Alsephina 1d ago • 87%
::: spoiler Poverty rates in China
:::
::: spoiler Under every income group.
:::
Alsephina 3d ago • 80%
Best way to decentralize users more would probably be to make your own instance. .world is certainly centralizing Lemmy's userbase too much right now.
Alsephina 1w ago • 100%
::: spoiler Parenti quote
If the Soviets refused to negotiate a point, they were intransigent and belligerent; if they appeared willing to make concessions, this was but a skillful ploy to put us off our guard.
By opposing arms limitations, they would have demonstrated their aggressive intent; but when in fact they supported most armament treaties, it was because they were mendacious and manipulative.
If the churches in the USSR were empty, this demonstrated that religion was suppressed; but if the churches were full, this meant the people were rejecting the regime’s atheistic ideology.
If the workers went on strike (as happened on infrequent occasions), this was evidence of their alienation from the collectivist system; if they didn’t go on strike, this was because they were intimidated and lacked freedom.
A scarcity of consumer goods demonstrated the failure of the economic system; an improvement in consumer supplies meant only that the leaders were attempting to placate a restive population and so maintain a firmer hold over them.
If communists in the United States played an important role struggling for the rights of workers, the poor, African-Americans, women, and others, this was only their guileful way of gathering support among disfranchised groups and gaining power for themselves. How one gained power by fighting for the rights of powerless groups was never explained.
What we are dealing with is a nonfalsifiable orthodoxy, so assiduously marketed by the ruling interests that it affected people across the entire political spectrum. :::
Alsephina 1w ago • 96%
Alsephina 1w ago • 81%
Not communist obviously, since there's still very much a state and class division. But socialist because the state primarily serves the workers, with the stated goal of striving towards communism.
Now whether it'll stay that way or not, we'll see. Deng's reforms have given liberals too much power after all; there seems to be an active class war happening in the Chinese state.
Alsephina 1w ago • 88%
The Soviet-funded PFLP was the largest Palestinian resistance organization until capitalists overthrew the USSR and they had no reason to fund socialist movements anymore.
Their book Strategy For The Liberation Of Palestine from 1969 is a great read and still very relevant today.
Alsephina 2w ago • 85%
/c/196 isn't very well moderated at all... It's the biggest community on there
Also "imperialist kind of communism" lmao
www.scmp.com
> China’s first domestically built 300-megawatt heavy-duty gas turbine – used for generating electricity and powering warships – has passed an ignition test. > It marks a key milestone for the Chinese technology, which was said to lag behind that of the West by about 30 years when the project began in 2016. The team’s rapid progress has closed that gap in less than a decade. > Developed by China United Heavy-Duty Gas Turbine Technology Co, the first prototype of the gas turbine was completed in February. > The biggest gas turbine currently operating is the SGT5-8000H made by German company Siemens. It weighs in at 390 tonnes – about the same as an Airbus A380 – and its 375MW capacity is equal to the combined turbocharged engine power of 1,300 Porsche 911 cars. Yet the precision of its core blades is maintained within the thickness of a hair. > The gas turbine ignited on Monday is comparable to the mainstream models in service globally, known as F-class. It has an operating temperature of around 1,400 degrees Celsius (2,552 Fahrenheit) and a capacity of 300MW. > The goal of building an F-class 300MW heavy-duty gas turbine was listed in the government’s “Made in China 2025” plan to upgrade hi-tech industries and reduce dependency on imports, and an even more advanced 400MW turbine is targeted by 2030. > “We must persistently continue our efforts and leverage the advantages of China’s national system,” Jin said. “[Also] ensure the research resources are there, allow researchers to focus solely on tackling key problems, and fully commit to validating the overall performance and reliability of the system.” [Archive link](https://archive.ph/48trA)
news.cgtn.com
> Brazil's Supreme Court cleared X to resume service in the country on Tuesday, after the social media platform reversed course and started complying with court rulings billionaire owner Elon Musk had previously vowed to resist. > In the decision, Moraes said X had met all the necessary requirements to start operating again in the country. > Musk, who had denounced the orders as censorship and called Moraes a "dictator," started to reverse his position in recent weeks, with his social media network blocking accounts flagged by the court, tapping a local representative and paying pending fines. > "We showed the world that here our laws should be respected, by whomever it may be," Filho said in a statement. [Archive link](https://archive.ph/l7sS0)
www.aljazeera.com
> Al Jazeera cameraman Fadi al-Wahidi has been injured by Israeli gunfire in northern Gaza, becoming the second Al Jazeera cameraman to be injured in an Israeli attack this week.
