Articles by M
We found 36064 results.
Ukraine and the Grand Chessboard
Pepe Escobar – Asia Times,
28 Apr 2014
Ukraine is for all practical purposes broke. The Kremlin’s consistent position for the past three months has been to encourage the European Union to find a solution to Ukraine’s dire economic mess. Brussels did nothing. It was betting on regime change to the benefit of Germany’s heavyweight puppet Vladimir Klitschko, aka Klitsch The Boxer.
→ read full articleRachel Brett – Snakes and Ladders: A Personal Exploration of Quaker Work on Human Rights at the United Nations
Rene Wadlow – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
Hodgkin started organizing British Quakers for peace and reconciliation work and in 1915 went to the US to start the Fellowship of Reconciliation, drawing especially on his Quaker contacts. While Quakers have always been active in FOR, they have also created specifically Quaker institutions working for peace such as the two Quaker UN Offices.
→ read full articleThe Long-Term Future
John Scales Avery – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
Genetically we are very similar to our hunter-gatherer ancestors, but their world has been replaced by a world of quantum theory, space travel, gene splicing, and information technology. Thus human emotions, which have remained relatively unchanged, are often inappropriate for our present way of life. In the future, the problem of anachronistic emotions is certain to become even more acute.
→ read full article(Português) Reflexões sobre a morte induzida a animais
Juan Agustín Gómez, Ánima – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
Depois de alguns anos de prática na clínica de pequenos animais, foi-se desenvolvendo em mim uma crescente inquietude acerca deste tema. Sempre achei necessário ter uma posição, uma atitude coerente e sobretudo honesta frente a esta situação onde tantas vezes me vi envolvido.
→ read full article(Italiano) Mari cinesi e isole: soluzioni?
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
Conferenza all’Università di Nanchino – Proverbio cinese: meglio che dare a un affamato grave del pesce è insegnargli a pescare. Cioè, non solo soluzioni ma anche come risolvere i conflitti.
→ read full articleThe Ukraine Crisis and the Political Lies of the Media
Alex Lantier, WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
Not a single critical voice can be found within the so-called mainstream media. The newspapers and television news programs are filled with lies, anti-Russian propaganda, and—preparing for the possibility that the crisis escalates out of control—apologetics for war.
→ read full articleA Vindication for the Public: The Guardian and Washington Post Win the Pulitzer Prize
Edward Snowden – Freedom of the Press Foundation,
28 Apr 2014
I am grateful to the committee for their recognition of the efforts of those involved in the last year’s reporting, and join others around the world in congratulating Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, Barton Gellman, Ewen MacAskill, and all of the others at the Guardian and Washington Post on winning the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
→ read full articleWall Street Greed: Not Too Big for a California Jury
Ellen Brown, Web of Debt – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
Sixteen of the world’s largest banks have been caught colluding to rig global interest rates. Why are we doing business with a corrupt global banking cartel?
→ read full articleUS Drone Pilots Are ‘Stressed’ and ‘Demoralized’ – Official Report
Russia Today – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
19 Apr 2014 – The US Government Accountability Office has produced a scathing report detailing the Air Force’s mismanagement of its active-duty drone pilots, who are responsible for the most demanding and deadly missions in the entire US military.
→ read full articleTolerating Israel’s Land Grabs
Lawrence Davidson – Consortium News,
28 Apr 2014
Secretary of State John Kerry’s Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have reached their predictable collapse, but the U.S. news media still shies away from blaming Israeli intransigence and expansionism – nor advocating stern action against the land grabs.
→ read full articleNew York Times Tries to Whitewash Publication of Faked Ukraine Photos
Alex Lantier, WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
The New York Times responded yesterday [23 Apr 2014] to the exposure of its fabricated report alleging that Russian Special Forces are stirring up protests in east Ukraine against the pro-Western regime in Kiev. An article Tuesday [22 Apr 2014], titled “Scrutiny over Photos Said to Tie Russia Units to Ukraine,” is a clumsy attempt at damage control.
→ read full article(Français) Créer un Fonds Monétaire EuroBRICS (EuroBRICS monetary fund ou EBMF)
Agoravox – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
Les pays du BRICS ont annoncé récemment qu’ils entendaient mettre en place dans les prochains mois l’équivalent du FMI et de la Banque mondiale dans le cadre de l’association qu’ils ont décidé de créer entre eux il y a environ un an.
