2022

Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM)
“The notion of sedition bears reference to a less enlightened time, when citizens and the press had little liberty to question the conduct of public authorities” –- International Federation of Journalists
MASUM welcomes the interim order, with caution, by the three-judges Bench of the Supreme Court presided by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana on putting a pause to the use of sedition law until further notice. This law has often been misused as a tool (…)

New Delhi,
May 11, 2022
Press Release
The National Secretariat of the Communist Party of India issued the following statement today (on May 11, 2022) welcoming the apex court’s stay on the sedition law:
The National secretariat of the Communist Party of India welcomes the historic verdict by the Supreme Court on May 11, 2022, putting a stay on the sedition law. The Party proudly reiterates its demand to scrap the law as such and claims that the Party’s consistent position in this (…)

Indeed We live In Wonderful Times, (Apologies to Bertolt Brecht)
Indeed we live in wonderful times, When absurdity is celebrated, And when reciting poetry is deemed a national crime, And speaking of poets frowned on. Indeed we live in wonderful times, When to speak to cows is not a crime, Indeed we live in wonderful times, When wonder showers eternal happiness. Indeed now in wondrous times, the sun never sets And when the rising of the crescent moon is banned, Indeed wonderful and happy (…)

Just for an hour I want the whole world to stop, put an end to big business and geo-politics; I want all the men in power: bearded, moustached and clean-shaven to get into a shuttle and encircle space. Into this haven, from the shadows will emerge, only mothers, who will at once call out to their children! And the children petrified and terrified, will at first tiptoe across, then fling into the arms of waiting mothers. There will be a terrible wailing, a flood of tears, as they cling onto (…)

via: UN Women
I am gravely concerned by the Taliban’s announcement that all women must cover their faces in public, that women should only leave their homes in cases of necessity, and that violations of this directive will lead to the punishment of their male relatives. Freedom of movement is a fundamental human right. It is an absolute prerequisite for women’s ability to exercise the full range of their rights and to be active participants in society. Where women’s rights are constrained, (…)

by Hannes Muelle and Andre Groeger
A new automated analysis of satellite imagery can reveal the extent of building destruction in conflict zones, providing vital information for humanitarian aid.
Among the shocking images to emerge from Ukraine in recent weeks is the sight of civilian lives torn apart by shelling. Shredded apartment buildings, with their ordinary contents – microwaves, shoes, cushions – incongruously spilling into the muddy, rubble-strewn streets.
Building destruction (…)

The Fight for Psychiatric Abolition
We are the Campaign for Psychiatric Abolition (CPA), a collective of psychiatric survivors who are fighting against the violence of policing, prisons and psychiatry. We want to demonstrate that our collective struggles against imperialism, racism, capitalism, cisheteropatriarchy and the climate catastrophe are also a struggle against psychiatry. We came together to form CPA after seeing how sometimes hostile radical spaces can be towards anti-psychiatry (…)

* Will The Indian Communist Leadership Read Dimitrov? | Ajayakumar Kodoth
* Role & behaviour of judges in a majoritarian context | Arun Srivastava
* USA, NATO and Russia: Ukraine Crisis may Spin Out of Control | Gautam Sen

Letter to the Readers, Mainstream, May 7, 2022
World Health Organization (WHO) says that the worldwide death toll linked to Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021 is much higher than the cumulative official figures provided by the authorities of each country. “. . . the total toll directly or indirectly associated with the Covid-19 pandemic between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021 is approximately 14.9 million. dead (with a range of 13.3 million to 16.6 million),” the WHO wrote in a statement (…)

IMPRESSIONS
Some of our regional languages have a wisdom saying that goes: "Dad,.don’t keep beating me. I won’t improve." The current equivalent of that wisdom is: "Fellow citizens, don’t prefer this party over that. All are stuck in the same rut of opportunism." For a democracy, this is a tragic situation. But facts are facts, tragic or otherwise.
Prashant Kishore thinks he can change this. Out of a scenario of cynicism, this man has emerged as a game-changer. He has (…)