The father of modern public relations and spin, Edward Bernays was a cold, cynical manipulator of mass perception. He knew that by shaping people’s desires in a certain way, governments and corporations could sell just about any notion to the masses and manipulate them at will. Whether it was whipping up fear about the bogeyman of communism or selling the[Read More…]
Reading many of today’s energy articles, it is easy to get the impression that our energy problem is a quality problem—some energy is polluting; other energy is hoped to be less polluting. There is a different issue that we are not being told about. It is the fact that having enough energy is terribly important, as well. Total world energy consumption has risen quickly[Read More…]
Transcript of PressTV Skype Interview of 29 May 2019 Background WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) – The United States said on Tuesday that it will continue pursuing action on trade with China, days after Washington and Beijing announced a tentative solution to their dispute and suggested that tensions had cooled. By June 15, Washington will release a list of some $50[Read More…]
Elections seldom act as a true mirror – a century ago we heard about soldiers ‘voting with their feet’ in favour of demobilisation and Bolsheviks getting only about a quarter of popular votes in the constituent assembly election weeks after the Bolshevik revolution. But election results can show some trends within the society and it will not be prudent to keep eyes[Read More…]
In Pakistan, it is rare of rarest happenings when a spy chief in the office or out of office is publicly summoned to GHQ the headquarters of Pakistan Army, Rawalpindi to explain his conduct. A host of army generals in the country created by Jinnah ‘through his indomitable will’ from General Mohammad Asghar Khan, ‘Generals in Pakistan Politics (1958- 1982)[Read More…]
(Linking cessation of military operations against militants with the holy month of Ramadan amounts to communalizing the move which should normally have no connection with religion) The Central Government recently announced the cessation of cordon and search operations by the Army during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to give peace a chance. The announcement was made on the request[Read More…]
Kashmiri Dictionary defines the word “Khokh” as “an effigy used to scare away birds from fields of crop”. Its English equivalent is “scarecrow” which is used by peasants during harvest season in their farmlands to keep away the pesky birds from damaging the crop. That said, we know that this word was used by Kashmiri parents, usually mothers, till very[Read More…]
Ever since the beginning of the conflict Kashmir has witnessed a remarkably high incidence of violence in general and the rape of Kashmiri women by security forces in particular. Rape is used as a means of targeting women whom the security forces accuse of being militant sympathisers; in raping them, the security forces are attempting to punish and humiliate the[Read More…]
Naval Kishor Kumar, Hindi Editor of Forward Press, has received death threats from the supporters of Brahmeshwar Mukhiya. Over the last 24 hours, he has received numerous phone calls issuing death threats to him and rape threats against his family members living in Bihar. The miscreants, who are believed to be part of the Ranvir Sena, have even posted threatening[Read More…]
On February 20, 2018, I embarked on a global book tour that has, thus far, taken me to eight nations. The main theme of all my talks in various cultural, academic and media platforms was the pressing need to refocus the discussion on Palestine on the struggle, aspirations and history of the Palestinian people. But, interacting with hundreds of people[Read More…]
The modern university is a tertiary colonising institution. Like the old mercantilist bodies – the Dutch East India Company and its equivalents – the educational world is there to be acquired by bureaucrats, teachers and, it is hoped, suitable recruits. To that end, a good degree of amorality is required. Scruples are best left to others, and most certainly not[Read More…]
I am not the only one who strongly admires and respects the Sikhs. My Governor Charlie Baker, the most popular one in the USA for all fifty states, does so, too. He will always support them on account since they are wonderful in many regards. Why? In part, it is because that he supports ethnic and religious diversity. He[Read More…]
Two dalits were killed in Tamil Nadu’s Kachanatham village near Manamadurai on Monday night in Sivaganga district for not respecting a uuper caste Hindu. It is alleged that during a temple festival at Kachanatham on May 25 when Dalits denied temple honours to a caste Hindu family. On the next day, Chandrakumar (45), a caste Hindu, objected to Shanmuganathan and[Read More…]
Upon returning to the United States from Venezuela and reading the terrible media reporting of the election, it was evident that the people of the United States are being lied to. The Intrepid News Fund and Venezuela Analysis invited me and others to come to Venezuela for the election to see first hand what actually happened so we could report[Read More…]
India, a complex, beautiful and enchanting land, a melting pot of innumerable cultures, religions, ethnicities and traditions. India, a society deeply rooted in tolerance, compassion and forbearance. India, a land where the legends of Akbar’s justice, Shahjahan’s love, Prithvi Raj’s valor, Chanakya’s wisdom, live in every household. India, a land which gave birth to the concept of ahinsa, a land[Read More…]
Pakistan’s former spy chief, General Asad Durrani, is facing flak. His former colleagues in the army are fuming for his latest endeavour – writing a book in collaboration with Amar Singh Dulat, former head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the premier Indian intelligence agency. General Asif Ghafoor, head of the ISPR, Pakistan military’s public information arm, summoning Durrani[Read More…]
An 11-year-old girl from South Carolina shot herself to death because she was being bullied at school… A 12-year-old boy jumped from an overpass above Interstate 66 in northern Virginia and landed on a car…A 17-year-old IIT aspirant jumped to death as she was disappointed with her scores in IIT-JEE Mains Headlines, headlines everywhere…umpteen and quotidian suicides among our youth[Read More…]
Early in 1968, Clyde Tolson, F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover’s deputy and bosom buddy, a key player in the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., expressed both the hope and intent of those making sure that there would never be another president by the name Kennedy, when he said about RFK that “I hope someone shoots and kills the[Read More…]
The current Government came to power with the slogans of ‘Ache Din’ and ‘Sabka saath, Sabka vikas’ in which promises of better days and an inclusive model of development was promised. Lot of public relations exercises through advertisements, interviews in government favouring news channels tried to project its ‘development’ orientation. In reality, the travel made thus far shows a different[Read More…]
After Raigad, Jaitapur (Maharashtra), Kalinganagar, Niyamgiri, Gandhamardhan, Dhinkia and Khandadhar (Odisha), Nandigram, Singur (West Bengal), Dandakaranya, Raipur (Chhatishgarh), Jharkhand’s Saranda, MP’s Singrouli, Kovvada, Sompeta (Andhra Pradesh) and Koodankulam and Neduvasal (Tamil Nadu), the recent unfortunate events at the copper smelter plant of Sterlite Industries at Tuticorin bring out the basic issue back to the table. Can the state agencies and[Read More…]
The latest Israeli Gaza Massacre in which Apartheid Israeli soldiers shot and killed 116 unarmed Palestinian protesters and wounded 13,000, has divided the world into 2 camps, (1) the Good,those who have variously reacted with horror, condemnation and demands for action against the Israeli perpetrators, and (2) the Bad, those whose responses have been to support the perpetrators or have[Read More…]
Fathi Harb should have had something to live for, not least the imminent arrival of a new baby. But last week the 21-year-old extinguished his life in an inferno of flames in central Gaza. It is believed to be the first example of a public act of self-immolation in the enclave. Harb doused himself in petrol and set himself alight[Read More…]
The Palestinian peoples historic Great March of Return has begun in Gaza in the face of horrendous Israeli military violence and the massive moral, logistical, corporate financial aid and support provided by Israel’s allied countries, whose worldwide corporate press progaganda continues to wage its own assault against the Palestinians. The corporate media network, always intensely adept and subtly clever, has[Read More…]
The Sri Lankan State runs on Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism, the Maha Sanga and the Buddhist Clergy. The Sri Lankan State has to obtain the blessings of these people to enact any laws regarding devolution of powers to the Tamils in the North and East of Sri Lanka and the participation of foreign judges to investigate the war crimes committed by[Read More…]
In a recent article titled ‘Challenges for Resolving Complex Conflicts’, I pointed out that existing conflict theory pays little attention to the extinction-causing conflict being ongoingly generated by human over-consumption in the finite planetary biosphere (and, among other outcomes, currently resulting in 200 species extinctions daily). I also mentioned that this conflict is sometimes inadequately identified as a conflict caused[Read More…]
Swami Vivekananda Kerala a ‘lunatic asylum’ 125 years ago because of its stringent caste system. It seems it holds true in more than one sense after the ‘honour killing’ of a young dalit bridegroom, Kevin P. Joseph, in Kottayam. Kevin and Neenu, a second year B.Com student had got married at a civil marriage ceremony on May 24. Neenu’s family[Read More…]
I am from New York City, and what that means is that I know a good pastrami sandwich when I see, or more properly, taste one. For those of you who do not know what pastrami is, let me give you a quick course in Jewish cuisine.According to David Sax, author of “Save the Deli,” pastrami is not actually a[Read More…]
Text and Photos: Andre Vltchek When the Saudi Crown Prince gave an interview to the Washington Post, declaring that it was actually the West that encouraged his country to spread Wahhabism to all corners of the world, there was a long silence in almost all the mass media outlets in the West, but also in countries such as Egypt and[Read More…]
The world’s investment leader, Warren Buffett, once said, “It’s only when the tide goes out that you realise who has been swimming naked”. When the banking system hit the rocks and the tide turned, the naked were caught disrobed. Similarly, sometimes it takes a pitch-black economy to reveal who and what in the financial firmament really shines. It is only[Read More…]
It was the sort of party you would be reluctant to turn up to, and its cancellation would have caused a sigh of relief. But when the US president replicates the feigned hurt of a guest who has been impugned, the puzzlement deepens. A mix of crankiness and promise, Trump’s letter announcing the cancellation of the Singapore meeting with North[Read More…]
If they could speak from their graves, GIs who died shamefully killing, maiming and destroying within innocent populations would appeal to Majority Humanity in the ever targeted for plunder 3rd World to effect the same level of solidarity that the racist neocolonial investment banker driven imperialists of the 1st World of mostly Caucasian population display, and bring their five centuries[Read More…]
A week ago on May 18, 10 students were killed and 13 wounded at Santa Fe High school just south of Houston, within its metropolitan area. The shooter was a student who, as can now be expected, had been bullied. While definitions of a mass shooting may vary, the Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2012 labels it as[Read More…]
“To think that we can understand Islam through current headlines and the conflicting opinions of political pundits is sheer illusion. But the misrepresentations embedded in many scholarly tomes from prestigious institutions create even more problems.” — Richard Martin Oxman Some citizens in Europe and the United States have engaged in ugly debates about whether or not they ought to welcome[Read More…]
Something good has begun Oh, I’ve been smiling lately — Cat Stevens There is environmental degradation under Trump, for sure. However, it would be a major mistake to think that things were better under previous administrations on that score. Matters were sufficiently horrible under ALL administrations (through Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump) to demand the most severe condemnation. And NEW EFFECTIVE ACTION — designed[Read More…]
By Eulalia Reyes de Whitney & Federico Fuentes More than 300 international representatives from organisations such as the African Union, the Caribbean Community and the Electoral Experts Council of Latin America, as well as former heads of states, parliamentarians, trade unionists and solidarity activists, were present for Venezuela’s May 20 presidential vote. Among them was Eulalia Reyes de Whitney, a Venezuelan-born activist with the Australia Venezuela[Read More…]
Holding on to the assumptions and apprehensions tightly may deny us, many a times, the opportunity to assess the concerns and constructive possibilities that lie ahead. This specially holds relevance in many domains of economic policy making in a development paradigm which require us to construct multidimensional, holistic approaches that not only go beyond the obvious but takes into account[Read More…]
South Asian activists came together to protest against the killings of 12 demonstrators by the Tamil Nadu police at Holland Park in Surrey on Saturday evening, May 26. Organized by Radical Desi, the rally started with a moment of silence for the demonstrators killed by the police in Thoothukudi, and also for nearly 60 Palestinian protesters killed by the Israeli[Read More…]
Little rabbits, little rabbits, come to me and hear this story. I can tell it to you because I am the oldest rabbit of all the island and I have heard it by rabbits older than me, who heard it from rabbits older than them. And so, this is the story of the island where we live, that we call[Read More…]
“But my favourite colour is pink Mamma”, he said with pleading eyes for the umpteenth time. “I know, but blue is such a lovely colour. And grey, black, green are also so nice”, she tried persuading him. “No, I like pink and purple. I want to buy those pink shoes”, he persisted. “Pink is a very girlie colour, you know.[Read More…]
