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31 December, 2013

Snowden Reveals Massive NSA Hacking Unit
By Robert Stevens

The US National Security Agency (NSA) runs an Office of Tailored Access Operations (TAO), described by Germany’s Der Spiegel as the “NSA’s top operative unit—something like a squad of plumbers that can be called in when normal access to a target is blocked.” A report published Sunday based on documents released by whistleblower Edward Snowden states that the TAO operates as a vast hacking unit on behalf of the US government

Privacy Rights: Is Anything Left?
By Franklin Lamb

The answer to this question is being pondered across America in light to the two seeming mutually contradictory US Federal Court decisions handed down this month from Courts in Washington DC and New York

Major Social Transformation Is A Lot Closer Than You May Realize --
How Do We Finish The Job?

By Kevin Zeese & Margaret Flowers

The current social movement that exploded onto the national scene with the 2011 Occupy Movement is following the path of successful movements so far. The social movement in 2014 is poised to begin an exciting era of broadening and deepening the growing consensus for social and economic justice

War Criminals By Default
By Alan Hart

My last thought for 2013 is that for their failure to co-operate and coordinate to make the United Nations work to stop the slaughter and destruction in Syria, the leaders of the five permanent and controlling members of the Security Council – the U.S, Britain, France, Russia and China – are war criminals by default

New Untouchables In The City
By Ajmal Khan

Inter community relations and intra community relations in India has gone through an unprecedented change from the past two decades. This has to do with continuous communal violences, conflicts, political propaganda and tensions in India , as well as the other international political developments

Tragedy Continues For Riot Affected Persons In Muzaffarnagar
Fact Finding Report

The fact that India is Constitutionally mandated as ‘Secular' State makes it obligatory on the agencies of the State to uphold secular values. However, the communal incidents in Muzaffarnagar, its aftermath and the continuing tragedy of the riot affected persons have been the undoing of the Indian State in this regard. Regrettably, this has been the outcome of deliberate and calculated decisions at different levels as is evident from the findngs

Let's Defeat Communal Agenda : Take A Resolution For New Year
By Ravi Nitesh

We all must know that it is a time when we have to think deeply and positively to defeat all communal agendas, whether it is inside us, or around us. Lets take this resolution this new year that we all will try to proceed towards being human to make our society civilized in real sense

30 December, 2013

Swedish Intelligence Service Spying On Russia For
US National Security Agency

By Jordan Shilton

Documents released by Edward Snowden reveal that Sweden’s National Defence Radio Establishment (FRA) has been collecting large quantities of communications data from Russia, which it has passed to the American National Security Agency (NSA). The revelations confirm that such collaboration goes back for decades

Afghan Street Children Beg For Change
By Kathy Kelly

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The collective yearning and longing of children who deserve a better world may yet affect hearts and minds all over the world, prompting people to ask why do we make wars? Why should people who already have so much amass weapons that protect their ability to gain more? I hope we will join Afghanistan 's children in begging for change

London Church Blocks Its Facade With Replica Of Israeli Wall Around Bethlehem
By Ali Abunimah

St. James’ Church in central London unveiled an eight-meter-high replica of the Israeli-built concrete wall that entirely surrounds the Palestinian city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, the traditional birthplace of Jesus. It is an effort to bring to London some of the reality of what it is like to live in Bethlehem in 2013

We Are Not Free, Until Vanunu Is Free!
By Petition Campaign

We the undersigned petition the World Media to seek and report the truth about Israel's Nuclear Deceptions and Vanunu's nearly 10 year struggle for his right to fade into the world instead of continuing to make headlines

Palestinians Should Quit "Peace Negotiations"
By Dr. Ludwig Watzal

Like Yasser Arafat in Camp David in the summer of 2000, Abbas can’t sign a document of surrender, which the Americans and Israelis would like to ram down his throat. If the Palestinian leadership has a spark of honor, they should immediately leave this charade of the “peace negotiations”, dissolve the so-called Palestinian Authority, and lay the struggle for freedom and self-determination in the hands of a younger generation. The leader of this future struggle could be the political prisoner Marwan Barghouti, a possible Palestinian Nelson Mandela

South Sudan's Most Vulnerable Face, Hard Struggles In World's Youngest Country
By Brian McAfee

Latest reports now indicate that about 34,000 South Sudanese civilians have sought refuge in United Nations missions in Juba and Bor. Since fighting broke out on December 15 about 500 are thought to be killed and about 800 wounded

Foreign Policy, American-Style (What We’re Up Against)
By Mickey Z.

As yet another year of U.S. intervention and militarism and nefarious alliances comes to a close, I thought it might be useful to offer some historical perspective on the most violent institution on the planet: The U.S. Department of Defense

Mexican Vigilantes Stand Up Against Crime
By John Spritzler

This video is about ordinary Mexicans forming local assemblies and democratically forming armed militias (they use a different name) to defend their communities against the extreme violence (murder, rape, kidnapping, extortion for 'protection') of the big drug trafficking criminal organizations that, as the book Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and their Godfathers by Anabel Hernandez documents in great detail, control the Federal government of Mexico. This video gives a sense of what revolutionary violence in self-defense looks like

Gujarat: A Disaster Case Study For Amending Alcohol Policies In India
By Dr. Sukant Khurana

Time and again, one or another hooch tragedy passes us by in India, devouring in its wake many lives and orphaning families. This manmade disaster is a direct consequence of alcohol policies of India that need to be immediately changed. I will focus on Gujarat as a case study to reflect on the worst of the alcohol regulation policies in India

Environment Ministry Moving To Facilitate More Illegal Land Grabbing
By Campaign for Survival and Dignity

About two weeks ago, a document was leaked out of the Environment Ministry and later discovered on some State government websites: a draft of proposed amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Rules. The new amendments would further institutionalise the corrupt process by which the Environment MInistry has already been illegally handing over forest land to projects - this at a time when the government is making all kinds of noises about ending corruption

Aam Aadmi Party: Beginning Of A Novel Experiment In Politics
By Dr Sandeep Pandey

With the formation of Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi the country is going to witness a novel experiment in politics. The first target has been the VIP culture

AAP Breathes Life Into Mute, Demoralized, Lost Souls
By Raouf Rasool

AAP is not just Arvind Kejriwal or for that matter any other member(s) of his team, individually or collectively alone. AAP is, as the party itself takes pride to claim, a movement with far-reaching impact on the general political culture in India and elsewhere as well. Irrespective of whether or not, or how much AAP is able to deliver on its poll promises, fact of the matter remains that AAP’s rise has definitely lend a new direction and orientation to politics in India. Kashmir’s uniqueness aside, politics here too is not going to be same – this place can’t remain immune to the “contagions” wanting to travel northwards. They have reached here, and I am sure that no amount of masking and muffling of people’s eyes, noses and throats will help now

Political Deadlock: Will History Repeat Itself In Bangladesh?
By M Mukhlesur Rahman Chowdhury

In the present political stalemate in Bangladesh, military takeover is not the solution. On the contrary, authoritarian government system must go and there should be checks and balances where all actors as well as organs should be accountable and transparent

29 December, 2013

Federal Judge Rules NSA Phone Data Collection Is Legal
By Patrick Martin

A federal judge in New York City ruled that the National Security Agency (NSA) program that collects the telephone metadata for every call made in the United States and many of those made overseas is legal and constitutional. Judge William Pauley III ruled in favor of the Obama administration, dismissing a lawsuit against the NSA spying program brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Syrian Refugee Crisis Results In UN's Largest Emergency Appeal
By Brian McAfee

According to the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees the number of Syrian refugees is now over 2.3 million. The UNHCR also says that within Syria there are 4.2 million displaced people as a result of the civil war

Iraq’s Persecuted Christians
By Hussein Al-Alak

The Christmas day attacks against Iraq’s Christian community, has once again thrust this besieged and dwindling minority back into the media. Iraqi Christians have been reduced from a sizeable minority of over 1.4 million people under Saddam, to less than 450.000, since the introduction of Democracy, in 2003

Professor Boyle Schools Harvard President Faust About Prejudice
By Francis A. Boyle

I notice your condemnation of the ASA Boycott against Israel in today's New York Times. I note for the record that Harvard has never once apologized to those of us Harvard Alums who participated in good faith in the Harvard Divestment/Disinvestment Campaign against Israel when your predecessor Larry Summers accused us of being anti-Semitic-- a charge which he refused to defend against me as related below

Mothers In White Demand Justice For Slain Teenager Andy Lopez
By Shepherd Bliss

This Christmas Eve a committee of the Justice Coalition for Andy Lopez met to plan a peaceful, dignified action to support the family whose 13-year-old son Andy Lopez was killed October 22 in Santa Rosa by Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy Erick Gelhaus. They demand a halt to cops killing innocent children and then not being indicted and punished

The NYT's And Boston Globe's "Path To Equality"
By John Spritzler

Due in large measure to Occupy Wall Street, the wrongness and magnitude of extreme economic inequality is finally a non-ignorable issue, so much so that the establishment media feels it must deal with it in order to maintain some modicum of credibility in the eyes of the public. No longer is economic inequality the taboo subject it once was in papers like the New York Times and the Boston Globe. Knowing that the public is aware of the problem and wants it solved, the ruling elite's loyal pundits are writing about how to solve it, or at least how to make it appear that the ruling class is trying to solve it

Mao Remains Popular In China
By Jack A. Smith

Mao Zedong, the leader of the Chinese revolution and long-time Chairman of the Communist Party who died in 1976, would have been 120 years old this past Dec. 26

Bangladesh: Dreams Of The Father
By Fazal M. Kamal

For the past five years the Awami League government in Bangladesh, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed, has rampaged across that land defying the country’s laws, rules and the people

Whose Tea Do You Sell
By Braj Ranjan Mani

Why do you call yourself a teaseller
Why do you act and lie all the time
Why do you give a bad name to teasellers
Say it clearly! Whose tea do you sell!

