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“The Cross is not a Roman pole, but the wood on which God wrote his gospel”.
“La Croce non è un palo dei romani, ma il legno su cui Dio ha scritto il suo vangelo.
(Alda Merini)
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Good Friday is an anniversary which in Sicily acquires a cathartic meaning for those who are searching, not only photographically, for popular traditions (we find them widespread throughout Sicily), which are nothing other than a social, cultural event, which merge into a single past and present; from the web "popular traditions are a historical memory linked to customs and rituals that have given shape to the values and beliefs of that culture". Easter in Sicily can be a source of research, it can appear not without contradictions, citing the thoughts of that great Sicilian thinker Leonardo Sciascia, for him Sicily cannot be called Christian referring to the Sicilian festivals, at most it is only in appearance, in those properly pagan explosions tolerated by the Church; Sciascia addresses the topic as an introductory essay in the book "Religious celebrations in Sicily", illustrated with photographs of a young and still unknown Ferdinando Scianna, a book that did not fail to raise some controversy due to the Sicilian thinker's introductory note, thus being in open controversy with the sacredness of that popular Sicilian devotion (the book was criticized by the Holy See newspaper, the Osservatore Romano), Sciascia writes: “what is a religious festival in Sicily? It would be easy to answer that it is anything but a religious holiday. It is, first of all, an existential explosion; the explosion of the collective id, where the collectivity exists only at the level of the id. Since it is only during the celebration that the Sicilian emerges from his condition of a single man, which is the condition of his vigilant and painful superego, to find himself part of a class, of a class, of a city". Another Sicilian thinker, writer and poet, Gesualdo Bufalino, provides interesting indications on the meaning that Sicilians give to these traditional popular events, he says "during Easter every Sicilian feels not only a spectator, but an actor, first sorrowful and then exultant , for a Mystery that is its very existence. The time of the event is that of Spring, the season of metamorphosis, just as the very nature of the rite is metamorphic in which, as in a story from the Puppet Opera, the battle of Good against Evil is fought. Deception, Pain and Triumph, Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ are present."
In short, Easter in Sicily is a deeply felt anniversary throughout the island since ancient times, it has always had as its fulcrum the emotional participation of the people, with representations and processions which have become rites and traditions which unequivocally characterize numerous Sicilian centres, which they recall the most salient moments narrated in the Gospels and which recall the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, with processions formed by the various brotherhoods (sometimes with theatrical re-enactments) which have within them contents and symbols often coming from the Spanish domination, which took place in Sicily between the 16th and 17th centuries. This year, on the occasion of Good Friday I went to the pretty town of Licodia Eubea (in the province of Catania), I'll start by saying that in this procession a unique character comes to life in statue form that cannot be found anywhere else place in Sicily, it is called "Ciurciddu" (translated "Circello"), he pulls Christ with a rope tied around his neck while he carries the Cross, this bad character has a profound symbolic-allegorical meaning, he represents "the Evil that exists in the world, the refusal towards the Truth announced by Christ", causing him suffering by pulling him with the rope tied around his neck. The boys and men "carriers of the floats" gather together, preparing for the moment when, once the procession has begun, the "'a Giunta" will take place around 10:00 a.m., or rather the very painful "encounter" between Christ ( who carries the Cross, linked to Ciurciddu) and His Mother of Sorrows (with her heart pierced by a sword, an iconic image of Spanish origin), during the meeting "the bow or greeting takes place" between the two floats, it is the Greeting that Mother and Son do in one of the most characteristic moments of this procession. While the two vares are brought to an ancient church, another event takes place which strongly characterizes this tradition, the "auction of the Cross" takes place, the ability to carry the Cross, weighing 70 kg, on one's shoulder, up to Churc of Calvary (a long uphill journey to reach the upper part of the town), is put up for auction, the highest bidder wins this possibility, after which an extraordinary event occurs: the devotee who wins the auction is embraced by numerous villagers, with great transport and affection, this is because those who participate in the auction certainly do so out of devotion but also possibly because they have had someone in their family with more or less serious health problems, and this is why people hug them and encourage them by showing their closeness . In the afternoon the procession resumes, now the Christ is dead, he is in the vara with the Urn, and is called "'u Signuri' a cascia" (by which term means "the Lord in the coffin"), the two vare (the dead Christ and His Mother of Sorrows) are carried in procession up to the Church of Calvary, where the heavy and ancient Cross carried on the shoulder by the devotee was hoisted; here, even if Christ is dead, the Crucifixion takes place , the mystical moment is accompanied by ancient songs-lamentations by the singers of the SS association. Crucifix; subsequently Christ is placed from the Cross in the urn, and descends back into the center of the town, where in the church of the Capuchin Fathers the devout people "make peace with the Lord", an act of reconciliation and request for forgiveness before the figure of Christ Died. Subsequently, late in the evening, Christ and his Mother are led into the Mother Church.
