Long live Palestinian & Kashmiri Intifada!

Kashmir stone-throwers

A Palestinian protest in the West Bank? In fact, it’s Kashmiri protesters in Srinagar going up unarmed against Indian paramilitary thugs. The similarities between the two struggles are striking & not just in barbarism nor accidentally so. The struggle in Kashmir which also involves stone-throwers against tanks & semi-automatic weapons is often called the “Kashmiri Intifada.” Both conflicts derive originally from British colonialism but now play a central role in international politics. Neither is just a dispute over real estate.

Kashmir is not a political matter only of concern to Kashmiris & India & just of remote concern to the rest of us. The US funds India to the tune of millions of dollars a year for military (including nuclear arms), economic, & other purposes to foster India as a regional ally. In 2014, the US gave India over USD $3,228 million. Between 1946 & 2012, the US gave $65.1 billion to India & during the same timeframe gave $65 billion to Israel. That makes the US party to the occupation of Kashmir & that relationship needs to be investigated, exposed, & publicly opposed.

Israel has its own long-term relationship with India including billions of dollars in arms deals. It is also involved up to its eyeballs in counterinsurgency training in Kashmir. Drawing on decades of brutality against Palestinians, Israel has become the master of occupation & terrorism. The entire nefarious labyrinth of collusions needs to be investigated, exposed, & publicly opposed.

It isn’t just an affinity in barbarism the three regimes share but the international role they are playing as partners in maintaining exploitation & massive inequality all over this planet. And that needs to be opposed.

One of the best ways to forge solidarity is to hold forums where Palestinian & Kashmiri speakers can tell their stories of occupation against common enemies. This becomes more imperative to answer the increasing Israeli attacks on free speech in countries around the world. Such solidarity will not dilute but only strengthen the struggles in both Kashmir & Palestine.

Long live Palestinian & Kashmiri Intifada!

(Photo from 2013 protest by Javed Dar/Xinhua)

Palestinians protest for return of those shot dead by Israel

Pal protesters near Hebron 11:4:2015 (Mussa Qawasma:Reuters) Nov 5 2015

Media continues to peddle the rubbish of a stabbing rampage by Palestinians–of course to cover for Israel’s pogrom against Palestinians. What they don’t report about is Israel’s illegal occupation of East Jerusalem & the West Bank or the continuing bombing & murderous blockade of Gaza that the UN says will make Gaza uninhabitable by 2020.

Why don’t they explain that the confrontations take place between Israeli soldiers & unarmed Palestinians when Israel attempts to suppress Palestinian protests against the occupation & expropriation of lands? Or in this instance, protesting for the return of Palestinians shot dead by Israel so their loved ones can be buried with respect & honor?

Once again, it is outrageous & idiotic to claim Palestinians armed with knives are a widespread danger. It would only be credible if Israeli soldiers & settlers were planting bazookas or semi-automatic weapons on Palestinians they execute, rather than shivs. But to be clear, if Palestinians were using knives to defend themselves, that is their right against an illegal & brutal military occupation that kidnaps & assaults their children, arrests hundreds for no reason or for tossing a rock, allows settlers to torch homes & mosques, & dispossesses entire villages to make room for settlers & phony religious shrines.

Support Palestinian justice by building the economic, cultural, & academic boycott of Israel (barcode beginning 729) & continuing public protests & forums demanding Israel end the pogrom & end the occupation.

(Photo by Mussa Qawasma/Reuters)

Bernie Sanders supports continuation of US war in Afghanistan

Bernie Sanders announced on ABC that he supports Obama’s decision to keep US troops in Afghanistan through 2017. Of course he does. And if by some deus ex machina twist in politics the Democratic Party allowed him to be candidate, he would execute US wars without batting an eyelash.

We won’t ask the Sanders socialists to make an accounting. They wouldn’t know what the hell we’re talking about. They’re the crowd who believe in “humanitarian wars”–along with evil fairies & boogiemen.