Articles by RT

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Nonviolence Charter: Progress Report 5 (Oct 2014)
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph.D., Anita McKone and Anahata Giri – TRANSCEND Media Service, 13 Oct 2014

Here is the latest six-monthly report on progress in relation to ‘The People’s Charter to Create a Nonviolent World’ and a sample of news about, and reports of forthcoming events by, Charter signatories.

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Investigators Find Islamic State Used Ammo Made in 21 Countries, Including USA
Julia Harte and R. Jeffrey Smith – The Center for Public Integrity, 13 Oct 2014

A new report from an arms tracking group highlights how readily arms shipped to the Middle East are transferred from allied groups to hostile ones.

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The Sordid Contra-Cocaine Saga
Robert Parry – Consortium News, 13 Oct 2014

If you ever wondered how the mainstream U.S. media changed from the hard-nosed Watergate press of the 1970s into the brown-nose MSM that swallowed the Iraq War lies, a key middle point was the Contra-cocaine scandal of the 1980s/1990s, the subject of a new movie.

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Police Go Nuts over Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Remote Speech in Vermont
William Boardman - Reader Supported News, 13 Oct 2014

When Goddard announced that students had chosen Mumia to be the commencement speaker at their graduation, Philadelphia police, politicians, media, and Fox News went crazy with angry rhetoric aimed at curbing free speech.

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Creating a World Culture That Is Nonviolent
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 6 Oct 2014

As we celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday on 2 October, the International Day of Nonviolence, we have the chance to reflect on our progress in creating a nonviolent world. Culture is not just something we inherit; it is something we create. It can be violent or nonviolent. What sort of culture do you create? Happy birthday Bapu. We are trying!

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Review of Klein’s ‘This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate’ – Extracting Ourselves from the Extractivist Mindset
Robert Jensen – TRANSCEND Media Service, 6 Oct 2014

Naomi Klein has written a brave book that not only confronts the calamity of climate destabilization but also examines the deep roots of the crisis in the perverse logic of capitalism and the dehumanizing values of the “extractivist” high-energy/high-technology world.

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The Fake Terror Threat Used to Justify Bombing Syria
Glenn Greenwald and Murtaza Hussain – The Intercept, 6 Oct 2014

Administration officials suddenly began spoon-feeding their favorite media organizations and national security journalists tales of a secret group that was even scarier and more threatening than ISIS, one that posed a direct and immediate threat to the American Homeland: “The Khorasan Group.”

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The CIA/Main-Stream-Media Contra-Cocaine Cover-up
Robert Parry – Consortium News, 6 Oct 2014

With Hollywood set to release a movie about the Contra-cocaine scandal and the destruction of journalist Gary Webb, an internal CIA report has surfaced showing how the spy agency manipulated the mainstream media’s coverage to disparage Webb and contain the scandal.

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‘Africa’s Arms Dump’: Following the Trail of Bullets in the Sudans
Charlton Doki in Juba and Adam Mohamed Ahmad in Khartoum - The Niles, The Guardian Africa network, 6 Oct 2014

Sudan and South Sudan are among the most heavily armed countries in the world. The Niles investigates how this came about and the consequences of spiraling bloodshed.

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The Real Reason We Are Bombing Syria
Dennis J. Kucinich - Reader Supported News, 29 Sep 2014

This Frankenstein-like experiment of arming the alleged freedom-seeking Syrian opposition created the monster that roams the region. ISIS and the U.S. have a curious relationship — mortal enemies that, at the same time, benefit from some of the same events.

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Predatory Capitalism and Poverty, Culprits in the Ebola Catastrophe
Patrick Martin, WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service, 29 Sep 2014

These three countries are among the poorest in the world, ranking 161st (Sierra Leone), 176th (Guinea) and 181st (Liberia) in per capita GDP (185 countries total). Their people live in misery, but the countries themselves are rich in natural resources that have been ruthlessly exploited by major corporations and the governments that enforce their interests.

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Tackling the Climate Catastrophe Strategically
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 29 Sep 2014

If you like to ask or beg your oppressor to go easy on you, then you do not need to read this article. And if you like to do what makes you feel good at the time, irrespective of its strategic impact, then this article is not for you either. My interest in tackling violence has always been to take action that leaves the perpetrator powerless (but, hopefully, a convert too).

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Argentina v. the Hedge Funds
Andrés Cala – Consortium News, 29 Sep 2014

Argentina will go down in history as the country that first stood up to America’s most powerful weapon, its control over global finances, a battle that may catalyze the end of an era for U.S. financial hegemony.

