#when taliban government will be formed

[rue-with-the-tarot]

So, not even a week after resuming my veiling practice, I experienced discrimination. I don’t wish to recount the experience to save my emotional energy, but I do want to go into why I’m glad I had this experience, and how it encourages me to continue.

Firstly, I want to acknowledge the fact that my preferred approach to veiling does in fact make me resemble Muslim women. And because of this, I want to give a heartfelt thank you to Muslim women worldwide for setting the standard for others who find empowerment and comfort in modesty. As a white person, I have been aware of and sympathetic to the plight of Muslim women worldwide, but it’s different when it happens to you. It cements it. My heart aches for your strife and is full by your courage. This is one reason I’m glad for this experience. It strengthens my resolve and compassion. Thank you.

Another reason I’m glad for the experience, is because it reiterates why I want to veil in the first place. I live in Midwestern America. Our bodily autonomy is quickly being stolen from us. Our bodies are hyper-sexualized and spoken about as if all I’m good for is having babies that the government can raise as cattle for the capitalist machine. It’s a physical symbol of rejecting that. I get to decide how I look to others. I get to decide who gets access to my body, not just in a sexual manner but as a whole. For me, it’s a radical act of feminism. It feels as though the fibers in my headscarves and coverings are woven together in a greater tapestry of women worldwide. I can feel it with Muslim women, whom I do not share a religion with, but share something more important: kinship, and sisterhood. My threads are woven with the Muslim women in France who are fighting legislation for their right to be modest (that is batshit insane) and also with those victimized by western imperialism (which gave birth to the Taliban). The tapestry is worldwide, including Jewish women and their tichels, other pagans with their bandanas and beanies, even traditional Christian women who wear lace coverings. But modesty and autonomy reach beyond the gender divide so I have home in those who are also men, nonbinary, gender-fluid, two-spirit, and many others. It is community. It filters out many people who show their true intentions and beliefs, and makes it so much easier to cut through the lies and masks of people whose support is conditional.

I have always been modest and prudish and now I can celebrate it, instead of being “othered” by it. I feel as though it is a symbol of my devotion, but also a form of radical self-care that I celebrate myself.

It is Hera’s Crown.

It is Athena’s War Helmet.

It is Hermes’ Winged Helmet.

It is Eurybia’s Cloak of the Ocean.

It is Hades’ Helmet of Shadow.

It is Hestia’s Veil.

It is Zeus’ Crown.

It makes me feel godly and holy. It protects me. It invigorates me. It gives me confidence.

Khaire.

[beardedmrbean]

The top prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) says he will seek arrest warrants against senior leaders of the Taliban government in Afghanistan over the persecution of women and girls.

Karim Khan said there were reasonable grounds to suspect Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani bore criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity on gender grounds.

ICC judges will now decide whether to issue an arrest warrant.

The ICC investigates and brings to justice those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, intervening when national authorities cannot or will not prosecute.

In a statement, Mr Khan said the two men were "criminally responsible for persecuting Afghan girls and women, as well as persons whom the Taliban perceived as not conforming with their ideological expectations of gender identity or expression, and persons whom the Taliban perceived as allies of girls and women".

Opposition to the Taliban government is "brutally repressed through the commission of crimes including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, enforced disappearance, and other inhumane acts", he added.

The persecution was committed from at least 15 August 2021 until the present day, across Afghanistan, the statement said.

Akhundzada became the supreme commander of the Taliban in 2016, and is now leader of the so-called Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. In the 1980s, he participated in Islamist groups fighting against the Soviet military campaign in Afghanistan.

Haqqani was a close associate of Taliban founder Mullah Omar and served as a negotiator on behalf of the Taliban during discussions with US representatives in 2020.

The Taliban government is yet to comment on the ICC statement.

The Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in 2021, 20 years after a US-led invasion toppled their regime in the fallout of the 9/11 attacks in New York, but its government has not been formally recognised by any other foreign power.

"Morality laws" have since meant women have lost dozens of rights on the country.

Afghanistan is now the only country in the world where women and girls are prevented from accessing secondary and higher education - some one-and-a-half million have been deliberately deprived of schooling.

The Taliban has repeatedly promised they would be re-admitted to school once a number of issues were resolved - including ensuring the curriculum was "Islamic". This has yet to happen.

Beauty salons have been shut down and women are prevented from entering public parks, gyms and baths.

A dress code means they must be fully covered and strict rules have banned them from travelling without a male chaperone or looking a man in the eye unless they're related by blood or marriage.

In December, women were also banned from training as midwives and nurses, effectively closing off their last route to further education in the country.

[darkmaga-returns]

Terrorists have been hunting down polio vaccinators in Pakistan. The country recently launched a campaign aimed at immunizing 45 million children over the age of 5. Terrorists bombed a vaccination site, injuring 23, including children. Vans transporting polio staff have been targeted. Are these anti-vax conspiracy theorists? Violence in no form is tolerable, but there is a reason that vaccinators are being hunted down, and it stems back to the early 2010s when the CIA used a vaccination program to mask an espionage program.

The CIA was desperate to find Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks, as he embarrassed the intelligence agency by evading them for years and taunting them with videos seemingly filmed from caves. When the CIA had a lead that he was hiding out in Pakistan, they launched a fraudulent vaccination program to take down the al-Qaida leader.

Then-trusted Pakistani doctor Shakil Afrid partnered with the US intelligence agency to launch a hepatitis B vaccination program in Abbottabad, Pakistan. They began the program in a poverty-stricken town to make the guise seem believable before moving to the compound where they believed Osama bin Laden was hiding.

The true goal of the program was to obtain DNA samples from children who may be within bin Laden’s lineage. Some children received polio drops, but it is unknown if others were actually vaccinated against hepatitis B. The CIA has never revealed whether they found any matching DNA samples from the children they targeted.

The Taliban immediately banned vaccinations when the plot was revealed, which is only one of the reasons both Pakistan and Afghanistan still suffer from a polio crisis today. Dr. Afridi was convicted of treason and sentenced to 23 years imprisonment. The CIA received international backlash, leading to former -CIA Director John Brennan issuing an order that forbid the use of vaccination programs in covert operations. Brennan swore that the CIA “will not seek to obtain or exploit DNA or other genetic material acquired through such programs.”

Can we trust the government and/or intelligence agencies with our DNA or vaccinations? This was not the first time that the CIA has used health services to mask espionage. Pakistan and Afghanistan are now the only two nations in the world facing a polio-endemic. There is often truth behind conspiracies.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jess Piper at The View from Rural Missouri:

I was raised as a Baptist, and depending on where I was living at the time, it was often a Southern Baptist flavor. The strictest form of the denomination.

My grandpa was a strict adherent to the faith and believed that women should dress in skirts or dresses. I had a collection of prairie dresses and jumpers. They hit mid-calf or lower to keep my shins from making my brothers in Christ stumble. My shirts were buttoned high so my shoulders didn’t tempt men even though I was a child. My grandpa thought we shouldn’t cut our hair and we shouldn’t wear makeup. He didn’t like women wearing jeans, but he approved of culottes if we needed to do something immodest like ride a bike or work outside.

[...]

I grew up with men who were going to protect me whether I liked it or not and in general that meant they were going to monitor my comings and goings. They were going to monitor my dress and my speech and my hair and makeup. They were going to monitor my virginity and sexuality. They had the final call on my life and my body. “The Old Rugged Cross” and cross your legs. “Go Tell it on the Mountain” and then be quiet.

They were going to tell me how to behave and scorn me if anything happened to me because they told me what to do and if I were raped or assaulted, it was likely the jeans I had on or the way I showed off my shoulders. My fault. They were going to “protect” me whether I liked it or not, and if I didn’t follow their commandments, I got what was coming to me. Your body. My choice. Women in countries like Afghanistan and Iran and Sudan and Syria are protected whether they like it or not. You are familiar with their plights and their codes and their forced way of living…they are being “protected” whether they like it or not.

You likely recognize that there are men in our own country who would like to “protect” American women in much of the same manner. There are men on the right-wing fringe who have openly spoken of revoking the 19th amendment. There are men in the mainstream GOP who openly speak of forced birth and ending no-fault divorce. It is not protection. It is predatory. Women's rights in some countries are not respected: restricted freedom of movement, restrictive dress codes, no protection from male sexual violence, forced marriage, and forced birth. Women in these countries can’t vote. They can’t attend school. They can’t raise their voices in public. They are openly discriminated against and have been pressed out of politics and life outside of their homes. These women are being “protected.” Or so the men in government and the religions they are in partnership with will tell you. The Taliban will swear that forcing women into burkas protects women just like the GOP will swear that abortion bans protect women. They both use their religion to mistreat and oppress women. They both harm women while suggesting they are protecting women.

Republicans, and those who will be part of the Trump administration, talk non-stop of groomers and pedophiles and rapists while nominating alleged groomers and pedophiles and rapists for roles in government. Republican lawmakers want to “protect” us from trans women in bathrooms while they elevate an adjudicated sexual abuser to the highest office in the land. A man who brags about grabbing random women by the p*ssy. Republican lawmakers want to “protect” us from immigrants while Trump picked a man to be in his cabinet accused of child trafficking — Matt Gaetz has since withdrawn his nomination for AG.

[...] Women aren’t safe when abusers are elevated to positions of power. Women aren’t safe when essential healthcare is banned. Women aren’t safe when men say we shouldn’t have the vote or we should “step aside” in the workplace. Women aren’t safe in Trump’s America. I know this intimately because I grew up in misogyny…in the church. I internalized it for years. I thought I was truly being protected until I didn’t want the protection anymore and then I found out what it truly was. I grew up with men who wanted to make me a second-class citizen and they did this by “protecting” me. By oppressing me. By marginalizing me. By abusing me. I am not the only one…there are too many of us who have already learned this lesson. They are not protecting us. We don’t need protection.

This Jess Piper Substack post is so frighteningly spot-on about the harmful and predatorial Christian Patriarchy attitudes dressed up as “protecting women”.

[theluckyblackcat2025]

Critical Thinking and Cyberfeminism - Blog #2

In regards to social media communication, what role does ‘Power’ play in our daily lives? -Power is a challenging concept when it comes to social media access and ultimately means that one group has more influence on society at the expense of another group. Who holds the power is an important question and therefore who is powerless or lacks certain advantages. Currently, power is held mostly by rich politicians, companies, and influencers that use these benefits to their advantage and systematically ignores the status of company workers or employees that creates an even larger wealth gap. Communication power can be a tool, or a weapon, that should be used to uplift unheard marginalized voices, but given its historical context this isn't the case(Fuchs, 2014, p. 7-8). 

Why is Critical Thinking so important now more than ever? -Critical theory and thinking challenges the white, masculine, cisgender, and heteronormative system that surrounds how our country is governed through policies and media content. With the current high rise of social media comes an abundant amount of misinformation that can quickly spread like wildfires. These suppressive systems we live in, don't want the public questioning the information given out, which is a huge concern. Historically news and media has almost never been for the marginalized voices and instead has been used as a form of suppression to control the public opinion and sway biases. Critical thinking is more vital than ever these days because it constantly challenges the concepts of what is true and works to create equitable representation. It's a constant battle to remove the structures of domination and exploitation against marginalized communities and voices(Fuchs, 2014, p. 10-11).

How has Cyberfeminism been used to improve the lives of women globally? -Cyberfeminism is a movement that utilizes technology to fight against gender inequality and discrimination by organizing and sharing spaces with different individuals globally. Cyber feminists have created several global social movements that fight against gender inequality, for example the Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan to oppose the Taliban’s cruel treatment of women's daily lives. The heightened access to the global internet has linked common experiences shared by women who face specific gender disparities based on class, race, religion and location. Ultimately cyberfeminism has advanced the feminist movements to share safe spaces and communities under the same goal of building equality for all(Daniels, 2009, p. 103-108).