Alsephina 2w ago • 100%
truthout.org
> A new documentary from Al Jazeera takes a look at evidence of war crimes in Gaza in the form of social media posted by Israeli soldiers recording and celebrating their own attacks on Palestinians. We play excerpts from the film Investigating War Crimes in Gaza, now available online, and speak to two of the journalists involved in its production, director Richard Sanders and Gaza-based correspondent Youmna ElSayed. “Israelis themselves were telling us precisely what they were doing and why they were doing it,” says Sanders about the evidence the team reviewed. “They don’t think it’s complicated. They don’t think it’s nuanced. Their rhetoric is often overtly genocidal.” ElSayed adds, “They’ve had all the courage to do that because they know that they are not even going to be condemned.”
Alsephina 2w ago • 100%
PalAction don't fuck around huh. We need more direct action orgs like this.
Alsephina 2w ago • 92%
Yeah they do be posting about beans too much on there sometimes...
Alsephina 2w ago • 100%
They ban anyone and anything with a hint of transphobia, to the point of defederating blahaj for not being hard on transphobes enough.
When the site was first created there was a big problem with stupidpols, and under the guidance of TransComrade69 underwent a purge of all transphobes on the site, including even people who were consistently downvoting posts/comments by trans users. This TC69 Thought, so to speak, continues to this day.
On the Hexbear thread there's talk of doing a purge of mysogynists next, seeing how there aren't many cis women on the site judging by this poll.
Alsephina 2w ago • 100%
They already did lmao
Alsephina 2w ago • 100%
It's not, but anglosphere media will keep trying to portray it so lol
www.theguardian.com
> The entire staff of Marjayoun public hospital in south Lebanon were evacuated on Friday morning after an Israeli drone strike killed four paramedics, putting the hospital out of service, Lebanon’s national news agency reported. > The hospital was one of the major medical providers in south Lebanon, particularly as Israel’s intensified aerial campaign which started on 23 September displaced many medical staff from the region. > Israel also carried out a strike on the Islamic health organisation’s center in Khirbet Selem, causing injuries on Friday afternoon, according to Lebanon’s national news agency. > An additional member of the ambulance service was killed and one injured while carrying out rescue services in the southern suburbs of Beirut, which was intensely bombed the night prior, according to Hezbollah-affiliated media. > At least 102 Lebanese paramedics have been killed since the beginning of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah a year prior.
www.irishtimes.com
> The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has told Ireland to remove its peacekeepers from an outpost on the border with Lebanon as its invasion of the country continues. > Sources confirmed the request was made to the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) and individual countries contributing troops, including Ireland. Israel has been told the troops will remain in place. > There is one Irish outpost on the Lebanese-Israeli border, which is known as the Blue Line. This outpost, designated post 6-52, is manned by a single Irish platoon who are responsible for observing the border and reporting on incursions. > The area was the scene of intense fighting between the IDF and the militant Lebanese group Hizbullah earlier in the week, during which Israel suffered heavy casualties. Some of the fighting took place less than 2km from the Irish outpost. > The warning to remove peacekeepers from the border raises the prospect of Israel launching a full-scale invasion across the extent of the border. Incursions to date have been more limited in scale. > It is understood the Irish Government has informed Israeli officials that Unifil troop movements are a matter for the UN and its force commander on the ground. Unifil has told Israel it will not be removing the troops. [Archive link](https://archive.ph/5aDat)
Alsephina 2w ago • 75%
One of these days
Germany urges its citizens to leave israel immediately
...
"Israel" is now completely empty
Alsephina 3w ago • 100%
Hell yeah I'm writing him in
Alsephina 3w ago • 87%
Now this is direct action 🫡
> According to a senior Teledyne manager, contamination of their clean rooms could stop production for up to 12 months. ::: spoiler More clips   ::: ::: spoiler @Pal_Action tweets (source) [Tweet 1](https://x.com/Pal_action/status/1841373470896107613) [Tweet 2](https://x.com/Pal_action/status/1841405529484063224) [Tweet 3](https://x.com/Pal_action/status/1841444322593415592) :::
Alsephina 3w ago • 100%
they can stay where they are, just in a secular, democratic Palestinian state.
This is the solution the PFLP supports iirc
A settler colonial ethnostate built on the genocide of natives can never coexist with said natives. It can't be a separate state.
