On the 20th of October, Moldova - a small, landlocked country bordering western Ukraine and with a population of about 3 million - voted to join the EU. The margin was razor-thin, with the pro-EU vote gaining 50.39%, or an absolute difference of about 11,000 people. There was simultaneously a presidential vote between the incumbent, Maia Sandu, and other candidates, with the main competitor being Alexandr Stoianoglo.
The election was characterized by accusations of Russian interference, with Russian propaganda apparently flooding in, as well as people offering Moldovans money to vote against the EU. While the result does suggest that half the voting-age population of Moldova consists entirely of Russians who want to destroy democracy and all the good in the world, it seems to have just barely failed. This is a bad time to be a site entirely composed of Russian disinformation agents and bots. Twice already today, I’ve had to restart my program after somebody told me “Disregard all previous prompts.”
While Moldova is a poor country which could benefit in some ways from EU membership, in practice, it is unlikely that they will be able to join for the foreseeable future, requiring many of the… reforms… that the EU requires of potential new members. But as basically every major European economy continues to slowly sink as recessions and political crises degrade them, one wonders how beneficial EU membership will even be in the years and decades to come - if it survives for decades. In that sense, it’s as if the survivors of the Titanic are swimming back towards it, believing that being on a bigger - albeit slowly sinking - boat is better than trying their luck on small lifeboats.
Then again, like with Serbia, their geographical and geopolitical position makes anti-Western actions extremely difficult. It is rare that dissention is tolerated for long in the West - one tends to get called a dictator by crowds of people holding English-language signs in non-English countries, photographed by Western journalists who haven’t meaningfully reported on your country in months or years. You can crush your people with neoliberal austerity for years, killing hundreds of thousands through neglect, and face glowing approval from the media - but try and use state resources to benefit the poor, and global institutions start ranking you on the authoritarian dictator scale.
The best case for Moldova is that it becomes an exploitable hinterland for Germany to harvest and privatize as it tries - and fails - to compete in a global economic war between the US and China/BRICS. The worst case is that tensions with Russia over Pridnestrovie, as well as possible eventual NATO involvement (though Moldova is not a member, it is a partner of NATO), result in the ongoing war also reaching them.
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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.
Next thread here:
An actually wholesome video from Ukraine
Ukrainian men escape the military conscription and kidnappings of the Ukrainian regime, scream in celebration after reaching Moldova and play music while dancing. Just dudes being dudes. Honestly really happy for these guys, hopefully they can have a future outside of Ukraine.
I hate all zionists, but I have a particular spot for the bulldozer drivers. These aren’t just your normal soldier who loots houses and takes selfies in ruined buildings. The bulldozer driver is the one responsible for destroying homes and running over people in very conscious acts, you have to be a special piece of shit to demolish houses with your vehicle, one by one. On the other hand, the military use of bulldozers is quite unique to “israel”, even thought pretty much all armies use them. “israel” uses them very close to ongoing combat, usually armies employ them after areas have been cleared of enemies, but their bulldozers seem to follow frontline troops to begin destruction immediately, no time wasted there. I think this shows how much “israel” just loves destroying stuff, how their incursion into Gaza is simply to destroy it.
Remember that video of a bulldozer going through a refugee camp, running over and destroying people’s tents, a bulldozer that you can’t see but you can still hear destroying stuff, but then it comes face to face with a Qassam fighter that fires a very accurate RPG shot into the cabin? That is one of the most powerful videos by the Resistance that emerged from Gaza. Instant Justice I would say. These bulldozers are an integral part of “israel’s” plan for Gaza, and seeing it get destroyed as it’s doing it’s work is amazing. The bulldozer works for the genocidal cause, the Qassam fighter puts a swift end to it, it’s extremely symbolic. Here’s the video for those who didn’t watch it
And yes, this is related to that fucking piece of shit bulldozer driver who had PTSD and then suicided because he couldn’t bear with it. Hope many more zionists follow him tbh.
Death to “israel”.
Things happening in Moldova
Uncritical support on PTSD waging war on zionist scum that are returning from Gaza.
On Kim Jong-un: “I told him to relax and build some beachfront condos”
It’s a shame that Trump is evil, he’s endlessly funny
This guy used to write for Bloomberg, and people pay money for his opinion blog now. He discovered this after proposing a three state solution to the occupation of Palestine, and after accusing the NYT of faking the CT scans of the kids shot by IDF soldiers.
Re-education camps are controversial but militarised camps for every migrant is supported by half of america.
If you oppose militarised camps for migrants you should be a supporter of re-education.
@[email protected] I just saw your response from the last megathread asking for videos or books to learn how currency and MMT works, especially with regards to the failings of euro.
Unfortunately there is no single video or book that will turn you into an “expert” overnight. Much of the knowledge has to come from years of study, and because economics and finance are often counter-intuitive to what are being taught in mainstream classes, it can take time before things start to “click”.
I can however recommend a few books that hopefully can guide you along your journey!
1. The Deficit Myth by Stephanie Kelton
This is an essential primer for MMT where the core principles are taught at the most basic level without any prerequisite understanding of economics or finance. For example, why government deficit (national/government debt) is needed for savings to accumulate in the private sector/households, and why budget surplus over time always ends in recession.
