Australian rainbow lorikeets (parrots), cool off in a sprinkler at the zoo of Pessac near Bordeaux, as temperatures soar across the country: photo by Georges Gobet/AFP, 25 August 2016
Australian rainbow lorikeets (parrots), cool off in a sprinkler at the zoo of Pessac near Bordeaux, as temperatures soar across the country: photo by Georges Gobet/AFP, 25 August 2016
And if he left off dreaming about you...
-- Through the Looking Glass, VI
-- Through the Looking Glass, VI
No one saw him disembark in the unanimous night, no one saw the bamboo canoe sink into the sacred mud, but in a few days there was no one who did not know that the taciturn man came from the South and that his home had been one of those numberless villages upstream in the deeply cleft side of the mountain, where the Zend language has not been contaminated by Greek and where leprosy is infrequent. What is certain is that the grey man kissed the mud, climbed up the bank with pushing aside (probably, without feeling) the blades which were lacerating his flesh, and crawled, nauseated and bloodstained, up to the circular enclosure crowned with a stone tiger or horse, which sometimes was the color of flame and now was that of ashes. This circle was a temple which had been devoured by ancient fires, profaned by the miasmal jungle, and whose god no longer received the homage of men. The stranger stretched himself out beneath the pedestal. He was awakened by the sun high overhead. He was not astonished to find that his wounds had healed; he closed his pallid eyes and slept, not through weakness of flesh but through determination of will. He knew that this temple was the place required for his invincible intent; he knew that the incessant trees had not succeeded in strangling the ruins of another propitious temple downstream which had once belonged to gods now burned and dead; he knew that his immediate obligation was to dream. Toward midnight he was awakened by the inconsolable shriek of a bird. Tracks of bare feet, some figs and a jug warned him that the men of the region had been spying respectfully on his sleep, soliciting his protection or afraid of his magic. He felt a chill of fear, and sought out a sepulchral niche in the dilapidated wall where he concealed himself among unfamiliar leaves.
Jorge Luis Borges: The Circular Ruins, 1940 (excerpt). translated by Anthony Kerrigan
A Syrian man carries a wounded child following a barrel bomb attack on the Bab al-Nairab neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo: photo by Ameer Alhalbi/AFP, 25 August 2016
A Syrian man carries a wounded child following a barrel bomb attack on the Bab al-Nairab neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo: photo by Ameer Alhalbi/AFP, 25 August 2016
It's exactly 1 week since video of #OmranDaqneesh and NOTHING has changed. 11 kids killed today in #Aleppo airstrike: image via Sophie McNeill Verified account @Sophiemcneill, 25 August 2016
It's exactly 1 week since video of #OmranDaqneesh and NOTHING has changed. 11 kids killed today in #Aleppo airstrike: image via Sophie McNeill Verified account @Sophiemcneill, 25 August 2016
It's exactly 1 week since video of #OmranDaqneesh and NOTHING has changed. 11 kids killed today in #Aleppo airstrike: image via Sophie McNeill Verified account @Sophiemcneill, 25 August 2016
It's exactly 1 week since video of #OmranDaqneesh and NOTHING has changed. 11 kids killed today in #Aleppo airstrike: image via Sophie McNeill Verified account @Sophiemcneill, 25 August 2016
Civil defence workers battle to extinguish fires raging in neighborhood hit by airstrikes #AleppoAMC: image via Alamawi @ALAMAWI, 22 August 2016
Civil defence workers battle to extinguish fires raging in neighborhood hit by airstrikes #AleppoAMC: image via Alamawi @ALAMAWI, 22 August 2016
Civil defence workers battle to extinguish fires raging in neighborhood hit by airstrikes #AleppoAMC: image via Alamawi @ALAMAWI, 22 August 2016
Russia agrees to 48-hour Aleppo truce, U.N. waiting for other parties to commit - de Mistura: image via Reuters UK @ReutersUK, 25 August 2016
Aleppo: life and nothing more: image via Ryad Alhussen @ryadalhussin, 25 August 2016
Aleppo: life and nothing more: image via Ryad Alhussen @ryadalhussin, 25 August 2016
An activist protests wearing a mask outside the French embassy during, the “wear what you want beach party” in London. The protest is against the French authorities' clampdown on Muslim women wearing burkinis on the beach: photo by Frank Augstein/AP, 25 August 2016
