CounterCurrents: A friendly advice to fellow Indians, Trump Lines Up Militarists For Cabinet Posts

Dear Friend,

Today I had a conversation with my neighborhood grocer from whom my I buy necessary items in this period of cash crunch on credits. He was in a sombre mood. He anxiously asked me will this be  over soon? He said things are getting scarce in the wholesale market. Trucks are not coming. He is worried that his stocks could soon run out. 

A few days ago when I bought some extra kilo grams of rice and other stocks, of course on credit,  he was amused. Now even he is anxious. Truck owners say that most of the trucks are stranded. My friendly advice to my fellow Indians is this, stock up some food items, may be for two months. We don't know how long will this crisis last and how worse it will get.  As Daag Ujjala writes in another context,  "You don’t buy Band-Aids only after you cut yourself? You don’t go to the doctor only after you are terminal. You don’t buy insurance after you crash our car or get a concussion." So be prudent and be on the safer side.

US President-elect Donald Trump is assembling the most right-wing and militarist administration in U.S history. On Sunday, Trump met with retired Marine General James N. Mattis, responsible for U.S. war crimes in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. Mattis is being touted as Trump’s likely defense secretary. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama for attorney general, retired General Michael Flynn for national security adviser, and Representative Mike Pompeo for CIA director. Those appointments came after the selection of the fascist Stephen Bannon, former head of Breitbart News, as top White House strategist.

Daag Ujjala gives a warning, "Nobody can predict exactly what will happen but they can legitimately extrapolate based not only on what they see but what power people do, have always done, and say they plan to do. And it isn’t pretty. The window is closing. Pry it back open my friends."

It seems the windows are closing on Edward Snowden after President Obama refused a pardon. Trump’s pick for new CIA director, Kansas Republican Congressman Michael Pompeo is someone who called for Snowden’s execution. 

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



Trump Lines Up Militarists For Cabinet Posts
by Tom Eley 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/11/21/trump-lines-up-militarists-for-cabinet-posts/

US President-elect Donald Trump continued over the weekend to assemble the makings of the most right-wing and militarist administration in U.S. history, while taking steps to ensure that he retains personal control over his multi-billion-dollar business empire.




The Closing Window: Pry it Open to Breathe
by Daag Ujjala 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/11/21/the-closing-window-pry-it-open-to-breathe/

Nobody can predict exactly what will happen but they can legitimately extrapolate based not only on what they see but what power people do, have always done, and say they plan to do. And it isn’t pretty. The window is closing. Pry it back open my friends.






Obama Rejects Pardon For Snowden
by Jerry White 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/11/21/obama-rejects-pardon-for-snowden/

In an interview published Friday, President Barack Obama told Der Spiegeland German public broadcaster ARD that he would not pardon Edward Snowden before leaving office in January. The former National Security Agency contractor remains in exile for exposing the illegal surveillance operations of the NSA and other U.S. spying agencies, which target countless millions of people in the U.S. and around the world.






Demonetisation Sound Death Knell For Dalits, Adivasis
by Oliver DSouza 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/11/21/demonetisation-sound-death-knell-for-dalits-adivasis/

Even as the rest of the population continues to stagger and reel under the blow that demonetization has delivered to them, almost all Dalits and Adivasis in the country have been hit enormously in varying degrees, with the hardest HIT being the rural ones, reducing them to a worse state than they already were in, struggling to survive for want of livelihood, food and medical care, exasperated due to lack of any visible solutions on the horizon.





It Is Not Just Cash, Government Policies Hurt Us In Many Other Ways
by Vidyadhar Date 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/11/21/it-is-not-just-cash-government-policies-hurt-us-in-many-other-ways/

The money crisis is more painful because of is suddenness. But the government has been causing hardships to citizens for years through various ways. One is the anti-people policy on transport. The pain is spread over a long time and we do not feel it so intensely. The government has inflicted motorization on the country without any safeguards to vulnerable sections .






Similarities And Commonalities
by Peter Van Els 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/11/21/similarities-and-commonalities/

By decadence and megalomania, often eventually, those how are in power led to their own destruction, only the people can give it a push to stop these great injustice. In a peaceful, rational and wise way, the only real way. Let us come together, unite and connect, our agreements and common forces bundling, out of respect and love for all who / what lives and for our unique Earth, our wonderful nature and for our beautiful Children and Grandchildren.






Sagarmala Is A Noose Around Coastal Communities, Will Compromise Indian People’s Security

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/11/21/sagarmala-is-a-noose-around-coastal-communities-will-compromise-indian-peoples-security/

National Fishworkers’ Forum & National Alliance of People’s Movements will join hands to fight the destructive port & corridor based development model






We Are Flames, Not Flowers
by Moin Qazi 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/11/21/we-are-flames-not-flowers/

.Women who so far had been diffident and withdrawn are gradually shedding their earlier reticence and stepping out of the four walls of their homes to acquire an identity of their own.  The surge is rippling at   multiple levels. We need to remember that women’s empowerment is a journey, not a fixed point that yields to simple policies.

CounterCurrents: HuffPo Goes Haywire Against Russia, For Hillary, Growing Disquiet In Washington Over Russian-Iranian Actions In Syria, The Obama Doctrine Is Ravaging The Middle East

Dear Friend,

Russian bombers used an air base in the northwest of Iran to bomb targets inside Syria, a first time in the history of the Syrian imbroglio. Chinese are showing interest in Syria, and Turkey may be wavering. Enough signs to make the US policy makers nervous. Where are we heading? Enough signs to make us all nervous.

