The past year has been immensely successful for the war industry. The world has spent $1.8 trillion on its military in 2018. The US is leading the charge, while some of its NATO allies are also buffing their war budgets citing the Russian threat despite Moscow decreasing its military spending. The driving force behind this increase is the growing appetite[Read More…]
Union Minister Maneka Gandhi ’s open threat to the voters has let the cat out of the bag. What she was essentially spelling out was that once the results are out and it informs her of the community and area who voted for her, she would then specifically focus her attention on the basis of the vote share she has[Read More…]
Earlier this year, Luke Murry, national security adviser for Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, revealed that the National Security Agency had been averse over the last six months to using the phone surveillance program that hoovers information from millions of US phone calls and text messages. This was hardly a comforting point; the issue spoke as much to competence[Read More…]
It is 60 years since a so-called Government-in-Exile, also called as Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), was founded on April 28, 1959, with its Headquarters in McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, India. The 14th Dalai Lama (born as Lhamo Thondup on 6 July 1935), then aged 24, had just arrived in NEFA a month earlier on March 30, 1959, and soon became CTA’s[Read More…]
If one does not show that the “desirable is feasible,” chances are that the promises will remain on paper, as in the past. Written by General elections are the time for the political parties to vie with each other to produce more innovative and inclusive manifestos than their rivals. There is something for everyone, especially for the marginalised sections —[Read More…]
“I can still hear those cries and painful goodbyes I can still feel that aggressive wind swaying my hair and mind I still feel that blood rush rising through my vein when I hear them saying HUM KASHMIRI HAI AUR KASHMIR HAMARA HAI.” The line echoes the pain created in the absence of a home. Sagrika Kissu, a 26-year-old journalist, wrote[Read More…]
A 16-member fact-finding team of All India Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisation (CDRO) and GanatantrikAdhikar Suraksha Sangathan, Odisha (GASS) had been to Niyamgiri area and Vedanta Plant site, Lanjigada and spent three days from 26th to 28th April, 2019 there. All members got divided into two teams. One team visited various villages of Niyamgiri like Lakpadar, Belang Mandal and Dangamati[Read More…]
In the times we live in, where smoke and mirrors are the world’s two chief weapons of war, fiction is a better guide to contemporary events than ‘facts’ presented by governments and media. A case in point are the horrific Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, that killed over 250 and maimed scores of people, and has sparked fears of[Read More…]
On the nationally-televised “60 minutes” program last night, John Shipton, Julian Assange’s father, issued a powerful call for his son’s freedom. The program was aired on Channel Nine some two weeks after Assange was illegally expelled from Ecuador’s London embassy, where he was granted asylum in 2012, and arrested by British police. Shipton responded to footage of the brutal arrest,[Read More…]
Spain’s governing Socialists won the country’s third election in four years. However, the centrist Socialist have fallen short of a majority. In his victory speech, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the party’s big challenges were to fight inequality, advance co-existence and halt corruption. “The future has won and the past has lost,” he told cheering supporters. Media reports said: Sánchez’s[Read More…]
Exactly one hundred and four years ago world witnessed the first systematic genocide when the international law had adopted no specific legal remedies to prevent such atrocities or decades before Raphael Lemkin coined the term “Genocide” in 1944. The calamity that befell Armenian people lived in Ottoman Empire have been widely discussed as one of the macabre events recorded in[Read More…]
Tik Tok a Social Media app was launched in September 2017 in China and is owned by a company namely ByteDance. In August, 2018, the app merged with the musical.ly to enhance its video community. The app is available for Android and IOS users (except India) and enables them to create a short video containing music in the background. The[Read More…]
The decision of the churches in India to declare the victims who were murdered during the genocide and persecution of the Christians in Kandhamal, needs to be recognised and welcomed. This decision is also giving strength to a community of persecuted Christians all over the country, especially after one decade of the largest attack on the Christian community in Kandhamal.[Read More…]
Prelude: With the end of WWII, it became clearer than ever that India was going to get independence from British Rule. Under the Government of India Act, 1935 the foundation was already laid for an electoral democracy in United India. In winter 1945-1946, elections by “limited franchise”, though, were held for twelve provincial assembles & central assembly of “United India”.[Read More…]
Here’s a question worth asking about America’s seemingly endless global conflicts: if you kill somebody and there’s no one there (on our side anyway), is the United States still at war? That may prove to be the truly salient question when it comes to the future of America’s war on terror, which is now almost 18 years old and encompasses[Read More…]
You started your interview by saying that you are going to have an apolitical interview. You have every right to do that. You can ask every stupid question under the sky – pattern of eating mangoes, bank balance, process of dealing with cold, wish from djinn of Aladdin’s lamp, sleep hours, desire for becoming PM, anger management, valuable things held[Read More…]
“The first law of humanity is not to kill your children” Joachim Hans Schellnhuber,Germany’s and the EU’s chief climate scientist. “we will be in a position where we set off an irreversible chain reaction beyond human control that will most likely lead to the end of our civilization as we know it”… “Now we probably don’t even have a future[Read More…]
28 April 1919 can be considered as the birth of the League of Nations. The creation of the League had been on the agenda of the Peace Conference at Versailles, just outside of Paris, from its start in January 1919. The U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was the chief champion of the League. The creation of such an organization was discussed[Read More…]
Political transition in the Middle East and North Africa operates so far on the principle of ‘The King is dead, long live the King.’ Libya’s battle for Tripoli alongside ongoing mass anti-government demonstrations that toppled autocratic leaders of Algeria and Sudan demonstrate that both popular Arab protests that in 2011 forced four presidents out of office and the counterrevolution it[Read More…]
“Enough threats and deadlines against the Cuban Revolution. They could not, cannot and will not (work),” said Miguel Diaz-Canel, the President of Cuba. Media reports from Cuba said: President Miguel Diaz-Canel said: Cuba has had enough of U.S. threats and ultimatums. The Cuban president denounced 60-years of U.S attempts to destabilize Cuba. “Enough threats and deadlines against the Cuban Revolution.[Read More…]
Ed Lehman is a Canadian Communist,and a comrade of mine. I don’t say such things often or lightly, especially about Westerners. But he became my comrade, and we struggled shoulder to shoulder, for five days. Not in the South American wilderness, not in Afghanistan or Syria, but in Regina, a small Canadian city, the capital of the province of Saskatchewan.[Read More…]
In February 2010, the Indian government placed an indefinite moratorium on the commercial release of Bt brinjal. Prior to this decision, numerous independent scientists from India and abroad had pointed out safety concerns regarding Bt brinjal based on data and reports in the biosafety dossier that Mahyco, the crop developer, had submitted to the regulators. Campaigner Aruna Rodrigues explains: “The then Minister[Read More…]
Piyush and Anuj are not your average kids in the block who pack their bags with notebooks and lunchboxes and go to school everyday. They are the actual free-birds who never go to school and spending their entire day playing with their siblings in a one room apartment in Jasola Vihar. Their parents leave early morning and leave the house[Read More…]
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is at the centre of serious controversies in pre-election 2019 dynamics of political decisions. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is at the centre of serious controversies in pre-election 2019 dynamics of political decisions. It’s uses if not abuses, by the party in power, now or in past, is harming its credibility. Its ‘independence’ is no[Read More…]
Interview by Richa Mishra In his book, Arun Kumar suggests ways to convert the complex levy into a ‘Ground Nourishing Tax’ Change is not always easy to adapt to, especially when it is a completely new tax regime like the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which even proponents of reforms acknowledge is very complex. No surprises then, that it[Read More…]
Sri Lanka does not seem to have returned to its normal conditions even after six days’ of the Easter-day carnage. Panic still grew and fears of unexpected attacks were haunting people even as warnings come in different forms in the Island. Reports of ‘further attacks’ and ‘reprisals’ have led to alerts that people stay away from public gatherings, including in[Read More…]
Carbon Debt is simply the damage-related cost of greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution that if not addressed now will inescapably have to be paid by future generations. However GHG emissions continue to rise inexorably and there is no global program to draw down CO2 and other GHGs from the atmosphere. While young people are now vociferously demanding massive climate action, inescapable[Read More…]
Amidst a global renaissance of xenophobia and antiscientific fundamentalism, Jared Diamond’s book is a valuable reminder that man is after all an animal shaped by his ecology When The Third Chimpanzee appeared in 1992, the claim that humans should be classified with the common and the pygmy chimpanzee was novel. TTC is the first of a series of popular[Read More…]
Atmabodhananda (left) at Matri Sadan Ahsrama[1] Haridwar, 26-04-19 Photo courtesy – Whatsapp Group নদী বাঁচাও জীবন বাঁচাও (nodi banchao jibon banchao)[2] It was afternoon of 25-April. Director of National Clean Ganga Mission Mr Rajiv Ranjan Mishra and Executive Director (Projects) Mr G Ashoke Kumar rushed to Matri Sadan Ashrama at noon and talked with Atmabodhananda. They assured that within a[Read More…]
Growing encroachments, pollution & Lackadaisical approach of state authorities damage the wetlands Kashmir is God gifted with immense natural resources that give it a paradise personification on earth. Being geographically small and fragile ecosystem, it balances its eco-stability through natural endowments it holds. Of late, Kashmir is marred by political & geo instability that had put its ecology at the[Read More…]
Dead capital is the capital that cannot (easily) be converted into investment. Hernando de Soto’s term dead capital could have been about India as well. The country has a huge stock of informal assets held by the poor that is not recognised by the law, but worth in billions. De Soto’s story however captures only one side of the Indian[Read More…]
Values, values and more values. Another dreary dish added to the smorgasbord of Democratic hopefuls for the White House. This one is a bit cured and worn, smoked by history. Biden, having performed the role of Vice President for Barack Obama and senator for Delaware, is making his third attempt to not so much gallop as crawl into the US[Read More…]
As the Sixth Extinction moves in, Jews, Christians, Muslims and those of other religious beliefs will be forced to confront this question: Have I the courage to challenge those of my religious presuppositions that are working against the formation of a new world society living in consonance with our planet even if it requires that I question the past and[Read More…]
Introduction The German-Jewish critic and philosopher Walter Benjamin (1892–1940) is at the present commonly regarded as one of the most important witnesses to European modernity. Walter Benjamin was known as great thinker, critic, social commentator, and theorist has become even more apparent in the English speaking world. The period from the 1910s to the late 1930s witnessed historical and intellectual[Read More…]
Judge Pitman of the Western District of Texas Thursday (April 25) issued a 56-page opinion striking down H.B. 89, the Texas Anti-BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) Act, as facially unconstitutional. The Court held that the Texas Anti-BDS Act “threatens to suppress unpopular ideas” and “manipulate the public debate” on Israel and Palestine “through coercion rather than persuasion.” The Court concluded:[Read More…]
Thousands of people across Colombia are joining anti-government protests on Friday. At one stage, the protests turned violent in the capital of Bogota. Media reports said: Thousands of protesters marched in central Bogota to demonstrate against President Ivan Duque’s policies, which are destroying workers’ rights as well as the education system. Masked demonstrators tore away nets protecting the metropolitan cathedral, which[Read More…]
The intermediate examination board of Telangana has created a massive systemic crisis. About 20 students have already committed suicide and many more are likely to die. The solution to this problem does not lie in just recounting the marks in the answer sheets nor does it lie in the revaluation of answer sheets. The problem is much bigger. It is[Read More…]
The United Nations special rapporteur on the right to privacy, Joe Cannataci, was finally permitted yesterday to meet with Julian Assange inside London’s Belmarsh prison. The WikiLeaks journalist and publisher has been held virtually incommunicado, in denial of his fundamental legal and democratic rights, since the British police dragged him out of Ecuador’s embassy more than two weeks ago. This[Read More…]
On Tuesday, 23 April 2019, the United Nations Security Council voted resolution N° 2467 concerning the use of rape as a weapon in times of armed conflict. This resolution builds on an earlier resolution of 24 June 2013 which called for the complete and immediate cessation of all acts of sexual violation by all parties in armed conflicts. The new[Read More…]
Co-Written by Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese Washington, DC – Thursday, April 25, the day activists anticipated the Secret Service might evict them from the Venezuelan embassy, turned into a day of growing support for and attention to the embassy protection efforts. Activists are making it clear that they are in the embassy with the permission of the foreign ministry.[Read More…]
This article is a sequel to my last piece “Blaming Muslims Again! Terror Attacks in Sri Lanka” (Countercurrents, April 23, 2019). As so many absurd and conflicting stories and claims by experts, laymen, victims and purported perpetrators, 9/11 gave birth to so many conspiracy theories, similarly, this Easter Sunday terror attacks in Sri Lanka have also brought us to the[Read More…]
As Notre Dame burned, as the flames leapt from its roof of ancient timbers, many of us watched in grim horror. Hour after hour, on screen after screen, channel after channel, you could see that 850-year-old cathedral, a visiting spot for 13 million people annually, being gutted, its roof timbers flaring into the evening sky, its steeple collapsing in a ball of fire. It was dramatic[Read More…]
