
By Patrick Martin
US and Afghan officials announced Sunday that they had reached a draft agreement committing the United States to continuing military and financial support to the puppet regime in Kabul long after the scheduled withdrawal of the bulk of US ground troops at the end of 2014
Side By Side - Parallel Histories of Israel-Palestine
By Jim Miles
Book Review: "Side by Side - Parallel Histories of Israel-Palestine" . This book is well worth the read for its honesty and not so parallel approach to the stories. The lives of the Israelis and Palestinians are indeed intertwined, and while they may try to carry two narratives, this honest examination of both demonstrates that they are part of a whole, not equal, but all fitting into one singular series of historical events
23 April, 2012
Arctic Methane In Vicious Cycle Of Global Warming
By Common Dreams Staff
As the Arctic warms due to global warming, the Arctic Ocean itself may be releasing vast amounts of methane, contributing to even more global warming, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Geoscience
Climate Change: The Psychological, Political Or Moral Implications That Conventionally Follow
By Bill Henderson
Think about it. Climate change isn't going away - with increasing emissions it can only get worse. Sooner rather than later we are going to have to wake up and recognize the emergency and our culpability. Better sooner than too late
Sex Abuse And Murder in Sri Lanka- New Photos Emerge
By Tim King
Be forewarned, that the photos of war crime and sex abuse victims shown are shocking and gruesome
The Right Of African Americans To Self-Determination
By Francis A. Boyle
Speech given before the International Human Rights Association of American Minorities (IHRAAM) Conference on Civil Rights, Human Rights, & Self-Determination, East-West University, Chicago Illinois , April 20, 2012
Facts Indicate U.S And Israel More Likely To Attack Iran Than The Other Way Around
By Sherwood Ross
Just looking at the facts, it appears far more likely that the U.S. will attack Iran again than Iran would attack the U.S. or Israel, America’s Middle East pawn
“There Are Marxists In India?” Economist Prabhat Patnaik On The Global Crisis
By Robert Jensen
In the interview, conducted during a break in the NYU Institute for Public Knowledge's “Futures of Finance” conference, I asked Patnaik two main questions: First, is there a “golden age” of capitalism to which we can return? Second, can we ever expect ethical practices from the financial sector of the global capitalist economy?
Stand By Bathani Tola In the Battle For A New and Just Bihar
By Dipankar Bhattacharya
Sixteen years later, Bathani Tola is back in the news. The oppressed poor of this obscure village, who have been waiting for justice for years together, have experienced yet another massacre. This time round, it is a judicial massacre perpetrated by the High Court of Bihar which has overturned the verdict of the lower court and acquitted one and all who were convicted for their heinous role in executing this barbaric massacre
Bathani Tola Verdict: A Good Witness Is A Dead Witness
By Kavita Krishnan
The ones who survive a carnage alive, according to the verdict, are by definition, dubious and suspicious witnesses, since if they were indeed present to witness the carnage, how come they are alive to tell the tale? Only if they were killed could they have been credible and trustworthy
The Spectre Of Fascism
By Rohini Hensman
A review of Subhash Gatade's book, "Godse's Children: Hindutva Terror in India"
22 April, 2012
NATO Prepares Troop Withdrawal From Afghan Quagmire
By Peter Symonds
The meeting of NATO defence and foreign ministers this week in Brussels was dominated by a sense of desperation and crisis over the worsening military quagmire in Afghanistan. The US is escalating military operations in an effort to shore up the detested Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai, even as the US and its allies prepare to withdraw the bulk of foreign combat troops by the end of 2014
The Palestinians: The Forgotten People
By William James Martin
It is impossible to understand the present Palestinian/Israeli conflict without understanding the past, in particular, the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe, who are not Semitic people, but indigenous to Eastern Europe
Rational National Security: Mechanism For Defence Preparedness And National Security
By S.G.Vombatkere
It was recently reported that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence has summoned the three defence service Chiefs “ to seek their views on the state of defence preparedness pointed out by Army Chief Gen. V K Singh in his leaked letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. But it is a moot question whether hearing the three defence service chiefs individually or together will provide the PSCD a realistic or holistic view of defence preparedness involving all three defence services operating together, as would be necessary for defence against external aggression
The Empire Faces Defiance As It Tries To Keep Cuba Cornered
By Farooque Chowdhury
Latin America’s opposition to US measures against Cuba and the continent’s support to Argentine claims to the Malvinas Islands dominated the sixth summit of the Organization of American States in the historic Colombian city of Cartagena de Indias in April 14-15
A Story For Patriots' Day
By Nicholas C. Arguimbau
This is a story about Patriots' Day, April 19, and Patriot Day, September 11, and is about better days in the United States, when a man could be known and elected President even with truly "gallant, generous, manly, and disinterested actions" lurking in his past. It is also a story about Paul Revere
Vice Chancellor Rajan Gurukkal Dragged Into Controversies In Kerala
Statement by Scholars and Academicians
Scholars across the world appeal to government
21 April, 2012
CIA Seeks To Widen Assassination Campaign In Yemen
By Patrick Martin
The US Central Intelligence Agency is seeking to expand its authority to carry out remote-control assassinations in Yemen, according to a report Thursday in the Washington Post. CIA Director David Petraeus has made the request to the White House and the National Security Council is now discussing it, the newspaper said
The Earth Needs More Than A Day: Why We Occupy (Part 1)
By Mickey Z.
Planet Earth doesn't need a "day." Planet Earth needs an army of informed and dedicated defenders
Stemming The Tides Of Protest
By William T. Hathaway
As the living conditions of ordinary people inevitably worsen under capitalism and as its wars cause increasing devastation, tides of protest rise up from the population. The ruling elite then seek to stem these tides before they reach flood state
How Many Walls Will Secure The Zionist Regime In Palestine?
By Franklin Lamb
Mo regime in history has built, in the span of six decades, the number of walls as the paranoid regime in Tel Aviv has erected. And it plans at least five more “anti-terrorist protective walls” including one slated to begin soon along the Lebanese-Palestine border at the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila. And that one may present a problem
The Myth That The US Will Soon Become An Oil Exporter
By Gail Tverberg
In this post, I would like to explain why the idea that the US is about to become a net oil exporter is simply a myth
What Could Be The Energy Policy Decisions In An Election Year?
By Marianne de Nazareth
The common point brought up by all political candidates in every race, local and national, will expound on the US dependence on foreign fossil fuels and how it needs to end. The question is - what are they going to do to help end it?
