Assadists denounce U.S. bombing of Syria while anti-Assadists cheer on U.S. bombing: both are politically corrupt

Infant in Douma receiving tx for chlorine gas attack (AP) April 10 2018

While Assad propagandists & their fellow travelers in the antiwar movement feverishly denounce all who claim Assad bombed civilians in Douma with chlorine gas, many who oppose the Assad dictatorship ‘await & hope for news of US airstrikes’ on Syrian targets. No wonder Assad is on the cusp of decisively defeating the Syrian revolution. When Syria bombed civilians in Khan Sheikhoun with sarin gas in April 2017, the US retaliated with airstrikes–after warning Syria & Russia. They bombed empty airport hangars because they gave the regime time to evacuate personnel & move equipment. The US airstrikes deterred nothing & the counterrevolution proceeded apace. Witness Eastern Ghouta & Idlib. Calling on the US to militarily act against Assad is the very essence of cognitive dissonance & political derangement. What about the Mother of All Bombs in Afghanistan & the murderous sieges of Mosul & Raqqa have supporters of US “humanitarian intervention” missed? Calling on the US to bomb in Syria legitimizes US presence in Syria & elsewhere when it has no right to be there & no purpose other than as part of the counterrevolution. There is not a single instance in US military history when it intervened to support a popular revolution against dictatorship.

Of course Assadists & their guppies in the antiwar movement deny Assad’s use of chemical weapons on civilians & blame the attacks on terrorist groups associated with the US. Their primary political function is to obfuscate military reality & deny the revolution. Our response should not be to turn to the US Pentagon to save the revolution but to demand the immediate cessation of bombing of civilians & the immediate, unconditional withdrawal of all foreign military forces from Syria.

Photo is an infant in Douma receiving treatment for chlorine gas inhalation.

(Photo from AP)

Two people have invited me to like the Facebook page of Nikki Haley, Trump’s ambassador to the UN who snarls through her teeth like a pit bull. What would lead anyone to think I have an ounce of admiration for this reactionary sycophantic meathead or her work? What have I not made clear about my views on war, occupation, & genocide, on the political & military role of the US in world politics, & on Trump who she represents? Has she said something recently that sounds progressive? Who gives a damn? Actions speak louder than words. Please don’t insult me with such invites.

Wouldn’t you know some Burmese nationalists left some droppings against the Rohingya people on my post about the South African speaking tour on the Rohingya genocide. The thing about nationalism is that whatever kind it is–Burmese, Zionist, Hindutva, Assadist, white supremacist–it requires a fumigator & an exorcist after they’re bounced. You wonder how it is people become so debased & hateful that without batting an eyelash they can justify genocide, occupation, or bombing unarmed civilians in Douma & Gaza. But we leave the psychologizing of fascism to others. We haven’t the stomach to plumb the depths of political & moral depravity. Here we just bounce & delete.

Anyone else ever watch “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”? To my mind, its clever, if not also tiresome kind of wit masks a pervasive, deep misanthropy. Humanity is portrayed as bloodthirsty & stupid & all the sympathetic characters are killed off in quite ferocious ways. The Black characters are all portrayed as contemptibly dimwitted, at least in the Neil Patrick Harris version I watched. The worst part is that the victims are young children. That’s not unlike the real world in the barbaric phase of capitalism so no one is demanding a fairy tale ending. But at least some sense of alternative to the bloodthirsty would be appreciated lest it lend itself to nihilism, the ideology of fascism.

Great Return March in Gaza intended to bring down entire Israeli edifice of apartheid, occupation, colonialism

Amputee at Great Return March Apr 6 2018

Without apparently recognizing the sarcasm, CBS news reported Israel’s complaint that the Great Return March was intended to bring down the “fence”–a euphemism for the apartheid barrier making Gaza what is called an open air prison. Actually, the protests are intended to bring down a whole lot more than that damn fence. They’re intended to bring down the entire edifice of apartheid, occupation, & Zionist colonialism. In that regard, we cannot render them enough solidarity & active support.

This photo is an amputee, almost certainly from one of Israel’s bombing sieges over Gaza, who was again shot in his artificial limb during the Great Return March yesterday. The young man is suffering injuries from the bullet & must be reliving the horrors of the original amputation.

(Photo from Great Return March on Twitter)

Great Return March: nine killed & over 500 wounded on April 6th 2018

Great Return March Apr 6 2018

Palestinian protester in homemade protective gear to participate in unarmed, peaceful protest yesterday in Gaza for the right of refugees to return to their homeland: nine Palestinians were killed yesterday & over 500 were injured by Israeli occupying troops. In another expression of its moral & political bankruptcy, the UN called on both sides not to use violence though only one side is armed & shooting.

What’s noteworthy is that media coverage of the protests were not as hateful toward Palestinians as usual. One can hardly call the reports fair & balanced but at least they reported that Israel is shooting at unarmed protesters. Of course, it also had to raise the boogieman specter of Hamas terrorism, even though Hamas is the elected government of Gaza.

Stand with Palestinians in their fearless campaign to win the right of return for millions of Palestinians still living in refugee camps.

(Photo from Great Return March on Twitter)