Articles by AP

We found 804 results.


Rise of Modi and Indian Politics
Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 26 May 2014

Modi will have a better tool in his hand to lift the nation from the morass of poverty and unemployment – two biggest internal challenges. With a strong determination, and by combining the visions of Patel, Shastri and Vajpayee, Modi will be able to trudge through difficult terrains while keeping his mission high. I wish Modi good luck!

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The Three Faces of Drone War – Speaking Truth From the Robotic Heavens
Pratap Chatterjee - TomDispatch, 12 May 2014

Obama’s remote control campaign, is a failure; that it is not clinical but bloody and riddled with error; that it creates enemies even as it kills others; that it is, above all, no more a video game for those who fly the planes and loose the missiles than it is for those who die in distant lands.

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Ukraine Crisis: Mercenaries, NATO M16 Cartridges and US Military Meals – Evidence of Western Involvement
Kim Sengupta in Andrievka – Belfast Telegraph, 12 May 2014

Allegations of soldiers of fortune operating in the east of the country first surfaced months ago when well-armed masked men in combat uniforms, with no insignias, were used against pro-Moscow demonstrators in Donetsk who chanted “Blackwater! Blackwater!” at them.

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Two Cities, Shared History
Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 May 2014

The book Tales of Two Cities is about the journey of two prominent South Asians – Kuldip Nayar from India and Asif Noorani from Pakistan. Theirs are not simply stories of travel but voyages – physical, emotional and spiritual – deeply embedded in the history of partition of the British India.

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Japan: Constitution Day Feted, Fought Over
Ayako Mie – The Japan Times, 5 May 2014

Japan’s pacifist Constitution is at a crossroads as the 67th anniversary of its taking effect was celebrated around the country on Saturday [3 May 2014]. The charter has never been amended since it entered into force in 1947, but the Diet is paving the way for potential revisions.

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Fukushima No. 1 Boss Admits Plant Doesn’t Have Complete Control over Water Problems
Yuka Obayashi, Reuters – The Japan Times, 28 Apr 2014

Abe Told an Olympic Committee Meet Situation Was Under Control – The manager of the Fukushima nuclear power plant has admitted to embarrassment that efforts have failed to bring under control the radioactive water, eight months after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the world the matter had been resolved.

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University Cooperation for Equity and Empathy
Johan Galtung, 28 Apr 2014 - TRANSCEND Media Service, 28 Apr 2014

The joint search for common ground is fascinating. And that leads us to a deeper field for university cooperation: joint exploration of epistemology, the criteria for valid knowledge. Imagine a four-week cooperative seminar with many universities about how to think (re-search), speak (also teach) and act (praxis) in the fields of international relations and epistemology; great NEWS!

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Japan Launches First Whale Hunt since ICJ Ban
Shingo Ito – The Japan Times, 28 Apr 2014

The nation’s whaling fleet left port Saturday [26 Apr 2014] under tight security for its first hunt since the U.N. top court last month ordered Japan to stop killing whales in the Antarctic.

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Multiethnic and Pluralistic States Have to Stay
Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra – TRANSCEND Media Service, 21 Apr 2014

Development in Ukraine is a matter of concern as it has implications not only for Ukraine but also for other multiethnic and pluralistic states in the world. I am strongly in favor of multiethnic and pluralistic states.

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East-South China Seas, Islands–Solutions?
Johan Galtung, 21 Apr 2014 - TRANSCEND Media Service, 21 Apr 2014

A Chinese proverb: better than giving a starving person a fish is teaching her to fish. So, not only solutions but how to solve conflicts.

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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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American Media Distorts Venezuelan Protests
Nathalie Baptiste – Foreign Policy In Focus, 7 Apr 2014

Anti-government protests are being conducted by wealthier, right-wing Venezuelans, who have caused more deaths than security officials.

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It’s Not Just Uganda: Behind the Christian Right’s Onslaught on Africa’s Gays
Nathalie Baptiste – Foreign Policy In Focus, 7 Apr 2014

For years now, evangelical activists from the United States have been speaking out against homosexuality and cheering on antigay legislation all over Africa. In Uganda, being gay can now earn you a lifetime in prison. Pat Robertson’s entanglements in Africa go well beyond Zimbabwe and Kenya.

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For Sea Shepherd – A Vindication: The Whales Have Won!
Cap. Paul Watson - ConterPunch, 7 Apr 2014

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been insisting for more than a decade that Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is illegal. The ICJ has vindicated our position.

