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31 March, 2015

Dozens Of Refugees Killed In Saudi-Led Airstrike On Yemen
By Niles Williamson

The International Organization for Migration reported on Monday that an airstrike on the Al Mazraq refugee camp in Yemen’s Hajjah Province killed at least forty people and injured two hundred others. The attack occurred on the fifth consecutive day of airstrikes carried out by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and backed by intelligence and logistical support from the United States

The Imploding Middle East, Saudi Kingdom And Pakistan
By Haris Khurshid

In latest turn of the events in Middle East now Pakistan is at crossroads to get embroiled in a distant conflict involving its Muslim benefactor Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or extricate itself from an avoidable war looming on the horizon of Yemen. The region is experiencing new wave of violence and disintegration in less stable parts mainly drawn by Shia Sunni sectarian and ethnic prejudice

Even America's ‘Media Watchdogs' Hide U.S.'s Ukrainian Nazification & Ethnic Cleansing
By Eric Zuesse

The U.S.'news' media are so censored and controlled, so that even America's ‘media watchdog' organizations — mediamatters.org and fair.org on the left; and aim.org and mrc.org on the right — have hidden from the American public President Barack Obama's Ukrainian coup in February 2014 that violently overthrew Ukraine's democratically elected President and replaced him with a Ukrainian nazi (racist-fascist) rabidly eliminationist anti-Russian, police-state regime in Kiev

Accountability Must Be At The Heart Of The Paris Climate Pact
By Harro van Asselt, Håkon Sælen and Pieter Pauw

Slowly but surely, the first climate pledges for the 2015 agreement – or, in UN-speak, Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) – have started to trickle in. Mexico and Norway were the latest countries to formally announce their pledges, with the United States and Russia also expected to submit their offers this week. Under the 2015 agreement, the hope is that INDCs will prove to be crucial instruments in preventing dangerous climate change. Yet a key element is still missing

Pakistan Shelves Six Coal-fired Power Projects
By Aamir Saeed

Pakistan has halted work on six coal-fired power projects of some 14,000 megawatts due to environmental concerns, lack of needed infrastructure and foreign investment

Surviving Climate Disaster In Africa's Sahel
By Thomas C. Mountain

After the droughts of 2003 and 2004 the government of Eritrea initiated a major water conservation plan that along with reforestation and soil conservation is a template for other countries to use to prepare for the climate catastrophe being predicted

We Are Losing The Oceans
By Paul Craig Roberts

From my perspective the human destruction of the oceans is yet more evidence of the ruinous nature of private capitalism. In capitalism there is no thought for the future of the planet and humanity, only for short-term profits and bonuses. Consequently, social costs are ignored

The Great Game in Afghanistan (Twenty-First-Century Update) And The U.S. Is Losing Out 
By Dilip Hiro

Call it an irony, if you will, but as the Obama administration struggles to slow down or halt its scheduled withdrawal from Afghanistan, newly elected Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is performing a withdrawal operation of his own. He seems to be in the process of trying to sideline the country's major patron of the last 13 years -- and as happened in Iraq after the American invasion and occupation there, Chinese resource companies are again picking up the pieces

Two Muslims Lynched In Two Different Cities Of The World Incited Two Different Reactions
By Abdul Rashid Agwan

The gory events of Kabul and Dimapur expose modern hypocrisy where both civilizational zeal and barbaric spree are going hand in hand, where religions fail to stimulate respect for human dignity in their followers and where the rule of law is yet not honored by those who are supposed to be its vouched guardians

Muslim vs. White Mass Murderers
By Matt Peppe

In the early months of 2015, there have been two separate mass murders inside France that have generated headlines worldwide for their brutality and disregard for human life. In early January, brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi entered the Paris offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and gunned down 11 employees, and shot dead one police officer on their way out. Last week, in an act of mass murder with more than 12 times the number of victims, 27-year-old pilot Andreas Lubitz intentionally guided the plane he was flying straight into the French Alps and killed all 150 people on board. Yet it is only the former murderous act that has been described by politicians and portrayed in the media as an existential threat and an example of terrorism

Television Commercial In California Asks Drone Pilots To Stop Killing
By David Swanson

This may be a first: a television ad campaign in a U.S. state capitol appealing to someone to stop murdering human beings who have, in most cases, already been born. A new 15-second television ad, a variation on one that's aired in Las Vegas near Creech Air Force Base, is debuting this week in Sacramento, Calif.

BOOKS: Occupy These Photos
By Mickey Z.

Now, I'm asking you to be part of that mission. Occupy These Photos is a book born on the streets and we're seeking funding in the same DIY manner: from the ground up. Please click here to find out how you can get involved! Thanks in advance for your support. Without you, this book would not have happened.

Indian Parliamentarian Doubts If Tobacco Kills! Do Not Reinvent The Wheel
By Bobby Ramakant

Indian parliamentarian who is chairing the committee which told the government not to implement stronger pictorial graphic health warnings on tobacco packs (and raise the warning size from 40% to 85%) from 1st April 2015, casted doubts whether tobacco causes cancer. India is at risk of reversing the gains made in saving lives from tobacco! He is the same parliamentarian who had raised similar questions in the parliament in 2011 and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India had given him detailed response underlining the alarming magnitude of the tobacco pandemic in the country

30 March, 2015

Yemen: Saudi-Led Airstrikes Take Civilian Toll
By Human Rights Watch

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition of Arab countries that conducted airstrikes in Yemen on March 26 and 27, 2015, killed at least 11 and possibly as many as 34 civilians during the first day of bombings in Sanaa, the capital, Human Rights Watch said today. The 11 dead included 2 children and 2 women. Saudi and other warplanes also carried out strikes on apparent targets in the cities of Saada, Hodaida, Taiz, and Aden

Yemen: No Military Solution
By Chandra Muzaffar

To bring order and stability to a nation which is in such a terrible mess, one has to persuade all the relevant players to talk to one another, to negotiate, to compromise. The peaceful, non-violent approach to conflict resolution has not been given enough space and scope to succeed in Yemen. The UN has been trying to play a role in a very difficult situation. The UN should be given full support by all the contending forces

A Middle East Holocaust
By Paul Craig Roberts

How does the world survive the American-Israeli aggression? Probably it will not. The evil is now directed at Iran, Russia, and China. These countries cannot be bombed year after year after year with no consequences to the bombers. Iran is limited in its destructive ability. But Iran could destroy Saudi Arabia and Israel. Russia and China can destroy the US and all of Washington’s vassal states. The intensity of Washington’s propaganda war is driving the world to destruction

The 12th Anniversary Of Aafia Siddiqui's Abduction:
What Happened To Aafia Siddiqui And Where Is She Now?

By Judy Bello

A Pakistani Woman named Aafia Siddiqui was abducted from a taxi in Karachi, Pakistan along with her 3 children 12 years ago on March 30, 2003. At the time she was vulnerable, recently divorced from an abusive husband; living with her mother; her father had just died of a heart attack. The youngest child was an infant. Following her abduction, Aafia Siddiqui and her children disappeared from view for 5 years. She spent those years in US Black Site prisons in Afghanistan and Pakistan. One can only imagine the torment she suffered there, in a system created to enable the torture and abuse of terrorism suspects. She was a woman alone. They took her children, and threatened them when personal torture was not enough to gain her acquiescence

What Will Happen To Food As More Agricultural Land Is Used For Biofuel?
By Countercurrents.org

A study published in the journal Science found government biofuel policies rely on reductions in food consumption to generate greenhouse gas savings. Now, the question is: Whether to seek greenhouse gas reductions from food reductions?

Does Civilisation Mean Insanity And Violence?
By Sukumaran C. V.

Biodiversity is the prime necessity for the continuance of Life on Earth, and the humans destroy the very thing which helps them survive on earth

Postcard From The End Of America: Carlisle, PA
By Linh Dinh 

Black, white, brown or yellow, anyone who's dwelling within these Disunited States will be thoroughly nicked up, if not buried alive, from the coming collapse and turmoil, and it's telling that our final chapter started with a double castrations that was broadcast, live, to the entire world, and that one of our bravest dissidents, Bradley Manning, also wishes to have nothing between his legs, and that our present day Jim Thorpe, one Bruce Jenner, also dreams of the day he will finally be emasculated. Don't worry, it's coming

Gendered Dis-preference In Indian Society
By Roli Misra

In present context with the advent of new technology the practice of female infanticide has been replaced by genocide of millions of women known as female foeticide – denying the girl its very right to take birth. The rapid spread of the use of ultrasounds and amniocentesis for sex determination followed by sex selective induced abortions has created a situation of daughter drought with tragic consequences

Lambs To The Slaughter: The Dying Future Of Higher Education
By P K Vijayan

For the sake of our professional integrity, then, for the sake of our students, for the sake of the institutions that we have studied and worked in, for the sake of the society to which we belong and to which we are accountable – for everyone's sake, and not just our own, it is time for the teachers' movement to come together once again, and give an exemplary response to the forces that seek to grind us down

Attacking The Cross: Rise In Anti Christian Violence
By Ram Puniyani

Julio Ribeiro is one of the best known police officers in India. Recently (March 16, 2015) he wrote in his article that he is feeling like a stranger in this country. ‘I feel threatened, not wanted, reduced to a stranger in my own country’. This pain and anguish of a distinguished citizen, an outstanding police officer has to be seen against the backdrop of the rising attacks on Churches and rape of the 71 year old nun in Kolkata. All over the country the rage amongst the Christian community is there to be seen in the form of silent marches, candle light vigils and peaceful protests

Islam, Peace, Justice & Dialogue
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan's Interaction Interaction with a group of Catholic priests and nuns, New Delhi

The Healing Power Of Meditation
By William T. Hathaway

TM produces mental and physical rest that is twice as deep as in sleep, although we're fully awake. This rejuvenating state enables the body's self-healing mechanism to repair the damage from traumatic events and illnesses. With these blockages gone we are more able to develop our full capabilities

29 March, 2015

Arab Nations Move Closer To Unified Military Force As Yemen Conflict Escalates
By Russia Today

Arab leaders have agreed to form a joint military force at a Sharm el-Sheikh summit, hosting Egyptian President Abdel Sisi has announced. The meeting was dominated by the situation in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia leads a bombing campaign against rebels

Trademark Jaw-Dropping US Hypocrisy On Display re Saudi Aggression vs. Russian “Aggression”
By Robert Barsocchini

The US is now openly coordinating another act of naked aggression committed by a tandem force of two US-collaborator countries competing for the title of world’s worst domestic dictatorship: Saudi Arabia and Egypt

Shell’s Climate Change Strategy: Narcissistic, Paranoid, And Psychopathic
By John Ashton

In an open letter to Shell’s Ben Van Beurden, the UK’s former top climate envoy says now is the time for him to show leadership

Wyden Shows Connection Between Rigged Trade & Rigged Government
By Kevin Zeese

A week with Wyden shows a secret fundraiser for a secretly negotiated corporate agreement

Stop Smoking The Democrack
By Cindy Sheehan and David Swanson

The U.S. government is toying with a war with nuclear Russia while already waging wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, having done severe damage to Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia. Military spending is climbing ever higher. Presidential war powers are ever more extreme. The proliferation of nuclear technology is combining with the ease and secrecy of drone wars to raise the risk of a Dr. Strangelove finish to the human species. And, let's face it, you had more time to give a damn when the president was a Republican

Withdraw The Discredited Study On Chrysotile (White) Asbestos
Press Release

Scientists and scientific organisations around the world call on Government of India to withdraw a flawed study on chrysotile asbestos and stop blocking UN Convention

Re-Probe Hashimpura Killing Case
By Syed Ali Mujtaba

It’s bolt on India’s democracy that the murders of Hashimpura are let out for want of evidence. There is hardly any hue and cry, local and international pressure being built for re-probe. The evidences are abundant, it needs to pieced together and bring it for the judicial scrutiny. Re-probe of Hashimpura carnage alone can instill confidence among the minority community in the country

Tobacco or Health! U Turn On Pictorial Warning On Tobacco Products
By Subhash Gatade

Government is set to defer indefinitely the implementation of notification for increasing the size of pictorial warning on tobacco products beyond April one, when it was to come into force. ..The notification regarding amendment to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008 sought increase in the size of specified health warning from the current 40 per cent to 85 per cent of the principal display area of the package of tobacco products

28 March, 2015

Airstrikes On Yemen Continue: 24 Dead
By Countercurrents.org

Saudi Arabia and its allies have launched airstrikes in Yemen against rebel Shiite Houthi forces gaining more ground. The mainly Gulf coalition, which also includes the US, is trying to help embattled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Twenty-four people were killed and 43 injured as a result of Saudi-led airstrikes over the last 24 hours, Yemen’s Saba state news agency reported the Interior Ministry saying in a statement

Nuclear Threat Escalating Beyond Political Rhetoric
By Thalif Deen

As a new cold war between the United States and Russia picks up steam, the nuclear threat is in danger of escalating – perhaps far beyond political rhetoric

The Social Costs Of Capitalism Are Destroying Earth’s Ability To Support Life
By Paul Craig Roberts

David Ray Griffin has taken on global warming and the CO2 crisis. His book has just been published by Clarity Press, a publisher that seeks out truth-telling authors. Griffin’s book is a hefty 424 pages plus 77 pages of footnotes documenting the information that he presents. Unprecedented: Can Civilization Survive The CO2 Crisis? The book is a carefully researched document

No Ban On Coal Finance As Green Climate Fund Eyes First Projects
By Megan Darby

The Green Climate Fund has not ruled out backing coal plants after a protracted three-day board meeting in Songdo, South Korea. Tense negotiations ended at 04 20 on Thursday with agreement on seven intermediaries to disburse funds for low carbon development and climate adaptation in poor countries

Two Degree Celsius Climate Change Target 'Utterly Inadequate
By Countercurrents.org

The official global target of a 2°C temperature rise is 'utterly inadequate' for protecting those at most risk from climate change, says a lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), writing a commentary in the open access journal Climate Change Responses. The commentary presents a rare inside-view of a two-day discussion at the Lima Conference of the Parties (COP) on the likely consequences of accepting an average global warming target of 2°C versus 1.5°C

The Czech Republic And The Fine Art Of Collaboration
By Andre Vltchek

The US military convoy will soon be passing through the Czech territory, from the Baltics and Poland, to its permanent base in Bavaria, Germany. That is bad enough. The Czechs should not have allowed the convoy to pass. Provoking Russia and moving closer and closer to the fascist Empire is a shameless and cowardly act

Coming Home
By William T. Hathaway

From the Book RADICAL PEACE: People Refusing War. RADICAL PEACE is a collection of reports from antiwar activists, the true stories of their efforts to change our warrior culture. In this chapter a mother tells of her son's return from combat. She wishes to remain anonymous

Cultural Hegemony And Social Change: 2015
By Jon Kofas

There are conservative analysts who assume that more than anything people crave safety and security. Cultural hegemony rests on the fears of the people who have been conditioned to accept the status quo and avert risk when it comes to securing a new social contract that would represent all people. Some advocates of democracy argue that actualizing their potential is just as important for human beings, but this entails having an institutional structure that permits and promotes those possibilities. I have argued in the past that uprisings are very possible in the 21st century, especially after the next inevitable deep recession, but systemic change is highly unlikely

Damage Limitation Time For Monsanto: Time To Wheel Out Patrick Moore Again... Or Maybe Not!
By Colin Todhunter

It’s been a bad couple of weeks for Monsanto. The company agreed to pay $600,000 in fines for not reporting hundreds of uncontrolled releases of toxic chemicals at its eastern Idaho phosphate plant. It also paid out a string of lawsuit settlements totaling $350,000 as a result of its GMOs tainting wheat in seven US states. Such amounts represent little more than a tap on the wrist for a company that rakes in sales of almost $16 billion dollars annually

Obama And The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
By William James Martin

The Palestinians have little to offer Obama. Do not expect any significant progress engendered by the Obama administration for the rest of his term. If there is to be any change in the configuration between the Palestinians and the Israelis, it will emanated from the International Court of Justice

Brutal Lathi Charge On Workers Outside Delhi Secretariat
By Abhinav Sinha

Complete account of the brutal lathi charge on workers outside Delhi Secretariat on the orders of Kejriwal Government on March 25, 2015

“Bapu Surat Singh: Punjab’s Irom Sharmila”
By PUCL

Human Rights Violations by the Punjab Government and Punjab Police regarding the Surat Singh Khalsa fast unto death

27 March, 2015

As Saudi Arabia And Allies Continue Airstrikes, Sorrow And Rage In Yemen
By Jon Queally

Airstrikes led by Saudi Arabia, and supported by other members of Gulf Cooperating Council and the U.S. government, continued to hit Yemen on Thursday as the situation in one of the world's most impoverished, yet strategically important countries continues to unravel amid what can only be described now as all-out war. Reports indicate that a first wave of bombings overnight which resulted in a number of civilian deaths—including entire families trapped in flattened houses—have spurred widespread anger in Sanaa and other targeted cities, even among members of the population opposed to the Houthi rebels

Saudi Arabia, Egypt Prepare US-Backed Invasion Of Yemen
By Niles Williamson

Saudi Arabia and Egypt are preparing a US-backed military invasion of Yemen aimed at pushing back the Houthi militia that has taken over much of the country and reasserting the control of besieged President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. Egyptian officials told the Associated Press that the three-pronged assault would come from Saudi Arabia in the north and from the Red Sea in the west and the Arabian Sea in the south. As many as five Egyptian troop ships have been stationed off the coast of Yemen. The officials said that the assault would begin after airstrikes had sufficiently weakened the Houthi rebels

5 Facts You Need To Know About Yemen And Its Conflicts
By Russia Today

One of the poorest and most violent countries in the Middle East, Yemen is also an area of strategic importance for regional players – and some of the world’s most dangerous terror groups. RT explains the underlying reasons behind the nation's conflicts

US Warplanes Attack Targets In Center Of Tikrit
By Patrick Martin

US warplanes began air strikes on Islamic State positions in the center of Tikrit Wednesday night, the first involvement of US forces in the bloody fighting in that Iraqi city, the hometown of the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Military sources said at least 180 targets were struck in one of the most ferocious bombardments since the US resumed military operations in Iraq last August

ISIS Everywhere: Have Saudi Chickens Come Home To Roost?
By Taj Hashmi

Far from being a “Sunni jihadist group”, ISIS is yet another creation of botched up U.S. foreign policy in the Muslim World. Attributing anything Islamic to the group is as ridiculous as attributing American invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, and illegal detention of “illegal combatants” at Guantanamo Bay to Christianity. Nevertheless, ISIS is an enigma, a by-product of the Saudi-Iranian proxy war, and last but not least, an integral part of Washington’s false flag operation in the Muslim World

Europe Must Not Be Forced Into A Nuclear War With Russia
By John Scales Avery

A thermonuclear war today would be not only genocidal but also omnicidal. It would kill people of all ages, babies, children, young people, mothers, fathers and grandparents, without any regard whatever for guilt or innocence. Such a war would be the ultimate ecological catastrophe, destroying not only human civilization but also much of the biosphere. Each of us has a duty to work with dedication to prevent it. Europe must not be the close ally (or vassal) of the world's greatest purveyor of violence and war

The $160 Billion Cost: Why Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovych Spurned EU's Offer, on 20 Nov. 2013
By Eric Zuesse

So: now you know why Yanukovych, the very next day after his learning about the $160B price tag of the EU's offer, turned it down, and also why this revelation is still news, more than a year later — just as it was news to me until I happened upon it only today

Amnesty: Gaza Firing Of Indiscriminate Rockets Is War Crime
By Robert Barsocchini

Amnesty notes in a new report that attacks by Gazans resisting Israeli occupation, invasion, and terrorist attacks amount to war crimes, due to the uncontrollable nature of the rudimentary projectiles Gazans are forced to use because of the Israeli occupation and siege keeping Gaza isolated from the rest of the world. “According to UN data, more than 4,800 rockets and 1,700 mortars were fired from Gaza towards Israel during the conflict.” But the western media is silent on the number of casualty caused by these projectiles compared to the overwhelming death and destruction caused by Israel's assualt on Gaza

New Study: Allies Raped Nearly 1 Million German Women During And After WWII
By Robert Barsocchini

Germany’s The Local reports: Professor Miriam Gebhardt’s book When the Soldiers Came, published this week, includes interviews with victims, stories of the children of rape and research that she conducted over the course of a year and a half into birth records in Allied-occupied West Germany and West Berlin

A Different Form Of Holocaust Denial
By Mickey Z.

