I'm almost sympathetic to these contrarian types. If you're a regular defender of these sorts of states, you're going to be swamped with arguments like "China is developing terminator weapons to vaporize non-Han ethnicities" and "Iran funded ISIS and 9/11". I think constantly dealing with that online is going to warp how you discuss these topics. It's same thing with MLs saying Stalin did nothing wrong. Obviously he did, but if you're ideologically aligned with the USSR and always hear people say shit like he killed 100 million Ukrainian, after a point it's probably just easier to unequivocally defend him because that's what your opponents are gonna hear regardless of whatever nuance your bring to the conversation.
As an ML, I think you're pretty much on the mark. When we MLs defend the Communist Party of China or oppose intervention in Iran, we understand that contradictions exist in these countries and political systems. However, we consider the principal contradiction of the 21st century to be American imperialism, and making "both sides" nuanced arguments is not helpful for this global fight against imperialism. We can have discussions about the theocratic nature of Iran or Russia's imperial ambitions, but these cannot be impediments to fighting US imperialism.
@@liamvertal1543 but why is necessary to defend China's xenophobia or Russia's imperialism to fight US imperialism? That's what this video is about. You can't critique both countries without ever losing sight in what's the bigger problem
It's like Hillary Clinton. I don't like her, shes a center right establishment hawk, but all of the criticisms of her from her opponents are such lunatic bullshit that I reflexively defend her.
@Liam Vertal glad to hear my point was well received. I'm not an ML myself, but you guys get too much shit. For me, I'm not really interested in defending the states I mentioned but I don't really care to criticise them either. That's better spent on the West™ in my view.
@@muslimmetalman the power gap between "the west" and the tentative Iran-China-Russia bloc is substantially smaller than the power gaps you're describing here. Otherwise it would be a good point. That said, I support, on a geopolitical level, the aforementioned bloc against the west's agenda. I am still highly critical all parties involved, but one side clearly has a wider web of exploitation than the other, and I think it's good that we have (again, geopolitically) a sort of bulwark, a sort of global opposition to the western order. But of course that doesn't mean we should overlook or be uncritical of the states involved.
As a Venezuelan Marxist, I appreciate your balanced view of Venezuela. While I despise Maduro and certain members of PSUV, I do not condone Guaido or any of these Liberals who are trying to reclaim power that they would use to inevitably cause another Caracazo. Maduro has done a lot of harm to the indigenous tribes of Venezuela, even having members of the military kill members of the Pemon Tribe so that they could harbor oil from the Arco Mineres region. So as a leftist who cares about people, there is a lot to complain about, while acknowledging that the Liberal opposition are garbage.
The same situation happens in Nicaragua with Daniel Ortega and in my country of Mexico with López Obrador. Both are doing harm and repressing indigenous communities.
En Perú, hay muchos que se llaman a si mismos socialistas pero son pitucos socialistas que no respetan al pueblo indígena ni a la mayoría de los pobres. Por eso, hay muchos de la clase obrera que identifica el marxismo con los pitucos y los terroristas.
pjd412 Exactly! Same can be said with the current situation in Mexico where López Obrador is utilizing the “National Guard” (that his administration created) to repress migrants in Mexico’s southern border. All to please that orange clown in the US.
I get called an American puppet on twitter for trying to suggest that Russian and Chinese capitalist oligarchs are not a good solution to American capitalist oligarchs
Honestly I think a lot of dengist sentiment is based loosely on this 'it's not easy being cheesy' kind of wishful thinking sentiment It's hard not having any major force for good in the world and sometimes people will buy into something false to feel like they have someone on their side It's a very Western sentiment and tbh I feel like it's the very same feeling that makes a lot of Americans try and defend the us government And the answer leftists should have to them is the same on both sides. There is no great force for good in the world and if you want a better world we have to rely on each other, not the status quo
I don't think I've ever seen anyone say that Russian/Chinese oligarchs are good I've just seen people say that things like "claiming that the US or US media isn't trustworthy is basically the same thing as supporting Russian oligarchs"
BadEmpanada yep pretty much. As an ML myself I never understood the weird support for China in online tankie circles because China has destroyed most of what Mao built and pretty much is the exact antithesis of everything he stood for. The modern CPC has more in line with Chiang Kai Shek’s vision of China than Mao’s
Completely agree. I have taken classes in Снiηα and am going there soon (that’s why I want to avoid any posts in relation to C that might get monitored), but I will say Мαо era Сніηắ was not perfect. Many bad things you may hear about the 文化大革命 Cultural Revolution are pretty true. I know people who had their parents killed. One things people do always say is that it harmed the minority of bureaucracy that had privileges but did not effect large portions of the population negatively. I spoke to two people who said the only reason why they went to the labor camps is because they had a good amount of food there. So Мäỗ has a really mixed legacy. On the flip side, his infrastructure projects during his later years are the groundwork for the government’s most popular policies today. Beijing’s subway was built during late Мăõ and the disability accessible stuff was all started under Мαö. Take the good with the bad and do your own research or I can send you my media analysis paper from my sociology class in Сніηα. Also, every hour, the Beijing North train station plays 东方红 (The East is Red). What a legendary banger. I always sing along. I love C so much so I won’t comment on modern C.
Malachy Kinney Mao’s biggest failures are the GLF and some aspects of the Cultural Revolution. But the advances he helped make for his people in health outcomes and education, even during the GLF famines, are on a nearly incomprehensible scale for a Westerner. Chinese peasants after WW2 had some of the lowest living standards in modern history, and their spirits had been broken by a century of humiliation from the Western powers and Japan. It doesn’t get much worse than 1940s China.
@Eduardo Policarpo yup. It’s just a bummer that 2% of the time you’ll end up denying the Bosnian genocide. Anti Americanism is usually right, but education helps fill in the gaps of when it isn’t.
@@litesp so, if a third-party inspires me to commit crimes, does that mean I am absolved of said crimes and can blame everything on the third-party? I mean, you're not wrong, but let's not let the Iranian gov't off the hook either.
@@RobertDunn310 I don't think he did ... maybe not by your standards, but your standards have nothing to do with how an average Iranian sees it ... average Iranians have the right to address their problems the way they see fit, having Westerners tell them that they aren't doing it the right way is just more White Cultural Supremacist bullshit! Maybe you have the power to address one of hs concerns? The concern of having to worry about the actions of the 'murderous Superpower', and let the average Iranians address the issue they are best situated to address, the issue of a ' murderous government'(which even if they address that issue successfully, there will still be Western Cultural supremacists that demand they are not "Western" enough!!)
About China, after the revolution they organized public healthcare, in the form of urban clinics and medical services organized around the communes. After the decollectivization promoted by Deng Xiaoping, this system was dismantled.
true..deng ruined everything he worked for over the course of decades after he was allowed to return to china and rose to power again in the early 90s..i still dont really understand what exactly happened beyond that.. from what i understand the whole idea is to "fight fire with fire" by taking over the global economy as much as possible and then turn to a globalized socialist economy?? idk
@@vinanoir By "everything he worked for" you mean lifting a billion people out of poverty, eliminating food insecurity, creating a 300+ million strong middle class, making China powerful enough to content with foreign powers, etc? Yeah, from the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, where my relatives were sent to work in forced agrarian camps in the country side, and people were literally eating tree bark at one point, to almost the #1 economy in the world. All in one generation. Yep, Deng totally ruined it. Put Mao back in charge.
@@RayCromwell You are making an unfair comparation. You must evaluate Mao's China comparing it to chinese society before the revolution, not after. Life expectation raised from 35 years to 66 years from 1949 to 1976. Literacy also growed strongly. Of course, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution caused economical problems, but you must understand that they were not just crazy politics, but things that happened under a very difficult context (China was menaced by the US of being nuked and was the most embargoed country in the world). So, in this scenario, the Great Leap was a desperate attempt to develop the country in this context. In the case of the Cultural Revolution, this was a thing discussed by the intelectuals since the First of May movement, so it was a thing deeply rooted on chinese revolutionary aspirations for decades, not Mao's invention, not to mention that most things that ocurred in this period came from the rebbelion of the youth and workers against the party bureaucracy, not from above. This achievements you talk about would be impossible with a very low literacy rate, as well as people that live less than 40 years, this not to mention the fact that was with Mao that woman were gave more freedom, participating in work and studying, and the improvements in infraestrucute. Without this base China would not be as it is today, but more similar to Bangladesh.
@@luizhumberto8802 Don't think anyone is denying Mao's importance, but for all he did he failed to actually produce the significant material growth that Deng and his reforms did. There is also a lot that Mao did that was counterproductive or just straight up evil. Regardless China after Mao was close to total economic collapse, food scarcity yet again became a problem, most essential commodities were unobtainable and industrialization was stagnating, all made worse by the messy succession crisis at the time of Mao's own creation. Saying what China needed is more central planning and isolationism is at best dooming it to the similar fate to the Soviet Union, most likely far worse since it was much poorer at the time. As for healthcare, spoiler Healthcare under Mao was never some brilliant universal European type deal. It was at best minimal basic healthcare, something that was briefly made worse under Deng's reforms, but these reforms produced the economic growth necessary for a modern functional healthcare system. Today the Chinese healthcare system is better then it has ever been and is constantly improving. Healthcare costs and coverage have drastically improved notably in the last two decades, bringing basic healthcare to over 800 million rural people from 2006-2011 (or to put it into context the population of the EU+US combined). All healthcare costs are now at least 70% subsidized by the government, with the stated long term plan of Universal healthcare. A common criticism is that Chinese health care is tiered, that if you want better treatment using the latest equipment you have to go private. This is true... but what is ignored is that this "private" healthcare is nearly all state owned, and most if not all these profits are reinvested into public healthcare, drastically speeding up this process of development. Put in blunt terms China cannot afford to deficit spend itself into the ground with its geopolitical rivals, and much of its budget is spent on improving other vital underdeveloped public services and social security, so it uses this as an auxiliary form of income to fund public health. Is it ideal, no, but is it comparable to the clusterfuck that is the US healthcare system... also clearly no. In general comparing Chinese healthcare to far smaller more developed countries is not a remotely fair standard of what is feasibly obtainable. It also largely completely ignores the more recent rapid growth of the Chinese health sector. Excluding countries like Cuba, China still has by far one of the best healthcare systems in the developing world, even in its poorest rural regions, which is a massive achievement for such a geographically large and populous country.
@Julius Augustino I also recommend ‘From Victory To Defeat’ by Pao-Yu Ching. The author discusses how China, before Deng, was pursuing socialism and the successes of the Mao era.
Yet westerners still believe that they should be altruistic and whine about other countries actions while in reality they fail to acknowledge why those actions are taken, this westerner here claims other countries to be authoritarian regimes while in reality they are fascistic with socialist elements similar to Nazi Germany which in the beginning days of the regime they were much socialist with corporations in Germany being controlled by the state, not to mention this guy being critical of Modern Russia for invading Ukraine while in reality Ukraine has Neo Nazi fascism running their military, it's these hypocritical statements which these westerners never mention but act like they care so much for the world while living in delusions of their own utopic selves, keeps bragging about lgbt rights while in reality it's been a failure especially when western culture follows those "rights" and not to mention encouraging forced surgeries on those young cause they are supposed to be "free" and gay people often having more cases of HIV which is directly cause of western culture which encourages hypersexualization and prostitution and other degenerative behaviours which these people hypocritically bash countries like Iran for banning or say being protectionist about their policies even if they are harsh and authoritarian, this guys ur typical socialist who makes experimental ideas which never are researched well and even if they are they enforce it on every country despite failing to understand that every country is different and can't just abandon their systems for new ones policed by westerners, westerners like him are better off looking after their own nation instead of hypocritically criticizing others
I'm not an advocate for extreme regimes which although they believe they are doing good for their people still take extreme measures which doesn't do them good on the long term, but still it is indeed hypocritical for westerners to be altruistic while failing to acknowledge the fact that people if they don't want change can't be forced into it, forcing anything on others even if altruistic never went well throughout history and only time will decide not westerners
@@Layd36 don't pretend that the western states have ever had anyone's best interests at heart, America is directly responsible for the collapse of Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Cuba, Venezuela and more, England is the direct cause of the Nakba and the genocide of Palestinians. Western mining companies are a huge part of the reason that Africa is still stagnating. When I say there are NO good states, I mean it
@@sofia.eris.bauhaus We live in a world where no-one complains about there being literal memorials for people who tried to assassinate Hitler. And it's not like there once was Hitler and before, during, and after his time everybody elses was basically just an innocent but unfortunately misled little baby angel. I don't know how well exactly Kissinger fares in comparasion to Hitler on the moral scale but he's absolutely closer to Hitler than to various assholes I know. It's a sliding scale. So someone who murders Kissinger shouldn't get a memorial but Kissinger's death - even if caused by murder - surely wouldn't be a especially tragic thing.
the Grayzone's coverage of Syria especially is very valuable to dismantling US and European propaganda. i certainly don't agree with everything their reporters put out but people like Aaron Mate are invaluable in the fight against Western imperialism imo
I'm afraid you're falling for their propaganda then. Their tactics of demonizing rebels and smearing NGOs that help people while completely denying war crimes are out of the zios textbook.
