Islamic Society of Wichita put on a demonstration of articles explaining the situation in Kashmir

By SJ Otto

Since I cover India quite extensively, both at this blog and at Otto’s War Room I was quite fascinated when I went to the Islamic Society of Wichita, this afternoon, to see their display about India’s treatment of the people of Kashmir. At Otto’s War Room Harsh Thakor has written some articles about India’s treatment of the Moslems who live in Kashmir.

As with Thakor and his political comrades, the Moslems of Wichita have characterized President Narendra Modi as a Hindutva fascist. Modi’s political party is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a Hindu nationalist party. 

According to their letter to The Wichita Eagle:

But on Aug. 5 those of us with roots in South Asia trembled to see those exact values (freedom and democracy) trampled in Kashmir, as the Indian government broke 1948 United Nations Resolutions and sent 800,000 soldiers into Kashmir, with its majority Muslim population of 10 million.
On Friday, the prime ministers of Pakistan and India addressed the United Nations General Assembly. Meanwhile, President Trump has merely asked those leaders to “work it out.” Absent moral leadership by the United States, we believe India’s commercial ties to the West, with a market of its 1 billion populations, will enable far-right Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deny the reality.

As with Wichita’s Moslems, Modi is referred to as a Hindutva fascist. So far Modi has been treated as a rock star here in the US, by the main stream media. He has been a very repressive leader.

There will be more on this later.

This table of pictures demonstrates how Modi is a fascist. 

Sign Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris's petition to impeach Brett Kavanaugh for lying to Congress

---

I received this E-mail from the office of Kamala Harris, U.S. Senator,
Candidate for President 2020:

I remember sitting through Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings — listening to him lie to the U.S. Senate and, most importantly, to the American people.

I remember walking out of the Judiciary Committee when it became clear that Republicans leaders had enacted a sham process to confirm Kavanaugh that quite frankly was an insult to the pursuit of truth and justice.

I remember listening to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford who had the courage to tell her story in front of the entire country. I’ll never forget it.

A New York Times article just unveiled new “sexual misconduct allegations” against Kavanaugh — and new evidence that he lied under oath and should not be on the Supreme Court.

Add your name to my petition. I am calling for the impeachment of Brett Kavanaugh, and I need your help to make it happen. Sign my petition if you agree we must impeach Kavanaugh.

SIGN THE PETITION

So many of you were with us when we fought against Kavanaugh’s nomination last year — and I need you with me again if we’re going to correct this injustice. Thanks in advance for taking action.

For The People,

—Kamala
Kamala Harris, U.S. Senator (CA)
Candidate for President 2020

The Peace and Social Justice Center lives on—the peace house will go->

By SJ Otto

The future of the Peace and Social Justice Center of South Central Kansas has been in limbo for some time now, as members discussed weather to end the organization, or just to sell the house. The house has been a source of autonomy. For years we did not have to worry about being evicted because of controversial issues that the organization was involved in.

This is a military town. Lot’s of wichita’s citizens join the military. The military is very popular in this town, opposing militarism. Many of us felt that owning our own house helped us to be an institution in this town. Now the cost of keeping up that house has become too much. It now drains the budget of The Peace and Social Justice Center.

There has been an overwhelming concenses that the house needs to go. The next issue was weather or not to keep the The Peace and Social Justice Center going here in wichita.

since that time, members of the Peace and Social Justice Center decided that the organization needs to go on. One of the problems with this group is that amost all the members are senior citizens. The director of the organization is under 40. There are a handful of people who are under 50. It is for that reason that some members considered just shuttilng the group down. But that has not been the outcome. At the monthy board meeting, this last Saturday, board members discussed having days for working on the house to get it ready for sale. They also plan to have weekend days where people can take artwork and momentos from the house. They also plan to have days where yard work and cleaning and fixing of the house will be done.

One thing members of the board made clear, this is the end of the Peace House, but not the end of the Peace and Social Justice Center. Members are determined to keep the group going.

