30 November , 2012
'Alarming' Year Of Extremes As Climate 'Tipping Point' Looms
By Common Dreams
An "alarming" rate of Arctic Sea ice melt and "far-reaching changes" to the Earth from climate change follow a year of extremes, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Wednesday as the third day of climate negotiations take place in Doha, Qatar
Leave The Carbon In The Ground
By Bill McKibben, Nnimmo Bassey and Pablo Solón
An Open Letter To Governments And Their Negotiators. To really address climate change UNFCCC-COP18 should decide to leave under the soil more than 2/3 of the fossil reserves
200 Injured As Tunisian Demonstrators Demand Job, Tanks Deployed In One City
By Countercurrents.org
Tanks/armored vehicles were deployed and 200 Tunisians were injured in Siliana, a Tunisian city, as people protested for second day and police fired on the people on November 28, 2012. Protesters stormed the regional governorate’s headquarters and attacked a police station
Struggles Within Tunisian Society
By Countercurrents.org
An ideological, cultural and political struggle between progressive and retrogressive forces is going on in Tunisia
Burmese Security Forces Crack Down On Protesting Farmers And Monks
By Countercurrents.org
Protesting Buddhist monks occupied the office entrance to the Chinese mine company Wan Bao Co. Ltd. in Letpadaung mine, Monywa township, northwestern Burma. Gold miners were arrested recently while they were on a protest march
Iraq: Child Kidnapping On The Rise Again,Another Legacy Of The US Occupation
By Dirk Adriaensens
Almost one year after the so-called withdrawal of American military troops, the security situation in Baghdad has not improved. Families are living in fear because of a dramatic increase in the number of cases of child abduction. These kidnappings have different aims. Some are meant to finance terrorist groups. But Iraqi children are also abducted for the very lucrative trafficking of human organs
Bradley Manning Hearing Focuses On Unlawful Pre-Trial Punishment
By Naomi Spencer
The Army’s pre-trial hearing resumed Tuesday against Bradley Manning, the 24-year-old private who is accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of classified military and government documents to the whistleblower organization WikiLeaks
Israeli Terror: The “Final Solution” To The Palestine Question
By Prof. James Petras
Israel’s assault on Gaza has totally demolished its vibrant recovery and growth since the previous war of destruction. In 2011 the economy of Gaza grew by 20%; after the recent Israeli attack who would dare consider Gaza as a place to live and invest?
The Palestinians’ Only Option
By Alan Hart
In the final countdown to the UN General Assembly vote on recognition of Palestine as a non-member state, the PLO has indicated that it’s expecting “a pleasant surprise”, it being the number of European countries which will not do Zionism’s bidding on this occasion and will vote for the resolution. Victory for the Palestinians in this forum can be taken for granted, and it will help to further isolate the Israel of Netanyahu as a pariah state, but… It won’t be, can’t be, a substitute for a viable strategy to secure justice for the Palestinians
UK Shielding Israel From War Crimes Prosecutions
By Gilad Atzmon
The Guardian newspaper reported on 27 November that Britain is prepared to back a key vote recognizing Palestinian statehood at the United nations but only if the Palestinian Authority chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, pledges not to pursue Israel for war crimes and to resume peace talks
Pillar Of Impotence
By Gilad Atzmon
By the time it became clear that the Pillar wasn’t even semi-erect and the Cloud couldn’t cover even that embarrassing truth, Netanyahu, Barak and Liebermann as well as the whole of Israeli society realised that nothing was left of Israel’s power of deterrence - for the Palestinians have lost their fear
Thank You … Crazy Netanyahu???
By Dr. Elias Akleh
No Palestinian, and definitely not I among them, would ever thank crazy Netanyahu for his genocidal crimes against Palestinians especially his latest criminal war against Gaza. There is an Arabic saying that blessings at times come in the form of disguised calamities. Netanyahu was the carrier of such a disguised calamity on the Palestinians in his latest genocidal war against Gaza
“International Conference For Peace & Justice For Palestine” 1st-2nd December 2012, Mumbai
It is on the 29th of November, this very 65th anniversary of the “International Day of Palestine” that we are truly honoured to announce the “International Conference for Peace & Justice for Palestine” to be held at the Shahir Amar Sheikh Auditorium, University Club House, “B” Road, next to Sydenham College, Churchgate, Mumbai, on the 1st & 2nd of December2012, from 10.00am to 9.00pm
Reflections On ‘Aam Aadmi’ (Mango People) At Jantar Mantar on 26.11.2012
By Asit Das
Discovering the tragedy and farce of ‘aam aadmi’ at Jantar Mantar on 26.11.2012
India: On MGNREGA, One Panchayat Proves That More Eyes Means Better Vision
By Sonal Kellogg
There were many learnings to be had under that leaking tent that eventually collapsed. But perhaps the most significant of all was the fact that for the poorest of the poor, for the most marginalised communities, MGNREGA continues to remain a beacon of hope. It needs to be implemented in both form and spirit
India: Everybody’s Invited To Rise And Strike Against Violence
By Nandini Rao
The time has some to name the crime, tag the perpetrators and shame those convicted of violating a woman’s rights. We have to stop naming the victim or – what is increasingly happening – stop giving clues about who she is. We need to re-learn the myriad ways in which a woman’s or girl’s rights can be violated. And to salute her when she turns a survivor
How Just Was Kasab’s Hanging?
By Peoples Union for Democratic Rights
PUDR believes that Kasab’s hanging is a violation of procedure established by law. The secrecy and speed of Kasab’s execution after the rejection of his mercy petition raises serious issues
29 November , 2012
Women, Men And Children Are Routinely Tortured And Raped In Iraqi Prisons
By Dirk Adriaensens
Hamid Al-Mutlaq, Deputy Prime Minister and Member of the Defense and Security Committee alerted both Nouri Al-Maliki, Chief Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sadoon Al-Dulaimi, Defense Minister, about the torture in Iraqi prisons, and said that female prisoners, children and even men are routinely raped by the prison guards
Climate Crisis: The Rich Will Take Back More Than They Loaned To The Poor
By Countercurrents.org
The first signs of tensions emerged at the Doha climate talks on November 27, 2012 as delegates from island and African nations chided rich countries for refusing to offer up new emissions cuts over the next eight years which could help stem global warming. The debate mostly swirled around the Kyoto Protocol
Morsi, The Gaza Mediator Turned Dictator Faces Unprecedented Protest At Home
By Countercurrents.org
Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood leader turned the Gaza mediator has taken the role of sole guardian of Egyptian “revolution” and placed him above all institutions. Now, the neo-dictator faces unprecedented protest from the Egyptian people across the country
Deployment Of Patriot Missiles In Turkey Within Days
By Countercurrents.org
A joint Turkey-NATO team starts work to assess where to station Patriots, how many would be needed and the number of foreign troops that would be sent to operate those, said a statement. The army says those would be used only for defense
One Of Israel's Great Leftist Warriors Wants Peace With Hamas And Gaza - But Does The Knesset?
By Robert Fisk
Old Uri Avnery is 89 but he’s still a fighter. In fact, the famed writer is still one of the great old leftist warriors of Israel, still demanding peace with the Palestinians, peace with Hamas and a Palestinian state on the old ’67 borders – give or take a few square miles
The Bombed Coastal Bridge And Other Unsettling Things, Post-Israeli-Attacks
By Eva Bartlett
Eva Bartlett travels through the devastation and ruins of the last Israeli war on Gaza
The Daly-Correa Tax: Background And Explanation
By Herman Daly
The Ecuadorean president, Rafael Correa, proposed a carbon tax at a summit of Arab and South American countries in October in Peru which included the heads of state and energy ministers of nine of Opec’s 12 countries. The Guardian understands the proposal was taken seriously and not dismissed out of hand. The idea was first mooted in 2001 by former World Bank senior economist Herman Daly — leading it to be dubbed the “Daly-Correa tax” — and will be further discussed by Opec countries at the UN climate talks in Doha
Perpetual Conflict By Israeli Design
By Graham Peebles
Let this ‘Pillar of Cloud’ be the storm that reveals a new day of peace and harmony, based on sharing and justice. The choice in the region and more broadly for humanity is stark and clear, share and save the world or continue in the ways of separation, division and violence. Sharing offers the possibility of justice settling upon what was once truly a Holy Land, allowing for trust to be slowly built and peace to gently germinate and flower
Lenin On "Reactionary" Trade Unions: Chapter Six of
"Left-Wing" Communism An Infantile Disorder
By Thomas Riggins
In chapter six of his work "Left-Wing" Communism an Infantile Disorder, Lenin address himself to the relation Marxists should have with the capitalist trade union movement. He refers to the trade unions under capitalism as "reactionary" because he was writing in a revolutionary period in which socialist as well as capitalist oriented trade unions both existed
Manufacturing An Anti-Taliban icon:Project Malala
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Many political leaders in Pakistan were asking: Why Malala alone? Why not a dozen of Pakistani women who die of drones every day or those who become a sacrifice in terrorist activities? Why prayers are being said for Malala and not for several other daughters attacked and bruised in various terror strikes?
Arguing History, Deciphering Untouchability
Book Review Dr.Narendra K. Arya
Review of Ramnarayan S. Rawa's book "Reconsidering Untouchability: Chamars and Dalit History in North India"
The Power of RTI
By Anjan Bilal
The Right to Information Act was a marvel in a country that boasted unbreakable barriers between the ruler and the ruled. It is a testimony to the Act’s strong survival instinct that last week the Union Cabinet finally withdrew a set of draft amendments to the Act which it cleared in 2006 but did not place before Parliament for fear of alienating the growing army of RTI stakeholders
Social Justice And VP Singh's Politics
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Today we remember former Prime Minister V.P.Singh, who passed away unknown on this date in 2008. Singh was epitome of honesty and simplicity in public life and yet the caste Hindus made a villain of him. His government was a short tenure one yet its decisions were far reaching and have changed the Indian politics completely
28 November , 2012
Doha Climate Talks: USA Makes False Claims Of GHG Emission Reduction
By Countercurrents.org
Anticipating an onslaught of criticism from poor nations, the US claimed "enormous" strides in reducing GHG emissions at the opening of UN climate talks, despite failing to join other industrialized nations in committing to binding cuts
Harassment, Unlawful Arrests and Torture of
Iraqi Journalists by Al-Maliki’s Security Forces
By Dirk Adriaensens
The statement by the Iraq-based Journalism Freedoms Observatory (JFO), issued ahead of World Press Freedom Day on 2 May, voiced concern over what it said were arbitrary arrests, restrictions on movement and reporting and attacks on media workers, including some by security forces. Violence against journalists and restrictions on media have worsened in the past year in Iraq
Death Of Workers In Bangladesh, In Germany
By Farooque Chowdhury
They, the workers burned to death in Bangladesh on a November day, are now a number only. In Germany, in another November day, disabled workers also died in a factory. They are also mere numbers
World Energy Report 2012
By Michael T. Klare
The Good, the Bad, and the Really, Truly Ugly
Pillar Of Superstition
By William A. Cook
During this interlude in Israel’s second unprovoked incursion of Gaza, we might pause to reflect on what is, arguably, the real reasons for Netanyahu and Lieberman to execute their victims corralled in the walled prison of Gaza
Hanging Afzal Guroo Will Be A Traversty Of Justice
By Abdul Majid Zargar
Post execution of Ajmal Kasab, the clamour for hanging Afzal Guroo is increasing with every passing day.But to do so will be a traversty & miscarriage of Justice.Since a nation’s civilization is largely measured by the method it uses in the enforcement of its criminal law. Today that civilization is under serious threat when voices are raised to hang Afzal Guroo
Reimagining The "Weird"
By Devika Mittal
20th November is celebrated as the “International Transgender Day of Remembrance”. The Day is celebrated in memory of all those transgendered people who were murdered by those suffering from the “mental disorder” of homophobia
Batorickshaws of Delhi
By Ravi Nitesh
Battery operated rickshaws are promoted as environmentally friendly in Delhi. Are they really environmental friendly?
27 November , 2012
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Gap Widening Says UNEP Study
By Marianne de Nazareth
A new study by UNEP says that keeping average global temperature rise to below 2°C still possible, with cut backs from buildings, transportation and avoiding deforestation
Stand Still For The Apocalypse
By Chris Hedges
Humans must immediately implement a series of radical measures to halt carbon emissions or prepare for the collapse of entire ecosystems and the displacement, suffering and death of hundreds of millions of the globe’s inhabitants, according to a report commissioned by the World Bank. The continued failure to respond aggressively to climate change, the report warns, will mean that the planet will inevitably warm by at least 4 degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, ushering in an apocalypse
Obama Administration Pushes Ahead With Drone Killings
By Patrick Martin
According to a report published Sunday on the front page of the New York Times, the Obama administration is pushing ahead with plans to establish a more systematic and regular program of using unmanned drones to kill people selected by the White House for death. The newspaper estimated that US drone strikes have killed more than 2,500 people—a death toll approximating the number killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001
Obama Legalizes The Illegal, Targets Innocents
By Ismail Salami
Under the pretext of combating terrorism, Obama has followed in the footsteps of former President George Bush and even intensified the killer drone attacks in different parts of the world, a move which has terminated in the unfortunate deaths of multitudes of innocent people
The Maximal Zionist Project Is To Have A Minimal Palestine: Gregory Harms
By Kourosh Ziabari
American journalist and scholar Gregory Harms believes that the recent 8-day Israeli war on the Gaza Strip might have been waged to distract public attention from the internal socioeconomic crises and problems the Israeli regime faces, especially ahead of the January 2013 legislative elections. He believes that launching airstrikes on Gaza may serve to give Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud party a secure vote in the upcoming elections
Our Lunch Date With Sandy
By Mickey Z.
