Saturday, September 9, 2017

CounterCurrents: We Little People Can Do a few Little Things To Bring Sanity To The World




Dear Friend,

Our conscience is haunted by the cold blooded murder of our sister Gauri Lankesh, the genocide going on in Myanmar against the Rohingyas and the almost total international silence. What do we do? We are all responsible. Take our responsibility and do whatever little that we can do. Hold a protest march, write a letter to the respective ambassadors like Dr Vacy Vlazna has done. There are so many little things we little people can do  to bring sanity to the world. Do whatever you can. It's time for action. 

Also more stories from the world. 

In Solidarity

Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org



A Wild Flower in the Indian Wasteland, Gauri Lankesh: 1962-2017
by Satya Sagar


In fact, such was her chutzpah, if Gauri had known there were a group of men waiting to kill her she would have invited them home for a cup of coffee. In chaste Kannada then, she would have asked them to explain whether her dying would be of any use to the ordinary citizens of this land. If convinced by their arguments, maybe she would have happily paid for the cartridges in their guns and requested them to go ahead.




We Are All Responsible For Gauri Lankesh’s Murder: 6 Categories Of Response To Violence
by Daag Ujjala    


For those who celebrate this murder, it is worth understanding that violence begets violence. If today a person can be gunned down for her anti-Hindutva writings then tomorrow another can be done away with for espousing something else. One day, this might indeed be visited upon the very people who are gloating while hiding behind their keyboards. Open violence- when tolerated- makes every single person unsafe. Ask any Latin American. When citizens have no recourse and when the State condones such violence, society crumbles. We are very, very close to the abyss. This needs to stop NOW.




Annihilation of ‘Freedom’: Beneath ‘Lotus and Bullets’
by K M Seethi 


Gauri Lankesh’s brutal murder is a clear indication that the custodians of this Republic are party to the very process of serial killings of those stood for freedom and democracy. We need to remind ourselves that freedom is not the magnanimity of any political party or social forces, but the end result of a long process of struggle and sacrifice. Silencing the voices of freedom is a project of orchestrated drive for false gods and symbols.




The Murders Of Rationalists
by Raju Chalwadi 


The murders of rationalists in India must make us all think as to how the Indian tradition of dissent and reasoning would survive.




Epitaph For Gauri Lankesh
by Pratap Antony 


”I will do what i can and I will say
What I should. These intolerant voices
Find strength in our silence.
Let them learn to argue using words
instead of threats”




Assassination Of Gauri Lankesh: Dr Vacy Vlazna Writes To The Ambassador of Australia


All concerned citizens are requested to write to Indian Ambassadors in their respective countries




What Are We Going To Fight Over To-day ?
by Sheshu Babu 


When pen
Becomes gun
Ideas flow like bullets





We Shall Persevere: In Memory of Gauri Lankesh And The Rest
by Nivedita Dwivedi 


You may snatch my pen but my spirit refuses to die
I am the conscience that refuses to be killed
You may hold it to ransom but it refuses to flinch
I am the soul that refuses to sell itself in pieces and tranches
You may hurt may, cut me and bruise me; but like a Phoenix, I shall always rise from the ashes




Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Prizes And The Rohingyas
by Dr Binoy Kampmark 


Scratch the skin of a saint, claimed George Orwell, and you are bound to find a sinner with an extensive resume.  Such resumes are evaluated in these modern times by accolades, awards, and summits.  The Nobel Peace Prize tends to be crowning affirmation that somewhere along the line, you sufficiently fouled up to merit it.




Open letter from Archibishop Desmond Tutu to Aung San Suu Kyi


My dear sister: If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is your silence, the price is surely too steep. A country that is not at peace with itself, that fails to acknowledge and protect the dignity and worth of all its people, is not a free country.




Rohingya Exodus Continues As Satellite Images Reveal Burning Villages
by Asian Human Rights Commission 


This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where Rohingya refugees continue streaming to Bangladesh after violence erupted in Rakhine state just over a week ago. Although the Bangladesh government has a zero-tolerance refugee policy, it seems that security officials are ignoring government orders and allowing refugees to cross the border. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch has released satellite imagery showing that more than 700 homes have been burned down in one Rohingya village.




Why Do The Left Liberals Commit The Same Mistake?
by Debjanee Ganguly 


This is not to say that Lankesh’s murder doesn’t deserve its due or some life is more important than the other. But in fact this is the same message that is sent by the liberal elite media or political class who are outraged at this gruesome murder. Why were we not spitting with rage over the declaration of the RBI just a few days ago? Why did we not have a notinmyname type of protest that brought together the left liberals on the streets?




DhankiBaat
by Mirza Yawar Baig 


Today we have a situation where the Ruling Party is doing what it considers best for the nation. You can hardly fault them on intention. We have an Opposition which sits silently by and watches while it claims to be against the policies of the Ruling Party. Why? The Opposition is muzzled because everyone is afraid of skeletons in their cupboards being exposed. But what is the solution? Because in the end it is we, the so-called common folk who are paying the price; we and our children. 




Climate Change Images And Outcomes
by Sally Dugman 


It is too late for my mother’s home that my father built. It is too late for trying to rebuild after both Hurricane Hugo and Hurricane Marilyn did descimation as both of my parents are now dead and, if not, the home would have been hit again by Hurricane Irma, with its top speed clocked at 189 miles per hour. However, it is not too late to do your part to try your best effort to curtail or stop more Irma’s, Harvey’s, gargantuan tornadoes, floods and wildfires. I can’t stop this mess alone. So I’m counting on others.





Whither India: Good Terrorism Of December 1992 Vs Bad Terrorism Of January 1993 At Bombay
by Shamsul Islam 


WELL-DONE! The Muslim terrorists who killed 257 and maimed hundreds of innocent residents of Bombay in January 1993 have been punished. Many of them have been sent to gallows, awarded life sentences and so on. But what about those terrorists who butchered 575 and maimed hundreds of people of the minority in December 1992 in the same city. In fact, some of the instigators later occupied high constitutional offices in democratic-secular India.




The Dera Sacha Sauda Followers And The Civil Society
by Randeep Maddoke


This is the high point of debates and discussion on the Dera Sacha Sauda issue. Media, Political sphere, civil society, opponents and defenders of the Dera have their own views. No body is making an effort to dig deeper to get at the root cause of the malaise, it seems like no body wants to either. Most of the arguments and explanations are shaped according to convenience.




Ghostly Voices Dancing in the Rain
by Edward Curtin  


I heard my mother say to me, “Eddy, you were always a contrarian.  I worry about you.” Yes, I answered, I am, but you named me, and Eddy is the correct spelling.    I’m an eddy, a whirlpool, a contrarian, one who runs counter to the mainstream.  But, dear mother, the mainstream is flowing fast toward destruction, carrying everyone and everything with it.  We have to reverse course and resist. Please, mother, worry only if I wasn’t walking against the wind.




Life Time Achievement Award To David Barsamian


Radical Desi is delighted to announce that it has presented Life Time Achievement Award to David Barsamian – a US based journalist for giving voice through alternative media to the oppressed communities and those fighting against repression at an event held at SFU Harbour Center on Friday evening.







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