For so long, new political activists were circulating videos produced by former KKK leader & white supremacist David Duke on Israel & the Palestinians. They were well done, even educational videos, but Duke’s purpose was anti-Semitic & hateful of Jews who he hates as much as he does Blacks & Latinos. That means there is no place for him in Palestinian solidarity. Or actually in civilized society.

When people protested the videos because of Duke’s involvement, we were told he was a changed man who’d come to his senses about racism. His endorsement of Drumpf & intrusion in the tweet furor over the star of David should settle that once & for all.

It doesn’t matter if he tries to contribute money & support to BDS, no movement for social justice should touch his ugly ass with a ten-foot pole.

US proposes military alliance with Russia in Syria

Aleppo, Syria (Unacredited photo via AP) July 5 2016

The Obama administration has proposed a new military alliance with Russia over Syria. It would do wonders to counter libertarian explanations of what’s going on in that country, in particular the roles of US & Russian warplanes, if they based any of their analyses on reality rather than speculations & wishful thinking.

To deny that Russia is bombing civilians is grotesquely reminiscent of those who continue to deny the mass murders & gulag of Joseph Stalin in the USSR. To do that, you have to take the Russian foreign ministry at its word & dismiss the testimony of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) & Syrian & international human rights groups.

According to media reports, what the US proposes is to fly joint military operations with Russian warplanes against al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda paramilitary force in Syria which opposes the Assad regime. In exchange, the US wants Russia to pressure Assad to stop bombing US-backed paramilitary forces.

Several questions are raised by this deal: if–as so many left & libertarian analysts claim–the US wants regime change in Syria, why would it be bombing al-Nusra? Wouldn’t al-Nusra, seeking the same goal, be a natural US ally? And what exactly are US-backed paramilitary forces trying to accomplish in Syria if not regime change? Are they acting for or against Assad? Are they for or against the popular revolution to overthrow Assad? If their politics are incompatible with those of al-Nusra, doesn’t this new military deal just blow that regime change scenario right out of the water?

Despite a massive, high-tech war room monitoring the war in Syria, the US claims it doesn’t know who’s bombing Syrian civilians with barrel bombs & white phosphorous. If they don’t have enough military intelligence to tell whose warplanes are taking out everything in sight, how in the hell will they be able to distinguish one paramilitary group from another?

Does anybody else see the possibilities for Armageddon? The historic imperative remains: rebuild the international antiwar movement & demand the cessation of all military intervention in Syria.

(Photo of bombing in Aleppo, Syria by evil fairies from outer space via AP)

Shame to say, watching British politics is a relief from the relentless tedium of the US elections. In the US, how many ways can you parse the criminal banality of politicians? Especially when so few are convinced by the parsing & you end up talking to yourself.

At least in Britain they’ve dispensed with Cameron, Boris, & Farage. Say what you like about Brexit but that’s a good day’s work.

It’s not clear why people are making distinctions between the younger & the older Elie Wiesel. By his own admission, he tried to join the Irgun terrorist group in 1946 at the age of 18, inspired by their treacherous bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Two years later, he was translating for them in Paris.

He didn’t try too hard to join Irgun. He said “I got no further than the janitor who asked: “What do you want?” I said, “I would like to join the underground.” He threw me out.” A more committed terrorist wouldn’t be deterred by the janitor.

You can claim that it took him years to morph into hateful all you like, but to some it looks like a straight shot from admiring the bombing of a hotel packed with travelers to defending the bombing of civilians in Gaza.

A simple question: how has Drumpf become the international standard for dangerous politics when Clinton has the proven record for violent treachery? That’s not to absolve him from criminality at all. But making him the standard is a backhanded way of designating her the lesser evil.

Clinton is vetting Cory Booker to be her vice presidential nominee. Can you hear the sucking sound from the “Bernie or Bust” campaign rushing to the Democrat’s slate as the lesser evil?

New Filipino president Rodrigo Détente: a dangerous psycho

Suspected drug dealer:Manila (AFP) July 4 2016

There is every reason to be alarmed by the inauguration of Rodrigo Duterte as the new president of the Philippines. Duterte, now 70-years-old, was the iron-fisted mayor of Davao city for 22 years. It’s quite clear he was enlisted by politicians & businessmen at the highest levels of Filipino power to become president–most likely because they face resistance to the imposition of neoliberal policies & to the re-militarization of the country as part of the US military buildup in the Asia-Pacific region. Their choice of Duterte, nicknamed “Duterte Harry,” indicates they intend to use repression against those who oppose their policies.

