5 Sep, 2011

Racism on the rise in Europe – Opinion – Al Jazeera English

In the wake of the atrocities in Norway perpetrated by Anders Behring Breivik, it is still unclear whether he was part of a wider conspiracy, but alarm bells are now ringing across Europe about the threat from far-right extremist groups. With no end in sight to the economic crisis afflicting many nations, the growing fear […]

5 Sep, 2011

PATA Seeks “Clean Slate” Before New CEO Announcement

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok — Heavy-duty restructuring is under way at the Pacific Asia Travel Association as it prepares to “start off with a clean slate” before the announcement of a new CEO at the annual PATA Travel Mart in New Delhi this week.

5 Sep, 2011

Revealed: Australians at the console of Kill TV, when drone strikes take out Afghan targets

Special forces are involved in this silent and deadly form of 21st century warfare, their commander confirms to Rafael Epstein. Australia’s special forces commander has defended his troops’ use of US drones to kill insurgent leaders in southern Afghanistan, a deadly military tactic that gives the enemy no chance to surrender. Major-General Peter ”Gus” Gilmore […]

5 Sep, 2011

‘Twitter terrorists’ face 30 years in jail for inciting mass panic – SMH

A former teacher turned radio commentator and a maths tutor who lives with his mother are facing possible 30-year sentences for terrorism and sabotage in what may be the most serious charges ever brought against anyone using a Twitter social network account. Prosecutors say the defendants helped cause a chaos of car crashes and panic […]

4 Sep, 2011

Will US do the right thing? | Opinion | DAWN.COM

WINSTON Churchill once quipped that the US always does the right thing — after trying everything else first. Well, when the right thing comes this time, it will be a long time coming. The US is a country obsessed with instant gratification, defying patience. It likes to indulge in gluttony of all kinds almost tempting […]

4 Sep, 2011

UN-Backed Climate Change Technology Mechanism Team Concludes First Meeting

Sep  3 2011 (UN News Centre) – Members of the technology executive committee created under the United Nations climate change convention to facilitate the use of technology to support mitigation and adaptation to climate change concluded their first meeting on Saturday, saying they had made important progress on issues discussed. Meeting in Bonn, members of […]

4 Sep, 2011

Chinese Police dog patrols lead to fewer crimes — chinadaily.com.cn

BEIJING – An 8 million yuan ($1,252,000) investment in dog patrols in Daxing district is already paying off with crime figures down and residents saying they feel much safer. Zhou Yucong is happy to see police officers with dogs patrolling the area where she lives. “I feel much safer going home late,” said 23-year-old Zhou […]

4 Sep, 2011

More Chinese children flying solo | chinadaily.com.cn

Eleven-year-old Guo Yongyi quickly finds her place in row 38 on the three-hour morning flight from Beijing to Shenzhen, Guangdong province. She takes the window seat and calls for the flight attendant to ask for a blanket, places her purple backpack under the seat in front of her and fastens her seat belt. Guo has […]

4 Sep, 2011

Central Asia caucus calls for Free Trade Pact | Economy | chinadaily.com.cn

URUMQI – High-ranking officials from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member nations and experts on Friday called for the establishment of a massive free-trade area (FTA) across the region to facilitate trade among one-fourth of the world’s population. “China believes the relevant parties should make full use of the current mechanism and discuss the feasibility […]

4 Sep, 2011

Chinese PM calls for sustainable use of land, resources – People’s Daily Online

BEIJING, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) — Premier Wen Jiabao called for more sustainable usage of land and natural resources during his Friday inspection of the Ministry of Land and Resources. Wen urged improvements in the management of China’s land and mineral resources, as well as more accurate mapping of geographical information, in order to better promote […]

4 Sep, 2011

Despite obesity, Chinese turn out to be healthier – People’s Daily Online

BEIJING – Even as more and more of the Chinese population is becoming overweight and elderly, residents’ health has improved steadily since 2005, according to a recent report. After studying the health of 231,925 adults for 19 months, the State General Administration of Sport announced the results of its third national physical condition survey on […]

4 Sep, 2011

South African Minister Likens Rhino Poaching To Looting Of National Treasure

PRETORIA, Aug 30 (NNN-BUANEWS) — South African Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa has likened the poaching of rhinos to looting national treasures and urged South Africans to work with law enforcement agencies and game park authorities to stop the scourge. “The on-going scourge of rhino poaching in our country is an area of […]

3 Sep, 2011

Western countries should rethink consumerism – People’s Daily Online

Project Syndicate, an international newspaper syndicate, recently published a commentary titled “Is Capitalism Doomed?” on its website, commenting on the slide of Western capitalist countries into economic, political and social crises. Many Westerners have attributed the crises to the incompetence of governments. Some people ascribed the global financial crisis to a lack of government supervision. […]

