Articles by M
We found 36064 results.
The Struggle to Ban Killer Robots
Kristin Bergtora Sandvik, Nicholas Marsh and Maral Mirshahi – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists,
26 May 2014
The campaign must balance technical expert conversations with active participation in public debate. Identifying and arguing for broad ethical principles while keeping the objective narrow appears to be the most feasible strategy, along with insisting that the development of lethal autonomous weapons is not inevitable.
→ read full articleTransgenics Prosper Amidst Pragmatism and Collateral Damage
Fabiana Frayssinet, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta published a map that dubbed a large area of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay the “United Republic of Soy”. In this “republic” more than 46 million hectares of transgenic soy are sprayed with 600 million litres of the herbicide glyphosate and are largely responsible for the deforestation of 500,000 hectares a year in the past decade.
→ read full articleFrom Prophecy to Reality: Join the Consciousness Revolution
John Perkins – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
Participating in the consciousness revolution can no longer be ignored as simply a nice, feel-good choice for those who might care enough or find it convenient. It is now imperative for all of us who share this tiny, fragile space station as our only home.
→ read full articleVirus Experiments Risk Unleashing Global Pandemic, Study Warns
Ian Sample – The Guardian,
26 May 2014
Several groups of scientists around the world are creating and altering viruses. But in a report published on Tuesday [20 May 2014], researchers at Harvard and Yale universities argue that the benefits of the work are outweighed by the risk of pathogenic strains escaping from laboratories and spreading around the world.
→ read full article10 Reasons to Go Vegan That Have Nothing to Do with Animal Rights
Lindsay McDougall – The Guardian,
26 May 2014
Do you want to go meat free but are sick of the animal rights crowd? Can’t remember a single stat about sustainable land use? Then try these alternative reasons (excuses) on for size.
→ read full article(Italiano) TAP+TPP = “Tutti salvo la Cina” = Colpetto + Ribaltamento?
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
Washington sta lavorando sodo per riconquistare l’egemonia mondiale sfuggente; supponendo nella tradizione anglo-americana che il n° 2 – quest’anno forse n° 1 economicamente – sia un nemico, invece di intensificare la cooperazione.
→ read full articleRussia, China Sign Deal to Bypass U.S. Dollar
Michael Pizzi – Al Jazeera America,
26 May 2014
In a blow to U.S. global financial hegemony, Russia and China on Tuesday [20 May 20114] signed a deal to pay each other in domestic currencies, followed by the announcement on Wednesday of a $100 billion annual trade on natural gas, 10 years in the making.
→ read full articleAlan Lightman on Our Yearning for Immortality and Why We Long for Permanence in a Universe of Constant Change
Maria Popova, Brain Pickings – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
A heartening perspective on mortality by way of the physics of the cosmos and the poetics of the night-blooming cereus cactus.
→ read full articleFirst Dog on the Moon on … surveillance, everywhere
First Dog on the Moon – The Guardian,
26 May 2014
Think the NSA doesn’t know you are reading this cartoon, right now? Think again.
→ read full articleWhere Should the Divestors Invest?
Brendan Smith, Jeremy Brecher and Kristen Sheeran – Common Dreams,
26 May 2014
The stunning success of the fossil fuel divestment movement has caught many of us off-guard. Activists are clamoring for guidance on what types of investments they should advocate for. They know that their victories will be ashes in their mouths if their universities simply divest from Exxon and into a “green” Coca-Cola.
→ read full articleKidnapped Girls Become Tools of U.S. Imperial Policy in Africa
Glen Ford, Black Agenda Report – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
The “humanitarian” U.S. military occupation of Africa has been very successful, thus far. Imagine: the superpower that financed the genocide of six million in Congo, claims to be a defender of teenage girls and human rights on the continent.
→ read full articleReasons for Intellectual Conformity
Lawrence Davidson – Consortium News,
26 May 2014
Indeed, from a historical perspective most people of high intellect have sought to serve power and not critique or question it. This is quite in line with the fact that most non-intellectuals accept the word of those in power as authoritative and true.
→ read full articleThe-O ring: Theory, Theorem, Theology, Theosophy?
Anthony Judge – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
A Playful Intercultural Quest for Fruitful Complementarity – Curiously the prefix “theo” is effectively central to one of the most divisive debates in the current global civilization, namely that between science and religion.
