Mehbooba Mufti, the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir & a flunky for India, called on Modi to “replace Azadi {freedom} with something better.” Not content to leave idiocy alone, she went on to groveling: “I feel Modiji is the man of the moment & he has the potential to rise & become the man of history. His leadership is an asset which needs to be harnessed…& take Kashmir out of this present mess.”

Imagine the depths of political corruption to call on a nationalist rightwing politician implicated in pogroms against Muslims, now orchestrating the rightwing shift in Indian politics, to replace the Kashmiri call for freedom with something better. He has replaced azadi with the occupation of 700,000 troops.

Fox News progressives (those who claim they’re revolutionaries but talk like Tucker Carlson) refuse to criticize Trump unless we go back to George Washington & itemize complaints against each of the other 44 presidents. That’s just a cagey way of supporting Trump.

Now he has come out publicly encouraging police brutality against those arrested for suspicion of a crime. And that in a climate when police violence against the Black community is a major issue. Police departments came out opposing his statement because it discredits them, encourages thuggish, illegal misconduct, & makes them no better than criminals. If you will not condemn this kind of politics from Trump, you side with racism, gestapo politics, injustice. Don’t call yourself a champion of democracy. Don’t make a bigger ass of yourself.

After being publicly humiliated, both Reince Priebus & Jeff Sessions groveled & sniveled their respect & loyalty to Trump. Despite a stinking elitism, they have no sense of dignity or worth in service to one of the most detestable & stupid figures in US political history. This is abnormal psychology.

Most minimum wage workers wouldn’t put up with that crap because they have a sense of self-respect, not just before power but especially before power.

Violence against mosques by occupation forces a constant in Palestine & Kashmir

Friday prayers July 14th, Ananatnag District (Aasif Shafi) July 28 2017

Aggression against Palestinian religious freedom focuses on the Al Aqsa mosque compound but that is by no means the only religious institution coming under Israeli attack. The extremes of such violence are in Gaza where just during the seven-week carpet bombing siege in July-August 2014 Israel destroyed 64 mosques & damaged 150 others. Ten Muslim cemeteries were also bombed out.

In the West Bank, such incidents are a constant where settlers vandalize Christian churches & mosques with graffiti like “Muhammad is a pig,” enter mosques to vandalize & torch holy books & prayer rugs, & there are cases when they outright torched mosques beyond repair with complete impunity from Israeli authorities. There are also Israeli attempts to claim Muslim holy sites like the Ibrahimi Mosque in the West Bank city of Hebron by inventing prior religious & historic claims for Judaism.

That same situation prevails in Kashmir where most media attention focuses on Jamia Masjid in Srinagar but mosques & religious institutions in other parts of Kashmir have also been under military siege for decades. Since there are no settlers yet in Kashmir, India uses its troops to enter mosques & vandalize, ransack, desecrate the premises. Worshippers have been beaten & killed, imams have been arrested & killed, mosques have been blown up, barraged with mortars, rifle grenades, open fire, & torched to the ground.

All this to strike at the heart of a culture by denying people the freedom to worship according to their traditions & deepest commitments. This photo is from July 14th in the Reshi Bazar area of Anantnag district in Kashmir when occupying forces attacked worshippers after Friday prayers. One young man sustained critical injuries & at least 14 others were arrested during the protests. There is no report on what happened to those young men–whether they were released or held in custody for torture or incarceration under administrative detention without any form of due process.

Freedom of religion is a fundamental democratic right. Defending it in Palestine & Kashmir is central to the struggle against occupation & for self-determination.

Long live Palestinian & Kashmiri Intifada.

(Photo by Aasif Shafi)

Since Trump operates like the Godfather & probably has connections to the Russian mafia, I’m waiting for a St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in the West Wing with Scaramucci playing wingman to Trump. It won’t be the first time in gangster history that requiems will be hosannas.