Russian Tensions

April 2024 Forums General discussion Russian Tensions

Viewing 15 posts - 1,201 through 1,215 (of 5,150 total)
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  • #227891
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    james19
    Participant
    MO

    The case of Taiwan…
    —-
    A very assured and confident reply.
    We can all feel less fearful, worried or depressed. Did you guess that the Ukraine was also unlikely to be attacked?
    Where next will the sectional interests of the Worlds capitalist class strike next? Or not?

    I am not giving any assurance that a conflict between China and Taiwan might not arise, they have been in conflicts for several decades longer than the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and China and the Soviet Union made an alliance with the reactionary and ex-fascists of Taiwan. I am talking about the military might of Taiwan compared to the military and training of Ukraine, and the Taiwanese capitalists’ interests that exist in China, and one of them is Foxcom. Capitalists are in conflicts every day, even more, the peace among them is a continuation of the politic of wars

    #227892
    james19
    Participant

    MO

    I work with Polish people. Poland is on the boarder with Ukraine. Do you know if Russia will attack them also? The war on the Ukraine wasn’t even on the political agenda! What was your view on Ukraine prior to its invasion?

    Can l ask have you ever been a member of the SPGB?
    You seem no different from the trolls on our official Twitter account. You seem to be my personal troll on here.
    I will just ignore you and all your posts in future. If only there was a block button.

    • This reply was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by james19.
    • This reply was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by james19.
    • This reply was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by james19.
    • This reply was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by james19.
    #227898
    sshenfield
    Participant

    I hear from a Russian colleague that Yan Taksyur, a popular Ukrainian satirical poet, has disappeared, presumably arrested by the Security Service of Ukraine. His daughter has launched an appeal for his release. Meanwhile in Russia (Kostroma) a priest has been arrested for delivering an anti-war sermon.

    #227899
    ALB
    Keymaster

    Head Office has received the following email from the Marxist-Humanist Initiatve:

    March 16, 2022
    Hello Friend,

    Putin’s horrific war against Ukraine is analyzed in our new editorial, Ukraine Fights for National Self-Determination Against Russian Imperialism. It delves into

    • the Marxist-Humanist principle of national self-determination;
    • our slogan: “the opposite of war is not peace, but social revolution”;
    • the forces opposing Putin within Russia – mass protests;
    • why the whataboutism of blaming the war on the US and NATO is wrong;
    • why imposing “neutrality” or partition is wrong;
    • the dangers of Putinism and Trumpism boosting autocracy.

    We are exactingly critical of that part of the so-called left that attributes the cause of the war to anyone-but-Putin and fails to acknowledge his naked imperialism. Putin is trying to re-establish the Russian Empire and Stalin’s reach. He strives to weaken the US and to establish multi-polarity, for the sole purpose of strengthening his domination over part if the world.

    Without a drastic reorganization of soft-on-Putin left thought that passes for revolutionsim, it may be that Marxism, reason, and civilization have no chance of flourishing.

    We just published a special edition of our podcast, Radio Free Humanity, that discusses our position. Radio Free Humanity comes out every two weeks and can be heard on many platforms.

    We would like to know your thoughts on these ideas. We also refer you to “Unite the Left to Defend Ukraine,” an appeal by the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, whose campaign your organization can join.

    #227905
    ALB
    Keymaster

    Why has Yan Taksyur been arrested? I see he is not the only one:

    Ukrainian Communist youth leaders arrested by government, reportedly targeted for death

    I hadn’t realised that the “Communist” Party had been banned in Ukraine. Obviously we hold no brief for them but even so. The more that comes out about the present Ukrainian regime the more like the Russian regime it seems.

    #227907
    sshenfield
    Participant

    This source says that ‘journalist Dmitry Skvortsov, writer Yan Taksyur and historian Alexander Karevin were kidnapped (not arrested) by the Security Service of Ukraine. No one knows where they are or whether they are still alive.

    https://regnum.ru/news/polit/3529480.html

    #227908
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    And I thought Ukraine had abolished the death penalty. It can’t join the E.U. otherwise, or will that E.U. rule be dispensed with?

