4 Aug, 2013

Chomsky: America’s Imperial Power Is Showing Real Signs of Decline | Alternet

Like Snowden, Manning committed the crime of revealing to Americans—and others—what their government is doing. That is a severe breach of “security” in the operative meaning of the term, familiar to anyone who has pored over declassified documents. Typically “security” means security of government officials from the prying eyes of the public to whom they […]

4 Aug, 2013

Shabnam Hashmi challenges Gujarat’s claim of being a model State – The Hindu

Human rights activist Shabnam Hashmi has called for close scrutiny of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s claims, that his State is a ‘model for development’, in the run-up to the 2014 general elections. Speaking at a seminar here on Saturday, Ms. Hashmi said ground realities were far from the rosy picture Mr. Modi and his […]

3 Aug, 2013

Huge leak of tritium feared in Fukushima | The Japan Times

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday that an estimated 20 trillion to 40 trillion becquerels of tritium from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant may have flowed into the Pacific Ocean since May 2011. The utility reported the estimate Friday to the Nuclear Regulation Authority after recently admitting that toxic water from the emergency cooling […]

3 Aug, 2013

Fasting to highlight plight of the Guantánamo hunger strikers | The Guardian

For the last week I have been fasting in solidarity with the men on hunger strike in the US prison at Guantánamo Bay, forgoing all food and taking only liquids. I began day one thinking about a book I had recently read: former detainee Ahmed Errachidi’s The General. Errachidi had worked as a chef in […]

3 Aug, 2013

Climate change linked to violent behaviour | theguardian.com

Bring on the cool weather – climate change is predicted to cause extreme weather, more intense storms, more frequent floods and droughts, but could it also cause us to be more violent with one another? A new study from scientists in the US controversially draws a link between increased rates of domestic violence, assault and […]

3 Aug, 2013

Madrid’s chief rabbi: Gays are ‘deviants’ who need re-educating – Haaretz

Madrid’s chief rabbi, Moshe Bendahan, called gays “deviants” who should be re-educated and said same-sex marriages are “monstrous.” “Homosexuality is a deviation from nature,” Bendahan is quoted as telling the online news site Religion Digital in an interview published Wednesday. “It’s an anti-natural tendency and a sin. Contemplating allowing, consenting to what is known as […]

3 Aug, 2013

Breastfeeding: World’s most effective, inexpensive life-saver – Times of India

NEW DELHI: In 2011, more than 6.9 million children died before their fifth birthday. Over 98% of these deaths occurred in developing countries. India accounted for 1.6 million deaths. Pediatricians and public health experts say exclusive breastfeeding for six months can save many such children. According to the United Nations Children’s Funds (UNICEF), breastfeeding is […]

3 Aug, 2013

Wikipedia will go ‘secure’ to beat NSA surveillance – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Just days after reports revealed that National Security Agency (NSA) in the US actively looked at what people read on Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation announced on its website that it would implement HTTPS for logged-in users. The foundation, a non-profit organization, manages Wikipedia. The S in HTTPS stands for secure. Two days ago, Guardian […]

3 Aug, 2013

An artistic journey from New Delhi to Beijing – People’s Daily Online

Bharat Singh, 37, and his younger sister Gurjinder are busy creating a whale protection-themed statue. Molding of the stainless steel art work “Love”, which portrays two whales dancing around a mermaid, will be completed at the end of July. “Next month, we will bring it to the Ulsan International Whale Sculpture Exhibition in South Korea,” […]

3 Aug, 2013

South Africa: SABC Launches 24-Hour News Channel

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on Thursday officially launched its 24-hour news channel. Officially launching the channel at the SABC studios in Auckland Park, President Jacob Zuma said it should take forward the constitutional right of citizens to have diversified news. Zuma said that South Africa’s Constitution allowed for freedom of expression, including freedom […]

3 Aug, 2013

Exposed: Facebook “likes” faked by ‘click farms’ in Bangladesh | The Guardian

How much do you like courgettes? According to one Facebook page devoted to them, hundreds of people find them delightful enough to click the “like” button – even with dozens of other pages about courgettes to choose from. There’s just one problem: the liking was fake, done by a team of low-paid workers in Dhaka, […]

3 Aug, 2013

Asia Times Online: How Britain turned tribe against tribe

In Define and Rule: Native as Political Identity, Mahmood Mamdani carries forward his pioneering, hefty contributions to (what I would call) an historical epistemology of world politics: this time by discussing (the European colonization of) not only Africa – his usual focus – but also India, the Malay States, and the Dutch East Indies. Mamdani […]

