Hexbear also found this: https://www.hexbear.net/post/279191

Also I'd like to think I did my part getting lemmygrad's numbers up as I was spamming Genzedong with a macro telling people to go here as a lifeboat before and after the quarantine.

Also I love how they didn't connect us to the only real anti-pedophile podcast subreddit (Brace noises) or thedeprogram, guess we don't have that many casual links but if they checked overlap it should be there. Sloppy work on that in addition to all the problems with methodology, definitions, etc. Hilarious tax dollars paid for this though I guess I'd prefer it over actually effort-driven papers and even better it might encourage other lazy anti-communists to cite them, creating a chain of weak links back to a shoddy base that can be knocked away in heavy discourse and leave anti-communists flailing and drifting. Of course the downside is actual policy isn't driven by hard peer reviewed science and part of the purpose of a shoddy paper like this could be to give a cite-able pretext to say private companies on why they need to immediately censor "tankies" and any discourse that their shoddy, shitty, "ai-data-'science'" says is related to that.

It's unfortunate but not surprising to see the idea of federation falling apart at the first signs of divergence from western liberal heterodoxy. One I suppose problem with the idea of free association instead of a dictatorship (admins of centralized website) is that people are going to squabble. You're going to have de-federations over this and over drama between admin teams, accusations, counter-accusations, differences in opinion on slightly different matters.

The fediverse is a grand idea I'm just not sure our present society can work very well with it. People are going to end up needing a bunch of different accounts which is inconvenient and hurts adoption because of that inconvenience, the reason why FB and such remain big is the network effect, first mover advantage, etc, (something people doing these things pretend to care about now but will less as time goes on). That does bring us back to early internet forum culture at worst which is a step forward in some ways from what we had but meh.

We have to face we'll never have back what we had on gzd on reddit, a captive audience who couldn't help but see our stuff shoved in their faces by an algorithm while the admins were too busy deleting references to the fact spez gives awards to pedophiles and likes slavery to notice most goings on.

We can have our space full of Marxists and that's good enough for me. Lots of spam and liberals from Lemmy world coming here, to be honest I'm pretty sure we get 90% of the brigading from their side and they might get 10%. Though that's probably a bad term, it's 90% them seeing our posts and organically coming over in disorganized fashion to disagree and post stuff and 10% our users doing the same with their stuff. No malice or organized campaigns involved or needed.

I mean he is detained. Anyone who enters another country without authorization tends to be detained, more so when they are or were recently part of a hostile armed force. He's not free to just wander around. He entered the country illegally, was last part of an occupying force that wants to destroy the DPRK, is legally at war with them for 70 years, and they're likely trying to decide what to do with him, investigate his story, ascertain if he's a spy or there's anything off about him like if he's a threat, etc.

The thing is, what skills does he have to offer them? He probably can't speak the native language (if he can that would make a huge difference in being accepted because he could actually integrate), he's going to have culture shock. He's frankly a risk that if they do accept him, he'll leave anyways after a while because of the quality of life (no iPhone, no Facebook, no holidays or cultural norms like he's used to, language barrier, etc), go back to the US, be coached to spin a story of his torture and the horrors of the place in exchange for a book deal or speaking tour and money and then it will have blown up in the DPRK's face. They consider these things and many others when deciding.

If he's sincere I wish him only the best and hope he can find a great life in the DPRK but there are many barriers to success.

We really need an automoderator bot that posts at the top of all theads (and which community mods can customize a little) which reminds people (hexbear users and liberals from other instances) that this is an explicitly Marxist (communist) instance (no left unity), anti-communism (good faith questions allowed), bigotry, etc won't be tolerated.

Many people use mobile apps. On them you don't see community statements or rules before you enter a place so that's only going to be more of a problem but I understand admins are bogged down with fixing actually broken things and critical infrastructure. Just something I hope they can get to if that ever lets up (or maybe instance admins could do).

That kind of thing.

I don't mind them. I even have an account there but sometimes I need a break from that kind of atmosphere, so I hope we retain the culture of this place because they outnumber us and if anyone is going to impose anyone's culture on anyone it will be them on us via sheer user count and the fact many of them never log off (their joke).

