31 August, 2008
Gustave:
Waiting For The Bus In New Orleans
By Bill Quigley
Hundreds of buses are moving people away from the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Gustave is heading for the Louisiana coast nearly three years to the day after Hurricane Katrina destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes across the Gulf Coast. Many now face mandatory evacuation
Global
Famine Is It A Conspiracy?
By Eric Walberg
If indeed 6,000 elite business leaders control the world’s fate, surely such an immensely wealthy and powerful coterie could solve the food crisis in a flash. The massive expenditures on arms and the wanton destruction they cause every second, could, if stopped, provide the will and resources to restructure the world to end starvation, let alone poverty, leaving lots left over for the elite to wallow in. There is no organised force of any consequence opposing this world elite. What’s stopping it?
Obama
Is Not The Answer To King’s Dream
By David Truskoff
I was appalled at the staged attempt by the Democrats to link the anniversary of the August 28, 1963. Speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King to the nomination of Obama. The message was, King’s Dream has been answered."
John
Mccain: A Matter Of Character
By John Chuckman
When McCain’s being shot down in Vietnam is discussed, the fact that he was bombing civilians is almost never mentioned. He's just lucky he survived. He might well have been torn limb from limb had he been a Vietnamese pilot shot down in Texas
Blast
After Blast :Who Is Responsible?
By Teesta Setalvad
If as part of their strategy Hindu extremists disguise themselves as Muslims and then engage in terrorist activity, could they also be responsible for sending out emails claiming responsibility for blasts under assumed Muslim names and using an Islamic vocabulary? How then can we know who is responsible for the series of blasts that have ripped through a succession of Indian cities? What then of national security, public peace and communal harmony?
"Let
The Hindus Also Do Missionary Work"
By Kancha Ilaiah & Yoginder Sikand
Interview:Kancha Ilaiah on Dalit-Bahujans, Hinduism and Spiritual Fascism
Dr.
Ambedkar On Women Liberation
By Ratnesh Katulkar
Dr. Ambedkar's first academic paper "Caste in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development" also begins with his concern towards women, where he located the linkages between caste and gender by observing that "Superimposition of endogamy on exogamy means creation of caste" and concluded that there is no divine or natural cause of origin of caste but Brahmins of ancient India craftily designed it by enclosing their class through means of controlling and subjugating their woman
'Jamna
Maiyya': Comodified In A World Class City
By Sarandha
Now the river banks are up for sale because it is too much land lying 'empty', devoid of 'development', waiting to be constructed upon. Now the river itself is as dirty as a sewer. Now the government plans to 'reclaim' this lost, forgotten land, and show-case it to the world as a specimen of 'A Site of Recreation'
Racing
The Enemy
By Jim Miles
Book Review: Racing the Enemy – Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan By Tsuyoshi Hasegawa
29 August, 2008
India-US
Nuclear Deal Headed For Fiasco
By Praful Bidwai
As the tortuous negotiations for the United States-India nuclear deal enters its final stage, it becomes clear that India seriously underestimated the discomfort and opposition the agreement would arouse in many countries because of the special privileges granted to India, largely on New Delhi's terms
Satirical
News And The Build Up To
The Third World War
By Pablo Ouziel
Perhaps a couple of decades from now we will all be praising the mainstream media for the wonderful work they have done reporting on our collective insanity. If we could all leave aside for a minute our nationalisms and ideologies, we could see through every page printed, every word aired, or every media image shown, that global confrontation is just around the corner
Georgian
Crisis Heightens US-Russian
Tensions Over Ukraine
By Niall Green
The crisis in the Caucasus provoked by Washington’s belligerent policy toward Russia may soon be eclipsed by growing tensions over the future of Ukraine
The
Financial Times And The “Self-Confessed
Mastermind Of 9/11”
By James Petras
The Financial Times (FT), once the liberal, enlightened voice of the financial elite (in contrast to the aggressively neo-conservative Wall Street Journal) has yielded to the totalitarian-militarist temptation. The feature article of the weekend supplement of August 16/17, 2008 – “The Face of 9/11” – embraces the forced confession of a 9/11 suspect elicited through 5 years of hideous torture in the confines of secret prisons
Olympic
Follies And Triumphs
By Ramzy Baroud
When four Palestinian athletes marched with the Palestinian flag into the Olympic Games in Beijing it was a statement, a declaration of sorts, that Palestinians insist on their right to exist on equal footing with the rest of the world, to raise their flag without fear and wear their country's name spelled out the way it should be, not as a Palestinian Authority but as Palestine
America:
Zionist Colony
By Frank Scott
The colonization of American government will only end with creation of a real fifty state democracy in the U.S.A. , which could help bring about a real one state democracy in Palestine. Unfortunately, anything less will mean much more pain and suffering, possibly of epic proportions. And not only in Palestine, and not only for Jews
The
Issues And The Constitution Obama Ignores
By Timothy V. Gatto
We must either make Obama incorporate the loss of our civil liberties, or vote for Cynthia McKinney who does. There is no big choice here, either we want our freedoms restored, or we don’t. We don’t owe Barack Obama or the Democrats our loyalty because they are not the Republicans, rather they must earn OUR loyalty because we are the people that will or will not put them in office. The choice is Obama’s to make
Billionaire
Backer Of Anti-Obama Ad
Previously Broke Campaign Finance Laws
By Jason Leopold
The anti-Obama ad that Simmons funded was rejected by CNN and Fox News, although some local Fox affiliates have been airing the spot. Sinclair Broadcasting, however, which drew fire in 2004 for an anti-Kerry documentary it aired prior to the election, has been running the Obama ad. Simmons was also a financial backer of the Kerry documentary
Would
Jesus Ride A Donkey Or
Elephant To The Conventions?
By Jim Rigby
As the election draws closer, we will hear more and more about the politics of Jesus, as liberals and conservatives jockey to place the shining halo of Christianity over their own heads. Without saying it, they will imply, “Jesus would have voted for me!” Putting aside for a moment the rudeness of regularly forcing the inert pill of religious piety down the gullet of non-Christians, I think such politics are an insult to the message of Jesus as well
Warriors
Against The State
By Harsh Mander
It is alleged by the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh that Lateef Mohammed Khan is what the local police like to describe as a “jehadi” terrorist. Ajay T.G. is accused by the BJP government of Chhatisgarh of abetting Maoist Naxalite insurgency. There is much that these two men share in common. They both come from relatively modest backgrounds. Unsung and relatively unknown, in quiet ways they have effectively strived fearlessly and with passion to find ways to work for what they believe to be justice, using the law of the land and constructive social resistance
28 August, 2008
Pogrom
Against Christians In Orissa
By John Dayal & Shabnam Hashmi
There is a progom being carried out against Christians in the Indian state of Orissa for the last four days by right wing hindu organisations led by Viswa Hindu Parishat (VHP) and the Rashtiya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). At least 15 persons have lost their lives. One woman was burnt alive. Hundreds of churches torched. Priests and nuns beaten up, thousands of them now hiding in the forests of Orissa. The saddest part is that this is being carried out with the full connivance of the state police
Orissa: What Really
Happened
By Orissa Bachao Andolan
A Memorandum To State Human Rights Commission
Dance
Of Terror In Orissa
By Nikunj Bhutia
Followed by the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his disciples, Sangha Parivar begin their dance of terror throughout Orissa
New
Democracy In Nepal
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
August 15th, 2008, will go down in the history of Nepal as a true red letter day when Pushp Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was elected leader of Nepal by its constituent assembly, which met on this historic day to elect a new prime minister
Torture
As Official Israeli Policy
By Stephen Lendman
Thousands of Palestinians are arrested, detained and abused. With little or no accountability, here's how one Israeli soldier put it: "When you deny thousands of people a day (free) movement, it is impossible to do it in a nice way."
Judge
Rebuffs White House Immunity
By Jason Leopold
Facing a new reversal in federal court, the Bush administration is finding its options narrowed in its effort to stop congressional testimony from former White House counsel Harriet Miers and chief of staff Joshua Bolten regarding the firing of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006
27 August, 2008
Russia
Sets Off Alarm Bells
By Ramesh Jaura
A specter is haunting Europe, the specter of a new cold war in the wake of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signing a decree on Tuesday formally recognizing the breakaway Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states."We are not afraid of anything, including the prospect of a cold war," Medvedev said hours after announcing the Kremlin's decision and one day after parliament had supported the recognition
War
With Russia Is On The Agenda
By Paul Craig Roberts
The gratuitously aggressive US military policy toward Russia will lead to nuclear war. I am confident that if Americans elect John McCain, or the Republicans steal another presidential election, there will be nuclear war in the second decade of the 21st century. The neocon lies, propaganda, macho flag-waving, and use of US foreign policy in the interests of a few military-security firms, oil companies, and Israel are all leading in that direction
Rich
Countries Once Used Gunboats To Seize Food.
