Bernie Sanders: Ending Israel's Occupation of Palestine Is in American's Interests

Bernie Sanders: Ending Israel's Occupation of Palestine Is in American's Interests

Amir Tibon, Haaretz

CounterCurrents: The Age of Demagogues!, Traitors In Britain’s Leadership

Dear Friend,

India's demonetisation is a man made calamity, especially for rural India where most of India, that too the poorest of the world, live. Demonetisation has wrecked rural India. Even today I saw a report of farmers throwing tomoatoes on the road. In yesterday's news letter there was a report of a farmer destroying the crops. This is a slow moving tsunami. Walt Gelles in his article  'Modi’s Man-Made Calamity:  How Many Will Die?' says "at this point, every sane and responsible person in India should be asking:  How many tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, or millions of people in India are going to die from hunger, starvation, malnutrition and disease as a result of Modi’s demonetisation?"

Populism is the order of the day. It began with the rise of Narendra Modi in India, moved to Europe with Brexit and now Trump in USA. Peter Van Els writes, "the rise of populist leaders in the United States and Europe is a threat to the fundamental rights of our democracy. Donald Trump’s election as US president after a campaign of hatred, lies, half-truths and intolerance, and the growing influence of political parties in Europe who reject universal rights, bring marketing rights, the environment and democracy in danger. Legal standards denigration and contempt for factual truths."

If you want to know what will happen to USA or Europe in the near future, look at India! You will know what a demagogue can do to a country. 

Daag Ujjala throws in  the most sensible and creative caution for our times, "these transpositions are tectonic and irrevocable.  Therefore acting to stop them before they become complete is the order of the day. But our tactics have to be different; no business as usual. Exposing leaders as “liars” appears to be useless.  So we have to fight back where it hurts. People have to stop conducting business with companies that support the power structure. People have to call and write political leaders daily.  People have to withdraw monetary and political support from anyone naïve to “wait and see.”  We have to fight with our personal energies, our financial strength and our political will."


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





Modi’s Man-Made Calamity:  How Many Will Die?
by Walt Gelles  

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/15/modis-man-made-calamity-how-many-will-die/

At this point, every sane and responsible person in India should be asking:  How many tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, or millions of people in India are going to die from hunger, starvation, malnutrition and disease as a result of Modi’s demonetisation?






Populism And The Rise Of The Demagogues
by Peter Van Els 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/15/populism-and-the-rise-of-the-demagogues/

The rise of populist leaders in the United States and Europe is a threat to the fundamental rights of our democracy. Donald Trump’s election as US president after a campaign of hatred, lies, half-truths and intolerance, and the growing influence of political parties in Europe who reject universal rights, bring marketing rights, the environment and democracy in danger. Legal standards denigration and contempt for factual truths.






The Transpositions In Trump-Land Are Irrevocable If We Let Them Complete Themselves
by Daag Ujjala 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/15/the-transpositions-in-trump-land-are-irrevocable-if-we-let-them-complete-themselves/

These transpositions are tectonic and irrevocable.  Therefore acting to stop them before they become complete is the order of the day. But our tactics have to be different; no business as usual. Exposing leaders as “liars” appears to be useless.  So we have to fight back where it hurts. People have to stop conducting business with companies that support the power structure. People have to call and write political leaders daily.  People have to withdraw monetary and political support from anyone naïve to “wait and see.”  We have to fight with our personal energies, our financial strength and our political will.



We Must Not Demonize And Threaten Russia
by John Scales Avery 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/15/we-must-not-demonize-and-threaten-russia/

Civil society must make its will felt. A thermonuclear war today would be not only genocidal but also omnicidal. It would kill people of all ages, babies, children, young people, mothers, fathers and grandparents, without any regard whatever for guilt or innocence. Such a war would be the ultimate ecological catastrophe, destroying not only human civilization but also much of the biosphere. Each of us has a duty to work with courage and dedication to prevent it.





