Articles by TRANSCEND Media Service

We found 26528 results.


Japan and the World Community
Johan Galtung, 14 Apr 2014 - TRANSCEND Media Service, 14 Apr 2014

Wake up, Japan. No need to choose between the USA and China; be neutral, on friendly terms with both. Imagine a trilingual Japan with English and Chinese, what a wealth! Accept the invitation by East Asia and Northeast Asia to join their families, as Germany and South Africa joined theirs. Become Japan, the peace power.

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Message from TMS Editor
Antonio C. S. Rosa, editor – TRANSCEND Media Service, 14 Apr 2014

Dear TMS readers, subscribers and writers, unfortunately my computer crashed out and I was not able to upload the usual selection of materials to this Weekly Digest…

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Ouch!
Dietrich Fischer – TRANSCEND Media Service, 14 Apr 2014

Napoleon came to inspect his troops, and every soldier had to appear before him. They were a little nervous and intimidated.

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Fear & Loathing: Albino Africans Survival in Tanzania
Russia Today – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

People can be so afraid that they’re even willing to kill. They say giving birth to such a “creature” is a curse. Some call them ‘ghosts’ and believe that owning a part of their body will make them rich–all because of the color of their skin. Documentary (26:10)

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America — A Failed State?
Johan Galtung - TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

Depends, of course, on the criteria. A state has an inside towards its citizens, and an outside toward the state system. Depends on domestic and foreign policy, in other words. That means it can fail in two ways, by not catering to its citizens and by not coming to terms with other states. Actually the two are closely related as often pointed out.

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U.S. Finalizing Plan to Boost Support for Mercenary Invaders in Syria – Sources
Mark Hosenball and Missy Ryan, Reuters – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

The U.S. government is finalizing a plan to increase training and small-arms shipments for Syrian jihadists, two U.S. security sources said on Friday [4 Apr 2014], as Syrian government troops gain momentum following the collapse of U.S.-backed peace talks.

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US Efforts to Curb Freedom of Speech on Israel and Palestine are of Grave Concern
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

I am writing today to express grave concern about a wave of legislative measures in the United States aimed at punishing and intimidating those who speak their conscience and challenge the human rights violations endured by the Palestinian people. Whether used in South Africa, the US South, or India, boycotts have resulted in a transformative change that not only brought freedom and justice to the victims but also peace and reconciliation for the oppressors.

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Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald via Video at Amnesty Event
Karl Plume, Reuters - TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

5 Apr 2014 – In Chicago, a crowd of nearly 1,000 packed a hotel ballroom at Amnesty International USA’s annual human rights meeting and gave Greenwald, who dialed in from Brazil, a raucous welcome before Snowden was patched in 15 minutes later from Russia – to a standing ovation.

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US Operates Global Drone War from German Base – Ex-Pilot
Russia Today – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

6 Apr 2014 – “The entire drone war of the US military wouldn’t be possible without Germany,” Brandon Bryant, who resigned in 2011, told NDR television and Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

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NATO’s Aggression against Russia and the Danger of War in Europe
Chris Marsden and Julie Hyland, WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

7 Apr 2014 – This was made clear by last week’s NATO foreign ministers summit, which set out plans for the military alliance’s expansion up to Russia’s borders, including extensive war games and the possible stationing of troops within neighbouring states.

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Nonviolent Geopolitics: Law, Politics, and 21st Century Security*
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

In this short essay, my attempt will be to articulate a conception of a world order premised on nonviolent geopolitics, as well as to consider some obstacles to its realization.

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Big Pharma Abandons New Tuberculosis Drug Research
Fatima Hansia, CorpWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

Three major pharmaceutical companies – AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer – have recently delayed or canceled clinical trials for testing tuberculosis drugs in India and South Africa in a trend by Big Pharma to abandon research into diseases that affect poor people.

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Unfulfilled Responsibilities of the Media
John Scales Avery – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

The media are a battleground where reformers struggle for attention, but are defeated with great regularity by the wealth and power of the establishment. This is a tragedy because today there is an urgent need to make public opinion aware of the serious problems facing civilization, and the steps that are needed to solve these problems.