I worry that if we let them they'll turn part of this place into a shitposting instance devoid of theory or serious discussion and bankrupted of serious Marxism in favor of compatible-leftism that viciously attacks core Marxist principles upheld by all AES nations in favor of idealistic, "compromise" anarchist/western thinking.

They're anti-imperialism. Have a good line on imperialism and being anti-NATO, US, and against the synthetic-CIA-left but that's about where it ends. Many of them hold idealistic, vulgar, even occasionally viciously counter-revolutionary opinions/lines. All sugar-coated naturally in getting along and good vibes.

It’s an imitation of liberals. Caitlin is one of the more prominent social media anti-imperialists.

What about the Tiananmen square massacre?

Tiananmen Square "Massacre", A Propaganda Hoax

It wasn't a massacre of peaceful students, but a skirmish between PLA soldiers and armed detachments from the pro-capitalist / free market reform movement. The protest movement, as evidenced by their own accounts, called for market liberalisation, and free market reforms, rallying around a replica of the statue of liberty. After the movement had been building in the square for seven weeks, unarmed soldiers were sent in to disperse the protesters, after which many soldiers were beaten to death, torched, and lynched. The New York Times death count went from 2600, to many thousands, to 8000, to tens of thousands. In reality only around ~200 (including soldiers) were killed or trampled, in smaller clashes outside the square. The on-scene New York Times reporter disavowed the article, especially about machine-gunning of protesters. A wikileaks cable from a US ambassador to the US state department, confirmed that no killings or machine-gunnings took place in the square.

A British Lie

Deng XiaoPing was ill at the time, and the CIA had an inside man inside the party, Zhao Ziyang, dubbed China's Gorbachev, who promised to open the door to market liberalisation if the protest movement had succeeded, like those of Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Georgia, and the USSR.

The protest movement followed the line of "color revolutions", in which the US tried to destabilize and create counter-revolutions in eastern Europe and Latin America after the fall of the USSR. The strategy was to stir division within and without, by inundating the media with news of massacres of "peaceful", pro-capitalist / market reformers.

The defeat of a counter revolution in China

Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20200118135159/https://www.reddit.com/r/communism/comments/c2b7ma/china_megathread_everything_a_leftist_must_know/

https://www.qiaocollective.com/education/tiananmenreadinglist

https://redsails.org/another-view-of-tiananmen/

I’m really curious how you get millions of people to believe in something that didn’t happen at all.

Why? Any liberal or reactionary can easily imagine millions of people believing in falsities by virtue of the fact that opposites on the liberal political spectrum exist.

I mean come on. Sit down and think a little. Humans have been led to believe all kinds of things that are false and many still do. Mythologies weren't stories everyone was in on, they were once accepted truths in many cases.

How could millions of Americans believe Iraq had chemical weapons when it didn't? How could millions of Americans believe JFK was killed by a lone gunman with no meaningful connections?

I mean this is just simple propaganda and mass communication. Look how many people are seething over the Barenstein bears and convinced reality was changed Matrix style because they remember it being spelled differently and other Mandela effect stuff (named itself after the fact a ton of people for some reason believe they heard in the news that Nelson Mandela died in prison, how can they all think that when it's false).

Americans will readily accept North Korea is a nation of brainwashed drones or Russians are subhumans eagerly doing human wave tactics yet the moment they're asked to consider the contrary, the inverse might be the case their brains malfunction, they can't think straight, they can't conceive of it, it's unreasonable.

Free your mind. Expand the possibilities. Accept the empire pushes projection of its own atrocities both past and craved in the present onto enemies.

We're Marxists. We're against liberalism. Liberalism is the ideology of capitalism as another user already told you.

You've been taught a false binary. This is intentional to limit your ability to think critically about capitalism. All of us were. There is no binary.

