Obviously they wouldn't ban EVERY social gathering because that would be deeply unpopular just like the COVID lockdowns were (Australians are kinda like Americans in that depriving them of too many treats will cause massive public discontent), but the parameters of "specific areas" and "public assemblies" are intentionally kept ambiguous so they can target whatever they feel like. However, given the NSW Premier's recent comments, especially in regards to hate speech, he clearly wants to use these powers to suppress pro-palestine/ anti-zionist organizations.
I too hold a similar view that practical experience which leads to tangible successes matters far more than theoretical or ideological validation. I am a Marxist after all, and as such I abide by the scientific method when analyzing political economy.
There are many valid criticisms of China, both from a theoretical and material standpoint, but from a practical standpoint I believe they still serve the goals of Socialism by, in much the same way the USSR once did, acting as buffer against Western imperialism and total US domination, as well as being a pressure valve for the international proletariat in the Global South to relieve economic and political pressure from the Global North. They could stand to do a much better job in those respects, but this is still a concrete truth in 2025.
Also, allow me to share the views of the late Fidel Castro on China, from an interview he made with an Italian liberal journalist in 1993:
Moreover, although it is true that the Soviet Union self-destructed, neither China nor Vietnam has self-destructed. We speak so much about the socialism that disappeared in the Soviet Union, why don’t we speak about Chinese socialism?
Gawronski: So China is a role model for you?
Castro: It’s an experiment that must be studied. The Chinese themselves say that no one should automatically imitate what others are doing. They acknowledge the mistake they made in applying the Soviet experience mechanically in the early years. But if you want to talk about socialism, you must not forget what socialism has done in China. Once it was a country of hunger, poverty, disasters — today there is none of that. Today China feeds, clothes, cares for, and educates 1.2 billion people. Recently, Chinese President Jiang Zemin paid a visit to Havana. He is an intelligent, educated, and understanding person — he made an excellent impression on me.
Gawronski: But China, even if it’s remained socialist politically, is trying to move away from socialism economically. On the other hand, Cuba still seems to be solidly socialist. Isn’t it difficult to be the only socialist country when everything around you is changing?
Castro: I think China is a socialist country, and Vietnam is a socialist country as well. And they insist that they’ve introduced all the necessary reforms, precisely to stimulate development and to continue advancing towards the objectives of socialism. There are no chemically pure regimes or systems. In Cuba, for example, we have many forms of private property. We have tens of thousands of landowners who own, in some cases, up to 45 hectares; in Europe they would be considered latifundistas. Practically all Cubans own their own homes and, what’s more, we are more than open to foreign investment. But none of this detracts from Cuba’s socialist character.
What’s certain is that we will never make the mistake of destroying the country to make something new. We will not make the mistake of plunging our country into chaos, into anarchy, to solve the problems we have, because that would be the only way to never solve them.
Full interview if anyone is interested: https://redsails.org/fidel-and-gawronski/
I love the outfits of these female soldiers in the parade, they look like Communist Cowgirls haha.
Hopefully the Iranian reformists have learned their lesson this year and will never take the Americans for their word again. Even if a future Democrat President tries wooing them again, a “25-year Comprehensive Cooperation Plan” cited by Pezeshkian sounds very hard to break away from.
This is like China's version of "sending a strongly worded letter" that we always make fun of civility libs for. Stop being a lib Xi.
Don’t know where else to talk about this so forgive me for this not bring news, but I was watching Hasan’s latest vid about the ongoing escalation between Iran and the US/ Israel and many of the comments were criticizing people in there defending Iran’s right to national sovereignty and self-defence by saying stuff like “but Iran is aUtOritaRiaN unlike the free and democratic US!” and “but Iran doesn’t have gay rights and oppresses women!”.
It’s the usual liberal moralistic platitudes that get thrown around whenever consent is being manufactured for war against a US designated enemy in the Global South, but the fact that so many supposed progressives are still trying to justify the imperialization of Iran WHILE they are actively protesting against repression and the destruction of civil rights in the US of A just astounds me.
Just goes to show how deep the neoliberal brain worms still run in westerners, and it also revealed to me how many of Hasan’s own fanbase are still very much liberals.
The German Chancellor of all world leaders not understanding the goal of genocide, leading a country that prides itself on being the biggest understanders of genocidal dictators because "we did it before, so we know it best", is just pure schadenfreude.
In case y'all missed it, the (real) Xiaohongshu wrote a very lengthy but well detailed explanation about why it was in China's interest to reduce tariffs quickly:
I’m conflicted, should I get the crabs out cause it’s the leader of the biggest pdf organization on the planet, or should I mourn cause he’s the most progressive pope we’ll probably ever get in our lifetimes?
Tim Cook was not gonna let Trump cook his shiny fruit products
Further proof that Tankie is just the liberal version of "SJW" or "Woke"; a meaningless buzzword to describe anything left of them.
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Leegh
joined 3 years ago
There is currently a memorial service being held at Bondi Beach for the recent mass shooting being attended by Australian politicians and Jewish community leaders.
What shocked me was just how quickly local Zionists have capitalized on the whole thing. I'm watching this on live TV right now and many people in the crowd are wearing Israeli flags. One of the speakers, a guy named David Ossip who is the president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, just said "Am Yisrael Chai" on stage after talking about fighting against anti-Semitism. When the Australian Prime Minister arrived to the vigil, he was getting boos from the crowd. In contrast, the NSW Premier (who ironically is from the same party) was getting cheers, no doubt because he has historically been way more of a hardliner in regards to suppressing anti-zionist activism.
Meanwhile, an anti-immigration rally led by the far right One Nation party is being held in Sydney at the same time and is also attended by Zionists calling for pro-palestine individuals to be deported. All without any pushback from the government.