Holy fucking shit lmao.
@VP: "Do you think that it's respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?"
@POTUS: "You don't have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards ... You're gambling with the lives of millions of people! You're gambling with World War III!"
Video: https://xcancel.com/RapidResponse47/status/1895527936939487722
Chat, is Hexbear accessible in Belarus? Lukashenko spent his 7th (Gaius Marius speedrun any%) re-election speechtelling China to step up. Is he lurking in the news mega?
"We sent greetings and congratulations to Xi Jinping and his family. [...] I won't repeat the cliches about happiness, health and success. I'll just say one thing: You must endure. Today, the future of multipolarity on our planet depends on you. If China holds strong - and I'm confident it will - we are ready to work together on this. [...] We need multipolarity. A unipolar world cannot ensure prosperity for all nations."
Checking in from my new Little Red Book "#wuhluhwuh" addiction to post this quote I just saw on there (the app is such good agitprop) of the Chinese rep apparently popping off at the UNSC today. I checked their UN mission site transcript and IT'S TRUE lol. Here's some choice excerpts.
For some time now, and in fact today, the US has been peddling false narrative to discredit and smear China at the Council's meetings on the Ukraine issue. [...] At earlier meetings, I responded to the US fallacies many times. Today, I might go a little further.
First, if China had really provided military supplies to Russia, the situation on the battleground would not have been where it is now. [...]
[...] The fact is, since the beginning, the US has used the Ukraine war to advance its geopolitical strategy and serve its own agenda. To sum up, first, the US wants nothing more than a weakened and defeated Russia through the war, so as to dominate European security and further increase its influence in Europe. Second, through the war, the US intends to stoke up bloc confrontation, create divisions, and contain and isolate China, a strategic rival in their eyes. Third, the US wishes to project a positive image to offset the international community's criticism of its policies in the Middle East. Unfortunately, the US has failed on all three attempts.
That's from a different section. The exact same wording is still there as of the current version:
Content targeting a person or group of people on the basis of their protected characteristic(s) (in written or visual form) with: [...]
Insults, including those about: [...] Mental characteristics, including but not limited to allegations of stupidity, intellectual capacity, and mental illness, and unsupported comparisons between PC groups on the basis of inherent intellectual capacity.
We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like “weird.”
So pending clarification, it seems to say that all insults targeting groups of "protected charactistic(s)" including those about "mental illness" are prohibited - well, except for those against LGBT, 'cause politics and religion. The clause directly above this one goes to rule that you can't call Zuckerberg a coward - that counts as "hateful conduct" - but LGBT peoples can be implied to be "mentally ill" or "abnormal." That's open season. We're just conversational props for "political and religious discourse" and, according to Advocate's interpretation of the changes, can now also be literally compared to an inanimate object.
"Protections against comparing women and LGBTQ+ people to inanimate objects, such as referring to transgender individuals as “it,” have been eliminated. Similarly, statements denying the existence of protected groups or asserting that they “shouldn’t exist” are now permitted under the revised guidelines."
https://www.advocate.com/news/meta-policies-lgbtq-attacks
to dock in a Swedish port for investigation and crew interrogation by Swedish police.
Non-zero chance it was rejected because the crew looked up the canteen menu and saw it was all Surströmming.
A really somber "Tankie Therapy" episode from The East is a Podcast on the fall of Syria. I was personally waiting for the crew to give their views because they know how important revolutionary optimism is for how we as leftists should think about the world, but they also keep it grounded in material reality. The way they manage to resist slipping into either forms of delusional optimistic idealism or some doom-and-gloom self-flagellation, especially in completely uncertain times like this, and are able to give a broad and pragmatic perspective is something I really admire.
That post US election narrative, where all these shitty mainstream media talking heads threw trans people under the bus by claiming the Democrats lost because they were "too progressive" and pandered to "woke LGBT," is really letting all these companies go fully mask off and openly embrace it. Got the same thing last month with HBO/WB going "TERF islander has the right to express her personal views" when just a year ago with that Hogswart's Legacy game, the same company was still promising that Rowling had no involvement.
