15 January, 2004
Sean Penn Returns To Iraq
By Sean PennSean Penn went to Iraq from Dec. 13 to 15, 2002, to learn about the American-Iraqi conflict from the people who were living through it. A year later, the week before Saddam Hussein was captured, Penn returned to Iraq to find out how life had changed after the American invasion. What follows is his account of what he saw
The Suicide Message Of A Mother
Who Left Home To Kill
By Justin HugglerWhat prompted a mother of two small children to abandon them and carry out such a terrible deed remains mysterious. Gaza is a pressure cooker, where millions of Palestinians are trapped in a small coastal strip, with mass unemployment and poverty
Civil Society Initiatives And Peace In Kashmir
By Yoginder SikandInsofar as the basis of the Kashmir conflict is political, a lasting solution to the conflict can only come about at the political level. Despite this, civil society groups in Kashmir, and in India as well, do have a crucial role to play in promoting a peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict in the region
14 January, 2004
An Apocalyptic Future
By Ted GlickUnless we dramatically shift from the use of fossil fuels to the use of clean and renewable energy, we are facing a truly apocalyptic future
Global Extinction: Does It Matter?
By George MonbiotBy 2050, around a quarter of the world's animal and plant species could die out as a result of global warming. To these we must add the millions threatened by farming, logging, hunting, fishing and introduced species. The future is beginning to look a little lonely
Eyewitness in Iran: Bam Disaster And Beyond
By Jean ShaoulThe earthquake at Bam, the result of a natural disaster cruelly exacerbated by a regime that has sought to suppress all political opposition and social dissent, has exposed the real relations between the government and the people
Islam And Sexual Equality
By Asghar Ali EngineerWhen women were so aware of their rights in the time of the Prophet and were active on religious and social fronts, how can they remain passive today and accept the role assigned them by the orthodox 'ulama who refuse to take into account the new socio-economic dynamics?
Dalits Barred Entry Into Temple
By Mohammed IqbalActivists participating in a national Dalit Swadhikar rally that crossed Rajasthan the other day were denied entry into the famous Shrinath temple in Nathdwara, despite a 15-year-old judgment of the Rajasthan High Court directing the State Government to ensure unhindered access for Dalits to the temple
Debating Indo-Pak Relations
By Imtiaz AlamMore than Kashmir, Indo-Pak relations remained a hostage to the enmity generated by the partition. It is the liberation of Indo-Pak relation from the captivity of hostility that can create a soil of mutual confidence, that can help overcome historically rooted disputes in a process of reconciliation
13 January, 2004
Syria Rejects Israeli Invitation To Talks
By Justin HugglerSyria rejected Israel's invitation to the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, to come to Jerusalem for new peace negotiations dismissing it as a "media manoeuvre"
Israel's Deadly Thirst
By Chris McGrealLast week Israel agreed an extraordinary arms-for-water deal with Turkey. Whether this goes ahead or not, water lies at the heart of Israel's relationship with its Arab neighbours and the Palestinians - and poses some of the toughest challenges for peace in the Middle East
Towards A People Centred Fair Trade
Agreement On Agriculture
By Vandana ShivaAll rewriting of trade rules for agriculture is being driven by the same forces and interests that brought agriculture into the Uruguay Round of GATT, with its genocidal impacts on peasants and the poor
12 January, 2004
Life Expectancy Falls In Poorest Countries
By Barry MasonStark global inequalities in health are revealed in the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) report. World Health Report 2003 highlights “the slowing of gains and the widening of health gaps.”