The Paris Conference Must Send A Strong Message From The World To Israel!
by Dr Salim Nazzal 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/15/the-paris-conference-must-send-a-strong-message-from-the-world-to-israel/

Many believed in the Middle East that the Paris conference held today, Jan. 15, on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the participation of 70 countries and international organisations could be a final attempt by the international community to resolve the conflict in Palestine based on two-state solution.





Today’s Terminal Social Malady
by Lionel Anet 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/15/todays-terminal-social-malady/

The ignorance of the educated to interact with the nature in a fair sustainable way is the cause of our and life’s demise. It’s those few who have had a college education who maintain that state illusoriness that retains the unfair system. However, we are at the end of that road and the only way for anyone to survive is to help each other to live within natures limits, it’s the only way to peace and cooperation, they are essential for our and maybe life’s survival.






An Uncertain Future Follows Obama’s Farewell
by Dr Arshad M Khan 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/15/an-uncertain-future-follows-obamas-farewell/

The old joke remains truer than ever: In America anyone can be president … and anyone usually is.





Traitors In Britain’s Leadership
by Eric Zuesse 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/15/traitors-in-britains-leadership/

Following are highlights from the shocking and uncontested (though confusingly written) original Al Jazeera investigative news report published on January 8th, which had mentioned this treachery only in passing (but without calling it that). These excerpts will make clear the severity of what has actually been happening here — and of what is continuing to happen.




Prime Minister – Your Replacement By Displacement On Khadi Calendar Does Not Make Sense
by A concerned Citizen 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/15/prime-minister-your-replacement-by-displacement-on-khadi-calendar-does-not-make-sense/

Your RSS never seemed to have a position on Khadi and Village industry at the time of independence. However, they now seem to displace Gandhi and replace it with your own image. His philosophy of economic self-reliance never seems to be guiding your economic policies. Rather it seems to be more oriented towards encouraging bigger players.

CounterCurrents: Modi’s New Year Eve Speech: What Comes Next?

Dear Friend,

2017 is here. India's cashless woes are not going to go away. On New Year's eve, an apologetice Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, appeared on national television and gave a speech. Your's truly looks at what he said and left unsaid and analyse what it portends for India.  

The US government has begun requesting foreign travelers to submit their social media information to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) before traveling into the country. The practice is claimed to be part of broader efforts to identify potential “terrorist threats.” The request is part of the online Electronic System for Travel Authorization, a visa waiver application that many visitors must complete. The choices include Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, as well as additional space for applicants to volunteer other lesser-known platforms.

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



Modi’s New Year Eve Speech: What Comes Next?
by Binu Mathew 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/01/modis-new-year-eve-speech-what-comes-next/

After 52 painful cashless days, I was not going to miss what Prime Minister had to say this time. The whole nation glued to the TV sets to hear Prime Ministers speech. Prime Minister also had said ‘wait for 50 days or hang me in public if I’m proved wrong’. What did he say? Nothing! Nothing? Not yet, but Everything!




Demonetisation: Bhasmasur’s Dance Of Death
by Vijaya Kumar Marla 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/01/demonetisation-bhasmasurs-dance-of-death/

Indians are known to take any injustice in to their stride, with our all powerful karma siddhanta teaching us that your sufferings are the result of your own sins in your past janam. Let us hope that people will wake up before this Bhasmasur wreaks total havoc with the economy and ruins the lives of the 1.28 billion Indians.





Digital Finance Must Be Humane If It Is To Succeed
by Moin Qazi 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/01/digital-fiance-must-be-humane-if-it-is-to-succeed/

We will have to sign off 2016 with a cultural baggage of a new vocabulary which elderly  and illiterate  Indians   may not be comfortable with , but have to embrace it    in order to honour the government since  the new rules of democracy leave them with little choice. . Most of the conversations in the new year we   will have much to do with the   phrase “digital finance that  has suddenly acquired a magical nuance. Amazingly even the laity has started tapping into the buzz of digital finance. Specialist phrases like “cashless economy” and “plastic money” are now being   freely tossed   in everyday conversations.





