30 November, 2009
India's GM Scandal:
Bt Brinjal Approval Rigged
By Devinder Sharma
Now it can be told. The environmental clearance by an Expert Committee (called EC-II) set by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) to accord approval to the controversial genetically modified crop -- Bt brinjal -- was actually rigged. This was never in doubt, except that this time Kavitha Kuruganti of the Coalition for GM Free India has very meticulously joined the dots to bring out this shocker
Bhopal: The Victims Are Still Being Born
By Nina Lakhani
Twenty-five years on, the world's worst industrial accident continues to kill and blight many lives. And still there's been no trial
The Atmosphere Is Not Waiting For
Human Decision
By Andrew Glikson
Having placed a man on the moon, split the atom, coded the DNA and created a World Wide Web, science and technology possess the ingenuity required for 11th hour attempts at climate change mitigation and adaptation, including bio-sequestration and CO2 down-draw techniques. However, the $trillion-scale funding needed to implement these methods continues to be poured into the military, casinos and games. A medieval state of mind appears to be manifest through a resistance to enlightenment and to science
Read James Hansen And Act
By John James
Now that Copenhagen is about to start, read James Hansen’s forceful statement and act
"We Will Have To Kill Them All":
Effie Eitam,Thug Messiah
By Jim Holstun & Irene Morrison
Effie Eitam called Palestinians "creatures who came out of the depths of darkness" who were "collectively guilty" and who could be indiscriminately killed not only if they had "blood on their hands" but because of "the evil in their heads." "We will have to kill them all," he said
The Impending Release Of Gilad Shalit
By Rannie Amiri
The release of the captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, appears imminent. The recent flurry of activity in Cairo of high-profile Israeli and Hamas officials along with their Egyptian and German intermediaries point to a deal taking place in upcoming days or weeks. Although details remain murky, in exchange for Shalit, approximately 500 Palestinian prisoners would be immediately released and possibly another 500 at a later date
Israel’s Arab Women Workers Need Not Apply
By Jonathan Cook
Discrimination, not culture, keeps families in poverty
Youthful Thinking
By Case Wagenvoord
Two events surfaced last week that reinforce my conviction that our nation's capital is a sheltered workshop for arrested adolescents. The Obama administration announced it would not sign an international convention banning land mines, and it appears likely that Obama will ask for an additional 30,000 troops for his Afghan quagmire
Housing Meltdown, Ground Zero
By Andy Kroll
The American home-owning dream on life support
Arabic Traces In Ridges of Sand
By Mustapha Marrouchi
Of all the so-called Islamic arts, al-khatt (or trace ) holds a privileged position. Combining function with perfect form, the hyper-stylized and fantastically ornate expressions retain a suppleness and a subtlety unmatched in other cultures
More Arrests In America's War On Islam
By Stephen Lendman
Given America's war on Islam, the nation's 6.5 million Muslims wonder if their turn is next
Democracy At Its Worst !
By Fact Finding Report
Fact Finding Report of Narayanpatna Firing on Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha
29 November, 2009
It's Possible To Avert Climate Crisis
By James Hansen
Science reveals what is needed to stabilise atmospheric composition and climate. Geophysical data on the carbon amounts in oil, gas and coal show that the problem is solvable, if we phase out global coal emissions within 20 years and prohibit emissions from unconventional fossil fuels such as tar sands and oil shale
Climate Change: The Role Of Flawed Science
By Peter Laut
Peter Laut, Professor (emeritus) of physics at The Technical University of Denmark and former scientific advisor on climate change for The Danish Energy Agency puts to rest the hypothesis that solar activity dominates the global warming trend. It’s worth noting that he sent this letter to Realclimate.org before the “CRU email” controversy broke out, so his criticism of the IPCC for being too even handed, is ironic and timely
Climate Change's Impact In Arctic
Worse Than Thought
By University Of Manitoba
Arctic sea ice has duped satellites into reporting thick multiyear sea ice where in fact none exists, a new study by University of Manitoba researcher David Barber has found
“…And A Little Child Shall Lead Them”
By Uri Avnery
The role of the little child, so it seems, falls to Obama. If he accepts, God forbid, Friedman’s advice and leaves the picture, the vision will turn into a nightmare. The Israeli government will increase the oppression, the Palestinians will turn to unbridled terrorism, the entire world will be dragged into bloody chaos
Anti-Naxal Offensive To Be Intelligence-Based: Chidambaram. Huh?
By Trevor Selvam
What MS is telling PCC, is make sure that you don’t give the country bad publicity, when you go on the rampage. Make sure you “win over” the people first! Make sure, you make it look good when your troops manhandle, murder, fake-encounter and maraud the tribal nation. Do it with “intelligence.” Because BBB is watching. And that is what PCC is mildly bringing up with the troops
Democracy And Ban Cannot Go Together
By Amit Bhattacharyya
Democracy and ban can never go together. The democratic people and the democratic press should raise their voices against this draconian law, demand its withdrawal and the simultaneous unconditional release of Gour Chakraborty, the Lalgarh people’s leader Chhatradhar Mahato, Prasun Chatterjee and Raja Sarkhe - both members of the Gana Pratirodh Mancha, Swapan Dasgupta, the editor of Bangla People’s March and all other political prisoners arrested since the promulgation of and under this draconian act
Who Will Feed Our Children?
By Billy Wharton
Food insecurity has become a fact of life in America. A grinding economic recession coupled with sharp cutbacks in local and state government spending has resulted in a dramatic crisis in the most necessary of acts – eating. According to a Nov. 2009 report by the US Department of Agriculture, 50 million or 1 in 6 Americans, struggled to feed themselves and their children in 2008
The Denial Of Right To Education
By Gladson Dungdung
The right to education is a fundamental right of every child in India. However, there are millions of children whose rights are neglected, denied and deprived. According to the Education Survey, only 50 percent children of the age of 6 to 14 have access to education, 35 millions children do not attend schools and 53% of girl children in the age group of 5 to 9 years are illiterate
The Hindu: The Insensitivity Of A Sensitive Paper
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
In a November 27th write up by Praveen Swamy on Mumbai’s horrific incidents under headline ‘ where style has trumped substance’ has unnecessarily compared the issue of scavengers with police men
Of Gatecrashers, Hoax Calls And Security
By Farzana Versey
The queries really are about whether we are concerned about security or it is just one more way to keep people afraid. This fear is the key to make citizens toe the line of establishment pugnacity
28 November, 2009
Dubai’s $59 Billion Default Sends Tremors
By Alex Messenger
Dubai’s announcement on Wednesday that it would be delaying by “at least” six months the maturity date of $59 billion in bonds issued by the city-state’s largest state-owned company, Dubai World, has sent global shares tumbling. The market reaction to Dubai’s massive debt default is partly explained by the exposure of European and Asian banks to DP World and its tourism subsidiary, Nakheel
Deception Has Always Been
The Name Of Zionism’s Game
By Alan Hart
What is behind Netanyahu's offer of construction freeze in the West Bank. Simple. He is seeking to make peace with the Obama administration. And its response suggests that with the help of the Zionist lobby and its stooges in Congress he’s got that matter firmly under control
Australia: The Secret Country
By John Pilger
John Pilger marks the 20th anniversary of the publication of A Secret Country, his best-selling history of Australia, with a description of Aboriginal Australia and its relationship with white authority following Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology to the "stolen generations" last year
Peak Everything
By Gunther Ostermann
Our planet is but a speck in the cosmos, but it’s unique, and perhaps the only planet in our galaxy that harbours life, as we know it. I refrain from saying ‘intelligent life’, because the wanton destruction of our beautiful world, through stupidity, greed and senseless wars, and letting over 26 000 children die of starvation every day, is a crime that must reverberate throughout the universe
A Grim Journey Through Sri Lanka’s War Zone
By WSWS Correspondent
The military recently allowed limited passenger transport from Jaffna to the south via the A9 road that passes through the Vanni. A WSWS reporter took the trip in order to test the government’s claims of “free movement” and provide a glimpse of the destruction caused by the war
Political Prisoner Jalil Muntaqim Denied Parole
By Stephen Lendman
On November 18, Jalil Muntaqim (formerly Anthony Bottom) was refused parole a day after his November 17 hearing. The board called his record exemplary, but still denied him. Muntaqim thanked everyone who wrote letters of support and said he'll appeal the decision. Failing that, his next scheduled hearing is in June 2010. His earlier 2002, 2004 and 2006 hearings were also unsuccessful
Lebanon ‘Accepts’ Hezbollah’s Weapons
And Congress Prepares Its Reply
By Franklin Lamb
52 words that shook Washington and may light up the region
Mumbai Struggles To Recover
From Trauma Of 26/11
By Ram Puniyani
The demand for a sincere probe into Karkare’s death remains on the margins, not being taken seriously at all. Does some one want to hide something?
Media’s Revivalist Agenda
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
In the post liberalization scenario, two things are clearly emerging in India. One the enormous power of the media and second the powerful cocktail of media-corporate-hindutva to rule over the country and destroy its cultural resources. And therefore Mumbai’s incidents have to be seen in a broader framework and not what is being made visible to us. Mumbai’s ugly incident has given media a tool to justify its jingoism and spread lies and rumors to fix up an agenda which is anti poor and anti Dalit-Adivasis-Bahujan
Politics Of Babri Masjid
By Kuldip Nayar
That L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, the other two BJP leaders, were co-conspirators was known on December 6, 1992, itself. The surprising name for me is that of Vajpayee. I would have been indulgent towards him if I had not seen a clip of his speech. A television network showed it on the day a Delhi paper had published the leaked report. Vajpayee said on December 5, one day before the demolition of the masjid, at Lucknow that the ground would be "levelled" and a yangya (religious celebration) held at that place
Uncivil Society, Apathetic Administration
Fact Finding Report issued by Nagrik Adhikar Manch and Yuva Samvad
The situation in the Gadarwara Sub Division of District.Narsinghpur (Madhya Pradesh) has been in a state of constant flux for the last 3-4 months. The Dalits living in the villages adjoining Gadarwara have been condemned to a life of fear and intimidation.Their human rights and dignity are being at stake
25 November, 2009
Copenhagen Diagnosis Predicts
7 Degree Rise
By Copenhagen Diagnosis
Global ice-sheets are melting at an increased rate; Arctic sea-ice is disappearing much faster than recently projected, and future sea-level rise is now expected to be much higher than previously forecast, according to a new global scientific synthesis prepared by some of the world’s top climate scientists.Without significant mitigation, the report says global mean warming could reach as high as 7 degrees Celsius by 2100
Revolt Against Climate Change!
