Countercurrents.org Archive -August 2005

31 August, 2005

Field Health Clinic Bombed In Iraq
By Doctors For Iraq

Doctors for Iraq has received reports from medical staff in Al Qaim hospital, western Iraq that a field clinic in Al Karablaa village situated on the borders of Al Qaim has been bombed

Iraq’s Draft Constitution:A Recipe
For Neo-Colonial Rule
By James Cogan

The constitution that was endorsed by Iraq’s presidential council on Sunday, and is to be put to a referendum by October 15, is an outrage against the Iraqi people. From beginning to end, it has been written to advance US imperialist ambitions in the Middle East, notably long-term control over Iraq’s oil reserves and permanent military bases in the country

The Mothers Are Coming
By Sheila Samples

Unfortunately, for the whole treasonous bunch, America's mothers are awake and they're on the move. Not just those whose sons and daughters were horribly slain for no good reason, but those who realize their children are still alive and are in peril, are being murdered at a clip of three a day, with no hope of survival and no way out

Hypocrites And Liars
By Cindy Sheehan

Camp Casey has grown and prospered and survived all attacks and challenges because America is sick and tired of liars and hypocrites and we want the answers to the tough questions that I was the first to dare ask. This is George Bush's accountability moment and he is failing miserably

Bunny Bugs The War Profiteers
By Joshua Frank

So why did Bunnatine "Bunny" Greenhouse get shoved out of her position? Well, she did a bad thing. She raised a little hell over the Pentagon's no-bid contracts to Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), the fully owned subsidiary of Dick Cheney's old company Halliburton

How Violence Has Changed Kashmiri Society
By Ershad Mahmud

It almost seems a mystery how a once docile people have turned violent. The present generation -- "the children of war" --knows little about their ancient Sufi culture and Kashmir's high level of tolerance. The people are living under tremendous stress, and this has deeply changed their cultural and social values

Environmental Health Crisis In Punjab
By Umendra Dutt

The Punjab has only 1.5 % landmass of the country but it consumes about 18% of pesticides used in India and moreover the south-western districts of Malwa region are consuming near 75% of pesticides used in Punjab

30 August, 2005

How To Stop Civil War
By George Monbiot

Nicaragua and South Africa, not the US, should be the inspiration for the people framing Iraq's constitution

US Pushes Military Build-up In Afghanistan
By Peter Symonds

Under strong pressure from Washington, a number of countries have been building up troop numbers to bolster the US-led occupation of Afghanistan

Soldiers, Anguish Remain Around Evacuated
West Bank Settlements
By Jon Elmer

In the northern West Bank, where Sharon’s “disengagement” does not include the withdrawal of military from evacuated settlements, bitter memories temper Palestinians’ guarded optimism

Victims Groups Question Algeria Amnesty
By Daikha Dridi

A campaign for a referendum on a civil war amnesty has started in Algeria, but advocates for victims worry that the law will allow the perpetrators of atrocities to escape justice

29 August, 2005

What If America Found Its Soul?
By Jason Miller

Waking up to Discover Your Soul is Missing....the Ultimate Nightmare

Not One More
By Cindy Sheehan

I am really sad that there are still people in America who think that someone exercising her freedom of speech is anti-American. People who say we DON'T have the right to dissent are un-patriotic and un-American

How Easily We Take The Deaths
In Iraq For Granted
By Robert Fisk

Taking things for granted. Or, as a very dear friend of mine used to say to me, "There you go." I am sitting in Baghdad airport, waiting for my little Flying Carpet Airlines 20-seater prop aircraft to take me home to Beirut but the local Iraqi station manager, Mr Ghazwan, has not turned up like he used to

28 August, 2005

Iraq War Approaching Tipping Point
By Mounzer Sleiman

A Vietnam veteran offers an interesting and telling incident summing up his personal feelings about the war

Courting Disaster
By Remi Kanazi

The Western version of peace is simple, but unacceptable: let Israel continue its warmongering, the appropriating and occupying of Palestinian land, while the Palestinians sit idly by with a ball in their court and no one to play with

Two “Green Zones”
By Dahr Jamail

Because the price paid for this unimaginably huge misadventure of the neo-conservative driven Bush junta is being paid by real human beings who shed real blood and cry real tears. Because well over 100,000 Iraqis and over 1,800 US soldiers would be alive today if it wasn’t for the puppeteers of Mr. Bush

26 August, 2005

Civilization Under Attack
By Aseem Shrivastava

And Bagram? Guantanamo? Abu-Ghraib? Rendition? Torture jets? Attempts to redefine torture? Sexual humiliation of women? Detention of children? Shall we not call them attacks on civilization too?

