Dear Friend,
In the lead up to the semi-annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank being held in Washington this week, the global aid agency Oxfam has produced a report detailing the horrendous impact of rising inflation, coming on top of the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, for almost half the world’s population.
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In Solidarity
Binu Mathew
Editor
Countercurrents.org
Oxfam report: Poorer countries going from crisis to catastrophe
by Nick Beams
In the lead up to the semi-annual meetings of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank being held in Washington this week, the global aid agency Oxfam has produced a report detailing the horrendous impact of rising inflation, coming on top of the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, for almost half the world’s population.
Now Is the Time for Nonalignment and Peace
by Roger McKenzie and Vijay Prashad
The warmakers are idealists. Their wars do not settle the major dilemmas of humanity. The ideas of nonalignment and peace, on the other hand, are realistic; their framework has answers to the children who want to eat and to learn, to play and to dream
Climate Change is Killing Trees
by Robert Hunziker
A dreaded repeat performance of tree deaths of 252 million years ago may be starting to re-appear. Throughout the world trees are dying en masse. It’s
troubling. Scientists are studying this strange phenomenon in the context of a rugged past event of 252 million years ago.
Is Mars Planet B?
by Stephen Shenfield
But why do these people matter? Aren’t they just nutcases? Unfortunately, they do matter. Because one of them is Elon Musk, CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) as well as electric car maker Tesla and other companies and the wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of over $300 billion. He is devoting his energy and fortune to an attempt to accomplish a mass colonization of Mars, hoping to ‘kickstart a million-strong self-sustaining city on Mars as early as 2050.’
Western-Led Globalization Might End, but the New Globalization Might Have an Eastern Face
by E Ahmet Tonak and Vijay Prashad
The appetite in
many parts of the world has already increased for an alternative to Western-shaped globalization, but this does not necessarily mean deglobalization. It could mean a globalization platform that no longer has its epicenter located in Washington or Brussels.
Obscene Outsourcing: The UK-Rwandan Refugee Deal
by Dr Binoy Kampmark
This month, the government of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson joined an ignominious collective in announcing a refugee deal with Rwanda, seedily entitled the UK-Rwanda Migration Partnership. The fact that such terms are used – a partnership or deal connotes contract and transaction – suggests how inhumane policies towards those seeking sanctuary and a better life have become.
Kamila Valieva and Eileen Gu: Young Women Athletes as Enemies of Empire
by Linda Ford
So Kamila Valieva and company will skate at home, and Eileen Gu will still be considered a traitor by many Americans. The hate expressed by Tara Lipinski and Christine Brennan is too easily tapped by the American sportsworld. Here is hegemonic politics, and ruthless patriarchy and racism, coming together. And here are two remarkably strong and level-headed young women athletes who are braving the results of being who they are. In its overwhelming power, the US Empire has made evil all things Chinese and Russian, and women athletes have not been spared the weaponizing of that hate.
A pandemic of human rights violations in Madhya Pradesh
by Pooja Yadav
The arbitrary arrest and humiliation of those protesting against police and politicians was in continuation of a long history of
autocratic behaviour by those controlling state machinery in many parts of India. The problem seems to have worsened during the period of the Covid pandemic, which saw authorities concentrate even greater power in their hands under the guise of safeguarding ‘public health’ or ‘controlling infection’.
Hindu Religious Festivals: An Excuse to Unleash Social Terror Upon the Muslim Community
by Bebaak Collective
The pattern of Ram Navami processions becoming occasions for display of Islamophobic bigotry, followed by anti-Muslim violence, is being witnessed in atleast nine states; including Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, New Delhi, Goa, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Karnataka, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Bihar.
Goa must rein in the communal tinderbox
by Dr Ranjan Solomon
Goa was in
crisis mode on Sunday when Hindu-Muslim clashes occurred in the vicinity of Vasco. A large crowd of Ram Navami processionists marched through Vasco on the occasion of Ram Navami on 10th April. They chose the small and congested streets of the area rather than the broader convenient approved route thus creating disruption. At the conclusion, a small group continued to march towards the Masjid-A-Aqsa mosque. Muslims were praying at the mosque ahead of the ‘Iftar’. The processionists chanted ‘Jai Shree Ram’ and political catch phrases such as ‘go to Pakistan’. They entered the mosque and continued sloganeering with intent to provoke. Muslim elders intervened and averted a clash inside the mosque.
There can be no bigger harm to national welfare than disturbing inter-faith harmony
by Bharat Dogra
At a time when inter-faith harmony is being disturbed at
several places in the country, it is important to recall a very important lesson of our freedom movement—all the great leaders who got the maximum support and affection of people were those who stood firmly for inter-faith harmony.
The All American 8th Deadly Sin….
by Philip A Farruggio
Apathy!! Add that one to the list of: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride. Sadly, the dumb down nature of our country lends for the nurturing of apathy.