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Exploring the Path towards a Nuclear-free World
Daisaku Ikeda, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

The work of building a world without nuclear weapons signifies more than just the elimination of these horrific weapons. Rather, it is a process by which the people themselves, through their own efforts, take on the challenge of realising a new era of peace and creative coexistence. This is the necessary precondition for a sustainable global society.

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Human Life’s Price-Tag for General Motors: 10 Bucks
Michael Moore – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

I am opposed to the death penalty, but to every rule there is usually an exception. If their top people crunch the numbers and can show that they will save more money by NOT fixing or replacing the part, then that is what they are going to goddam well do. F*** you, f*** me, and f*** everybody they sent to their deaths.

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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – Why He Died & Why It Matters!
Jim Albertini – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., the apostle of non-violence, was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. Few people remember him for his work for economic justice and an end to the U.S. war in Vietnam. Very few people realize that a jury in the wrongful death suit brought by the King family found that Dr. King’s death was “an act of State.”

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Shocking Court Documents Expose SeaWorld’s Continued Cruelty of Orca Whales
EcoWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

SeaWorld has faced intense criticism since the release of Blackfish, a documentary telling the story of orca whales kept in captivity at SeaWorld theme parks. Now court documents reveal that SeaWorld is pumping these marine animals full of psychotropic drugs.

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A Quarter of Europe’s Bumblebees, Vital to Crops, Face Extinction: Study
Alister Doyle, Reuters – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

Almost a quarter of Europe’s bumblebees are at risk of extinction due to loss of habitats and climate change, threatening pollination of crops worth billions of dollars, a study showed on Wednesday [2 Apr 2014].

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FIFA Threatens to Expel Israel over Restrictions on Palestinians
The Jerusalem Post – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

According to Inside World Football, FIFA has given Israel until the summer to improve travel and playing conditions for Palestinian soccer players.

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Being neither Dead nor Alive
Anthony Judge – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

How do such questions relate to the ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as embodied in the US Declaration of Independence? Does the sense of being alive relate to the experience of happiness or rather to some more profound and inexplicable engagement with life?

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Brazil Marks 50 Years since US-Backed Coup
Bill Van Auken, WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

Brazil marks the 50th anniversary of the April 1, 1964, military coup that subjected Latin America’s largest country to 21 years of brutal dictatorship. The events were orchestrated by the CIA, the State Department, the Pentagon and the White House under John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

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Why I Am Not Going to Iraq
Tom Greening – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

I am not going to Iraq
because I might see
a ten year-old girl get her face blown off

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Boycott of Israel Moving to Next Level
The Real News Network – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

Apr 2, 2014 – Shir Hever: “BDS movement including large scale divestment by big corporations and approaching the level of government sanctions.”

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Sri Lanka Retaliates Against UN Call for War Crimes Investigation – List Tamil Groups as Terrorists
World News Report – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

Chief among them is Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, which held internationally supervised elections among Tamils around the world to elect over 120 Members of Parliament and is leading a campaign for non-violent and democratic approach to solve Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict.

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Happy 80th Birthday, Jane Goodall: The Beloved Primatologist on Science, Religion, and Our Human Responsibilities
Maria Popova, Brain Pickings – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

Legendary British primatologist Jane Goodall (b. April 3, 1934) is celebrated not only as humanity’s greatest expert on chimpanzees but also as a remarkable mind that bridges the rigor of science with the sensitivity of spirituality.

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Secret Weapon
Dietrich Fischer – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

One day Satan challenged Heaven to a baseball game. Peter took a quick look at the rosters and accepted.

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‘Cuban Twitter’ Heads to Hearings in Congress
Jack Gillum, Desmond Butler and Alberto Arce, Associated Press - TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

4 Apr 2014 – The head of the U.S. government agency that secretly created a “Cuban Twitter” communications network designed to undermine the communist government in Cuba is expected to testify next week before a senator who thinks the whole idea was “dumb, dumb, dumb.”