27 December, 2013

NATGRID, UIDAI & NPR Emerging As India’s NSA
By Gopal Krishna

Judge Richard Leon of U.S. District Court's verdict is readily applicable to the “indiscriminate” biometric and demographic databases being created in India by the Planning Commission’s UIDAI and by MHA’s Registrar General & Census Commissioner for NPR besides National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), the Indian incarnation of NSA. Indeed these initiatives along with the bitterly opposed proposal of National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) Network constitutes “abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power” in our country. Political parties and citizens need to examine whether or not NATGRID, UIDAI & NPR emerging as Indian incarnation of NSA

Edward Snowden: Power, Privacy And The Public Good
By Colin Todhunter

While a fossilized remnant of Empire delivered her message by a Christmas tree in Buckingham Palace’s Blue Drawing Room, Snowden’s setting was sober and devoid of the trappings of privilege or connotations of a violent colonial past. His message concerned the US and British governments’ mass surveillance and the erosion of personal privacy. He stated that a child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all, and they will never know what it means to have a private moment to themselves - an unrecorded, unanalyzed thought. This is because, according to Snowden, a system of worldwide mass surveillance has been created

US Prepares Strikes Against Islamists In Iraq
By Bill Van Auken

Two years after President Barack Obama declared that his administration had ended the catastrophic US war in Iraq “responsibly… leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant” government, the US has rushed emergency shipments of Hellfire missiles to Baghdad and appears to be preparing for a possible renewal of direct military intervention in the form of drone missile attacks

Little Hala And The Herods Of Israel
By Vacy Vlazna

On Christmas Eve, while Christians knelt in churches to honour the birth of the eternal light of the Child of Bethlehem - the Child of peace, Israeli Herods struck Gaza and the life-light of little Hala haemorrhaged into eternal death

Slouching Towards Gaza: Operation Cast Lead And The Dismembering Of A People
By Vincent Di Stefano

Two days after Christmas in 2008, the isolated and densely populated city of Gaza was visited by volley upon volley of deadly missile and mortar fire. The intense bombardment of "one of the most densely populated places on earth" continued unabated for a period of three weeks. By the end of the assault, over 1,400 Palestinians had been killed and more than 5,000 wounded, many seriously. Between three and four hundred of the dead were children. A total of 13 Israelis were killed during the same time, four of them by the action of their own troops

Postcard From The End Of America : Marcus Hook
By Linh Dinh

First settled by Europeans in 1640, Marcus Hook was once called Chammassungh , Finland then Marrites Hoeck, from which the present name derives. The Hook, however, does serendipitously evoke its pirate past, when Blackbeard plied the Delaware , and one of his mistresses, Margaret, lived here, in a plank house still preserved

Anarchy In U.S.A.
By Mickey Z.

This positivity, though, is based on action -- both individual and collective -- and perhaps therein lies the rub. Until the pervasive presence/threat of cultural violence is diminished and ultimately eradicated, we must never stop exposing it, factoring it into our words and actions, and finding ways to sabotage it

Benazir Was Indeed Benazir (Without Equal)
By Riaz Ali Toori

Today we are remembering Benazir Bhutto — a Pakistani woman who was a lot more courageous than many men, brighter than many scholars and more visionary than all the politicians put together. She was a lady who put her life in danger and left behind her footprints, dyed in her own blood, for the guidance of Pakistani democrats

Statue of Unity: How The Varna Media Is Loving It !
By Subhash Gatade

The media - the supposed watchdog of democracy - or rather its majority has refused to put Narendra Modi's dream project, the Statue of Unity, under scanner over its ‘Social, Economic and Environmental Impacts’ nor the manner in which it allegedly '[v]iolates the law of the land, constitution of India and concerns of poor, tribals and environment'

India's Auto Voracity: The Way Capitalism Fuels Desires
By Dr. Narendra Kumar Arya

The possession of cars as indispensible symbolism of psychological strengthening in Indian society is much more real phenomenon than its utilitarian aspects. The later is very faintly true. The social competition is much more determining factor than individual needs or reasoning

Hindu American Foundation Fails To Counter Mounting Evidence Of
Links To Violent Hindu Nationalist Movement

By Coalition Against Genocide

The Coalition Against Genocide today published "Part II" of its report on Hindu American Foundation (HAF) titled "Affiliations of Faith - Joined at the Hip" - with further evidence of HAF leadership's ties and dedication to the global Hindu Nationalist Movement that functions under a conglomerate of organizations known as the Sangh Parivar

Condemn Killing of Media Persons by CPI (Maoist)
By Asish Gupta & D Manjit

Peoples Union for Democratic Rights condemns the killing of Sai Reddy, a correspondent of Deshbandhu, a Hindi newspaper, based in Bijapur in south Bastar, Chhattisgarh on December 6, 2013. In a statement issued on December 10, 2013, the South Regional Committee of CPI(Maoist) claimed that Sai Reddy had “played an active role against the people’s movement in Basaguda and Usur areas over last two decades”, and therefore was condemned to death. Ironically, Sai Reddy not only wrote against Salwa Judum but was arrested by the police in 2008 and charged under Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act for allegedly being a Maoist supporter

26 December, 2013

"Protect Our Children's Privacy"
By Edward Snowden

The conversation occurring today will determine the amount of trust we can place both in the technology that surrounds us and the government that regulates it. Together, we can find a better balance. End mass surveillance. And remind the government that if it really wants to know how we feel, asking is always cheaper than spying

Jesus' Birthday In An Apostate USA That Kills HIM Everyday Multiple Times
By Jay Janson

Every time an American shoots or bombs to death a citizen of Afghanistan, or Pakistan, or Yemen, or Somalia, Bang! Boom! there goes Jesus, shot down again at the same time as the man, women or child lying bleeding or already bled to death, or turned into what some jokingly refer to as a ‘bug splat.'

Jesus, Christianity And Social Justice
By Braj Ranjan Mani

The Christianity in India was—and is—not a monolith of social conservatism or progressivism, very much like Europe or elsewhere (as we saw in the preceding discussion). This duality of the Christian tradition continued during the colonial rule and continues still in many visible and invisible ways. Put otherwise, the emergence of phenomena such as the Christian right and Liberation theology have their local versions all over the world. Thus, in regard to India (where 85 per cent Christians are subalterns or dalit-adivasis who embraced the religion in the hope of freedom from caste-class oppression), the Christian leadership has to decide whose legacy it carries and celebrates

Glaring Western Hypocrisy On The Notion Of Human Rights
By Kourosh Ziabari

Now that Iran is reconstructing its international relations through a dynamic nuclear diplomacy and gaining reputation as an emerging regional superpower, the United States and its allies, infuriated and frantic, consider it as worthwhile to test Iran’s patience by using the notion of human rights as a leverage for pressuring and annoying the Islamic Republic. On Wednesday, December 18, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proposed by the Canadian government to condemn the alleged violations of human rights in Iran. 83 countries votes in favor, 36 against and 62 others abstained

What Do You Wanna Be When/If You Grow Up?
By Mickey Z.

As the rain forests vanish, oceans acidify, temperatures rise, and extinctions accelerate, we adults should stop asking young children about their future and instead start fighting to insure they have one

2013: Assessing The Conflict In Syria And Egypt – The War Continues
By Ramzy Baroud

2013 has expectedly been a terrible year for several Arab nations. It has been terrible because the promise of greater freedoms and political reforms has been reversed, most violently in some instances, by taking a few countries down the path of anarchy and complete chaos. Syria and Egypt are two cases in point

The Enduring Power of Zionism’s Propaganda Lies
By Alan Hart

Evidence that the mainstream media is not prepared to balance Zionism’s propaganda lies with the truth of history as it relates to the making and sustaining of the conflict in and over Palestine that became Israel was on display in the BBC’s obituary tribute to David Coleman who died at the age of 87 on 21 December. The face and voice of BBC Television’s sports coverage for the best part of half a century, he was in Munich for the 1972 Olympics where, according to the commentary of the BBC’s tribute to him, “Arab gunmen held hostages and then killed the Israeli athletes.”

Fear Franchise
By Omar Rashid Chowdhury

Fear is one of the controlling mechanisms of the prevalent global system to reap profit. Fear profiteering of the system exploits both the dominating and the dominated classes. The system acts as a self-consuming monster in its thirst to profit. While the system feeds on fear it also sows seeds of dissention and intensifies class antagonism that can have radical results. Two courses of fear run within the system: Fear in the dominating propertied classes, and fear in the dominated classes. These two types of fears, it can be said, are class-based: of the rich, and of the poor

CPI(M) Scared Of Losing Relevance
By Arindam Majumder

The Communists are no more fighting an ideological battle, they are fighting to keep their relevance in national politics. So an alliance with the bourgeoisie, corrupt Congress in 2014- There is nothing new under the Sun!

Navadisha- Giving New Direction To Learning
By Syed Ali Mujtaba

Today there is a great deal of interest in the Montessori Method of learning. Contemporary research and brain scans confirm that many things that Maria Montessori only theorized are in fact true. Montessori education has therefore a deep relevance to society today. Here is an interview with Rukmini Ramachandran, a trailblazer in the field of Montessori Method of education in India

Gurbaksh Singh' Hunger Strike Enters Day 41, On The Brink Of Death
By Kirpa Kaur

Listening to Indian mainstream media and society, you might have missed this phenomenal course of events stirring up global dialogue from Punjab over the past 41 days. With Anna’s bill getting tweets, ironically enough, from globally infamous human rights violators like Modi, and India busy defending its diplomat’s oppressive labor practice as a source of national pride. It is sad that Gurbaksh Singh’s is a name yet largely unheard of in the Indian mainstream

23 December, 2013

O Little Town Of Bethlehem!
By Francis A. Boyle

Bethlehem is cut-off and surrounded by the Israeli army--the Church of the Nativity too. The Israelis are inflicting ethnic cleansing upon all the Palestinian, both Muslims and Christians. They are also pursuing a policy of deliberately forcing Palestinian Christians out of Palestine as part of a perverse strategy to turn a war of national liberation into a religious crusade, figuring it would play better in the United States. And these are the original Christians, going back to Jesus Christ and the Apostles. Meanwhile, the United States government is financing it all to the tune of $5 billion per year

O Little Town Of Bethlehem Today
By Ron Forthofer

During Christmas time, the town of Bethlehem in the West Bank, the birthplace of Jesus, comes to mind. I wonder what Jesus would think were he to return to Bethlehem and to the rest of the West Bank today. Unfortunately, he would still see a foreign military force occupying the land. Since Jesus had experienced the Roman occupation when he was alive, he might not be too surprised about the occupation. However, Jesus would also see something he had not witnessed under the Romans. The current foreign power, Israel, has now colonized much of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and there are about 500,000 Israeli colonists living in over 200 illegal Jewish-only colonies and outposts on lands taken from the Palestinians

Implementation Of US-Iran Interim Nuclear Deal Stalls
By Keith Jones

Negotiators for Iran and the P-6—the US, its European allies (Britain, France, and Germany), Russia and China—extended a two-day meeting on implementing last month’s interim agreement on Iran’s nuclear program into a third and fourth day. The “technical” negotiations concluded Sunday without agreement, however, due to what Iran termed “serious differences.”

South Sudan Slides Toward Civil War
By Bill Van Auken

Thousands have been killed or wounded in the fighting, and tens, if not hundreds, of thousands driven from their homes, many of them crowded into United Nations peacekeeping bases for protection. An attack on one of these bases last Thursday by what UN officials described as “unknown assailants” killed three Indian peacekeepers and 11 civilians

Uphold The Amman Message
By Chandra Muzaffar

The recent proposal by some political and religious leaders to amend the Malaysian Constitution to specify that Article 3 which states that “Islam is the religion of the Federation” refers only to the teachings of Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah(ASWJ) has far-reaching implications. Does it mean that non-Sunni, minority sects will not be recognised as Islamic? If such sects --- the Shias being a case in point --- are not recognised as Islamic, what would be their status? How would such an amendment impact upon Malay Shias since Islam is one of the defining attributes of Malay identity?