In what could be a bombshell in Indian journalism Cobrapost, an investigative news portal on Friday May 25 posted ‘sting’ videos to show executives of media houses discussing lucrative offers to promote communal content and criticise Opposition leaders In more than 30 videos posted Cobrapost showed virtually all major media outlets falling over each other to accept lucrative offers to[Read More…]
The science behind climate change is well known: an overabundance of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, raising the average global temperature and causing widespread melting of glaciers and ice shelves that could raise sea level by one meter (a conservative estimate) to three meters (likely by the end of this century if we continue business as usual). The lack[Read More…]
“Can you think of any problem in any area of human endeavor on any scale, from microscopic to global, whose long-term solution is in any demonstrable way aided, assisted, or advanced by further increases in population, locally, nationally, or globally?” – Al Bartlett Al Bartlett is no longer with us but his wisdom persists. This quotation comes at a[Read More…]
The Finance minister , Shri Arun Jaitley underwent a kidney transplant operation successfully recently, following in the footsteps of Mrs. Sushma Swaraj, the External Affairs Minister in 2016. Even as he recovers from the surgery, the transplant has brought into focus, the lives of lakhs of people living in the shadows – those who are waiting, often for years for[Read More…]
Recently a video is making round on social media where a Sikh police officer saved a Muslim boy from the violent mob in Uttarakhand. In the video, the officer Gangandeep Singh made an entry like a bollywood hero and saved the Muslim guy, who was allegedly found with the Hindu girl in a temple. The video shows the Muslim boy[Read More…]
Co-Written by Ankit Jha & Anand Lakhan On the morning of May 23rd 2018 more than 110 houses were demolished at Bhuri Tekri in Indore by Indore Municipal Corporation. Houses were demolished for the rehabilitation of people under the in-situ slum redevelopment component of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U). Most of the residents belong to Dalit community. In an earlier[Read More…]
It is late spring in Moscow, and the day is exquisite. I sit on my balcony and drink my coffee and watch a mischievous breeze run through the trees. It brushes against them, makes them bob and sway like off balance dancers. When it scuttles away, the branches slide back into the sun, hold still, and the space we share[Read More…]
New Delhi: Buying illegal items has never been easier. With a click of a mouse, one can purchase almost any illegal commodity and get it delivered to any location worldwide. Be it an automatic pistol, or drugs from western countries, the mysterious world of Dark Web has it all. One can browse through the dark web marketplaces like People’s Drugs[Read More…]
I would like to tell you something about human depravity and illustrate just how widespread it is among those we often regard as ‘responsible’. I am going to use the Democratic Republic of the Congo as my eample. As I illustrate and explain what has happened to the Congo and its people during the past 500 years, I invite you[Read More…]
We have little time to save our children. Life is facing extinction within the near future. In the last session we all stated our major concerns and what needs to be prioritised to improve our lives. We were given statistics that showed there’s both improvement on many vital measures and some worries. So it looks as if we are managing.[Read More…]
In those seemingly interminable refugee debates being held in various countries, cruelty is pure theatre. It is directed, stage managed, the victims treated as mere marionettes in a play of putrid public policy and indifferent public officials. Barriers have been set; barbed wire has been put in place. Open zones such as the European Union are being internally bordered up,[Read More…]
This cartoon depicts the poor mouse (Trump) in a trap and the question (by China) for him to rate his dining experience. Trapped, the US will be in no position to rate the experience. The cheese represents the Chinese bait, not necessarily N. Korea. This article is not about the cancelled Trump-Kim summit. It’s about oil and US dollar domination.[Read More…]
“The world is charged with the grandeur of God.” — Gerard Manley Hopkins Everyone… everyone seemed to be “bleared, smeared with toil.” I made an attempt to interact at the dinner table, and I chose to bring up an amazing set of facts that I had come across earlier in the day; I vowed to be smart and stay away[Read More…]
“There is a cross to bear when you go out there far enough, departing severely from what’s permissible, like what Paul Robeson did.” — Richard Martin Oxman The Vets Administration disability backlog of veterans awaiting care had topped 800,000. The cases of sexual assault within the U.S. military which go unpunished hovers around 20,000 these days. The suicides among vets[Read More…]
The mystery of the police firing in Tuticorin (Thoothukudi) has deepened with the emergence of a video in which snipers are seen shooting from atop a vehiccle at the crowd. 12 protesters died in the shooting on Tuesday ,May 22, 2018. They were on a protest march demanding the closure of Sterlite Copper, a Vedanta group copper smelter unit in[Read More…]
India has produced great young persons who dared to lay their lives fighting for freedom from British. Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and others are well known. But there were many others who are not remembered by many people to-day. One such young martyr is Kartar Singh who inspired Bhagat Singh in his struggle against colonialism. Life sketch Kartar Singh Sarabha ([Read More…]
The US President Donald Trump has done it again. He has withdrawn from his commitment to a planned summit with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on 12 June. Trump announced this amid reports of North Korea dismantling its nuclear facility in Punggye-ri on Thursday. Trump stated that he had come to this decision following “hostile” statements from[Read More…]
Kiran Nagarkar, well-known novelist, floated the idea during his recent interaction with activists that some kind of a rasta roko agitation could be held to check the growing congestion caused by cars, to assert people’s right to the road and to help increase the speed of BEST buses. The car lobby , the traffic police and the whole establishment will[Read More…]
The mother of one of the dozen third graders I was teaching last year in a home school setting crossed paths with me the other day. She reminded me of how the parents of my young charges had requested that I address gun violence with their children after the San Bernadino Elementary School Shooting came down. I had questioned whether or not[Read More…]
It has fuelled enough speculation to fill libraries and populate databases at catchy speed. The disappearance of MH370 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, one of two Malaysian Airlines flights to perish that year, continues to torment relatives and tantalise the diviners of mystery. Ocean Infinity, the Houston-based company retained by the Malaysian government to[Read More…]
When you listen to Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo’s 12-Point wish list, what he calls Plan B to confront Iran – one can but wonder, has this man, or for that matter the entire Trump Administration, truly departed from the realm of common sense? – This is, of course, a question many of us have been asking for quite a[Read More…]
One of my friends right now is in Bangladesh. He’s in the middle of having a shock to his soul or his sensibilities (if one doesn’t believe in a soul) due to having been invited to write an assessment for “ROHINGYA: Bangladesh Mission Report.” Yes, it is hard to bear witness. It is hard to endure suffering and loss on[Read More…]
With the resignation of the BJP’s BS Yeddyurappa as Chief Minister just before a trust vote Karnataka’s political cliffhanger might have ended, at least for time being, but the power and role of Governor in the formation of a government in the eventof a fractured verdict willcontinue to be debated for some time to come. The validity of the[Read More…]
(Going by International Civil Aviation Standards, the Civil Airport at Srinagar does not, in reality, function as an International Airport) For a change, let us see how the airport is described in the famous online encyclopedia, Wikepedia. It says, “Sheikh-ul-Alam International Airport (IATA: SXR, ICAO: VISR) also known as Srinagar Airport is an international airport that serves Srinagar, the summer capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is[Read More…]
Now – a- days, the news of rapes and other forms of atrocities have become daily routine. While the number of crimes is rising, number of arrests, let alone convictions, is not increasing. Women and girls are losing confidence in the system. They are being abused in public by male with impunity. If one goes by the ruling of Chattisgarh[Read More…]
Dear Asifa, I have lost count of the endless letters I have written in my mind’s note pad to you since last month. There were so many moments when thoughts about you, the special life you led in the short time you lived and the memories shared by your parents and friends made me want to talk to you. But[Read More…]
there’s crazy music that rains down every nook and corner of the universe there’s crazy music that shoots up along arteries on both sides of the skull it is like vines of dark time it is like the darkest flames from the darkest chambers did the newspapers not tell you this? soon, it will be numbers – 9, 11, whatever[Read More…]
Today on May 23, 2018 fresh violence was unleashed on the family of those who were killed in the police atrocities yesterday in Tuticorin. They had gathered in the Tuticorin government hospital and opposed the attempt by the government to cover-up the cold blooded murder by conducting autopsy without any witness. The police took control of the hospitals and autopsy[Read More…]
There is something in the white trunked birches of Russia that dumbs my mind and irritates my flesh. Every May, their leaves, still small and weak from just being born into the world, provoke me to exhaustion and the coughing and sneezing begins. This 11th spring of my Moscow years, is the worst, and the congestion becomes a bronchitis which[Read More…]
This reflective piece is the second within a week. It comes out of anguish and a search for political relevance in times such as this. It also comes as a response to queries from friends overseas. Theatre of the Absurd: The 19th of May 2018 was the culmination of a Theatre of the Absurdin Karnataka, performed at the VidhanaSoudha in[Read More…]
Protests against the proposed expansion of Sterlite copper smelting plant, a subsidiary of Vedanta has been happening for the past 100 days in Tuticorin. The people in the surrounding locality have been protesting against the plant’s operations after severe land, water and air pollution caused by the operations of the plant as well as numerous regulation violations by the plant.[Read More…]
60 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on May 15, simply for protesting and demanding their Right of Return as guaranteed by international law. 50 more were killed since March 30, the start of the ‘Great March of Return’, which marks Land Day. Nearly 10,000 have been wounded and maimed in between these two dates. ‘Israel has the right to defend[Read More…]
This week Nazi Shithole Trump called immigrants subhuman “animals”: “We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in…. You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. These aren’t people. These are animals.” Leave aside Trump’s hollow excuse that he was talking about gangs. He was talking about people—immigrants, in many cases driven here by what the U.S.[Read More…]
I have some religiously oriented and nonreligious friends who are absolutely willing to lay their lives on the line for others. In relation, the religiously oriented ones think that they may go up with God after death and thereby find continuance of themselves or think that there is reincarnation, which is somewhat the same orientation (a continuation of consciousness of[Read More…]
In the latest survey by Swiss television 59% of the citizens surveyed will vote yes to a reform of the money system in Switzerland. The Full Reserve Money referendum scheduled for Sunday June 10th 2018 will ask Swiss citizens to vote on a proposed change to the Swiss constitution to require the federal government to supply the national economy[Read More…]
Dedicated to the incomparable Sylvie… who introduced me to Rose Dunn and Poco’s song about the fifteen-year-old last night “You’re the one they’d turn to, the only one they knew who’d do All her best to be around when the chips were down” — from Rose of Cimmaron “Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses? Come down from your[Read More…]
In a recent case at Uttarakhand High Court at the end of April 2018 a person accused under the Indian Penal Code of cheating, of being party to a criminal conspiracy, of wrongfully confining a person, of receiving and detaining against his will a person as a slave, and also of rendering his services for purposes of transplantation and[Read More…]
No other right has been so dear to humans as the right to freedom. Freedom has been the bedrock of whole humanity. Then clearly stated the history of all human societies has been the history of struggle for freedom. The very creation of the humans has been justified by the free will granted to them. So it is freedom that[Read More…]
What happened in Tuticorin is nothing but protecting the corporate mafias in close connivance of the state power. Let us not forget how Vedanta attempted to destroy Odisha and its great Adivasi heritage. If you see how the police and the political establishment tackled this issue, then you must remember that these things are going to happen. The police and[Read More…]
Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisation (CDRO) condemns strongly the cold blooded masscre of 11 and injuring more than 30 peaceful protesters against the Sterlite Smelter plant of Tuticorin, Tamil nadu. They have been protesting against the project for past several years over the pollution caused by the plant. The plant had earlier been ordered to be closed[Read More…]
Nine people were killed as police opened fire on protesters who were protesting, demanding closure of a copper smelting plant in Tamil Nadu’s port city of Tuticorin. The protesters were leading a procession towards the collectorate defying prohibitory orders. Angela Ferrao is a cartoonist