Drop Kicking Juan Cole and Marc Cooper:
Will The Real Leaders Stand Up?
By Joshua Frank

The true leaders of the anti-war movement are going to be Casey's fellow troops like Kelly Dougherty, Pablo Paredes and Jason Gunn who have served in Iraq and are now speaking out against the war

On Prairie Chapel Road, Part 2
By Leigh Saavedra

This article is part -2 of a two-part report from Camp Casey

Unanswered Questions About
Kadirgamar Assassination
By W.A. Sunil and K. Ratnayake

The unanswered questions about Sri Lankan foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar's assassination all point in one direction. If those in charge of Kadirgamar’s security were not bungling amateurs then the minister could well have been the victim of a high-level plot involving the military or police

US States Bypass Bush To Tackle
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
By Julian Borger

America's north-eastern states are on the brink of a declaration of environmental independence with the introduction of mandatory controls on greenhouse gas emissions of the kind rejected by the Bush administration

Fifty-four Years In Jail Without Trial:
The Plight Of Prison Inmates In India
By Parwini Zora

The state of India’s penal and justice systems speaks volumes about the true nature of human rights and social equality in a country routinely held up by the Western media as the “world’s largest democracy.”

25 August, 2005

Coming Back To Crawford
By Cindy Sheehan

I'm coming back to Crawford because -- now and forever -- this is my duty for my son, for my other children, for other parents, and for my country

A Day On Prairie Chapel Road: Part- 1
By Leigh Saavedra

This article is part - 1 of a two-part report from Camp Casey

The Democratic Unraveling
By Lucinda Marshall

The Democratic leadership seems to be of the opinion that the crucial issue is how best to achieve success in Iraq. Given that, it is unlikely they want folks telling them they're concerned that the 'war on terror' is going badly

Panel Sees Growing Melting Arctic Threat
By Randolph Schmid

The rate of ice melting in the Arctic is increasing and a panel of researchers says it sees no natural process that is likely to change that trend. Within a century the melting could lead to summertime ice-free ocean conditions not seen in the area in a million years

More Lies From The British Police
On The de Menezes Murder
By Chris Talbot

More evidence has emerged relating to the July 22 police killing of the young Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes in London, providing further proof that the police systematically lied about the subway shooting and have been conducting a cover-up, with the aid of the Labour government of Prime Minister Tony Blair and a largely compliant media

The "Disengagement" As Seen From Gaza
By Ghada Ageel

In 2002, Moshe Ya'alon, then Israel's army chief of staff, said that "the Palestinians must be made to understand in the deepest recesses of their consciousness that they are a defeated people." I wonder if Ya'alon would make the same statement today after the completion of Gaza settlers evacuation?

24 August, 2005

Pat Robertson Declares Fatwah On Chavez
By Leigh Saavedra

When a good friend referred to Pat Robertson's call to assassinate Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, as a "declaration of a fatwah on a president" I laughed, appreciative of the irony. But, can we simply laugh it away?

Pat Robertson's Threat
By John Levine and David Walsh

The call for Chavez’s assassination is a serious threat coming from a leading Republican and close ally of the Bush administration. It is in line with the previous attempts of the Bush administrations to destabilize and unseat the Venezuelan government

Arundhati Roy Speaks
By Arundhati Roy & S. Anand

The world is a small place. At least it is to the Booker-winning author Arundhati Roy. She talks on, perhaps, every defining topic of our times

Birth Of A New Iraq, Or Blueprint For Civil War?
By Kim Sengupta

Iraq's new constitution, supposedly the blueprint for a democratic future, is threatening to drag the country into civil war

The Democrats And Cindy Sheehan
By Joshua Frank

If Democratic politicians had a soul they'd be standing shoulder to shoulder with Sheehan's supporters at candle light vigils across the country. But that won't be happening anytime soon. The Democrats in DC aren't even sure Sheehan's actions are justified. They aren't even sure that her son died for an unjust cause

Palestinians Can Play The Israeli Game
By Ahmad Samih Khalidi

Two profound assumptions underlie Ariel Sharon's withdrawal from Gaza. The first is that Israel's overriding value is the preservation of its Jewish character and majority. The second is that the conflict with the Palestinians is not amenable to a final agreed resolution, now or in the foreseeable future

23 August, 2005

A Wonder Of The World Melting Away
By Caren Bohan

The Ilulissat glacier in Greenland, a UN heritage site considered one of the wonders of the world, has shrunk by over 10 kilometers in just a few years, in one of the most alarming examples of global warming in the Arctic region

President Bush Knows The True Reasons
He Started A War In Iraq,But He's Not Going To Tell
By Jason Leopold

Every year, right around the anniversary of 9/11 the Bush administration spins the public about the reasons 1,864 American soldiers have died fighting for a lie in Iraq. And every year, it’s just as crucial that the media tell the public the truth about the reasons the war was started

Leaving Gaza – A Calculated Move
By Brita Rose

Far from being part of a peace plan, or a move towards an independent Palestinian state, this is a last resort on the part of Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, to politically maneuver in order to secure the real issue at stake – the larger West Bank with its holy shrines and numerous settlers

Famine In Niger
By Moussa Tchangari

Famine has gripped all regions of Niger. There are nearly four million people on the edge of starvation across the country

The Guardian And The de Menezes Killing
By Chris Marsden and Julie Hyland

New leaks from official sources in Britain have added to the evidence already brought to light, proving that the official story of how Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes was gunned down was a pack of lies. In response, the liberal daily newspaper the Guardian has rushed to the defence of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair

Bangladesh Serial Blasts
By Vipin Agnihotri

Over 400 low-intensity bombs exploded across Bangldesh on August 17, resulting in death of two people and serious injury to over 100. Whoever might have done that, one thing is for sure that they are very organized, meticulous and powerful, with large network and connections. This is not a terrorist act that is passed; the evidence shows that it is a prelude to something more alarming