“To give up beauty and the sensual happiness that comes with it and devote one’s self exclusively to unhappiness requires a nobility I lack. However, after all, nothing is true that compels us to make it exclusive. Isolated beauty ends in grimaces, solitary justice in oppression. Anyone who seeks to serve the one to the exclusion of the other serves[Read More…]
Strengthening MGNREGA is important to alleviate rural distress The election manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party has been recently announced and MGNREGA has been completely ignored in the manifesto. While more than 13 crore people across the country are dependent on MGNREGA and it is being the biggest employment opportunity for the rural sector, not even a mention of NREGA[Read More…]
(The ideal thing to keep the Tourist inflow appreciable and protect the environment is to start dedicated charter flights from some of the most potential markets to destinations in Kashmir) The most beneficial aspect of Tourism is “Sustainable Tourism” which strikes a balance between the tourist in flow and preservation of environment. Globally Tourism is supposed to be booming business.[Read More…]
Co-Written by Meer Abass & Aurangzeb Arif ” to ask the victim what lies beneath the misery “ ” They say , I was never a part of this world ‘ Ever been to lanes of mockery, then you find what it takes the decorum of disgrace. The infamous rape of a girl child by the demonic 50 year old[Read More…]
Dictators often infantilize people. They portray the people as their children, and themselves as great patriarchs. Stalin to Chacha Nehru to Nasser, many have presented themselves as the authoritative father figure. At present, Xi Jinping is repeating the same, presenting himself as the Communist (or Confucian?) Father of the Chinese nation. Modi and Trump seem to be great exceptions to[Read More…]
It is after midnight in the Venezuela Embassy in Washington, DC and we expect the Secret Service and the DC police to come tomorrow to arrest and evict us on behalf of the illegal coup government they are trying to put in place. We are making our correspondence with the State Department public so that there is a record that[Read More…]
The noose is tightening around the WikiLeaks world, yet another dedicated attempt to strangle the channels of information that might cast light over the dastardly deeds of state. Connections are being targeted; associates are being brought in. Officials of the United States, having found heart in the revocation of Julian Assange’s asylum courtesy of Ecuadorean weak will and an accommodating[Read More…]
The carnage in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday has been condemned by people everywhere. Individuals and groups from different faith traditions have not ceased to emphasise that the mass slaughter of at least 321 persons in churches attending Easter services and in hotels on 21st April is a heinous crime in the eyes of any religion. It is important to[Read More…]
The second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation is about to open in Beijing. It will take place from 25th to 27thApril, 2019. The Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to deliver the keynote address. It is expected to be an event of tremendous proportions and importance: leaders from 37 countries will participate, including Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and[Read More…]
Preventing Palestine – A Political History From Camp David to Oslo. Seth Anziska. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2018. In all my recent readings of history and current events, Preventing Palestine stands out as being one of the best written – if not the best – and one of the most essential for understanding the overall historical process of Israeli[Read More…]
Though small in number, transgender community is an integral part of the country. But when elections take place, they are not even considered by most political parties to contest. The first transgender candidate from India’s westernmost state for the Lok Sabha Jaysawal Naresh Babulal said that she would contest the elections eventhough she was forced to register as a male.[Read More…]
A woman staff member has accused the CJI( Chief Justice of India ) ) , Ranjan Gogoi, of sexual harassment through a sworn affidavit handed over to 22 judges of the Supreme Court. The said woman staffer stated “He hugged me around the waist, and touched me all over my body with his arms and by pressing his body against mine,[Read More…]
The Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, Jamia Millia Islamia has organized 2nd Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Annual Memorial Lecture on 23 April 2019, entilled, ‘Democracy, State & Welfare Under UPA & NDA: The Regime Effect’, which has been addressed by Prof. Zoya Hasan, a noted Political scientist and currently an emeritus Professor at Centre for[Read More…]
It was 1984. The second and last formal employment of my career was in the tea plantations in the Anamallai Hills in Coimbatore District of Tamilnadu. I worked there for seven years, one of the most enjoyable and instructive periods of my life. Fires and estates are companions. Not surprising given the combination of people who smoke and don’t always[Read More…]
The Sri Lanka Easter bombings that killed more than 350 people including foreign nationals raise several pertinent questions Why did the bombings received far less foreign media coverage than Christ Church terrorist attack and Notre Dame fire? Why was the intelligence warning which came on April 4 was ignored and even withheld according to Sri Lankan minister Lakshman Kiriella It[Read More…]
A court in Hong Kong has announced prison sentence for the democratic activists associated with umbrella movement in Hong Kong for the crime that their movement had caused problems to the common people when 79 days movement had spread in the city; according to the judgment the streets were affected and public nuisance was caused. The punishment is up to[Read More…]
Be careful while criticising the Government. Of course you will be anti-national if you do so. But now it is more than that. Now you have to face the cursing Sants. The Sants of BJP through their deep penance and meditation in the Himalayas have acquired some special powers. Gods impressed by their deep tapasya appeared before them and inquired[Read More…]
Co-Written By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers The next two days will be crucial for the protection of the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, DC. The Embassy Protection Collective is prepared to stay at the embassy for the foreseeable future, for as long as it takes to protect the sovereignty of Venezuela from a coup led by the United States with its[Read More…]
The world is not so much a stage as a simulacrum for those who think it so. And if the stage goes bad, it is fitting that those who get thrown onto it change it in the most daring and provocative way. Politics is now as much a director’s production as it is an estranging show for the participating voter. [Read More…]
Paris – 15 April 2019 – The heart of France is on fire. An inferno rocked France. Notre Dame, cultural icon of France and UNESCO declared World Heritage, was burning. The flames devastated the wooden roof and the spire. They caused, at first sight, only light damage on the 12th century cathedral’s structure and historic treasures, as most of the[Read More…]
As the 300-foot spire of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris tragically came tumbling down on live television, my thoughts ventured to Nuseirat Refugee Camp, my childhood home in the Gaza Strip. Then, also on television, I watched as a small bulldozer hopelessly clawed through the rubble of my neighborhood mosque. I grew up around that mosque. I spent many[Read More…]
The West Bank is under threat of annexation by Israel now; the caged Palestinians in Gaza are clamoring, at a grassroots level, for the right to return to their homes and property a few kms away in Israel, as per UN Res 194, and being pushed back with brutality. The “deal of the century” is looming darkly in the horizon. [Read More…]
Whenever, in ordinary circumstances, the subject of violence comes up, most people throw up their hands in horror and comment along the lines that it is ‘in our genes’, ‘nothing can be done about it’ or other words that reflect the powerlessness that most people feel around violence. It is true that violence is virtually ubiquitous, has a near-infinite variety[Read More…]
Ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power at the Centre in 2014 the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has been continuously on its target on one pretext or another. The BJP and its ideological mentor the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) drag the name of AMU every now and then generating unwanted controversies and public attention. The most recent remark was that of Uttar[Read More…]
Our country is known and admired across the world for its enormous diversity, pluralism and the mutual respect that unites millions of Indians in a multi-cultural ethos. This is the idea of India that our freedom movement held high. That is why the modern values of democracy and separation of religion from politics, for which our country’s freedom-fighters fought hard,[Read More…]
A Window Into Occupation and Survival in a Less Than Holy Land I never intended to run a marathon, but when I realized that I would be on hand for the 2019 Palestine Marathon, I registered. I did so in solidarity with the goals of the aptly named Right to Movement, the global running community founded in 2013 to organize the[Read More…]
In the recent Parliament elections in the two Telugu states there was an interesting discussion: who speaks good English whether Chandrbabu Naidu or Jaganmohan Reddy or KCR? Three of them are Shudras. Chandrababu Naidu and KCR are first generation English learners, whereas Jaganmohan Reddy is a second generation English medium educated leader, as his father was a doctor and could[Read More…]
This year’s World Malaria Day theme, “Zero Malaria Starts With Me” re-energizes the fight to eliminate malaria which, despite being preventable and treatable, still kills over half a million people every year. While incredible progress has been made in the past 15 years (with over 7 million malaria deaths averted and about 40% reduction in malaria globally), the fight against[Read More…]
Fr. Manoj Nayak, 44 years old, is one of the main leaders of the Kandhamal Survivors’ Association. After the major communal violence in Kandhamal in 2008, he has been involved in relief, rehabilitation, peace building and assisting the victims and survivors in the justice delivery process. During the Kandhamal violence, his house also was attacked and burnt. His family was[Read More…]
I am very disappointed at countries and individuals who have not verified the truth about who was behind the latest rounds of terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka before finger pointing at Islam and Muslims for killing around 300 innocent people in Colombo. This insensitivity, if not prejudice against Muslims, reminds me of what leading newspapers and analysts in the US[Read More…]
Recently, a certain political concept has been resurrected that warrants interrogation. The notion of a ‘red-brown’ alliance has been thrown around so ubiquitously as a form of political slander that any substantive meaning to the term has been evacuated. Rather than accurately designating any associations that may exist between the left and far right, the idea of a ‘red-brown’ coalition,[Read More…]
The Strait of Hormuz, a key strategic waterway situated between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, is now tense. In reaction to the U.S. plan of interference, Iran has threatened to close the shipping lane vital for the world trade. Media reports said: Iran’s Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri stated on Monday that if Iran is not allowed to export oil[Read More…]
Alarm bells went off in September in Washington’s corridors of power when John Bolton’s National Security Council (NSC) asked the Pentagon for options for military strikes against Iran.[1] The council was responding to three missiles fired by an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia that landed in an empty lot close to the United States embassy in Baghdad and the launching of rockets[Read More…]
“Shall we not learn from life its laws, dynamics, balances? Learn to base our needs not on death, destruction, waste, but renewal?” — Nancy Newhall On 16 April 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump vetoed S.J. Resolution 7 to withdraw U.S. support for the Saudi and United Arab Emirates-led coalition in the war on Yemen. The resolution had passed both houses[Read More…]
Co-Written by Badre Alam Khan & Sanjay Kumar Ever since the Hindu nationalist forces led by PM Modi came to power in 2014, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the range of violence and atrocities against Dalits, religious and gender minorities have increased. And a new trend infamously known as mob-lynching, in which mostly Muslims including Dalits[Read More…]
Countercurrents interviewed Kimaya Mahajan of Bellevue, WA, USA. She is a 14 year old climate justice activist who has a fresh take on the issue. CC: Kimaya, tell us how you got involved in Climate Justice? Kimaya: I’ve been involved with social justice in my community for some time now, and in all honesty, there aren’t a lot of student[Read More…]
The entire world remains confronted with the horrors that unfolded yesterday throughout Sri Lanka. Whilst the country remains under curfew, the authorities have pinned the blame for the attack on an obscure group called National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ). NTJ is reportedly an Islamist terror group that as noted by Sri Lankan authorities, has multiple links to foreign countries. The links[Read More…]
My mind is numb, my heart is heavy, the tears have dried, Yet the day dawns and life must be lived, Unanswered, unanswerable questions, Actions, reactions, a vicious cycle that must be broken. As I sit down to write this, my biggest struggle is with myself, ‘Should I write this or not? What use is it? Surely the next planner[Read More…]
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Or to bring this thought experiment into the modern age — if it happens in the forest, does it stay in the forest? I ask this question because it has a bearing on the article to come. Specifically, what if[Read More…]
The day of ‘Resurrection’ became a black Sunday for hundreds in Colombo who gathered in Churches for Easter prayers. Many in nearby hotels, including several foreign nationals, also fell victim to the bomb blasts. As of now, the death toll is reaching 300 and hundreds of people are in serious condition in different hospitals. Reports suggest that the eight bomb[Read More…]
A series of coordinated bombings struck three churches and three hotels on Easter Sunday killing 207 people in the worst attacks in Sri Lanka since the end of the civil war 10 years ago. At least 450 people were wounded in total of eight explosions. According to police several of the attacks were carried out by suicide bombers. Most of[Read More…]
Notre Dame is an iconic edifice of French culture and of Humanity and the conflagration has shocked the world, as have the recent Christchurch Massacres in New Zealand mosques and now the Sri Lanka Massacres in churches and hotels. However while these tragedies have laudably received massive media coverage in the Christian West, there is scant coverage of such historical, recent[Read More…]
Easter is the day when it is said, the Christ resurrected again. Devotees celebrate because they believe the Christ was crucified for them. Whether he is a myth or reality, it does not mean but one fact is clear, the life of Christ is inspiring and suggest love conquer all. As I thought of calling friends, the events and devastation[Read More…]