The use of the word “holocaust” in relation to factory farming is semantically accurate but horribly insensitive and demonstrably ineffectiv

Volume Loss From Antarctic Ice Shelves Is Accelerating, Finds Study
By Countercurrents.org

Scientists have warned: The ice around the edge of Antarctica is melting faster than previously thought, potentially unlocking meters of sea-level rise in the long-term

Vast Majority Of Americans Believe That The Climate Is Changing
By Ian James

Stanford University professor Jon Krosnick has been studying Americans' attitudes about global warming for nearly two decades and has found in repeated polls that a large majority see climate change as a threat to future generations that should be addressed

Sri Lanka : Deterioration Of The Legal Intellect:
1) Quelling Mass Protests With Extrajudicial Killings

By Basil Fernando

In tracing the rapid deterioration of the legal intellect in Sri Lanka, the extrajudicial killings committed by the State should be scrutinised as one of the most significant factors for such deterioration

India: Celebrating “Internet Freedom” In A Country Known For Custodial Killings?
By Samar

The Supreme Court’s scrapping of Section 66 A of the Information Technology Act for being “unconstitutional in entirety” is indeed a great moment in the life of the democracy. The Act did, in fact, invade citizenry’s right of free speech “arbitrarily, excessively and disproportionately”. However, is this really a moment to celebrate in the life of a republic whose criminal justice system is rotten to the core? Will it really lead to any exercise of freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, in a land where ordinary citizens fear the police more than the criminals?

Revisiting The Caste Question
By Priyanka Dass Saharia

How is modern form of caste in contemporary times? Nicholas Dirks had argued on colonial power knowledge complexes instrumental in reifying it within bureaucratic structures and discourses. The various institutions of caste were used as tools to manage the divide and rule policies perpetuated by the British. The question then becomes as to what form did these changes take? In what ways did the imported modernity of colonialism changed the ‘registers’ of belief and social reality in India?

Examinations And Professional Competence
By S.G.Vombatkere

The recent news reports of wholesale cheating in matriculation examinations in Bihar, with pictures of accomplices dangerously climbing the walls of buildings in which examinations were being held, to hand over cheating-aids to candidates, are horrifying. The physical risk taken by the accomplices shows that the cash paid to them – by parents who are okay with cheating, and making arrangements to “help” their wards – is adequate

26 March, 2015

US Backs Saudi Airstrikes Against Houthis In Yemen
By Niles Williamson

The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Adair Al Jubeir, announced Wednesday night from Washington, D.C. that his country, in coordination with the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, had begun airstrikes on Houthi rebel positions inside Yemen. He said that Saudi Arabia and others in the coalition were prepared “to protect and defend the legitimate government” of President Adb Rabbu Mansur Hadi

US Airstrikes, Coupled With Iran-Backed Militias And Iraqi Forces, Target ISIS In Tikrit
By Jon Queally

As Middle East historian Juan Cole points out, the U.S. military on Wednesday into Thursday was assisting the Saudi bombing of the Iranian-allied Houthi rebel targets in Yemen, while simultaneously collaborating (at least indirectly) with Iranian military advisors from the Iranian Republican Guard Corp in the operation against ISIS in Tikrit. "The US support for the Saudi air strikes and the new coalition makes the Yemen war now the second major air campaign supported by the US in the region," he writes. "But the one in Iraq is in alliance with Iran. The one in Yemen is against a group supported in some measure by Iran."

Washington’s Two Air Wars: With Iran In Iraq, With Saudis (Against Iran) In Yemen
By Juan Cole

The US support for the Saudi air strikes and the new coalition makes the Yemen war now the second major air campaign supported by the US in the region. But the one in Iraq is in alliance with Iran. The one in Yemen is against a group supported in some measure by Iran

Study By Physicians For Social Responsibility: US Wars Against
Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan Have Killed 1.3 Million – Conservative Estimate

By Robert Barsocchini

“This investigation comes to the conclusion that the war has, directly or indirectly, killed around 1 million people in Iraq, 220,000 in Afghanistan and 80,000 in Pakistan, i.e. a total of around 1.3 million. Not included in this figure are further war zones such as Yemen. The figure is approximately 10 times greater than that of which the public, experts and decision makers are aware of and propagated by the media and major NGOs. And this is only a conservative estimate. The total number of deaths in the three countries named above could also be in excess of 2 million, whereas a figure below 1 million is extremely unlikely.”

Obama Now Sides w. Poroshenko & EU To End Ukraine's War
By Eric Zuesse

Obama has other fish to fry with them — such as his proposed Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), to grant international corporations effective control over the environmental, labor, and product-safety regulations of participating countries. He seems to have decided (at least for the time being) to pursue — via other routes than Ukraine — his war against Russia

Agent Orange Funding Opens Door To US Militarism And Covert Action In Vietnam
By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers

Is the United States finally accepting responsibility for the devastating ongoing effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam, or is this funding just a way to get USAID in the door to meddle in the country's affairs as part of Obama's “Asian Pivot” strategy?

The Madness Of Funding The Pentagon To “Cover The Globe” 
By William D. Hartung

Your Money at War Everywhere

A New Economy Will Help Save Rivers And Fisheries
By Brent Blackwelder

Globalization and cheater economics have been destroying the world’s great rivers and their fisheries. Most people know about the devastation of rivers from water pollution, but not as many are aware of the significant impacts of big dams, river engineering, and real estate development in and on top of rivers. These activities can seriously damage fisheries and impair the natural functions of riverine ecosystems. A true-cost, steady state economy would, for the most part, avoid the continuing tragic dismantlement of rivers and fisheries

Netanyahu The Mythbuster: 'Special Relationship' No More
By Ramzy Baroud

Imagine if an American presidential candidate made a plea to his supporters on election day with the following statement: “The Republican administration is in danger. Black voters are going en masse to the polls. Liberal NGOs are bringing them on buses.” Even in a country where Chris Matthews is a media celebrity and Pamela Geller is an intellectual, the statement would be scandalous, a political death wish even. In Israel, however, the opposite is true. In a message delivered in a video on Facebook, incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a sinister call appealing to ingrained racism in Israeli society: “The right-wing government is in danger. Arab voters are going en masse to the polls. Left-wing NGOs are bringing them on buses.”

Despite Protests, Japan Diverts Funds Earmarked To Fight
Climate Change To Finance Coal Plants In India, Bangladesh

By Countercurrents.org

Despite mounting protests, Japan continues to finance the building of coal-fired power plants with money earmarked for fighting climate change, with two new projects underway in India and Bangladesh, reported the Associated Press

Premises On The Question Of Political Crisis In Bangladesh
By Farooque Chowdhury

Today’s Bangladesh faces political crisis as scores of news-reports and views claim [an end-note to this article cites headings/excerpts of a few of those], and today’s Bangladesh doesn’t face political crisis as one can claim periods of turmoil are not crisis, can cite a few data from economy, and can also refer to a lull within a long period of crisis. Both the statements, one can claim, are correct in relative terms. On the other hand, any of the two cancels the other. Only a scientific approach to the question – crisis – can provide a reliable answer. The approach should look into all related aspects instead of making sweeping remarks based on superficial observations and shallow search that ignores basic elements of crisis

Pads Against Sexism Campaign – Some Issues
By Parvin Sultana

Elone Kastratia started a unique street art protest using Sanitary napkins with messages against sexual violence in her hometown Krlsruhe, Germany which went viral in social media. With rapidly spreading across to other countries, it was picked up by students of universities like Jamia Milia Islamia, Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University. They put up sanitary napkins in various spots in the universities. The idea behind using sanitary napkins to start such awareness campaign was to use blunt hard hitting methods in starting a dialogue around sexual harassment of women. The means used raised many eyebrows in a society where sexism continues to be rampant

A Deeper Look At Vedic History Suggests A Tribal Melting Pot
That May Surprise The Hindu Nationalist

By Amritanshu Pandey

While the nationalists speak of a golden past the truth is that ancient India may very well have been the equivalent of a medieval Arabia! Realisation of this could help us better accept India’s vast cultural diversity, and prevent us from engaging in acts such as the ban on beef-production simply because it offends the culture of a select group. The truth is that there could have been several ancient Indian tribes that relished beef, while others abstained from its consumption. Which of them represent the real India, and who are we truly descended from?

The Fear Factor In Indian Republic
By Parvez Alam

I am tempted to write because I am feeling insecure. May be I shouldn't write because it becomes easy for them to identify me and kill me. They can kill me any time anywhere, in day light, at mid night, in Hashimpura or in Sopore or in Batla House. What is the purpose of these institutions, only killing and intimidating or something else? Why have we made our society in such a way that police and army symbolize only fear? Why we train security personnel in the fashion which create them spineless robots who just do not feel any acquiescence with thinking and judging? Why are we not agitating against the acts of violence, denial of justice, inhumanity and banality of evil? Why are we so silent when we are feeling so disturbed inside?

A Guide To Understanding Our Times - Review of
Recollection of Things Learned
By Gaither Stewart 

By William T. Hathaway

Gaither Stewart is a man of passions. In The Europe Trilogy he shared with us his passion for international espionage and intrigue. In Voices from Pisalocca he shared his passion for village life in his adoptive country, Italy. In The Fifth Sun he shared his passion for Native-American mythology. Now in Recollection of Things Learned he shares his passion for socialism, both the complexity of its theory and the clash of its praxis. 

25March, 2015

Rising Food Price A Global Concern
By Mousumi Roy

The issue of rising food Prices across the globe is a matter of great concern, and is being discussed on many international forums. Studies show that, since households in developing countries spend most of their income on food items, rising food prices affect them significantly more than households in developed countries

Hold The Rich Accountable In New U.N. Development Goals, Say NGOs
By Thalif Deen

The Civil Society Reflection Group (CSRG) on Global Development Perspectives will be releasing a new study which calls for both goals and commitments – this time particularly by the rich – if the UN’s 17 proposed new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the post-2015 development agenda are to succeed

Two Towns Face The Fallout As Himalayan Glaciers Melt
By Daniel Grossman

For two towns in northern India, melting glaciers have had very different impacts — one town has benefited from flowing streams and bountiful harvests; but the other has seen its water supplies dry up and now is being forced to relocate

U.S.-v.-Russia: Even Stephen Cohen Is Starting To Speak The Truth
By Eric Zuesse

An alarming development is that Stephen F. Cohen, the internationally prominent scholar of Russia, is acknowledging that (1:35 on the video) “for the first time in my long life (I began in this field in the 1960s), I think the possibility of war with Russia is real,” and he clearly and unequivocally places all of the blame for it on the U.S. leadership. He calls this “possibly a fateful turning-point in history.” He also says “it could be the beginning of the end of the so-called trans-Atlantic alliance.”

How The US Government And US Military Became Murder, Inc.
By Paul Craig Roberts

The Revolution in Military Affairs has decapitated the US military, which no longer has the knowledge or ability or human tools to conduct war. If the crazed Russophobic US generals get their way and end up in confrontation with Russia, the American forces will be destroyed. The humiliation of this defeat will cause Washington to take the war nuclear

Resisting Israeli Politics
By Brenda Heard

Six months prior to the upcoming UK general election, the Board of Deputies of British Jews published its “2015 General Election Jewish Manifesto.” This forty-page document urges both existing and prospective members of the UK Parliament to support various “policy asks” and to “champion these causes.” The Manifesto was styled after a very similar one created for the 2014 EU elections. Indeed their goals appear the same: to ensure a pro-Israeli agenda in the House of Commons and beyond

Supreme Court Decision On Section 66A Lays The Basis Of Fifth Pillar Of Democracy
By Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava

India has now unrestricted freedom to speak and express on social sites, albeit qualified by the reasonable restrictions as mentioned in Art. 19 of the constitution. This development makes India one of the most advanced countries in the world where people can release their grievances against the system, and against the leaders who for no attainments still glorify themselves. It gives Indian people a tool to create public opinion on any issue. Internet is now a force with a capacity to channelize the people’s anger, desires, and expectations in unified manner towards its destination

The Challenge Of Our Time Is Challenge Of Education:
A Virus Corrupting And Destructing Young Minds

By Dr. Fayaz Ahmad Bhat

Our educational system needs a radical change

24 March, 2015

US Military March Through Eastern Europe And
Ukraine Cash Contribution To Clinton Foundation Gets Exposed

By Countercurrents.org

As U.S. military convoy pushes through countries in eastern Europe while cash contribution to Clinton Foundation gets exposed. Activists are protesting the U.S. military march. An AP report said: A U.S. army infantry convoy is driving through eastern Europe seeking to provide reassurance to a region concerned that the Ukraine conflict threatens its securit

IMF: Ukraine Must Now Steal $1.5 Billion+ From Russia To Buy Arms
By German Economic News

The IMF has developed a program for Ukraine, under which the current financial hole is to be filled in the amount $40 billion. The due debts [the senior debt] are part of the plan, and will be restructured, according to the IMF. Exactly how it is to happen, the IMF does not explain. Experts say that the IMF believes that Russia should participate in a haircut

What’s Going On In The North Atlantic?
By Stefan Rahmstorf

The North Atlantic between Newfoundland and Ireland is practically the only region of the world that has defied global warming and even cooled. Last winter there even was the coldest on record – while globally it was the hottest on record. Our recent study attributes this to a weakening of the Gulf Stream System, which is apparently unique in the last thousand years

World’s Richest One Percent Undermine Fight Against Economic Inequalities
By Thalif Deen

The growing economic inequalities between rich and poor – and the lopsided concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the world’s one percent – are undermining international efforts to fight global poverty, environmental degradation and social injustice, according to a civil society alliance

Empire And Colonialism: Rich Men In London Still Deciding Africa's Future
By Colin Todhunter

Some £600 million in UK aid money courtesy of the taxpayer is helping big business increase its profits in Africa via the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. In return for receiving aid money and corporate investment, African countries have to change their laws, making it easier for corporations to acquire farmland, control seed supplies and export produce

Herbicide US Sprays Over Millions Of Acres In Columbia “Drug War” Linked To Cancer
By Robert Barsocchini

The Associated Press reports that “the world’s most-popular weed killer” has been discovered to be “a likely cause of cancer”: The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a French-based research arm of the World Health Organization, has reclassified the herbicide glyphosate as a result of what it said is convincing evidence the chemical produces cancer in lab animals and more limited findings it causes non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in humans. …the glyphosate-containing herbicide Roundup [made by Monsanto] is a mainstay of industrial agriculture

Glyphosate "Probably" Causes Cancer: But Patrick Moore
Says Drinking A Quart Does No Harm (Before Storming Out Of TV Interview)

By Colin Todhunter

To coincide with the IARC’s findings, public promoter of GM golden rice Patrick Moore recently said during an interview on French TV that: “I do not believe that glyphosate in Argentina is causing cancer. You can drink a whole quart and it won’t hurt you.” On being repeatedly asked to back up his statement Moore walked out of the interview

Sixty Percent Of Global Drone Exports Come From Israel — New Data
By Rania Khalek

Israel has supplied 60.7 percent of the world’s drones since 1985, according to new data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. As a result, Israel is the single greatest source of drone proliferation in the world

Secrecy And Democracy Are Incompatible
By John Scales Avery

It is obvious, almost by definition, that excessive governmental secrecy and true democracy are incompatible. If the people of a country have no idea what their government is doing, they cannot possibly have the influence on decisions that the word “democracy” implies

A Liberal Lawyer Gives Up On Preventing Murder
By David Swanson

Rosa Brooks' article in Foreign Policy is called "There is no such thing as peacetime." Brooks is a law professor who has testified before Congress to the effect that if a drone war is labeled a proper war then blowing children apart with missiles is legal, but that if it's not properly a war then the same action is murder

Wait For Justice To Victims Of Hashimpura Has Become Much Longer
By Subash Gatade

After around 28 years of the gruesome massacre allegedly by the personnel of the much feared PAC ( Provincial Armed Constabulary) for its biased approach , the Delhi court acquitted all 16 accused on ‘benefit of doubt due to insufficient evidence, particularly on the identification of the accused’. There have been very few massacres in post-independent India which have shaken the civil society to the core and have propelled it to come forward and raise its voice. And the Hashimpura killings happen to be one such episode

America's Global Dominance (Since WW II) Has Just Ended
By Eric Zuesse

Obama’s arrogance is what’s driving the world away. It has brought about the end of The American Century, in world affairs. It has given entirely new meaning to the old phrase “the ugly American.” In its new meaning, this phrase refers not to the American public (who never really deserved such opprobrium anyway), but clearly to the American aristocracy, the billionaire elite whom Obama and the U.S. Congress actually serve. They are America’s problem, but perhaps they won’t become the world’s, after all. That is what is at stake here: whether an overreaching national aristocracy will succeed in imposing its will upon and against the entire world. Other aristocracies are now deciding: no. They won’t. And that’s today’s big news-story

Barbarians Are Coming - Western or Arabs?
By Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja

The US and the Europeans see war as an instrument of political hegemony and control over the precious natural resources of the Arab-Muslim world. The super-ego American and the allied Europeans are missing sense of guilt for the vice and ruins of decade long occupation and destruction of Iraq and Afghanistan

Vietnam's Major Regional Thrust For A Malaria-Free Asia Pacific By 2030
By Citizen News Service (CNS)

Vietnam signals greater regional leadership in malaria elimination by hosting health officials and experts to discuss challenges to achieving a malaria-free Asia Pacific by 2030. This week, Vietnam will host Ministry of Health officials from the Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN); a group of 17 countries in Asia Pacific who each share the ultimate goal to become malaria-free

23 March, 2015

Houthi Militia Takes Over Taiz As Yemen Descends Into Civil War
By Niles Williamson

Houthi militia members seized the military airport in Taiz on Saturday without any resistance from Yemeni military forces. The capture of Taiz brings the Houthi forces within 180 kilometers of the southern port city of Aden, the hometown and stronghold of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.Fighters from the Special Security Forces reportedly fired their automatic weapons and volleys of tear gas to disperse large crowds of protesters who turned out to oppose the Houthis’ presence in the country’s third largest city. Amid the country’s descent into sectarian conflict, the United States announced that it was evacuating approximately 100 US Special Operations soldiers who had been stationed at the Al Anad airbase in Lahj province. They cited security threats after Al Qaeda militants briefly seized control of the nearby city of Al Houta on Friday

12th Anniversary Of Illegal Iraq Invasion – 2.7 Million Iraqi Dead
From Violence Or War-imposed Deprivation

By Dr Gideon Polya

Those with consciences recently marked the 12th anniversary on 19 March 2015 of the illegal and war criminal US, UK and Australian invasion of Iraq in 2003 that was based on false assertions of Iraqi possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction, was conducted in the absence of UN sanction or Iraqi threat to the invading nations, and led to 2.7 million Iraqi deaths from violence (1.5 million) or from violently-imposed deprivation (1.2 million). The West has now commenced its Seventh Iraq War since 1914 in over a century of Western violence in which Iraqi deaths from violence or violently-imposed deprivation have totalled 9 million. However Western Mainstream media have resolutely ignored the carnage, this tragically illustrating the adage “History ignored yields history repeated

Fateful Steps That Led To The Crisis In Ukraine (Part I)
By Thomas Riggins

The crisis that struck Ukraine last year-- the overthrow of the elected president, the Russian annexation of Crimea, the rebellion in the Russian speaking eastern provinces— was the result of problems that had been festering, not only in Ukraine but all along the former frontiers of the USSR since the end of the cold war and the collapse of eastern European socialism over twenty some years previously

For Hamza: Arms Sanctions Against Israel’s Everyday Terrorism
By Vacy Vlazna

Meet little Hamza Mus'ab Almadani of Khan Younis, Gaza. Look carefully, look tenderly, don’t turn away. Please don’t turn away as all the nations of the world have, for decades, turned away from Palestine. Hamza is Palestine. Look carefully at Israel’s savage violation to his once perfect little body when on the 25th July 2014, Israel’s soldiers loaded and fired pale blue artillery shells that discharged white incendiary rain on Gaza in hundreds of phosphorous-impregnated felt wedges as Hamza and his family slept. Imagine the agony Hamza suffered from the moment the white phosphorous struck and burrowed through his soft three year old skin. Phosphorous burns are only contained by blocking off oxygen but the extreme pain and, as you can see, the horrific tissue damage endures

Middle Income Nations Home To Half The World’s Hungry
By Thalif Deen

Nearly half of the world’s hungry, about 363 million people, live in some of the rising middle income countries including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Mexico, according to a new report released Wednesday by the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Senator Cotton, Hitler, And 'Appeasement'
By Mickey Z.

