Well, Iran and their allies' response may happen sometime this week and apparently they aren't talking to the US in order to negotiate how and where they will hit Israel (and Shoigu arrived in Tehran rather auspiciously), the Bangladeshi government just fell, F16s have been given to Ukraine, there are fascist riots in the UK, and Japan just had its worst stock fall since 1987 and seems to be taking several other countries/corporations with it. I don't really know where to look right now.
The COTW (Country of the Week) label is designed to spur discussion and debate about a specific country every week in order to help the community gain greater understanding of the domestic situation of often-understudied nations. If you've wanted to talk about the country or share your experiences, but have never found a relevant place to do so, now is your chance! However, don't worry - this is still a general news megathread where you can post about ongoing events from any country.
The Country of the Week is Iraq! Feel free to chime in with books, essays, longform articles, even stories and anecdotes or rants. More detail here.
Please check out the HexAtlas!
The bulletins site is here!
The RSS feed is here.
Last week's thread is here.
Israel-Palestine Conflict
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against Israel. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA daily-ish reports on Israel's destruction and siege of Gaza and the West Bank.
English-language Palestinian Marxist-Leninist twitter account. Alt here.
English-language twitter account that collates news (and has automated posting when the person running it goes to sleep).
Arab-language twitter account with videos and images of fighting.
English-language (with some Arab retweets) Twitter account based in Lebanon. - Telegram is @IbnRiad.
English-language Palestinian Twitter account which reports on news from the Resistance Axis. - Telegram is @EyesOnSouth.
English-language Twitter account in the same group as the previous two. - Telegram here.
English-language PalestineResist telegram channel.
More telegram channels here for those interested.
Various sources that are covering the Ukraine conflict are also covering the one in Palestine, like Rybar.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Sources:
Defense Politics Asia's youtube channel and their map. Their youtube channel has substantially diminished in quality but the map is still useful.
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don't want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it's just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists' side.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Pro-Russian Telegram Channels:
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR's former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR's forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster's telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a 'propaganda tax', if you don't believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.
Pro-Ukraine Telegram Channels:
Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.
Tim Walz is a surprising pick. Doubt he’ll be Henry Wallace or LBJ 2.0 but still not bad.
The amount of NATO leftists saying, “I know I’m a communist but I just donated ☺️” makes me realize that the majority of them are probably children or adults under 30. No way in hell would a 50 year old Communist say something like that after getting burned for that long.
Americans just label themselves things. Western leftists are unfortunately not very serious, they just want to find a good label to use, so call themselves whatever flavor of communism seems cool as they vote for a cop. Then when it gets boring they drop it and move on
most useless group of people on the face of the earth. same people who spend 10 paragraphs of the most incoherent political theory you've ever heard trying to explain why Hamas is imperialist. in the revolution, they'll be sitting back on the internet going "hmm, well, I don't know if I can vibe with the violence being displayed by the protestors here... just a bunch of communist LARPers tbh. gonna start reporting them for being dangerous lunatics at this rate"
When Biden was the candidate, I did not want him to win. Because if he did win, what that would signal is that you can openly commit a genocide and not pay a price for it. The movement for the liberation of Palestine in the US would not only lose the gains that have been made, but we would actually probably be rendered completely irrelevant for the next decade plus. The movement would be decimated.
But everything I have seen over the last ~6 weeks has shown me that the pro-Palestine movement has the Democrats and AIPAC scared. We are on the offensive. I don’t believe Biden’s dementia is what did him in. I think his pushing for genocide against the wishes of his base eroded his support with that base, and that’s why no one was there to stand up for him in the end.
You know AIPAC fully pushed for Shapiro. Because AIPAC, as an extension of the Zionist entity itself, is just as incapable of reading the room as the Zionist entity. Maximal support for Israel is demanded by them, no matter the cost. Support Israel even if costs you electorally. AIPAC needed to show who was in charge here, and they didn’t get their way. Now it could have been that Harris wanted Shapiro but the baggage got to be too much. But the reason itself doesn’t matter, what matters is that the public and democrat politicians saw that the Zionist guy got snubbed.
Which is why I want to see how Harris ends up campaigning on Gaza. If she ends up saying all the right things, while obviously I would want her to follow through… even if she doesn’t follow through but still wins, that’s a big win for us. That shows the democrats feel they need to at least bend a knee towards the cause of Palestinian liberation. It shows every other politician that even a god (the Israeli lobby) can bleed. I’m not in a swing state so my vote doesn’t matter and I have some other personal reasons for voting PSL, but if I was in a swing state I would at least keep the option open of voting for Harris/Walz with a fully sufficient platform regarding Gaza.
Full disclosure: I think there will be no revolutionary potential in the US without pressure from outside the country. In addition to the moral issues involved with Palestinian liberation, a free Palestine would be a major blow to US hegemony. So that’s one reason I prioritize it. I would vote for any politician who credibly pushed for the ending of the blockade against Cuba, for example.
Nonetheless I'm impressed at how well they swept it under the rug, it's like the discourse never even happened.
Kamala has been on board since day one and Walz cancelled a meeting with Gazan families after learning that they had actual demands instead of just being a good photo op. Israel will still get support, AIPAC want politicians to be openly enthusiastic about it too.
