MatrixLeaks

The Royal Society - Britain's premier scientific institution - has just released a major report called People and the Planet , arguing that per capital resource consumption in the richest parts of the world needs to come down dramatically if the poorest 1.3 billion are to be lifted out of extreme poverty whilst protecting the Earth's environment from irreparable harm. I wouldn't argue with most of the data underpinning this report, but I do have problems with some of the assumptions. The first is that population growth is necessarily a bad thing, and that there is therefore a pressing need to reduce the rate of growth in developing countries. The report states early on: "At a time when so many people remain impoverished and natural resources are becoming increasingly scarce, continued population growth is cause for concern."  What it fails to acknowledge however is that population growth is correlated with economic growth - and therefore if developing ...

When the United States decided to invade Afghanistan to grab Osama bin Laden—and failed, but stayed on like an unwanted guest—could it have known that the Afghans were sitting on some of the world’s greatest reserves of mineral wealth? We noted the dubious 2010 claim, published by the New York Times, that “the vast scale of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth was [recently] discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American geologists.” Other evidence, and logic, point to the fact that everyone but the Western public knew for a long time, and before the 2001 invasion, that Afghanistan was a treasure trove. So we were interested to see  a new piece from the Times that emphasizes those riches without stressing the crucial question: Was the original impetus for the invasion really Osama—or Mammon?                     “Previously Unknown” mineral deposits in Afghanistan (Click to Enlarge) The failure to pose this que...

How did al-Qaida, a tiny anti-Communist group in Afghanistan that had no more than 200 active members in 2001 become a supposed worldwide threat? How can al-Qaida be all over the Mideast, North Africa, and now much of black Africa? This after the US spent over $1 trillion trying to stamp out al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan? The answer is simple. As an organization and threat, al-Qaida barely exists. But as a name, al-Qaida and “terrorism” have become the west’s handy universal term for armed groups fighting western influence, corruption or repression in Asia and Africa. Al-Qaida is nowhere – but everywhere. If you’re a rebel group seeking publicity, the fastest way is by pledging allegiance to the shadowy, nowhere al-Qaida. Take Iraq, where fighting currently rages between the Shia government and Sunni militias in Anbar Province. Interestingly, the Sunni uprising is centered on Fallujah, which was almost flattened by US Marines and blasted apart by depleted uranium shel...

Each Year in January, MatrixLeaks will publish the same article - "Happy birthday, Guantanamo!" - until the cruel cage will not be closed - as Mr. Obama promised in January 2010.   "I intend to close Guantánamo, and would not give it up. Many times I have repeated that the United States does not conduct torture and I will make sure that indeed be so. I will make every effort to increase America's moral reputation in the world"  , Barack Obama said during his election campaign, in which, among other things, promised to be one of the first things you will do will be closing the Guantánamo base.  Base Guantánamo will be closed to 22. January 2010., believe me." Already we in 2014 year, and Barack Obama president of the nearly five years. Gunatánamo this week have the birthday cake candles. Twelve years of existence. There is no indication that it will close the base, which thinks about its one hundred and seventy four inmates - um, who do they ask? ...