There are many issues swirling about the current situation in Iran but invoking Churchill, Hitler, and the A Word activates the following historical façade: by whipping the original axis of evil in a noble and popular war, the United States and its allies can now wave the banner of humanitarianism and intervene with impunity across the globe without their motivations being questioned… especially when every enemy of the United States is likened to Hitler

Jump Out Of The Pot!
By William T. Hathaway

Like the frogs in a simmering water pot, we are provided with pictures, music, and other pleasures to distract us from the worsening conditions of our lives and render us incapable of changing them. These entertainments lull us with subjective emotions that offer solace and escape from our objective reality. They range from the crude to the refined, but all are characterized by glorifying the inner life of the supposedly sovereign individual

Declaring Dr. Chia Thye Poh As A Singaporean Hero Is A Better Way
To Commemorate The Death Of Lee Kuan Yew

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

Many, including President Barack Obama, have been paying glowing tributes to Lee Kuan Yew since the announcement of his death this morning, 23rd March 2015. However, recalling what Lee Kuan Yew did to Dr. Chia Thye Poh and many other persons who aspired for multi-party democracy and respect for the freedom of expression in Singapore is a better way to remember Lee Kuan Yew. It is the least that can be done to fight back against the terrible legacy he has bequeathed

What Happened In Hashimpura 28 Years Ago?
By Vibhuti Narain Rai

There are some experiences that stick with you throughout your life. They always stay with you like a nightmare and sometimes are like debts on your shoulders. The experience at Hashimpura Massacre was such an experience for me, says Vibhuti Narayan Rai, then Superintendent of Police, Ghaziabad, UP. On 22 May 1987, in Hashimpura, a locality in the Meerut City, 42 innocent Muslims were killed in cold blood by the personnel of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC)

Police Firing On Women On International Women’s Day In Odisha
By Ganatantrik Adhikar Surakhya Sangathan

On 8th March 2015, when the world was observing International Women’s Day, Odisha police fired upon women agitators at Namatara village of Rajakanika block of Kendrapada district and injured 16 villagers, mostly women. Out of those injured people, 9 villagers (five women, two girl children and 2 men) got admitted in Cuttak Medical College because of serious bullet injury. Now the police have already arrested 6 people for attacking the police and have filed cases against 60 people also. Namatara village having 200 houses are mostly of dalit communities

The Need For A New Approach To Adivasi Development
By Gladson Dungdung

It is quite clear that the Tribal Sub-Plan has failed to achieve its objectives due to lack of community participation, transparency and accountability since it was implemented in 1974-75. This is why the Government of India should replace it with a Tribal Sustainable Development Plan (TSDP), which would ensure respect, preserve and protect their identity, autonomy, culture and traditional system of governance. Tribals should be given the right to choose their own path of development. The new Tribal Sustainable Development Plan (TSDP) would ensure full and effective participation of Adivasis in their own development

Ambedkar: Reimagining The Image
By B.Prabakaran

Some years back Gopal Guru wrote an article on how Dalits especially lower middleclass and middle class Dalits have understood Ambedkar and in what form have they established him. With this background of spate of recent attacks, equally important and pertinent question to ask now would be how Ambedkar has been understood in the larger social arena and what he really means to them?

Winemaker Paul Hobbs, Repeat Offender, Violates Agreements Again
By Shepherd Bliss

San Francisco’s North Bay large winemakers routinely violate the weak rules regarding their practices and are seldom fined, according to the daily Press Democrat, March 11, 2015. Those rules need to be enforced and strengthened, especially as we enter an even more-dry drought

22 March, 2015

The Global Water Crisis – The Elephant In The Room: Coal Fired Power Plants
By Iris Cheng

Why are so few talking about coal's impact on already scarce water resources? Despite the global water crisis being identified as the top risk to people across the globe, very few are taking a stand to protect dwindling water resources from the huge planned global growth of coal-fired power stations

The "Naturalness" Of The Commons
By David de Ugarte

Agricultural and hunting commons are the original form of ownership and work, long prior to State property and private property… and for the time being, the most persistent: commons institutions remained vigorous throughout the world up through the Middle Ages and resisted Modernity with relative strength until the “amortization” of nineteenth-century liberalism forced them to evolve into modern cooperativism. But don’t be fooled: even today, there are large European regions, like Galicia, where more of the 25% of the territory is made up of common lands. We have always been surrounded by the commons and by community values. Our culture kept more than just the formula for us

Food Democracy South And North: From Food Sovereignty To Transition Initiatives
By Olivier De Schutter

People seek to co-design food systems, to participate in shaping them, to recapture them. We were familiar with the slogan of workplace democracy; we must now open up our eyes to food democracy

Only Less Will Do
By Richard Heinberg

As we collide with Earth’s limits, many people’s first reflex response will be to try to find someone to blame. The result could be wars and witch-hunts. But social and international conflict will only deepen our misery. One thing that could help would be the widely disseminated knowledge that our predicament is mostly the result of increasing human numbers and increasing appetites confronting disappearing resources, and that only cooperative self-limitation will avert a fight to the bitter end. We can learn; history shows that. But in this instance we need to learn fast

Why The Western Alliance Is Ending
By Eric Zuesse

It's well-known that only aristocrats profit from wars. And O'Bomba represents them just as much as his Republican ‘opposition' do. But, now, even the aristocrats in other nations are increasingly abandoning him. All he evidently still has going for him is liberal and Democratic fools in the United States, who haven't yet figured out that he's a Manchurian candidate, Trojan horse, ‘Democrat,' who (like the Clintons) would have FDR twisting in his grave if only he saw this. Fortunately, Roosevelt isn't around to see it

Netanyahu Victory, Saudi Arabia And Iran
By G. Asgar Mitha

The failure of the N-talks and Iran not getting the concessions - economic, easing sanctions and political - it is seeking on its terms is that the US, Israel and EU3 may well start a catastrophic war in the Middle East, likely between Iran and ISIS. If it wins, then certainly Iran will be recognized as the balancing force in the Middle East - a defeat for both Israel and Saudi Arabia

What Do The Opponents Of A Nuclear Deal With Iran Really Want?
By Dr. John Duke Anthony

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is once again in Switzerland with his British, Chinese, French, German, and Russian counterparts to continue negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program. Whether the respective diplomatic and national security negotiators will succeed remains to be seen. To be sure, a mutually acceptable agreement with Iran by six among the world's most powerful and influential nations, on one hand, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the other, is no small matter. In substance as well as in procedure and desired outcome, the goals – ensuring that Iran does not produce a nuclear bomb and, to that end, agreeing on as intrusive a nature and range of inspections as any in history – are as laudable as they are in many ways timely, urgent, and necessary

Babloo Loitongbam: Three Decades Of Building Human Rights Solidarity
An Interview With Babloo Loitongbam By Abhay Kumar

An Interview With Babloo Loitongbam, pre-eminent human rights activist, who for the past three decades is striving hard to bring justice for those in North East India whose rights are being violated on a daily basis especially under the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)

Violent Clashes Between Iranian Forces And Ahwazi Civilians: One Fan Shot Dead 
By Rahim Hamid

On Tuesday 17th March, Violent clashes erupted between Iranian security forces and Ahwazi Arab civilians after the end of the football match between Foulad Al-Ahwaz FC and Al-Hilal Saudi FC. One young fan has allegedly been shot dead by the Iranian anti-riot forces who used live ammunition targeting Ahwazi fans

Condemn Acquittal Of 16 PAC Personnel Accused In The Hashimpura Massacre
By People’s Union for Democratic Rights

On 22 May 1987, PAC personnel of UP reached Hashimpura, Meerut, took away about 50 Muslim men from a crowd outside a mosque, shot dead at least 42 of the men, and threw their bodies into a canal. On 21 March 2015, a Delhi Sessions Court accepted that the PAC personnel had committed these murders, but acquitted the policemen charged on account of insufficient evidence. Twenty eight years after the brutal massacre of Muslims by state forces, the guilty in uniform have not been identified and are roaming free

21 March, 2015

Don’t Invest In What Damages Human Rights, Says UN Climate Envoy
By Megan Darby

Ban Ki-moon’s special envoy on climate change voiced support for the fossil fuel divestment movement at an event in London on Friday. Mary Robinson, leading climate justice campaigner and former president of Ireland, said it was “very interesting” to see the movement grow in impact. For any fund, “it is almost a due diligence requirement” to consider ending investment in dirty energy companies, she said

Geoengineering May Backfire, Find Scientists
By Countercurrents.org

To combat global climate change caused by greenhouse gases, alternative energy sources and other types of environmental recourse actions are needed. There are proposals involving using vertical ocean pipes to move seawater to the surface from the depths in order to reap different potential climate benefits. But a new study from a group of Carnegie scientists determines that these types of pipes could actually increase global warming quite drastically. It is published in Environmental Research Letters

The Messages From Israel’s Election
By Ilan Pappe

The conclusion for the international community should be clear now. Only decolonization of the settler state can lead to reconciliation. And the only way to kick off this decolonization is by employing the same means exercised against the other long-standing settler state of the twentieth century: apartheid South Africa

Russia Under Attack
By Paul Craig Roberts

While Washington works assiduously to undermine the Minsk agreement that German chancellor Merkel and French president Hollande achieved in order to halt the military conflict in Ukraine, Washington has sent Victoria Nuland to Armenia to organize a “color revolution” or coup there, has sent Richard Miles as ambassador to Kyrgyzstan to do the same there, and has sent Pamela Spratlen as ambassador to Uzbekistan to purchase that government’s allegiance away from Russia. The result would be to break up the Collective Security Treaty Organization and present Russia and China with destabilization where they can least afford it

Europe: Old Friendships, Hesitant Alliances
By Gaither Stewart

You can’t ignore the reality that perhaps never before has a fine knowledge of geography been more important than today. It is a geographical fact that Eurasia exists. However any gung ho American neocon policy that aims at American control over that vast area rings like an Earth power claiming control, or aspiring to the control of, say, the planet Uranus. Fortunately, Europe understands the idiocy of neocon belief in America’s invincibility and Exceptionalism … or perhaps Europe is finally beginning to understand

Opposing War With A Smile
By David Swanson

Big changes will be needed in our politics, our economy, our energy use, our culture, and in the stories we tell each other about the world. But these changes can come step-by-step and advance self-aware toward complete replacement of the war system with a peace system. Attempting such a change, which is in some ways well underway already, can hardly be less sensible than the knowing failure of war

The Collapse Of French Intellectual Diversity
By Andre Vltchek

If you think that France is not as much a police state, as the UK or the US, think twice. Heavily armed military and police are visible at all train stations and many intersections, even at some narrow alleys. Internet providers are openly spying on their costumers. Mass media is self-censoring its reports. The regime’s propaganda is in “top gear”. But the people of France, at least the great majority of them, believe that they live in an ‘open and democratic society.’ If asked, they cannot prove it; they have no arguments. They are simply told that they are free, and so they believe it

The Great GMO Legitimation Crisis
By Colin Todhunter

Author of ‘Altered Genes, Twisted Truth’ Steven Druker recently talked of how back in the seventies a group of molecular biologists formed part of a scientific elite that sought to allay fears about genetic engineering by putting a positive spin on it. At the same time, critics of this emerging technology were increasingly depicted as being little more than non-scientists who expressed ignorant but well-meaning concerns about science and genetic engineering. This continues today, but the attacks on critics are becoming more vicious

From Basic Income To Social Dividends: Sharing The Value Of Common Resources
By Rajesh Makwana

It’s time to broaden the debate on how to fund a universal basic income by including options for sharing resource rents, which is a model that can be applied internationally to reform unjust economic systems, reduce extreme poverty and protect the global commons

Inequality And The Crisis of Capitalism And Democracy: Part IV
By Jon V Kofas

Solutions to the Income Inequality and Declining Democracy

Pakistan: Transcending The Us Versus Them Paradigm
By Maryam Sakeenah

The Christian community of Pakistan never has been, is not and should never be an oppressed minority hated and targeted by Pakistan’s Muslim majority. Those trying to reinforce this idea- whether extreme rightwingers, conservatives or the secular liberals- are utterly wrong. This is a false picture that will fuel more rage and blind hate

Public Hero: Paying For Honesty
By S.G.Vombatkere

One hopes that Ravi's death will trigger a wave of honest officials and public-spirited citizens who will support each other in the best interest of the people of our sovereign socialist secular democratic Republic

The Maharashra Beef Ban Is Unconstitutional
By Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights

The CPDR holds that the Maharashtra Animal Protection (Amendment) Act, 1995 is not in consonance with Article 48 when this is viewed in conjunction with the fundamental rights of citizens under the Constitution. This Act is not even based on Hindu religious faith. Contrary to Hinduism, which is a conglomerate of beliefs and faiths aimed at achieving spiritual salvation, the ideology of the majority in the Maharashtra Assembly that enacted this law in 1995 is that of Hindutva, which is aimed at attaining political power, and is the Indian variant of Nazism. The Act is aimed at depriving the Other of her livelihood and way of life, which must be condemned by all those who stand for pluralism, secularism and democratic rights

The Dimapur Lynch Mob And Violence Of Hurt Sentiments
By People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism

While community politics creates unbridgeable walls between citizens, the fluidity of opportunities under modernity generates another world outside communities. The man killed by the Naga mob in Dimapur was actually married to a Naga woman. Their girl child, half Naga-half Cachharree Muslim, and hence neither Naga, nor Cachharee Muslim, faces an uncertain future. It depends crucially on the future of democracy in the country whether she spends her life in trauma in the barrenness of no-man’s land between communities, or she grows up to live full life of a citizen without fear, hatred and suspicion

Documenting Hate And Communal Violence Under The Modi Regime
By John Dayal

The 300 days have also seen an assault on democratic structures, the education and knowledge system, Human Rightsorganizations and Rights Defenders and coercive action using the Intelligence Bureau and the systems if the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act and the Passport laws to crack down on NGOs working in areas of empowerment of the marginalized sections of society, including Dalits, Tribals, Fishermen and women, and issues of environment, climate, forests, land and water rights. This report is focused on issues of communally targeted violence and the politics of hate and divisiveness that emanates from a thesis of religious nationalism

Progress Made But Work Remains On Firewalling Health Policy From Tobacco Industry
By Shobha Shukla

Considerable progress has been made in different countries globally in protecting public health policy from tobacco industry interference, but certainly lot more work needs to be done. 2012 World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) Declaration called on all governments to establish a national coordinating mechanism of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which is fully firewalled from the tobacco industry

Nepal Leading Tobacco Control In South Asia: Will It Spiral Domino Effect On Other Nations?
By Bobby Ramakant

South Asian region has very high levels of tobacco use, and thus not surprisingly, rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and other tobacco related illnesses rage high. Nepal is in spotlight in South Asian region by demonstrating high commitment to tobacco control and also acting on the ground! Recognizing Nepal's leadership, the country was awarded the prestigious 'Bloomberg Philanthropies Award for Global Tobacco Control' at the 16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH 2015)

20 March, 2015

Crosscurrents
By Kathy Kelly

By the time I leave Kentucky's federal prison center, where I'm an inmate with a 3 month sentence, the world's 12th-largest city may be without water. Estimates put the water reserve of Sao Paulo, a city of 20 million people, at sixty days. Sporadic outages have already begun, the wealthy are pooling money to receive water in tankers, and government officials are heard discussing weekly five-day shutoffs of the water supply, and the possibility of warning residents to flee

To Survive, We Must Act Now On Global Warming
By Lionel Anet

To ensure that our offspring can live through this and next century, we must do what seems impossible. And that’s to have a worldwide united action to stop that dangerous warming. The wealthy 1% is now focused on maximising their wealth;we must showthe unavoidable disaster they will face in pursuing this ridicules goal. They must see their wealth will be useless in the future on our lifeless planet

Tactical Nuclear Weapons In Europe
By The Danish Pugwash Group

The danger of nuclear war is very great today, especially because of the Ukraine crisis and the danger of accidents. We would like to suggest that, in exchange for withdrawal of U.S. Nuclear weapons from Europe, the Russian government might be persuaded to eliminate its tactical nuclear weapons directed against Europe

19 March, 2015

Netanyahu's Victory: Now What President Obama?
By Alan Hart

Unless Obama can summon up the will and the courage to publicly tell Israel that enough is enough and then back his words with actions, the answer to Lerman's question is that nobody can stop Netanyahu advancing the doomsday clock. My guess is that Obama will wash his hands of the conflict and walk away from it. In that event he'll deserve a place in history as the American president who gave Zionism the green light to take the region and possibly the whole world to hell. I hope, Mr. President, that I am wrong about you and your intentions

Israel Votes Apartheid
By Neve Gordon

Pandering and fear mongering together with hatred for Arabs and the left are the ingredients of Netanyahu's secret potion, and it now appears that many voters were indeed seduced. Within a matter of a few days Netanyahu garnered almost ten additional seats for his party, cannibalizing two of his extreme right allies: Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinuand Naftali Bennett's Habayit Hayehudi. Owing to his magic, the Likud did much better than expected, and together with the ultra-Orthodox parties and a new party recently formed by a former Likud minister, Kulanu (All of US), an extreme right wing bloc with 67 out of 120 seats will almost certainly be created (and this even before the soldier's votes have been calculated, which are usually right of center). The outcome is clear: the people of Israel have voted for Apartheid

Israelis Vote To Abandon All Pretence Of Seeking Peace
By Dan Glazebrook

Israelis went to the polls the other day in an election which, defying all predictions, saw the ‘left-wing’ of Zionism – genocide with a human face – soundly beaten by its more honest ‘right wing’, whose commitment to the total eradication of the Palestinians as any kind of political entity is openly stated

Netanyahu Victory Opens Door For One-State Solution
By Francis Boyle

Before the Palestinian Declaration of Independence of 15 November 1988, the position of the Palestine National Council and the Palestine Liberation Organization was that there should be only one, democratic and secular state for the entire mandate for Palestine, which would include Israel within it. It was PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat himself who encouraged the Palestine National Council to accept the two-state solution in the Palestinian Declaration of Independence of 15 November 1988. After 27 years of fruitlessly trying to pursue a two-state solution, it is now time for the Palestine National Council and the PLO to reconsider their options

Ukraine Declares Resumption of War Against Donbass
By Eric Zuesse

On Wednesday, March 18th, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the Prime Minister of Ukraine — who was selected for that post by Victoria Nuland of the U.S. State Department on 4 February 2014, 18 days before the U.S. coup that installed him into this office — told his cabinet meeting, “Our goal is to regain control of Donetsk and Lugansk.” Those are the two districts comprising Donbass, the self-proclaimed independent region of Ukraine, which now calls itself “The People's Republic“ and sometimes “Novorossiya,” and which rejects the coup and its coup-imposed Government

Obama's Double-Standard On Russia: He Attacks Russia,
Then Condemn's Putin For Defending Russia From His Attack

By Eric Zuesse

Obama overthrew the legal Government, and replaced it by this illegal one. But now he criticizes Putin as if he were the aggressor instead of the defender here. And Obama demands that the Soviet dictator's forced transfer of Crimea to Ukraine be legal and that Putin's defense of Crimeans' democratic self-determination in response to that coup be considered illegal

Countries Agree On UN Plan In Sendai To Save Lives From Disasters
By Megan Darby

Twelve hours behind schedule, 187 countries agreed a deal in Sendai on Wednesday to reduce death and economic damage from natural disasters.The Sendai Framework set seven targets and four priorities for the next fifteen years. These include plans to “substantially reduce” loss of life from 2005-15 levels in 2020-30 and to reduce economic losses as a proportion of global GDP by 2030

Solar Express: Can India’s Rail Network Hit Its Clean Energy Target?
By Ashok Thanikonda

The time has come for the Indian Railways to seize the day, and scale up its investment in solar power

The New American Order 
By Tom Engelhardt

1% Elections, The Privatization of the State, a Fourth Branch of Government, and the Demobilization of "We the People" 

‘Islamic State’ As A Western Phenomenon? Reimagining The IS Debate
By Ramzy Baroud

No matter how one attempts to wrangle with the so-called ‘Islamic State’ (IS) rise in Iraq and Syria, desperately seeking any political or other context that would validate the movement as an explainable historical circumstance, things refuse to add up

The Veggie Pride Talk I Didn’t Give
By Mickey Z.