3 Sep, 2011

The Republican dilemma | Jordan Times

By James J. Zogby. Over the past few weeks, the Republican presidential primary contest has become more confusing and, for some in the GOP, disheartening. For months now, the rather lacklustre field of 10 or so announced Republican candidates has been raising money, hiring staff, and campaigning vigorously in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina […]

3 Sep, 2011

14 risky fault lines found near N-plants : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE

There are 14 potentially active fault lines in areas near the crisis-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and other nuclear-related facilities, the government has announced. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency announced the results of research undertaken by power utilities following the Great East Japan Earthquake. The 14 faults discovered to be potentially active […]

3 Sep, 2011

Yakuza Friendly Hotels — on the way out

As a part of broader initiatives to expel organized crime from business, new “yakuza exclusion” provisions by the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) go into effect today. The JTA maintains a “Model Accommodation Contract”, which serves as a widely-accepted set of guidelines recommended for hotels, ryokans, and other lodging facilities. The agency explains on its website: […]

3 Sep, 2011

Revival of the Eurasian Corridor | DAWN.COM

The modern day Eurasian Corridor is said to be the area covering Central Asia and the former CIS states ultimately connecting Eastern Europe and South Asia. With the British being a major exception, conquerors of the Indian Sub-Continent, from the Aryans and Alexander the Great to Mahmood Ghaznavi and the Mughals, had used this route […]

3 Sep, 2011

Indian ministers declare assets, Kamal Nath richest – Hindustan Times

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his ministerial team on Saturday declared their assets that places his own wealth at Rs5.1 crore, while urban development minister Kamal Nath is richest with over Rs250 crore. Defence minister AK Antony seems the poorest with Rs 35 lakh. The declaration, required under the code of conduct for ministers, also […]

3 Sep, 2011

Int’l Water Forum To Open Sept 16 at UN in New York

When the United Nations General Assembly opens its 66th session this September in New York, water scarcity and its interrelated issues of climate change and drought, global security and sustainable development will be a top priority. On September 16, 2011, the International Water Forum at the United Nations will convene world leaders, academics, non-governmental organizations, […]

3 Sep, 2011

London to Host First Global Broadcast Summit | Business Wire

London has been chosen as the host city for the first Global Broadcast Summit to take place on 15-16 May 2012. The Summit will bring together, by invitation only, Chief Executives of the world’s leading broadcasters, as well as regulators and government officials to debate and discuss the global broadcast industry from a strategic economic, […]

3 Sep, 2011

Obama Administration to Enact More Burdensome Regulations on Small Businesses | Business Wire

Federal small business contracting programs have been plagued by rampant fraud and abuse for over a decade. Federal law requires 23 percent of all federal contracts be awarded to small businesses. Yet the Obama Administration’s 2010 small business contracting data showed that most small business contracts actually go to large businesses. An ASBL analysis of […]

3 Sep, 2011

Mr. President, It Is Time to Think Big | Business Wire

Message from United Food and Commercial Workers International Union President Joseph Hansen to President Obama: In all this turmoil, many Americans have lost confidence in their government and believe they will never achieve the American dream of owning a home, sending their children to college or retiring comfortably. If the national conversation continues to be […]

3 Sep, 2011

U.S. sues major banks over Fannie, Freddie losses – The Washington Post

The suits, brought by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, name 17 domestic and foreign banks as defendants. Among them: Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank. According to the court filings, those firms and others “falsely represented” the quality of the loans that were bundled into securities and […]

3 Sep, 2011

‘Top Secret America’: A look at the military’s Joint Special Operations Command – The Washington Post

CIA operatives have imprisoned and interrogated nearly 100 suspected terrorists in their former secret prisons around the world, but troops from this other secret organization have imprisoned and interrogated 10 times as many, holding them in jails that it alone controls in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, this secretive group of […]

3 Sep, 2011

Don’t Fear Islamic Law in America – Op-ed NYTimes.com

Most Americans today would be appalled if Muslims suffered from legally sanctioned discrimination as Jews once did in Europe. Still, there are signs that many Americans view Muslims in this country as disloyal. A recent Gallup poll found that only 56 percent of Protestants think that Muslims are loyal Americans. This suspicion and mistrust is […]

