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Bulletins and News Discussion from June 10th to June 16th, 2024 - Havana Derangement Syndrome - COTW: Cuba

Image is of Cuba's National People's Power Assembly.


The most recent geopolitical news around Cuba is the arrival this week of four Russian vessels, including a nuclear submarine - not carrying any nukes, (un)fortunately - to Havana. This will, in Putin's words, merely be a visit celebrating historical ties and no laws are being broken. Nonetheless, it's not hard to imagine how American politicians and analysts are taking the news, especially as it comes shortly after Russia promised an "asymmetrical" response to further NATO involvement in Ukraine (notably, officially allowing the use of US weapons such as missiles in Russia, albeit in a small part of Russian territory, near the border).

Meanwhile, China has been increasingly co-operating with Cuba to overcome the economic hardship created by American sanctions. China has recently re-allowed direct flights to Cuba and has recently donated some small photovoltaic plants as part of an initiative to eventually boost the Cuban energy grid by 1000 MW - and any electrical expansion helps as Cuba is plagued by blackouts which last most of the day. Additionally, the EU has made meaningful contributions to Cuba's energy situation too, with large solar installations. Hopefully, the Belt and Road Initiative will help preserve the Cuban revolution against reactionary forces as the power of US sanctions wanes. The proximity of Cuba to the United States makes this much more challenging than it would be for countries elsewhere, however. Similarly to the situation in Mexico, it seems unlikely that the US's influence over Cuba will massively diminish for decades to come unless there is a catastrophic internal collapse in the American authoritarian regime.

The Havana Syndrome will continue until American morale declines.


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 Cuba! Feel free to chime in with books, essays, longform articles, even stories and anecdotes or rants. More detail here.

Please check out the HexAtlas!

The bulletins site is here!
The RSS feed is here.
Last week's thread is here.

Israel-Palestine Conflict

If you have evidence of Israeli crimes and atrocities that you wish to preserve, there is a thread here in which to do so.

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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  • Every leader at G7 is polling negatively

    Liberal democracy moment

  • Intel suspends planned $15 billion expansion of southern Israel chip plant

    Chip giant makes no link between war in Gaza and decision to freeze extra investment in factory being built in Kiryat Gat, says it remains ā€˜fully committedā€™ to the region

    Uh huh, sure, lmao. Hope this is the beginning of a trend hamas-red-triangle

  • Decades-Long Conspiracy Unveiled: Sabotage of Yemen's Agriculture

    Yemen has the highest rate of food insecurity of any country in the world. And the US and UK have been using biological weapons to sabotage their agricultural industry under the guise of "Aid."

    CIA-linked members confessed to orchestrating these actions, with involvement from British and Dutch embassies. Key actors like the US Department of Agriculture and the FAO were implicated, with USAID's pivotal role dating back to the late 1980s.

    Local USAID operatives outside Yemen continue gathering intel, obstructing advancements in agricultural practices. A Seed Center for Seed Inspection facilitated the entry of inferior seeds, some infected with pests, while spiny weeds were spread instead of vegetable seeds.

    USAID targeted fertile soil with contaminated seeds, aiming to render it unsuitable for cultivation, alongside spreading scale insects to hinder wheat production. Spy Shayef al-Hamdani confirmed USAID's role in spreading epidemics among agricultural crops under the pretext of pest control. USAID's interventions were carried out through implementing partners, including international organizations, spreading epidemics in specific crops under the guise of controlling pests. USAID played a pivotal role in executing these plans through its operatives both within and outside Yemen.

  • We need to integrate a doomsday clock into the website that changes depending on how many new comments were made in the news mega in the past hour

  • Israelis getting rejected from hotels abroad. Not just happening in Japan but some reports of greece and thailand too.

    https://nitter.net/pissvortex/status/1801510006442827891

  • Did anyone else have the idea drilled into their head during school that Communism created mass poverty and a failed state? Iā€™ve noticed that a lot of European countries that view Communism as a failed relic to leave behind are okay with the failed ideology of fascism.

    I think a part of it has to do with fascism not having the same ā€œfailed stateā€ stereotype given to it. I remember hearing implications that Nazi Germany was an evil place but had a strong economy. Something you wonā€™t hear being said about the USSR. At least at the basic public school levels.

    Wouldnā€™t surprise me if intellectually incurious people just assume that fascism will create a strong economy that will wipe out undesirables while Communism will make everybody equally poor.

  • I'm an electoralist now.

    Can we put Julian Assange on a ballot?

    EDIT: I forgot Assange is australian...

  • US lifts weapons ban on a high-profile Ukrainian military unit with a checkered past

    I'll give you one guess to figure out which "high profile Ukrainian military unit "with a checkered past" they're talking about.

    Click here for answer (a 30 sec YouTube clip)

    Personally I'm surprised it took them this long to say they're officially assisting these scum-sucking brigades.

    And no I'm not copy-pasting the article. It's literally not worth the effort of dunking on, nor is it worth reading.

  • US Wants To Create ā€˜Hellscapeā€™ of Drones If China Attacks Taiwan

    The US military is planning to create a ā€œhellscapeā€ of drones in the Taiwan Strait if China moves to attack Taiwan, the top US military commander in the region has told The Washington Post.

    Adm. Samuel Paparo, the head of US Indo-Pacific Command, told Post columnist Josh Rogin that the idea would be to send thousands of drones, unmanned submarines, and drone boats into the Strait to buy time for the US and Taiwan to prepare a defense of the island.

