31 January, 2007
New
Climate Report Too Rosy, Experts Say
By Seth Borenstein
Later this week in Paris, climate scientists will
issue a dire forecast for the planet that warns of slowly rising sea
levels and higher temperatures. But that may be the sugarcoated version
Hell, High
Water, And Corporate Profit
By Mickey Z.
From the World Glacier Monitoring Service comes
the latest in a long line of dire warnings. Thanks to climate change,
mountain glaciers are shrinking three times faster than they were in
the 1980s. Across America, two distinct sounds are heard: a collective
yawn and the clacking of keyboards as another million words are written
to cast global warming as a tree-hugger conspiracy
A Fundamental
Evil
By Doug Soderstrom
I have come to the conclusion that the Christian
fundamentalists, also known as the religious right, are the most evil
people in the world. Others (such as those of various Islamic terrorist
groups) were considered, but after due consideration, the Christians
won……. hands down. In fact it was no contest
Iraq’s
Colonial Occupier, The US,
Denounces “Foreign Meddling”
By David Walsh
In recent weeks US government and military officials,
aided and abetted by the American media, have stepped up the war of
words against Iran. As they did precisely four years ago, in the run-up
to the invasion of Iraq
Jordan
Becomes A Doubtful Refuge
By Dahr Jamail & Ali al-Fadhily
Hundreds of thousands have fled the violence in
Iraq to seek refuge in Jordan, but refugees are now beginning to find
its borders closing
My Redeployment
Epiphany
By Mary Shaw
We've done enough damage. Rebuilding is not on
the table. The American people want us out of Iraq. The Iraqi people
want us out of Iraq. The Iraqi government wants us out of Iraq. And
we have no legitimate reason to stay
"If
Arafat Were Alive…"
By Uri Avnery
"If Arafat were alive…" one hears
this phrase increasingly often in conversations with Palestinians, and
also with Israelis and foreigners
World Ignores
Signs Of Civil War In Lebanon
By Robert Fisk
There is certainly plenty of history for any tourists
in Lebanon but right now a new and terrible page appears to be opening
while the rest of the world blithely looks on
Lebanon
Crisis Fails Mediation,
Plays Into Israeli Hands
By Nicola Nasser
The crisis in Lebanon is rapidly accumulating the
potential to plunge the country in a second civil war, while Israel
is closely watching on the sidelines for the right moment to exploit
the ensuing security vulnerability and finish the Lebanese divide off
by intervening militarily to conclude what it officially describes as
the “inconclusive” war last summer
From Personal
Experience
By George Bisharat
Some of Israel's supporters occasionally cross
the line into suppression of speech. When they do, U.S. policy is the
loser
Chuck Hagel's
Challenge To America
By Kevin Zeese
The statement by Sen. Hagel, whose comments are
rooted in the experience of Vietnam, should be one of those moments.
And, if he runs for president he may turn the election upside down with
a Republican anti-war candidate running against a Democrat who is fuzzy
on the war
Of
Native Cultural Prowess And
Borrowed Military Grandeur
By Jawed Naqvi
Australia and India celebrated January 26 as national
holidays. For India it was the 57th Republic Day. For Australia it was
simply Australia Day when people have fun and reflect. Australians do
not have nuclear weapons even though they supply vital uranium to nuclear
reactors around the world. Is Australia a weak country without a great
army or strategic weapons? India celebrates its Republic Day differently.
It has an array of imported Jaguars, Mirages, Sukhois, MiGs and a host
of expensive battle tanks, besides impressive weaponry and radar systems,
most of which are out on display at its Republic Day parades. For some
years it has been showing a variety of domestically built nuclear capable
missiles too. Is it a more secure country than Australia?
30 January, 2007
Global
Warming: The Vicious Circle
By Steve Connor
The effects of man-made emissions of carbon dioxide
are being felt on every inhabited continent in the world with very different
parts of the climate now visibly responding to human activity. These
are among the main findings of the most intensive study of climate change
by 2,000 of the world's leading climate scientists. They conclude that
there is now little doubt that human activity is changing the face of
the planet
Bush Authorizes
Shoot-To-Kill
Policy Against Iranians In Iraq
By Jerry White
The Bush administration has authorized US military
forces in Iraq to hunt down and kill Iranian government personnel operating
in that country, according to a report that first appeared in the Washington
Post last Friday
DC Marchers
Challenge Congress To End War
By John Nichols
Saturday's anti-war demostrations, which filled
the streets of cities from San Francisco to Washington, marked a return
to form for an anti-war movement that had trouble building momentum
during the three years that followed Bush's decision to launch a preemptive
war against Iraq
The Hidden
Cost Of Free Congressional Trips To Israel
By Jim Abourezk
Democrats in Congress have moved quickly –
and commendably – to strengthen ethics rules. But truly groundbreaking
reform was prevented, in part, because of the efforts of the pro-Israel
lobby to preserve one of its most critical functions: taking members
of Congress on free "educational" trips to Israel
Making Sense
Of The Middle East
By Sonia Nettnin
The underlying message is that if the international
community takes the time to learn more about the Middle East and its
people, they can demystify why there is violence and what are the needs
of the people. The more knowledge people have means they can push for
effective legislation that alleviates pain and suffering
The Great Ahmedabad
Trial Of Mahatma Gandhi
By Bal Patil
It would be most appropriate to recall the great
Ahmedabad trial at this juncture when the centennial of the Gandhian
satyagraha in South Africa is commemorated worldwide. When Mahatma Gandhi
entered the Central Hall of the Government Circuit House at Ahmedabad
on the 18th of March, 1922 to face a trial on a charge of sedition under
section 124A of the Indian Penal Code about two hundred spectators inside
the improvised courtroom stood up as a mark of respect to the frail
figure in loincloth
An Interview
With Jason Miller
By Carolyn Baker
A peak into the life and philosophy of CC writer
Jason Miller
Adolf Loved
His Liver Dumplings
By Mickey Z.
In a culture less inundated by propaganda, Hitler's
non-vegetarian status would be apparent and even if the Führer
didn't eat meat, few would regard this as a judgment on vegetarianism.
However, this is America, the land of denial...and that means books
like Hitler: Neither Vegetarian Nor Animal Lover are required reading
The 58th Republic
Day Of India
By Mirza A. Beg
On the Republic Day India awards high honors to
its citizens who have contributed to peace and growth in all fields
of humanity, arts and sciences. Among the many deserving peace activists,
this year the recognition of Teesta Setalvad is particularly noteworthy.
She could as well be awarded medals for bravery, because in the face
of bigotry of some lethal forces, to be a voice of reason and resolute
advocate of the rights of politically weak and marginalized is the greatest
act of bravery. Award to her does credit to the Government and people
of India
27 January, 2007
Stop
The Iran War Before It Starts
By Scott Ritter
President Bush seems to be hellbent on making war
with Iran. The passage of time is, in effect, the enemy of his Administration's
goals and objectives. By buying the time required to fully study the
issues pertaining to Iran, and by forestalling the possibility of immediate
pre-emptive action through budgetary restrictions, Congress may very
well spare America, and the world, another tragedy like Iraq
Crying
Shame
By Musatapha B Marrouchi
The war in Iraq will be more catastrophic and will
only distort the Arab world further. And there will be enough residual
problems to start up another confrontation with Iran and Syria in a
matter of months. We should be looking for political mechanisms with
the rest of world that get a viable solution and send everybody safely
home
George W. Bush
Is Not Pro-Life
By Mary Shaw
George W. Bush and his cohorts frequently talk
about a "culture of life". But actions speak louder than words.