For the first time in many years, I’ve declined an offer to be the lead speaker at the annual Veggie Pride Parade in NYC’s Union Square Park. I learned the hard way that although the cheers have been loud, the local vegan/animal rights scene wasn’t actually hearing me. Since I’ve opted to no longer howl into an echo chamber, I’ll share my thoughts here instead

Ahwazis Call The Amnesty International To Urge Iran To Stop Persecution
By Amir Saedi

Ahwazi Community in the UK demonstrated in front of the Amnesty International on Tuesday 17 March 2015 against the persecution of the Arabs by the Iranian regime. Following the protest a group of Ahwazi activists met with Mrs Hassiba Hadh Sahraoui, the Deputy Director of Middle East and North Africa Programme

Condemn The Gang-Rape In Nadia And Continuing Attacks On Christians
By People's Union for Democratic Rights

PUDR expresses outrage at the gang-rape of a 71 year old nun by a gang of “dacoits” inside a convent in Gangnapur village, Nadia district, West Bengal on 14th March 2015. The men reportedly raided and desecrated the convent before taking away 12 lakhs.Clearly, the motive was not merely to rob and decamp but to punish the school and the community through this horrendous gang-rape. In this connection, PUDR wishes to draw attention to the disturbing trend of attacks on Christians, including their institutions and places of worship, in recent times

The Hindutva Algebra Of Nation-Making
By Braj Ranjan Mani

Remembering Martin Niemöller’s famous poem, I am tempted to think that if Martin had been an Indian—alive today—he would certainly have scribbled something like the following

Hold Tobacco Industry Liable: Turn The Cost-Benefit Ratio Upside Down
By Shobha Shukla

WHO FCTC Article 19 envisions a world where governments hold the power to protect people from harmful products like tobacco, can recover the costs of treating tobacco-related disease from the tobacco industry, and can use their legal systems to ensure their right to do so

18 March, 2015

Netanyahu Claims Victory In Close Israeli Election
By Patrick Martin

Right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed victory after a closely contested national election in Israel. According to unofficial figures released by the Israeli election committee, Netanyahu’s Likud Party has won at least 29 seats in the 120-seat parliament, the Knesset, putting it in a strong position to form a ruling coalition. Likud’s main challenger, the Zionist Union, won 24 seats. Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog has called Netanyahu to concede defeat. President Reuven Rivlin, a longtime Likud loyalist, will designate Netanyahu to form the next government once the distribution of seats is finalized among the ten parties that reached the threshold of 3.25 percent of the vote

Why I’m Relieved Netanyahu Won
By Ali Abunimah

The Israeli Jewish public’s choice to re-elect Netanyahu should make it clear to people around the world that Israel does not seek peace and does not seek justice. It will continue to oppress and ethnically cleanse Palestinians until it is stopped. Negotiating with such a regime is pointless when its power over its victims remains vast and unchecked. The message we should take away is simple: the proper treatment for a polity committed to occupation, apartheid and ethno-racial supremacy is to isolate it until it recognizes that it must abandon those commitments. Palestinians have asked the world to do that through boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). Netanyahu makes the case a little easier, so it’s time to step it up

Thousands March In Caracas Protesting US Interference,Solidarity Concert In Havana
By Countercurrents.org

In the face of imperialist intervention Venezuelan people are mobilizing themselves. Thousands of citizens in capital Caracas have joined in marches protesting US interference in Venezuela. Venezuelan social movements took to the streets to oppose US aggression. Over 100,000 Venezuelans were mobilized throughout the country for a series of national military exercises in defense of their national sovereignty. A contingent of Russian soldiers and naval craft participated in the exercise. And, thousands of Cubans gathered at the University of Havana’s Grand Stairway to express their unconditional solidarity with Venezuela and opposition to US aggression

Independence or Nothing: Fidel Stands By Maduro
By Farooque Chowdhury

Latin America again sets example of solidarity and unity against imperialist intervention as the Empire threatens Venezuela with sanctions. In this moment of anti-imperialist struggle, Fidel Castro expresses solidarity to Venezuela

So You Want To Talk About Science, Democracy And Choice?
Responding To A Prominent Pro-GMO Scientist

By Colin Todhunter

Writer and researcher Colin Todhunter takes apart the arguments of pro-GMO lobbyist Anthony Trewavas

Inequality And The Crisis of Capitalism And Democracy: Part III
By Jon V Kofas

Can Democracy Be Viable with a Wide Gap between Rich and Poor?

Marijuana: Legalize―Don't Advertise
By William John Cox

The War on Drugs has proven to be a monstrous mistake resulting in the waste of a trillion dollars and the shameful criminal conviction and incarceration of thousands of Americans. While the end to drug prohibition may not be entirely possible, the more limited movement to decriminalize the use and possession of marijuana is gaining momentum. Those who support ending drug prohibition, but continue to believe drug use is harmful, have the responsibility to find ways to avoid the advertising and promotion of legalized marijuana

Flagrant Violations Of Ahwazi Prisoners And Fabrication Of Charges
As Justifications For Their Incarceration

By Rahim Hamid

Two distinguished Ahwazi former prisoners named “Ramadan Nasseri” and “Mohammed Hattab Zaheri Sari” in their interviews with human rights organizations and Arab Media agencies revealed flagrant human rights violations that the Iranian occupying government has exercised against Ahwazi Arab prisoners in Al-Ahwaz

Doms In Varanasi Seek Justice Through Honorable Rehabilitation
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Domraj often come in mythologies and they continue to do the task of burning dead bodies at the Ghats and cleaning human excreta in the city. Most of the land meant for them is already occupied and big ghats have erupted on the bank. Nothing has changed for them. In fact, they reflect the criminal civilization which kept them subjugated for thousands of years and the independence that we got in 1947 has no meaning for them as the community remains untouchables among untouchables absolutely ostracized and thoroughly disenfranchised in the holy city

Where There Is A Will There Is A Way: Teeja Devi
By Shobha Shukla

According to Teeja, “There has been a lot of change in my life since the time I came to this village as a child bride. Women are in a better position today to improve their lives and also to fight for their rights, although I have been doing that from the very beginning. From personal experiences I can say that women have the capacity to fight for their rights. But unless they come out of their houses, meet other people, and voice their opinions, they will not be able to progress. I am just literate enough to sign my name but I am very much aware of my and other people’s rights and am ready to fight for them

No Country For Art?
By Arshie Qureshi

Call it official High headedness or the apathy of the people, anyone who watched the vandalism at art gallery in Kashmir last month will point to you the underlying reality about art ignorance in the valley. It almost seems ironical that on one hand we dwell in a part of the world which is historically a crucible of rich cultural heritage, merging a strong sense of mysticism with the delicacies of nature. A place where everything manifests the divinity. And on the other hand, a man with a clueless look on his face frantically drags the delicate figurine out of the gallery and smashes it without a pang of remorse

17 March, 2015

Poor Farmers Bear The Brunt Of Natural Disasters In Developing Countries
By Countercurrents.org

Nearly a quarter of damages wrought by natural disasters on the developing world are borne by the agricultural sector, finds a new Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) study released in Sendai, Japan on March 17, 2015 at the UN World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction. $70 billion in damages to crops and livestock over a 10 year period

A "Kill And Compensate" Package For Farmers In India
By Samar

While the whole country was celebrating Holi, a joyous festival of colours, three farmers that were contemplating suicide in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh went ahead and took their own lives. One of them, wearing the same colour soaked dress he had celebrated the festival in, hung himself to a tree

Agricultural Crisis And Remedial Pathways For India
By Dr Sunny Sandhu

NaMo model of development has already spelt doom for the farmers , its clear that its pro corporate and anti farmer government , like the previous government as well . Changing of Land laws in favor of corporates is the start . GM crops are being cleared at an alarming rate . Lip service is being done to promote organic and natural farming . We the youth of india has to rise to this toxic challenge and ensure to safeguard our ecosystems , biodiversity , bhoomi , river goddesses and beej (seeds)

Nandigram: Perfect Example Of Disempowering Empowered Women
By Nisha Biswas

Nandigram today is a sad picture of rejection. Women, who were the integral part of the movement and were at the forefront of the anti-acquistion stir that eventually catapulted the Trinamool Congress into power in West Bengal are now confined to their homes and are subjected to all kind of oppression

Cropping Africa's Wet Savannas Would Bring High Environmental Costs
By Countercurrents.org

Converting Africa's wet savannas into farmland would come at a high environmental cost and, in some cases, fail to meet existing standards for renewable fuels, finds a new report published in the journal Nature Climate Change. With the global population rising, Africa's vast wet savannas have been targeted as a place to produce staple foods and bioenergy groups at low environmental costs

An Open Letter To Subramanian Swamy
By Shehzad Poonawalla

Mr.Swamy, you continue to remain an accused out on bail and the law will catch up with you eventually, notwithstanding the Delhi Police dragging its feet. The kind of politics you subscribe to is also subject to the law of diminishing returns in the long run. Even Mr. Modi has begun to realize that and every now and then, he and his good friend “Barack” throw in a word of caution, for your ilk, even if it is only for symbolism. Frankly, Harvard can and did prevent you from wearing its name. I only wish secular, tolerant Hindus and Indians could have had that authority and choice too

Book Review: The Dispensable Nation - American Foreign Policy in Retreat By Vali Nasr
Reviewed By Jim Miles

U.S. foreign policy is not in retreat, perhaps in tatters and rags, wrapped in a flag stained in the blood of far too many millions of people around the world. Works such as "The Dispensable Nation" simply highlight the arrogance and hubris of an empire in decline

Obama And The ‘News' Media Continue To Falsify About Obamacare
By Eric Zuesse

This “universal healthcare” thing is an ongoing lie from Obama, because there is no way that the plan that he proposed, nor the one that he selected Senator Max Baucus to design to meet his intentions and ram through Congress, could even possibly produce a 100% insureds-rate, or “universal coverage.” The rest of the industrialized world has it (and has better healthcare at lower prices), but we still don't

Stratfor: "US Aims To Prevent A German-Russian Alliance”
By German Economic News

The head of the private intelligence agency Stratfor has for the first time publicly said that the US government considers to be its overriding strategic objective the prevention of a German-Russian alliance. Blocking that alliance is the only way to prevent an alternative world power capable of challenging extension of the American position of being the world’s lone superpower

The Big Dick School of American Patriotism 
By Nan Levinson

In the end, maybe the Big Dick School of Patriotism comes down to this: we embrace the idea of an all-powerful military because at a time when the world seems such a fragile and hostile place, if even our military won't keep us safe, who will? Unless there just might be a better way to go through the world than by carrying a big dick?

Inequality And The Crisis Of Capitalism And Democracy : PART II
By Jon V Kofas

Attitudes of the Rich toward the Poor and Working Poor

What Next?
By Gary Corseri

Each understands according
To things misunderstood:
A shadow-world in dumb-show
Where “evil” contends with “good.”

Crisis In The AAP Casts Shadows On Civil-Society Meet On Alternative Politics
By Abhay Kumar

Linking the current contestation in the AAP to its inability to take a firm stance on secularism, senior advocate and president of PUCL (Delhi), N. D. Pancholi pulled up AAP for raising the “divisive” slogan of Vandre Matram, which, in his view, had a major contribution to the partition of the country. ‘Vande Matram creates suspicion among Muslims,’ Pancholi contended

Northeast India Deserves A Credible News Channel !
By Nava Thakuria

Is it time to have few more paid/payable (read credible) news channels in various regional languages, which can survive with contributions from the subscribers?

16 March, 2015

Poor Countries To Need $400bn A Year To Fight Climate Crisis
By Countercurrents.org

Poor countries should receive between US$400 billion and US$2 trillion per year from rich countries by 2050 to help them cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fight climate crisis, finds a new paper published on March 16, 2015 by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy at London School of Economics and Political Science

The American Government's Biggest Lie Now Is About Ukraine
By Eric Zuesse

The American Government's biggest lie in 2014-2015 is instead about Vladimir Putin and Ukraine — and it's even worse, and far more dangerous, because this one can very possibly lead to a nuclear war, one with Russia that's totally unnecessary for America's national-security, and that actually places all of our nation's security at risk, for the shameful reasons of aristocrats (“oligarchs”) in both the U.S. and Ukraine — not for any real reasons of the American people, at all

The Misrepresentation Of Israeli Aggression As Self-Defense
By Matt Peppe 

The media and the public will uncritically support the position of American and Israeli power. Thousands of Palestinians will be indiscriminately killed, but not because Israel is defending itself. Palestinians will be killed because the U.S. government refuses to protect them from a belligerent and aggressive regime, and refuses even to recognize their right to protect themselves

The Realpolitik Of Revolution
By William T. Hathaway

What will it take to end this ghastly cycle of violence and bring lasting peace, not just end this current war but create a peaceful society in which humanity lives cooperatively and harmoniously? The socialist answer is we must overthrow capitalism, a system that inevitably generates conflict and inequality. And overthrowing it will require a revolution

Kshama Sawant: The Most Dangerous Woman In America
By Chris Hedges

Kshama Sawant, the socialist on the City Council, is up for re-election this year. Since joining the council in January of 2014 she has helped push through a gradual raising of the minimum wage to $15 an hour in Seattle. She has expanded funding for social services and blocked, along with housing advocates, an attempt by the Seattle Housing Authority to allow a rent increase of up to 400 percent. She has successfully lobbied for city money to support tent encampments and is fighting for an excise tax on millionaires. And for this she has become the bête noire of the Establishment, especially the Democratic Party

Truth Is Our Country
By Paul Craig Roberts

Press Club Of Mexico Awards Paul Craig Roberts International Medal For Journalism Excellence

Self-Immolation Of An Ahwazi Street Vendor In Protest
Against The Confiscation Of His Grocer’s Stall

By Rahim Hamid

An Ahwazi Arab street vendor by the name of Younes Asakere from Mohammareh city has set himself on fire in protest against the action of the Occupying municipal officials who confiscated his small grocer’s stall

Religion, Politics And Society: A Birds Eye View
By Ram Puniyani

What has religion to do with politics? What has violence to do with religion? And how does the expression of major political agenda shape itself in contemporary times? Roughly speaking it seems that the religion is being used as a cover for many a political phenomenon. This seems to be the observation more so from South Asian-West Asian perspective

Pioneering Fighter Swaminathan Who Was In The Forefront Of The Struggle
To Force The Giant Coca Cola To Quit Kerala Is No More

By K.P. Sasi

Veloor Swaminathan is no more. He left Plachimada forever on March 14, 2015. Swaminathan along with Mylamma were the initial foundations of the historic struggle of Plachimada in Kerala. The struggle initiated by a small group of these Adivasis with Dalits and farmers forced one of the largest corporate powers in the world, Coca Cola to bend down and quit Plachimada. If anybody asks, how did such a small force of marginalised people achieve such a herculean task, I would say, study Mylamma and Swaminathan, for any strategy for any people’s movement raising issues of marginalisation

Another Church Attacked In Haryana: Holy Cross Replaced With A Hanuman Idol
By Shehzad Poonawalla

Petition registered with NCM (National Commission for Minorities) To draw attention to and direct action on the constant spree of attacks and vandalism on churches (7th in 4 months) including the latest one in Kaimri village near Hisar, Haryana where the Holy Cross was replaced with a Hanuman Idol

Rapist Mukesh Singh Is Not Alone In Denigrating Women
By Shamsul Islam

It is true that Mukesh made reprehensible statements about women in general and rape victim in particular. It is debatable whether banning a film containing such statements is the solution but fact is that rapist Mukesh is not alone in holding male chauvinistic views denigrating women.India is flooded with popular religious literature denigrating women. Geeta Press based in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, is the largest supplier of this kind of literature. It publishes literature espousing the ‘Hindu’ way of life for women on a very large scale. The low-priced publications are available throughout the country, especially the Hindi belt, and are even sold through Government allotted stalls at railway stations and government roadways stands

On The Interrelationship Between Bovine And Human Beings
By Subhash Gatade

As things stand today it appears that the people in power seem to be more concerned with making the desi-videsi moneybags happy to maintain a conducive atmosphere for bringing in new investments and also catering to 'sentiments' of a dominant section of people around cow. It is just another way to say that while human beings will have to wait but the bovine cannot

Surveillance Cameras In Classrooms: Trust V/S Security
By Ms.Swaleha Sindhi

Each student brings knowledge to the school and the schools must validate their ideas, this will encourage students of different levels of ability to keep sharing their knowledge. Students must be provided a safe space in which they can grow, thrive, question, analyse, think critically, and take risks. Schools can have their own ways of monitoring discipline by making the discipline incharges or the school Principals do patrolling in the corridor while the classes are going on. Camera is just another thing for students (especially adolescents) to play with

15 March, 2015

EU Splits On Ukraine: How And Why
By Eric Zuesse

During the past few days, German Economic News has specifically identified the following EU nations that are strongly opposed to this supplying of weapons to Ukraine: Spain, Germany, Greece, Cyprus, Hungary, Italy, France, and Slovakia. Furthermore, Italy is increasing its cooperation with Russia

Why I Hope Israel's Elections Will Give Netanyahu A Fourth Term As Prime Minister
By Alan Hart

If I had to express my hope in one sentence it would be this. A fourth term as prime minister for Netanyahu would see Israel becoming more and more isolated and could improve the chances of Western governments being moved to use the leverage they have to cause the Zionist (not Jewish) state to end its defiance of international law and denial of the Palestinian claim for justice. Another way to put it would be to say Netanyahu is a disaster for Zionism so let's have more of him

International Court, Hague, Rules in Favor of Ecuador in its Case Against U.S. Oil Giant, Chevron
By Robert Barsocchini 

The International Court of Justice (CIJ) ruled Thursday a prior ruling by an Ecuadorean court that fined the U.S.-based oil company Chevron US $9.5 billion in 2011 should be upheld. The money will benefit about 30,000 Ecuadorians, most of them indigenous

