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29 October, 2010

The Headley Saga: What Are They Hiding?
By Feroze Mithiborwala

There are far too many questions and far too many facts that challenge the official version of the reality of the 26/11 terror attacks. There is clearly an attempt even within our very own security agencies to collude and cover up the truth and thus we demand that a National Commission of Inquiry be created to investigate the truth about the 26/11 Terror attack

Arundhati Roy Must Go To Jail. Soon
By Sadanand Patwardhan

Roy's pre-eminence will help hold the harsh light of world scrutiny to such draconian laws, like Section 124A, and to the elected governments who use them with impunity for their narrow partisan ends. It would be good for Indian Democracy if Roy goes to jail for sedition. Even Roy would be happy if it helps the causes she espouses. It will

Can Pakistan Produce One Arundhati Roy
To Speak Truth?

By Dr Shabir Choudhry

Can Pakistani society produce one prominent writer, scholar and human rights champion who has guts to challenge Pakistan’s Kashmir policy; and tell the world that Pakistan’s control of Kashmiri territory is not legal? Someone who could tell the world people of Jammu and Kashmir State living on this side of the LOC are also deprived of their fundamental human rights. Or is this too much to ask, and Pakistani writers, intellectuals and scholars will continue to follow the out of date policy of Islamabad?

Time For A New Theory Of Money
By Ellen Brown

By understanding that money is simply credit, we unleash it as a powerful tool for our communities

Such Is The Peace Process: Obama As A Salesman
By Ramzy Baroud

As much as the political theater is organized and financed by US dollars, the full-scale destruction taking place in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is also courtesy of US coffers. Such is the self-defeating policy of the United States. Such is the peace process

Hiding Truth Behind Euphemisms, Omissions,
Slanders And Lies: A Reply To Rupert Murdoch

By William A. Cook

A critical analysis of Rupert Murdoch’s recent speech before the ADL

2010 Election: Referendum On Reality,
Racism, And Revisionist History

By Bill Noxid

It's an all but unfathomable situation President Obama has placed the American people in. In a mere two years he has managed to squander the momentum and enthusiasm of the clear majority of this country, systematically discredit and disregard the voluminous grievances of the American People, continuously cede the moral and factual high ground to ignorance and hate, and ensure that the criminal elements that shredded the Constitution, killed millions in war crimes, and collapsed the global economy go into the 2010 midterm elections with more money, power, and influence than ever

Adnan Mirza: Another US War On Terror Victim
By Stephen Lendman

Post-9/11, Adnan Mirza is one of legions of war on terror victims - framed, charged, indicted, tried and convicted on bogus terrorism related charges

US-India CEO Forum Subverting Legal Process
Against Culprits of Bhopal Disaster

By Gopal Krishna

Government’s Stance on Pursuing Industrial Disaster Case in US courts Contrary to Assurance given to Parliament. Law Minister & Attorney General Protecting Union Carbide, Dow Chemicals in US interest . Parliamentary Standing Committee on Government Assurances Urged to Examine Govt’s Assurance

28 October, 2010

Two Worlds Collide At Cancun Climate Talks
By Laura Carlsen

Two worlds will collide in Cancun. The first is a world in denial where profits come before people and the planet, and the most threatening environmental crisis in history is viewed as a business opportunity. This world will be heavily represented by most developed country leaders and representatives of corporations hawking green projects as they continue to trash the environment and pursue unfettered access to ever-scarcer natural resources. The second is a world of small farmers, indigenous peoples, poor urban communities, and islanders that are suffering unprecedented droughts, water scarcity, and storms

Israeli Police Shoot ‘Hated’ Arab Legislator In Back
By Jonathan Cook

Israeli police injured two Arab legislators on Wedensay in violent clashes provoked by Jewish rightwing extremists staging a march through the northern Arab town of Umm al-Fahm. Haneen Zoubi, a parliament member who has become a national hate figure in Israel and received hundreds of death threats since her participation in an aid flotilla to Gaza in the summer, was among those hurt

Jeff Feltman’s ‘Really Great Plan’
By Franklin Lamb

UN created International Tribunal for Lebanon enquiring into the assassination of then Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri was attacked yesterday in a doctor's clinic in Dayiya by a group of women

Child Soldier Omar Khadr
Coerced Into Plea-Bargain

By Keith Jones

In exchange for his guilty plea, the US government has agreed that Khadr will be incarcerated for one year in solitary confinement at Guantanamo Bay, then transferred to Canada, where he was born and his family now resides, to serve out the remainder of a sentence of no more than eight years imprisonment

Fun With Arithmetic - Winning The War
In Afghanistan

By Nicholas C. Arguimbau

Michael Nasuti of Kabul Press recently published an article in which he calculated that killing each Taliban soldier in Afghanistan costs on average of $50 million to the US. The article, seemingly carefully. researched with all assumptions laid out so that anyone can examine them, is well worth reading

American Democracy: Pro-Israel
Tweedledum And Tweedledee

By Maidhc Ó Cathail

Helen Keller’s pithy observation about American democracy being little more than a choice “between Tweedledum and Tweedledee” was never more true than in the upcoming midterm elections in the ninth congressional district of Illinois. Tthe central issue here is not the two wars—or is it now three?—the country is fighting, nor is it the tanking economy, in great part caused by those debt-inducing wars. No, the burning issue here is… who cares more about Israel?

Franklin Roosevelt's Second Bill of Rights
By Stephen Lendman

These benefits are fast eroding today, Obama administration neoliberal ideologues wanting social benefits slashed, and Social Security and Medicare privatized so Wall Street racketeers can pillage them for profit until nothing's left for the needy

Interview With Syed Ali Shah Geelani
By Yoginder Sikand

Syed Ali Shah Geelani of the Jamaat-e Islami of Jammu and Kashmir is a veteran Kashmiri politician. Presently, he heads the Tehrik-e Hurriyat-e Jammu Kashmir. He talks about the Kashmir conflict and its possible solution in this exclusive interview with Yoginder Sikand

27 October, 2010

Pity The nation
By Arundhati Roy

Pity the nation that has to silence its writers for speaking their minds. Pity the nation that needs to jail those who ask for justice, while communal killers, mass murderers, corporate scamsters, looters, rapists, and those who prey on the poorest of the poor, roam free

Section 124 A: An Evil Law
By Ajit Sahi

Roy is no Gandhi. But if she is tried for sedition and for spreading disaffection, she should proudly accept the charge and happily go to jail. That will make the future so much easier for Kashmir’s millions of freedom fighters

Wikileaks For Dummies
By Mamoon Alabbasi

Despite the commendable efforts of the whistleblower website WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange to expose the truth about the Iraq war in a responsible manner - that not only would not endanger lives but aim ultimately to save millions of lives, in addition to seeking justice for the countless number of lives already lost - some media outlets are determined to mislead the public about the lessons to be learned from the war

WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange
On Iraq War Logs, "Tabloid Journalism"
And Why WikiLeaks Is "Under Siege"

By Amy Goodman

Democracy Now! interview with Julian Assange

Toxic Brew
By George Monbiot

The Tea Parties didn’t arise spontaneously: they were boiled up by big business

A Buddhist Vision of Life Beyond Consumerism
By Craig K. Comstock

Is there an alternative to consumerism? If the future will be less affluent than the past, for whatever reasons -- we don't know -- will we cling to a system that is failing, or will we have adopted new basic premises? If the latter, what are values that don't depend on having a growing amount of stuff?

An Open Letter To President Obama
By Ravikiran Shinde

Your mentor Martin Luther King Jr. visited India when Dr. Ambedkar was alive but met only the then prime minister Nehru and seems to have been kept in the dark about his civil rights counterpart in India and perhaps never came to know about him. Please do what MLK couldn’t. Get introduced to Dr. Ambedkar and his thoughts and contribution to India’s democratic system. This will definitely make your trip a worthwhile in the long run

America's Gulf: Ongoing Coverup And Denial
By Stephen Lendman

On October 22, AP reported that over 7,000 square miles of Gulf waters off Florida's Panhandle were declared oil-free and reopened to fishing. According the the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 96% of Gulf waters are now safe and reopened, spokeswoman Jane Lubchenco saying, "Our tests continue to reveal seafood from the reopened areas is safe to eat." Others disagree

BP Dispersants 'Causing Sickness'
By Dahr Jamail

Two-year-old Gavin Tillman of Pass Christian, Mississippi, has been diagnosed with severe upper respiratory, sinus, and viral infections. His temperature has reached more than 39 degrees since September 15, yet his sicknesses continue to worsen. His parents, some doctors, and environmental consultants believe the child's ailments are linked to exposure to chemicals spilt by BP during its Gulf of Mexico oil disaster. Gavin's father, mother, and cousin, Shayleigh, are also facing serious health problems. Their symptoms are being experienced by many others living along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico

When Criminals Vote…
By Mickey Z.

Whatever side we choose in these fabricated conflicts, human society maintains its steady, relentless path toward mass homicide/suicide. If we'd ever look up from our text screens or peek out from our voting booths, we might actually catch the final act

Why Should I Vote?
By Timothy V. Gatto

Two years is not a great deal of time to pull out from under the oppressive yoke of our corporate masters. Just getting people to agree on what our objectives should be is a herculean task. For now, I believe that it is in our best interests to rid our political system from corporate interests that go against the wishes of the American people

Book By Innocent Prisoner Reveals
Torture Was Widespread

By Sherwood Ross

Although U.S. officials have attributed the torture of Muslim prisoners in their custody to a handful of maverick guards, in fact such criminal acts were widely perpetrated and systemic, likely involving large numbers of military personnel, a book by a survivor suggests. Additionally, guards were responsible for countless acts of murder, including death by crucifixion, lynching, poisoning, snakebite, withholding of medicines, starvation, and bludgeoning of innocent victims

The Forests Are Worth Nothing!
By Ranjan K Panda

Now the coal ministry teaches Jairam Ramesh, India's Environment Minister, that forests are worth nothing. Just 10 per cent of it is enough to maintain the biodiversity. What we need for growth is Coal

Pakistan Observes International
Disarmament Week

By Zia Ur Rehman

Karachi’s anti-gun campaigners, civil society and political parties have asked the government to launch a de-weaponisation campaign during International Disarmament Week, October 24-30. They say it is essential to stem the growing rate of assassinations in the city, and; governmental officials have hinted they are considering a de-weaponisation programme

Fixing Global Finance
By Kavaljit Singh

A Developing Country Perspective on Global Financial Reforms

26 October, 2010

Bible Does Not Legitimize The Occupation Of Palestine: The Vatican
By Salim Nazzal

The synods for the Middle East which lasted two weeks in the Vatican, have issued an important document which supports the Palestinian right to live free in Palestine. The document signed by more than 180 bishops from the catholic churches and other churches invalidated the Jewish argument that they are exclusively chosen by God. The document has cast out the zionist argument which uses the bible to authenticate its occupation. It makes it crystal clear that the bible cannot be used to inflict pain, occupation, or injustice on Palestinians

Growing Calls For Moratorium On
Climate Geoengineering

By Stephen Leahy

Delegates to the world summit on biodiversity here are calling for a moratorium on climate engineering research, like the idea of putting huge mirrors in outer space to reflect some of the sun's heating rays away from the planet

How Reliable Are OPEC Estimates?
By Dave Cohen

So the next time these Persian Gulf countries don't answer the IEA's call on OPEC to produce more oil to prevent the price from getting into the stratosphere, as it did in mid-2008, you should remember that it's not for lack of oil—they've got over a trillion barrels now! And I'm sure there's more to come. OPEC will never run out of oil. And you thought the global economy was screwed up

Embrace The Cooperative Movement
By Carlos Perez de Alejo

In the midst of mounting economic insecurity, fueled by widespread unemployment, foreclosures and budget cuts, many people are seeking alternative models to business as usual. From community gardens to bartering networks, grassroots efforts are sprouting up across the country. One of the main pillars of this growing trend is an international institution with over 160 years of experience in local, sustainable economic development: a cooperative

The Fishing Communities And The Politics Of
Climate Change

By K.P. Sasi

The ultimate need is to restructure our dominant world view, a revolution which determines the future of all species including the human beings. The only way is to unite with all like minded activists globally and have common struggles to force some wisdom to our global leaders who determine the fate of this planet

Fixing Access To Medicines Regime Essential
By Richard Elliott

At the United Nations last week, Canada reiterated its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals. But one critical initiative to advance global health is languishing unnecessarily: Parliament could easily fix Canada's Access to Medicines Regime with Bill C-393, which passed Second Reading last December and is currently in limbo before a committee

French Lessons For U.S. Workers
By Shamus Cooke

If labor, student, and community groups succeed in stopping the pension reform -- or toppling the government -- workers in other countries will likewise be inspired to fight back and organize in the French fashion

Everyday Is Halloween In Empire:
The Zombie Apocalypse Of Duopoly

By Phil Rockstroh

Because, at this time of the year, we take pleasure in being frightened, let's shuffle through the US Empire's House of Horrors. On our tour, we cringe before: Brain-eating zombies of exponential destruction; soul-sucking vampires of eternal self-justification; right-wing, talk show demons whose wrathful voices rage into empty air; road-rage werewolves; hungry ghosts shuffling the aisles of supermarkets, convenience stores, corporate restaurant franchises and the food courts of shopping malls

Our Holocaustic Global Empire:
Wars, Famines, Slavery

By Gary Steven Corseri

A review of THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS: The Great Depression of the XXI Century By Michel Chossudovsky and Andrew Gavin Marshall

Ayodhya Judgement: Triumph of Faith
Or Constitutional Legality?

By Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer

All Hindus and Muslims and others have shown great solidarity this time to maintain peace marginalizing even extremists who used to issue statements in very shill tone. They are issuing statements in much more muted tones. It is people of India who have made them behave. I, therefore feel civil society must assert itself and give direction to our political leaders how to behave. If such initiative could be taken before the highest court’s doors are knocked it will be much better. Only peace is our future and it civil society alone which can ensure this in a democracy

Anti-Defamation League Demagoguery
And Islamophobia

By Stephen Lendman

Claiming human rights credentials, ADL backs the worst of Israeli lawlessness

Congressional Fleecing The Public Legislation
By Stephen Lendman

On February 23, HR 4646: Debt Free America Act was introduced "To establish a fee on transactions which would eliminate the national debt and replace the income tax on individuals." The bill aims to raise enough revenue in seven years to begin phasing out the personal income tax, a goal helping big earners more than lesser ones, and provides no help for the millions of low income households paying little or no tax. They, however, will be saddled with an immense burden if this bill passes

Violations Of The Forest Rights Act
In The POSCO Project Area
Referred To The Tribal Ministry

By Campaign for Survival and Dignity

The Ministry and its officials are desperately shopping for somebody to give them a pro POSCO report, since they are finding it difficult to get around the proof of illegality. This is the same thing they have done in several other projects

Underreported Facts of ‘Azaadi’ Meeting
At New Delhi

By Syed Ali Mujtaba

Even as the chorus to book the Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and writer Arundhati Roy on sedition charges, for their statements made at the meeting held in New Delhi on October, 21, 2010, is gaining currency, there are some underreported facts about the meeting that needs to be put into circulation so that the popularly held views of it do not become a gospel of truth

Why Everybody Hates Three Idiots
By Nawaz Gul Qanungo

It was no surprise that the three interlocutors from New Delhi stood rejected and disgraced before they even set their foot on the ground in the valley. Despite this, the trio might as well leave with some degree of success at the end. Such could be the cost Kashmiris pay for playing political double agents; for doing ‘Bharat ka jhanda ye ragda’ one day and running to polling booths like wild monkeys let loose the next. And just another reason why a genuine resolution process appears elusive even today

25 October, 2010

Deaths Revealed By Wikileaks Are
Tip Of An Iceberg

By Nicolas Davies

These 15,000 deaths are only the tip of an iceberg of hundreds of thousands of unreported Iraqi deaths that have already been detected by more serious and scientific epidemiological studies, but the U.S. and British governments have successfully suppressed these studies by confusing the media and the public about their methods and accuracy

New York Times Tries Character Assassination
Against WikiLeaks Founder Assange

By Barry Grey

The response of the New York Times to WikiLeaks’ posting of classified American military documents exposing US war crimes in Iraq is to downplay the atrocities and portray WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as the criminal party

Private Manning And The Making Of Wikileaks
By Denver Nicks

The incredible journey of a young man who became the greatest whistle blower in military history

Palestinians Have The Right To Resist Occupation
By Any Means, Even Non Violent Ones

By Agustin Velloso

A contribution to Ramzy Baroud's The Violence Debate

Seeing Red
By Real Climate

This is the first of two or more articles on the extensive tree mortality now being caused by bark beetles in western North America. The goal of this first post is simply to provide necessary background on the relevant biological/ecological processes involved, so that future articles discussing climatic and other possible influences, are more understandable

Socialism? The Rich Are Winning
The US Class War: Facts Show
Rich Getting Richer, Everyone Else Poorer

By Bill Quigley

The rich and their paid false prophets are doing a bang up job deceiving the poor and middle class. They have convinced many that an evil socialism is alive in the land and it is taking their fair share. But the deception cannot last – facts say otherwise. Yes, there is a class war – the war of the rich on the poor and the middle class – and the rich are winning. That war has been going on for years. Look at the facts – facts the rich and their false paid prophets do not want people to know

Jurassic Ballot: When Corporations
Ruled The Earth

By Rebecca Solnit

We call these monsters corporations, from the word corporate which means embodied. A corporation is a bunch of monetary interests bound together into a legal body that was once considered temporary and dependent on local licensing, but now may operate anywhere and everywhere on Earth, almost unchallenged, and live far longer than you

The World Liberal Opportunists Made
By Chris Hedges

The legitimate rage being expressed by disenfranchised workers toward the college-educated liberal elite, who abetted or did nothing to halt the corporate assault on the poor and the working class of the last 30 years, is not misplaced. The liberal class is guilty. The liberal class, which continues to speak in the prim and obsolete language of policies and issues, refused to act

If Republicans Win
By Mary Shaw

If the Republicans win these elections, it will be a direct result of the stubborn attitudes of the disappointed Democrats who chose to stay at home and let it happen. That, in my opinion, is so much worse than the ignorant and misinformed Tea Partiers who mindlessly vote against their own best interests. At least the Tea Partiers will be voting

Systemic Washington-Sanctioned Fraud
By Stephen Lendman

Overwhelming evidence shows "the entire foreclosure process is riddled with fraud, (yet) President Obama refuses to support a national moratorium," making him conspiratorially complicit in a huge scandal, ravaging millions of homeowners lawlessly. Protecting bankers, not victims, is policy, so coverup and denial of systemic fraud persists

Miners: Pressed Down To Dice With Death
By Farooque Chowdhury

Deaths come in rows in mines. Crude appropriation of labor, and deprived life invigorate it. But all fail to subdue miners the world over. They stand unvanquished atop this profit driven world, symbolized by the San Jose miners in Chile

Mass Protests In France: An Interim Balance Sheet
By Dr. Peter Custers

Reactions by the French population have been highly critical, to say the least. Over a period of roughly a month, mass protests in cities all over France have been staged, and have snowballed into a major challenge to Sarkozy’s government. In analyzing the reasons for the large response to, and the success of the social actions, we need to highlight at least two factors, i.e. their unitarian thrust and their militancy

The Dark Face of Mumbai
By Prabhat Sharan

Blood stained brown gold and mean streets of Mumbai housing mafia and Mumbai underworld

24 October, 2010

The Shaming Of America
By Robert Fisk

Robert Fisk delivers a searing dispatch after the WikiLeaks revelations that expose in detail the brutality of the war in Iraq - and the astonishing, disgraceful deceit of the US

Before Wikileaks, Iraq War Vets
Revealed War Crimes

By Laila Al-Arian

For too long the American people have been shielded from this narrative. The country has long lost interest in Iraq, which has now become "The Forgotten War." But perhaps these leaked documents can spark a conversation that's long overdue

Growth Madness: The Thief Who Stole Time
By Tim Murray

I resent this growth-mad society for its destruction of personal relationships. When is the last time someone sat down and poured out their feelings in a long handwritten letter to you? That once was common-place. How often are people taking time to really listen to their friends? To think that hunter-gatherers worked just two hours a day. What happened to this leisure society that was promised by our industrial civilization a half century ago?

Days Of Oil And Roses
By Peter Goodchild

Over the next one or two decades, the only thing we won’t have half of is population. And there, ladies and gentlemen, is where we have a problem

Bigotry Needs To Be Defeated
By Dr. Habib Siddiqui

None of these promotions of bigotry should be taken lightly, and must be defeated before America falls into the same trap that Europe continues to dig for herself. My vote for Sestak would be one such small step to defeat the demons of bigotry

Lebanon's Palestinian Civil Rights Campaign
Moves Into The Christian Heartland

By Franklin Lamb

A major effort is being undertaken to take this civil rights struggle to the rightist Christian community in Lebanon who constitute the only real barrier to enacting meaningful rights in Parliament. Christian support, at least one quarter of the Lebanese Forces, Phalange party or Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement is vital in convincing their members in Parliament to help Lebanon by allowing its economy to benefit from Palestinian involvement

Life In Palestinian Refugee Camps
By Stephen Lendman

In its January 2010 report titled, "Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, 2008 - 2009," the Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights (BRC) calls them "the largest and longest-standing case of forced displacement in the world today," numbering 9.8 million, increasing by about 100,000 a year

The US- Saudi Military Deal
And Global Military Expenditure

By Chandra Muzaffar

The US plan to sell US 60 billion dollars worth of military equipment to Saudi Arabia will not contribute to peace and security in the Middle East

Lynne Stewart Given "Fighter For Justice" Award
By Stephen Lendman

Though incarcerated, Lynne Stewart is not forgotten and will be honored at the Party for Socialism and Liberation's (PSL) November 13 and 14 National Conference on Socialism at the University of Southern California's (UCLA) Los Angeles campus

Food Security As If Women Mattered:
A Story From Kerala

By Ananya Mukherjee-Reed

Kerala, hailed as God's own country, attributes its high development indices to the local women. Through their group Kudumbashree, these women have not only rejuvenated the local agrarian economy but also brought about a social transformation in the way women are perceived. Ananya Mukherjee-Reed explores the myriad achievements of Kusumbashree as she travels across the state

23 October, 2010

WikiLeaks Releases Iraq War Logs
By WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks released the largest classified military leak in history. The 391,832 reports ('The Iraq War Logs'), document the war and occupation in Iraq, from 1st January 2004 to 31st December 2009. The reports detail 109,032 deaths in Iraq, comprised of 66,081 'civilians'; 23,984 'enemy' (those labeled as insurgents); 15,196 'host nation' (Iraqi government forces) and 3,771 'friendly' (coalition forces). The majority of the deaths (66,000, over 60%) of these are civilian deaths.That is 31 civilians dying every day during the six year period

Iraq - War Logs Reflections- Part1
By Layla Anwar

This is what happened yesterday to Iraqis who felt so alone with their Truth - they sighed a little relief and hoped to sleep with a little peace, hoping like I did, that maybe, just maybe they will be woken up from their solitary nightmare....

Seven Million Without Shelter
Months After Pakistan Floods

By Sampath Perera

Seven of the 21 million Pakistanis affected by this summer’s floods are still without shelter, the United Nation’s Pakistan Office reported this week. And an estimated 14 million continue to need urgent humanitarian assistance

Weimar In Jerusalem
By Uri Avnery

I don’t know if the Berlin exhibition tries to answer these questions. Perhaps not. Even now, 77 years later, there is no final answer to the question: Why did the German republic collapse? This is an all-important question, because now people in Israel are asking, with growing concern: Is the Israeli republic collapsing?

The Violence Debate: Teaching The Oppressed
How To Fight Oppression

By Ramzy Baroud

Only the unique experience of the Palestinian people and their genuine struggle for freedom could yield what Palestinians as a collective deem appropriate for their own. This is what happened with the people of India, France, Algeria and South Africa, and many others nations that sought and eventually attained their freedom

Ecuador's Challenge: Rafael Correa
And The Indigenous Movements

By Benjamin Dangl

Indigenous movements protested a right wing coup attempt on September 30 th while criticizing the negative policies of Correa, a president widely considered a member of Latin America's new left who is working to implement modern democratic socialism. How did it come to this? The history of the dance between Correa and the indigenous movements offers insight into the current political crisis in the country

Climate Change Denial - Scrabble
By Bill Henderson

A wiki process has already been proposed to help speed up and improve the IPCC review of climate science . If President Obama asked the AAAS or NAS to facilitate this science innovation an American lead global initiative to finally get serious about effective mitigation might become possible within a very short time considering we've wasted at least several decades in denial

Immanuel Wallerstein's Worldview
By Stephen Lendman

America "has been a fading global power since the 1970s, and the US response to the (9/11) terrorist attacks has accelerated this decline....the economic, political and military factors that contributed to US hegemony are the same factors that will inexorably produce the coming US decline."