3 Aug, 2013

U.S. Taxpayer-Funded Drone Strike Killings in Pakistan: Bureau of Investigative Journalism

The Bureau is publishing in full a leaked internal document – titled Details of Attacks by NATO Forces/Predators in FATA – which contains the Pakistan government’s own estimates of how many people have died in specific CIA drone strikes. The summary report – obtained from three independent sources – covers the period January 13 2006 […]

3 Aug, 2013

Eugene Robinson: We Should Thank Edward Snowden

Washington, DC — Edward Snowden’s renegade decision to reveal the jaw-dropping scope of the National Security Agency’s electronic surveillance is being vindicated — even as Snowden himself is being vilified. Intelligence officials in the Obama administration and their allies on Capitol Hill paint the fugitive analyst as nothing but a traitor who wants to harm […]

3 Aug, 2013

Israel advises Sri Lanka on slow-motion genocide | The Electronic Intifada

Israel has been a major arms supplier to Sri Lanka’s government, as well as providing it with strategic military advice. With permission from the United States, Israel has sold Sri Lanka consignments of Kfir jets and drones. Israel has also supplied the Dvora patrol boats to Sri Lanka, which have been used extensively against Tamils […]

3 Aug, 2013

Israeli army plan aims to incite Christian-Muslim tensions | The Electronic Intifada

Leaders of Israel’s Palestinian minority have accused the Israeli authorities of intensifying efforts to push Christian and Muslim communities into conflict, as part of a long-running divide-and-rule strategy towards the country’s Palestinian citizens. The allegations have been prompted by a series of initiatives to pressure Christian school-leavers into the army, breaking the community’s blanket rejection […]

2 Aug, 2013

Sen. Ron Wyden On NSA Spying: It’s As Bad As Snowden Says | Alternet

Last month, disclosures made by an NSA contractor lit the surveillance world on fire. Several provisions of secret law were no longer secret and the American people were finally able to see some of the things I’ve been raising the alarm about for years. And when they did, boy were they stunned, and boy, are […]

2 Aug, 2013

10 of the Worst Terror Attacks by Extreme Christians and Far-Right White Men | Alternet

From Fox News to the Weekly Standard, neoconservatives have tried to paint terrorism as a largely or exclusively Islamic phenomenon. Their message of Islamophobia has been repeated many times since the George W. Bush era: Islam is inherently violent, Christianity is inherently peaceful, and there is no such thing as a Christian terrorist or a […]

1 Aug, 2013

PressTV – Israel, an “unsustainable and apartheid” entity

The story “hangs there,” a week now, no one will touch it other than the Times of Israel, their answer to “Veterans Today”, a publication run by former spies. American reporting of the talk carefully edited out General Mattis’ references to Israeli settlements and his use of the word “apartheid” entity. This wasn’t just any […]

1 Aug, 2013

Long-living Japanese society needs better ‘quality of death’ | The Japan Times

A quarter of a million bedbound elderly people are kept alive in Japan, often for years, by a feeding tube surgically inserted into their stomach. A few months ago, my 96-year-old grandmother became one of them. Feeding tubes are so common in Japan that my family wasn’t initially consulted about the procedure, which is effectively […]

1 Aug, 2013

It’s time for conservatives of Japan to get over the war | The Japan Times

“And why shouldn’t we?” With a thumping Upper House election victory behind them, this question is likely on the minds of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his political allies as they contemplate a visit to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, the day Japan commemorates the end of World War II. If they do visit […]

1 Aug, 2013

Panel plans strategy for overseas Japanese language education | The Japan Times

A panel of experts discussing ways to increase the number of Japanese language learners overseas proposed Wednesday promoting “Cool Japan” pop culture and online services to provide more opportunities for speaking the language. The panel stressed the importance of drawing young people to Japanese through popular culture, such as manga, anime, fashion, music and food. […]

1 Aug, 2013

“Just Metadata?” Think Again – American Civil Liberties Union

By Matthew Harwood, Media Relations Associate, ACLU One of the most disingenuous arguments in the aftermath of the NSA spying revelations is that the American people shouldn’t be concerned about the government hoovering up its sensitive information because it’s only metadata–or a fancy way of saying data about the data. “This is just metadata,” Senate […]

1 Aug, 2013

Sikhs plan rites to mark Wisconsin Gurdwara shooting – Indian Express

A year after six Sikh worshippers were shot dead by a white supremacist in a shooting rampage inside a Wisconsin Gurdwara, the community will commemorate the first anniversary of the incident with a series of events including solemn religious observances and candlelight vigil. “In the spirit ‘of Chardi Kala’ (a Punjabi term that refers to […]

