Members of Kibbutz Hanita near Israel’s northern border are demanding $11 million from Ballet Vision, the Chinese fund that controls 80% of the Hanita Lenses plant, accusing it of refusing to exercise an option to purchase the kibbutz’s remaining shares, according to a lawsuit filed in Tel Aviv District Court.
In a response letter attached to the lawsuit, the Chinese fund said that since the outbreak of the war in Israel, Beijing has classified Israel as a “high-risk area” and imposed a ban on any new Chinese investments in the country, making it impossible to carry out the option.
According to the lawsuit, in 2021 the kibbutz sold 74% of Hanita Lenses, which manufactures intraocular lenses for medical use, to Ballet Vision for $35 million. Of that sum, $25 million was paid to kibbutz members, with an additional $10 million injected into the company.
capitalists gonna capitalist.
The PRC is socialist, public ownership is the principle aspect of the economy and the working classes control the state.
Nothing says socialism like international investors owning 99 year leases on factories producing every piece of electronic junk sold in the west! /s Wait a minute, that’s called capitalism.
Are you saying the PRC isn’t socialist because it allows foreign investment in secondary and small-medium industries? These international investment deals are done for knowledge and technology transfer, as well as to expedite development of underdeveloped industry. The basis of socialized production is in large-scale, mass industry, so socializing production through market mechanisms is done in a controlled manner, where the CPC gradually folds these industries into the public sector as they grow.
Public ownership usually works better with higher levels of development, private at lower levels. Keeping the large firms and key industries in the public sector while allowing private capital in a controlled manner to help develop the productive forces is the secret to the PRC’s skyrocketing development. This development is why they have far surpassed the west in production of solar, high speed rail, infrastructural development, poverty alleviation, etc, without this form of economy they would not be as developed as they are today.
The chinese are doing what they can to get the west’s technology, and get their factories built for free, and in doing so getting a veritable veto on western leaders as they could nationalize any or all of those factories at any moment, a drastic move that would upend financial markets but still a powerful bargaining chip, no matter what western leaders say, they aren’t crossing China for real because of that, and the US president is Wall Street’s Bitch make no mistake. Also Israel’s and Russia’s Bitch. Israel first obviously, the Saudis, American oligarchs’ bitch, it’s a long list and idk the pecking order after Israel First that is undisputable, the guy and his party are compromized 7 ways from sunday. (7 ways from saudis too.)
So they are using the greed of the ruling class in the west against it. You can see where they are coming from, they are smart, and play the long game. Not a very good game for the workers of those factories, or people living next to the pollution however. But that is the cost they figure. The problems from all of that are as much, or more, of the fault of the industrialists and wall street that sold out their own countries to make an extra dollar on labor and environmental protections, undercutting unions and liberal democracies that since the great war had taken actual control over much of their governments and achieved a higher standard of living than any working people in the history of the world.
Now eroded, by cheatery. By this so called free trade, eroded most by cheating at the numbers however, changing the consumer price index calculations several times since the 1970s to understate it, 5-8% by the old standard, 2-3 by the new, just by 2008. Compound pay cuts. 1 minimum wage job used to support a family, buy a house, a used car, go out for a burger. Now you can’t do that with 4 minimum wage jobs, you would have shitty to non existant health insurance while doing it, no dentist. Certainly not buying a house. One missed check or two from homelessness. But I digress.
Whatever China is doing now, it’s part of a long game, what the US and west is doing, is short term chiseling of working people, and extracting borrowed money from the government.
I understand how the PRC is playing the west, but this is a good thing for China, and a sign of socialism. Air pollution is going down dramatically as they invest in solar and nuclear, the working classes have seen steady large real wage increases, and the west hollowed out their own industry to their own detriment.
The West is just beyond dumb, handing their governments to a far right in league with the US and Russia that have every intention of helping them fix themselves in power permanently, and they still see their reason for being as preventing popular reform and playing good cop to conservative bad cop like it’s 1990 and they are plutocracizing the country. The countries are already plutocratized, there isn’t much left to chisel down, not without sparking such a backlash that the far right running as reform backed by the US and Russia behind the scenes will get in for sure.
Just fucking hopeless, and anyone thinking that it’s good for the US to suffer what their government has done to other people, is a short sighted dumbshit argument that blames the wrong people as much as any western voter. The ones that will suffer in the US are principally the ones trying to stop the government from their bullshit, the ones gaining absolute power, and politicians from both sides here they join the side that can win, are the same ones causing those problems in the first place. Putting the principal authors of villainy in absolute power of a super power and an aggressive military is a betrayal of this global south anyone might claim to want to help and that’s the fucking truth.
