All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Dalit man beaten to death at Hindu festival in India

Caste and Hindi Uber-Nationalism both to blame

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A man from the Dalit, the lower caste in Indian Hindu society, has died after being attacked while attending a celebration of the Hindu festival of Navratri. Eight men have been detained and charged with murder.

Why I support Kurdistan’s independence referendum

Nervana

Here is an English version of my latest article in Al-Hurra  

Kurdistan

( photo via the Guardian)

In 838, a Kurdish leader based in Mosul named Mir Jafar Dasni revolted against the Caliph Al-Mu’tasim. After a series of armed confrontation between Arabs and Kurds in difficult terrain, a (non-Arab) commander of the Arab Caliph, Itakh, won the war and executed many of the Kurds, but Mir Jafar Dasni committed suicide to avoid capture.

Many opponents of the Iraqi Kurdistan referendum may not be aware of the region’s medieval historical conflicts, but undoubtedly they hope that history repeats itself and that the Kurds will be defeated once again, but this is unlikely. Their abundance of foes has united the Iraqi Kurds in support of the referendum. Never in their history have the Kurds been as focused and determined as they are today.

It is easy to join the chorus of…

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Catalan referendum: Pro-Russian networks see 2,000% increase in activity in favor of Catalan referendum | In English | EL PAÍS

One of the biggest cogs in the Trump machine is InfoWars, an empire led by Alex Jones, a known instigator of conspiracy theories. On Wednesday, broadcaster David Knight falsely claimed that 700 mayors had been arrested in Spain and that the government is preparing an invasion of Catalonia by sea. He then criticized Trump for not supporting secession because “this country [the United States] was founded on the right of self-government and self-determination.”

Source: Catalan referendum: Pro-Russian networks see 2,000% increase in activity in favor of Catalan referendum | In English | EL PAÍS

Egypt: Stop Anti-LGBT Crackdown, Intimidation

[HRW] Egypt should stop arresting and harassing people suspected of homosexuality using trumped-up “debauchery” and “inciting debauchery” charges, Human Rights Watch said today. Security forces rounded up at least eleven people in the days following a September 22, 2017 concert in Cairo at which young concertgoers waved rainbow flags, a symbol of solidarity with lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) people, a defiant act in a country known to persecute gay men and transgender people.