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FOCUS: Garrison Keillor | Trump Has No Idea How to Tend His Garden: We Are All in Danger. 
 
Garrison Keillor, The Washington Post 
Keillor writes: "My feeling about Trumpism is that it demonstrates the value of hoeing and weeding in human development. Lawn-mowing, vacuuming, laundry - very important, too, but digging in dirt is basic to civilization, and the children of privilege who missed out on that chore are incomplete human beings." 
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CounterCurrents: Trump And The Deep State, Palestinian Was On Way To chemotherapy When Shot By Soldiers

Dear Friend,

There is universal condemnation of Trumpism. But the 'Deep State' in Washington with its secretive interest groups are driving him to a corner. Demagogues should be confronted and defeated democratically, not by nefarious designs. The 'Deep State' Vs Demagogue confrontation could even drag the world into unpredictable chaos, may be even into a nuclear war.    Ever sagacious John Avery reminds us, in his article "Trump And The Deep State", "Most people of good will in the United States and elsewhere oppose Donald Trum’s racism, bigotry and  and neo-fascism. It is a mistake, however, to attack his wish for better relations with Russia. A nuclear war between Russia and the United States  would be a catastrophe uf unimaginable proportions, from which human civilization would hardly recover. In a situation of tension, such a war could occur through human error, technical failure, or escallation, although neither government planned for it or wished for it."

Even in this age of hate, there are stories of love and compassion. We have to spread them and nurture them. Sarah Van Gelder reports from Zaandam, in Netherlands, where the small town offered a permanent home to Syrian refugees. 

What it is to be a mother in Gaza? Nesma Seyam tells her own story of becoming a mother, the joy, fear and anguish. 

Also many stories from around the world on a variety of topics. 


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





Trump And The Deep State
by John Scales Avery 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/18/trump-and-the-deep-state/

Most people of good will in the United States and elsewhere oppose Donald Trum’s racism, bigotry and    and neo-fascism. It is a mistake, however, to attack his wish for better relations with Russia. A nuclear war tbetween Russia and the United States  would be a catastrophe uf unimaginable proportions, from which human civilization would hardly recover. In a situation of tension, such a war could occur through human error, technical failure, or escallation, although neither government planned for it or wished for it.






Has The US Corporate Media Become “Adversarial”?
by Leftist Critic 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/18/10922/

While it is right to call out Trump’s lies, deceptions, and deceit, the corporate media is largely ignoring many of his policy maneuvers. Instead, it is better to engage in solidarity with countries under attack by US imperialism and resist Trump’s fascist moves, especially when it comes to anti-immigrant and pro-cop measures, but not get caught up in the supposed Trump-Russia “connection.”







Joy And Fear: A Mother’s Lot In Gaza
by Nesma Seyam 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/18/joy-and-fear-a-mothers-lot-in-gaza/

The doctor studied the test results, raised her head and smiled. “Pregnant,” she said. “Congratulations, you are pregnant!” All I could muster in response was: “Why?”
Joy, excitement and fear knotted inside me. My husband and I would soon have a baby, filling our life with love and noise. But a storm of questions raged in my head. I immediately began to fear that Israel would bomb us again. How would we run away if that happened? How would we survive? I was scared and nervous. The memories of all the wars I had lived through came alive and overpowered me.







Palestinian Was On Way To chemotherapy When Shot By Soldiers
by Maureen Clare Murphy 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/18/palestinian-was-on-way-to-chemotherapy-when-shot-by-soldiers/

A Palestinian man was on his way to a chemotherapy session when he was shot by Israeli soldiers last November, his family told an Israeli journalist this week.Muhammad Amar Jallad was being treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, his family told Haaretz reporter Gideon Levy. Jallad was reported to have died in an Israeli hospital where he was being treated for his injuries last week.







