 |
|
by Kimia Sanati
In Iran it is difficult to figure out when a person is considered an adult. According to Article 49 of the Islamic Penal Code the age of legal responsibility is nine years for girls and 15 for boys. Youngsters of both sexes, however, have to wait until they are 16 to vote in elections, and 18 to open a bank account, get a driver's license, or sell property in their names. They can be hanged at any age
|
|
|
Analysis by Omid Memarian
Iran's government is attempting to suppress its critics and consolidate its power before two key elections on Dec. 15 -- for the Tehran city council and the national Assembly of Experts. Both of these political bodies are currently dominated by religious hardliners. And both votes will play a significant role in determining Iran's political future
|
|
|
by Kimia Sanati
While President Mahmud Ahmadinejad is busy running a high voltage campaign against the United States and its policies, back home citizens are wondering if he will ever make good on an election promise to crack down on the corrupt and distribute Iran's vast oil revenues more equitably
|
|
|
by Bill Samii
Iranian government efforts to steer public perceptions through media restrictions are not limited to mainstream newspapers in the capital. Provincial publications and journalists face mounting official pressure -- especially among those dealing with minority affairs
|
|
|
by Bill Samii
Media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders announced on September 28 that Advar News, a website connected with the Office for Strengthening Unity student group, has been closed since a raid on its offices by security personnel on September 19. The raid occurred a little more than a week after an Iranian official announced that the government is filtering public access to more than 10 million websites
|
|
|
by Kimia Sanati
Iranians have taken stoically a crackdown on rooftop satellite dishes that allow then to watch 'decadent' foreign channels as well as a proliferation of Farsi language programs beamed in by dissident expatriates
|
|
|
by Alison Langley
Under Shari'a law, a prisoner is buried up to her breast, her hands restrained. Rules also specify the size of the stones which can be thrown so that death is painful and not imminent. Both men and women can be sentenced to die by stoning. In practice, however, an overwhelming number of women receive that penalty
|
|
|
by Norman Solomon
Traveling the world as I do, I understand that the world is best understood by people who travel the world as I do
|
|
|
About one-third of those forced to leave the area after the marshes were drained have now returned. But many have done so simply because the areas in central and northern Iraq where they have lived since the 1990s have become unsafe
|
|
|
by Tom Barry
The administration and the Republican Party are again hawking the security issue prior to elections. Not only are they saying that they are the only ones who can be trusted to protect the nation's security, but they are also trying to burnish their own security credentials by tarnishing those of the Clinton administration
|
|
|
The number of roadblocks and checkpoints in the West Bank has risen by 40 percent since the start of 2006, with 528 permanent and temporary checkpoints and physical roadblocks disrupting all aspects of Palestinian life, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
|
|
|
by Alexander Cockburn
The trouble is that microloans don't make any sort of a macro-difference. They have helped some poor women, no doubt about it. But in their own way they're a register of defeat
|
|
|
by Alexander Cockburn
The ADL had spies everywhere, who were sending back to the ADL feverish reports, mostly hysterical fabrications, about what they claimed to have heard in meetings. That was a joke. Not a joke was what happened at UCLA and Cambridge, where there were undercover cops at Chomsky's meetings because they'd picked up serious threats
|
|
|
by Alexander Cockburn
Republicans are a repressed lot, unless they become libertarians. Back in Reagan time, when I was on the campaign trail, the motels were always filled with Republicans stitched into their squeaky-clean suits who were obvious closet cases
|
|
|
by A.C. Thompson
