19 Nov, 2013

‘Royal Concierge’: UK spy agency’s hotel surveillance ring – The Independent

Britain’s secret listening service, GCHQ, uses a spying system codenamed “Royal Concierge” to carry out detailed surveillance on foreign diplomats and government delegations at more than 350 hotels across the world, Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine reported on Sunday. The disclosures, based on intelligence data leaked by the US whistleblower Edward Snowden, follow reports that British […]

18 Nov, 2013

India’s historical hijacker – GulfNews.com

Modi’s identification with Patel is an effort at character-building by association. His own image has been tarnished by his inaction (or worse) during the massacre of more than a thousand Gujarati Muslims in a pogrom on his watch in 2002. Modi would rather be perceived as embodying Patel’s decisiveness than as the destructive bigot his […]

18 Nov, 2013

What’s wrong with today’s younger generation? – The Independent

By Yasmin Alibhai-Brown I find myself welling up with contempt for middle-class, young adults born in rich nations. Note to young daughter: I don’t mean all of you who are good and great, but the many more who understand nothing and want everything, the me generation. Perhaps this deep gloom was brought on the latest […]

18 Nov, 2013

UK spy agency taps hotel reservations targeting diplomats – Snowden leaks — RT News

Constantly on the move, top officials and diplomats prefer to stay in high-end establishments and boutique hotels with premier service standards. And since the number of high-class hotels in the world is finite, British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) came up with the idea of turning them into a huge net to fish for secrets in […]

16 Nov, 2013

Hindu alliance supports move to limit tourist access to Bali temples | The Jakarta Post

Youths grouped under the Hindu Alliance Caring for Bali (Aliansi Hindu Peduli Bali) declared their support for the plan to limit tourist access to temples throughout Bali. The statement was conveyed by the group at the Bali Legislative Council office on Thursday. “We understand that temples have been part of the tourist attraction for years. […]

16 Nov, 2013

Myanmar violence ‘sickens world’ | Arab News

YANGON, Myanmar: Former US President Bill Clinton said sectarian violence in newly opened Myanmar sickens the world as he met with political and civic leaders Thursday to discuss challenges facing the emerging democracy following a half-century of military rule. The attacks on Muslims are a topic many in this predominantly Buddhist nation of 60 million […]

14 Nov, 2013

Where is the global leadership? | The Japan Times

OSAKA – The American-led global economic and financial system is broken — you have only to look at the shenanigans in Washington these last few weeks to see that — so where are the clear thinkers who can dream of a plan to fix things, and where are the practical politicians who dare to try […]

13 Nov, 2013

The True Patriots in Congress Trying to End NSA Tyranny – Truthdig

By Robert Scheer Good old George can stop spinning in his grave. Yes, that George, our most heroic general and inspiring president, who warned us in his farewell address “to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism. …” It’s an alert that’s been ignored in the nation’s hysterical reaction to the attacks of 9/11 that […]

13 Nov, 2013

Big Security firms pay no corporation tax despite profiting from billion-pounds contracts – The Independent

Private contractors carrying out billions of pounds worth of Government work face a “crisis of confidence” from the public, the National Audit Office (NAO) said, as it emerged that two of them paid no corporation tax last year. The public spending watchdog highlighted a number of investigation it has carried out into alleged abuses by […]

13 Nov, 2013

‘Narendra Modi is a poster boy of India’s failure to punish the violent’ – Indian Express

Two top members of a US Congress constituted commission on religious freedom have expressed sadness over nomination of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), terming him as the “poster boy” of India’s failure to punish the violent. “It was another son of Gujarat, Mahatma Gandhi, […]

12 Nov, 2013

Chris Hedges: The Revolutionaries in Our Midst – Truthdig

NEW YORK—Jeremy Hammond sat in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center last week in a small room reserved for visits from attorneys. He was wearing an oversized prison jumpsuit. The brown hair of the lanky 6-footer fell over his ears, and he had a wispy beard. He spoke with the intensity and clarity one would expect […]

11 Nov, 2013

Chinese commentator highlights U.S. double standards over “freedom of speech”

By Ku Ma (China Daily)

It’s a big pity that the Western media rushed to join in the debate sparked by Chen Yongzhou, a Chinese tabloid journalist who was detained on charges of defaming a construction equipment maker, while only a few of them paid much attention to Jimmy Kimmel’s “kill every one in China” comment, which should surely have […]

11 Nov, 2013

Modi in mind, Indian PM says BJP pretends to be secular – Hindustan Times

Apparently having Narendra Modi’s unrelenting attacks on against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in mind, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hit back at BJP, saying use of “bad” language against political rivals did not bring any dignity to the saffron party. “While criticising opposition parties, we have to distinguish ourselves, especially from the BJP some of […]

10 Nov, 2013

How NSA Surveillance Has Chilled the Right to Association | Electronic Frontier Foundation

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has provided a federal judge with testimony from 22 separate advocacy organizations detailing how the National Security Agency’s (NSA) mass telephone records collection program has impeded the groups’ work, discouraged their members and reduced the numbers of people seeking their help via hotlines. The declarations accompanied a motion for partial […]

8 Nov, 2013

6 Things You Buy That Help Support Israeli Brutality | Alternet

When tax time rolls around each year, every American citizen gives $21.59 in military aid to Israel, according to the U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation. But that’s not the only way American citizens contribute to the Israeli military, which has occupied Palestinian land for 46 years, and the West Bank settlement project that accompanies […]

8 Nov, 2013

Now, the Untold Story Of What Happens When Soldiers Come Home | Alternet

At Bagram the three orthopedic surgeons work 14-hour days at a minimum with one night on call, the next night on backup, and the third night, if they’re lucky, asleep. When I talked with them in 2011 they were riding a long wave of wounds, and it was still spring. The winter when fighting falls […]

8 Nov, 2013

Kerry warns Israel of isolation, violence if peace talks fail | Arab News

AMMAN, Jordan: US Secretary of State John Kerry issued a stark warning to Israel on Thursday, saying it faces international isolation and a possible explosion of violence if it does not make progress in peace efforts with the Palestinians. Kerry issued the blunt remarks in a joint interview with Israeli and Palestinian television channels, ensuring […]

8 Nov, 2013

Indonesia urges Australia, US to come clean on spying | The Jakarta Post

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called on the United States and Australian governments to stop their spying activities from their embassies in Jakarta or risk damaging their relations with Indonesia. “The President has asked that wiretapping never happens again. We will also fix the state information system,” presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said on Wednesday. […]

8 Nov, 2013

NSA and GCHQ mass surveillance is violation of European law, report finds – theguardian.com

The authors of a new study on mass-scale surveillance have accused US and EU countries’ intelligence services of violating European law and urged the European parliament to take action. Sergio Carrera, a Spanish jurist, and Francesco Ragazzi, a professor of international relations at Leiden University in the Netherlands, who co-wrote the paper, made the appeal […]

7 Nov, 2013

India needs political will to address root causes of terrorism – Hindustan Times

Terrorism is a manifestation of a larger conflict that emanates out of political failures. Therefore, the solution also lies in a better political management of terrorism. So far, whether it is response or resolution, politics has failed to shape an effective response to the challenge. Politics has to ensure that there is a better outreach […]

7 Nov, 2013

Venice to ban giant cruise ships – theguardian.com

Italy is to begin limiting large cruise ship traffic in the Venice lagoon, with the biggest vessels – of more than 96,000 tonnes – to be banned from November next year. Venice has seen a string of protests against the rising traffic of cruise ships, amid growing fears over the impact of these giant vessels […]

6 Nov, 2013

Heightened Jewish activism on Temple Mount may spark widespread conflict – Haaretz

Though few Israelis are aware of it, tensions around the Temple Mount are surging. Since the January general election, right-wing and religious groups have stepped up their efforts to change the status quo between Jews and Muslims at this ultra-sensitive site Read the rest: Heightened Jewish activism on Temple Mount may spark widespread conflict – […]

6 Nov, 2013

India needs alternative policies to prevent rise of communalism – Hindustan Times

On the two most important issues before the Indian people — growing economic burdens and relentless price rise and unscrupulous loot of our resources through corruption — there is very little to choose between the Congress and the BJP in terms of their policies. Both the BJP and the Congress pursue similar policies of economic […]

6 Nov, 2013

Heart of India? MP district is finishing off the girl child – Hindustan Times

Kharauwa, a tiny hamlet 35 km northwest of Bhind district headquarters, looks like any other village in the country from the outside. But look deeper and the difference is apparent: very few female kids play in its lanes and bylanes. Dig deeper and the reason is not very difficult to fathom: Female infanticide and foeticide […]

6 Nov, 2013

More businesses admit misrepresenting menu items | The Japan Times

Major department store chains Takashimaya Co. and Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores Co. separately said Tuesday that some of their restaurants and stores misrepresented items on their menus, becoming the latest in a string of companies to own up to food fraud. Takashimaya said the misrepresentations involved 62 menu items at five of its department stores […]

6 Nov, 2013

New Japanese secrecy law seen best serving bureaucrats | The Japan Times

Yukiko Miki was shocked in 2012 when she received the results of the information disclosure request she filed with the Cabinet Office seeking the minutes of meetings held to discuss the creation of a state secrets bill. The meetings, attended by officials from various government agencies and other experts, took place from 2008 to 2009 […]

