Dear Friend,
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/subscribe.htm. You can also follow us on twitter, http://twitter.com/countercurrents and on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/countercurrents
In Solidarity
Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org
Ananta Bijoy Dash's Murder: Swedish PEN Demands
A Response From The Swedish Embassy In Dhaka
By Svenska PEN
http://www.countercurrents.org/pen130515.htm
Swedish PEN demands a response from the Swedish Embassy in Dhaka following Tuesday's murder of the author and blogger Ananta Bijoy Dash
US Decision To Open Arctic To Shell Drilling Sparks Green Fury
By Alex Pashley
http://www.countercurrents.org/pashley130515.htm
The Obama administration approved Royal Dutch Shell's plan to restart drilling off the coast of Alaska on Monday, three years after it was forced to halt operations following a series of safety failures including an oil rig fire. The Anglo-Dutch company wants to begin drilling up to six wells in water about 40 meters deep from this summer on the condition authorities in Washington and Alaska grant it permits
Global Internet Activists Give Thumbs Down To Facebook's Internet.org
By Tim Karr
http://www.countercurrents.org/karr130515.htm
As Facebook pushes Internet.org from continent to continent, backlash against the effort has also spread
We Need New Economics For A New Era Of History
By Peter Barnes
http://www.countercurrents.org/barnes130515.htm
Welcome to the Anthropocene, when humans are the dominant geological force on the planet. For this new age we need a new Economy
Non-Religious Population Is Soaring In America
By Eric Zuesse
http://www.countercurrents.org/zuesse130515.htm
The Pew Research Center on Religion & Public Life is reporting, in their poll of 35,000 Americans, that during the seven years from 2007 to 2014, the numbers of religiously "Unaffiliated" were soaring, the numbers of Christians were plunging, and the numbers of adherents to non-Christian faiths were rising substantially but not nearly as much as were the numbers of "Unaffiliated."
Israel Seeks In Nepal To Whitewash Its Crimes In Gaza
By Jonathan Cook
http://www.countercurrents.org/cook130515.htm
The efforts of Israeli soldiers to save children in Nepal should be commended – but not if it gives them and their compatriots an excuse to turn a blind eye to Palestinian children suffering amid the rubble of Gaza
The Arab Boat: It's An Arab-Palestinian Nakba, And We Are All Refugees
By Ramzy Baroud
http://www.countercurrents.org/baroud130515.htm
The Palestinian Nakba (the catastrophe of war, displacement and dispossession of 1948) has now become the Arab Nakba. Palestinian refugees know too well what their Arab brethren are going through: the massacres, the unredeemable loss, the despair, and the sinking boats
Policing In USA And Bangladesh: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid!
By Fazal M. Kamal
http://www.countercurrents.org/kamal130515.htm
New York: Against the ghastly backdrop of rogue law enforcement personnel around the world---by their own confessions---lying, cheating, planting evidence, killing innocent persons and then justifying the murder by being creative with words, here are two questions answers to which are no longer shocking since societies almost everywhere have begun accepting state excesses as "justifiable" and/or "necessary". 1. Can a broken vehicle taillight end with the motorist's death after being shot by a policeman? 2. Can an unarmed student be maimed for life by policemen for not complying with their illegal command?
Citizenship For Bangladeshi Hindus: Some Concerns
By Parvin Sultana
http://www.countercurrents.org/sultana130515.htm
Where a large number of refugees continue to face hardships on a day to day basis in India, the government of the day seems more interested in scoring brownie points by differentiating between refugees on the basis of religion. While the problem of Hindu immigrants is not limited to one particular state, the focus this time seems to be on Assam which is going to polls soon and where immigration continues to be a crucial issue. The UPA was careful to go slow on this issue since it involved the question of granting rights on the basis of religion but the NDA seems keen to take up this issue. If citizenship is to be extended on humanitarian grounds to persecuted communities, it cannot be denied to Rohingiyas, Chakmas, Tibetans etc. India being a secular country cannot be assumed to be a natural homeland of a particular religion. However the present government's act of limiting the benefit of citizenship to one particular community, point to the sinister designs of the rightwin
g NDA
government which will lead to further communal polarization and hostility
Not All Is Well With Urban Mothers In India
By Jayanthi A Pushkaran
http://www.countercurrents.org/pushkaran130515.htm
As the hype of Mother's Day settles down, its time to deal with reality: from the battered slums to chic offices, it is not an easy job being a mother in urban India. According to a global ranking of the best and worst places to be a mom, India held 140th place out of 179 countries in 2015. In Save the Children's 2015 report titled "State of the World's Mothers" India slips in motherhood index putting it behind Zimbabwe, Iraq and Bangladesh
Rights Organisations Codemn Conviction Of Chhatradhar Mahato
And Five Others By Midnapore District Court
http://www.countercurrents.org/mahato130515.htm
Life-sentences were awarded to Chhatradhar Mahato, Sukhsanti Baske, Shambhu Soren,Sagun Murmu, Raja Sarkhel and Prasun Chatterjee. All six were arrested between September and October 2009 from Lalgarh and Kolkata on charges of being Maoists and for backing a Maoist front organization, People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) and charged under sections of the UAPA, Arms Act, Explosives Substances Act and IPC