And they will do those things exponentially more, and to their own citizens that have been trying to stop them. The military coup in Venezuela is just a start, where they seduced Venezuela’s military leaders to give up Maduro and his loyalists to the US and stand down and allow the grab operation, meaning they are now the de facto leaders of the US puppet regime ala cold war, right from the template.
Just wait for the resistance to stealing the oil, the army will try to crush it, to do the dirty work they will form paramilitary groups to do death squads in collective punishments of restive areas funded by black market cia drug and weapons markets. As sure as Spring following Winter.
It’s as ignorant as those that want all russians to be harmed because of their government, or blame a person for their country, when they have little to no control over it. I know you didn’t say that just answering that point which comes up, it’s doing a disservice to the world, and anyone wishing for that to happen has little idea how this dumpster fire will spread and burn the entire world, and it’s already out of control.
Ultimately, what the US Empire needs is revolution. The west isn’t doing what it’s doing out of a lack of intelligence, but instead a rational following of a fundamentally unsustainable economic system. Capital is what drives the Empire.
It just remains to be seen what type of revolution but you are right, there will be one, it’s just a question of if the left can overcome the democrats and give it to them, or if we will allow the far right to give it to them. And that answer is almost certainly the far right, which will call for another revolution at a minimum.
Problem is the technology is so advanced, previous despots couldn’t dream of this level of total information on their people, autonomous forces, and enough polarization to get weird fast. It’s really not a revolution here with the far right though, it’s increased Oligarchic Repression. Every representative government goes through the same stages, as remarked by Plato observing countless Greek City States, often on expedited revolutions through the formula, but Rome followed it over 500 years as well, the UK is just now sliding into the same oligarchic repression, as is france, etc.
But a tyrant/king/autocrat, becomes bad enough there is a revolution and they institutes a representative government, usually sort of an aristocracy doing most of the office holding but it all depends. Then through time that degenerates as the powerful become rich then more powerful and start abusing their fellow citizens, and it goes through several stages of what amounts to oligarchic repression but he lays out several -ocracies. Eventually the oligarchic repression becomes bad enough a strong man comes along, unites the population, and lays waste to the oligarchy, setting himself us as tyrant/king/autocrat, what they called democracy, which has since become a liberal buzz word in the late 19th century and changed meanings from what it was. And the cycle starts again as the tyrant becomes corrupt and capricious in time and is overthrown again.
By the time of the tyrant overthrowing the oligarchy is more important than saving the system of government. Worth every cost to get rid of the aristocracy causing the problems.
To be clear, the US president, and the far right menacing western europe and the west, are not that autocrat, they are an increasing stage of oligarchic repression. So while they give reform, we should not call that a revolution, it’s just a quicker descent into the abyss. Which will in time queue up a real leader, to fulfill the destiny of our republics, to kill them as they are terminal and put them out of their misery. Which will be a good thing by the time it gets there, it’s just with the tech it’s different this time in some ways. Very much the same in much of what Plato described however.
Ah yes, socialism. Well known for profiting off the labor of people making lenses halfway across the planet.
Are you saying the PRC isn’t socialist because it trades with other countries? Or are you equating trade with the sheer plunder committed by the west towards the global south?
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China owns a factory in Israel, sure. Is your argument that they are imperializing Israeli proletarians? Is it imperialist to own factories in other countries, regardless of the nature of the relations themselves? I can absolutely accept valid criticism of the PRC, you’ll notice I’m not really pushing back against those disappointed with how long China is taking to sever economic ties with Israel. However, critique doesn’t have merit purely for existing.
Not sure what you mean by “jeopardizing that paycheck,” if you’re insinuating I get paid to be a communist then I can only say that I wish that were the case. Instead, I pay dues out of my own actual paycheck from the job I work.
Anyone who is incapable of even the most mildest of criticisms about a subject cannot be trusted about the subject.
Cool, I don’t see how that applies here. I’m plenty critical of China for valid reasons, such as their presently poor LGBTQIA+ legislation (though it has been gradually improving) or their backing of Cambodia over Vietnam back during the time of Pol Pot. Your “criticisms,” more often than not, aren’t logically justified.
It’s really sad how you guys literally can’t imagine holding an opinion without being paid for it
Oh no, I absolutely can. What I cannot do is trust anyone who is literally incapable of even mild criticism of a world superpower (who has inarguably done some not so great things).
I’m not sure if you’re familiar with this person or not, but it’s uncanny.
Oh okay, so you’re just saying shit. If you look at their profile, you’ll see legitimate criticism galore. Look at any communist space and you will find ruthless critique of all that exists. What you will not find is breathless repetition of easily disproven atrocity propaganda of the type the US has been fooling rubes with for two hundred years. Liberals and “leftists” tend to mistake the two.