3 Sep, 2011

Out of the rubble, a world in fear of itself – Sydney Morning Herald

September 11 was the last hurrah of bin Laden’s band of gangsters, who spent their last years watching and making onanistic videotapes. Their delusions looped the loop and met up with the wackiest of ours. Did al-Qaeda really destroy the Twin Towers, or was it the CIA? Dick Cheney? International Jewry? In some ways, the […]

3 Sep, 2011

Robert Fisk: For 10 years, we’ve lied to ourselves – The Independent

The motivation for the attacks was “ducked” even by the official 9/11 report, say the authors. The commissioners had disagreed on this “issue” – cliché code word for “problem” – and its two most senior officials, Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, were later to explain: “This was sensitive ground …Commissioners who argued that al-Qa’ida was […]

3 Sep, 2011

Iraq and Afghanistan on Stage – Book Review – Truthdig

With our volunteer army, and the raw wound of 9/11 fading with time, it is easy for us to ignore these wars and their destruction. But with so many soldiers returning with grave injuries, some diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, others unable to find employment or housing, and increasing numbers resorting to violence, we must […]

3 Sep, 2011

FOIA | Surveillance | Immigration – Surveillance in the Homeland

Ten years after the devastating attacks on New York and Washington, the fundamental promises of American democracy are hanging by a thin thread. Promoted by a culture of war and fear, the US government has steadily chipped away at those legal protections that enabled ‘we the people’ to rule ourselves. “Ten Years Later: Surveillance in […]

3 Sep, 2011

9/11 After A Decade: Have We Learned Anything?

The US government’s account of 9/11 is the foundation of the open-ended wars that are exhausting America’s resources and destroying its reputation, and it is the foundation of the domestic police state that ultimately will shut down all opposition to the wars. Americans are bound to the story of the 9/11 Muslim terrorist attack, because […]

2 Sep, 2011

Breakdown: The new WikiLeaks scoops – Salon.com

Last week, the whistle-blowing organization dropped 120,000 more diplomatic cables, apparently drawn from the cache of 250,000 first tapped last November. But whereas the group previously collaborated with newspapers such as the New York Times and the Guardian — and redacted potentially sensitive information — the new batch of documents is unredacted. Government sources worry […]

2 Sep, 2011

Welcome to dragnet surveillance – 9/11 – Salon.com

There was little surprising about recent revelations of the New York City Police Department’s program, developed in secret with the aid of CIA officials, to collect swaths of information about the city’s 800,000-strong Muslim population. The story illustrates that government surveillance of innocent law-abiding Americans is not an emergency measure undertaken after 9/11 and subsequently […]

2 Sep, 2011

Venus Williams’ Withdrawal from U.S. Open Alerts Women to Threat of Autoimmune Disease

New York, NY (PRWEB) September 01, 2011 — The stunning announcement last night of Venus Williams’ withdrawal from the U.S. Open tennis tournament due to a debilitating and difficult to diagnose autoimmune disease is important news for all women suffering similar symptoms. The Lupus Research Institute (LRI) President Margaret Dowd encourages women to speak to […]

2 Sep, 2011

World manufacturing figures to be lower this year as industrial production slows — UNIDO

VIENNA, 1 September 2011 – The world manufacturing output growth is expected to be slower this year compared to last year even despite high growth rates in developing countries, says a report released today by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). According to the report, the world manufacturing output rose by 5.2 per cent […]

2 Sep, 2011

Fakebook for iPhone; Let the Facebook Pranks Begin

FRESNO, Calif., Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — YourFav, LLC today announced the launch of FAKEBOOK, the ultimate Facebook pranking mobile app that is now available for download at the Apple App Store and can be purchased through iTunes, or directly on iPhone or iPod touch. FAKEBOOK is an innovative and entertaining app that will have […]

1 Sep, 2011

Libya: The triumphalism of the US media – Al Jazeera English

“Victory” in Libya has prompted a renewal of triumphalism in the US media. Like a slightly drunken crowd at a football match giddily shouting “U-S-A”, editors and producers keep thumping their chests long after it stops being attractive.   When Obama announced the anti-Gaddafi bombing campaign in March, Stephen Walt issued a relatively safe pair […]

1 Sep, 2011

Football superstar Marta visits Sierra Leone to promote women’s empowerment | UNDP

Fresh from her women’s soccer championship win in the United States, the world’s top female player, Marta Vieira da Silva, today kicks off a two-day visit to Sierra Leone to highlight the country’s efforts to empower women. Vieira da Silva, a Brazilian national known to her fans as Marta, is a Goodwill Ambassador for the […]

1 Sep, 2011

New Yorkers Join Israeli Social Protest

New York, NY (PRWEB) August 31, 2011 — Inspired by the seven-week-long protest for greater social justice that have already taken several hundred thousand Israelis to the streets, a group of New Yorkers decided to join in and created “Friends of Israeli Tent Protest”. Some are Israelis living or studying in the Big Apple, some […]

