[-] Juice@midwest.social 1 points 6 hours ago

So two things worth mentioning IMO, one important, the other kinda pedantic but still important from a theory POV:

  1. Being the "furthest left" is not always the best tactic, and certainly not a strategy. If being far left means a practical program to unified liberation and resistance to capitalism, that's great, I'm right there with you. But actual conditions are contradictory and constantly struggling to be the furthest left is sectarian/opportunist and not practical/critical.

  2. Capitalism contains anarchist elements, such as anarchy in production. There are right wing anarchists ho want to consolidate power by delegitimizing/eliminating social protections; not liberate the masses to self actualize, but liberate the individual to rob and oppress.

I don't make these point to attack you or anarchism, I work with anarchists and feel affinity with them, and I think they would agree with me on these points. But in my experience, the point is not to be the furthest left, but to have the best means to determine actual truth and teach others to think critically. In some ways, the left/right paradigm does more harm than good, even if it is useful in other contexts.

[-] Juice@midwest.social 1 points 8 hours ago

I mean, the links provided above re:Bhutan aren't what I would describe as blatant. One link is paywalled, one link is very tame and conciliatory toward China, one link makes some bold claims but upon inspection has a particular political alignment, and cites some compelling but not really definitive sources. Its been a good place to begin, but IMO doesn't demo anything conclusive.

I'll look into the situation in Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. I agree that China is not above real politik when it comes to foreign relations, but any references you could share would also be appreciated.

[-] Juice@midwest.social 2 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

I mean, yeah, after writing my way through it, I can appreciate the perspective. I generally like to be precise, concrete with definitions.

But the more I thought about it, the more I worked through it, I found it interesting that, based on strict definition of the EU, as an entity unto itself with particular functions, it is like you say, it is never imperialist.

But when searching for the contours of it, where an imperialist or historically colonial member nation ends, and where global imperialism picks up, those lines are not clear at all. I'm sure they are defined legally somewhere, and I would be interested in those legal definitions, but when defined by its relation to power, it is conspicuously "never imperialist", while existing between, and functioning in tandem with, national imperialist powers and global imperialist powers. Like it's a little too unimperialist for an entity that is situated deep within, and rooted intrinsically with imperialism.

I think it has been a good discussion and exercise sussing this out, I don't think i was wrong with my comment, but I was also only looking at it from this one perspective that doesn't consider the EU's most crucial relationships. And as a matter of fact, I think defining the thing, particularly in the realm of social/economics/IR, by its relationship is much more revealing and historically accurate. So i guess I mean i started with the concretization process when I commented, but it wasn't until we continued discussion that I was able to really work it out.

But that's why I contribute to discussions! In good faith, I learn a lot

[-] Juice@midwest.social 2 points 1 day ago

denazification

Just isn't really possible for a capitalist country to denazify another capitalist country. Fascism is capitalism in decay. As long as the conditions for fascism exist, it will continue and reemerge as a social phenomenon.

The state targeting individual fascists, without delegitimizing them, just creates more fascists. And the only thing that can delegitimize fascism is a social system that can take care of people's needs, end wars, resist capitalism, provide a high quality of life (or realistically promise one), and carry out mass education that teaches people to be critical and engaged.

As long as the capitalists are with us, there will be poverty, and fascists to make sure things remain that way.

[-] Juice@midwest.social 2 points 1 day ago

Thanks, I'll look these over

[-] Juice@midwest.social 1 points 1 day ago

Here's my reasoning: Capitalism is global, capitalism is imperialist, the national or transnational character of capitalism is geographically dependent. The EU as an entity does not carry out imperialist activity outside of the national/transnational framing. It engages in trade, legal definition/refinement, regulation. It empowers capitalists within the EU to conduct business on a global stage. The EU does not have a military, it does not operate a military that functions imperialistically. It can serve as an organizing force that unites national capital to coordinate national militaries with the aims of empowering national capital to conduct business globally.

Honestly the more I think through this the harder it is to parse out differences. Most, if not all, EU members are imperialist, but the imperialist part of them is national, not transnational. Honestly I can't really fault your perspective, and I'd like to develop it more than a "I'm right, you're wrong" type debate would really allow. I'd be interested in resources that support your position.

[-] Juice@midwest.social 1 points 1 day ago

I mean, that's a really good example! And I appreciate it. Do you have any more resources about it? The wiki article is a little vague, and it would be interesting to compare with border skirmishes w India.

