A US judge declared a mistrial in the Cosby rape case. Sixty women have accused him of drugging & raping them but only two were eligible under US law for criminal prosecution because of statute of limitations.

The women’s movement of the 1960s & 70s initiated important work around the treatment of rape victims but it remains uncompleted particularly around the treatment of victims by the courts.

The evidence against Cosby was sufficient to find a plumber or fast food worker guilty. But not a celebrity.

Did Narendra Modi really tweet that Indians should focus on toilets instead of the Pakistan vs. India finals because India needs toilets more than a championship trophy? Yes he did.

All of India could have toilets if Modi immediately, unconditionally withdrew the 700,000 soldiers & special forces deployed to Kashmir. If they did that they might even have fewer people cheering for an ignominious Indian defeat on the cricket field.

A report by Rohingya schoolteacher & refugee Anayet Ullah Arman about the situation of refugees in Bangladesh after the destruction of their shelters in the monsoon.

The #Myanmar cruel government and atrocities of security forces burnt down their houses and made them homeless.So that, Circumstance compelled them to become refugee in Bangladesh. Hence, In October, 2016 a violent Military crackdown ” clearance operation ” forcefully pushed them accross the border into #Bangladesh. undocumented Myanmar national, Now they are without refugee status, adequate food, shelter and access to medical care.

Now at present moment the #Rohingya #refugee are living inhumanly in #Makeshift_shelter. Their thatched shacks are fragile and flimsy structures not suitable for human inhabitation, monsoon and strong storm. When it is raining heavily. Then their huts become muddy. So, they can’t sleep at night and day. Indeed, the plight of Rohingya refugee is so worsen in Makeshift settlement in Bangladesh. And also recently they are effected by #cyclone_Mora.

Now it is rainy season in Bangladesh. During June and July there is plenty of torrential rains and Cyclone.

#There_is_no_place_for_Rohingya_in_world.
#No_intervention_of_UNHCR_in_Bangladesh.
#Rohingya #Refugee #Are #HumanBeings.

(Photo is Rohingya camp being rebuilt inCox’s Bazar, Bangladesh)

The Hands Off Syria crowd had a panel at the Left Forum in NYC titled “No to U.S. Intervention in Syria–Keeping the Antiwar Movement Focused on US Wars.” It doesn’t get more politically debased than that. What kind of provincialism allows US activists to only protest US intervention? That’s to justify their support for Syrian & Russian bombing of civilians.

In response to their retreat from international solidarity they should be reminded that the anti-Vietnam War movement involved millions of people on every continent, in every major city & small hamlet marching in unison to demand “US Out Now.”

We should take a moment to honor Philando Castile who according to all who knew him was a wonderful guy. He was a school cafeteria worker beloved for his kindness to the kids, who he called by their names, & was particularly kind to an autistic child. When he was shot, the school held rallies in his honor.

Our condolences to his family. May he Rest In Peace.

#BlackLivesMatter.

I know I’m not the only one reeling at the verdict in the Philando Castile case. On July 26th last year, an officer stopped Castile for a routine traffic stop in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota & ended up fatally shooting him. Castile was driving with his girlfriend Diamond Reynolds & her 4-year-old daughter. Reynolds live streamed the entire incident on FB so the prosecution had the officer dead to rights.

That is a section of St. Paul where many of my Black family members live & one of my cousins suggested that her husband & kids should put enlarged copies of their drivers license & registration in the windshield in case they’re ever pulled over.

There were reportedly people in St. Paul at the state capital & closing down a highway chanting #BlackLivesMatter. The police department fired the officer right after the verdict because they don’t believe in his innocence any more than we do.

(Photo is Philando Castile)

“A Kashmiri protester throws back a teargas canister at police & paramilitary men during clashes against the civilian killings in Srinagar,” according to Basit Zargar.

