We Are All Aboard the Pequod

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Jul 8, 2013 Herman Melville’s "Moby Dick" is a portrait of the American character, and like the crew of Ahab's ship we are complicit in self-annihilation. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

How to Destroy a Planet Without Really Trying

By Noam Chomsky, TomDispatch Jun 5, 2013 Imagine you’re a historian 100 years from now -- assuming there are any historians 100 years from now, which is not obvious -- and you’re looking back at what’s happening today. For the first time in the history of the human species, you'd see we have clearly developed the capacity to destroy ourselves. Dig deeper ( 12 Min. Read )

‘Asbestos Tsunami’ Is Ahead for Asia

Staff / Truthdig Apr 11, 2012 Health experts say the coming decades will see an epidemic of asbestos-related diseases in Asian countries where the material is still used in construction. China and India, with their rapidly developing economies and huge populations, are expected to be the hardest hit. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Floods Stir Social Unrest in Pakistan

Staff / Truthdig Aug 14, 2010 Pakistan's extraordinarily unfortunate season of flooding has left at least 1,600 people dead and 2 million homeless, and now the Pakistani government's poor response to the disaster has led to threats of social unrest and military takeover. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Palestinians Commemorate the ‘Catastrophe’ of Israel’s Creation

Staff / Truthdig May 15, 2010 Thousands of Palestinians marched Saturday to mark the "Nakba," or "catastrophe" of the creation of Israel in 1948, and to honor the 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced into exile after the nascent state of Israel seized Arab land. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Whitewashing Israeli History

Staff / Truthdig Jul 22, 2009 Because if it's not in the history books, it didn't happen. Today's Orwell Award goes to the Israeli government, whose education minister has decided to remove references to what Palestinians call the "catastrophe" -- when Israel defeated five Arab nations in a 1948 war and expelled 700,000 Palestinians -- from textbooks given to Arab schoolchildren. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Stressed Kids Fret About the World

Staff / Truthdig Oct 12, 2007 A study of 7-to-11-year-old Brits found that the climate crisis and terrorism have added to the usual pressures of school and friendships to drive kids batty. Luckily, schools that engaged world-weary children with lessons and activities related to global catastrophe managed to alleviate some of the tension. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Israeli Textbook Gives Arab View of the State’s Birth

Staff / Truthdig Jul 23, 2007 A top Israeli education official has authorized a textbook for exclusive use in Arab Israeli schools that tells a different side of the story of Israel's creation in 1948. For starters, the text acknowledges that Palestinians dubbed the historical event "al nakba" (the catastrophe). Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Storms Kill More Than 200 in Pakistan

Staff / Truthdig Jun 25, 2007 More than 200 people have died in Karachi, Pakistan, as a result of storms that ravaged the city. Heavy rain, gale-force winds and flooding obliterated many homes, while falling trees, billboards and power lines wreaked further havoc. At least 45 people have also died in southern India. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Caught on Tape

Staff / Truthdig Mar 4, 2006 This Washington Post editorial cuts through the smokescreen of Bush's Katrina apologists. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Katrina Video Refuels Debate Over Bush’s Response

Staff / Truthdig Mar 3, 2006 The video that made a liar out of Bush on Katrina has reignited the controversy over his administration's incompetent response to the hurricane. Democrats are calling for an independent probe into the catastrophe, and the video has even taken enough of the heat off ex-FEMA Director Michael "Heckuva Job" Brown so that he's now calling for the firing of Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )