Reposting this brilliant “Revolutionary Manifesto of 21st-century Hypocrites” about Syria by poet Musab Iqbal written in 2016:
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The “Revolutionary” manifesto of 21st-century Hypocrites
– Russian intervention is different from US/Nato intervention
– Russia has no imperial/colonial ambition (ever) unlike US and allies
– Iran-backed militias are not like US/Saudi-backed militias. Former unlike later is busy saving human lives with great empathy and kindness
– Assad is the most ideal democrat and any criticism of him and his power is sinful
– Assad army never shot or killed anyone, in fact Hama massacre never happened, there is no prison and torture center in Syria
– Syrian Army is personally trained by Gandhiji
– The world is made of binary. If you are not with us (Russia-Syria-Iran) then you are with them (ISIS-Al Qaeda- USA- Saudi etc)
– Celebrating death and torture is the most merciful and dignified revolutionary act
– Iran is defending Secularism and Democracy in Syria like it is doing in its own country
– Everyone is lying except PressTV, RT and journalists close to Assad regime
– Don’t criticize Syrian regime if you have not criticized all the violence in the world starting from Habeel and Qabeel (Adam’s son killing the other son)
– There is/was never political opposition in Syria, there were terrorists and there are terrorists.
This young girl is a relative of 15-year-old Palestinian Yousif al-Dayyah who was killed by Israeli snipers at the Great Return March yesterday. These are mourners at his funeral in Gaza City.
A UN Human Rights Council commission of inquiry just ruled that “Israeli security forces killed & maimed Palestinian demonstrators who did not pose an imminent threat of death or serious injury to others when they were shot, nor were they directly participating in hostilities.” By their estimates, nearly 200 Palestinians, including children, journalists, & medical personnel, were killed by Israeli snipers in 2018 & over 6,100 were wounded, some of them sustaining permanent disabilities & dismemberment. The commission concluded that Israeli occupying forces “may have committed war crimes” & that it had “reasonable grounds to believe” that Israeli soldiers “committed violations of international human rights & humanitarian law”. Such tentative conclusions are the stock-in-trade of UN inquiries when the overwhelming evidence would lead to criminal indictments in any respectable court of law.
The Great Return Marches which have gone on for nearly one year are peaceful in nature, unarmed, & only demand Israel end the blockade of Gaza & the right of return to Palestinian refugees.
Stand with Palestinians by honoring & building the economic & cultural boycott of Israel for crimes against humanity, including genocide.
(Photo by Suhaib Salem/Reuters)
Yesterday, thirty-four tired, weak, & hungry Rohingya refugees were found on a beach in Malaysia. Local villagers said they were found covered with mud like this little guy & many were crying. It’s not known at this point whether they originated in Arakan state of Burma or in Bangladesh. It’s also not known how many other Rohingya refugees tried to make this trip but were intercepted & turned back or arrested by Bangladeshi or Thai officials. Malaysian immigration officials believe they were ferried into Malaysian waters from neighboring Thailand by human smugglers & just dumped close to shore.
Refugee rights are human rights. Open the damn borders & grant asylum as is mandated by international law.
(Photo by Charles Santiago)
These are women White Helmet rescue workers with children protesting the recent Syrian bombing of civilians in Idlib province. Meanwhile, the Russian government at the UN recently held hearings, with fascist Assad propagandist Vanessa Beeley as their key witness, claiming the White Helmets are a front for terrorists & engaged in organ trafficking. The hearings (which are on YouTube) were an embarrassment to watch because they were more like a combination of amateur hour, burlesque, & the gong show. How the Russian government thought it could bring a discredited & disagreeable propagandist like Beeley on as their key witness boggles the mind. They expressed dismay at the lack of questions from journalists but if one looked at the audience there were very few journalists present & those few present were likely third string flunkies or satirists trying to milk some humor out of the Russian delegation making asses of itself.
The only explanation for why Russia & Assad propagandists devote so much time to vilifying White Helmet rescue workers–now for the charge of organ trafficking–is that they rankle Assad by exposing Russian & Syrian bombing of civilians. The only thing those Russian hearings proved is that Beeley & Bartlett will have a job for them with Putin when the Syrian well runs dry.
(Photo is from National Coalition of Syrian Revolution & Opposition Forces)
Pankaj Mishra, who often writes postmodern gibberish, is a longtime supporter of the Kashmiri struggle & has written cogently & coherently about it. This is a useful essay about war mongering in Indian media though it limps to the conclusion that India bombed Pakistan primarily to influence the upcoming general elections in India. He also inexplicably adds that pogroms against Kashmiris in India will produce more Kashmiri militants when there are reportedly only a few hundred in a population of under ten million. What India really fears & hopes to demoralize & terrorize is not the growth of guerrilla warfare in Kashmir nor certainly the Indian elections but the massive social movement which the occupation & freedom struggle has created.
One issue that isn’t being addressed by writers is the impact of massive US cutbacks in military aid to Pakistan which may partially explain its reluctance to escalate war against India.
In 1983, I hitchhiked around Northern Ireland, then under occupation by the British Army. It was just after the hunger strike of political prisoners at Long Kesh Prison had ended. A little group of adolescent boys took me through the Catholic neighborhoods to show me the many political murals on the side of buildings in solidarity with the hunger strikers. This is one of them.
So it seems there are those who would prefer I be a little more classy, a little more compromising, a lot less outspoken, more mellow in my criticisms, & more focused on just one issue. I’ll be 75 years old this year & my indignation has only grown with the feeding so fat chance that I will mellow out. Either you accept it or you shove off. There ain’t no way I’ll accommodate those who want a kinder, gentler radicalism just for more likes or followers on social media.
As for being single issue, that isn’t how I see the world. I’m a socialist & see the world in chaos because of the predatory nature of the economic, political, & military system of capitalism. There’s a connectedness to all the wars, occupations, genocide. If you don’t share my holistic view of things please don’t hang around my wall being annoyed or appalled. There are many who’ve tried to change me, including through firing, ostracizing, or badmouthing me. But after over five decades as an activist, I am one tough cookie & don’t give a damn about all that. My life commitment is to speak the truth as I see it & stand opposed to oppression which I detest & know so well. If that doesn’t work for you, feel free to unfriend or unfollow me.
An interesting article on the political & military relationship of India with Israel–& just as importantly, the affinities & solidarity of Kashmiris with Palestinians:
Lest I appear cavalier about the return of the downed Indian fighter pilot, my older brother was a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War. I loved my brother but at no time was I confused that my loyalties were with the Vietnamese he was bombing.