→ read full articleMission Accomplished, Indeed – Iraq: The Biggest Petroleum Heist in History?
Mike Whitney - CounterPunch,
26 May 2014
These are the ‘best of times’ for the oil giants in Iraq. Production is up, profits are soaring, and big oil is rolling in dough. Face it: No one gives a flying fu** about Iraq. A million people were killed so a few rich fu**ers could get even richer. That’s a hell of a legacy.
→ read full article[Grotesquely Pornographic] Sunday Times Rich List: “Astonishing Year” for Britain’s Most Wealthy
Jordan Shilton, WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
The headline on May 18 [2014] was that the number of billionaires in Britain had surpassed 100 for the first time. With a total of 104 billionaires, Britain has witnessed the emergence of more than 20 new billionaires over the past year and has the highest concentration of billionaires of any country.
→ read full article(Português) Žižek: A contradição principal da nova ordem mundial
Slavoj Žižek – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
Conhecer uma sociedade não é apenas saber suas regras explícitas. É também compreender como funciona sua aplicação: saber quando usar e quando violar as normas, saber quando recusar uma escolha oferecida e saber quando fingir que está se fazendo algo por livre escolha quando trata-se efetivamente de uma obrigação.
→ read full articleWorld Protests Monsanto Grip on Food Supply Chain
Russia Today – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
Activists on five continents around the globe, comprising of 52 nations, joined the March Against Monsanto on May 24. Peaceful family protests spoke out for the need to protect food supply, health, local farms and environment. Last year over 2 million people in 436 cities in 52 countries worldwide joined the March.
→ read full articleNonkilling Peace between East and West: A Plea
Francisco Gomes de Matos – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
When will East and West be able to live in Nonkilling Peace?
When all conflicts and wars within or between them will cease.
Rise of Modi and Indian Politics
Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
Modi will have a better tool in his hand to lift the nation from the morass of poverty and unemployment – two biggest internal challenges. With a strong determination, and by combining the visions of Patel, Shastri and Vajpayee, Modi will be able to trudge through difficult terrains while keeping his mission high. I wish Modi good luck!
→ read full articleSeeds of Destruction: The Diabolical World of Genetic Manipulation
F. William Engdahl - Global Research,
26 May 2014
This is no ordinary book about the perils of GMO. “Seeds of Destruction: The Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulation” by F. William Engdahl is a skillfully researched book that focuses on how a small socio-political American elite seeks to establish control over the very basis of human survival: the provision of our daily bread.
→ read full article[An Antithesis of Peace Journalism]: 1,000 Days of Syria – Turning War Journalism into a Game
Simon Parkin – The Guardian,
26 May 2014
How an American journalist is attempting to tell the story of Syria’s violence through an online adventure game. Swenson describes 1,000 Days of Syria, which is freely available to play on the internet, as “part electric literature; part newscast; and part choose-your-own-adventure.”
→ read full articleMarching Against Monsanto Is Marching for Freedom and Democracy
Prof. Vandana Shiva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
I send greetings of solidarity for all the people gathered for the March against Monsanto [24 May 2014]. Marching against Monsanto is marching for freedom and democracy, for health and safety, for seed and biodiversity. People often ask me “Why Monsanto”?
→ read full article(Português) A saída limpa…da Europa
Boaventura de Sousa Santos – Carta Maior,
26 May 2014
Portugal arranjará um lugarzito na soleira da porta da Europa, um país sem-abrigo por onde passarão regularmente os carrinhos da sopa humanitária.
→ read full articleFault Lines, The Sixties, The Culture Wars, and The Return of the Divine Feminine
René Wadlow – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
The 1960s was the period when the shift to the New Age — the Age of Aquarius — became more obvious to many and manifested in social and political movements. The 1960s was one of the “Great Awakenings” — a period of enhanced social and spiritual concern and increased personal spiritual experience.
→ read full articleMAP: The U.S. Military Currently Has Troops in These African Countries
Adam Taylor – The Washington Post,
26 May 2014
This map shows what sub-Saharan nations currently have a U.S. military presence engaged in actual military operations. More details of the troops deployed are below.