By Rebecca Solnit
The "we" that could win and needs to win in the climate change wars isn't the United States itself. The citizens of the U.S. need to revolt, again, against their nation's failure of vision and responsibility, in solidarity with the rest of the people of the world, and the animals, and the plants, and the coral reefs, and the coastlines, and the rivers, the glaciers, the ice caps, and the weather as we now know it, or once knew it. That's why November 30th is going to be a global day of action
Humanity Needs Five Earths To Maintain
Consumption Levels
By The Independent
Humanity would need five Earths to produce the resources needed if everyone lived as profligately as Americans, according to a report issued Tuesday. As it is, humanity each year uses resources equivalent to nearly one-and-a-half Earths to meet its needs, said the report by Global Footprint Network, an international think tank
Climate Scientist At Centre Of Leaked Email Row
Dismisses Conspiracy Claims
By Leo Hickman and agencies
Professor Phil Jones Director of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia in Norwich says charges of conspiracy over climate change are 'rubbish'
Put Farming First
By Thomas Rosswall
Agriculture generally, and farmers especially, are vital to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Farmers are willing to play their part by adopting new practices which deliver our growing food needs in a carbon-efficient manner, but they cannot do so without our support
Thanksgiving: A Time To Imagine
By Frank Joseph Smecker
This Thanksgiving, rather than thoughtlessly stuffing yourself with food and then sauntering over to the couch for some postprandial football, think about how you can play your part in stopping the dominant culture from removing more indigenous cultures from their landbases to extract raw materials for industry that is destroying the planet’s ecological and climatic infrastructure
The New York Mets And The Business Of Terrorism
By Aaron Levitt
I encountered racist graffiti with such statements as "Gas the Arabs" and "Fatimah, we will rape all Arab women." I repeatedly observed settlers throwing stones and clods of earth at young Palestinian girls on their way to elementary school; yelling racial epithets at Palestinians walking in the streets; pushing, kicking, and spitting on Palestinian children and (occasionally) adults who were quietly minding their own business; and hurling large stones down on Palestinian homes and residents from settlement balconies
Think Bethlehem This Christmas
By Eileen Fleming
Bethlehem was the birthplace of King David and Jesus, but today it is an open-air prison, occupied by Israel's military forces and encircled by Israel's wall
Making Profits From Poverty
By Devinder Sharma
Micro-finance institutions are on a looting spree
The American East India Company:
A Night With Shining Obama
By Farzana Versey
What did Manmohan Singh’s visit achieve except for the benevolent catch-phrase from Barack Obama that US-India ties would be the defining partnership of the 21st century?
A Dearth Of Hypocrisy
By James Rothenberg
President Obama has been under media fire for kowtowing to China on his visit there, specifically for not publicly mentioning the host country’s human rights record. No wonder! Hypocrisy is the favored tool in foreign policy diplomacy, and here the President failed to utilize it. He gave it a day off
Everyone Should Be Aware Of Their
Inalienable Human Rights
By Shulamith Koenig
Allow me humbly to ask you to walk with me into this discourse about human rights as a way of life, slowly and thoughtfully. Let us bring a new expansive meaning to this overarching holistic vision and practical mission through learning and dialogue
A Paradigm Shift In Singapore:
Yet Apec Offers No Clear Answers
By Ramzy Baroud
The Apec Summit, although answering a few questions, certainly delineated the new paradigm shift. It was a chance for Asia to assert itself, and for others to listen. But it also presented a new set of priorities, an agenda even, one in which the environment didn’t seem to top the list. A most unfortunate conclusion, indeed
New Study Shows Ten States Face Fiscal Crisis
By Stephen Lendman
New study by the Pew Center shows that ten states face fiscal crisis. The states are California, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin
24 November, 2009
Red Alert: The Second Wave Of
The Financial Tsunami
By Matthias Chang
The Wave Is gathering force and could hit between the first and second quarter of 2010
Government Failures Feeding Next Financial Bubble
By Julio Godoy
Numerous failures by industrialised countries’ governments and central banks in managing the financial crisis are feeding the next bubble, which most likely will again provoke economic woes such as recession, unemployment, and poverty, according to economists and analysts
The Economic Crisis And What Must Be Done
By Richard C. Cook
The key is monetary reform, whether at the local or national levels. People have lost control of their ability to earn a living. But change could be accomplished through sovereign control by people and nations of the monetary means of exchange
Global Warming Rigged? Here's The Email
I'd Need To See
By George Monbiot
The leaked exchanges are disturbing, but it would take a conspiracy of a very different order to justify sceptics' claims
Greenhouse Gases Reach Record Highs
By Michael von Bülow
According to the World Meteorological Organization, the levels of atmospheric gases blamed for global warming were record high in 2008, with carbon dioxide levels increasing faster than previously
Pricking The Conscience Of The Rich
By Mihiri Weerasinghe
Actions and policies adopted by industrialized countries have included cutting emissions by only a few per cent, outsourcing most of the cuts to developing countries, waiting for carbon capture and storage technology to save the coal industry and continuing to pollute at high levels until that happens. This obviously doesn’t inspire confidence in vulnerable countries. Myopic leaders of rich countries who have a twisted notion of acting in their national interest could cause the deaths of millions in poorer countries
President Clinton And Now Obama –WhoThe Bleep
(actually it was f***) Does Netanyahu Think He Is?
By Alan Hart
What President Clinton actually said was, “Who the fuck does he think he is? Who’s the fucking superpower here?” After recalling in his own way how President Obama has been humiliated to date by Netanyahu in his second period as prime minister
God Has Left The Building
By Sheila Samples
Several months ago, CNN published the results of a couple of disturbing polls about Americans and their religious beliefs. The first found that more Americans are rejecting religion and thus, according to CNN, America is becoming "less Christian." The second, a Pew survey of only 742 mostly white evangelical Protestants, revealed that more than six in 10 of them believe that torture is often or sometimes justified
23 November, 2009
Antarctic Ice Loss Vaster, Faster Than Thought
By The Independent
The East Antarctic icesheet, once seen as largely unaffected by global warming, has lost billions of tonnes of ice since 2006 and could boost sea levels in the future, according to a new study
Climate Sceptics 'Put World At Risk'
By David Adam
Climate change sceptics and fossil fuel companies that have lobbied against action on greenhouse gas emissions have squandered the world's chance to avoid dangerous global warming
Bread And Circuses
By Guy R. McPherson
The big news on the climate-change front this week, for those of you living in caves, involves a big dose of denial. A large number of emails from the University of East Anglia webmail server were hacked, thus igniting a controversy about whether global climate change is “real.” In a word, yes. Lethally so
Global Warming To Have Heavy Impact
On Arab States
By Michael von Bülow
Global warming will have a severe impact on Arab states where water is already scarce, a regional report warned ahead of next month's Copenhagen environment summit. Some of the most feared effects include depletion of agricultural land, spread of disease and endangerment of many plant and animal species, the 2009 Report of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development said
The Pentagon Garrisons The Gulf
By Nick Turse
As Washington talks Iraq withdrawal, the Pentagon builds up bases in the region
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed’s Trial Will Convict Us All
By Paul Craig Roberts
Every American should be concerned that the Obama administration has decided to use Mohammed’s trial to complete the corruption of the American court system. When Mohammed’s trial is over, an American Joe Stalin or Adolf Hitler will be able to convict America’s Founding Fathers on charges of treason and terrorism. No one will be safe
Federation? Why Not?
By Uri Avnery
Lately, the term “federation” has come into fashion again. Some people believe that it can serve as a kind of compromise between the “Two-State Solution”, now a world-wide consensus, and the “One-State Solution” that is popular in some radical circles. “Federation” sounds like a miracle: there will be both “two states for two peoples” and a single entity. Two in one, one in two
Civil War Spreads Across North West Pakistan
By James Cogan
The Pakistani military offensive in South Waziristan against Tehrik-e-Taliban —the Pakistani Taliban—has escalated into a civil war throughout the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) and North West Frontier Province (NWFP)
You Have To Meet This Farmer Breeder
By Devinder Sharma
Prakash Singh Raghuvanshi is an amazing farmer-breeder. For 14 years, he has been developing new crop varieties. He has developed more than 100 improved varieties of rice, wheat, pulses, and some vegetables and fruits, which have been distributed freely to thousands of farmers in the entire northwestern belt of India. Many of his varieties are dominating the farmers fields, and of course some of his improved varieties have been taken by unscrupulous officials in private companies, renamed and marketed
Have Israeli Spies Infiltrated
International Airports?
By Jonathan Cook
South Africa deported an Israeli airline official last week following allegations that Israel’s secret police, the Shin Bet, had infiltrated Johannesburg international airport in an effort to gather information on South African citizens, particularly black and Muslim travellers
What's Thanksgiving Really All About?