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Il Venerdì Santo è una ricorrenza che in Sicilia acquista un significato catartico per chi è alla ricerca, non solo fotografica, delle tradizioni popolari (le troviamo diffuse in tutta la Sicilia), che altro non sono che un evento sociale, culturale, che fondono in un tutt’uno passato e presente; dal web “le tradizioni popolari sono una memoria storica legata ad usanze e ritualità che hanno dato forma ai valori e alle credenze di quella cultura”. La Pasqua in Sicilia può essere fonte di ricerca, essa può apparire non priva di contraddizioni, citando il pensiero di quel grande pensatore Siciliano che fu Leonardo Sciascia, per lui la Sicilia non può dirsi cristiana riferendosi alle feste Siciliane, al massimo lo è solo in apparenza, in quelle esplosioni propriamente pagane, tollerate dalla Chiesa; Sciascia affronta l’argomento come saggio introduttivo nel libro “Feste religiose in Sicilia”, illustrato con fotografie di un giovane ed ancora sconosciuto Ferdinando Scianna, libro che non mancò di sollevare qualche polemica per la nota introduttiva del pensatore Siciliano, essendo così in aperta polemica con la sacralità di quella devozione popolare Siciliana (il libro fu oggetto di una stroncatura da parte del quotidiano della Santa Sede, l’Osservatore Romano), Sciascia scrive: “che cos’ è una festa religiosa in Sicilia? Sarebbe facile rispondere che è tutto, tranne che una festa religiosa. E’, innanzi tutto, un’esplosione esistenziale; l’esplosione dell’es collettivo, dove la collettività esiste soltanto a livello dell’es. Poiché e soltanto nella festa che il siciliano esce dalla sua condizione di uomo solo, che è poi la condizione del suo vigile e doloroso super io, per ritrovarsi parte di un ceto, di una classe, di una città ”. Altro pensatore, scrittore e poeta Siciliano, Gesualdo Bufalino, fornisce indicazioni interessanti sul senso che i Siciliani danno a questi eventi popolari tradizionali, egli dice “durante la Pasqua ogni siciliano si sente non solo uno spettatore, ma un attore, prima dolente e poi esultante, per un Mistero che è la sua stessa esistenza. Il tempo dell’evento è quello della Primavera, la stagione della metamorfosi, così come metamorfica è la natura stessa del rito nel quale, come in un racconto dell’Opera dei Pupi, si combatte la lotta del Bene contro il Male. Sono presenti l’Inganno, il Dolore e il Trionfo, la Passione, la Morte e la Resurrezione di Cristo”.
In breve, la Pasqua in Sicilia è una ricorrenza profondamente sentita in tutta l’isola fin dall’antichità, essa ha sempre avuto come fulcro la commossa partecipazione del popolo, con rappresentazioni e processioni divenuti riti e tradizioni che caratterizzano inequivocabilmente numerosissimi centri Siciliani, che rievocano i momenti più salienti narrati nei Vangeli e che ricordano la Passione, la Morte e la Resurrezione di Gesù Cristo, con cortei formati dalle varie confraternite (a volte con rievocazioni teatrali) che hanno in se contenuti e simbologie spesso provenienti dalla dominazione Spagnola, avvenuta in Sicilia tra il XVI ed il XVII secolo.
