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30 November , 2015

Beef Ban Hysteria Claims Fourth Life In Three Months
By Countercurrents.org

The Hindtuva fundamentalist led beef ban hysteria in India has consumed another life. An alleged cow smuggler was shot dead and his accomplice injured in an encounter with Haryana police near Thanesar town in the wee hours on Sunday. The deceased has been identified as Abid (27) of Yamunanagar and his injured accomplice is Ashraf (28), also of Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra Superintendent of Police (SP) Simardeep Singh said. This is the fourth such killing in three months in the beef ban frenzy unleashed by ruling Hindutva fundamentalist forces

Sitaram Yechuri’s ‘Idea Of India’ And Communalism
By Badruddin Umar

In a lecture by Sitaram Yechuri, General Secretary of CPI (Marxist), said. "...Antagonistic to both these was the third vision, which argued that the character of independent India should be defined by the religious affiliation of its people. This vision had twin expressions- the Muslim League championing an “Islamic State” and the RSS [Rashtryiya Swayamsewak Sangh] championing a “Hindu Rashtra”. The former succeeded in the unfortunate partition of the country with all its consequences that continue to fester tension till date. The latter having failed to achieve its objective at the time of independence continues with its efforts to transform modern India into its conception of a rabidly intolerant fascistic “Hindu Rashtra”." Marxist historian Badruddin Umar questions Sitaram Yechuri's statement in the context of historical events that led to India's partition

Video: Russia-Ukraine War Explained: The Real Reason Behind The War
By Rowan Wolf

The video in this post is the first in a series of videos on a new YouTube Channel – War in Ukraine – the Unreported Truth. The purpose of the videos is to give the people of Donbass an English voice so they can be heard beyond Donbass

Thousands Of People Hit The Street Demanding
Urgent Action From Paris Climate Summit

By Pradeep Baisakh

As the leaders from more than 190 countries are about to meet in Paris for the Climate Summit (COP21), tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in more than 10 countries in Asia from 24-29th November for the Global Climate March to urge leaders to play their part in the fight against climate change by signing an ambitious climate agreement at the UN Climate Summit in Paris

COP21-Climate Change Conference Paris-Got To Tackle
Both Doomsday And The Disaster At The Door

By Asian Human Rights Commission

Climate change is real and urgent but so are agrarian distress and environmental disasters threatening the lives of billions of small and marginal farmers, fisher-folk, indigenous communities, and forest dwelling communities. The battle for the survival of the world cannot be fought at the cost of their lives

India And Paris Climate Change Conference
By Syed Ali Mujtaba

Instead of having a weak agreement it would be fair if the developed countries respect the concerns of the developing countries and fulfil their commitments. They may allow the developing countries to catch up with them in a course of time. That’s the only way to seize the moment and ahead move ahead to meeting challenges of the climate catastrophe

Why Has UN Rebuilt Just One House In Gaza?
By Ali Abunimah

In the whole period since Israel’s lethal and devastating summer 2014 attack on Gaza, the UN has provided assistance to just one family to rebuild its totally destroyed home. Pierre Krähenbühl, the head of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, confirmed the stunning fact earlier this month that this remains the only totally destroyed house the UN has helped to rebuild. He also revealed that as of 18 November, his agency’s engineers had confirmed that 9,117 homes in Gaza were totally demolished, a similar number suffered severe or major damage and another 123,000 suffered minor damage

Doing Beautiful Things With Life
By Yoginder Sikand

Life is full of challenges, and no one’s life is without them. Our life’s journey crucially depends on how we handle the challenges that come our way. And what better way to learn how to do that than from people who’ve had to face immense odds but yet have triumphed over them, turning what seemed to be debilitating handicaps into a means for their own growth and for helping others, too? I had the good fortune of meeting many such people recently, at the India Inclusion Summit 2015

Children’s Day And Child Labour: Lost Childhood
By John Gaingamlung Gangmei

Child labour exists because we allow it to exist

We Must Compensate Acid Attack Survivors, But What Else Should We Do?
By Salina Wilson

There should be justice for Darya, but there should also be justice for many others who await a similar if not the same promise by the Indian government – that they too shall be taken care of by the state, that justice is not merely handing the perpetrator a sentence, that their restitution is also on the government’s priority list. Most survivors lost vital organs after the attacks and thus are unable to return to their previous workplaces or move on with academics among other pursuits. The current understanding of compensation has failed to address a crucial factor that survivors need the state’s active support in assimilating back into society and basically, moving on. The Delhi Government announcing jobs for acid attack survivors may be viewed as an instrumental step in this direction

Uphold The Spirit of Revolutionary Movement
And Reject Desertion In The Time Of Repression!

Statement By Executive Committee Democratic Students Union in the context of resignations from DSU

29 November , 2015

Betrayal Of Humanity By Paris Climate Change Conference Before It Begins
By Dr Gideon Polya

The Paris Climate Change Conference aims for international consensus on actions to keep global warming to less than 2 degrees C, but has betrayed humanity before it even began. Thus science informs that the internationally-agreed 2 degree C temperature target is both catastrophic and inevitable. Pre-conference national greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution reduction commitments to Paris imply a plus 2.7 degrees C temperature rise. Indeed the present circa plus 0.9 degree C temperature rise is already catastrophic for populations in low-lying island and megadelta locations

How Every Palestinian Killed By Israeli Army Profits It!
By Parul Verma

Why is Palestine's continuous death is Israel's motive? Every bullet in the heart of a Palestinian, raises Israel's profitable bars in its export weaponary business.The military exports have been reported of $7.5 billion in 2012, $6.5 billion in 2013, and $5.5 billion in 2014. This year it is expected to exports to total $4-4.5 billion. The lynching /murdering/shooting of each Palestinian, sustains Israel's economy. Do not misunderstand me, Israel does not wish to eliminate the existence of Palestine, rather the open air prison that Israel has converted the land of Palestine in, is crucial for it to maintain. Israel needs Palestine for its growth economically. But how does it implements this idea into a reality? How does Israel becomes the victimiser, yet remains the victim in front of the international community?

Forcing Greek Women Into Prostitution: Capitalism At Work
By Paul Craig Roberts

The plummeting living standards forced on the Greek people by German chancellor Merkel and the European banks have forced large numbers of young Greek women into prostitution. The large increase in the supply of women offering sexual services has dropped the price to 4 euros an hour. That’s $4.24, enough for a cheese pie or a sandwich, the value that bankster-imposed austerity has placed on an hour’s use of a woman’s body. The half hour price is $2.12

Development: The Amazing Emptiness Of Magic Words
By Pratap Antony

Development, as a magic word, is working in India, because like all magic words, no one knows exactly what it means, or wants to. It is accepted at face value, without thought, as in any inconsequential sound construct. So that’s why this word is currently being used as an economic ‘magic word’ in speeches that are impressive for their drama and rhetoric and which magically merge science and history with myth and folklore, that are full of catchphrases, like, ‘good governance’, ‘make in India’, ‘development’ ‘smart cities’, and the alleged exploits in the development of Gujarat

Shahrukh Khan’s Insensitive Remarks On Road Congestion
By Vidyadhar Date

It was very insensitive of film superstar Shahrukh Khan to say that he loves being caught in a traffic jam. That is the only place he gets free time for himself, he can use his internet and so on. Unfortunately, for ordinary people, a traffic jam adds to the horror of the daily commute, standing in an overcrowded train or bus. Apart from the discomfort of standing, now they inhale more pollution and suffocation. And ordinary people have to pay much more for their auto rickshaw or taxi ride because of the jam

Recolonization Of India: Circle Is Closing Faster Through
New-Education Policy Dictated By WTO-GATS!

By Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle

New Education Policy 2015 (NEP), which will be unleashed in Dec. 2015, is being drafted by the Government of India (GoI) on which opinions have been sought. In 1986, National Policy on Education was framed and amended in the wake of implementing neo–liberal policies in 1992. Now, NEP 2015 is a move of GoI towards the implementation of WTO-GATS [World Trade Organisation - General Agreement on Trade in Services] dictates before its ministerial meeting in Dec 2015

Improved Learning Outcomes Still A Challenge For Schools In India
By Dr.Swaleha Sindhi

The contemporary education scenario in India is beset with numerous unanswered questions on issues concerning retention and learning outcomes. Research studies have identified several factors that multiply this phenomena and perpetuate exclusion in schooling processes that impact the learning outcomes of children, especially the marginalized and girls

Secularism In Indian Context: A Close Reading
By Noor Ameena

Prominent headlines in the Indian and foreign newspapers today is about the growing intolerance in India. Since the new Government has come to power at the Centre, a number of instances can be pointed out, which cannot be let happen in a secular democratic republic like India. Several statements coming from a few elected representatives and prominent faces holding important responsibilities are completely outrageous. Too much of energy is wasted on issuing sermons on how much each community should procreate to remain a majority/ minority community, what an Indian should or should not eat and so on and so forth. Every such incident is highly condemnable and what every Indian can do at this instance is to understand the politics behind the events that unveil. It is not only the culture of tolerance towards other religions that needs to be reinstated, but also respect for all religions. Our endeavours shall be to fulfill that end

28 November , 2015

Niyamgiri Hills Activist Loses His Battle With Vedanta And Commits Suicide
By Countercurrents.org

Drika Kadraka (45) one of the most vocal activists and leaders of Dongria Kondh Adivasis of Niyamgiri hills in their battle against the multi-national mining giant Vedanta lost his own battle and committed suicide Friday night

Paris, India And Coal
By John Scales Avery

The MIT Technology Review recently published an important article entitled “India's Energy Crisis”. The article makes alarming reading in view of the world's urgent need to make a very rapid transition from fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy. We must make this change quickly in order to avoid a tipping point beyond which catastrophic climate change will be unavoidable

'Deadliest Terror In The World': The West's Latest Gift To Africa
By Dan Glazebrook

Nigeria’s Boko Haram are now officially the deadliest terror group in the world. That they have reached this position is a direct consequence of Cameron and co’s war on Libya – and one that was perhaps not entirely unintended. According to a report just released by Global Terrorism Index, Boko Haram were responsible for 6,644 deaths in 2014, compared to 6,073 attributed to ISIS, representing a quadrupling of their total killings in 2013. In the past week alone, bombings conducted by the group have killed eight people on a bus in Maiduguri; a family of five in Fotokol, Cameroon; fifteen people in a crowded marketplace in Kano; and thirty-two people outside a mosque in Yola

Defeating Terrorism - Theirs And Ours
By Nicolas Davies

If we can restore some legitimacy to U.S. policy, we can begin to regain the moral and legal ground from which to respond effectively to terrorism. If or when there is another mass murder like the ones in the U.S. in 2001 or the recent ones in Egypt, Lebanon and France, we must respond to it as a heinous crime rather than as an act of war, as former Nuremberg prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz insisted in the aftermath of September 11th. Those responsible must be identified, pursued, arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, with only as much help from the military as is needed to bring them to justice. But as Ben Ferencz warned in 2001, their crimes must not be allowed to become a pretext for wreaking misdirected vengeance on other countries and innocent lives. This is how we will defeat terrorism - theirs and ours

A Waroholic Wishes You Peace on Earth
By David Swanson

Hidden in the mystery of the ludicrous “last resort” claims, taken oh so seriously by commentators on war, may lie an explanation of current bigotry toward Muslims in the United States. Should Muslims in your neighborhood turn out to be decent people, perhaps Muslims far away are decent people with whom one might speak instead of dropping bombs on their children. Muslims must be hated here so as to justify killing them there as an unavoidable “last resort.”

Elections Theater: Are Fair Elections Too Hard
For The International Community To Manage?

By Justin Podur

Even where there are relatively fair elections, good electoral systems are always at risk. Electoral systems are not technical matters run by disinterested parties. They are political, which is why even the most disinterested-seeming parties, like the international community ruling Haiti, can't seem to get them right. To get them right, the international community would have to value Haitian democracy more highly than its own continued rule, and believe that Haitians had the right, and the ability, to make their own decisions about their government. That kind of democratic feeling is surprisingly rare, especially among those who have grown accustomed to ruling, unelected.

Let The 'Sex Workers' Speak For Themselves!
By Mickey Z.

Here’s how it goes: You write something critical (backed with boatloads of evidence) about pornography and/or prostitution and the liberal feminists/queer theorists come out of the woodwork to rally the allies. They label you “sex negative” and silence you by chanting in unison: “Let the sex workers speak for themselves!”

The Trivialization Of Politics
By Parvin Sultana

If we go back a few days and talk about the Dadri incident, the way political leaders behaved was shameful. A person is beaten to death by a mob on the suspicion of consuming beef. It was a terrible failure of law and order and local state machinery. It also pointed to the decay of tolerance in our society. But instead of working towards ensuring communal harmony in a tensed situation, political leaders jump into the fray to make the most of the situation. Absurd statements emerged of the situation, starting from how the killing was an accident, how the accused criminals were young confused kids to how the person murdered was a Pakistani agent and a thief. In the cacophony there was no assertion that irrespective of anything, a mob cannot take law in its own hands. Even the lynching of a murderer is not justified

27 November , 2015

Stop Water For Coca-Cola, Demand 18 Village Councils In India
By India Resource Center

Eighteen village councils (panchayats) in the immediate vicinity of the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Mehdiganj in Varanasi district in India have come together to demand that the groundwater used by Coca-Cola be stopped immediately due to the growing water crisis in the area. The village councils are located within a 5-km radius of the Coca-Cola plant and villagers have experienced water shortages soon after Coca-Cola began operations in 1999. The area surrounding the bottling plant is largely agrarian, and relies on groundwater to meet most of its needs, including drinking, irrigation, cleaning and for livestock

Israeli Forces Kill 10 Palestinian Civilians In West Bank In A Week
By Palestinian Centre For Human Rights

Israeli forces have escalated the use of excessive force against peaceful protests. 8 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, were killed in the West Bank. 2 other civilians, including a child, succumbed to their injuries. One of the killed civilians was attacked by settlers while a girl child was killed by Israeli police officers. 121 Palestinian civilians, including 29 children, 2 young women and 2 journalists, were wounded in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces conducted 88 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and a limited one in the Gaza Strip. 166 Palestinian civilians, including 35 children, were arrested. 27 of them, including 14 children, were arrested in occupied Jerusalem. Hebron Radio was closed for 6 months under the pretext of "incitement" and its contents were confiscated

Why The COP 21 Meeting In Paris Will Not Solve The Problem
By David Anderson

The forthcoming Paris agreements notwithstanding, wherever one looks there is nothing on the drawing board that will eliminate carbon as the primary source of energy world-wide. Pledges given at prior meetings have not been sufficient to guarantee that CO2 will be held at 400 ppm. There is no guarantee other agreements will hold. The 500 ppm threshold is now a certainty

Fear And Loathing In IFFI: 87 Filmmakers Stand In Solidarity With FTII Students
Press Release

As members of the filmmaking fraternity and well-wishers of cinema in India, we would like to place on record our solidarity with the students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), and our anguish at the way they continue to be treated by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and its various departments. How the Directorate of Film Festivals of India has behaved with these students at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2015, currently underway in Goa is an example of this. From ex-students being arrested for exercising their democratic right to protest and false charges being framed against them, to being denied entry into the festival despite valid accreditation simply because they happen to be from FTII, to a student being put in preventive detention – these are measures that have nothing to do with the objectives that IFFI was set up for

I Have Never Punished My Child
By Anahata Giri

I have never punished my child. This is not because I have some kind of freaky perfect child. My 8 year old son is a normal child who engages with the world with a natural childlike intensity. This means he sometimes challenges boundaries by doing what he wants and upsetting others. At times I am very upset by his actions and I have been stretched beyond my own boundaries many times. This can be really tough. But punishment is never an option

Class, War And David Cameron
By Colin Todhunter

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said it is time for Britain to join air strikes against Islamic State in Syria (ISIS). After the killing of 130 people in Paris, he feels the tide has now turned in favour of military action against ISIS. Cameron has told the British public that such action is vital to protect Britain from similar attacks

An American In Brighton
By Linh Dinh

With Turkey downing a Russian plane, we move one step closer to a global war. Turkey did not act alone. The US must prevent, at any cost, the economic integration of Eurasia, for should this happen, it would be the odd man out, an irrelevant sulk standing all alone in an Arctic of his own making. With 19 US military bases, Germany would be a missile magnet. Along with the erosion of their identity, already welcomed by many Germans, they risk being pulverized. A sticker in downtown Leipzig, “You say Deutschland, we say die!” The US Empire looted and slaughtered its way to the top. In its death throes, I fear it will unleash unprecedented mayhem

Remembering V.P. Singh: A Gladiator Of Social Justice
By Anoop Patel

Vishwanath Pratap Singh the prophet of social justice in South Asia is regarded one of the great political and social emancipators after Jyotirao Phule, Babasaheb Ambedkar and Periyar. India has seen many changes through his inclusive policies. He implemented long-awaited Mandal commission’s 13 recommendations for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes where his predecessor Mrs. Gandhi and Rajeev Gandhi were not so concerned for this Report

Human Rights! Celebration or Observation?
By Kashoo Tawseef

The reports by the various human rights organizations like US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International documents the systematic human rights abuses carried in the various nations across the world including Jammu Kashmir with the protection of the command and legal system. These reports are truly an eye opener for those who pretend to make us believe otherwise. But they forgot the prophylactic words of first president of America Abrahim Lincon that you can fool some of the people all the time and all the people some of the time but you can not fool all the people all the time

Sri Lanka: Are We Being Diluted By President Sirisena?
By Nilantha Ilangamuwa

An unfortunate curve in the political arena of good governance is emerging. This is evidenced by the recent press conferences held by the president in which only favoured “journalists” were permitted to ask questions. And, it was very obvious that they had been told what questions to ask, and more importantly, what questions not to ask. Indeed, it looks as if history is repeating itself, first as a tragedy then as a farce, so we’d get ready for it. However, we appreciate, those who have, quite courageously, openly questioned the president in the talk shows

Addressing Pneumonia: The Deadly Childhood Illness
By Shobha Shukla

Despite being preventable, pneumonia continues to be a top killer of children under five. It also wreaks 'breath-taking’ havoc in the lives of adults, particularly the elderly, and people living with HIV. According to the 2015 Pneumonia and Diarrhea Progress Report released recently by the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a projected 5.9 million children around the world will die in 2015 before reaching their 5th birthday