    #227909
    DJP
    Participant

    *We would like to know your thoughts on these ideas. We also refer you to “Unite the Left to Defend Ukraine,” an appeal by the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, whose campaign your organization can join.*

    Will there be a public reply? Something along the lines of this perhaps?

    https://critisticuffs.org/texts/stop-conflating-ukraine-and-its-inhabitants

    #227911
    james19
    Participant

    Breaking: Premier League match between Everton and Newcastle halted.
    A fan runs onto pitch and chains himself to the Everton goal post.
    He was released and taken away by police.

    Nothing about the reason what it’s about so far, has been said?
    Game has resumed. 0-0 pretty dull apart from this.
    Live on Prime video Sports

    Protestor ties himself to goal bringing Everton vs Newcastle to a standstill

    https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/breaking-protestor-ties-himself-goal-26496848

    Happened Premier League match Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium Islington
    https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-liverpool-fan-protest-goalpost-26488193

    • This reply was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by james19.
    • This reply was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by james19.
    • This reply was modified 2 years, 1 month ago by james19.
    #227913
    ALB
    Keymaster

    DJP, That statement has already been mentioned here as a good one:

    page/66/#post-227546

    #227918
    ALB
    Keymaster

    Those football protestors weren’t about Ukraine but were from a breakaway from Extinction Rebellion. That they were planning a big campaign in March was mentioned on the thread on them. It seems this is it or part of it (go to the last page).

    Extinction Rebellion

    #227920
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    1) What can we expect? Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union and it was run by Stalinists, and Stalinism has not vanished from Russia. This conflict is going to show many contradictions that were hidden

    Resisting Trumpist Reaction (and Left Accommodation): Marxist-Humanist Initiative’s Perspectives for 2018

    2) This pamphlet written by the MHI is more than enough to understand their point of view. They support the concept of the lesser evil

    #227921
    ALB
    Keymaster

    Russia’s peace terms:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60785754.amp

    Unlike some western politicians who seem to want the war with the suffering, deaths and destruction to continue, John Simpson suggests that the demands are not that unreasonable.

    Let’s hope he’s right and that the war stops as soon as possible — sooner in fact, tomorrow unconditionally. That’s the working class interest.

    #227922
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    This report appeared in the SWP’s Socialist Worker:

    Italian workers block arms to Ukraine
    Workers at Pisa airport in Italy refused to load crates of weapons, ammunition and explosives destined for Ukraine. The workers said they had been told they were handling “humanitarian aid”. When they found themselves with crates containing war material, they decided not to carry out the order.
    The USB union backed the workers and denounced “with force this real falsification, which cynically uses the humanitarian cover to continue fueling the war in Ukraine”
    The union also appealed to the airport’s air traffic control workers to immediately block any similar flights. And it invited workers to “continue to refuse to load weapons and explosives that go to fuel a spiral of war”.

    #227923
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    >>>>We would like to know your thoughts on these ideas. We also refer you to “Unite the Left to Defend Ukraine,” an appeal by the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, whose campaign your organization can join.* Will there be a public reply? Something along the lines of this perhaps?<<<<

    As I said in a previous post and on Discord, our position “the only good war is the class war” is held by only a very few on the fringes and to have that message heard, there should be joint meetings held, (call them forums if you wish) and some sort of statement could be issued with an appropriate agreed text (a round-robin circular).

    I’m aware this is a break with our tradition of no shared platform other than in opposition and some will view it as transgressing our hostility clause.

    Wasn’t a precedent started in WW1 when we published details of the peace conference of the Bolsheviks in 1915?

    A Russian Challenge

    But what is the point of grandiose and eloquent declarations when we do not reach anybody? Even this proposal will have limited effect but more than if we only read from the same song sheet to the same choir, as we usually end up doing. And as other groups also do.

    I consider the interests of my class and fellow workers to be above partisan party politics. We can be flexible while still maintaining our principled stand with those who share broadly our position, despite any comradely criticism we may have of some details.

    We can benefit by being the organisation that takes the initiative and start to shed our reputation of sectarianism.

    We can shift the responsibility of unburdening some of the historic baggage some still carry on to those other groups.

    Peace between people, war upon our rulers.

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