While I agree with this specific strand of anti-Americanism, as an Iranian myself, I see calls from the western/white (typically anarchist) left to "support the protests" in Iran as equally problematic and antithetical to a worldview that respects our self-determination. I support their right to protest (hell I hate IR myself. I have family members killed and imprisoned by IR), but beyond that, what does it even mean to "support the protesters" for a western leftist? Does it go anywhere beyond... "having the right opinion" and "choosing the right side", especially in a conflict that is fueled to a VERY large extent by US sanctions and warmongering? I think good politics isn't trying to look at every conflict and see "which side you're supposed to support", whether it's the specific anti-US (or pro-US for that matter) state, or its opposition. Good politics is to identify what you can do in a specific conflict and how you can help resolve it. As an Iranian, all I can say is that we don't *need* your side-taking. It does nothing for us. Whether you're a western Marxist-Leninist type (or contrarian) siding with the IR or excusing its actions towards Iranians and others, or a western anarchist type opposing IR and siding with the protesters (among which there's a LOT of reactionary tendencies, as well as a general lack of consensus on what the fuck they want, beyond "regime change", which itself seems like a good recipe for disaster, especially if there aren't goals, let alone plans, for what comes next), your side-taking is unproductive. Iran is a deeply divided country. There's significant support for and opposition to IR. Even if we do overthrow IR, its supporters aren't gonna vanish into thin air. What we need is breathing room to heal our divides, not well-meaning westerners sticking their dick in our conflicts. Conflicts that exist because of western involvement, or at least are widely justified by it. Whether US imperialism is used as an excuse for oppression, or poor/incompetent response to it leads to crises in Iran, the fact of the matter is that it plays a central role in this conflict. When you decide to take sides in these conflicts, you're implicitly deciding "what Iranians should do", which isn't a sign of respect for our right to self-determination. And I don't think there is even an answer to the question "what should Iranians do". There's nothing we *can* do, because there are pieces to this conflict that are outside of our control. As long as US imperialism exists, we don't have a clear way out. Western side-taking in these conflict is like being the big neighbor who pisses in your neighbors' pool, seeing a conflict in the household ensuing as they argue about how to respond to the big guy pissing in their pool, and you, standing there, holding your dick, continuing to pee, while rubbing your chin and asking "whose side should I take?". Maybe there is a right side. Maybe there isn't. But you can do is to stop peeing. Cheering any of the sides of this conflict is not what's going to resolve this situation. It's gonna make it worse.
It would be novel and refreshing to have a political figure say, "The best thing we can do for X is to leave them to sort things out themselves, and our activity in the area is committed to having a sheer minimal impact within X's borders unless and until we can be confident that our impact would be to the benefit of X and with the full, uncoerced, and enthusiastic consent of X." Call it benevolent conditional isolationism.
@@jeffengel2607 Actually, read Bernie's tweet about the protests in Iran. He called on the Iranian government to allow protesters to protest freely, and emphasized Iranians' right to self-determination. That's it. No compulsion to talk about how corrupt IR is, or implicitly or explicitly undermining the sovereignty of Iran.
"As an Iranian, all I can say is that we don't need your side-taking. It does nothing for us" And America taking a side is USED by Iran to justify their government and it only makes them stronger. I bet Maduro would be down already if there wasn't a huge American campaign against him
@@yathusanthulasi Oh yes. A great number of civil rights movements in Iran are undermined specifically by attracting the attention of US media, and a lot of not-so-smart activists seeking "international support" which is frankly meaningless and rarely a mechanism of actual progress. Basically all the progress we've actually had in Iran since the 1979 revolution was through not attracting western attention. Which, it hasn't been much, mostly because of that.
Thank you for this. As a refugee from Chile and Argentina (long story). North American leftists have no clue, one way or the other. They barely understand our history or what is going on. Bolivia is a case in point. The narrative is so limited on the left, with no videos of Morales (praised by the IMF, World Bank and US intelligentsia) actively repressing various groups, including indigenous, student activists and miners (who took control of their own work, and were violently put down). Bolivian activists who I work with find it so frustrating to tell their story to the left (and of course the right). Bad Empanada's take on Bolivia is a good example of how utterly limited his view is. No mention of how Morales ordered the military into the streets, essentially starting the coup himself, something many Latin American military are reluctant to do (they were harshly embarrassed by all the military coups in the past). I concede there was a countercoup, but his actions led an extremely minor and extreme right wing government taking power. On top of that, the constitutional changes Morales forced practically guarantees that she can pack the electoral court with only her candidates (something he did in the past). His actions to use the military against the citizens normalized the violence she is doing now with the military. I am also tired of the constant denial of the profound fraud that was found during the elections. And I am not just talking about the OAS's findings, but the findings from Ethical Hacking, the Bolivian company that was hired by the TSE. Perhaps we should listen to the locals and follow their lead? During the years of protests in Chile (this protest didn't start with a "metro fair hike") we tried to get the left involved in real actions. But almost always, the left took what we asked (which were more substantive actions, such as putting pressure on the Canadian government to condemn the police actions, to fine and punish corporations that took part or were abusing their powers, to boycott wines from Chile, something the workers of the vinyards themselves asked us to do) and completely flipped them into ego driven bs. Despite what workers in the vinyards themselves asked, they refused to support the boycott on the grounds that it would "harm the workers". We got told that we were playing with people's lives, etc. All they wanted to do was do a few "protests" that we knew would be ineffectual without some kind of goal. If you want to be an ally and have solidarity, learn to listen, learn to ask questions, and never assume you know more than others, even if they are politically different from you. And the only thing leftists can do is to affect their own countries response. If you live in America, go after the American government and corporations. Stop blaming (or praising) during complex issues of other countries by taking "sides". I have yet to see a North American, whether left or right understand what is really happening. Despite my disagreement wth Bad Emapanda sometimes, this video really needed to be made.
Really good video. Even if as an ML I disagree with some of your assertions, it's really important to call out dogmatism. Those who believe they are immune to propaganda are in fact those who are most swayed by it. I think it's important to view these situations in a dialectical sense. US imperialism, as the most dangerous imperial state, serves as the primary contradiction against the desires of the people. In most cases as an American I feel obligated generally to oppose all US action abroad. But secondary contradictions, such as the conflict between the oppressive Iranian government and its people, still exist. Realistically as Americans we can have little impact on such secondary contradictions. What we can affect is our own government and our own imperialism. So in terms of organizing the masses at home it is more important for us to focus on the primary contradiction: the right to self-determination and solidarity with the working class of Iran who will suffer from US intervention.
The US wasn't upset with the bloody authoritarian government under the Shah. We fund and arm the right-wing Israeli government that oppresses the Palestinians. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Brazil, Honduras are governed by US backed authoritarian dictators.
I think there is this weird orientalist view among conspiracy theorist prone radlibs that Asian countries are incapable of being fascist or even just as bad as the US. You will experience this when you argue with Tulsi Gabbard stans who call you a "hinduphobe" for pointing out her uncomfortable affinity for Modi and the BJP. I even argued with someone who said that caring about ethnic cleansing in Kashmir is taking the side of American imperialism, as if the Indian and American far right have any diverging interests and Modi's role in the Gujarat riots hasn't been totally ignored by the US since he became prime minister.
Capitalism is usually assumed to be a variant of liberal capitalism, which is certainly not what exists in China. Even the understanding of same concepts is different, for example capital. Political communism with a mixed economy instead of a socialist one still.
Aleksandar just because it’s not liberal, doesn’t mean it’s not Capitalism. I don’t care what they call themselves or what flag they use. They’re a bourgeois Capitalist state.
Capitalism and liberalism are inseparable, both historically and ideologically. You can say whatever you want. Having a mixed market can only colloquially be called capitalism. Doctrine of human rights, possessive individualism and social contract understanding of state are the foundation of how private capital maintains its dominance, maybe add public choice political economy and right libertarian philosophy. For China the market is a tool, for the US the market is divine.
Aleksandar China has a 60% private sector. So you even know what socialism is? It’s the movement to abolish capitalism. China has billionaires. Even Social Democracy is closer to Socialism than China. Capitalism and Liberalism are not inseparable, they commonly go together, but you didn’t even attempt to back that up.
I have had some similar concerns about the Greyzone, but I do get factual information from them where is generally accurate and in most cases which I haven't heard anywhere else. I try to balance this with information I get from elsewhere, which admittedly isn't easy. What news source will give me these facts without this bias? I didn't really get the overall impression that they were exactly beatifying Soleimani, but more saying that he was not better or worse than the average US general. Which still means he could arguably be classed as a war criminal.
I only know a few Iranians (all anti the theocracy), and am not an Iranian myself... but from what I've been told their theocracy only gained legitimacy after they resisted foreign interference in the form of Saddams US-armed invasion unsupported. The soviets didn't support Iran of course - the mullahs had only recently killed off their communist and socialist revolutionary allies. Both the Shah and Mossadegh had previously failed to resist foreign meddling, so post-war the theocracy had become entrenched. Soleimani WAS legitimately popular as far as I can gather - he was a veteran of the Iran/Iraq war, lived an austere life (far from that of the corrupt mullahs) and his activities were mostly concentrated outside Iran defending its borders... sometimes as an ally of the USA, more recently usually against. He made an unpopular comment recently however in favour of the bloody crackdown on the recent protests... and this might have been part of the calculus involved in deciding to kill him now, though this was a miscalculation as he was still extremely popular. As for him being a war criminal... I'd say there would be less of a case vs US generals simply because Solemani was (mostly?) working with local forces against external aggression, although I'm sure in a court of law the case could be made.
@@markp6621 According to leaked Iranian intelligence reports he was ethnic cleansing Sunni's in Iraq source theintercept, also did u watch their recent china vid str8 outta cctv
@@markp6621 working with the Tutsi to commit war crimes against the Hutu during the genocide wouldn't absolve one from those crimes they commit just because they are less worse
@@LLMood Yes, and large portions of the allied leadership could have justifiably been assassinated because of executing an air war against Nazi civilians during the second world war. I can see how that could be argued... though is it moral to ask a militarily weaker party suffering aggression to refuse the tactics being used against them? The US and Saudi Arabia has been funding and arming genocidal headchoppers in neighbouring states after all, though I can see how ejecting those Sunni extremists (who even endanger less radical Sunnis) could be seen as genocidal - they often bring women and children along with them after all. The Soviets ejected the Nazi colonists in Poland too... that was genocidal, no? BTW, The Intercept is suspect... and although they employ Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill they also employ some ex-deep-state warmongers. Jeremy Scahill himself, a reporter who has spent quite some time in the Middle East region, has a pretty negative view of the assassination => ruclips.net/video/XCkNKYXOJIY/видео.html The same can be said of The Guardian and it's pushng of debunked Russiagate stories, Syrian gas attacks etc....
Also I condem isis headchoppers as I do condem shiite milita headchoppers, I also renounce their ethnic cleansing of minorities as I condem Ypg kurds ethnic cleansing of Arabs and Turks, unlike you I am morally consistent, and one point I didn't respond to you is nazi settlers was a massive project of colonialism based 'living area' that was applied and settled millions of people and displaced millions of others that took years , what happened in iraq and Syria was in no way shape or form similar, what qasim and the coalition have done is collective punishment you maybe okay with it am not.
I remember I used to be guilty of this because when I first learned the truth about what the United States (and other western countries) were like, the sheer horror of it had a real effect on me. So much so that I *had* to believe that there were places in the world where governments weren't so barbaric. It was a coping mechanism that I used to prevent myself from falling into despair. I wonder if people like the Grayzone, China and North Korea apologists are like that, too.
I get the fact there is more to the Hong Kong protests, but I can't support anything that has US backing. As long as a government agency's like the NED is backing it, I can't believe it is a legitimate protest. If the people of Hong Kong want their political independence I support that, but I refuse to support what the USA calls "democracy".
About the Uyghurs... I really don't know what to think about this one, and I don't think I'll make up my mind on this issue anytime soon. Because while it may be true that their treatment is not exactly fair, there were (are?) efforts by the CIA to connect to Uyghur separatists since the 70s, some people in the World Uyghur Congress were advisers to the CIA and so on (check Erkin Alptekin for example). So, yeah, this is probably not simply about "The Chinese government prosecutes Uyghurs because they are muslims".
@@mirror452 Seems badempanada has scrubbed all his comments on various posts. I share your misgivings on Uyghur conflicting narratives. It's good to keep in mind that elements of truth will be found from both sides even though they might be mostly fabricated narrative. All reporting is by definition biased.
I always find these people who automatically defend "actually existing socialist" states use mental gymnastics to justify various things, like the Uyghur repression or the defense of Assad's actions. While US imperialism should be always opposed and criticized, that doesn't automatically mean that authoritarian states that oppose US imperialism should always be supported.
