Why the US fears Cuba
On the situation in Cuba now, and on the often-overlooked successes of the Cuban revolution.

Now we pay the warlords to tyrannise the Afghan people
an article in the Guardian, commenting on the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, 18 months after the US/UK bombing campaign.

A committee of British members of the Parliament has warned that the Iraq war has not lessened, and probably has increased, the risk of Al Qaeda attacks against British targets.

An article by Claire Short, former international development secretary of the UK, criticizing the British policy of occupation of Iraq.

Alguns artigos que sairam na Folha de Sao Paulo, sobre educacao no Brasil.

America is a religion: an article by George Monbiot on the religious fervour behind American leaders' actions.

A really weird idea: the Pentagon wants to set up a futures market in which people would bet on events in the Middle East, including timing of bombings, assassination attempts, coups etc.

Burmese citizens in California are trying to sue a gas company for using slave labour etc in their country. I'd like to see Nigerians sueing Shell, and so on.

On a silent film depicting one day in the life of Havana.

About an open-minded Brit and her activities helping asylum seekers in Britain.

About an open-minded Brit and her activities helping asylum seekers in Britain.

Mr. Berlusconi starts well his presidency of the EU.

Actors in the US who express their anti-war opinions are being antagonized, and may lose their jobs. An article about Martin Sheen.

An article by Martin Amis on the threat of war, and the new world order.

In the US the pledge of allegiance, said by all students every morning, contains the phrase 'under God'. A civil action questioned that, on the basis that it violates the separation between State and Church. Check out an article in the Guardian about it.

Hans Blix: I was smeared by the Pentagon.

The UK government launches a study into the benefits and risks of nanotechnology.

The previous posting has been withdrawn by the Guardian. I'm curious about what Wolfowitz actually said. Unfortunately the only available text now is the correction that appeared today in the Guardian:

Paul Wolfowitz
A report which was posted on our website on June 4 under the heading "Wolfowitz: Iraq war was about oil" misconstrued remarks made by the US deputy defence secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, making it appear that he had said that oil was the main reason for going to war in Iraq. He did not say that. He said, according to the department of defence website, "The ... difference between North Korea and Iraq is that we had virtually no economic options with Iraq because the country floats on a sea of oil. In the case of North Korea, the country is teetering on the edge of economic collapse and that I believe is a major point of leverage whereas the military picture with North Korea is very different from that with Iraq." The sense was clearly that the US had no economic options by means of which to achieve its objectives, not that the economic value of the oil motivated the war. The report appeared only on the website and has now been removed.

Wolfowitz has confirmed publicly: the Iraq war was about oil. I hope the naive US citizens and politicians who supported the war because of the false WMD propaganda will stand up and protest about this, as is happening in the UK.

An article by Gary Younge on dissent in the US media.

Specialists removed questionable evidence about weapons from draft of Powell's speech to UN. Basically, it appearse that Powell was extremely unconfortable and skeptical about 'evidence' of WMD in Iraq provided to him by Wolfowitz.

Transcripts of a private conversation between Jack Straw and Colin Powell expressing serious doubts about the reliability of intelligence on Iraq's banned weapons programme are being circulated in western government circles where there is a growing feeling that officials were deceived into supporting the Iraq war.

Actor Sean Penn has published a one-page ad in the NYT about the cost of dissent in the US, and his own experience speaking out against Bush's policies.

Some candid comments of Mr. Wolfowitz on the real reasons for the war in Iraq.

Some candid comments of Mr. Wolfowitz on the real reasons for the war in Iraq.

A series of reports on how Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Kosovo are now, a few years after foreign military intervention.

On the differing body counts of the war in Iraq.

The US finally finds evidences of WMD (Weapons of mass destruction) -- in Maryland...

The US is putting more pressure on Iran. The Pentagon has a plan of regime change in Iran, by overt and covert means.

An article commenting on US's biggest defense budget ($400 billion) since the cold war.

An article commenting on US's biggest defense budget ($400 billion) since the cold war.

An article on how the Iraq conflict accelerated the crisis in the IMF, World Bank and WTO.

An article by George Monbiot about a Belgian court which may prosecute the US general in charge of Iraq, over war crimes.

