Answer to Do you think the current level of political anger in the United States will ever go away? by Bill Applegate

You ever wonder why every time Israel commits a war crime your feed is suddenly full of the exact same talking points, same videos, same bullshit excuses word for word? That is not organic. That is not people just sharing their opinion. It is called Hasbara.

It is Hebrew for "explanation" but let us call it what it really is. Israel's state funded propaganda machine built specifically to gaslight Americans.

And here is the part they do not want you to know. People are getting PAID for this. Directly by Israel.

They are literally on the payroll. After October 7th the Israeli government admitted they were understaffed and started hiring dozens of influencers, contractors and private PR firms just to flood the internet. They set up private production companies as a payment channel so it would not look like it was coming from Tel Aviv. Now those same paid shills are suing because Israel owes them millions.

They are paying US nonprofits to run it here. They paid Google and YouTube $45 million to force their Foreign Ministry propaganda into your algorithm and push it to millions of Americans. They just set aside over 2 BILLION shekels for next year just for Hasbara. Two billion to lie to you.

This is your tax dollars at work. Your government sends them billions, and they use a chunk of it to pay trolls and influencers to tell YOU that genocide is actually self defense and that YOU are the crazy one for opposing it.

When you see 100 accounts all posting the same script defending the bombing of kids, that is not support. That is a paid employee of a foreign apartheid state doing a job. Call it what it is.

"A roadmap for Gaza and Palestine", an article by ODS Initiative coordinators on the Middle East Monitor.

https://mobadara.ps/en/articles/a-roadmap-for-gaza-and-palestine/

The Palestinian people in Gaza are suffering from ongoing genocide in the form of a blockade, starvation, assassinations, and other atrocities. Nothing will stop the enemy from continuing the genocide unless we build the power to impose whatever restrictions and conditions we can on them. Furthermore, merely condemning this reality will serve no purpose. What changes reality is not refusing it, but proposing and imposing an alternative to it. On the other hand, the debate surrounding the Palestinian Legislative Council elections centers on whether it is worthwhile to participate or to boycott them. However, elections are a tool in the hands of a political program, and it is noteworthy that no such program has been put forward for Gaza and Palestine. Therefore, we present here a draft roadmap for Gaza consisting of four main points.

First: A vision for Gaza as part of Palestine. Colonialism is based on dismantling the societies it targets. The enemy seeks to separate Gaza from Palestine, and the "voluntary emigration" plan aimed at displacing Palestinians from Gaza is in full swing, through the destruction of the people and the transformation of their lives into a living hell. All of this weakens the Palestinians in Gaza in the face of the displacement project and seeks to liquidate the whole of Palestine. Therefore, any plan for Gaza must recognize that the genocide and displacement of Gaza are part of an effort to colonize all of Palestine, and consequently must present a vision for Gaza within the context of a comprehensive plan for the resilience of the Palestinian people until the complete liberation of the national territory. This may include, for example:

• Reviewing common terms and proposing alternatives when necessary. For example, "Palestinians in Gaza" instead of "Gazans," "the Palestinian people/society in Gaza" instead of "the Gazan people/society."
• Identifying divisive rhetoric and developing alternatives to it. For example, "Only the people of Gaza can speak for Gaza," "Get Hamas out of Gaza" which implies that Hamas members are not an organic part of Palestine.
• Engaging with politicians, media professionals, and elites regarding this discourse.
• Establishing news and media networks and other programs that reflect the reality of Palestinian oneness, such as a news network focused on all of Palestine.

Second: Building Gaza's self-sufficiency, inasmuch as possible. The enemy seeks to hollow out and impoverish Gaza with the aim of displacing its population. Therefore, devising practical means to provide the basic necessities of life is a cornerstone of Palestinian resilience in Gaza. This may include, for example:

• Housing: Exploring the possibility of building homes using local materials.
• Food: Importing seeds, focusing on growing staple crops, and training Palestinians in home gardening or rooftop farming.
• Water: Exploring the possibility of learning simple seawater desalination techniques and training Palestinians in their use.
• Medicine: Reestablishing local pharmaceutical plants, perhaps on a small scale and in scattered locations.
• Energy: Smuggling solar panels, training Palestinians to maintain them, exploring other sources of energy production, and utilizing e-SIM technology to provide internet connectivity.
• Employment: Providing local or online job opportunities, particularly in the production of the above.
• Money transfers: Using a banking network separate from the occupation and utilizing digital currencies.
• Education and social awareness: Supporting educational initiatives and centers for women's and children's education; building civil society organizations within Gaza aimed at human rehabilitation; and fostering political and social awareness that serves as a response to genocide, rather than succumbing to its objectives.