Quest’anno, in occasione del Venerdì Santo mi sono recato nel grazioso paese di Licodia Eubea (in provincia di Catania), inizio col dire che in questa processione prende vita, in forma statuaria, un personaggio unico che non si trova in nessun’altro luogo della Sicilia, si chiama “Ciurciddu” (tradotto “Circello”), egli tira con una corda legata al collo il Cristo mentre porta la Croce, questo tristo personaggio ha un profondo significato simbolico-allegorico, egli rappresenta “il Male che c’è nel mondo, il rifuto verso al Verità annunciata dal Cristo”, creandogli sofferenza tirandolo con la corda legata al collo. I ragazzi e gli uomini “portatori delle vare” si riuniscono tra loro, preparandosi al momento in cui, iniziata la processione, si realizzerà attorno alle ore 10:00 “ ‘a Giunta”, ovvero “l’incontro” dolorosissimo tra il Cristo (che porta la Croce, legato a Ciurciddu) e Sua Madre l’Addolorata (col cuore trafitto da una spada, immagine iconica di origine spagnola), durante l’incontro “avviene l’inchino o saluto” tra le due vare, è il Saluto che Madre e Figlio si fanno in uno dei momenti più caratteristici di questa processione. Mentre le due vare vengono portate in una antica chiesa, avviene un altro evento che caratterizza fortemente questa tradizione, ha luogo “l’asta della Croce”, il poter portare in spalla la Croce, del peso di 70 kg, fino alla Chiesa del Calvario (un lungo percorso in salita a raggiungere la parte alta del paese), viene messo all’asta, il maggiore offerente si aggiudica questa possibilità, dopodiché avviene un fatto straordinario: il devoto che si è aggiudicato l’asta viene abbracciato da numerosissimi paesani, con grande trasporto ed affetto, questo perché chi partecipa all’asta lo fa certamente per devozione ma anche possibilmente perché in famiglia ha avuto qualcuno con problemi più o meno gravi di salute, ed è per questo che le persone lo abbracciano e lo incoraggiano mostrandogli la loro vicinanza. Nel pomeriggio riprende la processione, adesso il Cristo è morto, si trova nella vara con l’Urna, ed è chiamato “ ‘ u Signuri ‘ a cascia” (col quale termine si intende “il Signore nella cassa da morto”), le due vare (il Cristo morto e Sua Madre l’Addolorata) vengono portate in processione fin sopra la Chiesa del Calvario, dove la pesante ed antica Croce portata in spalla dal devoto è stata issata, qui, anche se il Cristo è morto, avviene la Crocifissione, il mistico momento è accompagnato da antichi canti-lamentazioni ad opera dei cantori dell’associazione SS. Crocifisso; successivamente il Cristo viene deposto dalla Croce nell’urna, e ridiscende nel centro del paese, ove nella chiesa dei Padri Cappuccini il popolo dei devoti “ fa ‘ a Paci co’ Signuri”, atto di riconciliazione e richiesta di perdono innanzi la figura del Cristo Morto. Successivamente, in tarda serata, il Cristo e Sua Madre vengono condotti nella Chiesa Madre.
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...the lack of all existential problems.
The dynamic scale that only the next moment can give you...
My wife in a hotel room in Prague, Czech Republic, 2005
Copyright © Ioannis Lelakis.
All rights reserved.
The Existential Threat of Ultra-Billionaires. prospect.org/power/2025-03-25-existential-threat-ultra-bi...
Was Sartre right? As a pensioner I bought the cheapest deodorant to save enough to buy eggs. Never again; the smell is indescribably awful. So, even this malodorous coverup was better than other people in Sartre's time? Existential Old Spice!
There is no society that doesn’t run on greed {Milton Friedman}
My opinion:
Greed within reason, in moderation, not too little, not too much, just to meet your existential needs, is good when it benefits the whole team, group, nation and works for the benefit of all participants contribution to the greatest good for the greatest number
We should be greedy for right knowledge, right understanding, right wisdom and justice, in other words, we should be greedy enough to get us out of bed in the early hours of morning to go to work and earn a living to pay bills without to rob the state or others
We should not be greedy for bloodshed, senseless massacres, raping and molesting kids etc like Putin and partners in crimes
We should never be as greedy as Putin & mates to meet evil desires at the expenses of others’ lives, killing anyone to grab their land, properties, belongings, livelihoods and aspirations; this type of greed is unacceptable in a civilised world and must be eliminated
World institutions aren’t equipped to deal with corrupt evil criminals like Putin, they can’t be removed from power no matter how sick they become medically, mentally or spiritually; Xi Jinping's medical and mental condition will decline and disintegrate with age yet because of his tenure to permanent power he will be in a position to call the shots no matter how crippled he becomes by age related diseases; the fact that this is happening is really a grave cause for concern
Whatever a despot like Putin does on his own territory may well be his business but once he invades and kill people of neighbouring friendly countries to rob their land, it becomes everybody’s business including Biden’s, he should be arrested, detained, treated, rehabilitated and exiled like Napoleon Bonaparte was, but should never be allowed to govern ever again; loose cannons are threats to world peace and security and should be removed from office by an international body made up of top incorruptible, impartial high court judges from around the globe
Tell me, enigmatic man, whom do you love best?
