CounterCurrents: #HumansOfDeMonetisedIndia: I Am Starving, US Gov’t, Oligarchs Behind Planned Fake News Flagging on Facebook, Starving Yemeni Children, Bloated US Weapons Makers

Dear Friend,

The note ban or the so called demonetisation is going from bad to worse in India. Petty traders, small scale industries are going burst. Even the leading dailies have drastically reduced the number of pages they print. It can be easily deduced that they do not get enough advertisements to cover the cost. The poor are suffering the most. Countercurrents.org has been telling their stories with our #HumansOfDemonetiseIndia picture stories. Now we go a step further and going to tell their stories in a video series. In our first video an old women who sells fish in the market saus how the note ban threw her into starvation. Watch the video here  http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/16/humansofdemonetisedindia-i-am-starving/

What would have happened if Joseph and Mary were to travel to Bethlehem from Jerusalem now? They would be prevented by the Israeli security guards at the serpentine apartheid wall! Professor Francis Boyle writes a moving piece " O Little Town of Bethlehem". 

Aleppo has fallen to government forces in Syria, much to the chagrin of USA. Secretary of  State John Kerry has lashed out at  Syria  and threatening that this is not the end of war. 

Not far away, USA is conducting a similar operation in Mosul against ISIS forces, according to most independent observers a monster of its own creation. The sad fact is that the western media is silent about the plight of the civlians caught up in the so called 'Mosul Offensive'. 

Not  far from Syria and Iraq, a massacre is going on Yemen. Here too the western media is silent about the massacre of civilians. Why?

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




#HumansOfDeMonetisedIndia: I Am Starving

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/16/humansofdemonetisedindia-i-am-starving/

The note ban has hit the fisher folk and the fish vendors heavily. There is no sale for them. They are desperate. The woman in the video says “those who come to buy fish ask whether we will take old notes? Where will we change it? We don’t’ have mango, jack fruit, tapioca, papaya or anything to eat. We have only our mother sea for help. There is no sale. Note ban is starving us. We can’t sleep. Before the note ban they should have produced enough Rs 100 notes. Is there no law in this land? If they gave me Rs 2000 notes where am I going to get change. I’m hungry. What can I do?” Report by Akhil K Prabhakar & Chidhambaram





While Decrying “Massacre” In Aleppo, US Steps Up Bloodshed In Mosul
by Bill Van Auken 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/16/while-decrying-massacre-in-aleppo-us-steps-up-bloodshed-in-mosul/

The hypocrisy of the US denunciations of the brutal methods employed by the Syrian government and its allies in eastern Aleppo has been underscored by the unfolding of a similarly savage siege being directed by the Pentagon against the far larger urban population of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. As many as 1.5 million people still live in that metropolitan area, which the Iraqi army surrendered to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in June 2014.






As Syria Suffers …. A Message From A Kashmiri Student To The World
by Gowhar Naz 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/16/as-syria-suffers-a-message-from-a-kashmiri-student-to-the-world/

This ongoing senseless carnage in Syria has taken my breath away and left me with a sense of sadness, utter dismay and shock. The wave of violence leaves one truly speechless, pushing everyday concerns and problems firmly into the background. At a standstill, I have a short message for the World Community: “As the Syrians are living on the edge of their lives, always nervous, always afraid. Thousands have already died, thousands more will die. It is our privilege to work in the space domain, which does so much to promote a world without borders. We have a special responsibility in this regard. Don’t waste time. Come forward and save the rest, please! It’s high time to show humanity and provide international protection to Syrian people. Otherwise, it will be shameful for the entire world.





Starving Yemeni Children, Bloated US Weapons Makers
by Medea Benjamin 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/16/starving-yemeni-children-bloated-us-weapons-makers/

While the world is transfixed on the epic tragedy unfolding in Syria, another tragedy—a hidden one—has been consuming the children of Yemen. Battered by the twin evils of war and hunger, every ten minutes a child in Yemen is now dying from malnutrition, diarrhea and respiratory-tract infections. A new UNICEF report shows over 400,000 Yemeni children suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Without immediate medical attention, these children will die. The situation is so dire that over half of the entire nation’s 25 million people lack sufficient food.





O Little Town of Bethlehem
by Professor Francis A Boyle

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/16/o-little-town-of-bethlehem/

If Joseph and Mary were to travel to Bethlehem today to give birth to baby Jesus, will it be possible?