Lalita Ramdas writes on the recent sedition charges slapped upon Amnesty International India and senior journalist Seema Mustafa for conducting a hearing on Kashmir issue. In todays issue there are two important stories on Kashmir as well. Bilal Hussain asks the question "Is Independent Kashmir Possible?" Mohammad Ashraf  asks to send negotiators and not soldiers to Kashmir. Prof Shah Alam Khan analyses the healthcare system in India which is being rapidly privatised. He tells the story of 9 year old Seema who according to was murdered by the healthcare system in India. 

And in our Commons series Franz Nahrada writes about using pattern language in building resilient communities.

And many more stories from around the world. 

And of course the usual request note,

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



Growing Disquiet In Washington Over Russian-Iranian Actions In Syria
by Bill Van Auken 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/18/growing-disquiet-in-washington-over-russian-iranian-actions-in-syria/

Russian bombers used an air base in the northwest of Iran for a second day Wednesday to attack targets inside Syria described by Moscow as arms depots and command centers used to support jihadist militias fighting Syrian government forces for control of the city of Aleppo. This marks the first time that Russia  used a base inside a third country  to execute its bombing campaign in Syria



And Then They Came For Amnesty And Seema Mustafa
by Lalita Ramdas 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/18/and-then-they-came-for-amnesty-and-seema-mustafa/

It is a time for unity of action, for solidarity and strategic thoughtful response. But is no longer a time for silence, or for sitting on the fence. Action like the PIL filed in the Supreme Court against the anti deluvian law of sedition by Prashant Bhushan and Uday Kumar – is a fine example of legal action





Health Impoverishment: Has India’s Healthcare System Privatised Enough?
by Prof Shah Alam Khan 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/18/health-impoverishment-has-indias-healthcare-system-privatised-enough/

The story of nine year old daughter Seema is a symbolic represenation of healthcare system in India





National Fish Workers Forum Passes Resolution Against New Commercial Ports And Demands Scheduled Tribe Status For Fisher People

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/18/national-fish-workers-forum-passes-resolution-against-new-commercial-ports-and-demands-scheduled-tribe-status-for-fisher-people/

The Annual Executive Committee meeting of National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) was held on August 11th and 12th in Pondicherry and passed a resolution demanding an end to building new commercial ports on the Indian coast




The Commoning Of Patterns And The Patterns Of Commoning: A Short Sketch
by Franz Nahrada 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/18/the-commoning-of-patterns-and-the-patterns-of-commoning-a-short-sketch/

Pattern languages will help us to avoid schematic thinking and grasp the deeper complexity and the degrees of freedom involved in a world that is evolving into true togetherness – because the ways of command and control, of money and power, and conventional economic thinking, have proven to be way too primitive to solve the problems they have created





The Obama Doctrine Is Ravaging The Middle East 
by Dr Ramzy Baroud 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/18/the-obama-doctrine-is-ravaging-the-middle-east/

Everyone seems to have a theory on how to obliterate ISIS, or ‘Daesh’. However, two points are rarely raised: one, concerning the origins of the group and the second, on whether there are genuine intentions to defeat it, in the first place.




The Hypocrisies Of Commemoration: Dispute At Long Tan
by Dr Binoy Kampmark 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/18/the-hypocrisies-of-commemoration-dispute-at-long-tan/

One of the stranger sights in international relations is that of a defeated State seeking to commemorate its fallen in a country whose affairs it sought to disrupt.  Australia is particularly adept at this, having obtained near exclusive entitlements to commemorate the landings at Gallipoli in Turkey on an annual basis, thereby inculcating successive generations with the notion that the wasteful engagement in April 1915 was in the name of “freedom.”




Interview With Gary Corseri On US Foreign Policy

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/18/interview-with-gary-corseri-on-us-foreign-policy/

Muslim Press  conducted an interview with poet, writer, and columnist Gary Corseri to discuss the foreign policy of the United States.





HuffPo Goes Haywire Against Russia, For Hillary
by Eric Zuesse 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/18/huffpo-goes-haywire-against-russia-for-hillary/

As part of their campaign for Hillary Clinton to become President, Huffington Post bannered their home-page on the night of Tuesday August 16th, “TRUMP BRINGS KREMLIN APOLOGIST TO INTEL BRIEFING!”, and linked to their news story that’s headlined against Trump, “Donald Trump To Bring Adviser With Russia Ties To Classified Briefing: Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn will join Trump at Wednesday’s top-secret session.”




The real Reasons Behind Dilma Rousseff’s Impeachment
by Abdus Sattar Ghazali 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/18/the-real-reasons-behind-dilma-rousseffs-impeachment/

During the U.S. presidency of Barack Obama, Latin America was overshadowed by the Arab Spring, problems in Afghanistan and Ukraine, Travkin says. During that time, Brazil became an active member of the BRICS, and established long-term relationships, including economic and political ones, with Russia and China. The BRICS had become a new platform for discussions, which was an alternative to the current financial system based on the U.S. dollar. According Travkin, this seems to have caused great irritation in Washington.




Kashmir: Negotiators, Not Soldiers!
by Mohammad Ashraf 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/18/kashmir-negotiators-not-soldiers/

Kashmir can be pacified by sincere and honest efforts for sorting out the basic political problem through dialogue and not by sending more and more soldiers to brutalize the people!




Is Independent Kashmir Possible?
by Bilal Hussain 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/08/18/is-independent-kashmir-possible/

With a positive score on almost every front, I will end the write-up by saying that Kashmir can be independent for the greater good of the whole region.