The Hindu: The Insensitivity Of A Sensitive Paper

29 November, 2009

The Hindu: The Insensitivity Of A Sensitive Paper
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

In a November 27th write up by Praveen Swamy on Mumbai's horrific incidents under headline ' where style has trumped substance' has unnecessarily compared the issue of scavengers with police men

28 November, 2009

Uncivil Society, Apathetic Administration
Fact Finding Report issued by Nagrik Adhikar Manch and Yuva Samvad

The situation in the Gadarwara Sub Division of District.Narsinghpur (Madhya Pradesh) has been in a state of constant flux for the last 3-4 months. The Dalits living in the villages adjoining Gadarwara have been condemned to a life of fear and intimidation.Their human rights and dignity are being at stake

22 November, 2009

Encountering Ambedkar In Hungary
By Pardeep Attri

The Romas, a discriminated minority in Hungary, turn to Ambedkar and Buddhism in their quest for dignity and equality. Pardeep Attri journeys to Sajókaza and Budapest to find out how the Dalits and Romas connect

20 November, 2009

Ambedkar's Lost Boys?
By Ajit Sahi

A dalit organisation in Kerala is accused of terrorist links

16 November, 2009

Feminism And Dalit Women In India
By Cynthia Stephen

Thus, Dalit women are slowly attempting to come to grips with their invisibility in the discourse, and are beginning not just to speak out, but also to theorise and build wider solidarities so as to earn the place, hitherto denied, under the sun

14 November, 2009

Understanding Existential Castes
Through Atrocity Metrics
By Anand Teltumbde

Brief of the paper "Understanding Existential Castes through Atrocity Metrics" presented at the seminar Caste in Contemporary India, Columbia University on 16 October 2009

19 October, 2009

UN Anti-Caste Charter: Annihilation Of Caste
By Ram Puniyani

Today sixty years after Independence and coming into being of Indian Constitution, the prevalence of untouchability and caste practices are a matter of shame for us. It is time we intensify our own efforts to eradicate it and join the global efforts to end this carry over from our past

14 October, 2009

Is It Not Time For The Minorities
To Become The Majority?
By Dr.K.Vidyasagar Reddy

Since the majority-Lower castes are found oppressed socially and otherwise at the hands of Upper castes, they wish to break the chains of Hinduism only to join the religious minorities of Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism as a larger entity. Since the idea is based on apprehensions of the marginalised communities, its implementation would certainly alter the social composition of the majority and minority notions. Ultimately, this larger entity would make them majority for political purpose that would ensure political power over a period of time

12 October, 2009

The Pointing Finger Of Babasaheb Ambedkar
By Dr. Shah Alam Khan

I am sure if he was alive today Ambedkar would have been pained to see the contemptible misuse of money in building parks and statues. Mayawati too needs to learn from this message of salvation and social elevation. Political power is temporary, social elevation permanent. Statues can be a way to display social arrival and arrogance but surely it would be better if the same money is used for genuine emancipation of the most depressed sections of the Indian society

08 October, 2009

Caste And Land : Message From
Chengara And Khagaria
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Both the Bihar and Kerala experience shows how the governments which are in power have used particular ideological formulations to build their own political empire and how they manipulate people's sentiments. Such stories are emerging from everywhere and they will always happen as long as the movements are not democratic and their leaders embedded with a particular formulation dictate their fancies to the people. The condition of both the Dalits and Adivasis remain a matter of concern in all these states whether they come to power in the name of social justice or Marxism

19 August, 2009

Dalits And The Arts As An Intrument Of Repression
By Gauthama Siddharthan

If only we become aware of these evil designs in Art and Literary forms, identify them and understand their layers of covert interpretations and connotations and raise against these, taking all necessary initiatives to expose and destroy them we would be able to save ourselves and our suffering brethren from the cruel and bitter cultural onslaught that has been going on from time immemorial. Only then we can emerge as an emancipated and liberated wholesome human race

18 August, 2009

(De)Meritized Reservation
By Goldy M. George

Howsoever, unsatisfactory the results of the implementation may be, the importance of reservations from the Dalit viewpoint cannot be overemphasized. As could be evidenced by the organized private sector, where it would be difficult to find a Dalit employee

17 August, 2009

Rethinking The Dalit Muslim Movement
By Khalid Anis Ansari

All in all, the crux of the argument submitted here is that Pasmanda Movement (PM) needs to grow beyond quota politics and rethink its abnegation of the social/cultural/economic aspects of the movement. Along with its present accent on democratisation of the state it would do well to also consider the more far-reaching issue of the democratisation of society at large. PM needs to engage in a balancing act between the political and social. This will create the much desired synergy necessary for launching the libratory promise of PM on track

22 July, 2009

Rape As An Instrument Of Politics
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

What Rita Bahuguna said was not an outburst but a continuous assumption of our patriarchical political thought that does not want to address the root cause but use the incident for political purposes

17 July, 2009

Mayawati's Idolization And The Questing Of
Dalit Emancipation
By S.R.Darapuri

The emancipation of dalits can be achieved not by installation of statues but by working out a Dalit development agenda and implementing it honestly. Instead of spending crores on the statues, establishing educational institutions, hospital, libraries and useful institutions in the name of Dalit icons will be a true honour and memorial to them

13 June, 2009

Caste And Democracy In India
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Only a modern democratic theory with republican ideas as envisioned by Dr Ambedkar can be their true emancipator otherwise, caste based identities are threatening basic Dalit unity in the country and it is fast becoming a self defeating exercise

28 May, 2009

Fire At Vienna Exposes Ugly Realities Of
Caste Discrimination In Punjab
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Punjab is burning. The Dalits are at the street. The government is seeking peace and every one is amused why the Dalits have taken to the street. Some are amused as why attack on Sant Niranjan Dass, head of Dera Guru Ravidas Sachkhand Balan and death of Sant Ramanand could spark such violent protest in Punjab. Unfortunately, they forget to understand the first question itself as why such Deras face attack by the fundamentalist Sikh groups. Is it because these Deras have provided a glimpse of hope and identity to a massive Dalit population in Punjab? Is it also not true that these Deras are also giving the upper caste Sikhs a run for their money and power?

Identity And Religious Conversion
By Tomichan Matheikal

Put an end to the discriminatory caste system. This would engender a sense of respectability among the adivasis and the lower castes. Then there would be no need for religious conversion as a means of attaining respectability. Give economic independence to the adivasis and the lower castes. This would put an end to the Maoist violence as well as the charm held out by poverty to Christian missionaries

02 April, 2009

Hypocrisy Of Brahminical And Mainstream
Feminist Movements
By Surendra Gopinath Rote

Mainstream feminist movement could focus on the livelihood issues of women. However, the point is not to feed the stomach only but it is question of self respect, dignity and of equal status which all denied by caste system. My question still stands there those feminist who worships Rama, Krishna, Shiva and Ganesh how could they become the emancipatory force for Dalit women or even for mainstream women?

04 March, 2009

Dalits In 'Hindu Rashtra'
By Subhash Gatade

All over Gujarat one finds thousands and thousands of boards put at prominent places by one of the affiliates of the Sangh Parivar that 'you are entering this or that locality of Hindu Rashtra' which is completely illegal and an open proclamation of 'secession' from the rest of the society

18 February, 2009

Rethinking Pasmanda Movement
By Khalid Anis Ansari

Pasmanda, a word of Persian origin, literally means 'those who have fallen behind', 'broken' or 'oppressed'. For our purposes here it refers to the 'dalit' and 'backward' caste Indian Muslims which constitute, according to most estimates, 85% of Muslim population and about 10% of India's population

07 February, 2009

Reservation In Faculty Recruitment,
Viva 'Academic Untouchability'?
By Subhash Gatade

The return of 'academic untouchability' with due sanction of the parliament and the further legitimisation it would provide to the 'merit' versus 'quota' debate need to be questioned and challenged uncompromisingly

18 December, 2008

Buddhism: Beyond The Dalit Shadow
By Rahul Gade

Buddhism is spirit that has overcome the dalit shadow. Buddhism is the hope for the broken dalit. If the past has been dalit the future has to be Buddhist, anything lower would be less than honoring full human potential

12 November, 2008

Obama And Mayawati: A Comparison In Contrast
By S.R.Darapuri

From a brief comparison between Obama and Mayawati it becomes evident that it is not very appropriate because there is a world of difference between their personalities and deeds. Rather it can be said to be a comparison in contrast. Obama is to be judged in the near future but Mayawati has already been judged

03 November, 2008

Ayyankali: Legacy Of Organic Protest
By Muhammed Nafih

Book review- Ayyankali:A Dalit Leader of Organic Protest by Nisar.M.and Meena Kandasamy

26 October, 2008

Peace, Non-Violence And Secularism
In Dalit Perspective
By Ratnesh Katulkar

Ignorance and negligence of Dalit ideology by the mainstream secularists and the upper-class Muslims are harming Muslims to fall prey before Hindu fascist and it is dangerous in building the real foundation of secularism in India

24 October, 2008

The Struggle Of Dalitbahujan For Their Identity
And In Quest Of Their Spiritual And Political Destiny
By Dr. Kancha Ilaiah

Speech delivered on the occasion of presentation of 'LISA Book Award – 2008 for 'Why I am Not a Hindu'

18 September, 2008

Why Go For Conversion?
By Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

In 1935 at Nasik district, Maharashtra, Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar had declared his firm resolve to change his religion. He had declared that he was born as a Hindu but will not die as Hindu. About a year later, a massive Mahar conference was held on May 30 and 31, 1936, in Mumbai, to access the impact of that declaration on Mahar masses. In his address to the conference, Dr.Ambedkar expressed his views on conversion in an elaborate, well- prepared and written speech in Marathi. Here is an English translation of that speech by Mr.Vasant Moon, OSD to the committee of Govt. of Maharashtra for publication of Writings & speeches of Dr.B.R.Ambedkar

02 September, 2008

Even In Flood, India's `Untouchables' Last Rescued
By Gavin Rabinowitz

In the two weeks since a monsoon-swollen river burst its banks, ancient prejudices have run just as deep as the floodwaters. India's "untouchables" are the last to be rescued — if at all — from a deluge that has killed dozens and made 1.2 million homeless

What Mayawati Has Done To The Dalits Of U.P.?
By S.R.Darapuri

Without a vision and definite Dalit liberation agenda the attaining of political power is not going to solve the problems of the Dalits as well as that of the State. Structural changes and improvement in the delivery system only can remove the poverty syndrome prevailing amongst the Dalits. Grass-root level movements are the key to keep the political leaders under control and make them answerable to the people

31 August, 2008

"Let The Hindus Also Do Missionary Work"
By Kancha Ilaiah & Yoginder Sikand

Interview:Kancha Ilaiah on Dalit-Bahujans, Hinduism and Spiritual Fascism

Dr. Ambedkar On Women Liberation
By Ratnesh Katulkar

Dr. Ambedkar's first academic paper "Caste in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development" also begins with his concern towards women, where he located the linkages between caste and gender by observing that "Superimposition of endogamy on exogamy means creation of caste" and concluded that there is no divine or natural cause of origin of caste but Brahmins of ancient India craftily designed it by enclosing their class through means of controlling and subjugating their woman

15 August, 2008

Dalit Digital Media:- Shuddering
The Hinduized News Media!! Part I
By Saint

Anyone who goes through these alternate digital news blogs and sites would appreciate the sear knowledge, straightforward analysis of events by these individual writers can stand distinctively than that of Times of India, Hindu or New York Times. Is this is the beginning of demolishing the bigotry in the established trational media in the world which is simply owned by few people and they make billions through selling news that are made up stories, to the most part, but nothing to do with helping people and uplifting the needy society?

