Thursday, February 11, 2021

CC News Letter 10 Feb - Raid On NewsClick: An Attempt To Muzzle The Voices of Dissent

 

Dear Friend,

NewsClick, a progressive website based out of Delhi has been raided by the Enforcement Directorate. The raid comes at a time when NewsClick has been bravely covering the farmers’ agitation and other issues of the marginalised when most of the mainstream media are keeping silent or toeing the line of the government. The raid on NewsClick is a continuation of the attempt of the Modi regime to silence the voices of dissent across the country.

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In Solidarity

Binu Mathew
Editor
Countercurrents.org


Raid On NewsClick: An Attempt To Muzzle The Voices of
Dissent
by Countercurrents Collective


NewsClick, a progressive website based out of Delhi has been raided by the Enforcement Directorate. The raid comes at a time when NewsClick has been bravely covering the farmers’ agitation and other issues of the marginalised when most of the mainstream media are keeping silent or toeing the line of the government. The raid on NewsClick is a continuation of the attempt of the Modi regime to silence the voices of dissent across the country.



Condemn Raids on Newsclick
by The Delhi Union of Journalists


Newsclick has been providing a platform to leading investigative journalists like Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and bold video journalist Abhisar Sharma, P.Sainath -among others. It has also been reporting extensively on the farmers’ agitation for the past two months. It has established
itself as a different voice with news and analysis of national and international affairs.



100 Seconds to Midnight?
by Rebecca Gordon


In January 2021, after four years of Trump, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists adjusted its “Doomsday Clock,” moving the minute hand forward, to a mere 100 seconds to midnight. Since 1947, that Clock’s annual resetting has reflected how close, in the view of the Bulletin’s esteemed scientists and Nobel laureates, humanity has come to ending it all. As the Bulletin’s editors note, “The Clock has become a universally recognized indicator of the world’s vulnerability to catastrophe from nuclear weapons, climate change, and disruptive technologies in other domains.”



Information Interruptus: Bing, Google and the News Media Bargaining Code
by Dr Binoy Kampmark


It’s
looking a touch quixotic, but the News Media Bargaining Code has become Australia’s weapon of choice in attempting to redistribute proceeds from big tech into the coffers of a withering fourth estate.  It has now reached a point of sufficient concern for Google as to become threatening, winding its way to a Senate Committee Inquiry before going to Parliament for a vote.



Switzerland’s contribution to the International Neoliberal Order
by Franklin Frederick


Neoliberal capitalism continues to be advanced in Switzerland as the only possible solution to the various problems facing humanity today, from the ecological crisis to the health crisis represented by the pandemic. The role of neoliberal capitalism as the cause of these same problems is never even mentioned. When the climate movement dared to question neoliberalism in Switzerland, the reaction was brutal and repressive
legislation



The Peaceful Path Ahead for the Farmers’ Movement—Increasing Internal Strength While Reaching Out Widely
by Bharat Dogra


It appears now that an early agreement with the government is not likely and so the farmers’ movement has to prepare for the long haul. The popular farmer leader Rakesh Tikait has said that the sit-in or dharna can continue up to October this year, and he as well as others have said that this will continue till the three controversial farm laws are repealed. So the next question is how should the farmers’ movement prepare for the long haul.



100th anniversary is a time to heal the wounds of Chauri-Chaura
by Bharat Dogra


The events at and around Chauri-Chaura, a rural area located in Gorakhpur
region of Uttar Pradesh, during the first week of February 1922 constitute an important chapter of the history of the freedom movement of India. These events became the immediate and most frequently mentioned reason for Mahatma Gandhi to stop the non-cooperation movement abruptly and this in turn had important repercussions for Indian history.



Religions, Female Virginity and Fidelity
by Syed Ehtisham


Violence against women has been a universal phenomenon in the East and the West. In the West measures have been taken against it. They have met a certain degree of success



Some Variables Related to Wealth and Destitution
by Sally Dugman


One does wonder about whom will take care of the people who won’t have enough cash for retirement years.  What do they think? Do they suppose that their kin or the government will
give them the means to live? Perhaps they think that there’s time enough in the future to amass a large amount of money for old age. Sadly many of them are probably mistaken.