Now They Use Trade Deals
By George Monbiot
The world's hungriest are the losers as an old colonialism returns to govern relations between wealthy and poor nations
A
New Day, A New Mastermind
By Ajit Sahi
Police name an Islamic scholar from Uttar Pradesh as the evil brain behind the Ahmedabad blasts, but it is unlikely they will offer clinching evidence against him anytime soon
Poetry,
Hip-Hop And The Palestinian Experience
By Remi Kanazi
Poets For Palestine is a unique collection of poetry, spoken word, hip-hop and art devoted to Palestine. Unifying a diverse range of poets who have used their words to elevate the consciousness of humanity, this book aims to bridge a younger generation of poets with those who, for decades, have cultivated and strengthened the poetic medium
Slow
Food Nation To Release Healthy
Food And Agriculture Declaration
By Shepherd Bliss
“We, the undersigned, believe that a healthy food system is necessary to meet the urgent challenges of our time,” begins the final draft of the Declaration for Healthy Food and Agriculture. Initiated by Roots of Change and half a year in the drafting, it will be released August 29 at Slow Food Nation (SFN) at San Francisco’s City Hall
Kashmir And
The United Nations
By Wajahat Ahmad
A history of U.N engagement with Kashmir
The
Miasma Of Bipartisanship
By Niranjan Ramakrishnan
As part of the pre-Convention program on Monday, C-SPAN showed some footage from conventions past. One of the speeches was from the 1988 Democratic Convention, the speaker was Ann Richards. It was a stark reminder of how far the Democratic Party has fallen in 20 years
The
"Good Germans" And
The Democratic Convention
By Timothy V. Gatto
The arguments that the democrats raise about a possible McCain presidency and what it will mean are at the very least perfect examples of fear mongering. I’m not saying that they are not entirely wrong either. The problem I have with the Democrats is not how they view a McCain presidency; it is how they view an Obama presidency
Faculty
Resist Raising Funds For Endowed Chair
Named After “Good-Time Charlie” Wilson
By Robert Jensen
When University of Texas faculty members opened the local Austin newspaper in mid-August, many were surprised to read that that their institution was raising funds for an endowed chair to honor Charlie Wilson, described charitably by the paper as “the fun-loving, hard-living former East Texas congressman portrayed by Tom Hanks in last year’s ‘Charlie Wilson's War.’” A more honest evaluation would highlight Wilson’s contribution to the disastrous U.S. policy in Afghanistan in the late 1970s and 1980s
26 August, 2008
US
Air Strike Kills Civilians
In Western Afghanistan
By James Cogan
In one of the worst atrocities of the US-led occupation of Afghanistan, as many as 90 civilians were massacred by an American air strike last Friday in the western province of Herat. At least 60 of those killed were children under the age of 15, according to Afghan government and military sources
Dr
Binayak Sen, My Brother, Our Hero
By Dipankar Sen
Twenty two Nobel Laureates pleaded for him in an appeal to the Prime Minister of India. He was given the highest American medical award, honours by medical colleges and doctors in recognition of his protracted work for the poor in remote interiors. And yet, he is condemned in jail on fabricated charges by the BJP government in Chhattisgarh. Dr Binayak Sen's younger brother arrives from Belgium to seek justice for his Dada, and discovers a saga of pain and injustice
The
Future That Never Comes; The Past
That Never Was; The Present Inscrutable
By Gary Corseri
Why am I not surprised by Obama’s choice of Joe Biden as his running mate? Because I learned as a child: in America, the future never comes! Should we shake our heads, wondering, when the candidate for “change we can believe in” chooses a consummate Washington “insider” as his co-agent for that change?
Sailing
Into Gaza
By Huwaida Arraf
Peace activists arrive in Gaza safely
Israel's
Outposts Seal Death Of
Palestinian State
By Jonathan Cook
The majority of the half a million settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are “economic opportunists”, drawn to life in the occupied territories less by ideological or religious convictions than economic incentives. The homes, municipal services and schools there are heavily subsidised by the government. In addition, the settlements -- though illegal under international law -- are integrated into Israel through a sophisticated system of roads that make it easy for the settlers to forget they are in occupied territory surrounded by Palestinians
Iraq:
Sectarian Clashes Flare Up Again
By Ahmed Ali & Dahr Jamail
A military operation said to target al-Qaeda has ended up targeting Sunni Muslims instead, creating new sectarian tensions
John
McCain In A 'Nutshell'-- Philanderer, War Pimp,
Bush Policy Clone, And Neocon Liar...
By Vincent L. Guarisco
Without his shell, McCain is simply a nut that needs to be cracked, picked apart and exposed
Back
To The Future: New York’s Housing Crisis
By Joseph Grosso
The long term solution would be one that focuses on affordable housing, community orientated development, and government sponsored housing programs that can bring minority homeownership more in line with national numbers. It will be a difficult task that can expect to meet opposition every step of the way from the entrenched business elite that has called the shots for the past three decades. However, history has already proven that change is possible; and indeed inevitable when it comes to New York
Bolivia:
Right-Wing Rebellion Spurs Left Offensive
By Federico Fuentes
Violent attacks on police officers, roadblocks, civic stoppages enforced by armed fascist youth groups and threats to cut off meat supplies and take over gas fields have all been part of what left-wing Bolivian President Evo Morales has denounced as an attempted "civil coup" by "desperate people" following his August 10 recall referendum victory. However, the wave of protests appears to be quickly losing steam as social movements get organised to push for the approval of the draft constitution drawn up by an elected constituent assembly to "refound Bolivia"
Anti-Maoism,
McCarthyism And The Indian State
By Pratyush Chandra
Should we be surprised by the National Human Rights Commission's submission to the Supreme Court regarding Salwa Judum's atrocities leaked by the Economic Times? The official human rights body "found that many of the allegations [against Salwa Judum] were based on rumours and hearsay, and devoid of facts. Again, many of the villagers whose names figured in the column comprising victims of Salwa Judum or the security forces were actually found to have been killed by Naxalites
Engage,
Not Alienate Muslims
By M Shamsur Rabb Khan
The basic flaw in dealing with terror attacks in India has been the partisan and dubious role of two powerful organs – media and the investigating agency. While media leaves no stone unturned in highlighting everything associated with the terror attacks in such a manner that a community, i.e. Muslims becomes the ultimate target of focus, the investigations, statements, inputs, arrests, and strategies of the police have so far been directed to prosecute Muslims
Shabana
Azmi And The Moderate Muslim Agenda
By Farzana Versey
Shabana Azmi believes the moderate Muslim voice is never heard. Ever since she spoke out about not being able to get a flat in Mumbai, she has been in the news. A simple Google search on Shabana Azmi’s apartment problem gave 6350 results. Looking for ‘Delhi’s Imam Bukhari on jihad’ threw up only 3010 results. A rather telling statement
25 August, 2008
Bomb
Makers Of Hindutva Die
In Explosion
By Subhash Gatade
Two bajarangdal leaders were killed while 2 others injured yesterday when they were making bombs in Kanpur in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). The blast was so strong that the wall of the room in which the blast occurred collapsed. In other rooms, the walls were damaged. Pieces of glass were strewn everywhere
Obama
Selects Biden To Reassure US
Ruling Elite
By Patrick Martin
The selection of Senator Joseph Biden as the vice-presidential candidate of the Democratic Party underscores the fraudulent character of the Democratic primary campaign and the undemocratic character of the entire two-party electoral system. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, the supposed protagonist of “change,” has picked as his running-mate a fixture of the Washington establishment, a six-term US senator who is a proven defender of American imperialism and the interests of big business
NATO:
A Tool Of U.S. Imperialism
By Ghali Hassan
The U.S.-controlled North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has lost its purpose to continue as a defence alliance. However, its aggressive expansion is endangering world peace and the survival of the planet
Reinventing
The Evil Empire
By Stephen Lendman
Russia is back, proud and reassertive, and not about to roll over for America. Especially in Eurasia. For Washington, it's back to the future, the new Cold War, and reinventing the Evil Empire, but this time for greater stakes and with much larger threats to world peace
Georgia
Aftermath: End Of The Unipolar World?
By Dr Moeed Pirzada
Tiny Georgia's failed attempt to regain the lost South Ossetia and the Russian attack on Georgia appears a rather insignificant, self-contained conflict in the Caucasus yet this little understood development may mark the end of the America's uni-polar moment. Especially if you remember that this came within four weeks of a "double veto", in the United Nations, by Russia and China against the sanctions being proposed by the US and UK against the regime in Zimbabwe
Katrina
Pain Index – New Orleans Three Years Later
By Bill Quigley
A list of shocking statistics
An
Olympic Triumph For China
By Kent Ewing
As the blaze of fireworks, extraordinary athletic achievements and controversies fade into memory, it is important to give Beijing its due - its staging of the Summer Olympics was a stunning success. Why, then, the carping about the Games in the Western media? Is it sour grapes over China's increasing international clout?