By Mary Shaw
Happy Thanksgiving, white America. Enjoy your feast. And be thankful that you were not born on a Native American reservation or in captivity on a slave owner's plantation. Might does not make right. And so may the laws of karma ultimately even the score
Media America
By Case Wagenvoord
The American Way is the product of madmen and bears no relationship to the real America that struggles to make it from one day to the next while its masters party on. This is the America that never reaches the surface of our media swamp
Targeting Muslim Charities In America
By Stephen Lendman
To date, the Treasury Department has closed six Muslim charities by designating them terrorist organizations or claiming they provided material support to terrorism. A seventh charity was also closed for being "under investigation." In addition, six others were raided and and have been gravely harmed by the publicity and intrusive surveillance. Two of them have since closed. In total since 9/11, nine Muslims charities have been shuttered on bogus charges in Texas, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Oregon, Ohio, Massachusetts, and New York
22 November, 2009
Historic Peak Oil Motion Defeated
In Australian Senate
By Dr Gideon Polya
The Australian Greens recently attempted to introduce what, to the best of my knowledge may be the first ever Peak Oil motion introduced into a national assembly. Unfortunately the motion was defeated 31 to 6
This Climate Email-Hacking Episode Is
Generating More Heat Than Light
By Bob Ward
Another skirmish has broken out in the long-running battle between climate scientists and so-called sceptics, with the hacking of email messages between some of the world's leading researchers on global temperature trends. But this episode is generating more heat than light and is likely to lead to more public confusion over the causes of climate change
The CRU Hack
By Realclimate.org
The timing of this particular episode is probably not coincidental. But if cherry-picked out-of-context phrases from stolen personal emails is the only response to the weight of the scientific evidence for the human influence on climate change, then there probably isn’t much to it
Last Train To Copenhagen
By Andrew Glikson
The rise in CO2 emissions by 41% since 1990 and continuing land clearing go counter to the urgently required measures at mitigation, massive reforestation, revegetation, application of biochar and chemical draw-down of atmospheric CO2. While governments vie to vested interests and economists calculate the price of the Earth, a denial syndrome underpinned by an ideology of human mastery over nature is enhanced by a massive disinformation campaign by contrarians who ignore the basic laws of physics and chemistry and falsify climate data
Towards Resolving Thanksgiving Contradictions
By Emily Spence
At Thanksgiving, why not avoid cutesy repugnant myths concerning "Indians" and Pilgrims? Instead, one might consider the suffering that arose after the "New World" became viewed as a land of opportunity -- a fresh spot to environmentally plunder while removing native populations. One might, also, reflect on the debt that we, connected in myriad ways, owe to each other. Assuredly, it's especially obliged by the people who have cornucopian bounty in their lives
Q & A About The Relevance Of Bt Brinjal
And The Regulatory Regime
By Devinder Sharma
FAQ on Bt Brinjal And The Regulatory Regime
Revolutionary Movement And
The “Spirit Of Generalisation”
By Pratyush Chandra
Can there be a Maoist movement or for that matter, a Marxist movement? We have been using the phrase “Communist Movement” for a long time, but what does it signify? What is the utility of these phrases in the context of today’s people’s and working class struggle?
Why Did Tom Perriello Vote In Favor Of
H.Res. 867 And How Is This Apartheid
By Adam Shapiro
I believe Congressman Perriello’s vote resulted from the almost-obligatory fealty to AIPAC displayed by members of Congress – and perhaps his desire to get reelected
Encountering Ambedkar In Hungary
By Pardeep Attri
The Romas, a discriminated minority in Hungary, turn to Ambedkar and Buddhism in their quest for dignity and equality. Pardeep Attri journeys to Sajókaza and Budapest to find out how the Dalits and Romas connect
The Charge Of The Fright Brigade
By Rafiq Kathwari
All it will take is two boys in navy blue with their circumcised dhandas to regulate traffic in front of not just the children’s hospital but all hospitals in Srinagar, ensuring safe passage for all, from one end of the road to the other, for a civil society is ultimately judged by how well its citizens regard each other, particularly its women and children
Cutting Out A Role For China
By Dr Shabir Choudhry
Statement of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq regarding a role of China in Kashmir dispute has surprised many. We people of Jammu and Kashmir are in limbo mainly because we are occupied by three countries, although it was only two who were considered party to the Kashmir dispute
20 November, 2009
World Energy And Population: Trends To 2100
By Paul Chefurka
All the research I have done for this paper has convinced me that the human race is now out of time. We are staring at hard limits on our activities and numbers, imposed by energy constraints and ecological damage. There is no time left to mitigate the situation, and no way to bargain or engineer our way out of it. It is what it is, and neither Mother Nature nor the Laws of Physics are open to negotiation
America's Pending Collapse
By Timothy V. Gatto
I’m really not an alarmist, but I see the merit of what so many scientists are predicting. Not only will Peak Oil stop economic growth, but climate change according to a UN report will bring desertification to 70% of the planet by 2025. Maybe petroleum peaking out is in reality what may save our planet. Maybe a return to simpler ways to live and work will stop the CO2 emissions, but I don’t think so
We Are Running Out Of Time
To Save Humanity And The Biosphere
By Dr Gideon Polya
Humanity and the Biosphere (the ecosystems and species of the Planet) are acutely threatened by man-made global warming. However ignorant or corporate-funded climate denialism, the effective climate denialism of insufficiently responsive First World politicians and the growing enormity of what needs to be done lead scientists to say that it is probably too late to stop a climate catastrophe
Bantustans And The Unilateral Declaration Of
Statehood
By Virginia Tilley
The Ramallah PA's suddenly serious initiative to declare an independent Palestinian state in non-sovereign territory must surely force fresh collective realization that this is a terribly pragmatic question. It's time to bring closer attention to what "Bantustan" actually means. The Palestinian national movement can only hope someone in its ranks undertakes that project as seriously as Israel has undertaken it before it's too late
The Bolivarian Revolution And Peace
By Fidel Castro
Those who think that division between Venezuelans and Colombians can lead to the success of their counterrevolutionary plans are deceiving themselves. Many of the best and most humble workers in Venezuela are Colombians; the Revolution has given them and their immediate family education, healthcare, employment, the right to citizenship and other benefits. Together, Venezuelans and Colombians shall defend the great Homeland of the Liberator of the Americas; together, they shall fight for peace and freedom
Lynne Stewart: Heroic Human Rights Lawyer Jailed
By Stephen Lendman
The situation remains fluid, dire, and complicated by Stewart's battle with breast cancer. She has surgery scheduled for December 7, unlikely now, but if done in prison or where authorities direct, it won't be the quality she deserves
Tribute To Kahane Planned By Israeli Legislators
By Jonathan Cook
A plan by right-wing legislators in Israel to commemorate the anniversary this month of the death of Meir Kahane, whose banned anti-Arab movement is classified as a terrorist organisation, risks further damaging the prospects for talks between Israel and the Palestinians, US officials have warned
Saudi Arabia’s Attack On Yemen
By Rannie Amiri
Saudi Arabia’s irresponsible muscle-flexing only exacerbates regional and sectarian tensions, and puts a solution to the conflict further out of reach. It is clear the only solution to be had is a diplomatic one. The time for the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the U.N. Security Council to intercede before the conflict and its attendant humanitarian costs spiral out of hand is long overdue
Gilo And Last Straws
By Eileen Fleming
This week's announcement of Israel's plan to build 900 more dwellings in Gilo with a price tag of NIS 1.86 million for a 5-room apartment has garnered international criticism as well as from the US
Ambedkar’s Lost Boys?
By Ajit Sahi
A dalit organisation in Kerala is accused of terrorist link
19 November, 2009
Should We Prop Up A Dying Economy?
By Richard Heinberg
Rather than attempting to prop up banks and insurance companies with trillions in bailouts, it would probably be better simply to let them fail, however nasty the short-term consequences, since they will fail anyway sooner or later. The sooner they are replaced with institutions that serve essential functions within a contracting economy, the better off we will all be
End Times In Copenhagen
By Joel Kovel
These meetings will be a turning point. The question remains as to the direction taken, whether toward eco-catastrophe or hope for life. But we should do our best to non-violently impede the meetings so long as they serve capital. We can build a “movement of movements” from below, harbingers of a transformed world: a movement to reveal the murderous betrayal of life by the capitalist class, and centered around the principle of keeping the sources of carbon in the ground as we build ecologically socialist ways of production
Advice On Afghanistan
By Ralph Nader
Your staff estimates each U.S. soldier is costing $1 million a year, in addition to the horrific toll on these soldiers and the Afghan people. You owe the American people an un-Bush-like explanation. Why are you not receiving these groups of American from varied backgrounds and experience at the White House on this pending Afghan decision?
