NB: The sadistic Iranian theocrats do not know that the Hippocratic oath enjoins doctors to treat every person who needs medical treatment, regardless of who they might be. The Ayatollahs preside over a replica of hell on earth. DS GOLNAZ ESFANDIARI In late November, three Iranian doctors traveled to the country’s western Kurdistan region, the… Read More Iranian Doctors Who Treated Wounded Protesters ‘Arrested, Tortured’
Tens of thousands gather for rally and workers in several sectors strike over rightwing government’s proposals Israel’s new hard-right government has begun introducing sweeping legislation aimed at overhauling the judicial system, prompting the largest public demonstrations against the proposed measures to date. In a heated meeting in which several opposition politicians had to be forcibly… Read More Protests and strikes in Israel as plans for judicial overhaul move forward
In a wide-ranging discussion, the Pulitzer prize-winning journalist ponders why other journalists were hesitant to report on the notorious My Lai case. Seymour Hersh’s work has been published in numerous publications, including The New Yorker and The New York Times. He won a Pulitzer for his reporting on the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War. His book… Read More Seymour Hersh on Witnessing American War Crimes in Vietnam
(the) planet’s billionaires have collectively “earned” (and yes, that’s in quotation marks for obvious reasons) $2.7 billion every one of the last 730 days. Meanwhile, in 2021 alone, at least 115 million people fell into “extreme poverty,” with billions more hanging on by a thread. By 2030, Oxfam reports, the world could be facing the “largest setback in addressing global… Read More Poverty Amid Plenty
Marina Ovsyannikova, the former Russian state TV editor who famously interrupted a live news broadcast to protest against the start of the Ukraine war, has described her “chaotic” escape from house arrest in Moscow and how she fled across Europe to seek asylum in France. “I didn’t want to emigrate until the very last moment,” Ovsyannikova said… Read More Marina Ovsyannikova says she still fears for her life after ‘chaotic’ escape to France
NB: The Iranian theocracy is brutal, mindless and emblematic of the evil of authoritarian regimes the world over. DS An Iranian doctor and rights activist has been released from Tehran’s infamous Evin prison one week after photographs of his severely emaciated condition emerged on social media. Farhad Meysami was released from prison on Friday, according… Read More Kingdom of God: Iran frees dissident Farhad Meysami after photos of his emaciated condition cause outrage online
YOGENDRA YADAV This week the country saw a new Rahul Gandhi. Unlike his solo and strident attack on the Rafale scam before the 2019 Lok sabha election, his interrogation of PM Narendra Modi’s complicity in the Adani affair was at once sharper and calmer. This was not a piece of classical oratory. But he took… Read More You saw a new Rahul Gandhi in Parliament. I saw the change in Kashmir
Jamila*, a widow living in Herat, lost her husband in a suicide attack about eight years ago. She has an 18-year-old daughter who is blind and a 20-year-old son who lost both legs in a mine blast. Jamila used to be a housemaid and bake bread for people in their homes. With this income she… Read More Afghanistan: single women and widows are struggling to find their next meal under Taliban restrictions
The Indian prime minister’s attempts to suppress a critical BBC documentary show how sensitive he is to his international reputation. (NB: The problem is that the ‘parivar’ boasts about the same thing at home which its proponents wish to deny on the international stage. DS) Mukul Kesavan The clue to the Indian government’s thin-skinned response… Read More Narendra Modi is struggling to be both anti-Muslim strongman and global leader
‘Blank Paper movement’ decrying government policies rekindles dissent after Xi Jinping’s decade of iron-fisted crackdowns. Support the Chinese peoples struggle for democracy! A 25-year-old woman who had been interrogated by police after protesting in south China tells the Guardian that even though she is frightened by police, the protests have radicalised her as she has… Read More ‘We just want to live in a normal world’: China’s young protesters speak out, and disappear
After the truth-shower 