CC Newsletter 01 Nov- UN accuses US of violating human rights laws in Caribbean and Pacific airstrikes + Fundraising Update
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On Friday, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said airstrikes conducted by the United States against boats in the Caribbean and Pacific were a violation of international human rights law and must cease immediately. “Over 60 people have reportedly been killed in a continuing series of attacks carried out by US armed forces against boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific since early September, in circumstances that find no justification in international law,” Türk said in a statement. For the last two months, the US government has been conducting an illegal murder spree in international waters under the pretext of combating “narco-terrorists.”
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In Solidarity
Binu Mathew
Editor
Countercurrents.org
UN accuses US of violating human rights laws in Caribbean and Pacific airstrikes
by Jacob Crosse
https://countercurrents.org/20
On Friday, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said airstrikes conducted by the United States against boats in the Caribbean and Pacific were a violation of international human rights law and must cease immediately. “Over 60 people have reportedly been killed in a continuing series of attacks carried out by US armed forces against boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific since early September, in circumstances that find no justification in international law,” Türk said in a statement. For the last two months, the US government has been conducting an illegal murder spree in international waters under the pretext of combating “narco-terrorists.”
Veterans For Peace Says: NO WAR on VENEZUELA!
by Veterans For Peace
https://countercurrents.org/20
Veterans For Peace is appalled by the U.S. military’s extrajudicial killing of fishermen from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Trinidad and Tobago—whom the Trump administration labeled as drug traffickers without evidence, due process, or accountability to Congress.
The Big Lie Behind Trump’s Boat Strikes
by Timothy Snyder
https://countercurrents.org/20
The extrajudicial killing of alleged narcotics smugglers is less about drug trafficking and more about power projection – and maybe even regime change. Although videos of the bombings have become social-media fodder, there is no evidence that the targets were drug traffickers.
Israel targets UNICEF in Gaza as part of a systematic campaign against international organizations
by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor
https://countercurrents.org/20
Israel’s actions against the activities of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Gaza raise serious concern, representing a new episode in a systematic policy aimed at undermining humanitarian work and ending the presence of UN and international organisations in the Gaza Strip. On Thursday, Israeli forces arrested UNICEF staff member Raed Al-Afifi, 45, at Kerem Shalom crossing while he was carrying out his official duties, despite being present with prior coordination. No information has been provided by Israeli authorities regarding his location or the charges against him.
Beyond the ‘Unbreakable Bond’: Is the US Reclaiming the Wheel from a Self-Destructive Israel?
by Dr Ramzy Baroud
https://countercurrents.org/20
Has Donald Trump’s sharp rebuke of Israel in his October 23 Time Magazine interview fundamentally changed the calculus in the Middle East? His comments immediately sparked two opposing views: for some, his position represents the clear demarcation of a genuine shift in US foreign policy; for others, it is nothing more than a political ploy designed to claw back credibility lost by the US during two years of Israeli genocide in Gaza.
I Thought I Knew What Genocide Was
by Biljana Vankovska
https://countercurrents.org/20
When the Palestinian tragedy turned into an open genocide in the autumn of 2023, I could not look away from the ‘disturbing scenes.’ On the contrary, the least I could do was to witness and to write about those tormented people. Some in my indifferent surroundings wondered why I did this: why I watched those horrors, why I didn’t simply live my peaceful professor’s life. They said, ‘We have enough of our own problems.’ But I ‘kept vigil’ over those suffering children and parents because my conscience would not let me rest. Each night, before laying my head on the soft pillow, a wave of guilt overcame me. How could I sleep peacefully when bombs were falling on innocent people in Gaza, when children died in the cold nights and mothers could not even feed them?
Teasing the Armageddon Fanciers: Trump’s Announcement on Nuclear Testing
by Dr Binoy Kampmark
https://countercurrents.org/20
US President’s instruction to his newly named Department of War to resume nuclear testing is almost prosaic, if characteristically inaccurate. On social media, Donald Trump declared that, “Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately.” Strictly speaking, North Korea remains the black sheep of an otherwise unprincipled flock to consistently test nuclear weapons since the late 1990s, while 187 states have added signatures to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
Earth on the Edge: Planetary Challenges and Humanity’s Shared Responsibility
by Hassan Fattahi and Zahra Mohebi-Pourkani
https://countercurrents.org/20
At the dawn of the second half of the 21st century, Earth stands at a critical crossroads. From accelerating climate change and the collapse of ecosystems to widening inequality, war, technological disruption, and the erosion of justice, no dimension of human life remains untouched. This paper, grounded in an interdisciplinary approach, examines ten major global domains and proposes an integrated framework for rethinking humanity’s role in sustaining life on Earth. Its central argument rests on the concept of “shared but differentiated responsibility” — recognizing that while nations differ in power and capacity, none can escape the collective duty to protect the planet. The survival of Earth is no longer a matter of capability, but of moral will.