Co-Written by Kevin Zeese & Margaret Flowers We are writing to you from inside the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, DC where we are taking action against a US coup of the independent and sovereign Bolivarian Republican of Venezuela. The Embassy Protection Collective (Colectivos Por La Paz) is here with the permission of the Venezuelan government to show our solidarity with the Venezuelan[Read More…]
With the landslide victory of Volodymyr Zelensky, who won 73 percent of the vote, the comedian will become the president of Ukraine. Understanding how this occurred becomes easy when people review US government documents published by Wikileaks about the outgoing president. Who is “OU”? Our Ukraine. In a classified diplomatic cable from 2006 released by Wikileaks.org, U.S. officials refer to Poroshenko as “Our[Read More…]
The famous physicist David Bohm wrote, “To be confused about what is different and what is not is to be confused about everything.” (Wholeness and the Implicate Order, 1980) There is confusion in the Public Mind, in which it is generally trying to make different what is not different and make what is not identical the same. The 1% who[Read More…]
Note: The UFCW and Stop and Shop announced Monday morning that they have reached a tentative agreement. Details to follow. At precisely 1:00 Eastern time on the afternoon of April 11th, 31,000 workers at 253 Stop and Shop grocery stores throughout Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts walked off their jobs. The strike came after several months of failed negotiations in[Read More…]
In 1830, British colonial administrator Lord Metcalfe said India’s villages were little republics that had nearly everything they could want for within themselves. India’s ability to endure derived from these communities: “Dynasty after dynasty tumbles down but the village community remains the same. It is in a high degree conducive to their happiness, and to the enjoyment of a great portion[Read More…]
Friends of the Earth International, World Rainforest Movement, Global Forest Coalition, GAIA Foundation and tens of other environmental organisations around the world sent on 22 April an international appeal to India, its states, Supreme Court and to the UN organs to prevent forced evictions of millions of India’s forest dwellers. Such evictions would violate India’s obligations on human rights and[Read More…]
Today is April 22..we, a group of children are sitting in a room after a sultry morning with rain clouds in the skies and a silence in the air. We are discussing the theme of this year’s Earth day which is PROTECT OUR SPECIES. This theme means to draw attention to the rapid rate of extinction of living beings- plants,[Read More…]
More than 200 killed and at least 500 injured as eight explosions rocked Catholic churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka while Christians began Easter Sunday celebrations. Media report said: The blasts started at around 8:45am local time at St. Anthony’s Church in Colombo and St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, a Catholic-majority town outside of the capital. The Zion Church[Read More…]
Vietnam, the country that defeated U.S. imperialism through decades-long war, is seeking justice for the victims of Agent Orange. Media reports said: Vietnam, the Southeast Asian country and victim of imperialist war, has felt encouraged by the multimillion-dollar verdicts against Monsanto in California, U.S.A. Monsanto, one of the largest biotech firms in the world, supplied the US military with the[Read More…]
The richly disastrous mess that is Libya has been moving into another phase of inspired aggression at the hands of General Khalifa Haftar. As he does, UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj is anxious. For some three weeks, the General’s eastern forces, known as the Libyan National Army (LNA) have been edging towards the capital of the fractured state in a[Read More…]
The growth of the military-industrial complex poses an existential threat to humanity. Daniel Ellsberg, peace activist and Vietnam War whistleblower discusses with Tellus Senior Fellow Allen White the continuing existential threat posed by the military-industrial complex—and what needs to be done about it. You became a pivotal figure in the anti-Vietnam War movement when you released the Pentagon Papers, a[Read More…]
Two attacks in as many weeks in Pakistan’s troubled province of Balochistan shatter hopes that the country has gained the upper hand in efforts to reduce political violence. The attacks also raise questions about Pakistan’s ability to walk a geopolitical tightrope. Coming days before Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan embarked on a two-day visit to Iran, the attacks highlight[Read More…]
You’ve blessed so many, Henry, whom you do not know, Together with your family and every friend. We won’t forget you, even when it’s time to go. In loving memories, good lives don’t ever end. You’ve lived well, Henry, without benefit of fame— The fate of most on turbulent, huge, teeming Earth; But human worth is far more than a[Read More…]
The Government of India’s official website shows that Jharkhand has failed terribly in MGNREGA implementation in 2018-19 while the country has seen a steady increase in work demands under the programme Jharkhand has gone through a rough patch in MGNREGA implementation in the financial year 2018-19. The implementation of MGNREGA was almost standstill for nearly about 6 months during[Read More…]
The famous Ghanian proverb attributed to the Ghanian scholar James Emmanuel Kwegyir- Aggrey “If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a women you educate a family” sheds light on how women were traditionally denied education. This maxim advocates for creating new opportunities for women by expanding their social space, but within the ideology of[Read More…]
In the age of branding where media decide what you need and impose upon you even the ‘leaders’ in the opposition, those who work tirelessly for the rights of the people are not merely ignored but forgotten too. Manas Jena is an activist intellectual contesting on Indian National Congress ticket from Jajpur reserved constituency of Odisha. As a friend[Read More…]
By fielding Sadhvi Pragya, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants people to believe that she and other accused arrested in various blast cases were ‘framed in fabricated cases’ and that ‘saffron terror’ is a myth. But while doing so the, BJP has undermined the fact that Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur still remains a key accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast[Read More…]
What is the ‘Monroe Doctrine’? In brief, it is a document which defines the entire Western Hemisphere as a ‘backyard’ of the United States. It ‘philosophically’ justifies Washington’s neo-colonialism, and the most barbaric coups it has been triggering, as well as covered and open interventions in the Caribbean, and in Central and South America. And now, National Security Advisor John[Read More…]
Mass arrests of climate change protesters continued in London yesterday, after the Conservative government’s Home Secretary Sajid Javid demanded police “use the full force of the law.” More than 682 protesters have been arrested since Monday. “No one should be allowed to break the law without consequence,” Javid tweeted Thursday morning. He called on police to “take a firm stance”[Read More…]
With all the doom-and-gloom studies that have come out about climate change, you might be feeling a little guilty about your carbon footprint. Did you turn off the lights when you left for work this morning? Or leave the air conditioner running? Doing what you can individually to bring down greenhouse gas emissions is important to keep in mind this[Read More…]
The following interview with eco journalist Robert Hunziker represents the culmination of a decade of climate research that is based upon original/primary scientific source material. In turn, this interview prompted a followup article entitled:Three Climatic Monsters with Asteroid Impact, Parts 1 and 2. As such, the interview explores real, already happening, indisputable climate change that is starting to take down[Read More…]
The pangolin is a timid little creature going about its nocturnal ways, slurping up ants and termites with a tongue longer than its body. It has no teeth. Its defense when threatened is to roll up into a ball shielded by its scales — an armor plating that is the cause of its woes. Ranging in size from 3 to[Read More…]
On April 12 Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau released a statement congratulating Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu on his fifth electoral victory. Two statements stood out for their misleading role in creating a contrived narrative. The first statement concerns democracy, “During the conversation, the two leaders spoke of the underlying democratic values shared by both countries. “ Indeed, there is a common democratic[Read More…]
As India (read part of Indian society) actively celebrated along with symbolic governmental formal gestures the Birth anniversary of India’s chief architect of the Constitution, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, it was time to review where our society as a whole stands compared to the Constitutional idealism adopted around 70 years ago. Constitutional idealism is a supreme policy goal for us as[Read More…]
Justice Sachar, His Report and Muslims Today (20 April 2019) is the first death anniversary of Justice Rajindar Sachar – a socialist visionary, a Justice par excellence, a true secular and democrat, an unrelenting human rights and civil liberties champion and a wonderful person having complete faith in human goodness. While paying her tribute to him on his demise, Seema[Read More…]
International Mother Earth Day on 22 April each year was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2009. Its aim is to promote living in harmony with Nature and to achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations. The concept of living in harmony with Nature was seen by the U.N.[Read More…]
Sometime in the near future it is highly probable that the Arctic will no longer have sea ice, meaning zero ice for the first time in eons, aka: the Blue Ocean Event. Surely, the world is not prepared for the consequences of such an historic event, which likely turns the world topsy-turvy, negatively impacting agriculture with gonzo weather patterns, thus[Read More…]
Julian Assange continues to ripple and roam as a cipher through the political and media scape of the world. Detained in Belmarsh maximum security prison, the sort of stately abode only reserved for the most dangerous of criminals, many with indeterminate sentences, he electrifies and concerns. The US political classes continue to simmer with an obsession that has gone feral. [Read More…]
There is little that Russia and the United States agree on these days. Renegade Libyan Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar may be a rare exception. As Mr. Haftar’s mortars rained on the southern suburbs of the Libyan capital Tripoli and fighting between his Libyan National Army (LNA) and the United Nations-recognized government expanded to the south of the country, both[Read More…]
‘Getting data off internet is like taking a drink from a firehose’ said an American entrepreneur Mitchell David Kapor. This though provoking quote seems to sum up the data glut scenario that institutions worldwide are willingly or unwillingly called upon to embrace today including the central banks, which are arguably considered as conservative and traditional in their approaches. The complexity[Read More…]
The silence is almost deafening. Is it the quiet before the storm? – Or is the US giving up on Venezuela? I don’t think so. It’s more like a regrouping after a first defeat, well, it’s a multiple defeat, if we start counting since the failed coup attempt against Hugo Chavez on 11 April 2002. However, Washington is not giving[Read More…]
As we celebrate Earth Day in 2019, we need to recognize that more than climate change threatens our environment and our very existence. We have passed or are approaching several Planetary Boundaries outside of which human society may not survive. Environmental scientists have developed the concept of Planetary Boundaries to identify Earth system processes that human activity is disrupting. They[Read More…]
Characterizations of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act have followed agendas – its opponents maintaining it is a bill for the wealthy, and its supporters arguing that the bill fairly satisfies all economic levels. A previous article, Failure of Trump Tax Cuts, analyzed the effects of the Tax cuts on the economy and showed that tax cuts do not pay[Read More…]
If there were an adjective that would describe my personality for most of my life it would be “intense”. My old grandmother who raised me dealt with it by letting me explode out the door with the dog and cat in the morning, and then sitting or standing nearby watching me as I ran across the fields and through the[Read More…]
A Lesson in Educational Nihilism on a Grand Scale Three weeks ago, I sat in a cramped conference room in the large public high school where I teach in Beaverton, Oregon. I was listening to the principal deliver a scripted PowerPoint presentation on the $35 million budget deficit our district faces in the upcoming school year. Teachers and staff members[Read More…]
Following are the passages that I consider to be the chief and most important allegations that are in the opening 11% (that’s up through page 49 of the of the 448-page document) of the “Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election”. That’s Robert Mueller’s March 2019 report, which had been commissioned by the U.S. Congress[Read More…]
On 10 April 2019, Prakash Lakda, a 50-year old Adivasi of Jurmu village of Gumla’s Dumri block, was lynched to death by a mob of men from the Sahu community of neighbouring Jairagi village. Three other victims from Jurmu – Peter Kerketta, Belarius Minj and Janerius Minj – sustained severe injuries due to the beating by the mob. A fact-finding[Read More…]
Violence manifests all around us every day, sometimes subtly and sometimes pervasively, but we often miss it. Except for the occasional headlines in the paper, mentioning road rage incidents where two drivers were caught in a brawl or an odd story about domestic violence which managed to escape the deep shutters of society and made it to the court or[Read More…]
Interesting trends in the area of goods trade between the EU and U.S., and between the EU and China have emerged recently. These trends carry possibility of increased global economic tension. Media reports said: The EU’s trade surplus in goods with the U.S. increased in the first two months of 2019 while its deficit with China widened. According to Eurostat,[Read More…]
The new Netflix series “Our Planet” documents the devastation wrought by humans on animals and their habitats. It’s heartbreaking. In fact, some scenes are so wrenching that Netflix last week tweeted a list of time stamps for scenes that “animal lovers may want to skip.” One of those scenes is in the second episode (“Frozen World”). It shows Pacific walruses, one after[Read More…]
“But no matter the destruction, the spirit of what it means to be a cathedral can and does survive such catastrophes.” Becky Clark, Church of England director of cathedrals and church buildings, April 17, 2019 The destruction of the sacred will engender moving responses. But the scope, and the particularity of that response varies. The conflagration affecting Notre-Dame de Paris,[Read More…]
(The failure of various government agencies in executing flood prevention measures in spite of a lapse of almost 5 years is a recipe for new disaster!) According to a news report, the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry has expressed concern over abrupt rise in Jhelum water level. According to them just a few millimeters of rain have caused such[Read More…]
President Donald Trump has rejected a resolution from the Congress to end the 4-year old Yemen war which has killed tens of thousands of people and spawned what the United Nations calls the world’s most dire humanitarian crisis, with the country on the brink of famine. The resolution passed the House of Representatives in April and the Senate in March,[Read More…]
