15 June, 2004
Under the smokescreen of the widely-reported plan for an Israeli intended “disengagement” from the Gaza Strip, Israeli have started to annex 150 kilometers in the northern West Bank while plans are underway for building a new illegal Jewish settlement south of Jerusalem
Rioting Follows Bombings That Kill 21
In some of the worst rioting since the fall of Baghdad, hundreds of Iraqis threw stones at U.S. soldiers, burned an American flag and danced around the charred body of a foreign contractor
Report From Baghdad: What Went Wrong In Iraq
By Mark JuergensmeyerAs I discovered in a recent visit to Baghdad, Iraq is in dire need of reconstruction -- not only from the miseries of Saddam Hussein’s long dictatorship, but also from the failed policies of the one-year occupation by America’s Coalition administration, which has left demoralization, humiliation, and a weak security and economic infrastructure in its wake
Americans, Iraqis Vie For Control Of Security Forces
By Dahr JamailEven as authorities for the US-run occupation cede a greater share of security responsibilities to Iraqi forces, spokespeople for the Iraqi police and paramilitaries in many areas of the war-torn country say they lack the legitimacy and tools necessary to carry out their duties
EU Elections: A Disaster For Ruling Parties
By Andrea NollIn the EU elections ruling parties on a national level faced weak, sometimes disastrous, results - no matter if Socialdemocrats (f.e. in Great Britain, Germany, in most of the new EU member states) or Conservatives (f.e. in France, Italy, Malta)
The Anti-War Vote In Great Britain
By Victo KattanBlair will need to get a grip on this country if racial tensions are not to spill out onto the streets. New Labour has been shaken. It can no longer assume that a third term is inevitable
Social Stratification Among Muslims In India
By Salil KaderThe Muslims of India have gained the dubious distinction of sustaining a highly prejudiced and devious system of social stratification, which is nowhere to be found in the rest of the Muslim world. The community would do itself a great favour by purging this evil from within its character
How The Bharatiya Mundan Party
Took The Experience Of Defeat
By Githa HariharanEven a leader like Milosevic appeared on national television in October 2000 to make a gracious speech conceding defeat.In the elections of 2004, we witnessed a somewhat different kind of response to defeat — a response that ranged from sulky silence to farcical theatrics
14 June, 2004
Red Cross Ultimatum To US On Saddam
By Jonathan SteeleThe International Committee of the Red Cross has asked that Saddam Hussein must either be released from custody by June 30 or charged if the US and the new Iraqi government are to conform to international law
Violence Engulf Baghdad
By Dahr JamailSeveral of us are sitting in the hotel room having lunch, watching the news trying to keep up with the violence daily engulfing Iraq. Let me give you a quick rundown from the last 24 hours
Myths About Private Sector Reservation
By Chandrabhan PrasadThe Congress' "national level dialogue" slogan, and the Maharashtra government's legislation on job reservations in the private sector have infused new blood and hope among the unemployed Dalit youth.What is, however, missing in this euphoria is the limitation of the "emancipatory" role these jobs can play
Can Science Be Women-friendly?
By Kalpana SharmaEach time a woman becomes an aeronautical engineer, or a nuclear physicist, or excels in some area previously considered a male preserve, she is applauded and celebrated, but strictly as an exception
13 June, 2004
Use Of Dogs Was Authorized
By Josh White and Scott HighamThe Washington Post releases new prison torture and abuse pictures
“I Can Still Remember Their Screaming.”
By Dahr JamailOvershadowed by more dramatic stories like car bombs and heavy fighting, the silent suffering that has become the daily reality here just isn’t catching much attention
The Fallacy of Righteous America
By Ghali HassanMy advice to Americans is to take a hard look in the mirror, and ask yourselves why your country is committing horrendous terrorist acts on the soils of other countries
Baghdad Fumes As The Americans Seek
Safety In 'Tombstone' Forts
By Patrick CockburnThe US army is paralyzing the heart of Baghdad as it builds ever more elaborate fortifications to protect its bases against suicide bombers
Sharon, The Enigma?