18 June, 2008

"Only Ash Knows The Experience Of Burning"
By Dr. Nilanshu Kumar Agarwal & Dr. Jai Prakash Kardam

An Interview with Dalit Writer Jai Prakash Kardam

06 June, 2008

Gujjars Of Rajasthan And S.T. Status
By Dr Javaid Rahi

This article examines whether the ST demands of Gujjars of Rajasthan is a genuine one and is it falling within the criteria of ST status as provided by Schedule Tribes Act

19 April, 2008

Dalits In U.P. Face Hunger Deaths And Suicides
By S.R.Darapuri

When George Bush is admonishing India for eating too much, Dalits in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh face hunger deaths and suicides

18 April, 2008

The Tikait Treatment
By Ravikiran Shinde

Jat leader Mahendra Singh Tikait finally surrendered meekly before the court after resisting arrest by UP Police. The dust has finally settled two weeks after his castiest remarks but it has raised a serious question. How 'normal' is the casteist abuse in day to day life of Dalits? If a chief minister can be abused publicly, what does it speak of common Dalits?

04 April, 2008

Mayawati's Burgeoning Wealth: Who Gains?
By S.R.Darapuri

In April, 2007 while filing her nomination papers for Assembly elections Mayawati had declared her assets to be worth Rs. 52 crores. While filing her income tax return for the assessment year 2008-09 she estimated her income to be Rs. 60 crores and had deposited Rs. 15 crores as advance tax. The actual income is likely to exceed this estimate at the end of this financial year. Now the question arises as to what are the sources of her income and what are the consequences of this amassing of wealth by her. It is also pertinent to discuss as to apart from Mayawati who else are the beneficiaries of this money game. What is the loss and gain of Dalits in this game of exchange of money?

26 Februay, 2008

What Reservation Implies?
By Amit Chamaria

"Caste reveals work or work reveals Caste"-these seem to be different in writings but are still carrying a similar message for the prevailing complex realities in a country like India. This fact is clearly reflected when the Central government and the Haryana state government associate the caste identity closely with work or vice- versa. It means - if some one belongs to a lower caste, he/she is bound to work as Safai Karamchari or very similar to this avocation

11 Februay, 2008

Stuck In A Hole
By Ashok Bharti

Despite committees, schemes and five-year plans, manual scavenging thrives in India. Ashok Bharti tells the story of failed reforms

21 Januay, 2008

Norwegian Medicine For Vedanta
By Kavaljit Singh

At the face of protest from the Dongria Kondh tribals of the Niyamgiri hilly region of Orissa Norwegian sovereign fund sells off its stake in Vedanta Resources which was preparing to build the upcoming $850 million aluminium refinery and bauxite mining project at Lanjigarh

18 December, 2007

Manual Scavenging: Nations Shame
By Sunil Kuksal

Despite laws abolishing the inhuman practice of manual scavenging, over a million dalits in 'superpower India' are caught in a vortex of severe social and economic exploitation. Cleaning and carrying headloads of human excreta, these 'night soil'

17 December, 2007

The Adivasi Question In Assam
By Moirangthem Prakash

Recent violence involving Assam's adivasis highlights the region's uniquely complex realities

05 December, 2007

Ambedkar As A Human Rights Defender
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Ambedkar championed the cause of the down trodden. But to confine him to mere as a leader of Dalits will do him great injustice. He was the most accompalished political leader and philosopher among his contemporaries.No human rights discourse in India could be complete with out detailed discussion on the outstanding work of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar

05 November, 2007

Equal Rights And Opportunities
By Nishikant Waghmare

Why the upper castes are not interested in giving up caste? Because caste (jati) helps him to exploit his fellowmen better — as it has a theological sanction under the Hindu religion. In the jungle of Hinduism this law has the blessings of its sacred scriptures. That is why in India wealth is getting accumulated in the bands of top 10% to 15% of the upper castes and the rest are getting pauperised. And yet there is no public debate on the merits of caste anywhere, not even among our university eggheads

25 October, 2007

Is It Emancipation Or Elimination Of
The Scavengers In Laar Town (Deoria)
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

In the eastern Uttar-Pradesh, they do not use the term Balmikis/Valmiks for the sweeper. Instead there are people from the communities of Rawats, Bansfors, Helas, Mehtars who are engaged in scavenging work. Many of the women narrated their plight and how they wish to get out of the scavenging hell

12 October, 2007

Hated, Humiliated, Butchered
By Mahasweta Devi

The mob murder of Nats in Bihar was no accidental atrocity, writes an outraged Mahasweta Devi. It was the consequence of preserved brutalities

07 October, 2007

Dalit Theology
By Sathianathan Clarke & Yoginder Sikand

Sathianathan Clarke talks about what Dalit Theology means to him in an interview with Yoginder Sikand

02 October, 2007

In Conversation With Mr Bhagwan Das
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

'It is good to break and bad to continue with a tradition that has subjugated the Dalits'

27 September, 2007

Land After Thirty Years Of 'Entitlement'
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Story of Land Reclamation of Dalits in village Rupchandrapur

13 August, 2007

Tsundur : A New Milestone In
The Movement For Dalit Emancipation
By Subhash Gatade

As rightly noted by an analyst the victory ( albeit a partial one) at Tsundur has come as breath of fresh air in the already smouldering world of dalit oppression. And it is high time that its fragrance is spread far and wide, so that people are told that oppressed people united would always be victorious

25 July, 2007

Hungry World Of Dalits In Poorvanchal
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Four districts of Poorvanchal (Eastern Uttar-Pradesh) namely Maharajganj, Kushingar, Deoria and Gorakhpur witness the dance of death every year. Two of these district Kushinagar and Gorakhpur were selected for the NREGA programme while Maharajganj has also been selected for the same from this year. All these districts saw a large number of deaths due to hunger and malnutrition despite all these programmes

16 July, 2007

Will Dalit Christians Get Justice?
By M. Madhu Chandra

After constitutional denial of Scheduled Caste origins converted to Christianity and Muslims after the Presidential Order 1950, a million dollar question remains in the minds of Indian Dalit Christians "Will the Judicial system of India give justice to Indian Dalit Christians now after 57 years of injustice done to them?"

03 June, 2007

India's Lower Castes
By Nishikant Waghmare

An empowered India bereft of the respect for women, values of civilised existence and morality will collapse in the face of the disaffection and discontent of those who have suffered for centuries. Day in and day out we take pride in claiming that India has a 5000-year-old civilization. But the way the Dalits and those suppressed are being treated by the people who wield power and authority speaks volumes for the degradation of our moral structure and civilized standards

01 June, 2007

The Only Solution To Reservation Imbroglio
By Satinath Choudhary

100% reservation for all segments of the society (as far as practicable) is the best way for amicable and peaceful coexistence. Otherwise a segment that has bigger control over power will succeed in appointing larger and larger percentage of its members to positions of power leading to what we currently see in the judiciary, armed forces and the media

20 May, 2007

India's Political Quake- Mayawati
By Ravikiran Shinde

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati is the winner. After handsomely winning the assembly elections in the biggest state in India, she has declared that she is on her way to capture "Delhi" and that plans to give UP the best government and Sarvasamaj (all sections of the society) the power to share with her

12 May, 2007

Defining Moment Of Dalit Empowerment
In Uttar-Pradesh
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Dalits defeats Hindutva with the help of Brahmins: Will it work?

09 May, 2007

Dalits, Panchayat Raj And Power Equations
By Goldy M. George

It is evident that the upper castes controlled the affairs of the village cannot tolerate the changes being brought about by the decentralized democratic institutions. In the backdrop of such incidences an array of question raises with reference to Panchayat Raj vis-à-vis Dalits. The initial prediction of decentralization envisioned through Panchayat Raj hasn't become a reality. It also tells us how Panchayat Raj is utilised as a tool of disempowerment of Dalits and consolidation of caste system

02 May, 2007

Mandal II: The Struggle For
An Egalitarian Society
By Feroze H. Mithiborwala

India is again in the midst of an OBC upsurge and this "MANDAL II" has been instigated and provoked by the Supreme Court Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and Lokeshwar Singh Panta. This two bench judgement has issued an interim order staying the Reservations of OBC's in higher educational institutions and this has sent convulsions across the political and social landscape

24 April, 2007

Get Under Society's Skin
By Gail Omvedt

The Supreme Court's recent decision and reiteration to stay the order regarding OBC admissions until accurate data is available has brought forth the expected reactions. Defenders of 'equality' won by ignoring caste are hailing it; proponents of reservations are trying to put on a brave face. But in one way, the decision is helpful: the Supreme Court has given cogent arguments for the need for information to underlay policy. However, what many of the opponents of reservations may not appreciate is that this brings up squarely, once again, the argument for a caste-based census

19 April, 2007

Status Of Manual Scavengers In Laar, Deoria
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Time has come for all of us to scrutinize government's programmes and action to eliminate manual scavenging and take the officials of the department to task. India's 9% growth rate or shining India is absolutely farcical if this large community remains outside the ambit of global change

13 April, 2007

Valmiki's Illustrious Son Challenges The Hegemony Of
Knowledge And Merit In India
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Profile: Dr Bachchu Lal Valmiki

31 March, 2007

Mandal Will Have The Last Laugh
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Shockingly, the judgments in the past few years reflect of the growing trend to keep the middle classes happy. We have judges who speak for Hindutva terming it as a way of life. We have a former Supreme Court Judge who did not implicate a single politician in the anti Sikh riots in Delhi in 1984 and later became a Member of Parliament against all the ethics of impartiality of an institution. Right to Strike was also banned by the Kerala Highcourt, which was appreciated by the media and industries

27 March, 2007

Touch Me Not
By Chandi Sinnathurai

Nazism was based on racial purity and superiority. The system of Casteism determines a human's destiny purely on the basis of caste. If Nazism and slavery were abolished, why then Casteism cannot be demolished and its evils uprooted?