6 Nov, 2013

New Zealand approves email and phone-snooping law – theguardian.com

New Zealand’s parliament has narrowly passed new legislation compelling telecommunication companies to allow the intelligence agencies to access customers’ emails, texts and phone calls. Under the telecommunications interceptions and security capability bill, firms must also consult with the electronic eavesdropping agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau, (GCSB), when developing new infrastructure and networks, and allow […]

6 Nov, 2013

EU Helps Young Journalists Launch Initiative to Promote “Beautiful Palestine”

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JERUSALEM, November 2, 2013 (WAFA) – Young Palestinian journalists launched Friday an initiative that combines voluntary work as well as promotion of local tourism, said a press release by the European Union (EU). The EU and Journalists without Borders (JWB) launched “Beautiful Palestine” initiative in partnership with young Palestinian journalists and photographers in an effort […]

6 Nov, 2013

Ramesh likens Narendra Modi’s rise to Third Reich – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: The government stepped up its criticism of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime-ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Tuesday, painting him as a dangerous extremist and comparing his rise to the birth of Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Jairam Ramesh, a senior cabinet minister close to the leadership of the Congress party, said Modi’s career […]

6 Nov, 2013

The Attack on U.S. Wages and Labor Standards – Economic Policy Institute

Over the past two years, state legislators across the country have launched an unprecedented series of initiatives aimed at lowering labor standards, weakening unions, and eroding workplace protections for both union and non-union workers. This policy agenda undercuts the ability of low- and middle-wage workers, both union and non-union, to earn a decent wage. This […]

6 Nov, 2013

Drone Victims Tell Empty US House Their Story; Is America Listening?

“We do not kill our cattle the way the US is killing humans in Waziristan with drones.” – Rafiq ur Rehman “I no longer love blue skies. In fact, I now prefer grey skies. The drones do not fly when the skies are grey.” – Zubair Rehman, 13 “Now, I am always scared.” – Nabila […]

5 Nov, 2013

A Sensex gone awry – The Hindu

This reflects a larger feature of the equity market in India. It is thin or shallow in at least two senses. First, only stocks of a few companies are actively traded in the market. Thus, although there are more than 5,000 companies listed on the stock exchange, the BSE Sensex incorporates just 30 companies. Second, […]

4 Nov, 2013

1,550 flights, over 167,000 pax affected by LAX shooting

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) — A total of 1,550 flights with an estimated 167,050 passengers were affected by the shooting at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Friday, an airport spokeswoman said Saturday. Nancy Suey Castles, the spokesperson, told media that of those flights, 724 were scheduled arrivals with an estimated 67,850 passengers while 826 […]

4 Nov, 2013

TSA union calls for armed guards at every checkpoint – USA Today

WASHINGTON — The union representing airport screeners for the Transportation Security Administration says Friday’s fatal shooting of an agent at Los Angeles International Airport highlights the need for armed security officers at every airport checkpoint. “Every local airport has its own security arrangement with local police to some type of contract security force,” said J. […]

4 Nov, 2013

Feeding on fires – The Hindu

Thanks to the manipulative politics of politicians and parties, primarily the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party, Uttar Pradesh remains a tinderbox. As elections approach, the State has become a battleground for clashes between castes and communities. A rumour or even an ordinary incident of law and order trouble can quickly assume communal overtones, […]

4 Nov, 2013

India, Pakistan forces celebrate Diwali at Wagah border – Indian Express

Indian and Pakistani forces at the border in Attari exchanged sweets on the occasion of Diwali Sunday. Border Security Force’s officiating DIG, Deby Joseph, along with other officers and jawans, gifted different types of traditional Indian sweets to their Pakistani counterparts. Read the rest: India, Pakistan forces celebrate Diwali at Wagah border – Indian Express.

4 Nov, 2013

¥1 trillion of taxpayer money for Fukushima decontamination | The Japan Times

In a major policy shift, the government will use more than ¥1 trillion in public funds to clean up contaminated areas around the Fukushima No. 1 plant, according to sources. The plan revealed Friday to alleviate the financial burden Tokyo Electric Power Co. was supposed to shoulder is in line with a ruling Liberal Democratic […]

4 Nov, 2013

The roots of the decline of the American empire | GulfNews.com

The influential media in the United States continues to be preoccupied with the aftermath of the government shutdown, and especially with the Obamacare — the object of the Republicans’ continuous ire — and whose web-based launch earlier this month experienced technical glitches. The other object of Republicans versus Democrats dispute was resolved when the Republicans […]