The only “code” being imposed here is that of Hurricane Sandy: Adapt or peris
Reality Bites: Hard Labour In Chennai, India
By Colin Todhunter
Mint Street may well be a hot and bothered affair and might fray the nerves, but it’s Chennai’s special street. It’s the world in one place
26 November , 2012
Silence Over The New Congo War
By Shamus Cooke
President Obama seems not to have noticed a new war has broken out in the war-scarred Congo; he appears blind to the refugee crisis and the war crimes committed by the invading M23 militia against the democratically elected government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). But appearances can be deceiving. President Obama's inaction is a conscious act of encouragement for the invaders, just as Clinton's was
“It's Mostly Punishment…”
By Breaking The Silence
Testimonies by Veterans of the Israeli Defense Forces From Gaza and the Occupied Territories
The Prison Camp And The Fascist State
By Ghali Hassan
What Israel calls “peace”, is a smokescreen used by Israeli leaders to manipulate public opinions and justify violence. They have been fooling the world into thinking that Israel wants peace “without conditions”, but with Zionist conditions. In reality, real peace is Israel's worst nightmare
Gaza: The “International Community” Also Lies Buried
By Felicity Arbuthnot
Reality would have had them burning, city to city, The UN Declaration and Convention on the Rights of the Child, The UN Declaration on Human Rights, The Geneva Convention, The Nuremberg Principles and making a pyre of all the fine, meaningless words which do not end or mask international lawlessness and inhumanity, a bonfire which might light the lie of the whole murderous hypocrisy of self proclaimed “democratic” nation states
How The Victory In Gaza Can Bring Civil Rights To Palestinians In Lebanon
By Franklin Lamb
The General Union of Palestinian women organized a celebration of the Gaza victory on November 22, 2012. The current festive celebrations in Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian refugee camps reflect the intense euphoria being withnessed throughout Gaza and occupied Palestine, Arab and Muslim countries, as well as relief among people of good will globally
American Excess In Perspective
By Mary Shaw
Thursday, November 22, was the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. In addition to giving thanks for the good people and good things in our lives, we use the Thanksgiving holiday to celebrate gluttony, over huge turkey dinners with all the trimmings. We go into it planning to eat too much, and then we do. No qualms about it. It's what Thanksgiving is all about, it seems. It's the American way
Kurdish Prisoners End Mass Hunger Strike
Interview by Paul Jay With Baris Karaagac
On day 68 of the hunger strike, it ended, following an appeal by the leader of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, at its peak, about—according to some reports, about 10,000 people, some of them are politicians, members of the Parliament, and artists participating in this hunger strike. It ended last weekend
Killing Of Civilians At Bhaliaguda In Odisha
Draft Fact Finding Report
Following media reports of an encounter between the police and Maoists in Gajapathi district of Odisha on November 14 leading to the death of 5 Maoists, a team of the Human Rights Forum (HRF) enquired into the matter. On the basis of our enquiries we state emphatically that all five of the deceased are not armed Maoist cadre but civilians. They did not die in an encounter but were murdered by the police
24 November , 2012
Mass Protests Erupt In Egypt Against Mursi’s Antidemocratic Decrees
By Johannes Stern
Mass protests erupted throughout Egypt on Friday against the country’s president, Mohamed Mursi, and the ruling Muslim Brotherhood (MB). The day before, Mursi had issued a new Constitutional Declaration expanding his dictatorial powers, which he initially claimed by taking over the powers of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) junta in August
Netanyahu’s High-Stakes Game In Gaza: Same Time, Same Place
By Ramzy Baroud
Now that Israel once more pushing its agenda as an American priority, the time is ripe for further escalation and for more saber-rattling against Iran, Hezbollah and whomever else Israel perceives as an enemy
Labor's Call To Action: The Grand Bargain Betrayal
By Shamus Cooke
The “grand bargain” threat is a call to action for organized labor. But will unions respond? Or play deaf? Pretending that a war against working people is not happening will guarantee a massive defeat. Preparing for the defense of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and public education will require massive mobilizations in the streets while demanding that the corporations and the wealthy pay for the crisis they created
I'm A Photojournalist From Kashmir, And This Is My Story
By Shahid Tantray
I have been thinking about writing the story since long time. The story is not about any disaster or any tragedy but one of the harsh experiences till now in my life. The experiences which I witnessed in Kashmir, where I live, which is my homeland, where I work, do my professional duty
The Unwisdom Of Ajmal Kasab's hanging
By N. Jayaram
With Kasab's hanging, India lost a prime witness who would have been valuable in efforts to get Pakistan to book Hafiz Saeed who is believed to be the prime suspect behind the Mumbai terrorist attack
All Nuclear Roads May Lead to Kolar
By S. P. Udayakumar
The Koddankulam nuclear waste is to be stored in Kolar. If our governments, scientists and technocrats have not managed to clean up the dangerous Bhopal waste that has been lying there for the past 28 years, how are they going to convince us about Kolar?
23 November , 2012
Man Killed By Israeli Fire Near Gaza Border
By Ma'an News
Israeli forces killed a 20-year-old Palestinian man near the Israeli border in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday morning, medical officials said. Medics said Anwar Abdul Hadi Qudaih, 20, was hit in the head with a live bullet east of Khan Younis. Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said 19 others were wounded by Israeli fire in the border area
Gaza Ceasefire Document Is Not A Binding Agreement
By Alan Hart
It’s too soon to know whether the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will be more than a sticking plaster to be ripped off by more violence whether provoked by Israel or not, but while we wait for events to give us the answer, there is a good case for saying that under Netanyahu’s leadership the Zionist (not Jewish) state has suffered a significant defeat
As Gaza Is Savaged Again, Understanding
The BBC’s Role Requires More Than Sentiment
By John Pilger
So great is this distortion that young viewers of BBC News have told Glasgow University researchers they are left with the impression that Palestinians are the illegal colonisers of their own country. The current BBC "coverage" of Gaza's genocidal misery reinforces this
Killing Before The Calm
By Eva Bartlett
Israeli Attacks on Palestinian Civilians Escalated before Cease-fire
Devouring Jackals
By Linh Dinh
So a truce between Israel and Hamas has been announced, ending a bombardment of Gaza that left 147 dead and 1,155 wounded. Israel , on the other hand, suffered five dead and 235 wounded, a bit higher than usual, proportionally. That Iron Dome may not be not so rocket proof, after all, especially with Egypt allowing better ordnances to be smuggled into Gaza . Did Israel have to stop its assault before its flank was seriously exposed?
The True Lies Behind Operation Pillar of Defense
By Ershad Abubacker
The first casualty in any war is Truth, and the current escalation in violence between Israel and Gaza was no different. Israel and the mainstream media fed by it repeated the rhetoric that the rockets fired from Gaza was the pretext for the current crisis and Israel just ‘retaliated' to the situation as usual
Carrying The Israel - Hamas Ceasefire Forward
By Dr. Chandra Muzaffar
Like millions of people everywhere and thousands of organisations in every continent, the members of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST) hope and pray that the ceasefire declared between the state of Israel and Hamas, the democratically elected representative of the Palestinians in Gaza, on 21 November 2012, will not be broken
Pro-Gas Australian Labor Government's Carbon Tax Scandal:
$3-7 Billion Gas Under-Payment Annually
By Dr Gideon Polya
This leads to an immense Carbon Tax Scandal in which a pro-gas Labor Government understates the Carbon Tax obligations of the corporate gas producers by a factor of 137-329, collecting a mere $21 million annually rather than the science-indicated Carbon Tax obligation of about $3-7 billion each year from leakage of natural gas (fugitive emissions)
Doha Climate Crisis Talks Will Find Critical Clash Of Interests
By Farooque Chowdhury
Conflicts of interests will dominate the upcoming Doha climate crisis meet while the common interest of the humanity will be pushed aside as big capitals are calculating potential gains and possible losses in the emerging climate crisis market. But, the planet’s climate health is turning worse while conflicting capitals are fighting each other
Product Endorsement And The Hegemons Of Capitalism
By Colin Todhunter
But, hey, what’s the big deal if a celeb promotes a cola, a facial cream, a food product? It’s not like they are selling weapons, poverty or an oil-thirsty war-driven system of consumer capitalism, is it? Well, actually, it is. But as long as a celeb wraps him or herself in the flag of nationalism and chants ‘I love my India’ every Independence Day, who is to know they are complicit in buying into the bogus merits of international capitalism and at the same time tying the public to it
Mr Bal Thackeray, The Capitalists And The Working Poor
By Vidyadhar Date
Mr Bal Thackeray was essentially a man the capitalists liked and they were very comfortable with him. That is why he was always boosted by much of the media as a larger than life figure and after his death there is more gushing praise of the man
Return Of The Native- A Tale Of Separation
By Qadri Inzamam
Tale of a man who was lured by militants to POK who later to Indian side of Kashmir with his wife
Water Conservation: Treasuring Every Drop
By Manu Moudgil
In the times when tapped water supply is considered an absolute sign of development, the traditional water harvesting systems are losing their age-old relevance. This is why the Lakholaav pond in Rajasthan assumes greater significance
22 November , 2012
Israel’s War On Gaza: 161 Killed, 1222 Wounded
By Countercurrents.org
The Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has claimed the lives of 161 citizens and wounded 1222 others, medical sources said on November 21, 2012, revealed the Palestinian Information Center
Palestine: In Preparation For The Next Round
By Khalid Amayreh
Indeed when there are five or six killed on one side while thousands of casualties occur on the other side; we are not talking about war, but rather about a massacre. Israel may continue to dwell in her insolence and megalomania, but eventually those who have the higher moral ground will prevail. Israel is doomed to an early demise, thanks to her evilness and iniquity
The Tragedy Of A Targeted Gazan Family
By Nour Samaha
House of Hijazi family was hit and wiped out by Israeli missile, killing three members and seriously wounding the rest
The Horror, The Horror: Mauling Gaza Once Again
By George Capaccio
Operation Pillar of Defense, a re-play of Israel’s previous cold-blooded massacre of Palestinians, has provided Obama with another opportunity to weigh in on the side of humanity. This time, however, instead of silence, he re-discovered his glorious voice. During a news conference in Thailand, he had this to say about Israel’s deployment of overwhelming force against a captive and largely civilian population in Gaza already suffering from a five-year-old blockade: "There's no country on earth that would tolerate missiles raining down on its citizens from outside its borders . . . We are fully supportive of Israel's right to defend itself."
Collective Punishment And The Blocked Of Gaza
By John Scales Avery
Because of its limitless military and financial backing of Israel, the United States shares the blame for allowing Israel to create an Apartheid state even more gruesome than the one that the world unanimously condemned in South Africa
The International Responsibility For Justice In Occupied Palestine
By Adam Parsons
There can be no talk of peace in the Middle East so long as Israel is given political immunity, financial assistance and diplomatic support by other Western states. It is high time that the international community assumed responsibility for securing justice for the Palestinian people, argues Adam Parsons
Give Thanks You Weren't Bombed and Murdered By Americans Because You ARE Americans
By Jay Janson
Give thanks that there are no drones armed with Hellfire and Predator missiles in the sky above as you wonder if there be someone frighteningly nearby being targeted scientifically a half a world away who you cannot reassure, and that so far you have not been charged as being implicated in your government's crimes against humanity for not seeing to it that the above mass murdering of millions was not done in your name
Isolating A Nation; Afshin Rattansi’s Groundbreaking Documentary On Eritrea
By Thomas C. Mountain
Award winning independent producer Afshin Rattansi has released the groundbreaking documentary “Eritrea; A Nation In Isolation” on PressTV
Keep On Rockin'
By William T. Hathaway
"Radical Peace" is a collection of reports from peace activists in the USA, Europe, Iraq, and Afghanistan. An American exchange student in one of my courses here in Germany contributed the following essay about how she became an anarchist for peace. Because of her activism she wishes to remain anonymous
World Fisheries Day Protest in Koodankulam: Meenavar Makkal Nammal
By Anitha S.
Inspite of all the sorrows, losses and suffering, we are proud that we are standing for a cause that has universal relevance and value. We know we will not surrender- we will overcome. This is our Pledge on the World Meenvar makhal day
Friends Of The Earth’s Resolution On Koodankulam
By Friends Of The Earth
Resolution in solidarity with the people fighting against the construction of the Koodankulam nuclear power plant in India and against nuclear power plants in other Asian countries
21 November , 2012
18 Killed In Airstrikes Across Gaza
By Ma'an News
Israel pounded the Gaza Strip on Wednesday killing 18 Palestinians after a bomb exploded on a bus in Tel Aviv. A man and two children were killed in an airstrike on Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. Mubarak al-Ghoula was killed in Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Mohammad al-Shqar, 22, and 13-year-old Mahmoud Abu Khusa were killed in an airstrike near al-Khanzandar gas station in west Gaza City
Attacks On Gaza Unite Palestinians
By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours
While many Palestinians were hesitant to talk openly to IPS about their feelings towards the violence in Gaza, the community is becoming increasingly vocal about their opposition to the situation as Israeli air strikes continue and Palestinian deaths mount
Israel’s Targeting Of Media Is A War Crime
By Kevin Gosztola
The targeting of journalists is a war crime. If the world is to be outraged at every rocket fired by Hamas or Palestinian militants, then the world should also be outraged at any attack on facilities being used by journalists in Gaza. And the world should be aware that this is all part of Israel’s PR or propaganda policy to ensure eyewitness accounts from reporters or journalists on the ground do not interfere with whatever official statements they wish to feed citizens around the globe
Gaza Hospitals Need More Drugs
By IRIN News
The nurses at Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip have seen bombing casualties before, but never on this scale. "I was here when the [23-day] 2008-09 war took place, and I think this one is more difficult in [terms of] injuries and the type of demanding work we do", said Tal’at Al Ejla, a 30-year-old nurse
The Weakening Of Syria Has Emboldened Israel And Paved The Way For This Massacre
By Dan Glazebrook
Syria's support for Hezbollah, and the link it provides to Iran, has been a key obstacle to Israel's ability to attack the Palestinians with impunity, and therefore to its ability to unilaterally impose a final settlement on Palestine. For now, the main obstacle to Israeli diktat remains the Fajr-5
Israel Suppresses Gaza Protests In West Bank; Two Palestinians Killed
By Mya Guarnieri
Rushdi Tamimi, 31, was shot by Israeli soldiers during a protest in Nabi Saleh on Saturday; he died today in a Ramallah hospital. 22-year-old Hamdi Falah died today after being shot four times by soldiers at a Hebron protest. In the past several days, Israeli forces have violently repressed demonstrations in East Jerusalem and the West Bank against the army’s 'Operation Pillar of Defense.’
Killing Hope: Why Israel Targets Sports In Gaza
By Dave Zirin
On November 16, the Israeli Air Force bombed the 10,000-seat Palestine Stadium "into ruins." The stadium also headquartered the center for youth sports programs throughout the Gaza Strip. This is the second time Israel has flattened the facility. The first was in 2006 and the people of Gaza have spent the last six years rebuilding the fields, stands and offices to keep the national soccer team as well as club sports alive in the region
Israel Metaphorically Defeated In Gaza
By Ismail Salami
The truce supported by Washington and some regional regimes such as Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia will not ensure the rights of the Gazans and there is no guarantee that Israel will not re-tread its gory path of mayhem
The U.S. Role In Israel's Attack On Gaza
By Shamus Cooke
As Obama tours Southeast Asia to strengthen his alliances against China, Gazans are being killed and maimed by the hundreds, with the possibility of an incredibly bloody Israeli invasion. The United States still wields tremendous power internationally; its actions and inactions have direct consequences in international conflicts
I Am That Dolphin Murdered In The Gulf Of Mexico
By Mary Hamer
It is sad that some Humans can not peacefully co-exist with Dolphins, but would rather kill, torture and mutilate them. What is the mind-set of humans who kill dolphins? What anger lies in the hearts of dolphin killers?
China’s New Leaders: Profiles Of Oligarchs
By John Chan
The profiles of the seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) unveiled last Thursday underscore the utterly corrupt and oligarchic character of the regime
The Lost Symbol Of Freedom
By Ravi Nitesh
Though we accept that central government has every right to decide the matters of communication, defence , currency in J&K as per constitution, but we must not forget that applying certain restrictions to restrict the freedom of individuals cannot be considered as constitutional. SMS service is a lost symbol of freedom in J&K, for which we all must demand to get it back
20 November , 2012
21 Killed Including Two Children , Death Toll 124
By Ma'an News
Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip killed six Palestinians on Tuesday, and another man died of his wounds, on the seventh day of Israel's bombardment of the coastal strip.The casualties raised Tuesday's death toll to seven in Gaza. Since the Israeli bombardment started on Wednesday, 124 Palestinians have been killed, and around 900 injured
Gaza's Dead Include Farmers, Water Sellers And The Girl Next Door
By Amira Hass
Farmers on their way to sell vegetables in the marketplace, vendors of purified drinking water and people who just happened to live too close to the targets of Israeli air strikes were among the 34 Palestinians estimated to have been killed in Israel Defense Forces attacks in the past two days alone. Just six of those casualties have been confirmed as members of militant groups
Journalistic Cliches: 'Surgical Air Strikes', 'Rooting Out Terror',
And 'Cyber-Terrorism' Cannot Conceal Reality
By Robert Fisk
Terror, terror, terror, terror, terror. Here we go again. Israel is going to “root out Palestinian terror” – which it has been claiming to do, unsuccessfully, for 64 years – while Hamas, the latest in “Palestine’s” morbid militias, announces that Israel has “opened the gates of hell” by murdering its military leader, Ahmed al-Jabari
Stay Human
By Mazin Qumsiyeh
Our friend Vittorio used to end his messages with "*Stay human*". This simple message is most pertinent today
It’s Time To Stop The Ferocious Israeli Attacks On The Civilians Of Gaza
By Dr. Mustafa Barghouti
We call on all members of the Arab League, and indeed all members of the international community, to join us in our decision to pressure Israel and use Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions measures
IEA Oil Forecast Unrealistically High; Misses Diminishing Returns
By Gail Tverberg
The International Energy Agency (IEA) provides unrealistically high oil forecasts in its new 2012 World Energy Outlook (WEO). It claims, among other things, that the United States will become the world’s largest oil producer by 2020, and will become a net oil exporter by 2030. The statements about rising oil production in the US are just a distraction. Diminishing returns mean that US oil production will never increase very much. Oil costs will remain high, and this will be the real issue disturbing economies around the world
From Endless Growth To A New Form Of Democracy
By Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed
Humanity faces a momentous period of transition. Modern civilization is not only in crisis. It confronts a multiplicity of overlapping global crises that are potentially terminal. There's only one question that remains. Are you going to hold fast with the grip of death to the old paradigm, or will you embrace life to become an agent of the new paradigm of community cooperation?
Where Infinite Growth Meets Biophysical Limit
By Eric Zencey
To achieve a sustainable, steady-state economy, we’re going to have to limit matter-and-energy throughput in the economy to what the planet can sustainably give to us and what it can sustainably absorb from us. Against that physical limit, though, the economy continually exerts pressure
Another Cold Blooded Murder Of Villagers As Maoists In Odisha
By Narendra Mohanty, Junash Pradhan, Somanath Prahdan & Bikram Malik
Death of 5 persons in police encounter on 14 November 2012 at Bhaliaguda forest area in the border of Gajapati and Kandhamal was a preplanned drama of police and killing of innocent Tribal and Dalit people in the name of Maoists
Maharashtra Chief Minister's Reply On The Arrest Of Two Girls For Facebook Post
By Prithviraj Chavan
Maharashtra Chief Minister promises appropriate action
Time To Arrest TagoreFor Hurting British Sainiks’ Sentiment
By Siddharthya Swapan Roy
Using some permutation combination of the new IT law, pliant policemen, always-absent-in-the-face-of-fascist-onslaught-yet-secular-Congress party and its never-to-be-seen-but-in-scams Minsters along with a generous amount of claims of hurt sentiments, we can even get Gurudev Tagore arrested for hurting British sainiks’ sentiments! He did give up his knighthood in protest of actions by a powerful man with loads of hired guns didn’t he?
Susan Rice: Being Attacked For All Of The Wrong Reasons
By Sean Fenley
Susan Rice is, unequivocally, irascible, mean-spirited and a very disagreeable person. This has not previously been an impediment, though, to one becoming a US Secretary of State
Calling All Revolutionary Artists: Raise Your Weapons
By Mickey Z.
“Painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war.” - Pablo Picasso
"Rock ‘n roll was revolutionary for me. Songs were weapons." - Patti Smith
Bal Thackeray: Identity Politics ToThe Fore
By Ram Puniyani
With so many problems nagging the poor of Maharashtra there is a need to shift the terrain of politics away from identity politics of the likes of Thackeray to the material issues related to bread, butter, shelter and employment. The politics of Hindu nation and Marathi manoos is against the values of Indian Constitution which call for the principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. How did Thackeray’s politics conform to these is a matter of introspection
19 November , 2012
Media Complex Bombed, Two Children And Four Women Killed , Death Toll Crosses 100
By Ma'an News
Multiple airstrikes killed more than 15 Palestinians, including an elderly woman and 18-month-old, and injured dozens more as Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip entered its sixth day Monday. The bombardment has killed over 100 Palestinians so far
Gaza Running Out Of Food, Water, Medical Supplies
By Countercurrents.org
Day 6 of Israel’s Gaza aggression has witnessed further escalation of Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza with number of deaths mounting, hospitals facing shortage of basic supplies and increased suffering of the Gaza residents. In all, 1,350 targets in Gaza have been struck by Israel since the aggression began
Dissecting IDF Propaganda: The Numbers Behind The Rocket Attacks
By Phan Nguyen
In this brief study, Phan Nguyen examine the many numbers cited by the Israeli military relating to Gaza rocket attacks into Israel. To begin, Israeli spokespeople frequently remind the world that a million Israeli citizens are within range of Gaza rockets, twelve thousand of which have been fired into Israel in the last twelve years, inflicting thousands of injuries and several dead. However, we are rarely told exactly how many people have been killed by these rocket attacks
Israeli Military Assault On Gaza – “Operation Pillar Of Defence” –
Not “Defence” But Murder Of Unarmed Civilians….
By Mairead Maguire
The Israeli Government, and Military, do not have a right to carry out indiscriminate bombing and killing of Palestinian civilians, nor under International law, does any government have a legal right to do so. Israel has an obligation to abide by International Law and uphold the rights of occupied Palestinian people, and since they refuse to do so, third party Governments have a legal responsibility to take action and see Israel is not allowed to act with impunity
The Latest Gaza Catastrophe
By Richard Falk
Many aspects of the current assault on Gaza pass under the radar screens of world conscience
Amid Relentless Israeli Bombing, Gaza Families Huddle Together Hoping For Safety
By Rami Almeghari
More than 15 members of the Dalloul family now sleep in one room of their home in the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, a densely-populated area in the southeast of Gaza City. Dalloul and her children normally live in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood to the west, but when Israel began its intense bombardment of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, she moved to her parents’ home in al-Zaytoun
The War On Gaza And The Larger Israeli Agenda
By Feroze Mithiborwala & Kishore Jagtap
In our estimation, the current Israeli war on Gaza is being waged to achieve the following political objectives. i) To further polarize the electorate towards the extreme right & ensure the victory of the Likud led alliance. ii) The targeting of the UN statehood vote slated for 29th November 2012. iii) The limited war in Gaza could engulf the entire region & draw in the US-Nato alliance to target the rising tide of the Arab democratic uprising as well as Iran
Gaza’s Surprises Shatter Netanyahu’s Political Ambitions
By Dr. Elias Akleh
Israeli politicians had always sought political gain by spelling blood of helpless Palestinian civilians. With the Israeli election coming soon, next January, Netanyahu wanted to improve his chances of re-election by spelling more Palestinian blood in Gaza. He thought such an act would elevate him to a status of a hero, who protects his people from external threats. Yet Gaza is responding with one strong surprise after another that will undoubtedly shatter Netanyahu’s political ambitions
Frack Fight
By Ellen Cantarow
A Secret War of Activists -- With the World in the Balance
Arrested For Facebook Post: It Is Ubsurd And Unlawful
By Justice Markandey Katju
Two girls have been arbitrarily and unlawfully arrested for making comments about the late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's death. Pranesh Prakash explores the legal angles to the arrests. Here is a letter written by Justice Markandey Katju, Chairman, Press Council of India to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra
Sala Who Will Not Learn: The Legacy Of Bal Thackeray
By Binu Karunakaran
Bal, the cartoonist, according to journalists who worked with him, was so timid that if the chair moved under him, he would get scared. How did the timid cartoonist metamorphose into a sharp-tongued tyrant-orator, who could at will, bring the country's financial hub to a standstill? The answer would perhaps lie in the Oedipal journey of Bal from his pant-wetting, stroke-tracing days under the shadow of his father, to the venerable Sarkar
State Honour To Hate Propagandist
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Mumbai’s biggest event management show is over as the person who converted a cosmopolitan Bombay to a parochial narrow Mumbai was cremated with State Honor. A man who did not hesitate to violate the very principles of Indian tricolor was taken in the state carriage with his body wrapped in the Indian National Flag and was finally provided Guard of Honor before his mortal remains were consigned to flames
18 November , 2012
5 Women, 9 Children Out Of 23 People Killed On Sunday ; Death Toll 71
By Ma'an News Agency
Israel bombed al-Shati refugee camp on Sunday killing a man and a child, bringing the death toll in Gaza to 54 on the fifth day of heavy shelling . Four children were killed on Sunday.
