31 January, 2011
British Papers Falsely Incriminate
Bradley Manning
By WikiLeaks
The Telegraph this evening ran a story on tomorrow's Wikileaks book by the Guardian editors David Leigh and Luke Harding - just one of several books in a publishing run by Wikileaks' media partners. Among the revelations forthcoming in that volume is the rather stale information that Bradley Manning is alleged to be Wikileaks' anonymous source for Cablegate and the War Log releases
60 Minutes: Putting The BS In CBS
By David Swanson
The value of the "60 Minutes" video is in its potential to inform us about CBS and the corporate media in the United States, of which it is a typical or even above average example. 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft shot six hours of interview with Assange, which "60 Minutes" cut down to snippets for tv viewing. Some decent questions may have been asked. If so, they didn't make the cut
'Mega Protest' Planned In Egypt
By Al Jazeera
Egyptian protesters have called for a massive demonstration on Tuesday in a bid to force out president Hosni Mubarak from power. The so-called April 6 Movement said it plans to have more than a million people on the streets of the capital Cairo, as anti-government sentiment reaches a fever pitch
How Much Longer Can Mubarak Cling On?
By Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk reports from Cairo on the protests that refuse to die
Mohamed ElBaradei: Globalist Pied Piper Of
The Egyptian Revolt
By Paul Joseph Watson
If the Egyptians are successful in toppling Mubarak, only to replace him with ElBaradei, they will have achieved nothing, and the eventual outcome will merely see Egypt remain as a subservient client state of the US military-industrial complex
Why Obama Fears Democracy In Egypt
By Shamus Cooke
Raising Lazarus from the dead would be easier than reviving the Egyptian President. So Obama is on to plan B. And as it turns out, plan B looks a lot like the status-quo, minus a change of face. The new face is a man handpicked by the U.S., Mohamed ElBaradei, a UN bureaucrat who hasn't lived in Egypt in decades and is virtually unknown by the Egyptian people. Placing ElBaradei in power will take behind the scenes political maneuvering combined with military repression, a plan that will collide with the revolutionary demands of the people
Revolutionary Change In Egypt:
Internal or Made in USA?
By Stephen Lendman
Though protesters want Mubarak out, anti-American signs aren't evident or reports of Washington's longstanding pernicious influence. Reform, however, requires ending it. Otherwise, new faces will continue old policies leaving deep-rooted hardships unaddressed
What Corruption And Force Have
Wrought In Egypt
By Chris Hedges
The uprising in Egypt, although united around the nearly universal desire to rid the country of the military dictator Hosni Mubarak, also presages the inevitable shift within the Arab world away from secular regimes toward an embrace of Islamic rule
Middle East At Strategic Crossroads, U.S. As Well
By Nicola Nasser
Any change in the regional status quo would place the Middle East at a strategic crossroads that is not expected to be viewed tolerantly by the U.S. – Israeli alliance, a fact which expectedly would warn of a fierce struggle to come
Will Mubarak’s Regime Collapse?
By Dr. Habib Siddiqui
The Egyptian people ought to be extra careful that their revolution is not hijacked by some opportunists within the armed forces, or by stage-managed actors whose loyalty is more for their foreign masters than to their own people
Game Over Mubarak
By Marwan Asmar
We are yet to see how far this war of wills will go on, but everyone is expecting the fall of a very tough regime that has been holding Egypt hostage by the scruff of the neck and smothering its people. Today many are saying Egyptian have regained their pride of place in the Arab world regardless of what is the final outcome
Ameer Makhoul Jailed For Nine Years
By Stephen Lendman
Palestinian human rights defender and activist Ameer Makhoul was sentenced to nine years in jail on Sunday, 30 January on charges of spying and contact with a foreign agent. Makhoul, who serves as General Director of Ittijah – The Union of Arab Community-Based Associations and Chairman of the Public Committee for the Protection of Political Freedoms, was arrested on 6 May 2010, by the Israeli General Security Service and police
Can The Palestinian Authority Survive?
By Jonathan Cook
Our leaders are negotiating the terms of our imprisonment
Palestine Papers … Uncovering The Well-Known
By Dr. Elias Akleh
Robert Fisk stated in his article “The Palestine Papers are as damning as the Balfour Declaration”. This is actually far worse than Balfour Declaration. We would expect Zionist British Balfour to betray Palestinians, but we would not have expected the PA, who claims to struggle for Palestinians’ rights and to establish Palestinian state, to betray their own Palestinian brothers
Real Or Imaginary Cuts In The Pentagon Budget?
By Dr. Peter Custers
Pentagon plans, in fact, to spend a robust 553 Billion US Dollars in the year 2011/2012, and that this represents no slimmed budget at all, but a 13 Billion Dollar increase, i.e. 3 percent growth after inflation, over the current military budget. And if one were careful enough to read till the end, one would mark that even this is far from the full story. For the 553 Billion US Dollars do not yet include the yearly allocations for the US’s wars in the Middle East
The War - Did We Sacrifice A Million Lives
And A $Trillion Cash Just To Hand Our Jobs
To China? Part III
By Nicholas C. Arguimbau
Our hand-picked governments in Afghanistan and Iraq snub us and befriend China
The War - Did We Sacrifice A Million Lives
And A $Trillion Cash Just To Hand Our Jobs
To China? Part IV
By Nicholas C. Arguimbau
So we have our work cut out for us. We don't have much time, because with the active support of our government and businesses and no significant opposition, China may be able to achieve 100% control of the oil reserves by 2025. We need a government that will not "give away the store," as both parties have become accustomed to doing with impunity
POSCO Project Gets Conditional Nod
By Countercurrents.org
The environment ministry Monday gave conditional clearance to South Korean steel major Posco's $12 billion project in Odisha, the biggest foreign direct investment in the country. The MInistry of Environment and forest has taken the stand that the controversial POSCO project can proceed if the Orissa government gives it an assurance that no person in the area satisfies the eligibility conditions under the Forest Rights Act
100 Academics Call For New Mideast Foreign Policy
By Institute for Public Accuracy
Over one hundred academics and other specialists have signed this just-released statement
The Fiery Onslaught On Your Food
While You Pretend To Be Sleeping
By Devinder Sharma
Why can't we resurrect food and agriculture from the destructive controls of the industry? Is it because we are afraid to speak up against wrong? Is it because our mind is in perpetual fear?
RBI Backs Loan Sharks
By Devinder Sharma
For nearly a year and two, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been groping in the dark. It has been frequently raising the repo and reverse repo rate to tighten money supply and giving a false impression to the nation as if it can rein in food inflation. The misguided experiment failed. As Ila Patnaik had suggested in one of her columns, RBI needs to conduct research to know whether its policy recommendations can make any impact on food inflation or not
The Story Of The Accession Of
The Princely State Of Junagarh
By Syed Ali Mujtaba
The story of the integration of the Princely States of India continues to fascinate the researchers and authors who diligently wade though the piles of manuscripts and record books kept in the archives to reconstruct a picture of the bygone era
30January, 2011
Cairo Protesters Stand Their Ground
By Al Jazeera
Warplanes and helicopters flew over the main square and more army trucks appeared in a show of force but no one moved
Egypt Shuts Down Al Jazeera Bureau
By Al Jazeera
Network's licences cancelled and accreditation of staff in Cairo withdrawn by order of information minister. Al Jazeera denounced the closure of its bureau, saying the move was designed to stifle free reporting
Egypt: Death Throes Of A Dictatorship
By Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk joins protesters atop a Cairo tank as the army shows signs of backing the people against Mubarak's regime
Egypt's Uprising And Its Implications For Palestine
By Ali Abunimah
We are in the middle of a political earthquake in the Arab world and the ground has still not stopped shaking. To make predictions when events are so fluid is risky, but there is no doubt that the uprising in Egypt -- however it ends -- will have a dramatic impact across the region and within Palestine
From The Front Lines Of The Egyptian Uprising
By Matthew Cassel
The resistance is spreading. Here in Egypt, it appears to be unstoppable. After thirty years of Mubarak's suffocating rule, the people are finally saying enough. There is hardly one place in the entire country where the dictator can go to escape the shouts demanding his overthrow
Revolutionary Middle East Change
By Stephen Lendman
Democratic Middle East birth pangs may have legs enough to spread regionally, including in Occupied Palestine
Liberating The American People
By Gilad Atzmon
American policy seems to be a total mess -- unless one is willing to openly admit that there is a clear coherent thread running through American foreign policy : it simply serves Israel’s interests
Obama And Retail: All The Wrong Friends
By Billy Wharton
Retailers seem to be the one industry group most pleased by President Barack Obama’s recent State of the Union speech
The Sate Of Our Education
By Shahidur Rashid Talukdar
Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2010 is out. Thanks to PRATHAM, they carried out the tedious survey covering over 13000 schools from over 500 districts of India . Although it has some good news like improvement in Gross Enrollment but not so good news such as only 53.4% children in Std 5 can read a Std II level text!
Manufacturing “Democracy”
By Farooque Chowdhury
The ruling regimes or regimes installed by world capital cannot take away seeds of conflict and deliver functionally responsive, transparent, accountable, and non-repressive political system. They have been/will be installed to make appeasement, sell out people’s interests and cheap labor, and facilitate loot of natural resources. They have to repress people as people stand for common interests
Will Nitish Experiment Pasmanda-MBC-Mahadalit
Equation In UP Too In His 'War' Against
Mayawati And Mulayam?
By Ashok Yadav
After the historic verdict of Bihar Assembly Elections, 2010, many well meaning political commentators have projected Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the most suitable Prime Minister candidate for 2014 parliament elections. Naturally, Nitish is also looking forward to prime ministership. What are the major challenges he is going to face in the next couple of years in his strides towards the premiere ship of India?
Public Debt And Economic Subjugation
By Bilal Hussain
The much talked about agreement between the Jammu and Kashmir government and Reserve Bank of India has two dimensions to be analyzed through: One financial and other political aspect attached to the pact
29 January, 2011
Thousands In Cairo Defy Curfew
By Aljazeera
Regional ruling party headquarters is torched amid renewed protests, as death toll from unrest crosses 90. Protesters are calling for "regime change, not cabinet change"
A Manifesto For Change In Egypt
By Mohamed ElBaradei
In Egypt, as in Tunisia, there are other forces than just the president and the people. The army has been quite neutral so far, and I would expect it to remain that way. The soldiers and officers are part of the Egyptian people. They know the frustrations. They want to protect the nation.. This week the Egyptian people broke the barrier of fear, and once that is broken, there is no stopping them
Egyptian Youth And New Dawn Hopes
By Firas Al-Atraqchi
For young Egyptians, long-dormant patriotism and pride have been finally awakened
A People Defies Its Dictator, And A Nation's
Future Is In The Balance
By Robert Fisk
It might be the end. It is certainly the beginning of the end. Across Egypt, tens of thousands of Arabs braved tear gas, water cannons, stun grenades and live fire yesterday to demand the removal of Hosni Mubarak after more than 30 years of dictatorship
As The Dominoes Flow Toward Israel
By William A. Cook
While the people of the mid-east rise in protest against their respective American supported dictators in Tunisia and Egypt, with the American-Israeli attempts to control Lebanon on the brink of chaos and collapse, and the “peace negotiations” between the Palestinians and the Israelis torpedoed by both Netanyahu and Abbas, the confusion at the State Department could be eased if it spent some time reviewing the United States’ prior efforts to control the people of the mid-east, especially in Iran
Middle East Intifadas
By Stephen Lendman
Initially in Tunisia, popular revolt spread regionally across North Africa and the Middle East, erupting in Algeria, Jordan, Egypt and Yemen
Worsening Food Crisis Is Leading To
Political Upheavals
By Devinder Sharma
In the midst of the chaos being witnessed across the Arab world -- Tunisia, Algeria and now Egypt -- what is being missed out is the role food inflation has played in triggering these protests
World Is One Poor Harvest Away From Chaos,
Book Warns, By Lester Brown
By The Independent
Like many environmentalists, Lester Brown is worried. In his new book “World on the Edge,” released this week, Brown says mankind has pushed civilization to the brink of collapse by bleeding aquifers dry and overplowing land to feed an ever-growing population, while overloading the atmosphere with carbon dioxide
Oil And Food Prices
By Jason Bradford
Agriculture was created as the primary way civilizations harness the energy that allows them to do work. Now, however, agriculture is simply another fossil fuel conversion system. While these fuels provide us with tremendous labor efficiency, we can no longer say we have an energy efficient way to make food since food production is now an energy sink
Four Reasons Why “Progress” Isn’t Always Progress
By Margaret Emerson
Progress should mean working within the Earth’s limits to ensure that people aren’t just well-off financially, but happy and healthy. It means closing the gap between the very rich and the desperately poor, because progress can’t just mean the improvement of the lives of 5% of the population. Progress means peace, and cooperation, and more beauty in the world
What If We Stopped Fighting For Preservation?
By Tom Butler
A critique of Tim Murray’s essay “What If We Stopped Fighting for Preservation and Fought Economic Growth Instead?”
Hezbollah Is The New Government Of Lebanon.
Now What?
By Franklin Lamb
Iran benefited with important political gains as it continues to rise and move in the region in the direction of Palestine. The United States’ hegemony continues to recede in the region and is increasingly viewed, post Palestine Papers, as the enemy of Arabs and Muslim. Its pariah status grows because Washington continues to prop up, fund and arm the Zionist occupation of Palestine
The War - Did We Sacrifice A Million Lives
And A $Trillion Cash Just To Hand Our Jobs
To China? Part - II
By Nicholas C. Arguimbau
The US and Europe aren’t "the right markets."Does "Big Oil" have the resources to carry out your plan?
Transatlantic Initiatives For Installing Democracy
By Farooque Chowdhury
In the face of the decadent reality of ruling system in peripheral societies, initiatives for installing “democracy” are there now. The initiatives are from both sides of the Atlantic
Deoband Power Struggle Could Change
The Face Of Muslim Society In India
By Yoginder Sikand
Whether Vastanvi stays or is forced out remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: as the calumny he has had to face from fellow maulvis, sections of the Urdu press and scores of Muslim ‘leaders’ so tragically illustrates, the onerous task of promoting long overdue and desperately needed reforms in Indian Muslim society, particularly in the maulvi community, is by no means an easy one
Salah Hamouri: One Of Thousands Of
Israeli Political Prisoners
By Stephen Lendman
In March 2005, French/Palestinian Hamouri was arrested, tortured and imprisoned for allegedly co-conspiring with Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) members to assassinate Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, ultra-Orthodox Shas party's spiritual leader and former Israeli Chief Rabbi. At age 91, he's very much alive as of January 25, 2011
28 January, 2011
Fresh Protests Erupt In Egypt
By Aljazeera
Protests have erupted in cities across Egypt, with demonstrators demanding an end to Hosni Mubarak's presidency. Tens of thousands took to the streets across the country following Friday midday prayers
Egypt Leaves The Internet
By James Cowie
Confirming what a few have reported this evening: in an action unprecedented in Internet history, the Egyptian government appears to have ordered service providers to shut down all international connections to the Internet
Egypt: Interview With Blogger
Hossam el-Hamalawy
By Mark LeVine
Professor Mark LeVine interviews journalist and blogger Hossam el-Hamalawy on the situation in Egypt
”Israel”And Despotic Arab Regimes Shake
As Revolution Sweeps Through The Middle East
By Salim Nazzal
From Mauretania in the west to Yemen in the east, demonstrations and sit ins are being seen throughout the Middle East. The kings, princes, presidents, the one-man ruler, the one-party, the one- family, the one-tribe ruling system, and naturally the Zionist state are trembling with fear
WikiLeaks Cables Show Close US
Relationship With Egyptian President
By Luke Harding
US embassy cable predicted Hosni Mubarak, if still alive in 2011, would run again for presidency 'and, inevitably, win'
Supplemental Blog On Arizona Shootings
By Richard Falk
Richard Falk reponds to the Lobby’s vilification
Why The Fuss?