Nine people were killed as police opened fire on protesters who were protesting, demanding closure of a copper smelting plant in Tamil Nadu’s port city of Tuticorin. The protesters were leading a procession towards the collectorate defying prohibitory orders. About 20,000 people gathered at the protest site today and stormed the district collector’s office. Thousands of local residents have been[Read More…]
“Two plus two is five – if the party says so” (George Orwell). Should anyone record the history of the 20th and 21st centuries, they may report that, while temperatures and sea levels were rising, the human sense of reality has been clouded by electronic system, including television, the internetand smart phones, by science fiction, virtual realities, public circuses,[Read More…]
On May 10, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia informed the UN Security Council and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres that Saudi Air Defenses intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles launched from inside Yemeni territory targeting densely populated civilian areas in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. No one was killed, but an earlier attack, on March 26, 2018, killed one Egyptian worker[Read More…]
Pro-Apartheid Trump America and US lackey Australia merit international Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) as the only countries to vote against the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution to formally investigate the latest Israeli Gaza Massacres in which Apartheid Israeli soldiers have shot 116 unarmed Palestinian protestors and injured about 13,000. No Israeli soldiers have been killed or wounded and no[Read More…]
As is the nature of his creepy totality, President Donald Trump has a habit of suffusing the obituaries of the famous and pampered. Tom Wolfe, it is said by such figures as Maggie Haberman in The New York Times, conceived of Trump as a formidable figure before Trump himself came to prominence. The point is somewhat inaccurate: when The Bonfire[Read More…]
Not a month goes by without Canada demonstrating in many ways that it is a strong supporter of the neoliberal imperial agenda of the – take your choice – one percenters, military-industrial-financial complex, the deep state. Since the last report, many things have lined up with U.S. desires for global hegemony Russia First off was another politically oriented attack against[Read More…]
While the specifics of human character structure vary across time and from place to place, there are certain human characteristics which seem to arise out of primordial human needs and/or instincts. One of these characteristics is our propensity to conceive and tell stories. By stories I make no distinction between folk tales, legends, myths or religious fantasies. From my perspective,[Read More…]
“Untrained people who pretend to be a physician and dispense medical advice and treatment that doesn’t work or is harmful have their counterparts in the realms of government and activism.” — Richard Martin Oxman After reading her heartbreaking essay on water in Detroit, I wanted to connect with Valerie Burris, but… once again direct contact info wasn’t made available by an[Read More…]
New Transnational Unionism: Review of ‘Choke Points’ eds. Alimahomed-Wilson & Ness (2018) Introduction At a time when rightwing nationalism appears increasingly to be the only voice for the embattled union movement in the global north. At a time when there is a widespread misconception of union obsolescence given the historic ebb in working class organization. At a time when the[Read More…]
“Witch-hunting is a modern phenomenon with ancient roots. We are perhaps familiar of people being branded as witches in medieval times when certain people were labelled as ‘witches’ and executed across Europe, Africa and Asia. The victims included Joan of Arc, who was burnt alive at the stake, at the age of 19 for heresy, on 30 May 1431.” But[Read More…]
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. -Eleanor Roosevelt The world is witnessing a new breed of women leaders and game-changers who are gate crashing and boldly scaling new heights even as they are pairing their ingenuity and knowledge with passion for bringing lasting solutions to most pressing social challenges and creating a sustainable and[Read More…]
The Congress is the mother of all communal politics in India starting and supporting from the very Khilafat Movement, origin of RSS, further division of India and actively involved within all communal riots against Muslims after independence without putting perpetrators to Justice by their Government of the day but unfortunately, the Congress top leadership (Shrimati Sonia Gandhi) has announced recently[Read More…]
UDALGURI,Assam ,May 21: The Adivasi community of state whose fate remains locked decades after the Britshers left them in tea gardens of state are plagued with innumerous socio-economic hardships. In the ‘labour lines’ of tea gardens, in Udalguri of Assam merriment begins as soon as the sun goes down. There is not much by way of entertainment so ‘making merry’[Read More…]
Like every day, the narrow lane was filled with the loud laughter and giggles of the children running around that evening. Just like every other big society or play area, there were two groups among the children, those who played the rugged games… mostly boys and a rare girl or two and the girls gang with a rare boy. Yasha,[Read More…]
The recent announcement by New Delhi to halt its military operations in Kashmir that seek to kill nominally trained and armed militants and the youth that lead agitations during the military operations is a welcome move. After two years of relentless and wanton violence, mostly provoked by the illogical military response to a struggle that is primarily based on[Read More…]
It was yet another dark day for people living on the bloody line dividing Jammu and Kashmir. On Friday, fire-spewing mortar guns that have been thunderously roaring like man eaters for past seventy years devoured ten more human beingsand wounded dozens critically- perhaps disabled for life. Four civilians including a husband and wife and a Border Security Soldier where killed[Read More…]
One American and one Australian. Nikki Haley is the current US Ambassador to the UN. Julie Bishop is the current Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs. These two women have taken it upon themselves to not only support genocidal operations by Israel against unarmed Palestinian civil society but also to champion the cause of the Jewish State no matter what. I[Read More…]
The inevitable stop, start and stuttering of the Korean peace process was bound to manifest itself soon after the hugs, expansive smiles and sympathetic back rubs. Dates have been set – the Kim-Trump summit is slated to take place in Singapore on June 12, though there is much time for disruptive mischief to take place. One field of possible disruption[Read More…]
The not-so Hon Shamishta Chakrabarti Labour Party House of Lords UK Parliament Dear Shamishta Chakrabarti I met Mr Livingston on many occasions in London in The House of Commons and I voted for him as London Mayor. He also co-hosted a Saturday morning radio show on LBC 97.3 FM with Ex Tory Minister David Mellor. Needless to say that[Read More…]
Israel’s history demonstrates clearly that Israel is a perpetual warmongering terrorist state since its illegal inception. Through an elitist, supremacist, racist and genocidal path a majority of world Jewry had been brainwashed to adopt the terrorist Zionist ideology. This ideology had led Jewish terrorist groups to perpetrate hundreds of genocidal crimes against peaceful Palestinian villagers, totally wiping their towns off[Read More…]
Dima Al Samman, is a contemporary Jerusalemite Palestinian novelist. She was born and raised in ancient Jerusalem and earned her bachelor’s degree in linguistics from Birzeit University. She received a High Diploma in Television Direction and is currently the Director General of the Palestinian Ministry of Education.Writing about Jerusalem is not new to the Jerusalemite Dima who comes from a[Read More…]
Little Aami held tight to her mother’s hands as she rushed to get the bus that would take them to the city. From the excitement of the children of the Vacation camp her mother was coordinating she knew that they were going to witness some event that would be unusual.Aami was game for any fun as long as it was[Read More…]
ॐ Murderer of Democracy in India (MODI) नमोः नमः ॐ Manipulator of Democratic Institutions (MODI) नमोः नमः ॐ Mouthpiece of Derogatory Idiots (MODI) नमोः नमः ॐ Manager of Despotic Ideology (MODI) नमोः नमः ॐ Mover of Divisive Ideology (MODI) नमोः नमः ॐ Maniac of Disproportionate Irrationality (MODI) नमोः नमः ॐ Manu-smriti observer (for) Oppressive India (MODI) नमोः नमः ॐ Mahatma[Read More…]
I intend to help reduce gang violence in my new county — festooned with gang members of various stripes — and I’m praying that good folks already engaged in addressing the issue will be open to what I have to say here. All across the U.S. and throughout many countries, I trust that there are people paying attention to the variables I[Read More…]
Ramadan is the ninth month of Islamic calendar having greater significance over rest of months as fasting is observed by Muslims in this month, worldwide. Fasting is one among the five pillars of Islam and[Read More…]
UDALGURI,Assam,May 20: Though the Britishers left the nation, and India attained independence, one community whose fate remained locked and unchanged decades after decades, are the Adivasi community brought for working in tea gardens of Assam.They continue to remain under the grip of deprivation, humiliation and exploitation by the tea garden companies, their authority members and even the government.Besides numerous socio-political,[Read More…]
Prefatory: Notwithstanding that the printing press was invented in mid 15th century, the initial newspapers in the world started their publication in Germany, England & other European countries only in 17th & 18th centuries. During 20th century, radio & television were invented, & the journalists used them to disseminate information among public on matters related to society, politics, culture,[Read More…]
A Muslim man accused of killing a cow was beaten to death by a mob in central India, police said Sunday, the latest vigilante murder over the animal considered sacred by Hindus. Siraj Khan, a 45-year-old tailor, was attacked in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh state early Friday and died at the scene, local police official Arvind Tiwari told[Read More…]
The United States Senate has voted to overturn the FCC and restore net neutrality protections, the fate of that measure currently rests in the House of Representatives. While many will think that the uphill battle there makes it a lost cause, that is simply not true. Together, we have the power to win in the House of Representatives. Now that[Read More…]
Another school shooting by a 17-year-old White student at Santa Fe yesterday (18th May 2018), and another round of “prayer” by Republican Senator Ted Cruz, Republican Governor of Texas, and other important and not-so important Americans! They admired the courage of some students, teachers, policemen, and mourned the deaths of ten victims of the attack, which was 22nd of its[Read More…]
Good news: About fifteen percent of the planet’s landmass is designated as a protected area where threatened wildlife should be able to live free of disruption. Bad news: Humanity seems to have missed the memo. Over a third of the land officially designated as protected is facing “intensive human activity,” according to research published today in Science. That means that[Read More…]
Today further decline of democracy in India was prevented when Mr. Yeddyurappa the BJP CM in Karnataka resigned even not facing the trust vote due to lack of sufficient support. Mr. B S Yeddyurappa was administered oath of Chief Minister ship two days back when Governor invited him to form the government rejecting the claim of JD-S and Congress which[Read More…]
Carbon market mechanisms are well entrenched within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Trading of carbon emissions is permitted by the Kyoto Protocol, 1997, an agreement under the UNFCCC that requires specified rich industrializedcountries – those listed in Annex I of UNFCCC – to limit and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels. The Kyoto Protocol was to[Read More…]
“Nadine Gordimer once said that socially-conscious writers should write as if they were dead. For unless they did they’d never find the courage to tell the truth. Well, that’s only partly true today. One has to add that such a one must write as if all loved family members are dead too. For the powers that be now use shotguns.”[Read More…]
Three prominent technology scholars published an open letter Monday, which has now received over 900 signatures, condemning Google’s collaboration with the Pentagon’s illegal “targeted killing” program. The academics published their letter in support of over 3,100 Google employees who issued their own open letter last month protesting the company’s participation in a Pentagon program called Project Maven, designed to leverage[Read More…]
Europe now faces its ultimate ideological fork-in-the-road, which it has thus far ignored but can no longer ignore: They need to decide whether they seek a world of nations that each is sovereign over its own territory but over no other (and this would not be a world at war); or whether they seek instead a world in which[Read More…]
“Educators must not shrink from meaningfully dealing with the impact of electronic images or other cultural factors on literacy.” — one of the author’s home schooled teens, having just read Sanders’ A is for Ox. The kid (Eugene) can’t read well, and so the authorities getting a guy like me — experienced with literacy programs — to help the child[Read More…]
First of all, the British Airways is not in the league of airlines such as Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific. Many of its intercontinental planes are old and unkempt; monitors are onlybit bigger than a pack of cigarettes, and the selection of films thoroughly pathetic for a ‘global carrier’ – just a mainstream diet of Hollywood and British blockbusters. While[Read More…]
Dalits or the untouchables in India, as the Hindu social order placed them in the category of outcastes or people with no caste have taken up Buddhism, Islam and Christianity in the long course of their history and emerged into multi-religious community. Their conversions into other religions have not delinked their low social status. Perhaps, in other religions, the degree[Read More…]
Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar; it is a period of prayer, fasting, charity-giving and self–accountability for Muslims around the world. The first verses of the Quran were revealed to the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) during the last third of the month of Ramadan making this an especially holy period during the month.Ramadan is[Read More…]
Being in Rome, Italy and thinking of Gina Haspel, the CIA nominee and admitted torturer who says her “moral conscience” has changed after the fact, seems most fitting. Wherever you go in central Rome, you can hear the screams and smell the blood of those tortured and killed by the Roman Empire and those who ably followed in their stead. [Read More…]
We honor all those who risk their lives in serving their country. However we must condemn immoral and war criminal politicians who commit their countries to immoral and illegal wars. Mainstream journalist, politician and commentariat presstitutes ensure that the politicians get away with their criminal warmongering, jingoistic political exploitation of their servicemen both living and dead, and deadly betrayal of[Read More…]
On 14 of May 1948 – Israel declared unilaterally her independence in a foreign land, called Palestine, supported by a UN Resolution sponsored by the UK (the United Nations “Partition Plan of Palestine” at the end of the British Mandate (euphemism for British ‘colony’), was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 29 November 1947 as Resolution 181 II). 1948[Read More…]
The most important aspect of our policy must be our ever-present, manifest desire to institute complete equality for the Arab citizens living in our midst … The attitude we adopt toward the Arab minority will provide the real test of our moral standards as a people. … What saddens me is less the fact that the Jews are not smart[Read More…]
a) The fallacy of Early Cold War Transformation Policy Assumptions in the early 21st Century In May 2018, the Trump administration’s violation of the Iran nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, July 2014) has reawakened the debate about possible end-game scenarios and the degree to which Washington is prepared to unilateral policies in a highly integrated capitalist world and[Read More…]
There are few visually impaired persons working in prestigious offices. The appointment of blind or visually impaired to courts is rare. One such recent example is the 31 – year old Brahmananda Sharma who lost his vision when he was 22 ( Rajasthan – Meet the first visually impaired judge …disability.. Posted May16, 2018 kracktivist.org ). He hails from Bhilwara[Read More…]
Does Petro Poroshenko see the red line drawn 370 years ago in Westphalia and will the leaders of the democratic world remind him of it again? The President of Ukraine has declared his intention to unite several largest Ukrainian Orthodox confessions into one Church. Wow… Even the first sentence was too much for me. It’s hard for a modern[Read More…]
An American Babushka in Moscow: A Miracle in the State of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. – four socialists backed by the Democratic Socialists of America win primary seats. I am exhilarated today, not because it is a beautiful day in Moscow, nor because of anything Putin has done, but because of what has happened in the State of Pennsylvania. Not one, not[Read More…]
“People need to push the envelope with regard to the Pope’s encyclical while simultaneously forcing a discussion about overpopulation, but neither subject is being properly addressed in any quarters.” — Valleria Ruselli While waiting to hear back from a non-profit I reached out to as a volunteer today, I dropped by St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Stockton, California to ask about whether or[Read More…]
I would like to announce the publication of a new book entitled “The Information Explosion”. This book discusses the role of information in evolution, and especially in the evolution of human culture. Articles and book chapters that I have previously written on this subject are incorporated in the text in modified forms, but more than half of the material is[Read More…]
This is the holy month when Muslims, about one fifth of the world’s population, undergo a rigorous fast (not even a drop of water or spittle passes their throats). Muslims around the world take a journey within – to discover their inner strengths and strive zealously to subjugate their evil instincts. It is abstinence in its literal, metaphorical and allegorical[Read More…]
Since the start of the Vietnam War, Noam Chomsky, an emeritus Institute Professor and Professor of Linguistics at MIT, has become increasingly popular with time. By 1992, the Arts and Humanities Citation Index declared him the most cited living person and the eighth most cited person of all time. Chomsky’s radical views and critiques of U.S. policy are at their[Read More…]
The significance of the fourteenth General Election goes beyond Malaysian shores. 9th May will be remembered as the day when the multi-ethnic population of a country ousted the world’s longest ruling coalition through the ballot-box in a peaceful atmosphere without a drop of blood. This is unique in emerging democracies in the Global South. It makes one proud to[Read More…]
Recent developments in Gaza have been appalling in their own right, but the attitude of the “International Community” is beyond words. Continuing a long battle against the untiring defence of Israel by my local MP I wrote him just a few words: “What do you think of your psychopathic friends now, Grant?” I probably imagined in the moment that the[Read More…]
Israeli Settler-Colonialism “For eight years now, they sit in their refugee camps in Gaza, and before their eyes we turn into our homestead the land and villages in which they and their forefathers have lived.” “We are a generation of settlers, and without the steel helmet and gun barrel, we shall not be able to plant a tree or build[Read More…]
Food and agriculture across the world is in crisis. Food is becoming denutrified and unhealthy and diets less diverse. There is a loss of biodiversity, which threatens food security, soils are being degraded, water sources polluted and depleted and smallholder farmers, so vital to global food production, are being squeezed off their land and out of farming. A minority of the global population has access to so much food than it[Read More…]
The just concluded 2018 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) intersessional, held at Bonn, Germany, brings the Paris Agreement one step closer to implementation. Country representatives met at Bonn in order to thresh out further details of the Paris rulebook, the manual that will contain the modalities, procedures, and guidelines (MPGs) needed to operationalize the Agreement. The rulebook must[Read More…]
US voters seemingly always think that if they try out a new model (like a new type of a car or some other product like a coffee making machine), they will get a different result. The same applies to Presidents. Yet, quickly they see the same old patterns settling into place whether with the Bush Presidents, Obama, Trump or others.[Read More…]
“What do you think might happen if one worked around the clock in a given community — selflessly — and managed to increase positive test scores in a school by 50% and reduce violence in the neighborhood by 50%? Do you think for one moment that the ‘success’ would be limited to that realm?” — Richard Martin Oxman “Whenever anyone[Read More…]
“The Beatitudes of Jesus are a new and revolutionary model of happiness that contradicts what is usually communicated by the media and prevailing wisdom.” — Pope Francis in his Message for World Youth Day, January 21, 2014 “Our mission is to empower, educate and advocate for all youth in Stockton and the San Joaquin Valley (with an emphasis on those[Read More…]
I. Aijaz Ahmad is one of the preeminent Marxist political and literary theorists in the world today. Most famous for his In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures (Verso, 1992), Ahmad has been a poignant and prolific voice on the left for many decades, cultivating an expertise in the politics of the third world, the theoretical debates surrounding imperialism, and the[Read More…]
He came with a lizard in his beak. A choice tidbit, most appreciated. But only if you’re a Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros gingalensis). The female lays up to four white eggs in a tree hole blocked off during incubation with a cement made of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. There is only one narrow aperture, barely wide enough for[Read More…]
Mohodai Sena Pati Ji: Namashkar Ever since you assumed the top position within the Indian army, Kashmiris have been following your statements with quite an interest. This is because they are unique despite now being too many – from outright threats to elderly counsels, and prophecies to the ones that clearly show that you are as clueless as the rest[Read More…]
(“The country of Kashmir may be conquered by the force of spiritual merit, but not by the force of soldiers!” Kalhana) Recently the Army Chief challenged Kashmiri militants saying that they cannot get Azaadi as they cannot fight his Army. “I want to tell Kashmiri youth that Azaadi isn’t possible. It won’t happen. Why are you picking up weapons? We will always[Read More…]
Despite the spectacular strides made in economic growth and having a technological boom, India still continues to struggle to attain freedom from hunger. It is bearing witness to a triple burden of malnutrition—the coexistence of undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and overnutrition. According to the Economic Survey (2017-18), child and maternal malnutrition posed the most challenging health risk of our times. India[Read More…]
Nazareth: The contrasting images coming out of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories on Monday could not have been starker – or more disturbing. Faced with protests at the perimeter fence in Gaza, Israeli snipers killed dozens of unarmed Palestinians and wounded more than 2,000 others, including children, women, journalists and paramedics, in a hail of live fire. Amnesty,[Read More…]
The Roman philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca was perhaps the first in history to identify and discuss collapse and to note that “the way to ruin is rapid.” From Seneca’s idea, Ugo Bardi coined the term “Seneca Effect” to describe all cases where things go bad fast and used the modern science of complex systems to understand why and how collapses[Read More…]
Our core ecological problem is not climate change. It is overshoot, of which global warming is a symptom. Overshoot is a systemic issue. Over the past century-and-a-half, enormous amounts of cheap energy from fossil fuels enabled the rapid growth of resource extraction, manufacturing and consumption; and these in turn led to population increase, pollution and loss of natural habitat and hence biodiversity.[Read More…]
NAKBA OR CATASTROPHE DAY is being remembered today in Palestine. The March of Return, which has been going on for over a month, culminates in its commemoration. The Nakba began when Palestinians were robbed of their homeland; when the genocide began; and, will not stop until the land is ethnically cleansed by the thieving multi-national Zionists ensconced in Tel Aviv.[Read More…]
For the first time since its inception in 1909, the legendary Italian cycling race, Giro d’Italia kicked off outside Europe and, strangely enough, from the city of Jerusalem on May 4. The inherent contradictions in that decision are inescapable. Italy is a country that has experienced a ruthless forging occupation and was ravaged by fascism and war. To be[Read More…]
It doesn’t matter that the wars are coming It doesn’t matter that the wars just came It doesn’t matter that we had our warning To you all wars are just the same I thought you really loved me I thought you really cared I thought that when the bombs were falling You’d shelter me when I was scared [Read More…]
The image of Antarctica in common circulation is environmental and utopian. The scientist of valour, the investigator thirsting for discovery in a litmus test environment that will give warning about current and impending variations in temperature that will affect the globe. Noble stuff indeed. On other occasions, the continent has tickled the conspiratorial mind. Did Adolf Hitler find relief[Read More…]
With the escalating doom of climate change hovering over us, it is tempting to push nuclear horror to the back of our minds. To those of us who grew up in the 1950s, it was omnipresent. Nuclear war could not exist without nuclear power and on April 26, 1986 the world experienced a form of nuclear horror it will[Read More…]
“What but design of darkness to appall?” — from Robert Frost’s Design How can you teach children in a community that is hungry for food? I’m talking about kids suffering from severe hunger. Children who — also — have no way to secure proper medical attention when they’re sick. Little ones whose parents can’t find work. Since Martin’s time things[Read More…]
World BEYOND War has just released an updated 2018 mapping of militarism in the world. The map system can be explored and adjusted to display what you’re looking for, as well as display precise data and its sources at http://bit.ly/mappingmilitarism Here are some examples of what it can show: Where wars are present that directly and violently killed over 1,000[Read More…]
Sanitation is the key to proper hygiene, which is essential for a health and safety of the public. India’s record, especially when it comes to sanitation, has been abysmal so far. According to the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Report (2017), more than half of the open defecation that occurs anywhere in the world[Read More…]
Despite all the tall claims of development by authorities in India, the data from Government bodies shows that there are little, if any, improvements in tackling alarmingly high levels of malnutrition. Add to this the worrisome fact of a sharp increase in the indebtedness of households and the situation becomes even bleaker. The data from the National Family Health Survey[Read More…]
‘Why call comedians to comedy shows in TV, when these BJP leaders can put up a far better show?’ That is one of the social media trolls which have been doing the rounds about BJP leaders in Kerala whose histrionics on primetime TV news debates have spawned an avalanche of memes and trolls. Satire-happy social media users attest that[Read More…]
The brutality and callous disregard for Palestinian lives and international law by the Israeli Occupation Army reached a zenith yesterday when they gunned down more than fifty Palestinians and wounded in excess of 2700. No Israelis have been killed.