I mean, fuck me, I shouldn't have expected anything else really and it's ultimately unsurprising how artificial all this corporate America LGBT "solidarity" is turning out to be, but, genuinely, it's so unnerving how synchronized these collective mask off moments always end up being. Same exact hivemind media-in-lockstep shit they do in foreign policy like with disavowing Palestinians after Oct 7 and now supporting Syrian Al-Qaeda. Turns out, all they were waiting for is for something to "normalize it" and that's exactly what this whole "we lost the popular vote because we weren't parading around that war criminal spawn Liz Cheney enough" spin from the DNC ratfuckers has done.
It is and it’s honestly sickening that the same smug legal quips these apparatchiks regularly throw around is now being extended for use to downplay and excuse an outright genocide. They now realize that they can get away with saying and doing virtually anything nowadays so long as they act for the sake of the West's geopolitical interests, including a modern day Holocaust in Palestine, and it's disgusting to see them become increasingly comfortable with it.
Agreed. They're principally asking for letters & books and that would be the best way to express solidarity IMO, though Calla left a link to their commissary on the twitter post so I don't want to editorialize on their behalf.
Okay, I literally only started commenting on this site literally less than a week ago, so I want to drop a disclaimer before I start yapping that I don't mean to misrepresent anyone's positions.
I think there's value in noting his various alleged and reported reactionary tendencies because when we're on a site like Hexbear which is just largely us leftists, we should know where the line in the sand is among ourselves. But what's the point? Well, the point is this: We should never expect perfection from "revolutionary figures" but there are figures who have come historically close to to it and whom are actually one of us. Those like Alexandra Kollontai, Fred Hampton, Leila Khaled. They deserve our recognition because only us leftists can ever pay tribute to their actions and recognize them for the heroes they are, whom should have given universal "lionization" in a just world. While we should seize the moment which things like this provides, someone like Luigi (unless there's been a drastic change in his values in the months he's reportedly gone cold turkey from his socials) hasn't come close to earning the credentials to stand among those we should be paying our respects to.
I don't think it's pedantic to insist on this because us leftists are the most persecuted and censored political groups in the West in the entirety of its contemporary and when we're among ourselves, we should not be elevating any random person to some heroic ranking when there are plenty of others to hold up as inspirational. That sort of thing among ourselves would detract from the important recognition that there really have been revolutionary figures who came close to perfection in terms of our ideals, whose memory has been completely suppressed from any public consciousness.
Yes, when I'm on R*ddit (fuck me, I literally vowed to never go back to that site again in one of my first comments here but this event is drawing me back in) or especially IRL, you can bet I'm not going to be going "Well actually, he's likely reactionary and you should feel gross for supporting him." I'll pretend he's a full blown Das Kapital-reciting Marxist-Leninist and "The Last Communist" if that's what it takes to use this moment to instil some miniscule specks of revolutionary awareness in the average person I'm in contact with. If there's anything that can be done to prolong this ephemeral moment of frankly miraculous class solidarity we're seeing in the bombed out ideological wasteland of Western society by even a second more for the IRL communities I'm in, yes, I'll "lionize" him to sainthood if necessary.
For example, the food bank org I volunteer with actually agreed yesterday to allow us to commission some small pamphlets with poems and personal testimonies on struggling with insurance (and lol someone suggested Luigi stickers if Nintendo doesn't Oreshnik us with their legal team) for the distribution team to hand out during the food drive this holidays. Literally nothing, all things considered, but you wouldn't imagine the amount of pushback from the civility libs just to agree to do something small like this. There's also great examples of others using whatever medium they have at hand to help educate their audiences on the twisted nature of the American system right now, like Jesse Welles' new song about United Health and its founder Richard T. Burke. But when we're among ourselves, as leftists, we should know where we should really stand because there are real near-perfect heroes out there that deserve our support and whom have only us leftists to depend on for solidarity.