Thank you! I’ve been so annoyed by them for awhile (If you’re gonna be a leftist, why be a cheap propagandist?), and haven’t heard anyone critique them
They're not "cheap propagandists". Max Blumenthal may by overzealous sometimes and that's a serious flaw of his but that doesn't discredit the Grayzone's reporting.
@@asdfasdf3989 i couldn't care less if Russia interfered in the US elections or not, irrelevant, to the fact that Russia is a right wing reactionary government and no so called leftist should be running cover for it.
There currently is no rival to US imperialism. Countering Western Imperialist Propaganda doesn't equate to support for the targets of Western Imperialism.
@plurabelle5 my friend, you're replying to me on a video *demonstrating* false and misleading claims the Grayzone people have made. also since this video came out, Blumenthal has become an anti-vax freak so if that doesn't at least temper your trust in it I don't know what will.
I mean implying that uyghurs are extremists and saying covid was just propaganda and denying that Syria did has attacks is all pretty misleading and false
And not to mention portraying food in Venezuela as affordable when it isn't based on the minimum wage there because Americans will think "one dollar that's pretty cheap for here" and not take into account other countries wage systems also they literally cute the Chinese government as a source for denying that camps exist that's like citing a Hitler speech as proof of a global Jewish conspiracy would believe the US if it said that Guantanamo actually wasn't a concentration camp?
Great video, just a few questions. Namely, I’m curious what makes China state capitalist, but Venezuela socialist? From what I’ve seen, Venezuela even has a bigger private sector than China
@@StartsWithACee state capitalism is the word. Not necessarily a bad idea on its own as it is seen as a way to transition away from capitalism and towards communism.
Great video i watch it full but i want to say hope or think when some leftist say they support iran i think they mean they support the iranian people and not the government because a government doesn't always reflect the peoples of a nation
Supporting Iran means you oppose US intervention and are aware of warmongering efforts (sanctions included). No leftist actually idolizes Iran, aside from some of their social programs.
I'll admit I didn't know much about "contrarian" media before you really pointed it out to me so fantastic work. I agree that GZ will generally take the opposite position of the U.S established narrative with barely any context about the counter arguments (Chinese authoritarianism/Venezuelan govt mishandling, etc). That said...I'll take GZ contrarian reporting over the mainstream garbage we're bombarded with here in the U.S. Yes...I agree one should be fully aware of context before formulating an opinion
Also...I would be very interested in hearing the stories of Venezuelan expats in surrounding Latin American countries. My only personal experience, other than my own father's, is a previous life in banking...which was with the obviously privileged and incredibly full of shit. I genuinely have YET to meet any Venezuland who came from the barrios like my father in New York and the surrounding areas. It could just be my bubble...
Also...the whole "wow a train in Venezula" thing. If you live in the U.S know nothing except what our media tells you, Venezulan looks more like Mad Max. Believe it or not...the concept people enjoying the day at the mall is MIND blowing to the average American. A testament to our stupidity. But nonetheless...I think this is why he does thing this way. For the dumbass U.S audience.
@@BadEmpanada Yes that's true. Max is the son of someone with strong connections to the Dem party in the U.S if I'm not mistaken. Sidney Blumenthal. Sadly not many people from the poor/working class have the means to start such a project.
@@BadEmpanada Yet he didn't follow in his father's footsteps to amass wealth, power and political influence. Maybe he's funded by the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, Yemenis, Syrians, Venezuelans, Bolivians, Ecuadorans, Hondurans. They must be under his thumb or risk being exposed as deserving US intervention.
Isnt it up to USamericans tho to take a hardline against us imperialism? Theres that good quote by Lenin: "During a reactionary war a revolutionary class cannot but desire the defeat of its government.". Its hard, as a working stiff, to be as knowledgeable of every country and the contradictions of their specific leftist movements as somebody from that country. much easier to recognize the bad actors/policies from the us. So i like that the Greyzone has a definitive stance of anti-us. I could be more critical for sure tho, sometimes find myself just falling in with whatever anti-us stance without completely doing my research. Anyways whatever differences of opinion on this matter, really respect the work you've done on this channel
Hi Empanada, You make good videos and this one disappoints. I wonder: 1. Why obfuscate your criticism by disputing a claim (a) nobody made, based on (b) an observation they themselves would dispute? 2. Why the name-calling? 3. Why not simply point out how and why you disagree with Grayzone's reporting / think they are wrong? I look forward to hearing from you.
3 года назад+3
After a year, crickets. Anarchist breadtube is a farse.
I paused this vid at work to go eat lunch. When I came back I realized that people probably think I was watching a forced POW confession. Anyway, great work as always. Love your shit. Solidarity forever
On being an ally to Putin or whoever in the information wars, I think there's a bit of nuance here. Like I don't blame Chris Hedges or Abby Martin necessarily for having had shows on RT because there's no other network that would accept them. They want to criticize US empire and so does Putin so that's their option but that doesn't necessarily mean an endorsement of Russia's policies. The same thing happened when journalists who fled the Soviet Union and worked for Radio Free Europe didn't mean they supported US policy
@@BadEmpanada true that's substantively different, i think if I were an anti US imperialism content creator and found out that China or Russia were sharing my content every subsequent video would end with "Also Putin and Xi can both eat my ass" regardless of whatever the rest of the video was about
I follow The Empire Files, and I find them to be usually pretty good. But- they recently did a piece on Iran that was.... well one thing brought up is that Iran is better fro trans women than many places in the west! But... that’s probably the most egregious example of cherry-picking and context removal I’ve seen in quite some time. The guest really did go overboard in making Iran out to be this lovely, happy, not at all bigoted country where everybody is good and moral. Which was so disappointing. The historical stuff- the why of America’s I tense dislike of Iran, and why they’ve been targeting them, that was actually really very good and informative. But he was just going way too far in trying to make Iran out to be this utopia. And it was ridiculous.
I saw that interview and had a similar feeling. They went from clearing some of the geopolitical and economical myths surrounding Iran to straight up creating new ones about the "free" society of a theocratic reactionary government. Very disappointing. We can tell the truth about Iran and still support anti interventions.
@@mat_j Same. I came here for history lessons about latin america - not some kids whiny call-out video. "wha! cancel the grayzone!" - nah, grow up, stick to powerpoints.
The need to attack your opposite often gets in the way of progress. It is easier to tear something down than it is to build. And it is in this act of having an enemy, that some people develop cult like ideological mindsets, which sadly gets in the way of true progress.
I really never think of The Grayzone (2023 onwards) politically at all - but first and foremost as Anti-American journalists - doing the important task of criticising 'their own country' first before the hypocritically called out enemies. And they are the best at it.
I hate how everything is getting turned into a two sided ultimatum of mutually exclusive opinion, you either support Ukraine and love the us or hate the us and love russia and china. Like those aren't the only 2 opinions, more than 1 group can suck at the same time. nuance is being lost. this also goes the other way giving criticism to the US and getting a response of "oh where are from huh, you think you're so good" like no, they're also shit and like you. a global hegemon is still a global hegemon, even if it's not the us
Hey BadEmpanada, I've just seen two of your videos and I'm a fan already. I've been waiting for someone to do a debunk video about VisualPolitik. I'm curious what news outlets you like to frequent or respect. Thanks for your time in making videos like this!
Could you give me some sources to know more about the government of China. I find that everything I find on the internet is very biased for or against it and I would like some better references.
You have to spend time in China and don't view everything through western lenses. In my experience, the if far from ideal, but it does a decent job of providing provide basic needs for its people. If you want your voice to be hear and influence decisions, it's not the place for you. In the US, we vote and can speak freely, but our votes and voices don't really change anything. Money decides.
@@litesp The vast majority of people aren't going to have the luxury of spending time in China. I think he was just looking for sources that aren't the Chinese government or rely entirely on intelligence from western governments. I think a lot of people struggle with this.
I really appreciate the long form, thoughtful, well-researched point of view complete with resource links. As a citizen of the US it gives me alternative points of views other than center right or far right.
Interesting take on the critique of them. You just left out a major word in regards to Venezuela which is the word"Sanctions" or the term Trade embargo. You used other terminology instead of the words that I hear the Grey Zone and other outlets use. In reality just like china, russia and the USA are not perfect. all these empires have been involved in a wide variety of injustices within their nations and abroad. Generals in general are involved in the deaths of people at some point in their career whether against another nation or their own people, typically through strategic planning and pushing down the order. I'm sure they are also generals that some how throughout their officer career have not been involved in the death of someone, but this type of intel is rarely shared entirely by either scenario. Overall funny video and good to hear another take than the variety of others I hear.
@@BadEmpanada negative. Venezuela has experienced sanctions many times prior to 2017. Interesting that you didn't bring up Elliot Abrams involvement with the Contra Scandal and now an envoy for Venezuela. Interesting that you didn't bring up the epic fails from Guido. That is where you are also not informing the viewers.
Omg your physical and vocal performance has improved so much so fast it's amazing. I hope you're proud of yourself because I know performing is hard. I love you and can't wait to see more!
This makes me think of the tumblr post thats like People who tell me not to eat lava: the media People who lie: the media Conclusion: I should eat lava
In my opinion, it is getting clearer and clearer in the past years that what seems to be an uncritical support of socialist experiences whose nuances come accross as unpalatable, and the uncritical despise for USs ways, might not be what it seems. The matter that preceedes this, in the American and Chinese example for instance, is a situation where one party has had so much power to the point it is able to control the perception of a large chunk of the world's population, while the other might have been seeking alternatives to break away from it, in a hostile environment that offers limited options, and whose actions are largely framed in the reality created by the former (the US). I just would like to point out that you might have hit nail in the head with your rant, but you should have your mind open to the possibility to might have failed to see the nuance in the context.
All countries which are rich and have power are authoritarian regimes, it's just how they can maintain their power and you get libertarians like this guy who keeps talking about experimental libertarian ideals like lgbtq rights, helping minorities of other nations while in reality we know nothing of those vulnerable groups and their ideals and what consequences they might bring with them, like say many of these ideals bring with them westernized cultural beliefs which often clash with the pre-existing culture that's in those countries, like say with many of the Middle East countries which vehemently oppose any western libertarian ideals which some westerners themselves hate cause of their flaws which have never been researched and only implemented without any thought process put into it (like with lgbt rights having gender reassignment surgeries which have caused suicide rates among those taking them or say feminist rights being harmful especially when prostitution is legalised which created human trafficking markets) any idea if implemented on a pre existing culture forcefully and constantly shoved with ad hominems has shown to be devastating to the people of those countries especially the average citizens who just can't be expected to change their ways overnight, but hey westerners never think about the consequences of their actions, Iraq and Afghanistan were good examples of how to destroy countries for resources and power, using such left right rhetorics to try to justify power breach
These guys like badempanada don't fix any problems other than shouting at those who are doing wrong things instead of maybe using slow burn approach to try to change the publics viewpoint on why they support such ideals and how can we discuss those topics and seek better solutions instead of going at war about how "they committed human rights violations so we bash them and aggregate the people of those countries who in their own way have some legitimate reasonings which aren't well understood, all cultures and ideals should have reforms based on research and basic understanding of them from scratch instead of doing surface level understanding and just keeping things the same, whether it be western culture and their flaws or other cultures from minorities which other countries find harmful and only wish them violence instead of both sides carrying out reforms on their own cultures to suit each others interests and seeking harmony instead of strife and wars
@@Layd36, This is definitely a point... Although I recognize that the issues you pointed out are frequently a problem caused by infiltrators who weaponize controversial matters to sow division and misrepresent the left, I don't think this is an issue with the Grayzone. The guys do an awesome job informing about the ongoing conflicts and economic problems in the global south. They frequently highlight the relation between these issues and their perpetrators in capitalism's core who are moved by power and profit interests. I can't say the same about Bad Empanada simply because I'm not a frequent follower.
@@ZhuoAo the irony is when Badempanada justifies Soviet famines as lesser crimes against humanity while blaming all countries for being capitalist while in reality they are hybridized systems taking both capital and social/governmental control into account These guys are essentially arguing for a full on socialist system on every sector possible despite the fact how such systems have been shown to just not work for people who haven't been accustomed to it, playing and deciding god on others by selling to them that their so called systems will work to foreign countries just sounds insane to me is all especially when these westerners act like judges to those countries deciding everything for them including their culture and history and claim they are authoritarian when it's convenient for them I for one don't trust any person who has a higher position of power especially when their power isn't controlled but also i wouldn't just have them be suppressed under higher powers especially smaller working class and businesses which seek to develop and earn the same amount as the rest instead of the exorbitant gains they achieve earning many times than their employees, there should be an equal playing field for everyone to gain access to better lifestyles instead of just being kept locked cause ones superior than the other I guess all this is too much to ask for especially when there are a lot of mouths to feed and equal distribution of better economic conditions is impossible especially when powerful sociopathic oligarchs exist
Overall, I agree with the point your video is making, especially since your critique can rightly apply to the hyper-contrarian leftists in a lot of online communities. That being said, I think framing Blumnethal, Norton, and co's intentions as treating people like objects is A) presumptious at best, and B) feels a lot less true if you listen to them on the Moderate Rebels podcast. They clearly give a damn about people and do their due diligence more often than not. I'm not asking you to listen to every episode of the show, but acting as though, for example, Norton (or his peers) specifically are pro- or uncritical of Assad at all is simply false if you hear them talk about it.