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US Military, Obama Administration Plan Massive Military Escalation in Syria and Iraq
Patrick Martin, WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service, 29 Sep 2014

29 Sep 2014 – The comments this weekend by spokesmen for the White House, the Pentagon and US Congress are part of a carefully orchestrated campaign to prepare public opinion for full-scale war in the Middle East.

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No, Snowden’s Leaks Didn’t Help the Terrorists
Murtaza Hussain – The Intercept, 22 Sep 2014

Did Edward Snowden’s revelations on NSA surveillance compromise the ability of intelligence agencies to monitor terrorist groups? Contrary to lurid claims made by U.S. officials, a new independent analysis of the subject says no.

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Traces of Evil
Robert C. Koehler – Common Wonders, 22 Sep 2014

Hurray! God bless drones and “mission accomplished” and a million Iraqi dead and birth defects in Fallujah. God bless torture. God bless the CIA. But guess what? “Still we continue to face a terrorist threat. We cannot erase every trace of evil from the world, and small groups of killers have the capacity to do great harm.”

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New ISIS Propaganda Film Features Canadian-Sounding Fighter
Murtaza Hussain – The Intercept, 22 Sep 2014

The militant group Islamic State released a slick and disturbing new propaganda film, “Flames of War,” narrated entirely in English and featuring an Islamic State fighter who speaks with an American or Canadian accent.

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John Kerry’s Rhetoric on Isis Insults Our Intelligence and Conceals the Reality of the Situation in Syria
Robert Fisk – The Independent, 22 Sep 2014

Anyone who has studied Syria knows the moderate opposition doesn’t exist.

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Dutch MH17 Investigation Omits US “Intel”
Tony Cartalucci - Global Research, 22 Sep 2014

The absence of America’s so-called “intelligence” regarding the downing of Malaysia Airlines MH17 over Ukraine in a 34 page Dutch Safety Board preliminary report raises serious questions about the credibility and legitimacy of both America’s political agenda, and all agencies, organizations, and political parties currently behind it.

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Gitmo Exclusive: Media Brainwashing, Sham Trials & Closing Gitmo for Good (Part II)
Abby Martin, breakingtheset – TRANSCEND Media Service, 22 Sep 2014

Sep 3, 2014 – On Gitmo ‘Transparency’, Review Board Red Tape, Military Commissions Sham, Zero Dark Thirty Lies and Closing Guantanamo for Good.

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Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 Whodunnit Still a Mystery
Robert Parry – Consortium News, 15 Sep 2014

More than seven weeks after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed in eastern Ukraine killing 298 people, a preliminary report failed to address the mystery of who shot the plane down. The Dutch investigators didn’t even try to sort through conflicting allegations and evidence.

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Defeating the Violence of Psychiatry
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 15 Sep 2014

As the movement to abolish psychiatry continues to gather momentum it is worth reviewing its delusional foundation, the history of its violence and its function as a weapon of elite social control. According to research, in the USA ‘prescription drugs are the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer’ and it ‘is inescapable that their availability creates more harm than good’.

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The Disturbing Story from Within: 43 Israeli Elite Veterans Testify for Palestinians
Meron Rapoport – Middle East Eye, 15 Sep 2014

43 veterans from Unit 8200, the top unit of Israeli intelligence, testify how they use information to blackmail Palestinians.

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Gitmo Exclusive: An Untold History of Occupation, Torture & Resistance (Part I)
Abby Martin, breakingtheset – TRANSCEND Media Service, 15 Sep 2014

Sep 2, 2014 – Abby Martin Breaks the Set on the History of Gitmo, Methods of Torture, the Remaining Detainees and the Ongoing Hunger Strikes by Prisoners.

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Where Slaughtered Dolphins Go to Be Sold
David Kirby, takepart – TRANSCEND Media Service, 15 Sep 2014

12 Sep 2014 – As the annual dolphin-killing season begins at the cove at Taiji, Japan, the focus will be on the slaughter. Far less attention will be paid, however, to the fate of dolphins captured and sold to marine-mammal entertainment parks worldwide.

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ISIS, Libya, NATO and Preventing the Next 9/11
Dennis Kucinich - Reader Supported News, 8 Sep 2014

We must resist the illusion that the only “decisive” response to terrorism is bombing. Instead, we should begin to confront ISIS by drying up its sources of revenue from places like Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

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Is Israel Bad for the Jews?
Lawrence Davidson – Consortium News, 8 Sep 2014

Let’s recall that Israel’s reason for being was to give Jews shelter from the ravages of anti-Semitism. Indeed, with but very few exceptions, it is hard to imagine anywhere less safe for Jews than present-day Israel. And, there is growing evidence that Israeli behavior is a major source of today’s increasing anti-Semitism.