4 Nov, 2013

Maung Zarni: Aung San Suu Kyi and the world of Buddhist Islamophobia – Al Jazeera

Aung San Suu Kyi, one of the contemporary world’s most celebrated icons of human rights, non-violence and reconciliation, crossed the line into Myanmar’s world of “Buddhist” Islamophobia. Disturbingly, on BBC Radio Four’s flagship programme, “Today”, she characterised the waves of organised violence and Nazi-like hate campaigns currently being committed by her fellow Buddhists – the […]

4 Nov, 2013

Gallup: U.S. Obesity Rate Climbing in 2013

by Lindsey Sharpe

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 1, 2013 (Gallup Inc.) — The adult obesity rate so far in 2013 is 27.2%, up from 26.2% in 2012, and is on pace to surpass all annual average obesity rates since Gallup-Healthways began tracking in 2008. The one-percentage-point uptick in the obesity rate so far in 2013 is statistically significant and […]

4 Nov, 2013

6 Ways the Out-of-Control Airline Industry Is Ripping Off America | Alternet

High-fives are happening on Wall Street. Airlines are making giant profits again, record-breaking profits! The days of bankruptcies, which peaked between 2001 and 2008, may soon be a memory. Have bold thinking, dramatic innovation and better service turned things around? Not exactly. Sky-high profits are coming at the expense of the taxpayers, airline workers, and […]

4 Nov, 2013

Lila Abu-Lughod: Do Muslim Women Need Saving? | TIME.com

I suspect that the deep moral conviction people feel about the rightness of saving the women of that timeless homogeneous mythical place called Islamland is fed by something else that cannot be separated from our current geopolitical relations. Blinded to the diversity of Muslim women’s lives, we tend to see our own situation too comfortably. […]

2 Nov, 2013

Corporation Launched to Develop High Speed Rail Corridors in India

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New Delhi, Ministry of Railways, 29-October, 2013 – The Minister of Railways Mr Mallikarjun inaugurated a two day international technical conference on “High Speed Rail Travel; Low Cost Solution” in New Delhi today. While addressing the conference, the Railway Minister said that India’s primary focus has been to provide a mass mode of safe, reliable […]

2 Nov, 2013

In love with Lanka – DAWN.COM

Marco Polo once wrote that Sri Lanka is “the finest island in the whole world”. He was not far from the truth. Sri Lanka is indeed a well-preserved reservoir of nature, a centre of culture and a land like no other. Situated in the middle of the Indian Ocean, it encompasses every aspect a traveller’s […]

2 Nov, 2013

Exhibition retraces evolution of Zoroastrianism – DAWN.COM

LONDON: Years of exploration and careful coordination across the seas from Pakistan and India to Hong Kong and the United States have culminated in a unique exhibition retracing the evolution of Zoroastrianism. The display is both engrossing and informative. Zoroastrianism may only have a modest following of two million worldwide, but before Islam, it was […]

2 Nov, 2013

Indonesia summons Aussie ambassador over spying claim | The Japan Times

SYDNEY – Australia’s ambassador met with Indonesian government officials who summoned him Friday following reports that the Australian Embassy in Jakarta is a hub for Washington’s secret electronic data-collection program. A document from National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, published this week by German magazine Der Spiegel, describes a signals intelligence program called “Stateroom” in […]

2 Nov, 2013

More restaurants tied to food fraud | The Japan Times

Following Hankyu Hanshin Hotels Co.’s recent admission that dozens of its restaurants misrepresented the food on their menus, “revelations” have emerged that several other establishments around the nation are doing the same thing. The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Osaka and the Renaissance Sapporo Hotel in Hokkaido, for example, recently admitted using ingredients that are cheaper or […]

2 Nov, 2013

Port developments threaten Great Barrier Reef – Sydney Morning Herald

Much of the Great Barrier Reef is continuing to degrade, especially areas closest to the mainland, where new port developments are awaiting approval from the federal government. The latest strategic assessment of the reef confirmed that, while there were pockets of good news, hard coral had declined by half since 1986 in the bottom two-thirds […]

2 Nov, 2013

Everyone’s dirty little secrets exposed in high-tech neighbourhood watch – Sydney Morning Herald

Somewhere between the cyber espionage that outed the US as Big Brother Inc and the phone-hacking scandal that sank Rupert Murdoch’s British form of journalism, the real news of the world may be Spies ‘R’ Us. There is now enough equipment available via the internet to turn Australians into our own James and Ja’mie Bonds. […]

2 Nov, 2013

How Obama created endless war on terror – Asia Times Online

On January 21, 2013, Barack Obama was inaugurated for his second term as president of the United States. Just as he had promised when he began his first campaign for president six years earlier, he pledged again to turn the page on history and take US foreign policy in a different direction. “A decade of […]