FAO And World Bank Back Food Pirates
By Devinder Sharma
FAO has taken a U-turn in its clear position on the race by food-importing countries and private companies to buy land overseas for domestic food and agriculture needs. It has started drawing up a code of conduct to regulate overseas investment in farmland but the guidelines would be non-binding
Anatomy Of Chidambaram’s Tehelka Interview:
“Give Me 72 Hours!“
By Sadanand Patwardhan
It may not be Operation Green Hunt that is denied by Chidambaram, but it could very well be ‘Operation Tribal Hunt’ as described by Bhai Vaidya – a veteran socialist leader in Pune or a photo journalist from central India Javed Iqbal
Rising Indian Influence In Afghanistan
Worries US And Pakistan
By Ajay Prakash
The top US military commander in Afghanistan has warned that India’s growing influence in the country could “exacerbate regional tensions” and encourage “countermeasures” by Pakistan, India’s historic rival in south Asia
Obama’s Fraudulent “Job Summit”
By Shamus Cooke
If the President had offered us a job summit a year ago, he might have been taken seriously. Now, however, after more than six million jobs have been lost — and with the bottom still falling — Obama’s brain storming get-together can only be treated with contempt, if not outrage
Media Disseminated Myths About Obamacare
By Stephen Lendman
Mainstream media endorses private sector-run health care, calls Obamacare "socialized medicine," and ducks its real aim - to enrich the insurance, drug and large hospital chain cartels at the expense of real reform covering everyone under a universal, single-payer system. Everyone in. No one out getting affordable, effective care, the kind right-wing media and other dark forces oppose and disseminate misinformation to prevent it
One Year Later…And The Doors To The World’s
Largest Prison Are Still Sealed Shut
By Pam Rasmussen
It’s time to show Israel that the world will no longer accept this wanton and cruel suffocation of human potential. Visit www.gazafreedommarch.org to find out how you can help, either actively on the ground in Gaza or here at home
18 November, 2009
World Heads For 6° Rise
By Steve Connor & Michael McCarthy
The world is now firmly on course for the worst-case scenario in terms of climate change, with average global temperatures rising by up to 6C by the end of the century, leading scientists said yesterday. Such a rise – which would be much higher nearer the poles – would have cataclysmic and irreversible consequences for the Earth, making large parts of the planet uninhabitable and threatening the basis of human civilisation
Climate Change: Do Something Ourselves
By Marianne de Nazareth
While the politicians of the world play politics with taking hard nosed decisions about caps and GHG emissions of their respective countries, let each one of us decide to do something to help our planet which is in trouble. It’s about time we made initiatives on our own, instead of waiting for the men at the top to stop playing around with our lives
Up And Down, Down And Up
By Case Wagenvoord
Initially, technology contributed to civilization, making life easier and more comfortable, conquering disease and lifting us out of the morass of superstition. But as with all other historical phenomena, technology peaked. Once this happened, technological innovation became destructive with the costs far outweighing the benefits. One could argue that we passed over the apogee with the splitting of the atom
Australians Face Reality On Sea-Level Rise
By John James
Australia is the first country in the world to undertake a national assessment of the consequences of sea-level rise. The headlines on Saturday were silly , but the report was not. With a sea-level rise of 1.1 meters about two million Australians would become refugees and have to leave their homes and the places they love
Hungering For A True Thanksgiving
By Amy Goodman
Consider pausing this Thanksgiving, which for many in the U.S. is a major feast, to reflect on the 10 children who die of hunger every minute, and how your elected officials are spending hundreds of billions in public funds on war
Denial Of Breast Cancer Screenings
Will Have Deadly Consequences
By Joanne Laurier
A US government panel’s recommendation that women under the age of 50 not undergo annual mammogram screenings has provoked outrage from oncologists and other health care professionals, as well as breast cancer patients and survivors
Universal Single Payer Health Care Coverage:
An Economic Stimulus Plan
By Stephen Lendman
If Obamacare is enacted, it will cost more, deliver less, leave millions uninsured, millions more underinsured and leave a broken system in place. It will enrich the insurance, drug and large hospital chain cartels at the expense of universal coverage. It will solidify a class-based system delivering the best care money can buy. Others will get sub-standard treatment, and for millions none at all. The solution is everybody in, nobody out under a universal, single-payer system. No one should accept less or politicians who won't provide it
Globalization Unchecked: How Alien Media Is
Suffocating Real Culture
By Ramzy Baroud
Globalization is not a fair game, of course. Those with giant economies get the lion’s share of the ‘collective’ decision-making. Those with more money and global outlook tend to have influential media, also with global outlook. In both scenarios, small countries are lost between desperately trying to negotiate a better economic standing for themselves, while hopelessly trying to maintain their cultural identity, which defined their people, generation after generation throughout history
Hawkish Hillary Pro-Surge And
Anti-Savvy Majority, Again
By Robert S. Becker
I predict when Afghan ante mounts, and hundreds, or thousands, of American soldiers return in body bags, whatever good President Obama achieves will be undercut, as Vietnam did LBJ, by an endlessly drawn-out Asian land war against a divided, indigenous population
Disputed Kashmir Serves China’s Interests
By Ghulam Nabi
The author argues that it's in China's interest to keep Kashmir as a conflict zone
17 November, 2009
Too Late To Prepare For Peak Oil?
By George Monbiot
It’s probably too late to prepare for peak oil, but we can at least try to salvage food production
Peak Oil: IEA Knew It Long Ago
By Colin Campbell
Colin Campbell's Response To The Guardian IEA Reporting
Searching For A Miracle: 'Net Energy’ Limits
And The Fate Of Industrial Society
By Post Carbon Institute &
International Forum on Globalization
The fundamental disturbing conclusion of the report is that there is little likelihood that either conventional fossil fuels or alternative energy sources can reliably be counted on to provide the amount and quality of energy that will be needed to sustain economic growth—or even current levels of economic activity—during the remainder of the current century
Climate Rage
By Naomi Klein
The only way to stop global warming is for rich nations to pay for the damage they've done - or face the consequences
Obama Has Failed The World On Climate Change
By Christian Schwägerl
A world of flooded coasts, dried-up rivers and disappearing rainforests will lead to massive refugee movements and conflict. The Nobel Committee should postpone the award of the Nobel Peace Prize from Dec. 10 to Dec. 20. Only if Obama has achieved a convincing deal at the Copenhagen conference will there be a real reason to honor him
The Latest Palestinian Strategy –
Clever Or Stupid Or Both?
By Alan Hart
There is a case for saying that those leaders of the discredited PNA (Palestine National Authority) who are proposing to unilaterally declare an independent state on the West Bank and Gaza Strip and seek to get UN Security Council backing for it are being clever
Australia Sabotages Copenhagen By Excluding
Huge Agriculture GHG Emissions
By Dr Gideon Polya
Having already helped the US sabotage the 2007 Bali Climate Change Conference and the 2008 Poznan Climate Change Conference, US lackey, climate criminal and war criminal Australia has now also effectively sabotaged the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference a few weeks before it has even begun
Arab Teens Need ‘Protecting From Israeli Justice’
By Jonathan Cook
An Israeli judge made an historic ruling last week when he decided that an Arab teenager needed “protection” from the justice system and ordered that he not be convicted despite being found guilty of throwing stones at a police car during a protest against Israel’s attack last winter on Gaza
Walls Of Shame
By Dr. Elias Akleh
On November 2nd many western leaders gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, to celebrate the downing of the notorious Berlin Wall. None of them recognized the rights of Palestinians and Iraqis to their freedom, and none of them condemned the uglier Israeli separation and imprisoning wall that cuts the West Bank into smaller Bantustans, or the Baghdad wall that divides the city into smaller sections
U.S. Army Underreporting Suicides,
Says GI Advocacy Group
By Dahr Jamail
According to a soldiers’ advocacy group at Fort Hood, the U.S. base where an army psychiatrist has been charged with killing 13 people and wounding 30 in a Nov. 5 rampage, the official suicide figures provided by the Army are “definitely” too low
Shining Light On Roots Of Terrorism
By Ray McGovern
For reasons that are painfully obvious, the Fawning Corporate Media have done their best to ignore or bury the role that Israel's repression of the Palestinians has played in motivating the 9/11 attacks and other anti-Western terrorism
KSM And MSM
By David Swanson
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and the corporate "mainstream" media make quite a pair. We're hearing a very "balanced" debate over whether KSM should be tried in New York City, and whether the most insane objections to that proposal are really insane or not. But what are we not hearing?
Rajiv Shah To Head USAID
By Devinder Sharma
US President Barrack Obama's decision to appoint Rajiv Shah (of Indian-origin) to head USAID and thereby hoping to rejuvinate the US role in spearheading the 2nd Green Revolution has a clever streak. Putting a face that looks like one of them, it is much easier to convince the Third World that the US is there to help. In fact, this is emerging as a great marketing chip, a winning strategy that Pepsi had followed all these years
All For a Song: Vande Mataram
And The Jamiat’s Patriotism
By Yoginder Sikand
The furore stoked by the media over a recent declaration by a faction of the Jamiatul-Ulema- e Hind declaring the singing of the song Vande Matram to be un-Islamic has, not unexpectedly, been seized upon by vociferously anti-Muslim elements to press their claim of Muslims being ‘anti-national’. What many Muslims are asking, a legitimate question that the media has failed to seriously raise, is why one’s attitude to a song (and that too in a language that few Indians understand) should be made the litmus test of Indian patriotism. What many Muslims also demand to know is how long they must continue to be forced by Hindu communalists to bear the burden of being compelled to prove their patriotic credentials
16 November, 2009
Too Fearful To Publicise
Peak Oil Reality
By Madeleine Bunting
What the 2008 edition of World Energy Outlook report made blindingly clear was that peak oil was somewhere in 2008/9 and that production from currently producing fields was about to drop off a cliff. Fields yet to be developed and yet to be found enabled a plateau of production and it was only "non-conventional oil" which enabled a small rise. Think tar sands of Canada, think some of the most climate polluting oil extraction methods available. Think catastrophe
ACTA: Death Of Internet As We Know It
By Stephen Lendman
From what's known, if the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) measures are adopted, consider the implications. Consumer Internet communications and content will be monitored, threatening privacy, civil liberties, and a free and open Internet. In addition, new Net Neutrality rules and congressional legislation codifying them will be subverted by ACTA authority
Poverty, Global Trade Justice,
And The Roots Of Terrorism
By John Perkins
To combat terrorism, we should address the root causes of poverty, says former "economic hit man"
How I Stopped Hating Thanksgiving
And Learned To Be Afraid
By Robert Jensen
European invaders exterminated nearly the entire indigenous population to create the United States. Without that holocaust, the United States as we know it would not exist. The United States celebrates a Thanksgiving Day holiday dominated not by atonement for that horrendous crime against humanity but by a falsified account of the "encounter" between Europeans and American Indians
Campus Watch Copycats Close In On
Israeli Professors
By Jonathan Cook
Right-wing groups in Israel want to create a climate of fear among left-wing scholars at Israeli universities by emulating the “witch-hunt” tactics of the US academic monitoring group Campus Watch, Israeli professors warn
Aung San Suu Kyi, Omar Khadar,
And Barack Obama: A Dreadful Tale Of
What America Has Become
By John Chuckman
Much as I resent Burma’s treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi, it shines as genuinely humane compared to America’s treatment of Omar Khadr
What Is At Stake With Free Trade
By Shamus Cooke
If the battle against free trade is really a battle against capitalism, then it must be clearly stated. As it stands now, many corporations are benefiting from the confusion that “free trade” creates, and use the bewilderment to help them gain workers' and union officials' support in fighting foreign corporations. For workers, this is a suicidal policy
Feminism And Dalit Women In India
By Cynthia Stephen
Thus, Dalit women are slowly attempting to come to grips with their invisibility in the discourse, and are beginning not just to speak out, but also to theorise and build wider solidarities so as to earn the place, hitherto denied, under the sun
Two Contrasting Systems For Ensuring
Food Security
By Jaspal Singh Sidhu
The release of Millions Fed seems to be an advocacy in favor of capitalistic mode of agriculture which is now turning into a ‘ corporate farming’ ahead of World Summit on Food Security . Also it is an attempt to brush under the carpet ill-effects of this ‘modern agriculture’
Where Is Hemant Karkare’s Bullet Proof Jacket ?
