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What is the most powerful flying bug? This poll is closed. |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 🦋 |
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15 | 3.71% |
| 🦇 |
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115 | 28.47% |
| 🪰 |
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12 | 2.97% |
| 🐦 |
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67 | 16.58% |
| dragonfly |
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94 | 23.27% |
| 🦟 |
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14 | 3.47% |
| 🐝 |
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87 | 21.53% |
| Total: | 404 votes | ||
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Tankbuster posted:India only started doing independent diplomacy after this war started under the stellar leadership of great sage modi. Non aligned movement? Oh that was what Tito and Nasser did and now they are dead. Back in day you had the NAM, the comintern, and even the garveyism movement had it's own thing to rival the UN.
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Nov 10, 2022 19:58
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DutchDupe posted:Tens of thousands of dead and wounded Russian soldiers, thousands of equipment blown up, and NATO feeling more invigorated in its purpose than it has in a long time. And not a single dead American to boot. How has this war done anything to hurt American empire lol i dont think nato is as united as people think
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Nov 10, 2022 19:59
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Majorian posted:Again, you're making the mistake of treating the American Empire and the American citizenry as synonymous. They are not. That which serves the American Empire does not necessarily serve the American citizenry (in fact, it usually doesn't). Defense contractors and governments all over the world may all serve "Capital" in a theoretical sense, but the fact of the matter is, in the world we currently inhabit, there are still competing military-industrial complexes (namely, the U.S. and China). This war has very clearly strengthened the American MIC and its geopolitical sway over Europe. your american empire seems to be american in the sense the holy roman empire was roman.
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Nov 10, 2022 19:59
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Lostconfused posted:Sounds like good news for Iran! It is! They've played their cards very cleverly in this conflict so far. Zodium posted:your american empire seems to be american in the sense the holy roman empire was roman. ...no? The HRE was "Roman" in an ideological sense, ie: it traced its legitimacy back to Charlemagne, who was Augustus in the West. Obviously it wasn't Roman in any real, material sense, but its behavior and its role in Europe were partially determined by that ideological conception of itself as "Roman." The American Empire is very much an empire in a material sense. Client states around the world rely upon its MIC for their defense, the dollar is still the international reserve currency, and its government is still able to dictate the foreign policies of its client states to some degree. Again, that's an empire. You may say that that's all in service of Capital, and I agree, but as I just pointed out, "Capital" isn't as unified as you're portraying it. There are still competing MICs that have monopolized their respective chunks of the planet's surface (again, the US and China are the big ones). Majorian has issued a correction as of 20:06 on Nov 10, 2022 |
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Nov 10, 2022 20:00
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or possibly in the sense it was holy.
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Nov 10, 2022 20:00
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Majorian posted:It is! They've played their cards very cleverly in this conflict so far. how so? isn’t Iran in trouble now that their economic lifeline of a nuclear deal is gone? them helping Russia got them extra grief for no gain. I don’t know how they’re gonna manage to escape the sanctions stranglehold now.
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Nov 10, 2022 20:01
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Al-Saqr posted:how so? isn’t Iran in trouble now that their economic lifeline of a nuclear deal is gone? them helping Russia got them extra grief for no gain. I don’t know how they’re gonna manage to escape the sanctions stranglehold now. The nuclear deal was pretty much dead anyway, unfortunately. There hasn't been the political will among Biden and the Dems to resuscitate it, and I don't think there will be going forward. I wish there were; it was one of the very few genuinely good foreign policy things to come out of the Obama era. So Tehran's calculation was, "Okay, if normalization with the U.S. is off the table once again, let's at least make a shitton of money off of the U.S.' adversaries."
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Nov 10, 2022 20:08
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Majorian posted:It is! They've played their cards very cleverly in this conflict so far. the american empire is an empire that's orthogonal to being from america or having american citizenship, doesn't work to further american interests, and isn't controlled by americans.
