Bulletins and News Discussion from March 11th to March 17th, 2024 - It's Eurover - COTW: Portugal
Bulletins and News Discussion from March 11th to March 17th, 2024 - It's Eurover - COTW: Portugal
This year really is just gonna be us swinging from election to election, I suppose. I feel Lenin's beaming red eyes on me.
Up next on our electoral tour is Portugal. The current government - a coalition of the center-left Socialists and the center-right Social Democrats - has been mired in corruption scandals, resulting in a general election being called a mere two years after the last one. The fascist and vaguely populist Chega party has gained significant support over the last two years due to the economic hardships. Yesterday, the Social Democrats secured a narrow win of 79 seats compared to the Socialists' 77. Chega, in third place at 48, would appear to be the best candidate for a coalition, though the leader of the Social Democrats has said that they would refuse a coalition with them due to their xenophobic views. Regardless, the fascist surge is worrying, if expected.
Portugal's economy is going pretty badly even as European countries go, with little growth in productivity or investment over the last decade. The origins of this crisis date back to Portugal making the euro their national currency in the early 2000s, thus surrendering their ability to control their own currency, becoming reliant on investment from Germany and France, and suffering greatly in the 2012 European debt crisis. Unemployment and low wages spurred emigration; in 2013, the youth employment rate was about 40%; this has only come down to 25% recently and is increasing again. The government is heavily reliant on debt for public spending, with a debt-to-GDP ratio skyrocketing to over 100% in the two decades since the turn of the millennium. The capitalist sector is simply not profitable enough and hasn't been for 40 years, which is only a problem if you are a capitalist economy. For more on the Portuguese economy, check out Michael Roberts' recent analysis, from which I obtained a lot of this information.
Inside Portugal is the same story playing out across much of Europe. A failing center or center-left political party, unable to cope with the economic troubles of the last few years due to absolute obedience to neoliberal policies. A fascist party rising, but with no alternative economic plan, hoping that perhaps oppressing minorities and going after "wokeism" will make their God, The Economy, rain blessings down on them again.
The COTW (Country of the Week) label is designed to spur discussion and debate about a specific country every week in order to help the community gain greater understanding of the domestic situation of often-understudied nations. If you've wanted to talk about the country or share your experiences, but have never found a relevant place to do so, now is your chance! However, don't worry - this is still a general news megathread where you can post about ongoing events from any country.
The Country of the Week is Portugal! Feel free to chime in with books, essays, longform articles, even stories and anecdotes or rants. More detail here.
The bulletins site is here!
The RSS feed is here.
Last week's thread is here.
Israel-Palestine Conflict
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against Israel. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA daily-ish reports on Israel's destruction and siege of Gaza and the West Bank.
English-language Palestinian Marxist-Leninist twitter account. Alt here.
English-language twitter account that collates news (and has automated posting when the person running it goes to sleep).
Arab-language twitter account with videos and images of fighting.
English-language (with some Arab retweets) Twitter account based in Lebanon. - Telegram is @IbnRiad.
English-language Palestinian Twitter account which reports on news from the Resistance Axis. - Telegram is @EyesOnSouth.
English-language Twitter account in the same group as the previous two. - Telegram here.
English-language PalestineResist telegram channel.
More telegram channels here for those interested.
Various sources that are covering the Ukraine conflict are also covering the one in Palestine, like Rybar.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Sources:
Defense Politics Asia's youtube channel and their map. Their youtube channel has substantially diminished in quality but the map is still useful.
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don't want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it's just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists' side.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Pro-Russian Telegram Channels:
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR's former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR's forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster's telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a 'propaganda tax', if you don't believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.
Pro-Ukraine Telegram Channels:
Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.
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Bunch of clapping circus seal yesmen wildly lauding Ukrainian mechanics doing basic modifications to shitty British tanks as the world's modern Hephaestuses.
Ukrainian Soldiers Enhance Protection of British-Donated Challenger 2 Tanks Against Russian Threats
Ukrainian soldiers have been reported to make crucial upgrades to the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks, a contribution from the United Kingdom aimed at bolstering Ukraine's defense capabilities following the invasion of the country by Russian troops. A recent video by the British magazine "The Sun" showcases these enhancements, designed to increase the protection of the tanks against the evolving threats in the Ukrainian conflict zone and new Russian threats.
Upgrades so crucially missed by the British tank designers. To be fair, they're British. And also the equipment sent to Ukraine is stripped down export models that are like even more shit than the actual vehicles in use.
The British Challenger 2 has long been recognized as one of the best-protected main battle tanks globally, a distinction it owes to several key design features and technological advancements. Its armor, composed of the classified Chobham/Dorchester composite, provides outstanding protection against both kinetic energy penetrators and chemical energy munitions, setting a benchmark in tank armor technology.
Theoretically. Practically it's being recognized as one of the best human designed artificial mud crab larp vehicle.
The Challenger 2's turret is renowned for its exceptional durability, capable of withstanding hits from most anti-tank weaponry. Furthermore, its comprehensive protection is augmented by an advanced fire control system and a high degree of survivability features, such as NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical) protection systems and automatic fire suppression capabilities. This blend of superior armor, cutting-edge defensive systems, and operational effectiveness underpins the Challenger 2's reputation as a preeminent force on the battlefield, designed to ensure crew survivability against a broad spectrum of threats.
Theoretically. Practically, it's becoming famous for competing with the Germans in a race to the bottom of shit that's overengineered and breaks easier than than an Italian's mind when he sees someone snapping dried spaghetti pasta in half.
The original British Challenger 2 has received comprehensive modifications at the hands of Ukrainian forces. These upgrades are not just superficial adjustments but are aimed at significantly increasing the protection for the crew inside, addressing the unique challenges posed by the Ukrainian battlefield. Among the notable improvements, the tanks' hull sides have been outfitted with grill armors and rubber side skirts, providing additional layers of defense against anti-tank weapons.
Yeah a whole fluff article to fucking talk about adding shitty slat armor to a shitty tank. You know what they said when the Russians do the same thing? They call them "cope cages". Wonder how the British are coping with their world famous tank being so shit it needs rebar wielded to it to stop it from getting owned
Further enhancing the tank's combat readiness, the gunner's machine gun now boasts an armored shield at the front, offering critical protection for the operator during engagements. Additionally, the front of the hull has been equipped with wire cage armor, an innovative solution aimed at thwarting the effectiveness of anti-tank guided missiles and rocket-propelled grenades by detonating them before they can impact the tank's main armor.
That's fuckin right, you're getting a two for one deal for bullshit fluff! Wielding rebar to a tank and a thick piece of steel around a machine gun makes you resourceful and resilient strategic geniuses that are winning the war so goodly you can do it with both hands tied behind your back!
Fucking goons
Euros when Russians put cages on their armor:
cope cage
Euros when Ukrainians put cages on their armor:
an innovative solution
Didn't one of these tanks sink in the mud last week?
The British Challenger 2 has long been recognized as one of the best-protected main battle tanks globally
Strange claim to make considering the Challenger 2 has never actually faced combat against a modern army with modern antitank weapons
I mean aside from itself anyway
Because a Challenger 2 was lost in combat to another Challenger 2 when it was hit by a HESH round and killed the crew inside, and that was in 2003
But nah it's perfectly invincible, I'm sure a modern Russian APFSDS will just bounce right off that immortal Chobham armour that can't even stand up to its own gun