30 June , 2011
Brace Yourselves For The Next Oil Price Shock
By Dave Cohen
Looking at the oil supply & demand fundamentals, next year looks like an accident waiting to happen. If economic growth in emerging economies remains on track, and that is a big If, the next oil price shock will occur in 2012
How Not To Play The Game
By John Michael Greer
The declining years of a rich and powerful society resemble nothing so much as a game of musical chairs in which, in the end, all the chairs will be taken away. What’s the winning strategy in a game in which everyone inevitably loses sooner or later? That’s a simpler question than it sounds: the way to win is not to play the game
Displaced Women Demand Justice
In Port au Prince
By Bill Quigley & Jocelyn Brooks
The Haitian government is using force to try to force thousands to leave camps without providing any place for people to go. The people are fighting back
Tale of Two Moral Questions : Orissa Government
And US Supreme Court Don't see Eye To Eye
By Sadanand Patwardhan
It is now time for each one of us to answer the two questions. 1. Should we allow our children to be part of our peaceful protest, which our government most likely will turn into a bloody mayhem? 2. Should we prohibit our children from accessing violent & sexually explicit video games?
Orissa: Brutalities Cannot Be Forgotten
By Deba Ranjan
The Orissa government has a history of police firing, brutality and torture. The assault intensifies if people come in the way of the interest of corporates. Anti-Posco, anti- Tata, anti- Vedanta and anti- Aditya Birla resistances in different parts of Orissa are examples. So, we are in a police state in the post-economic reform-Orissa. The State's behaviour with Dhinkia and Govindpur villagers is another example of the same attitude
Empowering The Poor Through
Participatory Development
By Prahlad Shekhawat
Processes of participation and genuine democracy have been neglected, wherein the excluded and the needy are able to decide in an informed manner what is important for them, Participation and democracy are both a means as well as ends of development and social progress
The Business Of America Is War
By Stephen Lendman
Noted trends analyst Gerald Celente said it, and it's true. In fact, America's business is war, more war, multiple wars, permanent wars, pillaging one nation after another for wealth, power, and dominance, while homeland needs go begging
28 June , 2011
“After You Brother!” Qadaffi Stays
And Obama Leaves?
By Franklin Lamb
The 6/27/11 International Criminal Courts (ICC) arrest warrants issued for Muammar Gadhafi, his son Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, and Libya intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanoussi, however pleasing to the “rebels” and NATO, probably won’t have much effect on negotiating a settlement between the two camps and certainly the warrants will not facilitate a voluntary regime change
Warnings From The Central Bankers’ Bank
By Nick Beams
The rot and decay at the heart of the global financial system is deepening and extending. This is the conclusion to emerge from the annual report of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released on Sunday
New Mexico Is Burning With Potential For
Nuclear Contamination
By Subhankar Banerjee
My home state, New Mexico is right now burning dangerously with the Las Conchas Fire. And, we have the potential for nuclear contamination. Here is a report from home
The Shrinking Pie: The End Of “Development”?
By Richard Heinberg
Urbanization, the industrialization of food systems, and the building of highways may have contributed to GDP over the short term, but they have created societal vulnerability over the longer term. In a world of Peak Oil, scarce fresh water, unstable currencies, changing climate, and declining trade, true “development” may require implementation of policies at odds with—sometimes the very reverse of—those of recent decades
Staying Human: Preparing To Sail To Gaza
By Kathy Kelly
We hope we will be allowed through to Gaza, we hope that the siege will be lifted, and that in this time when humankind can so little afford the nightmares of greed and ignorance that rend the Middle East and that render our leaders incapable of uniting to address ever-more desperate, ever-more-frightening global crises, we as a species, one with no assurance of its perpetual survival, will somehow find some way to stay human
Who Is Making Them Cry?
By Gladson Dungdung
The 64 years of Indian independence has added more pains, sufferings and sorrows in the lives of majority of its people. The Indian state instead of healing the pains, sufferings and sorrows of the old-men, it turned their lives into a hell. Their cultivable lands were taken away from them by the ‘mighty state’ with the barrel of guns in the name of growth and development
Police Comes Knocking To Intimidate ANHAD
By Shabnam Hashmi
Two policemen came knocking at Anhad office from Shahpur police station, Gujarat around 2pm. State coordinator Manisha Trivedi was present at the office.They intimidated her by saying that Anhad is doing anti-state activities
FBI Entraps Two More Muslims
By Stephen Lendman
By now, the familiar storyline sounds more like a film plot than criminal indictment, especially when Muslims are involved, and the most recent case repeats the same scenario used last December
27 June , 2011
Releasing Strategic Petroleum Reserves:
Will It Work?
By Kurt Cobb
With no real production capacity, the world's holders of such reserves are merely draining away their rainy day fund of fuel in what is likely to turn out to be a futile effort to manipulate the oil markets and save the economy from another steep decline
Strategic Petroleum Reserve Release:
A Critical Look
By Stuart Staniford
If it turns out to be a bridge to nowhere, then there are going to be hard choices between stopping the flow of oil (thus sharply raising prices again), or continuing to drain the strategic reserves for an indefinite length of time
The Energy Landscape Of 2041
By Michael T. Klare
A 30-year war for energy preeminence? You wouldn’t wish it even on a desperate planet. But that’s where we’re headed and there’s no turning back
Collapse: The Practical Paradigms
By Peter Goodchild
The entire global economy is collapsing, although very few people are aware of this: mainly the very rich and the highly educated. By understanding this, one becomes a member of the illuminati oneself, or if not at least an enlightened refugee
The Day The Earth Stood Nil
By Rand Clifford
Could human intelligence be a lethal mutation? Catastrophes spawned by Earth's most intelligent species suggest not only self-extinction, but annihilation of countless other species. Is the apparent disconnect between cleverness and wisdom primarily a human characteristic, and if so, what are the chances of human wisdom catching up with human cleverness?
Can You Pass The US Inequality Quiz?
By Jeffrey Rudolph
The following quiz is intended to bring more depth to the issue of capitalism and inequality by providing historical context and international comparison. The conclusion is heartening: the US can be made both more just and more productive—indeed, it once was
US Working And Middle Class: Solidarity
Or Competition In The Face Of Crisis?
By James Petras
The near extinction of private sector unionism and the moribund millionaire leadership provides an opportunity to start anew with a horizontal leadership, accountable to the membership and integrated with community based co-op, ecologist, immigrant, consumer based organizations
“… America 's Singular Role In The Course Of
Human Events”
By William A. Cook
In effect, Obama seeks compliance and obedience to his determination that “America's singular role in the course of human events,” as determined by his administration, will be the only principled response to the world that questions America's “role” and the citizens that find this myth of America repugnant, unacceptable and destructive
One Million Post-9-11 US- And UK-Complicit
Opiate Drug Deaths
By Dr Gideon Polya
Global deaths from US Alliance restoration of the Taliban-destroyed Afghan opium industry now total about 1 million
Private Contractors Making A Killing
Off The Drug War
By Cyril Mychalejko
As tens of thousands of corpses continue to pile up as a result of the US-led "War on Drugs" in Latin America, private contractors are benefiting from lucrative federal counternarcotics contracts amounting to billions of dollars, without worry of oversight or accountability
Back In Gaza And Little Has Changed
By Eva Bartlett
A year on, in this enclosed 40-something km strip of land flanked by the Mediterranean sea, I notice some things have changed, but the big picture hasn’t
Breaching Gaza's Siege
By Stephen Lendman
Israel keeps exerting pressure to block humanitarian efforts to deliver vital to life and other essential aid to besieged Gazans. Endorsing Israeli lawlessness, the State Department issued a June 22- Travel Warning - Israel, the West Bank and Gaza
Israel Toughening Conditions For
Palestinian Detainees
By Stephen Lendman
Clearly, Israel, America, Greece, and perhaps other co-conspirator nations will stoop to anything to keep Gazans under siege, endorsing slow-motion genocide to ruthlessly suffocate them
Shubbak And The Mysterious
Disappearance Of Iraq
By Worod Al Musawi
Iraq has been mysteriously left out from the Arab cultural festival "Shubbak" being celebrated in London
Syria: CIA, M16, French, Mossad, Saudi
Involvement Unreported In Imperialist Media
By Jay Janson
What is unfolding in Syria is an armed insurrection supported covertly by foreign powers including the US, Turkey and Israel. Armed insurgents belonging to Islamist organizations have crossed the border from Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. The US State Department has confirmed that it is supporting the insurgency. A monolithic unified slant media cartelrestricts reports to indiscriminate killing of civilian protesters by Syrian government
Russell, Mao And The Fate Of China
By Thomas Riggins
A crititique of Bertrand Russell's book "The Problem of China"
Widers's Acquittal – What Message Is Netherlands
Sending To The World?
By Dr. Habib Siddiqui
Just as expected of a sham process, on 23 June 2011, Wilders was acquitted of all charges, with Judge Marcel van Oosten noting that his statements, although "gross and denigrating," had not given rise to hatred against Muslims, and as such were "acceptable within the context of public debate."