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The Struggle for Humanity
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

Insanity is widely understood to refer to a state of mind that prevents normal perception, behaviour or social interaction; it describes someone who is considered to be seriously mentally ill. And this is an accurate description of the global elite and those who serve it whether they be in political, business, legal, psychiatric, corporate media, academic or other circles.

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George Hewitt – Discordant Neighbours: A Reassessment of the Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-South-Ossetian Conflicts
Rene Wadlow – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

Creating new types of political association takes time, goodwill and a willingness to compromise, to do with “less than the best”. Unfortunately, the years of Soviet rule did not create these traits in the leadership of the republics now become independent, nor within the ethnic-based regions within the new republics as we see currently in Ukraine.

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Hungarian Dance No.5 (Music Video of the Week)
David Garrett – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

Composition: Johannes Brahms. David Garrett: Violin

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Peace Pilgrimage to Syria and Iran
The Peace People – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

Peace People, N. Ireland delegation Ms. Ann Patterson and Nobel Peace Laureate, Mairead Maguire will join an International delegation visiting Iran and Syria from 4th – 16th April, 2014.

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Peace Education in Boston
Daniel Horgan – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

That’s what life, and peace education looks like in Boston. It also serves as a stark reminder that the citizens, teachers, and students of any nation are often far removed from the militarism and violence that their federal governments promote in their foreign (and/or domestic) policies.

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(Italiano) Stati Uniti d’America — Uno stato fallito?
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

Dipende, ovviamente, dai criteri. Uno stato ha una politica interna verso i propri cittadini, e una esterna verso il sistema statuale. Dipende dalla politica interna ed estera, in altre parole. Questo vuol dire che può fallire in due modi, col non occuparsi dei propri cittadini e col non venire a patti con altri stati. Effettivamente i due aspetti sono strettamente correlati come sovente è stato fatto notare.

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15 Plants to Help Save Bees
EcoWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

With spring upon us, it’s a perfect time to think about what we can plant to help save the bees. Here’s a list of 15 plants to consider if you’d like to help.

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W.H. Auden: (1907-1973) Poet of the Age of Anxiety
Rene Wadlow – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

Wystan Hugh Auden, is appreciated as a bridge builder by two separate groups of poetry readers. Each group celebrates half of his poetic life and rather tries to forget about the other half, seeing one part of his life as the perfect image of the modern poet who then lost his way.

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YOU Can Stop the Slow Burning Genocide of Myanmar’s Rohingya and Muslims!
Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Apr 2014

One of the legacies of the 50 years of military rule and societal isolation (from the world) is multifold: ultra-conservative versions of various faiths, particularly Buddhism, thrive there; the high level of public ignorance is matched only by the extremely low level of critical popular thoughts.

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BRICS Countries Oppose Ban on Putin Attending G20 Summit
Times of India – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

25 Mar 2014 – Brazil, India, China and South Africa today opposed any restrictions on participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit in Australia later this year in the wake of Russia annexing Crimea from Ukraine.

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Sniper
Tom Greening – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

One man, one gun, one shot, one corpse.
That is how Ernie Pyle died on Okinawa,
caught in the crosshairs….
and how many others
in how many wars?

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Does the Academy Matter?
Foreign Policy – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

Do policymakers listen? Should you get a Ph.D.? And where are all the women? In mid-February, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof kicked over an ivy-covered hornet’s nest when he complained that too many professors sequester themselves in the ivory tower amid “a culture that glorifies arcane unintelligibility while disdaining impact and audience.”

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What’s the Difference between Force Feeding and Waterboarding?
Zak Newman, ACLU – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

24 Mar 2014 – The Department of Defense this month publicly released its newest rationalization for the abusive force-feeding program at Guantánamo Bay. In this latest memo on hunger strike policies, the abusive force-feeding program is referred to as “medical intervention.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

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Banking Union Time Bomb: Eurocrats Authorize Bailouts AND Bail-Ins
Ellen Brown, Web of Debt – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

“As things stand, the banks are the permanent government of the country, whichever party is in power.”