Cancer And Pesticides
By Jatinder Preet

Cancer is widespread in the villages of Punjab, broadly called cotton belt

Dalit Situation In Tamil Nadu
By K. Nagaraj

Painstaking chronicle of the deprivations, discriminations and atrocities faced by the Dalits in Tamil Nadu

22 August, 2005

Clamour For War Grows In Colombo
By K. Ratnayake

Following the assassination of Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar last week, there is a distinct beating of war drums in Colombo ruling circles

Theme Park Death
By Robert Fisk

My guess is that whoever runs Iraq once the occupation collapses will turn the whole thing into a theme park. Or maybe just a museum

The President’s Greatest Fear
By Doug Soderstrom

Can you imagine… a commander in chief having committed his country to war, but with no one to command? You see a military leader’s worst fear is not that he will lose the war, but rather that, because he has lost the trust of his own men, no one is willing to follow

Twilight For The Age Of Oil
By Jeff Berg

Of all the points that swirl around the peak oil debate perhaps two of the most telling are made by Matt Simmons author of “Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Oil Shock and the World Economy” and CEO of Simmons International, one of the world's largest investment banks in the energy sector

"A Kansan's Contemplations"
By Jason Miller

Life in Kansas can be as surreal as the landscape of a Salvador Dali painting. Critical thinking is often a scarce commodity

See RSS, Think Al Queda!
By Subhash Gatade

The RSS may call itself a cultural organisation, but an established US think tank has virtually equated it with Al Queda and some other outfits, terming them "new religious movements (NRMs) that have also emerged as sources of violence". ..

21 August, 2005

Further Into The Iraqi Quagmire
By James Cogan

As tensions increase, the Bush administration and the Iraqi government are presiding over a stepped-up campaign of repression against the population

What Does Democracy Really Mean In
The Middle East?Whatever The West Decides
By Robert Fisk

Democracy, democracy, democracy. Take Egypt. President Mubarak allows opponents in the forthcoming elections. Bush holds this up as another sign of democracy in the Middle East

Sharon Has Won
By Benjamin Granby

The redeployment plan is a thinly veiled attempt for Sharon to solidify Israeli control over the West Bank, maintain an obfuscated occupation of the Gaza Strip and to splinter what should be a united and free Palestinian nation. No matter what, Sharon has taken the initiative and for the old warrior it means he has won this round

Peat Bogs And Peak Oil - I'm Sorry
For Doubting, Mr. President
By Bill Henderson

All we're left with is war or economic collapse (or maybe Rapture?) to prevent our present economic trajectory from destroying the ecological basis for human life on Earth

The Rising Of The Rising
By Rajiv Rawat

A Bollywood blockbuster debates Imperialism, while North American film critics take a pass

20 August, 2005

Coca-Cola Ordered To Stop Production
By The Hindu

The Kerala State Pollution Control Board on Friday ordered stoppage of production at the Palachimada unit of the Coca-Cola Company in Palakkad district for failure to comply with pollution control norms

Africa Face Chronic Food Shortages
By Barry Mason

As the news of starving people in Niger drops from the headlines, warnings of food shortages in many parts of Africa have been issued by the US Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and a number of aid agencies

The Wealth Of The West Was Built
On Africa's Exploitation
By Richard Drayton

Profits from slave trading and from sugar, coffee, cotton and tobacco are only a small part of the story. What mattered was how the pull and push from these industries transformed western Europe's economies

Oil Drives The Genocide In Darfur
By David Morse

This is a resource war, fought by surrogates, involving great powers whose economies are predicated on growth, contending for a finite pool of resources. It is a war straight out of the pages of Michael Klare's book, Blood and Oil

Global Warming: Will You Listen Now, America?
By Andrew Buncombe

Two of the leading contenders to contest the next US presidential election have delivered an urgent warning to the United States on global warming, saying the evidence of climate change has become too stark to ignore and human activity is a major cause

We Must Act Now To Prevent
Another Hiroshima - Or Worse
By Noam Chomsky

This month's anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki prompts only the most somber reflection and most fervent hope that the horror may never be repeated

Protest, Grief As Barrier Segregates
Palestinian Village From Farms
By Jon Elmer

Palestinians from a farming community stage weekly demonstrations against the massive barrier that, once built, will segregate them from the fields and groves around which their entire lives revolve

War Manager, World Bank And Our Protest
By Anu Muhammad

We are not happy with the news of Paul Wolfowitz’s visit to Bangladesh on 21st August 2005. In fact we feel worried and angry specially when we go though his work history and find him as an active one in making destruction in Iraq and patronizing rulers accused for committing crime against people in many other countries

19 August, 2005

Iraq’s New Constitution
By Ghali Hassan

The US is pushing the Iraqi “government” to agree on a draft constitution which will divide the Iraqi people and weaken their nation. The new draft constitution is based on the November 2003 US-crafted illegitimate interim constitution, the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), produced from the notes book of Paul Bremer, then the US Proconsul in Baghdad. Its aim is the colonisation of Iraq and the wholesale privatisation of Iraq’s economy

