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• 2017, Week 29

  17 Jul - 23 Jul

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  Tear the Fascists Down

  

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• In Original Languages

  • (Português) Hipopótamo mais velho do mundo morre depois de ter vivido aprisionado por toda a vida
  • (Português) Mate Coma
  • (Italiano) In scena “La foresta che cresce”. In Evergreen. Torino. Parco della Tesoriera.
  • (Português) O Encontro Bem-Aventurado da Pachamama com Gaia
  • (Português) Um Novo Tratado para Levar ao Desarmamento Nuclear
  • (Français) L’Otan, Hydre Tentaculaire

• Featured Research Paper

  • Biological Annihilation via the Ongoing Sixth Mass Extinction Signaled by Vertebrate Population Losses and Declines

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Peace Journalism Perspective

EDITORIAL

The Sexualities Revolution

Kinsey played a major role. Very solid, very empirical, vast, comprehensive, fought by some churches and no doubt by some patriarchs. But science prevailed... Unfortunately sex is generally confused with love both in literature and in reality. Sex is ephemeral pleasure of the genitalia—any genitalia. Love is emotion, energy, synergy between two human beings. Love and sex complement but do not replace each other, being of utterly different natures.

FEATURED RESEARCH PAPER

Biological Annihilation via the Ongoing Sixth Mass Extinction Signaled by Vertebrate Population Losses and Declines

Using a sample of 27,600 terrestrial vertebrate species, and a more detailed analysis of 177 mammal species, we show the extremely high degree of population decay in vertebrates, even in common “species of low concern.” Dwindling population sizes and range shrinkages amount to a massive anthropogenic erosion of biodiversity and of the ecosystem services essential to civilization. This “biological annihilation” underlines the seriousness for humanity of Earth’s ongoing sixth mass extinction event.

TMS PEACE JOURNALISM

Nukes and the Global Schism

12 Jul 2017 - The United States boycotted the U.N. negotiations to ban — everywhere across Planet Earth — nuclear weapons. So did a few other countries. Guess which ones? Armed equals scared. (And scared equals profitable.)

Voluntary Contributions Are Worth the Price Not Paid

Why we don't attach value to what we don't pay? The TMS WD is FREE for readers but not COST-FREE. If everyone in our list gave €20/month we would eliminate fundraising and could concentrate exclusively on what matters: Peace Journalism. We are passing the hat among ourselves not to ask outsiders and to avoid posting ads--especially their strings. How much you pay for your cable company? Just compare the substance.

Other Commentaries

ENVIRONMENT

The Uninhabitable Earth

9 Jul 2017 - Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak — sooner than you think. The planet is not used to being provoked like this, and climate systems designed to give feedback over centuries or millennia prevent us — even those who may be watching closely — from fully imagining the damage done already to the planet.

Earth’s Sixth Mass Extinction Event Under Way, Scientists Warn

Researchers talk of ‘biological annihilation’ as study reveals billions of populations of animals have been lost in recent decades.

To Be or Not to Be?

We will be the victims of our own ignorance and our own arrogance. Homo sapiens have devolved into Homo arrogantus ignoramus. We have become trapped within a matrix of our own creation, living in a world of anthropocentric fantasies and ignoring ecological realities.

777,000 Tons of Radioactive Waste to Be Dumped in Pacific

16 Jul 2017 - Approximately 580 barrels of radioactive water is to be released into the Pacific Ocean, according to the head of the company responsible for the Fukushima clean-up operation.

BY TRANSCEND MEMBERS

Challenging Nuclearism: The Nuclear Ban Treaty Assessed

As of now the NBT is a treaty text that courteously mandates the end of nuclearism, but to convert this text into an effective regime of control will require the kind of deep commitments, sacrifices, movements, and struggles that eventually achieved the impossible, ending such entrenched evils as slavery, apartheid, and colonialism.

Abe, Izzy & Bibi

Does Netanyahu really believe (as I think he does) that this part of Biblical legend is history? If so, he has the mind of a 10 year old. If he does not, he is a cheat. In any case, he is a very able demagogue. But he is not alone. Far from it. The President of Israel, a very nice gentleman, reiterated Netanyahu's accusations against UNESCO. So did the speaker of the Knesset, an immigrant from the Soviet Union.

Excel at Any Cost – Some Thoughts to the Contrary

With the intense competition to be the best, to succeed, to be rich, those young people who cannot compete are left behind. Do they feel inspired by the stories of the successful or do they feel dejected and disappointed? Everyone cannot stand first or be successful, but everyone has the right to lead a peaceful life and become a good citizen.