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(Castellano) Países del BRICS condenan imposición de sanciones contra Rusia
TeleSur – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

Los Gobiernos de BRICS (Brasil, India, China y Sudáfrica) se reunieron este lunes [24 Mar 2014] in La Haya, al oeste de los Países Bajos, y condenaron las amenazas y sanciones unilaterales impuestas por Estados Unidos y sus aliados europeos contra Rusia.

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Report Exposes Products Driving International Killing and Trade of Whales
Whale and Dolphin Conservation, EcoWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

Whale and Dolphin Conservation released a new report [23 Mar 2014] which highlights the global scale of killing and trade in whales in the twenty-first century. WDC demonstrates that consumption of whale and dolphin meat and by-products is not confined to just a few nations, as many believe.

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Swiss Decide Against Russian Sanctions
The Local, Switzerland – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

The Swiss federal government on Wednesday [26 Mar 2014] decided not to impose sanctions against Russia for its seizure of Crimea, claiming it wanted to find a “balance” between international law and Switzerland’s interests.

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Lawyer Good Samaritan
Dietrich Fischer – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

One afternoon a wealthy lawyer was riding in his limousine through the country-side when he saw a man along the roadside eating grass. Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop and got out of his car.

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Adam Curle: Tools for Transformation
Rene Wadlow – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

Adam Curle was the first chair of the School of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford, UK in the early 1970s. He had been active in mediation efforts in conflicts in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe, usually on behalf of the Society of Friends (Quakers). He stressed the need to train mediators, and as he points out, one of the first steps for a potential mediator is to look deeply into one’s self, into one’s values and experiences.

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International Peace Research Association at 50
Johan Galtung - TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

Known as IPRA, founded in 1964 in London–and this author, 34 at the time, is the only surviving founder. IPRA rotates every two years from one peace research center to the other, and is now in very competent Turkish hands. And what is more natural than having the 50th anniversary for the hub of peace studies in that hub of the world, Istanbul, 10-14 August this year!! Hurry up, register!!!

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25th IPRA General Conference LAST CALL FOR PAPERS
Nesrin Kenar, IPRA Secretary General – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

On the occasion of IPRA’S 50th anniversary – Istanbul, Turkey, August 10-14, 2014 – Uniting for Peace: Building Sustainable Peace through Universal Values – Deadline for Proposals: APRIL 30, 2014.

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Kenneth Roth and “Human Rights Watch”: Campaigners for War and Terror in Syria
Susan Dirgham – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

HRW avoids informing us of the extent of the suffering of ordinary Syrian people at the hands of 1,000 or more militant groups dominated by foreign fighters and Al-Qaeda. Instead it focuses principally on the alleged crimes of the Syrian government, thus fomenting more outrage against the government and the country’s president.

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BRICS Rejects Sanctions against Russia over Ukraine
PressTV – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

27 Mar 2014 – The group of five major emerging national economies known as the BRICS has rejected the Western sanctions against Russia and the “hostile language” being directed at the country over the crisis in Ukraine.

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Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand Is at Our Throats
John Scales Avery – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

As everyone knows, Adam Smith invented the theory that individual self-interest is, and ought to be, the main motivating force of human economic activity, and that, in effect, it serves the wider social interest. He put forward a detailed description of this concept in an immense book, “The Wealth of Nations” (1776).

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World’s First Battery-Powered Bus Transports 135,000 Passengers in 10 Days
Brandon Baker, EcoWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

Electric buses have been rolled out at trade shows in recent years, but a suburb of São Paulo, Brazil began picking up riders earlier this month in what officials say is the world’s first battery-powered public transit bus.