Evolving
Indian Civilizational Setting:
Pluralism vs. Fundamentalism
By Purti Marwaha
We, the Indians, should break the religious barriers and work for a changing nation, where the people have comfortable amenities to live and contribute in the growth of the nation state, which while competing with the world at large, ensure the self sustenance of the nation state
Need
For Equitable Representation Of
Minorities In The Administration Of
Indian Government
By Mirza A. Beg
If the government does not succeed soon in designing programs similar in spirit as the "Affirmative action" in USA, I am afraid the reservations, a much less desirable remedy until a reasonable approximation to parity is achieved will be needed by default. By limiting reservations to administration of justice, police, army and low level bureaucracy will leave the rest of the burgeoning private enterprise open to meritocracy
24 August, 2008
Olympic-Size
Hypocrisy On Darfur
By Kevin Funk & Steven Fake
With the Olympics here, Western haranguing of China for its role in abetting what some have labeled ‘genocide’ in the Darfur region of Sudan is reaching a fevered pitch. Hardly a day passes in which US commentators fail to fill the op-ed ledger with righteous indignation over Beijing's political, economic, and military ties with Khartoum, or its rejection of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) moves towards prosecuting Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir. Yet the favored storyline of Darfur activists is highly selective and obscures more than it reveals
The
Madness Of Bankers: An Interview
With Charles R. Morris
By Robert Bryce
Millions of words have been written about the ongoing financial disaster largely caused by the subprime mortgage mess. But the most concise and easiest to understand handbook on the issue is almost certainly Charles R. Morris’ The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash. The book, published in March, spent several weeks on The New York Times best-seller list, and for good reason: The book explains in clear language exactly what happened and why
Democracy
And Empire: Both Illusions
By Timothy Gatto
I see a growing number of Americans realizing that they actually have no choice at all. I listen to the fear mongers from both political parties screaming that a vote for a third party candidate will insure the victory of McCain or Obama, as if it really mattered between them whether it is McCain or Obama that sets up shop in the Oval Office
Americans
Need To Tear Down This Wall
By Walter Brasch
The U.S. is building its own wall. The Bush Administration is putting up about 700 miles of fencing and other barriers along the U.S./Mexico border by the end of the year
Witch
Hunting Muslims In The Name Of
Fighting Terrorism
By Peoples Tribunal
The fight against terrorism, victims emphasized, has veered more around witch hunting of Muslims rather than curbing terrorism, thus robbing people of their liberty and freedom and making them more insecure than ever before
23 August, 2008
Land
And Freedom
By Arundhati Roy
Kashmir is in crisis: the region's Muslims are mounting huge non-violent protests against the Indian government's rule. But, asks Arundhati Roy, what would independence for the territory mean for its people ?
Looking
Back: Kya Khoya Kya Paya
By Syed Ali Safvi
Today, the mood in Kashmir is different. Kashmiris, irrespective of age and ideology, want freedom. The valley is abuzz with pro-freedom slogans. Thanks to the land row, secessionist groups in the valley have regained their lost political ground. The Kashmiri youth are seen rallying around the seperatists, an ominous sign for New Delhi
Peak
Oil And Future History
By Peter Goodchild
Yes, there are other factors beside oil to consider in the Great Crash. We live in a morass of bad politics, bad economics, and bad education (and bad news media that spoon-feed us with half-truths), and we elect thieves and liars to guide us. But the loss of oil, which is almost the only support of our unique industrial society, will be the factor that brings all the rest down
The
Saakashvili Experiment
By Ramzy Baroud
The ceasefire between Russia and Georgia, achieved through French mediation, will hardly be the end of the new Cold War underway in an area too accustomed to cold wars. The fact is that Russia will fight to break away from the pro- US ring of former Soviet states that promise to undermine its influence in a Eurasia, and the US will do its utmost to maintain a level of tension, if not hostilities in the region, for without it neither a missile shield nor the 270 billion barrels of oil in the Caspian basin can be brought within Washington's reach
US
Oil Pipeline Politics
And The Russia-Georgia Conflict
By Alex Lantier
US media claims about Georgian democracy notwithstanding, a key factor in US backing for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in his conflict with Russia has been the emergence of Georgia as a key transit country for oil and gas exports from the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea basin
One
World, If You Will
By G. Asgar Mitha
Rather than living and letting live in peace, the architects of the super empire are making the world dangerous to live in. But somewhere along the line at some point in time, some force may rise to challenge the dreams of a super empire and the empire may get hemmed in by its own lies. Every country that has expanded into an empire has contracted back into the country again. And the architects will once again fight among themselves like vultures as they did for three hundred years in the colonial era
Mahmood
Darwish And Arab Intellectualism
By Dr Marwan Asmar
His death prompted many to hold their hands up and say all our modern intellectuals and leaders of thought, philosophers, political thinkers, sociologists, literary essayists are dying. It’s as if the intellectual, ideological, thinking framework and infrastructure in the Arab world is coming to halt and it is not being replaced, but this is far from the truth and applies not only in the Arab world but beyond. The problem is that the emerging new intellectuals take a long time to come on the scene, bear fruit, sometimes not even in their life-time
Boat
Warriors Against The Israeli Siege Of Gaza
By Eileen Fleming
Two converted fishing boats of the Free Gaza Movement, bought and refurbished in Greece, and flying the Greek flag are travelling to Gaza. On board is a contingent of forty-three crew and human rights advocates, sworn to nonviolence, as well as a modest cargo of hearing aids for Palestinian children in Gaza. Among their ranks are a Greek member of parliament, an 81-year-old Catholic nun and the sister-in-law of former British prime minister Tony Blair
Conyers
Questions Iraq 'Forgery'
By Jason Leopold
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers has asked current and former White House aides and ex-CIA officials to respond to questions about an alleged scheme to create a bogus letter in late 2003 linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda
21 August, 2008
I
Have Evidence Of RSS And VHP
Making Bombs:Digvijay Singh
By Neha Dixit
Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh attacks the BJP just like Sushma Swaraj attacked the Congress. ‘Investigate the timings of the blasts’, he tells Neha Dixit
Musharraf’s
Resignation:
Causes, Significance And Implications
By Taj Hashmi
Apparently, there is nothing so unusual about the capitulation of another military dictator in Pakistan, to “the will of the people”. However, unlike the departure of Ayub, Yahya and Zia, Musharraf’s exit was dramatic, significant and most humiliating for himself
Stalin,
The Poet And Life's Choices
By Gaither Stewart
While Mayakovsky’s lonely statue still stands on Triumphalnaya Square and many people still call it Mayakovskaya Ploschad, the poet is rather forgotten. On the other hand, though monuments to Stalin have been pulled down across Russia, his shadow nonetheless hovers and haunts modern Russia and like the ideals of the French Revolution many of his achievements survive making Russia great and particular and its capitalism dicey … to say the least
"Peace
Mom" v. "Guardian Of Power"
By Stephen Lendman
Credit both titles to the book authors. Cindy Sheehan as a mother, peace activist, and now candidate to succeed Nancy Pelosi in California's Eighth Congressional District. Pelosi as both "guardian" and possessor of what Davids Cromwell and Edwards wrote about in their powerful critique of the media. Both women represent hugely different interests, so let readers choose which ones they prefer
If
I Were A Democrat Again,
This Is What I'd Tell Obama
By Timothy V. Gatto
I would be utterly confounded, confused, upset, hopeless and most of all, hurting like hell. Even though I’m not a Democrat, I still feel all of these particular emotions. It feels as if the end of the world is coming and there is not a thing I can do about it, and unfortunately, nobody seems to care, especially the Democrats
Jammu
And Kashmir: At Crossroads!
By Ram Puniyani
We need to overcome the Hindu-Muslim approach and look at all the concerned issues in an objective dispassionate manner. Hope all these complexities and grievances of the people of Jammu, the people of Kashmir valley form the basis of peaceful and just solution to the present turmoil in the state
20 August, 2008
US
Steps Up Pressure On Russia
By Stefan Steinberg
Following intense pressure from the United States, the NATO meeting of foreign ministers held in Brussels on Tuesday issued a statement accusing Russia of “disproportionate” military force and the “deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure” in the conflict with Georgia
Beat
The Dead Horse Or Putin's Revenge
By Gaither Stewart
NATO-USA accuses Russia of invading small countries, Russia charges NATO for supporting the criminal regime of Georgia. While NATO and Russia both claim that their relations will never be the same again, Russian tanks roam around the Caucasus region as they please. Europe has received Putin’s message to the world loud and clear. The Russians are truly back
Are
You Ready For Nuclear War?
By Paul Craig Roberts
It is obvious that American foreign policy, with its goal of ringing Russia with US military bases, is leading directly to nuclear war. Every American needs to realize this fact. The US government’s insane hegemonic foreign policy is a direct threat to life on the planet
The
US Missile Defence System Is
The Magic Pudding That Will Never Run Out
By George Monbiot
Poland is just the latest fall guy for an American foreign policy dictated by military industrial lobbyists in Washington
Poor
Georgia!
