Obama voters for Trump, Clinton voters for McCain, and Sanders voters for Trump. (1) It happens all the time, Sanders voters not special. (2) Numbers going around on Twitter were debunked back in 2017.

I think “lefty concern troll” captures the tactics and goals of those who shout “Squirrel!” every time the subject of Chinese authoritarianism comes up better than “tankie” does. We desperately need a left that is able to tackle these issues without changing the subject.

3,000 Dalits to embrace Islam, cite discrimination by caste Hindus

An open letter to Citizen Shah: Ganesh Devy

Occupying Shakespeare

A quick note on the RFA mass rape story

How reliable is the the Radio Free Asia report about the “mass rape” of Uyghur women by Han Chinese men? It is true that RFA was originally created to promote US anti-communist propaganda; however, it has also played an important role in documenting what is happening in Xinjiang, often at tremendous risk to the families of the station’s Uyghur language staff, many of whom have been detained in order to scare the reporters into silence. This includes the families of Shohret Hoshur, Gulchehra Hoja, as well as the author of the report, Rushan Abbas. The New York Times has referred to RFA as “few reliable sources of information” about Xinjiang.

But as with many such questions posed by online tankies, it is really a distraction. That rape was happening was already clear from other, well placed reporting that was available to anyone paying attention. First of all, we know Uyghur families are forced to accept Han “big sisters” and “big brothers” into their homes. We know the “big brothers” sometimes come to live with the faimly when the fathers are in the camps, as in this video.

Secondly, we know that the increase in marriages between Uyghur women and Han men that is the result of institutionalized “pressures” if not outright “coercion” (for those who want to nitpick). There are also credible stories of rapes in the “reeducation camps.”

So should we trust the RFA report about “mass rape”? I don’t know, but the fact that the story is so believable based on what we already know should be worrying us even more.

With a Thousand Ancestors Front and Back - interview with Nick Estes

Democratic insiders peek outside of their own bubble and see Sanders standing there - as he has been all along

I Save You in the Clouds - Yangyang Cheng

🎥 Anyone who enjoys Agatha Christie, Columbo, or Murder, She Wrote will love Knives Out, which offers all the pleasures of the genre along with some not-so-subtle politics and a dash of Pynchon thrown in as well. I’d watch it again.

The UK General Election in 7 myths.

In Assam, two men tagged Bangladeshi died in detention – one was an Adivasi from Jharkhand

In Hong Kong, a Vast Citizens’ Network Keeps Watch on the Police

How Joe Biden Helped Strip Bankruptcy Protection From Millions Just Before a Recession

CAA protests: Blood and tears in an Uttar Pradesh town where two young Muslim men fell to bullets

Lest We Forget: The Missing Chinese Activists of 2019

Do soda taxes work? The global soda tax experiment 《Yes, they do, and higher taxes could have even greater health benefits.》

There is some epic music playing outside. (Maybe from an election campaign truck?) I feel like I should be doing something epic instead of just sitting on my couch with the dog…

More Than 80 Polish Towns Have Declared Themselves ‘LGBTQ-Free Zones’

Judith Butler: Trump’s Executive Order on Anti-Semitism Enshrines Ignorance Into Law

Exclusive: Canada police prepared to shoot Indigenous activists, documents show

India’s Citizenship Amendment Act reminds me of the joke where a sergeant says: “All those Privates whose mothers are still alive please take one step backwards….not so fast, Private Jones!” Victims of religious persecution are all granted expedited citizenship… except Muslims.

Make no mistake: Medicare for All would cut taxes for most Americans “it would also lead to the biggest take-home pay raise in a generation”

No Rights. No Games. 《Don’t let China host the Olympics while it is still running concentration camps!》

I still haven’t figured out who bothers me more: leftists who say impeachment is a distraction, or liberals who think it will save us? For me impeachment is like recycling, probably useless, but we still have a moral obligation to do it.