CounterCurrents: A Bold, ‘Outside The Box’ Suggestion For Addressing Climate Change, Fake News In The U.S Endangering Russian Ties While Corruption Pays Off Big

Dear Friend,

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

A Bold, ‘Outside The Box’ Suggestion For Addressing Climate Change

by Kim Scipes 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/04/03/a-bold-outside-the-box-suggestion-for-addressing-climate-change/

A talk given by  Kim Scipes of Purdue University

Trump In Outer Space: The NASA Bill

by Dr Binoy Kampmark 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/04/03/trump-in-outer-space-the-nasa-bill/

The NASA authorisation bill was another Trump huff and puff show, brimming with the usual air of minted if misplaced confidence.  “My fellow Americans, this week in the company of astronauts I was honoured to sign the NASA Transition Authorization Act right into law.”

Fake News In The U.S Endangering Russian Ties While Corruption Pays Off Big

by Dr Arshad M Khan 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/04/03/fake-news-in-the-u-s-endangering-russian-ties-while-corruption-pays-off-big/

The incessant drumbeat demonizing Russia has reached a crescendo here in the U.S. Half-truths lead, and outright lies follow. A Congressman on National Public Radio accuses the Russians of interfering in the November election; as a member of the Intelligence Committee, he should know better.

How Fair Is The Media?

by Moin Qazi 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/04/03/how-fair-is-the-media/

In an ideal world, journalism is a profession of incredible integrity. Good journalists are amongst the most dexterous and skilled people in the world—and also the most respected. We have all benefited from the work of indefatigable journalists who put life, limb, family and even sanity on the line for  truth. There is no sane, decent, and democratic polity possible without journalists who challenge power, relentlessly pursue and disseminate  truth.

I Am An ‘Indian Muslim’!

by Sarah Kidwai 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/04/03/i-am-an-indian-muslim/

I am an ‘Indian Muslim’ coming from a moderate practicing Muslim family. Brought up in Hindu neighborhood, studied in a Christian Missionary school and have friends of various faiths and ideologies. During my childhood I used to burn crackers with my friends on Diwali, make rangolis in neighborhood. I still have many Hindu, Bengali and Christian friends dining with us on Eid, enjoying ‘biryani’ and ‘siwai’ more than I do. Putting ‘bindi’ on my forehead fascinates me the most during my daily routine while going to the department of studies as well as other public places which never comes in my way of being identified as a Muslim

Education Still Far From The Reach Of Many Girls

by Richa Saxena 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/04/03/education-still-far-from-the-reach-of-many-girls/

In 2010, an estimated eighty-three of one hundred girls enrolled in primary schools (I–V classes) reached upper primary schools (VI–VIII classes), sixty-one reached secondary schools (IX–X classes), and only thirty-seven reached higher secondary levels (XI–XII classes).

Post-Sept 29 Surgical Strikes, Frequency Of Terror Incidents Increased, Locals In Militant Ranks Swelled

by Syed Junaid Hashmi 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/04/03/post-sept-29-surgical-strikes-frequency-of-terror-incidents-increased-locals-in-militant-ranks-swelled/

Jammu and Kashmir witnessed no thaw in the militant activities, killings, fresh recruitments and infiltration attempts even after the September 29, 2016 surgical strike claim across the line of control (LOC) of the central government.

Grenade Attack At Nowhatta, Srinagar : Policeman Killed, Around A Dozen Personnel Injured

by Mir Suhail 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/04/03/grenade-attack-at-nowhatta-srinagar-policeman-killed-around-a-dozen-personnel-injured/

One policeman named Shamin Ahmad was killed while around a dozen injured after unidentified gunmen lobbed a grenade at a joint party of police and paramilitary CRPF in Nowhatta area of Srinagar downtown Sunday evening.

UW professor: The information war is real, and we’re losing it

 link.

UW professor: The information war is real, and 

we’re losing it

A University of Washington professor started studying social networks 

to help people respond to disasters. But she got dragged down a rabbit 

hole of twitter-boosted conspiracy theories, and ended up mapping our political moment.

SEATTLETIMES.COM

“After every mass shooting, dozens of them, there would be these strange clusters of activity,” Starbird says. “It was so fringe we kind of laughed at it.

“That was a terrible mistake. We should have been studying it.”

Starbird is in the field of “crisis informatics,” or how information flows after a disaster. She got into it to see how social media might be used for the public good, such as to aid emergency responders.

