CounterCurrents: What peace mongers should do in the time of war hysteria ?, US-Backed Saudi Arabia’s War Crimes In Yemen

Dear Friend,

The war drums are being sounded ever louder in the nuclear South Asia. There is an eerie resemblance to what happens before every war. We've seen it before the Afghan, Iraq, Kargil..... The hate talk, media hysteria, valorisation of the soldier and most of all 'making up of an enemy'. War mongers are ruling the roost and peace mongers are too few and far between. Fortunately we've a few here. K.P. Sasi, eminent film maker and activist writes that it's time for people who believe in justice, peace and harmony in India and Pakistan to come out and put an end to this growing war mania. He asks the question, "If the people across the boundaries can not protect their peace, then who else can?"

Prof Ranjit Goswami focuses that the media, blinded by nationalism, has forgotten journalistic ethics. He cautions "manufacturing hysteria of war-cries, which may, inadvertently, put pressure on the government as well as on the military, does not serve nation’s true interests."

Indian Motion Producers Association (IMPPA) has banned Pakistani artists and technicians from working in Indian film industry. Suhail Qasim Mir says it's going to be self defeating since amidst all animosity and hatred between India and Pakistan, it is the cinema which connects the two countries. He writes, "terrorists thrive on hatred; love and engagement defeats them. By banning artists, India is trying to defeat engagement and thereby ensuring triumph of terrorists."

#SaveHinduismFromHalfPants was a campaign Countercurrents.org ran in October 2015 in association with CPI (Mohammad Rafi) . Now that the RSS changed their uniform from half pants to full Khaki trousers, let’s hope that RSS will change their half baked Hindutva ideology to a fulsome understanding of Humanity! #FromHindutvaToHumanism.

The ever reliable Gail Tverberg analyses World Economic Outlook released by IMF from an energy persepective. In fact, IMF only confirms what Gail has been writing and warning us for long! The conclusion of IMF is that  debt crisis is growing to  unmangeable level. Gail predicts a debt crisis and an eventual economic melt down. Something we don't want to hear. I sincerely hope that Gail's prediction goes wrong. 

David Anderson & Robert J Burrowes offers insights as to how to tackle Climate Change from a spiritual and non-violent world view. 

And also more stories from around the world. 

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In Solidarity

Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org




Between The Buddhists And The Yuddhists
by K P Sasi 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/13/between-the-buddhists-and-the-yuddhists/

Time has come for those who believe in justice, peace and harmony in India and Pakistan to come out and put an end to this growing war mania. Time has come for the civil society, human rights activists, film personalities, writers, poets and cultural personalities on both sides to raise their voices with realisation that if such an action is not undertaken now the war mongers will play with our lives. Time has come to unite against the Yuddhists in India and Pakistan and to generate a strong public message that the sensational mainstream media, the corrupt army officials, and the politicians with their dwindling power mechanism and shrinking images on both sides do not own the share market of our freedom, peace and harmony. Time has come to isolate the Yuddhists on both sides. If the people across the boundaries can not protect their peace, then who else can?




Lack Of Journalistic Ethics, Now Blinded By Nationalism
by Prof Ranjit Goswami 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/13/lack-of-journalistic-ethics-now-blinded-by-nationalism/

The same nationalistic media, more so the TV news ones, often in the recent past, in general, got dubbed; and its celebrity-like news-anchorstrolled for being ‘paid media’, which, realistically as well as ideally, should never happen. At the same time, none in the Indian news-media industry can deny the intensity and the prevalence of unethical media. When same media which failed in its tests on ethics today cheerlead or succumb to jingoism – one must be sceptical on the root causes of the driving forces, as it may not be purely journalistic motives that led to many of these misreportings. More importantly, manufacturing hysteria of war-cries, which may, inadvertently, put pressure on the government as well as on the military, does not serve nation’s true interests.





Banning A Glue That Holds India And Pakistan Together Is Self Defeating
by Suhail Qasim Mir 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/13/banning-a-glue-that-holds-india-and-pakistan-together-is-self-defeating/

Amidst all animosity and hatred between India and Pakistan, it is the cinema which connects the two countries. The combined artistic culture of India and Pakistan defines these countries for each other.  Terrorists thrive on hatred; love and engagement defeats them. By banning artists India is trying to defeat engagement and thereby ensuring triumph of terrorists.





The “Political Strikes”!
by Mohammad Ashraf 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/13/the-political-strikes/

The widely projected “Surgical Strikes”according to many commentators have political objectives within the country rather than military objectives across the border!