What does Cyberfeminism look like for QLBT women? -Already Cyberfeminism is building safe spaces for different types of women and individuals to find commonality and build communities. Specifically regarding queer and trans women, the internet has been a huge resource to find information and a sense of community that resists the suppression of gender and sexuality identities. The global access to the internet was an extremely positive change for the trans community because it shared information on what transitioning looks like(social and medical) and how to find access in the medical field. This not only aided trans people but has helped normalize these unique experiences of gender expression and social constructs. Now in 2025 this is still the case, many trans women, including myself, go onto the internet to find our own research and shared experiences. It gives us access to talk and listen to others who have been or going through gender transition to share their experiences, expectations, and growth as people(Daniels, 2009, p. 113-115). 

Daniels, J. (2009). Rethinking cyberfeminism(s): Race, gender, and embodiment. WSQ: Women’s Studies Quarterly, 37(1–2), 101–124. https://doi.org/10.1353/wsq.0.0158 

Fuchs, C. (2014). Social Media: A Critical Introduction. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446270066 

[old-school-butch]

Why did Hamas take hostages and start a war?

I'm tempted to use the fable of the scorpion and the frog here, because what is Hamas without war? It was always going to be war, their entire existence is dedicated to overthrowing Israel and taking it for themselves. They went through a bit of rebranding in 2017 when they created a new charter that said they accepted the 1967 borders of Israel as the basis for a 10 - 100 year ceasefire (not a peace treaty though - that means recognizing the existence of Israel and of course, and never giving up claims to the 'right of return' of Palestinians into Israel, which would give Palestinians majority control over country), and they realized it was more acceptable to say they were anti-Zionist instead of anti-Jew.

But I'd argue they've never been too interested in the leadership of Gaza for the sake of the Palestinian people. They don't govern Gaza really, UNWRA manages most of the foreign aid that sustains schools and hospitals. Little interest is shown in building infrastructure. Hamas' main achievement in holding power was to establish a security force to consolidate it's own power, but at least reduced the anarchy, gang violence and competing terror cells that were running rampant. Gaza has received billions in foreign aid over the last 2 decades, it should look like a seaside paradise by now. I've noticed this with the Taliban too and even the Muslim Brotherhood during it's time in power in Egypt - ideologues and revolutionaries aren't really in it for the bureaucracy and daily work of governing a state. They want to be either unimaginably wealthy or powerful, they dream of running a global caliphate, and destroying Israel is just step 1 in creating the Arab superstate, destroying Western corruption, consolidating power and expanding from there. Hamas is a short form of its official name - Islamic Resistance Movement, and it is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. Islamist organizing to create the new caliphate goes back to the 20s but it was overshadowed by a more secular pan-Arab movement until the six day war with Israel dealt the Arab league a resounding defeat. Islamism has been the new, organizing principle to rally around to consolidate regional, and ideally, global power. I'm finding wikipedia a surprisingly unbiased source if you want a quick overview, although you have to read a few different entries to get the full picture.

Israel has made so many attempts at appeasement and containment, which are ironically now dragged out as if the Israeli government was somehow complicit in creating Hamas because they allowed Qatari money to enter Gaza to be paid to Hamas political leaders (now spun as 'Israel brought briefcases full of cash to Hamas') or that they supported Hamas to undermine the PA (Hamas was elected and fought a war with PA to control Gaza so I'm not sure how Israel could have ignored them. I really can't imagine juggling the PA, PLO and Hamas, and every time you make peace with one the others splinter off and reject your agreements). Hamas, in turn, has spent the last 2 years preparing this attack, while also convincing Israel it was moving away from seeking conflict.

Anyway, you were asking about this war in particular, and not the first and second intifada, their war with Fatah, or the wars against Israel in 2008-2009 or 2014. I'm not privy to what intelligence Hamas possessed that now would be a good time to start another war, but I can make a few guesses:

Opportunity: They learned of security holes in Israel that they could successfully exploit to make a devastating attack.

Method: They had friends willing to supply weapons, training and intelligence. Most significantly, Iran and Hezbollah, but they also met with Russia, they sent a delegation to the Saudis in April and to Syria in June to try to smoothe over those relationships.

Motive: They felt that supply of support might fade in the future, and thus the time to strike was now. The U.S. has been simultaneously getting Arab countries to recognize Israel and normalize relationships with Israel. The Palestinian 'cause' couldn't exist without external support. There's not enough people and, let's be honest, no real history to support a sustained nationalist campaign. The Levant was a sparsely-populated, dirt poor backwater where remnant populations of invading Arab caliphates were overtaken by the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years. Without external support, anyone who didn't want to be in or near Israel would have left and been absorbed by any number of the 22 Arab Muslim states in the region. Its claim to fame is that it's the site of religious significance to multiple religions and thus, its has symbolic significance.

But Hamas was formed as proxy fighters in a proxy war, and the U.S. efforts were moving toward peace at an alarming rate by sidestepping direct intervention (as they had with Camp David negotiations in the past). Instead, they took their message to the regional powers who, over the years, have now all had their own run-ins with iterations of this movement and now see it as a threat to their own rule. Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Morocco, and Bahrain have all recognized Israel. The Saudis were in the process of joining them, which threatened to tip the balance of power in the area.

The goals of this war were to make Israel respond so they could be freshly blamed for regional problems, make Hamas and Palestine relevant again to global interest and as a regional force and remind everyone that making peace isn't possible as long as radical groups remain a force that can undermine that process.

[kendrixtermina]

You know what? I don't condemn Hamas actually

If I lived in Gaza, I wouldn't vote for them for the same reasons I'm not voting for any traditionalists, but seeing as:

there don’t actually seem to have been any gratuitous ISIS-style atrocities such as rapes, indiscriminate massacres or beheadings, rather, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT DEMONSTRABLY BOMBED THEIR OWN PEOPLE with ppl admitting this in mainstream Israeli Newspapers. Israeli Newspapers! Not Hamas, not Al-Jhazeera.

they're not even that extreme in their present form compared to the 80s, & made repeated peace offers (Cooome on. I doubt we'd be seeing so many women Doctors, Poets and Journalists in Gaza if they were like ISIS or even the Taliban.)

that they made sure elderly hostages had their meds (its better to be a hamas hostage than an USA citizen, apparently....)

that there was a concrete military aim (release of unlawfully detained Palestinian Prisoners)

and that Israel has a track record of shooting at or locking up/torturing peaceful protesters even if they're children

I just learned Palestinians are HALF the population. Half the Population can't vote?! And when they got to have their own elections, Israel put Gaza on lockdown cause they didn't like the results.

I am confident calling the attack a legitimate armed resistance operation.

Human rights orgs gave been complaining for YEARS about those prisoners. There have been reports of beatings, rapes, torture, mentally ill teens thrown in solitary… but no one suceeded at getting them free. I wonder if some if the Hamas fighters wanted to save imprisoned family members.

I'm struck by the part of the article where one of the escaped hostages mentions a militant (whom she describes as being at most 20) being star struck with her fruit bowl and sheepishly asking if he could eat a banana. It had probably been a while since he saw one. I wonder what became of him.

Those who made peaceful resistance impossible make violent uprising INEVITABLE.

This is not even about morality, it's cause & effect. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks, or if they "should". You brutalize people, some fraction will always fight back. It's a fact.

EDIT: That said, to be clear: Collective punishment would still be wrong even if they were, in fact, the worst of barbarians. We don't kill all North Koreans for the actions of Kim. We don't pile up the corpses of Russian children because of Putin. They didn't leave German civilians without food or water because of Hitler.

[mariacallous]

MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan—Mohsin Dawar’s campaign for re-election to Pakistan’s parliament was almost cut short before it began in early January when his convoy was ambushed in a village just a few minutes’ drive from his home in Miran Shah in Pakistan’s North Waziristan district, near the lawless borderlands with Afghanistan. As his car came under attack from militants armed with automatic weapons, sniper rifles, and rocket-propelled grenades, he and his team were lured into a compound by residents who promised them safety.

It was a trap. Once the gates closed behind Dawar, the attack intensified. For almost an hour, he said, they were pinned down. Police and Pakistan Army backup finally arrived but not before two of Dawar’s team had been shot and injured. The vehicle took more than 80 bullets, and the windows show just how accurate the attackers’ aim was: Either one of the shots to the windshield or passenger window would have struck and likely killed him if he hadn’t been protected by bulletproof glass.

The Jan. 3 attack on a popular, outspoken, liberal leader in one of the most vulnerable regions of a country fighting a growing insurgency by extremist militants hardly registered in Pakistan, where most believe the military attempted—and failed—to manipulate the Feb. 8 election in an effort to install Nawaz Sharif as prime minister for a fourth time and where media operate under tight government control.

The election wasn’t quite the foregone conclusion that had been expected, with candidates aligned with the jailed cricket star-turned-populist leader Imran Khan winning more votes than each of the major parties—the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party—forcing them into a coalition to get the majority needed to form a government. PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif nominated his brother, Shehbaz Sharif, to become prime minister and his daughter Maryam Nawaz as chief minister of Punjab province, ensuring the dynastic line continues.

Candidates across the country, not only those loyal to Khan, alleged that the results had been rigged against them and in favor of military-backed candidates. Two days after the election, with his seat still undeclared amid growing concerns nationwide about vote rigging, Dawar and about a dozen of his supporters were injured when security forces opened fire on them as they gathered outside the official counting room.

At least three people died of their injuries; What Dawar had believed was an unassailable lead, according to polling by his secular National Democratic Movement party, had disappeared. In the count that was listed as final by Pakistan’s Election Commission, the seat went to Misbah Uddin of the Taliban-aligned Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam-Fazl party. Dawar is still recovering from a serious leg wound.

Dawar’s hometown is, once again, the battleground of what he calls “Project Taliban”—a war against the Pakistani state.

The Taliban’s transnational ambitions are threatening security beyond the borders of Afghanistan, and nowhere is this more evident than in Pakistan’s northwest, where the militant presence has been growing since the terrorist-led group came back to power in August 2021. Attacks on civilians, soldiers, and police have soared. The region bristles with checkpoints and hilltop outposts and is heavily patrolled on the ground and in the air by the Pakistan Army and armed border police. That’s during daylight hours, Dawar told Foreign Policy. Once night falls, it’s a different story.

“The Army checkposts you will only see during the daytime. Before sunset, they go to their barracks, and the people of Waziristan are at the disposal of the militants. Everyone has to secure himself or herself for their own protection,” he said. “It is militarized, and I believe it is a continuation of a proxy war that was started long ago. ‘Project Taliban’ is still continuing.”

The roots of militancy and terrorism in Waziristan go back to colonial times, when the mostly Pashtun people here were characterized as fearless fighters and pressed into service for the British. The stereotype stuck; the region became a center of recruitment and training for young men to fight the Soviets after Moscow’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.

After the United States led an invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 in retaliation for the 9/11 attacks, leaders of the Taliban and al Qaeda moved over the border and for the following 20 years enjoyed the protection of the Pakistani military’s intelligence wing, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.

The ISI wanted a tame Taliban-led Afghanistan to thwart the ambitions of archrival India to become the dominant regional power. The Taliban had different ideas. The group’s return to power has inspired affiliated and like-minded groups worldwide, as the extremist regime provides safe haven for dozens of militant groups, according to the U.N. Security Council. They now openly use Afghanistan as a base to train fighters seeking to overthrow governments from China and Tajikistan to Iran and Israel. Among them is Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which, Afrasiab Khattak, a former Pakistani lawmaker and now a political analyst, said, is “just Taliban, there is no difference.”

Earlier this month, the Taliban reiterated the group’s stance on the international border between Afghanistan and Pakistan when the acting foreign minister, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, said the government doesn’t recognize the Durand Line that has delineated the two countries since 1893. The line runs through the tribal regions, dividing ethnic Pashtun and Baloch tribespeople. Recent bilateral tensions have often focused on the border, with tit-for-tat closures impacting cross-border trade.

In comments that Pakistan’s foreign ministry later called “fanciful” and “self-serving”—and which underlined the simmering hostility between Pakistan and the Taliban it helped put in power—Stanikzai said: “We have never recognized Durand and will never recognize it; today half of Afghanistan is separated and is on the other side of the Durand Line. Durand is the line which was drawn by the English on the heart of Afghans.”