Your father, your mother, your sister or your brother?
I have no father, no mother, no sister, no brother.
Your friends?
You are using a word whose meaning is still unknown to me to this very day.
Your homeland?
I don't know under what latitude it's located.
What about Beauty?
I would love her gladly, goddess and immortal.
And Gold?
I hate it as much as you hate God.
Well, What do you love then, extraordinary stranger?
I love the clouds ... the passing clouds... over there ... over there ...
the marvelous clouds!
_______________Charles Beaudelaire
Qui aimes-tu le mieux, homme énigmatique, dis?
Ton père, ta mère, ta sœur ou ton frère? -
Je n'ai ni père, ni mère, ni sœur, ni frère.
Tes amis?
Vous vous servez là d'une parole dont le sens m'est resté jusqu'à ce jour inconnu.
Ta patrie?
J'ignore sous quelle latitude elle est située.
La beauté?
Je l'aimerais volontiers, déesse et immortelle.
L'or?
Je le hais comme vous haïssez Dieu.
Eh! qu'aimes-tu donc, extraordinaire étranger?
J'aime les nuages... les nuages qui passent... là-bas... là-bas...
les merveilleux nuages!
Now that the war of aggression against Iran has failed, the U.S. regime and the Netanyahu junta are planning to attack Iran with nuclear weapons and then restore the U.S. empire’s “humanitarian” image
April 2, 2026, Rainer Shea ☭ –
linkezeitung.de/2026/04/02/der-plan-den-iran-mit-atomwaff...
This week, UN Secretary-General Mohamad Safa resigned from his post to inform the world that Washington is seriously considering a nuclear attack on Iran. We must take this threat very seriously and confront the apocalyptic suffering that Zionism and imperialism have already inflicted on the people of the region during this war.
The worst-case scenario has already come to pass for all the people in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, and Iran whom Washington has murdered in the last few weeks alone. In light of these mass crimes and the plans for a nuclear holocaust, we must recognize how desperately our enemies are now acting. This is not the posture of a self-assured empire, but rather Washington’s behavior after Iran has deprived it of the possibility of subjugation. The Axis of Resistance has so weakened US military power in West Asia that foreign policymakers now harbor a deep desire to repeat Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Whether they will actually do so is difficult to predict. Looking at the history of imperialists facing existential dilemmas, it becomes clear that they now have two options: escalating the attack to a nuclear level or withdrawing. Strategically, withdrawal would be the most sensible course of action, even though it would severely jeopardize the stability of the capitalist system. It would be a repetition of the pacifist shift undertaken by the rulers of the imperialist powers after the First World War, when the destabilizing nature of their wars forced the system into dangerous compromises.
Stalin wrote in 1924 about why these compromises were so risky:
Would the bourgeoisie have undertaken this risky experiment with pacifism if it had not been forced to? Would it have done so of its own free will? Of course not! This is the second time since the end of the imperialist war that the bourgeoisie has experimented with pacifism. The first experiment took place immediately after the war, when revolution seemed imminent. The second experiment is now being undertaken, following the risky experiments of Poincaré and Curzon. Who would dare deny that imperialism will pay dearly for this oscillation between pacifism and fanatical imperialism, that it will rouse vast masses of workers from their accustomed philistine lethargy, that it will draw the most backward sections of the proletariat into politics and contribute to their revolution?