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(Português) Jihadistas na Casa Branca e os Gasodutos da Eurásia
Nazanín Armanian – Carta Maior, 8 Sep 2014

Um dos objetivos da atual ofensiva lançada contra a Rússia pelos EUA é forçar a Gazprom Germania a suspender cerca de 25 projetos que desenvolve na Europa.

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Rare Insights from Inside Journalism in China: Dai Qing
Dai Qing – The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, 8 Sep 2014

A self-confessed “accidental” reporter, Dai Qing has been making waves in Chinese media and society for more than three decades with fearless story-telling and outspoken opinions.

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Fukushima Crisis Continues, Was Worse Than First Reported
William Boardman - Reader Supported News, 8 Sep 2014

Nobody in the world knows how to dispose of radioactive waste safely and permanently. That’s a given. So Tokyo announced on August 29 [2014] that the Fukushima waste would be stored for 30 years in Fukushima prefect, in an “interim facility.” In Japanese, “Fukushima” means “Island of Good Fortune.”

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The Whys behind the Ukraine Crisis
Robert Parry – Consortium News, 8 Sep 2014

Given the very high stakes of a nuclear confrontation with Russia, some analysts wonder what’s the real motive for taking this extraordinary risk over Ukraine. Is it about natural gas, protection of the U.S. dollar’s dominance, or an outgrowth of neocon extremism?

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The U.S. Owns the Narrative on Ukraine – Return of the Evil Empire
Ason Hirthler - CounterPunch, 8 Sep 2014

The United States media machine is unequaled at producing and disseminating misinformation. It begins in the State Department or White House or Pentagon and is filtered out through the government’s front organizations, otherwise known as Mainstream Media.

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Washington Piles Lie Upon Lie
Paul Craig Roberts – TRANSCEND Media Service, 8 Sep 2014

The latest Washington lie, this one coming from NATO, is that Russia has invaded Ukraine with 1,000 troops and self-propelled artillery. One reason is that Putin has invested heavily in diplomacy backed by unprovocative behavior. He would not risk his bet on diplomacy by sending in troops too few in number to have a decisive effect on the outcome.

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(Português) A OTAN Desenterra o Machado de Guerra
Flávio Aguiar – Carta Maior, 1 Sep 2014

Nas semanas próximas haverá mudança de comando e definições importantes em matéria da estratégia da OTAN para os próximos anos.

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On Course for Holocaust II…?
Alan Hart – TRANSCEND Media Service, 1 Sep 2014

I believe that what I am going to say needs to be said and should be widely debated if the rising, global tide of “anti-Israelism” (I prefer the term anti-Zionism) is not to be transformed into anti-Semitism on a scale that could lead, in a foreseeable future, to Holocaust II.

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(Português) De que solidariedade nos fala a União Europeia?
Emir Sader – Carta Maior, 1 Sep 2014

Não se sabe bem por que razão a América Latina teria que ser solidária com a UE e com os EUA, que decidiram sanções contra a Rússia, sem nenhuma consulta a AL.

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Cause of New Mexico Nuclear Waste Accident Remains a Mystery
Ralph Vartabedian – Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep 2014

23 Aug 2014 – A 55-gallon drum of nuclear waste, buried in a salt shaft 2,150 feet under the New Mexico desert, violently erupted late on Feb. 14 and spewed mounds of radioactive white foam contaminating the nation’s only dump for nuclear weapons waste — and gave the nation’s elite ranks of nuclear chemists a mystery they still cannot unravel.

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The Ethnic Cleansing of Gaza: How the US Enables Israel
Ron Forthofer - CounterPunch, 1 Sep 2014

Many Americans may think this foreign policy issue doesn’t concern them. If they think about this issue at all, many say that it’s not our business and we should just let them fight it out. However the US has been deeply involved in this conflict since before Israel declared its existence.

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Nisteling: The Art of Deep Listening
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 1 Sep 2014

I believe that this is the essential foundation step in any strategy to end human violence (in all of its manifestations).

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Half-truths, Omissions and Distortions: Palestine, Israel and CNN
Robert Fantina - CounterPunch, 25 Aug 2014

An article on August 18 [2014] on CNN indicates clearly the kind of misinformation it is presenting about the situation, including half-truths, omissions and distortions that may be more damaging that outright lies. The following are some examples, with commentary.