Condemning India And Flattering The U.S.
By Vidyadhar Date

True, Devayani Khobragade, the Indian diplomat, deserves some flak. One can understand the virulent criticism leveled against her by some critics.. But how come some of these worthies are so desperate to give a clean chit to the U.S. when this is totally unwarranted

Sangeeta Richards: The Forgotten Victim Of Khobragade Affairs
By V. Arun Kumar

The forgotten victim of Khobradge Affairs, Sangeeta Richards has every right to get justice and it is our duty to ensure that her case is not silenced by Indian elites under the carpet of nationalism

Is Aam Admi Party A Hope?
By S. Mohammed Irshad

Although they claim that they are neither right nor left , the party has to demonstrate its capability to take on the market ideology. The ideological position may not be a matter; however, the response to the current economic policy would be a significant challenge to the party

22 December, 2013

Billionaire Conservatives Spend Up To $1bn A Year To Fight Climate Science
By Countercurrents.org

Not only well-known conservative foundations the largest and most consistent funders behind the climate denial campaign but the majority of donations are "dark money," or concealed funding. A new study by Drexel University 's environmental sociologist Robert J. Brulle, PhD unravels the systematic efforts to discredit climate science. The first extensive study into the anatomy of the anti-climate effort found the conservative groups may have spent up to $1bn a year on the effort to deny science and oppose action on climate crisis

Climate Change And The Rise And Fall Of Civilizations
By Emily Sohn

As scientists dig in to ancient sites, they are turning up evidence that changes in climate – both large and small – are at least partly responsible for the rise and fall of many ancient civilizations. Even though Ubar is now located in one of the driest places on Earth, the region was once much wetter and full of underground water sources. Ubar disappeared when water levels dipped so low that a sinkhole formed and enveloped the outpost

A Militarily Resurging Russia
By Farooque Chowdhury

A militarily resurging Russia is giving a new twist to global geopolitical game

Are 9/11 Truthers Anti-Semites? An Interview With Elias Davidsson
By Dr. Ludwig Watzal

Elias Davidsson is one of these “truthers” who challenges the official narrative on 9/11. He is also concerned about the claim made by some “truthers” that Israel was behind the attacks. He is not, by any means, a sympathizer of Israel . On the contrary, as his writings demonstrate, he not only denounces the oppressive policies of the State of Israel against the Palestinians, but considers that state as inherently dangerous for its neighbors

Kashmir And The Heartless Generals
By Abdul Majid Zargar

Following BJP’s Prime Ministerial Candidate, Modi’s suggestion to have a debate on Article 370 in Jammu’s Lallkar rally, many articles have appeared in the Indian print media- some in praise & few in denouncement . A common feature in these articles, however is the betrayal of collective amnesia by writers about the history of word “Temporary” appearing before the article

Maruti Suzuki Workers' Protest Continues
By Maruti Suzuki Workers Union

To renew demand for the release of the 148 arrested workers who are in jail for more than 17 months without bail, to press the reinstatement of illegally terminated 2300 workers, Maruti Suzuki workers and their families sat on a day-long mass hunger strike in front of the Gurgaon DC Office and District Court.

21 December, 2013

US Congress Passes $633 Billion Military Spending Bill
By Kate Randall

The US Senate voted Thursday night to authorize nearly $633 billion in military spending. President Obama is expected to sign the legislation, which provides $552.1 billion for the regular military budget and $80.7 billion for the war in Afghanistan and other overseas contingency operations

The War On Marriage On Christmas
By David Swanson

In areas of frequent drone strikes, people are often afraid to get together in large numbers. In Yemen, parents resort to home schooling for fear of letting their children out of the house. Few and far between are the events deemed important enough to risk violating that rule. One such event is a wedding

It's Not A Wonderful Life For Many
By Ron Forthofer

Clearly Congressional and White House actions play a major role in increasing inequality here. Contact your representatives and voice your opposition to cuts in these programs that benefit the public interest. I think Dickens and Pope Francis would say 'bah, humbug' to these politicians

Alan Dershowitz Retires From Harvard Law School
By Francis Boyle

Alan Dershowitz, a prominent advocate for Israel, is retiring from Harvard Law School. Dershowitz Accused of War Crimes - On one issue-the Jewish settlements in the occupied lands-Israel has {already} been found, by an international court, to be in violation of international law. This has caused a firestorm of reaction from Israel, and its apologists, like Harvard's Alan Dershowitz. But, Francis Boyle and a number of other American human rights advocates have taken on Dershowitz on, and are ready to do it again

American Christian Zionism In Perspective
By John Spritzler

A good friend of mine who is very rightly a vehement opponent of Zionism recently told me that the fact that so many Americans belonged to Christian Zionist fundamentalist megachurches made her despair if it would ever be possible to mobilize sufficient numbers of Americans to oppose and actually end our government's support for the government of Israel. Is her despair warranted or not? That's what this article is about

AAP: Subversion By Innocence
By Satya Sagar

AAP is managing to do all this while appearing to be totally naïve in its politics and without any grand revolutionary rhetoric, save the slogan of ‘going back to the Aam Aadmi’ for its political inspiration and decision making. In fact, to me, the AAP’s radical potential arises precisely because it has few abstract pretensions and instead holds on to its faith in the wisdom of ordinary Indian citizens thus restoring agency to them and eschewing the politics of left or right elitism

The Human Right To Live Without Terror
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

The human right to live without terror is, without doubt, an urgent need of our times. From the First World War till now, a great number of charters and declarations of this nature have been issued by different international forums, including the United Nations. But, as we know, these charters and declarations have yielded no result

After This Indian Nun Witnessed a Woman’s Murder,
She Saved Thousands More from Domestic Violence

By Christa Hillstrom

As India honors the first anniversary of the Delhi gang rape that rocked the nation, an interview with Sister Lucy Kurien—whose life was changed forever when she saw a young woman set on fire

Consulate Handcuffed And Racism Cry!
By Partha Banerjee

Problem is, these elite consulate officers, and Indian government and media houses that are now crying foul and slamming racism charges against the U.S. government NEVER speak a word when countless poor Indian immigrants go through such abusive treatment and flay of human rights across the U.S. on a daily basis

A Tree Grandmother
By Anitha S

Fighting for a Grandmother Tree, in Thiruvananthapuram City, Kerala, India

20 December, 2013

Harrowing Torture, Summary Killings
In Secret ISIS Detention Centers In Syria

By Amnesty International

Torture, flogging, and summary killings are rife in secret prisons run by the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), an armed group that controls large areas of northern Syria , said Amnesty International in a briefing published today. ISIS, which is linked to al-Qa’ida in Iraq, is an armed opposition group whose fighters, all Sunni Muslims, are drawn from many countries. They claim to advocate a strict form of Shari’a rule and use extreme force to impose it in areas that they control or where they are present

“Bride And Boom!”
By Tom Engelhardt

USA is number one in obliterating Wedding Parties in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen.... And were a wedding party to be obliterated on a highway anywhere in America on the way to, say, a rehearsal dinner, whatever the cause, it would be a 24/7 tragedy. Our lives would be filled with news of it. Count on that

Walking In An Anthropocene Wonderland: "But I'll know my song well before I start singing"
By Phil Rockstroh

According to a recent, exhaustive study commissioned by the US Department of Energy and headed by a scientific team from the U.S. navy, by the summer of 2015, the Arctic Ocean could be bereft of ice, a phenomenon that will engender devastating consequences for the earth's environment and every living creature on the planet

UNRWA’s Bitter Winter Solstice…And Now Dershowitz!
By Franklin Lamb

Preparing for a tough next few months is what the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is doing these days and the UN Specialized Agency is working in the face of daunting odds. UNWRA was founded in 1949 and for more than 60 years it has been plagued by harassments, intimidation, and countless conspiracies to close it down waged by the international Zionist lobby increasingly trying to ‘put it out of its misery’ as Prime Minister Netanyahu recently demanded from the US Congress

Richard Falk Interview… Stealing Palestine
By Stuart Littlewood

Let us look the children of Gaza in the eye if we can. And if we can’t, as I could not, seize the moment to reflect on what it means to be (in)human during this holiday season

The War Of Narratives : Bringing Truth To The Middle East Crisis
By Dan Lieberman

Despite their more compelling narrative, the Palestinians have been unable to successfully articulate their experiences or implement a powerful rebuttal to Israel's narrations, and Israel has prevailed in the war of narratives, a feat that defies the possible

Abject Poverty or Domestic Servitude?
By Graham Peebles

Vulnerable and easily exploited, the millions of women and children meeting the domestic needs of the economically better off, are victims of a global socio-economic system that has trapped hundreds of millions into poverty and continues to fuel stellar levels of inequality

Annie Leonard On Stuff, "Citizen Muscle", And What She's Giving This Christmas
By Rob Hopkins

Here Annie Leonard talks about citizen muscle, Glen Beck and what she's giving for Christmas this year

Waiting For Mangabe or Slavoj Zizek On Mandela's Socialist Failure
By Thomas Riggins

This is a reply to Slavoj Zizek's article "Mandela's Socialist Failure" published online in The Stone (a New York Times maintained philosophy blog) on December 6, 2013. In eight pithy paragraphs Zizek endeavors to expose the real legacy of Mandela as opposed to his current "beatification."