By Joseph M. Cachia
As American military cargo planes start landing in Georgia and the U.S. naval forces arriving in Georgian ports on the so-called ‘humanitarian aid’ operation just one day after the hostilities ended, much faster than to Lousiana for the victims of Katrina, a lot of jaws dropped. Viewed in close relationship to the planned installation of the U.S. Missile Defence System in Poland and the radar system in the Czech Republic, many Georgians have been worried by Saakashvili’s tendency to portray western support as an excuse to provoke Russia. Even poor old Poland, not unlike the Czech Republic and the U.K., has fallen into the trap of becoming an American puppet
The Delusion
Revolution: We're on The Road
To Extinction And In Denial
By Robert Jensen
Our current way of life is unsustainable. We are the first species that will have to self-consciously impose limits on ourselves if we are to survive
Organized
Crime Nation
By Dave Eriqat
I’ve got news for Americans, we’re living the fictions portrayed in The Godfather and The Sopranos! And the real life gangsters aren’t low class thugs, but are the captains of business and politics, the elites
Dangers
Of Misplaced Opposition:
Indo-US Nuclear Deal And The Indian Left
By P.K. Sundaram
Indian Left's premising of its opposition in 'national interest' terms failed to resist the real implications of the deal – further dangerous undermining of the nonproliferation regime. While the deal in effect legitimizes and boosts India's nuclear weapons capabilities, the Left's contention that it hampered 'sovereign' indigenous nuclear programme proved to be a self-goal and was also inaudible to larger masses
Mystery
Behind Aafia Siddiqi's 'Arrest' Deepens
By Zofeen Ebrahim
Aafia’s resurfacing in Ghazni, five years after her disappearance in the southern port city of Karachi, has shaken the nation. The whereabouts of her three children, who were with her at the time she was kidnapped, remain unclear
A
McCain Administration Could Result
In More Wars In Middle East
By Jason Leopold
Although McCain insists he is no George W. Bush, his campaign is stacked with advisers who played key roles in shaping the Bush administration's Middle East policies, including the disastrous plan to launch a preemptive strike against Iraq that has cost taxpayers nearly $1 trillion, resulted in the deaths of more than 4,000 US soldiers, and hundreds of thousands Iraqi civilians
19 August, 2008
Pakistan’s
Political Crisis Deepens
By Peter Symonds
While Musharraf has now stepped down, the political crisis in Islamabad is certain to intensify. The two major coalition parties—the PPP and PML-N—are longstanding and bitter rivals. As a number of commentators have noted, opposition to Musharraf was the main glue holding their alliance together. Even on the immediate issue of Musharraf’s future, there is no agreement
Musharraf
Resigns; But Miles To Go
By Beena Sarwar
Pakistan heaved a collective sigh of relief that the drama is finally over. But Musharraf's departure is just one step in the process of democracy, for the continuation of which Pakistan and its allies will need all the patience they can muster
Pakistan
After Musharraf
By Tariq Ali
Over the last fifty years the US has worked mainly with the Pakistan Army. This has been its preferred instrument. Nothing has changed. How long before the military is back at the helm?
Mahmoud
Darwish: The Anger,
The Longing, The Hope
By Uri Avnery
During the funeral ceremony in Ramallah Mahmoud Darwish was referred to again and again as "the Palestinian National Poet". But he was much more than that. He was the embodiment of the Palestinian destiny. His personal fate coincided with the fate of his people
Can
A Handful Of International Activists
And Two Boats Break The Siege Of Gaza?
By Sharat G. Lin
It is the responsibility of all activists for human rights and social justice worldwide to stand behind the courageous passengers of the SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty in the coming critical days as they prepare to depart from Cyprus. This is an act of nonviolent civil disobedience following in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi – unarmed ordinary people with an unshakable moral conviction facing down one of the most powerful military machines on Earth. Global awareness is key. The probability that they will be harmed is drastically reduced if the eyes of the world are focused on Gaza’s coastal waters. The siege of Gaza must be broken!
The
True Story Of Mao - PART 2
By Li Onesto
Understanding the truth about Mao is important for everyone—the revolution he led was a major milestone in human history and everyone should know the truth about such a revolution and such a figure. And for those who truly want to change the world, there is even more at stake—for Mao’s revolutionary thinking and practice form a critical part of the foundation and a point of departure for rebuilding a revolutionary movement today
Harper
Again Serves As
Bush's Mouthpiece In Canada
By Jim Miles
While eastern Canada suffers unseasonable rains, the west enjoys its average warm/hot summer. In the Middle East however, the heat is rising in the geo-political field
Our
Military Has No Higher Duty
Than To End Fascism
By Timothy V. Gatto
War is no longer an option unless we are attacked directly. It is not a form of diplomacy to be used in the 21st Century. It is ironic that the only people that can change our future are the very same people that do these criminals bidding. Who better to defend the republic than the military that is charged to do so? It is their solemn duty, and there can be no higher calling
Amarnath
Land Row:
Towards A Feasible Solution
By Syed Ali Safvi
The crisis in Jammu and Kashmir are compounding with each passing day. The two regions of the state are up against each other over a stretch of land. The administration is undecided on how to deal with the present turmoil. Going by the present ground realities, there seems no light at the end of the tunnel. Here are some remedial measures through which the crisis in Jammu and Kashmir could be mitigated
Homosexuality
In India
By Namit Arora
While the Indian response reduces open conflict, the flip side is a muffled suffering: countless men and women lead double lives, hiding from their true natures and denying themselves the most precious of intimacies and self-knowledge
18 August, 2008
China
Seeks Caucasian Crisis Windfall
By M K Bhadrakumar
The aftershocks of the crisis in Georgia are rocking China. A chill in ties with Russia reflexively prompts Washington to cultivate Beijing. Some signs of it are already there. Similarly, Russia's energy policies will largely depend on the political equations - read missile defense shields - between Moscow and major European capitals. China would be a huge beneficiary if another Berlin Wall were to appear in Moscow's relations with Europe
The
Madmen In The White House
By David Truskoff
The new Polish American missile deal coming at this time is a siren that should call all thinking people to action. The often quoted words of, George Santayana "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Must headline the work of all those in the peace movement the world over
Blockades:
Acts Of War
By Stephen Lendman
From July 21 - 31, Joint Task Force (mostly US, but also UK, Brazil and Italy) "Operation Brimstone" large scale war games were conducted off the US East coast in the North Atlantic. Its purpose may have been to prepare for a naval blockade of Iran
Sailing
To Araby
By Peter Goodchild
It’s odd that the Arabs are aware that oil is running out, whereas North Americans and Europeans keep up the daily chant that "high oil prices are due to hoarding and price-fixing." We live in our dreams of the past
See
No Hemp, Hear No Hemp,
Speak No Hemp, Part II
By Rand Clifford
If hemp had not been banned over 70 years ago to protect profits of Big Oil and its petrochemical synthetics empire, plus many other powerful industries such as timber, paper, and cotton; and competition from chemurgy in general had not been stifled by ruthless manipulations , the biosphere could be in far better health—that includes you and me
Deconstructing
The Democratic Party Platform
By Case Wagenvoord
The Democratic faction of America’s sole political party has published a draft of its Party Platform, and, yes, it is official: America is now a one-party nation. It’s right there on page three of the preamble to the platform: “There can be no Republican or Democratic ideas, only policies that are smart and right and fair and good for America—and those that aren’t.”
Cry,
Lady Liberty !
By Maryam Sakeenah
The horrendous exposition of unabated use of the vilest torture on detainees, the latest of which that has come to light is the nightmarish tale of Dr. Afia Siddiqui has left ugly, deep scars reaffirming the image of the US as a state not befitting of its gigantic role in world politics
New
Trend In Kashmiri Struggle
By Dr Shabir Choudhry
Like politics of Pakistan it is difficult to predict future of the State of Jammu and Kashmir and the on going struggle. The State is multi religious and multi ethnic; and has competing interests from various political, religious and armed groups. Politics of the State is controlled from outside of the State boundaries and people of the state suffer as a result of this control and interference
16 August, 2008
Moscow
Issues Nuclear Warning To Poland
By Shaun Walker in Tbilisi & Anne Penketh
General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Russia's deputy chief of staff, reflected the Kremlin's fury at an agreement reached on Thursday between the United States and Poland, which is to host part of a US missile defence shield that has been fiercely opposed by Moscow. It "cannot go unpunished", General Nogovitsyn said in Moscow yesterday. "Poland, by deploying [the system], is exposing itself to a strike – 100 per cent," said the general. But he raised the stakes by coupling the warning with a reminder that Russia's military doctrine provided for the use of nuclear weapons in such a case, and that Poland was aware of this
Missile
Agreement With Poland Intensifies
Danger Of US-Russian Clash
By Patrick Martin
The agreement between the United States and the right-wing government of Poland to base a US anti-missile system in that country is the first major response of American imperialism to the Russian intervention in Georgia
Fear
Rises Among Defeated As Invaders
Show No Sign Of Retreat
By Kim Sengupta
There was no sign yesterday of the Russians abiding by their pledge to withdraw from the strategic town of Gori, and hand it over to Georgian forces. Instead, just as Condoleezza Rice was due to speak about Russian withdrawal, an armoured column, escorted by helicopter gunships, moved out of the city to advance a further seven miles inside the country, taking up positions near the village of Igoeti
Family
Politics And The New Gaza Crisis
By Ramzy Baroud
Once again, the important story that ought to matter the most -- that of a continually imposing and violent Israeli occupation -- is lost in favour of Palestinian-infused distractions, deliberate or not.In Gaza, the story of the Israeli siege, which represents one of today's most catastrophic man-made disasters, is relegated in favour of renewed infighting between Hamas and Fatah, whether directly or by proxy
Blocking
A Gazan's Path To San Diego
By Fidaa Abed
My education is my gateway to the future. The master's degree I would have earned at UC San Diego in computer science certainly cannot be attained in Gaza. And I am not alone. Hundreds of Palestinian students with dreams of improving their lives are stagnating intellectually in Gaza. The doors to our open-air prison have largely been slammed shut
The
7th Anniversary Of 9/11
And The Cycle Of War
By Vincent L. Guarisco
Here we are once again at an early threshold of another anniversary marking the seventh consecutive year that the Project for the New American Century boys (the architects), and the Bush administration (the perpetrators) of September 11, 2001 attacks, are still walking free among us, holding the mighty reigns of power within the construct of our own mundane borders. And just like the previous six years, justice seems to be a difficult task for bringing the guilty ones to trial
Must
He Die? Meet A Muslim Dissident Who Loves
Jews, Christians And Free Speech
By Brenda West
His country wants to hang him, and this could happen within the next few months. Sallah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is a Bangladeshi journalist, publisher and peace activist who has left the fold of Jew hatred and Muslim supremacy that is infecting his country in recent years. For that, he is accused of ‘crimes against humanity’ and ‘hurting the image of Islam.’
