On Press Freedom Day we are reminded that our so-called free press is far from free and that journalists need protection and respect
by Mickey Huff / May 3rd, 2023
May 3 marks the 30th anniversary of Press Freedom Day, inaugurated in 1993 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) with support from the United Nations (UNESCO). RSF’s original 1991 report provided a “round-up of journalists killed throughout the world” and laid the groundwork for what eventually became the Press Freedom Index, which now ranks freedom of the press in some 180 countries. Each year since 1993, this index is published on Press Freedom Day.
For the last two years, the United States ranked 44th and 42nd respectively on the Press Freedom Index, and in 2020—the year of the George Floyd …
President Joseph Biden has done what many from his own party dreaded but dare not say. Last month, via a painful video, the aged Democrat declared his candidacy for a second term in the White House, branding himself a defender of US democracy. For a politician lacking the mettle of competence, awareness, and, at certain points, basic clarity of the world he inhabits, this was astonishing. The doddery are in; the young, or younger, are frowned upon as incapable of taking the mantle.
by John W. Whitehead and Nisha Whitehead / May 2nd, 2023
There are instruments so dangerous to the rights of the nation and which place them so totally at the mercy of their governors that those governors, whether legislative or executive, should be restrained from keeping such instruments on foot but in well-defined cases. Such an instrument is a standing army.
Everyone who abhors war, detests imperialism, and favors cooperation between nations on global warming, poverty reduction, protection of biodiversity, international disarmament, implementation of international law, and other left-wing priorities ought to be appalled by the escalating tensions between the U.S. and China and actively organizing against them. The new Cold War between “East” (including Russia) and “West” is more dangerous than the first one, not only in having already provoked a proxy war between great powers in Europe itself, and not only in undermining any progress toward goals that are urgent for all of humanity, but also in preparing …
You have to start with the truth. The truth is the only way that we can get anywhere. Because any decision-making that is based upon lies or ignorance can’t lead to a good conclusion.
Why do the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Bank– three of the most highly regarded international economic organizations-project a bleak road ahead for the global economy?
Ominously, the World Bank warns of the possibility of a coming “lost decade” for economic growth.
In January of this year, the World Bank dropped its global growth projection for 2023 to 1.7% from its June of 2022 projection of 3%. To put some perspective on the number, during the era of high globalization before the 2007-9 crash, global growth averaged 3.5%. Since the crisis, growth has averaged 2.8%. …
Welcome the canons of pseudoscience. Open your arms to the dribbling, sponsored charlatans. According to a growing number of India’s top officialdom, teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution to children in their ninth and 10th grades is simply not on.
Last month, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), a purportedly autonomous government organisation responsible for curricula content and textbook publishing for India’s 256 million primary and secondary students, continued its hostility against Darwin as part of its “content rationalisation” process. NCERT had taken the scrub to evolution during the COVID-19 pandemic, implausibly arguing that it …
The vast majority of the U.S. Government’s purchases are for the military, and most of that is paying for weapons and for enabling America’s troops to use them.
For example, in the 3 April 2018 “OMB and Congressional Budget Office estimates of discretionary new budget authority” that “The President signed … into law on March 23, 2018”, was the “OMB TOTAL, DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS … 654,621” billion dollars. Not included in that sum was “MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND VETERANS AFFAIRS APPROPRIATIONS … OMB Non-Defense Category Subtotal (including CHIMPs) … 81,876,” all of which is actually military (it wouldn’t even …
A Gazan Ph.D. candidate studying in India, Mohammad Abunahel steadily refines and updates a map on the World BEYOND War website, dedicating a portion of every day to continue researching the extent and impact of USA foreign bases. What is Mohammad Abunahel learning, and how can we support him?
