Articles by M
We found 36021 results.
China’s Second ‘Cultural Revolution’
Prof. James Petras – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
China is in the midst of its second ‘cultural revolution’ in a half century. While the first (under Chairman Mao Tse Tung) was intended to ‘revitalize socialism’; the current is directed to ‘moralizing’ capitalism.
→ read full articleDoublespeak – Unpleasant Reckoning Looming for America’s Current Syrian Strategy
Prof. William R. Stanley – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
Washington and its European allies have known for at least three years of the flow of their nationals to the Middle East to join jihadist groups fighting against the Syrian regime. Only recently have these same governments expressed alarm at the prospects for domestic violence at such time that battle hardened jihadists return home.
→ read full articleRemembering 2014 (Badly)
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
A posture of cynical hopelessness or despair worsens prospects for positive future developments, however empirically based such a negative assessment seems. All of us should recall that those who struggle for what seems ‘impossible’ today often turn out to be the heroes of tomorrow.
→ read full articleAnother MH17 Cover-Up: Hiding a Key Autopsy
Eric Zuesse – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
Decisive evidence as to how the July 17 [2014] shooting-down of the MH17 Malaysian airliner occurred is being hidden by the four-nation team that’s doing the official ‘investigation’ into the plane-downing incident.
→ read full article(Castellano) Catar 2022 un mundial empañado por la corrupción y la muerte
TeleSur – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
El Mundial de Fútbol 2022 se ha visto empañado por casos de corrupción, compra de votos en favor de la sede en Catar y la muerte de trabajadores durante la construcción de los estadios para el evento.
→ read full articleHappy New Year of 2015!
Antonio C. S. Rosa, editor – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
I would like to take this opportunity—change of year, New Year—to wish you, esteemed TMS reader, happiness, prosperity, health, peace in 2015.
→ read full articleIn the Right Place at the Right Time: The Lifting of the Cuban Embargo
Nuno Ramalho – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
I am overwhelmed with emotion as I rush my way through Montreal’s Pierre Eliot Trudeau International Airport, headed to La Habana…. Less than 48 hours after my arrival I was surprised by the Raul Castro/Obama simultaneous announcements that the diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US are to be reestablished.
→ read full article(Português) A Tortura Também É Terrorismo
Luis Matías López – Publico, Espanha,
29 Dec 2014
Aquele que planta uma bomba é tão terrorista quanto o que aplica choques nas genitálias de um preso ou afunda sua cabeça na água até o limite do afogamento.
→ read full articleSocialism and Man
Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
March 1965 – Written in the form of a letter to Carlos Quijano, editor of Marcha, a weekly published in Montevideo, Uruguay. Guevara wrote it while on a three-month overseas trip, during which he addressed the UN General Assembly and then visited a number of countries in Africa.
→ read full articleShame Is Good. Shame Is Right. Shame Works
Lynn Stuart Parramore – Al Jazeera America,
29 Dec 2014
Shaming may not bring America’s corporate Scrooges immediately around to a Dickensian redemption, but it can play a key role in creating a societal consensus that certain behaviors are indeed disgraceful — and that’s a start. No shame, no blame, you might say.
→ read full articleIsrael Approves 380 New East Jerusalem Settler Homes
Agence France-Presse – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
Israeli authorities gave final approval on Wednesday [24 Dec 2014] to the construction of 380 new settler homes in two areas of occupied east Jerusalem, a local official said.
→ read full articleIs The New UN Arms Treaty a Boon for German Industry?
Deutsche Welle – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
24 Dec 2014 – Over Christmas, the UN treaty on arms trade (ATT) will enter into force, but the German arms industry explicitly welcomes the additional regulations. Industry leaders hope the treaty could spell access to new markets.
→ read full articleNSA Releases Christmas Eve Surprise
Murtaza Hussain – The Intercept,
29 Dec 2014
26 Dec 20145 – The NSA on Christmas Eve day released twelve years of internal oversight reports documenting abusive and improper practices by agency employees. Releasing bad news right before a holiday weekend is a common tactic for trying to minimize press coverage.
→ read full articleMore Than 220 Ukrainian Jewish Immigrants Land in Occupied Palestine
Falastin News Palestine – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
Some 226 Jewish immigrants from Ukraine, among dozens of families fleeing fighting in eastern Ukraine, landed in Occupied Palestine on Monday [22 Dec 2014]. They are the first in an expected group of over 400 Ukrainians who will arrive before the end of the year. A second flight is scheduled for Dec. 30.
