cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/5285874

Hi, I'm here to announce that everyone pushing the standard Hexbear party line on the protest movement is a loser and wrong. I already know the weak-ass arguments you're gonna make and every single one of them reveals your disconnection from any actual organizing. Let's go through them one by one. If you have another that you think Marx Failed to Consider, please bring it up and I will explain how you are wrong in that way as well.

This was funded by the Waltons

No, one Walton bought an ad in the NYT. Who fucking cares? It has no material bearing on the movement whatsoever. There's no organization money is being funneled to other than the Democratic Party and Indivisble, which is not different in any way. The on-the-ground organizers in most cities and towns are not receiving a penny from the left's George Soros conspiracy. They're just normal people (and, to the next point, lots of leftists).

The Democrats are using this to steal the leftist energy of the masses

The Democrats certainly want to do that, but on the ground reports indicate they are losing all over the country. That's because leftists (especially ) are not leaving this space uncontested. I have spent an enormous amount of time putting in the work to earn the trust and legitimacy necessary to place a bunch of literal revolutionary communists in the leadership of the local movement. Not in some sneaky, behind the scenes way, but out in the open, succeeding specifically because we are literal revolutionary communists who never shut up about it. The Democrats, by my accounting, are losing the struggle in more places than not. If you refuse to engage because you're afraid the Dems will suck your leftist soul, you're just conceding the struggle and granting them victory. They don't co-opt by pressing a button, they co-opt because they have the resources to take leadership and then defuse. So far they have failed to do so specifically because the space is not empty and the communists are fighting harder to reach the masses (since we actually have an appealing program).

The attendees are all Kamala-loving liberals who just want to go back to brunch

If you had ever bothered to go to one of these events and talk politics to people, you'll discover a very broad array of political perspectives, including a strong trend towards explicit support for socialism. Yes, of course, the PMC bug-eating libs are there - who cares? They are by no means the only attendees. Maybe you're just Too Cool to be around someone who reminds you of your mom, but the rest of us are finding deep political discontent and activating it. When one of my comrades gets on the mic and says "we need to break from the democrats and do a literal socialist revolution", the crowd response, by and large, is incredibly positive. The retired dentists and accountants in the crowd grumble and whine, but they are a minority - and they don't leave. They stay and listen to the arguments we make. They say things like "you're right, I just don't think it's possible". They very, very rarely say "you're going too far".

This is a disorganized mess that's going to fizzle out

50501 and other decentralized spontaneous protest movements never last, but they do give an opportunity for dedicated political organizers to intervene on a stage where thousands of disaffected liberals and Democrat voters are asking "what is to be done?". If you decide not to show up and answer that question, the Democrat machine will coordinate the demobilization of this movement. If you do show up and you deliver the political argument you believe in. If you show up with the AV equipment, safety marshalls, march route, signs, and speaker list - the bare minimum for a halfway serious organizer - then you don't just hand out flyers and talk at a table but set the entire political line of the event. And in doing so, you demonstrate the leadership of the socialist movement and win a lot of those attendees to your side. If you can plug them into actual organizing work, you can bring them into permanent political motion. Does it matter if 95% of these people just go home and never bother to do anything besides another protest? If those 5% join the movement in a meaningful way, that's half a million new comrades.

Mao says: "All work done for the masses must start from their needs and not from the desire of any individual, however well-intentioned. It often happens that objectively the masses need a certain change, but subjectively they are not yet conscious of the need, not yet willing or determined to make the change. In such cases, we should wait patiently. We should not make the change until, through our work, most of the masses have become conscious of the need and are willing and determined to carry it out. Otherwise we shall isolate ourselves from the masses. Unless they are conscious and willing, any kind of work that requires their participation will turn out to be a mere formality and will fail."

Stop thinking about what you want to do and achieve and start thinking about the fact that we needs tens of millions of people to support revolutionary socialism in the US in order to get anything done. They are out in the streets begging for you to explain this to them.

These are just peaceful protests that won't achieve anything because they aren't revolutionary.

Lenin says: "What grounds are there for assuming that the “great, victorious, world” revolution can and must employ only revolutionary methods? There are none at all. The assumption is a pure fallacy; this can be proved by purely theoretical propositions if we stick to Marxism. The experience of our revolution also shows that it is a fallacy. From the theoretical point of view—foolish things are done in time of revolution just as at any other time, said Engels, and he was right. We must try to do as few foolish things as possible, and rectify those that are done as quickly as possible, and we must, as soberly as we can, estimate which problems can be solved by revolutionary methods at any given time and which cannot."