@@BadEmpanada what is this supposed to mean? I didn't mean to come off as disrespectful my guy. EDIT: oh, you're referring to having to listen to them, I did't read that correctly
I think the point that Blumenthal was trying to make going to the shopping it was to show how well off people are the people supporting guaido, not that it was cool that the rich are rich (if I remember that video correctly)
It was to counter the CNN/MSNBC narrative that Venezuelans couldn’t get their hands on basic necessities like toothpaste and that people that opposed the party in power were not oppressed for their political persuasion - which is something that you would expect from a “dictatorship”.
Everyone: "Whoa, trains on South America /sarcasm" Me: Sweating in my country actually could use more trains Also, great vid, finally someone "big" said it
@Caio Goveia Uns anos atrás meu professor de geografia me mostrou que todos os caminhões necessários para transportar uma determinada quantidade consumem bem mais petróleo que aviões, trens ou barcos, mas ainda sim o mapa que ele me mostrou depois tem uma quantidade enorme de rodovias e uma quantidade estupidamente pequena de ferrovias e pouco uso de aviões e barcos. O trem gasta literalmente 30% menos que o caminhão e ainda sim vamos continuar a negar que ele é claramente uma alternativa melhor?
Just saying they are anti war, it just sounds like anti american because we are a warring nation. I'm sure you said that in the video, just wanted to say. The Grayzone does solid commentary on not all that talked about goings on in the world.
There are a lot of people who seem to treat international relation like countries are characters in a riddle "one of these nations only tells the truth and one only lies."
@@wachowski9525 this article on Joey Ayoub's blog from 2018 explains various Western ML alternative media personalities including Blumenthal and Norton's Nazbol connections in detail, be warned that it is really long hummusforthought.com/2018/03/16/the-multipolar-spin-how-fascists-operationalize-left-wing-resentment/
Dugin? Oh my. I didn't know much about Norton, but after the presidential elections in Belarus in August 2020 he accused an opposition journalist of being a CIA shill, because he worked for Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, a USA operation, and some other prominent opposition people of similar sins. But where else could he work, except Belsat (sponsored by Poland and thus suspect)? It's s dictatorship, dude. And, of course, Norton said that the elections were legitimate, the truly massive protests were a coup attempt by the CIA and the "president" was in no way a murderous dictator who got close to 1/1000 of the country's population tortured in the first two weeks. And this narrative still persists among tankies. Though I don't understand why: Belarus, like Russia, doesn't even claim to be communist of socialist.
@@alloymetal7861 The annoying thing is that Norton is actually an exceptionally sharp journalist when covering US politics, but whenever he writes about foreign policy he just comes across as wilfully ignorant.
People like to believe that the enemy of my enemy is their friend. If someone is against American imperialism, they are one of the good guys... Forgetting that the sometimes, that the world is full of awful people fighting awful people.
Before I watch this video, let me get my immediate reaction to the title out of the way. I am not anti-American, I am anti Imperialist, and unfortunately that sometimes manifests itself in FUCK THE US these days. I actually do acknowledge this has nothing to do with the American people but with their government and media but it can be extremely rage inducing. Now that I have that out of my system, I'm ready to watch the video. I have full confidence you know the difference, I just needed to do this for my own sake.
Omg someone put it in words. I just told someone I feel like I hate this country more everyday but at the same time I don't hate this country at all and I'm still relatively optimistic. I think it also has to do with the fact that I haven't really ever gone with the whole "america is the best!!!" narrative, even as a kid I was just like, "I mean it's cool, I guess, but look at Europe they're cool too?" Lol Anyway thanks for sharing this. It helped me realize my frustration is moreso towards systems, not the country itself
Same, though I go one step further. No one should have loyalty to any country. In the same way no one pledges allegiance to the city you live in. Countries should be administrative zones of earth. Nothing more.
@@GalacticNovaOverlord that's pretty much where I'm at though when it comes to putting that in practice I think it would have to be a fairly long process, especially given how strongly recent "leaders" have whipped their bases into a frenzy of borders and putting their country above all others, like Trump with the godsdamned wall and Modi with Hindu nationalism. But personally, yeah, the whole patriotism garbage is only going to kill us all faster unless governments find a way to hold everyone accountable to things for climate...mitigation, I guess is the word at this point, rather than climate saving/damage prevention or something 😑
Nah that has a lot to do with the American people too. The government didn't force you to settle on stolen land. That's something Americans chose to do. The government didn't force yall to bomb Iraqi civilians. That's something your people chose to do.
@@sempressfi Typical. America bad when someone tells me it's built on stolen land, but America good actually when I get to return home to my nicely furnished home with clean drinking water.
Knocked it out of the park. I find it's easy to be contrarian like this when you're feeling enraged at the inhuman acts committed by the US, but we need to stay level-headed too!
I live in Ireland and travel a lot for work in Western Europe, and over the last few years the numbers of Venezuelans from working class backgrounds living and working here (especially in Spain) who send money home to their families has skyrocketed. Anyone who thinks otherwise is being lied to or lying to themselves.
Venezuela has been a target of US regime change for nearly 20 years. Venezuela is devastated by US manipulation of world oil production and by crippling US sanctions and Western banks seizing its money. It has a the world's largest oil reserves that US companies want to control and produce (John Bolton). Think about how poor the gulf states could become if they ever dared to disobey the US.
@@litesp oh 100% no question. The way Venezuela has been treated by the international community under U.S. direction is appalling and disgraceful and of course Venezuelans would do whatever they can to cope with the impact of that. I am not commenting on the good or the bad the right or the wrong of the situation. Just stating something that’s definitely an observable phenomenon. I personally think people should be allowed to freely move and live and work where ever they choose.
i mean i had this discussion 10 years ago when I said something about Russia and Putin and the dude said "why do you support America?" I said they're also trash.
I’m new to your channel but I have been DYING for someone to make this take!! I’m a huge fan of Abby Martin, Max Blumenthal, etc. But sometimes for these people and their colleagues, it’s not good enough that the US is wrong 90% of the time.. You fucking NAILED this analysis. Couldn’t possibly have said it better.
I came across Greyzone a couple months ago, and at first, I really liked it. They had some good coverage (from what I could tell) and brought up angles to different foreign policy issues that I wasn't seeing talked about elsewhere. But after I subscribed, I slowly started noticing this as well. One of the major things that started turning me off to them is when they did some apologetics for the Chinese concentration camps. That's when I started seeing that they're basically just contrarians to anything the US does.
@@muslimmetalman grassroots funding is the check on capitalism not 'advocacy journos' The Grayzone. Ive got 2 of Max's books and watched all of the content, there are so many online people why compromise. Something akin to Poe's Law? Thanks for coalescing vibes I've been getting, much respect! -Max, Anya Aaron, and Ben It is nice to have the capabilities yall do but the compromise will catch up before you hit critical mass. Assuming the goal is to reach as many people as possible with alternative narratives and if not you must attempt to regain integrity by scaling down and using all of your talents in the brilliant investigative journalism you are all capable of. That is a compromise I am happy with, trust i the movement to fill in those gaps, otherwise you are choosing to operate under the old mode.
This is why anyone that considers themselves a Leftist should have a large diverse variety of different Leftist voices from different parts of the world. Otherwise they can be sweeped into believing stuff like "Russia is good because America is imperialist."
4:50 Thank you for this. You are the first one who says this without being a bread tuber or an authoritarian tankie. I swear most of the internet left does not know what nuances are. Thank you BadEmpanada.
@@BadEmpanada Come on, you can't deny that Argentine trots are an embarrasment to the communist movement. La Izquierda Diario, organ of the PTS, has constantly positioned itself against the governments of both Maduro and Evo, even (and specially) when the coups were at their strongest. They have always called for an inexistent third position, in everything. And their stance on peronism is worse than stellar.
Can you also make a critique about Alexander Mercouris? Despite his success there are no debunking videos. He for example claims to have studied history and compares today's Ukraine War with the Vietnam War 1955-1975. I feel like he always leaves himself an out, so it is difficult to pin him down. And despite his claims of being neutral and using sources by both sides, he always takes a pro-Russian side, just packages it more nicely.
Really appreciate this take. Especially in regard to Rojava. It seems so logical and self evident, but I almost never see this kind of analysis from the left.
![Diggy Graves - Red Vineyard [Official Lyric Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8Ro085T0mnQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Ah yes, the two genders: boys and non-boys
Gamers and political 😤
Clara Sir. This is a McDonalds.
boys is in Idaho, where is non-boys?
@@dantonbabeuf1015 Not in Idaho. Duh.
technically more inclusive than boys and girls
dankey kang and zorldo said nonbinary rights
I'm almost sympathetic to these contrarian types. If you're a regular defender of these sorts of states, you're going to be swamped with arguments like "China is developing terminator weapons to vaporize non-Han ethnicities" and "Iran funded ISIS and 9/11". I think constantly dealing with that online is going to warp how you discuss these topics.
It's same thing with MLs saying Stalin did nothing wrong. Obviously he did, but if you're ideologically aligned with the USSR and always hear people say shit like he killed 100 million Ukrainian, after a point it's probably just easier to unequivocally defend him because that's what your opponents are gonna hear regardless of whatever nuance your bring to the conversation.
As an ML, I think you're pretty much on the mark. When we MLs defend the Communist Party of China or oppose intervention in Iran, we understand that contradictions exist in these countries and political systems. However, we consider the principal contradiction of the 21st century to be American imperialism, and making "both sides" nuanced arguments is not helpful for this global fight against imperialism. We can have discussions about the theocratic nature of Iran or Russia's imperial ambitions, but these cannot be impediments to fighting US imperialism.
@@liamvertal1543 but why is necessary to defend China's xenophobia or Russia's imperialism to fight US imperialism? That's what this video is about. You can't critique both countries without ever losing sight in what's the bigger problem
It's like Hillary Clinton. I don't like her, shes a center right establishment hawk, but all of the criticisms of her from her opponents are such lunatic bullshit that I reflexively defend her.
@Liam Vertal glad to hear my point was well received. I'm not an ML myself, but you guys get too much shit. For me, I'm not really interested in defending the states I mentioned but I don't really care to criticise them either. That's better spent on the West™ in my view.
@@muslimmetalman the power gap between "the west" and the tentative Iran-China-Russia bloc is substantially smaller than the power gaps you're describing here. Otherwise it would be a good point.
That said, I support, on a geopolitical level, the aforementioned bloc against the west's agenda. I am still highly critical all parties involved, but one side clearly has a wider web of exploitation than the other, and I think it's good that we have (again, geopolitically) a sort of bulwark, a sort of global opposition to the western order. But of course that doesn't mean we should overlook or be uncritical of the states involved.
As a Venezuelan Marxist, I appreciate your balanced view of Venezuela. While I despise Maduro and certain members of PSUV, I do not condone Guaido or any of these Liberals who are trying to reclaim power that they would use to inevitably cause another Caracazo.
Maduro has done a lot of harm to the indigenous tribes of Venezuela, even having members of the military kill members of the Pemon Tribe so that they could harbor oil from the Arco Mineres region. So as a leftist who cares about people, there is a lot to complain about, while acknowledging that the Liberal opposition are garbage.
The same situation happens in Nicaragua with Daniel Ortega and in my country of Mexico with López Obrador. Both are doing harm and repressing indigenous communities.
@@Nahuatl22 As a Mexican I like amlo but obviously he isn't perfect.
En Perú, hay muchos que se llaman a si mismos socialistas pero son pitucos socialistas que no respetan al pueblo indígena ni a la mayoría de los pobres. Por eso, hay muchos de la clase obrera que identifica el marxismo con los pitucos y los terroristas.
pjd412
Exactly! Same can be said with the current situation in Mexico where López Obrador is utilizing the “National Guard” (that his administration created) to repress migrants in Mexico’s southern border. All to please that orange clown in the US.
Goddamn you guys. I speak German and English, but no Spanish or Portugese.
I get called an American puppet on twitter for trying to suggest that Russian and Chinese capitalist oligarchs are not a good solution to American capitalist oligarchs
If Elon Musk had started his business in Beijing half the tankie idiots would be buying Tesla's now...
Meanwhile, I get called a Russian asset for saying Biden has voted for war, and war is bad, mkay?
Honestly I think a lot of dengist sentiment is based loosely on this 'it's not easy being cheesy' kind of wishful thinking sentiment
It's hard not having any major force for good in the world and sometimes people will buy into something false to feel like they have someone on their side
It's a very Western sentiment and tbh I feel like it's the very same feeling that makes a lot of Americans try and defend the us government
And the answer leftists should have to them is the same on both sides. There is no great force for good in the world and if you want a better world we have to rely on each other, not the status quo
I don't think I've ever seen anyone say that Russian/Chinese oligarchs are good
I've just seen people say that things like "claiming that the US or US media isn't trustworthy is basically the same thing as supporting Russian oligarchs"
Ma Pa your a liberal
You are fantastic mate your overview and consistency is admirable.