Making
Strategic Sense Of Terror
By Firdaus Ahmed
There is scope for expansion of the arc of suspicion beyond the usual confines in the aftermath of terror to include those not in the default lineup. While investigating agencies may like to take this on, it is a fit case for a Tehelka style exposure by intrepid investigative journalists
A
Different Jammu That I Know
By Yoginder Sikand
The agitation over the Amarnath shrine in Kashmir has now threatened to snowball into a full-fledged communal conflict. The violence and the passions that have erupted in its wake are reminiscent, although on a much smaller scale, of the terror and mayhem that tore apart Jammu in 1947 in the wake of the Partition
15 August, 2008
Israel's
Role In The Russia-Georgia War
By Ali Abunimah
The collapse of the Georgian offensive represents not only a disaster for that country and its US-backed leaders, but another blow to the myth of Israel's military prestige and prowess. Worse, Israel fears that Russia could retaliate by stepping up its military assistance to Israel's adversaries including Iran
The
Neocons Do Georgia
By Paul Craig Roberts
Unless enough Americans can overcome their brainwashed state and the rigged Diebold voting machines, turn out the imbecilic Republicans and hold the neoconservatives accountable for their crimes against humanity, a crazed neocon US government will provoke nuclear war with Russia
The
Nuclear Showdown: Part 2-
The Battle Over Enrichment
By Tim Buchholz
Why is the U.S. pushing for deals with Turkey and India and pushing for sanctions against Iran? Because they are our allies? Why does that override Iran’s right internationally to the same inspections and guidelines that will allow Turkey and India nuclear power. Is it just because India and Turkey are willing to buy it from other countries and Iran wants to make its own?
Please
God Can My Son Survive
Acute Myaloid Leukaemia?
By Andrew Kishner
His words are also as true for Americans as they are for the British and every other group of peoples that have been plagued with nuclear fallout and government coverups. The time has come to draw the line against coverups before many more people will have to ask ‘please God can my son survive Acute Myaloid Leukaemia?’
Big
Powers' Hostility With Iran And :
Thirst For Nuclear Fuel Market
By Rahil Yasin & Rudo de Ruijter
An attack would likely leave Iran angry, more nationalistic, fed up with international inspectors and nonproliferation treaties, and more determined than ever to obtain nuclear weapons
The
Gray Lady Of Bagram
By Aijaz Zaka Syed
The Aafia Siddiqui case may have come to the world's attention because of some conscientious activists. But what about all those innocent individuals, who have just vanished down the black hole called the Guantanamo Bay, without a trial and without anyone looking for them? And who knows how many such gulags are out there and how many innocents they have sucked into their belly? This war has turned our world into a big gulag where there are no borders, no rule of law, no courts, no justice and no rights whatsoever
'Provincial
Saddam' Goes, Finally
By Ahmed Ali & Dahr Jamail
The surprise removal of the Diyala police chief has brought new hope of a more secure future. The decision by members of the ruling council of Diyala governorate to discharge provincial police chief Ghanim al-Quraishi brought celebrations in its wake. In Baquba, 40 km northeast of Baghdad, and capital of Diyala province, Quraishi has long been a controversial figure
The
Need For Real Debate On South Africa's Future
By Raymond Suttner
Why is there little real debate over the country's problems and alternatives? How is it that no one in the alliance is debating what the Zuma phenomenon may mean as a programmatic question, and whether and how his leadership differs from that of Thabo Mbeki? Why is it that Zuma has attracted a range of people who do not have clear ideological reasons for their affiliation, but attribute "leftism" to the ANC president? Has the left project absorbed Zuma - or has the official left dissolved in the Zuma "tsunami"?
A
Guest Of Eternity:
Mahmoud Darwish In Memoriam
By Raymond Deane
Mahmoud Darwish left no children to whom we can address our condolences. Instead, it is the Palestinian people as a whole who must receive our commiseration for the loss of their most vibrant voice at a time when so much else is being lost to them
Corporate
Media Bashes New Chavez
Enabling Law Decrees
By Stephen Lendman
Under Venezuelan constitutional law, Enabling Law power is legal but limited. So despite media and opposition claims, it doesn't grant Chavez sweeping "rule by decree" authority or make him a "dictator."
Pakistani
Nation In anxiety –
Is It A Start Of An End
By Syed Atiq ul Hassan
Pakistani nation seems to be in the state of perplexity. Is it a start of an end of a State which was the dream of millions of Muslims of Indian Subcontinent 61 years ago? Today, a common Pakistani in Pakistan and abroad is fearful when look what has been happening in the country for the last few months
Dalit
Digital Media:- Shuddering
The Hinduized News Media!! Part I
By Saint
Anyone who goes through these alternate digital news blogs and sites would appreciate the sear knowledge, straightforward analysis of events by these individual writers can stand distinctively than that of Times of India, Hindu or New York Times. Is this is the beginning of demolishing the bigotry in the established trational media in the world which is simply owned by few people and they make billions through selling news that are made up stories, to the most part, but nothing to do with helping people and uplifting the needy society?
Rethinking
Kashmir Politics
By Yoginder Sikand
Many Kashmiri Muslims vociferously insist that the demand for independence of Kashmir has nothing to do with religion. Instead, they argue, that the conflict in and over of Kashmir is essentially ‘political’. What is conveniently ignored by those who make this claim is that religion and politics, particularly in the case of the Kashmir dispute, involving as it does the rival claims of Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-dominated India, can hardly be separated
14 August, 2008
Bush
Dispatches US Military Forces To Georgia
By Barry Grey
In a major escalation of the conflict with Russia over Georgia, President George W. Bush on Wednesday announced a “vigorous and ongoing” deployment of US military forces to its key ally in the Caucasus. Bush appeared in the White House Rose Garden for the second time in three days, this time flanked by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and announced the military buildup, casting it as a humanitarian relief operation
The
Nuclear Showdown - Part I
By Tim Buchholz
Henry Kissinger, who was Secretary of State during the Ford Administration, now writes opinion articles about why Iran should not be allowed to go nuclear. During the Ford Administration he was one of the major players in bringing nuclear power to Iran. In Dafna Linzer’s article mentioned above, she asked him why he changed his mind. He said, “They were an allied country, and this was a commercial transaction. We didn't address the question of them one day moving toward nuclear weapons.” Had they only just bought it all from us, maybe we wouldn’t be on the brink of World War III
Can
Obama Bridge America’s Wall Of Ignominy
By Robert Weitzel
Just as Israel’s American financed apartheid wall separates lives and livelihoods and imprisons dreams, so goes America’s Israeli built “wall of ignominy.”
Has
The Surge Prevented Peace?