    ā€œI want to turn the Taiwan Strait into an unmanned hellscape using a number of classified capabilities,ā€ Paparo said. ā€œSo that I can make their lives utterly miserable for a month, which buys me the time for the rest of everything.ā€

    The US has taken steps in the direction of developing swarms of drones for a future war with China. Last year, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks outlined a plan to deploy thousands of drones controlled by Artificial Intelligence, known as the ā€œReplicator Initiative.ā€

    ā€œWith Replicator, weā€™re beginning with all-domain, attritable autonomy, or ADA2, to help us overcome the [Peopleā€™s Republic of Chinaā€™s] advantage in mass: more ships, more missiles, more forces,ā€ Hicks said at a conference in September 2023. She added that the US plans to deploy the drones ā€œat a scale of multiple thousands, in multiple domains, within the next 18-to-24 months.ā€

    Paparo framed the plan as necessary to deter China from attacking Taiwan, but the US military buildup in the region and its new support for Taiwan has only raised tensions and is making a conflict more likely. The admiral also used Cold War-style language when discussing the situation in the Asia Pacific, saying regional countries need to make a choice between the US and China.

    ā€œThe region has got two choices. The first is that they can submit, and as an end result give up some of their freedoms ā€¦ or they can arm to the teeth,ā€ Paparo said. ā€œBoth cases have direct implications to the security, the freedom, and the well-being of the citizens of the United States of America.ā€

    America, famous for being able to manufacture reliable equipment en masse and engage in attrition warfare

  • Havana syndrome is 100% real. Last night I was hanging out at a Latin club with a few friends and we met a few new acquaintances there, some of which were Cuban. The party was great, we danced a ton and drank even more. I had maybe 5 mojitos. Then today, boom. I wake up almost completely incapacitated. Thereā€™s this nonstop buzzing that is so aggravating and giving me a headache, plus I feel sick to my stomach despite having nothing to eat or drink since last night. I now have reason to believe these so-called acquaintances we met were Cuban government agents, and they were sent on a mission to make me have a bad Wednesday.

    Thank god the government is looking out for people like me and will pay me between $150K and $200K for my suffering.

  • US military ran several anti-vax disinformation campaigns during covid.

    https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-covid-propaganda/

  • Another cargo ship has been abandoned due to damage from Houthi missiles šŸ«”

  • White House has begun blasting ā€œCry Me a Riverā€ by Justin Timberlake to drown out Pro Palestine protestors

    https://twitter.com/HotSpotHotSpot/status/1801088368031179029?mx=1

  • how am i still shocked at the sheer might of western media brainwashing. Its like literally fucking everywhere.

  • https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/putin-pledges-truce-ukraine-exits-occupied-areas-drops-nato-bid-rcna157146

    Putin has laid out demands for an immediate peace. Nato has already rejected them but they are:

    1. Withdrawing troops from the four regions annexed by Moscow

    2. Renounce plans to join NATO.

    3. Ukraineā€™s non-nuclear status,

    4. Restrictions on its military force (I assume this means something like Japan)

    5. Protecting the interests of the Russian-speaking population in the country

    NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg has already commented: "I don't think Putin's proposal on Ukraine is peaceful. NATO countries will continue to provide military support to Ukraine"

  • The more I learn, and get invested, about Cuba the worse I feel, because it genuinely feels like that is the AES state most committed to international socialism but it's also going through a very hard time right now. Let's hope multipolarity results in some unembargoable (new word I invented) trade block that Cuba can join.

  • When imperialist ghouls feel they can start saying the quiet part out loud after they realize that most Westerners have been sufficiently propagandized at this point for it to not be an issue anymore. agony-deep

  • I kind of noticed that westerners treat the oppressed as non existent entities, or ghosts.

  • Looks like Western governments and Western media have finally gotten their ducks in a row w/r/t Bidenā€™s ā€œpeace planā€. Olaf Scholz, the US ambassador to the UN, and others now saying ā€œitā€™s on Hamas to accept this dealā€. Despite the fact that Israel hasnā€™t agreed to shit and Hamas is politely asking that language in the agreement that obviously allows Israel to resume the genocide once they get their hostages back (which they will even more obviously taken advantage) be clarified and changed.

    Itā€™s gaslighting right before our very eyes.

  • Here's a bit idea: Israeli settlers who fled Israel back to their homes in America lobby Biden's government to cancel 4th of July on the ground that fireworks triggers their PTSD

  • EU is finally giving Russian frozen assets to Ukraine. Quite nice since it's the final nail in the coffin for Europe since lose any trust when it comes to finances of any other country outside NATO.

  • The War is Costing the Israeli Economy $600M a Week Due to Absences of Palestinian Workers

    The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has laid bare the Israeli economyā€™s heavy reliance on Palestinian labor, with the absence of these workers costing the Israeli economy an estimated $600 million per week, equivalent to about 6% of its weekly GDP.

    Prior to the outbreak of hostilities on October 7, 2023, around 100,000 Palestinians from the West Bank held permits to work in Israel, primarily in construction and agriculture. However, shortly after the initial Hamas attacks, Israel restricted entry for these Palestinian employees.

    To fill the gaps, Israel has recruited workers from India and Sri Lanka, but the labor shortages have still taken a major toll. In Q4 2023, the Israeli economy contracted by 19.4% compared to the same period in 2022, the biggest drop in nearly four years. Private consumption plunged 26.9%, business investment fell 67.8%, and exports declined 18.3%

  • Not news I'm going to Cuba in a couple months and I'm very excited. Been learning Spanish for a while now and can understand shows and everyday speech. (Though uh, admittedly I have a hard time with Cuban accents lmao)

    Any recommendations? Going to Havana for just 4/5 days.

