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In Solidarity
Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org
Artificial Intelligence: Socioeconomic, Political And Ethical Dimensions
by Jon Kofas
Just as advancements in science and technology operating under the capitalist system did not result in social justice, the AI industry is merely a continuation of scientific, technological, industrial development and hardly a panacea for society’s larger economic, social and political problems. Their hypocritical claims to the contrary aside, corporations will use AI to amass profits not to enhance the lives of human beings.
From Earth Day to The Monsanto Tribunal, Capitalism on Trial
by Colin Todhunter
If the current myths about the necessity for perpetuating the stranglehold of capitalism go unchallenged and real alternatives are not offered or supported, we will see accelerated environmental destruction and human rights violations by powerful private interests and a dangerous march towards increasing militarism and possible nuclear conflict as a moribund capitalism approaches its ultimate crisis.
Expanding The Poetic Field. From Ford Madox Hueffer to Kate Tempest
by Vincent Di Stefano
Antwerp ostensibly gives voice to both the mythic heroism and the wanton sacrifice of Belgian soldiers who, supported by British and French troops, instrumentally obstructed the German advance towards France in the latter months of 1914. In this unparalleled poem
Is President Trump’s Foreign Policy Shaping Up?
by K P Fabian
April has been an eventful month geopolitically so far. President Trump carried out a much-trumpeted-about Tomahawk missile strike at the Syrian regime, held responsible by him for a nerve-agent attack on the village of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib, a province largely held by rebels. Trump has changed his mind on China, which he previously accused as a ‘currency manipulator’. He has also changed his mind on ‘resetting’ relations with Putin and US-Russia relations are at their ‘lowest point’ in years. Trump has issued a harsh warning to North Korea to stop missile and nuclear tests. There are signals that Trump would scale up the US military engagement in Afghanistan. Trump has congratulated, with alacrity, Turkey’s President Erdogan on his referendum victory. Are all these developments related to one another?
Ahwazi Exiles Hold Four Massive Freedom Rallies in London, The Hague, Canberra, And Berlin
by Rahim Hamid
Demonstrators hold flags of the region of Al-Ahwaz as they take part in a rally in support of the Ahwazi people in Iran, in Berlin, Germany, 21 April 2017. Dozens of demonstrators took part in the march striving for the recognition of this population and their human rights.
Saving The Amazon Reef
by Marianne de Nazareth
Interestingly, a newly discovered reef, the Amazon Reef, spread over 9500 km, at the mouth of the Amazon River is receiving focussed attention from the IUCN and marine scientists. It is important because it is like no other coral reef that we know of. While other reefs exist in clear, sunlit waters, the Amazon Reef lies in very muddy, sediment-filled waters of the Amazon, and is a product of unusual chemosynthesis. The reef lies in a uniquely bio- diverse area, and as scientists explore this area further, new exciting species of life are likely to be discovered.
Lynching of Mashal Khan: Roots of Rage
by Maryam Sakeenah
It is unquestionable that a number of violent crimes are driven by religious zealotry. Desperate attempts to deny that, supposing that this would ‘save’ Islam’s image are pathetically delusional. In doing what the students of Mardan university did in the name of religion, they lynched their own professed faith; and when we take the bait and draw all the wrong conclusions- either haplessly proving that ‘religion has nothing to do with it’, or directly blaming faith and religious doctrine itself for the atrocity, we fuel the blind hate further, becoming the lynch mobsters sinning against a faith that has equal potential for beauty, peace and healing.
Climate Change As Genocide
by Michael T Klare
Not since World War II have more human beings been at risk from disease and starvation than at this very moment. On March 10th, Stephen O’Brien, under secretary-general of the United Nations for humanitarian affairs, informed the Security Council that 20 million people in three African countries—Nigeria, Somalia, and South Sudan—as well as in Yemen were likely to die if not provided with emergency food and medical aid.
Books, North Korea And Trump’s Sanity
by Dr Arshad M Khan
When Plutarch called the demos an ignorant rabble not to be trusted two millennia ago, he was not far off. What has happened also questions the current U.S. primary system for selecting presidential candidates as opposed to the ‘smoke-filled rooms’ of the past, with party bigwigs negotiating and trading votes they could muster for their choices. They could have picked a crooked Hillary but never a delusional paranoid.
Children As Songbirds
by Valleria Ruselli
“Anyone with a… consciousness of this whole” should move in solidarity with colleagues to change education in their local realm, so that our children can inherit a life worth living. Not cave to the culture. Healthy children want to be songbirds. They need natural models.
Kashmir: Time For UN To Act
by Naveed Qazi
Looking at the political and religious diversity of J&K, it would be better if new set of resolutions are drafted by UN. Not only because the past UN resolutions and bilateral agreements have yielded nothing, but it would make India more aware of its responsibility to address the political grievances. But in present circumstances, UN unfortunately hasn’t taken any concrete steps. This aloofness is alienating the aspirations of Kashmiri people and making Kashmir look like no dispute at all.
Non State Actors And Moral Policing
by T Navin
The increasing accommodation of these non-state actors in BJP ruled states is with the aim to legitimise their presence in mainstream spaces. It is to legitimise a deviant behaviour and lumpenism in the name of ‘moral policing’. The saffron forces create and need them to impose their mythical concept of a ‘’Hindu culture”. They cultivate and promote them. The increasing activities of these groups are an attack on a liberal, democratic and progressive culture. It is important for progressive forces to expose the reality of these non state actors.
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