There is liberalism (subset of which include conservatism, US Republicans), Marxism, and technically you could have non-liberal reactionaries like say sincere Monarchists who prefer a return to feudalism or some other older system and reject the enlightenment. However, largely speaking there are two groups as the amount of reactionaries who genuinely reject liberalism and assert a desire to return to and an embrace of a pre-liberal philosophy is shockingly small and they have no real traction anywhere among anyone, especially among Republican voters seething and crying about liberalism as to a one those people like most parts of liberalism (many of them espousing a return to "classical liberalism" or "liberalism before all these uppity women and minorities got rights and did things I didn't like) and embrace for example the liberal idea of free enterprise, free markets, etc.

We reject the notion that we are at the end of history, that liberalism represents some final, perfect stage of humanity as opposed to previous societal stages such as the feudal, the monarchistic, the slave-society, the tribal, hunter-gatherer primativism, etc. As Marxists we say of liberalism what many liberals said of feudalism, namely that it was a historical stage, that it may have in certain ways represented advancements over previous ways of organizing society, but that it never-the-less is inferior to our proposed successor.

Just as liberalism did not represent some sort of wacko total year-zero rejection of the societies and systems that came before it but rather proposed a radical furthering of certain rights and ideas, so too Marxism while rejecting liberalism as out-modded, out-dated, and at this point backwards and bad, does not wholly reject and want to turn all of society upside down. We are a progressive force. We are for progress. We are for emancipation. But we are against capitalism. We are against privately held means of production. We are for the people, the workers being the rulers, the dictatorship over the current owning class to impose our will, our ends, our goals, our goods over their greed. With force. To create a new society, to gradually erode away the old as liberalism eroded away previous societies before it. This is our project, this is our calling. So yes we reject liberalism.

We embrace a scientific approach, we reject many things liberals take as immutable, as unchallengable, as laws unable or unwise to be challenged by humans.

Interesting. Sounds like a meaningless definition. By this I'd say your average Fox News watching chud would fit the definition of tankie. You'd need only give them a tank, point them to some BLM protestors in a road, let them know they won't be arrested and have immunity and they'd charge the fuck on down with that tank while screaming how all lives matter.

Or for that matter as others have pointed out, a lot of cops.

I've seen pictures of protests in Latin America, I forget which country, it had a right-wing government at the time, the protestors were leftist and the government rammed them with armored combat vehicles, not quite tanks but those must be tankies too.

Sounds like a rather useless term to be honest. Not only that it would seem to paper over the fact lots more people have been run over to death by normal vehicles, jeeps, armored vehicles that aren't tanks, etc than could possibly have been run over by tanks. So those people's lives don't matter, the use of vehicles to slaughter then don't matter? Only if it fits a narrow criteria?

Again useless definition.

Half a million for this is both hilarious and sad. On the one hand that could have funded several researchers doing actual science for the public benefit so it's a tragedy, on the other they grifted half a million dollars for what isn't even 50k of work IMO. I mean this is stuff that random hobbyists do in their free time in about a month or less and post on subreddits about data visualization for free.

On the other hand money is not really an object when it comes to fighting the enemies of capital and empire so a small price to pay I'm sure. And better spent here (in their minds) than on researching actual hate groups and extremists like Nazis, channer-fash, alt-right, Qanon weirdos, etc which while it could be done to this caliber would obviously look a little lacking for the 500k considering there are private groups that do far better research on them and publish far better reports for far less money.

Hard to say. Given this guy has apparently lied before and started up a whole drama about not getting ammo just to fool the west/Ukrainians into continuing to attack his positions and get destroyed I wouldn't rule out this is an elaborate ruse to bait the Ukrainians into charging Russian positions thinking this is their best time. Basically an attempt to further weaken their forces and shorten the conflict by drawing out reserves.

That said, could be real too I guess but it seems more likely it's trying to bait the Ukrainians as he's done before.

Even many so-called leftist spaces casually use sexist langauge, memes, etc. It's an infection that goes deeper than racism it feels and certainly people seem less aware of it than homophobia. I continue to hope male comrades speak out when they see it rather than being silent to avoid being seen as "being a nerd" when no-one would ever accuse someone of ruining the fun for calling out homophobia, racism, etc.