  • We having another cuban missile crisis? Why are there 4 russian warships and a US submarine in Cuba right now?

  • #neveragain just means next time we'll succeed. what did we learn from the holocaust? make it look like an accident. we don't need to build auschwitz again, we'll just turn the whole world into a gas chamber.

  • It's hard for me to put into words just how much I despise Israel. I had to deal with some product in the back at my job today from there. I tucked it away in the back, hopefully nobody ever finds it.

  • not many people know this, but MSNBC stands for My Small Nuts Balls and Cock

    EDIT: whoops, wrong thread. sorry

  • Two cop ladies wanted to use a Bar's restroom but they were denied entry and then kicked by the staff and customers

    let them pee their pants, let them shit their pants. never give a single inch to any pig, ever. they had fun bashing people's heads with batons? now you pee your pants and will smell bad all the way back home, pig.

  • Today has seen even greater escalations on the border of Palestine and Lebanon.

    I suspect thay sometime between July and September the US-israeli zionist forces in occupied Palestine will begin a massive operation in Lebanon against Hezbollah.

    It will be a repeat of 2006. Before the July war, the Gaza resistance had captured IOF soldier Gilad Shalit. The IOF was unable to retrieve him despite a savage campaign against Gaza so they chose to invade Lebanon instead. Entire villages were destroyed and Beirut was bombed but the IOF was routed and took heavy damage. (Look into the story of Hezbollah leveling Heifa train station its really quite awe inspiring).

    A ceasefire in Gaza will only accompany an escalation against Lebanon.

    If I'm wrong about this I'll eat my shoe

  • Incredible video of a zionist melting down at jews for palestine.

    https://x.com/upholdreality/status/1800327418986520887

  • In response to the zionist enemy's assassination of Hezbollah field commander Talib Sami Abdallah, the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon has carried out its largest rocket attack since the start of the war.

    Targets included:

    • The Northern Corps command center at the Ein Zeitim base.

    • The Northern Corps' reserve command center at the Galilee Division reserve deployment base and its warehouses in "Amiad".

    • The "Plasan" military industries factory, specializing in armoring and protecting vehicles for the enemy army, in the Sa'sa settlement.

    • The air surveillance and operations management unit headquarters for the north at the Meron base.

    Image of the Plasan factory (pre-rockets) below

  • the US really needs to get its shit together and balkanize

  • DeSantis declares state of emergency after torrential rain leaves South Florida roads underwater

    On Wednesday, over 12 inches of rain fell in North Miami and Hollywood. Miami's June monthly* average rain is 11 inches historically, so Miami-Dade and Broward counties got an entire month's worth of rain in less than 10 hours.

    1 month ago ron-soy signs bill scrubbing ā€˜climate changeā€™ from Florida law

  • Trying desperately to come up with a "Biden was holding them back!" Joke but I'm dried up, god Fedvans sucks so much lol

  • I am not ready for the absolute wanking of Carter's image after he dies. I don't care if he was the "least violent" US president, he's a mass murderer! I am glad he attempted penance the rest of his life and called Israel an apartheid state, but he was a fucking rube used to overthrow communism and crush working people and willingly went along with it. I will piss peanut farmer piss directly on his fucking grave

  • EU tariffs on chinese EVs. The EU is prepared to sacrifice all of its industries for the USA. My advice: avoid initiating a car tariff war with the largest car market.

  • What do hexbears think about Putin's recent peace offering?

    All the major MSM had a headline story for Putin's speech but didn't go into any details and all rejected it out of hand. I had to go back to Mercouris june 14 video and transcribe them:

    1)All Ukrainian troops completely withdraw from annexed territories - they are Russia now

    Donetsk Luhansk Kherson Zaporizhzhia

    -Russia will guarantee Ukrainian troops safe passage out of the territories

    2)Formally declare abandonment of Ukrainian plans to join NATO, no nukes in Ukraine, de-militarisation, de-nazified leadership, non aligned with West

    3)Drop all financial sanctions against Russia

  • When you're just trying to browse geopolitics news on Twitter, and you have to run into straight up reactionary garbage. Wtf does a trans Olympic athlete losing an appeal and being disqualified have to do with BRICS news? Stop trying to associate us with Western imperialism. Fuck offfffffff. agony-shivering agony-turbo agony-consuming agony-immense

  • FT: Colombia halts coal exports to Israel in protest against war in Gaza / archive (two days old, somebody may have posted this in last week's thread)

    Colombia is Israelā€™s largest supplier of coal, according to the American Journal for Transportation. Coal exports to Israel were worth $320mn in the first eight months of last year, according to government data, while Colombiaā€™s leading mining agency reports that taxes, royalties and other payments related to coal exports to Israel are worth around $165mn per year to the treasury.

    The headline reads "halts," but it has not yet happened and does not impact any shipments which have already been approved. Hopefully this is the beginning of an earnest boycott and not some Erdogan PR bullshit where they simply keep selling to the settler state through an intermediary. Either way, the coal industry is pissed.

  • studentsforpalestinefinland
    URGENT! COME SUPPORT OUR ENCAMPMENT TOMORROW
    The University of Helsinki is planning to evict us tomorrow under the pretext of a greenwashing conference. They have given us until noon to leave.
    Join us at 10.00 at the encampment for a briefing on how the demonstration will proceed and to show your support for Palestine and the global student movement!