Reminds me of one of the few (perhaps the only) things Ben Shabibo has ever correctly pointed out: "two things can be true at the same time."
Lmao imagine how clever Ben Shabimbo thought he was when he said some obvious fucking shit light that
Universal health care existed under Mao and was removed as well as other workers right by deng other than that great video
BadEmpanada yep pretty much. As an ML myself I never understood the weird support for China in online tankie circles because China has destroyed most of what Mao built and pretty much is the exact antithesis of everything he stood for. The modern CPC has more in line with Chiang Kai Shek’s vision of China than Mao’s
@@comradec9934 Hey dude, me and a friend are trying to learn more about Mao, do you have any reading suggestions?
Completely agree. I have taken classes in Снiηα and am going there soon (that’s why I want to avoid any posts in relation to C that might get monitored), but I will say Мαо era Сніηắ was not perfect. Many bad things you may hear about the 文化大革命 Cultural Revolution are pretty true. I know people who had their parents killed. One things people do always say is that it harmed the minority of bureaucracy that had privileges but did not effect large portions of the population negatively. I spoke to two people who said the only reason why they went to the labor camps is because they had a good amount of food there. So Мäỗ has a really mixed legacy. On the flip side, his infrastructure projects during his later years are the groundwork for the government’s most popular policies today. Beijing’s subway was built during late Мăõ and the disability accessible stuff was all started under Мαö. Take the good with the bad and do your own research or I can send you my media analysis paper from my sociology class in Сніηα. Also, every hour, the Beijing North train station plays 东方红 (The East is Red). What a legendary banger. I always sing along. I love C so much so I won’t comment on modern C.
@@陈独秀-v3f I actually would really like to see your paper.
Malachy Kinney Mao’s biggest failures are the GLF and some aspects of the Cultural Revolution. But the advances he helped make for his people in health outcomes and education, even during the GLF famines, are on a nearly incomprehensible scale for a Westerner. Chinese peasants after WW2 had some of the lowest living standards in modern history, and their spirits had been broken by a century of humiliation from the Western powers and Japan. It doesn’t get much worse than 1940s China.
Anti-americanism may not be an ideology.
But it is undoubtedly entertaining.
And taking the opposite opinion of America is right roughly 98% of the time.
@Eduardo Policarpo yup. It’s just a bummer that 2% of the time you’ll end up denying the Bosnian genocide. Anti Americanism is usually right, but education helps fill in the gaps of when it isn’t.
@Eduardo Policarpo what does that mean lol? I’m simply saying there is a 1-2% chance you will be wrong.
I commend you as an average Iranian. We really are stuck between a murderous gov and a murderous superpower.
A murderous government resulting from the blowback of the murderous superpower.
@@litesp so, if a third-party inspires me to commit crimes, does that mean I am absolved of said crimes and can blame everything on the third-party? I mean, you're not wrong, but let's not let the Iranian gov't off the hook either.
Hello, can you tell us about the protests this year? I don’t trust any American media but I know there is at least something real being protested.
@@RobertDunn310yup, it's called self defense.
@@RobertDunn310 I don't think he did ... maybe not by your standards, but your standards have nothing to do with how an average Iranian sees it ... average Iranians have the right to address their problems the way they see fit, having Westerners tell them that they aren't doing it the right way is just more White Cultural Supremacist bullshit! Maybe you have the power to address one of hs concerns? The concern of having to worry about the actions of the 'murderous Superpower', and let the average Iranians address the issue they are best situated to address, the issue of a ' murderous government'(which even if they address that issue successfully, there will still be Western Cultural supremacists that demand they are not "Western" enough!!)
"There is no war in Ba Sing Se"
"Uh... yes there is"
"WHAT DO YOU LOVE THE FIRE NATION OR SOMETHING????"
About China, after the revolution they organized public healthcare, in the form of urban clinics and medical services organized around the communes. After the decollectivization promoted by Deng Xiaoping, this system was dismantled.
true..deng ruined everything he worked for over the course of decades after he was allowed to return to china and rose to power again in the early 90s..i still dont really understand what exactly happened beyond that.. from what i understand the whole idea is to "fight fire with fire" by taking over the global economy as much as possible and then turn to a globalized socialist economy?? idk
@@vinanoir By "everything he worked for" you mean lifting a billion people out of poverty, eliminating food insecurity, creating a 300+ million strong middle class, making China powerful enough to content with foreign powers, etc? Yeah, from the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, where my relatives were sent to work in forced agrarian camps in the country side, and people were literally eating tree bark at one point, to almost the #1 economy in the world. All in one generation. Yep, Deng totally ruined it. Put Mao back in charge.
@@RayCromwell You are making an unfair comparation. You must evaluate Mao's China comparing it to chinese society before the revolution, not after. Life expectation raised from 35 years to 66 years from 1949 to 1976. Literacy also growed strongly.
Of course, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution caused economical problems, but you must understand that they were not just crazy politics, but things that happened under a very difficult context (China was menaced by the US of being nuked and was the most embargoed country in the world). So, in this scenario, the Great Leap was a desperate attempt to develop the country in this context.
In the case of the Cultural Revolution, this was a thing discussed by the intelectuals since the First of May movement, so it was a thing deeply rooted on chinese revolutionary aspirations for decades, not Mao's invention, not to mention that most things that ocurred in this period came from the rebbelion of the youth and workers against the party bureaucracy, not from above.
This achievements you talk about would be impossible with a very low literacy rate, as well as people that live less than 40 years, this not to mention the fact that was with Mao that woman were gave more freedom, participating in work and studying, and the improvements in infraestrucute. Without this base China would not be as it is today, but more similar to Bangladesh.
@@luizhumberto8802 Don't think anyone is denying Mao's importance, but for all he did he failed to actually produce the significant material growth that Deng and his reforms did. There is also a lot that Mao did that was counterproductive or just straight up evil.
Regardless China after Mao was close to total economic collapse, food scarcity yet again became a problem, most essential commodities were unobtainable and industrialization was stagnating, all made worse by the messy succession crisis at the time of Mao's own creation. Saying what China needed is more central planning and isolationism is at best dooming it to the similar fate to the Soviet Union, most likely far worse since it was much poorer at the time.
As for healthcare, spoiler Healthcare under Mao was never some brilliant universal European type deal. It was at best minimal basic healthcare, something that was briefly made worse under Deng's reforms, but these reforms produced the economic growth necessary for a modern functional healthcare system. Today the Chinese healthcare system is better then it has ever been and is constantly improving.
Healthcare costs and coverage have drastically improved notably in the last two decades, bringing basic healthcare to over 800 million rural people from 2006-2011 (or to put it into context the population of the EU+US combined). All healthcare costs are now at least 70% subsidized by the government, with the stated long term plan of Universal healthcare.
A common criticism is that Chinese health care is tiered, that if you want better treatment using the latest equipment you have to go private. This is true... but what is ignored is that this "private" healthcare is nearly all state owned, and most if not all these profits are reinvested into public healthcare, drastically speeding up this process of development.
Put in blunt terms China cannot afford to deficit spend itself into the ground with its geopolitical rivals, and much of its budget is spent on improving other vital underdeveloped public services and social security, so it uses this as an auxiliary form of income to fund public health. Is it ideal, no, but is it comparable to the clusterfuck that is the US healthcare system... also clearly no.
In general comparing Chinese healthcare to far smaller more developed countries is not a remotely fair standard of what is feasibly obtainable. It also largely completely ignores the more recent rapid growth of the Chinese health sector. Excluding countries like Cuba, China still has by far one of the best healthcare systems in the developing world, even in its poorest rural regions, which is a massive achievement for such a geographically large and populous country.
@Julius Augustino I also recommend ‘From Victory To Defeat’ by Pao-Yu Ching. The author discusses how China, before Deng, was pursuing socialism and the successes of the Mao era.
Going with low-end working class American salary x 1/16th, that ground chicken = $93.75
One of the most depressing things about gaining class consciousness is realising that there are no good states on Earth
Yet westerners still believe that they should be altruistic and whine about other countries actions while in reality they fail to acknowledge why those actions are taken, this westerner here claims other countries to be authoritarian regimes while in reality they are fascistic with socialist elements similar to Nazi Germany which in the beginning days of the regime they were much socialist with corporations in Germany being controlled by the state, not to mention this guy being critical of Modern Russia for invading Ukraine while in reality Ukraine has Neo Nazi fascism running their military, it's these hypocritical statements which these westerners never mention but act like they care so much for the world while living in delusions of their own utopic selves, keeps bragging about lgbt rights while in reality it's been a failure especially when western culture follows those "rights" and not to mention encouraging forced surgeries on those young cause they are supposed to be "free" and gay people often having more cases of HIV which is directly cause of western culture which encourages hypersexualization and prostitution and other degenerative behaviours which these people hypocritically bash countries like Iran for banning or say being protectionist about their policies even if they are harsh and authoritarian, this guys ur typical socialist who makes experimental ideas which never are researched well and even if they are they enforce it on every country despite failing to understand that every country is different and can't just abandon their systems for new ones policed by westerners, westerners like him are better off looking after their own nation instead of hypocritically criticizing others
I'm not an advocate for extreme regimes which although they believe they are doing good for their people still take extreme measures which doesn't do them good on the long term, but still it is indeed hypocritical for westerners to be altruistic while failing to acknowledge the fact that people if they don't want change can't be forced into it, forcing anything on others even if altruistic never went well throughout history and only time will decide not westerners
@@Layd36 don't pretend that the western states have ever had anyone's best interests at heart, America is directly responsible for the collapse of Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Cuba, Venezuela and more, England is the direct cause of the Nakba and the genocide of Palestinians. Western mining companies are a huge part of the reason that Africa is still stagnating.
When I say there are NO good states, I mean it
Cubabros...
"unless your Henry Kissinger!"
Amen!
Like this comment to have the CIA come assassinate you.
i'd prefer noone to die, but a dead state official is clearly preferable to a dead civilian.
@@sofia.eris.bauhaus We live in a world where no-one complains about there being literal memorials for people who tried to assassinate Hitler. And it's not like there once was Hitler and before, during, and after his time everybody elses was basically just an innocent but unfortunately misled little baby angel. I don't know how well exactly Kissinger fares in comparasion to Hitler on the moral scale but he's absolutely closer to Hitler than to various assholes I know. It's a sliding scale. So someone who murders Kissinger shouldn't get a memorial but Kissinger's death - even if caused by murder - surely wouldn't be a especially tragic thing.
i died
wish ol' H. Kiss would have done it for me
@@camelopardalis84 that person would definitely deserve a memorial.
the Grayzone's coverage of Syria especially is very valuable to dismantling US and European propaganda. i certainly don't agree with everything their reporters put out but people like Aaron Mate are invaluable in the fight against Western imperialism imo
I'm afraid you're falling for their propaganda then. Their tactics of demonizing rebels and smearing NGOs that help people while completely denying war crimes are out of the zios textbook.
While I agree with this specific strand of anti-Americanism, as an Iranian myself, I see calls from the western/white (typically anarchist) left to "support the protests" in Iran as equally problematic and antithetical to a worldview that respects our self-determination. I support their right to protest (hell I hate IR myself. I have family members killed and imprisoned by IR), but beyond that, what does it even mean to "support the protesters" for a western leftist? Does it go anywhere beyond... "having the right opinion" and "choosing the right side", especially in a conflict that is fueled to a VERY large extent by US sanctions and warmongering?
I think good politics isn't trying to look at every conflict and see "which side you're supposed to support", whether it's the specific anti-US (or pro-US for that matter) state, or its opposition. Good politics is to identify what you can do in a specific conflict and how you can help resolve it.
As an Iranian, all I can say is that we don't *need* your side-taking. It does nothing for us. Whether you're a western Marxist-Leninist type (or contrarian) siding with the IR or excusing its actions towards Iranians and others, or a western anarchist type opposing IR and siding with the protesters (among which there's a LOT of reactionary tendencies, as well as a general lack of consensus on what the fuck they want, beyond "regime change", which itself seems like a good recipe for disaster, especially if there aren't goals, let alone plans, for what comes next), your side-taking is unproductive. Iran is a deeply divided country. There's significant support for and opposition to IR. Even if we do overthrow IR, its supporters aren't gonna vanish into thin air. What we need is breathing room to heal our divides, not well-meaning westerners sticking their dick in our conflicts. Conflicts that exist because of western involvement, or at least are widely justified by it.
Whether US imperialism is used as an excuse for oppression, or poor/incompetent response to it leads to crises in Iran, the fact of the matter is that it plays a central role in this conflict. When you decide to take sides in these conflicts, you're implicitly deciding "what Iranians should do", which isn't a sign of respect for our right to self-determination. And I don't think there is even an answer to the question "what should Iranians do". There's nothing we *can* do, because there are pieces to this conflict that are outside of our control. As long as US imperialism exists, we don't have a clear way out.