Lynne Stewart, Our Lady Mandela, In The Season Of Giving
By Gary Corseri

A peom celebrating the heroic struggle of Lynne Stewart who is imprisoned in Fort Worth prison, Texas and suffering from Cancer

Will Lokpal Bill End Corruption In India
By Syed Ali Mujtaba

After fifty-two years of its inception, the Lokpal bill at last has become a law. Both the houses of the Parliament passed this controversial bill on December 18, 2013 amidst reservation from the Samajwadi party and some other ruling UPA allay

Need For Enhancing Sensitivity Among The Early Childhood Educators
By Swaleha Sindhi

Lack of sensitivity of teachers towards the needs and classroom dealing of the young children in school is a serious problem

Launch Of Indo-Pak Calendar And Discussion On Indo-Pak Friendship
By Mission Bhartiyam

At India International Centre, New Delhi on 21st December 2013, 2 to 5 PM

19 December, 2013

Grant Edward Snowden Immunity Now
ACLU Petition Campaign

A federal judge just vindicated Snowden’s actions by declaring unconstitutional the NSA’s spying program, labeling it “Orwellian”— adding that James Madison would be “aghast.” Now if tens of thousands of us stand together and tell President Obama to grant Snowden immunity, we have a real chance of bringing him home

Globalization: The Fast Track To Nowhere
By Colin Todhunter

If the type of high energy living outlined above continues, we are heading for a crunching slowdown much sooner than we think. It will be catastrophic as current conflicts intensify and new ones emerge over diminishing resources, whether water, oil, minerals, fertile land or food

Top 10 Climate Crisis Protests Of 2013
By Sophie Yeo 

A list of top climate crisis protests

Hack The Planet? Do You Agree?
By Countercurrents.org 

Spraying sulfates into the stratosphere does not benefit everyone. Should it be applied as a global public good? Is accepting geoengineering as a necessary evil ignores other science or policy options? What is the Oxford Principle? Should it be accepted? These are only a few of many opinions and questions scientists are raising. It is also part of debates on the issue of geoengineering now going on in the scientist community around the world. Public should be informed of the issue

US Plans ‘Gazafication’ Of The West Bank
By Jonathan Cook

A sense of urgency looms because Washington is supposed to unveil next month its so-called “framework proposal” for the creation of a Palestinian state, in a last desperate effort to break the logjam in negotiations. For this reason, the outlines of the US vision of an agreement are finally coming into focus. And, as many expected, the picture looks bleak for the Palestinians

India's Urban Mobility Plans To Tackle Sustainability
By Marianne de Nazareth

Living in any of India's metropolises has become a nightmare with the exponential increase in the quantum of vehicular traffic, on all the cities arterial roads. Pollution levels have spiraled out of control with not just the increase in vehicles but also the adulteration of the fuel sold in the country. Drive down any of the main roads of any city in the country and you can experience firsthand the smog of pollution that coats everything and anything, including our lungs

Neoliberalism Normalising The Unacceptable:
Indian Government Unable To Comprehend People’s Anger

By Prayag Mehta

Neoliberalism is thus, not merely structural, it is also mental. The Indian government seems to consider wide spread poverty and denial of even elementary necessitiesis not as a tragedy and a disgrace but normal much like other natural phenomenon

18 December, 2013

The Global Temperature Jigsaw Explained
By Stefan Rahmstorf

Since 1998 the global temperature has risen more slowly than before. Given the many explanations for colder temperatures discussed in the media and scientific literature (La Niña, heat uptake of the oceans, arctic data gap, etc.) one could jokingly ask why no new ice age is here yet. This fails to recognize, however, that the various ingredients are small and not simply additive. Here is a small overview and attempt to explain how the different pieces of the puzzle fit together

69 Countries Are Facing Extremely Tough Competition For Water
By Sophie Yeo

Sixty-nine countries are already facing extremely tough competition for water, according to a study by the World Resources Institute. According to the study, the first to rank countries based on water scarcity, 37% of the countries experience high water stress, meaning at least 40% of their water is taken up by industrial, agricultural and residential use

Fracking Could Cause Cancer, Birth Defects And Infertility
By Countercurrents.org

A study by scientists in the US has shown fracking uses harmful chemicals that could cause cancer, birth defects and infertility. The chemicals put at risk children exposed to contamination

US-Japan-Philippines-China Tension To Benefit Anglo-US-Japanese Arms Traders
By Countercurrents.org

With a US warning to China the US is increasingly getting engaged in tension in the region surrounding China-Japan-the Philippines while Japan plans to increase its armaments. The increasing tension is going to benefit Anglo-US arms manufacturers

Bachelet's Victory Initiates A New Struggle In Chile
By Marianela Jarroud

The promised structural reforms to modify the political system inherited from Chile 's 1973-1990 dictatorship and reduce the severe social inequalities in the country propelled Michelle Bachelet to a resounding triumph in the December 15 runoff election

Open Christmas Letter To Pope Francis On Gaza
By Vacy Vlazna

As the world makes merry this festive season, the people of Gaza have deliberately been deprived of fuel by Israel for two months: they suffer in freezing temperatures, with no electricity, no light, no heat, scarcity of food, no essential services, when the waste water treatment plant stopped functioning sewage flooded the streets- then kicking families while they are down so low, Israel opened dams east of Gaza drowning hope and the last vestiges of normal life

BDS: Permanent Address For Palestinian Solidarity
By Ramzy Baroud

When Roger Waters took the stances that he did, he knew well of the likes of Boteach who would immediately denounce him as ‘anti-Semite.’ The fact is, however, the number of ‘Roger Waters’ out there is quickly growing, and the power of their moral argument is widely spreading. Israeli smear tactics are not only ineffective but also self-defeating

Let Saudi Arabia Go It Alone!
By Dr. Ludwig Watzal

On December 17, 2013, the ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Great Britain published an Op-Ed in the New York Times accusing the West of not having confronted Syria and Iran head-on. An ambassador is traditionally the mouthpiece of his government. But the political rhetoric he used suggests that he also acted therein as megaphones of the Neocons or the US military, which are critical of Obama’s allegedly soft policy towards Syria and Iran

What’s New? I’m Glad You Asked…
By Mickey Z.

Another brand of the “same shit” that happens every “different” day: We -- through our behavior, silence, inaction, or ineptitude -- remain complicit

Another Politics Is Possible
By Prahlad Shekhawat

Can AAP maintain its core values and yet be resilient enough to strike a balance in the art of making tactical comprises and alliances? Can the momentum generated by the inspired dedication be sustained for the long haul?

17 December, 2013

Federal Judge Holds NSA Telephone Surveillance Unconstitutional
By John Burton

A federal judge in Washington, DC on Monday declared that the National Security Agency’s collection of telephone “metadata” from virtually every call made to, from or within the United States violates the Fourth Amendment, the constitutional provision protecting the “right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.”

NSA Surveillance Is About Power, Not "Safety"
By Edward Snowden

An open letter to the people of Brazil. This letter was published today in the Brazilian newspaper A Folha in Portuguese and this original text was provided via the Facebook page of Glenn Greenwald's husband David Miranda

Four Degree Temperature Rise Will End Vegetation 'Carbon Sink'
By Countercurrents.org

Latest climate and biosphere modelling suggests that the length of time carbon remains in vegetation during the global carbon cycle -- known as 'residence time' -- is the key "uncertainty" in predicting how Earth's terrestrial plant life -- and consequently almost all life -- will respond to higher CO2 levels and global warming, say researchers. Carbon will spend increasingly less time in vegetation as the negative impacts of climate change take their toll through factors such as increased drought levels -- with carbon rapidly released back into the atmosphere where it will continue to add to global warming

Arctic Waters Kept Warming In 2013
By Earth Science Communications Team 

The Arctic continued to shift to a warmer, greener state in 2013. That was the headline from the latest Arctic Report Card, an annual update prepared by scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and partner organizations such as NASA. Scientists are tracking a variety of environmental indicators, including air temperature, snow cover, sea ice extent, ocean temperature, vegetation growth, and wildlife behavior. In comparison to 2012, most indicators this year were closer to their long-term averages, but signs of change (fueled by long-term warming) were still present

Lost Freshwater May Double Climate Change Effects On Agriculture
By Countercurrents.org

A warmer world is expected to have severe consequences for global agriculture and food supply, reducing yields of major crops even as population and demand increases. A new analysis combining climate, agricultural, and hydrological models finds that shortages of freshwater used for irrigation could double the detrimental effects of climate change on agriculture

Are We Falling Off The Climate Precipice?
By Dahr Jamail

During a recent visit with my eight-year-old niece and 10- and 12-year-old nephews, I stopped myself from asking them what they wanted to do when they grew up, or any of the future-oriented questions I used to ask myself. I did so because the reality of their generation may be that questions like where they will work could be replaced by: Where will they get their fresh water? What food will be available? And what parts of their country and the rest of the world will still be habitable?

When Will Earth Lose Its Oceans? 
By Countercurrents.org

The natural increase in solar luminosity – a very slow process unrelated to current climate warming – will cause the Earth's temperatures to rise over the next few hundred million years. This will result in the complete evaporation of the oceans

Politics Of Visibility: India’s Queer Movement And IPC-377
By Sonia Joseph

Fast forward to 2013 and nearly every single Indian newspaper (and most of the foreign ones too) used a photo-op of a satin, multi-colored rainbow to announce the Indian Supreme Court decision to criminalize homosexuality. It hurt. We had come unmasked, with the paint washed off our faces, ready to be told that the sex we were having was not against nature (those of us with no penises got to be included by proxy). Instead we are insulted, told we were miniscule and our troubles unworthy of national attention. And then there was the embarrassment

Love letter to friends on Jeju Island, from Dr Hakim and the Afghan Peace Volunteers in Kabul

And if the U.S. military finally establishes Jeju's one naval base and Afghanistan 's nine, we'll promptly get in touch with the people of Okinawa , Diego Garcia and on and on, so as to persist in building those person-to-person and community-to-community relationships that can save our world

Syracuse Is Fifth City To Pass Anti-Drone Resolution
By David Swanson

Syracuse has joined a growing number of cities and states to have passed an anti-drone resolution

Oppose Drone Strikes- A War Crime!
By Dr. Chandra Muzaffar

The only way to get Obama to abandon his policy is for more citizen groups in Asia and the West to speak up against US drone strikes. Both the print and electronic media should also do much more to raise the awareness of the people so that they would be persuaded to act against this war crime. Isn’t it a shame that major media channels gave so little attention to the poor and innocent victims of the drone strikes a few days ago?

Defeating The Violence In Our Food And Medicine
By Robert J. Burrowes

Rather than hash over the old facts, however, I want to concentrate on presenting a series of healthy alternatives to the chronic illness often induced by following mainstream medical advice, particularly in relation to diet and treatment. So here are some options for you to consider

The Crisis And Challenge Of Dalit-Bahujans
By Braj Ranjan Mani

There is no competing cultural vision from below for the mind and heart of India. Dalit-bahujans are still absent in the contest of ideas, policies and visions—the fundamentals on which democratic competition takes place. This paralysis of the mind is linked to their systemic cultural, intellectual and spiritual destruction. Without reference to history one cannot find even poor answers to the complex problems that keep them divided and demoralized, but the corruption and capitulation of the current dalit-OBC leadership has also aggravated the crisis. There is a burning need to renew and reconstruct an ideology—attempted in the past by Phule, Ambedkar and Periyar—that can pave the way to a broad-based unity for social reconstruction

16 December, 2013

Gaza Drowning …And Under Power And Media Blackout
By Countercurrents.org

According to the United Nations, over 10,000 Palestinians were displaced after a rare winter storm and torrential rains turned large swathes of the region into a "disaster area." At least two people are dead. Large swathes of northern Gaza are a disaster area with water as far as the eye can see. Areas around Jabalia have become a massive lake with two meter high waters engulfing homes and stranding thousands. The Gaza Government’s Disaster Response Committee alleged that Israeli authorities had opened up dams just east of the Gaza Strip, flooding numerous residential areas in nearby villages within the coastal territory

Geoengineering Is Unlikely To Succeed, Natural Defenses Are The Best
By Countercurrents.org 

Reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the planet's surface by geoengineering may not undo climate change after all

Global Warming And The End Of Capitalism
By Gary Engler

Saving the planet from global warming and ensuring a future for our grandchildren are powerful incentives for billions of working people to participate in this necessary global movement. Can it happen quickly enough? Yes. Will it happen quickly enough? That is up to us

We The People
By Farooque Chowdhury

New leadership and initiatives emerge and hope is renewed. Societies, and times carry evidence of this qualitative change as contradictions can’t be resolved mechanically and through conspiracies, as false assertions can’t replace facts, as lie can’t subdue moral standing, as deceptions ultimately wear out, as “Man does not exist for the law, but the law exists for man”, and as people don’t die. History comes at juncture as people echo Cromwell: “You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately ... Depart, I say; and let us have done with you.”

