A responsible world leader? The American discourse on China

by VINAY LAL

At the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where I have been on the faculty since 1993, and can therefore be said to be invested in the issues under discussion in this present post for personal reasons besides my interest in global politics, a conference (which I did not attend) was recently held on whether or not China is prepared to become a responsible world leader. In the words of the online magazine, UCLA Today, one of the organs by which the university makes known its work to the outside world, “the fundamental question of whether China is on the path to becoming a responsible stakeholder in world affairs or acting as a revisionist superpower was put to a prestigious group of China scholars from universities and think tanks across the country.”
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Building a future in the barrio of Chapellín (Caracas): An interview with Rosa María González

by SUSAN SPRONK and JEFFERY R. WEBBER

What is your political formation? How did you get involved in the comuna?

We are the children of the “junta de mejora” (the improvement council) of the barrio, the descendents of poor people who came to this zone because they did not have anywhere else to live. My mother came here in 1958. They were among the people who fought for the well-being that our families now have, including housing.

The land in this barrio was supposedly private property, but the government has a project, outlined in presidential decree 1666, to recognize our rights to our houses. We are still waiting for the approval of the Urban Land Reform law, which is a law that the Chávez government has proposed. We are still waiting for the National Assembly to approve this law, to give us right to this land.

Upside Down World for more

Gulf Arab support for attacking Iran: The strange case of the UAE

by FLYNT LEVERETT and HILLARY MANN

Unfortunately, neoconservative-flavored reporting of his [the UAE Ambassador to the US] remarks in Aspen will likely have a damaging impact on the Iran debate in Washington. In particular, Yousef’s words will be taken as confirmation for some of AIPAC’s more ill-informed and strategically misguided talking points: that Iran poses an objective and unacceptable threat to all U.S. allies, not just Israel; that the Arabs are concerned about the “real threat” of Iran much more than the “false problem” of Palestine; and that containment of Iran is unacceptable as a long-term strategy not just to Israel but to America’s Arab allies as well.

Monthly Review Zine for more

Dow owns all liability for Union Carbide-related law suits in US, but refuses to do so in India

by DEVINDER SHARMA

Nevertheless, The Times of India (July 3, 2010) has published an excellent analysis that exposes the double standard’s of Dow Chemicals. In the US, Dow is fighting 75,000 Union carbide-related suits and is expected to part with $ 839 million in coming years, while in India it has remained steadfast in denying any role for Bhopal clean up. This is only possible with support from the Government of India. I don’t blame Dow Chemicals as much as I blame my own government. They have failed the people of India.

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(Submitted by Mukul Dube)

India-Pakistan duo enters Wimbledon quarters

AMAN KI ASHA

LONDON: Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and his doubles partner India’s Rohan Bopanna will face Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner in the Wimbledon quarter-finals after their victory on Tuesday.

The unusual Indian-Pakistani pairing have been going around the All England Club wearing tracksuit tops reading “Stop War, Start Tennis” on the back.

Aman ki Asha for more

(Submitted by Pritam Rohila)

A new book on Monsanto by Leftword Press

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO MONSANTO
Pollution, Politics And Power
By: Marie-Monique Robin

List price: Rs 675.00 / $ 25.00
Book Club Members price: Rs 506.25 / $ 18.75

Winner of the Rachel Carson prize, an explosive exposé of the disturbing practices of the world’s most influential multinational agricultural corporation.

The result of a remarkable three-year-long investigation that took award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin across four continents (North and South America, Europe, and Asia), The World According to Monsanto tells the little-known yet shocking story of this agribusiness giant—the world’s leading producer of GMOs (genetically modified organisms)—and how its new “green” face is no less malign than its PCB- and Agent Orange–soaked past.

Buy this book at Leftword

The first Brits settled on the English seashore 800,000 years ago

DISCOVER

It makes sense: stay where it’s warm, sunny, and there’s a lot of food. What, then, were prehistoric people doing on the British seashore? New research published today in Nature pushes human arrival in Britain back to about 800,000 years ago, roughly 100,000 years earlier than our previous estimations. The evidence? A trove of 70 flint tools found on the Happisburgh shore in Norfolk.

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