04 June, 2005
Court To The Rescue Of Coca Cola
By Karthika ThampanIn an unprecedented judgement Division Bench of the Kerala High Court directed Perumatty gramapanchayath (local council) to renew within one week from Wednesday, the licence granted by the panchayat to Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Ltd to run its plant at Plachimada in Palakkad district, in the south Indian state of Kerala. The court ordered that if a formal licence is not issued by the panchayat within the time prescribed, it should be deemed that the company possesses the renewed licence
Who Killed Samir Kassir?
By Robert FiskThe bloody hand has reached out to Lebanon once more, striking down one of its most prominent journalists and one of the most vociferous and bravest critics of the Syrian regime
Bolivia Rocked By Mass Protests Over Energy Law
By Bill Van AukenBolivia’s capital of La Paz has entered its second week of mass protests by workers, indigenous peasants and students demanding the nationalization of the country’s energy industry
"The Free Software Challenge In Latin America"
By David SugarAs nations of the world increasingly turn to free software to cut costs and promote local development, some powerful North American commercial interests have responded by bullying
Dalit Feminism
By M. Swathy MargaretI appeal to young Dalit women not to get subsumed in the relatively macro-identities of mainstream progressive movements such as the male Dalit movement or the upper-caste feminist movement. It is only by retaining our unique voice within these movements that we can contribute meaningfully to these movements and benefit from them
Cultural History And Emergent Dalit Alternatives
By Goldy M. GeorgeDalit’s search for alternative media is in fact the search for a counter-culture, that will stand as a paradigm to protect human existence; re-write history and evolve a new culture of love and caring
02 June, 2005
Dutch Voters Reject EU Constitution
By Chris MarsdenVoters in the Netherlands have overwhelmingly rejected the proposed European Union constitution. Initial projections based on more than half the ballots cast in the June 1 referendum indicate that at least 62 percent voted against the treaty, with turnout also as high as 62 to 63 percent of the electorate
Time To Admit It Is Only Gravel
By Hasan Abu NimahMahmoud Abbas has just completed a "successful" visit to Washington. He expressed great satisfaction with the results, and comparing what he had expected to what he had achieved, he must be right. But what benefits the visit did bring the Palestinians is a different matter: simply nothing
Shameful Australia
By Ghali HassanInstead of taking a humanitarian attitude to assist the people of East Timor build their nation - education system, healthcare services, and civilian infrastructure -, the Australian government is taking a colonial attitude of bullying and exploiting East Timor resources
Operation Lightning Underway In Baghdad
By James CoganOperation Lightning—the massive deployment of 50,000 US and Iraqi government troops and police into the streets of Baghdad—began on Sunday and is unfolding amid a virtual media blackout and a complete absence of critical commentary
Is RSS A Terrorist Organization?
By Ram PuniyaniThe only point of overt confusion some times can be that unlike Osama, or the AK 47 weilding terrorist in parts of the World, RSS volunteer will appear to be the apostle of quietness. The violence is leased out by clever social and psychological manipulation. In that sense AK 47 may miss the target but a mind poisoned and initiated by Hate ideology propagated by RSS will come out as violence some time or the other, here or there, it's just a question of time
Politics, Tamil Cinema Eshtyle
By S AnandTamil cinema's affair with politics has been a long-standing one, but in the last 10 years Tamil cinema has learnt to craft politics in a different fashion. How such politics is perceived and received has depended on the location of the audience in the caste-class, rural-urban axes
Education For Wealth Creation
By Chandrabhan PrasadAround 30 million Dalit and Adivasi children are enrolled in thousands of primary schools. Out of them, 49.35 per cent drop out before joining junior high school
01 June, 2005
Chávez Leads The Way
By Richard GottThe Chávez government is moving ahead with various spectacular social projects, assisted by the huge jump in oil prices, from $10 to $50 a barrel over the past six years. Instead of gushing into the coffers of the already wealthy, the oil pipelines have been picked up and directed into the shanty towns, funding health, education and cheap food
The Political Consequences Of The French “No” Vote
By Peter SchwarzThe French voters’ rejection of the European constitution has thrown ruling circles in both France and the whole of Europe into a major crisis. The shock’s full effect will only become evident in the coming weeks and months
