31 October, 2009
The Heart Of India Is Under Attack
By Arundhati Roy
To justify enforcing a corporate land grab, the state needs an enemy – and it has chosen the Maoists
Mr Raju Barwale, Let Us Have A Public Debate
On Bt Brinjal
By Devinder Sharma
Devinder Sharma's challenge to Raju Barwale, Managing Director of the Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company (Mahyco), the developers of the Bt brinjal, on the claims made by Mahyco on Bt brinjal
Why Do GM Scientists Lie?
By Devinder Sharma
Every time I meet an agricultural scientist, especially those who are engaged in Genetic Engineering, I am shocked at the blatant manner in which they lie. They are not even remotely ashamed of telling a lie, although they know they are not speaking the truth
Propping Up A Broken Capitalism
By Shamus Cooke
Five years ago it would be unthinkable that a harsh critique of capitalism would attract a mass audience. But this is exactly what Michael Moore’s new movie — Capitalism: A Love Story — has done. The source of Moore’s success is his willingness to focus on what the media ignores: the human faces behind unemployment, bankruptcy, foreclosures, evictions, etc., and the faces benefiting from this misery — the corporate-elite sitting atop the financial system
Waging War Upon Ourselves
By Peter Chamberlin
It is easy to see why Pakistan has been chosen as the battleground of the century, but it is a real shame to us all that we have allowed our governments so much unsupervised freedom of action that they could get away with the things you are about to read about in the following article
Daring To Understand
By Maryam Sakeenah
I stand the risk of being misunderstood and misjudged. I do not condone the ongoing violent attacks in civilian areas all over Pakistan which victimize innocents. I cannot possibly justify them, nor can any human being in his right mind. But I think I can understand why. I can dare just that much
30 October, 2009
The Recession Is Dead ... Long Live The Recession!
By Guy R McPherson
The world's first peak-oil recession has come to a close, according to third-quarter numbers invented by the federal government. Apparently dumping trillions of dollars onto big banks, insurance companies, and automobile manufacturers interrupted the plummeting descent of American Empire. The stock markets skyrocketed expectedly. Predictably, so did the commodities markets
US: GDP Figure Masks Deepening Economic Crisis
By Barry Grey
The Commerce Department on Thursday reported that the US gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.5 percent on an annualized basis in the third quarter (July through September), breaking a string of four consecutive quarters of negative growth
I'm One Of America's New Homeless
By Brianna Karp as told to Claire Prentice
Brianna Karp lost her job, is broke and is now living in a trailer – but she's not beaten yet
Taliban Take Over Afghan Province
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
The United States has withdrawn its troops from its four key bases in Nuristan, on the border with Pakistan, leaving the northeastern province as a safe haven for the Taliban-led insurgency to orchestrate its regional battles
A Must Read For Obama: An Afghan Travelogue
By Niranjan Ramakrishnan
Some excerpts from a recent account of Afghanistan by a visiting American
Climate Change: Set That 110 Limit
By Julio Godoy
Every single person should set a cap of a total of 110 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the next four decades to avoid irreversible and uncontrollable consequences of climate change, under a new proposal
Harvesting In Death Zone, With A Song
By Eva Bartlett
Harvesting is a political act at the Gaza border with Israel
Three Ohio Men Convicted Of Being Muslims
At The Wrong Time In America
By Stephen Lendman
In an October 22 press release, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced another victory in its Global War on Terrorism, renamed the Overseas Contingency Operation to continue its jihad on Muslims, abroad and at home
Supreme Court Judgement On Batla House ‘Encounter’ Will Set A Dangerous Precedent
By Manisha Sethi & Adeel Mehdi
Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association terms the judgement given by a bench of Supreme Court judges dismissing the plea for ordering a judicial enquiry in Batla House encounter case as highly unfortunate. The bench’s main argument—that, any enquiry would cause “unnecessary harassment of the police” and “adversely affect the morale of the police”—is astoundingly irrelevant to the merit of the case
Burmese Activists Urge Halting
Shwe Pipeline Project
By Nava Thakuria
The voices against the foreign intrusion in Burmese economy are increasing. The recent action by the Burmese people living in various countries on October 28 shows that they are not only expressing concern about the plight of the indigenous population, but also urged the China government to halt a proposed natural gas and oil pipeline project inside Burma
29 October, 2009
Why Obama's Iran Policy Will Fail
By Dilip Hiro
In this new environment expecting the leaders of Iran, backed by China and Russia, to do the bidding of Washington means placing a bet on the inconceivable
Climate Change Is A Feminist Issue
By Mary Fitzgerald
Granting women control over their own reproduction would combat overpopulation and reduce carbon emissions
Climbing A 'Dead' Glacier
By Franz Chávez
The rapid disappearance of glaciers and the subsequent exhaustion of water sources are pushing indigenous communities in the Bolivian highlands even further into poverty
Why I Am Risking Arrest For Medicare For All
By Margaret Flowers
I am going to be arrested because I believe that it is my professional responsibility to advocate on behalf of those patients who are suffering and because it is clear that traditional advocacy tools are not working. The phrase that runs continuously through my mind is "To be silent is to be complicit." I cannot be complicit in the face of an industry that profits at the cost of human lives and in the face of an administration and Congress that are too dysfunctional to stop this practice
Impossibleism
By Aetius Romulous
Progress, as we all define it, is impossible to sustain. Why? Leave the dogmas, politics, and bullshit aside and do the math. That's why
Your Mama! Or The Blitzerization Of Indian TV
By Trevor Selvam
A look at the sensationalist, alarmist and fabricated depiction by the Indian TV of the impending military operation against the "Maoists", the operation green hunt
Bulls Dancing In The Swamp
By Case Wagenvoord
We have a statistical recovery in GDP even as economic activity stagnates and unemployment rises, despite the fiscal & monetary stimulus. Welcome to a new kind of depression
Pakistan Owes Much, But Not Suicide
By Firdaus Ahmed
No nation can be compelled to commit suicide even for the sake of supposed best interests of the international community
The Spooks Of Beirut
By Rannie Amiri
Lebanese parliamentary elections were held on June 7, and nearly five months later, there is still no government in place. And the reasons for it are all too predictable
Resurgent Hindutva Terror In Goa
By Subhash Gatade
Whether the goa bomb blasts investigations go the Kanpur or Nanded way?
28 October, 2009
Pakistani Army Offensive Devastates
Tribal Communities
By James Cogan
The ongoing Pakistani military offensive into the tribal agency of South Waziristan is having a devastating impact on the entire civilian population. Villages and towns are literally being bombed into rubble and tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee for their lives
End Of Solitude: Tale Of A Dead Mother
By Aakanksha Mohan Sharma
Mughli was one of the thousands women of Indian administered Kashmir who are a part of Association of parents of disappeared persons who claims that more than 10,000 men of Kashmir are disappeared since Indian counter-insurgent assault began in the kashmir valley in 1990
Is Obama “Playing The Game?”