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The Deep State Hiding in Plain Sight
Bill Moyers – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

Mike Lofgren, a congressional staff member for 28 years, joins Bill Moyers to talk about the “Deep State,” in which elected and unelected figures collude to protect and serve powerful vested interests. “It is how we had deregulation, financialization of the economy, the Wall Street bust, the erosion or our civil liberties and perpetual war.” (26:40)

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Uruguay’s Public Transport Goes Electric
Inés Acosta, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

Uruguay plans to gradually replace oil-based fuels with electric energy in its public transport system, and is currently assessing the costs and benefits of the shift. Tests indicate that the running costs of electric buses can be six- to eight-fold lower than for diesel buses.

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Loucura (Music Video of the Week)
Mariza – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

Mariza sings the Fado Live at Union Chapel, London. Mariza canta o Fado ao vivo na Union Chapel, em Londres.

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Destroyer of Worlds
George Monbiot – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

New research suggests there was no state of grace: for two million years humankind has been the natural world’s nemesis.You want to know who we are? Really? This article, if you have any love for the world, will inject you with a venom – a soul-scraping sadness – without an obvious antidote.

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It Doesn’t Make Sense to Buy Bottled Water
Yarra Valley Water – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

Did you know you can get 6,000 glasses of tap water for the same cost as a bottle of water? It’s kinda like buying Bottled Fresh Air.

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China Demands Explanation from U.S. on Huawei Spying Report
Reuters – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

China wants a clear explanation from Washington over reports that the U.S. National Security Agency infiltrated servers at the headquarters of telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co HWT.UL, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday [24 Mar 2014].

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(Italiano) Non abbastanza bene, signor Putin!
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Mar 2014

La storia conta, non solo il diritto; come il modo in cui Crimea e Abkhazia-SudOssetia – fondamentalmente russo-ortodosse – divennero ucraina-georgiane. Due dittatori sovietici, Khrushchev e Stalin, attaccati rispettivamente all’Ucraina e alla Georgia, decisero così, per editto. Non chiesero alla gente del posto, come neppure agli hawaiiani quando gli USA si annessero il loro regno nel 1898 – per editto.

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What Do Children Need?
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Apart from having its physical needs met, the primary needs of children are for stimulus and attention. The most important form of attention that anyone, including a child, requires is listening. Listening, in this context, has a precise meaning and it is invariably done extremely badly, particularly by parents in relation to their own children.

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Obama to Putin: Do as I Say Not as I Do
Ralph Nader – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Every day, presidential actions by you violate international law because they infringe upon national sovereignties with deadly drones, flyovers and secret forays by soldiers – to name the most obvious. “Do as I say, not as I do,” is hard to sell to Russians who are interpreting your words of protest as disingenuous.

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US Continues to Militarize Space
Douglas Lyons, WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

In its effort to encircle China and control the former states of the Soviet Union, the American military has been increasingly worried about maintaining supremacy over any adversaries who are developing anti-satellite weapons.

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(Português) O Ressurgimento do Determinismo Biológico na Era Neoliberal
Pankaj Mehta – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

A história está repleta de exemplos aterrorizantes sobre o abuso da genética (e da teoria da evolução) para justificar a dominação e a desigualdade: as justificativas evolutivas da escravidão e do colonialismo, as explicações científicas da violação e do patriarcado, e as explicações genéticas da superioridade inerente à elite governante.

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Tony Benn – The Vegetarian
Nitin Mehta, Gandhi Foundation – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Tony was a passionate campaigner for stopping all wars and advocated pacifism. The following quote shows his concern for animals: ‘The case for animal testing is now being directly challenged by scientists and doctors and their judgement must be taken seriously.’

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The Obsolescence of Ideology: Debating Syria and Ukraine
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

To insist that the left/right distinction obscures more than it reveals is not the end of the story. To contend that ideology is unhelpful as a guide for action is not the same as saying that it is irrelevant to the public debate.

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(Deutsch) Überlegungen zum Ukraine-Konflikt – eine Diskussionsvorlage
Prof. Dr. Andreas Buro - TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Die Diskussion über den Konflikt um die Ukraine und ihre autonome Provinz die Krim ist voll entbrannt. In der öffentlichen Berichterstattung dominiert die Verurteilung des russischen Vorgehens. Härteres Auftreten gegen Russland als Brecher des Völkerrechts wird gefordert. Eine friedliche Lösung ist möglich, wenn die alten Verhaltensweisen der Konfrontation zugunsten einer Politik der Kooperation und der zivilen Konfliktbearbeitung in Europa aufgegeben werden. Abbau von Misstrauen und Aufbau von Vertrauen sind erforderlich.

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Argentina Accuses US, UK of Hypocrisy over Crimea
Thomas Adamson, AP – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Argentina’s president said Wednesday [19 Mar 2014] that the U.S. and Britain displayed double standards with their positions on Crimea and the Falkland Islands, undermining efforts to preserve Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

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Far From Good Enough, Mr. Putin!
Johan Galtung, 24 Mar 2014 - TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

History matters, not only law; like how Crimea and Abkhazia-South Ossetia–basically Russian-Orthodox–became Ukrainian-Georgian. Two Soviet dictators, Khrushchev and Stalin, attached to Ukraine and Georgia, so decided, by dictate. The local people were not asked, nor were Hawaiians when the USA annexed their Kingdom in 1898–by dictate.

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A Hundred Years Later
Uri Avnery – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

The majority of the Crimean population is Russian, and undoubtedly wishes now to return to Russia. It expressed this wish in a referendum that, on the whole, seems to be quite authentic. So the annexation may be justified. For this reason I supported the independence of Kosovo and believe that the same principle applies now to Catalonia and Scotland, Tibet and Chechnya.

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(Italiano) Il cinquantenario del Gruppo dei 77. Congratulazioni!
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Per uno che ha lavorato molto sulla teoria e la pratica del cambiamento da sistemi di gerarchia a sistemi di equità, il 15 giugno 1964 non sarà mai dimenticato. Quelli in fondo al sistema mondiale degli stati, frammentati gli uni dagli altri da strutture coloniali e imperiali, marginalizzati, sfruttati, si adunarono, 77 di loro, e formarono un Gruppo – termine non proprio rivoluzionario.

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(Português) Žižek: O Desejo e o Fascismo Contemporâneos
Slavoj Žižek, Outras Palavras – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Assange se auto designa um “espião para o povo”: “espiar para o povo” não é uma negação direta da espionagem (o que seria antes agir como um agente duplo, vendendo nossos segredos para o inimigo) mas sua auto-negação, isto é, ele mina o próprio princípio universal da espionagem, o principio do sigilo, já que seu objetivo é tornar públicos os segredos. Funciona portanto de forma semelhante à forma pela qual a “ditadura do proletariado” marxiana deveria ter funcionado (mas raramente o fez, é claro).

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Ukraine Coup Lawful, Crimea Referendum Unlawful?
Thalif Deen, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

For US officials and press to claim that the coup in Ukraine complied with law, while the referendum in Crimea did not, is utter hypocrisy. “Imagine the response from Washington if Russia or China or some other sizable world power had worked hard to build a military and/or political alliance near U.S. borders.” — Norman Solomon

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Mauna Kea Park & Hawaii Island: Contaminated with Military Radiation
James Albertini – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Regardless of who is liable –federal, state, and/or county governments, there are potentially serious health and safety concerns for residents and visitors with the increased use of Saddle Road, frequent strong winds and occasional flash flooding in the area, and military bombing of a base known to be contaminated with depleted uranium and other military toxins.

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US and Russia Top World Arms Exporters List
RIA Novosti – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

17 Mar 2014 – The United States and Russia combined supplied over half of all arms exports worldwide in the past five years, according to new data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, founded in 1966 as an independent think tank for research on conflicts, weapons, arms control and disarmament.

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Flight into Egypt
Peace People – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire and Ann Patterson, from Peace People, agreed to join the International Women’s Delegation to Gaza via Egypt. However, we were not allowed to enter Cairo and held for 8 hours in detention at the airport. We were given no reason for being deported except being told that we were ‘blacklisted’ though no reasons given. Medea Benjamin, founder of Code Pink and leader of the delegation, was also refused entry and after being held for many hours had her arm dislocated by Egyptian police and deported.