  • un voted for usa-described ceasefire, incredible to watch how usa spins around saying israel agreed to it

  • https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/13/europe/ukraine-prison-soldier-recruitment-intl-cmd/index.html

    From prison to the trenches: Inside Ukraineā€™s attempt to turn inmates into soldiers

    The push to recruit inmates into the military appears at first glance to parallel a campaign of prison recruitment by Russiaā€™s mercenary company Wagner early in the war, and continued by the Ministry of Defense since last year. The lives of thousands of Russian convicts have been expended in so-called ā€œmeat grinderā€ assaults, particularly in the fighting for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

    But Ukraineā€™s Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska, speaking to CNN in Kyiv, rejected the comparison.

    ā€œIn Ukraine, motivation is largely based on patriotism. Our prisoners join the army voluntarily. In Russia, it was voluntary and forced. I personally saw (Russian) prisoners who were forced to join Wagner,ā€ he said, adding that in Russia, inmates were recruited into the notoriously brutal private military company, whereas in Ukraine, they are joining the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

    ā€œThis is a regular state military service with all the guarantees: salary, social insurance, payments in case of injury, death, and so on. This is a completely different story in terms of motives and mechanisms.ā€

    zelensky-pain patriotism

  • Southern Baptists voted on Wednesday to oppose the use of in vitro fertilization. The vote was an indication that ordinary evangelicals are increasingly open to arguments that equate embryos with human life, and that two years after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, ā€œfetal personhoodā€ may be the next front for the anti-abortion movement.

    ordinary evangelicals

    (NYT [Archive])

  • One week without Suriyakmaps and life has never felt this empty, I need to know which wheat field Russians have taken or I'm going crazy

    Don't tell my wife this Hexbros, but I need name suggestions for my soon to be released son. We're both Arab for context. She wants to name him something cool and hip like Rayyan, but I want to give him a powerful name like Fahad (leopard) or Hassan (Nasrallah reference), or maybe even Qassam (no I won't do this)

  • WaPo reports Sen. Federman was driving over 30 mph over the speed limit when he rear ended another driver (she was taken to hospital in ambulance)

  • China Urges US To Immediately Stop Illegal Unilateral Sanctions

    Article

    Washingtonā€™s sanctions have created victims all over the world, Chinese diplomat Lin pointed out.

    On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said that the normal economic and trade interactions between China and Russia should not be used as a tool to smear and contain China. He also urged the United States to immediately stop slapping illegal unilateral sanctions and play a constructive role in ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict and restoring peace.

    Lin made the remarks at a regular press briefing in response to a media query concerning a new U.S. anti-Russia sanctions package that includes more than 300 companies, banks and dozens of individuals from Russia and other countries, including China.

    Lin said the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Russia is inherently logical and highly resilient, and is in the interests of both countries.

    ā€œChina firmly opposes all unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction. The normal economic and trade interactions between China and Russia should not be interfered with or disrupted, still less be used as a tool to smear and contain China,ā€ he said.

    On the Ukraine crisis, it is quite clear to the international community who is calling for dialogue and striving for peace, and who is fueling the fight and inciting confrontation, Lin said.

    The United States on the one hand continues to pour weapons and munition into Ukraine, yet on the other shifts the blame of undermining peace and protracting the crisis to other countries, Lin said, adding that it even sees the crisis as an opportunity to slap sanctions and suppress others. ā€œAll of it reveals Washingtonā€™s calculations, hypocrisy and what a bully it is,ā€ he added.

    The U.S. sanctions have created victims all over the world, severely undermined other countriesā€™ sovereignty and security, caused humanitarian tragedies and disrupted industrial and supply chains, Lin said.

    Since the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, the United States has even doubled down on sanctions. Wielding the big stick of sanctions does not solve problems, the Chinese diplomat said, adding it will only be a major source of risks for the world.

    ā€œChina did not create and is not a party to the Ukraine crisis, and we will not accept smears, pressuring or blame-shifting,ā€ Lin pointed out, stressing that China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies and citizens.

  • BREAKING: A military aircraft carrying Malawiā€™s Vice-President Saulos Chilima and nine others has gone missing, a statement from the presidentā€™s office has said:
    https://twitter.com/african_stream/status/1800211812472012997?mx=1

  • Chinese retail coffee giant Luckin Coffee signs Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Brazilian government, agreeing to pay $500 million for 120,000 tons of Brazilian coffee exports over the next fiscal year, a significant increase from $280 million in the 2023/24 fiscal year.

    They do be laying BRICS.

  • So since half of Europe's far right is concentrating in Hungary because of the curious case of Ilaria Salis, some nazis thought the best way to assert their innocence is to smash up the IMT's (or the 147th Internationale or how they call themselves now) local chapter's meeting, this turned out not to be a smart move and some of them got busted by cops immediately. Nazis are absolutely fuming on their telegrams.

    (Sidenote: some of the trots were taken by police too to question them and apparently they sold a newspaper to someone at the police station).

  • My dad has some fabulous brainworms and talking to him is like staring into a maelstrom of western nastiness interspersed with a few inexplicably sane ideas that does not fit into any of the rest.