You're doing the ultra-leftism of conflating tactics with strategy. Our tactic in this moment is to intervene in these protests to convince people of the necessity of a revolutionary socialist political organization as the only solution to our sick society. Right now, mass revolutionary socialist consciousness and organization does not exist in the USA. Therefore, it is impossible to carry out open revolutionary militancy. If the current crop of people who are in some way directly involved in revolutionary socialist organizing (certainly a lower bar than revolutionary guerrilla warfare or sabotage) turned today to armed struggle, all ~100,000 of them would lose. The broader periphery of people who semi-passively support that objective through attendance at events and monetary contribution is probably a few million. The masses who would passively support probably number in the tens of millions, but that passive support is not particularly useful. And the number of people who would simply sit by and watch it happen is probably over 100 million. Every one of those groups needs to be elevated to the next stage - observer to passive supporter, passive supporter to semi-passive periphery, semi-passive periphery to revolutionary organizer, revolutionary organizer to doing the literal revolution. Each of these layers of the movement have a symbiotic relationship with the others that strengthen the entire struggle.

Here's the key lesson: WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO WIN VIOLENT STRUGGLE AND YOU NEED TO GO WHERE THE MASSES ARE TO RALLY THEM TO OUR CAUSE.

Amerikkkans will never do a revolution because they are labor aristokkkrauts

Ok, thank you for you contribution, you can resume sitting in a hole since your prescription is inactivity.

Please tell me your other weak-ass reasons why you're correct to sit on your ass.

This is how I've been feeling lately. Personally I prefer Take a Chance on Me to Dancing Queen but they're both bangers.

https://no01.substack.com/p/march-19-21-god-is-a-comedian

Friday’s press gaggle. Barely exaggerated: at 12:03 PM, President Trump told reporters he wanted a ceasefire with Iran. At 12:05 he declared victory. At 12:07 he announced he was sending Marines. At 12:08 he said no boots on the ground. At 12:11 he said he did not want a ceasefire. At 12:16 he declared victory again. At 12:17 he asked for a ceasefire. At 12:23 he told NATO they were cowards. At 12:29 he said Iran was begging for a ceasefire. At 12:31 he said everything was perfect. At 12:36 he said $500 oil was a good thing. At 12:37 he demanded Iran open Hormuz. At 12:39 he said Hormuz was never closed. At 12:41 he said the US was not at war with Iran. At 12:42 he declared victory in Iran.

By 3:43 PM he told CBS he doesn’t want a ceasefire. By 5:13 PM - 13 minutes after futures markets closed for the weekend, in a coincidence that should be studied in every securities fraud textbook - he posted on Truth Social that the US is “getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts”. The S&P reversed more than 1% in seconds. QQQ had already surged 1.1% in the 80 minutes before the announcement, with call options flowing in at a pace that suggests someone, somewhere, had an itinerary.

https://linktr.ee/globalsumudflotilla

As a leftist LORT fan this hurts a little

https://xcancel.com/i/status/2036152577981624461

Critical support to the guy fighting against the billionaire and his child soldier

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/44955280

Boutta be some grilled cabbage and corn slaw with chipotle lime dressing

Is that a thing already because if not you're welcome for inventing it

Got a message that someone somehow logged onto my facebook in Cincinatti last night. Seemingly the only thing that has happened is that they listed a car for a good price

Bro even listed his real email. I don't understand what the purpose of this scam is, I've just taken down the listing after one message.

I didn't save the email so I don't know where it was at, but if any of y'all know a Griff Creem, let them know not to log onto my account again >:(

just dropped in and out of public conciousness in a week. did anyone believe it, did anything come of it. who benefits from this

also its called acetaminophen, dont be brand brained

PORT ARTHUR, Texas (AP) — A large explosion at an oil refinery near the Texas coast on Monday shot plumes of smoke into the air and forced nearby residents to shelter in place, according to officials.

No one was injured in the explosion at the Valero refinery in Port Arthur, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Houston, Mayor Charlotte M. Moses said. She urged residents in parts of the west side of the city to stay put, saying fire fighters had arrived.

“There's been an explosion, yes, but we're OK; everybody's OK," she said. "They're trying to put the fire out as quickly as possible.”

The explosion comes amid a spike in gas prices driven by uncertainty over the global oil supply because of the Iran war.

The refinery has about 770 employees and can process about 435,000 barrels of oil per day, according to Valero’s website. The plant refines heavy sour crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, according to the website.

Images and video posted online show a large plume of smoke and flames billowing out from the refinery. Some residents reported hearing a loud boom and seeing their windows shake.

“For your safety please remain in place until the ‘All Clear’ is given by emergency personnel,” the City of Port Arthur said in a post on its Facebook page.

Valero did not immediately respond to an email or call from The Associated Press seeking comment.___

Ah yes the iranian government tries to repress… checks notes …Iranian new year! That makes about as much sense as the PRC banning lunar new year. Imagine being such a mushy pea brained angloid that you buy this shit uncritically.

No sourcing for any of this whatsoever except a couple of diaspora monarchist freaks ofc

Note that “threat of more attacks” has no subjectivity. “Crackdowns and warnings” come from “iran’s authorities”. But “threats of attack” just pop out of nowhere. They’re just “surrounded by rubble”. Nobody is responsible.

Bro even wikipedia would hit you with a for that “many say”.

I’m going through nicotine withdrawals and coming across this piece of “””journalism””” has put me into a state of white hot pure hatred.