By Frederick Alexander Meade
In light of the President’s reluctance to squarely face the felt racist behaviors of his opposition - and in so doing essentially speak for many members of his race - as a means of adhering to a perceived strategy, one question must be asked? Is the course of action undertaken by Barack Obama one which may serve a greater purpose in advancing the interests of African Americans?
Modi Denied Visa By Oman -
News Reverberates In India
By Mirza A. Beg
Mr. Modi nefariously planted stories of being invited by the Sultanate of Oman. Again some concerned people took it upon themselves to circulate a petition on line. Again many human rights organizations all over the world, but most importantly from India extended their full support. Many wrote personal letters to the Ambassador and the government of Oman. In response, not only the Ambassador of Oman in India refused the visa, but took out an advertisement in a well respected national newspaper, Indian Express, stating that the Sultanate of Oman had not invited Mr. Modi to Oman
Detroit: A City For Sale, And Very Few Takers
By Patrick Martin
Over a four-day period a huge portion of the city of Detroit was put on the auction block, but very few bids were submitted. Of the 9,000 homes and lots put up for sale for prices as low as $500, only 1,800 attracted buyers. Most of these were not prospective homeowner-occupiers, but speculators from New York City and California hoping to cash in on a quick flip of the property
Preview Of Ramzy Baroud's
"My Father Was A Freedom Fighter"
By Stephen Lendman
As a freedom fighter's son, Baroud's book is proof of a people's persistence to survive, endure, and ultimately prevail in their historic quest for liberation, because of heroic men like father and son Baroud who'll accept no less. Nor should anyone wanting everyone to be free, especially the long-suffering Palestinians and oppressed peoples everywhere
It's Too Late Baby, Time's Up
By Carolyn Baker
The real crux of Time’s Up is the challenge of how to keep the human race from continuing to commit suicide
27 October, 2009
Israel Rations Palestinians To Trickle Of Water
By Amnesty International
Amnesty International has accused Israel of denying Palestinians the right to access adequate water by maintaining total control over the shared water resources and pursuing discriminatory policies
The World At 4C By 2060
By John James
London Science Museum unveils climate change map showing impact of 4C rise
Climate Change: Do We Consider
Livestock Emissions?
By Marianne de Nazareth
When we think about Green House Gas Emissions, (GHG) mentally we only consider the burning of fossil fuels and emissions from cars and industries as damaging. We have never really thought about the breeding of cattle causing any lasting damage to the planet, but there it is, livestock emissions are real and something which needs our focussed attention besides other GHG emitters
No One Else Will Stop The Killing
By Mike Ferner
Veterans' group to members: multiply resistance by any peaceful means available
A Tsunami Called Goldstone
By Uri Avnery
The Goldstone report has an impact on the world because it is precise and targeted: a specific operation, for which specific persons are responsible. It raises a specific demand: an investigation. It attacks a clear and well-defined target: war crimes
Palestinian Election: Weapon Against The People
By Dr. Elias Akleh
Palestinian election under the Israeli occupation is a big joke. It is meant to give the illusion of Palestinian freedom and autonomy, and to keep the people busy with something other than their legitimate resistance to the occupation. Palestinians can regain their country and assert their rights only by resisting the Israeli occupation and not by fake elections
Terrorism And The New Line Of Investigation
By Mustafa Khan
Goa blast was also accidental. However, what were more persistent and pertinent were the ominous repots over the years how Goa was used to train the terrorists of the Hindu right. No significant action was taken in this regard. Could all this add up to what SM Mushrif argues in his book "Who Killed Karkare: the real face of terrorism in India", that the driving force of Hindu right terrorism is to put innocent Muslims in the dock and bring a bad name to Muslims of the country
27 October, 2009
Chomsky Receives Highest Pentagon Honor
By Sherwood Ross
The Pentagon has paid anti-war activist Noam Chomsky the highest honor any totalitarian entity can bestow upon an author: they’ve banned his book “Interventions” at Guantanamo Bay prison
CBI’s Mission Kashmir: Manufacturing Consent
On Shopian Rapes, Murders
By Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal
The CBI may have succeeded in its mission in Shopian, that of what Noam Chomsky refers to as manufacturing consent about non-existence of any violations in the twin rapes of Asiya Jan and her sister-in-law Neelofar Jan. But this is only as far as the opinion outside Jammu and Kashmir, formed by a consistent over-drive of narration of lies, is concerned
The End Of Electricity
By Peter Goodchild
There seems to be a consensus that the depletion of fossil fuels will follow a fairly impressive slope. What may need to be looked at more closely, however, is not the "when" but the "what." Looking at the temporary shortages of the 1970s may give us the impression that the most serious consequence will be lineups at the pump. Fossil-fuel decline, however, will also mean the end of electricity, a far more serious matter
The Living Universe
By Carolyn Baker
Carolyn Baker reviews Duane Elgin's "The Living Universe"
A Rare Victory For Lebanon’s Palestinians
By Franklin Lamb
Why Hezbollah ushered a key Lebanese ally to the woodshed
Tariq Mehanna: Obama's Latest Muslim Target
By Stephen Lendman
An October 21 FBI press release announced Tariq (mispelled Tarek) Mehanna as its most recent target saying: "A Sudbury , Mass. man was charged today in federal court with conspiracy to provide support to terrorists."
‘Love Jehad’: When Courts Provide
Fodder For Sri Ram Sene
By Kavita Krishnan
‘Love Jehad’ is a new phrase coined by the Sangh Parivar – that is being echoed in courtrooms and cabinets across the country. The Sangh Parivar has claimed that thousands of Hindu girls are being lured by Muslim boys into conversion to Islam and recruitment into ‘jehadi’ outfits. And what is extremely worrying is that the Kerala HC, Karnataka HC and even the Maharashtra Government have expressed the same sentiments
Who Killed Karkare? The Real Face Of
Terrorism In India
By M Zeyaul Haque
A new book curiously titled Who Killed Karkare? says a nationwide network of Hindutva terror that has its tentacles spread up to Nepal and Israel is out to destroy the India most Indians have known for ages and to remould it into some kind of Afghanistan under the Taliban
Blast In Goa
By Ram Puniyani
When any blast takes place, and what are popularly called ‘Jihadi terrorists’ are suspected, the newspapers generally devote front page banner headlines, with all details and suspicions spelt out day after day. In cases related to Nanded types or the ones related to Hindu Jagran Samiti type, the coverage is relegated to small columns in the back pages. The visual media which generally carries non-stop running commentary around such an event is now muted when it comes to Hindutva inspired terror
Terrorism In Goa: The Plot Thickens
By Mustafa Khan
The bomb blast in Margao and the other at Sancoale surely indicate how organized the Hindu right terrorists are. They also enjoy patronage within the governmental set up and the police and even the investigating agencies. A full year after the exposure of the Sanatan Sanstha's involvement in Thane and Vashi, Mumbai, and Panvel bomb attacks the governments and the police not only did not take any action like banning the organization but let it and other such organizations of the Hindu right flourish
26 October, 2009
Operation Saffron Hunt?