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Argentina Is “in the Mood of Tango”
TRT – TRANSCEND Media Service, 25 Aug 2014

The Tango World Championship has turned the streets of Buenos Aires into dance floors packed with tango dancers. As festival’s organizers call it “the world’s biggest tango extravaganza,” most of Buenos Aires has tango fever now. In 2009, tango was recognized by UNESCO as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage.”

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Tracking Cross-Border Weapons Trade with Youtube
Frederik Obermaier and Bastian Obermayer – The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, 25 Aug 2014

How German reporters revealed questionable international export practices of a major German arms manufacturer – and how a YouTube video helped break open the case.

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All This Talk of an ‘Apocalyptic’ Threat Is Simply Childish
Robert Fisk – TRANSCEND Media Service, 25 Aug 2014

The word movie is the clue. Chuck Hagel and Martin Dempsey were pure Hollywood. It only needed Tom Cruise at their press conference to utter the words “Mission impossible”. Who writes this God-awful script? Can’t the US Defence Secretary and his joint chiefs chairman do better than this?

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An Open Letter to My Palestinian Friends
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 18 Aug 2014

I wish to acknowledge the sensitivity of some Palestinians to suggestions from those of us who are only Palestinian in the sense that ‘We are all Palestinian’. I did not choose my nationality. I did choose to study, exhaustively, strategic theory and nonviolent strategy so that I could share them with those who might be interested. I have no interest in doing more than offering this suggestion and my help.

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U.S. Firm Helped the Spyware Industry Build a Potent Digital Weapon for Sale Overseas
Barton Gellman – The Washington Post, 18 Aug 2014

His contact turned out to be a former developer of computer security tools who had long since turned to the darkest side of their profession, built and sold systems to break into computers, seize control clandestinely, and then copy files, listen to Skype calls, record every keystroke and switch on Web cameras and microphones at will; a shadowy world of lucrative spyware tools for sale to foreign security services with records of human rights abuse.

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Why Socialism?
Albert Einstein – TRANSCEND Media Service, 18 Aug 2014

Is it advisable for one who is not an expert on economic and social issues to express views on the subject of socialism? I believe for a number of reasons that it is.

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UK Government to Block Arms Exports to Israel If Military Action Resumes
Rupert Neate – The Guardian, 18 Aug 2014

Announcement comes after lengthy dispute between leading Tories and Liberal Democrats over restriction of arms sales.

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(Português) Bombardeios dos EUA no Iraque: A Hipocrisia Suprema
Robert Fisk – TRANSCEND Media Service, 18 Aug 2014

A pergunta persiste: os Estados Unidos teriam feito o mesmo se os refugiados do norte do Iraque fossem palestinos? Bombardeariam os agressores?

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How Can We Destroy Love?
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 11 Aug 2014

What is love? In essence, love is a feeling. It is not something you experience as a thought, although a thought might arise from the feeling… Self-love is true love. The individual who does not truly love her/himself cannot love another.

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The Universal Abolition of Militarism
Alberto Portugheis – TRANSCEND Media Service, 11 Aug 2014

I was thrilled to read Mairead Maguire’s defence of a demilitarized world, something I’ve been talking about and campaigning for during the last fifty years!!!! However,…

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Latin America Closes Ranks in Solidarity with the People of Gaza
Humberto Márquez, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service, 11 Aug 2014

Latin America is the region whose governments have taken the firmest stance in support of Gaza in face of the battering from Israel, withdrawing a number of ambassadors from Tel Aviv and issuing harsh statements from several presidents against the attacks on the Palestinian people.

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Bombs Away! US to the Rescue – But Only of Certain Minorities, Not Muslims
Robert Fisk – The Independent, 11 Aug 2014

He wouldn’t bomb Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s bloody caliphate when it was butchering the majority Shia Muslims of Iraq. But Barak Obama is riding to the rescue of the Christian refugees – and the Yazidis – because of “a potential act of genocide”. Bombs away. And thank heavens that the refugees in question are not Palestinian.

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Gaza Blockade Must End
Jimmy Carter and Mary Robinson – The Guardian, 11 Aug 2014

The UN should mandate an end to the siege of Gaza as a first step towards a settlement. There is no humane or legal justification for how the Israeli Defence Force is conducting this war, pulverising with bombs, missiles and artillery large parts of Gaza, including thousands of homes, schools and hospitals.

