CounterCurrents: Don't Discount The Nuclear Threat: Why U.S. Rulers Don’t Fear Nuclear WWIII With Russia

Dear Friend,

At lease 59 cadets were killed and more than 116 injured as terrorists attacked the Police Training College in the Quetta, the provincial capital city of  Pakistan's restive Balochistan province.   It seems that the terrorists were handled from Afghanistan. Quetta has a history of such massive tragedies in the recent past. What's different this time is that India has thrown in the hat in the already complicated imbroglio in Balochistan, by Prime Minister Modi's strong posturing on Balochistan. China, USA, Afghanistan all have a big stake in the region. India getting involved in the region could raise the tension between two nuclear armed neighbours, which can escalate into full scale nuclear war. 

Obama administration is discussing "Plan B" on Syria. It is significantly increasing the supply of weapons to the so-called rebels, a collection of Al Qaeda-linked Islamist militias. This too has the potential to escalate into a nuclear war between major powers. 

John Spritzler explains why US rulers don't fear World War III with Russia. Quoting security experts well connected with Washington, Spritzler argues that the US ruling establishment believe that they can neutralise a Russian nuclear attack so quickly that it won't have significant impact on USA and its allies. Pipe dream to    lead the world to total annihilation? Whenever you hear about the threat of a nuclear war, our hope that nuclear arms may perhaps  work as a deterrant, may not work since our leaders are hard wired differently. 

Priti Gulati Cox puts forward a passionate appeal to President Obama to free Leonard Peltier And Mumia Abu-Jamal before he leaves office. Don't miss her wonderful Pen & ink drawing.

Lalita Ramdas writes on the renewed vilification of  Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand. Prof. Apoorvanand’s wonderful article follows the intro by Lalita Ramdas. 

George Steiner wrote 'when a language dies, a way of understanding the world dies with it, a way of looking at the world.' Not in Eritrea. The small east African nation of Eritrea has implemented the Mother Tongue policy nationwide to prevent cultural genocide within its nine different ethnic groups.

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





Terrorists Attack Police Training College In Pakistan: 59 Cadets Killed And 120 injured
by Abdus Sattar Ghazali 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/25/terrorists-attack-police-training-college-in-pakistan-59-cadets-killed-and-120-injured/

At lease 59 cadets were killed and more than 116 injured as terrorists attack the Police Training College in Quetta, Pakistan, in one of the deadliest extremist attacks this year. Three gunmen burst into the sprawling academy, targeting sleeping quarters home to some 700 recruits, and sent terrified young men aged between 15 and 25 fleeing





Obama Administration Split On “Plan B” For Syria Intervention
by Bill Van Auken 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/25/obama-administration-split-on-plan-b-for-syria-intervention/

“Plan B”—meant to signal Washington’s response to its failure to secure its goal of “regime change” by means of a negotiated agreement with Russia, the main ally of the Assad government—would involve significantly increasing the supply of weapons to the so-called rebels, a collection of Al Qaeda-linked Islamist militias. This would include the provision of antiaircraft weapons capable of shooting down not only Syrian government warplanes, but also those of the Russian air force.





Why U.S. Rulers Don’t Fear Nuclear WWIII With Russia
by John Spritzler 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/25/why-u-s-rulers-dont-fear-nuclear-wwiii-with-russia/

It is not unreasonable or far-fetched to worry that the American ruling class is deliberately aiming to get into a WWIII with Russia (and possibly its ally, China.) But what is the U.S. ruling class trying to achieve?






President Obama: Before The Empire Falls, Free Leonard Peltier And Mumia Abu-Jamal
by Priti Gulati Cox 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/25/president-obama-before-the-empire-falls-free-leonard-peltier-and-mumia-abu-jamal/

A passionate appeal to President Obama to free Leonard Peltier And Mumia Abu-Jamal before he leaves office





The Surgical Strikes On Teesta Setalvad Continue With The Bari Report
by Apoorvanand 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/25/the-surgical-strikes-on-teesta-setalvad-continue-with-the-bari-report/

Lalita Ramdas writes on the renewed vilification of  Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand. Prof. Apoorvanand’s article follows this intro





Preventing Cultural Genocide With The Mother Tongue Policy In Eritrea
by Thomas C Mountain 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/25/preventing-cultural-genocide-with-the-mother-tongue-policy-in-eritrea/

The small east African nation of Eritrea has implemented the Mother Tongue policy nationwide to prevent cultural genocide within its nine different ethnic groups.