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Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report: ‘No One Will Be Untouched by Climate Change’
Danielle Demetriou in Yokohama – The Telegraph, 31 Mar 2014

Flooding, storm surges, droughts and heatwaves are among key risks of global warming. The warnings were published by the IPCC Working Group II report on Monday [31 Mar 2014], which was compiled by more than 300 authors from 70 countries and thousands of global experts.

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Student Deaths Spark Debate Over Hazing at Portugal’s Universities
Raphael Minder – International New York Times, 24 Mar 2014

18 Mar 2014 – At Portugal’s oldest public university, founded in 1290 in Coimbra, about 110 miles from Lisbon, hazing has a strong and storied tradition, and it is that legacy that universities with far shallower histories have tried to emulate.

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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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PETA Accuses Two Trainers of Cruelty to Horses
Joe Drape – International New York Times, 24 Mar 2014

Over a 26-year career, the trainer Steve Asmussen ranks second in career victories, with more than 6,700; has earned more than $214 million in purses. The undercover inquiry was conducted by a PETA investigator who worked for Asmussen for four months in the spring and summer of 2013. PETA filed complaints with federal and state agencies in Kentucky and New York on Tuesday [18 Mar 2014].

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Hacking Team Spy Software Identified on U.S. Servers
Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service, 10 Mar 2014

Two U.S. companies – Linode of New Jersey and Rackspace of Texas – have been hosting surveillance software designed by Hacking Team of Italy, according to a new report. The software was allegedly been used by governments in Ethiopia, Morocco, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to track dissidents.

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Gender, Conflict and Peace
Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 10 Mar 2014

We celebrate Women’s Day on March 8 every year. Have we really progressed on this front? Is there any real empowerment of women? As I work in areas of conflict transformation and peacebuilding, my focus on women in conflict situations and peacebuilding processes is natural.

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Nuclear Fallout – Blast from the Past: Lucky Dragon 60 Years On
Jeff Kingston – The Japan Times, 3 Mar 2014

Sixty years ago, on March 1, 1954, a Japanese fishing boat named Lucky Dragon No. 5 was doused by radioactive fallout from a U.S. hydrogen-bomb test, codenamed Castle Bravo, on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

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Outrage over American Psychological Association’s Decision to Exonerate Dr. John Leso
Division 39-Psychoanalysis, APA – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Feb 2014

I am writing on behalf of Division 39 to express grave concern over the decision of the Ethics Committee to exonerate Dr. John Leso, despite his role in directing the torture of Mohammed al-Qahtani [in Guantanamo].

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Brazil’s World Cup Evictions: An Insult to Soccer
Nathalie Baptiste – Foreign Policy In Focus, 17 Feb 2014

Forced evictions are happening throughout Brazil in advance of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, exacerbating the country’s growing inequality.

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Anglo Irish Bankers on Trial for Scheme That Led to National Collapse
Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service, 17 Feb 2014

Three top executives at Anglo Irish bank are on trial for a secret scheme to buy their own bank’s shares that eventually triggered the 2008 collapse of the Irish economy. The bankers allegedly hatched the plan to cover up bets made by Sean Quinn, once Ireland’s richest man.

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Over Half of Population Opposes Japan Engaging in Collective Self-Defense: Survey
The Japan Times – TRANSCEND Media Service, 17 Feb 2014

More than half of the public opposes Japan exercising the right to collective self-defense, or coming to the aid of an ally under attack, compared with more than a third who favor it, a survey said Sunday [26 Jan 2014].

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Selling Your Secrets: The Invisible World of Software Backdoors and Bounty Hunters
Pratap Chatterjee - TomDispatch, 10 Feb 2014

Imagine that you could wander unseen through a city, sneaking into houses and offices of your choosing at any time, day or night. Imagine that, once inside, you could observe everything happening, unnoticed by others — from the combinations used to secure bank safes to the clandestine rendezvous of lovers. Imagine also…

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How the UN Can Ignore 8,000 Deaths in Haiti
Nathalie Baptiste – Foreign Policy In Focus, 10 Feb 2014

Many more Haitians will die from cholera, a disease brought to their country by the very people who were supposed to be saving them from disaster.

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Bayer CEO Says Drugs Developed for “Western Patients Who Can Afford It”
Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service, 10 Feb 2014

Bayer, the German pharmaceutical giant, is in hot water after CEO Marijn Dekkers told a Financial Times conference that the company designed medicines “for western patients who can afford it” not for the “Indian market.”

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Ex-Marlboro Man Dies from Smoking-Related Disease
Daisy Nguyen, AP – TRANSCEND Media Service, 3 Feb 2014

Eric Lawson, who portrayed the rugged Marlboro man in cigarette ads, has died. He was 72. He died Jan. 10 of respiratory failure due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, his wife, Susan Lawson said Sunday [26 Jan 2014].

