Welcome again to everybody. Make yourself at home. In the time-honoured tradition of our group, here is the weekly discussion thread.
☭ Matrix homeserver and space
☭ Theory discussion group on /c/theory@lemmygrad.ml
☭ Find theory on ProleWiki, marxists.org, Anna’s Archive, libgen
Tomorrow I’ll be going at a local news radio to talk about “religious freedom in China”. I think I’ve prepared well, but any extra material is very welcome.
I wish you good luck. Moments like that might be important to whomever is listening.
This post might help a lot -> https://lemmygrad.ml/post/9155093
Basically, the post might help to add to the point that China wants to keep religion within healthy boundaries and prosecutes dangerous practices that will hurt people(such as the US evangelicals selling blessings for 1 000 USD).
Qiao Collective has a whole set of resources if you go to the topleft corner of the page, click it, and search around or use the search bar in the website:
https://www.qiaocollective.com/education/socialism-with-chinese-characteristics
Hey, here you go:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsCaI-gsA29xVYzFI-kYWLcx2QhowNBCL
Here is a list to things you might need:
I found YouTube links in your comment. Here are links to the same videos on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
Link 1:
Link 2:
Link 3:
Link 4:
Went to sleep at a friends house who is a history buff. Woke up underneath a huge portret of Lenin. Felt good.
They’re coming for Portland. I don’t know what to do.
Stay safe.
Thank you.
Turbo BASED if Petro actually did it
I had a bad feeling about Gustavo Petro and it seems that he has a mixed performance.
Which is above my expectations.
Most of the anti-ICE organizers I know in my American city are anarchists who are opposed to anything that isn’t “spontaneous” or “autonomous” and try to discourage people from joining or allying with any parties or organizations that try to organize against ICE. They complain that any higher level of organization “co-opts” or “saps energy” from the movement and limits anti-ICE activity to peaceful protesting. If they made these criticisms and then did more themselves then I could get on board with it but when I sat with them during their attempt to blockade a garage that was being used by ICE vehicles I watched as they literally got up and moved the barriers out of the way every time a vehicle needed to pass through. They have bragged about supposedly getting into physical fights with cops during an anti-ICE protest but it seems like that didn’t ultimately make any difference for immigrants. The only other actions I see them encourage are small unaffiliated peaceful protests originating within immigrant communities or documenting and monitoring ICE. I never see them try to grow this baseline into anything that could effectively drive ICE from the city or stop the kidnappings. WTF do I do here. What Is to Be Done. I feel hopeless.
Pretty much what @cfgaussian said. I’m in a similar boat as well.
One of those “grit your teeth” moments where you still try and make friends the best you can in the simplest way of putting it. I always liked meeting newer members and even if they fell out it was good to still keep in touch with some people.
WTF do I do here.
The only thing you can do. You continue to educate, agitate and do your best to try and organize. Organization is the most powerful tool that the proletariat has at its disposal in the class war. Political natural selection will take care of the anarchists and their obstinate refusal to organize. Effective strategies that can demonstrate success will win the support of the masses while those tactics which go nowhere will fail to win support and will remain irrelevant.
Now they’re comparing resisting ICE to Hong Kong protestors resisting the see see pee
I mean, that’s like…whatever. It’s irrelevant, it’s ancient history. Hong Kong has moved on and China has moved on. I wouldn’t waste any effort debating that point with libs. Let them make whatever comparisons they want. What’s important is that there is organized resistance.
Being prescribed new meds
China is BAD if only the silly easterners would listen to the very successful western ultras like myself they would actually be communist!
Oh my bad I thought this was the hexbear news com. /s
No, no you fucking tankie China should deploy the entire military to the middle-east and use their export economy to globally project their power across the world on Israel. /s
No, but seriously, as shitty as it sounds; I don’t think China has a responsibility to do anything for Palestine, as grim and horrible as that sounds. They are not a part of the West, they have no colonial ties to Palestine from colonizer nations (meaning, you aren’t from a ex-colonial nation or settler one, etc).
They had no hand in creation or even a historical role in their creation or a part to play if you don’t entirely separate the CPC from the Dynasty periods (as you should). This doesn’t mean they don’t feel great sympathy, nor have solidarity with Palestine. They have done much for them despite being on the other half of the world.