24 March, 2007

The Case Of Academic Complicity In The Violence
Against Dalit And Dalit Women In India
By Abhinaya Ramesh

I wish to suggest to the UN related researches that unless sufficient scrutiny is not done by the respective authorities such reports should not be published because they are intentionally crammed with deceived information to create the confusion and further delay in the justice to the relevant communities

25 February, 2007

Status Of Manual Scavengers
In Gorakhpur, Uttar-Pradesh
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat, Ram Bhuvan & Kirti Singh

Scavenger community has all along been living in the urban areas serving the middle classes, upper elites, feudal lords, Hindus and Muslims every one alike, yet none of them ever bothered whether they have cared and bothered about those who clean their shit, enter deep into the sewage pit to continue the sewage line. In the coming days, we are going to cover a large part of Uttar-Pradesh and bring reports on this aspect

16 February, 2007

Dr. B.R.Ambedkar's Contribution
To Buddhist Education In India
By Nishikant Waghmare

Buddhism makes enlightenment the sole aim of life. This was the philosophy that Ambedkar accepted and tried to revive. Besides this there was another reason. Buddha, whose life and movement Ambedkar had studied, was a believer of the educatability and the creativity of the people. Under the influence of those teachings, the most rejected peoples of India has once risen and uplifted their life as well as that of the whole society. If that was once possible in India, it must be possible again. He had a solid historical basis to trust India's ordinary folk as India's future democrats

07 February, 2007

Debating Discrimination, Differences
And Dissent In Our Part Of The World
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

The issue of racial discrimination has been in the news for quite some time. Some Indian pretended that they have been discriminated against in Britain while rarely speaking that India does not have its own house in order. Despite 60 years of independence India has not been able to transform itself into a modern state

03 February, 2007

A Tribute To M A Khan
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Remembering a man who committed his life for the tribals of Sonbhadra

30 December, 2006

P.K. Mahanandia: Salute To A Living Legend
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

A Dalit as India's cultural Ambassador in Europe

Democracy And Reinforced Building
By Amit Chamaria

Almost 90% of decision- makers in the English language print media and 79% in television are of the upper caste, although the upper castes are about 16% of the country population; Brahmin alone constitute 49% of this segment, and 71% of the total are upper caste men

23 December, 2006

Shame, Not In Doha But In India
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

I hope that India will grow simultaneously with diversity and dissent in the coming years. How can a nation and a society grow with such scandalous officials and reporters who criminalise the sexual deformity of a person and whose fight for people's right confine to the cases of certain high profile cases of page three parties, and who continue to ignore the bigger issues of dissent and disgust in India and whose ignorant reporters can simply call these dissenters as terrorists or Naxalites, both clearly meant for Muslims and Dalits respectively in the unofficial code of the officials too

20 December, 2006

Is Death Better Than Life For
Mushahars Of Kushingar
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

While politicians in Uttar-Pradesh are preparing for polls, the Mushahars, Bansfors and other such marginalized communities think of meal next day

06 December, 2006

Khairlanji: Conspiracy Of Silence

Government agency report agency report indicts officials in Khairlanji massacre

04 December, 2006

Hindutva Strategies And Dalit Movement
By Ram Puniyani

Book review of Vidya Bhushan Rawat's book "Ambedkar, Ayodhya aur Dalit Andolan"

02 December, 2006

A New Dalit Movement Emerging From Maharastra ?
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

The uprising in Maharastra has a signal for the self styled mainstream Dalit political leaders and parties. Mend your ways or get lost as the young Dynamic Dalit leadership would emerge out of a crisis from Maharastra. It is certain that incidents like Khairlanji and Gohana would fuel the Dalit anger and turn them to streets. Out of this anger and frustration would emerge a leadership which would not compromise like their leaders

Why Are Maharashtra's Dalits So Angry?
By Kalpana Sharma

Instead of looking at whether the protests by Dalits against the Khairlanji incident and against the desecration of Ambedkar's statue were "spontaneous" or part of an organised plan, we need to understand the basis of this fury

01 December, 2006

Khairlanji's Strange And Bitter Crop
By Satya Sagar

The latest incidence of this 'strange and bitter crop' was in Khairlanji, a small village in Bhandara distict near Nagpur in the western Indian province of Maharashtra and a horrific 'harvest' it was too

18 November, 2006

Khairlanji : All Nero's Brethren
By Subhash Gatade

Looking at the fact that a militant mass movement has arisen to protest the killings, one can surmise that the legal wranglings in the Kherlanji massacre would not lead us to a blind alley and the perpetrators of the massacre would receive exemplary punishment. But there is no guarantee that it would be the case

14 November, 2006

Khairlanji's Dalit Victims Want
Justice With Dignity
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

The fire of Khairlanji in Bhandara district of Maharastra refuse to recede and has now entered in Delhi also

10 November, 2006

N.G.Uke: Remembering A True Humanist
By V.B. Rawat & N.G.Uke

N.G.Uke, a great Ambedkarite, a friend and guide died on November 4th, 2006 at his Vasant Kunj residence at the age of 82. Uke Saheb, as I would fondly call him was among the rare breed of Ambedkarite who saw Baba Saheb and was selected by him as a scholar though he had already got the same

31 October, 2006

An Open Letter To Rajdeep Sardesai
By Ravikiran Shinde

If you feel you have been at fault, then better be late than never. Cover the Kherlanji case and its legal proceedings. Awake the people on the gruesome caste realities in India. Telecast a half and hour program dedicated specially to Dalit atrocities every week

19 October, 2006

Buddha As Untouchable
By Raja Sekhar Vundru

Buddhism in India has a predominantly Dalit following, as a result of the revival by Ambedkar. For this reason, it appears that our society prefers to treat Buddha as an untouchable. In 2005, this event, which attracted an estimated 10 lakh people to Nagpur, escaped the national media attention

10 October, 2006

A Tribute To Kanshiramji
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

If India's politics has grown through a radical change with Dalit becoming the mainstream political force, the one man who made is possible was Kanshi Ram. He worked diligently and religiously to develop a cadre who could bring the party to National mainstream and ultimately to the power in Uttar-Pradesh

30 September, 2006

Building Up A New Movement Against Scavenging:
Tirunalveli's Dalits Show The Way
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Gram Udhayam is a great reflection of the power and vision of Dalits all over India. Their achievement would definitely help the communities living in other parts of the country to think about their self and work for a socio cultural revolution that would free from the bondage of the caste based discrimination

28 September, 2006

India's Shame: Some Unanswered Questions
From The Frontline Reports
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Those who create a fascinating world of 'great' social cohesion outside West Bengal should try to sneak into the den and report independently on the conditions of Dalit in West Bengal. Hiding the pathetic condition of Dalits in West Bengal and particularly that of the scavengers is the bigger shame for India

27 Sepember, 2006

Mayawati: "No Promises,
No Manifesto, Only Performance"
By Vidya Subrahmaniam & Mayawati

Mayawati: "The BSP is more a social revolution, a political movement than a political party." - An Interview

24 September, 2006

Past As Living Present: Calamity And Discrimination
By Subhash Gatade

Water is said to be a great leveler. But even the ravaging flood waters which have created a havoc like situation in the districts of Barmer and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan just failed to crack an age old structure - the walls between caste

21 July, 2006

Indian Dalits: Law As Paper Tiger!
By Subhash Gatade

Thus India, a country of billion plus people, which is itching to get a superpower status, which takes pride in its ancient tradition and culture and whose elite goes gaga over the booming sensex, rather presents a strange spectacle of a nation. But a close look at the goings on within the society makes it clear that there is a disjunction between the world of economics and the lifeworlds of its people. The core of the society bears its encounter with barbarism in abundance

11 July, 2006

Ghettos Of A New Kind-Autonomy And Discrimination
By Subhash Gatade

The heated debate revolving around 'autonomy' of AIIMS ( All India Institute of Medical Sciences) and its alleged 'intrusion' has papered over the quantum jump in the discrimination faced by the reserved category students there. 'Parts of AIIMS hostels are turning into SC/ST ghettos. Reserved category students said they were being "hunted out of the remaining rooms" by upper-caste students and driven to two floors of the hostels.'

10 July, 2006

Racism And Castiesm
By Jai Birdi & Indira Prahst

"Racism and Castiesm discussed at the World Peace Forum" By Jai Birdi Chair, Ending Racism Casteism Working Group for World Peace Forum and Indira Prahst, Race and Ethnic Relations Instructor, Department of Sociology, Langara College

08 May, 2006

Reservation Debate: A Great Opportunity
To Restrengthen Dalit Bahujan Alliance
By V.B.Rawat

It is time the Dalits, backwards, Adivasis come together and give a fitting reply. Organise debates and debunk the upper caste merit

22 April, 2006

War Against Naxals In Chhatishgarh:
Will Brahmanical Alternative Work
By V.B.Rawat

If the government wants to tackle the Naxal threat it has to introspect on its own position. It cannot deny tribals and Dalit their legitimate right over their resources. If the state apparatus continue to become more brahmanical by giving huge, palatial land to the corrupt Babas while the marginalized languish of hunger and malnutrition, nothing will move

18 April, 2006

Why Reservation For OBC Is A Must
By V.B.Rawat

Let Reform mean breaking age old Brahmanical hegemony

31 March, 2006

Fake Dalits, Bogus Tribals?
Whither Affirmative Action
By Subhash Gatade

While one is aware of the non filling of seats meant for scheduled castes and scheduled tirbes in various institutions of education and other employement opportunities, the filling of such seats with fake dalits or bogus tribals is a phenomenon which has rarely received the attention it deserves

20 March, 2006

Why Do India's Dalits Hate Gandhi?
By Thomas C. Mountain

As Dalits organize themselves and begin to challenge caste based rule in India, it behooves all people of good conscience to start to find out what the Dalits and their leadership are fighting for. A good place to start is with M.K. Gandhi and why he is so hated by Dalits in India

02 March, 2006

Re-reading Periyar
By Ravikumar

There are many appelations attached to Periyar, the main one being the saviour of the Untouchables. But instead of debating whether we should accept 'their god' as 'our god', the question is whether Periyar deserves to be regarded as the saviour of the untouchables?