I'm a little hesitant to frame things as "evil" but I get your point. Its really hard to pin down China international policy, IMO, so having something concrete to review is always helpful.

[-] Juice@midwest.social 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Governments of various kinds were created because Anarchy does not work

Based on what history or anthropological theory/evidence? Sounds like a preconceived notion, rather than factual truth.

My reading of various sources is that egalitarian societies established material relations that turned into castes, and then one caste established dominance over the others and created a ruling class. That ruling class created the "governments" to effectively rule over the rest based on their own material class interests.

The nature of government has changed over time, at one time there were feudal relations, now we have capitalist states. At no time, and in now way were governments created because anarchy didn't work. On the contrary, egalitarian societies worked pretty well until divisions in labor and distribution of resources became concentrated and monopolized.

I'm not an anarchist, but I disagree with your framing and would like to know what it is based on, if anything

[-] Juice@midwest.social 8 points 1 day ago

I think it is highly debateable that having Nazis in a country is justification to invade them, because that's a justification for practically any country to invade practically any country. Especially when the Invading country is also full of neo-nazis.

[-] Juice@midwest.social 3 points 1 day ago

Hm. I mean, thats a really good point. Now you've got me thinking about the differences between neocolonialism and hegemony, as well as the difference between the historic imperialism of EU nations, vs the role of the EU; as well as like how the national interests of a formerly imperialist country functions within the imperialism of global capital. Not sure where to start but its a very compelling line.

Re: China as global hegemon, we are all becoming Mearsheimer-ists, aren't we?

[-] Juice@midwest.social 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

In this case, "propaganda" is a matter of emphasis. I think that there is a very strong case to be made that the USA supported pro EU/pro NATO forces in Ukraine, with weapons, services, and goods, during and after Maidan. This aid influenced Ukraine to join NATO which was a hard red line for Russia. There is a strong case, and historic precedence to be made that the USA pushed, or at least nudged (using aid, which made up 90% of foreign aid) Ukraine to join NATO specifically to draw Russia into a long, protracted conflict with Ukraine.

NATO is an entity that was formed to stop Soviet "spread" into Europe. So.why does it still exist after the fall of USSR? It still functions as a hostile military front against Russia. It makes sense in any context that Russia would not permit a new NATO installation in Ukraine.

Does this justify the Russian invasion of Ukraine? Fuck no. But that doesnt mean that being objective about the history is propaganda, it means the lead up to the invasion was messy, there were western and Russian elements using Ukraine to carry out their own imperial agenda. Ukraine has been incredibly vulnerable and heavily exploited for a very long time. Ukraine had the lowest standard of living during the USSR, which dropped significantly after the fall, and basically never recovered. Post USSR Russia played a role in this, as did the USA, EU, and NATO.

Propaganda does not mean "facts that don't suit my camp". Such facts may be used in propaganda, but doesn't make them false, context is everything. Being a pro-USA campist is also bad. Even if it puts you on the "side" of the victims in the invasion doesn't give you the right to disregard the USA's role in using Ukraine for their own imperialist aganda.

Edit: gonna post some links for reference https://thewallwillfall.org/2022/04/17/retired-swiss-intelligence-officer-explains-ukraine/

https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-john-mearsheimer-blames-the-us-for-the-crisis-in-ukraine

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/18/788874844/how-u-s-military-aid-has-helped-ukraine-since-2014

https://www.stimson.org/2022/u-s-security-assistance-to-ukraine-breaks-all-precedents/

https://jacobin.com/2022/02/maidan-protests-neo-nazis-russia-nato-crimea?s=08

[-] Juice@midwest.social 3 points 2 days ago

I feel like this is a trap for trots like me

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submitted 4 months ago by Juice@midwest.social to c/antimeme@lemmy.world
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And you (thelemmy.club)
submitted 4 months ago by Juice@midwest.social to c/antimeme@lemmy.world
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submitted 5 months ago by Juice@midwest.social to c/sports@hexbear.net
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The other day a mod on Hexbear told me that "now is the time for monsters" referred to "what we must become during the revolution." I was like no, its about old people

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submitted 6 months ago by Juice@midwest.social to c/soulslike@lemmy.zip

300+ hours in Nightreign, prob 200+ on one character: Executor. Generally, the worst character in the game. Low HP, low damage resistance, low damage except for status procs. If you go in unga bunga you will die, you will suck. Has a special ability called suncatcher that looks very flashy but itself does almost little damage.