#HappyToBleed Campaign Is Only The Beginning Of The Fight Against Patriarchy
By Nikita Azad & Subhashini Shriya

With the increasing spirit of the campaign, we have decided to take it further. The campaign ends on December 4, and we hope to connect to maximum people by then. After the campaign is over, we will be publishing a report about the campaign and state our larger goals and objectives. The campaign is not against any particular religion or religious practice, but against all the menstrual taboos that exist in our society. We urge National Commission for Women to take stand against such discrimination, whether it is practiced in some religion, or society at large

Creating Space For Poor Women In India
By Moin Qazi

In India the Self-Help Group (SHG) concept has gone beyond merely financing petty loans to women. It now embraces the concept of space for and inclusion of women in decision-making and in setting the development agenda. Development credit plus is being advocated Self-help groups are essentially village banking groups of 12-20 women in India. Their activities are largely savings-led but also include the accessing of credit from banks and often also the operation of joint enterprises (such as snack-food businesses)or community projects (such as village sanitation facilities)

26 November , 2015

The Constitution Of India Day: Remain Vigilant Against
Hindutva Which Always Denigrated It

By Shamsul Islam

The Modi government has issued an order to commemorate the 66th anniversary of the passing of the democratic-secular Constitution by the Indian Constituent Assembly. It has been forced to do it fearing backlash from the people of India. But the Indian masses must be on guard to ensure that the present Hindutva rulers of India are unable to destroy our democratic-secular constitution from within. These rulers are master liars and specialize in double/triple speak. They are simultaneously raising questions about secularism, democracy, reservation and justice. Today we must pledge to scuttle all attempts to undo this fundamental law of the land

The Fight Is Between Modern Constitution And Those Whose Model Is Manuwad
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Today, the challenge is to implement this constitution in letter and spirit. We need to heed the warning that Baba Saheb Ambedkar gave us when he handed the copy of the constitution to the nation that we must resolve our contradiction between social and political life. In politics we have attained the equality by one man one vote principle but in social life this equality does not exist and therefore if that is not resolved it is bound to fail our political system. There are forces who want to fail this constitution and then blame it on the constitution

Of Tolerant Mobs, Patriotic Judiciary And Seditious Aamir Khan
By Samar

With two cases of sedition, one police complaint filed against him already in three Indian states and mobs picketing in front of his house in fourth, Aamir Khan must be a worried man. He must be for the first of these cases is listed for hearing on 1 December in Kanpur, far away from his house in Mumbai

'OROP Impasse Needs To Be Resolved As Quickly As Possible'
Open Letter By Admiral L Ramdas(Retd)

It is therefore important that the Armed Forces are motivated and empowered to discharge their duties without fear or favour. By the same token it is the responsibility of the government of the day to ensure the dignity, honour and economic well being of the Armed Forces. The current impasse over OROP, needs to be resolved as quickly as possible so that stability and morale of the Armed Forces can be restored

Turkey And Russia: First Negotiate In Good Faith
By René Wadlow

As citizens of the world, we are particularly called to help create such a climate for negotiations in good faith. We know that violence can spread, and that mutual escalation can slip out of control. We need to use our worldwide links in a creative way to reduce tensions and to keep avenues of communication open so that peace measures are possible in the wider Middle East

Turkey's Actions Show The Despair Of The Regime Change Camp
By Dan Glazebrook

On all sides the net is closing in on the West’s death squad project in Syria. Turkey’s actions have merely demonstrated, again, the impotent rage of those who have thrown in their chips with a disastrous and bloody attempt to remake the Middle East. Syria is indeed becoming the Stalingrad of the regime changers – the rock on which the imperial folly of the West and it’s regional imitators may finally be broken

Global Warming's Unacknowledged Threat—The Pentagon
By Gar Smith

The Pentagon's role in weather disruption needs to become part of the climate discussion. Oil barrels and gun barrels both pose a threat to our survival. If we hope to stabilize our climate, we will need to start spending less money on war

The Refugee-Migrant Crisis Of The EU -- Its Deeper Causes And Messages
By Saral Sarkar

To say that the civil wars in Syria and Iraq have caused the current refugee-migrant crisis is not very original. We also have to know what caused these wars. It is logical to fear that in future there would be many more such conflicts and they would generate many more streams of refugees – especially if one considers that in the immediate future the on-going ecological and climate crises will further worsen

Of Economics And Other Demons
By Sarosh Ali

Syrians starting with a population of 23 million in 2011, around 50% have become refugees, about 6.5 million within the country and 5 million internationally, mostly in the neighbouring countries. If we now consider the case of India, it is a democracy and is not plagued by any global war. However, a study conducted in Germany suggests that about 50 million people have been displaced within India by development projects in the past 50 years. That’s like a war torn Syria for about 20 consecutive years

Parasites And Plunder: We Need A Genuine Green Revolution
By Colin Todhunter

We should embrace what environmentalist Barry Commoner advocated: substituting green energy for fossil and nuclear fuels, substituting electric motors for the internal combustion engine, substituting organic farming for the chemical variety and using more metal, glass, wood and paper – recyclables, renewables and durables – instead of petrochemical products. Crucially important is moving towards a system centred on the common ownership of land and capital to serve the public good, rather than elite interests

Don't Burn That Straw In The Fields
By Marianne de Nazareth

According to research by ICIMOD, almost 90% of field waste is burnt these days in India, Those who use combine harvesters burn the remains of the crop, as the combine harvester leaves longer stalks of straw behind. Those who are in hurry to plant the second crop of “wheat” after “rice” burn their residue Burning is usually done in the late afternoon and smoulders well into the evening. This is because it saves having to employ labour and funds to manually clear it

Why Won’t Israel Allow Autopsy On Youth Killed By Police?
By Alia Al Ghussain

A refusal by the Israeli police to allow an autopsy on a young Palestinian killed by its officers indicates a cover-up. On 17 October, Mutaz Uweisat was killed by the police in Armon Hanatziv, an Israeli settlement in occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli police have alleged that the 16-year-old boy tried to stab a border guard. Palestinian human rights groups are calling for an investigation of the officer implicated in the killing

Forget ISIS: Humanity Is At Stake
By Ramzy Baroud

The crux of the matter: we either live in dignity together or continue to perish alone, warring tribes and grief-stricken nations. This is not just about indiscriminate bombing - our humanity, in fact, the future of the human race is at stake

We Are All Paris, Of Course, But!
By Imran Khan

Yes we are all Paris, of course, but we must also be Beirut, Baghdad, Egypt, Syria, Sana, Afghanistan, Palestine, and North Waziristan etc. A day before the Paris attacks, suicide bombings in Beirut left 43 dead and 239 wounded. But we were not Beirut, unfortunately. Such events of terrorism went largely unnoticed in the world media particularly western media. So no one seems to care when a marriage party in Yemen is bombed, or when a bomb goes off at a funeral at Baghdad or when the only working hospital in Kunduz (Afghanistan) is reduced to rubble. Even social networking sites like Facebook don’t have a ‘safety check’ for the victims of terrorism in such countries

Shiksha Ka Sikka Campaign
By Mumbai Students Solidarity

Demand for increased fellowships to all research scholars and Solidarity to Occupy UGC protests

Action, Not Advice!
By Mohammad Ashraf

It is good to seek the opinion of experts and professionals but what hampers the development of Tourism on global standards in Kashmir is not the scarcity of expert advicebut the lack of right action on the ground!

25 November , 2015

Turkey Has Destroyed Russia’s Hope Of Western Cooperation
By Paul Craig Roberts

Turkey’s unprovoked shoot-down of a Russian military aircraft over Syria raises interesting questions. It seems unlikely that the Turkish government would commit an act of war against a much more powerful neighbor unless Washington had cleared the attack. Turkey’s government is not very competent, but even the incompetent know better than to put themselves into a position of facing Russia alone

An Invisible US Hand Leading To War? Turkey’s Downing Of
A Russian Jet Was An Act Of Madness

By Dave Lindorff

Unless saner heads start prevailing in Washington, this could all quickly spiral into the kind of situation in 1914, where a lot of ill-conceived treaties led to a minor incident in the Balkans turning inexorably into World War I

Irish Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire To Head
International Peace Delegation To Syria

Press Release

Irish Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire and 14 delegates from Australia, Belgium, Canada, India, Ireland, Poland, The Russian Federation, The United Kingdom and the United States, will begin a 6-day visit to Syria to promote peace and to express support for all Syrians who have been victims of war and terror since 2011

Save The Palestinian Poet And Artist Ashraf Fayadh
By Countercurrents.org

A Palestinian poet and leading member of Saudi Arabia’s nascent contemporary art scene has been sentenced to death for renouncing Islam. A Saudi court on Tuesday ordered the execution of Ashraf Fayadh, who has curated art shows in Jeddah and at the Venice Biennale. The poet, who said he did not have legal representation, was given 30 days to appeal against the ruling

Reformed, Discplined And Humiliated UNESCO
By Andre Vltchek

From the beginning, the West and its allies were always disgusted with UNESCO and its positions. They have been doing everything possible to reduce its funding to an absolute minimum, and to diminish its influence on the world.Now, according to The Guardian, “Japan threatens to halt UNESCO funding over Nanjing massacre listing”

It's A Monumental Human Climate Crisis Not A Planetary Climate Crisis
By Jerome Irwin

As yet the latest 2015 Climate Conference prepares to convene in Paris the French government’s decision to ban civil society protests, marches and other open-air public gatherings around the conference is a reflection of what constantly lies behind the catastrophe of the human climate crisis and its parallels in the natural world of Planet Earth. As the world’s best and greatest thinkers convene to discuss yet again the source and solution to so many perplexing dilemmas and impasses, the real core question that should be addressed is exactly whose values will be given the greatest precedence in the increasingly anarchic and elitist worlds in which we all simultaneously finds ourselves enmeshed

Bad Policy, Bad Ethics: U.S. Military Bases Abroad
By Matt Peppe

The thesis of anthropologist David Vine's latest book, "Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World", is taboo in American political discourse. It is a radical notion to suggest that foreign bases don't protect American interests but actively harm them. Candidates who fail to reflexively support U.S. militarism face a political land mine. Even putative leftist Bernie Sanders has refused to challenge the status quo, in which the United States has 800 foreign military bases while the rest of the world combined has 30

Umbrella Soldiers In Hong Kong Send A Democratic Challenge To China
By Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava

The win of Umbrella Soldiers in Hong Kong’s local elections signals that in Chinese ruled Hong Kong an undercurrent for democracy and opposition to authoritarian rule of China is flowing. This group won eight candidates in district council, though not a powerful position but at least influential in policy making

Sangh Parivar Goons Threaten Witnesses Of
VIBGYOR Film Collective In Court Premises

By Countercurrents.org

The Sangh Parivar goons threatened witnesses who were coming out of Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, in Thrissur, Kerala after giving their statement before the magistrate in the case filed by VIBGYOR Film Collective against vandalism committed by the Sangh Parivar activists in an effort to stop the screening of the film “Ocean of Tears” by Kashmiri film maker Bilal A. Jan. About 25 Sangh Parivar goons led by BJP leader Advocate Goplakrishnan surrounded famous Malayalm poet Anwar Ali and VIBGYOR Film Collective Secretary Sarath Cheloor in the court premises and threatened of grave consequences if they did not withdraw their testimony. They even tried to manhandle them

Fear And Loathing In Goa: Dear Fellow Film Makers,
How Can You Be So Insensitive? Boycott IFFI!

By Rakesh Sharma

To all my fellow film-makers, the official invitees to this government-controlled film festival - speak up, speak strongly and unequivocally. Your silence is an endorsement of the persecution of the FTII students, and of the stranglehold the government has tightened at the festival venues, crushing free speech and dissent, indeed, the soul of any film festival

Akalis Ruling Punjab Out To Regain Lost Ground With Use of Power
By Jaspal Singh Sidhu

Known as a regional force representing the Sikh minority till the 1980s, the 90-odd year old Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), now ruling Punjab in coalition with an unequal partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has, ironically, adopted an ultra-nationalistic posture to regain its lost ground. At the 23 November Bathinda SAD rally--- the first among the five ones scheduled in the state --- its president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal announced that foreign forces from across the border, viz Pakistan, were “out to disturb the ‘hard-earned peace and harmony’ in Punjab . And the Congress Party joining hands with Sikh radicals out to create a ‘Khalistan’ (Sikh homeland) are a threat to the unity and integrity of India”

India: Where Drought Is Just Another ‘File Noting’
By Asian Human Rights Commission

Telangana, yesterday, finally acknowledged that 231 out of 443 of its rural mandals (sub-districts) are hit by drought. This was not a sudden realization by the state, the 9th Indian state to get hit by drought this year. Their agricultural department knew that a ‘drought like’ situation was prevailing in Mahabubnagar, Medak, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Ranga Reddy districts and a few parts of Nalgonda, Warangal and Adilabad districts since early September. It also knew that over 50 per cent of the rain-fed crops cultivated in the affected districts were affected badly. In all likelihood, the farmers would lose even the investment made on cultivation

US-Sri Lanka Relations: Power’s Power
By Nilantha Ilangamuwa

“Everything is vague to a degree you do not realise until you have tried to make it precise,” is what we taught by reading the works of Bertrand Russel. In her recent visit in Sri Lanka, Samantha Power, a journalist turned diplomat, sparked optimistic bilateral relations between the two nations. As she correctly pointed out, the ‘dark conspiracy’ behind her visit is to inform the President Barack Obama, who is, as she revealed, expressing daily concerns about the situation in the island nation. The country must be proud about their daily concern of affairs

24 November , 2015

Why “Supply And Demand” Doesn’t Work For Oil
By Gail Tverberg

Perhaps the most serious near-term problem from continued low prices is the likelihood of rising debt defaults. These debt defaults can be expected to have a very adverse impact on banks, pension plans, and insurance companies. Governments would likely have little ability to bail out these organizations because of the widespread nature of the problem and also because of their own high debt levels. As a result, the losses incurred by financial institutions seem likely be passed on to businesses and individual citizens, in one way or another

Daesh - The Disastrous Consequences Of Disastrous Policies
By Mousumi Roy

First Obama created ISIS out of the cesspool he left in Libya, reducing Africa's wealthiest nation to rubble, because Gaddafi was too independent of Washington's dictates. Then he lied about Assad because Assad was also too independent. Obama helped fund, train, arm and support ISIS terrorist brigades and their affiliates - along with his coalition of terror, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel, Qatar, Emirates - even as he publicly pretended to be fighting them in Iraq and Syria. It wasn't until Russia entered Syria and wasted ISIS, that Obama and his fellow terrorist sponsors flew into a panic

Understanding The Reality Behind The Paris Attack
By Sachinderpal Pali

There are various forms of struggles, but i won’t support this heinous form of struggle which led to the killing of innocent people. It is heinous, shameful, cruel and brutal and it need to be condemned in every aspect. The peoples’ struggle should be against the anti-people governments (especially the corporates which run these governments) but not against the people itself. Rather this kind of shameful act will compel the governments to led further attack on Islamic people in the developed countries and as well as general people in the third world countries and it will create more Islamophobia in the world again. Let expose and fight against the these both types of attacks whether they are done by the religious orthodox people or done by the imperialists and anti-people governments

Paris: A Sense Of Proportion Is Urgently Needed
By John Scales Avery

With the extremely important Climate Conference COP21 starting in the same city, Paris, on 30 November, we urgently need to regain our lost sense of proportion. Is terrorism a great danger to human civilization and the biosphere? Or is it something very small, that has been blow up to a completely disproportionate size by our perfideous mass media in order to sell wars, sell weapons, to undermine civil liberties, and to disenfranchize ordinary citizens?

This Thanksgiving, Let’s Say ‘No Thanks’
To The Tyranny Of The American Police State

By John W. Whitehead

This Thanksgiving finds us saddled with a government that is a far cry from George Washington’s vision of a government that would be a blessing to all the people. Instead, as the following shows, the U.S. government has become a warring empire, governed by laws that are rash, unjust and unconstitutional, policed by government agents who are corrupt, hypocritical and abusive, a menace to its own people, and the antithesis of everything for which Washington hoped

America's Awesome Corruption — Especially In The Military
By Eric Zuesse

On November 16th, the great journalist on international strategic and military issues, F. William Engdahl, headlined at journal-neo, “Do We Really Want a New World War With Russia?” and he documented that, with military expenditures one-tenth of America's, Russia achieves at least parity with the U.S. in terms of war-fighting capability. It's a remarkable article, even though it actually brings together into one place the recent disclosures in many media, regarding vital technologies where Russia far outpaces American capabilities. Of course, that's what's necessary to do in order to document the extent of Russia's areas of clear military superiority

GMO: A Detour From Naturale
By Aayush Anand

As recently as 2010, India was known for its anti-GMO policies. It all changed with the election of Prime Minister NarendraModi. In the past year, eight Indian states aligned with Modi’sBharatiyaJanata Party have approved field trials of GM crops, between them allowing tests that include transgenic rice, cotton, maize (corn), mustard, brinjal and chickpea. The seemingly momentous decision went mostly uncovered by the large media houses of india, adding further to the opacity in pretext of GMO. To be transparent the biggest fears about GE crops and animals are their potential to provoke allergic reactions and the transfer to humans of antibiotic-resistant properties of GMO

An Unfulfilled Dream: Mysuru's “Wish-List” Airport
By S.G.Vombatkere

There appears little justification for GoK to insist on operating – and perhaps also extending and upgrading at enormous cost – an airport which will become almost redundant when the doubled and electrified Bengaluru-Mysuru rail link can provide far better connectivity for passengers at Kempegowda Airport to and from Mysuru than Mandakalli can provide

23 November , 2015

Jayanta Mahapatra Returns Padma Shri Award
By Countercurrents.org

Jayanta Mahapatra has become the latest to join the "Award Wapsi" movement over growing "intolerance" in the country. Mahapatra returned his Padma Shri, fourth highest civilian honour in in India, won in 2009 for his contribution to literature. Jayanta Mahapatra is one of the greatest Odia litterateurs of all time. Four Padma Bhushan Awards, three Padma Shri awards, 40 Sahitya Academi Awards given to eminent literary personalities, 36 National film Awards were returned to Narendra Modi Government as a protest in just 18 months of BJP rule

#HappyToBleed: An Initiative Against Sexism
By Nikita Azad

We urge women to participate in the campaign, by uploading their pictures, holding placards/sanitary napkins, and using slogans that they consider relevant. Also, we appeal to men to participate in the campaign by quoting that they support it, so as to break with men-hating myth that is being built. We request all democratic, progressive individuals, organizations to lend support to the campaign, and register their response against misogyny

A Young Farmer's Suicide In Pursuit Of A Passbook
By Rahul M

How a young farmer in Andhra Pradesh got caught in a web of loans and gave up

Palestinian Girl Shot Dead After Alleged Attack Near Jerusalem Market
By Ma'an News Agency

Israeli forces shot two Palestinian teenage girls, killing one and wounding the other, after they were allegedly involved in a stabbing attack near a central Jerusalem market on Monday morning, Israeli police said. An Israeli security guard, who had been driving near the Mahane Yehuda market on Jaffa Street, got out of his car when he saw the two girls and quickly shot dead 16-year-old Hadeel Wajih Awwad and severely wounded her cousin, 14-year-old Norhan Awwad

Francois Hollande — The World's Most Powerful Person This Week
By Eric Zuesse

French President Francois Hollande this week possesses more power than anyone else in the world, because he will be the key decision-maker shaping the future world-order when he meets separately on Tuesday and Thursday privately with the two men — American President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin — who stand on opposite sides in the great decades-long subterranean war that the U.S. aristocracy have been waging to win control over Russia and its vast natural resources such as oil, gas, timber, and crucial rare-earth minerals. The deal that Hollande will make for France is going to be crucial for the future of the entire world

The Karma Of Terror
By William T. Hathaway

Terrible terrorists are killing our soldiers in their countries and killing us here at home. How can we stop them? The answer is simple: Stop terrorizing them. We started this war. What we do to others comes back on us

Aurelio Peccei And Daisaku Ikeda “Before It Is Too Late”
Book Review By John Scales Avery

“Before It Is Too Late” is a comprehensive discussion of the urgent need to re-establish human respect for nature, and harmony with nature. It is even more clear today than it was 30 years ago that, unless it is checked, unrestrained commercial exploitation of the environment, will lead to an environmental mega-catastrophe

Contradictions In The Whirlwind: The Refugees Crisis,
Paris Attacks, Wars Without End

By Gary Corseri

In one of my favorite Biblical stories, Jacob "wrestles" with an angel "unto the breaking of the day." I interpret that to mean that he is "wrestling" with his better self, his "higher" self. Doubts against assurance. Good ideas against less-good. Truths vs falsehoods. We are all divided--hexed, vexed, and maybe blessed, with that helical symbol in our cells and souls. And, one mutation in one gene, changes everything! We are in the Whirlwind now, and we must render our best answers!

