Image is from this article, depicting the Foreign Ministers (or, in China’s case, Vice Foreign Minister) of each BRICS country in the middle of their standing lessons.

Thread update: Prigozhin’s fucking dead.

rip-bozo

The BRICS summit will begin on Tuesday and end on Thursday, with various world leaders, politicians, and representatives meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.

America’s anxiety about the summit has been obvious. They have been complicating the event by pushing for the arrest warrant for Putin to be upheld if he steps foot in the country. While this is a remarkably dangerous and unhinged thing to do - even by America’s standards - to the leader of a nuclear superpower who could end the world within an hour, it does betray their desperation. Unfortunately, for those of us who wanted to see Putin surrounded by an army of security guards fending off people holding handcuffs, he has sent his Foreign Minister, Lavrov, in his place. Additionally, America has likely been spreading rumors about the lack of interest in gaining new members in the organization.

With apparently 20 countries formally seeking membership and another 20 informally doing so, the bloc has been elevated, whether they like it or not, to the position of the international vanguard of the non-western world. It is extremely important to say that this is not the same as it becoming an anti-American bloc, and many of them (including original members Brazil and India) wish to keep a friendly relationship with the United States. Nonetheless, with the United States’ policy of “if you are not with us, you are against us,” and as the US seeks to weaken China, in coming years many of them might find themselves under hostile pressure.

BRICS has to try and solve many problems if they are going to chip away at America’s stranglehold of the world economy. These problems - like mitigating the dollar’s status as a global reserve currency, and America’s dominant role in the world economy - are extremely complicated, and will takes years, even decades, to be overcome. Therefore, one should temper their expectations and excitement for this summit. It took tens of millions of deaths in cataclysmic wars, and then several more decades, for America to reach its current position. I see no reason to believe why its downfall will be any less bloody and elongated.

To end on a less depressing note, I’ve been searching for appropriate anagrams given the list of countries that seek to join BRICS. Obviously not all of them will make it in, but even so. The best I’ve come up with is HIBISCUS EMANCIPATES BBBBKKRVV.

(also, “bulletins and news discussion” can be rearranged to “libidinous newsstands uncles”.)

Here is the map of the Ukraine conflict, courtesy of Wikipedia.

This week’s first update is here in the comments.

Links and Stuff

The bulletins site is down.

Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists

Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Add to the above list if you can.

Resources For Understanding The War

Defense Politics Asia’s youtube channel and their map. Their youtube channel has substantially diminished in quality but the map is still useful.

Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.

Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.

Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don’t want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it’s just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.

On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists’ side.

Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.

Telegram Channels

Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.

Pro-Russian

https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR’s former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR’s forces. Russian language.

https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.

https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.

https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster’s telegram channel.

https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.

https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.

https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.

https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.

https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a ‘propaganda tax’, if you don’t believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.

https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.

Pro-Ukraine

Almost every Western media outlet.

https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.

https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.

Last week’s discussion post.

  • super_mario_69 [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    30·
    1 year ago

    https://svenska.yle.fi/a/7-10040131 (Sorry, I could only find this one in Swedish) – Russia expert: In Russia, globalisation is seen as the bigger threat than the Kremlin to individual freedom - This is the worst one I’ve seen today. Maybe ever. If you can’t understand Swedish, good. Don’t read the translated version, it’s not worth it.

    but if you really want to know...

    Google translated and edited for clarity

    Vladimir Putin’s interpretation of globalization led to the war in Ukraine. This is what the Israeli Russia researcher Vera Michlin-Shapir says in an interview for Svenska Yle. For several years, Vladimir Putin was afraid that Ukraine, despite all its flaws, wanted to become a free society characterized by diversity, and a technologically progressive place with an open economy. So says Vera Michlin-Shapir, Russia researcher at King’s College in London and expert on the impact of globalization in Russia.

    Yes, that’s the reason. That’s literally the only reason, nothing else. You nailed it.

    According to Michlin-Shapir, a Westernized Ukraine was not only a threat because of Ukraine’s geographical proximity. It was also a threat that the Russian people could see a culturally related people choosing Europe over Putin’s Russia.

    Yes, choosing, by their own free will! Perhaps you don’t get it, as the russian brainpan simply cannot comprehend superior Evropean freedom.

    • Globalization has affected Russia very much. But the conclusions that Putin and the Russians have drawn do not fit together at all with the Western vision. In Russia, the global world is neither free nor democratic, but corrupt and hypocritical. What they experience is that everyone thinks only of themselves - leaders everywhere in the world want to get rich at the expense of others.

    ??? yes? where’s the lie?

    Michlin-Shapir, herself from Israel, does not dismiss these conclusions, but sees them as grossly simplistic.

    • In the West, we also see equality, civil society, human rights and solidarity as essential parts of globalization. At least in principle, in practice globalization has not achieved what it should.

    Ah yes, of course. Again, the Russian brainpan cannot comprehend such concepts. I also absolutely love that part about “in principle, but not in practice”. A bug, not a feature, naturally. lol. lmao even.

    In Russia, people appreciate a different freedom than that which the West offers A clear difference between Russia and the West, which is reinforced by globalization, is the view of what freedom means. This also applies to most Russians living abroad, says Michlin-Shapir.

    • In Russia, freedom is something you can practice on your own. You can be against the war in your heart, in your home, around the kitchen table. Freedom is private. And maybe secret?
    • Yes. As long as neither the state nor anyone else forces me to do anything, I am free. This is different from the West, where freedom is to leave the kitchen and go out and speak your mind.

    Jesus fucking christ. I don’t even know where to begin with this take. Sure, I’m fine with fascist death squads gunning down minorities in the streets, as long as I can leave my kitchen and go out and said “hey that’s not very nice”. The government really just lets me do that. Ah, sweet freedom.

    It also contrasts with the democratic ideal where citizens are expected to act collectively when leaders do wrong.

    A thing that happens regularly in the west and is effective at bringing about change. I’m sure the author is in full support of the palestinian people who act collectively when the leaders do wrong. or any other left-wing uprisings, for that matter. fuck off

    Michlin-Shapir says that the Russian ideal of freedom simply stands in the way of an effective opposition. The regime has had no problem shoving aside the small minority that wants to bring it down.

    That’s right, here in the West we let small minorities of literal fascists do what they want, because Freedom.

    On the other hand, for the same reason, the war is becoming a problem for Putin.

    • The longer it goes on, and especially if there is another mobilization, the Kremlin has let it affect the freedom of Russians. Many Russians realize that things are not going well for the country.
    • The Kremlin’s authority is collapsing, but there is no one who can confirm to the people that it is happening.

    Is it? Is it really?

    Nor is there anyone who can offer an alternative that fits into the kind of isolationist and highly individualistic view of freedom that the Russians pursue.

    • We see from the outside that Russia has already collapsed in many ways, but what holds the country together is the people’s belief that the state still works. Russians feel that they are freer than people in the West despite the increasing repression, says Israeli Russia researcher Vera Michlin-Shapir from King’s College in London.

    Something something stones and glass houses, I can’t remember the saying.