On the execution of a Kashmiri militant by Indian troops earlier today:

“You think you won by martyring him? Wait some hours & have a look at his funeral. The hero’s farewell. You kill one, hundreds are born.”

~ Murtaza Hassan Itoo

“indian state is incorrigible, it still doesn’t accept the fact that ideas cannot be gunned down. martyrs don’t die, they continue to live in memories and hearts, inspiring the just struggle in countless imperceptible ways. Only a morally decrepit people can call immense courage of taking on a brutal, wretched armed forces which commits war crimes as cowardly! By labelling our heroes as terrorists and their shameless cowardly forces as brave they cannot win this war. How long will their lies survive the power of truth? The only outcome of this war is nothing but Azaadi. True fighters long only for victory or martyrdom and what a blessed day to achieve that! May our martyrs rest in peace and power! Aameen.”

–Mir Laieeq

Hard to understand the moralizing about stone pelting when you read about the gruesome encounter last night in Tral, Kashmir between the Indian army & militants. Maybe you have to be a nationalist to be that obtuse not to see the scale of distinctions between stone pelters & platoons armed with machine & submachine guns, sniper & assault rifles, combat shotguns, semi-automatic pistols, pellet guns, grenades, mortars, & rocket launchers.

After the encounter where two were killed, protests erupted & prayer memorials were held all over Kashmir. Another young man was killed for protesting.

Imagine that the Indian army did this on the eve of Ramadan, a solemn period for Muslims. Not that they don’t do this every day. But one would hope for even a shred of decency, a momentary moratorium on barbarism so that Kashmiris could observe a sacred ritual. That isn’t the nature of militarism & occupation. It is bereft of humanity. That’s why it must be decisively defeated.

India is again expanding its internet blackout in order to increase barbarism without the testimony & documentation of Kashmiris on social media. Kashmiris cannot be allowed to stand alone. If their voices are silenced, they must be able to trust the voices of international solidarity will increase efforts to educate others about their struggle, to put political pressure on India, & to stand with them every step of the way.

A tribute to this young woman student stone pelter for standing against an army.

End the occupation. Self-determination for Kashmir.

(Photo by Basit Zargar)

Carol Sughrue is doing well after surgery & is home already–thanks to the many prayers & blessings she received from so many of you. Just to make sure she stays that way & we can have her back on Facebook, you might want to keep remembering her. 

At once a tribute to those murdered today in Kashmir by Indian forces & a warning to India that such barbarism will not stop the struggle for freedom:

“And do not say about those who are killed in the way of Allah “They are dead”, rather they are alive but you perceive it not.”
#Sabzar
#Faizan

–from a Kashmiri on Twitter

Apparently India has snapped the internet again in Kashmir. Back to VPNs.

India’s looking stupid in its bumbling attempts to silence the voices of Kashmiris.

“They have their dead bodies, not their obedience.”

–Kashmiri Kaiser Majeed

Another stunning work from 17-year-old Palestinian artist Malak Mattar who lives in Gaza.

We gotta ask why Tulsi Gabbard’s strong support for Israel doesn’t concern her Assadist supporters who all claim to be anti-Zionist? Of course her support for Israel is right in line with her support for Assad, Modi, Sisi. She’s a consistent reactionary. And so are her Assadist supporters, including KKK guy David Duke, whose anti-Zionism is really a cloak for hating on Jews. It all comes home to roost in support for Assad in Syria.

Some of the more feeble-minded Assadists are trying to replicate in the Philippines what they pulled off in Syria with all the head-chopping rhetoric. It comes from the same reactionary, debased impulses of supporting authoritarian regimes.

Duterte has been on a death squad war against the poor since he entered office June 30th, 2016 & has gunned down about 1,000 people a month in cold blood. He now claims ISIS has taken over part of the country & imposed martial law in that region with threats to extend it nationally & “decapitate” opponents of his death squads. How believable is a monster like that?

The sarcasm of denouncing head chopping in Syria & supporting Duterte who threatens to decapitate human rights activists goes right over the cement heads of the Hands Off Syria crowd.

The truly regrettable, if not criminal thing, is that understanding the development & counter-revolutionary function of extremist militias in Syria & Iraq is important. But fear-mongering & fabricating atrocities has made that understanding very difficult indeed. If they are turned into super-demons rather than politically analyzed there is no way to understand how to deal with & defeat such reactionary currents.

With the “drive them out” campaign launched by Trump in Saudi Arabia, we are going to be hearing accusations of ISIS appearances all over the globe. This essay by Syrian revolutionist Yassin Al Haj Saleh is a good introduction to our study of extremist, violent militias.

http://www.yassinhs.com/2016/11/18/the-genealogy-of-isis/