China’s Dirty Coal Plants Face Climate Risk, Investors Warned
By Megan Darby

Many of China’s dirtiest coal plants could be forced to close early as regulations to curb greenhouse gases, air pollution and water stress tighten. That is the outlook described in the most comprehensive assessment to date of the risk of “stranded assets” to investors in coal power worldwide. Seven of the 10 companies with the biggest portfolios of “subcritical” coal plants – the least efficient kind – are Chinese, according to research from Oxford University. The US is next, taking six of the top 20 slots

47 Years Ago In My Lai: 'We Were There To Kill Ideology'
By Mickey Z.

Bravely landing his helicopter between the charging GIs and the fleeing villagers, Hugh Clowers Thompson, Jr. ordered Colburn to turn his machine gun on the American soldiers if they tried to shoot the unarmed men, women, and children. Thompson then stepped out of the chopper into the combat zone and coaxed the frightened civilians from the bunker they were hiding in. With tears streaming down his face, he evacuated them to safety on his H-23. Never forget, comrades: This is how we can choose to be

A Blueprint For Ending War
By World Beyond War

It is no longer sufficient to end a particular war or particular weapons system if we want peace. The entire cultural complex of the War System must be replaced with a different system for managing conflict. Fortunately, as we shall see, such a system is already developing in the real world. The War System is a choice. The gate to the iron cage is, in fact, open and we can walk out whenever we choose

The World Ignores The Crisis In Gaza—So Another Gaza Freedom Flotilla
Is Ready To Sail In First Half of 2015

By Ann Wright

With the 51 day Israeli attack on Gaza in the summer of 2014 that killed over 2,200, wounded 11,000, destroyed 20,000 homes and displaced 500,000, the closing to humanitarian organizations of the border with Gaza by the Egyptian government, continuing Israeli attacks on fishermen and others, and the lack of international aid through UNWRA for the rebuilding of Gaza, the international Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition has decided to again challenge Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza in an effort to gain publicity for the critical necessity of ending the Israeli blockade of Gaza and the isolation of the people of Gaza

The Politics of Extinction 
By William deBuys

Maybe baby steps will help, but the world needs a lot more than either the United States or China is offering to combat the illegal traffic in wildlife, a nearly $20-billion-a-year business that adds up to a global war against nature. As the headlines tell us, the trade has pushed various rhinoceros species to the point of extinction and motivated poachers to kill more than 100,000 elephants since 2010

Inequality And The Crisis Of Capitalism And Democracy
By Jon V Kofas

The great challenge of our time is social and geographic inequality that threatens not only the system of capitalism creating inequality, but the democratic political regime under which capitalism has thrived in the last one hundred years

Review: “Genocide In Iraq Volume II. The Obliteration Of AModern State”
By Abdul-Haq Al-Ani & Tariq Al-Ani By Dr Gideon Polya

Dr Abdul-Haq Al-Ani and Tariq Al-Ani have published “Genocide in Iraq Volume II. The Obliteration of a Modern State” , a carefully documented, must-read account of the Zionist-backed US Alliance destruction of Iraq and the killing of millions of Iraqis over the last quarter century for oil, US hegemony and for military dominance of the Middle East by a nuclear-armed, genocidally racist Apartheid Israel. This is a damning case that everyone should read to prevent recurrence (history ignored yields history repeated) and for ultimate legal recourse and Nuremberg-style justice for the Iraqi people

Afzal Guru’s Mortal Remains Must Reach His Family
By Dr. Paramjit Singh Sahni & Shobha Aggarwal

In all situations the body of the deceased must reach the family. This alone would satisfy and soothe the collective conscience of the society

Release Of Political Detenues
By Abdul Majid Zargar

If India hopes to achieve an acceptable political solution to the long festering problem then it is imperative that all political prisoners are set free and a congenial & conducive atmosphere prepared for holding talks with all the stake-holders. That was also stated by the group of interlocutors appointed by Govt. Of India in 2010 to explore a political solution to the issue

The Two Conferences Of Jammu And Kashmir
By Yasir Altaf Zargar

In Jammu and Kashmir both the conference’s had different aspiration for J&K’S status. The Muslim conference was favouring joining Pakistan while national conference was opposing it

AAP's Divide And Rule
By Satya Sagar

Whatever potential AAP has, for genuine countrywide transformation, on the class or caste front, cannot be achieved by mechanically expanding the Delhi model across the national landscape like a rubber mask. That will only result in the hasty induction of a lot of people wearing the mask of Kejriwal, without possessing any of his talents while retaining at least a few of his vices! Rather, the process will have to be an organic one, with dozens and scores of local Kejriwals springing up from the grassroots, taking up the issues that AAP has raised in Delhi but with both the causes and methods tailored to context – what I would call the ‘Apne AAP' movement. Every anonymous volunteer who is part of AAP, and indeed its core strength, has the potential to be a Kejriwal, YY or PB

Why Science Is Closer To Morality Than Religion
By Amritanshu Pandey

India's fundamentalist moral brigade has shifted gears since the advent of Acche Din, and we are subject to daily reports of the moral police's enthusiasm, derived largely from our substantial pool of religion and culture. In this regard India is no different to religious societies around the world, where faith and its institutions provide the basis for our moral compass. If your dominant religion disavows of homosexuality, for example, then it can be guaranteed that your society's outlook will be that homosexuality is immoral

Kanshiram Declassed Ambedkarite Politics
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Understand Kanshiram's mantra that key to power come from the poor and they are vast and we need to change our perceptions and strengthen their struggle and leadership. We can not ask people to sacrifice their lives for 'leaders'. Those time have gone. Give space as you want elsewhere and provide a healing touch to people where community leaders have not yet reached

14 March, 2015

German, European Governments Warn: America's “Dangerous Propaganda”,
Military Aid Harming Ukraine Peace Process

By Robert Barsocchini 

Having reached a tenuous peace agreement with Ukraine and Russia (without the US), Germany is realizing and announcing that, indeed, the US does not seem intent on peace. McClatchy reports that German government officials have “recently referred to U.S. statements of Russian involvement in the Ukraine fighting as ‘dangerous propaganda'”. In light of US propaganda and military support for Kiev, Germany even asked outright whether “the Americans want to sabotage the European mediation attempts in Ukraine led by Chancellor Merkel?”

 

Fox ‘News' ‘Expert' Says We Must “Start Killing Russians”
By Eric Zuesse

On this video from Fox 'News': At 3:30, Lou Dobbs asks the Fox Noise military analyst: “What do you expect” in Ukraine? At 3:35 he answers: “In the Ukraine, the only way that the United States can have any effect in this region and turn the tide is to start killing Russians … killing so many Russians that even Putin's media can't hide the fact that Russians are returning to the motherland in body bags.”

Fishermen, Are They Criminals? An Open Letter To Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka And India
By Ravi Nitesh

I demand Sri Lankan PM to express his apology over the statement to shoot Indian fishermen because it was against humanitarian approach, against UN sea laws and most importantly against the unity of fishermen. He must apologise that he see fishermen not as ‘criminals’. He must also apologise to people of Sri Lanka that he doesn’t believe what he said is a common belief of Sri Lanka’s people and fishermen. We know that even fishermen of Sri Lanka will never support his statement

Feeding A Warmer, Riskier World
By Jose Graziano da Silva

Artificial meat. Indoor aquaculture. Vertical farms. Irrigation drones. Once in the realm of science fiction, these are now fact. Food production is going high-tech, at least in some places. But the vast majority of the world’s farmers still face that old, fundamental fact: Their crops, their very livelihoods, depend on how Mother Nature treats them. Over 80 percent of world agriculture today remains dependent on the rains, just as it did 10,000 years ago

Chuy Comes To Logan Square, Is Greeted By Excited Crowd: “The Coalition Of Chicago Is Back!”
By Kim Scipes

Showing Chicago a whole different concept of governing, and an appreciation for the people of our city, Chuy Garcia came to Logan Square on March 12th and received a enthusiastic welcome from the several hundred people who turned out to greet him and support his campaign for Mayor

With Enemies Like This, Imperialism Doesn’t Need Friends
By Dan Glazebrook

‘Can non-Europeans Think?’ by Hamid Dabashi declares the end of the colonial domination of knowledge, but the author effectively aligns himself with the West’s very real war against the developing world

Venezuela - A Threat?
By Chandra Muzaffar

So far the US has not provided any tangible evidence of how Venezuelan officials have violated human rights or indulged in public corruption. Its reckless allegations have been effectively refuted by the Caracas government. Even leaders from other Latin American countries have condemned the statements emanating from Washington DC

Is A Hindu Science Possible?
By Ankur Betageri

There were astronomers like Aryabhata and Brahmagupta, mathematicians like Bhaskara I and Baudhayana, physicians like Charaka and surgeons like Sushrutha in ancient India, but the work of these men of science has nothing to do with Hinduism or Hindutva. It is absurd, therefore, of Hindutva politicians to associate the work of these scientists with “Hinduism” or “Hindutva” and quite disgraceful of them to claim credit for the ingenuity, hard work and courageous assertions of ancient Indian scientists, many of whom, like the astronomer Aryabhata, had to face the ire of Brahminical orthodoxy to make these assertions

'Frontier Magazine' Faces Threat: Defend 'Frontier'
By Farooque Chowdhury

Frontier, probably, the thinnest and the most-plain appearing English weekly from Kolkata, a city with protest and politics, resistance and revolution faces an imminent threat of eviction

13 March, 2015

Danger Of War With Russia Grows As US Sends Military Equipement To Ukraine
By Johannes Stern & Alex Lantier

Washington has begun delivering military hardware to Ukraine as part of NATO’s ongoing anti-Russian military build-up in eastern Europe, escalating the risk of all-out war between the NATO alliance and Russia, a nuclear-armed power. The Obama administration announced on Wednesday that it would transfer 30 armored Humvees and 200 unarmored Humvees, as well as $75 million in equipment, including reconnaissance drones, radios and military ambulances. The US Congress has also prepared legislation to arm the Kiev regime with $3 billion in lethal weaponry

Ukraine's Prime Minister Yatsenyuk Declares War On Russia
By Eric Zuesse

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who on 4 February 2014 was selected for his post by Victoria Nuland of the U.S. State Department, was quoted by Ukrainian media on Thursday March 12th of 2015 as saying that, “Ukraine is in a state of war with a nuclear state, which is the Russian Federation. Hostile countries over the past decade have spent billions of dollars rearming it.”

Oil Demand Could Fall Without Climate Solution, Warns Shell
By Ed King

Demand for oil and gas could fall if major producers fail to find economically viable and publicly acceptable ways of cutting their climate-warming gas emissions, Shell has warned. The oil giant revealed its fears in its Strategic Report, released on March 12, 2015, telling investors that new climate change regulations “may result in project delays and higher costs.”

Bangladesh To Use SERVIR Satellite-Based Flood Forecasting, Warning System
By Janet Anderson

Bangladesh officials have announced plans to expand a satellite-based flood forecasting and warning system developed by SERVIR to aid an area where floodwaters inundate from 1/3 to 2/3 of the country annually, killing hundreds of people and affecting millions. The system, which relies on river level data provided by the Jason-2 satellite, last year provided the longest lead time for flood warnings ever produced in Bangladesh

Dissatisfaction With U.S. Government Soars
By Eric Zuesse

The latest Gallup poll shows that even as Americans are more satisfied with the American economy, they are more dissatisfied with the government; and that this government-dissatisfaction is so high that for the first time while Gallup has been following this matter, the ratio of dissatisfaction with government is swamping the ratio of dissatisfaction with both of the other two matters that Americans are dissatisfied with: the economy, and unemployment

The CIA And America's Presidents: Some Rarely Discussed Truths
Shaping Contemporary American Democracy

By John Chuckman

When people write of America’s secret government or of its government within the government, it is far more than an exaggeration. It is actually hard to imagine now any possibility of someone’s being elected President and opposing what the CIA recommends, the presidency having come to resemble in more than superficial ways the Monarchy in Britain. The Queen is kept informed of what Her government is doing, but can do nothing herself to change directions. Yes, the President still has the power on paper to oppose any scheme, and then so does the Queen simply by refusing her signature, but she likely could exercise that power just once. In her case the consequence would be an abrupt end to the Monarchy. In a President’s case, it would be either a Nixonian or Kennedyesque end

The Growth Schism: Greater Israel At Odds With U.S Decline In The Middle East
By Dick Platkin and Jeff Warner

In an attempt to put Netanyahu's Congressional speech about Iran into a historical and political context, we describe the current situation in Israel-Palestine and the crucial role of the United States government in supporting the occupation and the incremental construction of an apartheid state. We also analyze several scenariosin which the Israel-Palestine conflict could resolve when, not if, the US government is no longer willing or able to support Israel's long-term settlement program in the occupied territories. In essence, we try to explain how the decline of US dominance in the Middle East, including reengagement with Iran, means that Israel's occupation is not sustainable. Our analysisalso offers many new political opportunities to anti-occupation activists in the wake of U.S. decline

Secret History Of My Geography Teacher, Also Cofounder Of Hamas
By Ramzy Baroud

This is not my geography teacher, or, more accurately it is not at all how I remember him. A series of APA images published by the British Daily Mail and other newspapers showed Hamad al-Hasanat lying dead in a mosque, surrounded by a group of Hamas fighters. On top of his lifeless body, as worshipers came to offer a final prayer before burial, rested an assault rifle

US Sanctions In Latin America: A New Dawn In US Foreign Policy Or Hypocrisy As Usual?
By Alan MacLeod

Ending sanctions on Cuba in the name of a new foreign policy while at the same time imposing sanctions on Venezuela because of supposed government repression is indeed laughable. It makes absolutely no sense if we take seriously the narrative on human rights and democracy peddled by the White House and echoed in the media. But it makes perfect sense if we view it as a cynical, realpolitik attempt to undermine the threat of a good example and a way of reestablishing American influence in the Caribbean through an increased presence in Cuba. Taking into account these factors, we can see there is no new, enlightened dawn in US policy, rather a switching of targets. It is, lamentably, business as usual

Unite! Let's Make Sure That Kandhamals Are Not Repeated
By Medha Patkar

My friends, let me stop my speech by saying that it is time that the displaced people and the marginalized people come together as a strong force, so that these forms of injustice can be effectively dealt with in a united manner

Government Clampdown On Dalit, Adivasi Protesters;
Dalit Woman Activists Dragged Inside Police Station

By National Dalit Movement for Justice

In a shocking incident, over 30 Dalit and Adivasi students and activists were arrested this afternoon from Shastri Bhavan in New Delhi when they demanded to meet the Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Smriti Irani, over unfair budgetary allocations in education of Dalit and Adivasi students. At the time of the arrest, the delegation, including N Paul Diwakar, well-known Dalit activist and general secretary of National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), were about to submit a Memorandum of Demands to the Minister asking for reallocation of funds. The activists were taken to Parliament Police station where another Dalit activist Beena Pallical was forcefully dragged taken inside the police station

Essential Elements That Can Give Rise To A New Kind Of Politics
By Dr. Satinath Choudhary

It would have been ideal for all of legislators to continue to have equal power with no chief minister, ministers or deputy-ministers. Various legislators could join collectives interested in guiding various departments of the government. For different decisions different small collectives could be formed even in the same department. However, the decisions of the collectives would have to be approved by the whole legislature. In case there more than one collective dealing with the same issue, they can meet with each other to iron out their differences before or/and after they present their proposals to the full legislative body. Full legislature would be the supreme body to put final seal of approval on any issue or legislation

12 March, 2015

Climate Change Threatens Human Rights, Says Kiribati President
By Sebastien Duyck

Over the past two months, Geneva offered two opportunities for governments to deepen their understanding of the interplay between human rights and climate action. The coming months will now be critical to determine whether, through the UN climate body and the Human Rights Council, states are willing to commit to take steps towards ensuring that climate policies address climate change in a way that promotes human rights at the same time

The Real Story Behind The Oil Price Collapse 
By Michael T. Klare

Is Big Oil Finally Entering a Climate Change World?

Activism Step One: Pay Close Attention
By Mickey Z

Those of you currently staying strong and paying close attention are probably already astonished that we’re on the brink of social, economic, and environmental collapse. Hopefully, you’re also telling everyone you know. But then what?

Stop The Fast Track To A Future Of Global Corporate Rule
By Kevin Zeese & Margaret Flowers

Several major international agreements are under negotiation which would greatly empower multinational corporations and the World Economic Forum is promoting a new model of global governance that creates a hybrid government-corporate structure. Humankind is proceeding on a path to global corporate rule where transnational corporations would not just influence public policy, they would write the policies and vote on them. The power of nation-states and people to determine their futures would be weakened in a system of corporate rule

Vietnam: Some History
By Andy Piascik

Discussions of Vietnam are hardly academic exercises; the US is on a global rampage and falsifying history has paved the way to the US-caused deaths of three million Iraqis since the first invasion in 1991, to cite just one of many recent examples. We remain in the grips of people who worship wealth and are in love with death so any truth and reckoning about Vietnam and the role we play in the world will have to come from us

Understanding Nelson Mandela’s Complex Legacy Honors Him The Most
By Doug Allen

It is important to distinguish between celebrating Mandela, in which there is so much to celebrate in appropriating what we can learn and apply from his life and values, and packaging and commodifying him. In reducing Nelson Mandela to a celebrity, those with power define how we should honor him. They selectively soften a completely political person who repeatedly proclaimed “the struggle is my life.” In return, we get a fake and depoliticized icon, not a complex human being with strengths and weaknesses

Avigdor Lieberman, ISIS, And The Saudi Regime
By Dr. Ludwig Watzal

A country pretending to share the same "values" as the U. S. and the other Western democracies allows itself a Foreign Minister who calls for the beheading of its own Palestinian citizens! In 2014, the Saudi Arabian regime beheaded 83 people. The beheadings of ISIS exceeds 100, while the dark figure may be much higher. Will the Israel government follow the advice of its foreign minister, and who will do the job?