By Dan Lieberman
Realignment of forces without reconciliation of populations spells confrontation. A 'surge' that made all this possible seems to have made reconciliation less possible, which translates into a ‘surge” that has provided additional obstacles to peace and stability
Russia
And China Settle Longstanding
Territorial Disputes
By John Chan
Russia and China signed a landmark deal on July 21, officially ending all outstanding territorial disputes between the two countries. Under the agreement, Russia will hand over Yinlong Island (known as Tarabarov in Russia) and half of the Heixiazi Island (Bolshoi Ussuriysky) at the confluence the of Amur and Ussuri rivers, clearing the way for closer strategic and economic relations with China
Smoke,
Mirrors And Shifting Shapes
By Case Wagenvoord
Obama is shape shifting, again. Now he favors the offshore drilling he had opposed. His shift underscores the tragedy of his campaign and the dry rot that has infected the Democratic Party
American
Complicity: The Solution
By Timothy V. Gatto
We are in a period of American Fascism, where the corporations, the bankers and the government direct and control policy. Benito Mussolini once stated that the definition of fascism could be “corporatism”. It doesn’t matter if you are conservative or liberal or you consider yourself “main-stream”. What has transpired is not in the interests of any of us that are not part of the policy making machine. Our vote means nothing when the candidates are selected for us by the corporacracy
Oh
The Pangs Of Reunion: Reversing 1947
By Tanveer Ahmed
Amarnath is but a minor issue, perhaps not worth the environmental degradation and political agitation that it has evoked. Symbolising it as a landmark of the re-union of the sub-continent could have unlimited positive consequences. The 61 year old Indo-Pak mess could be transformed into giving the Kashmiris what the Moghuls, Afghans, Ranjit's Sikhs, the Brits and Dogra rule couldn't give them…the freedom to utilise their abundance of talent
Salman
Rushdie’s Fatwa Against Freedom Of Expression And The Betrayal
Of A Great Cause
By Shajahan Madampat
The man, in whose defense the world’s intelligentsia mounted an intellectual blitzkrieg against the alleged medievalism of the Muslim masses, has threatened to sue the publishers of a book about him by a former police officer, Ron Evans
Causeless
Journo/s (CJs)? Fourth Estate
In The Age Of Social Movements
By Dr. T T Sreekumar
Besides the exemplary examples of Sainath and a few others, scribes in the main stream media mostly present themselves as “causeless journo/s” (CJs) with pretensions of neutrality and a derision for those who stand up for the causes of the marginalized. The disdain probably arise from their own kinship ties or alliances with corrupt politicians or past association with Stalinist or cultural fascist media organizations
13 August, 2008
Using
Georgia To Target Russia
By Stephen Lendman
Bush administration plans may come down to this - portray Russia as another Serbia, isolate the country, and equate Putin and/or Medvedev with Milosevic and hope for all the political advantage it can gain
A
Path To Peace In The Caucasus
By Mikhail Gorbachev
The international community's long-term aim could be to create a sub-regional system of security and cooperation that would make any provocation, and the very possibility of crises such as this one, impossible. Building this type of system would be challenging and could only be accomplished with the cooperation of the region's countries themselves. Nations outside the region could perhaps help, too -- but only if they take a fair and objective stance. A lesson from recent events is that geopolitical games are dangerous anywhere, not just in the Caucasus
Dangerous
Portents In Jammu And Kashmir:
A View From Doda
By Yoginder Sikand
The violence that is rapidly engulfing large parts of Jammu and Kashmir, set off by a controversial government decision to grant a tract of land to a temple trust in Kashmir, threatens to totally disrupt the already tenuous inter-communal relations in the region. This has frightening portents particularly for those parts of the state where Hindus and Muslims both live in substantial numbers, such as Rajouri, Poonch and Doda, all in the Jammu province
Kashmiri
Struggle In 2008
By Dr Shabir Choudhry
By promoting religious politics are we not playing into the hands of extremists who want to justify Two Nations Theory that Muslims and non Muslims cannot live together, hence pave way for division of the State of Jammu and Kashmir on religious lines
Of
Omar's Labour And Faroq's Faux Pas
By Syed Ali Safvi
The statement of Farooq about the land transfer has not only ruined the hard labour of Omar, but has further widened the gap between the father-son duo, the repercussion of which will soon be felt in the NC camp, most probably before the forthcoming Assembly elections
The
True Story Of Mao Tsetung And The Communist
Revolution In China - Part 1
By Li Onesto
Understanding the truth about Mao is important for everyone—the revolution he led was a major milestone in human history and everyone should know the truth about such a revolution and such a figure. For those who truly want to change the world, there is even more at stake—for Mao’s revolutionary thinking and practice form a critical part of the foundation and the point of departure for rebuilding a revolutionary movement today
The
Trigger Of South America
By Hamid Golpira
The Indigenous Intifada of the Americas has won another victory. With 90 percent of the ballots counted, it seems that Bolivian President Evo Morales received over 60 percent of the vote in Sunday’s recall election, ensuring that he will stay in office until his term ends in 2011
12 August, 2008
Georgia
On Our Mind
By Jeff Berg
Georgia has no significant oil or gas reserves of its own but it is a key transit point for oil from the Caspian and central Asia destined for Europe and the US. Crucially, it is the only practical route from this increasingly important producer region that avoids both Russia and Iran. It is however those matters that are outside of the question of energy that are leading this relatively banal struggle for economic advantage to turn violent
Its
Oil Again Stupid
By David Truskoff
For the first time the world is learning of Israelis’ involvement in Georgia. Including the sale of Advanced weapons to Georgia and the training of the Georgian army's infantry forces. I wonder who paid for that? OK so what is the military action really about?
Bush's
War In Georgia
By Mike Whitney
Washington's bloody fingerprints are all over the invasion of South Ossetia. Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili would never dream of launching a massive military attack unless he got explicit orders from his bosses at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. After all, Saakashvili owes his entire political career to American power-brokers and US intelligence agencies
United
By Misery: Two Boys From Gaza And Nilin
By Ramzy Baroud
Ahmed Moussa was a 12-year-old Palestinian boy from the West Bank village of Nilin, near Ramallah. Mohamed Bahloul is a 12-year-old Palestinian boy from Gaza City. The former was shot and killed 29 July by Israeli forces following a peaceful protest against the Israeli apartheid wall. The latter is awaiting death in a dilapidated hospital in Gaza
The
Olympics As A Diversion
By Ghali Hassan
The current anti-Chinese propaganda, masquerading as anti-repression and pro-human rights protests is a classic Western hypocrisy and designed to advance U.S.-Western imperialist agenda. When did Western-based human rights organisations have seriously and impartially protested against Western-perpetuated human rights abuses and war crimes except the usual and confused rhetoric? They have become the West’s most useful tools deflecting attention from U.S./Israel criminal wars. The anti-Chinese protesters at the Olympics have missed great opportunity
Targeting
Immigrants - The Largest Ever
US ICE Raid
By Stephen Lendman
On May 12, 2008, ICE agents conducted their largest ever terror raid against workers in Postville, IA. In an early report that day, the Des Moines Register called it the "largest workplace raid in Iowa history (resulting) in the arrest of more than 300 people (in fact, 389).""As two law enforcement helicopters hovered overhead, dozens (in fact, around 900) federal (ICE) agents descended on Agriprocessors Inc., the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouse" employing 968 workers. The number arrested was more than three times higher than those seized "18 months ago at the Swift (Marshalltown) plant."
See
No Hemp, Hear No Hemp,
Speak No Hemp, Part I
By Rand Clifford
If we rally the intelligence, dedication, and some of the spirit that got America going in the first place...nothing like hemp offers so much in reducing Big Oil and their Empire of CorpoGov and Industrial Military Complex and Global Predatory Capitalism. This is the only reason hemp remains banned in America.... Regional economies, wealth enriching its actual producers, healing of the planet’s life-support systems—even if we find the spirit, do we still have time?
Five
Years After Blackout, Power Grid
Still In 'Dire Straits'
By Jason Leopold
The 2003 blackout led to calls for spending of up to $100 billion to reduce severe transmission bottlenecks and increase capacity so the transmission lines can carry additional electricity from power plants to homes and businesses.But investment in the grid has lagged, and progress has been slow
Technological
Titans, Moral Midgets:
The Death Of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
By Niranjan Ramakrishnan
Somehow it seemed only fitting that Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn should breathe his last just as the celebration of technical wizardry was to reach its crescendo in Beijing; if the 21st century has any unifying allegiance, it is to the Diocese of Technology, and indirectly, to its Major Sponsor, the Church of Globalization
The
SIMI Fictions: The Kafka Project
By Ajit Sahi
In a crucial investigation over
three months, Editor-at-Large AJIT SAHI of Tehelka tracked the SIMI
fictions across 11 cities —Trivandrum, Bangalore, Hyderabad,
Chennai, Udaipur, Bhopal, Mumbai, Delhi, Aurangabad, Ahmedabad and
Gorakhpur. His findings are alarming and distressing. They demand
urgent introspection and corrective action
09 August, 2008
DU
Kids And Hibakusha Philosophy
By Hamid Golpira
Today is Nagasaki Day, the 63rd anniversary of the atomic bombing of that city, so let us observe a moment of silence and reflection. A ceremony will be held in Nagasaki today in memory of the victims of the tragedy and to encourage people to work for world peace and total nuclear disarmament, which is the message of Japan's elderly hibakusha (atomic bombing survivors). Unfortunately, some people are still suffering as they did, specifically the victims of depleted uranium weapons. But almost no one is standing up for their rights
Bush's
War On Terror-Silly But Serious
By Paul Craig Roberts
China is a serious human rights abuser, because China is complicit in Bush's human rights abuses. If we are honest about who is actually murdering and abusing people, it is the US, Israel, and the UK. There's your "axis of evil."
Hamdan
Case Exemplifies Bush's
Failure In The "war On Terror"
By Mary Shaw
On August 6th, Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Hamdan, was convicted of aiding terrorism but acquitted of more serious conspiracy charges.Ironically, for all of Bush's tough talk in the "war on terror", this is what he's got to show for it. Meanwhile, bin Laden remains free and the terrorist threat remains stronger than ever
In
Response To US Demands:
Pakistani Military Attacks Islamist Forces
By James Cogan
The Pakistani government has ordered major military offensives against the Islamist groups in the North West Frontier Province and Federally Administrated Tribal Areas , which are allegedly assisting the insurgency against US and NATO forces over the border in Afghanistan. The operations follow the visit to Washington by Prime Minister Yousuf Rusa Gilani last month, during which the Bush administration demanded a crackdown
Is
Africa A Cold War Battleground?
