Moderate Democrats change their tone on Israel
Ritchie Torres is threading a needle after emphatic defense of Israel for most of the war.
from Politico
08/04/2025 05:55 AM EDT
[It's disgusting how feeble and late this is, but it is an indication of how popular sentiment continues to shift against Israel. 👍 ]
In recent days, a majority of Democratic senators voted for a resolution to bar the sale of assault rifles to Israeli police, a marked change in the party since the start of the military conflict. Their unprecedented rebuke comes as polling shows slipping support for Israel among Democratic voters, signaling the prolonged war has potentially caused permanent damage to the country’s relationship with the Democratic Party.
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Imagine having to put down up to a $15k deposit to visit a country, with the “promise” you’ll get the money back as long as you don’t violate your visa.
Visa Bond Pilot Program
NAFSA: Association of International Educators is the world's largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange.NAFSA
Heroes of Might and Magic 2 project fheroes2 version 1.1.10 has been released
Heroes of Might and Magic 2 project fheroes2 version 1.1.10 has been released
A fresh upgrade to the Heroes of Might and Magic 2 game engine fheroes2.fheroes2 (GamingOnLinux)
Any fitness trackers not sending my health data to the USA?
cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/33995436
I am looking for a good fitness tracker to start doing cardio in a more measured way.I was interested in Polar and Oura as EU alternatives (both Finnish companies), but both send data (health data, which is sensitive according to Article 9 of the GDPR) to AWS.
Are you aware of any EU solutions, or at least non-US, Chinese, Russian, or Israeli solutions, that do not send my data to companies in those countries?
I would like to be able to organize something self-hosted, but I don't think I'm capable of doing that yet.
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How we built our multi-agent research system
How we built our multi-agent research system
On the the engineering challenges and lessons learned from building Claude's Research systemwww.anthropic.com
difference of UKI and EFISTUB?
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Aid Air Drop Kills Palestinian Medic – UN Demands Entry of Aid Trucks
A Palestinian medic was killed on Monday after an airdropped aid box fell directly on his head in the Al-Zawayda area in the central Gaza Strip.
Odai Nafez Quraan, a nurse at the Al-Aqsa Hospital, was seen in a video recently condemning the aid drops.
“This is a humiliation,” he said, adding that “if you able to fly in by air and drop aid by air, you are able to break the siege … by way of the land crossing.”
“NFL” Shooting Wasn’t Random
A shooter travels to Manhattan planning to target corporate executives he blames for his health issues. He leaves behind a note that law enforcement won’t release and the news media is happy to quote from selectively but won't publish.
Sound familiar?
The parallels between Shane Tamura, the 27-year-old Nevada man who killed four people in a Midtown Manhattan office one week ago today, and alleged assassin Luigi Mangione are uncanny. Unlike Mangione, however, Tamura’s victims had nothing to do with his reported health issues. As a result, his rampage was framed as a random act of “senseless violence,” as President Trump declared.
But former friends of Tamura’s that I talked to say there’s more to the story: that his suicide note’s reported claim that “football gave me CTE” is plausible, given his many years as a high school football star.
The classmates, while clearly horrified by Tamura’s actions, are also able to appreciate the likelihood that there’s a public health dimension to the shooting. Wouldn’t it be nice if our elected leaders were capable of that kind of nuance? That’s certainly how I feel about it, and why I hope that the media publishes the notes he left behind: not to glorify anything but to understand what happened and how it might be prevented from happening again.
What little we know about the writing Tamura left behind reportedly includes three separate references to
- “You can’t go against the NFL, they’ll squash
- “Study my brain please I’m sorry.”
- “Terry Long football gave me CTE and it caused my to drink a gallon of antifreeze.”
Terry Long, who played as an offensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 80s and 90s, committed suicide in 2005 by drinking antifreeze. An autopsy revealed that Long had been suffering from CTE.
“NFL” Shooting Wasn’t Random
Another manifesto gets censored in a case that needs transparencyKen Klippenstein
“NFL” Shooting Wasn’t Random
A shooter travels to Manhattan planning to target corporate executives he blames for his health issues. He leaves behind a note that law enforcement won’t release and the news media is happy to quote from selectively but won't publish.
Sound familiar?
The parallels between Shane Tamura, the 27-year-old Nevada man who killed four people in a Midtown Manhattan office one week ago today, and alleged assassin Luigi Mangione are uncanny. Unlike Mangione, however, Tamura’s victims had nothing to do with his reported health issues. As a result, his rampage was framed as a random act of “senseless violence,” as President Trump declared.
But former friends of Tamura’s that I talked to say there’s more to the story: that his suicide note’s reported claim that “football gave me CTE” is plausible, given his many years as a high school football star.
The classmates, while clearly horrified by Tamura’s actions, are also able to appreciate the likelihood that there’s a public health dimension to the shooting. Wouldn’t it be nice if our elected leaders were capable of that kind of nuance? That’s certainly how I feel about it, and why I hope that the media publishes the notes he left behind: not to glorify anything but to understand what happened and how it might be prevented from happening again.
What little we know about the writing Tamura left behind reportedly includes three separate references to
- “You can’t go against the NFL, they’ll squash
- “Study my brain please I’m sorry.”
- “Terry Long football gave me CTE and it caused my to drink a gallon of antifreeze.”