Police Resume Drive To Take Over
Land For POSCO
By Prashant Paikray
Around 3 PM today, the police again gone back from the protest site. However our people are in high alert. The police may again come back tomorrow. In the morning, the administration re-deployed hundreds of policemen and staged a flag march near Govindpur village boarder
Resuming Pak-India Talks:
A Ray Of Hope For Pacifists
By Rahil Yasin
Resuming foreign secretary level talks between Pakistan and India is not less than a sigh of relief for the pacifists as they know that only the continuous dialogue process can lead the two arch rivals towards resolution of the outstanding issues
SP : Legacy Of Ethics And Courage In The Media
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Surendra Pratap Singh or SP as he was popularly known was one of the most iconic journalists of Hindi media at the time when it was opening up to new realities of television journalism. At the time when media particularly the vernacular media and its journalists were openly hobnobbing with the Hindutva lobby in the corporate and enjoyed the patronage, he was sharply different and committed to the profession of journalism
25 June , 2011
Oceans On Brink Of Catastrophe
By Michael McCarthy
The world's oceans are faced with an unprecedented loss of species comparable to the great mass extinctions of prehistory, according to the report, from a panel of leading marine scientists brought together in Oxford earlier this year by the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
If The Sea Is In Trouble, We Are All In Trouble
By Sylvia Earle
The ocean is a living system that makes our lives possible. Even if you never see the ocean, your life depends on its existence. With every breath you take, every drop of water you drink, you are connected to the sea
The Oceans May Have Already Passed
Breaking Point
By Jean-Luc Solandt
For all of the points raised in the report, this isn’t a question of ‘conservation for conservation’s sake’, but a fundamental necessity for the continued provision of vital life support for the population, of human and other living beings, that inhabit our ‘blue planet’. The oceans may have already passed breaking point; if that’s the case, we would never know – with scientific precision – until it is too late
Japan’s Meltdowns Demand
New No-Nukes Thinking
By Amy Goodman
New details are emerging that indicate the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan is far worse than previously known, with three of the four affected reactors experiencing full meltdowns. Meanwhile, in the U.S., massive flooding along the Missouri River has put Nebraska’s two nuclear plants, both near Omaha, on alert
Wealth Of World’s Richest Rose
Nearly 10 Percent In 2010
By Chris Marsden
Austerity measures, wage cuts and rising unemployment have characterised the years since the crash of 2008 for working people. For the rich and super-rich, however, they have been the occasion for clawing back every penny of the initial losses made and adding a great deal more
Lies Our Leaders Tell Us –
“Nobody Could Have Predicted”
By William Hicks
We can say Peak Oil gained mainstream acceptance when we hear our political leaders start uttering the phrase: “Nobody could have predicted…”
The Diamond Industry’s
Double-Standard On Israel
By Seán Clinton
Diamonds are Israel’s number one export commodity. The Israeli diamond industry contributes about $1 billion annually to the Israeli military and security industries. Every time somebody buys a diamond that was exported from Israel some of that money ends up in the Israeli military
Violating Palestinian Rights
By Stephen Lendman
Besides its Knesset, security forces and intelligence services, Israel's High Court and Civil Administration ravage Palestinian civil society repressively
Relevance Of V.P.Singh And His Politics
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
To understand V.P.Singh, one needs to see his campaign and political strategies. He might have weakness like any other politician but he had conviction. At this moment, when we suffer from the hyper Hindutva and an aggressive upper caste lead Congress Party, we really miss this space of opposition which V.P. had the capacity to unite and organize. He was an elderly statesman who could have united the forces of social justice and secularism
24 June , 2011
Freedom Riding To Gaza
By David Swanson
Fifty years ago, freedom riders traveled by bus into the U.S. South. Now American freedom riders are joining their allies from around the world on a flotilla bound for Gaza. The U.S. ship is called The Audacity of Hope
US State Dept. Threatens Activists With 'Fines
Or Incarceration' If They Proceed To Gaza
By Reuters
The United States on Friday warned activists against plans to send a new aid flotilla to challenge Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, saying it would be irresponsible and dangerous
State Department Officials Have An Obligation
To Speak Out Against Israeli Threats
To Attack U.S. Boat To Gaza
By The passengers of The Audacity of Hope
U.S. Boat To Gaza Responds To State Dept. Warning
A Letter To Ban Ki-moon
By Mairead Maguire, Rigoberta Menchu Tum,
Jody Williams & Shirin Ebadi
We urge you to do all you can to support this nonviolent international humanitarian effort, to provide UN representatives to inspect and seal the cargo, and to appeal to all governments to allow safe passage of the Freedom Flotilla II
With The Gaza Aid Flotilla
By Joseph Dana
According to flotilla organizers, who are reticent about their sources, Israel has been meeting with Greek officials in a bid to persuade them to block Gaza-bound ships leaving from their ports. Israel, organizers say, could use economic incentives at a delicate time of EU-imposed austerity to put pressure on Athens
"The West Is Terrified Of Arabic Democracies''
By Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky is one of the major intellectuals of our time. The eighty-two-year-old American linguist, philosopher and activist is a severe critic of US foreign and economic policy. Ceyda Nurtsch talked to him about the Arabic spring in its global context
Imperialism 101
By Michael Parenti
Chapter 1 of Against Empire by Michael Parenti
Defining 'Withdrawal' From Afghanistan
By FAIR
Media's selective memory on Obama escalations
Permanent US Iraq And Afghanistan
Occupations Planned
By Stephen Lendman
A large US presence will remain permanently. Drone and other air attacks will continue, killing civilians called militants. Obama's duplicity is politically motivated with November 2012 in mind to assure enough support for reelection despite falling approval ratings
Land Acquisition Temporarily Halted
At POSCO Project Area
By POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti
Due to our continuous protest, and visits of various national and state level leaders, the Jagatsinghpur district administration temporarily suspended land acquisition. But we all need to alert that at any point of time, the government may resume the forceful acquisition of our land
Conflict Induced Infertility In Kashmiri Women
By Ibrahim Wani
Conflict induced stress is not only taking a toll on mental health in Kashmir but also causing reproductive problems and disorders in young men and women
Food Security: Path To Hell They Say Is
Paved With Good Intentions
By Devinder Sharma
I am being asked repeatedly to comment on the proposed draft bill on food security prepared by the National Advisory Council. Here is my general response
The New Sicarii
By Dan Lieberman
Since the Sicarii now have the occupation forces on their side, it becomes obvious they will be more threatening. In ancient times, their efforts contributed to the destruction of Jerusalem. Now it could be the entire Middle East
Obama Forfeits Peace Prize - A Satire
By Robert S. Becker
A satirical take on the recent statements by the war monger Obama
An Open Letter From Detroit To
US Secretary Of Education Arne Duncan
By Tom Stephens
US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan labeled Detroit "ground zero" in education reform by video conference. He pointed out that Detroit students have posted the worst scores in the nation in math, reading and science, levels that shocked local and national education officials. Duncan said those results, on the National Assessment of Educational Progress Trial Urban District Assessment, caused some to view the city as having "no viable future if the status quo is allowed to stand."
Greenwashing
By Marianne de Nazareth
Greenwashing everything is fashionable today but please scratch below the surface!
Economy Alone Fails To Explain Turkey’s Success
By Rammzy Baroud
It is essential that the Turkish experience is not reduced to only charts and numbers delineating economic growth. Some very wealthy countries are politically restless. The success of the Turkish model supersedes the economy to sensible political governance, democracy, the revitalization of civil society and its many institutions
Tintin In Belgian Political Wilderness
By Farooque Chowdhury
A bourgeois democracy without an elected government
Out Of The Wilders: The Anti-Islamism
Hobby Horse
By Farzana Versey
It was indeed “a beautiful day” as Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician, wrote after being acquitted for hate speech against Islam. It was a beautiful day not because it was a victory for freedom of speech, but because what Wilders has been doing is akin to sowing wild oats. One should hope he has now got his hormonal kicks and can get down to real political debate
The Media's Obsession With Celebrities
And Ignorance Of The Common People
By Shahidur Rashid Talukdar
Be it the poor victims of Forbesganj, Irom Sharmila of Manipur, or Swami Nigamanada – the bleak face of Media apathy is same. The only reason, it seems, is these people are not famous enough for the media to take interest. Hence, their death or their suffering is not news-worthy. These faceless people are the real heroes of genuine concerns. India salutes them even though the media may not care
Make The Jan Lokpal Movement More Inclusive
By Feroze Mithiborwala & Kishore Jagtap
Make the Jan Lokpal movement more inclusive & the Lokpal body should ensure representation from all sections of society
23 June , 2011
Climate Change: It's Bad And Getting Worse
By Dahr Jamail
Severe weather events are wracking the planet, and experts warn of even greater consequences to come
Santa Isn't Bringing Gigawatts
By John Michael Greer
Through the clouds of wishful thinking that too often make up what we are pleased to call a collective conversation on the subject of energy, a ray of common sense occasionally shines through. This week’s ray came by way of a study on the Earth’s thermodynamic balance, soon to be released in no less a scientific publication than the Proceedings of the Royal Society. The study found among other things that there’s a fairly modest upper limit to the amount of energy that wind farms can extract from the atmosphere without changing the climate
The Anguish In The American Dream
By Robert Jensen
As we cope with downturns in American power in the world and the American economy at home, there is much talk about reviving, renewing, rescuing, or redefining the American Dream. We would be better off facing the anguish inherent in the American Dream. Once we recognize that the dream has always been dependent on domination, we can see more clearly our options for a just and sustainable future
How The Left And Right Can Unite
By David Korten
If we'd stop tearing each other apart, we might see an opportunity to win back our democracy from the rich and powerful
Ecological Reality Is Not What You Hypothesize
By Adrian Ayres Fisher
A Review of The Wealth of Nature: Economics as if Survival Mattered By John Michael Greer
Obama’s Afghanistan Speech:
An Exercise In Political Duplicity
By Bill Van Auken
In his nationally televised speech Thursday night, President Barack Obama announced a minimal withdrawal of US troops from the nearly decade-old war in Afghanistan. In concrete terms, Obama’s withdrawal proposal was crafted to give the US military command nearly everything it wanted, while helping him to get through his next election in 2012
On US Government's Violence And Revenge:
An Open Letter To President Obama
By Mairead Maguire
The peoples of the world are sending a clear message to you, Mr. President, and to NATO, and to all governments and armed opposition groups--military solutions to ethnic/political/economic problems no longer work. We need to end all occupations (by the U.S. in Iraq/Afghanistan, by Israel in Palestine), declare ceasefires (in Libya and elsewhere), and enter into dialogue and negotiations with all parties to end our conflicts
Nine War Words That Define Our World
By Tom Engelhardt
War has a way of turning almost anything upside down, including language. But with lost jobs, foreclosed homes, crumbling infrastructure, and weird weather, who even notices? This undoubtedly means that you’re using a set of antediluvian war words or definitions from your father’s day. It’s time to catch up
Haiti Facts Seventeen Months After Earthquake
By Bill Quigley
Haiti experienced a major earthquake January 12, 2010. Tens of thousands died, estimates range from 65,000 to 230,000 people killed. About 2 million more people were displaced. Haiti was already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with a per capita income of about $2 a day. Seventeen months later, Haiti remains deeply wounded. The numbers below give an indication of some of the challenges that remain for the Haitian people
Media Distortion, A Clear Example
By Russell Burnell
Often we talk about media bias and how the mainstream news can manipulate popular opinion. How they transmit information in a manner designed to be a benefit more for the continued enterprise of the owners and funders of the station than the viewer
Republican Debate : Stealth Agenda Of
Gingrich And Cain
By Mirza A. Beg
Some of the 2012 Republican aspirant want the United States to be under the Biblical laws, while others in an effort to dupe them are stealthily raising a bogus threat from the Sharia laws. To protect all, multi-religious as well as irreligious citizens, would it not be better to, honestly adhere to the principle of “Separation of Church and State”, no lying, no ifs and no buts?
Mumbai: Political Economy Of Crime And Space
Book Review By Anil Pundlik Gokhale
A review of "Mumbai: Political Economy Of Crime And Space" by Abdul Shaban
The Emergency: Now, Which Is Which?
By Jawed Naqvi
Were she alive Indira Gandhi would be smiling at Shining India’s state of democracy. The fact is that her dictatorial rule, which lasted all of 21 months, was a picnic compared to the subversion of civil liberties that has since eroded the country’s key institutions, often with the help of draconian laws ostensibly intended to tame terrorism
Notes On Forbesganj Violence
By Ashok Yadav & Khalid Anis Ansari
The opposition parties have conveniently chosen to underplay the link of this event with the chain of developmental violence in other jurisdictions (Singur, Nandigram, Bhatta-Parsaul, etc.). In our view, this is yet another example where the dominant discourse of communalism feeds into a hegemonic identity politics than informing any processes of a counter-hegemonic peoples’ solidarity
The Death Of The World’s Most Expensive Terrorist: US Narrative Revisited
By Protik Bardhan
Mr. Bin Laden, whom fifteen American missiles were fired to hit in Afghanistan, was only a few years ago the moral equivalent of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson! What happened in the meantime?