Drowning The World In Oil 
by Michael T Klare 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/16/drowning-the-world-in-oil/

Trump’s Carbon-Obsessed Energy Policy and the Planetary Nightmare to Come 





Is Being “Punk as F*ck” Really Where It’s At?
by Rob Hopkins

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/16/is-being-punk-as-fck-really-where-its-at/

Sam Bliss (author of the wonderfully-named blog ‘The Bliss Point‘) and Aaron Vansintjan recently wrote a blog called Degrowth is Punk as F*ck which defended the term “degrowth” as “a little middle finger to the establishment” and urged the reader to “take your positivity and shove it”. It’s a fiery and passionate defence of degrowth, and contains much, in its spirit and in its message, that I agree with. But it does raise some key points that I want to explore here and to challenge.





Can We Make Sense Of Trump?
by Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich  

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/16/can-we-make-sense-of-trump/

There is clear indication that US foreign policy will not change course under a Trump administration – it will simply change tactic.     Those who continue to believe that the relations with Russia are headed for a reset are more optimistic than analytical.   US may deviate from the path previously trodden, but it is still headed for the same goal/s.





Mainstream Assumptions: The CIA, Presidential Elections, And The Russian Connection
by Dr Binoy Kampmark 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/16/mainstream-assumptions-the-cia-presidential-elections-and-the-russian-connection/

The CIA conclusion had a broader context to it, suggesting a pattern of hacking and penetration that was far from specific to Clinton.    In other words, it was, again in the words of one of the three officials, a “judgment based on the fact that Russian entities hacked both Democrats and Republicans and only the Democratic information was leaked.”  It was, to that end, “a thin reed upon which to base an analytical judgment.”






US Gov’t, Oligarchs Behind Planned Fake News Flagging on Facebook
by Robert J Barsocchini 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/16/us-govt-oligarchs-behind-planned-fake-news-flagging-on-facebook/

Facebook is adding a new feature wherein a group that the Washington Post calls an ‘independent third party fact checker’ will decide whether stories are real or fake, and flag ones the group decides are fake. WaPo leaves out of its report that the ‘independent fact checker’, the Poynter International Fact-Checking Network, receives funding from a US government-funded group, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which award-winning, independent journalist Robert Parry and author William Blum document was created to perform tasks previously performed by the CIA.






The Fire This Time: The Urban Housing Crisis
by Joseph Grosso

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/16/the-fire-this-time-the-urban-housing-crisis/

A pair of headlines the past two weeks illustrated the gruesome underbelly of the urban housing crisis. Last Wednesday night in the Bronx two young homeless sisters, aged 2 and 1, were found dead after a malfunctioning radiator in the room they shared caused steam to spew into the room inflicting severe burns on the girls. The building, part of the cluster-site program whereby the city houses homeless people in privately home buildings, had 26 open violations of the housing-maintenance code and multiple dwelling laws according to records from the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development. 





Forgotten Prisoners Of Iran Renew Hunger Strike To Raise Their Voice To The World
by Babek Chalabiyanli    

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/16/forgottenprisoners-of-iran-renew-hunger-strike-to-raise-their-voice-to-the-world/

In recent days, concerns haverisen about the health condition of a Turkish South – Azerbaijani civil and cultural and human rights activist Morteza Moradpour(above picture), who has been on a hunger strike for over 50 days in Tabriz Central Prison, in northwestern Iran. Moradpour has lost over 20 kilograms and his health condition is alarming, Fardin Moradpour, the activist’s brother told  the rights groups .





Bangladesh: Rekindling The Spirit Of independence
by Farooque Chowdhury 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/16/bangladesh-rekindling-the-spirit-of-independence/

With a perspective different from 1971, rekindling the spirit of independence (RSI) requires assessment of class forces, alignments and alliances these have made/entered into, historical capacities and limitations these bear. The dominating capital, its internal and external relations, its role and limitations are also to be assessed. Democracy and role of imperialism are two other fundamental issues to be examined.






