RSN: Oliver Stone | On the Passing of Fidel Castro, The Next Standing Rock: Fossil Fuel Battles Loom Across North America

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Oliver Stone | On the Passing of Fidel Castro 
 
Oliver Stone, Oliver Stone's Facebook Page 
Stone writes: "Fidel stood always strongly against imperialism and colonialism, as well as racism, and the kind of corporate capitalism that interferes in other nations' right to self-govern." 
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Julian Assange Releases Full Testimony to Swedish Prosecutors Six Years After Sexual Assault Arrest 
Peter Walker, The Independent 
Walker writes: "Julian Assange says he is 'entirely innocent' of rape in his testimony to Swedish prosecutors, which he has defiantly published online." 
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Guns, Grenades, and Facebook: How the Victory at Standing Rock Is a Testament to the Power of Direct Action 
Brendan McQuade, Jacobin 
McQuade writes: "The coming months will be filled with more struggle, more direct action. But already the showdown at Standing Rock has clarified much about the contemporary contours of state repression - and how to beat it." 
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Donald Trump Fires Transition Team Member Michael G. Flynn for Spreading Fake News About 'Pizzagate' 
Matthew Rosenberg, Maggie Haberman and Eric Schmitt, The New York Times 
Excerpt: "President-elect Donald J. Trump on Tuesday fired one of his transition team's staff members, Michael G. Flynn, the son of Mr. Trump's choice for national security adviser, for using Twitter to spread a fake news story about Hillary Clinton that led to an armed confrontation in a pizza restaurant in Washington, DC." 
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Why Is the Obama Administration Opposing Rights for Immigrant Detainees? 
Daniel Denvir, Guardian UK 
Denvir writes: "Non-citizens are often locked up as they fight deportation proceedings, even if they're in the country legally or don't pose a flight risk." 
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Israel's Blockade of Gaza Is Killing Women With Breast Cancer 
Sarah Algherbawi, Electronic Intifada 
Algherbawi writes: "Human rights groups have long documented how Israel has, in effect, sought to blackmail Palestinians who are seriously ill. Patients have been told that they will only be allowed to travel for treatment if they become informers to the Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence agency." 
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The Next Standing Rock: Fossil Fuel Battles Loom Across North America 
Natasha Geiling, ThinkProgress 
Geiling writes: "The Dakota Access pipeline is far from the only pipeline under construction in North America." 
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CounterCurrents: Saving The Planet, American Style — A Critical Review, And Some Thoughts And Ideas,

Dear Friend,

Haiti is one of the disastrous stories of the modern world. Devastated by environmental degradation and imperialist manouerings  it is on the brink of becoming a failed state, or is it already a failed state? Then the 2010 earthquake struck. Around 200,000 people killed, most of infrastructure damaged, millions were affected. Before the country managed to climb out of that devastation Hurricane Matthew struck. At least 800 people dead and according to Haiti’s internal minister the death toll could climb.  The vultures of disaster capitalism and international aid agencies are salivating. The international community has to come together quickly to help Haiti to get out of this hell hole. 

Yes, Hurricane Matthew is a consequence of changing climate system of the planet. The Haiti story clearly points out that the worst sufferers of climate change will be world's poor people. Saral Sarkar delves into this question in his article "Saving The Planet, American Style — A Critical Review, And Some Thoughts And Ideas". Bill McKibben, founder 350.org has declared a war on climate! Saral Sarkar warns that the war metaphor is highly complicated. He says that we have to say good bye to the lunatic idea that 'in a finite world infinite growth is possible'. He succintly puts it this way, "And if we cannot but use the war metaphor, then it is we who are the aggressors, we are the enemy of nature. Then the first task on the path of this transition is to end our aggression. We then need only to withdraw and not carry on the aggression with other weapons.  We then don’t need to build much, but we do need to dismantle a lot. Above all, particularly Americans and their fans and
imitators in the rest of the world need to dismantle their American way of living."

Well,  stories of cooperation in protecting the environment is the need of the hour. These stories will keep us from falling into the deepest gloom of despair. We have to keep hope alive. That's why CC always takes particular interest in bringing success stories of love, compassion, solidarity, sharing, cooperation..... Today we've a story from Ethiopia where Menz-Guassa Community of sub-saharan Africa successfully manage a communally protected  11,100-hectare region which has endangered Ethiopian wolf, gelada and Abyssinian hare as its inhabitants. And it is a 400 year old success story. 

Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the Afghanistan invasion. Apart from the death and destruction there is another side to this story. The herion epidemic! In 2001 poppy fields in Afghanistan was only 7,600 hectares , now it is 224,000 hectares. Heroin deaths shot up from 1,779 in 2001 to 10,574 in 2014 in USA only. 

Israel has seized a Gaza-bound ship Zaytouna-Oliva in international waters and kidnapped, robbed and imprisoned 13 humane, anti-racist  women including the Australian captain, Madeleine Habib (from my hometown Hobart, Tasmania),  Northern Ireland Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire and New Zealand Greens  MP Marama Davidson. Apartheid Israel has repeatedly kidnapped Australian women in international waters but in this instance except for the Australian Greens the response from  Australian MPs has been deafening silence. Dr. Gideon Polya writes an open letter to the Australian MPs on their inaction. 

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





Haiti Death Toll Soars
by Nadia Prupis 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/haiti-death-toll-soars/

At least 800 people in Haiti were killed by Hurricane Matthew, according to new figuresreleased Friday as remote regions cut off by the storm were able to resume outside contact. Annick Joseph, Haiti’s internal minister, cautioned during a press conference, “This is a very, very partial assessment of the damage and death,” noting that yet more bodies were being discovered in remote mountain regions.





Saving The Planet, American Style — A Critical Review, And Some Thoughts And Ideas
by Saral Sarkar 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/saving-the-planet-american-style-a-critical-review-and-some-thoughts-and-ideas/

Some Americans – not government officials, not corporate big-wigs, but civil society activists – have now come forward to save the earth and, along with it, the world. It is only this nation, they seem to assume, that can really do something to take up the task – thanks to its enormous military and economic power. One of the plans, entitled A World at War, comes from Bill McKibben, founder of the group 350.org






The Resilience Of An Indigenous Ethiopian Commons
by Zelealem Tefera Ashenafi 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/the-resilience-of-an-indigenous-ethiopian-commons/

Ethiopia is home to one of the oldest, most effective conservation management systems in sub-Saharan Africa, the Menz-Guassa Community Conservation Area, an 11,100-hectare region that is home to a rich endowment of grasslands, plants and rare animals such as the Ethiopian wolf, gelada and Abyssinian hare. The history of the indigenous land tenure system known as Atsme Irist  reveals a great deal about how people in Menz have been able to regularly use, but also preserve, valuable grazing lands and ecosystem services for more than 400 years.






Congress’s Take On The Heroin Epidemic
by William Edstrom 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/congresss-take-on-the-heroin-epidemic/

A heroin epidemic is on fire all across America. Heroin deaths shot up from 1,779 in 2001 to 10,574 in 2014 as Afghan opium poppy fields metastasized from 7,600 hectares in 2001 (when the War in Afghanistan began) to 224,000 hectares currently.






Open Letter To    Australian MPs Re  Israeli Kidnap Of Gaza-bound Australian Woman  In International Waters
by Dr Gideon Polya 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/open-letter-to-australian-mps-re-israeli-kidnap-of-gaza-bound-australian-woman-in-international-waters/

In its latest act of piracy,  Apartheid Israel has seized a Gaza-bound ship Zaytouna-Oliva in international waters and kidnapped, robbed and imprisoned 13 humane, anti-racist    women including the Australian captain, Madeleine Habib (from my hometown Hobart, Tasmania),  Northern Ireland Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire and New Zealand Greens    MP Marama Davidson. Apartheid Israel has repeatedly kidnapped Australian women in international waters but in this instance except for the Australian Greens the response from    Australian MPs has been deafening silence.






Suing Saudi Arabia For 9/11: Another American Obsession
by Taj Hashmi 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/suing-saudi-arabia-for-911-another-american-obsession/

Had Saudis been really somehow responsible for 9/11, the US Administration could have mobilized mass support for a regime-change operation in the Kingdom, instead of invading the wrong country to topple the wrong regime, Iraq and Saddam Hussein. We have no reasons to believe the bulk of people anywhere in the world – including Muslims – would have objected to the overthrow of a regime involved in orchestrating 9/11. In view of this controversial legislation, one may raise the questions: a) Why did the US Congress wait 15 years to punish Saudi Arabia for its “role” in the 9/11 attacks? b) Why instead of waging a retaliatory war against the Saudi regime (as a corollary to the “War on Terror”), the US Administration has decided to slap on its wrist with this silly piece of legislation, which is again a violation of international law?