US-Led Terror Bombings Target Civilians
By Stephen Lendman
US air and ground operations strategically target civilians, Pentagon (and NATO) denials notwithstanding. They lie despite clear evidence refuting them. Their latest crime claimed 19 Libyans, all civilians, including women and eight children, apologies not forthcoming and deceitful when they do
22 June , 2011
Letter From October 2011 Movement To Global Allies: "Our Revolution Is Your Revolution"
By October 2011 Movement
This open letter to democracy and justice movements around the world expresses solidarity with them, recognizing that "our revolution is your revolution" because U.S. empire blocks the changes sought by people around the world. October2011.org pledges to take over Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC beginning this October6, 2011 and staying to end corporatism and militarism
NATO Attack Kills 19, Including
Women And Children
By Chris Marsden
Monday night’s air strike on a compound west of Tripoli that killed 19, including women and children, puts an end to any pretence that NATO is not deliberately targeting civilians in its ongoing bombardment of Libya
Attacking Libya -- And The Dictionary
By Jonathan Schell
If Americans don’t get hurt, war is no longer war
Be Free Of Your Rights, Even Liberated From Life
By Rand Clifford
Researchers are finding areas of sea above the Russian continental shelf literally bubbling and foaming with methane. Geologic records show that a series of this kind of methane burping around the end of the Permian period killed nearly everything on Earth. Another methane burping episode about 55 million years ago again caused extensive species loss while disrupting the climate for well over 100 centuries. Has it begun again?
Why Localisation Is A Key Part Of The Answer
By Rob Hopkins
When something isn't working, it behoves us to question whether a different approach might be more appropriate. One such approach, spreading around the world with great vigour, is the Transition movement. It suggests that within the challenges of peak oil, climate change, and our economic troubles lies a huge opportunity
The Roots Of The Syrian Uprising
By Yacov Ben Efrat
Nobody would have dreamed that the fatalistic Egyptian nation would rise up against the pharaoh, but this is what it did, and now it’s drawing the Arab nations with it. The Syrian people have taken things into their own hands. They want to enter history and no tanks on earth can stop them
Bahrain Sues To Suppress
Police State Terror Truths
By Stephen Lendman
The Khalifa monarchy commissioned a UK-based law firm to file a case against The Independent for its reporting on the crackdowns on (internal) protests.Mainly directed against Robert Fisk's article
Obama Talks Afghan Drawdown,
But What About Rest Of The World?
By Sherwood Ross
President Obama may claim he's got to go slow in drawing down U.S. forces fighting in Afghanistan but what's his excuse for keeping open 268 U.S. bases in Germany? Is he expecting an attack by the Red Army? There are folks living well on those 268 bases at public expense as well as the military contractors supplying them
The Great Financial Crisis: Scot-Free Culprits
Expose Class Solidarity
By Farooque Chowdhury
All aspects of the Great Financial Crisis have still not been identified, debated and discussed. This is needed as the crisis is making impact, on the one hand, on the lives of the people, and on the other hand, on capitals, and classes that own these capitals, and dominate the present geoeconomy and geopolitics. These will make far-reaching impact on the ruling classes and peoples’ struggles in many lands
Rising Suicide Rates In Kashmir
By Ibrahim Wani
Suicide cases are on the rise in Kashmir with even teenagers as young as 14, attempting suicide. This issue is emerging as a major problem in the society
Rahul Gandhi As PM Of A Failing State
By Farzana Versey
Rahul Gandhi can become India’s prime minister not because Digvijay Singh says so or because he has turned 41, but it is time to come out of the closet
America's Barbaric Death Penalty
By Stephen Lendman
On October 10, 2011, the 9th World Day seeks to raise awareness of the inhumanity of capital punishment from sentencing to execution. In fact, death row inmates endure horrific emotional and physical suffering under appalling conditions with little regard for their well-being
Remembering Brian Haw
By Stephen Lendman
Early morning June 18, lung cancer claimed 62 year old UK anti-war activist Haw after a long battle, a man London Independent contributor Mark Wallinger called "the conscience of the nation grown quiescent."
20 June , 2011
What If The Sun Went Into A
New Grand Minimum?
By Georg Feulner
During a meeting of the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society, solar physicists have just announced a prediction that the Sun might enter an extended period of low activity (a ‘grand minimum’) similar to the Maunder Minimum in the 17th century. This post explores the background of this announcement and discuss implications for Earth’s climate
The Super Rich Sabotage The Arab Revolutions
By Shamus Cooke
With revolutions sweeping the Arab world and bubbling-up across Europe, aging tyrants or discredited governments are doing their best to cling to power. It's hard to over-exaggerate the importance of these events: the global political and economic status-quo is in deep crisis. If pro-democracy or anti-austerity movements emerge victorious, they'll have an immediate problem to solve -- how to pay for their vision of a better world
European Spring: The Gradual
Demise Of Capitalism
By Gaither Stewart
It's an accumulative kind of thing, the demise of capitalism worldwide: at first the waning and the dwindling, now the rapid corkscrew-like downwards spiraling, of greedy, vicious, cannibalistic capitalism busily devouring itself. Today, one can only conclude the imminence of its just demise
NATO Of Terror
By Ghali Hassan
As the U.S. and its Western allies become more addicted to war and terror, there will be far more innocent people killed by U.S.-NATO forces in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. People should not fall into media manipulation and distortion. Only resistance by people worldwide will stop NATO terror and force Western leaders to choose the path of peace
Why I Am Part Of U.S. Boat To Gaza
By Jane Hirschmann
People often ask me why I am part of a team to organize a U.S. Boat to Gaza that will be sailing this month with the next International Flotilla to break the siege of Gaza. They often make clear they are asking because I am an American Jew, whose family survived the Holocaust with some surviving family members ending up in Israel. And my only answer is: How could I not?
Looking For The Uncrowded Country
By Peter Goodchild
Finding a place in the country is central to surviving the next few decades, but the best land for gardening is both crowded and expensive. To a very large extent, where we need to live is not where we can live
“Benazir---An Unfulfilled Dream”
By Riaz Ali Toori
Benazir Bhutto preferred death over compromise. Although today she is physically not with us but her wisdom, her vision, her manifesto, her political theory and her thought is still alive and we can never alone in the presence of her sweet memories”
Lies, Damn Lies, And Liberating Wars
By Stephen Lendman
America's imperial wars are for wealth, power, and unchallenged dominance, never for humanitarian concerns or liberation, notions Washington contemptuously spurns
19 June , 2011
Medical Crisis Worsening In Gaza
By Eva Bartlett
Of the limited medicines found in Gaza, many have come via the tunnels and most are too expensive for the 80% of Palestinians in Gaza dependent on food-aid to live. Other medicines are simply unavailable, particularly in hospitals
Delhi Jal Board Rocked By Another Major Scam
By Afsar Jafri
On 24th May 2011, the WSSDEU, an employees union, exposed a big scam of more than Rs. 200 crores in the bidding process for privatization ofDelhi Jal Board 's Bhagirathi Water Treatment Plant in East Delhi
Every Thirty Minutes: Farmer Suicides,
Human Rights And The Agrarian Crisis
In India (PDF)
By Center for Human Rights and Global Justice,
New York University School of Law
It is estimated that more than a quarter of a million Indian farmers have committed suicide in the last 16 years—the largest wave of recorded suicides in human history. A great number of those affected are cash crop farmers, and cotton farmers in particular. In 2009 alone, the most recent year for which official figures are available, 17,638 farmers committed suicide—that’s one farmer every 30 minutes
Two Capitalisms
By Joel S. Hirschhorn
If Republican presidential hopefuls and crony capitalists cared as much about serving the public interest as serving corporate desires, than they would stop their nonsensical free market claptrap embracing selfish capitalism and seek a more patriotic form that puts the nation first
Entrapping Innocent Muslims
By Stephen Lendman
A recent New York University School of Law Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) report is titled, "Targeted and Entrapped: Manufacturing the 'Homegrown Threat' in the United States."
Who Is Undermining Parliament?
Civil Society or Government?
By Tapas Ranjan Saha
It is strange that the Govt which does not want civil society to dictate to Parliament, has no qualms about corporate CEOs and lobbyists as well as foreign powers dictating laws, policies and even Ministerial appointments. A glaring example was the Radia tapes revelation of how Mukesh Ambani and his lobbyist could even manage to dictate what stand the chief Opposition party will take in Parliament on a key question of energy policy
Kashmir: The Mock Election
By Zafar Iqbal
In Pakistan administrated part of Kashmir three million citizens of the one half of the divided state are going to exercise a democratic right of electing their representatives in the Legislative Assembly in a few weeks. In reality, this political process is no more than a tug-of-war between local influential feudal tribes and aristocratic family structures in the pretence of democracy to retain their authority and control over the resources of the land
Shariah-Phobia In America
By Dr. Habib Siddiqui
Are Muslim Americans trying to impose a Taliban-style Shariah law in the USA ? Seemingly, the answer is ‘yes', if you are a Republican politician
18 June , 2011
The Ongoing Systemic Collapse
By Guy McPherson
Only willfully ignorant individuals are failing to perceive the ongoing systemic collapse of western civilization. Economic recession? Check, since 2000. Economic depression? Check, since 2008. Rampant “natural” disasters? Check, with increasing frequency. Climate chaos? Indeed, only a politician could miss it
Learning From The Community Of The Land
By Shepherd Bliss
Farming has moved energy from my brain into my hands, legs, back, and the rest of my body. I enjoy this regular manual labor, which provides health insurance as important as my insurance policy. I read fewer books than before, but I learn a lot from plants, animals, soil, water, wind
Transitioning
By Guy McPherson
The Transition to a life free from the curse of fossil fuels can be eased by maintaining focus on the five elements crucial to persistence of our species: air, water, food, body temperature, and human community
Nuclear Exit By Germany:
Its International Significance
By Dr. Peter Custers
The decisions by Western European governments to reject the idea of a nuclear renaissance impacts beyond nuclear production itself. A section of humanity at last has decided consciously to reject a technology which is outright destructive and severely damages life on planet earth. This shows that an ecological future for humanity is possible
Plantation Nation
By Frank Scott
America seemed to achieve a great victory when Obama was elected president, both overcoming its wretched racist history and sending a positive message to humanity. But if Malcolm were alive he might point out that an African-American running the plantation for his masters does not change anything but the skin tone of the person serving those masters
Misshaping The Middle East: The Libyan Example
By Dan Lieberman
France and Great Britain , the two principal European victors of World War I, shaped the Middle East to meet their political objectives and formed an area of despotic regimes and constant conflict. Now, joined by the United States , the same nations, by either aggression against established regimes (( Libya and Iraq ), neglect in assisting legitimate rebellions ( Syria , Yemen and Bahrain ), and support for despotic regimes ( Saudi Arabia ), are reshaping the Middle East; for sure into greater conflict
Make No Mistake – Obama’s Actions
Attacking Libya Constitute
An Impeachable Offense
By William Hicks
We the people, who stand to lose the most in the face of unfettered executive power, should demand impeachment, but of course we won’t. Many on the right would rather obsess about the media-manufactured and completely irrelevant Birther controversy, while many on the left would immediately charge that anyone advocating for Obama’s impeachment must be a racist. And so nothing will happen
Duplicitous Congressional Posturing on Libya
By Stephen Lendman
On June 13, House members, in an amendment to a military appropriations bill, voted to prohibit funding operations for Libya without congressional authorization. It was political posturing as Senate follow-through is unlikely, giving representatives for it a safe vote
Godhra Verdict: The Court Could Legalise
Revenge Killings As Well!