Mass Protests In Bahrain Ahead Of Grand Prix Auto Race
By David Walsh
In advance of Sunday’s Grand Prix auto race, tens of thousands of protesters took to a major highway in Bahrain Friday to demand democratic rights and called for the downfall of the country’s autocratic regime
Mainstream, ABC, BBC And The Conversation Censor Common Pro-Zionism Of
Breivik And US Alliance Mass Murderers
By Dr Gideon Polya
The White Washing Of Anders Breivik
Shahrukh Khan's Detention A Second Time At US Airport: Some Raw Truths and Latent Lessons
By Buddhi Kota Subbarao. Ph.D.
Only when a well-known Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan is made to feel the pain of arbitrary ways of the American officials, it could cause uproar from the Indian External Affairs Ministry and Indian people. US Government apologised but pronounced that there is no pattern in Khan's matter and no racial profile to it. But the fact of the matter is, there is a pattern in Khan's matter and the pattern is built into the system placed in place after the 9/11 event in the United States
Manufacturing A Riot
By Ram Puniyani
While large number of measures are needed to curb the communal violence and to snub the organizations deliberately playing mischief, it is imperative that multi layered approach is taken up to bring peace and harmony in the society. We need to battle against the stereotypes and biases at all the levels, amongst the people and amongst the administration
Apology And Clarification Regarding My Article 'Why Gave up on "Social Activism''
By Yoginder Sikand
Yoginder Sikand's apology and clarification regarding his article
Bathani Tola Acquittal: Political Complicity And Issues of Justice
In Feudal And Communal Massacres
By CPI(ML) Liberation
A convention is organized by CPI(ML) Liberation in Delhi on 23rd April to protest the acquittal of 23 accused in the Bathani Tola Massacre case. On 11 July 1996, a private army of upper caste landlords (Ranveer Sena) brutally massacred 8 children, 12 women, and 1 man in the hamlet of Bathani Tola of Bhojpur (Bihar), most of whom were dalit and Muslim landless poor
19 April, 2012
NATO Discusses Military Intervention In Syria
By Chris Marsden
Turkey is leading calls for a military attack on Syria on behalf of the United States. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attended yesterday’s NATO meeting in Brussels and will attend the Paris meeting today of the Friends of Syria—the Washington-led front, encompassing the European powers and Arab League states such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, that is leading the war drive against Syria. Also in attendance along with Davutoglu will be Turkish Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz
Photos Of US troops Defiling Corpses Expose Afghan War’s Savagery
By David Walsh
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times published horrific photographs of American troops in Afghanistan posing with dead and dismembered insurgents. The grisly images expose Washington’s claim that the occupation of the country is aimed at liberating the Afghan people
The Significance of Iranian Leader’s Fatwa Against Nuclear Weapons
By Ismail Salami
The fatwa issued by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei forbidding the production, proliferation and use of nuclear bombs is to be considered a political milestone in Iranian history and one which can salvage the Islamic nation from the spate of external threats and plots
Is Peace Getting In The Way of Our War Plans?
By David Swanson
Is this really so bizarre? Or does peace often threaten to get in the way of the best laid plans to pretend to be reluctantly forced into war as a "last resort"?
To Sleep With Open Eyes
By Fidel Castro Ruz
Perhaps the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States turns into what should be and hemispheric political organization without the presence of the United States and Canada. Their decadent and unsustainable empire has already earned the right to rest in peace
The Rest Is Hasbara: Jenny Tonge’s Victory Over The Lobby
By Ramzy Baroud
While Israel does occasionally succeed in silencing critics, the tried and true tactic of the past is becoming less effective. In the final analysis, neither Tonge nor Gunter have actually lost to the lobby. In the world of ideas, only the credibility of one’s views actually makes a difference. The rest is hasbara
Media Control In Ethiopia
By Graham Peebles
President Meles Zenawi Asres of Ethiopia knows little of democracy, human rights or the manifestation of democratic principles and much of repression and intimidation. The EPRDF government rules Ethiopia with a heavy hand of control, restricting completely free assemble – a universal right written into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), inhibiting the freedom of the media and denying the people of Ethiopia freedom of expression in manifold ways
Case For Climbing Down The Siachen
By Zafar Choudhary
Why not turn the glacier into Indo-Pak peace park?
Nirmal Baba, Wikileaks And Misleading Mainstream Media
By Kumar Anand
There are several instances where traditional media have failed us under political and/or commercial compulsions. The episode on Nirmal Baba, a fake godman figure who bought TV space to propagate his superstition and fool thousands of his blind followers, is the latest in the series
Why I Gave Up On 'Social Activism'
By Yoginder Sikand
Confessions of a social activist
18 April, 2012
US Solar Energy Company To Cut 2,000 Jobs
By Kate Randall
US energy firm First Solar announced a restructuring plan Tuesday that will cut 2,000 jobs, or about 30 percent of its global workforce. First Solar, the largest US maker of thin-film solar panels, said “deteriorating market conditions in Europe” were driving the layoffs
Roots Of Occupy: The Battle In Seattle, 1999
By Mickey Z.
As with OWS, the Battle in Seattle was not single-issue -- not even close -- and owed much of its success to the role anarchists played in cultivating a non-hierarchical approach aiming at systemic change rather than incremental reform
Justice For Trayvon: Continuing AndTaking The Struggle Higher
By Li Onesto
George Zimmerman has now been arrested and charged with second-degree murder for the killing of Trayvon Martin. This happened because people all over the country came together, took to the streets and said with one voice: NO MORE!
Syria Savaged By US, UK, France, Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia,
Qatar, Al Qaeda AndMedia For Whom?
By Jay Janson
Death and destruction in Syria, arranged by armed insurrection sustained covertly by foreign powers including the US, NATO nations, Israel, Arabia, Qatar, al Qaeda, and made into an ‘Arab Spring' by imperialist media managed ‘reporting.' Armed insurgents belonging to Islamist organizations cross the border from Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. US State Dept. proudly admits involvement. Why? for whom? brought into historical context
No Tax Dollars For Deadbeats
By Doug Pibel
But who are the real drags on society? People who don’t pay income tax because they’re barely scratching out a living? Or corporations that make billions in profits and then come to us with their hands out?
Who Am I?