→ read full articleCriminal Investigation of Nobel Peace Prize
Fredrik S. Heffermehl – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
The management of the Nobel Peace Prize has become a case for the Norwegian police, following a request for criminal investigation from 16 prominent Scandinavians, parliamentarians, lawyers, authors and peace activists to the authority on economic crime, the ØKOKRIM.
→ read full articleIf Not Now, When? Unite Against Imperialism!
Andre Vltchek – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
There are plenty of discouraged, scared voices of people who have already given up and come to the conclusion that the Empire is too powerful, too determined, and unstoppable. Hopelessness, fear and defeatism – this is how the Empire wants you to feel. Do not! Defeat is only purposefully encoded in the propaganda that is being spread by the West. In reality, nothing is lost.
→ read full articleWe Need an Apartheid-Style Boycott to Save the Planet
Desmond Tutu – The Guardian,
28 Apr 2014
10 Apr 2014 – We must stop climate change. And we can, if we use the tactics that worked in South Africa against the worst carbon emitters.
→ read full articleBrazilian President Champions Internet Privacy
Xinhua – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
Speaking at the opening of the NETMundial (WorldNET) conference she convened following revelations last year that U.S. security agencies used the Internet to spy on heads of state, ordinary citizens and corporations around the globe, Rousseff said such misuse of the web was “unacceptable.”
→ read full articleWhy 21st Century Capitalism Can’t Last
Bhaskar Sunkara – Al Jazeera America,
28 Apr 2014
The response to French economist Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” has been surprising, to say the least. Though the Amazon best-seller is well written and artfully translated from French by Arthur Goldhammer, the 696-page text is filled with enough charts and footnotes to occupy experts for months.
→ read full articleFukushima No. 1 Boss Admits Plant Doesn’t Have Complete Control over Water Problems
Yuka Obayashi, Reuters – The Japan Times,
28 Apr 2014
Abe Told an Olympic Committee Meet Situation Was Under Control – The manager of the Fukushima nuclear power plant has admitted to embarrassment that efforts have failed to bring under control the radioactive water, eight months after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the world the matter had been resolved.
→ read full articleMarshall Islands Sues Nuclear Powers for Failure on Disarmament
The Associated Press – Al Jazeera America,
28 Apr 2014
“I personally see it as kind of David and Goliath, except that there are no slingshots involved,” said David Krieger, president of the California-based Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. Krieger is acting as a consultant in the case. There are hopes that other countries will join the legal effort, he said.
→ read full articleBristol Museum: Remembering the British Empire in India
Sumeet Grover – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
Exhibiting this painting in the present-day goes against the art for a culture of peace, and glorifies a ‘culture of occupation’. For this reason alone, I would urge the Bristol Museum to decommission this painting. The British Empire was culturally, morally and economically deteriorative to India than being a ‘force for good’.
→ read full articleWhoopi Goldberg Debuts as Marijuana Columnist
Agence France-Presse – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
Goldberg opted to focus on how pot has helped her cope with massive headaches induced by glaucoma, an eye disorder that can lead to blindness. “It helps my head stop hurting, and with glaucoma your eyes ache, and she takes the ache out. It’s wonderful,” she said. “The high is different, too. It feels like a gentle, warm breeze at the beach.
→ read full articleWords, Words, Words
Uri Avnery – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
In Israeli politics, the word “peace” has become poison. “Political settlement” is the vogue term. It is meant to say the same but of course, it doesn’t. “Peace” means much more than the formal end of warfare. It contains elements of reconciliation, of something spiritual. “Political settlement” means nothing but a document formulated by lawyers and signed by politicians.
→ read full articleBeneath the Ukraine Crisis: Shale Gas
Nat Parry – Consortium News,
28 Apr 2014
Behind the geopolitics pitting Russia against the West – and the ethnic tensions tearing Ukraine east and west – another backdrop for understanding this deepening conflict is the big-money competition for Ukraine’s oil and natural gas.