By Elizabeth Woodworth
Bizarre call to arms against UN rapporteur Richard Falk for alluding to gaps in the 9/11 official story
Goldstone's Legacy For Israel
By Naomi Klein
In a just world, the testimonies collected by Richard Goldstone and now published in book form would not merely raise our consciousness; they would be submitted as evidence. But for now, in the absence of official justice, we will have to settle for what the survivors of Argentina's most recent dictatorship have called "popular justice"-the kind of justice that rises up from the streets, educating friends, neighbors and family, until the momentum of its truth-telling eventually forces the courts to open their doors
The Palestinian People Betrayed
By Saree Makdisi
The leaked papers published by Al Jazeera show how craven Palestinian leaders are and how willing they were to sell out their people's rights. Yet all they had to offer wasn't enough for Israel
Clean Energy Dreams
By Lindsay Curren
President Obama touts clean energy as a top priority in his 2011 State of the Union address. But will he be able to keep up to his promise?
Technological Fundamentalism:
Why Bad Things Happen When Humans Play God
By Robert Jensen
Geneticist Wes Jackson, one of the leaders in the sustainable agriculture movement, suggest that we adopt “an ignorance-based worldview”. Jackson argues that such an approach would help us ask important questions that go beyond the available answers and challenge us to force existing knowledge out of its categories. Putting the focus on what we don't know can remind us of the need for humility and limit the damage we do
History Repeating Itself...
By Ken Bilsky Billings
What does Nobel prize recipient 'Carl von Ossietzky' , 'Mordechai Vanunu' and 'Julian Ossange' have in common?
Dominating Interests’ Democracy in Crisis
By Farooque Chowdhury
Democracy, a political form of class domination, has now been converted into a commodity by a section of organizations driven by dominating interest, and is being delivered to countries in the periphery. The marketing of the political system by the centre of the present world order is part of its quest for safer domains for accumulation
Can Pakistan Become A Theocratic State?
By Khalid Bhatti
The religious right can not take power in Pakistan and make it a theocratic state until either the majority of working class people embrace the ideas of religious extremism or the working class is crushed in a thumping defeat
India Sinks In Corruption And Cast-ism
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
On the eve of our 61st republic day an upright officer in Maharastra was burnt alive by the oil Mafia as he tried to stop them from doing so. No officer of collector level normally travels without a few of his assistants. Additional District Collector of Malegaon Yashwant Sonawane found the Oil Mafia pilfering the oil and adulterating it. To make the case foolproof, he took video of the entire incident on his mobile phone. This resulted in scuffle and Sonawane lost his life in a brutal way
Chicago's Mayoral Race: Rahm Emanuel's
Eligibility At Issue
By Stephen Lendman
Though far ahead in the polls, Rahm Emanuel's residency status is at issue. A lower court ruled him eligible. The Illinois Appellate Court reversed the decision 2 - 1. Appealed to the state Supreme Court, it ruled unanimously for Emanuel on January 27, letting him run for mayor
Political Prisoner Ahmad Sa'adat Update
By Stephen Lendman
For over 40 years, Israel targeted him relentlessly, subjecting him to numerous arrests, torture, false imprisonments, and isolation for opposing occupation and wanting Palestine liberated
27 January, 2011
Protests Spread In Egypt
By Aljazeera
Angry demonstrators in Egypt have torched a police post in the eastern city of Suez, where violence between police and protesters has racheted up amid a security crackdown
Thousands Of Yemenis Urge President To Quit
By Agence France Presse
Thousands of Yemenis, apparently inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, staged a mass demonstration on Thursday calling on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to quit after being in power since 1978
Mass Street Protests In Egypt
By Stephen Lendman
Throughout the region, common interests drive protests, including state repression, mass unemployment and poverty, rising food and fuel prices, malnutrition, and for some starvation, a neoliberal caused catastrophe erupting regionally for change. Today, in the Middle East. Tomorrow perhaps globally given growing levels of human depravation everywhere, including in developed countries like America
A New Truth Dawns On The Arab World
By Robert Fisk
The Palestine Papers are as damning as the Balfour Declaration. The Palestinian "Authority" – one has to put this word in quotation marks – was prepared, and is prepared to give up the "right of return" of perhaps seven million refugees to what is now Israel for a "state" that may be only 10 per cent (at most) of British mandate Palestine
Goldman Sachs Got Billions From AIG
For Its Own Account, Crisis Panel Finds
By Shahien Nasiripour
Goldman Sachs collected $2.9 billion from the American International Group as payout on a speculative trade it placed for the benefit of its own account, receiving the bulk of those funds after AIG received an enormous taxpayer rescue, according to the final report of an investigative panel appointed by Congress
PFC Bradley Manning Is Not Being Treated
Like Every Other Detainee
By David E. Coombs
Despite the assertion of Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell, PFC Bradley Manning is not being treated like every other detainee at the Quantico brig. PFC Manning is being treated differently. He is the only detainee being held in Maximum (MAX) custody and under Prevention of Injury (POI) watch. Every other detainee is being held in Medium Detention In (MDI) and without POI watch restrictions. What is the difference?
Why Are You So Negative? (And Other FAQ)
By Mickey Z.
This is the most disingenuous FAQ of all. You know exactly what needs to be done. If you walked into a room and saw a man attacking someone you loved, would you ask an obscure writer like me what you should do? Would you write a letter to congress, sign a petition, hold a candlelight vigil, vote for a Democrat…or would beat the attacker's ass from one end of the room to the other?
Honduras Human Rights Abuses Worse
One Year After President Lobo Took Office
By Bill Quigley & Pam Spees
Unprecedented violence against journalists is not an indicator of democratic governance and reconciliation. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), eight journalists were killed in the first half of Lobo’s first year in office, prompting Reporters Without Borders to name Honduras the most dangerous country in the world for journalists
The Peak Oil Crisis: British Proposal For
Tradable Energy Quotas
By Tom Whipple
Last week the British MPs, who make up the All Party Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil (APPGOPO for short), released a proposal for allocating fossil fuel-based energy to control carbon emissions and to ensure equitable allocation of energy during an era of declining availability
Climate Benefits Of Natural Gas May Be Overstated
By Abrahm Lustgarten
Advocates for natural gas routinely assert that it produces 50 percent less greenhouse gases than coal and is a significant step toward a greener energy future. But those assumptions are based on emissions from the tailpipe or smokestack and don't account for the methane and other pollution emitted when gas is extracted and piped to power plants and other customers
“Ask Not What Your Country Blah Blah Blah,”
And Other Ridiculous Memes
By Gary Corseri
Americans love memes—whether they know it or not. Memes shortcut and short-circuit real thinking and analysis, and give the opinionated something to opine about. Herewith follows some especially noxious specimens
The War - Did We Sacrifice A Million Lives
And A $Trillion Cash Just To Hand Our Jobs
To China?
By Nicholas C. Arguimbau
The War in Iraq and Afghanistan has had many victims - one million dead Iraqis, thousands of U.S. and Taliban casualties, countless U.S. soldiers with PTSD bringing the war home to their families, two U.S. Commanders-in-Chief and as we shall see, it has had one victor - the growing Chinese empire
America's Dire State Of the Union
By Stephen Lendman
Like last year, Obama's address was empty rhetoric, signaling business as usual with a twist - more than ever embracing reactionary extremism, promising harder than ever hard times on Main Street
State Of Our Union Reality Check
By Eileen Fleming
Only when America uses our might to do right will it be reality that American leadership has been renewed and America’s moral standing restored
Why Military Spending Remains Untouchable
By Andrew J. Bacevich
Yet the defense budget -- a misnomer since for Pentagon, Inc. defense per se figures as an afterthought -- remains a sacred cow. Why is that? The answer lies first in understanding the defenses arrayed around that cow to ensure that it remains untouched and untouchable
‘America’: An Experiment In Terror -
Keeping It Real
By Larry Pinkney
Terror is carried out in many forms by this nation’s corporate government against everyday people both internally and externally, and its most powerful facilitator is apathy
26 January, 2011
Hezbollah To Head Lebanese Government
By Stephen Lendman
Hezbollah-backed Najib Mikati, a Sunni billionaire, became new prime minister after getting 68 votes, a majority in Lebanon's 128-member parliament. Caretaker PM Saad Hariri got 60. As a result, Hezbollah is now in position to control Lebanon's next government. The move has set off angry protests and drew warnings from the US that its support could be in jeopardy
Tens Of Thousands March In Egypt Against Mubarak Regime
By Johannes Stern & Stefan Steinberg
The thirty-year-old US-backed dictatorship of President Hosni Mubarak was shaken by an unprecedented wave of mass demonstrations Tuesday demanding an end to the regime. An estimated 20,000 protesters, largely youth and young workers, defied a huge deployment of riot police and paramilitary troops in the center of Cairo, and thousands more rallied in cities across the country
The Arab Crisis: Food, Energy, Water, Justice
By Vicken Cheterian
A wave of self-immolation hit Arab countries from Algeria to Egypt, and from Mauritania to Saudi Arabia reveal how desperate the situation has become in the entire region. In Saudi Arabia, unemployment exceeded 10% in 2009: more evidence that rich oil deposits are not enough insurance against social malaise
Ben Ali Tunisia Was Model US Client
By Richard Falk
While scholars dispute whether Tunisia serves as model Arab world uprising, many agree that it was near-perfect US ally
Bradley Manning's Torture Commonplace
In U.S. Prisons
By Sherwood Ross
The corrosive, solitary confinement being inflicted upon PFC Bradley Manning in the Quantico, Va., brig is no exceptional torture devised exclusively for him. Some 25,000 other inmates are suffering a like fate of sadistic isolation in so-called supermax prisons, where they are being systematically reduced to veritable human vegetables
Palestine Does Not Have To Be A Lost Cause
By Alan Hart
By offering or at least indicating that it was prepared to offer such huge concessions, the PA leadership encouraged Israel’s political and military leaders in their belief that if only they are intransigent, repressive and brutal enough for long enough, they can break the will of the Palestinians to continue their struggle and force them to accept a handful of crumbs from Zionism’s table
Cutting Off A Vital Connection
By Ali Abunimah
Palestinian officials were often more concerned with applying pressure to Hamas than easing the crisis in Gaza
The Palestine Papers: Offering Palestine
By Ramzy Baroud
The Palestine Papers are too many and represent a final indictment of the PA, and its willingness to meet, and at times, exceed the expectations of the Israeli government, at the expense of the Palestinian people
The Canadian Zionism Question
By Denis G. Rancourt
Israel, the modern sate that shamelessly uses the Nazi holocaust to justify overtly racist domestic and foreign national policies, stock piles nuclear weapons, incites wars on its neighbours, overtly funds propaganda in foreign countries, routinely practices international pirating, kidnappings and murders, openly performs political assassinations... and how do Canadian politicians and parliamentarians respond?
Aafia Siddiqui’s Lawyer: “She Was Detained
For Five Years In A Black Site” And “Forced
To Create Documents To Incriminate Herself”
By Andy Worthington
After her capture in Karachi in March 2003, by Pakistani forces and the CIA, she was "taken to some off-site country — a third-world nation, possibly Jordan or Afghanistan — where she was detained for five years in a black site or secret prison. Here she was forced to create documents to incriminate herself to support what we see in this war on terror. She was then dumped in Afghanistan with a bag that conveniently had incriminating documents
Preparing For Life In A Peak Oil World
By Gail Tverberg
We know that peak oil will be here soon, and we feel like we should be doing something. But what? It is frustrating to know where to start. In this chapter, we will discuss a few ideas about what we as individuals can do
Four Foundations Of Activism
In The Face Of Collapse
By Scott Brown
If the word activism gives you heartburn, for whatever reason, I invite you to put that aside for at least the time it takes to read this article
Oil Decline Rate And Population
By Peter Goodchild
The annual rate of population decline, in a civilization in which fossil fuels are by far the most important sources of energy, must roughly equal the 3-percent (if not greater) annual rate of fossil-fuel decline. If we allow the loss of petroleum to take its course, a decline of 3 percent would result in a drop in world population to half its present level, i.e. to 3.5 billion, by about the year 2030. The only means, however, would be a rather grim one: famine
Obama's Corporate State Of The Union
By Shamus Cooke
Obama's state of the union speech was the culmination of months of right-wing policies that began in earnest after the mid-term election, where his fake liberal garb was completely shed. Now, the naked, corporate President presides unhindered by any pretense to help working people
State of the Union Speech Reflects U.S. Plutocracy
By Ron Forthofer
It is not shocking President Obama's State of the Union address offered few if any proposals that threatened the interests of the rich and powerful. In reality, Obama, as is his custom, offered few specifics on most of his ideas or vision. This lack of specifics allowed viewers to put their own interpretation on his words. As a result, the speech resonated with many
Human Rights In The Rear View Mirror:
Colombian Commandos Training
Mexican Military And Police
By Cyril Mychalejko
In another misstep of the historic failure of Plan Colombia and the US supported War on Drugs, Colombia is training thousands of Mexican soldiers, police and court officials in an effort to boost Mexico's fight against drug cartels
Artists Demand Justice For Binayak Sen
By Sharmila Tagore & Others
We, the undersigned, wish to express our deep concern at the victimisation and unjust imprisonment of well-known humanitarian and human rights defender Dr Binayak Sen, in Chhattisgarh
‘Ramchandra Guha’s Sholay’ : A Nation
Comforted By The State
By Sadanand Patwardhan
Ramachandra Guha wrote a monograph – A Nation Consumed by the State – in the latest issue of Outlook India. He sees a vision of India that is inclusive but unbounded. Following blog post is inspired by the reading of his monograph
Trade Invaders- India EU Free Trade Negotiations
By Syed Ali Mujtaba
At a time when the entire nation’s attention is focused on different scams that’s hogging the media headlines, little attention is being paid to the new trade deal negotiated between India and the European Union (EU)
The Tamil "Diaspora" V The Sinhala State:
Is that An Oxymoron?
By Chandi Sinnathurai
The war and its despicable exploitation of humanity have taught all valuable lessons. The destruction and the waste of war must be avoided at all cost. Any right thinking person will support that view
Save The Life Of A Baloch Journalist
By Zaffar Baloch
Mr. Rehan has sent out an S.O.S. message to the international community, human rights bodies, and organizations for the protection of journalists to save his life. The message indicated that the paramilitary forces have surrounded the coastal town of Gwadar, controlling all the points of entry and exit. He desperately said in the message, “There is nowhere to hide or escape, the circle of death is closing upon me and the Pakistani security hounds are after my blood.”
