Yes it would be. A very strong argument can be made that Russia fits to a T the 5 conditions to be imperialist as set by Lenin. To note also that imperialism is NOT a policy decision, it's an objective stage of capitalist development, any advanced or semi advanced state with its material base being capitalist will express variations of imperialist tendencies.

I would argue that while the thesis "the war in Ukraine is a provoked (by the west) interimperialist confrontation", holds a lot of merit, it does fail to account sufficiently for the extent this war was provoked, for the remaining fact the western imperialist alliances and particularly the US, remain hegemonic af, and for the more minute analysis of the Russian economy. That being said, if Russia isn't an imperialist state, it is at the very least an aspiring-imperialist one (and in certain regions very much already acts as one).

Regardless these two variations of analysis are FAR more accurate than those which aim to posit Russia as ANTI imperialist somehow, that one is just caricatural campist nonsense that isn't rooten in an honest materialist analysis, and which echo a lot the (erroneous) thesis of "super-imperialism" that Kautsky put forward.

In all the above this doesn't change the role of communists in the west tho: revolutionary defeatism, fight our own imperialists. It does raise question about those who go further and give concrete support towards Russia (an IMO very damaging position that harms anti-imperialist organizing here), and it does change the attitude for say, Russian and Ukrainian communists ought to have with regards to the war ( attitude being a choice between revolutionary defeatism or critical support).

Umm okay?

What tankie tears are you referring to? This entire post is everyone joking around and generally not giving a FUCK that a PMC far right oligarch got got.

Also you ARE aware that the vast majority of communist parties are not pro-Russia whatsoever right? That the "critical support to Russia" people are ultra minoritarian in the world communist movement, whereas the majority condemns BOTH NATO's role since 2014 (and prior) in precipating the situation leading to the Russian invasion, AND Russia for well, invading? Some even saying this war is one of inter-imperialist competition or close to one? That there is no good side but that of seeking peace asap for the sake of the working class, given the possibility of turning this bourgeois war into a revolutionary class war in both Ukraine, Russia, and the west is impossible atm?

Slava Ukraini! Slava NATO!

Deeply embarassing behavior. It's a war dude, not a sport match.

From the reports its the entire high command that got merked on that plane sooooo....maybe nobody and Wagner get fully absored in the Russian armed forces, who is to say

Have you considered....sentient rat borgers tho?

You are so lucky.

A comrade and I seriously considered getting a job at the local alcohol gov monopoly company to staff their depot and liberate some Russian Standard bottles that have been pulled off the shelf since the beginning of the war. It sadly didn't materialize :(

There are many spots to get yankee cuisine tho! Burgers, fries, some (shudders) Quebecers even showed a hotel cuisine staff how to make poutine. Lots of that at the glorious water park, with beer in big ass glasses.

I hope our comrade defector however opens himself to the delights of Korean and North East Chinese cuisine, maybe have himself also some Russian off brand doshirak.

I'm pretty sure the Talibans (not to defend them, mind you), were already cracking down on poppy farming before 9/11 and the subsequent decade long war.

So how were they benefitting? Or do you mean to say the US and allied forces allowed mass poppy crop farming that was then utilized by the Taliban to fund itself? You know there is an alternative hypothesis: the US and other occupation allied forces tolerated poppy farming to pacify and win over tribal chiefs and keep corrupt Afghan officials squarely on their side. Maybe both were happening, who is to say.

Well I mean barring your personal dislike of the source, it does report an objective fact: opium cash crop farming exploded under the US / Joint alliance occupation and decade+long anti insurgency war, and died out once they left.

And this objective fact DOES raise important questions: what in the hell was the US doing all this time? They had infinitely more resources than the Talibans do now to subsidize non opium crops for farmers, to encourage diversification and development, etc. Did they turn a blind eye to the mass scale poppy farming? If so, why? It generated huge sums, was it a strategic use of and encouragement of corruption of local Afghan administrators and tribal elite to "make the occupation easier"? Did some money return to western elements? What was the impact on world trafficking?

Like you can dislike mintpress news but IMO it's important to, now that the US/West occupation of Afghanistan is over, not swipe it all under the rug and investigate.

That is not true tho.

The PCV was one of the earliest and staunchest ally of Chavez. Things soured under Maduro when the PCV along several parties to the left of the PSUV made the ARP (a left alliance of revolutionary parties), which prompted faced repeated legal attacks by the Venezuelan state. Several parties in the ARP (like the Tupamaros/MRT) faced similar attacks by the PSUV but it never dared go after the PCV. Now that the situation is a bit eased on the domestic front, the right wing being largely defeated, and now that some sanctions are being lifted, and as the PSUV is making reforms that revert the Bolivarian revolutionary advances, it feels threatened on its left and is now trying to coopt/take over / illegalize the PCV.

It's far more serious than previous disagreements IMO, the fact that the PCV is being called trot (lol) or right wing plants by key PSUV members is telling, its gotten real ugly this time.

Thank you comrade 🫡 🫡

I initially made an account on lemmy.world to see the broader lemmy federation and lemmygrad but then they went and defederated from Hexbear and it would be a shame to miss out on your prime content, I remember the heydays of /r/chapotraphouse, missed it!

The replies in the tweet are sufficient to tell you this is a super weird and nonsensical lie by Ben. It's kind of staggering he'd pull such anti-communist nonsense. His second tweet is even wilder because he basically attacks the enormous majority of the IMCWP and their positions on all the issues he names. He straight up made it all up.

As to the PCV, it NEVER did a "swing to the right" it NEVER allied with the Venezuelan right wing either. Norton very conveniently also does a HUGE euphemism on "its leadership being changed": what is actually happening is the PSUV through the judicial authorities of the country are rendering the party illegal, calling the leadership undemocratic and unaccountable, and basically stealing the party legal entity by putting in charge PSUV militants mislabelled as "aggrieved PCV members". The IMCWP has signed multiple declarations of solidarity with the PCV over the past months also.

Also hello hexbear this is my first post lmao