Terry Long, who played as an offensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 80s and 90s, committed suicide in 2005 by drinking antifreeze. An autopsy revealed that Long had been suffering from CTE.
“NFL” Shooting Wasn’t Random
Another manifesto gets censored in a case that needs transparencyKen Klippenstein
Democrat Cory Booker refuses to endorse Zohran Mamdani
Link to the video: xcancel.com/kenklippenstein/st…
For those who want an article instead of Twitter screenshots: it was either this or New York Post.
Tommy Robinson arrested over alleged assault at London station
The far-right activist known as Tommy Robinson has been arrested by British police on suspicion of grievous bodily harm after a man was allegedly assaulted at a London railway station.
Video from the scene of the alleged assault, which showed a 64-year-old man on the ground, also recorded Robinson appearing to claim he had acted in self-defence.
The injured man was released from hospital on Thursday. Police are understood to be treating him as a victim, not a suspect, at this stage. Police have said he was admitted to hospital “with serious injuries which are not thought to be life-threatening”.
Tommy Robinson arrested over alleged assault at London station
Video posted online showed the far-right activist near a man lying on the ground at St Pancras stationVikram Dodd (The Guardian)
cava tint2 module?
Congratulations to Linux on recent victories!
They see you clearly on the world stage.
Be strong. Be Vigilant. Stay safe.
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Former magistrate, 81, faces six months in jail for Palestine Action vigil
Former magistrate, 81, faces six months in jail for Palestine Action vigil
Cornish pensioner arrested at Truro cathedral falls foul of government’s labelling of direct action group as a terrorist organisationJon Ungoed-Thomas (The Observer)
Cuba land lease to Vietnamese company reaps rich harvest – DW – 07/30/2025
cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/34128492
Andreas Knobloch
Los Palacios
07/30/2025
Cuba has let farmland to a foreign company for the first time since its 1959 revolution, when all foreign landowners were expropriated. But can the #Vietnamese investor help rescue the island's struggling agriculture?Under efforts to spur the domestic #rice output, the Cuban government has asked #Vietnam for help because the two countries have maintained friendly relations for decades, intensifying especially agricultuiral cooperation in recent years.
For Perez, the Los Palacios project marks a entirely new level of partnership though.
Privately owned Agri VMA is managing the lease largely independent from state interference, with operations being based on a business contract. The company has brought to Cuba its own resources, technical experts, and seeds from hybrid rice varieties developed in Vietnam.
Cuba land lease to Vietnamese company reaps rich harvest – DW – 07/30/2025
Andreas Knobloch
Los Palacios
07/30/2025Cuba has let farmland to a foreign company for the first time since its 1959 revolution, when all foreign landowners were expropriated. But can the #Vietnamese investor help rescue the island's struggling agriculture?Under efforts to spur the domestic #rice output, the Cuban government has asked #Vietnam for help because the two countries have maintained friendly relations for decades, intensifying especially agricultuiral cooperation in recent years.
For Perez, the Los Palacios project marks a entirely new level of partnership though.
Privately owned Agri VMA is managing the lease largely independent from state interference, with operations being based on a business contract. The company has brought to Cuba its own resources, technical experts, and seeds from hybrid rice varieties developed in Vietnam.
Cuba land lease to Vietnamese company reaps rich harvest
Cuba has let farmland to a foreign company for the first time since its 1959 revolution, when all foreign landowners were expropriated. But can the Vietnamese investor help rescue the island's struggling agriculture?Andreas Knobloch (Deutsche Welle)
Over half of Germans would not fight for their country
Over half of Germans would not fight for their country
Survey finds 59 per cent of respondents ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ unwilling to take up armsJames Rothwell (The Telegraph)
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Russia’s advance in Ukraine accelerates for fourth straight month
Russia’s advance in Ukraine accelerates for fourth straight month
Vladimir Putin’s invasion force captured 275 square miles of Ukrainian territory compared to the 30 square miles reclaimed by Kyiv’s troopsJoe Barnes (The Telegraph)
"On Friday, he (trump) said Russia had lost 112,500 soldiers since the beginning of the year, while Ukraine had lost some 8,000, not including those who are still missing"
The ghost of kyiv has single-handedly killed 100,000 of the asiatic hordes!
That's the funniest set of bullshit casualty numbers I've seen yet.
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"When a person is elected, they may have some ideas. Then people with briefcases arrive, well dressed, wearing dark suits. These people start explaining how things are done and instantly everything changes. This happens with every administration."
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'Unjustified and unreasonable': India calls out US, EU over oil trade with Russia; pans double standards
“India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” the MEA said in a statement, while pointing out that the US and European Union have themselves continued trade with Russia, including in energy and critical commodities, despite publicly opposing the Ukraine conflict.
'Unjustified and unreasonable': India calls out US, EU over oil trade with Russia; pans double standards
India News: NEW DELHI: India on Monday pushed back against US President Donald Trump’s threat to “substantially” raise tariffs on Indian goods over its continued .TOI News Desk (The Times Of India)
Brazil supreme court judge orders house arrest of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro
US condemns Brazil supreme court judge for ordering house arrest of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro
US claims judge attempting ‘to silence opposition’ as Bolsonaro accused of breaching ban imposed amid fears he may abscond ahead of trialTiago Rogero (The Guardian)
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he should be dancing the spandau ballet, but considering this is an internal conflict of the brazilian bourgeoisie, i'll take what it comes and try to use the situation to continue facilitating a sense of class consciousness in the brazilian working class.
edit: this is not his final verdict, however. he got house arrested "just" because he broke some court imposed bans, such as appearing live on social media. it is expected that the supreme court judges will handle his trial this month.