An activist protests wearing a mask outside the French embassy during, the “wear what you want beach party” in London. The protest is against the French authorities' clampdown on Muslim women wearing burkinis on the beach: photo by Frank Augstein/AP, 25 August 2016
JAPAN - Annual live fire exercise of Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force in Gotemba. By Toru Yamanaka #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 25 August 2016
People look at #fireworks exploding over the "Croisette"
during the #FestivalArtPyrotechnique in #Cannes: image via Valery HACHE
@ValeryHache, 24 August 2016
Charrihi 1st victim of #NiceAttack wouldn't have been allowed to sit o #Cannes beach if she were alive 2day: image via Mariam Veiszadeh Verified account @MariamVeiszadeh 24 August 2016
Sarkozy tells comeback rally he would ban burkini across France: image via Reuters India @ReutersIndia, 25 August 2016
A zebra stands in an enclosure at the Ramat Gan Safari Zoo near Tel Aviv, Israel: photo by Baz Ratner/Reuters, 25 August 2016
A zebra stands in an enclosure at the Ramat Gan Safari Zoo near Tel Aviv, Israel: photo by Baz Ratner/Reuters, 25 August 2016
Orthodox Christian nuns take part in an annual procession along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem’s Old City, during which an icon of the Virgin Mary is carried from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to a church at the foot of the Mount of Olives, the location believed by Christians to be that of the tomb of the Virgin Mary: photo by Ammar Awad/Reuters, 25 August 2016
Orthodox Christian nuns take part in an annual procession along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem’s Old City, during which an icon of the Virgin Mary is carried from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to a church at the foot of the Mount of Olives, the location believed by Christians to be that of the tomb of the Virgin Mary: photo by Ammar Awad/Reuters, 25 August 2016
Powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake hits Myanmar. By Soe Moe Aung #AFP: image via Sophie Chauveau @s_chauveauAFP, 24 August 2016
AFGHANISTAN - Security personnel walk near site following militants' raid at American University in Kabul. By @kohsar: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 25 August 2016
#Afghanistan Death toll rises to nine in Kabul university attack by @kohsar #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 25 August 2016
#Afghanistan Death toll rises to nine in Kabul university attack by @kohsar #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 25 August 2016
#Afghanistan Death toll rises to nine in Kabul university attack by @kohsar #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 25 August 2016
#Afghanistan Death toll rises to nine in Kabul university attack by @kohsar #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 25 August 2016
TURKEY - Turkish Army tanks drive to the Syrian Turkish border town of Jarabulus. By @Kilicbil #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department
@AFPphoto, 25 August 2016
Cartoon of the Day: #Turkey crossing #Syria in order to fight... ISIS??? Via @al_tagreer: image via Carlos Latuff @LatuffCartoons, 25 August 2016
An Indian #labourer takes a nap on a tricycle at a market in New #Delhi #India #asia #economy #market: image via sajjad hussain @sajjadkmr, 3 August 2016
Indian man throws a rope with magnet attached to the end to try to catch valuables #yamuna #india #asia #delhi: image via sajjad hussain @sajjadkmr, 16 August 2016
PAKISTAN - A motorcyclist falls off his motor-bike into floodwaters following heavy rain in Lahore. By Arif Ali #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 25 August 2016
INDIA - An Indian cyclist rides along a flooded road on the outskirts of Allahabad. By @sanjaykanojia07: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 25 August 2016
INDIA - Villagers look on after unloading relief supplies from helicopter to a flood area. By @sanjaykanojia07: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 25 August 2016
Don't count on technology to save you in a disaster - researchers ph: A drone operated by paramilitary police flies over the site of explosions at Binhai new district in Tianjin, China by Kim Kyung-Hoon: image via Reuters India @ReutersIndia, 25 August 2016
In pictures: #Janmashtami in Mumbai #DahiHandi: image via Reuters India Photos @IndiaPhotos, 25 August 2016