The youth of the world everywhere blow bubbles on behalf of Mother Earth in support of implementing in every nation things like, a: Carbon Tax; New Green Deal; Keep Fossil Fuels in the Ground; institute a World Peace Academy; Ban all Nuclear Weapons and Plastic Bottles; and so many other things that corrupt and pollute this world and all of[Read More…]
So, what have we learned from the Israeli legislative elections on April 9? A whole lot. To start with, don’t let such references as the “tight race” between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his main rival, Benny Gantz, fool you. Yes, Israelis are divided on some issues that are particular to their social and economic makeup. But they[Read More…]
Dear Sisters, As the golden light of dusk falls and the roosting cries of birds eager to settle in the branches of trees all around reaches a crescendo, ,the harsh and piercing sound of the piling engines and cutters also slows down…..but I know it will start all over again tomorrow morning waking the birds, the mongooses, the tiny butterflies[Read More…]
The government of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir said civilian traffic on the highway was banned from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Sunday and Wednesday until May 31, to allow for exclusive movement of security convoys.The decision comes after a suicide bomber rammed his car into a military convoy on the same highway – a lifeline for[Read More…]
One of the areas of my responsibility was the Commissary. This was the company owned department store from where you got your weekly supply of food and practically everything else you needed. It had a small frozen foods section, rough wooden shelves with rice, flour, lentils and other groceries stacked on them, farming tools, alcohol and beverages, tea, sugar, condiments[Read More…]
An affidavit unsealed by US prosecutors on Monday has underscored the unlawful character of the Trump administration’s request that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange be extradited to the US in the wake of his illegal expulsion from Ecuador’s London embassy and arrest by the British police last Thursday. The affidavit was made by Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) special agent Megan[Read More…]
Washington DC meeting to plan war in Venezuela US pushing for war with Venezuela US forces ready to attack Venezuela: Southern Commander Maduro rejects Bolsonaro’s invasion threats Imperialism is moving ahead with its war plan in Venezuela. Meeting to plan war Media reports said: Samuel Moncada, the Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN, denounced an April 10-secret meeting at Washington D.C.’s Center[Read More…]
Decent Australians want the Labor Party to win in the forthcoming Australian elections for the sake of the young, poor, disabled , sick, elderly, unemployed, Indigenous and the environment. However the right wing-dominated Labor Opposition is merely better than the appalling present Coalition Government and is just as bad as a pro-Apartheid Israel, pro-Apartheid, and pro-war US lackey. Now pro-Apartheid[Read More…]
Throughout history, dark and reactionary forces have always attempted to control the world; by violence, by deceit, by kidnapping and perverting the mainstream narrative,or by spreading fear among the masses. Consistently, brave and honest individuals have been standing up, exposing lies, confronting the brutality and depravity.Some have fought against insane and corrupt rulers by using swords or guns; others have[Read More…]
On 11 April 2019, WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange was dragged from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London by UK police and arrested for breaching a bail condition. See‘Arrest update – SW1’. Upon arrival at a London police station, Julian was ‘further arrested’ on behalf of the United States governmentto satisfy an extradition warrant under Section 73 of the UK Extradition Act.[Read More…]
Indignation has no limits! Arresting Julian Assange is murdering the truth, murdering Human Rights – and eliminating freedom of speech, let alone freedom of the media. The latter has been a farce since a while, but what happened on 11 April and in preparation of 11 April – the storming by UK police of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London –[Read More…]
So much hullabaloo; so much pent-up anger and, let’s face it, so much opportunity for the political classes of Australia. The theme since 2016 is electoral interference; the object: whichever power so happens to afford an opportunity to gather support against. Demonising the Chinese has been a specialty of Australian politics since the first members of the middle kingdom began[Read More…]
Nazareth: After winning the Israeli election with a slim majority, in a campaign that grew more sordid and vilifying by the day, Benjamin Netanyahu is poised to begin his fifth term as Israeli prime minister. The culmination of his dirty tricks campaign was an election-day stunt in which his Likud party broke regulations – and possibly the law –[Read More…]
Reading about immigration policy, religious and racial bigotry, and terrorism fears in America in 1919 offers an eerie sense of decades melting away and past and present blurring together. The blend isn’t exact. Bigotry was expressed much more explicitly a century ago, not in code as it usually is now. Jim Crow laws in the South and other forms of[Read More…]
The modern UN Refugee Convention is now so flea-bitten it’s been put out to the garbage tip of history. At least the enthusiastic fleas think so, given their conduct as political representatives across a range of parliaments keen on barbed wired borders and impenetrable defences. Across Europe, the issue of refugees arriving by sea – in this case, the Mediterranean[Read More…]
Who can we believe? Political parties and partisan organizations now present not only their own opinions but, as the old joke goes, their own facts as well. Are the Palestinians being shot at the Gaza fence trying to invade Israel, as the Israeli Army shooting them claims, or are they trying to protest their confinement in the open-air prison in[Read More…]
Unlike America under Donald Trump, who is proudly psychopathic and went so far as to blurt out that his followers would accept his leadership even if he were to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, the European Union is so rabidly hypocritical (Trump would probably call it “politically correct”) that its leaders routinely moralize about ‘human rights and democracy’ even while[Read More…]
The Oxford Dictionary (2011) defines terrorism as ‘the unofficial or unauthorized use of violence and intimidation in the attempt to achieve political aims’. However, it is distressing to note that a lead article headlined “The many and different faces of terror” and written by Mr M.K.Narayanan (former National Security Adviser) in The Hindu dated 3 April, 2019, focuses just on[Read More…]
It is now more than two months when the disastrous Pulwama (Feb 14) tragedy happened and ‘it was a gift to BJP before the general elections’ conferred AS Dulat, former RAW chief (March 31), he also in the same vein cautioned that when patriotism is enough nationalism should not be harped upon as it leads to war. BJP is now[Read More…]
A Report by Dr. M. Bapuji, of FMRRC Prime Minister Narendra[Read More…]
Surrey Centre Member of Parliament Randeep Singh Sarai submitted a petition in the House of Commons on Thursday, April 11, seeking Honorary Canadian Citizenship for world renowned author Arundhati Roy. Launched by Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI), the petition had received hundreds of signatures in Greater Vancouver. Sponsored by Sarai, the petition demands that Canada’s parliament give honourary citizenship[Read More…]
Addressing last year’s Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, then US defense secretary Jim Mattis dismissed fears first voiced in 1997 by Zbigniew Brzezinski, one of America’s greatest 20th century strategists who advised US presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Jimmy Carter, that long-term US interests would be most threatened by a “grand coalition” of China and Russia “united not by ideology but[Read More…]
(This is the last in a series of six articles published on RTI by Madabhushi Sridhar.) Madabhushi Sridhar Acharyulu, who recently retired as Central Information Commissioner, is one of India’s most resolute advocates for transparency, and for strengthening citizens’ right to information. Acharyulu, 65, was a professor of law at the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University of[Read More…]
Leave aside the privileges accruing from Article 370, our state has not even such powers as are available to other states of the union under its constitution. Senior IAS, IPS officers and bureaucrats are usually drawn from outside the state. We have a host of non-state senior officers here. This policy creates an impression among the local bureaucrats, police officers[Read More…]
The campaign narratives in this Lok Sabha elections seem to have incredibly turned into bizarre cacophony and nothing else. For the sitting government in the Centre, the narrative revolves only around Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We do not see any MP asking the electorates to vote for him or her. Instead, they are all asking the masses to vote for[Read More…]
The events following Pulwama terrorist violence which killed 49 CRPF personnel had nearly pushed India and Pakistan to the brink of war. Threat of use of nuclear weapons gave dreadful shiver to the people on both sides. The jingoists on either side of the border took no time with rhetoric to destroy the other. But the saner elements warned those[Read More…]
“We don’t let racism exist because racism breeds extremism. It breeds some of the things that we, unfortunately, have had visited upon New Zealand”. New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. In Australia, news of the murder of 50 innocent Muslims and the injuring of another 50 on the 15 March 2019 in two mosques in Christchurch by a coward[Read More…]
How the U.S. Military Feeds at the Terror Trough Here’s a statement it might be hard to disagree with: American war is off the charts. Still, I’d like to explain — but I’m nervous about doing so. I know perfectly well that the next word I plan to write will send most of you tumbling elsewhere in a universe in[Read More…]
Co-Written by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers The arrest of Julian Assange not only puts the free press in the United States at risk, it puts any reporters who expose US crimes anywhere in the world at risk. As Pepe Escobar wrote “Let’s cut to the chase. Julian Assange is not a US citizen, he’s an Australian. WikiLeaks is not a US-based[Read More…]
“Your honour, I represent the United States government”. The Westminster Magistrates Court had been left with little doubt by the opening words of the legal team marshalled against the face of WikiLeaks. Julian Assange was being targeted by the imperium itself, an effort now only garnished by the issue of skipping bail in 2012. Would the case on his extradition[Read More…]
Assange and Lula the same case to silence their voices, says Chomsky If Assange is criminalized & incarcerated, you’ll never be free again, says George Galloway Assange must face Swedish justice first: 70 UK MPs and peers The US case against Assange could change the future of journalism Journalists in the U.S. are concerned ‘Surreally idiotic’: CAT FOR SPYING Noam[Read More…]
A Comparative Analysis of Bishop’s “The Fish” and Hughes’ “Pike” as Political Commentaries on Human Relations. Whatever the differences are between the two poems “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop, and “Pike”, by Ted Hughes there is a central idea that binds them together – life is a continuous painful struggle for survival. In this struggle for survival, there are winners[Read More…]
The United Nations Organization (U.N.O.) has receded far distant from the positive role it used to play in Africa from the late 1950s to the 1980s when the U.N.O. worked vigorously for the decolonization of Africa from the white racist Western colonial imperial powers. Today what we are witnessing instead is the United Nations basically helping the white racist[Read More…]
I hear this again and again, whenever I speak in the West: “What kind of Communism is that, in China? In all big cities, they have Prada and Gucci in every major department store.” Western leftists are obsessed with this topic. They do not even realize how ridiculous, how racist their arguments actually are! China, with some 6,000 years[Read More…]
No, really, they are already here…. Once again Canada’s Foreign Minister, Chrystia Freeland, jumps on the anti-Russia bandwagon, mimicking the rhetoric stemming from Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential run and the fabrications of the DNC, the FBI, CIA, Christopher Steele, and a whole menagerie of other elements. It is not surprising given her historical background relationship with Ukraine and her support[Read More…]
As election schedule has started, debates on victories and losses of political parties has picked up momentum. Among the factors which are responsible for outcome, the role of various lucrative offers to people is a topic of intense analysis by media and elite intellectuals. Common knowledge It is an open secret that huge amount of cash and liquor is distributed[Read More…]
What are the characteristics of a happy marriage? Truth, Caring, Mutual respect are what I call my three Cardinal Principles of happy marriages. Please notice that I am not using the word ‘love’. Love comes out of these three things. What is called love is usually physical desire. The shape or size of someone’s body is not the inspiration for love; it can[Read More…]
“If Hindu Raj does become a fact, it will, no doubt, be the greatest calamity for this country No matter what the Hindus say. Hinduism is a menace to liberty, equality and fraternity. On that account it is incompatible with democracy. Hindu Raj must be prevented at any cost.” (Dr. BR Ambedkar) The political parties, civil society intellectuals belonging[Read More…]
As per transparency law, the people have the right to know the details of appointment to a public position, from the President to an ordinary clerk in a government office As per transparency law, the people have the right to know the details of appointment to a public position, from the President to an ordinary clerk in a government office.[Read More…]
Mairead Maguire has requested UK Home Office for permission to visit her friend Julian Assange whom this year she has nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. “I want to visit Julian to see he is receiving medical care and to let him know that there are many people around the world who admire him and are grateful for his courage[Read More…]
The Modi Government has appointed 9 private sector experts to the rank of Joint Secretary in different central government departments through lateral entry. The government had invited applications for appointments in the Department of Revenue also, but it was canceled due to procedural reasons. As soon as the Modi government came to power, the Indian government was quick to change[Read More…]
India has long been a testing ground for several western products, particularly in agriculture and medicine—making the most of loose regulations and genetic diversity of a huge population. It is done to help cut research costs dramatically for lucrative products to be sold in the West. The relationship is highly exploitative and many believe it represents a new colonialism. Encouraging[Read More…]
In a shocking incident on the eve of the 128th birth anniversary of the father of the Indian Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar, a freshly-erected 10-ft-tall statue of the leader was vandalised by the Greater Hyderabad Muncipal Corporation. The reason given was permission was not sought for the building of the statue. The statue was erected at Punjagutta early on Saturday[Read More…]