Of course, “democratic pacifism” is not yet synonymous with the Kerensky regime, for the latter implies a dual power structure: the collapse of bourgeois power and the emergence of the foundations of proletarian power. However, there is little doubt that pacifism signifies an immense awakening of the masses, the fact that the masses are being drawn into politics. that pacifism shakes bourgeois rule and prepares the ground for revolutionary upheaval. And precisely for this reason, pacifism will inevitably lead not to the strengthening, but to the weakening of bourgeois rule; not to the postponement of revolution indefinitely, but to its acceleration.
Our ruling class knows how to revamp its cultural propaganda every few years, switching between overt, “traditional” right-wing politics and “progressive” imperialist politics. Now it looks as if the next move will be to promote “democratic socialism” and move from the blatant fascist violence of the Trump administration to a “humanitarian” liberalism. The problem is that the empire cannot simply return to the Obama era, when the US could destroy entire countries without domestic politics being affected by these wars. Gaza has changed an entire generation’s view of foreign policy. The US ruling class faces a new version of the whiplash Stalin described: the masses are inevitably radicalized by imperialist destruction and inconsistent rule.
When the empire adopts a “progressive” image, it is not of the bourgeoisie’s own free will. It is a reaction to the dangers that the brazen policies of Trump 2.0 pose to the imperialist order. Trump 2.0 wanted to finally expose imperialism and thus enable the ruling class to wage an unbridled war against the Global South and American workers. But this policy is unsustainable, because if the empire continues to attack these two population groups, the system will collapse from within. And history, as exemplified by Stalin, shows how the bourgeoisie reacts when its provocations go too far: it retreats and tries to appease the masses in imperialist countries through social-democratic reforms.
Trump 2.0 wanted to finally expose imperialism and thus enable the ruling class to wage an unbridled war against the Global South and American workers. If we understand that this is the next move of our class enemies, we can effectively combat their machinations both in the long term and in the immediate struggle. The Zionist right has already discredited itself, so the political pendulum is now swinging from the right back to the center. The greatest ideological threat comes from the social fascists, who are trying to exploit anti-war sentiment and class consciousness not only among left-leaning Americans but also among disillusioned MAGA supporters.
The pseudo-populist wing of the Democratic Party has launched a campaign to gain a broad base by appropriating revolutionary rhetoric—and, above all, by abandoning so-called "woke" rhetoric, which limits the political spectrum to the left. The Democrats' next strategy will no longer rely on "wokeness" but on promoting classical welfare capitalism with the goal of restoring the labor aristocracy.
Should our enemies succeed in restoring the labor aristocracy, this would in itself be detrimental to the anti-imperialist cause, as it would create more Americans with a significant material interest in imperialism. However, Stalin's analysis shows that the path to this restoration will be fraught with dangers for the system. As he explains, the turn to "pacifism" and social democracy is a sign of an awakening revolutionary consciousness among the population, which has forced the bourgeoisie to appease the people. For these stabilization efforts to succeed, however, the bourgeoisie must also end its imperialist offensive. This is precisely where our enemies find themselves in an irresolvable dilemma, because to maintain US hegemony, Washington must wage a long-term series of wars and proxy wars against China.
The social fascists are tasked with intensifying the imperialist war—at the very moment when retreat is most crucial for the system's internal survival. This contradiction will doom the project if we consistently expose and organizationally outmaneuver the social fascists. Their war strategy will consist of activating a plan for unprecedented, catastrophically destructive color revolutions aimed at destabilizing the Global South. We must not allow the ideology behind these color revolutions to go unchallenged. The next major task of the labor movement will be to decisively combat the deceptions of the “humanitarian” regime change and to demonstrate that they embody the same evils promoted by the Zionist right.
By Rainer Shea ☭ – rainershea.substack.com
rainershea.substack.com/p/the-plan-to-nuke-iran-and-then-...
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Nachdem der Angriffskrieg gegen Iran gescheitert ist, plant das US-Regime und die Netanjahu-Junta, den Iran mit Atomwaffen anzugreifen und dem US-Imperium anschließend wieder ein „humanitäres“ Antlitz zu verleihen
2. April 2026, Rainer Shea ☭ – linkezeitung.de/2026/04/02/der-plan-den-iran-mit-atomwaff...
Diese Woche trat UN-Generalsekretär Mohamad Safa von seinem Amt zurück, um der Welt mitzuteilen , dass Washington einen Atomangriff auf den Iran ernsthaft erwägt. Wir müssen diese Gefahr sehr ernst nehmen und uns mit dem apokalyptischen Leid auseinandersetzen, das Zionismus und Imperialismus den Menschen in der Region während dieses Krieges bereits zugefügt haben.