Open Letter To Australian MPs Re Apartheid Israel PM Netanyahu Visit To Australia”
by Dr Gideon Polya 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/18/open-letter-to-australian-mps-re-apartheid-israel-pm-netanyahu-visit-to-australia/

2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the seizure of all of Palestine by Apartheid Israel and half a century of brutal Israeli Occupation and further, ongoing Palestinian Genocide. Australia, the world’s leading supporter of Apartheid Israel after the US, invited Israeli PM Netanyahu to visit Australia in 2017 and he will arrive in Sydney next week for a trip abbreviated by the exigencies of the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine and US President Trump’s historic equivocation over the now impossible 2-state solution. My Open Letter response to Australian Federal MPs is reproduced here







The Number Of Anti-Muslim Hate Groups On The Rise In US
by Abdus Sattar Ghazali

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/18/the-number-of-anti-muslim-hate-groups-on-the-rise-in-us/

The number of anti-Muslim hate groups nearly tripled from 34 in 2015 to 101 in 2016. That’s just one of the dramatic statistics in a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).







Western Sahara: An albatross On African Union’s Conscience
by Nizar K Visram 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/18/western-sahara-an-albatross-on-african-unions-conscience/

AT the 28th Summit meeting of the African Union (AU) held in Addis Ababa on 30 January 2017, Morocco’s readmission to the continental body generated heated discussion. At the end of the day the Kingdom of Morocco managed to win over sufficient member states on its side and it was allowed to join the fold unconditionally.







India Based Neutrino Observatory–Internal Report Shows Aquifer Impact Is Inevitable
by VT Padmanabhan  

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/18/india-based-neutrino-observatory-internal-report-shows-aquifer-impact-is-inevitable/

The India­based Neutrino Observaory (INO) proposed to be set up under the Cardamom Hills (09.9632361°N, 077.2729306°E) in the Western Ghats, a UNESCO heritage site,  near the Kerala­Tamil Nadu border with its entry portal in Pottipuram village in Theni  district   of   Tamil   Nadu     has   been   opposed    by   the   local   communities     and  the environmentalists. The first INO Risk Audit Report was published in Countercurrents. 2  The main issues raised in the the Risk Audit Group’s articles are:






Value In The Commons Economy
by Ann Marie Utratel 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/17/value-in-the-commons-economy/

Society is shifting from a system based on value created in a market system (through labor and capital) to one which also recognizes broader value streams. These streams are experienced as ‘contributions’ to structures based on the co-construction of shared resources, also known as ‘commons’. While this new system of value creation and distribution still operates within the mainstream value orthodoxy today, the Value in the Commons Economy report emphasizes how pioneering communities are working on expanding the new system from within, and building the potential to eventually break free of those confines.







The Dutch City That Offered Refugees A Permanent Home
by Sarah van Gelder 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/17/the-dutch-city-that-offered-refugees-a-permanent-home/

By the time the refugees could apply for residency status in Europe, the people of Zaandam, a quaint Dutch town 15 minutes by train from Amsterdam had bonded with them and didn’t want them to leave. They lobbied the city council, asking that the refugees be invited to make Zaandam their permanent home.






Adolf, The Donald And History
by Dr Binoy Kampmark 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/17/adolf-the-donald-and-history/

What matters is whether that entertainment is digestible for the US populace.  There is Trump, shocking an entire system, and providing one of its finer tests. There will be little need for the smoky conspiracy of a Reichstag fire in all of this.

Childish: Pray for 'Celebrity Apprentice'

Childish and Adolescent comments defiled the National Prayer Breakfast for a mindless television show. 

VIDEO ON LINK

Trump at National Prayer Breakfast: Pray for 'Celebrity Apprentice'

Jacob Pramuk

Thursday, 2 Feb 2017

Like every president since Dwight D. Eisenhower, President Donald Trump attended the annual National Prayer Breakfast. But the 45th president was the only one to ask the bipartisan gathering to pray for Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Trump did address faith in his speech Thursday, but he also took jabs at "Celebrity Apprentice" after the show's producer Mark Burnett introduced him. 

"When I ran for president, I had to leave the show. That's when I knew for sure I was doing it," Trump said. "And they hired a big, big movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to take my place. And we know how that turned out. The ratings went right down the tubes, it's been a total disaster, and Mark will never, ever bet against Trump again. And I want to just pray for Arnold if we can for those ratings, OK?"

