Representatives from the Alternative Information Center (AIC), Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT), UNICEF, OCHA, Save the Children UK, Defence of Children International (DCI), YMCA, Relief International, the Ecumenical Accompanying Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), Terre des Homme-Switzerland, the Michigan Peace Team and other international human rights organizations met in Hebron on 8 May to help Hebron's orphanages and schools from the Islamic Charitable Society to survive their Israeli military ordered closure. - Rainbow of Crisis

Israeli Independence Day 2008, marking the sixtieth anniversary of the rise of the Jewish State on the ruins of Palestinian society, should be cause more for sober reflection and reevaluation than for celebration. True, Israeli Jews have much to celebrate Only a few weeks ago the shekel joined the fifteen strongest currencies in the world, and with an economy fueled by diamonds, arms, high-tech, security services, and tourism, Israel's economy is booming. Israel's international position continues to soar: the European Union recently upgraded its links, German Chancellor Angela Merkel brought half her cabinet to Jerusalem to emphasize that Germany was Israel's "loyal partner," and President Bush will come for the second time in the past few months. Celebrities like Steven Spielberg (who withdrew as a cultural consultant to the Olympics in protest of China's human rights violations), Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google founder Sergey Brin, Rupert Murdoch, and Henry Kissinger, alongside South African Nobel Laureate and anti-apartheid crusader Nadine Gordimer, will also grace the festivities. And as for the "conflict," it has been effectively removed from the public consciousness (with the exception of Sderot) as attacks inside Israel have been virtually eliminated. What's not to celebrate? - Rainbow of Crisis

This month Israel marks the 60th anniversary of its founding. But amidst the festivities including visits by international celebrities and politicians there is deep unease ? Israel has skeletons in its closet that it has tried hard to hide, and anxieties about an uncertain future which make many Israelis question whether the state will celebrate an 80th birthday.
Official Israel remains in complete denial that the birth it celebrates is inextricably linked with the near destruction of the (...) - Rainbow of Crisis

". . .the party congress held recently at Coimbatore had decided that the CPI(M) should directly take up social issues."
(Prakash Karat as reported by The Hindu, May 8) As I sit to write this comment, I have before me a long-winded draft that took a whole day to do.
I now think my requirement for the task here must be to underscore without baggage or ambiguity the point I wish to make.
As to the first part of my title, much comment is already available internationally, especially within (...) - Globalization, resistance, immigration

There is no longer a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Forget the endless arguments about who offered what and who spurned whom and whether the Oslo peace process died when Yasser Arafat walked away from the bargaining table or whether it was Ariel Sharon's stroll through the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem that did it in.
All that matters are the facts on the ground, of which the most important is that ? after four decades of intensive Jewish settlement in the (...) - Rainbow of Crisis

Response to the tropical cyclone Nargis, which hit Myanmar on 3 May 2008 has been hijacked by vested interests on all sides, leaving millions of Asia's poorest people without any effective aid. - Rainbow of Crisis

Based on a US Congressional source, the Siniora government is reportedly able, with US approval, to offer the following face-saving proposal to Hezbollah to end the current crisis:
1. Hezbollah can keep its landline optic telecommunication cables for use in its Resistance struggle against Israel. But they should be put under "State Control".
Translation: Hezbollah controls them exclusively same as now and no one else will touch them. But 'officially' they will be under 'State' control, (...) - Rainbow of Crisis

Pakistan's constitutional shenanigans permit the fox to eat the lion. - Rainbow of Crisis

The Maoist victory in Nepal took India by surprise. But New Delhi must now critically reflect on its responsibility for the outcome, says Manjushree Thapa. - Globalization, resistance, immigration

The last five years in South Asian politics have proved to be extremely embarrassing to the mainstream media, its self-anointed pundits and the pollsters as far as ascertaining the wishes of the people are concerned. In the 2004 elections in India, an easy victory for the ?Shining India? of the NDA was predicted. Similarly, in the just concluded Constituent Assembly elections in Nepal, the winner by a large margin, the CPN (M), had been forecast to come in at a distant third, behind the Nepali Congress and the CPN (UML). - Rainbow of Crisis

Chido Makunike looks at the various competing interests in Zimbabwe, the MDC, ZANU PF, Mugabe and the West in relation to what the Zimbabwean are hoping to get out of democracy. - Rainbow of Crisis

Rarely has there been such an enthusiastic display of international unity as that which greeted the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Support for the war was universal in the chanceries of the West, even before its aims and parameters had been declared. nato governments rushed to assert themselves ?all for one'. Blair jetted round the world, proselytizing the ?doctrine of the international community' and the opportunities for peace-keeping and nation-building in the Hindu Kush. Putin welcomed the extension of American bases along Russia's southern borders. Every mainstream Western party endorsed the war; every media network?with bbc World and cnn in the lead?became its megaphone. For the German Greens, as for Laura Bush and Cherie Blair, it was a war for the liberation of the women of Afghanistan. [1] For the White House, a ?ght for civilization. For Iran, the impending defeat of the Wahhabi enemy. - Rainbow of Crisis

If the Nepali Congress and UML run away from the task of building the new Nepal, the people will never forgive them, says Maoist leader Prachanda - Rainbow of Crisis

Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups today issued an urgent call to cease restrictions on Gaza's fuel supply and stop the unprecedented harm to Gaza's humanitarian needs. The above-listed rights groups warned: - Rainbow of Crisis

The province of Sindh in southern Pakistan is a rural region of dusty mudbrick villages, of white-domed blue-tiled Sufi shrines, and of salty desert scrublands broken, quite suddenly, by floodplains of wonderful fecundity. These thin, fertile belts of green-cotton fields, rice paddies, cane breaks, and miles of checkerboard mango orchards-snake along the banks of the Indus River as it meanders its sluggish, silted, café-au-lait way through the plains of Pakistan down to the shores of the Arabian Sea. - Rainbow of Crisis