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Latin American, Caribbean Leaders Declare Region ‘Zone of Peace’ as Summit Wraps Up in Havana
Peter Orsi, AP – The Windsor Star, 3 Feb 2014

Leaders from across Latin America and the Caribbean signed a resolution declaring the region a “zone of peace” Wednesday [29 Jan 2014], pledging to resolve their disputes as respectful neighbours without the use of arms.

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Haiti: Billions in Aid, Pennies in Progress since Earthquake
Nathalie Baptiste – Foreign Policy In Focus, 3 Feb 2014

Four years since its devastating earthquake, progress in Haiti is slow and reconstruction efforts are lacking at best.

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How to Understand Thailand’s Conflict
Apivat Hanvongse – Centre Tricontinental, 27 Jan 2014

My essay is an attempt to make explicit several conflict frameworks so we understand the different narratives being communicated.

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Chocolate Slavery Case against Nestlé Allowed to Proceed
Pratap Chatterjee – CorpWatch, 20 Jan 2014

Eight years after they sued Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill and Nestlé for allegedly forcing them to work as child labor on a Côte d’Ivoire cocoa plantation, three young men from Mali have won a small victory – the ability to be heard in a California court.

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Today [11 Jan 2014] Marks the 12th Anniversary of America’s Guantánamo Prison Disgrace
Molly Crabapple – The Guardian, 13 Jan 2014

We must reject indefinite detention and offshore prisons. We must no longer use our fear of terror to inflict terror on the world. In case anyone needs a refresher, $4.7bn has been spent running Guantánamo. Nearly 800 men have been imprisoned, many losing over a decade of their lives. Nine have died.

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Toyota’s New Hydrogen Car to Emit Only Water Vapor
AP, msn news – TRANSCEND Media Service, 13 Jan 2014

Toyota said Monday [6 Jan 2014] that a hydrogen-powered vehicle that emits only water vapor as exhaust will go on sale in the U.S. in 2015, a year earlier than it promised just two months ago.

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Europe’s Leaders Visit Athens to Celebrate Their Failure
Apostolis Fotiadis, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service, 13 Jan 2014

The start of Greece’s six-month presidency of the EU was marked by a ceremony Wednesday [8 Jan 2014] in the Greek capital attended by the EU commissioners. But protests were banned.

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Shopping for Spy Gear: Catalog Advertises NSA Toolbox
Jacob Appelbaum, Judith Horchert and Christian Stöcker – Der Spiegel, 6 Jan 2014

After years of speculation that electronics can be accessed by intelligence agencies through a back door, an internal NSA catalog reveals that such methods already exist for numerous end-user devices.

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UN Votes to Protect Privacy in Digital Age
Edith M. Lederer, AP – TRANSCEND Media Service, 30 Dec 2013

The U.N. General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution to protect the right to privacy against unlawful surveillance on Wednesday [18 Dec 2018] in the most vocal global criticism of U.S. eavesdropping. Germany and Brazil introduced the resolution.

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The Jason Bourne Strategy: CIA Contractors Do Hollywood
Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service, 9 Dec 2013

Global Response Staff is a new unit set up by the CIA to hire private security contractors to accompany dangerous spying missions. Unlike Jason Bourne – the fictional character on which they appear to be modeled on – this gang cannot shoot straight.

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Europe Sending Armies to Stop Immigrants
Apostolis Fotiadis, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service, 9 Dec 2013

A Nov. 19 [2013] paper by the European External Action Service, the EU diplomatic corps, considers the possibility of the European military getting involved in the south Mediterranean in an effort to curb the influx of irregular migrants and refugees into Europe.

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(Français) [BDS] Soutien au Pr. Jake Lynch
CAPJPO-Europalestine – TRANSCEND Media Service, 9 Dec 2013

Nous sommes allés à une trentaine remettre à l’ambassade d’Australie en France, une lettre de soutien au Pr. Jake Lynch de l’université de Sydney, qui est attaqué en justice par un cabinet d’avocats israéliens parce qu’il applique le boycott académique, dans le cadre de la campagne internationale BDS (Boycott, Désinvestissement, Sanctions), et refuse donc de collaborer avec des universités israéliennes.

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(Italiano) La compassione dei vegetariani
Kapil Komireddi – Centro Studi Sereno Regis, 2 Dec 2013

In Asia il vegetarianismo è una forma di rifiuto della violenza che ha radici nella Cina delle dinastie imperiali e nell’India dei Maurya. Non mangiare carne è un modo per esercitare con disciplina il proprio potere sugli animali.