UN Peacekeepers Complicit In Sex Trade
By Stephen Lendman

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), for example, where MONUC (renamed MONUSCO in July 2010) never brought peace and stability, and may be involved in reports of mass rapes and other atrocities. It wouldn't be the first time there or elsewhere

Bhagwat Puran of A Different Kind :
Conflating Hinduism and Hindutva

By Subhash Gatade

It is imperative that before getting confused with what Mr Bhagwat wants to convey , it would be definitely helpful if one refers to this classic monograph and understand for herself / himself that when we say Hindutva terror then it is does not at all mean all those people who have deep faith in principles of Hinduism. Just as Islam and Political Islam cannot be considered equivalent, Hinduism and Hindutva cannot be measured on the same scale

Majority Report Of MOEF Committe
A Vindication Of Peoples Just Struggle
Against POSCO Porject

By Ashok Chowdhury, Dr. Manoranjan Mohanty & Leo F. Saldanha

For project affected communities, the Committee's majority findings are a strong vindication of their resolute stand that the POSCO project represents the worst form of development – where our nation's resources are looted, our environment is devastated and Transnational Corporations walk away with tonnes of money, and not merely our iron ore

21 October, 2010

In A Nuclear War The 'Collateral Damage'
Would Be The Life Of All Humanity

By Fidel Castro

The World’s peoples have an obligation to demand of their political leaders their Right to Live. When the life of humankind, of your people and your most beloved human beings run such a risk, nobody can afford to be indifferent; not one minute can be lost in demanding respect for that right; tomorrow will be too late

Viva Palestina Convoy Breaks Siege
And Enters Gaza Into Jubilant Crowds

By Viva Palestina

The Viva Palestina convoy of almost 150 vehicles, 370 people from 30 different countries and $5 million of aid has entered Gaza

“Zionism And Peace Are Incompatible”
By Alan Hart

At last somebody has said it in the most explicit way possible. The somebody also said: “The problem is Zionism and the solution is dismantling the Zionist framework and instituting a secular democracy that does not discriminate between Israelis and Palestinians.” The somebody was Miko Peled, a Jewish peace activist who was born in Israel and lives in America

Jewistan: Finally Recognizing Israel
As The Jewish State

By Francis Boyle

If Netanyahu is really serious about Israel being recognized internationally as “the Jewish State” then there is a simple manner by which this universal diplomatic status can instantly be achieved unilaterally and without the consent of the Palestinians. Under basic principles of international law, every state is free to change its own name if it so desires: e.g., from Congo to Zaire then back to Congo. Therefore Israel is free to change its name to Jewistan -- the State of the Jews

Ahmadinejad Galvanizes Lebanon's Palestinians
By Franklin Lamb

One largely unnoticed achievement of the Iranian President's visit remains among the Palestinian refugee community in Lebanon. Close to a quarter million of whom are “ living in cages” to borrow President Carter's description during his meeting this week with Hamas leader Khaled Mashall in Damascus, to describe how their sisters and brothers are forced to exist in Gaza

Israel Shooting And Electric-Shocking
Palestinian Children

By Stephen Lendman

For the first time....three (documented) cases of children reporting being given electric shocks by Israeli interrogators (occurred) in Ari'el Settlement." Each was accused of stone throwing. Electric shocking extracted confessions although the boys maintain their innocence

Honduras: Crisis And Progress
By Bill Quigley & Laura Raymond

Today, October 21, the democratic resistance in Honduras will celebrate Artists in Resistance Day. This event contrasts directly with today’s official recognition of Honduras Armed Forces day. The resistance, which is working for a truly democratic Honduras, renamed the day and created an alternative celebration because of a brutal police attack on musicians and others last month that left one dead and scores injured

"In America Most People Have No Conception
That Anything Can Really Change Radically"

By Alexander Ac, Karel Dolejsi & Tomas Hyjanek

Interview with John Michael Greer

Continuing Growth Is Not An Option
By Tim Murray

It is astounding that civic debates are conducted without the slightest comprehension or awareness of Peak Oil and its implications. With triple-digit oil and ten dollar a litre gasoline on the near horizon, we will have more to worry about than keeping ice rinks and schools open. Feeding the mouths that are already here may prove to be an insuperable challenge. Forget fuelling the local Zamboni, fuelling tractors will be our focus. Growth ,“smart” or dumb, will not be an option

Digging In For The Long Haul In Afghanistan
By Nick Turse

How Permanent Are America’s Afghan Bases?

Latin America: Roads To 21st Century
Capitalist Development

By James Petras

A wealth of data based on extensive field interviews, statistical studies published by international development agencies, reports by economic consultancies and business and investment houses, as well as discussions with independent social movement leaders provides ample documentation to argue that Latin America has taken multiple roads to 21st century capitalism, not socialism or anything akin to it

America's Tea Party Phenomenon
By Stephen Lendman

About Tea Partiers and their deep-pocketed ability to manipulate minds effectively with considerable right wing media support

Flaming France
By Farooque Chowdhury

Success or abortive effort of the present French protest will not be the last act of the French people opposing neoliberalism. The movement, if subdued by force and tricks, and compelled to retreat, will learn lessons and equip itself for future rising for a fair share in economy and politics

Ensuring Right To Education In The Red Corridor
By Gladson Dungdung

The Indian State must understand that the right to education and the police camps in the schools cannot go together. The Indian State has been practicing betrayal tricks (giving rights by one hand and taking away by another mighty hand) with the marginalized people of the country for last six decades. If the Government doesn’t stop it, the rapid growth of left-wing extremism cannot be halted

Ayodhya Controversy A Conspiracy
Against Composite Culture,
Take The Issue To The Supreme Court:
Jugal Kishore Shastri

By Syed Mansur Agha

Ayodhya is a symbol of India’s composite culture, and the people of the town want to live in harmony and peace. The Ayodhya controversy has been created and is being perpetuated by people and forces from outside the town who want to sabotage India’s shared tradition and heritage. If these outside forces stop interfering, the issue can be settled at the local level. So insisted the head of a monastery in Ayodhya, editor of the Hindi magazine ‘Ayodhya Ki Awaz’ and noted social activist and crusader for inter-communal harmony, Jugal Kishore Sharan Shastri, at a press meet recently organized in New Delhi

20 October, 2010

UK Announces 490,000 Job Cuts
By Aljazeera

Britain will cut 490,000 public sector jobs over four years under austerity measures designed to reduce the country's record deficit

Millions March In France Against Pension Cuts
By Alex Lantier

An estimated 3.5 million workers and students marched nationwide in France Tuesday in a day of action called to oppose pension cuts demanded by President Nicolas Sarkozy. Though the most critical provisions of the pension “reform” have been passed—a two-year increase in the retirement age and a corresponding increase in the pay-in period—the law has yet to be formally voted on by the Senate

A Day In The Life Of A BerkShare
By Bill McKibben

What’s it really like to deal in regional currency?

POSCO Project Justification Based On Flawed Data
By Mining Zone People's Solidarity Group

Orissa Government and POSCO Have Misled the Public on Benefits to the Country, says New International Report

Palestine's Burning Olive Groves
By Rannie Amiri

Last Friday was the official start of the olive harvest season in the Israeli-occupied West Bank . Gunfire and real fire once again heralded its opening. Hundreds of trees were burned by settlers as Israeli soldiers looked on. Fire trucks were prevented from helping put out the blaze in what has become an annual ritual of despoiling the land by those who have illegally settled on it

Israel's Longstanding Middle East Plan
By Stephen Lendman

In 1982, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs senior advisor Oded Yinon published a revealing document for regional conquest and dominance. Stephen Lendman analyses the treatise

Obama Team: "We Don't Need
No Stinkin' Messages"

By Robert S Becker

What Obama continues to prove is that bad messaging isn't only about compromised intentions, but missed, historic opportunities and incompetent politics, refusing to learn from his own administration mistakes. Will an election thumping change that mindset?

Politics Of Ram Temple In Ayodhya
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

The October 30th Judgment of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court is being challenged by both the parties involved in the case, in the Supreme Court. Lot of things have been said and political parties are positioning themselves accordingly. Whatever be the result in the Supreme Court, a few things need to be examined and explained

19 October, 2010

US Agencies Ignored Warnings Before
Mumbai Terrorist Attack

By Patrick Martin

US intelligence agencies had numerous advance warnings about the activities of the Islamic fundamentalist group that carried out the terrorist attack in Mumbai, India in December 2008, according to lengthy reports in the American press Sunday. An American informant had a high-level role in the preparation of the assault, in which 166 people were killed by bullets and grenades

Award Winning British Film Director
Boycotts Israel

By Palestine Monitor

Mike Leigh had been due to teach classes at the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School (SSFTS) in Jerusalem next month, but has pulled out following the Israeli government’s amendment to the Citizenship Act

Yes Indeed, Show Us All The Map!
By Alan Hart

Better late than never, a very senior Palestinian official in Ramallah, Yasser Abed Rabbo, found the right way to challenge Israel and the U.S. As reported by AFP on 13 October, he said, “We officially demand that the US administration and the Israeli government provide a map of the borders of the state of Israel which they want us to recognise.” That’s a completely logical and totally reasonable demand

Palestinian Authority Traitors Serving Israel
By Stephen Lendman

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' duplicitous treachery exposes him as an enemy, not ally, of his people

Iran Backs al-Maliki, In Iran, For Iraqi PM
By Juan Cole

Al-Hayat writes in Arabic that Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki visited Iran on Monday, seeing Tehran’s support for his candidacy for a second term. He met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as with first vice president Muhammad Rida Rahimi and minister of foreign affairs Manuchehr Muttaqi, along with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Meet Progressive Heroes For The Beaten,
Foreclosed On, Imprisoned Masses

By Christ Hedges

The Lynds, a progressive activist couple, have spent their lives among the oppressed

Policy Reform To 350
By Bill McKibben

Let’s imagine for a moment that we’re at 2100, and the atmospheric CO2 level is slowly subsiding back toward 350, and the worst is over. Let’s try to figure out how we got there—reverse-engineer a century of halting but ultimately decisive progress

Focus On Hunger
By Natasha Burge

An interview with Vandana Shiva

The Politics Of Hunger
By Sadanand Patwardhan

About a billion people or 1/6th of humanity goes to sleep hungry each day. Most assume it is because not enough food is there to go around. Though this may become true in future unless we have an urgent course correction, at the moment this abomination is the result of lack of access to food, not its absence

Seven Seed Companies To Control
Rajasthan Agriculture

By Devinder Sharma

Last week, you read how Monsanto had quietly entered into an agreement with the Rajasthan government virtually taking over its agricultural research and extension Well, we now learn that Monsanto is not alone. There are six other companies which have signed almost a similar kind of agreement with the Rajasthan government

How Voting Perpetuates Evil
By Joel S. Hirschhorn

When will Americans wake up and realize that lesser evil still means evil? Least bad still means bad. Least corrupt still means corrupt. Least dishonest still means dishonest. Least stupid still means stupid

U.S. Wars Are Bankrupting The World
By David Swanson

The endless and infinite "war on terra" is bankrupting the planet. I don't mean moral bankruptcy; that goes without saying. I mean financial bankruptcy. And don't take my word for it. This is the argument made in a new book called "Terrorism and the Economy: How the War on Terror Is Bankrupting the World," by Loretta Napoleoni, a financial reporter for Internazionale, l'Unita, il Caffe, Mondo e Missione, El Pais, Vanity Fair Spain, and Vanity Fair Italy

Eight Point No One
By Nawaz Gul Qanungo

Never in the recent political history of Kashmir perhaps was a grave dug out so fast and filled up so quickly by anyone as Omar Abdullah has done for himself. Under eternal abhorrence of Kashmir’s men, women and children alike, he lies buried today. But, truth be told, New Delhi’s man he is after all; to them he isn’t quite a No One. In the process, however, New Delhi stands predetermined in dismissing the utility of, and concern for, people’s voice in Kashmir for a long, long time to come

Bob Dylan's Concert Last Night. OMG!
By Timothy V. Gatto

An appreciation of a Bob Dylan concert

18 October, 2010

David Headley Is A CIA-FBI Agent
By Feroze Mithiborwala

Recent revelations confirm the fact that David Coleman Headley is a CIA-FBI operative whose task was to organize & expedite the Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks. Thus the role of the CIA, FBI & Mossad in fomenting & planning the Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks are proved beyond doubt & need to be investigated by the patriotic elements within the security apparatus & the media

From Beautiful Nudibranchs To Coral Graveyards
By Dr. Terry Gosliner

For almost three decades I’ve been studying nudibranchs in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans. Nudibranchs are beautiful and brightly colored sea slugs that thrive on healthy coral reefs. While that has been exhilarating, it is the changes that I’ve seen on these reefs that make me sit upright in bed in the middle of the night. Climate change is seriously endangering these richest reservoirs of marine biodiversity. Here is my story of some of these alarming changes

Revolution And American Indians: “Marxism Is
As Alien To My Culture As Capitalism”

By Russell Means

The following speech was given by Russell Means in July 1980, before several thousand people who had assembled from all over the world for the Black Hills International Survival Gathering, in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is Russell Means’s most famous speech

Israeli Police Look To Settlers To Fill Ranks
By Jonathan Cook

As US-sponsored peace talks have stalled over the issue of settlements, Israel's national police force has revealed that it is turning to the very same illegal communities in its first-ever drive to recruit officers from among the settlers

A Tragedy Unfolding For America:
An Indifferent Friend Named Israel

By Ershad Abubacker

Israel is labeled as the most important ally of the United States of America in the Middle East. On many occasions the United States has gone too far to support its strategic ally and to whitewash its crimes against humanity vis-à-vis Palestinians. But the cost America has to bear for supporting Israel and the reprimand this generates will eventually lead to the Israel to become a strategic liability to America than a loyal ally

Knowledge Test On Religion
By Dr. Habib Siddiqui

Nicholas Kristof's religious quiz and some inaccuracies

Only If We Let It
By Sheila Samples

History. Round and round it goes. Will the US and Israel attack Iran? Will history repeat itself? Yes, but only if we let it. The choice is ours

Majority Of POSCO Enquiry Committee
Confirms That POSCO Project Is Illegal

By Abhay Sahoo

Today, three of the four members of the committee set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forests confirmed that the POSCO project is illegal and that all of its clearances were obtained by breaking the law. The Committee has also found that the project has potentially very dangerous impacts on issues like water, air pollution, and the coastline, and none of this was ever properly evaluated

A War Criminal Concluding
The Commonwealth Games
Is The Best It Could Go!