The Security Council said in 2022 that the TTP had up to 5,500 fighters in Afghanistan. That number has likely risen, Dawar said, as neither country, mired in economic mismanagement and crisis, can offer its youthful population an alternative livelihood. Victory brought strength, Dawar said, and the Taliban “can attract the youth because money and power is what attracts youth the most.”

The simmering conflict threatens to return Pakistan’s northwest to the wasteland of less than decade ago, when the TTP controlled the region: Dissenters were routinely killed. Terrorists turned the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), now part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after an administrative merger in 2018, into a death zone. Millions of people were displaced as those who could leave fled to peace and safety.

Those who stayed lived in fear and poverty until the Army finally took action in 2016 and ended the TTP’s 10-year reign by simply killing them, often in attacks that also killed civilians, or pushing them over the porous border into Afghanistan, where they joined Taliban forces fighting the U.S.-supported republic until it collapsed in 2021.

The TTP wants an independent state in these border regions. It broke a cease-fire with the government in November 2022 and has demanded that the merger of the FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa be reversed. Attacks on the military and police have escalated alarmingly, presenting what a senior government official, who spoke anonymously, called “not only an existential threat to the state but also to the common man”—a recognition that what Dawar calls “Project Taliban” not only threatens to engulf the northwest but, if not contained, poses a potential threat to a fragile and barely stable state.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar disagreed, telling reporters before the Feb. 8 vote that the military had the upper hand in the region, by virtue of numbers alone. “I don’t see that they pose an existential threat to the state of Pakistan,” he said, while nevertheless conceding it was a “big challenge” that could take years to dislodge.

He could be right. After the failure of peace talks, ironically brokered by the Taliban’s acting interior minister, U.N.-listed terrorist Sirajuddin Haqqani, Pakistan stepped up pressure on the TTP. Asfandyar Mir, an expert on South Asian political and security issues, said this appeared to have made a “marginal” difference.

“For instance, we haven’t seen a complex or suicide bombing attack by the TTP or one of its fronts for a couple of months now,” he said. “In that sense, it appears the Taliban is sensitive to pressure,” though “smaller-scale attacks and the erosion of Pakistani state authority in parts of the northwest continue.” Things could change, he said, once a new government is installed and, perhaps, brings some stability to the political landscape.

For the people of Waziristan, struggling to survive unemployment, a lack of development, and government neglect of basic services such as roads, electricity, clean water, and education—coupled with a downturn in vital cross-border trade with Afghanistan—priorities have again switched to peace. “The local people have learned through their own bitter experience of devastating war” what a Taliban resurgence means, said Khattak, the political analyst. The security establishment is playing a dangerous game, indulging the TTP so that “local people become so desperate they want the military to come in and help them,” he said.

Hundreds of thousands of people have marched through the streets and bazaars of North and South Waziristan over the past year, demanding action against terrorism and an end to state violence. Yet it continues. “No one is safe. Everyone is a target,” said a man in his 30s as he rolled off a list of potential victims: politicians, business people, teachers, doctors, journalists, civic activists, women’s rights advocates, anyone deemed “un-Islamic.” Even barbers are not immune from extremists who ban men from shaving: The day before the Jan. 3 attack on Dawar’s convoy, the bodies of six young hairdressers were found in the nearby town of Mir Ali.

Another local resident pointed to a “Taliban checkpoint” on the road between Miran Shah and the bustling town of Bannu. The long-haired, kohl-eyed, gun-toting youths in sequined caps stand outside their roadside hut in the shadow of an Army post on the hill above. Around the clock, the resident said, they randomly stop vehicles to shake down the drivers. “It’s just for money,” he said. “Money and power.”

But it’s killing, too, “on a daily basis,” said a government worker who left Miran Shah with his family at the height of the TTP terror and visited in early February from Peshawar so he and his wife could vote for Dawar. The aim, he said, is “to create an atmosphere of fear so that people leave and what is here is theirs.”

Dawar said the turning of the Taliban tables on Pakistan “was predictable.” The Taliban “are now a threat to Central Asia. They are now a threat to Iran, to Pakistan, and to even China. All of them thought we will control the Taliban after the takeover. The problem is it didn’t happen,” he said.

In 2011, then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Pakistan’s leaders that they couldn’t keep “snakes,” as she called the Taliban, in their own backyard and “expect them only to bite your neighbors.”

“There used to be a time when people were sent from here to Afghanistan. Now they are coming around, they are biting,” Dawar said.

[demontruth]

'Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world. But I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.’ Harrison Butker

I was purposely avoiding the topic of the Kansas Chiefs kickers speech to the graduating class at Benedictine College. It seem to be everywhere, well the more I heard I more pissed I became. Especially anyone of weight defending this morons ideals. Bullshit like oh its his beliefs, or I don't understand what the big deal is. Both of brought to you by Whoopi Goldberg and Bill Maher. So I've decided to break it down for everyone who's completely lost as to why what Harrison Butker said is a fucking problem!!

First let's take his actual words. Mostly the moment the dipshit said BUT. But he would venture to guess... let me stop him right there. Everything he said after this to the women sitting and listening suddenly diminished everything they had worked for in their college careers. It devalued them brought them back to being nothing more the 2nd class citizens. The issue with this is it's not just this morons beliefs! These conservative Christian beliefs are shaved by far too many on the right. These kind of men are reason Roe v Wade was overturned. It's men like these that are actively right now all over our country still trying to make sure abortion is illegal in every state. They also want to go after pretty much any form of contraception especially The Pill make that illegal also. See its not just Harrison Butker beliefs, he's the tip of iceberg! When he stand there like arrogant little prick he is telling women, young women in no uncertain terms that a career is ok but your true place is being some man's wife and popping out his babies is far more important is basically a way of diminishing women as fully human. Because conservative Christian men goal is to take complete control away from women as autonomous human beings. Their no better than the Taliban truthfully! That's why what Harrison Butker said is a fucking problem people! It's not just about one guys dumbass beliefs it about an ideology that's invaded all parts of our society. It's most scary its been spreading in our government for far too long! The right has been poisoned by it. Now it's in our Supreme Court, it's already been in the White House once.

The fundamental problem is people are not paying attention. People are not connecting the dots, Harrison Butker isn't a one off... he's a main issue problem.

[afrobeatsindacity]

BURNA BOY REAFFIRMS HIS GREATNESS ONCE MORE WITH "I TOLD THEM..."

Ever since the stroke of luck or carefully planned commercial move that was the release of "Ye" in January of 2018, Burna Boy has not stopped rising. The song that led to his meteoric rise was a part of his album, Outside which marked his major label debut. With the success of the album shooting him into universal acclaim, he wasted no time in declaring himself the African Giant with a new album released in 2019. He kept with the pace by releasing his fifth studio album which he named, in true smug Burna fashion, Twice as Tall. Five years and a few weeks after that first alignment of stars, Burna is still steady on his grind and as confident as ever with his new body of work, I Told Them…, his fifth album in six years. The title is no doubt drawn from the same self-assured state of mind that the previous ones were. 

Burna's greatness shines through from the very beginning of the album as his unique artistry is put fully on display here. He begins with a palm wine music–inspired, slow tempo song with traditional percussion. "I told them", he says and he repeats it, and his delivery is very much "I told you so". It is a clear payback to all those who didn't believe in him. He sings his own praises, calling himself amongst other things; a genius, a giant, the master. GZA, of the legendary Wu Tang Clan, comes in at the end with a spoken word rendition. Burna's self proclaimed genius is evident not only in this song but in the entirety of the album which is a unique blend of different elements and influences, featuring snippets, excerpts and samples from other musical works, banter with friends and phone conversations all carefully curated to create an inimitable work of art. 

"On form" for instance, is both Afrobeat and Afrobeats and he mixes English with pidgin and Yoruba. "E no go tire me, nothing we never see", Burna sings, assuring us that he does not plan on quitting anytime soon. Burna travels through time in the earlier released "Sittin' on top of the world" which features a sample of Brandy's 1998 single, "Top of the world". It is a funky delight and a perfect throwback to the vibes of the late '90s and early 2000s.

Is it really a Burna Boy album if it doesn't feature a bit of political activism in some form?. On "Cheat on me", Burna takes a break from the focus on girls and money which occupied most of the earlier tracks, to pass a message about the prejudiced treatment of Africans by foreign governments; "Make embassy no deny my people visa/ No be Taliban, no be Al-Qaeda". Dave makes an appearance here but the potential of his verse is hindered by what could bluntly be described as lazy writing. He borrows multiple rhymes from Burna; "Believer", "Kilometer" and "Visa", using the last to end three different lines. Dave, also Nigerian, missed an opportunity to deliver a resonant, patriotic verse that could perhaps rival that of Skepta in "Dimension". On this song as well, Burna reworks a sample, this time from English singer Kwabs' "Cheating On Me", though this snippet bears only sonic but not thematic connection to Burna's new album. "Big 7" bears a similarity in rhythm to "Sittin' On Top Of The World", calling to mind early hip hop culture while Burna Boy grittily brags that he's been "Wavy since London, wavy since Berlin", referencing European cities from his tours on his journey to world domination. 

But despite all of this, Burna is not forgetting his home and people. He takes a quick trip back home with "Giza", an Amapiano track with Seyi Vibes that is simply perfection, beginning with the ethereal sound of the Ney, the Arabian flute, and followed by rapidly mounting, light percussion. Seyi begins the track with characteristic spoken-word rap, and Burna's deep bass glides so smoothly into the second verse that it might take you a second to notice when the baton was passed. On "If I'm lying" Burna returns to foreign soil, this time somber and sincere. His delivery is assisted only by a few guitar strings and toned down Middle Eastern vocalization that gives a naked poignant beauty to the RnB song. Burna puts on no airs here, baring himself to the world. "Everyday I just dey give thanks for life/ Know how to move 'cause I know sacrifice", he begins. Not long after he promises; "If you need a shoulder to cry, then I'll give you mine".

On the next song however, Burna draws from a completely opposite emotion—anger. "Is this the motherfucking thanks I get/ For making my people proud every chance I get", he begins furiously. Like the Dave assisted "Cheat on me", this song too is about his people, but where he had pled on their behalf for respect from the outside world on the previous song, on this one, he berates them for what he believes to be a gross ingratitude for his many gifts, including his founding of Afro Fusion and being the blueprint for other African acts seeking global fame. He confronts them with their accusations and claps back at their threats, sacrificing melody for message, so that the song is not as appealing as most others. "Thanks" features hip hop heavyweight, J. Cole, whose verse would have served better on one of the grander rap-leaning tracks rather than an Afrobeats track that fixes on a domestic squabble between a man and his people.

I Told Them… had been much anticipated since its announcement, but even more so in light of Burna's recent interview with Apple music where he made some controversial statements about Nigerian music's lack of substance. Ironically, many of the songs on his album centre on hedonistic pursuits - Afropop staples. There was talk of "Azul and champagne" in "City Boys", "Rocking your body" in "On Form" and in "Normal", he makes us know that none of this is excessive in his book. But this is Burna Boy, and flippant and dismissive comments are not a new thing coming from him. And perhaps he could be exonerated on the grounds that he is one of the few artists in the business who regularly ventures out of that banal box to create timeless pieces of art.

With I Told Them… Burna Boy manages to pull off what many African artists have failed and are still failing at; creating a sound that will tie two worlds together. He not only does this effortlessly but even manages to bring in slices of different subcultures - African-American hip hop, Afrobeat, Afrobeats, Reggae fusion, Amapiano and RnB. The album is a patchwork of cultures, it is Burna's journey through space and time collecting bits and pieces here and there for an enduring album. I Told Them… is Burna taking another giant step across continental waters to claim new territory whilst still managing to carry along his already conquered turfs, putting his versatility and ingenuity on full display for the world to see. The African Giant need not try to tell us of his greatness anymore as he has proven it to us time and time again. But knowing Burna, there is no doubt that he will continue to.