→ read full articleBy Misdiagnosing Israel-Palestine, Donor Aid Harms Palestinians
Jeremy Wildeman and Sandy Marshall – Open Democracy,
26 May 2014
The goal of political Zionism has always been to divorce the land of Palestine from its inhabitants, and to return it to its rightful inheritors, ‘God’s chosen people’. In this way, the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip by Israel is a successful culmination of long-standing territorial strategy pre-dating the formation of the state of Israel itself.
→ read full article(Português) Sustentabilidade para Santuários de Animais
Sérgio Greif – ANDA-Agência de Notícias de Direitos Animais,
26 May 2014
Santuários de animais são instituições e/ou pessoas que mantêm animais sob sua custódia, nas melhores condições possíveis e pelo tempo de suas vidas, mas não permitem sua reprodução, e não exploram esses animais de forma alguma (seja negociando animais ou suas partes, seja exibindo os animais ou entretendo pessoas à sua custa).
→ read full articleOn Citizenship in the 21st Century
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
Reading Robert Paehlke’s carefully crafted essay on global citizenship provides the occasion both for an appreciation of his approach and some doubts about its degree of responsiveness to the urgencies of the present or more specifically its adequacy in relation to the call for ‘transformative vision and praxis’ that lies at the heart of the ‘Great Transition Initiative.’
→ read full articleHuman Intelligence or Human Awareness?
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph. D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
The Self-aware human being is intelligent because their mind is integrated. In contrast, an ‘intelligent’ individual who is unSelf-aware, because their mind is disintegrated, might engage in activities that are destructive of our species and the planet. I am sure that you can think of many examples.
→ read full article
Hawking and the Growing Israel Boycott Movement
The Real News Network – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
May 12, 2013 – Activists in Gaza consider renowned physicist Stephen Hawking’s decision to cancel his participation in an upcoming conference in Israel as part of an academic boycott “a huge victory for the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanction) movement”.
→ read full articleConcert Review: Anoushka Shankar at The Royal Festival Hall, London
Sumeet Grover – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
The genre of Shankar’s music has roots in ancient Hindu philosophy and Indian culture, but her compositions, positioned in the twenty-first century world, astonishingly connect the inner microcosm of the individual to the expansive macrocosm of the universe.
→ read full articleThe Ukraine in Turmoil
Israel Shamir – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
It is not much fun to be in Kiev these days. The revolutionary excitement is over. The Maidan street revolt and the subsequent coup just reshuffled the same marked deck of cards, forever rotating in power. As Russia procrastinates, as the US doubles the risks, the world draws nearer to the nuclear abyss. Who will chicken out?
→ read full articleEurope: 1, Google: 0 – EU Court Ruling a Victory for Privacy
SPIEGEL – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
20 May 2014 – A ruling by the European Union’s highest court last week ordering Google to provide people with the right to be forgotten has generated fiercely divergent responses in the US and Europe. Germans are celebrating the decision, which buttresses privacy.
→ read full articleFree Speech and BDS Case: Applicants Wanting to Run!
Jake Lynch, Australians for BDS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
At the Australian Federal Court, four of the five applicants to have me found guilty of racial discrimination applied to pull out of the action. That would leave only Shurat HaDin, the right-wing Israeli law centre. But I still need your help in meeting my legal bills, which are well into six figures.
→ read full articleInternational Whaling Commission to Consider Imminent Extinction of Maui’s Dolphins
Independent News Media – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
In the past two years, the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission had issued urgent recommendations about the need to protect the dolphins’ from fishing nets. With less than 15 breeding females, Maui’s dolphins are amongst the rarest and most endangered mammals on earth.
→ read full articleIn Their Own Juice
Uri Avnery – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 May 2014
According to press reports, President Barack Obama has decided to let Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas “stew in their own juice.” What does it mean for “both” to stew in their own juice?
→ read full articleBreak the Silence: A World War Is Beckoning – In Ukraine, the US Is Dragging Us Towards War with Russia
John Pilger – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
Washington’s role in Ukraine, and its backing for the regime’s neo-Nazis, has huge implications for the rest of the world.
→ read full article(Português) Anistia Internacional: 80% dos brasileiros têm medo de tortura em prisão
Agência Brasil – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
A pesquisa entrevistou 21 mil pessoas de 21 países de todos os continentes e concluiu que o Brasil é o mais atingido por esse temor. A Anistia Internacional pede ainda a criação de mecanismos que facilitem a prevenção e a punição da tortura.