By Samer ElatrashSharon’s ‘disengagement plan’ is no proof that Sharon is willing to pay the “painful price” for peace, but it is evidence that in Sharon, the State of Israel has again found a Prime Minister who is willing to pay the price for gaining time—time to allow the repression of the Israeli army and the creation of more ‘facts on the ground’ to lead to an irreversible situation, which would rule out the establishing of a viable Palestinian state west of the Jordan River
12 June, 2004
Civilian Death Toll Rises In Sadr City
By Dahr JamailAccording to Dr. Ali Jumali at Khadasiyah Hospital, the only facility in Sadr City with a morgue, 221 residents from the area who died as a result of the fighting were brought to the morgue between May 4 and May 31. Dr. Jumali said another 100 bodies were sent to Adnan Hospital in central Baghdad during the same time frame
Holiday In A War Zone
By Dahr JamailEven up in restful Kurdistan the symptoms of war and unrest remain. One must be patient at the checkpoints and be wary of where one parks the car
A Torturer's Charter
By Richard Norton-TaylorSecret documents show that US interrogators are above the law
Interview With Noam Chomsky
By Noam Chomsky and Timo StollenwerkAn interview with Chomsky about theimplications his writing and activism have on European countries, especially Germany
10 June, 2004
BBC Starts Worrying Over Peak Oil
By Adam PorterIf you think oil prices are high at $40 a barrel then wait till they are four times that much
Bush Still Screwing Iraq And America
By Sam HamodNot only did Bush succeed in putting his puppets back into the governance of Iraq, he also stabbed Brahimi and the UN in the back—all to the detriment of Iraq
Bush's Anti-union Record
By Joel WendlandA recently released AFL-CIO report on the Bush administration's record titled "Bush Watch" shows the White House occupant to be a dismal failure as well as decidedly anti-working-class. Not a big surprise, right? Let's look at the record
'They Want Us To Emigrate'
By Dan de LuceThanks to Makhmalbaf and Kiarostami, Iranian cinema is acclaimed around the world. But can its film-makers survive Iran's new conservative censors?
The Gender Experience At
Aligarh Muslim University
By Nazia Y.IzuddinAligarh Muslim University is a romantic dream for Muslims all over the world. But for the girl students of the university it is not so romantic when they are discriminated for their gender
09 June, 2004
US Ignorance Is A Threat To Humanity
By Jeffrey D. SachsIn the case of a superpower, ignorance is not bliss; it is a threat to Americans and to humanity
Questions With No Answers
By Ali AbunimahDoes UN Secretary General Kofi Annan think that Palestinians have a right to defend themselves against the kinds of violent attacks and destruction Israel is carrying out in Rafah refugee camp?
08 June, 2004
Fake Sovereignty For Iraq
By Ghali HassanThe so called sovereignity is merely a name change, IGC to IIG. Mr. Negroponte, the American Proconsul (aka "U.S. Ambassador") will replace Mr. Bremer after June 30th
Who Is To Run The World, And How?
By Noam ChomskyWe have just passed the first anniversary of the President's declaration of victory in Iraq. I won't speak about what is happening on the ground. There is more than enough information about that, and we can draw our own conclusions. I will just mention one aspect of it: What has happened to Iraqis?
More On The Destruction Of Rafah
By Gideon LevyOne of the 120 homes demolished by the IDF in the Brazil refugee camp belonged to architect Manal Awad. This was the third time since 1948 that her family has been left homeless - and the second time that Ariel Sharon was responsible
Riding Bicycles
By George MonbiotOil is running out, but the west would rather wage wars than consider other energy sources
07 June, 2004
To Drink From The Sea Of Gaza
By Uri Avnery"By the end of 2005, not a single Jew will remain in the Gaza Strip!" claims the new Gaza disengagement plan.This reminds us of the classic Jewish joke about the Polish nobleman who threatens his Jew with death if he does not teach his beloved horse to read and write
Pollution Chokes The Tigris
By Dahr JamailWith reconstruction of a highly inadequate water treatment and distribution system at a near standstill throughout much of Central Iraq, some residents of Baghdad are left with little choice but to drink highly polluted water from the Tigris River
The Euro's Big Chance
By Niall FergusonThe dollar's reign as the world's undisputed reserve currency could be drawing to a close
06 June, 2004
Global warming: Skating On Thin Ice
By Norm DixonHollywood’s latest blockbuster, The Day After Tomorrow, has triggered the release of vast amounts of hot air from fossil-fuel industry funded “greenhouse skeptics”. They fear the film will focus people’s political concern on the very real dangers posed by increasing industry-induced global warming
Scouting For Foot Soldiers In Dhaka
By Anu MuhammadUS Defense Secretary, Donald H Rumsfeld, arrived in Dhaka in search of foot soldiers for the US war machine in either Iraq or Afghanistan
Pattern Emerges of Sexual Assault
Against Women Held by U.S. Forces
By Chris ShumwayWell publicized images of US soldiers torturing and humiliating male Iraqi prisoners may be overshadowing evidence gathered by several human rights groups and Pentagon investigators indicating US military personnel have raped and sexually abused Iraqi women held at Abu Ghraib prison and other detention facilities
