When Sudanese dictator al-Bashir paid a state visit to Assad in December 2018, it was to render solidarity with the counterrevolution against the Syrian Arab Spring. Understanding the character of the counterrevolution in Syria, Sudanese protesters have fully rendered solidarity to the Arab Spring. Now, in a maneuver modeled on the military ouster of Egypt’s Morsi, the Sudanese military has ousted al-Bashir & taken power in order to salvage capitalism & prevent the popular uprising from pressing forward to revolutionary transformation.

A military dictatorship modeled on General Sisi in Egypt is decidedly not what the Sudanese movement had in mind & they continue to protest demanding a civilian transition government.

The power & importance of the Sudanese revolution identifying with the Syrian Arab Spring cannot be overstated. In one momentous stroke, it puts the lie to Assad propagandists & their guppies & reduces the political stature of commentators who support Assad, like Tariq Ali, Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, John Pilger, Chris Hedges, to lapdogs of dictatorship.

Long live the Sudanese Arab Spring!

Protesters in Sudan carry the flag of the Syrian Arab Spring uprising: from Algeria, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria to Sudan, one revolution. The Arab Spring rises again.

This graffiti from the Sudanese uprising reads: “Thank you Syrian revolutionaries who taught us the art of patience, adhering to the truth, & sacrificing for freedom, dignity, right & justice.” If the antiwar movement doesn’t understand what is happening in Syria, fellow revolutionists in Sudan certainly do.

These are two of the three children injured yesterday by a cluster bomb explosion from Russian & Syrian bombing of civilians in the countryside city of Hreitan near Aleppo. Syrian authorities have not yet identified which terrorist group they belong to.

Demand the immediate cessation of bombing & the immediate, unconditional withdrawal of all foreign military forces from Syria.

(Photo by unidentified photographer)

To speak frankly, Julian Assange gives me the creeps. But that is completely irrelevant to the importance of defending him on civil liberties grounds. The government of Ecuador has betrayed its trust by handing him over for arrest into the hands of the US courts where he cannot possibly have a fair trial. The only legal brief the US government has against him is that Wikileaks exposed US war crimes in Iraq. And for that, he deserves our respect & political defense.

Venezuelan left opposition activists explain their position of opposing the repressive Maduro regime whilst also opposing all US military intervention. This is an answer to those sycophants to power who claim Venezuela is a worker’s paradise & to those siding with the right opposition by calling for US intervention–the same political forces in the same lineup we saw in Syria to the immense disadvantage of the Syrian Arab Spring.

https://venezuelanvoices.home.blog/2019/03/17/we-are-confronted-by-the-threat-of-civil-war/?

Sudan’s revolution, standing up unafraid in strength and courage. Beautiful!

Protestors continued their sit-in in at army headquarters for the 3rd day today, following months of protests calling for Sudan’s leader Bashir to step down and pave the way for democratic elections.

Just days ago, Algerians forced their leader to resign after decades in office, and Sudanese are hoping for the same.

Algiers and Khartoum, leading the new wave of Arab revolt.

**********

Hind Makki explains the symbolism of the woman in the viral photograph.

“She’s wearing a white tobe (outer garment) and gold moon earrings. The white tobe is worn by working women in offices and can be linked w/cotton (a major export of Sudan), so it represents women working as professionals in cities or in the agricultural sector in rural areas.

Her earrings are the gold moons of traditional bridal jewelry (Sudanese, like many Arabic speakers, often use moon-based metaphors to describe feminine beauty)

Her entire outfit is also a callback to the clothing worn by our mothers & grandmothers in the 60s, 70s, & 80s who dressed like this during while they marched the streets demonstrating against previous military dictatorships.

Sudanese everywhere are referring to female protestors as “Kandaka,” which is the title given to the Nubian queens of ancient Sudan whose gift to their descendents is a legacy of empowered women who fight hard for their country and their rights.”

(Photo by Lana Haroun @lana_hago)

As we watch the debate in Quebec over banning public sector workers, including teachers, from wearing religious attire like the hijab & Sikh turban, it’s good to keep in mind that it is nothing but misogyny wrapped in Islamophobia hiding behind a phony-assed secularism. Nuns & priests in parochial schools will not be required to lay off their headgear or habits. If there is some kind of elementary democratic requirement for such secularism, why not the parochial schools too? Those who drag out the comparison with states like Iran that require hijab or niqab are willfully missing the point. It is not up to others to decide if women’s attire is oppressive. It is solely up to women themselves.

When the xenophobe called me ‘tribalistic’ & ‘a disgusting piece of shit’ for supporting open borders, I did not take umbrage. No sirree bub. He was just trying to salvage his manhood after being bested in a pissing contest with two women. His aggression was almost preferable to watching a grown man cry.