“But they trade with Israel” is such a stupid fucking point when you consider how much of the world is financially and economically connected…especially when they’re an export economy. I don’t like XHS’s posts sometimes but at least he has sense and reason behind the points that he makes.
Any extreme or hostile move trade-wise or economically on a erratic and already hostile United States that is your major import partner could jeopardize the balance and conditions of development that are quite good for China as of now. That is their main focus and has been compared to the very different history of it’s historical past when it’s dynasties used to either imperialize via tributaries or conquest. There’s entire books written about reflections from then and now.
Good post and very succinct way to write this down! 👏
If I were Xi, I would simply press the full communism button. All that’s covering it is this thing labeled “dialectical and historical materialism” but that can’t be anything important.
Lol exactly. Theyre literally indistinguishable from fed reddit posters at this point.
Is it that bad over there these days?
Oh yeah https://hexbear.net/post/6233308/6530502 Its bad https://hexbear.net/post/6251000/6536572?sort=Top
I find it crazy that they will ban people for the most childish, petty, stupid shit. Yet will allow blatant wrecker ultras on there with zero pushback.
I’ve been on here long enough to remember when they refederated. It was going to be good because it’s a pro-AES space. Whoops looks like that went out the window quickly!
I find it crazy that they will ban people for the most childish, petty, stupid shit. Yet will allow blatant wrecker ultras on there with zero pushback.
It depends on the context of what is “childish, petty, stupid shit” but generally I have noticed some strange priorities and a bit of a persistent toxicity that seems to end up in fruitless struggle sessions. News thread is still great otherwise, but yeah, you aren’t wrong in that I’ve noticed quite a shift on China recently.
jesus. I thought there was bad egg in the admin team like a year ago. Now it looks like a full blown trot/fed infestation.
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What do dengist have to do with anything in this context?
I don’t think it’s correct to say China has done nothing in regards to Palestine. For example, there was the 2024 Beijing Declaration last year. To quote form said linked article
Leaders representing 14 Palestinian factions and forces—including Hamas, Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the Palestinian People’s Party, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and others—have resolved to form a national unity government after three days of discussion in Beijing mediated by China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi.
The agreement, called the “Beijing Declaration to End the Division and Strengthen Palestinian National Unity,” is being hailed as a significant step towards unity and overcoming the decades-long division among the main political groups in Palestine. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the Beijing Declaration shortly after its signing and expressed his appreciation for the diplomatic efforts being made by China in facilitating the process.
Outside of that, from reading those threads above, one of the comments someone mentioned how Hamas used a weapon from China like this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HJ-8#Gaza_Strip
Another thing to is it’s more besides that, like the Zijiang M99
In Sheikh Aajlin, the Brigades introduced a new sniper rifle for the first time, the M99 anti-material rifle. In a statement, the faction announced that it shot down an Israeli occupation soldier in Sheikh Aajlin with an M99 sniper rifle. It is still unclear whether the rifle is the Chinese-made Zijiang M99 or the Barrett-made M99, however, both rifles have anti-material and long-range capabilities.
It’s really doubtful it’s the barret made M99. To add, from looking around there are two tweets, here and here showing the Zijang M99, and then there a news source talking about it’s use here To add that news source mentions this
The observation worth analyzing in this context is that, coinciding with the “Qassam Brigades” announcement of the use of Chinese weapons in its war against Israel,
We can notice as well that during its war against Israel after the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation on October 7, 2023, the “Al-Qassam Brigades” announced that its fighters were able to snipe an Israeli soldier with a heavy-caliber “M99” sniper weapon in the “Sheikh Ajlin area” in Gaza City. This is the first announcement from the Al-Qassam Brigades about the use of this deadly Chinese weapon in the Gaza Strip.
Only issue is I’m having trouble finding where that announcement was said? Either way It is clear that they are using weapons from China at the very least.
Do note, I do think China should stop trade with “Israel” but I want to address this. Mainly to go to trade with what China sells from “Israel” where “Israel” buys from China primarily consists of
China primarily exported electric vehicles, mobile phones, computers and metals.