Empowered Muslim Women: Islam Is Her Strength
by Moin Qazi 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/16/empowered-muslim-women-islam-is-her-strength/

The portrayal of Muslim women that we glimpse in the media is grim and somber. The public perception of them is one of stubborn stereotypes: supposedly powerless and oppressed, behind walls and veils, demure, voiceless and silent figures, discriminated and bereft of even basic rights. This picture keeps reinforcing itself, largely because this is how the Western media caricatures women in Islam. Recurring images beamed into our homes and phones keep strengthening the belief that Muslim women are being denied access to education, social space, privacy and educational and development programmes for their socio-economic uplift. But it has also reduced Muslim women to a stereotyped singularity, plastering a handy cultural icon over much more complicated historical and political dynamics.

CounterCurrents: Beware ‘Sunni-Stan’: Neocons Are Back And Their ‘Vision’ Is Darker Than Ever, US Made ‘Cold War’ Plans To Wipe Out Much of Planet’s Population, An Unhappy Christmas In Bethlehem, Gallup: Ukrainians Loathe The Government That Obama Imposed

Dear Friend,

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/subscribe.htm. You can also follow us on twitter, http://twitter.com/countercurrents and on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/countercurrents

In Solidarity
Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org

An Unhappy Christmas In Bethlehem
By SADAKA ireland

http://www.countercurrents.org/sadaka161215.htm

A Silent Night this Christmas:The city of Bethlehem prepares for a scaled-down Christmas celebration in the face of continuing Israeli violence


G. N. Saibaba's Bail Cancelled, Contempt Notice Slapped On Arundhati Roy
By Countercurrents.org

http://www.countercurrents.org/cc241215.htm

The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court cancelled the bail of Delhi University professor G. N. Saibaba and asked him to surrender before the police by 25th December. The Wheelchair-bound Saibaba who is over 90% disabled will celebrate Christmas in jail. A single judge bench of Justice Arun Choudhari also charged Author Arundhati Roy for criminal contempt for writing about Saibaba's imprisonment and the court's denial of bail in her article “Professor P.O.W.” in Outlook magazine in May. Arundhati Roy has to reply to the notice by January 25, 2016


India Has Just Criminalized Children 
By Samar

http://www.countercurrents.org/samar231215.htm

The mob just drew the second blood, riding on its ‘outrage’ over 16 December 2012 Delhi gang rape case, real or pretended. It was baying for the blood of a mere individual, the juvenile convict of that case which known to be come as “Nirabhaya case’ but got much more- blood of justice itself in getting the wrongly named Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015- the bill that allows trial of juveniles accused of ‘heinous’ crimes as adults, in the adult justice institutions


Book Review And Commentary:"The Past As Present" By Romila Thapar
By Anil Gokhale

http://www.countercurrents.org/gokhale241215.htm

The Book to be considered as milestone in Historical writings on Ancient India and its reverberations on the political narrative of Modern India. Importantly, it has become the central core of current political narrative in strange and peculiar Form. The Book is scholarly polemical for revivalists and at the same time conversationalist for keen readers of History. The Book covers and knits together nineteen Articles under four segments and written over a period of last twenty years – since 1989 and offers a proof of consistency in meticulous and innovative research. It addresses ‘the past’ as is interpreted in present to legitimize the political ends. Author finds it as high time to launch a well argued criticism of defenders of those treating the ‘past as the extension (backward) of the Present’ in short the regressive ‘political and hate filled’ methodology of protagonists of ‘Mytho- Historians’


Gallup: Ukrainians Loathe The Government That Obama Imposed 
By Eric Zuesse

http://www.countercurrents.org/zuesse241215.htm

On December 23rd, Gallup headlines “Ukrainians Disillusioned With Leadership,” and reports that "nearly nine in 10 Ukrainians (88%) say corruption is widespread in their government, and about eight in 10 (81%) see the same widespread problem in their country's businesses.” 8% of Ukrainians now say they “have confidence … about the national government.” 17% approve of the job-performance of their President, Petro Poroshenko. While the pre-coup President, Viktor Yanukovych, was in office, 2010-2014, that figure had been averaging about 23%, and was never as low as Poroshenko's is now


US Made ‘Cold War’ Plans To Wipe Out Much of Planet’s Population 
By Robert Barsocchini

http://www.countercurrents.org/barsocchini241215.htm

Given the US’s long history of wiping out huge numbers of people in the service of physical and hegemonic expansion, it may be unsurprising that the nation planned ‘a wholesale slaughter of much of the planet’s population’ during the Cold War, as newly declassified documents reveal