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Boycotting Israel: The Situation Has Changed and I Have Changed My Mind Too
Martin Shaw – Open Democracy, 11 Aug 2014

Israel’s claim to self-defence is much too easily accepted by western governments and media. The present crisis arises following the murder of Israeli teenagers, which Israeli officials now admit was not carried out by Hamas. The killing is an almost routine police action as the Israeli euphemism “mowing the lawn” suggests. The recent escalation of rocket attacks was a response to these Israeli actions.

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‘I’m Not a Spy:’ Reporters Reveal Surveillance Fears
Hamish Boland-Rudder - The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, 11 Aug 2014

U.S. government surveillance programs are scaring away sources, making journalists feel like criminals and spies, and impacting the public’s access to quality news reporting, according to a new report released today [28 Jul 2014].

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Hatred in the Nuclear Era
Robert C. Koehler – TRANSCEND Media Service, 11 Aug 2014

August 6th, 2014 – “Why are we violent but not illiterate?” asked columnist Colman McCarthy. Well, for one thing, we don’t wrap illiteracy in a shroud of glory and call it war or self-defense or national security; nor have we developed a multi-trillion-dollar industry called the Illiteracy Industrial Complex (or maybe we have, and call it television).

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[MUST READ] USB ‘Critically Flawed’ after Bug Discovery, Researchers Say
Dave Lee, Technology reporter - BBC News, 11 Aug 2014

8 Aug 2014 – Cyber-security experts have dramatically called into question the safety and security of using USB. Most famously, the Stuxnet attack on Iranian nuclear centrifuges was believed to have been caused by an infected USB stick. “Basically, you can never trust anything anymore after plugging in a USB stick.” A USB device that appears completely empty can still contain malware, even when formatted.

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They Made Them Do It…. – What If the Children Dying in Gaza Were Jews?
Robert Bonomo - CounterPunch, 11 Aug 2014

Assume for a moment that instead of Palestinians, over 1.8 million Jews were crammed into the 11 mile Gaza strip and the state of Palestine, subsidized and supported by a superpower, was administering the calories to the Jews in Gaza, keeping them to a limit of 2,300 a day. Imagine that instead of Palestinian children, it was Jewish children being denied toys, books, music and until a few years ago, even pasta.

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The Syrian War Spills into Lebanon
Jonathan Woodrow Martin - CounterPunch, 11 Aug 2014

Security Council’s Hollow Warning: “Don’t Get Involved” – This was the message delivered to the Lebanese government by the UN Security Council, do not get involved in the conflict in Syria. Anyone with even a basic grasp of the Syrian conflict and the entwined history of Lebanon and Syria will know that this is unrealistic at best and already a moot point.

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Note to UK Airport Police: An Israeli Terrorist Is the Same as a Syrian One
Robert Fisk – Belfast Telegraph, 4 Aug 2014

Now, I think it’s a good idea that the lads in blue are keeping their eyes open at Heathrow for British citizens who’ve been fighting in the Middle East. I don’t want to bump into a chap who’s been firing missiles at Christian families in Syria or into a chap who’s been firing tank shells into the homes of Palestinians in Gaza.

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Latin American States Use Security Council Seats to Show Strong Support for the ICC and International Justice
Coalition for the International Criminal Court – TRANSCEND Media Service, 4 Aug 2014

With its mandate to oversee peace and security in the world, the UN Security Council is a prime forum for states to promote justice and accountability. A look at the different votes and initiatives put forward by Latin American Council members over the past few years bears witness to the region’s commitment to justice.

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Dress the Gaza Situation up All You Like, but the Truth Hurts: The World Is Starting to Turn against Israel
Robert Fisk – The Independent, 4 Aug 2014

There was a time when our politicians and media had one principal fear when covering Middle East wars: that no one should ever call them anti-Semitic. That has changed dramatically.

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We Can Negotiate Peace in Gaza: Here’s How
Dennis J. Kucinich - Reader Supported News, 4 Aug 2014

When our brothers and sisters are killing each other, it is not time for us to take sides, but to take steps, with compassion and clarity, to end the carnage. We must move beyond the pro-Israel, anti-Israel narrative in the Middle East, which can lock us into a position where we must declare support for either Israelis or Palestinians, to the exclusion of the concerns of the other.

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Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Pedro Almodovar and Others Denounce Israeli ‘Genocide’ in Open Letter
Ben Jones – The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Aug 2014

29 Jul 2014 – Dozens of Spanish film stars, directors, musicians and writers, led by Oscar winners Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem and Pedro Almodovar, have denounced Israel’s incursion into Gaza.