US Government Collecting Social Media Accounts Of Visitors To Country
by E.P. Milligan 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/01/us-government-collecting-social-media-accounts-of-visitors-to-country/

The US government has begun requesting foreign travelers to submit their social media information to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) before traveling into the country. The practice is claimed to be part of broader efforts to identify potential “terrorist threats.” The request is part of the online Electronic System for Travel Authorization, a visa waiver application that many visitors must complete. The choices include Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, as well as additional space for applicants to volunteer other lesser-known platforms.






Taiwan: Ignorance, Danger Of War And A High School Nazi Parade
by Andre Vltchek

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/01/taiwan-ignorance-danger-of-war-and-a-high-school-nazi-parade/

At the end of December 2016, both Taiwan and the world were shaken to the core, when images appeared in the local press and online, depicting students parading in Nazi uniforms proudly raising their hands in salute, an act banned in most of countries of the world






A Response To The Fallback Argument Of Likudniks
by Jeffrey Rudolph

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/01/a-response-to-the-fallback-argument-of-likudniks/

As Israel’s myriad human rights abuses and contraventions of international law have become impossible to deny, one argument that apologists for Israel routinely fall back on is: While Israel has engaged in human rights and other abuses, other countries commit far worse abuses. Therefore, it is wrong – and possibly indicative of anti-Semitism – to focus excessively on Israel’s wrongs. As someone who has worked at information tables dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the following is my systematic response to this fallback argument.





“Babu Hatao, Fauji Bachao”: Trifling With The Fauj And National Security
by S G Vombatkere 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/12/31/babu-hatao-fauji-bachao-trifling-with-the-fauj-and-national-security/

Civil-military relations are today at an all-time low and although the decades-long continuity of the bureaucratic hand is obvious in the current NDA-2 dispensation, there is also evidence of the political leadership humiliating the military. Let us begin with CBI’s arrest of Air Chief Marshal S.P.Tyagi, India’s former air chief, in connection with the Agusta Westland helicopter purchase deal. It raises some questions not only about the functioning of the political leadership and the bureaucrat-police network, but also about hidden motivations and unintended compromise of national security due to its effect on the morale of India’s military.

RSN: 10 Most Important Environmental Stories of 2016, Trump Could Be Israel's Worst Nightmare

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Trump Could Be Israel's Worst Nightmare 
 
Gregg Carlstrom, Politico 
Carlstrom writes: "It was a valedictory speech, irrelevant in a few weeks, but John Kerry's much-anticipated remarks on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were still a remarkable indictment." 
READ MORE

DHS and FBI Publish Report Detailing Some Evidence of Russian Hacking 
Chris Strohm, Bloomberg 
Strohm writes: "Prodded to produce evidence by Russia, which has denied a role in hacking - and by an openly skeptical President-elect Donald Trump - the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security did so Thursday. They issued a 13-page joint analysis just as President Barack Obama imposed sanctions against Russian government organizations and individuals and expelled 35 Russian operatives." 
READ MORE

Report Reveals Hacking Vulnerabilities in 2016 Presidential Election 
Alex Hern, Guardian UK 
Hern writes: "There is no evidence of a successful cyberattack to change votes in the US presidential election, according to a crowdfunded effort to recount the vote in key states, but the review also highlighted the unprecedented extent to which the American political system is vulnerable to cyberattack, according to two computer scientists who helped the effort to audit the vote." 
READ MORE

2016 Was the Year the Feminist Bubble Burst
Michelle Goldberg, Slate 
Goldberg writes: "We thought women would break new ground in 2016. We were wrong." 
READ MORE

What the Drug War Could Look Like Under President Trump 
Tessa Stuart, Rolling Stone 
Stuart writes: "Having an attorney general who is generally hostile to drug policy reform can have a huge, if indirect, impact across the country. The nation's chief law enforcement officer has wide latitude to influence policy through appointments to a range of jobs they help oversee." 
READ MORE

