Metal Reviews

America needs to succumb to the EU- but a new EU, a fully social democrat one based on the progressive ideals of Scandinavia and the like. Europe is the only way forward, it will be the basis for the future. The US is fucked, it will either fall to revolution or economic supplanting by the EU.

Sorry, I'm quite drunk and being a bit too idealistic. Part of it has to do with being recently officially inducted into the SNP. Independence! Europe! Social Democracy! YAAALDIII!

Yeah, fear not the Fridgemeister, America won't 'fall to revolution' any time soon, and big-state social democracy has had its day - but America is certainly going to have to make swingeing spending cuts soon. And I like how the Scottish Nats have 'induction ceremonies'. Nutters.

Against Obama personally and not the issues?
Where have you been the past two years?

You damn well know that there are people who oppose Obama because Glenn Beck says so and I really doubt you're going to concede the point that Beck makes logical arguments. I'm not throwing you in this lot but there are a lot of douches in America who don't know the issues, see things going wrong yet can't point their nose in a 10 mile vicinity of the real problem.

The Socialist International is a joke. Most international organizations are. The UN tolerates the same human rights abuses by its member, i.e., Gitmo and China's lovely treatment of dissidents as the obv examples.

As if dictators really give a fuck as to how they run their economy and it is as if dictators don't exist in capitalist nations, i.e. China, if anything you could point to the masses as idiots for wanting a socialist nation and appointing a dictator who claims he is for the people, as Chavez has done and honestly is doing according to my opinion, but once a dictator is in place the party name is just a facade if that is how they want to do it. The point of a dictator is that the people have no input which really isn't socialist and obv prevents any critique of unjust treatment if and when it does develop. It's one thing to be critical of Marxism, do it on a theoretical or argumentative foundation but point to a man who took over in the face of religious extremism and economic collapse and actually did improve things but not by improving the conditions of the working class but by allowing foreign investment to usurp local economies and you are not even making an argument. You're no better than Glenn Beck shouting "commie" at anything he doesn't assent to. By pointing to examples in the world of how what you call "socialism" doesn't pan out, you really aren't saying anything because in no way you can prove that these people are socialists. Point to how they have actual socialist programs which have failed; I would welcome it. Then I'll point you to all the capitalist regimes which have failed in terms of inexcusable levels of repression and poverty and we'll see how they aren't all that different when people are corrupt as fuck but at least socialism seeks for the better of everyone when it gets derailed while capitalism gets derailed, people get fucked and it's par for the course; it was the goal all along.

An article that would make Frig cry on how democracy in the Middle East, or at least Tunisia and Egypt, will result in Islamic states insofar as radical Islam has been the only form of opposition to the US takes in those countries. So as the poor are given the right to vote, the radical Islam parties which have been helping them will be getting waves of votes and will in turn fuck over Israel and the US, deservedly for their treatment of Palestine, but not what liberals of the West would expect from democracy.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/31-0

Reactions on jihadist internet forums to the protests in both Egypt and Tunisia have been confused and muted. It seems like that many jihadists are clearly struggling to fit the news from Egypt and Tunisia into their existing narrative that jihadist organisations throughout the Middle East are steadily progressing towards establishing projihadist ‘Islamic states’.

The high levels of support for the Egyptian protests among ordinary people may indicate a larger than suspected groundswell of support for genuinely democratic, non-sectarian politics in the Middle East. The lack of vocal support among the protestors for standard Islamist slogans perhaps indicates that much of this apparent support for the Brotherhood was not ideologically-based but rather based on a
shared opposition to the status quo for whom the Brotherhood was the only available outlet. This shows that Brotherhood claims to be the ‘only real opposition’ to dictatorial regimes in the Middle East should be viewed with a considerable amount of scepticism in future. Given the opportunity, many people in the Arab countries clearly prefer civil, nonsectarian parties over Islamists.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak says he will not run for a new term in office in September elections

Warmongering never bothered me with Republicans because it's either because the person is a dick which the Left has its Islamophobes like Frig as well or it's due to buying into media fear-mongering which has its effects which is why it is done. My problem is the unabashed commitment to capitalism by both democrats and republicans. Stick with it; don't hop ship to socialism or communism but do capitalism in a way that doesn't cost lives or fuck 5/6 of the world's population over into destitute poverty including the people in your own goddamn country, such as immigrants (legal and illegal) and the rural citizens who have no possibility for concrete well-paying jobs, not to mention a good education or even indoor plumbing in some cases.

Us, Marxists, may be nuts but the critique of capitalism we offer has it by the balls and either stop acting as if everything is peachy and learn to correct it or shut the fuck up and and let someone else attempt to fix it.

Pretty pessimistic, I'd say, given the wide reporting that this is a democratic uprising of the young through facebook etc that the Muslim Brotherhood have tagged along with after the event. Islamic parties are regularly demonised and compared to Al Qaida by western media sources, something quite far from the truth. Besides, saying that radical Islam is the only form of opposition to Mubarak is a lie that plays into these regimes' hands by painting them as necessary to oppress a backwards people incapable of thinking for themselves. Which is bollocks, clearly.

Also, this video you posted earlier:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pilG7PCV448

is ridiculous and saddening. Goddammit.

China is a capitalist nation and I think emperor would back me up on that maybe not. Chuck would have the stats but that's not my thing. That's the problem with arguing with you about this is that you're more willing to subscribe to what states call themselves rather than they are. I don't care how much jargon China can fit in it's title; it is not a communist country anymore.

I'd call China a capitalist oligarchy at this point...so yeah, I am backing you up.

I resent the term "Islamophobe". Phobia implies irrational fear. Fear of Islam is entirely justified.

Islamic fundamentalism, yes. But Islam as a whole?