Why Casey Sheehan Was Killed
By Aaron Glantz

Since President Bush won’t meet with Cindy Sheehan to explain why her son Casey died in Iraq, I thought I would put forward the information I have. Like Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, I was in Baghdad’s Sadr City on April 4, 2004

The Rise Of The Democratic Police State
By John Pilger

Terrorism is the logical consquence of American and British "foreign policy" whose infinitely greater terrorism we need to recognise, and debate, as a matter of urgency

How We Left Gaza
By Tanya Reinhart

Over the years we have become accustomed to the idea that “US. pressure” means declarations that have no muscle behind them. But suddenly the words have acquired new meaning. When the U.S. really does exert pressure, no Israeli leader would dare defy its injunctions (and certainly not Netanyahu). And so we have pulled out of Gaza. If the U.S. continues to lose ground in Iraq, maybe we will be forced to pull out of the West Bank as well

Kanchi Mutt And Bob Jones University
By Sridhar Kannan

The question of the day is how an elected politician or a policeman or a judge will perform his or her duty if he is a follower of such organizations that do not believe in the equality for everyone. It is time that the decent and saner Indians demand an apology from these people

18 August, 2005

A Satyagrahi Is Born
By Niranjan Ramakrishnan

Cindy Sheehan's story shames me. It has shamed many others into driving to Crawford to stand with her. The least we could do is to draw inspiration from her, and begin taking tiny steps toward the long overdue task of salvaging our own

Call It Heartless: Bush's Emotional Incapacities
By Joshua Frank

Bush's emotional instability is only part of his problem says celebrated novelist E.L. Doctorow, who claims Bush's real issue has to do with his incapacity to feel. Bush doesn't have the mind or the capability to understand death

New Abuse Photos Could Spark Riots,
US General Warns
By William Fisher

In response to a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR), and a number of medical and veterans groups demanding release of 87 new videos and photographs depicting detainee abuse at the now infamous prison, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, said the release would result in ”riots, violence and attacks by insurgents.”

Watching The Gazan Fiasco
By Jennifer Loewenstein

A great charade is taking place in front of the world media in the Gaza Strip. It is the staged evacuation of 8000 Jewish settlers from their illegal settlement homes, and it has been carefully designed to create imagery to support Israel's US-backed takeover of the West Bank and cantonization of the Palestinians

The Risk Of A Third Intifada
By Marwan Bishara

All Palestinians deserve an immediate end to an ordeal that includes freedom from occupation that has lasted decades. Anything less would transform Israel's Gaza nightmare into a daily West Bank reality

Palestinians Under Withdrawal Curfew
By Laila El-Haddad

Palestinian communities living near Jewish settlements are bracing themselves for a month-long Israeli-imposed closure

Slicing Off Gaza Is Just A Diplomatic Nose Job
By Sharif Hamadeh

If the government of Israel were sincerely concerned about racist attacks on its Arab citizens, it would not only disengage from Gaza, but also from discrimination. That means a withdrawal from the entirety of the occupied territories, and a departure from the attendant colonial mentality. Under those circumstances, Israelis and Palestinians could truly begin to prepare for peace

Bush Menaces Iran With Threat Of Military Attack
By Peter Symonds

President George Bush’s inflammatory comments last Friday menacing Iran with military attack have again underscored the lawless character of the US administration

History Resurrected At Gurgaon
By Dr.K.Venugopal Reddy

The strike at Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) in Gurgaon sends a signal to the MNCs entering India with vision of making enormous profits through exploiting the readily available raw material and the cheap Indian labour that the Indian workers are not as mellowed as they expected to be. It also makes it obvious to them that the support from the Indian government to the MNCs is not perfunctory

17 August, 2005

No Agreement Reached On Iraqi Constitution
By James Cogan

After six weeks of negotiations and intense pressure from Washington, the Iraqi political factions supporting the US occupation of Iraq failed to agree on the wording of a new constitution by the August 15 deadline set down by the Bush administration

How Bush Would Gain From War With Iran
By Dan Plesch

Iraq is proving an electoral liability. This is a threat to the Bush team's intention to retain power for the next decade - perhaps, as the author Bob Woodward says, with President Cheney at the helm. War with Iran next spring can enable them to win the mid-term elections and retain control of the Republican party, now in partial rebellion over Iraq

Political Perspectives On Iran
By Ardeshir Mehrdad and Mehdi Kia

In the recent presidential elections in Iran, Mahmood Ahmadinejad, an unknown conservative military commander, won. His victory was surprising. The shock of this surprise victory may partly explain the crude nature of some of the analyses that followed. Even more striking is the failure to address the deeper causes and background to this event, and to analyse its consequences. This article is an effort to address these issues

Hephalumps And Woozels: A Review
Of Josh Frank's "Left Out"
By Adam Engel

First the good news: Joshua Frank is a first-rate journalist who's written a superbly researched, incisive book about who and what the Democrats really are. Now the bad news: Joshua Frank is a first-rate journalist who's written a superbly researched, incisive book about who and what the Democrats really are

Kerry's Pummeling Not A Surprise:
Bush with a TKO
By Joshua Frank

An excerpt from Joshua Frank's new book Left Out!, just published by Common Courage Press

Going Nowhere
By Dr. Trudy Bond

Aside from the need to get elected, how does one denounce reality so readily, to the point that he or she can watch 1800 Americans and over 125,000 civilians be killed and not take action?