By Avinash Pandey Samar

Maybe the preparation for the games and the most serious violations of the rights of the urban poor in India were a dry run for the upcoming 'projects' of the Indian state to enhance national 'pride'. Maybe India has decided to learn a few lessons from President Rajapaksa. He is presiding over the dismantling of democracy in Sri Lanka. Maybe India is looking forward to the Rajapaksin solution for Kashmir and the North East. It has got the best teacher available then. Welcome Mr Rajapaksa!

Electoral Coup d'Etats
By Stephen Lendman

Electoral Coup d'Etats is a malaise not only in developing countries but also in America

Earthquake Stricken Haitians
Victimized By World Indifference

By Stephen Lendman

Over 10 months post-quake, Haitian suffering continues, victimized by world indifference, contempt, and paralysis, a new Refugees International (RI) report saying they're "Still Trapped in the Emergency Phase."

Lazy Rich People
By Mary Shaw

George W. Bush allegedly told one of his Harvard Business School professors that "poor people are poor because they're lazy." And why, I wonder, are rich people rich, George?

The United States Fights And Pays For
Israel's Wars: Maidhc Ó Cathail

By Kourosh Ziabari

An interview with Maidhc Ó Cathail

U.S Busting Labor Unions In Iraq
By Sherwood Ross

When historians re-examine what went wrong during the U.S. occupation of Iraq, “somewhere on the list will be the administration's indifference, indeed hostility, to Iraqi organized labor. The Iraqi people are paying a price for that attitude.”

A Culture Under Siege
By Zia Ur Rehman

Attacks on Sufi shrines in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa of Pakistan are aimed at parting ways with established cultural norms and constructing a new identity born out of extremism

Constitutional, Legal, Historical,
And Technological Reasons Against
UID//Aadhaar Scheme

By Gopal Krishna

The fact is becoming clearer that UID scheme is a naked declaration of war on civil liberties and natural resources like land

Faith Fact And The Law In Ayodhya:
An Appeal In The National Interest

By S.G.Vombatkere

The obvious peace-based solution is for both the political class and the judiciary to declare the 2.7 acres disputed site and the 77 acres surrounding land under government custody as a "common ground" for both Hindus and Muslims or declare it as an inter-religion sarvadharma sthal or as a national monument for communal harmony. This will surely be acceptable to all Hindus and all Muslims who are stakeholders for peace and harmony

Rural India And Rural China:
Both Battling Against Land Acquisitions

By Devinder Sharma

A bloody protest broke out in Longxu town in Guangxi province in China on Oct 13. According to reports, about a thousand villagers clashed with hundreds of police officials. They battled with homemade gasoline bombs, bricks and rods. They were protesting against an irrigation project. So it is not only in India that people rise against unwanted irrigation projects, China too faces the same problem

Looking At Burma's Forthcoming
General Election From India

By Nava Thakuria

In a media workshop on Burma election as well as the situation of Burmese refugees living in India, over 20 journalists and civil society activists urged New Delhi to take a critical stance on the fairness and inclusiveness of the forthcoming election in Burma and their results

India’s Muslim Social Welfare Schemes Revisited
By Syed Ali Mujtaba

It is the duty of the Muslim community to come forward and form NGO’s and work among the community and help realize the goal. This has to be done with utmost importance; else, various schemes of the government of their socio-economic development may remain unimplemented

In Memory Of Amitava Dasgupta
By Shamsul Islam

Acclaimed peoples’ theatre and music director Amitava Dasgupta, known to his friends as Amit Da, breathed his last on October 9, 2010. With his death India and the world also lost a prominent practitioner of Brechtian genre of theatre

16 October, 2010

Growing Conflict Over Arctic Resources
And The Threat Of A Climate Catastrophe

By Dr. Peter Custers

The Moscow Forum on the Arctic seemed a rather surrealistic event. For the Arctic circle is the very region where the drama of the world’s climate catastrophe threatens being enacted. Two of the natural phenomena which scientists describe when speaking of ‘tipping points‘, of natural changes that in the future will speed up the pace of climate change, occur in the Arctic circle and its surroundings

The State Of Bla-Bla-Bla
By Uri Avnery

Will Germany enact a law that demands that every Turk aspiring to citizenship swear allegiance to the “German Federal Republic, the Nation-State of the German People”? Sounds like a ridiculous idea

Smothered By Settlements
By Mustafa Barghouthi

The only way to save the two-state solution is for the Palestinians to declare the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, including East Jerusalem, and to demand that the world community recognize it and its borders — as it did in the case of Kosovo

Pentagon Author Exposes Zelikow's Key Role
In 9/11 Cover-Up

By Maidhc Ó Cathail

In an interview on the Fox Business Network , a retired U.S. intelligence officer accused the official in charge of the 9/11 Commission of a cover-up of intelligence failures leading up to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001

New Hearing Set For Sami Al-Arian
By Stephen Lendman

On October 29, 2010, a new hearing will be held before federal Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia to decide whether criminal contempt charges will be pursued or dropped

All Party Deception
By Tariq Shah

Kashmir continues to be India’s indescribable nightmare, and New Delhi has its own follies to blame. The political engineers in New Delhi have yet again demonstrated, if any evidence was needed, the bankruptcy of their political vision on the dispute of Kashmir. They have unimaginatively chosen to tread the weather beaten path of the bygone era: the dillydallying tactics

Our Census, Our Future
By Ashok Yadav

After lots of struggle within and without parliament the union cabinet on 09 September, 2010 decided that Census, 2011 would be casteless, that Census would take place as per the schedule in February-March, that a separate caste-only headcount would take place in June-September, that data collected during separate caste enumeration would be handed over to a group of experts to analyze the same and derive conclusions

Ayodhya Akharas: The Politics
And Culture Of Conflicts

By M. Hasan

As a stakeholder in peace and communal harmony, I find the present politics and culture of conflict unacceptable making Ayodhya an akhara ‘free for all ground’, hampering foundations of ‘temples’ of development, equity and justice. Indian stakeholders in peace and harmony must be counted and heard

15 October, 2010

WikiLeaks' Funding Blocked
By David Leigh & Rob Evans

The whistleblowing group WikiLeaks claims that it has had its funding blocked and that it is the victim of financial warfare by the US government. Moneybookers, a British-registered internet payment company that collects WikiLeaks donations, emailed the organisation to say it had closed down its account because it had been put on an official US watchlist and on an Australian government blacklist

On The Road With Ahmadinejad In Lebanon
By Franklin Lamb

He came, he saw, he conquered

My Oath To Israel’s “Jewish Democracy”
By Jonathan Cook

Next in Lieberman's sights, of course, are all of Israel's 1.3 million Palestinians, who will be expected to become Zionists or face a loss of citizenship and possibly expulsion. I may be one of the first non-Jews to make this pledge, but many are sure to be forced to follow me

Loyalty Oath Initiators Sending Clear Message
To Arab Israelis

By Ahmad Tibi

Until Israel starts to treat the Palestinians, whoever they are, as equals, including the ones living within it as citizens, and until it recognizes their rights for this land, we shall all continue to be stuck in place and say with great degree of accuracy that Israel is indeed Jewish and democratic – democratic to the Jews, and Jewish to the Arabs

The Biggest Climate Conference
You’ve Never Heard Of

By Anirvan Chatterjee

The world watched last year’s climate talks in Copenhagen with hope and trepidation. We spent the past two weeks following the ICAO Assembly, the aviation sector’s climate talks in Montreal with equal anticipation. Unlike Copenhagen, there was little coverage, and very limited civil society participation. And now that it’s over, despite most parties calling it a success, we have to conclude that it’s bad news

Future Chaos: There Is No "Plan B"
By Chris Martenson

The hard news is that there is no "Plan B." The future is likely to be more chaotic than you probably think. This was the primary conclusion that I came to after attending the most recent Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas (ASPO) in Washington, DC in October, 2010

'Know-How', 'Know-What' And The Politics Of
Knowledge For Social Change

By Michael Edwards

In an age when wealth and power present a more diffuse and benign face to the world, the soft authority of knowledge is ever more important as a force for social change. The politics of knowledge – how ideas are created, used and disseminated – represents a key issue for the social change community

The Tide Has Changed: A Musical Essay
And A Lesson In Humanity

By Ramzy Baroud

If one tried to fit music compositions into an equivalent literary style, Gilad Atzmon & The Orient House Ensemble’s latest release would come across as a most engaging political essay: persuasive, argumentative, rational, original, imaginative and always unfailingly accessible

The Case Against Fluoride: Toxifying The Tap
By Rady Ananda

Both the book, The Case Against Fluoride , and the film, Professional Perspectives on Water Fluoridation , provide citizens with sound science to use when demanding that city officials end this “unethical, unnecessary, ineffective and dangerous” practice. Meanwhile, fluoride filtration systems can be purchased for home installation, ranging from around $50 a year to several hundred dollars

The Cuban 5: Victims Of US State Terrorism
By Stephen Lendman

The Five and many hundreds of other US political prisoners bear testimony to America's judicial unfairness, imprisoning innocent men and women for political advantage in violation of constitutional and fundamental international human rights laws, ones US authorities repeatedly flout with impunity

Israeli Policies Are Manifestly Evil: Philip Giraldi
By Kourosh Ziabari

An interview with Philip Giraldi a former counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. Now, he chairs the Council for the National Interest as the Executive Director

Letting The Crooks Off The Hook:
How The AP Debt-Swap Model Bails Out MFIs

By Devinder Sharma

The proposed ordinance looks to be an outcome of concern. As the Indian Express (Oct 14, 2010) states: 'A special ordinance approved today by the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet to regulate micro-finance institutions (MFIs) is likely to provide for a debt-swapping arrangement wherein high cost debt of MFI customers could be swapped with low interest bearing loans by banks.'

14 October, 2010

Chile's Ghosts Are Not Being Rescued
By John Pilger

The rescue of 33 miners in Chile is an extraordinary drama filled with pathos and heroism. It is also a media windfall for the Chilean government, whose every beneficence is recorded by a forest of cameras. One cannot fail to be impressed. However, like all great media events, it is a facade

Top Ten Questions About Chile Mine Collapse
By Juan Cole

The corporate mass media (especially television) did not treat the Chilean mine collapse as a labor story but rather as a feel-good human interest story. It not only avoided asking hard questions about why the near-disaster occurred and why the mine workers could be treated like guinea pigs by their employers, it actively obscured these questions

The Brave Chilean Miners
By Partha Banerjee

This episode unfolding in a distant corner of the world forced corporate media to tell the story to us all, as is, even though they did their best to censor some important points. It is now our role to fill people in with the missing information and analysis

We Worked: Pictures From The Biggest
Day Of Climate Action In History

By Bill McKibben

Amazing stories and pictures from 350.org Global Work Party

The CIA, KKK And USA
By Sherwood Ross

By assigning covert action roles to the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA), it is as if the White House and Congress had legitimized the Ku Klux Klan to operate globally. That's because the CIA today resembles nothing so much as the “Invisible Empire” of the KKK that once spread terror across the South and Midwest. Fiery crosses aside, this is what the CIA is doing globally

Israeli Forces Test Transfer Scenario
By Jonathan Cook

Israel secretly staged a training exercise last week to test its ability to quell any civil unrest that might result from a peace deal with the Palestinian Authority requiring the forcible transfer of many Arab citizens, the Israeli media has reported

The Israeli Knesset's Anti-Democratic Agenda
By Stephen Lendman

The upcoming winter Knesset session promises worse, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel's Debby Gild-Hayo (ACRI) reviewing what's expected in a report titled, "Harming Democracy in the Heart of Democracy." Ahead of the upcoming session, it addressed several expected anti-democratic legislations

What Are Our Alternatives To The Corporate
Controlled Political Parties?