→ read full article(Deutsch) Wo steht die zivile Konfliktbearbeitung?
Christine Schweitzer - Zeitschrift LuXemburg,
29 Dec 2014
Begründung der Notwendigkeit einer zivilen Politik
→ read full article(Castellano) Las victorias de Cuba
Emir Sader – TeleSur,
29 Dec 2014
Cuba y Berlín eran las dos esquinas más tensas de la guerra fría. La caída del muro sacó a Berlín de esa condición. La normalización de las relaciones entre La Habana y Washington hace lo mismo con Cuba. Se cierra la última página de la larga guerra fría de la segunda pos guerra. Y de la mejor manera posible para Cuba y para todos los que le apoyaron en contra del injusto bloqueo.
→ read full article(Italiano) L’Impero Del Consumo
Eduardo Galeano, Come Don Chisciotte – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
Società dei consumi. La bocca è una delle porte dell’anima, dicevano gli antichi. Ma se da lì passa solo cibo spazzatura, la vita è ridotta a un insieme infinito di acquisti di merci usa e getta. E lo struscio domenicale nel centro delle città è sostituito dal pellegrinaggio negli shopping mall che accerchiano le periferie.
→ read full articleMy Glorious Brothers
Uri Avnery – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
When I was 15-year-old and a member of the Irgun underground (by today’s criteria, an honest-to-goodness terrorist organization), we sang “(In the past) we had the heroes / Bar Kochba and the Maccabees / Now we have the new ones / The national youth…” The melody was a German military marching song. Why did we look for heroes in the remote past?
→ read full articleOn Enlightened Self-Interest
Prof. Mazin Qumsiyeh – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
What is the nature of activism? Why do we do what we do? How much self-sacrifice are we really willing to take? What do those of us feel after lost jobs, after time in jail, after being beaten and gassed by Israeli soldiers, or after all of the above? How does one distinguish between selfishness and enlightened self-interest? Is activism for peace and justice the ultimate love of humanity or the triumph of optimism over experience? Is activism and living life simply the ultimate love of Mother Nature or of God? The following rambling thoughts do not intend to give answers but hopefully give us time to reflect and think.
→ read full article2014 No Good. 2015 Any Better?
Johan Galtung, 29 Dec 2014 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
The tragedy of 2014 was the lack of true friends telling USA: look, this is not going to work–better change; take better care of your own wonderful society, and your neighbors, retract. The hope for 2015 is that many allies will do that.
→ read full articleSelling ‘Peace Groups’ on US-Led Wars
Margaret Sarfehjooy and Coleen Rowley – Consortium News,
29 Dec 2014
More and more “peace and social justice” groups are being twisted into “democracy promotion,” U.S. militarism style. But rarely do we see as clearly into how this Orwellian transformation occurs as with the “Committee in Solidarity with the People of Syria,” a spin-off of “Friends for a Nonviolent World.”
→ read full article(Italiano) Cuba – e poi?
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
La reazione immediata all’ordine esecutivo di Obama del 17 dicembre 2014 di ristabilire rapporti diplomatici, agevolare i viaggi, scambiarsi prigionieri, è stata un senso di sollievo: finalmente correttivo di una stupidità vecchia d’oltre 50 anni. Ma perché adesso? Lo vediamo dopo; prima torniamo al giugno 1960.
→ read full articleThis Week in History
Satoshi Ashikaga – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
Dec 29/Jan 4 – Quote of the Week: “Be not forgetful to cherish the gifts each moment brings.” – Unknown.
→ read full articleAlan Lightman and ‘The Accidental Universe’
Maria Popova, Brain Pickings – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
Science does not reveal the meaning of our existence, but it does draw back some of the veils. Theoretical physics is the deepest and purest branch of science. It is the outpost of science closest to philosophy, and religion.
→ read full articleUkraine Crisis: Playing Russian Roulette with All the Bullets in the Cylinder
Alexander Nekrassov, The BRICS Post – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
There are two main schools of thought in Russia these days about the reasons for the crisis in Ukraine. The first states that the Cold War never really ended, but lay bubbling in the shadow of the supposedly ‘improving’ relations between Russia and the West.