Thurgood Marshall And Judicial
Conservatism In Foreign Affairs
By Nikhil Shah

With all the recent talk about Supreme Court nominations and the controversy over the extreme conservatism of nominee John Roberts, it is worth analyzing what the other side of the Supreme Court has to offer advocates of international law and human rights

Let's Talk Representation
If Reservation Is Against Merit
By V.B.Rawat

The supreme court verdict on the issue of unaided minority institution gives a freehand to the people who have always wanted the education to be the domain a few people and communities. Unfortunately, these institutions serving in the name of minorities will end up creating more brahmins for our country. The very purpose of educating poor andminorities gets defeated

16 August, 2005

UN Figures Show: US Controls Iran Permanently...
By Henk Ruyssenaars

Coming September 3d, when IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei reports on Iran's nuclear activities, the figures in this article will be used concerning the number of visits in the field to inspect in Iran. Showing that for years already nuclear development in Iran has been controlled by the US and UN: day and night. So: Why War?

Cindy Sheehan's War
By Tom Hayden

Cindy Sheehan inhabits an alternative world of meaning that more Americans need to experience before this war can end. She represents the survivors' need to define a meaning in her son's death - and her life - that is counter to the meaning offered by President Bush

Redemption Within Reach For
The American Empire
By Jason Miller

My wife and I will travel from our home in Kansas to be at the White House on September 24 to help hundreds of thousands of others delivering the demands for social justice and peace. It is my sincere belief that there are many others who care as much as she and I do, and it is my sincere hope that together we can reinvigorate the soul of America

A Constitution That Means Nothing
To Ordinary Iraqis
By Robert Fisk

Behind ramparts of concrete and barbed wire, the framers of Iraq’s new constitution wrestled yesterday to prevent - or bring about - the federalisation of Iraq while their compatriots in the hot and fetid streets outside showed no interest in their efforts

A Miracle Of Rare Device
By Uri Avnery

Sharon's outlook is simple. He wants to expand Israel's borders as much as possible, and minimize the number of Arabs within them. Therefore it makes sense to him to give up the tiny Gaza strip with the million and half Palestinians living there, and also the centers of Palestinian population in the West Bank

Assassination Of Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister
Threatens A Return To Civil War
By K. Ratnayake

The assassination of Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar last Friday has greatly heightened political tensions throughout the country and the danger of a return to civil war

Our" Women, "Their" Women
By Ram Puniyani

The shifting of girls' college away from Muslim locality by the BJP led Madhya Pradesh government reveals the deeper communal agenda, it does intensify the communalization process in the manners which are novel and horrific, both at the same time

The Nanavati Report And After
By Praful Bidwai

India's claim to high stature in the world does not lie in a Security Council seat or in nuclear weapons, and not even in economic might. It lies in democracy and pluralism. That claim will be reduced to a farce if heinous mass-level crimes and barbaric forms of collective victimisation go unpunished. That would be a tragedy not just for Delhi's Sikhs or Gujarat's Muslims, but for all Indian citizens

14 August, 2005

Bush Raises Option Of Using Force Against Iran
By Reuters

President Bush said on Israeli television he could consider using force as a last resort to press Iran to give up its nuclear programme

Is Iraq War Fuelling GCC's Economic Boom?
By Emilie Rutledge

Since the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, the price of oil has steadily climbed upwards. A barrel of oil today costs twice as much as it did on the eve of combat, back in March 2003.At the same time all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have experienced levels of economic growth not witnessed since the 1970’s

Ten Minutes
By Robert Fisk

"Another suicide bombing in Baghdad. An attack on a police patrol. Four policemen dead." Welcome back to the city of one thousand and one nights

'With' or 'Against' The Gaza Disengagement Plan
By Tamar Amir

Jewish settlement youth were distributing ribbons in two colors, orange and blue/white. The orange ribbons represent those 'against' the Gaza disengagement plan. The white/blue on the other hand represent those 'with' the Gaza disengagement plan

Terrorism, Agriculture And U.S India Cooperation
By Vandana Shiva

The India - US Agreement on Agriculture and Science and Technology will breed more insecurity and erode people's capacity to make choices. It will therefore fail in its two prime objectives of promoting democracy and ending terrorism

An Evaluation Of The Communal Violence (Suppression) Bill, 2005
By Colin Gonsalves

The big question is, would a communal violence law have prevented the 1984 riots? My guess is that the Communal Violence (Suppression) Bill, 2005, in its present draft, would have proved a dud

13 August, 2005

Caste Discrimination Root Cause Of Conflict in Nepal
By Center for Human Rights and Global Justice

Caste discrimination is a root cause and an insidious consequence of the civil war in Nepal, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice charged in a new report

Gaza: The World’s Largest Prison
By Ghali Hassan

Israel’s ‘disengagement’ plan is nothing but an Israeli PR over-sold by Western media as the brutality of the Occupation continues unhindered, and Israel will continue to guard the world’s largest open-air prison

Saudi Arabia —A House Built On Sand
By Anne Ashford

The recent death of King Fahd has focused attention on the tensions in Saudi Arabia