Freak Summers 'Will Happen Regularly'
By Tim RadfordClimate scientists from Zurich report in Nature online that costly extremes of weather will become the norm in the coming years
11 January, 2004
Saddam's Ouster Planned Before 9/11
By CBS NewsThe Bush Administration began laying plans for an invasion of Iraq, including the use of American troops, within days of President Bush's inauguration in January of 2001 -- not eight months later after the 9/11 attacks as has been previously reported
Falluja- Iraq's Cockpit Of Violence
By Peter BeaumontDangers lurk on every street corner for the US 82nd Airborne in Falluja
Guantanamo Bay: A Global Experiment
In Inhumanity
By Louise ChristianThe US example in Guatanamo now legitimises oppression across the world
Being Young In Palestine
By Melissa writing from RafahCanadian Peace activist Melissa observes the lives of young palestinians and finds what does this mean to be young in Palestine
10 January, 2004
Climate Catastrophe
By David EdwardsThe corporate media's refusal to address the real issues behind global warming - the corporations fighting with unrelenting ferocity to destroy not just the Kyoto protocol but the environment movement itself - represents the ultimate betrayal of us, our future, and our planet
Sharon Reiterates Threat To Annex
West Bank Territory
By Chris MarsdenIsrael Prime Minister Ariel Sharon used the January 5 congress of his Likud Party to reiterate his threat to permanently annex land on the West Bank and thereby unilaterally determine the shape of a truncated Palestinian entity
And The Twins Died
By Gideon LevyHere is another one of those horror stories from the occupied territories. A young woman in labour is made to wait to wait for hours at a check point and the woman give birth to twin girls in the ambulance and both of them die
The World's True Rogue States
By Dr. Marwan Al KabalanThe only two states which qualify for the title "Rogue State" are the US and Israel. Both countries defy international laws and violate the UN Charter, not out of security requirements, but in pursuit of supremacy and material gains
The Sturggle Against Hindutwa And Fascism
By Dr Dr. Rai Mohan Pal and Yoginder SikandUnless we have a philosophical revolution to challenge Hindutwa, real and meaningful social change in India is impossible
09 January, 2004
'US Climate Policy Bigger Threat To
World Than Terrorism'
By Steve ConnorTony Blair's chief scientist has launched a withering attack on President George Bush for failing to tackle climate change, which he says is more serious than terrorism
Free Trade: Benefit or Peril
For The Environment?
By Kumar VenkatA great deal of uncertainty remains about the long-term environmental impacts of globalization. But the evidence we have so far suggests that free trade unconstrained by environmental protection could be a recipe for disaster
After the War
By Noam ChomskySpeech delivered at Columbia University
US Imposed “Democracy” In Afghanistan
By Mike HeadLoya jirga rubber-stamps autocratic regime
American Terrorist
By John PilgerAcross the world, the slaughter in Iraq, the destruction of democratic rights and civil liberties in the west and the preparation for the next invasion are "normalised"
Plain Speak About The World Social Forum
By Suhas ChakmaIn "an open meeting place", where Hindu nationalists, the neo-Swadeshis and the left wingers may share the same view on "capital", the debate on "neo-liberalism and domination of the world by capital" certainly requires re-thinking
08 January, 2004
Global Warming Will Kill Off
One Million Species
By Steve ConnorA quarter of known land animals and plants, more than a million species, will eventually die out because of the global warming that will take place over the next 50 years
Anarchism, Or The Revolutionary Movement
Of The Twenty-first Century
By David Graeber and Andrej GrubacicGlobal revolutionary movement in the twenty first century, will be one that traces its origins less to the tradition of Marxism, or even of socialism narrowly defined, but of anarchism
Israel: Brutal Crackdown On
Anti-occupation Activists
By Chris MarsdenThe response of the army, judiciary and the government of Ariel Sharon to Jewish opponents of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza—and to foreign peace activists—is becoming ever more brutal
07 January, 2004
How The War Machine Is Driving The US Economy
By Andrew GumbelThe war on Iraq was a form of military keynsianism aimed at bringing the US economy back on the tracks and it seems to be working as the recent growth figures suggest
New Evidence Of Indonesia’s
War Of Repression In Aceh
By John RobertsA number of recent reports provide a more detailed picture of the TNI’s activities in Aceh. A growing body of evidence points to indiscriminate civilian killings, beatings and torture, and arbitrary justice for suspects dragged before the courts
The Fundamental Obstacle To A One-State
Solution In Historic Palestine
By Omar BarghoutiThe current phase has all the emblematic properties of what may be considered the final chapter of the Zionist project. We are witnessing the rapid demise of Zionism, and nothing can be done to save it, for Zionism is intent on killing itself. I, for one, support euthanasia
Casting Out Caste
By Chandana Mathur and Sujani ReddyAn Interview with Henri Tiphagne
05 January, 2004
British Soldiers 'Kicked Iraqi Prisoner To Death'
By Robert FiskEight young Iraqis arrested in Basra were kicked and assaulted by British soldiers, one of them so badly that he died in British custody
Coffee In The Times Of Globalisation
By Josh FrankThe global coffee industry has endured colossal changes over the past fifty years. Production of beans has shifted from country to country in the interest of transnational corporations pushing the price to historical lows and impoverishing millions of farmers
04 January, 2004
Saddam’s Capture: A Deal Brokered
Behind The Scenes?