Instead she’s gone down a dark rabbit hole, one that wends through the back warrens of the web and all the way up to the White House.

Starbird argues in a new paper, set to be presented at a computational social-science conference in May, that these “strange clusters” of wild conspiracy talk, when mapped, point to an emerging alternative media ecosystem on the web of surprising power and reach.

It features sites such as Infowars dot com, hosted by informal President Donald Trump adviser Alex Jones, which has pushed a range of conspiracies, including that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a staged fake.

There are dozens of other conspiracy-propagating websites such as beforeitsnews dot com, nodisinfo dot com and veteranstoday dot com. Starbird cataloged 81 of them, linked through a huge community of interest connected by shared followers on Twitter, with many of the tweets replicated by automated bots."

The Seattle Times

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/uw-professor-the-information-war-is-real-and-were-losing-it/

CounterCurrents: The Music Of EveryThing

Dear Friend,

Franklin Lamb tells the story of war torn Syria through the suffering of  Ghina Wadi, who has spent the past seven months often in unbearable pain.


Sally Dugman writes “Between 1492 and 1880, between 2 and 5.5 million Native Americans were enslaved in the Americas in addition to 12.5 million African slaves.”  Oh now the question, what do we do with the sub-humans?

Do you sing to the nature? If you sing to nature it will sing back to you. Read the beautiful write up by Suprabha Seshan.

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





Life And Death Struggle For The Children Of Syria
by Franklin Lamb

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/21/life-and-death-struggle-for-the-children-of-syria/

On 2/17/2017 ten year old Ghina Wadi, who has spent the past seven months often in unbearable pain, which for the first month was periodically relieved for only approximately 15 minutes at a time- by heavy injections of morphine, had another of what hopefully this time will be a leg saving operation. The operation took place at a surgical hospital in Jaramana, ten kilometers Southeast of Damascus not far from the Palestinian Refugee Camp of Jaramana. Ghina was shot by a sniper on 8/2/2016 on the main street in Madaya at the Abdel Majed checkpoint when she was on her way to buy medicine for her mother, Sahar. Her accompanying seven-year-old sister Nagham was also injured in her hand and arm. 






Chaos And A Surreal Trump
by Dr Arshad M Khan 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/21/chaos-and-a-surreal-trump/

Trump’s reluctance to fire Flynn is not that difficult to discern:  he was his point man on Russia, and the most ardent advocate of a policy reversal.  That Russia is being asked to leave Crimea, and Trump is now 100 percent behind NATO signal an end to any quick accommodation with Putin.






Global Entry Privileges  For Muslim-American Travelers Are Quietly Revoked
by Abdus Sattar Ghazali 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/21/global-entry-privileges-for-muslim-american-travelers-are-quietly-revoked/

The Seven-million strong American Muslim community, on the receiving end since the ghastly terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001, has ostensibly become target of President Trump’s policies.






Bangladesh: February 21 And Unchained Participation
by Farooque Chowdhury 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/21/bangladesh-february-21-and-unchained-participation/

Aspiration for unchained participation in all walks of life is at the core of the spirit of Ekushey February, the Language Day observed on February 21 by the Baangaalees, and now observed as International Mother Language Day throughout the world. Aspiration for unchained participation is the spirit peoples nourish transcending time and ages all around the world as it’s a part of democratic way of life peoples aspire for around the globe. Ekushey’s spirit, thus, is democracy, universal.






Sub-Humans — Just What Are We To Do with Them, The Vermin?
by Sally Dugman 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/21/sub-humans-just-what-are-we-to-do-with-them-the-vermin/

I just now read an article that states: Native American slavery “is a piece of the history of slavery that has been glossed over,” says Linford D. Fisher, associate professor of history at Brown University. “Between 1492 and 1880, between 2 and 5.5 million Native Americans were enslaved in the Americas in addition to 12.5 million African slaves.”  







North Korea, The US And The Status Quo
by Jon Kofas 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/21/north-korea-the-us-and-the-status-quo/

In the age of “fake news” and President Donald Trump claiming that Sweden was riddled with terror attacks which of course never took place, and of perpetual corporate and state-media propaganda passed on as real news, it is very difficult to separate fact from fiction






Japanese American Internment Remembered, As Trump Rounds Up Immigrants
by Dr Shepherd Bliss 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/21/japanese-american-internment-remembered-as-trump-rounds-up-immigrants/

The Japanese American Citizens League held a “Day of Remembrance” at Sebastopol’s Enmanji Buddhist Temple on Feb. 18 in Northern California. Around 200 people marked the 75th anniversary of the incarceration of over 120,000 innocent West Coast Americans of Japanese ancestry in internment camps during World War II.