On an American conservative commentator. It also discusses how the Bush administration is not a freak event, but is backed by a large part of the media and public.

An article on the real dimension of the problem of overfishing in all the oceans.

Clare Short, the international development secretary of the UK, has resigned over Britain's handling of Iraq.

Sobre o numero de mortes por tiroteio no Rio: mais de 100 bandidos em um mes, e 71 policiais no ano ate agora. Isso e' guerra civil!

Iraq body count is an organization which keeps track of civilian deaths during the war and in its aftermath. It is challenging the Pentagon over the number of civilians being killed by cluster bombs. Right now the death count is at least 2200.

The two faces of Rumsfeld

2000: director of a company which wins $200m contract to sell nuclear reactors to North Korea
2002: declares North Korea a terrorist state, part of the axis of evil and a target for regime change

An article (with links) on software for social interactions over the web, e.g. weblogs, teleconferencing, etc.

An article criticizing the methodology the World Bank uses to claim that poverty is decreasing in the world.

The US is paying a company to gather all types of information on citizens of Latin America.

One more jornalist killed, this time a British in the Gaza strip, killed by an Israeli tank shell.

An article reminding us that it's already possible to radically change human nature through genetic engineering. This is bound to happen sooner or later, and will make the debate about cloning seem very silly indeed.

Israeli ambassador to the US called for regime change in Iran an Syria

Almost 200 factories in Argentina have been occupied by its workers, who keep the production a bit like a commune.

American to oversee Iraq oil industry.
The US is preparing to install an American chairman on a planned management team of the Iraqi oil industry, providing further ammunition to critics who have questioned the Bush administration's agenda in the Middle East.

On the mayor of Tokyo, a belicist right-winger who may one day become prime minister.

Brussels is discussing how political power is going to be organized in the future of the European Union.

The US is keeping 'enemy combatants' (note, they do not qualify as prisoners of war) who are 16 years old and younger.

Hans Blix has declared that in his opinion the US has used 'shaky' intelligence (including forged documents) in an effort to prove Iraq had banned weapons.

The US sugar industry is blackmailing the World Health Organization into withdrawing a damning report.

Why Syria is US's new target. An analysis by an ex-embassador of the UK in Syria and Saudi Arabia.

Apparently the White House has ruled out attacking Syria before Bush's attempt at reelection. Hopefully that's true, and hopefully that won't happen even in the dire possibility of a second Dubya term.

Naomi Klein: what is being planned in Iraq is not reconstruction, but robbery.

Suzanne Goldenberg in Bahgdad tells of the chaos reigning there.

Israeli military shoot another foreign pacifist. It's the third in the last month or so.

'We shouldn't tolerate such barbarity'

The press is outraged by Castro's roundup of dissidents

The battle for American science

Creationists, pro-lifers and conservatives now pose a serious threat to research and science teaching in the US, report Oliver Burkeman and Alok Jha

Britain has created a 'baby bond', a savings account that will automatically be opened for every newborn in the UK, to help save for the future.

Uma materia sobre a possibilidade dos servicos secretos russos e americanos terem entrado em conflito para decidir quem ficaria com os arquivos secretos do governo de Saddam Hussein.

An article by Stiglitz on the ruin brought to Russia by neoliberalism.

US forces in Bagdhad seem to be targeting the news media. Three reporters were killed after a tank fired at the hotel where most journalists are staying.

On repression in the UK against anti-war protest.

On the current SARS (deadly pneumonia) outbreak in Canada.

The situation in the Corean peninsula is deteriorating. There may be a war there soon.

An article on the way that the Europeans have historically viewed the Americans.

A second American peace activist was seriously wounded by Israeli troops in Palestine.

On the deteriorating relations between Cuba and the Bush administration.

On how the US is preparing for the battle of Baghdad by learning Israeli strategies used in the invasion of Jenin.

Some criticism about the brutal way used by US soldiers with civilians in Iraq, as opposed to the more measured British soldiers.

A reminder of US use of chemical weapons in Vietnam. The legacy is terrible for hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese.

On how George Bush has decided to extend secrecy of documents concerning his government. Dick Cheney now also can decide whether and for how long keep the documents secret.

