Articles by M
We found 36604 results.
The Burial Of Our Species – The Roads Leading to Disaster
Fidel Castro Ruz – TRANSCEND Media Service,
2 Apr 2012
Almost 200 States, supposedly independent, constitute the political organization which in theory has the job of governing the destiny of the world. Approximately 25,000 nuclear weapons in the hands of allied or enemy forces ready to defend the changing order, by interest or necessity, virtually reduce to zero the rights of billions of people. I shall not commit the naïveté of assigning the blame to Russia or China for the development of that kind of weaponry, after the monstrous massacre at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ordered by Truman after Roosvelt’s death.
→ read full articleGifts
TMS Editor,
2 Apr 2012
It was Thursday evening and Bob was in trouble. He forgot his wedding anniversary. His wife was really mad.
→ read full articleBirthing Justice: Women Creating Economic and Social Alternatives
Beverly Bell and Other Worlds – TRANSCEND Media Service,
2 Apr 2012
From Idla Martines de Souza organizing with the Landless Workers Movement in Brazil, to Emem Okon building peace in middle of a resource war in Nigeria, to Juana Ferrer and Via Campesina turning towards food sovereignty to end gender violence, each of these women have important wisdom and vision to share with us all. Birthing Justice is dedicated to women everywhere who are creating a more just and humane world, especially those doing so in the face of physical and structural violence, and most especially those in Haiti and Honduras.
→ read full articleChiquita Banana to Face Colombia Torture Claim
Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service,
2 Apr 2012
Chiquita, the global banana producer, was ordered this week to face a federal court over their role in paying off right wing death squads in Colombia. Villagers allege that the death squads used “random and targeted violence in exchange for financial assistance and access to Chiquita’s private port for arms and drug smuggling,” according to a lawsuit filed on their behalf by EarthRights International and Cohen Milstein.
→ read full articleWhy Germany Is Phasing Out Nuclear Power
David Roberts, grist – TRANSCEND Media Service,
2 Apr 2012
The most controversial aspect of this power overhaul is Germany’s post-Fukushima decision to completely phase out nuclear power by 2020, which caused the heads of Very Serious People to explode on multiple continents. To many, passing ambitious low-carbon energy goals and then axing a good chunk of your low-carbon energy seems irrational and self-defeating.
→ read full articleLiving with Incomprehension and Uncertainty: Re-Cognizing the Varieties of Non-Comprehension and Misunderstanding
Anthony Judge – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
Produced In a Period When Sustained Incomprehension May Well Enable World War III – This follows from explorations of the experience of nothingness and pointlessness in daily life — especially as a consequence of the current pattern of global strategies (Configuring the Varieties of Experiential Nothingness, 2012; Way Round Cognitive Ground Zero and Pointlessness? 2012). The experience may well be intimately related to a sense of incomprehension at the paradoxes and absurdities of life, irrespective of how well-informed an individual may be.
→ read full articleTowards the Dynamic Art of Partial Comprehension
Anthony Judge – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
Annex B of ‘Living with Incomprehension and Uncertainty’ (2012) – Shared binary commitment: Curiously, and as illustrated by Catholic commentary on the Galileo Affair (above), science and religion share a profound commitment to binary logic. This takes the form of truth/falsehood, right/wrong, correct/incorrect, believer/nonbeliever, etc — as variously interpreted. Shades of gray are condemned. This commitment is evident in the military operations they variously reinforce — in the distinction between friend/enemy, or victory/defeat, and the very nature of launching missiles against targets. As profit/loss, the latter pattern permeates commercial marketing and foreign policy, as previously discussed (Us and Them: Relating to Challenging Others, 2009; Enhancing Sustainable Development Strategies through Avoidance of Military Metaphors, 1998; ).
→ read full articleThe Face of the Crisis – And Alternatives
Johan Galtung, 26 Mar 2012 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
The trade in derivatives is now at $1 quadrillion a year (15 zeros), ten times the industrial economy of the whole 20th century. Many got rich, but the system collapsed. Maybe prison would have been more adequate for intellectual sloppiness? That equation is a part of the closed paradigm of economism. Does it offer a solution, not only for banks and bankers, but for the bottom 99.9%? The 0.1%/99.9% income ratio USA 2007 was 140; an unbelievable inequality, both cause and effect of the crisis.
→ read full articleThe Nonviolent Protest at Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant
SP Udayakumar & Antonio C. S. Rosa,
26 Mar 2012
Johan Galtung, the TRANSCEND Network membership, and we at TRANSCEND Media Service wish to assert our full support and express our sympathy to SP Udayakumar, one of the TRANSCEND Conveners for South Asia, and the thousands of his compatriots engaged on a 8-month old nonviolent struggle in opposition to a nuclear power plant in their backyard since the 1980s, and which has now reached the limits of their tolerance and acceptance.
→ read full article
Hans Blix: The Iranian Threat (VIDEO OF THE WEEK)
Talk to Al Jazeera – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
The former UN Weapons inspector talks about Iran and how to prevent a nuclear arms race and military crisis in the Middle East.
→ read full articleWhy Barack Obama is the More Effective Evil
Glen Ford – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
No matter how much evil Barack Obama actually accomplishes during his presidency, people that call themselves leftists insist on dubbing him the Lesser Evil. Not only is Obama not given proper credit for out-evil-ing George Bush, domestically and internationally, but the First Black President is awarded positive grades for his intentions versus the presumed intentions of Republicans. As the author says, this “is psycho-babble, not analysis. No real Left would engage in it.”
→ read full articleAlgerian Dissident Silenced By France
Yasmine Ryan – Al Jazeera,
26 Mar 2012
The arrest by French authorities of Mourad Dhina, one of the most vocal critics of Algeria’s administration, underscores just how little has changed in the North African country.
[TMS Editor’s Note: Dr. Mourad Dhina and RACHAD TV are close associates of TRANSCEND, of which Dr. Abbas Aroua is the Convener for the Arab World. Prof. Johan Galtung has granted many interviews to RACHAD TV over the years. He and TRANSCEND would never get involved with terrorists. Such accusations against Dr. Dhina are ludicrous. Please see Prof. Galtung’s Feb 6, 2012 TMS Editorial about Dr. Dhina HERE –Antonio C. S. Rosa]
From the Roots to the Fruit: Nonviolence in Action Conference
TRANSCEND Member Ela Gandhi – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
In 1994 South African regime transformed from a racially based oppressive regime to a democratically elected inclusive regime. This happened through hard-nosed negotiations between the various interest groups. It was proclaimed to be a miracle. It was nonviolence in action largely driven by the African National Congress and its formidable leadership, led by Nelson Mandela.
→ read full articleAl Jazeera Journalist Explains Resignation over Syria and Bahrain Coverage
Paul Jay, The Real News Network – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
Ali Hashem: Al Jazeera has become a “media war machine” and is “committing journalistic suicide”.
→ read full articleWhy the UN Acts to Hold Sri Lanka Accountable for War Crimes
J.S. Tissainayagam - GlobalPost,
26 Mar 2012
A few incidents that have led to commentators voicing doubts on the impartiality of the UN’s role in Sri Lanka.
→ read full articleWhy Not Get the Law and Politics Right in Iran?
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
As it is there is no legal foundation in the Nonproliferation Treaty or elsewhere for the present reliance on threat diplomacy in dealing with Iran. These threats violate Article 2(4) of the UN Charter that wisely prohibits not only uses of force but also threats to use force. Iran diplomacy presents an odd case, as political real politik and international law clearly point away from the military option, and yet the winds of war are blowing ever harder.
→ read full articleWhy Do We Protest the NATO Summit?
Buddy Bell, Voices for Creative Nonviolence – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
After the end of World War II, a group of nations in the north Atlantic established NATO to impede Russian influence over the reconstruction of Europe and to facilitate their own. After the Cold War ended, the U.S. rebranded NATO and extended its mandate as a defender of liberty in regions beyond the north Atlantic. Seeing military action as a suitable solution to various global conflicts, it has had the effect of sowing discord and violence instead of alleviating these problems.
→ read full articleU.S. Government Still Not Ready for Democracy in Haiti
Mark Weisbrot – The Guardian,
26 Mar 2012
Haitians were ready again in 2000 when they elected Aristide a second time with 90 percent of the vote. But Washington would not accept the results of that election either, so it organized a cut-off of international aid to the government and poured millions into the opposition. As Paul Farmer (Bill Clinton’s Deputy Special Envoy of the UN to Haiti) testified to the U.S. Congress in 2010: “Choking off assistance for development and for the provision of basic services also choked off oxygen to the government, which was the intention all along: to dislodge the Aristide administration.”
→ read full articleThousands of Anti-Nuclear Protesters Face Police in India: 212 Arrested, 15 on Hunger Strike
Jeemon Jacob – Tehelka,
26 Mar 2012
21 Mar 2012 – People’s Movement against Nuclear Energy activists continue indefinite hunger strike even as police arrest 212 protesters. According to Dr SP Udaykumar [the TRANSCEND Network Convener for South Asia], from People’s Movement against Nuclear Energy, who is on a indefinite hunger strike, around 5000 people assembled at the St Lourdes Church ground since Monday [19 Mar 2012]. “We, eight men and seven women, are on an indefinite hunger strike. The green signal for Koodankulam is a red signal for our lives. We will continue our protest till we die,” said Udayakumar.
→ read full articleBack to Child Labor and Slavery?
John Scales Avery – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
Until the start of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries, human society maintained a more or less sustainable relationship with nature. However, with the beginning of the industrial era, traditional ways of life, containing both ethical and environmental elements, were replaced by the money-centered, growth-oriented life of today, from which these vital elements are missing.
→ read full articleChanging the Story in the Middle East
Philip Giraldi, The Passionate Attachment – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
I’m sure that many have noted how successful Israel and its friends are at shifting the narrative. Palestinian statehood was made a non-issue by ignoring it in the media and concentrating instead on the largely fictitious threat being posed by Iran. The purpose of the chaff being thrown around by Israel is to preclude any serious discussion of what is going on in the West Bank, where settlements continue to expand inexorably.
→ read full articleNo One Asked Their Names
Qais Azimy – Al Jazeera,
26 Mar 2012
Many mainstream media outlets channelled a significant amount of energy into uncovering the slightest detail about the accused soldier – now identified as Staff Sergeant Robert Bales. We even know where his wife wanted to go for vacation. But the victims became a footnote, just the number 16. No one bothered to ask their ages, their hobbies, their aspirations. Worst of all, no one bothered to ask their names. In honoring their memory, I write their names below, and the little we know about them: that nine of them were children, three were women.