These protesters stand a good chance of being fired at & killed or permanently disabled. They stand a good chance of being arrested & held indefinitely without charge under administration detention. They stand a good chance of being tortured or identified by surveillance cameras & targeted later for disappearance.

They’ve stood alone against a brutal occupation long enough. It isn’t enough to admire their toughness & tenacity. We have to find ways to stand with them, to educate others about their struggle, to become part of building an international movement demanding India end the occupation.

End the occupation. Self-determination for Kashmir.

(Photo by Basit Zargar)

It’s hard to keep track of how many are killed in Kashmir every day. It’s a constant feature of life under occupation. Yesterday, it was somewhere between ten & thirteen people, including civilians, fighters, police, & soldiers.

But take a close look at this photo. There were widespread protests yesterday because unarmed civilians, young men, were killed. These troops with their high-powered rifles are being approached by people with their arms down, clearly unarmed.

It’s hard to fathom how Kashmiris can sustain such a level of resistance not just day after day but year after year but that is one of the things that makes solidarity with their struggle so important. You hear people bellyache that protests are ineffective because they’ve been marching a few years & nothing has changed. Kashmiris have been fighting against occupation since 1989 & colonialism since 1947. Intransigence against all odds is what changes human society, not defeatism. Finally, after so long, Kashmiri activists are seeing the results of their relentless work. If we support their struggles actively, if we follow their leadership, we can be part of ending human exploitation & oppression & making this world suitable for humans to live in.

End the occupation. Self-determination for Kashmir.

(Photo from Rising Kashmir)

Took in this new-born pup last night from a family who had rescued her but couldn’t keep her. She was separated too early from her mother & was up all night crying & whimpering. This morning I learned the mother & another sibling were still in need of homes so I picked them up from a business that fed & cared for them as stray dogs.

When I got home, my other beloved mutts were not gracious & one of the little pups scampered into the crawl space under the house. The mother is a sweet girl, though she is a whopper compared to my Chihuahua mutts. The puppy isn’t crying but I am because I can’t figure out how to entice the pup to come out from under the house. I’ve brought all my dogs in so as not to scare her but she isn’t emerging.

Any ideas for how to lure her into the open?

UPDATE: She’s out, bathed, & today mother & pups are reunited.

This is Eugene Brave Rock, a Native American actor from Canada who plays Chief, & Gal Gadot, the Israeli actress who plays Wonder Woman. Brave Rock was interviewed by Movie Pilot, an online movie industry magazine, discussing the authenticity of how Native Americans are portrayed in the film. The article cites praise for the film from Indian Country Today, an online newsletter about American Indians which claims over one million readers a month.

It isn’t necessarily some kind of Zionist campaign to plant stories countering the barrage of criticism because Gadot is a Zionist extremist who cheered on the carnage in Gaza. Indian Country Today is not the same journal that was founded in 1981 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Today it is operated out of NYC with an almost entirely white staff, some of them formerly prominent with Playboy magazine. It could be that the patriarchal, near-pornographic representation of Wonder Woman appeals to this journal who, if it has no Indian staff, probably doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the representation of Indians in the film.

Odds are the writers know exactly what the political issues are about this film. The primary political issue, other than the obtuse claim that this patriarchal Wonder Woman is a feminist icon, is that the actress supports the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous people of Palestine. If Brave Rock doesn’t know the relationship of Native American struggles to the Palestinian struggle, at least there are American Indians who do & have extended political solidarity with their struggle.

Brave Rock is of course right that there is a dearth of acting roles for Indians that are not shamefully racist & stereotyped. It’s still regrettable that his career will, even unwittingly, be built on the backs of Palestinians. Not to mention women.

Boycott the film to build BDS. Picket the film to educate others about Israeli ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Buy nothing with barcode beginning 729. And if you have Twitter visit Eugene Brave Rock & begin his education about the relationship between ethnic cleansing of indigenous peoples in the Americas & in the Middle East.

(Photo from Twitter of Eugene Brave Rock)