October 7 is the anniversary of the beginning of the Afghanistan war. So far we have tentative plans to have an anniversary event at noon, for one hour. There will also be a letter sent to The wichita Eagle to address this occations. The organization will also focus on actions against Iran.

The Peace and Social Justice Center will continue to focus on such events and opposing such wars. That is the reason we can’t just close down the Peace and Social Justice Center. The house will go, the organization lives on.

US Climate Strikes | September 20, 2019

On September 20, three days before the UN Climate Summit in NYC, young people and adults will strike all across the US and world to demand transformative action be taken to address the climate crisis. Millions of us will take the streets to demand a right to a future, and we’re inviting you to

#strikewithus

Find a strike near you to attend on September 20 on the map below. If you don’t see an event in your area, organize one! We’ll provide everything you need to get started in planning something in your community so no experience is necessary. Whether you’re 7 or 77, you’re invited to join the movement.

For more information, please visit strikewithus.org.

The struggle between progressive Democrats and centrists continue!

By SJ Otto

The struggle between the progressive wing of the Democratic Party continues as freshman U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has endorsed Marie Newman over Dan Lipinski, D-Ill for the Democratic spot in a

Democratic district. According to the Chicago Sun Times:

“Newman now has the backing of the leading progressives in the U.S. in the biggest Democratic House primary in Illinois. She earlier landed support from presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, the senators from Massachusetts and Vermont. Before they dropped out of the 2020 White House race, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee backed Newman’s campaign.

The 3rd Congressional District is a safe Democrat seat with the Newman/Lipinski battle mirroring deep ideological divisions playing out in the Democratic presidential primary. The crucial difference is all the Democratic presidential candidates support abortion rights, and Lipinski does not.”

It is not hard to see why Newman was chosen over the centrist Lipinski. Lipinski is a very conservative Democrat, similar to those we call “Republican lite.” There is a struggle going on in the Democratic Party and it is between the progressives, who plan to fight for the left of the Democrats and the centrists who offer little more than the Republicans. For example, Lipinski does not even support Abortion rights. This is a major problem. Why should any progressive be asked to support a Democrat who does not support the basic rights of a women to chose whether or not she can have an abortion.

These are simple basic progressive stands.

We can all bet that no Republican can hold office with leftist ideas. So why should Democrats put up with a person who is accused of supporting Republican positions. And why should a conservative, as Lipinski, believe he can win in a Democratic stronghold with Republican ideas. That doesn’t make sense.

This is typical of the struggle that lies before us. We need to step up to the plate and fight for our right to have Democrats who will actually fight for the right of the Democratic left. This is a time in history when we really need to fight for what we believe in. This is the time to stand up and be counted.

The following was sent to my E-mail:

For months, pundits have called Alexandria too “divisive” and “inflammatory” because she’s had the courage to speak truth to power. Now, Dan Lipinski is throwing a temper tantrum over her endorsement of Marie Newman’s campaign, and yet no one is calling this corporate-incumbent “divisive.”

In a press release that borrows heavily from Republican talking points, Lipinski attacks the Squad, falsely claims that Medicare for All would eliminate Medicare for seniors, pretends like he didn’t vote against the Affordable Care Act, spreads falsehoods about the Green New Deal, and then pretends to support progressive goals. Wow.

It’s obvious who Dan Lipinski is fighting for, and it’s not the people of Illinois’ 3rd District. In just a few hours, we’ve helped Marie Newman raise an incredible amount of money for her powerful grassroots organizing program. Can you chip in $3 to help us supercharge their on-the-ground fight?

Contribute $3

In fact, just today, you’ve donated more in small-dollar donations than Dan Lipinski has received this entire cycle. So far, Lipinski has raised a pathetic $7,483.83 from people who donated under $200 — but that shouldn’t be surprising, because he’s not fighting for working-class Americans, he’s fighting for the powerful special interests that bankroll him.

In 2019, PACs have already given Lipinski $294,123.00, and you can be sure that more is on the way. And according to Sludge, Marie’s unapologetic fight to pass a Green New Deal has already caused a spike of fossil fuel PAC donations to Lipinski.