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Nov 10, 2022 20:09
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Majorian posted:The nuclear deal was pretty much dead anyway, unfortunately. There hasn't been the political will among Biden and the Dems to resuscitate it, and I don't think there will be going forward. I wish there were; it was one of the very few genuinely good foreign policy things to come out of the Obama era. makes sense, also I heard iran is gonna be the main gas hub linking Russia and India/Asia, so they might end up making a killing from all this. oh and their drones too will sell like hotcakes
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Nov 10, 2022 20:10
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Zodium posted:the american empire is an empire that's orthogonal to being from america or having american citizenship, doesn't work to further american interests, and isn't controlled by americans. It seems to me like it furthers the interests of the American state, and it is controlled to some degree by American defense contractors. You're welcome to tell me where I'm wrong in this assessment.
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Nov 10, 2022 20:11
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Majorian posted:It seems to me like it furthers the interests of the American state, and it is controlled to some degree by American defense contractors. You're welcome to tell me where I'm wrong in this assessment. when america was destroying the industrial sector and transportation infrastructure and casting millions of people into ruination and epidemics of drug abuse and suicide linked to despair in order to ship as much economic activity as possible overseas, directly empowering china, their primary geopolitical rival, was that empire furthering the interests of the american state lmao
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Nov 10, 2022 20:20
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https://twitter.com/Podolyak_M/status/1590685508971433985
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Nov 10, 2022 20:20
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Majorian posted:It seems to me like it furthers the interests of the American state, and it is controlled to some degree by American defense contractors. You're welcome to tell me where I'm wrong in this assessment. the american state works to facilitate the expansion of capital, not the american state. it is controlled by Capital's maximization function for stability and profitability, not american defense contractors.
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Nov 10, 2022 20:21
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also the Walton family did more to strengthen Chinese industry and wipe out the entire middle class of suburban Americana than a thousand PLA agents could’ve ever achieved
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Nov 10, 2022 20:22
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empires are cool, they made roads and aqueducts and stuff this thread is full of barbarians
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Nov 10, 2022 20:23
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now entering the "two dogs barking at each other from across a fence" period of the war, except the fence is a frozen Dneiper
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Nov 10, 2022 20:29
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atelier morgan posted:when america was destroying the industrial sector and transportation infrastructure and casting millions of people into ruination and epidemics of drug abuse and suicide linked to despair in order to ship as much economic activity as possible overseas, directly empowering china, their primary geopolitical rival, was that empire furthering the interests of the american state lmao You're making the mistake of assuming that the American Empire exists to benefit the American people. That's not its purpose at all. Zodium posted:the american state works to facilitate the expansion of capital, not the american state. it is controlled by Capital's maximization function for stability and profitability, not american defense contractors. No, it's driven by Capital's maximization function for stability and profitability, not controlled. The American MIC is still controlled by its billionaire masters, who are still competing with other MICs' billionaire masters. They are happy to empower the American state insofar as the state facilitates their conquest of foreign markets. (ie: Europe) Majorian has issued a correction as of 20:33 on Nov 10, 2022 |
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Nov 10, 2022 20:29
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this thread is so cynical, its almost as if you guys actually believe the us will exist as a singular political actor past this decade
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Nov 10, 2022 20:29
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dk2m posted:india is still very much run by the neoliberal class, which started with the debt spending of the 80s which led to insolvency and allowed the IMF to come in and liberalize the economy. that brought in the anglosohere style thinking which is still the dominant form of economic thought in india today, especially at the RBI. The 1991 reforms that make every middle class unkill nut in his pants were slowing down by 93 and would only pick up with the vajpayee government winning their war. One of the biggest cribbings the press had while growing up was the government NOT selling productive state assets like oil and gas or SAIL.
