Bulletins and News Discussion from March 17th to March 23rd, 2025 - The Kafue River Dies - COTW: Zambia

Image is of the breach in the tailings dam near Kitwe.

On February 18th, 50 million liters of acidic waste from a copper mine was accidentally released into the Kafue River after a tailings dam collapsed. The Kafue River stretches for a thousand miles across Zambia and a majority of the country - millions of people - rely on it, for both the economy and drinking water.

The results have already been catastrophic. The water supply for the city of Kitwe, home to 700,000 people, was completely shut off. As the wave of contamination moved downstream, a wave of death accompanied it as dead fish dotted the river surface. The government is dropping lime into the river to try and counteract the acid with an alkali and neutralize the water, but the tailings also contain toxic heavy metals that will undoubtably seep into the nearby environment and affect the area for years to come.

A considerable portion of the media attention to the accident has been devoted to the fact that the mine was Chinese-owned, as well as China's broader influence and investment in the region. Western anti-China propaganda aside, it has been clear to those in the know that these mines have been badly managed and needlessly dangerous for years now, and it is disappointing - to say the least - to see disasters of this magnitude occur from Chinese businesses. Hopefully this prompts a wave of investigations into China-owned mine managers all around the continent, who will then hopefully face real consequences for their actions.

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1.1K comments

I'm quite bothered by burned teslas ngl. This is what crosses threshold for property destruction in america? not making bombs, or selling oxycodone, or closing factories, or shipping bombs for genocide, it's fucking doge closing usaid. I dunno how to interpret it, is it opportunity vs premediation? Batshit civic religion?
It puts me roughly in the same bafflement as gore vidal meeting kissinger and just thinking of quips
- It’s liberal adventurism: you don’t need to organize a group, it’s spontaneous rather than continued action, and it’s based off of personal grievance with Musk rather than anything material like a genocide
- DOGE is going after a lot more than USAID and painting that as the central reason is blinding you to the incredible political potential this moment presents
  
  Political moment for institutionalists? Should i be sad for va getting cut? Read how "i served my country for two tours in iraq, and now they just dismiss me, doesn't seem right?" (*real article in fedcobin btw). Radicalized veterans are good in vacuum, but they'll likely join ngo-ified militias, not pal action.
  Who is doing teslas? Radicalized libs? Anarchists? Kids? Only one of those is potentially useful
  
  This is the leftist version of anti-politics. It's like afropessimism. The idea that I should have to explain to you that the government cutting every single socially useful function it serves - education, healthcare, transportation, consumer protection, environmental regulation, housing, on and on - is radicalizing people and opening them up to other forms of political action is ridiculous. It's like you want to lose. But at this point that's just kind of the Hexbear way - pure cynical doomerism, no political organizing.
  As it turns out, lots of radicalized veterans are getting recruited by revolutionary communist parties right this second. Lots of liberals who voted for Kamala are saying "fuck the Democrats, we need a revolution, I'm gonna burn shit down", and your response is just " I am bothered by burning Teslas"
  
  . Why even believe any of the shit you do?
  
  Does psl possess a map of bomb makers in usa, and have they led campaign of shaming their workers/owners? Do they picket bomb factories?
  It's not a question of mass, it's a question of targets. We will radicalize a sufficient mass of people one day and lead a revolution is also not an answer, until usa has fucking hunger, the treats will pacify anything mass based (self-evidently, historically).
  Any revolution was preceded by radical action, not having radical answers to hypothetical possession of power. And i don't advocate torching psl name on radical action program and being labeled terrorists, and getting got like weather u, i'm observing usa as whole. The most radical actions as of yet have all been right wing. And the only possible adventure actions are evidently can only be lone woof, so that's my sample of actions, which is - teslas.
  Can i see gotcha interviews with workers making jdam? who does them? who goes to a small town and asks people leaving little unassuming building, what do they think?
  
