If you’ve ever been blocked out of your Facebook account for a political posting, you understand how upsetting it is & how important it is for others to stand with you & help you restore your account. It’s also part of the broader issue of censorship on social media which is a civil liberties issue when governments around the world dictate what they allow. You don’t have to post anything inflammatory or threatening to get blocked. You just have to get on the wrong side of the censors by exposing the violent realities of war, occupation, genocide, persecution.

It’s a pain in the butt that we have to concentrate on getting accounts restored but the fight for free speech, including on social media, is fundamental to our struggles for justice. That’s just the way it is.

Many await my annual commentary on Betty Windsor’s Christmas address to the nation which is always such a consolation to the poor. In the ineptitude of her cognitive & oratorical skills, they can see that feudalism doesn’t make you smarter nor certainly superior. This is my commentary on her 2015 address which, believe me, is considerably more interesting than her 2017 address which I am still plumbing for any content.

In her annual Christmas address broadcast from Buckingham Palace, Betty Windsor covered a wide range of subjects in just 5 minutes. She discussed Christmas tree decorations, her honeymoon in Malta, her upcoming 90th birthday, World War II, death & grief, her new grandchild, new Commonwealth leaders, the story of Mary & Joseph’s flight from persecution & the birth of Jesus in a stable.

It’s unusual to see an older woman held in such esteem but without that tiara Betty’s oratorical talents would take quite a drubbing from critics. With that inimitable animation of hers where only her lips move, it isn’t always certain that she isn’t a ventriloquist dummy though we put incredulity aside in the interest of holiday cheer. Her speech was a string of non sequiturs, platitudes, & white lies. Let’s face it: what does WWII have to do with Jesus’ birth? And does she really expect us to believe her kids decorated the Christmas tree behind her when they need valets to wipe their own butts & brush their teeth?

The story of Jesus’ birth in a stable must resonate strongly with Betty & strengthen her affinity with Camilla since they spend most of their time at the race tracks. The only drawback is there are no trifectas on the Christmas story.

We’re told Betty wrote her own speech so it’s a damn good thing she doesn’t really run the country–& not just because of the non sequiturs. Next year Parliament might want to have someone censor what she says because her platitudes & Biblical citations could lead to political unrest. When she spoke about the flight of Joseph & Mary from persecution & the Biblical call for us to ‘love one another’, some wild-eyed human rights activists might think she’s calling for the UK to open the borders & pull back riot police from beating off refugees coming from the Calais port.

2016 will be her 90th birthday & there’s talk that at long last she’ll hand over the moochocracy to Charlie. In a pig’s eye! Betty may be platitudinous & with regrettable taste in consorts, but she’s no reckless fool when it comes to feudalism. She’s assiduously grooming Willie for the schtick.

Our Christmas address back to Betty is: “Down with feudalism.” Your kids will receive remedial job training & finally have lives worth living instead of mooching off the body politic.

Happy new year, Betty!

(Photo is screen grab from video of Betty’s speech.)

Niranjana Das was temporarily disabled by Facebook for this post about Afzal Guru, a remarkable figure in the Kashmiri freedom struggle who was hung by the Indian government:

“Also add Afzal Guru’s pic who was executed by the world’s largest democracy and his widow was later informed through a speed post. Till date, his family didn’t receive his remains.”

Do you see any violations of FB community standards there? Any incitement to violence or harm to others? Any hate speech at all? Or does criticism of India’s treatment of political prisoners constitute hate speech?

Cut the crap, Facebook!

This is MC Kash’s tribute to Afzal Guru & Maqbook Bhat who was also hung by the Indian government.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U00V9Ue_KkE

There will come a day when Kashmiris no longer grieve the executions & dissappearances of their youth who defied the occupation. That day of victory will require active, international solidarity & will redound to the advantage of freedom struggles against oppression around the world.

(Photo by Mudasir Rawloo)

Petition to restore the Facebook account of Arshad Hussain & stop censoring Kashmiris. Please sign & share.

https://www.change.org/p/mary-scully-facebook-restore-the-account-of-arshad-hussain-stop-censoring-kashmiris/fbog/723858?

In looking for a suitable photo to use on a petition to restore the FB account of Kashmiri Arshad Hussain, I came across this recent photo by Basit Zargar of schoolchildren walking toward a razor wire barrier. What a stark contrast between innocence & barbarity.

End the occupation. Self-determination for Kashmir.

Because the brutal occupation doesn’t take New Years Day off:

“In 2017, to kill 217 Kashmiri militants, 124 armed forces were killed. The ratio is 2:1. It seems, the ‘Operation All Out’ has taken a huge toll on armed forces too, despite the fact that militants are ill-equipped & lack training.”

–Khurram Parvez

2017 only seems like the worst year ever in human history because we’ve forgotten how awful 2016 was. The passage of time hasn’t gone well for a while for millions of human beings. But we will make 2018 a renewal of our commitment to human solidarity with all those struggling against war, occupation, genocide, inequality. In that regard, social media has made our mission possible in a way it wasn’t just a decade ago. We’ve made social media our meeting grounds where we can get to know, respect, collaborate, & even love one another. Which is why governments are monitoring & censoring us. They can’t let that happen & we can’t let them take it away from us. This is a year for taking on that censorship stuff head-on.

Thank you to all my FB friends for teaching, inspiring, making me laugh. We can change the world to make it worthy of our children & overcome the inequalities that make life a hell for so many if we stand together. Happy new year.