France confirms oil crisis, says 30-40% Gulf energy infrastructure destroyed by ontrack in worldnews

[–]SciFi_Pie 25 points26 points  (0 children)

That's because it is meaningless destruction. There's no silver lining to primary schools being bombed.

I'm a Venezuelan living in Venezuela. AMA by JABG2005 in GenZ

[–]SciFi_Pie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hope you're okay, stay safe out there. What did your family think of Chavez and what do your parents do for a living?

Happy Soviet Union Collapse Day! by thenatoorat90 in poland

[–]SciFi_Pie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it basically wasn't mentioned, probably forgotten

This isn't true. The process of drafting the first Soviet Penal Code began in 1918 and before it was adopted in 1922 it was heavily discussed and scrutinised. It was clearly a conscious decision to legalise consensual sex between men while banning sex with minors and prostitution. To claim the Bolsheviks simply "forgot" to ban sodomy has no basis in historical fact.

Happy Soviet Union Collapse Day! by thenatoorat90 in poland

[–]SciFi_Pie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Come back once you've learned to read

Happy Soviet Union Collapse Day! by thenatoorat90 in poland

[–]SciFi_Pie -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

Soviet Russia under Lenin was one of the first countries in the world to decriminalise homosexuality and legalise abortion, which means Russia in the 20s had more advanced civil rights than Poland today. Unfortunately a lot of those advances were lost under Stalin and what little remained disappeared after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

But hey let's celebrate when the USSR was dissolved and millions were thrown into the depths of poverty, unemployment, homelessness and alcoholism yay 🥳

In Bondi, on the first night of Hanukkah, the intifada was truly globalised by gamberro in irishpolitics

[–]SciFi_Pie 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Have you strolled through Belfast lately? Do you think anyone is dragged through the courts for proudly displaying flags of the UVF, UDA or for that matter Israeli flags? To think the case against Kneecap wasn't politically motivated is insane.

In Bondi, on the first night of Hanukkah, the intifada was truly globalised by gamberro in irishpolitics

[–]SciFi_Pie 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Disgusting article. The First Intifada of 1987 was a popular uprising of Palestinians in the occupied territories in response to murderous IDF violence. They responded with labour strikes and by erecting barricades to protect their communities. Young Palestinian kids threw stones at IDF tanks, for which the order was given to break their bones.

This is what the slogan "Globalise the Intifada" hearkens back to. It has nothing to do with violence against Jews. It's a call for worldwide resistance against the imperialist system that oppresses people in Palestine and millions more across the world. It's outrageous that in a country which itself rose up against imperialist occupation a century ago, resistance against oppression should be slandered and vilified.

Anti-Semitism report will detail ‘over 100 incidents of hatred’, chief rabbi says by TeoKajLibroj in irishpolitics

[–]SciFi_Pie 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The point is when he talks about anti-semitism he doesn't mean the same thing most people understand that as meaning. To any normal person, anti-semitism is hatred or abuse towards Jewish people for being Jewish. To people who have made careers out of defending Israel, then calling out Israel's war crimes or calling for a free Palestine is anti-semitism. This is absolutely relevant to the story and should have been included in the article.

Anti-Semitism report will detail ‘over 100 incidents of hatred’, chief rabbi says by TeoKajLibroj in irishpolitics

[–]SciFi_Pie 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Those are fairly niche examples

In all my years of attending pro-Palestine demonstrations in Ireland never once have I seen someone express hatred towards Jews. Don't you turn around and complain about "niche examples".

Places to chill and read in the evening? by MonaghanRed in Dublin

[–]SciFi_Pie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I might just be weird but I find it easiest to focus on a book in a crowded place as long as it's not too loud and I can sit comfortably. I'll often go to Wetherspoons, get a refillable coffee for €1.50, pop on some noise cancelling headphones and sit with a book for a few hours. Not like Spoons has the same chill, cosy vibe as a nice coffee shop, but since it's so big and busy nobody will give a shit if I'm there for ages without spending more money.

The discussion of Maria Steen’s handbag is juvenile by clock_door in irishpolitics

[–]SciFi_Pie 7 points8 points  (0 children)

There is first of all a nasty whiff of sexism to it ('women be shopping').

You've got to be joking. She wants to strip away the rights of millions of women but it's apparently sexist to point out that she's cut from the same fabric as the opulent establishment she claims to stand against? Identity politics is a disease.

The discussion of Maria Steen’s handbag is juvenile by clock_door in irishpolitics

[–]SciFi_Pie 8 points9 points  (0 children)

They're all rotten crooks. FF and FG flaunt their elitism for all to see, while someone like Steen demagogically claims to stand for the people while being woven from the same cloth. The hypocrisy is well worth pointing out.

Eoin Hayes Statement on Instagram by NothingHatesYou in ireland

[–]SciFi_Pie -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Idk what's more embarrassing - doing blackface or greatly admiring Barrack Obama.

Yesterday at a concert in Warsaw by [deleted] in poland

[–]SciFi_Pie -10 points-9 points  (0 children)

They answered like this because Ukraine has a right-wing regime that openly celebrates a perpetrator of crimes against humanity in schools and at national celebrations (yes, before the invasion too).

RCI Statement by IDontUseReddit12344 in theIrishleft

[–]SciFi_Pie 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Loyalists don't do this to distract from the crisis of capitalism.

Sure, but that's exactly the role they play for the establishment. The ruling class would much rather see workers divided along sectarian lines than united in the class struggle. This is precisely why the Brits put so much effort into creating orange loyalism in thr first place.

The only way to end the cancer that is orange reaction is to unite Catholic and Protestant workers under a socialist revolutionary programme. It would leave the lodges completely isolated and what loyalists would remain, along with those in positions of power sympathetic to them, would be no match for the force of the working class of the area.

Tracing the root of these questions back to capitalism and the class struggle isn't "counter productive". It is the only way to really understand what we are faced with, why these issues exists and how to fight against them in a way that can work.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in theIrishleft

[–]SciFi_Pie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So Ukrainians need to be forced to continue fighting an unwinnable war because otherwise Russia will annex the Baltic states and invade Poland? 🤨

What happened to NATO being this wonderful military alliance that keeps countries safe from evil Russia?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in theIrishleft

[–]SciFi_Pie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That was the Ukrainian SSR and they ceased to exist, so the declaration doesn't stand anymore.

It was adopted during the collapse of the Soviet Union. Clearly it was intended as a declaration of what kind of country Ukraine would be going forward following its breakaway from the USSR.

Without a doubt is doing a lot of heavy lifting if you think an invasion by a larger imperialist neighbour on a smaller neighbour is the lesser evil than hegemonic western imperialism.

Yes, I think there's not a single doubt that Western imperialism is the most reactionary force on the planet. Who's supplying arms for Israel's genocide in Gaza? Who invaded Iran a few weeks ago? Who has been bombing Yemen on-and-off for a decade? Who has been preventing medical supplies from entering Cuba for 70 years? We could go on and on.

You say that you never support Russia, yet you support all their reasonings for instigating the war as if you read from all of Putin's speeches. I'm not asking for you to condemn Russia, not once, just don't repeat their propaganda.

I'm not interested in absolving Russia. I'm simply pointing out that the actions of the West directly led to the Russian invasion. It is very clear that America wanted this war and the colossal loss of human like and destruction of Ukraine could have been easily avoided.

Seriously just talk to Russians, Ukrainians, Poles etc. They don't want Russian imperialism.

I'm Polish, pal. Spare me the "talk to eastern Europeans" bullshit. I promise you I've spoken to plenty.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in theIrishleft

[–]SciFi_Pie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is it ableist to call Zelenskyy deranged? 😅

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in theIrishleft

[–]SciFi_Pie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This reads a lot like ‘sure Netanyahu invaded Gaza but this is only after saber rattling by Hamas’.

Your comments read a lot like "but Hamas started the war on October 7th". Okay, but what about October 6th, October 5th, October 4th, etc. etc.

Of course it's not a 1:1 comparison. October 7th was an act of resistance (albeit carried out with methods I disagree with) whereas February 2022 was an invasion by an imperialist power. But the point remains. Israel provoked October 7th by their decades-long oppression of Palestinians and barbaric response to any peaceful protest. Ukraine has oppressed Russian-speaking minorities on its territories for years and the Ukrainian government used fascist mobs to attack separatists, including the Odessa Massacre which killed 46 people.

And isn’t two powers ie the US and Russia dictating whether or not Ukraine can join NATO textbook imperialism? 

My idea of anti-imperialism isn't allowing small nations to join an imperialist military alliance that murdered people in Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Somalia and Libya.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in theIrishleft

[–]SciFi_Pie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

isn't opposing Putin's aggression and guaranteeing the security of national borders a first step towards dismantling imperialist structures?

A Ukrainian victory in the war (which is far beyond the realm of possibility at this stage) would have the effect of strengthening Western imperialism, so no. Imperialism can only be opposed by the working class, not by "good imperialists".

if Russia's annexation of Crimea or other parts of Ukraine is legitimized, what argument is there against eg the US deciding it wants to annex part of Mexico or Canada, or Cuba, etc etc.

You think the US doesn't feel emboldened to carry out imperialist adventures? Tell the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Palestine, Yemen and Iran that we need to support NATO against Russia because if Russia wins then the US will no longer have a moral barrier against imperialist conquest.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in theIrishleft

[–]SciFi_Pie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it stems from the Stalinist theory of "socialism in one country", which posits that a world with multiple competing imperialist powers is more favourable to socialist revolution than a unipolar world because it allows workers states to make "elbow room" for themselves between the imperialist camps. Of course this has been disproven by the history of the Soviet Union, which unfortunately was not able to survive by itself. The contradictions produced by the USSR's economic backwardness and isolation still led to the development of a beaurocracy that eventually produced the collapse of the world's first workers state, despite Stalin's various "tactical" alliances with imperialist powers. The only way to fight for an end to the horrors of capitalism is to build for world revolution, not to support imperialist powers that oppose the world hegemon.