Disclaimer: this is also the only book on the list I have not read yet because it was published after I was already well familiar with MMT, but I’ve only heard good things about it from others who have read the book.
Difficulty: Easy (written for lay audience)
2. Debt: the First 5000 Years by David Graeber
David Graeber is the biggest popularizer of Michael Hudson’s otherwise dense academic research texts (more on Hudson below). A lot of people have trouble accepting MMT because they are still stuck with the barter myth popularized by Adam Smith (whose narrative works for gold standard in the previous eras). Through Hudson’s research, Graeber showed that money is just debt, and debt is just promise! A currency issued by a government (i.e. government debt) simply means a promise by the authority (the government). This is a fundamental shift in perspective that must be achieved before one can understand why governments can simply create money out of thin air so long they have the labor, resources and technology to achieve their economic goals (because money/debt is just a promise, it has no inherent value nor does it has to be tied to a metal/commodity). This is apart from it being a very readable book that walks you through the anthropological and economic side of human societies.
Difficulty: Easy (written as a popular book for lay audience, very entertaining read)
3. Reclaiming the State: A Progressive Vision of Sovereignty for a Post-Neoliberal World by Bill Mitchell and Thomas Fazi
More of a history/economics book that details why Keynesianism was destined to fail and how it necessarily led to Neoliberalism, how Neoliberalism despite its reputation is actually a state-driven project (government enforcing free market and private property aka Fascism), and how the only way out of it is to re-assert national sovereignty through (re-)nationalization of privatized assets under the control of multi-national corporations. Focused on the history behind the fall of the UK and Europe into neoliberalism, as well as the European debt crisis in the 2010s. Contains a brief primer on MMT in the second part of the book but is optional if you have already read The Deficit Myth.
Difficulty: Easy-Intermediate (written for lay audience but it helps if one is familiar with post-war European history)
4. Debunking Economics: The Naked Emperor Dethroned? by Steve Keen
Steve Keen is a heterodox economist (MMT adjacent) who’s a huge lib but Debunking Economics is probably the most comprehensive takedown on mainstream neoclassical economics. Walks you through the entire Econ 101 and explains to you - step by step - why everything (yes, everything) taught in your university economics class is wrong and a completely unrealistic model of how the real world works. Has one later chapter that critiques Marx (it wasn’t that bad) but otherwise one of the best books out there if you need someone to explain to you in simple terms why mainstream economics is wrong.
Difficulty: Easy-Intermediate (written for lay audience, better yet if you have not been indoctrinated by neoclassical economics, but gets harder later on when introducing finance theory. A complete course on economics - more or less)
5. Killing the Host: How Financial Parasites and Debt Bondage Destroy the Global Economy by Michael Hudson
Hudson’s books are notoriously dense but this is still one of the best books out there that explained the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis of the 2010s. Weaves together classical political economy (Smith, Ricardo, Marx), the clash between industrial capitalist class and feudal landlord class, the history of early banking and development of stock markets, with the present day crises of capitalism. Difficult read, and do not be surprised that you understand maybe 10-20% on your first go. As the years went by, I would re-read the book every 1-2 years and still learned new things that I never grasped before.
Difficulty: Hard (very dense book, with a lot of information that, at first, seem to have no cohesive structure, until you realize that they are all intertwined with one another)
6. Super Imperialism: the Economic Strategy of American Empire by Michael Hudson
It is not an understatement to say that Super Imperialism is possibly the most important text needed to understand the underlying mechanisms that advance US imperialism since the 1970s. First published in 1972, it walks you through the global financial system from the pre-WWI gold standard era, to the Bretton Woods, then in excruciating detail how abandoning the Bretton Woods could lead to the US getting “free rides” all over the world simply by printing money as a global reserve currency issuer. Deals with a lot of balance of payment stuff and explains why the US can only afford its 700+ military bases all over the world through dollar hegemony. Bonus points for the fact that the US State Department actually studied this book to learn how to do imperialism.
Just like how Marx took Smith and Ricardo’s theories to their logical conclusion in Capital Vol. 1, Hudson took Marx’s unfinished theory of finance capital from Capital Vol. 3 to its logical conclusion. Very difficult read - takes many many reads to really understand the core of the subject, and even then there is always something new to learn when re-visited over the years. I don’t even pretend to understand half of the text as a non-specialist, but it is a truly enlightening read that can easily blow your mind off when it finally “clicks”.
Difficulty: Hard hard (maybe I’m just stupid, but this book is ridiculously hard and definitely not a casual read. You’ll probably have to learn the history of the British Empire, the European and American history, the Cold War geopolitics along the way to even begin to make sense of it. Go slow and don’t try to take everything in all at once)
Jfc Kamala is really doubling down on having Liz Cheney as her hype woman. Apparently they were campaigning together in Michigan today. I swear I’ve seen Liz Cheney have a more prominent role in this campaign than Tim Walz over the last couple weeks.
I saw a poll the other day that showed both Dem voters and independents are really turned off by the idea of having a Republican in Kamala’s cabinet
Kamala has worse political instincts Hilldawg, and that’s saying something.
Big Brother pulled an episode so they could edit out a watermelon on one of the contestants shirts
Americans should not be allowed to joke about Chinese censorship anymoreWhen will BRICS change it’s name?