→ read full articleCaptured Europe
Simon Johnson and Daron Acemoglu – Project Syndicate,
26 Mar 2012
The Greek default has turned out to be the proverbial dog that didn’t bark. The lesson for Europe – and for the US – is clear: it is time to stop listening to what banks say, and start focusing on what they do.
→ read full article(Portuguese) Comércio Mundial de Armas Cresceu 24% nos Últimos 5 Anos, Aponta Estudo
BBC Brasil – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
O comércio internacional de armas aumentou substancialmente nos últimos cinco anos, segundo um relatório divulgado nesta segunda-feira [19 Mar 2012] pelo Instituto de Pesquisas para a Paz de Estocolmo (Sipri, na sigla em inglês).
→ read full articleWinter of Crisis Killing the Elderly in Portugal
Mario Queiroz – Inter Press Service-IPS,
26 Mar 2012
The General Directorate of Health (DGS) reported that 11,600 people died in February, 1,600 more than in the same month in previous years. Most of the victims were over 75. Public health experts say the record number of deaths is associated with the economic crisis and the draconian cuts in public spending made as a condition for the multi-billion dollar bailout of Portugal in 2011. Free access to public health services, one of the major achievements of the Apr. 25, 1974 “Carnation Revolution” that ushered in democracy after a 48-year dictatorship, is in danger.
→ read full articleMaking Sense of Egypt – Part One: In Defence of Conspiracy as a Method
Ahmed Badawi – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
An analysis of the football violence that happened in Port Said at the beginning of February 2012 and a defence of conspiracy as a method of explanation.
→ read full articleRussia-NATO Summit Cancelled
Itar-Tass – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
The Russia-NATO summit has stalled, the Kommersant daily reported. Experts noted that the decision to cancel a May [2012] meeting between Vladimir Putin and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is linked with the disagreement over the vital issue, the missile defence system in Europe.
→ read full articleSharp Increase in Palestinian Deaths in 2011
Al Jazeera – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
An annual report from the Jerusalem-based B’Tselem showed that in 2011 Israeli security forces killed a total of 105 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, of whom 37 were confirmed as non-combatants. “The picture is harsh, not because of dramatic events or a sudden deterioration, but precisely because of the routine,” the report said.
→ read full articleProject Brings Peace Journalism to Uganda
Steven Youngblood, Peace Portal – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
As I taught Peace Journalism in Uganda for five weeks in 2009, I kept hearing from the journalists in my seminars that they liked and needed what I was teaching. However, they emphasized that Uganda needed many more peace journalism lessons. At their urging we put together a proposal for a comprehensive Peace, Development, and Electoral Journalism project for 2010-2011. It’s our hope that this model can replicated elsewhere, since it proved to be such a powerful tool for peace and reconciliation in Uganda.
→ read full articleFrance Bans Strain of Monsanto GM Maize
Agence France Press-AFP – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
French Agricultural Minister Bruno Le Maire imposed Friday [16 Mar 2012] a temporary ban on a genetically modified strain of maize made by US company Monsanto “to protect the environment”. The French agriculture ministry said in a statement that the Monsanto maize strain MON 810 had been banned as a “precautionary measure”.
→ read full articleBRICS Bank Could Change the Money Game
Kester Kenn Klomegah – Inter Press Service-IPS,
26 Mar 2012
India’s proposal to set up a bank of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will top the agenda at the summit of the group in New Delhi Mar 28 2012. “Basically India, China and perhaps Russia are trying to show off their economic clout; they are trying to demonstrate to the west that they can do without them. Above all they need freedom from western financial influence.”
→ read full articleRedefining Research
Jenica Rhee & Associates – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
After 244 years, the Encyclopedia Britannica has decided to halt the presses and go out of print. Facing the realities and the stiff competition from Wikipedia, the Encyclopedia Britannica will now focus primarily on their online services. But even then, it might be too late. Wikipedia has grown to be the number one source for students. This infographic highlights how Wikipedia has revolutionized research and how it has become a reliable fountain of knowledge.
→ read full articleReconciliation Is Not Happening In Sri Lanka, and the Problem Isn’t a Question of Time
Sivakami Rajamanoharan – Open Democracy,
26 Mar 2012
The Tamil call for independent statehood stemmed from a very basic need for security against genocide. For many, including the next generation of Tamil youth activists, the events of 2009 consolidated this need.
→ read full articleThe Ordeal of Hana Shalabi: Medical Urgency and Spiritual Defiance
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
The respected human rights NGOs, Addameer-Palestine and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, have expressed their deep concern for the mortal danger facing Hana Shalabi who continues her historic hunger strike to protest abuse that she experienced and her objections to the Israeli practice of prolonged detention without charges, without trial.
→ read full articleThe Criminalization of Homosexuality in Cameroon Violates International Human Rights Laws
Jean Atabong Fomeni – Kimpa Vita Press,
26 Mar 2012
The term ‘wrong’ is largely ambiguous, encompassing both civil and criminal wrongs. We talk of civil wrong where there is a tortuous liability; for example, the breach of contract. This paper, however, shall limit itself within the purview of criminal wrongs, the category of wrongs where homosexuality resides.
→ read full articleCows
TMS Editor,
26 Mar 2012
“Mister, why doesn’t this cow have any horns?” asked the young lady from a nearby city.