Muted laughter followed the joke about the NBC show, which helped to vault Trump to nationwide fame.

Trump still has an executive producer credit on the program and gets a per-episode fee likely "in the low five-figures," according to Variety. It marks the second time since his election that Trump has mocked the show's ratings and sparked media coverage of a clash between him and Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger, the former California governor, responded in a video posted to Twitter, asking Trump to switch jobs.

"Hey Donald, I have a great idea. Why don't we switch jobs? You take over TV because you're such an expert in ratings. And I take over your job, and people can finally sleep comfortably again," he said. 

Later on Thursday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump's comments were meant as a "lighthearted moment." Spicer also said Mark Burnett, creator of "The Apprentice," was at the breakfast.

"If you look at the totality of his remarks, they were absolutely beautiful. And I think to hone in on that, it was a lighthearted moment he was trying to have with a big supporter of the National Prayer Breakfast and a personal friend," Spicer in a news conference.

The annual National Prayer Breakfast started in 1953.

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/02/trump-at-national-prayer-breakfast-pray-for-celebrity-apprentice.html

CounterCurrents: Appearance Of Military Officers During Trump’s Inaugural Address Still Unexplained

Dear Friend,

A strange and disturbing sequence took place behind President Donald Trump as he delivered his inaugural address Friday, which has gone virtually without comment in the news media. At one minute and 16 seconds into the speech, Trump turns around, at which point two marine sentries behind him open the doors of the west side of the capitol building to allow the group of 10 officers to walk down the steps to stand directly behind Trump. What does that mean? Is it a show of strength? Is it a warning? Only time will tell. 

Immediately after taking office President Trump  installed a bust of Churchill in the Oval Office. Why Churchill? Romi Mahajan goes throgh the important book by Shashi Tharoor "An Era of Darkness" and warns us that the bust of Churchill may be a forewarning of things to come. 

Millions are protesting against 'Trumpism' around the world. Some of them may be naive too. Dr Binoy Kampmark reports from San Francisco "they held signs backing Hillary Clinton as the legitimate president, alongside peace symbols, NATO, and “love, actually”. " When we protest Trump we also need political understanding of against what we are protesting. 

Just a couple of days after she helped a team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to investigate complaints of rapes by the security forces near Bijapur (South Chhattisgarh), social activist Bela Bhatia was told by a mob of goons to leave her house in Parpa village outside Jagdalpur or face the consequences. This comes after a series threats against JagLag and other social activists and organisations in Chhattisgarh. 

Well we are coming full circle now! With climate change and fast depletion of resources our Mother Earth is on the edge of the cliff with 7.5 Billions humans and other species facing extinction. The near term calamity can be so disastrous. Sally Dugman asks "What are we going to do with  immigrants fleeing deplorable conditions in their own lands? How many more people can the world subsume with climate change conditions and fossil fuel depletion on the way? If you think for a moment that the Pogroms were an isolated set of incidents, look at at present-day Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Rwanda and so on. Look, too, at what’s slated for Florida and Boston while speculating outcomes". The scenario may not be unfamiliar to those who read Jared Diamond's remarkable book "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed ".  We've to accept that our civilization is heading for a collapse and devise strategies accordingly, at the earliest. 

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




Appearance Of Military Officers During Trump’s Inaugural Address Still Unexplained
by Jerry White 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/23/appearance-of-military-officers-during-trumps-inaugural-address-still-unexplained/

A strange and disturbing sequence took place behind President Donald Trump as he delivered his inaugural address Friday, which has gone virtually without comment in the news media.






Trump’s Inaugural Address: Neoliberal Anti-Christ Donald Trump’s “America First” Trumps Jesus’ “Love Thy Neighbour”
by Dr Gideon Polya 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/23/trumps-inaugural-address-neoliberal-anti-christ-donald-trumps-america-first-trumps-jesus-love-thy-neighbour/

US President Donald  Trump’s Inaugural Address was a mish-mash of populist rhetoric, unachievable promises, lying by commission and egregious lying by omission, most notably over the 1.7 million Americans who die preventably each year in the neoliberal US Corporatocracy.  Crucially, espousal of “America First” by an anti-Christ Donald Trump contradicts the “Love thy neighbour” imperative of that wonderful Palestinian humanitarian Jesus Christ who is worshipped by most Americans.