By Gladson Dungdung
I neither stand with the state nor with the Naxals but I walk with the most marginalized people, whose human rights are being violated everyday by the either sides
Sri Lanka : The Sickness Of The Almighty Criminal
By Nilantha Ilangamuwa
The real situation in Sri Lanka is that everything is under the control of criminals who are above the law. In another words, almighty God has been replaced by the almighty criminal. What we are suffering today is that sickness of the almighty criminal, which is now at epidemic levels. How do we find a solution? The broken window of the white van is a new dawn of peace but, there is a long way to go to achieve real peace prevails in a civilized society
Exposing Prejudices, Breaking Myths
By Subhash Gatade
Book Review : " Freedom Movement and Indian Muslims By Santimoy Ray
BSP's Maya and Dalits in UP
By Anand Teltumbde
While Mayawati is all the way winner, the Dalits in this game have been the certain losers. The illusion of political power as the master key for their emancipation has proved a chimera. They better realize that their real emancipation lies in the radical change of the system and not in being playthings of someone within it
16 April, 2012
Despite Talks, US-Iran Confrontation Continues
By Peter Symonds
Negotiations in Istanbul on Saturday between Iran and the P5+1 grouping—the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany—have done nothing to defuse the tense standoff over Iran’s nuclear programs. None of the substantive issues was discussed, let alone resolved
What The Laws Of War Allow
By Chase Madar
Do the WikiLeaks War Logs Reveal War Crimes -- Or the Poverty of International Law?
First They Come For The Muslims
By Chris Hedges
Tarek Mehanna, a U.S. citizen, was sentenced Thursday in Worcester, Mass., to 17½ years in prison. It was another of the tawdry show trials held against Muslim activists since 9/11 as a result of the government’s criminalization of what people say and believe
The Titanic As An Allegory
By John Scales Avery
The reason for our fascination with the story of the Titanic is that it serves as a symbol for the present state of modern society. We are all in the great modern ship together. On top are the enormously rich, enjoying a life of unprecidented luxury, below the poor. But rich and poor alike are in the same boat, headed for disaster
Five Reasons Why The Very Rich Have NOT Earned Their Money
By Paul Buchheit
Any one of these five reasons should reinforce the belief that the rich should be paying a LOT more in taxes
15 April, 2012
Cuba Prepares For Rising Sea Levels And Extreme Weather
By Patricia Grogg
One of the major challenges facing Cuba as it designs climate change adaptation policies is the preservation of its coastal ecosystems against the predicted rise in sea level and increasingly catastrophic extreme weather events
Feeding Death Squads; UN’s World Food Program In Ethiopia
By Thomas C. Mountain
While southern Ethiopia and the Ogaden continues to suffer from the worst drought and famine in 60 years the UN’s World Food Program (WFP) has been turning over all its food aid for the region to the Ethiopian military which uses it to feed the paramilitary death squads conducting a counterinsurgency in the region
German Nobel Laureate Writer Günter Grass Defamed And Banned By
Child-Abusing, Nuclear Terrorist Apartheid Israel
By Dr Gideon Polya
The Günter Grass poem is very mild and eminently sensibly decries German delivery of submarines to the State of Israel that could be used in a nuclear attack on Iran based on Israeli concerns that Iran is a military threat and a potential nuclear weapons state; expresses concern over potential German participation in an Israeli-adumbrated holocaust of Iranians that threatens the world as a whole; and recommends international inspection of nuclear programmes in both Iran and the State of Israel
Why Are Palestinians Paying For Germany’s Sins?
By Susan Abulhawa
As a member of that native population, I do not accept that it is “understandable” for Germany to continue unreservedly support Israel no matter what. It is convenient, for sure. Because Germany is not the one paying for its sins. We, the Palestinians, are
Quakes Unfurl Fear Of A Tsunami In Indonesia
By Marianne de Nazareth
The complicated science of earth quakes explained
‘I Withdraw’
By Wen Stephenson
A Talk With Climate Defeatist Paul Kingsnorth
Forgetting Kashmir's Past
By Noor ul Haq
An open letter to Wajahat Habibullah after his suggestions that Kashmiris must forget the past and the time is ripe to move forward
Indian Government Owes Several Apologies
By Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association
After extracting US apology over Shahrukh Khan, the Indian Government owes several apologies too
14 April, 2012
Arctic Oil Rush Will Ruin Ecosystem, Warns Lloyd's Of London
By Charles Emmerson & Glada Lahn
Lloyd's of London, the world's biggest insurance market, has become the first major business organisation to raise its voice about huge potential environmental damage from oil drilling in the Arctic
U.S. And Maldives Endure The Long, Hot March Of Climate Change
By Amy Goodman
The Pentagon knows it. The world’s largest insurers know it. Now, governments may be overthrown because of it. It is climate change, and it is real. According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, last month was the hottest March on record for the United States since 1895, when records were first kept, with average temperatures of 8.6 degrees F above average
Bread And Circuses
By John Scales Avery
Modern science has, for the first time in history, offered humankind the possibility of a life of comfort, free from hunger and cold, and free from the constant threat of death through infectious disease. At the same time, science has given humans the power to obliterate their civilization with nuclear weapons, or to make the earth uninhabitable through overpopulation and pollution. The question of which of these paths we choose is literally a matter of life or death for ourselves and our children
UK BBC And Australian ABC Censor Dr Niels Harrit And Key Evidence That US Did 9/11
By Dr Gideon Polya
BBC and ABC censor Dr Niels Harrit, the Danish scientist who together with his colleagues found unexploded nano-thermite high explosive in all samples of the World Trade Center (WTC) dust examined
You Can't “Grow The Movement” B y Dissing The Kids: On Chris Hedges And Occupy
By Katherine M Acosta
Chris Hedges is on a mission. Despite David Graeber's respectful and urgent open letter written in response to Hedges' by now infamous article “ The Cancer in Occupy ” where he patiently explain that black bloc is a tactic, not a movement, and that anarchists like himself were centrally involved in organizing the occupation of Zuccotti park, creating the General Assembly process, and originating the 99% slogan, Hedges continues to refer to black bloc as a group of people and to assert that their “cynicism” and “feral” acts of violence will destroy Occupy from within
Ms. Rousseff Goes To The White House
By Sean Fenley
Why did the Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff receive a cold reception from Obama, when she visited Washington?
The Politics Of Religious Freedom
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
A broad national coalition of more than 60 civil advocacy organizations and individuals have sent a joint letter to Senators Inouye, McConnell and Durbin expressing "deep concern" at the recent controversial appointment of Zuhdi Jasser to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). The coalition asked that Jasser's appointment by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) be rescinded because he has been a vocal opponent of religious freedom for American Muslims
“Mama, Will Baba Roumieh Visit Us In Shatila Camp?”