→ read full articleWhy US Fracking Companies Are Licking Their Lips over Ukraine
Naomi Klein – The Guardian,
28 Apr 2014
From climate change to Crimea, the natural gas industry is supreme at exploiting crisis for private gain – what I call the shock doctrine.
→ read full articleHow a Smile Saved Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Life: A Soul-Lifting Meditation on Our Shared Humanity
Maria Popova, Brain Pickings – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
Care granted to the sick, welcome offered to the banished, forgiveness itself are worth nothing without a smile enlightening the deed. We communicate in a smile beyond languages, classes, and parties.
→ read full articleCollateral Damage
Tom Greening – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
No one has asked me, but if they did
like Pilate I’d wash my hands of it.
University Cooperation for Equity and Empathy
Johan Galtung, 28 Apr 2014 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
The joint search for common ground is fascinating. And that leads us to a deeper field for university cooperation: joint exploration of epistemology, the criteria for valid knowledge. Imagine a four-week cooperative seminar with many universities about how to think (re-search), speak (also teach) and act (praxis) in the fields of international relations and epistemology; great NEWS!
→ read full articleBrazil’s ‘Internet Bill of Rights’ a Victory for Web Freedom
Lauren McCauley – Common Dreams,
28 Apr 2014
Tim Berners-Lee, Father of the Internet, says law will ‘unleash a new era—in which the rights of citizens in all countries are protected by a Digital Rights Charter’.
→ read full articleIndia: Stakes for Elections 2014 – Secularism or Democracy
Mazher Hussain – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
Finally we seem to have succeeded in dividing India, a country of a billion plus, into just two groups. Both groups claim to be secular… It is time people of India realize that in their mad scramble to vote for or against secularism, they should not end up sacrificing the very core essence of our nation: Democracy.
→ read full articleThe Change Within: The Obstacles We Face Are Not Just External
Naomi Klein – The Nation,
28 Apr 2014
The climate crisis has such bad timing, confronting it not only requires a new economy but a new way of thinking. This is a story about bad timing.
→ read full articleWhen Will the World Act on Myanmar’s Abuses?
Emanuel Stoakes – Al Jazeera,
28 Apr 2014
Most of all, highly credible allegations of crimes against humanity committed against the Rohingya minority underline the country’s enduring backwardness on urgent moral issues. The offences continue to this day, perpetrated as a matter of long-standing state policy.
→ read full article
Happy (Music Video of the Week)
Pharrell Williams – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do
Modeling
Dietrich Fischer – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
On a cold winter day, a model arrived at the painter’s apartment blue, almost freezing.
→ read full articleAFRICOM Goes to War on the Sly
Nick Turse - TomDispatch,
28 Apr 2014
U.S. Officials Talk Candidly (Just Not to Reporters) about bases, winning hearts and minds, and the “War” in Africa.
→ read full articleSole US Nuclear Weapons Waste Storage Site Still Closed and Hot
William Boardman - Reader Supported News,
28 Apr 2014
Nobody’s ever tried to fix an underground radiation accident before. More than two months after plutonium and americium leaked from the supposedly leak-proof underground nuclear weapons waste storage facility in New Mexico, the U.S. Department of Energy still does not know what caused the leak almost half a mile underground.
→ read full articlePersecution of Uganda’s Gays Intensifies as Rights Groups Go Underground
Amy Fallon, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
In the current climate of homophobia, which activists stress has been “imported” to Uganda via western evangelists, virtually everyone is aware they can use another person’s sexuality to exact revenge.
→ read full articleTPP Is Right Where We Want It: Going Nowhere
Maira Sutton – Electronic Frontier Foundation,
28 Apr 2014
Despite some reports of movement on some of the most controversial topics during meetings between Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Abe, it seems that the Trans Pacific Partnership is still effectively at a standstill.
→ read full article(Français) Entre gouvernance et surveillance, le coeur de NetMundial balance
Antoine Duvauchelle, ZDNet – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
Les Etats regroupés à São Paulo, Brasil devaient se mettre d’accord sur des principes liés à la gouvernance, mais n’avaient visiblement pas prévus l’irruption – pourtant attendue – de la question de la Internet surveillance.
→ read full article‘Extreme Levels’ of Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide Found in Soy Plants
EcoWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
The study, coming out in June’s [2014] issue of Food Chemistry and available online, looked at 31 different soybean plants on Iowa farms and compared the accumulation of pesticides and herbicides on plants in three categories.