The EU Constitution;Savaging National Sovereignty
By Mike WhitneyThe French vote is just the first volley in what will undoubtedly be a long war. The corporate moguls and their political underlings have sharpened their talons for a long and bloody conflict; they won’t be discouraged by results of the democratic process
Oil Pipeline Completed
By Peter SymondsThe completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which has taken a decade to construct, will inevitably accelerate the scramble for oil and gas in the Caspian Basin region and heighten the potential for conflict among rival major powers
Seymour M Hersh — From My Lai To Abu Ghraib
By Seymour M Hersh, Andrew Burgin & Matthew CooksonI read the transcripts of the Pentagon’s briefings. The first year of Rumsfeld was a real love-in. Someone would say, “Sy Hersh is at it again” and there would be laughter.It troubles me that there’s not a bigger anti-war movement in the US. People in the US are just sleeping, for whatever reason. But I’m doing stuff. I’ve got more stuff to do
White Australia Abusing Asian Mothers And Children
By Gideon PolyaHave you got your passport?" is set to become a standard semi-serious comment within the "visible minorities" in racist White Australia
“Things Are Getting Worse By The Day”
By Dahr JamailAt least 740 Iraqis have been killed since the new “government” took power in late April, and with the ongoing operations sparking more attacks each day, it doesn’t look like there is an end in sight
Remember Muhsin Abdul Hameed?
By Baghdad BurningMuhsin Abdul Hameed, head of the Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni political party that was basically the only blatantly Sunni party taking part in post-occupation politics in Iraq, was was “detained and interviewed” by the US forces the otherday.Was it meant to send a message to Sunnis? “None of you are safe- even the ones who work with us.”
Why RSS Is Angry ?
By Subhash gatadeThe Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is furious with an American think-tank for declaring it a terrorist organisation and lumping it with a host of jihadi organisations and secessionist outfits.The Sangh leadership has written to the Terrorism Research Centre, protesting against the “terrorist” tag, but is yet to get a response....
22 May, 2005
What’s Next In Venezuela?
By Lee SustarVenezuela is swinging to the left amid a surge of activism by workers, as President Hugo Chávez raises the question of a socialist alternative. Lee Sustar analyzes developments in Venezuela, and what they mean in a country that the Bush administration identifies as an enemy of its interests in imposing U.S. domination across Latin America
The Terrorist George Bush Wants To Protect
By Alan MaassThe U.S. is currently harboring one of the world’s most deadly terrorists--anti-Castro Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles. And the Bush administration shows no signs of bringing him to justice
Joint Letter to Prachanda
By Human Rights OrganisationsA joint letter by international humanrights organisations to CPN (Maoist) to establish mechanisms for cooperation with the UN human rights monitoring mission, including mechanisms to allow transparent and independent investigations by the UN teams in areas under (CPN) Maoist control
Uzbekistan: A Case Of Double Standard
By Ghali HassanFollowing the massacre of innocent Uzbek women and children, the Bush administration blamed the demonstrators for what happened
Australian Academics Advocate Legalized Torture
By Gideon PolyaTwo Australian law academics have caused a storm in Australia by their advocacy of legalised torture
Muslim-Dalit Relations
By Gail OmvedtA solid Dalit-Muslim alliance for the future should be directed to building a prosperous, equalitarian, caste- and patriarchy-freeIndia
Aggressive Vegetarianism
By Ram PuniyaniIn certain parts of India vegetarianism is also being used as a social and political weapon to browbeat the muslim community
17 May, 2005
Unrest Spreads In Uzbekistan
By Peter Boehm and Daniel HowdenAuthorities in Uzbekistan have lost control of a key border town in the eastern Ferghana valley, despite a brutal clampdown that has so far claimed the lives of an estimated 700 people
Newsweek Retracts Guantánamo Abuse Story
By Bill Van AukenCaving in to pressure from the Pentagon and the White House, Newsweek magazine Monday retracted a story on anti-Muslim abuse of detainees held in the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention camp.The article sparked anti-US upheavals that swept Afghanistan last week claiming at least 17 lives and spreading to other parts of the Muslim world
Newsweek Probably Got it Right
By CalgacusWhite House campaign to manage the news may win the day, but charges of Koran desecration appear in numerous previous reports
An Open Letter To The Troops:
"Fight For True Freedom Now!"