The Music Of EveryThing
by Suprabha Seshan 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/21/the-music-of-everything/

I sing to elephants. It’s what I do. I sing because I like to, and because I believe my elephant neighbours are comfortable in my singing presence. I sing all the time, and it’s when I sing that I know more precisely how I feel. My own speech never does justice to my thoughts and emotions: always a little clumsy and coarse, somehow inadequate, and inexpressive.






CIA Fed False Media, Hillary Dems, Cities Bomber McCain Demand War With & Destruction Of Russia 
by Jay Janson 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/21/cia-fed-false-media-hillary-dems-cities-bomber-mccain-demand-war-with-destruction-of-russia/

The seeds of public awareness of decades of monolithic mainstream media lies, news manipulation & deception sown by a maverick president, who is surely backed by a segment of Wall Street investors whose portfolios are NOT heavily weighted toward the manufacture WMDs and expected gargantuan profits from a new world war, will eventually grow public understanding of US crimes against humanity that began in Korea and continued on





New York Times Op-Ed Openly Promotes Formal Apartheid Regime By Israel
by Matt Peppe

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/21/new-york-times-op-ed-openly-promotes-formal-apartheid-regime-by-israel/

That the New York Times demonstrates a systematic editorial bias in favor of Israeli state power and against Palestinian rights is old news. Whether it is reporting on the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) movement, the deadly Gaza flotilla raid, cease fire violations between the IDF and Hamas, or any other aspect of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, the New York Times reliably acts as a mouthpiece for propagating Israeli hasbara (propaganda). Aside from its “objective” reporting, this editorial bias also manifests itself in the narratives that make their way into the Opinion section. On Feb. 14, the paper allowed a spokesperson for the illegal settlers in the occupied territories to openly advocate violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the establishment an apartheid state in Mandatory Palestine.





A Tale of Two Realities: Donald Trump And Israel
by Dr Binoy Kampmark  

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/21/a-tale-of-two-realities-donald-trump-and-israel/

It was supremely wicked, and rapidly meandered into horse muddied waters.  US President Donald J. Trump had openly expressed what many a US politician has felt but avoided for the sake of false decency: the two-state solution regarding Israel and Palestine was “a bad idea”.    There was only one supremo in this fight, and it certainly did not entail the downtrodden in Gaza or the West Bank.







Americans Must Crow Anew
by Richard Oxman 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/21/americans-must-crow-anew/

We are actually murdering birds. Not very poetic of us, that. And that fact is what guarantees that a Trump or some equivalent will give us the (less than) lyrical leadership that will keep us forever grounded. In true prosaic fashion. Just remember that we were all born with wings.






Strategic Thinking And Organizing Resistance
by Kim Scipes 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/21/strategic-thinking-and-organizing-resistance/


The first few weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency has seen an amazing explosion of mobilizing to oppose him and his administration on oh-so-many levels.  And that has been heartening. But it is not enough.






Modi’s Muslim Bashing In U.P Elections: Carrying Forward The RSS Legacy
by Shamsul Islam 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/21/modis-muslim-bashing-in-u-p-elections-carrying-forward-the-rss-legacy/

As the multi-phased UP assymbly elections progress, PM Modi as the only mascot of BJP’s campaign is becoming more belligerent in his communal polarizing rhetoric.  Speaking in an election rally on (February 20, 2017) at Fatehpur, PM while raising the issue of appeasement of Muslim minority in the State by the current Samajwadi Party government he went to the extent of declaring that “Ramzan me bijli athi hai tho Diwali me bhi ani chahiye; Bhedbhav nhi hona chahiye (If there is electricity during Ramadan then it must be available during Diwali too; there shouldn’t be any discrimination)…Gaon me kabristan banta hai to shamshaan bhi banna chahiye (If there is a ‘kabaristaan’ (graveyard), there should be a ‘shamshaan’ (cremation ground) too”






Gender and Diversifying Trade Union Leadership
by Smita M Patil 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/02/21/gender-and-diversifying-trade-union-leadership/

This book is a tour de force that seeks to answer the complexities that surround the questions linked to gendered understanding of leadership. It adds appreciably scholarly knowledge to the issues related to leadership, union democracy and gender.