By Satya Sagar
As the UPA government embarks on its ‘Operation Green Hunt’ against the Maoists maybe what it should really be carrying out is an ‘Operation Saffron Hunt’ - against Hindu extremists who pose a far greater threat to the internal security of India
The Alba And Copenhagen
By Fidel Castro
At the Cochabamba meeting, a new ALBA Summit was convened. The timetable will be: December 6, elections in Bolivia; December 13, ALBA summit in Havana; December 16, participation in the UN Copenhagen Summit. The small group of ALBA nations will be there. The issue is no longer “Homeland or Death”; it is truly and without exaggeration a matter of “Life or Death” for the human race
Black Women, Power And African Hair
By Frederick Alexander Meade
With this pervasive and pathological rejection of this feature of the African aesthetic prevailing from those who are widely considered to be our communities' role models, one question must be asked. What are African American women of influence without African hair?
Robert Bernstein: Human Shield
For Criticism Of Israel
By Max Kantar
Earlier this week the New York Times published an op-ed article, “ Rights Watchdog, Lost in the Mideast ,” written by Robert L. Bernstein, the founding chairman emeritus of Human Rights Watch . The editorial amounts to one regurgitation of Israeli propaganda after another in an effort to delegitimize mainstream criticism of Israeli policies in the international human rights community
What's At Stake In The Deal For Gilad Shalit
By Jonathan Ben Efrat
Instead of discussing the price of Shalit’s release, we should be discussing the price of a peace agreement. Whoever is willing to dismantle the settlements, to give back the occupied territories up to the Green Line (the pre-1967 border), to come up with a fair solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees and to enable, finally, the establishment of a viable Palestinian state will ensure that there'll be no more Gilad Shalits. But as long as Israel refuses to do what everyone knows it must, the next kidnapping is merely a question of time
How Could They, After All We Did For Them?
By Case Wagenvoord
According to Paul Krugman the Obama administration is shocked! Shocked! And pissed that after all the help the government gave them, the financial industry is fighting tooth and nail against anything that resembles reform
Saada Under Siege
By Rannie Amiri
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's latest campaign against Zaidi rebels in the northern governorate of Saada – aptly dubbed “Operation Scorched Earth” – has raged since August 12, leaving the residents of the war-torn province bordering Saudi Arabia utterly devastated
Why I Joined The Socialist Party
By Timothy V. Gatto
I recently paid my dues and joined the Socialist Party USA . Why did I do this?
22 October, 2009
350 PPM CO2: The Upper Limit Of
Human Habitats
By Andrew Glikson
The rise of atmospheric CO2 above 350 PPM at the current rate of about 2 PPM/year is transcending the conditions that allowed the development of human agriculture and civlization from about 8000 years ago
Obama's Choice
By Nick Turse
Failed War President or the Prince of Peace?
Pakistan Can Help Obama To Earn His
Nobel Peace Prize
By Javed I. Chaudry
It is highly unlikely that Obama can deliver peace for which he won the Nobel prize merely on the basis of his oratories and the political rhetoric. But, Pakistan can help him achieve exactly that by distancing itself from the so called war on terror
War, Negation And Muslim Identity Revisited
By Ramzy Baroud
It takes generations for genuine trust to take hold, and the countdown cannot possibly start as long as one US solider is stationed in a Muslim country for the purpose of conducting war and occupation
21 October, 2009
What To Expect In Copenhagen
By Michael McCarthy
The rich countries have to make clear commitments to cut their own CO2 significantly by 2020, and will have to agree massive financial help – billions and billions of dollars – for the poorer nations to continue their growth in a low-carbon way. For their part, the developing nations will have to agree some sort of numerical targets to cut their own CO2
Abandoning A Dream
By Guy R McPherson
It appears the good times won't last long. Not only did the boomers destroy the living planet for other cultures and species, but we turned the dynamite on ourselves. Soon enough, the jig is up for Homo sapiens
The Forgotten Nightmare: Global Cooling
By Robin Davis
While global warming dominates the headlines a more urgent danger threatens life on earth. Global warming could make the planet uninhabitable by the end of the century. Global cooling - the "Nuclear Winter" that would follow nuclear war - could achieve the same result in days or weeks
US Joins Ranks Of Failed States
By Paul Craig Roberts
There is no money to provide the uninsured with health care, but Pentagon officials have told the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee in the House that every gallon of gasoline delivered to US troops in Afghanistan costs American taxpayers $400
Israeli Police Don Arab Disguise
By Jonathan Cook
Civil rights groups in Israel have expressed outrage at the announcement last week that a special undercover unit of the police has been infiltrating and collecting intelligence on Israel’s Arab minority by disguising its officers as Arabs
The First Step: Israel Into The Dock
By Dr. Alan Sabrosky
The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) Resolution based on the Goldstone Report is a damning condemnation of Israel. The original meaning of being "caught red-handed" was literally being "caught bloody-handed," with the victim's blood on one's own hands. In Gaza, Israel has been caught red-handed in that literal sense, and for the first time in its history, is approaching the dock in the international court of opinion and, hopefully, of justice as well
Obamacare Targets Entitlements
By Stephen Lendman
Millions will be left uninsured or underinsured as Washington cuts back on its obligation to provide universal quality care as a human right. Instead, final legislation will be class-based on the ability to pay with growing millions of poor and lower income people offered sub-standard care, millions left out entirely, and a time coming when only those who can afford it will be covered, no others. That's Obamacare's bottom line, but expect no public discourse to explain it
20 October, 2009
Baffin Island Reveals Dramatic Scale Of
Arctic Climate Change
By Steve Connor
Study delves back into 200,000 years of history to demonstrate the devastating impact of global warming
East Timor: Seasonal Changes Cause For Alarm
By Matt Crook
If you order a beer, sit back and relax at one of the expat bars dotted along the coastal Pantai Kelapa road in this capital, you cannot help but notice the view: the stony beach, the swimming children and the grounded fishing boats. But that view is morphing — a visible sign of how climate change could be affecting East Timor
Forests: Crucial And Vital Role To
Combat Climate Change
By Marianne de Nazareth
Tropical forests cover about 15 percent of the world’s land surface and contain about 25 percent of the carbon in the terrestrial biosphere. But they are being rapidly degraded and deforested like the Indian Ghats, which results in the emission of heat and trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Roughly 13 million hectares, an area the size of Nicaragua is deforested and converted into other land use every year in the world
Why We Really, Really Need A War In Afghanistan
By Case Wagenvoord
Afghanistan is simply a futile effort to breathe life into a dying lifestyle
The Golden Age Of Capitalism Was Yesterday
By Timothy V. Gatto
In every instance, in every nation, when things become intolerable for the people, the people change the system. It is no different in America. In fact it is amazing that capitalism has come this far
Syria’s Golan Heights: Can International Law Forestall A Golanian Intifada?