Fascist: “I was banned for a simple difference of opinion! These liberals can’t handle disagreement!” (The disagreement was over who is human and who should be killed)
Liberal: “I was flamed just for criticizing China! These communists can’t handle criticism!” (The criticism is just the same baseless reheated imperial tripe every communist has seen and debunked 4 million times)
The resemblance is uncanny. You guys always hide behind the veil of “I’m just criticizing bro” when your lazy ignorance gets checked
appreciated the thread below.
No problem! Feel free to ask any questions you might have, if I can help I will!
That’s cool, too bad they are apparently as morally bankrupt as the USA leadership otherwise they would advocate for the utter destruction of israel and the public execution of any Chinese citizen who had ever invested a single Yuan into genocide.
The PRC currently absolutely prioritizes Palestinian statehood, and has directly helped the resistance as well. They do not sell arms to Israel, or tools like drones that could be weaponized. I agree that investing into Israel is morally bankrupt, but it’s important to see that there’s a massive difference between the US Empire, actively funding and supplying genocide, and the PRC, which is non-interventionist and imperfect in their support of Palestine.
The PRC is not helping the US and Israel disarm the resistance. China has affirmed that Palestinians must control Palestine in their own state, and served as a vital mediator for the 2024 Beijing Declaration, where Fatah and Hamas were brought closer together and the resistance as a whole in Palestine came together to collaborate more closely, alongside China. In the 2024 Beijing Declaration, which China was a core mediator for, it was declared that the resistance must not be disarmed.
China has consistently only ever veto’d at the security council if it is willing to intervene millitarily in order to protect the veto’d outcome. The PRC has veto’d sanctions on the DPRK, and has enforced that veto by increasing trade with the DPRK. The US Empire has never been stopped by a veto, such as when it was determined to stop shipping arms to Haiti, which the US subverted. China vetoing the UNSC declaration on Palestine would mean mobilizing its army to directly prevent the US’s plans for the region.
If we look at how resistance orgs responded, they aren’t blaming China. Instead, they have similar analysis to China, that is that the plan itself is unworkable and that they cannot implement it in the first place. China also adhered its best to both the PLO, who endorsed TRUST, and Hamas, the PFLP, etc that oppose TRUST.
Personally, I would rather China take a more millitant anti-imperialist stance than their current passive stance. There’s good reason to believe this will be the case in the future, as younger generations in China are more millitant and more overwhelmingly pro-Palestine. However, I don’t confuse imperfect allies for enemies, which is the western-leftist mistake you’ve fallen for. You did the same with Hexbear, calling them “transzionist” and claiming they ban critique of contrapoints because she’s trans. The reality is that Hexbear is anti-zionist and pro-trans, and regularly clowns on contrapoints for her awful liberalism.
China is contributing to a multi-polar world, which undermines Israel and supports Palestine. China’s position in the global stage facilitates south-south trade, which bypasses unequal exchange, where the global north maintains monopolies on high tech industries so as to consistently charge monopoly prices in exchange with the global south. China charges non-monopoly prices, and this is why exchange with China, alongside the rise of the Belt and Road Initiative, has resulted in dramatic development in African and Latin American countries. This is ultimately the single greatest contributor to the downfall of imperialism globally, and is why right now there is such a large cold war with China.
Your confusion of imperfect allies with enemies is why the western left has continued to fail to meaningfully challenge the status quo. Jones Manoel was correct in Western Marxism Loves Purity and Martyrdom, But Not Real Revolution. Western leftists do the work of the US Empire by making the same mistakes you’ve been making with respect to China, thereby sabotaging allies and making the efforts of the ones actually arming, facilitating, and committing the genocide easier.
TL;DR join an org. Having a practical outlet to test theory to practice, and directly organize against arming and supporting Israel, is a much better use of your time. It will also help you form a more correct understanding of anti-imperialist struggle.
A lot of what you say is reasonable discourse that can be seen as defending a political ideology that you feel strongly contributes to a better world. There’s nothing wrong with that and I commend you.
But then you say this
and you collapse into the “I’m about to start smashing skulls in the name of my ideology, and I’ll do so until I’ve inadvertently built an empire”.
So you and your ideological bedmates have decided that you have the moral clarity to decide who gets attacked in the name of anti-imperialism. The world has certainly never heard that angle before, I’m sure you’ll be the first.
“Imperialist violence and antiimperialist violence are actually the same”
Okay, so just sit there and suffer endlessly i guess. Nobody should fight back against Israel or ICE, because that would make them the same. Damn, it’s been a while since I’ve seen this view unironically.
There are 3 major problems with your line of logic.