Western side-taking in these conflict is like being the big neighbor who pisses in your neighbors' pool, seeing a conflict in the household ensuing as they argue about how to respond to the big guy pissing in their pool, and you, standing there, holding your dick, continuing to pee, while rubbing your chin and asking "whose side should I take?". Maybe there is a right side. Maybe there isn't. But you can do is to stop peeing. Cheering any of the sides of this conflict is not what's going to resolve this situation. It's gonna make it worse.
It would be novel and refreshing to have a political figure say, "The best thing we can do for X is to leave them to sort things out themselves, and our activity in the area is committed to having a sheer minimal impact within X's borders unless and until we can be confident that our impact would be to the benefit of X and with the full, uncoerced, and enthusiastic consent of X." Call it benevolent conditional isolationism.
@@jeffengel2607 Actually, read Bernie's tweet about the protests in Iran. He called on the Iranian government to allow protesters to protest freely, and emphasized Iranians' right to self-determination. That's it. No compulsion to talk about how corrupt IR is, or implicitly or explicitly undermining the sovereignty of Iran.
"As an Iranian, all I can say is that we don't need your side-taking. It does nothing for us"
And America taking a side is USED by Iran to justify their government and it only makes them stronger. I bet Maduro would be down already if there wasn't a huge American campaign against him
@@yathusanthulasi Oh yes. A great number of civil rights movements in Iran are undermined specifically by attracting the attention of US media, and a lot of not-so-smart activists seeking "international support" which is frankly meaningless and rarely a mechanism of actual progress. Basically all the progress we've actually had in Iran since the 1979 revolution was through not attracting western attention. Which, it hasn't been much, mostly because of that.
Thank you for this. As a refugee from Chile and Argentina (long story). North American leftists have no clue, one way or the other. They barely understand our history or what is going on. Bolivia is a case in point. The narrative is so limited on the left, with no videos of Morales (praised by the IMF, World Bank and US intelligentsia) actively repressing various groups, including indigenous, student activists and miners (who took control of their own work, and were violently put down). Bolivian activists who I work with find it so frustrating to tell their story to the left (and of course the right).
Bad Empanada's take on Bolivia is a good example of how utterly limited his view is. No mention of how Morales ordered the military into the streets, essentially starting the coup himself, something many Latin American military are reluctant to do (they were harshly embarrassed by all the military coups in the past). I concede there was a countercoup, but his actions led an extremely minor and extreme right wing government taking power. On top of that, the constitutional changes Morales forced practically guarantees that she can pack the electoral court with only her candidates (something he did in the past). His actions to use the military against the citizens normalized the violence she is doing now with the military. I am also tired of the constant denial of the profound fraud that was found during the elections. And I am not just talking about the OAS's findings, but the findings from Ethical Hacking, the Bolivian company that was hired by the TSE.
Perhaps we should listen to the locals and follow their lead? During the years of protests in Chile (this protest didn't start with a "metro fair hike") we tried to get the left involved in real actions. But almost always, the left took what we asked (which were more substantive actions, such as putting pressure on the Canadian government to condemn the police actions, to fine and punish corporations that took part or were abusing their powers, to boycott wines from Chile, something the workers of the vinyards themselves asked us to do) and completely flipped them into ego driven bs. Despite what workers in the vinyards themselves asked, they refused to support the boycott on the grounds that it would "harm the workers". We got told that we were playing with people's lives, etc. All they wanted to do was do a few "protests" that we knew would be ineffectual without some kind of goal.
If you want to be an ally and have solidarity, learn to listen, learn to ask questions, and never assume you know more than others, even if they are politically different from you. And the only thing leftists can do is to affect their own countries response. If you live in America, go after the American government and corporations. Stop blaming (or praising) during complex issues of other countries by taking "sides". I have yet to see a North American, whether left or right understand what is really happening.
Despite my disagreement wth Bad Emapanda sometimes, this video really needed to be made.
Really good video. Even if as an ML I disagree with some of your assertions, it's really important to call out dogmatism. Those who believe they are immune to propaganda are in fact those who are most swayed by it. I think it's important to view these situations in a dialectical sense. US imperialism, as the most dangerous imperial state, serves as the primary contradiction against the desires of the people. In most cases as an American I feel obligated generally to oppose all US action abroad.
But secondary contradictions, such as the conflict between the oppressive Iranian government and its people, still exist. Realistically as Americans we can have little impact on such secondary contradictions. What we can affect is our own government and our own imperialism. So in terms of organizing the masses at home it is more important for us to focus on the primary contradiction: the right to self-determination and solidarity with the working class of Iran who will suffer from US intervention.
The US wasn't upset with the bloody authoritarian government under the Shah. We fund and arm the right-wing Israeli government that oppresses the Palestinians. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Brazil, Honduras are governed by US backed authoritarian dictators.
Good response
Lol. No one can do anything about the Iranian regime, especially in Iran.
@@djgroopz4952but we, the US shouldn’t do something stupid and make those lives 100x worse
I think there is this weird orientalist view among conspiracy theorist prone radlibs that Asian countries are incapable of being fascist or even just as bad as the US. You will experience this when you argue with Tulsi Gabbard stans who call you a "hinduphobe" for pointing out her uncomfortable affinity for Modi and the BJP. I even argued with someone who said that caring about ethnic cleansing in Kashmir is taking the side of American imperialism, as if the Indian and American far right have any diverging interests and Modi's role in the Gujarat riots hasn't been totally ignored by the US since he became prime minister.
If you can’t call modern China “Capitalist” without people throwing a fit, then I’m worried about the online left
JEAN ULTRA They claim to get to socialism by 2050 though.
Capitalism is usually assumed to be a variant of liberal capitalism, which is certainly not what exists in China. Even the understanding of same concepts is different, for example capital. Political communism with a mixed economy instead of a socialist one still.
Aleksandar just because it’s not liberal, doesn’t mean it’s not Capitalism. I don’t care what they call themselves or what flag they use. They’re a bourgeois Capitalist state.
Capitalism and liberalism are inseparable, both historically and ideologically. You can say whatever you want. Having a mixed market can only colloquially be called capitalism. Doctrine of human rights, possessive individualism and social contract understanding of state are the foundation of how private capital maintains its dominance, maybe add public choice political economy and right libertarian philosophy. For China the market is a tool, for the US the market is divine.
Aleksandar China has a 60% private sector. So you even know what socialism is? It’s the movement to abolish capitalism. China has billionaires. Even Social Democracy is closer to Socialism than China. Capitalism and Liberalism are not inseparable, they commonly go together, but you didn’t even attempt to back that up.
It’s not anti American to know history & b anti imperialism
Well the problem is that the US is an imperial entity.
A good reminder to be critical of all media we consume. Thanks!
I have had some similar concerns about the Greyzone, but I do get factual information from them where is generally accurate and in most cases which I haven't heard anywhere else. I try to balance this with information I get from elsewhere, which admittedly isn't easy. What news source will give me these facts without this bias?
I didn't really get the overall impression that they were exactly beatifying Soleimani, but more saying that he was not better or worse than the average US general. Which still means he could arguably be classed as a war criminal.
I only know a few Iranians (all anti the theocracy), and am not an Iranian myself... but from what I've been told their theocracy only gained legitimacy after they resisted foreign interference in the form of Saddams US-armed invasion unsupported. The soviets didn't support Iran of course - the mullahs had only recently killed off their communist and socialist revolutionary allies. Both the Shah and Mossadegh had previously failed to resist foreign meddling, so post-war the theocracy had become entrenched.
Soleimani WAS legitimately popular as far as I can gather - he was a veteran of the Iran/Iraq war, lived an austere life (far from that of the corrupt mullahs) and his activities were mostly concentrated outside Iran defending its borders... sometimes as an ally of the USA, more recently usually against. He made an unpopular comment recently however in favour of the bloody crackdown on the recent protests... and this might have been part of the calculus involved in deciding to kill him now, though this was a miscalculation as he was still extremely popular. As for him being a war criminal... I'd say there would be less of a case vs US generals simply because Solemani was (mostly?) working with local forces against external aggression, although I'm sure in a court of law the case could be made.
@@markp6621 According to leaked Iranian intelligence reports he was ethnic cleansing Sunni's in Iraq source theintercept, also did u watch their recent china vid str8 outta cctv
@@markp6621 working with the Tutsi to commit war crimes against the Hutu during the genocide wouldn't absolve one from those crimes they commit just because they are less worse
@@LLMood Yes, and large portions of the allied leadership could have justifiably been assassinated because of executing an air war against Nazi civilians during the second world war. I can see how that could be argued... though is it moral to ask a militarily weaker party suffering aggression to refuse the tactics being used against them? The US and Saudi Arabia has been funding and arming genocidal headchoppers in neighbouring states after all, though I can see how ejecting those Sunni extremists (who even endanger less radical Sunnis) could be seen as genocidal - they often bring women and children along with them after all. The Soviets ejected the Nazi colonists in Poland too... that was genocidal, no? BTW, The Intercept is suspect... and although they employ Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill they also employ some ex-deep-state warmongers. Jeremy Scahill himself, a reporter who has spent quite some time in the Middle East region, has a pretty negative view of the assassination => ruclips.net/video/XCkNKYXOJIY/видео.html The same can be said of The Guardian and it's pushng of debunked Russiagate stories, Syrian gas attacks etc....
Also I condem isis headchoppers as I do condem shiite milita headchoppers, I also renounce their ethnic cleansing of minorities as I condem Ypg kurds ethnic cleansing of Arabs and Turks, unlike you I am morally consistent, and one point I didn't respond to you is nazi settlers was a massive project of colonialism based 'living area' that was applied and settled millions of people and displaced millions of others that took years , what happened in iraq and Syria was in no way shape or form similar, what qasim and the coalition have done is collective punishment you maybe okay with it am not.
This channel is exactly what we need more of in the uk.
"There's even a train!"
...I have no idea why, but I cannot stop thinking and laughing at your expression and the way you said that lol
Probably, they thought southern americans would live in trees or caves lol
@@sitzreihe15 Max's comment is sarcastic and a comment about the poor infrastructure in the US
I remember I used to be guilty of this because when I first learned the truth about what the United States (and other western countries) were like, the sheer horror of it had a real effect on me. So much so that I *had* to believe that there were places in the world where governments weren't so barbaric. It was a coping mechanism that I used to prevent myself from falling into despair.
I wonder if people like the Grayzone, China and North Korea apologists are like that, too.
@Otto Wels You're right. Thank you for a pleasant exchange, friend.
North Koreas government for example isnt barbaric... it aims to peacefully reunite Korea under socialism
I get the fact there is more to the Hong Kong protests, but I can't support anything that has US backing. As long as a government agency's like the NED is backing it, I can't believe it is a legitimate protest. If the people of Hong Kong want their political independence I support that, but I refuse to support what the USA calls "democracy".
About the Uyghurs...
I really don't know what to think about this one, and I don't think I'll make up my mind on this issue anytime soon. Because while it may be true that their treatment is not exactly fair, there were (are?) efforts by the CIA to connect to Uyghur separatists since the 70s, some people in the World Uyghur Congress were advisers to the CIA and so on (check Erkin Alptekin for example). So, yeah, this is probably not simply about "The Chinese government prosecutes Uyghurs because they are muslims".
@@BadEmpanada So much for nuance.
@@BadEmpanada Btw, I liked your video on genocidal killer Che Guevara.
mirror452 what?
@@mirror452 Seems badempanada has scrubbed all his comments on various posts. I share your misgivings on Uyghur conflicting narratives. It's good to keep in mind that elements of truth will be found from both sides even though they might be mostly fabricated narrative. All reporting is by definition biased.
This is great! I can't believe I didn't find this sooner. I always debate with those people. This will be good to share with them.
I always find these people who automatically defend "actually existing socialist" states use mental gymnastics to justify various things, like the Uyghur repression or the defense of Assad's actions. While US imperialism should be always opposed and criticized, that doesn't automatically mean that authoritarian states that oppose US imperialism should always be supported.
Thank you! I’ve been so annoyed by them for awhile (If you’re gonna be a leftist, why be a cheap propagandist?), and haven’t heard anyone critique them
They're not "cheap propagandists". Max Blumenthal may by overzealous sometimes and that's a serious flaw of his but that doesn't discredit the Grayzone's reporting.
@@robertstan298 what have the Grayzone done thats leftist ?
@@marywilson8119 You probably believe in Russiagate.
@@asdfasdf3989 i couldn't care less if Russia interfered in the US elections or not, irrelevant, to the fact that Russia is a right wing reactionary government and no so called leftist should be running cover for it.
@@marywilson8119 >right wing reactionary
Umm, based??
There currently is no rival to US imperialism. Countering Western Imperialist Propaganda doesn't equate to support for the targets of Western Imperialism.
does countering those narratives by spinning uncritical, false, and/or misleading propaganda in favor of those targets count as support for them?
@plurabelle5 my friend, you're replying to me on a video *demonstrating* false and misleading claims the Grayzone people have made.
also since this video came out, Blumenthal has become an anti-vax freak so if that doesn't at least temper your trust in it I don't know what will.