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/subscribe.htm. You can also follow us on twitter, http://twitter.com/countercurrents and on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/countercurrents
In Solidarity
Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org
Ananta Bijoy Dash's Murder: Swedish PEN Demands
A Response From The Swedish Embassy In Dhaka
By Svenska PEN
http://www.countercurrents.org/pen130515.htm
Swedish PEN demands a response from the Swedish Embassy in Dhaka following Tuesday's murder of the author and blogger Ananta Bijoy Dash
US Decision To Open Arctic To Shell Drilling Sparks Green Fury
By Alex Pashley
http://www.countercurrents.org/pashley130515.htm
The Obama administration approved Royal Dutch Shell's plan to restart drilling off the coast of Alaska on Monday, three years after it was forced to halt operations following a series of safety failures including an oil rig fire. The Anglo-Dutch company wants to begin drilling up to six wells in water about 40 meters deep from this summer on the condition authorities in Washington and Alaska grant it permits
Global Internet Activists Give Thumbs Down To Facebook's Internet.org
By Tim Karr
http://www.countercurrents.org/karr130515.htm
As Facebook pushes Internet.org from continent to continent, backlash against the effort has also spread
We Need New Economics For A New Era Of History
By Peter Barnes
http://www.countercurrents.org/barnes130515.htm
Welcome to the Anthropocene, when humans are the dominant geological force on the planet. For this new age we need a new Economy
Non-Religious Population Is Soaring In America
By Eric Zuesse
http://www.countercurrents.org/zuesse130515.htm
The Pew Research Center on Religion & Public Life is reporting, in their poll of 35,000 Americans, that during the seven years from 2007 to 2014, the numbers of religiously "Unaffiliated" were soaring, the numbers of Christians were plunging, and the numbers of adherents to non-Christian faiths were rising substantially but not nearly as much as were the numbers of "Unaffiliated."
Israel Seeks In Nepal To Whitewash Its Crimes In Gaza
By Jonathan Cook
http://www.countercurrents.org/cook130515.htm
The efforts of Israeli soldiers to save children in Nepal should be commended – but not if it gives them and their compatriots an excuse to turn a blind eye to Palestinian children suffering amid the rubble of Gaza
The Arab Boat: It's An Arab-Palestinian Nakba, And We Are All Refugees
By Ramzy Baroud
http://www.countercurrents.org/baroud130515.htm
The Palestinian Nakba (the catastrophe of war, displacement and dispossession of 1948) has now become the Arab Nakba. Palestinian refugees know too well what their Arab brethren are going through: the massacres, the unredeemable loss, the despair, and the sinking boats
Policing In USA And Bangladesh: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid!
By Fazal M. Kamal
http://www.countercurrents.org/kamal130515.htm
New York: Against the ghastly backdrop of rogue law enforcement personnel around the world---by their own confessions---lying, cheating, planting evidence, killing innocent persons and then justifying the murder by being creative with words, here are two questions answers to which are no longer shocking since societies almost everywhere have begun accepting state excesses as "justifiable" and/or "necessary". 1. Can a broken vehicle taillight end with the motorist's death after being shot by a policeman? 2. Can an unarmed student be maimed for life by policemen for not complying with their illegal command?
Citizenship For Bangladeshi Hindus: Some Concerns
By Parvin Sultana
http://www.countercurrents.org/sultana130515.htm
Where a large number of refugees continue to face hardships on a day to day basis in India, the government of the day seems more interested in scoring brownie points by differentiating between refugees on the basis of religion. While the problem of Hindu immigrants is not limited to one particular state, the focus this time seems to be on Assam which is going to polls soon and where immigration continues to be a crucial issue. The UPA was careful to go slow on this issue since it involved the question of granting rights on the basis of religion but the NDA seems keen to take up this issue. If citizenship is to be extended on humanitarian grounds to persecuted communities, it cannot be denied to Rohingiyas, Chakmas, Tibetans etc. India being a secular country cannot be assumed to be a natural homeland of a particular religion. However the present government's act of limiting the benefit of citizenship to one particular community, point to the sinister designs of the rightwin
g NDA
government which will lead to further communal polarization and hostility
Not All Is Well With Urban Mothers In India
By Jayanthi A Pushkaran
http://www.countercurrents.org/pushkaran130515.htm
As the hype of Mother's Day settles down, its time to deal with reality: from the battered slums to chic offices, it is not an easy job being a mother in urban India. According to a global ranking of the best and worst places to be a mom, India held 140th place out of 179 countries in 2015. In Save the Children's 2015 report titled "State of the World's Mothers" India slips in motherhood index putting it behind Zimbabwe, Iraq and Bangladesh
Rights Organisations Codemn Conviction Of Chhatradhar Mahato
And Five Others By Midnapore District Court
http://www.countercurrents.org/mahato130515.htm
Life-sentences were awarded to Chhatradhar Mahato, Sukhsanti Baske, Shambhu Soren,Sagun Murmu, Raja Sarkhel and Prasun Chatterjee. All six were arrested between September and October 2009 from Lalgarh and Kolkata on charges of being Maoists and for backing a Maoist front organization, People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) and charged under sections of the UAPA, Arms Act, Explosives Substances Act and IPC