These people are U.S.-centric to the core. They think that the U.S. alone can start or end every conflict on the planet. Therefore, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is in reality a U.S. invasion of Russia.
David Corn of Mother Jones tried to engage Greenwald/Taibbi on apologizing for authoritarian regimes. It went about as you'd expect. I guess, as a journalist, Corn feels he can't write 'They're bad faith actors'.
The psychology of true-believer neotankies is bonkers. But the psycho-drama surrounding neotank media figures... is InfoWars-level bonkers. Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, Aaron Maté, Max Blumenthal, all the hangers-on at The Grayzone, etc... taken together, they deserve a podcast like Knowledge Fight.
The Nicaraguan-bus-ride Blumenthal-Ben Norton catfight about Patreon earnings? Glenn Greenwald's fawning interview of "disturbingly handsome... soulful" Alex Jones about Jones' Sandy Hook "mistakes"? Blumenthal's early career where he 'spoke truth to power' to his own employers? He resigned from the Al-Akhbar newspaper for their pro-Assad stance. He lost a lot of opportunites w/left-leaning but somewhat-pro-Israel media in the US after publishing 'Goliath'. And then made an amazing about-face after his paid gig at RT's 10th Anniversary shindig. Taibbi's 'Me Too' blowback experience that seemed to trash an amazing writing career... but put him in position to become the 'access journalist' he used to despise: "Once you start getting handed things... you've lost. They have you..."
Are these guys Arendt's totalitarian/authoritarian educators "The aim of totalitarian education has never been to instill convictions but to destroy the capacity to form any"?
Or businessmen who've found a way to monetize grievances?
Excellent article. But I think there is a nuance that is missed in that there is also what I call the 'tankie-lite' philosophy.
I think there are a lot of people out there who wouldn't for a second deny atrocities being committed but still they will maintain that the west has acted provocatively and should seek 'peace' with Putin.
They are incapable of discussing Ukraine without whatabouting Iraq and understanding that the Middle East and Europe are two entirely separate topics. They think 'yes Putin is bad but are we really much better?' They can't think about countries defending themselves without the evils of the 'military industrial complex'.
Two public examples of this are Jeffrey Sachs and Simon Jenkins (unless they have indulged in atrocity denial I'm unaware of as well!)
Great, once again, Neil. Some notes: all the X accounts you cited are "blue checked" 😌; also some of these neotankiefascists go happily to Iran because... Well.. Of everything you wrote; the disgraced Waters was, of course, from pink Floyd not the who (but I suggest you leave it like that because it will infuriate him more than being called a neotankie).
The problem with some so-called leftists is that they blame liberals for what the fascists are doing — not realizing that they are enabling the very same fascists. Even worse, they form coalitions with libertarians and right-wing populists to oppose aid to Ukraine, all the while claiming to be working for peace. Leftists used to consider themselves internationalists, but now march in lockstep with isolationists to appease fascists. Go figure.
Thanks I will :) Because I can't find it if you talked about it (you may have)
I am complete agreement about these people but what are your thoughts on the tendency to blame Biden (and now Kamala) to the degree of refusing to vote for them on this one issue, since geopolitics is complex and there's some evidence of other countries training and funding Hamas?
It's upsetting me as a woman with daughters and an ally to people of color and LBGTQ people because we also have to think of us, in my opinion.
I understand their anger. I understand their frustration. But let’s face it: Even if one believes that a Trump administration would be no worse than a Biden/Harris one on Israel/Palestine—and I do think it would be worse—there is far too much at stake to sit this election out. Sure, a lot of people, namely white/cis/hetero men with US citizenship, will probably be fine under a second Trump administration. But anyone who doesn’t fall into that category (not to mention 40-odd million Ukrainians) may very well not be fine and is in fact in real danger. To not vote because of US policy toward Israel is, in my humble opinion, the height of self-absorbed privilege and puts millions of real people at risk. So, yeah, my stance is: vote, goddamn it. Thanks for reading and for your thoughts; I appreciate it!
—Solidarity Between Ukrainian and Russian Workers!
—US Military Out of Europe!
—Abolish NATO!
—No Sanctions and No Censorship!
—Workers of the World Unite!
______________________
The equation is simple. Russia, the historic oppressor of the Ukrainian people for 300 years, is an imperialist power engaged in a colonialist invasion of an oppressed semicolonial nation.
The character of the Ukrainian government is immaterial to those facts. And whether Ukraine is backed by the imperialist rivals of Russian imperialism for their own purposes does negate the right of the Ukrainian people to self-determination and self-defense.
I stand with Lenin and the historic position of Marxism in defense of the oppressed, and with the working class of Ukraine and Russia, against Tsar Putin and the Russian imperialist invasion.
I celebrate the defeat of US imperialism and Israel by Iran. That is a victory for working people and the oppressed the world over, and a victory for working people within the United States. This is the biggest defeat of Trump and may help stall his authoritarian attacks on working people.