You can't be pro-life and yet orchestrate so much death and suffering
at the same time. Sooner or later, someone is going to notice
Leaked
Israeli Document Gives Frightening
Glimpse Of Apartheid
By Ali Abunimah
The Electronic Intifada has obtained an Israeli
Ministry of Defense Powerpoint presentation which provides a frightening
glimpse into the mindset of the bureaucracy of apartheid
Hizbollah
Warn That Lebanon Will See More Violence
By Robert Fisk
There is worse to come. That is what Lebanon's
opposition, led by the Hizbollah, said only hours after they lifted
their violent day-long "strike" on Tuesday night and - here
is the rub - there are few in this country who do not believe it
Made In Britain,
Dumped In China
By Clifford Coonan
Britain dumps around two million tonnes of waste
in China every year, everything from plastic mineral water bottles to
shopping bags and other forms of superfluous packaging from some of
the country's biggest super markets
Impeach Bush:
But For A Different Reason
By B.R. Gowani
If Bush can be bogged down in the impeachment process,
a great deal of death and destruction could be avoided
Eli Lilly:
The Habitual Offender
By Evelyn Pringle
The revelations that Eli Lilly concealed the side
effects of Zyprexa and promoted the drug for unapproved uses is not
newly discovered misconduct. It is a persistent pattern of conduct indicative
of a nasty habit that needs breaking
The United
States Of Equality
By Mickey Z
If you ask me, all this egalitarianism has arrived
not a minute too soon; that whole racism thing was getting awfully annoying
26 January, 2007
Inside
Baghdad: A City Paralysed By Fear
By Patrick Cockburn
Baghdad is paralysed by fear. Iraqi drivers are
terrified of running into impromptu checkpoints where heavily armed
men in civilian clothes may drag them out of their cars and kill them
for being the wrong religion. Some districts exchange mortar fire every
night. This is mayhem beyond the comprehension of George Bush and Tony
Blair
Western
Powers Accuse Iran And Syria Of
Masterminding Lebanese General Strike
By Chris Marsden
Lebanese opposition parties and the trade unions
called a halt on Wenesday to a general strike that had resulted in violent
clashes with supporters of the government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora
Looking
From The Side,From Belsen To Gaza
By John Pilger
A genocide is engulfing the people of Gaza while
a silence engulfs its bystanders. "Some 1.4 million people, mostly
children, are piled up in one of the most densely populated regions
of the world, with no freedom of movement, no place to run and no space
to hide," wrote the senior UN relief official, Jan Egeland, and
Jan Eliasson, then Swedish foreign minister, in Le Figaro. They described
people "living in a cage", cut off by land, sea and air, with
no reliable power and little water and tortured by hunger and disease
and incessant attacks by Israeli troops and planes
Venezuela's
RCTV Acts Of Sedition
By Stephen Lendman
On December 28, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
Frias delivered his annual "greeting speech" to the National
Armed Forces (FAN) and announced the operating license of TV station
Radio Caracas Television (known as RCTV) broadcasting on VHF Channel
2 won't be renewed when it expires on May 27, 2007.Why did Chavez take
such a drastic decision?
Mysterious
Prison Ailment Traced To U.S. Rice
By Jeb Sprague & Eunida Alexandra
A newly released investigation into the deadly
scourge of Beri-beri in Haiti's National Penitentiary uncovered evidence
that the clash between the manufacturing process used in U.S. processed
rice and the traditional Haitian rice cooking method has been killing
poor young men behind bars and leaving others morbidly ill
Livermore
Pro-Nukers Move To Kill
More In San Francisco Area
By Bob Nichols
In a truly bizarre development, the Lawrence Livermore
Nuclear Weapons Lab, in Livermore, California, has gotten underway even
larger nuclear radiation open air explosive detonations at "Site
300" near Tracy, California
The Flexibilities
Of TRIPS And The Indian Left
By Rajesh Ramakrishnan
The Left is very firmly a party of the established
order. To be out of power and work as an organising force at the grassroots
for resistance against neo-liberalism is unthinkable for it. But the
need to build up an alternative politics right from the grassroots and
patiently organise has never been greater
Give Me
Back My Country
By Tahmima Anam
When Tahmima Anam went home to Dhaka, Bangladesh,
to cast her vote in the now-postponed election, she found a nation in
chaos, tormented by corruption and brutality
Sri Lankan
Military Captures Strategic
Eastern Town From LTTE
By Sarath Kumara
After imposing a siege lasting months, the Sri
Lankan security forces finally took the key eastern coastal town of
Vaharai last Friday in what is a significant blow to the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Vaharai is the latest in a series of LTTE strongholds
that have fallen to government troops since July
A Peace Initiative
For The Progeny Of Abraham
By Dr Tayyaba Qidwai
Book Review of The Cartoons Cry By Muhammad Tariq
Ghazi. A deeply insightful book that providesa clear and accessible
study of the mindset of two major cultures of this era
25 January, 2007
The
State Of Denial
By Anthony Wade
As the resounding echo of the unnecessary clapping
ends tonight we will have heard nothing new from the 43rd President
of the United States. Each year brings a new opportunity for the President
to try and turn around what is the worst legacy since Herbert Hoover
The State
Of The Union: A President Who Is
No Longer The Leader Of The Free World
By Brent Budowsky
Had George Walker Bush begun his speech with "Ladies
and Gentleman I am taking my leave and retiring from the Presidency"
there would have been tidal waves of standing ovations sweeping from
the Congress through the nation to the far corners of the free world
Questions
For Bush On Iraq
By Ralph Nader
Why not some exemplary sacrifice from the Bush
family? What is keeping those bright, capable daughters-Jenna and Barbara-from
showing that the family is not expecting everybody but the Bush family
to sacrifice? Why are they not demonstrating their sacrifice and resolve
for your Iraq democracy war by enlisting into the armed forces?
Bush Continues
To Unite The World... Against Him
By Jim Lobe
Despite two years of a concentrated effort by Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice and her public diplomacy major- doma Karen
Hughes to boost Washington's global image, more people around the world
have an unfavourable opinion of U.S. policies than at any time in recent
memory
How The pro-Migrant
Movement Stopped Fascism
In The U.S. And How To Finish The Job
By Juan Santos
2006 marked a sea change in US politics, but the
decisive moment was not election day, it was March 25th, the day that
over a million Mexican and Central America migrants and their Chicana/o
allies marched in the streets of Los Angeles, following a march of similar
magnitude in Chicago
No Way In..
No Way Out
By Sheila Samples
Unfortunately, securing the homeland is a two-edged
sword that the Bush administration and military establishment profiteers
are holding firmly over our heads. It's time Americans realized that
we are in danger of being herded into a national detention camp in which
there are no pardons, and from which there is no escape
The
Garland Of The War In Iraq
By Mustapha Marrouchi
The Anglo-American attack on Iraq in 2003 was one
of the worst-reported conflicts in history. A system of media management
has kept the violent deaths of some 650,000 innocent people out of the
public view
WHAT MORE
CAN WE DO?