Historically, the masculine ideological world view – professed by politicians of both gender’s, their counterparts in the corporate and military world’s and all those citizenry who support them – have dominated the evolution of human civilization in both war and peacetime; life on Earth an endless ruthless, violent, aggressive Game of Thrones. Because of this raw, unaddressed male violence and[Read More…]
From Hindu Brahmin convert’s in our Kashmir to inherently Islamic religious clerics & kings, Sheikh Clan dominate at extreme edges world over Sheikh as a word in Arabic is a title denoting a political or spiritual leader of a community. It represents an honorific title, as in Saudi who particularly deals with the petroleum oil exports. In Sufism, a Sheikh[Read More…]
Removal of Hindu bias from the constitution evident in Article 1, 25, (a)(b), 48, 341, 343, 351 & in 8 the Schedule, through a constitution amendment bill Providing proportionate representation through an amendment to the constitution and giving it the precedence as basic structure. Providing reservation to Muslims from parliament to gram panchayat, education, services, paramilitary and armed forces, police,[Read More…]
In the current elections, a constituency which is attracting the nation is Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar. The importance of this constituency is due to the fact that this constituency is being contested by Kanhaiya Kumar, a Students Union leader turned Politician. He was joined by thousands in the rally during the time of his filing of nomination. People[Read More…]
We the Tukde Tukde gang Mentored by RSS Pracharaks And educated by Whaatsapp University and Fake news Media Do resolve to polarize the Society We specialize in accusing others Of breaking the country In the name of Tukde Tukde gang Without stating that we are the ones who do it We break the country In the name of Hindu-Muslim, Mandir-Masjid,[Read More…]
The glimpse of Julian Assange being dragged from the Ecuadorean embassy in London is an emblem of the times. Might against right. Muscle against the law. Indecency against courage. Six policemen manhandled a sick journalist, his eyes wincing against his first natural light in almost seven years. That this outrage happened in the heart of London, in the land of[Read More…]
Today, on April 13, 2019, is the hundredth year of Jallianwala Bagh massacre. It was the day of Baisakhi festival. Thousands of male, female and children had come to Amritsar from nearby villages and towns. Many of them had camped in Jallianwala Bagh’s open ground. There was an atmosphere of tension in Punjab due to the agitation organized to oppose[Read More…]
On 11 April 2019, the Defense Minister of Sudan, Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf, announced that the President Omar al-Bashir had been removed from office and was under house arrest along with a few members of his inner circle. General Ibn Auf proposed that a transitional body of military and technicians lead the country for a two-year period after which elections[Read More…]
The reading of Sections 7 and 19 of the RTI Act makes it clear that the RTI Act is a time-bound legislation for effectively exercising the Fundamental Right to Information guaranteed in Article 19 of the Constitution of India. However, the CIC and SICs which are the final appellate authorities under the RTI Act, and are the guardians of the[Read More…]
In a shocking incident an Adivasi Christian was killed allegedly for skinning a dead ox. The Indian Express reported that on Wednesday a farmer Adranish Kujur told the village of Jhurmo in Jharkhand that his 20-year-old ox had died in his field, at least 35 villagers went to carve it up. Minutes later, a mob, armed with rods and sticks,[Read More…]
As we celebrateDr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, we need to imbibe his important motto- Educate, Organise. Agitate. As Karl Marx said philosophers have interpreted the world in different ways. The point is to change it. This is the most important heritage of Dr Ambedkar, changing the world. One of the great advantages of Dr Ambedkar’s teachings was the tremendous awakening[Read More…]
Prof Haragopal, Venugopal, Prof Katyayani and many others were arrested in Hyderabad today while holding an indoor meeting. Meeting demanding the release of Varavararao and other intellectuals to be held by democratic teachers federation today at 10am is obstructed by telangana police. Telangana NGO bhavan is locked and hundreds of teachers attending the meeting along with the speakers are arrested.[Read More…]
After 7 years of miserable existence as an asylum seeker under Ecuadorean protection and as an Ecuadorean citizen in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, the founder of WikiLeaks and arguably the world’s most famous journalist, Australian Julian Assange, has been dragged out by British police, has been convicted of the asserted crime of violating bail conditions, and faces extradition to[Read More…]
The media calls them armed thugs and US Senator Marco Rubio wants them put on the terrorist list, but who are Venezuela’s colectivos (collectives)? Green Left Weekly’s Federico Fuentes met with some of them to find out. https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/venezuela-colectivos Green Left Weekly journalist, Federico Fuentes with Cucaracho, from the colectivo Alexis Vive, in the 23 de Enero barrio in Caracas. Photo by[Read More…]
For silent inspiration with your camera and film, Rakesh Sharma,this one’s for you. A powerful PM? In the days following the electoral victory of the Modi, ran an article in an otherwise modest The Hindu, “Coming soon, a powerful PMO (Prime Minister’s Office)”. [1]The proclamation uncritical as it is and reflected surely in other media outlets at the time in[Read More…]
FRA has struggled to recognize the comprehensive rights of vulnerable and voiceless groups. Judicial scrutiny could open the doors for communities where the law has not been implemented in letter and spirit. 13th February 2019 was a historic day for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and traditional forest dwellers in India because of an order passed pertaining to The Scheduled Tribes and[Read More…]
A group of over 150 Indian military Veterans wrote a letter to the President of India in his capacity as Supreme Commander of India’s Armed Forces, expressing their serious concern at the recent rather blatant use by politicians of different parties, of the military, military uniforms or symbols, and actions by military formations or personnel, in their election campaigns. The[Read More…]
On April 3, Indian authorities issued an order banning civilian vehicular traffic on the highway in Kashmir stretching from district Baramulla upto Udhampur on Wednesdays and Sundays upto May 31 in for the smooth movement of army convoys. And we can’t say wether the order will be lifted in future or not, as most of the orders and laws once[Read More…]
“So, Comrade Baig, you have been living here for two years. What are your impressions about our country?” The interviewer was from Guyana Chronicle, the main English newspaper. I was being interviewed because I was there. Comrade was a gender-neutral term used to address anyone because Guyana was a socialist (communist) country ruled by an iron-man with an iron fist,[Read More…]
Stamping Free Thought and Destruction of Professional Lives Rona Wilson It is ironic that a man who is a leading member of the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP – based in India) is himself behind bars. Rona Wilson is charged under one of the most draconian of laws in India – Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Wilsonis a[Read More…]
Public health experts have been warning for decades that overuse of antibiotics reduces the effectiveness of drugs that cure bacterial infections. At least 2,000,000 Americans get antibiotic-resistant infections per year. Notably, gluttonous overuse of antimicrobial drugs to combat bacteria and fungi via hospitals, clinics, and farms is backfiring and producing superbugs or “Nightmare Bacteria,” which is especially lethal for people[Read More…]
In 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi given the five F formula but it appears that he remembers no more. Hon’ble Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi in one of his motivating and ambitious public address pertaining to cotton growers emphasised on ‘Make in India’ meaning thereby that India will progress if its domestic Industry will improve. A snippet of his[Read More…]
No fair trial awaits Assange, says CIA whistleblower Ecuador failed to notify Assange’s defense of asylum withdrawal, says lawyer Violation of principles of human rights protection Impartial trial? UK judge brands Assange ‘narcissist’ Hillary chuckles over Assange’s arrest “Our property now”: (Most) US lawmakers rejoice over Assange arrest Arrest of Assange met with cheers from UK lawmakers in parliament Assange[Read More…]
Putin wants Assange’s rights to be observed Atrocious decision, says Maduro Bolivian president condemns persecution of Assange Moreno, the greatest traitor in Ecuadorian history, says Correa Corbyn opposes extradition of Assange Fight chilling’ attack on press Assange’s persecution sends freedom of speech & journalists’ rights into ‘oblivion’ Assange arrest ‘national shame’ and ‘historic error,’ says Ecuador’s ex-FM People around the[Read More…]
For seven years, from the moment Julian Assange first sought refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, they have been telling us we were wrong, that we were paranoid conspiracy theorists. We were told there was no real threat of Assange’s extradition to the United States, that it was all in our fevered imaginations. For seven years, we have had[Read More…]
Underlying global efforts to counter fake news, psychological warfare and malicious manipulation of public opinion is a far more fundamental battle: the global campaign by civilisationalists, autocrats, authoritarians and illiberals to create a new world media order that would reject freedom of the press and reduce the fourth estate to scribes and propaganda outlets. The effort appears to know no[Read More…]
John Smith, former oil rig worker, bus driver, telecommunications engineer, longtime activist in the anti-war and Latin American solidarity movements, and author of Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century: Globalization, Super-Exploitation, and Capitalism’s Final Crisis (Monthly Review Press, January 2016), discusses the question of imperialism in the following interview taken by Farooque Chowdhury during July 2018-February 2019. The interview, in slightly[Read More…]
Prof Dr M Sridhar Acharayalu, who retired as Central Information Commissioner on 20 November 2018. RTI Act is the best enactment, but it is not giving best results in securing the access to public records. Why? The problem is that neither the Central government in respect of CIC nor the State government in respect of SICs, are filling the vacancies[Read More…]
An Appeal in the context of elections 2019 Elections to Lok Sabha and some Vidhan Sabhas are taking place at a time when the country is passing through a period of grave crisis. Besides leading to the formation of a new government, outcomes of the current elections will have a deep impact on the future shape of the Indian society,[Read More…]
The man seemed like a bearded emissary, a holy figure nabbed in his sleep. He looked similarly pale as to how he did in 2013, but he cut a more shocking figure. Most prisoners would have had room to move in a compound. The Ecuadorean embassy in London only offered modest space and access to sun light. Hospitality of late[Read More…]
Francis Boyle, Professor of International Law at the University of Illinois pre-recorded this interview for the tenth Unity4J Vigil which took place on 30 December 2018. Boyle spearheaded the campaign to defeat the U.S./U.K. Supplementary Extradition Treaty of 1986 by Maggie Thatcher which succeeded in ‘castrating’ the treaty, according to Boyle. After 9/11 2001 the British Government re-tendered the original[Read More…]
The jaws of power “The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing.” John Adams, (1735-1826) According to the Nuremberg Principles, the citizens of a country have a responsibility for the crimes that their governments commit. But to prevent these crimes, the[Read More…]
More than seven years after the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s overthrow and brutal murder (on October 20, 2011) the situation remains in flux as former CIA-asset General Khalifa Haftar’s forces launched an offensive against the forces loyal to the western-installed Libyan government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), at[Read More…]
All we have been reading about of late are that coral reefs are dying around the world. Damaging activities by man include coral mining, pollution (organic and non-organic), overfishing, blast fishing, the digging of canals and access into islands and bays. Other dangers include disease, destructive fishing practices and warming oceans due to climate change. Infact in 2016 and 2017,[Read More…]
The manner in which central agencies namely CBI, ED/IT, Election Commission etc. are using coercive methods against opposition ruled state governments. The days are not far that the basis federal structure of the nation would crumbled down & that would be a very fatal blow. The history of present geographical nationalism is not very long. Prior to British occupation[Read More…]
Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange has been arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London on Thursday morning. Julian Assange has been dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where he has spent the last six years. This happens after Ecuador’s president Lenin Moreno withdrew Julian Assange’s asylum. Video shows Julian Assange being carried out of the Ecuadorian embassy by force,[Read More…]
Arresting Assange in London is now a world-news. Audience of news media is now fully aware of the developments centering the whistleblower. Therefore, no description of that part of the story is required. From now on, descriptions from court-battles will follow. And, there will be few more descriptions: (1) the crafty way bourgeois states deal the question of free expression.[Read More…]
Prof Dr M Sridhar Acharayalu, who retired as Central Information Commissioner on 20 November 2018, wrote an open letter to Ram Nath Kovind, the President of India. In this letter, Prof Acharyulu has raised serious questions on how the government itself had filed almost 1,700 writ petitions against orders passed by information commissioners under Right to Information (RTI) Act.[Read More…]
“No Friend but the Mountains. Writing from Manus Prison” by Behrouz Boochani is a powerful and moving account of the Kurdish Iranian poet, writer and film maker’s 5 year incarceration without charge or trial in Australia’s Manus Island Prison (Manus Regional Processing Centre, Manus Island Concentration Camp) for having sought asylum as a refugee in Australia and having arrived by[Read More…]
Official apathy and the failure of the governments to provide basic facilities like shades and administration’s negligence in ensuring adequate security measures at the work sites for the labourers, responsible for the tragic incident in a NREGA worksite at Y.Tippagutta in Telengana. This place is located in the Teeleru panchayat of Marikal Mandal in the district of Narayanpet. On Wednesday[Read More…]
“Julian Assange has been arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where the WikiLeaks founder was granted refuge in 2012 while on bail in the UK over sexual assault allegations against him in Sweden. “At the time, Assange claimed that if he was extradited to Sweden he might be arrested by the US and face charges relating to WikiLeaks’s publication[Read More…]