Thirty Korean Rights Organizations
Demand Immediate Release Of Mishu
By William Gomes
Korean Rights organization, Korean House for International Solidarity (KHIS) arranged a demonstration outside of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Seoul, Korea on demand of urgent release of labor rights activist on Wednesday
Olbermann's Sacking Shifts US Media Further Right
By Stephen Lendman
Olbermann's gone, leaving left-of-center hosts Rachael Maddow, Ed Schultz and Lawrence O'Donnell, filling his vacated time slot. Key, however, is NBC's power shift right, likely portending two choices for remaining hosts - softened rhetoric or new employment, but expect new corporate bosses to offer little, if any
25 January, 2011
Secret Palestine Documents Expose
Sham “Peace Process”
By Bill Van Auken
The release of some 1,700 secret documents has exposed the so-called peace process as a criminal farce, part of a permanent US-Israeli conspiracy against the basic rights of the Palestinian people
PA Selling Short The Refugees
By Laila Al-Arian
Palestinian Authority proposed that only a handful of the nearly six million Palestinian refugees be allowed to return
Israel’s Peacemakers Unmasked
By Jonathan Cook
This week, the first of hundreds of leaked confidential Palestinian documents confirmed the suspicions of a growing number of observers that the rejectionists in the peace process are to be found on the Israeli, not Palestinian, side
Total Capitulation
By Tariq Ali
The 'Palestine Papers’ being published this week by al-Jazeera confirm in every detail what many Palestinians have suspected for a long time: their leaders have been collaborating in the most shameful fashion with Israel and the United States. Their grovelling is described in grim detail
The "Palestine Papers" Revealed
By Stephen Lendman
Sustained grassroots anger brings change, and what better reasons than poverty, unemployment, repression, occupation, and suffocating conditions under siege. Maybe exposed PA treachery created a rare chance seldom possible. Now's the time to seize it
US Can’t Link Julian Assange To Bradley Manning
By Daniel Tencer
One avenue by which the United States could press charges against Julian Assange appeared to have closed Monday, with US military officials' admission that they can't find a link between the WikiLeaks founder and PFC Bradley Manning, the alleged source of WikiLeaks' State Department cables
Overuse Of Antibiotics
By Ralph Nader
Stop buying soaps, handwipes and cleaning agents whose vendors lure you with the label "antibacterial"
The Corruption Game
By Juan Cole
What the Tunisian Revolution and WikiLeaks Tell Us about American Support for Corrupt Dictatorships in the Muslim World
Green Energy’s Big Challenge:
The Daunting Task Of Scaling Up
By David Biello
To shift the global economy from fossil fuels to renewable energy will require the construction of wind, solar, nuclear, and other installations on a vast scale, significantly altering the face of the planet. Can these new forms of energy approach the scale needed to meet the world’s energy demands?
Prisons For Profit
By Timothy V. Gatto
The United States, according to the New York Times , has 5% of the World's population and 25% of all people incarcerated on the planet! In reality, in the United States, one in every hundred people are in some kind of incarceration. One may ask why we have so many of our citizens behind bars? There is no simple answer, but all of the answers point to money. Incarceration is big business in the United States
Political Witch Hunt In America
By Maureen Murphy
I have been summoned to appear before a federal grand jury in Chicago on January 25. But I will not testify, even at the risk of being put in jail for contempt of court, because I believe that our most fundamental rights as citizens are at stake
The Republic Of India Divided
By Farzana Versey
It is rather ironical that the day that is meant to commemorate and celebrate the Constitution of India, an independent India, is creating fissures.If we were to look at things dispassionately, then there is no reason to celebrate Republic Day because there are laws that continue to make certain that the federalism that we ought to be proud of is now a mere regional and parochial mix
24 January, 2011
"We Need To Stop This Culture
Before It Kills The Planet"
By Mickey Z. & Derrick Jensen
As you begin reading this interview, take a look at the nearest clock. Now, dig this: Since yesterday at the same exact time, 200,000 acres of rainforest have been destroyed, over 100 plant and animal species have gone extinct , 13 million tons of toxic chemicals were released across the globe, and 29,158 children under the age of five died from preventable causes
Driving Straight Into Catastrophe
By Julio Godoy
Despite repeated warnings by environmental and climate experts that reduction of fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions is fundamental to forestalling global warming, disaster appears imminent. According to the latest statistics, unprecedented climate change has Earth hurtling down a path of catastrophic proportions
The Year Of Living Dangerously
By Michael T. Klare
Rising commodity prices and extreme weather events threaten global stability
Where Liberals Go To Feel Good
By Chris Hedges
If the liberal class remains gullible and weak, if it continues to speak to itself and others in meaningless platitudes, it will remain as responsible for our enslavement as those it pompously denounces
The Illusion Of Money
By David Korten
Real wealth or phantom assets? David Korten explores the difference between the kind of wealth that makes life better and the phantom wealth created by financial speculation
Rocky Times Ahead: Are You Ready?
By Sarah Byrnes & Chuck Collins
You must not face the future alone. Find your own “reality support group” (we’ll tell you how below). This year, make a resolution to deepen your relationships with people around you with whom you can face what’s coming down the pike
Would The Isolation Of America
Persuade Obama Not To Veto?
By Alan Hart
Despite strong U.S. opposition, a proposed resolution condemning Israeli settlements on the occupied West Bank did make it to the UN Security Council. There is a case for wondering if President Obama can remain Zionist-like in his own implicit defiance of international law on Israel’s behalf
Obama Embraces Military Commissions Injustice
By Stephen Lendman
The rule of law is null and void. Whatever the president says goes. No one any longer is safe. America is a police state, making everyone potentially vulnerable
Gaza Flotilla Massacre: Whitewash Absolves Israel
By Stephen Lendman
Murdering unarmed, nonviolent humanitarian activists trying to deliver essential aid compounds Israel's culpability. Ongoing without letup or accountability, Turkel's whitewash commission absolved it
Hu’s Visit – It’s Economics, Stupid!
And Not Human Rights!
By Habib Siddiqui
These trade deals speak voluminously about the world we live in, as hypocritically scripted by our world leaders. Long gone are the days of ideology and human rights! It is economics, stupid! And not human rights that matters!
Tunisia's Old Guard Sing To A Different Tune
By Marwan Asmar
If they point to anything, the self burning show the desperate measures people are prepared to go throw to reflect their desperate situations in their own countries. If anything it should make leaders heed to the calls of their people because it should tell of the simmering time bombs
Why Illinois Governor Should Sign
Death Penalty Abolition Bill
By Mary Shaw
On January 11, the Illinois state legislature passed a bill abolishing the death penalty in that state. The bill was then sent to Governor Pat Quinn's desk. Whether or not he will sign it into law, however, is still uncertain
Paid News A Full Blown Media Cancer
By Nava Thakuria
The Indian media in particular and Indian people in general have started talking about the 'paid news syndrome' officially. The bygone year had witnessed a series of discussions on the paid news culture in the mainstream Indian media among civil society groups, parliamentarians, the media watchdog and also the election commission of the country
Deoband Chief Faces Continued Opposition
Despite Clarification On Modi
By Yoginder Sikand
Faced with fierce condemnation from his fellow Deobandi mullahs and other Muslim ‘leaders’, the newly-appointed rector of the Deoband madrasa, Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi, has been forced to issue a clarification about his comments, as reported by the Times of India, about Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Vastanvi now claims that the newspaper had distorted his remarks and insists that Modi cannot be ‘given a clean chit’
23 January, 2011
Flotilla Raid Legal: Israeli Panel
By Aljazeera
Contradicting a UN report, inquiry exonerates military of wrongdoing in raid on Gaza-bound Turkish aid vessel. In September, a UN-appointed panel concluded that Israeli forces showed "incredible violence" during and after the raid on the flotilla that left eight Turkish activists and one Turkish-American dead
The World Is No Golem
By Uri Avnery
The present Israeli government is leading us towards disaster. But this week this government was shored-up even more, when Ehud Barak, the pocket Napoleon, finally abandoned all pretense of belonging to the social-democratic left and set up a clearly rightist party, something like Likud II, that will be a loyal partner of Netanyahu and Lieberman. With such leaders, does our country really need enemies?
Lebanon: Druze Leader Jumblatt Backs Hezbollah
By Stephen Lendman
Walid Jumblatt's secular, officially non-sectarian Druze Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) 11 seat bloc holds decisive balance of power in Lebanon's 128 seat parliament. On January 21, he announced his party's support for Hezbollah
Economic Turmoil In 2011
By Stephen Lendman
It's the debt and bad government policy stupid, a pig no amount of lipstick can hide, and when it explodes, reverberations more than ever will be felt globally. It's coming, but no one knows when, despite the above forecasts
Free Dr Binayak Sen, Free Us All!
By Satya Sagar
Dr Sen today has become a symbol of quiet resistance and inspiration to many now willing to challenge the authoritarian ways of the Indian State as well as its misplaced policies of putting the greed of a few above the needs of the majority. He has become a spearhead for a campaign that seeks to reclaim the just and democratic India that was promised by our founding fathers (and mothers)
Repeal UAPA Now!
Petition Campaign
Please sign the petition
The Geological Dimension Of Climate Change(PDF)
By Andrew Glikson
The release to the atmosphere and oceans of hundreds of billions of tons of carbon from fossil biospheres, at the rate of >2 ppm CO2 per year, is unprecedented in geological history of Earth, excepting events such as asteroid impacts which excavated and vaporized carbon-rich sediments, interfering with the carbon and oxygen cycles, which led to mass extinction of species
The National Security State, Secrecy,
And The Miss America Pageant
By Jay Clark
If Pvt. Manning is the only man of conscience and the solitary defender of constitutional principles in this whole affair, as I believe he is, then he is not a traitor but a patriot and hero—unless of course things have digressed so far that, with the help of the official press, murderers and liars have now become our new “American heroes.”
Don't Be A Sellout Macy Gray
By Eileen Fleming
Imagine the day when all performing Artists are also people of Conscience with ears to hear and heed the Palestinian civil societies call for BDS: Boycott, Divest and Sanction Israel-until Israel changes its immoral behavior
Oil, IMF And Election Theft; The Makings Of
An Ivory Coast Coup Attempt
By Thomas C. Mountain
Newly discovered oil, an IMF henchman and good old fashioned election robbery are the ingredients of the west’s latest electoral coup attempt, this time in the west African country of the Ivory Coast
Salman Taseer: Justice Through Democracy
By Tahir M. Qazi
The call of history has arrived. At this juncture of history, it is a call for liberal democracy and economic democracy. That would best avenge Governor Taseer’s blood whose murderers are fearlessly roaming the streets. That would help stem the rising tide of fanaticism. That would set free the poor Christian women Aasia Bibi and that would visibly work for the countless oppressed and the downtrodden
Imran Khan Is A Non- Starter
By Saeed Qureshi
First of all he has to firmly formulate and clarify his political goals and mandate as to what he intends to do. Thereafter, he has to stand unshakably and uncompromisingly by his ideals and political philosophy. He should make himself a steadfast defender and resolute exponent of his manifesto and agenda for change
How Sad?
By Dr Shabir Choudhry
How sad, those who want to empower people and speak for rights of all people of Jammu and Kashmir are accused of being pro India; and those who want to communalise polity of the region by dividing people in name of religion are called ‘freedom fighters’
NHRC's Sponsorship of Jaipur Literature Festival
By Gopal Krishna & Prakash K Ray
NHRC is listed as one of the co-sponsors of it along with some agencies and companies whose track record is ridden with rampant human rights violations including DSC Limited, Rio Tinto Group, Shell Oil Company and Coca Cola
22 January, 2011
Punishing Bradley Manning
For The Crimes Of Others
By David Swanson
Bradley Manning, alleged U.S. Army whistleblower, is in two ways -- one likely, the other certain -- being punished for the crimes of others
If Britain Starts Fuel Rationing, Could US Be Next?
By Erik Curren
This week, a group of the British parliament released a plan to start rationing fuel within the next ten years. Could the US follow suit?
The Last Industrial Civilization
By Peter Goodchild
Both the US and China seem good candidates for the Last Stand of industrialized humanity, but the two countries have almost opposite problems. It’s a case of Tweedledum and Tweedledee, of whether it is better to suffer from one syndrome or another
What If We Stopped Fighting For Preservation
And Fought Economic Growth Instead?
By Tim Murray
Biodiversity is primarily threatened by human expansion, which may be defined as the potent combination of a growing human population and its growing appetite for resources. Economic growth is the root cause of environmental degradation, and fighting its symptoms is the Labor of Sisyphus
The Methodical Shooting Of Boys At Work In Gaza
By Snipers Of The Israeli Occupation Force
By David S Halpin
According to a UN study, between January 2009 and August 2010, at least 22 Palestinian civilians in Gaza have been killed and 146 injured in the arbitrary live fire zone adjacent to the border with Israel and imposed at sea. At least 27 of these civilians were children
NIAI Bill, Wikileaks, World Bank
And L-1 Identities Solution
By Gopal Krishna
I submit that the leakage of electronically stored data is inevitable. The UID Number project is going to do almost exactly the same thing which the predecessors of Adolf Hitler did, else how is it that Germany always had the lists of Jewish names even prior to the arrival of the Nazis? The Nazis got these lists with the help of IBM which was in the 'census' business that included racial census that entailed not only count the Jews but also identifying them
Supreme Court Comments On Conversion
Are Unconstitutional
By CPI(ML)
In punishing the act of murder of Staines, the SC has effectively justified and upheld the purported motive of the murder. It is disturbing and dangerous that the apex court should appear to reinforce the prejudices against conversion propagated by communal outfits and legitimise the notion that Christian missionaries need to be ‘taught a lesson.’
The Increasingly Volatile Pre Trial
Phase Of The Lebanon Tribunal
By Franklin Lamb
It appears that no acceptable compromise regarding the divergent Lebanese political stances relative to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) will be achieved. Support for this hypothesis can be found in the past 24 hours activities of the would-be mediators
Heightened Tensions After
Hariri Indictment Announced
By Stephen Lendman
Whoever knows who killed Hariri, an "awful lot of Lebanese are breathless....not to find out." It'll be weeks before names are known, but already clear Israel will be absolved despite credible whitewashed evidence
Bizarre Developments in Haiti
By Stephen Lendman
Obama embraces the same Bush agenda, flaunting international and US law, denying Haitians democratic freedoms, Aristide his right to return, and if Boyle is right, conspiring with France to reestablish Duvalier despotism, exacerbating Haiti's many other problems
Bangladesh: Moshrefa Mishu’s
Immediate Release Sought
By William Gomes
Workers, Civil society people and leftist political leaders Friday demanded immediate and unconditional release of labour rights activist Moshrefa Mishu and other leaders who were illegally arrested on false charges of their involvement in recent unrest in country’s apparel sector
21 January, 2011
One Planet, Too Many People?
By Dr. Tim Fox
A groundbreaking Population report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) has revealed the world is hurtling towards population overload placing billions at risk of hunger, thirst and slum conditions
Population Redux
By Paul Chefurka
NationalTotal Fertility Rate (TFR) correlates relatively poorly with GDP/capita (C = 0.47), reasonably well with life expectancy (C = 0.77) and literacy rate (C = 0.78), but very well with HDI (C = 0.89). This implies that if we want to maximize the reduction of TFR we need to concentrate on improving all three dimensions of HDI: Life expectancy (health care), knowledge (literacy and school enrollment) and income
The Interactive Ecological Predicament
By Paul Chefurka
Other effects that may appear to be the result of overpopulation – such as resource shortages, energy shortages and industrial pollution – are largely the result of human activity. In fact, the majority of the damage we are doing to the planet is the result of our activity and not our numbers
Swiss Banker Jailed For Supplying
Information To WikiLeaks
By Patrick Martin
Swiss authorities arrested a former banker and whistleblower after he made a public handover of information on wealthy tax evaders to the Internet web site WikiLeaks. Rudolf Elmer was taken into custody Wednesday evening, two days after a press conference in Zürich where he delivered data on offshore bank accounts to WikiLeaks
Former Commander Of Headquarters Company
At Quantico Objects To Treatment Of
Bradley Manning
By David C. MacMichael
As a former regular Marine Corps captain, a Korean War combat veteran, now retired on Veterans Administration disability due to wounds suffered during that conflict, I write you to protest and express concern about the confinement in the Quantico Marine Corps Base brig of US Army Pfc. Bradley Manning
Beat Your Daisy Cutters Into Daisies
By Mickey Z.