War And Love Letters From Dr Adele Kubein To The Afghan Peace Volunteers
By Dr. Hakim

Dr Adele Kubein works at Oregon State University in Corvallis, USA and in the letters below over the past three years, she becomes vulnerable with the Afghan Peace Volunteers in Kabul, expressing her love with tears

Why Be A Food Farmer?
By Shepherd Bliss

Groups such as the Farmers Guild and the Grange can help people of all ages learn how to farm food and develop a community of support. “We need to woo folks back to the land,” says Sebastopol Grange president Jerry Allen. “Many individuals and families are emotionally and spiritually ‘de-hydrated.’ When one works in nature in the soil and with animals, the blessedness of nature steeps into and nourishes us.”

Davids Versus Goliath! How Yogi Adityanath Had To 'Go Back ' To .....
(err Not Pakistan But) Gorakhpur

By Subhash Gatade

For Yogi Adityanath, the firebrand MP of BJP, who is widely known for his controversial statements as well as acts and who every other day asks dissenters to 'go to Pakistan' , it was his comeuppance moment when he was rather forced to 'go back' to Gorakhpur. And all his plans to be the star speaker at the inaugural function of Students Union of Allahabad University - once called 'Oxford of the East' - lay shattered

Annihilation Of Caste And Gender Inequality Through Electoral Politics!
By Ayaz Ahmad

After Bihar, it is very clear that the struggle against the Manuvadi forces will be led by SC, ST, OBC, and Women leaders like Lalu-Nitish-Mayavati-Mamta and not by the scions of Congress party. The grand old party continues to suffer from Manuvadi caste-blindness which is evident from Rahul Gandhi's victory speech of a sort after declaration of Bihar result. Rahul declared that Bihar defeated the communal politics of RSSBJP failing to recognize what was more important in this defeat, the defeat of Manuvadi politics of RSSBJP! Due to its cultural myopia, Congress is incapable of recognizing that the communal politics of RSSBJP is just a tool to practice Neo-Manuvadi politics

22 November , 2015

Paris Atrocity Context: 27 Million Muslim Avoidable Deaths From Imposed Deprivation In 20 Countries Violated By US Alliance Since 9-11
By Dr Gideon Polya

The appalling Paris atrocity (130 killed) has led Hollande and Obama to call for the destruction of Islamic State i.e. genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention. A major report by 3 physician organizations recently estimated that 2 million Muslims had died in the US War on Terror but UN data show that Muslim avoidable deaths from deprivation in countries subject to Western military intervention in 2001-2015 now total about 27 million, this demanding peace now and ICC prosecutions of those responsible for this Muslim Holocaust and Muslim Genocide

"An Act Of War" - And Other Unfortunate Phrases
By Richard Jackson

Today, there is no evidence that our leaders are ready to learn from their mistakes over fourteen years of the war on terror, and maybe it is not the day to insist they do. Let’s grieve first, and then consider carefully whether we want to keep on the same path. The problem is that the words our leaders speak today will shape the reflections and actions they choose in the coming days, and today, I can’t see anything else to come except more Groundhog Day

A Student Arrested For Wearing FTII T-Shirt At IFFI, Goa
By Students’ Association, FTII

Two ex students, Kislay Gonzalvez and Shubham who have been arrested by the GOA police for chanting slogans and holding placards to register a protest against the I&B ministry in the inaugural session of IFFI 2015, are now released on Bail with a surety of 10,000/- each. Ashutosh, another current student of FTII then got arrested in the venue for wearing an FTII t-shirt which was designed during IFFI 2011 and later released on 10,000/- personal bonds. All the three, the 2 ex-students and the current student are not allowed to enter the festival venue premises for the rest of the festival days despite them having valid delegate registration and identity cards. The police have kept their wallets and cell phones with them and are being checked now

A Peep Into Cheney’s Exceptional: Why The World Needs A Powerful America
By William A. Cook

How remarkable that the book that tops the New York Times best seller list is authored, if one were to see through the eyes of mid-Eastern victims of American/Israeli invasions since 9/11, by a war criminal. Put simply, the purpose of the book is to defend the indefensible, the legitimacy of the Iraq war and the justified empirical ends of the Neo-cons and Zionist agendas that have brought America to its knees in the eyes of the world as terrorist states(1).Indeed isn’t this the crux of the problem? Is America exceptional? How is it exceptional? And why is it exceptional?

Has The Zionist Lobby Hijacked The US Congress?
By Dr. Ludwig Watzal

The question arises; why can Netanyahu behave like a political desperado and gets away with it? In his new book, Kirk J. Beattie might give an answer. Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer attributed the pro-Israel policy of the US administrations to the power and enormous influence of the Israel Lobby. Their approach has been criticized as too one-dimensional and simplistic

Once Again On The KMU
By Peter Waterman

This is going to be a short response to Kim Scipes’ dismissal of my criticism of both the KMU union confederation in the Philippines and his original presentation of it, both in CounterCurrents.org . I would rather hear new – and particularly Filipino or Filipina voices – than to bat this issue back and forwards between himself and me

Secularism Does Not Mean “Let’s Worship Each Other’s Gods”
By Abdul Muheet Chowdhary

Presently in India the involvement of religion in public life is not seen as morally wrong and it is common for the people themselves to plead for state assistance for religious activities. This must change and political parties and governments must be asked to stay away from religious issues and instead focus on addressing secular (non religious) issues of health, education, employment, etc. Only then can the country get over the recurring problem of communalism and become a truly modern and secular nation. The coming generations have an opportunity to undo the wrongs of the past and make a fresh start. Keeping religion out of public life will certainly be one big step down that path

Resignation In Democratic Students Union: What Ails DSU?
By Anirban, Anubhav, Ashwathi, Banojyotsna, Gogol,
Priya Dharshini, Reyazul, Rubina, Srirupa, Umar, Ufaque

The reason for us to take this step is the sustained denial of democratic space to voice our political differences that had emerged vis-à-vis the revolutionary movement (in this context the Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF), of which DSU is a constituent body) on questions of gender relations and patriarchal oppression

21 November , 2015

FTII Strikers Protest At IFFI: Two Arrested
By Subhash Gatade

Ultimately the roaring voice of the FTII students reached the IFFI (International Film Festival of India) inaugural held at Panaji, Goa. Two alumni of FTII found an empty block on top, where they were seated silently till the whole inaugural ceremony ended.’ Security people who were present there in large numbers pounced on the two of them – Kislay, a young film director, an alumni of FTII, who has received critical acclaim for his very first film and Shubham, another alumni of FTII – and according to a facebook post both of them have been badly beaten by the Goan police for showing the placards and shouting slogans… They are still under the police custody and being interrogated

12 Strategies The Government Is Adopting To Keep FTII Students'
Mouth Shut In IFFI, Goa

By Shini J.K.

The potential conspirators' master plan for IFFI, Goa...

Paris Terrorists Operated “In Plain Sight”
By Patrick Martin

Two conclusions are inescapable : (1) Official propaganda about this and other terrorist attacks, aimed at stampeding public opinion behind the state and the intelligence services, are based on half-truths and lies. (2) The imperialist governments, whose savage wars for oil and geopolitical advantage in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia have created the conditions for the rise of Islamist terror organizations, with which they have collaborated, are once again using a terrorist atrocity as the pretext to implement longstanding plans for military escalation abroad and the abrogation of democratic rights at home

From Pol Pot To ISIS: The Blood Never Dried
By John Pilger

ISIS is the progeny of those in Washington, London and Paris who, in conspiring to destroy Iraq, Syria and Libya, committed an epic crime against humanity. Like Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, ISIS are the mutations of a western state terror dispensed by a venal imperial elite undeterred by the consequences of actions taken at great remove in distance and culture. Their culpability is unmentionable in "our" societies, making accomplices of those who suppress this critical truth

Creating "Terrorism": The Western Quest For
Sociopolitical Conformity And Imperialism

By Jon Kofas

Do US policies increase terrorism rather than decreasing it as the government claims? We must assume that policymakers are very smart people with experience who also rely on outside consultants to formulate policy. While this would be a safe assumption, it is not as safe to vouch for their mental stability, their blinding ideological frame of mind, and career-based opportunism that take precedence over everything else from human rights to social justice. It is safe to assume that those in policymaking, politicians, pundits, and the media believe the same formula that worked in bringing down the Communist bloc would work on ending terrorism, regardless of the reality that Communists were organized in states and employed conventional methods just as those opposing them. Finally, it is safe to assume that the more astute apologists of the bogus “anti-terrorism” industry that the US has created realize it is doomed to fail and in fact to bring about an increase in terrorism

At Night I Hear Victims Shouting
By Andre Vltchek

One day, hopefully soon, humanism will win over dark nihilism; people will live for other people and not for some cold profits, religious dogmas and “Western values”. Imperialism will be defeated once and for all

Energy Revolution Is Possible.And It Would Only Take 782 Rich People To Pay For It
By Deirdre Fulton

The analysis from Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) reveal "a gross injustice" when it comes to global inequality that should serve as "a shocking and stark reminder that the finance for an energy transformation is certainly available."

Political Salafism Has Failed Lebanon’s Palestinians.Will Jahadist Salafism succeed?
By Franklin Lamb

In light of the failure of Arab political elites, including Lebanese and Palestinian leaders, to provide an alternative model for peaceful political change and for acquiring elementary civil rights, including the right to work in Lebanon, many of the angry Palestinian youth in Lebanon are concluding that they have few options to achieve civil rights and are listening to the new chorus siren calls from Jihadist Salafism

ISIS: How Islamic State Is The Most “Un-Islamic”
By Nazia Nazar

The figures show that the ISIS has perpetrated atrocities against the Muslim world more than it caused death and destruction in the west. According to a report by the United Nations, the ISIS was responsible for 9,347 civilian deaths only in Iraq in 2014. It seems ridiculous that the ISIS is ambitious to create an Islamic state, hence, its members are feeding on the blood of Muslims. The question arises that if the ISIS uphold the true Islamic ideology, why do they kill Muslims at all? Do they tend to create an ‘Islamic state without Muslims’?

Canada In Africa - 300 Years Of Aid And Exploitation
Book Review By Jim Miles

If you have ever wondered why Africa remains mired in poverty, constantly at war, and ripe for terrorist exploitation, Canada in Africa delivers a strong answer to that curiosity. It should be a must read for anyone interested in current affairs, modern history, or that dullest of affairs, political science. Yves Engler has written a valuable, well defined, and instructive compendium of Canada’s history and current activities in Africa

UN Peace Keeping Mission Of Bangladesh And Military’s Involvement In Politics
By M Mukhlesur Rahman Chowdhury

Bangladesh has been making peace outside the country though it failed to do so within. The country is one of the largest peacekeepers in the United Nations since the last part of previous century. As peacekeeping mission begun, it stopped military coup in Bangladesh. Although senior commanders’ bold position stopped 1996 coup attempt in Bangladesh, the UN peacekeeping mission also played a vital role to suppress the coup. However, 2007 military coup is a result of blackmailing of UN, which lasted for two years and also it was ended by UN with handing over power to politicians in 2009

20 November , 2015

French National Assembly Overwhelmingly Backs Extension Of
Police-State Measures

By Andre Damon

The National Assembly, the lower house of France’s parliament, voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve a three-month extension of the state of emergency declared by French President François Hollande in the wake of the November 13 Paris terror attacks. The legislation enables warrantless searches and seizures, the detention of individuals without an indictment, and bans on demonstrations and protests, and suspends freedom of association

Israeli Revenge Demolitions Leave 2 Dead, Dozens Homeless
By Ali Abunimah

Israeli occupation forces wrought death, injury and destruction this week as they carried out revenge demolitions of Palestinian homes and fired on protesters. More than 85 Palestinians have been killed in escalated violence since 1 October, dozens in what human rights organizations and international monitors have condemned as summary executions. Sixteen Israelis were slain in the same period

Paris And The Ugly Truth Of State Terror
By John Chuckman

The only way to end terror is to stop playing with the lives of tens of millions in the Middle East, as America has done for so long, and stop supporting the behaviors of a repressive state which has killed far greater numbers than the madmen of ISIS could dream of doing, demanding instead that that state make peace and live within its borders. But, at least at this stage, that is all the stuff of dreams

Who Needs Gates And Monsanto? Confronting Hunger, Poverty And Climate Change: "Tremendous Success" of Agroecology in Africa
By Colin Todhunter

New research by the Oakland Institute has released a report on 33 case studies that shed light on the success of agroecological agriculture across the African continent in the face of climate change, hunger and poverty. Agroecology combines sound ecological management, including minimising the use of toxic inputs by using on-farm renewable resources and privileging endogenous solutions to manage pests and disease, with an approach that upholds and secures farmers' livelihoods

Attacks On Entitlements Threaten Food Security, Mr. President
By Samar

Dear President Pranab Mukherjee, it feels good to see your concern over the imminent threat of food insecurity because of the degradation of large masses of agricultural land. Your insistence upon the urgent need to adopt more sustainable methods of land use systems and soil management practices is really important and must be acted upon. Your concerns are real, Mr. President. But, are they as real and urgent for the millions of citizens of India who hit their beds, or the footpaths, with empty stomachs every night?

A Need To Harness Indigenous Resources
By Moin Qazi

The poor are yet to find their voice, even as the media (for that matter, the entire establishment) have become the megaphone of the classes that are prospering. The preference for growth over social justice, indeed, the argument that economic growth is the road to social justice, is advocated over and above increased spending, is required for accelerated growth to translate into inclusive growth? The answer, I fervently believe, lies in inclusive governance

We Are All Innocent, Nobody Is Guilty!
By Pratap Antony

It is logical therefore for us to stand beside conscientious objectors, writers, artists, environmentalists, voluntary and non-profit social service organisations who stand up for peaceful co-existence, while seeking justice, harmony and liberty for all to whom these freedoms are denied, and exercise our freedom of conscience - peacefully, responsibly, humbly and conscientiously

In India, Diwali: Lamps That Glow But Without Light
By Karthik Ramanathan

Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is a celebration of light over darkness. In India, however, the state machinery is taking quite a different and dark direction, one that betrays all the millennia of India’s cultural diversity and the trappings of her struggle for freedom. The coming days will provide many opportunities to Indians for the moment of truth. Moments to realize that a Diwali without a Christmas or a Eid, just like that dawn withouth sunlight, is a contradiction

Will Child Labour Propel Make In India?
By Vikram Srivastava

It’s important to understand the efforts by government and its correlation. Recently the Union Cabinet's approval of a set of amendment in Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 dilutes the whole concept of childhood, learning and education. The law legalizes and promotes child labour below age of 14 years for family business and occupations, leaving no room for children to play and learning beyond classrooms. The law faults on few more counts including continued ignorance to the ILO Conventions 138 and 182. The proposed amendments doesn’t seem to be curbing child labour instead it a well thought move for reasons other than the Best Interest of Children

19 November , 2015

After Paris Attacks, NATO Powers Press For Military Escalation In Syria
By Alex Lantier

The military escalation being launched by the NATO powers and Russia in Syria, in the aftermath of Friday's mass terror attacks by the Islamic State (IS) in Paris, is both bloody and reckless. French President François Hollande is presenting this offensive as the result of a newly-assembled international united front against IS including NATO, its Middle Eastern allies, and Russia. In line with Hollande's announcement in his speech Monday that he was seeking a “grand coalition” against IS including the United States and Russia, it was announced yesterday that Hollande will travel to meet both Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin next week

Stopping ISIS: Follow The Money
By Peter Van Buren

Wars are expensive. The recruitment and sustainment of fighters in the field, the ongoing purchases of weapons and munitions, as well as the myriad other costs of struggle, add up. So why isn’t the United States going after Islamic State’s funding sources as a way of lessening or eliminating their strength at making war? Follow the money back, cut it off, and you strike a blow much more devastating than an airstrike. But that has not happened. Why?

