Derek Royden News Today

Apropos of Derek Royden’s commentary (Aug. 16, "Individualism is killing the planet"), you really should do some basic fact checking before publishing leftist propaganda. The substance of the piece is

I’m writing in response to two articles I read on the editorial page Aug. 9.

The history of mercenary fighters — soldiers for hire who might be disciplined fighters abiding by the rules of engagement, or might be plundering freebooters — from ancient Rome to today in Ukraine is often an ugly, brutal, killers-for-hire story.

In Iran, the revolution is being feminized Mahsa Amini, who was preparing to go to university with the goal of becoming a doctor, was taken into custody on Sept. 13 in Tehran by Iranian ‘morality police.’ Her crime? Wearing a hijab they deemed “inappropriate.”

The invasion of Ukraine and the war that it initiated led to coverage of the struggles of ordinary people in a zone of conflict that’s surprisingly rare.

Derek Royden is a freelance writer based in Montreal, Canada with an interest in activism, politics and culture. His work has appeared on Occupy.com, Truthout, Antiwar.com and Gonzo Today as well as in Skunk Magazine.