An article, with links, about the ideas of Richard Perle, the Pentagon's chair of Pentagon's Defense Policy Board. In particular, points to an extremely right-wing paper delineating the strategy US-Israel should follow to 'change regime' in Iraq and other countries in the Middle East.

McCarthy's ghost

Democracy is under threat in the United States; anyone who objects to the conflict in Iraq is not allowed to say so. An article by Gary Younge.

Bugs were found in EU offices.

On the backlash against anti-war voices in the US.

On the uncertainties of the coming war.

Some emails from the American peace activist killed in Palestine by an Israeli bulldozer.

An interview with Boutros Boutros Ghali.

An American peace activist is crushed by an Israeli bulldozer as she tried to prevent the Israeli army from destroying a Palestinian home.

On the contracts awaiting US firms to rebuild Iraq (after it has been conveniently obliterated).

More on the bugging that the US was doing on UN officials.

The Pentagon asks Congress to build and test "mini-nukes".

On torture at the US military base in Afghanistan, resulting in at least two dead prisoners.

A case study about the US penal system: a non-violent shoplifter who got a 50 years' jail sentence.

An article on Stalin, 50 years after his death.

Naomi Klein on civil disobedience as a way to prevent war.

On how the NSA spies on UN members to foster US interests.

An interesting article on the celebration of 60 years of the battle of Staliningrad, and the different ways official history has treated its importance.

Sobre a mais recente onda de violencia no Rio: em uma semana, 45 veiculos incendiados, seis supermercados atacados e nove onibus depredados.

The US is considering direct military intervention in Colombia.

A text by Naomi Klein on the midia war in Venezuela.

An analysis (by an Oxford scholar) on why the US wants war.

Sobre a diferenca na cobertura dos protestos pacifistas, dentro e fora dos EUA.

O governo Lula se declara contra o plano Colombia (intervencao militar americana na Colombia).

Sean Penn is against the war, and has been speaking about it for a while now, in a mostly silent Hollywood. Now he's sueing a producer, claiming that he was dismissed from a film because of his anti-war views. This brings to mind the McCarthy's era in Hollywood, with black lists etc.

The US government instills panic in its citizens, telling them to store water, money, flashlights and plastic sheets in case of a terrorist attack. This is unlikely to help, but it creates panic and support for the authorities. In my view, it's all part of the drive for war.

An article by a reporter who was in Iraq in 1991, reporting on what 'collateral damage' really means.

On the ethics of nanotechnology. This reminds me of Prey, a book by Michael Crichton that I recently read.

A nice collection of anti-war sites.

An article on the left in the US today.

On how US Green Berets are training troops in Colombia.

Weapons of mass destruction? The vast stockpiles in the former Soviet Union are much more dangerous than Iraq.

Weapons of mass destruction? The vast stockpiles in the former Soviet Union are much more dangerous than Iraq.

On the likely number of Iraqi deaths and wounded in case of war.

On the likely number of Iraqi deaths and wounded in case of war.

On the use of torture by US officials.

Israel detains hundreds without trial.

Sobre o filme 'Cidade de Deus' e a realidade que ele retrata, do correspondente do Guardian no Rio.

On the hypocritical protectionism of first-world markets.

On how the car culture of North America has shaped cities and foreign policy of the U.S.

On the threat that terrorists could easily provoke nuclear leaks by attacking nuclear power stations and storage facilities in the UK.

Direct action has started in the UK against the possibility (inevitability?) of war. Some Scottish train drivers refused to run trains transporting ammunition to Gulf forces.

On the right-wing stance of American media.

A report on the state of the world today (it doesn't look good...).

Sobre como os batalhoes de engenharia do exercito brasileiro vao ajudar na construcao de estradas e fiscalizacao de obras.

Exemplo de como o Brasil esta mudando. As cooperativas brasileiras estao doando 24000 toneladas de alimentos para o programa fome zero, o proprio ministro "Fome zero" ja foi presidente da Organizacao das cooperativas brasileiras.

On the need for more vigorous anti-war demonstrations in the UK.

On the need for more vigorous anti-war demonstrations in the UK.