The Nobel For Peace –An Expanding Scandal
By Fredrik S. Heffermehl

In this column, Norwegian lawyer and author Fredrik S. Heffermehl, whose latest title is The Nobel Peace Prize: What Nobel Really Wanted , writes that the Nobel Committee has failed to respect Alfred Nobel's will

Signs Of China-North Korea Tensions After Jang Song-thaek’s Execution
By Peter Symonds

Following last week’s execution of North Korea’s no.2 leader, Jang Song-thaek, the Pyongyang regime has recalled its business people from China, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. “Large numbers of North Korean businessmen in Shenyang and Dandong have gone home in a hurry this week,” a source said

Escape Route From The Nuclear Shadow Over The Middle East
By Neve Gordon

Princeton Experts Offer Solution for Ending the Nuclear Dangers across the Middle East

America’s Child Soldiers
By Ann Jones

It should be no secret that the United States has the biggest, most efficiently organized, most effective system for recruiting child soldiers in the world. With uncharacteristic modesty, however, the Pentagon doesn’t call it that. Its term is “youth development program.”

The Myth Of Turkish Secularism
By David Boyajian

The Turkish government massively supports and funds Islam – specifically Sunni Islam - inside the country. Turkey simultaneously represses religions such as Alevism, and bullies and persecutes indigenous Christians, most of whom it liquidated in 20th century genocides. Moreover, it uses Islam to project Turkish political power into Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. Turkey’s system is more properly termed State Islam. This article is not a criticism of Islam or its faithful. We respect both. Turkey’s secularism myth, nevertheless, cries out to be laid bare

Paine Relief: Words Inspire Actions
By Mickey Z.

A seditious pamphlet sold a half-million copies in 1776? To perform a similar feat today, an author would have to sell more than 40 million books. I doubt even Oprah could help make that happen

The Inconsolable Grief Of Pushparayan
By Anitha.S

The distance that Pushparayan could not travel on 12th night will be the longest for all peace loving citizens. The inconsolable grief of Pushparayan and his family along with friends all over the world who dream of a nuclear- free world will be a dark page in the history of India’s democracy

[SURPRESSED] Mandela In 2003: "USA Has Committed Unspeakable Atrocities In The World!"
By Jay Janson

Just as war investing industry owned corporate conglomerate media cartel has for 44 years blacked out all mention of Martin Luther King Jr.' condemnation of US atrocity wars and covert genocide on 3 continents in maintenance of predatory investments, does it black out Mandela's denunciations of US atrocities and his love and appreciation for Fidel Castro for Cuban sacrifices and for Gadaffi aid to the ANC fighting Apartheid

Nelson Mandela: A Hero For The Oppressors, A Betrayer For The Oppressed!
By Democratic Students' Union

Mandela’s so called legacy is built upon on an illusion, the seeds of which were laid by Mandela himself. It is extremely important that we break this collective iconization and the illusion of Mandela’s legacy. What exactly is Mandela’s legacy?

Bangladesh Crisis: Quest For People's Power
By Anu Muhammad

Where does Bangladesh stand at the age of 42? In the month of victory, this year, everyday is marked by strike, blockade, hartal, killing, burning cars, buses and people. There are overflow of patients in the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), the largest public hospital that has the only burn unit. The whole year witnessed unprecedented violence; nearly 400 people have been killed since February. The country appears dysfunctional. People are scared, people are angry

14 December, 2013

Koodankulam Leader Barred From Attending His Father’s Funeral
By Coalition For Nuclear Disarmament And Peace

Koodankulam anti-nuclear struggle leader M Pushparayan was prevented from attending his father's funeral, who passed away on 12 th December. Pushparayan had not met his father from the beginning of the anti-nuclear struggle about two years ago. Pushparayan's father Mahiban Victoria ( 85), passed away in Tuticorn about 80 kilometers from Idinthankarai, where Pushparayan is staying and leading the struggle against Koodankulam Nuclear Power plant. Pushparayan could not attend his father's last rites as he cannot move out of the Idinthakarai village, fearing immediate arrest by the police. Over 200 police personnel were deployed at the funeral of Mr. Pushparayan's father in Tuticorin to arrest him if he joins. This state 'terrorism' against the leader of the peaceful Koodankulam anti-nuclear struggle was employed in spite of the order by the Supreme Court of India to take back false charges levelled against the people,. The Tamil Nadu police and government have not complied with this order

Assad Win May Be Syria’s Best Option: Ex-CIA Chief
By Countercurrents.org

Michael Hayden former CIA chief believes that The sectarian bloodbath in Syria is such a threat to regional security that a victory for Bashar al-Assad’s regime could the best outcome to hope for

Will Les Clintons Scuttle Us/Iran Rapprochement?
By Franklin Lamb

Late this week, according to a former aide who claims that she has given up politics, word from the Clinton camp is that Bill has apparently concluded that La Clinton can’t secure the Oval Office without the green (as in the color of US currency) light from Tel Aviv

Peace In The Pentagon
By David Swanson

Eliminating war would logically involve eliminating the war-making machine, but veteran and military opponents of war, more often than others, want the military preserved and used for good ends. Is that because it makes sense or because of personal identification? Nationalism is driving wars, but military peace activists tend, more than others, to favor "good patriotism" or "true patriotism." Must a peace movement that ought to celebrate international law and cooperation follow that lead? 

Finding The Light In The Era Of Permanent Winter Solstice
By Carolyn Baker

A useful practice with many indigenous people is this: Live as if every act, every task performed in daily life, every kindness expressed to another being and to oneself might be the last. This is one way I stay connected with the light in dark times. Walking in reverence, living contemplatively with gratitude, generosity, compassion, and an open heart that is willing to be broken over and over again

Indian Judiciary And Social Ostracism
By Dr. Narendra Kumar Arya

Many verdicts given by the high judiciary in India are clearly indicative of its compositional caste- related biases and dictatorial perceptions. There is strong need for democratic representation in high judiciary. It also needs to be brought under the purview of reservation, affirmative action and reflect social diversity in its composition and thinking. An institution endowed with the utmost job of guarding the constitution and republic may not be antithetical and detrimental to what it has to save primarily by killing the basic spirit of the same and act in vehemently unconstitutional manner

Bangladesh Salutes Its Murdered Intellectuals
By Countercurrents.org

The Martyred Intellectuals Day, December 14, has usually been observed with the demand of trying the war criminals. But this time, the people will pay respects to the martyred intellectuals a day after the Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla’s hanging

Politicians And Bureaucrats Need To Learn Basics About Urban Transport
By Vidyadhar Date

Reforms for public transport should start with sensitizing politicians and bureaucrats. They are the ones showing little understanding of issues and so are obsessed with flyovers and cars rather than people. This view was expressed by some participants in a discussion on the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) at the recently concluded 6th Urban Mobility India conference in Delhi

13 December, 2013

US Drone Strike In Yemen Kills 15
By Peter Symonds

At least 15 people were killed yesterday in central Yemen, when missiles fired from an unmanned US drone slammed into a wedding convoy. Yemeni security officials said the attack took place near the city of Radda, the capital of Bayda province, leaving behind charred bodies and burnt out vehicles

Who's Excited About Another Decade In Afghanistan?
By David Swanson

With 196 nations in the world and U.S. troops already in at least 177 of them, there aren't all that many available to make war against. Yet it looks like both Syria and Iran will be spared any major Western assault for the moment. Could this become a trend? Is peace on the horizon? Are celebrations of Nelson Mandela's nonviolence sincere?  The glitch in this optimistic little photo-shopped storyline starts with an A and rhymes with Shmafghanistan

ADB Approves $900m Loan For Pakistan Coal Plant – But Will It Be The Last?
By Jake Schmidt

Unfortunately the Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed to fund a new coal-fired power plant, using scarce public resources to invest in more climate pollution. While the Board of the ADB approved the $900 million Jamshoro Coal-Fired Power Plant in Pakistan, the Board vote came with a huge amount controversy including the first no vote of the US on a coal power plant, no votes of other countries, and votes of disapproval from a growing list of countries

Chemical War: The Ties That Bind
By Hussein Al-alak

Few countries in the Middle East have experienced the same level of chemical attacks as the Iraqi people. Starting in the 1920’s, which saw the first ever gassing of the Kurds by the British, for nearly one hundred years, every generation has grown up under the shadow of chemical weapons

Some Examples Of Genocide
By John Scales Avery

If humanity is to survive in an era of all-destroying weapons, we must develop an advanced ethic to match our advanced technology. We must regard all humans as our brothers and sisters, More than that, we must actively feel our kinship with all living things, as well as our duty to protect inanimate nature

Ending The Insanity of Ecocide
By Amelia Womack, Villo Lelkes & Prisca Merz

A group of volunteers has proposed a law to the European Union to make ecocide a crime if it is committed in EU territory, or by companies registered in the EU, or by EU citizens. The proposed legislation would also apply to the import of any goods or services resulting from activities causing ecocide in the EU and the financing of ecocide by EU banks or financial institutions. If one million EU citizens support this proposal by January 21st, 2014, the European Commission will be legally bound to propose an action. We would like to invite EU citizens to vote today for a law to protect our future. Ecocidal tendencies have no place in either our legal or our economic institutions

The Surprising Healing Qualities ... of Dirt
By Daphne Miller

Thinking of a healthy body as an extension of a healthy farm, and vice versa, is a paradigm shift for many of us. But when we consider that all of our cells get their building blocks from plants and soil then, suddenly, it all makes sense. In fact, it is not too much of a stretch to say: We are soil

The New Materialism: Inviting People To Fall In Love With Stuff In A Good Way
Rob Hopkins Interviews Ruth Potts

Ruth Potts is the co-author, with Andrew Simms, of a pamphlet called The New Materialism, founder of Bread, Print and Roses, and organiser of the recent 'Festival of Making'. She describes her work as "inviting people to fall in love with stuff in a good way". We sat down with Ruth under a tree in the Healthy Futures garden in Totnes to pick her brains about materialism, "stuff" and what a new relationship with stuff could look like

Qatar Trains Death Warriors For Syria War
By Ismail Salami

It is now more evident than ever before that Qatar is playing a vital role in stoking up the chaos which is tearing Syria apart. Informed sources have recently exposed that in the heart of Doha stand centers for training assassins of different nationalities who are dispatched to Syria to fight against the government of Bashar al-Assad. These would-be assassins are subjected to heavy military training as well as Wahhabi teachings

This December 24: Have Yourself A Merry I.F. Stone Day
By Mickey Z.