Das schlimmste Szenario ist für all die Menschen im Libanon, im Gazastreifen und im Iran, die Washington allein in den letzten Wochen ermordet hat, bereits eingetreten. Angesichts dieser Massenverbrechen und der Pläne für einen nuklearen Holocaust müssen wir erkennen, wie verzweifelt unsere Feinde mittlerweile agieren. Dies ist nicht die Haltung eines selbstbewussten Imperiums, sondern das Verhalten Washingtons, nachdem der Iran ihm die Möglichkeit zur Unterwerfung genommen hat. Die Achse des Widerstands hat die militärische Macht der USA in Westasien so weit geschwächt, dass die außenpolitischen Entscheidungsträger nun den tiefen Wunsch hegen, Hiroshima und Nagasaki zu wiederholen.
Ob sie dies tatsächlich tun werden, ist schwer vorherzusagen. Betrachtet man die Geschichte der Imperialisten in existenziellen Dilemmata, so zeigt sich, dass ihnen nun zwei Wege offenstehen: den Angriff auf nuklearer Ebene zu steigern oder sich zurückzuziehen. Strategisch wäre ein Rückzug am sinnvollsten, auch wenn dies die Stabilität des kapitalistischen Systems schwer gefährden würde. Es wäre eine Wiederholung des pazifistischen Kurswechsels, den die Herrscher der imperialistischen Mächte nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg vollzogen, als die destabilisierende Natur ihrer Kriege das System zu gefährlichen Kompromissen zwang.
Stalin schrieb 1924 darüber, warum diese Kompromisse so riskant waren:
Hätte die Bourgeoisie dieses riskante Experiment mit dem Pazifismus unternommen, wenn sie nicht dazu gezwungen worden wäre? Hätte sie es aus freiem Willen getan? Natürlich nicht! Dies ist das zweite Mal seit dem Ende des imperialistischen Krieges, dass die Bourgeoisie mit dem Pazifismus experimentiert. Das erste Experiment fand unmittelbar nach dem Krieg statt, als die Revolution unmittelbar bevorzustehen schien. Das zweite Experiment wird nun, nach den riskanten Experimenten von Poincaré und Curzon, unternommen. Wer würde es wagen zu leugnen, dass der Imperialismus für dieses Hin und Her der Bourgeoisie zwischen Pazifismus und fanatischem Imperialismus teuer bezahlen wird, dass dies riesige Arbeitermassen aus ihrer gewohnten philiströsen Lethargie reißt, dass es die rückständigsten Teile des Proletariats in die Politik einbindet und zu ihrer Revolutionierung beiträgt?
Natürlich ist „demokratischer Pazifismus“ noch nicht gleichzusetzen mit dem Kerensky-Regime, denn dieses impliziert eine Doppelherrschaft: den Zusammenbruch der bürgerlichen Macht und die Entstehung der Grundlagen proletarischer Macht. Doch es besteht kaum ein Zweifel daran, dass Pazifismus ein immenses Erwachen der Massen bedeutet, die Tatsache, dass die Massen in die Politik einbezogen werden; dass der Pazifismus die bürgerliche Herrschaft erschüttert und den Boden für revolutionäre Umwälzungen bereitet. Und genau deshalb wird der Pazifismus zwangsläufig nicht zur Stärkung, sondern zur Schwächung der bürgerlichen Herrschaft führen, nicht zur Verschiebung der Revolution auf unbestimmte Zeit, sondern zu ihrer Beschleunigung.
