CounterCurrents: Russia Counts 12,000 Turkey-Bound Oil Trucks From Iraq And Syria, The GMO Issue: False Claims, Pseudo Analysis And A Politically Motivated Agenda, Despite Promise To End Encephalitis And Other NTDs By 2030, Why Is Action Missing?

Dear Friend,

If you think the content of this news letter is critical for the dignified living and survival of humanity and other species on earth, please forward it to your friends and spread the word. It's time for humanity to come together as one family! You can subscribe to our news letter here http://www.countercurrents.org/subscribe.htm. You can also follow us on twitter,http://twitter.com/countercurrents and on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/countercurrents

In Solidarity
Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org


#SavetheInternet 2.0: What Facebook's Aggressive Free Basics Campaign Means For Public Discourse 
By Ajinkya Deshmukh

http://www.countercurrents.org/deshmukh261215.htm

While the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has once again come out with a consultation paper, this time on the issue of differential pricing on zero-rating services, Facebook has launched an aggressive campaign to muster support for Free Basics, the old Internet.org wine in a new bottle. Using full page ads, hoardings across cities, multilingual SMS canvassing and its social network, Facebook has shown it can flex serious campaigning muscle to expand into what is its second largest market in the world after the USA


Russia Counts 12,000 Turkey-Bound Oil Trucks From Iraq And Syria 
By Eric Zuesse

http://www.countercurrents.org/zuesse261215.htm

According to Russian Television on December 25th, Russian intelligence has counted “up to 12,000” tanker trucks filled with oil “on the Turkish-Iraqi border,” and “the final destination remains to be Turkey.” In addition, some of those trucks are still heading into Turkey from Syria, but their number is “decreased” because Russia's Syrian bombing campaign, which started on September 30th, has, ever since they began bombing the oil trucks on November 18th, destroyed “up to 2,000” of those trucks, that were in Syria heading into Turkey


The GMO Issue: False Claims, Pseudo Analysis And A Politically Motivated Agenda 
By Colin Todhunter

http://www.countercurrents.org/todhunter261215.htm

The attacks by the pro-GM lobby are nonsensical because there is sufficient, credible evidence that questions the safety, efficacy and the science used to promote GM, as well as the politics and practices used to get GMOs on the commercial market


How India Failed At Paris Climate Conference
By ToxicsWatch Alliance

http://www.countercurrents.org/twa261215.htm

Initially, Article 4.4 of the Draft Agreement read: “Developed country Parties shall continue taking the lead by undertaking economy-wide absolute emission reduction targets. Developing country Parties should continue enhancing their mitigation efforts…” This formulation aptly captured the historic responsibilities of rich countries and differentiated responsibilities of poorer countries. But disregarding the voice of a Central American country like Nicaragua which is a member of Group of 77, succumbing to the USA’s demand shall was substituted with should. India’s decision to maintain a deafening silence when the voice of a fellow member from G77 was disregarded is contrary to its stature


Despite Promise To End Encephalitis And Other NTDs By 2030, Why Is Action Missing? 
By Dr GK Singh & Dr CM Singh

http://www.countercurrents.org/singh261215.htm

Indian government along with other governments of UN member countries had adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the 70th UN General Assembly in New York in September 2015. One of the SDG targets (3.3) promises that "By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases." Encephalitis, one of the NTDs, continues to severely impact under-15 year old people with very little well-coordinated response to contain, and eventually eliminate it. Why?


Robert Bly: Film Tribute To A Radical 
By Shepherd Bliss

http://www.countercurrents.org/bliss261215.htm

Poet Robert Bly, now 89 years old, is a radical, by which I mean he returns to the roots. Haydn Reiss has captured him in his new, moving film “Robert Bly: A Thousand Years of Joy.”


Developing Partnerships With The Poor 
By Moin Qazi

http://www.countercurrents.org/qazi261215.htm

The perception that the poor do not have skills or would not be able to survive on their own is a myth. My experience with development finance has demonstrated that we have to encourage strategies that ensure wider participation of poor in schemes aimed at ameliorating their problems. It is the unleashing of such social energies and, not hackneyed government programmes and tiring lip service of politicians, which will make India’s development ambition a reality. All that the pro-villages rhetoric does is to pay lip service to the people who still live there without electricity and running water. All that you have to do is to provide them access to capital and opportunity and see them take off