Alsephina 3w ago • 95%
The Biden administration wants to support Israel’s actions
Genocidal bastards
> Senior White House figures privately told Israel that the U.S. would support its decision to ramp up military pressure against Hezbollah — even as the Biden administration publicly urged the Israeli government in recent weeks to curtail its strikes, according to American and Israeli officials. > Not everyone in the administration was on board with Israel’s shift, despite support inside the White House, the officials said. The decision to focus on Hezbollah sparked division within the U.S. government, drawing opposition from people inside the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence community who believed Israel’s move against the Iran-backed militia could drag American forces into yet another Middle East conflict. > Officials in the intelligence community, in briefings and talks with members of Congress last week, had said they were increasingly worried about the potential for a direct ground confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah. Similar conversations were occurring in the State Department, where officials were concerned about the mounting civilian death toll in Lebanon. > The internal administration division seems to have dissipated somewhat in recent days, with top U.S. officials convening Monday at the White House with President Joe Biden to discuss the situation on the ground. Most agreed that the conflict, while fragile, could offer an opportunity to reduce Iran’s influence in Lebanon and the region. > Still, the White House is walking a fine line, U.S. and Israeli officials said. The Biden administration wants to support Israel’s actions against a U.S.-designated terrorist group that has killed Americans and threatens the region. But it is not comfortable endorsing Israel’s campaign completely — or publicly — because it is worried it will creep too far into Lebanese territory, instigating an all-out war, one of the U.S. officials said. [Archive link](https://archive.ph/oxwCF)
Alsephina 3w ago • 75%
You're currently a genocidal pig supporter. If you don't want to be one, you can stop.
Alsephina 3w ago • 100%
I was about to post that a US official said a strike from Iran was imminent
I didn't realize "imminent" meant just 3 hours...
> Members of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, armed wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement, parade in Gaza City after Hamas threatened a renewed escalation over a planned right-wing Israeli march through flashpoint areas of annexed east Jerusalem on Thursday
> Argentina’s poverty rate jumped from almost 42% to 53% during the first six months of Javier Milei’ s presidency, the statistics agency reported Thursday, a steep rise reflecting the pain of the country’s most intense austerity program in recent memory. > The government’s finding that Argentina’s half-year poverty rate in 2024 had surged to its highest level since 2003, when the country was reeling from a catastrophic foreign debt default and currency devaluation, marks a setback for the far-right economist. So far, foreign investors and the International Monetary Fund — to which Argentina owes $43 billion — have cheered his controversial fiscal shock therapy that has succeeded in pulling down the country’s monthly inflation from 25.5% last December to 4.2% in recent months. > Argentina’s inflation, now running at more than 230% annually, is among the worst in the world. > Unlike previous populist governments that kept consumer spending high at the cost of a massive budget deficit, Milei dismantled price controls, cut subsidies on energy and transport and devalued the peso by 54% in December after taking office. > The austerity measures and deregulation have marked a brutal contraction in spending power and dragged the economy deep into recession. > **A thinning safety net** > Of the millions who can’t clear Argentina’s official poverty level of about $950 a month in local currency for a family of four, even more have tumbled into destitution. Thursday’s poverty report showed that Argentina’s extreme poverty rate had shot up to 18.1% during Milei’s first six months as president from 11.9% in the last half of 2023. > **A jobs crisis** > The runaway inflation — shocking even for Argentines who lived through years of annual inflation averaging above 50% — has forced middle-class Argentines to cut back on spending and drain their savings. > The economy has contracted 3% so far this year. Government surveys reveal that both Argentina’s vast informal jobs market and formal workforce have hemorrhaged hundreds of thousands of jobs since Milei took office. > That has put more of Argentina’s once-robust middle class in danger of sliding into poverty. > **Sky-high bills** > For decades low-paid Argentines have navigated their upside-down economy by padding their meager incomes with government cash transfers and generous subsidies that reduced the cost of utilities, food and transport. > But utilities bills jumped over 200% for many after Milei scrapped the subsidies to trim the deficit. [Archive link](https://archive.ph/zQH8N)
www.aljazeera.com
> Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake has taken office as Sri Lanka’s president shortly after winning the country’s election. > Dissanayake, who was sworn in on Monday after winning Saturday’s polls, has inherited the top job in a nation battered by austerity measures imposed as a part of a bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). > These austerity measures — hikes in income taxes and electricity prices — were introduced under outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe. > Wickremesinghe took over as leader after his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted in 2022 following the country’s economic collapse and amid mass public protests that Dissanayake and his political party, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), were part of. > In his inauguration speech, Dissanayake pledged “cleaner” politics. “People have called for a different political culture,” he said. > “I am ready to commit to that change.” > His presidential campaign was built on the promise of fighting corruption. > Dissanayake has also been critical of Wickremesinghe’s $2.9bn bailout deal with the IMF. > Now in power, he faces questions over how he might navigate the island nation’s economic challenges at a time when it is deeply fractured. > While campaigning, the NPP argued that the current terms of the IMF programme are not favourable to the disadvantaged poor and working classes, Rajni Gamage, a research fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, told Al Jazeera. > Cuts in social welfare schemes and increases in taxes made by Wickremesinghe’s government as a result of the IMF deal have hurt economically weaker sections of society the most. > “They [the NPP] feel like the deal has been quite unfair and that it favours the more wealthier sections more,” Gamage said. > Dissanayake said he will renegotiate the IMF bailout plan to make the austerity measures more bearable. > Even though he won the election, Dissanayake did not get the votes of many Tamils, who make up 12 percent of the population of 22 million and are the country’s largest ethnic minority. > Still, Dissanayake made a call for unity in his inauguration speech. > “There are things I know and things I don’t know, but I will seek the best advice and do my best. For that, I need the support of everyone,” he said. > Tamil leaders have expressed optimism that Dissanayake will steer clear of sectarian politics. [Archive link](https://archive.ph/J7PQu)