→ read full articleThe Road from Abu Ghraib: A Torture Story without a Hero or an Ending
Karen J. Greenberg - TomDispatch,
28 Apr 2014
It’s mind-boggling. Torture is still up for grabs in America. No one questions anymore whether the CIA waterboarded one individual 83 times or another 186 times. The basic facts are no longer in dispute either by those who champion torture or those who, like myself, despise the very idea of it.
→ read full article(Português) Uruguai: o país da maconha estatal não presenteia o narcotráfico
Aram Aharonian – Carta Maior,
28 Apr 2014
O Uruguai, um pequeno país que quase não é visto no mapa, é o primeiro país do mundo a legalizar a maconha e a assumir o controle de todo o processo de produção e venda da erva. O governo de José Pepe Mujica recentemente também legalizou o aborto e a Lei do Matrimônio Igualitário, que permite a união de casais homossexuais.
→ read full articleJapan Launches First Whale Hunt since ICJ Ban
Shingo Ito – The Japan Times,
28 Apr 2014
The nation’s whaling fleet left port Saturday [26 Apr 2014] under tight security for its first hunt since the U.N. top court last month ordered Japan to stop killing whales in the Antarctic.
→ read full articleSecret Plan to Advance Global Internet Censorship – ISPs to Act as “Internet Police”
Roots Action – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
This is a decisive moment: we need to act right now. Join with hundreds of thousands of people all over the world to shine a light on the TPP’s job-killing Internet censorship plan. Let’s send decision-makers and the lobbyists pulling the strings a message they can’t ignore: “Stop the secrecy now.”
→ read full articleThe Grand American Tradition of Violent White Supremacy
Amy Goodman – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
16 Apr 2014 – Another U.S. shooting spree has left bullet-riddled bodies in its wake, and refocused attention on violent, right-wing extremists. A former leader of the Ku Klux Klan is accused of killing three people outside two Jewish community centers in Kansas City. As he was hauled away in a police car, he shouted “Heil Hitler!”
→ read full articleAs We Sweat Government Surveillance, Companies Like Google Collect Our Data
Dan Gillmor – The Guardian,
28 Apr 2014
The depressing news just seems to be getting worse. Google confirmed this week what many people had assumed: even if you’re not a Gmail user, your email to someone who does use their services will be scanned by the all-seeing search and the advertising company’s increasingly smart machines.
→ read full article25th IPRA General Conference LAST CALL FOR PAPERS
Nesrin Kenar, IPRA Secretary General – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Apr 2014
On the occasion of IPRA’S 50th anniversary – Istanbul, Turkey, August 10-14, 2014 – Uniting for Peace: Building Sustainable Peace through Universal Values – Deadline for Proposals: APRIL 30, 2014.
→ read full articleThe New York Times Wrestles with Israel’s Gag Orders
Haaretz – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
20 Apr 2014 – The New York Times newspaper acknowledged late last week that it complies with court-ordered gag orders when reporting from Israel. Two senior editors at the newspaper say they were unaware of The Times ever agreeing to abide by gag orders in Israel.
→ read full articleFrom the Editor’s Desk
Antonio C. S. Rosa – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
TMS is not yet at full force because I am still adjusting to a new laptop with Windows 8 after the other with Windows XP decided to quit on me. A new Portuguese keyboard does not help either. But next week all should be well–hopefully. Thanks for all the supportive messages received during the ‘crisis.’
→ read full articleFoundations of Mathematics and Set Theory As Viewed From a Historical Viewpoint
Prof. Antonino Drago – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
Only by exiting out this metaphysics, mathematics will no more obstruct the conflict resolution; otherwise Leibniz’ dream of “Calculemus!” or other appeal to scientific techniques will exclude the personal engagement for achieving a supportive peace. Only by assuming a pluralist attitude mathematics will contribute to peace.
→ read full articleHappy Easter? – Christianity, Guilty as Charged!
