The editor of Countercurrents.org reports that my article on Aung Sun Suu Kyi & the Rohingya Muslim genocide in Myanmar has so far reached 50,463 readers.

As an activist, my commitment is to educate & build solidarity with those suffering oppression & I am so grateful & honored that my journalism can serve that purpose.

Just a personal aside to young activists who feel they have little talent to contribute to social transformation: for decades I thought I had scant talents to contribute but decided justice was so important that I would contribute what little I had. There were moments in my early days of activism when I was mocked by over-confident hot shots for lacking skills. Many women will be familiar with the eye-rolls, elbow pokes, groans used to demean. I don’t say that for pity; it’s just a fact that young activists (especially women & working class) endure. I should say, I’ve outlasted all the mockers because my long-term commitment was to justice & would not be deterred by insult–though I’ll admit I was often made to feel small.

In the process of activism, I had to develop talents like writing & speaking–abilities I never knew I had. I reveal this not to be self-aggrandizing or smug but to assure young activists, especially women, working class, & more timorous ones, that everyone has talents & if you don’t know what they are, you will find out in the process of working to change the world. If in the highly unlikely event you don’t discover your talents, they also serve who only hold the line.

The political fraudulence of the Invictus Games

Bush and veteran at Invictus Games (Carlo Allegri:Reuters) May 10 2016

Lets get real about these Invictus Games going on in Orlando, Florida near Disney World. They’re a mockery of veterans, a patronizing spectacle of veterans wounded & disabled in US-NATO wars. How dare George Bush show up as an honored dignitary when the entire world knows the carnage of his lying-assed deceits against the people of Iraq!

The public relations schtick is that the Paralympic-style sports competition was created by Harry Windsor for disabled veterans. It’s more likely a gimmick devised in Buckingham Palace to salvage the reputation of Harry as a wastrel & international playboy & glorify war at the same time.

An entire retinue of war criminals, con artists, & indolent moochocrats lined up to promote the spectacle, including both Obamas; smarmy Trudeau; David Cameron & George Bush, both renowned war criminals; every indolent sloth from the UK who calls himself a prince & wears chests full of military medals for campaigns they were never in (Willie, Harry, & Charlie); Camilla Windsor pulled away against her will from Epsom Downs; & Betty Windsor herself on a mission to salvage the moochocracy.

Veterans do need sports events. They also need a Veteran’s Administration that isn’t crumbling from neglect; they need social services, health care, mental health treatment & counseling, affordable housing. There’s no spectacle in those things so instead they get the shaft whilst these big productions are played out as a substitute.

This “wounded warrior,” as rightwing war-mongers like to call them, is Israel Del Toro, Jr. fist-pumping George Bush, the man responsible for hundreds of thousands deaths & disabilities in Iraq & among veterans. We regret Del Toro doesn’t know he’s being used.

The historic imperative remains: rebuild the international antiwar movement.

(Photo by Carlo Allegri//Reuters)

Facebook censorship about Indian violence in Kashmir

Indian soldier kicking Kashmiri man

Indian soldiers beating Kashmiri man

A Kashmiri Facebook friend posted this comment on his wall: “we kashmiris r ready to kick Indian dogs out of JandK.” Facebook removed it saying it violated FB community standards.

The top photo is Indian soldiers kicking an older Kashmiri man attempting to remove the bodies of protesters. The bottom photo is Indian soldiers ganging up on & beating an unarmed Kashmiri man.

Sharp words of indignation violate community standards on social media? What kind of human rights standards are being violated by the Indian military? Will Zuckerberg end his friendship with Indian prime minister Modi over such violence? Or does indignation only get to go one way?

(Both photos are from Facebook and Twitter. Photographers unidentified)