By Franklin Lamb
It’s official according to the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI will visit Lebanon from the 14th to the 16th September, in just five months’ time. By coincidence or design, the Pontiff’s visit will coincide with the International commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the Sabra-Shatila Massacre during which Christian militia, facilitated by nearby Israeli troops who had sealed the Palestinian refugee camp, slaughtered more than 3000 unarmed civilians on site—approximately 25 per cent of whom were fellow Lebanese
Gunter The Terrible
By Uri Avnery
Can Israel be criticised? or What is Gunter Grass' crime?
Saudi Arabia: Dancing To Israel's Tune
By Kourosh Ziabari
Recent WikiLeaks reports suggest that Saudi officials have been working closely with Mossad to step up pressure against Iran and gathering intelligence about the country's nuclear program
Condemn Arrest Of Professor Ambikesh Mahapatra
By Paramjeet Singh & Preeti Chauhan
A professor of Jadavpur University, Ambikesh Mahapatra, was assaulted by TMC hoodlums at his residence and then arrested on 12th April for allegedly circulating, by email, a political cartoon lampooning the chief minister, Ms. Mamata Banerjee for the rail budget fiasco
13 April, 2012
US Conspires With Turkey Over Militarized Buffer Zone Following Syrian Ceasefire
By Chris Marsden
Washington has made clear that the ceasefire implemented Thursday is only a staging post in its plan for regime change in Syria
Hurt And Abused Children In Ethiopia
By Graham Peebles
An umbrella of ignorance and denial casts a dark and painful shadow over the lives of Ethiopia’s little ones, “knowledge of the nature and extent of the problem of violence against children remains limited”. Abuse, justified often as cultural behaviour, denying the reality of the pain and suffering of many children
Top Financiers Expose Fissures Among the 1%
By Kevin Zeese
In recent weeks several big finance insiders have publicly exposed fault lines in the U.S. financial system. Their inside views are telling us that the corruption we see is real and, more importantly, those in the system know it
How Did We Let This Happen?
By Timothy V. Gatto
USA is run by the military-industrial-banking complex. President Eisenhower warned us about this in his farewell speech. It was the last thing he did in office. He specifically said “Beware the Military Industrial Complex”. Indeed
Free Speech Utopia In Economic Dystopia: A Rejoinder To The Rushdie Debates In India
By Siddharthya Swapan Roy
A nation of sick and hungry would find it difficult to have an opinion about a book's merits. So it is very much in the interest of writers and artists to speak on behalf of emancipation and economic empowerment. Secondly, being sick and hungry is far more distressing than being denied the opportunity to attend chic lit fests. And yet, the apathy of well-heeled liberals towards the harsh realities of the impoverished masses remains more or less undented and few speak out against the vileness of the current world order
The Absence Of Rationalism In Contemporary Australian Political Processes
By Mehroz Siraj
With all certainty, 2011 was a major year in Australian politics. The debates, discussions and policy frameworks that took place at state and federal levels last year, shall go a long way in defining and reflecting Australia’s socio-economic progress, or the lack of it thereof, throughout the rest of this decade
An Education In Hope
By Braj Ranjan Mani
Not with the heroics of heroes or saviours but with thecollective struggle ofordinarybut thoughtful and compassionate citizens, Another World is Possible! Resurrection or revolution, both individual and collective, hinges on the principle of hope. Without hope, there is no resurrection and no revolution
Freedom Of Expression Under Attack In India
By N.D.Pancholi
Sanal Edamaruku, well known rationalist, under threat of arrest for exposing a “miracle”
Repression In Kolkatta
By Sanhati
On 30th March, 2012 the TMC government forcefully evicted around 300 poor families from the Nonadanga slum area in the name of 'development' and 'beautification' of Kolkata. Their shanties were razed to ground by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. The homeless slum-dwellers have been staying in an open field and are facing constant police harassment
12 April, 2012
Washington’s Iran Policy Could Lead To Global Disaster
By Juan Cole
As the sanctions morph into a virtual blockade, they raise the specter that all blockades do -- of provoking a violent response. Just as dangerous is the specter that the sanctions will drag on without producing tangible results, impelling covert or overt American action against Tehran to save face
US, NATO Powers Intensify Threats Against Syria
By Bill Van Auken
With Tuesday’s passing of the deadline under a UN peace plan for the withdrawal of army troops from Syria’s major population centers, Washington and its allies have escalated their threats of intervention in the Middle Eastern country
As We Ruin Our Kids' Planet, They Take Us To Court
By David Swanson
The destruction of our world is for keeps, and it is the destruction of the world of our children
The Return Of The Limits To Growth
By Ugo Bardi
40 years after, "The Limits to Growth" is back in the news. Sooner or later, someone had to notice that the economic crisis that we are seeing all around us is something that eerily reminds the "base case" scenario of the old Limits study of 1972. Someone did, eventually
The Logic Of Unintended Consequences: The ‘Mess In Mali'
By Ramzy Baroud
Mali was the first major victim of Nato's Libyan intervention. It is now a staple in world news and headlines such as "The mess in Mali" serve as a mere reminder of a bigger "African mess."
'Australia Day' And 'Anzac Day'
By George Venturini
National Day is a fairly recent institution, and in the distance of time seems to be meant to legitimise occupation and conquest. There is nothing of the solemnity with which a Declaration of Independence from a tyrannical foreign king, the beginning at the Bastille of a Revolution, or the coming of the October Revolution are usually remembered
Antony's And Singh's Dilemma
By Major General S.G.Vombatkere
Notwithstanding the Defence Minister saying that “ our operational readiness is much higher than before ”, the only way forward now is to very urgently clean up the defence procurement system including instituting pre-decision audit, and take action for high treason against members of the corrupt nexus for working against national security
Death Penalty: The Indian Authorities’ Incredible Myopia
By N. Jayaram
How much longer will the Indian state cling to the machinery of death, both of the judicial and extra-judicial variety?