Andre Vltchek – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
Motto: verse from Colossians 3:22: “Slaves, obey your masters.” How primitive and brutal, and how immoral! Almost the entire North and South America, in the era of the arrival of the priests, shuttled to the “New World” by that arch criminal Christopher Columbus (Colon) and his fleet, got ruined, massacred, cheated and contaminated by all sorts of diseases. The Cross – the symbol of Christianity – was always at the front and above all that carnage.
→ read full articlePeace Education for Genuine Democracy, Good Governance and Nonviolence
Surya Nath Prasad, Ph. D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
Prof. Prasad has developed his own concept of peace education, which is based on universally inherent five elements, viz. body, vitality, mind, intellect and spirit, in every man and woman without any discrimination.
→ read full article
Peace Studies Philosopher Johan Galtung Advises Tamils to Tell the Story with a Vision
Tamilnet – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
Apr 6, 2014 – Professor Johan Galtung, principal founder of peace and conflict studies: “Tamils should come out with a campaign of vision that doesn’t threaten anyone, especially the Sinhala Buddhists.”
→ read full articleDavid Cortright – Peace: A History of Movements and Ideas
Rene Wadlow – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
David Cortright, Director of Policy Studies at Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and an activist especially on nuclear arms issues, has set out a clear and up-to-date history of the ideas and movements that make up the colors on the peace pallet. While the book has been out for some time, I review it now as a first rate overview of peace efforts and ideologies.
→ read full articlePeace Journalism from the Holy Land Points the Way to BDS
Jake Lynch – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
It calls for journalism to offer backgrounds and contexts of conflict, not just the familiar series of big bangs; a wide range of voices rather than merely a leader on each ‘side’; supply readers and audiences with the means to challenge dominant accounts, and therefore resist propaganda; highlight peace initiatives, however small, which are always underway in any conflict, perhaps in out-of-the-way places; and show images of peace as well as those of war.
→ read full article(Português) Brasil: O Desenvolvimento do País Passa pela Equidade de Gênero
Margaret Groff - Gazeta do Povo,
21 Apr 2014
O Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada confessou seu erro: 26%, e não 65% dos brasileiros e brasileiras concordam que mulheres com roupas curtas merecem ser estupradas. Ainda assim, 26%, ou um quarto da população – e isso inclui mulheres, sempre é bom destacar –, têm este pensamento retrógrado, machista, extemporâneo.
→ read full article(Italiano) Il Giappone e la comunità mondiale
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
Svegliati, Giappone. Non c’è bisogno di scegliere fra USA e Cina; sii neutrale, in termini amichevoli con entrambi. Immaginiamo un Giappone trilingue con l’inglese e il cinese, che abbondanza! Accetta l’invito dell’Asia dell’Est e del Nord Est di congiungere le loro famiglie, come la Germania e il Sud Africa hanno congiunte le loro. Diventa Giappone, potenza di pace.
→ read full articleAnswer Offered By Seymour Hersh Gets Little Public Attention
William Boardman ¬– Reader Supported News,
21 Apr 2014
Benghazi Mystery Explained!?! – Report from London links CIA Covert Op with Turkey, Syria
→ read full articleMultiethnic and Pluralistic States Have to Stay
Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
Development in Ukraine is a matter of concern as it has implications not only for Ukraine but also for other multiethnic and pluralistic states in the world. I am strongly in favor of multiethnic and pluralistic states.
→ read full articleForgiveness is Dysfunctional
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
Certain religious traditions, including Christianity, emphasise the importance of forgiveness. I want to explain why forgiveness is misconceived and, therefore, a bad idea. And why there are important psychological reasons for this.
→ read full articleEast-South China Seas, Islands–Solutions?
Johan Galtung, 21 Apr 2014 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
A Chinese proverb: better than giving a starving person a fish is teaching her to fish. So, not only solutions but how to solve conflicts.
→ read full articleBuild a Trap to Divert Europe Away From Its Own Destiny
Global Europe Anticipation Bulletin – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
Trigger a Cold War to Make It Easier To Annex Europe – The Ukrainian crisis was probably triggered for no other reason than to force the EU to buy US shale gas, to sign the TTIP (without which the former can’t be sold in Europe) and to justify a renewed increase of American-NATO military budgets thanks to the restarting of a Cold War between the West and emerging nations.