This article was written by Afrobeats City Contributor Prisca

Afrobeats City doesn’t own the right to the images

[warsofasoiaf]

Also, you're NOT a pragmatist in politics. I have repeatedly seen you reject pragmatic solutions or propositions on moral, idealistic or principled grounds. I don't believe it is bad to be non-pragmatic, and I don't see how it's any better than any other approach, just as I don't believe partisanship is wrong. I would just like to point out you are not good at identifying political characteristics in yourself and others.

I can't say I'd agree. Usually when I'm rejecting those "pragmatic" solutions, it's because I see them as incomplete, often pointlessly so, and less effective as a result. The environmental movement in the 1970's allying with fossil fuel concerns to torpedo research and development for nuclear power is one that always grinds my gears, not the least of which because this knee-jerk opposition to carbon-neutral energy generation persists. Sure, there's an idealistic element to the idea of not wanting to work with people who refuse to admit where they're wrong, but there's also a practicality to it - people that don't admit they're wrong make poor allies and continue to make inefficient and ineffective policy as long as they refuse to engage in any form of self-reflection.

Still other times it's because I see the long-term practical disadvantages to not maintaining strong principles. In the extreme cases, this is self-evident, there's very clear reasons both practical and ideological to oppose openly supremacist and close-minded movements like communism or fascism, and there's plenty of reasons to put adjacents on blast when they softball and minimize criticism, like Bernie Sanders when he low-key approves of the shooting of Native Americans and taking their land, or the current "gay grooming" moral panic gripping social conservatives. Even outside of the more obvious examples, though, pragmatism and idealism work hand-in-hand. I was a frequent critic of Afghanistan policy because I saw how the openly corrupt Karzai government and regional powerbrokers inspired no faith in governance and thus left a brittle institution of government, well before the Taliban took control. It might be "pragmatic" in the short-term to work with established and entrenched corruption, but it's not sustainable in the long-term. The perfect might be the enemy of the good, but so is the bad.

A lot of "pragmatic policy making" fails in that regard; hypocrisy in politics typically inspires no faith among the greater body politic, and ineffective policies that reject solutions because they don't promote tribal mastery just end up creating political dysfunction, then they quietly get unfunded when the next government takes over, making the whole exercise pointless. More than that though, there's an intangible feeling though of belief in a mission and in an organization's leaders. It's something I really didn't understand until I was in Afghanistan. Many of our leaders had their heads up their asses, and pretty much everyone inside the Beltway didn't give a shit about those of us outside it (Obama and Trump wouldn't even deign to disguise their disdain for the regular enlisted even as they mouthed token slogans, hardly inspiring for a commander-in-chief), but there were plenty of people there that did sincerely care for our well being, and there's strength to draw from that. Faith sounds deeply impractical, and I used to agree when I was younger - nothing mattered but results and the results would make themselves obvious. But human beings don't work like that, in practice emotions factor significantly into our thinking and true pragmatism means taking that into account. Pure statistics can be hampered by disinformation, but results can be spun however you want to spin them even without any lies or trickery used - it's based on context and interpretations. I used to think it was weird that archaeologists could study the same bone fragments from Carthage and conclude that the Carthaginians both did and did not practice human sacrifice. Depending on the data you use though, you can successfully argue that the Great Depression was ended by the New Deal, by the Second World War, or even not until the Second World War was over (if you use war deprivation in your standard for poverty). So in that sense, while data needs to remain a cornerstone of any successful political policy crafting (hence why I'm always going to rag on MMT'ers), making an effective policy that people believe in is vital too, because it inspires faith in the systems and procedures. Democracy depends on that core element of civic belief and participation, and the alternatives are not only morally repugnant, but, simply put, they don't produce the same standard of living.

But thank you for your opinion nonetheless.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[khangthecinephile]

Book & movie analysis: Persepolis

For a very long time, Muslim people and Muslim country's image have been depicted by the Western media in a very negative way. This results in the majority of people living outside Muslim countries having misunderstandings and misconceptions of Muslim people, especially their gender roles. Which is exactly why Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian author wrote her famous graphic novels Persepolis, released in 2000 and 2004. These two books are autobiographies of Marjane’s own life, portraying her life living through the Islamic Revolution and many other wars during that time period. Persepolis explores the damages and the traumas that wars do to people and also the gender stereotypes in Islamic countries.

In Islamic countries, where there’s a big percentage of illiterate people, religions are some of the most important things of Islamic people’s life. And one of the most visible symbols of religion in these countries is the veils, the scarfs of a piece of fabric that women use to cover their hair. The veil was created to remain “moral boundaries” among the two genders and the women who wear veils would be considered “respectable women” according to the Quran (Stacey, “Why Muslim Women Wear The Veil,” ISLAM RELIGION). Although there are a lot Muslim women that like wearing their hijab as a way to honor their religion, there are also women like Marjane who’s against the veils. Marjane Satrapi intentionally put “The Veil” as the first story of her book to show her negative opinion towards this piece of clothing. In this story, Marjane was just a little kid and doesn’t really understand why she and her girlfriends have to wear the veil (Satrapi 3). But this attitude of hers continuously appears throughout the two books, even when she’s a grown woman. Muslim women, as oppressed as they already are by their culture and religion, were even more oppressed by laws to always wear the veil (Knipp, “Why Iranian authorities enforce veil wearing,” DW). It’s not simply just a piece of clothing, it is used by the governments to repress Muslim women, to limit their rights to be what they want to be. Instead of just staying quiet and living with the situation, many women like Marjane had spoken up and demonstrated for their own rights as women, despite their image of being controlled by men and having no voice in the society. This corruption of gender images and stereotypes will happen many more times in the books through both female and male characters, which I would explain further in the next parts of this essay. 

Like I mentioned before, Islamic countries have lots of people that do not receive any form of education. Especially women, when some Islamic countries don’t allow women to go to school (Brown, “The Taliban are taking away women’s right to learn. The world can’t afford to stay silent,” THE GUARDIAN). Even in the countries that do allow women to go to school, there would be gender segregated schools, and most of the time, the boys would receive a much better education and study in better conditions. For this reason, westerners assume that Muslim women are uneducated and can’t acknowledge the oppressions of their own countries. If we compare this stereotype to Marjane and her friends, there would be some serious misconceptions. Marjane and her family really value education. Marjane herself doesn’t just go to a normal school, she even gets the opportunity to attend a French school in Tehran which enables her to be fluent in multiple languages like French or English. Beside schools, Marjane also receives an education from her parents when her father always talks about their country's political situation and history. They also let Marjane be exposed with both Western and local literature and culture. Marjane as a kid liked punk music and listened to Kim Wilde (Satrapi 126). She even read books by Karl Marx and other Western authors (Satrapi 12). While still maintaining her patriotism and her interest in religion, Marjane onced wants to be a prophet (Satrapi 6). We can’t deny the fact that Marjane has many privileges compared to other Iranian girls but if we take a look at her mom, she’s also very well educated and often expresses her own opinions in certain political discussions between Marjane, her and her husband. Obviously, education doesn't just come from school or books, Marjane was also educated through her real life experience with war, bombs and through the sacrifices of her loved ones. Her grandmother always reminded her of her grandfather and how she has to take these sacrifices seriously and never forget who she is and where she comes from. (Satrapi 291). 

If some Westerners think that some Muslim women aren't allowed to go to schools because their religion says that women should be obedient to their husbands and stay at home, they’re completely wrong. Muslim’s religion and philosophy are different from Western’s religion and philosophy but they aren’t as extreme as people think. The Quran has always commanded and encouraged all Muslims including both male and female to pursue and acquire knowledge (Lodi, “Islam doesn’t deny women education, so why does the Taliban,” VOGUE ARABIA). Marji admitted that she’s a very religious person as a child but she has always been a curious person and educated herself all the time. The reason that she gave up her religion also didn’t have anything to do with it limiting her from becoming a more intellectual person, there’s just a lot of bad events that occurred to her at the time leading to her making that decision. Just through a few details of her character, Marjane has succeeded in changing the way people view Muslim women and has completely broken the rigid stereotype of Muslim women being uneducated.  

Besides being uneducated, the Western Media had depicted Muslim women’s overall picture as being traditionally feminine, weak, and submissive to men (Jaffer, “Are Muslim women really traditionally submissive,” THE TELEGRAPH). Many of them got abused and violently beaten by their husbands (Stacey, “Does Islam Oppress Women,” ISLAM RELIGION).  Or simply, they don’t have a voice in their own household and get controlled by their spouse. However this is not the case in Persepolis, Marjane in the story is a very independent woman, she had left the country when she was very young and is totally capable of taking care of herself. Not only that, Marjane always speaks her own opinion and isn’t afraid of the consequences, even at the time when she’s still in Iran, where people don't take women’s opinion very seriously. One of the most important elements that has created a strong and independent Marjane is the people surrounding her, the role models in her own family, specifically her mom and her grandmother. Marjane’s grandmother and mom both have very advanced mindsets for people of their time. Typically, when a girl reaches a certain age, Muslim parents or Asian parents in general would like their daughter to get married and settle down with a good enough man (Beglin, “Why do Tiger parents want their kids to marry young,” PSYCHOLOGY TODAY). But Marjane’s mom wants the opposite, on the night of Marjane’s wedding, she caught her mother crying in the bathroom. Marjane’s mother said: “I have always wanted for you to become independent, educated, cultured …And here you are getting married at twenty-one. I want you to leave Iran, for you to be free and emancipated …” (Satrapi 317). These words don’t just show the love she has for her daughter but also shows that she’s a modern woman and doesn’t want marriage to define her daughter. Taji’s worried that Marjane will end up like other Iranian women at the time who've got oppressed by their husband and got their freedom taken away. Marjane’s mom didn’t just break the stereotype of Muslim women, she has also broken the notion of Asian parents who are strict and want control of their children’s life. Same with Marjane’s grandmother, she’s also a woman that’s ahead of her time. Long before Marjane’s generation, the prejudices and contempt for women was also tremendous. But Marjane’s grandmother has made a decision that’s considered revolutionary, which is getting divorce. Like how she said, at the time, nobody ended their marriage (Satrapi 333). So this story of Marjane’s grandma had taught Marjane to stand up and make decisions for her own benefits, and it is totally normal to divorce her husband as long as she thinks that it’s the best thing for herself. Grandma has also taught Marjane that getting a divorce is a right of any Muslim woman and not supposed to depend on the men. 

In Persepolis, not just a lot of women’s stereotypes get broken but the reader can easily see some very positive male figures throughout Marjane’s life. One of them is obviously Marjane’s father Ebi. From the beginning of the book when Marjane was a child, her father has always been supportive of her and respects every decision she makes. He has also always been honest and open with her about the country's situation. Ebi doesn’t mind explaining things like history or politics to her daughter (Satrapi 19). He’s caring and patient with Marjane and sometimes even treats her as an adult. Him and his wife always want the best for their daughter, they are even willing to let Marjane go to another country just for her to be developed in a more healthy environment (Satrapi 147). Those characters are what differentiates him from the abusive and violent image of Muslim men. Unlike how Westerners portray men in Islam countries, Ebi is the complete opposite of the absent father figure or an oppressive husband (Naderi, “Non-threatening Muslim Men: Stigma management and religious observance in America,” Springer Link). Even in his relationship with his wife, he has always been respectful and listening. He sympathizes with his wife's sadness and maintains the equality of their marriage. Taji on the other hand, still completes her role as a wife and a mother but sometimes, she even has dominance over her husband.

Another man that had immensely influenced Marjane’s life is her uncle Anoosh. Like Ebi, Anoosh is very patient with Marjane and answers every single one of Marjane’s questions. Just after a short period of time, the two have become very close and connected (Satrapi 55). For Marjane, Anoosh is a hero, he gave his life to his idea and went through many struggles before meeting Marjane. On the last time they met each other, Anoosh gave Marjane the second bread swan which makes a pair of bread swans that symbolizes their relationship (Satrapi 69). The bread swans don’t just represent the love Anoosh has for Marjane but the fact that they were made from bread in the prison represent the trauma and suffering that Anoosh has experienced (Goldman, “Persepolis symbols: Bread Swan,” LITCHARTS).  Overall, he’s another figure that has changed the way people see Muslim men after reading Persepolis. 