The Futility Of Reformism In Spain And Greece 
By Jon Kofas

http://www.countercurrents.org/kofas241215.htm

The thesis of this brief article is that reformism does not work and only leads to even greater sociopolitical conformity. This is as much the case today in Greece that has tried it, as in Spain endeavoring to try it under its new progressive PODEMOS party, as it has been throughout history. One reason that EU and US investors are bullish on Spanish securities, despite a temporary setback the day after the elections is because they know that the anti-austerity PODEMOS party will conform exactly as SYRIZA in Greece and neoliberal policies will prevail no matter who is in government


Beware ‘Sunni-Stan’: Neocons Are Back And Their ‘Vision’ Is Darker Than Ever 
By Ramzy Baroud

http://www.countercurrents.org/baroud241215.htm

Whatever it is, the neo-conservatives should never be allowed access to the Middle East discourse, and their visions, those of doom and destruction, should remain confined to their ever mushrooming think tanks. True, it is the perpetual war and horrific rivalries in the Middle East that have finally empowered the neocons to stage a comeback; but considering the damage that these groups have already done, one is certain that no good can possibly come from Bolton and his clique


Shining Light Into Darkness 
By Brita Rose

http://www.countercurrents.org/rose241215.htm

Islamophobia, minority discrimination and anti-Muslim hatred are not something new in the U.S., but they are a cancer to our culture -- an affront to the values of a pluralistic nation that stands--at least on paper--for justice, fairness and the common good of all. They are anathema to a nation built by immigrants and on the principle of offering refuge to the homeless, weary and oppressed, as we find inscribed inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty


Constitutionalism: Exception As Norm 
By Trijeeb Nanda

http://www.countercurrents.org/nanda241215.htm

The informal suspension of constitution by perpetual state of exception and extra-judicial execution, without any formal declaration, seems to have become the integral part of Constitutionalism. In which the constitution is being used as a political document to enforce the political will through judicial platform. Where the political will is to eliminate all those who don’t integrates into the system or to whom the system doesn’t integrate


Dredge The Jhelum, Please! 
By M.Ashraf

http://www.countercurrents.org/ashraf241215.htm

More than 14 months have passed since the worst flood in the history of Kashmir virtually destroyed Srinagar. The sleepy Government needs to wake up to prevent the repetition of the tragedy


Implementation Of Community Forest Resource Rights Remains Tardy
By National Consultation on Community Forest Resource Rights and Governance

http://www.countercurrents.org/cfr241215.htm

Even after eight years of implementation of the Act recognition of CFR rights remains slow and tardy, except in a few pockets in the country. This was because of extremely weak political and administrative will and support towards implementing the law. Four major underlying reasons were felt to be the cause of this weak Will to implement the law; Macro-economic policies in favour of industrial development; Strong push from the forest establishment to retain and reassert their control over the forests; Continuing faith in exclusionary conservation policies; and finally the state nodal agencies financially and human resource wise not strong enough to deal with the impacts of the above factors


Reviving The Cooperative Movement For A Better India 
By Moin Qazi

http://www.countercurrents.org/qazi241215.htm

Financial development through public participation enables individuals to make the most of their potential and represents a tool for expanding financial democracy. We have made historic strides toward the consolidation of political democracy, revolutionizing governance in India's rural hinterland but they have not been accompanied by the democratization of means and opportunities. Financial democracy is fundamental for achieving greater inclusiveness, improving social cohesion, and generating broad-based growth. It is therefore crucial for economic dynamism and political stability. It is crucial because the lack of financial democracy prevents people from gaining access to resources that would enable them to make the most of!

CounterCurrents: Global Peace, War And The Xmas: Killing Goes On, O Little Town Of Bethlehem

Dear Friend,

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/subscribe.htm. You can also follow us on twitter, http://twitter.com/countercurrents and on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/countercurrents

In Solidarity
Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org


O Little Town Of Bethlehem
By Francis A. Boyle

http://www.countercurrents.org/boyle251214.htm

Bethlehem is cut-off and surrounded by the Israeli army--the Church of the Nativity too. The Israelis are inflicting ethnic cleansing upon all the Palestinian, both Muslims and Christians. They are also pursuing a policy of deliberately forcing Palestinian Christians out of Palestine as part of a perverse strategy to turn a war of national liberation into a religious crusade, figuring it would play better in the United States. And these are the original Christians, going back to Jesus Christ and the Apostles. Meanwhile, the United States government is financing it all to the tune of $5 billion per year