Still No Sign Of A Coherent And Effective Strategy
For Containing And Defeating ISIS And Its Affiliates And Why

By Alan Hart

Why, really, are Western governments unwilling to do what is necessary to put ISIS and its affiliates out of business? I can think of two answers. One is that governments are not free agents. They are prisoners of powerful vested interests including and especially the Military Industrial Complex and the Zionist lobby in all of its manifestations. (In America this lobby has the assistance of those organizations which represent and promote deluded, mad, Christian fundamentalism). The other answer is short-termism - the art of politics in which decision-making is determined by what has to be said and done for short-term gain and winning the next election

5 Things To Do About ISIS, or Can An American Without A Gun "Do Something"?
By David Swanson

Toward the end of altering our idea of what counts as "doing something," I offer this composite representation of numerous media interviews I've done

A Young Frenchman Reflects
By Linh Dinh

Luckily, all my Parisian friends were safe and sound. Others weren't so lucky. I cried over my keyboard. Soon enough a surge of feelings ranging from love and support to hate, fear and racist bullshit emerged all over the social networks. A massive amount of fake information was uploaded too. I couldn’t sleep. When the French flag filter for profile pictures appeared I started thinking about patriotism for the first time in my life

The Planet Of Arabs: Breaking The Clichéd Western Narrative On Terror
By C R Sridhar

Orwellian Big Brother has finally come to roost. If George Orwell, the author of 1984, were to be alive today he would be looking at the sea of bewildered herd cowering behind the barbed wire of the National Security State under the panoptic gaze of Big Brother who ensures their enslavement by endless wars to secure endless peace. Perhaps, he would have shaken his head and muttered in utter disbelief-“I thought I was writing fiction.”

Rohingya And The Burmese Generals:
How To Forge A Democracy And Get Away With It

By Ramzy Baroud

With Burma climbing to the world top five countries in terms of proven oil and gas reserves, terms such as genocides, military juntas and human rights are abruptly and largely omitted from the new discourse. Indeed, a whole new narrative is being conveniently drafted, written jointly by the Burmese army, nationalist parties, Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD, western investors and anyone else who stands to benefit from the treasures of one of the world’s worst human rights violators

Can We Afford The Future?
By Richard Heinberg

As a child of the 1950s I grew up immersed in a near-universal expectation of progress. Everybody expected a shiny new future; the only thing that might have prevented us from having it was nuclear war, and thankfully that hasn’t happened (so far). But, in the intervening decades, progress has begun to lose its luster. Official agencies still project economic growth as far as the eye can see, but those forecasts of a better future now ring hollow. Why? It’s simple. We can’t afford it

Activist Wonders If He’s Made A Difference.
What He Discovers Will Break Your Heart

By Mickey Z.

The moment we consider finally trying something new -- for starters, critical introspection -- I believe we’ll finally stand a chance of seeing the situation for what it is: an emergency, a crisis, a time for bold new ideas and immediate action. And that tactic has the potential to make all the difference in the world

IITKanpur Community Register Their Protest Against Growing Intolerance In India

We, the signatories to this representation, members of the IITKanpur community (past and present) in different capacities, join the nationwide call of artists, scientists and various intellectuals who have been registering their protest against growing intolerance in India

Dynastic Succession
By Mohammad Ashraf

There had been a strong rumour that Mehbooba Mufti may take over as the State Chief Minister soon. Now, Mufti Sahab himself has confirmed that she may take over as the State Chief Minister. He declared that she is not only capable but deserves to be the Chief Minister because of the tremendous work done by her on the ground. One would not question her capability or tremendous ground work even during peak of militancy but the moot point is why there has to be only dynastic succession?

18 November , 2015

32 People Killed In Bomb Blast In Nigeria
By Countercurrents.org

At least 32 people were killed and 80 injured Tuesday when a bomb blast ripped through packed crowds in Yola, northeast Nigeria. The explosion happened at about 8:20 pm in the Jambutu area of the Adamawa state capital, although it was not immediately clear whether it was caused by a suicide bomber or an improvised explosive device

French President Exploits Terror Attacks To Suspend Democratic Rights
By Alex Lantier & Stéphane Hugues

In a speech Monday to both houses of parliament meeting in Versailles, French President François Hollande made clear that in response to the terrorist attacks carried out on Friday by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), he intends to carry through a sweeping assault on democratic rights. Hollande’s speech marked a major step toward the imposition of authoritarian forms of rule in France

The World After Paris Terror Attack
By Sazzad Hussain

It is hard to believe that how the ISIS penetrated the security and intelligent cover of France, one of the best in the world, to create so much destruction. However, this time the west seems to have learnt a lesson and become united to fight and root out the evil called ISIS. For the first time the west and Russia is joining hands to fight the common enemy. The bombing of a Russian passenger jet has drawn Moscow further deep into this war whose air power has already targeted the ISIS inside Syria. This will enable Assad to be in power, the last secular bastion in the troubled Middle-East. The former NATO commander Admiral James Stavridis also echoed the same strategy in BBC’s HARDtalk recently. Let’s hope that the Paris tragedy will be the D-Day for our war against terrorism

Politico Reports Bush Knew 2001 Terror-Attack Was Imminent And Wanted It
By Eric Zuesse

A stunning news-report at Politico on November 12th, titled “The Attacks Will Be Spectacular,” reveals that the then CIA Director George Tenet, and his anti-terror chief Cofer Black, say that they had told the White House this, but that the response coming back to them was “We're not quite ready to consider this. We don't want the clock to start ticking.” As Politoco's reporter, Chris Whipple, then explains: "(Translation: they did not want a paper trail to show that they'd been warned.)”

Boat Chase On The Seas Of Okinawa
By Dr Hakim

“Who made the U.S. military the ‘legal' masters over the seas of Okinawa, over the ‘dugong' whose survival they are threatening?” The U.S. already has 32 military bases on the island, taking up almost 20% of the entire land area of Okinawa

Finkelstein Weighs In On Salaita Settlement: It’s Not What You Think
By Ira Glunts

I chose to publish this correspondence with Dr. Finkelstein’s permission because there is a general interest in what Finkelstein thinks and because his statement may help shed some light on the kind of thought processes that inform his other views

The Climate Talks in Paris Will Fail: Why?
By Robert J. Burrowes

Forget Paris and get on with saving the planet yourself. You have vast power if you choose to apply it locally and strategically

Returning Honors Is An Attempt To Save Democracy
By Ram Puniyani

Last few weeks have seen a flood of ‘returning’ honors by writers, scientists and artists. These awardees in way have stood up to make themselves to be counted. There are also various statements from academics, historians, artists and scientists showing their concern about the growing intolerance and erosion of our plural values. Those who returned the honors are amongst the outstanding contributors to literature, arts, film making and science. They in a way have been pouring their heart out at what is going on at social level

From Sovereignty To Scheduling: Are The Curtains Closing?
By Suraj Gogoi & Prasenjit Biswas

By demanding ST status to six communities in Assam comprising of Motok, Moran, Tai Ahom, Koch Rajbonshi, Sootea and Tea Tribes, ULFA created an abyss between state and society. It is a dent that have pulled many chords in Brahmaputra Valley and its ripples are seen in a very pronounced way in Delhi, with BJP taking much interest. Not only it has left the various political parties, student and cultural organization in dilemma but at the same time leaves us with a question that was much required to be answered from the corridors of organised politics—who is an Assamese?

Burma/ Myanamar: Post-Election Balance Sheet
By Nilantha Ilangamuwa

The present structural failure in the country is the result of the systematically annihilation of the basic requirements of humanity. It has paralysed every part of the society while erasing the fundamental rights of the people. In that process, the country produced erased people out of scars of the erasure. The challenge in the post-election era is to win the minds not only of those who have casts their votes but all in general, and earned the true victory over the democratic governance

Revisit The Recruitment Policy
By Dr Fayaz Ahmad Bhat

Through mass media we hear many uplifting anecdotal stories of Education Minister and strategies of government for reformation of education system in Jammu and Kashmir. However, recent notifications of Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission reveal misunderstanding or misuse of education and educational institutions by the government and its agencies

17 November , 2015

Three Odisha Adivasis Killed In Firing By Anti-Maoist Security Forces
By Countercurrents.org

In a shocking incident on Sunday, three innocent villagers have allegedly been killed in the encounter launched by Odisha’s elite anti-Maoist combat force Special Operation Group (SOG) in western Odisha’s Kalahandi district. On Sunday morning, a group of adivasis from Nisanguda village under Jugasaipatna grampanchayat of Bhawanipatna block had gone to look for the missing goats of panchayat wardmember Jay Majhi when they came under fire from the SOG. Within minutes wardmember Majhi and two others — Jaya Shankar Naik and Sukru Majhi — fell to the police bullets

Freedom Of Press At Risk: Army Issues Notice To
Nagaland Editors Not To Report Militant Statements

A Public Statement By Nagaland Editors

On October 25 2015, Editors of five Nagaland-based media houses were issued a notification by a Colonel of the General Staff for Assam Rifles. It is our understanding that the General Staff for Assam Rifles is concerned about three critical issues: (a) that through our reporting of press statements by NSCN-K, we have, in effect, intentionally or unintentionally supported unlawful association; (b) we have violated the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967; and (c) by publishing statements by banned organizations, we are, ipso facto, complicit in the organizations’ illegal activities. These are serious charges indeed that merit a response from the Nagaland-based media and the wider media fraternity

Understanding Climate Change: A Conversation With Michael Mann
By Thom Hartmann

"Based on my assessment of the science, my objective assessment of what the science actually tells us right now, I don't think we've passed a tipping point yet where we go beyond the adaptive capacity of human civilization or beyond the adaptive capacity of living things. I don't think we've yet crossed that line. We have certainly committed to some dangerous changes in climate already and it's possible we have already warmed the oceans enough that they're going to melt the ice shelves around Antarctica enough to destabilize enough of that antarctic ice to give us ten feet or eleven feet of sea level rise by the end of the century. That is a very real possibility."

Ignorance And Indoctrination Of Westerners Kills Millions
By Andre Vltchek

Can anything that comes from the West be taken seriously, after centuries of lies and murder? Who is killing whom, lately? Who is behind what? I will stick to what I know. And what I know is who is actually killing millions in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. I will not speculate about some “insider job” of the Empire, although I have some strong suspicions; of course I do! For now I will only stick to facts that I can prove. And the facts are simple and horrendous: the Empire has been murdering tens of millions of people on our planet. The Empire, and that self-perpetuated ignorance, fundamentalism and blindness of its indoctrinated citizens!

A Letter To The Worldwide Shock Industry
By B.F. Firos

The shock, outrage, protest… This Worldwide Shock Industry reacted on expected lines following the Paris attacks by Islamic State. Massive rallies, plodding platitudes of world leaders, the predictable outpouring of online indignation…The widely accepted norm is that spilling of blood in third world places (by state as well as well so-called stateless actors elsewhere) doesn’t deserve the crime-against-humanity tag and all the outpourings of anger and moral indignation

Who Is Paris?
By Fritz Tucker

International solidarity is not merely nice; it is a necessary precondition to ending war and terrorism altogether. Let us ensure that our solidarity lies in the right place

To France From A Post-9/11 America: Lessons We Learned Too Late
By John W. Whitehead

Here are some of the lessons we in the United States learned too late about allowing our freedoms to be eviscerated in exchange for the phantom promise of security

The Roots Of Terror
By Jim Miles

Civilians in Paris have been killed because of these imperial drives for power, just as tens, hundreds of millions before them have been killed in the past. The human condition, its extremes of pathos and joy, requires a recognition of a global responsibility towards each and every ‘other’ that exists. Take personal responsibility, think globally, act locally towards an era when perhaps the world will be at peace with one another

Paris Attack: Why India Should Be Worried
By Rakesh S

The present government needs to ensure that the pluralistic fabric of India is preserved. It should not allow the fringe elements to take the centre stage. The government should make sure that, the party or its members are not involved in creating an ‘atmosphere of intolerance’ and painting ‘shades of authoritarianism’. Multiculturalism is the essence of Indian society and it should be preserved in all possible order to bring all section of the society in the mainstream

Terror Attacks, G20 Hypocrisy
By Art Young

It is apparent that the leaders of the G20 who met in Turkey on November 15-16 have made plans to take maximum political advantage of the opportunity that the killings in Paris afford them

Banging Your Heart Against Some Mad Bugger's Wall
By Vacy Vlazna

Mohammed, now 6, and Jihad, now 4, have missed their mother, Shireen’s happiness that has been shrouded by grief over the past year, missed their beloved father’s voice, laugh, smile, presence, his good night kiss on their cheeks, his arms that held them close and safe. Also missing is justice for the heinous lynching of their father, Yousef al-Rammouni, 32. The killers (like the killers who burnt to death the young Dawabshe family, Ali, 18 months, Sa’ad, 32, Reham, who died on her 27th birthday, leaving little Ahmed, 4, with searing physical and emotional scars) lurk behind the zionist Wall of Impunity guarded by western governments. On the Palestinian side, it is always peak hour on the roads to cemeteries and sorrow

One Night In Kunduz, One Morning In New York:
Two Versions Of The U.S. Destruction Of A Hospital in Afghanistan 

By Laura Gottesdiener

In the mornings as I scan the news, I'm often overcome by the absurdity of writing about ongoing wars that have officially ended or a hospital that has been “mistakenly” struck with exceptional precision. The U.S. bombing of that trauma center in Kunduz was indisputably horrific, “one of the worst episodes of civilian casualties in the Afghan war,” as the New York Timesdescribed it. But its outrageousness comes, in part, because for once we have enough information to piece the story together since that AC-130 attacked a well-known, prize-winning, Western humanitarian organization

Okinawa Delegation In Washington To Challenge
Construction Of U.S. Marine Air Base Runway

By Ann Wright

A 26 person delegation from the All Okinawa Council will be in Washington, DC November 19 and 20 to ask members of the U.S. Congress to use their power to stop the construction of runway for the U.S. Marine base at Henoko into the pristine waters of the South China Sea

Censor Board Chairman Pahlaj Nihalani Calls FTII Students 'Anti Nationals'
By Ranjit Nair

Mr. Nihalani has been venomous in his anti-FTII stand throughout the strike which was critical of the above mentioned chauvinistic appointments in the FTII society made by the current government. He, self proclaimed vanguard of nationalism in cinema, now plans to make a film showing FTII students and its alumni anti-national. Having such a member in the Governing Council with such intolerant views towards its own institution and plurality of cinema is extremely unhealthy and highly condemnable

Release The Detained Student Activists And Political Prisoners In Burma
By Zaw Myo Lwin & Des Moines

If any one of the hunger strikers dies before the military government hands over power to the NLD, months from now, the country – especially the younger generation, including the country’s future leaders – is bound to erupt in rage and unrest. Now is the time for the government to release the unjustly detained students and political prisoners. Now, before it’s too late!

Belittling Tipu Sultan’s Legacy Is Dangerous
By Syed Ali Mujtaba

It is a pity that the mere expression of a view on a historical figure can generate spiralling social reactions. This is because the Hindu right wing forces like to target Tipu Sultan’s secular image dubbing him as a Muslim bigot. This view is now getting spilled on the streets. There are certain forces who are stoking fire against him and an atmosphere of hatred is being built against him

Modi-fication of India
By Ummer Wani

The Modi-fication of constitutionally endorsed secular India under the BJP regime is suffocating the various forms of freedoms a citizen is, otherwise, entitled to in a democracy. It is seeable from the hate-speeches that have emanated, time and again, from various BJP leaders, during the last two years of their election-campaigning and government, who are hell-bent in distorting the secular fabric of Indian constitution

Breaking Stereotypes or Creating Them?
By Khaki Audil

Can we do away with stereotypes by just being educated about them, by creating a free, unbiased wisdom and a logical process of evaluating people, events and behavior? Things are not that simple always, in a world full of competition we often tend to be threatened, and as competition increases, our evaluation becomes more skewed and prejudiced and this time with a considerable conscious involvement. However, the effort should always be in understanding the facts and to be analytic in ones thought process rather than being judgmental and shaded by these tall stereotypes

Bihar Election - A Conspicuous Silence On Land Reform
By Rakesh Choudhary

Land reform was a non issue in the just concluded Bihar election. We have seen all major topics covered in election campaign by both alliances, though with varying degree of emphasis - religion,caste, development,corruption,nepotism, law and order et al. However, land reform has not come up in popular discourse in such a vigorously fought election campaign. This reflects power of land owing communities in Bihar’s society and polity. This despite the fact that any ambition of growth with justice as claimed by Nitish Kumar or development model as propagated by Narendra Modi will remain mere wishful thinking in absence of land reform

The Poor Woman Wants Handup Not A Handout
By Moin Qazi

The experience reinforced our belief: you can’t just give a woman a loan and then send her on her way—you have to accompany her as she struggles to make her way out of poverty. Godavari’s business took off quickly, and she began earning enough income to provide for her family, send her daughters to school, and pay for her husband’s medical bills. She gained some of the respect she deserved from her husband, who allowed her more freedom and even began to help her with her business ventures

NAPM Organises Odisha State Convention On Climate Change

National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) along with Lok Shakti Abhiyan(LSA) organised State Convention on Climate Change at Lohia Academy, Bhubaneswar on 15th Nov 2015. “The Convention is organised to give a massage “Development without Destruction” to the next World Climate Change Summit 2015 to be held from 30th Nov to 11th Dec 2015 in Paris”

16 November , 2015

10 Reasons Why The Paris Terrorist Attack Could Be A False Flag Operation
By Binu Mathew

Paris attack may not be a false flag attack. But we can not rule out the false flag angle. This angle too must be investigated before we reach any conclusion regarding the Paris terrorist attack. Here are 10 facts which may prove that the Paris attack may have been a false flag attack

For Paris, Make Love Not War, Remain Free And Become Green
By Dr. Glen Barry

True peace requires rebuking religious fanaticism, ending ecocidal fossil fuels, and making love not war. I reckon Paris has a thing or two to teach us about making love. Let's together make peace and sustainability the legacy of the Paris attacks, enshrined in a Paris climate treaty this coming month

Paris: A World That Has Lost Its Ethical Direction And Spiritual Foundation
And A Media That Cheerleads For Fear And Militarism

By Rabbi Michael Lerner

We saw how the legitimate grief and upset at the horror of 9/11 was channeled into a set of wars and narrowing of our rights to privacy and protection from invasive governmental power. Those wars created the prelude to ISIS/Islamic State. We are today at another moment of choice about how to respond. We already see supposedly liberal leaders embracing militaristic solutions and reducing freedoms in order to prove that they are “tough” as the right-wing militarists insist is needed. But we, the people of the world, could reject this approach if we were to embrace an alternative consciousness to the drumbeats of fear and revenge that the Western political leaders think they must support lest they be thrown out of office