By Franklin Lamb
Pressure increasing on Syria’s government to retake the Heights by force
Can The Democrats Avoid A Populist
Health Care Rebellion?
By Kevin Zeese
The insurance industry is the major problem in health care and Americans know it, but the Democrats are on the verge of forcing Americans to buy insurance while failing to solve America’s health care crisis. It is a prescription for electoral, economic and health care disaster
Reform Or Revolution
By William Bowles
A critique of UK's parliamentary democracy
IF Stone: An Iconic Radical Journalist
By Stephen Lendman
IF Stone wrote not to create a sensation, or to promote himself (or his 'brand'), but to change the world. We read and work - and wait.
19 October, 2009
Pakistani Military Launches Offensive Into
South Waziristan
By James Cogan
Two Pakistani army divisions, supported by an array of jet fighters and helicopter gunships, began a long expected offensive into the Taliban-controlled areas of the South Waziristan tribal agency early Saturday morning. Involving at least 30,000 combat troops, plus thousands of logistical personnel, it is the largest military operation on either side of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the Obama administration’s “AfPak” war
Beggars Can’t Be choosers
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
US rejects demand to change capitulating terms for $7.5 billion aid to Pakistan
A Nobel Prize For Evo Morales
By Fidel Castro
If Obama was awarded the Nobel for winning the elections in a racist society despite his being African American, Evo deserves it for winning them in his country despite his being a native and his having delivered on his promises
Family Who Lost 29 Members In Gaza War
By Amira Hass
Richard Goldstone visited the Gaza City neighborhood of Zaytoun in late June to tour the compound of the extended Samouni family. Twenty-nine members of the family, all of them civilians, were killed in the Israel Defense Force's winter assault - 21 during the shelling of a house where IDF soldiers had gathered some 100 members of the family a day earlier
Challenging The Dahiya Doctrine
By Brenda Heard
The common denominator of the Haaretz article and the Goldstone Report and the UN Human Rights Council Report is the challenge to the Israeli military concept known as the “Dahiya doctrine.” The Goldstone Report states that “The Israeli military conception of what was necessary in a future war with Hamas seems to have been developed from at least the time of the 2006 conflict in southern Lebanon. It finds its origin in a military doctrine that views disproportionate destruction and creating maximum disruption in the lives of many people as a legitimate means to achieve military and political goals.”
A Country Of Sacred Cows
And Ten Commandments
By Ershad Abubacker
It's high time that Israel must understand that criticizing Israeli government's foreign policy for assassinating people or for shooting children, is by no way Anti-Semitic, it's just being humane
Global Warming Accelerating
While The U.S. Backpedals
By Shamus Cooke
The industrial basis for an alternative energy superstructure needs to be created. Only by doing this can we seriously address the needs of the planet. Transforming our giant auto plants — many laying idle — into producers of solar panels, windmills, electricity–producing buoy’s, high-speed trains, electric busses and cars, etc., while massively investing in new research and technology to deal with climate change, is the only realistic way to drastically change direction in the time allotted
The Humble Tuna
By Aetius Romulous
The humble tuna, "the chicken of the sea", is an unfortunate metaphor for all that is dysfunctional about our contemporary, western, capitalist world. The story of the Tuna is the story of our triumphant world, and provides a unified theory of its runaway excess
The Holocaust And Climate Genocide
By Javier Sethness
An Eco-Socialist Review of "Nations Have the Right to Kill"
No, We Can’t
By Radha Surya
Despite the promising momentum that was present at the start of the Obama Presidency and concomitant launch of the reform effort, it now looks increasingly as if America’s uninsured and underinsured will be the losers in a campaign that seeks purportedly to defend their freedom to make choices. Unlike their counterparts in the rest of the industrialized, developed world the economically vulnerable sections of society in the wealthiest country in the world will not be allowed to choose to have access to adequate and affordable healthcare
UN Anti-Caste Charter: Annihilation Of Caste
By Ram Puniyani
Today sixty years after Independence and coming into being of Indian Constitution, the prevalence of untouchability and caste practices are a matter of shame for us. It is time we intensify our own efforts to eradicate it and join the global efforts to end this carry over from our past
16 October, 2009
UNHRC Endorses Gaza War Crimes Report
By Laura MacInnis
The U.N. Human Rights Council endorsed on Friday a Gaza report that accused both Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas of committing war crimes
Most Arctic Sea Ice 'Gone In Decade'
By Tom Lowe
The Arctic Ocean will be an "open sea" almost entirely free from ice within a decade
Carbon Emissions Must Peak By 2015:
UN Climate Scientist
By Agence France-Presse
Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , on Thursday urged a key conference on global warming to set tough mid-term goals and warned carbon emissions had to peak by 2015 to meet a widely-shared vision
Apocalypse Or Extinction?