INDIA - Kashmiri gather with their boats laden with vegetables at floating vegetable market in Srinagar. By @sajjadkmr: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 25 August 2016
INDIA - Paramilitary troopers stand alert in front of shuttered shops during curfew in Srinagar. By @sajjadkmr: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 25 August 2016
![Kashmiri activists hold placards during a protest against Israel's military operation in Gaza on July 11, 2014, in Srinagar [Getty]](http://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2016/8/23/b8c2610c943244a9884a1e4259fa1002_18.jpg "Kashmir and Palestine: The story of two occupations")
Kashmiri activists hold placards during a protest against Israel's military operation in Gaza on July 11, 2014, in Srinagar: photo via Al Jazeera, 25 August 2016
Kashmir and Palestine: The story of two occupations: The growing pockets of solidarity expressed for Kashmiris are heartening, as is the solidarity for Palestinian struggle.: Goldie Osuri, Al Jazeera, 25 August 2016
The
India and Israel alliance has been described as a full-blown romance,
but the ongoing siege of Kashmir makes this a bloody affair -- covert
for years.
India has bought arms from Israel since the 1960s. Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi is to visit Israel in 2017, marking the 25th
anniversary of full diplomatic relations.
The
two nations are passionate about their brutal occupations of
Kashmir and Palestine.
India is one of Israel's biggest arms exports
clients, spending about $10bn over the past decade. Indian police forces
have been receiving training in Israel for "anti-terror" operations,
which Israeli conducts against Palestinians.
Writing in the Middle East Review of International Affairs in 2004,
Harsh Pant, professor of international relations at King's College
London, frames the self-determination struggles in Kashmir and Palestine
within a post-9/11 narrative of the "global scourge of Islamist
terrorism".
This terror frame supports the economy of arms trade between India,
Israel and the United States. In this story, the aggressive religious
nationalisms of Zionism and Hindutva are neutral shared security
interests. Kashmiri and Palestinian quests for self-determination are
reduced to neighbouring Muslim or Arab states causing unrest.
The current siege of Kashmir by India's forces follows the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8.
Kashmiris came out in thousands to mourn the event. Kashmiri writers
and journalists say that the savage response of the Indian state to the
popular crowd support for the slain militant was unprecedented.
The pellet gun, a weapon banned in many countries, was used to blind and maim hundreds from a one-year-old child to the elderly.
The dead numbered more than 70, and 6,000 or more were injured. These
numbers continue to rise. Yet, Kashmiris continue to protest against
the Indian state and call for Azadi (freedom).
These current events must be placed in a longer context. Since the
1990s, through a decade of armed struggle against the Indian state,
state violence in Kashmir has taken its toll.
There are about 500,000 military personnel in the region -- in other
words, one soldier for 25 civilians. The Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of
Civil Society reports more than 70,000 killings, about 10,000 enforced disappearances and 7,000 mass graves.
Torture, rape, sexual violence, enforced disappearances, and
extra-judicial killings are widespread. These human rights violations
are intricately linked to the denial of political sovereignty for
Kashmiris.
We desperately need to reconsider our West versus non-West
understanding of the geography of colonialisms. The years 1947 and 1948
mark the creation of the nation-states of India and Israel. These years
scar Kashmiris and Palestinians.
Palestinians have been dispossessed of territory and many forced into
exile. Kashmir was handed over from an unpopular ruler without the
legitimacy of popular vote to the Indian state on October 26, 1947.
A condition of that accession is the United Nations resolution of
1948 for referendum or plebiscite, never facilitated by the Indian
state. Israel and India thus inaugurate the colonial occupations of
Palestine and Kashmir.
When is an occupation not an occupation? When it is executed
by one of the world's largest markets? When is a butcher not a butcher?
When he is a prime minister; or when he is an ally?