Do most people in this community even know that the Merrimack 4 - Calla, Bridget, Paige and Sophie - who are part of the Palestinian Action US group that heroically sabotaged productions at a Elbit Systems factory, the Israeli arms contractor, are currently in jail right now? Calla is a great comrade who I personally met while at an event for Cuban solidarity (IIRC, I think the Deprogram podcast also did an episode with her about Cuba) and is actually one of us. Luigi is likely well aware of the widespread support from the general population by now and the general population is already apparently all too happy to support him and send him things in commissary to show he is "not alone."
But it rests with us leftists alone to stand with those like the Merrimack 4 and let them know their heroism has not been and will not be forgotten. Calla has been doxxed and harassed by stalker Israeli groups like Canary Mission and the shitstain incels on r/tankiejerk. The 14th is the halfway point of their 60 day imprisonment and this is usually the point in time where the initial wave of support slows down and the isolating pressure of the fascist prison system sets into the morale of the imprisoned
I actually have been meaning to ask the admins/mods (but I haven't figured out if there's a way to PM the mod team) if it would be okay to make a post on the mutual aid sub in 3 days time for the purpose of sending them gifts like letters or books, especially as they'll be imprisoned through the holiday season and into the new year. If not, I'll just ask now that anyone here who is considering sending Luigi any gifts to please instead consider sending a message of solidarity to others like Calla, Bridget, Paige and Sophie instead (or on their socials). Here a link to Calla's Twitter with information on means of support for anyone interested.
In short, use the moment this event has provided when doing IRL work in whichever way you feel necessary but when we're among ourselves, we should always remember there are those who deserve our solidarity and our attention to their memory far more than those the general public already recognize and whom are actually our own. This is why, within communities like this, there should be a clear distinction and reservations made, in my opinion.
πρᾶξις with 🍔 characteristics
Bummer plot twist, could do with a bit more originality, same ole' "The Swerve" storyline from the writers once again ngl but phew. Every time a new headline dropped, his basedness went up like 10 notches, and I felt like I was starting to question my sexuality again. But now that he might be a reactionary goober, balance has been restored to the world. The hero flew a little too close to the chud sun, but the idea’s still there for me to hyperfixate on—and honestly, ideas can be so gay.
Unsurprising, especially given what's been alleged about Nigeria's current President:
The CIA, FBI, and DEA jointly filed a statement opposing the release of unredacted files on Tinubu’s background, again citing national security concerns. According to the filing, disclosing these details could endanger U.S. interests abroad.
Court documents from a Chicago case claim that in the early 1990s, Tinubu was linked to bank accounts allegedly used to launder money for a heroin ring in Chicago. Records from 1993 reveal that Tinubu, then a prominent figure in Lagos, agreed to forfeit assets to U.S. authorities in a plea bargain, sidestepping a potential trial on drug trafficking and money laundering charges.
Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin, a vocal advocate for transparency on the issue, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the CIA, FBI, and DEA had recently submitted a memorandum opposing the release of Tinubu’s records. Intelligence officials argued that revealing such connections could “compromise U.S. national security” and referenced Tinubu’s possible status as a CIA asset.
Amid public demands for transparency, the DEA echoed the CIA’s stance, maintaining that citizens are not entitled to unrestricted access to intelligence files. “We oppose the full, unredacted release of the DEA’s Bola Tinubu heroin trafficking investigation records because… they do not have a right to know what their president is up to,” the DEA stated.
https://archive.ph/UXvQk
I only know about this from a Nigerian IRL friend and it's pretty wild: there's no public record of either his age, birth name nor what he did for the first 20 years of his life. Hundeyin has a substack going over his investigation. Incidentally, he also recently wrote a piece about his persecution by the US State Department. It's a great read, a touching piece on what shaped his journalistic career and informative writing on the immense corruption and malignant US foreign influence in Nigeria. He calls Blinken a "supreme wanker" and ends by saying that "if there is an afterlife, all I would like is to go one-on-one with Anthony Blinken." Relatable.