Terrorism And The Politics Of Hegemony
By Chandra Muzaffar

There has been a massive outpouring of sympathy for the victims of the dastardly, heinous massacre in Paris on 13 November 2015. Once again, with the help of the media, the whole of the human family has come together to grieve with the bereaved in France. I only wish there was a fraction of that sympathy for the hundreds of thousands of victims of acts of terrorism right across West Asia and North Africa (WANA) in the last few decades

Paris Attack: Sad And Shocking, But Not Surprising At All
By Taj Hashmi

The terrorist attack in Paris on November 13th has rocked the whole world. Some people have already started calling the attack as the “French 9/11”. Meanwhile, Facebook users globally, including Muslims (among others, our daughter and friends) have changed their profile, temporarily using the French colours in solidarity with the innocent victims of the attack. President Obama was among the first Western leaders to condemn the attack in unambiguous terms. He considered the gruesome attack “not just on the people of France, but [also] an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share”

Paris Attacks –A View From Across The Fence
By Prof. Shah Alam Khan

The segregation of Moroccan and Algerian Muslims is brazen in the present day France with Islamophobia governing every aspect of social consent building. In 2004, the National Consulting Committee on Human Rights of France asked its people how they feel about major religions. Half of the population thought positively about Christianity while a whopping 66% thought negatively of Islam! When asked, “what do you think when you hear the word Islam?” A good 83% responded-“terrorism”. A study in 2007 in France concluded that those resumes with a Muslim surname found it extremely difficult to get through the short-listing process for different jobs

Appalling Paris Atrocity – Non-State Terrorist Blowback
For US Alliance And French State Terrorism Atrocities

By Dr Gideon Polya

The appalling Paris atrocity – about 130 innocent civilians killed and 300 wounded - must be unequivocally condemned as utterly barbaric by all decent people throughout the world but also demands honest appraisal as evident “blowback” for the role of France under serial war criminal President Francois Hollande in the Neocon American and Zionist Imperialist (NAZI) –promoted US War on Muslims (13 million Muslim deaths from violence or war-imposed deprivation since 1990)

ISIS And Its Faulty Logic
By Mirza Yawar Baig

Peace is the effect of justice. Those who like to talk about peace must ensure that justice is established. Until that is done, any apparent peace is only a recess between wars. We. All of us. White or black. Christian, Jew, Hindu or Muslim or of any faith. We who believe in goodness and are against exploitation of all kinds. We the people of the world. We need to take it back from the hands of those who want to exploit it and us for their own ends. We have to stand together

Upcoming Third Intifada Will Alienate Israel, Economically And Psychologically
By Parul Verma

The mere act of considering to sue the BDS activist on the grounds of racial discrimination and damaging Israeli trade and economy, speaks of the fear seeping among the Zionist in the Knesset. This nonviolent movement for the justice in Israel/Palestine has grown more momentum than Israel could have imagined. But how is the BDS campaign related to the upcoming Third Intifada? Will the Third intifada be a collective participation by the world to show the solidarity with Palestine, alienating Israel( psychologically and financially )? Will the outcome of the Third intifada break down the economic backbone of Israel?

Attack On KSS Activists Fighting Against Adani Pench Power Project
By National Alliance of People’s Movements

Secretary of Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, Sajje Chandravanshi and four others were brutally attacked in village Chaunsara of district Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh on 14 November 2015. Villagers of the area have been resisting the construction of Adani – Pench Power Project for past many years due to forcible land acquisition, water diversion from Pench and environmental illegalities that the project proponents have deployed to construct the environmentally damaging 1,320 megawatt (2 x 665 MW) coal-fired power station. It is important to note that this is not the first time that KSS activists were attacked

Greenpeace India Resolves To Resist Attempts To Shut It Down
Press release

You can’t sink a rainbow! You can’t muzzle dissent in a democracy

UK Dalits Condemn The Inauguration Of Dr Ambedkar House By Narendra Modi
Press Release

CasteWatchUK and Dr Ambedkar Memorial Committee of Great Britain Condemn Narendra Modi's unveiling of statue of great Dalit icon Dr Ambedkar as cheap political posturing

Attakulangara Central High School : The Last Word
By Anitha.S

This is the Last word on the Attakulangara Central High School located in the heritage zone of East Fort in Thiruvananthapuram city. By the time this reaches a wider audience, the chariot of progress might have rolled over the space meant for posterity and Nature

14 November , 2015

Yesterday It Was Lebanon, Today It Is France; Terrorism Has No Boundaries
By Saswat Pattanayak

Like religion, terrorism too knows no boundaries. Yesterday it was Lebanon, today it is France. The only reason why deaths in France will be mourned much more is because of the racist Eurocentric media that are deeply Islamophobic. While what is happening in France is intensely tragic, retaliation based solely on Islamophobia will only strengthen the conviction of abusers. Terrorists are symptoms. Not roots

We Are All France! Though We Are Never All Lebanon or Syria or Iraq!
By David Swanson

We are all France. Apparently. Though we are never all Lebanon or Syria or Iraq for some reason. Or a long, long list of additional places. We are led to believe that U.S. wars are not tolerated and cheered because of the color or culture of the people being bombed and occupied. But let a relatively tiny number of people be murdered in a white, Christian, Western-European land, with a pro-war government, and suddenly sympathy is the order of the day

Paris Bombing (13 November 2015) And Western "Terrorism" Policy
By Jon Kofas

Three bombings within a remarkably short span of time demonstrate the reach of ISIS that was once backed by US allies in the Middle East, and possibly by the US indirectly in the war that the US started to bring down the Assad regime, all in the name of freedom and democracy, just as the US has been delivering freedom and democracy in Libya. The US and its European and regional allies have managed to create a new force that has some appeal at least with the radicalized Sunni Muslims not just in Syria and Iraq but across the Middle East and beyond

Beirut’s Explosion: The Sunni-Shia Bellum Sanctum
Returns To Hezbollah’s Security Zone

By Franklin Lamb

At least 46 confirmed deaths as families claim the bodies of their departed loved ones and nearly 250 wounded, many seriously, are being treated at the three Shia run hospitals, Al-Sahel, Bahman and Al-Rassoul Al-Aazam in this observer’s south Beirut neighborhood of Haret Hreik. All are victims of the 6 p.m. rush hour terrorist bombings deep inside Hezbollah’s security zone on 11/12/2015 that targeted civilians who were shopping at street markets or gathering at the local Husseiniyeh (Mosque) for the fourth of the five daily prayers, Salat al-Magrib, held in the early evening just after sunset

The Saudi Prince And Two Tons of Narcotics
By Andre Vltchek

Saudi Prince Abdulmohsen bin Walid bin Abdulmohsen bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was obviously not fully satisfied with his life. A private jet, several luxury cars and a mansion were not enough to make him feel a truly fulfilled and respected member of the Gulf ruling “elites”. Others had more, like those double-decker Airbus 380’s, or tremendous duplexes overlooking Karbala. Perhaps that was the reason why he tried so hard to catch up, by smuggling from Beirut, Lebanon to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (KSA), some 40 suitcases and boxes neatly packed with Captagon pills, with some cocaine thrown in for good measure

Devanoora Mahadeva Returns The Padmashri Award
And The Sahitya Akademi Award

Press Statement By Devanoora Mahadeva

The group which is now indulging in violent excesses of intolerance is emboldened by the feeling that those whom it voted to power are now in the central government and that whatever misdeed it may commit it will escape by their blessings. Therefore the violent incidents of intolerance which used to take place in a clandestine manner are now happening in broad daylight. Never in the past had there been such a situation. Only if the central government introspects on this will it be able to provide governance. There is the saying of a Yogi that even God cannot save those who perpetrate murder, looting, hatred in the name of religion and God! I am returning the awards to remind ourselves of all this in the present situation

When Bhakts Run India: I’m Mark Twain’s Famous Stupid!
By Saumya Mohanty

The bhakts have definitely created thousands of “stupids” and pseudo intellectuals in last eighteen months as part of “Make in India” and would make almost the entire country “stupid” and anti-national as per their vocabulary by 2019 who can throw them out of power like people did in Delhi and Bihar. That will be the biggest success of “Make in India” I will be one happy jolly fellow among Indian stupids of Mark Twain fame remembering another famous quote of Abraham Lincoln,“You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time”

The Hindutva Juggernaut Stalled Second Time In Bihar
By Shamsul Islam

The results of the Bihar elections are testimony to the fact that two-nation theory of Hindutva is against the ethos of common Indians most of whom are Hindus. The democratic-secular voters of Bihar have fulfilled the dream of one of the greatest Indian thinkers, BR Ambedkar who said that Hindu Raj would be the greatest calamity for India and it should be stopped at all cost

Development or Identity In Kashmir?
By Urba Malik

Kashmir today has become a testimony to an entirety of encounters ranging from brutal state repression to massive militarization, from lack of security to loss of dignity along with thegross human rights violations eventually culminating into a sense of loss in the meaning of life. If the political conflict has such impact on the social structure of the place then equally absorbing is to know what has happened to the potential for economic development over the decades consumed by conflict

Why We Need Nehru Today
By Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava

In the contemporary age when the pluralism and social harmony with composite culture is under attack, thoughts of Nehru become more relevant. He is symbol of all great modern values hence any attempt to disown his heritage will be a grave loss to India as a whole and humanity at large. India needs Nehru more than ever due to prevailing problems where ages old great humanistic values of Indian society are under threat. Need is to rediscover Nehru and to disseminate what he thought and lived for

A Bouquet of Warnings: Joseph E. Stiglitz’s The Great Divide
Book Review By Rajesh Sharma

We in India should receive Joseph E. Stiglitz’s latest book, The Great Divide, (Allen Lane Rs. 999/£ 25) as a warning. Although intended mainly for the American reader, so aptly does it speak to the contemporary Indian situation that it deserves to be read as widely here and translated in as many languages as possible. With 10 percent at the top possessing, as reported, nearly 75 percent of India’s wealth—and 1 percent possessing half the wealth— and the economic divide getting only worse since the 90s, the Indian situation is not really very different from the American

An Open Letter To Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India:
Ambedkar Museum, London

By Santosh Dass

In defining the partnership between India and UK, going forward from your speech in Parliament on 12 November, you committed to drawing on the life’s work of Dr Ambedkar in terms of “building a future of social equality, opportunity, and dignity for all humans and peace among people.” This now needs to be backed by concrete actions, and not just rhetoric by the Government of India. The Ambedkar Museum needs to be developed and managed transparently in order to deliver the purpose it was bought for. This can be achieved only with the involvement of Dalits and Ambedkarites in UK in its making and administration

A National Apology: From A Hindu To Each Indian Muslim
By Parul Verma

Hindutva does not represent the Hindus’, nor ever will

The Decision To Close The Mahila Samakhya Programme Is Undemocratic
By Friends of Mahila Samakhya

We write to you to share our concerns around the reported decision of the Government of India to close the MS programme at the end of the current financial year. We understand MS State societies have been asked to begin negotiations with their counterparts the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) at the State level to discuss a possible merger of MS with NRLM. We are surprised and alarmed at the decision particularly since there has been no consultation on this issue with the National Resource Group (NRG), which had been tasked with revisioning the programme to match the changing context and meet emerging challenges

13 November , 2015

Hindutva Turns Its Heat On Businesses :
Myntra Asked To Take Down Leather Products

By Countercurrents.org

The Sangh Parivar's cow protection campaign has gone up another level and asked Myntra, one of the top e-commerce sites in India to remove leather products from its catalogue. A tweet posted from the Sangh affiliated @RSS_Org demanded that the government should act against Myntra as it sold shoes made from cow leather

Modi Faces Massive Protest In UK
By Countercurrents.org

Hundreds of protesters staged a demonstration outside Downing Street, Londong against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UK. Former MP George Gallaway who was among the protesters said David Cameron is honouring "the killer Modi, who comes the very organisation that murdered Mahatma Gandhi." " Modi is murdering the India of Mahatma Gandhi, an India we can believe in. He is dripping in blood" said Galloway

Not In Our Name: Against Oxford India Society’s Enlisting As
‘Welcome Partner’ For Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Wembley Event

By Concerned Students of Oxford

The Oxford India Society (OIS) is one of the many organizations that are ‘welcome partners’ for the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi’s talk at the Wembley Stadium, London. As members of the India community at Oxford, whom the OIS claims to represent, we do not share this enthusiasm for the Modi Government and therefore write this letter to express our dissent with the OIS in welcoming Mr.Modi

The OROP "Gift" Lowers Military Morale, National Security Compromised
By S.G.Vombatkere

The shenanigans of the politician-bureaucrat nexus regarding OROP adversely affecting the morale of India's armed forces will be appreciated if not celebrated with crackers by Pakistan's military. The strategically ignorant, chronically myopic, blatantly arrogant politician-bureaucrat nexus has irreversibly harmed India by harming its own armed forces. India's political sovereignty and territorial integrity are at risk, as governments' last bastion for both domestic governance and external security is being knowingly or unknowingly emasculated. PM Modi has much to think about

Doctors Without Borders Condemns Undercover Hospital Raid
In Which One Person Was Killed

By Ma'an News Agency

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Thursday condemned Israel's undercover arrest raid earlier in the day in al-Ahli hospital in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. MSF said that Azzam Ezzat Shalaldah, 20, who was shot by an Israeli settler last month, was a patient of the group and was being treated in their Mental Health Support Program "for victims of political violence." During the undercover raid, Shalaldah's cousin, Abdullah Azzam Shalaldah, 28, was shot and killed while coming out of a bathroom in the hospital ward. His other cousin, Bilal, who was in the room with Shalaldah was handcuffed during the incident, but not detained

Bernie Sanders: Hire Me As Your Copy Editor!
By Mickey Z.

The word on the street (and by “street,” I mean the internet) is that a 72-year-old white male career politician named Bernie Sanders has started a revolution. Nothing riles me up quite like the sound of revolution, so I immediately clicked over to Bernie’s official website -- ready to join a hardcore rebellion. I had been assured by so many smart activists that Sanders was a genuine revolutionary. I came looking for revolt, insurrection, mutiny, and insurgency. What I found instead was a website in desperate need of a copyeditor

A Muslim Vocalist Ustad Is The Star Of This Beautiful Marathi Film
By Vidyadhar Date

It is a measure of the sterling role played by Muslim vocalists in Hindustani classical music that the central character in a dazzling new Marathi film is an Ustad Khan sahib. The film Katyar Kaljat Ghusali is based on a popular Marathi musical drama of the same name written by Purshottam Darwhekar

12 November , 2015

US Escalates Air And Ground Operations In Iraq And Syria
By Thomas Gaist

The US must prepare new deployments of ground forces to Syria as part of military operations that will continue for years to come, US Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said Tuesday at the Dubai Air Show. “Air power is extremely important,” James said. “It can do a lot, but it can’t do everything. Ultimately, it cannot occupy territory and very importantly it cannot govern territory.” James continued: ”This is where we need to have boots on the ground. We do need to have ground forces in this campaign.” The US war in Syria and Iraq is “going to take years” to win, she added

Netanyahu Visits White House Seeking Massive Arms Aid
By Patrick Martin

Monday’s White House meeting between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu combined cynical posturing about peace with closed-door discussions about how to reinforce and strengthen the Israeli war machine against both the Palestinian population and neighboring Arab states

Will Obama Give Israel Even More American Weapons
And Dollars To Kill Palestinians?

By Ann Wright

President Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on November 9 in the White House and is considering the Israeli request to give a 50% increase of nearly $1.5 billion in U.S. military funding bringing the U.S. donation to the killing of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to $4.5 billion a year

Remaking The Middle East: How The US Grew Tired And Less Irrelevant
By Ramzy Baroud

The Russian military campaign in Syria, which was half-heartedly welcomed by the US. has signaled a historic shift in the Middle East. Even if Russia fails to turn its war into a major shift of political and economic clout, the mere fact that other contenders are now throwing their proverbial hats into the Middle East ring, is simply unprecedented since the British-French-Israeli Tripartite Aggression on Egypt in 1956. For now, the Middle East will continue to pass through this incredibly difficult and violent transition, for which the US is partly responsible

Peter Waterman’s Recent Attack On The KMU Of The Philippines,
And My Work, Is Scurrilous:
Kim Scipes Responds To Unprincipled And Inaccurate Attack

By Kim Scipes

For reasons unknown and certainly not obvious, Peter Waterman has attacked my recent account published by Countercurrents.org on my visit to and participation in the KMU Labor Center’s 31st Annual International Solidarity Affair in the Philippines. Waterman and I have been personal friends for over 30 years, although we’ve long disagreed vehemently over the KMU and whether it is controlled by the Communist Party of the Philippines (Waterman’s position) or its members (mine). I do want to clearly state that this response is not to being challenged: I’ve long sought honest differences with my findings and analyses, as I recognize my limitations in reporting on the KMU. The response is to being challenged unfairly, at best, and being lied about, at worst

The Message From Bihar
By Sazzad Hussain

Bihar has said loud and clear that harmony and coexistence is necessary for growth and development. The myth of bringing economic development at a great social cost is unacceptable in India

And Here Rests A Nation
By Haris Ahmed

When the revered ‘intelligentsia’ of a society can’t engage in a dignified discussion without antagonizing their opponents, How come the masses already fraught with bias & parochial percepts be expected to hold burnished views? It is incumbent upon us a society to rise above partisan politics, ponder over the increasingly vitriolic environ & establish a healthy precedence for a participatory democracy

And Such Is Kashmir!
By Ghulam Mohammad Khan

A first person account of the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kashmir Valley. The author conludes with the question "Tell me how much you like this one day in the lives of the people of Kashmir? After listening to all your answers to this question, I will say to all of you only this reality: all other days are same in the Wail of Kashmir"

The Log And The Peg!
By Mohammad Ashraf

Kashmiris are traditionally and historically reputed to be very tolerant and non-communal people. However, recently there have been concerted attempts to introduce a communal element in the Kashmiri discourse facilitated by a local “peg”! These fascist elements could have never imagined an entry into the valley had not a Kashmiri facilitated it. The burning of a truck driver on the excuse of eating beef which resulted in massive protests was a stark example of this communal frenzy being slowly fueled by external elements with local collaboration. These elements are playing with fire which may engulf not only the state but the whole sub-continent

An Explicit Sikh Defiance Pervaded At ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ Gathering
By Jaspal Singh Sidhu

Keen observers feel that some fringe political Sikh actors aligning with redundant political leader Simranjit Singh Mann have exhibited a tearing hurry in calling ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ to secure immediate political gains . And they ignored genuine Sikh preachers like Panthpreet Singh and Ranjit Singh and other opinion leaders who had mobilized the Sikhs on the sacrilege issue and had brought the Badals rule to a grinding halt .Observers also argue that the congregation should have been held at the Akal Takht within the Golden Temple complex as per the Sikh traditions. The organizers’ choice of staying away from that central Sikh stage amounted to giving some sort of ‘concessions’ to the Badals. Many of them view the organizers’ move as an outcome of the latter’s tactic understanding with the Badals, presently facing boycott from the community

Revoke Bauxite GO 97: HRF
By Human Rights Forum

The recent GO 97 (issued on November 5, 2015) by the AP government,was not even shown to the Tribal Advisory Council (TAC). TAC ratification is mandatory under the 5th Schedule of the Constitution. GO 97 therefore, has absolutely no legal validity and must be immediately revoked

11 November , 2015

A dReSS For The RSS!
By Countercurrents.org

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS finally seems to considering draping its cadre in trousers instead of half-pants. We are not sure whether this is because of our recent ‘Chaddi Chhodo ya Gaddi Chhodo!’ (#SaveHinduismFromHalfPants) campaign or not but we welcome this new initiative. We therefore appeal to all Indian citizens, with a talent for fashion design, to reflect deeply and suggest ideas as part of the new ‘A dReSS for the RSS!’ campaign. Drawings, Photoshop images, photographs, cartoons, doodles, even text descriptions of what such a dReSS could look like are most welcome. The best suggestions will be prominently displayed on the Countercurrents.org website

Yemen Hospitals ‘Deliberately’ Targeted In 100 Attacks Since March
By The International Committee of the Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is appalled by the continuing attacks on health care facilities in Yemen, the latest of which took place in the city of Taiz. "Al-Thawra hospital, one of the main health care facilities in Taiz which is providing treatment for about 50 injured people every day was reportedly shelled several times on Sunday. The shelling endangered the lives of patients and staff on site," said the deputy head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen, Kedir Awol Omar. It is not the first time health facilities have been attacked. An MSF hospital in Haydan district of Saada was also attacked on the 26th of October. Close to a hundred similar incidents have been reported since March 2015

Syria And The Syrian Refugees
By Judith Bello

Most Syrians don’t want to go to Europe. They want to go home. The best gift we can give them is a swift end to the war and a just political solution that leaves the country intact. The best way to get rid of ISIS and al Nusra is to stop taking care of them, close the training camps and the Syrian borders with Turkey and Jordan; cut off their ability to sell oil. Stop giving arms to any group in the region as they all end up in the hands of ISIS and al Nusra. Let the Syrian army and their allies drive them out. This is the requirement of International law

Yes, Jews Are The Victims – Of Zionist Propaganda
By Alan Hart

My headline takes me back 35 years to the day when I had a remarkably frank (honest) conversation in Tel Aviv with then retired Major General Shlomo Gazit, the very best and the brightest of Israel’s Directors of Military Intelligence. I put to him my conclusion that “It’s all nonsense.” I meant and said that contrary to the assertions spewed out by its leaders, Israel’s existence had never, ever, been in danger from any combination of Arab and other Muslim military force and was never likely to be. Through a sad smile Shlomo replied, “The trouble with us Israelis is that we’ve become the victims of our own propaganda.”

A Palestinian Call For ‘Unarmed Warfare’
By Jonathan Cook

Some Palestinian intellectuals are advocating non-violent resistance as they warn against an armed uprising. Palestinians have a right in international law to resist the occupation, even violently, but this group emphasises the futility of violence faced with Israel’s military superiority. Theirs is a pragmatic argument. One of the architects of the first intifada’s non-violent resistance, Mubarak Awad, recently reminded Palestinians that it is no soft option. “It’s about using nonviolence militantly, like a kind of unarmed warfare”. He suggests instead refusing to carry Israeli-issued IDs, defying curfews, blocking roads, planting trees on sites intended for settlement, tearing down fences, staging sit-ins and and inviting mass arrests to fill to breaking point Israel’s jails

Life Goes On Under The Helicopters And
The Terrible Cost of Avoiding The Dangers Of Kabul

By Brian Terrell

The efforts of the US, UK and Germany “to avoid the dangers in Kabul” and other places we have destroyed will inevitably “come at a terrible cost.” It cannot be otherwise. We cannot forever keep ourselves safe from the bloody mess we have made of the world by hopping over it from fortified helipad to fortified helipad in helicopter gunships. Millions of refugees flooding our borders might be the smallest price we will have to pay if we continue to try

U.S. SecDef Ashton Carter Implies Russia & China Are Enemies of U.S.
By Eric Zuesse

On Saturday November 7th, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, who had started his career at the Defense Department during the Reagan Administration as an aide to then-Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, Cold-Warring against the communist nations U.S.S.R. and China, delivered a speech saying, “We are in the middle of a strategic transition to respond to the security challenges that will define our future. … We're responding to Russia, one source of today's turbulence, and China's rise, which is driving a transition in the Asia-Pacific.”

The Left Should Embrace Degrowth
By Giorgos Kallis

Capitalism without growth is savage. Degrowth is not a clear theory, plan, or political movement. Yet it is a hypothesis whose time has come; and one that the Left can no longer afford to avoid

Erosion Of Democracy Is Most Visible On Roads
By Vidyadhar Date

The annual international urban mobility conference organized by the Central government in Delhi looks so futile. This year the conference beginning on November 24 has `smart mobility solution` as a topic in the first session on the first day. A good idea but it looks entirely ridiculous if one looks at the situation on the ground. People are denied basic facilities for walking . It is crystal clear that the government is the problem, not the people. One does not have to go far to notice the erosion of democracy in India. It is glaringly visible on streets all over as the whole streetscape is dominated by private vehicles while human beings are treated with the utmost contempt all the while

10 November , 2015

Halfway On The Road To Perdition: Overheated Planet
Entering Uncharted Territory At Frightening Speed

By Countercurrents.org

The United Kingdom’s Met Office says that 2015 will be the year when average world temperatures rise more than 1 degree C (1.8 F) above pre-industrial levels. That is halfway to the 2 degrees C temperature increase threshold that scientists say could dangerously destabilize the planet’s climate system. Meanwhile, the World Meteorological Association (WMO) reported that atmospheric concentrations of CO2 in 2014 averaged 397.7 parts per million and that average 2015 concentrations could surpass the 400 ppm mark. “We are moving into uncharted territory at a frightening speed,” WMO Secretary General Michel Jarraud said

IEA Worried About Low Energy Prices And The Risk Of Investment Falling Short
By International Energy Agency

10 November 2015 London: An extended period of lower oil prices would benefit consumers but would trigger energy-security concerns by heightening reliance on a small number of low-cost producers, or risk a sharp rebound in price if investment falls short, says the International Energy Agency (IEA) in the 2015 edition of its flagship World Energy Outlook publication (WEO-2015)

Beyond Keystone: Why Climate Movement Must Keep Heat On
By Bill McKibben

It took a committed coalition and the increasingly harsh reality of climate change to push President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline. But sustained public pressure will now be needed to force politicians to take the next critical actions on climate

The Uprising Against Assad Was Engineered In Washington
By Eric Zuesse

A terrific news report by Jonathan Marshall at Consortium News provides the first-ever presentation in the West of the event that sparked the demonstrations that sparked the Syrian civil war, and of the entire origin of that war

No Matter How Well Russian Media Expose Western Lies …
By Eric Zuesse

Western ‘news' media simply refuse to report the lying that's done by Western ‘news' media and their governments

Veterans Day! Honor Capitalism's Genociders Assassins
Invaders Bombers of Children? Hell No! 

By Jay Janson

Veterans Day? Mandela,"US committed unspeakable atrocities" Clark,"US foreign policy greatest crime" King,"Time has come when silence is betrayal. They languish under our bombs, children homeless without clothes run in packs beg our soldiers for food, sell their sisters, mothers" Twain,"Easier to fool people than convince them they've been fooled" Gen.Butler,"War is a Racket!"Jesus,"As you did to my brothers, you did to Me"

3 Exciting New Patriotic Ways To Honor Veterans Day!
By Mickey Z.

1. Dedicate yourself to hanging yellow ribbons for the gallant knights who have altruistically put their feet and toes on the line each time they repeatedly kicked prone, chained, and blindfolded prisoners, I mean, enemy combatants. 2. Honor the resolute democracy-spreaders who exposed their fragile vocal cords to excruciating pain and injury when they engaged in the selfless daily practice of screaming at captive evildoers. 3. Never forget those courageous souls who braved the immense mental strain of conjuring up fresh and novel racist-sexist-homophobic-xenophobic epithets each and every day -- day after day, year after year

Munnar 'Green Blood Revolution' Turns Bloody Red:
'Penkal Otrumai' Leader Attacked

By Countercurrents.org

'The Green Blood Revolution' of Munnar, Kerala, India led by women workers of Kanan Devan Hill Plantations Ltd turned bloody as the leader of the movement who contested and won under the 'Penkal Otrumai' (Unity of Women) umbrella in the recently concluded Kerala local body elections was attacked allegedly by people belonging to trade unions. Gomathi Augustine, the 'Penkal Otrumai' leader who won from the Devikulam ward in Devikulam block panchayat sustained minor injuries when she was assaulted on Sunday evening during a victory procession. That night, a group of people assaulted Gomathi’s husband and sons in their house

Video: Israeli Soldiers Fire At Car, Killing Elderly Woman
By Ali Abunimah

Tharwat al-Sharawi, a 72-year-old Palestinian woman, was driving her car normally when Israeli forces opened fire and killed her on Friday, video and an eyewitness confirm. More than 70 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of October

Israel: A Disoriented Nation With Psychotic Delusions
By Parul Verma

One of the most dangerous and disturbing aspects of the Israeli mind is its proclivity for paranoid delusions stemming from the persecution complex. This is a direct consequence of their imagined enemy trying to exterminate them ( Delusions of Persecution). In the past years, Israel has made claims of high probability of being attacked by the enemies, whose sole aim is to annihilate it’s existence. One would take these claims seriously if indeed anyone of these claims occured, but the mere thoughts of persecution in the absence of any real threat has delusioned the psyche of Israel

The NATO's Violations of The “Just War” Principles In 1999
By Prof. Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirović

Current political process of acceptance of the quasi-independent state of Kosovo to the full UN's UNESCO's membership opened once again a question of the NATO's military intervention against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (the FRY) in March−June 1999 as a foundation for Kosovo's secession from Serbia and its unilateral proclamation of a quasi-independence in February 2008. Kosovo became the first and only European state up today that is ruled by the terroristic warlords as a party's possession – the (Albanian) Kosovo Liberation Army (the KLA). The aim of this article is to investigate the nature of the NATO's war on Yugoslavia in 1999

Why Bihar Elections Was Unique In The History Of India
By Masood Ali Mir

The important feature of democracy is that the power resides with a common man. The high voltage election campaign hardly matters when there is less delivery on governance and developmental front. The common man of Bihar has used the power of ballot for his betterment, better governance and common brotherhood. Long live Democracy

Of Generals, Dogs And Politics
By Oliver D'Souza

There is no doubt that General V K Singh's use of the word ‘dogs’ in connection with the death of two Dalit children in Haryana is reprehensible, even a crime under the SC/ST Atrocities Act. Being a Union Minister and a former Army Chief, a lot of sensibilities and civilities are expected of him. What is even more shocking is how a person whose credentials include being a former Army Chief could be so wanton, reckless and uncircumspect in using such language. Surely, this is not something he has done during his tenure in the army and risen to head it. If he had, he would have been court-martialled. So what went wrong with the General and how did he metamorphose from an officer and a gentleman to someone who referred to Dalits as dogs and ended up having a FIR registered against himself?

Gadri Mela: The Revolutionary Fete Of Gadarites
By Nikita Azad

October 30 to November 1 are days of communist festival in Punjab. Punjab, which is homeland to some of the greatest revolutionary martyrs such as Bhagat Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Udham Singh, has kept the tradition of celebrating successes of people's struggles alive. Every year Punjab commemorates birthdays of various martyrs and pays homage at their death anniversaries. But, one of the most significant such celebration is "Mela Gadri Babean da", which is observed every year from 30th October to 1st November in Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall, Jalandhar. The fete is organised to pay homage to the great Ghadar movement, launched by Indians living abroad against British regime in India

Colonial Legacy Of Muzzling Dissent Of The Marginalised
By Anuarg Modi

While, we must put up full force against preventive arrests of political prisoners irrespective of their castes and religions, we must have equal force in opposing the attitude of governments in looking upon their marginalised population as criminals and jailing them in the name of law and order must be stopped. And as long term measures we need to overhaul our colonial way of looking at dissent and marginalised

09 November , 2015

Kerala To Observe Hartal Demanding Abolition Of Death Penalty On Nov.11
By Anti Death Penalty Collective

A democratic hartal will be observed on November 11th in Kerala demanding the death penalty be abolished as recommended by the National Law Commission Report. The other demands are declaration of a moratorium on death penalty in the country, passing of a motion in the State Assembly to pass a bill in Parliament to abolish death penalty, and protection of human rights of prisoners in our jails

Lalu Repeats VP's Mandal Legacy In Bihar To Stop Hindutva Juggernaut
By VidyaBhushan Rawat

The historical verdict of the Bihar 2015 has send shock waves in the Hindutva camp while gladdening the heart of every Indian who believed in inclusive secularism and protecting the idea of India as enshrined in our republican constitution and the hero of this verdict is Lalu Prasad Yadav. The nation remain thankful to this earthy man for what he has done in Bihar by repeating what he did on October 23rd 1990 at Samastipur where Lal Krishna Advaniwas arrested during his (w)rathyatra from Somnath to Ayodhya

Clear Mandate In The Interest Of ‘The Idea Of India’
By MD Irfan

This Sunday is memorable for Bihar and those who believe in ‘ The Idea of India’

Reaper Madness: Counterproductive Drone Wars
By Doug Noble

Targeted killing by drones remains the US weapon of choice, famously called “the only game in town,” by former CIA director Leon Panetta. This despite a decade of worldwide moral outrage over its overwhelming civilian casualties, violations of international law, disregard for national sovereignty, dismissal of due process, and continuing secrecy. The Obama administration recently announced that the drone killing program will in fact be increased by 50 % in the coming two years

Kissinger, The Bombardier 
By Greg Grandin

Kissinger invokes today's endless, open-ended wars to justify his diplomacy by air power in Cambodia and elsewhere nearly half a century ago. But what he did then created the conditions for today's endless wars, both those started by Bush's neocons and those waged by Obama's war-fighting liberals like Samantha Power. So it goes in Washington

Can Capitalism Be Sustainable?
By Lionel Anet

The nuclear family is centred on private property, which includes children to keep the wealth and power within one’s family, which is anti-social and must change to fit human needs. Hence we need to go to a more communal setup that will be able to cope with the necessary reduction of children and improve their safety and welfare. Also, to survive, our intellectuals will have to abandon their despairing view of human nature and their much admired civilisation, which we all attain from deceptive education

Prized Singapore
By Linh Dinh

Though internally safe, Singapore is situated at the most dangerous spot geopolitically. On top of that, it is threatened by a global trade slowdown, an imminent banking implosion and the rising sea. Will it become a Chinese outpost or be obliterated? Will it overcome all obstacles to celebrate a centenary?