None of the political party manifesto’s mention the most important factor on which we are dependent for our existence. Our environment! The environment,unquestionably, is the most important factor of our lives. Our lives really do depend on our environment. Yet our political parties do not mention anything about how to sustain and preserve our bio-diversity, or, even how to[Read More…]
Much hot air is coming out from the public relations unit of Adani, and the language used is that of a hostage taker seeking to earn a rich and ill-deserved ransom. With the date for the Australian federal election looming, the Indian mining giant received a boost in its flagging fortunes. And flagging they had been: banks reluctant to supply[Read More…]
The current violence targeting Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails dates back to January 2. It was then that Israel’s Public Security Minister, Gilad Erdan declared that the “party is over.” “Every so often, infuriating pictures appear of cooking in the terrorist wings. This party is coming to an end,” Erdan was quoted in the Jerusalem Post. Then, the so-called Erdan’s[Read More…]
“EXIT NATO!” – was the glaring title on a huge screen greeting the several hundred participants of the Anti-NATO Conference in Florence, Italy, on 7 April 2019. Officially it was called The International Conference on the 70th Anniversary of NATO, sponsored by Global Research of Canada and the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons (ICBUW). I had the privilege to[Read More…]
Candidates of the Opposition parties as well as Independents should immediately approach the UN to send observers to India to conduct an independent survey of the coming month long Lok Sabha polls. The BJP-ruled Indian state is fast approaching the status of authoritarian regimes which manipulate the electoral process to perpetuate themselves in power (as in some countries in South-East [Read More…]
(In view of the prevailing situation, Tourism needs reorientation both in marketing strategy and in the organization managing it!) Kashmir has been known through ages as a Paradise on Earth. In fact, the Mughal time couplet, “If there is a Paradise on Earth, it is here, it is here, and it is here!” has always been quoted to promote tourism[Read More…]
Diego Maradona, one of the most influential players in history and universally known for his leftist political stances, has been fined for dedicating a recent victory by his Mexican club to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Mexico’s football federation informed the decision on Monday. During dedicating the win, Maradona had said he was dedicating the victory to Maduro and to all[Read More…]
The Union government proposed setting up of two committees – one to receive and decided on complaints against the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and the second one for complaints against the Information Commissioners. (Madabhushi, former Central Information Commissioner, wrote a series of articles on attempts by governments, at the Centre and in States, to subvert RTI. This is one of[Read More…]
My friend asked me a question; Where are the statesmen? Where have they all gone? For the sake of some clarity, I defined statesmen as people who were highly respected for their integrity, were highly ethical and moral and showed long-term vision for their people and countries and spent their lives in helping their people achieve that vision and not[Read More…]
Co-Written by Punsara Amarasinhe and Eshan Jayawardane Man’s association with faith is the most inexplicable thing in the world which gives no clues of comprehending its very nature. Even the most powerful men in world history were known to be shaky and crumbled before the creed they ardently believed. In the annals of Roman history we find emperors like Hadrian[Read More…]
It’s designed to give the US more leg room in the sanction stakes but may end up having its own hemming consequences. The designation by the Trump administration of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organisation was meant to expand options for the US while shutting others out. While Trump attempts to defrost matters with North Korea,[Read More…]
One of the great misconceptions of our time is the belief that we can move away from fossil fuels if we make suitable choices on fuels. In one view, we can make the transition to a low-energy economy powered by wind, water, and solar. In other versions, we might include some other energy sources, such as biofuels or nuclear, but[Read More…]
Calculating the Damage from a Century of Drug Prohibition We live in a time of change, when people are questioning old assumptions and seeking new directions. In the ongoing debate over health care, social justice, and border security, there is, however, one overlooked issue that should be at the top of everyone’s agenda, from Democratic Socialists to libertarian Republicans: America’s[Read More…]
Greens are political activists and can be found in every movement for economic, racial andenvironmental justice as well as peace. They do not organize as Greens but as people who are part of the popular movement. The article below about the week of protests against NATO highlights Greens who participated, often as organizers with other peace and justice activists. There were many[Read More…]
For President Donald S. Trump, there is only one goal in life – making money. Lowering taxes gives corporations and individuals more money; therefore, lower taxes must be beneficial. The constant self-serving references to his management of the economy are meaningless – examining President Trump’s essential thrusts for invigorating an already invigorated economy reveals contradictions in his Taxation Policies. Reducing[Read More…]
They say Hindus are under threat And they will protect Hindus From onslaught and takeover of Muslims and Christians By establishing the Hindu Rashtra They say India is synonymous with Hindus India should mean rule by Hindus for the Hindus It is establishing a Hindu rule in the country Where all religious identities assimilate into a larger Hindu identity If[Read More…]
Haftar’s Libyan National Army gains control of Yarmuk military camp Battle for Tripoli is proceeding according to the operational plan, says LNA LNA declares a no-fly zone over the western Libya GNA vice president resigns French President, GNA Prime Minister discuss Tripoli offensive France of being behind Libya’s Tripoli war, accuses EU Parliament president Paris reiterates support to GNA Unmanageable situation waiting Libya’s[Read More…]
The stakes in the Middle East couldn’t be higher. Suspicion that the United States’ intent is to change the regime in Tehran rather than its officially stated goal of forcing Iran to curb its ballistic missile program and support for militias in Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen was heightened with this week’s decision to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)[Read More…]
GUWAHATI, APRIL 9: In a shocking incident of hate crime reported from Assam’s Biswanath Charali headquarters of Biswanath district, about 240 km north-east of state capital Guwahati a sexagenarian skull capped bearded man identified Shaukat Ali was thrashed by an agitated mob for allegedly selling cooked beef at his eatery, stopped to go for namaz and forced to consume pork[Read More…]
Just days before the national elections opposition Congress party released tapes of a sting operation which reveales that the ruling BJP and its president Amit Shah played major role in helping corporates and politicians to exchange the devalued notes. According to Congress spoke person Kapil Sibal three series of notes worth 3 Lakh Crores were printed abroad and brought to[Read More…]
We can choose not to see what we don’t want to – but we can do so only at our own peril As a boy, the German novelist Max von der Grun heard the news of Hitler becoming the Reich Chancellor over the radio on 30 January, 1933 . Two days later, he and his family listened to Hitler speaking[Read More…]
Photo caption: Welcome to Israeli elections where advocating war crimes gets you votes! Sign reads “No to ceasefire. It’s time for continuous (non-stop) fire.” As Haidar Eid, Associate Professor at al-Aqsa University on the Gaza Strip,put it, If we are to gain anything from this critical moment, we should seize the opportunity offered us by the blatant racism of Israeli[Read More…]
My Tai Chi teacher, Katya, and I sometimes speak about teaching. She is a patient person, as we both agree one must be if one is to teach. However, she holds as her pedagogical first principle that student and teacher can never be “friends”. Much as I dislike the idea of not being her friend, I understand her point. There[Read More…]
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” Albert Einstein The global systems of political governance are dominated by the power politics of the few and fast becoming irrelevant and unrepresentative of the primary concerns and priorities of the vast majority[Read More…]
People are hurting, deeply, over the senseless killing of Nipsey Hussle. They talk about the way he wanted something better for the people and then got senselessly gunned down. But what killed Nipsey Hussle? Whoever pulled the trigger, Nipsey Hussle was killed by the system. A system that puts oppressed people in brutally raw conditions where they are left to[Read More…]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing a hotly contested bid for a fourth term, tweeted Monday (April8) that the Trump administration designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization at his request, Los Angeles Times reported from Jerusalem. “Thank you, my dear friend, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, for having decided to designate Iran’s[Read More…]
Timehri Airport, Georgetown, Guyana, South America; a long way from home in Hyderabad, India. My first independent job, my first foreign country. January, 1979 The plane circled to land at Georgetown, Guyana. It was an old Boeing 707, which had seen a lot of service and belonged to the venerable BWIA (British West Indian Airlines also known as ‘But Will[Read More…]
The acquittal of Samjhauta Express blasts accused bears several connotations. On March 20, Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court acquitted the four accused in the 2007 Samjhauta Express Blast case. Among the accused, Swami Aseemanand was an influential Hindutva leader who was earlier tried and acquitted in Ajmer dargah and Mecca Masjid bombings. Under Modi regime, Indian investigation agencies have[Read More…]
‘The liberty of the press is indeed essential to the nature of a free state. Every freeman has an undoubted right to lay what he pleases before the public: to forbid this is to destroy the freedom of the press.’ – ‘Free speech must be kept free even in wartime, even when passions are high because that is when the[Read More…]
For centuries now we, the Adivasis, fisherfolk, hill, forest dwellers and others who are the original inhabitants of the Indian sub-continent have been systematically pushed off our ancestral lands and forcibly confined to small, remote and increasingly vulnerable corners of the country. In this process we have been subjected to unspeakable atrocities bordering on genocide by successive regimes ruling what has been styled as the ‘world’s[Read More…]
The Malaysian government last year expressed a surprise change of heart on a policy long held dear; it would reconsider the death penalty. The case of Muhammad Lukman, sentenced to death in August for the purchase and sharing of medicinal marijuana, did much to stimulate outrage. On October 10th, law minister Liew Vui Keong announced that it would be abolished. [Read More…]
Will 2019 go down in history as the year of insanity? Has hyper hysteria taken over the entire country? Is it no longer possible to make our way through the hazy maze of Political Correctness? Have we gotten to the point where guns are legal but an innocent hug can get you indicted? Consider this: Thousands are protesting a simple[Read More…]
Following sustained efforts of Mehak Punjab Dee TV, Prof. Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation and Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI), the BC government has proclaimed April 13, 2019 as “The Commemoration of the Centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Day”. Scores of peaceful protestors were killed in an unprovoked firing by the British troops at Jallianwala Bagh public park in[Read More…]
Several years ago, the renowned linguist and thinker, Noam Chomsky, asked me, point blank, as we were working on our book:“On Western Terrorism – From Hiroshima to Drone Warfare”: “Do you think it is possible that most of Europeans really don’t know about crimes their countries committed all over the world?” “They don’t know… They don’t want to know… They[Read More…]
With the administrative-political situation in Libya badly stalemated and a meeting for negotiations to be held 14-16 April unlikely to make progress, on Thursday 4 April 2019, General Khalifa Hafter, one of the key players in the drama decided to start a “March on Tripoli” and to take overall power by force. Most of the significant buildings in Libyan cities[Read More…]
We the Wonderful Cows of India With a population of 19 crore Worshipped in the name of Gau Matas Do not have rights of our own Despite being provided with Aadhaar card And being upgraded to that of a divine symbol We do not have right to vote In a regime which is cow friendly At a time, when we[Read More…]
I am witness to the murder of forests. To be silent in the face of this is unconscionable. I am witness to the birth of forests. To be silent in the face of this is unconscionable. I am witness to… nay… I’m beholden to…. nay…. I’m alive and breathing and who I am because of the work of forests. To be silent in the face[Read More…]
Let me first recite a story and we shall take up its relevance in due course. There was an avid photographer in the mountains who came upon a finely decorated idol which was being worshipped by a peasant in his run-down hut. The photographer sought permission to take photos of the sacred stone. Then he found that there was a[Read More…]
If a tragedy is watching disaster unfold and being powerless to stop it, then such is Brexit — a conundrum wrapped in an enigma as the saying goes. The UK parliament has voted on eight alternatives to the prime minister’s deal after voting it down. These have all failed to get a majority. They have voted twice more on the[Read More…]
America’s Democratic Party ‘news’-media are now defending themselves against charges that they had trumpeted false allegations against Donald Trump regarding “Russiagate.” Republican Party ‘news’-media are strutting because they didn’t. But in the lead-up to America’s invasion and destruction of Iraq (and here’s “How the U.S. Destroyed Iraq”), the mainstream ‘news’-reporting was just as bad then as now, only with[Read More…]
If “far-right” or “nazi” refers to proponents of racism, capitalism, and dictatorship, then all of Israel’s Presidential candidates are nazis — not German ones, of course, not members of Hitler’s German (the original) Nazi Party and a dictatorship of and by Aryans against Jews, but instead Jewish nazis and a dictatorship of and by Jews against Palestinians. On April 6th,[Read More…]
A recent study of the popularity of a Saudi-inspired quietist ultra-conservative strand of Islam among Kazakh businessmen suggests that the kingdom has upgraded its faith-driven soft power campaign as part of crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s vow to promote an undefined form of moderate Islam at home and abroad. The upgrade represents a significant departure from the kingdom’s more than[Read More…]
The Trump administration is preparing to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization, the Wall Street Journal Friday quoted U.S. officials as saying. The WSJ said this step that would vastly escalate the American pressure campaign against Tehran but which has divided U.S. officials. The decision, which could be announced as early as Monday following months[Read More…]
