Morning Comrades.
Today’s email is going to be a little different than the last few weeks in so far that there is heaps of movement around the world that is, understandably so, being “drowned” out due to the war in Ukraine. I’ll get to the in a moment but let’s start off somewhere a little lighter, let’s say. It is St. Patrick’s Day on the day of writing this and rather than indulging in whatever it is they do in the US, or making you read another history essay, here are lads from Kneecap. You may not want to watch this if you are in an environment where profuse swearing isn’t appreciated. Speaking of swearing, if it offends you, don’t read this email. I am a bit rushed with heaps of housework that I have not been able to do all week ( thanks work ) and I am sufficiently fucked-off enough to let the mask of professionalism slip for once and so on. That’s your only warning for today.
And since this is just as good as it gets, watch this on repeat at full volume. That’s your PSA for the day.
Before I get into the rest of the fuckening that is taking up way too much space in my own head, just a few more words on the war in Ukraine, or rather, the collective insanity of the Western media & capital/political class going full blow Nazi-Apologist meets “Let’s Nuke The Bastards”- as we say in German ( Mach’ mal Fenster auf Kipp ) - which roughly translates as, open a fucking window and take a deep breath.
If anyone still needs any orientation in regards to where your stance should be in regards to this war: look up. They’re all guilty as sin, willing to kill your fellow working class comrades on all sides and all “leaders” need to put away. Peace is the first priority and as long as we idly stand by allowing for the club that none of us are every going to be a part of, run the world, war will continue. I’ve said enough on the matter.
I don’t know much about this person Ryan Grim, but caught a clip of his on twitter the other day from a press conference in the White House that perfectly illustrates the insanity gripping the media/capitalist classes - for the same reason as always, money.
This all boils down to people collectively losing their shit, ignoring the real enemies at the rear and above and airing some of the wildest shit I have seen in decades. All this amounts to perfecting cultural hegemony and to watch it play out in real time is horrifying.
Don’t get swept up by this insanity. No war but class war. The same goes for the lemming like idiocy of calling for No Fly Zones and sanctions. The former is nothing but a short way to total war, something that may not affect Joe in L.A. but everyone else here, and you know, let’s not do that. The later comes down to the same mind-rot of the West. who equate war to Marvel films and Call of Duty and who have never experienced sanctions - full disclosure, nor have I; I have just worked on several humanitarian mission in countries sanctioned by the West and again, Joe from L.A. would last a fucking day. Sanctions, or, the advanced monetary warfare perfected the US and NATO through the IMF/World Bank and co. are just as brutally suffocating.
On the note of sanctions as a means of warfare, this below is one of the best text I have read to date that explains what they are, how they work and what their impact is. Again, I would wager that all of you are fully aware of how these work and what they mean, but if you have people around protesting FOR sanctions, share this one:
Additionally, sanctions do not, or rarely at all, affect those criminals in power, be it Putin, Johnson or Biden- especially in regards to back home, the London elite is at the heart of the Putin Crime Ring and will not do anything to endanger 20 years of bribery. The same goes for the entire global elite, they are all in the same boat and whilst sanctions are made to sound like the “enlightened, reasonable western stance” against dictators ( sorry, my keyboard is floating on seas of sarcasm today ) they never touch the flow of capital amongst themselves. Thomas Piketty just wrote a brilliantly, damning piece in the Guardian on just that topic. Whilst I don’t always agree with his conclusions on Capitalism, this is a voice worth listening to:
For even more detail and context, this is also very much worth your time. Again, it is one big club and we will be never be anything more than cannon fodder to them.
If you are interested in getting help putting all these, and more pieces together I would like to point you to a piece over at the TriContinental that puts the current shifts of geo-politics into an easier to understand framework. It’s a 3-4 minute read that certainly helped me get more perspective.
It’s been a bit quiet from the fascist dork camp over in Silicon Valley, something that always does worry me a little more than when they’re yelling about some other surveillance narco bullshit but of course, here we are. One bit of news that’s a great step in the right direction comes from the EU for a change:
The title is a little misleading, but we are getting there. This is a big step towards building resistance against Google’s and Meta’s Surveillance version of Capitalism and I am here to see it.
One step forward, two steps back and all that and since it is has been incredibly quiet on the whole moronic, ponzi-scheme world of NFT’s - well, here we are.
Yup. I mean, what else is there to say. Of course, spotify wants to jump on this bandwagon, because exploiting artists and funding right wing covid deniers just ins’t enough - kind of figured Elk would have had his fill financing AI killer drones but hey.
Secondly, our favourite fascist-robot-meets creep-incel Zuck is back, furthering the irrelevance of his universe. Similar to Spotify, this move just reeks of desperation as both giant companies can no longer ( and haven’t done so in a while ) innovate yet still need more avenues for growth, desperately jumping on any hype without clear strategies. Imploding empires comes to mind.
I have heaps more but I just realized how long this bloody email has gotten already. Substack added this little widget for us writers that lets you know how long it takes to read these emails and knowing full well how valuable everyones time is I do try and keep these under 10 minutes.
With that, thanks for being here, your time and attention. Get the Substack App here join our Telegram Channel here and maybe consider becoming a patreon to this project. Either way, have a good weekend comrades, I will be back here on Monday.
Until then, I remain yours, without compromise,
V.