(No) Crime And Punishment
By Ram Puniyani
The state of crime and punishment is very paradoxical in current times in India. The guilty of communal violence generally get away without any punishment, while the innocents are being punished in acts of terror, just if they happen to belong to a particular religion.There have been innumerable cases of young Muslim youth being picked up in the aftermath of terror attacks, incarcerated in the jails and then let off
The Saga Of Jammu Since 1947
By Abdul Majid Zargar
The recent communal incidents in district Rajouri of Jammu province need to be viewed in the historical perspective. Primarily because It is essential to lay the lessons of the past before the present & future for those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it
10 April, 2012
Imperialist Powers Manipulate Syrian Peace Plan To Prepare For War
By Johannes Stern
Western powers have stepped up efforts to foment civil war in Syria and prepare for imperialist intervention in this strategically important country. Media reports indicate increased fighting between Western-backed armed groups and the Syrian army, accompanied by terrorist attacks on government forces and civilians
Thirteen Ways Government Tracks Us
By Bill Quigley
The advanced technology of the war on terrorism, combined with deferential courts and legislators, have endangered both the right to privacy and the right of people to be free from government snooping and tracking. Only the people can stop this
Big Brother's Getting Bigger
By Jack A. Smith
Government surveillance and attacks on the privacy of American citizens were bad enough under the Bush regime but they are getting even worse during the Obama years
Why Campaigning For Democrats Cripples Labor Unions
By Shamus Cooke
As labor leaders across the U.S. shift resources away from defending workers and into Obama's re-election campaign, millions of organized and non-organized workers remain unemployed and hopeless. Contrary to the "optimistic" government jobs numbers, the jobs crisis grinds onward. Some labor leaders will argue that getting Obama elected is the first step towards addressing the jobs crisis, but they know better
“To Undo The Folded Lie”: Resisting Palliatives In An Age Of
Oligarchic Excess And Anthropocene Age Devastation
By Phil Rockstroh
One has to be prepared to act as the structure crumbles. Construct within yourself an authentic inner structure, as outwardly you do your part to help imagine and to create new political and cultural models…In short, act as if the inevitable collapse has already occurred
What’s America’s Biggest National Security Threat?
By Farooque Chowdhury
What’s the biggest threat to US national security? It’s neither Iran nor North Korea, neither China’s defense spending nor Russia’s missile system. Syria doesn’t have that capacity to appear the biggest. It’s the domestic issues related to economy that pose the biggest national security threat to US
BBC Censors “ Palestine ”, “Palestinian Holocaust”,
“Palestinian Genocide” And “Anti-racist Jews”
By Dr Gideon Polya
The BBC censors the word “Palestine” and, in addition, using the BBC Search function one finds that the BBC completely censors the term “Palestinian Holocaust” (2 million dead) and largely censors out the term “Palestinian Genocide” (2 million dead, 7 million refugees, 90% of Palestine ethnically cleansed and only 6% of 12 million Palestinians can vote for the government of Apartheid Israel that rules all of historical Palestine plus an ethnically cleansed part of Syria)
The New Inquisitors And Their Slanderous Campaigns
By Silvia Cattori & Gilad Atzmon
Following the publication of the French edition of the “The Wandering Who ?” we asked the jazz star Gilad Atzmon to respond to some charges made against him by those who relentlessly try to stop him from speaking and spread his thoughts
"Welcome To Palestine 2012" Campaign Launched
By Mazin Qumsiyeh
Over 25 Palestinian organizations proudly announce the impending arrival of hundreds of visitors for the Welcome to Palestine 2012 campaign
“Pour Out Your Wrath!”
By Uri Avnery
In the Diaspora, this craving for revenge was both understandable and ineffective. But the founding of the State of Israel has changed the situation completely. In Israel, Jews are far from being defenseless. We don’t have to rely on God to take revenge for the evils done unto us, past or present, real or imagined. We can pour out our wrath ourselves, on our neighbors, the Palestinians and other Arabs, on our minorities, on our victims. That is the real danger of the Haggadah, as I see it
NAFTA Partners Take Steps To Boost Trilateral Relationship
By Dana Gabriel
Mexico's drug war is increasingly being seen as a continental problem that requires continental solutions which is further pushing the NAFTA partnership into a common security front. This is escalating the militarization of the borders, integration in areas of law enforcement and the military, as well as advancing the development of a North American security perimeter
Women, Poverty And Food Security In India
By Kiran Sharma
The gender aspects of social security assume significance as it is widely recognised that, the position of women is particularly vulnerable to continued poverty and destitution when they attain old age and/or are widowed or divorced
Koodankulam: Idinthakarai Turned Into An Open-Air Jail,
Government Playing Divide-And-Rule
By S. P. Udayakumar
Pushparayan, Jesuraj and I have been living in an open quarter-km-radius prison since March 19, 2012. Thousands of people sleep around our house at night in order to protect us from possible police action and mid-night arrest. Hundreds of youth protect us round the clock
08 April, 2012
Pentagon Trained Terrorists In Nevada To Use Against Iran
By Sherwood Ross
The Pentagon trained members of the dissident Iranian terrorist group M.E.K. in Nevada starting in 2005, after which they returned to Iran and may have engaged in covert activities, investigative reporter Seymour Hersh reports in the April 6th issue of “The New Yorker” magazine
We Want War, And We Want It Now
By Pepe Escobar
For both the House of Saud and Qatar (the other GCCs are just extras), what's goin' on in Syria is not about Syria; it's always been about Iran
A Palestinian Christian Eyewitness Remembers The Israeli Military Siege Of
The Church Of The Nativity
By Sharat G. Lin with Jiries Canavati in Bethlehem
Jiries Canavati is the Christian owner of a gift shop on Milk Grotto Street beside the Church compound. He witnessed the siege from within. Speaking to Sharat G. Lin inside the Church of the Nativity, he recounts why 248 Palestinians took refuge in the Church, and provides a harrowing eyewitness account of what it was like to be trapped under the Israeli military siege
The Jefferson Bible: A Rational Christianity And Earth Day 2012
By Eileen Fleming
Jefferson and Paine would agree that the world is one country, all people are sisters and brothers, doing good is good religion and if there is to be any church; Let It Be The Earth
An Invitation To Anarchy
By Peter Goodchild
As the twenty-first century progresses, urbanization will increase, and most people will live in about 20 or 30 mega-cities, although the very rich will live in fortresses with armed guards. The world will then succumb to the following five disasters, which have already started: Water shortage, Oil conflicts, Wars, Unemployment and financial meltdown
Pro-Zionist, Pro-US, Anglocentric, Eurocentric Censorship By The BBC
By Dr Gideon Polya
Hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of people around the world have grown up listening to the words “this is the BBC”and being variously deceived by the pro-Zionist, pro-US, pro-imperialism, pro-neocolonialism censorship of the BBC, an organization with an appalling record of Anglocentric and Eurocentric censorship, lying by omission and lying by commission
07 April, 2012
Past Extreme Warming Events Linked To Massive Carbon Release From Thawing Permafrost
By Joe Romm
The recent scientific literature suggests that the permafrost is poised to be a major amplifying feedback if we are self-destructive enough to ignore yet another dire warning and stay anywhere near our current path of unrestricted carbon pollution
It’s The Time Of The Rights Of Mother Earth
By Pablo Solón
Humanity finds itself at a crossroads: Why should we only respect the laws of human beings and not those of nature? Why do we call the person who kills his neighbor a criminal, but not he who extinguishes a species or contaminates a river? Why do we judge the life of human beings with parameters different from those that guide the life of the system as a whole if all of us, absolutely all of us, rely on the life of the Earth System?