Through the five main characters of the book including Marjane Satrapi herself, people can acknowledge how different a local and a citizen in an Islamic country like Marjane and the Western media views Muslim women and men. Persepolis had really given readers an unique experience and a wider insight of Iranians life. Not all Muslim women are illiterate and incapable of saving themselves and not all Muslim men are fanatics and terrorists who oppress and abuse their women. Most of them are just normal humans that have gone through a lot more wars and suffering.

Brown, Gordon. “The Taliban are taking away women’s right to learn. The world can’t afford to stay silent.” THE GUARDIAN, 22 December 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/22/taliban-women-right-to-learn-afghanistan-muslim-nations. Accessed 26 June 2023.

Beglin, Cynthia Kim. “Why do Tiger parents want their kids to marry young?” PSYCHOLOGY TODAY, 10 January 2018, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/culture-shocked/201801/why-do-tiger-parents-want-their-kids-marry-young. Accessed 26 June 2023. 

Goldman, Ben. “Persepolis symbols: Bread Swan.” LITCHARTS, 26 August 2015, https://www.litcharts.com/lit/persepolis/symbols/bread-swan. Accessed 26 June 2023.

Jaffer, Nabeela. “Are Muslim women really traditionally submissive?” THE TELEGRAPH, 1 March 2019, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/muslim-women-really-traditionally-submissive/. Accessed 26 June 2023.

Knipp, Kersten. “Why Iranian authorities enforce veil wearing?” DW, 21 December 2020, https://www.dw.com/en/why-iranian-authorities-force-women-to-wear-a-veil/a-56014027. Accessed 26 June 2023.

Lodi, Hafsa. “Islam doesn’t deny women education, so why does the Taliban.” VOGUE ARABIA, 26 September 2021, https://en.vogue.me/culture/afghanistan-taliban-women-school-ban/. Accessed 26 June 2023. 

Naderi, Pooya S. D. “Non-threatening Muslim Men: Stigma management and religious observance in America.” SPRINGER LINK, 27 January 2018, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11133-018-9372-4. Accessed 26 June 2023. 

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. Pantheon Books, 2000.

Stacey, Aisha. “Does Islam Oppress Women.” ISLAM RELIGION, 18 January 2010, https://www.islamreligion.com/articles/3344/does-islam-oppress-women/. Accessed 26 June 2023. 

Stacey, Aisha. “Why Muslim Women Wear The Veil.” ISLAM RELIGION, 28 September 2009, https://www.islamreligion.com/articles/2770/why-muslim-women-wear-veil/. Accessed 26 June 2023. 

[jayne-hecate-writer]

Goth Dad and Vision Video Live in Bristol

With the global state of LGBTQ+ rights being rather shite at the moment, it is occasionally nice to come across something that affirms the right for rainbow people to simply exist and I found one of these things recently and was then rather taken with the character of Goth Dad.

Dusty Gannon created the character for Tictok and Instagram with the intent to share a message of kindness and support to young Goth kids and to be honest, us older Goth kids too. The words of kindness he shared were beautiful and I started to look for more of his kindness and wisdom in the short films and quickly discovered that Goth Dad was the singer of the American Goth band Vision Video.

For many years it has been easier to say to folks who meet me for the first time that I am a Goth, rather than trying to explain the intricacies of Heavy Metal culture. After all my first love is extreme metal, mainly in the form of Black Metal from bands such as Emperor, Enslaved and Akercocke. Already I can see that some of you want to discuss the differences between Black Metal Art, Viking Black Metal and Blackened Death Metal, but lets just make it easy and stick it all under the easily pigeonholed title of “Fokkin Goffic!” to quote the abusive thugs who enjoyed shouting at me as I wandered the dark streets of Plymouth in the late 1990s, before they swapped to “Fokkin Tranny!” Ahh, the vigorous repartee of the average urban 1990s thug, draped in his Burberry tracksuit while smoking Happy Shopper fags!

So back to my original point, I will identify as Gothic when asked, because I tend to wear a lot of black, often with funny make up and appear somehow Vampiric. The fact is though that I do enjoy the occasional Goth band, such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Fields of the Nephilim, The Sisters of Mercy and The Cure. Pictures of You, by The Cure is one of the most beautiful songs ever written and everything ever sung by Siouxsie Sioux is pure magic. However Fields of the Nephilim have that dark post apocalyptic feel that makes me want to curl up and die in blissful soundscapes, with the track 'Trees come down' being my particular favourite. So when I found Vision Video, a fairly minor pop Goth band from America, I was happy to give them a listen. What I heard combined the wisdom of Goth Dad with the sadness of American societal despair at school shootings, huge economic inequality, almost constant war and a lack of health care into something beautiful. Despite the poppy sounding music, the themes have a serious message and strong heart, especially when the content of the song drops into the personal experiences of the singer's military service in Afghanistan.

I bought the first album, 'Inked in Red' almost instantly and played it nearly constantly. It reminded of the the very best parts of The Cure, mixed with the best parts of Siouxsie and with hints of Joy Division thrown in too. It remains a beautiful little record, with several high lights among the tracks. However the track Kandahar mixes beauty with a deep rage over the horror of the war in Afghanistan and the slaughter of those caught between the combatants. Let us not hide from the truth here, history will judge this era harshly, for the rampant capitalism that funded wars for oil in the Middle East, which then resulted in the deaths of many innocents. Meanwhile there was significant Governmental funding of groups such the Taliban who were set up and trained by the CIA in their early days, to fight against Soviet interests in the region. After twenty years of war, the West pulled out Afghanistan, leaving it to the clutches of the fundamentalist Islamic Government, who promptly took away the rights of women and girls before starting to complain that running a country was a lot harder and far more work than they had expected!

This leaves the world now as a fucked up mess and let us not hide from the main cause of this as the super rich companies still fight for the right to mine coal, while burning mega tonnes of what they already have dug up and filling the atmosphere with filth. Meanwhile, you are being chastised for not putting out your plastic and glass recycling in separate boxes (I read Environmental Science for my degree and it was heart breaking learning that with enough time the Earth will rebalance just fine, it's just unfortunate that our species probably won't make it!).

Vision Video as a band is not just about Goth Dad. Keyboard player Emily Fredock has a powerful voice as well as being a great musician and when she sings, you can hear her anger coming out too, despite the gentle pop sounds of the music. Combining with Dusty on vocals and guitar, Dan Geller on bass and Jason Fusco on drums, they make some truly joyous sounding music, but with those dark edges that Gothic music demands. None of it is offensive despite the sad imagery each song creates and it is fairly clear that these people will not be burning down any churches, murdering rival musicians in fights over who is the most evil or burying their stage clothes so they can feel the pull of the grave when they perform... All infamous tropes Black Metal has been guilty of in the past. The first. However, as a small Goth band in America, I never thought that I would get to see them... and then came the announcement, that they were to be support for the March Violets on a limited EU and UK tour.

I purchased my tickets that afternoon, despite knowing next to nothing about the March Violets, for the show on a ship in Bristol docks, The Thekla. Having seen some very good shows on the Thekla, I knew that that it would be intimate, with beautiful sound and a small crowd. I purchased two tickets, one for me and one for my friend Jan, my companion for the slightly more odd gigs, such as when we went to see the Kunts in Bristol, or when we went to see Richard Herring live in Wells, or when we went to see Richard Herring interview Kunt in London! I had played 'Inked in Red' to Jan and she quickly grew to love it. So she was quite excited to be going to see Vision Video.

A few days before the gig, we were told that Vision Video would be on early and it was advisable for us to get there in plenty of time for the show or risk missing them. However, the weekend before the show, Jan and I found ourselves broken down in Keynsham where we had gone to play with Lego on a steam train. The alternator in my car had failed and I had driven into the car park of Bitten Steam Railway with no power steering, nor any ABS brake assist, air conditioning, music or dashboard lights. It was thanks to a fairly new battery that we got there at all, but the journey back home again on the back of an RAC van, driven by Rob the kindest mechanic I have ever met. Luckily for me, my darling wifey Carol was on the case before I even got home and she quickly ordered replacement parts and also said that a new serpentine belt would be a good idea and promptly ordered one of those too. By Tuesday my car was back in good health and ready for our trip to Bristol on Wednesday evening. When we arrived at the venue, forty minutes before the doors (hatches?) on The Thekla opened, we sat in glorious sunshine listening to my favourite punk band, Alice Donut. As soon as the (as it turned out) roller shutters opened on the ship, we queued up and were inside within five minutes, only to come face to face with a poster of band times. Somewhere along the way, we had been viciously lied to! Vision Video were due on about twenty minutes later than we anticipated...

Jan and I headed inside the ship and quickly discovered that the floors were remarkably uneven. I had not noticed this before, but on this occasion I really struggled with the venue and found it difficult to keep a steady footing. I wobbled about like Bambi on ice and we eventually found our way down into the stage area (hold?) of the ship. Away from the heat of the day, it was deliciously cool and the DJ was playing some suitably gentle Goth themed music, some of which I recognised but most of which I did not. Like I say, I am mainly a metal head, I just look like a goth to the untrained eye. The first act on stage was electronic musician Kristeen Young and she reminded me of a mix of Diamanda Galas and Kate Bush, with powerful grinding rock backing and her voice that was capable of violent roars and shrill squeals. It was impressive, she was clearly hugely talented and very good at her art, but I did not gel with it and lamented that with her incredible vocal talents, she desperately needed to front a powerful Black Metal band, rather than playing a keyboard based rock music. However, I was probably alone in this thought because she had a lot of fans among the crowd who surged in to watch her perform.

I took the time to grab a t-shirt from the Vision Video merch stand and caused a laugh from the softly spoken American woman behind the desk when I asked for a size suitable for a fat bitch like me. Jan just shook her head knowing that I had said something objectionable, without actually hearing my words.

Finally Vision Video took to the stage and the four piece are just as beautiful on stage as they are on you tube or album. It was fairly clear that they were playing to a crowd who were on their side and I was not alone in singing along to some of the tracks from 'Inked in Red', although I did not hear much if any from the second album 'Haunted Hours'.

The songs were beautifully performed, both Dusty and Emily sang with their usual power, despite having spent several weeks on tour in both Europe and back home in America.

But all too quickly it came to the last two songs and that was when we got to see the heartfelt politics of the band as Dusty gave us a spoken word introduction that laid out all that is wrong in modern American society. He talked about wealth inequality, gun violence, health care provision, warfare and human rights and he did so with the undisguised disgust of someone who has seen the horrors of fighting a war. It was utterly heart breaking and yet also uplifting because surrounded by others of the same opinion, it gave all of us hope that by standing together we could change some of these awful things. With the speech over, they launched into 'Organised Murder' and it felt justified to be dancing to such angry and heartfelt words. With the final song done, they walked off stage to the whooping, yelling and applause of a very happy crowd, despite the sadly short play time. This is not to denigrate their performance time which was just over thirty five minutes. The truth was that I could have listened to them play each album twice and then the special new tracks from the as yet untitled new album. It was a very different experience for me, for a start the front of the stage did not turn into a violent maelstrom of a mosh pit. The dance floor was a remarkably gentle place, while still being energetic and fun.

With the band finished, Jan and I retreated to the seating area and then the toilets and had a chat. We had hoped to get to say hello to the band, which has happened a couple of times on the merch stand when I have seen bands on the Thekla, but sadly this was not to be. We chatted and I complained about the low lampshade that I had hit my head on when we had sat down earlier. The March Violets took to the stage and when I had recovered enough energy, Jan and I descended the stairs to check them out. The March Violets have been touring and producing albums for over forty years, but each song was new to me and to be honest it was not really my thing. It was very clearly being enjoyed by the crowd, but for me, it lacked the brutality of metal or the heart of Vision Video. It was perfectly good, electronic, new wave music from the eighties and I was a child for the eighties and did not turn eighteen until 1991. I had also not been exposed to a lot of music during my childhood, which looking back saddens me now because music is such a huge part of my life these days. However we did not have MP3 players with the sort of data compression needed to carry a whole album collection in my pocket when I was kid. Modern technology utterly spoils us these days, given how easy it is to access my music collection, take photos of bands and browse the internet from the small computer in my pocket that also allows me to call out for fried chicken whenever the whim takes me (thanks Ginny, for convincing me that smart phones were great. I never leave the house without it now!).