Climate Gates: Maybe we don’t need billionaire opinions on everything
by Bill McKibben
https://countercurrents.org/20
I feel quite strongly that we should pay less attention to billionaires—indeed that’s rather the point of this small essay—so let me acknowledge at the outset that there is something odd about me therefore devoting an edition of this newsletter to replying to Bill Gates’ new missive about climate. But I fear I must, if only because it’s been treated as such important news by so many outlets—far more, say, than covered the UN Secretary General’s same-day appeal to international leaders that began with a forthright statement of the science.
The Future is Local and Female: Reflections from the Planet Local Summit
by Gregory Pettys
https://countercurrents.org/20
The Planet Local Summit, which took place in Ladakh from September 3-7, brought together visionaries, practitioners, and cultural change-makers to celebrate localisation, indigenous wisdom, and co-shape pathways for futures that are local, resilient, and healthy. Writer and regenerative farmer Gregory Pettys shares his experience at the summit, reflecting on travel as a key ingredient of learning and connection, and on embracing feminine leadership to restore balance, community, and harmony with the rest of nature.
How Is Israel Involved in Sudan’s Genocide? Tracing the Secret Links to the RSF
by Quds News Network
https://countercurrents.org/20
Dozens of people have been killed in new massacres by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during their takeover of the city of El-Fasher in Sudan’s western Darfur region, according to medical and humanitarian reports. The Sudan Doctors Network described the situation as “a true genocide”, saying the RSF, which has been battling Sudan’s army for control of the country, killed more than 1,500 people in just three days as civilians tried to flee the besieged city. “The massacres the world is witnessing today are an extension of what occurred in El-Fasher more than a year and a half ago, when over 14,000 civilians were killed through bombing, starvation, and executions,” the group said, calling the attacks “a deliberate and systematic campaign of extermination.”
For Safety, Peace and Protective Future, Africa Needs Much Greater Unity of Its People
by Bharat Dogra
https://countercurrents.org/20
In recent decades millions have perished from the direct and indirect impacts of conflicts and wars. Several hundred thousand people have been killed in very cruel attacks. Very serious humanitarian crisis situations have arisen in many countries over vast areas. Famines and near famines as well as other disasters have claimed millions of lives in recent decades, and the prospects of these and other extreme weather situations are worsening further in times of climate change. Several terror organizations are active over extensive areas, crossing over borders of several countries with relative ease. All this has been happening despite the efforts of the African Union, with 55 member countries, to improve the prospects of peace, development and welfare.
Where Faith and Diversity Unite: Southeast Asia’s Lesson for the World
Press Release
https://countercurrents.org/20
The recent ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, guided by the theme “Resilient Together, Prosper Together,” served as a powerful reminder of a core regional truth: Southeast Asia’s shared diversity, when guided by compassion, is its greatest strength. This unity is what ASEAN must protect.
Whispers in the Barracks, Thunder in the Streets: Pakistan’s Unfinished Revolt
by Junaid S Ahmad
https://countercurrents.org/20
From the barracks of Rawalpindi to the halls of Washington, a sordid alliance stalks the republic of Pakistan: a military caste addicted to power, a civilian class cowed into servitude, and a foreign patron ever ready to pull the leash. What unfolds is less a grand strategy than a tragicomedy: generals trading sovereignty for sinecures, soldiers harboring contempt for their officers, and a once-promising democratic movement crushed under the twin weights of imperial ambition and martial tutelage.
The Agrarian Imagination: The Iron Cage of Agri-Rationality and Dostoevsky ‘s Moral Underground
by Colin Todhunter
https://countercurrents.org/20
In a world increasingly dominated by the corporate control of food, land, farmers and technology, agrarianism and political agroecology together offer a comprehensive vision of progress. From the Diggers’ insistence on shared land to Pongal rituals, Zapatista activism and La Via Campesina campaigns, these perspectives remind us that societal health depends on soil health and the freedom of those who cultivate it. This synthesis of historical, cultural and political practices shows that agrarianism remains a viable framework for sustainable modernity. By combining spirituality, community and ecology, it reframes the meaning of progress itself.