Green-spirited seed bombs and mean-spirited Daisy Cutters. Take a wild guess which one is illegal here in the land of the free. Yep, seed bombing could get you arrested or sued, but could also result in real daisies
Death And Birth In Gaza: A Story Of A Shepherd
By Mahmoud El-Yousseph
Two days before last Christmas, Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian shepherd in the back and injured two others. A 14 year old suffered a serious head injury and another 19 year old was injured in his hand. The 22 year old Palestinian shepherd, Salamah Abu Hashish.'s wife gave birth to their first child the night before, and the couple have not even chosen a name to their child
Gaza Family Remembers Grandfather
Killed By Israeli Bullet
By Rami Almeghari
On January 10, another Gaza farmer was shot dead by Israeli soldiers while working in his farmland
United Nations Security Council:
An Organization For Injustice
By Kourosh Ziabari
UNSC needs a drastic reformation. The veto power should be dissolved as soon as possible. There should be a permanent seat for the representative of the Islamic world with more than 1.5 billion population. The power to authorize sanctions or military expeditions should be handed over to the UN General Assembly rather than the Security Council. The members of UNSC should be held accountable for the decisions which they make
Rising Food Prices And The Importance Of
Fundamental Change
By Chandra Muzaffar
The sharp increase in global food prices and their consequences raises some fundamental questions about the state of the world economy and how we organise our lives
Putting India's Food Security At Stake
By Devinder Sharma
India keen to dismantle its vast agricultural mandi network putting food security at stake
The Forgotten Jobless And Our Future
By Mark Vorpahl
In the political theater exhibited last December where 13 months of unemployment extensions were linked to continuing tax breaks for the rich, a significant issue was left out of the drama, though it directly impacts the lives of millions. That is the fate of those who have become known as the 99ers
How The Power Of Myth Keeps Us Mired in War
By Ira Chernus
A strong progressive myth could make it safer for a president to change course and perhaps save his presidency. Failure to stave off the bad guys destroyed Lyndon Johnson and gravely wounded George W. Bush. I suspect Obama would love to have a great progressive myth keep him from a similar fate. He won’t create it, but he’d probably be delighted to see it appear on the horizon
Class War And Violence Belie
Obama’s Tattered Unity Myths
By Robert S. Becker
Had the president politicized his Tucson memorial, say, by implicating reckless gun sellers, he’d have faced his own media crosshairs, even uncivil crossfire. Taking no chances, however, meant Mr. Bipartisanship missed a big teaching moment about the complex world of a very violent America. That omission offset what was done well
Microcredit: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
By David Korten
Unraveling the confusion behind microcredit: how some models help alleviate poverty, while others exploit the poor to make the rich richer
Generalizing Tunisia: Context Overrides Story
By Ramzy Baroud
One must not let confusing media headlines sideline the fact that neither the US nor the UK had Tunisia on their radar for circumventing democracy or violating human rights. Ben Ali was celebrated as an icon of moderation, notwithstanding his atypical Arab stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
United States Has A Choice In Tunisia
By Nicola Nasser
The U.S. decision makers however still seem deaf to what Ghannouchi told the Financial Times: “Democracy should not exclude communists … it is not ethical for us to call on a secular government to accept us, while once we get to power we will eradicate them.” This is the voice of Arab homemade democracy; it has nothing to do with the U.S. - exported democracy
Let Aristide Return!
By Stephen Lendman
Washington has full control as colonial occupier, denying Haitians all rights, including sovereignty, democratic elections with all legitimate parties participating, and the right of their beloved leader to return in any capacity. He only wishes to as a private citizen for health reasons and to provide whatever help he can. No longer should he be denied. Let Aristide return!
Obama Challenges China On Human Rights
By Stephen Lendman
Washington often chides other nations about their abuses and injustices at home and abroad. In fact, no other nation matches America's disdain for human and civil rights
Duvalier In The Dock
By Stephen Lendman
Expecting prosecutorial justice and stolen millions recovered is practically nil. Whitewash is more likely, except for minor slaps on the wrist, keeping Baby Doc's dirty linen safely hidden with most of his loot
Will India Ever Deliver Justice To
Human Rights Violations In Kashmir?
By Fahad Shah
Even though United Nations rapporteur on human rights violations Margaret Sekaggya visited Kashmir on January 19, India has failed to deliver justice to human rights violation victims in the Kashmir valley since the armed rebellion erupted twenty years ago
Shaking Hands With Sworn Enemy
By Syed Junaid Hashmi
History of electoral politics of Jammu and Kashmir is replete with instances where sworn enemies have shook hands for petty political gains and political stalwarts from both Jammu Kashmir regions preferring share of power over dignity empowerment and welfare of the people. One such instance, which comes to mind, is the support extended by the corporators of National Conference to the RSS backed candidate in 1980
The Chronology of Conflict: Kashmir
By Naveed Qazi
Kashmir wasn't always dyed in blood. Here is a chronology of the conflict
The Literary Slumdog Millionaires
By Farzana Versey
One fine day somebody wakes up to the fact that William Dalrymple is a Scot and he has taken over the Jaipur Literary Festival like one of the White Mughals he wrote about. There is the cry about racism. It is a bit surprising because Mr. Dalrymple has been ‘doing’ India since 1984. His work is not superficial; the adulation he has been receiving all these years is
A Dissenting Voice On Pakistan’s Blasphemy Law
By Yoginder Sikand
Probably the only Islamic scholar of note on either side of the border to have condemned the brutal murder in no uncertain terms, and to have insisted that it had no sanction whatsoever in Islam, was the New Delhi-based Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. He immediately responded to the murder in an article published in the Times of India, insisting that the punishment of death for blasphemy, as prescribed in Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy law, had no sanction in Islam at all
Governance, An Alien Concept
To The Pakistan People’s Party—I
By Mehroz Siraj Sadruddin
Scandals, instability, political assassinations, targeted killings, socio-economic mismanagement and corruption have been some of the major hallmarks of the near three year rule of the Pakistan People’s Party in the country, since the party assumed power in February 2008. As the party is about to complete three years in power it is important to analyse the issues on which the administration has miserably failed
Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi And Rumblings
In The ‘Fortress Of The Faith’
By Yoginder Sikand
No sooner had Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi been appointed as the new head of the Dar ul-Uloom, Deoband, India’s most influential madrasa and nerve-centre of the global Deobandi movement, than he found himself in the thick of controversy, which only seems to be getting even more embarrassing and convoluted with every passing day
19 January, 2011
Not Yet Time To Give Up Hope: Noam Chomsky
By Mickey Z.
What has to be done today is (1) large-scale conversion ( weatherizing , etc.), (2) sharp change in transportation to greater efficiency, like high-speed rail, (3) serious efforts to move to sustainable energy, probably solar in the somewhat longer term, (4) other adjustments that are feasible. If done effectively, that might be enough to stave off disaster. If not, then we can give up the ghost, because there are no alternatives in this world, at least none that I've seen suggested
House Rhetoricians v. Santa’s Reindeers
By Subhankar Banerjee
Will we take serious action this year on climate change so that all of us—including the House Rhetoricians and the Christian establishments of the world—can continue to tell the Rudolph and Santa story with a clear conscience, because we’ve taken steps to help Rudolph’s family members survive, for the sake of all of our children?
Global Food Prices Hit Record High
By Andre Damon
Food prices have hit record highs due to a string of crop failures together with an upsurge in speculation, resulting in rising living costs
Food Crises Pummel The Poor,
Austerity Multiplies Pain
By Raj Patel
More than a billion people went hungry in 2009, and the shock of the past two years has stripped assets away from the poor – in order to survive poverty, many have been involved in distress sales. The last two years' hunger and malnourishment will have indelibly affected an entire cohort of children. The recession has meant that more people are vulnerable to systemic shocks
The World At Risk
By Farooque Chowdhury
Crises the present world order has generated are pushing the entire world into uncertain and unsafe future. Our posterity will step in a volatile and unsafe world if the present world order is not changed. The mainstream’s analysis cannot ignore the reality
Killer Technologies Will Not Increase
Our Food Production
By Devinder Sharma
Genetically modified (GM) crops are once again in the eye of a storm. With the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPM] taking a complete U-turn in its stated policy approach and now publicly supporting GM crops, the debate is heating up. National president of the All India Kisan Sabha, the farmers’ wing of the CPM, SR Pillai, has recently called those who oppose GM crops as being ‘superstitious’
Can We Trust Climate Models?
Increasingly, The Answer Is ‘Yes’
By Michael D. Lemonick
Forecasting what the Earth’s climate might look like a century from now has long presented a huge challenge to climate scientists. But better understanding of the climate system, improved observations of the current climate, and rapidly improving computing power are slowly leading to more reliable methods
Calculating The True Cost Of
Global Climate Change
By John Carey
Researchers disagree about what the economic costs of climate change will be over the coming decades. But the answer to that question is fundamental in deciding how urgent it is to take action to reduce emissions
Bradley Manning Walking In The Footsteps Of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
By Kevin Zeese
Americans need to support a true American patriot, Bradley Manning, if he did what he is accused, has put his life on the line to show us the truth about American foreign policy and to make us a better nation. Visit www.BradleyManing.org to join in his defense. And, then read the WikiLeaks documents and engage in discussion and debate with your fellow Americans. Join our efforts to change U.S. foreign policy
'Niyamgiri You Are Still Alive’
By Suma Joson
Here is the documentary film , 'Niyamgiri You Are Still Alive’ By Suma Joson which won the Vasudha, Environment Award at the International Film Festival of India in Goa, 2010
Are You Proud Of Your Country? I'm Not!
By Timothy V. Gatto
This article has been torturing me for the last five years. I know I should have written it a long time ago, but either the World situation wasn't right, or I was was daunted by the thought of writing this narrative that I knew would be a task that I didn't really want to start. I take the blame for not writing this sooner, but we are all human and beset by inadequacy
Official Records In Jammu And Kashmir
'Murky' On 'Penalised' Securitymen!
By Syed Junaid Hashmi
Official statements contradicting official reports and records only strengthen the impunity security forces enjoy in Jammu and Kashmir. Though several official statements have claimed penalisation of accused security men, but the records fail to shed light on the same. Who was penalized? When? Where and by Whom? These questions continue to puzzle
Ladakh’s Winter Incarceration
By Meha Dixit
The Indian state has been active in the development and reconstruction work in a number of neighbouring states such as Afghanistan, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka and for this purpose has donated large sums of money to these countries. However, round the year connectivity demand of the Ladakhi people seems to have fallen on deaf ears
A Deobandi As Modi’s Brand Ambassador
By Farzana Versey
Before you raise your eyebrows, do see things beyond the obvious. The new Darul Uloom vice-chancellor, Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi, has given his stamp of approval to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. Shocked? Don’t be. They both essentially perpetuate the same schema of religion as the subterranean text
Israeli Racism
By Stephen Lendman
Israel's curriculum must change. Hate must be expunged. Arabs must be allowed to represent themselves and their culture rather than accept false dehumanization and vilification characterizations for not being Jews
Baby Doc Duvalier In Haiti
By Stephen Lendman
With more troubles than Job, Haitians now have another after former dictator Jean-Claude Baby Doc's arrival
18 January, 2011
Barak And Netanyahu
Kill Off Israel’s Labor Party
By Jonathan Cook
Ehud Barak, Israel’s defence minister, appears to have driven the final nail in the coffin of the Zionist left with his decision to split from the Labor party and create a new “centrist, Zionist” faction in the Israeli parliament. So far four MPs, out of a total of 12, have announced they are following him. The Israeli media suggested that the true architect of the Labor party’s split was the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu
Hezbollah’s Nasrallah Could Be Right
By Alan Hart
It’s not impossible that Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah was right when he described the tribunal investigating the assassination of Lebanon’s Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 as “an American and Israeli tool”
Wealth Is No Protection Against
Future Dangers - Part II
By Lionel Anet
We can’t survive in a competitive milieu as it waste resources, trashes the planet, necessitates secrecy, entices deceit, lies and character assassination. They are all the attributes for a miserable future and even extinction. As we are a part of one world, the more united and cooperative we are, the better we can deal with difficult situation
Peak Prices Or Production Peak? Ominous Signs
For Oil At The Start Of 2011
By Peter Custers
Ominous signs were there right at the beginning of the year. On January the 3rd, it was reported that the world price of crude oil had reached its highest level in two years. The price of a barrel of brent oil was stated to be 94.84 Dollars. This, energy analysts were quick to point out, represented a more than two hundred percent increase over the price of crude at the beginning of last year
The Ultimate Oxymoron: Industrial Civilization
And Mental Health
By Carolyn Baker
The paradigm of industrial civilization is inherently mad and proliferates mad people. Many of us have been called “crazy” for the past decade because we have named the madness of civilization and where it is taking us. Today, we may be perceived as “less crazy” since most of what we forecasted is now everyday, tangible reality—just as we said it would be. As industrial civilization accelerates its death spiral, our work is to imagine a new world of connectedness and to become a new human species
Serf's Up! Workers Wiped Out
While Wealthy Ride Economic Tidal Wave
By Mary Lynn Cramer
Our solution is not to give up on demanding an end to the wars, or more jobs with good wages and benefits, universal health care, the preservation of social security, continued funding of public schools, or respect for civil rights and human rights. But our solution must address the larger context within which all these individual issues and concerns exist
In The Crosshairs
By Tom Engelhardt
We in the United States have few doubts about who the aliens on this planet are: Them! (the title of a classic 1954 sci-fi movie about monstrous mutant ants that infest the sewer system of Los Angeles). In my childhood, “them” was “the commies,” of course. Now, it's certainly Muslims or jihadists or Islamo-fascists
“Death TV” And The Patriot
By James Rothenberg
We are a marvel of technological killing power, an achievement that has kept us at the top of the world heap, despite our marked decline in economic power. Further, it can be reasoned that our continued decline in economic power will be matched with increased development of this technological killing power – and not only that but an increased impetus to display and use it. It’s either that or relinquish the top, a not too desirable outcome by the ruling elite
From Tunisia To Palestine, The Cause Of
Freedom And Human Dignity Is One
By Salim Nazzal
The vast majority of Arab observers agree that even if it is difficult to know to where things would go in the future what is sure that the Arab region is not the same after the Tunisian revolution
Why Tunisia Changed The World
By Shamus Cooke
Tunisia woke up the Middle East with a thundering yawn. After years of domination by western-backed tyrants, the working people of the Arab world are rising from slumber. Once fully awake and aware of their surroundings, they'll shake off the influence of the western nations with a collective flick of the wrist
Discovering The Radical Vision Of
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
By Billy Wharton
Discovering the radical message in the writings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is no easy task for secular leftists. It requires a leap into the world of Black Christian theology, a long tradition that has inspired multiple attempts at emancipation – from the slave revolt of Nat Turner to the modern Civil Rights movement
Martin Luther King And The Palestinians
By Dr. Elias Akleh
I, too, have a dream shared by many other Palestinians, Arabs, and people from other nations, that Jews, Christians, and Muslims can live peacefully and harmoniously in a free democratic Palestinian state under one constitution that guarantees equality to all citizens, who could then join hands and also sing “Free at last”
Ed Rendell Leaves Office With Mixed Signals
On Death Penalty
By Mary Shaw
In his final week as Governor of Pennsylvania, Democrat Ed Rendell sent some mixed signals regarding the death penalty in this commonwealth
Tiranga For Muslims And Safron For Hindus
By Shamsul Islam
The RSS/BJP gang is once again on to its old pastime of whipping up frenzy against Muslims. They plan to unfurl, Tricolour, the Indian National Flag in Srinagar on January 26, 2011. It may not be out of context to know that BJP and its RSS mentors who are so zealous about hoisting Tricolour in Srinagar have least respect for Tricolour as we will see from the following documentary evidences available in the RSS archives
Flagging Confidence: Waving
The Tricolour In Kashmir
By Faisal Khan
why does Kashmir politely decline this symbolic sham of hoisting of tricolour at Lal Chowk? Why do Kashmiris say: ‘Do not place the right flag on a wrong pole? Why do the CM and army have to prevent this 'auspicious' and heady event from happening? The answer is that Kashmir is not India. It is not Kolkata. It is not Chandigrah. It is not Jammu Tawi or Kathwa
Survivor Of “Cross Fire” Described
The Exposed The Technic Of Extrajudicial Killing
By William Gomes
The extrajudicial killings by the law enforcement agency is increasing each and everyday in Bangladesh . Almost everyday its easy to find out a news of “cross fire”in newspapers saying arms recovered the criminal killed in so called “cross fire “ some law enforcer are injured. Only in the years 2010, 127 people had fallen victim to extra-judicial killings among whom 101 had been killed in so called 'cross-fire' with the law enforcers
17 January, 2011
Prepping Minds For War Against China
By Shamus Cooke
You'd think the U.S. was already at war with China, given the immense amount of anti-China rhetoric spouting from the government and media. But selling wars takes time. The average American hasn't bought in to this false advertising yet. So the big lie will be repeated until its roots are deeply sunk into the American psyche
No Peak Oil Yet? The Limits Of The Hubbert Model
By Ugo Bardi
What we are seeing is not what we would expect: we are not seeing a well defined peak, at least for the "all liquids" case. That raises a fundamental question: is the Hubbert model a valid tool for describing the future of oil production worldwide?