→ read full articleInternational Peace Research Association at 50
Johan Galtung - TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
Known as IPRA, founded in 1964 in London–and this author, 34 at the time, is the only surviving founder. IPRA rotates every two years from one peace research center to the other, and is now in very competent Turkish hands. And what is more natural than having the 50th anniversary for the hub of peace studies in that hub of the world, Istanbul, 10-14 August this year!! Hurry up, register!!!
→ read full articleNegotiators [not really a joke]
Dietrich Fischer – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
Albert Einstein compared the disarmament negotiations sponsored by the UN with…
→ read full article
Ave Maria (Music Video of the Week)
Andrea Bocelli – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
Composer: Gounod
→ read full articleReal Rwandan Genocide & Brainwashing of the Western Mind
Keith Harmon Snow – Russia Today,
21 Apr 2014
The real coup d’etat has been the brainwashing of the Western mind and psyche, transforming rational discerning individuals into hysterical self-congratulatory humanitarians (sic), unable to separate truth from lie, and certain of their conclusions, no matter how erroneous.
→ read full articleNow as the Ultimate Cognitive Strange Attractor
Anthony Judge – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
A Continuing Invitation “Down the Rabbit Hole”? Entering a “rabbit hole” has been understood as framing a period of chaos or confusion — appropriate to the current condition of global civilization and the challenge of individual response to it.
→ read full articleThe Origins of America’s Warfare State
Jacob G. Hornberger – Future of Freedom,
21 Apr 2014
Given that most Americans living today were born and raised under a massive military establishment, the CIA, and the NSA, a large number of Americans very likely believe that the United States has always had this type of government.
→ read full articleWar and the Visual Language of Flowers: An Antipodean Perspective
Ann Elias – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
For those of us who live in the Antipodes, the Anzac poppy is an emotive symbol and it is the catalyst for this study which looks at the significance and symbolism of floral imagery to the war imagination, and at the incongruity of flowers—which popularly signify innocence and beauty—within military contexts.
→ read full article25th IPRA General Conference LAST CALL FOR PAPERS
Nesrin Kenar, IPRA Secretary General – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
On the occasion of IPRA’S 50th anniversary – Istanbul, Turkey, August 10-14, 2014 – Uniting for Peace: Building Sustainable Peace through Universal Values – Deadline for Proposals: APRIL 30, 2014.
→ read full articleVoices of Ukraine: ‘Kiev, People Are Not Cattle!’
Andre Vltchek – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
The majority of people in this country of around 44 million are concentrated around the enormous industrial and mining centers of Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk and Krivoi Rog. There is Odessa in the south, and Kharkov, “the second capital,” in the east. People in all those parts of the country mainly speak Russian and they see what has happened in Kiev as an unceremonious coup, orchestrated and supported by the West.
→ read full articleControlling the Lens: The Media War Being Fought Over Ukraine between the Western Bloc and Russia
Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya - Global Research,
21 Apr 2014
Governments and major corporations control or, at least, try to manipulate public opinion and discursive processes through mass media communication. They also wage information wars through the use of mass media communication.
→ read full articleEurope Needs to Be Independent
John Scales Avery – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
Legacies from the First and Second World Wars and the Cold War
→ read full articleReconciliation of Hawaiians For and Against Sovereignty
John H. McFadden – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Apr 2014
For both sides of the Hawaiian sovereignty issue, the idea of reconciliation with their opponents seems ridiculous and even insulting. After all, both sides are thoroughly convinced they are right and that the other side is, well, poorly motivated, to say the least.
→ read full article
Chopin Fantasie Impromptu
Serena Wang – TRANSCEND Media Service,
14 Apr 2014
“Dances of the Dolls” -Serena Wang (born Oct 2004), the most conspicuous music prodigy under the direct tutorship of well-known and highly respected piano teacher Professor Dan Zhao Yi.
→ read full articleJapan and the World Community
Johan Galtung, 14 Apr 2014 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
14 Apr 2014
Wake up, Japan. No need to choose between the USA and China; be neutral, on friendly terms with both. Imagine a trilingual Japan with English and Chinese, what a wealth! Accept the invitation by East Asia and Northeast Asia to join their families, as Germany and South Africa joined theirs. Become Japan, the peace power.
