Butch Ware and the US Green Party are helping to open a Decolonial Wormhole to a Better World

Its crucial to demonstrate electoral consequences for genocide.

Today, somebody wise sent me an interview of  Prof Bilal Rudolph "Butch" Ware on the Ansari Podcast. He is the Green Party's Vice Presidential Candidate for the forthcoming US Presidential Elections. To me his words and method are a vital alignment of thought, political spirituality and organising backbone that I find compelling. funny how in the UK, his nonsecular meter would be outlawed for some colonial 'spiritual influence' lawfare. 

The video is embedded below, Nur Nuggets include:

• Democrat Party as Party of the Elephant.
• Republican Party as the Party of the Braying Ass.
• The political aesthetic of a green hoopoe.
• The importance of being ready.
• The Democrats theft and gutting of the Green New Deal policy.
• The recent youth led movement in Bangladesh as a teaching lesson of our times.
• The things that can be done in the case of the team winning presidential office and no friends in Congress or Senate. Anti Trust suites and arms embargo on Israel.
• A poll based argument on why the Party of the Elephant have lost already.
• Plenty of policy reasons for voting for them.
• Good humour about the struggles ahead in any eventuality.
• Their independence from AIPAC and arms industry.
• Anecdote of convincing Republican voters to organise a rally for his party.
• The measures that the Two Party duopoly, Dems especially, have taken to prevent them accessing the voterhood.
• Podcast host's inevitable endorsement for black seed oil, apple cider vinegar, honey gummies from a Palestinian woman. [fractal of the whole thing]

Prof Ware's doctoral research was on the anti slavery resistance of West African Islamic scholars and he has more recently been organising with students and teachers against the Israeli-US genocide in Gaza and beyond. He is based at the History Department of the University of California Santa Barbara.

People in most states of that country have an option to vote against the Zionist's slaughter, with a decolonial ecopolitical horizon. That is a commitment of environmental and social justice that centres coloniality as the systemic foe. Prof Ware has brilliant moves, at least in the domain of discourse. Political proof will be in the struggles and relationships. I really hope they do well, that their supporters and workers do well and make the most of this, for the sake of the Palestinians, wider West Asia, themselves and all of us. Decolonial Duas for them and us all.

If Ware's political content and method resonate with you, he's been on Breakfast Club , Bad Faith, Democracy Now! and will be speaking to reach Trump voters ( ?!?) over the coming weeks.

There is a lot at stake in this election, this devastating year has exposed a lot of people's true colours and functions. So what will it be? Green Hoopoe or Green Card?

Bangladesh "Election" 2018 Resource Page

In a few days on the 30th December, Bangladeshis will try and vote in a General Election. Just like in 2014 the government is rigging the contest in many ways, but unlike 2014 some influential internal and external enablers, who helped to create this murderous ultranationalist monster, photographed and curated its dehumanisation, seem to have changed tack and now oppose it publicly.

Maybe there is a bit of love in the air, I certainly get that sense from the BNP head Mirza Fakhrudin Islam Alamgir's trembling outreach video below. But more likely, we are just tired, desperate and need to work across circles of pain, privilege, stupidity and difference - or our people will be doomed to eat each other up and/or run away as things get swampier and saltier and Bracottabad, Climantanomo and Santa's Lapland become our three main endpoints.

Full text of the BNP's Vision 2030 can be found on the cached site, as the Government seem to have taken it down, the BNP are digitally challenged and obviously very battered by 10 years of full throttled repression. Its been a while since I have heard anything thats policy orientated and not "ouch" or " My father.." from them.

• Buckets of inevitable international governese, developmentia and preventitude notwithstanding, I like the socioecological landscape architects of our future vibe of paras 187-199 but wince at the Chairman Rao-ness of "National Water Grid". 
• Allah has 97 other exclusive names which are worth connecting with, but can we be enveloped with Rahman and Rahim before we make efforts to establish it between us? not just on our official documentation.
• Climate Change gets a lot of mentions, coloniality - directly - none.  typical.
• Nice move to reclaim the rainbow whoever that was.
• It is a relief to see political demands/programmes that don't involve a hangman's noose.
• National Health Service?
• Quota System Reform
• Moral Rearmament!
• Vintage Ziaurahman Inclusivity-speak.
• Social Safety Network sounds like someone doesn't want to say welfare state
• Expatriotism

The BNP are the largest opposition party in the National Unity Front, which is fronted by the internationally respectable Kamal Hossain, whose symbolic capital is what the BNP have really lacked for so long. This alliance converges around the demands and goals pasted below which reads better to the international audience. Give-us-a-bloody-free-election-get-your-boots-off-our-throats is the main theme ,with good governance and national speak following closely. Not sure how foreign observers help (except as voluntary human shields for voters and activists under fire) because they have historically been bloody clueless and easy to mislead.

Seven demands: 1.    To ensure a fair election, a non-partisan government must be formed through discussion with all political parties, after the resignation of the incumbent government and dissolution of the parliament. Release of political prisoners, including of Khaleda Zia must be ensured, and false cases filed against opposition activists must be withdrawn 2.    Election Commission must be formed with qualified personnel, and electronic voting machines (EVMs) must not be used in the next election 3.    Level playing field during election time must be ensured 4.    False cases field against students and journalists must be withdrawn, and laws such as Digital Security Act must be scrapped 5.    Army Personnel, with magistracy powers must be deployed ten days before the next general election 6.    Foreign and domestic observers must be present during election time, and media professionals must be allowed to perform their duties without any restrictions 7.     Trial of all ongoing cases filed against political personalities must be postponed from the announcement of the polls schedule, till the declaration of the election results. New cases must not be filed against those political personalities during this time