Ved Bhasin: Adieu, To a Legend
By Dr . Fayaz Ahmad Bhat

The space and vacuum created by the departure of Ved Bhasin is not difficult to fill but impossible to satisfy. Though Ved Shab, is no more physically with us, he will be remembered for institutionalizing journalism in Jammu and Kashmir, for uncompromising secular views and for fearlessly upholding the freedom of the press. Whenever, wherever people will talk about highest standards, ethics and fearless, bold and independent journalism the name of Ved Sahab, will be at foremost. He will always live in the hearts of truth loving people and will keep inspiring generations together

08 November , 2015

BJP's Politics Of Hatred Has Taken A Beating In Bihar
By Countercurrents.org

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s politics of hatred has taken a beating in the all important Bihar state assembly elections. Incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar led grand coalition is all set to win two third majority in the election. Lalu Prasad led Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress which are also part of the coaltions is set to form the next government in Bihar. Hindutva Ultra nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was humiliated because the BJP-led NDA's main star for the campaign was Prime Minister Modi himself as the coalition went into the polls without a chief ministerial candidate. Modi addressed 26 election rallies in the state. BJP President Amit Shah camped in the state for the whole month overseeing every electoral preparation. Shah addressed 76 rallies in the state

Lessons BJP Should Learn From Bihar Debacle
By Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava

After Delhi, the loss in Bihar suggests that all is not well with BJP. It needs to return to time tested values where equality to all in all spheres with a government’s assurance to protect to all in all circumstances is the only way out to survive in the Indian politics

Open Letter: Post Keystone Win, Time To End Natural Forest Logging
By Dr. Glen Barry

An open letter addressed to climate change luminaries Bill McKibben of 350.org and Michael Brune of the Sierra Club: After yesterday’s significant yet symbolic Keystone pipeline victory, not only must the climate movement demand an end to old-growth forest logging; it is time to speak of ending all natural forest logging to limit climate change and sustain the biosphere. Together with leaving fossil fuels in the ground, working for an end to industrial logging of natural forests will protect vital old-growth and allow dwindling natural ecosystems to age, recover, spread, reconnect, and sequester carbon in order to avert the worst impacts of climate change while avoiding global ecosystem collapse

A Letter To An Israeli: Kindness And Postage Stamps Are Not Enough
By Iman Najjar-Annab

Please do not say that Israel today is just that, a secular democracy. It isn’t. It is a Judeo-supremacy. Please do not say Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East because it has much work to do. Please do not say that Israel is a beacon of light amongst oppressive “Arab” states. Israel is just as oppressive against Palestinians. If you cannot acknowledge this, it means you are still on the fence about human rights and you need to get off on the right side of history

Africa In The 21st Century: Legacy Of Imperialism And Development Prospects
By Jon Kofas

This essay argues that Africa is undergoing changes in its economies in the 21st century, not only because of the role that China is playing but owing to intense competition from other Western countries and the Middle East. China’s role is within the capitalist world economy and within the patron-client model of integration that the Europeans followed after African countries achieved their formal independence from colonization. During the second half of the 20th century, northwest Europe remained the conduit for African integration into the US-centered global economy, despite the role of US-based multinational corporations

Death Threats By ABVP To Indian Filmmaker Amid
Debates Over Rising Intolerance In The Country

By Shamim Zakaria

While the debate on rising intolerance of right wing radical groups is augmenting, now an 18-year old Indian filmmaker has been threatened of life allegedly by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (AVBP). Kumar Gaurav made a 20-minute documentary entitled "Curfew" – a film on communal riot in Jamshedpur, in which he portrayed how members of radical right wing groups indulged in ruthless violence against the minority Muslim community of the region, during the communal violence that broke out on July 21 this year

Spontaneous Histories, Bungled Borders And Perennial Victims
By Priti Gulati Cox

About 1,700 miles east and 40 days after this greasy Silicon Valley spectacle welcoming Modi, artist Shubho Saha, from Bangladesh, and I staged a short collaborative performance titled No Man's Land in front of a Kansas audience, where Shubho was the visiting artist-in-residence at the Salina Art Center. In No Man's Land, itself a spontaneous performance using our voices and gestures, Shubho and I exchanged between us the colors, smells and textures of raw food: rice, spices, and a chunk of oximoronically Hindu beef, while simultaneously erasing the dead colors of our imposed synthetic identities

Sardar Sarovar Oustees In Gujarat On Warpath Again, Facing Unjust Eviction
By Narmada Bachao Andolan

Since the last two days a number of adivasis from original village Karda, resettled at Amroli in Naswadi Taluka in the newly carved out Chhota Udaiput District; especially women, children and the elderly, sat on a dharna and fast, along with livestock! Reason being, 23 families with more than a 100 members, were given notices to leave the vasahat(resettlement site) with no time stipulation! As the original Sardar Sarovar villages were submerged, many of these families were brought here 2 decades ago and were permitted by the State to reside in and cultivate the lands. The same oustees are now being branded as “encroachers” and are being asked to quit

Educational Prospects Of Muslim Girls In Gujarat
By Dr. Swaleha Sindhi

The study being qualitative has focused on thirty rural Muslim households of Bhalej village about 30kms away from Vadodara district of Gujarat. Purposive sampling technique was used in identifying the respondents. The criterion for selecting the sample village was the majority of the population of the village comprises of Muslims. The relevant case studies have been documented to substantiate the arguments made by the researcher. The study is mainly based on primary sources of data

07 November , 2015

Greenpeace India's Registration Cancelled
By Countercurrents.org

Greenpeace India's registration was cancelled by the Tamil Nadu Registrar of Societies. Greenpeace India, registered as an NGO in India under the Tamil Nadu Registrar of Societies (RoS), got the order of cancellation of its registration on Friday, although the order was formally issued on Wednesday. Greenpeace India will challenge this order in the Madras high court

US Deploys F-15s To Syria, Targeting Russian Jets
By Thomas Gaist

The US will send a squadron of F-15C fighter jets to Turkey’s Incirlik air base, the US Defense Department (DOD) announced on Friday. The nature of the US war planes, which are specifically designed for dogfighting with other highly advanced fighter jets, indicates that the deployment carries a significance far beyond what its small scale would suggest

44 Reasons To Ban or Label GMOs
By Gary Null

The response of the GMO industry to any critic–irrespective of their credentials or the scientific evidence they provide–is that they are wrong. To determine where the truth lies, we have set about reviewing all available scientific literature on the safety and efficacy of GMOs. The results of our independent investigation are stated in the following 44 reasons to ban or label GMOs. All of the information is footnoted and fully referenced

Bernie Sanders Is 'Forever Young' Germaine Greer Is A 'Dinosaur'
By Mickey Z.

Presidential candidate and current liberal darling Bernie Sanders is the 74-year-old “insurgent” leader of a “revolution.” Today, Greer the radical feminist is un-ironically called a "misogynist" for defending the reality of female-ness yet Sanders the career politician is the one credited for being “focused on reality.”

Will The ScotPound Succeed As A Parallel Currency?
By Steve Rushton

A report produced by the New Economics Foundation and Common Weal, entitled "ScotPound: digital money for the common good,"offers a progressive way forward. The study suggests a parallel digital currency for Scotland could “stimulate local economies, create a level playing field for small businesses, and support social justice for all its citizens.”

#OccupyUGC: Students Force Smriti Irani To An Open Discussion
Press Release By #OccupyUGC

The student's protest forced the HRD minister Smriti Irani to come out of the ministry premises and have a public discussion with the students on the issue in front of MHRD where the students were holding a public meeting. Smriti Irani has given assurance to students that the non net fellowship will not be discontinued, that it would be extended to state universities, that the amount of scholarship will be increased and there would be direct cash transfers into student's accounts. However, on the issue of implementation of a criteria in providing the fellowship the HRD minister maintained that a criteria mechanism is going to be implemented in all probability

Bihar Election 2015: Occupation Vs Preoccupation
By MD Irfan

This election was very different from other elections in many ways. After very long, it was celebrated like a festival in Bihar. One could see the intensity of this election among voters. In history, Bihar politics has always been fascinating. During electoral days it becomes highly politically charged society. Everyone discuss politics, one can define this in terms of ‘talking politics’

Changing Narratives: A Counter Revolution In The Great Indian Story
By Anand Mohan

The next few chapters of the great Indian story are being written down by the right. But those chapters are but a few pages in the great Indian story. We must write our destiny and it is not a story which will be written by a few fanatics on fringe with black ink, it is a story written by a billion people and it is a better story than the one we get to hear these days...

“Into The Heart Of The Sacred”
By Gary Corseri

A Review of Vagabond Song: Neo-Haibun from the Peregrine Journals, by Marc Beaudin

The Lustre Of Dollars On The Sarbat Khalsa
By Daljit Ami

No doubt the Punjabi expatriates feel about Punjab but that does not mean they become automatically the well wishers of Punjab. Even if they don the garb of Punjab's issues, we need to ask how their arrogance can improve Punjab. No doubt it is difficult to ask these questions to our friends and relatives, the questions can even cause us momentary pain, but Punjab will have to ask these tough questions

Hail Patriarchy! Of Supreme Judges And Elite Law
By Shalu Nigam

Women’s voice in the legal system of the biggest democracy is almost miniscule probably because shattering the glass ceiling is not an easy job. Additionally, old boy network has a strong hold which prevents women to enter into the domain of supreme law

The Government Must Retain Its Legitimacy In The Eyes Of People
By People's Union For Civil Liberties

The People's Union for Civil Liberties strongly condemns the hostility of the Union Government and the BJP to the writers, scientists, film makers and actors returning their awards to protest against the atmosphere of intolerance in the country and its Nazi-like attitude to the members of a particular community for not toeing the line of the government. Instead of engaging with more than a hundred protesting achievers, they have launched a tirade against them

06 November , 2015

24 Film Makers Return National Awards
By Countercurrents.org

Twenty-Four members of film fraternity returned their national awards to protest against “the threat to the academic culture at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII)” and “the horror at people being attacked and killed for their beliefs”. The decision was announced at a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday

Not To Speak Out Now Is A Crime
By Saeed Mirza

I believe we are living in a time where not to speak out would not just be mistake but a crime. How far had we, as a nation, travelled away from the ideals of the Constitution? And this is where we are today. The forces that lay in the shadows at the time of our independence have emerged into the sunlight. They are in power both at the overt and covert levels. Will my handing over a National Award change things around? Frankly I don’t know. All I know is I have to raise my voice against this state of affairs

Kunduz Hospital Attack: Patients Burnt In Their Bed,
Those Fled Were Shot From The Air, Reveals MSF Internal Review

By Doctors Without Borders

The MSF internal review describes patients burning in their beds, medical staff that were decapitated and had lost limbs, and others who were shot from the air while they fled the burning building. "The attack destroyed our ability to treat patients at a time of their greatest need," said Dr. Joanne Liu, international president of MSF. "A functioning hospital caring for patients cannot simply lose its protected status and be attacked."

Turkey: Rotten Politics And Promise Of Revolution
Andre Vltchek in a discussion with Yiğit Günay

An interview with Yiğit Günay, a journalist and art historian located in Istanbul, Turkey. He Worked for the leftist Turkish newspaper soL

Science And Technology Policy In Colombia: Securing Human Happiness?
By Mateo Pimentel

Yet, as many nations today seek to develop further and to use science in order to “secure human happiness,” we might well ask if the significance of knowledge and technique to which Ezrahi refershas changed.Does it all still boil down to knowledge? Whatever the case, there may be new reasons yet for humanity to sustainits age-old skeptical bent. But where to look to test the hypothesis? Consider the novel case of Colombia and how relatively recent politics and policy making might color this question for perhaps a contentiously, if not,self-proclaimed,“liberal democracy.”

If US Assessment that Russian Plane Crash was ISIS Bombing Is Correct,
Whose Could Be The Next Plane?

By Robert Barsocchini

US citizens have a moral and legal responsibility to remove the cause of the regional turmoil. If they do, the effects, like embers without logs, will fade

The “War On Terror” Is The Hoax Foundation Of The Police/Spy State
By Paul Craig Roberts

The “war on terror” was a hoax. Americans were deceived by policymakers, who are pursuing a hegemonic agenda. The American people were too trusting and too gullible and, consequently, Americans were easily betrayed by Washington and by the presstitute media

Games of Bharatiya Origin
By Satya Sagar

I have finally figured out why India, home to over a billion people, produces so few gold medal winning sportsmen/women or athletes at the Olympic Games. My insights – based on Vedic principles- if taken seriously by the current government, can turn around its rapidly falling popularity among the Indian people and also bring great prestige to the entire country globally

International Commission Of Jurists Calls On
The Indian Government To Repeal AFSPA

Press Release

On the 15th anniversary of Irom Sharmila’s hunger strike, the International Commission of Jurists calls on the Indian government to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act without further delay. Irom Sharmila began a hunger strike in November 2000, calling for the repeal of the AFSPA, following the unlawful killing of 10 civilians by security forces purportedly acting under it in Malom

'Go To Pakistan' Slander: An Insult To Both India And Pakistan
By Ravi Nitesh

India , that adopted and promoted multi cultural society and branded itself with tagline of 'unity in diversity' can not be seen as promoter of harmony within country, but also with neighbouring nations and most importantly with people of all other countries. When our politicians go to break this thread of harmony, it is the very duty of all of us to protect our country and heritage from such people. It must be understood that India's representation should not be in such hands who can only polarise minds

05 November , 2015

Arundhati Roy Returns National Award
By Countercurrents.org

Booker Prize winning author Arundhati Roy has become the latest to join the band wagon to return national award presented by Government of India, as a protest to 'growing intolerance' in the country. Four Padma Bhushan Awards, 40 Sahitya Academi Awards twelve National film Awards were returned to Narendra Modi Government as a protest in just 18 months of BJP rule

The Destructive Mind Of A Vagina: Hilary Clinton Is Not A Friend To Women
By Parul Verma

Does each woman possessing the vagina, necessarily would fight to liberate every confined vagina, from the chain's of inequalities? Does voting for a particular vagina to rise to power, necessarily would lead to the liberation of each vagina,trapped by the chain’s of bigotry? Is Hilary Clinton using the pro-woman bogus agenda to win the votes of the woman community? Is she worth your vote?

Afghanistan “After” The American War
By Ann Jones

Ten months ago, on December 28, 2014, a ceremony in Kabul officially marked the conclusion of America's very long war in Afghanistan. President Obama called that day “a milestone for our country.” After more than 13 years, he said, “our combat mission in Afghanistan is ending, and the longest war in American history is coming to a responsible conclusion.” That was then. This is now. In between, on September 28, 2015, came another milestone: the Taliban takeover of Kunduz, the capital of the province of the same name in northern Afghanistan, and with a population of about 270,000, the country's fifth-largest city

West’s ‘Fail-Anthropy’
By Dr Vandana Shiva

What needs to be done is clear. In the case of climate change, the key strategy should be reduction of emissions and strategies for adaptation. We must move away from industrial, chemical-intensive agriculture, away from a centralised, global commodity-based food system that exacerbates emissions. Biodiversity conservation will be central to adaptation. In place of the biodiversity-destroying industrial monocultures, including those based on GMO seeds, we need a shift to agroecological practices that conserve biodiversity and ensure biosafety

A New Study Links Glyphosate And A Multitude Of Cancers
By Colin Todhunter

New Study Shows Strong Links between Glyphosate and a Multitude of Cancers that are “reaching epidemic proportions” , the study says “the outcomes are alarmingly apparent”

Henoko Takes On U.S. Imperialism
By Maya Evans

Around one hundred and fifty Japanese protesters gathered to stop construction trucks from entering the U.S. base 'Camp Schwab', after the Ministry of Land over-ruled the local Governors' decision to revoke permission for construction plans, criticizing the "mainland-centric" Japanese Government of compromising the environmental, health and safety interests of the Islanders

Co-existence With Apartheid? J K Rowling Owes
Palestinians An Apology, Not An Explanation

By Ramzy Baroud

If J K Rowling and her peers do not see an urgency in standing up for millions of Palestinians who are enduring daily deaths and discrimination (as they have for 67 years), what is their reaction to the violence against Africans and dark-skinned people, who are beaten by mobs, and abused by police and discriminated against by the government itself?

Cuba's Operation Carlota 40 Years Later
By Matt Peppe

After 40 years, Republic of Guinea native Alpha Diallo still remembers the emotion he felt as a 20-year-old college student in Cuba when he made a decision that would change his life. The Cuban government had just decided to send troops to Angola to fight the invading South African army, which had crossed the border into Angola several weeks earlier on Oct. 23, 1975. Diallo, who had come from western Africa to Havana on scholarship two years earlier to study agricultural engineering, attended a rally of 800,000 people in the Plaza of the Revolution as Fidel Castro announced the military mission to support the anti-colonial Angolan movement and fight apartheid

Rampant Looting And Sexual Violence By Security Forces
In Villages In Bijapur, South Chhattisgarh

By Women Against Sexual Violence

Interim Findings of a Fact Finding Report By Women Against Sexual Violence. As the history books told us how the victorious king’s armies plundered after the occupation –Will the state continue to do the same under the garb of naxal operations and road-development work?

As Irom Shamrila's Hunger Strike Completes 15th Year
Total Revocation Of AFSPA Demanded

Press Release

The indefinite hunger-strike of Irom Sharmila against the AFSPA will complete its 15th year soon. The state impunity on violence against our own people continues till date

Whose India? Tagore’s or Golwalkar’s
By Mohammad Ashraf

RSS is now giving practical shape to the ideas of Golwalkar through their nominee, Narendra Modi. Instead of realizing the dream of a progressive, secular and democratic country, they are taking India to Vedic times in a totally retrograde mode. India of Tagore’s dreams and vision seems to be disappearing fast and it is being replaced systematically by Gowalkar’s Pogrom of a fascist and regressive India of the savage times. A historian friend calls it the beginning of the end of India while a columnist friend calls it the “Unmaking of India”!

Modi On Track To Cripple India
By Mike Ghouse

If Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India does not speak up on the issues that are tearing the nation apart, and if he fails to restore freedom to speak, eat, drink, wear and believe what India’s constitution guarantees, and if he fails to warn the extremists in his party from destroying the social fabric of India, he will cripple the nation, making it a Langda India as we call it in Hindi

Hindutva Pressing Forward A New Jinnah As Its Funeral Director
By Dr. Abdul Ahad

RSS is unwittingly forcing India to eat up the opium to an early grave and press forward a new Jinnah as its funeral director

New Funding Boosts Research For Controlling TB, Malaria,
Dengue And Leishmaniasis

By Bobby Ramakant

An additional investment of US$ 10.7 million has been announced by Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) to find more effective tools to control and eliminate TB, malaria, dengue and leishmaniasis

Intolerance On #Awardwapsi
By Adfar Shah

Why this method adopted and why now, perhaps writers in India have begun to care for the freedom and society more than their awards. People blindly. Instead of discovering conspiracy theories and political agendas of writers, let the state return the power to each community to live with their identity with all safety, pride and honour. Let the issues of identity, freedom and dignified life be actualized in our country, only then a writer or an artist will feel pride in receiving an award.