Texas House reconvenes without quorum as Democrats flee state
Texas Democrats in the state legislature denied its speaker a legislative quorum Monday by leaving the state, forestalling plans proposed by the White House to redistrict Texas’s congressional lines to more greatly favor Republicans.
Democrats hold 62 of the 150 seats in the legislature’s lower chamber, so as long as at least 51 members remain out of Austin, the Texas legislature cannot move forward with any votes, including a plan to redraw the state’s congressional maps to give Republicans five more seats in Congress.
In an extraordinary escalation, the state’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, said he he had ordered the Texas department of public safety to “locate, arrest and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans”
Texas house pushes forward on redistricting as Democrats vow to fight
Lawmakers travel to Illinois, New York and elsewhere to stop vote on Republicans’ redistricting planGeorge Chidi (The Guardian)
Texas House reconvenes without quorum as Democrats flee state
Texas Democrats in the state legislature denied its speaker a legislative quorum Monday by leaving the state, forestalling plans proposed by the White House to redistrict Texas’s congressional lines to more greatly favor Republicans.
Democrats hold 62 of the 150 seats in the legislature’s lower chamber, so as long as at least 51 members remain out of Austin, the Texas legislature cannot move forward with any votes, including a plan to redraw the state’s congressional maps to give Republicans five more seats in Congress.
In an extraordinary escalation, the state’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, said he he had ordered the Texas department of public safety to “locate, arrest and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans”
Texas house pushes forward on redistricting as Democrats vow to fight
Lawmakers travel to Illinois, New York and elsewhere to stop vote on Republicans’ redistricting planGeorge Chidi (The Guardian)
☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆ likes this.
Investor confidence in EU drops after Trump’s Brussels trade deal
he data provider said its weekly survey of thousands of investors in more than 20 countries showed that the pact was a “deal that dampens the mood”, with Trump and the US viewed as “winners” at the expense of the eurozone.
“The result is devastating for the eurozone,” said Manfred Hübner, the managing director of the Sentix economic index. “The current situation and expectations are both declining. The wrinkles of concern in the economy are deepening again.”
Investor confidence in EU drops after Trump’s Brussels trade deal
Agreement is said to ‘dampen the mood’, with the US viewed as the winner at the expense of the eurozoneRichard Partington (The Guardian)
Irish president urges UN to intervene in Gaza, citing ‘destruction of an entire people’
Irish President Michael D. Higgins has called on the UN to take urgent action in Gaza, asking Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to invoke powers under Chapter Seven to bypass Security Council gridlock and deliver humanitarian aid, Anadolu reports.
“Are we to watch children starving, women dehydrated, or trying to feed their children? So something must happen,” he said.
President Higgins expressed support for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to invoke powers under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter—a mechanism that allows for enforcement action, including the use of force, without Security Council approval if deemed necessary.
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Trump administration says it will withhold disaster funding to states boycotting Israel
US states and territories that boycott Israeli companies or those operating in Israel will be denied federal funds for natural disaster preparation, Reuters reported on Monday.
This $1bn allocation, which will apply to 15 different grant programmes, is part of the "Notices of Funding Opportunity amounting to more than $2.2 billion available to state, local, tribal and territorial governments to help them protect American citizens", Fema states on its website.
However, Reuters said at least $1.9bn of this funding was conditional on states following Department of Homeland Security conditions laid out in April, saying states will not cut “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies or companies doing business in or with Israel” to qualify, according to 11 agency grant notices it reviewed.
Trump administration says it will withhold disaster funding to states boycotting Israel
US states and territories that boycott Israeli companies or those operating in Israel will be denied federal funds for natural disaster preparation, Reuters reported on Monday.
This $1bn allocation, which will apply to 15 different grant programmes, is part of the "Notices of Funding Opportunity amounting to more than $2.2 billion available to state, local, tribal and territorial governments to help them protect American citizens", Fema states on its website.
However, Reuters said at least $1.9bn of this funding was conditional on states following Department of Homeland Security conditions laid out in April, saying states will not cut “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies or companies doing business in or with Israel” to qualify, according to 11 agency grant notices it reviewed.
Russian Forces Tighten the Noose Around Pokrovsk in Relentless Advance
Russian Forces Tighten the Noose Around Pokrovsk in Relentless Advance
The Pokrovsk (formerly Krasnoarmeysk) direction has become the focal point of Russia’s grinding offensive in eastern Ukraine, with Moscow’s forces......Anonymous103 (South Front)
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don't like this
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Sorry I didn't mean for this conversation to become a semantic debate.
My original point was merely that the original source is clearly highly biased towards Russia. Mr/ms jackeroni then implied that I was brainwashed by big media, and I was then trying to make the point that just because someone doesn't like Russian propaganda, that doesn't necessarily make them an imperialist drone.