By Avinash Pandey Samar
One may wonder how far the court was from upholding Modi's theory of action-reaction when it observed that ‘for Godhra, this is not the first incident of burning alive innocent persons belonging to the Hindu community'. That, the court used this argument for upholding the conspiracy theory put forward by the prosecution speaks volumes about the quality of evidences. The only question that remains unanswered is why it stopped short of legalizing revenge killings
26/11 Truth: Rana's Acquittal
By Feroze Mithiborwala
The recent acquittal by Tawwarhur Rana by a US Chicago Court for his alleged role in the Mumbai 26/11 terror attack, has once again exposed the double standards of the US regime. It has also again brought into focus the role of CIA Agent David Headley Coleman, who is clearly the prime mastermind of the 26/11 attack
India Uses UN Report On Sri Lanka
To Assert Its Interests
By Sarath Kumara
A visit by a high-level Indian delegation to Sri Lanka last week underscored the tense relations between the two neighbours. New Delhi is particularly concerned about Sri Lanka’s deepening relations with India’s rival, China, and is exploiting a UN report on Sri Lankan war crimes to put pressure on Colombo
17 June , 2011
Global Markets Plummet As
Greek Political Crisis Deepens
By Stefan Steinberg
Markets around the world reacted negatively over the last two days to the latest events in Greece, as well as the continuing barrage of poor US economic news. At one point, the Dow Jones fell by more than 200 points on Wednesday. At the end of trading, it had recovered somewhat, but was still down 1.5 percent
Midwest Floods: Both Nebraska Nuke Stations
Threatened
By Rady Ananda
Tens of millions of acres in the US corn belt have flooded, which will spike the cost of gas and food over the next several months. Worse, several nuclear power plants sit in the flooded plains. Both nuclear plants in Nebraska are partly submerged and the FAA has issued a no-fly order over both of them
The Shrinking Pie: Post-Growth Geopolitics
By Richard Heinberg
No crisis is imminent as long as cool heads prevail. But the world system is losing stability. Current economic and geopolitical conditions would appear to support a forecast not for increasing economic growth, democracy, and peace, but for more political volatility, and for greater government military mobilization justified under the banner of security
How I Was Abducted And Tortured
By William Gomes
Bangladeshi journalist and human rights activist William Gomes describes how he was abducted and tortured
Between The Values Of Fishing Communities
And Modern Tourism
By K.P. Sasi
The problem today with tourism is that it has already started spilling. The only answer is to this problem is a total restructuring of the framework of minds of the planners and the industry with respect to local cultures, community rights, environmental concerns and a respect for future generations as well as other species in this planet
Working America's Dismal State
By Stephen Lendman
Today's housing crisis exceeds the Great Depression. Still declining valuations have fallen 33% compared to 31% from the late 1920s to the 1930s' bottom. Nonetheless, housing prices remain high by historical standards, suggesting more to the downside, perhaps much more without nowhere in sight remedial help
Medical Care in Gaza Under Siege
By Stephen Lendman
Under siege, Israel continues to strangle Gaza. Poverty and unemployment are extremely high. Over 70% of the population requires humanitarian aid. Virtually everything is in short supply
Intensive Farming Responsible For
Farmers' Suicides : Devinder Sharma
By Pradeep Baisakh
Devinder Sharma, Journalist, Food Policy Analyst and an anti-GM crop activist speaks to Pradeep Baisakh on issue of farmers' suicide, role of Micro Finance Institutions in it, water conflict between industry and agriculture sector, the role of farmers union etc in the country with special focus on Odisha
16 June , 2011
Fukushima: 'Biggest Industrial Catastrophe
In History'
By Dahr Jamail
Scientific experts believe Japan's nuclear disaster to be far worse than governments are revealing to the public
Obama Defends Libya War, Rejects
Need For Congress Vote
By Bill Van Auken
The Obama administration argued Wednesday that the War Powers Act, requiring congressional approval for undeclared US wars, does not apply to the nearly three-month-old war against Libya
There Was No Libyan Peaceful Protest,
Just Murderous Gangs And Nic Robertson
By Jay Janson
This latest war would seem far fetched, but for CNN boldly leading enough of the rest of corporate owned Western media in public deception with repeating war-justifying sound-bites colored by almost obvious psyops of "now you see it, now you don't' film shots
Greek Prime Minister Proposes Government Of
National Unity As Protests Spread
By Stefan Steinberg
Yesterday Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou he would reshuffle his cabinet and call for a vote of confidence in his government to ensure the implementation of his austerity program
Greek Game: General Strike,
Government Goes Down
By Farooque Chowdhury
Amidst an angry Athens razing with petrol bombs, a general strike, and defections in own rank the Papandreou government in Greece has essentially collapsed as he offered to resign and form a national government
How The West Was Lost
By Chip Ward
Arizona is burning. Texas, too. New Mexico is next. If you need a grim reminder that an already arid West is burning up and blowing away, here it is. As I write this, more than 700 square miles of Arizona and more than 4,300 square miles of Texas have been swept by monster wildfires. On an overheating planet, if the West is still our place of desire and exception, then fire is our modern manifest destiny -- and the West is ours to lose
Profligacies Of Scale
By John Michael Greer
In the face of a future where small, cheap, localized approaches that are sparing in their use of resources, relying on massive, expensive, centralized, resource-intensive power plants of any kind is not an economy but a profligacy of scale, and one that we very probably will not be able to afford for much longer
Who Is Tim DeChristopher?
By Subhankar Banerjee
Whatever happens with the sentencing on June 23rd, one thing has become clear to me is that Tim DeChristopher’s journey did not start with a single heroic act of disrupting an oil lease sale during the George W. Bush administration, nor will it end inside Barack Obama’s prison cell. Let us stay engaged
Did Egypt Really Open Rafah Crossing?
By Ramzy Baroud
All the announcements are proving to be no more than rhetoric. The latest ‘permanent’ reopening has come with its own conditions and limitations, involving such factors as gender, age, purpose of visit, and so on
Navlakha's Deportation: Something Is
Brewing In Kashmir
By Fahad Shah
With the deportation of noted Human Rights activist, Gautam Navlakha the state proves there is something brewing in Valley which they try hard to ignore and hide. For being pro-people in India means anti-state, proves the last month's government action. While the government said “his presence in Valley is not needed”
Growing Drug Addiction In Kashmir
By Ibrahim Wani
Drug addiction among the youth is a growing concern in Kashmir
Israel: An Impediment To Nuclear-Free
Middle East
By Kourosh Ziabari
The Tehran conference on nuclear disarmament has concluded that all of the non-NPT members should ratify this treaty and allow the inspection of their nuclear facilities. It has also proposed that Israel should be disarmed as soon as possible, because it's the only owner of nuclear weapons in the Middle East
Dismissively Ignoring Hard Times
By Stephen Lendman
Despite a deepening global depression, Washington, Wall Street and America's media remain largely in denial, for how much longer isn't certain as hard times get tougher for growing millions worldwide
"The Politics of Cancer"
By Stephen Lendman
Samuel S. Epstein's "The Politics of Cancer" explained how exposure to environmental and occupational carcinogens causes cancer. Yet they're avoidable because safe substitutes exist. Nonetheless, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and American Cancer Society (ACS) - groups Epstein calls "the cancer establishment" - ignore preventable causes, searching for non-existant magic bullet cures
15 June , 2011
Lying Down For Justice: The POSCO Satyagraha
In Pictures
By POSCO pratirodh Sangram Samiti
Jagatsinghpur district administration has temporarily halted forceful land acquisition for POSCO project. The government will restart the process from 17th June 2011. The officials illegally demolished betelvines at Gobindpur village. The people are now rebuilding it. Here are some pictures from the historic Satyagraha
Congress Members Sue Obama To End Libya War
By David Swanson
On Wednesday in federal court, 10 members of the U.S. Congress sued President Obama in an attempt to end U.S. involvement in a war in Libya. These are the plaintiffs: Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Walter Jones (R-NC), Howard Coble (R-NC), John Duncan (R-TN), Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), John Conyers (D-MI), Ron Paul (R-TX), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Tim Johnson (R-IL), and Dan Burton (R-IN)
Facebookers Call For Bob Dylan
To Boycott Israeli Concert
By Eileen Fleming
For months numerous Facebook groups have been calling for Bob Dylan to stand with the Palestinian call for BDS: Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions on Israel until Israel abides by international law and ends its brutal occupation of the indigenous Palestinian people and then they will live like a good neighbor in Arab territory
Greece Gyrates
By Farooque Chowdhury
Greece is now buying time as it gyrates on its debt-axis. The Standard & Poor’s have pushed Greece to the lowest level in the world, lower than Ecuador, Jamaica, Pakistan and Grenada. And, the Greek people are paying prices
Spain’s ‘Indignant Ones’
By Pablo Ouziel
While “Europe's slow-motion financial collapse” – as Mother Jones magazine described it in a June 6th article – continues to unravel, Spain, like other European states continues to implement anti-social-neo-liberal policies with strong opposition from the citizenry
The Revolution Will Not Be Deactualized
By Ted Rall
October 6th: Will Tahrir Square Come to Washington?
Join Us In Washington, DC On October 6
By Paul Buchheit
On Thursday, October 6, 2011 Americans will gather in Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC (13th St. and Pennsylvania Avenue NW) to call for peace and economic justice. As stated by the October 2011 Coalition , we will use nonviolent resistance to "demand changes that shift power away from concentrated corporate capital and free
us to create solutions that lead to a just and sustainable future."
Why Doesn't The UN Consider Energy Depletion?