Throughout Afghanistan, the U.S. military has created an extensive network of detention centers dedicated to holding hundreds of captured Afghans, mostly suspected Taliban backers. The United Nations is barred from these jails, as are human rights activists, journalists, and even the Afghan government. And in the absence of outside scrutiny, it seems, terrible things are happening to Afghan citizens -- men who've emerged from these jails say they've experienced the sort of horrors now synonymous with Abu Ghraib
|
|
|
by Steve Young
While White House chickens buck-bucked the greatness of the Bush administration, the real buzz was over what secret salvos Rove had saved for the last two weeks before the election. It sure didn't take long to find out
|
|
|
by Steve Young
As of this writing there has been no confirmation of his death, but the fact that he has not shown up on radio or TV to plug his latest book in the past twelve hours has lead many to conclude that he must be have passed away
|
|
|
by Steve Young
When Hannity and O'Reilly traipse out the "Hate America Crowd" catchphrase to label those who disagree with the President and his policies, one wonders if they might be speaking about those (all?) in the administration
|
|
|
by Steve Young
Damn you, George. Damn you, Melanie. Damn you, Pelosi. Damn you, Florida. Damn you kids who Foley text messaged. But thankfully we have Fox
|
|
|
by Alberto Mendoza
The old sugar mills were replaced in 2006 by less wasteful electric mills. Thanks to this, they have registered with the CDM to offer for sale 89,000 carbon units. Each unit represents the equivalent of one metric ton of CO2 that has not been emitted, and sells for $6-$10. Japan has already expressed an interest in buying them
|
|
|
Analysis by Jim Lobe
New efforts by the Bush White House to forge a de facto alliance between Sunni-led authoritarian states -- most notably, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt -- and Israel against a supposedly common external threat -- currently Iran -- also eerily recalls the Cold-War period in general, and the first year and a half, in particular, of the administration of President Ronald Reagan a quarter century ago
|
|
|
by Bill Berkowitz
While he isn't advocating a Republican defeat in November, in interviews, in a new book and in an essay in a liberal monthly publication, Viguerie has been making the argument that defeat could be better for the conservative movement in the long term
|
|
|
Analysis by Praful Bidwai
Musharraf has attracted more anger, resentment and hostility than sympathy, support or affection. He has raked up issues long considered settled, made abrasive or disparaging remarks about his former colleagues, superiors, allies and friends, claimed credit for Pakistan's unique and irreplaceable role in the United States-led 'global war on terror,' and demanded that the world must pay attention to Pakistan's concerns and respect it as a 'responsible' nuclear state despite the nuclear blackmarket or ÔWal-Mart' run by the A.Q. Khan network
|
|
|
by Zia Intezar
An upsurge in armed attacks and bombings that has spread from the restive southern provinces -- where remnants of the Taliban, the previous rulers, have regrouped with deadly results -- to the capital city Kabul, have shaken people's confidence in the government's ability to provide essential security
|
|
|
by Joe Conason
Confronted by the press after the FBI raid, Weldon solemnly explained that he and his family are merely victims of a frame-up by scheming liberal Democrats. He has spent much of his career promoting conspiracy theories and international intrigues, often talking as if he thinks the rest of us are willing to believe just about anything
|
|
|
by Thalif Deen
U.S. law forbids military assistance to countries where a democratically elected government is ousted by an army junta, the Bush administration has already suspended some $24 million in military aid to Thailand
|
|
|
by Marwaan Macan-Markar
The motives of the junta, which now calls itself the Council for National Security (CNS), are being scrutinized. It is obvious the military will remain the political master of the land for now
|
|
|
Diego Cevallos
The Mexican government justified on Monday the violent storming by federal police of social protests in the capital of the southern state of Oaxaca, saying it had restored peace and order. But the evidence tells a different story
|
|
|
Mary Jo McConahay