A Letter In Answer To A Cynic…
By Kerry Martin
My soul LOVES being clothed in physical matter,
and utterly enjoys being immersed in the wonders of Nature, and this
soul has been mourning for thirty years over the devastation our species
has ignorantly inflicted on our Living Earth, and this soul has long
ago reduced her physical footprint to the smallest possible - by doing
without
Meat-Eater's
State Of "The Nation"
By Mickey Z.
The (so-called) alternative press rarely "gets"
vegetarianism, animal rights, and related issues. Case in point: The
February 5, 2007 issue of The Nation featured a book review by Daniel
Lazare called "My Beef With Vegetarianism." The book in question
was 'The Bloodless Revolution' by Tristram Stuart
Soros On Capital
Account Convertibility
By Sunanda Sen
A note of caution and warning for India
24 January, 2007
US
Occupation Turns 3.7 Million Iraqis
Into Refugees
By James Cogan
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported
this month that the US invasion and occupation of Iraq has forced one
out of every eight Iraqis to flee their homes—more than 3.7 million
people
U.S.-Tailored
Iraqi Oil Alarm
For Producers, Consumers
By Nicola Nasser
After listening to the monotonous and incredible
U.S. lies for four years about “we are not there for Iraq's oil,”
the oil truth is now unfolding. Without a decisive military victory,
the U.S. occupation of Iraq seems to be about to grab its oil prize
by establishing a new sharing arrangement between a major national producer
and the multi-national giants, an arrangement that Washington plans
to set as the model to be followed both by the oil-rich region and the
world at large
Gangsters For
Capitalism
By Clinton L. Cox
Although benign U.S. intentions are an article
of faith among many Americans, theft, murder and oppression have always
been central to U.S. policies and practices in the non-white world.
George Bush’s crusade for ‘democracy’ is yet another
chapter in the shameful saga
Bush The
Empire Slayer
By Bernard Chazelle
Victors are never war criminals. That's because
they get to write the history books. Bush won't have that chance. The
die has been cast and the hour is too late for him or anyone to alter
the unforgiving judgment of posterity
Carter
And Camp David, Where It All Began
By Zachary Wales
None of this is to suggest that Carter is dishonest
about the events of Camp David in his new book -- and Camp David certainly
isn't his central focus -- but that he overlooks perhaps his greatest
contribution to the subject that his book criticizes: apartheid
A
Freedom Ride
By Uri Avnery
Yesterday, a decree of the Officer Commanding the
Central Sector, General Yair Naveh, was about to come into force. It
forbade Israeli drivers from giving a ride to Palestinian passengers
in the occupied territories. At the last moment, the general "froze"
the order. The order that was suspended (but not officially rescinded)
emitted a strong odor of apartheid
The Corporate
Media And Hugo Chavez
By Mickey Z.
The demonizing of Hugo Chavez
Support For
Iraq War Dropping
By Kevin Zeese
Series of polls finds little confidence in Bush
or Democrats. Voters want Democrats to stop the “surge”
by withholding funding. Majority favors withdrawal
“Paying
For Protection”
By Gene C. Gerard
OSHA was created by Congress to protect the health
and safety of America’s working men and women. It’s unfortunate
that workers now have to rely on litigation to ensure their basic safety.
The federal courts should move quickly to hear this lawsuit and force
the government to protect the nation’s workforce
23 January, 2007
WSF:
Small Ways To Solve Big Problems
By Joyce Mulama
The parades of tuktuks and boda bodas reflected
the theme for the seventh annual WSF, "Peoples' struggles, peoples'
alternatives", whereby people address poverty in their own small
ways
Fear Climate
Change, Not Our Enemies
By Robert Fisk
How casually these warnings come to us. How casually
we treat them. I suspect that most people feel so detached from political
power - so hopeless when faced with a world tragedy - they can do nothing
but watch in growing anger and distress. Water levels in the world's
oceans may rise 20 feet higher, we are told. And I calculate that in
Beirut, the Mediterranean - in rough weather -- will be splashing over
my second-floor balcony wall
Prophet Of
Doomsday: Stephen Hawking, Eco-Warrior
By Geoffrey Lean
'In a world that is in chaos, politically, socially
and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?'
So asked the most famous scientist on the planet, the newest recruit
to the mission to save the Earth
Obama:
The Democratic Messiah?
By Joel S. Hirschhorn
I want Obama to speak with such clarity that he
either earns the messiah label, or makes realists of even his strongest
supporters. We do not need another political false idol, from the left
or the right
Hillary Clinton
And The Pro-Israel Lobby
By Joshua Frank
Hillary Clinton’s silence toward Israel's
brutality implies the senator will continue to support AIPAC's mission
to occupy the whole of the occupied territories, as well as a war on
Iran. AIPAC is correct -- even President Bush appears to be a little
sheepish when up against the warmongering of Hillary Clinton
A Prescription
For Indians To Seriously Fight Racism
By Jawed Naqvi
If Indians are willing to put up a good fight against
racism, they should make it mandatory for all the countries that require
their fingerprints to reciprocate with their own imprints at Indian
airports. If the ultra-nationalist Indians can't or won't do this much,
they would hardly have a leg to stand on in the global fight against
racism
Southern
Iraqi Tribes Joining Armed Resistance
By Dahr Jamail & Ali al-Fadhily
Violence is spreading further across Iraq, as
Shi'ite Arab tribes in the south begin to engage occupation forces in
new armed resistance.Resistance in the southern parts of Iraq has been
escalating over the last three months, leading to increased casualties
among British and other occupation forces
The Arabs’
Feelings Of Love
And Hate For Saddam Hussein
By Ramzy Baroud
Regardless of what Arabs and Muslims around the
world felt of Saddam’s history and leadership, his capture, his
trial and undignified execution were a collective humiliation for us
all, a humiliation that will not be forgotten for perhaps many years.
And sadly, this international public spectacle has the potential to
reap devastating ramifications
Bill O'Reilly
= Super Genius
By Mickey Z.
For a full decade now, Bill O'Reilly has been living
out-in public-the greatest impersonation of a knee-jerk right-winger
since Senator McCarthy waved his lists of communists...and it's long
overdue he receive the credit he deserves
What The U...S.
Wants....
By Jeff Berg
...is a quintupling of Canadian tarsand production
People’s
Movement In Nepal
By Roshan Kissoon
It is clear from what we have seen and what we
have experienced in Nepal that this is a genuine people’s movement.
The changes we have seen in education, farming, and social relations
between men and women, the attempts to get rid of all that oppresses
humanity in a practical way and trying to find better ways to do things,
better ways to live, are all a process of the Maoist Cultural Revolution
20 January, 2007
The
Battle To Save Iraq's Children
By Colin Brown
The desperate plight of children who are dying
in Iraqi hospitals for the lack of simple equipment that in some cases
can cost as little as 95p is revealed today in a letter signed by nearly
100 eminent doctors
The War
Becomes More Unholy
By Dahr Jamail & Ali al-Fadhily
A stepped up military offensive that targets mosques,
religious leaders and Islamic customs is leading many Iraqis to believe
that the US-led invasion really was a "holy war."