→ read full articleThe Global March to Jerusalem – March 30, 2012
Global Research – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
The Global March to Jerusalem (GMJ) is a groundbreaking new initiative that is organising non-violent civil resistance on 30th March 2012 in Palestine and the four neighbouring countries: Egypt, Lebanon Jordan and Syria. The GMJ is comprised of a diverse coalition of Palestinian, Arab and international activists who are united in the struggle to liberate the holy city of Jerusalem (the city of Peace) from illegal Zionist occupation.
→ read full article(Portuguese) A Guerra Suja Contra a WikiLeaks
John Pilger – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
As difamações dos média sugerem a cumplicidade da Suécia com um esforço impulsionado por Washington para punir Julian Assange.
→ read full article(Italian) Libia Un Anno Fa: Memoria Corta
Manlio Dinucci – Centro Studi Sereno Regis,
26 Mar 2012
Uno degli effetti delle armi di distrazione di massa è quello di cancellare la memoria di fatti anche recenti, facendone perdere le tracce. È passato così sotto silenzio il fatto che un anno fa, il 19 marzo [2011], iniziava il bombardamento aeronavale della Libia, formalmente «per proteggere i civili». In sette mesi, l’aviazione Usa/Nato effettuava 30mila missioni, di cui 10mila di attacco, con impiego di oltre 40mila bombe e missili.
→ read full article(Castellano) México DF Abole las Corridas de Toros
Asociación Animalista Libera – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
Tenemos el placer de informaros de que hace apenas unos minutos, la Comisión de Administración Pública del Distrito Federal (México) acaba de aprobar la iniciativa para abolir las corridas de toros, ciudad donde se encuentra la plaza más grande del mundo.
→ read full articleSri Lanka Angered By U.N. Vote to Investigate War Abuses
Emily Alpert – Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar 2012
In a step that infuriated Sri Lankan leaders, the country was urged to investigate alleged war crimes from its bloody civil war, in a resolution passed Thursday [22 Mar 2012] by the chief human rights body at the United Nations.
→ read full article(Italian) Le Nuove Guerre dei Militari USA di Vicenza
Antonio Mazzeo – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Mar 2012
I militari USA di Vicenza sono impegnati pure in due sanguinosi fronti di guerra del continente africano: in Somalia, in qualità di consiglieri della forza multinazionale dell’Unione africana intervenuta contro le milizie degli shebab; in Uganda, nella guerra scatenata contro gli ultimi gruppi ribelli del Lord’s Resistance Army di Joseph Kony.
→ read full articleThe Difference between Bahrain and Syria
Mohamed Omar - ArabNyheter,
19 Mar 2012
Why do you support the opposition in Bahrain and not in Syria? The answer is simple. I don’t support any opposition just because it is an opposition. That would be as stupid and illogic as supporting any government just because it is a government. I try to base my political positions on principles. You have to analyze each case before you make up your mind in accordance with your basic principles.
→ read full articleRachel Corrie, 9 Years On
Arab American Institute – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
Far more important than remembering Rachel’s tragic death is remembering her inspiring life. Seldom in life do we come across someone with the extraordinary commitment to justice that Rachel possessed. If only she could see how she has inspired so many in the USA to demand justice for Palestinians, including her parents who have become outspoken critics of the occupation their daughter protested years before.
→ read full articleChevron Execs Barred From Leaving Brazil
Agence France Press-AFP – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
A judge barred 17 Chevron executives from around the world from leaving Brazil in an oil spill investigation as prosecutors readied new charges over a second spill involving the US energy giant, local media reported Saturday [17 Mar 2012].
→ read full articleAfghanistan: The War Turns Pathological—Withdraw!
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
16 Afghan civilians, including women and children, were shot in their homes in the middle of the night. American soldiers urinating on dead Taliban fighters, Koran burning, and countryside patrols whose members were convicted by an American military tribunal of killing Afghan civilians for sport: whatever the U.S. military commanders in Kabul might sincerely say in regret and Washington might repeat by way of formal apology has become essentially irrelevant.
→ read full articleU.S. Military Unveils Heat Ray Weapon: ‘You’re Gonna Feel It’
Paul Koring -The Globe and Mail,
19 Mar 2012
In the ‘War of the Worlds’ the Martians used them to incinerate pesky humans more than a century ago. The Pentagon plans are more modest: crowd control of pesky humans. Still, after more than a century, the ‘heat ray’ has made the leap from fiction to reality with the U.S. military demonstrating the so-called ‘goodbye effect’ of directing electromagnetic waves at people. It delivers sudden, unbearable heat, like the invisible wave when a hot oven door is opened but far more powerful – an intense, enveloping but non-lethal blast.
→ read full articleLaunching the U.S. Terror War: the CIA, 9/11, Afghanistan, and Central Asia
The Asia-Pacific Journal – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
Throughout this essay we have seen two different and indeed antithetical levels of U.S. foreign policy at work. On the surface level of public diplomacy we see a commitment to international law and the peaceful resolution of differences. On a deeper level, represented by a long-time Saudi connection and covert arrangements to control international oil, we see the toleration and indeed protection of terrorists in fulfillment of both Saudi and American secret goals.
→ read full articleThe Bloody Road to Damascus: The Triple Alliance’s War on a Sovereign State
Prof. James Petras – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
There is clear and overwhelming evidence that the uprising to overthrow President Assad of Syria is a violent, power grab led by foreign-supported fighters who have killed and wounded thousands of Syrian soldiers, police and civilians, partisans of the government and its peaceful opposition.