CO2 Rise Drove Global Warming And End Of Ice Age –
So Stop Carbon Burning, Return To 300 ppm CO2
By Dr Gideon Polya
Scientists have recently found that a rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) preceded the global warming that brought about the end of the last Ice Age. This finding scotches the claims of climate change skeptics that climate change is not happening or if it is then the increased atmospheric CO2 is a consequence and not a cause of global warming
In Defense Of Guenter Grass
By William A. Cook
I would have Guenter Grass speak for me, my children and grandchildren, and all others who could suffer yet another World War, by noting the obvious that has been silenced so long
Putting Syria Into Some Perspective
By William Blum
The Holy Triumvirate — The United States, NATO, and the European Union — or an approved segment thereof, can usually get what they want. They wanted Saddam Hussein out, and soon he was swinging from a rope. Next on their agenda: the removal of Bashar al-Assad of Syria
US-Israel War On Iran: The Myth Of Limited Warfare
By James Petras
When the US and Israel talk of war, prepare for war and engage in pre-war provocations – they intend to go to war – just as they did against Iraq in 2003. Under present international political and military conditions an attack on Iran, initially by Israel with US support, is extremely likely, even as world economic conditions should dictate otherwise and even as the negative strategic consequences will most likely reverberate throughout the world for decades to come
What Marwan Barghouti Really Means To Palestinians
By Ramzy Baroud
Throughout the years, hundreds of Palestinians been targeted in extrajudicial assassinations; hundreds were deported and thousands continued to be imprisoned. Marwan Barghouti is a representation of all of them and more
Rachel Maddow Defends The US Drone Program On Howard Stern
By Sean Fenley
Rachel Maddow defended the legally fuzzy bombardment of Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, and other nations in an interview with Howard Stern
Media Ignore Anniversary of King Assassination Court Nuremberg Prosecution For Promoting Wars
By Jay Janson
Martin Luther King Jr.' was courting assassination not merely for his condemnation of U.S. crimes against humanity in the neo-colonized poor populations of the world, but for condemning the "unfair predatory investments" that US wars are meant to maintain for the wealthy elite that still rule America and most of the world today
On Mehdi Hassan's Advice To The Muslim Community
By Sukant Chandan
Are you "British" or are you a "foreigner"!
Ku Klux Klan Still Kill At Will
By Ismail Salami
What is happening in the United States and Europe under the banner of hate crime is but a new cloak the followers of the Ku Klux Klan are wearing. What they do is more than a crime against an individual; rather, it is a systematically organized crime targeting certain human races
“Public Awakening Against Injustice” - Nilantha Ilangamuwa
By Salem News
An interview with Nilantha Ilangamuwa, editor of Sri Lanka Gaurdian
Indo-Pak Relations And Zardari’s Visit: Implications For Kashmir Issue
By Adil Akhzer
Kashmiris would be eagerly watching Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's visit, given the recent talk of both the countries relegating the Kashmir issue to the backburner, so as to facilitate forward movement in other areas
04 April, 2012
Does The U.S. Really Have More Oil Than Saudi Arabia?
By Robert Rapier
Despite having an oil shale resource that may indeed be far greater than the oil resources of Saudi Arabia, the reserve will continue to be close to zero for the foreseeable future because there are still many technical hurdles to overcome to realize a scalable, commercially viable process
Israeli Forces Attempt To Arrest 2-Year-Old Palestinian Child
By Linah Alsaafin
The Israeli Defense Forces tried to arrest 2 and a half years old child Mo’men Shtayeh on Monday, April 2nd.The soldiers claimed that Mo’men had, not a nuclear warhead, or a submachine gun, but the most dangerous item in the world- a slingshot
A Six-Point Peace Plan For Afghanistan
By Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers
An Open Letter to Kofi Annan- "if you have the chance to visit this ‘terrible war relic of a land’, you will immediately feel in the air the greed and the antagonism that the ‘war against terrorism’ has set alight. We’re not only speaking about the sights, sounds and smells of decay and death. We’re describing the rotting of our souls"
Links Between Poverty And War
By John Scales Avery
There are several relationships between intolerable economic inequality and war. Today 2.7 billion people live on less than $2 a day - 1.1 billion on less than $1 per day. 18 million of our fellow humans die each year from poverty-related cause
Koodankulam Nuclear Plant: Jayalalitha Is Consciously Missing A Historic Opportunity
By Buddhi Kota Subbarao. Ph.D
Commissioning Koodankulam nuclear power plant for fear of losing Rs.14,000 crores will pave the way for investing Rs.5,00,000 crores for other nuclear power parks in the country including at Jaitapur in Maharashtra and Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh
Sri Lanak : MR and HR
By Nilantha Ilangamuwa
A new chapter of politics is emerging in Sri Lanka after the UN resolution adopted at the 19 th session of the UNHRC in Geneva . It was a new dawn for the Island Nation to move forward in terms of real reconciliation, if the government would genuinely facilitate the restoration of the rule of law in the country
Sanctions Needed Against Anti-Democracy Myanmar And Anti-Democracy Apartheid Israel
By Dr Gideon Polya
Decent people were very happy to see the huge victory of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the recent Myanmar ( Burma ) by-elections. However there is concern that there will be a lifting of sanctions against Myanmar before a genuine democracy has been emplaced. Continuing gross human rights abuses in Myanmar merit continuing sanctions and so do those of race-based, genocidal Apartheid Israel
03 April, 2012
Obama Gives Green Light For Punishing Sanctions On Iran
By Bill Van Auken
President Barack Obama has issued the green light for punishing new US economic sanctions directed at forcing the Iranian government to submit to Western pressure over its nuclear program by starving the country of oil revenue
Iran/Israel Locked In Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) Deterrence Status
By Franklin Lamb
Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD), the doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of high-yield weapons by two opposing sides would effectively result in the potential annihilation of both the attacker and the defender, thus becoming a war that has no victor but only reciprocal destruction is increasingly becoming relevant to the Iran/Israel regional confrontation
Bahraini HungerStriker Abdulhadi al-Khawaja On Verge Of Coma
By Al-Akhbar
Jailed prominent Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja is in a critical condition and on the verge of lapsing into a coma after 55 days of a hunger strike, his daughter said in a statement on Tuesday
Mali In Crisis: Timbuktu Taken By The MNLA
By Abayomi Azikiwe
In Mali, the fighting intensified after the war in Libya created massive dislocation of several million people including thousands of Tuaregs who had supported the Gaddafi government. The Malian government under President Toure was a strong participant in the U.S. so-called “anti-terrorism” initiatives in West Africa
New Evidence Against Shooter In Death Of Trayvon Martin
By Patrick Martin
Newly released audio and video recordings have strengthened the case against the neighborhood watch vigilante who shot to death Trayvon Martin, further exposing the refusal of local and state officials in Florida to take any action against the killer
The Deep Time Blueprints Of Anthropogenic Global Change (PDF)
By Andrew Glikson
“It is unthinkable that that a civilization which placed a man on the moon and explored the solar system cannot find the will to protect its own planet. No human tribal, national, religious faith or political system appears to be able to resolve the climate crisis, nor can the rationale of ongoing $trillions-scale wars around the globe, which can only culminate in nuclear war, amount to more than a suicide pact.”