    • Large parts of Sweden is ruled by cartoonishly brutal Muslim gangs
    • Muslims and Africans should be ethnically cleansed from the west
    • Muslims and Africans who can not be deported should be worked to death in camps
    • However, Nazis are ridiculous morons, and the rise of the AfD is concerning
    • The GDR was brutally looted in the 1990's
    • People are voting AfD because the established politicians have not solved the real problems. The real problem is the existence of non-white people
    • Meloni and le Pen are okay though because they're not fascists
    • It was a mistake to create "Israel", they should have given the Jews Schleswig-Holstein instead
    • "Israel" is a democracy which means they're good
    • "Israel" is incredibly racist
    • Palestinians should "negotiate" instead of doing armed resistance. They should "make themselves useful" for America and maybe offer them access to natural resources.
    • If Khamas wins it will be much worse for Palestinians than today because then they will live under "a Muslim dictatorship like in Iran" which is worse than getting bombed
    • Wokeness has gone too far
    • Conservative catholics are nasty, their theatrical forms of worship is off-putting and they're driving people away from the church
    • The Donbas should never have been part of Ukraine
    • However, "we can not allow" Russia to win in Ukraine
    • Ukraine is going to win the war once the west decides to take it seriously and gives them all the good gear they have been holding back until now.
    • China is more scary than Russia because the Russians are primitive
    • China is doing imperialism by offering countries material benefits. This is worse than the western way of forcing themselves on the global south.
    • Western democracy is precious and shows how civilised we are, however all western politicians he can think of are corrupt arseholes.

    I believe him to be a completely ideologically representative sample of the average westerner.

  • Boeing Starliner not ready to come back to Earth ā€“ leaving astronauts on International Space Station

    Boeingā€™s troubled Starliner spacecraft will stay at the International Space Station for longer than expected, just the latest in a series of problems for the capsule.

    It means that the astronauts who were carried to the space station in a mission earlier this month will have to stay for longer than expected, coming back on 22 June. They may end up staying for longer.

    Nasa said that the delayed return will allow Nasa and Boeing to spend more time planning for the astronautsā€™ return and their journey back down to Earth.

    Mission a success or failure?

  • Amal Saad, scholar of Hezbollah:

    With the downing of the third Hermes 900, one of Israel's most advanced drones, Hizbullah has now eliminated 12% of Israel's reported fleet of 25 such drones. It has now downed a total of 7 Israeli drones since October, resulting in a significant financial loss for Israel. However, the true significance lies in the fact that Israel's once unchallenged aerial supremacy is now under threat. In addition to downing drones, Hizbullah has challenged this superiority by targeting Israeli jets, compelling them to retreat from Lebanese airspace on two occasions last week, infiltrating Israel with its own drones without being detected or intercepted, and even striking Israel's Iron Dome.

    Coupled with how Hizbullah has turned the tables by not only creating a buffer zone inside Israel for the first time in its history, forcing tens of thousands of Israelis to flee northern settlements, but also by using the Galilee as a research and development lab to test its weapons - a reversal of Israel's long-standing tactics against Lebanon - it's clear that Israel is now facing the most significant threat in its history and is fighting a new type of enemy.

    Hizbullah's current approach marks a significant shift from its previous strategy, which focused primarily on preventing an Israeli occupation and achieving victory by simply surviving. No longer content with defensive measures, Hizbullah has now taken the offensive against Israel, engaging in a protracted war of attrition. The movementā€™s goals have expanded far beyond mere survival and the liberation of Lebanese territory; it now seeks to compel Israel to change its behaviour and calculations by imposing unprecedented costs. Furthermore, rather than countering Israel's "complexity" with Hizbullah's "simplicity," as Nasrallah characterized the 2006 war, Hizbullah is now confronting complexity head-on with audacity and more advanced weaponry.

    There was also a major ambush operation by Hamas today, where they toppled a building on top of an Israeli force. Israel is probably claiming 2 soldiers lightly grazed and -1 deaths, as in a new Israeli soldier popped out via mitosis

  • In Ukraine - Russia war news:

    The Ukrainians seem to be committing to their asymmetric strategy, they know that they can't beat Russia on the frontlines, so Ukraine is launching an increased amount of attacks against high value targets within Russia. One of the most significant of these is the loss of a Russian Su-57 5th generation stealth fighter jet while it was on the ground, as confirmed by Russian telegrams. It is the first combat loss of a 5th generation fighter aircraft in history, and Russia currently only has a handful of Su-57s that are operational, so a very costly loss. It was unprotected on a runway, and not in a concrete hangar, which is a major oversight from Russia.

    In general Russian aviation has lost quite a few high value aircraft throughout the war, both to friendly and enemy fire, including an Su-34 NVO to friendly fire at the beginning of the war (one of only 10, and one of the few fully capable SEAD and EW aircraft at Russia's disposal), and the suspected loss of various AWACS jets both to enemy and friendly fire, and the loss of the Mach 3 capable MIG 31 aircraft, which were also on the ground and unprotected while they were bombed. The Su-57 loss has a tactical impact, as Russia has made extensive use recently of the stealth kh-69 cruise missiles, which the stealthy Su-57 can carry deep into Ukrainian territory to extend their effective range, due to it's own stealth capabilities, to enable strikes on power infrastructure deep in Western Ukraine. A double stealth 1-2 punch. However multiple fighter jets in the Russian Air Force can carry the kh-69. The recent MIG 31 losses also have an impact, it is the only normal sized fighter plane/non bomber that can carry the Kinzhal, and flies to high and fast for most Ukrainian air defences to shoot down.

    All in all these losses will not change the trajectory of the war or the reality of the frontlines where Ukraine has no answer to Russia, and losses are to be expected, but it does show that Russian aviation's doctrine is well behind battlefield realities. The lack of proper SEAD/EW aircraft and outdated SEAD/DEAD doctrine, the failure to build protective hangars to protect high value aircraft, and friendly fire incidents are not things an air force of Russia's size should struggle with. It's almost as if there has been no modernisation since the end of the cold war.