Compared to the United States that
The United States sold Israel explosive munitions, diamonds, electronics and chemical products. Israel receives billions in US military aid, much of which is spent on American-made weapons, effectively boosting US exports.
Either way it’s the United States that trades the most with “Israel” and props it up. Again, this isn’t to say China should continuing trade, it would be nice if they didn’t, but it would not change things too much even if China did stop trade. Since again, “Israel” is propped up by imperial core countries.
Either way it isn’t correct to say China has done none nothing. It would be nice if China did more, sure I can agree with that. However ultimately, the responsibility lies with the people in the global north to do something against their governments to stop contributing to/participating in genocide. Since to go to the United States for example, how many genocides has the United States been involved since it’s conception like against the various First Nations, to around the world like in Latin America? For the United States, genocide won’t end just with Palestine, there will be more in the future if those in the United States don’t decolonize and overthrow the U.S.
Also it is rather chauvinistic and idealistic to paint China as the world’s savior as well, since China will not be the world savior not, and won’t ever be. That just always been idealistic nonsense. To add, it is also chauvinistic to hold China responsible for the U.S-Israel genocide against Palestine. Why should China, and the world, mainly the global south at large, be held responsible for the horrible acts that the global north like the United States commits and not the global north and people within those countries held responsible for those acts instead?
Again that isn’t to say China couldn’t do more, they could, but the fault lies within the global north and for those within to do build and make revolution and to stop things like this.
GOOD post
capitalist spain and italy, by trying to hijack the efforts of the flotilla, are still doing more than china has ever done (which is nothing btw)
Creating infrastructure throughout the Global South, selling weapons and other important goods to the resistance, bypassing US “sanctions” against Iran, etc. is “nothing”? It’s entirely fair to criticize China for still trading with Israel but this is nonsense
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Has the western MLs been fully infiltrated by chinese/russian bots
Is this a joke?
Yeah I’m not reading all of that. China stays winning 🇨🇳 cope and seethe about it.
Heh. Gottem.
RIP Assata
There are days when dealing with capitalism feels like a parody version of real life. The fuckton layers of parties involved in any given process, the underpaid CS who don’t have enough time to read what you’re saying and/or are too constrained to give more than boilerplate answers, the technological systems that are badly designed or go in and out of maintenance whenever. There’s so much convoluted nonsense. And this on top of it being in the US, a country whose power brokers are actively pulverizing it for their short term ends.
Dead Internet Theory is one thing, but some days, it feels like capitalism resembles something like what I might call “Dead Management Theory” - like nobody is actually in charge, in a meaningful capacity that can smoothly operate what actually needs to occur. I’m exaggerating of course (just as I don’t literally believe in Dead Internet Theory), obviously some things continue to function, but it feels very empty at times in terms of organization and clerical efficiency. I don’t think it’s that management is literally missing exactly, but it’s like there’s this molasses effect on the process, due to all the layers of bullshit, that if something is a little off, it’s a way bigger deal than it should be? Like for a fictional representation, when Peter Gibbons forgets about TPS reports and gets reminded about it by eight different bosses. It feels sorta like that. Like there’s more organizational going through the motions than there is practical functionality.
See this a lot in my job which focusses on unemployment benefits. An application has to go through at least three different orgs and can take up to two months or more to be completed. And if something goes wrong between the instances, good luck. Sometimes it seems like nobody can fix it then and it’s all finger pointing. For what it’s worth it drives us employees insane too. Like driving a car with square tires: you can’t move forward.
Makes sense that it would bug the employees as well. I’d imagine you want to be able to solve problems for people, so struggling to be able to due to processes that are multi-layered and unwieldy, I can see how that’d be frustrating.
The word you are looking for is “Kafkaesque.” I’ve only read The Trial but he really nailed that feeling down.
I feel like living in western society at the moment is a mashup of 1984, The Trial, and Dr. Strangelove.
Interesting, I’ve never read The Trial, but now I’m curious. I have definitely seen Dr. Strangelove though. I think the most unrealistic part of Dr. Strangelove is the idea that the US president has good intentions lol. But the general circus act absurdity of it, yeah. In the US, the health secretary being anti-vax definitely feels like parody writing (though since it’s real, it’s less funny and more just ridiculously dangerous).