→ read full articleNorway 2050: An Image
Johan Galtung, 19 May 2014 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
Two major contradictions: between ranking as No. 1 on Quality of Life indicators, yet having a high and increasing loneliness and not only at old age; and between having a country but increasingly letting others do the work. How come? Because interaction nets dissolve. Extended families disappeared long time ago.
→ read full article(Italiano) “Va’ pensiero, storie ambulanti.” Collettivamente memoria 2014. Aosta 9 maggio 2014
Silvia Berruto – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
“Va’ pensiero, storie ambulanti” è il racconto, lucido e struggente, di due aggressioni razziste avvenute a Milano e a Firenze e del tentativo di ricostruzione che ognuno degli aggrediti, sopravvissuti, sta tentando di agire su di sé, pur nella difficile convivenza con l’impossibilità di lavorare e con l’incertezza quotidiana, sempre presente, di rivivere, attraverso sguardi o gesti, il momento dell’aggressione.
→ read full articleWelcome Modi Sarkar…!!!
Dr. M. Ashaq Raza – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
While forgetting and forgiving old scars
Let’s welcome from heart, Modi sarkar
Let’s give him a chance as a changed man
And help him to change the fate of nation
The Birth of a Eurasian Century: Russia and China Do Pipelineistan
Pepe Escobar - TomDispatch,
19 May 2014
And no wonder Washington is anxious. That alliance is already a done deal in a variety of ways: through the BRICS group of emerging powers (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa); at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Asian counterweight to NATO; inside the G20; and via the 120-member-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
→ read full articleWest Antarctic Glaciers in Irreversible Decline
NASA – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
In that region, six glaciers hang in a precarious balance, partially supported by land, and partially floating in waters just offshore.
→ read full article(Castellano) “Europa en su encrucijada”
Francesc P. Baldo - TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
Es cierto que nunca han sido fáciles las cosas para Europa, a quien ya en la mitología se le atribuían unos orígenes convulsos , abducida y ultrajada por Zeus. En su suelo, además, han tenido lugar miles de batallas, algunas decisivas para el futuro de la humanidad, y es posible que se esté librando ya la penúltima, sin que nos hayamos percatado aún de ello..
→ read full articleWhales: Their Emerging Right to Life
Anthony D'Amato (with Sudhir K. Chopra) - American Journal of International Law,
19 May 2014
Writers of science fiction have often speculated about what it would be like to discover, on a planet in outer space, a much higher form of intelligence. How would we react to those creatures? Would we be so fearful of them that we would try to kill them? Or would we welcome the opportunity to attempt to understand their language and culture?
→ read full articleThe Fate of Animals: Genocide in Indonesian Zoo
Andre Vltchek – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
What is happening in Surabaya is shocking by all standards. Here, massacres in the local zoo do not involve ‘just a few animals’, but half of their entire population. “Originally there were some 4,400 animals. Now there are only approximately 2,100 of them left…”
→ read full articleThe U.S. Military’s New Normal in Africa
Nick Turse – TomDisptach,
19 May 2014
A Secret African Mission and an African Mission that’s No Secret
→ read full articleThe Wall Street Bonanza
Andre Damon, WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
The vast redistribution of wealth from the bottom to the top that has taken place since the 2008 crash is expressed in the colossal rise in stock prices, which have nearly tripled since March 2009.
→ read full articleThe Snowden Saga Begins
Glenn Greenwald - TomDispatch,
19 May 2014
“I Have Been to the Darkest Corners of Government, and What They Fear Is Light” [This essay is a shortened and adapted version of Chapter 1 of Glenn Greenwald’s new book, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Security State.]
→ read full articleThe End of Democracy as We Know It
Bernd Hamm – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
Abstract: This paper starts with summarizing the major theoretical elements in the definition of a global ruling class. It then examines how neoconservatives in the US took power and used regime change to create chaos in other regions. A strategy of tension is used to press the population into conformity. But the real revolution is to what extent factual politics escape any attempt to democratic control. Three case studies show how far the Deep State already goes. Democracy is on the brink of survival.