By David PrattWhen it emerged that the Kurds had captured the Iraqi dictator, the US celebrations evaporated. Subsequent power-brokering in Iraq reveal that it is quite possible that secret deal was struck between the US and the Kurds that could ultimately determine the emerging power structure in Iraq
Controlling What We Hear From Iraq
By Dahr JamailElectronicIraq.net, has been banned from at least one of the US military bases in Iraq. Like other repressive dictatorships and regimes, the US military has now followed suit in Iraq by attempting to select what its personnel should and should not read
Jesus vs. The Beast Of The Apocalypse
By Glen MartinEvil presents itself as "respectability," as the established way of doing things, as the accepted social morality of a society. Evil hides, they say, in everydayness, in business as usual, in what is given honors and the highest praise. Evil poses as its opposite
Mr Bush Has One Priority For 2004
By Robert FiskGet America out of Iraq. Fast Iraq is breaking up into rebels and collaborators, with a vast heap of innocent bodies turning up each day at the morgues
03 January, 2004
'Our Children Are Dead, Our Grief Is Endless'
By James AstillDevastated survivors of the Bam earthquake turn anger on government as Red Crescent is praised for relief effort
World Economy: No Smooth Path
To Growth In 2004
By Nick BeamsThe longer the world economy continues on the present path, the greater will be the underlying disequilibrium and the possibility of a major financial crisis
An Interview With Noam Chomsky
By Hawzheen O. Kareem and Noam Chomsky
Communal Riots 2003
By Asghar Ali EngineerCommunal riots have become the fate of India. Most of the riots are engineered by the politicians who claim to be most patriotic. The year 2003 too, like previous years, saw its own quota of communal violence
Communalism 2003
By Ram PuniyaniIn India, communalism is rising by default, it is as much the success of the long work of RSS and its progeny as much it is due to the failure of the progressivepeople to understand the multiple dimensions of social, economic and cultural life of the people in all its rich complexity
02 January, 2004
Dictatorship Goes Constitutional
By Abid Ullah JanPakistani President, General Pervez Musharraf, has won vast powers, including the authority to dismiss the elected government, after the Senate approved a set of sweeping constitutional amendments
How Natural Is Normal?
By Nivedita MenonThe recent episode of a lesbian couple in Kerala having to seek court intervention to stop police persecution initiated by their parents, starkly underlines the fearsome question that lies unrecognized at the heart of the furore around Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code: Is it natural to be normal?
01 January, 2004
New Year's Wish List
By Satya SagarWhat does one do with an entire New Year on hand when the shambles of the last one are still all around us? Just think of what the year 2003 really represents to the future well-being of planet Earth?
Why is Al-Adamiyah Targeted
By the Americans?
By Dahr JamailAl-Adamiyah stands as the symbol of 'Kholmi', the idea and hope for one united great Arab Nation. The area has always been known as 'The Mother of the Revolution', even during the reign of Saddam Hussein
UK Charity Seeks Compensation Over
"Lost" Cancer Drugs For Iraqi Children
By Robert FiskA British charity for Iraqi children is demanding that the Government repay almost £100,000 to its donors after nearly half its shipment of medicines including vital cancer drugs was lost by the British Army after the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq
TheTwo Faces Of India
By Seema MustafaThere was a time when India looked at the poor as the yardstick for policy making. Today she looks at the middle class and the rich, the poor having disappeared from the map of progress and development. The political language is now coloured by corporate hype in era of hard sell consumerism