BJP has almost sealed victory in Karnataka state assembly election, giving a thumping beating to the Congress party. With the vitory in Karnataka the right wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has found a foothold in South India. Vidya Bhushan Rawat analyses the reasons for the BJP victory and what lies ahead for India As a nation these are defining moments.[Read More…]
The recently launched Ayushman Bharat, also known as the National Health Protection Scheme (or even Modicare in popular parlance!) has two objectives — first, creating a network of health and wellness centers to bring all-inclusive primary healthcare close to the community, and secondly, providing insurance cover to 40 per cent of India’s population, that is most deprived, for secondary and[Read More…]
Donald Trump—who brags gleefully that “torture works,” wants to “go much stronger than waterboarding,” and advocates murdering the families of “terrorists”—has nominated Gina Haspel to head the CIA. Haspel is a long-time CIA operative steeped in “black ops,” who in 2002 ran a secret CIA torture chamber in Thailand. It is expected that she will be confirmed. This is both[Read More…]
Special note: Don’t read about any of the films mentioned here prior to watching them. This “review” won’t spoil anything. “I remember loving The Promise over twenty years ago.” — Annapurna Tosca Sriramarcel “The Son is my favorite work of theirs.” — Rachel Olivia O’Connor When we first meet Jenny Davin (Adèle Haenel) of the Dardennes brothers’ The Unknown Girl (La Fille Inconnue) — the smart, uncompromising[Read More…]
Co-Written By Sally Dugman, Sheshu Babu and Steve Salmony Sally Dugman shares: For many years, it has been known by some people that the world or at least a huge portion of it is going literally to hell in a handbag, the place that holds money and credit cards to support shopaholic tendencies across the world. It is due to[Read More…]
It’s called “Vollgeld Initiative” – in German, meaning more or less “Referendum for Sovereign Money”. What is “Sovereign Money”? – Its money produced only by the Central Bank, by the “Sovereign”, the government, represented by its central bank. Money created in accordance with the needs of the economy, as contrasted to the profit and greed motives of the banking oligarchy[Read More…]
Ben Gurion in 1948 said, “We must do everything to insure the Palestinians never do return. The old will die and the young will forget”. In a recent interview with Helena Cobban hosted by the Institute for Palestine Studies, Dr. Rashid Khalidi, the founder of the Journal of Palestine Studies, he states that the recent declaration by the United[Read More…]
The National Priorities Project headlines “U.S. Military Spending vs. the World” and reports: “World military spending totaled more than $1.6 trillion in 2015. The U.S. accounted for 37 percent of the total.” But it can’t be believed, because, even if other nations aren’t under-reporting their military expenditures, the U.S. certainly is — under-reporting it by about 50%. The reality is[Read More…]
Russians parading in celebration of the anniversary of their costly victory over Nazi Germany. Millions marched throughout Russia, holding photographs of their fallen family members in bittersweet remembrance. There was no public reminder that Hitler’s armed forces were built up by the West in open violation of the Versailles Treaty’s prohibitions in expectation of Hitler fulfilling his threats to[Read More…]
The two events—occurring on the 70th anniversary of Israel’s declaration of independence—were juxtaposed by the media, broadcast simultaneously on split screens by television networks. What could not be concealed was the fact that the opening of the American embassy was entirely in line with and, indeed, a statement of political support for the massacre taking place at the security fence[Read More…]
When Google Earth was initially released in 2001, I immediately rushed to locate a village that no longer exists on a map and which now delineates a whole different reality. Although I was born and raised in a Gaza refugee camp, and then moved to and lived in the United States, finding a village that was erased from the map[Read More…]
Nazareth: On Monday and Tuesday, Palestinians commemorate the anniversary of the Nakba, or catastrophe, their mass expulsion and dispossession 70 years ago as the new state of Israel was built on the ruins of their homeland. As a result, most Palestinians were turned into refugees, denied by Israel the right to return to their homes. Tens of thousands turned[Read More…]
Co-Written by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers There will be a confluence of trigger events this week that could lead to an escalation of conflict. At the same time that the US has reneged on the nuclear agreement and Israeli missiles are attacking Iranians in Syria, the US embassy will be moved to Jerusalem and Palestinians will protest the 70th anniversary of[Read More…]
Lately we are being bombarded with an extensive warning campaign by officials and media; mainly Israeli and American, that Iran has become the biggest threat to world peace. “Iran is the world-leading sponsor of terror” alleged President Trump, who had lately pulled the US from the Iran Nuclear Deal. Israeli prime minister Netanyahu broadcasted a theatrical powerpoint presentation repeating his[Read More…]
Do you think it is that simple to travel around the Middle East? Think twice! Ask Palestinians, about trying to get from a point A to a point B in their own nation. Some time ago, sitting in an old Ottoman hotel in Bethlehem, I asked a waiter what it takes to travel from there to Gaza, where he said,[Read More…]
Government or the bureaucracy doesn’t consider Adivasis as a community/social group and not even as a citizen with their own social and cultural identity. Renowned writer and Dalit intellectual Sunny M Kapikkad has stated, “ The government considers Adivasis as state subjects. What government does is to feed its subjects. First of all these projects have to be withdrawn.” When[Read More…]
America is a land of opportunities and a powerful nation which is well recognized globally. Since 19th century people from different parts of the world migrated to the United States of America in search of better economic opportunities. The Act to encourage Immigration signed July 4th, 1864 by President Lincoln to encourage immigration was the first and only major law[Read More…]
Egypt’s top kangaroo court upheld on Saturday (May 12) jail terms from seven to 10 years against 65 loyalists of the currently outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group over committing acts of violence in 2013 in the capital Cairo, official MENA news agency reported. The rulings of the Court of Cassation are final and un-appealable. The convicts have been accused of holding[Read More…]
“And no one dared Disturb the sound of silence” — from The Sound of Silence New Orleans is known, in great part, for its music. Perhaps that “truth” in its blood and bones will enable residents there to tune into what I have to say here. The Agriculture Street Super Fund Site in New Orleans (70126 zip code) is “considered[Read More…]
Mahmoud Shukair is a Palestinian author, born in Jabal Mukaber, Jerusalem in 1941. He has written short stories and novels for adults and teenagers. His work has focused on the Palestinian cause, especially Jerusalem.Mr. Shukair has authored 45 books, six television series, and four plays, with his work translated from Arabic to English, French, German, Chinese, Mongolian, and Czech. In[Read More…]
A rally at the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, brought together mothers, other relatives of people whose lives had been stolen by murdering pigs, and supporters on Thursday, May 10. Called by the Truth, Hope and Justice Initiative, it drew together 200 people. Many were family members of those stolen lives, and they came to DC from all across the[Read More…]
Seventy-one years on we have become so used to the ‘hegemonic discourses’ that once a new one is churned out; people laugh it out. Many an important political scientist like Antonio Gramsci have dwelled upon the subject ‘hegemonic discourse’ in great detail and come up with scholarly treatises on the subject. Instead of getting lost in the academic jargons in[Read More…]
[This poem was written in remembrance of half-a-century since the passing of my mother, a most remarkable woman the world did not get to know (reminds me much of Thomas Gray’s famous Elegy with the potent lines: Full many a gem of purest ray serene, The dark unfathom’d caves of ocean bear: Full many a flow’r is born to blush[Read More…]
Our current economic systems have become addicted to “growth at all costs”, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [i]. They assume that GDP growth is synonymous with increasing wellbeing and prosperity. However this approach has led to growing inequality, an escalating climate crisis, and the depletion of natural and social capital. We are no longer generating genuine progress[ii]. Our approach[Read More…]
Since parliamentary democracy was restored in Germany after World War Two, several right-wing parties have sought to get the required 5% of the popular vote to be represented in parliament. They all failed until 2017. In that election a new right-wing party, Alternatives for Deutschland (AfD), won 13% of the vote, making them the third most powerful party, ahead[Read More…]
International treaties and agreements are between countries — not between leaders or governments, for if that were the case they would not be worth the paper they were written on. The Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union was signed in 1972. Bush II withdrew unilaterally in 2001 citing a changed world. On June 1, 2017, Donald Trump announced the[Read More…]
As we have seen, theideontologicaldelusion of exclusionary oneness that forms the ideological superstructure of capitalist social relations forcedearly liberal democratic theorists to create an imaginaryindependent and antisocial individual who initially exists in a state of nature. This individual only goes against his essential antisocial nature and enters into society out of rational self -interest embodied in the fear of death.[Read More…]
In a recent piece at Vox.com, Dylan Matthews, a founder of the Vox website and former Washington Post reporter, makes a well-argued—but dangerously wrong—case against what he sees as the unfounded and harmful hopes many harbor to see Trump removed from office. Matthews finds these hopes understandable; he, too, feels that “our democracy” is being eroded. But he insists that[Read More…]
The security forces, armed police and extra – military personnel engage in attacks on so -called terrorists, militants, maoists or extremists. In all these incidents, the highest casualties belong to weaker sections, muslim communities, adivasis, dalits etc. Thus, on both sides the actual fight is between these communities killing each other. In an article, Ramachandra Guha ( The continuing tragedy[Read More…]
Mohammad Gulzar (48), a resident of Nai Basti, Jamia Nagar, was a small time horse cart rider, until a few months ago. He earned enough to feed his family. But a rare disease to his horse Glanders affected his livelihood badly. After wandering for days in search of work, he now works as a laborer, hardly managing to garner two[Read More…]
On 10th May, the high-profile police officer from Mumbai, Himanshu Roy committed suicide by shooting himself with his service revolver. In a suicide note recovered later, Roy is reported to have said that he is taking this extreme step out of extreme depression due to an incurable cancer. Mr. Roy had been living with cancer since 2000 with[Read More…]
The general ward of a Government Medical College is equated to hell with mosquitoes,flies, bed bugs and the real proverbial hospital stink! When I overheard while lying on the trolley after the first “merciless cutting “,that I would be in Ward 25, it came as a more painful shock than the actual pain. I wondered what crime I had[Read More…]
Julian Assange is in immense danger. Remarks made this week by Ecuador’s foreign minister suggest that her government may be preparing to renege on the political asylum it granted to the WikiLeaks editor in 2012 and hand him over to British and then American authorities. On March 28, under immense pressure from the governments in the US, Britain and other[Read More…]
As the Trump administration charges forward with its war on science by canceling a “crucial” carbon monitoring system at NASA, scientists and climate experts are sounding alarms over atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) that just surpassed a “troubling” threshold for the first time in human history. “The reading from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii finds that concentrations of[Read More…]
