by Satya Sagar

On 8 November when a mob of Communist Party of India (Marxist) supporters in West Bengal beat Medha Patkar, after dragging her out from a convoy headed to the troubled area of Nandigram, they bestowed a rare honour upon this brave woman.

In that instant, she achieved the distinction of becoming India's only well known social activist to be physically assaulted by thugs from both the right and left wing of the mainstream Indian political spectrum.

by Satya Sagar
May 13, 2003

“ The best part is when I see the Iraqi people cheering, celebrating, and welcoming the coalition forces. I just have to cry. The joy of knowing there is someone who cares, there is hope for freedom, and there is still someone who will save us from a similar evil which has ruled Burma for over 40 years.

By Satya Sagar

07 November, 2007
Countercurrents.org

If sheer sacrifice of body, mind and soul for a noble cause were convertible into hard currency Burma’s legions of pro-democracy warriors would be among the richest citizens in the world.

By Michael ParentiThere is a "mystery" we must explain: How is it that as corporate investments and foreign aid and international loans to poor countries have increased dramatically throughout the world over the last half century, so has poverty? The number of people living in poverty is growing at a faster rate than the world's population. What do we make of this?

By Michael Parenti

Terrorism is a vicious form of political action directed against innocent and defenseless people. Along with denouncing such murderous assaults, we must try to comprehend why they happen. A number of the U.S. corporate media's pundits maintain that "Islamic terrorists" have attacked us because we are prosperous, free, democratic, and secular. As CBS-TV anchorman Dan Rathers remarked, "We are winners and they are losers, and that's why they hate us."

Expert skeptical about use of polypill in primary prevention of CVD

by Shamala Palaniappan

A cardiologist has voiced his skepticism over the use of the 'polypill' in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), advocating instead a concept he refers to as the 'polymeal'.

There is now a clear economic incentive for countries to invest more money in diabetes treatment and therapeutics, reports Shamala S. Palaniappan.

An independent body providing diabetes management programs and monitoring should be established to facilitate greater interaction between government and the pharmaceutical industry, says an expert.

Does the metabolic syndrome exist? Shamala S. Palaniappan queries.

Changes in lifestyle has to be the focus in the fight against the metabolic syndrome, says the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) .

Lifestyle changes include exercising more and adopting healthier eating habits, said Professor Paul Zimmet, director of the International Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia.

Have cardiologists become good recipe doctors? asks Shamala S. Palaniappan

Intra-abdominal obesity is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) even after all conventional risk factors have been accounted for, says an expert.

by Shamala S. Palaniappan

A recently completed whole-genome single nucleotide polymorphism scan for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has increased the genetic information content for the disease.

The data will hopefully facilitate research into the genetics of T2DM, said geneticist Professor Leif Groop, of the department of clinical sciences, Malmo University Hospital, Sweden.