CounterCurrents: Dr APJ Abdul Kalam: The Death Of A Dreamer, Well Before His Dreams Became Nightmares To Millions, Pope Francis Demands “Fully Borne” Cost of Pollution (Carbon Price) To Prevent “Millions Of Premature Deaths”

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In Solidarity
Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org


NATO Backs Turkish/US Regime-Change Offensive In Syria 
By Jean Shaoul

http://www.countercurrents.org/shaoul290715.htm

NATO on Tuesday gave President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan unanimous support for Turkey joining the US-led military offensive against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which is being used as a cover to escalate Washington’s intervention against the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The quid pro quo secured by Turkey involves US support for attacks on Kurdish forces that, until last week, were being hailed by Washington, Berlin and other NATO powers as the bedrock of the anti-ISIS struggle


Dr APJ Abdul Kalam: The Death Of A Dreamer, Well Before His Dreams Became Nightmares To Millions 
By VT Padmanabhan

http://www.countercurrents.org/vtp290715.htm

One of the most controversial judgment made by Kalam in the recent past was his certification of Kudankulam reactor as the safest after an 'inspection' of the plant for a couple of hours. Anyone with some knowledge of complicated machines like a nuclear reactor knows that such certification cannot be done in a 'walk-around' inspection. It is done by complicate instruments operated by technicians and the experts – several of them – look a the computer printouts. Kalam was doing the job of a poster boy. And it helped as the mainstream media celebrated his expert judgement


Goodbye Dr Abdul ‘Strangelove’ Kalam 
By Satya Sagar

http://www.countercurrents.org/sagar290715.htm

I am a bit upset with the way Dr Kalam, finally left Planet Earth – not on the frontlines of the imaginary or real battlefields he built all his bombs and missiles for but in the safe confines of a lecture hall in Shillong delivering a pious sermon on ‘youth empowerment’ and ‘innovation’. Of course, by dying in this way Dr Kalam maintained a golden rule of our age– that, men of science and technology are never supposed to meet their end in any actual war anywhere- whatever their personal contribution to its lethality and loss of life


A President And A Yogi: Abdul Kalam’s Symbolism 
By Farzana Versey

http://www.countercurrents.org/versey290715.htm

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor paid tribute by tweeting, “Abdul Kalam ignited minds, inspired young people, and embodied the potential in every Indian. A Muslim steeped in Hindu culture, a complete Indian.” This statement embodies what the Indian nation expects of a Muslim in a position of power; to be a complete Indian a member of the minority community should be steeped in Hindu culture. No other president had such a burden to bear to effectively prove that he is above reproach


The Legacy Of Abdul Kalam 
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

http://www.countercurrents.org/rawat290715.htm

While one can appreciate Kalam not using his religious identity for his political purposes and he could have promoted humanism and passion with his convictions. He was a popular man and could have promoted towards developing scientific spirit as per article 51A of our constitution and yet he chose not to do so. Instead, we found him bowing to Sai Baba and many other Babas and Shankaracharyas which gave them legitimacy. Kalam lost his science at the feet of Sai Baba and therefore promoted irrationalism and religiosity


A Necrology For APJ Abdul Kalam 
By Abdul Majid Zargar

http://www.countercurrents.org/zargar290715.htm

Most of the commentators have adhered to the accepted societal ritual of speak- good -of-deceased in respect of former president APJ Abdul Kalam. But one will be doing injustice to history, if the failures & shortcomings of a deceased person, especially when he held a high public position, are not brought to fore. Two such failures stand out in case of APJ Abdul Kalam


Gurdaspur Terror Attack: Anti-Sikh Forces Find An Excuse 
For Criticizing Sikh Struggle For Human Rights 
By Surjit Singh Gopipur

http://www.countercurrents.org/gopipur290715.htm

While the attack has caused grief across Punjab, it also hit Sikh struggle for human rights deeply. Although investigations are yet to take place, anti-Sikh forces have found the excuse to criticize the on-going peaceful struggle of the Sikh community


Never Forget, Never Forgive Us Yakub Memon 
By Samar

http://www.countercurrents.org/samar290715.htm

Hang a Tiger Memon, my lordship, if his role is proven- not in the least because of the evidences provided by Yakub- but please do not extinguish a human life to satisfy mobs, that has once been wrongly identified as the collective conscience of the nation in Afzal Guru’s case. Do not listen to we, the laymen my lordships. But try, at least, to form a bench of the retired justices of Supreme Court and High Courts to listen to their views on why they are opposing death to Yakub


An Open Letter To Yakub Memon 
By Sukumaran C. V.