India is having its first national election in five years. Partisanship in India is no better than in the United States. Probably much worse. Political party choices polarize families, friends, and whole communities and every election season can be a very divisive time. No wonder then that the U.S.’s nearly 4.5 million Indian-Americans watch India’s elections with sharp eyes. A[Read More…]
Following WikiLeaks’ warning yesterday that Julian Assange faced imminent eviction from Ecuador’s London embassy, widespread opposition has emerged to the illegal plans to terminate his political asylum. Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, issued a statement calling upon the Ecuadorian government of President Lenín Moreno to “abstain from expelling Mr. Assange … or from otherwise ceasing or suspending[Read More…]
Known to be a single nation despite diversity in almost all spheres, India’s spirit of ‘unity in diversity’ is under threat because of the hate culture that has grown to gargantuan proportion over the years and spread across the country. Expressed in many forms and forums, words of hate, generally called hate speech, have not only spread hatred and incited[Read More…]
The contemporaneity of present day politics in India, as far as both the government and the opposition is concerned, is characterized by an absence of any real difference of policy vision across the political spectrum. The trend actually has been of gradual diminishing of difference between various political parties. Defection from one party to the other has become a matter[Read More…]
Freedom of expression and propaganda Let us begin with pathetic propaganda that only very well indoctrinated Western sheep-like humans can swallow: Nicolás Maduro threatens to kill US troops if they invade Venezuela! https://twitter.com/DanielLMcAdams/status/1094041032101167104 What a simplistic propaganda, only for those who really have lost the ability to reason, isn’t it? First of all, why manipulate the reader’s emotions with an intentionally poorly chosen picture,[Read More…]
Every day people make decisions about what to eat, sometimes opting for colorful fruits and veggies, sometimes finding the smell of bacon irresistible. At the end of the day people are controlling their own health. What is remarkable though, is the possibility that something one swallows today could have a lasting effect on future offspring – children, grandchildren, great grandchildren. [Read More…]
Co-Written by Christian Addai-Poku & Michael Galant In February 2018, West Virginia teachers launched a strike that reawakened a movement. Tens of thousands of teachers from around the country have taken part in what is now the largest strike wave in decades, demanding better public education in the face of years of austerity. On February 11, 2019, as the U.S. wave continued, teachers union[Read More…]
On 4th of April 2019 NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)“celebrated” the 70th Anniversary of its murderous existence. Thishorror organization was born sort of as a “Rosemary’s Baby”, signed into life in Washington DC, as the North Atlantic Treaty. Itscreation was absolutely unethical but also absolutely “legal” -meaning what we, the west, have made the law, a man-made law for war,[Read More…]
Merriam-Webster defines patriotism as: love for or devotion to one’s country. Sounds nice, as far as it goes. But it isn’t quite like being loving and devoted to family and friends, or even the smaller structure of your own town or city, county or state. You can’t be patriotic to them because they lack an armed force. That’s the difference.[Read More…]
When the womb opens And bleeds again Irregular, untimely This cleansing, purging Innards Rumbling, pouring Not an end To a natural cycle Can you know? What your tantrums Torture and turns does Fear churns out Its own poison And blood gushes out To release the tension It’s a considerate moment When, for a second You are shaken So you say[Read More…]
Telangana State (TS), with 17 Lok Sabha constituencies, goes to the Loksabha (Parliament) polls in the first phase on April 11. After the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended March 28 Thursday, a total of 443 candidates remained in the fray in Telangana with Nizamabad Constituency topping the list with 185 candidates, including over 170 farmers. Nizamabad farmers, mostly[Read More…]
Ache din denied Antinational population widened Banks weakened Bethi Bachao Beti Padao undermined Beef discourse brought in to shape discourse on food habits Bhakt culture promoted Big corporates let out – malya and modi Black Money brought in and 15 lakh deposited to Bank account Casteist (manuwadi) forces brought in Chowkidaar of rich and powerful created Communal incidents created Constitution[Read More…]
WikiLeaks today issued a warning that its founder, Julian Assange, faces imminent eviction from Ecuador’s London embassy, where he sought political asylum in 2012. The publishing organisation indicated that he would then be arrested by the British police. A post by the official WikiLeaks Twitter account at around 5:30 p.m., US Eastern Standard Time, stated: “BREAKING: A high level source[Read More…]
Venezuelan, Syrian people resisting the same US imperialism, says Arreaza Venezuelan right promotes violence, death Venezuelan troops on high alert Maduro accuses US of rehearsing new form of warfare in Venezuela Who are the colectivos demonized by the imperialist media? NATO discusses Russian military staff visit to Venezuela Venezuela-Russia working with schemes to break US blockade Imperialist intervention in Venezuela[Read More…]
John Smith, former oil rig worker, bus driver, telecommunications engineer, longtime activist in the anti-war and Latin American solidarity movements, and author of Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century: Globalization, Super-Exploitation, and Capitalism’s Final Crisis (Monthly Review Press, January 2016), discusses the question of imperialism in the following interview taken by Farooque Chowdhury during July 2018-February 2019. The interview, in slightly[Read More…]
It is time to stop believing these infantile narratives the British political and media establishments have crafted for us. Like the one in which they tell us they care deeply about the state of political life, and that they lie awake at night worrying about the threat posed by populism to our democratic institutions. How do they persuade us of[Read More…]
Mumbai:With the collapse of transport infrastructure for common people in Mumbai making big headlines daily, any self -respecting administration would have felt embarrassed and concentrated on basic amenities and suspended or postponed fancy schemes like the bullet train or the coastal road for cars. More so when we are now amidst elections. But far from it. The authorities show little[Read More…]
In past, Kashmiris were naïve & simple. It was the time when the gradual progression of science in Europe had not yet crossed the mountains of valley of Kashmir. Modern technology & fast modes of communication were not yet discovered. The material prosperity & modernization had not yet touched the people of this landlocked country. So, in those situational conditions[Read More…]
Since he came to office, Donald Trump has taken a very aggressive stand supporting Israel’s Zionist agenda in the Middle East. Early in his term, Trump made a unilateral decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem despite the fact that it was designated by the United Nations in 1948 to be an international protectorate. Israel invaded Jerusalem during the[Read More…]
400 scholars, academics, activists from 16 countries have signed an International Statement of Solidarity against “caste-discrimination and institutional harassment” of Dr. Subrahmanyam Saderla, an associate professor at IIT Kanpur’s Department of Aerospace Engineering. Dr. Saderla belongs to a Scheduled Caste community. Renowned scientists including American mathematician David Mumford, a recipient of the Fields Medal (considered “Nobel Prize for Mathematics”), Indian[Read More…]
You were called Sophisticated Yes The chic clothes Were your props The perfume Your halo You carried yourself Well But then There were so many aids Stripped of them You panicked The person in you Had had Too many crutches The two feet The mind Were not enough You ran for cover Preeti Tej Singh has written two books of[Read More…]
From time to time, celebrities recoil and, in anger, seek to march for a change to the status quo. Much of is never intended to alter much, but they can count their names among the indignant luminaries and say they tried to do something. The recent imposition of Syariah law in the Kingdom of Brunei, a tiny speck of territory[Read More…]
Teachers and students came together at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver on Wednesday, April 3 to raise their voices for the jailed Delhi University Professor G.N. Saibaba. A well-known human rights defender, Saibaba is being incarcerated under inhuman conditions, despite being ninety percent disabled below the waist. Saibaba was convicted for life after being accused of being[Read More…]
Oil exports stable in March Venezuela surviving the world’s first cyber war, says Maduro Venezuela won’t become 2nd Syria and S. America won’t back military invasion, says Lavrov Criminal case against Guaido Washington is concerned over Maduro’s stay in power China slams reports of sending troops to Venezuela Venezuela, the Bolivarian republic, is defying imperialism imposed sanction. The imperialist camp[Read More…]
China, Russia to supply medicine until year-end End Trump’s war in Venezuela: 40 U.S. organizations to Congress Caribbean students oppose war plans and demand respect for Venezuelan sovereignty Venezuela will be receiving an average of 100 containers with medicines from both China and Russia monthly until the end of this year, said Venezuela’s Health Minister Carlos Alvarado. The minister added[Read More…]
It’s still the most dangerous border on Earth. Yet compared to the recent tweets of President Donald Trump, it remains a marginal news story. That doesn’t for a moment diminish the chance that the globe’s first (and possibly ultimate) nuclear conflagration could break out along that 480-mile border known as the Line of Control (and, given the history that surrounds[Read More…]
How Green Was My Valley II The Sukinda valley in the Jajpur district of Odisha is a treasure house of mineral resources. On the one side of the valley, one finds the replica of the industrialized advancement of the Western world at Kalinganagar; while on the other side a contrasting situation stares you at Nagada. This contrasting sight perplexes the[Read More…]
With empty stomachs and tattered clothes With lifeless eyes devoid of all hopes With dreams not daring to knock at your hearts Is hatred the lifeline you are really looking for? When the ‘accident of your birth’ decides your fate And even for that the fault is laid down at your gate When people look at you but do-not acknowledge[Read More…]
Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. You do not have to be a psephologist to predict the outcome of the critical General Election that India will hold two weeks from now if the opposition does not get its act together. On the one hand, you have the ruling BJP and Narendra Modi, ably aided[Read More…]
Much of the Middle East’s recent turmoil stems from internecine Middle Eastern rivalries spilling onto third country battlefields and Saudi and United Arab Emirates-led efforts to roll back the achievements of the 2011 popular Arab revolts and pre-empt further uprisings. This week’s successful toppling of ailing Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and months of anti-government demonstrations that have put Sudanese leader[Read More…]
I recently gave a difficult talk to an eminent, exclusive and long-standing discussion group at one of Australia’s top universities about massive Western Mainstream media, politician and academic lying by omission and collateral horrendous avoidable mortality in the Developing World from imposed deprivation. The response was mixed so I have here reproduced my delivered talk that consists of part (A)[Read More…]
Global warming is starting to hit hard like there’s no tomorrow, and at current rates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, there may not be a tomorrow, as emissions continue setting new records year-by-year, expected to hit a 62-year record in 2019. So much for the Paris 2015 climate agreement! The most sensitive areas to global warming, (1) the Arctic (almost[Read More…]
White Nationalist Terrorism “I have read the writings of Dylan Roof and many others, but only really took true inspiration from Knight Justiciar Breivik,” says Brenton Tarrant, the 28-year-old white Australian terrorist who gunned down 50 Muslims in New Zealand on March 15, 2019. Roof is the white man who gunned down nine black Christians in South Carolina on June[Read More…]
(The basic requirement of any healthcare set up is a hospital. Kashmir has many government and private hospitals but these are lacking in many respects) Before one examines the status of the hospitals in Kashmir, it would be useful to recapitulate how Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia describes a hospital. “A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized medical and nursing staff and[Read More…]
Your God looks Suffocated In his wooden frame Your God Gasps For air In his prison He looks crushed Beneath your Flowers, incense and offerings You are cruel To his ears With your Relentless chants Recitations and hymns Leave him alone Let him out He needs to breathe To live Preeti Tej Singh has written two books of poetry. The[Read More…]
Discoveries of natural flora, fauna and phenomena are not necessarily straightforward things. The discoverer may wish to conceal the source. The discoverer may also have various motivations. In certain grave instances, the entire claim might be fabricated. Piltdown Man, discovered in a gravel pit in England in 1912 by amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson, was celebrated as an ancestral link to[Read More…]
A Quasi-Review of A Lie Too Big To Fail: The Real History of the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy by Lisa Pease “ ‘We’re all puppets,’ the suspect [Sirhan Sirhan] replied, with more truth than he could have understood at that moment.” – Lisa Pease, quoting from the LAPD questioning ofSirhan When Senator Robert Kennedy was assassinated on June 5,[Read More…]
These Trinity of Telugu personalities gave voters the right to information about contestants: They are petitioner Professor Trilochan Shastry of Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), eminent advocate Padma Bhushan PP Rao and renowned justice of Supreme Court P Venkatram Reddy (with other distinguished colleagues) These Trinity of Telugu personalities gave voters the right to information about contestants: They are petitioner[Read More…]
Memorandum to the Chief Election Commissioner on violations of the Election Code by political parties by illegal and manipulative use of Religion in the Election Campaign, and defaming India’s Defence forces To the Chief Election commissioner And Members of the Election Commission of India New Delhi Dear Sirs The All India Peoples’ Forum represents a cross section of the people[Read More…]
In a clear threat to expel Julian Assange from Ecuador’s London embassy, the country’s President Lenín Moreno declared in an interview yesterday that the WikiLeaks founder had “repeatedly violated the conditions of his asylum.” Moreno stated that his government would “take a decision” “in the short term” on Assange’s circumstances. The comments are the latest public indication of an advanced[Read More…]
Capitalism produces much news meaningful to understand the system. Minimum wage John Bel Edwards, Governor of Louisiana, US, says: “We need to raise the minimum wage.” John Bel Edwards writes in a mail widely served: “As Governor of Louisiana, I’ve fought to raise our minimum wage. “Our current rate of $7.25 an hour forces families to face impossible scenarios every[Read More…]