Israel’s Wall In The Little Town Of Bethlehem
By Eileen Fleming

http://www.countercurrents.org/fleming191214.htm

On Christmas Eve as we sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem” I will remove the removable wall and because I still believe in miracles I will say another prayer for the end of American Tax dollars that perpetuate injustice, violence, and conflict and for US support for a just peace in the Holy Land so that Israel’s Wall will fall


A Christmas Message For Those Who Feel That This Christmas Is Different In India
By K.P. Sasi

http://www.countercurrents.org/sasi251214.htm

This day of Christmas should also have been the day, when the Cardinal and the upper caste Bishops stop supporting the majoritarian communal fascists, just for the benefit of protecting their properties and profits. For peace will not sustain, if religious freedom is not granted. It is not just for the security of millions of Christians in India who adopt Christian faith, it is for the security of themselves in future. For they must remember that the threat of fascism can happen to the upper caste Christians also. And in memory of Jesus Christ who sacrificed his life for humanity and the Holy Bible, it is time that Churches in India declare that there will be no peace without justice


Global Peace, War And The Xmas: Killing Goes On
By Mahboob A. Khawaja

http://www.countercurrents.org/khawaja251214.htm

Leader across the globe use the Xmas and the New Year’s Eve as convenient opportunities to echo festive messages of peace and optimism as if they long the humanity. Despite the inherent wickedness of warmongers and institutions, the global community is tolerant and open to listening to the abstract and absurd alike. Analyzing critically and objectively, there is hardly any international leaders capable of articulating an effective and credible message of hope and change under the present global affairs


Yanukovych Proposes Solution To Ukraine's Civil War; It Fits Obama's Plan
By Eric Zuesse

http://www.countercurrents.org/zuesse251214.htm

The Ukrainian President whom U.S. President Obama overthrew in a violent coup this past February is now proposing that “people will be able to negotiate and Ukraine will once again be united.”


New “Hobbit” Film Gives Glimpse of North Korean History
By Robert Barsocchini

http://www.countercurrents.org/barsocchini251214.htm

There is another film out now with themes relating to North Korea. The Hobbit – The Battle of the Five Armies offers a look at what the “holocaust from the air” that the US in the 1950s inflicted on almost every city in North Korea was like. The US intentionally targeted defenseless civilians. There was no escape


Afghanistan: War On Terror And Beyond
By Haris Khurshid

http://www.countercurrents.org/khurshid251214.htm

The process of political integration of the disgruntled Taliban and other militant groups through power sharing mechanism could bring the war torn country to its historical glory. In views of many, the elusive peace in Afghanistan will be possible only through all inclusive Afghan led Afghan owned reconciliation process with sincere backing of United States,Pakistan and regional powers


The “Wave” Peters Out!
By Mohammad Ashraf

http://www.countercurrents.org/ashraf251214.htm

The “Wave” of Hindutva which had risen from the Indian Ocean through the shores of Gujarat has petered out on the soil of Sufi Kashmir!

 

 

Counter Currents

Always food for thought....

Dear Friend,

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/subscribe.htm. You can also follow us on twitter, http://twitter.com/countercurrents and on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/countercurrents

In Solidarity
Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org


NATGRID, UIDAI & NPR Emerging As India’s NSA
By Gopal Krishna

http://www.countercurrents.org/krishna271213.htm

Judge Richard Leon of U.S. District Court's verdict is readily applicable to the “indiscriminate” biometric and demographic databases being created in India by the Planning Commission’s UIDAI and by MHA’s Registrar General & Census Commissioner for NPR besides National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), the Indian incarnation of NSA. Indeed these initiatives along with the bitterly opposed proposal of National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) Network constitutes “abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power” in our country. Political parties and citizens need to examine whether or not NATGRID, UIDAI & NPR emerging as Indian incarnation of NSA


Edward Snowden: Power, Privacy And The Public Good
By Colin Todhunter

http://www.countercurrents.org/todhunter271213.htm

While a fossilized remnant of Empire delivered her message by a Christmas tree in Buckingham Palace’s Blue Drawing Room, Snowden’s setting was sober and devoid of the trappings of privilege or connotations of a violent colonial past. His message concerned the US and British governments’ mass surveillance and the erosion of personal privacy. He stated that a child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all, and they will never know what it means to have a private moment to themselves - an unrecorded, unanalyzed thought. This is because, according to Snowden, a system of worldwide mass surveillance has been created