http://www.countercurrents.org/sukumaran290715.htm

Most probably, you are going to be hanged within a few hours. The political ambience of our country, which claims to be the largest democracy in the world, is such that it needs your blood to hoodwink the people, to make them forget about the Acche Din and the corruption free government they have been promised, and to make them feel that they are having a ‘patriotic’ government


TADA Is Dead, Will Memon Live? 
By Manisha Sethi

http://www.countercurrents.org/sethi290715.htm

Why must Yakub hang? There is little evidence of his direct involvement in the blasts. The former Intelligence officer B. Raman’s article in a web portal – published posthumously – has given credence to the rumours that have circulated for years: that Yakub struck a deal with the Indian agencies for his return. Raman laments that this mitigating circumstance seems to have been hidden by the prosecution in their urge to secure death penalty. The Indian state, with all the might and force of law at its disposal, continues to insist that Memon’s life must be terminated. Someone must expiate for the loss of lives caused by the bombs in Mumbai in 1993


CPDR Protests Against The Unjust Death Penalty To Yakub Memon 
By Anand Teltumbde

http://www.countercurrents.org/teltumbde290715.htm

The Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR) planned demonstrations to protest against the government’s plan to hang Yakub Memon on 30 July at the Nagpur Central Jail. The demonstrations were planned today (28 July 2015) at 5 pm Near Dadar Railway Station (East). There was a significant support from youth organizations and students to the demonstrations and we expected a good turnout of activists and public support. During the entire day the Police repeatedly phoned up the CPDR activists, whose numbers were given on the CPDR pamphlet and kept asking the details about demonstration and about the police permission, clearly to spread scare among the activists


Pope Francis Demands “Fully Borne” Cost of Pollution (Carbon Price) 
To Prevent “Millions Of Premature Deaths” 
By Dr Gideon Polya

http://www.countercurrents.org/polya290715.htm

Pope Francis in his 2015 Encyclical Letter “Laudato si” demands that a “fully borne” Carbon Price be emplaced on greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution in order to prevent “millions of premature deaths”. Armed with this authoritative moral advice, the billions of Humanity must save themselves and the Biosphere by demanding that the polluters must pay in full by a Wealth Tax (for historical GHG pollution) and a Carbon Tax (for ongoing GHG pollution)


The Possibility For Nuclear Non-Proliferation 
By Fritz Tucker

http://www.countercurrents.org/tucker290715.htm

If Iran is to be trusted to live up to its end of the bargain, the other signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty–in particular, the world’s 9 nuclear powers–should be made to live up to their end. If the majority of humans are to have their wishes for nuclear disarmament fulfilled, they have only themselves to look to for help


Scott Walker's Big Lie 
By Eric Zuesse

http://www.countercurrents.org/zuesse290715.htm

I have written lots of articles about Barack Obama's lying. To expose lies by Republicans is not at all a partisan matter for me; it's about my only commitment, which is to the truth; and here is the truth about Scott Walker: Like Obama, he's a liar; he plays the public for suckers, in order to get their votes. This isn't democracy, serving the public; it's theft of power away from the public, by means of fraud


Sri Lanka: Replacing The Primitive 1978 Constitution With A Modern One
By Asian Human Rights Commission

http://www.countercurrents.org/ahrc290715.htm

The Prime Minister’s announcement for the need of a new constitution, one that will be in keeping with those found in developed countries, is quite welcome. The 1978 Sri Lankan Constitution is primitive. It is a shame on the nation. And, a change is certainly needed


Cut 'em Off At West Scranton's Deception Pass! 
By Chuck Orloski

http://www.countercurrents.org/orloski290715.htm

Come September, Pope Francis plans to visit prisoners during his Fall visit to USA, and I humbly suggest that Scranton-based Lackawanna County jail would be a perfect setting for the Holy Father to meet three 17-year old kids gone very bad. Tonight, July 27, 2015, I try to grow up, and at least recognize the clever deceptions and enticements which accumulate inside our nation's Las Vegas Express, quicksand pass. Pray both the Federal “Lung and Heart” program and Wilding family survivors will enjoy a good long life, and Patrolman John's final bicycle ride will never be put to historical rest, along with complicated “Jim” Lassiter in Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage


Vedanta AGM: Angry Protests In India, Africa And London
Press Release

http://www.countercurrents.org/pr290715.htm

Boxing match between company execs will be staged during major protest at Vedanta's London AGM. Parallel protests in Zambia, and Hyderabad, Udaipur and Korba in India, on Global Days of Action against Vedanta. Vedanta shares slipping as their merger attempt with oil and gas subsidiary Cairn India tries to grab cash reserves to pay $8.5 bn net debt.