→ read full articleUS Marines Deploy to Italy Due to Libya Threat: Official
Agence France-Presse – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
The US military has moved a team of marines from Spain to southern Italy as a precautionary step in case the US embassy in Libya comes under threat, officials said Wednesday [14 May 2014].
→ read full article(Fançais) En Ukraine, feu Blackwater fait reparler de ses « mercenaires »
Camille Polloni – Le Nouvel Observateur/Rue89,
19 May 2014
Le journal allemand Bild am Sonntag affirme ce dimanche que parmi les gros bras ukrainiens qui combattent les miliciens pro-russes se cachent 400 mercenaires d’Academi, le nouveau nom de Blackwater.
→ read full article
Hungarian Dance No. 5 (MUSIC VIDEO OF THE WEEK)
Martynas – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
Virtuoso Martynas on Acordeon – Composition of Johannes Brahms – Martynas Levickis, 24, is one of the brightest young musicians from Lithuania. He has received over 30 prizes and awards.
→ read full articleWhat Does The US Government Want in Ukraine?
Ron Paul – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
We are broke. We cannot even afford to fix our own economy. Yet we want to run Ukraine? Does it really matter who Ukrainians elect to represent them?
→ read full articleChina Signs Mega East Africa Rail Deal
Agence France-Presse – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
China on Sunday [11 May 2014] signed a deal to build a $3.8 billion rail link between Kenya’s Indian Ocean port of Mombasa and Nairobi, the first stage of a line that will eventually link Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.
→ read full articleDear Salman
Uri Avnery – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
Years ago I was invited to a UN conference on the Palestinian refugees in Paris.
→ read full articleChaos in Libya: How the US-NATO War Destabilized North Africa and Now Threatens Europe
Timothy Alexander Guzman – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
Former Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has warned, “Libya is in danger of becoming an Al-Qaeda terror base for attacks targeting European countries from Italy to Britain, to France, to Spain, to Morocco, to everywhere. Weapons are everywhere, ammunition is everywhere.”
→ read full articleThe Limits of US Military Power
Lawrence S. Wittner – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
Perhaps military enthusiasts in the United States and other nations should consider whether military power is a reliable source of influence in world affairs. After all, just because you possess a hammer doesn’t mean that every problem you face is a nail.
→ read full articleOur Duty to Future Generations
John Scales Avery – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
Many traditional agricultural societies have an ethical code that requires them to preserve the fertility of the land for future generations. This recognition of a duty towards the distant future is in strong contrast to the shortsightedness of modern economists.
→ read full articleWelcome to Nulandistan: A Multimedia Look at What the US and EU Have Unleashed on Ukraine
Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya - Global Research,
19 May 2014
The discourse about “pro-Russian” separatists is a misleading attempt to hide the real nature of the protests against the regime, which is opposition to a coup. The main issue is one of anti-coup protesters versus a junta and not separatists and federalists versus Kiev. To refer to the junta in Kiev as the government of Ukraine is to reject or ignore its illegality.
→ read full articleA Look at the European Court Ruling on Google
Toby Sterling, Associated Press – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
Questions and answers over the European Court ruling on Google and the ‘right to be forgotten.’
→ read full article12 Shocking Facts about the Dangers of Psychiatric Drugs
Dr. Edward F. Group, Global Healing Center – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
The disorders range from depression and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder) to bipolar and anxiety disorders. The sordid story behind how these medications work, how they come to market, and how they interfere with the lives of users is a complicated web.
→ read full articlePleader
Tom Greening – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
I, too, am a pleader,
but insane, groveling,
inarticulate, nearly mute or shrieking,
Success Story
Dietrich Fischer – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
A retired mathematics teacher met the worst student he had ever had during his 40 years of teaching.
→ read full articleWhat Is Boko Haram and Whence Did It Arise?
Gary K. Busch – Pambazuka News,
19 May 2014
The terrorist group Boko Haram is a vital element in the fight over state power by various political groups in Nigeria. Both Nigeria’s continued politics of corruption and the Al Qaeda link to Boko Haram point to a grim future of continued insecurity.
→ read full articleUganda Passes another Repressive Law — This Time Criminalising HIV Transmission
Amy Fallon, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
Ugandan AIDS bodies and campaigners have warned that the “ugly clauses” of an HIV bill passed by Parliament late Tuesday [13 May 2014], which includes the criminalisation of the “wilful and intentional” transmission of the disease, will see many in this East African country “shun the healthcare system”.