Unsere herrschende Klasse weiß, ihre kulturelle Propaganda alle paar Jahre umzustellen und dabei zwischen unverhohlener, „traditioneller“ rechter Politik und „progressiver“ imperialistischer Politik zu wechseln. Nun sieht es so aus, als ob der nächste Schachzug darin bestünde, „demokratischen Sozialismus“ zu propagieren und von der unverhohlenen faschistischen Gewalt der Trump-Administration zu einem „humanitären“ Liberalismus überzugehen. Das Problem ist, dass das Imperium nicht einfach zur Obama-Ära zurückkehren kann, als die USA ganze Länder zerstören konnten, ohne dass die Innenpolitik von diesen Kriegen beeinträchtigt wurde. Gaza hat die Sichtweise einer ganzen Generation auf die Außenpolitik verändert. Die herrschende Klasse der USA steht vor einer neuen Version jenes Peitschenhiebs, den Stalin beschrieb: Die Massen werden durch imperialistische Zerstörung und inkonsequente Herrschaft unweigerlich radikalisiert.
Wenn das Imperium sich ein „progressives“ Image zulegt, geschieht dies nicht aus freiem Willen der Bourgeoisie. Es ist eine Reaktion auf die Gefahren, die die dreiste Politik von Trump 2.0 für die imperialistische Ordnung birgt. Trump 2.0 wollte den Imperialismus endgültig entlarven und so der herrschenden Klasse einen ungezügelten Krieg gegen den Globalen Süden und die amerikanischen Arbeiter ermöglichen. Doch diese Politik ist nicht tragfähig, denn wenn das Imperium diese beiden Bevölkerungsgruppen weiterhin angreift, wird das System von innen heraus zusammenbrechen. Und die von Stalin angeführte Geschichte zeigt, wie die Bourgeoisie reagiert, wenn sie mit ihren Provokationen zu weit geht: Sie zieht sich zurück und versucht, die Massen in den imperialistischen Ländern durch sozialdemokratische Reformen zu beschwichtigen.
Wenn wir begreifen, dass dies der nächste Schachzug unserer Klassenfeinde ist, können wir ihre Machenschaften sowohl langfristig als auch im unmittelbaren Kampf wirksam bekämpfen. Die zionistische Rechte hat sich bereits diskreditiert, sodass das politische Pendel nun von rechts zurück zur Mitte ausschlägt. Die größte ideologische Bedrohung geht von den Sozialfaschisten aus, die versuchen, die Antikriegsstimmung und das Klassenbewusstsein nicht nur bei den linksorientierten Amerikanern, sondern auch bei den desillusionierten MAGA-Anhängern zu instrumentalisieren.
Der pseudopopulistische Flügel der Demokratischen Partei hat eine Kampagne gestartet, um durch die Aneignung revolutionärer Rhetorik – und vor allem durch die Abkehr von der sogenannten „Woke“-Rhetorik, die das politische Spektrum auf die Linke beschränkt – eine breite Basis zu gewinnen. Die nächste Strategie der Demokraten wird nicht mehr auf „Wokeness“ setzen, sondern auf die Förderung des klassischen Wohlfahrtskapitalismus mit dem Ziel, die Arbeiteraristokratie wiederherzustellen.
Sollte es unseren Feinden gelingen, die Arbeiteraristokratie wiederherzustellen, wäre dies an sich schon schädlich für die antiimperialistische Sache, da es mehr Amerikaner mit einem bedeutenden materiellen Interesse am Imperialismus schaffen würde. Stalins Analyse zeigt jedoch, dass der Weg zu dieser Wiederherstellung mit Gefahren für das System behaftet sein wird. Wie er erklärt, ist die Hinwendung zu „Pazifismus“ und Sozialdemokratie ein Zeichen für ein erwachtes revolutionäres Bewusstsein in der Bevölkerung, das die Bourgeoisie gezwungen hat, die Bevölkerung zu beschwichtigen. Damit diese Stabilisierungsbemühungen jedoch Erfolg haben, muss die Bourgeoisie auch ihren imperialistischen Angriff beenden. Genau hier befinden sich unsere Feinde in einem unlösbaren Dilemma, denn um die US-Hegemonie aufrechtzuerhalten, muss Washington eine langfristige Reihe von Kriegen und Stellvertreterkriegen gegen China führen.