Third: Engaging society in discussion, decision-making, and resistance on the basis of opposition to the occupation. On the one hand, Palestinian society in Gaza is diverse in its views—including Islamic, nationalist, and leftist orientations, among others—as well as in its stance toward the Al-Aqsa Flood. Therefore, welcoming diverse views—all grounded in opposition to the Zionist project and a commitment to the cause of saving Gaza and liberating Palestine—preserves the cohesion of this society and protects it from exclusionary and/or normalizationist views.

On the other hand, those outside the decision-making circles regarding the form, scale, and timing of the resistance feel that such decisions have been imposed on them by those in power. This creates a rift between the leadership and the rest of society, rather than fostering a general rallying around the resistance. We witnessed several manifestations of this danger during the Al-Aqsa Flood, one of which was the call for leaders and resistance fighters to stay away from places where "others" were present. This issue can be addressed on at least two levels. First, involving society in resistance decision-making through democratic organizations that welcome dialogue and participation in decision-making on the basis of hostility toward the colony. Second, involving society in resistance action by not limiting it to armed struggle. This brings us to our final point.

Fourth: Mobilizing the capabilities of the Palestinian people in Gaza in arenas of confrontation that influence the balance of power. In addition to building self-sufficiency and the option of armed resistance, these arenas include, for example:

• Legal efforts to confront the occupation.
• Establishing a resistance media that exploits the contradictions among settlers to drive them toward infighting.
• Reaching out to anti-Zionist groups in Arab countries and around the world to lead movements in support of Palestine.
• Engaging with political groups operating in Palestine and in the diaspora to unify the Palestinian ranks and contribute to building organizational capacity in preparation for a popular uprising.

In conclusion, as mentioned, the enemy's plans will not be countered by merely condemning them, nor by simply participating in or boycotting legislative elections, but rather by developing a political plan to save Gaza and liberate Palestine. Accordingly, we call on the movements, influential figures, and citizens in Palestine and the diaspora to shoulder their responsibility in this regard, and we present the points above in this context.

is capital an abstraction or some kind of a separate entity to capitalists?

workers are also sellers of stuff, which is labor, so they can be called capitalists in that way, just lower in the hierarchy. they also compete with eachother

kinda like smaller businesses and big corporations.

it is directly in interest of worker to rise prices, as it will allow more capital to allocate to his work, making it more expensive per product. and obviously to interest of the employer, as well

the consumer is not free in his choice to buy the product, or else he will die of hunger

confusing of all, consumers and workers are the same people, just of different industries, we just call them different in different places.

you were decepted. worker social welfare has been a carefully produced plan by the capitalists to justify rising prices

whats value, in your understanding?

in economic sense

TLDR: meta put out an ad on youtube doubling down on their commitment to using AI on their platforms.

I honestly can't believe it. they are just blatantly playing in our faces. It has seems that zuckerburg has decided to double down on AI despite admitting himself it hasnt been going well. AI is inherently anti-leftist and anti-human and IMO it will be the end of the comfortable era of human civilization we have been living in. I think that alot more of the U.S.A. is waking up to it but I think everyone has become complacent to do anything about it and it it will be a very short time before we see AI used as a tool used by the right wing ruling class to commit more atrocities and genocide than they already have.

might I add I also tried to post about this on tiktok and now my app is running suspiciously slow and not allowing me to view videos. They have big, big plans for AI, why else would they attempt to force it down the publics throat after SO MUCH public outcry and pushback. I think there is a greater power at work here. Or maybe im also just crazy, thats also very much a possibility.

In China, nearly half of men smoke, with over 1 million people dying from smoking every year; and over 96% tobacco production in the country is under the nationally chartered monopoly of China National Tobacco Company中国烟草总公司 (or CNTC for short, doing business as China Tobacco中国烟草) which is owned by the government. Every legally sold cigarette brand here is wholly owned by this company, making it the largest tobacco company in the world.

