HARTOSH SINGH BAL The transformation of the relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Sikhs embodies the problems the community faces in a climate where the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s worldview prevails in the country. The story begins with a photo the Bharatiya Janata Party would once display with great pride, of a turbaned Modi disguised as… Read More Sikhs are the proverbial bone stuck in the RSS’s gullet
On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its opening words are: “Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world…” An installation… Read More December 10: International Human Rights Day. December 9: Day of Commemoration for the Victims of the Crime of Genocide
Adam Raz For 14 years, Netanyahu’s policy was to keep Hamas in power; the pogrom of October 7, 2023, helps the Israeli prime minister preserve his own rule.. Netanyahu’s entire policy since 2009 has sought to destroy any possibility of a diplomatic agreement with the Palestinians. It’s the theme of his rule, which depends on… Read More A Brief History of the Netanyahu-Hamas Alliance
Good is self-existent, evil is not. It is like a parasite living in and around good. It will die of itself when the support that good gives it is withdrawn: Mahatma Gandhi, Discussion with friends: September 4, 1947 The truth never dies but is made to live as a beggar: Yiddish proverb NB: The writer… Read More Israel wants to slay the monster next door, but with this lethal bombardment, it is feeding it
The right of the Jewish people to the land of Israel is eternal and indisputable… therefore, Judea and Samaria will not be handed to any foreign administration; between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty. —Likud Party Platform, 1977 RASHID KHALIDI The slogan “from the river to the sea” apparently has… Read More It’s Time to Confront Israel’s Version of “From the River to the Sea”
How an amoral technocracy powers Modi’s India… For the engineers of Bengaluru and their allies in neoliberal think tanks, the BJP’s Hindutva politics is the necessary condition to put their designs to work. In 2023, this ideology has become the common sense of how India should be governed, shared by all major political forces in… Read More The Bangalore Ideology
First posted November 28, 2011 Archer Kent Blood (March 20, 1923 – September 3, 2004) was an American diplomat in Bangladesh. He served as the last American Consul General to Dhaka, East Pakistan. The Blood telegram (April 6, 1971) was seen as one of the most strongly worded messages ever written by Foreign Service Officers to the State Department. It was signed… Read More The Blood Telegram
NB: This is a watery editorial on a blatant massacre which warrants far more serious analysis. It recognises the plain facts, but ‘demands our attention’ doesn’t cut it. You’re still sleeping. A child is killed every ten minutes in Gaza; and over 700 have been murdered in the last 24 hours. What attention are you… Read More The Guardian view on Gaza’s devastation: don’t look away. See the bigger picture too
‘no legal notice was more gratifying than the one CounterPunch received when Ken Silverstein published these photos of Henry Kissinger picking his nose during a press conference on Brazil. As Ken noted, “Kissinger was OK having his picture taken with murderers like Pinochet but upset when outed as a snot eater‘ (The Cabinet of Dr.… Read More Henry Kissinger: the Dr. Caligari of American Empire
For U.S. mass media, Henry Kissinger’s quip that “power is the ultimate aphrodisiac” rang as an obvious truism. Influential reporters and pundits often expressed their love for him. For decades, the media establishment swooned over one of the worst war criminals in modern history. After news of his death broke on Wednesday night, prominent coverage echoed the… Read More Henry Kissinger was the definition of elite impunity
After the truth-shower 