11 goals: 1.    Establishing good governance by bringing balance of power in parliament, government, president and prime minister with an aim to build a Bangladesh with the spirit of Liberation War to end the authoritarian regime, and decentralizing the administration 2.    Amending the constitution, including Article 70, and forming a constitutional commission to appoint impartial and honest officials to the important positions in constitutional bodies 3.    Ensuring freedom and power of the judiciary 4.    Ensuring necessary initiative for modernizing the Anti-Corruption Commission and bringing the corrupts to book 5.    Ensuring an investment-friendly environment, creating jobs and establishing merit as the only baseline for recruitment in government jobs 6.    Ensuring security of the people, their property and fundamental rights and women empowerment 7.     Implement infrastructural reform for freeing the public administration, police and local government from corruption and grouping 8.    Establishing discipline in the financial institutions, including Bangladesh Bank, and ensuring financial growth focused on proper use of national resources, fair distribution and public welfare 9.    Building a national consensus against militancy, terrorism and communalism, and establishing positive, creative and balanced political environment by ending politics of vengeance and negativity 10.    Adopting a “friendship with all, enmity with none” foreign policy 11.    Ensuring advance training, modern technology and equipment for the armed forces to strengthen and modernize them

Decolonial duas for courage, wisdom, safety and justice.

[Will update this page periodically]

Interview with BNP's Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir

Articles beating the Awami League's drum

Obligatory War on Terror Rentier Advert in New York Times, from Dhaka Tribunista. K. Anis Ahmed whose brother is an Awami League MP and who as a Gencom director,  is a direct beneficiary of the government's power sector policies.

Hasina, you are too kind to your opponents rant from Mad Dog Abdul Ghaffar Choudhury.

False and Tricksey poke at the US interference from exBBC and widely believed RAW asset Soubir Bhoumik


Decent, informative blogs.

Mukti Blog

Bangladesh Politico Blog

Hasina and Khaleda Zia speak on the Bangladesh elections as the BNP's Oct 25th protest approaches

Consider this an evolving notebook as the 24th October end of government looms as ultraviolence looks very likely to revisit the streets of Bangladesh.


The Dhaka Metropolitan Commissioner Benazir Ahmed, who hails from the Prime Minster's ancestral area Gopalganj has annonced a ban on political rallies, and the main opposition BNP are adamant to hold a big rally in Dhaka on 25th October. To this end a BNP leader and ex Mayor of Dhaka Sadeque Hussain Khokha gargled out some fearsome words before going into hiding while the more polite MFI Alamgir mumbled something about this being the final khela(play)

Yet given the ultraviolence that the Awami League sprung on the country on 28th October 2006, and the encouragement their thugs received by being given a free right to kill so many people over the past 8 months in broad daylight, it is a fearful time and anything is possible.


Furthermore, after the attacks on Hefazot supporters in Dhaka on the 5th and 6th May killed unknown scores, the police, RAB, BGB and media could bring even further disgrace to themselves in the coming weeks and months.

Thus spoke Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia

In this setting the Prime Minster's speech last friday was an important from the point of view of public relations and self image. Watch it below for analytical kicks.


PM Sheikh Hasina Speech on National TV on Friday evening 18th October 2013

Note how she tries to play the sympathy card towards the end re: the murder of her 10 year old brother 38 years ago and how she asks for our prayers as she sits underneath a picture of her father underneath the Shahada of Islam.

Below is one of her principle oppoonent's responses.

Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia Response on 20th October.

Points include

• That civil institutions aren't allowed to work freely.
• Many civil servants have been flung away ( OSD'd) because the government smelled different politics on their bodies.
• The police look like they have been turned into an Army fighting a war.
• Challenges Hasina to a fair election.
• Mocks Hasina's helicopter riding for voters with the boat symbol.
• Mocks governments single song sheet of blaming opposition for everything.
• "If you think that you will do an election with RAB, Police and what was that...BGB..BDR? Then that will not be allowed in this country"
• Contests Awami League freedom fighting credentials.
• Free Mahmudur Rahman, the detained editor of Amar Desh, he did no wrong.
• We want the return of Ilyas Ali, and all the dissapeared leaders.
• Protests the toruture applied to Shibir's young leader Delwar Hussain, whats wrong with working for a party.
• We stopped exam fraud, incumbents have brought it back.
• Contests Awami league claims and appropriations of development work and women's education.
• Stressed the need to save the younger generation.

A day later Khaleda Zia gave a more formal intervention with a more internationally tuned message stressing the need to change political culture and a whole lot of stuff that sounds nice but probably goes over the heads of many arseholes in her party. Its interesting seeing who is in the audience.



in it she mentions the attack on the Hefazot rally explicitly and points out this vital truth.

"...restlessness and confrontation in the society has increased due to the Awami League government’s wrong policy of identifying militancy with the peace loving religious organizations and religion based legitimate political parties. This has adversely affected the drive against militancy."


David Bergman analyses it here, best skip to the end and read the speech before his selective analysis.

Protest Promotion Videos

Demonstrations of street power are now the name of the game and this Friday 25th October the BNP will try their hand. These are the guys who didnt exactly help hefazots cause by threatening to overthrow the government just before Hefazot came in for a walk.

But street power needs to be suplimented by media power. With opposition papers under the cosh, even the technophobic BNP have to bypass the coporates and have a go at something new. The video below is from them, complete with disconcertingly jolly Bangladesh Biman-freindly soundtrack.



The next one is from Shibir supporters, and probably the second shittest video in all of Political Islam.

 

The first shittiest being that of a similar combine which appropriated and exploited Hefazot as well as their 5thMay protest for their own very narrow purposes. I beleive they have the right to exist untortured, but fucking hell they can be irresponsible wankers.