Rice’s
Middle East Tour: Arab Rregimes
Back US War Drive In Iraq And Iran
By Jean Shaoul & Chris Marsden
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar,
Oman and the Emirates have all signed up to the Bush administration’s
escalation of its aggression against Iraq and its plans for a military
attack on Iran
How
Israel Enforces "Demographic Separation"
By Jonathan Cook
Is it too much to suspect that before long, after
Israel has completed the West Bank wall and its “border”
terminals, the Jewish state will classify visits by Palestinian citizens
to relatives as “visiting an enemy state”? And will such
visits be grounds for revoking citizenship, as they could be under Erdan’s
bill if Palestinian citizens visit relatives in Syria or Lebanon?
Barack Obama:
The Mania And The Mirage
By Glen Ford
“Mirage” is the best metaphor for Barack
Obama. He shimmers on the horizon, a promise of…something. But
as one draws closer, Obama dissipates into nothingness – which
is his purpose
Newsweek's
Cover Boys
By Mickey Z.
What if NewsWeak had opted to instead present the
image a young American boy holding any number of weapons? Imagine that
above this tow-headed, lily white lad were these words: "The Next
Imperialists." Or perhaps even: "The Next War Criminals."
Truth Is
Speaking… Is Power Listening?
By Carolyn Baker & Jason Miller
Carolyn Baker interviewed by Jason Miller
Portrait Of
The CIA As An Artist
By Lila Rajiva
According to Frances Saunders, in her well-documented
book, “The CIA and the Cultural Cold War,” the CIA financed
and groomed the avant-garde art movement from which abstract expressionism,
performance art and the other freak shows of the art world emerged
A President’s
White Hair
By Jorge Majfud
“‘Things evolve according to the amount
of white hair and responsibility that one has,’” said Lula,
61 years old, indicating his white hair in an impromptu speech.”
And later: “‘If one meets a very old leftist it is because
he must have problems,’ said the president, drawing laughter and
applause from the audience of businessmen, politicians and artists.”
19 January, 2007
Is
the Bush Administration Planning
A Nuclear Holocaust?
By Michel Chossudovsky
At no point since the first atomic bomb was dropped
on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, has humanity been closer to the unthinkable,
a nuclear holocaust which could potentially spread, in terms of radioactive
fallout, over a large part of the Middle East
More Than
34,000 Iraqi Civilian Deaths In 2006
By Kate Randall
The United Nations reported Tuesday that 34,452
Iraqi civilians died in 2006 as a result of bombings, extra-judicial
executions and other forms of violence
Furor Over
Saddam's Execution Continues Unabated
By Dahr Jamail & Ali al-Fadhily
BAGHDAD - Expressions of outrage over the conduct
of the trial and the manner of Saddam Hussein's rushed, chaotic execution
are continuing unabated here as lawyers and human rights groups voice
their criticism – although some are still cautiously asking the
media to withhold their names from publication
Was Jesus An
Evil-Doer?
By Mickey Z.
ETA is one of the many places where the whole "Jesus
Day" thing comes back to bite Georgie in the ass
Democrat
Agenda Omissions
By Stephen Lendman
The list of unaddressed issues is almost endless
after more than three decades of a democracy in decline and the welfare
of most Americans in it because Democrat and Republican-led governments
alike dedicated themselves to the interests of wealth and power that
always come at the expense of ordinary working people making up the
vast majority in the country
FDA Feeling
The Heat
By Evelyn Pringle
Over the past year, the Bush administration's FDA
has been the focus of non-stop investigations and with the Democrats
in control of Congress, a long overdue overhaul of the agency is in
the cards
Mea Culpa Minimus
By William Fisher
The senior defense department official who suggested
that major corporations should stop doing business with large law firms
who represent Guantanamo Bay detainees without charge has apologized
for his remarks – but his apology has failed to satisfy some legal
and human rights advocates
Palestinian
Refugees And Exiles
Must Have A Say-So
By Rima Merriman
Today, Palestinian refugees outside the occupied
territories and Palestinian exiles feel completely excluded from the
body politic and national debate currently taking place in the occupied
territories
18 January, 2007
Climate
Resets 'Doomsday Clock'
By Molly Bentley
Experts assessing the dangers posed to civilisation
have added climate change to the prospect of nuclear annihilation as
the greatest threats to humankind. As a result, the group has moved
the minute hand on its famous "Doomsday Clock" two minutes
closer to midnight
We Need To
Act Now To Save The Environment
By Martin Rees
Humankind's collective impacts on the biosphere,
climate and oceans are unprecedented. These environmentally driven threats
- "threats without enemies" - should loom as large in the
political perspective as did the East/West political divide during the
Cold War era.Unless they rise higher on international agendas, remedial
action may come too late to prevent "runaway" climatic or
environmental devastation
Charging Towards
The Big Melt
By Stephen Leahy
The world collectively overshot the Earth's capacity
to support us in 1984, the World Wildlife Fund's Living Planet Report
notes. In the 22 years since reaching that crucial tipping point, rates
of consumption of resources have accelerated. Not just in North America
and Europe but China and India, not to mention other parts of Asia and
Latin America
Obama And
The Middle East
By Joshua Frank
On Iran Obama also serves the status-quo with the
kind of hawkish zeal we are used to seeing in most Republicans. He’s
admitted he may favor surgical missile strikes on Iran and Pakistan
if that’s what it takes to fight the war on terror. And Obama
even boasts that Bush hasn’t taken a hard enough line on the foreign
menaces
The King Is
Dead. Long Live The King?
By Joseph Grosso
Suparmurat Niyazov, the self proclaimed “Father
of the Turkmen”, ruled Turkmenistan with the audacity and narcissism
that few leaders in history have been able to muster. Indeed one may
have to the days of Roman emperors to find a ruler renaming the month
of January after himself and other months for his parents
One
Country: Reviewing An Alternative Vision
By Remi Kanazi
Ali Abunimah’s new book, One Country: A Bold
Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse, exposes the impracticality
of partition and presents an alternative vision, one that encompasses
both peoples on the basis of equal rights. The vision Abunimah presents
is a one state solution
Runaway
American Brainwashing
By Joel S. Hirschhorn
An Article V convention is a clear threat to the
political, social and economic establishment exerting self-serving influence
on Congress. It can put into public debate ideas for amending the Constitution
that threaten established political forces, both liberal and conservative.