Feeling slightly sad that we had missed the chance to say hello to the band, while also feeling unsteady on my feet and remarkably energised at having seen the band, we decided to leave slightly early, meaning getting home at better time and not getting caught by the rush at the end. Slowly and unsteadily I climbed the stairs, with Jan behind me worried that I was going to fall and we reached the top, turned the corner and almost barged into Goth Dad himself, Dusty!

Dusty was everything you hope that a rock star will be. He was generous with his time, he was happy to sign albums and even pose for photos with fans. But the best of all, the politics and the heart are all real for him. The standing up for and caring about LGBTQ+ young people is real. The caring about the state of the world and his wisdom are all real. I wish that I could remember his exact words, sadly I was too star struck to take it all in, but it went something like this. “Those Motherfuckers in power are all old and they are fighting as they die out. Eventually they will be gone and the world will get better as the young people see them for what they were.” I could have cried. It was at that moment that Emily strode along the deck and said hello. We had obviously kidnapped Dusty and she had come to find him, the poor lad was probably on his way to the loo when we nearly crashed into him. But they both stood with us for photos, signed albums and Emily even talked to Jan about cats. These two people, gave me hope. Fuck, I feel old saying that. Now when Jan and I write about faerie warriors in our Winscombe books, it is just possible that we had unknowingly based one or two of them on Dusty and Emily.

I have said it before when I had the pleasure of spending some time teaching art to my friend's daughter, the insight of the youth is what is going to save our world and it will be safer in their hands than it ever was in ours. They will take the goodness from us and the vileness of our hate will fade away, acceptance and kindness will rise, maybe even the religion will fade away too? The world will be 'woke' and when you look at what woke means, a woke society will be a good society where minorities are protected, where institutional racism is dismantled and egalitarianism takes over. Fuck me, I am a fucking dreamer. At my darkest moments, all I can see is a foul dystopian end to humanity as global warming destroys the human safe climate and brings an end to the Anthropocene. As I think of this, I think of my nieces, of my friend's children, of my own children and grandchild and ache for a better world for them and for all young people. I want the youth of the future to feel safe to be true to themselves, to be accepted for being a rainbow person. I want the distinction of being LGBTQ+ to be minor to how we live our lives, just like eye colour is or how tall we are. Maybe, in his own small way, Goth Dad and the band Vision Video can add to that better future?

[whatisonthemoon]

The CIA Engineers "Islamic Terrorism" in the Philippines, Forming Abu Sayyaf

Background on Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines and the Mujahideen in Afghanistan

Abu Sayyaf is an Islamist militant group based in the Philippines. Established in the early 1990s, the group is known for its terrorist acts, including kidnappings, bombings, and beheadings. 

Today Abu Sayyaf likely has around 20 members. Maute or the Islamic State of Lanao, another Jihadist organization targeted by the Philippine government, has less than 50 members. That said, in 2017, the Philippine government led a 5-month long bombing campaign of Marawi City targeting these groups, with support from the U.S. military, including weaponry/equipment as well as advising and offering strategic guidance, and support from the UK, Australia, China, Russia, Israel, and Singapore. 95% of the structures within the 4 square kilometers of the battle were heavily damaged, with 3,152 buildings completely destroyed. This so-called "battle" left over 200,000 civilians homeless to this day. 

Though these groups had a presence in Marawi City, they were never a popular movement or recognized as integrated among the masses, and lacked the numbers to effectively wage political struggle in Marawi City, let alone in Mindanao.

Abu Sayyaf also has its own organizational origins in the CIA-funded/organized mujahideen in Afghanistan. By 1978, when the "People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan" took power through a military coup with Soviet support, establishing a "Marxist-Leninist" Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, Maoists had effectively organized popular support throughout Afghanistan. The new government sought to crush these organizations and murdered thousands of Maoists during its existence.

A year after the establishment of the "revisionist" government of Afghanistan, the muhajideen were forming as scattered armed Islamist organizations.

The Soviets invaded Afghanistan following Nur Muhammad Taraki, the pro-Soviet leader, being deposed and assasinated. By the end of 1979, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.

Though some Maoists and Communists joined the mujahideen over time, most did not and instead waged struggle against both Soviets and mujahideen. Hundreds of prominent Maoist leaders were murdered from 1978 through the 1980s, leaving the revolutionary movement often without leaders.

Through the 1980s, the United States, through the CIA, provided support to the mujahideen in Afghanistan. This assistance included funding, training, and weaponry. Many from all over the Arab Middle East, including Osama bin Laden, joined the mujahideen to combat the invading Soviet forces. 

Abu Sayyaf's origins can be traced back to some members of the mujahideen who returned to their home countries, including the Philippines, after the Soviet-Afghan war. 

While the U.S. government and its allies/lackeys have made it difficult to establish direct links between the CIA and Abu Sayyaf, figures like Senator Aquilino Pimentel have fought tooth and nail for the truth around Abu Sayyaf’s origins in the CIA. In 2001, Pimentel led an inquiry into the links between the CIA and Abu Sayyaf which shed light on the group's origins, funding, and training. While the inquiry did not conclusively establish direct CIA involvement, it highlighted the complexities of the situation and the need for further investigation. 

Jihadists prey on the oppressed people of the world, convincing devastated and desperate people that it is through their dead-end, metaphysical ideology that the evils of U.S. imperialism can be destroyed, instead of the tools of revolutionary ideology and organization, which can genuinely, materially liberate and emancipate the people. 

For generations, revolutionary women have been organizing in Afghanistan, running schools, advocating for those abused, trafficked, enslaved, etc., even taking up the gun to defend their people from the U.S. and/or Taliban, and yet women in Afghanistan continue to endure horrendous violence and human rights abuses from the patriarchal political system.  In fact, there have been generations of revolutionaries from all over Afghanistan, initiating and advancing peoples’ struggles and joining the armed struggle, taking the place of martyrs who came before them, because they believe that it is worth seeking an Afghanistan free from fascism and imperialism, even if it costs them their lives and even if it is not their generation who sees it.

And yet, the U.S. has continued to repress the Afghanistan at all costs, ensuring that women remain powerless in Afghan society, ensuring that progressive movements are terrorized and destroyed, believing it can somehow stamp out the people’s resilient and undying struggle for justice and liberation, through supporting of the mujahideen to their occupation and horrendous war crimes in Afghanistan.

It makes sense why people both in Afghanistan and the Philippines link up with these struggles, as their people have endured mass violence and even genocides under U.S. rule. As pointed out in another WIOTM post, “A recent study shows that, apart from the million direct casualties of the War(s) on Terror, over 3,000,000 people died from the conditions created by those wars.”

Jihadism has never led to the people being liberated, but has only led to further oppression and the post-Cold War bloating of the US and its allies’ Military Industrial Complex. In a very big way, Jihadism has been engineered by the U.S. government and the CIA.

Below are three articles that reveal the CIA origins of Abu Sayyaf. These articles come from varying sources, though they include information that can be easily verified and researched. One article is from the bourgeois, reactionary PhilStar, one from the progressive, pro-people Bulatlat, and one from the US-based The Socialist Worker, a newspaper of the International Socialist Organization’s, a now disbanded Trotskyist organization known for a number of abuse scandals.

These articles establish real connections, figures, and history that validate the long-held beliefs of the Filipino people in struggle, who have known of Abu Sayyaf’s imperialistic origins since near its inception. 

The Philippines "terrorists" created by CIA - Eduardo Capulong -  January 4, 2002 - The Socialist Worker

The 26 U.S. military advisers who were sent to the Philippines last year to "fight terrorism" will be targeting a group that the U.S. government helped to create.

According to various sources, Abu Sayyaf, the Islamic fundamentalist organization notorious for kidnapping tourists in southern Philippines and Malaysia, was formed and trained by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and the Philippine military.

Philippine Senator Aquilino Pimentel called for an inquiry into the link between the CIA and Abu Sayyaf--which he called a "CIA monster"--as early as May of last year. "There are now emerging bits of information that Abu Sayyaf was indeed the creation of probably the CIA in connivance with or with the support of some select military officers," he said at the time.

Meanwhile, the links between Abu Sayyaf and military and police authorities are well documented. In the recent book Under the Crescent Moon: Rebellion in Mindanao, journalists Marites Dañguilan Vitug and Glenda Gloria document the bloody collaboration--which is also corroborated by former hostages.

Last September, a number of former hostages charged that Abu Sayyaf was a front--a "creation of the military's 'dirty tricks' department." They testified that army checkpoints would allow their captors to pass unmolested repeatedly.

This is the real story behind the talk of the "fight against terrorism" in the Philippines.

Pimentel: CIA may be behind creation of Sayyaf - May 9, 2000 - PhilStar

Is the Abu Sayyaf a creation of the Central Intelligence Agency?

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel yesterday sought a Senate inquiry to answer the question.

Pimentel, who is from Mindanao, told a press conference that "bits of information" have been reaching his office indicating that the American spy agency had a hand in forming the Abu Sayyaf -- ironically, in cahoots with covert units in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

He said he had been cautious in discussing the possibility, not wanting to indiscriminately implicate the CIA in the country's political upheavals.

"Piecing bits of information together makes out a case, at least pro tanto, that the Abu Sayyaf might indeed be a creation of the CIA and had been covertly supported by select military officers during the administration of President (Fidel) Ramos," Pimentel said.

In the early 1990s, the CIA recruited members for the Abu Sayyaf, Pimentel claimed, who were then trained in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi by an elite Philippine military unit.

The Abu Sayyaf was later sent as mujahideen (holy warriors) to fight in America's proxy war against the Soviet Red Army in Afghanistan. Weapons for the Abu Sayyaf came from Saudi financier Osama bin Laden, now wanted in the US for allegedly funding terrorism.

An elite Philippine military unit now operating outside the AFP's chain of command is a conduit between the CIA and the Abu Sayyaf.

For some unknown reason, CIA funding for the Abu Sayyaf was later cut off, prompting the rebels to resort to banditry, kidnapping and other crimes.

One of these criminal acts, Pimentel said, was the April 1995 Abu Sayyaf raid on the town of Ipil, Zamboanga del Sur.

If the Senate does conduct an investigation, Pimentel said they will ask former President Ramos and top military officials to testify. Although he believed that the Abu Sayyaf had already lost contact with their CIA benefactors, Pimentel said the truth must be ferreted out.

"Parenthetically, there is a new book, Browback by Chaimers Johnson, that may justify a deeper study into the affairs of the CIA in our country that have a direct relevance to the problems that the Abu Sayyaf is causing us today," Pimentel said.

Abu Sayyaf: The CIA’s Monster Gone Berserk - EDMUNDO SANTUARIO III - Bulatlat

The Philippines is under watch by America’s “anti-terrorism” network. This is so not only because of the presence of active Moro and Marxist guerrillas but also because of its special concern on the Abu Sayyaf. In the ‘80s, just as it was waging its last surrogate wars against the Soviet Union, the U.S. was also engaged in new forms of covert operations -- the training of Islamic militants to fight the Russians in Afghanistan and elsewhere. A product of this war – the Abu Sayyaf – was once hailed by American presidents as a group of “freedom fighters.” It was an exaltation that would haunt them for years.

To those who have been following the Abu Sayyaf’s exploits, the offer of military assistance by the United States government in tracking down the extremists in Mindanao (southern Philippines) has sent a chilling effect particularly among the patriotic sectors.

Related to this, similar concerns have been raised as to why despite government’s “total war” policy on the small group of bandits – whose hostage-taking spree is a purely police matter - not one of its active ringleaders has been caught. Previous suspicions that the Abu Sayyaf enjoys the protection of some top Armed Forces officials have surfaced again.

In a surprise operation last May 27, Abu Sayyaf gunmen kidnapped three Americans and 17 Filipinos from the world-class Dos Palmas resort just off Arracellis in Palawan. It was not immediately known where the new hostages were taken but the gunmen reportedly operate from the southernmost islands of Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi.

Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Sabaya on Saturday said they also took 10 fishermen hostage on their way to Basilan. The kidnapping was pulled off just barely two months after their last hostage – American Jeffrey Schilling – was freed after nine months of captivity.

In declaring a “no ransom, no negotiations” policy to the Abu Sayyaf, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered military assaults on the group’s suspected lairs and offered a P100 million (US$2 million) reward on the ring leaders’ capture, dead or alive.

Meeting Arroyo in Malacañang on May 30, U.S. Rep. Robert Underwood offered military assistance to the Philippine government’s pursuit operations against the Abu Sayyaf. Underwood, who was accompanied in his visit by U.S. Charge D’Affaires Michael Malinowski, is a member of the powerful House Armed Services Committee and was in the country to explore how military relations between the two countries can be enhanced. Malinowski had earlier pledged continued American military support to the Arroyo administration.

On the same day, U.S. State Department spokesman Phil Reeker demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages, particularly Americans Guillermo Sobrero and missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham. Among the 17 Filipino hostages is construction magnate Reghis Romero, said to be the front man of former Estrada crony Mark Jimenez in the purchase of The Manila Times. The latter, who has just been elected Manila congressman, is himself wanted by U.S. authorities.

Warplanes

Since the Dos Palmas abduction, at least 12 American warplanes had been seen hovering over Puerto Princesa City in Palawan. Then on March 31, two U.S. destroyers – the USS Curts and the USS Wadsworth -- and the landing ship USS Rushmore arrived in the country with 1,200 American troops. Philippine armed forces officials squelched speculations of U.S. intervention in the hostage crisis, claiming that the American troops’ presence was in connection with ongoing war games in Palawan and Cavite.

Efforts to downplay reports that U.S. military assistance has indeed come into play in the latest hostage crisis were of no effect, however, when Press Secretary Rigoberto Tiglao himself revealed that military contacts between the two governments are ongoing. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – whose agents have been in and out of the country in connection with “terrorist” cases – was also placed on alert. Former Philippine Ambassador to Washington Ernesto Maceda also revealed that in last year’s Sipadan hostage crisis where 20 tourists were held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf, the Americans backed military and police operations through the use of high-powered satellite surveillance equipment.

‘CIA monster’

U.S. military efforts to intervene in the Abu Sayyaf hostage crisis appears to be a turnaround from their reported links to the Mindanao extremists several years ago.  In May last year, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. described the Abu Sayyaf (“Bearer [or Father] of the Sword” in Arabic) as a “CIA monster.”

Abu Sayyaf members, Pimentel said, were initially recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency as mujahideens to fight the U.S. proxy war in Afghanistan in the ‘80s. Before their deployment, they were trained by AFP officers in Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan and other remote areas in Mindanao. But the arms and funds came from U.S. covert operations connected with the CIA, Pimentel said.

The mujahideens returned to Mindanao after the Afghan war to constitute the core of the Abu Sayyaf, the Senate president added.

In his revelations, Pimentel cited the book, Blowback by Chalmers Johnson. But it was American writer John K. Cooley in his book, Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, American and International Terrorism, who made “the most direct statement regarding the training and funding of the (Abu Sayyaf) by the CIA,” he said. Cooley was the Middle East correspondent for the reputable Christian Science Monitor and ABC News.

In his “Ghosts of the Past” report for ABC News in August last year, Cooley said the Abu Sayyaf, like many “international terrorists,” has its origins in the 1979-89 jihad or “holy war” to expel the Soviets from Afghanistan. Wanting to tie down the Soviets to their own little Vietnam war, the CIA recruited and trained thousands of Islamic militants to support the Afghan resistance against the Soviet invasion forces. The American quarterly Foreign Affairs reported that some 35,000 Muslim militants from 40 countries -- including the Philippines -- took part in the Afghan jihad. Related historical accounts said among the recruits was Osama bin Laden, now the U.S.’s No. 1 “terrorist enemy.”

‘Freedom Fighters’

“The CIA orchestrated massive arms shipments via Pakistan, including state-of-the-art Stinger surface-to-air missiles,” Cooley said. Three American presidents – Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George Bush -- hailed the mujahideens as “freedom fighters,” he said.

The Abu Sayyaf, Cooley said, was the last of the seven Afghan guerrilla groups to be organized late in the war – in 1986 or three years before the Soviets withdrew. It was founded by an Afghan professor named Abdul Rasul Abu Sayyaf. And like Osama bin Laden, the group was financed by Saudi Arabia’s wealthy elite and influenced by Wahabism, an ultra-conservative form of Islam that dates back to the mid-18th century and is espoused by the Saudi royal family.

“Some of the original veterans of the Afghan jihad, and their sons and grandsons and those trained by them, have been operating with destructive effect since the 1980s from Egypt and the Philippines to Algeria and New York,” Cooley wrote.

With the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989, the CIA’s powerful Pakistani partner, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), lost control of the Afghan fighting groups. The Abu Sayyaf had established a training camp north of Peshawar, Pakistan, “to train terrorists in the methods taught by the CIA and ISI,” Cooley reported. Some 20,000 volunteers were trained in the “Peshawar university” to “look for other wars to fight” including in the Middle East, North Africa, New York and the Philippines.

The Abu Sayyaf moved its operations to the Philippines ostensibly to support the war for a separate Islamic state. Emerging from these operations were two leaders – the brothers Abdurajak Janjalani, who was an Afghan war veteran, and Khaddafi Janjalani.

Early Operations

In a privilege speech in July last year, Pimentel named former Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan and then Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Guillermo Ruiz as knowing about the group’s early operations in Mindanao. He also asked the Senate to summon former President Fidel V. Ramos and ex-Defense Secretary Renato de Villa to shed light on the matter.

Pimentel also cited revelations by a police asset, Edwin Angeles, who has since died mysteriously, that the military equipped the Abu Sayyaf with vehicles, mortars and assorted firearms for its raid of Ipil in April 1995. In the raid – the group’s first large-scale action – 70 people died while 50 teachers and schoolchildren were kidnapped.

Following its “split” with the MNLF in 1991, the Abu Sayyaf resorted to illegal logging, kidnapping, bombing, looting, burning, killing and other criminal activities for its logistics and operations. So far, they have kidnapped at least 32 foreigners, including five Americans, Europeans and Asians. This does not included hundreds of other Filipino hostages, a number of whom were Catholic and Protestant priests and nuns. Some of them, including priests, were killed.

The metamorphosis of the Abu Sayyaf from “freedom fighters” in Afghanistan to sheer bandits in the Philippines is a new dark spot in the U.S.’s covert dirty tricks operations throughout the world. The CIA has created not just one Frankenstein’s monster in the mold of the Abu Sayyaf but hundreds of others who are now wreaking havoc in other parts of the world – including right in the belly of the United States itself.

But in war and in modern “counter-terrorism warfare” – which the U.S. now is eager to wage in the Philippines – there is at least one advantage that can be drawn. The anti-Soviet Afghan “resistance movement” promoted the U.S. arms industry. The U.S. may as well be doing the same thing as it embarks on a new crusade to destroy one of the “monsters” it created.

More related notes and links below about U.S. imperialist counterinsurgency in the Philippines and Afghanistan, as well as the role of the Unification Church’s network

The occupation of Afghanistan: terror without end - Dem Volke Dienen

Contrary to the regular invocations that the Afghan puppet government should be able to cope without foreign soldiers in the future, the German Armed Forces are investing another 50 million in their local infrastructure.

Minister of defence Kramp-Karrenbauer and foreign minister Maas are simultaneously criticizing Yankee imperialism for ordering its troops out of the country too quickly. The so called parlamentary opposition is again in complete agreement with the governement. "A headless, uncoordinated withdrawal of the troops would cause severe political and military damage," says FDP's Bijan Djir-Sarai. While the government is still attempting to further conceal the crushing defeat of imperialism in Afghanistan, it has recently admitted quite openly in state television. In this worthwhile report, an ARD reporter travels to Taliban areas and, to his surprise, shows girls' schools and Taliban who are not out to kill him.

The fact that the face of this occupation is not girls' schools and well-drilling has been illustrated in the twenty years of its existence by ongoing war crimes. Most recently, the Australian army had to admit that one of its special units murdered at least 39 prisoners and civilians. In this unit, the murder of a prisoner was a rite of passage for new members. According to australian officials the families of the victims are to be compensated in cooperation with the "Afghan government". However, since this government only rules over a small part of the country and corruption is commonplace, it is extremely doubtful that this money will reach victim families in Taliban areas.

Afghanistan Maoists Unite in a Single Party - a history of the Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan

The new communist movement of Afghanistan initially was inspired by the formation of RIM in 1984. The Committee for MLM Propaganda and Agitation (at that time understood as Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought, MLMTT) was formed in 1985 and started publishing Shola. Another group of comrades split from SAMA and obtained, read and discussed the RIM Declaration. They went on to call themselves the Revolutionary Nucleus and adopted the RIM line. These developments were a slap in the face to SAMA's leadership, who accused the newly organising Maoist forces of being a "KGB front". RIM used these forces to make some initial efforts to deepen its understanding of the situation in Afghanistan and begin to bring together the genuine Maoist forces.

The anti-terrorism act in the Philippines in relation to the CPP and the revolutionary movement -  a 2020 piece from Jose Maria Sison

In the course of political rivalry for global hegemony, the imperialist powers themselves accuse each other of terrorism and expose each other’s acts of terrorism. States are presumed to be responsible for respecting human rights in their own countries. Thus, quite a number of them have in fact been the proper target of criticisms and appeals by UN human rights agencies regarding people’s complaints of systematic human rights violations by state or state-sponsored forces, which amount to state terrorism. The only instances when the UN comes out strongly against “state terrorism” is when the US and its allies in the UN Security Council succeed in making resolutions against states denounced as “rogue states” chiefly by the US, such as Iraq under Saddam Hussein or Libya under Muamar Qaddafi. Otherwise the US and its imperialist allies and client-states wish to limit the label of terrorism to revolutionary movements that they oppose. They make it a point to conceal US culpability for creating terrorist groups like Al Qaeda, Salafi, Al Nusra and the Islamic state in the Middle East and the Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines and other Southeast-Asia-based groups like Jemaah Islamiyah that also operate in the Philippines.

Denounce arrest of Moro women “potential suicide bombers”  - 2020 statement from Marco Valbuena, Chief Information Officer of the CPP

The claim by the military that bombs and bomb-making material were discovered in the homes of the arrested women flies in the face of military and police standard operating procedure of planting evidence against supposed terror suspects. Observers are incredulous that the women would keep explosive materials in their homes with their children.

The attacks were clearly carried out with Islamophobic prejudice where people are stereotyped by the military as “suicide bombers” or in this case “potential.” The women were targeted for arrest and suppression by the AFP on the mere basis that they are wives, sisters or daughters of leaders of the Abu Sayaff.

Two excerpts from 'Drugs and death squads: The CIA connection' from the Freeedom Socialist Power / Robert Crisman - published June 1989

The ideological tie binding all these high-level arms smugglers and dope dealers together, of course, is anti-communism.

John Singlaub is head of the World Anti-Communist League (WACL), the world’s premier neo-fascist lobby. WACL’s membership ranges from U.S. reactionaries, Taiwanese drug magnates, and Latin American death squad leaders to Afghani mujahideen and unreconstructed old-line Nazis scattered in exile throughout Europe and the Americas.

WACL is the most sophisticated political expression to date of fascism’s global agenda and methods, and is the mask under which the face of U.S. ambition increasingly shows itself. WACL’s history vividly reveals the fascist essence of empire-and pinpoints the source of the Empire’s addiction to drugrunning.

Founded in Taiwan in 1967 by CIA and Taiwanese intelligence personnel, WACL has roots in the old China Lobby, which urged the unleashing of Chiang Kai-shek against revolutionary China in the ’50s. The Lobby’s leading lights — E. Howard Hunt and William Pawley to name two — were instrumental in stitching together the CIA’s Cuban exile and Kuomintang networks.