And like anti-imperialism I agree that feminism is non-negotiable. You are not my comrade or worthy of being called comrade of anyone if you don't see me as human, if you see me as inferior, if you support my oppression or make excuses for it. I don't give a fuck about the excuses or your weak attempts at logic and co-existing with it.

Luckily at least in this community we don't have mods who uphold the backwards, disgusting, chauvinist idea that sexual exploitation and prostitution is good work instead of abuse and something to be abolished. Though as always there is room for improvement and I am pretty often reminded this is a male dominated space.

Mainly that he's not a Marxist, a rad-lib at best. Gives words which are cheap to anti-capitalism but doesn't give solidarity to targets of US imperialist attack unless convenient and costless (Cuba and Palestine at this point, he's in the Russia-bad camp, against China, etc).

I admit he could be amusing but I hope no one here falls for him as anything but window dressing himself on the US political system, the uh far left end of what is permissible in the mainstream which isn't that left at all as I mentioned, no actually risky solidarity (China, DPRK, Russia), no real solutions beyond platitudes about loving your neighbor and brother this, sister that preacher bullshit speaking. Oh he desires for change and probably wishes he could put together an MLK like coalition but doesn't realize as liberals do not that if the USSR hadn't been there banging on about the civil rights and humiliating the US in front of non-aligned states they would have killed MLK a lot sooner and a lot of his followers too rather than compromising for face.

There are many levels of traps and false paths in the US system designed to capture people and prevent them from reaching Marxism. We in no way have to hand it to anyone who is not either a principled Marxist or with us in a principled anti-imperialist stance that they maintain at great cost. He is neither, never has been. Celebrated the fall of the USSR, etc.

Maoists have never had a successful revolution and have never really won lasting gains for the working class.

Now when I say Maoists as in Maoist Ultras I am talking about Gonzalo thought or MLM (Marxism-Leninism-Maoism) as they call themselves usually. I am not talking about ML-MZT or Marxist-Leninist with Mao-Zedong-Thought.

Mao adapted ML thought to China's unique conditions and succeeded. The communist party he helped found (CPC) is now the leading socialist nation and the largest in pure numbers of membership as well as the one of the only ones actively advancing theory (Cuba is also doing some things but smaller given their circumstances). MLM's condemn modern China for not being pure enough. They are a left deviation, the same kind Mao wrote against and condemned at various points. On the other hand they celebrate, venerate and support a deranged man (Gonzalo) who died in prison without leading a successful revolution or doing anything but founding a group of theoretically unsound guerillas who turned to adventurism and violence over substance.

Too many of these MLM's seek glory and adventure instead of service. Of course those in the west would scream and run away at the prospect of having to commit violence themselves but through their purity fetishism they get to condemn all existing communist movements and all capitalists states and put themselves above it all as some imaginary, idealist, superior system. In that way they serve capital and empire. These people have a martyr complex and a martyr worship complex. It is in that way not surprising how attractive they are in the soup of western Christian civilization and thought, such ideas being promulgated as very honorable, attractive, etc in keeping with such philosophies.

You have set foot in one of the internet's largest Marxist spaces. Please enjoy a free Leninade and be sure to get some photos with all the hammer and sickle art.

The ebil Tankies: No that alleged genocide is (atrocity) propaganda by the US, it all leads back to shoddy research by suspicious people with connections to incredibly biased western state propaganda organs and the hawkish defense industry which has lied us into multiple expensive, devastating wars. Genocide is wrong and bad and we are against all forms of oppression and for solidarity with marginalized communities, we must not allow groups to be scapegoated and must defend minorities from violence of the oppressive west both in its imperialist exports of war, violence and destabilization as well as interior violence such as biased policing. We are for a world where historical injustices are righted, exploited people are given a seat at the table and redress is paid.

Actual fascists: No that alleged genocide/the-holocaust didn't happen, isn't real but uh it would be based and cool if it did and we should totally hope it happens and uh if hope isn't enough we should try and plot some way to get it to happen. Also some groups are subhuman and should be killed off or segregated from the rest of us and by the way west is best and white men did nothing wrong.