→ read full articleIndia: Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project Update and Alert
S. P. Udayakumar – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
March 19, 2012 – Just in: Some 10 people, including Struggle Committee members have been arrested. The Tamil Nadu State government is increasing the police strength in front of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP). Heavy police force has been posted in a few major junctions around Koodankulam. There are rumors that we all could be arrested soon and they may decide to re-start the KKNPP. WE ARE READY! The tension is increasing; the government is acting in a high-handed manner. Please keep an eye on us.
→ read full articlePolitical Party for Animal Rights Formed in Turkey
Today’s Zaman, Istanbul – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
Turkey’s first animal rights political party, the Animal Party, was established this week [16 Mar 2012] in an effort to bring the issue of the protection of animal’s rights and welfare to the political table. The aim of the party is not just to promote love for animals but to remind those who view the world solely in terms of humans that we live together with animals and that they have rights, too.
→ read full articleNow Even the Eurozone Admits It Has Condemned Greece to Never-Ending Austerity
Jeremy Warner – The Daily Telegraph,
19 Mar 2012
According to Reuters, an unpublished “Compliance Report” by EU executives has concluded that Greece will have to impose a further fiscal squeeze in 2013/14 in order to meet the targets that underpin the second international bailout. The chances of Greece being able to do this are about zero, though that is my conclusion, not that of the report. Where is Greece expected to find these cuts? Further savings in welfare payments, pharmaceutical spending?
→ read full articleThe GMJ-India Convoy Started Its Journey towards Jerusalem
Gilad Atzmon – TRANCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
The Indian convoy has finally set off towards Jerusalem in a farewell ceremony held at the Rajghat, which is the final resting place of Mahatma Gandhi. The 54 delegates come from all the four corners of India & represent the diverse, plural & secular ethos of India. They will travel to Iran, Turkey & then by ship, to Beirut. On the 30th of March, with hundreds of thousands of people & delegations from the majority of the nations of the world, they will march to the borders of Palestine, demanding an end to the Judaisation of Jerusalem & Freedom for Palestine.
→ read full articleHana Shalabi: A Brave Act of Palestinian Nonviolence
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
Despite the calls to Palestinian from liberals in the West these extraordinary hunger strikes have met with silence or indifference in both Israel and the West. The UN has not raised its voice, as well. Hana Shalabi seems a young tender and normal woman who is dedicated to her family, hopes for marriage, and simple pleasures of shopping. She had previously been held in prison in Israel between 2009 and 2011, being released in the prisoner exchange that freed 1027 Palestinians. As she was returning to normalcy she was re-arrested in an abusive manner, which allegedly included a strip-search by a male soldier.
→ read full article(Castellano) Panamá Prohíbe las Corridas de Toros
AnimaNaturalis – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
“Quedan prohibidas las peleas de perros, las carreras entre animales, las lidias de toro, ya sean de estilo español o portugués, la creación, entrada, permanencia y funcionamiento en el territorio nacional de todo tipo de circo o espectáculo circense que utilice animales amaestrados de cualquier especie”.
→ read full articleDocumentary Film ‘The Crisis of Civilization’ Released Online For Free
Institute for Policy Research & Development – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
The documentary feature film, The Crisis of Civilization – based on TRANSCEND member Dr. Nafeez Ahmed’s latest book, A User’s Guide to the Crisis of Civilization: And How to Save It (Pluto/Macmillan, 2010) – has just been released today [15 Mar 2012] free, online.
→ read full articleWhite House Says Child Soldiers Are OK, If They Fight Terrorists
Michelle Chen – ColorLines,
19 Mar 2012
The phenomenon of child soldiers, like genocide, slavery and torture, seems like one of those crimes that no nation could legitimately defend. Yet the Obama administration decided to leave kids stranded on the world’s bloodiest battlegrounds. It issued a presidential memorandum granting waivers from the Child Soldiers Prevention Act to Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Yemen, citing that “it is in our national interest.”
→ read full articleWho Are the ‘Terrorists’?
Justin Raimondo – antiwar.com,
19 Mar 2012
I have the sinking feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of this American horror show, while – under the pretext of “fighting terrorism” – we act out our sadistic fantasies all over the world. As these outrages against human decency and morality provoke worldwide revulsion at the perpetrators, perhaps one day we’ll go looking for “terrorists” in the vicinity of a mirror – and see ourselves for what we’ve become.
→ read full articlePeru Passes Monumental Ten Year Ban on Genetically Engineered Foods
Occupy Monsanto – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
March 10, 2012 – In a massive blow to multinational agribiz corporations such as Monsanto, Bayer, and Dow, Peru has officially passed a law banning genetically modified ingredients anywhere within the country for a full decade before coming up for another review.
→ read full article
Rabbi Dovid Weiss: Zionism Has Created ‘Rivers of Blood’
Al Jazeera – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
The Jewish scholar explains why Zionism and Judaism are not necessarily the same thing and why he believes that Israel as a state is not legitimate.
→ read full articleMillennium Development Goal Drinking Water Target Met
Danny Schechter – Al Jazeera,
19 Mar 2012
6 Mar 2012 – The world has met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water, well in advance of the MDG 2015 deadline, according to a report issued today by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO). Between 1990 and 2010, over two billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources, such as piped supplies and protected wells.
→ read full articleDear Abby,
TMS Editor,
19 Mar 2012
I have never written to you before, but I really need your advice. I have suspected for some time now that my wife has been cheating on me.