US Prepares Strikes Against Islamists In Iraq
By Bill Van Auken

http://www.countercurrents.org/auken271213.htm

Two years after President Barack Obama declared that his administration had ended the catastrophic US war in Iraq “responsibly… leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant” government, the US has rushed emergency shipments of Hellfire missiles to Baghdad and appears to be preparing for a possible renewal of direct military intervention in the form of drone missile attacks

Little Hala And The Herods Of Israel
By Vacy Vlazna

http://www.countercurrents.org/vlazna271213.htm

On Christmas Eve, while Christians knelt in churches to honour the birth of the eternal light of the Child of Bethlehem - the Child of peace, Israeli Herods struck Gaza and the life-light of little Hala haemorrhaged into eternal death


Slouching Towards Gaza: Operation Cast Lead And The Dismembering Of A People
By Vincent Di Stefano

http://www.countercurrents.org/stefano271213.htm

Two days after Christmas in 2008, the isolated and densely populated city of Gaza was visited by volley upon volley of deadly missile and mortar fire. The intense bombardment of "one of the most densely populated places on earth" continued unabated for a period of three weeks. By the end of the assault, over 1,400 Palestinians had been killed and more than 5,000 wounded, many seriously. Between three and four hundred of the dead were children. A total of 13 Israelis were killed during the same time, four of them by the action of their own troops


Postcard From The End Of America : Marcus Hook
By Linh Dinh

http://www.countercurrents.org/dinh271213.htm

First settled by Europeans in 1640, Marcus Hook was once called Chammassungh , Finland then Marrites Hoeck, from which the present name derives. The Hook, however, does serendipitously evoke its pirate past, when Blackbeard plied the Delaware , and one of his mistresses, Margaret, lived here, in a plank house still preserved


Anarchy In U.S.A.
By Mickey Z.

http://www.countercurrents.org/mickeyz271213.htm

This positivity, though, is based on action -- both individual and collective -- and perhaps therein lies the rub. Until the pervasive presence/threat of cultural violence is diminished and ultimately eradicated, we must never stop exposing it, factoring it into our words and actions, and finding ways to sabotage it


Benazir Was Indeed Benazir (Without Equal)
By Riaz Ali Toori

http://www.countercurrents.org/toori271213.htm

Today we are remembering Benazir Bhutto — a Pakistani woman who was a lot more courageous than many men, brighter than many scholars and more visionary than all the politicians put together. She was a lady who put her life in danger and left behind her footprints, dyed in her own blood, for the guidance of Pakistani democrats


Statue of Unity: How The Varna Media Is Loving It !
By Subhash Gatade

http://www.countercurrents.org/gatade271213.htm

The media - the supposed watchdog of democracy - or rather its majority has refused to put Narendra Modi's dream project, the Statue of Unity, under scanner over its ‘Social, Economic and Environmental Impacts’ nor the manner in which it allegedly '[v]iolates the law of the land, constitution of India and concerns of poor, tribals and environment'


India's Auto Voracity: The Way Capitalism Fuels Desires
By Dr. Narendra Kumar Arya

http://www.countercurrents.org/arya271213.htm

The possession of cars as indispensible symbolism of psychological strengthening in Indian society is much more real phenomenon than its utilitarian aspects. The later is very faintly true. The social competition is much more determining factor than individual needs or reasoning


Hindu American Foundation Fails To Counter Mounting Evidence Of
Links To Violent Hindu Nationalist Movement
By Coalition Against Genocide

http://www.countercurrents.org/cag271213.htm

The Coalition Against Genocide today published "Part II" of its report on Hindu American Foundation (HAF) titled "Affiliations of Faith - Joined at the Hip" - with further evidence of HAF leadership's ties and dedication to the global Hindu Nationalist Movement that functions under a conglomerate of organizations known as the Sangh Parivar


Condemn Killing of Media Persons by CPI (Maoist)
By Asish Gupta & D Manjit

http://www.countercurrents.org/manjit271213.htm

Peoples Union for Democratic Rights condemns the killing of Sai Reddy, a correspondent of Deshbandhu, a Hindi newspaper, based in Bijapur in south Bastar, Chhattisgarh on December 6, 2013. In a statement issued on December 10, 2013, the South Regional Committee of CPI(Maoist) claimed that Sai Reddy had “played an active role against the people’s movement in Basaguda and Usur areas over last two decades”, and therefore was condemned to death. Ironically, Sai Reddy not only wrote against Salwa Judum but was arrested by the police in 2008 and charged under Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act for allegedly being a Maoist supporter

Counter Currents: O Little Town Of Bethlehem!

