#neo-colonialism

[tomorrowusa]

East Slavic (as opposed to West or South Slavic) culture had its roots in what is now Ukraine.

In the 11th century Kyiv was thriving at a time when what is now the Kremlin was just a place where traders on their way to Novgorod would stop to pee.

Russia even sort of stole the name of the country from Kyivan Rus'.

How Moscow hijacked the history of Ukraine-Rus’

At best, Russia is a former colonial power seeking to re-impose itself on its lost colonies.

Imagine the outrage if Britain tried to take back Nigeria or Kenya. It is hypocritical to be anti-colonialism in Africa and not be anti-colonialism in Europe.

Russia needs to go home and stay home. The only thing to negotiate is how many days it would take Russia to leave Ukraine.

[diaryofaphilosopher]

Neocolonialism can be described as the subtle propagation of socio-economic and political activity by former colonial rulers aimed at reinforcing capitalism, neo-liberal globalization, and cultural subjugation of their former colonies. In a neocolonial state, the former colonial masters ensure that the newly independent colonies remain dependent on them for economic and political direction. The dependency and exploitation of the socio-economic and political lives of the now independent colonies are carried out for the economic, political, ideological, cultural, and military benefits of the colonial masters’ home states. This is usually carried out through indirect control of the economic and political practices of the newly independent states instead of through direct military control as was the case in the colonial era.

— Oseni Taiwo Afisi, "Neocolonialism" in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP).

Follow Diary of a Philosopher for more quotes!

[philosophika]

Hi there friend, sorry it’s been a while, life has been busy. A question about AUs, since this is something I’m currently exploring:

If you were to create an Alternate Universe of your setting, what kind of setting would it be? What changes would you make for you characters to fit?

Hi Aqua (@aquadestinyswriting), thank you for this thought-provoking ask! And no worries <3 Life is life, and it gets us all! I'm always psyched to see you on my blog. To the moots, if you aren't familiar with the fantastic Aqua yet and/or you love the Titan Fighting Fantasy universe, go check out her Writeblr Masterpost for a complete overview of all her projects!

This is the question of the moment for The Sorcerer's Apprentice as I'm currently redesigning the universe. You couldn't have hit the nail more squarely on the head!! Previously, the story had been set in (1) a heavily UK-inspired high-fantasy macrocosm (á la Game of Thrones) and (2) a modern-day psychological horror version of a NYC Fifth Avenue apartment (á la Rosemary's Baby). In these previous universes, Valeriano and Altaluna were, respectively, a King and his heir, and an elderly socialite and his heir. However, since both these settings and their associated character roles eventually chafed against what I was looking to achieve with the story (aka. an exploration of the link between capitalism, colonialism, racism, and environmental disaster), I decided that this time I'd abandon all familiar formulas and rebuild the world from the ground up to highlight the broader social tensions that underlie Valeriano and Altaluna's relationship and, on a meta-narrative level, ensure that the aesthetics of the novel do not in any way reinforce or glorify the issues I'm attempting to criticize.

One of the biggest changes I've made in service of this goal is that I've taken the story completely out of the northern hemisphere. The geography, fauna & flora, religion and culture of the newly minted universe are all based on Colombia and Latin America more generally. In this way, I'm hoping that the novel itself will push back against the idea that our culture and environment are appealing, but only as the setting of a romantic weekend getaway or as the backdrop to a drug and/or human trafficking drama. I want to show that fantasy is possible here, too. That we can dream in our own terms. Furthermore, I want to undermine this general feeling that we (Colombians & Latin Americans more generally) have nothing to be proud of when compared to the US or countries in Europe. By highlighting and praising our architecture, food, natural diversity, and customs my aim is to chip away at that self-deprecating streak and all its associated myths (that we're poor because we're stupid, and lazy because we get too much sun) as much as I can. I would be really happy if my novel could help people see themselves and the world they live in, in a new more positive light...