→ read full articleEurope Bans Export of Death Penalty Drugs
Jennifer Kaye – YES! Magazine,
19 Mar 2012
In response to recommendations from a 2010 Amnesty International report, the European Commission has banned the export of drugs used for execution by lethal injection in the United States. “The decision today contributes to the wider EU efforts to abolish the death penalty worldwide,” said Catherine Ashton, vice president of the commission, in a press release.
→ read full articleGoldman Stunned by Op-Ed Loses $2.2 Billion for Shareholders
Christine Harper, Bloomberg News – San Francisco Chronicle,
19 Mar 2012
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. saw $2.15 billion of its market value wiped out after an employee assailed Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein’s management and the firm’s treatment of clients, sparking debate across Wall Street. The shares dropped 3.4 percent in New York trading yesterday [14 Mar 2012], the third-biggest decline in the 81-company Standard & Poor’s 500 Financials Index, after London-based Greg Smith made the accusations in a New York Times op-ed piece.
→ read full articleShould We Celebrate a Decline in Global Poverty?
Adam Parsons, Share the World’s Resources – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
The World Bank’s latest data suggests a decline in global poverty throughout every region of the developing world, as well as the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goal on halving poverty well ahead of schedule. But is this really the ‘good news’ that we are led to believe?
→ read full articleIrenea: a Cinema for Peace and Nonviolence
Centro Studi Sereno Regis – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
From TRANSCEND Member Prof. Nanni Salio, director of the CSSR: The Sereno Regis Study Center (Centro Studi Sereno Regis) in Turin is promoting the establishment of a multi-media educational lab meant to develop a movie culture oriented to peaceful, nonviolent and deeply respectful relationships to all living beings in the Earth’s ecosystem. The lab will be a place of search and spread of a movie culture that may help spot and recognize visible as well as invisible violence.
→ read full articleHow the News Media Doesn’t Give Peace a Chance
Richard Schiffman - Truthout,
19 Mar 2012
“Israel vs. Iran” reads a recent cover of The New York Times Magazine – the words written ominously in ashes from which smoke and flame still rise. Inside the magazine, Ronen Bergman a military analyst for the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth argues that an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities in 2012 is inevitable… War at its root is a failure of imagination, a failure to think creatively about alternatives to violent conflict. Such is the argument of “Peace Journalism,” a field of study and practice which first emerged in the 1970s from the work of Norwegian sociologist, Johan Galtung.
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Weapon of Mass Pollution: Pentagon World’s Largest Polluter (VIDEO OF THE WEEK)
Russia Today – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
America’s mighty military presence around the world is leaving many locals with a bad taste in their mouths… quite literally. The Pentagon is accused of causing massive – and sometimes deadly – pollution. Not just in other countries, but at home too.
→ read full articleEnviro Groups Fear “Dangerously Misguided” Plan to Unleash Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
Common Dreams staff – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2012
Eric Hoffman of Friends of the Earth U.S. said: “The fact that Oxitec is hiding data from the public has undermined its credibility. Oxitec’s assertions cannot be trusted. Trials of its mosquitoes must not move forward in the absence of comprehensive and impartial reviews of the environmental, human health and ethical risks. Such trials must also await the establishment of a clear and well designed regulatory framework, which does not yet exist.”
→ read full articleChallenging the Ruling Global Corporate Conglomerates – Regaining the Real Economy
Prof. John McMurtry – Global Research,
19 Mar 2012
As Adam Smith says in a little-known overview of the market’s supply-demand system, “among the inferior ranks of people the scantiness of subsistence can set limits to the further multiplication of the human species; and it can so in no other way than by destroying a great part of the children which their fruitful marriages produce”. This is why market-capitalist ideology has been so long bent on assimilating the system to natural laws. It drapes the monstrous mechanism in a macro alibi of ‘natural struggle for existence.’
→ read full articleEvangelist Sued in U.S. for Inciting Anti-Gay Hatred in Uganda
Charundi Panagoda and Jim Lobe – Inter Press Service-IPS,
19 Mar 2012
The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed a federal lawsuit in Massachusetts Wednesday [14 Mar 2012] on behalf of the Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG) and against Scott Lively, a right-wing evangelist, for inciting a hatred that has led to increased violence against LGBT persons. He is also the author of “The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party”, a 1995 book that claimed Nazism was created and propagated by homosexuals, and a second book, “Seven Steps to Recruit-Proof Your Child”, a how-to guide for parents to “prevent” their children from becoming homosexual.
→ read full articleAll Red Meat Is Bad For You, New Study Says
Eryn Brown - Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar 2012
Eating red meat — any amount and any type — appears to significantly increase the risk of premature death, according to a long-range study that examined the eating habits and health of more than 110,000 adults for more than 20 years.
→ read full articleBeyond Fukushima
Yukiya Amano – Project Syndicate,
12 Mar 2012
The accident at Fukushima resulted from an earthquake and tsunami of unprecedented severity. But, as the Japanese authorities have acknowledged, human and organizational failings played an important part, too.
→ read full articleEminent Indians Speak Out Against Harassment of Anti-Nuclear Activists in Koodankulam
DiaNuke – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
Several eminent citizens, concerned about nuclear safety and the government’s campaign of slander against the Koodankulam anti-nuclear plant agitation in Tamil Nadu, have signed a public statement denouncing the government’s high-handedness against the peaceful protesters in Koodankulam. The signatories also include writers Arundhati Roy, Adil Jussawalla and Vandana Shiva. The statement is of vital public importance in view of the government’s plans to forge ahead with nuclear power expansion regardless of its safety and economic issues, and strong public opposition to new nuclear reactors.