Dec. 24 is I.F. Stone's birthday (he would have been 106). His journalistic example is about as good a reason as any to celebrate

For Our Vote To Make A Difference, It's Time To Try New Tactics
By Mark Vorpahl

Kshama Sawant's victory in Seattle shows that grassroots efforts are creating an opening for independent political action by working people, even in the tightly controlled world of electoral politics and the two-party system. Attempts to repeat this success will likely be initiated by other small groups. And it would be best if these efforts focus on building the greatest unity possible; small competing campaigns will not do this

Drawing Homophobia Out Of Straight People Supporting Equality
By Richard Kamei

The underlying meaning in this claim of being straight is their existing or internalised fear of being labelled as one of the LGBTI. By stating your sexual orientation in supporting LGBTI rights, you are simply warding off people’s likely doubt that they may consider you as homosexual or bisexual. This persistent fear present in you, serves no purpose in lending support to sexual minority; it is a mere sympathy not solidarity and by that fear lying within you, is only an affirmation that you are still homophobic

Chile Will Choose Their New President On Sunday
By Brian McAfee

On Sunday, December 15, Chileans will go to the polls to decide who will represent them as president for the next four years. The favorite, Michelle Bachelet, had served as president from 2006 to 2010 and now has a significant lead over her competitor Evelyn Matthei

Peace On Earth - Good Will To All
By Rosemarie Jackowski

Confused about whether to say, “Merry Christmas” or, “Happy Holidays”. What about Kwanza, Hanukkah, and the Holy Days of Islam? Maybe a simple greeting of, “Peace to you brother”, would be appropriate. Ah, the stress of it all could drive a person to over-indulge in the spiked nog

12 December, 2013

Climate Movement Needs Radicals Like Mandela
By Sophie Yeo

The climate change movement needs to be as radical as Nelson Mandela's fight against apartheid, said Naomi Klein, speaking to an audience in London on December 11, 2013 . Gathering at the Royal Society for a conference on how global carbon emissions can be reduced drastically and immediately, speakers including Naomi Klein, Kevin Anderson and Corinne le Quéré argued for a new wave of radical environmental action

Perfluorotributylamine, Newly Discovered GHG '7,100 Times More Powerful Than CO2'
By Countercurrents.org

Scientists from the University of Toronto's department of chemistry have discovered a new greenhouse gas (GHG) called perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA), which is 7,100 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the Earth and is produced by humans. The PFTBA does not occur naturally

Criminalising Homesexuality: Imperial Morality Of The Apex Court
Overshines The Constitutional Wisdom

By Dr. Sophy Joseph

Discriminating any human being on the basis of immutable identity is challenging anyone’s right to life and liberty. Denial of fundamental right by the state and upholding of the same by the Apex Court of the country on flimsy grounds paints a dark day for both judicial activism and human rights activism in India

The result of the power struggle in Ukraine remains open. On Tuesday night riot police sought to clear the areas occupied by protesters on Independence Square and the Town Hall which has been occupied by government opponents.On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko assured that no violence would be used against peaceful demonstrators. “I want to reassure everyone—the square will not be stormed,” Zakharchenko said

Where Is Palestine’s Mandela?
By Alan Hart

The answer to my headline question is that he, Marwan Barghouti, is in an Israeli jail where he has been since his arrest in Ramallah by an IDF unit in 2002, after which, in 2004, he was sentenced to five life terms in prison. Some months before his arrest one of Israel’s security agencies tried and failed to assassinate him. A missile was fired at his bodyguard’s car and killed the bodyguard

From The Middle East To Lausanne: Arabic Thoughts Amidst the Alps
By Ramzy Baroud

Is there a rationale that could explain what happened in the last few decades? How did we go from relative clarity by having a defined, collective sense of purpose, identity, and common aspirations – despite the many failures and defeats – to this overwhelming sense of loss?

Norman Finkelstein Interview With Frank Barat Recalled
By Sean Fenley

This is an older interview, and I don’t how many have seen it. Electronic Intifada did a good write-up of it back in June 2012. And so anyway, I think that pro-Palestinian activists should definitely give it a view. Dr. Norman Finkelstein really destroys years of activism IMO in the interview. He makes himself out to look like an obtuse, belligerent bully, and a buffoon. Additionally, he even goes along with those who would blame the victim too

Whatever Happened To Academic Activism? Worrying Sign In Australia
By Dr Richard Hil

If ever there was a time when progressive academics needed to speak out loudly and publicly, it is surely now. Faced with the challenges presented by the election of a radical conservative federal government in Australia with its equivocations on climate change, harsh treatment of refugees, restructuring of workplace relations, and cuts to overseas aid - progressive academics have to decide how to position themselves in this context – or , as sociologist Howard Becker once put it, ‘whose side are we on’?

The Great American Class War
By Bill Moyers

One hundred and fifty years ago, Abraham Lincoln stood on the blood-soaked battlefield of Gettysburg and called Americans to “the great task remaining.” That “unfinished work,” as he named it, remained the same then as it was when America’s founding generation began it. And it remains the same today: to breathe new life into the promise of the Declaration of Independence and to assure that the Union so many have sacrificed to save is a union worth saving

Who Really Masterminds Anti-Iran Sanctions?
By Ismail Salami

There is no remission to Washington’s belligerence towards Iran and no deal seems to be an antidote to this venom of spite secreted out on the part of the US officials on a daily basis. In a tone not unfamiliar to Iranian ears, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on board the USS Ponce, just 120 miles off the coast of Iran once again reminded the servicemen that the “threat of US military force still exists even though the Obama administration is pursuing a six-month long diplomatic process with Iran to freeze its nuclear program.”

Encounter or Cold Blooded Murder?
By Concerned Citizens

A Brief Report on Recent Fake Encounters in Koraput, Malkangiri Districts of South Odissa, India

A Bangladesh Politics Rundown
By Farooque Chowdhury

Hastily drawn tact in a fluid situation was charming onlookers of Bangladesh politics for the last few days. It was sharply overshadowed by a seeming drama, but essentially an imperative that exposed limit of the Bangladesh political elites and showed innovative political initiative by a section of the business elites

Women, Politics And Development
By P Radhakrishnan

For women's development an equal share as of men in the development pie is necessary but not sufficient. Share in development should be backed by changes in women's existential conditions which determine their existential necessities through changes in the existing social arrangements. This can happen only through an active and articulate civil society, which is absent now

Nelson Mandela Will Live On As A Beacon For Social Justice
By Brian McAfee

There are many places around the world where the struggle for social and political justice are still great, two such places are the Philippines and West Papua

“Moral Injury”— One Military Veteran Kills Teenager, Another Kills Himself
By Shepherd Bliss

Thirteen-year-old Andy Lopez was killed by sheriff’s deputy Erick Gelhaus on October 22, as the boy walked home in his Latino neighborhood in Santa Rosa, California. The Iraq War veteran claims he mistook the eighth-grader’s toy rifle for a real one. A month later another Army vet, Paul Duffy, took his own life nearby. How might these two deaths be related?

11 December, 2013

Battle For The Arctic: Canada, Russia Spar In Northern Land Grab
By Lauren McCauley

One day after Canada laid claim to the North Pole in a bid to out-maneuver other nations in the land grab for the resource-rich Arctic, Russian president Vladimir Putin issued orders Tuesday to beef up Russia's military presence in the region

Yemen: Chaos, Conflict And Revolution
By Sufyan bin Uzayr

Yemen is one of the world's poorest countries, and the Yemenis are aware of this fact. Even in the midst of such chaos and astute poverty, the spirit of the Revolution is still going strong, albeit the frenzy and euphoria seems to be dying. Considering the fact that the interim government is being a silent witness to rising instability in the country, Yemenis might soon be compelled to re-kindle the Revolution and push for democracy and transparency all over again

Obama Administration Lied On Syria Gas Attack, Alleges Seymour Hersh
By Countercurrents.org

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh has dropped yet another bombshell allegation: President Obama wasn't honest with the American people when he blamed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for a sarin-gas attack in that killed hundreds of civilians

A Conference On The Humanitarian Impact Of Nuclear Weapons, Mexico, February, 2014
By John Scales Avery

On February 13 and 14, 2014, the government of Mexico will host a conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons. The global peace movement must think carefully about how best to use the opportunities offered by the Mexico conference and by other recent breakthroughs in the struggle to eliminate the danger of a catastrophic thermonuclear war

Kerry’s Coup From Mediator To Antagonist
By Nicola Nasser

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was scheduled to start his ninth trip of shuttle diplomacy between Palestinian and Israeli leaders on this December 11. However, the bridging “security arrangements,” which he proposed less than a week earlier on his last trip, have backfired and are now snowballing into a major crisis with Palestinian negotiators who view Kerry’s “ideas” as a coup turning the US top diplomat from a mediator into an antagonist

Judaisation vs Justice
By Jonathan Cook

As United States envoys shuttle back and forth in search of a peace formula to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a matter supposedly settled decades ago is smouldering back into life. In what was billed as a “day of rage” last month, thousands of Palestinians took to the streets to protest against a plan to uproot tens of thousands of Bedouin from their ancestral lands inside Israel, in the Negev (Naqab)

Let's Begin Ending War Again
By David Swanson

If we can get people understanding what a world without militaries will look like and show them a partial step in that direction -- one that makes sense to them because they see where we're headed -- it just might be that this time beginning the ending of war will have been an idea whose time had come

50 Ways Australian Intelligence Spies On Australia And The World
For UK , Israeli And US State Terrorism

By Dr Gideon Polya

Australia and its close neighbors Indonesia and Timor Leste have recently been rocked by revelations that Australian spies hacked into the phones of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and his colleagues, spied on the Timor Leste Cabinet to give a huge commercial advantage to Australian fossil fuel company Woodside in gas exploitation negotiations, and routinely spy on everybody in the world for metadata and other data, with intelligence being fed to the Americans and thence to war criminal drone strikes and to Apartheid Israel

2 Million Voices To Remember 2 Million Afghan Victims Of War, Including Hashim And Zukoom
By Hakim

On the 16 th of November, 2013, eight-year-old Hashim s/o Abdul Hamid and nine-year-old Zukoom s/o Abdul Majid were on the streets of Kabul polishing boots when a suicide bombing ( in opposition to the U.S./Afghanistan Bilateral Security Agreement ) killed them

The West Lionizes Nelson Mandela When Once It Labeled Him A Terrorist
By Dr Arshad M Khan

As tributes outdo each other at Nelson Mandela's memorial service, particularly from the West, it is easy to forget what it thought of him even thirty years ago. He was the first Commander-in-Chief of ANC's military wing, forced into this role by the South African government's savage attacks on unarmed demonstrators engaged in peaceful acts of civil disobedience