Ben Ali: Friendless, Homeless And Humiliated -
Dictators Take Note
By Yvonne Ridley
He might still be living in the lap of luxury, but make no mistake Tunisia's former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his family are prisoners. Like birds in a guilded cage, they are languishing in a palace in one of the most exclusive districts of Jeddah but the truth is Ben Ali and his equally odious and corrupt family have nowhere else to hide. It should signal a warning to all the other despots and dictators in the region – Egypt in particular
Military Intelligence Behind The Illegal
Arrest Of Bangladeshi Labor Rights Activist
By William Gomes
Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the Bangladesh’s Military Intelligence is behind the arrest of labor rights activist Moshrefa Mishu, a leftist political activist and President of the Garment Workers Unity Forum (GWUF), a labor rights organization of the readymade garment factories of the country
The “Stuttgart Declaration” Represents
A Paradigm Shift
By Ilan Pappé
Following the controversy caused by the Final Declaration of the Conference of Solidarity with Palestine, held in November 2010 in Stuttgart under the title "One Democratic State in Palestine with Equal Rights for all its Citizens ", Ilan Pappe emphasizes here the importance and relevance of this statement which represents a paradigm shift
An Open Letter To Sandy Berger
And Stephen Hadley:A Road Map
To Peace Beginning With Justice
By William A. Cook
The world communities must face the reality that the US cannot control Israel nor its own policies. Therefore, the UN must assert its responsibility for all its member states and resolve a conflict that has plagued the world for the past 60 years. It's time illusion gives way to reality
Extremist Killing Is As American As Apple Pie
By Stephan Salisbury
Murders grow on the far right rour decades after Martin Luther King
Tribute to Patrice Lumumba On The 50th
Anniversary Of His Assassination
By Carlos Martinez
Why was Lumumba killed? Because he was a relentless, dedicated, intelligent, passionate anti-colonialist, Pan-Africanist and Congolese nationalist; because he had the unstinting support of the Congolese masses; because he stood in the way of Belgium 's plan to transform Congo from a colony into a neo-colony
What MLK Would See Today
By Mary Shaw
Every step forward for racial justice is to be commended, like the election of President Obama. But clearly we still have a lot of work to do before people will truly be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. And surely Dr. King would want us to keep fighting the good fight
Banking In Venezuela
By Stephen Lendman
Count on opposition lawmakers, hostile US ones, Venezuela's right-wing media, and its US counterparts to use any opportunity to bash Chavez and Bolivarianism. The same decade-long drumbeat echos now about banking and other reforms
United States War Crimes During
The First Persian Gulf War
By Francis A. Boyle
A speech delivered by international law professor Francis A. Boyle on February 27, 1992 Albany Law School in Albany, N.Y
Swami, Sangh And Terror Links
By Ram Puniyani
All those who stand for a democratic society with the concept of Human rights need to come together and take multiple programs to combat the religion based nationalism, and politics laced in the language of religion, which is the major cause of the terrorism, as practiced by the likes of Osama bin laden or Swami Aseemanand
Implement PCA To Stop Harassment Of
Muslim Youth
By Syed Ali Mujtaba
It is high time that Muslim organizations along with friendly NGOs may take up the issue of implementing the Supreme Court directive of constituting the Police Complaints Authority (PAC) in each state of India. This task may have to be taken up with utmost urgency, only then the highhandedness and lethargic attitude of the police forces could be checked
The Great Divide On Terror
By M Shamsur Rabb Khan
A fair BJP or RSS would have asked for a fair trial for all those arrested on terror charges irrespective of their religion. And unless they show equal concern for Muslims falsely arrested on charges of terrorism, their emotional support to Hindutva terror is nothing but partisan politics based on the great divide on terror
Fabricating Evidence : The Case Of Two Diaries
By Sadanand Patwardhan
A thrust should be made to have “accused” and his lawyers an unfettered access to case & station house diaries once the investigations are completed. This would certainly minimize the incidences of implicating activists in false cases by making the job of police that much harder. At least it would teach them to desist from shoddy work
Right To Protest And ‘Right To Violence’
By Dr Shabir Choudhry
Be it be the BJP, or any other group, no one should be allowed to promote extremism, communalism and hatred; and destroy peace, harmony and traditional Kashmiri culture of toleration. If designs of these groups are not checked then it is possible that ‘bad old days’ might return; and groups which espouse violence and hatred, and their mentors from outside will call shots and ruin Kashmiri culture of peace and toleration
If Farmers Can Be Given Loans At
One Percent Interest, Why Not Small Borrowers?
By Devinder Sharma
The poorest of the poor also need to be provided with cooperative loans, and Kisan Credit Cards like the farmers get. If such schemes can be implemented for farnmers who live in unreachable areas, I am sure the same provisions can be extended to other members of his family. What is needed is a political will to make this happen, and it will happen. Till then , MFIs will continue to loot the poor
Messing Up In Telengana Would Alienate People
From Rest Of The Country
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Justice Shri Krishna Committee report on Telengana has strengthened the views of the Telengana people that it was meant to create status quo and buying time to create further confusion and depression among the people of the region. That Shri Krishna Committee could not find logical reasons for carving a separate Telengana state is quite distasteful
Protect The Commons
By Marianne de Nazareth
The 13th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC) 2011 held in the heritage city of Hyderabad from the 10-14th January 2011 was an eye opener with regard to the critical role that the commons such as forests, water bodies, and grazing lands play in sustaining the rural economy in any country in the world including India
Late MB Naqvi’s Book “Paksitan At Knifie’s Edge’
Launched
By Zia Ur Rehman
Rich tributes were paid to senior journalist, columnist and author Mohammad Baqir Naqvi (M. B. Naqvi) with speakers eulogizing his efforts for upholding fundamental rights of the people, democracy and regional peace in South Asia. The speakers were speaking at launch ceremony of the book “Pakistan at Knife’s Edge” by M. B. Naqvi
16 January, 2011
What Now For Lebanon?
By Franklin Lamb
The White House has made it plain that America expects Saad Hariri to be returned to his Prime Ministerial post. That event is unlikely to occur. Yet, the Hezbollah led opposition might allow Hariri to be a caretaker until the 2013 elections—but only if he fulfills their earlier demands and withdraws Lebanon from any association with the STL
The Crown And The Coals
By Uri Avnery
The Americans resemble – and even upstage – the Israelis in their arrogance and ignorance, which border on fatal irresponsibility. Their intervention this week, emanating from a frivolous contempt for the incredible complexity that is called Lebanon, may bring about a civil war and/or a conflagration that may involve Israel
Turmoil In Lebanon
By Stephen Lendman
America and Israel view a Hezbollah-led government a strategic threat. In 2009, conflict might have followed if it won. Both Washington and Tel Aviv back a Hariri caretaker government, and following Hezbollah's pullout, Haaretz Service, on January 13 headlined, "IDF troops on alert following collapse of Lebanon government"
MLK Injustice Index 2011: Racism,
Materialism And Militarism In The US
By Bill Quigley
Here are some of the facts about racism, materialism and militarism in the US which we should reflect on as we decide how best to carry on the radical struggle for justice of Dr. King
King Would Have Stopped Vietnam And
Today's Wars As He Stopped Segregation!
By Jay Janson
Martin Luther King, today, would be fighting against the wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen and a war on Iran. Blacks would be in the forefront with him
Shot In The Head: Giffords, Hurndall
And Palestinian Children
By Alison Weir
It is too late for Akabar, Diya, Mohammed, Tom, and the multitude of others. But there is hope that Gabrielle Giffords is going to survive. Let us pray that she recovers fully, that she is able to return to Congress, and that she then works to prevent others – including Palestinians – from being shot in the head
Israel’s Orthodox Rabbis:
‘Palestinians To The Ovens!’
By Richard Silverstein
Back in the days of the Shoah, one of the slogans of the Jew haters was: "Jews to the Ovens." Now, it causes me anguish to say, we have Israeli Orthodox rabbis saying the same about the Palestinians
5 Children Injured Following Israel’s Demolition Of
El Araqib Village For Ninth Time
By Recognition Forum
Israeli authorities demolished the Bedouin village of El Araqib Sunday morning (16 January) for the ninth time in the past six months, and bulldozers from the Jewish National Fund (JNF) remain on the villager’s land, even though the demolitions are completed
When Generosity, Love, And Kindness Are
Public Policy, The Violence We Saw In Arizona
Will Dramatically Diminish
By Michael Lerner
Anything short of that societal transformation toward the Caring Society is actually utopian and fanciful, and leads to blaming each other or some group or policy option for the irrational behaviors that are tearing our society apart
America’s Self-Appointed Vigilantes
By Jim Taylor
Actions speak louder than words. When will America wake up and realize that its greatest threats to freedom are its own right wing extremists?
AARP's "The Magazine" Plays Softball
In The Bush League
By Sherwood Ross
In what must rank as one of the most dubious magazine interviews ever published, AARP's “The Magazine,” circulation 24-million, devotes its January/February cover to a propaganda makeover in behalf of ex-president George W. Bush
Verdict On Binayak Sen:
Protest To show We Are Alive
By Dr. Shah Alam Khan
In a country which ignores hunger deaths, genocide criminals, millions of malnourished children (more than Sub Saharan Africa) and a defunct political class, people like Dr Binayak Sen are the only hope and a selfish state has no right to take these symbols of hope from us. Scream, shout, protest and wriggle out of the iron grip of injustice. As common people we need to show signs of life
South Waziristan: Fear At Home
By Zia Ur Rehman
Although the government claims military offensive against Taliban in South Waziristan has succeeded in securing the area, the displaced people are reluctant to go back to their homes, saying militants had only dispersed, not wiped out, during the operation
15 January, 2011
Tunisia Swears In Interim Leader As
The President Flees The Country
By Aljazeera
Tunisia's speaker of parliament has temporarily assumed power in the country a day after president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled amid a mass uprising
Tonight We Are All Tunisians
By Yvonne Ridley
Now Tunisia is minus one dictator but it is still in a state of emergency. The next few days and weeks are going to be crucial for the Tunisian people who deserve freedom and liberty. My God, they’ve paid for it with their own blood and we must always remember their martyrs
Egyptian Regime Fears Mass Protests
By Johannes Stern
Discussion on the recent events in Tunisia can be heard in the streets of the Egyptian capital Cairo. In the course of demonstrations against the dictatorship of Ben Ali dozens of predominately young Tunisians have been killed by the Tunisian police and army. Anger over the brutality of the Ben Ali regime is widespread in the Egyptian capital
Tunisia: A Moment Of Destiny For
The Tunisian People And Beyond?
By Dyab Abou Jahjah
The effect of this is even being felt on the streets of Algeria where thousands of youth, who were copying the demands of "the Tunisian Intifada" as people are calling it now, clashed with police. Across the Arab world, peoples are experiencing hope, and the regimes are afraid: all the Arab people and all the Arab regimes
Lawyer Protests Brutal Treatment Of
Bradley Manning
By Tom Eley
The lawyer representing Army Private Bradley Manning, who is accused of turning over classified military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks, has demanded a mitigation of the harsh conditions under which he is being held at a military prison or his outright release from custody
How Is Bradley Manning Really Being Treated?
By David Swanson
If you are as concerned about Bradley Manning's condition as he is about his jailers', you can join in a demonstration outside the brig where he is held on Monday, Martin Luther King Day, January 17th in Quantico, Va. Our demand will be a simple one: Free Bradley Manning!
The War On WikiLeaks
By John Pilger
A John Pilger investigation and interview with Julian Assange
Wikileaks Will Change Nothing In Iraq
By Fadel Al-Nashmi
Shortly before publishing the secret documents, Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, said they would change the world. So far, there is little evidence they are changing anything in Iraq
BRIC Becomes BRICS: Changes
On The Geopolitical Chessboard
By Jack A. Smith
The world's four main emerging economic powers, known by the acronym BRIC — standing for Brazil, Russia, India and China — now refer to themselves as BRICS. The capital "S" in BRICS stands for South Africa, which formally joined the four on Dec. 24, bringing Africa into this important organization of rising global powers from Asia, Latin America and Europe. President Jacob Zuma is expected to attend the BRICS April meeting in Beijing as a full member
If Bishop Desmond Tutu Is An Anti-Semite
What Hope For The Rest Of Us?
By Imran Garda
When the head of the South African Zionist Federation, David Hersch, initiates an online petition against "The Arch", demanding he be removed as patron of the Holocaust memorial centres in Cape Town and Johannesburg for his "anti-Israel behaviour" and labels his criticism of the policies, (yes, policies) of the state of Israel "morally repugnant" based on "horrific and grotesquely false accusation against the Jewish people", it’s pertinent to provide a brief reminder to Hersch, and anyone who might be swayed, of the man’s credentials
Israeli Bulldozers Do The Talking
By Khaled Amayreh
Despite prior condemnations, Israel is pressing ahead with demolitions as it continues to colonise East Jerusalem and the West Bank, writes Khaled Amayreh
Netanyahu's Government: Israel's Worst Ever
By Stephen Lendman
They, Palestinians, and all exploited people deserve better, but wishing won't make it so. Bare-knuckled activism is needed, restoring democratic values Israel won't tolerate, at the same time exposing its lawlessness and status as a world class terror state, preying on vulnerable Arabs on false national security grounds
The Great Food Crisis Of 2011
By Lester R. Brown
The current surge in world grain and soybean prices, and in food prices more broadly, is not a temporary phenomenon. We can no longer expect that things will soon return to normal, because in a world with a rapidly changing climate system there is no norm to return to
CEN, Climate Change, Queensland Floods:
Stop Burning Fossil Fuels ASAP
By Dr Gideon Polya
Because of weather variability cannot attribute any specific weather event to climate change. However the successive events of burning fossil fuels, increased atmospheric greenhouse gases, increased sea temperature, increased evaporation, increased precipitation and floods simply mean stop burning fossil fuels ASAP as urged by the Climate Emergency Network (CEN)
The Climate Of Hate – Arizona Shooting
By Habib Siddiqui
The sad fact is unless American public is serious about reining in its addiction to gun, war and violence, the horror prompted by the attack in Tucson last week will pass, the outrage will fade, and the murders will continue. It’ll be all over again with new targets, and new Columbine and new Tucson killing fields!
