Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/andreas-whittam-smith-our-democracy-is-desperately-sick-this-is-your-chance-to-help-save-it-8102862.html

British democracy is in crisis. We cannot wish this away. The cause is a precipitous decline in respect for Members of Parliament and for the governments they form. Trust in our rulers has never been lower; faith in their competence is approaching nil. Democratic states cannot function properly in such circumstances. To see what is happening, look at what the polling organisations report.

Link: http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2012/09/04/the-republicans-cross-the-rubicon-paul-craig-roberts/

The resolution was drafted by Republican Linda Halderman and passed without public discussion. The vote on the resolution came when most students were between semesters and away from their campuses. The resolution (available here) uses the classic trick employed by defenders of Israel’s Zionist regime: lumping together any criticism of the Israeli state’s policies or of the US government’s support for them with racist attacks on Jews.

Link: http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/730902.shtml

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will arrive in China today. Some have labeled her latest Asia-Pacific trip as a "closing" one, because she may step down as secretary of state even if Barack Obama is reelected again in November's presidential elections.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/09/04-5

Desmond Tutu has helped us see the true nature of what the former Prime Minister did to Iraq and increased pressure for a prosecution.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/09/04-0

The illegal elephant ivory trade is reaching record levels and “Africa is in the midst of an epic elephant slaughter,” reports the New York Times. As demand for elephant ivory grows in China, more and more poachers, including some of Africa’s most infamous armed groups, are killing elephants to cash in. Tens of thousands of elephants are being killed every year in Africa, conservationists say, as poachers kill them for nothing other than their tusks.