Protest At Bush’s Ranch Gathers Momentum
By Kate Randall

The protest in Crawford, Texas, by Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a fallen soldier in Iraq, has gained strength and momentum since she arrived last Saturday and set up camp down the road from George W. Bush’s ranch

Let's Play War: How Militarism
Is Marketed To Children
By Lucinda Marshall

Parents are becoming more aware of the presence of military recruiters in high schools because of the No Child Left Behind Act which requires schools to turn over contact information on students to the military unless the students request that their records not be shared

India And Pakistan's Deadly Code Of Dishonour
By Salman Rushdie

In honour-and-shame cultures like those of India and Pakistan, male honour resides in the sexual probity of women, and the "shaming" of women dishonours all men

Hiroshima Memories Don't Deter South Asia's Hawks
By J. Sri Raman

The Hiroshima-Nagasaki week has come and gone, leaving India's peace movement preparing to face a tougher challenge over the coming years

12 August, 2005

The Right Time For An Islamic Reformation
By Salman Rushdie

What is needed is a move beyond tradition -- nothing less than a reform movement to bring the core concepts of Islam into the modern age, a Muslim Reformation to combat not only the jihadist ideologues but also the dusty, stifling seminaries of the traditionalists, throwing open the windows to let in much-needed fresh air

British Muslims Face Increased Racist
Attacks And State Harassment
By Mike Ingram

Police figures on religious “hate crimes” have revealed a sixfold increase in attacks, particularly against Muslims, since the July 7 terror bombings

Global Warming Hits 'Tipping Point'
By Ian Sample

A vast expanse of western Siberia is undergoing an unprecedented thaw that could dramatically increase the rate of global warming

Shameless Collaborators
By V.B.Rawat

The ghost of the 1984 massacre of Sikhs has returned to haunt the Congress. For two days you make noise in the parliament and then ask a person to resign. It's good but not enough

Stop Funding Hate
By Yoginder Sikand & Biju Mathew

Biju Mathew is a prominent Indian leftist social activist based in New York. In this interview he talks about his work, particularly about the Campaign to Stop Funding Hate that has sought to stop American funding to Hindutva groups in India

The Vanished Of Punjab
By Rajesh Ramachandran

From 1984 to 1994, the Punjab Police was at its brutal best. A decade later, NHRC is still to administer justice

11 August, 2005

The Iranian Nightmare
By Michael Schwartz

The record of Bush administration belligerence makes it difficult to imagine America's top leadership giving up the ambition of toppling the Islamic regime in Iran. And who knows where future Washington plans and dreams are likely to lead -- perhaps to destruction, certainly to bitter ironies of every sort

Comparing Japanese, Jihadist And UK-US War Crimes
By Gideon Polya

As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the final end of World War 2 , it is useful to compare the human cost of jihadist terrorism and UK-US state terrorism with other violent crimes against humanity such as WW2 war crimes

The New American Security State
By David Sugar

Fresh on the heals of the London Bombings overseas, US government, known otherwise for dismembering state involvement when used to protect citizens from corporate greed, has been quick to exploit these incidents to further usher in the new security state

The Revolution is NOW...
By Sheila Samples

By the time Cindy Sheehan leaves her station at the pig farm, Bush will know that he was wrong. He will know, because "Mother" is not just half a word . "Mother" is Nature. "Mother" is Earth. "Mother" is an invincible, protective force that, if awakened and sufficiently outraged, will sweep the entire murderous bunch from their seats of evil power. Ultimately, "Mother" will bring our troops home

Cheney + Pakistan = Iran
By Jason Leopold

Bush, Vice President Cheney and top members of the administration reacted with shock when they found out that Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistan’s top nuclear scientist, spent the past 15 years selling outlaw nations nuclear technology and equipment. So it was sort of a surprise when Bush, upon finding out about Khan’s proliferation of nuclear technology, let Pakistan off with a slap on the wrist

Slain Brazilian's Family Demands Answers
By Gibby Zobel

Since Alex Pereira found out that London's Metropolitan Police killed his cousin with eight bullets to the head and shoulder, his world has turned upside down

The Ugly Case: NHRC Of Nepal
By ACHR Review

The National Human Rights Commission of Nepal which played a crucial role to monitor human rights violations both by the security forces and the Maoists since its inception today stands as the most discredited National Human Rights Institution in the Asia Pacific region

The ‘Shanghaification’ Of Mumbai
By Medha Patkar & Joe Athialy

The Shanghai dream, as it is reflected in the Vision Mumbai Plan, is to reduce the slum population, which is 60 per cent today to 10 per cent. But it fails to say how

Reservations In Private Sector:Not A Charity,
But A Social Necessity
By Dr. K. Vidyasagar Reddy

This concept of private reservation cannot be considered as charity, but a right from a government that exposed its hollowness. Further, it is a necessity as the government failed to create jobs to its qualified aspirants

10 August, 2005

Sixty Years Since Hiroshima And Nagasaki
By Joseph Kay

An article in three-parts marking 60 years since the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Bob Herbert's OIL AND BLOOD
By Bill Henderson

Finally the true story of war in Iraq has been told in major media in the US, in the NY Times. In Bob Herbert's Oil and Blood column there's the motive, premeditation, deceit and then aggression in a crime, an illegal war, we are all witness to