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Victory in Sight for Defend Free Speech and Support BDS
Jake Lynch, Australians for BDS - TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Tomorrow (March 25th, 2014) is scheduled as a full day in the Australian Federal Court as I defend myself against the application to have my stance on the academic boycott of Israel declared illegal. The court proceedings have been going well up to now, but the case is a complicated one, and the legal bills are rolling in. If you haven’t contributed yet, now would be a good time to do it. Thank you!

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International Peace Research Association at 50
Johan Galtung - TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Known as IPRA, founded in 1964 in London–and this author, 34 at the time, is the only surviving founder. IPRA rotates every two years from one peace research center to the other, and is now in very competent Turkish hands. And what is more natural than having the 50th anniversary for the hub of peace studies in that hub of the world, Istanbul, 10-14 August this year!! Hurry up, register!!!

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Five Myths about the Crimean Referendum
Anatoly Karlin – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

16 Mar 2014 – As voting gets underway – and by all accounts, it seems to be overwhelmingly heading for the pro-secession choice – it’s worthwhile to dispel five common but erroneous beliefs about it.

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Social Media: Terms and Conditions May Apply – (Must Watch)
Hyrax Films – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Official Trailer – A documentary about what you’re really agreeing to when you click “I accept”.

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US Proxy Terror War on Venezuela
Prof. James Petras – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Protest, dissent and terrorist wars are obviously very distinct forms of expressing opposition and bringing about change. The Obama-Kerry regime claim that the opposition in Venezuela is a “protest movement” a “peaceful democratic opposition” expressing discontent with economic conditions and that the democratically elected Maduro Administration is an ‘authoritarian regime’ violently repressing dissent.

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What Is Left of Honor
Tom Greening – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

After the IED blew
on the bridge over the Tigris River
the medics scraped the body parts
that had once been Jeffrey R. Wallace

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Why the Exxon Valdez Spill Was a Eureka Moment for Science
US National Public Radio – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez struck a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil into the pristine water. Twenty-five years of research following the disaster has led to some startling conclusions about the persistent effects of spilled oil.

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(Português) Ucrânia: como o blefe do Ocidente fracassou
Pepe Escobar, Asia Times – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Sob influência dos “falcões” neoconservadores, Obama lançou-se a nova aventura arrogante. Nem toda histeria da mídia ocultará sua derrota.

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Once Again, Australia Is Stealing Its Indigenous Children
John Pilger – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

21 Mar 2014 – Today, the theft of Aboriginal children – including babies taken from the birth table – is now more widespread than at any time during the last century. As of June last year, almost 14,000 Aboriginal children had been “removed”. This is five times the number when ‘Bringing Them Home’ was written.

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Targeting Huawei: NSA Spied on Chinese Government and Networking Firm
Der Spiegel – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

According to documents viewed by SPIEGEL, America’s NSA intelligence agency put considerable efforts into spying on Chinese politicians and firms. One major target was Huawei, a company that is fast becoming a major Internet player.

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India Remains the Biggest Arms Buyer
Business Standard – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

India remains the biggest buyer of arms in the world, importing nearly three times as many weapons as its nearest competitors China and Pakistan over the last five years, a Swedish think tank said on Monday [17 Mar 2014].

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Violence and Terror: The Ukrainian and Colombian Road to Empire Building
Prof. James Petras – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

The two paths to 21st century empire-building-via-proxies are illustrated through the violent seizure of power in the Ukraine by a US-backed junta and the electoral gains of the US-backed Colombian war lord, Alvaro Uribe. We will describe the ‘mechanics’ of US intervention in the domestic politics of these two countries and their profound external effects – that is how they enhance imperial power on a continent-wide basis.