Die Sozialfaschisten werden mit der Aufgabe betraut, den imperialistischen Krieg zu intensivieren – und zwar genau in dem Moment, in dem ein Rückzug für das innere Überleben des Systems am wichtigsten ist. Dieser Widerspruch wird das Vorhaben zum Scheitern bringen, wenn wir die Sozialfaschisten konsequent genug entlarven und organisatorisch übertrumpfen. Ihre Kriegsstrategie wird darin bestehen, einen Plan für beispiellose, katastrophal zerstörerische Farbrevolutionen zu aktivieren, die darauf abzielen, den Globalen Süden zu destabilisieren. Wir dürfen nicht zulassen, dass die Ideologie hinter diesen Farbrevolutionen unwidersprochen bleibt. Die nächste große Aufgabe der Arbeiterbewegung wird darin bestehen, die Täuschungen des „humanitären“ Regimewechsels entschieden zu bekämpfen und aufzuzeigen, dass sie dieselben Übel verkörpern, die die zionistische Rechte vorantreibt.
Von Rainer Shea ☭ – rainershea.substack.com
rainershea.substack.com/p/the-plan-to-nuke-iran-and-then-...
DSC_3476
💋 Outfit: fierce. Mental state: please hold.
🍕 Half diva, half leftover pizza.
✨ The vibe is “don’t talk to me unless you brought snacks.”
#PixelPrincessProblems #TooTiredToFlirt
Omni & Oly, also known as Robertson Buses has an existential crisis.
Omnicity 12 – which I see is missing the o/s fleet number and (realistically) showing old paint below the number plate – and Leyland Olympian 7 are showing some rather nondescript destinations that were included in the sheet of new ones I’ve recently made. They capture the look of LED blinds more than any previous ones I’ve done, so hopefully I can ditch the rubbish old dot-matrix styled ones I started off with.
Throughout my focus on the routes of Robertson Buses, I’ve referenced services that exist in real life and how they do/don’t impact what RB does; the general rule being any IRL changes/upgrades to a route duplicating/mirroring a pre-existing RB route are void in the ‘universe’ in which Robertson Buses is set. However, when it comes to other model/fictitious fleets there is a bit more of a grey area, because I know at least a few people (likely reading this if you’ve come to look at models) have their own Nottingham-based fleets, which I know exist but don’t really know about network-wise. So because of that I’ve based the RB network on the idea of just what’s there IRL, with the only other model fleet I’m sure would exist in the same universe as Robertson Buses being Crossways, since I usually partake in the Cheltenham races event, and possibly DM Transport because I like it (despite not knowing routes etc).
I like to keep RB ‘going’ as if it’s an active fleet, hence the periodic updates. It’s not the most sensible or realistic operation ever (a network that probably wouldn’t work; way too many buses to actually fit in the garage; E200 MMC engines in 25 year old Darts because newer models are too expensive) but should you want to take it into account/include it with what exists IRL for whatever reason then hopefully this more detailed outline of each route I’ve made will be useful. Of other model fleets out there, my favourites have always been the ones where progress is clearly ongoing (there are a surprising number of fleets abandoned like 5-10 years ago) and where info on routes or operational area is available, which if you’ve guessed is exactly what I try and go for with Robertson Buses. Also, for the time being ignore the website because I haven’t updated it in something like a year and half the stuff on it is wrong. I’ll fix it when the 201/211 gets their service changes.
For me at least, I think physical models will only ever be practical for doing a small-scale fleet, which is pretty much what Robertson Buses would be… with the ad-hoc vehicle acquisitions and a basic-as-hell fleet number system I’ve been growing to dislike for quite some time. Of course when it comes to OMSI or even just bus drawings it is easier to go on a grander scale – for maybe a TrentBarton-sized fleet or select parts of a bigger operation. As I mentioned in the RB: Rail Replacement picture, I’ve got the idea for the RB-cross-RoadCar thing if anyone wants to see it, but I’ve previously also made up a smaller bus/coach operator and a fictitious Stagecoach subsidiary for a location that doesn’t exist (no, it’s not Stagecoach in Hogwarts) so if anyone’s interested I could branch out into those… no? Well I don’t suppose many people are that bothered about Robertson Buses in the first place, but recently I’ve been kind of in the mood for doing model/fictitious bus stuff that isn’t painting, so do say if you’d like to see XYZ…
All work and no play makes jack a dull boy.
Also currently undergoing and existential crisis in my decision to shoot black & white or colour street photography as my primary style.