By Sharon Astyk
In thousands of ways, UN policy helps shape how we respond to emerging crises, from basic poverty to world political events, from food to climate change and population. What is emerging, however, is that UN analyses are increasingly diverging from reality - as they attempt to describe our future, they have failed to adequately (or at all) take into account that most basic of all considerations, material limits on energy resources
America’s “Holiday From History” :
How George Will Got It All Wrong
By William Hicks
What this country really needs, and what we sadly will not get, is a vacation from the cornucopian rhetoric of opinion leaders like George Will so we can finally start to address the very serious energy issues that threaten this nation’s long term viability
Speaking Out About The Last Of The Last Taboos:
Human Population Dynamics And Overpopulation
By Steve Salmony
An apparently unforeseen, unfortunately unwelcome and still unchallenged scientific finding regarding the relationship between food supply and human population numbers has been avoided and continues to be denied by the very experts upon whom the human community relies for guidance and direction
Chavez’s Right Turn: State Realism
Versus International Solidarity
By James Petras
Chavez is no longer interested in the support from the radical left: His definition of state policy revolves around securing the ‘stability’ of Bolivarian socialism in one country, even if it means sacrificing Colombian militants to a police state and pro-democracy movements in Honduras to an illegitimate US-imposed regime
The Imperialist Suicide Epidemic In India
By Larry Everest
What makes this such a towering crime is that it's totally unnecessary. There is no reason that agriculture and food and other needed goods can only be produced if a profit is turned and the interests of a handful of imperialist powers are served. The basis exists, in human knowledge, technology, and resources, to solve the needs—including for food and clothing—of humanity. But what stands in the way of this is a world economic system of capitalism driven by profit
The Pursuit For Truth In The Death,
And Life, Of Two Iconic Chileans
By Brian McAfee
As we wait to find out the truth concerning Salvador Allende and Pablo Neruda, we should bear in mind that their history is simply one component in our struggle for truth and justice -- a longstanding, ongoing and never ending process that must never be abandoned
Confronting Torture in U.S. Prisons:
A Q&A With Activists/Journalists
James Ridgeway And Jean Casella
By Angola 3 News
Ridgeway and Casella, co-founders of Solitary Watch, discuss an upcoming prisoner hunger strike at Pelican Bay State Prison and the inhumane practice of solitary
Journalists’ Killings: Justice Eludes
In India’s Assam
By Nava Thakuria
The trouble torn State of Assam lost over 20 editor-journalist-correspondents in the last two decades, where no conviction has been made in any case
M.F. Husain: Victim Of Intolerance
By Ram Puniyani
On 9th June 2011, M.F. Husain breathed his last in a London Hospital, and was later buried in the cemetery in London as per his wish that he should be buried at a place of his death
Wisconsin Supreme Court Reinstates
Anti-Union Law
By Stephen Lendman
The Court Tuesday ordered the reinstatement of (Walker's) controversial plan to end most collective bargaining (rights) for tens of thousands of public workers in clear violation of state law
Remote Control Killing Like Sport
By Stephen Lendman
Drones are America's newest sport. From distant command centers, far from target sights, sounds, and smells, operators dismissively ignore human carnage showing up as computer screen blips little different from video game images. The difference, of course, is people die, mostly noncombatants
13 June , 2011
Lying Down For Justice Children Show The Way
By S.G.Vombatkere
The people and especially the children of Dhinkia, Gadkujang, Govindpur and Nuagaon villages in Jagatsinghpur District in Odisha have shown the nation how people matter over governments' plans for development of business corporations at their cost. The children “illegally” lay down on the hot earth under in the blazing summer heat and refused to move to allow entry to government officials to take over forest land and their villages for the POSCO mega-project
Our Children Have Opened The Nation's Eyes
By POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti
Splashed across the headlines and TV channels across India are the people of the proposed POSCO project area and their heroic fight to stop this illegal project from grabbing our lands. The bravery of the children and women of our villages - lying down in front of a thousand armed police poised to destroy their lives and homes - has captured the nation's attention
When Has The Environment Ministry
Believed In Dialogue, Discussion or Democracy?
By Campaign for Survival and Dignity
The Ministry has continues to violate the law. In the case of POSCO, the same Minister who today calls for democracy declared that he will be bound neither by law and democracy - and gave away the land without taking the consent of local communities or respecting their rights
Letter to NHRC On Violations Of
Human Rights In Jagatsinghpur, Odisha
By Concerned Citizens
Senior police officers are terrorizing the people through loud speaker announcements, by asking them to stop their protest, disperse and allow their cultivation to be destroyed. They are also threatening the use of lathi charges and brute force as well as demanding that the people should produce particular individuals. We apprehend imminent bloodshed and serious violation of the human rights of these people who are exercising their right to peacefully assemble and protest for their livelihood
Japanese Nuclear Crisis Worse Than
Previously Conceded
By Peter Symonds
A detailed government report to the IAEA, leaked to the Japanese media last week, indicated that the nuclear disaster was far worse than previously acknowledged. TEPCO had admitted that the cores of three reactors—units 1, 2 and 3—underwent a meltdown after power supplies at the plant failed. However, the report indicated for the first time that a “melt-through” may have occurred
No Justice In Kafka’s America
By Chris Hedges
Justice has become as unattainable for Muslim activists in the United States as it was for Kafka’s frustrated petitioner. The draconian legal mechanisms that condemn Muslim Americans who speak out publicly about the outrages we commit in the Middle East have left many, including Syed Fahad Hashmi, wasting away in supermax prisons
The Rich Are Destroying The Economy
By Shamus Cooke
The corporate-led discussion around cutting social programs to fix the deficits -- on a state and national level -- can be challenged by a nationally coordinated campaign of unions and community allies demanding: Tax the Rich! This demand is significant because it can address both the deficits and the jobs crisis
On "The Issue Of Character" And Empire
By Phil Rockstroh
Using any metric, the present system, based upon a zombie-like proliferation of exponential growth is unsustainable. By the destruction leveled on nature and public space, in combination with, the usurpation of time and identity (individual and collective) -- the very structure of the present system creates alienation and anomie
Mountaintop Removal: Environmental
And Human Destruction For Profit
By Stephen Lendman
Blair Mountain symbolizes a struggle anti-mountaintop removal activists don't intend to lose. For them and beleaguered Appalachian residents, winning can't come a moment too soon
Obama's Sinking Popularity
By Stephen Lendman
Growing numbers are awakening, the latest June 7 - 9 Zogby International poll showing recent lows in Obama's popularity: 56% disapprove of his job as president; 43% approve; 39% say he deserves reelection; 52% want change; congressional approval also dropped to 17%, a testimony to mass public disdain
Dr. King Spanks Obama: Part 6
By David Kendall
Who says we must live in a 'global economy'? Who says there is any connection between so-called 'entitlement programs' funded by U.S. workers and tax increases for the wealthy? Who says American workers need to compete with Chinese workers for jobs? Who says wealthy 'investors' are needed to create new jobs? Who says 'jobs' are necessary for mere survival in a supposedly 'developed' society?
Extra-Judicial Killings In Pakistan
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
According to the Asian Legal Resource Centre, in the past eight months, over 120 persons are thought to have been killed extra-judicially following abduction and disappearance by the State. The ALRC estimates that thousands of people are reported to have been subjected to enforced disappearance in recent years, in particular in resource-rich Balochistan
WW2 Bengali Holocaust: “Churchill's Secret War”
By Madhusree Mukerjee
By Dr Gideon Polya
The important book “Churchill's Secret War. The British Empire and the ravaging of India during World War II” by Madhusree Mukerjee is an account of the forgotten World War 2 Bengali Holocaust, the man-made, 1942-1945 Bengal Famine in which 6-7 million Indians were deliberately starved to death by the British under Churchill
Some Fundamental Issues in Anti-Caste Struggle
By Anand Teltumbde
The transcription of the Inaugural Speech delivered at the biannual conference of the Kula Nirmulan Porata Samiti in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh on 11 June 2011
‘Self Immolations’- Darker Side Of Shining Gujarat
By Newzfirst Correspondent
The recent self immolation incidents have exposed the burning side of ‘shining’ Gujarat. Several human rights’ and civil rights’ activists have raised their concerns over the trend of ‘self immolation’ taking place in Gujarat now a days
11 June , 2011
Gaza Health Conditions In Crisis
By Sameh A. Habeeb
According to Gaza's health bodies and utilities, severe shortages are hitting the sector due to the continued closure. The shortages have led to a reduction in services, including surgeries. A number of patients are on the waiting list for urgent medical operations. According to Gaza's health ministry, the medical storage will soon be depleted, which further endangers the lives of the innocent population
Syria Slides Toward Civil War
By Barry Grey
Amid continuing protests, mounting state repression and escalating pressure from the US and the European powers, there are growing signs that Syria is sliding toward civil war. Already, with thousands of refugees flowing from northwestern Syria into Turkey and threats of Israeli intervention, the crisis of the Baathist regime is having an increasingly destabilizing impact on the entire Middle East
How Many Nuclear Weapons Still Threaten Humanity?
By David Krieger
The total number of deployed nuclear weapons in the world stands at 5,027 in 2011. Of these, SIPRI estimates that some 2,000 are kept on high operational alert, ready to be fired within moments of an order to do so
POSCO Resistance: Police Returns Back
For The Day
By Newzfirst Correspondent
As the people of affected villages didn’t pay heed to police warnings and the involvement of political leaders from CPI (M), RJD, SP and Congress mounted pressure on the administration, Odisha police returned back to the camps for the day. It is likely that they will come back tomorrow
Country By Country Analysis Of Years Left
Until Science-demanded
Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions
By Dr Gideon Polya
An analysis of every country in the World reveals that for a high probability of avoiding a catastrophic 2 degree C temperature rise (EU policy), at current rates of greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution the World on average must achieve zero emissions in less than 20 years, Australia must cease GHG pollution within 5 years, and Bangladesh's low per capita pollution means that at current rates it has 139 years to use up its “fair share” allocation of atmospheric pollution.