Of course, this change in the setting/universe means changes for Valeriano and Altaluna as well. It would be tone-deaf to keep Valeriano as a King in a novel that is inspired by a region so heavily marked by the fight for independence from a monarchical society. For this reason, I'm leaning toward keeping the 'socialite' role he played in the Rosemary's Baby edition of The Sorcerer's Apprentice, with a few modifications. I'm actually thinking of using him to show how art can work to perpetuate colonial power (but more on that later! I still need to hash out some details). Similarly, Altaluna will be conserving her 'heir' role from the Rosemary's Baby edition, but with some of the more large-scale social movement/impact she had in the Game of Thrones rendition. If I can successfully adapt both Altaluna and Valeriano to this new universe, then their conflict should expand beyond a family drama into a commentary on the horrors colonialism enacts both on the oppressor and the oppressed (thank you, Discourse on Colonialism by Aime Cesaire for opening my eyes). If I'm really lucky, then maybe I'll be able to test possible solutions, like Babel by R.F. Kuang does (the solution there is violence, which is very Fanon adjacent).

Anyway, who knows. We'll see how it goes!

[whatisonthemoon]

'School Of The Americas' School For Training Assassins

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qtKHiqaQwN4

Related sites and notes below

Moonies offered to pay leaders of the Contras The Reinvention of the Latin American Right VOC, CAUSA & Moonie Anti-Communism in Central America in Bo Hi Pak’s Own Words On Albert Fujimori, Peru, and Puerto Rico: On Sterilization as a Tool of [Anti-Communist] Fascism and Neo-Colonialism John K. Singlaub, WACL Death Squad Leader, Dies at 100 CIA Used Sun Myung Moon and the Anti-Communist League as Proxy Forces to Liquidate Communists

The Magnificast podcast talks about the political Left and Christianity. Here’s their newest episode:

This week we’re back to talk through another of Tricontinental’s dossiers. This time we’re talking about fundamentalism and evangelicalism and how those theologies are connected to imperialism in Latin America. Read the dossier here: https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-59-religious-fundamentalism-and-imperialism-in-latin-america/

Bo Hi Pak - Did you join the Unification Church in February 1957 or February 1958?

In this text it is written that he received training at the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, future home of the School of the Americas, from 1956 to 1957. He also writes that soon after returning to Korea, in September 1957, he was invited into the staff of Maj. Gen. Willis S. Matthews, chief of the Korea Military Advisory Group. According to Pak, from September ‘57 to ‘59, he worked as the Special Assistant to Chief of U.S. Military Advisory Group in Seoul.   Though this mismatched timeline may seem like an innocent mistake, 1957-1958 was a huge year of development and growth for the Unification Church, and a pivotal time for Pak. If he had in fact joined the Unification Church in February 1957, a date he has often cited, including in court, he would have already been a member of the Unification Church by the time he was invited to work for KMAG. 

A glimpse into Bo Hi Pak’s military career

On Moon’s Political Network and their Deep Connections to Global Terrorism

[byfeldonscane]

We're back with another feature film– I mean video essay, and just in time for Christmas. In this video, Sara explores neo-colonialism in games. They'll be looking at everything from Call of Duty, to anti-war games like Spec Ops: The Line, all the way to the satirical Saints Row IV.

TW // Discussions and depictions of racism, Islamophobia, war and military conflict, blood and gore, and suicide

[jtoddring]

The Decline Of The US Empire & The Rising Star Of Mexico

I’ve written extensively and in depth, for decades, in two published books and over a thousand published articles, with tens of thousands of references, on the rapidly shifting state of the world, the causes and major factors and historical unfolding of these changes, what it all means and entails, and what we must do about it. The following brief set of thoughts is the most concise possible…

[melanesianews]