When the Mountains Crumble: The Political Geology of a Himalayan ‘Natural’ Disaster
by Abinash Rai
https://countercurrents.org/20
A devastating natural disaster in the Himalayas reveals how climate change, reckless development, and political neglect are impacting fragile mountain ecosystems and local communities. The article examines the October 2025 calamity in Kalimpong, highlighting how misguided infrastructure projects, melting glaciers, and erratic weather have intensified landslides and floods. It urges policymakers to prioritize sustainable practices and listen to grassroots voices to protect the region’s future. The author warns that unless urgent, ecologically sound action is taken, more such disasters will follow, threatening millions in the Himalayas and beyond.
Is the Indian judicial system schizophrenic ?
by Sumanta Banerjee
https://countercurrents.org/20
The latest case of a senior lawyer Rakesh Kishore’s attempt to hurl shoes at the CJI (Chief Justice of India) B.R. Gavai on October 6, is a typical instance of the fanatical religious bias that corrupts the minds of lawyers. His behavior not only violated the norms to which the lawyer is required to adhere to under his professional code of ethics, but it also attracts prosecution under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act, which holds such behavior as illegal. Yet, Rakesh Kishore has been let off by the police.
The Perilous Paradise of Painless Payments
by Disha
https://countercurrents.org/20
We live in an age of manufactured magic. With a simple tap, a soft tone, and a silent transaction, we can summon food, fashion, and furniture to our doorsteps. The world of digital finance has dismantled every barrier, every pause for thought, that once stood between our desires and their fulfillment. Paying for things has become a frictionless, fluid, and frankly forgettable experience. But in this paradise of painless payments, a peril lurks just beneath the surface. This seamless convenience, celebrated as progress, is subtly rewiring our relationship with money, guiding us from prudent spending toward a precipice of perpetual debt.
The Factory That Makes Communists: Made in India
by Tata Sivaiah
https://countercurrents.org/20
You don’t learn Communism from Marx. You learn it from the emptiness of your stomach, from the sweat that dries unpaid, from the hand that trembles when a policeman raises his lathi not because you broke the law, but because you couldn’t afford to obey it. Marx only gives vocabulary to what the body already knows. His chapters on alienation are just commentaries on your day’s wage. His theories of surplus value are footnotes to your landlord’s smile. Communists are not born in libraries; they are manufactured in factories, police stations, fields, and call centres. They are the by-product of cruelty industrialised and injustice bureaucratised.
Paltu Ram’s opportunistic politics is sure to end
by Sanjay Parate
https://countercurrents.org/20
The unity of the INDIA Bloc in the Lok Sabha elections prevented the BJP from securing a clear majority. The enthusiasm thus generated among the country’s opposition forces was dampened by the BJP camp through planned rigging in Maharashtra and other states. Now, the Bihar elections offer the INDIA Bloc another opportunity to emerge nationally, provided the Congress prioritizes the interests of Bihar’s poor over its own partisan interests. Modi has sealed Nitish’s future. The future of the INDIA Bloc, via the Mahagathbandhan, will be decided by the people of Bihar, based on their unity and conduct. For now, there are still two full weeks left for speculation.
Geetanjali Shree’s ‘Tomb of Sand’: Rebirth Unbound
by Ashish Singh
https://countercurrents.org/20
'Tomb of Sand' is a love song to rebirth, the renewal of language, femininity, and selfhood amid rupture and uncertainty. In a world increasingly walled off by division and silence, Shree’s work persists as an act of rebellion, a whisper that no border between nations, kin, or worlds is impermeable. It endures as a testament to the quiet power of hope and resistance.
Sufism as a Global and Political Phenomenon
by Khiza Abidi
https://countercurrents.org/20
Sufism has often been seen as a matter of the religious and the mystics secluded from worldly affairs, more so from politics. However, a nuanced study reveals the facts to be otherwise. We shall look at this phenomenon through the origins of the Mahadwi Silsila (mystic order). However, studying it by confining it to one particular country or region may not present a holistic picture. Thus, we need to look at Mahadism as a global phenomenon and move from general to the particular in order to understand the development of Mahadwi Silsila and with it the development of Sufism as well.
I Walked Over Water and Lived to Tell the Tale: A Docu-Drama-Auto-Fiction-Whatev
by Sarat Alex
https://countercurrents.org/20
A personal reflection on Joshy Joseph’s ‘Walking Over Water’, a docu-drama-auto-fiction that refuses structure, demands faith, and rewards those willing to step beyond fact, fiction, and fear.