You should it dances back and forth between entertaining with its hyperbole and absurdity and then being excruciatingly dull with its descriptions of bureaucratic processes that make you want to pull your hair out.
Saw some news article from my hometown of a guy making a website about our local language/dialect. He wants it to be preserved as fewer people speak it on a daily basis now. In the state of Northern Brabant we have our own dialect but the dialect from my hometown is even more different and, imo, pretty unique. Other people from Brabant would have difficulty to understand me, for example.
You’re supposed to speak proper Dutch if you want others to understand you, of course, and that’s why fewer people speak it. It’s kinda looked down upon as lowly educated / trash, which is sad. My dad still speaks it on a daily basis. He never got the opportunity to go to school so never learned further than the dialect lol. I can speak and understand it though living abroad and with my gf from another part of The Netherlands, there’s no use in speaking it. But reading the website I agreed with him and I feel like I should just speak it when at home. Would be a shame for things like that to disappear.
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Slight chance emerging of me moving back to The Netherlands. Communism coming soon.
Which org would you join if you were to move back?
That’s a good question and I’m not sure yet. I believe the most serious commie movement is Rood but I also believe they are more trotskyist in nature. To my knowledge there are no other serious marxist or ML options, I think? Suggestions would be welcome.
It also depends on where I will go. It will probably be in the Amsterdam region (kidney for sale btw) and that would give me more options than Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht or wherever of course.
ive met some people from rood and they seem to be a mix of trots and MLs. and are quite dynamic now and focused on growth, so i think there is still room to shift ideologically
I think 4 orgs are an option, with a clear ranking. These orgs are SP, BIJ1, RSP and NCPN.
SP seems to be the worst option, even though they are the biggest. They have completely abondoned their communist history. They have actively banned communist members and their youth organisation Rood seceded because of this. I think they can’t be pushed left anymore. Right now they are a socdem party, but can imagine they will be pushed even more right towards social liberalism like GLPVDA.
Then you have BIJ1, my organisation. They are better than SP but worse than the other two organisations. But they are the best option in the elections. That’s one of the reasons why I will stay until after the municipal elections. What they do the best is linking anticapitalist struggles with discrimination, especially racism in an intersectional framework. It’s important that an organisation is anti-racist, and anti-discriminatory and that POC and other marginalized communities feel at home in the party. I’m in favour of intersectionality but it needs to be linked to class struggle, but a lot of party members don’t do that. Some don’t identify as socialist, but only as intersectionalists and some only care about advocating for their own group, abandoning intersectionality. Still most of the members are socialists, and Dibi calls himself that as well. But we call our party anticapitalist like we’re still afraid of the word socialist. And because there’s a lot of different types of socialists, from MLs to Trotskyists to Anararchists to DemSocs our ideology is pretty all over the place. Some of them want ‘tankies’ out of the party. There’s even a Signal app group called ‘BIJ1 tegen tankies’. We can be pushed left but it will be difficult if not impossible, especially with people openly calling for ‘tankies’ to be removed from the party.
RSP seems like one of the best choices. They are growing fast and have some MLs in the party. Those who aren’t generally aren’t afraid to call themselves communists and are politically close to the MLs. Their youth organisation ROOD is very active as well.
NCPN is a good choice as well. They are explicitly ML and do a lot of organising although I don’t notice it that much. RSP/ROOD is bigger and more active. Their youth organisation CJB is especially active and their cutoff is only for your 30s. They don’t participate in elections, exept for one municipality and they haven’t answered my question if they will participate in more municipalities next year. They have some large growth but they’re still very small. They have a good newspaper, just like RSP/ROOD.
RSP and NCPN seem like the best options. But who of the two is better, I don’t know.
I would also like to give my voice for the NCPN as they’re the official Dutch fraternal party of the communist parties in the world that follow the IMCWP, which is the forum for Marxist-Leninist parties to convene and have discussion each year on relevant topics.
Just saw the UK’s speech at the UN general assembly and its the one who contained thr most time and emphasis tqlking about AI… i am left to wonder how much Nvidia money is in the UK government.
Check it out:
