CounterCurrents: The Anthropocene: It’s Not All About Us, et al

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Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org


Putin Endorses Presidential Elections In Ukraine
By Chris Marsden

http://www.countercurrents.org/marsden080514.htm

Escalating military and economic threats have succeeded in getting Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept the legitimacy of presidential elections in Ukraine scheduled by the unelected regime in Kiev for May 25. Putin also urged activists in southeastern Ukraine to call off the independence referendums planned for this weekend “in order that conditions necessary for dialogue are created.”


The Kiev Putsch: Rebel Workers Take Power In The East
By James Petras

http://www.countercurrents.org/petras080514.htm

The struggle in the Ukraine is not between the US and Russia, it is between a NATO-imposed junta composed of neo-liberal oligarchs and fascists on one side and the industrial workers and their local militias and democratic councils on the other. The former defends and obeys the IMF and Washington; the latter relies on the productive capacity of local industry and rules by responding to the majority


NATO Uses Ukraine Crisis To Wage War On Russia
By RIA Novosti

http://www.countercurrents.org/rn080514.htm

NATO is using the Ukrainian crisis as a smoke screen for a war plan and the US has already decided to permanently station troops in Eastern Europe, says Harvard-educated professor Francis Boyle, a US-based expert on Russia


The Anthropocene: It’s Not All About Us
By Richard Heinberg

http://www.countercurrents.org/heinberg080514.htm

Time to celebrate! Woo-hoo! It’s official: we humans have started a new geological epoch – the Anthropocene. Who’d have thought that just one species among millions might be capable of such an amazing accomplishment? The deepest insight of the Anthropocene will probably be a very simple one: we live in a world of millions of interdependent species with which we have co-evolved. We sunder this web of life at our peril. Earth’s story is fascinating, rich in detail, and continually self-revealing. And it’s not all about us


Climate Crisis Hotspots In Africa
By Countercurrents

http://www.countercurrents.org/cc080514.htm

Overlapping impacts of climate change such as drought or flooding, declining crop yields or ecosystem damages create hotspots of risk in specific parts of Africa . These are for the first time identified in a study now published by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research


Weather And Political Tension In The Black Sea Region
Make Food Market More Volatile, Says FAO
By Countercurrents

http://www.countercurrents.org/cc080514A.htm

Weather conditions in a number of countries and political tensions in the Black Sea region have made food markets more volatile. This was stated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation in its new Food Outlook, a biannual publication that provides information on the short-term market situation and outlook for major food stuffs


Saudi Blogger Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison And 1000 Lashes For ‘Insulting Islam'
By Countercurrents

http://www.countercurrents.org/cc080514B.htm

Raif Badawi, a Saudi blogger and activist, has been sentenced by a Saudi court to 10 years in prison and 1000 lashes for “insulting Islam.” Raif was also ordered to pay a fine of 1 million Saudi riyals (about $265,000) by the Criminal Court in Jeddah. His persecution of what was called by the country's authorities as “insulting Islam” started in 2008 after he co-founded the “Free Saudi Liberals” website to discuss the role of religion in Saudi Arabia . The network declared May 7, 2012 a "day of liberalism" in the kingdom and called for an end of religion domination over public life, which angered the authorities


Why The American Plutocracy Needs Both The Republican And Democratic Parties
By John Spritzler

http://www.countercurrents.org/spritzler080514.htm

Big Money laughs all the way to the bank when they see people arguing why "their party" is better than the other one. The Democratic and Republican parties are like the two blades of a pair of scissors. Neither works without the other; they need and use each other


Portending Bad Days For Democracy
By Anand Teltumbde

http://www.countercurrents.org/teltumbde080514.htm

Why should Modi burn the bridges to the prospects of power? Even the best estimate of the opinion polls fall short of the majority mark. Of course the trend of these estimates has been scaling up but no one in sound mind would simply extrapolate it and take it as certain. Somehow, BJP appears to be confident about riding past the 272 mark. Whatsoever may be its agenda, it inadvertently reveals a stark truth about its undemocratic self in arrogantly pitching itself against all. If it gets power, BJP could just ride roughshod any opinion in driving its agenda!


India’s Election: Gujarat Model of Development Vs. Nation’s Conscience
By George Abraham

http://www.countercurrents.org/abraham080514.htm

Many fear that this election could fundamentally transform India to the point of no return beyond an open society, where all citizens, regardless of whether they belong to a majority or minority community, are treated equally before the law. While the BJP might have earned the right to pursue their agendas through the traditional process of democratic governance, do they need to radically alter the face of the nation? However, if they are to pursue the radical nature of their goals, there will be consequences, the first of which would be to divide the nation based on religion, caste and region


Should Only Minorities Be Worried Over Mr Modi?
By Sanjay Kumar

http://www.countercurrents.org/kumar080514.htm

All successful experiments in Fascism have relied on popular mobilisations behind a charismatic leader. It seems for the first time the Hindutva fascism in our country has found some one with that potential in Mr Modi. The privilegenstia of the country has made its mind. Mr Modi's political opponents are addressing the remaining Indians, telling them of his role in the 2002 pogrom. It is a sign of the weakness of anti-fascist forces in the country that they have continued to harp on his anti-minority record only, and have failed to develop a generalised critique of the man and his politics. In reality there are enough reasons, even without the 2002 pogrom, for ordinary Indians to be worried over the rise of Mr Modi


Unpaid Media Employees Of India
By Nava Thakuria

http://www.countercurrents.org/thakuria080514.htm

India’s highest court on April 9 ruled that journalists and non-journalists of newspapers and news agencies are entitled to a pay hike under the recommendations of the Majithia Wage Board. Dismissing pleas by various owners seeking a review of its earlier judgment, the Supreme Court directed publishers to implement the recommendations of the latest wage board from this month on


Revoke The 13 Year Long Ban On SIMI
By DSU

http://www.countercurrents.org/dsu080514.htm

Resist and defeat the politics of Islamophobia and minority witch-hunting in the name of ‘war on terror’!