Dalits Cheated Once Again
By Chandrabhan PrasadBuy diluting the promises made to the Dalits in their election manifesto in the the Common Minimum Programme, Congress has dented its own image among the politically conscious section of Dalits. Even Sonia Gandhi is perceived as a suspect, howsoever unfair it may be
New Secular Government And Its Secular Tasks
By Asghar Ali EngineerThe government by the United Progressive Alliance inspires confidence among minorities and the poor. However, this initial confidence has not only to be sustained but strengthened through proper action
05 June, 2004
No Special Effects With Nature
By Renato Redentor ConstantinoThe Day after Tomorrow is science fiction, but global warming is real. Will the movie end up trivializing the impact of climate change and thus increase indifference? Or will it spur more people to take action? Too early to tell. Is reality more frightening than Hollywood? With nature there are no special effects, only consequences
Pope Lectures Bush On America's Duties
By Peter PophamPope John Paul II read President George Bush a stiff public lecture on America's duties in the world during an audience at the Vatican. Mr Bush listened to the Pope's words with eyebrows raised and an expression of frozen geniality on his face
The Horror Of Mere Listening
By Dahr JamailEven just listening to the horror stories told by Iraqis is a harrowing experience. We end up crying with the victims
I Have Been In Torture Photos, Too
By Gerry AdamsThe Abu Ghraib images are all too familiar to Irish republicans.Gerry Adams , president of Sinn Féin and MP for Belfast West recounts how he was treated in jail
The Price Of Failure In Iraq
By David HirstThe US Iraqi enterprise was meant to transform the entire Middle East to the benefit of the Americans. Ironically, it is the US failure now that threatens to spread elsewhere
Welcome UPA, Without Illusions
By Praful BidwaiUnlike the common minimum programme of the United Progressive Alliance, government formation has been messy and driven by exigencies. P Chidambaram is an ideologically driven neo-liberal who, like many other Harvard Business School graduates, remains dedicated to "free-market" doctrines. Neither Mukherjee nor Shivraj Patil can be accused of being imaginative or firm in adhering to principle
04 June, 2004
Rafah - Hell On Earth
By Chris McgrealLast month, Israeli troops swept into the Rafah refugee camp in Gaza, bulldozing hundreds of homes and leaving around 60 dead. Israel says it was looking for terrorists, but by the time the army withdrew, 1,600 people were homeless. What happens to the people whose houses are destroyed? Chris McGreal asked six families to show him what they salvaged from the rubble
Rafah Counting The Dead
By Laila El-HaddadAt least 1650 Rafah residents were made homeless here within a span of 72 hours. Fifty-five Palestinians, mainly civilians, were killed and at least 200 others injured. Almost all were unarmed
Priest Stands Up To The Wall
By Larry FataThe Santa Marta dei Padri Passionisti monastery is located at the confluence of East Jerusalem, Abu Dis and Al-Izariyyeh (Bethany), the latter the biblical home of the sisters Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus.The Israeli authorities want to build their wall right through the monastery grounds
Violence In Baghdad,Wordplay In Falluja
By Dahr JamailCar bombs are becoming a daily occurrence in Baghdad, and there is nothing the locals can do about it
Auto Emissions Killing Thousands
By Julio GodoyUnrestrained consumption of fossil fuels is killing tens of thousands of people in Europe, new studies say.In France alone automobile emissions kill up to 10,000 people per year
That's Not The Democracy We Want"
By Tariq Ali & Tareq Al-ArabTariq Ali, author of "The Clash of Fundamentalisms" and renowned critical intellectual, talks about Islam and the West and about reforms in the Islamic world
India Is Not Shining For The Dalits
By Neelesh MishraThe lower castes, 80 percent of India's 1 billion people by government estimate, are still at the bottom in most social indicators -- education, income, employment, asset ownership and debt. It is extremely rare to find a Dalit software engineer, scientist or bank executive
03 June, 2004
Iraq's New President Just Figurehead?
By Dahr JamailAl-Yawer has earned a reputation among Iraqis for standing up to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) when he felt it necessary. But the presidential role to be filled by Al-Yawer is ironically an all but powerless one under the mandate of the interim government
New President, New Car Bomb
By Dahr JamailRather than celebratory gunfire for the appointment of a new president, we have a car bomb, a huge mushroom cloud and whaling sirens in the center of the capital city today
Neo-Con Collapse In Washington And Baghdad
By Jim LobeFourteen months after reaching the zenith of their influence on U.S. foreign policy with the invasion of Iraq, neo-conservatives appear to have fallen entirely out of favor, both within the administration of President George W Bush and in Baghdad itself
Iraqi Death Toll Amounts to a Holocaust
By Gideon Polya
The actual Iraqi death toll is not being reported and publicly discussed. Ignoring mass human mortality in Iraq amounts to holocaust denial. pdf fileWho Is Negroponte?