For the same reason the defeat of the Putin invasion would be a victory for the Ukrainian working class, to be able to better fight against the Ukrainian capitalists, and a gift to the working class and oppressed of Russia by weakening the anti-communist Putin regime and Russian imperialism.
…"No democrat, let alone a socialist, will venture to deny the complete legitimacy of the Ukraine’s demands. And no democrat can deny the Ukraine’s right to freely secede from Russia. Only unqualified recognition of this right makes it possible to advocate a free union of the Ukrainians and the Great Russians, a voluntary association of the two peoples in one state. Only unqualified recognition of this right can actually break completely and irrevocably with the accursed tsarist past, when everything was done to bring about a mutual estrangement of the two peoples so close to each other in language, territory, character and history. 𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙢 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙍𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙠𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙗𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙐𝙠𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙚.
Russia’s revolutionary democrats, if they want to be truly revolutionary and truly democratic, must break with that past, must regain for themselves, for the workers and peasants of Russia, the brotherly trust of the Ukrainian workers and peasants. This cannot be done without full recognition of the Ukraine’s rights, including the right to free secession.
We do not favour the existence of small states. We stand for the closest union of the workers of the world against “their own” capitalists and those of all other countries. But for this union to be voluntary, the Russian worker, who does not for a moment trust The Russian or the Ukrainian bourgeoisie in anything, now stands for the right of the Ukrainians to secede, without imposing his friendship upon them, but striving to win their friendship by treating them as an equal, as an ally and brother in the struggle for socialism.”
The neotankist worldview requires doublethink: simultaneously being an avowed anti-imperialist, and supporting the last remaining old-fashioned empires, Russia, China and Iran
I restacked this very good piece til I got to the bit about American Hamas supporters having got that bit right. No mention of the Oct. 7 victims, the fact that Palestinians overwhelmingly support Hamas, or how you believe Israel should behave following the barbaric Oct. 7 attack. In what world is a two state solution even plausible anymore?
These people are U.S.-centric to the core. They think that the U.S. alone can start or end every conflict on the planet. Therefore, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is in reality a U.S. invasion of Russia.
Exactly.
David Corn of Mother Jones tried to engage Greenwald/Taibbi on apologizing for authoritarian regimes. It went about as you'd expect. I guess, as a journalist, Corn feels he can't write 'They're bad faith actors'.
https://link.motherjones.com/public/35592388
The psychology of true-believer neotankies is bonkers. But the psycho-drama surrounding neotank media figures... is InfoWars-level bonkers. Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, Aaron Maté, Max Blumenthal, all the hangers-on at The Grayzone, etc... taken together, they deserve a podcast like Knowledge Fight.
The Nicaraguan-bus-ride Blumenthal-Ben Norton catfight about Patreon earnings? Glenn Greenwald's fawning interview of "disturbingly handsome... soulful" Alex Jones about Jones' Sandy Hook "mistakes"? Blumenthal's early career where he 'spoke truth to power' to his own employers? He resigned from the Al-Akhbar newspaper for their pro-Assad stance. He lost a lot of opportunites w/left-leaning but somewhat-pro-Israel media in the US after publishing 'Goliath'. And then made an amazing about-face after his paid gig at RT's 10th Anniversary shindig. Taibbi's 'Me Too' blowback experience that seemed to trash an amazing writing career... but put him in position to become the 'access journalist' he used to despise: "Once you start getting handed things... you've lost. They have you..."
Are these guys Arendt's totalitarian/authoritarian educators "The aim of totalitarian education has never been to instill convictions but to destroy the capacity to form any"?
Or businessmen who've found a way to monetize grievances?
Excellent article. But I think there is a nuance that is missed in that there is also what I call the 'tankie-lite' philosophy.
I think there are a lot of people out there who wouldn't for a second deny atrocities being committed but still they will maintain that the west has acted provocatively and should seek 'peace' with Putin.
They are incapable of discussing Ukraine without whatabouting Iraq and understanding that the Middle East and Europe are two entirely separate topics. They think 'yes Putin is bad but are we really much better?' They can't think about countries defending themselves without the evils of the 'military industrial complex'.
Two public examples of this are Jeffrey Sachs and Simon Jenkins (unless they have indulged in atrocity denial I'm unaware of as well!)
Yep. Mearsheimer, Bessner, even Stephen Walt (minus the hysterics about the military-industrial complex)
A lot of these “tankie-lite” folks featured in my previous piece here: https://open.substack.com/pub/thedetox/p/enough-with-the-idiotic-statements?r=fnbr&utm_medium=ios
I encountered two just today
Great, once again, Neil. Some notes: all the X accounts you cited are "blue checked" 😌; also some of these neotankiefascists go happily to Iran because... Well.. Of everything you wrote; the disgraced Waters was, of course, from pink Floyd not the who (but I suggest you leave it like that because it will infuriate him more than being called a neotankie).
Thanks again, Alexandre! Boy, that was a howler for the ages. It has been duly corrected.