Many a person knows that “it takes money to make money.” So rather than frittering away financial assets, these many invest money in ways and means that are thought will likely lead to more capital being accrued.

Of course, any fiscal gain is often largely predicated on others needing or wanting some product or service which an investor has funded in the bet that he’ll get a good return in relation to his speculation.

A case in point involves someone purchasing shares in a movie production that is all but guaranteed to have high viewership rather than one that is all but ignored at the box office. The trick then becomes someone being able to shrewdly evaluate about which films will generate a considerable profit instead of loss of an investment.

Moreover someone can easily invest in ventures that can possibly create a staggering yield if he has enough money to spare and can afford to lose by gambling in high risk moves. Otherwise the more prudent course of action would be for someone to invest in markets that are sure and steady while typically bringing a much lower yield.

In consideration of basic financial necessities, it’s unfortunate that many folks don’t think far enough ahead so as to protect their hypothetical future selves. In fact, they don’t “save for a rainy day” meaning that there may be very lean times ahead if they do not increase their saved money or other assets by prudent means.

Put another way, they keep parting with valuable things that they own, as well as cash from their jobs and/or inheritance since they choose to live beyond their means. So they either rent a home that gobbles up too much of their capital or take out a mortgage on a dwelling that maybe won’t go up in value over the years as the market can’t bear it. They also take out loans for vacations, new attire and many other things that they covet.

In addition, lots of belongings that they do purchase depreciate in value such as most cars and trucks. They’ve mostly learned to accept the declining worth. All the same, it’s a given that some things do rise in value over time like rich farmland.

Accordingly, it seems pretty clear to some people that in light of water deficits, increasing lack of good soil as it blows away or is spent, droughts and other climate change impacts, a wise choice definitely is to snap up reliable finite resources like lucrative mines and farmland around the world. This especially holds true as the human population is expected to keep exponentially growing for some time to come while its needs multiply.

This in mind, it’s to be expected that certain countries and investors are snapping up assets like Afghanistan’s huge untapped copper mine and more, such as arable land whose worth will only rise over time barring some huge disaster. Meanwhile the acquisition of these valuable commodities has been shared in many article like:

An incredible image shows how powerful countries are buying up much of the world’s land – The Washington Post

Considering this matter, one of my friends wrote me: “

I understand that Bill Gates is buying up a lot of farmland. I expect that he plans to employ Precision Agriculture, robotics, and other technologies to automate farming. The effect on farm labor will be devastating.

“There has already been a lot of suffering. Factory farms in Latin America are replacing the small family subsistence farms which provided food along with the dignity of self sufficiency. Waves of immigrants coming here are a result.”

Roughly at the same time of my receipt of the above comment, another associate of mine wrote: “… One can understand why labor is revolting in many parts of the world. Oversupply of labor, automation/robotics, and debt squeeze. Capital has won this round big time.“

Yes indeed, capital has won out to the detriment of all economic classes except the ultra-rich one that keeps on gaining ever more financial advantages over time. Simultaneously, the middle and lower class wage workers for the most part keep struggling to not fall deeply in trouble and some take on soaring debt.

Yes, many adults are facing huge monetary difficulties whether debt free or not. This is partly because salaries don’t keep pace with commodities going up in cost. Simultaneously, the Coronavirus all but assures that any savings presumed to be for use in later years are disappearing, along with many kinds of jobs.

There are lessons to be learned herein. In part, they are that a new economic system needs to be explored rather than only maintain the current financial arrangement which largely just benefits those who already have great wealth.

Unfortunately a large proportion of people neither save, nor invest. As a result, they can end up being homeless, having poor health and facing other grave problems.

In relation, 45% of Americans claim to have no savings while 70% have less than $1,000 USD. Add Coronavirus into the mix and 40% of all U.S. households couldn’t now even come up with $400 USD for any expense whether it’s necessary or not.

One does wonder about whom will take care of the people who won’t have enough cash for retirement years.  What do they think? Do they suppose that their kin or the government will give them the means to live? Perhaps they think that there’s time enough in the future to amass a large amount of money for old age. Sadly many of them are probably mistaken.

Sally Dugman lives in MA, USA.


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