Mr/Ms Cowbee then imply that I am calling Russia imperialist, which I wasn't. I just said they aren't anti-imperialist, which they clearly aren't. Just because they are in opposition to the current primary empire, simply doesn't make them anti-imperialist.
I feel like criticising a news outlet for being biased towards Russia made me the target of two straw man arguments in a very short period of time. Is that normal for this sub?
Working against imperialism for selfish, pragmatic reasons, is still anti-imperialist. There isn't an ideological basis for it, sure, but the actions fundamentally undermine global imperialism as the primary obstacle towards global socialism.
As for jackeroni posting pro-Russian sources, they've stated that they intend on making the information field more even than purely using western sources. Exposure to non-western points of view is helpful analysis.
As a side note, there's no need to say "Mr/Ms." You can just say "they," use the usernames, or use the listed pronouns if people have them.
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Working against imperialism for selfish, pragmatic reasons, is still anti-imperialist. There isn't an ideological basis for it, sure, but the actions fundamentally undermine global imperialism as the primary obstacle towards global socialism.
I don't see how Russia undermines global imperialism, sorry. Putin sometimes tries to frame his regime that way, but that narrative crumbles with the slightest critical analysis. The Ukrainian war feeds the military industrial complex globally, creates new oppressive narratives in the West, and overall strengthens the global elites. How is that anti-imperialist?
As for jackeroni posting pro-Russian sources, they've stated that they intend on making the information field more even than purely using western sources. Exposure to non-western points of view is helpful analysis.
I completely agree. It just seems from the context that they might have a different agenda. What do you make of their strong-arm emoji in their description of the link?
Thanks for the style tip 😊
The Russo-Ukrainian War has generally not worked out in the west's favor, and the resources tied up in it have allowed countries in the global south to align themselves more with the PRC or even pursue national sovereignty, like Burkina Faso. Further, the Russo-Ukrainian War has shown that the west is severely deficient in industrial production, the west has flashy toys but can't field them for long. It hasn't strengthened the imperialist bourgeoisie, in fact it's been more of an increase in imperial overhead costs in keeping the system going.
As for jackeroni's agenda, they are pro-Russian in the Russo-Ukrainian War. I wasn't trying to argue against that point. I disagree with the appeared implication that jackeroni is paid propaganda, they haven't made that seem apparent and sufficient evidence is needed, but if your point is that being pro-Russian means the post itself should be discarded I also disagree. Careful analysis of the facts at hand requires looking at all sides, which is something I think you're agreeing with.
You make a good point, but in my eyes Russia is just another cog in the machine. Both sides are the same and the Ukrainian war keeps the engine going. Powerful men sacrifice their country's youth on the altar of greed. Nothing new under the sun. There are competing empires within the Empire but it all just solidifies the same selfish attitudes. Anti-imperialism (okay let's get semantic) is something far more subversive in my view.
I didn't say they were paid propaganda, I said they have a different agenda than just leveling the playing field. Which you now also confirm. I also haven't said that the post should be discarded. I just said that it's Russian propaganda (which it is) and I think that's important context. Maybe it's obvious to everyone but me, but I think people should know, and that's why I commented.
I don't follow, if Russia is fundamentally opposed to western imperialism for its own selfish, pragmatic, even existential reasons, then it's working against imperialism. Russia is not allowed to be a cog in the imperial machine, it asked to be allowed in 2 and a half decades ago but was denied. Russia is a bourgeois nationalist country, sure, it isn't a beacon of socialism, but it's backed into a corner and forced into working with socialist countries like the PRC and working against global imperialism just to continue existing. Russia can't be an empire, it has neither the colonies to extract from nor the financial capital to do so.
As for being propaganda or not, do you list, say, the NYT as western propaganda in the comments too? I think most people are capable of recognizing pro-Russian and anti-Russian sources at this point, so I'm not quite sure what point you're serving other than to draw additonal emphasis.
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I don't follow, if Russia is fundamentally opposed to western imperialism for its own selfish, pragmatic, even existential reasons, then it's working against imperialism. Russia is not allowed to be a cog in the imperial machine, it asked to be allowed in 2 and a half decades ago but was denied. Russia is a bourgeois nationalist country, sure, it isn't a beacon of socialism, but it's backed into a corner and forced into working with socialist countries like the PRC and working against global imperialism just to continue existing. Russia can't be an empire, it has neither the colonies to extract from nor the financial capital to do so.
I don't know if we can converge on this topic. I think our analyses are just based on very different premises. To me, the system that even allows the West/Russia dichotomy to exist is the Empire, i.e. the current world order which centers around the idea of private property. Anti-empirialism is about fighting the right to property itself.
As for being propaganda or not, do you list, say, the NYT as western propaganda in the comments too? I think most people are capable of recognizing pro-Russian and anti-Russian sources at this point, so I'm not quite sure what point you're serving other than to draw additonal emphasis.
I do, in fact, make a point of pointing out when the media is biased. The Russo-Ukrainian war is not something I debate a lot, and might be a little naive when it comes to the reporting on the issue. I'm sorry if I upset someone by stating something obvious.
