TokyoProgressive News and Commentary Writers Group

Institute for Public Accuracy

ABC News reports: "French President Francois Hollande is blaming ISIS for a series of attacks across Paris Friday night that left at least 127 dead and many more injured. Hollande called the attacks 'an act of war' in a speech Saturday morning local time, and said France 'will be merciless' against the 'barbarians of the Islamic State group.'"

In response:

NAFEEZ AHMED
    An independent investigative reporter, Ahmed is a columnist with Middle East Eye. His books include A User’s Guide to the Crisis of Civilization. He will be attending the "Vigil in Solidarity with the People of Paris" tonight in London, organized by the Christian Muslim Forum. 

    Earlier this year, he wrote the piece "No Piers Morgan. This is how to destroy the Islamic State," which states: "Uncontrollable rage and ritual denunciations are not going to defeat IS. To defeat IS, we need to recognize that this Frankenstein's monster is neither simply a fault of 'the West,' nor of 'the Muslims.' It is a co-creation of the Western and Muslim worlds, specifically of Western and Muslim 'security' agencies who have lost all moral compass in the pursuit of geopolitical prowess, self-aggrandizement and corporate profiteering. Citizens of all faiths and none must stand together in solidarity to reject the violence perpetrated in our name on all sides." 

BARRY LANDO
    Lando, who lives in London and Paris, is a former producer with "60 Minutes." His books include Web of Deceit about the history of Iraq. He has written for numerous publications including the International Herald Tribune, Salon, Counterpunch and Truthdig. He just wrote the piece "France is on the Verge of … What?" which states: "'Is France Ripe for an Authoritarian Regime?' What is remarkable about that op-ed piece in the conservative Le Figaro newspaper, is that it was written not in the wake of today’s horrific terrorist attacks in Paris -- but the day before. As I write, it is still unclear how many have been killed in the French capital -- the reported total has reached at least 140 -- but there is no question that the massacre could have a devastating impact on France’s already very shaky democratic institutions." Lando lived in France for nearly 40 years and his wife is French. 

VIJAY PRASHAD
    Prashad is professor of international studies at Trinity College in Connecticut. He was just on The Real News just before the Paris attacks talking about the recent *Beirut and Baghdad attacks: "Is the ISIS Bombing in Beirut a Product of U.S. Policy in the Region?" 

* TP Editor's note-readers in Japan report they have not seen a single article about either attack. In any case, there has been proportionally very little said  about these other attacks.

    On Twitter, he just listed "six terror lessons for Hollande," which are being widely distributed on social media in graphic form: 

"1. Grieve for those who have been killed. #terrorlessons no. 1.
2. Find out who did the killing through a forensic police inquiry. Bring them to justice. #terrorlessons no. 2.
3. Try to get to the root of the issue, to what provoked the inhumanity. #terrorlessons no. 3.
4. Erase the conditions of provocation. #terrorlessons no. 4.
5. Do not replicate provocation. #terrorlessons no. 5.
6. If you replicate the provocation (The Bush Strategy), the cycle of violence shall continue. #terrorlessons no. 6."

PAUL GOTTINGER
    Gottinger is an independent journalist. He recently wrote an analysis of the"war on terror": "Despite 14 Years of the U.S. War on Terror, Terror Attacks Have Skyrocketed Since 9/11," which states: "Terror attacks have jumped by a stunning 6,500 percent since 2002, according to a new analysis by Reader Supported News. The number of casualties resulting from terror attacks has increased by 4,500 percent over this same time period. These colossal upsurges in terror took place despite a decade-long, worldwide effort to fight terrorism that has been led by the United States.

    "The analysis, conducted with figures provided by the U.S. State Department, also shows that from 2007 to 2011 almost half of all the world’s terror took place in Iraq or Afghanistan -- two countries being occupied by the U.S. at the time.

    "Countries experiencing U.S. military interventions continue to be subjected to high numbers of terror attacks, according to the data. In 2014, 74 percent of all terror-related casualties occurred in Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Syria. Of these five, only Nigeria did not experience either U.S. air strikes or a military occupation in that year.

    "The U.S. invasion of Iraq destabilized Iraq and Syria, creating the conditions for the emergence of ISIS, which now controls large parts of the two countries. The invasion of Afghanistan has not been able to wrestle large sections of the country from the Taliban, leaving Afghanistan in state of perpetual war. And the air war to oust Muammar Gaddafi has left Libya in a state of chaos.

    "The instability caused by these wars, along with the atrocities perpetrated by U.S.-led forces, which can be exploited for terrorist recruitment, have played a significant role in the increase of terrorism worldwide."

From Common Dreams

Gunmen and bombers attacked busy restaurants, bars and a concert hall at six locations around Paris on Friday evening

By BRUCE LEVINE, PHD

Rania Masri and Vijay Prashad say the western media's reporting on the ISIS bombing in Lebanon is deeply racist and accepts the ISIS narrative by describing the southern Beirut neighborhood as a "Hezbollah bastion"  -   November 13, 2015

from the Real News Network

Also see Democracy Now story:

By Andrew J. Bacevich 

TokyoProgressive takes no position on the eating of whales. However, we respect the writers of this article, who call out the Japanese government for hypocrisy on the issue. -Ed.

