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Posts categorised ‘News and Politics’

Link: “Unremitting Turkish Attacks Leave Rojava in Peril – and in Need of Solidarity

Original post found at: https://truthout.org/articles/unremitting-turkish-attacks-leave-rojava-in-peril-and-in-need-of-solidarity/

An anarchist argument for why Western leftists need to support Rojava, a radically democratic, feminist, post-capitalist and stateless federation in Kurdish-majority northeast Syria. They’re under dire threat from Turkey, as the article explains:

Since October 2023, the Turkish military has bombed Rojava’s villages, cities and civil infrastructure on a daily basis — supported by arms supplies from the United States and other Western countries. Around 80 percent of electricity and water stations have been destroyed, leaving millions of people without heating, energy and sufficient water supplies. And while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemns the Israeli genocide against Palestinians, he’s hypocritically taking advantage of the world’s attention on Gaza to hide his own.

While I guess the article romanticises Rojava a bit (it is, after all, a polemic, and not one aimed at people who know much about Rojava already), I think it does make a convincing argument that at least these people are trying to create a better world in the here and now, and wrestling with the inevitable contradictions that arise from trying to do that in the midst of a cutthroat, capitalistic, militaristic world. Can they succeed? Well, my own Trotskyist/Cliffite education would lend itself to the answer “no”1 (“socialism in one country” being a line to send chills down one’s spine…) but in reality, what can they do but try? They absolutely deserve our solidarity and support.


  1. Perhaps I should be clear, I eventually left when I got sick of being branded a “bad” or “dangerous feminist influence”, so don’t take me too seriously when I make reference to this ↩︎

Overheard Vivian sniggering behind me; turned around and asked him what was so funny. He showed me this meme… I guess it’s good to know what a positive political impact I’ve made on him, over all these years 😇

Faux inspirational meme of a corporate-looking lady on the phone and the words, in a cursive font: ‘I dream of a future where every little girl can exploit the labour of the proletariat and nobody ever tells her “that’s a boy’s job”.’ In the bottom-right corner it says, “Happy International Womens Day”

Link: “How Australian undercover police ‘fed’ an autistic 13-year-old’s fixation with Islamic State

Original post found at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/03/australian-undercover-police-autistic-13-year-old-fixation-islamic-state

This is just a crazy story from the weekend. The parents of an autistic 13yo boy with an IQ of 71 and a fixation on ISIS went to the police to seek out help getting him into a “rehabilitation” program, which he did get into. But then the JCTT (an unholy union of Victoria Police, the federal police, and Asio) took it upon themselves to have an undercover agent groom the kid online and spoonfeed him racial hatred, distrust of police and violent extremism, encouraging the child’s fixation on ISIS, all with the goal of sabotaging the rehabilitation efforts so they could arrest him instead. Also, they purposely delayed charging him until after his 14th birthday, to make it harder for his lawyers to use the defence that he was a child who wasn’t criminally responsible for his actions.

The magistrate threw out the charges and harshly criticised the actions of the police, which is something. But the article makes it pretty clear, towards the end, that this scheme was known and approved by the highest ranks of the AFP, and as per usual there’s no suggestion that the police are going to face any consequences in any way. How fucked up is the kid going to be after this, and after three months in custody? Honestly, I think it’s insane that the AFP would just egg on a kid to go engage in violent extremism just so they can add one extra arrest (and obviously they’d have hoped for a conviction) to their record. Fuck the police, lol.

Link: “Everyone’s a sellout now

Original post found at: https://www.vox.com/culture/2024/2/1/24056883/tiktok-self-promotion-artist-career-how-to-build-following

The internet has made it so that no matter who you are or what you do — from nine-to-five middle managers to astronauts to house cleaners — you cannot escape the tyranny of the personal brand. For some, it looks like updating your LinkedIn connections whenever you get promoted; for others, it’s asking customers to give you five stars on Google Reviews; for still more, it’s crafting an engaging-but-authentic persona on Instagram. And for people who hope to publish a bestseller or release a hit record, it’s “building a platform” so that execs can use your existing audience to justify the costs of signing a new artist.

God, this is a depressing read. It’s about the exhortation on everybody, but particularly artists, to establish a “personal brand” to market themselves online. The pressure is particularly acute on artists because publishing houses, record companies, etc. have all decided to save the money that they used to spend promoting their products and instead force the artists themselves to do marketing, blaming them when things are a flop.

Honestly, this is an aspect of “being a writer” that fills me with dread – I’ve never been good at self-promotion or anything that, to me, feels fake or insincere, and to me it’s like, really? Is this it? Is this actually the only way to bring your work to the attention of people who might enjoy it?