→ read full articleGaza: One War, One Family. Five Children, Four Dead
Sarah Helm - Newsweek,
29 Dec 2014
People nowadays call Gaza a giant prison, and as I saw the new perimeter wall, built since I was last here, looming through the torrential rain, I could see why. And yet Gazans on the other side are not there for committing a crime. The vast majority are descendants of Palestinians who came to Gaza 66 years ago for refuge.
→ read full articleMerry Christmas: UN Declares Arms Trade Treaty to Go Into Effect Dec. 24 [2014]
Joe Wolverton, II, J.D. – The New American,
29 Dec 2014
On its official website, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (yes, that’s really a thing and yes, it is housed right here in the United States) announced that the UN’s Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) “will enter into force on 24 December 2014.” Merry Christmas!
→ read full articleRussia, China Mock Divide and Rule
Pepe Escobar – Asia Times,
29 Dec 2014
Essentially, the Empire of Chaos is bluffing, using Europe as pawns. The Empire of Chaos is as lousy at chess as it is at history. What it excels in is in upping the ante to force Russia to back down. Russia won’t back down.
→ read full article
The Messiah – Hallelujah Chorus (MUSIC VIDEO OF THE WEEK)
George Frideric Handel – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
From Andre Rieu’s “Live From Radio City Music Hall” in New York City, with the Johann Strauss Orchestra and the Harlem Gospel Choir.
→ read full articleThought Experiment
Jen Sorensen – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
Cartoon – Comic Strip
→ read full articleThe Mysterious Case of Prisoner 212
Cora Currier and Margot Williams – The Intercept,
29 Dec 2014
That al-Libi was held by the CIA is long established. After all, al-Libi’s name is notorious as the source of bad information used by the Bush administration to tie Saddam Hussein to Al-Qaeda to support the US invasion of Iraq — information he provided while being tortured in Egyptian custody, and later recanted.
→ read full articleJesus, a Muslim Prophet
Sufyan bin Uzayr – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
Islam and Christianity: Two Faiths, One God – Islam views Jesus as a Prophet of God, rather than Son of God. Jesus, or Isa as he is called in Arabic, is referred to by name in nearly 25 different verses of The Quran, with titles such as Messenger, Prophet, and even Messiah. In fact, all Muslim theologians view Jesus as a precursor to Prophet Muhammad.
→ read full articleHacked Corporations Don’t Deserve Our Sympathy
Joshua Kopstein – Al Jazeera America,
29 Dec 2014
There is no cyber Pearl Harbor. Sony has been falling on its own sword for a long time.
→ read full articleEight Stellar Surveillance Scoops: 2014 in Review
Dave Maass - Common Dreams,
29 Dec 2014
Oversight boards and congressional subcommittees can occasionally be effective, but nothing keeps the government in check like investigative reporting. Here are eight stories about surveillance that made our jaws drop this year.
→ read full articleChange Them as Humans
Dr. M. Ashaq Raza – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Dec 2014
A poem written on conversions especially in India.
→ read full articleThe 2014 P.U.-litzers
FAIR-Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting – TRANSCEND Media Service,
23 Dec 2014
Some of the Stinkiest Reporting from the Past Year – It’s that time of year again, when FAIR looks back at the year and recalls some of the stinkiest media moments. There were, of course, many contenders– but only a select few can make the list.
→ read full articleGaza’s Doctor Mads Gilbert Named Norway’s Person of the Year
Falastin News Palestine – TRANSCEND Media Service,
23 Dec 2014
20 Dec 2014 – An outspoken Norwegian doctor whose efforts to treat Palestinians wounded in the Gaza conflict garnered worldwide attention has been named person of the year by the country’s largest tabloid, Verdens Gang (VG).
→ read full articleClassified Evidence: US Soldiers Raped Boys In Front of Their Mothers
John Vibes – Mint Press News,
22 Dec 2014
19 Dec 2014 – Now, over a decade later the evidence of these events are beginning to surface. According to a number of global mainstream media sources, the Pentagon is covering up a disturbing video that was never made public with the rest of the recent torture report.
→ read full articleThe Torture Report: American Exceptionalism for the Win!
Tom Tomorrow – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
This Modern World – Satirical Comic Strip
→ read full articlePutin Shot Down a Plane! Putin Shot Down a … What? Never Mind
World Beyond War – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
The world outside of the U.S. media is full of evidence suggesting that Russia did not do it. The silence is deafening. Dutch plans to produce a dubious report by next summer are being outpaced by steps toward war.
→ read full article“Now Put Blair and Straw on Trial for Torture” – Ex-British Diplomat
Craig Murray, Former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan – The Daily Mail,
22 Dec 2014
Diplomat Craig Murray Was Fired When He Warned Labour Government of UK Collusion with US Abuse – We don’t need an inquiry into British complicity in torture. We need a trial. And it should be Tony Blair and Jack Straw in the dock.
→ read full articleThis Week in History
Satoshi Ashikaga – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
December 22 -28
→ read full articleCoexisting with Our Differences in a Civilized Manner
Pres. Raul Castro – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
Cuban President Raul Castro’s address to the nation on the developments in the Cuba-US relations, broadcast on radio and television on 17 Dec 2014.
→ read full articleIs the World View of a Holy Father Necessarily Full of Holes?
Anthony Judge – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
Mysterious Theological Black Holes Engendering Global Crises – The argument has been variously presented: Which problems currently associated with global crisis would not be significantly reduced if the level of population was much lower? Presented otherwise: Is there every probability that global problems will be significantly aggravated by expected levels of population in the future?
→ read full articlePolicing Is a Dirty Job, but Nobody’s Gotta Do It: 6 Ideas for a Cop-Free World
José Martín – Rolling Stone,
22 Dec 2014
It’s time to start imagining a society that isn’t dominated by police. While law enforcers have existed in one form or another for centuries, the modern police have their roots in the relatively recent rise of modern property relations 200 years ago, and the “disorderly conduct” of the urban poor.
→ read full articleEurope Has Lost Its Compass
Roberto Savio, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
With the fall of the Swedish government orchestrated by the far-right and centre-right opposition, a symbol of civic-mindedness and democracy in Europe has fallen, and the grip of an irrational fear of immigrants tightens as Europe’s politicians seek a scapegoat.
→ read full articleSplendid Isolation
Uri Avnery - TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
20 Dec 2014 – A Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, an Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty, the end of the occupation, peace between Israel and the entire Arab and Muslim world. Or a Greater Israel, continuous occupation or annexation, more settlements and ethnic cleansing, permanent war. Israel has to choose. So has the world.
→ read full articleA Life Worth Living: Albert Camus on Our Search for Meaning and Why Happiness Is Our Moral Obligation
Maria Popova, Brain Pickings – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
“To decide whether life is worth living is to answer the fundamental question of philosophy,” Albert Camus wrote in ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’ in 1942. “Everything else … is child’s play; we must first of all answer the question.” If the question abides, it is because it is more than a matter of historical or biographical interest.
→ read full articleFinancial Market Manipulation Is The New Trend: Can It Continue?
Paul Craig Roberts – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
It is too risky for the US to take on Russia militarily. Instead, Washington is using its unique symbiotic relationship with Western financial institutions to attack an incautious Russia that foolishly opened herself to Western financial predation.
→ read full articleVenezuela’s Maduro: ‘US Knows Where It Can Stick Up Its Sanctions’
Andrea Germanos – Common Dreams,
22 Dec 2014
Speaking at rally to commemorate constitution anniversary, Maduro also calls for investigation of ‘imperialist nations which have bombed Libya, Iraq and Syria’
→ read full articleFidel’s Legacy
Stephen Lendman – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
At age 88, he’s Cuba’s [and Latin America’s] elder statesman. A legend in his own time and then some. Defying critics. Outwitting them. Outliving them. This article a snapshot of some of his achievements. Impressive by any standard.
→ read full articleThe Oil Coup – US-Saudi Subterfuge Send Stocks and Credit Reeling
Mike Whitney - CounterPunch,
22 Dec 2014
Washington has persuaded the Saudis to flood the market with oil to push down prices, decimate Russia’s economy, and reduce Moscow’s resistance to further NATO encirclement and the spreading of US military bases across Central Asia. The US-Saudi scheme has slashed oil prices by nearly a half since they hit their peak in June.
→ read full articleArchitects of Atrocity Remain at Large, and Unrepentant
William Boardman - Reader Supported News,
22 Dec 2014
We know who the torturer-in-chief was, and we know his vice-torturer has said George Bush was as fully informed as he, Dick Cheney, was. Along with everything else we know about these men who still defend their criminality, why isn’t that enough for probable cause and a criminal indictment? There’s much more to be said about this defining moment in our history.
