Russia is basically the boogeyman at this point. I wouldn't be shocked if their cyberwarfare division wasn't anywhere near as extensive as it's hyped up to be.
At this point
Pretty sure they have been the Boogeyman for at least the past... idk 8 decades?
I feel like the US jumping at every shadow and boogeyman is doing more damage than Russia could ever hope to do. Their cyberwarefare division could just be two guys playing chess against each other, and maybe sending an email out every often.
Considering the whole "every accusation a confession" dynamic, it is probably nothing comparable to the western empire's. How much they have, who knows, but we do know the western empire is the primary aggressor the world over and extensively so. There is also the question of what it gets used for. And the west basically goes, "If it's our military/intelligence organizations, then it's for Freedom (tm) and Burgers (tm). If it's their military/intelligence organizations, then it's for Eating Babies (tm) and Authoritarianismingy Everyone (tm)." How this makes any sense with the hundreds of military bases, forever wars, and endless bombings and sanctioning of other countries, well... we know it doesn't make any sense. We're meant to think China or Russia have the potential to be horribly evil in ways we can't even imagine, while the US specifically in more recent empire form - and the western empire as a whole if we're going further back than US hegemony - has been being unfathomably evil for hundreds of years.
Well, one of those countries has an active cyberwarfare division working out of an actual military instillation right now while waging an imperialistic war of extermination against a neighbor.
Though I agree with your statement broadly, right now it's clear that Russia would be doing everything in its power to sway things.
Their cyberwarfare department is nothing to sneeze at actually, if you look at what they've been doing. In fact, one could argue they're the strongest on that front.
Well, one of those countries has an active cyberwarfare division working out of an actual military instillation right now while waging an imperialistic war of extermination against a neighbor.
Yes, the US does, the world over. In hundreds of military bases. Part of which involves wanting to expand NATO to Russia's borders. Part of which involved waging a "cold" war and ultimately playing a major part in the collapse and overthrow of the Soviet Union, which Russia was a part of. A statement like "Russia is doing everything in its power to sway things" is like saying "a human being is doing everything in their power to breathe in and breathe out." Of course people have motives and of course states have motives too. That's not anything meaningful intrinsically. You have to look at what the motives are and where they are deriving from. You have to look at what the actions are relative to each other, not just in isolation. Being against imperialism doesn't mean saying "it's bad" and then proceeding to take at face value the narratives about other countries pushed by imperialists. A significant part of overcoming imperialism is recognizing that most of what you've been told about other countries by imperialist sources is in some part exaggeration, distortion, or outright lie.
Here is just one example of distortion vs. reality with regards to this way you put things as "a war of extermination":
After negotiating in Istanbul on 29 March 2022, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a negotiated settlement that would have Russia withdraw to its position from 23 February, when it controlled Crimea and the Donbass republics. In exchange, Ukraine would agree not to join NATO and instead receive security guarantees from other countries. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson intervened to sabotage the agreement and continue the war.[38]
https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/2022_Russo-Ukrainian_conflict
Does that look to you like a country that wants to exterminate? Or is it the ones intervening from the west and sabotaging peace deals?
A statement like “Russia is doing everything in its power to sway things” is like saying “a human being is doing everything in their power to breathe in and breathe out.”
Imperialist shills really and seriously expect that entire world will just go belly up and allow them to gut it.
Though I agree with your statement broadly, right now it’s clear that Russia would be doing everything in its power to sway things. Their cyberwarfare department is nothing to sneeze at actually, if you look at what they’ve been doing. In fact, one could argue they’re the strongest on that front.
The image of the inscrutable orientals is such a powerful cultural force in the west that even on a comment acknowledging that the boogeyman isn't as powerful as it is made out to be, half of the comment is still just fear mongering.
an imperialistic war of extermination against a neighbor.
strong words for Ukraine's decade-old aggression against the Donbas
Yeah I saw comments like that on Reddit too. It's all Russia's fault for making sketchy accusations through one of their orgs and not the fault of people like Joanne being batahit insane and believing everything they see immediately.
To those who don't know, the Algerian national anthem was written in 1955 by revolutionary & poet Moufdi Zakaria on the walls of his French prison cell with his own blood, because the French denied him access to pen & paper.
So whenever you hear the Algerian anthem played at the Olympics, just know the words you hear being shouted from loyal fans were first etched into the concrete of a French prison cell with the blood of a beaten and bloodied Algerian revolutionary.
With this in mind, the line "we are determined that Algeria must live" from the anthem hits you like a beating to the chest.
I’m so glad you pointed this out because I thought I was the only one who noticed this. People were rightfully outraged at the accusations and attacks against Imane Khelif but it was very annoying to see people blaming Russians/Russia, throwing around the whole “Russian propaganda/misinformation” phrase when, from what I saw, it was a guy (who just happened to be Russian) from the IBA making accusations rather than a concerted state effort to smear an athlete. It’s probably not a big deal but it’s frustrating to see these phrases that encompass an entire country rather than the small group/individual truly at fault. Maybe the guy wasn’t even Russian.