Everyday violence is all around us – all pervasive and yet invisible. Invisible because we live in a society where low-level endemic day to day violence is normalized that we have developed blind spots that stop us from seeing what is sometimes right below our noses – sometimes, often in our own homes. To highlight this, an organization recently held[Read More…]
Global Report on Food Crises, a new report on famine around the world, says starvation is ravaging 53 countries. This is mostly due to conflict and climate shocks. In some places, like Yemen, the crisis is almost entirely man-made. Some 113 million people in 53 countries, the majority of them in Africa, faced chronic food shortages last year. Another 143[Read More…]
The aims of the Great March of Return protests, which began in Gaza on March 30, 2018 are to put an end to the suffocating Israeli siege and implementing the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees who were expelled from their homes and towns in historic Palestine 70 years earlier. But there is much more to the March of Return[Read More…]
Yes, the latest research confirms that Venezuela is so rich in natural resources, that it could single-handedly satisfy all global demand for oil, for over 30 years. And it has much more than oil to offer, in its Orinoco basin and in other areas of the country. But it is not all ‘about oil’; actually, far from it. Those[Read More…]
The official completion of Robert Mueller’s special-counsel investigation report and the public release of Attorney General William Barr’s summary of main findings marks a significant juncture. There is much we do not know about the actual findings, and the aftermath is still unfolding. There are demands for the full Mueller report to be unleashed, and there may be more in[Read More…]
Political asylum is an accepted if often ignored right. It is also at the mercy of those interests that grant it. Ecuador’s repeated insistence on conditioning Julian Assange’s stay in its London abode is tantamount to corroding the idea of asylum to vacuity. You are granted asylum as a political dissident, but political dissident you shall not be, especially when[Read More…]
The End of the Myth – From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America. Greg Grandin. Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt & Co., New York, 2019. Much of current political news swirls around President Trump and his persistent and somewhat pathological prevarications about the Mexico-U.S. border and the need to build a border wall. While Greg Grandin’s[Read More…]
Iranian regime forces reportedly killed one Ahwazi farmer and injured 11 other people, including elderly people and women, in retaliation for the victims’ refusal to abandon their homes and lands when the IRGC told them that the regime would be diverting the floodwaters from the current massive flooding afflicting the region in southwestern Iran onto their farmlands in order to[Read More…]
You built walls The domestic ones And found everything within Your world, your life Your purpose within The family was precious Yours that is What lay beyond Did not matter The empty bowls The festering wounds The blown limbs The body bags Was not seen The ghettos The tear stains unnoticed The million faces The million bruises Were only sights[Read More…]
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha[Read More…]
All those people who support Nazism- in language and action- should remember that the Nazis lasted only 12 years and destroyed their own country, including presiding over the deaths of more than 10 Million Germans. The vile people who festoon their walls with swastikas, the kids who put up their stiff arms in Hitler salutes, the vandals who spray walls[Read More…]
Maduro reactivates power supply headquarters Electric coup d’état is in full swing, says Maduro S. sanctions impact electricity generation Schools are reopening in Venezuela after a brief period of closure amidst repeated electricity outages by interventionists’ series of sabotages. To take effective measures against sabotage, electricity supply authority has been reactivated. Media reports said: Maduro sets up power supply headquarters[Read More…]
Street demonstrations began in Algiers on 22 February 2019 and quickly spread to other cities in Algeria. The demonstrations, often led by young people, are massive on Fridays, the chief day of rest. The first demands were that President Abdelaziz Boutefika not stand for a fifth term as president having already been president for 20 years since 1999. The demands[Read More…]
There is no more drama over who is to contest from Wayanad on Congress ticket. The grand-old party has announced its candidate in the constituency after a height of uncertainty prolonging over a week. It is none other than the party president Rahul Gandhi, the next proposed prime minister if people votes United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to power. But the[Read More…]
Angela Ferrao is a Goa based cartoonist. https://www.facebook.com/Ferraodesigns
When I heard the news of Bihar’s electoral alliance against BJP, I remembered a private conversation a few months back in Oxford with a member of India’s parliament who also had been a minister in one state government in India. We had agreed for one-hour meeting, but the conversation became so absorbing that we spent four hours in which many[Read More…]
The structures of politics have become so rigid, so distant, and ultimately so irrelevant to those who vote for them that a trend through countries can now be confirmed. Brittleness has set it. The part and election strategists have few answers, they, who saw the voter as yet another subject, another follower, another convert of a faith. The churches and[Read More…]
Your breasts Attract no attention Poor woman They are All dried up and loose Black and filthy You yawn You scratch The miserable wretch Tugs at it No milk in it mother He says The men look With disdain And the women Walk past with indifference You wonder Are these breasts only Or you too dead Preeti Tej Singh has[Read More…]
In cities and towns, one often comes across heaps of garbage on roadsides and poor – mostly slum dwellers, children – hovering around the pile. These people are mostly ignored by authorities as well as rich and middle-class elites. Waste pickers are the lowest in the hierarchy of urban informal occupation. The term ‘Waste picker’ was adopted in the First[Read More…]
I am not a psephologist. Notwithstanding, in the democratic process, the role of psephology is recognized as an important one, the study of elections in Jammu and Kashmir has never been my cup of tea. I never endeavoured to analyse voting patterns, regional and sub-regional factors, the role of caste, sects and religious factors, in the elections held in the[Read More…]
Once upon a time, in a far away land, high up in the mountains, there were two little villages named Fickle and Staid. They were on opposite sides of a deep gorge, through which flowed an icy cold river. Over the river a tiny little bridge connected the two towns. The simple folk of both villages lived separate lives except[Read More…]
Modern Civilization Faces A Massive Easter Island Survival Challenge Historically, the ideologies and philosophies of corporate politicians, their counterparts in the business world and the majority of the citizenry who support them, thus far, haven’t yet shown any real ability or significant intent to unequivocally address the disastrous impact upon all of life caused by such pressing world crises as:[Read More…]
Fact Finding visit on the social and human development situation of people in Lanjigarh and Niyamgiri, Kalahandi &Rayagada Districts, Odisha – Interim Observations (23-27 March, 2019) Context A fact finding was conducted by 6 members of Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS), a nationwide network of like-minded people from diverse political and social movements comprising of women’s organizations,[Read More…]
Maduro announces power rationing, blames opposition for violence and chaos Guaido awaits army support, informs BBC Guaido dismisses report of Russian troops in Venezuela No one is showing up for pro-Guaido protests Very happy, says U.S. envoy on India cutting Venezuela oil import “Who are these Yankees?” Maradona blasts U.S. meddling in Venezuela Lavrov dismisses U.S. threat Caracas mayor calls[Read More…]
Racism is as racism does. Islamophobia is as Islamophobia does. The utterly appalling massacre of 50 Muslims in 2 Christchurch, New Zealand, mosques by an Australian White Supremacist Islamophobe has spotlighted substantial anti-Arab anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Australia that is evidenced by (A) Australian complicity in the horrendously deadly, post-9-11 US Alliance War on Muslims, the ongoing Muslim Holocaust and[Read More…]
Dear all, It was only a few months back (August 2018) that I wrote to you all, soaked and wet after the scary and devastating floods that wrecked havoc on this tiny piece of land known for its forested hills, rivers, waterways and long coastline. Now I write this burning and hot, dry and life less after the fires that[Read More…]
India has witnessed a drastic rise in attacks on human rights activists, journalists, lawyers, farmers, adivasis, RTI activists, students, academicians, workers, protestors etc. opposing anti-people policies of the government and protesting human rights violations. The constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of speech and expression, association and assembly are under severe threat. Several people across the country have been criminalized in false and[Read More…]
War is not merely a matter of sowing death, much of it needless; it entails preserving a rationale to perpetuate it. The mistake often made about reading, consulting and listening to the harrowing tales of those who have perished in battle or those who survived them is to presume that these should not happen again. Politicians, generals and strategists are[Read More…]
A draft US resolution that would designate a Pakistani militant as a global terrorist threatens to be China’s, and possibly Pakistan’s showdown at the OK Corral. The draft is supported by Britain and France. The resolution, if formally tabled in the full United Nations Security Council, could force China to justify its ten-year long blocking of efforts to designate Masood[Read More…]
For a number of years now I’ve been confounded by watching many of the straight upper-middle class women in the United States appearing to slide backwards in time into much more traditional roles. Why do so many women still do the heavy lifting of childcare, grocery shopping, housekeeping and cooking? Why do so many of them put the needs of[Read More…]
The attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, during congregational Friday prayers on March 15 massacred 50 people. The shock of this monstrosity, half a world away, became even more alarming because the killer took pride in broadcasting the act on social media. He also wrote a rambling white supremacist manifesto. The prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern[Read More…]
A new ‘Political Manifesto’ has demanded an indefinite moratorium on the environmental release of GMOs in India pending independent and rigorous biosafety risk assessment and regulation. The documents states: “GMO contamination of our seeds, our foundation seed stock, will change the structure of our food at the molecular level. Any harm or toxicity that there is will remain, without the[Read More…]
Ideas enlarge They blow out Of the illusive lens The brain is But a locked trove You are A blurred picture In the scope of my vision And my losing sight Has frozen in time You are no longer Caught Between flutter of eyelids There is only A scratched negative It’s a developmental failure It won’t Turn positive Preeti Tej[Read More…]
Keshta, old manservant of mine (Puratan Bhritya) Rabindranath Tagore- a narrative poem Translated by ©Monish R. Chatterjee (2019) Goblinesque of appearance, he was a fool beyond measure Anything went missing, screamed the mistress, “Keshta stole our treasure.” From dawn till dusk, I swore on his father’s name- barely any heed he paid The caning exceeded his earning, yet witless was[Read More…]
A non-profit educational forum to encourage research in Science among school & college going students & impact upon outreach at grassroots level Kashir Scientist, founded in 2011, is a non-profit organization of research scientists, students and teachers from Jammu and Kashmir conceived with sole intention of encouraging school & college going students to pursue science education & impact upon its[Read More…]
It is crucial to note that after the rise of the Hindu nationalist forces and under the new leadership of Shah-PM Modi, the contours and forms of communalism have now taken a different shape. It has to be noted that everyday forms of communalism and violence like mob-violence, lynching, hate crimes, in the name of cow protection, against minorities and[Read More…]
How Green Was My Valley – Part I Co-Written by Ranjana Padhi & Lambodar Mohanto An overview of chromite mining in Sukinda valley in Odisha It is no mere exaggeration to say that almost the entire of chromite resources in the country is located in Odisha. The major share of chromite deposits (98.6%) associated with ultramafic[i] complexes are in Sukinda[Read More…]
Appeal to withdraw the notification for the public hearing for the proposed Sijimali Bauxite Mining Project 
“Making a thriller from grain” 
Key Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) Likely To Collapse In 2025-2095 
Global Biofuel Alliance at G20: Land vs Water vs Food Security- Has the government addressed the trade-offs? 
The Nijjar Murder and Indian Government’s alleged “involvement”: Reactions and Reflections 
France Will Pull Out Its Diplomats And Military From Niger, Says Macron 
Imperial Footprints in Africa: The Dismal Role of AFRICOM 
Hunger in Africa has its roots in a History of Colonialism and Neo-colonialism 
The Climate March: Magnificent and Misdirected 
Imagining a Progressive Pentagon 
“Lost Voices of Fentanyl” Rally at the White House 
Indian Government Must First Evict Dalai Lama & his Followers before Admonishing Canada for Separatist Activities 
Peasant-rebels: lineages of insurgency 
Mission to Free Assange: Australian Parliamentarians in Washington 
Bayer-ICAR Collaboration Raises Serious Concerns Regarding Indian Farm Policy 
Place of Minorities as Allotted by Savarkar, Golwalkar and Upadhyaya 
What is in the name? Attempt to stop the usage of ‘India’ by the Government 
Poona Pact: A Reappraisal 
Hate Speech Inside Parliament: Reaching a New Low 
Criminal Justice And Freedom of Speech 
75,000 Climate Protesters Marched In New York With Demand To End Fossil Fuels 
On the Dark Side of the Moon.. 
Avoiding the War on Terror would have saved over 10 million lives at home and abroad 
The Angertainer Steps Down: Rupert Murdoch’s Non-Retirement 
Climate Emergency Update, September 2023 
My appeal to Meta’s Oversight Board: Palestinian political and resistance organizations & individuals are not “terrorists” as classified by Israel 
Artificial Intelligence: Profit Versus Freedom 
How Can We Understand the Passage of Time? 
Pre- and Post-Soviet Language Policy in the East-Baltic States 
Breadcrumb 
Three Indian Movies win TIFF 2023 Awards 
Ukrainian president holds crisis talks in Washington amid failure of “spring offensive” 
Zelensky Faces Difficult Time In Washington D.C. 
Stumbling Towards Old Age And Looking for Someone to Lean On 
Tolstoy’s Dilemma 
Ukraine Peace Activists Protest During Zelensky White House Visit 
“Our world is becoming unhinged”: Antonio Guterres 
How Chances of Direct War between the USA and Russia Are Increasing G20 Biofuel Alliance threatens Food security 
Thousands Of Auto Workers Strike In Three U.S. Plants, Face Financial Hardship 
My Amma (Malayalam word for Mother) passed away on August 22, 2023 at 3.10 AM. It is always difficult to deal with the passing of a parent, that too one’s mother. I thought the grief would go away. No it didn’t. All those bitter sweet memories won’t go away. At night I lie awake for hours. My friend, guide and[Read More…]