Ten days before he was killed on Oct. 27, journalist Brad Will posted a news report on the Internet called 'Death in Oaxaca,' about a 41-year-old man shot as he manned a barricade with his family and neighbors, much as thousands of Oaxacans have been doing for five months
|
|
|
by Jim Lobe
While referring to Posada as "the admitted mastermind of terrorist plots and attacks," the administration declined to officially declare him a terrorist under the USA Patriot Act, which, unlike the immigration law, gives the government authority to detain him indefinitely
|
|
|
by Earl Ofari Hutchinson
The solid South -- that is, the South that is mostly white, conservative, male, pro-war and anti-big government -- vehemently opposes any political tilt to minorities and is heavily influenced by ultra-conservative Bible Belt fundamentalism. These political attributes are the exact antithesis of Obama's political appeal, pitch and thrust
|
|
|
by Ali Al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail
These new armed groups have received early praise from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and U.S. officials. The United States had earlier called for the disarming of all militias for the sake of social peace and reconciliation, but that policy has clearly changed. The occupation forces now back both Shia and Sunni militias in different areas of the country
|
|
|
by Gareth Porter
The disappearance of Sunni resistance forces from these papers' coverage of the situation in Anbar mirrors the view presented by the U.S. military briefers for the past six months, which has systematically ignored what has become, in effect, a third force in the war in Iraq -- a Sunni resistance to both the occupation and al Qaeda
|
|
|
by Diego Cevallos
The movement, which began with a routine teachers' strike for higher wages, has expelled all public officials from their local government posts, demanding in-depth changes and the resignation of the governor of the state of Oaxaca, one of the poorest in the country along with the neighboring Chiapas and Guerrero
|
|
|
by Jim Lobe
Encouraging Japan to build nuclear weapons, shipping food aid via submarines, and running secret sabotage operations inside North Korea's borders are among a raft of policy prescriptions pushed by prominent U.S. neo-conservatives in the wake of Pyongyang's nuclear test
|
|
|
by Molly Ivins
What we see in the economy as a whole is an immense shift of wealth from the poor and middle class to the very rich. It seems a little painful to have to point this out yet again after six solid years of it, but these are lies, damn lies and statistics
|
|
|
by Molly Ivins
What we see in the economy as a whole is an immense shift of wealth from the poor and middle class to the very rich. It seems a little painful to have to point this out yet again after six solid years of it, but these are lies, damn lies and statistics
|
|
|
by Molly Ivins
I watched this happen two years ago -- same rejection of the Iraq war, same disgust with Bush and Co., same understanding Republicans are for the rich, period, same polls showing D's with the lead going right into Election Day. And the same geographic gerrymander and same wall of money in the last two weeks
|
|
|
by Molly Ivins
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health now estimates about 655,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in this war. All the work in the study fell to a knee-jerk response from conservatives, "Oh, that can't be right." Yet the methodology employed is the same as is used by the federal government to decide how to spend millions of dollars every year. It is, as they say, the industry standard
|
|
|
by Molly Ivins
Remember Bush's diplomatic interview with Bob Woodward, when he said, 'I loathe Kim Jong-Il!' Waving his finger, he added, 'I've got a visceral reaction to this guy because he is starving his people.' Bush also said he wanted to 'topple him' and called him a 'pygmy.' How old were you when you learned not to antagonize and infuriate the local crazy bully?
|
|
|
by Molly Ivins
I sacrificed an hour Friday evening to watch the Texas gubernatorial debate on your behalf, since I knew none of you would do it. Democrat Chris Bell looked and sounded like the only candidate who won't embarrass the state -- he was intelligent, well informed and even funny. But the question remains: Can Texas afford to lose that hair?