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Concierto Aranjuez – Adagio (Music Video of the Week)
Paco de Lucía – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Composición para guitarra y orquesta del compositor español Joaquín Rodrigo.

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Israel Approves 184 New [Illegal] Settlement Homes
Reuters – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Israel’s Jerusalem municipality approved building plans on Wednesday [19 Mar 204] for 184 new homes in two Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, land that the Palestinians want for a future state.

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Suffer the Poor – Shameful, Cowardly European Art
Andre Vltchek – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

I stood in front of bizarre, sick and cold religious artwork, full of adult looking, perverse baby Jesus’s, or of some saints with daggers sticking out grotesquely from their heads. It was mostly total kitsch, created to order from the Christian church – a morally corrupt religious entity responsible for the extermination of entire nations, of entire races, worldwide!

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Kenya Legalizes Polygamy without Wife’s Consent
Peter Martell, AFP – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Kenya’s parliament has passed a bill allowing men to marry as many women as they want, prompting a furious backlash from female lawmakers who stormed out, reports said Friday [21 Mar 2014].

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How California Will Use Renewables to Replace Massive Nuclear Plant
Sierra Martinez, Natural Resources Defense Council – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

California took another major and symbolic step this month [Mar 2014] with its decision to rely significantly on energy efficiency and other clean energy resources to help replace electricity once generated by the San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station serving San Diego and the greater Los Angeles area.

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(Français) L’accord transatlantique menace le modèle éducatif européen
EurActiv – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

L’accord commercial UE-États-Unis risque de mettre en concurrence les modèles éducatifs des deux partenaires. Un écueil que veulent à tout prix éviter les représentants européens de l’enseignement, qui exigent que l’éducation soit totalement exclue de l’accord.

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Trade and Investment Partnership ‘Threatens’ European Education Quality, Teachers Say
EurActiv – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Driven by concerns about privatisation, European students and teachers demand that education be excluded from the EU-US free trade deal.

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(Português) Em sua primeira aparição ao vivo desde as delações, Snowden faz um “chamado às armas”
Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

De acordo com a programação do evento, a plataforma serve para “encorajar os empreendedores, inovadores, fabricantes, hackers, nerds, fundadores, investidores e pensadores que estejam assistindo à videoconferência do SXSW para construir sistemas mais eficientes na proteção da privacidade do usuário”.

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Welcome to Sweden
Dietrich Fischer – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Mar 2014

Condoleezza Rice was going to come to Sweden for a state visit. The Swedish foreign minister, who had to go and greet her on arrival at the airport, did not speak English.

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In Contrast to Huffington Post, the New York Times Misleads the Readers on Myanmar Government’s Central Role in the Rohingya Pogroms
Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service, 17 Mar 2014

It is in fact Burma or Myanmar military leadership that has self-consciously pursued what amounts to genocidal policies towards the Rohingya, in fact, a borderland people of Burma like Karen, Chin, Kachin, Rakhine, etc, whose roots spread across new boundaries of the post-WWII nation-states.

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ASEAN and the New Orwellianism
Dr. Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service, 17 Mar 2014

Human rights harm Asean harmony.
Profits unite, human rights divide.
Thank you, Mr. Orwell.
“War is Peace”, no more.

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The Rich Complain That We Do Not Love Them
Roberto Savio, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service, 17 Mar 2014

F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said “The rich are different from you or me”, yet in his days, in the early years of the 20th century, the rich were not subject to public scrutiny, and were generally an object of envy, not resentment. Fast forward to the 21st century and the Occupy Wall Street movement.

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Swiss Step Up Arms Exports, Peacefully
Ray Smith, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service, 17 Mar 2014

Switzerland’s army doesn’t go to war – but its military equipment does. In 2011, Saudi Arabia used Swiss Piranha tanks to crack down on protests in Bahrain. Libyan rebels used Swiss ammunition against Muammar Gaddafi’s troops, and Syrian rebels have been throwing Swiss hand grenades against President Bashar Assad’s soldiers. Swiss assault rifles were exported to Ukraine and have now been used against civilians.

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