The Conditions for Human Health and Well-Being Reside in the Psycho-Social Contexts of Life

12 Jul 2017 - I call upon the timeless words of Henry David Thoreau, a 19th Century student of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1889-1888), to open this article on the critical consequences of the socio-cultural context for human health and well-being. It is, perhaps, coincidental today is Thoreau’s birthday; his 200th year anniversary, a reminder of the enduring power of great thoughts and words. Guide me, Sir!

The Subversion of India’s Pluralist Legacy

17 Jul 2017 - Too much of the thinking about Muslim rulers is now being shaped along predictable, clichéd lines. This is true of all shades of opinion, perception and scholarship. There is evidence from a number of established scholarly discourses that the public perception about Muslim rulers is being increasingly manipulated to fit into a profile constructed by right wing historians.

Antofagasta, Twin Metals, PolyMet and the Hidden Dangers of Modern High-Tech Copper Mining

Rio Tinto, the corporation, was named after the Spanish river (“Red River”) that was discolored because of previous underground copper mining pollution that released iron oxide (rust) into the river. The company began its worldwide operations in the part of southwestern Spain that has been mined for copper and other metals ever since the Roman Empire started exploiting the area for copper, gold and silver.

Prefix “Re-cognition” as Prelude to Fixing Sustainability — “Pro” vs “Con”?

Speculative Review of Missing Emphases Potentially Vital for Psychosocial Balance - The contrasting roles of "pro" and "con" in the English discourse so characteristic of the current global civilization call for particular attention.

We Need Their Voices Today! (4) Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson, architect of American democracy, we need your voice today!

IN FOCUS

Anti-Populism: Ideology of the Ruling Class

7 Jul 2017 - Throughout the US and European corporate and state media, right and left, we are told that ‘populism’ has become the overarching threat to democracy, freedom and . . . free markets. The media’s ‘anti-populism’ campaign has been used and abused by ruling elites and their academic and intellectual camp followers as the principal weapon to distract, discredit and destroy the rising tide of mass discontent with ruling class-imposed austerity programs, the accelerating concentration of wealth and the deepening inequalities.

At Walden, Thoreau Wasn’t Really Alone with Nature

To “live deliberately,” in Thoreau’s words, was to wrest oneself from the diversions of this rat race, to understand the difference between the seemingly urgent matters of spending and acquiring and the truly significant ones of caring and thinking. “Do not trouble yourself much to get new things,” Thoreau instructs us. “Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.”

CIA Mind Control Morphed into Psychiatry?

The famous CIA mind-control program, MKULTRA, always used psychiatrists; often these professionals headed up projects; they carried out the bulk of the research. But what I’m talking about here is the “evolution” of MKULTRA into mainstream psychiatry that affects the lives of millions of people every day.

Made in the West: New Era of Global Famine Thanks to War and Chaos

16 Jul 2017 - The famines threatening many parts of the world today have one thing in common: Western aggression and destabilization.

ANGLO AMERICA

One Military Veteran’s Honest Opinion of Omar Khadr

10 Jul 2017 - As a ten-plus year veteran of the Royal Canadian Air Force, I have some rather strong opinions when it comes to Mr. Omar Khadr. I would like to begin by stating that I could not disagree more with the opinion of him shared by the majority of Canadians. I will undoubtedly lose numerous friends for voicing my opinion on this sensitive topic.

CIA Agent Confesses on Deathbed: ‘We Blew Up WTC7 on 9/11’

79-year-old retired CIA agent, Malcom Howard, has made a series of astonishing claims since been told he has weeks to live. Mr. Howard claims he was involved in the “controlled demolition” of World Trade Center 7, the third building that was destroyed on 9/11. He said he doesn’t expect to be taken into custody following his confession because “then they’d have to go after everyone else. They will just use the media to attack me. They are all on the payroll to suppress everything around 9/11.”

LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN

Why Is Neoliberalism Back in Latin America?

Neoliberalism destroyed Latin America in the 1990s. Today it is being reintroduced - and it will wreak havoc again.

MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA

Tenfold Increase in Cholera Cases in Yemen since April

14 Jul 2017 - The war waged against Yemen by the Saudi monarchy, launched in March 2015 and supported extensively by the United States government, has produced a social catastrophe that easily ranks among the worst war crimes in history. The virtually complete destruction of Yemen’s social infrastructure, through deliberate and relentless bombing, has fueled an explosion of hunger and disease that continues to intensify with each passing day.

Ignoring the Human Disaster in Yemen

The West’s protestations about human rights sound hollow when one looks at Yemen where the U.S. and U.K. place profits from arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the carnage those weapons are inflicting.