On the self-censorship of American media, and how it may be softening now. It's actually very tentative, nothing that could be interpreted as 'anti-patriotic' or touching the CIA or Bush is being shown on TV.

Granta's list of great young English prose writers, edited once every ten years, is out. Should check it out and read some of them.

Um perfil de Jose Saramago, em ingles no The Guardian.

On the use of Palestinian human shields by the Israeli army.

On the use of torture by US officials abroad. The US keeps about 3000 prisoners outside of Guantanamo Bay.

An article by a state minister in South Africa, comparing the apartheid regime there with what Israel is doing in Palestine.

On the policy of assassinations being pursued by the US.

About the operations of the US army in Afghanistan, and how unsuccessful and brutal they have been.

On the Washington Post and other newspapers in the US which seem to be doing pro-war propaganda.

On seeing Cuba> through its people.

Comment on the previous entry, a leader in the Guardian.

How the CIA assassinated some Al-Qaeda SUSPECTS outside of a war zone. This creates a dangerous precedents. Instead of arresting and judging suspects, the USA is just killing them at will.

On the decrease of oil production in the world, and how this will shape the future of Britain and other countries.

On subviral advertisement.

On the US's illegal programme for biological weapons.

A leader in the Guardian on Lula's victory.

Lula se elegeu presidente do Brasil!!! estou muito feliz.

An article in the Guardian about Iran today.

George Monbiot on all the US' systematic drive to prevent a peaceful solution to Iraq's disarmament.

On the great American misleader - Bush, and his televised speech yesterday.

On how Israel treated the man who blew the whistle about Israel's nuclear weapons.

An article on how to keep art alive during the intifada.

The press secretary of the White House says the cost of an invasion of Iraq could be saved by the 'cost of a bullet'. It's this kind of barbarianism that makes many in the world cringe when the US says they defend 'civilization'.

On Giuliani's uncivilized stance.

A selection of supposedly very good british blogs.

On how the hawks took the White House. It discusses the appointment and past 'glories' of the hawks Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz et al.

More on the Bush doctrine.

Bush's new policy on external threats: we'll attack them before they are fully formed.

On how even refugees from Iraq oppose an attack by the US and UK.

Next month the EU will decide whether communications companies should store all e-mails, faxes and phone calls for one to two years.

The Taliban were massacred in Afghanistan , about 960 at least were killed in trucks after arrest.

The US knew Iraq would use chemical attacks against Iran/a>, and supported Iraq nevertheless. Now they use the attacks as an excuse to topple Saddam.

Mice can now produce human sperm. Sounds like science fiction but it isn't.

Mice can receive human teste tissue and start producing human sperm. Sounds like science fiction but it isn't.

On a food scare that suggests that most fried food have chemicals which provoke cancer. To be checked and followed.

A curious article>/a> by someone who claims to be addicted to marijuana, and even goes to Marijuana Anonimous.

US is considering sending assassination squads all over the world 'to kill Al-Qaeda members', even without consent of governments.

On the swearing in of the new president of Colombia. One of his campaign promisses is to arm 1 million civilians to aid the military. This is likely to fuel the war, with yet more paramilitary groups forming...

It's going to be hard for Bush to continue to use 'Axis of Evil' excuse as a diversion>/a> from his own governments' blunders at home.

An article by an Israeli who had a son killed by Palestinian fighters, and yet is lucid enough to say the guilt belongs to the Israeli government.

An article by Monbiot on the need to refuse to co-operate with the US.

An interview with the pilot of the Enola Gay. He sounds a lot like the pilot in Kubrick's `Dr. Strangelove', which is very scary.

An article about South America's economic woes.

Interesting art-related sites, and odd curiosities as well.

Some links to sites loved by people working with arts in the UK.

Scientists recreate the polio
virus from its written RNA sequence. Chilling.

On Bush's hypocrisy revealed.

A "Big Issue" do Brasil foi lancada.

Repercussion in Palestine of Bush's
abandonment of Arafat.

Some areas of conflict between Europe and
the Bush administration.

On the real scale of the AIDS epidemic in
Africa, and the small fraction of ill people receiving treatment.

"The last thing the US wants is democracy in Iraq" (Article in The Guardian).