1 Sep, 2011

After 9/11, Curiosity over Islam Leads to Conversion on EthicsDaily.com

BOSTON (RNS) Like a lot of other people in the haze and confusion of the 9/11 attacks, Johannah Segarich asked herself: “What kind of religion is this that could inspire people to do this?” She had studied other religions, but never Islam. So she bought a copy of the Quran, wondering if her notions of […]

1 Sep, 2011

6 Unexpected Places You Can Be Tracked With Facial Recognition Technology – AlterNet

August 30, 2011  — Earlier this summer Facebook rolled out facial recognition software that identifies users even when they appear in untagged photos. Like every other time the social networking site has introduced a creepy, invasive new feature, they made it the default setting without telling anyone. Once people realized that Facebook was basically harvesting […]

1 Sep, 2011

aGREATER.US Offers Young Americans Access to Political Change As Youth Unemployment Soars

Hartford, CT (PRWEB) August 31, 2011 — A new study by the U.S. Department of Labor shows the recession and unemployment continues to plague youth ages 16 to 24 as well as recent college graduates. In fact, the recent study showed the labor force participation rate in July 2011 for all youth ages 16 to […]

1 Sep, 2011

Tea Party Opponents Release Campaign Attack Ad

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) August 31, 2011 — The Tea Party has largely gone unchallenged with their strong rhetoric and having tapped into the general discontent in the electorate. However, they are now being challenged directly with the release of a new campaign commercial produced by AAD Media Consultants The commercial has no narration, and is […]

1 Sep, 2011

China Daily Launches US Weekly

BEIJING and NEW YORK, Aug. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — China Daily, China’s national English-language newspaper group, announced today the launch of a 24-page full-color weekly tabloid distributed along with its Friday edition in the United States — the latest move by the Chinese media to increase their footprint in the U.S. and expand their services […]

1 Sep, 2011

Kronos Global Absence Survey Shows Employees around the World Playing Hooky with China Leading the Pack | Business Wire

A new global survey commissioned by The Workforce Institute™ at Kronos Incorporated and conducted by Harris Interactive reveals that employees in Australia, Canada, China, France, India, Mexico, the U.K., and the U.S., have all, to varying degrees, played hooky – called in sick to work when they were not actually sick. The Kronos Global Absence […]

1 Sep, 2011

10 New Video Shorts to Increase Disability Awareness | Business Wire

ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Last month, at its Making A Difference Annual Appreciation Ceremony in Atlanta, the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) premiered the centerpiece presentation in a series of video shorts developed to raise public awareness about issues pertaining to people with developmental disabilities. Subsequently, nine topic-specific stories have been released online to round out the […]

1 Sep, 2011

The Next Banking Crisis Starts Here – Money Morning

By Shah Gilani, Capital Waves Strategist, Money Morning Fears of a banking crisis and rolling contagion are making global stock and bond markets extraordinarily volatile – and with good reason. Another financial meltdown, on par with what we saw in 2008, is looming large on the horizon. One of two potential triggers could ignite a […]

1 Sep, 2011

London Cabs Launches Three Times Faster Online MiniCab Booking

London, UK (PRWEB) August 31, 2011 — London Cabs are pleased to announce the launch of a quick and simple online booking facility. With London Cabs, a minicab can be booked in 30 seconds in three simple steps. Simply type the start point and destination, amount of passengers and time of travel followed by a […]

1 Sep, 2011

New Product Invented to Revolutionize the Way We Use Public Restrooms

The new patent pending Seat-B-Clean™ toilet seat wipes and dispensers are mounted inside the restroom stalls of public facilities and provide a quick, easy and sanitary solution. The plastic dispensers will remind you of a typical baby wipe column shaped unit but are wall mounted and have a much greater capacity for commercial use, the […]

1 Sep, 2011

Eight Business Lessons Dating Company Bosses Have Learnt

LONDON, August 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ —  Global Personals Limited has grown from humble beginnings operating out of founder Ross’s apartment to becoming one of the most successful online dating companies in the world. Now employing over 95 full time staff with annualised revenues in excess of £30million, the company has now approached its 8th birthday. […]

1 Sep, 2011

Economy Trumps Terrorism as Top Concern

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A decade after 9/11, only 16% of Americans believe terrorism is the most important issue in the world, according to a new survey on Americans’ interest in international concerns and related behaviors. Economic weakness and unemployment were identified as the chief concern for most Americans, with twice as […]