Two Parties, One Machine
by William Hawes 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/two-parties-one-machine/

How can citizens fight this utterly horrid momentum? Not with traditional media outlets. “The revolution will not be televised!” How should we vote in November? Should we follow Noam Chomsky’s recommendation to “hold your nose and vote for Clinton” in contested states? It’s hard to believe a person of his age and wisdom could utter such a thing. Haven’t we all been holding our noses every four years, for as long as we can remember? Surely he remembers more of the disastrous consequences, and in finer detail, the results and repercussions than nearly all of us!






Anarchist Communism: The Most Moral Organization Of Society?
by Milan Djurasovic 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/anarchist-communism-the-most-moral-organization-of-society/

In this article I have attempted to depict the dual nature and the seeming contradictions of Peter Kropotkin’s life and work. On the one hand, he was a pistol carrying activist who regarded violence as an indispensible tool in the arsenal of a revolutionary; on the other hand, those who knew him envied his peaceful nature and generosity, but more importantly, he penned the scientific work which emphasized cooperation and sympathy, rather than aggression and competition, as the leading factors of evolution. 






The New American Financial Model Has Failed Main Street
by Gulam A Mitha 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/the-new-american-financial-model-has-failed-main-street/

The Democrats are clearly on a war path as Kerry alleges that Russia and Syria should be tried for war crimes without a rational judgement. Though no algorithm exists to predict a war, the distant beat of war drums can be heard.






Arts, Culture And Politics Of Hatred
by T Navin 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/10/08/arts-culture-and-politics-of-hatred/

The call of Hindutva brigade to boycott Pakistani artists working in India is nothing new. The mixing of arts & culture with politics to build politics of hatred and divide is their inbuilt strategy. It is employed quite often for creating religious divide. This helps them serve their communal agenda. Their hate Pakistan campaign is only an extension of hate Muslim campaign.

RSN: Gaza Blockade Denies Palestinians Their Freedom, Says Oxfam, Feds Find Offshore Fracking in the Pacific Would Have No 'Significant' Environmental Impact, ProPublica Investigation Causes Hospital to End Its Policy of Suing Thousands of Low Income Patients

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Michael Moore | I Am Disheartened to See So Many Progressives Willing to Let the President off the Hook 

Michael Moore, Michael Moore's Facebook Page 
Moore writes: "From the looks of it, the comments to my last Facebook post, in which I criticized our beloved President Obama for betraying Flint by publicly drinking its water (and thus falsely implying to the world that it was clean and safe to drink), has caused a bit of a row." 
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Sanders: DNC Vetoed Union Leader Pick for Platform Committee 
David Weigel, The Washington Post 
Weigel writes: "When the Democratic National Committee announced that Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont would get to pick five of the 15 people who'll write the party platform, it was seen as a small coup. But at a news conference today, Sanders revealed that the DNC had actually vetoed his nomination of a key labor ally, and said he was told not to pick anyone else from the labor movement." 
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What Bernie Supporters Want 
Shawn Gude and Matt Karp, Jacobin 
Excerpt: "The battle for the Democratic nomination is almost over, but the battle to define the meaning of the Bernie Sanders campaign has just begun." 
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New Payday-Loan Rules Won't Stop Predatory Lenders 
David Dayen, The Intercept 
Dayen writes: "A Borrower taking out a $500 loan could still pay over 300 percent in annual interest, despite new rules designed to crack down on predatory small-dollar lending out Thursday from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)." 
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ProPublica Investigation Causes Hospital to End Its Policy of Suing Thousands of Low Income Patients 
Chris Arnold, NPR and Paul Kiel, ProPublica 
Excerpt: "For years, Heartland Regional Medical Center, a nonprofit hospital in the small city of St. Joseph, Mo., had quietly sued thousands of its low-income patients over their unpaid bills. But after an investigation by NPR and ProPublica prompted further scrutiny by Sen. Charles Grassley, the hospital overhauled its financial assistance policy late last year and forgave the debts of thousands of former patients." 
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Gaza Blockade Denies Palestinians Their Freedom, Says Oxfam 
teleSUR 
Excerpt: "The Israeli-imposed blockade on Gaza enters its 9th year this month, and according to British charity Oxfam, it has devastated the lives and livelihoods of 1.8 million Palestinians stuck in what has been compared to an open-air prison." 
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Feds Find Offshore Fracking in the Pacific Would Have No 'Significant' Environmental Impact 
Climate Nexus 
Excerpt: "Reactions are growing after a recent joint study by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. It found hydraulic fracking off the coast of California poses no 'significant' environmental impact." 
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