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Delhi Accord: BRICS for Fair Play
Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra – TRANSCEND Media Service, 2 Dec 2013

Recently the competition authorities of the BRICS countries signed the Delhi Accord, in which the members expressed “resolve and commitment to exchange views on different aspects of competition policy.”

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(Français) BDS : Lettre de soutien au Pr. Jake Lynch, remise à l’Ambassade d’Australie (Text also in English)
CAPJPO-EuroPalestine, France – TRANSCEND Media Service, 2 Dec 2013

Ci-dessous la lettre de soutien au Pr. Jake Lynch, que nous sommes allés remettre ce mercredi 27 novembre [2013] à l’ambassade d’Australie à Paris, tandis que se tenait à Sydney la première audience de fixation au tribunal fédéral, concernant la plainte déposée par un cabinet d’avocats israéliens contre cet universitaire australien.

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BDS: Letter of Support to Prof. Jake Lynch Delivered to the Australian Embassy
CAPJPO-EuroPalestine, France – TRANSCEND Media Service, 2 Dec 2013

We, French teachers, academics, researchers and intellectuals, wish to inform you of our support for Prof. Jake Lynch (of Sydney University), who has been subjected to legal proceedings by Israel, for refusing to collaborate with the Israeli occupier.

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Why We Shop: The Neuropsychology of Consumption
Bret S. Stetka, MD & Kit Yarrow, PhD, Medscape – TRANSCEND Media Service, 2 Dec 2013

The reasons for shopping might seem simple: acquiring goods that provide enjoyment, assist with everyday life and activities, or meet a cultural expectation (eg, gift-giving). But the work of neuroscientists and consumer psychologists suggests that the motivations driving purchasing and consuming are more complex.

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Canada Approves Genetically Modified Salmon Exports to Panama
Pratap Chatterjee – CorpWatch, 2 Dec 2013

AquAdvantage salmon was created by taking genetic material from Chinook salmon and a seal eel to modify an Atlantic salmon to enable it to grow twice as fast as conventional fish. Canadian activists say, “It’s very experimental and the risks of anything going wrong are disastrous. They can wipe out the wild salmon population if these fish ever escape and their eggs end up in the wild rivers.”

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Six Telecom Companies Face Formal Complaint for Collusion with UK Spy Agency
Pratap Chatterjee – CorpWatch, 11 Nov 2013

Six global telecommunications companies – British Telecom, Interoute, Level Three, Verizon Enterprise, Viatel and Vodafone Cable – are the subject of a formal complaint by Privacy International for potential violation of human rights such as the right to privacy and freedom of expression.

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NSA Asked Japan to Tap Regionwide Fiber-Optic Cables In 2011
The Japan Times – TRANSCEND Media Service, 4 Nov 2013

The agency’s overture was apparently aimed at gathering information on China given that Japan is at the heart of optical cables that connect various parts of the region. But Tokyo turned down the proposal, citing legal restrictions and a shortage of personnel, the sources said.

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Texas Club Auctions Right to Hunt Endangered Rhino: Killing It to Save It
Michael Graczyk, AP – TRANSCEND Media Service, 4 Nov 2013

Plans to auction a rare permit that will allow a hunter to take down an endangered black rhino are drawing criticism from some conservationists, but the organizer says the fundraiser could bring in more than $1 million that would go toward protecting the species.

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Britain to Become First Non-Muslim Country to Launch Sharia Bond
Harry Wilson – The Telegraph, 4 Nov 2013

David Cameron to unveil £200m Sukuk at the World Islamic Economic Forum in London on Tuesday [29 Oct 2013]. Britain is set to become the first non-Muslim country to sell a bond that can be bought by Islamic investors in a bid to encourage massive new investment into the City.

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Libya ‘Awash with Weapons’ – PM
Belfast Telegraph – TRANSCEND Media Service, 28 Oct 2013

Libya’s prime minister said he is “swimming against the current” in a country awash with militias and weapons as Libyans mark the second anniversary of the killing of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Ali Zidan spoke to journalists in Tripoli, more than a week after he was seized and briefly held captive by a mix of militiamen.

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How Can Aung San Suu Kyi – a Nobel Peace Prize Winner – Fail to Condemn Anti-Muslim Violence?
David Blair – The Telegraph, 28 Oct 2013

I never thought I would write this, but Aung San Suu Kyi sent a shiver down my spine when she appeared on the Today programme this morning [24 Oct 2013]. Her equivocal attitude towards the violence suffered by Burma’s Muslim minority was deeply disturbing.