Let's not forget that Modi was denied a visa to the US in 2005 for his alleged responsibility over the mass murder of Muslims during the Gujarat riots. His nickname, the "Butcher of Gujarat", comes
from that 2002 event. He can now add the title of the "Butcher of
Kashmir" to his name -- even as that title fits previous Indian prime
ministers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, like his predecessors, can
be named the "Butcher of Palestinians" as he presided over the brutal
bombing of Gaza in 2014 that killed 2,100 Palestinians, a third of them
children.
The Israeli dead listed 66 soldiers and seven civilians. This uneven
scale led the UN Inquiry of Gaza to lay the weight of the charge of war
crimes on Israel even as they also charged listed Palestinian armed
groups.
The US was the sole vote against the UN inquiry, and European
countries abstained, as did India. The Gaza bombing was not the first
and it is not the last as the violence of occupation continues in
Palestine daily in the form of illegal settlements and killings.
We live in a time when nation-states overtly commit war crimes, are
cheered on by bloodthirsty majoritarian citizens, and literally get away
with murder.
The word democracy glitters like fool's gold on the tongues of world
leaders. Human rights regimes seem toothless in the face of the bold
barbarisms of nation-states invested in repressing democracy, and need
reform if they are to deliver justice.
And so transnational solidarity and activism are urgent when almost every nation-state seems rogue.
The small but growing pockets of solidarity expressed for Kashmiris are heartening, as is the international solidarity for Palestinian struggle.
Joining the dots between the occupations of Kashmir and Palestine
shows the need for a greater solidarity between these two sovereignty
struggles.
Goldie Osuri is associate professor of sociology at the
University of Warwick, UK. She is the author of Religious Freedom in
India: Sovereignty and (Anti) Conversion
[Blood in the streets of Srinagar]: image via SRK @shujakamili, 25 August 2016
And the massive protests continue. India can't read writing on Wall. #KashExit #GoIndiaGo #KashmirKillings @UN: image via SRK @shujakamili, 2 August 2016
Indian Hindu devotees are showered with water while taking a pledge before forming a ‘human pyramid’ during the dahi handi (curd pot) celebrations of Janmashtami, which mark the birth of Hindu god Lord Krishna, in Mumbai, India: photo by Indranil Mukherjee/AFP, 25 August 2016
Indian Hindu devotees are showered with water while taking a pledge before forming a ‘human pyramid’ during the dahi handi (curd pot) celebrations of Janmashtami, which mark the birth of Hindu god Lord Krishna, in Mumbai, India: photo by Indranil Mukherjee/AFP, 25 August 2016
INDIA - A school teacher marks a statue of Lord Krishna with kumkuma for Janamashthami in Hyderabad. By @noahseelam: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 25 August 2016
.An Afghan shepherd watches over his sheep as they graze on the outskirts of Herat: photo by Aref Karimi/AFP, 26 August
People take photos near the Singapore Flyer observatory wheel shrouded by haze: photo by Edgar Su/Reuters 26 August 2016
Relatives and dissident teachers hold portraits of the 43 missing students from the Isidro Burgos rural teachers college in front of the Mexican Attorney General’s office in Mexico City.: photo by Marcos Ugarte / AP, 25 August 2016P Photo
Fans of Legia Warsaw celebrate after Legis scores a goal during the UEFA Champions League qualification play-off second leg soccer match between Legia Warszawa and Dundalk FC in Warsaw, Poland: photo by Czarek Sokolowski / AP, 24 August 2016
A man walks his dog near an Ombu tree on the coast of Montevideo, Uruguay: photo by Matilde Campodonico / AP, 24 August 2016
Two barrel bombs were dropped in the densely populated Bab al-Nairab neighborhood yesterday by regime forces.
ReplyDeleteAleppo, 25 August 2016. "Two children crying in grief at the death of their brother, who ascended after the bombing of an explosive time bomb in the Bab al-Nairab district."
Aleppo 25 August 2016. Same family.
"he closed his pallid eyes and slept, not through weakness of flesh but through determination of will." a strong power !
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