China Lobby/WACL bigwigs and their associates — Hunt, Pawley, Secord, Singlaub, Shackley, et al. — lodged themselves tightly in the postwar U.S. intelligence, military, government, and business establishments. They were the drumbeaters and spear-carriers for stepped-up anti-Castro warfare and the Vietnam war. They were responsible for coups, counterrevolutions, and the formation of death squads from Mexico to Brazil; CIA/DEA “anti-drug” torture and counterinsurgency; the Chilean slaughter; support for the Shah and rightwing Afghani “freedom fighters”; and the contra war.

The WACL and CAUSA’s Role in the Ruthless Violence of US-Philippines Counterinsurgency

Covert Operations and the CIA’s Hidden History in the Philippines

Cardinal Sin, the Catholic Church, & the Unification Church: Partners in Organized Anti-Communist Violence

Death Squads in the Philippines by Doug Cunningham

How has the Moon network played a role in the post-9/11 U.S. Imperialist strategy?

Kishi Nobusuke’s Bandung of the right

The US is complicit in war crimes in the Philippines

Grapple with Imperialism. Come to Terms with Yourself

Those Spared in Duterte’s “War on Drugs” May Go to Moonie Rehabilitation

Ideology without Leadership: The Rise and Decline of Maoism in Afghanistan - Afghanistan Analysts Network

Some words on the Moonies’/Hak Ja Han’s Relationship to the “Revisionist” Maoists of Nepal

The Complex, Dynamic, and Opportunistic Relationship of Moon and the DPRK’s Kim Family

UPF Played Major Role in Republic of Korea-Nepal Relations

Stop US and Chinese aggression in the Philippines! Turn imperialist wars into wars against imperialism!

Neil Salonen on the Freedom Leadership Foundation’s influence on society (1971)

Suggested books: Revolutionaries for the Right: Anticommunist Internationalism and Paramilitary Warfare in the Cold War by Kyle Burke, Philippine Society & Revolution by Amado Guerrero (Jose Maria Sison), Soldiering through Empire: Race and the Making of the Decolonizing Pacific by Simeon Man, Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire by Jonathan M. Katz, The Bullet and the Ballot Box: The Story of Nepal's Maoist Revolution by Aditya Adhikari

[lotusofhope]

I find when people attack concepts like these, they humanize and rationalize them too much.

For example, I had a friend say the patriarchy is nuts because there's never been a cabal of men smoking cigars in a back room trying to come up with the idea of toxic masculinity.

Pinkwashing is not a direct action of a government or people to boost a specific minority group of rights to make their image better - the only time things like that has happened in history is when the upper class in America drove home segregation and racial issues to boost poor whites into believing they were better than any Black person.

Israel, like many western colonialism projects, had issues with LGBT rights and adopted Brittish law from when Israel was formed. You are correct that they quickly adopted pro LGBT culture faster than most western powers - and yes, this was not a tool to promote Judaism as a global tolerant power; if anything this lowered their global standing.

However, as soon as "Pride" as a concept existed in Israel, as soon as groups started to form with the consent of Israel to promote LGBT rights, Israel changed their tactics in dealing with them.

Rather than give these groups what they want (some gay rights issues are still issues today in Israel), they focused the movement on how Israel was a force for good in the region, how Israel had brought tolerance to the Middle East and that gays in Israel were much better off than those in Palestine.

If you look at America, you can see a similar tactic with women's rights except even more ironic - America had just overturned abortion rights yet the media tactic to rebuff Biden for withdrawing from Afghanistan was to promote story after story about how much women were suffering under the taliban.

Pinkwashing is NOT hyping up gays in an intentional strategy to use them as a cudgel against state enemies. Specifically you don't have to really give minority groups powers to enact this strategy, or even be historically correct (Britian brought homophobia to Palestine, but obviously fundamental Islamic powers given power in opposition to colonialism took it very much under their wing)

Pinkwashing is using the lack of civil liberties afdorded to a non-state entity, one that doesn't even get to control its own press or image, to attack them regardless of your own standings with civil liberties.

LGBT rights in Israel should be comended as they have come quite far from their humble beginnings. However, as soon as the movement has been repeatededly, and openly co-opted to attack Palestine, then people advocating for those specific organizations, people who are not critical of the occupation that Israel uses their groups to justify, then they are giving in; allowing their struggle to be co-opted to justify human rights abuses.

Pinkwashing as a concept is astonishing to me because it operates under the assumption that everything Israel does is for global PR.

Jews have a 6,000 year history of being more chill about gay people than (most) other religions. Jews overwhelmingly favour Queer rights in the diaspora, where Israeli law doesn’t affect us. Kabbalah regards Adam Kadmon, a genderless or multi-gendered being, as the first human, and says that their gender identity made them significantly more divine. Ancient Israeli laws documented in the Talmud make room for multiple different forms of intersex conditions.

But yeah Israel having a pretty good record on Queer rights is just because the Jews care desperately about our global image in the media. Israel having the biggest pride parade in Asia is exclusively a marketing tool that somehow convinces people to hate Palestinians. And clearly the Israeli government just handed down these Queer rights from on high to please the West. It’s not like normal Queer Israeli citizens have organized well-documented, long and difficult struggles against their government for equality and representation.

“Pinkwashing” my ass. Queer people in Israel fought hard for those rights. If Israel ceases to exist, those rights will disappear. They have good reason to be scared of Hamas, the Houthis and Iran, regardless of if they’re Queer Jews or Queer Palestinians or Queer Bedu. And yet Queer Israelis were protesting Netanyahu’s government and policy decisions before October 7, and they continue to protest what’s happening in Gaza now. They should be the sort of people you look up to instead of the sort of people you dismiss offhand. They aren’t a PR stunt. They’re human fucking beings.

[nsfwmiamiart]

(PART 1) Education for Ignorant people: Title: "How Did Corruption in America and the U.K. Give Rise to the Anti-Christ's Regime?"

In today's lesson, I want to show my readers how the Anti-Christ's regime came to exist. I will explain the chain reaction effects that gave birth to this horrendous and cruel beast."

Point number 1: Let’s begin with the aftermath of World War II:

World War II ended on September 2, 1945, when Japan formally surrendered to the Allies aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. This marked the official conclusion of the war. However, in Europe, the war had already ended earlier, on May 8, 1945, known as Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day), when Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allied forces.

When the war ended, the nations in Europe began reconstructing their countries by borrowing money to rebuild.

Point number 2 - Then two years after that, in 1947, we entered the Cold War era:

The Cold War lasted for approximately 45 years, from the end of World War II in 1947 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and its Western allies on one side and the Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc allies on the other. Although there was no direct large-scale fighting between the superpowers, the Cold War involved various forms of indirect conflict, including proxy wars, nuclear arms races, and ideological competition. It officially ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991.

Point number 3 - Then in 1990, the Gulf War began:

The Gulf War began on August 2, 1990, when Iraq, under the leadership of Saddam Hussein, invaded Kuwait. This prompted a coalition of nations, led by the United States, to intervene. The conflict escalated in January 1991 with the launch of Operation Desert Storm, the combat phase of the war, which resulted in the liberation of Kuwait. The war ended with a ceasefire on February 28, 1991.

Point number 4: We experienced ten years of peace from 1991 until the September 11, 2001, WTC attack, after which the USA launched the 'War on Terror.'

Yes, shortly after the September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the United States officially launched the War on Terror. On September 20, 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress, declaring a global war on terrorism and stating that the U.S. would target not only terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda, which was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, but also any nations that harbored or supported them.

The first major military action in the War on Terror was Operation Enduring Freedom, which began on October 7, 2001, when the U.S. and its allies invaded Afghanistan to dismantle the Taliban regime and eliminate al-Qaeda's presence in the country. This marked the start of a broader and long-lasting global counterterrorism campaign.

Point number 5 - Then we had the 2008 Financial Crisis:

The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), was one of the most severe economic downturns since the Great Depression. It began in 2007 with the collapse of the U.S. housing bubble, driven by risky lending practices and the widespread use of subprime mortgages. This led to a sharp increase in mortgage defaults and foreclosures, severely affecting banks and financial institutions that had heavily invested in mortgage-backed securities.

The crisis peaked in September 2008 when major financial institutions like Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, triggering a worldwide financial panic. Other large institutions, such as AIG, were bailed out by the U.S. government to prevent total collapse. Stock markets around the world plummeted, credit markets froze, and unemployment soared, leading to a deep recession.

In response, governments and central banks, particularly in the U.S. and Europe, implemented massive bailout programs and economic stimulus packages to stabilize financial systems and revive economic growth. The crisis had long-lasting effects, including a slow recovery for many economies, increased regulation of financial markets, and a shift in global economic power.

Point number 6: Then we had the War in Syria:

The Syrian Civil War began in March 2011 during the wave of pro-democracy uprisings known as the Arab Spring. The conflict started when peaceful protests against the government of President Bashar al-Assad escalated into a nationwide rebellion after the government responded with violent crackdowns on demonstrators.

The war soon turned into a complex multi-sided conflict involving the Syrian government, rebel groups, Islamist factions (including ISIS and al-Nusra Front), and foreign powers. Over time, international players such as the United States, Russia, Iran, and Turkey became involved, either supporting the government or various opposition groups. The war has led to widespread destruction, a humanitarian crisis, and millions of refugees fleeing the country. The conflict is ongoing, though the intensity has reduced in recent years.

Point number 7: Then we had the war in Libya:

The war in Libya, often referred to as the Libyan Civil War, began in February 2011 as part of the Arab Spring uprisings. It started with protests against the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, who had ruled Libya for over 40 years. These protests quickly escalated into an armed rebellion after Gaddafi's forces responded with violence.

In March 2011, a NATO-led intervention was launched following United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which authorized military action to protect civilians. This intervention, alongside support for the rebel forces, ultimately led to the fall of Gaddafi's regime. Gaddafi was captured and killed in October 2011, effectively ending his rule.

However, Libya has since experienced continued conflict and instability, with different factions vying for control, leading to a second civil war that began in 2014. The country remains divided between rival governments and armed groups, with ongoing violence and political unrest.

Point number 8: Then we had the COVID pandemic.

Yes, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in late 2019 and significantly impacted the world starting in 2020. Here’s a brief overview of its timeline and effects:

December 2019: The first cases of a novel coronavirus (later named SARS-CoV-2) were reported in Wuhan, China. The virus was associated with a pneumonia-like illness.

January 2020: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The virus began spreading to other countries.

March 2020: The WHO officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic as the virus spread rapidly worldwide, affecting millions and leading to widespread illness and death.

Global Response: Countries implemented various measures to combat the spread, including lockdowns, travel restrictions, mask mandates, and social distancing. Health care systems faced immense pressure as hospitals were overwhelmed.

Vaccination Efforts: By late 2020, vaccines were developed and began to be distributed globally. Mass vaccination campaigns started in early 2021, helping to reduce severe cases and deaths.

Ongoing Impact: The pandemic has had lasting effects on economies, health care systems, and daily life. It also accelerated trends like remote work, digital communication, and telehealth. Variants of the virus continued to emerge, prompting ongoing public health responses.

As of now, while the acute phase of the pandemic has diminished in many parts of the world, COVID-19 remains a significant health concern, with ongoing monitoring and vaccination efforts.

Point number 9: Next, we have the Ukraine War, which began in 2014, paused until 2022, and is still ongoing.

The Ukraine war, often referred to as the Russo-Ukrainian War, began in 2014. The conflict can be traced back to several key events:

February 2014: Protests in Ukraine, known as the Euromaidan, erupted over then-President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to suspend an association agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia. These protests led to Yanukovych's ousting.

March 2014: Following Yanukovych's removal, Russia annexed Crimea, a move widely condemned by the international community and seen as a violation of international law. This event marked a significant escalation in tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

April 2014: Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine declared independence in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, leading to armed conflict with Ukrainian government forces. This marked the beginning of the full-scale war in the eastern regions of Ukraine.

The conflict has continued for years, with various ceasefires and peace agreements failing to achieve a lasting resolution. The situation escalated dramatically in February 2022 when Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, significantly intensifying the conflict and prompting widespread condemnation and support for Ukraine from many countries around the world.