America Replicating Japan
By Stephen Lendman
"What's the difference between General Motors and California," or Chicago, New York or Los Angeles? Unlike GM, they haven't gone bankrupt so far, nor have they defaulted on their pension obligations. Given today's crisis, with troubled communities across America faltering, anything is possible anywhere anytime
14 January, 2011
US Government Proposes To Put
WikiLeaks On "Enemies List"
By WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks today condemned calls from the chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security to "strangle the viability" of WikiLeaks by placing the publisher and its editor-in-chief, Julian Assange, on a US "enemies list" normally reserved for terrorists and dictators. Placement on the US "Specially Designated National and Blocked Persons List" would criminalize US companies who deal with WikiLeaks or its editor
Climate Change Could Happen Much Faster Than
Previously Thought
By Louise Gray
The US study predicted that if society continues burning fossil fuels at the current rate, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide could rise from the current level of 390 parts per million (ppm) to 1,000 by the end of this century. The last time the world had such high levels of carbon dioxide temperatures were on average 29F(16C) above pre-industrial levels. Evidence has been found of crocodiles and palm trees at the Poles and only small mammals were able to survive
Lebanon in Limbo: A Nation Haunted
By The Murder of Rafiq Hariri
By Robert Fisk
Soldiers, soldiers everywhere. In the valleys, on the mountains, in the streets of Beirut. I have never seen so many soldiers. Are they going to "liberate" Jerusalem? Or are they going to destroy all the Arab dictatorships? They are supposed to stop the country of Lebanon from sliding into a civil war, I suppose
In Photos: Family Watches Israeli Forces
Take Down Home
By Khaleel Reash
Members of the Younis family watch while their home is demolished by the Israeli bulldozers in the West Bank village of Azzun Atma near Qalqiliya, January 11, 2011
Failure of Academia: The Book That Was Not
Meant To Be Published
By Ramzy Baroud
Deepak Tripathi’s most recent book, Breeding Ground: Afghanistan and the Origins of Islamist Terrorism (Potomac Books) raises several issues, both within and outside of its content. It is based on research for his doctoral dissertation, the qualification for which he never received
Salam Fayyad: Israel's Man in Palestine
By Stephen Lendman
As prime minister, Fayyad's future depends on satisfying two masters, Israel and Washington, their divide and conquer agenda, solidifying occupation, continuing settlement expansions, entirely Judaizing Jerusalem, dominating the West Bank's economy, and containing all opposition factions
Turmoil in Tunisia: Rebellion
Challenges Neoliberalism
By Farooque Chowdhury
Curfew covered Tunis, deployed troops, reported death of at least 66 protesters, demonstrators setting fire on government offices, mass protests, sacking of ministers have unmasked neoliberalism and its limits of power in seemingly politically stagnant Tunisia. Five suicides protesting unemployment and poverty have unplugged mass anger pent for decades against President Zine el Abindine’s corruption-ridden iron rule for over two decades
Martin Luther King, Jr. And America Today
By Ron Forthofer
As we honor and celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, I wonder what he might make of the U.S. today. Perhaps his words can give us some insight
Planet Overkill
By Mickey Z.
Humans undergo their most rapid growth during infancy and human breast milk has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to become the perfect food to facilitate that growth. As stated earlier, it derives only 5.9 percent of its calories from protein. So, here's a question for everyone working two jobs just to afford their expensive protein supplements: If we need less than 6 percent of our calories from protein during a time of intense growth, why are we consuming so much protein as full-grown adults?
Salman Taseer Killing- A Postmortem
By Syed Ali Mujtaba
Was the killing of Salman Taseer a political act or it was hyper reaction of a religious lunatic. There was definitely a lot of political grouse against Salman Taseer but the actual motivation to kill him did not stemmed from the political quarters, the religious incenses was the main flash point of his murder
How Can The Pakistani Left Become Relevant:
The Hoodbhoy Recipe
By Hassan Gardezi
A rejoinder to Pervez Hoodbhoy's article “How Can the Pakistani Left Become Relevant?”
Jared Lee Loughner And The Case For Single-Payer
By Billy Wharton
The fallout from the shooting in Arizona has launched a thousand theories about the motives of the 22 year old shooter Jared Lee Loughner ranging from the interesting to the absurd. Yet, most miss a central point - Jared Lee Loughner, a deeply mentally disturbed young man, may not have been able to help himself even if he wanted to. You see, Loughner lives in the United States, a country where access to mental health services is blocked by a for-profit healthcare system
Obama in Tucson: Shame, Hypocrisy And Deceit
By Stephen Lendman
Like all politicians, Obama shills for power, plays to the crowd, and hides ugly truths the public has a right to know. His Tucson remarks were no different, displaying intellectual bankruptcy by invoking scripture, heroism, and patriotism, while avoiding what most needed saying - the real cause of January 8th's violence
Sick Gulf Residents Beg Officials For Help
By Dahr Jamail
In an emotionally charged meeting this week sponsored by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, fishermen, Gulf residents and community leaders vented their increasingly grave concerns about the widespread health issues brought on by the three-month-long disaster
13 January, 2011
2010 Tied For Earth's Warmest Year On Record
By Doyle Rice
2010 tied with 2005 as the warmest year of the global surface temperature record, according to data released today by the National Climatic Data Center. Records began in 1880. The Earth's temperature was 1.12 degrees F above the 20th-century average, which was the same as 2005
Why Hezbollah Walked
By Franklin Lamb
“ In case no one has noticed, the Obama administration just gifted Lebanon to Iran. Washington earlier presented Iraq, Afghanistan, the Gulf, and Pakistan. Could it be more clear that Iran’s strategic trump card is America’s subservience to Israel? For Iran, Israel’s strangle hold on the US government is the gift that keeps on giving. ” With his comment, my neighbor, Lebanese Human Rights Ambassador Ali Khalil, declared American hegemony in the region was on a slippery and descending slope and that yesterday’s political maneuvering in Lebanon likely accelerated American withdrawal
Wikileaks Volunteer Detained And Searched
(Again) By US Agents
By Xeni Jardin
Jacob Appelbaum, a security researcher, Tor developer, and volunteer with Wikileaks, reported today on his Twitter feed that he was detained, searched, and questioned by the US Customs and Border Patrol agents at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on January 10, upon re-entering the US after a vacation in Iceland
The Peak Oil Crisis: Civil Unrest
By Tom Whipple
There is a serious downside to simply ignoring the realities of the current situation and relying on hope rather than leveling with the American people. By failure to guide the country to real solutions to real problems, our leaders are risking increasing violence as the frustrations of an unknowing people continue to grow
The End Of Growth, “The Sound Of Air Escaping”
By Richard Heinberg
There is no “silver bullet,” no magic solution that will turn back the clock to an era of abundant resources and easy growth. For now, all that governments can do is buy time through further deficit spending—ideally, using that time to build infrastructure that will continue to function in the coming era of reduced flows of energy and resources. Meanwhile, we must all find ways to come out from under a burden of debt that will otherwise crush us. The inherent contradiction within this prescription is obvious but unavoidable
A World In Breakdown
By Paul Rogers
The most harmful consequences of the world’s economic and environmental crises are likely to be felt in 2011, and to fall most harshly on millions of marginalised people. The patterns of protests that arise in response can already be seen in (for example) the neo-Maoist Naxalites in India, unrest in China and the riots in Tunisia. Some of the responses may coalesce into radical movements that will yet eclipse anything seen in the world’s financial hubs
Why Peace Is The Business of Men
(But Shouldn’t Be)
By Ann Jones
A modest proposal for the immodest brotherhood of big men
What’s The Difference Between Nazi
And Zionist War Criminals?
By Alan Hart
Short answer: Great effort is made to hunt down and prosecute suspected Nazi war criminals, no effort is made to bring Zionist war criminals to justice
Israel's Assault on Human Rights
By Neve Gordon
The ongoing delegitimization of those watchdogs of democracy—human rights NGOs, the press and public intellectuals—is leading Israel down a steep and slippery slope. The next time someone travels through Ben-Gurion airport, he or she might not be able to access the websites of Israeli rights groups like Physicians for Human Rights and B'Tselem , not because they have been blocked, but because the organizations have been shut down
Post-Quake Haiti: One Year Later
By Stephen Lendman
A year later, Haitians find little to celebrate, knowing worse likely lies ahead, courtesy of US corporate predators and complicit Washington officials, plundering Haiti ruthlessly
Good Luck Talking Down Shrill, ‘Blood Libel’ Victims Armed To The Teeth
By Robert S. Becker
What a fierce fusillade of national verbiage erupts after every creepy assassin strikes. Unless well-intentioned blather confronts the following, nothing will change: 1) the ceaseless, badly-monitored salvo of gun sales, 2) flocks of armed, unhinged extremists at large, and 3) security to insulate officials from being sitting ducks
Hard Times In Illinois
By Stephen Lendman
With America's worst budget crisis per capita, Illinois reflects the crushing nationwide burden facing most states. As a result since 2008, they raised taxes, made big cuts in health care (including Medicaid), education and other social services. They also laid off thousands of state workers, cut pay and benefits for others, and plan more of the same going forward
Murdering Scientists
By Dr. Chandra Muzaffar
What is even more disillusioning is the deafening silence of scientists and academics everywhere. In the so-called great centres of learning in the West, very few voices of conscience have condemned the systematic murder of their fraternity. It is equally disgraceful that in most of the universities and research institutes in West Asia and in the Global South, elimination of Iraqi and Iranian scientists is a non-issue
Punjabi Migrants’ Risky Route
To Health Care In Germany
By Rajiv Kunwar
Undocumented migrants’ human rights are in no way sufficiently protected in Germany where the access to healthcare is governed by highly restrictive regulations and where medical assistance to this population is being hampered as well as criminalised through the legal framework
The Saffron Smokescreen
By Farzana Versey
Swami Aseemanand is the rightwing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s PR man. His new place in the confession box revealing the role of Hindutva terror may gladden the hearts of the ruling party and the political mechanism, but he is in fact saving the skin of the real culprits
Manipuri Children: Left In The Lurch
By Shirish Khare
Ongoing Violence Impacts Lives of Manipuri Kids: There is little in the name of health services in the violence affected Manipur. Even births are not being registered. There is no count of orphans. With an increased level of exploitation of children as well as trafficking, these children are fodder for fresh violence
12 January, 2011
Humanity's Dilemma: Reconciling
Two Paradigms
By Jason G. Brent
The only problem facing humanity today is how to bring the human paradigm into agreement with the paradigm of nature with the least amount of death and destruction. And the agreement must last as long as the human species exists. At present the two competing paradigms are attempting to control the future of humanity and they cannot be reconciled
Assange Faces “Real Risk” Of Rendition To US, Torture And Death
By Julie Hyland
Concerns that Assange’s extradition to Sweden on politically motivated, trumped-up charges of sexual misconduct could lead to his “onward rendition” to the US, where he would face possible torture and even death, are to form part of the WikiLeaks founder’s legal defence at the February hearing
Treat Incitement Seriously or Expect
More Gabrielle Gifford Killing Sprees
By WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks spokesman Julian Assange said: "No organisation anywhere in the world is a more devoted advocate of free speech than Wikileaks but when senior politicians and attention seeking media commentators call for specific individuals or groups of people to be killed they should be charged with incitement -- to murder. Those who call for an act of murder deserve as significant share of the guilt as those raising a gun to pull the trigger."
Bradley Manning And The Rule Of Law
By Kevin Zeese
A mature American leadership, rather than prosecuting Manning, would encourage an honest debate about U.S. foreign policy. Thomas Jefferson warned that “oppressions are many” and that for the people to govern we should “leave open . . . all the avenues to truth.” Manning has provided an avenue to truth where we can look honestly at our government and dramatically change direction. Enlightened leadership would renounce blackmail, threats and spying of foreign officials, as well as torture and war
Million Plus Remain Homeless And Displaced
In Haiti: One Year After Quake
By Bill Quigley & Jeena Shah
One year after the January 12 2010 earthquake, more than a million people remain homeless in Haiti. Homemade shelters and tents are everywhere in Port au Prince. People are living under plastic tarps or sheets in concrete parks, up to the edge of major streets, in the side streets, behind buildings, in between buildings, on the sides of hills, literally everywhere
Restraint And Hope: Lessons From Lake Baikal
And The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
By David B. Williams
Iconic and transcendent, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Lake Baikal have given people the gift of hope, that we can rise above our perceived needs and that we have the courage and imagination to restrain ourselves from harming the world’s sacred places
Is Lockheed Martin Shadowing You?
By William D. Hartung
How a giant weapons maker became the new big brother
I Am Anti Zionist , As I Would Have Been Anti Nazi
By Agustin Velloso
A response to an invitation to dialogue extended by the Ambassador of Israel in Spain
Why Is Australia Involved In Afghanistan?
By George Venturini
Australia’s presence in Afghanistan is in violation of art.2(4) of the UN Charter, whereby: “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.” Nor does Australia’s action meet the letter and spirit of art.51
Gun Metaphors And Disrespect
By Mary Hamer
What are we communicating to other people when we use these gun metaphors such as Cocked & Loaded, Hit List, Hit the Target, In the Cross hairs, Locked & Loaded? Gun metaphors communicate negative thoughts, anger, hatred and violence -- directed toward an enemy
Roots of Arizona's Violence
By Stephen Lendman
Generations of violence engrained it in US culture. It proliferates daily in homes, communities, and by state-sponsored repression against society's least advantaged, cared about or wanted. It made America the world's prison capital - a repressive gulag with over 2.4 million incarcerated, more than China with a population four times greater
National Role For India's Veterans
By Maj Gen S.G.Vombatkere (Retd)
If veterans engage peacefully in national issues in addition to their on-going OROP demand, it can influence the general public and through them, governments, to deliver better governance within India's constitutional framework, especially in the north-eastern states and Kashmir, and in the central Indian states that are increasingly subject to police repression of Maoist violence. The present article suggests the wider benefits that may accrue from such national involvement of veterans
Obama's New Chief of Staff And Economic Team
By Stephen Lendman
Obama's new team signals a further shift right, assuring fewer business regulations, more corporate tax cuts and handouts, and austerity for working Americans. Despite punishing unemployment and deepening hard times, progressivism is nowhere in sight
Britain's War on Islam
By Stephen Lendman
A January 2007 Islamic Human Rights Commission report titled, "The British Media and Muslim Representation: The Ideology of Demonisation" corroborated various studies showing UK Muslims believe British media inaccurately portray them and their religion falsely and unjustly
Dean Fudges On White House 'Contempt' --
Conjures Obama 'At Heart A Reformer'
By Robert S. Becker
If Obama is any sort of true reformer, why then did he empower, and stay with, re-cycled Clintonistas plus Blue Dogs plus carryover Republicans like R. Gates and B. Bernanke? Why lavish praise on demonstrable failures, like Larry Summers, rushing to other pastures to spoil? Across job creation, rebalancing national wealth, or saving the middle class, this bunch sucks. Lucky Chicago, regaining Rahm Emanuel's foul moods
BPA Chemical Lookalike Potentially More Risky
By Sarah Mosko, Ph.D.
It would have been hard to get through 2010 without bumping into some scary information about the plastic ingredient bisphenol A, aka BPA, like the fact it leaches from polycarbonate baby bottles & sports bottles and metal food can linings into the contents or that it is widespread in the dye on thermal cash register receipts and is absorbed through human skin
How To Defeat American Fascism
By Timothy V. Gatto
We no longer have a democratic republic, we have a corporate state. This won’t change until we remove the root cause of corporatism, the financing of political campaigns. It’s that simple
In Defense Of Uruknet!
By Sofia Smith
What has happened today will likely not come as a surprize to many of you. As it turns out Facebook deleted/deactivated/froze Uruknet's account/profile. This falls into a greater trend of limiting/censuring/disabling peace/Palestine solidarity activists and this has to stop!
Investigate The Hindutva Terror Network!
Petition Campaign
Please sign the petition
Pakistan: Democracy Besieged
By Ram Puniyani
Taseer’s murder is yet another attack of fundamentalism on the liberal values and democratic space in our neighboring country. His murder has come as a big set back to the preservation of liberal values. There has to be a demand for release of Aasia Bibi and giving the due punishment to the killers of Salman Taseer
Dr Binayak Sen: Gandhian With A Stethoscope
By Amit Sengupta
Dr Binayak Sen. Life imprisonment. Sedition. No evidence. Crime: Four decades of relentless health work for the poorest in the most remote zones of India. And non-violent, peaceful protest against human rights violations. Gandhian with a stethoscope
10 January, 2011
Arizona Assassination Spree
Tied To Political Right
By Bill Van Auken
Mounting evidence has linked the 22-year-old gunman who severely wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, killed a federal judge and killed or wounded 18 others in Tucson, Arizona to the political right
Guns And Terrorism: Two Unasked Question
In Tucson Mass Murder
By Bill Quigley
Two important questions that should be asked in the light of the Arizona assassination spree are (1) how does a mentally unstable man who was kicked out of school and had run-ins with the law buy an assault weapon? (2) why is there so little talk of terrorism?