From #SaveHinduismFromHalfPants To #HindutvaToHumanism

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/13/from-savehinduismfromhalfpants-to-hindutvatohumanism/

#SaveHinduismFromHalfPants was a campaign Countercurrents.org ran in October 2015 in association with CPI (Mohammad Rafi) . Now that the RSS changed their uniform from half pants to full Khaki trousers, let’s hope that RSS will change their half baked Hindutva ideology to a fulsome understanding of Humanity! #FromHindutvaToHumanism





Why Energy Prices Are Ultimately Headed Lower; What The IMF Missed
by Gail Tverberg 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/13/why-energy-prices-are-ultimately-headed-lower-what-the-imf-missed/

In the not-too-distant future, our low commodity price problem is likely to become a low asset price problem. Once this happens, we will have a huge debt default problem. It will also become harder to obtain new loans, because defaults on existing loans will have an adverse impact on the ability of banks to make new loans. Interest rates required by bond markets are likely to spike as well.





Echoes From The Past Expressing Hope For Humanity
by David Anderson 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/13/echoes-from-the-past-expressing-hope-for-humanity/

Given the life threatening ecological challenges now facing humanity, the question for our civilization has become: How should we be redefining our relationship to ourselves and to our planet ‑ and to the Cosmos?





A Nonviolent Strategy to End the Climate Catastrophe
by Robert J Burrowes 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/13/a-nonviolent-strategy-to-end-the-climate-catastrophe/

Consider our synergistic and devastating assaults on the environment through military violence (often leaving vast areas uninhabitable), rainforest destruction, industrial farming, mining, commercial fishing and the spreading radioactive contamination from Fukushima. We are also systematically destroying the limited supply of fresh water on the planet which means that water scarcity is becoming a frequent reality for many people and the collapse of hydrological systems is now likely by 2020. Human activity drives 200 species of life (plants, birds, animals, fish, amphibians, insects, reptiles) to extinction each day and 80% of the world’s forests and over 90% of the large fish in the ocean are already gone. Despite this readily available information, governments continue to prioritize spending $US2,000,000,000 each day on military violence, the sole purpose of which is to terrorize and kill fellow human beings.






The Convoluted Discourse: Was The Women’s Boat To Gaza An Existential Threat?  
by Dr Ramzy Baroud 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/13/the-convoluted-discourse-was-the-womens-boat-to-gaza-an-existential-threat/

“The Israeli army then took over the boat. The women showed no resistance as they wanted to emphasize that their mission was peaceful. The women cried because they could not reach Gaza,” Al Jazeera reported. ‘Terrorists’, indeed.






US-Backed Saudi Arabia’s War Crimes In Yemen
by Abdus Sattar Ghazali 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/13/us-backed-saudi-arabias-war-crimes-in-yemen/

The killing of 140 people by a Saudi airstrike, on October 8, in Yemen has renewed focus on the Saudi atrocities and war crimes in Yemen. More than 6,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in March 2015 – half of them civilians and more than 1,100 of them children, according to the UN.





Normalising The Brutal: Trump, Clinton And Second Presidential Debate
by Dr Binoy Kampmark 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/13/normalising-the-brutal-trump-clinton-and-second-presidential-debate/

There is no getting away from the degradation that is taking place, on colossal scale, in US presidential politics. The sense of two dysfunctional candidates beating each other over the remains of the US republic as it suffers the last paroxysm of what might have been an interesting future are all too evident.





The Despotism Of British Sterling
by Dr Binoy Kampmark

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/13/the-despotism-of-british-sterling/

The battle between market place, with the mammon of prosperity paraded before Britain, and the virtues of reforming a system that is not only creaking but in some cases collapsing, continues to play out.  Central to that battle remain the fortunes, if one can call them that, of British sterling.





The Cant Of The Powerful: Killing People To Save Them
by Dr Arshad M Khan 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/13/the-cant-of-the-powerful-killing-people-to-save-them/

Friday, October 7 went by quietly unnoticed by major US media. It was the 15th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan — a war with no foreseeable end in sight. The number of troops due to remain in Afghanistan has been raised 50 percent to 8400. Drones based in Pakistan continue to play their deadly role.





Ode To Turmeric
by Gary Corseri 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/13/ode-to-turmeric/

Share the bounty of the Earth!
Make a joyful sound!
A teaspoon’s worth
can give new birth;
let the hills resound–
there’s plenty to go around,
sharing in rebirth.




Adivasi And Forest Rights: Grassroots Reality Of FRA Implementation In Jharkhand
by T Navin 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/13/adivasi-and-forest-rights-grassroots-reality-of-fra-implementation-in-jharkhand/

Book Review of Gladson Dungdung's "Adivasi aur Van Adhikar"