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Statements, articles, interviews, narratives and resources against imperialist war
Dear Editor
With respect to the condemnation of US warmongering and threats against the Korean people, I would like to bring to the attention of your readers that Guam, an island in the Pacific Ocean with a little over 200,000 people is one of the bases for the US military.
In the middle of March, the US and South Korean armed forces conducted one of the biggest ever military exercises in the Korean peninsula, targeted at North Korea. Seventeen thousand US troops joined over three lakh South Korean troops in war games conducted over air, sea and land. They practiced attacking North Korea with nuclear weapons. US Special Forces (SEALS) practiced for a mission to assassinate the North Korean political and military leadership and carry out regime change there.
The US launched a criminal attack on Syria on April 6, 2017. Fifty nine Cruise Missiles were launched from US destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea targeting the Syrian Air Force at the Shayrat airfield in Homs Province. This airfield has played a major role in the Syrian Army's battles to liberate various cities which had come under the control of the ISIS. At least nine civilians, including five children from nearby villages were killed in these missile attacks apart from 5 soldiers.
April 30, 1975 will forever be remembered by freedom-loving peoples around the world as the day the heroic people of Vietnam defeated the colossal might of US imperialism and ended the imperialist-imposed division of their country.
The announcement of the government of the Korean Peoples Democratic Republic that it had successfully conducted a miniaturized test for a Hydrogen bomb has been followed by hysterical propaganda by the Anglo American imperialists accusing North Korea of being the source of the threat of war in the Korean peninsula.
70 years ago, Japan signed the treaty of surrender on September 2, 1945. This marked the end of the Second World War. Earlier, in May 1945, Nazi Germany had surrendered following the Red Army entering Germany's capital, Berlin.
Even as the Abe government of Japan relentlessly marches ahead on the course of militarisation, the oppositon of the people of Japan to this course is also intensifying.
As we go to the press, the US has been carrying out massive war exercises involving lakhs of US and South Korean troops in the Korean peninsula. These war exercises are cynically called Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG).
Over the last few weeks, the decision to hang Yakub Memon for his role in the Mumbai blasts of March 1993, the terror attack on a police station in Gurdaspur, Punjab, followed by the capture of an alleged terrorist in the course of an attack on a convoy of the Border Security Force near Udhampur, Jammu, have turned the spotlight once again on terrorism.
This year marks 70 years after the United States of America dropped atom bombs on the twin cities of Japan, Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6, 1945 and on August 9, 1945 respectively.
Workers Unity movement held a meeting in the last week of June in Chennai on the 70th anniversary of defeat of Fascism.
The meeting of Defence ministers of the NATO alliance held in Brussels, Belgium on June 24-25 announced stepping up of war preparations against Russia.
PM Modi's 9 day tour of China, Mongolia and South Korea in May, which followed a visit last year to Japan, confirmed that East Asia is a particular focus of the foreign policy of the current NDA government.
The European Union appears set to pursue the barbaric bombing of boats carrying thousands of innocent immigrants seeking to cross over from West Asia and North Africa to Europe.
The European Union's leading members – the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – have already agreed to the "military" assault on what the grouping of 28 member states is calling "human smugglers."
Cynically exploiting the death of over 1800 men, women and children in the course of crossing the Mediterranean by boats, the EU has decided to "solve" the humanitarian crisis by bombing boats carrying refugees!
An important public meeting was organized under the initiative of Lok Raj Sangathan on 10th May 2015, under the banner, "The lessons of history must not be forgotten". The meeting was to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
The 9th of May this year marks the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War, at the hands of the anti-fascist peoples and governments headed by the Soviet Union.
Public Meeting – 9.30 am, Sunday, May 10, 2015
Venue — Indian Social Institute, Lodhi Institutional Area, New Delhi
May 9, 2015, marks the 70th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany in the Second World War. It marks the liberation of Europe from fascism and the end of the war in Europe.
Starting from 9 April, PM Modi went on a 9-day tour of France, Germany and Canada. Ever since his government came to power about a year ago, Modi has undertaken a large number of foreign visits.
This year marks the 12th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by the US-led forces, a despicable act of imperialist brigandage which has resulted in the devastation of a whole country and a proud people with a very ancient history and civilization.
In March, PM Modi undertook a tour of Mauritius, Seychelles and Sri Lanka, signifying the growing importance of the Indian Ocean region for the Indian ruling bourgeoisie. This was the first visit by an Indian PM to the Seychelles in 34 years and to Sri Lanka in 28 years.
War planes of Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies of the US attacked Yemen on March 26, 2015. This is part of a war of aggression launched by Saudi Arabia against Yemen in order to establish a regime in that country which is under Saudi dictate.
The leaders of France, Germany and Russia and the head of the current regime in the Ukraine are meeting in Minsk, Belarus, since 10 February to discuss the sharply escalating crisis in the Ukraine.
Activists of seven communist and left parties successfully organised a militant joint demonstration to protest against the visit of US imperialist chieftain Obama to India in Delhi on Saturday 24th January 2015.
The visit of US President Obama to India as the chief guest during the Republic Day celebrations mark the further deepening and consolidation of the strategic partnership of the Indian state with US imperialism, which has been in the making for several years.
Countrywide protests against Obama's visit have been organised by the CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML)-Liberation, AIFB, SUCI (Communist), RSP and CGPI, and many other communist organisation and groups. Here is a glimpse of protest demonstrations in Delhi held on 24 January 2015.
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It is in defence of a parasitic and exploiting minority and against the public!
Statement of the Central Committee of the Communist Ghadar Party of India, January 15, 2015
The 26th of January this year marks 65 years since the adoption of the Constitut
There is great anger amongst workers, peasants, women and youth at the invitation extended by the Modi government to US President Barack Obama to be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade on January 26, 2015.
The Communist Ghadar Party of India calls upon all communist parties and groups, all anti-imperialist and progressive parties and organisations, to pour all their energies into organizing united protest actions as a powerful manifestation of the resolute opposition of the entire Indian people to US imperialism.
Comrades and friends,
I have great joy in welcoming all of you to this celebration of the 34th birth anniversary of Communist Ghadar Party.
We have gathered here at a time when our country and the whole world faces a grave situation.
I am writing to thank you for carrying the informative and incisive article commemorating the centenary of the World War I, with the by line `Lessons of the working class and people'. This is a very timely article at the time when the world continues to teeter on the brink of yet another global conflict on a scale not seen in history. This war could well be a full fledged nuclear ho
The "regime change" in various countries of the world, in the name of "defending democracy" and "human rights", and waging "war against terrorism" carried out by US imperialism and its allies is aimed at bringing these countries under their complete domination.
The Obama administration began the aerial bombing of Syria on September 22, allegedly in order to destroy the ISIS (Islamic state of Iraq and Syria). These aerial strikes follow the bombing of many places in Iraq. On September 23, a Tomahawk cruise missile hit a village in Idlib Province in Syria, killing as many as a dozen civilians, including women and children.
Leaders of NATO member states held their summit meeting in Britain in the town of Newport in Wales, on September 4-5, 2014. Over 80 leaders, both those of the countries who are part of this war mongering military alliance, and their "alliance partners" participated in this Summit.
On August 30 several thousand people from Wales and many other parts of Britain gathered at the civic centre in Newport. Holding aloft banners with slogans "No new wars, No to NATO!", they took part in a militant demonstration around the streets of Newport culminating in a rally.
On August 17, 2014, political activists from different organisations in North India gathered in a meeting in New Delhi on the theme, "US Asia Policy, Question of Sovereignty and We the People". Representatives of over a dozen parties and organisations participated actively in the deliberations. More than 35 delegates addressed the meeting.
For over a month, the people of Gaza have been facing a savage assault by the Israeli armed forces.
The US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel came on a three day visit to India beginning August 7, to sell to the Indian government and the bourgeois think tanks of our country the benefits of India joining a military alliance with the US, Japan and some other countries of the Asia Pacific.
The ISIS, whom the US is now labeling as terrorists, is a US creation. It was armed and organized by the US allies such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar to overthrow the Assad regime in Syria. It was a part of the grand coalition of terrorist groups set into motion in Syria by the US and its allies under the name of the Free Syrian Army. There are credible reports that the US ordered the 30,000 strong Iraqi army in Mosul to hand it over to 800 ISIS fighters and this was done.
A devastating civil war is raging within Ukraine, with the Ukraine army launching a bloody offensive against the people in the eastern part of the country, with the full political and military backing of the US imperialists and NATO forces.
It seems very possible at this time that Iraq, one of the largest and more powerful countries in West Asia, will soon cease to exist.
By the time this issue of Mazdoor Ekta Lehar reaches our readers, the elections to the 16th Lok Sabha would have been completed and the results declared.
Time and again it has been shown that it is the Anglo American imperialists, and their agencies in India and Pakistan, who are the biggest roadblock to peace in the subcontinent. On the other hand, the so called "patriotism" that the ruling class promotes, is to lick the boots of Anglo American imperialists, and spew hatred against the neighbouring countries, especially Pakistan.
The following is a transcript of an apparently bugged phone conversation between U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt. It reveals the dangerous state of anarchy and chaos which exists internationally and which the U.S.
The unfolding events in Ukraine pose the greatest threat to the freedom and independence of Ukraine and world peace. The Communist Ghadar Party condemns the US and the European Union for creating the crisis in Ukraine.
US imperialism and its allies have launched yet another overt and covert operation to carry out regime change in Venezuela.
The summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) was held successfully in Havana at the end of January 2014, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the great patriot José Martí.
In the last two months, there have been several high level Japanese visitors to India. In November there took place the first ever visit by an Emperor and Empress of Japan to India. In early January, the Japanese Defence Minister visited Delhi. This was followed by the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was also the Chief Guest at the Republic Day ceremonies.
In the 68th session of the UN General Assembly this year, US President Obama had blatantly enunciated the doctrine of American 'exceptionalism' which allegedly gives the US the right to use military force against sovereign nations in its own interest.
Results of the recent elections held in five states were announced on 8th
Statement of the Central Committee of Communist Ghadar Party of India, 16th Nov, 2013
Preparations for the Lok Sabha elections due in 2014 have al
On 30th October 2013, Israeli warplanes bombed targets in the port city of Latakia in Syria. This is reported to be the fourth attack by Israeli warplanes on Syria in 2013, the other attacks having reportedly occurred in January, May and July this year.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met US President Obama in October to demand that US immediately cease its illegal and barbaric war against the people of Pakistan, being waged through unmanned drone strikes.
"Why should we, the people of India, not elect a new Constituent Assembly to formula
US President Obama addressed the UN General Assembly on September 24, 2013. This address was nothing less than an arrogant justification for the US imperialist drive to establish its unquestioned domination over the whole world, through military aggression and blackmail.
US Imperialism has bared its fangs once again. US President Obama has announced that the US will launch a war of aggression against Syria at any moment.
No to imperialist war against Syria!
Statement of the Central Committee of Communist Ghadar Party of India, 9th September, 2013
US Imperialism has bared its fangs once again.
August 6 and August 9 this year marked the 68th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively. On the morning of August 6, 1945, US military aircraft dropped an atom bomb that exploded above the Japanese city of Hiroshima killing about 140,000 people in the initial blast, and in total more than 237,000.
The US closed 19 of its diplomatic missions in Arab countries and Africa from August 4 onwards citing "terrorist threats". The US imperialists claimed that they had intercepted "terrorist chatter" on the internet, pointing to an imminent attack on its diplomatic missions in the region.
The monsoon session of parliament has begun with uproarious scenes in parliament in the wake of reports of the killing of five army men in the Poonch sector of the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. Leading politicians of the ruling class parties have been whipping up chauvinist war hysteria against Pakistan.
July 27th 2013 marked the 60th anniversary of the signing of the armistice in Korea, marking the end of the Korean War which ended in a victory for the valiant Korean people.
The peoples of Latin America have a proud history going back over 500 years, of opposing colonialism and fighting for the right of all peoples to live peacefully.
On July 2, the plane carrying the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, was raided by officials in Vienna airport in Austria, at the behest of the US imperialists, to allegedly search for the presence of Edward Snowden, the man who had earlier leaked the damaging information about American cyber-espionage.
Shortly after it was first revealed that the US National Security Agency was using its enormous technological resources to spy on computer and telecommunication networks and gather billions of pieces of information from countries all over the world, including India, more revelations of this nature have come to light.
The "Friends of Syria" —the Orwellian name given to the coalition of the US, its NATO allies, Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar— met in Qatar on June 22 and issued a communiqué announcing that US and its allies will "take all necessary practical measures" to arm the opposition forces in
The new Chinese Premier's visit to India from 19 to 22 May 2013 was followed almost immediately by the Indian Prime Minister's visit to Japan from 27 to 30 May 2013. These two visits coming so soon one after the other, have led to a lot of comment around the world on the relations between these three most powerful Asian states.
The US imperialists and its allies are stepping up their intervention in Syria in pursuit of their plan for regime change in that country.
In May-June this year, the US and its allies imposed unprecedented sanctions on Iran, aimed at making Iran give up its nuclear program and fall in line with the geo-political designs of the US and other western imperialist powers in that region.
68 years ago, on May 9, German Hitlerite fascism was defeated by the combined forces of the world's peoples, in which the Soviet Union of Stalin played a leading role. This is celebrated all over as the day of the victory over fascism.
Beginning May 2, 2013, Israeli warplanes have bombed various locations in Syria repeatedly. Powerful blasts shook the capital Damascus, followed by massive fires. Damascus airport as well as other strategic locations in the capital was the direct target of these bombings.
Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of Britain from 1979 to 1990, died on April 8, 2013. As Prime Minister, on behalf of Britain's biggest monopoly capitalists, she presided over a fierce offensive against the rights of the working class and working people, which pushed up unemployment, poverty and inequality in Britain to levels not seen in decades.
Working class must go for political power to reorient the economy to provide for all!
Call of the Central Committee of Communist Ghadar Party of India on the occasion of May Day 2013
Comrade worke
Comrade workers!
On 25th March, 2013, the U.S. military flew B-52 strategic bombers over the skies of the Korean peninsula and engaged in simulated nuclear missile attacks against North Korea.
Dear Sir,
The UN Human Rights Council passed a U.S. sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at its 22nd session at Geneva on March 21, 2013. In the 47 member UNHRC, 25 voted in favour of the resolution, 13 voted against it, while 8 members abstained. India voted in favour of the resolution.
The imperialist powers led by US imperialism are day by day escalating their offensive against Iran. After having established their stranglehold over Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya in recent years, the current targets of the imperialists are Syria and Iran.
Ten years to the day after the Anglo – American imperialists launched an unprovoked attack on March 19, 2003 and more than a year since the last combat troops were officially withdrawn – the conflict they unleashed shows no sign of winding down.
Hugo Chavez, the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, passed away in Caracas on March 5, 2013, after a heroic and prolonged battle against cancer. His passing away is an irreparable loss to the people of Venezuela and all the peoples of the Americas, and to the anti-imperialist movement of the world's peoples.
All over the world, women are on the streets protesting against the existing conditions. Women in all continents are protesting against unjust imperialist wars and occupation of nations by alien armies. They are opposing the brutal violation of human rights in
In the first half of January 2013, French military planes pounded towns and villages in Mali, leading to many people getting killed and injured. The intervention in Mali was supported among others by the US and the UK.
I am writing to thank you for the insightful and important article entitled "Warmongering is totally against the interests of the peoples of India and Pakistan" in the February 1-15, 2013 issue of MEL.
The Obama government has decided that the President can order cyber war attacks on other countries. This decision marks a stepping up of the aggressive war preparations of US imperialism. This secret decision was reported in the New York Times of February 4, 2013.
We, the undersigned, note that this Budget session of the Lok Sabha is being convened at a critical moment in the history of India. The blood of thousands of innocent victims of organised violence has not yet dried on the streets of Bombay, Surat, Delhi and other places, while lakhs have fled their homes, and returned penniless and destitute to the far corners of the country.
Completely disregarding the principle of respecting the independence and sovereignty of countries and people, on 12th December 2012, the USA has recognized the "national coalition of Syrian revolutionary forces" (the opposition) as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
On November 13, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a resolution calling for an end to the more than 50 year long blockade of Cuba by the US. The fact that the vote was 188 member states for the resolution with only 3 against, shows the complete isolation of the United States with regard t
On November 19, the British government announced that it is recognising the grouping of Syrian opposition elements as the legitimate representatives of Syria. This followed the official participation by Britain, along with the US, France and Turkey, in a meeting of Syrian opposition groups held in Qatar on November 8. This marks a further escalation of the British imperialists&rsquo
Since 14th November 2012, Israel has been bombarding the Gaza strip both from air and the sea, with the avowed intention of destroying the leadership of Hamas and subjugating the Palestinian people with its military might. At the time of writing, it is reported that Israel is amassing troops and preparing for a massive ground strike in Gaza.
Those in power must be held accountable for their crimes
Those in positions of power and authority should be held accountable and guilty when they violate their duty and responsibility of providing safety and protection to the citizens.
Thousands of protesters poured into the streets of Turkey's biggest city Istanbul on October 3, 2012 to oppose the prospects of their country getting involved in a war with neighbouring Syria. The protests were sparked off by the Erdogan Government using its parliamentary majority to get the legislature to give it permission to launch hostilities against "foreign countries".
Report of Public Meeting on "Whither India?" held in Mumbai on 8th September, 2012
"The traitorous big bourgeoisie, that is the big capitalists and big landlords who had grown rich by collaborating with the colonial rulers, compromised and collaborated in the communal Partition of 1947. The big bourgeoisie did so for the narrow aim of acquiring power in its own hands. It has used that power to grow enormously bigger. It is today dragging the country to
The 16th Summit meeting of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) concluded peacefully in Teheran earlier in September 2012. Over a hundred member countries participated, many of them represented by their heads of government. Officials of Russia, China and some other countries were present as observers.
Call of the Central Committee of Communist Ghadar Party of India, 30th August, 2012
Working class representatives from all over the country are gathering on 4th September, at a time when a tita
Working class representatives from all over the country are gathering on 4th September, at a time when a titanic struggle is going on in our country. The struggle is between the majority of toiling and exploited people and a minority of exploiters. It is between the majority whose lab
When the President of India calls for a "second freedom struggle" today, what it means is a Second Great Betrayal. The anti-colonial struggle was betrayed in the 2
The upcoming NAM summit in Tehran is plainly not only an opportunity for Iran to further thwart the efforts of to isolate it, but also for such participating countries to take steps in coordination with each other to deal with the dangerous situation in the region and the world. Their leaders are expected to rise to the occasion and take a firm stance against the warmongering and blatant interventions by the imperialist powers.
Sixty five years after independence from the British, who is free in India today? Workers, peasants, intellectuals, women, religious minorities, nations and nationalities are all oppressed. The big bourgeoisie has used the state of the Indian Republic to become the most dominant and ruling force of society, and is dragging the entire country onto a dangerous path – colluding and contending with other imperialist powers, and has grown rich not only by domestic but also through external plunder. The time has come to negate this state which negates the rights and aspirations of all our peoples. This can be done if and only if the working class takes the lead. For India to be free and independent, it is essential that every part our country, every section of our people, is free from oppression or discrimination of any kind. On the 65th anniversary of independence, the Communist Ghadar Party calls on all… to unite firmly around the program to reconstitute the Indian Union on a voluntary basis, redefine democracy to empower the people!
In complete and cynical disregard for the principle of respecting the independence and sovereignty of countries and people, US imperialism and its allies have stepped up their heinous military and political campaign to overthrow the Syrian government and establish their complete domination over that country.
The relations between India and Iran, a country with whom India has had close ties both in the distant past and in modern times, are coming under increasing pressure from the US imperialist-led offensive against Iran. This was seen when India voted with the US and other imperialists against Iran in the deliberations of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran's nuclear program.
Huge protests have been taking place in Pakistan, after NATO supply lines to Afghanistan through Pakistan were reopened last week. These supply lines had been closed by the government of Pakistan after a US missile strike on the Chalala air base in Pakistan last November killed 24 Pakistani military personnel.
Opposition is growing to the policy of US imperialism to increasingly use unmanned aircraft (called drones) to unleash death and destruction on various targets in other countries. Originally used as spy planes, drones have been modified to carry missiles and launch attacks. Over the coming decade, the US is expected to double its expenditure on drones to more than $11 billion. The command of these deadly machines lies with the American spy agency the CIA, and is located thousands of kilometres away in secured locations back in the US or in other bases.
On June 22, NATO member country Turkey sent one of its planes without warning into the airspace of Syria, a country which for many months now has been battling a fierce imperialist offensive on many fronts.
Mazdoor Ekta Lehar condemns the visit of US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta to India in June 2012. This visit was aimed at coordinating the imperialist approaches of the US and India towards China, Iran, Syria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It also included signing of billions of dollars worth of arms purchases.
Member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)—Russia, China and the four central Asian states Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan—issued a joint statement opposing external intervention in Iran and Syria, at the recently concluded meeting of the Heads of State of the organization in Beijing on June 7, 2012.
I wish to join the refrain expressed in the article published in the June 1-15, 2012 issue of MEL entitled "Condemn US imperialist intrigue and meddling in India and the region!" This article was published at the time of the visit of Ms. Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State and well-known war monger and mischief maker.
The visit of Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, to India in early May was an occasion for the US imperialists to apply pressure on India to further their own nefarious interests, and to intrigue and meddle in our internal affairs and in the affairs of this region.
In the middle of April 2012, India successfully test fired a long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the Agni-5. Agni 5 has been declared to be an Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). It was launched from the Andhra Coast and landed successfully in the Southern Indian Ocean over 5000 km away. The monopoly media immediately was ecstatic on two counts.
On May 11, 2012, a five member jury delivered a unanimous guilty verdictagainst former United States President George W. Bush and his associates at the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal hearing that had started on May 7, 2012.
In the month of May, NATO continued to attack civilian targets in Afghanistan and Pakistan usingdeadly drones, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
The Summit meeting of NATO partners and allies that was held in Chicago, US, from May 18-21, was all about how US imperialism and its allies would continue their interference and occupation of Afghanistan in different forms.
Statement of the Central Committee of CGPI on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Lok Sabha, 20th May, 2012
A special session of both houses of Parliament was convene
Workers all over the world participated in public rallies and demonstrations on May 1, 2012, voicing their resistance to the all-sided attacks on their rights. They reaffirmed their resolve to put an end to the capitalist system and establish in its place a system free from all forms of exploitation.
The latest plans of the US imperialists and their allies to overthrow the Assad government in Syria and achieve "regime change" there are unfolding. For more than one year, the US has been openly inciting, funding and backing opposition elements in Syria with the single aim of kicking out the Assad government, which it sees as an obstacle to its plans to establish its compl
North Korea's attempt to launch a satellite on April 13 became the latest excuse for the US imperialists and itsallies to intensify the pressure and sabre-rattling against it.
One of the weapons perfected by the US imperialists to create trouble for countries and governments which oppose them is to organise and back subversive groups from within those countries. These groups are trained to carry out sabotage, assassination and other criminal activities aimed at destabilising those countries.
The BRICS grouping, just like other imperialist groupings, is wrought with contradictions between the member states. India and China for example have contradictions over unequal trade relations; they are competing for energy and other resources in Myanmar, South Sudan and other countries of Africa. They are contending with each other in Nepal, Sri Lanka, and South East Asia.
An extremely serious and threatening situation is developing as a result of the warmongering by the US and Western imperialist powers and Israel against Iran. The warmongering and hysteria against Iran is being escalated almost on a daily basis.
Syria has been on the firing line of US imperialism for many years. It has also been a major target of US imperialism's gun in West Asia —the Zionist state of Israel — with which it shares borders. The strategic Golan Heights of Syria have been under illegal Israeli Occupation since 1967.
The state and people of Pakistan are confronted today with all sided US imperialist pressure and blackmail, threatening their very existence as a country. This pressure and blackmail has intensified following Pakistan's refusal to cooperate with the US in its "war against terrorism" in Afghanistan and the border regions of Pakistan.
The US imperialists continue to step up their policy of blackmail and sanctions on Iran. In particular, the right of the Iranian nation and people to pursue their own civilian nuclear program is being targeted, portraying it as a "threat to humanity".
62 years ago, on 26 January 1950, the present-day Republic of India was proclaimed. This marked the consolidation of the state power of the Indian bourgeoisie, which had taken over power from the British colonialists when they were forced to leave because of the mounting struggles of the people of India.
Contradictions have become increasingly visible between countries, nations and peoples fighting for their sovereignty and the dominant imperialist powers that are imposing their vision on every country. US imperialism has shown its readiness to wage wars to defend its dominant position and those of American multinational corporations. It has unleashed death and destruction in West Asia and North Africa already.
Comrades, we have launched an important initiative to engage all communists in discussion on the urgent necessity for preparing the working class to take political power into its own hands. I call upon you to take up this task and spare no effort in taking this widely in every region of the country.Let us put pressure on everyone calling themselves communist to take a clear stand on this question— are they or are they not agreed on the urgent necessity to prepare the working class to take political power and establish proletarian democracy in place of capitalist democracy?
The 31st birth anniversary of the Communist Ghadar Party of India was celebrated in grand and colourful style in Delhi on 25th December 2011. The entire program was managed from beginning to end by the youthful comrades of the Party.
An important and path breaking two-day conference was organized by Lok Awaz Publishers and Distributors in Delhi on 23-24 December, 2011. It was attended by activists and organisers of the working class, belonging to numerous trends and parties in the communist movement.
The year that has gone by has been characterised by militant struggles of workers, peasants and all the exploited and oppressed in defence of their rights.
Dear Comrade
The 10th of December this year marks 63 years since the signing of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
On November 26, a US-led combined air and land assault on Pakistani territory near the border with Afghanistan led to the death of 24 Pakistani military personnel and injuries to many more. The people and government of Pakistan have responded as one with anger and indignation, and protests have erupted all across the country.
US imperialism and its allies, including Israel, Britain, France, Germany and other powers, have been stepping up the pressure and siege of Iran to a feverish pitch in recent weeks. After a decision by Britain to further tighten sanctions on Iran, the Iranian majlis (parliament) decided on November 27 to downgrade its ties with Britain.
On November 22, the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal based in Malaysia indicted former US President George Bush and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for war crimes, in connection with the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq.
The key to the victory of the revolutionary alternative lies in the working class taking political power, in alliance with the peasantry. This makes it urgent for all the leading activists and organisers of workers to come together. We must chart out one plan and program for the working class to become the ruling class. Inquilab cannot just be a slogan or distant dream. It is an urgent task we must take up for solution.
The murder of Gaddafi and the recolonisation of Libya are a message to the African peoples that the Anglo-American imperialists and other European powers are initiating a new scramble for the recolonisation and redivision of Africa. It poses a grave threat to the freedom and independence of all the African countries.
Lakhs of workers from all sectors of the economy participated in an All India protest on November 8, marked by rallies and jail bharos. The protests took place in all the state capitals as well as other towns.
US imperialism is putting immense pressure on Pakistan. This, when it is firmly established that the US itself is the biggest sponsor of terrorism worldwide. US imperialism has destroyed Afghanistan. Its "war against terrorism" is getting exposed more and more as a strategy for the conquest of Asia, as a prelude to conquer the world. The economy of US imperialism is in deep recession.
We denounce the decision of the Manmohan Singh government to send the Indian Army to Afghanistan to "train" the puppet Afghan army, set up by the US imperialists, to attack the Afghan people's anti-imperialist national liberation struggle. We consider this as an excuse to intervene in Afghanistan against our own brothers and sisters.
We believe that the fountainhead of terrorism worldwide is US imperialism.
"We will feel safer when US forces leave" was the unanimous sentiment expressed by people of Afghanistan, who gathered to protest against the invasion of their country by the US, 10 years ago on October 7, 2011. The protestors clearly wanted the immediate withdrawal of US and other foreign troops from their country.
The on-going protests in several cities across the US against Wall Street converged into anti-war protests on the anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan.
Ten years ago, on 8 October, the US imperialists launched a brazen military invasion of Afghanistan, in the name of waging a "war on terror".
A great tragedy for the peoples and complication in the struggle for self-determination arose through the betrayal of principles by the Soviet Union headed by the Khrushchevites. While restoring capitalist exploitation and national oppression within, the Soviet Union emerged as a full-fledged social-imperialist power, contending and colluding with the US for domination over the globe. The Soviet social-imperialists proclaimed the nefarious theory of "limited sovereignty" to justify their efforts to dominate the countries of people's democracy in Eastern Europe. In the name of opposing US imperialism, they intervened in the affairs of a number of countries in Europe, Africa and Asia. The invasions of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and of Afghanistan in 1979 showed the extent to which the rulers of the Soviet Union had departed from the principles originally laid down in that country.
Ten years after that horrific event, it is now clear that the terrorist attack of 9/11 was the launching pad for a fascist military campaign to assert and impose the hegemony of US imperialism on the global scale. It was either a remarkable piece of good fortune for US imperialism, or a clandestine diabolical plot masterminded by the US imperialists themselves. US imperialism has clearly been the principal political beneficiary.
Ten years ago, on October 7, 2001, the US imperialists and their allies invaded Afghanistan, and they remain there to this day. In the name of waging "war against terrorism", they have occupied the country, set up their chosen regime, bombed the villages and mountains, and killed and maimed tens of thousands of its people.
In a move with important international ramifications, the Iranian Majlis (Parliament) has formally charged 26 US officials with war crimes and crimes against humanity, and they will face prosecution in Iranian courts in absentia. Following their trial in Iranian courts, the dossier on their crimes will be forwarded to the International Criminal Court in the Hague.
Terrorism as a preferred tactic of imperialist geo-politics was first introduced in our region by the two superpowers, US imperialism and Soviet social-imperialism. After the expulsion of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, the American and British imperialists and their intelligence agencies, the CIA and MI5, became the principal sponsors of terrorist groups in west and south Asia, using them to topple regimes, infiltrate popular movements and destroy nations in their drive for unquestioned world domination.
On November 23, during a major military exercise conducted off the waters of the Korean peninsula, the South Korean and US forces fired live artillery into the disputed territorial waters in the direction of North Korea. North Korea immediately responded with artillery fire that hit Yonphyong island which houses a South Korean military base along with some civilian population.
US President Obama recently visited India to strengthen the alliance between the US imperialists and the Indian ruling class. This alliance is fraught with peril for the workers and people of India as well as for the peace and security of South Asia and the world. It must be opposed by all forces interested in peace and the wellbeing of the peoples.
Hundreds of activists marched from Mandi House to Parliament, in New Delhi, on the morning of November 8, 2010, to protest against the visit of US President Obama to our country. A sea of red flags and banners marked the event jointly organised by the Communist Ghadar Party of India, the Socialist Unity Center of India (Communist), the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, the Lok Raj Sangathan, the All India Workers Council, CPDM, Delhi Shramik Sangathan and Janpaksha.
US President Barrack Obama is scheduled to visit India in the second week of November, 2010.
This visit comes at a time when the US imperialists are getting caught in the mire of the war they have unleashed in Afghanistan and Pakistan's border provinces, as a result of the heroic resistance struggle of the peoples.
Thousands of US soldiers armed to the teeth with the deadliest weaponry available today began a massive 'surge' offensive in Afghanistan in the second week of February 2010 to wipe out centers of Afghan resistance to the occupation forces. According to the US and NATO occupation forces, the aim is to "liberate" various regions from "Taliban Control". In the course of this latest offensive, hundreds of civilians, including women and childen, have been killed. Mazdoor Ekta Lehar condemns this latest offensive of the US imperialists and its allies.
The Indian state's stand, joining the big power chorus against Iran's nuclear program, is utterly hypocritical and shameful. India itself had till recently been the target of the policy of nuclear discrimination, and was at the receiving end of big power sanctions and disapproval for having gone ahead and developed its nuclear program.
Following the Mumbai terror attacks of 26-28 November, the degree of US penetration and interference in South Asia is on the rise. Hordes of US intelligence forces have entrenched themselves in India, in the name of helping to investigate terrorism.
Seven years after the US imperialist-led invasion of Afghanistan, the top British military commander in Afghanistan has gone on record saying that they cannot win the war in Afghanistan and that their military strategy is "doomed to defeat".
The UPA Government is rushing headlong into a strategic alliance with one of the most dangerous powers hated by wide sections of people in our country – US imperialism.
The result of the ambitions of Indian bourgeoisie is that increasingly, the seas around our country are getting militarized, and the warships of powers which have no business to be here, are prowling around these seas. The warships of the US imperialists have been looking for a port of call, a port of refueling in this region for a long time.
The signing of the 123 agreement between India and the US reflects the ever growing alliance between the ruling circles of these two countries.
What this shows is that being an ally or "partner" of US imperialism offers no protection against the depradations of this rampaging superpower. At this time, various elements in the Indian ruling circles are crowing about the Indian state's increasing closeness to the US.
The passage of legislation in the US Congress on May 24 for supplementary unconditional funding by which the Bush administration sought to continue the war in Iraq had a significant impact on the anti-war movement which has been consistently protesting the war.
Recently, very clear evidence has come to light that the US imperialists are determined to extract a high price for their offer of a "strategic alliance" with the Indian state.
Loyal ally of US imperialism and Prime Minister of the UK, Tony Blair, is to step down after a ten–year long reign.
Comrade workers!
This document entitled Towards the Rule of Workers and Peasants and a Voluntary Indian Union contains the Report of the Central Committee presented by Comrade Lal Singh, General Secretary of the Communist Ghadar Party of India, which was discussed and adopted by the Third Congress of the Party, held in January 2005.
(Click thumbnail to download PDF)
According to news reports, the report of the weapons inspectors team on Iraq has been seized by the US. The US forcibly took over the arms report on Iraq from the UN Security Council President, and says that it will not be shown to the non-permanent non-nuclear members of the Security Council. (The Hindu, December 10, 2002).
The United States and its allies are using the pretext of their "war against terrorism" to try, gain and extend their foothold in the internal affairs of various Asian countries, and especially to extend control over military, intelligence and other important sectors.
Following reports of an alleged American intelligence information that Pakistan has been collaborating with North Korea on nuclear technology and armaments, the Indian government has demanded that the US should send international weapons inspectors into Pakistan.
The US imperialists have, for the last few weeks, been forcing the UN and all other countries to accept their demand for legitimizing aggression on Iraq. This most unwarranted aggression is part of the US imperialist drive to assert their authority over Asia and the world.
Everyone can see that US imperialist interference and intervention in South Asia is rising. Every week, some political or military representative or envoy of the United States or Britain is visiting India and Pakistan these days.
In the period following the end of the Cold War, world imperialism, particularly the Anglo American imperialists, have launched a concerted attack against what are being referred to as "forces of Islamic fundamentalism". After the events of September 11, 2001 and the launching of the "global war against terrorism", this campaign has been further stepped up.
The massacre of innocent men, women and children in Kaluchak, Jammu, has been the signal for the Vajpayee government to raise war hysteria to a fever pitch and to step up war preparations against Pakistan. Hurriyat leader Abdul Ghani Lone was assassinated on precisely the day Shri Vajpayee began his Kashmir tour.
As the attention of the world rivets once again to the Indo-Pak border and the war mobilisation on land, sea and air, as well as the "peace diplomacy" of the Anglo-American and other imperialists, there is need to take stock of various other military and diplomatic developments in recent weeks.
Since the December 13 attack on Parliament, the ruling circles have systematically whipped up war hysteria. Both countries have organised a massive mobilisation of troops and military arsenal all along the international border as well as the LOC.
The Communist Ghadar Party of India condemns the savage war of aggression launched by the US and British imperialists on the night of October 7 against Afghanistan.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is on a lightning tour of Pakistan and India, following a similar visit to Russia.
With the act of declaring war against the Taliban government in Afghanistan and demanding unquestioning support to this war from all the states in the name of fighting terrorism, US imperialism has launched a devastating attack on the peoples of South Asia and their unity.
In his public address on television on 14 September, Prime Minister Vajpayee chose to declare his government's "full support" to the new imperialist war being pushed by the U.S. Government in the name of fighting terrorism..
Freedom loving people all over the world, as well as states which desire peace, must firmly oppose and condemn the dastardly plans of the imperialists to legitimise and institutionalise armed intervention, as also the US plans to renew the arms race.
Program adopted by the Second Congress of the Communist Ghadar Party of India, October 1998 titled Workers, Peasants, Women and Youth. We constitute India We are her masters. An immediate program for the reorientation of the economy; political empowerment of the people; and the democratic renewal of India.
(Click thumbnail to download PDF)
The report Whither India? was presented by Lal Singh, General Secretary of the Communist Ghadar Party of India, on behalf of its Central Committee, at the Third Consultative Conference of CGPI held in Delhi on December 23-24, 1995.
(Click thumbnail to download PDF)
The Call of the Martyrs - on the Crisis in India and the Present Situation in the Punjab, by Hardial Bains, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist).
The call of the Martyrs deals with the present situation [1983] and its historical basis and explains the main content of the Indian revolution. It was the Indian martyrs who by their sacrifice immortalised the progressive and patriotic ideals of the Indian people, and today their spirit calls upon the people to carry the struggle through to the end...
The first part of this pamphlet is an analysis of facts and phenomena to identify and expose the real aims behind the Note Ban. The second part is devoted to a critical appraisal of the government's claims that it will reduce inequality, corruption and terrorism. The third part is what Communist Ghadar Party believes is the real solution to these problems and the immediate program of action towards that solution.
(Click thumbnail to download PDF)
A Presentation of Communist Ghadar Party of India
100 years ago Ghadar Party was formed by Indians in the US.It was historic milestone in our anti-colonial struggle.
The goal of this party was to organise a revolution to liberate our motherland from British servitude and establish a free and independent India with equal rights for all. It believed this to be the necessary condition for our people to hold their heads high anywhere in the world.
(Click thumbnail to download PDF)
Call of the Central Committee of Communist Ghadar Party of India, 30th August, 2012
Working class representatives from all over the country are gathering on 4th September, at a time when a titanic struggle is going on in our country. The struggle is between the majority of toiling and exploited people and a minority of exploiters. It is between the majority whose labour expands wealth and the minority who enjoy the fruits of wealth creation on the basis of their private property and positions of power.
(Click thumbnail to download PDF)
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From CGPI Archive:
Against Communalism and Fascist Terror in Punjab! September 1984
Resolutely Condemn the Savage Communal and Fascist Terror Unleashed by the Indian Ruling Classes! November 1984
Visit Lok Raj Sanghatan Website


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Hello, my name is David, and I am an educator eager to help you - or your child - along on your way to academic success! I have over five years of experience in education! I specialize in the humanities -- such as English, reading, writing, history, philosophy,... read moreSee Tutors Like This

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My Nonprofit Reviews
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Review for Shadowland Foundation Inc, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Wolves are the most amazing and majestic of animals. They are so misunderstood and their survival is in jeopardy. I can think of nothing more important than educating people in an effort to understand and preserve the marvelous animals.
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Age: 25
Occupation: Teacher
Hometown: Regina, SK
Audition City: Regina, SK
Place of Birth: Victoria, BC
Nickname: "Mino," "Minnie"
Sounds Like: Martina McBride / Pink / Amy Lee
Identifies With: Bonnie Raitt, Jann Arden
Musical Style: "Versatile"
Fashion Style: "Funky and fun"
"My number one goal in life is to share my love of music and the arts with as many people as possible and to pass on that vision and drive to all the young singers in Canada."
Top 32 Song List:
My Immortal
There are not many competitors that have a resident cheering section such as that of Manoah Hartmann. As a music teacher at a Regina elementary school, Manoah can count on the support of her students, their parents and her fellow staff. "They are always cheering me on and inspiring me to go beyond what I have already done," she says. Indeed, regardless of what happens on Canadian Idol, Manoah is devoted to giving back to young Canadians. "I hope that I will continue to pass on my love for the arts and for music to as many people, especially young girls, as I can." A graduate of the University of Regina, Manoah began singing when hanging out on the beach in Victoria, where she was born. "I would sing and dance all around my grandparents' yard," she says. Indeed, it was Manoah's grandmother who encouraged her mother to sign her up for classical training after recognizing her potential.
Manoah describes herself as "funky, outspoken and fun to be around." In addition to singing, Manoah acts and also writes. In her spare time, Manoah likes to read and watch TV, rollerblade and swim. She loves shoes, hats, dark chocolate, Law and Order and is a die-hard Saskatchewan Roughriders fan.
What can viewers expect when they see Manoah perform? "The audience will see someone who loves what they are doing," she says. "I love working with people and inspiring people to believe in themselves and achieve their dreams."


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Beijing (AFP) Sep 11, 2006
China's fight against HIV/AIDS cannot be won without giving more voice to patients and non-governmental organizations, the head of the UN agency dealing with the disease told AFP Monday. Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, said the Chinese government was in some ways ahead of other countries, providing free drugs to patients and clean needles to addicts.
But he said NGS should be more involved in the fight in China, where around 650,000 people have the HIV virus.
"What should be done differently is there should be better space for civil society groups to work. No country has been totally effective in dealing with AIDS without that space," said Piot on his annual visit to China.
"The government cannot do everything."
The six-day visit, which began last Thursday and took Piot to southwest Guizhou province, is aimed at better understanding the fight against the disease at the local and grassroots level.
The UNAIDS chief said he had noticed an absence of groups such as support networks, formed by patients themselves to help each other and lobby for services.
"There should be a group of people living with HIV who can come together, support each other's rights, etcetera," Piot said.
China has been praised for turning around its attitude towards the deadly disease in the past few years -- from not admitting it had a serious epidemic on its hands to now offering 26,000 people free life-saving treatment.
But the government has been criticized by NGOs for detaining patients who appeal in groups for compensation and forbidding courts from taking up cases involving people infected through unsafe blood transfusions.
Piot said it was important to allow patients to organize, especially because a strong network could help them stay alive.
"Compliance is not just a doctor telling you to take your pills, but people coming together to give support to each other," Piot said.
"At local level, the authorities should offer that space. We didn't see it."
Source: Agence France-Presse
Related Links
China Will Not Be Hit Hard By Bird Flu This Fall
Beijing, China (AFP) Sep 05, 2006
China does not expect to be hit hard by deadly bird flu in coming months, a top agricultural official said Tuesday, but a WHO expert warned there could be more outbreaks as temperatures fall. The government was stepping up vaccinations and strengthening surveillance of poultry, Li Jinxiang, the deputy director general of the Ministry of Agriculture's veterinary department, told a news conference.
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Walgreens Sweepstakes Surprise Us with Wonderful Prizes
Without a doubt, Walgreens is our favorite supermarket. But what some of us might not know yet, we are also loved by Walgreens! As a matter of fact, it is giving away great prizes from its upcoming Walgreens sweepstakes. Make sure you check out the latest here in SA so you don't miss out! Good luck!
We Appreciate the Cool Prizes from Walgreens Sweepstakes
If you enjoy items on Walgreens, you should check out what these sweepstakes have to offer.
From the Daily category, they have the "Do Us a Flavor™ Sweepstakes" wherein they are giving away all several gift cards of different denominations. You may enter this walgreens sweepstakes once per day, which means 24 hours, and could keep it coming until the 30th of the month. If you are one of the first prize winners, which they will give out 50 each day, you are entitled to a $20 Walgreens GC, and their big grand prize winner will receive a $500 Walgreens GC. A win here will surely get you some awesome items you could use, so be the grand prize winner or just settle for their first prize wins!
The "Gift Card Giveaway" is not the usual sweepstakes you can just enter. First, you must register and become a registered user at Walgreens.com/walk. After which, you can now log on and comment to their Gift Card Giveaway posts, usually twice a month, and enter the giveaway. You can join as often as you want and get the chance to win a $100 Walgreens Gift Card. This sweepstakes will last until September 30th 2013, a Monday.
Meanwhile, you get a chance to win a $10 Walgreens Gift Card by placing fourth in Palmolive's "Irish Spring Legendary Giveaway" Instant Win sweepstakes. There are going to be 500 lucky fourth place winners from this. On the other hand, 300 third prize winners will get a $10 iTunes gift card, and 150 second prize winner will be getting $25 American Express gift cards. The hundred first prize winner of this sweepstakes will be receiving a $50 American Express gift card, while the lucky grand prize winner will be receiving something more than a gift card which is a trip to Dublin, Ireland for two people worth around $7,000. Start getting your entries in as this will last until the end of the month.
Watch out for more Walgreens Sweepstakes
A pair of our Sweepstakes Plus Members got wins from the Schwan's sweepstakes. Cakyjo got a $500 Schwan's gift card from "Schwan's Share Your Story" sweepstakes while Izzynsethsmom got a $100, the biggest for her Instant Wins so far.
Meanwhile, senior member Ladecajun won the Target Simmons Complete Nursery Sweepstakes in time for a grandson due by the end of the month. She also got $20 to iTunes, a win from Woman's Day and a $100 for Costal Contact.
Winners of $50 GC's have been pouring this month. Paluck was one of them who got the win from the "December MailPix Sweepstakes" while Openmind101 got a $50 ESPN gift card from the "Mountain Dew Kickstart" sweepstakes, and so did Bwanas and Bourkebabe.
Gyost6 on the other hand won first prize from the "Advil Getaway Vacation Sweepstakes" to get a $50 GC to BJ's, while Johnsnook garnered several wins like a $10 Candystand Amazon code and $50 from Camel.
Lazyme2000 also won $50 from Camel and Webbers got a $50 ESPN Shop Gift Card from the "Voice of the Fan Wooden Award™ Sweepstakes". Novaceleste was also able to win a few items like a $50 GC from Camel, a cat blanket, a song download, and some self-tanner from Beautisol.
Lucky Winners from Walgreens Sweepstakes and Other Sponsors
It has been a good month for our Sweepstakes Plus Member, Lilicrose. Our SA member really believes that you have to be patient and persistent and that a positive attitude pays off. Lilicrose has had a couple of wins from the Instant Win category to start the month and has now hit a big win from the "Lifetime Moms Dance Moms Season 3 Sweepstakes" wherein she will be receiving a $250 check plus an Abby Lee Miller Bobblehead, a "Dance Moms" dance bag and water bottle. She is thrilled with these wins and hopes for more as this is her birthday month, so we wish her good luck!
Meanwhile, some of our SA members got some small gadget prizes. Coreyolomon was able to win a Galaxy Tablet from the "McAfee Mobile Mythbusters Quiz", which finally solves the problem of her sons having to fight over the Google Nexxus Tablet she won from Sweepstakes Advantage last December. Rediagain on the other hand won from SanDisk, a Go Pro HD Hero 2 Surf Edition Camera worth $249.99, and Johnsnook got an iPod Shuffle from Oreo.
Karristeed has just wrapped up some of her recent wins like 40 points from MCR, a coupon for some free stuff, GC's that amount to over $100, some hair coloring, and food stuff. Also, she previously won a trip to Mexico City and had tickets to see the Killers, which had turned into $1,500 pocket money that was used for some travel gear.


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Fujitsu Is First Vendor to Have Rack and Tower Servers Certified for ENERGY STAR 1.0
Fujitsu today announced that it is the first vendor to comply with the stringent ENERGY STAR 1.0 rating for both its rack and tower servers. In the first phase, four PRIMERGY server configurations will be ENERGY STAR 1.0-certified, underlining Fujitsu's overall approach of innovation and efficiency to reduce carbon footprint and help customers cut power consumption and costs. Confirmation is expected shortly for systems currently undergoing ENERGY STAR certification.
ENERGY STAR is a well-known label that helps customers easily identify energy-efficient systems. In extending its program to include x86 servers, ENERGY STAR has set rigorous power management requirements.
"By deploying more energy-efficient servers, organizations can reduce total datacenter energy consumption," says Jens-Peter Seick, Senior Vice President x86 Server Product Unit at Fujitsu Technology Solutions. "We are committed to helping our customers reduce power consumption and as a result, benefit from significant cost savings. Achieving ENERGY STAR 1.0 certification for our PRIMERGY rack and tower servers underlines that commitment. On average, servers that earn the ENERGY STAR label are 30 percent more energy-efficient than standard servers."
The first four PRIMERGY models certified for ENERGY STAR 1.0 are configurations for the TX200 S5 and TX300 S5 towers, specifically geared at SME customers, plus the RX200 S5 and RX300 S5 racks. Qualifying PRIMERGY servers include Cool-safe™ technology for improved air intake and system cooling, energy-efficient power supply units, and intelligent power server management functions to measure, control and limit energy consumption. The current ENERGY STAR specification for servers only covers x86 servers of up to 4 sockets. The four certified configurations are available immediately.
Since 1994, Fujitsu has actively participated in the ENERGY STAR program and offers a variety of PCs, small-scale servers, notebooks, thin clients, workstations and displays that meet the applicable U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements for ENERGY STAR qualification. With the latest ENERGY STAR 1.0 certification, Fujitsu now extends its cooperation with ENERGY STAR to include energy-efficient x86 servers.
Images of the certified servers are available here:
TX200 S5: http://mediaserver.ts.fujitsu.com/ms/go.cfm?itemid=30222&jumpfactor=6
TX300 S5: http://mediaserver.ts.fujitsu.com/ms/go.cfm?itemid=30243&jumpfactor=6
RX200 S5: http://mediaserver.ts.fujitsu.com/ms/go.cfm?itemid=29128&jumpfactor=6
RX300 S5: http://mediaserver.ts.fujitsu.com/ms/go.cfm?itemid=29428&jumpfactor=6
Details of ENERGY STAR's key product criteria for servers are online at:
Top Headlines
- Future-proof new PRIMERGY server design from Fujitsu Siemens Computers offers more for less
- Fujitsu Siemens Computers set the standard in energy efficiency for the IT industry
- HP Sets Industry Bar for Power and Cooling of Blade Servers in Real-World Environments
- Dell revolutionises design and performance with new line of Dell precision workstations


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Hannah Johnston/Getty Images
Hannah Johnston/Getty Images
Less than a month ago, viewers around the world enjoyed quite the show as the 2012 Olympics came to a close, but today marked another fantastic show for the closing ceremonies of the Paralympics in London.
And it included music by Coldplay, Rihanna and Jay-Z, not to mention the important stuff like fire, lasers and fireworks.
Lissa Hermans performed the national anthem—the blind, autistic signer also performed at the queen's Diamond Jubilee earlier this year.
Ellie Simmonds, who won four medals in the pool including two golds, and 100-meter sprinter Jonnie Peacock came out to finally put out the flame that has burned throughout both games. Ri-Ri and Hova took the floor and performed their hit "Run This Town."
Lights, lasers and fireworks served as a backdrop during Coldplay's performance, which included a variety of their songs, inlcuding "The Scientist," which played while a montage of the games' best moments were displayed.
"In this country we will never think of sport the same way and we will never think of disability the same way," London 2012 chairman Lord Coe said. "The Paralympians have lifted the cloud of limitation."
International Paralympic Committee president Sir Philip Craven added, "The Paralympic Games have truly come home and found their pathway to the future here in London. This is an event absolutely no one wants to end. These Games have changed us all forever."
And just like the Olympics' closing ceremony, London mayor Boris Johnson handed the Paralympic flag to Rio mayor Eduardo Paes.


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Compared to nonanxious depressed patients, anxious depressed patients respond less to pharmacotherapy, prompting consideration of alternate treatments. Based on the transdiagnostic principles of cognitive therapy (CT), we predicted that anxious depressed patients would respond as well to CT as nonanxious depressed patients.
Adults (n = 523) with recurrent major depressive disorder received 12–14 weeks of CT as part of the Continuation Phase Cognitive Therapy Relapse Prevention Trial. Anxious depressed patients (n = 264; 50.4%) were compared to nonanxious depressed patients (n = 259; 49.6%) on demographic variables, initial severity, attrition, and rates and patterns of response and remission.
Anxious depressed patients presented with greater illness severity and had significantly lower response (55.3 vs. 68.3%) and remission rates (26.9 vs. 40.2%) based on clinician-administered measures. By contrast, smaller between-group differences for attrition, and for response (59.1 vs. 64.9%) and remission (41.7 vs. 48.7%) rates on self-report measures were not significant. Further, anxious depressed patients had greater speed of improvement on self-reported anxiety symptom severity and clinician-rated depressive and anxiety symptom severity measures.
Consistent with prior reports, anxious depressed patients presented with greater severity and, following CT, had lower response and remission rates on clinician-administered scales. However, anxious depressed patients improved more rapidly and response and remission rates on self-report measures were not significantly different from nonanxious depressed patients. Our findings suggest that anxious depressed patients may simply need additional time or more CT sessions to reach outcomes fully comparable to those of less anxious patients.
Patients presenting with anxious depression do not fare as well with acute phase pharmacotherapy relative to those who present with nonanxious depression [1,2,3,4,5]. Distinct from the mixed anxiety and depressive disorder (i.e. the presence of subthreshold depressive and subthreshold anxiety symptoms) [6], anxious depression has been defined as either major depressive disorder (MDD) with high levels of anxiety symptoms (i.e. dimensional approach) or MDD with anxiety disorder comorbidity (i.e. syndromal approach) [4,6,7,8]. The dimensional approach is often regarded as having greater ecological validity [8], since many patients with MDD have debilitating anxiety symptoms that do not meet criteria for a specific disorder [4]. Defined this way, anxious depression is common among outpatients and inpatients alike with MDD. For example, 46% of outpatients participating in the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) trial met criteria for anxious depression [7]. Similarly, 49% of inpatients who enrolled in the German Algorithm Project, phase 3 (GAP3), presented with anxious depression [4]. Moreover, those with anxious depression are more likely to report features of the atypical or melancholic depressive subtypes and evidence not only greater illness severity, but also more functional impairment than nonanxious depressed patients [2,4,7,8,9]. Although not yet recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), such findings support the notion that anxious depression is a distinct subtype of MDD [4,7,8,10].
Evidence of poorer outcomes with pharmacotherapy for anxious, relative to nonanxious, depressed patients comes from two recent large-scale pharmacotherapy trials. Indeed, anxious depressed patients in the STAR*D and GAP3 trials evidenced lower response rates (STAR*D: 41.7 vs. 52.8%, p = 0.001; GAP3: 59.5 vs. 69.7%, p = 0.023), lower remission rates (STAR*D: 22.2 vs. 33.4%, p = 0.002; GAP3: 48.6 vs. 61.6%, p = 0.018), and took longer to achieve remission than nonanxious depressed patients (p < 0.001) [2,4]. Collectively, these findings call for the need to identify symptoms of anxiety in patients who present for pharmacotherapy but also for the consideration of alternate interventional modalities or adjunctive treatments for this common MDD subtype.
One alternate modality is cognitive therapy (CT). Conceptually, CT is a logical intervention for patients with significant co-occurring anxiety due to its 'transdiagnostic' nature [11]. That is, CT for MDD targets distressing thoughts and behaviors; thus, the approach is flexible enough to target upsetting thoughts and behaviors linked to both depressed and anxious mood. For patients presenting with high levels of anxiety symptoms, cognitive restructuring and behavioral exercises may center on decreasing emotional response and behavioral avoidance to anxiogenic cues, thereby facilitating improvement in depressed mood and improving overall functioning. Indeed, evidence supports the idea that reducing anxiety with cognitive and behavioral strategies guides subsequent reductions in depression [12]. Moreover, CT approaches to MDD are associated with improvements in psychiatric comorbidities [13]. Accordingly, it is plausible that the outcome of CT for MDD does not vary as a function of the presence of high anxiety symptom levels. Initial support for this hypothesis comes from Smits et al. [14], who found that patients with MDD with comorbid social phobia showed comparable outcomes with acute phase CT to patients with MDD without comorbid social phobia.
The present study aimed to build upon extant work by investigating whether outpatients with anxious MDD differ significantly from their counterparts with nonanxious MDD with respect to their pattern of response and remission during acute phase CT. We compared the two subtypes on measures obtained at diagnostic evaluation and on the following acute phase CT outcomes: (1) attrition; (2) response and remission; (3) stable remission; (4) time to response and remission, and (5) rate of improvement in depressive and anxiety symptoms. We predicted that anxious depressed patients would evidence greater illness severity at presentation relative to nonanxious depressed patients. However, based on the therapeutic principles and procedures of CT, we predicted that the anxious depressed patients would not show significantly poorer treatment outcome relative to their nonanxious depressed counterparts. These predictions were tested using data collected within the open trial of acute phase CT of the Continuation Phase Cognitive Therapy Relapse Prevention (C-CT-RP) trial [15].
Details of the C-CT-RP trial are given elsewhere [15]. The aim of the C-CT-RP trial was to examine the risk of relapse and recurrence following shorter and longer courses of CT. To this end, 523 adult outpatients with recurrent MDD were first enrolled in 12–14 weeks of acute phase CT. Acute phase responders were then stratified into higher- and lower-risk (for relapse/recurrence) groups. Higher-risk responders were subsequently enrolled in an 8-month randomized trial comparing the effects of C-CT versus blinded fluoxetine or pill placebo with respect to preventing relapse and/or recurrence during a 2-year follow-up period. Lower-risk responders completed follow-up evaluations but received no further interventions. Data were collected at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center with the approval of their Institutional Review Boards. For the present secondary analysis we report only on data from the open trial of acute phase CT (before randomization).
The sample, recruited via advertisement and referral, comprised adults with recurrent MDD (n = 523) as determined by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV [16]. Inclusion criteria were: (1) evidence of recurrence defined as either remission between depressive episodes, at least 1 prior episode with complete inter-episode recovery, or antecedent dysthymic disorder; (2) Hamilton Rating Scale of Depression (HRSD17) [17] score ≥14 at the initial and second interview, and (3) patients who were taking psychotropic medication were withdrawn from the medication and had to be without medication for at least 1 week prior to study entry. Exclusion criteria were: (1) severe or poorly controlled concurrent medical disorders that may cause depression; (2) presence of the following comorbid DSM-IV disorders: psychotic or organic mental disorder, bipolar disorder, active alcohol or drug dependence, primary obsessive-compulsive disorder or eating disorders; (3) insufficient command of the English language; (4) active suicide risk; (5) history of nonresponse to a trial of at least 8 weeks of CT conducted by a certified therapist; (6) history of nonresponse to at least 6 weeks of 40 mg of fluoxetine; (7) pregnancy or planned pregnancy during 11 months after intake. All potential participants provided written authorization from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and informed consent for evaluation and treatment.
A strict quality assurance protocol was followed to maintain high diagnostic reliability in clinician ratings [15].
Demographics. Patient demographics were collected at the diagnostic evaluation using a questionnaire [15].
Psychiatric Diagnosis. Experienced evaluators administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-1 [16] at diagnostic evaluation and the current MDD section of the interview once during weeks 4, 8 and 12 of the acute phase and at the first blinded evaluation, which occurred within 1 week of the last session.
Symptom Severity. Depressive symptom severity was assessed using the following psychometrically sound measures: HRSD17[17], Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology – Self-Reported (IDS-SR) [18] and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) [19]. Clinicians administered the HRSD17 and patients completed the BDI and IDS-SR at diagnostic evaluation and weekly during CT. Independent evaluators administered the HRSD17 one week following the last session. Similar to previous work [14,20], we used the IDS-SR anxiety/arousal factor in addition to the HRSD17 anxiety/somatization factor to assess anxiety symptom severity.
Following previous studies [2,7,8], we defined anxious depression as MDD with high levels of anxiety symptoms as indexed by an HRSD17 anxiety/somatization factor score ≥7 at diagnostic evaluation [21].
Experienced cognitive therapists provided 16–20 individual sessions of CT as described by Beck et al. [22]. Consistent with this CT manual, therapists tailored treatment and homework assignments to the individual. Homework exercises were designed to prompt patients to gather disconfirmatory evidence for their negative thoughts and beliefs; therefore exposure to feared cues was possible. CT was delivered over 12–14 weeks. Sessions 1–8 occurred twice weekly, after which patients who experienced ≥40% reduction in the HRSD17 score from diagnostic evaluation began weekly sessions, while all others continued twice-weekly sessions for 4 more weeks. Therapists received ongoing supervision and were monitored for competency using the CT Rating Scale [23].
Attrition, Response and Remission. In this analysis, we defined acute phase CT response by either (1) HRSD17 score ≤12 and absence of DSM-IV major depressive episode (MDE) at the last visit or (2) a diagnostic evaluation to the last assessment reduction of ≥50% in the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology – Self-Report (QIDS-SR) score. We included the second criterion to remain consistent with definitions employed by Fava et al. [2]. The QIDS-SR score was derived from the IDS-SR score. Also consistent with Fava et al. [2], remission was defined as either (1) HRSD17 score ≤7 or (2) QIDS-SR score ≤5 at the last visit. Lastly, stable remission was defined as the last 7 consecutive HRSD17 scores <7. We included this latter index because it has been associated with a lower risk of relapse and recurrence during the 24 months following acute phase CT [24], thereby providing useful prognostic data. A hierarchical decision model was used to determine the HRSD17-based response for patients who did not complete acute phase CT. Specifically, of the 523 patients who consented to acute phase CT, nonresponse of 395 (75.5%) was defined as described above. When patients failed to complete either the CT or the post-CT evaluation, then the available data closest to their exit date were imputed using the following hierarchy: (a) for patients who exited early and completed their independent evaluation within 4 weeks of their final CT session, this HRSD17 and MDE were used to define the response (n = 11; 2.1%); (b) for those who did not complete an early-exit independent evaluation or did so >4 weeks from their last CT session, comparable data (i.e. HRSD17 and MDE) were imputed from the final available CT session but were collected by the treating therapist (n = 42; 8.0%); (c) for those who had a therapist's diagnosis of MDE that was missing at the final CT session, 2 IDS-SR scores were used as a proxy for MDE and the final HRSD17 from the therapist was also analyzed (n = 45; 8.6%); and (d) did not start CT or dropped out before session 6, data were imputed from the diagnostic evaluation (n = 30; 5.7%). Similarly, for patients who failed to complete either the CT or the post-CT evaluation, the available data closest to their exit date were imputed. Accordingly, in some cases remission as defined by the HRSD17 scores was based on ratings by the treating therapist. We used χ2 tests to compare anxious versus nonanxious depressed patients with respect to attrition, response, remission and stable remission rates. These tests included data from all patients (i.e. intent-to-treat analyses) and were followed by logistic regression analyses in order to adjust for initial depression severity. Consistent with Fava et al. [2], we adjusted for scores on the HRSD17 without the anxiety/somatization factor at diagnostic evaluation in analyses of attrition and outcomes defined by changes on the HRSD17, and adjusted for diagnostic evaluation QIDS-SR scores in analyses of response and remission defined by changes in the QIDS-SR.
Time to First Response and Time to First Remission. Time to first response and time to first remission were operationalized as weeks passed from the first CT visit to the first visit during which the response criterion (reduction of ≥50% in the QIDS-SR score) or remission criterion (HRSD17 score ≤7 or QIDS-SR score ≤5) was achieved. Because DSM-IV MDE was not assessed at each visit, we did not conduct time to response analysis using the HRSD17 score ≤12 and absence of DSM-IV MDE criterion. We employed Kaplan-Meier analyses to estimate the median time to response/remission and a log-rank test to compare the two groups. These tests were followed by Cox proportional hazard regression analyses to adjust for depression severity at diagnostic evaluation.
Rate of Improvement in Depressive and Anxious Symptoms. In order to compare anxious versus nonanxious depressed patients on their pattern of change in depressive and anxiety symptoms during the course of treatment, we subjected weekly scores on the respective depressive symptom measures (BDI, HRSD17, QIDS-SR) and anxiety symptom measures (HRSD17 anxiety/somatization factor, IDS-SR anxiety/arousal factor) to multilevel linear regression analyses (i.e. 5 analyses). At level 1 of these analyses, an intercept and a slope were estimated for each patient. Here, the intercept reflects the score on the measure at the first session adjusting for depression severity at diagnostic evaluation, and the slope reflects the weekly decrease in this score during the course of acute phase CT. At level 2, these person-specific parameters were modeled as a function of anxious depression status (no/yes). Because these analyses include data from all persons, they are intent-to-treat analyses.
Sample characteristics are reported in table table1.1. Of 523 patients, 264 (50.4%) presented with anxious depression. Scores on measures of depressive and anxiety symptom severity were significantly elevated among anxious depressed versus nonanxious depressed patients. Relative to nonanxious depressed patients, anxious depressed patients also reported a greater number of MDD episodes, current comorbid anxiety disorders and current comorbid DSM-IV diagnoses, had completed significantly fewer years of education and were significantly more likely to be non-Caucasian. No significant differences were observed for age of onset, length of current episode or current double-depression rates.
Results are presented in table table2.2. Compared to nonanxious depressed patients, anxious depressed patients had significantly lower response and remission rates using the HRSD17-based definitions, even after controlling for initial depression severity (HRSD17-defined response: χ2 = 4.6, p < 0.031, odds ratio = 0.666, 95% confidence interval, CI, = 0.461–0.964; HRSD17-defined remission: χ2 = 5.9, p < 0.015, odds ratio = 0.627, 95% CI = 0.430–0.915). By contrast, anxious and nonanxious depressed patients did not differ with respect to attrition (χ2 = 0.26, p < 0.609), nor with respect to response (χ2 = 2.29, p < 0.130) and remission rates (χ2 = 0.25, p < 0.620) using QIDS-SR criteria. The groups likewise had similar rates of stable remission (χ2 = 0.91, p < 0.341).
As defined by a reduction of ≥50% in the QIDS-SR score, 87.1% of anxious versus 94.7% of nonanxious depressed patients achieved response; this small difference was statistically significant on the survival analysis (log-rank χ2 = 6.1, d.f. = 1, p ≤ 0.013). The median time to achieve response was significantly greater for anxious (6.4 weeks) versus nonanxious (5.0 weeks) depressed patients, even after controlling for initial depression severity (χ2 = 6.3, d.f. = 1, p ≤ 0.012, hazard ratio = 1.297, 95% CI = 1.058–1.588; online suppl. fig. 1; for all online suppl. material, see www.karger.com/doi/10.1159/000334909).
With respect to achieving remission, anxious depressed patients were less likely than nonanxious depressed patients to reach a HRSD17 score ≤7 (74.2 vs. 81.5%; log-rank χ2 = 13.8, d.f. = 1, p ≤ 0.0002) or a QIDS-SR score ≤5 (70.4 vs. 77.8%; log-rank χ2 = 9.4, d.f. = 1, p ≤ 0.002). The median time to achieve HRSD17-defined remission was significantly longer among anxious depressed (10.7 weeks) versus nonanxious depressed patients (8.0 weeks), even after controlling for initial depression severity (χ2 = 5.84, d.f. = 1, p ≤ 0.016, hazard ratio = 1.327, 95% CI = 1.055–1.670; online suppl. fig. 1). However, the difference in the median time to QIDS-SR-defined remission (9.9 vs. 7.1 weeks) was not significant after adjusting for initial depression severity (χ2 = 1.881, d.f. = 1, p ≤ 0.170, hazard ratio = 1.174, 95% CI = 0.933–1.478; online suppl. fig. 1).
Results are presented in the online supplementary figures 2 and 3. No between-group slope differences were observed for the BDI or the QIDS-SR (p > 0.31). Relative to nonanxious depressed patients, anxious depressed patients showed a significantly greater rate of improvement on the HRSD17 [b = −0.917 vs. b = −0.811, F(1, 510) = 4.8, p > 0.029], the HRSD17 anxiety/somatization factor [b = −0.289 vs. b = −0.213, F(1, 554) = 19.7, p > 0.001] and the IDS-SR anxiety/arousal factor [b = −0.666 vs. b = −0.583, F(1, 486) = 4.2, p > 0.042].
The present investigation was prompted by research indicating that anxious and nonanxious depressed patients show significantly different response and remission rates and patterns with established pharmacotherapies [1,2,3,4,5], thereby providing support for the view that anxious depression may be a meaningful subtype of MDD [2] that may benefit from either additional or different therapeutic tactics. Based on the transdiagnostic nature of CT we predicted that, while anxious depressed patients would present with greater illness severity, they would not evidence significantly poorer outcomes with CT for MDD relative to their nonanxious depressed counterparts.
We tested our predictions using data from a large trial of CT for recurrent MDD (n = 523) and employed definitions of anxious depression and treatment outcome comparable to that in extant work [2]. Anxious depressed patients constituted approximately one half of our sample (50.4%) and, consistent with previous findings, a number of indices of pretreatment illness severity were more evident among anxious depressed than nonanxious depressed patients [4,7]. As expected, we observed large improvements in measures tapping both depressive and anxiety symptoms in both subtypes, providing support for the hypothesis that CT for MDD is flexible enough to address both depressive and anxiety symptoms simultaneously. Interestingly, the rate of improvement in anxiety symptoms was greater in anxious depressed than nonanxious depressed patients. This finding may simply reflect that there is more room for improvement among anxious depressed patients, but may also suggest that strategies such as restructuring faulty threat appraisals and reducing avoidance are an important focus of CT in this group of depressed patients. Examination of session content is required to address this hypothesis.
Consistent with previous reports relating anxious depression to poorer pharmacotherapy outcomes [2,4,7], anxious depressed patients were less likely to achieve response and remission status as determined by clinician HRSD17 ratings. However, other findings suggested that these between-group differences do not indicate that CT should be viewed as an ineffective treatment for anxious depressed patients. Specifically, it appears that because the anxious depression subgroup presented with more severe symptomatology (HRSD17 mean ± SD: 22.7 ± 3.7 vs. 18.1 ± 2.8), it was simply more difficult to reach the cutoff scores for response (HRSD17 = 12 plus absence of DSM-IV MDE) and especially remission (HRSD17 = 7) within a 12- to 14-week protocol. Indeed, a comparison between the two subtypes regarding their speed of improvement in depressive symptoms as determined by clinicians (i.e. HRSD17) suggested that the anxious depressed patients actually experienced a greater rate of improvement on the HRSD17 than nonanxious depressed patients. Also important to note here is that anxious and nonanxious depressed patients showed comparable attrition rates, suggesting that, unlike what Fava et al. [2] documented for pharmacotherapy, the ability of patients to 'tolerate' a full course of CT may not vary as a function of severity of anxiety symptoms.
Corroboration of the hypothesis that anxious depressed patients do not evidence significantly poorer CT outcomes than nonanxious depressed patients also comes from self-report data. Specifically, although anxious depressed patients required more time than nonanxious depressed patients to achieve the QIDS-SR response cutoff, the subtypes did not evidence significantly different response and remission rates using QIDS-SR definitions, nor did they show a differential rate of improvement on the QIDS-SR and BDI. Interestingly, the two subtypes did not significantly differ with respect to stable remission rates either. Because stable remission has been associated with decreased risk of relapse and recurrence [24,25,26], this finding may imply that anxious depressed patients treated with CT are not at an increased risk of poorer long-term outcomes. It will be possible to test this hypothesis when the follow-up phase of this study is complete.
Several study limitations deserve mention. First, we investigated potential group differences in the context of a standardized 'open' trial of CT. The absence of a credible treatment comparator or placebo makes it difficult to ascertain that response and remission patterns are due to the specific components of CT rather than nonspecific factors associated with clinical care and ongoing assessment. Thus, the present findings may not be specific to CT, but representative of therapeutic change occurring with care in general. Second, because we excluded patients with comorbid substance dependency or primary obsessive-compulsive disorder and patients unable to discontinue antidepressants or benzodiazepines, we may have inadvertently excluded persons with the highest levels of anxiety symptoms. Third, the omission of measures that tap anxiety psychopathology more broadly (i.e. cognitive, somatic and behavioral avoidance features) also limits us with respect to making inferences regarding improvements in anxiety psychopathology that occur with CT of MDD. Fourth, since anxious depressed patients presented with greater illness severity, more episodes, more anxiety disorders, less education, and were more likely to be non-Caucasian, it is possible that one or more of these characteristics did, in part or in combination, influence differences in outcomes where they were observed in this sample. Last, the study did not include a combined CT plus pharmacotherapy strategy, which is often used in clinical practice; thus, the data do not allow comment on this strategy.
Taken together, our findings provide only limited support for the hypothesis that anxious depressed patients constitute a group resistant to established treatments. We note that the clinician ratings, in particular, provide some support for this hypothesis. Overall, our findings suggest that, at least with CT, in spite of presenting with greater illness severity, patients with anxious depression report decreases in symptoms that are not significantly poorer than that observed in their nonanxious counterparts. Instead, they may simply need additional time and/or sessions to achieve remission during acute phase treatment. We believe this is an important hypothesis that warrants further testing, calling for studies that manipulate the dose of acute phase CT. Indeed, findings consistent with this hypothesis would support an emphasis on training therapists to personalize CT to the patient's presenting symptoms – an idea at the very essence of what the first-generation CT therapists called a 'functional analysis' [27] as well as contemporary conceptualizations of the sequential model of treatment for depression [28] – instead of developing complex modular variants of basic CT for MDD. An additional important avenue of future research is testing whether anxious depression is a moderator of between-group differences in randomized controlled trials comparing CT to antidepressant medications or their combination. A recent report further suggests that it may be important to measure and include in the analyses patient preferences for treatment, because receiving the preferred treatment has been associated with improved outcomes both for CT and pharmacotherapy [29]. Results of such efforts can ultimately best guide recommendations for appropriate treatment modalities for anxious depressed patients.
The content of this report is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIMH or the National Institutes of Health. The C-CT-RP trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00118404, NCT00183664, and NCT00218764).
Dr. Smits is currently supported by the National Institutes of Health Grants No. R01MH075889 and R01DA027533 and receives royalties from Oxford University Press. During the past 3 years, he has received grant support from Organon/Schering-Plough (now Merck).
Dr. Minhajuddin reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.
Dr. Thase has served as a consultant to and was a member of various advisory boards for Eli Lilly & Co. and received honoraria for talks sponsored by this company. In addition to Eli Lilly & Co., during the past 3 years Dr. Thase has consulted with, served on advisory boards for or received honoraria for talks from: Aldolor, Alkermes, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dey, Forest Laboratories, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Lundbeck, MedAvante Inc., Merck, Neuronetics Inc., Otsuka, PamLab, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, PGx (now Forest), PharmaNeuroboost, Rexahn, Schering-Plough, Shire US Inc., Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Transcept Pharmaceuticals, and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (now Pfizer). During the past 2 years, he has received grant support from Eli Lilly & Co., Forest, GlaxoSmithKline, Otsuka, and Rexahn, in addition to funding from the National Institutes of Mental Health and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. He has equity holdings in MedAvante Inc. and has received royalties from American Psychiatric Publishing Inc., Guilford Publications, Herald House, and W.W. Norton & Co. Inc. One book currently promoted by American Psychiatric Publishing Inc. specifically pertains to CT. Dr. Thase also discloses that his spouse is an employee of Embryon Inc. (formerly Advogent and Cardinal Health), which does business with several pharmaceutical companies that market medications used to treat depression.
Dr. Jarrett's medical center receives fees from the CT she provides to patients. Dr. Jarrett is a paid consultant to the NIMH.
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This report was supported by Grants No. K24MH001571, R01MH058397 and R01MH069619 (to Robin B. Jarrett, PhD) and R01MH058356 and R01MH069618 (to Michael E. Thase, MD) from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). We appreciate the support of the NIMH.
We wish to acknowledge the unrestricted support of Eli Lilly & Co., who provided the fluoxetine and matched pill placebo for use in the continuation phase of this research until 2006. Thereafter, study materials were purchased and prepared to appear identical for both sites by the pharmacy at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
We are grateful to our patients who made this trial possible.
We appreciate the dedication and long-standing commitment of our research teams and our many colleagues at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, the University of Pittsburgh (where Dr. Thase was located during patient accrual), and the University of Pennsylvania.
We also appreciate the diligence of the members of the Data Safety and Monitoring Board.
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