→ read full article(Português) Uruguai: como funciona um “clube de maconha”
Denise Mota, Desentorpecendo a Razão – Outras Palavras,
22 Dec 2014
Sai o crime organizado; entram, no cultivo e venda da planta, cidadãos articulados em cooperativas. Publicidade é vedada. Organizam-se mutirões, debates e “asados”…
→ read full articleHead of Stratfor, the ‘Private CIA’, Says Overthrow of Ukraine’s Yanukovych Was ‘The Most Blatant Coup in History’
Eric Zuesse, OEN – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
This statement contradicts the description asserted by the White House, the EU and the Western press that Yanukovych’s overthrow was the result of the U.S. Government’s $5+ billion expense since 1991 to establish ‘democracy’ in Ukraine.
→ read full articleHamas Calls for EU Talks after Court Ruling
Andrew Rettman, EUObserver – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
17 Dec 2014 – Hamas wants the EU foreign relations chief, Federica Mogherini, to come to Gaza to start a new dialogue after the EU court said it should be taken off the terrorist register.
→ read full articleSaving the ICC from African Thugtators
Alemayehu G. Mariam – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
When an African president accused of multiple crimes against humanity walks out of court by orchestrating an unprecedented and audacious obstruction of justice, it is not just a flagrant denial of justice to the thousands of victims. It is an outrage against all humanity. It is an affront to the rule of law. It is the triumph of injustice.
→ read full articlePhysicians’ Group Details Psychologists’ Role in CIA’s “Extensive System of Torture”
Matthew MacEgan, WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
Health professionals violated a series of international treaties, laws, and ethical codes including the Geneva Conventions, the UN Convention Against Torture, the War Crimes Act of 1996 and the Nuremburg Code. “In certain instances,” the report states, “such as in the crime of unethical research on human subjects, these alleged crimes may rise to the level of crimes against humanity under international law.”
→ read full articlePassword
Baher Kamal – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
WINDOWS: Please enter your new password.
USER: cabbage
Haunting Illustrations for Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Introduced by the Courageous Journalist Who Broke the Edward Snowden Story
Maria Popova, Brain Pickings – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
As the full impact of the Snowden revelations sank in, many people made the connection, and Amazon announced a dramatic rise in sales of ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four.’ To some, the young NSA analyst had revealed a world which was near-Orwellian; others thought that he had described a state of affairs that Orwell could barely have imagined.
→ read full articleProsecute the Torturers!
Dr. Chandra Muzaffar – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
The US elite did the right thing by revealing the dark side of its torture programme. But we must remember that the US commands enormous global power, especially global military power. With massive power come huge responsibilities. It is in the realm of the responsibilities that it has failed miserably. And its torture program is just one of the many examples of its failure to act responsibly
→ read full articleALBA Leaders Reject US Interference as Summit Concludes
TeleSur – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
With the 13th summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) concluding Sunday [14 Dec 2014], the12-member bloc of left-leaning Latin American and Caribbean countries strongly rejected U.S. interference on the region, particularly in light of new sanctions announced against Venezuela this week.
→ read full articleTaliban Butchers Are Pashtun Cowards
Robin Edward Poulton – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
If you sit of an evening beside a fire in the Pashtun heartlands, you will hear tales of bravery, honour and generosity. You will hear stories about how the Pashtuns were never defeated by Alexander the Great nor by Genghis Khan nor by the British Empire nor by the Soviet or American imperial armies. If you remind the Taliban about surats from the Holy Koran that tell Muslims never to kill another Muslim, how will your brave Pashtun slaughterer-of-children reply?
→ read full articleVeritasphobia (Fear of Truth)
Mazin Qumsiyeh – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
20th century “heroes” like Helen Keller, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Che Guevara, Ho Chi Minh, Nelson Mandela, Ghassan Kanafani, Rosa Parks, and thousands of others follow those who in earlier centuries were called “prophets”. They are common people who shed their Veritasphobia and thus achieved remarkable things.
→ read full articleThe US Feels the Heat on Palestine Vote at UN
Jonathan Cook – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
The floodgates have begun to open across Europe. On Friday [12 Dec 2014] the Portuguese parliament became the latest European legislature to back statehood, joining Sweden, Britain, Ireland, France and Spain. Similar moves are expected in Denmark and the EU. The Swiss government will join the fray too this week.