1 Sep, 2011

CFOs Earn Less than 40% of Average CEO Compensation, BDO Analysis Finds | Business Wire

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The gap between CEO and CFO pay is growing. Middle-market CFOs earn an average of $927,743, around 40 percent of CEO pay ($2,338,874), according to an analysis of 600 public companies conducted by BDO USA, LLP, a leading accounting and consulting organization. Both groups saw significant pay increases, with CFO pay up 19 percent […]

31 Aug, 2011

Australian report calls on employers to give people with a disability a go

Minister for Employment Participation, Kate Ellis today released the Employer perspectives on recruiting people with disability and the role of Disability Employment Services study. This new study shows that while employers generally agree that people with disability have a good attitude towards work, many continue to operate under the misconception that people with disability will […]

31 Aug, 2011

UK debt: Britain plunges into danger zone after Labour’s 10-year borrowing binge | Mail Online

Britain’s debt levels are dangerously high and are damaging the economy, according to one of the world’s leading financial watchdogs. Debt in the UK grew faster than in any other major economy in the last decade to £180,000 per household. It means the country is in the danger zone following a ten-year borrowing binge under […]

31 Aug, 2011

High unemployment blights Palestinian lives – UN report

The economy of the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) grew by 9.3 per cent last year, but that expansion was not enough to reduce the area’s 30 per cent unemployment rate, the United Nations trade and development arm said in a new report released today. Gaza saw a 15 per cent growth, while the West Bank’s […]

31 Aug, 2011

America’s FBI goes rogue — Redress Information & Analysis

Aaronson looked at over 500 terrorism-related cases taken up by the FBI and found that over half of them involved the bureau’s stable of 15,000 informants. Many of these are ex-felons and con men who are often paid well if their efforts result in an arrest and conviction. So what, you might say. Using informants […]

31 Aug, 2011

Young Americans flock to Israel to join army

Hundreds of new immigrants from the U.S. landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel on Tuesday. An unprecedented 104 of the 360 new arrivals, came to enlist in the Israeli army. Brig. Gen. Eli Shermeister, the Chief Education Officer, was among a delegation of officials on hand to greet the 18 to 22 year olds. […]

31 Aug, 2011

9/11 children’s colouring book sparks controversy over portrayal of Muslims – thestar.com

The publisher of a controversial new children’s colouring book entitled We Shall Never Forget 9/11: The Kids’ Book of Freedom is defending the publication, saying it is simply an educational tool for teaching kids about “what a group of radicals did” to the United States. The book purports to tell the story of the September […]

31 Aug, 2011

US to Help “Reform” Kyrgyzstan Educational System

Dr. Dan E. Davidson, CEO of American Councils, recently returned from a trip to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, where he and American Councils’ country director, Cale Wagner, met with President Roza Otunbayeva to discuss current needs and opportunities for educational development in Kyrgyzstan. “Kyrgyzstan is a strategically important nation for the U.S. and a country […]

31 Aug, 2011

Meet the Shady Dallas Mega-Billionaire Industrialist Pouring Money into Rick Perry’s Coffers | AlterNet

Like so many Republican officials of the tea party persuasion, Rick Perry despises the Environmental Protection Agency—a feeling he has expressed repeatedly in speeches, lawsuits, legislation and even a book titled “Fed Up!” Perhaps that is only natural for the governor of Texas, a “dirty energy” state where the protection of air, water and human […]

31 Aug, 2011

How the Surveillance State Protects the Interests Of the Ultra-Rich | | AlterNet

In the aftermath of the riots that rocked London this summer, the Conservative prime minister’s first response was to call for a crackdown on social networking. Despite data collected by the Guardian showing a strong correlation between poverty and rioting, the government denied that its brutal austerity policies contributed to the desperation and rage of its young people. […]

31 Aug, 2011

Republicans Now Want to Blackmail UN Into Doing Their Bidding | AlterNet

If “moving to another continent” is your contingency plan should the present incarnation of Republicans gain more power, think again: House Republicans are set to introduce a bill that would use the US contribution to the United Nations budget (20 percent of it) as leverage to force the organization to change how it operates, reports […]

31 Aug, 2011

Stephen Zunes on Lessons from the Libyan Revolution | Tikkun Magazine

Another problem with the way Qaddafi was overthrown is the way in which NATO so blatantly went beyond the mandate provided by the United Nations Security Council to simply protect the civilian population through the establishment of a no-fly zone. Instead, NATO became an active participant in a civil war, providing arms, intelligence, advisers and […]