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Julian Assange: My Life in the Embassy
John Hiscock – The Telegraph, 21 Oct 2013

As the Fifth Estate starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Julian Assange is released, the WikiLeaks founder talks about his life in the Ecuadorian Embassy and how the staff there have become ‘like family’.

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Growing Backlash to NSA Surveillance
Martha Mendoza, AP – TRANSCEND Media Service, 14 Oct 2013

Policy makers, privacy advocates and political leaders around the world have been outraged at the near weekly disclosures from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden that expose sweeping U.S. government surveillance programs.

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The Data Hackers: Mining Your Information for Big Brother
Pratap Chatterjee - TomDispatch, 14 Oct 2013

Big Bro is watching you. In your mobile phone and behind your web browser are little known software that can follow you around. No longer the wide-eyed fantasies of conspiracy theorists, these technologies are routinely installed in all of our data devices by companies that sell them to Washington for a profit.

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Cyprus-Style Wealth Confiscation Is Now Starting to Happen All Over the Globe
Michael Snyder, The Economic Collapse – TRANSCEND Media Service, 30 Sep 2013

Now that “bail-ins” have become accepted practice all over the planet, no bank account and no pension fund will ever be 100% safe again. In fact, Cyprus-style wealth confiscation is already starting to happen all around the world. Examples:

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Israel Gives Palestinian 10 Year Prison Sentence for Selling Pretzels
Apartheid Exists – TRANSCEND Media Service, 30 Sep 2013

They require a permit to do anything – have a job, build a home, get water etc but when you file the appropriate paperwork …. it doesn’t get approved (if you’re Palestinian). Palestinians live under absolute tyranny even when they’re Israeli citizens. Their government takes a hostile approach to them and does everything possible to ensure they remain in poverty strictly because they’re not Jewish.

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Japan: Anti-Democratic Secrecy Bill
Editorial – The Japan Times, 23 Sep 2013

The Abe administration plans to submit to the Diet a bill to protect state secrets that the government deems vital to national security. It carries a danger of expanding the scope of special secrets ad infinitum and could undermine the fundamental democratic principles of freedom of information and freedom of the press.

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Syria: Western Activists Volunteer to Become ‘Human Shields’
Ruth Sherlock, Beirut – The Telegraph, 23 Sep 2013

Franklin Lamb, a lawyer recently appointed as the legal adviser for the group said he had been “inundated” with requests from activists including from Canada, France, Italy, the US, and Britain.

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(Português) Por Que Controlar os Fluxos de Capitais
Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo, Carta Capital – TRANSCEND Media Service, 23 Sep 2013

Keynes repetiu seguidamente nos trabalhos preparatórios da Conferência de Bretton Woods: “O controle de capitais deveria ser uma característica permanente da nova ordem econômica mundial”. O Plano Keynes postulava a criação de uma moeda internacional. Perdeu a parada para os interesses do establisment americano.

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The Two-State Solution Died Over a Decade Ago
Ilan Pappe - Gulf News, 16 Sep 2013

Israel continues to look for more Oslos to gain international legitimacy. The Israelis may occupy the best deck on the Titanic, but the ship is nonetheless sinking.

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Turning the Table on the Trackers: WikiLeaks Sniffs out Spy Salesmen
Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service, 10 Sep 2013

What was Mostapha Maanna of Hacking Team, an Italian surveillance company, doing on his three trips to Saudi Arabia in the last year? A new data trove from WikiLeaks reveals travel details for salesmen like Maanna who hawk electronic technology to track communications by individuals without their knowledge.

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NSA Spied On Brazil, Mexico Leaders, Glenn Greenwald Says
Bradley Brooks, AP – The Huffington Post, 3 Sep 2013

The National Security Agency’s spy program targeted the communications of the Brazilian and Mexican presidents, and in the case of Mexico’s leader accessed the content of emails before he was elected, the U.S. journalist who obtained secret documents from NSA leaker Edward Snowden said Sunday [1 Sep 2013].

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Incidences of Thyroid Cancer on the Rise among Fukushima Children
Jessica Kozuka – Japan Today, 26 Aug 2013

According to a representative of Fukushima Medical University, which has been running the tests, they cannot conclusively link the incidences to Fukushima Daiichi, because although there were confirmed cases of cancer linked to the Chernobyl incident, many of these did not present until four or five years after or even later.

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(Português) Amizade Canina
José Guilherme, Ultrapop – TRANSCEND Media Service, 26 Aug 2013

À medida que o tempo passa, você vê que ele vive de olho em você, e que ele é um sensitivo sentimental. O coração dele é o coração de um gigante. Ele não conhece mágoa nem rancor. Se acontece de você chorar, por algum motivo, seu cachorro está plantado à sua frente, olhando fixamente para você, raspando uma pata na sua perna.