Acting independently, it can courageously propose amendments without
interference from status quo defenders
Two More
Barbaric State Executions In Iraq
By James Cogan
The latest executions in Baghdad exemplify the
barbarism that prevails in US-occupied Iraq. Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti,
the 56-year-old half-brother of Saddam Hussein and former head of his
regime’s intelligence service, and Awad Hamed al-Bander, the 61-year-old
former chief judge of the Baathist Revolutionary Court, were hung in
the early hours of Monday morning
Listen To
The Voices Of Iraqi’s
By Kevin Zeese
An interview with Dal LaMagna
Discrimination
Continues
By Aftab Mughal
During the year 2006, religious minorities faced
discrimination and have little hope for change in the situation despite
government’s promise for equal rights for everybody
17 January, 2007
Paradoxes
Doom Bush’s New Strategy In Iraq
By Nicola Nasser
President George W. Bush’s paradoxical “new
strategy” in Iraq is doomed by its own contradictions as much
as by Iraqi and regional paradoxes and would in no time prove that the
U.S. president’s go-it-alone approach will only extend the failure
of the 2003 military invasion in developing into a permanent occupation,
amid wide spread world and American calls for withdrawal and political
solution
Fishing In
Troubled Waters
By Gareth Porter
The revelation by Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice that the campaign against Iranian officials had already been in
effect for several months before Bush's speech last Wednesday indicates
that the new rhetoric is aimed at serving the desperate need of the
White House to shift the blame for its failure in Iraq to Iran, and
to appear to be taking tough action
Manara
Square, Ramallah
By Uri Avnery
Manara Square is the heart of Ramallah, full of
life, both walking and driving. When people realized what was going
on, they started to throw stones at the soldiers. These responded by
shooting wildly in all directions. Four bystanders were killed, more
than 30 wounded
Hard Limits
And Long-Observed Taboos
By Ali Abunimah
With his book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid reaching
the top of the bestseller lists, former President Jimmy Carter appears
to have made a breakthrough in the ossified debate on Israel-Palestine
in the United States
America
Goes Into Somalia, Again
By Najum Mushtaq
The refusal to engage the Islamic movements will
mean more violence and further instability in the region. Or perhaps
once again the Bush administration's words are misleading, and such
instability is indeed the ultimate objective of America's policy of
containing and decimating Islamic extremism
Turning On
The War
By Joshua Frank
It seems the only way the war will come to an end
will be when soldiers start resisting by the droves. It’s already
happening with little fanfare all across the country. Many are finding
refuge in Canada and elsewhere. These brave soldiers must be congratulated
for taking such a path. They are the answer the antiwar movement has
been looking for. Let’s hope they lead by example. If their peers
don’t follow, we are in for a much longer, deadlier war
Wanted: Creative
Extremists
By Mickey Z.
Civil society is vanishing while fortitude is measured
on Fear Factor, morality is dropped along with cluster bombs from 15,000
feet, and solidarity has been reduced to waiting together on line for
hours to buy Play Station 3. Obviously, we need a radical new vision
of courage. As Alice Walker reminds us, activism is our rent for living
on this planet
Zyprexa Judge
Decides Which Journalists
Have First Amendment Rights
By Evelyn Pringle
The judge issuing injunctions in the Eli Lilly-Zyprexa-Documents
case has decided that reporters at the New York Times enjoy the full
protection of the First Amendment but that other reporters and media
outlets do not
India's Tryst
With Destiny: A Dream, A Nightmare
By Jawed Naqvi
The victims appeared to be accustomed to be pointlessly
and mercilessly thrashed. It would be ridiculous to expect them to know
what Jawaharlal Nehru had promised them in his celebrated "tryst
with destiny" speech. So the question of a dream turning into a
nightmare should not arise
16 January, 2007
America
Threatens To 'Deal With' Iran
By Kim Sengupta
The belief that George Bush's troops "surge"
policy in Iraq is also aimed at confronting Iran was strengthened yesterday
when the White House declared that it was "going to deal"
with the actions of the Tehran regime
US Military
Strike On Iran Seen By April ’07
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Arab Times news paper reports that the USA will
launch a military strike on Iran before April 2007.The attack will be
launched from the sea and Patriot missiles will guard all oil-producing
countries in the region
Opiate
Of The USA
By David Truskoff
Martin Luther King’s dream is still just
that, a dream, but on January 15 we will breath deeply and once again
go on the nod and enjoy our media induced high
Bangladeshi
President Postpones Election
And Imposes State Of Emergency
By Jake Skeers
In a desperate bid to end weeks of political turmoil,
Bangladesh’s president Iajuddin Ahmed announced last Thursday
that he was postponing national elections due on January 22, imposing
a state of emergency and stepping aside as head of the interim caretaker
government
Power
Politics In Bangladesh
By Taj Hashmi
It’s nihilism not quest for democracy in
Bangladesh
Islamism
And Expediency In Bangladesh
By Delwar Hussain
The way Bangladesh's secular parties and leaders
conduct politics is fuelling Islamist extremism and destabilising democracy
Man Fuel:
Is It In you?
By Jason Miller
Searching for masculine bliss incarnate? Look no
further than NFL football and its myriad machismo delights….
Girls For
Gender Equity
By Mickey Z.
An interview with Mandy Van Deven
Real Solutions
To The Quandary Of
The Iraq Quagmire
By Kevin Zeese
You probably will not hear about it on the network
and cable news shows, but today the Progressive Caucus and Out of Iraq
Caucus held an impressive hearing on Iraq that offered real solutions
to the quandary of the Iraq quagmire. Witnesses put forward a common
sense plan to get out of Iraq while reducing the violence, and starting
positive diplomatic activities in the region
Second -
Class Citizens Of Gujarat
By Akash Bisht
Four years have passed since the state-sponsored
Gujarat carnage shook the entire nation,leaving hundreds dead and lakhs
displaced and brutalised, but till this day many of the survivors of
the post-Godhra killings have not found their way back home. These exiled
'second-class citizens' are living in inhuman conditions in make-shift
camps and are deprived of basic amenities
13 January, 2007
Bush's
Tactics Are A 'Declaration Of War' On Iran
By Anne Penketh
American forces stormed Iranian government offices
in northern Iraq, hours after President George Bush issued a warning
to Tehran that was described as a "declaration of war". A
leading UK-based Iran specialist, Ali Ansari said that Mr Bush's speech
on future Iraq strategy amounted to "a declaration of war"
on Iran
US Forces
Carry Out Provocative Raid
On Iran’s Consulate In Northern Iraq
By Peter Symonds
In the early hours of yesterday morning, US forces
raided the Iranian consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, detaining
at least five employees. The arrests were clearly aimed at reinforcing
the bellicose message contained in President Bush’s speech, just
hours before, that the American military would “interrupt the
flow of support from Iran and Syria” and “seek out and destroy
the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies
in Iraq.”
Cry
Iraq
By Mustapha Marrouchi
The US program for the Arab world has become the
same as Israel’s for Palestine. If the Iraq of yesteryear stood
for an Arab identity par excellence, today, it represents the loss of
that very identity. The aim of the invasion was to reshape the Middle
East so that Palestine will become Israel, Jordan Palestine, and Iraq
the Hashemite Kingdom
Murder By
Proxy: Hanging Of Saddam Hussein
By Ram Puniyani
Martyr for some and villain for the other, he leaves
tales for all the times!
Holiday
Hypocrisy
By Stephen Lendman
A reflection on our national federal holidays that,
in fact, represent something much different than the stated reasons
we commemorate them for. Eleven such holidays are reviewed below moving
chronologically through the year
Wish You
Were Here (a small sampling)
By Mickey Z.