And the “””journalist””” previously worked covering the hong kong colour rev shit a few years back. Real fed shit lol

I did the first one as a joke a few months back but it turns out I really enjoy making these things. I dont really expect people to actually use forum signatures but I wanted to show them off. They are in a single image cause the website wont let me upload 11 images at once.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEFA_Indianerfilm

DEFA Indianerfilme ("DEFA Indian films") was a series of adventure and western films ("Red Westerns") produced by the GDR DEFA film studio. The name comes from the obsolete term "Indians" for Indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Gojko Mitić, at the Summer FIlm Days, 1971

Between 1966 and 1983 DEFA produced 14 films of this type, about the resistance of Native Americans against white invaders. A memorable actor in the series was Yugoslavian (Serbian) actor Gojko Mitić portraying fictional Native Americans ("Indians"), "Winnetou of the East", who played in 12 of these films.

The films are searchable in the PROGRESS film database.

Films:

Below are the 14 Indianerfilme and a parody. DEFA division "Roter Kreis"

1966: The Sons of Great Bear based on the novel The Sons of the Great Bear
1967: Chingachremoved, The Great Serpent
1968: Spur des Falken, Trail of the Falcon
1969: Weiße Wölfe, White Wolves
1970: Tödlicher Irrtum Fatal error
1971: Osceola
1972: Tecumseh
1973: Apachen, Apaches
1974: Ulzana
1975: Blood Brothers
1978: Severino

DEFA division "Johannisthal"

1979: Blauvogel, Bluebird
1983: Der Scout, The Scout
1985: Atkins

DEFA division "Berlin"

1982: Der lange Ritt zur Schule, children's comedy, parodying Indianerfilme

Other "Red Western" films of DEFA

1981: Sing, Cowboy, sing, a comedy Western
1988: Präriejäger in Mexiko [Prairie Hunters in Mexico] two-series TV film

See also:

Native Americans in German popular culture

Seven stolen village dogs in northeastern China captured the hearts of millions online after breaking free from thieves working for a dog meat shop and embarking on a journey home together, igniting calls for stronger animal protection laws.

On March 16, a netizen surnamed Lu recorded a video of seven dogs walking along a busy highway in Changchun, Jilin province.

In the footage, a group of dogs carefully surrounded an injured German shepherd, while a Corgi at the front repeatedly looked back to ensure none were left behind.

The group also included Golden Retrievers, Labradors and Pekinese dogs.

Lu told mainland media outlet Dahe Daily: “They resemble a band of little brothers in distress, moving in unison – nothing like stray dogs.”

Although he attempted several times to guide them to safety, the dogs ignored his calls. He then shared the video on Douyin, urging local authorities to step in.

Another passing road user captured footage of the dogs wandering through nearby fields.

The local Bitter Coffee Stray Dog Base reported that the dogs come from the same village, typically roaming freely together and having formed strong friendships.

In response, the base dispatched several volunteers and even a drone to track the dogs and facilitate their safe return home.

One volunteer claimed that individuals operating a dog meat shop had stolen the dogs, suggesting they may have escaped from a truck, though no witnesses saw their departure.

Despite the controversy, a few dog meat restaurants still operate in northern China. During the long, frigid winters, locals believe consuming dog meat provides warmth and sustenance.

The Dalian Animal Protection Association noted that dog farms are very rare, as raising dogs is costly. For many dog meat shop owners, stray dogs and stolen pets are the easiest and cheapest sources of meat.

Cities like Changchun, Harbin, and Dalian have reported numerous incidents of pet dogs being stolen.

On March 19, a volunteer informed Jimu News that all seven dogs had returned to their respective owners, who came from three different households.

The highway where Lu first spotted them was about 17 km from their village.

One owner expressed relief that his missing dogs – a German shepherd and a Golden Retriever – returned home, stating: “We are so lucky they came back, not to be eaten.”

Another owner proudly mentioned her Corgi, known for its cleverness and ability to find its way home.

As of now, no additional information has emerged regarding the dog thieves.

In China, dog theft is considered a criminal offence, with penalties that can include fines or imprisonment based on the value of the animal.

The dogs’ remarkable journey home has garnered widespread attention online, with videos accumulating over 230 million views.

Currently, Chinese law does not explicitly prohibit the consumption of dog meat, although Shenzhen became one of the first mainland cities to ban the eating of cats and dogs in 2020.

The flag of South Africa from 1928 to 1994 was the flag of the Union of South Africa from 1928 to 1961 and later the flag of the Republic of South Africa until 1994. It was also the flag for South West Africa (now Namibia) under the former's administration (from 1915 to 1990). Based on the Dutch Prince's Flag, it contained the flag of the United Kingdom, the flag of the Orange Free State, and the flag of the South African Republic (respectively) in the centre.[5] A nickname for the flag was Oranje, Blanje, Blou (Afrikaans slang for: "orange, white, blue").

(wp)

good thing this is: we don't need a -cool emoji as this one is already