Failure Of UN To Uphold Human Rights
By Abdul Majid Zargar

The Overall failure of the UN in upholding human rights structure can be explained in part to the failure of these so-called human-rights organizations. If the humanity has to survive in a civilized order, an entirely new structure for enforcing human rights is necessary because the institutions , processes & systems that were created long ago have miserably failed

Prologue: A Conversation With Diane Wakoski About Bay of Angels And Crashing Through Mirrors
With Gary Corseri

A flowing, electric current of words between two educated, interested, down-to-earth participants

Flyovers And The Congress Rout In Delhi
By Vidyadhar Date

The rout of the Congress in the assembly elections in Delhi can be seen in the context of the form of development it is obsessed with. Chief minister Sheila Diskhit had promised to build double decker flyovers to win votes. The trouble is such an approach basically ignores the needs of common people.That partly explains the defeat of the Congress party

Let The Sia (Rose) Live: Save Siachen : International Mountain Day
By Ravi Nitesh

Siachen is one such necessary point where we clearly see the degradation and harm to environment by unnecessary deployment of troops. The name Sia (Rose) Chen (place) must get its real meaning and must be left by armies of both sides to let the mountain live

Re-Criminalizing Same Sex Relations: A Blow To Equality And Dignity
By Peoples’ Union for Democratic Rights

When world over a struggle is being waged for more inclusivity and deepening sensitivity to vulnerable sections of society, the India Apex Court, ironically, has put the stamp of approval on discrimination and violation of the privacy and dignity of LGBT persons

08 December, 2013

WTO Deal Bows To Wealth, Squashes The Poor
By Jon Queally

In announcing a final agreement in Bali, Indonesia on Saturday morning, head of the World Trade Organization Roberto Azevedo, said: "For the first time in our history, the WTO has truly delivered." Unfortunately, say critics, what the deal is certain to "deliver" is more pain and suffering for the world's poorest people and farmers at the expense of the world's largest and most powerful nations and corporations

Mandela And Gandhi
By John Scales Avery

Nelson Rohihlahla Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi were two of human history's greatest leaders in the struggle against governmental oppression. They are also remembered as great ethical teachers. Their lives had many similarities; but there were also differences

Honor Anti-Apartheid Hero Nelson Mandela's Words:
“Our Freedom Is Incomplete Without The Freedom Of The Palestinians”

By Dr Gideon Polya

In the memory of Nelson Mandela and of 2 million Palestinians who have died from violence (0.1 million) or imposed deprivation (1.9 million) decent people must apply Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Apartheid Israel and its racist supporters until the 12 million Palestinians secure one-man-one-vote, self-determination, freedom and justice

The Legacy Of Mandela
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Mandela is gone. It is essential that we do not ‘deify’ him. Let there be a critical analysis of his legacy so that the movement that he launched is not stuck in the din of ‘forgiveness’ forever

Bibi And Bandar Badger Obama: Better Six Billion Than Six Trillion!
By Franklin Lamb

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—along with certain Arab League countries, plus Turkey and Israel, have this past week reportedly committed themselves to raising nearly $6 billion to “beef up” the just-hatched Islamic Front (IF) in Syria. These “best friends of America” want the Obama administration to sign onto a scheme to oust the Syrian government by funding, arming, training, facilitating and generally choreographing the movement of fighters of this new front, a front formed out of an alliance of seven putatively “moderate” rebel factions

Give Peace A chance
By Ron Forthofer

If we want to stop another insane, counterproductive, illegal, unwarranted and costly conflict, tell Congress that it must not enact more sanctions on Iran, sanctions that would suggest the U.S. is not negotiating in good faith. Continuing Congressional support of Netanyahu harms U.S. interests

Military Madness, The TPP And The Empire
By Tim Gatto

Here are some basic policy changes that could be made to prevent illegal and unnecessary wars

Killed Beaten Raped: Migrant Workers In Saudi Arabia
By Graham Peebles

With few opportunities at home, millions of poor, desperate men and women from South East Asia and the horn of Africa migrate annually to Saudi Arabia. Vulnerable at home and vulnerable abroad where many are enslaved and badly abused, some killed. Slavery is woven into the fabric of the psyche of the kingdom

Racism, Hatevism Eroding Britain Like Canker
By Ismail Salami

Unfortunately, Britain is gradually plunging into the depths of moral deterioration and social decadence day in and day out as it refuses to make concrete efforts to curb the escalating trend of racism and hate crimes

Women, Fertility And The Rise Of Modern Capitalism: Review
By Thomas Riggins

This is a review of the above named article by Alberto Alesina (Harvard Economics Department) which appeared in Science 25 October 2013. It is an interesting article, not least because it is illustrative of Marx's view that bourgeois economics ceased to be a science after the time of David Ricardo and became merely an exercise in apologetics for capitalism but also because it attempts to answer the question "How did the Black Plague change work and family opportunities for women" as relates to the rise of capitalism

GI War Experiences Nostalgia In Mindboggling Ignorance Of
Participation In Crimes Against Humanity

By Jay Janson

The nostalgia of elderly veterans looking back on months or years of their youth spent in US military uniform fighting in some exotic smaller nation thousands of miles from home is certainly not uncommon. Far less common are US veterans who fully realize the immeasurable soul-twisting suffering caused by their shooting and bombing in someone else's beloved country; invariably, a country already having been made poor a century earlier by the plundering of speculative colonial investment banks which invested similar military occupation

India’s Questionable Choices Of Icons
By N. Jayaram

The latest two to be conferred the title Bharat Ratna, in mid-November, are cricket player Sachin Tendulkar and scientist C.N.R. Rao. These are questionable choices

06 December, 2013

Mandela's Long Walk To Freedom
By Farooque Chowdhury

Mandela invigorated and emboldened the walk to freedom that humanity cherishes and dreams, and tries hard to achieve. Mandela’s walk towards freedom will not cease. Mandela will live on as humanity’s long walk to freedom

What Didn't Kill Mandela Made Him Stronger
By David Swanson

"Which Mandela will be memorialized? Will it be the leader who built a movement and a military organization to fight injustice? Or a man of inspiration with a great smile whom we admire because of the long years suffered behind bars?"

Nelson Mandela: A Dissenting Opinion
By Jonathan Cook

It is an indication of what Mandela was up against that the man who fought so hard and long against a brutal apartheid regime was so completely defeated when he took power in South Africa. That was because he was no longer struggling against a rogue regime but against the existing order, a global corporate system of power that he had no hope of challenging alone. It is for that reason, rather simply to be contrarian, that I raise these failings

GMOs, Science And Nonsense: Retracting Seralini's Study
By Colin Todhunter

The biotech sector often yells for “peer review” when the anti-GMO movement refers to analyses or research-based findings to state its case. Despite Professor Seralini publishing his research findings (rats fed on GMOs) that were critical of the health impacts of GMOs in an internationally renowned peer-reviewed journal in 2012, his methodology and findings were nevertheless subjected to sustained attacks by the sector. Personal smears came his way too (1). Now he finds that his paper has been retracted by the journal

Indigenous Knowledge Can Help Preserve Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services
By Marianne de Nazareth

Building synergies between science and traditional knowledge forms was one focus of the initial work program for the UN's new Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Modelled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the new IPBES is mandated to bridge the gulf between authoritative biodiversity-related information, knowledge, insights and effective policy-making. The organization has 115 member nations

Global War On Terrorism Is Killing Mankind: Why Soldiers Commit Suicide?
By Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja

Can America revitalize its originality of thinking, moral and intellectual values and people's interests-based system of political governance for a peaceful co-existence and future-making in relation to the global humanity?

Obama Hardball Interview: A Waste of My Time
By Tim Gatto

The President has shown once again that he is a great orator and public speaker. MSNBC managed to appear to be a probing independent journalistic news station while actually pandering to the Democrats. The interview was a waste of my time

Muslim Heroes And Role Models
By Mike Ghouse

In the last 100 years we have had legends like Syed Ahmed Khan, Allama Iqbal, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and others who have created institutions of learning or left a legacy of critical thinking. They were not only heroes for Muslims, but for others as well

05 December, 2013

Serving The Earth And How Women Can Address Climate Crisis
Vandana Shiva & Jane Goodall Interviewed by Amy Goodman

At the recent International Women’s Earth and Climate Initiative Summit, Jane Goodall and Vandana Shiva discuss their decades of work devoted to protecting nature and saving future generations from the dangers of climate change. A renowned primatologist, Goodall is best known for her groundbreaking work with chimpanzees and baboons. An environmental leader, feminist and thinker, Shiva is the author of many books, including "Making Peace with the Earth: Beyond Resource, Land and Food Wars" and "Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace."

Feed The World, And Have A Sustainable Christmas Lunch
By Sophie Yeo

Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat. But not fat enough. By 2050, the world will need 70% more food in order to feed a projected population of 9.6 billion. Closing this food gap will become one of the great challenges of the coming decades, particularly as a changing climate shrinks the volume of crops produced in some parts of the world

2C Temperature Rise Would Be “Disastrous”
By Tim Radford

Governments have set the wrong target to limit climate change. The goal at present – to limit global warming to a maximum of 2°C higher than the average for most of human history – “would have consequences that can be described as disastrous”, say 18 scientists in a review paper in the journal PLOS One

The Torture Of Not Knowing
By Carolyn Baker

In the age of catastrophic climate change and two years following the horrifying meltdown of reactors at Fukushima’s nuclear power plant, we realize that both phenomena are profoundly impacting our species and the earth community. What we don’t know with certainty is the exact extent of the damage being done

Climate Change Meeting In Warsaw: Too Little, Too Late
By Jack A. Smith

At this point it seems that only a mass mobilization of the U.S. and world’s peoples will be able to provide the strength to stand up to the fossil fuel interests, the corporations, big business, banks, financiers and the weak or corrupt politicians who impede the way to build an equal and ecologically sustainable society including rational conservation of resources and reduction of excess consumption

No More US Boots At Afghan Doorsteps?
By Ismail Salami

In his refusal to sign the Afghan-US security pact which would enable some US troops to stay in Afghanistan after 2014, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is signaling a clear message to the United States: Afghanistan does not need US troops on its ground any more

Open Our Eyes
By Hakim & Sherif Samir

While catching up with one another over the challenges facing ordinary Afghans and Egyptians, Sherif Sameer and I talked about how ‘opening our eyes' could go a long way to building a better world. We decided to co-write this piece, from Ismailia , Egypt and Kabul , Afghanistan

Impossible Dialogue: The Choice In Yemen
By Ramzy Baroud

Chances are dim that elections will be held in Yemen next February. Yet without elections, the push for reforms and change that were inspired by the Yemeni revolution would become devoid of any real value. Yemenis might find themselves back on the street, repeating the original demands that echoed in the country’s many impoverished cities, streets and at every corner

How The CIA Bungled The War On Terror
By Pratap Chatterjee

As details of programs like Penny Lane and GRS tumble out into the open, shedding light on how the CIA has fought its secret war, it is becoming clearer that the full story of the Agency's failures, and the larger failures of U.S. intelligence and its paramilitarized, privatized sidekicks has yet to be told

The Other Collateral Damage: Non-Humans
By Mickey Z.

