Image is from the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists’ recent article on Kashmir.
It looks like the spat between India and Pakistan could be dying down, due to a new ceasefire. As of the time of me writing this paragraph, it seems both sides want to maintain it (despite some reports of violations here and there).
Both sides have declared victory, which is completely expected given their mutual political parties and nationalist histories. It’s a little harder to say which side has actually won, as both sides seem to have managed to shoot down aircraft and hit military bases. India has, in my opinion, had the more embarrassing moments, but international conflicts aren’t cringe compilations. I feel no good-will towards Pakistan’s comprador government, but it is at least nice to see Modi knocked down a few pegs. Regardless of the final technical victor, it’s obvious that - if the ceasefire is maintained - who won are the hundreds of millions of people who won’t have to live in fear of dying in nuclear hellfire.
This conflict is a good example of what multipolarity will truly entail. Countries that have been previously limited in their nationalist ambitions by American pressure will now take opportunities to revolt, sometimes against America itself, and sometimes against other countries in their regional neighbourhood. It’s also why, as communists, our goals do not stop at multipolarity; it is merely the establishing act of a new era of agitation against peripheral and semi-peripheral capitalist countries that are forming powerful national bourgeoisie classes as the international American capitalists are forced away.
Last week’s thread is here. The Imperialism Reading Group is here.
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The bulletins site is here. Currently not used.
The RSS feed is here. Also currently not used.
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 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.
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.
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.
Simplicius, who publishes on Substack. Like others, his political analysis should be soundly ignored, but his knowledge of weaponry and military strategy is generally quite good.
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.
Chat, is this true?
https://xcancel.com/timand2037/status/1921438500794290279#m
And thats why stalin did the great purges.
The curse of post WW2 Arab Armies strikes again
A regimental and National Guard system paired with a rotating officer corps prevents this shit from happening, but the totalizing and paranoid mindset of most of these former US puppet kings kills even the concept of reform
Removed by mod
No it was totally organic revolution by syrians who wanted free syria. Just a coincidence that it served the interests of the great satan and the little satan.
We can’t deny the unpopularity, weaknesses, and brutality of Assad, which only made it easier for the dozens of factions that sprouted in 2011 to be easier to exploit for the ends of said satans.
While international powers can very strongly influence the result of these revolutions, IMO the influence they have in instigating them is correlated moreso to the contradictions that the state maintained before the uprisings ever occurred.
It’s why nations like the DPRK are able to exist despite the constant barrage of propaganda and infiltration attempts. It is much harder to bribe a general who has his family well fed, his countrymen well cared for, and a socioeconomic system that (despite its critiques) is antithetical to the contradictions necessary for revolution.
I don’t think its fair to compare Syria and the DPRK. The DPRK’s socialist model geared towards self sufficiency and close geographical and political ties with the former USSR and now Russia and China also factor into its success. The DPRK has already underwent a class revolution while Syria’s sovereignty hasn’t even been established.
RoK psyops against the DPRK dont work. Most people who illegally leave the DPRK do so for personal economic advantages in the similar fashion to why Chinese people travel to Europe or the US (except the US/Korean comprador class will kidnap and trap them and never allow them to safely go back which is what sets apart the DPRK and other global south nations).
I think that’s exactly why the DPRK or even Cuba are good examples. They have issues of national importance such as developing their economies in the face of isolation, and belligerent states on their borders, but the class struggle has advanced in ways that are much harder to dismantle through external pressure short of war.
If Cuba or Korea developed in ways that did not advance that class struggle, and solved those contradictions, they would have been much more vulnerable to counterrevolution than in reality.
Even with emigration, a reality of any country that has been economically isolated or blockaded for generations, you’re absolutely right that beyond propaganda these people are not a security threat to their homelands. In a country with the class and ethnic antagonisms such as Syria had in 2011, people with much more influence and military significance are more often the ones to step out of line with the state first.
Assad was unpopular because he was secular and not a fascist sunni freak. It’s really that simple. Every single arab relative and friend of mine I know who doesn’t like Assad didn’t like him because he was secular and alawite. Not a single one had any other critique that didn’t apply double to other sunni arab comprador leaders, of whom they never criticized.
This is another pattern that must be pointed out. The entire region has been radicalized by saudi money and chauvinism.
Although assad wasn’t the equal of his fathers and still failed to secure his country.
all checks out