Why Gaza Must Suffer Again
By Jonathan Cook
The four guilty parties behind Israel’s attack
Gaza Invasion: Protests In Israeli Prisons, In Ramallah, In Countries
By Countercurrents.org
The Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails started new escalatory steps to protest the continuous brutal aggression on the Gaza Strip and protest is spreading elsewhere too
Does Lebanon Really Want To Solve The Imam Musa Sadr Mystery
By Franklin Lamb
Some former Gadaffi officials, among the hundreds lying low in Egypt these days, continue to express remarkable interest in contributing to uncovering the truth surrounding the August 31, 1978 disappearance of Lebanon’s Imam Musa Sadr, Sheik Mohammed Yaacoub, and journalist Abbas Badr Eddine
Iran And The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
By John Scales Avery
I believe that civilian nuclear power generation is always a mistake because of the many dangers that it entails, and because of the problem of disposing of nuclear waste. However, a military attack on Iran would be both criminal and insane. Why criminal? Because such an attack would also violate the UN Charter and the Nuremberg Principles. Why insane? Because it would initiate a conflict that might escalate uncontrollably into World War III
Law-Abiding Nations! Call For Prosecution Of A Bestial Homicidal French Government!
By Jay Janson
France, infamous history of murder and inhumanity in its colonies, Haiti, Vietnam and Algeria and during a thirty year occupation of Syria, in part as fascist Vichy France, is committing Crimes Against Humanity, arming, funding, secretly leading murdering gangs invading and destroying Syria, obviously for the benefit of the world ruling international private investment banking community. Crimes must be prosecuted.How? Why?
Pro Life Also Means Right To Life Of A Mother
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
The death of Savita Halappanvar, an Indian dentist in Ireland, due to refusal of abortion by doctors in Dublin has outraged every human being who loves life. Irish laws prohibit abortion though a 1992 court ruling suggested that it could be permitted if there is ‘real and substantive’ risk to the life of mother. However, it fell on the deaf years as doctors failed to respond to her deteriorating condition which resulted in her untimely death
Jana Andolan: The People’s Movement In Nepal (PDF)
By Fritz Tucker
Nepal’s geographic, economic, and political climates stymied Nepal’s urbanization, but not the ability of Nepal’s urbanites to rebel. Distinctly urban forms of anti-state struggle flourished in Nepal not in spite of its lack of urbanization, but because of it. Nepal’s strong rural communities and hostile terrain allowed a semi-traditional rural army to conquer vast territories, weaken the monarchy, and the stage for Nepal’s flourishing civil society to enact Jana Andolan II, one of the greatest urban revolutions in world history
Prejudiced Portrayal Of Muslims Serves The Interests Of
Western Power Centers: Dr. Chandra Muzaffar
By Kourosh Ziabari
Interview with Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, a Malaysian political scientist, social activist and academic
Interview With The Cuban Ambassador
By Siddharthya Swapan Roy
Excerpts from a conversation between Cuban Ambassador to India His Excellency Mr. Abelardo Rafael Cueto Sosa and Siddharthya Swapan Roy
It’s Not Mahinda vs. Shirani; It’s The Rajapaksas vs. The Rest
By Tisaranee Gunasekara
For the Rajapaksas and for the rest of us, the impeachment is the Rubicon. Once this is crossed, there will be no turning back, and barring a miracle, Lankans will have to become resigned to a seemingly endless Rajapaksa future. Realistically the options before us will be reduced to servitude, death/imprisonment or exile
17 November , 2012
9 Killed In Overnight Strikes; Gaza Death Toll 39
By Ma'an News Agency
Israeli airstrikes killed nine Palestinians early Saturday, medical officials said, raiding the death toll in Gaza to 39 since Israel sparked violence by assassinating a Hamas leader. Airstrikes killed three members of Hamas' armed wing in central Gaza's al-Maghazi refugee camp and five others in Rafah in the south, medical officials said. The deaths and injuries came amid a massive Israeli air assault targeting the Gaza Strip that damaged the headquarters of the government and a police station
Israel Calls Up 75,000 Troops As Bombing Continues In Gaza
By Bill Van Auken
The Israeli military boasted Friday afternoon that it had carried out more than 500 air strikes against the densely populated territory of Gaza since launching its latest offensive, dubbed Pillar of Defense. The escalating air war is unfolding amid growing signs that the Israeli government is on the brink of launching a ground invasion of Gaza that would spell a huge increase in the bloodletting
30 Air Raids In 10 Minutes, Ambulances And School Bombed
By Countercurrents.org
Bombings by Israeli war planes are showering death on the Gaza inhabitants. In a single incident, Israel launched 30 air raids against Gaza in 10 minutes. Israeli army destroyed school in north-eastern parts of Gaza city
"He Left Life So Early": Gaza Family Devastated By Israel’s Killing Of Baby Omar Masharawi
By Rami Almeghari
An Israeli missile strike on Gaza on Wednesday left an aching hole in the home and hearts of the family of 11-month-old Omar Masharawi, who was fatally burned all over his little body
Thousands Demonstrate In West Bank In Support Of Gaza
By Countercurrents.org
In all the main cities in West Bank , people joined protests against the Israeli aggression. All the main cities in the West Bank witnessed huge demonstration in support of the Gaza Strip and to condemn the latest Israeli aggression
Gaza Speaks
A Pictorial Poem By Nahida Exiled Palestinian
Humanity,
Enough turning the other way !
Turning a deaf ear
Turning a blind eye
While I, and oh !
My poor children
Die .
Gaza Redux
By Mazin Qumsiyeh
Is history repeating itself? The Israeli attack on Gaza this week is happening between the US Presidential elections and the Israeli (early) elections. The attack on Gaza four years ago also happened after the US elections and before Israeli elections
Another Superfluous War
By Uri Avnery
Just another superfluous war. It is, of course, a highly political event. Like Cast Lead, it takes place on the eve of Israeli elections
The Red Line Israel Brazenly Crossed
By Ismail Salami
Every death that takes place in Gaza is not just the loss of a human life but a gradual demise of collective conscience which is so agonizingly silent towards the sufferings of a downtrodden nation and to the unspeakable tyrannies of a colonizing murderous regime
Israeli Aggression On Gaza: Take Action
By Free Gaza Movement
We are calling on your support for the besieged people of the Gaza Strip. You can make a difference. Act now to stop another Gaza bloodbath. Since Israel has the tacit approval of the U.S. government as well as weapons of mass destruction, please call the following numbers, even if you are not an American: Please be polite, but firm
Obama Administration Must Account To Congress For Targeted Assassinations
By Dennis Kucinich
The White House will not even release the legal advice about its drone kill policy. The American people needs full oversight
Proxy Wars Iin The 21 st Century-The New Imperialism
By Timothy V. Gatto
This is an expose of what is really happening in the Middle-East and North Africa. Some of this might actually open your eyes to what our country is doing in the rest of the World in the name of “Democracy”
A New Strategy For Anti-Nuclear Activists - An Open Letter
By Thomas Dean Harter
With less money and less effort than are currently spent yearly by environmental groups, we could purchase our portion of the grid. It just makes sense for activists to switch tactics and become utility owners ourselves. The laws that are now written to favor the owners would then favor us and we would still have moral high ground that we now enjoy
Light AfterThe Storm - Local Churches Partner With Occupy Sandy In Grass Roots Relief Efforts
By Brita Rose
It was a beautiful sight -- throngs of volunteers lining up outside a local church on Sunday, Day Five of the local recovery initiative spearheaded by Occupy Sandy. The number of willing helpers had tripled over the last three days alone, a response as dizzying as it was encouraging for the coordinators at the relief hub in St. Jacobi Lutheran Church in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York
16 November , 2012
Day Two Of Israeli Assault On Gaza: At Least 15 Killed Including 4 Children,
Over 150 Injured; 3 Israelis Killed Near Ashkelon
By Alex Kane & Adam Horowitz
Medics say 15 have died and 150 were injured in the 24 hours since Israel began a major escalation in the Gaza Strip and assassinated a senior Hamas military commander. Three Israelis were killed when a rocket hit their home in Kiryat Malakhi, a town about 10 miles from Ashkelon
Israel Masses Troops On Gaza Border As Bombardment Intensifies
By Bill Van Auken
Israeli warplanes carried out hundreds of air strikes against the densely populated Gaza Strip Thursday as Israel mobilized troops on the Palestinian territory’s border
‘Washington Post’ Prints False Narrative Of How Gaza Escalation Started
By Alex Kane
Following a two-week lull in violence, on November 8 Israeli soldiers invade Gaza. In the resulting exchange of gunfire with Palestinian fighters, a 12-year-old boy is killed by an Israeli bullet while he plays soccer. Shortly afterwards, Palestinian fighters blow up a tunnel along the Gaza-Israel frontier, injuring one Israeli soldier
Excuse Me While I Vomit
By Alan Hart
I imagine I am not the only one who feels the need to vomit (dictionary definition – "to throw up the contents of the stomach through the mouth") when Israel’s Goebbels justifies the Zionist state’s ferocious and monstrously disproportionate attacks by air and sea on the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, the prison camp which is home to 1.5 million besieged and mainly impoverished Palestinians
Inciting War Crimes: Israel Minister Says Force
Gaza Population Into Egypt, Cut Off Water, Electricity
By Ali Abunimah
An Israeli minister has called for the army to bomb Gaza until the population flees en masse into Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, and for water and electricity supplies to be cut, a clear case of incitement to war crimes
In Gaza, My Son Asks, What Do The Israelis Want From Us?
By Rami Almeghari
“What do they want from us? What do they want from us?” — this is the question posed to me by my son Munir who is now 13 years old. I had just returned from touring nearby towns here in Gaza out of journalistic duty on the second day of Israel’s massive military attacks
Family Mourns Gaza Boy Shot By Israeli Forces While Playing Football
By Rami Almeghari
Thirteen-year-old Muhammad Abu Daqqa vividly recalls the moment his friend and cousin Ahmad Abu Daqqa was killed outside his southeast Gaza home while they were playing football last Thursday afternoon
Adderall Abuse Ravages College Campuses
And Graduate School Around the Country
By Valerie Harris
Substance abuse at the college level has been a major concern for decades. But in recent years, the use of Adderall as a study aid has reached epidemic proportions. Today, educational leaders are warning young men and women to avoid using the drug recreationally, pointing to alternative study aids that are more effective and less harmful to one’s physical well-being
UT Motto Modification: What Starts Here ... Accelerates Destruction?
By Robert Jensen
I want to suggest a slight modification of the University of Texas' motto, “What starts here changes the world.” A more accurate slogan -- while not quite as pithy and probably less effective for public-relations purposes -- would be, “What starts here accelerates the destruction of the world.”
Cracks In South Carolina Nuke Power Plant, US Nuclear Power Safety Questioned
By Countercurrents.org
The US is headed toward a major nuclear disaster unless the government more closely monitors aging power plants, reported UPI from Washington in early November 2012. At the same time, cracks have been identified in a South Carolina nuke power plant
South Korean Villagers Protest Against Nuclear Power Plant
By Countercurrents.org
Thousands of villagers staged a protest outside one of South Korea's largest nuclear power plants on November 15, 2012. The protest is part of growing public concern in South Korea over safety standards of nuclear power plants after a series of scares and scandals in the country. In the area, three of the plant's six nuclear reactors are currently in shutdown. Hundreds of riot police and security officers were sent to the demonstration. No act of violence was reported
The Dutch Government Faces Legal Action For Its Failure To Address Climate Crisis
By Countercurrents.org
The Dutch government is facing the threat of legal action if it fails to take swift steps related to climate crisis. Urgenda, a pressure group has initiated the process
After The Flood: Requiem For A friend, Death Knell For A Dying Paradigm
By Phil Rockstroh
So much has been lost to the hubris and cupidity inherent to the hyper-industrialization and commercial hustler that defines the Anthropocene Epoch. To take it all in, to allow oneself to feel the full implications of the dire situation, of the ecocide and humanity lost to endless war and economic exploitation, one would be knocked to one's knees with sorrow or compelled to give voice to bursts of full-throated rage
The Hegemony Of Celebrity: Iron Fist In A Diamante Glove
By Colin Todhunter
Today, we live in a world that turns people into almost instant global brand identities for mass marketing and lavishes them with untold fame and riches. Celebrities lead lives that most ordinary folk could not even begin to imagine. The outcome, however, has sinister implications not only for those coping with fame and playing out the illusion, but also for those who buy into celebrity worship and the aspirant mindset that surrounds the phenomenon
The Life & Debt Of Capitalism
By Mickey Z.
