CounterCurrents: Saving The Planet, American Style — A Critical Review, And Some Thoughts And Ideas,

Dear Friend,

Haiti is one of the disastrous stories of the modern world. Devastated by environmental degradation and imperialist manouerings  it is on the brink of becoming a failed state, or is it already a failed state? Then the 2010 earthquake struck. Around 200,000 people killed, most of infrastructure damaged, millions were affected. Before the country managed to climb out of that devastation Hurricane Matthew struck. At least 800 people dead and according to Haiti’s internal minister the death toll could climb.  The vultures of disaster capitalism and international aid agencies are salivating. The international community has to come together quickly to help Haiti to get out of this hell hole. 

Yes, Hurricane Matthew is a consequence of changing climate system of the planet. The Haiti story clearly points out that the worst sufferers of climate change will be world's poor people. Saral Sarkar delves into this question in his article "Saving The Planet, American Style — A Critical Review, And Some Thoughts And Ideas". Bill McKibben, founder 350.org has declared a war on climate! Saral Sarkar warns that the war metaphor is highly complicated. He says that we have to say good bye to the lunatic idea that 'in a finite world infinite growth is possible'. He succintly puts it this way, "And if we cannot but use the war metaphor, then it is we who are the aggressors, we are the enemy of nature. Then the first task on the path of this transition is to end our aggression. We then need only to withdraw and not carry on the aggression with other weapons.  We then don’t need to build much, but we do need to dismantle a lot. Above all, particularly Americans and their fans and
imitators in the rest of the world need to dismantle their American way of living."

Well,  stories of cooperation in protecting the environment is the need of the hour. These stories will keep us from falling into the deepest gloom of despair. We have to keep hope alive. That's why CC always takes particular interest in bringing success stories of love, compassion, solidarity, sharing, cooperation..... Today we've a story from Ethiopia where Menz-Guassa Community of sub-saharan Africa successfully manage a communally protected  11,100-hectare region which has endangered Ethiopian wolf, gelada and Abyssinian hare as its inhabitants. And it is a 400 year old success story. 

Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the Afghanistan invasion. Apart from the death and destruction there is another side to this story. The herion epidemic! In 2001 poppy fields in Afghanistan was only 7,600 hectares , now it is 224,000 hectares. Heroin deaths shot up from 1,779 in 2001 to 10,574 in 2014 in USA only. 

Israel has seized a Gaza-bound ship Zaytouna-Oliva in international waters and kidnapped, robbed and imprisoned 13 humane, anti-racist  women including the Australian captain, Madeleine Habib (from my hometown Hobart, Tasmania),  Northern Ireland Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire and New Zealand Greens  MP Marama Davidson. Apartheid Israel has repeatedly kidnapped Australian women in international waters but in this instance except for the Australian Greens the response from  Australian MPs has been deafening silence. Dr. Gideon Polya writes an open letter to the Australian MPs on their inaction. 

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





Haiti Death Toll Soars
by Nadia Prupis 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/haiti-death-toll-soars/

At least 800 people in Haiti were killed by Hurricane Matthew, according to new figuresreleased Friday as remote regions cut off by the storm were able to resume outside contact. Annick Joseph, Haiti’s internal minister, cautioned during a press conference, “This is a very, very partial assessment of the damage and death,” noting that yet more bodies were being discovered in remote mountain regions.





Saving The Planet, American Style — A Critical Review, And Some Thoughts And Ideas
by Saral Sarkar 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/saving-the-planet-american-style-a-critical-review-and-some-thoughts-and-ideas/

Some Americans – not government officials, not corporate big-wigs, but civil society activists – have now come forward to save the earth and, along with it, the world. It is only this nation, they seem to assume, that can really do something to take up the task – thanks to its enormous military and economic power. One of the plans, entitled A World at War, comes from Bill McKibben, founder of the group 350.org






The Resilience Of An Indigenous Ethiopian Commons
by Zelealem Tefera Ashenafi 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/the-resilience-of-an-indigenous-ethiopian-commons/

Ethiopia is home to one of the oldest, most effective conservation management systems in sub-Saharan Africa, the Menz-Guassa Community Conservation Area, an 11,100-hectare region that is home to a rich endowment of grasslands, plants and rare animals such as the Ethiopian wolf, gelada and Abyssinian hare. The history of the indigenous land tenure system known as Atsme Irist  reveals a great deal about how people in Menz have been able to regularly use, but also preserve, valuable grazing lands and ecosystem services for more than 400 years.