Estimates vary, but roughly 50,000 animal and plant
species become extinct each year. That¹s over 130 per day, about
6 per hour
Fencing Across
The Border
Whose Fooling Who
By Abid Mustafa
To assuage international concerns over cross border
filtration into Afghanistan, the Pakistani government has announced
a series of measures. These include selectively fencing the 2,430km
border, laying down mines and introducing biometric identity checks
on the Pakistani side of the border. This is in addition to the 80,000
Pakistani troops manning the border
Public Has
Right To Know Secrets
Revealed In Zyprexa Documents
By Evelyn Pringle
In deciding whether to allow Eli Lilly to continue
to use court orders to hide documents that show the company illegally
marketed Zyprexa for unapproved uses and failed to warn the public about
the serious health risks associated with the drug for a decade, the
court needs to consider the harm done to the public by Lilly's conduct
12 January, 2007
Bush's
New Strategy - The March Of Folly
By Robert Fisk
So into the graveyard of Iraq, George Bush, commander-in-chief,
is to send another 21,000 of his soldiers. The march of folly is to
continue
To “Save
Iraqi Democracy” Bush’s
War Will Target Shias Too
By M. A. Muqtedar Khan
With this speech President Bush has practically
declared war on Shias. He has decided to go after Shia militias in Iraq
, and Shia regimes in the region. Until now the US has been fighting
only with the Sunnis -- Al Qaeda and the Iraqi insurgency. But from
now on US troops will be fighting al Qaeda, Sunni insurgents, the Mahdi
and Badr militias and perhaps even Iranian and Syria intelligence and
commando units
Iraqi Regime
Set To Hand Over Oil
Reserves To US Energy Giants
By Jerry White
As the Bush administration prepares to escalate
military violence against the Iraqi people the US-installed regime in
Baghdad is set to approve a new hydrocarbon law that will hand unprecedented
control of the country’s vast oil reserves to US and British energy
conglomerates
The Man
Who Now Holds Iraq's Future In His Hands
By Patrick Cockburn
He is a strange figure to be targeted as the number
one enemy of the US in Iraq. Four years ago, few had heard of the Shia
nationalist cleric Muqtada al-Sadr inside or outside Iraq. Even somebody
as suspicious as Saddam Hussein, who murdered his father and two brothers,
did not think he would play any role in the coming crisis. Now he holds
the future of Iraq in his hands
Media Under
Growing Siege
By Dahr Jamail & Ali al-Fadhily
The U.S. administration continues to tout Iraq
as a shining example of democracy in the Middle East, but press freedom
in Iraq has plummeted since the beginning of the occupation
The Law Of
Life And The Law Of Death
Apocalypse No! part 3
By Juan Santos
Facing the reality of our times, facing the apocalypse,
means stripping down. As bare as you can get. The truth about the condition
of the world, if you can take it in – even in part - will lay
you flat, for days, or weeks
Somalia
: Another War "Made In USA"
By Mohamed Hassan
This is not a war between Ethiopia and Somalia.
This is a war of the USA against all the peoples of the Horn of Africa
A Plea For
Help From The Tamil-Speaking
People Of Sri Lanka
By Rohini Hensman
There is no quick fix for the problems of Sri Lanka's
Tamils, but prompt action at this juncture by the Indian government
and human rights activists in support of the majority report could save
them decades of displacement and bloodshed in the future
Police Reform
Is Above Politics
By Ajay K. Mehra
The Noida incidents point to the breakdown of policing
at each level, and the complete erosion of the police as the basic institution
for internal security. The police across the country has been known
to avoid registering cases in order to keep the crime rate and their
workload low. It is the poor who invariably bear the brunt of their
inefficiency and corruption
Bangladesh
-Betrayal
By Mohsin R. Siddique
To defeat the anti-democratic theocratic forces
is a central task in Bangladesh today. The need for coming together
of the progressives, including those within AL , to create an independent,
alternate political entity to fight this battle has never been more
urgent
11 January, 2007
Disasters
In Iraq, Haiti And Jamaica
By John Maxwell
The veteran Jamaican educator,
journalist and environmentalist traces the man-made disasters that threaten
the people of three nations living under the sole superpower’s
boot. In all three cases, inhumanity has a common vector: the greed
of the exploiter
Bringing
To Book The Guilty Men Of Baghdad
By Siddharth Varadarajan
The legal arguments used by the U.S.-sponsored
Iraqi court to convict Saddam Hussein of crimes against humanity apply
even more forcefully to those American leaders who ordered the illegal
invasion and occupation of Iraq
Air strikes
On Somalia: A New Stage
In Washington’s Illegal “Terror” War
By Chris Marsden
US air strikes against targets in the south of
Somalia have claimed a substantial number of civilian lives. The bombing
campaign, begun Sunday night and continued on Monday, mark a major escalation
in the Bush administration’s lawless use of violence to achieve
Washington’s strategic aims under the auspices of its “global
war on terrorism.”
Climate Change
Will Transform The Face Of Europe
By Michael McCarthy & Stephen Castle
The ecosystems that have underpinned all European
societies from Ancient Greece and Rome to present-day Britain and France,
and which helped European civilisation gain global pre-eminence, will
be disabled by remorselessly rising temperatures, EU scientists forecast
in a remarkable report which is as ominous as it is detailed
A Dark Anniversary
By William Fisher
This week, as the world marks the fifth anniversary
of the arrival of the first detainees at the U.S. naval facility at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a growing number of people and organizations –
from military officers to religious leaders to legal scholars to human
rights groups – continue to label the prison a black hole of injustice
and demand that it be closed
To: Presidential
Candidate John Edwards
By Joel S. Hirschhorn
If as you say “tomorrow begins today,”
then please begin the national movement for an Article V convention
to make a better tomorrow for we the people. Your courageous stand could
compel the new Congress to hold hearings on this issue. Let those who
believe in totally ignoring Article V and the states’ and the
public’s right to a convention testify publicly and try to defend
their position. I await your reply. The country awaits your leadership
What Is A Peace
Voter To Do?