1 Nov, 2013

Tourists invited to live like Gandhi in his ashram – DAWN.COM

AHMEDABAD: Tourists searching for peace and simplicity can for the first time check in to Mahatma Gandhi’s most famous ashram in India. But don’t expect modern comforts. And chastity is required. For 1,000 rupees ($16) a night, tourists can sample the lifestyle of India’s famously ascetic independence leader by staying at the first ashram he […]

1 Nov, 2013

Swedish children complain their parents spend too long on phones | The Guardian

More than a third of children in Sweden’s cities complain that their parents spend too much time staring at phones and tablet computers, leading doctors in the country to warn that children may be suffering emotional and cognitive damage. According to a survey by YouGov, 33% of parents in Sweden’s major towns and cities have […]

31 Oct, 2013

Foreign investors eye Indonesia’s small islands | The Jakarta Post

The beauty of the archipelago has charmed a number of foreign investors to pour some of their money into the development of ecotourism on Indonesia’s small islands. Swedish Ambassador Ewa Polano said on Tuesday that Indonesia, which had an immense number of small islands, offered lots of potential for ecotourism that businesses and local communities […]

31 Oct, 2013

ABC apology fails to appease Chinese Americans – People’s Daily Online

An Asian-American rights group has expressed its dissatisfaction with ABC’s apology over the inappropriate handling of children’s remarks in a TV show, Sing Tao Daily has reported. In ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” one child suggested that a solution to the U.S. sovereign debt issue could be to “kill everyone in China,” and another suggested putting […]

31 Oct, 2013

NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo!, Google data centres worldwide, Edward Snowden documents say

Washington: The US National Security Agency has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Yahoo! and Google data centre around the world, according to documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and interviews with knowledgeable officials. By tapping those links, the agency has positioned itself to collect at will from among hundreds […]

31 Oct, 2013

Australia’s Asia spy network exposed – Sydney Morning Herald

Australia’s electronic spy agency is using the nation’s embassies to intercept phone calls and internet data in neighbouring countries, according to new information disclosed by intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden and a former Australian intelligence officer. The secret Defence Signals Directorate operates clandestine surveillance facilities at embassies without the knowledge of most Australian diplomats. Fairfax Media […]

29 Oct, 2013

Obama, Congress Owe Snowden Thanks, and a Pardon – Truthdig

Now we know that even the president needs leaks from Edward Snowden to be fully informed about the dastardly acts of his own top spy agency. It was Snowden’s recent revelations that led Obama to order an investigation into spying on private communications of 35 world leaders, including our closest allies, a clear betrayal of […]

28 Oct, 2013

Head of Ritz-Carlton Osaka claims deceiving menus were just honest mistake | The Japan Times

JIJI, Oct 26, 2013, OSAKA – False food menus at the Ritz-Carlton Osaka, a luxury hotel affiliated with Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., were caused by human error, the establishment’s general manager said Saturday. At a news conference, Oriol Montal apologized for the incident, which he said was caused by a lack of knowledge and training […]

28 Oct, 2013

No business like war business – DAWN.COM

Humanity has always been fascinated by wars, soldiers, blood, and gore. As a result, children from just about every culture have grown up on a steady diet of heroic battles, deeds, and heroes. So it was only natural for cinema to pick up from where theater and books (and comics) had left off. The first […]

26 Oct, 2013

The future of Laos: A bleak landscape | The Economist

From a window seat flying above Laos a visitor gets a sense of the state’s weaknesses. Deforestation stretches all the way to the Chinese border. It is so recent and so extreme that scientists from Sweden’s Lund university picked Laos as a testing ground for a new method of monitoring economic activity from space. By […]

26 Oct, 2013

32 tips to get your kids back outdoors – theguardian.com

Outdoor games such as den-building and hide-and-seek seem to belong to a bygone era, having been ousted from children’s affections by tablets, games consoles and smartphones. However, a new campaign launched last night is aiming to challenge this trend, and take steps towards “rewilding” our kids. The Wild Network – a newly formed group of […]

25 Oct, 2013

Rahul Gandhi: BJP inciting Hindus against Muslims

Stating that communal forces had killed his grandmother and father and “will probably kill me too”, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi launched a blistering attack on the BJP on Wednesday, accusing it of inciting Hindus against Muslims. He also targeted the party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, as he drew a veiled analogy between the recent […]

25 Oct, 2013

Shot and Killed at Work? It Happened to 375 People Last Year. | Alternet

It’s every employer’s worst nightmare. An angry employee with a gun takes out his revenge on a boss, coworkers or both. Last year, Andrew J. Engeldinger did it when he killed five and injured three after being fired from his job at Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis. Lawrence Jones did it when he killed two […]