Congress’s Take On The Heroin Epidemic
by William Edstrom 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/congresss-take-on-the-heroin-epidemic/

A heroin epidemic is on fire all across America. Heroin deaths shot up from 1,779 in 2001 to 10,574 in 2014 as Afghan opium poppy fields metastasized from 7,600 hectares in 2001 (when the War in Afghanistan began) to 224,000 hectares currently.






Open Letter To    Australian MPs Re  Israeli Kidnap Of Gaza-bound Australian Woman  In International Waters
by Dr Gideon Polya 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/open-letter-to-australian-mps-re-israeli-kidnap-of-gaza-bound-australian-woman-in-international-waters/

In its latest act of piracy,  Apartheid Israel has seized a Gaza-bound ship Zaytouna-Oliva in international waters and kidnapped, robbed and imprisoned 13 humane, anti-racist    women including the Australian captain, Madeleine Habib (from my hometown Hobart, Tasmania),  Northern Ireland Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire and New Zealand Greens    MP Marama Davidson. Apartheid Israel has repeatedly kidnapped Australian women in international waters but in this instance except for the Australian Greens the response from    Australian MPs has been deafening silence.






Suing Saudi Arabia For 9/11: Another American Obsession
by Taj Hashmi 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/suing-saudi-arabia-for-911-another-american-obsession/

Had Saudis been really somehow responsible for 9/11, the US Administration could have mobilized mass support for a regime-change operation in the Kingdom, instead of invading the wrong country to topple the wrong regime, Iraq and Saddam Hussein. We have no reasons to believe the bulk of people anywhere in the world – including Muslims – would have objected to the overthrow of a regime involved in orchestrating 9/11. In view of this controversial legislation, one may raise the questions: a) Why did the US Congress wait 15 years to punish Saudi Arabia for its “role” in the 9/11 attacks? b) Why instead of waging a retaliatory war against the Saudi regime (as a corollary to the “War on Terror”), the US Administration has decided to slap on its wrist with this silly piece of legislation, which is again a violation of international law?






Two Parties, One Machine
by William Hawes 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/two-parties-one-machine/

How can citizens fight this utterly horrid momentum? Not with traditional media outlets. “The revolution will not be televised!” How should we vote in November? Should we follow Noam Chomsky’s recommendation to “hold your nose and vote for Clinton” in contested states? It’s hard to believe a person of his age and wisdom could utter such a thing. Haven’t we all been holding our noses every four years, for as long as we can remember? Surely he remembers more of the disastrous consequences, and in finer detail, the results and repercussions than nearly all of us!






Anarchist Communism: The Most Moral Organization Of Society?
by Milan Djurasovic 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/anarchist-communism-the-most-moral-organization-of-society/

In this article I have attempted to depict the dual nature and the seeming contradictions of Peter Kropotkin’s life and work. On the one hand, he was a pistol carrying activist who regarded violence as an indispensible tool in the arsenal of a revolutionary; on the other hand, those who knew him envied his peaceful nature and generosity, but more importantly, he penned the scientific work which emphasized cooperation and sympathy, rather than aggression and competition, as the leading factors of evolution. 






The New American Financial Model Has Failed Main Street
by Gulam A Mitha 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/the-new-american-financial-model-has-failed-main-street/

The Democrats are clearly on a war path as Kerry alleges that Russia and Syria should be tried for war crimes without a rational judgement. Though no algorithm exists to predict a war, the distant beat of war drums can be heard.






Arts, Culture And Politics Of Hatred
by T Navin 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/arts-culture-and-politics-of-hatred/

The call of Hindutva brigade to boycott Pakistani artists working in India is nothing new. The mixing of arts & culture with politics to build politics of hatred and divide is their inbuilt strategy. It is employed quite often for creating religious divide. This helps them serve their communal agenda. Their hate Pakistan campaign is only an extension of hate Muslim campaign.