Pakistani authorities have imposed “reciprocal” restrictions on the movement of U.S. diplomats in the country after Washington took similar measures, the Associated Press reported Friday. A letter sent to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad says the restrictions will be implemented Friday. The move comes after the U.S. required Pakistani diplomats to get permission five days in advance to travel[Read More…]
Trump’s “Broken Deal”, his irrational decision to withdraw from the JCPOA, or simply called Iran’s Nuclear Deal, has hardly any other motives than again launching a provocation for war. The decision goes against all reason. Let’s not forget, that deal took 9 years of diplomatic efforts, a negotiation called “5 + 1” for the UN Security Council Members, plus Germany[Read More…]
When West Milwaukee police killed Adam Trammell, a Black resident of the city, he was unarmed and alone in his locked apartment, just taking a shower. The police came because a neighbor had called them and reported that Trammel was acting “oddly.” Police arrived to do a “wellness check,” already knowing Trammell had schizophrenia. Trammell was not wanted for[Read More…]
“the evasions and obfuscations of these two willing technicians of state terror are chillingly similar” On May 9, Gina Haspel, Donald Trump’s choice for head of the Central Intelligence Agency, testified at her Senate confirmation hearing in Washington, DC. Some senators questioned her about her tenure, in 2002, as CIA station chief in Thailand. There, the agency ran one of[Read More…]
It’s good, of course, that Dr. Binoy Kampmark documented the recent Gina Haspel Hearings. And it’s encouraging to hear that former CIA employee Ray McGovern is writing articles about torture and continuing to put himself on the line in public protesting in the faces of the powers that be, calling a shovel a shovel for one and all to see. Planting seeds which[Read More…]
Co-Written by Punsara Amarasinghe & Eshan Jayawardena The Palk Bay, a narrow strip of water separating the state of Tamil Nadu in India from the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, has historically provided rich fishing grounds for both countries. However, the region has become a highly contested site in recent decades, with the conflict taking on a new dimension since[Read More…]
14 May 2018 marks the 70th anniversary of the Israeli Declaration of Independence by Zionist terrorist David Ben Gurion, the foundation of an invasion-, violence-, racism- , genocide- and theft-based Apartheid Israel, and commencement of the large-scale, Rohingya Genocide-scale ethnic cleansing of Indigenous Palestinians from Palestine. US Alliance backers of Apartheid Israel will mark the occasion with lying praise for[Read More…]
“I’m not going to sit here with the benefit of hindsight and judge the very good people who made hard decisions who were running the agency in very extraordinary circumstances.” Gina Haspel, May 9, 2018. It was always going to be the most complicated of hurdles. Having moved Mike Pompeo on to the role of Secretary of State, President Donald[Read More…]
The capitalist iceberg that we know as the deep state has been operating under the radar and under the waves for many centuries with the privatisation of the polity as its’ end game. As early as the 18th.century, dark European money began finding ways to exploit and colonise the pristine kingdoms of the unindustrialised world.Wherever Europeans moored their sea[Read More…]
Why are the people of so rightly called third world countries still falling in tarp of deceitful, shrewd,and criminal, politicians, sold-out, hate-mongering, unethical media houses and journalists? Common people understand, and experience, both in theory and in practice, that most of the politicians irrespective of their party affiliations are demagogues, merciless looters, potential murderers, and rapists with no real[Read More…]
Primary health care is an important strategy which is the backbone of health service delivery. Primary health care is the day-to-day care needed to protect, maintain, or restore our health. For those who use it, it is both their first point of contact with the government healthcare system and their most frequently used health service. In last 6 decades of[Read More…]
Tuesday’s decision by President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear agreement has pushed the Middle East to the brink of a catastrophic regional conflict that could rapidly draw in the major powers. Within minutes of Trump’s announcement, Israeli fighter jets violated Syrian airspace to launch a missile strike on a government base close to Damascus. The strikes caused[Read More…]
“Those with no sides and no causes. Those who won’t take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonizing their own weakness. Those who don’t like to make waves – or enemies. Those for whom freedom, honor, truth, and principles are only literature. Those who live small, mate small, die small. It’s the reductionist approach to life: if[Read More…]
Chapter 1. Part 2 The psychopathology of capitalism is, as I have proposed above, rooted in the delusion that there exists anabstract, exclusionary “one” or “I”. This delusion negates the existence of an “inclusionary One” or a larger temporal/spatial natural and social whole of which the “individual” is but a particular moment and manifestation. That is to say, it is[Read More…]
It was a victory, but it could hardly count as a truly revolutionary one. Grizzled, aged but formidably stirring, Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s former prime minister, is set to form government as the world’s oldest elected leader. His Pakatan Harapan coalition ventured past the 112 seat threshold required to form government, while a weary Barisan Nasional limped through with 79. Shocks[Read More…]
The Gaza border protests must be understood in the context of the Israeli Occupation, the siege and the long-delayed ‘Right of Return’ for Palestinian refugees. However, they should also be appreciated in a parallel context: Palestine’s own factionalism and infighting. Factionalism in Palestinian society is a deep-rooted ailment that has, for decades, thwarted any unified effort at ending the Israeli military[Read More…]
Review of ‘The Struggle for Food Sovereignty’ eds. Herrera & Lau (2015) Peasants produce 70% of the world’s food. They constitute over half the world’s population. Yet, in a world where 3500 calories of food gets produced, per person, per day. The majority of the one billion who go hungry nonetheless, are peasants, are the food producers themselves1. Capitalism[Read More…]
Co-Written by Richard Gale and Gary Null In Part One, we discussed the threats social media technology poses to a healthy and educated populace, the scientist cult of Skepticism and its extremist medical wing, and the online encyclopedia Wikipedia as a leading promulgator for Skepticism’s agenda. In Part Two, we go deeper into the Science-Based Medical faction and its advancing[Read More…]
Co-Wriiten by Ila Kazmi & Arpita Singh Days after a devastating fire broke out in an illegal shoe factory – which killed 4 workers among two minors- in Raj Park Sultanpuri, nothing has changed on the ground as unauthorized factories in the residential area continue to operate. One can find dilapidated buildings from where these illegal small-scale factories operate, raising questions[Read More…]
Historians will tell you that an explosion of creativity occurs the moment the world starts complaining that there is nothing left to invent, or that the search for solutions has come to an end. This explosion is fate’s way of reminding us that there is always something just over the horizon of knowledge. Social entrepreneurs are now using their talent to[Read More…]
(The present blood bath in Kashmir can only be stopped by revoking AFSPA which is virtually a license to kill and destroy without any accountability whatsoever!) In the famous Ian Fleming’s series, James Bond, an operative of the Her Majesty’s Secret Service, had a code name“007”. The 00 suffix according to intelligence parlance stands for the “License to kill”! James[Read More…]
–A Review By FMRRC, Karnataka Over 10 crore people in the country are getting water contaminated with excess fluoride : Most stunning admission by government. But it is not on the agenda of political parties. Karnataka Assembly elections are slated for May 12, and the major parties issued their manifestos, a formality completed very late. They promise many things[Read More…]
The last time atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were this high, millions of years ago, the planet was very different. For one, humans didn’t exist. On Wednesday, scientists at the University of California in San Diego confirmed that April’s monthly average atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration breached 410 parts per million for the first time in our history. We know a lot about how to[Read More…]
Nate Hagens gave this talk on Earth Day on April 23, 2018 at The Land Institute, Salina, Kansas. What follows is an essay loosely related to the talk. The Human Predicament Around 11,000 years ago, as the last ice age ended, our ancestors – in no fewer than 5 locations around the world – took advantage of the new conditions[Read More…]
Hot on the heels of the Benjamin Netanyahu “nuclear archive” show supposedly revealing Iranian perfidy, US President Donald Trump added succour to the Israeli cause by promising to withdraw from the Iran Nuclear deal, more lengthily known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The JCPOA originally comprised various undertakings and actions on the part of the Obama administration: the[Read More…]
I have thought about indifference and/or fright as being a main cause of US citizens accepting all of the perpetual wars and conflicts that the USA are embroiled in creating and maintaining. They are never ending and they are great for filling the financial coffers of the military-industrial complex, as well as the pickets of some politicians. Does Donald[Read More…]
Privatisation of many sectors has become a routine affair. Construction of roads, supply of electricity, means of transportation, etc have been handed over to contractors, firms, private individuals for maintaining and development. Recently, there has been a proposal to hand over ‘ Red Fort’ to Dalmia Bharat to upkeep and improve facilities as part of ‘ Adopt a Heritage ‘[Read More…]
The Queen of England has had one of the better months of her long and eventful life. Looking back, she and the country she heads, are likely to see this last month as of particular importance, in asserting their role as a decision-maker in international affairs. Deftly, she has ensured both change and continuity, in the succession, for her family.[Read More…]
On 16-03-1846, the British Rulers of India sold the territory of Kashmir with its all dependencies for 75 Lakh Nanak Shahi rupees to Maharja Gulab Singh Dogra of Jammu vide infamous Treaty of Amritsar. Considering the total population at that time of “all the hilly or mountainous country”, every living human soul of Kashmir was sold vide the said sale[Read More…]
Kabini River Resort on the bank of the Kabini Reservior, bordering Nagarhole Tiger Reserve. I am in the Gol Ghar (which is actually rectangular) at tea and snack time after the afternoon safari. “What did you see?” asked an American who had come to Kabini for the first time. “Nothing. Totally dry. Five safaris and we saw nothing,” said an[Read More…]
In 2017, reports appeared in local and national media on the outbreak of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in a cluster of villages in Chhatrapur block of Ganjam district in Odisha. According to reports,almost 200 cases of kidney disease had been diagnosed and over 50 people had died from kidney failure since 2010. These villages are in the close vicinity of a[Read More…]
When Corinth and Megara, both allies of Sparta went to war, Athens sensed opportunity and soon formed an alliance with Megara. It precipitated the First Peloponnesian War (c 459 – 445 BC) and Athens soon turned the alliance into control of Megara. When peace returned, so did Megara into the Spartan fold. In 1941, Nazi Germany broke its non-aggression[Read More…]
After seventy years of brutal Israeli occupation, genocide, ethnic cleansing, theft of their land, cold-blooded murders of their children, starving siege and destruction of all aspects of their life, the Palestinian people had given up on any help or support from any international community, who seem to be bullied and intimidated by Zionist agents. They also had given up on[Read More…]
Andre Vltchek & John Cobb Jr There is no time for long introductions. The world is, possibly heading for yet another catastrophe. This one, if we, human beings will not manage to prevent it, could become our final. The West is flexing its muscle, antagonizing every single country that stands on its way to total domination of the Planet. Some[Read More…]