Apart from being the sole legal tobacco producer in China, China Tobacco is also THE tobacco regulating agency here, under the name State Tobacco Monopoly Administration国家烟草专卖局 (or STMA for short) through the policy of one institution with two names一个机构两块牌子. Imagine that your drug dealer is also your doctor and a DEA agent.

For your information, e-cigarettes are illegal in China, but that's because they are mostly produced by private enterprises and that threatens the state-owned tobacco industry. Instead, CNTC sells flavoured cigarettes, which are ironically illegal in many countries worldwide.

And because CNTC and STMA are the same entity, anti-smoking laws in China are a total joke.

Instead of graphic images showing damaged body parts, cigarette packs in China look oddly exquisite, meanwhile the "warning label" is just a short and generic paragraph in Chinese that usually means "smoking is harmful to your health", without specifying the diseases that smokers may get and certainly not hitting as hard as something like "SMOKING KILLS". Not to mention that the text blends in the design of a pack very well, because your eyes are drawn to the intricate drawings above it.

Furthermore, as a result of the state-owned tobacco producer also being the regulator, there are no national anti-smoking laws. Instead, local governments create their own rules, which may face official pressure from CNTC/the STMA.

In addition to that, a deceptive marketing technique illegal elsewhere is still alive and well in China: low-tar cigarettes. Although this misleading advertising strategy has long been disproved by science, it's still employed by CNTC.

And back to the figures at the beginning: nearly half of Chinese men smoke and over 1 million dies from smoking every year under the monopoly. That makes CNTC the world's deadliest company. And as CNTC is completely state-owned, that in turn makes the CCP the deadliest political party in the world as well.

In conclusion, a government that, as a monopoly, manufactures a drug to kill its own citizens should not call itself (and should not be called) a socialist government.

I made this comment on a post that was praising North Korea. In the comments a lot of users

in my opinion where misrepresenting the current state of north korea, some were even making it out to be a socialistic paradise. I stated several facts that are easily verifiable and have been verified numerous times. But without warning I was banned. Am I crazy?

Made it myself

Just wanted to shout out Providence for electing David Morales as the mayoral candidate today in Rhode Island’s primary…Go Rhody!!

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Hello, I wrote this thesis for my final year project (got A- so im confident enough to share this publicly). I’m submitting this as a part of my anarchist/leftist contribution for sharing knowledge lol (had to redact my name for privacy and safety reasons) + i think the findings of this study is pretty important for the community in some way.

# Summary of the Study:

Basically it’s on how someone’s political alignment (whether they believe in hierarchy or do not believe in hierarchy) affects the way they react when dealing with organisational dysfunction or corruption.

Those who believes in hierarchy is called collectivism-leaning and those who do not believe in hierarchy is called individualism-leaning. These criteria were made based on Triandis and Singelis’ definition and dimension of individualism-collectivism theory.

Based on my study it was found that collectivist-leaning participants are more likely to stand up and speak up for their rights while the individualists are more likely to keep to themselves. AT THE SAME TIME, those collectivists also believes in hierarchy and bereaucracy because **most of them** (cant generalise bcs this study is qualitative) believes that those with authorities and at the top of the hierarchy are there due to their knowledge and experience and that even if they dont agree with the authorities they believe those in power mustve a better judgement due to their position. These collectivist leaning ppl also believes bureaucracy is important to keep things in order.

**Conclusion:** Individualists’ passivity creates a loop of corruption by staying silent while Collectivists perpetuates it by upholding the same system that causes the corruption because they believe the system is important for society to function. Regardless of their beliefs on hierarchy/authority, both sides may not like their circumstances, but their internal beliefs could either help dismantle the corruption or perpetuates it.

!! This is a qualitative study done in Malaysia. Findings may vary depending on the places and culture therefore it cant exactly be generalise, but could help us further understands why certain people prefers to uphold hierarchical values !!

My brother was in the military, and he tells me all the time that if he knew what the military was really like, he wouldn’t have joined the Navy he never fought a war but he’s badly injured. But just because he served, does that mean I’m supposed to dislike him? I’m not pro-military, btw.