→ read full articleIsraeli Apartheid Week Kicks Off in South Africa
The Voice of Palestine – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
The cultural week against the Israeli apartheid regime in occupied Palestine were launched in more than 13 South African cities in the context of global activities and events taking place in about 90 cities around the world. These events include university seminars, lectures, documentaries movies, photo galleries and many other activities on the apartheid system pursued by Israel.
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CNN Silences War-Skeptical Soldier (VIDEO OF THE WEEK)
CNN – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
Watch what happens when 28-year-old Cpl. Jesse Thorsen touches a neuralgic nerve by suggesting that Israel can take care of itself. It’s impossible to say exactly what happened to the remote feed that suddenly got lost in transmission back to CNN Central, but the minute-long video is truly worth a thousand words. The interview, which dates back to Jan. 3 2012, is symbolic of how the US Corporate Media treats dissident voices that clash with the prevailing pro-war-on-Iran bias.
→ read full articleReciprocity, Lawfare, and Self-Defense: Targeted Killing
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
There is an emergent Israeli/American controversy on the lawfulness of targeted killing. Although the policy has not yet attained the status of being a national debate, there are signs that it may be about to happen, especially in light of the Attorney General, Eric Holder’s Northwestern Law School speech on March 5, 2012 outlining the Obama’s administration’s controversial approach to targeted killing in some detail.
→ read full articleWikiLeaks Stratfor Emails Devastating
TYT Network – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
“Some 5m internal emails from Stratfor, an Austin, Texas-based company that brands itself as a “global intelligence” provider, were recently obtained by Anonymous, the hacker collective, and are being released in batches by WikiLeaks. The most striking revelation from the latest disclosure is not simply the military-industrial complex that conspires to spy on citizens, activists and trouble-causers, but the extremely low quality of the information available to the highest bidder.”
→ read full articleMystery: How Wealth Creates Poverty in the World
Michael Parenti – Information Clearing House,
12 Mar 2012
Isn’t it time that liberal critics stop thinking that the people who own so much of the world—and want to own it all—are “incompetent” or “misguided” or “failing to see the unintended consequences of their policies”? You are not being very smart when you think your enemies are not as smart as you. They know where their interests lie, and so should we.
→ read full articleNigeria Oil Corruption Highlighted by Audits
Joe Brock and Tim Cocks, Reuters – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
An important supplier to the United States because of the oil’s high gasoline content, Nigeria has attracted billions of dollars of investments from the world’s top oil companies. Yet poverty in Africa’s second biggest economy is rising, with almost 100 million people living on less than $1 a day, data released last month shows. The percentage of Nigerians living in absolute poverty – those who can afford only the bare essentials of food, shelter and clothing – has risen to around 60 percent.
→ read full articleWhy Putin Is Driving Washington Nuts
Pepe Escobar – Asia Times,
12 Mar 2012
So Washington and its minions have been warned. Before last Sunday’s [4 Mar 2012] election, Putin advertised his road map: no war on Syria; no war on Iran; no “humanitarian bombing” or fomenting “color revolutions” – all “illegal instruments of soft power”. For Putin, a Washington-engineered New World Order is a no-go. What rules is “the time-honored principle of state sovereignty”.
→ read full articleLanguage of Politics in True Perspective
Charles Mercieca, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
In view of what has been stated and based on the tangible evidence that was presented, we can fully understand that when China and the United States speak of “national defense and security” they do attribute to this phraseology an entirely different meaning, even though the sound is identical. For China, “national defense and security” means simply the “protection of the country from any possible invasion.” For the United States, “national defense and security” means merely the “preparation for the waging of never-ending wars around the world by using the most devastating weapons available.
→ read full articleChina to Export Yuan to BRICS
Russia Today – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
China is reportedly to begin extending loans in yuan to BRICS countries in another step towards internationalizing the national currency and diversifying from the US dollar. Brazil and South Africa were quick to react to the proposal, saying they expect the lending pledge to be included into a master agreement to be signed in New Delhi on March 29 [2012].
→ read full articlePeace Mathematics – Does It Exist?
Johan Galtung, 12 Mar 2012 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
It does, even in print; pardon some publicity! You may start at the end with the table of contents, then, here, the book epilogue:
Enthusiast E and Skeptic S: Dialogue at a Higher Level:
S: I worried that you would put something belonging to all of us, peace, into a big machine with parameters and then the machine would produce outputs about what to do. Like economists do with something belonging to us, our own livelihood. I liked your distinction between equations and formulas, between mathematics and mathematese…
Lab Tests Find Carcinogen in Regular and Diet Coke and Pepsi
Center for Science in the Public Interest – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
New chemical analyses have found that Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, Diet Coke, and Diet Pepsi contain high levels of 4-methylimidazole (4-MI), a known animal carcinogen. The carcinogen forms when ammonia or ammonia and sulfites are used to manufacture the “caramel coloring” that gives those sodas their distinctive brown colors, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the nonprofit watchdog group that commissioned the tests.
→ read full articleMonsanto’s Roundup Shown to be Ravaging Butterfly Population
Mike Barrett, Natural Society – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
Monsanto’s Roundup, containing the active ingredient glyphosate, has been tied to more health and environmental problems than you could imagine. Similar to how pesticides have been contributing to the bee decline, Monsanto’s Roundup has been tied to the decrease in the population of monarch butterflies by killing the very plants that the butterflies rely on for habitat and food. What’s been shown to be an even greater threat to the population, though, is Monsanto’s Roundup Ready corn and soybeans.