|
|
|
by Molly Ivins
I try not to hold grudges, but I must admit I have never lost one ounce of rancor toward Henry Kissinger, that cynical, slithery, self-absorbed pathological liar
|
|
|
by Jim Lobe
The Army's top officer, Gen. Peter Schoomaker, has called for nearly a 50 percent increase in spending -- to nearly $140 billion -- in 2008 to cope with the situation in Iraq and maintain minimal readiness for possible emergencies. To convey his seriousness, Schoomaker reportedly withheld the Army's scheduled budget request last month
|
|
|
by Qurratulain Ain Tahmina
Bangladesh's garment industry may have survived the quota-free global trade regime but the eight billion dollar earnings it posted in the last fiscal year ending June, was built on the backs of two million workers barely able to keep body and soul together on dirt wages
|
|
|
by Sanjay Suri
The signs have been emerging thicker and faster of late that the British want to pull out of Iraq altogether, but on Friday a British general said Britian needs to withdraw from Iraq 'sometime soon,' and Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed
|
|
|
by Sanjay Suri
The new study estimates the deaths from March 2003 to June 2006, and compares them with the deaths in the pre-invasion period January 2002 to March 2003 in 47 randomly selected sites across Iraq. That led to the figure of 655,000 -- on average more than 500 deaths a day more than in pre-invasion Iraq
|
|
|
by Fritzroy A. Sterling
Of the 13 cases that have been brought before Sudan's Special Criminal Court on the Events in Darfur to date, none is related to the attacks or atrocities committed in Darfur
|
|
|
by Adrian Reyes
So far this year, more than a thousand killings have been linked to disputes between drug traffickers in Mexico. The Office of the Attorney General has identified gunmen in the service of the Gulf, Sinaloa and Tijuana cartels among the main combatants engaged in turf wars in tourist areas
|
|
|
by Hadi Ghafari and Adila Kabiri
The Taliban warned both teachers and students to stay away in what are called 'night letters,' leaflets pasted on village walls, urging people to send children to mosque schools for a religious education instead. A new report released by Human Rights Watch has documented some 200 attacks on teachers, students and schools in the 18 months. At least 18 teachers and education officials have been assassinated
|
|
|
by Alberto Mendoza
Sexual exploitation of minors is not classified as a crime in Guatemala, where activists say child sex tourism is on the rise, and the toughest penalty is a $400 fine
|
|
|
by Robert Dreyfuss
Bush administration officials, U.S. military officers, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, and former Rep. Lee Hamilton -- co-chairman with James A. Baker III of the Iraq Study Group -- all of whom warned Maliki ominously that he had only a matter or weeks or months to get a handle on Iraq's paramilitary armies, militias, and death squads. The consequences for the Prime Minister of failing to do so were left unsaid, but the warnings were so explicit that Maliki spoke to George W. Bush this week about how he should interpret the barrage of deadline-like statements, and the President replied, according to spokesman Tony Snow, 'Don't worry, you have our full support.' (Think: Heck of a job, Maliki!) In fact, whatever consoling words the President might have had for him, the Iraqi Prime Minister has almost no reservoir of support left either in Washington or among U.S. military commanders in Iraq.
|
|
|
by Diego Cevallos
Striking teachers and hundreds of local residents living in camps have occupied downtown Oaxaca City for five months to demand the resignation of Governor Ulises Ruiz. Ten protesters had been killed so far, but Friday was the most violent day since the conflict began, bringing the total number of victims to 14.
|
|
|
UNHCR estimates that more than 1.5 million Iraqis are internally displaced in Iraq, including some 800,000 who fled their homes prior to 2003 and 750,000 who have fled since. A further 1.6 million Iraqis are refugees in neighboring countries, the majority in Syria and Jordan
|
|
|
by Antoaneta Bezlova
The emergence of North Korea as a nuclear power -- the only other in East Asia apart from China itself -- is perceived here as an evil that can be contained and even rendered useful as a counterweight to the United States military presence in the region
|
|
|
by Stephen Leahy
Rising tides of untreated sewage and plastic debris are seriously threatening marine life and habitat around the globe, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) warned. The number of ocean "dead zones" has grown from 150 in 2004 to about 200 today
|
|
|
by Lester R. Brown
Since it takes 1,000 tons of water to produce one ton of grain, importing grain is the most efficient way to import water. Countries are, in effect, using grain to balance their water books. Similarly, trading in grain futures is in a sense trading in water futures
|
|
|
by Young Kee Ju
The question of why North Korea did the test, of course, was a main topic in media worldwide. But even here, contextual information is rarely considered. Most stories in South Korea and the United States seem to be based on the concern about the disruption of NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) system, which leads to a focus on sanctions. No story conveys the context wherein North Korea is in a defensive, rather than aggressive, situation. Yet it is not hard to imagine that an isolated society with poor economy and military capacity would be concerned for its safety, especially after watching Iraq bombarded after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the overthrow of the Hussein regime by the United States in 2003
|
|
|
In books like 'The Dirty War' and 'A Small Corner of Hell,' Politkovskaya described the massive human rights abuses rampant in Chechnya. She was also openly critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin for his role in the Chechen campaign. Her outspoken style came at a price. She had been arrested in the past, and complained of sometimes being threatened. In 2004, she fell seriously ill with symptoms of food poisoning after drinking tea on a flight from Moscow to southern Russia during the school hostage crisis in Beslan, North Ossetia. At the time, her colleagues suspected it was an attempt on her life.