31 Aug, 2011

Statement by Kazakhstan on Int’l Day against Nuclear Tests

August 29, 2011, marks the 20th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site which witnessed more than 450 nuclear explosions. In December 2009, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously passed a resolution, put forward by Kazakhstan, to proclaim August 29 as the International Day against Nuclear Tests. The example of Kazakhstan, where […]

31 Aug, 2011

Most US Muslims feel targeted by terror policies – Forbes.com

WASHINGTON — More than half of Muslim-Americans in a new poll say government anti-terrorism policies single them out for increased surveillance and monitoring, and many report increased cases of name-calling, threats and harassment by airport security, law enforcement officers and others. Still, most Muslim-Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going in […]

31 Aug, 2011

WellStep Atlanta Announces Expansion of Alcohol Treatment Program

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WellStep Atlanta, http://www.WellStep.com, an outpatient treatment center in Roswell, Georgia in north suburban Atlanta, announces the expansion of its multidisciplinary outpatient alcohol treatment program. Specialized alcohol treatment offered includes outpatient detoxification, medication management for alcohol cravings, and coordinated referrals for counseling and psychiatric evaluation/treatment as needed. Outpatient detoxification, usually the initial step in alcohol treatment, […]

31 Aug, 2011

Deloitte Launches Collaborative Online Community for Business Analytics

NEW YORK, Aug. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Today Deloitte is launching realanalyticsinsights.com, a social media website for industry insiders to offer analytic insights, share knowledge and best practices, and problem resolution. Updated regularly, the website is designed to foster a collaborative environment connecting specialists, clients, researchers, academics, media and other interested parties. “The objective in […]

31 Aug, 2011

Hurricane Irene could never take from Americans what the banks already have | The Guardian

Even as it cast about desperately for dramatic disaster footage, the broadcast media covered the storm with manic single-mindedness, revelling in the rhetoric of siege and assault. A “big threat to the US” would “viciously” make its way up the coast, “menacing”, “taking aim”, and “pounding” the nation. Singularly uninterested in weather misery elsewhere, the […]

31 Aug, 2011

Free school built by Sikh community prepares to open doors | The Guardian

Nishkam – which means selflessness or altruism in Punjabi – will be the Midlands’ first “Sikh ethos” school and one of just five Sikh schools in the country. It will also be one of the first 24 free schools introduced under the coalition government. The school, which will have compulsory Punjabi lessons for all pupils, […]

30 Aug, 2011

NATO faces ‘catastrophic success’ in Libya – People’s Daily Online

The international community is universally worried that Libya will likely become the second Iraq or Somalia, and some even forecasted that Libya would likely be divided into three parts. The war and the inevitable future chaos caused by war will make the Libyan People the biggest victim and affect the regional and global peace and […]

30 Aug, 2011

For Syria, what is ‘left’? – Opinion – Al Jazeera English

It is a concrete rationale that fuels opposition to Israel’s apartheid regime and the United States’ duplicitous and violent policies in the Middle East. It is a concrete rationale that imbues the condemnation of and struggle against authoritarian rule in the Arab world. It is a concrete rationale that inspires and necessitates the support of […]

30 Aug, 2011

Preventing violent extremism – Opinion – Al Jazeera English

While sitting on a beach as part of my annual August pilgrimage to the family homeland in New England, I normally try to avoid anything even remotely strenuous, either physically or mentally. It was thus against my better judgment that I acceded this year to the entreaties of several journalists of my acquaintance to examine […]

30 Aug, 2011

University staff asked to inform on ‘vulnerable’ Muslim students | The Guardian

University staff including lecturers, chaplains and porters are being asked to inform the police about Muslim students who are depressed or isolated under new guidance for countering Islamist radicalism. The move has resulted in deep discomfort among university lecturers and student union officials who wish to combat terrorism but say the new strategy is an […]

30 Aug, 2011

Blair and Bush planned Iraq war without second UN vote, letter shows – The Guardian

Britain and the US were planning to take action against Saddam Hussein without a second UN resolution five months before the invasion of Iraq, a newly released letter from Tony Blair’s office shows. A letter from Blair’s private secretary reveals that “we and the US would take action” without a new resolution by the UN […]

30 Aug, 2011

Don’t expect China et al to save the world ?? – Focus discussion – People Forum

China’s problems are already well recognised. The country’s growth has been fuelled over the past decade by an ever-growing trade surplus that has reached unsustainable levels. China’s leaders must refocus its economy away from export-oriented manufacturing and towards domestic sources of demand, while managing the job losses and social unrest this restructuring is likely to […]