A Concerted Effort From Europe Against
Israeli Produce Exporter Agrexco
By Stephanie Westbrook
This past weekend in the Montpellier, France, over 100 activists from 9 countries gathered for the first ever European Forum Against Agrexco. Delegates from Italy, UK, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Germany and Palestine joined the French organizers for two full days of workshops aimed at strengthening the boycott campaign against the Israeli agricultural export giant
One Missile, One Playground: The Will Of Gaza
By Ramzy Baroud
Visiting a playground in Gaza
Hemp, The Great Green Hope
By Rand Clifford
Hemp has taught us many things about how power works in America, and our education continues. Hemp’s usefulness is truly remarkable; food, fuel, fiber, paper, plastics—using modern technology, hemp offers an estimated 25,000 natural products. Hemp needs no petrochemical fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides, and is actually beneficial to the soil
What The American Public Shouldn't Know
By Kourosh Ziabari
Seven radio and TV stations are covered by the Smith-Mundt Act, two of which are exclusively dedicated to Iran: Radio Farda and Voice of America. It means that the American citizens cannot watch the TV programs which VOA airs and listen to what the Radio Farda broadcasts
Departures From The Fountainhead:
Thoughts Around The Passing Of M F Husain
By Cynthia Stephen
M F Husain died in London, in June 2011, without his native land ever feeling the touch of his bare feet again. India’s civilizational botnet – Brahminism - hampers anyone who tries to be original, and even tries to eliminate that person from the physical, social and mental space in the country
The Obama Doctrine:
Lawless Imperial Aggression (Part I)
By Stephen Lendman
Orchestrated and controlled by Washington, innocent Iraqis, Afghans, Pakistanis, and now Libyans are being slaughtered under the bogus "humanitarian intervention (HI)" doctrine
The Obama Doctrine:
Lawless Imperial Aggression (Part II)
By Stephen Lendman
At risk is more war, perhaps a general one involving Russia, China, and other major powers globally engaged in the unthinkable, a possible nuclear confrontation endangering humanity. The time to stop it is now. Afterwards is too late
Amnesty International Launches Campaign
Supporting Herman Wallace And
Albert Woodfox Of The Angola 3
By Angola 3 News
This week Amnesty International launched a global campaign calling for the authorities in the United States to end the solitary confinement of Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox. They state that "the treatment to which the two men have been subjected was 'cruel and inhumane' and amounted to a violation of the US' obligations under international law"
09 June , 2011
Activists Fear Carnage As Acquisition Clock
Ticks In Odisha
By Countercurrents.org
Villagers of Dhinkia and Gobindpur who are keeping a day and night vigil to prevent forcible land acquisition for the Rs 52,000 crore integrated POSCO steel project, fear that the police might unleash a mid-night action any time. More than 20 platoons of police are currently stationed at the mouth of these villages and any ill-conceived move to forcibly acquire land or evict the protesters might lead to bloodshed
World Bank Forecasts Slowdown
In Global Economic Growth
By Barry Grey
The World Bank released its latest Global Economic Prospects report Tuesday, forecasting slower economic growth the rest of this year and next. The World Bank is projecting a deceleration of gross domestic product (GDP) gains in the US, the euro zone, and the developing economies of Asia and Latin America compared to 2010
Global Economic Crisis Deepening
By Stephen Lendman
Numerous European countries are deeply troubled, notably Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain, entrapped in debt, locked in a Eurozone straightjacket. Perhaps heading for default, they've inflicted painful austerity on working households, rallying them en masse in protest
The Peak Oil Crisis: The Gathering Storm
By Tom Whipple
The world is beginning to look a lot like the August of 1914 or perhaps the summer of 1939 all over again. This time instead of the great powers of central Europe dragging the rest of us into a European affair, it seems that nearly every corner of the earth is facing some sort of imminent disaster that could combine into a very unpleasant situation
How Fish Use Energy Teaches True Oil Economics
By Andrew Nikiforuk
Before building more wind farms or digging more bitumen mines or polluting more groundwater for shale gas, policy makers need to ask what they are sacrificing for energy as well as what the real energy costs and gains will be
A Bridge To Somewhere
By John Michael Greer
Recent suggestions that the current boom in natural gas will be a bridge to a future of sustainable energy are highly reminiscent of similar claims from the past -- claims that turned out to be entirely wrongheaded. A bridge is only useful if there's somewhere to get to on the other side, and in the future ahead of us, the other side will inevitably be defined by much less energy use. With the help of a photovoltaic panel, the Archdruid explains
Pakistan's `Enlightenment' Martyrs
By Beena Sarwar
The murder of professor Saba Dashtiyari in Quetta last week, coming on the heels the killing of investigative journalist Saleem Shehzad, is yet another sign of an ongoing `genocide' of progressive Pakistani intellectuals and activists
IMF Financial Terrorism
By Stephen Lendman
Like all debt-entrapped countries, Greece's bailout price is structural adjustment harshness, making a bad situation worse. It requires new infusions during hard times, causing rising indebtedness - the familiar IMF-imposed death spiral no responsible leader should accept
Geneva Conventions Redefined:
The New U.S. Department Of War
By Lt. Eric N. Shine & Gary Corseri
Those agreements that came about in response to two horrendous world wars, have now been reversed. One sign of this reversal is the wars of aggression in which our “Department of Defense” is now engaged; another sign is the conversion of the Department of Defense back to a reinvigorated offensive Department of War, and, concomitantly, the creation of a new de facto Defense Department
US Invested Heavily In Hitler Compensated
Europe's Jews With Arab Land - Therefore
By Jay Janson
Israel is in bed with a US business elite that once heavily invested in Hitler, was itself anti-semitic in outlook, and coldly indifferent and even complicit during the Holocaust its investments made possible
The New Old Policy Of America Towards Palestine
By Salim Nazzal
The belief that Obama might be much better than other united states presidents proved to be an illusion Arabs need to review. The later speeches of Obama indicate clearly that the USA is going to stand against Palestine efforts to be a full membership in the United Nation next September
Dr. King Spanks Obama: Part 5
By David Kendall
Dr. King's views seem perhaps more applicable now, than ever before, as the first black President of the United States leaves Americans of every color to fend for themselves in a deep national crisis of education, employment, rights and housing
Holocaust Denial And Complicity
By Apartheid Australia
By Dr Gideon Polya
Australia is an Apartheid state because it applies discriminatory and damaging race-based laws against particular groups of non-European subjects (specifically Indigenous Australians and asylum seekers) but so far has maintained a remarkably good image through Mainstream politician and media censorship and self -censorship
Fight Against Corruption: Are We Serious
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
It is time we understand the dangers of the Hindutva model of fight against corruption and expose them tooth and nail. None can be a bigger threat to India than the ascendancy of the Hindutva forces to power. Let us fight against corruption and expose the very source of it
Baba Ramdev’s Anti Corruption Fast:
New Face Of Communal Politics
By Ram Puniyani
The trend of Babas and Swamis coming to the political arena gives a very dangerous message. Is it that we want to emulate Pakistan where Mullahs ruled the roost for long time and even now have a big weight in the political affairs, and that is one of the major reasons for the problems through which Pakistan is going through currently. Baba Ramdev, Sadhvi Ritambhara, Sri Sri Ravishanker have full right as a citizen, but to dabble in politics with the claims of spiritual following is to abuse of religious spirituality
The Yogi As Commissar?
By Farzana Versey
Ramdev is trying his stunts within the Indian nation. If he wants to create fissures, first by fighting for a civil issue and then against outsiders, then he must come clean about his intentions. Declare war against specifics instead of just aiming aimless darts and creating mayhem
Selective Democracy At Work
By Mahtab Alam
One would want to ask Mr. Gadkari and gang, didn’t the situation in Chhattisgarh remind them of emergency? Needless to remind, the situation of democratic rights in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa are much worse than other parts of India. The records of the NDA government show that it has been as repressive as the others
Release Prof. Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar
By Delhi Tamil Students Union
Delhi Tamil Students Union strongly condemn President Pratiba Patil's rejection of the mercy petition of Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar. Prof. Bhullar was sentenced to death by a trial court in Delhi on 25th August 2001 under the infamous draconian Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) act. Even after the act has been scrapped, verdicts passed under its undemocratic aegis are still being upheld
Former-Political Prisoner And Ex-Black Panther,
Geronimo Pratt, Dies; West Seeks
Justice Against Gaddafi
By Nick Brown
Geronimo Pratt's story sheds light to the lie that is US justice system. Geronimo Pratt, a veteran in the US's invasion of Vietnam, was a proponent of Black liberation and armed self-defense against reactionary violence
Where America Is and What We Can Do About It
By Timothy V. Gatto
Whether you admit it or you bury your head in the sand, the plain truth is that this country is completely out of control. I'm not talking about a promising plain speaking congressman that let his lust get in the way of his sanity; I'm talking about how this nation is clearly facing its demise
08 June , 2011
Halt Attack On Protesters At POSCO Project Area
By Concerned Citizens
Thousands of people are peacefully protesting while 24 platoons of police have been deployed in the area, probably for use in a brute force attempt at taking the land of the villages of Dhinkia and Gobindpur in the coming days
Nation's Conscience Must Be Awakened To
Anti-POSCO Struggle
By Concerned Citizens
Tackling corruption must begin by scrapping the scandalous POSCO project
Internet Censorship Bill Introduced In US Senate
By Stephen Lendman
S. 968: Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011 (PROTECT IP) was introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy (D. VT) and nine other senators on May 12. It is a smoke screen to introduce new censorship provisions that violate First Amendment freedoms
Sowing The Seeds Of Violence And Instability
By Ghali Hassan
Only through peaceful cooperation between all countries, the world would be a peaceful and stable place. Therefore, it is imperative for civilised people who care about humanity and the rules of law worldwide to seize the moment to condemn U.S. imperialist aggression against the people of the Middle East, struggling for freedom and dignity
Uncivilized Relations:
Israel Confronts ItsNeighbours
By Brenda Heard
The turmoil that has beleaguered the Middle East for decades has been described many ways. On the 5th of June, however, the terminology turned vulgar. This enduring conflict was publically characterised as a ‘war between the civilized man and the savage’. Boldly announced with a plea to ‘support Israel/defeat Jihad’, the full page advertisement ran in the New York Post’s special section covering the city’s ‘Celebrate Israel’ parade
The Case For Palestine's UN Membership
By Francis A. Boyle
The votes are there already in the U.N. General Assembly to admit Palestine pursuant to the terms of its Uniting for Peace Resolution (1950). It is the U.N. General Assembly that admits a Member State, not the Security Council. Obama’s veto at the Security Council can be circumvented by the General Assembly acting under the Uniting for Peace Resolution to admit Palestine as a U.N Member State in September
Supreme Court Ruling: Cruel And
Unusual Punishment In California Prisons
By Li Onesto
On May 23, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prison conditions in California violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment and ordered the state to reduce its prison population of 140,000 by 30,000 people
Lib-Lab Apartheid Australia Supports
Demonstrator-killing Racist Zionist-Run
Apartheid Israel
By Dr Gideon Polya
In recent weeks the Apartheid Israelis have been shooting and killing unarmed Arabs demonstrating for Palestinian Human Rights. In the latest incident on the illegally Israel-occupied Syrian Golan Heights, Israeli soldiers killed 2 dozen demonstrators and wounded 350. Apartheid Australia has supported US Alliance bombing of Libya but remains Apartheid Israel 's best friend after the US
Torturing Bahraini Doctors
By Stephen Lendman
On June 6, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) reported the mistreatment of doctors and nurses, explaining their arrests, detentions, torture and upcoming military trials for doing their job
Kashmir Is A Conquered Desire
By Naveed Qazi
Most of the armed fights between the militants and the Indian army ultimately involve the lives of common people and their property. People live in increasing fears, this is of little comfort to the common man, who generally has had to bear the brunt of instigated violence and subjugation, from the last two decades. People here deserve a respectful life
Lost In The Din: Baba Ramdev's Plan
To Save Agriculture
By Devinder Sharma
Amidst the din and noise created over black money and corruption, the proposals to revitalise the rural economy by strengthening agriculture were simply ignored. The nation therefore lost a historic opportunity to debate and deliberate on some worthwhile approaches that could usher in self-reliance in agriculture and put an end to farmer suicides
06 June , 2011
The Global Energy Crisis Deepens
By Michael T. Klare
Below ground, once-abundant reserves of easy-to-get “conventional” oil, natural gas, and coal are drying up; above ground, human miscalculation and geopolitics are limiting the production and availability of specific energy supplies. With troubles mounting in both arenas, our energy prospects are only growing dimmer
Corporate Profit Versus Life On Earth
By Rand Clifford
The last year has been especially catastrophic for life on Earth, while at the same time, corporate profits have jumped a staggering 36.8%, setting all-time records. Is this a coincidence, or are the long-term implications as sinister as they might seem?