PALESTINE / ISRAEL

Israel Offers Tourists the Chance to Be Soldiers

11 Jul 2017 - Ever wanted to try and shoot a Palestinian? Israel has set up a military simulator which allows tourists to do just that. Controversial fantasy “anti-terrorism” camps set up in the occupied West Bank provide visitors with the opportunity to play the role of Israeli forces in a variety of situations, ranging from an explosion at a Jerusalem marketplace, to a stabbing attack and sniper tournament.

Palestine Is Still the Issue

The remarkable Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions campaign is succeeding, day by day; cities and towns, trade unions and student bodies are endorsing it. These are not straws in the wind. When the Palestinians rise again, as they will, they may not succeed at first - but they will eventually if we understand that they are us, and we are them. We shouldn't forget Palestine.

This Palestinian Village Had Solar Power — Until Israeli Soldiers Took It Away

7 Jul 2017 — The residents of this dirt-poor Palestinian village waited decades for electricity. But in November, a Dutch-funded solar project finally gave them round-the-clock power. That ended last week when Israeli military sent soldiers with assault rifles and a team of workers to shut down the $400,000 project, ripping out its electrical components and driving away with 96 solar panels.

I’m Just Doing My Job – Cutting Power to Gaza Hospitals

What the director of Israel Electric said when asked why he didn’t stand up to the government and refuse to cut power to Gaza despite the humanitarian toll.

MILITARISM

Women as Wartime Rapists: A New Book Explores ‘The Impossible’

Academic Laura Sjoberg argues that our gendered assumptions about sexual violence in conflict limit our understanding of these crimes.

“Ain’t No Such Thing as a Just War” – Ben Salmon, WWI Resister

If the Allies, led by France and Britain, had not won a total victory, there would have been no punitive peace treaty like that completed at Versailles, no stab-in-the back allegations by resentful Germans, and thus no rise, much less triumph, of Hitler and the Nazis. The next world war, with its 50 million deaths, would probably not have occurred.”

Moral Corrosion of Drone Warfare

The U.S. government uses drones to eliminate risk to its soldiers and thus domestic opposition to war, but that heightens the moral imperative to challenge the remote-controlled killings, says ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern.

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

A New Treaty to Speed Up Nuclear Disarmament

Despite the general lack of interest and deeply ingrained misconceptions on the part of the mainstream media in the Nuclear Weapon States and their allies, public opinion worldwide may have a different perception. It is essential, for this reason, to disseminate knowledge about the Treaty and its motivation.

History Made as UN Approves Treaty to Ban Nuclear Weapons

With a final vote of 122 countries in favour, 1 abstention (Singapore) and 1 against (The Netherlands) the conference to negotiate a treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons approves its text. The treaty opens for signature during the UN General Assembly on the 20th of September. It comes into force after fifty countries ratify it.

Nuclear Ban Approved, Now What?

12 Jul 2017 - More than seven decades after the deployment of deadly atomic bombs in Japan, the UN has passed a historic treaty banning nuclear weapons around the world. Though it has sparked hope for a future without nuclear weapons, uncertainty in the success of the treaty still lingers.

BIG BROTHER / SPYING / SURVEILLANCE / WHISTLEBLOWING

Vault 7: Highrise

Today, July 13th 2017, WikiLeaks publishes documents from the Highrise project of the CIA. HighRise is an Android application designed for mobile devices running Android 4.0 to 4.3. It provides a redirector function for SMS messaging that could be used by a number of IOC tools that use SMS messages for communication between implants and listening posts.

COOPERATIVISM

Platform Co-Ops Offer Urban Communities a Bigger Say in Their Lives

13 Jul 2017 - Digital platform companies like Facebook, Uber and Google regulate our likes, updates, schedules, locations, photos, jobs and trips. A co-operative project that maps services in Dhaka shows how communities of citizens can be more than passive users of the digital platforms that increasingly shape our daily lives.

ECONOMICS

How Economics Became a Religion

Its moral code promises salvation, its high priests uphold their orthodoxy. But perhaps too many of its doctrines are taken on faith.

REVIEWS

Bestselling Revisionist Historian: Germany Was Just a Patsy!

Peter Frankopan's The Silk Roads: A New History of the World shows why we need to re-vision history. The word revisionist derives from roots meaning “to look again.” And since history is an ongoing project, whose main purpose is to help us understand where we have come from and where we are going, we obviously need to keep taking fresh looks at the past as we propose new visions of the future.

CURRENT AFFAIRS

G20 Key Meeting and Its Future

The meeting meaning of the USA and Russia Presidents is the first step towards global peace from the "arms race to a peace race" (King), which will deliver humankind and the planet from military destruction.

BIOGRAPHIES

Frantz Fanon (20 Jul 1925 – 6 Dec 1961)

Frantz Omar Fanon was a Martinique-born French psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary, and writer whose works are influential in the fields of post-colonial studies, critical theory, and Marxism. As an intellectual, Fanon was a political radical, and an existentialist humanist concerning the psychopathology of colonization, and the human, social, and cultural consequences of decolonization.