→ read full articleConUNdrum: The Limits of the United Nations and the Search for Alternatives
Rene Wadlow – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
The book is worth reading for a better understanding of a strong, if misguided, current in U.S. politics. These criticisms need to be taken seriously, but, I believe, that reforms must be taken within the U.N. and not in alternative —as yet uncreated— institutions.
→ read full article(Português) O determinismo biológico e os interesses do capital
Leandro Módolo P. - Carta Maior,
19 May 2014
De Gobineau e sua teoria eugênica à Spencer e as corridas coloniais, de Charles Davenport e Harry Laughlin e as políticas de esterilização estadunidense à Eugen Fischer e Alfred Ploetz e a Lei de Proteção à Saúde Hereditária do Povo Alemão, ao menos a história ocidental moderna está recheada de ‘cientistas’ que advogaram causas naturais para diferenças e problemas sociais.
→ read full articleThe Soma Mine Disaster or Privatization Gone Wild in Turkey
Dr. Can Erimtan – Russia Today,
19 May 2014
The mine is owned and operated by Soma Holding A.Ş following its privatization in the 1990s. Turkey’s Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz expressed his grief: “We are moving toward the worst mining disaster in Turkey but the death toll figures are not important,” as an indication that human costs in search for greater profits are negligible and even inevitable.
→ read full articleBankers Killing Bankers for the Insurance Money and another Look at 9/11
Max Keiser – Russia Today,
19 May 2014
It turns out that banks take out life insurance policies on their employees, and those policies pay out death benefits to the banks – not the families. Should we be surprised by this banker-on-banker death scam? After all, wasn’t this what 9/11 was all about?
→ read full articleThe Free-Trade Regime: Oligarchy in Action
Moritz Laurer – Foreign Policy In Focus,
19 May 2014
Economic elites and special interest groups enjoy tremendous sway in Washington, while “the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.”
→ read full articleNobel Peace Laureates Call For Preemptive Ban on “Killer Robots”
Nobel Women’s Initiative – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
We, the undersigned Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, applaud this new global effort and whole-heartedly embrace its goal of a preemptive ban on fully autonomous weapons that would be able to select and attack targets on their own. It is unconscionable that human beings are expanding research and development of lethal machines that would be able to kill people without human intervention.
→ read full articleU.S. Intervention in Nigeria?
Jacob G. Hornberger – The Future of Freedom Foundation,
19 May 2014
The best solution is for the American people to restore the founding principles of a limited government republic to our land by dismantling the Cold War national-security state apparatus, so that the U.S. government lacks the means to engage in foreign interventionism in any respect.
→ read full articlePortugal Leaves Bailout Program with 214bn Euro Debt, 4% Lower GDP
Russia Today – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
Portugal exited its international bailout program on Saturday [17 May 2014] regaining its economic sovereignty. While many people are struggling with tough austerity measures, a disproportionate amount of people are getting richer and richer. The top 20 percent make six times more than the bottom 20 percent.
→ read full articleChevron Uses Deep Pockets to Win Ecuador Legal Battle
Lauren Carasik – Al Jazeera America,
19 May 2014
Chevron’s bid to embolden transnational corporations to use their deep pockets to thwart justice underestimates the tenacity and resourcefulness of their opposition.
→ read full articleMultinational Corporations Play Key Role in Qatar Labor Abuses
Arezo Yazd – Al Jazeera America,
19 May 2014
While many cited the Qatari government’s responsibility for labor-related abuses that resulted in over 500 deaths of Indian migrant workers since 2012, few mention the importance of corporate responsibility, primarily in light of construction for World Cup 2022.
→ read full article
No Turning Back – West Antarctic Glaciers in Irreversible Decline
NASA – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
Over the years, as temperatures around the world have ratcheted upward, climate change researchers have kept a wary eye on one place perhaps more than any other: The West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and particularly the fastest melting part of it, the glaciers that flow into the Amundsen Sea.
