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Prior consultation with the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) mandatory for policy changes in Lakshadweep
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Countercurrents.org
Appeal To President Of India: Refer The Lakshadweep Issue To National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
by E A S Sarma
Prior consultation with the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) mandatory for policy changes in Lakshadweep
Rural Teacher Pedro Castillo Poised to Write a New Chapter in Peru’s History
Written by Medea Benjamin and Leonardo Flores
Castillo’s victory will be remarkable not only because he is a leftist teacher who is the son of illiterate peasants and his campaign was grossly outspent by Fujimori, but there was a relentless propaganda attack against him that touched on historical fears of Peru’s middle class and elites.
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Hits Highest Level in Over 4 Million Years
by Brett Wilkins
Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego working at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory in Hawaii said the May measurements—an
increase from 417 parts per million (ppm) in May 2020—mean that “the atmospheric burden of CO2 is now comparable to where it was during the Pliocene Climatic Optimum, between 4.1 and 4.5 million years ago, when CO2 was close to, or above 400 ppm.”
International Energy Agency report underscores inadequacy of US government response to climate change
by Ronan Coddington
The report, which is titled Net Zero by 2050, states that in order to achieve a carbon neutral world by that year producers will need to immediately stop any new fossil fuel production. This is only one of 400 “milestones” along the road to 2050, and its implausibility only underscores the difficulties of combining a rational, science-based response to the danger of climate change with the maintenance of global capitalism, driven by private profits and the interests of
rival nation-states.
126 Nobel Laureates and Experts Issue Timely Warning on Some Crucial Issues, But Miss Other Urgent Concerns
by Bharat Dogra
While this statement makes several very important observations, it is really surprising and regrettable to find that it makes some omissions of very critical importance and some issues of critical importance for resolving the present crisis are more or less left out of this statement’s concerns. Hence while this statement deserves great attention for its several important and profound observations, it deserves attention also for the glaring omissions that have been made. For example the most important task of complete elimination of nuclear weapons ( and in fact all weapons of mass destruction) is hardly mentioned in this statement.
Educating for the future we want
by Stephen Sterling
We are approaching fifty years since the UN Conference on the Environment in Stockholm endorsed the key role of education, nearly thirty years since Agenda 21 proposed that education is “critical for achieving environmental and ethical awareness,” and five years since the SDGs set a target date of 2030. The ambitious UNESCO “Futures of Education” initiative promises a chance to reset direction and priorities. But to date, strong cultural inertia and the counterforce of neoliberalism have slowed progress, and the time is long overdue for holding Westernized education policy and practice to account. Now, efforts to transform education are greater than ever, but so, too, are the stakes and urgency. We need to move fast and with bold aspiration, while retaining critical reflexivity, as we create a new chapter in the evolution of our ways of educating on this—as yet—still beautiful planet.
Young farmers
in Ladakh: the future of our food
Written by Kunzang Deachen, Chozin Palmo and Jigmet Singge
Westernisation has come with a lot of glamour and promises of affluence, but today, many younger people are beginning to realise that the chase for modernity and glamour brings little more than dissatisfaction, disconnection, and feelings of addiction.
A People’s Vaccine Against a Mutating Virus and Neoliberal Rule
by Nicolas J S Davies
Ending international vaccine apartheid is not just a matter of altruism, or even justice. It is a question of whether we will end this pandemic before vaccine-resistant, super-spreading and deadlier variants fuel even more toxic new waves. The only way humanity can win this struggle is to act collectively in our common interest.
Universal Health Coverage and Unmet
Reproductive Health needs of Migrant Women at times of Pandemic COVID-19 in India
by Ujjwala Gupta
The spread of COVID in rural areas created a state of emergency due to ill-equipped infrastructure in Public Health system to handle spike in cases. This directed the Government to shift its priority deeming SRH activities as non-emergency, to respond to the needs of pandemic , consequently sidelining the reproductive health needs. Above that, seasonal migration disrupts the access to health care services in actual place of origin and also simultaneously creating missing and duplicity in public health records of antenatal, family planning and vaccination.
To avoid catastrophes India should adopt a risk minimization for all policy
by Sagar Dhara
COVID-19 is a gray rhino event, an event that is highly probable and with a large impact. It can be seen well in advance due to its size and early warning signs, but which are ignored. Now over a year into the pandemic, India remains completely unprepared for COVID-19’s second wave.
Major news, social media sites back online after massive internet outage
by Countercurrents Collective
Dozens of major websites — including The New York Times, CNN, Reddit, Spotify, Twitch, GitHub, gov.uk, Hulu, HBO Max, PayPal, Vimeo, Shopify — were beginning to return online Tuesday morning after crashing in an apparent massive internet outage.
Downward Social Mobility and Authoritarianism
by Jon Kofas
In the next economic downturn, the US already has a political party with the ideological and political makings of a native-style Fascist Party. Given the expanding local and state-base of the populist right wing, it will be very easy for any number of Republicans to rise to power as Fascist in ideology and policies, while claiming to represent democracy.
Twilight of the Pandemic? Bracing for a Surge of Trumpism or…
by John Feffer
Sure, I continue to worry about what the next wave of Covid-19 might look like. I fear both the continued lunacy of the Republican Party and the pallid incrementalism of the Democrats. But I’m heartened by the energy of people all over the world determined to beat back dystopia, take control of their lives, and transform the optimists’ credo of “hope and change”
into something a great deal more significant than a campaign slogan.
At His Best, Dilip Vengsarkar Could Sit In The Company of The All-Time Greats
by Harsh Thakor
Without doubt Dilip Vengsarkar is one of the finest batsmen ever to have graced a cricket field. This week we commemorate the feat of Dilip Vengsarkar becoming the 1st overseas batsman ever to score three consecutive centuries in test matches at Lords. It is a landmark that would inscribe a permanent place in the museum of cricket. We also coincidentally celebrate the 35th anniversary of India’s first win at Lords, the mecca of cricket.
