CounterCurrents: Kashmir: Siege Without End!, Media Silence And The Agrochemicals Industry: The Slow Poisoning Of Health And The Environment,

Dear Friend,

Kashmir and Palestine go together in many ways. Kashmir valley    is under total siege for over a month.    Mohammad Ashraf and Imran Khan writes from the valley about the suffering the people. We've a review of Norma Hashim’s "Dreaming of Freedom" which describes    harrowing narratives  of Palestinian children under occupation. Vandana Shiva calls for a planetary freedom movement that defends and protects the freedoms of all beings from the 0.01 per cent.  In our Commons series  Brigitte Kratzwald writes about reclaiming the State In light of The Commons & of course a lot more other important stories from around the world. 

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/news-letter/. 

In Solidarity

Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org



Media Silence And The Agrochemicals Industry: The Slow Poisoning Of Health And The Environment  
by Colin Todhunter 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/11/media-silence-and-the-agrochemicals-industry-the-slow-poisoning-of-health-and-the-environment/

It’s an all too common tale of dirty deeds, shady deals and propaganda. Rosemary Mason’s recent open letter to journalists at The Guardian outlines how the media is failing the public by not properly reporting on the regulatory delinquency relating to GM food and the harmful chemicals being applied to crops. Much of the media is even (unwittingly) acting as a propaganda arm for big agritech companies.



Irom Sharmila: Death Of A Fast
by M C Raj 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/11/irom-sharmila-death-of-a-fast/

Now she realizes that her calculations did not, do not and will not pay in the way that she and her friends anticipated. She must be appreciated for the courage she has manifested in the withdrawal of the fast. Does anyone think that she did not foresee the type of knottiness that her withdrawal of the fast would heap on her? A profound respect for her decision, however, unpalatable it might be for many, is the dire need of the hour




Kashmir: Siege Without End!
by Mohammad Ashraf 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/11/kashmir-siege-without-end/

It is a total siege. Everything is shut. Even the Central Government offices, Banks, Post Offices, Schools, and Colleges are all shut. There appears to be total absence of any administrative machinery. The situation has been compounded by total break in communications. Internet has been shut, so have been the mobile phones and for some days even the local newspapers. One can only imagine the inconvenience caused to patients especially those requiring continuous chemotherapy and other life-saving treatments. Most pathetic is the suffering of the specially challenged children who used to be daily looked after in various facilities. Hospitals are overloaded and the staff highly over worked while treating the casualties of extreme brutality.





Kashmir: Pushed Against The Wall
by Imran Khan 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/11/kashmir-pushed-against-the-wall/

It must be understood that when so called democracy is put to gallows, when continuous occupation and not conflict resolution is the focus, when aim of dialogue is just to buy time and put the issue in limbo, when the promises made to Kashmiries are continuously broken, when nonviolent and unarmed protests are reciprocated with bullets and pellets, what options India is leaving for the new, fearless and educated generation of Kashmir?




Curfew As An Instrument Of Mass Torture In Kashmir
by Dr P S Sahni 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/11/curfew-as-an-instrument-of-mass-torture-in-kashmir/

In good old days British colonial rulers used to impose collective fines and punishment on people demanding freedom and justice. Even as the entire populace in Kashmir is being collectively punished, could one dare ask for what crime? What is the crime of an infant or a ninety year old person that they are subjected to house detention under curfew? Why should a child be deprived of playing outside his/her house?Why should an old person be prevented from walking near his/her house? If the rulers in Delhi are hell bent upon punishing the entire populace of Kashmir, there should be a realization that the young child may not even understand that he or she is being punished. So even the very limited purpose of punishing the people may not be really achieving its ‘objective’.





Divide And Rule: How Factionalism In Palestine Is Killing Prospect For Freedom 
by Dr Ramzy Baroud 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/11/divide-and-rule-how-factionalism-in-palestine-is-killing-prospect-for-freedom/

As Palestinians in the Occupied Territories begin preparations for local elections which are scheduled for next October, division and factionalism are rearing their ugly head.




The Horror Of Childhood Under Occupation
by Alia Al Ghussain 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/11/the-horror-of-childhood-under-occupation/

Norma Hashim’s engagement with the issue of Palestinian prisoners has previously produced one book — The Prisoners’ Diaries: Palestinian Voices from the Israeli Gulag — which has been described by former hunger-striker Hana al-Shalabi as “A humane, beautiful, valuable but painful book.” Hashim’s Dreaming of Freedom is worthy of a similar description. In this collection children recount their experiences of solitary confinement, beatings, torture and humiliation while in Israeli detention.




An Open Letter To Rashtriya Muslim Manch Of RSS On Its Plan To Hoist Tricolour At Madrasaas
by Shamsul Islam 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/11/an-open-letter-to-rashtriya-muslim-manch-of-rss-on-its-plan-to-hoist-tricolour-at-madrasaas/

As per press reports Rashtriya Muslim Manch is to hoist National Flag; the Tricolour at some madrasaas across the country on Independence Day. Since your organization, a creation of RSS, has taken a unilateral decision we would like to ask few related questions.





Prevention Of Electronic Crime Bill (PEC) Continues Draconian Laws In Pakistan
by Javeria Younes 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/11/prevention-of-electronic-crime-bill-pec-continues-draconian-laws-in-pakistan/

The state of Pakistan is all set to unleash its iron fist by promulgating laws that curb free speech. This is a proactive step taken by the State to muzzle criticism and silence dissent.  The proposed Prevention of Electronic Crime Act, 2015. Rights groups have declaimed that the Prevention of Electronic Crime (PEC) Bill has provisions that will blatantly infringe fundamental rights. 





Bungling The Australian Census
by Dr Binoy Kampmark 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/11/bungling-the-australian-census/

Each country needs its exceptionalist message, its sui generis theme. We do something here no one else does, and such like. In Australia, there are many things deemed exceptional.  Compulsory voting, on pain of a fine, is one such case.  Compulsory voting in a census is another extension of that same philosophy. To not submit, and be damned by the extortionist drive of the State.





Rethinking The Social Welfare State In Light Of The Commons
by Brigitte Kratzwald 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/11/rethinking-the-social-welfare-state-in-light-of-the-commons/

In many cases, governments have proven to be poor trustees of the things entrusted to them. Discontent about how they are doing their job is on the rise. People are standing up and taking responsibility with the words, “This is ours, and we want to make the decisions about it.” Only through this process are these things becoming truly public goods and services. In this way, people are reclaiming control over the direct circumstances of their lives. We have been witnessing such processes of reclaiming in great numbers in recent years, going far beyond the demand for sufficient funding of public institutions and services.





Free People From ‘Dictatorship’ Of The 0.01%
by Vandana Shiva 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/11/free-people-from-dictatorship-of-the-0-01/

Corporations are trying to replace our democracies with secret agreements and secret courts controlled by the 0.01 per cent super wealthy. The time is ripe for a planetary freedom movement that defends and protects the freedoms of all beings from this 0.01 per cent.





With Joking Russian TV The Best Source of Electronic News And Information Available –  Woe Is Us!  
by Jay Janson 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/11/with-joking-russian-tv-the-best-source-of-electronic-news-and-information-available-woe-is-us/

In 1950, Einstein explained why our civilization continues to be “like an axe in the had of the pathological criminal,”: “Under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control the main sources of information (press, radio, education). Mysteriously, our best independent journalists, top intellectuals and historians, are of no help. Even on RT’s ten more serious shows there is no urging of prosecution for international crimes