Ignored Ironies: Women, Protest And Donald Trump
by Dr Binoy Kampmark 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/23/ignored-ironies-women-protest-and-donald-trump/

In front of the Asian Museum were several women, garbed in hippy chic outfits, the tattered jackets lending themselves to stylish suggestions.    They held signs backing Hillary Clinton as the legitimate president, alongside peace symbols, NATO, and “love, actually”.  The confused combination evidently ignored the troubling and far from peaceful role of NATO since the end of the Cold War, not to mention the role played by the nuclear weapons in the alliance, triggering the European Disarmament Movement.





Busting The Busts Of Churchill:  Why Reading “An Era Of Darkness” By Shashi Tharoor Is Necessary
by Romi Mahajan 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/23/busting-the-busts-of-churchill-why-reading-an-era-of-darkness-by-shashi-tharoor-is-necessary/

Writers are every now and again given a gift from the “news,” a nugget that serves to be an easy opening gambit.  The 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, delivered a perfect one recently by installing a bust of Churchill in the Oval Office. One would indeed get this impression from the typical romantic (and racist) hagiographies that pass as “history.”  To read such pabulum is to be at play in the fields of elision.






Bangalore Protests Against Trumpism
by New Socialist Alternative (CWI-India) 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/23/bangalore-protest-against-trumpism/

The ‘Bangalore Joins Global Resistance to Trump’ was a remarkable event, as we joined the #ResistTrump movement that has engulfed and raged around the world in continents.






Social Activist Bela Bhatia Attacked At Home In Bastar, Asked To Leave In 24 Hours

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/23/social-activist-bela-bhatia-attacked-at-home-in-bastar-asked-to-leave-in-24-hours/

Just a couple of days after she helped a team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to investigate complaints of rapes by the security forces near Bijapur (South Chhattisgarh), Bela Bhatia was told by a mob of goons to leave her house in Parpa village outside Jagdalpur or face the consequences.






Moving Successfully Towards Future Improvements In A Distressed World
by Sally Dugman 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/23/moving-successfully-towards-future-improvements-in-a-distressed-world/

Let’s go full circle here. What are we going to do with  immigrants fleeing deplorable conditions in their own lands? How many more people can the world subsume with climate change conditions and fossil fuel depletion on the way? If you think for a moment that the Pogroms were an isolated set of incidents, look at at present-day Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Rwanda and so on. Look, too, at what’s slated for Florida and Boston while speculating outcomes






Rebuilding Activism From The Ground Up
by Mickey Z 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/23/rebuilding-activism-from-the-ground-up/

It can be the same when you resist oppression. You may begin such work as a reaction or even a resolution. At first, it will be challenging. But if you stick with and start to see some results and find the method that lights you up, you begin to look forward to it. You will even find yourself thinking and talking about your activism all the time. You’ll wake each morning on a mission. You’ll go to bed each night knowing you did the work. 






Development And India: Why GM Mustard Really Matters 
by Colin Todhunter 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/23/development-and-india-why-gm-mustard-really-matters/

The push to commercialise the growing of genetically modified (GM) mustard in India is currently held up in court due to a lawsuit by Aruna Rodrigues. The next hearing is due in February. Rodrigues has indicated at length that, to date, procedures and tests have been corrupted by fraudulent practices, conflicts of interests and gross regulatory delinquency.





Strategic Disinvestment of Bharat Earth Movers Limited Will Compromise India’s Security
by S G Vombatkere 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/23/strategic-disinvestment-of-bharat-earth-movers-limited-will-compromise-indias-security/

I therefore earnestly and strongly urge you to urgently reconsider the economically and financially ill-advised disinvestment of equity in BEML, so that MoD retains strategic control of BEML, and immediately scrap the disinvestment proposal in the best interest of the defence, security and sovereignty of our country.