CounterCurrents: Renewables Just Passed Coal As The Largest Source Of New Electricity Worldwide, US-Russian War Tensions Mount Over Eastern Europe And Syria

Dear Friend,

The Russian front is sitting on a powder keg. NATO has given green signal to the largest military escalation in the region since the height of the Cold War  and carries with it the heightened threat of an armed confrontation between Washington and Moscow, the world’s two largest nuclear powers. The meeting of NATO defense ministers held in Brussels yesterday has thrashed out a plan for deployment of some 4,000 combat troops within striking distance of Russia’s border. These front-line forces are to be backed by a 40,000-strong rapid reaction force capable of going into battle within days. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg  stressed  “an attack on any ally will be considered an attack on us all.” Turkey is bombing Kurdish region inside Syria repeatedly. Syria has vowed that any violation of its airspace will be met with hostility, meaning, Turkish planes will be shot down. Turkey being a NATO member, that is enough pretext for an attack on Russia. Meanwhile Russi
a has
dispatched  an eight-vessel flotilla led by the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov to the eastern Mediterranean to support Russian operations in support of the Syrian government. 

War is madness. If only human beings took a birds eye view of our actions! Dr. Ernest Partridge former professor of Philosophy at the University of California takes a 'Martian Eye View' of 'The New Cold War'. He sees it through the eyes of an imaginary Martian named “Marty”. Dr Patridge writes "In the language of game theory, from the point of view of the military-industrial-media complex, the new Cold War is a plus-sum contest – inflated budgets, career advancement, advertising revenues. From the point of view of strategic planners, it is zero-sum: “if we win, they lose, and if we lose, they win.” From the point of view of humanity in general – and of Marty, the wise and benevolent Martian – the Cold War is minus-sum, threatening infinite loss: total nuclear annihilation."

Countercurrents has been regularly  reporting on the human rights violations on Ahwazi Arab minorities in Iran. Today we have the horrific story of a three-year-old girl, who died instantly on being shot through the heart as she sat in the back of her parents’ car when Iranian security forces opened fire indiscriminately on the vehicle .

We are in a race to save ourselves from castrophic climate change. It is imperative that we keep warming below 2 C. If that is to be achieved coal based power generation has to be retired as soon as possible. International Energy Agency reports that renewable energy sources have passed coal as the largest new source of electricity in the world. A good news in the midst of all the gloom and doom. 

India is in a rush to introduce GM Mustard into the fields. The move is being challenged in the Supreme Court of India. The govt. told the court that it won't release GM Mustard without its permission. Colin Todhunter asks "Lower Yields And Agropoisons: What Is The Point Of GM Mustard In India? "

And also more stories from around the world. 

If you don't mind, and 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




US-Russian War Tensions Mount Over Eastern Europe And Syria
by Bill Van Auken 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/27/us-russian-war-tensions-mount-over-eastern-europe-and-syria/

NATO defense ministers convened a two-day meeting in Brussels Wednesday to thrash out final plans for the deployment of some 4,000 combat troops organized in four battle groups within striking distance of Russia’s border. These front-line forces are to be backed by a 40,000-strong rapid reaction force capable of going into battle within days. The plan represents the largest military escalation in the region since the height of the Cold War between the US and the former Soviet Union and carries with it the heightened threat of an armed confrontation between Washington and Moscow, the world’s two largest nuclear powers.




A Martian View Of The New Cold War
by Ernest Partridge 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/27/a-martian-view-of-the-new-cold-war/

In the language of game theory, from the point of view of the military-industrial-media complex, the new Cold War is a plus-sum contest – inflated budgets, career advancement, advertising revenues. From the point of view of strategic planners, it is zero-sum: “if we win, they lose, and if we lose, they win.” From the point of view of humanity in general – and of Marty, the wise and benevolent Martian – the Cold War is minus-sum, threatening infinite loss: total nuclear annihilation.




Renewables Just Passed Coal As The Largest Source Of New Electricity Worldwide
by Samantha Page 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/27/renewables-just-passed-coal-as-the-largest-source-of-new-electricity-worldwide/

Renewable energy sources have passed coal as the largest new source of electricity in the world, according data released Tuesday by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The transition of the world’s energy sources is critical for avoiding a 2°C rise in global temperatures. Coal, for instance, represented about a quarter of U.S. CO2 emissions in 2012.