  • US-EU spat derails push for $50B Ukraine loan using Russian assets

    ā€œWhat Washington is proposing is, 'We [the U.S.] take a loan, Europe takes all the risk, you [Europe] pay the interest, and we [the U.S.] use the money for a U.S.-Ukraine fund,'ā€ said one senior European diplomat. ā€œWe might be stupid but weā€™re not that stupid.ā€

    Fresh from a bruising European election last weekend, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will tell President Joe Biden they reject the American proposal for Europe to act as sole guarantors for the loan, according to conversations with six senior diplomats and officials.

    There is palpable anger within European governments about the U.S. plan, which, they argue, would mean they would be on the hook to pay the loan back if anything goes wrong ā€• while American companies could potentially benefit the most from the Ukraine reconstruction contracts that would flow from it.

    The key question is who legally will be liable to pay the loan back if Hungaryā€™s Russia-friendly government vetoes the prolongation of EU sanctions against the Kremlin, which legally have to be renewed every six months ā€” thereby unfreezing Russiaā€™s central bank assets.

    Other risks include Russian assets no longer earning enough or being handed back to Russia under a peace settlement.

    The U.S. suggested that European countries should bear the brunt of the financial risk if any of this happens, by proposing that countries should be liable in proportion to the amount of frozen Russian assets that they hold.

    Washington said that guaranteeing the loan with U.S. taxpayersā€™ money would mean involving Congress in ratifying the agreement, according to three officials. This comes with fears that opposition from Republican lawmakers will extend the process past November's presidential election.

    While EU officials are receptive to these concerns, theyā€™re reluctant to agree to something that comes at the expense of their own taxpayers.

    ā€œIf it was the other way around, they would say we are crazy,ā€ said an EU official about the U.S. proposal.

    Europe and America are also fighting about control over the loan and influencing how the money is spent, senior European officials said.

    If Washington ā€” or institutions with major U.S. stakes such as the World Bank ā€” dole out the money, American companies are in pole position to profit, they said

    hahaha

  • Argentina protesters facing charges include family selling sausages, man leaving subway

    Dozens of people were arrested on Wednesday as they protested President Javier Mileiā€™s Bases Law outside Congress

    At least 33 people arrested during protests against the Bases Law on Wednesday have been accused of crimes including attacks on Argentinaā€™s constitutional order. Argentinaā€™s presidential press team has called the protesters ā€œterrorist groupsā€ who attempted to ā€œperpetrate a coup dā€™etatā€ ā€” allegations prosecutor Carlos Stornelli quoted in his charge sheet. But relatives of the detained say some were arrested while leaving peacefully, while others had only attended to sell food.

    Their situations raise questions about the proportionality of charges, the criminalization of protest in Argentina, and whether those arrested played any role in the violence.

    The Bases Law, previously known as the omnibus bill, is President Javier Mileiā€™s broad-reaching flagship reform package. It strips away many economic and labor regulations, permits the privatization of numerous Argentine state companies, and courts investment from large multinationals. It was passed by the Senate late on Wednesday night, although the final version depends on whether deputies approve modifications introduced by the upper house.

    Social movements, community assemblies, trade unions, rights organizations, and outraged citizens protested in Congress Square as senators debated the bill. Demonstrators threw stones and sticks and burned garbage dumpsters. A massive police operation responded with tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets. Hundreds of people were injured and five opposition deputies were hospitalized after being tear gassed. At least one car was flipped onto its roof and incinerated.

    Article sucks on this part. The protest was mostly peaceful and by like 17:00hs people and their orgs began to leave, that's when the police advanced over the remaining protesters. Once again, the bellicose actions of the police plus WELL IDENTIFIED undercover cops began the "riot".

    "He wasnā€™t doing anything but they took him"

    MatĆ­as Leonel Ramirez was selling sausage sandwiches from a grill. He had driven to the protest. When the police advanced, he stayed with his car to protect it. ā€œHe couldnā€™t leave because he couldnā€™t get the car out,ā€ said Yesica Maciel, Ramirezā€™s wife. ā€œA squadron of federal police came by and took him for no reason. He never threw any stones, heā€™s not with a political organization, he has no criminal record.ā€

    Since his arrest, RamĆ­rez has been transferred to a prison. Maciel and RamĆ­rez, who live in the suburb of San Fernando, have a 17-year-old daughter and are also raising RamĆ­rezā€™s niece. ā€œHe didnā€™t run, he didnā€™t resist when they grabbed him, because he thought that since he wasnā€™t doing anything, they werenā€™t going to take him. But they took him anyway,ā€ Maciel said.

    ā€œAll my husband wanted was a couple of pesos so we could eat, because we have a family and our money isnā€™t enough to live from day to day.ā€

    Musician Santiago Adano, 38, went to the protest with his local community assembly. They left the protest when the situation started heating up. ā€œThey have that logic of looking after themselves, because there are retired people in the assembly, so logically, they left,ā€ said his sister, Lucila Adano. ā€œI was chatting with him, and suddenly he stopped replying. Then friends started sending me videos, and it was him.ā€

    He was arrested leaving the subway station, as his friend returned to the square to check on his car. Video footage of Adanoā€™s arrest shows at least 16 officers carrying him away. ā€œThey dragged him for like a block,ā€ Lucila said. ā€œThey were squeezing his neck, he was completely red and saying he was suffocating, and would they please let him go?ā€

    ā€œThe last thing I saw was him fainting.ā€

    Other detainees include three generations of the Ocampo family ā€” father, daughter, and granddaughter. Like RamĆ­rez, they were selling food at the protest. The detainees have been in custody since Wednesday night. Prosecutor Carlos Stornelli has asked Judge MarĆ­a Servini to order all of the detainees be placed in pre-trial detention. Her decision was pending at the time of writing.