A nice collection of blogs.

About the new nuclear weapons the US is set to build and test, breaking yet another international treaty.

On legislation which is eroding UK citizen's rights.

How the UK is following the US in planning new nuclear bombs to use against 'terrorists and rogue states'.

There is some dissent on the US about the policies being undertaken by Bush and his advisors (i.e. actual rulers of the world). But it is very timid, given the frightening silent that has been imposed over anyone who disagrees with Bush's policies...

An article about distributed computing projects over the net. Includes links to many of those.

A Palestinian leader claims he is being tortured while in jail in Israel. Torture was outlawed in Israel only recently (1999), but apparently is still happening.

A good article on Palestine suicide bombers.

More on the accusations the US are making against Cuba, suggeting they are developing bio-weapons and selling them to Iran.

The European parliament has allowed the state's law enforcement agencies to obtain information about phone, internet and any other communication of any citizen.

UN report on man-made changes to the environment over the last 30 years, and some possible scenarios for the next 30 years.

Why haven't we heard more about anthrax in the U.S.? Probably because it was produced by the U.S. military, in contravention of biological weapons treaties.

Yesterday Stephen Jay Gould died. His books were an inspiration for me and thousands of other would-be-scientists.

Dissent is not allowed in the U.S. It may be lawful, but the big press simply won't air any views against present international policy on Middle East, 'war on terror', Iraq and so on. Article by Jonathan Steele.

Bush is pushing the Missile Shield Defence into existence. In a few weeks silos will start to be built in Alaska. Good news for the American industry, bad news for the world. Article.

Bush is stupid and ignorant , says the prince who gently lectured him on the struggle of the Palestinians.

Colin Powell took back what his hawkish secretary had said about Cuba having helped other countries develop biological weapons. By saying this sort of lie about Cuba, they are probably trying to help Jeb Bush be reelected in Florida, and use the 'war on terror' childish ideology to justify political attacks.

More on the absurdity of the 'axis of evil'.

On an insidious new form of propaganda , taken up by the big corporations: web lobbying. Basically, these companies pay people to forge identities and infiltrate discussion groups etc., attacking their opponents (environmental groups for example) and disseminating lies. I think I have received such correspondence in my mailbox already.

About the sort of people that Israel defends in illegal settlements.

Tonight a programme on BBC2 shows how Chavez knew about the coming coup and how he prepared for it. Basically, a friend from OPEC told him that the US would organize the coup from fear that Venezuela would join some Arab countries in an embargo because of the us support of Israel. So the US is definitely implicated in the coup, as apparently Chavez himself says in the documentary. Check out an article about this.

The U.S. are gently propping the Afghanistan people towards democracy. This includes killing powerful men who obtained their power through CIA backing in the 1980's.
Article

De-classified documents from FBI show intrusive methods used to keep a tag on `dangerous' persons such as Lucille Ball and Albert Einstein.

An analysis on the ressurgence of the right in Europe, and its possible effect on issues such as the expansion of the EU over the next few years.

And the U.S. are also undermining just about any international treaties provided to provide some security to the world as a whole.
Article.

The U.S. are really using the new-found `war on terror' ideology to attack its political enemies. Now, because Cuba managed to develop their own vaccines and health system, the U.S. has put them in the infamous `axis of evil', saying they support states which may use bio-weapons.
Era o que faltava!
The Guardian article

An article on how we can control animals through electrodes and pleasure estimulation. Creepy!

An article on how we can control animals through electrodes and pleasure estimulation. Creepy!

Duncan Campbell's article in The Guardian commenting on U.S. role in South American coups, with emphasis on recent failed Venezuelan coup.

How the U.S. ousted the competent head of an international body in charge of chemical weapons inspections. His dangerous ideas:
1- Inspect the U.S. as well as other countries;
2- Inspect Iraq and remove one of the excuses the U.S. have not to go to war with that country.
The Guardian article.

This is a collaborative open content encyclopedia anyone can edit at will. These days it's quite slow-access, sometimes the server just times out. I've added a few words to some 'quantum' entries.
Wikipedia

An article about how the French reacted after the last election result:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,11882,688756,00.html