The Four Laws Of Ecology And The Four Anti-Ecological Laws Of Capitalism
By John Bellamy Foster
John Bellamy Foster discusses the factors that underlie capitalism’s ever-growing conflict with nature
Commodification:The Essence Of Our Time
By Colin Leys & Barbara Harriss-White
The dominant process underlying the transformation of life in all societies, since at least the mid-nineteenth century, is the conversion of things and activities into commodities, or commodification. In advanced capitalist countries this process is now outstripping our political and social capacity to adjust to it. Any useful economic analysis needs to foreground this process. Mainstream economics does not do this
Nine Low-Tech Steps For Community Resilience In A Warming Climate
By Kaid Benfield
While this article focuses on strengthening communities in the face of climate change, these steps also provide other kinds of resilience. Since fuel prices will continue to rise, for example, reducing demand for electricity and gasoline through smart building and growth management conserves financial resources
Time Running Out to Ensure Sustainable Prosperity For All
By World Watch Institute
Worldwatch's State of the World 2012 maps out a new vision of the good life but cautions that accelerating ecological shifts will make this difficult to attain
Translating Transition: From Small Town To Mega-City
By Joanne Poyourow
The challenges of translating the transition movement into a mega city like Los Angeles
True Sustainability Solutions
By Gail Tverberg
If we think about the situation, it yields a few ideas regarding where we need to be, if we are to live in an ecologically sustainable way
When Bankers Rule The World
By David Korten
The tell-all defection of Greg Smith, a former Goldman Sachs executive, provided an insider’s view of the moral corruption of the Wall Street banks that control of much of America’s economy and politics. Smith confirms what insightful observers have known for years: the business purpose of Wall Street bankers is to maximize their personal financial take without regard to the consequences for others
Expanding Our Moral Universe
By Joy Merwin Monteiro
The United Nations University International Human Dimensions Programme recently ran a writing contest with a focus on the human dimensions of the Green Economy. Young scholars from all over the world were invited to submit their articles, with those from developing countries particularly encouraged to take part. Here is the winning entry by Joy Merwin Monteiro who is currently completing his Ph.D. at the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore
The Corporate Media Crisis: Everything Old Is New Again
By Robert Jensen
These days there's one political point on which one can usually get consensus: Mainstream journalists are failing. In common parlance, most everyone “hates the media.” But there is little agreement on why journalism might be inadequate to the task of engaging the public in a democratic society. More than ever, it's important to understand the forces that constrain good journalism
The Wonderful World Of Capitalism
By Fidel Castro Ruz
Capitalism, compatriots, is a truly wonderful thing! Maybe it is our fault that not every citizen has its own private submarine at the beach
Data Mining You
By Tom Engelhardt
How the Intelligence Community Is Creating a New American World
Uprooting 30,000 Bedouin In Israel
By Neve Gordon
Plans to move entire communities and put them in townships would deprive them of their livelihood and land rights
"We Are Only Guests In Lebanon" - Palestinians Look Homewards On Land Day
By Moe Ali Nayel
Palestinian refugees who attended the Land Day celebration last weekend were only interested in one thing, their focus was in one direction only: Palestine, their homeland on the horizon
The Balfour Declaration - The Origins Of The Arab-Israeli Conflict
By Jim Miles
This is the best that academic political history gets. More than simply the dates and the ‘facts’, Jonathan Schneer is able to give some personality to the characters involved, including the all too human factors of lying, deceit, and manipulation that many political histories miss
The ABC, Australia's BBC, Turns Climate Inaction Truth Upside-Down Downunder
By Dr Gideon Polya
Australia is a world leader in greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution but the ABC has been reporting that Australia is leading the world in tackling climate change and ignoring the acute seriousness of the climate emergency
Bhuvan Valley: ‘Stay Hungry And Shut Up' Seems To Be
The Food Security Policy Of Assam Government
By Waliullah Ahmed Laskar
Those whose near and dear ones reportedly died of hunger and lack of medical care in Assam are now being told to shut up and say only what they are told to say. In a tea garden in the North East Indian state where more than 14 people died of hunger, malnutrition and lack of medical care are now being harassed and pressurized into signing papers stating that all is well with them
Forest Officials Burn And Destroy 40 Huts Of Displaced Tribals In Andhra Pradesh
By Tathagata Sengupta
On 27th March 2012, after having dismantled most of the huts over the past few days, the forest officials formally completed the task of destruction in Sarapaka as they set fire to the few structures of wood that still stood and threw away food supplies, including rice that the people had stocked up
Inherited Religiosity: What It Means For How Most ‘Believers’ Believe
By Yoginder Sikand
Throughout the world, the overwhelming majority of people who believe in, or otherwise feel emotionally linked to, a particular religion are those who have been born into it. This fact has crucial implications for how most ‘believers’ come to develop notions of what they regard as ‘true’ and, conversely, ‘false’, religion
UN Condemns Israeli Apartheid
By Mazin Qumsiyeh
The United Nations launched an international investigation into Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories, with the United States isolated in voting against the initiative brought by the Palestinian Authority
02 April, 2012
Crude Price Rrise Could Plunge The World Economy Back Into Recession:IEA Chief Economist
IEA Press Release
"The current price levels are on average higher than the awful year of 2008, and as such have the capacity to tip the global economy back into recession," IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol has said
A New Energy Third World In North America?