Apathy!! Add that one to the list of: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride. Sadly, the dumb down nature of our country lends for the nurturing of apathy. Travel through the supermarkets, Main Streets, malls and just about anywhere that Americans congregate and you can almost smell the foul odor of apathy. It seems that, with some exceptions, NO ONE CARES! The Trump inspired MAGA crowd, with all their rancor, act like they care. Factor out abortion, the undocumented and gay rights and these folks could not give a rat’s rear end about how this corporate empire shackles them. They are getting screwed royally in their health care ( or lack of substantial coverage) , cable and internet charges, insurance costs, residential rents, medicinal costs, college tuition, and most important, where their tax money goes. If they took off those red hats and stood next to the loyal Democratic Party suckers… sorry, voters, they ALL would realize that the empire owns them! This Two Party/One Party charade keeps flushing at least 50% of federal revenues down the toilet bowl of military spending. The next sound you hear is silence… the silence of apathy.
Maybe if my friends and neighbors would turn off and put down those electronic appendages to their hands they would wake up! They would realize that by government not subsidizing Medicaid fully and properly, the **** will really hit the fan. Most working stiff Seniors need to first go onto Medicaid to then be able to reside in an assisted living or nursing home without being bankrupted. Do the majority of us who continue to support both phony parties understand those ramifications? Or, how many Americans realize that the credit card companies have been screwing cardholders with usurious rates 20 points above the prime rate? This has been going on for generations with no recourse from the phony Congress and Presidency. As far as cable television, should we wait until the monthly charge for decent TV viewing reaches $ 400 -$ 500 per month? It’s already well over $ 200, when 10 years ago the same coverage was 1/2 that price. For what? All the cable providers do is send the signals into your home… period!
We just celebrated the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball. Well, during that time his teammates on the Brooklyn Dodgers, along with all baseball players, had to secure off season jobs to supplement their meager baseball salaries. Factor out the few superstars like Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams and 99% of players needed to work during offseason to support their families. Now, in ALL professional sports, worldwide, even the low man on the totem pole is making a million bucks. The superstars, or should I say most of the stars of teams, are earning mega $ millions. Even the ( so called ) sports journalists are earning $ millions for a few hours of work each day. Imagine paying a player $ 40-50 million a year? Imagine the super wealth of the billionaire owners and top management of teams who dole out that cash. Then look at the electronic media and how much they are earning from those terrible commercials we have to watch too often. The entire industry is swimming in cash… OUR cash, we the fans! Try to take your wife and kids to a professional sports game. Between the ticket prices, parking, refreshments and food and you are looking at minimum $ three to four hundred bucks… for one stupid game!
No matter where you focus your attention you should realize how powerful this apathy is. If it wasn’t for the military draft during the Vietnam ( so called ) War the apathy would have been preeminent. Of course, all those chickenhawks could be just that because they were exempted from the draft. One wonders if Dick Cheney and Donald Trump had to actually put that helmet on and wave away mosquitoes in some rice paddy… Or if Bush Jr. had to actually fly a fighter jet over Hanoi… So, the empire knew that except for the families of our soldiers and the few like this writer who protested, they could spend over a decade and trillions of our taxes in Iraq and Afghanistan. If someone was not in uniform, who cared? It was more important to play with your cell phone. The empire uses the embedded mainstream media to sell the **** to the public, replete with all those yellow ribbons and bumper stickers. How many times has this writer seen the famous ‘ Proud Mom of a Marine’ or something to that effect on the rear bumper of the car in front of me? They can sell war like toothpaste anytime they wish!
Yes, the apathy is actually deafening. The disconnect towards others around us is sad as well. I sat in my favorite restaurant before the pandemic, on a Sunday afternoon. There were five tables filled with patrons. Two tables had a couple each, one had three folks, another had four and one had five customers. I looked around and to my surprise not ONE table had people conversing. Everyone was too busy playing with their gadgets! As my former street corner activist friend, the late Walt DeYoung would say ‘ Nuff Said’!
Philip A Farruggio is regular columnist on It’s the Empire… stupid website. He is also frequently posted on Nation of Change, Countercurrents., Smirking Chimp and Independent Australia sites. He is the son and grandson of Brooklyn NYC longshoremen and a graduate of Brooklyn College, class of 1974. Since the 2000 election debacle Philip has written over 400 columns on the Military Industrial Empire and other facets of life in an upside down America. He is also host of the ‘ It’s the Empire… Stupid ‘ radio show, co produced by Chuck Gregory. Philip can be reached at paf1222@bellsouth.net.
Foisting of Fresh Charges on Comrade Batakrushna Swain Is A Grave Travesty of Justice
by Press Release
Jan Adhikar Manch, a coalition of trade unions, democratic rights groups and other progressive forces in Odisha, strongly condemns the manner in which Comrade Batakrushna Swain was arbitrarily foisted with fresh charges by
the state police on 12 April 2022 as he was ready to leave the Puri jail.
