White Helmets treat cat injured by shrapnel in Syrian bombing of Idlib: war is such a horror for human beings that we seldom think of its horror for helpless animals. War is also an animal welfare issue.
Demand the immediate cessation of Syrian, Russian, & US-coalition bombing in Syria & the immediate, unconditional withdrawal of all foreign military forces from Syria.
To my mind it’s bad practice to be glib about complex social struggles. It took me years to understand Palestine, several months to understand just the basics of Kashmir. It’s politically exciting to see Uyghur activists using social media to build support for their movement. Some friends are asking me to post more about them. I haven’t yet studied their struggle enough to write cogently so will mainly let them speak for themselves by posting their news reports since they don’t really have time for the rest of us to catch up with them. It’s important that these movements not struggle in isolation & that we study them. That’s part of making the world suitable for all human beings.
Just several days after the Trump embassy massacre in Gaza, British Assadists, including professional propagandist Beeley, gathered in a pup tent (no other venue would have them) in Leeds, England to hold a mock trial for media lies about Syria. In their powerpoint presentations, Tulsi Gabbard, a Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, was held up as a truth-teller. They claim that because she shares their extreme Islamophobia & support for Assad’s dictatorship. Gabbard’s truths are rooted in Hindutva nationalism & Zionism. Gabbard is a steadfast supporter of Israel against Palestinians which does not deter Assadists, who claim they are anti-Zionist, from supporting her. That is of a piece with her support for Assad, Modi, General Sisi of Egypt & it is of a piece with their generally reactionary, even fascist politics. She actually traveled to Syria & met with Assad under the auspices of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, an outright fascist group. She is supported in the US by the Hindu American Foundation, a Hindutva group that believes Hindus are persecuted in Kashmir. So when she visited Modi in India, she spoke at a BJP fundraiser about the persecution of Hindus which in India dovetails with her rabid hatred for Muslims. David Duke, an American fascist, is among her most ardent supporters.
(Photo of Modi with Gabbard from October 2014 in NYC by PTI)
Bajrang Dal, a Hindutva nationalist group in India, organized a vigilante training camp this month to defend Hindus against an imaginary threat from Muslims. But of course they can point to the Amnesty report on ARSA in Arakan state to prove Hindus face a threat from Muslims. If Amnesty didn’t see that coming they shouldn’t be in the human rights business. Or are they playing a part in the Islamophobic war on terror?
(Representative image from ANI)
This weekend, Italian activists interrupted the Giro d’Italia cycling competition in Brueil-Cervinia, Italy in solidarity with Palestinians. When Giro d’Italia cycled past Gaza whilst Israeli snipers were shooting down unarmed Palestinian protesters, it sealed its fate just as surely as the 1936 Nazi Olympic games. Giro d’Italia can expect protesters every time & wherever it races.
Paris, France stands with Palestinians: French activists protested at the Israeli pavilion of Viva Tech, an international trade fair. It’s part of BDS campaign work & suggests how others can support Palestinians by building the cultural, academic, & economic boycott of Israel for apartheid & genocide.
(Photo from BDS Movement)
Just finished an article on the political affinities between Palestinians & Kashmiris. It’s always so educational to write about an issue–you learn more than your readers–but when you hand it to the editor you tremble that s/he will say “No, that is not what I meant at all” & then dump it in the reject basket. You have to rise above your ego in politics but lordy lordy is it tough when someone is judging your words.