→ read full articleNew York Fracking Ban Reverberates Nationally
Peter Moskowitz – Al Jazeera America,
22 Dec 2014
Activists say the ban will embolden the anti-fracking movement in several states.
→ read full article5 Ways to Protect Your Spine at Work
Dr. Edward F. Group, Global Healing Center – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
Regardless if your job requires heavy lifting or you spend most of your days at a desk, back injuries you want to avoid. They can happen from physical strains and many people don’t realize that they can happen under conditions that don’t appear as strenuous.
→ read full articleI’m an ‘Anonymous’ Hacker in Prison, And I Am Not a Crook. I’m an Activist
Jeremy Hammond – The Guardian,
22 Dec 2014
We are condemned as criminals without consciences, dismissed as anti-social teens without a cause, or hyped as cyber-terrorists to justify the expanding surveillance state. But hacktivism exists within the history of social justice movements. Hacktivism is still the future, and it’s good to see people still doing something about it.
→ read full article(Deutsch) Peacebuilding von unten im Südsudan
Stephan Brües, Zivilcourage – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
Er ist das jüngste Land der Welt: Nach dem Friedensabkommen mit dem Sudan 2005, das ihm zunächst eine Autonomie mit eigener Präsidentschaft bescherte, hat sich der Südsudan nach einem Referendum im Januar 2011 endgültig vom Sudan abgespalten und ist nun unabhängig.
→ read full articleMargaret Mead on Myth vs. Deception and What to Tell Kids about Santa Claus
Maria Popova, Brain Pickings – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
How to instill an appreciation of the difference between “fact” and “poetic truth,” in kids and grownups alike. Belief in Santa Claus becomes a problem when parents simultaneously are telling their children a lie and insist on the literal belief in a man in a red suit. Children who have been told the truth about birth and death will know when they hear about Santa Claus that this is a truth of a different kind.
→ read full article(Português) Para Chomsky, na Casa Branca se articula o terror mundial
Noam Chomsky, Outras Palavras - TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
Intelectual dissidente analisa campanhas de sabotagem deflagradas pelos EUA contra Angola, Cuba e Nicarágua. E alerta: Washington continua a desestabilizar adversários. “É oficial: os EUA são o maior Estado terrorista do mundo e se orgulham disso”.
→ read full article
After Duo Created CIA Torture Methods, Did World’s Largest Group of Psychologists Enable Abuses?
Amy Goodman – Democracy NOW! – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
Dec 16, 2014 – As a psychologist identified as the “architect” of the CIA’s torture program admits he personally waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, we look at allegations that the American Psychological Association — the largest association of psychologists in the world — secretly colluded with U.S. abuses.
→ read full articleGo West, Young Han – As Washington “Pivots” to Asia, China Does the Eurasian Pirouette
Pepe Escobar - TomDispatch,
22 Dec 2014
Welcome to the new trans-Eurasia choo-choo train. At over 13,000 kilometers, it will regularly traverse the longest freight train route in the world, 40% farther than the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway. Its cargo will cross China from East to West, then Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, France, and finally Spain.
→ read full articleIt’s Not Cuba That Has Just Decided to Rejoin the Modern World – It’s the US
Martin Kettle – The Guardian,
22 Dec 2014
From its very earliest days, the US has seen Cuba as an American offshore interest. It is more than 200 years since the US, under Thomas Jefferson, first tried to buy Cuba from Spain. At the end of the 19th century America instead seized Cuba from Spain at gunpoint. Later on it leased Cuba back to US-approved Cubans on US terms, which included the retention of the Guantánamo Bay base.
→ read full articleWhy is Near Term Human Extinction Inevitable?
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
The expression ‘near term human extinction’ is relatively new in the scientific literature but, unlike other truths that have been successfully suppressed by national elites and their corporate media, this one will keep filtering out until you start to hear the expression routinely. Why?
→ read full articleWhat Is in the Senate Intelligence Committee Report on CIA Torture (Part I)
Tom Carter, WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
16 Dec 2014 – This is the first of three articles summarizing the contents of the unclassified executive summary of the US Senate Intelligence Committee’s 6,700-page report on the CIA torture program, released last week.
