Dear Friend,
Do governments lie? Ugo Bardi has been asking this question again and again with respect to Climate Change. Drawing parallel to WW II scenario in Italy, he says they do. But this time, it would as calamitous or even more calamitous than WW II. David Anderson in his article "Homo Economicus We Have All Become" also warns the same.
Irfan Engineer draws attention the growing lynching epidemic in South Asia and asks us all to speak up.
Sally Dugman in her article "Abundance: Gifting It Forward" turns our attention to the importance of a gift culture based on Commons.
K. P Sasi's cartoons series continues.
Also more stories from around the world.
In Solidarity
Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org
When Governments Operate In “Cheating Mode”: Italy During WWII
by Ugo Bardi
As the threat of climate change becomes clearer, the elites may discover that nobody can survive in an uninhabitable planet. Then, they may finally decide to try to do something to save the ecosystem from which we all depend. Unfortunately, when that time arrives it may well be too late.
Homo Economicus We Have All Become
by David Anderson
The viability of Planet Earth to sustain human civilization in its present form is now being questioned. We are heading toward a cliff. The fall will not just be painful; it could spell the end of Homo sapiens.
Does Renewables Hold The Answer To Rural?
by Deepak John
There is a clear policy bias towards grid extension rather than on off-grid model as preferred mode of electrification[9]. Consequently, the government has been reluctant to heavily invest in off-grid options for rural electrification, barring remote villages. This adverse policy environment is hindering the growth of an ecosystem that is essential for developing off-grid villages in remote areas. Developing an off-grid village should not be seen as costly and complex exercise but rather also account for its extended socio-economic benefits in terms of women empowerment, enhancing organizational capacity of rural masses and social dignity.
Abundance: Gifting It Forward
by Sally Dugman
With their abundance of food, restaurants should be doing this Miss Prince action across all nations in my opinion. If you, as a restaurant owner, have some excess money – why not use it to buy and prepare a little extra food to help others in less fortunate circumstances through no fault of their own? … Even if they are at fault, why not do it, anyway?
The Story Behind The Jerusalem Attack
by Dr Ramzy Baroud
More violence is likely to follow. Palestinians, who are dying without much media coverage, are desperate and angry as their holy city is crumbling under the heavy boots of soldiers, amid international silence and unconditional US support for the Israeli government.
Curbing Participation: The US Congress and Yemen
by Dr Binoy Kampmark
This remains a conflict without end, violent in its circularity and contradictions. The one group that can truly be said to have done well in amidst the slaughter and disease is al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. Their existence remains a siren call for the next haphazard US mission.
Lynching To Power
by Irfan Engineer
Resisting lynch mobs and speaking against them is not only in the interest of minorities directly threatened but also in the interest of society in general and democracy in particular. The majority will have to break their silence and be vocal against all forms of violence.
India Now!
A political cartoon by K P Sasi
Rally For Pluralist India In Canada
Progressive South Asians in the Vancouver area came together recently in Surrey to form “Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI)” to raise our voice in solidarity with the resistance in India. We invite everyone to join us for a rally at the Surrey City Hall plaza next to the Surrey Central Library on Sunday, July 30 at 5 pm.
Education: A Privilege of the Rich in the Third World
by Nauman Sadiq
Equality of opportunity, which is the fundamental axiom of the modern egalitarian worldview, is directly linked to the equality of education, or at least, the equality of educational opportunities. In the capitalist neoliberal societies of the Third World, however, only the children of the upper classes get proper education which is essential for upward social mobility, while the children of the masses get barely sufficient education which might be enough for becoming clerks and technicians, but as far as one’s cognitive abilities and critical faculties are concerned, their optimal potential is not realized.
Oh God! I Thank Them
by Bhuwan Thapaliya
Proud, very proud I am now, I shall be telling
my kids and my grandkids, with a silken smile
on my face, somewhere in time, that
I built a house out of the broken bricks,
they had hurled at me…..they had hurled at me.
Dragon On Our Doorstep
by Abdul Majid Zargar
‘Let alone China, India cannot win a war against Pakistan. And this has nothing to do with possession of nuclear weapons-the roles of nuclear & conventional weapons are separate in the war planning of India, China and Pakistan.” These are the first three lines taken from ‘Prologue, of the recently published book ‘Dragon on our doorstep’ by Pravin Sawhney & Gazala Wahab. The book has assumed extraordinary significance in view of the stand-off between China & India at Dhoklam plateau-a disputed territory between China & Bhutan where India has strategic interests.
Kargil Helicopter Service
by Mohammad Ashraf
Helicopter service to Kargil has been overdue but the real requirement is a regular civilian air connection to the area pending for decades which could put it on the World Tourism Map!
Trading Away Health And Access To Affordable Medicines – RCEP
Next week, Hyderabad is set to host the 19th round of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) from July 24 to 28, a regional trade agreement between India, the ten member states of the ASEAN and, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and Republic of Korea. This trade deal threatens to undermine the ability of some of the world’s poorest people to get access to good quality medicines at cheap and affordable prices.