I mean implying that uyghurs are extremists and saying covid was just propaganda and denying that Syria did has attacks is all pretty misleading and false
And not to mention portraying food in Venezuela as affordable when it isn't based on the minimum wage there because Americans will think "one dollar that's pretty cheap for here" and not take into account other countries wage systems also they literally cute the Chinese government as a source for denying that camps exist that's like citing a Hitler speech as proof of a global Jewish conspiracy would believe the US if it said that Guantanamo actually wasn't a concentration camp?
@@aswiftshift5229 you mean you swallow the US propaganda, are you still looking for those WMD?
Unlike this random guy the Grayzone does journalism
Great video, just a few questions. Namely, I’m curious what makes China state capitalist, but Venezuela socialist? From what I’ve seen, Venezuela even has a bigger private sector than China
Both retain wage labor and commodity production, and the state acts as a monopolistic force with a bureaucracy
@@ShiningSta18486 whatever dude
@@StartsWithACee state capitalism is the word. Not necessarily a bad idea on its own as it is seen as a way to transition away from capitalism and towards communism.
That's cuz Venezuela isn't socialist and they've faced multiple coups by the us and also gets sanctioned by the us
But yes ur right Venezuela does have a private sector
Great video i watch it full but i want to say hope or think when some leftist say they support iran i think they mean they support the iranian people and not the government because a government doesn't always reflect the peoples of a nation
Supporting Iran means you oppose US intervention and are aware of warmongering efforts (sanctions included). No leftist actually idolizes Iran, aside from some of their social programs.
I'll admit I didn't know much about "contrarian" media before you really pointed it out to me so fantastic work. I agree that GZ will generally take the opposite position of the U.S established narrative with barely any context about the counter arguments (Chinese authoritarianism/Venezuelan govt mishandling, etc). That said...I'll take GZ contrarian reporting over the mainstream garbage we're bombarded with here in the U.S. Yes...I agree one should be fully aware of context before formulating an opinion
Also...I would be very interested in hearing the stories of Venezuelan expats in surrounding Latin American countries. My only personal experience, other than my own father's, is a previous life in banking...which was with the obviously privileged and incredibly full of shit. I genuinely have YET to meet any Venezuland who came from the barrios like my father in New York and the surrounding areas. It could just be my bubble...
Also...the whole "wow a train in Venezula" thing. If you live in the U.S know nothing except what our media tells you, Venezulan looks more like Mad Max. Believe it or not...the concept people enjoying the day at the mall is MIND blowing to the average American. A testament to our stupidity. But nonetheless...I think this is why he does thing this way. For the dumbass U.S audience.
@@BadEmpanada Yes that's true. Max is the son of someone with strong connections to the Dem party in the U.S if I'm not mistaken. Sidney Blumenthal. Sadly not many people from the poor/working class have the means to start such a project.
@@BadEmpanada Yet he didn't follow in his father's footsteps to amass wealth, power and political influence. Maybe he's funded by the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, Yemenis, Syrians, Venezuelans, Bolivians, Ecuadorans, Hondurans. They must be under his thumb or risk being exposed as deserving US intervention.
Just take a moment to look up each individual sanction on venezuela. there's so many and total is so huge that it's bound to be the main factor
Isnt it up to USamericans tho to take a hardline against us imperialism? Theres that good quote by Lenin: "During a reactionary war a revolutionary class cannot but desire the defeat of its government.". Its hard, as a working stiff, to be as knowledgeable of every country and the contradictions of their specific leftist movements as somebody from that country. much easier to recognize the bad actors/policies from the us. So i like that the Greyzone has a definitive stance of anti-us. I could be more critical for sure tho, sometimes find myself just falling in with whatever anti-us stance without completely doing my research. Anyways whatever differences of opinion on this matter, really respect the work you've done on this channel
Also havent got to watch full vid yet, "shitting" @ work so maybe you address this
Hi Empanada,
You make good videos and this one disappoints.
I wonder:
1. Why obfuscate your criticism by disputing a claim (a) nobody made, based on (b) an observation they themselves would dispute?
2. Why the name-calling?
3. Why not simply point out how and why you disagree with Grayzone's reporting / think they are wrong?
I look forward to hearing from you.
After a year, crickets. Anarchist breadtube is a farse.
@ Hi Francisco,
That is striking indeed : ). It seems the Empanada benefits from smearing The Grayzone.
Take care,
Joost
I paused this vid at work to go eat lunch. When I came back I realized that people probably think I was watching a forced POW confession.
Anyway, great work as always. Love your shit. Solidarity forever
If youre wondering the coordinates will lead you to a McDonalds in new south wales australia
On being an ally to Putin or whoever in the information wars, I think there's a bit of nuance here. Like I don't blame Chris Hedges or Abby Martin necessarily for having had shows on RT because there's no other network that would accept them. They want to criticize US empire and so does Putin so that's their option but that doesn't necessarily mean an endorsement of Russia's policies. The same thing happened when journalists who fled the Soviet Union and worked for Radio Free Europe didn't mean they supported US policy
@@BadEmpanada true that's substantively different, i think if I were an anti US imperialism content creator and found out that China or Russia were sharing my content every subsequent video would end with "Also Putin and Xi can both eat my ass" regardless of whatever the rest of the video was about
I'm pretty sure the people who fled USSR were anti communist.
@@AlexCab_49 not necessarily, the original members of the solidarity trade Union in Poland were anti-beurocratic and wanted more worker democracy
@@MatthiasVargas Then why does western media frame them as anti communist?
@@kaylagray5834 But then again there's the Cuban Americans or as we call them. "Gusanos".
Nice critique of the Grayzone, whom I love and still encourage everyone to continue reading! 😊
Putin bootlcikers lol
13:04 "The large breads"
Nuance in politics and issues? How dare you, sir.
hell yeah drone strike on kissinger sign me up
So some people, will uncritically consider the enemy of their enemy as their friends.
I follow The Empire Files, and I find them to be usually pretty good.
But- they recently did a piece on Iran that was.... well one thing brought up is that Iran is better fro trans women than many places in the west!
But... that’s probably the most egregious example of cherry-picking and context removal I’ve seen in quite some time. The guest really did go overboard in making Iran out to be this lovely, happy, not at all bigoted country where everybody is good and moral.
Which was so disappointing. The historical stuff- the why of America’s I tense dislike of Iran, and why they’ve been targeting them, that was actually really very good and informative. But he was just going way too far in trying to make Iran out to be this utopia. And it was ridiculous.
I saw that interview and had a similar feeling. They went from clearing some of the geopolitical and economical myths surrounding Iran to straight up creating new ones about the "free" society of a theocratic reactionary government. Very disappointing. We can tell the truth about Iran and still support anti interventions.
Neartmhor When having sex reassignment surgery neuron is actually a form of torture and they have no understanding of non-binary people
This is the content I am subbed for.
why I unsubbed
@@mat_j Same. I came here for history lessons about latin america - not some kids whiny call-out video. "wha! cancel the grayzone!" - nah, grow up, stick to powerpoints.
The need to attack your opposite often gets in the way of progress. It is easier to tear something down than it is to build. And it is in this act of having an enemy, that some people develop cult like ideological mindsets, which sadly gets in the way of true progress.
Lack of empanadas in MY community... Thank U for sharing!
I really never think of The Grayzone (2023 onwards) politically at all - but first and foremost as Anti-American journalists - doing the important task of criticising 'their own country' first before the hypocritically called out enemies.
And they are the best at it.
So the grayzone views everything in black and white...
I'm really glad I found my way back to your videos after a bit of a break! And the new channel as well. Thank you!
What an insightful examination of a something that is so hard to define in the first place.
I hate how everything is getting turned into a two sided ultimatum of mutually exclusive opinion, you either support Ukraine and love the us or hate the us and love russia and china. Like those aren't the only 2 opinions, more than 1 group can suck at the same time. nuance is being lost. this also goes the other way giving criticism to the US and getting a response of "oh where are from huh, you think you're so good" like no, they're also shit and like you. a global hegemon is still a global hegemon, even if it's not the us
Grayzone is doing good job in debunking israeli lies propagated by legacy media. They are not perfect but are very much needed
Gotta appreciate support for Greenwald. Are you going to do a video on his situation with Bolsonaro?
My what a difference a year makes
@@MrElionor 😂😂😂
but I saw him on Socialist Tucker Carlson show !
Yeah, yeah this aged well
Hey BadEmpanada, I've just seen two of your videos and I'm a fan already. I've been waiting for someone to do a debunk video about VisualPolitik. I'm curious what news outlets you like to frequent or respect. Thanks for your time in making videos like this!
I think you just pulled a David Pakman.
This aged like milk xd
Thank you for this video.
Could you give me some sources to know more about the government of China. I find that everything I find on the internet is very biased for or against it and I would like some better references.
You have to spend time in China and don't view everything through western lenses. In my experience, the if far from ideal, but it does a decent job of providing provide basic needs for its people. If you want your voice to be hear and influence decisions, it's not the place for you. In the US, we vote and can speak freely, but our votes and voices don't really change anything. Money decides.
@@litesp The vast majority of people aren't going to have the luxury of spending time in China. I think he was just looking for sources that aren't the Chinese government or rely entirely on intelligence from western governments. I think a lot of people struggle with this.
@@SixteenJacobsCreams yes. Looking online really just confuses me more.
Yup. Frustrating.
I really appreciate the long form, thoughtful, well-researched point of view complete with resource links. As a citizen of the US it gives me alternative points of views other than center right or far right.
Unless he was Henry Kessinger is the ultimate exception to all moral laws.
Not sure how I missed this vid of yours. Loved it
Nuance Bro is a commie??
😆🤣. Nuance lol.
Nuance bro is a radical centrist. I hate to say it but I fear its true
Interesting take on the critique of them. You just left out a major word in regards to Venezuela which is the word"Sanctions" or the term Trade embargo. You used other terminology instead of the words that I hear the Grey Zone and other outlets use. In reality just like china, russia and the USA are not perfect. all these empires have been involved in a wide variety of injustices within their nations and abroad. Generals in general are involved in the deaths of people at some point in their career whether against another nation or their own people, typically through strategic planning and pushing down the order. I'm sure they are also generals that some how throughout their officer career have not been involved in the death of someone, but this type of intel is rarely shared entirely by either scenario. Overall funny video and good to hear another take than the variety of others I hear.
@@BadEmpanada negative. Venezuela has experienced sanctions many times prior to 2017. Interesting that you didn't bring up Elliot Abrams involvement with the Contra Scandal and now an envoy for Venezuela. Interesting that you didn't bring up the epic fails from Guido. That is where you are also not informing the viewers.
Omg your physical and vocal performance has improved so much so fast it's amazing. I hope you're proud of yourself because I know performing is hard. I love you and can't wait to see more!
1 year later and he's even better
This makes me think of the tumblr post thats like
People who tell me not to eat lava: the media
People who lie: the media
Conclusion: I should eat lava
In my opinion, it is getting clearer and clearer in the past years that what seems to be an uncritical support of socialist experiences whose nuances come accross as unpalatable, and the uncritical despise for USs ways, might not be what it seems. The matter that preceedes this, in the American and Chinese example for instance, is a situation where one party has had so much power to the point it is able to control the perception of a large chunk of the world's population, while the other might have been seeking alternatives to break away from it, in a hostile environment that offers limited options, and whose actions are largely framed in the reality created by the former (the US).
I just would like to point out that you might have hit nail in the head with your rant, but you should have your mind open to the possibility to might have failed to see the nuance in the context.
All countries which are rich and have power are authoritarian regimes, it's just how they can maintain their power and you get libertarians like this guy who keeps talking about experimental libertarian ideals like lgbtq rights, helping minorities of other nations while in reality we know nothing of those vulnerable groups and their ideals and what consequences they might bring with them, like say many of these ideals bring with them westernized cultural beliefs which often clash with the pre-existing culture that's in those countries, like say with many of the Middle East countries which vehemently oppose any western libertarian ideals which some westerners themselves hate cause of their flaws which have never been researched and only implemented without any thought process put into it (like with lgbt rights having gender reassignment surgeries which have caused suicide rates among those taking them or say feminist rights being harmful especially when prostitution is legalised which created human trafficking markets) any idea if implemented on a pre existing culture forcefully and constantly shoved with ad hominems has shown to be devastating to the people of those countries especially the average citizens who just can't be expected to change their ways overnight, but hey westerners never think about the consequences of their actions, Iraq and Afghanistan were good examples of how to destroy countries for resources and power, using such left right rhetorics to try to justify power breach
These guys like badempanada don't fix any problems other than shouting at those who are doing wrong things instead of maybe using slow burn approach to try to change the publics viewpoint on why they support such ideals and how can we discuss those topics and seek better solutions instead of going at war about how "they committed human rights violations so we bash them and aggregate the people of those countries who in their own way have some legitimate reasonings which aren't well understood, all cultures and ideals should have reforms based on research and basic understanding of them from scratch instead of doing surface level understanding and just keeping things the same, whether it be western culture and their flaws or other cultures from minorities which other countries find harmful and only wish them violence instead of both sides carrying out reforms on their own cultures to suit each others interests and seeking harmony instead of strife and wars
@@Layd36, This is definitely a point... Although I recognize that the issues you pointed out are frequently a problem caused by infiltrators who weaponize controversial matters to sow division and misrepresent the left, I don't think this is an issue with the Grayzone. The guys do an awesome job informing about the ongoing conflicts and economic problems in the global south. They frequently highlight the relation between these issues and their perpetrators in capitalism's core who are moved by power and profit interests.
I can't say the same about Bad Empanada simply because I'm not a frequent follower.
@@ZhuoAo the irony is when Badempanada justifies Soviet famines as lesser crimes against humanity while blaming all countries for being capitalist while in reality they are hybridized systems taking both capital and social/governmental control into account
These guys are essentially arguing for a full on socialist system on every sector possible despite the fact how such systems have been shown to just not work for people who haven't been accustomed to it, playing and deciding god on others by selling to them that their so called systems will work to foreign countries just sounds insane to me is all especially when these westerners act like judges to those countries deciding everything for them including their culture and history and claim they are authoritarian when it's convenient for them
I for one don't trust any person who has a higher position of power especially when their power isn't controlled but also i wouldn't just have them be suppressed under higher powers especially smaller working class and businesses which seek to develop and earn the same amount as the rest instead of the exorbitant gains they achieve earning many times than their employees, there should be an equal playing field for everyone to gain access to better lifestyles instead of just being kept locked cause ones superior than the other
I guess all this is too much to ask for especially when there are a lot of mouths to feed and equal distribution of better economic conditions is impossible especially when powerful sociopathic oligarchs exist
@@Layd36 brother in christ, you think the lgbtq and minorities are the problem? touch grass, now! get off the internet please.
Overall, I agree with the point your video is making, especially since your critique can rightly apply to the hyper-contrarian leftists in a lot of online communities. That being said, I think framing Blumnethal, Norton, and co's intentions as treating people like objects is A) presumptious at best, and B) feels a lot less true if you listen to them on the Moderate Rebels podcast. They clearly give a damn about people and do their due diligence more often than not.
I'm not asking you to listen to every episode of the show, but acting as though, for example, Norton (or his peers) specifically are pro- or uncritical of Assad at all is simply false if you hear them talk about it.
@@BadEmpanada what is this supposed to mean? I didn't mean to come off as disrespectful my guy.
EDIT: oh, you're referring to having to listen to them, I did't read that correctly
This video has aged like fine wine.
Now it's finer.
So damn fine
What happened?
@@theamazingguy150largely just all the wackos genuinely defending Russia's invasion and war on Ukraine at this point
@@ben5154 they seriously defend bombing of children and civilians. Disgusting
Thank God someone finally said it
You hit the nail on the head regarding Ben Norton and the kurds. That is the explanation. Many people felt betrayed by that alliance.
I think the point that Blumenthal was trying to make going to the shopping it was to show how well off people are the people supporting guaido, not that it was cool that the rich are rich (if I remember that video correctly)
I think he also interviewed people at the line in the feria about who they supported?
BTW I think you are right that the "critical support" crowd don't take seriously the critical part of critical support
Like antiimperialist positions should center always the people affected and the critical support crowd doesn't do that
It was to counter the CNN/MSNBC narrative that Venezuelans couldn’t get their hands on basic necessities like toothpaste and that people that opposed the party in power were not oppressed for their political persuasion - which is something that you would expect from a “dictatorship”.
@@matfaintdesignco.2222 yes also true
If you can't criticize your allies, than you don't deserve to be allies.
I’m also so sick of the Iran equivalent of tankies. I feel like Americans, even leftists are so out of touch and comfortable.
Probably a response because the anti-Iranian gov movement in US is built up by insane NeoCons
Lyle Evans Way to prove my point.
Not an ideology, only a logical consequence of recurrent worldwide evil acting
Yeah clicking on this 4 years after it was published with the grey zone doing most of the heavy lifting with gaza has this aging interestingly
I don’t agree with most of your points here, but you missed the chance of calling it
Grayzone's Anatomy.
Everyone: "Whoa, trains on South America /sarcasm"
Me: Sweating in my country actually could use more trains
Also, great vid, finally someone "big" said it
@Caio Goveia
I guess you’re Brazilian too.huh?
remember the trucker protests?
@@mrasray7622 yeah XD
@Caio Goveia
Uns anos atrás meu professor de geografia me mostrou que todos os caminhões necessários para transportar uma determinada quantidade consumem bem mais petróleo que aviões, trens ou barcos, mas ainda sim o mapa que ele me mostrou depois tem uma quantidade enorme de rodovias e uma quantidade estupidamente pequena de ferrovias e pouco uso de aviões e barcos.
O trem gasta literalmente 30% menos que o caminhão e ainda sim vamos continuar a negar que ele é claramente uma alternativa melhor?
Just saying they are anti war, it just sounds like anti american because we are a warring nation. I'm sure you said that in the video, just wanted to say. The Grayzone does solid commentary on not all that talked about goings on in the world.
Lol
There are a lot of people who seem to treat international relation like countries are characters in a riddle "one of these nations only tells the truth and one only lies."
Thank you for bringing up Rojava
So a family with 2 workers with a monthly income of $8000, that bread would be $400+. 😮
Ben Norton hangs out with way more Alexander Dugin-style Nazbols than is a good idea for anyone, explains a lot of his weirder opinions.
Source?
@@wachowski9525 this article on Joey Ayoub's blog from 2018 explains various Western ML alternative media personalities including Blumenthal and Norton's Nazbol connections in detail, be warned that it is really long hummusforthought.com/2018/03/16/the-multipolar-spin-how-fascists-operationalize-left-wing-resentment/
The Republicans said Joe Biden was a Socialist too.
Dugin? Oh my.
I didn't know much about Norton, but after the presidential elections in Belarus in August 2020 he accused an opposition journalist of being a CIA shill, because he worked for Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, a USA operation, and some other prominent opposition people of similar sins. But where else could he work, except Belsat (sponsored by Poland and thus suspect)? It's s dictatorship, dude.
And, of course, Norton said that the elections were legitimate, the truly massive protests were a coup attempt by the CIA and the "president" was in no way a murderous dictator who got close to 1/1000 of the country's population tortured in the first two weeks.
And this narrative still persists among tankies. Though I don't understand why: Belarus, like Russia, doesn't even claim to be communist of socialist.
@@alloymetal7861 The annoying thing is that Norton is actually an exceptionally sharp journalist when covering US politics, but whenever he writes about foreign policy he just comes across as wilfully ignorant.
People like to believe that the enemy of my enemy is their friend. If someone is against American imperialism, they are one of the good guys... Forgetting that the sometimes, that the world is full of awful people fighting awful people.
temporary friend.
that "hey boys" was kind of menacing
Ngl.....I was kinda turned on by that.
Before I watch this video, let me get my immediate reaction to the title out of the way. I am not anti-American, I am anti Imperialist, and unfortunately that sometimes manifests itself in FUCK THE US these days. I actually do acknowledge this has nothing to do with the American people but with their government and media but it can be extremely rage inducing.
Now that I have that out of my system, I'm ready to watch the video. I have full confidence you know the difference, I just needed to do this for my own sake.
Omg someone put it in words. I just told someone I feel like I hate this country more everyday but at the same time I don't hate this country at all and I'm still relatively optimistic. I think it also has to do with the fact that I haven't really ever gone with the whole "america is the best!!!" narrative, even as a kid I was just like, "I mean it's cool, I guess, but look at Europe they're cool too?" Lol
Anyway thanks for sharing this. It helped me realize my frustration is moreso towards systems, not the country itself
Same, though I go one step further.
No one should have loyalty to any country. In the same way no one pledges allegiance to the city you live in.
Countries should be administrative zones of earth. Nothing more.
@@GalacticNovaOverlord that's pretty much where I'm at though when it comes to putting that in practice I think it would have to be a fairly long process, especially given how strongly recent "leaders" have whipped their bases into a frenzy of borders and putting their country above all others, like Trump with the godsdamned wall and Modi with Hindu nationalism.
But personally, yeah, the whole patriotism garbage is only going to kill us all faster unless governments find a way to hold everyone accountable to things for climate...mitigation, I guess is the word at this point, rather than climate saving/damage prevention or something 😑
Nah that has a lot to do with the American people too. The government didn't force you to settle on stolen land. That's something Americans chose to do. The government didn't force yall to bomb Iraqi civilians. That's something your people chose to do.
@@sempressfi Typical. America bad when someone tells me it's built on stolen land, but America good actually when I get to return home to my nicely furnished home with clean drinking water.
Knocked it out of the park. I find it's easy to be contrarian like this when you're feeling enraged at the inhuman acts committed by the US, but we need to stay level-headed too!
The Garbage Bin of Ideas are you still making vids?
@@GOCRAZY3 yessssir, been working on something pretty different but out soon!
I live in Ireland and travel a lot for work in Western Europe, and over the last few years the numbers of Venezuelans from working class backgrounds living and working here (especially in Spain) who send money home to their families has skyrocketed. Anyone who thinks otherwise is being lied to or lying to themselves.
Venezuela has been a target of US regime change for nearly 20 years. Venezuela is devastated by US manipulation of world oil production and by crippling US sanctions and Western banks seizing its money. It has a the world's largest oil reserves that US companies want to control and produce (John Bolton). Think about how poor the gulf states could become if they ever dared to disobey the US.
@@litesp oh 100% no question. The way Venezuela has been treated by the international community under U.S. direction is appalling and disgraceful and of course Venezuelans would do whatever they can to cope with the impact of that. I am not commenting on the good or the bad the right or the wrong of the situation. Just stating something that’s definitely an observable phenomenon. I personally think people should be allowed to freely move and live and work where ever they choose.
i mean i had this discussion 10 years ago when I said something about Russia and Putin and the dude said "why do you support America?" I said they're also trash.
Caleb Maupin has left the chat
Universal healthcare existed in china under mao. Deng privatised it in the 80s
I’m new to your channel but I have been DYING for someone to make this take!!
I’m a huge fan of Abby Martin, Max Blumenthal, etc. But sometimes for these people and their colleagues, it’s not good enough that the US is wrong 90% of the time..
You fucking NAILED this analysis.
Couldn’t possibly have said it better.
I came across Greyzone a couple months ago, and at first, I really liked it. They had some good coverage (from what I could tell) and brought up angles to different foreign policy issues that I wasn't seeing talked about elsewhere. But after I subscribed, I slowly started noticing this as well. One of the major things that started turning me off to them is when they did some apologetics for the Chinese concentration camps. That's when I started seeing that they're basically just contrarians to anything the US does.
@@muslimmetalman grassroots funding is the check on capitalism not 'advocacy journos' The Grayzone. Ive got 2 of Max's books and watched all of the content, there are so many online people why compromise. Something akin to Poe's Law? Thanks for coalescing vibes I've been getting, much respect!
-Max, Anya Aaron, and Ben It is nice to have the capabilities yall do but the compromise will catch up before you hit critical mass. Assuming the goal is to reach as many people as possible with alternative narratives and if not you must attempt to regain integrity by scaling down and using all of your talents in the brilliant investigative journalism you are all capable of. That is a compromise I am happy with, trust i the movement to fill in those gaps, otherwise you are choosing to operate under the old mode.
"You see that folks? It tastes really good!"
😂😭
And there's even a train! Toot toot.
15:50
I love your content
This is why anyone that considers themselves a Leftist should have a large diverse variety of different Leftist voices from different parts of the world. Otherwise they can be sweeped into believing stuff like "Russia is good because America is imperialist."
Russia has been very far right for a long time now. IDK how any leftist could think modern Russia is “good” unless they just watch RT all day.
Maybe america military budget? And military bases around the world? That may be a hint? No ok.
@@TrenElZombie all superpowers are fucin trash honestly is any govt actually good lol
@@TrenElZombie But I thought those bases exist to ensure orderly global trade, no?
4:50
Thank you for this. You are the first one who says this without being a bread tuber or an authoritarian tankie. I swear most of the internet left does not know what nuances are. Thank you BadEmpanada.
TrotEmpanada. Because you can't have a hint of an association with Argentina without becoming a trot, apparently.
@@BadEmpanada Come on, you can't deny that Argentine trots are an embarrasment to the communist movement. La Izquierda Diario, organ of the PTS, has constantly positioned itself against the governments of both Maduro and Evo, even (and specially) when the coups were at their strongest. They have always called for an inexistent third position, in everything. And their stance on peronism is worse than stellar.
ok lib
Can you also make a critique about Alexander Mercouris? Despite his success there are no debunking videos. He for example claims to have studied history and compares today's Ukraine War with the Vietnam War 1955-1975.
I feel like he always leaves himself an out, so it is difficult to pin him down. And despite his claims of being neutral and using sources by both sides, he always takes a pro-Russian side, just packages it more nicely.
Really appreciate this take. Especially in regard to Rojava. It seems so logical and self evident, but I almost never see this kind of analysis from the left.
Much food for thought.