30 Aug, 2011

Train speeds drop in major overhaul – People’s Daily Online

BEIJING – More high-speed trains, including those on trunk lines, will be running at slower speeds from Sunday, greatly altering the country’s train schedules. According to the new schedule issued by the Ministry of Railways, high-speed lines with a designed speed of 350 km/h will be allowed to run at 300 km/h from Sunday. Lines […]

30 Aug, 2011

West Asia, North Africa face tough transformation – People’s Daily Online

The countries in West Asia and North Africa that were involved into the unrest face common problems, such as the serious imbalance in their economic and social development as well as the lagging pace of reforms and related institutional development. Many countries still maintain the economic and political structure of a tribal society after their […]

30 Aug, 2011

In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir by Dick Cheney – The Washington Post

The genre of statesman’s memoir rarely produces self-criticism, or even much candor. Apparently, the point is to redeem your large advance from the publisher with a brisk, self-complimenting account of your life and times, with emphasis on your moment in the limelight. There should, of course, be a dash of “news” and a few frank […]

30 Aug, 2011

Global fiscal reactor meltdown contains a warning for Japan | The Japan Times Online

Public finances are melting down in Europe, in America and of course Japan. The situation is going nuclear, left, right and center. It’s not so much China Syndrome as it is Global Syndrome. Operators manning those fiscal reactors ought to have vented their radioactive gases a long time ago. Nobody seems to have thought about […]

30 Aug, 2011

The feudal lords of power | The Japan Times Online

Confrontations between power companies and governors have various roots, but the main one is that the former are far more powerful than the latter. This overwhelming influence stems primarily from the enormous investments that power companies make to build or renew facilities to generate, transform or distribute electricity. Such investments have been necessary to keep […]

30 Aug, 2011

Kids stopped from playing outside cause depression, suicide risk – Indian Express

The American Journal of Play asked a group of experts to investigate the near-extinction of free play and its effects on children and society. The experts said that without free outdoor play, children are prone to obesity, poor physical health and are unable to develop social skills. “Over the last 50 years opportunities for children […]

30 Aug, 2011

How long before the dominoes fall? Robert Fisk in The Independent

Like all the others, Libya suffered from the cancer of the Arab world: financial – and moral – corruption. Will the future be any different? We have spent far too much time honouring the courage of Libyan “freedom fighters” as they scurried across the desert floor, far too little time examining the nature of the […]

30 Aug, 2011

The Age of Outrage…for The West – People Forum

The world speeded up. Stress levels soared. Idle moments evaporated. Egos expanded. Devices became hand-held. Money outpaced politics. Rage surged. As Leonard Cohen put it: “The poor stay poor. The rich get rich. That’s how it goes. Everybody knows.” Except that everybody is at a loss. When David Cameron rushes back from Tuscany (a k […]

30 Aug, 2011

Soft approach conceals devious new US strategy – People Forum – People’s Daily Online

The use of smart power has nothing to do with building a more “friendly and modest” national image, but is aimed at long-term strategic goal. The US is determined that the maintenance of global dominance, which guarantees the security and prosperity of US, shall never be weakened. It also believes that only by holding onto […]

30 Aug, 2011

Perry talks foreign policy, says US troops shouldn’t answer to world ‘debating societies’ – The Washington Post

SAN ANTONIO — Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry discussed foreign policy Monday, telling the nation’s oldest major veterans organization that U.S. forces must be led by American commanders rather than “multilateral debating societies.” Addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ annual convention in San Antonio, the Texas governor urged the United States to renew its commitment […]

30 Aug, 2011

U.S. Tactics in Libya May Be Model for Use of Force – NYTimes.com

WASHINGTON — It would be premature to call the war in Libya a complete success for United States interests. But the arrival of victorious rebels on the shores of Tripoli last week gave President Obama’s senior advisers a chance to claim a key victory for an Obama doctrine for the Middle East that had been […]

30 Aug, 2011

Palestinians prepare symbolic chair for world tour ahead of UN bid – Haaretz

The Palestinians are hoping to secure a seat at the United Nations next month. They already have the chair for it. Palestinian activists said Monday they would take the chair on an international tour to dramatize the Palestinian Authority’s quest for UN recognition of a Palestinian state. via Palestinians prepare symbolic chair for world tour […]

30 Aug, 2011

Israel’s Image Won’t Improve Without Policy Changes – Forward.com

I’m an adman and a marketer. And I can tell you, from my years creating ads for products from Coca Cola to Apple Computer, if people keep reading about some bad ingredients in the ketchup, very few people will buy the bottle, no matter how much money and creativity you pack into the marketing. No […]