→ read full articleMessage from TMS Editor
Antonio C. S. Rosa, editor – TRANSCEND Media Service,
14 Apr 2014
Dear TMS readers, subscribers and writers, unfortunately my computer crashed out and I was not able to upload the usual selection of materials to this Weekly Digest…
→ read full articleOuch!
Dietrich Fischer – TRANSCEND Media Service,
14 Apr 2014
Napoleon came to inspect his troops, and every soldier had to appear before him. They were a little nervous and intimidated.
→ read full article
Fear & Loathing: Albino Africans Survival in Tanzania
Russia Today – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
People can be so afraid that they’re even willing to kill. They say giving birth to such a “creature” is a curse. Some call them ‘ghosts’ and believe that owning a part of their body will make them rich–all because of the color of their skin. Documentary (26:10)
→ read full articleWhat to Celebrate in Rwanda’s Genocide Anniversary
Editorial Board – The Christian Science Monitor,
7 Apr 2014
April 3, 2014 – The 20th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide should focus as much on how the African nation worked toward reconciliation through forgiveness as on the mass slaughter itself.
→ read full articleAmerica — A Failed State?
Johan Galtung - TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
Depends, of course, on the criteria. A state has an inside towards its citizens, and an outside toward the state system. Depends on domestic and foreign policy, in other words. That means it can fail in two ways, by not catering to its citizens and by not coming to terms with other states. Actually the two are closely related as often pointed out.
→ read full articleU.S. Finalizing Plan to Boost Support for Mercenary Invaders in Syria – Sources
Mark Hosenball and Missy Ryan, Reuters – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
The U.S. government is finalizing a plan to increase training and small-arms shipments for Syrian jihadists, two U.S. security sources said on Friday [4 Apr 2014], as Syrian government troops gain momentum following the collapse of U.S.-backed peace talks.
→ read full article(Português) No Limite da Senciência
Sérgio Greif - ANDA Agência de Notícias de Direitos Animais,
7 Apr 2014
De tempos em tempos somos surpreendidos por “novas descobertas científicas” no que diz respeito ao sentimento de dor em animais. Recente estudo da Universidade do Texas demonstrou o que qualquer pessoa que já tenha manipulado ou observado cefalópodes deveria saber: Polvos e lulas são capazes de sentir dor.
→ read full articleUS Efforts to Curb Freedom of Speech on Israel and Palestine are of Grave Concern
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
I am writing today to express grave concern about a wave of legislative measures in the United States aimed at punishing and intimidating those who speak their conscience and challenge the human rights violations endured by the Palestinian people. Whether used in South Africa, the US South, or India, boycotts have resulted in a transformative change that not only brought freedom and justice to the victims but also peace and reconciliation for the oppressors.
→ read full articleEdward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald via Video at Amnesty Event
Karl Plume, Reuters - TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
5 Apr 2014 – In Chicago, a crowd of nearly 1,000 packed a hotel ballroom at Amnesty International USA’s annual human rights meeting and gave Greenwald, who dialed in from Brazil, a raucous welcome before Snowden was patched in 15 minutes later from Russia – to a standing ovation.
→ read full articleUS Operates Global Drone War from German Base – Ex-Pilot
Russia Today – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
6 Apr 2014 – “The entire drone war of the US military wouldn’t be possible without Germany,” Brandon Bryant, who resigned in 2011, told NDR television and Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
→ read full articleNATO’s Aggression against Russia and the Danger of War in Europe
Chris Marsden and Julie Hyland, WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
7 Apr 2014 – This was made clear by last week’s NATO foreign ministers summit, which set out plans for the military alliance’s expansion up to Russia’s borders, including extensive war games and the possible stationing of troops within neighbouring states.
→ read full articleNonviolent Geopolitics: Law, Politics, and 21st Century Security*
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
In this short essay, my attempt will be to articulate a conception of a world order premised on nonviolent geopolitics, as well as to consider some obstacles to its realization.
→ read full articleBig Pharma Abandons New Tuberculosis Drug Research
Fatima Hansia, CorpWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
Three major pharmaceutical companies – AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer – have recently delayed or canceled clinical trials for testing tuberculosis drugs in India and South Africa in a trend by Big Pharma to abandon research into diseases that affect poor people.