www.bbc.com
> French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled his new government almost three months after a snap general election delivered a hung parliament. > The long-awaited new line up, led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier, marks a decisive shift to the right, even though a left-wing alliance won most parliamentary seats. > It comes as the European Union puts France on notice over its spiralling debt, which now far exceeds EU rules. > Among those gaining a position in the new cabinet is Bruno Retailleau, a key member of the conservative Republicans Party founded by former president Nicolas Sarkozy. > Just one left-wing politician was given a post in the cabinet, independent Didier Migaud, who was appointed as justice minister. > France's public-sector deficit is projected to reach around 5.6% of GDP this year and go over 6% in 2025. The EU has a 3% limit on deficits. > Michel Barnier, a veteran conservative, was named as Macron’s prime minister earlier this month. > Members of the left-wing alliance, the New Popular Front (NFP) have threatened a no-confidence motion in the new government. > Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon called for the new government to "be got rid of" as soon as possible. > On Saturday, before the cabinet announcement, thousands of left-wing supporters demonstrated in Paris against the incoming government, arguing that the left’s performance in the election was not taken into consideration. [Archive link](https://archive.ph/DuKU7)
geopoliticaleconomy.com
> The vast majority of the world voted at the UN General Assembly to demand an end to Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory within 12 months, with 124 countries (64%) in favor, 14 (7%) against, and 43 (22%) abstentions. > The General Assembly resolution was based on a July ruling by the top UN legal authority, the International Court of Justice, which stated that “Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful” and that “Israel is under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible”. > The countries that voted against the resolution, in effect supporting Israel’s illegal occupation, were the United States, Israel, Argentina, Czechia, Hungary, Malawi, Papa New Guinea, and Paraguay, plus the tiny Pacific island nations of Fiji, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Tonga, and Tuvalu. > These small island countries that consistently echo Washington’s unpopular votes in the UN are essentially unofficial US colonies, and mostly use the US dollar or Australian dollar as their currencies. Together, the six have a combined population of just over 1 million people, making them some of the smallest nations on Earth. > Among the large countries that abstained were India, Australia, Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ethiopia. > However, in a break with Washington, a few longtime US allies voted in support of the resolution, most notably Japan, as well as France, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain. > Several countries did not vote in the September 18 General Assembly session. These include a few nations that would without a doubt have supported the resolution, such as Venezuela, which lost its voting rights because it cannot pay UN membership fees due to illegal Western sanctions. The US and its European allies have stolen billions of dollars of Venezuelan foreign assets and reserves, and Washington has blocked Venezuela from using the US-controlled financial system. > The resolution was not controversial; it simply called for the implementation of a decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s top legal body. > On July 19, the ICJ issued a historic ruling stating: > >> – the State of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful; >> >> – the State of Israel is under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible; >> >> – the State of Israel is under an obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities, and to evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory; >> >> – the State of Israel has the obligation to make reparation for the damage caused to all the natural or legal persons concerned in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; >> >> – all States are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. > Since war broke out in Gaza in October 2023, Washington has repeatedly vetoed Security Council resolutions that call for peace and a ceasefire. > US President Joe Biden has strongly supported Israel as it has brutally bombed civilians in Gaza, in what UN experts say is a campaign of genocide. > In a press conference in Tel Aviv in October, Biden asserted that “if Israel didn’t exist, we’d have to invent it”, given how strategic the colonial state is for US imperial interests. [Archive link](https://archive.ph/zRMqs)
www.pcgamer.com
> Tune in on October 19. > As the narrator for Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, Lenval Brown recorded 350,000 words of dialogue. His warm, crackling tone is one you'll associate with Disco Elysium forever after playing it, though he's also popped up elsewhere—like in retro shooter Ultrakill, city builder Republic of Pirates, and as the host of our own documentary series, Tales from the Hard Drive. > Next he'll be playing the RPG he's most famous for as a charity fundraiser, "where he will play the game and talk about his experience as a voice actor for Disco Elysium." It'll be part of Workshops 4 Gaza, a series of benefits where writers, artists, and teachers offer online courses in return for donations to Palestinians in Gaza. > To register for Voice of the Narrator: A Disco Elysium livestream, you'll need to donate to a gofundme to help Dr. Alaa Abu Musa and his family evacuate the Gaza Strip. (Suggested donations are $US60.) Then fill out the registration form linked at the Workshops 4 Gaza event page. The livestream will take place on October 19, from 3–5pm EST. [Archive link](https://archive.ph/TT1Rn)