By Michael T. Klare
How the Big Energy Companies Plan to Turn the United States into a Third-World Petro-State
Global Warming According To Scientific Projections
By Geert Jan van Oldenborgh & Rein Haarsma
1981 climate projection by Jim Hansen et al shows pretty good match with observations of past 30 years
Losses From Natural Disasters Reach New Peak in 2011
By World Watch Institute
Catastrophic events in 2011 caused fewer deaths than in 2010 but incurred record monetary costs
Climate Denial - In Hindsight
By Bill Henderson
A speculative interview with Mitt Romney if he were elected President
The Influence of Donella Meadows And The Limits To Growth
By Rob Dietz
Unfortunately, even to this day, the anti-limits marketing machine continues to churn out propaganda and sway public opinion toward the wishful thinking of infinite growth. We are not going to achieve infinite economic growth on planet Earth. Not only is it physically impossible, but it’s also an undesirable goal to begin with. The sooner we begin working toward a steady state economy, the greater our chances of providing a lasting prosperity for all of civilization
US-Led Conference Backs Syrian Puppet Group, Threatens War
By Niall Green
Meeting Sunday in the Turkish city of Istanbul, the so-called “Friends of Syria” conference stepped up the US-led campaign to destabilize and oust the government of Syria through a combination of diplomatic maneuvers and direct military interference
The U.S. In Syria : Imperialism – Not Humanitarianism
By Larry Everest
The Syrian uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad is entering its second year, with signs that the U.S. and its allies are moving toward more direct and aggressive intervention
Creating Community: Lessons From Occupy
By Shepherd Bliss
Occupy has just begun. Whether it is able to deal effectively with the substantial external threats and internal obstacles is yet to be determined. It will depend partly on the capacity for self-reflection and compassionate listening, as well as the success of channeling anger and frustration into powerful, constructive action.
The Killing Lies About The Murder Of Trayvon Martin
By Li Onesto
As Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon's mother, said: “They killed my son and now they're trying to kill his reputation.” And for many people, especially the youth, this is just one more unacceptable slap in the face that has only fueled their anger and determination to get justice for Trayvon
Endgame In Afghanistan
Zahid Hussain Interviewed by Jahanzeb Hussain
Interview with Zahid Hussain of the Woodrow Wilson Center
Worsening Trends In Global Arms Transfers
By Chandra Muzaffar
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has in its 2011 Report highlighted trends in global arms transfers which any sane human being would describe as “worsening.”
Palestinian Land Day: Global March To Jerusalem
By Dr. Elias Akleh
The GMJ movement had brought back the just Palestinian cause to the front. It emphasized the importance of the Palestinian issue locally, regionally, and internationally. It had sent important messages to Israel, to its American sponsor, to the international political bodies, and to the rest of the world
India’s Dangerous Nuclear Romance
By B.R.P. Bhaskar
As a country blessed with sunshine, India stands to benefit the most by a breakthrough in solar energy technology, which is already available but is not cost- effective. Yet the government has neglected this area, transfixed as it is by delusions of nuclear grandeur
Bismillah Through The Motions
By Mukul Dube
How serious are our protest demonstrations?
Letters Of A Modern-Day Indian Buddhist Monk
By Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan
Letters by Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan (1905-88), a Punjabi convert to Buddhism, who is one of the most prolific Buddhist scholars in twentieth century India
Bridges For Harmony
By Ram Puniyani
Democratic ethos are the base on which the struggle for human rights and better society is possible in the short and long run. All the efforts which bring communities together for interaction, celebration are building the bridges which not only will overcome the sectarianism but with lay the foundations on which peace with justice will be possible. Three Cheers for the likes of Muhammad Khurshid Khan!
01 April, 2012
UID/Aadhar: A Threat To Indian Democracy
By Taha Mehmood
UIDAI is lying to a billion Indians. And the plain truth is that people running the show at UIDAI are aware of the humongous scale of social catastrophe, which a project like UID could unleash in India. Behind the mask of a cool and confident exterior, some UIDAI officials seems to be constantly grappling with feelings of immense insecurity and uncertainty. We can get a sense of their feelings by closely reading the draft National Identification Authority of India Bill 2010 .
Bahrain Human Rights Activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja Hospitalized
By Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Bahrain human rights activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja is on the 53rd day of hungerstrike. He was hospitalized yesterday and his family is not allowed to see him
Confined Cruelty: Israeli Treatment of Palestinian Minors
By Graham Peebles
In the 11 years since the year 2000, Israeli forces have killed 1,471 children in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the bulk of whom were aged between 13 and 17 years. The children of Gaza have been and continue to be at greatest risk, with almost a thousand murdered in the last 12 years
Hana Shalabi's Expulsion Violates Fourth Geneva Convention
By Addameer & PHRI
Terms of deal banishing Hana Shalabi to Gaza violate Fourth Geneva Convention which prohibits forcible transfers and deportations of protected persons, a proscription that is part of customary international humanitarian law. Unlawful deportation or transfer also constitutes a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention (GC IV) and qualifies as one of the most serious war crimes
'Open The Door And Go Inside:' Voices of #Occupy
By Mickey Z.
For much of my radical life, I could've accurately characterized the activist scene as a series of separate rooms for separate causes -- with doors often locked. Until Occupy Wall Street (OWS), that is. Today -- under the 99% umbrella -- a massive coalition is coalescing and this has created previously unimagined opportunities for militant mingling
J'accuse …France of Institutionalized Discrimination
By Mallika Kaur
In France , non-religiosity and intolerance for non-Christian faiths is now the state religion. Now, India , a country with the world's largest Sikh population and the world's second largest Muslim population, is making one of its largest ever international arms deals with France . Earlier this month, the government announced it will be signing a contract with Dassault, French airplane manufacturers. News reports confirmed that India is spending at least Rupees 90,000 crores ($18 billion USD) for 126 planes
Freedom Of Religion Cannot Be Exclusive
By Mary Shaw
In recent years, the religious right have moved even farther to the right - to the fringes. Some have even expanded their war on women's reproductive rights to where they are condemning contraception. They even held Congressional hearings on the subject. This is despite the fact that 99 percent of American women who have ever had sex have used contraception, including 98 percent of Catholic women
Is Media “Safe” In India?
By Adil Akhzer
The recent arrest (February 14) of one of the eminent Indian journalists Syed Kazmi and also a midnight police raid (March 11) of Frontline magazine Delhi Bureau chief, John Cherian, which police later framed as a “case of misunderstanding” has forced many within the journalist fraternity to ponder as to whether they are safe in a democratic country like India?
Punjab Intellectuals Call For Communal Harmony
By Concerned Citizens
We, the pro-people intellectual & social activists of Punjab strongly oppose the attempts by all types of communal fascist forces in Punjab, to sow the seeds of hatred and create communal disharmony amongst different sections of society, on the issue of commuting the death sentence awarded to Balwant Singh Rajoana by a Chandigarh court in the murder case of Beant Singh Ex-CM Punjab & his body guards
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