The Crisis Of European Integration And The Challenges For The Left
by Panagiotis Sotiris 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/25/the-crisis-of-european-integration-and-the-challenges-for-the-left/

Despite the tragic condition of the European Left, we need not despair. The new conjuncture with all the elements of the crisis of European Union creates new opportunities for a refoundation of the Left based upon the centrality of the rupture with the “European road.” We must seize this opportunity and work toward this target, beginning with coordinating all the radical left anti-EU, anti-euro forces in Europe.





Manipulating Uprisings: Hungary 1956
by Dr Binoy Kampmark 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/25/manipulating-uprisings-hungary-1956/

Orbán’s dog whistle world is set in hard blocs of culture and civilization, usually what he considers the better ones against the worst.  The refugee debate in Hungary took that turn when Orbán decided that foreboding fences rather than processing centres provided better solutions.    Besides, he insisted, Hungary was taking the lead again – this time against resurgent Ottomans and Islam. That’s historical Hungary for you: a self-touted figure part vanguard, and always, part heroic victim





Time For Akhilesh Yadav To Assert
by Vidya Bhushan Rawat 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/25/time-for-akhilesh-yadav-to-assert/

Akhilesh has good will which his father and uncle do not enjoy at the moment. They have finished their innings and they can only survive through manipulations. it is time to assert, decide and act as tomorrow it would be too late do do anything.

CounterCurrents: U.S. Public Don’t Care If Politicians Lie, Assange, Manning And Snowden; Standing Up For The Conscience Of Truthtellers, US Aid Deal Gives Green Light To Israel’s Erasure Of Palestine

Dear Friend,

I hate to bring you bad news. The objective of Countercurrents.org is to herald a more peacefule world. But it seems, the powers that control our world deem otherwise. So, please forgive me if I give you bad news more than good news. 

We've bad news from Indi-Pakistan front. The armies of India and Pakistan  exchanged gunfire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir. On Sunday, an army camp was attacked by militants in Uri killing 17 army personnel. 

News comes that NATO  is to deploy an additional 4,000 soldiers in Poland and the Baltic states in May 2017, with some units sent to Eastern Europe in advance. Surround Russia! For What?

North Korea is conducting Nuclear theatre in Korean peninsula.    Whatever the reason, the world is not going to be a better place. 

Neal Gorenflo brings to us the beauty and urgency or sharing. Share or Die! As simple as that!

And 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




NATO Sends 4,000 Combat Troops To Poland And Baltic States
  by Johannes Stern 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/20/nato-sends-4000-combat-troops-to-poland-and-baltic-states/

NATO will deploy an additional 4,000 soldiers in Poland and the Baltic states in May 2017, with some units sent to Eastern Europe in advance. This was confirmed by a NATO spokesman after the US-led military alliance held consultations in Split, Croatia at the weekend. According to a Wall Street Journal report, about 1,000 American soldiers from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment are to be relocated to Poland in April from their German base in Vilseck. The German Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) will take command of a 1000-strong battalion in Lithuania. The UK and Canada will provide about 1,000 soldiers each in Estonia and Latvia.





US Aid Deal Gives Green Light To Israel’s Erasure Of Palestine
  by Jonathan Cook 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/20/us-aid-deal-gives-green-light-to-israels-erasure-of-palestine/

The announcement last week by the United States of the largest military aid package in its history – to Israel – was a win for both sides. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu could boast that his lobbying had boosted aid from $3.1 billion to $3.8bn a year – a 22 per cent increase – for a decade starting in 2019.





Kashmir: Tired Revolution
b by Altaf Bashir 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/20/kashmir-tired-revolution/

he journey of young people in Kashmir from childhood to adulthood nowadays is rumbling around Prison. These young people are meeting on this journey with probation officers, instead of teacher; they are going to court dates instead of class; they are emerging from their 20s not with degrees in business and science, but with criminal records.


Kabul River And Standing Rock Sioux
by Our Journey To Smile 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/20/kabul-river-and-standing-rock-sioux/

Solidarity message to Standing Rock Sioux protesters from Kabul





Political Underworld And Adventure Journalism
by Ish N Mishra 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/20/political-underworld-and-adventure-journalism/

Review of the Book "Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up" By Rana Ayub





Share or Die: A Challenge For Our Times
by Neal Gorenflo 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/20/share-or-die-a-challenge-for-our-times/

The threat is not only one of biological death. Those like me – who are in no danger of starving anytime soon – face a spiritual death when we act as if well- being is a private affair, deny the influence we have on each other, and gate ourselves off from the rest of humanity with money and property. We can neither survive nor live well unless we share.




Nuclear Theatre: The North Korean Show
  by Dr Binoy Kampmark 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/20/nuclear-theatre-the-north-korean-show/

It is a performance where few are laughing.  The DPRK has demonstrated again why it remains by far the most theatrically foolish yet prescient of powers.  Held hostage by the plump boyish leader, Kim Jung-un the nuclear program of that benighted state has been doing more than just stuttering along. It seems to be positively screaming away.