    Stornelli has charged the detainees with fifteen different crimes including inciting collective violence against institutions by instilling public fear, arson, possession of explosives, and attacking the constitutional order to disturb the free exercise of the Senate. The last charge is punishable by up to 25 years in jail. The Security Ministry said it would file a legal complaint over ā€œdamages it suffered to its equipmentā€ and said that more arrests are to come. Vice President Victoria Villarruel said the Senate would also file a legal complaint against ā€œthe criminals that yesterday attacked the democratic institutions.ā€

    ā€œWe are going to make them pay for all the material damages directed towards the historic buildings and sidewalks of the National Congress,ā€ Villarruel said in a post on X. ā€œ The Argentina of sedition and anarchy is over.ā€

    Manipulating concepts adulterates facts

    Human rights groups have called the move a criminalization of protest. ā€œThe arrests were made at random. The government posted that there was terrorism and coup dā€™Ć©tat, the prosecutor made accusations, and 35 people are being used to generate fear to go to a march,ā€ the Centre for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) posted on X. ā€œThe goal is political: to instill fear in anyone who mobilizes against the government,ā€ they added. CELS called on Servini to release the detainees.

    Mariela Belski, executive director of Amnesty International Argentina, wrote in an Instagram post that the violence during the protests aimed to ā€œcause damage and disturbanceā€ ā€” but rejected the stateā€™s classification of the events as an attempted coup. ā€œA coup dā€™etat has the aim of overthrowing a government and its institutions. Manipulating the definition of concepts is a way of adulterating the facts,ā€ Belski wrote. ā€œAt such dramatic moments for society, this attitude only adds confusion and impoverishes public debate.ā€

    Some of the comrades have been released already, but others still remain "in custody" as of this moment. Local orgs and trots have mobilized and demanded the release of all hostages. For some, the memories of the 1976/1983 dictatorship, which used to "suck" targeted people off the streets and their homes to disappear them, came rushing back, which is why a quite seizable movement was instantly organised to demand the immediate release of all hostages.

    milei and his adminsitration have doubled down not only on rethorics (calling protesters terrorists) but also on the level of violence. And no government can sustain itself in power by cracking skulls open with batons.

    They might have scored a win in the Senate, the tiebreaker fell to the Vice President who of course voted yes. Even after all the bribes, all they could manage was a tie. However, despite their victories, internal contradictions are becoming stronger and stronger.

  • If Trump gets elected, he should pardon Hunter as a power move.

  • Possible Taliban redemption arc?
    https://twitter.com/resistance_sa/status/1801704587432439917?mx=1

    The Taliban have requested from Iran and the Palestinian resistance to be granted the opportunity to send forces when it becomes possible to participate in the fight against Israel.

  • Airbus and Boeing aircraft have become even more dangerous due to counterfeit titanium in their design, the New York Times writes, citing the company that manufactured the parts. After refusing to purchase titanium from Russia, airlines switched to metal of unknown origin and low quality with fake certificates.

    Production employees discovered corrosion holes in the next batch of metal, which is impossible for real titanium. The publication's interlocutors claim that this metal has already been used for passenger doors, cargo compartment doors, hulls, engine heat shields and other elements of a number of aircraft.

    This also applies to the space industry, but more on that later.

    Take it, Putin!!

    Import substitution working very well for the West.

    Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/faa-investigating-counterfeit-titanium-used-some-boeing-airbus-jets-nyt-reports-2024-06-14/

  • Noam Chomsky had a massive stroke in June 2023 and is being treated in Brazil

    95-year-old American linguist is being treated in a SĆ£o Paulo hospital, and health explains silence on Israel-Hamas war. He's married to a Brazilian and has a house in SP.

  • Officials in the Foreign Relations Ministry tell journalist Monica Bergamo that Lula da Silva won't appoint an ambassador to Israel until the genocide in Gaza halts and Netanyahu leaves office.

  • resisting the urge to reply to zionists on reddit making insanely racist arguments with " (red triangle) "

  • Suspicious accounts 'with Nigerian following' being used to push pro-Reform UK content on TikTok

    Of course the takeaway is that it's Russia lol, smolbean uk billionaires would never do this

  • Hey Germany, how's your second war against Russia going?

    Rheinmetall opens repair facility for combat vehicles in Ukraine

    hahaha

    The dumbest motherfuckers on the planet are running the various appendages of the fourth reich. Fixing that hardware in-theater is a great plan!

  • 1 way to insure you won't get assassinated as a leader of a country, don't be named Abe

  • Cuba after Mexico, I see what you did there !

  • I made a post about this in the podcasts comm, but I think the news heads here should be aware of it. The latest episode of Electronic Intifada interviews a political economist involved in BDS. They cover the possible economic collapse of Israel. Really interesting stuff.

  • Calling all Russian bots. Calling all Russian bots. It is now open seasons again to hunt down and cook up some nafo hotdogs on the grill.

  • US Supreme Court Lifts Ban on Bump Stocks

    The US Supreme Court has lifted a ban bump stocks, the rapid-fire gun accessory used in America's deadliest mass shooting. In a decision on Friday, the court said the government did not have the right to ban the accessories... The court said a semi-automatic rifle with an attachment does not qualify as a machine gun under federal law.

    The Supreme Courtā€™s opinion, written by conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, said the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms had ā€œexceededā€ its authority. The court, quoting part of the legal definition of machine guns, said rifles with a bump stock "cannot fire more than one shot 'by a single function of the trigger', and even if they could, they would not do so 'automatically'".