Osama bin Laden’s son assassinated by US CIA

By SJ Otto

The White House announced Saturday that Hamza bin Laden, (مزة بن أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن‎;) the son of Osama bin Laden, (أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن‎) was assassinated. What did this guy actually do to be a terrorist, and what did he do to deserved to be assassinated by the CIA? Sure he is the sun of Osama bin Laden. But is that enough of an excuse to assassinate him? This reminds me of an Indian in that movie “The Last of the Mohicans,”(1992)  He wanted to wipe the seed of his enemy off the planet. Is this US policy now? It isn’t enough to kill our enemies; we have to kill all their children and grand children to remove their DNA from planet Earth. If that is the case this country has sunk to a new low. I am disgusted by the attitude of this government. This is the lowest barbarism I have ever seen in the US.

Of course the US is in the process of evolving into a very militaristic and barbaric empire, where anyone ho dares to impede US control of foreign countries will be killed with drone attacks. There is no judicial proceedings. No judge, jury or judicial proceedings of any kind. We just kill those who stand in our way. So far, there has been no opposition or discussion of this policy, out side of the “Squad,” as they are called. For the last 30 years, US foreign policy has not been debated at all, not in the mainstream press and not in Congress. Certainly it has not been discussed by our Presidents—and that includes all of them, Democrat or Republican. Of course it is time to demand an explanation of what this country does in foreign affairs.

Republicans pull out all the smears to try and discredit democratic socialists

By SJ Otto

Republicans have had a shit-fit over the fact that many young people have taken an interest in socialism. For the most part that is democratic socialism, a system that is more in use in Europe than anywhere else. There are also some young people interested in Marxism and various ideas of such. So nothing could frighten the older generation of right-wing conservative white men more than the word socialism and the idea that there are actually people who support that. There are also people from other countries that have developed their own prejudices on such a word as socialism.

The Republicans have counted on the prejudice ideas of such refugees as former California Republican congressional candidate Elizabeth Heng. Since she survived an ordeal in Cambodia, she has attacked all versions of socialism as if they are all the same—in other words she is lumping democratic socialism in with the so called “socialism” of Pol Pot. Of course such a link is ridiculous. It is like lumping together shop lifters with the kind of back robberies carried out by Bonne and Clyde.

Elizabeth Heng

@ElizabethHeng

response is the Democratic party in a nutshell.  They are more offended by truthful words than the acts of their political ideology that has killed millions of innocent victims.  I don't care about

@AOC

feelings - I care about stopping her lies about the lies of socialism.

Elizabeth Heng

@ElizabethHeng

Not Republicans. Me. Are you really calling me a racist

@aoc

? I’m calling all Democrats out for supporting an evil ideology. Or are you just in Congress to hang out with celebrities and tweet out ridiculous ideas like the green new deal?

It doesn’t take long to see how extreme Heng’s views are. Even for those Americans don’t like socialism, they can see through the idea that democratic socialists are the equivalent of Nazis, Stalinists or Pol Potists, or maybe even Satanists. 

These kind of words are more than just policy difference. They are the equivalent of an act of war, right here in the US. According to Vox:

Attacking AOC and “the squad” is part of the right’s electoral strategy

The New Faces PAC website says its mission is to “Help elevate the next generation of Republicans so that we can not only survive as a party, but expand beyond the boundaries we’ve set for ourselves,” and “identify the new faces of the GOP who will lead us into tomorrow.”

But its tactics — at least in the Thursday night spot — are classic Republican talking points from the last year, going heavy on the fear-mongering. Conservatives are worried about moderate Democrats doing so well in the midterms last year, so they are going to try to portray all Democrats as socialists.