Varadarajan: What was your reaction to the election result? Were you surprised by the scale of Maoist victory?
Prachanda: No, we were not surprised. We knew the media and other parties were underestimating us but we were active amongst the people and knew we had great support. At the same time, we too underestimated how well Madhesi parties like the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum would do.
Varadarajan: Despite your pre-election confidence, you actively sought alliances and seat adjustments with (...) - Rainbow of Crisis

After first ?congratulating the people of Nepal on their historic Constitutional Assembly election,? the United States is now seeking to subvert the electorate's mandate by lobbying against the Maoists heading the next coalition government.
According to political and diplomatic sources, the U.S. ambassador in Kathmandu, Nancy Powell, is ?actively pushing? the idea that Girija Prasad Koirala should continue as Prime Minister.
Under the interim constitution, all major decisions, including the (...) - Rainbow of Crisis

Robert Bates' When Things Fell Apart: State Failure in Late Century Africa is a seminal contribution to understanding state crises Africa. Bates' thesis is that in the late 20th century, sub-Saharan African states suffered a catastrophic lowering of public revenues (brought about by a combination of poverty and fiscal austerity measures), that caused rulers with relatively short time horizons to shift from a longer-term strategy of promoting domestic wealth creation, and taxing it, to short-term predation. - Globalization, resistance, immigration

Abahlali baseMjondolo, the South African shackdwellers' movement reminds us in this statement and call to action that the structures of apartheid are still thriving in South Africa. - Globalization, resistance, immigration

The Congress of South African Trade Unions welcomes the statement by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman that the China Ocean Shipping Company which owns the An Yue Jiang, has decided to recall the ship because Zimbabwe cannot take delivery of the 77 tonnes of weapons and ammunition onboard. - Globalization, resistance, immigration

There are cities about which the mere mention of their name causes horror, for example Nuremburg in Germany, whose name is automatically connected with the discriminatory laws of the Nazi regime. To a much lesser extent, the city of Durban also belongs to this group: the very raising of the name of this South African city rouses the Israeli establishment and media. Since the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in 2001, Durban has become identified with anti-Israeli sentiment, and even anti-Semitism. Indeed, this past week the Israeli and American governments decided to boycott the second Durban conference against racism that is scheduled to be held in early 2009. - Rainbow of Crisis

Maoist ideologue Dr Baburam Bhattarai has emerged as the real leader of this country after the Constituent Assembly (CA) polls. He defeated his Nepali Congress opponent Chandraprakash Neupane with a huge margin from Gorkha-2. He says the CPN (Maoist) will not dare to deviate from its political commitments nor will it ever betray the people. He thinks the Maoists have now taken upon their shoulders a greater responsibility, that of restructuring the country and steering it onto the track of economic prosperity. Dr Bhattarai, a former student of Jawaharlal Nehru University, is not surprised by the results of the CA election. He argues that the CPN (Maoist) has changed the country's ground realities. Dr Bhattarai spoke with Prateek Pradhan, Ghanashyam Ojha and Puran P Bista of The Kathmandu Post on how the CPN (Maoist) would proceed with its economic and political agenda. Excerpts: - Globalization, resistance, immigration

Sixty years after the Naqba, the catastrophe, Palestinians are still without a state. They are living under occupation, many are in refugee camps, others are scattered around the world, and a part of the Palestinian people are no more than second class citizens in Israel itself. - Rainbow of Crisis

The first International Writers Festival is scheduled to take place 11-15 May 2008 in Jerusalem, just three days after Israel's official celebrations of 60 years of independence. Local and international activists have been active in urging a boycott of the International Writers' Festival in Jerusalem, slated for 11-15 May, particularly by the distinguished international writers scheduled to participate in this event. - Rainbow of Crisis

The violent protests in Haiti against rising food prices have exposed key problems in the already impoverished country's political condition. - Globalization, resistance, immigration

Riots in Haiti over explosive rises in food costs have claimed the lives of six people. There have also been food riots world-wide in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivorie, Egypt, Guinea, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, Uzbekistan and Yemen. - Globalization, resistance, immigration

The International Council of the WSF organised a strategy debate, examining the global political context, the processes, and the future of the WSF during its meeting from March 31 to April 3 in Abuja, Nigeria. - AI and the WSF

The old war was primarily between the Sunni community ? which contested the American occupation ? and an Iraqi government dominated by the Shia in alliance with the Kurds. That conflict has not ended. But the most important battles likely to be waged in Iraq this year will be within the Shia community. They pit the US-backed Iraqi government against the supporters of the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who represents the impoverished Shia masses of Iraq. ?The Shia are the majority in Iraq (...) - Rainbow of Crisis

In light of recent events in Egypt yesterday April 6, 2008, the Center for Socialist Studies calls on supporters of freedom and justice everywhere in the world to show there support for victims of repression in Egypt. Mount pressure on the Egyptian dictatorship to release more than 800 detained yesterday including; more than 150 political activists (socialists, liberals, and Islamists), more than 600 protestors from Mahallah (mainly women and children) and Mahalah strike Committee leaders Kamal El-Faioumy and Tarek Amin- who are facing serious allegations of agitation which can lead to long prison sentences. - Rainbow of Crisis

Today, the 17th of April, Palestinians commemorate Palestinian Prisoners Day to remind both the international and the local publics that thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of children, are currently imprisoned in Israeli military jails, often following administrative detention, and exposed to various forms of torture and inhumane treatments. Every year on the 17th of April is used to raise awareness about the situation of Palestinian prisoners. - Rainbow of Crisis