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Latest Radioactive Leak at Fukushima: How Is It Different?
Patrick J. Kiger - National Geographic, 26 Aug 2013

The water from the leaking tank is so heavily contaminated with strontium-90, cesium-137, and other radioactive substances that a person standing less than two feet away would receive, in an hour’s time, a radiation dose equivalent to five times the acceptable exposure for nuclear workers. Within ten hours, the exposed person would develop radiation sickness, with symptoms such as nausea and a drop in white blood cells.

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In Science Terms, Japan Has No Need At All to Kill Whales
Rowan Hooper – The Japan Times, 19 Aug 2013

Final arguments from the defence and prosecution were heard in mid-July [2013], and the world court is now considering its judgment. At issue is Japan’s right to conduct its seasonal “scientific” whaling program in Antarctic waters. But the case has involved arguments about how to define science itself.

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Costa Rica Closes Zoos—Where Will the Animals Go?
Kip Patrick, National Geographic – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Aug 2013

Influx of captive animals has wildlife-rescue centers strapped. “We are getting rid of the cages and reinforcing the idea of interacting with biodiversity in botanical parks in a natural way,” Environment Minister René Castro said. “We don’t want animals in captivity or enclosed in any way unless it is to rescue or save them.”

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Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso Says Government Can Learn from Nazi’s Example
Reiji Yoshida – The Japan Times, 5 Aug 2013

Outspoken Finance Minister Taro Aso has caused another international stir by urging Japanese politicians bent on revising the Constitution to learn from the way Germany under the Nazis amended the Weimar charter.

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The Imperial-Left and the Syrian Conflict
Jay Tharappel – Dissident Voice, 29 Jul 2013

Recently in June the American activist organisation ‘Campaign for Peace and Democracy’ (CPD) issued a ‘Statement On Syria’ supporting the so-called “Syrian revolution”. This article aims to counter many of the CPD’s claims while also providing some important information regarding Syria’s history and the nature of this conflict.

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Toxic Groundwater Reaching Sea: NRA
The Japan Times – TRANSCEND Media Service, 29 Jul 2013

“We must find the cause of the contamination . . . and put the highest priority on implementing countermeasures,” Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said after examining recent studies carried out on groundwater samples at the plant that detected high levels of cesium, tritium and other radioactive contamination.

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Commodity Scams: Barclays, Goldman & JP Morgan under Fire
Pratap Chatterjee - CorpWatch, 29 Jul 2013

JP Morgan Chase is expected to announce over $600 million in penalties and repayments for allegedly cheating customers in energy markets in California and Michigan. This just after Barclays bank paid out $470 million for manipulating electricity rates. Now Goldman Sachs is under scrutiny for possibly manipulating aluminum prices.

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GlaxoSmithKline Alleged to Pay Bribes in China
Pratap Chatterjee - CorpWatch, 22 Jul 2013

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been accused of bribing doctors in China in order to boost sales. Chinese government officials say they have uncovered evidence of a bribery scheme involving 700 travel agencies who were used to funnel as much as three billion yuan ($480 million) in payments.

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EU Publishes Guidelines Barring All Cooperation with Israeli Entities over Pre-67 Lines
AP and Staff - Times of Israel, 22 Jul 2013

The European Union on Friday [19 Jul 2013] formally published new guidelines explicitly banning any EU funding of and cooperation with Israeli institutions operating in territories beyond the pre-1967 lines, amid vigorous Israeli objections. The new directive, to take effect at the start of 2014, requires the EU and its members to cease any joint activity or funding with Israeli entities working over the Green Line in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and in the Golan Heights.

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No Justice for Muslims Massacred by Myanmar Buddhists
Todd Pitman, AP – The Japan Times, 15 Jul 2013

9 Jul 2013 – Their bones are scattered in blackened patches of earth across a hillside overlooking the wrecked Islamic boarding school they once called home. Smashed fragments of skulls rest atop the dirt. And among the remains lie the sharpened bamboo staves attackers used to beat dozens of people to the ground before drowning their still-twitching bodies in gasoline and burning them alive.

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Surveillance Contractor Bug in Ecuador Embassy Fails to Stop WikiLeaks
Pratap Chatterjee - CorpWatch, 8 Jul 2013

3 Jul 2013 – Spy equipment from the Surveillance Group Limited, a British private detective agency based in Worcester, England, has been found in the Ecuadorean embassy in London where Julian Assange, editor of WikiLeaks, has taken refuge.