An Open Letter To The People Of The United States: Election or Revolution?
by Robert J Burrowes 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/20/an-open-letter-to-the-people-of-the-united-states-election-or-revolution/

As citizens of the USA with a presidential election approaching you have a wonderful opportunity to ponder whether to participate in this election or to participate in the ongoing American Revolution.





Pakistan’s Civil War In Balochistan Goes International
  by Abdus Sattar Ghazali 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/20/pakistans-civil-war-in-balochistan-goes-international/

Indian government’s recent decision to provide shelter to the secessionist Baloch leaders has internationalized the issue of low intensity civil war in Pakistan’s largest province of Balochistan where the army of Pakistan has launched a brutal operation to control the rebellion of Baloch nationalists.





“The Dead Cannot Make A Comeback” – Is India About To Make A Catastrophic Mistake With GM Mustard?
by Colin Todhunter 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/20/the-dead-cannot-make-a-comeback-is-india-about-to-make-a-catastrophic-mistake-with-gm-mustard/

Global oilseed, agribusiness and biotech corporations are engaged in a long-term attack on India’s local cooking oil producers. In just 20 years, they have reduced India from self-sufficiency in cooking oil to importing half its needs. Now the government’s attempts to impose GM mustard seed threaten to wipe out a crop at the root of Indian food and farming traditions.





U.S. Public Don’t Care If Politicians Lie
  by Eric Zuesse 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/20/u-s-public-dont-care-if-politicians-lie/

Everybody knows that both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are inveterate liars; but, do Americans really care? The vast majority of us care only as partisans in politics, not as partisans for truth and against lies





Assange, Manning And Snowden; Standing Up For The Conscience Of Truthtellers
by Nozomi Hayase 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/20/assange-manning-and-snowden-standing-up-for-the-conscience-of-truthtellers/

The massive US government persecution of truthtellers over the past years has exiled conscience from civil society, locking it behind bars and driving it into asylum. Yet, despite these attacks, it refuses to die.





Who Is Devinder Sharma? Whose Interests Does Kisan Ekta Serve?
  by Anandi Sharan 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/20/who-is-devinder-sharma-whose-interests-does-kisan-ekta-serve/

Devinder Sharma is a founder member of Kisan Ekta, – that claims to be a union of 65 farming organisations. He has no doubt that his Ekta represents ‘400 million farmers, fishermen and farm workers’, and he a member of the three person coordinating committee of the recently launched outfit. But does Devinder Sharma, a close associate of the controversial yoga teacher-turned businessman Baba Ramdev, understand the ground reality of the politics of food, agriculture and hunger, as his blog claims? And whose interests does his new organisation, Kisan Ekta, serve?

CounterCurrents: The Anthropocene Is Here: Humanity Has Pushed Earth Into A New Epoch, Balochistan And The Oil And Trade Of India And China

Dear Friend,

Day 53. Curfew lifted but shut down continues in the Kashmir valley.  People hold marches and rallies in many parts of the valley. Clashes break out and several people are injured. Meanwhile a soldier was killed while attempting to foil an infiltration attempt across the Line of Control. A defence source told IANS that Lance Naik Rajender Singh of 3 Raj Rifles was killed in the Sunderbani sector of the LoC in Rajouri.

The Anthropocene Epoch has officially begun. The Anthropocene is a geological epoch when human activity, namely rapid industrialization and nuclear activity, set global systems on a different trajectory. It is an epoch when human activity has created an incredible impact on the environment of our planet. The Earth is now on course to see 75 percent of species become extinct in the next few centuries if current trends continue. Homo Sapiens too could be one of the species to disappear from the face of the earth. We are our own undoing! Time to buckle up and take charge of our lives on a war footing. 

Yes, some are doing that already. The Zapitastas in the Chiapas mountains of Mexico. The Zapitastas have opened up space for a wide range of alternative ways of re-organizing societies, economies, and food systems. They've opened up new pathways in autonomous education, decolonization, and gender equity. They've also achieved food sovereignty and food security. Lessons to be learnt. 

Meanwhile the neo-liberal regime is hyperactive in enclosing the remaining commons managed by indigenous communities. Protected Natural Areas is a pet IMF/World Bank project practiced world over, taking control of the forests collectively conserved and managed by the indigenous communities and eventually pushing them out of the Commons. Ana de Ita tells such a story from Mexico. 