Dear Friend,

Countercurrents is reproducing two articles from our archive this Christmas, one by Prof. Francis Boyle and the other from Prof. Ron Forthofer. Both have almost the same title - "O Little Town Of Bethlehem!" This is our way of saying Merry Christmas!

Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org

O Little Town Of Bethlehem!
By Francis A. Boyle

http://www.countercurrents.org/boyle031210.htm

Bethlehem is cut-off and surrounded by the Israeli army--the Church of the Nativity too. The Israelis are inflicting ethnic cleansing upon all the Palestinian, both Muslims and Christians. They are also pursuing a policy of deliberately forcing Palestinian Christians out of Palestine as part of a perverse strategy to turn a war of national liberation into a religious crusade, figuring it would play better in the United States. And these are the original Christians, going back to Jesus Christ and the Apostles. Meanwhile, the United States government is financing it all to the tune of $5 billion per year


O Little Town Of Bethlehem Today
By Ron Forthofer

http://www.countercurrents.org/forthofer211210.htm

During Christmas time, the town of Bethlehem in the West Bank, the birthplace of Jesus, comes to mind. I wonder what Jesus would think were he to return to Bethlehem and to the rest of the West Bank today. Unfortunately, he would still see a foreign military force occupying the land. Since Jesus had experienced the Roman occupation when he was alive, he might not be too surprised about the occupation. However, Jesus would also see something he had not witnessed under the Romans. The current foreign power, Israel, has now colonized much of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and there are about 500,000 Israeli colonists living in over 200 illegal Jewish-only colonies and outposts on lands taken from the Palestinians


Implementation Of US-Iran Interim Nuclear Deal Stalls
By Keith Jones

http://www.countercurrents.org/jones231213.htm

Negotiators for Iran and the P-6—the US, its European allies (Britain, France, and Germany), Russia and China—extended a two-day meeting on implementing last month’s interim agreement on Iran’s nuclear program into a third and fourth day. The “technical” negotiations concluded Sunday without agreement, however, due to what Iran termed “serious differences.”


South Sudan Slides Toward Civil War
By Bill Van Auken

http://www.countercurrents.org/auken231213.htm

Thousands have been killed or wounded in the fighting, and tens, if not hundreds, of thousands driven from their homes, many of them crowded into United Nations peacekeeping bases for protection. An attack on one of these bases last Thursday by what UN officials described as “unknown assailants” killed three Indian peacekeepers and 11 civilians


Uphold The Amman Message
By Chandra Muzaffar

http://www.countercurrents.org/muzaffar231213.htm

The recent proposal by some political and religious leaders to amend the Malaysian Constitution to specify that Article 3 which states that “Islam is the religion of the Federation” refers only to the teachings of Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah(ASWJ) has far-reaching implications. Does it mean that non-Sunni, minority sects will not be recognised as Islamic? If such sects --- the Shias being a case in point --- are not recognised as Islamic, what would be their status? How would such an amendment impact upon Malay Shias since Islam is one of the defining attributes of Malay identity?


Condemning India And Flattering The U.S.
By Vidyadhar Date

http://www.countercurrents.org/date231213.htm

True, Devayani Khobragade, the Indian diplomat, deserves some flak. One can understand the virulent criticism leveled against her by some critics.. But how come some of these worthies are so desperate to give a clean chit to the U.S. when this is totally unwarranted


Sangeeta Richards: The Forgotten Victim Of Khobragade Affairs
By V. Arun Kumar

http://www.countercurrents.org/akumar231213.htm

The forgotten victim of Khobradge Affairs, Sangeeta Richards has every right to get justice and it is our duty to ensure that her case is not silenced by Indian elites under the carpet of nationalism


Is Aam Admi Party A Hope?
By S. Mohammed Irshad

http://www.countercurrents.org/irshad231213.htm

Although they claim that they are neither right nor left , the party has to demonstrate its capability to take on the market ideology. The ideological position may not be a matter; however, the response to the current economic policy would be a significant challenge to the party