And the fact that so much of the self-promotion has to revolve around TikTok, too. A platform I have never used because autoplaying videos drive me insane. Am I really going to learn how to excel at marketing myself and my work on TikTok? Absolutely not a chance. What a fucked up world.

Link: “Thank god for Spain holding Luis Rubiales accountable

Original post found at: https://deadspin.com/luis-rubiales-womens-world-cup-spain-jenny-hermoso-1851197304

Totally share this article author’s satisfaction at seeing Spain prosecute their sleazy former women’s soccer coach. I also enjoyed how it went on to scold sleazy men like Rubiales, in particular this bit:

So, if you interact with women, here are my foolproof rules for not winding up like Luis Rubiales with your friends, co-workers, and family (yes, even your family): Don’t touch women without asking. Don’t touch anyone without asking, for that matter. Don’t force little girls to kiss and hug you because you think they’re cute. Your momentary gratification is not more important than a child’s bodily autonomy. Don’t touch your co-workers without asking. Trust me, no one is randomly hoping for a shoulder rub from you in the middle of Steve’s PowerPoint on the new expense reports. Come from a family that kisses everyone? Great, so do I. That doesn’t mean other people feel the same way or are comfortable with it. Claiming “it’s European” does not help you, especially if you aren’t in Europe. You really can’t go wrong with a handshake, fist bump or even a cringey high five. These should be your go-to moves around women, until you get an enthusiastic “yes” (not the absence of “no”) letting you know that the person is okay with you touching them. The office — be it a cubicle or World Cup podium) is not where you should look to pick up women. No woman wants to have to fend off your advances while trying to bridge the gap between 82 cents and a dollar.

“What?” I can already hear the hordes screaming. “It’s like I can’t do anything around women! What, do I have to be afraid of just being around them now?” If not interacting with women is what helps you not be a Rubiales’-adjacent creep, then, yes. Go with that. Otherwise, don’t treat the women in your life differently from the men in your life until they let you know that they want you to do that. If you wouldn’t pull your male colleague into a hug and hold on to him a little too long, don’t do it to a woman, either.

Link: “I hate work.” by Joan Westenberg

Original post found at: https://joanwestenberg.com/blog/i-hate-work

Our obsession with hustle culture, this idea that our self-worth is tied to how much we achieve, is suffocating. We’re pushed to flaunt our successes online, adding more pressure to this endless race. We end up sacrificing the things that matter — our relationships, hobbies, and well-being.

We’ve been fed this narrative that success comes from constant hard work. So, we push ourselves through school and jobs, only to realize that the work world isn’t what we were promised. Instead of satisfaction, we’re left empty and stressed, chasing meaningless goals.

I’ve seen friends get swallowed up by this culture. Working multiple jobs, juggling side gigs, with barely a moment to breathe. They’re worn out, teetering on the edge of burnout. And for what? To meet society’s expectations of success? What’s the point if it costs us everything?

Amen.

Link: “A Legacy of Logging

Original post found at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-01/ai-analysis-finds-failed-forest-regrowth-after-logging-/103153614

Analysis of satellite imagery has shown that 20% of coupes logged by VicForests have not successfully “regenerated”, despite it being VicForest’s obligation to ensure they do. (And that’s setting aside that even “regenerated” coupes often don’t resemble the coups as they were before, with different plant species, all very young, located in them.)

I did like the suggestion in the article that it should be First Nations people, rather than exploitative profiteers, managing this land. There is something unsatisfying about essentially saying “hey you guys, come clean up the mess after our state-run company trashed the place”, but more broadly I think we should be looking to First Nations people for environmental management.

Link: “He Wanted Privacy. His College Gave Him None

Original post found at: https://themarkup.org/machine-learning/2023/11/30/he-wanted-privacy-his-college-gave-him-none

An article about the routine violations of privacy universities engage in against their students, from tracking their movements around campus to monitoring their every keystroke as they use online portals to do their readings or complete assignments. Absolutely should not be happening, and as mentioned in the article it has a chilling effect on students’ ability to organise and wage campaigns, as they’ve always done.

Link: “India Accidentally Hired a DEA Agent to Kill Sikh American Activist, Federal Prosecutions Say

Original post found at: https://theintercept.com/2023/11/29/india-assassination-plot-us-citizen-nikhil-gupta/

Further to the news from a little while ago that a Sikh dissident, who called for an independent Sikh homeland, was assassinated in Canada, there come these allegations that Indian officials attempted to organise the assassination of another Sikh dissident in the US. It’s really upsetting to see the despotism that Narendra Modi’s regime represents.

a cartoony avatar of Jessica Smith is a socialist and a feminist who loves animals, books, gaming, and cooking; she’s also interested in linguistics, history, technology and society.