15 February, 2006

Exposing An Abhorrent Practice
By S Viswanathan

Review of "India Stinking: Manual Scavengers in Andhra Pradesh and their work" By Gita Ramaswamy published by Navayana

30 January, 2006

Dawn Of Dalit?
By Ashok K Singh

A three-day seminar held recently to debate and deliberate on introducing Dalit Studies in universities provided fascinating insights into the space this emerging but exciting area of research could occupy in higher education

08 December, 2005

Salam Bhimrao!
By Goldy M. George

The only way to salute Bhimrao is by truly standing against oppressive structure, for equality and justice

31 October, 2005

Stranger In Their Own Land
By V.B.Rawat

150 kilometer away from Vishakapattanam towards Orissa in the Akru Valley and Anantgiri Mandal areas, Malaria has emerged as a major epidemic killing about 2000 people in two months

25 October, 2005

Untouchability In A Flat World
By Kancha Ilaiah

My visit to the famous Wheaton College in Chicago to deliver two lectures on caste and untouchability was an eye-opening experience. It struck me how students remained ignorant of the world around them even in a globalised world. It is an alarming thought that these are the future citizens of the world

05 October, 2005

Ali Anwar's Struggle
By Ali Anwar &Yoginder Sikand

Ali Anwar is the founder of the Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz ('Marginalised Muslim Front'), Patna, Bihar, a union of several Dalit Muslim and Backward Caste Muslim organisations. In this interview with Yoginder Sikand, he talks about his involvement in the struggle for the rights of the Backward Caste/Dalit Muslims

30 September, 2005

Ilayaperumal: A Dalit In The Congress
By Ravikumar

An important Dalit leader L Elayaperumal died at the age of 82 on September 9 in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu. What BP Mandal did for the OBC-shudras, Elayaperumal did for the Dalits way back in 1969. However, given that Elayaperumal was a Dalit in the Congress, his report was never implemented

28 September, 2005

Iyothee Thass & The Politics Of Naming
By Ravikumar

Today, even uttering the name of Iyothee Thass in the Tamil public sphere has become an act of a rebellion. The Dravidian parties, communists and Tamil nationalists - nobody has any regard for Thass. No wonder his name has been dropped from the National Center for Siddha Research. This is an insult not just to Dalits but Tamils as such

27 September, 2005

A New Order For Today
By Chandrabhan Prasad

Strange as this might sound, several constituents of Indian society are turning abnormal. Unnoticed by sociologists, this exceptional phenomenon is taking place on a mass scale

23 September, 2005

Dalits In Pakistan
Book Review By Yoginder Sikand

Caste, the scourge of Hinduism, is so deeply entrenched in Indian society that it has not left the adherents of Islam, Sikhism, Christianity and Buddhism-theoretically egalitarian religions-unaffected. So firmly rooted is the cancer of caste in the region that it survives and thrives in neighbouring Pakistan, where over 95% of the population are Muslims

10 September, 2005

Guilty Of Gohana- In Search Of The Real Perpetrators
By Subhash Gatade

On 31 st August the town of Gohana witnessed burning of 50-60 houses belonging to Valmiki community in broad daylight. As it has been reported in the media a 1,500-2,000 strong of mob of upper caste people mainly belonging to the Jat community attacked their houses in a systematic manner

04 September, 2005

The Brahmanic Conspiracy
By Revd. Barnabas Alexander & Dr. Kristoffson Somanader

Cultural/spiritual corruption came via the Brahmins as they conspired to enslave the Tamils, inter alios, politically, intellectually, and spiritually

Buddha, The Feminist
By Chandrabhan Prasad

According to a UNICEF study conducted in 1984 in Mumbai, out of 8,000 sex determination cases, where fetuses were terminated, 7,999 were of females. According to another study, in Jaipur alone, about 3,500 female fetuses are terminated annually

23 August, 2005

Dalit Situation In Tamil Nadu
By K. Nagaraj

Painstaking chronicle of the deprivations, discriminations and atrocities faced by the Dalits in Tamil Nadu

17 August, 2005

Let's Talk Representation
If Reservation Is Against Merit
By V.B.Rawat

The supreme court verdict on the issue of unaided minority institution gives a freehand to the people who have always wanted the education to be the domain a few people and communities. Unfortunately, these institutions serving in the name of minorities will end up creating more brahmins for our country. The very purpose of educating poor andminorities gets defeated

11 August, 2005

Reservations In Private Sector:Not A Charity,
But A Social Necessity
By Dr. K. Vidyasagar Reddy

This concept of private reservation cannot be considered as charity, but a right from a government that exposed its hollowness. Further, it is a necessity as the government failed to create jobs to its qualified aspirants

09 August, 2005

Dalit movement At The Cross Road
By V.B.Rawat

It is time for us to provide our own democratic secular progressive vision and rather then just work on an agitation mode forever. We need to introspect and bring the last man into our mainstream, otherwise these contradiction are powerful enough to destroy the legacy of a powerful man, named as Ambedkar

23 July, 2005

Reservations- By Merit or birth?
By Vimlaksh Gautam

The caste Hindus have to realise that reservation is a direct result of our unkind past and it will take some adjustment and understanding on their behalf when the SC/ST's feel confident enough to pursue their progress without any state help

03 June, 2005

Cultural History And Emergent Dalit Alternatives
By Goldy M. George

Dalit's search for alternative media is in fact the search for a counter-culture, that will stand as a paradigm to protect human existence; re-write history and evolve a new culture of love and caring

02 June, 2005

Education For Wealth Creation
By Chandrabhan Prasad

Around 30 million Dalit and Adivasi children are enrolled in thousands of primary schools. Out of them, 49.35 per cent drop out before joining junior high school

22 May, 2005

Muslim-Dalit Relations
By Gail Omvedt

A solid Dalit-Muslim alliance for the future should be directed to building a prosperous, equalitarian, caste- and patriarchy-freeIndia

27 April, 2005

The Question Of Dalit Human Rights
By Goldy M. George

The question of Dalit Human Right is not just a matter of addressing the atrocities, but at large it corroborates to the affirmation of land rights of Dalits, resisting the forces of globalisation, communalism, casteism, patriarchy and so on. This paves the way for collective action

23 April, 2005

A President To Be Proud Of
By Mari Marcel Thekaekara

Interviewing the former President of India, K.R. Narayanan, was an experience. One wanted his personal story to be incorporated into the school syllabus, for Dalit children to have a role model. So that they would be able to dream dreams beyond buckets and brooms...

19 April, 2005

Display Dalit Power
By Chandrabhan Prasad

Compared to the American Blacks, the Dalits have nothing but small grocery shops or manufacturing units here and there which don't find any mention even in the community's media

12 April, 2005

Growing Discontent Of Adivasis In Assam
By Kirti Mishra

Across Assam, the Adivasis face multiple deprivations which have their root in the historic exclusion and denial of tribal status to the community

22 March, 2005

No Land Even For Burial
By C.K Janu ,Jaison Chacko & Subhash Gatade

"Adivasis are the real owners of land. Our lands were snatched away from us. None of the governments came into power in the state took any serious initiative to provide this land back to these real owners." An interview with C.K. Janu, leader of the indigenous people of Kerala

10 March, 2005

Sustaining The Mutuality Of Life
By Goldy M George

An enquiry into the sustainable life style practices of the dalit and tribal population in the Indian state of Chattisgarh

06 March, 2005

From Manu To Manav
By Chandrabhan Prasad

There is a conflict brewing between the OBCs and the Dalit in North India. But will it lead it to a historic alliance between Brahmins and Dalits, asks Chandrabhan Prasad

 

 

 

 

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Dalit Issues
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War Is Peace; Escalation Is Withdrawal
By Kevin Zeese

If I ever get cancer, I want Barack Obama to tell me I'm dying. He could probably convince someone like me who does not believe in the supernatural that death is life. He certainly did his best on Tuesday night to convince the American public that war means peace, and escalation means withdrawal

Meet The Commanded-In-Chief
By Tom Engelhardt

You may not think so, but on Tuesday night from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, in his first prime-time presidential address to the nation, Barack Obama surrendered. It may not have looked like that: there were no surrender documents; he wasn't on the deck of the USS Missouri; he never bowed his head. Still, from today on, think of him not as the commander-in-chief, but as the commanded-in-chief

Obamathink On Afghanistan: Escalate To Exit
By Stephen Lendman

The die is cast. Escalation is now fact by a man promising change, delivering betrayal, and seeing his approval rating fall from a 68% late January high to 47% according to the December 1 Rasmussen Report, a number steadily falling because growing numbers of supporters are losing faith. Heading into 2010, the combination of economic hardship, eroding civil liberties, and wasted billions on futile wars promises to raise public discontent and disapproval of a president and Congress they no longer trust. What's disturbing is why they did in the first place

More War But Still No Jobs
By Mary Shaw

It sounds as though President Obama plans to keep us in Afghanistan through most, if not all, of his first term. Is he gambling with his own political future even as he is gambling with our tax dollars and -- more importantly -- our soldiers' lives?

Why Obama's Surge In Afghanistan?
By Shamus Cooke

Mass demonstrations do not organize themselves. It will take ordinary people working together to make it happen, while collectively demanding:"Bring all the troops home now!"

Pity Poor Nancy
By Case Wagenvoord

We must pity poor Nancy. It's hard work getting her spineless charges to vote against their principles. 'Tis a task she describes as a "heavy lift." But, by God, this true, blue liberal from San Francisco does her damndest to make sure House doves act like hawks whenever Obama comes begging for more money to fund his Afghan enterprise

Mr. Obama: A Word In Your Ear
By Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich

By now it has become clear why you were awarded the Nobel Peace prize -- a prize which was named after Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. Is it any wonder that Gandhi did not receive the prize, and the likes of Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini were nominated? Mr. Obama, your Afghan announcement and your position on Iran has made you one dynamite war president

Canada Is Now To Climate
What Japan Is To Whaling
By George Monbiot

Putting all caution to the winds canada is frantically developing the tar sands mines

Arroyo Regime In The Philippines Crowns
Its Rule Of State Terror With Barbaric Show
By E. San Juan, Jr.