By Guy R McPherson
Is there any doubt we will try to kill every species on the planet, including our own, by the middle of this century? At this point, it is absolutely necessary, but probably not sufficient, to bring down the industrial economy. It's no longer merely the lives of your grandchildren we're talking about. Depending on your age, it's the lives of your children or you. If you're 60 or younger, it's you
War Is Peace, Ignorance Is Strength
By John Pilger
Obama, the man of peace, is planning another war to add to his impressive record
Abbas And The Goldstone Report:
Our Shame Is Complete
By Ramzy Baroud
Palestinians who are now calling for change following the UN episode, must consider the Oslo culture in its entirety, its ‘revolutionary’ millionaires, its elites and contractors. A practical alternative to those corrupt must be quickly devised. The Israeli wall is encroaching on Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank, and a new war might be awaiting besieged Gaza. Time is running out, and our collective shame is nearly complete
Educating Children In Conflict Zones
By Catherine Rottenberg & Neve Gordon
Educating children in a conflict zone is no simple matter. More often than not, those responsible for the curricula succumb to the masters of war and adopt a pedagogical approach that exacerbates rather than diffuses strife. Israel, unfortunately, is no exception
Security, Reconciliation In Iraq Are Irreconcilable
By Nicola Nasser
Negotiating the U.S. exit strategy with al-Baath and the Iraqi resistance, the real enemy, could prove the only viable way out of Iraq for the United States
Funding Sweatshops Globally
By Stephen Lendman
The global economic crisis materially increased worker hardships leaving them more vulnerable, in jeopardy, and unable to secure their rights
Sucking Data For God And Country
By Case Wagenvoord
National Security Agency’s (NSA) is building a $2 billion data collection storage center in the Utah’s high desert
China-India-Russia Accord: Now, More Than Ever
By Ramtanu Maitra
A vast section of the Eurasian landmass, stretching from Iran to Myanmar, encompassing Central and South Asia, is in a state of violent turmoil. But the three major regional powers--China, India, and Russia, whose combined populations represent nearly half the world's 6.7 billion people--remain wholly unfocused and, seemingly, divided
14 October, 2009
Media Lies And The War Drive Against Iran
By John Pilger
John Pilger compares the current drum-beating for war against Iran, based on a fake "nuclear threat", with the manufacture of a sense of false crisis that led to invasion of Iraq and the deaths of 1.3 million people
The Solution To The Afghanistan Imbroglio
By Ramtanu Maitra
Obama is left with only one option: to call a regional conference, which will include the U.S.A., Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and Iran. No organization, such as NATO, or the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, will attend; nor will Saudi Arabia, Britain, or any other European nation. This will involve only the United States, because of the circumstances that exist today, and the five regional powers. Once that conference takes place, the U.S. can bring back its troops, and earn the respect of larger regional powers
After The Bombing, Drug Addiction Strikes Gaza
By Donald Macintyre
Under siege and grappling with joblessness, factional violence and the aftermath of war, Gazans are turning to pills as they seek to escape reality
Detroit , A Love Story Or: Looking Backward
And Forward Together To Create
Sustainable Communities
By Tom Stephens
Detroit 's current crisis is a product of industrial civilization itself, which reflects the collapse of a whole way of thinking and organizing human life on our planet, as well as a continuing tradition of grassroots struggle for better alternatives and social justice
Adopt A Negotiator By The Youth Of The World
By Marianne de Nazareth
In the halls of the imposing building of the UN in Bangkok the negotiations are lack luster and gloomy. The chasm between the developing and developed world seems to be deepening regarding coming to a common agreement and the journalists in the media room do not have very happy stories to tell. But, there is a team of youthful ‘trackers’ from all over the world who are from the Adopt-a-Negotiator group, who are busy running around the meeting, “lifting the veil and shining light on this diplomatic process.”
Attorney Reports Human Rights
Abuses Of GI Resisters
By Dahr Jamail
Attorneys and veteran's groups are alarmed by recent reports that two US Army soldiers imprisoned at the Fort Lewis Regional Correctional Facility (RCF) have been subjected to human rights abuses and violations of their constitutional rights
Are Women Getting Sadder?
Or Are We All Just Getting a Lot More Gullible?
By Barbara Ehrenreich
Feminism made women miserable. This, anyway, seems to be the most popular takeaway from "The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness," a recent study by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers which purports to show that women have become steadily unhappier since 1972. Maureen Dowd and Arianna Huffington greeted the news with somber perplexity, but the more common response has been a triumphant: I told you so
Reviewing Danny Schechter's
The Crime Of Our Time
By Stephen Lendman
The Crime of Our Time is Danny Schechter's latest attempt to explain "the financial collapse as a crime story (and) the high status white-collar crooks" who wreak havoc on "the lives of hundreds of millions worldwide."
The Aim Of A Great Society Would Give
The Elite More ‘Soul’
By Anthony Ravlich
New Zealand has given up on the dream of the Great Society, in the interests of all, and settled for mediocrity compensating by being overly concerned with ‘looking good’ i.e. image as a substitute for substance and truth
Is It Not Time For The Minorities
To Become The Majority?
By Dr.K.Vidyasagar Reddy
Since the majority-Lower castes are found oppressed socially and otherwise at the hands of Upper castes, they wish to break the chains of Hinduism only to join the religious minorities of Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism as a larger entity. Since the idea is based on apprehensions of the marginalised communities, its implementation would certainly alter the social composition of the majority and minority notions. Ultimately, this larger entity would make them majority for political purpose that would ensure political power over a period of time
13 October, 2009
Obama Approves 13,000 More Troops
To Afghanistan
By Agence France-Presse
In an unannounced move, President Barack Obama is dispatching an additional 13,000 US troops to Afghanistan beyond the 21,000 he announced publicly in March, The Washington Post reported
Climate Change, Poverty And ‘Natural’ Disasters
By Ben Courtice
People in the Philippines are struggling to rebuild after Typhoon Ketsana caused widespread flooding and landslides
Let’s Call The Bluff On Carbon Capture And Storage
By Marianne de Nazareth
The world is reeling under a climate crisis that requires urgent action. If current plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in coal plants are realised, CO2 emissions from coal will have risen by 60%, by 2030. Concerns about the feasibility, costs, safety, and liability of Carbon Capture and Storage make it a dangerous gamble
The Government's Planned "Offensive"
In Adivasi And Forest Areas
Press Statement
The Campaign for Survival and Dignity, a national platform of adivasi and forest dwellers' mass organisations from ten States, unequivocally condemns the reported plans for a military “offensive” by the government in the country's major forest and tribal areas. This offensive, ostensibly targeted against the CPI (Maoist), is a smoke screen for an assault against the people, especially adivasis, aimed at suppressing all dissent, all resistance and engineering the takeover of their resources
Resources And Anthropocentrism
By Guy R McPherson
The word "resources" is problematic because it implies materials are placed on this planet for the use of humans. We see finite substances and the living planet as materials to be exploited for our comfort. Examples of intense anthropocentrism are so numerous in the English language it seems unfair to pick on this one word from among many
Thomas Greco’s - The End Of Money
And The Future Of Civilization
By Richard C. Cook
Thomas Greco’s “The End of Money and the Future of Civilization”: A Review by Richard C. Cook
Humanity's Rite Of Passage:
A World Tended By Adults
By Carolyn Baker
During the past twelve months, it has been reassuring to see vast numbers of individuals in the United States awaken to the reality that life on this planet has profoundly shifted and will never be the same. Many have radically altered their career goals, spending and saving patterns, and their long-term priorities. When I witness such changes in human behavior, I am encouraged, and I become cautiously optimistic about our ability to read the signals and respond wisely
What Obama Isn’t Telling American Workers
By Shamus Cooke
Workers without unions will fight to organize them. Those organized workers will push their unions to fight back by building united coalitions -- representing the majority of working people -- to organize massive demonstrations, protests, and strikes to demand a recovery plan to benefit the working-class and unemployed. The conditions that led to the large U.S. workers' struggles of the 1930s and 40s are reappearing, and workers will act accordingly
The US Economy Heading Towards Chaos?