By Timothy V. Gatto

Maybe it’s time we all started to look at political power in a whole new way before we find ourselves incinerated or facing a nuclear winter because of the belligerent policies of Washington. We can become serfs or control our own destiny, this is the challenge

Islamic Identity In Secular India
By Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer

In this complex web of castism, communalism and regionalism it is secularism which gives hope for unity and co-existence. Not only minorities but a large number of majority Hindus also realize this and Islamic identity in secular India faces acute crisis in certain critical phases but also guarantees their safety and security as well as progress

A Trail Of Blood Follows The Peasant Struggles
In Punjab

By Narinder Kumar Jeet

The money-lenders are now letting loose their hired goondas to silence the farmers organizations, with full backing of the rulers

Forced Evictions Due To Commonwealth Games
Violate Human Rights

By Housing And Land Rights Network

The preparations for Delhi’s Commonwealth Games (CWG) have witnessed a range of human rights violations of the city’s working poor, including the homeless, beggars, street vendors, and construction workers. The process has also been marred by financial mismanagement, embezzlement of public funds, and lack of accountability. One of the least reported violations, however, has been the forced eviction and demolition of the homes of thousands of Delhi’s residents

13 October, 2010

US Corn Prices Surge
By Naomi Spencer

Driven by frenzied trading on the Chicago Board of Trade, US corn prices rose by 8.5 percent on Friday, the largest one-day increase since 1973. Over a two-day period, corn increased by more than 15 percent before easing slightly to 12.7 percent, a two-year high. Wheat, soybeans and other basic agricultural products have also soared, threatening a global food crisis like that of 2007-08

"GI's Brains Fried By Military Dispensed
Nose Candy"

By Bob Nichols

Researchers have shown that uranium oxide, or DU, “travels the nerves from the nose to the brain,” in the words of a University of Chicago doc and researcher. A tiny amount (a milligram) of this radioactive poison quick marches up your smelling nerves right into your brain and keeps firing 1.2 Million bullets a day – forever

US Committed To Israel As ‘Jewish State’
By Jason Ditz

“We recognize the special nature of the Israeli state. It is a state for the Jewish people,” declared spokesman P.J. Crowley. Crowley added that it was a “core demand of the Israeli government, which we support.”

Netanyahu Asking Palestinians
To Cede Right Of Return

By Akiva Eldar

Netanyahu understands that a Palestinian leadership prepared to recognize Israel as a Jewish state is tantamount to an up-front concession on the Palestinian right of return

Palin Fear-Mongers On Iran, Sharia
By Juan Cole

Republican gadfly Sarah Palin said in an interview with Newsmax Tuesday that Russia should be warned against helping Iran because if Iran got a nuclear weapon it would bring about Armageddon. She also warned against the imposition of what she called Muslim sharia law on Americans and said they would never put up with it

Gaza:But The Coffins Do Come In
By Mohammed Omer

Samir Tahseen Al-Nadeem died after waiting 35 days for an exit permit for treatment for his heart condition. He was 26. The medicines he needed could not get in. But the coffins do. The health ministry now lists 375 deaths due to shortage of life-saving medicines

Economics Of Needs And Limits
By Frank Rotering

An introduction to the Economics of Needs and Limits, or ENL

Abolishing The War System: The Big Picture
By Michael N. Nagler

The patina of glory that surrounds war is wearing off. Is this the beginning of the end of the war mindset?

The Witch Of Hebron And The Myth Of
Post-Peak Uniformity

By Carolyn Baker

A review of Peak Oil theorist James Howard Kunstler's novel "The Witch of Hebron"

MFIs: The Growth Of 'Blood Money'
By Devinder Sharma

In the last few days, at least 24 women who received micro-finance have committed suicide in Andhra Pradesh alone. This is only the visible tip of the invisible iceberg of misery that micro-finance inflicts

Hijacking Britain: A Close Look At
The Pro-Israeli Lobbies Inside Britain

By Ershad Abubacker

The pro-Israeli lobbies are a decisive factor in most European countries and its influence is felt manifold in Britain

United States Of America:
Need To Strive For Amity

By Ram Puniyani

The image of Muslims is being tarred badly in US. In short and long term it will have very adverse impact on intercommunity relations and the democratic norms. Will US Government and society wake up to this threat to democracy. This anti- Muslim, Anti-Islam propaganda is not only tormenting the Muslims in US, but is attacking the democratic norms of America. The right wing propaganda, though catchy and appealing in the short term, as a matter of fact is a serious erosion of the humane and democratic values of our civilization

Boston University's Islamophobic
Pro-Israeli Conference

By Stephen Lendman

Like Yale last August, BU lent its name to a two day hate fest, featuring Islamophobes supporting apartheid, lawlessness, aggressive wars, isolation, land theft, dispossessions, mass imprisonment, torture, targeted assassinations, and decades of slow-motion genocide of Palestinian civilians. For 48 hours, truth, equity and justice were nowhere in sight. Complicit BU was the venue for the worst of hatemongering viciousness

Nobel Politics
By Stephen Lendman

Many other countries, including China, have theirs. Israel for one, that at any time holds up to 12,000 or more, including women and young children, unfairly subjecting them to torture, abuse and humiliation - issues Nobel Committee members ignore and won't recognize as a way to condemn rogue practices, expose their lawlessness, and support equal justice everywhere vigorously. Instead, choosing Liu bashes China politically

Democracy Is Coming..To The USA
By Timothy V. Gatto

Are Americans so different than those living in South America? Time will tell. The left has yet to come together as one voice but the rumbling is getting louder. Change will come, make no mistake about it. Change will come from the bottom up and it may very well look like the changes that have swept across Latin America

Ayodhya: Burial Of Justice
By Avinash Pandey Samar

What better place than the grave of a mosque could a 'secular democracy' find to bury justice?

Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan: An Inspirational
Social Scientist

By Nasim Yousaf

A tribute to Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan, a pioneer in the disciplines of rural development and poverty alleviation as well as microfinance on his 11th death anniversary

12 October, 2010

Israel's New Loyalty Oath
By Stephen Lendman

Since inception, Israel's democracy was illusory, but of late it's further eroded. The Cabinet's October 10 adopted Law of Citizenship amendment requires all non-Jews wanting it to pledge loyalty to "the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state," its latest anti-democratic measure. Voting 22 - 8, it evoked protests from Israeli artists, writers and intellectuals in front of Tel Aviv's Independence Hall against "the continuous erosion of Israeli democracy."

The Smell Of Apartheid: Israel's Citizenship Law
By Yacov Ben Efrat

The government has approved the proposal for an amendment to the Citizenship Law, according to which anyone requesting Israeli citizenship will have to declare loyalty to Israel as a “Jewish and democratic” state. This amendment is perceived by many to be an unnecessary provocation against the country's Arab population

Israel's Loyalty Oath: Disciminatory By Design
By The Guardian

The question that lies behind this is why, and why now? Are these the actions of a nation prepared to make a historical compromise, end occupation and live in peace with its neighbourhood? If they are and we are all wildly misinterpreting this, why alienate and incite the very people who could have helped by their example bring a historic settlement about, people who have accepted the existence of Israel, who have never in their history taken up arms against it?

37 Years After The October War
By Salim Nazzal

In the Arab orient they call it Tichreen war, in Egypt they call it October war, in other parts of the Arab world they call it Ramadan war, in Israel they call Yom Kippur war, in other parts of the world they call it the 1973 war, all these names are to name the war that took place 37 years ago between Arabs and Israel. The question is how to place this war in the Arab history

The Promise Of Fusion: Energy Miracle Or Mirage?
By Alex Salkever

The U.S. has invested billions of dollars trying to create a controlled form of nuclear fusion that could be the energy source for an endless supply of electricity. But as a federal laboratory prepares for a key test, major questions remain about pulling off this long-dreamed-of technological feat

On Climate Models, The Case For
Living With Uncertainty

By Fred Pearce

As climate science advances, predictions about the extent of future warming and its effects are likely to become less — not more — precise. That may make it more difficult to convince the public of the reality of climate change, but it hardly diminishes the urgency of taking action

Soils And Souls: The Promise Of The Land
By Robert Jensen

While evil lurks in many places, it is most concentrated in fossil fuels. Perennial polycultures can deliver us from that evil

China’s Pipelineistan “War”
By Pepe Escobar

Future historians may well agree that the twenty-first century Silk Road first opened for business on December 14, 2009. That was the day a crucial stretch of pipeline officially went into operation linking the fabulously energy-rich state of Turkmenistan (via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan) to Xinjiang Province in China’s far west

Every Tattoo Tells A Story And Expresses
The True Ken O'Keefe

By Eileen Fleming

"Our greatest responsibility is to hand over a better world to all children, and the 800,000 children in Gaza, are my children. I would rather die in pursuit of justice than back down. How can anyone accept the unacceptable!"

Currency War: To Be or Not To Be
By Farooque Chowdhury

It is now currency theatre. Exchange rates are policy weapon. A currency war is raging. The war is still to rage. Opinions differ

The Killing Ways Of Micro-Finance
By Devinder Sharma

Devinder Sharma's suggestions to end the killing ways of Micro-Finance

The Ayodhya Verdict: Beyond The Liberal
Brahmanic Framework

By Feroze Mithiborwala

The Ayodhya Verdict was a judicial demolition and justification of the destruction of the Babri Masjid. The verdict is basically a mockery and stands in utter contempt of the Indian constitution, as was the demolition. The verdict is an affront to the very vision of an India that is rooted in it's secular and plural values. The judgment has set an unprecedented precedent by giving precedence to belief or aastha over law. A civil title suit was reduced to a theological verdict. This is the process whereby the Brahmanic Manusmriti increasingly gains precedence over the Ambedkarite Constitution

The Maoist Versus The State Of India
By Prakash Kona

The author considers the historic reasons of maoist uprising in India and raises some questions about its objectives

11 October, 2010

Nine Months After The Quake –
A Million Haitians Slowly Dying

By Bill Quigley

Nine months after the quake, over a million people are still homeless in Haiti. Haiti looks like the quake could have been last month. I visited Port au Prince shortly after the quake and much of the destruction then looks the same nine months later

The No-State Alternative
By Cameron Hunt

An analysis of Mahmoud Abbas's four pronged alternatives proposed to the Arab League and the proposal of a fifth one: the ‘No-State Alternative'

Israel's Other ‘Peace’ Plan: Arm-twisting Obama
By Jonathan Cook

A ghost haunted the meeting of the Arab League in Libya at the weekend, as its foreign ministers decided to give a little more time to the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. That ghost was the Camp David talks of summer 2000, when US President Bill Clinton publicly held Yasser Arafat, the then-Palestinian leader, responsible for the breakdown of the negotiations, despite an earlier promise to blame neither side if they failed

One Wall, Two People, No States:
The Peace Pretense

By William A. Cook

“Our goal is two states, Israel and Palestine , living side by side in peace and security,” (President Obama) such is the illusion that resurfaces to restart the peace negotiations that will stabilize the mid-east. For 63 years that “goal” has been the carrot held before the people of the United States and Britain as the ultimate resolution for the Israeli/Palestinian crisis. In reality there is nothing in the statement that is true

Columbus Day Promotes Genocide
By Francis A. Boyle

Charges against the Federal Government of the United States of America under international criminal law

The Concept Of “Living Well” -
A Bolivian Viewpoint

By Bolivia Delegation at The UN

Faced with so much disproportion and wealth concentration in the world, so many wars and famine, Bolivia proposes Living Well, not as a way to live better at the expense of others, but an idea of Living Well based on the experience of our peoples.In the words of the President of the Republic of Bolivia, Evo Morales Ayma, Living Well means living within a community, a brotherhood, and particularly complementing each other, without exploiters or exploited, without people being excluded or people who exclude, without people being segregated or people who segregate

Nuclear Weapons And The Survival Of
Homo Sapiens

By Fidel Castro

In the current stage of the world, when some 200 countries have been recognized as independent states with the right to participate in the United Nations —ridiculous legal fiction—, the only chance to forge a ray of hope is by leading the masses, in a rational and calm way, to the understanding that all the inhabitants of the planet are facing a grave risk

The Reinvention Of Collapse
By Peter Goodchild

A crtique of Dmitry Orlov's book "Reinventing Collapse"

We Are All Tea Partiers Now
By Guy R. McPherson

Members of the Tea Party take a lot of heat, and justifiably so, for blatant hypocrisy. They want the government out of their lives, and they want to retain all the benefits of Empire. Just like the rest of us

Fraud In America
By Stephen Lendman

Trinity University's Bob Jensen maintains fraud updates through June 2009 on his web site. He also reviewed a "History of Fraud in America," starting in colonial (and pre-colonial) times, saying the earliest kinds involved "phony health cures," including snake oil ploys, medical frauds, and other deceptions transitioning to today's "miracle cures and Internet charlatanism."

Verdict On Ayodhya And After: Calm Before Storm?
By Dr.K.Vidyasagar Reddy

Let good sense prevail in any Indian, who seeks justice and join the movement for social justice, when fellow Indian, be they Muslims or Minorities, are under attack, legally or otherwise! Lest, we cannot but consider the prevailing situation as volatile, or else, ‘calm before storm’, as the case may be!

10 October, 2010

9th Anniversary of US Invasion of Afghanistan:
4.9 Million Afghans Dead

By Dr Gideon Polya

As of 7 October 2010, the 9th Anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan , the human cost of the Afghan War has been estimated as about 4.9 million violent deaths or non-violent avoidable deaths from Occupier-imposed deprivation. US Alliance-imposed Afghan Holocaust and Afghan Genocide that has now reached the dimensions of the WW2 Jewish Holocaust (5-6 million dead, 1 in 6 dying from deprivation)

His Father’s Boy
By Uri Avnery

Which is the real Netanyahu? The real Netanyahu – stand up!