The problem with some so-called leftists is that they blame liberals for what the fascists are doing — not realizing that they are enabling the very same fascists. Even worse, they form coalitions with libertarians and right-wing populists to oppose aid to Ukraine, all the while claiming to be working for peace. Leftists used to consider themselves internationalists, but now march in lockstep with isolationists to appease fascists. Go figure.
💯
Love this article
I have questions about your thoughts on some things
But I will look at your other articles first in case you already discussed them
Thanks and no worries—feel free to ask!
Thanks I will :) Because I can't find it if you talked about it (you may have)
I am complete agreement about these people but what are your thoughts on the tendency to blame Biden (and now Kamala) to the degree of refusing to vote for them on this one issue, since geopolitics is complex and there's some evidence of other countries training and funding Hamas?
It's upsetting me as a woman with daughters and an ally to people of color and LBGTQ people because we also have to think of us, in my opinion.
I feel they are putting us in danger.
I understand their anger. I understand their frustration. But let’s face it: Even if one believes that a Trump administration would be no worse than a Biden/Harris one on Israel/Palestine—and I do think it would be worse—there is far too much at stake to sit this election out. Sure, a lot of people, namely white/cis/hetero men with US citizenship, will probably be fine under a second Trump administration. But anyone who doesn’t fall into that category (not to mention 40-odd million Ukrainians) may very well not be fine and is in fact in real danger. To not vote because of US policy toward Israel is, in my humble opinion, the height of self-absorbed privilege and puts millions of real people at risk. So, yeah, my stance is: vote, goddamn it. Thanks for reading and for your thoughts; I appreciate it!
I have a friend in Kiev too so all this breaks my heart
Thank you so much for validating my frustration and, yes, anger about this. I really appreciate it.
China boosted the Gaza war crimes videos heavily on TikTok, to make sure Trump would win the election and bring about and end to the USA’s hegemony
I mean Palestine/Gaza of course
—Russia Out of Ukraine!
—Solidarity Between Ukrainian and Russian Workers!
—US Military Out of Europe!
—Abolish NATO!
—No Sanctions and No Censorship!
—Workers of the World Unite!
______________________
The equation is simple. Russia, the historic oppressor of the Ukrainian people for 300 years, is an imperialist power engaged in a colonialist invasion of an oppressed semicolonial nation.
The character of the Ukrainian government is immaterial to those facts. And whether Ukraine is backed by the imperialist rivals of Russian imperialism for their own purposes does negate the right of the Ukrainian people to self-determination and self-defense.
I stand with Lenin and the historic position of Marxism in defense of the oppressed, and with the working class of Ukraine and Russia, against Tsar Putin and the Russian imperialist invasion.
I celebrate the defeat of US imperialism and Israel by Iran. That is a victory for working people and the oppressed the world over, and a victory for working people within the United States. This is the biggest defeat of Trump and may help stall his authoritarian attacks on working people.
For the same reason the defeat of the Putin invasion would be a victory for the Ukrainian working class, to be able to better fight against the Ukrainian capitalists, and a gift to the working class and oppressed of Russia by weakening the anti-communist Putin regime and Russian imperialism.
_____________________
"𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙢 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙍𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙠𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙗𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙐𝙠𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙚."
V. I. Lenin
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗸𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲
First published in Pravda No. 82, June 28 (15), 1917
https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/jun/28.htm
…"No democrat, let alone a socialist, will venture to deny the complete legitimacy of the Ukraine’s demands. And no democrat can deny the Ukraine’s right to freely secede from Russia. Only unqualified recognition of this right makes it possible to advocate a free union of the Ukrainians and the Great Russians, a voluntary association of the two peoples in one state. Only unqualified recognition of this right can actually break completely and irrevocably with the accursed tsarist past, when everything was done to bring about a mutual estrangement of the two peoples so close to each other in language, territory, character and history. 𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙢 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙍𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙠𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙗𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙐𝙠𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙚.
Russia’s revolutionary democrats, if they want to be truly revolutionary and truly democratic, must break with that past, must regain for themselves, for the workers and peasants of Russia, the brotherly trust of the Ukrainian workers and peasants. This cannot be done without full recognition of the Ukraine’s rights, including the right to free secession.
We do not favour the existence of small states. We stand for the closest union of the workers of the world against “their own” capitalists and those of all other countries. But for this union to be voluntary, the Russian worker, who does not for a moment trust The Russian or the Ukrainian bourgeoisie in anything, now stands for the right of the Ukrainians to secede, without imposing his friendship upon them, but striving to win their friendship by treating them as an equal, as an ally and brother in the struggle for socialism.”
The neotankist worldview requires doublethink: simultaneously being an avowed anti-imperialist, and supporting the last remaining old-fashioned empires, Russia, China and Iran
I restacked this very good piece til I got to the bit about American Hamas supporters having got that bit right. No mention of the Oct. 7 victims, the fact that Palestinians overwhelmingly support Hamas, or how you believe Israel should behave following the barbaric Oct. 7 attack. In what world is a two state solution even plausible anymore?