By Subhash Gatade
Does not people have a right to know how a senior officer of his rank died ? Whether he died because of bullets fired from an AK 47 or 9 mm bullets fired from a revolver/carbine? In fact, his post mortem report needs to be made public.. Mystery behind his ‘missing jacket’ also needs to be revisited.Unless and until a thorough investigation is done doubts will linger on
14 November, 2009
Huge Rise In Birth Defects In Falluja
By Martin Chulov
Doctors in Iraq's war-ravaged enclave of Falluja are dealing with up to 15 times as many chronic deformities in infants and a spike in early life cancers that may be linked to toxic materials left over from the fighting
Biggest Land Grab After Columbus
By Devinder Sharma
The Tata's plan to set up a Rs 19,500 crore steel plant in Bedanji, a remote rural expanse in Bastar in Chhatisgarh,India, for which ten villages have to be emtied
U.S Army Sends Infant To Protective Services,
Mom To Afghanistan
By Dahr Jamail
U.S. Army Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother, is being threatened with a military court-martial if she does not agree to deploy to Afghanistan, despite having been told she would be granted extra time to find someone to care for her 11-month-old son while she is overseas
The Fallacy Of Alternative Energy
By Peter Goodchild
To say that the coming centuries will be a challenge would be an enormous understatement. Perhaps in a future scriptorium, when the facts and legends about the present era are being scratched onto parchment, there will be a chance to reflect on the foolishness of spending time on electric toys and magic tricks, when so much of more practical value could have been done to mitigate the ravages of famine, plague, and war
When RTI Makes Life Miserable
By Gladson Dungdung
The latest stories of Dhanbad and Bokaro districts of Jharkhand suggests that how the people have internalized ‘corruption’ as part of their culture
Invading The Secular Space
By Ram Puniyani
A new Hindu religiosity is getting deeply rooted in everyday life, in public and private spheres. The distinction between private and public sphere is getting eroded as the case of Sai Baba in Maharashtra Chief Ministers official bungalow shows. Hindu rituals and symbols are becoming part of state functions; Hinduism de facto is becoming state religion
Understanding Existential Castes
Through Atrocity Metrics
By Anand Teltumbde
Brief of the paper “Understanding Existential Castes through Atrocity Metrics” presented at the seminar Caste in Contemporary India, Columbia University on 16 October 2009
Contempt? But Critic Is A Friend Of The Court
By Sandeep Jalan
Whereas Senior Advocate of Supreme Court Prashant Bhushan is served with the notice of Contempt of the Supreme Court when he had given interview to Tehalka magazine over misconduct of a Supreme Court Judge, I take this as a opportunity to express my thought on the subject
13 November, 2009
Greenland Ice Loss 'Accelerating'
By Richard Black
The Greenland ice sheet is losing its mass faster than in previous years and making an increasing contribution to sea level rise, a study has confirmed
Blue Dogs Feast On Healthcare Money,
Support HR 3962
By Billy Wharton
If a bill is passed on Capitol Hill, money is sure to have changed hands. There is not much “School House Rock” idealism left in Washington these days. Bills do not become laws through a democratic process of debate, compromise and ratification. Money greases the skids, shapes the end product and determines what is or isn’t debated from the floor. No surprise then that a large money trail has been left in the wake of the House of Representatives approval of HR 3962, The Affordable Healthcare Act for America
US-China Tensions Overshadow
Obama’s Trip To Asia
By Peter Symonds
US President Barack Obama arrives today in Tokyo at the start of his first trip to Asia. While he will also stop off in South Korea and attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Singapore, the central focus of the tour is China and the underlying economic and strategic rivalry between Beijing and Washington
A Science Fiction Story
By Fidel Castro
Obama’s trip to Asia seems like a science fiction story
Almost 200 Million Children Undernourished
In Poor Countries
By James Brewer
There are currently 195 million children under five years of age in poorer countries whose growth is stunted due to chronic malnutrition, according to a UNICEF (United Nations Childrens’ Fund) report released on Wednesday
Myths Of Our Time : Morality vs. Material Interests
By Paul Craig Roberts
For whatever the reason, morality has shown itself to be an impotent force in 21st century America. Americans show no remorse at over one million dead Iraqis and four million displaced Iraqis due entirely to an American invasion based on lies and deception. The lies and deception are now well proven. Yet, there has been no apology for the horrors that Americans inflicted on Iraq
Fort Hood Tragedy Sparks Islamophobic Response
By Stephen Lendman
Leaving Iraq occupied, letting conditions there fester, and expanding the Afghan-Pakistan theaters promise enough growing resentment in the ranks to perhaps cause the type Vietnam breakdown Col Heinl described. One no Islamophobic media response can hide or prevent
Lebanese Students Advise President Obama
How To Get It Right
By Franklin Lamb
At a recent meeting in West Beirut, a group of students, young and old, gathered at a seminar to discuss the image of America in the Levant. A US Embassy representative was invited but bowed out at the last minute and advised the group to ‘send us an email and we will look it over.” So far there has been no reply from the Embassy but below are some of the suggestions from Lebanese University students to the White House, State Department and US Congress, updated on 11/12/09
Trying To Win With A Lousy Hand
By Case Wagenvoord
We must be cautious before we draw a parallel between Afghanistan and Vietnam. There are some crucial differences. Back in the sixties we were still a democracy with a functioning and independent press that wasn’t embedded in Pentagon briefing rooms. This is no longer the case. Back then, we had a citizen army that had to believe in what it was fighting for. Alas, no more. A professional army fights because it is paid to do so
The "Gusher Up" Theory Of Economics
By Jeff Berg
Today we have a new variant of the "trickle down" theory that I would like to call the "Gusher Up" theory. In this economic model the government sprays massive amounts of money directly upwards into the pockets of the investor class. It is justified by claiming that the end result of this massive geyser of money will be - in the long run - to make everyone wealthier. This time around no one is saying out loud that this wealth will then "trickle down". No doubt afraid that the terminology might create negative associations for what is already a hard sell. It is nonetheless relentlessly implied
The Disastrous Presidency Of Mahmoud Abbas
By Rannie Amiri
Though it appears doubtful the quisling Abbas will actually resign, its mere suggestion should still be cause for celebration among Palestinians. Even if it ultimately does not come to pass – at least for now – let them rejoice
Edward Said And Barak Obama
By Prof. Haidar Eid
An Open letter from a Palestinian Resident of Gaza to the President of the United States of America, Mr. Barak Hussein Obama
Procrastinating On Hindutva Terror
By Subhash Gatade
As things stand today, it is just a matter of time when the Goa blasts would be forgotten much on the lines of Nanded blasts or Kanpur blasts (August 2008) and similar other blasts involving Hindutva terrorists.Perhaps a much bigger tragedy would awaken us from our selective amnesia vis-a-vis terrorism of the Hindutva kind
An Open Letter To R. R. Patil
By Ravikiran Shinde
Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar will not be at your service this time. Neither will be the heroes like Tukaram Omble. Remember their sacrifice and pay them tribute with your exceptional performance this time around
11 November, 2009
The Choice Ahead: Entrenched
Fossil Fuel Dependence
Or Climate Change Management
By Emily Spence
Humanity needs to proactively come together to deal with climate change mitigation rather than remain separated along nationalistic lines to contentiously vie for control over the world's remaining fossil fuels. The rationale behind such a course of action is clear. Time is running out in terms of our surpassing climate change tipping points that would drastically alter life across the entire Earth for many centuries to come
The Links Between Food Security
And Climate Change
By Kanayo F. Nwanze
Recent reports indicate that the rains have failed once again across vast swathes of Eastern Africa, putting millions of people at risk. This current regional crisis is a stark reminder to all of us that the global food security crisis of 2007 and 2008, which was marked by a sharp contraction in food supplies and food price spikes, is far from over
Can We Handle The Truth?
By Guy R McPherson
The International Energy Agency (IEA) released World Energy Outlook 2009 today. Even before the sham was shipped, it was exposed as a big 'ol bucket of lies. Seems the current administration thinks Americans can't handle the truth, so we need to apply some pressure to keep the lid on the facts
The Plunder Of Iraq’s Oil
By James Cogan
The awarding of development rights over the huge West Qurna oilfield in southern Iraq to Exxon-Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell last Thursday once again underscores the criminal character of the continuing US-led occupation. As the direct result of the Iraq war, major American and other transnational energy conglomerates are now gaining control over some the largest oilfields in the world
US Is Doing No Good In Afghanistan
By Malalai Joya
As an Afghan woman who was elected to Parliament, I am in the United States to ask President Barack Obama to immediately end the occupation of my country
21 Questions Indians Should Ask
Apartheid Australia PM Rudd
By Dr Gideon Polya
The Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd, is visiting India for several days. Here are 21 questions Indian journalists should put to PM Kevin Rudd
Israeli Jews And The One-State Solution
By Ali Abunimah
Does solid Israeli Jewish opposition to a one-state solution mean that a peaceful one-state outcome is so unlikely that Palestinians should not pursue it, and should instead focus only on "pragmatic" solutions that would be less fiercely resisted by Israeli Jews?