Enlightened liberals: Oh shit these are exactly, literally the same thing. The first group would definitely allow the exact same kind of content on their platforms as the second and therefore we should freak out.

Just absolutely lacking in the will-power to use their brains these liberals are. They are abetting fascists by equating us to the fascists, watering down what fascism is and confusing the issue.

It really depends on the terms of the loss. There’s the potential for stabbed in the back anger from the Nazis there that turns violent against Western Europe, there’s also the possibility that’s avoided and instead they conduct decades of terrorist attacks against Russia with the west’s continued support.

I’m somewhat doubtful Zelensky will be reasonable, so Russia may have to choose between a costly offensive that takes Kiev and chases the government to the west while degrading it or a frozen conflict with Donbas and other newly Russian regions under Russian control but disputed and not recognized as such in the west or by Ukraine. Because Zelensky knows he’ll have a chopper and a plane waiting for him even if Kiev falls whereas if he negotiates the Nazis there or the CIA will kill him.

We’re already seeing fascists in the European Union and NATO calling for more expansion eastward and calling it imperative and a necessity. So I suspect color revolution attempts in CIS countries like Georgia, the -stans. They’ve already pulled shit in Armenia. The goal being to distract and overcome Russia by pushing up to their borders in too many places for them to militarily defend at once with their limited troops.

Long-term I think they want enlargement to indoctrinate the peoples there with anti-Russia sentiment and eventually throw them into a grand conflict with Russia to cause enough internal trouble, instability and profit loss to allow a coup to replace Putin with someone more pliant to the west. They’re not giving up, there are degrees of success for the US and though Ukraine hasn’t succeeded as much as they hoped they’ve in some way’s strengthened their hand by pulling Europe inescapably into their orbit it seems (reactionary populism though could undo that in the next decade or two).

Being so fucking glib about which monstrous arm runs the evil machine of torture, horror, pain, suffering, death, and agony unto all humankind.

It's like a trolley problem where one track kills orphans, the other also kills orphans but leaves in its wake among the bodies pride flags and #democracy posters so it's better somehow to you indoctrinated westerners.

The US may be going to straight up bloody alter sacrifice Europe to weaken China/Russia/multi-polarity and the European liberals are going to take it with cheers.

They'll later wonder why all the jobs are gone, products and goods gone, inflation out of control, economy in free-fall but I suspect as usual they'll be channeled to blame it on some minority group. Hell I wouldn't put it beyond the US to try and goad Europe into a state where it "independently chooses" to enter war against Russia directly. If it gets nuked it's not the US problem, particularly if it's the periphery of it full of their most loyal deranged types (eastern Europe).

Very worrying to know the industrial capitalists are at the controls of the military, the national-security-state, etc. While the financial capitalists like Bill Gates, Jamie Diamond, who understand China can profit them and are acting rationally in their own short-term interests in being friendly to it (though betraying their class long-term) don't have power or aren't making moves we can see to stop this slowly turning death and war machine as it gears up for a disaster.

The Nazi who called Muslims cockroaches? Yeah I've heard of him.

Something to consider. Since we have now been named in that shitty research we may have a larger target on our backs. We’re not likely big enough for any government agencies to take direct action (though that could change in an instant if we get linked to something larger than ourselves or explode in popularity), but we also need to be worried about private entities, liberal/fash/anarchist hackers and activists who could cause problems by lobbying our hosting provider to deplatform us or for the registrar of the domain to seize it.

The time soon could come we’re we are straight up called a hostile foreign operation by a hostile government. This makes choosing at least a registrar more important. As while losing hosting is annoying as long as you have your domain name everyone can find each other again once a new provider is found and a backup deployed. Whereas losing our domain name means many people may never come back but also links to good threads, debunking, resources are lost forever both inside and outside (as they will be with this move).

It’s not legally possible in most cases unfortunately to purchase domain names from registrars of socialist counties as most are under US sanction. Russia would also have been very high on my list because of their liability to tell the US to go fuck itself over any kind of cybercrime but with the war that’s out the window.

Just avoid countries that are super eager to cooperate with NATO regime (five eyes mainly but also fourteen eyes).