By Kevin Zeese
Interviews with Cindy Sheehan and David Swanson
on next steps for the anti-war movement
FDA Runs Protection
Racket For Big Pharma
By Evelyn Pringle
Why would Americans trust the FDA to regulate the
pharmaceutical industry? Since the Bush administration took office the
FDA has become the industry's partner in crime. The most notorious protection
scheme put in place by the FDA and Big Pharma is the preemption policy
that bans private lawsuits against drug companies in state courts once
a drug and its label have been approved by the FDA
People's
Movements in Orissa
Face Political Repression
By Saswat Pattanayak
Sitting pretty on his father and Orissa's ex-Chief
Minister Biju Patnaik’s land-grabbing anti-people legacies, Naveen
has been the most ruthless curse on a peaceful people. Enacting personality
politics to project Biju as a savior, the current CM has been turning
massive onslaughts on every form of criticism that exists in the state
today, with an inherited arrogance that has rare parallel. He completes
his troika of misfortunes, after Kashipur and Kalinga Nagar, with his
approval of Vedanta Alumina Project at Lanjigarh
10 January, 2007
December 13's
Bodily Fluids
By Arundhati Roy & Amit Sengupta
Kashmir is a twilight zone. The Parliament attack
is layered with half-lies. And pre- and post-Gujarat, Muslims are being
targetted all over India. Arundhati Roy in conversation with Amit Sengupta
Democrats
Criticize Iraq “Surge”,
But Won’t Cut War Funds
By Patrick Martin
The two top congressional Democratic leaders have
publicly opposed the Bush administration’s plans to dispatch more
troops to Iraq, while signaling to the White House that there will be
no serious effort to prevent an escalation of the slaughter as the bloodbath
in Iraq heads towards its fifth year
Terrified
Soldiers Terrifying People
By Dahr Jamail & Ali al-Fadhily
More than 5,000 civilians killed by U.S. soldiers
have been buried in Fallujah cemeteries and mass graves dug on the outskirts
of the city, according to the Study Centre for Human Rights and Democracy,
a non-governmental organisation based in Fallujah
Israel’s
Purging Of Palestinian Christians
By Jonathan Cook
Although there are no figures available, it can
probably be safely assumed that a disproportionate number of Palestinians
losing their residency rights are Christian. Certainly the effect of
further damaging the education system in the occupied territories will
be to increase the exodus of Palestine’s next generation of leaders,
including its Christians
Federalism:
A Solution More
For Israel Than For Iraq
By Nicola Nasser
Israeli Jews have to choose between Apartheid and
a democratic state. A federal Israel could solve both an Israeli internal
ethnic problem and as well be the right just, lasting and comprehensive
approach to solving the Arab and Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which
would spare the region more wars and violence; the ingredients of success
are much more authentic than the U.S., Israeli and Iranian-backed separatist
and sectarian calls for federalism in Iraq
09 January, 2007
Israel
Has Plans For Nuclear Attack On Iran
By Peter Symonds
A report in yesterday’s London-based Sunday
Times revealed that the Israeli military has been training to use tactical
nuclear weapons against Iran’s uranium enrichment plant at Natanz
and other nuclear facilities. Based on several Israeli military sources,
the article said two air force squadrons were involved, with the preparations
being overseen by air force commander Major General Eliezer Shkedi
The
Making Of Another Iraq
By Abukar Arman
The presence of foreign troops has profoundly changed
the political dynamics in Somalia. A grassroots-driven, wrathful nationalism
will intensify, with ramifications beyond the Somali geographical boundaries.
Indeed, unless the current trend is immediately reversed, the conflict
will likely set the entire Horn of Africa on fire, spark an unprecedented
humanitarian crisis, and widen the divide between the West and the Islamic
world
One Last
Chance For Sanity In Iraq
By Ramzy Baroud
US President George W Bush's new war strategy due
to be officially announced on Wednesday, which will likely meet an uphill
battle at the now Democrat-controlled Congress, is a slap in the face
of the majority of American voters, and indeed the democratic process
Chronicle
Of Saddam's Death Foretold
By Salim Nazzal
Saddam Hussein seems to be similar to the character
of Santiago Nassar in the Marquez novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold,
when every body knows that the murderers would kill Nassar. The only
difference is that Nassar did not know that they planned to kill him,
while Saddam knew
James Brown: The
Man Who Named A People
By Glen Ford
James Brown can arguably be credited with a feat
few humans have achieved since the dawn of time. He named an entire
people: Black Americans
A New Congress?
Not When It Comes To Iran
By Joshua Frank
If we want the Democrats to change their tune on
Israel and Iran, we’ve got to hold their feet to the fire. If
left to their own devices Democrats will continue to mimic the neocon’s
strategy for the Middle East, not alter it
The People's
Republic Of Me
By Mickey Z.
Novelist Nick Mamatas declares his independence
Lilly's Legal
Battle Over
Zyprexa Documents Continues
By Evelyn Pringle
On January 3, 2007, a hearing was held before Judge
Jack Weinstein, in a US District Court in New York, on a motion by Eli
Lilly to extend an injunction to conceal company documents that show
Lilly hid the lethal side effects of Zyprexa for a decade and engaged
in an illegal off-label marketing scheme to promote the drug for unapproved
uses
08 January, 2007
Future
Of Iraq: The spoils Of War
By Danny Fortson,Andrew Murray-Watson & Tim Webb
Iraq's massive oil reserves, the third-largest
in the world, are about to be thrown open for large-scale exploitation
by Western oil companies under a controversial law which is expected
to come before the Iraqi parliament within days
Somalia: New
Hotbed Of Anti-Americanism
By Nicola Nasser
The U.S. foreign policy blundering has created
a new violent hotbed of anti-Americanism in the turbulent Horn of Africa
by orchestrating the Ethiopian invasion of another Muslim capital of
the Arab League, in a clear American message that no Arab or Muslim
metropolitan has impunity unless it falls into step with the U.S. vital
regional interests
South America:
Toward An Alternative Future
By Noam Chomsky
Last month a coincidence of birth and death signaled
a transition for South America and indeed for the world. The former
Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet died even as leaders of South American
nations concluded a two-day summit meeting in Cochabamba, Bolivia, hosted
by President Evo Morales, at which the participants and the agenda represented
the antithesis of Pinochet and his era
The Tower
Of Wealth Without A Foundation
By Siv O'Neall
The two mainstays of the neoconservative and neoliberal
agenda can be reduced to the accumulation of more wealth for the tiny
upper clique of the American population and to assuring the ever-lasting
continuation of the U.S. empire. The rest of the world is simply of
no consequence to the neocon way of thinking and that's where they make
the huge mistake that is one day going to be their downfall
Singur:
Where The Left Turns Right
By Vijayan MJ
The CPM machinery has gone into overdrive in Singur
to secure the Tata deal; it has left the peasantry, its constituency,
totally in the cold
How Yogi
Adityanath Wants To Do A Modi?
By Subhash Gatade
A key feature of the Hindutva experiment furthered
by Yogi Adityanath is to always keep Muslims in focus and win over the
dalits and backwards to his side. In order to organise the Dalits against
the Muslims he has made it a policy to interfere in all small or big
quarrels between them and endeavour to paint it in communal black
Dissent
Is Alive
Pakistan Diary: In Lahore Day 4
By Yoginder Sikand
'Dissent is alive in Pakistan and is bound to become
louder. Do write about that when you get back', he insists
A New
Year’s Resolution For All
U.S. Presidential Candidates
By Joel S. Hirschhorn
No matter how awful you think our government and
political system have become, odds are you do not know about this travesty
of justice, an incredible failure to honor our fabled Constitution.
This failure has removed the sovereignty of we the people, and made
Congress much more powerful than it should be
07 January, 2007
The
Whole Bloody Thing Was Obscene
By Robert Fisk
The lynching of Saddam Hussein will turn out to
be one of the determining moments in the whole shameful crusade upon
which the West embarked in March of 2003
He Takes His Secrets
To The Grave
By Robert Fisk
How the West armed Saddam, fed him intelligence
on his 'enemies', equipped him for atrocities - and then made sure he
wouldn't squeal
Execution
Memories Refuse To Go Away
By Dahr Jamail & Ali al-Fadhily
The footage of the execution of Saddam Hussein
has generated controversy in Iraq that is refusing to die down
Development
Or Developmental Terrorism?
By Prof Amit Bhaduri
The unprecedented high economic growth on which
privileged India prides itself is a measure of the high speed at which
India of privilege is distancing itself from the India of crushing poverty.