So let's focus on his most important feature, arguably the most important gameplay mechanic in any soulsborne:

looks very flashy

Suncatcher is basically Sekiro playstyle. He has a cursed sword that can deflect all damage, with a satisfying clang and bright sparks, if timed near-perfectly. After 5 deflections, it lights up, and lets you do a golden sweep attack. Deflecting with Suncatcher builds up some stance damage, but the weapon itself did minimal damage on its own, even the flashy golden sweep.

His ultimate was a free heal that does a little damage but ever dark bosses and Deep of Night games would kill you easily despite being a giant horned beast. His ult has some utility, like healing other players when roaring with a certain relic. Synergies were found when using the seppuku skill with his special ability, but sacrificing a huge chunk of your health pool for a brief damage buff took a lot of situational awareness to make sure I didn't get ganked mid-buff, and it still happened frequently.

A lot of players use his high Arcane stat to proc statuses but dont really even use suncatcher. I myself became obsessed with it. Eventually I developed a "stance/status/tank" playstyle: after practicing with suncatcher for a long time I got pretty good at deflecting enemy attacks, and could hold off most bosses by myself while teammates did damage, or if one team member needed to go revive another. I learned that Executor's charge attacks are best after ive procced status a couple times. I could carry teams through the base bosses as long as both players weren't completely worthless.

But ultimately, the character had a high skill floor in order to become like a medium value character. It could be argued that his sekiro-deflect is too powerful, it has a generous "perfect" window, more than we got from Sekiro, but other characters were straight easy-mode. Raider has great damage resistance, a huge health pool, incredible DPS, and the ability to nullify attacks with his special poise-counter.

But last week, they buffed Executor. They buffed suncatcher immensely. It does more stance damage, it does significantly more damage, blocking uses less stamina, can't be stance broken with perfect deflects, and many atack up relics now apply to suncatcher. This character gained immense value. I was absolutely stuck in the new Deep of Night hard mode, I struggled to make any progress in depth 2, and while ive only played a single DoN match since the buff, we easily cleared it.

With a few relics, suncatcher can be made to be significantly stronger than even a legendary Katana, available at level 1. His HP and damage negation are still low, but he can't be stance broken on perfect deflects anymore, making him much more reliable and dependent on skillful deflecting rather than the enemy's attack spam.

I have become so powerful, it is intoxicating. Absolute incredible week for Executor mains

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submitted 7 months ago by Juice@midwest.social to c/PLT@sh.itjust.works

Part of a response I received in a thread on .ml

https://midwest.social/post/41018287

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submitted 8 months ago by Juice@midwest.social to c/PLT@sh.itjust.works

I was invited here to participate in discussion. But when I visit, all I see is a bunch of anti-tankie posts from a prolific anti-tankie, an Atlantic smear article about DSA from months ago, and a few genuinely good discussions. Let's get those numbers up, and start drowning out the "based" memes.

As of today, the most divisive and urgent issue du jour, is about the government shutdown, and the legislative drama surrounding it. People are angry.

There are a lot of people directly affected by the shut down. I know someone who is basically working for free at her govt job because she's scared she will lose her job completely. A department of 20 workers, reduced to a staff of 4 temporary slaves. She doubts she will get back pay, but hopes she will. Many of her coworkers will not. My friend doesnt think about it like that, but that is def one major pain point in the middle class.

I'm willing to bet the dem house legislature is just gonna fold with no healthcare demand, which is a seriously pressing issue for workers who rely on ACA.

Back of the napkin, about 45% of ACA recipients are at or below the poverty line. ACA subsidies cut off below 65k indiv/130k fam.

That bracket would include many government workers, except govt workers receive healthcare. 65k is like barely middle class in the US, with housing costs, soaring energy bills, etc.,

Interesting and tragic how the shut down is just a way to divide the working class over material issues, especially the working poor vs the middle class.

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FREE LUIGI (midwest.social)
submitted 2 years ago by Juice@midwest.social to c/memes@lemmy.ml
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submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by Juice@midwest.social to c/games@sh.itjust.works

I’ve been playing this game off and on, starting over since it came out. I was a hardcore Bloodborne player, but also played a lot of elden ring and ds3. Sekiro never clicked, I thought it was slick and the action felt incredible but I just couldn’t get past the beginning. Finally I’ve broken through and am having a blast, and its all thanks to Armored Core 6. Thanks Armored Core 6 (I will not elaborate).

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Juice

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