After the feasting, the bloodletting. Only a few months has passed since de facto president of the Philippines Gloria Arroyo was publicly criticized for wanton spending of thousands of dollars in her dinners in New York City and Washington DC when another political "scandal" explodes, this time a political mass slaughter of defenseless Filipino civilians

"Un- Hindu Babri Masjid Demolition And Buddhists"
By R.B. Sreekumar

Unlike the Babri Masjid, the Buddhist shrine at Bodh Gaya (Bihar) is an Undisputed site known to be the place where prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment and became Lord Buddha, through spiritual sadhana of self-transcedence. Strangely, even today the Buddhist institutions in Bodh Gaya are in the control of the Hindus. There is neither a politician led mass movement for its "liberation" by the Buddhists nor the Hindus are in a mood to voluntarily give up their authority therein

30 November, 2009

India's GM Scandal:
Bt Brinjal Approval Rigged
By Devinder Sharma

Now it can be told. The environmental clearance by an Expert Committee (called EC-II) set by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) to accord approval to the controversial genetically modified crop -- Bt brinjal -- was actually rigged. This was never in doubt, except that this time Kavitha Kuruganti of the Coalition for GM Free India has very meticulously joined the dots to bring out this shocker

Bhopal: The Victims Are Still Being Born
By Nina Lakhani

Twenty-five years on, the world's worst industrial accident continues to kill and blight many lives. And still there's been no trial

The Atmosphere Is Not Waiting For
Human Decision
By Andrew Glikson

Having placed a man on the moon, split the atom, coded the DNA and created a World Wide Web, science and technology possess the ingenuity required for 11th hour attempts at climate change mitigation and adaptation, including bio-sequestration and CO2 down-draw techniques. However, the $trillion-scale funding needed to implement these methods continues to be poured into the military, casinos and games. A medieval state of mind appears to be manifest through a resistance to enlightenment and to science

Read James Hansen And Act
By John James

Now that Copenhagen is about to start, read James Hansen's forceful statement and act

"We Will Have To Kill Them All":
Effie Eitam,Thug Messiah
By Jim Holstun & Irene Morrison

Effie Eitam called Palestinians "creatures who came out of the depths of darkness" who were "collectively guilty" and who could be indiscriminately killed not only if they had "blood on their hands" but because of "the evil in their heads." "We will have to kill them all," he said

The Impending Release Of Gilad Shalit
By Rannie Amiri

The release of the captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, appears imminent. The recent flurry of activity in Cairo of high-profile Israeli and Hamas officials along with their Egyptian and German intermediaries point to a deal taking place in upcoming days or weeks. Although details remain murky, in exchange for Shalit, approximately 500 Palestinian prisoners would be immediately released and possibly another 500 at a later date

Israel's Arab Women Workers Need Not Apply
By Jonathan Cook

Discrimination, not culture, keeps families in poverty

Youthful Thinking
By Case Wagenvoord

Two events surfaced last week that reinforce my conviction that our nation's capital is a sheltered workshop for arrested adolescents. The Obama administration announced it would not sign an international convention banning land mines, and it appears likely that Obama will ask for an additional 30,000 troops for his Afghan quagmire

Housing Meltdown, Ground Zero
By Andy Kroll

The American home-owning dream on life support

Arabic Traces In Ridges of Sand
By Mustapha Marrouchi

Of all the so-called Islamic arts, al-khatt (or trace ) holds a privileged position. Combining function with perfect form, the hyper-stylized and fantastically ornate expressions retain a suppleness and a subtlety unmatched in other cultures

More Arrests In America's War On Islam
By Stephen Lendman

Given America's war on Islam, the nation's 6.5 million Muslims wonder if their turn is next

Democracy At Its Worst !
By Fact Finding Report

Fact Finding Report of Narayanpatna Firing on Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha

29 November, 2009

It's Possible To Avert Climate Crisis
By James Hansen

Science reveals what is needed to stabilise atmospheric composition and climate. Geophysical data on the carbon amounts in oil, gas and coal show that the problem is solvable, if we phase out global coal emissions within 20 years and prohibit emissions from unconventional fossil fuels such as tar sands and oil shale

Climate Change: The Role Of Flawed Science
By Peter Laut

Peter Laut, Professor (emeritus) of physics at The Technical University of Denmark and former scientific advisor on climate change for The Danish Energy Agency puts to rest the hypothesis that solar activity dominates the global warming trend. It's worth noting that he sent this letter to Realclimate.org before the "CRU email" controversy broke out, so his criticism of the IPCC for being too even handed, is ironic and timely

Climate Change's Impact In Arctic
Worse Than Thought
By University Of Manitoba

Arctic sea ice has duped satellites into reporting thick multiyear sea ice where in fact none exists, a new study by University of Manitoba researcher David Barber has found

"…And A Little Child Shall Lead Them"
By Uri Avnery

The role of the little child, so it seems, falls to Obama. If he accepts, God forbid, Friedman's advice and leaves the picture, the vision will turn into a nightmare. The Israeli government will increase the oppression, the Palestinians will turn to unbridled terrorism, the entire world will be dragged into bloody chaos

Anti-Naxal Offensive To Be Intelligence-Based: Chidambaram. Huh?
By Trevor Selvam

What MS is telling PCC, is make sure that you don't give the country bad publicity, when you go on the rampage. Make sure you "win over" the people first! Make sure, you make it look good when your troops manhandle, murder, fake-encounter and maraud the tribal nation. Do it with "intelligence." Because BBB is watching. And that is what PCC is mildly bringing up with the troops

Democracy And Ban Cannot Go Together
By Amit Bhattacharyya

Democracy and ban can never go together. The democratic people and the democratic press should raise their voices against this draconian law, demand its withdrawal and the simultaneous unconditional release of Gour Chakraborty, the Lalgarh people's leader Chhatradhar Mahato, Prasun Chatterjee and Raja Sarkhe - both members of the Gana Pratirodh Mancha, Swapan Dasgupta, the editor of Bangla People's March and all other political prisoners arrested since the promulgation of and under this draconian act

Who Will Feed Our Children?
By Billy Wharton

Food insecurity has become a fact of life in America. A grinding economic recession coupled with sharp cutbacks in local and state government spending has resulted in a dramatic crisis in the most necessary of acts – eating. According to a Nov. 2009 report by the US Department of Agriculture, 50 million or 1 in 6 Americans, struggled to feed themselves and their children in 2008

The Denial Of Right To Education
By Gladson Dungdung

The right to education is a fundamental right of every child in India. However, there are millions of children whose rights are neglected, denied and deprived. According to the Education Survey, only 50 percent children of the age of 6 to 14 have access to education, 35 millions children do not attend schools and 53% of girl children in the age group of 5 to 9 years are illiterate

The Hindu: The Insensitivity Of A Sensitive Paper
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

In a November 27th write up by Praveen Swamy on Mumbai's horrific incidents under headline ' where style has trumped substance' has unnecessarily compared the issue of scavengers with police men

Of Gatecrashers, Hoax Calls And Security
By Farzana Versey

The queries really are about whether we are concerned about security or it is just one more way to keep people afraid. This fear is the key to make citizens toe the line of establishment pugnacity

28 November, 2009

Dubai's $59 Billion Default Sends Tremors
By Alex Messenger

Dubai's announcement on Wednesday that it would be delaying by "at least" six months the maturity date of $59 billion in bonds issued by the city-state's largest state-owned company, Dubai World, has sent global shares tumbling. The market reaction to Dubai's massive debt default is partly explained by the exposure of European and Asian banks to DP World and its tourism subsidiary, Nakheel

Deception Has Always Been
The Name Of Zionism's Game
By Alan Hart

What is behind Netanyahu's offer of construction freeze in the West Bank. Simple. He is seeking to make peace with the Obama administration. And its response suggests that with the help of the Zionist lobby and its stooges in Congress he's got that matter firmly under control

Australia: The Secret Country
By John Pilger

John Pilger marks the 20th anniversary of the publication of A Secret Country, his best-selling history of Australia, with a description of Aboriginal Australia and its relationship with white authority following Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology to the "stolen generations" last year

Peak Everything
By Gunther Ostermann

Our planet is but a speck in the cosmos, but it's unique, and perhaps the only planet in our galaxy that harbours life, as we know it. I refrain from saying 'intelligent life', because the wanton destruction of our beautiful world, through stupidity, greed and senseless wars, and letting over 26 000 children die of starvation every day, is a crime that must reverberate throughout the universe

A Grim Journey Through Sri Lanka's War Zone
By WSWS Correspondent

The military recently allowed limited passenger transport from Jaffna to the south via the A9 road that passes through the Vanni. A WSWS reporter took the trip in order to test the government's claims of "free movement" and provide a glimpse of the destruction caused by the war

Political Prisoner Jalil Muntaqim Denied Parole
By Stephen Lendman

On November 18, Jalil Muntaqim (formerly Anthony Bottom) was refused parole a day after his November 17 hearing. The board called his record exemplary, but still denied him. Muntaqim thanked everyone who wrote letters of support and said he'll appeal the decision. Failing that, his next scheduled hearing is in June 2010. His earlier 2002, 2004 and 2006 hearings were also unsuccessful

Lebanon 'Accepts' Hezbollah's Weapons
And Congress Prepares Its Reply
By Franklin Lamb

52 words that shook Washington and may light up the region

Mumbai Struggles To Recover
From Trauma Of 26/11
By Ram Puniyani

The demand for a sincere probe into Karkare's death remains on the margins, not being taken seriously at all. Does some one want to hide something?