Almost out of nowhere, an inspiring wave of strikes by public school teachers has sweept the United States. Teachers in Arizona have just ended a strike on the heels of walk-outs in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Colorado and Kentucky. Similar actions between now and the end of the school year loom in others states. Thus far, unity among teachers in[Read More…]
The title question is asked in dedication to the more than half million Syrians who have perished or been maimed in the so called civil war arranged by the American led colonial or neocolonial powers for the profit and power of wealthy investors speculating in death, terror and destruction. The title question is directed to people in nations that[Read More…]
On the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth, this excerpt from “The Material Basis and the Method for Making Revolution,” a talk given by Bob Avakian in 2014, speaks to the turning point and significance of Marx’s contributions—bringing into being a scientific, materialist understanding of capitalism and of the potential for revolution to emancipate humanity. What Marx Brought to Light[Read More…]
After the American Civil War, and largely because of it, the South was the poorest region of the United States. Even today, the states that had very large slave populations in 1860 tend to have low per capita incomes, with Mississippi perennially at the bottom. Segments of that South are so devoid of resources that some places can’t even treat[Read More…]
“The health of local waterways — these days — cannot be separated from the health of international rivers.” — Richard Martin Oxman In a local college publication, a well-meaning and hardworking student — obviously quite intelligent — reported on dangerous chemicals in nearby California waters, focusing primarily on pharmaceuticals and personal care products. It spoke of “potential” risks to the[Read More…]
On coming 10 May is the 161th anniversary of 1857 – the country’s First War of Independence. 10th May 1857 is the day when the brave Indian soldiers first raised the war-cry for independence against the British regime. To secure freedom for the country by breaking the chains of slavery, on 10th May the soldiers started from Meerut, reaching Delhi[Read More…]
A Aligarh Muslim University is in the news. It was always in the news since pre partition days. Many felt it was responsible for creating a leadership which demanded separate state of Pakistan but broadly India’s secular elite too felt uncomfortable with Muslims speaking for themselves. This was true about the Dalits too but post 1980s, a phenomena called Kanshiram[Read More…]
History reveals itself. Sometimes, it is a bad happening that works as catalysts in bringing out some important historical facts to the fore that otherwise remain concealed under the veil of political prejudices, expediencies of power politics or the vote bank politics. What has been happening in the Aligarh Muslim University during the week is sad and bad. Nonetheless, the[Read More…]
Every day our youth lay down their lives. Every day the monster of violence and destruction, wreak havoc in the valley of flowers. Every day devil enters paradise to commit sins. Every day we carry the bullet-ridden bodies of our budding flowers and bury them, express anguish and shed tears. We mourn, and then there is a sort of truce[Read More…]
Weather experts at the United Nations just said that the highest April temperature ever may have just been recorded—an ominous sign that comes on the heels of the monthly average concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hitting the highest level on the books. Speaking to press at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Clare Nullis from the World Meteorological Organization[Read More…]
On April 9, 2018 at least 14 people were killed during the murderous strike bythe Israeli air force on the Syrian T-4 airfield at Homs. Israeli F-15 fighter jets flew over Lebanese airspace, as they have done on many previous occasions, in total disregard of international law. Both Israel and Lebanon are still technically at war, and the latest action[Read More…]
The world has been shocked over the last 5 weeks at the cold-blooded killing by Israeli soldiers of nearly 50 Palestinians and the wounding of about 6,800 more out of thousands of unarmed Occupied Palestinians protesting 70 years of exile and highly abusive confinement in the Gaza Concentration Camp. Comparisons with the 1950 Sharpeville Massacre in Apartheid South Africa[Read More…]
Calling for a better World A world filled with utmost humanity Completely free from the oppressive structures And exploitative relations among humans Where sharing and caring Is integral to human society Where social benefit and humanitarian values rules Eradicating the systemic flaws of the past Where artificial divisions among humans become a past And social relations are democratised[Read More…]
Recent unrest broke out at Aligarh Muslim University is nothing but the sheer display of impunity granted to right-wing vigilante groups by none other than ruling dispensation of BJP/RSS, both in the state of Uttar Pradesh and at the centre. Since the advent of this government, the activities of vigilante Hindutva outfits like Hindu Yuva Vahini and likens have been[Read More…]
Co-Written By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers In 1888, Marx wrote, “philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.” On this 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx we focus on Marx as a political activist, rather than what he is best known for, an economist and philosopher who wrote some of[Read More…]
“What to do?” (53). A short question with a very complex answer. In The World We Wish to See, Samir Amin delves into the contemporary political conjuncture with a succinctness and ease that belies the monuments scope of the topic he addresses – how do counter-hegemonic movements findconvergence in diversity, in an age when political lines are being redrawn[Read More…]
When a house is on fire an alarm must be sounded. An alarm is not always sounded solely out of fear. Sometimes an alarm must be sounded out of love, for fear that the house will be destroyed in the tyranny of conflagration. The political function of contemporary America serves corporate capitalism. This is capitalism as overwhelming force geared to[Read More…]
“I feel silly but I don’t know anything about Bangalore or Flint, Michigan.” — one of the graduates of a local institution of higher education who the author interviewed yesterday The water pollution in Bangalore, India poses a serious threat to residents’ health and creates a chronic shortage of clean water for people to use. All in all, experts predict a[Read More…]
One of the greatest thinkers of the Universe, Karl Marx’s biggest contribution can be debated by many. Great that in India all those who agreed with him but not agreed with those who claim to be following him, greeted. As a philosopher, he gave us the tool of scientific and rational thinking and most importantly, that there is nothing[Read More…]
Karl Marx was born, two centuries ago, on this day – May 5. In today’s world, it’s impossible to ignore Marx, the greatest proletarian revolutionary. Rather, the exploitative economic system makes Marx essential for building up a decent world. Today, it’s necessary to convey Marx to the new generation being strangulated by the world system of exploitation. Frederick Engels is[Read More…]
A group of 18 GOP lawmakers led by Rep. Luke Messer of Indiana, have formally nominated President Donald Trump for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his work toward peace in the Korean Peninsula. The nomination letter states that President Trump has worked “tirelessly to apply maximum pressure to North Korea to end its illicit weapons programs and bring peace[Read More…]
Interacting with media during a tour of Lingayat and Dalit mutts in central Karnataka, Amit Shah, the national President of BJP began making allegations against the current Siddaramaiah government. “ Recently, a Supreme Court judge said if ever there was a competition for the most corrupt government, then Yeddyurappa government will get number one..” shocking Yedurappa who was seated near[Read More…]
In the face of the storm that broke out from your remark that slavery was “a choice” for the enslaved, you say in your own defense that you’re being “attacked for presenting new ideas.” No, your ideas are not fucking “new”—you’re just recycling the same shit that the white supremacist capitalist oppressors who run this place have spewed out from[Read More…]
In a local college newspaper I came across a piece on allergies, and the young writer concluded the article lamenting the difficulty people have trying to find the medication they need. There wasn’t a word about how citizens have to be on their guard respecting what Big Pharma pushes on them. Tries to cleverly sell them on. The student’s article[Read More…]
Environmental campaigner Dr Rosemary Mason has just written to President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, Vice President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans and Health Commissioner Vytenis Andruikaitis. As set out below, she asks these top officials some very pertinent questions about the EU’s collusion with the agrochemical corporations. 1) In authorising glyphosate on behalf of the Glyphosate Task Force[Read More…]
It seems like rich nonsense, but should peace be attained on the Korean peninsula, with arrangements entrenched to ensure durability as opposed to unconvincing window dressing, President Donald Trump might well join the list of frauds and charlatans who have obtained the Nobel Peace Prize. The nomination for the 2019 prize came in a letter from 18 of Trump’s Republican[Read More…]
“She could hear her daughter in the next room, screaming, ‘Mommy, don’t let them take me!’” Imagine you and your seven-year old daughter, having survived a terrible journey of escape from the violence in your homeland, suddenly are arrested and torn apart after applying for asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. Is this not every parent’s nightmare, to have your child[Read More…]
There is news, there is old news, and there is history. Gale and Null’s article is old news on the verge of becoming history. Moreover, it is full of unsubstantiated grandiose pronouncements and distortions of all kinds. To begin with the title itself is deceptive. Is Wikipedia a new venue in and through which Communists are identified and persecuted?? Are[Read More…]
As we write this, massive peaceful civil actions against Armenia’s establishment have continued under the leadership of Nikol Pashinyan, a National Assembly (N.A.) member who is part of the opposition Yelk (Way Out) Alliance. Though widely unpopular Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan has been forced to resign, his Republican Party (RPA) still has a narrow majority (58 of 105) in[Read More…]
“The billion dead is the least of what would happen with the Nuclear Winter referenced by Chomsky and Ellsberg in Arizona, and the most horrid scenario imaginable is becoming increasingly likely by the day even with the ‘advance’ made recently between North and South Korea.” — Richard Martin Oxman “We must carry it on.” — Edward Curtin Around 34 minutes into the recent footage[Read More…]
Special note: I humbly and respectfully ask that if the good people of La Puente, California read this article that they understand I don’t mean to denigrate them. As indicated below, the dynamic I encountered with them is part of a flow which I’ve been coming across in increasing doses over the last fifteen years. It’s something we should all[Read More…]
After I wrote Why I am Not a Hindu and Post-Hindu India the Brahmin- Banias ( the castes that control Hindu spiritual system and the whole business system of India) communities of Telugu states threatened to kill me. Several cases were filed against me. The intellectuals from these two most wealthy and most educated communities ask me: What is your[Read More…]
On 16th May 2015, Sagar Shejwal, a young nursing student, in temple town Shirdi, Maharastra, was beaten to death for keeping Bhimrao Amedhkar song as ringtone, Chandra Sekar Azad ‘Ravan’ has been charged with sedition charges for wrong reasons while the real reason was that he has started a social solidarity action group called Bhim Army in the name of[Read More…]
Now – a- days, the news of rapes and other forms of atrocities have become daily routine. While the number of crimes is rising, number of arrests, let alone convictions, is not increasing. Women and girls are losing confidence in the system. They are being abused in public by male with impunity. If one goes by the ruling of [Read More…]
Peace – in the Koreas, is what the world expects; and Peace in the world is what humanity expects, the vast majority – 99.9% of the world population wants peace, but it’s the 0.1% that commands war and destruction, since war and destruction is what runs the western economy. Literally. If peace would break out – what we in the[Read More…]