Ocasio-Cortez has weathered plenty of political attacks from the GOP. She’s part of the so-called progressive “squad” in the House that drew ire from President Trump. In July, Trump tweeted that Ocasio-Cortez and three other congresswomen of color should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”

The president’s tweets were an example of a racist trope, and, of course, it’s worth noting Ocasio-Cortez and two of the other women were born in the United States. But Ocasio-Cortez has gotten particular attention because she, like Bernie Sanders, proudly claims to be a democratic socialist and because she is a young woman of color.

As Vox’s Nisha Chittal explained, the squad’s race and gender are inextricable from the way established political leaders (particularly on the right) have responded to their rise. They have weathered death threats, calls to resign from the president, and even censure from their own party:

From the beginning, there has been something distinctly racial (and gendered) about the aggression directed by various parties at Omar, Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, and Pressley. Omar is black and one of the first Muslim women in Congress. Ocasio-Cortez is Latina. Pressley is black. And Tlaib is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants.

All four have been surrounded by controversy and personal attacks since they took office in January — attacks that are explicitly about silencing outspoken women of color.

Let’s hope the voting public are not such schmucks as these folks want them to be. This becomes a fight over the rights of poor people and poor working people to be able to defend our rights and our very existence.

9/11 can bring out the worst in this country

By SJ Otto

As I said in an earlier post, 9/11 brings out the worst in this country and the worst in its people. We have seen lots of reactions to an event the was truly an act of evil. A lot of innocent people were killed. It is natural for people to get angry over such a mellitus attack on this country. The worst of it is that those who made the attack made no effort to differentiate between the innocent people who live or work here and those who are actually responsible for the crimes this country routinely commits.

A lot can be said for the Moslem religion and the knee jerk reaction many Americans had against ANYONE who happens to be Moslem. For many people it is just a religion. For some Moslems it is political and some Moslems have used their religion to attack the US and its imperialist policies. It is reasonable to attack a nation that throws its political and military might around, but attacking civilians is a truly senseless act.

Equally senseless are those conservative Americans who attack any Moslem, mostly just for being Moslem. That is also senseless and thoughtless. Since the election to office of
Ilhan Omar to the House of Representatives, jingoists and conservatives found an easy target of attack. For many conservatives, she has criticized US actions in Venezuela and Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. Along with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, “the squad” has rejected sacred conservative values, such as a foreign policy of complete compliance and complete agreement. Also she gets mixed in with Ocasio-Cortez, who is a socialist.

Among the many conservative attacks against Omar was against a speech she gave about what treatment Moslems have had to endure since 9/11. In it she said “Some people did something.” And she went on to explain the reaction against Moslems. Conservatives jumped all over that. For example, from FactCheck.org:

“White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders claimed that Omar had spoken “dismissively” about the 9/11 attacks, while Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler said her comments were being misconstrued. Nadler said Omar mentioned 9/11 “only in passing” while talking about “discrimination against Muslim Americans.”

The comments made by Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, have been widely dissected. We thought it would be helpful to our readers to provide the context for Omar’s comments, which were made during a 20-minute speech she delivered at an annual Council on American-Islamic Relations event in California on March 23.”

And thanks to those conservatives who have relentlessly attacked Omar, right-wing trolls keep leaving nasty messages on her Facebook account that attack her past phrase: “some people did something.”  For example:

Steve Loeding Tomorrow remember this Omar “some people did something”. You are an embarrassment to the state of minnesota and the congress of the United States. We Will Never Forget. And never forgive you

Lynda Locke Eighteen years ago, "some people did something". We, the People, remember WHO they were and WHAT they did. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Don Isenberg "Some people did something"
May it follow and haunt you to your grave.

Ian Franklin 18 years ago, this was a lot of people's last day on Earth with their family. You, Ilhan Omar, are not good for our country.

Diane Ewing Today, us true American's are remembering the day....some people did something.

So it is not that hard to find those who can’t ignore the ignorance and nastiness of their jingoist and conservative roots. On the other hand there where those who supported Omar:

Muna Khayr A Qambi So many evil minded people here pretending to care about the victims of September 11 by attacking Miss Omar. People who care don't make fun of or belittle others pain. Millions have been killed by this government and its allies since September 11 and hundreds of innocent citizens were demonized because of their faith. That's what this women was talking about. You don't honour the victims by victimizing others who themselves may have lost loved ones in the 9/11 tragedy.