Media's Revivalist Agenda
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

In the post liberalization scenario, two things are clearly emerging in India. One the enormous power of the media and second the powerful cocktail of media-corporate-hindutva to rule over the country and destroy its cultural resources. And therefore Mumbai's incidents have to be seen in a broader framework and not what is being made visible to us. Mumbai's ugly incident has given media a tool to justify its jingoism and spread lies and rumors to fix up an agenda which is anti poor and anti Dalit-Adivasis-Bahujan

Politics Of Babri Masjid
By Kuldip Nayar

That L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, the other two BJP leaders, were co-conspirators was known on December 6, 1992, itself. The surprising name for me is that of Vajpayee. I would have been indulgent towards him if I had not seen a clip of his speech. A television network showed it on the day a Delhi paper had published the leaked report. Vajpayee said on December 5, one day before the demolition of the masjid, at Lucknow that the ground would be "levelled" and a yangya (religious celebration) held at that place

Uncivil Society, Apathetic Administration
Fact Finding Report issued by Nagrik Adhikar Manch and Yuva Samvad

The situation in the Gadarwara Sub Division of District.Narsinghpur (Madhya Pradesh) has been in a state of constant flux for the last 3-4 months. The Dalits living in the villages adjoining Gadarwara have been condemned to a life of fear and intimidation.Their human rights and dignity are being at stake

25 November, 2009

Copenhagen Diagnosis Predicts
7 Degree Rise
By Copenhagen Diagnosis

Global ice-sheets are melting at an increased rate; Arctic sea-ice is disappearing much faster than recently projected, and future sea-level rise is now expected to be much higher than previously forecast, according to a new global scientific synthesis prepared by some of the world's top climate scientists.Without significant mitigation, the report says global mean warming could reach as high as 7 degrees Celsius by 2100

Revolt Against Climate Change!
By Rebecca Solnit

The "we" that could win and needs to win in the climate change wars isn't the United States itself. The citizens of the U.S. need to revolt, again, against their nation's failure of vision and responsibility, in solidarity with the rest of the people of the world, and the animals, and the plants, and the coral reefs, and the coastlines, and the rivers, the glaciers, the ice caps, and the weather as we now know it, or once knew it. That's why November 30th is going to be a global day of action

Humanity Needs Five Earths To Maintain
Consumption Levels
By The Independent

Humanity would need five Earths to produce the resources needed if everyone lived as profligately as Americans, according to a report issued Tuesday. As it is, humanity each year uses resources equivalent to nearly one-and-a-half Earths to meet its needs, said the report by Global Footprint Network, an international think tank

Climate Scientist At Centre Of Leaked Email Row
Dismisses Conspiracy Claims
By Leo Hickman and agencies

Professor Phil Jones Director of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia in Norwich says charges of conspiracy over climate change are 'rubbish'

Put Farming First
By Thomas Rosswall

Agriculture generally, and farmers especially, are vital to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Farmers are willing to play their part by adopting new practices which deliver our growing food needs in a carbon-efficient manner, but they cannot do so without our support

Thanksgiving: A Time To Imagine
By Frank Joseph Smecker

This Thanksgiving, rather than thoughtlessly stuffing yourself with food and then sauntering over to the couch for some postprandial football, think about how you can play your part in stopping the dominant culture from removing more indigenous cultures from their landbases to extract raw materials for industry that is destroying the planet's ecological and climatic infrastructure

The New York Mets And The Business Of Terrorism
By Aaron Levitt

I encountered racist graffiti with such statements as "Gas the Arabs" and "Fatimah, we will rape all Arab women." I repeatedly observed settlers throwing stones and clods of earth at young Palestinian girls on their way to elementary school; yelling racial epithets at Palestinians walking in the streets; pushing, kicking, and spitting on Palestinian children and (occasionally) adults who were quietly minding their own business; and hurling large stones down on Palestinian homes and residents from settlement balconies

Think Bethlehem This Christmas
By Eileen Fleming

Bethlehem was the birthplace of King David and Jesus, but today it is an open-air prison, occupied by Israel's military forces and encircled by Israel's wall

Making Profits From Poverty
By Devinder Sharma

Micro-finance institutions are on a looting spree

The American East India Company:
A Night With Shining Obama
By Farzana Versey

What did Manmohan Singh's visit achieve except for the benevolent catch-phrase from Barack Obama that US-India ties would be the defining partnership of the 21st century?

A Dearth Of Hypocrisy
By James Rothenberg

President Obama has been under media fire for kowtowing to China on his visit there, specifically for not publicly mentioning the host country's human rights record. No wonder! Hypocrisy is the favored tool in foreign policy diplomacy, and here the President failed to utilize it. He gave it a day off

Everyone Should Be Aware Of Their
Inalienable Human Rights
By Shulamith Koenig

Allow me humbly to ask you to walk with me into this discourse about human rights as a way of life, slowly and thoughtfully. Let us bring a new expansive meaning to this overarching holistic vision and practical mission through learning and dialogue

A Paradigm Shift In Singapore:
Yet Apec Offers No Clear Answers
By Ramzy Baroud

The Apec Summit, although answering a few questions, certainly delineated the new paradigm shift. It was a chance for Asia to assert itself, and for others to listen. But it also presented a new set of priorities, an agenda even, one in which the environment didn't seem to top the list. A most unfortunate conclusion, indeed

New Study Shows Ten States Face Fiscal Crisis
By Stephen Lendman

New study by the Pew Center shows that ten states face fiscal crisis. The states are California, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin

24 November, 2009

Red Alert: The Second Wave Of
The Financial Tsunami
By Matthias Chang

The Wave Is gathering force and could hit between the first and second quarter of 2010

Government Failures Feeding Next Financial Bubble
By Julio Godoy

Numerous failures by industrialised countries' governments and central banks in managing the financial crisis are feeding the next bubble, which most likely will again provoke economic woes such as recession, unemployment, and poverty, according to economists and analysts

The Economic Crisis And What Must Be Done
By Richard C. Cook

The key is monetary reform, whether at the local or national levels. People have lost control of their ability to earn a living. But change could be accomplished through sovereign control by people and nations of the monetary means of exchange

Global Warming Rigged? Here's The Email
I'd Need To See
By George Monbiot

The leaked exchanges are disturbing, but it would take a conspiracy of a very different order to justify sceptics' claims

Greenhouse Gases Reach Record Highs
By Michael von Bülow

According to the World Meteorological Organization, the levels of atmospheric gases blamed for global warming were record high in 2008, with carbon dioxide levels increasing faster than previously

Pricking The Conscience Of The Rich
By Mihiri Weerasinghe

Actions and policies adopted by industrialized countries have included cutting emissions by only a few per cent, outsourcing most of the cuts to developing countries, waiting for carbon capture and storage technology to save the coal industry and continuing to pollute at high levels until that happens. This obviously doesn't inspire confidence in vulnerable countries. Myopic leaders of rich countries who have a twisted notion of acting in their national interest could cause the deaths of millions in poorer countries

President Clinton And Now Obama –WhoThe Bleep
(actually it was f***) Does Netanyahu Think He Is?
By Alan Hart

What President Clinton actually said was, "Who the fuck does he think he is? Who's the fucking superpower here?" After recalling in his own way how President Obama has been humiliated to date by Netanyahu in his second period as prime minister

God Has Left The Building
By Sheila Samples

Several months ago, CNN published the results of a couple of disturbing polls about Americans and their religious beliefs. The first found that more Americans are rejecting religion and thus, according to CNN, America is becoming "less Christian." The second, a Pew survey of only 742 mostly white evangelical Protestants, revealed that more than six in 10 of them believe that torture is often or sometimes justified

23 November, 2009

Antarctic Ice Loss Vaster, Faster Than Thought
By The Independent

The East Antarctic icesheet, once seen as largely unaffected by global warming, has lost billions of tonnes of ice since 2006 and could boost sea levels in the future, according to a new study

Climate Sceptics 'Put World At Risk'
By David Adam

Climate change sceptics and fossil fuel companies that have lobbied against action on greenhouse gas emissions have squandered the world's chance to avoid dangerous global warming

Bread And Circuses
By Guy R. McPherson

The big news on the climate-change front this week, for those of you living in caves, involves a big dose of denial. A large number of emails from the University of East Anglia webmail server were hacked, thus igniting a controversy about whether global climate change is "real." In a word, yes. Lethally so

Global Warming To Have Heavy Impact
On Arab States
By Michael von Bülow

Global warming will have a severe impact on Arab states where water is already scarce, a regional report warned ahead of next month's Copenhagen environment summit. Some of the most feared effects include depletion of agricultural land, spread of disease and endangerment of many plant and animal species, the 2009 Report of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development said

The Pentagon Garrisons The Gulf
By Nick Turse

As Washington talks Iraq withdrawal, the Pentagon builds up bases in the region

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed's Trial Will Convict Us All
By Paul Craig Roberts

Every American should be concerned that the Obama administration has decided to use Mohammed's trial to complete the corruption of the American court system. When Mohammed's trial is over, an American Joe Stalin or Adolf Hitler will be able to convict America's Founding Fathers on charges of treason and terrorism. No one will be safe

Federation? Why Not?
By Uri Avnery

Lately, the term "federation" has come into fashion again. Some people believe that it can serve as a kind of compromise between the "Two-State Solution", now a world-wide consensus, and the "One-State Solution" that is popular in some radical circles. "Federation" sounds like a miracle: there will be both "two states for two peoples" and a single entity. Two in one, one in two

Civil War Spreads Across North West Pakistan
By James Cogan

The Pakistani military offensive in South Waziristan against Tehrik-e-Taliban —the Pakistani Taliban—has escalated into a civil war throughout the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) and North West Frontier Province (NWFP)

You Have To Meet This Farmer Breeder
By Devinder Sharma

Prakash Singh Raghuvanshi is an amazing farmer-breeder. For 14 years, he has been developing new crop varieties. He has developed more than 100 improved varieties of rice, wheat, pulses, and some vegetables and fruits, which have been distributed freely to thousands of farmers in the entire northwestern belt of India. Many of his varieties are dominating the farmers fields, and of course some of his improved varieties have been taken by unscrupulous officials in private companies, renamed and marketed

Have Israeli Spies Infiltrated
International Airports?
By Jonathan Cook

South Africa deported an Israeli airline official last week following allegations that Israel's secret police, the Shin Bet, had infiltrated Johannesburg international airport in an effort to gather information on South African citizens, particularly black and Muslim travellers

What's Thanksgiving Really All About?
By Mary Shaw

Happy Thanksgiving, white America. Enjoy your feast. And be thankful that you were not born on a Native American reservation or in captivity on a slave owner's plantation. Might does not make right. And so may the laws of karma ultimately even the score

Media America
By Case Wagenvoord

The American Way is the product of madmen and bears no relationship to the real America that struggles to make it from one day to the next while its masters party on. This is the America that never reaches the surface of our media swamp