For starters, not all intervention means millitary violence. There can be economic intervention, such as sanctions, trade embargoes, or even supplying resistance groups. In fact, the PRC already does some of this, in supporting the Palestinian resistance. My emotional desire for more support in this regard doesn’t rest on the PLA invading Israel.
With respect to argument 2, international violence is not inherently imperialist. Imperialism is a relationship by which one country economically plunders the resources and surplus value created by other countries. This can be maintained with violence, installing compradors, etc. The PRC isn’t imperialist, and aiding Palestine against Israel would not resort in the creation of new colonies for China.
With respect to argument 3, you verge into idealism. The idea that Marxism-Leninism isn’t a genuinely anti-imperialist framework needs to be contested based on its merits as an ideology, not based on the idea that flawed ideologies exist. You treat anti-imperialism as something inherently unknowable, ie within the realm of the supernatural, intentionally or not. The truth is that nothing in the universe is truly unknowable, no matter how difficult it is to learn, and treating certain ideas as beyond knowledge just pushes them into the realm of the supernatural.
All of your arguments are in service of saying the PLA would be evil to provide more direct support to the resistance and take a stronger anti-Zionist stance than they already are, via phrasemongering on your part and linguistic gymnastics.
To quote Marx
I couldn’t care less about your moral standards. The exploited have every right to fight back.
Yes fighting on the side of the exploited against their exploiter is morally just in all instances. It’s easy for you to talk shit from your cushy position in the imperial core. I hope you reflect in the future on the immense privilege you have thanks to the mass immiseration of the global south and do better.
So you’re not different from your opposition. For sure you’ve got the right answer, and your might will prove it.
It’s not about me, it’s about the principle you’re espousing. Also you don’t know anything about me, and presuming you do does nothing for your position.
Edit - Are you also asserting China is not or will never be imperialist? How naive can you possibly be?
Incredible for the “fighting back against fascism is evil” guy to be calling anyone else naive
Your assertions here are that using violence against fascists is bad purely because we cannot know whether fascism is correct or anti-fascism is. As for China being imperialist or not, your argument is that by opposing fascism they will inevitably become imperialist.
These are logical absurdities based in idealism.
What part of fighting on the side of the exploited against their exploiters is always just did you not get?
Might doesn’t prove anything. Violence is unfortunately the only language that colonialist and imperialists understand as has already been proven by history.
In your mind was it wrong to use violence on the Nazis? You seem awfully pro status quo which is built on the rape, murder pillaging and mass exploitation of Billions for the comfort of a few millions and the mass excesses of a few thousand.
Edit: what no material, class, dialectical, historical or any analysis beyond vibes does to someone. Pure brain worms.
There’s nothing wrong with fighting to protect people it’s the part where you decide you and your friends get to decide who is right and who is wrong.
As I said before, you don’t know anything about me, so don’t presume that you do so that you can justify your righteous indignationand buttress poorly formed beliefs. My family has a long history of military involvement, my grandfather fought from Normandy to Germany and suffered greatly for it. Two of his brothers fought and one didn’t come back. My maternal grandmother was Osterbeiter and met my maternal grandfather in a German work camp. All of my family hated Nazis with a passion their entire lives, and half of them also hated Soviets. Don’t talk to me like I don’t understand fighting for what you believe, and don’t tell me I don’t understand suffering.
Military excursions in the name of ideology, particularly when they are done by a superpower, very quickly become imperialism. Thinking China is immune to that is immensely naive.
Wait… wait, are you implying that the working class controls the state in PRC?
Not implying, stating. In China, they have direct elections for local representatives, which elect further “rungs,” laddering to the top. The top then has mass polling and opinion gathering. This combination of top-down and bottom-up democracy ensures effective results. For more on this, see Professor Roland Boer’s Socialism in Power: On the History and Theory of Socialist Governance. The government itself has no capitalists in the top positions either:
This system has achieved fantastic metrics, such as over 90% of the citizenry supporting the government. This also shows why perceptions around democracy are so much higher in China than the west:
So yes, the working classes do control the state in China.
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Oh, really? When did we start doing that?
Whenever they started People’s Choice Awards
We briefly experimented with the idea during Reconstruction and then quickly got rid of it.
You’re not helping yourself here. It seems like you actually know nothing about how China’s government system works. Maybe try to explain it instead of just talking about the US.
The US isn’t democratic, the state is run by capitalists and the two major parties are subservient to capital. You can even see the effects of this with how low approval rates are for the government, and much lower perceptions of democracy. The reason the working classes in China can maintain such strong control over the state is because public ownership is the principle aspect of the economy, and the working class party overthrew the nationalists back in 1949. What part of what I said is “peddling bullshit?”
Oh shit I didn’t realize this was Cowbee!
Cool?
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capitalism with a very short leash can be useful; what matters is who holds the leash.