Roots Of Modern Terrorism And Religious Fundamentalism
By G. Asgar Mitha

Saudi Arabia and other Monarchist Arab Wahhabist countries have been natural economic allies of America and its European vassals as they are weak and in need of protection. America continues to support the Saudis in exporting their perverted religious dogma across the Muslim countries in order to breed religious intolerance, cruelty and terrorism. Some of the countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria and Palestine have been war victims, others like Pakistan, Jordan and Egypt have survived upon American and Saudi aids. Iran is the only Muslim country where America and the Saudi monarchy have failed for exporting terrorism and religious extremism and both fear it as a regional power

Which Party Do You View Iran Through?
By David Swanson

If you see Iran through that left-Democratic lens, that is if you are opposed to Republican efforts to start yet another unnecessary catastrophic war, this one with Iran, I have a few ideas I'd like to run by you

Arab World: Political Disintegration And Search For Reason
By Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja

The Arab masses long for political change and a promising future based on peaceful co-existence with others. In view of the unstoppable cycle of sectarian killings and daily bloodbaths in so many Arab states - Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Egypt and spill-over to other oil producing Arab nations - and reactionary militancy against the authoritarian rule and dismantling of the socio-economic infrastructures - is the Arab world coming to its own end? The Arab rulers and the masses live and breathe in conflicting time zones being unable to see the rationality of people-oriented governance - the essence of Islamic system of governance. The worst is yet to come as the wars continue, surrender to foreign forces as there are no leaders to think of the future, no Arab armies to defend the people and no sustainable socio-economic infrastructures intact to support the masses

Sleepwalking Into World War Three? Why The Independent Media Is Vital
By Colin Todhunter

The corporate media have a narrative and the truth does not fit into it. If this tells us anything it is that sites like the one you are reading this particular article on are essential for informing the public about the reality of the aggression that could be sleepwalking the world towards humanity’s final war. And while the mainstream media might still be 'main', in as much as that is where most people still turn to for information, there is nothing to keep the alternative web-based media from becoming 'mainstream'

Understanding Women’s Labour
Book Review By Suparna Banerjee

This book is an analysis of the dialectic of women’s labour and the processes of capital accumulation in Asian economies — an analysis that blends empirical research with theoretical reflections. Indeed, one of the book’s stated aims is to examine the relationship between Marxist political and economic theories with feminism, and the author offers theoretical corrections — based on empirical data — to Marx’s and Proudhon’s theories on women’s labour and on women’s roles in society

Kashmir's Polite, Mad Revolutionary, India's Bogeyman
By Radha Surya

Two cheers for Indian democracy. For now the dust has settled. The Kashmir issue has dropped from the headlines of the Indian news media. The politicians and the deshbakts can return to the self-serving pretence about the decline of pro-azaadi sentiment in Kashmir. It's now back to believing that Kashmir is identical to every other Indian state and that its problems have to do with governance and development. No need to confront the troublesome fact that divided Kashmir lies at the heart of an international dispute

Of Masrat Alam Drama And Beyond
By Dr. Fayaz Ahmad Bhat

Masrat Alam’s row just seems a drama scripted by some hidden and veiled writers with Modi, (Prime Minister of India) Rajnath, (Home Minister) and Mufti Syed,(Chief Minister) as important characters. The drama has been played with Mufti’s role as survivor, Avatar, and Messiah for the people of Kashmir and sensational with PM Modi’s remarks “I share the opposition’s aakrosh (anger)”. While as Rajnath Singh, has attempted a new twist to the drama by asking a written report from the state government. The beginning of the drama is so sensational and twisting; God knows what would be the end

Holy Cow-Beef And Indian Political Games
By Ram Puniyani

In response to beef ban law thousands of workers of Devnar abattoir (Mumbai), who will be losing their jobs came on the streets to protest against this move of the government (March 11). Many traders, from different religion also came to Azad Maidan in Mumbai to protest this communal act of the Maharashtra Government. In a PIL filed in the Bombay High Court the petitioner argues that this ban on beef infringes on the fundamental right of citizens to choose meat of their choice is fundamental. The hope is that the society overcomes such abuse of ‘identity issues’ for political goals and lets the people have their own choices in matters of food habits, and let those who are making their living from this trade do so peacefully

The ‘President’ Of Egalitarian India
By Aishik Chanda

Dressed in blue full-sleeve shirt and grey trousers, Sachin Prabhakar Sawant, excitedly explains his roadmap for an egalitarian India. An engineer by education, the Mira Road resident who is sitting on a dharna for over a year at Azad Maidan in south Bombay, declared himself the President of India on March 23, 2014. Since then, he has made a corner at Azad Maidan his home, demanding implementation of the constitution ‘religiously’. Sawant, the President of Independent Candidates’ Party (ICP), says he wants to establish Buddhist system in the country and destroy all forms of casteism, sectarianism and communalism from their roots

11 March, 2015

A Clean Energy Future Is Possible: A Message
For The 4th Anniversary Of Fukushima

By Andrea Germanos

Just ahead of the four-year anniversary of the Fukushima disaster, five organizations have issued a message that the only way to avert climate disaster is by embracing a clean energy future. It was March 11, 2011 when the Great East Japan earthquake caused a massive tsunami which triggered a triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and destroyed thousands of lives and livelihoods

Carbon Emissions Could Dramatically Increase Risk Of U.S. Megadroughts
By Steve Cole & Leslie McCarthy

Droughts in the US Southwest and Central Plains during the last half of this century could be drier and longer than drought conditions seen in those regions in the last 1,000 years, according to a new NASA study. The study, published [in February] in the journal Science Advances, is based on projections from several climate models, including one sponsored by NASA. The research found continued increases in human-produced greenhouse gas emissions drives up the risk of severe droughts in these regions

New Carbon Accounting Method Proposed
By Countercurrents.org

Consumption-based accounting, also known as carbon footprints, has been suggested as an alternative to today's production-based accounting. With carbon footprints, each country must account for all emissions that are caused by its final consumption -- regardless of where the goods were produced. This has been called a fairer way of measuring emissions, potentially avoiding so-called carbon leakage, where rich, developed countries can reduce their domestic emissions by shifting carbon-intensive production abroad

Frame New Laws To Help The Poor: A 9 Year Old's Message To The World

Prolegomena To Any Future Understanding Of The Crisis In Ukraine
By Thomas Riggins

The political and military maneuvers now going on in the Ukraine have the potential of escalating out of control. If we don't understand the actual reality that has brought about this crisis there is no hope of being able to prevent this escalation. In order to understand this reality we must refrain from simple minded finger pointing at one side or the other and assigning complete responsibility for the crisis to one of the parties in the dispute, although one side may be disproportionately responsible

Homan Square Police Site And The Mainstream Media's Lack of Concern:
Chicago Media Exposed For Its Deceitfulness

By Kim Scipes

What we have is an extensive set of lies of omission: the Tribune and Sun-Times have not investigated the story, obviously hoping it would go away. Because of their inaction, it appears that there were hopes that it would not become an issue in the mayoral run-off. The mainstream media “dam” seems to be giving away, though, as activists and the alternative media in Chicago, including Substancenews.net, keep this issue alive. Whether it gets more fully into the mayoral campaign or not, police maleficence in Chicago—as well as across the United States—is going to continue to be challenged

Getting Serious About Terrorism
By Andy Piascik

Last month, President Obama convened a summit at the White House to discuss terrorism. As could easily have been predicted, the focus was entirely on those the United States deems official enemies. Conversely and equally predictably, the two best and most obvious ways the United States can combat terrorism - stop doing it and stop giving arms, money and diplomatic cover to others who do - were not on the agenda

Online Privacy Is Worth The Extra Work
By Justin Podur

This past week, Laura Poitras's documentary, Citizen Four, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary. When he provided the documents that revealed the details of universal spying by the US National Security Agency (NSA), the subject of the documentary, Edward Snowden, wrote an accompanying manifesto. His "sole motive", he wrote, was "to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them. The U.S. government, in conspiracy with client states, chiefest among them the Five Eyes - the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand - have inflicted upon the world a system of secret, pervasive surveillance from which there is no refuge."

Postcard From The End Of America: Washington D.C.
By Linh Dinh

All capitals strive to be showcases, sure, but very few, or perhaps none, is as successful at blocking out its nation's true ugliness and failures. This sleight of hand, though, also works on many of the residents of this near perfect square inside a near perfect circle. The hell they've created keeps seeping in, however, and soon enough, it will overwhelm, if not explode, this Potemkin village of a city. This smug bubble will burst

Violence Against Women: Why We Keep Getting It Wrong
By Robert J. Burrowes

With the passing of another International Women's Day, during which much attention around the world has again been focused on tackling violence against women, I would like to explain why none of the initiatives currently being proposed will achieve anything unless we acknowledge, and act on, the cause of this violence

How The Public Are Deceived By The ‘News'
By Eric Zuesse

Top ‘News' Executives Suppress Key Facts; The Public Sees a Chaotic, Disjointed, Picture. Here Is How that Is Done, in Personal Detail

Feeding The Vultures, While Starving Agriculture: Capitalism's Great Indian Con-Trick
By Colin Todhunter

India’s development is being hijacked by the country’s wealthy ruling class and the multinational vultures who long ago stopped circling and are now swooping. Meanwhile, the genuine wealth creators, the entrepreneurs who work the fields and have been custodians of the land and seeds for centuries, are being sold out to corporate interests whose only concern is to how best loot the economy

In East And West Asia Use Of New Media As A News(Gathering) Tool
By Kashoo Tawseef

The influence in the news coverage at different times in the Middle East, illustrates that new media helped the people of Middle-East in getting their voices heard, and did help in advocacy efforts at times when state tried to block the access but at the same time everyone had eye on the developments taking place in that part of the world

Deprecate Lynching Of A Muslim Youth At Dimapur Of Nagaland
By Lateef Mohammed Khan

It is Crime against Humanity based upon political motivation – Judiciary, State and Central Government are culpable

10 March, 2015

A Solution For The Global Crisis
By William Kotke

We humans are amazingly creative and resourceful and have emerged successfully from many dire situations. We can easily create this on the ground, while we work on the big problem of transferring from the negative emotional condition of the death culture- civilization- to the positive emotional condition of a life nurturing survival

Venezuela, A Security Threat, Declares US
By Countercurrents.org

The US has declared Venezuela is a national security threat. US President Barack Obama issued an executive order on March 9, 2015 slapping Venezuela with new sanctions and declaring the Bolivarian nation an "unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security". President Nicolas Maduro a few days ago revealed new evidence on the coup plot against his administration revealing that much of it was planned in the US

President Obama Picks Another Fight, This Time Venezuela
By Eric Zuesse

The Obama Administration, which in 2009 provided the crucial assistance that enabled the progressive democratic President of Honduras to be overthrown and a junta of oligarchs to replace him; and which in 2014 perpetrated a bloody coup that replaced the corrupt but democratically elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, replaced by a rabidly anti-Russian equally corrupt Government, and thus sparked Ukraine's civil war against the area of Ukraine that had voted 90% for Yanukovych; is now again trying to overthrow Venezuela's democratically elected President, Nicolas Maduro

Possibility Of Escape 
By Kathy Kelly

I'm here among women, some of whom, I've been told, are supposed to be "hardened criminals." Fellow activists incarcerated in men's prisons likewise concur that the system is futile, merciless and wrongheaded. Our jailers, I'm convinced, can see this. Men like Governor Rauner, it seems, can see it, or his advisers can. Where are the inflexible ones keeping women like Marlo isolated from and lost to the world, trembling for their future for the next five years? I would like to make an appeal to you, and to myself two months from now when I've left here and once more rejoined the polite society of these women's "inflexible jailers." I choose to believe that we can be moved and these women can escape. I am writing this, as many have written and will write, to see if we're easier to move than iron and stone

East Turkestan’s Uyghurs: The Wrong Minority, With The Wrong Faith,
In The Wrong Place, At The Wrong Time

By Tim Robertson

Far from the east coast metropolises of Beijing and Shanghai, in the western region of Xinjiang (referred to as East Turkestan by Uyghurs), the Muslim Uyghur minority has long been struggling under the repressive rule of the Communist Party (CCP). The Uyghurs – who speak a Turkic language and have much more culturally in common with their Central Asian neighbours – want independence from China. For the CCP, who see itself as the guardian of the civilisation-state, this kind of ‘separatism’ is unacceptable: It poses an existential threat to China because its borders pre-date the modern nation-state system and any challenge to that could precipitate other territorial disputes that could make her like any other country – that’s to say, arbitrary lines on a map

Forced Sterilization, Exclusion, Persecution, Cultural Genocide: The Situation Of Ahwazi Women
By Al-Sharq Newspaper

An Interview with Mona Oudeh an Ahwazi Arab activist

Federal Study: US Government Killing Apprximately 1,000 Of Its Own People Per Year
By Robert Barsocchini

The federal Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that, on average, US police piled up the bodies of 928 US citizens per year between 2003-2009 and 2011

Growing Up In The Shadow Of The American War State 
By Frida Berrigan

So much has changed, but the Doomsday Clock has again tick-tocked back down to three minutes to nuclear midnight and wars are raging at every turn. It's been a few years since I paid old Uncle Pentagon a visit. I am long overdue

Why Is Henry Kissinger Walking Around Free?
By Andy Piascik

If the United States is ever to become a democratic society, and if we are ever to enter the international community as a responsible party willing to wage peace instead of war, to foster cooperation and mutual aid rather than domination, we will have to account for the crimes of those who claim to act in our names like Kissinger. Our outrage at the crimes of murderous thugs who are official enemies like Pol Pot is not enough. A cabal of American mis-leaders from Kennedy on caused for far more Indochinese deaths than the Khmer Rouge, after all, and those responsible should be judged and treated accordingly

Australia’s Sovereignty Severely Compromised For US-Israeli Designs
By Dr. Daud Batchelor

As Australia’s international standing has risen, the country’s sovereignty is being dangerously subsumed by the United States, itself controlled by powerful elites:the disproportionately influential military-industrial complex and Zionist lobbies.Australia’s sovereignty is being compromised by the political elite within the ruling Liberal Party and Labour Party caucus. Former PM Malcolm Fraser presciently warned that the relationship was becoming dangerous and we “have effectively ceded to America the ability to decide when Australia goes to war”

Transformation
By Gaither Stewart

I return again and again to the Russian example because just as the intelligentsia in pre-revolutionary Russia set its stamp on the development of the idea of Socialism there (in the end making the greatest revolution of modern times), when the propitious moment arrives, when what was inexpressible becomes expressible, when events have created a universal mood of revolutionary discontent with the existing system, when tensions reach the boiling point, the American intelligentsia, together with the American wage earners and the growing, multiplying, ever angrier and, one hopes, awakening middle class, will rise against the capitalist system, salvage the positive parts of America and bring about that transformation I am speaking of

Fact Finding Report On Communal Violence in Bharuch District, Gujarat
By PUCL

Today PUCL, Gujarat Submitted a fact finding Report to National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), National Commission for Minorities, Chief Minister and Minister of Home and Revenue (Gujarat), Director General of Police (Gujarat) demanding urgent action in cases of Violation of Right to Life and Liberties, Right to livelihood of the affected people in the villages of Hansot Block, District Bharuch, Gujarat due to communal violence and ineffective/biased state action from December 2014 onwards

Goodbye Secularism! Enter Theocracy!!
By Subhash Gatade

Understanding the yet unfolding ‘Dietary Fascism'

The Paradox Of Women's Day: Commercialization, Depoliticization
And CommodificationOf A Dynamic Radical Revolutionary Idea

By Shalu Nigam

Women's emancipation entails changing the mindset, initiating revolution and bringing radical transformation in the ways contemporary capitalist patriarchal society operates. It demands meaningful understanding and interventions in day to day to struggles of women situated in different contextual background. Focusing on prejudices, stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes that have denied women of their constitutional or human rights is essential. The women's liberation movement in the modern Indian society needs to focus on the issues relating to struggle for substantive equality, freedom from violence and survival issues. Commercialization is not a solution; the answer lies in political and social mobilization around everyday issues relating to women lives on daily basis. The need is to strive for dignity and respect at the work place, within homes and public spaces and reimagining the new world order based on social justice

What Else Then In Nirbhaya Film Except Mukesh Singh?
By Deba Ranjan

This film, ‘India’s Daughter’, except for Mukesh Singh has nothing. Only Nirbhaya’s mother is sole person who is countering the criminal and the lawyers. The criminals are in jail and the lawyer, specifically Mohan Sharma, is sitting in chair, very calmly, with the uniform, inside his own chamber, is spreading nothing but ‘hatred’ towards Nirbhaya! As a human being I can’t accept this

Nation’s Honour, ‘IBIs’ And The Dimapur Lynching
By Bonojit Hussain

While there is little doubt that the mob lynching would not have been possible without complicity of the police force at various levels, Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang in a kneejerk reaction has blamed social media users for the flare-up and the subsequent lynching. It would do well to both CM TR Zeliang and Naga society at large if he musters the courage to condemn and initiate action against the leaders of those civil society organizations that made libelous and false statements and calling for mob (in) justice

Hacking Consciousness: The Stanford University Video Series
Reviewed by William T. Hathaway

This new Stanford video series investigates consciousness as the source of not only the human mind but also of all energy and matter. Consciousness is seen as the essence of the universe, a unified field which gives rise to and pervades all manifest phenomena. Five scientists from different disciplines describe how we can contact this field and use it to improve our lives. The series, designed by Michael Heinrich, is now available free on YouTube

09 March, 2015

Egyptian Junta Begins Executions Of Islamists
By Alex Lantier

With Saturday’s execution of an Islamist defendant, the first state killing of the hundreds of people sentenced to death in mass show trials following the July 2013 military coup, the US-backed Egyptian junta is stepping up its campaign of police-state terror against the people

ISIS Destroys Ancient Sites Near Mosul
By Sandy English

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has reportedly used heavy equipment to demolish the site of the ancient Assyrian capital of Nimrud, 18 miles south of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city. Nimrud, built over 3,000 years ago, was the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire after 883 BC. The Neo-Assyrian Empire, whose rulers spoke a language distantly related to Arabic and Hebrew, ruled Mesopotamia, the ancient name for Iraq and parts of Syria, from about 900 BC to 600 BC

The Origin Of The ‘New Cold War'
By Eric Zuesse

The ‘new Cold War,' against Russia, is something of a misnomer, because it differs from the original version, against the U.S.S.R., in that it's already a hot war, which started in Ukraine as being the key proxy-state for the American Government's chief foreign-policy aim, of defeating Russia; and it's a war that is very bloody, and widely lied-about in both the U.S. and Europe, but that is discussed in Russia as if it were somehow the result of mere errors by Western powers, when in fact all of the Western leaders knew from the get-go that this was intended to be a lynching of Russia by Uncle Sam, and when the EU have been going along with this aim because the U.S. aristocracy supposedly have the interests of European aristocrats in mind and not only their own: it's 'the Western Alliance,' after all

Putin Wants To Eat Your Children
By David Swanson

It's Vladimir Putin's turn, which means Russia is at risk, which means the world is at risk, and yet the rough beast stumbling toward Bethlehem to be born is as oblivious to its conception as any unborn thing or television viewer

A Global Security System: An Alternative To War
By David Swanson

World Beyond War, a U.S. nonprofit dedicated to ending all war, published this week a guide toward that end, a short book titled A Global Security System: An Alternative to War

Right To Insult or The Responsibility Principle? -- Thoughts On The Charlie-Hebdo-Massacre
By Saral Sarkar

One thing can probably be regarded as indisputable: One cannot get any positive results through insults and provocations. On the contrary, they only stir up hatred and violence. We have observed that in the last 25 years. With this method one can only start a new conflict again and again

How I Saw The Light With Daylight Saving Time!
By Gary Corseri 

I thought that it had all been like that: that we had all lost our minds in a “wild romance” of life on a whirling, little, momentary planet of might-have-beens and should-have-beens. And I wept. And understood

Can The Hindu Nationalist Modi Play A Saviour Role To Tamils In Sri Lanka?
By Siritunga Jayasuriya

The forthcoming state visit of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sri Lanka and the red carpet welcome accorded to him, including the ceremonial speech to the Sri Lanka's parliament are indeed a bad omen for all the democratic, left and progressive forces of this country. The March 13-14 visit is the first standalone trip by an Indian PM to Sri Lanka in 28 years

Greece: Limited Options, Limited Prospects
By Jon V Kofas

The day after the Greek left-center party SYRIZA won the election of January 2015, optimism ran across Europe’s progressive quarters, while the conservatives and neoliberals acr4oss the world insisted the new regime was extreme left and it would invite disaster. Just a few short weeks after that election, the world knows that SYRIZA was indeed a center-left regime, one trying to introduce some modest reforms in a bankrupt nation whose future is really the past of even greater dependence instead of the future of greater national sovereignty in all domains from economy to defense

Women's Empowerment: From Adversity To Prosperity
By Shobha Shukla

Preeti has conquered many male dominated bastions and treaded upon paths, which others would normally fear to step upon. She is at the forefront of spearheading demonstrations to fight for not only the rights of women farmers but of all the villagers—forcing authorities to get the drains cleaned, voters’ list corrected, water-logging removed; ration cards anomalies rectified; freeing land from encroachers—the list can go on and on. No wonder that even people of her native town of Gorakhpur marvel at her achievements and look upon her with reverence

Forest Peoples Programme Complaint Against Golden Agri Resources Upheld
By Forestpeoples.org

Palm oil conglomerate criticised for multiple violation of RSPO's requirements that lands only be acquired from indigenous peoples and local communities with their free, prior and informed consent

08 March, 2015

Mob (in)justice In Dimapur
By Parvin Sultana

Dimapur is regarded as the business capital of Nagaland, a state in the Northeastern region of India. This small town was jolted by a series of horrific incidents that took place on 5th March, 2015. A man accused of raping a college student was murdered by a mob. Videos of the 35 year old Syed Farid Khan being paraded naked and beaten to death became viral. His lifeless blood drenched body was then hanged

Analysing The Dimapur Lynching
By Sazzad Hussain

This modern day lynching was photographed by mobile wielding youth as souvenirs. The entire act was committed in broad day light where the police and the civil administration choose to remain nonchalant. The punch line of the narrative was that the “rapist”, who was also an “illegal Bangladeshi immigrant”, got his punishment in a country where the justice delivery system is very slow

EU Increasingly Abandons Obama On Ukraine
By Eric Zuesse

As reported on Saturday March 7th by both German Economic News, and Spiegel magazine, the ongoing lies and arrogance from U.S. President Barack Obama's Administration regarding Ukraine and Russia have finally raised to the surface a long-mounting anger of Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Government

Biodiversity or GMOs: Will The Future Of Nutrtion Be
In Women's Hands or Under Corporate Control?