→ read full articleReports of Blackwater Swarming Kiev as East Vows Independence
Lauren McCauley – Common Dreams,
19 May 2014
Mercenaries contracted by the U.S. firm Academi, formerly Blackwater, have been deployed to Kiev. According to German news source Bild on Friday [9 May 2014], and repeated by Der Spiegel, Ukrainian security forces are being supported by over 100 “elite soldiers” involved in a “punitive operation mounted by Ukraine’s new government.”
→ read full article10 Reasons to Love Uruguay’s President José Mujica
Medea Benjamin – Huffington Post,
19 May 2014
Mujica’s influence goes far beyond that of the leader of a tiny country of only 3 million people. In a world hungry for alternatives, the innovations that he and his colleagues are championing have put Uruguay on the map as one of the world’s most exciting experiments in creative, progressive governance.
→ read full articleWilliam Worthy, a Reporter Drawn to Forbidden Datelines, Dies at 92
Margalit Fox – International New York Times,
19 May 2014
A close ally of Malcolm X, in 1955 he spent six weeks in Moscow, interviewing ordinary citizens and the future Soviet premier Nikita S. Khrushchev. Defying a United States travel ban, he crossed into mainland China in 1956 and spent 41 days traveling the country, interviewing the premier, Zhou Enlai. In 1961, without a passport, he went to Cuba, debarking in Havana from a ship bound for Mexico. In 1962 he was found guilty and sentenced to three months’ imprisonment plus nine months’ probation.
→ read full articleComplicity: Psychology and War on Terror Abuses
Roy Eidelson, Trudy Bond, Stephen Soldz, Steven Reisner, Jean Maria Arrigo and Brad Olson – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 May 2014
Given that psychologists have been central figures in the abuse and torture of our country’s “war on terror” detainees, and that the American Psychological Association has worked to guarantee psychologists’ positioning in detention and interrogation roles, examining the APA’s involvement is an appropriate starting point for this crucial work.
→ read full articleRwanda’s Proxy Wars for Imperialist Interests
Samir Amin – Pambazuka News,
19 May 2014
Rwanda, a military dictatorship, plays a key destabilising role in the Great Lakes region to benefit its imperialist partners, US and UK, whose primary interest is the mineral wealth in Eastern DR Congo. Democratic forces should work had to expose imperialist agendas and weaken Western influence in the region.
→ read full articleMichael Sam Is First Openly Gay NFL Player as St Louis Rams Draft Pick
Martin Pengelly – The Guardian,
12 May 2014
Michael Sam, the college defensive end who made headlines earlier this year by coming out, is set to become the first openly gay player to play in the National Football League. Sam was picked in Saturday’s [10 May 2014] final round of the NFL Draft, by the St Louis Rams.
→ read full articlePalestine – Chronicle of a Foretold Death
Baher Kamal, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 May 2014
A quick look at the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would suffice to conclude that the process leading to creating a Palestinian State living side by side with Israel had already been sentenced to failure 117 years ago.
→ read full article(Italiano) Omaggio all’International New York Times
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 May 2014
Perché omaggio? Non per la trattazione delle notizie; di solito, quelle “adatte alla stampa”, che non contraddicono troppo apertamente le visioni del mondo insite nelle politiche estere USA e israeliana. . E neppure per gli editoriali, che sono spesso sulla stessa linea e anche francamente noiosi molte volte. No, l’omaggio è per gli articoli, addirittura i saggi, ad altissimo livello.
→ read full article(Italiano) Cooperazione fra università per l’equità e l’empatia
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 May 2014
Immaginate un seminario cooperativo di quattro settimane con molte università su come pensare (ri-cercare), parlare (anche insegnare) e agire (prassi) nei campi delle relazioni internazionali e dell’epistemologia; una gran NOVITA’!
→ read full articleThe Three Faces of Drone War – Speaking Truth From the Robotic Heavens
Pratap Chatterjee - TomDispatch,
12 May 2014
Obama’s remote control campaign, is a failure; that it is not clinical but bloody and riddled with error; that it creates enemies even as it kills others; that it is, above all, no more a video game for those who fly the planes and loose the missiles than it is for those who die in distant lands.
→ read full articleDignity: A Compelling Notion for Chile
William Alexander Yankes - The Santiago Times,
12 May 2014
Researcher in early Chilean literature William Alexander Yankes writes on hierarchy and social injustice from the colonial period to modern times.