Feedback And Dis-Equilibrium In
Human Overpopulation
By Steven B. Kurtz
Overwhelming evidence has engendered a consensus among global scientists that the human population level and trend are unsustainable. Although we are part of nature, we may have some choice in the ongoing process of which our numbers are but one variable
US And Australia Must Stop
Greenhouse Gas Pollution In 5 Years
By Dr Gideon Polya
The World must take action to bring dog-in-the-manger Australia and the US to heel through Boycotts, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS), sporting exclusions, International Court of Justice litigations and prosecutions of climate criminal, climate genocidal Australia and the US before the International Criminal Court
Global Temperature Rise Triggers
Grave Dangers For Us
By Protik Bardhan
Global temperature is rising sharply; it has created a whole host of problems. Consequently, people living in Bangladesh and in other small island states are faced with the prospect of losing their homes, which would make them climate refugees. In the backdrop of the frequent floods, drought and natural calamities such as sidr, aila; a grave danger seems to be impending
The China Bubble: Economic Growth’s Last Stand?
By Richard Heinberg
China is no more able to sustain perpetual growth than any other nation. The only questions, really, are when its growth will stall, and by what pace and to what degree its economy will contract
Israeli Troops Murder Palestinian
And Syrian Protesters
By Chris Marsden
Israeli troops killed 13 protesters, after opening fire on a peaceful and unarmed demonstration at the ceasefire line in the occupied Golan Heights
Will Washington Foment War Between
China And India?
By Paul Craig Roberts
What is Washington's solution for the rising power of China? The answer might be to involve China in a nuclear war with India
History Is Knocking, Stop the Machine!
Create A New World!
By Kevin Zeese, Margaret Flowers,
Tarak Kauff & Elaine Brower
If you've ever complained about what's happening, here is your opportunity to do something about it. We have the numbers. The overwhelming majority want the wars to end, the wealthy and corporations to start paying taxes, health care for all as a human right, and a living wage. The only thing that can stop us now is us
Our Tahrir Square: DC's Freedom Plaza
On October 6th
By David Swanson
Today a coalition of organizations and prominent individuals is announcing at http://october2011.org a plan to begin a people's occupation of Washington, D.C., on October 6th, to build it into something larger on the 7th, 8th, and 9th, and to not leave until we are satisfied
Australia: Trading Human Beings?(PDF)
By George Venturini
The Australian Government is attempting to trade 800 unfortunate refugees with Malaysia, which does not have a Refugee Convention and treats the circa 90,000 refugees whom it has in the harshest possible way. Australia is trying to 'send off-shore' its obligations under the Refugee Convention of which Australia is a signatory
Secret Wars Of CIA Cost U.S Tax Payers
Billions Of Dollars
By Sherwood Ross
It's been estimated the Iraq war, besides making that country pretty much unlivable, will flush $3 trillion in U.S. taxpayer dollars down the Pentagon drain
Jack Kevorkian Meant Well
By Mary Shaw
Why do we treat our dying pets with more mercy than we treat our dying people? Dr. Kevorkian saw this double standard and chose to fight it. For that I admire him. May he now rest in peace
Long Before The "Arab Spring",
Palestinians Protest Non-Violently
By Eva Bartlett
While the protests throughout many Arab nations are being called a Facebook revolution and are analysed as movements of the frustrated and Internet-savvy youth of oppressed countries, the protests in Palestine are extensions of protests past, the continued call for justice, the end of the Israeli occupation, and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their land
Naksa Day Commemorates Decades Of
Israeli State Terror
By Stephen Lendman
Annually, Naksa Day (June 5) commemorates the "day of the setback" when Israel forces occupied historic Palestine, militarizing it repressively to assert control, violating fundamental human rights law by attacking a nonbelligerent state illegally
Reminiscences Of Ilays Kashmiri
By Zafar Iqbal
A profile on the recently killed militant leader Ilays Kashmiri
Dangers Of Ramdev's Rhetorics
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
If Baba want to do politics, he must join it and claim it. He must clear his agenda. Every one has a right to start a campaign for himself. Dont use your Yoga classes and Vandemataram for politics. This is absolute communal agenda from backroom and again putting the brahmanical agenda on the top of our head. We must be careful
Return Of The Inquisitor
By John Thomas
The Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC) has come out with a public statement demanding the withdrawal of the new Class 10 Social Science text book brought out by the State Council Educational Research and Training (SCERT). The author critically analyses the Church's position on the issue
Ecuador's Increase In Social Spending
Has Lifted Many Out Of Poverty
By Brian McAfee
Ecuador's social spending for the past four years, since President Rafael Correa took office, has almost tripled compared to the amount spent by his predecessors. An important aspect of President Correa's policies has been a noticeable and ongoing reduction in poverty
A Grave In Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris
By Karthick RM
We need to remember Sartre today. We need to remember him to remind intellectuals of their role in a world where there is such rampant oppression and few credible solutions
Pick Your Poison
By Joel S. Hirschhorn
While you may be fighting your paranoia about being victimized by foul weather the other ugly reality already devastating the lives of so many people is a dismal set of economic conditions. Contrary to all the usual lies by politicians about the economic recovery, a mountain of data shows non-delusional people that only the wealthy have escaped economic pain
Bahrain And An Interview With
Finian Cunningham
By Timothy V. Gatto
The pro-democracy movement in Bahrain that was met with beatings and outright murder by the Bahraini monarchy has been declared “over, with a return to normalcy” by the government. Continuing with its autocratic ways, they continue to “disappear” people that led to the pro-democracy movement
Countering Iran The Major Factor Behind
US Support For Bahrain: Deepak Tripathi
By Kourosh Ziabari
An interview with Deepak Tripathi, the British historian, journalist and researcher
Continuing Bahraini State Terror
By Stephen Lendman
Washington turned a blind eye to Bahraini state terror
Former Political Prisoner Geronimo Pratt Dies
By Stephen Lendman
A tribute
04 June , 2011
Tar Sands Pipeline: Silence Is Deadly
By James E. Hansen
The U.S. Department of State seems likely to approve a huge pipeline, known as Keystone XL to carry tar sands oil (about 830,000 barrels per day) to Texas refineries unless sufficient objections are raised. The scientific community needs to get involved in this fray now. If this project gains approval, it will become exceedingly difficult to control the tar sands monster
Profit, Pollution And Poor
By Farooque Chowdhury
For having a dignified human existence, a vibrant ecology is common persons’ requirement. For their survival, they have to stand for it. Communities of common persons have to take initiative identifying sources of environmental crisis, fighting the crisis out, regenerate environment
Dear Stephen King: An Open Letter
To One American Who Really Could Scare
The Rest Of Us Into Action
By Ellen LaConte
And it seems to me that, given your influence and the speed with which you can turn out a blockbuster, you might take my feeble attempt to point out the error of our ways, turn the truth of it into fiction and a few million Americans into Committees of Correspondence, planners of a new Declaration of Independence, this time from the global economy and the Powers that run it and get the lion's share of the benefit out of it
Israelis Rush For Second Passports
By Franklin Lamb
Several studies in Israel and one conducted by AIPAC and another by the Jewish National Fund in Germany show that perhaps as many as half of the Jews living in Israel will consider leaving Palestine in the next few years if current political and social trends continue. A 2008 survey by the Jerusalem-based Menachem Begin Heritage Center found that 59% of Israelis had approached or intended to approach a foreign embassy to inquire about or apply for citizenship and a passport. Today it is estimated that the figure is approaching 70%
A State For Jews
By William James Martin
Why are we providing almost incalculable support and sustenance to a state – Israel- which is a state "for Jews", and exclusively for Jews, at the expense of the indigenous native Palestinians
Disastrous US Jobs Report
Points To Deepening Slump
By Barry Grey
US payrolls grew by a paltry 54,000 in May and the official unemployment rate rose to 9.1 percent, an increase of 0.3 percent since March, according to the monthly employment report released Friday by the Labor Department
Fear And Loathing In The Housing Market–
The Greedy And The Clueless Flail Around
Looking For Answers
By William Hicks
Continuing the recent run of bad economic news, an S&P/Case Shiller report on Tuesday confirmed that U.S. home prices in most major markets have resumed falling after stabilizing for a couple of years
Sufferings Of Resident Aliens In The United States:
Cases Of Krittika Biswas And Vikram Buddhi
By B.K. Subbarao. Ph.D.
Under this ‘rule of law', at present the resident aliens in the United States suffer as much as the native Indians in the past. The law enforcing agencies in the United States violate with complete impunity the legal rights and Constitutional rights of resident aliens in the United States . In many cases even the Courts fail to secure prompt justice to the innocent victims
Imperial Justice And Indian Frenzy
By Anand Teltumbde
The killing of Osama Bin Laden evoked most farcical reaction in India. Beyond approval of this imperial arrogance, the media created a nationalist hysteria that the US should declare Pakistan as a terrorist state; that India should carry out similar surgical operation to kill the likes of Dawood Ibrahim and Hafeez Saeed, hiding in Pakistan. If one went by the TV shows, there appeared complete consensus among the neoliberal generation assembled there. There was not the slightest qualm about the right or wrong or even the consideration of consequence
America's Addiction: Waging Illegal Wars
By Stephen Lendman
With regard to war, international and constitutional laws are clear. Under the Constitution's Article I, Section 8, only Congress may declare war, not the president. That, in fact, last happened on December 8, 1941 after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. As a result, all subsequent US wars have been illegal, including Obama's against Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Libya
I Am A Dissident
By Timothy V. Gatto
America was an idea and an ideal. The ideal of America is dead and buried, but the idea of America can live on. They can kill an ideal, but they can’t kill an idea. The idea of America is still carried by those who remember what we originally set out to do, to create a nation “By the people and for the people”. Let us hope that idea never dies
We Must Forget Bitterness Of The Past
By Dr Shabir Choudhry
Since 1947 all ethnic groups of the State of Jammu and Kashmir have suffered; and there is bitterness and anger. Those who want to keep us divided they keep on pouring fuel on fire, and devise new strategies to promote hatred among different ethnic communities that we hold each other responsible for our miseries
Kashmir’s Freedom In Making
By Inshah Malik
To understand Kashmir’s liberation struggle as only about suppressed nationalism is a flawed understanding. The cultural nationalism is intertwined with the ‘question of justice’ and upholding ‘morality of human self’. The state they aspire sounds one of those ideal democracies which haven’t been theorized by modern theorists yet. One wonders if Kashmir has learnt from the ‘failed neighboring states’ much faster than what they were supposed to?