→ read full articleAnimal Overgrowth
George Monbiot – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
Every child should visit an abattoir. What can you say about a society whose food production must be hidden from public view? In which the factory farms and slaughterhouses supplying much of our diet must be guarded like arsenals to prevent us from seeing what happens there?
→ read full articleObama and the Beginning of the End of the Cuban Embargo
Amy Goodman – Truthdig,
22 Dec 2014
It was President Dwight Eisenhower who severed relations with Cuba, on Jan. 3, 1961, two years after Fidel Castro took power. President John F. Kennedy then expanded the embargo, and his CIA invasion of the Bay of Pigs, intending to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro, went awry.
→ read full articleThe only Terrorist Organisation Involved in the Sydney Siege Is the Murdoch Press Empire
Joshua Dabelstein – New Matilda,
22 Dec 2014
One man’s terrorist is another man’s media mogul. The real source of fear and loathing in Australia.
→ read full articleX’mas Spirit
Stephen Gill – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
I see her resurrecting in Christmas trees
mistletoe and Santa Claus.
The Germans Rebuilt Dresden and the Syrians Will Rebuild Aleppo!
Franklin Lamb – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
One is distraught over the seeming futility of rebuilding this world heritage site. Would it require half a century as was required in Dresden Germany following three days of firebombing by British and American planes? There are many questions to be answered whether rebuilding would ever restore Aleppo’s old city to what it had been for centuries.
→ read full articleThe Dead End of Post-Oslo Diplomacy: What Next?
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
The Oslo framework was an unseemly tacit assumption that the Palestinians would be willing to carry on negotiations without complaining about the Israeli violations of international law, most conspicuously the continued unlawful settlement activity.
→ read full articleThe Day Anti-Castro Forces Tried to Bomb the U.N.
Thalif Deen, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
When Ernesto Che Guevera was at the UN to address the General Assembly in 1964, the U.N. headquarters came under attack – literally. The anti-Castro forces, backed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), mounted an insidious campaign to stop Che Guevera from speaking. A 3.5-inch bazooka was fired at the 39-storeyed glass house by the East River.
→ read full articleChristmas at the War Front Line
Satoshi Ashikaga – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
This is a battlefield,
the war front line
Blue Helmets are standing by,
the UN flags are waving by.
Torture’s Queen: Meet Alfreda Bikowsky, the Senior Officer at the Center of the CIA’s Torture Scandals
Glenn Greenwald and Peter Maass – The Intercept,
22 Dec 2014
The Intercept is naming Bikowsky over CIA objections because of her key role in misleading Congress about the agency’s use of torture, and her active participation in the torture program (including playing a direct part in the torture of at least one innocent detainee).
→ read full articleAlkarama Human Rights Award to Shireen Issawi
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
Geneva, 13 December 2014 – A letter written from an Israeli prison by the recipient of the award Ms. Shireen Issawi, a brave, resolute, and inspiring human rights defender who has dedicated her professional career as a lawyer to the long Palestinian national struggle for freedom, human rights, and self-determination.
→ read full articleRussian Roulette: Taxpayers Could Be on the Hook for Trillions in Oil Derivatives
Ellen Brown, Web of Debt – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
19 Dec 2014 – The sudden dramatic collapse in the price of oil appears to be an act of geopolitical warfare against Russia. The result could be trillions of dollars in oil derivative losses; and the FDIC could be liable, following repeal of key portions of the Dodd-Frank Act last weekend.
→ read full articleAn Open Letter to Ecuadorian President Correa on Evicting the CONAIE Indigenous Movement
Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Upside Down World – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Dec 2014
The government of Ecuador called for the CONAIE indigenous movement to leave its Quito headquarters, which they have occupied since 1991. Translation of a letter from Univ. of Coimbra’s sociology professor and analyst of Latin American social movements, Boaventura de Sousa Santos to President Rafael Correa.
→ read full articleDear Dr. Kaslow: I Too Am “Outraged, Saddened and Pained”
Roy J. Eidelson, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Dec 2014
The New York Times does not accept letters-to-the-editor about other letters-to-the-editor. But this is one I would have submitted if I could. Dr. Kaslow’s letter offers no hint of doubt, concern, or regret in regard to any actions or inaction on the part of the American Psychological Association and its leadership. I am also outraged that in 2004, while torture was taking place at CIA black sites, APA Ethics Office Director Stephen Behnke arranged a private meeting with senior CIA and Pentagon officials to “sort out appropriate from inappropriate uses of psychology.”