Arab Regime Credibility Hanging
By Its Last Invisible Thread

By Alan Hart

Will Arab leaders ever learn how to play their cards (if only to best protect their own longer term, real interests)? I fear not

Avigdor Lieberman: A Profile In
Ultranationalist Extremism

By Stephen Lendman

Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Lieberman represents the worst of Israel's lunatic fringe, sort of a combination Dick Cheney/John McCain/Joe Lieberman, too extremist to be entrusted with power, but he's got it

The “Conclusive” China Climate Talks
By FarooqueChowdhury

Deadlock in the Tianjin talks between the two largest GHG emitters blaming each other actually has clouded prospects for advancements in the Cancun climate conference that carries not much hope. Cancún will find no heads of state and no binding deal will be made there. Ministers and senior officials will prepare ground for post-Cancun

US Threat To Attack Iran With Nukes Is "Criminal"
By Sherwood Ross

The U.S. today is threatening to attack Iran “under the completely bogus pretext” that it might have a nuclear weapon, a distinguished American international legal authority says. When Obama administration officials, like those of the Bush regime before it, say “all options are on the table,” they are threatening nuclear war and that is prohibited by international law, says Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois at Champaign

The Struggle For A Workers’ Recovery
By Shamus Cooke

Stocks are booming; the Dow Jones soared past 11,000; the very wealthy are bursting from their financial seams. Meanwhile, mass unemployment continues, with 95,000 more jobs -- mostly teachers -- lost in September

Are The Rulers In India Native Indians?
By Ashok Kumar Basotra

What matters in India is what real rulers want. Who are these real rulers of India? What is their motive? From where they have come? Ultimately what they want to do in this country? Where exactly they are leading us to?

Battle For The Idea Of India
By Harsh Mander

The Babri Masjid dispute was never a clash between Hindus and Muslims. It was between Hindutva and Secularist visions of India. With the recent judgement, the movement which fostered hate and fear seems to have triumphed

Politics, History, Relition And The Law:
The Ayodhya Verdict

By Rohini Hensman

It is entirely possible that the majority judgment was framed in the fear that giving outright possession to either Hindu or Muslim parties to the dispute could result in riots and bloodshed, while division of the property could lead to reconciliation. But good intentions alone cannot ensure a good judgment

Militants Next Door
By Zia Ur Rehman

Cross-border movement of Afghan Taliban continues to threaten peace and security in Chitral

Trans-LoC Trade: A Silver Lining
By Bilal Hussain

Trade through Uri-Muzaffarabad crosses INR 300 cr mark

The Poverty Of The Hindu Gods
By Prakash Kona

A critique of Hinduism

True Globalisation Is When Honest
And Good People Come Together

By Devinder Sharma

Globalisation has brought the rich and the crooked together. True globalisation would be when good people from across the globe come together. Perhaps, Orai has sown the seeds of goodness. Let us join hands to reap the harvest across continents. As someone said: It takes one village, then another, and then another...and a revolution is born."

Punjab Middlemen Get Rs 7,830 Million A Year
For Practically Doing Nothing

By Devinder Sharma

This time it is the arhtiyas (middlemen) in Punjab. They walked away with Rs 783-crore (or Rs 7,830 million) in 2009-10 for virtually doing nothing. Before you raise your eyebrows, let me tell you that in the past decade Punjab arhtiyas have been paid Rs 6,400-crore as commission and that too for doing nothing

Elections: Bihar style
By MuraleeDharan Raghavan

Political parties should come forward to this incipient disease that is likely to become a hazard in days to come. Their responsibilities are not just to fight an election and win the seats. They are expected to follow democratic temper and evolve a system which is in sync with the social ethos…

09 October, 2010

10/10/10: 7,000 Events Planned In 188 Countries
By Marcela Valente

NGOs and ordinary citizens around the world plan to help raise awareness on the problems caused by climate change and urge governments to adopt policies to combat the phenomenon, with more than 7,000 activities in 188 countries on Sunday

10 Ways To Celebrate 10/10/10
By 350.org

How to bring this weekend’s global work party to your town

Pachakuti: Indigenous Perspectives,
Degrowth And Ecosocialism

By Bob Thomson

In its efforts to exert some political influence on solutions to the current world financial and climate crises the nascent international ecosocialist movement should direct some attention to a synthesis of the western ecosocialist discourse with the growing Latin American indigenous discourse that is making exciting progress, albeit in fits and starts, toward an international charter for the protection of the planet, Mother Earth, and all forms of life on it

Why Civil Liberties Matter - An Open Letter
To The Obama Administration

By David Alexander Sugar

In a recent Rolling Stone magazine interview, you spoke of this administrations commitment to civil rights while simultaneously insulting the intelligence of those who are concerned with civil liberties. It is this administrations actual record on civil liberties, a record that is in fact worse than the preceding one, that is both clearly inexcusable and dangerously irresponsible

America's War On Food Not Bombs
By Stephen Lendman

Food Not Bombs (FNB) is "one of the fastest growing revolutionary movements and is gaining momentum throughout the world." Through hundreds of autonomous chapters globally, it shares free vegetarian food to relieve hunger besides protesting against war, poverty, and social injustice. FNB isn't a charity. Through grassroots activism, it advocates peace and liberation of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia

Israel's Persecution Of Ameer Makhoul
By Stephen Lendman

Israel, like America, flouts the rule of law. As a result, Palestinians have been victimized for over six decades, denied any measure of justice and freedom. Makhoul and Sa'adat are two of thousands enduring Israeli savagery, its longstanding practice against Muslim Arabs

The Real Problem With Obama's Religion
By Mary Shaw

The real problem with Obama's religion is that it is an issue at all

To The Rank And File
By Timothy V. Gatto

It’s time that the rank and file demands more of their leaders. The contradiction of belonging to the same party as the employers can’t go on. It’s just commonsense. We don’t have the time to let this happen naturally

The Yemeni State Against Its Own People
By Subir Ghosh

Yemen is now a classic example of how and why a government hemmed in by all sides militarily and economically takes it out on its own people. It ought to be a cause for worry too, for there is more to it here than meets the eye. If you don’t look for it, you won’t see it

Food Security Act: Time To Act
By Aashish Gupta

“Time to Act" is a platform of concerned students and citizens which aims to deepen and sharpen the debate on the proposed Food Security Act, and is currently engaging members of parliament, to convince them that the act should be universal and comprehensive, with adequate safeguards for accountability and transparency

08 October, 2010

One Day On Earth, 10.10.10 And
Global Avoidable Mortality Holocaust

By Dr Gideon Polya

Sunday 10.10.10 is being marked around the World as One Day on Earth to consider global realities

Crazy...In A Good Way
By Bill McKibben

350.org gets ready for the 10/10/10 Global Work Party

Lies, Damn Lies And Bill Gates'
Discussion Of Energy Policy

By Morton S. Skorodin M.D

“The earth is not dying; she is being murdered. And we know who is killing her and we have their names and addresses.” With that in mind, let's see what Bill Gates, second richest man in the world, has had to say about global warming and energy policy

Our Last Chance To Save Humanity?
By John W. Farley

A review of James Hansen's book, "Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity"

‘Dying To Win’: Newt Gingrich’s ‘Terrorism’
By Ramzy Baroud

On September 30, within the time frame of a few hours, an accused man reportedly confessed to terrorism charges in Germany, the terrorism threat level was raised in Sweden, and former US Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich lengthily discussed ‘suicidal jihadists’ in a speech he made in Denver

The Emergence Of A New Global Caste System
By Devinder Sharma

If Shylock was alive today, I am sure he would have floated a public stock offering and would have been amongst the richest in the world. Forbes magazine would have certainly included his name in the list of the top 50 billionaires, and The Economist would have included his name among the 15 most powerful people in the world

Lawless Spying In America To Obstruct
First Amendment Freedoms

By Stephen Lendman

In a climate of fear and intimidation, national security concerns are trampling core legal principles, the rule of law losing out to war on terror hysteria and unchecked powers. As a result, protected freedoms are fast eroding, key among them First Amendment rights without which all others are at risk

Canada's War on Islam: The Case of Mahboob
And Momin Khawaja

By Stephen Lendman

Mahboob Khawaja, his son Momin and family, are Pakistani Canadians, bogusly targeted for alleged involvement in terrorism

06 October, 2010

More Nato Trucks Burnt
In Pakistan

By Aljazeera

Armed men in Pakistan have burned 22 tankers carrying fuel for Nato forces in Afghanistan, killing a lorry driver, according to police

PA: Latest Israeli Soldier Video 'Deeply Offensive'
By Ma'an News

A personal film showing an Israeli soldier dancing around a Palestinian woman uploaded to YouTube on Monday "is a disgusting illustration of the sick mentality of the occupier," a Palestinian Authority statement said

The Criminality Of Nuclear Deterrence Today:
International Law As Anchoring Ground

By Prof. Francis A. Boyle

Every citizen of the world community has the right and the duty to oppose the existence of nuclear weapons systems by whatever non-violent means are at his or her disposal. Otherwise the human race will suffer the same fate as the dinosaurs. And the planet earth will become a radioactive waste-land. And it very well could happen in our life-time. The time for preventive action is now! And civil resistance by all of us human beings is the way to go

Jaitapur Nuclear Eclipse
Shadows Indian Democracy

By Sebastian Rodrigues

A report on protest against Jaitapur Nuclear plant on the Konkan coast, in India

The BBC Is On Murdoch's Side
By John Pilger

John Pilger says that while the dangers of Rupert Murdoch's dominance are understood, the role played by the respectable media, such as the New York Times and the BBC, notably in the promotion of colonial wars, is at least as important

Support Groups For Hard Times
By Chuck Collins

How can Transition Towns and Common Security Clubs help us navigate a changing economy and environment?

A Modest Mathematical Proposal
By Peter Goodchild

Population overshoot and the coming crisis

The Dangers Of ‘Recognition’: Lieberman
Speaks For All Of Israel

By Jonathan Cook

Netanyahu clearly does not simply want the fact of Israel's existence acknowledged. That is in no doubt and, anyway, the Israeli state has been recognised by the Palestinian leadership since the late 1980s. It is recognition of the state's Jewishness, not its existence, that matters

Al-Qaeda's Suspect Humanitarianism
By Maidhc Ó Cathail

If, as seems likely, the al-Qaeda messages concerning this summer's floods in Pakistan are fakes , they would seem to provide further evidence of an Israeli-inspired campaign to destabilise the world's only Islamic nuclear power

Sri Lanka's Eighteenth Amendment:
A Charter For Dictatorship

By Rohini Hensman

Sri Lanka’s claim to be a democracy has been tenuous for years, but the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution by parliament on 8 September 2010 dealt it a fatal blow. It changed Sri Lanka into a de facto dictatorship like Zimbabwe and Myanmar, where it is abundantly clear that elections alone cannot unseat Mugabe or Than Shwe

Peripheral People?
By John Dayal

If we actually believe in the Idea of India, we with our imperial myopia in the political-financial twin capitals New Delhi and Mumbai, would have to come to terms with the fact that the “heartland” remains but an island which could become very isolated very fast in the larger ocean of the assertions of a diversified, polyglot, multi-racial, multi-hued, multi cultural, multi-ideological India

Responses To Action Aid Article

On October 3, we published an article By Vibhed Dhurvey tiltled "Inside Story Of A Funding God: A Case Study". The article contained several allegations agains Action Aid India, which was found to be untrue. So we promptly removed the article. We regret publishing the said article and sincerely apologize for the untruth that contained in the article

05 October, 2010

Vulnerable Nations Could Take Industrialised Countries To Court, Say Lawyers
By Marianne de Nazareth

Climate-vulnerable developing nations could use international law to break the current deadlock in the intergovernmental negotiations on climate change by taking industrialised nations to court, says a paper published on 4th Octoberby the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development

Obama Is Going Solar
By Bill McKibben

The Obama administration announced this morning that they are going to put solar panels on the First Family's living quarters, returning to a tradition begun by president Jimmy Carter and abandoned by Ronald Reagan

Himalayas Unsettled By Melting Glaciers,
More Avalanches

By Bhuwan Sharma

Even making one’s way just up to Base Camp, which lies at an altitude of 5,380 metres, can already give one the dismal view of the devastation climate change is wreaking. Snow cover in the mountains is decreasing, crevasses are opening up in the glaciers. Avalanches (have been) occurring frequently (in) the past two years

India Says Is Now Third Highest Carbon Emitter
By Gopal Sharma

India's environment minister said on Monday the country could not have high economic growth and a rapid rise in carbon emissions now that the nation was the number three emitter after China and the United States

Youth Across North America Are Fighting
For Their Future Climate

By Subhankar Banerjee

Here are three stories about young people with a different perspective -- a teen rock band called One Eyed Rhyno from Sacramento, California; climate students from the North Cascades Institute in Sedrow-Woolley, Washington; and a bicyclist from the Yukon province in Canada

Political Wish List: Honest Talk About
Economics, Empire, And Energy

By Robert Jensen

Here are my contributions, three short essays that raise critical questions about economics, empire, and energy that are routinely ignored by most politicians

In Kenya, Farmers Grow Their Own Way
By Heather Day & Travis English

Thousands of grassroots, African-led efforts are building locally rooted alternatives to the chemical agriculture promoted by the Gates Foundation and Monsanto