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Nov 10, 2022 20:30
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fanfic insert posted:this thread is so cynical, its almost as if you guys actually believe the us will exist as a singular political actor past this decade the leftist to doomer pipeline is built on a lifetime of good things not happening
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Nov 10, 2022 20:30
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atelier morgan posted:when america was destroying the industrial sector and transportation infrastructure and casting millions of people into ruination and epidemics of drug abuse and suicide linked to despair in order to ship as much economic activity as possible overseas, directly empowering china, their primary geopolitical rival, was that empire furthering the interests of the american state lmao the british empire did the same thing vis-a-vis america. it was an empire. that is what they end up doing.
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Nov 10, 2022 20:32
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fanfic insert posted:this thread is so cynical, its almost as if you guys actually believe the us will exist as a singular political actor past this decade its a group of optimists who want the american empire to be taking an L vs pessimists who think its all playing into joseph brandons little fingies
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Nov 10, 2022 20:32
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Zodium posted:the american empire is an empire that's orthogonal to being from america or having american citizenship, doesn't work to further american interests, and isn't controlled by americans. wouldn't a reasonable interpretation be that there's an american empire, one which absent any other consideration looks out specifically for american interests, but that said empire isn't the highest level and that above it exists something for which we don't have decent words, a kind of non-state made up of constantly vying capitalist interests that in all things seeks to further the aims of capital? like, the american empire will do its empire poo poo and capital is happy to let it as those interests often align with capital or at least are indifferent to capital, but like an ancient subkingdom it is beholden to an overkingdom, when the subkingdom acts against overkingdom it gets an aggressive reaction from the overkingdom.
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Nov 10, 2022 20:34
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fanfic insert posted:this thread is so cynical, its almost as if you guys actually believe the us will exist as a singular political actor past this decade i dont read any posts by people who write like theyre the joker
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Nov 10, 2022 20:34
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speng31b posted:its a group of optimists who want the american empire to be taking an L vs pessimists who think its all playing into joseph brandons little fingies Well, sort of. I see it more as "Joe Brandon is Mr. Magoo and the gods keep hilariously making him stumble and stagger his way into success, through no genius or foresight on his part whatsoever." Azathoth posted:wouldn't a reasonable interpretation be that there's an american empire, one which absent any other consideration looks out specifically for american interests, but that said empire isn't the highest level and that above it exists something for which we don't have decent words, a kind of non-state made up of constantly vying capitalist interests that in all things seeks to further the aims of capital? like, the american empire will do its empire poo poo and capital is happy to let it as those interests often align with capital or at least are indifferent to capital, but like an ancient subkingdom it is beholden to an overkingdom, when the subkingdom acts against overkingdom it gets an aggressive reaction from the overkingdom. This.
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Nov 10, 2022 20:34
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AnimeIsTrash posted:i dont read any posts by people who write like theyre the joker feel like that really limits your options around here
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Nov 10, 2022 20:35
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fanfic insert posted:this thread is so cynical, its almost as if you guys actually believe the us will exist as a singular political actor past this decade I love your optimism
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Nov 10, 2022 20:35
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AnimeIsTrash posted:i dont read any posts by people who write like theyre the joker oh no bummer
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Nov 10, 2022 20:35
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atelier morgan posted:when america was destroying the industrial sector and transportation infrastructure and casting millions of people into ruination and epidemics of drug abuse and suicide linked to despair in order to ship as much economic activity as possible overseas, directly empowering china, their primary geopolitical rival, was that empire furthering the interests of the american state lmao In that the State is merely the executive committee of the Capital class, yes. The logic of Capital has sort of over written the self preservation part of the State, we see this with how much is spent on weapons that don't really work but they cost a lot and people made bank off them.