A New Epoch In The Palestinian Struggle
For Freedom
By Salim Nazzal
The withdrawal of Abbas will most likely consolidate the trend which was always opposing his policy which returns the conflict to square one and probably marking a new epoch in the Palestinian struggle against the Zionist Appertide state
More Militant Vegans, Less Ethical Butchers
By Mickey Z.
At some point, we each have to decide: Do we respect all life or not? If we choose life instead of death, then we must view the culture holistically. To divide issues of animal suffering, eco-destruction, and human rights, is to fall into the trap of the dinosaur Left
Oklahoma City, Columbine, Virginia Tech
And Now Ft. Hood
By Shepherd Bliss
Oklahoma City (1995--168 killed), Columbine High (1999--12 killed), Virginia Tech University (2007--32 killed), and now Ft. Hood (13 killed). What do these memorable places have in common?
Bt. Brinjal: Symbol Of Corporate Hegemony
By Rajkumar
Bt. Brinjal empowers the corporate and benefits the vested interest broker lobbies. What we need in India is the real democratic power for the rural communities. Let our policy makers devote their energies and efficiencies to implement land reform measures. Let the communities have the real right to access the natural resources for their livelihood
Remembering Prabhash Joshi
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Tribute to an uncompromising media institution
10 November, 2009
Himalayan Blunder: The Perils Of
Denying Glacier Melting
By Devinder Sharma
Jairam Ramesh, India's environment minister released on Monday a paper entitled Himalayan Glaciers by V K Raina, a former deputy director general of the Geological Survey of India. The paper says that there is no conclusive evidence to prove that Himalayan glaciers are melting due to climate change
Pachauri Slams India's Glaciers Report
By Randeep Ramesh
IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri accuses Indian environment ministry of 'arrogance' for its report claiming there is no evidence that climate change has shrunk Himalayan glaciers
Key Oil Figures Were Distorted By US Pressure,
Says Whistleblower
By Terry Macalister
The world is much closer to running out of oil than official estimates admit, according to a whistleblower at the International Energy Agency who claims it has been deliberately underplaying a looming shortage for fear of triggering panic buying
From The Wilderness To The End Of Civilization
By Carolyn Baker
Carolyn Baker reviews Mike Ruppert's peak oil movie "Collapse"
Romancing The Afghan Dragon
By Aetius Romulous
The strange relationship between opium and Afghan politics
How Israel Won The Settlement Battle Again
By Ramzy Baroud
When British Foreign Secretary David Miliband uttered a few words regarding the illegality of the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, many wanted to believe that London was taking a sharp stance against Israel’s continued violations of international law. Alas, they were wrong
Australia’s Predatory Education
By Ghali Hassan
There are more than half a million international students in Australia. Despite the exaggerated “benefits” they allegedly bring to Australia, international students are eroding Australia’s education system at the expense of Australians. The purpose of this article is to demystify the so-called Australia’s international “education export industry” and sheds light on its profound effects on Australia’s education system and its ability to serve the Australian community
Bt Brinjal Can Awaken A Sleeping Poison
By Suman Sahai
There are no provisions for monitoring the long-term impact of GE foods on the health of consumers. In case adverse health impacts are reported from eating Bt brinjal, who would be liable to pay compensation? How would the liability be fixed and what would be the quantum? In the absence of any kind of preparedness or safeguards, what would be the liability of the government for approving such food crops? And in the event of damage caused by Bt brinjal, will Mahyco be put in the dock?
09 November, 2009
The Walls Of Berlin And Bil'in
By Eileen Fleming
Twenty years ago on Nov. 9, the Berlin Wall came crashing down. A wall twice as high and five times as long as the one that fell in Berlin, is close to completion in the West Bank. One of the chants I learned during one of my four visits to the agricultural village of Bilin, was "The wall will fall in Bilin; the wall will fall like in Berlin"
A Line In The Sand
By Uri Avnery
Mahmoud Abbdas is fed up. The day before yesterday he withdrew his candidacy for the coming presidential election in the Palestinian Authority. He feels betrayed. And the traitor is Barack Obama
US House Passes Health Care Bill
By Kate Randall
The House of Representatives narrowly passed legislation on Saturday to overhaul the US health care system, with the inclusion of an amendment that imposes strict bans on the use of federal funds to finance abortion. The bill must be reconciled with legislation still being finalized in the Senate before it can be signed into law by President Barack Obama
Why I Voted No
By Dennis Kucinich
Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, Dennis Kucinich explains why he voted against the health care bill
Can Lieberman Save Health Care Reform?
By John A. Murphy
We may not like Joe Lieberman and Max Baucus but ironically we may be in their debt if they join the filibuster to block this anti-working class, corporate welfare legislation. We should be castigating Conyers and Grayson because of their vote in the House while we may have to heave sigh of thanksgiving for people like Lieberman and Baucus if they are successful in preventing this very dangerous piece of legislation
US Pressing To Shore Up Security For
Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons
By Sherwood Ross
Washington has been negotiating secret and “highly sensitive understandings” to “provide added security for the Pakistani arsenal in case of a crisis,” investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reports
Paid Lying: What Passes For
Major Media Journalism
By Stephen Lendman
Today's major media journalism is biased, irresponsible, sensationalist reporting that distorts, exaggerates or misstates the truth. It's misinformation or agitprop disinformation masquerading as fact to boost circulation, readership, viewers, or listeners, and on vital issues lie about or suppress uncomfortable truths to provide unqualified support for state and/or corporate interests - to the detriment of the greater good that's always sacrificed for profits and imperial aims
Where Will They Get The Troops?
By Dahr Jamail & Sarah Lazare
As the Obama administration debates whether to send tens of thousands of extra troops to Afghanistan, an already overstretched military is increasingly struggling to meet its deployment numbers. Surprisingly, one place it seems to be targeting is military personnel who go absent without leave (AWOL) and then are caught or turn themselves in
Toxic Idealism
By Case Wagenvoord
The treatment of women in Afghanistan is abysmal. Both the Taliban and the Northern Alliance are little more than narco-thugs. However, the brutal truth is that our military occupation of the country is only making these conditions worse. An equally brutal truth is that change will only come to Afghanistan when all foreign troops leave and courageous Afghan women like Malalai Joya bring change to the country from the inside out
Climate Change Realism And Hope -
A Path To Success At Copenhagen
By Bill Henderson
Copenhagen is looking increasingly like failure to agree upon a world saving but presently impossible global plan for action on climate change. After getting your agreement on why Copenhagen is a crucial last chance and who or what is to blame for impending failure, I'll show you a possible path to global awakening just in time for the final meeting in December
Rendition Prosecuted Abroad While
U.S. Courts Do Nothing
By Mary Shaw
On November 4, an Italian judge convicted 23 Americans, most of them CIA operatives, for the abduction and rendition of Muslim cleric Abu Omar, who was captured in Milan in 2003. One of the defendants, a CIA base chief, received an eight-year sentence, while the others were sentenced to five years each
Muslims Wear Perfume, Maoists Use Dettol!
By Jawed Naqvi
While Chidambaram and his sparring partners from Deoband were locked in a fruitless and diversionary discourse about physical security and an obscurantist song, the real-life Muslim citizens, like the Dalits, like the tribals, like the majority of impoverished and abused Indians were engaged in assiduously disabusing the state of its blinkered view about them. A part of this struggle involves explaining to the state that they are not all terrorists
Does Democratic Government Listen To Adivasis?
By Gladson Dungdung
The government of India officially accepts through the Forest Rights Act 2006 that historic injustice was done to the Adivasis. The Prime Minister added more on it but he failed to provide a radical mechanism to right the historic wrongs. Let’s accept the fact that the Adivasis will not survive without land and forests therefore ensuring their ownership over the natural resources are the way forward but the question remains unanswered. Will the democratic government listen to them?
‘Love Jihad’ Reports Point To Polarisation In Society
By BRP Bhaskar
An allegation that a campaign is on to lure young women into romance with a view to converting them to Islam has brought various Hindu and Christian organisations in Kerala on a common platform
08 November, 2009
Dark Clouds Gathering Over Copenhagen
By Sanjay Suri
It has been a bad week for the climate change summit in Copenhagen next month. During the week the last meeting in the formal round of pre- Copenhagen talks collapsed in Barcelona. Then, meeting here on the weekend, the G20 finance ministers put the seal on that failure by failing to agree a financial package
We Cannot Fight Climate With Consumerism
By George Monbiot
Small actions allow people to overlook the bigger ones and still claim they are being environmentally responsible
Crunch Time For Planet Earth
By Amitabh Pal
We need to stop being in denial mode and take action to stop the Earth from heating up. If we keep burying our heads in the sand, we're going to get buried
Am I A Naxal Sympathizer?
By Dr. Shah Alam Khan
It’s high time that the common Indian stand and be counted. The malicious political agenda which thrives on human blood has to be contained. Today they want to use force on Naxals, tomorrow it could be us
Operation Green Hunt In Dantewada
By Fact Finding Team
A fact-finding report on operation Green hunt in Dantewada in September-October 2009
The Annexation Of Colombia To The United States
By Fidel Castro
Anyone with some information can immediately see that the sweetened ‘Complementation Agreement for Defense and Security Cooperation and Technical Assistance between the Governments of Colombia and the United States’ signed on October 30, and made public in the evening of November 2, amounts to the annexation of Colombia to the United States
New Dimensions Of The Kashmiri Struggle
By Dr Shabir Choudhry
After sixty two years of silence all of sudden India has changed its stand or strategy. They have not only raised objections to the Chinese intentions to build dams in Gilgit Baltistan, they have also asserted their claim that these areas belong to India. This dimension of the Kashmir dispute will change the scenario and will have great impact on politics of the region and that of South Asia
The Coming U.S. Budget Attack
By Shamus Cooke
The federal government intends to balance its books too, at the expense of society’s neediest. Instead of governors presiding over painful cuts, the President will be doing the gutting. And although his proposed budget isn’t due until February, the President’s spokespeople are priming the media to play a major propaganda role in what will be a colossal blow against working and poor people
800,000 Americans Busted Annually For Pot
By Sherwood Ross
Seven million Americans have been arrested since 1995 on marijuana charges and 41,000 of them are rotting in federal and State prisons---but the public is starting to rebel against “the preposterous war on pot,” two political scientists say. Thousands of other pot users and sellers are confined in local jails as well
Is America On A Wrong Track?