Capitalism is an economic system based on perpetual growth and the relentless exploitation of what we've come to call "natural resources." By definition, such an approach is unsustainable, cannot be reformed, and is thus, anti-life
Eminent Women Urge the Immediate Release of the 3 Women of Idinthakarai
By Concerned Citizens
Nearly a 100 prominent Indian women have written to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and the National Commission for Women urging them to facilitate the release of three Idinthakarai women — Xavier Ammal, Selvi and Sundari. All three imprisoned women are fore-runners in the 15-month long struggle against the Koodankulam nuclear power plant
15 November , 2012
Israel Launches Offensive Against Gaza
By Bill Van Auken
In its most intense attack on Gaza since the Operation Cast Lead invasion of 2008-2009, Israel carried out an intense bombardment of the Palestinian territory Wednesday, beginning with the assassination of a top Hamas leader
Is Washington Mulling Diplomacy on Iran ?
By Ismail Salami
In an apparent volte-face, Obama has revealed that the US has decided to resolve the so-called Iranian nuclear dispute by means of diplomacy
Obama Nudges Syria Toward Regional War
By Shamus Cooke
A year of foreign funding and foreign fighters has not toppled the Syrian government because the regime still has a large degree of public support, which creates the conditions for an incredibly bloody civil war, a five alarm blaze that Obama continues to pour gasoline on
The Ideology of Hatred
By Neve Gordon
An interview with Niza Yanay author of "The Ideology of Hatred : The Psychic Power of Discourse", which may very well change the way we think about hatred and its role in politics
Lip Service To Peace: EU As An Enabler Of Netanyahu’s Colonial Policies
By Ramzy Baroud
The EU foreign policies regarding Palestine/Israel are different from those of the United States, while the latter is openly one-sided and ‘unconditionally’ so, the former is deviously complicit in ensuring the very occupation that it is supposedly trying to end
Sectarian Australian Mainstream Ignores Horrendous
Child Sexual Abuse Of 4.4 Million Australians
By Dr Gideon Polya
A grossly hypocritical Australian Labor Federal Government has announced an urgently required Royal Commission into child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, other churches and other institutions. However while Mainstream media and politicians are concerned with victims of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and religious personnel that total 3,000 to 40,000 over the last 80 years, expert scholarly research indicates that 3.0 million Australian women, 1.4 million Australian men and a total of 4.4 million Australian adults today out of a national population of 23 million have been sexually abused as children
The Good American: My Awakening
By Timothy Dwight Smith
When I survey America's psychological landscape, minding extra attention to those most victimized by America’s unbridled desire for power, domestic and abroad, without question, if an era of innocence ever did exist, it's far gone now
Extreme Weather: The Maya And Us
By Thomas Riggins
These extreme weather events are not limited to the United States but are world wide phenomena. The whole international system may collapse in we can't halt the warming of the atmosphere. It won't be the first time a civilization has collapsed due to radical changes in weather. ScienceDaily (11-8-12) published an article that details how the civilization of the Maya Indians in Mexico and Central American collapsed and extreme weather changes are the suspected cause
Attention America: Welfare Is Not A Dirty Word
By Adam Parsons
Bravo to the magazine 'In These Times' for proudly hailing the importance of the welfare state in America. It is essential that more progressives follow their example in advocating sharing on a nationwide level - which is exactly what the universal provision of social welfare is all about, argues Adam Parsons
Unity The Path To Change In Ethiopia
By Graham Peebles
Unity of the people, rich in diversity united in purpose, is the need and song of the time, for Ethiopia and indeed for the world. Together there is safety and strength beyond measure, “when there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you,” proclaims an African proverb
Contraception Could Save World $5.7 bn, Says UNFPA Report
By Countercurrents.org
The world economy would be boosted by billions of dollars if all women in the world had access to contraception, the United Nations said in By choice, not by chance, family planning, human rights and development, its annual State of World Population report
India: In Amritsar, It’s ‘V’ For Vasectomies
By Benita Sen
It's the men from the vibrant town of Amritsar who have taken the lead in fulfilling their family planning responsibility. The numbers say it all. In 2010-11, of every 100 birth control surgeries performed in India, only five were on men. In comparison, in Punjab, of 100 birth control surgeries 21 were vasectomies. In Amritsar, 45 cent of the surgeries performed were on men
Youth Speaks: Rising Against Violence In The Virtual World
By Azera Parveen Rahman
One initiative that is using Facebook to engage with the youth on violence against women is the on-going One Billion Rising (OBR) campaign, launched internationally by Eve Ensler, American playwright and founder of V-Day, the global movement to end domestic violence. Women from 160 countries, including India, have responded to this global call by launching OBR campaigns in their respective countries
14 November , 2012
Global CO2 Emission Rises To Record Level In 2011
By Countercurrents.org
Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels rose 2.5 percent to a record in 2011 on surging pollution in China , Germany 's research institute IWR said. At the same time, scientists have found human produced CO2 emissions are accumulating in greater amounts in the upper reaches of the atmosphere
Translating The Palestinian Declaration Of Independence
By Professor Francis A. Boyle
A remarkable opportunity for peace was created by the 15 November 1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence. What is needed now from the Israeli government and people as well as from the American government and people is the same Will for Peace that was demonstrated by the Palestinians twenty-five years ago. The Israelis and the Americans must seize this historic moment for peace. Otherwise, I doubt very seriously that history will give any of us a second chance for obtaining peace with justice for all peoples and states in the Middle East
A New Middle East Agenda For Obama
By Adil E. Shamoo
If Obama wants to make a lasting mark during his second term, he must ensure that U.S. policy in the Middle East is no longer dictated by energy sources, friendly dictators, and Israel
Four More Years Of The Same
By Jonathan Cook
Don’t expect a second-term Obama to take on Israel
Operation Dark Heart , The Book, Censor, And The Court Ruling In The US
By Countercurrents.org
A former intelligence officer with the US Department of Defense has been given the go-ahead by a federal judge to sue the Pentagon and the CIA for censoring his best-selling account of the war in Afghanistan
Government Surveillance Is On The Rise, Google Confirms
By Countercurrents.org
Surveillance on citizens is on the rise. It's not a single-country trend. It's a global phenomenon. A Google report confirms the all encompassing power of rule
Will Unions Fight Fiscal Cliff Cuts To Medicare And Social Security?
By Shamus Cooke
With pro-Obama election posters still visible in most union halls across the country, the President has already taken steps towards selling out not only labor unions (again) but all working people. But this isn't the "ordinary" sellout that working people have come to expect from Democrats — this is an attack of historic proportions
Argo And The Clash Of Civilisations
By Radha Surya
Argo is problematic for several reasons. To start with the film goes against the historical evidence in order to uphold a world view that affirms the fundamental decency of America's role in the world
Indian Army: Little Glory, Loads of Gore
By Samar
In the popular discourse mere mention of Indian Army evokes two extreme and mutually incompatible responses. The believers see it as the last standing holy cow of the chaos called Indian nation, one that is incorruptible in the face of corruption that has become the new normative and remains fiercely apolitical when everything else is politically inclined, and dirty by extension. Ask the wretched fellows stranded on the wrong side of post-colonial history, and Indian army comes as a brutal occupying force that derives sadistic pleasures, and of course patriotism, from maiming, raping and killing the very people it is supposed to protect
The Vulture Makes A Comeback With Human Help
By Marianne de Nazareth
With the governments of India and Nepal banning the veterinary use of the painkiller diclofenac in 2006,the immediate effectiveness of this ban in reversing the vulture decline is what the scientists have observed
13 November , 2012
Millions Of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Released Without Risk Assessment Or Oversight
By Barbara H. Peterson
In case you didn’t know, genetically modified mosquitoes have been unleashed numerous times on planet Earth. Thus far, millions mosquitoes were released in various locations; Cayman Islands, Malaysia, and Brazil. Now, the GM mosquito creator Oxitec may release millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in the fields of crops, including olives, citrus fruits, cabbage, tomatoes, and cotton
Nuke Power Plants Shut Down In Germany Generate Benefits
By Countercurrents.org
Nuke shutdown in Germany has started producing benefits. The country is getting economic and environmental benefits, which is reaching investors, businesses and farmers
Iraq: Revisiting Dust-Covered Dreams
By Cathy Breen
I returned from Baghdad last night. Over coffee this morning, I filled the father of my host family in on my trip. I told him it was wonderful to see everyone, but I only heard sad stories
Normalize This!
By Remi Kanazi
A poem, with video performance
Obama's Presidency Through Palestinian Eyes
By Dr. Elias Akleh
People worldwide were very interested and following the 2012 American election believing that their future would, somehow, be affected by the foreign policies of the new American President. Only the Palestinian people were totally apathetic to the election. They believe that the American stance toward the Palestinian cause, specifically, and towards the Middle East, generally, would not change no matter who becomes the American president; whether a democrat or a republican
The N.Y. Times Imagines Post-Sandy Looters
By Mickey Z.
While the post-hurricane environment throughout the N.Y./N.J. area once again debunked the myth of “disaster = chaos,” it also created a window of opportunity for the 99% to re-imagine some aspects of modern human culture. Such solidarity, of course, is threatening to the 1% and has led them to do some imagining of their own. Below is one example of how corporate propaganda helps shape the cultural conversation
Higher Education Under Attack From 10 Janpath
By Sukant Khurana, Ph.D.
After years of research in US, I spent one year in India to explore the current scientific and socioeconomic landscape of my home country and witnessed carnage of Sibbal and corruption of academia up close. This open politicization of education enables funding grants for non-existing research, denial of positions and funding to deserving candidates, existence of redundant institutions with zero productivity, harassment of researchers, violations of basic ethical codes of conduct, including the use of research facilities and funds for personal benefits, open solicitations in a supposedly blind peer review system
12 November , 2012
Israel Launches Missile Strike Against Syria
By Niall Green
Following the re-election of Barack Obama in last week’s US presidential poll, Washington and its allies have stepped up their war drive against Syria. In the most serious escalation of the 20-month conflict in the Middle East country, the Israeli armed forces fired a missile into Syrian territory Sunday
Britain Plans Intervention In Syria
By Countercurrents.org
General Sir David Richards, the UK’s most senior general, said Britain had in place contingency plans for a “very limited” response in the case of a worsening humanitarian situation in Syria within the next few months. He added that there could be British troops posted in countries neighboring Syria. Phillip Hammond, the UK Defense Secretary, also confirmed that the UK had not ruled out military intervention
Stalingrad, Communists Demand Soviet-Era Name
By Countercurrents.org
The Russian Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov has demanded that the city of Volgograd is returned to its Soviet name Stalingrad (the city of Joseph Stalin), to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the bloodiest battle in the WWII
Will President Obama Seize Moment On Climate Change?
By William Becker
Climate change received scant attention in the election campaign. But with public concern about global warming growing in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, President Obama has an unprecedented opportunity to take bold action on climate and clean energy
Climate Change Trumps Terrorism As Threat To National Security
By Brent Blackwelder
At least the victorious President Obama stressed that he wanted more renewable energy, whereas Romney opposed wind power, belittled concerns about climate destabilization, and joked about rising sea levels. Now is the time to demand that Obama fulfills the clean-energy promise he made in his first term. Along the way, we might even alleviate some threats to national security that are already on our shores
What Did We Learn From This Election? We Learned We Have No Choice
By Timothy V. Gatto
There is hope. The Progressive Movement could morph into a real movement. Capitalism has failed us. We need a new way forward. We need to reform this government. This will take courage and resolution. People can’t give up. We need to address these issues. What do we really want? The choice is ours to make. It’s up to the American people
Girlfriends? Petraeus Oversaw The Slaughter Of Thousands And He Will Face Trial
By Jay Janson
Cheating on your wife is shameful, but administering multi-mass homicide is Okay! After America comes to prosecute its war criminals, as Noam Chomsky has said it must, the unmanliness of US military will be noted. Seven generals were indicted as war criminals at Nuremberg in 1945. Four were hanged, three received life sentences. Petraeus high-level homicidal crimes, calls for prosecution, recounted
Child Marriages: When Laws Betray Children…
By Tejaswini Pagadala
The contradictions in child laws have hobbled the fight against child marriages, even throwing the courts in state of quandary
Book Review: Changing Patterns Of Justice
By Mahtab Alam
The book under discussion is an anthology of selected writings published in the Combat Law between 2002 and 2010. The subjects covered in the anthology are mainly socio-legal, political and economic in nature, encompassing the entire gamut of human rights issues. It ranges from the issues of Criminal Justice, State Repression, and Trafficking to Communalism, Patent, WTO, Special Economic Zone, Right to Information, Education, Food, Housing, Work and other issues of contemporary as well historical relevance
Caste And Honor
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
The violence against Dalits in the Dharmapuri district of Tamilnadu is a shocking reminder of social prejudices prevalent in our society and how honor is closely linked to our caste identity
Lenin On The Role Of A Marxist Party In Relation To The People:
Chapter Five of 'Left Wing' Communism An Infantile Disorder
By Thomas Riggins
Lenin in 1920 made an analysis of the political conditions in Germany after the failure of the Communist (Spartacus League) uprising in 1918. The Communists had split into two rival factions. The issues facing the German Marxists were somewhat analogous to those facing the Marxist movements today especially in the industrial world
11 November , 2012
Syria: Resisting Hell’s Maelstrom
By Franklin Lamb
Over the past twenty months, as the Syrian crisis continued beyond most early predictions, this observer learned something about the Syrian people that I had known for decades about Palestinians. And that is their great concern for their countrymen wherever they are found and whatever their current condition
US Military Planning For Climate Crisis
By Countercurrents.org
The US military is planning to face climate crisis. A number of its bases are threatened by sea level rise. And, there are potential new danger zones around the world
Global Food Prices Ease
By Countercurrents.org
There is good news for the poor, at least for the time being. The UN reported on November 8, 2012 that global food prices decreased slightly in October although the market was tight
Class Struggle Will Decide Chavez's Fourth Term As Venezuelan President
By Michael Lebowitz
So, what will happen in Chavez's next term of office? That depends on class struggle within the Chavez camp. It would be a struggle which revolves around Chavez's party (the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, PSUV), which contains all these elements but in which the top-down orientation has dominated and at the same time dispirited many people at the base
Sufferings And Protest In Sandy Battered New York
By Countercurrents.org
Sandy battered New York is now telling a lot. There are untold sufferings of people, shows of humanity and love for people and by people, and level of “efficiency” of a resource-rich system – capitalism – that feels proud as best. Hundreds of New York residents protested on November 10, 2012 outside a Long Island utility, frustrated by its slow response to outages
Four Myths About Iran Which Need To Be Debunked
By Kourosh Ziabari
There are some famous myths about Iran which many people across the world have come to believe, and I would like to rebuff them here as best as I can
The Political Trial Of A Caring Man And The End Of Justice In America
By John Pilger
On 26 February 2003, one month before the invasion, Dr. Rafil Dhafir, a prominent cancer specialist in Syracuse, New York, was arrested by federal agents and interrogated about the charity he had founded, Help the Needy. The story of Dr. Rafil Dhafir is a tale of injustice
It's The Diversity, Stupid!