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Modern-Day Slavery – Qatar World Cup: Migrants Wait a Year to Be Paid for Building Offices
Robert Booth, and Pete Pattisson in Doha – The Guardian, 4 Aug 2014

Monday 28 July 2014 – Migrant workers who built luxury offices used by Qatar’s 2022 football World Cup organisers have told the Guardian they have not been paid for more than a year and are now working illegally from cockroach-infested lodgings.

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(Français) Le BRICS, l’UNASUR et la CELAC dessinent une nouvelle carte du monde multipolaire
Alberto Cova– TRANSCEND Media Service, 4 Aug 2014

Le 22 juillet 1944, il y a exactement 70 ans, s’achevait la réunion dans un hôtel du New Hampshire dans laquelle les Etats-Unis firent prévaloir leurs intérêts devant les délégués de 44 pays et imposèrent la planche à billet illimitée du dollar pour remplacer l’or en tant qu’étalon de la valeur de chaque monnaie dans le monde.

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Israel’s Losing Narrative
Lawrence Davidson – Consortium News, 4 Aug 2014

The Israel government still has most U.S. politicians and pundits under its thumb, but the Zionist narrative – excusing the latest slaughter of Palestinians – is losing the hearts and minds of millions of others around the world.

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Modern-Day Slavery – Trapped in Qatar: The Migrants Who Helped Build the ‘Tower of Football’
Robert Booth, and Pete Pattisson in Doha – The Guardian, 4 Aug 2014

Despite World Cup host’s promises to improve life for foreign labourers, many still live desperate lives in the shadow of unimaginable riches.

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The NSA’s New Partner in Spying: Saudi Arabia’s Brutal State Police
Glenn Greenwald and Murtaza Hussain – The Intercept, 28 Jul 2014

25 Jul 2014 – The NSA last year significantly expanded its cooperative relationship with the Saudi Ministry of Interior, one of the world’s most repressive and abusive government agencies. An April 2013 top secret memo provided by Edward Snowden details the agency’s plans “to provide direct analytic and technical support” to the Saudis on “internal security” matters.

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Never Again to Us
Robert C. Koehler – TRANSCEND Media Service, 28 Jul 2014

“Israel regrets every injury to civilians. I call on the residents of Gaza: Don’t stay there. Hamas wants you to die; we want you to be safe.” – Netanyahu. Glenn Greenwald compared this remark to a 1941 comment by Joseph Goebbels: “One suddenly has the impression,” the Nazi propaganda minister wrote, “that the Berlin Jewish population consists only of little babies whose childish helplessness might move us, or else fragile old ladies.”

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What If It Had Been 35 Palestinian Dead, and 800 Israeli?
Robert Fisk – The Independent, 28 Jul 2014

Sunday 27 July 2014 – Many hundreds of thousands of people – I wish I could say millions – around the world want an end to this impunity. Impunity is the word that comes to mind. Eight hundred dead Palestinians. Eight hundred. That’s infinitely more than twice the total dead of flight MH17 over Ukraine.

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{MUST READ} Letter from Gaza by a Norwegian Doctor
Dr. Mads Gilbert – Middle East Monitor, 28 Jul 2014

17 Jul 2014 – The last night was extreme. The “ground invasion” of Gaza resulted in scores and carloads with maimed, torn apart, bleeding, shivering, dying – all sorts of injured Palestinians, all ages, all civilians, all innocent. The heroes in the ambulances and in all of Gaza’s hospitals are working 12-24 hour shifts, grey from fatigue and inhuman workloads, they care, triage, try to understand the incomprehensible chaos of bodies, sizes, limbs, walking, not walking, breathing, not breathing, bleeding, not bleeding humans. HUMANS!

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Elite Insanity on Display in Ukraine
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 28 Jul 2014

There are some standard and frequently repeated dysfunctional behaviours on display here with the usual unconscious emotional drivers of this behaviour hidden from view. Let us then consider some obvious aspects of the conflict and analyse them from a psychological perspective.

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Washington Is Escalating the Orchestrated Ukrainian “Crisis” to War
Paul Craig Roberts – TRANSCEND Media Service, 28 Jul 2014

There we have it again: Russian Aggression. Repeat it enough and it becomes real.

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(Português) Voo MH-17: Um “Atentado” Suspeito Demais
Paul Craig Roberts – Outras Palavras, 21 Jul 2014

Tentativa de culpar Rússia sem evidências sugere o pior: isolados e em declínio, EUA tentariam manter supremacia por meio de provocação e guerra permanentes.