Howard Dean And The PDA
By Joshua Frank

Don't' believe the hype, for nothing could be more damaging to building a left alternative than believing Howard Dean and the PDA are avenues for legitimate change in the US

The New Chauvinism
By George Monbiot

I'm not ashamed of my nationality, but I have no idea why I should love this country more than any other

Watching The US Economy Crumble
By Paul Craig Roberts

The US continues its descent into the Third World, but you would never know it from news reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ July payroll jobs release

Palestinians In Israel Find Themselves
Part Of The Disengagement Debate
By Jonathan Cook

Palestinians under Israeli rule - whether Arab citizens or occupied subjects - are finding themselves being pushed into the same corner, victims of the same oppressive and racist policies. The more Israel presses on with its "unfinished business" from 1948, the more likely it is that a third, even more violent intifada is just around the corner

The Real Buddha
By Chandrabhan Prasad

Questioning the theory of Buddha's Parivraja or renunciation

09 August, 2005

What's Next For Wikimania?
By Danny Schechter

Knowledge is said to be power and the "Wiki way" of sharing knowledge is very powerful. Perhaps its time for those who would change the world consider adopting the participatory process that the Wikipedians are using to great effect and with a measurable impact

George Bush Knows Why They Hate Us
By Jason Miller

Terrorist acts and acts of military aggression are morally repugnant. Those committing these crimes deserve to face justice. Regrettably, as evidenced by the poignant example of Iraq, the leaders of the United States have been committing war crimes and acts of terrorism for years without consequence

Gitmo's Kangaroo Court: First Torture Them,
Then Rig Their Trials
By Joshua Frank

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) obtained two leaked emails from former military prosecutors at Guantanamo Bay over the weekend of July 30. The emails both claim that the military committees set up to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba are "rigged, fraudulent, and thin on evidence against the accused."

When Mumbai Flooded
By Ram Kumar

An estimated 20 million people across the state of Maharashtra have been affected by the flooding. Damage to industry, agriculture and infrastructure is put at between $US700 and $2.8 billion. The slow response of state and national governments to the crisis has provoked angry demonstrations by victims who have been left without food, water, shelter and other essentials

Dalit movement At The Cross Road
By V.B.Rawat

It is time for us to provide our own democratic secular progressive vision and rather then just work on an agitation mode forever. We need to introspect and bring the last man into our mainstream, otherwise these contradiction are powerful enough to destroy the legacy of a powerful man, named as Ambedkar

Enquiry Commissions As Black Hole
By Sorit Gupto

The police atrocities on agitating unemployed workers of Honda Scooter corporation of Gurgaon and its later developments should not seen as isolated incidence.The incident is just the tip of the iceberg of the new world 'order' and its overall impact to the common masses

24 July, 2005

Why Marx Is The Man Of The Moment
By Francis Wheen

The BBC poll suggests that Marx's portrayal of the forces that govern our lives -- and of the instability, alienation and exploitation they produce -- still resonates, and can still bring the world into focus. Far from being buried, he may only now be emerging in his true significance

'Settlers' or Terrorists
By Ghali Hassan

Western powers are too busy condemning retail terrorism, while turning a blind eye to Israel’s policy of daily acts of terrorism against the Palestinians. For these reasons Israel should be condemned and force to abandon its policy of genocide against the Palestinian people

Black Men Can't Run
By Paul Myers

Up until Jean Charles de Menezes was shot in Stockwell, I was scared of the explosions. Now there's a double whammy. Do I worry about the Asian with the backpack or the nonchalant white guy?

23 July, 2005

Illegal War:Final War?
By Bill Henderson

Humanity's Bottleneck condition promises fierce competition for resources. In this context the Bush Administration sent a signal to the world in invading Iraq. The world is a much more dangerous place for everybody because the Bush Administration chose a resource war path, a path for all of us toward a nuclear World War Three

Al Qaeda or Al Fayda- Roots of Global Terror
By Ram Puniyani

Lured by the oil wealth of the region US-UK axis has violated every possible international law and have removed all roadblocks to its pursuits for profit (Fayda). This axis also attacked Afghanistan and Iraq telling the World that this is the only way to make their countries safer for themselves

Ecocide
By Tom Turnipseed

Ecocide means destroying our ecosystem by actions of the human species. Human activity like war and the profligate use of our ecosystem’s resources is ecocidal

Reservations- By Merit or birth?
By Vimlaksh Gautam

The caste Hindus have to realise that reservation is a direct result of our unkind past and it will take some adjustment and understanding on their behalf when the SC/ST's feel confident enough to pursue their progress without any state help

22 July, 2005

US Woos India With "World Power” Illusions
By Keith Jones

One indication of the importance powerful sections of the Washington establishment attach to the “India card” is demonstrated by a recent CIA report which reputedly identified India as the most important “swing state” in the world’s geo-political system—that is to say a state that could either ally with the US or become a party to anti-US alliance

Understanding Suicide Attacks
By Subhash Gatade

It is high time that the ‘civilised world’ while mourning for the 50 plus innocents who died on 7/7 also gets ready to mourn the innocents who are getting killed daily on the streets of Iraq, Afghanistan or for that matter Palestine

London: Another Casualty Of The "War on Terror"
By William Blum

In the period leading up to the US invasion of Iraq, from many quarters came the warnings of the great chaos and violence this would lead to in various parts of the world, the many new anti-Americans -- terrorists and otherwise -- who would be produced. But I think it can be said now that the consequences have been even worse than predicted

Remembering Srebrenica,Thinking Of Fallujah
By Ghali Hassan

Will Western leaders who commemorated Srebrenica “massacre” and promised to bring the indicted leaders to justice apply the same standards of justice to those who committed the Fallujah massacre?

