Blaming WikiLeaks for destabilising Afghanistan shows the twisted neocon approach to domestic and foreign affairs Sunny Hundal guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 3 August 2010 16.00 BST Article history Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks has been called “a terrorist organisation” by Fox News. Photograph: Andrew Winning/ReutersAs soon as the WikiLeaks Afghanistan exposé came to light, it was obvious the usual suspects would start attacking the messenger than discussing the message. David Aaronovitch was quick off the mark, with others following soon enough – implying WikiLeaks was seriously damaging the war effort in Afghanistan. The rhetoric has now reached absurd levels. The US defence secretary said … Continue reading Neocons are hypocrites on WikiLeaks

Japan: ending the culture of the ‘honourable’ suicide Reducing the growing suicide rate in Japan will require tackling the cultural interpretation of it as a noble act Andrew Chambers guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 3 August 2010 17.37 BST Article history A group of Japanese kamikaze pilots bowing during the second world war. Photograph: MPI/Getty ImagesA recent report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists has noted “strong evidence of a link between economic hardship and suicide”. In 2009 there was a 24% year-on-year increase in suicides in the Republic of Ireland, while the most recently available figures in the UK show that the … Continue reading Japan: ‘honourable’ suicide?

When heroes get religion I was upset when Anne Rice found God, and Beck turned out to be a Scientologist. What is it about their faith that puts me off? Jessica Reed guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 August 2010 12.06 BST Article history Prince performs onstage on March 28, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Photograph by Kristian Dowling/Getty ImagesThis doesn’t make me especially proud, but last week’s announcement that Anne Rice was to “quit being a Christian” while remaining committed to Christ made me smile. Rice made the annoucement on Facebook: “In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I … Continue reading Wtf? Who has found God?

Women’s mass awakening A visible rise in feminist activism, publishing and legal challenges gives me hope against the odds Bidisha guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 August 2010 12.33 BST Article history Many years ago I interviewed the head of nonfiction at a major publishing house. She told me regretfully that “the bottom [had] dropped out of the market for books about gender”. Since then we have had bestselling books by Ariel Levy, Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards, Natasha Walter, Kat Banyard, Virginie Despentes and many others. These join the scores of classic and still (depressingly) relevant feminist works by Germaine Greer, Andrea … Continue reading Women awaken!

David Cameron’s words are being used to justify Indian repression in Kashmir Pakistan criticism has shifted focus away from deaths in Kashmir Murtaza Shibli guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 3 August 2010 15.31 BST Article history Indian police walk past burning tyres used as a barricade by Kashmiri Muslims during an anti-India protest. Photograph: Keystone/Rex FeaturesKashmiris may have become the unintended victims of David Cameron’s verbal attack on Pakistan, which has encouraged the hardline Indian establishment to continue to brutalise Kashmiris in the Kashmir Valley, an open-air prison camp much like Gaza. As a salesman determined to shift as much deadly weaponry as … Continue reading David Cameron and Kashmir

Pakistan’s corrosive inequality Zardari’s decision to visit Europe as Pakistan is ravaged by floods reflects the elite’s flagrant indifference to human suffering Mustafa Qadri guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 August 2010 10.00 BST Article history More than 1,000 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands stranded due to flash floods in Pakistan. Photograph: Hammad Khan Farooqi/EPAContempt for human life is at the heart of Pakistan’s miseries. Although the relationship between rich and poor is complex and far from monolithically asymmetrical, fundamental inequalities make progress difficult. How else to explain our president’s decision to visit Europe while the country suffers one of … Continue reading Zardaris indifference

Keeping Saudi women tagged by text Text alerts for men when their female charges leave Saudi alone is the new frontline in the country’s technology war Nesrine Malik guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 August 2010 15.00 BST Article history Want to know whether your wife, sister or daughter has left the county? Well, in Saudi Arabia, there’s an app for that. Reportedly, male guardians or mahrams in Saudi Arabia are now receiving text message notifications when their female charges leave the country unaccompanied. “iMahram”, a friend of mine jokingly called it. According to Wajeha al-Huwaider, a Saudi female activist, when she left … Continue reading Tag the Women!

End of the line for mobile calls? Good We’re talking less on mobiles, apparently. I can’t wait for the time I won’t have to overhear stupid, shouty conversations Anna Pickard guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 August 2010 17.00 BST Article history It’s not good to talk any more. Photograph: Martin Argles for the GuardianSo the word on the party line is that mobile phone calls are falling out of fashion as people find other uses for their handsets. Well, good. It’s about time. Yes, it’s useful to be able to make a call in an emergency, and yes, mobiles are a powerful … Continue reading End of mobile calls?

The time to organise resistance is now We reject these cuts as simply malicious ideological vandalism, hitting the most vulnerable the hardest. Join us in the fight Tony Benn and 73 others guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 August 2010 15.32 BST Article history It is time to organise a broad movement of active resistance to the Con-Dem government’s budget intentions. They plan the most savage spending cuts since the 1930s, which will wreck the lives of millions by devastating our jobs, pay, pensions, NHS, education, transport, postal and other services. The government claims the cuts are unavoidable because the welfare state has … Continue reading coalitionofresistance@mail.com

Forty US billionaires pledge to give away half their fortunes to charity Bill Gates’s and Warren Buffett’s campaign draws in top names including George Lucas and Michael Bloomberg • In pictures: the billionaires hoping to give something back Andrew Clark in New York guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 August 2010 15.53 BST Article history Bill and Melinda Gates with Warren Buffett (right), who has decided to give away most of his fortune. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesThe world of philanthropy got a huge financial boost today as more than 30 American billionaires pledged to give away at least half of their fortunes to … Continue reading Bill Gates’s decides he can’t take his money when he dies