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Facts Needed on Malaysian Plane Shoot-Down
Ray McGovern – Consortium News, 21 Jul 2014

As usual, the mainstream U.S. media is rushing to judgment over the crash of a Malaysian airliner in war-torn eastern Ukraine, but the history of U.S. government’s deceptions might be reason to pause and let a careful investigation uncover the facts, says ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern.

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The Political Objective and Strategic Goal of Nonviolent Actions
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 21 Jul 2014

Whether or not activists achieve their political objective is strategically irrelevant. This is because an effective nonviolent action is designed to achieve its strategic goal, irrespective of the response of opponents or the authorities to the political objective of the action. Whether or not activists achieve their strategic goal, however, is always strategically determinative.

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MH17: World See Tragedy, US Sees “Game Changer”
Tony Cartalucci, New Eastern Outlook – TRANSCEND Media Service, 21 Jul 2014

NATO needed a “game changer,” because it was playing a game it was clearly losing. The dubious circumstances surrounding the downing of MH17 – occurring just as Kiev’s forces were deteriorating across the country and additional US sanctions against Russia fell flat – is more than a mere coincidence.

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Gaza: Médecins Sans Frontières Official Likens Job to ‘Patching Up Torture Victims in an Open-Air Prison’
Robert Fisk – The Independent, 21 Jul 2014

Comments by Senior Médecins Sans Frontières Official Expose Ethical Dilemma of Humanitarian Work in Conflict Zones.

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Sanctions and Airliners
Paul Craig Roberts – TRANSCEND Media Service, 21 Jul 2014

Before you say Washington is too sophisticated to mistake one airliner for another, keep in mind that when Washington shot down an Iranian airliner over Iranian air space, the US Navy claimed that it thought the 290 civilians that it murdered were in an Iranian fighter jet, a F-14 Tomcat fighter, a US-made fighter that was a mainstay of the US Navy.

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30th Anniversary! Hilo Bay Nuclear Warship Blockade (Hawai’i)
Jim Albertini – TRANSCEND Media Service, 21 Jul 2014

For three years the Navy repeatedly violated the law. In June of 1984 peace activists announced a nonviolent blockade of the next nuclear ship visiting Hilo. Three people entered the water and held their hands up in a symbolic message to the ship –”STOP.” Jim Snyder, Warren Wineman and Jim Albertini were imprisoned and/or fined for their nonviolent protest.

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Sri Lanka’s Downward Spiral
Taylor Dibbert – Foreign Policy, 21 Jul 2014

Sometimes it takes time, but the truth has a way of finding people. Let’s hope it finds President Mahinda Rajapaksa — sooner rather than later.

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The Oxymoron of Peace
Robert C. Koehler – TRANSCEND Media Service, 21 Jul 2014

Austerity is for losers. There’s always money to wage war and build weapons, indeed, to continue developing weapons, generation after generation after generation. The contractors are adept at playing the game. Jobs link arms with fear and patriotism and the next war is always inevitable.

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What Is Israel’s End Game in Gaza?
Dennis Kucinich – Consortium News, 21 Jul 2014

Israel can kill, injure, humiliate Palestinians at will, with impunity, which is exactly what gave rise to Hamas and strengthens Hamas’ hold in Gaza, even as the IDF advances… Since the U.S. is helping to pay Israel’s bills, we cannot avoid the consequences of paying the price for Israel’s actions against the Palestinians.

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Paris’s Return to Public Water Supplies Makes Waves beyond France
Geert De Clercq, Reuters – TRANSCEND Media Service, 14 Jul 2014

Nearly five years after Paris took the management of its water supply back into its own hands, the move is inspiring other cities at home and abroad and hurting profits at private water firms Veolia and Suez Environnement.

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(Castellano) Lo que la independencia de Cataluña representa y lo que debemos aprender de ella
Daniel Marty, TeleSur – TRANSCEND Media Service, 14 Jul 2014

¿quién se beneficia de la independencia política y económica? ¿Será el pueblo en general o una pequeña élite? ¿será la independencia del Estado de Cataluña otorgada y protegida? ¿quién se beneficia de la división, no solamente de los catalanes, pero de los españoles también?

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Why Are Most Human Beings So Powerless?
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph. D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 14 Jul 2014

Unless someone lives in a cave secluded from all news, the evidence that human beings are in deep trouble – with violence in its many forms intruding on all aspects of our lives and threatening our very existence – is readily available.

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NSA-Intercepted Data of Innocent Bystanders Far Outnumber Targeted Names
Barton Gellman, Julie Tate and Ashkan Soltani – The Washington Post, 14 Jul 2014

Files provided by Snowden show extent to which ordinary Web users are caught in the net.