By Robert Singer
The really inconvenient truth is this: The 600 detention centers built by the Halliburton subsidiary KBR do not have the capacity to hold the 39 million Americans who will be out of work, out of home and out of food. Will they be out of hope?
Impact Of Peasant Suicides On Women
By Ranjana Padhi
Preliminary findings of a survey in Punjab
Caste In The Matrimonial Net
By Neerja Dasani
A cursory visit to any of these matrimonial websites confirms a continuing conformism. The individual does exert a ‘choice’, but this choice is often largely influenced by prejudices borne out of a deeply discriminatory social structure. How else does one explain the existence of a Brahminsmatrimony.com where you can find a Kandramanicka Brahacharanam bride or a Naidrupa Kashyapa gotram bridegroom?
12 October, 2009
Release 250,000 Tamil Civilians
Held In Detention Camps
By Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch called upon the Sri Lankan government to immediately release the 250,000 displaced Tamil civilians still held in detention camps
Millions Will Starve As Rich Nations Cut
Food Aid Funding, Warns UN
By John Vidal
Tens of millions of the world's poor will have their food rations cut or cancelled in the next few weeks because rich countries have slashed aid funding. The result, says Josette Sheeran, head of the UN's World Food Programme (WFP), could be the "loss of a generation" of children to malnutrition, food riots and political destabilisation
October Surprise: Peace Prize To A War Criminal
By Stephen Lendman
The Nobel Committee's tradition is long and inglorious, but for the well-informed no surprise
Obama’s Nobel Prize Statement
At Odds With Reality
By Sherwood Ross
Can President Obama be serious when he says he accepts the Nobel Peace Prize as “an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people of all nations”? Among “all nations” does he include the people of Iraq?
Premature Peace
By Jim Miles
A farce is a pretence or mockery. It is the dismal humour of human tragedy. The human tragedy hear is Obama’s sparkling rhetoric allowing him to receive a peace prize, while providing a thin veneer over the illegal and hostile actions the U.S. promotes for its own geo-strategic purposes around the world
Understanding The Modern Usage Of “Peace”
Is Such Phrases As The Nobel Peace Prize
By Case Wagenvoord
The Nobel committee awards Obama its peace prize and the reaction is a collective, “WTF!” The guy’s managing two wars and is getting ready to ramp up one war, spread it to another country, and the committee calls this peace?
The Republicans And The Taliban:
More Alike Than Rush Will Admit
By Mary Shaw
Rush Limbaugh's words led me to realize that the Republican Party of today has more in common with the Taliban than just a belief that Obama doesn't deserve the Nobel Prize. In fact, the two groups share more views than Limbaugh would probably want to admit
The Travails Of The Palestinian Authority
While Palestine Vanishes
By Sonja Karkar
The fallout from the Palestinian Authority’s refusal to endorse the Goldstone Report’s passage through the United Nations is not just painful for the Palestinians, but also for all those who support the Palestinian cause. This is yet another wound inflicted by the Authority on the Palestinian struggle for liberation from a long and brutal Israeli military occupation. And yet again, Israel gets a “get out of jail free” card as the Palestinians are forced to focus on their own inept and corrupt leadership
Godmen And The Sheeple
By Peter Chamberlin
The human race will either develop its technology for service, or for control. The outcome of this debate will determine the direction of everything that comes after us
The Pointing Finger Of Babasaheb Ambedkar
By Dr. Shah Alam Khan
I am sure if he was alive today Ambedkar would have been pained to see the contemptible misuse of money in building parks and statues. Mayawati too needs to learn from this message of salvation and social elevation. Political power is temporary, social elevation permanent. Statues can be a way to display social arrival and arrogance but surely it would be better if the same money is used for genuine emancipation of the most depressed sections of the Indian society
10 October, 2009
Warmonger Wins Peace Prize
By Paul Craig Roberts
It took 25 years longer than George Orwell thought for the slogans of 1984 to become reality. “War is Peace,” “Freedom is Slavery,” “Ignorance is Strength.” I would add, “Lie is Truth.”
Tarnished Gold
By Guy R McPherson
War is peace. Life is death. Left is right. And this Orwellian world grows more Orwellian with each passing day
War And Peace Prizes
By Howard Zinn
The Nobel peace committee should retire, and turn over its huge funds to some international peace organization which is not awed by stardom and rhetoric, and which has some understanding of history
The Nobel War Prize
By Bill Van Auken
Awarding a peace prize to the US president is farcical. There are widespread warnings that the selection may well prove only an embarrassment for the Obama administration. How is it possible to proclaim a “commander-in-chief” who is responsible for war crimes, such as bombing the civilian population of Afghanistan—one such attack having claimed the lives of over 100 men, women and children just last May—as the champion of peace?
Audacity In Norway
By Kim Petersen
Obama is a man who has yet to shut down a global gulag, who has yet to end the warring in Iraq, who has yet to oversee the return of the elected president of Haiti (deposed by US, Canadian, and French forces), who stands unflinching on the coup d’etat in Honduras, who runs cover for Israeli massacres of Palestinians and Israeli violations of the Geneva Conventions (i.e., supporting war crimes), who seeks to proliferate military bases in Columbia, who has ramped up the killing in Afghanistan, and who has overseen the spillover of war into Pakistan. Is this the criteria that is deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize?
Four Degrees Of Devastation
By Stephen Leahy
The prospect of a four-degree Celsius rise in global average temperatures in 50 years is alarming - but not alarmist, climate scientists now believe
Can Children Save The World’s Children?
By Dr Gideon Polya
About 0.5 million infants die avoidably each year in the US Occupied Territories, 9.5 million die world-wide annually under Obama and 60 million will die annually through climate genocide. In despair we ask can Children save the World’s children through school genocide and war crimes tribunals?
More Inhuman Stories From Gujarat
By Shabnam Hashmi
The latest in the series of inhuman treatment against muslims is the building of a road in the middle of a grave yard in Dahod with human remains still sticking out
U.S. ‘Personality Assassination’ Of
A Palestinian Ally
By Nicola Nasser
Palestinian consensus on condemnation has created a volatile environment of insecurity for Abbas. An ongoing personality assassination process has put his personal safety in jeopardy. In the behind the scenes intrigues of the Middle East politics, he might pay with his life for rubber – stamping U.S. advice, to be the second potential victim after late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for “putting all their eggs in U.S. basket.”
Remembering Balagopal:
A Fearless People’s Advocate
By Mahtab Alam
Prof. K. Balagopal, who was at the forefront of the human, civil and democratic rights’ movements throughout the country especially Andhra Pradesh for over a quarter of a century left this world on 8th October late night following a heart attack. He was selfless intellectual, tireless human rights’ defender, fearless People’s advocate and a great human being
Is it A Crime To Be Born A Muslim In India?