By Sam Akaki
Thanks to the dwindling primary natural resources, oil and gas, the West is hounding Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Sudan's al-Bashir, and heaping blame on Russia and China for protecting them; thus setting the stage for a new Cold War to be fought in Africa
When
Red Fades, It Turns Saffron
By KA Shaji
The Sangh Parivar's attempts to wrest control of Kerala's Left bastion, Kodungallur, is threatening to undo the town's historic legacy of communal harmony
08 August, 2008
Doom
Or Disaster?
By John James
Nearly every projection for the future of civilisation made in the IPCC reports has been exceeded. Events that were projected to emerge by the end of the century have been moved back to 2070, then to 2040, and even now to ‘within the next few years’. The goal posts are moving towards us at a terrible pace
Beijing
Olympics Celebrate The Capitalist Market
And Nationalism
By John Chan
Amid the global economic fallout from the collapse of US subprime mortgage loans a year ago, the Beijing Olympics also provides a distracting event for the leaders of global capitalism to temporarily divert attention from economic slowdown, inflation and growing social discontent
The
Tragic Last Moments Of Margaret Hassan
By Robert Fisk
When a renowned British aid worker was kidnapped in Iraq, the world was horrified. Her body was never recovered, but her execution was captured on video and sent to Al Jazeera, the Arab satellite channel. Robert Fisk watched it and reveals why it has never been broadcast
Sami
El Haj, Al Jazeera Journalist, Tells His Story
By Silvia Cattori
Held hostage by Bush administration for six and half years in Guantanamo Sami El Haj, Al Jazeera journalist, tells his story
Iraq:
Iran Gains From Power Cuts
By Ahmed Ali and Dahr Jamail
The crisis over electricity failure grows as summer temperatures climb and a drought plagues Iraq. It is a crisis Iran is using to help Iraqis where the U.S. has failed
Why
Is Jammu Burning?
By Zafar Choudhary
The Government of India has been fighting its Kashmir case from different levels last 50 years but fragility of sentiments within the region seems to have been overlooked all this time. When small spark has put the state on fire it has also demonstrated that efforts of dousing flames in one region may well prove as fuel in the other. It is high time that New Delhi’s Kashmir policy is redrawn and sentiments beyond Kashmir are also taken care of
Kuwait's
Inhuman Labor Practice:
We Can't Afford To Ignore
By GM Solaiman
Last week in a rare development in Middle East, thousands of Bangladeshi workers went to strike protesting poor living conditions, serious abuse and human rights violation. I hope you were not surprised with the aftermath of this. Instead of addressing the human rights abuse issue that has been happening for years, the complainers got hammered
Refugees
In And From Arab Lands
By Bahija Réghaï
In the Israeli-Palestinian case, recognition by Israel of the right of return would entail its assumption of responsibility for the uprooting of the majority of Palestinian society in 1948. This would satisfy a central demand that has become a fundamental element in Palestinian national identity. Such recognition would then enable the two parties to enter negotiations over restitution and how best to address the right of return issue
07 August, 2008
War
With Iran: On, Off Or Undecided?
By Stephen Lendman
There's good news and bad, mostly the latter but don't discount the good. On May 22, (non-binding) HR 362 was introduced in the House - with charges and proposals so outlandish that if passed and implemented will be a blockade and act of war. More good news for what it's worth. On August 2, tens of thousands across the US and Canada protested against a possible attack on Iran. On the bad side, unprecedented numbers, in vain, did as well ahead of the Iraq war, but this time influential Washington figures support them
The
Lies Of Hiroshima Are The Lies Of Today
By John Pilger
On the anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, John Pilger describes the 'progression of lies' from the dust of that detonated city, to the wars of today - and the threatened attack on Iran
Working
Poor Unready To Revolt
By Joel S. Hirschhorn
A recent survey among the lowest 40 percent of Americans that are the working poor by the Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University conducted this past June looked at the beliefs of adults aged 18 to 64 working 30 or more hours a week, not self-employed and who earned no more than $27,000 in 2007. The results show a fascinating dichotomy. Though there is widespread pain and discontent there is also a stubborn faith in the American dream despite little help from government
President
Obama Up Against
The Middle East “Berlin Wall”
By Robert Weitzel
On July 24, Obama stood on the site of the former Berlin Wall and reminded the crowd that sixty years ago the Berlin Airlift saved two million Berliners. He told them that their tearing down of the Berlin Wall was a reminder to the world that walls that divide people can, and must, be torn down. The day before his speech in Berlin, he stood at the Western Wall (the holiest site in Judaism) in Jerusalem. He also stood less that two miles from the 400-mile-long apartheid wall that divides the West Bank from its freedom and from humanity’s conscience. Obama never mentioned the apartheid wall—not in Israel or the next day in Germany
Palestinians
Unfairly Hit By Israeli Policy In Gaza
By Yaser Wishah
Imagine if Chinese-Americans visiting relatives were prevented by the Chinese government from returning to America. Or if an American traveled to Iran and was then forbidden from reaching an airport to come home. This happened to me at the hands of Israel, supposedly America's closest ally in the Middle East
Australian
Federal Intervention In
Indigenous Communities In The Northern Territory
By Chris Wilson
My time over the last six weeks has enabled me to see some of the effects of the Intervention and while I have to agree that there are some positive effects, there are huge problems and structural issues that have been completely ignored and many others that have been created as a result
Gotterdammerung
Of The Generalissimos
By Gul Jammas Hussain
The Turkish Constitutional Court's ruling against a ban on the AK Party has averted a potential crisis in Turkey, but the narrow margin of the verdict -- just two votes -- shows how close the secularist old guard came to staging a judicial coup against the ruling party
Olympics
Mark China's Second Coming
By Muhammad Cohen
Rather than a coming-out party, the Olympics signal a coming-in party for the house that Mao built as a full-fledged member of the global establishment that dismissed it as an interloper in 1997. Don't expect anyone to be hard on a new club member and business partner for occupying Tibet or other human-rights shortcomings. Largely thanks to the accident of the economic crisis and the policies of Zhu Rongji, the puppy dog of 2001 has grown into a 70 kilogram pit bull that no one dares cross
06 August, 2008
Sixty-Third
Anniversary Of
USA Terrorism
By Eileen Fleming
This August 6th and 9th marks the 63rd anniversary of the most brutal act of terrorism upon innocent people; America's atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the time is now to shed some light upon it
Oil
Giants Report Massive Profits
By Shannon Jones
Profits for the major multi-national petroleum producers surged in the second quarter of 2008 boosted by record oil prices. Leading the way were ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell, which netted over $10 billion apiece
Inflation
And The New World Order
By Richard C. Cook
Are we seeing the totalitarian dictatorship of the world’s financial elite being rolled out, with petroleum and food prices the primary weapon of a final coup d’etát against every national government on earth and their citizens? And if we knew who these “high-end investors” were, and who controlled them, wouldn’t we then understand who is in charge of the New World Order and for whom it really functions?
Obama
And The Empire
By William Blum
I’m afraid that if Barack Obama becomes president he’s going to break a lot of young hearts. And some older ones as well
The EU may find itself torn between those within its imperialist ruling classes calling for a more robust European military capacity and those that still want to rely on the NATO alliance. The pathways towards a greater or lesser EU international geopolitical role would be profoundly influenced by a major move by China to wrench more initiative in the world economy and/or to forge closer alliance with Russia
The
'Security Vacuum' In Jerusalem
By Nicola Nasser
Both "lone" attacks and an earlier bloody one on a Jewish seminary in March were used by Israeli officials to whip up a mounting internal and external campaign of incitement and hatred against the native Palestinian Jerusalemites, which led Martin Sieff, a conservative defense industry editor for United Press International to stretch the exaggeration out of proportion to write on August 6 that, "A new front in the global war on terror has opened up" in Jerusalem
Olmert's
Departure: The Perfect Alibi
By Hasan Abu Nimah
Olmert is not Rabin and Annapolis was not Oslo. While Rabin paid with his life for even appearing to challenge Israeli Jewish supremacy, Olmert is paying only with his job and his perks. On the other side, the Palestinian "partner" does not reach the mythical status of Yasser Arafat. So we have diminished myths for diminished characters and probably these myths will have a diminished life-span as the mythmakers struggle to hold back the tide of cruel reality that threatens to wash them away
New
Operation Gets Surprise Support
By Ahmed Ali & Dahr Jamail
A massive military operation in Diyala province has underscored the military and political gains by the Sahwa militia, despite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's earlier attempts to thwart them. Maliki has now apparently come around to involving the Sahwa rather than opposing them
05 August, 2008
Solar
Power Breakthrough
By ENS
Within 10 years, homeowners could power their homes in daylight with solar photovoltaic cells, while using excess solar energy to produce hydrogen and oxygen from water to power a household fuel cell. If the new process developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology finds acceptance in the marketplace, electricity-by-wire from a central source could be a thing of the past
Pressures
Mount Over Arctic Energy Resources
By Niall Green
Across the globe, reserves of oil and gas that were previously regarded as uneconomical are being actively explored and developed. From the Arctic to East Asia to the South Atlantic, untapped billions of barrels of oil are attracting the interests of energy companies and speculative finance capital, seeking to take advantage of the high price of crude oil
What
Caused WTO Collapse?
It Was Cotton Subsidies, Stupid?