25 Oct, 2013

NSA Monitored Calls of 35 World Leaders | Alternet

October 24, 2013 | The National Security Agency monitored the phone conversations of 35 world leaders after being given the numbers by an official in another US government department, according to a classified document provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The confidential memo reveals that the NSA encourages senior officials in its “customer” departments, such the […]

24 Oct, 2013

U.S. College Students in Competition on How to Solve National Debt

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October 16, 2013 – WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Up to Us announced its second annual nationwide competition challenging college students to increase awareness and engagement among their peers on an issue critical to their future – the nation’s long-term fiscal path. The competition, sponsored by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), and Net […]

24 Oct, 2013

Gender Diversity Index 2013: Women Make Steady Progress in U.S. Company Boardrooms

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BOSTON-(BUSINESS WIRE)-October 21, 2013-Women continue to make steady gains in the boardrooms of Fortune 1000 companies, according to the third annual 2020 Women on Boards Gender Diversity Index of Fortune 1000 Companies released today. Women now hold 16.6% of Fortune 1000 companies, up from 14.6 % in 2011. The 2020 Gender Diversity Index uses the […]

23 Oct, 2013

The Hidden Corporate Cash Behind America’s Out-of-Control National Surveillance State | Alternet

October 21, 2013 – Long before President Obama kicked off his 2008 campaign, many Americans took it for granted that George W. Bush’s vast, sprawling national security apparatus needed to be reined in. For Democrats, many independents, and constitutional experts of various persuasions, Vice President Dick Cheney’s notorious doctrine of the “unitary executive” (which holds […]

23 Oct, 2013

German Pilots Grounded as $92,000 Tuition Can’t Bring Job – Bloomberg

Oct. 23 (Bloomberg)– Christopher Siem is spending 70,000 euros ($92,000) out of his own pocket to train as a pilot, a job where the unemployment rate is twice the German average. Siem, 24, is among Germany’s aspiring pilots whose dreams of a career in the cockpit have been dented as the country’s airlines slash their […]

23 Oct, 2013

Russia, China to Jointly Produce Long Range Passenger Jet – Moscow Times

Russia and China are expected to complete the design of a new wide-body aircraft for long-distance flights by the end of the year, Deputy Premier Dmitry Rogozin told journalists Wednesday during his visit to the Irkutsk Aviation Plant.By the next year the sides will be ready to begin discussing joint production of the new plane, […]

23 Oct, 2013

New EU rules to strengthen online privacy in wake of NSA snooping – AP

BRUSSELS, AP, Oct 22, 2013 – A European Parliament committee on Monday approved sweeping new data protection rules that would strengthen online privacy and outlaw the kind of data transfers that the United States used for its secret spying program. The draft regulation was beefed up to include even more stringent privacy protection and stiff […]

23 Oct, 2013

Why I Will Never, Ever, Go Back to the United States | Alternet

October 17, 2013 – I was going to take the train from Montreal to New Orleans. The travels I had been undertaking earlier this year had brought me to places that were meant to form the background of my second novel. This trip, however, was for my dad. He, a trumpet player, loved New Orleans […]

23 Oct, 2013

Billion Dollar Pay Check? 10 CEOs in America Break All Records for Executive Pay | Alternet

October 22, 2013 | For the first time ever, the 10 highest-paid chief executives in the US all received more than $100m in compensation and two took home billion-dollar paychecks, according to a leading annual survey of executive pay. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s co-founder, was the US’s highest paid boss last year, according to GMI Ratings […]

20 Oct, 2013

US debt surges $328 billion in single day, surpassing $17 trillion for first time — RT USA

Just one day after President Barack Obama signed into law a bipartisan deal to end the government shutdown and avoid default, the US debt surged a record $328 billion, the first day the government was able to borrow money. Fasten your seatbelt, because the US debt rate is racing out of control and nobody seems […]

20 Oct, 2013

Pakistan says 400 civilians killed by U.S. drone strikes – The Independent

Over two thousand people living in Pakistan have been killed by drone strikes in the past decade, according to a UN human rights investigator calling for America to release death toll figures. Of the 2,200 dead, 400 were civilians and an additional 200 victims were deemed “probable non-combatants Ben Emmerson, UN special rapporteur on human […]

20 Oct, 2013

TSA air marshal caught taking photos under skirts — RT USA

A federal air marshal was arrested after being accused of snapping cellphone photographs underneath women’s skirts and dresses as they boarded a flight in Nashville, TN on Thursday. The 28-year-old marshal, Adam Joseph Bartsch, of Rockville, MD was charged with disorderly conduct by police. He admitted to the crime, and has been relieved of his […]