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Nov 10, 2022 20:37
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speng31b posted:feel like that really limits your options around here they have bug people opinions but always phrase it in that pseudo intellectual/d&d style way
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Nov 10, 2022 20:39
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Everyone read this? http://www.newconsensus.org/MarxInAmerica/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/G-Arrighi-The-Long-Twentieth-Century-Intro-and-chap-1.pdf
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Nov 10, 2022 20:40
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AnimeIsTrash posted:they have bug people opinions quote:d&d style way AnimeIsTrash posted:stalin was a nazi 
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Nov 10, 2022 20:42
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Majorian posted:Well, sort of. I see it more as "Joe Brandon is Mr. Magoo and the gods keep hilariously making him stumble and stagger his way into success, through no genius or foresight on his part whatsoever." we are talking about the same joseph brandon who ruptured putins pipelines with a massive fart attack. never before seen in history. it is insulting that you would deprive him of agency. the one part of his brain that is still functioning is the part that is absolutely owning putin right now, give credit where its due
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Nov 10, 2022 20:43
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speng31b posted:we are talking about the same joseph brandon who ruptured putins pipelines with a massive fart attack. never before seen in history. it is insulting that you would deprive him of agency. lmao
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Nov 10, 2022 20:43
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Majorian posted:No, it's driven by Capital's maximization function for stability and profitability, not controlled. The American MIC is still controlled by its billionaire masters, who are still competing with other MICs' billionaire masters. They are happy to empower the American state insofar as the state facilitates their conquest of foreign markets. (ie: Europe) i don't understand what you mean by "it's driven by Capital's maximization function." it's driven by extracting surplus value from the working class. Azathoth posted:wouldn't a reasonable interpretation be that there's an american empire, one which absent any other consideration looks out specifically for american interests, but that said empire isn't the highest level and that above it exists something for which we don't have decent words, a kind of non-state made up of constantly vying capitalist interests that in all things seeks to further the aims of capital? like, the american empire will do its empire poo poo and capital is happy to let it as those interests often align with capital or at least are indifferent to capital, but like an ancient subkingdom it is beholden to an overkingdom, when the subkingdom acts against overkingdom it gets an aggressive reaction from the overkingdom. you could say that if you were married to the phrase "american empire," but it's much less awkward to say there's a bourgeois or capitalist empire in which america is a province.
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Nov 10, 2022 20:45
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Majorian posted:You're making the mistake of assuming that the American Empire exists to benefit the American people. That's not its purpose at all. not at all, the self destructive thing for the american state (which ofc never gave a poo poo about a single actual human) was that it immensely empowered china militarily, economically and diplomatically in exchange for absolutely nothing except the profit margins of capitalists china's naval capabilities and the threat that represents to us hegemony, brics and belt and road, all consequences of this tldr no i was not making that mistake
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Nov 10, 2022 20:45
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im da freakin joker... when i read about this war it just makes me laugh
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Nov 10, 2022 20:48
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atelier morgan posted:not at all, the self destructive thing for the american state (which ofc never gave a poo poo about a single actual human) was that it immensely empowered china militarily, economically and diplomatically in exchange for absolutely nothing except the profit margins of capitalists Yeah, sometimes their interests diverge, sometimes Capital makes decisions that prioritize short-term profits over long-term ones, etc etc. I'm not really sure how any of this rebuts what I've been saying, though. All you seem to be proving here is that the American MIC and the American state sometimes do stupid things that backfire in the long-term, which shouldn't be much of a surprise - we've seen the Russian MIC and state do that themselves over the past several months.
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Nov 10, 2022 20:53
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atelier morgan posted:not at all, the self destructive thing for the american state (which ofc never gave a poo poo about a single actual human) was that it immensely empowered china militarily, economically and diplomatically in exchange for absolutely nothing except the profit margins of capitalists every capitalist hegemon since the 15th century has done this. whoa whoa whoa, VI, baby, you're saying the capitalists will SELL US the rope we use to hang them? that makes no sense, man!
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Nov 10, 2022 20:55
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Majorian posted:Yeah, sometimes their interests diverge, sometimes Capital makes decisions that prioritize short-term profits over long-term ones, etc etc. I'm not really sure how any of this rebuts what I've been saying, though. it doesnt in, particularly in light of your further clarifications in posts since that one, i simply didnt want a very smug misinterpretation of what i said to go unanswered lol
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Nov 10, 2022 20:56
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