By Dr. Habib Siddiqui
The American nation is suffering from PTSD. She needs psychiatric help. She needs an overhaul and not false promises. She has to get out of the vicious culture of war that is responsible for her breakdown – mental, moral, social and economical
Claude Levi-Strauss: The Savage Mind
By Farzana Versey
Claude Levi-Strauss will certainly be more than the residue he thought we all would be and only partially due to being a totem for many thinkers
Gamal Mubarak: Egypt’s Next
Unelected President
By Rannie Amiri
Questions about Mubarak’s potential successor – a subject normally off-limits to public or media speculation – came to a head this week when the NDP held its annual party conference (in direct violation of Egypt’s constitution, Mubarak has never appointed a vice president). Would he announce his intention to seek re-election in 2011 or would his 46-year-old son Gamal, widely believed to be his political heir apparent, declare his own candidacy?
Natural Disasters In Asia: Harbinger Of
Things To Come?
By Brian McAfee
In a span of 5 weeks and one day earthquakes, floods, mudslides, typhoons and tsunamis swept through 10 nations leaving thousands of people dead and rendering millions more homeless
07 November, 2009
India's Defining Moment
By Trevor Selvam
This is now imperative, that what the Maoists have raised through sometimes irrational activities be understood as Constitutional Issues. Never before in the post-independence period has fundamental constitutional issues been brought to the forefront with such intensity, as now. The PM knows that very well. He knows that the Naxalites have exposed India’s chancre, in his own words, the “poorest of the poor.”He has to either change the Constitution or he has to engage in settler colonialism. Those are his historic choices
Don’t Cry Foul On Naxalism
By Gladosn Dungdung
The failure of the state, growing social inequality and non justice delivery are the main reasons of spreading the Naxalism therefore the state has no moral rights for crying foul at this moment. The conflict between the state and the Maoist will never come to an end till the marginalized people were ensured social, economic and cultural justice and also they are made stakeholders to the development and welfare schemes
Mr Prime Minister, Your Policies Are
Alienating The Tribals
By Devinder Sharma
The ruthless exploitation has gone on for generations, and what do you expect the simple folks in the tribal areas to do. They can't go on chanting bhajans and hope that someday the gods would listen to them. Picking up the gun comes as a last resort, and we must accept that it is because of our failure as a society that the tribals are on a warpath. No amount of fire-fighting or sending the army to fight the tribals in the guise of Maoists is going to be helpful, the Prime Minister must know this
Terrorist, Rebel Or Freedom Fighter?
By Dilnaz Boga
The Naxal conflict in India affects Indian states like Orissa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Militant uprisings in these states have the more fundamentals in common with the ‘separatist’ or ‘terrorist’ movements in Kashmir and India’s North Eastern states than we’d like to admit. People in these states lack the basics, and like Suresh and his brother, they have to choose sides
Breaking The Australian Silence
By John Pilger
In a speech at the Sydney Opera House to mark his award of Australia's human rights prize, the Sydney Peace Prize, John Pilger describes the "unique features" of a political silence in Australia: how it affects the national life of his homeland and the way Australians see the world and are manipulated by great power "which speaks through an invisible government of propaganda that subdues and limits our political imagination and ensures we are always at war -- against our own first people and those seeking refuge, or in someone else's country"
U.N. Affirms Goldstone Report
By Thalif Deen
The Goldstone report, which was favourably voted by the 47-member Human Rights Council in Geneva last month, received overwhelming support Thursday in the 192-member General Assembly. The vote was 114 in favour and 18 against, with 44 abstentions
Goldstone And Gaza
By Jimmy Carter
Without ascribing blame to either of the disputing parties, it is imperative that the United States and the international community take steps to assure that the rebuilding of Gaza be commenced, and without delay. The cries of homeless and freezing people demand relief
Why I Am Not A Zionist
By Kevin Coval
I am a Jewish person who stands with Palestinian people relegated to second-class citizenship and Israeli soldiers who refuse to enact racist militarism. I am not a nationalist; therefore I am not a Zionist. I am against the oppression of any person and people. I am not a builder of walls. I believe in equity and democratic practice, therefore I am not pro-Israel. I am an advocate for truth, justice and reconciliation. I believe in this. I believe in this now. I believe in the work ahead
The Saudi-isation Of Pakistan
By Pervez Hoodbhoy
The immediate future does not appear hopeful: increasing numbers of mullahs are creating cults around themselves and seizing control of the minds of worshippers. In the tribal areas, a string of new Islamist leaders have suddenly emerged. Poverty, deprivation, lack of justice and extreme differences of wealth provide the perfect environment for these demagogues to recruit people to their cause. Their gruesome acts of terror are still being perceived by large numbers of Pakistanis merely as a war against imperialist America. This could not be further from the truth
"War Comes Home" With Ft. Hood Shootings
By Dahr Jamail
While soldiers returning home are routinely involved in shootings, suicide, and other forms of self-destructive violent behaviours as a direct result of their experiences in Iraq, we have yet to see an event of this magnitude on a base in the U.S
Kerala Christian Group And VHP
Join Hands Against Illusory Love Jihad
By Ram Puniyani
It must be a real ingenuity of RSS combine to rope in the Kerala Bishops Council to fight against the Love-Jihad, a word coined by their propaganda mill, a word which combines two words and converts them in to a tool to torment the lovers, in case the boy happens to be a Muslim and the girl a non Muslim. It is the latest tool to launch attack against Muslim minorities
06 November, 2009
US Army Major Kills 13 At Fort Hood
By Bill Van Auken
A US Army major and psychiatrist specializing in combat stress opened fire Thursday afternoon on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas, the largest US military base, killing 13 and wounding 31
Mass Shooting Indicates Breakdown Of Military
By Dahr Jamail
The shocking story of a soldier killing 13 of his comrades does not come as a surprise when we consider that the military has, for years now, been sending troops with untreated PTSD back into the US occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan
My Memories Of Fort Hood
By Stephanie Westbrook
Over three years have passed since I was at Fort Hood. At the time, the Republicans controlled the House, the Senate and the White House. Now the Democrats have the majority. But I feel certain that if I were to go stand in front of the base with the same sign, the scene of three years ago would repeat itself
Kashmir's Kan-i-jung
By Dilnaz Boga
Every Friday afternoon, after prayers, young men on the streets of Srinagar fearlessly throw stones at heavily armed soldiers of the Indian Army. Shops draw down their shutters, the streets empty out and residents in the area avoid even peeping out of their windows. This is the kan-i-jung, or stone pelting, a phenomenon that has become a daily feature since the agitation over the Amarnath land controversy last year. Since that time, some 70 pelters have been killed; seven were killed in June alone
Respect All, Suspect All
By Rafiq Kathwari
The bunker is at the foot of the shrine, below the steps that lead up to the entrance. Like so many other bunkers in the Kashmir Valley, it is enclosed by barbed wire, manned by a couple of soldiers, automatic weapons slung over their shoulders. What distinguishes this bunker is a command, a credo, bold white letters on sky blue background: RESPECT ALL, SUSPECT ALL
Climate Treaty Talks May Go On For Another Year
By Michael von Bülow
A global treaty to protect the world’s climate may need a whole extra year of negotiations, the United Nations’ top climate-change official, Yvo de Boer (photo above), said in an interview Thursday
The Paradise Imperative
By Wm. H. Kotke
Humans must create paradise or they cannot live on the planet Earth. Paradise here is described as a human community that lives in perpetuity and in peace on one place on the earth, over many generations.This paradise can be done now. All of these systems have been worked out in the thousands of ecovillages around the planet and in many other similar designs
Sacred Activism: An Unprecedent Marriage
By Carolyn Baker
Carolyn Baker's commentary on Andrew Harvey's new book "The Hope: A Guide To Sacred Activism"
Iran’s Would Be American Interlocutors
By Franklin Lamb
With our American Middle East policy clearly in disarray, from Iraq to Palestine, it behooves the Obama administration to demonstrate to the American people and to the international community that it can change course and become a credible interlocutor with Iran and others in the region. Time is running out if Obama’s claimed vision of dialogue on the basis of mutual respect and equality does not collapse into complete derision and caricature
Honduran Accord Solidifies Coup D'Etat Rule
By Stephen Lendman
With elections in a few weeks, hardliners may stall, obstruct, and maintain the status quo until new officials take office in January
05 November, 2009
Maoist Martyrdom Vs State Barbarism
By Satya Sagar
Is Maoism in India really the only response to poverty and lack of development? Is an armed rebellion the only way to change the way the Indian State operates? Will such a movement lead to a better future for underprivileged people in this country? Are other forms of mass democratic struggles an alternative option at all?