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Facts All US Citizens Need to Know About Israel and Palestine
Robert Barsocchini – Washington’s Blog, 14 Jul 2014

Germany, Japan, and South Africa went from being the most reviled countries on Earth to being some of the most admired. Maybe Israel could undergo the same transformation, but not unless we, US citizens, help by ceasing to enable Israeli terrorism and war crimes by illegally supporting them.

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The True Gaza Back-Story That the Israelis Aren’t Telling This Week
Robert Fisk – The Independent, 14 Jul 2014

OK, so by this afternoon [9 Jul 2014], the exchange rate of death in two days was 40-0 in favour of Israel. But now for the Gaza story you won’t be hearing from anyone else in the next few hours. It’s about land.

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On US TV, Israel Is ‘Striking Back’
Peter Hart – Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting, 7 Jul 2014

This disparity is meaningful. The term “retaliation” suggests a defensive stance undertaken in response to someone else’s aggression. It also lays responsibility for the cycle of violence at the doorstep of the party being “retaliated” against, since they presumably initiated the conflict.

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Climate Refugees: An Entire Island Nation Is Preparing to Evacuate to Fiji Before They Sink Into the Pacific
Gwynn Guilford, Quartz – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Jul 2014

The seas around Kiribati’s 32 atolls are rising 1.2 centimeters a year—about four times faster than the global average—thanks to the flux of ocean currents. Some residents expect the sea to subsume their homes within 20 or 30 years.

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The Great Human Delusion: All Parents Love Their Children
Robert J. Burrowes, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Jul 2014

Evolution’s great trick was to connect reproduction with intense but transitory sexual pleasure, not love. Many children are conceived outside the loving long-term relationship necessary to nurture a child and even those children who are conceived within this framework will routinely suffer parental violence.

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Court Gave NSA Broad Leeway in Surveillance, Documents Show
Ellen Nakashima and Barton Gellman – The Washington Post, 7 Jul 2014

Virtually no foreign government is off-limits for the National Security Agency, which has been authorized to intercept information “concerning” all but four [anglo] countries, according to top-secret documents: Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

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(Português) E Lenin Tinha Razão: A Grande Guerra Interimperialista
Emir Sader – Carta Maior, 7 Jul 2014

Com a segunda guerra – na realidade o segundo round de uma mesma guerra, com as mesmas características e um intervalo de poucos anos – e a segunda derrota do bloco formado pela Alemanha, a Itália e o Japão – se abria o caminho para a hegemonia imperial norteamericana.

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OAS Declares Solidarity with Argentina in U.S. Hedge Fund Dispute
Ewan Robertson – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Jul 2014

4th July 2014 – The Organization of American States has declared its solidarity with Argentina in its debt repayment dispute with a U.S.-based hedge fund. The only countries in the hemisphere to not support the resolution were the United States and Canada.

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7 Weird Things Money Does to Your Brain
Lynn Stuart Parramore – AlterNet, 7 Jul 2014

Money is packed with meaning, and it impacts our personalities, our relationships, and how we think. As you might imagine, a lot of stuff is going on in our brains when we think about money, and some of it is surprising.

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Washington’s War Crimes Spread from Africa and the Middle East to Ukraine
Paul Craig Roberts – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Jul 2014

A person might think that revulsion in “the world community” against Washington’s wanton slaughter of civilians in eight countries would have led to War Crimes Tribunal warrants issued for the arrest of presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama and many officials in their regimes… Putin has done what he can to avoid conflict. Now he needs to do the right thing, as he did in Georgia and Crimea.

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Absolutely Nothing: A Veteran’s Savage Indictment of the Iraq War
Jim Wright, Americans Against the Tea Party – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Jul 2014

The same old motley cast of characters, the warhawks and the chickenhawks and the billionaires and the simple-minded saber-rattlers and the same old hate-filled pundits, they just can’t wait to jump back into Iraq…. Why? Is it to end terrorism? Is it to enforce peace at the muzzle of a gun? Is it it to make defense contractors rich? Is it for jobs? Or is it for magic flying bunnies who shoot rainbows and cheap gasoline out of their … to the sound of Yankee Doodle Dandy?

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The World is NOT a U.S. Colony!
James Albertini – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Jul 2014

In a host of countries around the world the U.S. portrays itself as “the good guy” instead of the problem. It’s a classic colonial attitude. The U.S. must stop intervening in the internal and domestic affairs of independent nations all over the world, including the U.S. occupied Kingdom of Hawai`i.

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