→ read full articleDon’t Bank on the Bomb
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
A fantastic report with many detailed tables.The Financing of Nuclear Weapons Producers – With a Foreword by Desmond Tutu. The first major global report on the financing of companies that manufacture, modernize and maintain nuclear weapons and their delivery vehicles. It identifies more than 300 banks, insurance companies, pension funds and asset managers from 30 countries that invest significantly in the, also listed, 20 major nuclear weapons producers.
→ read full articleThe War on WikiLeaks Is Now Trial by Media in Sweden
John Pilger – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
War by media, says current military doctrine, is as important as the battlefield. This is because the real enemy is the public at home, whose manipulation and deception are essential for starting an unpopular colonial war. Like the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, attacks on Iran and Syria require a steady drip-effect on readers’ and viewers’ consciousness. This is the essence of a propaganda that rarely speaks its name.
→ read full articleRevenge of the Settlers
Nour Samaha – Al Jazeera,
12 Mar 2012
Palestinians are under increasing attacks from Israeli settlers, especially in the last few years, reports have found. For Israeli activist Nawi, the motivations of settlers are much more straightforward. “Most of the settlers are motivated by religious ideas; that the Arabs are unwelcome people and they need to leave,” he said. “It is not an argument you can reason with. They want Palestine.”
→ read full articleKoran Burning in Afghanistan: Mistake, Crime, and Metaphor
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
In this regard Koran burning may be as provocative in its assault on Afghan political culture as was the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi with respect to the authoritarian cruelty of the Tunisian regime presided over by the tyrannical rule of Zine El Alindine Ben Ali, who was driven from power as a direct result. When the culture screams it is time to leave!
→ read full articleThe Fukushima Syndrome
Martin Freer – Project Syndicate,
12 Mar 2012
The dramatic events that unfolded at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant after last year’s tsunami are commonly referred to as “the Fukushima disaster.” We need look no further than this description to begin to understand the significant misconceptions that surround nuclear energy.
→ read full articleU.N. Chastises Mexico’s Support for Agribusiness
Emilio Godoy – Inter Press Service-IPS,
12 Mar 2012
The United Nations criticised Mexico’s food policy, a month and a half after President Felipe Calderón launched to great fanfare an alliance of agribusiness for sustainable development, which was welcomed by giant food corporations. At a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, spoke out against the financial aid that Mexico will give to large producers at the expense of small farmers. He also criticised trials of genetically modified crops in this country.
→ read full articleTracking the Trackers: Mozilla’s Anti-Big Brother Add-On
Russia Today – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
The owner of Firefox, the world’s second most popular browser, is backing an add-on which would allow users to monitor in real-time how their actions are tracked and shared by various websites as they surf the net. The amount of data collected by Google, Facebook and other players less-known to the general public is astounding. But the majority of Internet users are oblivious to this fact. Mozilla’s new add-on – called Collusion – aims to change that.
→ read full articleStructural Crisis Needs Structural Change
István Mészáros – Montly Review,
12 Mar 2012
It cannot be stressed enough that the crisis in our time is not intelligible without being referred to the broad overall social framework. This means that in order to clarify the nature of the persistent and deepening crisis all over the world today we must focus attention on the crisis of the capital system in its entirety. For the crisis of capital we are experiencing is an all-embracing structural crisis.
→ read full article(Italian) Brescia: Primo Marzo 2012 per i Diritti di Tutti i Migranti e per i Diritti di Tutti
Silvia Berruto – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
Brescia*, Piazza Loggia, 1 marzo 2012
→ read full articleGauging Arab Public Opinion
Marwan Bishara – Al Jazeera,
12 Mar 2012
The first of its kind – a poll conducted in 12 Arab countries, representing over 80 per cent of the population of the Arab world, in an attempt to gauge the region’s political mood, shows: Israel and the US are seen as more threatening than Iran. A high 84 per cent believe the Palestinian question is the cause of all Arabs and not the Palestinians only, and 84 per cent reject the notion of their state’s recognition of Israel. Only 21 per cent support, to a certain degree, the peace agreement signed between Egypt, Jordan and the PLO with Israel.
→ read full articleThe Continuing Saga of UN Impunity
Kristen Saloomey – Al Jazeera,
12 Mar 2012
The United Nations is no stranger to scandal. There are the wayward peacekeeping troops who take advantage of the vulnerable people they are supposed to be protecting and commit rape and sexual abuse. Think: Haiti, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Then there’s corruption, as happened in the Oil-for-Food Programme.
→ read full articleA Revolution in Botanical Nomenclature
Michael Marder – Al Jazeera,
12 Mar 2012
Since January 1, botanical terms are to be named in English rather than Latin, changing a centuries old practice.
→ read full article10 Unanswered Questions on Iran and Israel
Anthony Judge – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
Produced in the light of the Press Conference of President Barack Obama (6 March 2012)
and a crisis meeting of the IAEA (Vienna, 7 March 2012) seeking consensus on action against Iran. Why is the case against Iran’s capacity to produce nuclear weapons of mass destruction always presented without systematic comparison with the track record relating to Israel’s capacity to produce weapons of mass destruction?
Say NO to ACTA
laquadrature – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2012
Learn more and take action about ACTA.
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