I am working on a copypasta to throw at anyone who starts puffing up Walz as anything other than the competent fascist we feared would follow Trump.
Other than that, how did you like the play, Mrs. Lincoln?
Very stupid take. It’s not a better environment, leftism exploded under Trump and has stagnated and died under Biden until he began the genocide last October. You yourself have argued Biden and the democrat neocons understand empire better than their opposition and are more ruthless and efficient at reinforcing that empire. Can’t believe you said something so chauvinist and short-sighted, is this a bit?
Who killed you and replaced you with AOC?
This is why I can rarely tell if shipwreck is sincere unless it’s 8 paragraphs about monetary policy
@[email protected] has the remarkable ability of stating a liberal opinion in such a convincing way that even I, who has seen them do this many times and know that they're often sarcastic, am often stumped on whether this is a genuinely held opinion or if they're doing this to troll other people. Like, I see their comments about how Biden is such a great president or that Russia is 10 days from losing or whatever and see all the negative comments about it and go "goddamn it, looks like they caught a bunch of people once again" but there's still like 30% of my brain that's like "...but this is stated with such conviction that maybe they're actually serious...?"
Most other users infuse their sarcasm with enough telltale signs that we don't often have to use the /s tag, but shipwreck just has this great skill at their disposal. Like, if I or many others in this thread went on about how Ukraine's about to beat Russia, then people would automatically know that we were being facetious. I remember when they had that account where the bit was that they were stating liberal opinions in order for other socialists to hone their arguments against, but they were a little too good at it and never stated that they weren't being serious so people got very angry about it
are all your posts about economic policy and how the us is for sure gonna succeed with its economics satire or sincere. I await in baited breath your post about how hezbollah sinking an aircraft carrier is good for the us actually because this means the us can financially dominate europe even more now
figures
The whole site is irony poisoned
Don't fall for the liberal myth that organizing under a Democrat is any better than Trump. Democrat controlled states and cities are more than happy to enact violence against their political enemies, which includes anyone against genocide. The Democrats just make it easier for the average American to ignore, because they hide their fascist violence behind masks of civility and playing up the optics of relatively minuscule crumbs of concessions.
They’ve (shipwreck/kaplya) said this shit and heard the reasons why it’s false before, although I applaud the instinct to convince
A Reddit link was detected in your comment. Here are links to the same location on alternative frontends that protect your privacy.
Please say sike
Although, i feel like youre joking?
I'm going to give you a bit more grace here, given that I generally know where you stand on other stuff.
I would encourage you consider the extent to which the Dems are not better than the GOP for leftist organizing, as much as that they are different in how they affect leftist organizing, while both having the same end goal. Democrats and Republicans are the carrot and the stick of American capital. The former seeks to lull the proletariat into complacency through the use of social democratic programs, which makes the literal act of organizing/building organizations easier, but makes radicalization harder. The latter seeks to beat the proletariat into submission, which makes radicalization easier and organizing harder.
The presidency of Joe Biden did make improvements in labor rights that made it easier for union organizing and such. It also deflated the closest thing you could call to "revolutionary fervor" in the US and let Americans "go back to brunch". Organizing was in a number of ways harder during the Trump presidency, but the 2015-2020 arguably radicalized more Americans than any point in the 50 years prior (there is strong argument for 2008, as well).
However, as the left increases in power, the gap between the carrot and the stick decreases in kind. Social programs become more stratified to benefit the capitalist supporters and the stick becomes bigger and more easily swung against the communist. Both sides take different paths to the same place. That's changes how we have to think and act about the current conditions, but I don't know if one can truly be called better than the other.
I would also encourage you consider the extent to which the America left and our ability to organize is even something that should be considered. There is a strong argument to be made that communism will have to become ascendant in spite of the American left. That's somewhat confusing and contradictory to think about, especially as an American leftist who would like to grow left and take power in the US, but you should still try to be cognizant of that.
incredible post
When Kamala wins, most of the Western Left is going to go to brunch.
Lol
Speaking as someone in the American Left, as unserious as most of us are, people will not become more radical and it will not become easier to organize if the Dema get in. The Dems are essentially opposed to progressive causes and only caucus with them in order to win elections. It is in their best interest to limit progressive demands and movements because it is outside their traditional power base. As such, they will just straight up lie to you, and most progressives are not cynical enough to see through that bullshit, so it de-radicalizes the activists, because they think things 'are being done'.
Then when Democrats show their hands and actually do the bad shit they always wanted to do, you have tied your boat to their anchor and get dragged with them.
False. Worse is better.
Miserable take thank fuck you can't vote lol
I really respect this tbh. Props, shipwreck.
Yes, and if she continues Bidens policies then the US will help the world reach net zero carbon emissions sooner. It's not just the fact that there have been massive subsidies for the coming green energy revolution but also wielding the USAs financial power as a weapon should have its advantages for the environment.
Various eco-neoliberal policies would be enacted to discipline foreign countries so that their economies can be kept smaller (and possibly even shrink) and this will minimize their production and consumption. This means their greenhouse gas emissions would be kept low until they can buy American made green energy after using a trivial amount of fossil fuels from places like Texas and Alaska in the mean time. We won't need ecofascists to destroy foreign countries for the environment if we have these forward thinking policies to guide us.
(How do you do stuff like this so often? This is very hard.)