20 Oct, 2013

Reclaiming Judaism from Zionism – The Electronic Intifada

When the Zionist movement appeared in Eastern Europe in the 1880s, it found it very difficult to persuade the leading rabbis and secular Jewish thinkers of the day to support it. The leading rabbis saw the political history in the Bible and the idea of Jewish sovereignty on the land of Israel as very marginal […]

19 Oct, 2013

Resolution on child brides: India has let down its girl children – Hindustan Times

Most children have at some point of time played ‘house’, designating roles of husband and wife to dolls, making them cook invisible food in miniature utensils, often adding a baby doll to the family. Now replace these dolls with real children, and it is not a cute game anymore. It is the ugly face of […]

19 Oct, 2013

UK Employers should raise low-paid workers’ wages to tackle ‘in-work poverty’ – The Independent

Employers should increase the wages of their low-paid workers to tackle the scourge of “in-work poverty” in Britain, the Government’s watchdog on poverty recommended today. In its first “state of the nation” report, the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission proposed cuts in perks for well-off pensioners, such as free TV licences and winter fuel […]

19 Oct, 2013

Extent of spy agencies’ surveillance to be investigated by parliamentary body – Guardian

The extent and scale of mass surveillance undertaken by Britain’s spy agencies is to be scrutinised in a major inquiry to be formally launched on Thursday. Parliament’s intelligence and security committee (ISC), the body tasked with overseeing the work of GCHQ, MI5 and MI6, will say the investigation is a response to concern raised by […]

19 Oct, 2013

Russia to Spend $63Bln on Arctic Development – RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, October 18 (RIA Novosti) – Russia plans to spend 2 trillion rubles ($63 billion) by 2020 on a strategic program to develop the Arctic, a senior government official said Friday. Regional Development Minister Igor Slyunyayev said the draft program for economic and social projects in the Arctic could be submitted to the Cabinet by […]

19 Oct, 2013

Radiation levels soar in Fukushima N-plant well water – Jiji Press

Jiji Press — Oct 18 – Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Friday reported a surge in the levels of radioactive materials in water from an observation well at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan. The firm said that 400,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting substances such as strontium were detected […]

18 Oct, 2013

Safeguard economy by reversing present form of globalisation – Hindustan Times

Why should the world watch with increasing trepidation, the impending default of the United States’ debt payments? If a global economic meltdown worse than in 2008 stares at us, we should be asking some serious questions about the form of globalisation that has made us so vulnerable. And what is common between this and the […]

18 Oct, 2013

UN rapporteur Christof Heyns condemns use of drone strikes – theguardian.com

Deploying drone strikes as a form of global policing undermines international security and will encourage more states and terrorist groups to acquire unmanned weapons, a UN report has warned. The study has been submitted to UN general assembly by Christof Heyns, a South African law professor who is the organisation’s special rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary […]

17 Oct, 2013

Tepco’s toxic water failures pitiful: NRA | The Japan Times

Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s efforts to keep radioactive water at its stricken Fukushima No. 1 power station from spilling into the sea have been ineffective, according to the Nuclear Regulation Authority. “Our conclusion is that little effect has been seen” in Tepco’s measures, NRA Commissioner Toyoshi Fuketa said at an NRA panel meeting Tuesday, citing […]

17 Oct, 2013

S. Korea introduces ‘Gangnam Style’ tourist police force – The Independent

South Korea today introduced their new “tourist police force” as handpicked officers dressed in uniforms created by one of the costume designers behind popstar Psy’s image were showcased in a ‘Gangnam style’ launch. One hundred young officers, chosen for their specific linguistic abilities, formed the first batch of police tasked with assisting tourists who feel […]

16 Oct, 2013

PLOS Medicine: The 2003 Iraq War and Avoidable Death Toll

Salman Rawaf In 2003, the war in Iraq attracted worldwide interest as the systematic failure of coalition and Iraqi politicians to stabilise the country [15],[16] led to atrocities by the military and sectarian insurgents against innocent civilians. During this conflict, mortality surveys were conducted to assess the impact of the invasion and subsequent terrors. However, […]

16 Oct, 2013

“America suffers from a culture of violence”: Ron Paul’s farewell address to Congress

America now suffers from a culture of violence. It’s easy to reject the initiation of violence against one’s neighbor but it’s ironic that the people arbitrarily and freely anoint government officials with monopoly power to initiate violence against the American people—practically at will. Because it’s the government that initiates force, most people accept it as […]