J.F. Kennedy - On, West Papua: It Is Time To Right Its Wrong

CIA was part of the Deep State. 1960s West Papua was sold off instead of being fine – tuned into a democratic proposition the West led by US can be pride of. But, the action incurred a reaction 61 years later. It was the UN’s pet project. Then nightmare. What happened? West Papua would have been 51 years a sovereign nation today with 10 years of self government from 1961, and in 1971,…

[kesarijournal]

The Great Global Gold Rush: A Tale of Tomatoes, Tumult, and Trade

As the world spins on its axis, the economic landscape seems to be spinning on a roulette wheel. The stakes are high, the bets are placed, and the croupier is none other than the unpredictable hand of geopolitics. Let’s start with the Russian bear, who, despite being poked and prodded with sanctions, has decided to dance to its own tune. The bear has found new dance partners in the Gulf (also…

[sissa-arrows]

Not the former French prime minister preparing his presidential campaign and saying “maybe we have to admit that Islam needs specific rules and laws in France.” He also said that the 1905 law is probably not enough to “address the specificities of Islam” and that soon “specific laws and organization imposing certain obligations on Muslims only” will have to be put in place in the country.

He is basically saying “laïcité” (the freedom of religion and the state minding its own business) should not be applied to Muslims because we shouldn’t have the same freedom as other religious people in France. We should be controlled by the government.

When I saw that we are treated like colonial subjects this is what I’m talking about. They refused to apply “laïcité” (secularism) in Algeria under colonialism because it allowed them to control the indigenous population more.

If you’re North African, Black or Brown in France, even if you are not Muslim it will affect you. The plan is to treat us like colonial subjects. Under colonialism legally the term “muslim” didn’t even designate actual Muslims but “all indigenous people in Algeria”. There was such a thing as being a “Muslim Christian” because Islam was racialized to the point where it was considered to be an ethnicity.

The article in French here

Edit: The guy was invited at la Fete de l’huma 😂 dude’s plan is segregating Muslims but he was invited at the left wing gathering of the year. I’m laughing so I don’t cry.

[tomorrowusa]

Putin's destruction of the Kakhovska dam in Ukraine adds to the climate emergency. Too much coverage of it ignores the environmental aspects of this act of desperation.

Overall, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is not just a genocidal act of aggression by an imperialist power headed by an unbalanced dictator. The invasion is an ongoing act of environmental war against Planet Earth.

The destruction of the Kakhovska dam has caused massive damage, flooding homes and habitats, killing animals, plants and insects en masse. It has contaminated water, washed away landmines and other explosive weapons, and posed a new threat to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. So far, evidence points strongly in favour of an explosion. The flooding has also impacted protected areas that are part of the transnational Emerald Network, including several national nature parks: Velykyi Luh (which remains illegally occupied by Russia), Kam’ianska Sich and Nyzhniodniprovskyi. This will severely damage biodiversity in Ukraine and contribute to the sixth mass extinction of species globally.

Ecocide is not yet an established part of international law. But it is part of Ukrainian law.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court does not list ecocide as an international crime, but it is part of Ukraine’s criminal code – and Ukraine can set an international precedent by holding Russia accountable for environmental harm.

We need to speak out more about the environmental calamity of Putin's invasion.

Environmental organisations globally must take urgent action in support of Ukraine and against Russian colonial violence. It is not enough to just lobby against fossil fuel extraction; we must recognise that the end of Russian imperialism is key to the struggle for climate justice. Ukrainian environmental activists have spoken about the increase in CO2 emissions caused by the Russian invasion. If climate emergency initiatives only remember Ukraine in relation to the global food crisis and crop shortages (the destruction of the Kakhovska dam has further damaged the country’s agricultural sector) or the impact the war has had on the global fossil fuel economy, but remain silent and inactive when Ukrainians are killed by flooding and shelling, they are complicit in Russia’s invasion.

While there's not yet a specific international law on ecocide, there are currently some aspects of the law which could hold Putin and his henchmen accountable for several acts which have affected the environment.