I'm a Marxist-Leninist, I'm using Lenin's analysis of imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism. The global north/south divide is imperialism. Russia is not the only country incentivized more to work against the global system of western hegemony, the entire global south stands to gain. Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism, but isn't synonymous with private property. Imperialism is currently a system by which the west loots and plunders the world through massive financial capital and uses millitary force to cement this system. It's why most goods are produced in the global south yet consumed in the global north. Russia isn't a benefactor of that system, it isn't a participant, and is materially incentivized into working against it despite relying on private property because its kept out of it.
Anti-imperialism is about fighting imperialism. We cannot fundamentally progress towards fighting private property without accurately analyzing and engaging the system that most directly perpetuates it globally. Countries in the global south are intentionally underdeveloped to keep them under the thumb of empire, and are attacked with force if they express sovereignty and lack nukes.
As for pointing out when the media is biased, it always is. Bias isn't avoidable. There's hidden bias and overt bias, it's important to distinguish but ultimately all media is told from a viewpoint and with an agenda.
Imperialism - ProleWiki
Imperialism is the highest stage of the capitalist mode of production, in which monopolies and cartels become the prevalent economic force of society. Lenin synthesized...ProleWiki
That's fair enough. I am familiar with Marxist-Leninist analysis. I even once called myself a Marxist-Leninist. But I personally don't think today's capitalism can be described in those terms anymore. I don't really want to subscribe to a certain way of thinking but if it helps you understand where I'm coming from, I like Kropotkin and more recently Negri & Hardt.
I suppose, from that perspective, it's possible to define Russia as anti-imperialist. That's fine, but I think that particular fault line is irrelevant to the global revolution. I don't see how sacrificing millions of young Russians on the front lines is a net benefit to the global proletariat. That war is a distraction, and a way to maintain the status quo. And, therefore, counter revolutionary.
It's certainly true that all media is biased but I don't see how explicitly pointing out their bias can be a bad thing. If you really care about the analysis, as you have said earlier, you should also care about having that kind of context.
I truly don't see how a bunch of NATO equipment being destroyed and a significant amount of western resources being poured in as overhead costs is somehow maintaining the status quo. Palestinian liberation heated up, economic ties to the PRC increased, Russia was further economically isolated from the west and had to solidify its alliances further with anti-imperialist countries, and more.
Imperialism isn't a system that everyone perpetuates and participates in. The largest obstacle in the world for any country building socialism, like Cuba, the PRC, or even socialist states that don't exist yet, is the US Empire and western imperialism in general. There is a clear set of benefactors of this global plunder, the global north, and a clear set of victims, the global south. In order to build socialism, we must overcome that system, and that requires us to struggle against it, countries in the global south to break free (like Burkina Faso is doing), etc, and those tasks are halted if NATO is given free reign and imperial resources are itching to be used.
Russia isn't ideologically working against imperialism, but it does do because it needs to to survive.
Who is benefiting from NATO equipment being destroyed? Arms manufacturers. It's not a null-sum game. They just make more arms. The Russo-Ukrainian war is just what the conservative establishment in Europe has been waiting for. The defense budgets are currently being boosted significantly. Who is befitting? Arms manufacturers. The establishment. This is not weakening imperialism, even in the narrow, Marxist-Leninist, sense. It's strengthening it.
I agree with the entire second paragraph you write. I just think Russia, and in particular the Russian elite (which runs the country) absolutely benefits from imperialism (again, in the narrow sense). They are deeply integrated in the Western capitalist banking hegemony. They own half of London. Until the war started, they supplied all of Western Europe with gas, and was paid in imperialist money. Hence benefiting from the global imperialist exploitation.
On a side note, I can't believe what a toxic place this sub is. People keep downvoting my replies simply because they don't agree with me. This is the first and last time I have contributed to this community. Enjoy your echo chamber.
The west is heavily de-industrialized. There's increased demand for millitary equipment, but very little in the way of factories to reproduce them. Palestine has benefited massively from the west not being able to fully commit to Israel, as an example. There just aren't the actual factories necessary to continue to front proxy wars for NATO, again, big flashy toys but no real industry to keep fielding them. It's the cost of empire increasing. I cannot fathom a world where this is benefiting empire, just like how the cost of maintaining empire increasing led to the collapse of the British Empire and the rise of the US Empire.
As for Russia benefiting from imperialism, no, not really. The vast bulk of Russia's capital exports are for tax havens. Russia has billionaires and the ultra-wealthy, but is absolutely sidelined by the west and is blocked out of looting and plundering the global south because of it. Also, selling the west gas isn't the same as plundering the global south through financial domination, trade isn't imperialism.
Russia lacks finance capital and division of the world's resources. It only has 4 of the top 100 corporations in the world and 6 of the top 500. 82% of Russian exports are raw materials, including 58% oil, 11% metal, and 6% food. In 2017, Russia imported $106.2 billion worth' of machine goods and only exported $12.8 billion. Russia does not have any of the top 100 corporations in terms of capital export, and most Russian capital export is capital flight to tax havens. Russia only controls 0.7% of the world's wealth and has much less wealth per adult than the United States ($8,843 vs $336,528). Russia has intervened militarily in other countries such as Yugoslavia, Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria, but not to seize natural resources like imperialist countries do.
As for toxicity, I can't really say I agree. Don't put too much stock into downvotes, but at the same time, try to reconsider your own positions.
try to reconsider your own positions.