Targeting Muslim Charities In America
By Stephen Lendman

To date, the Treasury Department has closed six Muslim charities by designating them terrorist organizations or claiming they provided material support to terrorism. A seventh charity was also closed for being "under investigation." In addition, six others were raided and and have been gravely harmed by the publicity and intrusive surveillance. Two of them have since closed. In total since 9/11, nine Muslims charities have been shuttered on bogus charges in Texas, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Oregon, Ohio, Massachusetts, and New York

22 November, 2009

Historic Peak Oil Motion Defeated
In Australian Senate
By Dr Gideon Polya

The Australian Greens recently attempted to introduce what, to the best of my knowledge may be the first ever Peak Oil motion introduced into a national assembly. Unfortunately the motion was defeated 31 to 6

This Climate Email-Hacking Episode Is
Generating More Heat Than Light
By Bob Ward

Another skirmish has broken out in the long-running battle between climate scientists and so-called sceptics, with the hacking of email messages between some of the world's leading researchers on global temperature trends. But this episode is generating more heat than light and is likely to lead to more public confusion over the causes of climate change

The CRU Hack
By Realclimate.org

The timing of this particular episode is probably not coincidental. But if cherry-picked out-of-context phrases from stolen personal emails is the only response to the weight of the scientific evidence for the human influence on climate change, then there probably isn't much to it

Last Train To Copenhagen
By Andrew Glikson

The rise in CO2 emissions by 41% since 1990 and continuing land clearing go counter to the urgently required measures at mitigation, massive reforestation, revegetation, application of biochar and chemical draw-down of atmospheric CO2. While governments vie to vested interests and economists calculate the price of the Earth, a denial syndrome underpinned by an ideology of human mastery over nature is enhanced by a massive disinformation campaign by contrarians who ignore the basic laws of physics and chemistry and falsify climate data

Towards Resolving Thanksgiving Contradictions
By Emily Spence

At Thanksgiving, why not avoid cutesy repugnant myths concerning "Indians" and Pilgrims? Instead, one might consider the suffering that arose after the "New World" became viewed as a land of opportunity -- a fresh spot to environmentally plunder while removing native populations. One might, also, reflect on the debt that we, connected in myriad ways, owe to each other. Assuredly, it's especially obliged by the people who have cornucopian bounty in their lives

Q & A About The Relevance Of Bt Brinjal
And The Regulatory Regime
By Devinder Sharma

FAQ on Bt Brinjal And The Regulatory Regime

Revolutionary Movement And
The "Spirit Of Generalisation"
By Pratyush Chandra

Can there be a Maoist movement or for that matter, a Marxist movement? We have been using the phrase "Communist Movement" for a long time, but what does it signify? What is the utility of these phrases in the context of today's people's and working class struggle?

Why Did Tom Perriello Vote In Favor Of
H.Res. 867 And How Is This Apartheid
By Adam Shapiro

I believe Congressman Perriello's vote resulted from the almost-obligatory fealty to AIPAC displayed by members of Congress – and perhaps his desire to get reelected

Encountering Ambedkar In Hungary
By Pardeep Attri

The Romas, a discriminated minority in Hungary, turn to Ambedkar and Buddhism in their quest for dignity and equality. Pardeep Attri journeys to Sajókaza and Budapest to find out how the Dalits and Romas connect

The Charge Of The Fright Brigade
By Rafiq Kathwari

All it will take is two boys in navy blue with their circumcised dhandas to regulate traffic in front of not just the children's hospital but all hospitals in Srinagar, ensuring safe passage for all, from one end of the road to the other, for a civil society is ultimately judged by how well its citizens regard each other, particularly its women and children

Cutting Out A Role For China
By Dr Shabir Choudhry

Statement of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq regarding a role of China in Kashmir dispute has surprised many. We people of Jammu and Kashmir are in limbo mainly because we are occupied by three countries, although it was only two who were considered party to the Kashmir dispute

20 November, 2009

World Energy And Population: Trends To 2100
By Paul Chefurka

All the research I have done for this paper has convinced me that the human race is now out of time. We are staring at hard limits on our activities and numbers, imposed by energy constraints and ecological damage. There is no time left to mitigate the situation, and no way to bargain or engineer our way out of it. It is what it is, and neither Mother Nature nor the Laws of Physics are open to negotiation

America's Pending Collapse
By Timothy V. Gatto

I'm really not an alarmist, but I see the merit of what so many scientists are predicting. Not only will Peak Oil stop economic growth, but climate change according to a UN report will bring desertification to 70% of the planet by 2025. Maybe petroleum peaking out is in reality what may save our planet. Maybe a return to simpler ways to live and work will stop the CO2 emissions, but I don't think so

We Are Running Out Of Time
To Save Humanity And The Biosphere
By Dr Gideon Polya

Humanity and the Biosphere (the ecosystems and species of the Planet) are acutely threatened by man-made global warming. However ignorant or corporate-funded climate denialism, the effective climate denialism of insufficiently responsive First World politicians and the growing enormity of what needs to be done lead scientists to say that it is probably too late to stop a climate catastrophe

Bantustans And The Unilateral Declaration Of
Statehood
By Virginia Tilley

The Ramallah PA's suddenly serious initiative to declare an independent Palestinian state in non-sovereign territory must surely force fresh collective realization that this is a terribly pragmatic question. It's time to bring closer attention to what "Bantustan" actually means. The Palestinian national movement can only hope someone in its ranks undertakes that project as seriously as Israel has undertaken it before it's too late

The Bolivarian Revolution And Peace
By Fidel Castro

Those who think that division between Venezuelans and Colombians can lead to the success of their counterrevolutionary plans are deceiving themselves. Many of the best and most humble workers in Venezuela are Colombians; the Revolution has given them and their immediate family education, healthcare, employment, the right to citizenship and other benefits. Together, Venezuelans and Colombians shall defend the great Homeland of the Liberator of the Americas; together, they shall fight for peace and freedom

Lynne Stewart: Heroic Human Rights Lawyer Jailed
By Stephen Lendman

The situation remains fluid, dire, and complicated by Stewart's battle with breast cancer. She has surgery scheduled for December 7, unlikely now, but if done in prison or where authorities direct, it won't be the quality she deserves

Tribute To Kahane Planned By Israeli Legislators
By Jonathan Cook

A plan by right-wing legislators in Israel to commemorate the anniversary this month of the death of Meir Kahane, whose banned anti-Arab movement is classified as a terrorist organisation, risks further damaging the prospects for talks between Israel and the Palestinians, US officials have warned

Saudi Arabia's Attack On Yemen
By Rannie Amiri

Saudi Arabia's irresponsible muscle-flexing only exacerbates regional and sectarian tensions, and puts a solution to the conflict further out of reach. It is clear the only solution to be had is a diplomatic one. The time for the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the U.N. Security Council to intercede before the conflict and its attendant humanitarian costs spiral out of hand is long overdue

Gilo And Last Straws
By Eileen Fleming

This week's announcement of Israel's plan to build 900 more dwellings in Gilo with a price tag of NIS 1.86 million for a 5-room apartment has garnered international criticism as well as from the US

Ambedkar's Lost Boys?
By Ajit Sahi

A dalit organisation in Kerala is accused of terrorist link

19 November, 2009

Should We Prop Up A Dying Economy?
By Richard Heinberg

Rather than attempting to prop up banks and insurance companies with trillions in bailouts, it would probably be better simply to let them fail, however nasty the short-term consequences, since they will fail anyway sooner or later. The sooner they are replaced with institutions that serve essential functions within a contracting economy, the better off we will all be

End Times In Copenhagen
By Joel Kovel

These meetings will be a turning point. The question remains as to the direction taken, whether toward eco-catastrophe or hope for life. But we should do our best to non-violently impede the meetings so long as they serve capital. We can build a "movement of movements" from below, harbingers of a transformed world: a movement to reveal the murderous betrayal of life by the capitalist class, and centered around the principle of keeping the sources of carbon in the ground as we build ecologically socialist ways of production

Advice On Afghanistan
By Ralph Nader

Your staff estimates each U.S. soldier is costing $1 million a year, in addition to the horrific toll on these soldiers and the Afghan people. You owe the American people an un-Bush-like explanation. Why are you not receiving these groups of American from varied backgrounds and experience at the White House on this pending Afghan decision?

FAO And World Bank Back Food Pirates
By Devinder Sharma

FAO has taken a U-turn in its clear position on the race by food-importing countries and private companies to buy land overseas for domestic food and agriculture needs. It has started drawing up a code of conduct to regulate overseas investment in farmland but the guidelines would be non-binding

Anatomy Of Chidambaram's Tehelka Interview:
"Give Me 72 Hours!"
By Sadanand Patwardhan

It may not be Operation Green Hunt that is denied by Chidambaram, but it could very well be 'Operation Tribal Hunt' as described by Bhai Vaidya – a veteran socialist leader in Pune or a photo journalist from central India Javed Iqbal

Rising Indian Influence In Afghanistan
Worries US And Pakistan
By Ajay Prakash

The top US military commander in Afghanistan has warned that India's growing influence in the country could "exacerbate regional tensions" and encourage "countermeasures" by Pakistan, India's historic rival in south Asia

Obama's Fraudulent "Job Summit"
By Shamus Cooke

If the President had offered us a job summit a year ago, he might have been taken seriously. Now, however, after more than six million jobs have been lost — and with the bottom still falling — Obama's brain storming get-together can only be treated with contempt, if not outrage

Media Disseminated Myths About Obamacare
By Stephen Lendman

Mainstream media endorses private sector-run health care, calls Obamacare "socialized medicine," and ducks its real aim - to enrich the insurance, drug and large hospital chain cartels at the expense of real reform covering everyone under a universal, single-payer system. Everyone in. No one out getting affordable, effective care, the kind right-wing media and other dark forces oppose and disseminate misinformation to prevent it

One Year Later…And The Doors To The World's
Largest Prison Are Still Sealed Shut
By Pam Rasmussen

It's time to show Israel that the world will no longer accept this wanton and cruel suffocation of human potential. Visit www.gazafreedommarch.org to find out how you can help, either actively on the ground in Gaza or here at home

18 November, 2009

World Heads For 6° Rise
By Steve Connor & Michael McCarthy

The world is now firmly on course for the worst-case scenario in terms of climate change, with average global temperatures rising by up to 6C by the end of the century, leading scientists said yesterday. Such a rise – which would be much higher nearer the poles – would have cataclysmic and irreversible consequences for the Earth, making large parts of the planet uninhabitable and threatening the basis of human civilisation