White Terrorism
By Juan Cole
Loughner was acting politically even if he is not all there. He is said to have called out the names of his victims, such as Roll and Gifford, as he fired. As usual, when white people do these things, the mass media doesn’t call it terrorism
Palin Put A Gun Target On Giffords' District;
Now A Colleague Says:
'Palin Needs To Look At Her Own Behavior'
By John Nichols
After Sarah Palin targeted her district with a gunsight on a map identifying Democrats Palin was urging her followers to "reload" and defeat, Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords said: "We are on Sarah Palin's targeted list. The way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of the gunsight over our district. When people do that, they have got to realize there are consequences to that action."
An Osmotic Education:
Dreams From My Presidents
By Niranjan Ramakrishnan
Will George W. Bush and Barack Obama own up to their contributions to the dilution of the law, open devotion to militarism, and indirectly, to Tucson? Don't count on it. Expect instead, more restrictions, more security, more inanity. Which elder has ever admitted he led the young astray?
No To Political Assassinations!
Let’s Make A Democratic Revolution!
By Andrea Pason & Billy Wharton
A fitting tribute to the innocent victims from the Tucson shooting would be to end the US occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan and to end the bombings in Pakistan
US Government Demands Twitter Account Information Of WikiLeaks And Followers
By Andre Damon
The US Department of Justice has issued a court order to Twitter, the social networking site, demanding that it hand over information on WikiLeaks and its collaborators. WikiLeaks said that the subpoena, if not blocked, will grant the government access to the names of the more than 600,000 people who “follow” WikiLeaks over the network
Supporting The Refugees’ Right Of Return Is
Saying NO To Israeli Racism
By Ilan Pappe
Lecture by Ilan Pappé at the Stuttgart Conference
Peak Civilization
By Ugo Bardi
I’ll try to say something about a subject that I am sure you are all interested in: the decline and the fall of the Roman Empire. It is something that has been discussed over and over; it is because we think that our civilization may follow the same destiny as the Roman one: decline and fall. So, the Roman Empire offers us some kind of a model. We can say it is the paradigm of collapsing societies. And, yet, we don’t seem to be able to find an agreement on what caused the collapse of the Roman Empire
Who’s Kidding Whom? Is Sustainable Development
Compatible With Western Civilization?
By Peter Russell
Published in 1994, this article is visionary and far in advance of its time
Relationships In The Long Emergency:
I’m On Board, But My Family Isn’t
By Carolyn Baker
I incessantly receive emails and requests for coaching in which individuals report painful conflicts with a partner, a child, or another loved one who is not open to talking or hearing about what James Howard Kunstler names “The Long Emergency.” These individuals are preparing for the collapse of industrial civilization, but their family member(s) refuses to discuss the issue, and as a result, tensions in these relationships become increasingly difficult to sustain or even tolerate
The Machines Change, The Work
Remains The Same
By Robert Jensen
These days almost all left/radical organizers will communicate online, but the social justice and ecological sustainability at the heart of left/radical politics isn't going to be achieved online
Empire Of Bases 2.0
By Nick Turse
Does the Pentagon Really Have 1,180 Foreign Bases?
Gitmo Is Staying Open, No Matter What The Cost
By Mary Shaw
January 11, 2011, marks the ninth anniversary of the arrival of the first prisoners at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. That's the same Guantanamo prison that Barack Obama promised to close in his first year as president. But Gitmo won't be closing any time soon. Congress has seen to that. And so has Obama
Drugging Guantanamo Detainees
By Stephen Lendman
Guantanamo and other US torture prisons are blights on democratic values and fundamental international law that prohibits all forms of torture and abuse at all times with no allowed exceptions
Daily Israeli Crimes Against Humanity
By Stephen Lendman
Daily accounts can be followed on important sites such as Palestine Chronicle.com, Palestine Telegraph.com, and the Electronic Intifada.net as well as others like Israel's oldest daily newspaper, Haaretz, available online in English
Pakistan Will Implode If The US
Does Not Leave Afghanistan
By Imran Khan
The assassination of Salmaan Taseer has shown only too clearly the growing extremism in Pakistan, the radicalisation of its society and the polarisation that is taking hold. This is not just between the religious and the secular, but also the polarisation that the "war on terror" has caused between the various religious sects
Can Anyone Save This Tribal Girl?
By Himanshu Kumar
The persecution of Soni Sori
Political Killings In West Bengal
By Peoples Union for Democratic Rights
Hitherto the media and the authorities had confined themselves to condemning killings by the CPI (Maoists) in the Jangalmahal area, in which officially it was claimed that 79 persons lost their lives. But the killing by CPM cadres on January 7th, who fired around 300 rounds on a 250 strong crowd, primarily women, protesting the local CPM diktat that each family to send one person for arms training, thus killing 8 persons and injuring 20 with most bullets fired on the back, show how it is becoming a free-for-all between political parties
Before Policing The Education, Provide Quality
By Bilal Hussain
With the recent developments education sector in Kashmir is too hot to touch, chilling chilakalan instead of cooling it down is acting as fuel to further heat it up. A local college lecture has been booked, police have filed a case against the senior professor of Kashmir University and row over winter schooling; all this puts the sector in docks
Politics Over Flag In Indian Kashmir
By Fahad Shah
Expressing his resentment against a political party’s decision of hoisting Indian flag in Kashmir on Republic day, the Jammu and Kashmir state chief minister, Omar Abdullah introduce us towards something which has been often avoided. Why hoisting Tri-colour at Lal Chowk creates such a polemical and indignant atmosphere while every year same flag is waved twice in different parts of the region?
Justice for Aasia Bibi; Speedy Trial of
Salman Taseer’s Killers
By New Socialist Initiative (NSI), Delhi
There comes a time comes when silence is betrayal… History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people
09 January, 2011
Extreme weather Events Help Drive
Food Prices To Record Highs
By Joseph Romm
We’re already seeing rising hunger in the least developed countries. Lester Brown warns, “The biggest threat to global stability is the potential for food crises in poor countries to cause government collapse.” The time to act was long, long ago, but failure to act now is beyond immoral
Twitter Deserves Credit For
Defending Its Users' Rights
By Shane Richmond
The US department of justice has ordered Twitter to hand over the messages and account details of several users who are, or have been, associated with Wikileaks. Initially the order was sealed, that is it was to be kept secret from the targets. It’s to Twitter’s credit that it asked for the order to be unsealed and then informed the users concerned
Israel’s Violence Against Separation Wall Protests:
Along The Road Of State Terrorism
By Richard Falk
We have reached a stage where the oppressiveness of the Israeli occupation, extending now for more than 43 years and maintained in multiple daily violations of international humanitarian law. In its essence and by design the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip should be understood and condemned as STATE TERRORISM as exhibited both in structure and practice
Declaring Palestine: Revisiting Hope And Failure
By Ramzy Baroud
What Palestinians do have today is a much gratitude to the Latin American countries that have recently joined the host of nations that recognize independent Palestine. Many Palestinians now understand that to capitalize on the growing international solidarity, the Palestinian leadership needs to free itself from the iron grip and political monopoly of the United States and embrace its partners of old, from the time before Oslo, the “peace process”, the Roadmap and all the other broken promises
What Would Einstein Say?
By Fidel Castro
Today the leaders of the State of Israel practice genocide and are associating themselves with the most reactionary forces on the planet
Forbes’ Rich List Of Nonsense
By Michael Tobis and Scott Mandia with input from Gavin Schmidt, Michael Mann, and Kevin Trenberth
While it is no longer surprising, it remains disheartening to see a blistering attack on climate science in the business press where thoughtful reviews of climate policy ought to be appearing. Of course, the underlying strategy is to pretend that no evidence that the climate is changing exists, so any effort to address climate change is a waste of resources
Billions Of Humans Will Die Horribly
By Jason G. Brent
If humanity does not reduce population and/or reduce per capita usage of resources, the earth will be unable to supply the resources civilization needs to function and the population will be reduced by nature--by war, starvation, disease, ethnic cleansing and other horrors
Subsistence Farming
By Peter Goodchild
Agriculture will have to become more localized, and it will be necessary to reconsider less-advanced forms of technology that might be called “subsistence farming.” The following notes are based on a North American perspective, in particular my own experience in farming, but they can be applied more generally to conditions in other parts of the world
Small Steps Offer No Respite From Climate Effects
By Prof. Kevin Anderson
Professor Kevin Anderson, the director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, evaluates the outcome of the UN climate summit in Cancun and argues that success at next year's negotiations will not compensate for "failure" at previous talks
Why You Should Be Worried Of Enviropig
By Devinder Sharma
There is more trouble brewing on the farm front. This time it is going to hit you too. Scientists at the University of Guelph in Canada claim to have developed a genetically modified pig, very cleverly named as "Enviropig", which actually has been designed to reduce the cost of production for the industrial pig farms
India And World Threatened By
US-led Shale Gas Fracking
By Dr Gideon Polya
India has huge shale gas deposits and for the sake of India and the Planet Indians must ensure that this gas is not exploited – it represents a huge threat to India and to Humanity
Urgent Need For Zapatista Supporters
To Spread Truth
The EZLN and the Other Campaign deny involvement to all forms of kidnapping
Illnesses Linked To BP Oil Disaster
By Dahr Jamail
Doctor attributes widespread sickness to toxic chemicals from the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe
2011: The Year Lebanon Allows Palestinians
Some Elementary Civil Rights?
By Franklin Lamb
Hopefully, all of Lebanon’s politicians and parties, along with the international community, will assure that 2011, is not just the year of the Rabbit, but the year that Palestinian refugees in Lebanon secured the internationally mandated elementary rights to work and to own a home
Help! Racism!
By Michal Schwartz
Israel is caught in internal contradictions without a strategy to solve them – except burying its head in the sand. As a result, it is slowly losing its Jewish majority and being pushed to racism against a growing number of groups. Day by day, Israel is losing its legitimacy in the international community
Permanent Debt Bondage From
America's Student Loan Racket
By Stephen Lendman
Today's higher education means crushing debt burdens at a time systemic high unemployment and fewer good jobs make repaying them onerous to impossible. America's ownership society is heartless, favoring capital, not popular interests, a policy with strong bipartisan support
Israel's Knesset Targets Leftist Organizations
By Stephen Lendman
On January 5, Israel's Knesset, by a 47 - 16 vote, approved forming a parliamentary committee to investigate leftist Israeli organizations
Lanny Davis: Lobbyist For Despots
By Stephen Lendman
His entire Capitol Hill history is as "consistent as it is sleazy," the more sleaze, in fact, the more compensation. The hard-right Israel Project hired him to defend Israel's Cast Lead onslaught against Gaza, calling it Israel's "right to self-defense against terrorism," when clearly it was preemptive illegal aggression
Waging War On American Workers
By Stephen Lendman
Target one is America's middle class, endangered after decades of wealth shifts to super-rich elites besides most high-pay, good benefit jobs, offshored to cheap labor markets - a policy Washington's duopoly endorses. It's the most serious threat to middle America since attacks began in the 1970s
Shield Act Targets First Amendment Freedoms
By Stephen Lendman
The Shield Act targets whistleblowers, amends the 1917 Espionage Act, criminalizes free speech, and compromises the public's right to know how their elected officials govern. Suppressing truth is the first step toward tyranny. America is hurtling toward it as well as third world status and ruin
Stressed Out Punjabi Migrants Adopt
Disturbing Behavioural Tendencies - Part I
By Rajiv Kunwar
The following write-up is based on Rajiv Kunwar's research paper titled “Undocumented migrants’ access to health care in Germany: Limitations and strategies” South Asia Institute, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany
VIBGYOR Film Festival To Kick Off On January 12
By Mustafa Desamangalam
The 6th edition of VIBGYOR International Documentary and Short Film Festival will kick off in Thrissur, Kerala state, India on 12th January
My Father Died For Pakistan
By Shehrbano Taseer
My father believed that the strict blasphemy laws instituted by General Zia have been frequently misused and ought to be changed. His views were widely misrepresented to give the false impression that he had spoken against Prophet Mohammad. This was untrue, and a criminal abdication of responsibility by his critics, who must now think about what they have caused to happen. According to the authorities, my father’s stand on the blasphemy law was what drove Mr. Qadri to kill him
Remembering Safdar Hashmi And Salman Taseer
By Raja Jaikrishan
The assassination of Safdar Hashmi And Salman Taseer took place in different circumstances but both reveal similar intolerance to truth
Debating Azadi In Kashmir
By Meha Dixit
After interacting with a number of Kashmiri people in Srinagar, which included locals from Anantnag, Baramulla, Kupwara and Shopian, I feel Kashmiris define Azadi differently from one another, some want independence from India, for some demilitarisation is Azadi, while for some Azadi is synonymous with Aman and Chain (peace and peace of mind), some are confused about the concept of Azadi and some are reluctant to discuss anything concerning Azadi due to the fear and insecurity which plagues the state. But most are unanimous in their views when it comes to demilitarisation of Kashmir, which is imperative to bring about normalcy in the state
Breakthrough Development In
Hindutva Terror Network Investigation
By Tehelka
Tehelka scoops Hindutva zealot Swami Aseemanand’s 42-page chilling confession before the magistrate
Swami Aseemanand's Confessions:
Its Time For An Apology
By Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Association
All those who colluded and covered up these sham investigations need to be brought to justice: those in the intelligence agencies, officers of the police and security agencies, political bosses et al . The Hyderabad Joint Commissioner of Police (Administration) Harish Gupta—who presided over the Mecca Masjid custodial confessions, torture and narco-analysis tests—must be held accountable. As must be each and every police officer who participated in this charade of investigation
HIV Stigma Index Project Rolled Out
By Syed Ali Mujtaba
Much of what we know about the stigma attached to HIV, and resulting discrimination, is anecdotal or fragmented, and does not include the perspectives of people living with HIV. In order to address this issue a research initiative for people living with HIV Stigma Index is rolled in the Tamil Nadu State of India
Public Discourse In The Media:
Corporate Citizen's Ideological Avatars
By Rajesh Kumar Sharma
Like porn, public discourse in the media is seductive, addictive, repetitive, and banal. But I suspect that its ideological function -in our society at least- is far more baneful than that of porn. The compulsions of 24X7 reporting and the collateral lust to be breaking some news all the time leave the media no moments of leisure to examine its life and the way it makes a living
The Leftist Hypocrisy Behind “Church Act”
By Johny Plathottam
Kerala holds the unique history of electing the first ever communist government in the world. It is also history that the Church and other reactionary elements in Kerala society ganged up against the government to bring it down through the infamous "Liberation Struggle." Now the same communist government is pandering to these same reactionary elements by withholding the potentially path breaking "Church Act"
05 January, 2011
One Family In Gaza
By Jen Marlowe
Palestinians in Gaza are depicted either as violent terrorists or as helpless victims. The Awajah family challenges both portrayals. Through one family’s story, the larger tragedy of Gaza is exposed, and the courage and resilience of its people shines through- A Must Watch Video
Our Story
By Dr. Mustafa Barghouti
The story of the Palestinian people; the history, the present, the future as told By Dr. Mustafa barghouti
Hopes Of Gaza Cast In Lead
By Richard Falk
Israel is gearing up for another major offensive into Gaza, yet the world community still remains bafflingly silent
Besieged Gaza Two Years After Cast Lead
By Stephen Lendman
December 28 was Cast Lead's second anniversary, a three week onslaught inflicting an appalling human, destructive and environmental toll. The war ended. Regular attacks continued, and Gaza remains suffocating under siege. Yet world leaders are doing nothing to end it or hold Israeli war criminals accountable
Harvard Business Review Touts
“Shared Value” For Economic Transformation
By Tom Stephens
The January – February 2011 issue of the Harvard Business Review contains an article by Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer entitled “Creating Shared Value.” This article, in spite of some presumably well-intentioned suggestions for reform, and particularly in light of the Harvard Economics Department's gross intellectual and ethical deficiencies revealed by “Inside Job,” raises the question of whether highly qualified scholars connected to this august academic institution are superficial analysts, or merely fumbling apologists for predatory corporate greed and piracy
Annabel Melongo: Victimized And Imprisoned
By Stephen Lendman
In May 2006, Melongo was bogusly charged and arrested for computer tampering and eavesdropping without consent - the former accusation based solely on Save-A-Life Foundation (SALF) founder, Carol Spizzirri, a woman exposed as a liar
Maternal, Neonatal Deaths In
Barwani District Hospital
By Abhay Shukla , Indira Chakravarthi & Rinchin
Nine maternal deaths have been recorded in this hospital in the month of November 2010 alone . In addition, deaths of 21 neonates (within 24 hours of birth) have been recorded, related to 511 deliveries conducted in the hospital during November 2010
04 January, 2011
Israel’s Deadly Tear Gas Made in USA
By Ira Chernus
But these canisters, and the Israeli soldiers who shoot them, don't discriminate against Palestinians. American-made tear gas canisters are used against American citizens too
Is Israel Using Lethal Tear Gas
To Disperse Demonstrations?