By Ravikiran Shinde
The US Election does give out a subtle message to the world. That you cannot ignore the minorities and the under privileged groups and hope to succeed. Diversity is the mantra not only for the political success but it is an indication of a country’s socio-economical status and the overall nation development. In an Indian context there is no reason to believe that the BJP is going to get anywhere near the majority unless they shed their antipathy towards the religious minority and Dalits
Veterans' Day Mourning
By Rosemarie Jackowski
I mourn mostly for those we have killed - and I mourn for those we haven't killed yet, but will in the days ahead. I mourn for all of the mothers and fathers who put their children to bed at night and wonder if this will be the night that they are killed by a drone attack
Will We Make The Big Post-Sandy Connections?
By Mickey Z.
Hurricane Sandy -- the second such storm to hit the northeast in the past 14 months -- cannot be discussed in any useful manner without including these two words: climate change. By coincidence, those same two words were never uttered by either presidential candidate during the televised debates
Green Shoots Of Red Electorialism
By Billy Wharton
In the coming years, especially as the efforts by the Democrats and Republicans to impose austerity develop, electoral campaigns will offer fertile ground to present a fresh vision of democratic socialism for the 21st century. Independent electoral action can become one of the ways in which poor and working class people fight back and carve out new political possibilities for themselves and their communities
Some Brief Thoughts On Race-Fetishism And Identity Politics On The Left
By David James
Here in the US, in my unfashionable view, we have seen the rise of a new form of racism, one which identifies White culture as the root of global conflict and oppression, and which is fiercely hostile to it and minimizes or otherwise marginalizes the accomplishments and contributions of White thinkers, artists, and activists
Will The Democrats Tax The Rich To Avoid The Fiscal Cliff?
By Shamus Cooke
Labor and community groups must immediately stop celebrating Obama's election victory and quickly start mobilizing their members against his anti-worker agenda, lest they spend the next four years crying about the coming "historic betrayal.”
From Marx To Giant Lizards: Muddying The Waters With NWO Conspiracy Theories
By Colin Todhunter
In recent years, populist explanations for world events have become common and often taken the form of anti-establishment conspiracy theories. The contradiction between how people believe the world should be, according to the mainstream propaganda pertaining to liberty and democracy, and how it is in this time of crisis leads people to search for easily digestible answers
Dharmapuri 2012: Worse Than Kilvenmani
By Dr Anand Teltumbde
My friend Prof C Lakshmanan called me today from the ground zero in Dharmapuri narrating in his choked voice the horrific state of things in three villages - Natham, Anna Nagar and Kondampatti, where nearly 500 houses of Dalits were looted and burnt by the Vanniyar (an OBC caste) mob on 7 November
Syed Maqbool Shah: A Decade Of Separation
By Qadri Inzamam
Syed Maqbool Shah is trying to start a new beginning and his family is making all efforts to help him getting out of his dark past. His dark past snatched his 14 precious years of life, his dream to be a teacher, his family’s joy, his father, his sister and above all his cheerfulness. Syed Maqbool finds it hard to forget that what has happened to him but harder it is for him to answer that why it happened to him
Sonia And Rahul Need To Do More Than Travel By A Bus
By Vidyadhar Date
Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Congress president, and son Rahul Gandhi travelled a short distance by bus from New Delhi to Surajkund for a Congress meeting on November 9. This is interesting given the high flying style of the family, but it is little more than a publicity gesture considering that in actual practice their government is helping the automobile lobby, promoting personalized transport, neglecting and weakening public transport and humiliating pedestrians
Make The Impeachment Boomerang On The Rajapaksas
By Tisaranee Gunasekara
The impeachment of the Chief Justice is neither the beginning nor the end of the Rajapaksa-rush towards absolutism. But it does constitute a watershed moment in that journey, perhaps its final really-existing breaking-point
10 November , 2012
I'm Not Western puppet, I Live And Die In Syria : President Bashar Assad
By Countercurrents.org
Russia Today's Sophie Shevardnadze recently interviewed Syria 's president Bashar Assad in Damascus . Here is the interview
'Assad Is Completely Demonized By The Press', Says RT's interviewer
By Countercurrents.org
Russia Today's Sophie Shevardnadze recently interviewed Syria 's president Assad. She expresses her observations in an interview by RT *, which provides a picture of Assad and Syria
Syria's Assad Warns Of Apocalyptic War
By Ismail Salami
In a rare interview with Russia Today TV, President Bashar Assad vigorously clarified his stance on the current Syrian crisis created by the West and some regional states including Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar and warned them of the apocalyptic consequences of any foreign intervention in Syria
We Have Just One Home, Protect It!
An Inspirational Video
Palestine Entangled: The Politics of Money
By Ramzy Baroud
Despite appearances, Mahmoud Abbas’ PA is much less immune to political arm-twisting as a result of its nearly two-decade entanglement of the international aid cartel, than Hamas. The latter, hardly immune itself is barely learning the ropes. They too will eventually learn that there is no such thing as free money, especially when those offering their services are very much at the heart of the political struggle for the future of the Middle East
85 Percent Muslims Voted For President Obama
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
More than 85 percent of American Muslim voters picked President Obama in Tuesday's election, according to an exit poll released Friday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's leading Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization
US Violates Agreement; Punishes Iran
By Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich
In its latest act of blatant hypocrisy, the Obama administration has sanctioned Iran over internet and media censorship
Restoring Democracy In The United States
By John Scales Avery
The American people must hold President Obama to the idealistic promises of his 2008 campaign, and prevent him from compromising with the enemies of reform. If we live in other countries where democracy is in danger, we too must recognize our responsibilities making sure that our governments follow the paths of peace, social justice and environmental responsibility
Inclusive Growth And Development In Jharkhand
By Kiran Sharma
Jharkhand suffers from political instability and unplanned exploitation of its mineral wealth without benefits accruing to the tribal population
09 November , 2012
Fukushima Disaster: Costs Could Run Upto $ 124 Billion
By Osamu Tsukimori
Fukushima nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co said on Wednesday it would have to seek more government funds to tackle the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, as cleanup costs soar four months after the utility was nationalised. Tepco officials suggested the costs of compensation and decontamination could double to 10 trillion yen ($124.55 billion), making greater government support vital
Our Sisters In Jail
Sixth Letter From Women Of Koodankulam
We wish that all of you would think of the 3 in your prayers. Please come together even as small groups and demand their release. Now it is Sundari, Selvi and Xavierammal. Tomorrow it could be you, me and us. Do convey this message to the world
Climate Change: Food Crisis And Future Hunger Wars
By Rolly Montpellier
Climate Change and its Effects on Food Production
After 17 years: Arab American Activist Removed From Terror List
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
The U.S. Treasury Department has de-listed Muhammad Salah as a “specially designated terrorist,” lifting onerous restrictions on the Palestine-origin American now living in Bridgeview, the Chicago Tribune reported
Dead-Enders For Obama, Celebrate A Second Term
By Sean Fenley
The fight should be on, the anti-war protests should be on, and nothing should really be appreciably different — than if the financial archdevil/fiend Mitt Romney had handily won the election. The axe is out; undeniably, against the 99% by the Barack Obama clique/regime
Thousands Of South African Farm Workers Protest Hunger-Wages, Vineyards Set On Fire
By Countercurrents.org
Thousands of striking farm workers in South Africa's biggest table grape-growing region set fire to vineyards to protest against what they call "hunger wages"
Chevron Fined $19 Billion For Polluting The Amazon Basin
By Countercurrents.org
An Argentine court has ordered to seize US oil giant Chevron Corp's assets in the country in order to carry out an Ecuadorean court ruling that awarded $19 billion to plaintiffs in an environmental damage lawsuit in the Amazon
Why a Natural Disaster Became a Social Disaster, and Why It Doesn't Have To Be That Way
By Raymond Lotta
Reflections on Hurricane Sandy and the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America
U.S. Is Allied With And Actively Supports Al-Qaeda: James F. Tracy
By Kourosh Ziabari
American political commentator believes that the United States has been constantly allied with Al-Qaeda and supported it militarily and financially
08 November , 2012
Turkey Seeks Patriot Missiles For Syria Border
By Jason Ditz
Turkish foreign ministry officials say they are planning to request a NATO Patriot missile deployment along their southern border, but while they are couching it as a defense move, others are indicating it is anything but. Rather other officials say they are considering not just defending Turkish territory from any theoretical spillover, but are looking to install them at the border to create a de facto no-fly zone in northern Syria to help the rebels
To Humiliate And Degrade: Impressions Of Gaza
By Noam Chomsky
Even a single night in jail is enough to give a taste of what it means to be under the total control of some external force. And it hardly takes more than a day in Gaza to begin to appreciate what it must be like to try to survive in the world’s largest open-air prison, where a million and a half people, in the most densely populated area of the world, are constantly subject to random and often savage terror and arbitrary punishment, with no purpose other than to humiliate and degrade
Occupy Freedom And Vigilance (post-Sandy)
By Mickey Z.
As the 1% slowly perceives that its control is on the wane, we’ll need all the solidarity we can muster to help serve as a bulwark against the inevitable acceleration of extralegal law enforcement devices. Once we have cultivated such unity among ever-growing numbers, we can view freedom not as a relative concept or abstract ideal, but rather as an attainable aspiration
Occupy Movement in Sandy affected NY
By Countercurrents.org
Hundreds of volunteers from the Occupy Movement are now engaged with distribution of essential materials including thousands of meal packets among the Sandy affected New Yorkers. They have set up distributions centers in the storm affected areas of New York
Space Warfare And The Future Of U.S. Global Power
By Alfred W. McCoy
If the future of America’s world power is shaped by actual events rather than long-term economic trends, then its fate might well be determined by which comes first in this century-long cycle: military debacle from the illusion of technological mastery, or a new technological regime powerful enough to perpetuate U.S. global dominion
I Am Losing Trust On Trust Itself
By Dayamani Barla
Dayamani Barla’s letter from Ranchi Prison
Petition - End The Scourge of Manual Scavenging – NOW!!!