Climate Change: Do Something Ourselves
By Marianne de Nazareth

While the politicians of the world play politics with taking hard nosed decisions about caps and GHG emissions of their respective countries, let each one of us decide to do something to help our planet which is in trouble. It's about time we made initiatives on our own, instead of waiting for the men at the top to stop playing around with our lives

Up And Down, Down And Up
By Case Wagenvoord

Initially, technology contributed to civilization, making life easier and more comfortable, conquering disease and lifting us out of the morass of superstition. But as with all other historical phenomena, technology peaked. Once this happened, technological innovation became destructive with the costs far outweighing the benefits. One could argue that we passed over the apogee with the splitting of the atom

Australians Face Reality On Sea-Level Rise
By John James

Australia is the first country in the world to undertake a national assessment of the consequences of sea-level rise. The headlines on Saturday were silly , but the report was not. With a sea-level rise of 1.1 meters about two million Australians would become refugees and have to leave their homes and the places they love

Hungering For A True Thanksgiving
By Amy Goodman

Consider pausing this Thanksgiving, which for many in the U.S. is a major feast, to reflect on the 10 children who die of hunger every minute, and how your elected officials are spending hundreds of billions in public funds on war

Denial Of Breast Cancer Screenings
Will Have Deadly Consequences
By Joanne Laurier

A US government panel's recommendation that women under the age of 50 not undergo annual mammogram screenings has provoked outrage from oncologists and other health care professionals, as well as breast cancer patients and survivors

Universal Single Payer Health Care Coverage:
An Economic Stimulus Plan
By Stephen Lendman

If Obamacare is enacted, it will cost more, deliver less, leave millions uninsured, millions more underinsured and leave a broken system in place. It will enrich the insurance, drug and large hospital chain cartels at the expense of universal coverage. It will solidify a class-based system delivering the best care money can buy. Others will get sub-standard treatment, and for millions none at all. The solution is everybody in, nobody out under a universal, single-payer system. No one should accept less or politicians who won't provide it

Globalization Unchecked: How Alien Media Is
Suffocating Real Culture
By Ramzy Baroud

Globalization is not a fair game, of course. Those with giant economies get the lion's share of the 'collective' decision-making. Those with more money and global outlook tend to have influential media, also with global outlook. In both scenarios, small countries are lost between desperately trying to negotiate a better economic standing for themselves, while hopelessly trying to maintain their cultural identity, which defined their people, generation after generation throughout history

Hawkish Hillary Pro-Surge And
Anti-Savvy Majority, Again
By Robert S. Becker

I predict when Afghan ante mounts, and hundreds, or thousands, of American soldiers return in body bags, whatever good President Obama achieves will be undercut, as Vietnam did LBJ, by an endlessly drawn-out Asian land war against a divided, indigenous population

Disputed Kashmir Serves China's Interests
By Ghulam Nabi

The author argues that it's in China's interest to keep Kashmir as a conflict zone

17 November, 2009

Too Late To Prepare For Peak Oil?
By George Monbiot

It's probably too late to prepare for peak oil, but we can at least try to salvage food production

Peak Oil: IEA Knew It Long Ago
By Colin Campbell

Colin Campbell's Response To The Guardian IEA Reporting

Searching For A Miracle: 'Net Energy' Limits
And The Fate Of Industrial Society
By Post Carbon Institute &
International Forum on Globalization

The fundamental disturbing conclusion of the report is that there is little likelihood that either conventional fossil fuels or alternative energy sources can reliably be counted on to provide the amount and quality of energy that will be needed to sustain economic growth—or even current levels of economic activity—during the remainder of the current century

Climate Rage
By Naomi Klein

The only way to stop global warming is for rich nations to pay for the damage they've done - or face the consequences

Obama Has Failed The World On Climate Change
By Christian Schwägerl

A world of flooded coasts, dried-up rivers and disappearing rainforests will lead to massive refugee movements and conflict. The Nobel Committee should postpone the award of the Nobel Peace Prize from Dec. 10 to Dec. 20. Only if Obama has achieved a convincing deal at the Copenhagen conference will there be a real reason to honor him

The Latest Palestinian Strategy –
Clever Or Stupid Or Both?
By Alan Hart

There is a case for saying that those leaders of the discredited PNA (Palestine National Authority) who are proposing to unilaterally declare an independent state on the West Bank and Gaza Strip and seek to get UN Security Council backing for it are being clever

Australia Sabotages Copenhagen By Excluding
Huge Agriculture GHG Emissions
By Dr Gideon Polya

Having already helped the US sabotage the 2007 Bali Climate Change Conference and the 2008 Poznan Climate Change Conference, US lackey, climate criminal and war criminal Australia has now also effectively sabotaged the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference a few weeks before it has even begun

Arab Teens Need 'Protecting From Israeli Justice'
By Jonathan Cook

An Israeli judge made an historic ruling last week when he decided that an Arab teenager needed "protection" from the justice system and ordered that he not be convicted despite being found guilty of throwing stones at a police car during a protest against Israel's attack last winter on Gaza

Walls Of Shame
By Dr. Elias Akleh

On November 2nd many western leaders gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, to celebrate the downing of the notorious Berlin Wall. None of them recognized the rights of Palestinians and Iraqis to their freedom, and none of them condemned the uglier Israeli separation and imprisoning wall that cuts the West Bank into smaller Bantustans, or the Baghdad wall that divides the city into smaller sections

U.S. Army Underreporting Suicides,
Says GI Advocacy Group
By Dahr Jamail

According to a soldiers' advocacy group at Fort Hood, the U.S. base where an army psychiatrist has been charged with killing 13 people and wounding 30 in a Nov. 5 rampage, the official suicide figures provided by the Army are "definitely" too low

Shining Light On Roots Of Terrorism
By Ray McGovern

For reasons that are painfully obvious, the Fawning Corporate Media have done their best to ignore or bury the role that Israel's repression of the Palestinians has played in motivating the 9/11 attacks and other anti-Western terrorism

KSM And MSM
By David Swanson

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and the corporate "mainstream" media make quite a pair. We're hearing a very "balanced" debate over whether KSM should be tried in New York City, and whether the most insane objections to that proposal are really insane or not. But what are we not hearing?

Rajiv Shah To Head USAID
By Devinder Sharma

US President Barrack Obama's decision to appoint Rajiv Shah (of Indian-origin) to head USAID and thereby hoping to rejuvinate the US role in spearheading the 2nd Green Revolution has a clever streak. Putting a face that looks like one of them, it is much easier to convince the Third World that the US is there to help. In fact, this is emerging as a great marketing chip, a winning strategy that Pepsi had followed all these years

All For a Song: Vande Mataram
And The Jamiat's Patriotism
By Yoginder Sikand

The furore stoked by the media over a recent declaration by a faction of the Jamiatul-Ulema- e Hind declaring the singing of the song Vande Matram to be un-Islamic has, not unexpectedly, been seized upon by vociferously anti-Muslim elements to press their claim of Muslims being 'anti-national'. What many Muslims are asking, a legitimate question that the media has failed to seriously raise, is why one's attitude to a song (and that too in a language that few Indians understand) should be made the litmus test of Indian patriotism. What many Muslims also demand to know is how long they must continue to be forced by Hindu communalists to bear the burden of being compelled to prove their patriotic credentials

16 November, 2009

Too Fearful To Publicise
Peak Oil Reality
By Madeleine Bunting

What the 2008 edition of World Energy Outlook report made blindingly clear was that peak oil was somewhere in 2008/9 and that production from currently producing fields was about to drop off a cliff. Fields yet to be developed and yet to be found enabled a plateau of production and it was only "non-conventional oil" which enabled a small rise. Think tar sands of Canada, think some of the most climate polluting oil extraction methods available. Think catastrophe

ACTA: Death Of Internet As We Know It
By Stephen Lendman

From what's known, if the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) measures are adopted, consider the implications. Consumer Internet communications and content will be monitored, threatening privacy, civil liberties, and a free and open Internet. In addition, new Net Neutrality rules and congressional legislation codifying them will be subverted by ACTA authority

Poverty, Global Trade Justice,
And The Roots Of Terrorism
By John Perkins

To combat terrorism, we should address the root causes of poverty, says former "economic hit man"

How I Stopped Hating Thanksgiving
And Learned To Be Afraid
By Robert Jensen

European invaders exterminated nearly the entire indigenous population to create the United States. Without that holocaust, the United States as we know it would not exist. The United States celebrates a Thanksgiving Day holiday dominated not by atonement for that horrendous crime against humanity but by a falsified account of the "encounter" between Europeans and American Indians

Campus Watch Copycats Close In On
Israeli Professors
By Jonathan Cook

Right-wing groups in Israel want to create a climate of fear among left-wing scholars at Israeli universities by emulating the "witch-hunt" tactics of the US academic monitoring group Campus Watch, Israeli professors warn

Aung San Suu Kyi, Omar Khadar,
And Barack Obama: A Dreadful Tale Of
What America Has Become
By John Chuckman

Much as I resent Burma's treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi, it shines as genuinely humane compared to America's treatment of Omar Khadr

What Is At Stake With Free Trade
By Shamus Cooke

If the battle against free trade is really a battle against capitalism, then it must be clearly stated. As it stands now, many corporations are benefiting from the confusion that "free trade" creates, and use the bewilderment to help them gain workers' and union officials' support in fighting foreign corporations. For workers, this is a suicidal policy

Feminism And Dalit Women In India
By Cynthia Stephen

Thus, Dalit women are slowly attempting to come to grips with their invisibility in the discourse, and are beginning not just to speak out, but also to theorise and build wider solidarities so as to earn the place, hitherto denied, under the sun

Two Contrasting Systems For Ensuring
Food Security
By Jaspal Singh Sidhu

The release of Millions Fed seems to be an advocacy in favor of capitalistic mode of agriculture which is now turning into a ' corporate farming' ahead of World Summit on Food Security . Also it is an attempt to brush under the carpet ill-effects of this 'modern agriculture'

Where Is Hemant Karkare's Bullet Proof Jacket ?
By Subhash Gatade

Does not people have a right to know how a senior officer of his rank died ? Whether he died because of bullets fired from an AK 47 or 9 mm bullets fired from a revolver/carbine? In fact, his post mortem report needs to be made public.. Mystery behind his 'missing jacket' also needs to be revisited.Unless and until a thorough investigation is done doubts will linger on

 

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