A human culture more in tune with its natural surroundings would instinctively and reflexively choose cooperation over war and habitat conservation over animal prisons called zoos, so how about we let go of the excuses and choose evolution instead?

Double Insecurities For Women Survivors Of Communal Violence
By Anamika Gupta

India’s habitual failure to protect the rights and dignity of women from marginalized communities flies in the face of any back-patting on increasing women’s representation in politics, and is reflective of a mindset that lusts for power, fame or gain at all cost. Transformation of this patriarchal mindset into one that recognizes the inherent dignity and humanity of women will be the bedrock of any effort to restore trust and justice in a society torn with communal violence

Remembering December 6, 1992
By People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism

December 6, 1992 must count as the darkest day in the history of independent India. While the crowds mobilized by organisations of the RSS destroyed the Babri Mosque in a planned conspiracy, the institutions of the Indian State, elected state and central governments, police and judiciary, stood by as mute spectators

French Whore Gives Zionism A Blow Job
By Alan Hart

I don’t wish to offend readers other than perhaps those of the parties of my headline, but I have to say that it, the headline, was the first thought that came into my mind when I learned from the BBC that, according to leaks to the French media, a team of French scientists do not believe Arafat was poisoned and that he died of a “generalized infection.”

Bush Copied Hitler's Propaganda Technique
By Sherwood Ross

The "preventive war" propaganda used by President Bush to justify his attack on Iraq in 2003 copied that used by Hitler when he invaded Russia in 1941. Starting a preventive war was a foundation of the "Bush Doctrine."

04 December, 2013

Bhopal Gas Tragedy Victims Still Fighting For Justice
By BGPMUS & BGPSSS

During 2013, while achieving partial success on the litigation front, lack of progress on most other pressing issues concerning the Bhopal gas-victims continue to remain a source of major concern. The current status of issues such as health care, enhancement of compensation, prosecution of the accused, remediation of the environment, etc., may be briefly recounted as follows

Climate Change Crisis Could Be Abrupt
By Countercurrents.org

Some of the large and rapid changes in the physical climate system including the Earth’s atmosphere, land surfaces and oceans due to climate changes could occur within a few decades or even years, leaving little time for society and ecosystems to adapt. A new report from the National Research Council extends this idea of abrupt climate change

Record High For Global Greenhouse Gas Emission
By Worldwatch Institute

The disappointing climate conference in Warsaw, Poland-which was intended to lay the groundwork for a global climate agreement in 2015-stands in sharp contrast to the continued growth in emissions of greenhouse gases. Negotiators and activists alike confront not only the fact that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reached the highest annual total to date, but also a shifting geographic distribution of emissions

Guardian Editor Robustly Defends Snowden Leaks To UK MPs
By Russia Today

Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger strongly defended his newspaper's publication of the Snowden leaks in response to a hostile grilling by a UK parliamentary committee Tuesday, as MPs attempted to show that national security was breached

Disappearing Edward Snowden
By Peter Van Buren

What if Edward Snowden was made to disappear? No, I’m not suggesting some future CIA rendition effort or a who-killed-Snowden conspiracy theory of a disappearance, but a more ominous kind

Drawing The Lines In Bali: Global South Must Demand No Less Than Development Justice
By Antonio Tujan Jr.

Lines have been drawn as world leaders gather in Bali for the World Trade Organization’s ninth summit. On one side are the world’s wealthiest countries, including the United States, the European Union, Australia, and Canada, among others. On the other side, resistant to the proposals of this powerful bloc, stands the rest of the world: from the so-called “emerging” to developing to the least developed economies

Our Food In Their Hands: Whose Interests Does The European Food Safety Authority Serve?
By Colin Todhunter

According to the website of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), it is the keystone of European Union (EU) risk assessment regarding food and feed safety. But over half of the 209 scientists sitting on the agency's various panels have direct or indirect ties with the industries they are meant to regulate

Lobbying Elites: The Fast Track To Extinction
By Robert J. Burrowes

My experience, reinforced by decades of casual observation, is that lobbying elites is a complete waste of time and that a strategy that focuses on inviting ordinary individuals and groups to take action in the desired direction is far more effective. Why do I say this?

Horrendous Child Abuse By Pro-war, Pro-Zionist, Climate Criminal
Australian Coalition Governments

By Dr Gideon Polya

Australian Coalition Government and its Coalition antecedents have an appalling record of warmongering, war making, inequity, environmental vandalism and of egregious human rights abuse, particularly in relation to children. . Summarized below in alphabetical order are areas of unforgivable child abuse linked to action or inaction by Australia 's extreme right wing, Liberal Party-National Party Coalition

The New York Times Gets An ‘F' On Education Policy
By Ann Robertson & Bill Leumer

A recent New York Times editorial took a moment out to lecture mayor-elect of New York City Bill de Blasio on how he should treat teachers and their unions. We hope he doesn't listen

Zionism’s Last Card And Hope For Palestine
By Alan Hart

Following the interim agreement with Iran the next six months will tell us whether or not the American-led Zionist lobby and Zionism itself has played its last card and lost. If it does lose President Obama will be free to use the leverage he has to try to cause Israel to be serious about peace on terms almost all Palestinians and most other Arabs and Muslims everywhere could accept (and which would not pose any threat to the wellbeing and security of those Jews now living in Palestine that became Israel and who wanted to stay). The stakes could not be higher

Insurgency Responsible For Civilian Plight of Syrians
By Nicola Nasser

In addition to Christians and other minorities targeted by the rebels who posture as the defenders of Sunni Islam, most of the refugees and those displaced are Sunni Muslim Syrians and more than one million of them are hosted by their compatriot Alawites in the west of the country, a fact that refutes the narrative of the US government and media about a “civil” and “sectarian” war in the country

Best Way To Fight Corruption: All-Party, All-Legislators’ Government!
By Dr. Satinath Choudhary

One way to fight corruption would be to have all ministries headed by all-party collectives of equals, with each of the collectives having members from various parties in proportion to their strength in the assembly, as far as possible; all members of the assembly would be members of one or the other ministry. Various departments would be clubbed under one or the other ministry, giving us all-party, all- legislators’ government (aa-govt)

The Great Kashmir Wall
By Abdul Majid Zargar

India now appears all set to partition Jammu & Kashmir by metes & bounds by erecting a 10-metre high wall – First along its 197 KM stretch of boundary with Pakistan and later along the Line of control in J&K. If the media reports are to be believed, Work has already begun on the proposed partition wall

Kashmir: Understanding Article 370
By Ram Puniyani

While calling for debate around article 370, one needs to understand as what the Kashmiris want, a mere assertion from ultra nationalist tendencies will harm the process of healing of wounds and the march towards a better democratic process in the state. As Nehru pointed out, what is more important is to win the hearts and mind of people, the laws can follow. Integrating the people by considering their aspirations is what is the need of the hour, such outbursts are counterproductive for the people at large

02 December, 2013

Tehelka's Fall: Will The Indian Media Hold The Mirror Up To Itself?
By Satya Sagar

Given that the Tehelka story has gone beyond just sexual abuse to one of molesting the core values of journalism, the coverage today should be of how every single media organisation is in the vice-like grip of one major corporation or the other. Is the Indian media willing to tell us what are the kinds of bribes it accepts to publish promotional stories or suppress uncomfortable ones on a daily basis? Or even tell us who really owns their bloody publications and channels? Or, how many senior journalists have acquired land, houses, free junkets abroad or other favours from either the state or corporates for acting as their PR agents?

Lift A Finger Against Cultural Fascism!
By K.P. Sasi

Fascism is at your doorstep! If the calling bell rings, for heaven’s sake, please do not open the door. And if you are brave enough to open the door, lift a finger against cultural fascism!

Climate Change Disproportionately Hurting Pakistan’s Women
By Emily Atkin

If Pakistan’s coastal region of Sindh is any indication, the adverse effects of climate change in developing countries will not be gender neutral. The women in Sindh — a province of Pakistan with a population of approximately 42 million – have been socializing less, walking further, and encountering health issues due to shortages in fuel wood and fresh water, according to a report released by the women’s resource center Shirkat Gah

When Calamity Strikes, Think Local
By Malini Shankar

More than a month after Cyclone Phailin battered Orissa, tribes in the eastern Indian coastal state are still feeling its wrath. Besides the damage to their homes and hearths, it has also meant a loss of their traditional food

On 66th Anniversary Of UN’s 181 Palestinian Resistance Continues To Gain Global Support
By Franklin Lamb

It is time to understand that the media is not a mere neutral messenger but among the masters of the vast slave-camp this country has become. What we need today are ways to directly communicate with the people of India while putting the 24x7 ‘StinkFest’ called the Indian media where it really belongs- in the dustbin

Day Of Palestinian Rage
By Dr. Elias Akleh

Last Friday, the 29 th of November, was the annual observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People as dedicated by the UN General Assembly (resolution 32/40 B). On the same day Palestinians had called for “Day of Rage” demonstrations against Israeli theft of Palestinian land especially the on going theft of Naqab (Negev) area

UK Ordered Destruction Of ‘Embarrassing’ Colonial Papers
By Russia Today

Britain systematically destroyed documents in colonies that were about to gain independence, declassified Foreign Office files reveal. ‘Operation Legacy’ saw sensitive documents secretly burnt or dumped to cover up traces of British activities. The latest National Archives publication made from a collection of 8,800 colonial-era files held by the Foreign Office for decades revealed deliberate document elimination by British authorities in former colonies

Fixing India’s Bilateral Investment Treaty Framework
By Kavaljit Singh

The existing policy framework of India’s BIPAs is highly biased in favor of protecting foreign investors' rights, as exemplified by a recent arbitral tribunal award (White Industries Limited v. Republic of India). The arbitral tribunal ruled in favour of White Industries and the Indian government paid a monetary compensation of Rs.258 million. This first ever investment agreement arbitral award against India has debunked the long-held official position that country’s BIPAs maintain a fine balance between investor rights, investor responsibilities and regulatory space. Some of expansive provisions of India’s existing BIPAs could open the floodgates for similar claims by foreign investors and the Indian government may end up paying full compensation

Opinion Polls: An Effect To Defect?
By Ravi Nitesh

Opinion polls are to assess the ‘voter mood’, but is it really a mere reflection of opinions or does it itself help in forming/making opinions

Leaf Through A Few Old Pages On Bangladesh Politics
By Farooque Chowdhury

A charged Bangladesh mainstream politics now finds flowing blood everyday as the politics is delivering deaths daily. Common persons – public transport drivers, day laborers, low salaried employees, and similar “insignificant” citizens – are being burned to death. The acts reaffirm mainstream’s monopolization of violence

 



 

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