The authoritarian misfits in the Turnbull government have again rumbled and uttered suspicions long held: Australian residents and citizens are not to be trusted, and the intelligence services should start getting busy in expanding their operations against the next Doomsday threat. This became clear from leaked material on discussions that illustrate in no subtle way the security paranoia afflicting officials[Read More…]
Australia loudly boasts of its success as a multicultural society but this national narcissism hides huge deficiencies. The 2018 “Leading for Change” analysis shows that while Whites and non-Whites are 76% and 24%, respectively, of the population, they represent 94.9% and 5.1%, respectively of the senior leadership of Australian organizations and institutions. Australia is currently being rocked by huge[Read More…]
(After getting rebuffed in various other programs, the trend seems to be to stir the Communal Cauldron once again for the next Parliament Election!) The horrendous episode in Kathua is allegedly having some hidden objectives. It has been given out by some that the conspiracy, kidnapping, rape and murder of the eight year old Bakerwal girl was to drive away[Read More…]
As a Palestinian, I barely raise an eyebrow when I hear Mohammed bin Salman say things like, Palestinians“must accept what US offers or stop complaining.” That’s because I don’t make the mistaken assumption (as many people do) that the ideology of “Arab Nationalism” plays a factor today in politics related to Israel and the Jewish settler-colonial occupation of “mandate” Palestine.[Read More…]
All smiles and hugs is the current French President, Emmanuel Macron. In the White House, there seemed to be an emotional equation generated by the supposedly warm relationship between President Donald Trump and his guest. In entertainment vision, substance would only consist of wiping the dandruff off the jacket of Macron and handshakes so firm they appear, at stages, to[Read More…]
Three more Palestinians were killed and 611 wounded last Friday, when tens of thousands of Gazans continued their largely non-violent protests at the Gaza-Israel border. Yet as the casualty count keeps climbing – nearly 45 dead and over 5,500 wounded – the deafening silence also continues. Tellingly, many of those who long chastised Palestinians for using armed resistance against the Israeli occupation[Read More…]
Those titular words were sent to me by Fr. Daniel Berrigan shortly before he died. It is a glorious spring day as I write. The day my father died was also glorious, and I cried like a baby. It was 25 years ago today, May 1, 1993.To the young it must seem like a long time ago. To me it[Read More…]
Co-Written by Richard Gale and Gary Null Today, the internet, often thought of as our world’s “final frontier” for free thinkers and the flow and exchange of ideas and information, is seriously ill. It has been systemically infected by ideological viruses, memes of information intent on poisoning freedom of expression that we take for granted every time we use Google[Read More…]
“Why do so few educational institutions make use of authentically independent journalists who really risk their lives daily to provide us with details which are intentionally ignored by the mainstream media outlets?” — Richard Martin Oxman The Troubles of Northern Ireland lasted — by most accounts — about three decades. Another kind of “Troubles” was spread over approximately the same[Read More…]
“…the power of Tolkien lies in the way that he succeeds, through myth, in making the unseen hand of providence felt by the reader. In his mythical creations, or sub-creations as he would call them, he shows how the unseen hand of God is felt far more forcefully in myth than it is ever felt in fiction. Paradoxically, fiction works with facts,[Read More…]
The Blue Gate, leading to a magnificent two-story white building with blue windows on the foothills of the Mount Solomon, Srinagar has been central to the post-1947 Kashmir narrative. In 1964, when topmost United Nations official Ralph Bunch arrived in Kashmir, the then premier students’ organization, the Jammu and Kashmir Students and Youth League organized a march to the white[Read More…]
Support in Canada continues to grow for a Delhi University Professor who is incarcerated in an Indian jail despite being ninety percent disabled below the waist. After the World Sikh Organization (WSO), the Alliance Against Displacement joins the list of Canadian groups who have raised their voice for wheelchair bound GN Saibaba, who was given a life sentence last[Read More…]
Israeli occupation forces killed three Palestinians in Gaza including a child, in two separate incidents Sunday evening. Regarding the first incident, the army claimed that two “suspects attempted to infiltrate Israel from the southern Gaza Strip and damage the security fence.” The army fired towards them in response, killing one, and injuring the other, who was detained “and transferred to security forces[Read More…]
Recently I came across the following very short film. It reminded me of my heritage and my everything about whom I am, and one of the major ways that I got there. It has to do with the ministry of the stove. Video: Silent worship in a Quaker meeting house where only the fire in the stove is heard,[Read More…]
It has been noted, principally by the Berkeley psychologist Dacher Keltner, that people who display empathy and fairness towards others often reach the top; once there however, they lose such inhibitions in their exercise of power. On a macro scale think of Barack Obama our Nobel Peace Laureate president and the upscaling of the war in Afghanistan, the mushrooming[Read More…]
With his newest anti-Iranian rant, Netanyahu wanted to impress another braggart of reality-TV, President Donald Trump. This time, Netanyahu got professional, speaking in English, using slides and pictures, not cartoons like in the United Nations where he had ridiculed himself. He even exposed two “monuments,” one showing shelves full of folders apparently containing documents about Iran’s secret nuclear program. Perhaps[Read More…]
When I first came to Russia I was thrilled by any artifact of the Soviet Union, by every Red Star I saw atop a building, by every hammer and sickle bas relief. The statues of Marx across from the Bolshoi, of Engles standing tall in the small park across from Kropotkinskaya Metro sent shivers up my spine. But I will[Read More…]
After seven years of utter devastation and bloodletting, a consensus has emerged among all the belligerents of the Syrian war to de-escalate the conflict, except Israel which wants to further escalate the conflict because it has been the only beneficiary of the carnage in Syria. Over the years, Israel has not only provided medical aid and material support to the[Read More…]
On Saturday, April 21, Canada’s science radio show, “Quirks & Quarks,” interviewed Edward Spiers who is a professor of strategic studies at the University of Leeds in the UK. The topic was gas warfare. The interview sounded very much like “Quirks & Quarks” had been recruited to the US-UK propaganda campaign to arouse our populations for war with Russia. http://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/chemical-weapon-science-exploding-ants-and-more-1.4625156/a-scientific-history-of-chemical-weapons-1.4628101[Read More…]
Every year, the world commemorates the victims of Haymarket affair that took place on Tuesday, May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, by observing May 1st as International Workers’ Day in their memory; albeit in Canada & US, 1st September is chosen as Workers’ Day. On that fateful day, the workers had gathered peacefully to demonstrate & advocate for better[Read More…]
Now that the Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu has dismissed the proposal submitted by some seventy -odd Opposition legislators to impeach Supreme Court Chief Justice Dipak Misra, the debate over the issue has to be extended beyond the legalese of the arguments in which our eminent jurists had been indulging all these months, into the arena of commonsense arguments where[Read More…]
Rajendra Trivedi, speaker of the Gujarat Assembly while speaking at the ‘Mega Brahmin Business Summit’ in Gandhinagar on 29 April added himself to the hall of infamy with his comments that Ambedkar was a Brahman. He thought that he was making a profound comment but it is as brain-dead as any of the loud-mouthed comments of the galaxy of[Read More…]
Co-Written by Zubair Nazeer & Musab Omer The recent approval of the Ordinance for changes in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Evidence Act, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act is seen as a great step towards ensuring the safety of women and children in India.The Ordinance has some positive[Read More…]
A group of over 100 journalists and other professionals related to online media today wrote to the Information & Broadcasting minister Smriti Irani to express their concerns over the ministry’s proposal to extend traditional broadcasting rules and restrictions to the Internet. The journalists include both veterans of the industry like Raghav Bahl, MK Venu, Madhu Trehan, Nalini Singh, Paranjoy Guha[Read More…]
Eleven deaths in police firing at Naxalbari gave it an immortal stature in the history of political movement in India. Its name got spread far and wide giving rise to ideologies linked to popular revolution. But there is another similar story of martyrdom in the same region- untold; another monument of martyrs lying in neglect and negation in a corner[Read More…]
Thoughts for World Environment Day – The global economy – threat to life on the Planet 
Drug Shortage In The U.S. Approach All-time High 
Siddaramaiah: A Rational Shudra/OBC With A Commitment To Agriculturism 
Karnataka Elections: Role of Grassroots campaign in election results 
A Note to the Debate on a People’s Development Paradigm 
Five Questions the War on Drugs Should Answer 
Israel is failing to force Palestinians into submission 
Weaknesses of the National Security Strategy 2022 – Part 4. USG makes ludicrous claims to oppose “aggression and coercion in all its forms” 
Proterial(Hitachi) contract Workers struggle succeeds in re-instating 30 workers and 2 Union Leaders 
Sri Lanka: Dilly-Dallying Tactics To Keep The Ethnic Problem Alive And Kicking 
Nita Ambani Cultural centre is opulent but not professional 
Why Intergenerational Thinking Is Essential to Heal the Planet 
U.S. Mainstream Media Faces Criticism From Barack Obama And Lindsey Graham 
A Government Without Ministers (GWM) is the need of the hour 
BJP red-carded in Karnataka 
Dr Navsharan Singh is being mercilessly targeted 
Inquiring into the action taken and justice delivered on the matter of police firing on protestors in Tuticorin 
Imperialism is Inherently Incompatible with Peace, Environment Protection and Happiness 
Most Americans Oppose Killing Horses for Food—Here’s How to End This Brutal Practice Weaknesses of the National Security Strategy 2022 – Part 3. A century of greed for China’s markets drives USG war cries and propaganda 
Belsonika Workers hartal enters 12th day 
Wildlife Photography For Creating Conservation Awareness 
A Few Least Discussed Curious Aspects re: Karnataka Elections 
A Timely Call for Peace in Ukraine by U.S. National Security Experts 
China and the Axis of the Sanctioned – How America’s Divide-and-Rule Strategy in the Middle East Backfired 
NATO Is Creeping Into Asia, Warns North Korea 
Apartheid Israel Among World’s Leading Countries For Militarization, Violence, Abuse And Genocide 
The Day Arrived 
Open letter to the Prime Minister 
Proliferation of fake Aadhaar Cards and false Jandhan bank accounts pose a serious threat to proper use of the Centre’s expenditure under Centrally Sponsored Schemes 
The Path of Change—Principles and Priorities, Agenda and Mobilization 
Has the government allowed private refiners to profiteer on Russian crude imports at the cost of CPSE oil companies and domestic consumers? Calls for an inquiry Weaknesses of the National Security Strategy 2022 – Part 2 False equating of the USG with a golden vision and China with a “darker vision” 
North American Colonization of Indigenous People, Cultures, and System of Social Welfare 
The Theoretical Concept of Geopolitics in International Relations and Global Politics 
This is NO Democracy!! 
Exceptionism in US Empire 
The Coca-Cola-ization of ‘God Bless America’ 
Karnataka Elections 2023: Defeat of Hate 
Revitalizing Tourist Transportation: Shared Taxi Services as a Solution for Mobility in Western Sikkim 
Our beloved K.P.Sasi is no more. Filmmaker, cartoonist, writer, mentor, friend and above all tireless activist championing the cause of every underdog, Sasi breathed his last, mid-afternoon this Christmas day – after battling a medical condition for months. I remember the last time I met him, almost exactly a month before he passed away, at the ayurvedic healing center in[Read More…]