By Vandan Shiva

Women have been the primary growers of food and nutrition throughout history, but today, food is being taken out of our hands and substituted for toxic commodities controlled by global corporations. Monoculture industrial farming has taken the quality, taste and nutrition out of our food. As a result, India is facing a nutritional crisis: every fourth Indian goes hungry, and in 2011 alone, diabetes took the lives of 1 million Indians

Meet The Planet’s Most Dangerous Nuclear Rogue State
By Mickey Z.

We're told we can't allow just anyone (except allies like Israel, of course) to acquire such lethal technology -- and we can't let anyone help arm men so evil they might, well, use nuclear weapons on civilians. We hear this while pretending that our tax dollars aren't funding the forces that regularly use nuclear weapons on civilians

Palestinian Memory And Hope
By Dan Lieberman

They are asking for only $14,000, and their request greatly strengthens recognition of the Palestinian cause. THEY are a group of dedicated activists who are devoting time and energy to create an initial Nakba Museum of Memory and Hope within a building of the Adam's Morgan neighborhood, Washington, D.C

Ahab’s Speech Before His Crew: The Face Of Falsehood
By William A.Cook

A Reflection on the Congress of the United States

What About India’s Daughters In The Conflict Zones?
By Devika Mittal

Sexual violence in the conflict zones are not an aberration. They are widespread. Yet, they do not evoke the same outrage that this particular incident in a non-conflict zone has received. The Government, the judiciary and even those people who are aware of this reality remain silent. Aren’t these the daughters of India too? Aren’t they women as well? This hypocrisy needs to be addressed. Respect and rights cannot be exclusive or the entitlement of only a particular section of women

Ahwazi Mass Demonstration In Front Of The European Parliament In Brussels
By Rahim Hamid

The Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Al-Ahwaz has organized a mass demonstration, under the title “We will never forget our Ahwazi people” in front of the European Parliament in Brussels, the Belgian Capital. The Demonstration took place on Friday 6th of March to condemn the policies of Iranian occupation and the ongoing anti-human atrocities against the Arab people of Ahwaz

07 March, 2015

Pipeline Geopolitics: From South Stream To Blue Stream
By George Venturini

Europe depends on Russia for gas. It is supplied by Gazprom, a state monopoly. It was delivered for some years through Ukraine, but not without difficulties even before the civil war. Russia decided to join a dozen other European countries in building South Stream, under the Black Sea, into Bulgaria. The European Union attempted to impose its antitrust policy on Russia. On 1 December 2014 Russia abandoned South Stream and announced an agreement with Turkey to supply Europe at the Turkish-Greek border, through the New Black Sea Pipeline, leaving the necessary infrastructure from there to the care of the Union.

The 'Democrat' Brzezinski Says Russia's Putin Wants To Invade NATO
By Eric Zuesse

Zbigniew Brzezinski, U.S. President Obama's friend and advisor on Russia, has told the U.S. Congress (on February 6th but not reported until March 6th, when the German Economic News found the clip) that Russia's leader Vladimir Putin “seized” Crimea and that Putin will probably try to do the same to Estonia and Latvia, unless the U.S. immediately supplies weapons and troops to those countries and to Ukraine

Europe Blocks U.S. From Racing To War Against Russia
By Eric Zuesse

According to German Economic News, Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Francois Hollande are balking at the speed of Obama's rush to war against Russia. Earlier, some of the smaller national economies in the European Union — the Czech Republic, Hungary and Greece — dissented from America's effort to increase economic sanctions and military measures against Russia. But there is now increasing pressure upon the leaders in Germany, France, and Italy, also to separate the EU from the American rush to war against Russia

Germany's Balancing Act
By William T. Hathaway

Angela Merkel, Germany's conservative chancellor, is steering a cautious course between two conflicting pressures. On the one hand she must convince the German people to pay -- with their taxes and their lives -- for NATO's Mideast wars. On the other hand she doesn't want to stir up too much anti-immigrant sentiment. Four million Muslims live in Germany, five percent of the population

The Capitalist Origins Of The Oppression Of African Women 
By Garikai Chengu

The greatest threat towards the African woman's glorious future is her ignorance of her glorious past. Armed with knowledge, Africans must now fight to restore women to a position of respect and of economic freedom that exceeds that which she enjoyed before colonialism

When Will The Good Times (Achhe Din) Come For Women In India?
By Shobha Shukla

While stone statues of the female form (Saraswati, Lakshmi, Durga/Kali) are worshipped in temples and religious rituals, a large number of those made of flesh and blood face violence on the streets and in homes, and encounter discrimination throughout their lives that begins at (or even before) birth, and continues during childhood, adolescence and adulthood

Women's Empowerment: Not A Copy Paste Model
By Dr.Fayaz Ahmad Bhat

There is no denying that the condition of women in West is relatively better than India but not so excellent that we will blindly follow it and become one dimensional. Before following or adopting any model of women empowerment we must understand its positives and negatives as well. The only model of women empowerment which seems suitable to any context is sociological model of development. Which aims inclusive empowerment, in social sphere, economic sphere, and political sphere, moreover empowerment associated with critical thinking and consciousness raising

ISIS And Its Faulty Logic (PDF)
By Mirza Yawar Baig

Peace is the effect of justice. Those who like to talk about peace must ensure that justice is established. Until that is done, any apparent peace is only a recess between wars. We. All of us. White or black. Christian, Jew, Hindu or Muslim or of any faith. We who believe in goodness and are against exploitation of all kinds. We the people of the world. We need to take it back from the hands of those who want to exploit it and us for their own ends. We have to stand together

AAP As A Start-up And The New 'App'
By Anand Teltumbde

The biggest challenge before a start-up is to scale up or be gobbled up by the big fish. Remember what Microsoft did to Netscape. In the absence of practical ideas about how to scale up, start-ups only end up swelling the coffers of venture capitalists and promoters

A Short Note On ‘India's Daughter' 
By V. Arun Kumar

I recently watched the BCC's documentary ‘India's Daughter' made by LesleeUdwin. The document is strong one exposing the misogynist and male chauvinism mind-set existing in our society. Banning of this documentary is idiotic, but I have certain reservations

Coalition And Controversies
By Abdul Majid Zargar

So the BJP-PDP coalition is a fait-accompli now In Jammu & Kashmir. Mufti Mohammad Syed has assumed the reins of coalition Govt. on the assurance of a full six year term as Chief Minster. The oath of office was administered by Governor Vohra on 1st March 2015. A galaxy of leaders from BJP were present on the dias. Congress & NC boycotted the function

06 March, 2015

 

Amnesty International Demands The Release Of Human Rights Defenders In Kerala

Press Release

“Indian courts have stated on multiple occasions that mere possession of certain literature cannot be considered a crime. The National Human Rights Commission has asked for a report from the Kerala police on the arrests. Authorities must ensure that the two men are protected from torture and other ill-treatment,” said Shemeer Babu, Programmes Director, Amnesty International India

India's Daughter: Dealing With Reality
By Shalu Nigam

The documentary `India's Daughter' made by Leslee Udwin about the rape that shook Delhi in December 2012 raised a lot of debate, outrage and furor in Parliament, in media and in general. The police filed a FIR and the broadcast of this documentary is banned in India. Statements were issued by groups in favour and against such ban. However, what is being overlooked amidst this debate is the reality of women's lives in India. A woman in India faces this patriarchal misogynist attitude every day – at home and at public spaces, through her entire life in different ways. The documentary pointed to this regressive attitude and subjugating culture that needs to be addressed. Prohibiting the documentary is futile as shying away from such questions that pertains to reality of women's live or living in denial that misogyny exists or closing eyes to realities is hardly helpful to bring about social transformation. The need is to strike at the roots and confront the sexist and patriarchal violent culture in a mature manner

Is ‘India’s Daughter’ A Victim Of Corporate Media War ?
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

BBC’s film failed to expose India’s caste impunity, which rapes women at their whims and fancies to assert its supremacy in India’s villages. It is sad that our activists and human rights ‘champion’ did not have time to narrate things when they critique the film, instead the farce of nationalism and technicalities of the matter are being raised and that shows the hollowness of the protests and the human rights movement itself which keep quiet on the violence against Dalit women and make it just a plain gender issue. India will never answer that. BBC documentary failed us in that but nevertheless it is a milestone as it still exposes Indian society and its hypocrisy in dealing with the issue

Muzzling India’s Daughters
By Farzana Versey

Soon after December 16, 2012, India became international news for a rape. Intellectuals and the political class had at the time lapped up the attention, to the extent of participating in the globalisation of Delhi as the rape capital. The shame they felt came with the caveat of their moral superiority. Today, when it comes back full circle to mock them they stand more exposed than what they are exposing. They had called her India’s daughter, and now they object to the title of a documentary using it. India has banned the film

Why The Rise Of Fascism Is Again The Issue
By John Pilger

The responsibility of the rest of us is clear. It is to identify and expose the reckless lies of warmongers and never to collude with them. It is to re-awaken the great popular movements that brought a fragile civilisation to modern imperial states. Most important, it is to prevent the conquest of ourselves: our minds, our humanity, our self respect. If we remain silent, victory over us is assured, and a holocaust beckons

Let's End The New Cold War Before It Heats Up
By Ernest Partridge

The United States and Russia are rushing, relentlessly, toward war, unless cooler voices are heard and heeded. Those voices are not being heard in our mass media or heeded by our politicians. The familiar historical indicators of a march to war are apparent to all with eyes to see: arms buildup, depersonalization of the "enemy," demonization of its leaders, marginalizing of moderate voices, suppression of dissent, refusal to negotiate and compromise in good faith, deliberate failure to recognize the concerns and interests of "the other."

How Did Syria Get Here?
By David Swanson

Wars may be how Americans learn geography, but do they always learn the history of how the geography was shaped by wars? I've just read Syria: A History of the Last Hundred Years by John McHugo. It's very heavy on the wars, which is always a problem with how we tell history, since it convinces people that war is normal. But it also makes clear that war wasn't always normal in Syria

All Buildings In Debaltseve Ukraine Were Destroyed
Or Damaged By The Occupying Ukrainian Army

By Eric Zuesse

According to the head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Ukraine, no usable buildings survive in the town of Debaltseve, the crucial railroad junction that was long fought over between the occupying Ukrainian army and the town's residents.  The OSCE official, Michael Bociurkiw, said on Wednesday March 4th, "The violence must be stopped, as it is developing into a real disaster in some areas. As for Debaltseve, for example, our representatives have said that there was no house left that was not destroyed or damaged by shelling.”

Greece Injured By EU
By Andre Vltchek

Greece is in a cage; it is a hostage. The door is actually open. But the country is scared to walk out and face the world. It still prefers to suffer from familiar tyrants, than to encounter the unknown

Time To Stop Twisting Truth: Britain's Pre-eminent Scientific Body
Should Put The Record Straight On GMOs

By Colin Todhunter

An open letter and a challenge to the Royal Society

Justice: A Short Conversation
By Kashoo Tawseef

Different nations and systems that exist in today's world are based on some sort of principle or framework, but the underlying fact is that if any such nation or system is based on justice, then only one expects good results out of it, otherwise it is not going to last for long, and history is witness, how such nations and systems collapse as, Malcolm-X, once said, “I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it's for or against.” Excerpts of a short conversation with my friend over a cup of tea, here is what he thinks

05 March, 2015

Spy Agencies Used 'Giant Vacuum Cleaner' To Collect Data Across Pacific
By Jon Queally

New documents from the cache of files leaked by Edward Snowden show that New Zealand's intelligence agency has been collecting in bulk the cell phone, email, and internet files of people across the Pacific Island nations and handing that data over to the U.S. National Security Agency in an operation one angered lawmaker now describes as a "giant vaccum cleaner of information

Letter To NDTV On The Teleast Of The Documentary “India’s Daughter”
By Concerned Citizens

This communication, we are sending after viewing the documentary film, which ironically, you had proposed to telecast on 8th March 2015, on the occasion of InternationalWomen's Day. We are writing to you to express our serious concerns about some aspects of this film which, as a responsible channel, we fully expect that you will take on board and postpone the broadcast of this film, till all legal processes and proceedings pertaining to the 16 December 2012 case have concluded

"India's Daughter" : A Ban Is Not The Solution
By National Federation Of Indian Women

National Federation Of Indian Women (NFIW) strongly opposes the banning of the documentary India's Daughter. The 'objectionable' portions of the documentary not only expose the mentality of the rapist, they are also a reflection of the mentality and attitude of the Indian patriarchal society towards women

“India’s Daughter”: Blanket Ban An Attack On The Freedom Of Expression
By All India Democratic Women's Association

All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) strongly opposes the blanket ban on the documentary titled “India’s Daughter” made by BBC 4. This is a knee jerk reaction that constitutes an attack on the freedom of expression

Netanyahu’s Farcical Fear Mongering
By Alan Hart

Netanyahu’s portrayal of an Iran on course to possess nuclear weapons for the purpose of annihilating Israel, plus the standing ovations and the applause his performance received, might well have pleased enough brainwashed Israeli Jews to vote in ways that guarantee he will emerge from Israel’s upcoming elections in a position to cobble together the next coalition government and serve a fourth term as prime minister

Compete To Possess And Die Out, or Be Fair To Survive
By Lionel Anet

Atmospheric scientists have estimated that, with the carbon we have emitted, we can expect a 3 metre ocean rise by the end of this century. We are in big trouble and continual reliance on growth will end up killing everyone. The task ahead of us is the most difficult ever and to deal with it will take a united effort. So the ball is in their court, the 1%,has to decide to live as one of us or die.Nevertheless they can’t see the choice they have on their own; we must show them the choices they have, to save ourselves

US Considering Openly Arming Syrian al-Qaeda Faction, al-Nusra
By Robert Barsocchini

As reported at Antiwar.com, the US and some of its regional client dictatorships are prodding the major al-Qaeda faction operating in Syria, a brutal terrorist group called al-Nusra, to “re-brand” so the US can openly arm it

Are Pilots Deserting Washington's Remote-Control War? 
By Pratap Chatterjee

A New Form of War May Be Producing a New Form of Mental Disturbance 

Not Science, Just Lies And Propaganda: The Massive Fraud Behind GMOs Exposed
By Colin Todhunter

‘Altered Genes, Twisted Truth' is a new book by the US public interest lawyer Steve Druker. The book is the result of more than 15 years of intensive research and investigation by Druker, who initiated a lawsuit against the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that forced it to divulge its files on GM foods. Those files revealed that GM foods first achieved commercialisation in 1992 but only because the FDA covered up the extensive warnings of its own scientists about their dangers, lied about the facts and then violated federal food safety law by permitting these foods to be marketed without having been proven safe through standard testing

Fast Food Nations: Selling Out To Junk Food, Illness And Food Insecurity
By Colin Todhunter

Western agribusiness, food processing companies and retail concerns are gaining wider entry into India and through various strategic trade deals are looking to gain a more significant footprint within the country. The Knowledge Initiative on Agriculture (KIA) and the ongoing India-EU free trade agreement talks have raised serious concerns about the stranglehold that transnational corporations could have on the agriculture and food sectors, including the subsequent impact on the livelihoods of hundreds of millions

Did Hindus Never Eat Beef?
By BR Ambedkar

The claim of the Hindutva gang that Dr BR Ambedkar endorsed the Hindutva project and opposed beef-eating as cow was sacred to Hinduism is a terrible travesty of facts. Dr Ambedkar, a great researcher, produced a brilliant essay on the subject titled ‘Did The Hindus Never Eat Beef?’ All those who are really interested in understanding the Indian past and wish to challenge the supremacist myth making for cleansing and marginalizing minorities must read the above-mentioned work which is being reproduced here

An Underground Radioactive Waste Laboratory Coming Up
In Gogi Village In Yadgir District Of Karnataka

By VT Padmanabhan & Joseph Makkolil

In March last year, we reported a secret move by the DAE to set up a repository (DGR) for storing high level radioactive waste (HLW) under the hills of Idukki-Theni districts in Kerala-Tamil Nadu. TIFR published a blanket denial saying that INO has nothing to do with radioactive waste. Our contention was that radioactive waste repository was a separate project, co-located at the same site. Now we report a similar effort to build an underground research laboratory (URL) in Gogi village of Yadgir district in Karnataka

INO Will Cause Major Environmental Damages In Theni: Medha Patkar
By Countercurrents

Noted social activist Medha Patkar joined hands with MDMK leader Vaiko to oppose the proposed neutrino observatory project in Theni district, saying that it would cause large-scale environmental damages. "Nature will suffer major damages if India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is set up. Radiation from it will affect people in the area. The central government does not seem to care about the people's livelihood. The INO project will not benefit India either," Patkar said

Sour Grapes In ‘Wine Country’— Intense Challenges To Wineries Erupt
By Shepherd Bliss

A movement against the expansion of rural wineries grows throughout the North Bay. Residents demand that applications should include an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and conform to the rules of CEQA (California Environment Quality Act). Demands grow for moratoriums on all new wineries in Sonoma and Napa Counties, especially those seeking to be industrial, commercial event centers, located away from urban centers, compromising the quality of rural life and nature

04 March, 2015

Netanyahu Delivers Anti-Iran Tirade To US Congress
By Bill Van Auken

The speech delivered Tuesday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to an extraordinary joint session of the US Congress consisted of a hysterical anti-Iran tirade and an implicit denunciation of the Obama administration for what was portrayed as an outright betrayal of the security interests of both Israel and the US

Benjamin Netanyahu's Fantasy World
By Rabbi Michael Lerner

Netanyahu's speech to Congress was brilliantly deceitful because it played to the fantasies that Israeli propaganda and right wing militarists in the US have been popularizing for the past thirty years

Netanyahu Invokes Biblical Myths And Islamophobia To Derail US Diplomacy On Iran
By Ali Abunimah

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his much trailed and politically divisive speech to the US Congress today, forcefully denouncing a possible international agreement that would place Iran’s civilian nuclear energy program under strict supervision. Immediately afterwards, I spoke to The Real News Network’s Paul Jay to analyze the speech, including Netanyahu’s appeal to Biblical myths and Islamophobia in his attempt to derail US diplomacy

Netanyahu Addresses "His" Congress
By Dr. Ludwig Watzal

By sabotaging of the agreement between the US and Iran, Israel intends to maintain its nuclear hegemony in the region and impose its will upon his neighbors. It can massacre the people in the Gaza Strip with impunity because the US holds its protective hand over Israel and prevents any resolution critical of Israel in the UN Security Council. How long will Americans let Israel humiliate them and their President? Do Obama and his staff have no self-esteem? And why are the richest Americans keeping quiet?