By Devinder Sharma
But did the talks actually fail when India refused to compromise over a proposal - special safeguard mechanism - that is supposed to protect poor farmers from a flood of imports? Or were it because of something more sinister, cleverer, and a crafty masterstroke that in reality protected American agriculture? Does it mean that two emerging economic giants - India and China - who many believe are likely to tilt the geopolitical balance, walked straight into a well-laid out trap?
Shifts
And Faultlines In The World Economy
And Great Power Rivalry: What Is Happening
And What It Might Mean
By Raymond Lotta
China's capitalist development and China's rise in the world imperialist system, its nature and implications
Olmert's
Exit
By Uri Avnery
The final summing-up of the Olmert era: not the smallest real step toward peace has been taken. The historic peace initiative of the Arab League has been buried. The secular, peace-seeking Palestinian leadership has been almost destroyed, paving the way for the Hamas takeover in the Gaza strip, and perhaps also in the West Bank. Not one single hut in a settlement was dismantled, and the settlements have been enlarged everywhere
Muslim
Women: The Dangerous Triangle
By Nigar Ataulla
Think of a Muslim woman and the things that immediately flash across in the minds of many Muslims and non-Muslims alike are triple talaq, polygamy and the veil. Is that all a Muslim woman is known for? Does not a Muslim woman have her own identity, her own individuality? Why cannot society look upon a Muslim woman as just another human being, like everybody else, and not a marked out, exoticised or specially branded creature?
The
Formula For Winning In November
By Timothy Gatto
I see no negatives in voting for McKinney. I also see no good results if Obama wins because of the fear mongering by Democrats. An Obama win without a strong dissenting vote for McKinney would cement their view that they can always count on those that decry the loss of our constitutional freedoms to fall into line. Sometimes we must suffer a defeat in order to obtain a victory. A Democratic loss because of a strong showing by McKinney would change the way the Democrats do business forever. This is something we must do in order to bring this nation back to the people, and convict the corporate duopoly that we must not be taken for granted
Slow
Food Nation Gains Momentum
By Shepherd Bliss
Slow Food was started by the Italian Carlo Petrini in l986 to protest McDonald’s and its fast food culture. It advocates traditional agriculture and food preparation and consumption, which differ from how many in the U.S. deal with food. SFN is the first such large gathering in the U.S.; it is modeled after events in Europe that have drawn thousands to Terra Madre gatherings
Combating
Terrorism
By Ram Puniyani
The role which communal violence has played during last two and a half decades, of dividing the nation, gets a deeper strength due to these blasts as by now despite the most immediate protests by most of the Muslim groups, coming out with severest condemnation of these dastardly acts, the 'social common sense' that 'all terrorists are Muslims' does get a shot in the arm
04 August, 2008
For
An Iraq War Memorial
By Sherwood Ross
Why shouldn’t there be a war memorial on the National Mall in Washington to commemorate those who have died in the Iraq war? It could be a simple concrete wall five stories high onto which the photographs of those killed in Iraq would be projected. After dark, somewhere between the illuminated Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial, the Iraq Wall would come to life. It might be a good idea to site it facing the White House so that it would always be visible to future presidents
Why
Is Habeas Corpus Such A Threat
To Those In Power?
By Maher Osseiran
Why is the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold habeas corpus rights for the Guantanamo detainees so scary that Senator Lindsey Graham, with the support of McCain, will “explore the possibility, if necessary, of a constitutional amendment to blunt the effect of this decision”? What is so fundamentally wrong with the Supreme Court’s decision, whose members are conservative or Bush appointees, to warrant amending our constitution? Have Senators Graham and McCain lost their minds?
The
Planned Collapse Of America
By Peter Chamberlin
We are seeing the planned collapse of America, coming down the road we are on. What are we going to do to get our nation off that highway to hell?
Shifts
And Faultlines In The World Economy
And Great Power Rivalry
What Is Happening and What It Might Mean
By Raymond Lotta
This is a research essay about changes in global capitalist accumulation, newly emerging relations of strength among imperialist and regional powers, and the force of competitive pressures and tensions. It is about great-power rivalries in a world system based on exploitation. To use an analogy to the complex motions of large parts of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle, this is a discussion of shifting tectonic plates in the world economy: some of their longer-term movements and some of the more sudden and unexpected eruptions
A
Voyage Into The Great Arctic Meltdown
By Marian Wilkinson
The vast Arctic sea ice which spreads across the North Pole could disappear during the summer within a decade or two - or even by 2013 - leading scientists are warning
Obama
Joins The Club
By Ramzy Baroud
The exit of Bush from the White House is already anticipated in the Arab region with sighs of relief. But what is ahead under the next US president; more of the same, regardless of who wins, or change?
Gaza
Under Siege
By Stephen Lendman
Gaza's industrial production dropped 95%, and its agricultural output is about half its pre-2007 level. Nearly all construction also stopped, and according to a new UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) report, poverty tops 50% and unemployment is nearly as high. Other unofficial estimates say 80% for both is more accurate. Things are bad and worsening
"
Making News" And The Corporate Media In America
By Timothy V. Gatto
It is a sad commentary that with so many technological advances that have happened since TV first came on the scene; we still see the same news on all the channels. It’s even sadder that all the news offered can be shown on a twenty minute loop. There are so many questions and so few answers. So much is happening and so little reported on
(Cast)e
Abroad
By Pardeep
Castes which earlier used to exist in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh etc countries, now these incidents show that caste has been exported from India to the many other developed countries also, which should be the area of concern to all the governments & all those who are concerned about the basic human rights, good community relationships
Some
Good Amid The Bombs?
By Teesta Setalvad
The fragile peace prevalent even after the bomb blasts, hopefully, will help Gujarat and Gujaratis see the inherent values of a lasting and comfortable peace
02 August, 2008
A
Vote For Military Force Against Iran?
By Ira Glunts
Ordinarily, the American Israel Policy Action Committee (AIPAC) has an influence on U.S. foreign policy which goes unchallenged. In the case of the current House resolution, H. Con. Res. 362, despite the intense pressure exerted by AIPAC, some members of the United States House of Representatives who initially were about to rubber stamp this reckless non-binding resolution promoted by the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group, are having a change of heart
To
Vote, or Not To Vote
By Rosemarie Jackowski
Please, don't vote if you don't know your candidate's position on all of the important issues. Don't vote if you don't have a working knowledge of US foreign policy. For your convenience, the test below should help answer the question of whether or not you are an informed voter. Many who have taken the test have scored a perfect 10. There are no trick questions. It's really very easy
New
Details Emerge In Missing
White House Emails Case
By Jason Leopold
The Bush administration may have already hired an outside contractor to search individual computers for tens of thousands of missing e-mails that disappeared between 2003 and 2005.But information technology experts conducting the search apparently have been told not to try and locate hundreds of thousands of missing e-mails from March 2003 to September 2003, a crucial timeframe that encompasses the start of the Iraq war, and the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson
Justice
Probe Still Threatens Gonzales
By Jason Leopold
Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will face new legal jeopardy when the Justice Department’s Inspector General issues his next report on how the Bush administration let politics influence prosecutorial judgments, says ex-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias
Palestinians
Face Home Demolitions Spree By Israel
By Jonathan Cook
The problem of house demolitions affects Palestinians throughout the occupied territories. But according to Hatem Abdelkader, an adviser to Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister, the situation is particularly acute in the East Jerusalem area. He noted that Israel’s policy of refusing building permits to many of the 250,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem has resulted in the classification of 20,000 city homes as illegal since the occupation began in 1967. Last year alone, the Jerusalem municipality issued more than 1,000 demolition orders for “illegal dwellings”
Iraq:
Police Bombings Raise New Fears
By Ali al-Fadhily & Dahr Jamail
Astonishing attacks have been launched against police leaders during the past weeks in Fallujah, 69 km west of Baghdad, after reports of the U.S. and Iraqi government's plans to raid active and sleeping militant cells in the city
Pain
Of Being Untouchables: Gypsies And Dalits
By Pardeep
Do Dalits and Gypsies get equal opportunities in their own country? Size of Indian Dalits and Gypsies/Roma population has increased rapidly. Today every fifth or sixth newborn Hungarian child belongs to the Roma community. Estimates based on demographic trends claim that in 2050 15-20 percent of the population will be Roma, but will be the needs, requirements, facilities available for the Gypsies at that time is a big concern, same here is true with Indian Dalits. Will they (Dalits & Gypsies) be able to feed, give education to children, and get them well placed in life?
The
Mother Of All Paradoxes:
The American Social Model
By Gaither Stewart & Patrice Greanville
It's Undeniable that the American social model(the vaunted “American Way of Life”) is a paradox in the world. All you have to do is look around at other nations and the difference is clear as the Rome sky in July. Even today at the nadir of its profound social crisis because of its flagrant, outright failure, America continues unabashedly to hammer away at its people how fortunate they are, while simultaneously proposing itself to the world as the paradigm, the quintessence, the very epitome of western civilization
Pakistan:
The Clattering Train
By Mir Adnan Aziz
The state has suffered the loss of authority to compel obedience to the sanctions and provisions of its statutes and laws. It has also squandered the moral authority to compel obedience. To this end, violence and insecurity abounds all over. This kind of anarchy is an artificial creation, fashioned to keep the populace busy, while those who rule attend to matters of self import