Here is Article 56 (Sections 1 & 2) of Protocol I of 1977 to the Geneva Conventions 1949.

Clearly the destruction of the dam at Kakhovka is covered. So is the vandalism, theft, and destruction at the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Though it's likely that some of the Russian occupiers who camped out at Chernobyl last year may have already died of radiation sickness. Yes, Moscow has had a hand in Europe's two worst environmental disasters of the past 40 years.

Although the culprits may currently be inaccessible, there's plenty of evidence to launch investigations prior to prosecution. Putin and his accomplices must never again be able to live normal lives.

[alexanderpoliticalanimal]

Jamaica, The Global South And The Brave New World

Jamaica, The Global South And The Brave New World

The Russian military operation in Ukraine has shaken the existing world order to its core. We are living in the times as described by Yates in his brilliant poem The Second Coming, the center no longer holds, and we nervously await the actions of a beast now awoken from its slumber. As in the days of Yeats when he wrote this, the center represents the old established order – in his day Pax…

[decolonize-the-left]

Sound familiar?

"After the First World War, the map of Europe was re-drawn and several new countries were formed. As a result of this, three million Germans found themselves now living in part of Czechoslovakia.

When Adolf Hitler came to power, he wanted to unite all Germans into one nation.

In September 1938 he turned his attention to the three million Germans living in part of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland. Sudeten Germans began protests and provoked violence from the Czech police. Hitler claimed that 300 Sudeten Germans had been killed. This was not actually the case, but Hitler used it as an excuse to place German troops along the Czech border.

Things that happened in September 1938:

Sept 7. On instructions from Hitler, Konrad Henlein broke off negotiations with the Czech government. Allegations of Czech police brutality at Moravská Ostrava were used as an excuse

Sept 7. A famously controversial editorial appeared in The Times which recommended giving Hitler what he wanted because "the advantages to Czechoslovakia of becoming a homogenous State might conceivably outweigh the obvious disadvantages of losing the Sudeten German districts of the borderland."

Sept 13. French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier asked Neville Chamberlain (leader of Czechoslovakia) to make the best deal he could with Hitler.

Sept 20. The Czechoslovak government rejected the Anglo-French proposal in a note explaining that acceptance would mean that Czechoslovakia would be put "sooner or later under the complete domination of Germany."

Sept 20. Hitler met with the Polish ambassador Józef Lipski and told him that Germany would support Poland in a conflict with Czechoslovakia over Teschen. Hitler also said he was considering shipping Europe's Jews to a colony (Israel, a colony for Europe's displaced Jewish population would be established in 1948) and expressed hope that Poland would cooperate with such a plan. Lipski replied that if Hitler could solve the Jewish question, the Poles would build a monument to him in Warsaw

September 26. In the Berlin Sportpalast, Hitler made a speech threatening Czechoslovakia with war. "My patience is exhausted", Hitler declared. "If Beneš does not want peace we will have to take matters into our own hands.

Sept 27th. The French government announced that France would not enter a war purely over Czechoslovakia. Neville Chamberlain gave a radio address saying, "However much we may sympathize with a small nation confronted by a big and powerful neighbor, we cannot in all circumstances undertake to involve the whole British Empire in a war simply on her account. If we have to fight it must be on larger issues than that

Sept 27. President Franklin Roosevelt writes to German Chancellor Adolf Hitler regarding the threat of war in Europe. The German chancellor had been threatening to invade the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia and, in the letter, his second to Hitler in as many days, Roosevelt reiterated the need to find a peaceful resolution to the issue.

Sept 29. German Führer Adolf Hitler, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier and Italian Duce Benito Mussolini met in Munich to settle the Sudetenland crisis. Czechoslovakia was not invited, neither was the Soviet Union.