By Ghali HassanThe White House has just approved the appointment of John Dimitris Negroponte to be United States ambassador to Iraq.To appoint a Jew as ambassador to the Arab country that has been devastated because of the will of a cabal of Jewish neocons headed by Wolfowitz is like trying to put off a fire using buckets of gasoline
Barbarians At The Gate
By Nick PretzlikThe occupation of Palestinian land, and the harsh methods employed to maintain it, have corrupted Israeli civil society. Poison, which entered the body politic and infected the head, now contaminates the nation as a whole
Sonia Gandhi And The Hypocrisy
Of The Saffron NRIs
By Vijay PrashadIn the darkest of nights, the stars are seen clearest. The rule of Hindutva was a dark night, and the struggles of India's people had the luster of stars. Let us hope that these stars will rule their leaders, egg them to justice and refuse to entertain intolerance and cruelty again
02 June, 2004
Oil Price Strikes New High
By ReutersThe latest price rise has raised doubts about whether an expected increase in supplies from a Thursday OPEC meeting in Beirut will be enough to tame prices
Desperate For Food
By Dahr JamailThe increased number of women and children begging for dinars on the streets of Baghdad shows, more than anything else, how desperate the Iraqis are for food
Celebrating Life In Rafah
By Ramzy BaroudA Palestinian friend of mine, who is living far away from home, told me that as she witnessed the images of the victims of Rafah, she felt a strange and overpowering sense of pride. She said, “If I had not been born Palestinian, I would’ve wished to be.”
Visit To Kashmir: A Kind Of Normalcy
By Rakesh ShuklaHuman rights groups can keep asserting gross human rights abuses and the Government can keep denying the killings and rapes. However, it is the almost invisible, intangible humiliation suffered in everyday life which in a major way contributes to the alienation of kashmiri people
01 June, 2004
Media & Market Jihad
By P. SainathWhose interests do we give priority to? Voters? Or `The Market'?
Victory Of Secularism
By Asghar Ali EngineerThe minorities should have full faith in the Indian democratic system. Many Muslims had despaired that no change is possible. Some even joined BJP out of this desperation. All of them have been belied
Celebrating The BJP's Departure
By Praful BidwaiThe UPA's mandate is not just for growth or development. It is for equitable growth and for development which has people right at its centre. It is for healing and repairing the secular fabric of India, which has been severely damaged by the NDA over the past six years. It is for reintegrating the values of humanity and decency into the very core of Indian politics
USA: An Empire Of Denial
By George Monbiot"Many parts of the world," he claims, "would benefit from a period of American rule." The US should stop messing about with "informal empire", and assert "direct rule" over countries which "require the imposition of some kind of external authority". But it is held back by "the absence of a will to power".
Meet The New Zionist's
By Matthew EngelThe members of the Christian Coalition of America are some of the most passionate defenders of Israel in the United States. There's just one catch: they want to convert all Jews to Christianity
Tommy's Granny
By Uri AvnerySometimes a person "buys his world in one moment," as the ancient Hebrew saying goes. This was done by the Minister of Justice, Yosef ("Tommy") Lapid, when he uttered the words: "This old woman reminds me of my grandmother!"
31 May, 2004
'We Only Want Westerners'
By Patrick CockburnIt was the latest in a series of ruthless attacks on foreign workers in Saudi Arabia, targeting the employees of foreign oil companies. In each case the gunmen have aimed to slaughter as many non-Muslims as possible
Iraq Rapidly Disintegrating
By Dahr JamailIraq has been shattered. And now, today, over a year since the horrible regime of Saddam Hussein was overthrown, what is left of the country seems to be unraveling more and more with each passing day
On Their Way To Abu Ghraib
By Mike FernerAs the U.S. now releases hundreds of men from Abu Ghraib prison, another question, “why were so many Iraqis locked up there in the first place?” Visit the village of Abu Siffa 30 miles north of Baghdad, and find out how 83 men were taken on the night of December 16, 2003 and locked up in Abu Ghraib
Colonial Violence Against Women In Iraq
By Ghali HassanWestern Women's movements stood silent when tortures and rapes of Iraqi women detainees came to light. Western "feminists" are ready to attack with ferocity Moslem "fundamentalists" and community leaders, but they failed to lift a finger when innocent Iraqi women and girls are detained, tortured and raped by sick colonial soldiers