On October 6^th 2015, it came to light that the government of Japan sent a notice to the UN stating that it would amend its declaration to abide by the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). According to the notice, Japan will no longer accept lawsuits pertaining “any dispute arising out of, concerning, or relating to research on, or conservation, management or exploitation of, living resources of the sea.” This is Japan's strategy to avoid having further lawsuits filed by other countries through the ICJ against its new research whaling plan (NEWREP-A) that it plans to implement this year.

<The ICJ Ruling>
The ICJ ruled in March 2014 that Japan's research whaling program (JARPAII) was not designed for the purposes of scientific research, prohibiting Japan to grant any permit to implement the program. In response to the court decision, Japan put together NEWREP-A, which is planned to launch this November. This new plan is the same plan that the expert panel of the International Whaling Commission concluded this January did not demonstrate the need for lethal sampling. This report was further supported by 44 scientists at the IWC Scientific Committee held in May.
It is easy to surmise that the government recognized the possible illegality of this new program against international laws, and in order to avoid having challenged further at the ICJ over NEWREP-A it decided to amend its declaration to abide by the jurisdiction of the ICJ. In this new program, the research area has been expanded and 333 minke whales are planned to be caught annually, adding up to about 4000 whales total over the 12-year period.

<No companies want to start commercial whaling in the Antarctica>
Resumption of commercial whaling is the objective of Japan's research whaling. However, the whaling industry that once existed is no longer interested in restarting an unprofitable whaling business in the Antarctic. The demand for whale meat is limited in Japan, and the current system for supplying whale meat cannot operate without government subsidies.

<Increasing subsidies and decreasing actual catch>
The initial government subsidy to research whaling at the onset of the program was 500 million yen. The amount is increasing every year, and the current amount is 3.1 billion yen. Not only this, but it also received an additional 4.5 billion yen last term, from the Fisheries Agency under the grant program called “Profitable Fisheries” designed to “vitalize Japan's fisheries.” These large sums of tax payers' money were spent presumably to help the deficit-laden Institute of Cetacean Research, the main body in charge of implementing the research, which is suffering from the shrinking market for whale meat.
It is very clear that any operation that requires going out to distant international waters does make a good business plan.

<Seas at risk>
One of the biggest problems discussed at various international organizations such as the UN is the critical state of the ocean. The oceans and seas cover 70% of the earth, circulating water, moderating the climate, providing food and more, making them vital to human existence. However, the same oceans and seas are now faced with drastic changes due to problems such as acidification, pollution, and overfishing, including illegal fisheries. Sharing a sense of urgency, many countries are now concerned about how to return the ocean to a healthier state, making these issues international.
Our country Japan is surrounded by the ocean, and has been thriving due to the wealth of the sea. The health of the ocean then must be the utmost concern to us, more so than most countries. However, despite the fact that Japan is responsible for many cases of decline in marine resources, the government has failed to address these issues.

We, the citizens of Japan, cannot dismiss such an announcement by the government like the one made to the UN last month that ignores international agreements.
We strongly demand that the government of Japan retracts the amendment to its original declaration as soon as possible, and do not start any new research whaling programs.

Sign:
All Life In Viable Environment(ALIVE)
Animal Rights Center
Choices for Tomorrow (CFT)
Circle of Life
Citizens Against Chemicals Pollution
Citizen’s Nuclear Information Center
FoE Japan

Greenpeace Japan
Iruka&Kujira(Dolphin & Whale) Action Network
JELF(Japan Env'tal Lawyers Federation)
Japan Civil Network for the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity(JCN-UNDB)
Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund(JTEF)
Japan Wildlife Conservation Society
PEACE （Put an End to Animal Cruelty and Exploitation）
Ramsar Network Japan
Voice for Zoo Animals

From Jacobin:  2015/11

The growing youth movement against Prime Minister Shinzō Abe is disrupting Japan’s conservative status quo.

Protesters outside Japan's Diet building in August 2015. LittleGray_T / Flickr

Since the earthquakes and a nuclear meltdown in Fukushima hit eastern Japan in March 2011, fissures have opened up across the surface of the Japanese archipelago — and across the surface of Japanese society.

• 普天間飛行場移設問題
 
• 新基地建設
 
• 辺野古新基地

from  IWJ Independent Web Journal 2015/11/06

安倍政権の姿勢と辺野古新基地建設は日本の価値観を脅かすもので、同根の問題だ」――。

　SEALDsが次なるアクションを起こす。2015年11月6日、SEALDsのメンバーらが参議院議員会館で記者会見し、沖縄の民意に反して辺野古新基地建設を推進する安倍政権に反対する声明文を発表した。

　辺野古の新基地建設問題は、自由や民主主義、憲法の平和主義を蔑ろにする安倍政権の姿勢と同根の問題であるとし、11月13、14日には、全国のSEALDsが新基地建設反対を訴え、「全国一斉緊急行動」を展開する考えを示した。

• 記事目次
• 安倍政権の姿勢と辺野古新基地建設は「日本の価値観を脅かすという点で同根の問題」
• 「自分たちの民意は届かないのか。この国のあり方は何なんだろう」
• 「辺野古基地建設に反対している国民」対「非民主的なやり方で無理やり政策をすすめていく国家」という構図への転換を
• 声明文全文「この国の自由と民主主義を守るという立場から、今回の辺野古埋め立てに関する一連の政府の手続きに反対します」

• 会見者 芝田万奈氏（SEALDs）／元山仁士郎氏（SEALDs, SEALDs RYUKYU）／大野至氏（SEALDs KANSAI）／玉城愛氏（SEALDs RYUKYU）

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