31 Jul, 2013

Asia Times Online: Israel Using Arms Sales to Advance Political Clout

Israel has been using arms sales and other forms of military-security assistance to pursue its wider foreign policy objectives. Such activities of Israel should not only be looked from commercial point of views as they also have political incentives. Because of its limited political, economic and diplomatic leverage, Israel has used arms sales and other […]

31 Jul, 2013

The Important Things the U.S. DOESN’’T Have Money For, And The Crazy Things It DOES Have Money FOR

In an age of “belt tightening” and “budget cuts”, you would think that government officials would be trying to spend our money wisely. Unfortunately, when it comes time to cut spending our politicians tend to do everything that they can to protect their own interests and their own pet projects, but they don’t seem to […]

31 Jul, 2013

How digital photography is ruining travelling – Sydney Morning Herald

As a group, we travellers have become obsessed with taking photos when we’re away, with recording every moment on film. It used to be that the Japanese were made fun of for their compulsion to take photos, but the rest of us have caught up. Digital photography has a lot to answer, its ease and […]

31 Jul, 2013

What Martin Indyk’s appointment as US special envoy tells us – Al Jazeera

There is a sense that Kerry is sincere in seeking to broker a solution to the conflict, yet this way of proceeding does not raise hopes. Perhaps, there was no viable alternative. Israel would not come even to negotiate negotiations without being reassured in advance by an Indyk-like appointment. And if Israel had signalled its […]

30 Jul, 2013

Shooting down a drone isn’t so hard to do – DAWN.COM

Numerous Pakistanis have good reason to act boldly against drone strikes. Think of tribal belt civilians who have lost family members (or homes, limbs, or livelihoods), or who have been traumatised by the telltale humming of drones. Some of these people have sought legal assistance. Several months ago, a Pakistani court sided with them and […]

30 Jul, 2013

Path to Happiness Starts in Childhood – Sydney Morning Herald

Australians spend millions in self-improvements, therapies, diets, makeovers and quick fixes to make themselves happier. But are they actually chasing the things that will make them happy? It’s not surprising happiness is the subject of research. The jewel in the academic crown is the Grant Study, which has been tracking the lives of Harvard men […]

30 Jul, 2013

A Blow for the Press, and for Democracy – NYTimes.com

The case has real-world consequences not only for journalists but for all Americans. It is part of a troubling trend that includes unprecedented numbers of criminal investigations involving leaked information; the obtaining of reporters’ phone records; and even one government claim that a journalist “aided and abetted” a leak. Mr. Risen says investigative reporting that […]

30 Jul, 2013

Former whistle-blowers struggling | The Japan Times

This is what life looks like for some after revealing government secrets — blowing the whistle on wrongdoing, according to those who did it; jeopardizing national security, according to the government. Heroes or scofflaws, they had to get on with their lives — as Edward Snowden eventually will. The former NSA contractor, who leaked classified […]

30 Jul, 2013

Commentary: Lessons for Indonesia from Egypt | The Jakarta Post

Egyptians can forget about freedom and democracy now. The military, very much back in the saddle after it ousted president Mohamed Mursi this month, is fighting his Muslim Brotherhood party, the winner of Egypt’s first post-Mubarak elections, in the streets. Egypt could have been Indonesia, so many people would argue. But the reverse is also […]

30 Jul, 2013

An Article Every American Should Read

The late professor Morgenthau was a leader in his attempts to reveal the essence of real politics and to explain the search for peace in global relationships. Perhaps he never imagined that America, the most powerful force in moral and intellectual history, could become a nation devoid of the most basic tenets of global political […]

28 Jul, 2013

U.K. Visa bond scheme to go ahead despite Cameron’s promise – The Hindu

Despite Prime Minister David Cameron’s assurance to exempt India from the controversial visa bond scheme following a diplomatic row between New Delhi and London, the British government has reportedly decided to go ahead with it though the Home Office insisted that it was meant to target only “high-risk” applicants. An official told The Hindu that […]

28 Jul, 2013

Robert Fisk on Egypt: The Near Future Does Not Look Good – The Independent

One point that stood out – and it may be unfashionable to say so – is that the Brotherhood supporters were generally poor and looked poor in their grubby abayas and plastic sandals. Some of the Tahrir demonstrators, who were truly revolutionaries against Mubarak in 2011, trooped over the Nile bridges waving posters of General […]

28 Jul, 2013

Take our economies off their stimulants and they aren’t really growing at all – The Independent

In the UK, yesterday’s figures showing 0.6 per cent growth in GDP for the last quarter are terribly weak. As my colleague Ben Chu points out elsewhere in the paper, the economy is still 3.3 per cent smaller than it was in early 2008. In normal times, based on averages going back to the Second […]

27 Jul, 2013

Radiation in water leakage at Fukushima plant as high as 2011 crisis | Kyodo News

TOKYO, July 27, Kyodo — Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Saturday it has detected 2.35 billion becquerels of cesium per liter from water in an underground passage at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that is seeping into the sea, roughly the same level as seen in a contaminated water leak into the sea […]

27 Jul, 2013

Israelis Show Europeans Who’s The Boss

In response to the European Union’s new guidelines banning cooperation with Israeli settlements, Israel has decided to limit the movement of EU representatives in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon ordered defense officials to halt cooperation on the ground with EU representatives. This includes any assistance to EU infrastructure projects in […]

27 Jul, 2013

Does your workplace have a drinking problem? – Sydney Morning Herald

Around 9 per cent of workers admit to drinking alcohol at work, with tradespeople (17.9 per cent), managers (19.6 per cent) and professionals (19.3 per cent) the occupational groups with the largest proportion of short-term risky drinkers. Phillip Collins, head of workplace services at the Australian Drug Foundation, says more research needs to be done […]

26 Jul, 2013

Hindu family in UAE observes Ramadan fast for 14 years | GulfNews.com

Dubai: A Hindu family in Abu Dhabi has been fasting this Ramadan. And not for the first time. They have been doing it for 14 years. “We cannot imagine a Ramadan without fasting. It is like an inner call,” said Indian expat Vakkam Jayalal, 54, who along with his wife Yamuna, 43, and two grown-up […]

26 Jul, 2013

Japan women return to top spot in longevity rankings | The Japan Times

Japan returned to the top spot in terms of women’s average life span in 2012, a year after falling to second place behind Hong Kong, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said in an annual report released Thursday. The average life span for Japanese women stood at 86.41 years, up 0.51 from the previous […]

26 Jul, 2013

January-June foreign visitors to Japan hit record 4.95 million | The Japan Times

The number of foreign visitors to Japan in the first half of 2013 reached a record high of 4.95 million, up 22.8 percent from a year earlier, helped by the yen’s weakness and the popularity of low-cost carriers, a government body said Wednesday. The figure eclipsed the previous high of 4.33 million recorded in the […]

26 Jul, 2013

40% of Japanese feel financially uncomfortable: survey | The Japan Times

Some 40 percent of Japanese aged 20 or over feel they are not well off, while fewer than 10 percent think they are financially comfortable, a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry poll showed, pointing to particularly high rates among unemployed men, whose ranks include those aged 80 and older. Released Wednesday, the survey, conducted last […]

25 Jul, 2013

New “National Gunfire Index” Can Track Illegal Gunfire in Major U.S. Cities

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July 16, 2013, NEWARK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SST, Inc., today announced the launch of its National Gunfire Index which offers the most detailed record available of illegal gunfire activity, including non-homicide firearm violence, in major cities across the United States. This previously unattainable data on gunfire activity provides a more comprehensive data set than has ever been […]

25 Jul, 2013

Health & Wellness Update: China’s booming insomniac numbers

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NANNING, July 24 (Xinhua) — Since she was recruited two years ago, falling asleep has been a big headache for Yang Shuai. The 24-year-old woman usually gets home at around 10 p.m., but cannot fall asleep until two or three o’clock in the morning. “It’s hard to fall asleep because I’m always thinking of job-related […]

25 Jul, 2013

Exclusive: Formula One pays just £1m corporation tax on £300m profit – The Independent

The company that runs Formula One has used a complex technique to legally avoid paying tens of millions of pounds in corporation tax despite racking up annual profits of £305m last year, The Independent has learned. F1, which is run by billionaire Bernie Ecclestone, made a net contribution of £945,663 $1,468,000 in corporation tax in […]

24 Jul, 2013

Chris Hedges: ‘Wall Street and Corporations Are Pulling the Strings’ – Truthdig

In the latest installment of a series of interviews on The Real News Network’s “Reality Inserts Itself,” Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges says that the Democratic Party once looked out for the interests of labor and the poor. But that changed, he says, when Bill Clinton entered the White House, and it’s getting worse under President […]

24 Jul, 2013

Death by Corporation, Part II: Companies as Cancer Cells

The financial industry, chemical industry, drug companies, nuclear industrial complex and dirty energy empire work “like tumor cells for the relentless destruction of the environment that they themselves depend upon for their very lives. And the rest of us stand by and watch it happen.” Read the rest: Death by Corporation, Part II: Companies as […]

24 Jul, 2013

One drink too many – The Hindu

Spread awareness about alcoholism in schools. It is never too soon to sensitise kids about its dangers, say those who have been closely associated with the problem. Read the rest: One drink too many – The Hindu.