On the few occasions when a government moves toward converting property or weapon production facilities into something useful for human beings, I can’t restrain a tumbling brainstorm: what if this signals a trend, what if practical problem-solving begins to trump reckless …
When the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW aka The Wobblies) was established in 1905, their goal was to see One Big Union formed in the USA. The Wobblies came from the socialist Western Federation of Miners organization led by William D Haywood. Up to that point the major union organization at the time was the AFL (American Federation of Labor) which was a gaggle of many autonomous unions. Sadly, the AFL and its member unions only represented high skilled and high paid workers. They refused to encompass the majority of …
by Bill Scheuerman and Sid Plotkin / May 1st, 2023
Another May Day has come and gone, and most Americans never noticed. It wasn’t always like this. In decades past, thousands of workers of different ages, ethnicities and genders celebrated the first of May by marching in support of worker rights. Workers traditionally wore red on May Day to show unity in their struggle against the power of capital and to remember the blood shed by thousands of workers in the struggle for human dignity. To many Americans, May Day undoubtedly conjures unpleasant visions of the May Day celebrations of military prowess in the former Soviet Union. But such displays …
Introduction
During the SARS-CoV-2-pandemic, face masks have become one of the most important ubiquitous factors affecting human breathing. It increases the resistance and dead space volume leading to a re-breathing of CO2. So far, this phenomenon and possible implications on early life has not been evaluated in depth….
Discussion
There is a possible negative impact risk by …
A male wearing a dress is featured on the latest cover of Brides Today, an English-language Indian publication. The “model” is a “non-binary transfeminine” activist who goes by Alok.
In the article, Alok said: “I wish I could post an image of myself online without being inundated with hate mail. I wish I could be seen as a human being … But I’m not going to wait for that future, I’m going to build it now, here, with the people who are ready for love.”
Daniel Ellsberg — the Pentagon Papers whistleblower who has been an inspiring activist for peace since the early 1970s — recently wrote a public letter disclosing that he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, with a prognosis that he has only three to six months to live.
Join us for “Daniel Ellsberg Week” to celebrate the life’s work of Daniel Ellsberg, to take action in support of whistleblowers and peacemakers, and to call on state and local governments around the country to honor the spirit of difficult …
As Israel celebrates its 75th anniversary, every Israeli should remember that the occupation stains the country’s independence day and that Israel is not and will not be a true democracy as long as it remains an occupying power
I couldn’t applaud and admire enough the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who protested for 17 consecutive weeks against the Netanyahu government’s scheme to subvert Israel’s judiciary under the pretense of necessary ‘reforms.’ In reality, Netanyahu and his Justice Minister Levin were bent on subordinating Israel’s Supreme Court to the whims of a simple majority in the Knesset, and the appointment of judges …
US$2.24 trillion is a mighty amount. It’s also a sickening figure when considering the object of this exercise. The flickering tease of war, the promise of bloodshed and an increasingly large butcher’s bill, are inevitable suggestions from such a figure. The scenes are also clear: well-paid suits dazed by theories of the next war; policy wonks jabbering over mock war games. A huge amount of money is being pushed into the venture, and the sceptics are being held at bay.
Much of this news comes from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s latest findings that countries are spending …
For more than eight years, I did my wash in the same laundromat. Called “Sparkle Plenty,” it was a relic. It first opened in 1973 and appeared as if the decor had never been altered (and rarely cleaned).
It’s changed hands a few times over the years but when I first encountered it in 2006, Sparkle Plenty was owned and operated by a Chinese couple who appeared to be in their mid-60s. She was almost always smiling and pleasant. He seemed lost in a perpetual scowl and heaven forbid you …
A billboard van calling for an end to extradition proceedings against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange waits at traffic lights in Parliament Square in London, England, on September 14, 2020. (Photo by David Cliff/NurPhoto)However described, the shabby treatment of Julian Assange never ceases to startle. While he continues to suffer in Belmarsh prison awaiting the torments of an interminable legal process, more material is coming out showing the way he was spied upon while staying at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Of late, the Spanish daily El País has …
According to an article in American Banker titled “SEC’s Gensler Directly Links Crypto and Bank Failures,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler has asked for more financial resources to police the crypto market. Gensler testified at an April 18 House Financial Services Committee hearing:
[Crypto companies] have chosen to be noncompliant and not provide investors with confidence and protections, and it undermines the $100 trillion capital markets …
Silvergate and Signature [banks] were engaged in the crypto business — I mean some would say that they were crypto-backed …
Silicon Valley Bank, actually when it failed, saw the country’s — the world’s — second-leading stable …
• China to regulate Artificial Intelligence
• CATL’s new condensed matter Battery
• China increases exports to the Global South
• Journey to the West, low-budget science fiction
The Indian Left holds the record of running an Indian state for long 34 years without a break. The Left Front formed the government in West Bengal, an eastern state of the Indian Union, in 1977 and ruled the state for 34 years at a stretch, winning all the Assembly elections in the process, before losing out to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the Assembly election held in 2011.
