A few more good news items in the day

[sabotabby]

As you know (you know about this, right?), India's government, which is led by the corrupt, far-right Modi, recently passed the anti-Muslim Citizen Amendment Act. There are widespread protests and things are looking very, very bad, but I'm going to give you one little spark of hope, which is that protestors in West Bengal came up with a truly ingenious way to block a highway.

According to a report by the Calcutta News TV, police personnel witnessed the scene as mute spectators while men chopped onions, potatoes and tomatoes to prepare biryani on the blocked road.

 

This has raised questions over the kind of protest. Police personnel did try to disperse the men making biryani but failed to do so as the protesters surrounded them.

More biryani-based protests please!

As I'm sure you also know, I consider Brazil's Bolsonaro to be the single greatest threat to continued human existence on the planet. And it looks like his terrible environmental policies have come back to bite him on the ass. Or the ear. Anyway he might have cancer. This is the rare time where I'm rooting for the cancer.

Comments

[nyctanthes]

Fuck Modi. Before he became PM he was the minister of Gujarat, my native state (as we say). The minister in charge during the 2002 riots, which he condoned and probably helped to instigate. He's been waiting to do this shit.

And also fuck all the NRIs (non-resident Indians) who continue to support him. Because they have some ass backwards notion of what India is/was and how it should be, even if they haven't lived there in decades.

And finally, fuck the Congress party for having no ideas and vision (for decades!) and thinking that if they stick a Gandhi on the podium and reduce the price of staples people will vote for them.

Whew. Thanks for giving me a place to vent.

[sabotabby]

Vent away! He's up there with Trump and Bibi and Putin as a wave of horrendous fascism that's sweeping the world. I'm actually really surprised we don't hear about what's going on there more as we've got a big Indian population in Toronto (I hear about these things through my friends, not the news).

[nyctanthes]

Yes, and fascism that comes in part from the inability of the opposition parties to get their shit together.

Re: Toronto. I don't know anything about the Desi population there (though I did live in Hamilton for a few years; the key ages of 1-4). If it's anything like the pops. here (e.g, in Houston, where Modi visited), they aren't saying anything because a certain percentage, far larger than I'd like, are supportive of him. Anti-Muslim sentiment is endemic amongst the average middle-to-UMC Hindu NRI. At least the older ones. The ones who donate money...

[sabotabby]

Yeah, I have no idea whether my friends are representative of the Toronto Desi population, seeing as I socialize with folks with roughly similar politics. I do know that some areas, like Brampton, that are very South Asian tend to skew left, though a lot depends on class.

[minoanmiss]

These days politics make strange bedfellows too.

*for once in my life roots for a cancer to take out a bigger cancer*

[sabotabby]

It's a weird position to be in.

Though if he dies of something environment-related it'll be the most poetic of all justices.

[mistersmearcase]

WB said I should read the New Yorker thing about Modi but also said it's deeply disturbing so I dunno right now.

[sabotabby]

There's always the question of awareness = ability to act. Though we can have protests and pressure our governments but ha ha ha sob.

Some additional Brazilian news you might find heartening

[dewline]

Apparently, Balsonaro's son is under continuing investigation despite calls to cease and desist.

Details here:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/18/bolsonaro-brazil-corruption-raids-investigation-flavio-bolsonaro

Re: Some additional Brazilian news you might find heartening

[sabotabby]

Oh yes. Though what will come of it given the corruption, who knows?

[aebleskiver]

Protesting with biryani is genius!

[sabotabby]

Indeed!