US Agency Exploited Guatemalans
For Lethal Medical Tests

By Rafael Azul

The exposure of a 64-year-old secret study conducted in Guatemala on human subjects by the US Public Health Service has created an international uproar, forcing the US government to issue a belated apology

ESPAÑA INVERTEBRADA WILL PUT JUDGE GARZÓN IN THE DOCK
By George Venturini

Just two weeks before the recent Council's meeting the Criminal Chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court in Madrid had unanimously upheld the lower court's order that Judge Baltasar Garzón of the Audiencia Nacional - the National Court - should stand trial for the charge of the delito de prevaricación - the crime of knowingly overstepping his judicial competence. Garzón was charged on 7 April for his attempt to investigate the war crimes committed between 17 July 1936 and December 1951, the bloodiest period of Franco's dictatorship - a charge that Garzón claimed was politically motivated

Social Movements And The Academy
By Delia D. Aguilar

I did not intend this to be a nostalgia trip or a journey down memory lane that the elderly are prone to. What I am hoping to draw attention to, instead, is the way in which social movements, when they are as robust as they were in the 70s, exert an impact on the academy to such an extent that key ideas vital to any progressive undertaking get infused into the academic lexicon and mindset

Eight Reasons Why You Should Oppose
Unique Identification: Stop UID Campaign

By Kalyani Menon-Sen

The National Identification Authority of India Bill approved by the Union Cabinet on Friday has sidestepped critical privacy aspects relating to profiling and function creep — a term used to describe the way in which information is collected for one limited purpose but gradually gets used for other purposes. Here are some reasons why you should oppose this Bill

Message To The World On Receiving
Carl Von Ossietzky Medal 2010

By Mordechai Vanunu

I want to thank International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) .for the courage to give me the Von Ossietztky medal even if I receive it after 24 years. I hope this time I will be free to come to Berlin and speak also on behalf of Ossietztky in the city

We Need An Alternative To The Democrats
And GOP

By Timothy V. Gatto

I am proposing that the unions themselves start thinking about starting a labor party in the United States. This labor party could exist with the network that unions have already established. This party would eschew corporate funding and exist from the dues of union workers and the general public that is tired of the corporate control that exists over the Democratic Party today

Untenurable: The Firing of Ariella Azoulay
By Neve Gordon

Bar Ilan university of Tel-Aviv decided to deny Ariella Azoulay’s bid for tenure, effectively firing her for her critique of Israeli rights abusive policy and of Zionism

More on Washington's Failed Ecuadorean
Coup Attempt

By Stephen Lendman

Washington's fingerprints are again visible, and though unsuccessful, Correa can by no means rest, not with actors like O'Grady around, vilifying less than hard right leaders, stopping just short of endorsing their ouster

Will Hezbollah Defeat Israel (again!)
In The Coming War?

By Franklin Lamb

The increase in activity along the Blue line, especially near Fatima’s Gate is only partially in preparation for the rumored visit of Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in mid- October. An Israeli invasion could be launched at any time and locals explain that, for their part, they have selected their targets, completed their surveillance, so far eluded capture and are ready to attack deep into Palestine when commanded

Unemployed : Stranded On The Sidelines Of
A Jobs Crisis

By Andy Kroll

Sometime in early June -- he's not exactly sure which day -- Rick Rembold joined history. That he doesn't remember comes as little surprise: Who wants their name etched into the record books for not having a job?

The Mask Is Off
By Sucheta Chatterjee

This note is an expression of the shock and disappointment that assailed large sections of Indians in the aftermath of the Ayodhya verdict. The judgement of the Honourable Allahabad High Court appears to be a clean break from the secular traditions of India, where a judicial body has openly intervened on behalf of the people of a particular religious faith and has failed to uphold its role as that of a rational, impartial arbiter

Ayodhyanjali
By Guru Golmalkar

A spoof

Asian People's Solidarity For Palestine Announces
The Asia To Gaza Solidarity Caravan

500 civil resisters from 17 Asian countries will join the caravan from India and march through 18 Asian cities of Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey to break the siege of Gaza through the sea route in December 2010

04 October, 2010

Iran Wins Iraqi Elections Seven Months Later
By Juan Cole

Although it make take some time yet to form a government in Iraq, Friday may have been a turning point. If so, it was a turning point in which Iran won decisively and managed to rebuild a Shiite fundamentalist coalition led by incumbent PM Nuri al-Maliki that, in partnership with the Kurds, could dominate Baghdad for the next four years

Iraq's Kurds Hold Political Cards For Al-Maliki
By Yahya Barzanji & Brian Murphy

Kurdish lawmakers began Saturday to plot their course as Iraq's kingmakers with enough seats to secure a second term for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and press key demands, including a greater say over the oil riches in the country's north

Washington Moves To Thwart Sadrist Role
In A New Iraqi Government

By Barry Grey

The decision of the anti-US Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to throw his support behind caretaker Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the months-long stalemate over the formation of a new government in Iraq has set off a flurry of political jockeying within the country and sparked alarm in Washington

Lawless Arrests, Detentions And Torture In Iraq
By Stephen Lendman

Thousands of civilians are victimized by imperial Washington's lawlessness. Human lives and welfare are thus sacrificed, a shocking indictment of America's true aim and employed means, abroad and at home. Obama is as culpable as Bush. Both are unindicted war criminals

U.S Homeland Fascism And
The Anti-Imperialist Struggle In The Philippines:
Commemorating Howard Zinn

By E. San Juan, Jr.

Avalanches of FBI dragnet raids, house-searches and court summons recently devastated numerous homes and traumatized families across the country, bringing back horrendous memories of the McCarthy raids and COINTELPRO assassinations of the Cold War period

Surveillance, America’s Pastime
By Stephan Salisbury

A Hall of Shame of State Snooping, Prying, and Informing Aimed at Destroying the Fabric of Civil Society

Obama’s Cave-In To Israel
By Jonathan Cook

The disclosure of the details of a letter reportedly sent by President Barack Obama last week to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, will cause Palestinians to be even more sceptical about US and Israeli roles in the current peace talks. According to the leak, Obama made a series of extraordinarily generous offers to Israel, many of them at the expense of the Palestinians, in return for a single minor concession from Netanyahu: a two-month extension of the partial feeze on settlement growth

Lieberman's "Truth"
By Yacov Ben Efrat

Lieberman said that a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians would be "achieved only decades from now." There is no reason to think that Netanyahu believes otherwise. Lieberman expresses the dominant spirit in Israel's government, and his speech exposed a fact known to all: he is himself the cement that binds Netanyahu's coalition

Yonatan And Itamar Shapira Tells What Really
Happened On The “Jewish Boat To Gaza”

By Jewish boat to Gaza

Yonatan and Itamar Shapira’s testimony as they returned home to their family

Days Before Birthday, My Son Sees Gaza's Horror
By Rami Almeghari

My dear son, I don't think this will be "enough" and I believe this is just the beginning in your life as a Palestinian, living amidst and witnessing constant violence

Piedad Córdoba And Her Fight For Peace
By Fidel Castro

Faced with such an unusual and drastic measure taken against an elected post in the highest legislative body of state, Piedad has no alternative other than appealing to the very Attorney General who produced the measures

The Real Significance Of The One Nation Rally
By Shamus Cooke

Derailing this anger will be even harder from now on, since the One Nation demonstration proved that working people can unite together under a specific set of demands. This newfound unity can and will become the basis of future demonstrations organized by similar coalitions, against both the Democrat and Republican parties

Homophobia, Religion, And The Collapse Of
Industrial Civilization

By Carolyn Baker

Homophobia and oppressive belief systems are not new, but at this historical juncture, they are escalating in the context of the disintegration of industrial civilization and the paradigm that has fostered it for nearly 5,000 years. This means that their influence is almost guaranteed to intensify and therefore, so too must our response

Economic Inequity, Manufactured Populism,
And The Bigot-Whisperers Of The Right

By Phil Rockstroh

The paranoid, domestic douchescape works in the service of the US created deathscapes overseas and vice versa in a self-resonating feedback loop. Therefore, whenever the neoliberal economic policies of corporate oligarchy and the empire's ever expanding military industrial/national security/surveillance/prison complex are questioned, many conservatives personalize the critique. In their gut, they feel as if their identity is under attack

U.S. War Crimes In Kandahar
By Dr. Habib Siddiqui

As we have witnessed before with Abu Ghraib, rogue foot soldiers like Gibbs and Morlock are now investigated for their war crimes in Kandahar. However, as long as those on the top, the likes of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, and Rice continue to escape justice for their war crimes, and formulating laws and policies that laid down the very foundation for such horrendous crimes, we won’t be surprised to see or hear resurrection of the old crimes over and over again

UN/AU Continues Somali Slaughter
By Thomas C. Mountain

For over a year now the United Nations/African Union troops in Mogadishu, so called “peacekeepers”, have been regularly firing mortars and artillery into Somali neighborhoods in retaliation for attacks by the Somali resistance. “Peacekeepers” firing artillery into civilian neighborhoods? “Peacekeepers” killing untold thousands of innocent women and children whose only crime was being Somali and living within range of the UN/AU artillery? You have to wonder, are these Peace Keepers or Peace Killers?

Retrograde Judgement Rewards Hindutva Zealots
By Anand Teltumbde

The parallel may not be palatable to everyone but the recent verdict of the Allahabad bench of the Lucknow high court may be compared with a case that was decided some eight decades ago in a small colonial court of Mahad in Maharashtra. Like this one, which has great implication to our secular fabric the Mahad judgement pivoted the future of a nascent movement launched by the Untouchables for securing their civil rights

Babri Masjid Verdict: Justice Still Not Done
By Dr. Satinath Choudhary

The legal system has joined the strong bullies, saying: yes, yes, two third of the piece of land belongs to the rogues. And the purveyors of peace and amity and magnanimity are clapping for the blatantly unfair judgment as if it was one of the greatest balancing act done by the justices

Ayodhya: Where 1=2
By Farzana Versey

My mind is numb. The Ramayana myth-faith is now winging its way into the judicial books, but it is Shylock that has claimed the pound of flesh

“Long” Live Capitalist Humanism
By Farooque Chowdhury

Should not the world humanity question: What are the compulsions that make capital behave in the brutal, inhuman way? What it is character of this political-economy that creates logic, perceptions and drive which do not consider humanity and life as considerable? Why science in this particular political-economy stands against humanity? Have not its all standings been forfeited yet? Then, “slaves” tomorrow shall rise up in all corners and pronounce their distrust on all the values the Empire upholds as Spartacus asked a Roman soldier to convey to the Roman senate

Report On The Implementation Of
The Forest Rights Act Released

By Campaign for Survival and Dignity

The Council for Social Development has released a summary report on the implementation of the Forest Rights Act.  It is one of the few official or unofficial reports to emerge so far that accurately covers the wide range of problems, sabotage and attacks on forest democracy that are occurring

03 October, 2010

Big Oil And Corporate Polluters Spent Over $500 MillionTo Kill Climate Bill, Push Offshore Drilling
By Climate Progress

The entire electric utility industry spent more than $264 million on lobbying alone in 2009 and the first half of 2010. Oil and gas interests spent a record $175 million lobbying in 2009—a 30 percent increase from 2008—and have spent $75 million already in 2010. The oil, gas, and coal industries have spent over $2 billion lobbying Congress since 1999

Two Fingers
By Uri Avnery

Ehud Olmert raised his hands before his face, two fingertips almost touching: “We were that close!” He was talking about the negotiation he had conducted personally with Mahmoud Abbas, just before he himself was forced to vacate the Prime Minister’s office

Corporatism: The Cyborg Amongst Us
By Aetius Romulous

In a world of fragile mortal beings, the corporation is a cyborg

Obama's Hard Line Neo-Con Agenda
By Stephen Lendman

Straightaway, Obama's promised "change" and "yes we can" became hard line foreign and domestic extremism, betraying his loyal constituency and any hope for kinder, gentler policies. His populist hypocrisy now exposed, voters are losing faith, but most remain mindless about the harm he commits daily, much of it touching them directly

Bombs Over Khartoum
By Savo Heleta

The notion of South Sudanese airplanes bombing Khartoum could make the regime of Omar al Bashir think twice before sending forces and planes to destroy the south and its population in the aftermath of the 2011 referendum on self-determination

The Age of Crises
By Farooque Chowdhury

An eight part series on the many crises that humanity faces today

The Necessary Price of Peace:
Freeze The Settlement

By Dr Islam Qasem

Abbas now has a choice to walk out or return to the negotiation table. In truth, however, if the settlement construction in the West Bank is not frozen, there is no ground for negotiation to continue. Abbas should have no second thought about walking out

Construction Fever On The West Bank
By Khaled Amayreh

Israeli triumphalism at the ending of a temporary ban on settlement construction contrasts with the muted, and confused, Palestinian and Arab response, writes Khaled Amayreh from the occupied territories

An Army Too Near The Edge
By Gordon Duff

Coming home, sick, injured, unemployed, divorced, alone, angry, alienated, those staying in the military, those fit enough to remain in and the thousands, hundreds of thousands who just couldn’t take it anymore are killing themselves in record numbers