The higher the rate of economic growth along this pattern becomes, the
greater would be the underdevelopment of India
New Year Reflections
By Ramzy Baroud
2006 was yet another year of tribulations in the
ever tumultuous Middle East. It defied all early expectations that 2005
would be the worst for many years to follow. It ended on a sad note
in Palestine, and left wide open the chance for many appalling possibilities
that stretch from Baghdad, to Lebanon, to Mogadishu, and elsewhere
Two
Civil Wars With Brakes On
By Roni Ben Efrat
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict was once the mother
of all problems in the Middle East. Today it is one among many. For
this demotion we may largely thank US President George W. Bush and his
war in Iraq
Bush’s
Solution To Iraq – No Mystery
By Dan Lieberman
Jordan and Syria, that feel threatened by Iraq
and Iran, might become more conciliatory to the U.S. and Israel (USrael)
and seek their protection (as in mafia protection). The U.S. might bow
out and let Israel proceed in its own plans. Israel might be the biggest
victor in this calamitous and haunting adventure
Kiss Of Death
By Uri Avnery
Since Judas Iscariot embraced Jesus, Jerusalem
has not seen such a kiss.After being boycotted by Ariel Sharon and Ehud
Olmert for years, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) was invited to the official
residence of the Prime Minister of Israel two weeks ago. There, in front
of the cameras, Olmert embraced him and kissed him warmly on both cheeks.
Abbas looked stunned, and froze
3003 Funerals
By Lucinda Marshall
But in our sorrow and outrage, we must not forget
that focusing on these 3000 deaths of our own making is a sort of tunnel
vision perpetrated and encouraged by the media and administration. The
extent of the carnage of this war is far, far greater than the story
this number implies
Criminal Prosecution
Of Lilly Sought Over Zyprexa
By Evelyn Pringle
California Attorney, Ted Chabasinski, is calling
for the criminal prosecution of Eli Lilly executives for hiding the
adverse effects of Zyprexa, based in part on articles last month in
the New York Times which quote internal company documents that revealed
that Lilly knew about the adverse effects for a decade but kept the
information hidden
05 January, 2007
Saddam
Hussain: From Monster To Martyr
By Patrick Cockburn
It takes real genius to create a martyr out of
Saddam Hussain. Here is a man dyed deep with the blood of his own people
who refused to fight for him during the United States-led invasion three-and-a-half
years ago. His tomb in his home village of Awja is already becoming
a place of pilgrimage for the five million Sunni Arabs of Iraq who are
at the core of the uprising
The Inevitable
End Of Saddam
By Hasan Abu Nimah
The ugly killing of Saddam will do nothing to restore
peace to the region, nor will it help Iraq. It is a mark of the savagery
that has come to replace politics and diplomacy in international affairs,
and of the reduction and humiliation of the Arab nation
US-Ordered
Rush Job
By Gwynne Dyer
The American government wanted Saddam Hussein executed
for the Dujail killings to avoid revealing its complicity in his bigger
crimes
The Spirit
Of Tom Paine
By Stephen Lendman
In the spirit of Tom Paine, here's what it comes
down to: Step one: save the internet as a free and open space. Keep
it out of the hands of corporate media predators wanting to profit from
it at our expense and control its content. Step two: address the greater
issue of media reform and change to open the major channels of communications
to more competition and public participation. Step three: achieve steps
one and two and then take on the biggest issue of all - saving the republic
Writing
The American Dream
By Mickey Z.
An interview with novelist Mike Palecek
The Slow Suicide
Of The West
By Jorge Majfud
The West appears, suddenly, devoid of its greatest
virtues, constructed century after century, preoccupied now only with
reproducing its own defects and with copying the defects of others,
such as authoritarianism and the preemptive persecution of innocents
A Christian
07
By Bill Henderson
Given climate change time lags, path dependence/inertia,
and necessary lead time, is the window of opportunity closing for any
effective remedial action to save us from severe climate change or even
humanity threatening runaway climate change
Communal
Riots 2006
By Asghar Ali Engineer
This was comparatively an year with few riots.
In fact post-Gujarat India has witnessed fewer riots. Gujarat was indeed
another watershed like the one after post-Babri riots. It has been witnessed
that after some major riot, subsequent years witness smaller and fewer
riots
Blasts
Galore: Communalism 2006
By Ram Puniyani
The optimism for the future of democratic values
lies in the rising resistance to the assertions of sectarianism, amongst
a section of people who are becoming more aware of the threat posed
by the communal fascism. Various secular action groups, peace activists
and minority rights groups are making their presence felt through their
campaigns and deliberations
04 January, 2007
Why
The Rush To Execute Saddam?
By Tarek Fatah
With the death of Saddam, the secrets that could
have emerged at the Halabja trial will probably never come to light.
His death will be a relief to those in America who feared being exposed
for having aided Saddam as he murdered so many of his countrymen
The
Consequences Of Killing Saddam
By Robert Dreyfuss
In life, even in prison, Saddam inspired many loyalists
to fight for his legacy; but his death is certain to spark even fiercer
violence, not just from his remaining lieutenants and senior Baath party
officials but throughout the broader Sunni Arab community in Iraq. It
pushes any hope of Sunni-Shiite reconciliation farther away, inflames
passions on both sides and solidifies the image of the United States
in Iraq as a bloodthirsty occupier
Saddam
Hussein Execution:
A Sectarian Lynching
By Patrick Martin
A video of the final minutes of Saddam Hussein,
released to the Arab media late Saturday and widely broadcast around
the world, demonstrates that the execution of the former Iraqi president
was an act of sectarian vengeance by the Shiite Muslim groups placed
in power by the US invasion of the country
A Lynching...
By Baghdad Burning
One of the most advanced countries in the world
did not help to reconstruct Iraq, they didn't even help produce a decent
constitution. They did, however, contribute nicely to a kangaroo court
and a lynching. A lynching shall go down in history as America's biggest
accomplishment in Iraq. So who's next? Who hangs for the hundreds of
thousands who've died as a direct result of this war and occupation?
Bush? Blair? Maliki? Jaffari? Allawi? Chalabi?
'Illegal'
Execution Enrages Arabs
By Dahr Jamail & Ali Al-Fadhily
The execution of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein
carried out at the start of the Muslim festival Eid al-Adha has angered
Iraqis and others across the Middle East
Hussein
And Ford = Dead Criminals
By Mickey Z.
All you need to know about America is summed up
here: Saddam Hussein was "the next Hitler" while Gerald Ford
was a "healer."
A Deathly December:
Two Satraps And An Emperor
By Niranjan Ramakrishnan
Fazed less and less by irony with each passing
day, America lionized Pinochet, upon his death, as a visionary responsible
for Chile's resurgence. In Saddam Hussein's case, it welcomed his execution
as a vindication of the judicial process. All this, too, while simultaneously
heaping praise upon the recently departed President Ford
Truth
At Last, While Breaking A U.S.
Taboo Of criticizing Israel
By George Bisharat
Americans owe a debt to former President Jimmy
Carter for speaking long hidden but vital truths. His book Palestine:
Peace Not Apartheid breaks the taboo barring criticism in the United
States of Israel's discriminatory treatment of Palestinians. Our government's
tacit acceptance of Israel's unfair policies causes global hostility
against us
The Road
From Minority Appeasement
To Empowerment
By Warisha Farasat
The High Level Justice Sachar Committee was appointed
to examine the social, economic and educational status of the Muslims
in India. It confirms the uncomfortable fact that comparing indicators
of socio economic development, it’s evident that Muslims fare
worst than even the SC/STs