Gunman Kills 39 in Istanbul New Year Nightclub Attack 
Nick Tattersall and Humeyra Pamuk, Reuters 
Excerpt: "A gunman opened fire on New Year revelers at a packed nightclub on the shores of Istanbul's Bosphorus waterway on Sunday killing at least 39 people, including many foreigners, then fled the scene." 
READ MORE

10 Most Important Environmental Stories of 2016 
Jason Mark, The Sierra Club 
Mark writes: "No matter how much ink and airtime they earned, all of these stories revealed some larger trend about the state of the environment and environmental advocacy." 
READ MORE

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CounterCurrents: Obstacle To Peace: The US Role In The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Humans Are Poisoning The Ocean—And It’s Poisoning Us Back

Dear Friend,

Our Commons series has three articles today. Silvia Federici discusses "Feminism And The Politics Of The Commons".  Chris Sunderland one of the founding directors of the Bristol Pound speaks about ‘Rooted’ People. Victor Galaz, Aart de Zeeuw, Debbie Tripley, Hideaki Shiroyama write that the planetary boundaries set by the ecological crises give us an opportunity to revamp our rotten system and a lot of other stories from around the world.

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



Feminism And The Politics Of The Commons
by Silvia Federici 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/10/feminism-and-the-politics-of-the-commons/

Arguing that women should take the lead in the collectivization of reproductive work and housing is not to naturalize housework as a female vocation. It is refusing to obliterate the collective experiences, the knowledge and the struggles that women have accumulated concerning reproductive work, whose history has been an essential part of our resistance to capitalism. Reconnecting with this history is a crucial step for women and men today both to undo the gendered architecture of our lives and to reconstruct our homes and lives as commons.




The ‘Rooted’ People
by Chris Sunderland 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/10/the-rooted-people/

We need to search for a deeper sense of human community and mutual responsibility for the natural world even within the diverse and creative dynamics of city life. In my home city of Bristol we have a burgeoning underclass of people who are self-consciously looking for a new way of life, who prize ‘community’ in a broad and inclusive sense and actively seek harmony with the natural world. These are the ‘rooted’ people. Their spirituality is shaped by their search for a different way of life.




Planetary Boundaries—Governing Emerging Risks And Opportunities
by Victor Galaz 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/10/planetary-boundaries-governing-emerging-risks-and-opportunities/

Discussions about possible governance reforms based on the notion of planetary boundaries are quickly gaining ground, and inducing much needed debates about the future of global environmental governance. We have touched on ideas around deep reform of global institutions, the potential to tap into law and legal principles, the importance of economics informed by biosphere realities, the importance of integrating knowledge across scales, and the need for a narrative that mobilizes people toward larger transitions. These are important starting points for more discussion and debate, not the final word. In fact, quick-fix solutions for governance and institutional problems this big and this important are impossible. Exploring these issues, and connecting risk with opportunities is a challenging task. It is essential, however, if the concept of planetary boundaries is to fulfill its potential as a guide for human action in the Anthropocene.





Refugee Trauma On Nauru: The Leaked Incident Reports
by Dr Binoy Kampmark 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/10/refugee-trauma-on-nauru-the-leaked-incident-reports/

Human sensibility has been given another sound beating with the leak of 2,116 incident reports from Australia’s remorseless detention camp on Nauru.    The reports total some 8,000 pages covering the period of May 2013 to October 2015 and were published by the Guardian on Wednesday. 





Humans Are Poisoning The Ocean—And It’s Poisoning Us Back
by Nika Knight 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/10/humans-are-poisoning-the-ocean-and-its-poisoning-us-back/

It’s no secret that we have trashed, poisoned, and warmed oceans at an unprecedented rate via human-caused climate change and pollution. It seems that oceans may be paying us back in kind, according to a new study that found levels of bacteria responsible for life-threatening illnesses spiking in the North Atlantic region.