→ read full articleUnfulfilled Responsibilities of the Media
John Scales Avery – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
The media are a battleground where reformers struggle for attention, but are defeated with great regularity by the wealth and power of the establishment. This is a tragedy because today there is an urgent need to make public opinion aware of the serious problems facing civilization, and the steps that are needed to solve these problems.
→ read full articleExploring the Path towards a Nuclear-free World
Daisaku Ikeda, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
The work of building a world without nuclear weapons signifies more than just the elimination of these horrific weapons. Rather, it is a process by which the people themselves, through their own efforts, take on the challenge of realising a new era of peace and creative coexistence. This is the necessary precondition for a sustainable global society.
→ read full articleHuman Life’s Price-Tag for General Motors: 10 Bucks
Michael Moore – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
I am opposed to the death penalty, but to every rule there is usually an exception. If their top people crunch the numbers and can show that they will save more money by NOT fixing or replacing the part, then that is what they are going to goddam well do. F*** you, f*** me, and f*** everybody they sent to their deaths.
→ read full articleWhy Did GM Take So Long to Respond to Deadly Defect? Corporate Culture May Hold Answer
Michael A. Fletcher and Steven Mufson – The Washington Post,
7 Apr 2014
It’s relatively cheap and easy to replace the flawed ignition switch that has been blamed for at least 13 deaths, including a fatal June 2013 crash in Quebec newly linked to the defect. Yet General Motors waited more than a decade before recalling 2.6 million Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars.
→ read full articleShocking Court Documents Expose SeaWorld’s Continued Cruelty of Orca Whales
EcoWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
SeaWorld has faced intense criticism since the release of Blackfish, a documentary telling the story of orca whales kept in captivity at SeaWorld theme parks. Now court documents reveal that SeaWorld is pumping these marine animals full of psychotropic drugs.
→ read full articleDr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – Why He Died & Why It Matters!
Jim Albertini – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., the apostle of non-violence, was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. Few people remember him for his work for economic justice and an end to the U.S. war in Vietnam. Very few people realize that a jury in the wrongful death suit brought by the King family found that Dr. King’s death was “an act of State.”
→ read full articleA Quarter of Europe’s Bumblebees, Vital to Crops, Face Extinction: Study
Alister Doyle, Reuters – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
Almost a quarter of Europe’s bumblebees are at risk of extinction due to loss of habitats and climate change, threatening pollination of crops worth billions of dollars, a study showed on Wednesday [2 Apr 2014].
→ read full articleSaudi Arabia Declares All Atheists Are Terrorists in New Law to Crack Down on Political Dissidents
Adam Withnall – The Independent,
7 Apr 2014
Saudi Arabia has introduced a series of new laws which define atheists as terrorists, according to a report from Human Rights Watch. The new “terrorism” provisions contain language that prosecutors and judges are already using to prosecute and convict independent activists and peaceful dissidents.
→ read full articleFIFA Threatens to Expel Israel over Restrictions on Palestinians
The Jerusalem Post – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
According to Inside World Football, FIFA has given Israel until the summer to improve travel and playing conditions for Palestinian soccer players.
→ read full articleThe US-Russia Ukrainian Deal
Pepe Escobar – Asia Times,
7 Apr 2014
4 Apr 2014 – By the time you read this Russia will have invaded Ukraine. Well, that’s what the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, General Philip Breedlove, is spinning. Breedlove Supreme says the Russians are “ready to go” and could easily take over eastern Ukraine. Western corporate media have already dusted off their Kevlar vests.
→ read full articleBeing neither Dead nor Alive
Anthony Judge – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Apr 2014
How do such questions relate to the ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as embodied in the US Declaration of Independence? Does the sense of being alive relate to the experience of happiness or rather to some more profound and inexplicable engagement with life?
→ read full articleEgypt in the Rear Mirror (II): Who Are the Not-So-Invisible Powers Behind the Troglodytes?
Baher Kamal - Human Wrongs Watch,
7 Apr 2014
Cairo, 26 March 2014 – “If you cannot win them, join them” seems to be the old British political principle that Washington has been applying to its plans to re-design the Arab region, always under the recurrent public pretext of the “war on terrorism.”
→ read full article