Travesty Of Social Justice: The Curious Case Of
The Inclusion Of Upper Caste Syed ‘Mallicks'
In Bihar Backward Classes List
By Ashok Yadav & Khalid Anis Ansari
The inclusion of upper caste Syed Mallicks in the Backward Classes list (Annexure II) in Bihar by Nitish Kumar government in 2008, in a bid to appease the Muslim leadership and dilute the Saffron charge against himself due to his alliance with the right wing BJP, must be strongly interrogated
03 June , 2011
Record Emissions Of Carbon Dioxide:
The Bells Are Ringing For Humanity
By Dr. Peter Custers
The alarm bells this time are not being rung by climate scientists or by environmental activists. They are rung by none other than the International Energy Agency (I.E.A.), the institution set up in the 1970s to defend the interests of Western oil consuming nations. On May 30 last, the I.E.A. issued a press release that sent shock waves through the Western world. According to the release, global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) have reached their highest level ever in 2010
The Peak Oil Crisis: An Announcement
By Tom Whipple
The British government and the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security (ITPOES) will collaborate on a joint examination of concerns that global oil supply will begin to fall behind demand within as little as five years
Nuclear Fusion: The Elusive Genie
By Ugo Bardi
So, what is that we are seeking for, exactly? What miracle do we expect to receive from fusion power? It looks like we are looking for some magical lamp buried in the sand, out of which a magic genie will come out and save us from ourselves. We started looking in the 1950s and it seems that we haven't grown up, yet
In The World After Abundance
By John Michael Greer
It is crucial for individuals, families, and community groups to start shifting over to the habits of energy use that will make sense in the world after abundance, to work through the learning curve and develop the skills and technologies that will be there to pick up the pieces when the legacy technologies of our fading age of excess finally grind to a halt
Spiritual Environmentalism: Healing Ourselves
By Replenishing The Earth
By Wangari Maathai
While a certain tree, forest, or mountain itself may not be holy, the life-sustaining services it provides—the oxygen we breathe, the water we drink—are what make existence possible, and so deserve our respect and veneration. From this point of view, the environment becomes sacred, because to destroy what is essential to life is to destroy life itself
God Bless America. And Its Bombs
By William Blum
The United States is an equal-opportunity bomber. The only qualifications for a country to become a target are: (A) It poses an obstacle — could be anything — to the desires of the American Empire; (B) It is virtually defenseless against aerial attack
I Have Zero Respect For The Mainstream Media:
Gilad Atzmon
Interview By Silvia Cattori
Jazz saxophonist Gilad Atzmon has a blog where he denounces the policy of his country of origin, Israel. He is not afraid to bluntly tell what he regards to be the truth. He is impervious to the concept of self-censorship. He tells here how little respect he has for the Western press
Forty-Four Years Of Occupation
By Stephen Lendman
Palestine has been under criminal occupation for 44 years. During that time, (Israel) committed the worst crimes against humanity, violating every international instrument. The occupier has killed tens of thousands of our struggling people, most of them defenseless civilians. There have been over 800,000 instances of imprisonment. Tens of thousands of people have been injured, 30% left with permanent disabilities
Spain: Public Outrage Or Political Consciousness?
By Agustín Velloso
For the good of democracy, justice, liberty, and socialism, let us hope that this is the indignados' hour to shine. But it won't be so by their indignation alone, or by their youth, or even their mere unemployment, but by an increased awareness of their lot and by working to change it in their favor, alongside all of those who suffer under the heel of the political-corporate democratic alliance
02 June , 2011
NATO Extends Authorisation For Libya Bombardment To September
By Patrick O’Connor
NATO announced yesterday it is continuing its military intervention into Libya for another 90 days, extending the initial 90-day period that would have expired on June 27. The criminal bombardment of the oil-rich North African country has now been formally authorised until the end of September
Is That Even Legal?
By David Swanson
The theoretical example of legal confusion sounds extreme, but it is not far off the actual situation with regard to some of our most important public policies. Take the example of U.S. warmaking in Libya. Is that legal?
Three Strikes And You’re Hot: Time For Obama
To Say No To The Fossil Fuel Wish List
By Bill McKibben
If we value the one planet we’ve got, it’s going to be up to the rest of us to be crude and blunt. And happily that planet is pitching in
The Wonders Of Human Creatureliness
And The Biophysical Boundaries Of
A Tiny Celestial Orb Called Earth
By Steve Salmony
Could it be the current gigantic scale and unchecked growth rate of the global economy are driving unsustainable increases both in per human over-consumption and absolute human population numbers toward a point that precipitates the collapse of Earth’s ecology ?
What This World Needs: Inspiring Protest Mentors,
Like Diane Wilson
By Robert S. Becker
Diane elevated the "Just do it" notion before the shoe brand. Why limit unknowable results, she implies, with Obama-like, risk-averse "pragmatism," or entrenched group cautiousness, when you've got Wilson's full-throated impulsiveness, inspiration, and fearless nonchalance on your side?
Thoughtcrime: USA
By Rand Clifford
The federal government seems unable to do anything but lie. Now, that’s plenty disturbing, but perhaps most disturbing of all is that hordes of Americans still, somehow, actually believe the lies. Compiling a list of official lies would be a savage challenge, tantamount to writing a synopsis of everything important that has happened, and is happening
Escalating An Asian Arms Race
By Stephen Lendman
Together with South Korea, America's military plans expanding its Asian footprint on Jeju Island with a strategic naval base for Aegis class attack ships. They're equipped with sophisticated SM-3 interceptor missiles intended mainly for offense, as well as powerful computers and tracking radar for first-strike capability against enemy targets
Crushed Ice In Nuseirat:
My Gaza Refugee Camp Revisited
By Ramzy Baroud
My English teacher, Mohammed Nofal, remained as I had left him, funny and hospitable. A few of my friends have been killed, but many others have remained steadfast, building, repairing, educating and surviving. The astonishing level of determination that has always defined Gaza is much stronger than I remember it. No one seeks pity in this place
The Palestinian Question
By Dr. Habib Siddiqui
After years of waiting and betrayal, Palestinian peop;e have decided the right course of action: Ask the United Nations in September to recognize their state. The measure may not get them what they want, and the United States will veto it when it gets to the Security Council. But still, it is better than the current stalemate, and seems to be the only logical thing to do for the Palestinian people
Netanyahu And Obama: What's The Difference?
By Chandra Muzaffar
Two speeches made by a President and a Prime Minister within the short span of three days confirm what we have known all along: the US and Israeli governments have no interest in a just solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict
Who Is Behind The Abduction
And Killing Of Saleem Shahzad?
By Abdus-Sattar Ghazali
Syed Saleem Shahzad's murder is perhaps a warning to independent newspersons and writers not to meddle with the all powerful mercenary army that controls the levers of power in Islamabad
The Fakir
Book Review By Yoginder Sikand
Indian history is replete with stories of fiercely iconoclastic rebels who, refusing to be bound by the strictures and prejudices of religious orthodoxy, bravely denounced social convention in their quest for spiritual transcendence and social equality. One such figure was the late nineteenth century Bengali poet-rebel Lalan Fakir
01 June , 2011
Creating A New Vision Of Economic Growth
By James Gustave Speth
If we are going to move beyond growth, we will need to build a different kind of economy. We need to reinvent our economy, not merely restore it. We will have to shift to a new economy, a sustaining economy based on new economic thinking and driven forward by a new politics. Sustaining people, communities and nature must henceforth be seen as the core goals of economic activity. That is the paradigm shift we must now begin to pursue and promote
In The World, At The Limits To Growth
By David Korowicz
We are present at a unique point in human history, the twilight of an incredible age, the edge of a potentially dark night, and we can, if we respond well, find bright new dawn. A place of good lives well lived, rich in the things obscured by plenty, time for ourselves and others, time to learn and to play. A place free from the relentless consumer culture that feeds on the cultivation of anxiety
Deluded, Greedy And Obese: 'The Brightest
And Best' In One Generation
Ravage Their Children's Birthright
By Steve Salmony
Never in the course of human history have so few acted in ways that are detrimental to so many. Never has a tiny minority in a single generation consumed so ravenously and hoarded so avariciously, come what may. It does not have to be this way. Yes, we can change and if we choose necessary change, then the future is open. There is much to do, much that can be done
Unwed Tribal Mothers Seek Aid
By K. S. Harikrishnan
In tribal hamlets in the districts of Wayanad, Palakkadu and Kasargod, tribal girls end up as unwed mothers after falling victim to sexual harassment and exploitation, sometimes by influential men who refuse to acknowledge their responsibilities. Now, these women face shame and starvation
Obama's Foreign Policy Objectives
By Jack A. Smith
Any significant deterioration of U.S. domination in MENA, and the frustration of its ambitions in Central Asia — especially in combination with weakening economic and political influence in the world — could hasten America's decline as the unipolar global "leader," i.e., hegemon
The Six-Day War And A Possible Resolution
By Ron Forthofer
President Obama's recent statements about using the 1967 borders as the basis for a settlement of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict sparked strong reactions. These reactions also show that many people are terribly misinformed about who started the Six-Day War
Netanyahu's War On Gaza
By Stephen Lendman
May 31 marked the anniversary of Israel's barbaric slaughter of nine Freedom Flotilla activists in international waters, injuring dozens more trying to deliver thousands of tons of vital aid to besieged Gazans, suffocating illegally since June 2007
Sri Lanka : Anti-Conversion Law
By Chandi Sinnathurai
Among the many noises made in the post-war Sri Lanka one that is often neglected is the freedom to express one's faith as they wish within a pluralistic context. The anti-Conversion law in Sri Lanka has proven to be ever increasingly a quite worrying measure as the majority population begin to take this law into their own hands and act unthinkingly with gruesome violence
Debates Around Draft Of Communal Violence Bill
By Ram Puniyani
Mere laws don’t solve all the problems. The need to instill the values of amity and harmony as embodied in our freedom movement need to be re-emphasized by the state and social movements so that such a bill becomes a real effective check on the divisive tendencies in the society
'Hindu Consolidation Politics Over
Communal Violence Bill'
By Mahtab Alam & John Dayal
Mahtab Alam and John Dayal discuss the Communal Violence Bill
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