By Chuck RichardsonI am writing to let you know I support you, as a human being, with all my heart; but can’t support your military service to the United States because it is enabling a criminal enterprise. Mafia hit men are never acquitted because they’re “just following orders.”
A “Welcome Parade” Of Blood And Seething Anger
By Dahr JamailAs if to add insult to injury, with over 400 Iraqis killed in violence during the first two weeks of the newly sworn in Iraqi “government,” US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice made a surprise one day visit to the newest US colony
Clouds Gather Over World Economy
By Nick BeamsWhile the official forecasts are still for strong economic growth, a number of storm clouds are gathering over the world economy. They include: recession or near-recession conditions in a number of eurozone countries, doubts about the direction of the US economy and concerns that financial markets could face considerable turmoil if major hedge funds start to run into trouble
March For Peace
By Beena SarwarIt is odd that thousands of Indians and Pakistanis can be allowed to roam on public roads and markets in each other's countries if they are ostensibly there to see a cricket match, but not if they are explicitly making the trip to promote the cause of peace
15 May, 2005
Massacre In Uzbekistan
By Stephen Khan,Francis Elliott & Peter BoehmHundreds of protesters are reported to have been gunned down in bloody clashes with government forces that have ravaged eastern Uzbekistan
'I See Troops Fire On Unarmed Protesters'
By Galima BukharbaevaGalima Bukharbaeva, project director for the Institute of War and Peace Reporting in Uzbekistan, was one of the few journalists to witness the bloody assault in Andijan
Uzbekistan: US-Backed Dictator
Drowns Uprising In Blood
By Bill Van AukenThe uprising was sparked by the jailing of 23 local men, many of them prominent business owners, who were accused by the government of Islamic extremism. Underlying the confrontation, however, was longstanding popular anger over mass unemployment, poverty and the brutal methods of the autocratic regime of President Islam Karimov, a key ally of the Bush administration in the so-called global war on terrorism
The True Purpose Of Torture
By Naomi KleinGuantánamo is there to terrorise - both inmates and the wider world
Racist White Australia Deports
Brown Australian Citizen
By Gideon PolyaTwo major vehicles for the New Racism of White Australia have been persecution of non-European refugees and military support for Anglo-American "democratic imperialism" (democratic Nazism) in the Middle East and Central Asia
09 May, 2005
Iraqi Women Under Occupation
By Ghali HassanUnder the US Occupation, the situation of Iraqi women has continued to deteriorate. In addition to torture and sexual violence perpetuated by U.S. Occupation forces, a great number of Iraqi women and girls are kept locked up in their homes by a very real fear of abduction and criminal abuse
Saved By The Carrots...
By Baghdad BurningThese last few days have been explosive- They say there were around 14 car bombs in Baghdad alone a couple of days ago- although we only heard 6 from our area. Cars are making me very nervous lately. All cars look suspicious- small ones and large ones. Old cars and new cars. Cars with drivers and cars parked in front of restaurants and shops. They all have a sinister look to them these days
The Crisis And The Challenge Of
The Christian Faith
By Doug SoderstromThere is a competitive struggle going on to please God, a struggle so divisive that it is threatening to destroy the foundations of the Christian Faith. But now only two sides remain; the Christian Fundamentalists (the fundamentalists) and the more liberal faction of the church (the liberals)------- each determined to win. Yet, we are left to wonder, in this bitter battle over “the minds of men”-------is it possible for the church to survive?
Oil And Palestine: The New Cold War
By Am JohalThe new Cold War looks alot like the old one, but this time it is about Oil and Palestine
Why Us? (On The Academic Boycott)
By Tanya ReinhartThe international community is beginning to boycott Israel in all domains, from the Caterpillar bulldozers that demolish Palestinian homes, to sports and culture
The Andamans: A Man-Made Disaster
By M. RajshekharThe overloaded archipelago The Andaman & Nicobar islands were in a bad shape even before the tsunami struck. As rebuilding begins, old mistakes should not be repeated