By Tania Kepler
Some of the tear gas canisters used by the Israeli military are manufactured by the American company Combined Systems Inc., which is based in Jamestown, Pennsylvania. While Combined Systems Inc. and the Israeli military maintain that the canisters being used are non-lethal, on its product notes Combined Systems recommends the use of a full face respirator with organic filter cartridge, or self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for those deploying the canisters
The First Martyr Of The New Year
By Dr. Chandra Muzaffar
Should we be surprised that the first martyr of the year is a Palestinian?
‘The Left Has Nowhere To Go’
By Chris Hedges
“The more outrageous the Republicans become, the weaker the left becomes,” Nader said when I reached him at his home in Connecticut on Sunday. “The more outrageous they become, the more the left has to accept the slightly less outrageous corporate Democrats.”
Tweeting Away The Time
By Ralph Nader
When our time feels overwhelmed and the marketers are banging on our doors for more time claims, what time is there left for necessary solitude, for family and other socializing, for kids playing outside instead of being addicted to indoor screens, even at dinner, for, excuse the words, reflection and contemplation?
Washington’s 30-Year High
By Tom Engelhardt
Sooner than later, Washington, the Pentagon, and the U.S. military will have to enter rehab. They desperately need a 12-step program for recovery. Until then, the delusions and the madness that go with surge addiction are not likely to end
People's Media At Work In Afghanistan
By Mike Ferner
At four in the morning on New Year’s Day, 2011, a group of young Afghan peace makers and their much-older U.S. colleagues huddled around a laptop computer in this city, to begin a 24-hour conversation with people from all over the world. They called their project “Dear Afghanistan” and as phone-a-thons go, it, and a similar one they did December 19, 2010, may well be the first of a kind
Engels On Capital And Surplus Value
By Thomas Riggins
In chapters seven and eight of part two of Anti-Dühring ("Capital and Surplus Value"), Engels continues his role as Marx's bulldog. Again, Herr Dühring has gone too far in his criticisms of Marx and must be put in his place by sounder judgment and sharper intellect
Israel's Barbaric Solitary Confinement
By Stephen Lendman
The Addameer Prisoners' Support and Human Rights Association explains that since 1967, over 650,000 Palestinians were detained, over 20% of the entire population and about 40% of all males. Many spend time in isolation as a form of cruel and unusual punishment. Nearly all experience torture, including children. Many are uncharged but are brutalized anyway
Electromagnetic Frequency Mind Control Weapons
By Stephen Lendman
Among other applications, EMF weapons/devices are used for harassment, surveillance and mind control. Agencies like the Pentagon, CIA and NSA use them to monitor people, manipulate their minds, harm, and at times kill them. The Navy Times called them the "most feared and controversial weapon(s) of (the) modern age."
China's "Secret" War Plan Revealed
By US Magazine
By Sherwood Ross
China's “SECRET WAR PLAN” (Be amazed!) has leaked out and fallen into the hands of none other than “Popular Mechanics”(PM) magazine, which plastered it on the cover of its December issue. How this TOP SECRET info got into the hands of the intrepid editors at Hearst Publishing in New York on west 57th Street in Manhattan is not disclosed
We Will Not Go Down, For The Gaza Tonight
By Kourosh Ziabari
Now, two years have passed and we still remember the pains and quandaries of the Palestinian nation and the people of Gaza. As the Syrian-American musician Michael Heart narrated in his song, "we will not go down, for the Gaza tonight."
"Breaking News”: America Blindsided Again
By Timothy V. Gatto
In reality, the majority of the members of the House and Senate, whether they are Republican or Democrat, never wanted to remove those tax-breaks in the first place. Almost every member of Congress is a millionaire or will be soon. Their greatest political allies are the people that finance their campaigns. It is those people that call the shots. The simple question to ask yourself is why would a wealthy person finance the campaign of a politician that raised your taxes and took more of your money?
Corruption Rises In Pakistani Kashmir
By Zafar Iqbal
The misconduct of political elite and top government functionaries suggests that Pakistan Administered Jammu & Kashmir (PAJK), commonly known as Azad (free) Kashmir, is literally free from the burden of all rules, regulations and laws
Should Binayak Sen’s Wife Seek Asylum?
By Farzana Versey
Binayak and Ilina Sen have gone way beyond the schisms created by superficially-sanctified ‘isms’. Their fight is not to prove their innocence but the guilt of the state. It can only be done within the shores of their own country and among the people whose lives they sought to make better
K. Sudarshan, RSS Ideology
And Scandalous Statements
By Ram Puniyani
When RSS sees a Sonia Gandhi, at the helm of affairs of the major rival party, they do not see a person, an Indian citizen, they only see a Christian. Sudarshan, a die hard RSS ideologue, is merely telling us the details of RSS belief system. And of course Sudarshan is the one who has headed RSS for nearly a decade and has been with this organization he served for close to five decades! Who can tell us more about RSS belief system than him?
03 January, 2011
2011: The Year We’ll Hit 7 Billion
By Lisa Hymas
Sometime in the latter half of this year, the world population will hit a new milestone: 7 billion people. Already? Didn't we just hit 6 billion? Yep, a mere dozen years ago -- and that's probably the last time you heard much about population
The Real Population Problem
By Jay Kimball
Population has grown beyond the Carrying Capacity of the earth. Increasing demand for critical resources (energy, water, food, land, …) reduces Carrying Capacity further, and accelerates decline exponentially. Climate is changing, pollution growing, species extinction accelerating. And our ability to work cooperatively to meet these challenges is failing. This is not sustainable. How do we break the vicious spiral?
Carrying Capacity and Limiting Factors(PDF)
By Randolph Femmer
This document addresses carrying capacities and limiting factors. Imagine our planet as a global bus. If a bus has enough seats for fifty passengers, we would all agree that we could crowd a few extra persons on board in an emergency. But how many extras could the vehicle accommodate? What if 291 passengers climb aboard, or 937, or 7428?
Living Better In 'The Finite World'
By Craig A. Severance
Nobel winning economist Paul Krugman posted a tantalizing New York Times column this week entitled The Finite World. I say "tantalizing" because Krugman came very close to challenging the economic profession's central dogma -- the assumption of endless and infinite economic growth -- but in the end he backed away
Asian Aid Convoy Reaches Gaza Strip
By Press TV
An aid convoy carrying food and medical supplies for the besieged Palestinians, as part of an Asian aid mission, has arrived in the Gaza Strip. The Asia to Gaza Solidarity Caravan, (Asia 1) entered the coastal strip through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Monday
“Greatest Nation” Rhetoric Roars Back
By Robert Jensen
This expression of American exceptionalism is unexceptional in U.S. political history, but it roared back stronger than ever in 2010, especially in the rhetoric of the Tea Party movement. As it becomes harder to ignore the United States' decline as an economic power -- which will limit the capacity for imperial marauding around the world -- the inclination of most mainstream politicians to assert our greatness will intensify
Wikileaks: Israel Plans Total War
On Lebanon, Gaza
By Juan Cole
The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten has summarized an Israeli military briefing by Israeli Chief of Staff Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi of a US congressional delegation a little over a year ago. The paper says that US cables quote Ashkenazi telling the US congressmen, “I’m preparing the Israeli army for a major war, since it is easier to scale down to a smaller operation than to do the opposite.”
Lucasville Five Hunger Strike Begins
By Angola 3 News
An interview with author Staughton Lynd
Islamophobia In Western Media
By Stephen Lendman
Post-9/11, Western media, especially in America and Britain, describe Muslims as fundamentalists, extremists, terrorists, and fanatics. Throughout the West, Islam is identified with violence, when, in fact it has common roots with Christianity and Judaism. Their tenets are based on love, not hate; peace, not violence; charity, not exploitation; and a just, fair society for people of all faiths. You'd never know it from Islamophobic media reports
‘Backward Muslims Are Not Creating Any
New Caste Divisions’: Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz
By Mohd. Noor Hasan Azad & Khalid Anis Ansari
Mohammad Noor Hasan Azad, one of the founding members of the All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz, discusses the contemporary lower caste movement among Indian Muslims
02 January, 2011
Angry New Year Dr Binayak Sen!
By Satya Sagar
As the New Year of 2011 rolls in it will already be an entire week inside a cold and harsh Raipur prison for Dr Binayak Sen. For many of us the conviction of this well-known health and human rights activist by a local court in Chattisgarh for ‘sedition’ and ‘conspiracy’ has made it impossible to mouth clichés like ‘Happy New Year’ to anyone anymore. It is really more an ‘Angry New Year’ and that will remain our greeting till Dr Sen is released
New Year's Day 1/1/11 Message:
Equal Shares on Our One Planet
By Dr Gideon Polya
The primary New Year's Resolution of all decent people around the World must be to (a) inform, everyone they can about the acute threat to Humanity and (b) urge and apply Sanctions and Boycotts against the climate criminal people, politicians, corporations and countries of the climate genocidal US Alliance. Peace is the only way but silence kills and silence is complicity. Acute concerns for Humanity, the Biosphere, our children, grandchildren, and intergenerational equity oblige us to take such action to help save the Planet before it is too late
Are You Ready For The Revolution?
By Mickey Z.
Being a revolutionary needn't require one to sleep till noon , dress entirely in black, and sport a rail-thin, heroin addict physique. Then again, neither should Michael Moore ever serve as anyone's role model for healthy rebellion. If you agree that fitness— both mental and physical —is a crucial component for any serious subversive, read on…
Bombs Make No Moral Distinctions
Where They Fall
By Robert Fisk
War crimes? Of course, we can all make moral assessments. Eliminated in the most humane way... The Taliban are not as bad as the Nazis. But they are much worse than the Danes. Isn't that right? What is this life?
The First Martyr Of 2011
And Where We Go From Here
By Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
We were devastated to hear the news of the first martyr in 2011 being none other than Jawaher, the sister of the martyr Bassem Abu Rahma from Bil’in. Jawaher fainted in yesterday’s demonstration but died apparently of this toxic tear gas (a much stronger version with unknown chemicals than used in the West)
Apology For The Iraq War: The Disrespect,
Humiliation And Dishonor Of War
By Mary Hamer
The Iraq War is an example of the Violence of the human race to humans, animals, ecosystems & the Earth. We have killed & maimed people in Iraq, destroyed ecosystems , killed animals polluted the air, water & land of Iraq , consumed enormous amounts of scarce natural resources for this war including oil, mutated the gene pool of unborn Iraqis & destroyed a civilization & I cry an eternal cry
Last Chance For Venezuela's Revolution?
By Shamus Cooke
For all the positive things Chavez has accomplished as President, he is in danger of becoming another Salvador Allende -- a martyr whose death ushered in a right-wing dictatorship
Why Inequality Matters
By Ann Robertson & Bill Leumer
The U.S. social and economic landscape is rapidly changing. Inequalities in wealth, which began an upward ascent back in the 1980s, accelerated in the 1990s. Now they are flying off the charts, thanks first to the tax cuts ushered in by Bush II and second to Obama’s recent continuation of those tax cuts, plus more, which have the effect of taking from the working class and poor in order to give to the rich
Hail To The Thief: The New York Times
Defends Mikhail Khodorkovsky
By Stephen Lendman
No broadsheet is more hypocritical than The Times, tainted by decades of supporting wealth, corporate interests, and imperial wars. Daily, its agenda is visible, arrogantly supporting power over popular interests, even mega-criminals deserving condemnation. Indeed, truth and fairness were never NYT long suits. Nor America's
Saxena Committee Report Falls Apart
By Campaign for Survival and Dignity
The report identifies the forest bureaucracy as a major problem. In itself, this is welcome. But when it comes to what should be done about these problems, and especially about MoEF and the forest bureaucracy, the report falls apart
The Accidental Indian And Ignorance
By Farzana Versey
Why is Venkatraman Ramakrishnan messing around in Indian political matters while denying it?
01 January, 2011
2011 Predictions
By Sharon Astyk
2011 is the year the food crisis comes back. We're already seeing signs of it, and I think that the number of world hungry will spike again to over a billion. Energy and food prices will remain tightly intertwined, and whether we see major price spikes, demand destruction and a collapse of energy prices, or whatever else, food and energy will be increasingly hard to afford for a large portion of the world population, from the very poorest to the American and European middle class. Food will be an important site of the emergence of our energy and ecological crisis
Wikileaks, The United States, Sweden,
And Devil's Island
By William Blum
The Wikileaks documents may not produce any world-changing revelations, but every day they are adding to the steady, gradual erosion of people's belief in the US government's good intentions, which is necessary to overcome a lifetime of indoctrination
Any Respect For International Law
Left In The US Congress?
By Franklin Lamb
Currently, there is only a faint hint that Members of Congress, 83% of whom rely on Israeli lobby or arms industry political action committee money to keep their seats and sinecures, have the gumption to advocate a U.S. policy, consistent with American notions of substantial justice or which upholds Palestinian rights as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Interim Forever!
By Uri Avnery
In practice, it is Netanyahu himself who is holding up the negotiations, because he refuses to freeze the settlements and he demands that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a “Jewish state”. And even if negotiations were resumed, they would soon come up against a wall, because of our government’s attitude towards East Jerusalem and the borders. So what remains? Interim forever!
Haiti's Elections: Illegitimately Recounting Fraud
By Stephen Lendman
Haiti's November 28 elections were irremediably fraudulent, farcical and outrageous. The entire process was rigged. New elections, including all excluded parties, are essential, but not planned. Instead, so-called independent OAS experts began recounting verification to legitimize fraud
Toilers’ Torturous Time: A Glimpse Only
By Farooque Chowdhury
Labor, symbolized by the Chilean miners, stood as ever unvanquished in the days just left behind. Labor also paid high prices during the period, symbolized by the Bangladesh garments workers, who died in a fire incident. Labor the world over is passing days with declining wage in actual terms, facing persecution for demanding implementation of rights essential for its survival
Unity In 2011
By Timothy V. Gatto
I see a year coming that will not be much different than the one we just went through. The only way I see the American Middle Class surviving is if we stop this transfer of wealth from the Middle Class to the rich. So far, since 2008, it has been the largest transfer of wealth in history. The only way that the American Middle Class will survive is if we act in unity. The two political parties that are in power will do nothing for those that don’t have the money to pay for it
10 Great Progressive Moments Of 2010
By Mary Shaw
Here are my 10 favorite political moments of 2010, in chronological order
Debating Jihad
By Yoginder Sikand
Contrary to popularly held views about jihad is what some Muslim scholars insist is the true Quranic understanding of the term: struggle or sincere and sustained efforts in the path of God. Such jihadic struggles and efforts, they point out, need not necessarily be directed against non-Muslims, and they are also not necessarily all violen
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