More than a million people (mostly Dalit women and children) in India are still being ordained by the caste-ridden social order to clean the refuse of society with their bare hands. They are systemically forced to sell their labour-power, at a minimal price, to perform this inhuman task - what is termed as “Manual Scavenging”
Struggle To Eradicate Caste: Hidden Agenda of Samajik Samrasta
By Ram Puniyani
The difference between the Ambedkar approach to dalit issues and the one of RSS-Modi are polar opposites. Ambedkar called for annihilation of caste, RSS-Modi talk of caste harmony. Ambedkar went on to burn Hindu holy book: Manu Smriti and became the architect of Indian Constitution. RSS ideologue K.Sudarshan in year 2000 said that Indian constitution is based on western values, meaning the values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity are western, so it should be replaced by the one based on Hindu holy book. Modi’s attempt is to further what Sudarshan said, reflecting their agenda at social level
Scientific Enough
By Kavitha Kuruganti
The Supreme Court of India did a right thing by constituting a Technical Expert Committee to look into scientific issues being raised by a Public Interest Litigation filed by Aruna Rodrigues and others in the issue of deliberate release of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and their use in our food and farming systems
Demilitarizing Siachen: Trading Strategic Advantage For Brownie Points
By S.G.Vombatkere
While diplomatic engagement for peace with Pakistan is necessary, compromising national sovereignty and security or territorial integrity is unacceptable. Therefore, it is vital that Parliamentarians carefully consider arguments for and against demilitarizing Siachen without prejudice to CBMs or demilitarization in any other sector, and ensure discussion on the matter before any agreement is signed
Lies And Liars Lost
By Joel S. Hirschhorn
Billions of dollars wasted propagating lies from both sides designed to piss off or frighten people. Happy to see all those millionaires and billionaires wasting their money on the Romney campaign. Now, every one of them should donate equal amounts to the recovery efforts related to the Sandy Hurricane disaster
07 November , 2012
Obama Re-elected:The Fightback Begins
By Billy Wharton
Tonight, Barack Obama was declared the winner of the U.S. Presidential election. Obama ran a centrist, lackluster campaign that was fueled by an avalanche of campaign donations from corporate America. The losers were poor and working class people all over the country. Although, Mitt Romney was the other corporate funded candidate in the race, it will be regular Americans who will have to live with repercussions of a second Obama presidency. Over the next four years, the administration will continue to extend the damage it has initiated since 2008
Global Warming To Bring Severe Failure Of Indian Monsoon
By Countercurrents.org
Global warming could cause frequent and severe failures of the Indian summer monsoon in the next two centuries, new research suggests.The effects of these unprecedented changes would be extremely detrimental to India's economy, which relies heavily on the monsoon season to bring fresh water to the farmlands
Slavery: The Unresolved Question In Jamaica
By Countercurrents.org
Tens of millions of African children, women and men were enslaved and shipped to the Caribbean and Americas, with millions dying in holding camps in Africa or during the voyage. Now, should Jamaica seek compensation or a formal apology from Britain to heal old wounds? The question is yet to be resolved
Why We Should All Be Talking About Global Sharing
By Adam Parsons
If we're serious about ending poverty and healing the environment perhaps it's about time that we all start talking about global sharing
The Great Transition, Part I: From Fossil Fuels To Renewable Energy
By Lester R. Brown
The old energy economy, fueled by oil, coal, and natural gas, is being replaced with an economy powered by wind, solar, and geothermal energy. The Earth’s renewable energy resources are vast and available to be tapped through visionary initiatives. Our civilization needs to embrace renewable energy on a scale and at a pace we’ve never seen before
The Great Transition, Part II: Building A Wind-Centered Economy
By Lester R. Brown
For the first time since the Industrial Revolution began, we have an opportunity to invest in alternative sources of energy that can last as long as the Earth itself. The choice is ours. We can stay with business as usual, or we can move the world onto a path of sustained progress. The choice will be made by our generation, but it will affect life on Earth for all generations to come
Kill or Be Killed (or Both)
By John Scales Avery
A nuclear war would produce radioactive contamination of the kind that we have already experienced in the areas around Chernobyl and Fukushima and in the Marshall Islands, but on an enormously increased scale. We have to remember that the total explosive power of the nuclear weapons in the world today is 500,0000 time as great as the power of the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. What is threatened by a nuclear war today is the complete breakdown of human civilization
Free Syrian Army Targets Innocent Civilians For Supporting The Government
By Kourosh Ziabari
An interview with a Syrian youth who lives in the war ravaged northwestern city of Aleppo
Argo: From Hollywoodism To Iranophobia
By Ismail Salami
In its idiotically crude manner, the movie attempts to describe Iranians as overemotional, irrational, insane, and diabolical while at the same, the CIA agents are represented as heroically patriotic. Argo is replete with historical inaccuracies and distortions. Argo is an arrant instance of Hollywoodism. In point of fact, it is yet another attempt to foment Iranophobia not only in the USA but across the world as well
Britain And India: A Convenient Scapegoat In A Time Of Economic Crisis
By Colin Todhunter
India is likely to be told this week that Britain plans to slash its 280 million pounds a year aid to it following growing domestic pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to stop funding emerging economic powers such as India at a time when Britain is in serious economic crisis
No Time To Waste: From Koodankulam to Vilappilsala
By Anitha.S
The words echoed back and forth from the women of Vilappilsala and Koodankulam as the women in two of the most significant struggles in recent times came together to share and care for the things they value most in life. To die for the right to live
Irom Sharmila’s Struggle For Democracy
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
The government of India needs serious thought on Manipur and North East and the solution for such issues is pushing more democracy and people friendly development. It is also time for the government to acknowledge Sharmila’s democratic struggle as it will only strengthen democracy and make people believe in democratic struggle
06 November , 2012
Turkish Police Fire Tear Gas On Protesters Supporting Hunger Striking Kurdish Political Prisoners
By Countercurrents.org
Police in Istanbul have used tear gas and water cannon on protestors supporting a hunger strike by Kurdish political prisoners. The Turkish PM branded the strikers actions a “complete show”, but doctors warn the prisoners will start to die in the next 10 days
10,000 More Prisoners To Join The Kurdish Hunger Strikes In Turkey
By Kurd Net
Shortly after the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) announced that thousands of more prisoners were to join a collective hunger strike, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç made an open call to all prisoners to end the strike. On Sunday BDP deputy Sabahat Tuncel said 10,000 more prisoners currently held in the country's prisons for various crimes, including membership in the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its Iranian offshoot, the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK), would join the hunger strike on Monday
Internal Displacement Of Kurds In Turkey: Analysis Of Psychological, Economical And...
By Seyhmus Yuksekkaya
Studies show that, refugees who are internally (IDP) displaced by force from their native land; ethnic people who have been deprived off their cultural, linguistic as well political rights suffer significantly from mental health impairments such as post-traumatic disorder(PTSD) and depression compared to other groups
US-Backed Syrian “Rebels” In Disarray At Qatar Conference
By Bill Van Auken
Four days of meetings in Doha, the capital of Qatar, of Western-backed elements backing the overthrow of the Syrian government began in disarray Sunday, following last week’s demand by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for a shakeup within the so-called rebel leadership
General Strike In Greece
By Countercurrents.org
Greek workers begin a 48-hour strike on November 6, 2012 to protest against a new round of austerity cuts that unions say will devastate the poor and drive a failing economy to collapse, reports Reuters from Athens
The Name Of The Hurricane Is Climate Change
By Rebecca Solnit
I wish Sandy hadn’t happened. But it did, and there have been and will be more disasters like this. I hope that radical change arises from it. The climate has already changed. May we change to meet the challenges
We Cannot Avoid The Global Crisis… But We Can Deal With It
By Paul Gilding
The following is a speech by Paul Gilding delivered to the AGM of World Business Council for Sustainable Development Seoul, South Korea on October 31st, 2012
Abbas's Declaration = Balfour's Declaration
By Dr. Elias Akleh
Last Friday, November 2 nd ; the 95 th anniversary of the illegal Balfour Declaration, Palestinian President; Mahmoud Abbas had made what could be considered a similar shameful declaration in an interview with Israeli channel 2 TV. In the interview Abbas had given up the Palestinian right of return to their home land, surrendered 80% of Palestine to Israel, recognized Israeli occupation as a legal state, criticized Palestinian armed resistance of the Israeli illegal occupation as terrorist acts, and vowed to protect Israeli security by oppressing any possible future Palestinian Intifadha
When The U.S. Ridicules The Principles Of Free Speech
By Kourosh Ziabari
Prof. Terri Ginsberg is an American university professor, film scholar and cultural critic. She made the headlines in 2008 when she was dismissed from her post at the North Carolina State University as a professor of film studies for criticizing the apartheid policies of the Israeli regime and its mistreatment of the Palestinian citizens. Here is an interview with Ginsberg
British Arms Deals: Quick Death, Fast Profits
By Colin Todhunter
Back in Britain , people are continually fed the lie that eye-catching arms deals are good for “the country.” In this time of biting austerity, it's the quality of life for us, the people, that really counts, not headline-hogging arms deals that ultimately fuel conflict to the detriment of the many and for the benefit of the few
Videsi Election, Desi Erection
By Neha Dixit
Neha Dixit notes down the amusing differences between the Indian and American election campaign during her nine weeks long fellowship in the US(working)
Eliminating Manual Scavenging Needs Honest Introspection
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Manual scavenging is a crime against humanity and yet the nation has failed to resolve it so far. It look that it does not attract us anymore and except for lip services we have left it to be resolved by the victims themselves. It is time for India to stand up together and resolve to eliminate this practice. Mere laws will not work as it needs greater social awakening and a movement against untouchability and caste system
The Death Meadows Of Kashmir
By Sajad Rasool
For the past almost fifty years now, the army takes over the meadow and turns it into a firing range. Every night and every day from the 6 months between May to October, the valley shakes and deafens with gunfire and explosions. It may be a mock war for forces but the fear and danger faced by the people of the region is very real
05 November , 2012
Millions Still Without Power As Temperature Nears Freezing In Eastern US
By Bill Van Auken
One week after Hurricane Sandy pummeled the Eastern Seaboard of the United States with high winds and a record storm surge, nearly two million homes and businesses remain without power in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut as temperatures fall near the freezing mark
The Deafening Silence On Climate Change
By Mark Hertsgaard
Global warming has seldom been mentioned this year on the campaign trail, despite Obama's promise to the contrary
Stephen Harper, Climate Monster, Is On His Way To India
By Bill Henderson
Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, is on his way to India . Hopefully he will be greeted with anger and disgust because at this crucial moment in history he best personalizes leaders who should know the grim climate change science - both probable impacts and possible effective mitigation strategies - but instead is using his elected PMO dictatorship to try and greatly expand Canada's fossil fuel production including bitumen from Alberta's tarsands
Protest And Police Action In Kuwait
By Countercurrents.org
Protest and police action went on in Kuwait, a US ally and member of the OPEC. Police used stun grenades against protesters there as thousands of people marched. Dozens of protesters have been arrested. Kuwait City, the originally planned protest area, was sealed off
Two Nuclear Reactors Shut Down In South Korea
By Countercurrents.org
South Korea has shut down two nuclear reactors. Last month, authorities temporarily shut down two 1,000-megawatt reactors at separate nuclear plants after system malfunctions which were also blamed for another reactor at Yeonggwang being tripped into automatic shutdown in July
People Have Changed: A Legacy Of The U.S. War In Iraq
Photo & Text By Cathy Breen
The father is looking for work. They too asked me if they could be resettled in the United States . Once again I spoke of the obstacles they would face in the United States . “People have changed,” the father said sadly. “The war has destroyed the inside of humanity.”
Portland Anti-Austerity Protest Draws 1,000 Despite Police Violence
By Shamus Cooke
It's difficult to build a pre-election protest with so many labor and community groups busy campaigning for Democrats. Nevertheless, over 1,000 people marched the streets in Portland, Oregon on November 3rd against austerity cuts to education and other public services and the consequent debt accumulated by students
I Voted
By Gary Corseri
I voted today. … I voted for peace and justice and sanity, In an insane world of violence and injustice.
Censorship And Holocaust Ignoring Make
The University Of Melbourne Unfit For Students
By Dr Gideon Polya
Holocaust ignoring is repugnant and censorship is anathema to scholars, short circuiting the science-based rational risk management crucial for societal safety. The corporatist and neoliberal University of Melbourne is arguably equal top with the University of Sydney as Australia 's top university but has an appalling, continuing record of censorship and holocaust ignoring that make it unfit for students and for overseas students in particular
Persevering For Victory Of Belief
By Manish Kumar
Save Sharmila Solidarity Campaign is observing 12 Article series to reflect 12 years of suppression of Irom Sharmila's fast. Irom Sharmila is completing her 12 years of fast on 5th November. This is the 12th and last in the series
To Die For The Right To Live
By Anitha.S
A report on “ From Koodankulam to Vilappilsala- Messages of Survival” an effort to bring forth the strength and vigour of women who attempt to be part of struggles to hold their right to live in peace and harmony
04 November , 2012
Syria Is Flooded With Foreign Arms
By Franklin Lamb
Across Syria these days, one is able to examine massive evidence that this ancient civilization, the historic bastion of nationalist Arabism and since the 1948 Nabka, an essential pillar of the growing culture of Resistance to the Zionist occupation of Palestine , is becoming awash with foreign arms being funneled to “rebels” by countries advocating regime change
Koodankulam People's Appeal To The Conscience Of The Nation
By The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy
We, as citizens of the largest democracy, are fighting for our right. We have upheld our tradition of secularism, democracy and nonviolence. If sedition charges, Goondas Act, home searches, incarceration and severe repression are the gifts that will be handed down to us, we gladly accept them. We are even prepared to die for the future of our children and grandchildren and our country, but under no circumstances are we prepared to hurt or harm or kill anyone
Loot, Cold, Heating Oil Shortage And Gasoline "Panic Buying"
Are Following Sandy’s Path Of Destruction
By Countercurrenys.org
The superstorm Sandy is now being followed by sporadic incidents of loot, a coming winter shortage of heating oil and gasoline panic buying that tell an economy’s outer face and inner soul
Sorrow, Sufferance And New York City: The Spiritual Is Political
By Michael Robeson
There are places in our hearts that do not exist and into them enters suffering in order that they may have existence
Rising Neo-Nazis In Greece Threat Immigrants, Workers
By Countercurrents.org
Recession ravaged Greece, a fertile ground for Nazism, is witnessing rise of neo-fascists. The fascist thugs are carrying out attacks on workers, mainly immigrants. Golden Dawn, the Greek neo-fascist party is utilizing all opportunities to seize initiative in politics
Beyond The 6th Of November; The Rise Of The Peer Progressive
By Nozomi Hayase
What is left for the American people? There has been a call in the social media sphere to boycott the voting altogether this year and disengage from the election, in order to delegitimize this tacit theocracy that worships money and systemic corruption. On November 6, should people just sit at home and choose not to vote for the president? Are there any other effective alternatives?
