I am seeing posts from https://hexbear.net/ once again. Anyone know what happened since they lost their domain name? How did they get it back?
I am seeing posts from https://hexbear.net/ once again. Anyone know what happened since they lost their domain name? How did they get it back?
You can think of NATO as a millitary pact of gangsters. The members of NATO make the bulk of their wealth through fleecing the Global South, through processes of Unequal Exchange and brutal IMF loans that come with clauses requiring them to sell off nationalized infrastructure and resources. NATO’s role, other than Anti-Communism, is to essentially form “Big Stick Diplomacy” with countries that do not immediately play ball with their terms.
We can see this in Operation Gladio, as an example. Even ignoring the fact that several heads of NATO have been former Nazis, such as Adolf Heusinger, Leftists have opposed NATO for its role in defending US and EU Imperialism since its foundation. You can see that in modern Communist orgs like PSL’s statement on the Russo-Ukrainian War, or FRSO’s Statement on NATO.
That should give a background on why the Left generally opposes US millitary dominance over the world, and NATO’s role in that. If it’s hard to grasp, look at the ACAB movement. Why do people oppose a group that, on paper, is for “defending the people?” Because in reality, it defends a brutally exploitative system over all else, and thus racist and classist violence is a systemic part of that “defense.”
What are your thoughts on Belt and Road?
Can you narrow it down? I think it’s good to have international cooperation on infrastructure, and is much better than exporting war and misery like the US does.
Riiiight. Sure.
Nothing to do with the fact that pretty much every country that borders Russia has been invaded by them.
Not sure which part of my comment you’re disagreeing with, so not sure how to respond. I included statements from Communist orgs directly, not Hexbear, so you could see that this is fairly universal among the anticapitalist left.
You genuinely don’t think Russia is a threat to its neighbours, do you?
I think the fact that the Russian Capitalists (also called “Oligarchs”) control Russia’s industry, rather than the US and Europe like they did right after the dissolution of the USSR, has resulted in NATO buildup along Russia’s border, just like back during the Soviet era when NATO put the Jupiter missiles in Turkey, nuclear arms, and extended a NATO base beyond West Germany’s border and into East Germany, both of which prompted Operation Anadyr which led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Those same Jupiter missiles, Kruschev would convince Kennedy to remove alongside Cuba removing their nukes, in an equal exchange of disarmament.
I absolutely believe Russia is a threat to those around them, sure, in the sense that all countries could be if a much larger power started massive millitary expansion along their borders. I don’t think there is anything unique about Russians ethnically that would cause them to go to war, but that there are relatively explainable factors.
Which of my original comment did you disagree with? The purpose of NATO? The Imperialism practiced by NATO countries? The ties to the Nazi party? All of it? It would help if you explained a bit, because as it stands I made a pretty thorough comment and you sort of just brushed it all aside, which is difficult to maintain a discussion around.
I think the umbrage most people take is when that opposition to NATO turns into Russian apologism. Like you said yourself, it’s a country owned and operated by capitalists waging wars against other capitalist interests. The conversation can end there, fuck both of them.
It almost always does. They’re a defence pact, which is only activated when a member state is attacked, and the people who oppose them are, without any exception I’ve ever seen, people who think Russia should be free to invade their neighbors.
We should examine what gave rise to it, how we can end it, and what the possible outcomes are. We shouldn’t just wash our hands and look away.
What is there to learn that we don’t already know? The USA jockeyed for geopolitical influence during the Cold War, the USSR dissolved and was captured by capitalist interests, and now the Russian Federation is waging wars to protect and project their own influence.
Getting into the nitty gritty is pointless if you truly believe all sides are bad actors. The discourse online is a hollow wedge issue; just countless whataboutisms egging the masses to pick sides and keep the focus off of the people looting and destroying everything.
The quite active role of NATO and the US Empire is still something we need to analyze.
you out here doing yeomans work