24 Jul, 2013

Report exposes “Hasbara” courses at Israeli universities | The Electronic Intifada

Various Israeli academic institutions have introduced courses and programs on hasbara — the Hebrew-language term used to describe Israel’s attempts to re-brand its image as its occupation and military aggression makes it increasingly unpopular worldwide. A new report from the Academic Watch Project shows that instead of promoting critical thought and inquiry, these courses at […]

24 Jul, 2013

In photos: Palestinian workers’ everyday nightmare at Israeli checkpoints | The Electronic Intifada

The Eyal terminal at the city of Qalqiliya is one of forty fixed checkpoints located along the boundary between the occupied West Bank and Israel. The terminals are part of an elaborate system of physical and administrative obstacles that Palestinians must navigate in order to enter Israel to work. Every Sunday thousands arrive to the […]

24 Jul, 2013

Israel’s apartheid wall recreated in London art gallery | The Electronic Intifada

The freshness and ingenuity of young Palestinian artists’ work shines through in two new exhibitions in London. Whole in the Wall at Ayyam Gallery is the latest offering by Khaled Jarrar, exemplifying his signature interest in Israel’s wall in the occupied West Bank and his irreverent and yet entirely serious approach to it. Entering the […]

24 Jul, 2013

Experts call for Asia-based models – The Nation

Asian companies need to invent their own business models for long-term sustainability, models that address social and environmental costs, highlight brand building, and capitalise on the diversity of Asian culture, said panellists at an international conference. New models are a must as Asia has to strengthen its resilience to global uncertainties, which are not likely […]

23 Jul, 2013

Secret document reveals scores of civilians killed in US drone strikes – DAWN.COM

A classified Pakistani government document has revealed that scores of civilians died in dozens of CIA-led drone strikes between 2006 and late 2009 in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and that Pakistani officials were “aware of those deaths for many years”. The secret government document was quoted by the London Bureau of Investigative Journalism […]

23 Jul, 2013

Treasure: Australian Tax system at risk – Sydney Morning Herald

The Treasury has admitted it is virtually powerless to stop multinational companies such as Apple and Google dodging tax, saying Australia must focus its efforts on an international crackdown led by the G20 and the OECD. It warned that many of the risks posed by profit shifting by multinationals were underpinned by ”deeply entrenched features […]

23 Jul, 2013

New overhead facility at Mecca Grand Mosque to help disabled, elderly – Arab News

The new mataf bridge around the Holy Kaaba opens for pilgrims this week. Only disabled and elderly pilgrims will be allowed to use the circular bridge that can hold 7,000 wheelchair-borne pilgrims per hour. “Since the bridge would be set apart for weak, infirm and disabled pilgrims, the movement of able-bodied pilgrims below on the […]

23 Jul, 2013

PressTV – US, Israel seeking Palestinian surrender

On Monday, the White House admitted that getting the two sides to agree a peace deal remained an “enormous challenge.” Palestinians are under Israeli military occupation. The Israeli regime has been accused of replicating the former South African Apartheid regime by the UN investigators, politicians and human rights groups. Last month, Ismail Coovadia, outgoing South […]

23 Jul, 2013

Big Data: Fool With A Tool Is Still a Fool

Nate Silver, the poster child for analytic predictions, told a recent conference that the financial crisis was as much about bad modelling as greed. The ratings agencies, he said, based assumptions on past mortgages, not the number of people who would default. Welcome to the world of bad data, something that’s caught on in Australia, […]

23 Jul, 2013

Pentagon shifts drone army to new hot spots worldwide | The Japan Times

As the administration of President Barack Obama dials back the number of drone attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, the U.S. military is shifting its huge fleet of unmanned aircraft to other hot spots around the world. This next phase of drone warfare is focused more on spying than killing and will extend the Pentagon’s […]

23 Jul, 2013

Fukushima operator now admits radioactive water entering the sea – The Japan Times

Fukushima nuclear plant operator Tepco on Monday admitted for the first time that radioactive groundwater is flowing into the sea, fueling fears that marine life is being poisoned. The admission came a day after voters handed the largely pro-nuclear Liberal Democratic Party of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — and ally New Komeito — a handsome […]

23 Jul, 2013

Amartya Sen: As an Indian, I don’t want Modi as my PM – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Coming out strongly against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Monday said he does not want him to become India’s Prime Minister as he does not have secular credentials. The prominent economist also criticised Modi’s model of governance saying he did not approve of it. “Yes, I don’t want […]