|
|
|
by Robert Scheer
The news about the Foley cover-up, while important as yet another example of extreme hypocrisy on the part of the Republican virtues police, should not be allowed to obscure the latest evidence of administration deceit as to its egregious ineptness in protecting the nation. On Monday, a State Department spokesman conceded that then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice had indeed been briefed in July 2001 by George Tenet, then-director of the CIA, about the alarming potential for an al-Qaeda attack
|
|
|
by Robert Scheer
The thousands of Enron employees who lost their jobs, as well as $2 billion in pension money and $60 billion in share value, deserve better. By focusing on narrowly drawn criminal charges and the public's wrath against Skilling and his late partner in crime -- Kenny-Boy Lay, as President Bush referred to his onetime chief campaign benefactor -- the culpability of the president's family in this sordid saga is being whitewashed
|
|
|
by Robert Scheer
The evidence arrives daily in the form of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of mutilated bodies. But even the few ghastly images that actually make it onto the television actually underestimate the horror. And it is getting worse, not better: The killing of innocents is now 10 times higher than a year ago
|
|
|
by Robert Scheer
If you shun them, they will shape up -- this was the essence of President Bush's non-diplomacy, as it was in regards to Iran, Lebanon and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The result? Cold War-style brinkmanship that has left the United States helpless
|
|
|
Analysis by Jim Lobe
While Bush, true to his self-image as an uncommonly firm leader in the mold of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, is undoubtedly sincere in his determination to press ahead, political circumstances -- not to mention the accelerating slide into an appalling civil war in Iraq -- are clearly conspiring against him
|
|
|
Scientists on October 16 reported the first direct evidence linking the 2002 collapse of an Antarctic ice shelf to global warming. The researchers found that stronger westerly winds in the northern Antarctic Peninsula, fueled primarily by human-induced climate change, were responsible for the dramatic summer warming that led to the retreat and collapse of the Larsen B ice shelf
|
|
|
by Jim Lobe
A clear Democratic victory will almost certainly increase pressure on the administration to set a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq and make it more difficult to rally support for military action against Iran -- a top neo-conservative priority -- in the two years left to Bush's presidency
|
|
|
by Bill Berkowitz
Whether it is the brainchild of Frank Luntz, the pollster and longtime Republican messaging guru, or an idea that emanated from the offices of Bush advisor Karl Rove or Ken Mehlman, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, the 'do you want us to win' question is clearly aimed at challenging the patriotism of critics of the war in Iraq.
|
|
|
by Srabani Roy
According to the UN and Amnesty International, these were the first known executions in the Kurdish region since restrictions on the use of capital punishment were lifted there, and the first since 1992. There are other unconfirmed reports of 27 men hanged in Baghdad for attacks against civilians, according to an AI statement in September
|
|
|
by Joe Conason
By invading Iraq on the pretext of disarming a hostile regime, Washington sent an unmistakable message to the two remaining members of the so-called axis, which was reinforced by the American refusal to engage in bilateral talks with Tehran and Pyongyang. Only military power, underscored by the actual possession of nuclear weapons, could guarantee survival against a superpower bent on 'regime change.' Both regimes took the hint and did precisely the opposite of what Bush said he wanted
|
|
|
by Emad Mekay
The case by the AFL-CIO, the largest trade union confederation in the United States, and the National Textile Association (NTA) marks the first time a business association has formally joined in seeking a workers' rights complaint under a trade agreement. The two organizations say they want the Bush administration to activate dispute settlement proceedings under the U.S-Jordan Free Trade Agreement that would halt the workers' rights violations
|
|
|
by Jim Lobe
By enacting new legislation this week governing the treatment and trial of suspects in Washington's Terror War, Congress has turned its back on both international law and the U.S. Constitution, according to the country's major human rights groups
|
|
|
by Joe Conason
While Hastert has never seemed capable of sustained cogitation, his responses to the questions raised by the Foley scandal have been particularly obtuse, and yet highly revealing as well. Sometimes he remembers being told about Foley, sometimes he doesn't. In either case, he accepts no responsibility
|
|
|
by Ali Al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail
Diyala province gets little media attention because of the journalists' fear of going in, said al-Zaidy.