By Ram Puniyani
The worsening plight of Muslim community got reconfirmed in the recently held national meet on ‘What it means to be a Muslim in India Today’, organized by Anhad in Delhi. Many a victim deposing in the meeting said with pain and anguish, “Is it a crime to be born a Muslim in India?”
09 October, 2009
Era of Cheap, Easy Oil Is Over
By Louise Gray
The world could start to run out of oil in the next ten years, sparking soaring energy prices and a rush for even more polluting fossil fuels, an influential new study by the UK Energy Research Council has warned
G8 States Could Face Class Actions
On Climate Change
By Frank MacDonald
The US and other G8 countries could face class actions on behalf of people in the developing world if they fail to take convincing steps to cut the emissions blamed for causing climate change, a Filipino environmental lawyer has warned
Climate Change: Hollow Rhetoric
By Marianne de Nazareth
At Bangkok one sees that the youth have decided to be more forceful in pushing for a deal which is more transparent and equitable. A declaration of “No Confidence in the Road to Copenhagen” was announced today by the International Youth Delegation attending the UN climate change talks
Legal Case Filed Against 4 U.S. Presidents
And 4 UK Prime Ministers
By The Brussels Tribunal
A legal case was filed at the Audiencia Nacional against four United States presidents and four United Kingdom prime ministers for commissioning, condoning and/or perpetuating multiple war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Iraq
Deconstructing The Israeli Narrative
By Dan Lieberman
Israel has revealed its nature; a nation built on actions normally termed war crimes by world institutions; a nation that does not follow international law; and a nation that does not heed United Nations Resolutions. Distracting and deceiving the world community with contrived and fallacious narratives permits Israel to continue its illegal maneuvers. Setting the record straight will straighten the road to Middle East peace
Sweatshop Conditions In US Cities
By Stephen Lendman
A new low-wage industry study by the Center for Urban Economic Development, the National Employment Law Project, and the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment exposes the dark side of workforce exploitation in America's three largest cities - New York, Los Angeles and Chicago
ACORN: Flesh-Eating Machine
Or Left–Wing Conspiracy?
By Billy Wharton
Book Review: The People Shall Rule: ACORN, Community Organizing, and the Struggle for Economic Justice by Robert Fisher
Can We Win In Afghanistan And
Would It Be Worth The Price?
By Timothy V. Gatto
General McCrystal believes that the Taliban can be defeated but at what cost? We have yet to see a plan that will accomplish this. The situation in that mountainous land where the Taliban appear, kill a few soldiers and damage military equipment and then disappear is shockingly reminiscent of the situation in Vietnam
Why Human Rights Groups Targeted?
By Gladson Dungdung
The Union Home Minister P.Chidambaram even threatened to the Human Rights Groups by saying that the Human Rights Groups have to choose, which side they are. He also questioned, "Why are human rights groups silent now when Naxals attack innocents?" However, he said, “Human rights groups need to speak more strongly against the Naxals.”
08 October, 2009
De-Dollarisation: A Financial Revolution
In The Making
By Robert Fisk
The plan to de-dollarise the oil market, discussed both in public and in secret for at least two years and widely denied yesterday by the usual suspects – Saudi Arabia being, as expected, the first among them – reflects a growing resentment in the Middle East, Europe and in China at America's decades-long political as well as economic world dominance
Climate Change: A Lack Of Urgency In Bangkok?
By Marianne de Nazareth
How much more death and devastation does the world need to sit up and realise that the catastrophic effects of Climate Change are already upon us? There has been heavy flooding in several states in India, typhoons devastating the Philippines, Vietnam and parts of Thailand. Asia seems to be bearing the brunt of climate change. And yet, here in the Bangkok negotiations, the developing nation representatives complain, that there is a lack of urgency in the stance of the developed nations, in coming to a quick and amicable solution
After Goldstone, Hamas Faces Fateful Choice
By Ali Abunimah
The uproar over the Palestinian Authority's (PA) collaboration with Israel to bury the Goldstone report, calling for trials of Israeli leaders for war crimes in Gaza, is a political earthquake. The whole political order in place since the 1993 Oslo accords were signed is crumbling. As the initial tremors begin to fade, the same old political structures may appear still to be in place, but they are hollowed out. This unprecedented crisis threatens to topple the US-backed PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, but it also leaves Hamas, the main Palestinian resistance faction, struggling with fateful choices
A Poverty Of Leadership
By Osamah Khalil
Whether or not the clumsy attempt to shelve the Goldstone report on last winter's Gaza attacks is the tipping point for Mahmoud Abbas's rule, the succession process has been underway for several years. However, it is being coordinated by the US and Israel and is no reflection of the wishes and desires of the Palestinian people. Abbas's likely successor is Salam Fayyad, who somehow manages to be an even more uninspiring and unpopular character
Israel Mulls Banning Islamic Movement
By Jonathan Cook
The Israeli government announced yesterday it would consider banning Israel’s Islamic Movement at the next cabinet meeting, in a significant escalation of tensions that have fuelled a fortnight of bloody clashes in Jerusalem over access to the Haram al Sharif compound of mosques
Obama’s Test: Democracy Or
Chaos In Latin America
By Ramzy Baroud
Latin America stands at the threshold of a new era: one that promises a return to political uncertainty, violence and chaos or one of political stability and economic prosperity. Honduras is a crucial indicator
Send More Troops, To Partition Afghanistan
By Ramtanu Maitra
An endless war has only one possible outcome, which is the break-up of Afghanistan along ethnic lines
Caste And Land : Message From
Chengara And Khagaria
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Both the Bihar and Kerala experience shows how the governments which are in power have used particular ideological formulations to build their own political empire and how they manipulate people’s sentiments. Such stories are emerging from everywhere and they will always happen as long as the movements are not democratic and their leaders embedded with a particular formulation dictate their fancies to the people. The condition of both the Dalits and Adivasis remain a matter of concern in all these states whether they come to power in the name of social justice or Marxism
07 October, 2009
The Demise Of The Dollar
By Robert Fisk
In a graphic illustration of the new world order, Arab states have launched secret moves with China, Russia and France to stop using the US currency for oil trading
While We're Off Fighting Terror,
The Planet's Crumbling
By Richard Steiner
History has shown that human societies often misjudge risk, and that is the case today. With world attention focused almost exclusively on terrorism and Iraq, another, even more serious security threat deepens -- the global environmental/humanitarian crisis
Economic Democracy Demands
One World Balance
By Aetius Romulous
Nationalism in its most virulent form, and Americanism as its best and most potent example, must be solved to extend democracy to its logical, practicable end. Failing this, the international economic system must by necessity be broken back to the dark ages from which it was born, where it will then find balance with its rusted twin, 19th century democracy
The New Human Species: Homo Earth
By Mary Hamer
Homo Earth is a philosophical concept that Mayry Hamer developed to deal with her Anguish after having witnessed many severe acts of Cruelty committed by Homo Sapiens -- inflicted upon humans, animals & the Earth -- throughout her lifetime
Workers To Obama: No Recovery In Sight
By Shamus Cooke
After the recent unemployment numbers were announced, smug politicians promising economic recovery stuttered a bit. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Mainstream economists were predicting a smooth upswing in employment, but in September 263,000 more jobs were lost, 62,000 more than August
It’s Time We Got Over Barack Obama
By Case Wagenvoord
Here we are, shut out and shivering in a dark ally, hoping against hope that the fat cats partying inside might throw us a stale crust or a well-chewed hunk of gristle. But the door never opens and the cold continues to seep into our bones. So, what to do? Well maybe it’s time to think about a third party
Here We Go Again – Democrats Turning Off
Their Voting Base
By Kevin B. Zeese
When it comes to war, the Obama administration fails to learn the lessons of 2006 and 2008 as well as the health care debate
Tensions Mount Again At Al-Aqsa
By Jonathan Cook
Tension over control of the Haram al Sharif compound of mosques in Jerusalem’s Old City has reached a pitch unseen since clashes at the site sparked the second intifada nine years ago
How Israel Bought Off UN’s War Crimes Probe
By Jonathan Cook
Goldstone report's fate sealed by threats to Palestinian economy
The Gaza War's Effect On Women
By Stephen Lendman
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights' (PCHR) new report, titled "Through Women's Eyes," highlights "the Gender-Specific Impact and Consequences of Operation Cast Lead" and the ongoing siege, including 12 case study examples "through the victims' words."