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Yoga for Peace
Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Jun 2013

Swami Vivekananda in his book Raja Yoga, first published in 1896, elaborated this Yoga. He argued that Yoga is scientific. Even an atheist by following its rules can sharpen his mind, increase his mental power, develop a healthy body and maintain composure in worst situations.

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Is Naomi Wolf Working for the NSA?
Dave Lindorff, This Can’t Be Happening – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Jun 2013

Just wondering…
I hate to do this, but I feel obligated to share, as the story unfolds, my creeping concern that the writer Naomi Wolf is not whom she purports to be, and that her motive in writing an article on her public Facebook page speculating about whether National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden might actually be still working for the NSA, could be to support the government’s effort to destroy him.

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Western Military Intervention Will Leave Syria in Permanent Ruins Say Two Former NATO Secretary Generals
Javier Solana & Jaap de Hoop Scheffer – New York Times, 17 Jun 2013

13 June 2013 – Rather than secure humanitarian space and empower a political transition, Western military engagement is likely to provoke further escalation on all sides, deepening the civil war.

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Google & Facebook Discussed Secret Systems for U.S. to Spy on Users
Pratap Chatterjee - CorpWatch, 17 Jun 2013

Google and Facebook have discussed – and possibly built – special portals for the U.S. government to snoop on user data, according to revelations sparked by an investigative series of articles by Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian.

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Why Sharing News about Solutions Is a Revolutionary Act
Frances Moore Lappé – YES! Magazine, 3 Jun 2013

Remember, what we do and say doesn’t just influence our friends, but also our friends’ friends and our friends’ friends’ friends.

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Verizon (and Google) Helped U.S. Government to Spy on Reporters
Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service, 27 May 2013

Technology companies willingly provided information to U.S. government agencies to help the Obama administration snoop on reporters from the Associated Press (AP) and Fox news in order to ostensibly crack down on leaks that pose a “threat” to national security. This is not the first time that the Obama administration has asked telecommunication companies to turn over records on journalists.

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Health Insurance for the Planet
Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra – TRANSCEND Media Service, 20 May 2013

An individual has health insurance so that in case of illness or bodily injury he can have insurance benefits. I am inspired by the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres, who argued passionately at the University Massachusetts Boston that we must think about the health of our planet as we think about health of the individual.

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Beyond Theory – the Practice of Building Socialism in Latin America
Jorge Capelan and Toni Solo – TRANSCEND Media Service, 20 May 2013

For the imperial propaganda machine, leftist Latin American governments and political leaders are either too leftist, not really leftist, or blind fanatics, as well as being shrewdly machiavellian, capitalists in red clothing, enemies of the market and scores of other contradictory pairs of things all at once.

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When Israeli Denial of Palestinian Existence Becomes Genocidal
Ilan Pappe – The Electronic Intifada, 6 May 2013

One would think only a madman can ignore 6 million of people, many of them under his military or apartheid rule while he actively and ruthlessly disallows the return of the rest [5.5 million] to their homeland. But when the madman [President Shimon Peres] receives the best weapons from the US, Nobel Peace Prizes from Oslo and preferential treatment from the European Union, one wonders how seriously we should take their references to the leaders of Iran and North Korea as dangerous and lunatic?

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Boston Marathon
Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra – TRANSCEND Media Service, 29 Apr 2013

My views may not match with the views of the others including experts in the area, but I think as a conscientious individual I should express them.

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Abenomics and the State of Japan
Johan Galtung, 22 Apr 2013 - TRANSCEND Media Service, 22 Apr 2013

Alternatives: realize that the old golden days are gone, that US-West-Japan are outcompeted by BRICS. Go for acceptable, more modest deals. And, instead of joining the US in increasing the insecurity, join the neighbors in an East Asian Community and revise the TPP for an egalitarian partnership from China to US and from Japan to Latin America.

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U.S. Supreme Court Dismisses Lawsuit against Shell in Nigeria
Pratap Chatterjee – CorpWatch, 22 Apr 2013

In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit against Shell in Nigeria for human rights abuses in the Ogoni region. The ruling effectively blocks other lawsuits against foreign multinationals for human rights abuse that have occurred overseas from being brought in U.S. courts.

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Creating Subjects in Lavasa: The Private City
Persis Taraporevala – Open Democracy, 22 Apr 2013

Through a process of devolution to private enterprises, a number of private cities are emerging across the Indian landscape. While private cities have been lauded by some as symbolic of a modern, global India, their impact on the nature of democracy and citizenship in the emerging city remains a contentious issue.