Ibrahim Umar Aliyu God bless Ilhan our prayers are with u

So our conclusion is that this day brings out the worst in some people and maybe the best in others. That is the way it is with a jingoistic holiday like 9/11.

It's 9/11 Day once again in the US!

By Steve Otto

Once again it is 9/11, that holiday that reminds us what can happen to an imperialist country when we are attacked by a foreign group of terrorists. Unlike those I heard on the news today, 9/11 did not bring out the best in us, it brought the jingoist. It brought out the worst of us and the worst in us.  

After 18 years we are not any safer than we were in 2001. We can pretend that all of the efforts our government takes to prevent such attacks are working. In reality those determined to find ways to attack us will at some time succeed.

This is an imperialist country that is heavily involved in shaping the lives and future of others. That task is impossible without someone getting upset and trying to kill us from time to time.

I remember the day the planes hit the twin towers in New York. I was just getting out of bed. I was not working that day. I turned on the TV as the events began to unfold. I was watching when the second tower got hit. Then they began to crumble and New York City looked like the aftermath of a volcano eruption.

As bad as it is to see almost 3,000 die in one disaster, what happened after that was just as bad. Every wing-nut in the country was out waving flags and promoting war with just about any country or group who ever had a tiff with the US. There were flags everywhere and on everything.
Today we have a few tributes on TV, a few flags raised and we're done with it for a year. 

Since 9/11 we as a nation now occupy Iraq and Afghanistan. We aren't finished with these countries yet. With the use of drones we kill innocent people along with alleged terrorists who have never been on trial. This country can do a lot better than that. 

Pix by 9/11 tribute light beams at site of World Trade Centre ....

9/11 in Chile also
One other interesting thing about 9/11 is it just happens to be the date of the military coup in Chile that brought about the end of Democracy, under the gleeful eye of our then President Richard M. Nixon. Salvador Allende, the elected president of Chile was overthrown by the military. General Augusto Pinochet took control of the country, set up military rule and banned all political parties. Democracy in Chile was illegal for the next 10 or more years.

Salvador Allende's Last Speech (English translation)

Santiago de Chile, 11 September 1973, 9:10 A.M.
This will surely be my last opportunity to address you. The Air Force has bombed the antennas of Radio Magallanes. My words have neither bitterness nor deception. They should stand as a moral castigation of those who have been traitors to their oaths: Chilean soldiers, titular commanders-in-chief, Admiral Merino, who has designated himself commander of the Navy, even more señor Mendoza, the cringing general who only yesterday manifested his fidelity and loyalty to the Government, and who also has named himself Director General of the Carabineros. In the face of these deeds it only falls to me to say to the workers: I shall not resign!