Gitmo In Chicago
By Stephen Lendman

On February 24, The Guardian headlined ”The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden ‘black site.’ ” It’s an “off-the-books (Homan Square) interrogation compound,” said the Guardian – some miles west from where this writer lives. A “nondescript warehouse (is) the domestic equivalent of a CIA black site.” People are lawlessly arrested, detained, denied access to lawyers up to 24 hours, and tortured during secret interrogations

"Collective Psychopathology" And US Police State Methods
By Jon V Kofas

In February 2015, The Guardian published a couple of new stories about the connection between the Chicago police department “black site” at Homan Square and the Guantanamo prison where terror suspects have been kept as political prisoners without ever been charged. Neither the national media in the US nor the Chicago media organizations, including African-American, have pursued this story. Even after the British paper brought these issues to the attention of the public, the mainstream media in Chicago and across the US are ignoring the revelations, a subject in itself revealing about the role of the US media in a democratic society where human rights and civil rights violations occur

The Arab Intellectual Is Resting, Not Dead
By Ramzy Baroud

History without the moral leadership of intellectuals is devoid of meaning, chaotic and unpredictable. But this is a period of seismic historical transition, and it must eventually yield the kind of intellectual who will break free from the confines of the ego, regimes, self-serving politics, sects, ideologies and geography

Stating the Broad Truth Russians Have Learned That the Grass Is Not Greener On The Other Side
By Milan Djurasovic

The West had their chance to show what their democracy looks like when they applied it to Russia in the 1990's. Their methods have not changed since then. There is nothing new that could be offered, and the Russian people have declared that they do not want another round of the old. The best thing to do is to let them be. Only when the external pressure subsides will they be able to address their own problems without being accused, sometimes rightfully and sometimes inaccurately, of working for or being exploited by foreign governments

Wealth Of World’s Billionaires Surges Past $7 Trillion
By Joseph Kishore

The combined net worth of the world’s billionaires has reached a new high in 2015 of $7.05 trillion, according to the latest compilation published by Forbes magazine on Monday. There are a record 1,826 billionaires, each with an average wealth of $3.8 billion. Relative to last year, the world’s billionaires have increased their combined wealth by more than 10 percent, from $6.4 trillion in 2014, while the total number of billionaires has grown by 11 percent

Greatest Generation? What Happened 70 Years Ago Will Change Your Mind!
By Mickey Z.

By May 1945, 75 percent of the bombs being dropped on Japan were incendiaries. Cheered on by the likes of Time magazine -- which explained that “properly kindled, Japanese cities will burn like autumn leaves” -- the U.S. bombing campaign took an estimated 672,000 lives, mostly civilians. Read that again: The U.S. bombing campaign took an estimated 672,000 lives, mostly civilians

Review: “Tears In Paradise. Suffering and Struggle Of Indians In Fiji 1879-2004”
by Rajendra Prasad – Britain's Indentured Indian “5 Year Slaves”

By Dr Gideon Polya

“Tears in Paradise. Suffering and struggle of Indians in Fiji 1879-2004” by Rajendra Prasad tells the story of Indian indentured labour (“5 year slaves”) taken to Fiji from British-occupied India in the period 1879-1916 and brutally exploited on British- and Australian-run sugar cane plantations. The last “5 year slaves” were finally released from bondage in 1920, 87 years after slavery was supposedly banned in the British Empire. Today effective Third World slavery is rampant through globalization

We Are All Mukto-Mona ! The Challenge Of Unreason In South Asia
By Subhash Gatade

Humayun Azad, Salman Tasser, Ahmad Rajib Haider, Dr Dabholkar, Com Pansare and now Avijit Roy. Thanks to religious fervour and growth of extremism of every kind in this part of South Asia, where forces of darkness seem to be on the ascendance, it may just create a feeling that we have reached a dead end as we are losing people one by one who were 'a beacon of hope and light in these dreadful times'. Should we then say that whatever 'little hope we saw in the horizon will it wither away?' We have no other option than to remain eternal optimist with a sincere hope that their 'mettle will be passed onto new generation.'

A Bear Hug!
By Mohammad Ashraf

Modi-Mufti hug reminded one of the famous Kashmiri proverbs about bear hugs and friendships. One hopes it turns out to be positive and does not end in the proverbial endings!

03 March, 2015

NHRC Issues Notice To Kerala Government On
The Arrest Of Human Rights Defenders

Press Release

The National Human Rights Commission of India has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that the Kerala Government was targeting human rights defenders and rights activists by labeling them as 'Maoists sympathizers'. Human rights defenders and advocates Tushar Nirmal Sarathy and Jaison C. Cooper had been arrested under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in Kerala and were in jail since the 30th January, 2015

China Warns U.S. To Stop Its Ukrainian Proxy War Against Russia
By Eric Zuesse

A much-ignored huge news report from Reuters on Friday, February 27th, was headlined "Chinese diplomat tells West to consider Russia's security concerns over Ukraine.” China's Ambassador to Belgium (which has the capital of the EU) said that the “nature and root cause” of the Ukrainian conflict is “the West,” and that "The West should abandon the zero-sum mentality, and take the real security concerns of Russia into consideration.”

Two Different Approaches, Two Different Results In Fighting Ebola
By Matt Peppe

In recent weeks the Ebola epidemic in West Africa has slowed from a peak of more than 1,000 new cases per week to 99 confirmed cases during the week of February 22, according to the World Health Organization. For two countries that have taken diametrically opposed approaches to combating the disease, the stark difference in the results achieved over the last five months has become evident. These countries are the mighty USA and little Cuba

Arctic: To Drill or Not To Drill, That Is The Question  
By Subhankar Banerjee

The Obama Administration, Shell, and the Fate of the Arctic Ocean 

"Before Our Eyes": The Future Of The Middle East
By Thierry Meyssan

For several months, Barack Obama has been trying to change US policy in the Middle East in order to eliminate the Islamic Emirate with the help of Syria. But he cannot do this, partly because he has been saying for years that President Assad must go, and secondly because his regional allies support the Islamic Emirate against Syria. However, things are slowly evolving so he should be able to do so soon. Thus, it appears that all States that supported the Islamic Emirate have ceased to do so, opening the way for a redistribution of the cards

Do Not Give The Thieves The Key To Your Home: Stop The TTIP
By Colin Todhunter

Some 375 civil society organisations from across Europe have today called on EU decision-makers to protect citizens, workers, and the environment from threats the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) it poses

Gandhi As An Economist
By John Scales Avery

Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu extremist on January 30, 1948. After his death, someone collected and photographed all his worldly goods. These consisted of a pair of glasses, a pair of sandals and a white homespun loincloth. Here, as in the Swadeshi movement, we see Gandhi as a pioneer of economics. He deliberately reduced his possessions to an absolute minimum in order to demonstrate that there is no connection between personal merit and material goods. Like Veblen, Gandhi told us that we must stop using material goods as a means of social competition. We must start to judge people not by what they have, but by what they are

The Politics of Food: Palestinians Exhibit Culture, Identity At JNU Food Festival
By Abhay Kumar

As the dusk of Republic Day fell and dazzling lights began to flood the Jhelum Lawn of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), hundreds of students thronged International Food Festival. I, too, joined the crowd and walked along one stall after another, looking at mouthwatering cuisines. But later the evening, before I came out of the festival’s marquee, I had felt that the venue displayed not only foods but also aspiration, identity, struggle and culture of a subjugated people. One of the participants in the annual festival was Palestine. As the illegal Israeli occupation continues, the festival served as an important space for Palestinians to assert their identity

Occupation: A Short Conversation
By Kashoo Tawseef

Some call it, occupation, others invasion, conquest, or control of a nation or territory by foreigners. Whatever you call it, it doesn't sound comfortable at all. Have you ever felt, or tried to feel how it is like, to be living in occupation. How is it to be occupied? Ask someone who has experienced occupation. I had a chance to sit with a friend of mine, David (name changed) for a cup of tea, which he has lived most of his life under occupation. He answered me some unanswered questions, and explained the real meaning of occupation. Here are some excerpts of our conversation

Time For Teachers To Let Go Classroom Management And Focus On Classroom Interactions
By Ms. Swaleha Sindhi

Most of teachers plan to create calm and productive classrooms. But such sight is not seen in all the classes. Things don’t always go as planned with teachers. Teachers might be using great selection of classroom management tools to get students attention. But sometimes when teachers are so focused on classroom management, entire period is spent trying to get students on task. This proves to be exhausting for both teachers and students, so in cases where teachers are teaching some heavy subjects when they need to put their energies towards content then they can give classroom management a back seat. If most of the class is ready to learn and there are minimal distractions, then teachers can give themselves permission to focus on the content. Thus, a teacher is expected to use different strategies and bring a balance in classrooms

Book Review: "Islam And World Peace"
Reviewed By Roshan

With its wealth of detail, its fascinating insights, its bold critique of radical Islamist discourse and politics, its helpful and much-needed articulation of an Islamic understanding of peace and inter-community harmony and dialogue, and the hope that it offers us, this book is definitely a must-read for anyone concerned with what is admittedly one of the most widely-discussed and​ hotly-debated subjects across the world today

02 March, 2015

Avijit Roy Assassinated: Avijit Stands For Humanity
By Countercurrents.org

The assassination, latest in a series of attacks on secular writers in Bangladesh in recent years, occurred in the backdrop of on-going political disturbance carried by the opponents of Sheikh Hasina government as her government publicly announced its policy of zero-tolerance to religious extremism, and is strong handedly trying to weed out the religious extremists. There have been a series of similar attacks in recent years blamed on the Islamic militants

The Saudi Hypocrisy
By Mazin Qumsiyeh

The kingdom of "Saudi Arabia" is going to behead a man for "apostacy" (renouncing his belief in Islam and the Quran) while welcoming Egyptian Al-Sisi whose security forces are torturing people to death in Egypt for being supportive of an Islamic political system more moderate than that of that Kingdom!

Obama Prioritizes Weakening Russia, Over Weakening ISIS
By Eric Zuesse

Almost all Republicans, plus the top level of the Democratic Party such as Obama, hate Russia, even after communism ended and the Soviet Union broke up. They are simply obsessed with destroying Russia. So: although Bush was weak against Al Qaeda, he was strong against Russia: he brought into NATO, the military club against Russia, the following seven nations: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia — six of which seven nations had formerly been members of the Warsaw Pact along with the U.S.S.R., against the U.S.  The reality is: Obama, like Republicans generally, hates Russia

My War on Terror : Letter To An Unknown American Patriot 
By Tom Engelhardt

The Ten Commandments for a Better American World

ISIS 101: What’s Really Terrifying About This Threat
By John Chuckman

The truly terrifying aspect of ISIS and other forces fighting with it in Syria is that the United States and Israel have approved and supported such wanton destruction in so beautiful and formerly-peaceful a place as Syria. Millions of lives destroyed and countless historic places damaged as though they were all nothing more than a few pieces moved on a geopolitical chessboard. I think it fair to describe that as the work of psychopaths

Review of 'Confessions Of A Terrorist – A Novel'
By Anita McKone

If you have ever asked 'Why?... How could they do this?' in response to the latest report of terrorism, then 'Confessions of a Terrorist' is the novel for you. But only if you genuinely want to find out the answers

How To Stop Bogus Wars And Articulate Global Peacemaking?
By Mahboob A. Khawaja

Islamophobia is on the rise. Few reactionary instances of individual madness are used by the Western strategists to blame Muslims and Islam as the focal point of their perpetuated belligerency

Quotas Aren't Negating Merit And Efficiency
By V.M.Yazhmozhi

Though caste based reservation is an affirmative action to uplift the socially and educationally oppressed classes and to bring forth social justice, critics often argue that “Quotas are a negation of merit and efficiency”. A paper published by Ashwini Deshpande, Professor at the Delhi School of Economics and Thomas E. Weisskopf, Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan has defeated this ideology

01 March, 2015

As Antarctica Melts Away, Seas Could Rise Ten Feet Within 100 Years
By Deirdre Fulton

Rapid melting of Antarctic ice could push sea levels up 10 feet worldwide within two centuries, "recurving" heavily populated coastlines and essentially reshaping the world, the Associated Press reported. Parts of Antarctica are thawing so quickly, the continent has become "ground zero of global climate change without a doubt," Harvard geophysicist Jerry Mitrovica told AP

Killing Of Boris Nemtso Has Relevance For World Politics
By Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava

Killing of Boris Nemtso, a strong critic of Putin in Moscow is shocking, sad and highly difficult to figure out, who killed? Why was he killed? And what will be its political fallout for Putin and for Russia as a whole?

Who And What Is The Real Bibi Netanyahu?
By Alan Hart

Is he a smooth-talking, disingenuous, cunning salesman who knows that everything he asserts about Israel being in danger of annihilation and not having a Palestinian partner for peace is propaganda nonsense, or, does he really believe what he says?

US Again Considering “Leave It To Bibi” Option On Bombing Iran?
By Robert Barsocchini

What appears to be happening is that Obama is easing off the US aggression throttle towards Iran, while Israel is simultaneously on the precipice of teaming up with Saudi Arabia (another close US client/ally) to aggressively bomb Iran – the top international crime

Skipping Netanyahu's Speech For All The Wrong Reasons
By David Swanson

Imagine if we had one Congress member who would say, "I'm skipping the speech because I'm opposed to killing Iranians." I know we have lots of constituents who like to think that their progressive Congress member secretly thinks that. But I'll believe it when I hear it said

Ukraine Prepares For An Attack Against Russia
By Eric Zuesse

The post-coup leaders of Ukraine have routinely said that Ukraine should destroy Russia; and, now, starting on February 24th, they are placing into position the key prerequisite for doing so, which is the advanced Anti-Ballistic-Missile, or ABM, system, S-300

Making Sense Of Obama's Foreign Policy
By Eric Zuesse

On February 22nd, NBC's “Meet the Press” presented reporter Richard Engel in a terrific four-minute documentary on Barack Obama's and Hillary Clinton's catastrophic policy-results in Libya. (You can watch it by clicking on that link.) The segment concluded that Obama and his Administration (including Hillary Clinton) didn't know where they were going in this operation

The Entire Case For Sanctions Against Russia Is Pure Lies
By Eric Zuesse

U.S. President Barack Obama has stated many times his case against Russia — the reason for the economic sanctions. In his National Security Strategy 2015, he uses the term “aggression” 18 times, and 17 of them are referring specifically to only one country as “aggressive”: Russia. However, not once does he say there what the “aggression” consisted of: what its target was, or what it itself was. He's vague there on everything except his own target: Russia

When Growth Trumps Freedom: The Chill In Canada
Comes From Our Government, Not The Weather

By James Magnus-Johnston

With the introduction of Canada’s so-called “secret police” bill, there is increasing concern the rights of the oil patch will trump the rights of ordinary citizens in a new and chilling way–through the kinds of fear tactics you’d sooner expect in Soviet Russia than a western liberal democracy

The ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ Lyrics That Get Swept Under The Rug
By Robert Barsocchini

The US national anthem, the “Star-Spangled Banner”, has four verses, though only one is commonly sung or discussed. The reason for this becomes apparent when the lyrics are read and the history behind them known

Bitter Lakes - "McJihad" By US And Saudi Arabia
By Dr. Ludwig Watzal

Adam Curties' documentary "Bitter Lake" documents brilliantly the total failure of the US intervention and the arrogance of its Western stooges in Afghanistan

The American Dream" In A Pill: Miracle Cure Or
Policy Change For The Shrinking Middle Class?

By Jon V Kofas

Did you know that the American Dream now comes in the form of a miracle pill? A recent marketing and advertising trend is peddling what they call the “smart pill”, presumably a brain pill that not only makes you smart, it can also make you rich because you optimize your brain capacity! This is essentially a vitamin supplement that claims to boost memory, energy, and creativity, but it can also make you rich, very rich because it allows you to use your head more effectively when making those difficult career and investment decisions. You too can realize the “American Dream” just by taking this pill, without going to college, without working hard, without any effort on your part

GMOs And Green Blob Hallucinations: The Twisted World Of Mr Paterson
By Colin Todhunter

Speaking last week in Pretoria, former UK Environment Minister Owen Paterson described critics of GMOs as comprising part of a privileged class that increasingly fetishizes food and seeks to turn their personal preferences into policy proscriptions for the rest of us. He called them backward-looking and regressive. He claimed their policies would condemn billions to hunger, poverty and underdevelopment because of their insistence on mandating primitive, inefficient farming techniques

Postcard From The End Of America: Center City, Philadelphia
By Linh Dinh

Though the most visible homeless are still the old and middle-aged, they are becoming younger and younger, and the other day, I met 30-year-old Stephanie sitting behind a plastic cup with a sign, “HOMELESS AND HUNGRY / ANYTHING HELPS / THANK YOU.”

Check Your Privilege, Become An Ally
By Mickey Z.

In a society built upon a foundation of hierarchy, declaring “we're all one” -- regardless of our intentions -- is yet another example of privilege run amok. If we wish to profoundly connect with our fellow humans, we must become allies... not “one.”It takes no extra time to choose solidarity instead of privilege. The payoff for this transition is not only a richer, more compassionate life for yourself but also, a deeper commitment to collective liberation

A Journey To Niyamgiri, A Celebration Of Life, Activism And Struggle!
By Shobha.R

We are once again reminded of the goondaism that prevails in regions like these, where communities face threats of abuse, intimidation and forced eviction due to mining and other so called development projects; where human right defenders and activists who believe in and abide by the law are made to feel like criminals and where the rich corporates who violate the law, rule the land

Budget 2015 : A Step Towards Inequality
By Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava

The abolition of Wealth Tax, with a reduction in rate of corporate tax to 25% over next four years may have its own spiraling effects. There is always talks to reduce subsidy in the agricultural sector but benefits to corporate groups may outnumber the subsidy benefits to rural people

From Barpeta To Lucknow: Journey Of Waste-Pickers
By Dr. Roli Misra & Parvin Sultana

Internal migration from Assam to other parts of India for a better livelihood is very common. But the condition of these waste pickers worsen once they move from Barpeta to Lucknow. Poverty, issues of identity circumscribed by larger question of illegal immigration makes it harder for them to work and sustain themselves. What is required is a move from rhetorical politics and a humanitarian take on the issue of these people who are stuck in the lowest rung of social ladder. Only then policies will be successful in true sense and people can break free from stigmas and move ahead

Healthcare System Of Jammu And Kashmir: We Haven’t Learned Lessons!
By Kashoo Tawseef

In Jammu and Kashmir, everything has significance and worth of something even the foot-ware that one purchases from the market but ‘Human Lives’ remain valueless. So outlandish that we didn’t ascertain the connotation of famous maxim ‘health is wealth.’

Condemn The Brutal Murder Of Avijit Roy
By People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism

People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism strongly condemns the brutal murder of Mr Avijit Roy, a Bangladeshi secular blogger and author on 26th February in Dhaka. His wife Ms Rafida Anwar Banna has suffered grievous injuries in the attack. Mr Roy was a popular blogger and author who wrote a number of books against religious extremism and the threat to human dignity and democracy from it. He had been on the hit list of Islamic fundamentalists for a number of years

Release 145 Undertrial Maruti Workers On Bail
By People’s Union for Democratic Rights

PUDR welcomes the bail granted by the Supreme Court to Sunil s/o Satpal and Kanwaljeet Singh, two of the Maruti workers on February 23, 2015. Sunil and Kanwaljeet are among the 147 workers who were arrested in the aftermath of the violence on July 18, 2012, in the Manesar plant of Maruti Suzuki in Haryana which led to the death of the factory's HR manager Awaneesh Kumar Deb. However it is hardly a cause for celebration given that the bail was long overdue, and the other 145 workers still continue to languish in jail

Narmada Jeevanshala’s Balmela: From The (Play) Ground
By National Alliance of People’s Movements

The Narmada Jeevanshalas (Schools of Life) celebrated its 16th annual Balmela (Children’s fair), from 12th February to 15thFebruary at a resettlement site of the Project Affected Families (PAFs) of the Narmada - Sardar Sarovar Dam

 





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