Nelson Mandela (18 Jul 1918 – 5 Dec 2013)

Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa in 1994, serving until 1999. A symbol of global peacemaking, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

Woody Guthrie (14 Jul 1912 – 3 Oct 1967): Dust Bowl Blues and Revolt

Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was an American folksinger who had a creative influence on at least three generations of folksingers, such as those of his own generation, Pete Seeger and Ramblin' Jack Elliot, the next generation Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and his son Arlo Guthrie and a more recent generation's Bruce Springsteen.

HISTORY

This Week in History

Jul 17-23, 2017~ QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.” – Arthur Rubinstein

INSPIRATIONAL

Holding Officials Accountable

I met Bona Malwal Madut Ring from Bahr El Ghazal in South Sudan when we were both students and lived at International House in New York. One day in 1969, he received a long phone call from London, and went there a few days later.

HEALTH

A Few More Vegetables and a Little Less Meat May Reduce Diabetes Risk

You don’t have to be a vegetarian to reap the benefits of a plant-based diet. New research shows that eating a few extra servings of healthy plant-based foods each day and slightly reducing animal-based foods like meat and dairy products can significantly lower your risk of Type 2 diabetes.

POETRY FORMAT

Tomorrow

You can see him all day asking for change: coins enough to take him away from this wet street of London.

Collateral Damage

We were sorry to hear the bombs that were meant to fall on a home adjacent to yours (and one more, down a block or two) have lamentably ruined your daughter’s wedding,

Good for the World

We have lived our lives by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong.

Year 2017

New Year firecrackers died down, The wine glasses did not ring more,

IN ORIGINAL LANGUAGES

(Português) Um Novo Tratado para Levar ao Desarmamento Nuclear

Apesar da falta generalizada de interesse e dos preconceitos profundamente entranhados dos principais órgãos de imprensa dos países possuidores de armas nucleares, a opiniã pública mundial poderá ter precepção diferente. É essencial, por esse motivo, disseminar o conhecimento do Tratado e de sua motivação.

(Français) L’Otan, Hydre Tentaculaire

A la Conférence du Contre-Sommet Otan du 25 mai 2017, la première session plénière a entendu une intervention de Nils Andersson intitulée: «L’Otan, hydre tentaculaire». Ci-dessous nous publions l’essentiel de son contenu.

(Português) O Encontro Bem-Aventurado da Pachamama com Gaia

15 julho 2017 - Quero apresentar as idéias, com as quais comungo, de um livro que sairá brevemente traduzido: A Pachamama e o Ser Humano, de Eugenio Raúl Zaffaroni, um reconhecido magistrado argentino, ministro da Suprema Corte e professor emérito da Universidade de Buenos Aires. O livro, a meu ver, se inscreve entre as melhores contribuições de ordem ecológica e filosófica que se tem escrito ultimamente.

(Italiano) In scena “La foresta che cresce”. In Evergreen. Torino. Parco della Tesoriera.

“Fa più rumore un albero che cade di un’intera foresta che cresce” - Il progetto è vincitore del bando MigrArti, indetto dal Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività culturali e del Turismo – direzione Spettacolo.

(Português) Mate Coma

— Aqui no Mate Coma o senhor pode comer à vontade e sem pagar nada se matar o animal usado no recheio do seu lanche. O senhor pediu um X-Vitela e o seu amigo um X-Filé Mignon. Temos aqui um boi e um bezerro. Tudo é feito por nossa conta, menos o abate do animal. Quem deseja começar? — Isso é loucura! Não posso matar um animal. Nem mesmo posso vê-lo morrer – esbravejou Ioan. — Mas imagino que o senhor coma carne, não?

(Português) Hipopótamo mais velho do mundo morre depois de ter vivido aprisionado por toda a vida

Bertha, considerado o hipopótamo mais velho do mundo, morreu aos 65 anos depois de ser explorada por toda a vida pelo Manila Zoo.

SHORT VIDEO CLIPS

Sixth Mass Extinction: The Era of ‘Biological Annihilation’

11 Jul 2017 - Many scientists say it's abundantly clear that Earth is entering its sixth mass-extinction event, meaning three-quarters of all species could disappear in the coming centuries. That's terrifying, especially since humans are contributing to this shift.

Tear the Fascists Down (Music Video of the Week)

This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we dont give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, thats all we wanted to do.

SATIRE

Enemy of My Enemy

3 Jul 2017 – So It Goes…

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Safe Trip

A man went to an airline counter to buy a plane ticket. "How likely is it that there will be a bomb on the plane," he asked with concern.