Citizens Initiative For Peace
And The Maoist Challenge
By Nandita Haksar
Nandita Haskar's response to the resolution adopted at the National Convention of the Citizens Initiative for Peace held in New Delhi on October 20, 2009
Jungle Lair Of The Maoist Rebels
By Anuj Chopra
A sneak peak at a Maoist camp in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district
America Is Performing Its Familiar Role Of
Propping Up A Dictator
By Robert Fisk
As in Vietnam, Karzai is going to rule over an equally tiny island of corruption
In Afghanistan, The Pentagon Digs In
By Nick Turse
The pentagon's building boom in Afghanistan indicates a long war ahead
America The Betrayed
By Richard C. Cook
It is time for each and every individual who values his or her own life along with the creative potential of the human spirit to begin to work with others to create a new nation and world. The government isn’t going to do it for us. Please believe me. This is not a system that can be reformed. It is a system that must be replaced. And it must be replaced by the ordinary working men and women who have been crushed, used, and abused during the past ugly half-century
Genetic Engineering For Sure Leads To
Unpredictable Results
By Devinder Sharma
Read this if you do not believe
Women’s Untold Stories
By Michael Deibert
Michael Deibert of Le Monde diplomatique interviews the Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin
Gendered Language
By Neerja Dasani & Swati Roy
A list of gendered words we use everyday in our lives
The Farce Of Fatwas And Political Expediency
By Farzana Versey
The country’s home minister is present at a religious convocation and he mentions how he appreciates the fatwa against terrorism and in fact seeks the support of the clerics for the country’s war on terror.There was absolutely no reason for him to appreciate the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind for its efforts against militancy, especially when the same organisation was endorsing the Deoband Darul Uloom’s fatwa to Muslims calling upon them not to sing Vande Mataram
04 November, 2009
We Only Have Months, Not Years,
To Save Civilization
By Lester Brown
International agreements take too long, we need a swift mobilisation not seen since the second world war
Cuba Braces Up For Swine Flu
By Fidel Castro
We have that antiviral and also the necessary raw material to continue producing a similar amount to that available; additionally, we shall spare no effort to have the indispensable doses
Why Your Child May Not Get A Swine Flu Shot Soon
By Barbara Ehrenreich
Thanks to the drug companies, optimism has been about as effective in warding off H1N1 as amulets or fairy dust. Both the government and Big Pharma were indeed overly optimistic about the latter's ability to supply the vaccine, leaving those of us who are involved in the care of small children with little to rely on but hope -- hope that the epidemic will fade out on its own, hope that our loved ones have the luck to survive it
Israel's Right To Exist?
By Alan Hart
The truth of the time was that the Zionist state, which came into being mainly as a consequence of pre-planned ethnic cleansing, had no right to exist and, more to the point, could have no right to exist UNLESS … Unless it was recognised and legitimized by those who were dispossessed of their land and their rights during the creation of the Zionist state. In international law only the Palestinians could give Israel the legitimacy it craved
No Emergency Summits For Arab
Human Development Crisis
By Ramzy Baroud
Arab governments must rethink and reconsider their current priorities and course of action. They must think and act individually, but collectively as well, before the crisis turns into a catastrophe, as will surely be the case if nothing is done
Shuffle, Kick, Shuffle
By Case Wagenvoord
Having paid its requisite lip service to the public option that probably won’t see the light of day in any recognizable form, the Obama administration is now genuflecting at the altar of financial regulation. Like most genuflects, it is a knee-jerk reaction devoid of meaning
House Resolution Designates Venezuela
A State Sponsor Of Terrorism
By Stephen Lendman
Given Washington's inattention to essential needs, watch for even greater erosion compared to Chavez remaining popular by a two-to-one margin - a profile befitting a democrat, not a state-sponsor of terrorism
Noam Chomsky: No Change In
US 'Mafia Principle'
By Mamoon Alabbasi
Noam Chomsky sees no significant change of US foreign policy under Obama
Identity And Politics
By Swati Roy
While Bal Thackeray might be disappointed with his ‘Marathi Manoos’ as identity politics took a backseat in the Maharashtra Assembly elections 2009, that it has been evaded would be far from truth. Identity comes into foreplay comfortably un-debated in our day-to-day lives, more often than not where unnecessary
The New Face Of Capitalist War
And Duty Of The Left
Appeal by PSU-JNU
While the adivasis of Central India have faced, and resisted state violence for long, the Central Home Ministry - under the leadership of the suave and genteel Home Minister and Prime Minister - has made plans for a larger offensive named ‘Operation Green Hunt’ (with the open possibility of aerial bombardment) to be launched in November this year. Progressive Students Union (PSU) condemns in the strongest terms these actions of the state which amounts to nothing but declaring war on its own citizens
03 November, 2009
Climate Change Will Melt Snows Of Kilimanjaro
'Within 20 Years'
By Steve Connor
The snows of Mount Kilimanjaro – the highest mountain in Africa – may soon be falling on bare ground following a study showing that its ice cap is destined to disappear entirely within 20 years, due largely to climate change
Africans Boycott Meetings At UN Climate Talks
By Michael von Bülow
African countries boycotted meetings at UN climate talks Tuesday, saying that industrial countries had set carbon-cutting targets too low for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions
Climate Change Deniers Are Not Skeptics -
They're Suckers
By George Monbiot
My fiercest opponents on global warming tend to be in their 60s and 70s. This offers a fascinating, if chilling, insight into human psychology
Our Common But Differentiated Responsibilities
By Kuupik Kleist
Kuupik Kleist , the Prime Minister of Greenland, explains the vision and strategies adopted by his country to tackle climate change
East Or West, Earth Is Best
By Abdul Basit
Let the materialistic west and the spiritualistic east blend together to build a balanced and sustainable global community that will safeguard the environment along with ensuring equitable distribution of wealth
Unwinding
By Guy R McPherson
Nine more banks failed last weekend, bringing the year's total to 115. Along with the banks, one of the largest companies in the country declared bankruptcy, further evidence every large entity in the world will go down with energy availability. Small businesses are joining the fiesta, declaring bankruptcy like Zimbabweans, and the mother of all carry trades is headed for a collapse the size of hell and half of Montana
Situation In Sri Lanka Absolutely Grim:
Arundhati Roy
By Nilantha Ilangamuwa
That the Indian government armed and trained the LTTE is well known. But then it switched sides. India has done everything it can, including blocking the demand for an investigation into the possibility that the Sri Lankan government might be guilty of having committed war crimes in this war against the Tamil people of Sri Lanka
Somalia: When Is A Pirate Not A Pirate?
By Agustín Velloso Santisteban
We have had enough of the corrupt CEOs who sail towards offshore banks. We do not want to hear anymore about the prime ministers who attack and invade faraway countries. What we really want is to see real pirates. While those corsair and freebooter businessmen and politicians are well-known and still at large, you can confidently expect that the two detainees will spend a long time behind Spanish bars. Everyone knows that they are poor, black, Muslim and dared to attack a Spanish fishing boat
Pakistan: The Long War
By Beena Sarwar
Pakistan is at war. The entire country is the battleground. The series of bomb blasts gained momentum as expected, in the run-up to Oct 17 when the army launched its ground offensive in South Waziristan. During the first two weeks of October, militant attacks killed over 150 people, including some 40 on a deadly Thursday in Lahore, Kohat and Peshawar
Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism
By Robert S. Becker
To dismiss all capitalism as “evil” not only slights human nature, but fails to distinguish differences and denies inevitable evolution: why would something as powerful, and far-reaching, as world capitalism not evolve to something better, especially when the alternatives are nightmare scenarios for all
02 November, 2009
FBI Kills Islamic Cleric, Arrests
Followers
By Stephen Lendman
On October 28 FBI agents shot dead Islamic cleric Luqman Ameen Abdullah in Detroit. Six others were taken into custody
FBI Has 400,000 People On Terrorism “Watch List”
By Peter Daniels
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert S. Mueller has told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that the FBI’s current terrorism “watch list” contains 400,000 unique names, with an average of 1,600 new individuals added each day
Obama Resuming G.W.Bush's
"Extraordinary Renditions"
By Sherwood Ross
Even though Barack Obama, the candidate, pledged to end “the practice of shipping away prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far-off countries,” his FBI has been rendering kidnap victims to the U.S. The practice is still kidnapping, however; and it’s still illegal
The Lungs Of The Earth
By Andrew Glikson
The recent warning by Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director of the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact: “We are simply talking about the very life support system of this planet” is consistent with the lessons arising from the history of the Earth’s atmosphere/ocean system. A rise of CO2-e above 500 ppm and of mean global temperature toward and above 4 degrees C would transcend the conditions which allowed the development of agriculture in the early Neolithic
Human Sacrifice
By Case Wagenvoord
The Aztecs knew they could only placate their god of empire with human blood. So they engaged in continual warfare to take prisoners for the sacrifice. The Aztecs sacrificed their victims on altars atop pyramids that reached for the heavens. Sacrifices to the contemporary god take place in the shantytowns of the Third World that fan out from their metropolises
Why All The President's Afghan Options
Are Bad Ones
By Tom Engelhardt
The United States lived through all the phases of escalation, withdrawal, and defeat in Vietnam without suffering great post-war losses of any sort. This time we may not be so lucky. The United States is itself no longer too big to fail -- and if we should do so, remind me: Who exactly will bail us out?
Between Hate Speech And Adoration
By David Swanson
Tough talk about the failures of Democrats is most often heard from racist, xenophobic believers in fantastical fairy tales with very little connection to reality. Room needs to be created for other types of speech. We must be able to criticize and even legally prevent incitement of political violence, while at the same time examining what has made some people susceptible to that kind of talk, and while simultaneously speaking honestly about the failings of the people being targeted
What Physicians Know
By Joel S. Hirschhorn
My physician praises Medicare for its simplicity and certainty, he has absolutely nothing positive to say about private insurers. They take up huge amounts of time of him and his staff, trying in every possible way to deny services to their customers (his patients) and also to pay as little as possible to him. His endless struggles with the insurance companies make his life miserable. Meanwhile all he cares about is giving his patients the very best care and not making them suffer because of their insurance carriers
Victimized By Development
By Goldy M. George
People are opposing the construction of a 1400 MW power plant by RKM Powergen Pvt. Ltd. in Uchpinda village of Dabhra block in Janjgir district of Chhattisgarh
Open Letter To Prime Minister
Dr. Manmohan Singh
By Seema Kazi
I applaud your rejection of war in Parliament and your vision of peace between India and Pakistan. It is my earnest hope that this vision is tempered with the political will to ensure justice and dignity for Kashmiri Muslims
