When our grandchildren and more distant descendants assemble in such classrooms as may be available and ask their teachers, "Why did our ancestors not take effective action to prevent the catastrophic effects of climate change?" one of the answers will surely be, "The war in Iraq." Michael Klare
The first sign that welcomes visitors reads, "Caution: Children at Play." Back in the West, a sign of this sort wouldn't even cock an eyebrow, but up in the Himalayas, it stopped me dead in my tracks. Indian street life is defined by chaos. Clogged with cars and cows, lepers and beggars, roads are forged like white water rapids, not splashed in like puddles. Yet, I'm visiting the Tibetan Children's Village, a residential school for underprivileged Tibetan refugees.
National Public Radio recently reported on one of the latest gadgets developed by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Described as a non-lethal weapon, it concentrates microwaves and can reach a target as far away as 500 yards, causing the victim to retreat. One of the scientists involved in its development, noted that it operated by heating water molecules just under the skin, causing pain. In short, this non-lethal weapon functions like a microwave oven. Yet the report was remarkably free of important details. For example, what happens if the device strikes a target at a distance appreciably less than 500 yards?
Around mid afternoon on November 30th, two groups of demonstrators converged in front of the Williston, Vermont, Military Recruitment Office in Maple Tree Place. Members of Mount Mansfield Union High Schools’ Peace Club and Iraqi Veterans Against the War led the rally march against military recruitment in High Schools. In all, 75-80 protesters took to the street with ambitions to shutting down the recruitment center for the day… Keep reading this report at
There was a high level of scepticism - not to say cynicism - concerning the outcome of the November 27th conference on Israel-Palestine in Annapolis. There were a few photo-ops but no memorable photos that I have seen. All the chief actors in this play had different motivations and different interests to advance. If the aim of the meeting were really a settlement of the key final status issues between Israel and Palestine and the creation of a Palestinian state, a trip to Washington and a car ride to Annapolis would have been unnecessary.
Copyright Toward Freedom 2019