→ read full article20 Deals in 24 Hours: Russia-India Relations Given $100 Billion-Worth Boost
Rajeev Sharma – Russia Today,
15 Dec 2014
12 Dec 2014 – The economic burden of Western sanctions has pushed Russia to the east in search of business opportunities. Judging by the outcome of President Putin’s visit to India – 20 high-profile deals struck – Moscow’s ‘pivot to Asia’ is getting a warm welcome.
→ read full article(Português) Brasil: Conheça e Acesse o Relatório Final da Comissão Nacional da Verdade
Carta Maior – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Dec 2014
10 dez 2014 – O relatório aponta as prisões sem base legal, as torturas e as mortes delas decorrentes, as violências sexuais, as execuções e ocultações de cadáveres. O relatório final da Comissão Nacional da Verdade foi entregue hoje em cerimônia oficial no Palácio do Planalto à presidenta Dilma Rousseff.
→ read full articleThe Global Bankers’ Coup: Bail-In and the Shadowy Financial Stability Board
Ellen Brown, Web of Debt – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Dec 2014
For three centuries, private international banking interests have brought governments in line by blocking them from issuing their own currencies and requiring them to borrow banker-issued “banknotes” instead. Under the new FSB guidelines, nations could still be held in feudalistic subservience to foreign masters.
→ read full article‘Learned Helplessness’: The Chilling Psychological Concept behind the CIA’s Interrogation Methods
Terrence McCoy – The Washington Post,
15 Dec 2014
[The qualification ‘torture’ is not used one single time in this piece. –TMS editor] The concept: “exposing organisms to aversive events which they cannot control,” according to a later paper in the Journal of Experimental Psychology co-authored by Martin E. Seligman. Learned helplessness occurs when a subject is so broken he will not even attempt escape if the opportunity presents itself.
→ read full articleConvention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
UN General Assembly – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Dec 2014
10 December 1984 – The General Assembly adopts the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; Calls upon all Governments to consider signing and ratifying the Convention as a matter of priority.
→ read full articleThe Complicity of Psychologists in CIA Torture
Roy Eidelson and Trudy Bond – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Dec 2014
What the American Psychological Association Knew – Other evidence suggests that the abhorrent actions of two highly paid CIA contractors were by no means the only instances in which the profession’s do-no-harm principles were tragically abandoned. So while this week’s grim Senate report provides important answers to crucial questions, for the psychology profession there is much more yet to be illuminated.
→ read full articleShameless: The Luxury Homes That Torture Built
Michael Daly – The Daily Beast,
15 Dec 2014
The CIA paid torture teachers James Mitchell and Bruce Jesser more than $80 million. Call them the houses that torture built: Two sprawling luxury homes purchased by the CIA-contracted psychologists at the center of the scathing Senate report.
→ read full articleHome-made Spy Drone Hacks WiFi Networks, Listens to Calls
Erin Van der Bellen, WUSA – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Dec 2014
Long-time friends and former Air Force buddies, Mike Tassey and Rich Perkins, describe their state-of-the-art cyber drone as hard to take down, hard to see and virtually hard to detect. They built it in a garage, using off the shelf electronics to prove a drone can be used to launch cyber-attacks.
→ read full articleFour Years since the Arrest of Julian Assange
Robert Stevens, WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Dec 2014
December 7 [2014] marked four years since WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested in London and detained without charge. December 5 marked 900 days that he has been holed up inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London after being forced to claim political asylum.
→ read full article30 Years of Torture Convention – States Still Failing on Obligations
Amnesty International – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Dec 2014
10 Dec 2014 – On the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention against Torture, Amnesty International is calling upon states not to obstruct efforts to prevent the appalling practice. While 156 states have ratified the Convention, a host of nations are still carrying out torture and are obstructing efforts to prevent, monitor, investigate and to bring about prosecutions.
→ read full articleAlternative Nobel: Fidel Castro Wins China’s Confucius Peace Prize
Russia Today – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Dec 2014
11 Dec 2014 – Cuba’s former leader Fidel Castro has been awarded the Confucius Peace Prize, China’s alternative to the Nobel. Castro was praised for “important contributions on eliminating nuclear war after his retirement,” and will get US$15,000.
→ read full article