Try to go out into the real world and talk to some real people some time. Honestly, I mean it, not as a mean comment, but sincere concern. You are clearly very well read and informed. But there is a world beyond discussing theory with random strangers on the internet.
Imagine acting this way and being pressed that people are being toxic to you. There's no one in the world who could have been more patient with you and you turn around in spit in their face like this while complaining about the toxicity of the sub.
You haven't been met with a fraction of hostility and downvotes you deserve. You showed up in the first place to be a vapid piece of shit troll and you haven't changed your attitude since. I sincerely hope you make good on your threat and fuck off forever.
Sorry I didn’t mean for this conversation to become a semantic debate.
There's literally no other way to interpret your comment
because you disagree with them
Literally what MAGA say
Erasing all context like this until being mean to someone who (well nevermind what they did or said) is the only offense that happened.
You libs are constantly accusing people with actual politics of being the same as MAGA. But it's always projection.
Literally what MAGA say
Whatever.
Erasing all context like this until being mean to someone who (well nevermind what they did or said) is the only offense that happened.
I'm having a hard time understanding what you are trying to say here.
You libs are constantly accusing people with actual politics of being the same as MAGA. But it's always projection.
This is a complete straw man argument. If anyone is protecting, it's you.
I'm feeling sorry for you, mate. It must be tough living in the US when you have socialist ideas. I hope you'll be happy some day.
Nothing has worked for me thus far so now I'll try passive aggression!
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Because like you they are some mixture of stupid and evil.
Are you stupid because you don't realize I'm being completely fair by coming back at that shithead for being hypocritical and a troll? Or are you evil because you're just at an ideological dead end and mindlessly defend US empire?
No he's right. Wagner was basically created to help Russian proxies in power in Africa, and Russia arm(ed) many militias and fueled plenty of conflict.
Besides the Western empire it's pretty much only Russia who actively participates in armed conflict around the globe. Albeit on a far smaller scale and more concentrated around their own interests.
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Imperialism - ProleWiki
Imperialism is the highest stage of the capitalist mode of production, in which monopolies and cartels become the prevalent economic force of society. Lenin synthesized...ProleWiki
It's not "conflicts" though. It's backing a government or militant group, often in the Global South, in exchange for their own benefit
Russia's Wagner Group 'getting rich in Sudan' from gold mines and government
Russia's Wagner Group 'getting rich in Sudan' from gold mines and government
Sudan’s military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan issued an order preventing the search of a Russian military plane suspected of smuggling gold, a former Sudanese anti-corruption official has told the New York Times.Oscar Rickett (Middle East Eye)
I really recommend you read the article I linked, if you haven't. It directly addresses the Russian Federation. Here's an excerpt from that section:
Russia lacks finance capital and division of the world's resources. It only has 4 of the top 100 corporations in the world and 6 of the top 500. 82% of Russian exports are raw materials, including 58% oil, 11% metal, and 6% food. In 2017, Russia imported $106.2 billion worth' of machine goods and only exported $12.8 billion. Russia does not have any of the top 100 corporations in terms of capital export, and most Russian capital export is capital flight to tax havens. Russia only controls 0.7% of the world's wealth and has much less wealth per adult than the United States ($8,843 vs $336,528). Russia has intervened militarily in other countries such as Yugoslavia, Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria, but not to seize natural resources like imperialist countries do.[7]
Simply put, the Russian Federation doesn't have the same mass of financial capital by which they can dominate the global south like the west does. No country intervenes millitantly without doing so for personal benefit, that would be absurd, but that also doesn't mean Russia is an empire either. The vast bulk of Russia's consumption comes from goods it produces fot itself, this is quite opposed to western countries that consume the bulk of the value the global south produces while in turn producing far less.
Russia not being as massive and having far less influence doesn't discard if from doing imperialism. There can be multiple empires.
But are you saying that nothing in my linked article is true? I know NYT regularly makes stuff up but Russia definitely backs the Sudanese government militarily.
The Western backed UAE is currently trying to overthrow the Russian backed government in Sudan with the RSF. The gold flow from Sudan to Russia isn't much of a conspiracy.
As part of an investigation that sheds further light on Russian involvement in Sudan’s gold mining operations, the former official said that on 23 June 2021, a Sudanese general, acting on an order from Burhan, prevented the search of a plane operated by the Russian military.Sudanese officials, who were part of an anti-corruption body that was dismantled after last year’s military coup, at the time suspected that the plane was one of a number of Russian military aircraft involved in smuggling gold directly from Sudan to Moscow.
The revelation comes as details of the involvement of the Wagner Group, a private military contractor with close links to the Kremlin, in gold mining across Sudan and its neighbouring countries continue to emerge. In Sudan, records show that the Russian mercenary network has secured lucrative Sudanese mining concessions that produce a stream of gold.
The reason why I keep recommending you read the article I linked is because we are talking about 2 entirely different concepts. We can't really have a conversation about imperialism if that means two completely different things between the two of us. I am not saying everything the NYT says is wrong, I'm saying we need to get on the same page to even have a discussion.
If you aren't going to at least read the article and try to understand my perspective, would you at least do me the favor of explaining what you believe imperialism to be? I think that's the least you could do.
We might indeed be talking past eachother. I read your page before writing my response but from what I understand it seems to just add arbitrary requirements to the word "imperialism" so that it can only encompass the West.