The new violence has ripped apart old traditions, he said. 'The people of the province do not understand how these powers could turn it into a sectarian city from a wonderful 1,400 years of community peace and intermarriages'
|
|
|
by Aaron Glantz
A new report in this month's issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry finds that while a high percentage of soldiers returning from Iraq suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, many do not show symptoms right away
|
|
|
by Camille T. Taiara
Despite international criticism, Congress has given the Bush Administration unprecedented rights to hold terror suspects overseas without charge or the right to a fair trial. But little attention has been given to the unknown number of suspects in limbo here in the U.S, labeled as terrorists but held by immigration authorities -- without the right to a lawyer or to be presumed innocent
|
|
|
by Jim Lobe
The former secretary of state -- who, unlike other top members of the administration of President George H. W. Bush, notably former National Security Adviser Gen. Brent Scowcroft, has been very careful not to publicly criticize the younger Bush -- is virtually the only person with the stature and diplomatic finesse to rescue crisis situations that have only gone from bad to worse
|
|
|
by Julio Godoy
Between 1966 and 1996 France carried out 192 nuclear tests in French Polynesia, a group of islands in the south Pacific. These included 42 atmospheric tests, in the face of opposition from local residents. Now, 40 years after the tests began, the French government has finally started to admit that Polynesian inhabitants may have been right to fear the consequences of radioactivity
|
|
|
by Diego Cevallos
Some 3,000 delegates of the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO) walked for 21 days from Oaxaca to Mexico City, where they say they will remain until their demands are met.
|
|
|
The researchers acknowledge that global warming is a problem for the entire planet, but say that the Northeast has a major role to play. Ranked against the nations of the world, the Northeast is the seventh largest emitter of carbon dioxide
|
|
|
The Women's Freedom NGO estimates that nearly 3,500 Iraqi women have gone missing since the US-led occupation of Iraq began in 2003 and that there is a high chance many have been traded for sex work. It says 25 percent of these women have been trafficked abroad since the start of 2006, many unaware of their fate
|
|
|
by Jim Lobe
Despite Republican efforts, led by President George W. Bush, to align the party squarely behind the policies of successive right-wing governments in Israel, U.S. Jews are expected to vote overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates in next week's elections
|
|
|
by Azeez Mahmood
Although the queues at Bakthiar are shorter than elsewhere, women nonetheless complain that they are waiting too long. In response, the filling station's management has introduced several measures to cut down the queues. For instance, customers now have to produce a driving license, which is aimed at discouraging those who are only there to fill up their husband's vehicle or that of another family member
|
|
|
by Emad Mekay
One of the world's most exclusive business clubs warned the United States on Tuesday that its open-ended national security and war expenditures, along with tax cuts that led to large budget deficits, could erode the country's status as a powerful economic force
|
|
|
by Diego Cevallos
Despite the storm of diplomatic protests from abroad and historic social mobilizations in the United States, the U.S. Congress decided to build a 1,226-kilometer fence along its border with Mexico in an attempt to curb illegal immigration
|
|
Comments? Send a letter to the editor.
Albion Monitor Issue 150 (http://www.albionmonitor.com)
All Rights Reserved.
Contact rights@monitor.net for permission to use in any format.
|
