Politics

NOVANEWS Anthony D. Romero Common Dreams Fear is toxic to a democracy. Fear divides. Fear overreacts. Fear discriminates. It's a lesson we've learned throughout our history, from the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 to the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II to the post-9/11 Patriot Act. And now in the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks, we're relearning that lesson again as some of our leaders put forth proposals that would undermine our commitment to a free, pluralistic, compassionate, and open society. Currently 31 governors are on record opposing resettling any Syrian refugees in their states. These efforts to subvert federal policy would be unconstitutional. Only the federal government has the authority to determine who is allowed to enter the country...

NOVANEWS Graham Peebles writes: The worlds we inhabit are noisy places. The external environment – particularly cities, where over half the population now live, suffocates under a cacophony of competing sounds, from road and air traffic, to power tools, car alarms and neon lights. Moreover, for most of us, the internal, mental space in which we live is equally chaotic and cluttered. Contradictory thought patterns rise up one after another, jostling for attention, demanding to be heard and acted upon – conditioned, and therefore partial thoughts, which move us away from the present – where peace exists – and into conflict. This endless stream of space invaders is fuelled primarily by the senses, by memory and desire; the desire for pleasure in its myriad forms, for security, for status, f...

NOVANEWS Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) say the court’s prosecutor must reconsider an earlier decision not to open a probe into an Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla back in 2010. Following a few months of deliberations, judges at the appeals chamber ruled on Friday that prosecutor Fatou Bensouda must rethink her decision against the Gaza flotilla probe. Judges at The Hague-based court had initially asked Bensouda to reconsider her decision in July, saying she made “material errors in her determination of the gravity” of the case. The latest decision could force Bensouda to open a full investigation into the case. Last year, Bensouda declined a request by the Indian Ocean island nation of Comoros to investigate the attack on the Turkish Mavi Marmara ship that wa...

NOVANEWS Some of our special stories in September focused on how the Syrian crisis careened out of control, how the Mideast troubles are now destabilizing Europe, how info-war manipulates public opinion, and how hypocrisy played out at the UN General Assembly. “Ukraine Rightists Kill Police; Putin Blamed” by Robert Parry, Sep. 1, 2015 “US/NATO Embrace Psy-ops and Info-War” by Don North, Sep. 2, 2015 “A Deflategate Slapdown of NFL and MSM” by Robert Parry, Sep. 3, 2015 “Dangerous Redefinition of ‘Terrorism’” by Robert Parry, Sep. 3, 2015 “Muslim Memories of West’s Imperialism” by William R. Polk, Sep. 4, 2015 “Did Saudi King ‘Snub’ Obama on Iran?” by Jonathan Marshall, Sep. 6, 2015 “Israel’s Bitter Anti-Iran Fight” by Lawrence Davidson, Sep. 6, 2015 “How Neocons Destabilized Europe” by Rob...