Imperialism for me is meddling in the politics of foreign countries for the benefit of the home country and heavily against the interest of the foreign country. Especially when people are put in power whom the population dislike but cannot get rid of because of the foreign backing.
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The reason imperialism is outlined the way it is by Marxist-Leninists is because it's a useful definition. It very specifically describes the way the world functions today, what gives rise to imperialism and why, and how to overcome it. Lenin's analysis is useful because it explains how all capitalism works towards imperialism if it is able to, and gives us the tools to overcome it. It explains why revolution happens in the global south, not the global north.
As for your definition, it's a bit loaded here. All countries meddle in others for their own benefits, the second part where you say it's against the interests of the imperialized country is doing all of the heavy lifting. Moreover, there's no systemic analysis for why this comes to be in some countries and not others. The reason Marxism-Leninism is useful is because it's actionable, and helps make predictions for the future.
As for Russia, Sudan is in the midst of a civil war right now, it's in the interests of everyone that it is stabilized as quickly as possible. Russia having an extraction industry in Sudan is not the issue at hand, nor is Russia directy contributing to civil strife. Russia has a good reputation in Africa, genuinely, for being a much better business partner than the west, similar to the PRC but not as good, and this is because Russia lacks the financial capital to dominate African countries.
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Sudan is in "civil war" (more like proxy war between imperialist powers) and
Sudan war: Russia hedges bets by aiding both sides in conflictRussia is moving to develop and secure its strategic interests in Sudan, offering the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) weapons while continuing to help supply the SAF’s enemy, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary, through the Wagner Group.
The definition on your page excludes Russia from anything by literally excluding Communists from being able to do imperialism.
The territorial division of the whole world among the biggest capitalist powers. This expansion to Marx's analysis of capitalist development was one of Lenin's most important theoretical contributions to political economy.
Not that I would classify Russia as Communist anyway since the fall of the USSR. Though Russia does have a lot of billionaires falling out of windows lately so maybe the transition is ongoing.
Yes, socialist countries cannot be imperialist as Lenin laid imperialism out. Socialist countries can, of course, benefit from trade or interaction with countries of lower development, but without the M-C...P...C'-M' circuit there's no real drive for the same dominance of financial capital nor exporting capital. It makese sense that moving beyond the profit motive means you are no longer beholden to the drives of the profit motive, and lack the financial incentive to practice imperialism.
The way you define imperialism is similar to the way people would define murder, as an action, but one where the definition says nothing about its origins or how to tackle it systemically. As for Russia, it isn't socialist, it just trades with socialist countries heavily and is a nationalist bourgeois country. My point isn't that Russia is in Sudan for any reason other than profit, my point is that Russia does not have the means to financially dominate Sudan and plunder it.
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The Roman empire did a lot of imperialism and they predated capitalism quite a bit.
It makes sense that moving beyond the profit motive means you are no longer beholden to the drives of the profit motive, and lack the financial incentive to practice imperialism.
I'm not familiar with the MC P C M circuit but Russia is getting a lot of money out of Sudan which is not going to the Sudanese people And Russia does dominate Sudan. So much so in fact, that America made their own South Sudan. With blackjack and hookers. And a big concentration camp for ICE.
Would it be so that America would colonize all of Sudan if Russia wasn't backing the current Sudanese government? Yes. But Russia isn't exactly delivering much value to the Sudanese people either. And they're getting a lot of gold out of it. This is not altruism.
Yes, Rome was imperialist, I didn't say they weren't. The reasons I say socialist countries aren't imperialist don't apply to Rome.
As for the M-C...P...C'-M' circuit, that does apply to Russia. Russia is capitalist. The circuit described is Money to buy the commodities "means of production" and "labor power," which then go to production, which results in new commodities of higher value sold for a greater sum of money than initially fronted. Capitalism is dominated by this circuit, socialism is not.
As for Russia engaging in "altruism," I never stated they were. I think you're misreading a lot of what I'm saying. I'm not saying that in a mean way, I just think you should do a reread. I don't distill all geopolitical interaction to just "imperialism vs altruism," there can be beneficial trade that isn't imperialist. The way Russia engages with Africa is qualitatively different from the US and Europe, and more similar to the PRC, because Russia lacks the financial capital to do so. It isn't altruism.
The problem with Communist literature is that it keeps referencing unfamiliar terms in every single article and it seems to wholly reject using common language it would be possible to do so. Meaning it's impossible for anyone who hasn't read all other literature to understand what's being said. Previously I tried reading Communist pieces, which I believe you linked, and ended up at descriptions of what elite circles were after 30 minutes of heavy literature. Which is why I urge Communists to stop using French terms like "proletariat" and "bourgeousie" (and especially "petit bourgeousie" that's just the stupidest term).
That tangent aside, I don't think Russia and China are comparable in Africa. China arguably benefits the local population by building infrastructure, whereas Russia doesn't do much more than extract resources.
The relative difficulty of getting into Marxist-Leninist theory is a totally valid point. Part of the issue stems from the fact that Marxism-Leninism is over a century old, and Marxism is older than that. However, using a bunch of synonyms can make it more confusing to look back on theory and understand it, it boxes us into contemporary terms that the capitalist superstructure has molded its favor. "Business owner" sounds much less nefarious than "bourgeoisie," because the former has connotations grounded in our daily capitalist experience.