If the year 2011 is considered a benchmark for the anti-Left in India in general and those in West Bengal in particular then what do we see happening to the Left in …
It’s a very funny thing. In the US, the provision of services in such industries as security and intelligence is outsourced in a sprawling complex of contractors and subcontractors. In Australia, the entire military and security establishment is outsourced to Washington’s former mandarins, many of them earning a pile in consultancy fees. This, perhaps, is what Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles means when he talks about the Australian Defence Force moving “beyond interoperability to interchangeability.”
The list of recipients is depressingly long, and suggests that Australia has ceased to have any pretensions of sovereignty in defence matters. Take, …
Here is a letter that Steve Clifford and I sent to the CEO Tim Cook of Apple corporation, whose percentage of charitable giving relative to its taxable income is astoundingly low as compared to other corporations noted below. Apple should increase its charitable giving.
April 24, 2023
Tim Cook, CEO
Apple, Inc.
One Apple Park Way
Cupertino, CA 95014
Dear Tim Cook,
We are writing you regarding Apple’s charitable giving.
Your predecessor reportedly believed that he could do more for the world by making great products than by donating to charitable causes. Apple’s charitable giving has increased substantially since you became CEO, indicating that you don’t share this …
Nuclear war is unthinkable, but also uncontrollable once a spark is lit. There’s no turning back once that big misstep occurs. Indeed, the film Dr. Strangelove (Director Stanley Kubrick, 1964, Columbia Pictures) is all about what could happen if the wrong person pushes the wrong buttons, as US Air Force General Jack Ripper (George C. Scott) sends his bomber wing to destroy Russia to prevent a commie plot to pollute Americans.
According to a recent article: “Is Nuclear War More Likely After Russia’s Suspension of the New START Treaty?” Nature, March 7, …
On 7 October 2022, the United States government implemented export controls in an effort to hinder the development of China’s semiconductor industry. An expert on the subject told the Financial Times, ‘The whole point of the policy is to kneecap China’s AI [Artificial Intelligence] and HPC [High Performance Computing] efforts’. The next day, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said:
In order to maintain its sci-tech hegemony, the US has been abusing …
Whenever I see he/him or she/her I think fuck/you. You must be living an awfully precious life if, amid the pervasive despair of an economy in free fall, your uppermost concern is clinging to your pronouns.”
— Norman Finkelstein, I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It! Heretical Thoughts on Identity Politics, Cancel Culture, and Academic Freedom
The present mental state of the American public is almost as bad as the ruling military idiocy which is pushing us closer to a nuclear confrontation as we conduct a proxy war against Russia using Ukrainian lives while we supply the weapons. In the …
“Your nearly $1 TRILLION war budget is fueling the climate crisis.”
by Codepink / April 27th, 2023
Washington – CODEPINK members were in attendance at the Kennedy Center Wednesday night to watch cofounder Diane Wilson receive a Goldman Environmental Prize for her work and activism to save the gulf waters in Texas.
But when former Speaker of the House and California representative Nancy Pelosi took the stage to address the crowd, CODEPINK members felt compelled to speak out.
Olivia DiNucci calmly walked onto the stage with a “War is Not Green” sign and activists in the audience began shouting out “Stop the war in Ukraine. We need …