Sept 30. Munich Agreement: At 1 a.m., the four powers at Munich agreed that Czechoslovakia would cede the Sudetenland to Germany by October 10. The territorial integrity of the rest of Czechoslovakia was guaranteed by all signatories. Neville Chamberlain flew back to Britain and declared "peace for our time"

I think we all deeply need to reconsider what we were taught about WW2. The allies who "saved" everyone from Hitler's camps are also the Same People who allowed him to get so much power in the first place.

Closer looks at these histories show they had their own motives for allowing it just like Biden does today. FDR & Biden are actually mirroring each other really well considering they're separated by time and death. FDR was pleading and asking Hitler to please stop doing war until Pearl Harbor cuz they had a good relationship like that :) Yeah, so all he really did up to that point was play arms dealer for France and Britain because he didn't wanna jeopardize his relationship with Germany by Directly getting involved.

Yeah.

See what I said about it sounding familiar?

And can I remind y'all that Hitler didn't start by saying he hated Jewish people. No.

You know what his plan was at first? A "Greater Germany" that would unify Germans across the territories that Germany was forced to concede after WW1.

.....Y'all remember this image?

Fascists and dictators and warmongers come in all shapes, sizes and belief systems, but you can always recognize a Fascist Supremacist by the thinly veiled expansion genocide being done in the name of their people. And the guys who help them are always trying to gaslight you about how things are "It's not that bad"

All this to say: get the fuck up and make sure history doesn't keep repeating itself because it's starting to

Y'all are sitting there asking how the Holocaust could happen and Palestinians are asking why nobody is fucking doing anything.

These are related questions.

Get up and do something. Yeah it is crazy that you're going to work when a genocide is happening...so don't!!! So many people are scared of losing their comfort because of what MIGHT happen if it's for nothing, but I'm BEGGING y'all to ask yourselves what headlines you'd rather read about the 1930's-40's and make those real.

"Mob storms parliament, stops the Munich Agreement," "Citizens of (anywhere) create Organization to protect Jewish, Black, and Homosexual peers in opposition to state sponsored violence. Quote: These are my neighbors and Nazis can't have them." "Meet the University Students who chased Nazis off campus." "'We Couldn't Do Nothing' say arrested group of women who beat a Gestapo officer with a clothing iron." "'If they can't afford us, they can't afford war': How global strikes and the lack of scabs are changing the the future of war" "'I'm afraid to Sleep' American Nazis restless after serial arsonist publishes their addresses in the paper"

Germans literally tried to assassinate Hitler. Like several times. We need to step it up.

There are SO MANY things we can do if we can just agree that none of us will be doing them alone! You are NOT powerless to stop this war just because you aren't in Palestine!!!

[whatisonthemoon]

Information on the racist, imperialist, counterinsurgency sterilization project in Peru funded by the United States and the Sasakawa Foundation

More info:  Sasakawa Foundation Linked to Peruvian Sterilizations On Albert Fujimori, Peru, and Puerto Rico: On Sterilization as a Tool of [Anti-Communist] Fascism and Neo-Colonialism

[sorrysomethingwentwrong]

Chavis Mármol's Neo-Tamene (from the series)

Sculptor Chavis Mármol has never owned a car, but that’s never inhibited his drive. Earlier this month, the 42-year-old Mexico City-based artist (who travels largely by bicycle) dropped a nine-ton replica of an Olmec head onto the roof of a blue Tesla Model 3.

The car was donated by Colima 71,, a boutique hotel in Mexico City.

The work is a mix of humor and criticism that explores the Mexican pre-Hispanic past from a Western neo-colonial perspective.

All photos by and courtesy the artist

[jtoddring]

Why The Globalist Technocracy Will Fail

The globalist corporate elite have announced their plans for the world, via the WEF, the World Economic Forum’s publicly released vision for 2030, among other venues. Their plan is most accurately described as a global neo-colonial imperialist project of consolidating and further centralizing all power, all wealth, and all ownership, in their hands. It is a hybrid global system they are pushing…