Fuck. I hope all comrades with family or friends in Syria have their loved ones stay safe. I was about to post another Syria essay but seeing this sudden outcome where the Syrian people that lived formerly under the Damascus government will now have to contend with a new regime that at "best" will likely resemble something like the 2021 Taliban and at worst will return to their 2015 ISIS roots leaves me numb. I'll just leave this quote from the Abrams book as a prediction from 2021 that now seems chillingly prescient and also something I hope will, by any means possible, not come to pass:
A subjugated and jihadist dominated Syria, much like Afghanistan which had seen its government toppled twenty years earlier using many of the same methods, would serve as an effective hub for jihadist operations abroad – whether into Iraq to keep check on Iranian influence, into southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah, or against Iran itself. Projection of jihadist power further afield, including against western China, Russia and Central Asian states, was also a significant possibility, should terror groups such as IS and Al Qaeda be able to operate freely from Syrian territory. It was estimated that 9,000 fighters from Russia and Central Asia alone had joined jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq, while an estimated 5000 from China’s Uighur Turkic minority had also joined the frontlines in Syria alone. The potential value of turning Syria into a wellpositioned hub of operations against others which resisted Western hegemonic ambitions, much as Afghanistan had been, provided a fifth major incentive for the Western Bloc to undertake operations against the Syrian government.
Oof, that's on me. Edited, thanks for calling it out. Full support for Anti-Brainworm Aktion.
Team Melusine for sure. I wanted to buy some Melusine plush and there are LITERALLY NONE ON ETSY WTFFF. Common capitalism L.
Thank you! There's a ton of writing and I found it hard to parse through it all! I know some Syrian refugees IRL but I try not to talk interrogate them about politics so all of my "insights" are just from reading what others wrote. I think Abrams' book covers much of the political points on Syria fairly well and from a clear anti-imperialist position too. I checked out the "Clarity Press" publisher's site and their web UI is pretty janky but much of their books seem to be fairly solidly on the anti-imperialist side of things.
Edit! Also I forgot to say, for anyone else who feels overwhelmed by the recent events in West Asia, I found the latest episode of "The East is a Podcast" by Sina Rahmani with Adnan Husain to be both informative and also providing some sorely needed revolutionary optimism. Edit again: Here's a link for their video stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuoJJm0uLTY
That's the end of my word dump, hope someone here can find it informative in some way! Wish the best for all our Syrian comrades. Syria is a beautiful country with a proud history and a dignified people, it doesn't deserve anything of what's happening and been happening for an entire generation now. If any Syrian comrades here are in need, I saw how there's an incredible mutual aid sub here so please make a post and I'll be happy to make an anonymous contribution!
Here are the book sources on Libgen:
https://libgen.st/book/index.php?md5=259DEB82CB107F3E766FAC3A7FE269C2
https://libgen.st/book/index.php?md5=2ED4589824F3E4FF7875F206BAB378EC
Lmao, so apparently I’ve been wearing a shit-eating grin for the last hour cause just got asked if I was ODing on Prozac.
Anyway, here’s the whole exchange,courtesy of the podcast industry content farm presidency
Gotta say, the biggest takeaway for me is that the Radio War Nerd pod duo nailed Trump's headspace - they really fucking calipered his brain, holy shit. Their take has been that this whole President Deals thing is Trump’s revenge tour for Ukraine's involvement in Russiagate and his impeachment. He’s been holding the grudge of all grudges ever since and so the RWN duo have been arguing that seeing things through just the geopolitics missed out on how it's outweighed by its bigger cousin - the admin's political revenge mission to settle the score. And, wow, he really showed that today.
I'm instinctively skeptical whenever podcasters go on a psychoanalysis bend, but then Trump’s last words in this clusterfuck conference was literally talking about Russiagate. Like he tweeted afterwards, "It’s amazing what comes out through emotion." Watch the chef's kiss diplomacy, then check out the RWN episode.Wow, I'm a believer now.