23 Jul, 2013

Secret court lets NSA extend its trawl of Verizon customers’ phone records – The Guardian

The National Security Agency has been allowed to extend its dragnet of the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon through a court order issued by the secret court that oversees surveillance. In an unprecedented move prompted by the Guardian’s disclosure in June of the NSA’s indiscriminate collection of Verizon metadata, the Office […]

22 Jul, 2013

Weapons of Mass Distraction—Why the Media Most Americans Consume Is Harmful to Public Health | Alternet

Across the world — Greece, Spain, Brazil, Egypt — citizens are turning angrily to their governments to demand economic fair play and equality. But here in America, with few exceptions, the streets and airwaves remain relatively silent. In a country as rich and powerful as America, why is there so little outcry about the ever-increasing, […]

22 Jul, 2013

PressTV – Ex-MI6 chief threatens to expose secrets of Iraq war

Former head of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove has threatened to expose secrets of Iraq war if he faces censure from the Chilcot inquiry into British involvement in the Iraq war. Sir Richard, who provided intelligence about former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s Weapons of Mass Destruction WMDs, told the Daily Mail that he wrote a detailed […]

22 Jul, 2013

Rioters set Paris ablaze over ban on Islamic veil – The Independent

Interior Minister Manuel Valls appealed for calm. Community leaders said that the riots were a response to the frequent violence and insulting language used by police, rather than a protest against the two-year-old law banning burkas or other full-face coverings. On the second night of protest about 50 young people burned cars and threw Molotov […]

22 Jul, 2013

Prominent Indian filmmaker boycotts Haifa festival to protest Israeli apartheid – Haaretz

Award-winning Indian director Mira Nair has turned down an invitation to be guest of honor at the Haifa Film Festival for political reasons, posting on her Twitter page that she would not visit Israel until “Apartheid is over.” “I will not be going to Israel at this time,” she tweeted last Friday in the second […]

21 Jul, 2013

Goodbye to my American Dream by Tiffanie Drayton – Alternet

I survived because I was never able to make America my home. I never watched my childhood neighborhood become whitened by helicopter lights in search of criminals or hipsters in search of apartments. No state, city or town has been a mother to me, cradling generations of my family near her bosom, to then be […]

21 Jul, 2013

America’s race question that won’t go away – Sydney Morning Herald

Barack Obama rightly argued on Friday that the lot of successive generations is better. But the he also articulated the ”why” behind the white-black disconnect. “In the African-American community at least, there’s a lot of pain around what happened here,” he said. ”I think it’s important to recognise that the African-American community is looking at […]

21 Jul, 2013

University study: Social media impacting teen girls self-esteem

Even though 80 per cent of the girls surveyed were classified as normal weight, 46 per cent said they were dissatisfied with how much they weighed. “Time spent on social network sites was related to lower self-esteem, body-esteem, sense of identity and higher depression,” Amy Slater from Flinders University’s school of psychology said. Social commentator […]

21 Jul, 2013

More Revelations: US drone strikes guided from Australian outback

A Fairfax Media investigation has now confirmed a primary function of the top-secret signals intelligence base near Alice Springs is to track the precise ”geolocation” of radio signals, including those of hand-held radios and mobile phones, in the eastern hemisphere, from the Middle East across Asia to China, North Korea and the Russian far east. […]

20 Jul, 2013

China launches trans-continental cargo train to Germany

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ZHENGZHOU, July 17 (Xinhua) — A cargo train from Zhengzhou in central China to Hamburg in Germany will be launched on Thursday to boost bilateral trade, Chinese railway authorities said Wednesday. The container train will start its journey from Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province and pass through Kazakhstan, Russia, White Russia, Poland before reaching Germany, […]

20 Jul, 2013

Nearly 2,000 at Fukushima No. 1 face higher thyroid cancer risk | The Japan Times

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday that 1,973 workers at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant have estimated thyroid radiation doses exceeding 100 millisieverts and are therefore at higher risk of getting thyroid cancer. The workers will be allowed to undergo annual ultrasonic thyroid examinations free of charge, the utility said. Tepco has given health […]

20 Jul, 2013

Miss Wheelchair Thailand contest kicks off

Ten photographs from the unique Miss Wheelchair Thailand contest. Click here: Miss Wheelchair Thailand contest kicks off – Xinhua.

20 Jul, 2013

Growing up Muslim in America – Financial Times

Many of the young Muslim Americans in Brooklyn can recount stories of public accusations of being a terrorist, rocks being thrown through their car windows, being targeted for “flying while Muslim”. Many know someone who has answered a knock at the door and found the FBI. More than one-third – 36 per cent – of […]

20 Jul, 2013

Sydney Morning Herald: Time to rethink the role alcohol plays in city violence

This week the connection between alcohol and street violence came into sharp focus again with the head of the NSW Police Association, Scott Weber, making the extraordinary call for the abolition of the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing – the state government agency which oversees regulation of licensed venues. Weber’s call followed the bashing […]

18 Jul, 2013

Asia Times Online : How to be a rogue superpower

The result has been a global spectacle, as well as a worldwide debate about the spying practices of the US (and its allies). In these weeks, Washington has proven determined, vengeful, implacable. It has strong-armed, threatened, and elbowed powers large and small. It has essentially pledged that the leaker, former Booz Allen employee Edward Snowden, […]

18 Jul, 2013

Chinese companies outline challenges of investing abroad

By Du Juan

Beijing, July 16, 2013, (China Daily) – As Chinese steel firms step up their efforts to explore resources abroad, there have been ups and downs in their gains because of inexperienced risk management. Facing increasing domestic demand for iron ore with high import prices in recent years, Chinese steel companies have been trying to find […]

18 Jul, 2013

EU bids to curb pesticides to better protect Europe’s honey bees

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Brussels, 16 July 2013, European Commission Press release – A Commission proposal to restrict the use of Fipronil, an insecticide which has recently been identified as posing an acute risk to Europe’s honey bee population, was backed by Member State experts meeting today in the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. This […]

18 Jul, 2013

Chinese premier highlights “scientific economic policies”

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BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Tuesday that macroeconomic policies should be more scientific, forward-looking and targeted to promote continuous and healthy growth in the long run. Li made the comments at a conference about the country’s current economic situation, after data showed China’s economic growth slowed to 7.5 percent in […]

17 Jul, 2013

People’s Daily Commentary: ‘Prism’ burns America’s Internet supremacy

Edited and Translated by Zhang Qian

July 16, 2013 (People’s Daily Online) – Finally, Snowden has made his reappearance. Speculation concerning his whereabouts has excited considerable media attention around the world, but this should not become a pretext for avoiding the hard questions around the Prism event. Washington still owes a reasonable explanation to a lot of countries, including China. And […]

17 Jul, 2013

Global Times Commentary: Washington must overhaul bipolar way of thinking

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July 16, 2013 – The annual China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) just concluded. Both sides can now reflect and think about the future. But can Washington put behind its Cold War mind-set, and will current US policy lead to peaceful and constructive relations with China? Some critics believe the current US policy will lead […]

17 Jul, 2013

Man sells wife to buy liquor, arrested – Hindustan Times

Mumbai – An alcoholic has been arrested for allegedly selling his wife to a friend for Rs.25,000 to finance his drinking, police said Sunday. Read the rest: Man sells wife to buy liquor, arrested – Hindustan Times.

17 Jul, 2013

Visa officers’ strike in Canada to hit Indian students most – Hindustan Times

Canada may have issued a record number of visas to Indians, but the figures could dwindle due to an ongoing strike of visa officers since April. With India being home to Canada’s largest overseas visa office, the strike by a union of Canadian foreign service officers may affect the plans of thousands of Indian students […]

17 Jul, 2013

Macau becomes a gold mine for U.S. casino companies – The Japan Times

The gambling mecca of Macau now handles more wagers than all U.S.-based commercial casinos put together, and many of those bets end up swelling the balance sheets of U.S. corporations. But as U.S. gambling companies have remade Macau, Macau has also remade them. Chasing riches, these companies have been hit with allegations of improper conduct, […]

17 Jul, 2013

Ross Gittins on why Australians are losing their egalitarianism – Sydney Morning Herald

I was chastened years ago on an industrial relations junket as a guest of the German government. The Aussies in the group went out to see the sights one night in Munich. When, eventually, we decided to go back to the hotel we realised one of the group was missing. I said I thought he […]

17 Jul, 2013

Dead Pigs Dumped Near Muslim Graves in Australian cemetery – WAToday

Authorities are investigating an incident in which two dead pigs were dumped in the Muslim section of a Baldivis cemetery. Two pigs’ heads and a pile of entrails were left beneath a sign denoting the Muslim burial area of Rockingham Regional Memorial Park. Cemetery staff discovered the carcasses on Monday morning and notified police, the […]

17 Jul, 2013

Modi gets RSS nod to raise Ram temple issue in 2014 polls – Hindustan Times

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday endorsed BJP poll campaign chief and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s plan to raise the Ram temple issue in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. This emerged in a meeting – which lasted for two-and-a-half hours — between Modi and Bhagwat at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur on Tuesday evening, […]

17 Jul, 2013

6 Whistleblowers Who Turned Out To Be Right After Being Ignored – Huffington Post

When Edward Snowden revealed himself as the whistleblower who leaked information about the National Security Agency’s data collection program, he became the subject of troves of media attention and an international manhunt. Such a situation is relatively rare. Consider the many whistleblowers — especially those in corporate America — who cry foul, only to watch […]

17 Jul, 2013

Met chief sorry for police spies using dead children’s identities – guardian.co.uk

Britain’s most senior police officer has offered a general apology for the “morally repugnant” theft of dead children’s identities by undercover spies who infiltrated political groups. But Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan police commissioner, has refused to tell any families if the identities of their children were stolen by the undercover officers. He said he wanted […]

17 Jul, 2013

Asia Times Online: Tour of shame for Myanmar President Thein Sein

BANGKOK – Myanmar’s President Thein Sein travels to London and Paris this week, where he will meet British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande. Now that decades-long European Union economic sanctions against Myanmar have been lifted – with the exception of an arms embargo – trade and investment are expected to dominate […]

16 Jul, 2013

China’s cash-thirsty small business get more loans

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BEIJING, July 15 (Xinhua) — China’s banks extended more loans to the country’s small and micro-sized enterprises, as cash-strapped companies played a pivotal role in stabilizing employment, official data showed Monday. By the end of May, the credit balance of small and micro-sized enterprises totaled 16 trillion yuan (2.58 trillion U.S. dollars), accounting for 22.22 […]

16 Jul, 2013

Merkel calls for stronger Europe, global data rules

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BERLIN, July 15 (Xinhua) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Sunday for strict global rules on the protection of personal data in the wake of the recently revealed U.S. surveillance activities in EU and Germany. In a TV interview with the public broadcaster ARD on Sunday evening, Merkel said Germany wanted internet companies to tell […]

16 Jul, 2013

Wealth gap eroding New Zealand’s egalitarian society: study

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WELLINGTON, July 15 (Xinhua) — New Zealand’s widening wealth gap is having a major impact on the country’s sense of “wellbeing, ” according to the country’s first social index. The survey of 9,962 adult New Zealanders found that compared with 22 European countries using the same measures, New Zealand ” consistently ranks near the bottom” […]

16 Jul, 2013

Drone strikes ineffective and only serve to help anti-Americanism

By Aftab Hussain (Global Times)

Islamabad, 15 July, 2013 – On June 8, a US drone attack in North Wazirstan killed seven people. It was the first drone attack since Nawaz Sharif took office as Pakistan’s prime minister for the third time. He condemned the attack as a violation of the country’s sovereignty. Drones, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), are […]

16 Jul, 2013

More Whistleblowing: Police spy says UK Home Office issued passports in names of dead children | The Guardian

A second police spy has said the Home Office was aware that undercover police officers stole the identities of dead children to infiltrate political groups. Peter Francis, a former undercover officer turned whistleblower, said the Home Office helped the spies by providing false passports in the names of the dead children. His claim comes as […]

16 Jul, 2013

Chris Hedges: Locking Out the Voices of Dissent – Truthdig

The goal of the corporate state is to criminalize democratic, popular dissent before there is another popular eruption. The vast state surveillance system, detailed in Edward Snowden’s revelations to the British newspaper The Guardian, at the same time ensures that no action or protest can occur without the advanced knowledge of our internal security apparatus. […]

16 Jul, 2013

‘Biased’ Israeli visa plan pits U.S. Congress against White House | The Japan Times

Some critics are sensitive about expressing their reservations in public, wishing to avoid getting in a public argument with a close ally, with the bills’ supporters or with the powerful pro-Israel lobby AIPAC. Boxer said the law will benefit U.S. citizens by specifically requiring the secretaries of state and homeland security to certify that Israel […]

16 Jul, 2013

Israeli PM threatens to strike Iran – Al Jazeera English

Netanyahu went on to say that Israel had a more narrow timetable than Washington, implying it may have to take unilateral action to halt Iran’s controversial nuclear programme. “Our clocks are ticking at a different pace. We’re closer than the United States. We’re more vulnerable. And therefore, we’ll have to address this question of how […]

15 Jul, 2013

Chinese firms ‘need self-defense strategy’ as European trade protectionism grows

By BAO CHANG

Beijing, 13 July 2013 (China Daily) – Trade remedy investigations against China are at a peak this year. So Chinese companies should safeguard their interests by actively defending themselves through effective measures, a commerce official said. Zhou Dalin, deputy director-general of the bureau of fair trade for imports and exports of the Ministry of Commerce, […]