16 Oct, 2013

Internet giants plan to track users even more

While public unease with the National Security Agency’s surveillance efforts continues to grow, there are new signs indicating that technology companies are also upgrading their efforts to track what you’re doing on the Internet. According to a new report by Wired, companies like Microsoft and Google are developing increasingly sophisticated means of collecting consumer data […]

16 Oct, 2013

Shutdown of US govt: Dress rehearsal for privatization of federal state? — RT

The fiscal ceiling having now been reached, possibly with a deadline, the government is being pressured by its Wall Street handlers – who control decision-making in the US Congress – to curtail and downsize social programs, as well as initiate the transfer of public assets and institutions into the hands of private corporations. There is […]

16 Oct, 2013

Central banks getting ready for financial Armageddon — RT Business

If the US debt-ceiling debate goes past the eleventh hour, and the default of the world’s largest economy becomes a reality, leading central banks around the world are gearing up to minimize losses and keep the world economy functioning. If US lawmakers don’t reach a budget consensus and raise the debt ceiling by Thursday October […]

16 Oct, 2013

Malay fund managers move servers to Russia amid ‘dodge NSA’ tech-trend — RT News

Private telecom providers, businesses and governments are increasingly compelled to move or reinforce web operations following disclosures of the NSA’s mass internet surveillance programs made by whistleblower Edward Snowden. Brazil is set to vote on the creation of a cyber-security system to thwart National Security Agency espionage of Brazilian government systems. US surveillance led by […]

16 Oct, 2013

Alibaba to transform China’s ‘e-conomy – China Daily

Alibaba Group’s plans to revolutionize China’s retail industry, investing $16 billion in logistics and support by 2020, will open up China’s vast interior and bring access to hundreds of millions of potential new customers. With an extra $15 billion or so in its pocket from a likely IPO, Alibaba and partners such as delivery service […]

16 Oct, 2013

Time to cool down nationwide English mania – People’s Daily Online

There are benefits to this nationwide mania for English learning. An overall escalation of English proficiency broadens the horizon of Chinese people, enabling them to have an insight into the rest of the world. However, learning English has already become “too much of a good thing.” English education and training has become institutionalized, forcing Chinese […]

16 Oct, 2013

European ‘shadow state’ faces growing resistance – DW.DE

Which cruel ruler is continually forcing new rounds of austerity measures on the Greeks? And which dark power managed to break the resistance of Cypriots in just a few days? The answer is not Germany. It is the eurozone’s shadow state. It sounds like something from science fiction or fantasy, the Star Wars saga or […]

16 Oct, 2013

US dollar’s ‘exorbitant privilege’ at risk – DW.DE

Since the end of World War II, international investors have looked at the US dollar as a safe bet, reassured by the full faith and credit of Uncle Sam. In hard times, they parked their money in US Treasury bills to ride out the storm. But these days, Washington is not looking as reliable as […]

16 Oct, 2013

Asia Times Online: The birth of the ‘de-Americanized’ world

This is it. China has had enough. The (diplomatic) gloves are off. It’s time to build a “de-Americanized” world. It’s time for a “new international reserve currency” to replace the US dollar. It’s all here, in a Xinhua editorial, straight from the dragon’s mouth. And the year is only 2013. Fasten your seat belts – […]

16 Oct, 2013

Asia Times Online: Mining your information for big brother

Big Bro is watching you. Inside your mobile phone and hidden behind your web browser are little known software products marketed by contractors to the government that can follow you around anywhere. No longer the wide-eyed fantasies of conspiracy theorists, these technologies are routinely installed in all of our data devices by companies that sell […]

15 Oct, 2013

Son of slain Sikh will challenge Paul Ryan for Wisconsin seat – CSMonitor.com

MILWAUKEE: The son of a slain Sikh temple president plans to challenge US Rep. Paul Ryan in next year’s congressional election, in a Wisconsin district where support for the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee has been strong but slipping. Amar Kaleka, 35, told The Associated Press he’ll file paperwork Wednesday to form an exploratory congressional […]

15 Oct, 2013

Truthdiggers of the Week: Editors and Reporters of The Guardian

Since 2009, investigations by The Guardian have sent shock waves through the halls of power across the world. Like others devoted to the principles of their profession, I suspect its editors and reporters would demur at the suggestion that they’re engaged in anything more than journalism. In a strictly technical sense, they’d be right. But […]

15 Oct, 2013

The Folly of Empire – Chris Hedges – Truthdig

The last days of empire are carnivals of folly. We are in the midst of our own, plunging forward as our leaders court willful economic and environmental self-destruction. Sumer and Rome went down like this. So did the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires. Men and women of stunning mediocrity and depravity led the monarchies of Europe […]