Iranian Regime Forces Shoot A 3-Year-Old Girl Dead, Arrest Her Father
by Rahim Hamid 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/27/iranian-regime-forces-shoot-a-3-year-old-girl-dead-arrest-her-father/

Ahwazi human rights activists have reported the murder of a three-year-old girl, Raghad Abbas (pictured), who died instantly on being shot through the heart as she sat in the back of her parents’ car when Iranian security forces opened fire indiscriminately on the vehicle on Monday October 24th.  Her father, Abbas Hassan Mashal Al-Sari, aged 41, who was driving the car, and her mother, Zahor Abdul-Sada Al-Sari, were also critically wounded in the shootin




Lower Yields And Agropoisons: What Is The Point Of GM Mustard In India?   
by Colin Todhunter 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/27/lower-yields-and-agropoisons-what-is-the-point-of-gm-mustard-in-india/

The decision whether to allow the commercialisation of the first genetically modified (GM) food crop (mustard) in India rumbles on. As I have previously discussed here, the bottom line is government collusion over GM crop technology (that is not wanted and not needed) with transnational agribusiness, which is trying to hide in the background.




Nobel Confusion: Ramos-Horta, Trump And World Disorder
by Dr Binoy Kampmark 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/27/nobel-confusion-ramos-horta-trump-and-world-disorder/

Nobel Prize winner and former president of Timor-Leste, José Ramos-Horta, should be more attuned with that recent history. But instead, he has decided to wade into the US elections with another letter of scorn, another experiment in persuasion. To add weight and magnification to the appeal, he is seeking the signatures of fellow Nobel Prize laureates.  The direction of this letter promises to be simple: whatever you do, people of the US, don’t vote for Donald Trump next month.





The War On UNESCO: Al-Aqsa Mosque Is Palestinian And East Jerusalem Is Illegally Occupied 
by Dr Ramzy Baroud 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/27/the-war-on-unesco-al-aqsa-mosque-is-palestinian-and-east-jerusalem-is-illegally-occupied/

What also caused much fury in Tel Aviv is that UNESCO used the Arabic references to Haram al-Sharif, Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Muslim religious and heritage sites. The same way they would refer to Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza and China’s Great Wall by their actual names. Hardly anti-Semitic. 





Reality Of SECC-2011 : Unequal Citizens
by Tata Sivaih

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/27/reality-of-secc-2011-unequal-citizens/

The SECC data should not be put into cold storage. The release of the data is expected to make significant changes not only in the politics of the country but also in the unjust measures of policy formulations established for long, especially for the OBC community, which is expected to witness a revlution from within. And this is the right time for political organisations anmd others to come forward and make collective effort to get our due justice. And I hope that we are capable enough to successfully acheve this done.





The Apologetic Chief Executive!
by Mohammad Ashraf 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/27/the-apologetic-chief-executive/

Kashmir Chief Minister Mehabooba Mufti having all the residuary powers under the constitution and presiding over the destiny of the millions of the state subjects has to be honest and decisive rather than apologetic and demeaning





If I Advised The AIMPLB
by Mirza Yawar Baig 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/27/if-i-advised-the-aimplb/

The AIMPLB  (All India Muslim Personal Law Board ) whether it likes it or not has suddenly been ‘kicked upstairs’ into the role of LEADER OF INDIAN MUSLIMS. I say ‘Kicked upstairs’, as it is the term used in the corporate world for someone who has been promoted first time as manager and is clearly at sea, clueless about what to do and how to act




Bastar: From Burning Villages To Burning Effigies
by PUDR 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/27/bastar-from-burning-villages-to-burning-effigies/

PUDR strongly condemns the burning of the effigies of activists and a journalist by the Chhatissgarh Auxiliary police force across Bastar in a widely publicised ‘offical protest on 24th October. This show of strength by state forces against civilians was the latest and most brazen example of the patronage extended by the government  and its systematic fostering of  a Police Raj in Bastar.