January 2014
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UK government ‘cheerleading’ for the fracking industry
British government officials have been collaborating in private with shale gas companies to manage the public’s hostility to fracking, it was revealed in emails released under the Freedom of Information Act. The UK government has been found sharing pre-prepared statements with shale gas bosses as well as meeting for elaborate dinners, as well as tete-a-tete… Continue reading
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Fukushima Fish Story By William Boardman
It’s true that the most intensely radioactive part of the Pacific Ocean currently is the area closest to Fukushima, Japan, where the destroyed nuclear power plant continuously adds to the radiation burden in the aquatic food chain. It’s equally true – and somewhat less scary – that Fukushima is but the most recent, best known… Continue reading
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New at Strategic Culture Foundation 12-18 January 2014: Turkey / US Navy / Snowden / Nuclear Weapons / Sudan-Germany / Iraq / Syria / India-US / BRICS / USAID- Russia / Latin America
18 January 2014 — Strategic Culture Foundation The Turkey Trap 18.01.2014 | 11:36 | Mikhail AGHAJANYAN Although they helped stabilize the situation, the emergency personnel measures taken by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan and the reshuffling of the cabinet after the December corruption scandal did not eliminate the contradictions which are undermining the country’s sociopolitical system… And Continue reading
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VTJP Occupied Palestine and Israel: News and Articles 17 January 2014: The Imperator: Sharon's Catastrophic Legacy
17 January 2014 — VTJP News International Middle East Media CenterBan Ki-moon Launches Year Of Palestinian SolidarityIMEMC – Israeli envoy angered General-Secretary of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, launched a new initiative on Thursday, calling 2014 a Palestinian Solidarity Year . According to the Palestinian News Network (PNN), Ban Ki-moon said that 2014 will be Continue reading
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UK police demand Channel 4 hand over whistle-blower’s footage By Robert Stevens
British police have stepped up their efforts to seize material from the Channel 4 TV station relating to their broadcasting of revelations provided by former UK intelligence operative and whistle-blower Peter Francis. In recent years Francis has provided material to Channel 4 and the Guardian newspaper revealing that Britain’s intelligence services and police have organised… Continue reading
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TPP: WikiLeaks releases the Environment Chapter
On Wednesday, 15 January 2014, WikiLeaks released a draft for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Environment Chapter. Previously, on 13 November 2013, WikiLeaks released the secret draft text of the Intellectual Property Rights Chapter. Continue reading
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The “Top 10” Surveillance Lies Edward Snowden’s Leaks Shed “Heat and Light” Upon By Lauren Harper
Despite stating he was “not going to dwell on Mr. Snowden’s actions or motivations,” the President did criticize Snowden’s “sensational” disclosures for “shedding more heat than light.” What the President did not say was that these surveillance reforms would never even have been contemplated without the Snowden revelations. In fact, these leaks did not just… Continue reading
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No riots, no surprises By Nadia Beard
The subject of race and racism in the UK is nothing new to Britain’s criminal justice system and media, with reported cases of racist policing practices periodically gracing the media landscape. But few cases have had such stirring power as that of Mark Duggan’s shooting, the recent verdict of which has deepened an existing mistrust… Continue reading
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Randy Weston and Billy Harper: “The Roots Of The Blues”
Randy Weston and Billy Harper perform “Blues To Senegal”, the second track from their 2013 album release “The Roots Of The Blues.” Continue reading
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Video: Boston Marathon Bomb Simulators Exposed
The exposé uses footage of controlled bomb simulations and on-the-scene eyewitness testimony from Boston to suggest that the explosions appear to have originated from pyrotechnic instruments or props resembling trash cans. The purported “bombs” in fact consisted of mortars and flammable powder that generate a more-or-less benign explosion devoid of any shrapnel, a hypothesis that… Continue reading
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Why you should be pissed off about Care.data By Alice
From the Spring, medical information about you which was previously only kept to help understand you as an individual – information from consultations, notes on prescriptions – will be uploaded to a central database to become one of the world’s most complete health databases. Our records are being connected to make them stronger. Continue reading
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Researchers find tipping point to sway public opinion By Paul Hyman
If just 10% of a social network is strongly committed to an opinion, that’s enough to rapidly convert the uncommitted 90% to adopt their point of view, say researchers who used computer models to discover the tipping point where a minority view becomes the majority opinion. Continue reading
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Capitalism's War on the Planet By Kirkpatrick Sale
I am reminded of a story told by Friederich Engels when he visited early industrial England and made some comment on the river of Manchester, “a coal-black, foul-smelling stream, full of debris and refuse,” and remarked to a leading manufacturer that he had never seen so ill-built and filthy a city: “The man listened quietly… Continue reading
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VTJP Occupied Palestine and Israel: News and Articles 16 January 2014: Israel to destroy another Haifa neighborhood, evict Palestinian residents
16 January 2014 — VTJP News International Middle East Media CenterSettlers Storm Al-Aqsa CourtyardsIMEMC – [Thursday January 16, 2014] 22 Israeli settlers, escorted by occupation soldiers, stormed al-Aqsa yards on Thursday morning. … Continue reading
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“One Fund Boston” and the Boston Mass Casualty Event By James F. Tracy
An integral and by now much-anticipated element of a spectacle such as the Boston Mass Casualty Event (BMCE) of April 15, 2013 involves establishment of charities through which the incident may gain legitimacy in the public mind. Such entities provide fiscal channels by which event participants may be compensated and are also vital for public… Continue reading
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The Strategic Consequences of Edward Snowden’s Revelations (I) By Dmitriy Sedov
In the final days of last year, the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor addressed the international community in a televised speech in order to once again point out the seriousness of the problem. In his speech Snowden referred to George Orwell’s novel ‘1984’, saying that the means of monitoring people described by Orwell (the… Continue reading
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The Real Causes of the Catastrophic Crisis in Greece and the “Left” By Takis Fotopoulos
The almost complete destruction of the lower classes in Greece is not due to the causes usually attributed to it by the “Left”.[1] In fact, contrary to the misleading “explanations” provided by this Left and the Right alike, the actual cause is the full integration of the Greek economy into neoliberal globalization, through its accession… Continue reading
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Pambazuka News 661 16 January 2014: In pursuit of justice: CAR, Haiti, Ivory Coast & South Africa
16 January 2014 — Pambazuka News The authoritative electronic weekly newsletter and platform for social justice in Africa Continue reading
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First world war: an imperial bloodbath that’s a warning, not a noble cause By Seumas Milne
They were never going to be able to contain themselves. For all the promises of a dignified commemoration, the Tory right’s standard bearers held back for less than 48 hours into the new year before launching a full-throated defence of the “war to end all wars”. The killing fields of Gallipoli and the Somme had… Continue reading
The New Dark Age 