Standing at a historic point, I will repay with my life the loyalty of the people. And I say to you that I am certain that the seed we have surrendered into the worthy conscience of thousands and thousands of Chileans, will not be able to be reaped at one stroke. They have the power, they can make us their vassals, but not stop the social processes, neither by crime nor by force. History is ours and is made by the people.
Workers of my Nation: I want to thank you for the loyalty you have always had, the confidence you placed in a man who only was the interperter of great yearnings for justice, who pledged his word to respect the Constitution and the law, and who did so. In this final moment, the last in which I will be able to address myself to you, I want you to take advantage of the lesson: foreign capital, imperialism, united with reaction, created the climate for the Armed Forces to break their tradition, that which they were taught by general Schneider which was reaffirmed by commander Araya, victims of the same social sector that today will be be expecting with an alien hand to reconquer the power to continue defending their profits and their privileges.
I address myself to you, above all to the modest woman of our land, to the campesina who believed in us, the mother who knew of our concern for the children. I address myself to the professionals of the Nation, to the patriotic professionals who continued working against the sedition overseen by their professional academies, classist academies that also defended the advantages of a capitalist society.
I address myself to the youth, to those who sang and who brought their happiness and their spirit to the fight. I address myself to the man of Chile, to the worker, to the campesino, to the intellectual, to those who will be percecuted, because in our country fascism has now been present for several hours; in the terrorist assassinations, blowing up the bridges, cutting the railways, destroying the oil and gas pipelines, in the face of the silence of those who had the obligation to behave.
They are in jeopardy. History will judge them.
Radio Magallanes will surely be silenced and the tranquil metal of my voice will no longer reach you. It is not important. You will continue to hear it. I will always be together with you. At least my memory will be that of an upright man who was loyal to the Nation.
The people ought to defend themselves, but not sacrifice themselves. The people ought not let themselves be subdued or persecuted, but neither should they humble themselves.
Workers of my Nation, I have faith in Chile and its destiny. Other men will go beyond this gray and bitter moment when treason tries to impose itself upon us. Continue to know that, much sooner than later, we will reopen the great promenades down which free men pass, to construct a better society.
Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers!
These are my last words and I have certainty that my sacrifice will not be in vain, I have certainty that, at the least, I will be a moral lesson to castigate felony, cowardice, and treason.

The Kansas Democratic Party should oppose all privatization

By SJ Otto

what was the point of voting for Democratic Governor Laura Kelly and her allies, when she does the same things Republicans do? Progressive political activists and politicians across the country are trying to ease prison over crowding by releasing some people from prisons. Some can be paroled. Others can have their sentences either reduced or scrapped all together. But the answer to over crowding here in Kansas is to send Kansas prisoners to a private prison, in which a high number if inmates have been killed. Worst of all, this action is from our Democratic Party here in Kansas.

That is one reason so many people want to legalize or decriminalize marijuana and some other drugs, such as Psilocybin. we simply have too many people locked up in this country.

Another problem with this idea is privatization. That is a Republican idea and it is a bad idea. It is based on the idea that government services can be contracted out to people who want to profit form institution that have always been set up to serve the public. They weren’t worried about making money, they were worried about providing services. Such institutions should also answer to the people who elect the leaders who oversee them. Who oversees a private corporation?—no one.

A good example of how badly privatization works is KanCare. It has been a disaster. what is most surprising is that the Democrats who now control the governorship, have not overturned KanCare. The Republicans have overturned Democratic institutions as fast as they can. Why aren’t the Democrats overturning Republican stupidity?

Once again we need to put fire under the feet of those Democrats who run for office and win. Too many Democrats think they can win elections and then just sit on their asses and do nothing. They need to do their jobs and reverse all the conservative stupidity we have endured for the last 30 years. For some of us—we have had enough. We need to fix what is wrong with this state and this country. 

Pix by Republicans Think You're Stupid, Prove Them Wrong | MoveOn.Org ...

US- Labor day and some Labour Songs...

Since not much has changed since last year’s fake Labor Day, I decided to run last year’s article on this fine September holiday.- SJ Otto

Today is fake Labor Day...that holiday the US Government came up with to lure workers away from the real Labor Day on May 1. Here are some fun union songs to sing today and an explanation of labor day from Wikipedia:

Labor Day in the United States is a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It honors the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws and well-being of the country. It is the Monday of the long weekend known as Labor Day Weekend and it is considered the unofficial end of summer in the United States. The holiday is also a federal holiday.

Beginning in the late 19th century, as the trade union and labor movements grew, trade unionists proposed that a day be set aside to celebrate labor. "Labor Day" was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor, which organized the first parade in New York City. In 1887, Oregon was the first state of the United States to make it an official public holiday. By the time it became an official federal holiday in 1894, thirty U.S. statesofficially celebrated Labor Day.^[1]

Canada's Labour Day is also celebrated on the first Monday of September. More than 80 countries celebrate International Workers' Day on May 1 – the ancient European holiday of May Day – and several countries have chosen their own dates for Labour Day.

To see this and another labor song, click here.