CounterCurrents: First Permanent Deployment Of US Troops On Russian Border Since Cold War, "Wars "R" Us: Making The World Safe For American Domination",

Dear Friend,

Just before Donald Trump takes charge of the White House and also for the first time since the end of the cold war US troops are being permanently deployed on the Russian borders, raising the threat of a nuclear war. 

In January 05, 2010 CC published an article by Emily Spence titled "Wars "R" Us: Making The World Safe For American Domination". The words of wisdom expressed by Emily in that article remain as pertinent as ever and even more so in the present context. She wrote in 2010 "Any financial and other benefits from warfare will not uplift Main Street. Instead, they increasingly will serve the special interests of corporations. As such, the economic downturn will continue to deepen throughout the U.S.A. while thousands of foreigners in assault zones are maimed and murdered."

In this critical moment Mickey Z and Rachel Olivia O'Connor has advice for activists. Micke Z sums it up so succinctly "rise each morning with a purpose. Go to sleep each night knowing you did the work. Anything less than that is unacceptable."

A powerful exposition of the concept of #TheCommons through the beautiful voice of TM Krishna

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





First Permanent Deployment Of US Troops On Russian Border Since Cold War
by Andre Damon 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/16/first-permanent-deployment-of-us-troops-on-russian-border-since-cold-war/

Some 4,000 US troops, together with tanks, artillery and armored vehicles, arrived in Poland over the weekend, further escalating tensions with Russia ahead of the January 20 inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump. It is the largest US troop deployment in Europe since the Cold War.





Wars "R" Us: Making The World Safe For American Domination
By Emily Spence

http://www.countercurrents.org/spence050110.htm

Any financial and other benefits from warfare will not uplift Main Street. Instead, they increasingly will serve the special interests of corporations. As such, the economic downturn will continue to deepen throughout the U.S.A. while thousands of foreigners in assault zones are maimed and murdered.






The Thorniest Policy-Question That President Trump Will Face
by Eric Zuesse 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/16/the-thorniest-policy-question-that-president-trump-will-face/


A decision must be made at the start of Donald Trump’s Presidency on one issue, which will shape both his foreign and domestic policies, and so his entire Presidency. Mark Strauss, the Editor of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, headlined on 8 September 2014, “Nukes Are Cannibalizing The U.S. Defense Budget”, and he raised the question of why nuclear forces are “cannibalizing the U.S. defense budget” now decades after the end of the Soviet Union and of its Warsaw Pact military alliance and its communist dictatorial ideology.





Activists Must Do More Than Mobilize, Part I
by Rachel Olivia O'Connor 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/16/activists-must-do-more-than-mobilize-part-i/

You can also think of humanity as a band playing a tune. To get good results, you need two things. Each player’s individual instrument must be in tune and also must come in at the right moment in an optimal way, so as to blend with all the others properly. It’s not sufficient to be passionate about the tune that the group is tackling. One must — to borrow from sailing terms — tack on appropriately, sail into the wind in just the right way for the tune to be beautiful.






It’s Not A Level Playing Field. It’s A Jigsaw Puzzle With A Lot Of Missing Pieces
by Mickey Z 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/16/its-not-a-level-playing-field-its-a-jigsaw-puzzle-with-a-lot-of-missing-pieces/

Rise each morning with a purpose. Go to sleep each night knowing you did the work. Anything less than that is unacceptable.






De-[Constructing] Growth: Decoupling Profits From Unsustainable Production
by Nicholas A Ashford 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/16/de-constructing-growth-decoupling-profits-from-unsustainable-production/

While not offering a critique of the degrowth discourse, I throw some light on the debate by offering a deeper and more useful conceptualization that avoids the negative connotations of, and resistance to, “degrowth”. Conceptually, rather than simply describing the degrowth discourse by the descriptor “degrowth”, I recommend a more nuanced approach that gets rid of the jargon and negative aspects of the evolving concept of degrowth and makes a distinction between growth in production and growth in private-sector profit. My proposed formulation, De-[Constructing] Growth, achieves this by decoupling profit from unsustainable consumption and production.





Neoliberals Know The Price Of Everything And The Value Of Nothing
by Kurt Cobb 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/16/neoliberals-know-the-price-of-everything-and-the-value-of-nothing/

What gets sacrificed in such a system is social stability and harmony and a habitable biosphere inside which we can all live and prosper. This is what is now at stake when we know the price of everything and the value of nothing.





Lessons On Analysis, Experience And Instinct For The Modi Government, Courtesy Aristotle
by Neha Saigal 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/16/lessons-on-analysis-experience-and-instinct-for-the-modi-government-courtesy-aristotle/

Policies might look good on paper and successful in making us look very smart globally, but reality is different more often. There is much to learn from Aristotle’s work on problem solving that will help us come up with unique configurations that are applicable in our contexts.





Chennai Poromboke Paadal ft. TM Krishna

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/16/chennai-poromboke-paadal-ft-tm-krishna/

A powerful exposition of the concept of #TheCommons through the beautiful voice of TM Krishna. Poromboke is an old Tamil word meaning shared-use community resources like waterbodies, seashore and grazing lands that are not assessed for tax purposes. Today, it has become a bad word used to describe worthless people or places. Chennai Poromboke Paadal is part of a campaign to reclaim the word and restore its worth.





Alancier’s Meryl Streep Moment In An Age Of Shameful Silence
by Hassan Shihab 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/16/alanciers-meryl-streep-moment-in-an-age-of-shameful-silence/

Malyalam movie actor Alancier Lay Lopez’s one man act at the bus stand premises of Kasaragod is being equated with the Meryl Streep moments at the golden globe award venue- where the much reputed charismatic actress takes a dig at the United State’s president elect Donald Trump for his disrespectful imitation of a journalist at the time of his presidential campaign- gives a new lease of revival for the art lovers in Kerala to “shrug off and laugh at”against the growth of nascent intolerance emanates in a state best known for its literate, art loving, politically conscious, and rising middle class population.





We Breathe Polluted Air Beyond Permissible Standards Across India
by Marianne de Nazareth 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/16/we-breathe-polluted-air-beyond-permissible-standards-across-india/

Damning information obtained by Greenpeace India through online reports and Right to Information applications from State Pollution Control Boards across India, shows that none of the Indian cities comply with standards prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and very few cities in southern India comply to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standards. The information was revealed in a report titled ‘Airpocalypse’ that assesses air quality in 168 cities across 24 states and union territories and pinpoints fossil fuels as one of the main culprits for the deteriorating air quality across the country. The report highlighted Karnataka like many other cities has not complied with the WHO and National Ambient Air Quality standards