contributions

by Adrianne Appel
Published on Monday, October 29, 2007 by Inter Press Service
BOSTON - South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu compared conditions in Palestine to those of South Africa under apartheid, and called on Israelis to try and change them, while speaking in Boston Saturday at historic Old South Church.”We hope the occupation of the Palestinian territory by Israel will end,” Tutu said.
“There is a cry of anguish from the depth of my heart, to my spiritual relatives. (…)

by Michael Parenti
During his 26-year papacy, John Paul II elevated 483 individuals to sainthood, more saints than all previous popes combined, it is reported. One personage he beatified but did not live long enough to canonize was Mother Teresa, the Roman Catholic nun of Albanian origin who had been wined and dined by the world’s rich and famous while hailed as a champion of the poor. The darling of the corporate media and western officialdom, and an object of celebrity adoration, Teresa (…)

A true democracy can only be identified when the citizens of a Nation join together to affects the laws under which they are governed. India, the most populous democracy in the world, has in its brief history repeatedly shown us how the poorest of the poor can join together and become a force to be reckoned with.
The latest lesson that we have been taught is how to achieve changes in property laws to protect the impoverished. “An estimated 25,000 people from across India gathered in New (…)

Japanese pay for Iran oil in yen
South Korea, China, Taiwan, Russia, Syria and Italy have announced plans to reduce their dollar holdings. Japanese oil refiners have started paying for Iranian crude oil in yen instead of dollars. Japan’s largest oil refiner, Nippon Oil Corp., announced the change in September; Cosmo Oil Co. and Japan Energy Corp. followed suit in October.
How significant is it that more and more nations are ceasing to use the dollar to conduct international trade? (…)

By Sara Flounders
Attempting to understand George W. Bush’s concern for the people of Myanmar means looking beyond his statements at the U.N. General Assembly that “Americans are outraged by the situation in Burma” and that attempting to impose a new round of economic sanctions is because he “only desires peaceful change in Burma.”
myanmar.gifHow is it possible for the Bush administration to be on the same side as a popular or progressive struggle, while threatening the planet with World (…)

A Mother’s View By Susan Handle Terbay of Dayton, Ohio
Over four years ago when the President decided it was more important to invade Iraq than it was to pursue the group that attacked us on 9/11. I spoke out about it. I couldn’t grasp the whole meaning of attacking a nation that didn’t attack us and nothing and no one convinced me that was a good idea. Unfortunately my son was called up to go and help invade the country of Iraq. And I held my breath and prayed so hard that this was (…)

The Daily Star Thursday, October 25, 2007 Hawi’s family sues Mossad for assassination by Lebanon Daily Star staff BEIRUT: The family of slain former Lebanese Communist Party leader Georges Hawi announced on Wednesday that it had filed a lawsuit against Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency accusing it of plotting his assassination on June 21, 2005. Speaking during a news conference at the Bristol Hotel, Hawi’s step-son, Raffy Madayan, lashed out at the Lebanese authorities for (…)

Peace from Christian or Islam? Give me Freethought!
(OKLAHOMA CITY) In regard to the "Islaming" of Oklahoma and the dust-up over competing religious superstitions I have to say that Islam is no more a religion of peace than Christianity is.
A semi-government Oklahoma Commission composed mainly of Islamic followers has recently tried to give decorated copies of the koran to Oklahoma’s legislators. A number of them have refused their copy fearing that such a gift would dim their x-tian (…)

Cold War Creature
Most of us recall that Osama bin Laden is a creation of the CIA. He was employed as a key player in the Afghan war against Soviet occupation. Under his CIA contract, and backed by Saudi finances and Pakistani military intelligence, he built the multi-million dollar CIA-financed underground Tora Bora tunnel complex “to serve as a major arms storage depot, training facility and medical center for the Mujaheddin, deep under the mountains close to the Pakistan border."1 (…)

CounterPunch
Home of the Brave?
By DAVE LINDORF
Several years ago, I warned that as the Bush/Cheney administration sought to reduce politically problematic casualty rates in Iraq and Afghanistan, it would resort to increased use of air attacks to combat the growing insurgency in Iraq and the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.
I also predicted that the result of this switch in tactics would lead to higher civilian casualties in those two countries.
We’re now seeing those results. (…)