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USA-East Asia Looking Into the Abyss
Johan Galtung, 15 Apr 2013 - TRANSCEND Media Service, 15 Apr 2013

North Korea could dismantle its verbal and physical threats, hoping for peace treaty-normalization in return. Like in Cuba 1962, that would not be one good for another, but one wrong for another. Would USA, used to dictate outcomes giving nothing in return, agree? Like in 1962 keeping it secret, with a “profile in courage” narrative? Hopefully, but not very likely, some secret deals are in the making. A change of mentality is needed, like in Europe in 1950. That may take centuries, but could also happen very quickly under enlightened statesmanship.

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Chevron Corporation Upgrades from “C” to “B”
Marilyn Langlois, April 1, 2013 – TRANSCEND Media Service, 1 Apr 2013

Richmond, California Refinery to Be Worker-Owned and Operated – “The work of organizations like 350.org made us realize that unless we do something dramatic to slow down climate change, the earth will no longer provide a livable habitat for our great-grandchildren and their descendants”, noted Chevron CEO John Watson in a statement released today. “Consumers are so addicted to oil that we, as producers of fossil fuel products, need to prioritize a rapid transition to renewable energy resources.

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India-China and the Spirit of Cooperation
Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra – TRANSCEND Media Service, 25 Mar 2013

In one of his candid statements, the Chinese President, Xi Jinping on 19 March 2013 admitted that the border dispute between his country and its neighbour, India, is one of the most difficult problems the two countries confront. “However, as long as we keep up our friendly consultation, we can eventually arrive at a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement”.

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(Português) Refrigerantes Estão Relacionados com 180 Mil Mortes por Ano em todo o Mundo
Sapo Saúde – TRANSCEND Media Service, 25 Mar 2013

Cientistas de Harvard concluíram que, em 2010, 180 mil pessoas morreram em todo o mundo devido a doenças provocadas pelo consumo de refrigerantes e bebidas açucaradas: 133 mil por diabetes, 43.000 por doenças cardíacas e 6.000 por cancro. O estudo foi apresentado na reunião da American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism, na terça-feira [19 mar 2013], em Nova Orleães.

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Record Levels of Radiation Found in Fish near Japan’s Fukushima Plant
Danielle Demetriou – The Telegraph, 25 Mar 2013

Record levels of radiation contamination have been found in fish near Japan’s tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant. One fish, a greenling measuring 38 cm in length, was contaminated with 740,000 becquerels per kg – more than 7,400 times the recommended government limit regarded as safe for human consumption.

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Wall Street Giants – JP Morgan and SAC – Hauled Up On Fraud Allegations
Pratap Chatterjee – CorpWatch, 25 Mar 2013

JP Morgan – the Wall Street investment bank – and SAC – a major hedge fund – were hauled up Friday [15 Mar 2013] for alleged fraud. JP Morgan was questioned at a U.S. Senate hearing about hiding trading losses while SAC agreed to pay $614 million to settle insider trading charges.

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Hunger Striking Activist Pleads Not Guilty to Attempted Suicide
Rahul Bedi – The Telegraph, 11 Mar 2013

A 40-year old Indian female activist, who has been on a protest hunger strike for more than 12 years, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted suicide. Attempted suicide is a criminal offence in India punishable with imprisonment. “This is my way of protest. I love life but at the same time I want the government to stop the killings in my state” she told the packed courtroom in New Delhi.

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Prospects of Peace in Syria
Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra – TRANSCEND Media Service, 4 Mar 2013

The Berlin meeting of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the newly appointed US Secretary of State John Kerry on 26 February 2013 appeared propitious for peace in Syria. The likely evolution of a common approach between Russia and the US will not only impact positively the course of the Syrian conflict, but will also have implications for many other international issues.

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“I’m a monster.” – ”I can’t forgive myself.”
AP – Information Clearing House, 25 Feb 2013

U.S. Veterans Suffering Alone in Guilt Over Wartime Events – A veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, former U.S. Marine Capt. Timothy Kudo thinks of himself as a killer – and he carries the guilt every day. “I can’t forgive myself. And the people who can forgive me are dead. There’s no day – whether it’s in the shower or walking down the street … that I don’t think about things that happened over there,” he says.

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[Tragicomedy] Pentagon Creates New Medal for Cyber, Drone Wars
Lolita C. Baldor, AP – TRANSCEND Media Service, 18 Feb 2013

They fight the war from computer consoles and video screens. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced Wednesday [13 Feb 2013] that the Pentagon is creating a medal to troops, even if their actions are physically removed from the fight. Unlike other combat medals, it does not require the recipient risk his or her life to get it.

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