Profit And Corruption Widens Energy Inequality
By Farooque Chowdhury
Debating the energy squandering life style of the energy rich and the “development” approach prescribed by the donors will create scope for broader space
Peddling A Zionist Ticket To Nowhere
By Vacy Vlazna
Gareth Evan's speech is a poisoned apple offered to the Palestinians and their supporters; seemingly rosy but laced bitter taste of Zionism
The Irom Lady
By Julius Tongbram
Save Sharmila Solidarity Campaign is observing 12 Article series to reflect 12 years of suppression of Irom Sharmila's fast. Irom Sharmila is completing her 12 years of fast on 5th November. This is the 11th in the series
Hell Hath No Fury Like The Rajapaksas Thwarted
By Tisaranee Gunasekara
Hell hath no fury like the Rajapaksas thwarted. All those who opposed the interests, whims and fancies of the Ruling Siblings in the past know the hellfire of their fury.Now it is the turn of the highest court in the land to experience, at first hand, this fundamental law of Rajapaksa rule: those who support the Siblings will thrive, even if they wallow in crime; those who oppose the Siblings will suffer, even if they commit no wrong
A Nobel For Malala
By Ram Puniyani
We, in the region, need to strive towards solidarity for a democratic South Asia to bury the ideologies operating in the name of religion. We all need to stand with the cause of Malala!
Neoliberal Reforms Making India More Authoritarian,
Increasing Inequality Distorts Indian Democracy
By Prayag Mehta
The whole scandal surrounding the coal block allocation is a perfect metaphor for how everyone from politicians to bureaucrats to business barons to power brokers are milking India behind the smokescreen of due process and a larger accountability to Parliament. It is an unprecedented scenario indicating the scope and intensity of RD, frustration, humiliation and the peoples’ anger at the neoliberal pro-corporate policies. In doing so, these new social movements have called the larger neoliberal Zeitgeist into question
Dengue In Bollywood
By Shura Darapuri
Recently, with the death of the doyen of the film industry Mr Yash Chopra, a renowned filmmaker, who died due to a bite of a tiny Aedes aegypti mosquito adds to worries of the many. Yash Chopra, belonging to affluent section of society with the best medical advice and best of medical aid was compelled to ultimately surrender before no bigger a creature than a little mosquito. It draws attention to the pathetic sanitation conditions of Mumbai, the financial capital of India
Medha Patkar And Activists Detained in Chindwada, Start Satyagraha
NAPM Press Release
The situation in Chindwada, Madhya Pradesh state, India continues to remain tense with heavy police presence deployed to intimidate the farmers, labourers and adivasis protesting illegal commencement of work on the Pench Water Diversion Project
03 November , 2012
Why Sea Level Is Rising Faster Than Predicted
By Countercurrents.org
Sea levels are rising faster than expected from global warming. The last official IPCC report in 2007 projected a global sea level rise between 0.2 and 0.5 meters by the year 2100. But current sea-level rise measurements meet or exceed the high end of that range and suggest a rise of one meter or more by the end of the century. Its, faster rise than estimate, reason is baffling scientists
For Whom Should The Left Vote?
By Jack A. Smith
I will not vote for Obama because he is a warrior president comfortably leading an imperialist and militarist system — a man who ignores poor and low income families, who eviscerates our civil liberties and who knows the truth about global warming but does pathetically little about it. I’ll vote for Peta Lindsay, a young African American socialist woman
This Will Be The Last Election With American Naiveté
By Kourosh Ziabari
This election will be the last with American naiveté about the true state of their government still relatively intact. After November 6th, promises will be broken, bombs will be dropped, heads will be cracked, and scales will fall from the eyes of even the most thick-skulled among them
Protests, Prosecution And Punishment In Saudi Arabia
By Countercurrents.org
Saudi Arabia is experiencing protests, prosecution and punishments. An international rights group urged Saudi Arabia on October 28, 2012 to stop prosecuting and punishing people for peaceful protests, after the kingdom charged 19 men for staging a sit-down demonstration outside a prison in September
Hurricane Sandy Reveals Deepening Health, Political Crises In Caribbean Countries
By John Marion
Before devastating the eastern seaboard of the United States, Hurricane Sandy wreaked destruction on the Caribbean causing at least 71 deaths. While spared the direct brunt of the storm, Haiti suffered the highest human toll, with 54 dead and another 20 missing. Cuba had 11 people killed, while the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas each had two dead, and Jamaica and Puerto Rico each had a single fatality
“Get up Stand up”: Koodankulam Rises In Protest
By Leena Manimekalai
It is out of desperation that I made this film. I have not experienced such a big people’s movement in my life.Should i just see the blatant injustice imposed on people, who seemed the most powerless fisherfolk, and remain silent?These questions made me to think of the film.I felt I had to do something As I mention at the end of the film, “The film is just an excuse.Issue is important”
Eritrea: A Nation In Defiance Of Imperialism
By Press TV
This documentary probes into the achievements of the isolated country of Eritrea in spite of the sanctions impose against it by the US
In Hope Of Saving "The Savior Of Hope"
By Mouli Banerjee
Save Sharmila Solidarity Campaign is observing 12 Article series to reflect 12 years of suppression of Irom Sharmila's fast. Irom Sharmila is completing her 12 years of fast on 5th November. This is the 10th in the series
Jatland Of Haryana: A Rapists’ Republic
By Anand Teltumbde
There have been 19 gang-rapes of Dalit girls, one more gruesome than the other, during a single month. While the government responses have been lethargic as usual, the notorious khap panchyats of the ruling Jats, with their pervasive influence have in a way justified these rapes by advising that the girls should be married off before they reached the age of puberty to avoid rapes. Important politicians unashamedly endorsed this shocking solution in public
02 November , 2012
Risk Of Death Close For Kurdish Hunger Strikers
In Turkish Prisons
By Kurd.net
Jailed Kurdish militants on hunger strike in Turkey may start to die within the next 10 days, Turkey's main medical association warned on Thursday, saying the prime minister's dismissal of the protest as a "show" risked hardening their resolve. The hunger strike entered its 51st day on Thursday, with some 700 prisoners refusing food in dozens of prisons across Turkey, demanding the government grant greater Kurdish minority rights and better conditions for their jailed leader
The Kurdish Hunger Strike In Turkey's Jails
By Memed Boran
Millions of Kurds around the world today are hoping that these ‘death fasts’ do not end in loss. But their voices are going unheard outside Turkey and Kurdistan and Kurdish communities in Europe. Kurds need the support of all individuals, human rights and non-governmental organisations, professional circles, political parties and governments. Everyone can do something to stop these deaths. What can you do?
Washington Seeks New Syrian Puppets In War For Regime-Change
By Bill Van Auken
Speaking in Zagreb, Croatia on Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that Washington is reorganizing the front representing the so-called “rebels” in Syria. The shakeup, which includes the withdrawal of US support from the Syrian National Council, is evidently part of the preparations for a more direct US intervention once next Tuesday’s presidential election is over
The Universe Unraveling
By William Blum
The Syrian leader has consistently referred to those in combat against him as "terrorists", citing the repeated use of car bombs and suicide bombers. The West has treated this accusation with scorn, or has simply ignored it. But the evidence that Assad has had good reason for his stance has been accumulating for some time now, particularly of late
Syria: NY Times' Deadly Aim To Fool ALL The People ALL the Time
By Jay Janson
A veil of disinformation by Western business controlled media, never possible by any outright State-controlled media, has descended on the world. But with technology is racing toward easy electronic access to documented history, those employed in the war-is-profitable business will soon be indicted. There is a rising call for America to prosecute its own war criminals
Snapshot From Bani Walid, Libya
By Countercurrents.org
Libya is full of turmoil, and is far from tranquility. Brutality and lawlessness is the order of the day there. The following news report from Bani Walid by AFP [1] depicts a picture, which is only a part
Superstorm Puts Politics In Perspective
By Jim Taylor
Either Barrack Obama and Mitt Romney would have looked equally ridiculous wading into the surf in New Jersey, ordering the storm surge to go away. No political figurehead could deflect the power of the storm, nor mitigate the damages. Not even if such a person got elected with 100 per cent of the votes. So much for the power of politics
Manipulating History: The Different Faces Of ‘Popular Resistance’ In Palestine
By Ramzy Baroud
Apparently, ‘popular resistance’ has suddenly elevated to become a clash of visions or strategies between the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and its rivals in Gaza, underscoring an existing and deepening rift between various factions and leaderships
Dissolute Governments, Disillusioned People
By S.G.Vombatkere
Anna Hazare and V.K.Singh who are focussing on corruption and its “removal”, speak of the union government under thrall of corporate houses using all means fair or foul to remain in power. Their demand for immediate dissolution of Parliament may create anarchy since the state legislatures and governments within the union will not have changed
Irom sharmila’s Unmet Demands: Government’s Excuse, A Political Blasphemy
To Cover Their Failure In Reinstating Peace
By Pankaj Pathak
Save Sharmila Solidarity Campaign is observing 12 Article series to reflect 12 years of suppression of Irom Sharmila's fast. Irom Sharmila is completing her 12 years of fast on 5th November. This is the 9th in the series
I Heard On Radio That I Was Awarded The Nobel Prize : Prof. Roald Hoffmann
By Kourosh Ziabari
An in-depth interview with Roald Hoffman, the 1981 Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry. This interview originally appeared in Persian in Iran's Daneshmand magazine and is being published in English for the first time in CounterCurrents
01 November , 2012
Sadrists Behind The Murder Of The Ministry Of Higher Education Officials In Iraq
By Milad Rizooqi
Some of the media dared to mention the details of this crime saying that Hakim Al-Zamili, one of the leaders of the Al-Mahdi Militia, was responsible for this crime that took the lives of more than 150 Iraqis, some of them Iraq's best academics. Al-Zamili is a prominent member of the Iraqi Parliament, representative of the Al-Sadr Party
Inequality Highest For 20 Years, Says International Charity
By Countercurrents.org
Across the world, inequality and poverty are increasing as is increasing rich-poor gap. “Global inequalities in wealth are at their highest level for 20 years and are growing, said a Save The Children report
Eurozone Unemployment Reaches Record High
By Countercurrents.org
Unemployment in the eurozone has risen to a new record, with more than one in four out of work in Spain and Greece. In Greece, labor is planning to strike
Qatari Emir In Gaza
By Dr. Elias Akleh
The so-called courageous Israeli-siege-breaking visit of Qatari Emir to the six years besieged Gaza carries with it so many controversial meanings and more questions than answers. One could not help but question the real motivations behind such a visit at this particular time: did it come as a solidarity visit with Hamas and as humanitarian aid to the devastated starving Palestinians or an attempt to contain Hamas under the pro-Zionist Qatari wing and a manipulation of the suffering Palestinians?
The Peak Oil Crisis: The Superstorm
By Tom Whipple
Short of a new technology that will produce energy more cheaply than fossil fuels and without carbon emissions or other bad side effects, we are back to the issue of just how bad do extreme climate events have to get before the urgency of global warming outweighs economics
From Chaos To A New World Order: Words Of Hope At The United Nations
By Graham Peebles
Freedom, justice, peace are not the utopian ideals of a dreamer, but heartfelt desires that sit deep within people throughout the world. Far from fantastical, such qualities are urgent necessities to safeguard the human race and to Save Our Planet (SOP). Beyond cynicism let us go, dare to believe in the good and the just, dare to share and build the new. Dare to have hope
Living Differently
By Cathy Breen
It is almost ten years since the U.S.-led war against Iraq. The electricity keeps going off here and all throughout the country. Sami, whose family is hosting me in Najaf, remarked yesterday with no ill intent, “Maybe we could send them some of our electricity!” We had to laugh
Forthright Intellectuals Are Dispensable In Pakistan
By Q. Isa Daudpota
Pervez Hoodbhoy, one of Pakistan’s leading public intellectuals, has recently been told by LUMS that it will not be offering him an extension of contract. The background to this unfortunate decision by this well-known University is explored in the light of the decaying educational milieu in the country
Irom: An Inspiration For Students
By Zaheeb Ajmal
Save Sharmila Solidarity Campaign is observing 12 Article series to reflect 12 years of suppression of Irom Sharmila's fast. Irom Sharmila is completing her 12 years of fast on 5th November. This is the 8th in the series. This article is dedicated to Irom by a group of students from Patna
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