Erdogan Resets Relations With Russia
by Abdus Sattar Ghazali 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/10/erdogan-resets-relations-with-russia/

On Tuesday, August 9, 2016, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in St. Petersburg to hold talks with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. This was Erdogan’s first foreign visit since the July 15 abortive coup against his elected government. St. Petersburg is Putin’s hometown.




Obstacle To Peace: The US Role In The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
by Jim Miles

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/10/obstacle-to-peace-the-us-role-in-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict/

Obstacle to Peace is a lengthy and involved read, yet readily accessible. It can and should serve as a reference work, a compendium of information on the Israel-Palestine conflict. As for the initial structural reference, the chapters are clearly delineated and set out with clear subheadings. The bibliography/reference section is extensive. It also struck me that the words narrative, double standards, manufactured consent, manage perceptions are not listed in the very useful index – these contextual methodologies are so widespread throughout the book the marker would simply be passim




Mordechai Vanunu: Israel’s Nuclear Whistle Blower And Hostage 
  by Eileen Fleming 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/10/mordechai-vanunu-israels-nuclear-whistle-blower-and-hostage/

Mordechai Vanunu Israel’s Nuclear Whistleblower claimed the title  “The Last Hostage” at his Facebook, Twitter and YouTube Channels with this iconic response to Israel’s July 4 indictment against him




Existential Threats And Our Belief Systems
by David Anderson 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/10/existential-threats-and-our-belief-systems/

This new Homo sapiens contradictory planetary reality leaves not just the western world, but the whole world in search for answers. We need to find the reason we are heading so rapidly toward dangerous shoals. How could we, the most clever and brilliant primate ever, be bringing on our own demise? Where did we all go so wrong? Could it be the pattern of our thought process, laboriously pieced together over the centuries beginning with the bronze/iron/agricultural age ten thousand years ago, that is now working against our continuation? Could it be there are self-destructive elements in that thought process so dangerous as to bring on our end? And if so, what are those elements?




A Nonviolent Strategy To End War
by Robert J Burrowes 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/10/a-nonviolent-strategy-to-end-war/

There is a long history of anti-war and peace activism. Much of this activism has focused on ending a particular war. Some of this activism has been directed at ending a particular aspect of war, such as the use of a type of weapon. Some of it has aimed to prevent a type of war, such as ‘aggressive war’ or nuclear war. For those activists who regard war as the scourge of human existence, however, ‘the holy grail’ has always been much deeper: to end war.




Ban Implementation of Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill 2016 in its Present Form
by Dr Sricharan Behera 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/10/ban-implementation-of-compensatory-afforestation-fund-bill-2016-in-its-present-form/

The recently passed CAF Bill 2016 does not have any provision to ensure consent of the Gram Sabha and forest rights holders, a statutory requirement under FRA 2006 and PESA 1996. Community Forest Resources (CFR) now constitute a new forest category to be governed and managed by Gram Sabhas and forest rights holders. The bill in the present form is in direct confrontation with the historic FRA 2006 and will have disastrous impact on the rights and livelihoods of tribals and forest dwellers




Zionist-Subverted Oberlin College Trashes Academic Free Speech And Suspends Professor Joy Karega
by Dr Gideon Polya 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/10/zionist-subverted-oberlin-college-trashes-academic-free-speech-and-suspends-professor-joy-karega/

Oberlin College, one of the first US colleges to have admitted Blacks, Women, Jews and Catholics, has given in to pressure from the genocidally racist    Zionist Lobby and suspended female African-American academic Dr Joy Karega, assistant professor of Rhetoric and Composition, who has been falsely defamed as an  anti-Semite and vilified for opposing corporate control of government, Israeli Gaza massacres and war, for expressing support for Palestinian human rights, and for scepticism over official US claims about  9-11 and terrorism.