30 Aug, 2011

Turkish doctors call the tune with traditional musical cures – The Guardian

Standing by the bed of a Cypriot patient who has just undergone vascular surgery, Dr Bingür Sönmez consults a screen monitoring pulse and blood pressure. Then a colleague pulls out a flute and starts playing a popular Turkish tune. If that appears an unusual approach to modern medicine, then it is. But according to doctors […]

30 Aug, 2011

Gaza’s girl surfer battles pollution and prejudice – The Guardian

Twelve-year-old Sabah Abu Ghanim drags her board through the water as the sinking sun glints on the eastern Mediterranean. The wind has got up a little, and she is hoping the surf will follow – enough, at least, for her to ride the waves. “I feel the sea belongs to me,” says the Gaza surfer. […]

30 Aug, 2011

Magicians of monetarism have very few tricks left up their sleeves – The Independent

Somehow, investors have got it into their heads that the world is run by magicians always capable of pulling rabbits out of hats. Last week was a case in point. Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, gave a speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at the annual shindig of central bankers, academics and […]

30 Aug, 2011

We’re all terror suspects now – The Guardian

Every air passenger is treated with suspicion since 9/11, regardless of appearance. Global traveller Pico Iyer has had to put up with it all his life. +++++++++ I’m sitting in the expansive spaces of Renzo Piano’s four-storey airport outside Osaka, sipping an Awake tea from Starbucks and waiting for my bus home. I’ve chosen to […]

30 Aug, 2011

Catholic clergy ‘abused children for decades in County Donegal’ – The Guardian

County Donegal in Ireland is about to have its bucolic image shattered by a report into how paedophiles, both clergy and laity, abused children for decades. An investigation into clerical sex abuse in the Catholic diocese of Raphoe in County Donegal is about to report its findings, which are expected to be damning. Meanwhile, new […]

29 Aug, 2011

More American Awakening: Exposing the Islamophobic “network of hate”

Imtiaz Muqbil

An investigative report by the Centre of American Progress has exposed the individuals and institutions cited by the Norwegian terrorist suspect Anders Behring Breivik in his manifesto. The report shows how they are funded, the “lies and myths” they have spread and how they have influenced the U.S. policy agenda to justify the “war on […]

29 Aug, 2011

WikiLeaks cables expose Washington’s close ties to Gaddafi

US embassy cables released by WikiLeaks on Wednesday and Thursday expose the close collaboration between the US government, top American politicians and Muammar Gaddafi, who Washington now insists must be hunted down and murdered. Washington and its NATO allies are now determined to smash the Libyan regime, supposedly in the interests of “liberating” the Libyan […]

29 Aug, 2011

Special treatment gives Israeli mobsters free access to US soil: WikiLeaks | The Electronic Intifada

Known Israeli organized crime bosses are able to travel freely to the United States, unlike counterparts from Italy, China and Central America, because the State Department has failed to apply US law to them. It appears that at least one prominent Israeli crime family member was able to reach the United States with a specific […]

29 Aug, 2011

War: Too Big to Fail | Truthout

America’s war in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, more than ten years ago. America’s war in Iraq began on March 20, 2003, almost nine years ago. Toss in the six months we have been engaged in the Libyan conflict, and what you have is the United States at war for a combined total of […]

29 Aug, 2011

Wall Street’s Not-So-Little Secret – Truthdig

In 2008, the 10 biggest U.S. banks and brokerage firms took $829 billion in emergency loans from the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve. Who got what had been a secret, but thanks to months of litigation, an act of Congress and the work of numerous reporters, we now know. Morgan Stanley, the largest borrower, […]

29 Aug, 2011

South Asian Social Forum to be held in Dhaka Nov 18

The South Asian Social Forum 2011, an international platform to address different contemporary issues for a peaceful South Asia, will begin in Dhaka on November 18. The five-day forum will be held, for the first time in Bangladesh, from November 18-22. University of Dhaka (DU) will co-host the programme. DU Vice-Chancellor (VC) Dr AAMS Arefin […]

29 Aug, 2011

Al-Ahram Weekly | Reviving Ramadan

In the wake of the revolutions that have taken place across the Arab world in 2011, this year’s Ramadan has been marked by a revival of religious spirit. It has also been affected by a change in Egyptian mentality that has gone hand in hand with the humane cause of Ramadan. Friends often have Iftar […]

29 Aug, 2011

Al-Ahram Weekly | An equal and opposite reaction

So goes one of the fundamental laws of physics. In the face of recent “actions” in the West — economic crisis and rampant Islamophobia, there is an inexorable “reaction”, as the eternal values of Islam continue to manifest themselves Ramadan exemplifies the powerful spiritual calling of Islam. Dry fasting is more a test of the […]