This is more of a philosophical argument, though, your base frustration is absolutely valid. It's an investment to read theory, I'm not going to pretend that it's all obvious. I've been reading theory for years, and I still don't have a firm grasp on everything, just the fundamentals. I just disagree with cedeing control of language to the bourgeoisie.
As for Russia and China, Russia is closer to China than it is to the west when it comes to Africa. Russia does not have the financial capital to dominate Africa. The terms of its trade have to be more beneficial to African countries than the west, because they can't rely on financial domination to fix terms. China isn't developing Africa out of simple altruism either, it needs minerals and customers as well, but the qualitative difference between Russia/China vs the West is that the West takes everything that would normally be invested in development as profits for themselves, while Russia cannot do the same, and China has different material incentives as it needs to build up international trade and its own self-reliance to survive capitalist encirclement.
If older Marxist theory is too impenetrable, a good work I'm reading now is How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney. It helps explain that trade isn't bad itself, it's the nature of capitalist imperialism that underdevelops African countries. Russia doesn't have the same tools nor resources to do so.
Don't they plunder resources though? apnews.com/article/central-afr…
Yes some break free from the West but Russia is backing full on "bad guys" which, just like what the West does, provide Russia with their resources. Hell they're backing both sides in Sudan, of which the RSF is objectively awful and mostly on the side of the West.
I guess the "positive" is that because Russia provides an alternative for opposition, it becomes far more costly for the Western hegemony to maintain the colonies.
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So Russia is helping the Sudanese government from the bottom of their heart and not for monetary gains of gold? I call them proxies because they would fall apart without foreign backing since they don't have the support of the population.
Sure Russia can "back the good guys". In fact since the Western empire is the colonizer of Africa, it means that whatever Russia backs is by default "fighting imperialism". But Russia isn't helping countries out of goodwill. They also want natural resources in return.
China on the other hand is a lot better because they don't get involved militarily.
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Trump administration says it will withhold disaster funding to states boycotting Israel
US states and territories that boycott Israeli companies or those operating in Israel will be denied federal funds for natural disaster preparation, Reuters reported on Monday.
This $1bn allocation, which will apply to 15 different grant programmes, is part of the "Notices of Funding Opportunity amounting to more than $2.2 billion available to state, local, tribal and territorial governments to help them protect American citizens", Fema states on its website.
However, Reuters said at least $1.9bn of this funding was conditional on states following Department of Homeland Security conditions laid out in April, saying states will not cut “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies or companies doing business in or with Israel” to qualify, according to 11 agency grant notices it reviewed.
Fyodor Lukyanov: Europe’s last security project is quietly collapsing
Fyodor Lukyanov: Europe’s last security project is quietly collapsing
The spirit of Helsinki is gone, and so is the old idea of European securityRT
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Inquiry Regarding NYM VPN
Site: nym.com/
Documentation: nym.com/docs/network
This popped up on my radar last month. The article I was reading touted NYM as the most secure & private VPN on the market and I just wanted to run it by the pros here to see if anyone has a bead on NYM or perhaps uses NYM.
They have an implimentation in their network they call 'Mixnet'. It's a random noise generator, which sounds intriguing:
If you're into comparisons, the Nym mixnet is conceptually similar to other systems such as Tor, but provides improved protections against end-to-end timing attacks which can de-anonymize users. When Tor was first fielded, in 2002, those kinds of attacks were regarded as science fiction. But the future is now here
Does anyone have any sauce on NYM VPN?
'preash
Nym | the world's most private VPN for desktop & mobile
Stay private online with Nym’s decentralized VPN. Block trackers, hide your IP, and browse safely—now 80% off during our early bird offer.Nym Technologies SA
my opinion about nym VPN for now is..
it's not very stable, and it was very unstable up until recently
before two things were very very annoying that tree me off, first is the connection was getting stuck after exactly one hour saying that everything is connected when it wasn't, and the second issue is partly of too many reconnects was that my *tb allowance was exhausted after 60gb which happened many months in a row
there are not as many nodes for the same country as I would like to have, and many nodes have not really good health (like websites ask for captcha or don't let you in)
on the other hand, if without tax and paying for two years with crypto, you can get it very very very cheap
and nym promised to be very secure and etc, and with more development the whole experience will get better
(like websites ask for captcha or don’t let you in)
Thank you for your comment. As far as captcha, the way I have my network set up, captcha's are just part of the 'way it is'. I would rather captchas than have my jimmy just hanging out exposed in the ether tho. I was just very curious about NYM because it sounds very promising. The reviews I've read from as recent as 01-25 place NYM in the beta range of development tho, so I'll keep an eye on it.
You can see the mixnet as network masquerade with technologies such as vless/v2ray/Trojan
I have no experience yet, but wanted to purchase it. I'll wait for some more experience here.
Anything positive you associate with capitalism is an accident of history.
Capitalism isn't freedom. It isn't trade. It isn't competition. It isn't the rule of law. It isn't markets. It isn't the absence of a centrally-planned economy. It sure as fuck isn't democracy.Capitalism is capital being in charge. It is the organization of society around the interests of capital, which are further consolidation and the generation of profits.
Anything positive you associate with capitalism is an accident of history.
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