→ read full articleJournalism Can Be an Agent of Peace
David Robie – New Matilda,
12 May 2014
Embracing ‘peace journalism’ will help journalists be part of the solution. The study of wars and news media portrayal and reportage of conflict has been well developed as an academic discipline, termed by some as “war journalism”. But the study of peace journalism lags far behind. War journalism often focuses on violence as its own cause and is less open to examining the deep structural origins of the conflict. Heavy reliance on official sources leads to a general zero-sum analysis and deepens divisions.
→ read full articlePalestinians Take the Tough Path towards Unity
Khaled Alashqar, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 May 2014
The move for reconciliation between Fatah in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip could change the balance in the Middle East – if it were to proceed and deliver as promised. The Israeli government still in shock over this unexpected agreement and the new political calculations it would bring.
→ read full articleNigeria: Boko Haram Kidnappings Used to Justify US Military Build-Up in Africa
Jean Shaoul, WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 May 2014
The kidnapping presents Washington, whose requests to mount military and intelligence operations from Nigeria had repeatedly been rebuffed, with a golden opportunity to secure a foothold in the oil-rich country, now Africa’s largest economy.
→ read full articleIsraeli President Peres: Netanyahu Blocked 2011 Peace Deal with Palestinians
Agence France-Presse – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 May 2014
“Netanyahu told me to wait a few days because he thought that Tony Blair could get a better offer,” Peres said, referring to the envoy of the peacemaking quartet of the EU, Russia, UN and USA. “The days passed and there was no better offer.”
→ read full articleRevenge
Tom Greening – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 May 2014
The moon is low and casts its shadows long,
and in this gloom what God can say I’m wrong?
Armaments, Disarmament and International Security – Arms Transfers to Syria
Pieter D. Wezeman - Stockholm International Peace Research Institute-SIPRI,
12 May 2014
Rebel forces repeatedly called in 2012 for governments supporting their cause to supply them with weapons and other military equipment. As of January 2013 the actual volume of foreign military aid to the rebels is hard to measure.
→ read full articleU.S. Recognizes Syria Opposition Offices as ‘Foreign Mission’
Reuters – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 May 2014
The US said on Monday [5 May 2014] it would recognize the main opposition Syrian National Coalition offices as a diplomatic foreign mission and announced a $27 million increase in non-lethal assistance to mercenaries fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad. Syrian forces have made gains on the battlefield and Damascus announced a presidential election for June 3, expected to be won by Assad.
→ read full articleCan the Kochs Hold Back History?
Timothy Egan – International New York Times,
12 May 2014
The modern equivalent of Hearst is the Koch Brothers, David and Charles — known without affection as the Kochtopus. According to one study, the Kochs have already spent $61 million on various front groups dedicated to the flat-earth proposition that the globe is not warming. But so far, the only return on that investment is a cohort of people flopping around in the waters of stupidity.
→ read full article“The Russians are coming … again … and they’re still ten feet tall!”
William Blum – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 May 2014
Putting the Ukraine Crisis in Context – When the Ukraine crisis began, the mainstream U.S. media cast aside any pretense of objectivity and joined in the service of State Department propaganda. But – given the emergence of the Internet – a far more honest and nuanced story is possible to detect.
→ read full articleDrug Resistant Superbugs a Serious Threat Worldwide, Says WHO
Kate Kelland, Reuters – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 May 2014
The spread of deadly superbugs that evade even the most powerful antibiotics is no longer a prediction but is happening right now across the world, United Nations officials said on Wednesday [April 30 2014].
→ read full articleWar Is Good for Us, Dumb New Book Claims
David Swanson, War Is A Crime – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 May 2014
Ian Morris maintains that the only way to peace is to make large societies, and the way to large societies is through war. From peace prosperity follows and from prosperity flows happiness. Therefore, war creates happiness. But if you want peace, prosperity and joy you must never stop engaging in — you guessed it — war.
→ read full articleJournalism Is the Novel of Reality
Antonio Castillo – New Matilda,
12 May 2014
Reality was central to Gabriel García Márquez’s fiction, which was magically nourished by his journalism. So while much has been written about his best known works of fiction, One Hundred Years of Solitude, or Love in the Time of Cholera, many have forgotten that García Márquez was first a journalist, “the best job in the world”, as he described it.
→ read full article