And a lot of 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

The Anthropocene Is Here: Humanity Has Pushed Earth Into A New Epoch
by Deirdre Fulton 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/30/the-anthropocene-is-here-humanity-has-pushed-earth-into-a-new-epoch/

The Anthropocene Epoch has begun, according to a group of experts assembled at the International Geological Congress in Cape Town, South Africa this week.
After seven years of deliberation, members of an international working group voted unanimously on Monday to acknowledge that the Anthropocene—a geologic time interval so-dubbed by chemists Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer in 2000—is real.


Food Sovereignty In Rebellion: Decolonization, Autonomy, Gender Equity, And The Zapatista Solution
by Levi Gahman 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/30/food-sovereignty-in-rebellion-decolonization-autonomy-gender-equity-and-the-zapatista-solution/

When viewed in its geopolitical context, the Zapatista insurgency has opened up space for a wide range of alternative ways of re-organizing societies, economies, and food systems. Consequently, what the Zapatistas prove through their resistance (i.e., efforts in autonomous education, decolonization, and gender equity) is that a recognition of Indigenous people’s right to self-determination, in conjunction with anti-capitalist collective work and movements toward food sovereignty, can indeed provide viable alternatives to the world’s neoliberal food regime as well as revolutionize the struggle for food security.

Using “Protected Natural Areas” To Appropriate The Commons
by Ana de Ita 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/30/using-protected-natural-areas-to-appropriate-the-commons/

Even as worldwide pressures mount to protect sites with high biological diversity, indigenous peoples and local communities are redoubling their struggles of resistance against a “solution” that claims to protect ecosystems, the establishment of protected natural areas (PNAs). The policy of establishing PNAs, which seeks to maintain the best conserved redoubts of the planet, is often at odds with the rights of native peoples, since many of those redoubts exist in the first place only because indigenous communities have conserved, recreated, and maintained them.

Balochistan And The Oil And Trade Of India And China
by S G Vombatkere 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/30/balochistan-and-the-oil-and-trade-of-india-and-china/

An international People’s Demand for “NO WAR” (conventional, nuclear, biological, chemical or cyber), together with wider political realization of rapidly advancing GW-CC, could be a viable brake to the mindlessly competitive, relentless, lemming-like rush towards the brink of the precipice.


Prejudice Against Atheists Troubling
by Kristin Christman 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/30/prejudice-against-atheists-troubling/

The Democratic National Committee’s conspiring to sabotage Bernie Sanders’ campaign is disturbing on many levels, but what makes me livid is that the DNC was hoping to portray Bernie Sanders as an atheist. What’s worse than the intended smear is the belief that branding someone an atheist is a smear.

The Kashmir Upspring
by Sadiq Zafar 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/30/the-kashmir-upspring/

Generations have witnessed that the road which leads to New Delhi is blood-soaked. Under the camouflage of democracy India has done irreparable damage to generations. With its brutal and torturous armed forces, India has wiped away men who resisted against the oppression and atrocities, thus the biggest democracy failed in Kashmir and turned into an anarchist regime for the people of Kashmir.

#HappyToBleed Campaign Is Back

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/30/happytobleed-campaign-is-back/

Nikita Azad is back with #HappyToBleed campaign once again. Countercurrents.org was an active partner in the campaign. Lots of women and men came foward to join the campaign with a photograph holding a poster with #HappyToBleed written on it. Those photos garnered millions of views on Facebook. One single post even garnering 12.5 million views! After the campaign went viral and gaining international headlines, lots of worship places in India were opened up to women’s entry which was hitherto denied to them. Even court orders followed allowing women entry into worship places.

Saffron Heads With Neutral Masks: Spreading Disharmony Through Social Media
by T Navin 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/30/saffron-heads-with-neutral-masks-spreading-disharmony-through-social-media/

Such social media blogs, in the name of neutral media are only representatives of a highly reactionary right wing ideology. They can only be termed as Saffron heads with Neutral Masks. These are emerging as the representatives of the ruling party to ‘manufacture consent’ in favor of the party in power and Hindutva ideas. This poses a danger which needs to be exposed through establishing counter hegemony’ by left, democratic, secular and progressive forces.

Loyalty
by Gaither Stewart 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/30/loyalty/

Gaither Stewart explores the various forms that loyalty may take and in doing so raises questions about various relationships in our lives. For loyalty is perhaps the most bid for, but also most personal forms of connection and commitment. Much like trying to explain the multitudinous meanings of love, loyalty may not embrace and eschew love. I think that among the problems with our grasping what seems to be basic human concepts and attributes, is that the blasted English language is pitifully sparse when it comes to certain areas of the lexicon – certainly those things pertaining to life and relationships being a major one. This then loads immense amount of meaning, as well as ambiguity, onto a shakey platform of a few conjoined letters.