RSS And Minorities
By Ram Puniyani
The new RSS Sarsanghchalak, Mr. Mohan Bhagawat told Minorities (Sept 20, 2009) that they should join RSS and see that ‘our intentions are clear and our behavior is good’. As per him all Muslims in India were Hindus in the past. They have only changed their way of worship, and if they accept this fact there will be no clashes. He told Christians that they should not convert people, as that creates communal violence
What Steps Has Indian Govt Taken To Enable
MF Husain To Return Home?
By Karan Thapar
The question I want to ask the Prime Minister and Mrs Gandhi is simple and direct: during the five years you’ve been in power what steps have you taken to enable Husain to return home with confidence?
05 October, 2009
Arctic Seas Turn To Acid
By Robin McKie
Carbon-dioxide emissions are turning the waters of the Arctic Ocean into acid at an unprecedented rate, scientists have discovered. Research carried out in the archipelago of Svalbard has shown in many regions around the north pole seawater is likely to reach corrosive levels within 10 years. The water will then start to dissolve the shells of mussels and other shellfish and cause major disruption to the food chain. By the end of the century, the entire Arctic Ocean will be corrosively acidic
Food Supply Hangs In The Balance
By Stephen Leahy
The current devastating drought in East Africa, where millions of people are on the brink of starvation, is a window on our future, suggests a new study looking at the impacts of climate change
India Warms Up To Copenhagen
By Neeta Lal
With the clock ticking away on the United Nations Framework for Climate Change Committee summit in Copenhagen in December, the fractiousness between the developed and the developing nations on who ought to do more to control climate change is getting increasingly strident
Your Money, Or Your Life
By Rosemarie Jackowski
Why did no one help Edith Rodriguez? What mistake did Edith make that caused this tragedy? Was this death-by-geography? If Edith had been almost anywhere else in the industrialized world, she probably would still be alive. She died because she was in the United States. Living in the US can be hazardous to your health. This is a nation that puts profits before patients; capitalism before compassion
Sacred Demise: A Review
By Keith Farnish
A stunning review of Carolyn Baker's book Sacred Demise
Capitulating Terms Of The $4.5 Billion
US Aid To Pakistan
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Major political parties of Pakistan have bitterly criticized the capitulating conditions attached to the $4.5 billion US aid to Pakistan under the Kerry-Lugar Bill passed by the Congress on September 4, 2009. Pakistan Muslim League, a leading political party led by a former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, described the conditionalities similar to the notorious Pakistan-specific Pressler’s amendment that was used as an arms twisting tool by the US administration
Who Is The Enemy In Afghanistan?
By Ramtanu Maitra
If Condoleezza Rice and her ilk feel deeply concerned that the security of the United States will be weakened by withdrawal of the U.S. troops from Afghanistan, they should stop issuing their false statements and go after the real “axis of evil”—the British Empire and those who serve it
Afghanistan's Doomed Occupation
By Mir Adnan Aziz
If President Obama accepts the prevalent War on Terror framework by pumping up the war in Afghanistan or shifting the cross-hairs to Pakistan; he may find himself a prisoner, like Lyndon Johnson, of a no-win situation. Prudence, ground realities and his promised change call for a total re-focus of American policies instead of escalating an inherited doomed war
Doing The Right Thing In Sri Lanka
By Rohini Hensman
Freedom for Vanni Internally Displaced Persons
Iran’s Nuclear Theater Meant To Divert Attention
By Ramzy Baroud
One can only hope that the international community reject all attempts to be blinded by Netanyahu’s fear mongering, and insist on a stern and decisive investigation into the alleged war crimes in Gaza, as presented in the Goldstone report so that the real culprits, not the imagined ones in Tehran, pay for their heinous crimes against the defenseless people of the Strip
Obama Should Back Goldstone Report
By George Bisharat
President Obama can solidify broader global respect by supporting the recommendations of the just-released Goldstone report in the United Nations Human Rights Council. Richard Goldstone, an eminent South African jurist, led a mission to investigate allegations of war crimes in Gaza last winter
History, Papal Style
By Case Wagenvoord
Pope Benedict ended his visit to the Czech Republic by pointing to the collapse of the Soviet Union as an example of the fate that awaits those who choose power over God. It seems the pope has sunk his teeth into a half truth. Power is problematic, but you don’t have to deny God to pursue it. With or without God, the consequences can be devastating. His own church is a shining example of this
Ineffectiveness And Dangers Of Flu Shots
By Stephen Lendman
Any Swine Flu shot as, in single or multiple doses, they're all extremely toxic, dangerous, and must be avoided to protect human health from the pathogenic onslaught vaccines are designed to unleash
Reading The Riot Act
By Neerja Dasani
A critique on the coverage of communal riots in Indian mainstream English media
Who Killed Savita (11), Kavita Motiram (13), Rita (11) and Saraswati (9)
By Subhash Gatade
Caste Discrimination in Ashram Schools