We Are Never Wrong
By Peter Chamberlin

We have to stop thinking of the organized effort to control society as a dark conspiracy and learn to see its very existence as a sign of hope. If a small group of evil men can figure-out a way to take control of human fate, then other groups of intelligent men and women with the best intentions should be just as capable of learning how to break their control

It Was Very Sad That Quran
Was Burnt: Craig Blomberg

By Kourosh Ziabari

An interview with Craig L. Blomberg, the Distinguished Professor of the New Testament

The Un-Common Wealth Games Begin:
Incredible India, It Stinks

By Partha Banerjee

Jim Yardley writes in New York Times today: As Global Games Begin, India Hopes for Chance to Save National Pride. Wrong title, Mr. Yardley. India doesn't hope to save national pride: it's the violent, corrupt and inefficient people on top who're trying to save their national power, with help from corporate media -- Indian and international. It's shameful

The World Of The Games: Warring Illusions
By PK Vijayan

A ‘world class city’ is coming up in India today, in the capital, where Delhi used to be. It will last from the 1st of October to the 15th of October, after which it will vanish as ephemerally as it will appear. It is as yet too early to say if Delhi, the city that resolutely refused to become ‘world class’, will reappear, or what else may appear in place of both Delhi and the ‘world class city’. But this much is certain: the ‘world’ in this city will no longer be the same

The Ayodhya Verdict: A Blow
To the Spirit Of Modern India

By Dipankar Bhattacharya

30 September, 2010 will now be bracketed with 6 December, 1992. Eighteen years after the dastardly physical demolition of the Babri Masjid, we have now seen its judicial demolition, a verdict that flies in the face of the basic principles of justice and rule of law, and challenges the fundamental spirit of a secular, democratic modern India

A PIL: Mahabali vs. Indian (Brahmin-Bania) State
By Karthick RM

Since in the RJB judgment, ‘Lord’ Rama is accepted as a historical character, I would like you to the consider the case of my client, King Mahabali. Since you have managed to map out Ram lalla’s birth to a specific geographic region, we hope you would pay due regard to our argument of the Kerala origins of Mahabali. Sir, we want to bring to light the historical and religious injustice done to Mahabali and his followers

Monsanto Takes Over Agriculture Of
Semi-Arid Rajasthan

By Devinder Sharma

Monsanto has signed an agreement with the Rajasthan Government to engage in public-private partnership to develop and market hybrid seeds of maize, cotton and vegetables like hot pepper, tomato, cabbage, cucumber, cauliflower and water melon

The Bloody Streets Of Kashmir Have Spoken
By Prakash Kona

The Kashmiri on the street fights for freedom – freedom from poverty, underdevelopment and humiliation of being suspected and mistreated in the land of his or her birth. The streets have turned into oracles prophesying the doom of the exploiting classes

02 October, 2010

Commit The Crime And Be Rewarded:
Ayodhya Dispute Verdict

By Ram Puniyani

The Muslim community is feeling betrayed. First their mosque is entered into by miscreants who install the Ram Lalla idols there. Then in a well orchestrated assault RSS combine demolishes the Mosque and now the court operates on the RSS theory that Lord Ram was born at that spot. It seems if matters go the way they are going there is no need for scientific disciplines of History, Archeology and others as a section of political force can gradually build up the faith, act upon that and then the court will legitimize the criminal acts in the name of faith of a section of society. The law of the land will come to such a pass is beyond the imagination of those who wish to adhere to the values of freedom movement and the Constitution of India

Giving The Law Into Our Own Hands
By Mirza Yawar Baig

It is almost as if the honorable judges said to themselves, ‘Leave facts and proof alone, let us see what will be acceptable by the people (in this case the majority of the people).’ If that logic is applied, then actually it makes the life of the judiciary very easy. In any matter in dispute, just ask, ‘What does the stronger party want?’ and pass judgment in their favor. Will save a lot of time and money. And after all, who cares what the weaker party thinks? It doesn’t matter what they think. The stronger party then need not take the law into their own hands because it would have been duly handed over to them

ASI Is The Handmaiden Of Hindutva
By Omar Khalidi

The ASI's role in marshalling dubious evidence in support of the existence of a Ram temple at Ayodhya is the right occasion to assess its activities as a handmaiden of Hindutva, says Omar Khalidi

New Internet Censorship Bill: Another Police State
Measure In The Offing?

By Stephen Lendman

Senator Patrick Leahy is no progressive. He voted to fund imperial wars, regressive Obamacare, Wall Street-friendly financial reform, and other pro-business measures, including agribusiness-empowering bills, harming small farmers and consumers. Now he's at it again. On September 20, he introduced S. 3804: Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA), "A bill to combat online infringement, and for other purposes." Referred to committee, it awaits further action. In fact, it needs a dagger thrust in its heart to kill it

My Hour Of Silence
By Andrew Kishner

Subcritical experiments, in no way, lead towards a healing change of behavior by the U.S. government. As abuse victims, we need to demand an end to these subcritical experiments because we need to defend ourselves from further harm and remold our nuclear-military-industrial complex to reflect the true aspirations of 'the people.'

Military Reports Leading The Charge
In Peak Oil Debate

By Matthew Wild

Another military report is targeting future oil supply concerns. Fueling the Future Force: Preparing the Department of Defense for a Post-Petroleum Environment, published September 27, is the third military consideration of a future of scarce oil published so far this year

Oil Analyst Tells Forbes: Peak Oil By 2017
By Matthew Wild

Respected oil analyst Charles Maxwell has told Forbes – and with it the North American business establishment – to brace itself for peak oil by “2017 or 2018.” Maxwell is rapidly becoming the new Matthew Simmons, an establishment peak oil whistleblower

A High-Risk Fossil Fuel Boom
Sweeps Across North America

By Keith Schneider

Energy companies are rushing to develop unconventional sources of oil and gas trapped in carbon-rich shales and sands throughout the western United States and Canada. So far, government officials have shown little concern for the environmental consequences of this new fossil fuel development boom

Stages Of Peak Oil Awareness
By Kathy McMahon

Four and a half years ago, I began a research project to figure out what is a “normal” reaction to learning about Peak Oil, and this essay is a summary of what I’ve learned

The Collapse: Looking Back July 12, 2099
By Peter Goodchild

The problem of oil depletion turned out to be something other than a bit of macabre speculation for people of the distant future to deal with, but rather a sudden catastrophe that would only be studied dispassionately long after the event itself had occurred. Doomsday was upon us before we had time to look at it carefully

Get Free From Wall Street:
An Interview With David Korten

By Doug Pibel

Most all of the dysfunctions that we’re experiencing in society—economic instability, social breakdown, violence, and war, environmental destruction—they are all inevitable consequences of an economic system that is designed to concentrate power and focus social values on money. The only way we’re going to be able to correct the failure is through economic transformation. The new edition of Agenda for a New Economy presents a model and framework that address these issues and that have a very real prospect of increasing the security, well-being, and happiness of almost everybody except perhaps a few of the greediest billionaires

A History Of Happiness
By Darrin M. McMahon, Ph.D.

We've forgotten much of what older traditions knew about happiness

Pakistani Attacks On NATO Tankers Deepen
US Crisis In Af-Pak War

By Barry Grey

More than two dozen trucks and oil tankers carrying supplies for the US military offensive against Kandahar in Afghanistan were destroyed in two separate attacks Friday in southern Pakistan. The attacks compounded the crisis for the US and NATO occupation forces arising from the Pakistani government's closure the previous day of a key border crossing

At War Against Islam
By Ghali Hassan

If Obama is serious about peace, he still has an opportunity to reverse course; free America from the clutches of Zionism, end America 's wars on Islam and steer America on the road to a peaceful and civilised nation. If he cannot, then he should stop preaching peace to the victims of America 's wars

America: What Classless Society?
By Jack A. Smith

The so-called growing rich-poor gap in "classless" America is a euphemism for the existence of an accelerated class struggle against American workers and the poor by a relatively small minority that possesses or has access to great wealth and power

US War Crimes In Fallujah
By Stephen Lendman

Culpable US officials are unaccountable. As long as enough Middle East oil remains, Iraq will be permanently occupied, its people ruthlessly oppressed. So are Afghgans, both countries victimized by American pillaging, what Fallujah survivors know best, their lives permanently impaired as are millions of others in both countries

Wealth of Poverty
By Keizen Krishna

India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru was an ardent supporter of the co-operative movement. His views on the subject are well known. No individual has, of course, absolute freedom. But, if we value individual freedom, as many of us do, how are we to find a balance between preserving that individual freedom and at the same time getting away from the clutches of an acquisitive society? The co-operative movement seems to offer a philosophy which would aim at this kind of social pattern

Verdict Day: Kashmir Continues To Cripple
Under Curfew

By Nawaz Gul Qanungo

Mood in Kashmir streets on the Ayodhya judgment day

A Fuming Fall In Europe
By Farooque Chowdhury

Europe witnessed a fuming fall day with politics of protest on September 29, 2010. From Athens to Barcelona to Brussels to Dublin to Lisbon to Madrid to Vilnius, the continent experienced extra-legal political actions in streets. Anger and rejection experienced torching police vehicle, flaming tires, and general and open-ended strikes

'I Wanted It To Be A Book For Opening The Mind'
Dashrath Patel talks to Neerja Dasani

Dashrath Patel talks to Neerja Dasani on the publication of the book ‘Why the Sky is Blue ', a compilation of Dashrath Patel's photographs and parts of Dr C.V. Raman's speech selected by Chandralekha

ViBGYOR 2011: Call For Entries

Welcome to the 6th Edition of ViBGYOR International Film Festival for Short & Documentary films, to be held in Thrissur, Kerala, India from January 12-16, 2011! The 6th ViBGYOR is dedicated to the memory of late C. Saratchandran, the noted filmmaker and activist and our friend and co-traveler at ViBGYOR. Accordingly we have chosen ‘ Political Filmmaking and Media Activism in South Asia' as the special focus theme of the year. Anand Padvardhan is the festival Director for 2011 VIBGYOR

01 October, 2010

Force Of Faith Trumps Law
And Reason In Ayodhya Case

By Siddharth Varadarajan

If left unamended by the Supreme Court, the legal, social and political repercussions of the judgment are likely to be extremely damaging

A Judgement Based On Populist
And Political Sensitivities

By Dr John Dayal

Jurists and law scholars have been left numb at the bench’s effort to play “village mediator” and divide the disputed land in a three way distribution – one part to the Muslims and two parts to two different Hindu groups. This has surprised most because it was not even a prayer by any one of the many litigants over the last sixty years

Ayodhya Verdict: Musings Of
A Now Hardened Agnostic

By Yoginder Sikand

Numerous critics have argued that the Court appears to have accepted the claims of Hindus who share the RSS vision of the world as normative and historically valid, and to have been guided by these possibly wholly untenable claims in making whatever decision it did. That this logic bodes ill for the future of secular democracy in India is a complete understatement

Failed Washington-Sponsored Ecuadorean
Coup Attempt

By Stephen Lendman

Post-9/11, Washington sponsored four coup d'etats. Two succeeded - most recently in Honduras in 2009 against Manuel Zelaya, and in Haiti in 2004 deposing Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Two others failed - in Venezuela in 2002 against Hugo Chavez, and on September 30 in Ecuador against Rafael Correa - so far. Two by Bush, two by Obama with plenty of time for more mischief before November 2012

Pakistan Shuts Key Afghan War Supply-Route
By Keith Jones

Pakistan shut down a pivotal US-NATO Afghan war supply route yesterday following a NATO attack on a Pakistani border post that killed three Pakistan Frontier Corps troops and injured three others

The Impending Collapse Of Israel In Palestine
By Francis A. Boyle

For the Palestinians to sign any type of comprehensive peace treaty with Israel would only shore up, consolidate, and guarantee the existence of Zionism and Zionists in Palestine forever. Why would the Palestinians want to do that? Without approval by the Palestinians in writing, Zionism and Israel in Palestine will collapse. So the Palestinians must not sign any Middle East Peace Treaty with Israel, but rather must keep the pressure on Israel for the collapse of Zionism over the next two decades as predicted by the Central Intelligence Agency. The correct historical analogue here is not apartheid South Africa, but instead the genocidal Yugoslavia that collapsed as a State, lost its U.N. Membership, and no longer exists as a State for that very reason

In Struggle With The American Mind
By William Blum

The secret to understanding US foreign policy is that there is no secret. Principally, one must come to the realization that the United States strives to dominate the world. Once one understands that, much of the apparent confusion, contradiction, and ambiguity surrounding Washington's policies fades away

Farewell To Arms: Jenny, Iraq And The Next War
By Ramzy Baroud

Abu Ghraib was only a microcosm of Iraq. No one was convicted for the much larger crime that has decimated the civilization that served as the cradle of all civilizations. Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bush are enjoying retirement to the fullest. Those who fabricated the ‘case for war’ on Iraq are still as busy as ever, in their think-tanks, universities and media outlets. Now they are concocting a ‘case for war’ against Iran

The Selling Of The Woodrow Wilson Center
By David Boyajian

More on Woodrow Wilson Center going astray