  Does psl possess a map of bomb makers in usa, and have they led campaign of shaming their workers/owners?
  literally yes, pay attention
  until usa has fucking hunger
  The dramatic decline in material conditions is the exact thing precipitating this wave of protests and adventurism. Lenin very clearly and correctly defines the conditions necessary for a revolution:
  We shall certainly not be mistaken if we indicate the following three major symptoms: (1) when it is impossible for the ruling classes to maintain their rule without any change; when there is a crisis, in one form or another, among the ‘upper classes’, a crisis in the policy of the ruling class, leading to a fissure through which the discontent and indignation of the oppressed classes burst forth. For a revolution to take place, it is usually insufficient for ‘the lower classes not to want’ to live in the old way; it is also necessary that ‘the upper classes should be unable’ to live in the old way; (2) when the suffering and want of the oppressed classes have grown more acute than usual; (3) when, as a consequence of the above causes, there is a considerable increase in the activity of the masses” [3].
  All three of these conditions are coming into being. The ruling class is in chaotic disarray. The working class's conditions are declining preciptously, and a cursory look at this administration (the result of #1) show that things are going to get a lot worse. It's not hunger that creates a revolution, it is the relative decline of conditions from their previous state. And we already see a "considerable increase in the activity of the masses". The Tesla fires you weep over are an extremely obvious symptom of that.
  I'm so fucking sick of people on this website disavowing all political action under the banner of "treats". It's a ridiculous, idealist, and hypocritical position: you, in your inactivity, are the one sitting back, satisfied by treats. The "treatlerites" you condemn are the ones going out and fucking firebombing the property of the man most visibly destroying their material support systems. If you think there's nothing to be rallied or organized in that, then it is for the best that you stay home and enjoy your pointless doomposting - the easiest treat of all.
  
  it's not about being sad the VA was cut. One of the underlooked aspects of the US government is that it employs millions meaning a good chunk of the populace are inherently invested in the survival of the US government, given that they or someone they care about works there.
  by cutting this down, they're playing with fire. "who/why is doing tesla adventurism" is a great question to ask, but shouldnt be framed derisively. instead, it should be followed up with "and how can we reach them and educate them on the immortal science"
- While the reason is unrelated to genocide Libs have recently turned on cuck Schumer one of the more egregious Zionist democrats and polling shows an increasingly stronger majority of democrats(voters not politicians by any stretch) sympathize more with Palestinians over “Israelis”
  Doge is doing a lot more heinous shit besides usaid so while that is one factor I don’t think that’s the driving force right now
  Musk is an easy catch all target with an easily recognizable brand whereas Zionist institutions are spread out over a bunch of shit so there’s not one easy thing to firebomb out of reflex. (Plus you’re going to find more lax security at your local Tesla dealership than Lockheed Martin) Also musk does support the genocide so it’s justice in that sense albeit unwittingly.
  With all that said though I don’t directly discount your premise and the selfishness of Americans only reacting when they feel directly impacted personally or within their social sphere/ingroup cannot be understated as an indictment of the typical american.
  
  While searching jdam logistics routes and derailing trains in massachusetts is obviously beyond imaginations non-cia affiliated freedom fighters, starbucks or intel offices are not lockheed as well.
  But I mean it’s all this shit, dropping tesla sales in europe, while fucking sodastream exists perfectly well, mcdonalds etc
  
  In the early 2000s anti capitalist protesters rallied outside a Nike store in Melbourne demanding its closure, and during the last year they have happily marched past it chanting about starbucks being evil waving palestinian flags
  every week the cops were sending groups of pigs to mcdonalds and starbucks to make sure nothing happened to them
  shits depressing
- Baby steps
- Have you considered that netanyahu doesn't do cringe posts on twitter???
- I get the frustration, especially as you others have pointed out thay there's this selfishness among Americans in that they care only once it impacts them directly, and also that Americans are largely stuck in either symbolic performative "protest", or they'll do some adventurism now and then. All of the above is some reflection of just how alienated Americans are. We are all isolated little entities here, and so it makes sense that Americans act like they do. There is also a huge lack of working class institutions to organize and shape our consciousness and tactics. As long as that organizing is lacking, American anger will manifest in these odd and, mostly useless, ways. It's our social pathology, and it's incredibly frustrating!
  But as others have mentioned here, there is a growing potential for radicalization. But it can only be made real with working class organization that collectively pools our knowledge and expands it toward effective struggle whilse also building solidarity among different people's struggles. Else, imo, Americans will go with what they know: individualistic symbolic liberalism and only when it impacts them directly.
  There's much work to do in the US to be better prepared for what's coming

1113 comments