04 November , 2015

Kshama Sawant Re-Elected: Seattle's Political Revolution Continues
By Patrick Ayers

Not only can socialists get elected, we can get re-elected. At the time of writing, and with about a third of the votes counted, 52.6% of voters in Seattle’s District 3 have chosen Kshama Sawant to serve another four years on the City Council. Since late votes tend to trend in our favor, we can safely claim victory. In Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood tonight, hundreds of campaign supporters are celebrating at our election night party. People arrived confident due to Kshama’s outstanding work in the council and our ferocious ground game

Killing For Blasphemy, Secularism, And The Fractured State Of Bangladesh
By Taj Hashmi

They did it again. On October 31st, some unknown assailants hacked Faisal Arefin Dipan to death on October 31 at his office in Dhaka for publishing slain freethinker Avijit Roy’s book. Let’s hope, this time the killers won’t get off scot-free! And what would be even worse, the police won’t falsely incriminate some innocent people in the killing. One is not sure if the killing of ultra-secular Islamophobic writers has something to do with the rapid “Arabization” or “de-secularization” of Bangladesh. The police haven’t yet arrested anybody who attacked freethinkers like Humayun Azad in 2004, and killed another half a dozen writers, including Avijit Roy, during the last two years

Are You Confused By The Middle East? Here Are Some Things
You Should Know. (But You’ll Probably Still Be Confused)

By William Blum

Russia has bombed ISIS in Syria, but has used the same occasions to attack Syria’s other enemies. The mainstream media almost never mentions the proposed Qatar natural-gas pipelines – whose path to Europe Syria has stood in the way of for years – as a reason for much of the hostility toward Syria. The pipelines could dethrone Russia as Europe’s dominant source of energy. In Libya, during the beginning of the 2011 civil war, anti-Gaddafi rebels, many of whom were al-Qaeda affiliated militias, were protected by NATO in “no-fly zones”. US policy in Syria in the years leading up to the 2011 uprising against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, which began the whole current mess, was designed to promote sectarianism, which in turn led to civil war with the goal of regime change

Global Peace And Security: Arab Time Capsule Is Destined To Burst
By Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja

The continuing horrors and raging brutality of unwarranted wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen are the result of self-inflicted wounds and insanity of the Arab leaders. The Western coalition, Russia and others hired agents continue to bomb the heartlands of the Arab world. After the planned destruction of Afghanistan, Iraq’s ancient societal solidarity is fractured and so are the Yemen and Syria

Globalization And Terror
By Helena Norberg-Hodge

Working closely with indigenous leaders, our efforts have essentially been about countering and providing alternatives to global development models based on debt and fossil fuels. For this approach to be replicated, we urgently need major educational campaigns as well as closer dialogue between grassroots organizations in the North and the South. We need a movement that will lobby governments and the UN, making it clear that the most effective way for governments to contribute to a reduction in both poverty and violence is not to scale up funding for development, but to scale back the forces of globalization

Exposed By Wikileaks: The US Empire According To Itself
By Robert J. Burrowes

In the book 'The Wikileaks Files: The World According to US Empire' which has just been published, we are taken on a journey to understand just how the world works if we read the 'top secret' correspondence of those who regard themselves as our masters. Following a thoughtful contextual introduction by Julian Assange, our journey is guided by eighteen first-rate scholars who carefully explain the significance of a range of Wikileaks-released documents in relation to the region of the world in which they specialize

Rice, Wheat, Mustard … India Drives Forward
First GMO Crops Under Veil Of Secrecy

By Colin Todhunter & Oliver Tickell

A secret application has been made to India's GEAC (Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee) for a new variety of GMO mustard to be released for cultivation. If accepted, this would be the first GMO variety to be approved in India - and could open the way for many more such applications for other major crops including staple foods like rice, wheat and chickpeas

Of The J&K Education System: Conflict In Words And Deeds
By G. M. Kashmiri

The development talks much more about the rot in the education system of the state. There is a lot which is taking place behind the veil and beyond comprehension of a common man. However, the contradiction in the words and deeds is crystal clear

Indonesia Signs The Historic Bali Declaration
Targeting The Looming TB Diabetes Co-Epidemic

By Citizen News Service

After convening a two-day summit this week in Bali, the Indonesian Ministry of Health, together with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and the World Diabetes Foundation, today signed the Bali Declaration, uniting more than 100 global health officials and experts behind a global campaign to fight the twin scourge of TB and diabetes. Bi-directional screening is a key component of the Bali Declaration, which aims to bring the co-epidemic to the attention of governments across the globe

03 November , 2015

Why the Paris Climate Summit Will Be A Peace Conference 
By Michael T. Klare

The Paris climate summit should be viewed as a kind of preemptive peace conference, one that is taking place before the wars truly begin. If delegates to COP-21 succeed in sending us down a path that limits global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, the risk of future violence will be diminished accordingly. Needless to say, even 2 degrees of warming guarantees substantial damage to vital natural systems, potentially severe resource scarcities, and attendant civil strife

Living In The Anthropocene – A Frame For New Activism
By Mark Garavan

‘Development’, ‘progress’, ‘sustainability’, the ‘environment’ sound hollow and disconnected, spoken by confused subjects seeking safe purchase in a diminishing fantasia version of the planet. We need a new language, a new way of speaking, a new way of articulating our human-Earth inter-subjectivity. We cannot go back to pre-modern sensibilities for this. That too is a false turn. We are inescapably the beings of modernity. But our sciences, natural and social, need to fashion Anthropocentric resonance. We need deep history, deep sociology, deep economy – that is, frameworks of meaning that situate the human within far wider processes of evolution and life

What Is Degrowth? Envisioning A Prosperous Descent
By Samuel Alexander

The revolution that is needed must emerge ‘from below’, driven into existence by diverse, inspired, and imaginative social movements that seek to produce a post-capitalist society. We must endeavour to live the alternative worlds into existence, here and now, and show them to be good, while at the same time recognising that the Great Transition that is needed will likely come only at the end of a rough road – after or during a series of crises. Can we turn the crises of our times into opportunities for civilisational renewal? That is the question, the challenge, posed by our turbulent moment in history

Beef Hysteria: BJP Leader Threatens To Behead Karnataka Chief Minister
By Countercurrents.org

Beef hysteria in India has gone to such a level that a leader of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has threatened to behead Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah if he “dared to eat beef”. Shivamogga district level leader of the BJP SN Channabasappa also said that he would “play with his (severed) head”

Solidarity To Irom Sharmila’s 15 Years Hunger Strike Against AFSPA
By Campaign For Peace And Democracy (Manipur) And Manipur Alert

Comes the 5th of November 2015; it adds another year to Irom Sharmila’s non-violent fight for justice against the culture of impunity enjoyed by the Indian army under the provisions of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (1958). In the ‘Indian sub-continent’ where the ruling regime indulges in crimes against humanity and where Gandhian Ahimsa doesn’t hold the grounds, though eulogizing reminiscence of anti-colonial Satyagraha prevails; Sharmila uses her body as the weapon in the fight for justice and becomes a political prisoner. To recall, the immediate spark of this steadfast was the Malom massacre of 2nd November 2000 that killed ten innocent lives by the armed forces in Manipur

Mother Waits 36 Years For Israel To Return Son’s Body
By Budour Youssef Hassan

Detaining the bodies of Palestinian martyrs and later burying them in secret cemeteries is designed to achieve multiple purposes. The policy imposes an additional punishment on the dead and collective punishment on their families. Martyrs’ bodies have also been used as potential bargaining chips in prisoner exchange deals. The policy also has more existential implications. But by withholding the bodies, Israel is targeting the collective Palestinian memory and dehumanizing those living under its colonial rule who dare to challenge its occupation

Two More Refugees Commit Suicide In Australia
By Max Newman

Australia’s bipartisan policy of seeking to block entry and residency to all asylum seekers is leading to a wave of suicides by traumatised refugees, at least four of whom have taken their own lives this year out of fear of being deported

Syria: #Just Stop The War
By Ashiya Parveen

he formations of popular narratives on social media are not guided by geostrategic concerns rather the humanitarian one. Then what discourages us to build a forceful public opinion to end the conflict. What stops us from building a virtual mass mobilisation to push for the end of the conflict under hashtags like #helpSyrians, #notoviolence, #endSyrianconflict, etc. While we were busy expressing solidarity with the Syrian refugees, an appeal from a 13-year-old Syrian boy went unnoticed when he said, “Please help the Syrians. You just stop the war, we won’t want to go to Europe. Just stop the war in Syria.” The boy, who escaped the Syrian city of Deraa, was urging the modern civilized nations

Genetically Modified Mustard In India! It Is Unneeded, Unwanted And Unsafe
By Coalition for a GM Free India

Following a news report confirming that an application for approval for commercialization of GM mustard has been moved with the apex regulatory body GEAC (Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee in the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change), the Coalition for a GM Free India pointed to the grave consequences associated withmounted its opposition against thise Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) and warned the government of serious resistance all over the country

The Communal War For Secular Space
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

There is a spurt in the ‘events’ of ‘blackening’ of faces of ‘dissenters’ of Hindutva thoughts in India. While the Hindutva protagonists are thumping their chest and becoming louder each passing day the Hindu ‘liberals’ have a difficult job to do at the moment protecting ‘Hinduism’ from the likes of violent and regressive brahmanical organisations and hence they term these ‘incidents’ as stray and not reflective of the ‘tolerant’ Hindu Dharma

BJP Is Not A Hindu Party
By Nirmalya Deb

There is a skewed notion in liberal circles about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) being a Hindu party championing the cause of Hinduism and the Hindu way of life. Nothing can be as remote from the truth as this belief is. Political, and by the same token, electoral opportunism has nothing to do with faith, belief or ideology

Writers And The Erosion Of Democracy
By Vidyadhar Date

Celebrated architect Charles Correa often used to cite the story of a frog in water which is being slowly heated. The frog initially feels quite comfortable but by the time the water become really hot, it is too late for it to escape. He used to cite the example regarding the deterioration of the urban landscape. But it also applies to the gradual shrinking of democracy in India.True, the assault on democratic values currently is at its worse. But this is not a sudden phenomenon

Identity, Violence And Boundaries : From Identity Politics To Politics Of Distinction
By Suraj Gogoi

There are identities and marginalized groups which are created by the state and there are the ones that are created by cultural politics. We need to be very careful in internalizing such narratives of politics and of people which are pregnant with misplaced sense of ideology. Such politics has led to 'hard boundaries' in North-East which is now a hot bed for autonomy movements and multiplied identities. Most importantly politics of distinction has made concrete space for 'ethnocracy' to flourish

02 November , 2015

Irom Sharmila's 15 Years Of Heroic Hunger Strike
By Shamim Zakaria

As I pen this piece Irom Sharmila’s relentless crusade against the draconian law Arms Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) gets older by another painful year. It all started back in 2nd November, 2000. A date which remained a black spot in the history of Manipur forever

Convention Demanding Repeal Of AFSPA Held In Delhi
Press Release

New Delhi: A convention on Repeal AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) was organized here at New Delhi with the objective to bring demand of Repeal AFSPA in political priorities. This convention was organized on the eve of 2nd Nov where IromSharmila, better known as Iron lady of Manipur is completing 15 years of her hunger strike with the demand to Repeal AFSPA.

Modi Doesn't Rely On IB Reports But Takes His Cue
From RSS, Says J & K Chief Minister

By Countercurrents.org

The Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir has stirred up a hornest's nest by stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not rely on Intelligence Bureau reports but takes his cue from his ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS). In an interview given to Sagarika Ghose of Times of India Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is quoted as saying "The good thing is that on Kashmir, the PM doesn't just rely on IB reports. He talks to the RSS, gets feedback from them". His party rules Jammu and Kashmir in coalition with BJP

In Prague You Get Beaten For Defending Refugees
By Andre Vltchek

“Fuck the refugees”, I was told on board a train from Prague to Pardubice, by a teacher! “Those niggers should stay where they are.” Many in the Czech Republic are now suggesting that immigrants should be gassed. I first though it is part of some shade of infamous “black” Czech humor. But it was not. It was Golden Dawn, like in Greece and rest of Europe

Israeli-USA Insanity Described By Gideon Levy
By Jay Janson

Mark Twain said, Fear the media, for they will steal your Honor. Watch the video of Haaretz Newspaper's renown columnist Gideon Levy describe a state of blind, deaf and dumb Israeli acceptance of the inhumanity of death, degradation and homicidal captivity of their Arab Palestinians. Read author's 'US Economic Facilitation of Holocaust and Middle East Destabilizing Partition.' Corporate media maintains a genocide-perpetuating pretense of a non-existent search for peace in Palestine

On (Not) Understanding The KMU Trade Union Centre In The Philippines
By Peter Waterman

This piece concerns the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU, the May First Movementtrade union confederation) in the Philippines. Or the understandingits nature and activities. The article was certainly provokedby discovery of the unpredicted – even mysterious - transformation of the KMU,within six months, from a body proudly displaying its radical nationalism and anti-imperialism (at its 31st ‘International Solidarity Affair’, May 2015), to its joining of the Eurobased, Eurocentric,social-liberal, International Trade Union Confederation(ITUC)!

Linguistic And Cultural Diversity Under Attack In Australia
By Jerome Irwin

Is the ultimate objective in Australia, or wherever else in the world, to eventually get the entire world’s populace to speak in some uniform, standardized, sanitized “General Australian”, “General American”, or “General Whatever” way? The obvious continuing mass disappearances of regional accents worldwide, and the negative attitudes of lower social class status and inferior traits that are often attributed to regional accents, symbolize what is a constant attempt by certain controlling forces in the world who are intent upon constantly reducing or utterly eliminating all such cultural human uniqueness or biological diversity on the planet

Optimize This! Water, Leadership, Human Rights And Public Health
By Frank X Murphy

Governance practices and decisions by Detroit Water and Sewerage Dept. (DWSD) Chief Gary Brown and Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) Chief Sue McCormick show how we have lost our way in fundamental questions of justice and the public interest

When Chetan Bhagat Dissects The Anatomy Of A Liberal
By Amritanshu Pandey

A response to Chetan Bhagat’s TOI article on Anatomy of a Liberal, published 2nd November 2015. Let us begin our response to Mr. Bhagat’s attack on liberals by taking a look at some recent liberals and intellectuals who are no longer with us, Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi

Marketing And The Left: A Strange Mix?
Raghav Kaushik Interviews Romi Mahajan

All great Left movements have songs, slogans, principles, and alignments that could be called marketing. Recently, I see #BlackLivesMatter as a movement with excellent marketing – stay on message, use social media, have a ‘brand’ that people identify with and so on. That’s marketing!

Seeds Of Corruption: “Unneeded, Unwanted And Unsafe,”
The Case Of Genetically Modified Mustard In India

By Colin Todhunter

In India, genetically modified (GM) mustard is edging closer to becoming the first officially approved GM food crop to be placed on the commercial market. This is despite a series of official reports that recommend against introducing GMOs to India. The Technical Expert Committee (TEC) Final Report is the fourth official report exposing the lack of integrity, independence and scientific expertise in assessing GMO risk

Avert The Looming TB-Diabetes Co-Epidemic Before It Gets Too Late
By Shobha Shukla

The global picture presents a bleak scenario of the double burden of TB and diabetes, in so much as a communicable and a non-communicable disease seem to have joined hands to threaten public health. That's why the forthcoming first-ever Global TB Diabetes Summit in Indonesia becomes important for galvanizing effective and collaborative public health responses

Indian Christians Condemn Growing Intolerance In The Country
By Concerned Citizens

We the undersigned Indian Christians as citizens of our country India and as Christians in unequivocal terms denounce the growing intolerance in the country. We also denounce the sinister attempts to do away with reservation policy and ultimately the attempt to undermine the Constitution of India; we denounce the planned move to utilize religion for politico-economic benefits; we denounce the well orchestrated efforts to use government machinery to achieve ones evil ends; we denounce all the efforts to divide the nation into fiefdom of some elements

Condemn Delhi Police Brutality on Protesting Students
By Peoples Union For Democratic Rights

Peoples Union For Democratic Rights (PUDR) strongly condemns the repression unleashed by the Delhi police on students protesting against the University Grants Commission's move to scrap non NET fellowship for research scholars. The protesting students were lathicharged by the Delhi police first on October 23 and again on October 27

01 November , 2015

Avijit Roy's Publisher Hacked To Death In Bangladesh,
Three Others Injured In Separate Attack

By Countercurrents.org

The publisher of slain Bangladesh blogger Avijit Roy was hacked to death in the capital Dhaka on Saturday. Faisal Arefin Dipan, 43, was killed in his third-floor office in central Dhaka. The incident came just hours after miscreants hacked another publisher of Avijit Roy, Ahmedur Rashid Tutul, secular blogger Ranadipam Basu and Tareq Rahim at the office of Shuddhaswar publications in the capital. The conditions of two, including the publisher, were critical

Oct 31st 1984– Dec 6 1992 -March 2002 - An Awakening To Reality
By Lalita Ramdas

We have seen the decent and the broad minded as indeed the venal political face of the state. And for me personally it was 1984 which was the eye opener which made me realise that it must be we the people who will have to fight to uphold the constitution and the interests of our people –both minority and majority communities – especially those at the bottom of the social, economic and caste pyramids

Axing Of The National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau: Dismantling India?
By Dr. Shah Alam Khan

Every single day we are woken up by new news. Whether it is the lynching of minorities and dalits or the re-structuring of key institutions of India’s socialist and democratic commitment (how so little!). Today came the news of axing of the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) of the country. This was the national agency collecting data on nutrition status among the marginalized population of the country

Coalition Climate Crimes & 200 Reasons Why Australia Must Dump
Pro-coal, Pro-war Coalition PM Malcolm Turnbull

By Dr Gideon Polya

Australia's new Coalition PM Malcolm Turnbull is charming, intelligent, well-mannered and articulate and is the darling of the lying, US-dominated Mainstream media but is “lipstick on a pig” in being bound to the same US lackey, pro-Zionist, pro-war, war criminal, pro-coal, climate criminal, human rights–abusing and child-abusing policies of his politically assassinated predecessor, former Coalition PM Tony Abbott. Listed below are over 200 reasons why Australia should dump PM Turnbull

To Understand The Presidential Primaries, Recognize The Impact Of Movements
By Kevin Zeese & Margaret Flowers

Confusion reigns in the Democratic and Republican primaries. Huffington Post political reporters write, “It's Time To Admit: Nobody Knows Anything About The 2016 Campaign,” now that “the old ‘rules’ of presidential politics no longer seem to apply.” Why the confusion? Media pundits have not given credit to the popular movements on both the right and left. This election cycle is showing the impact of social movements on the primary campaigns -- both in the polling results and in the candidates’ rhetoric

The Inverted World of Niall Ferguson: On The Real Obama Doctrine
By Thomas Riggins

Niall Ferguson teaches history at Harvard. He has a very conservative world outlook which, when applied to the analysis of current social reality, has a tendency to so warp his perceptions that the situation he writes about becomes an imaginary inverted world where truth becomes falsity and falsity truth. But don't take my word for it. Just look at his article in the Wall Street Journal for 10/10-11/2015: "The Real Obama Doctrine." Ferguson's take on Obama can only be the result a profound ignorance of the historical reality he professes to understand

What Indian Women Want: A Better Facebook or A Better Internet?
By Joshina Ramakrishnan

While India’s internet access is mushrooming, women need to work on reducing the gender gap, ensuring freedom of expression and fight back the silencing efforts of Facebook, right wing moralists and the state. Also it is important to note that VaWG threat is not only limited to one social network. Both Facebook and the campaign to make it ‘women friendly’ are sadly going away from the real causes and concerns of Indian women in open Internet. Needless to say, both are trying to save the right wing interests one way or the other. What today’s Indian women need is Open Internet, and not a secured, walled garden

The Dagger: Dominating Interests’ Class War In East Bengal, 1946 And After
By Farooque Chowdhury

Part V: A critical juncture

Sursuri: A Music Video About The Indifference To Intolerance In The Country
By Countercurrents.org

The music band "Swaang" has produced a political music video "Sursuri" . Its melody in stark contrast to the bitterness of the lyrics, reflects on the indifference to growing injustice and intolerance in our country. It asks – What do you do when freedom, pluralism and rationalism are under relentless attack? Relax, don’t speak up, slurp up that hot tingling tea…and fall asleep



 



 

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