Syria

thirdform

pass the sick bucket
this is also why revolutionaries should never give up talking about impersonal domination at a high level of abstraction. once you start personifying things the door is opened for all kinds of dodgy shit to creep in. just look at Ruth Fischer.
 
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craner

Beast of Burden
I would be intrigued to read Craner's definition if he deigns to share it.

I don't have a definition. But Luke's right, I read Renzo de Felice (and George L. Mosse), and their precision was infectious. I was only prodding, not censoring you!
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
Yeah I'll post an archive copy in a bit, lots of pressure on Medium. Kester has had something like 20,000 negative tweets directed at him since he published which he was expecting.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
Here: http://archive.is/nA4Kc

He should have a new publisher in a few days I think.

This is the big news though:

https://www.thenation.com/article/s...limactic-attack-on-the-last-rebel-stronghold/

From the author: Working on this piece was mentally exhausting. I don't understand why Syrians have to suffer while the whole world is watching. Interviewing people whose homes I spent time in with their families makes me resent the fact that I was able to escape, to flee, to start over, while they are still there, left behind. Life is not fair, and we can't do anything other than fight and try to bring their words to life... hoping that, maybe, someone would give a shit

There's a load of people about to murdered by one of the world's major powers, permanent member and veto holder on the UN's security council, because they wanted to assert from themselves the kind of democratic freedoms I enjoy everyday. Makes me want to vomit.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
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DannyL

Wild Horses
Photos from Idlib - massive demonstrations. The people out there are still saying fuck the regime and demanding basic democratic freedoms after everything they've faced and continue to face:

There's a bunch of more photos on her Twitter - she's consistently been a great voice for the revolution - forcibly displaced from Aleppo in 2016.
 
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DannyL

Wild Horses
I don't disagree but what a failure of the international order, humanitarian and democratic ideals.

I'd add I think it will be incredibly hard to maintain any stability in a country that's so wholeheartedly rejected its nominal rulers.
 

craner

Beast of Burden
Been reading Elliot Abram’s recent book Realism and Democracy, so might have more to say about this, in a long boring essay possibly.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
Please do. Yassin Al-Haj Saleh is one of Syria's leading dissidents. His book is "The Impossible Revolution" which chimes with that.
 

firefinga

Well-known member
I don't disagree but what a failure of the international order, humanitarian and democratic ideals.

Syria is the model of a world where the west isn't willing (or capable) anymore to wield it's power. The multi-lateral world so many "anti-imperialists" are cheering for, and this "new world" isn't a pretty sight at all.
 
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droid

Well-known member
Yeah, much better when millions die as a result of Western bombs and we can pretend its for the greater good.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Russia, Iran and the Syrian state are bombing hospitals and rescue workers while the world watches and wrings its hands (or rubs them with glee, in some cases). But mention that it's conceivable that this may have been prevented and suddenly you're a cheerleader for killing "millions" of civilians.
 
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baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Syria is the model of a world where the west isn't willing (or capable) anymore to wield it's power. The multi-lateral world so many "anti-imperialists" are cheering for, and this "new world" isn't a pretty sight at all.

A multi-lateral world has been the norm tho surely, with a brief interregnum from 1991-2010ish of a unipolar world. That period wasn't pretty either - the West has never exercised its power without recklessness, self-interest and blatant disregard for human life.
The newly shaping world is definitely grim tho, I agree, and anti-imperialism has to oppose all imperialisms - American, Russian, Chinese, European, Iranian

I'm sure I'm behind the curve, but Russian activity in building military alliances in Africa suggests the new world is about to be shaped even further.
 
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