If I were the Kurds I’d simply take the arms and then just keep them without trying to launch an uprising in Iran.

Even if he’s being disingenuous or ignorant when self identifying as a socialist, I don’t really care. What matters is that his actions do not align with any realistic path towards socialism.

This is what happens when you commit to reforming an irreformable system. For Mamdani not to be thrown out of office he has to play ball and do shit like this. That puts him in the awkward spot of defending things he actively campaigned against. This kind of hypocrisy will leave his base of support feeling jaded and demoralized which in turn leaves him without the political leverage he needs to enact progressive policy. All that will be left for him to do is more compromise.

That’s why I think any self described socialist running for office in the US has to be ready to play the role of an intransigent advocate for the disaffected. They have to be that stick in the mud that will not give in even if it means the powers that be try to destroy them. That’s doesn’t mean they have to neglect all the duties of the office or even be much of a firebrand. However, it’s the only way I think you can maintain the trust and enthusiasm of the working class people from whom you derive your power.

Too often I see self described socialists making the mistake of thinking that’s it’s the political office they hold which gives them power. In a political system designed for capitalism the tools at their disposal will almost never suit their purposes as a socialists.

So instead of using sweeps to keep the business class happy and at bay, Mamdani should be at the doorstep of every single real estate investment firm in the city making it readily apparent whose at fault for this humanitarian crisis. He should be highlighting the need for tenants unions, ending sweeps, supporting rent strikes, and ordering moratoriums on evictions until the city or state actually do something to end homelessness. He must be willing to make enemies of the wealthy business elite, the people who are the natural enemies of the working class.

If he can’t do that then it doesn’t matter how sincere he is about being a socialist. He’ll be nothing more than a bump in the road for a system that intends to consume us all.

Maybe if the US hadn’t tried to invade Cuba the year before they wouldn’t have requested Soviet assistance. Also maybe the US shouldn’t have placed nukes in Turkey if it didn’t want the soviets to do something similar.

As expected, every one of their accusations is just projection.

If that were true Iran would have almost certainly taken some of the actions I’ve described. They’re trying to use that as a threat to get the US to back down and reign in their attack dog.

They could believe in their longterm capacity for success in a war with Israel and the US but still want to avoid all of the destruction that would entail. If they blow up Saudi oil fields, close the straits of hormuz, and attack US bases then any hope of deescalation is lost.

There was plenty of organic separatism in much of Eastern Ukraine after Maidan. The support they received from Russia doesn’t invalidate that fact.

Israel is being the very opposite of a force for stability in the region, which isn’t going to help the Petro-Dollar.

Israel being a destabilizing force gives the US leverage over the oil rich nations of the region. That’s why Israel is important for the petrodollar. I’m also not sure the US currently has a way to maintain its global economic dominance without the petrodollar. That’s in part why I think you see the US doubling down on support for Israel even in a context where doing so is increasingly risky.

The FT is actually a tad bit more reliable than more mainstream outlets like WaPo or the NYT. It’s targeted towards people in finance who want more matter of fact reporting and fewer opinion pieces.

I think you underestimate just how many people are in China and how much development actually needs to happen in order to meet their needs. The urbanization rate of China is still lower than most developed nations despite the massive amounts of construction they’ve done in recent years.

Why would I lie and why does what I said make you so angry?

How could you possibly come to think that Marx’s works are censored in China? Marxism is literally taught in schools there.

Don’t worry, Biden just imposed tariffs on Chinese EVs so they can rest easy now.

It’s complicated. Chiang Kai-shek was a historical adversary of the CPC and is viewed as a traitor and war criminal in the PRC. However, his nationalist party, the KMT, is alive and well in Taiwan. The CPC currently favors the KMT even though they were former adversaries because the KMT advocates for deepening economic ties to the PRC.

With this context I’m guessing the KMT’s primary opposition, the DPP, wants to highlight the KMT’s fascist legacy while also conflating the KMT’s and the CPC’s expression of Chinese nationalism. Making that false equivalency is easier because of the KMT’s interest in building stronger economic ties with the mainland.

Western media usually frames issues from the DPP’s perspective which would explain the commentary in the article.

Good luck with that. The US is the world’s largest oil producer and therefore it has a vested interest in preventing the development of sustainable energy alternatives.

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Yes and no. Deng was definitely a strong advocate for market reforms. However, if you ask any Chinese economist from that era they would say reform was inevitable.

Also the strategies Deng advocated for were similar to the failed shock therapy programs that Eastern European countries underwent following the collapse of the USSR. In doing so he risked the stability of the Chinese economy.

That said, he also helped keep political control out of capitalist hands. That allowed China to course correct when some of their reforms induced economic instability.

Which by all indications was something he didn’t actually want to do in the first place. It’s just the west wasn’t ready to give up exploiting the people of the former USSR. If Putin allowed that to continue he would have likely lost his power just as Yeltsin had.

Sure but it’s always like one small step forward and two large steps back. Abortion was made illegal in many states. US domestic surveillance of its own citizens has increased dramatically and gone unchallenged. Housing and healthcare costs have continued to outpace wage growth. Inequality has increased unabated. Green energy remains woefully underfunded. I could go on.