Orwellian Media Won't Report
UK-US State Terrorism
By Gideon Polya

In relation to "terrorism" there is a huge gulf between mainstream media reportage and actual reality - a huge media lie encapsulated in the dishonest and semantically absurd phrase "War on Terror"

Resort To Fear
By Noam Chomsky

The resort to fear by systems of power to discipline the domestic population has left a long and terrible trail of bloodshed and suffering which we ignore at our peril. Recent history provides many shocking illustrations

Blood, Ink, And Oil: The Case of Darfur
By David Morse

Oil rigs are now drilling on land seized from black African farmers - who have been killed, raped, and driven off their land by their own government through its proxy militias, known as Janjaweed, in a campaign of ethnic cleansing now in its third year

Scorched Earth
By John Vidal

With forest fires, failing crops and reservoirs running on empty, southern Europe is in the grip of the worst drought since records began. But why is it happening?

21 July, 2005

The Cost Of Israel And US Wars
By Gideon Polya

In the post-war era the US has economically and militarily dominated the people and resource utilization of the World and is accordingly complicit in the associated horrendous global avoidable mortality (currently about 20 million per year). The post-1950 avoidable mortality (excess mortality) has been 1.3 billion (for the World)

The Battle For The West Bank
And East Jerusalem
By Am Johal

Last week marked the one year anniversary of the International Court of Justice decision declaring the construction of the Separation Wall in East Jerusalem and the Occupied Palestinian Territories illegal

Failure In Falluja
By Thomas Riggins

What is true of Falluja is also true for the country itself. Falluja is a microcosm of Iraq

“The Daily Horrors Of Iraq
Have Been Brought Home”
By John Pilger

No one doubts the atrocious inhumanity of those who planted the bombs that killed and caused mayhem in London. No one should also doubt that this outrage has been coming since the day Tony Blair joined George Bush in their bloody invasion and occupation of Iraq

Predicting The Inevitable
By Brita Rose

How many more predictable and inevitable revenge attacks do we have to witness or suffer before our politicians are either voted out, or get the message that this foreign policy is not working and there needs to be a drastic change of strategy? Too many more, I fear

Combating Global Warming-
Blue Skies, Green Cities
By Niko Kyriakou

Ignoring inaction at the highest levels of the U.S. government, 145 mayors across the country have formed a coalition to combat global warming and begun to reshape their cities using innovative programs and technologies

India, US Open Can Of Nuclear Worms
By Praful Bidwai

More than 30 years after the United States walked out of a nuclear cooperation agreement with India, because it conducted an atomic test, the two countries have agreed to resume collaboration in civilian nuclear energy

For A Free Press
By Nuiman

New Delhi based Malayalam magazine Free Press has been forced to stop its publication for having written against state-sponsored terrorism. The journalists at Free Press have been under constant attack from the establishment ever since the magazine boldly covered the wrongs done to Abdurahman Geelani who was falsely implicated in the Parliament attack case

20 July, 2005

Central Asian Nations Rethink US Presence
By Benjamin Robertson

The Great Game, historically played between the Western powers and Russia, got a shot in the arm in early July when the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO), a security alliance dominated by Russia and China, urged the US and its allies to set a timetable for troop withdrawal from Central Asian republics

The Great Iraq Oil Giveaway
By Chris Floyd

Just one day after London's agony, the state terrorists who perpetrated the ongoing mass atrocity of aggressive war in Iraq celebrated an important victory in their campaign of violence and fear: 11 juicy oil fields are being put up for tender to international investors

Oil-Control Formula
By Robert Dreyfuss

George W. Bush’s war in Iraq may not be going as planned. But for those who’ve stopped believing the myth that prewar Iraq represented any sort of threat to the United States, there is plenty of circumstantial evidence mounting that the real reason for the American invasion of Iraq was the most obvious one: Oil

Nukes For India; Threats For Iran
By Norman Solomon

President Bush agreed yesterday to share civilian nuclear technology with India, reversing decades of U.S. policies designed to discourage countries from developing nuclear weapons

The London Bombings:Why Did It Happen?
By Chris Marsden

The response of the Labour government to the July 7 bombings in London has been a mixture of hand-wringing and hypocrisy

19 July, 2005

Australia Sends Troops Back To Afghanistan
By James Cogan

The Australian government is sending troops back to Afghanistan some two-and-a-half years after they were withdrawn

Get Out The Vote
By Seymour M. Hersh

Did Washington try to manipulate Iraq’s election?

6/7: The Massacre The World Ignored
By Naomi Klein

When terror strikes western capitals, it doesn't just blast bodies and buildings, it also blasts other sites of suffering off the media map. A massacre in Haiti alleged to have taken place the day before the London bombings never even entered the media map

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