Beginning in the mid-1990s as the mayor of Davao, Duterte became associated with the Davao Death Squad (DDS), a vigilante group that summarily executed or disappeared hundreds of people suspected of petty crimes (like theft or cell phone snatching), those suspected as drug dealers or addicts, or street children in a country with 1.5 million homeless children.

The total number killed in Davao between 1998 & 2015 is estimated at 1,424 people. Fifty-percent of them were children under of the age of 17 or young adults, male & female. Most of them were murdered in urban poor areas. Most of the victims were unarmed & shot in cold blood. There wasn’t a single drug lord reported among those murdered.

Duterte was elected on a law & order platform vowing a vigilante crusade against drug dealers, rapists, murderers, & journalists. The country is already one of the most dangerous in the world for journalists with 174 murdered in the last 30 years. Duterte incited against freedom of the press & against journalists by saying in a press conference, “Just because you’re a journalist you are not exempted from assassination if you’re a son of a bitch,” & “Most of those killed, to be frank, have done something. You won’t be killed if you don’t do anything wrong.”

Duterte also warned drug addicts that “If you’re into drugs, I’m sorry. I’ll have to apologize to your family because you’ll surely get killed.” He has congratulated police who execute drug users & offered them bounties to do so. Drug use is a social & a health problem, not a crime. What Duterte is doing is modeling the US war on drug policies that led to summary execution of hundreds of Black youth, the incarceration of thousands, & martial law in the Black community.

Since his election, dead bodies of suspected drug dealers & users have turned up across the Philippines–some executed by police & some by vigilantes who dump the bodies on public streets. Handwritten warning signs are left on some of the bodies. Estimates are that one person has been shot dead every day since the May 9th election of Duterte–shot dead at his incitement & with complete impunity.

In the grand scale of things, shooting down drug addicts & journalists is only the prelude to the massive use of violent repression against the urban poor being forcibly evicted from slums, against homeless children, & against all who speak out or protest neoliberal policies & the militarization of the Philippines.

The photo is the dead body of a “suspected drug dealer” in Manila with a warning sign on his body saying “Chinese drug lord.”

Our fullest solidarity with the political movements in the Philippines because they have a huge battle for democratic rights on their hands.

(Photo from AFP)

A mystery that lends itself to conspiracy theories because the story doesn’t add up:

How did ISIS rise within a few years to have the military might & geographical scope of a powerful nation-state taking on at least four major military powers at once along with organizing a terrorist auxiliary force operating in Paris, San Bernardino, Dhaka, Istanbul, Baghdad, & with an outpost stronghold in Libya? Who the hell is arming them & why aren’t the armament supply routes blocked?

Some of those militaries operating against ISIS stopped the German army in WWII & they can’t stop ISIS, supposedly a paramilitary force?

Don’t answer the question with conspiracy theories. Even though other explanations are not forthcoming.

Al-Quds Day in Sana’a, Yemen

Al-Quds Day in Sana'a Yemen (from Sabyasachi Chatterjee FB wall)

Al-Quds Day, held annually on the last Friday of Ramadan, is an international day of solidarity with Palestinians. Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem. The commemoration originated in 1979 in the Iranian revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran–who in accordance with his US allegiances was an ardent supporter of Israeli colonialism. Regardless of reactionary political developments in Iran since then, Al-Quds Day remains a powerful international day of solidarity with Palestinian self-determination & the heritage of a revolution that overthrew the murderous Shah.

There have been several protests reported around the world & there is one in London today. This is a photo of the Al-Quds protest in Sana’a, Yemen last Friday. What makes it so remarkable is not just the size reflecting massive solidarity with Palestinians but that Yemen remains under aerial bombardment by Saudi-led, US & UK-backed warplanes.

Those around the world who stand with justice stand with Palestinians & with the people of Yemen whose enemies are the opponents of justice around the world.

(Photo is from FB post of Sabyasachi Chatterjee)