  • Russian Language map:

    2010 Election results - Yanukovych was pro Russian candidate:

  • China has recently re-allowed direct flights to Cuba

    Why were they disallowed in the first place?

  • milei posting more AI generated images and general cringe. Here he says that there have been "great news" from e*rope thanks to the victories of the far right parties in the latest elections. He also claims responsibility for their victory, saying his Davos speech (where he spoke about Communism, the imminent fall of western civilization and LGBT bad) inspired millions to "open their eyes" and vote for fascists and neonazis. . Wait a second, I thought libertarians were supposed to hate fascism and nationalism?!?!? shocked-pikachu.

    Anyway, that doesn't surprise me at all. What I love is the AI rendered image. It's him holding europe? But it's fucked up. Ukraine is shredded, Finland shredded, northern Russia grew a mutation of some sort and huge chunks of it and Belarus as completely missing, even though neither of those countries are in the EU. For some reason parts of Turkey and Syria are shown. He's holding the UK, please I beg him to crush it. Unfortunately Ireland was indeed crushed. Iceland is missing, RIP. Also why does he have medals? What is the instrument that is hand is holding that's literally puncturing Spain? Some sort of compass?

    I cringe a lot when I see AI generated images but I can't stop looking at them. The more you look, the worse it is. Like the presidential band and part of his body are cut when you look at it near Sicily, it's just gone. The stars of the EU flag are not aligned. His index finger of his left hand is fucked up, is that a cigarette?

  • Everyone goes around saying "oh China is doing this but at what cost?" or "China achieved that but at what cost?" But nobody says "Yeah, Capitalism developed the productive forces like no other but at what cost?"

  • NYT: Pro-democracy activists sentenced to life in prison! "The convictions show how the authorities have used the sweeping powers of a national security law imposed by Beijing to quash dissent across broad swathes of society." (Archive)

    The reality: "ā€˜Dragon Slaying Brigadeā€™ leader Wong Chun-keung says he spent money raised through crowdfunding on petrol bombs, but also on trip to Thailand, betting and loan repayments" , "Wong has admitted to a joint conspiracy charge of planting two bombs in Wan Chai on December 8, 2019" (SCMP)

    Edit - A connected trial but not the same one. But we definitely don't hear anything about the second trial in the Western press.

    Via https://mronline.org/2024/06/10/what-western-mainstream-media-wont-tell-us-about-china/

  • Perhaps this isnā€™t the most important thing, but just something interesting to know about Cuba:

    Initially, the World Baseball Classic fielded a ā€œCubanā€ team that wasnā€™t sanctioned by the government of Cuba or the Cuban Baseball Federation. So it was run by MLB and was made up of defectors. Then in 2023, for the fifth WBC, the Cuban Baseball Federation was allowed to field a team directed by them. It included Cuban nationals who didnā€™t defect and havenā€™t been trash talking Cuba since playing in MLB. So the team included some legit pros like Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jiminez. They got beat but for the first time it was a truly ā€œCubanā€ team. I have hard time criticizing people for their funko pops and stuff because I spent more than I should to get a 2023 Cuba WBC baseball cap.

    The situation with baseball player defectors is tricky. On one hand, I feel it just isnā€™t worth the negative press Cuba gets for trying to stop baseball players from defecting. I get it when youā€™re talking about like doctors or engineers. But pro athletes are particularly socially necessary. Just let them go.

    OTOH, the US policy of granting citizenship (or permanent residency, I donā€™t remember which) to anyone in Cuba really does tie Cubaā€™s hands here. What Cuba has done economically despite the blockade is nothing short of heroic. Cuba can boast better living standards than the rest of the Caribbean. Butā€¦ itā€™s still a poor country (which would be significantly poorer if it was run by capitalists subservient to US hegemony). If there was any other poor country whose people could get US citizenship or permanent residency just by being there and defecting, then you can bet that most people who came there as part of a sports team would take that offer. And even if athletes arenā€™t quite socially necessary, thatā€™s gotta be pretty demoralizing that if every time your baseball team goes to play in the US, half the players donā€™t come back. This has nothing to do with ā€œauthoritarianismā€, itā€™s the position that any country with any system of governance would have to deal with.

    So Cuba doesnā€™t really have any good options here, but itā€™s the fault entirely of US policy.

  • look at this dying empire not even able to paint its Ships .. You are an Embarresment for dying empires !

  • Bolivian President Arce says BRICS have broken the hegemony of the United States

    The Bolivian president stressed that his country is aiming to join the bloc

    Article

    The BRICS economies have been able to break the hegemony of the United States, said Bolivian President Luis Arce at the plenary meeting of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). ā€œToday, the world order is changing towards a fairer and more balanced state, based on multipolarity and multilateralism,ā€ he said. ā€œThe economies of the BRICS bloc have managed to break the hegemony of the United States, and they are the hope for the development of cooperation and complementarity between countries.ā€

    The Bolivian president stressed that his country is looking forward to participating in BRICS because it offers ā€œtremendous prospects for transformation and transfiguration along with accelerated industrializationā€.

    The BRICS group has seen two waves of expansion since its creation in 2006. In 2011, South Africa joined the four founding nations: Brazil, Russia, India and China. In August 2023, six new members, including Argentina, were invited to join the group. However, Argentina declined the invitation at the end of December. Five new members - Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia - were integrated into the BRICS family on January 1, 2024.

    The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) will be held from June 5 to 8. This year's theme will be ā€œThe Formation of New Growth Areas as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar Worldā€. Scheduled events include meetings for small and medium-sized enterprises, creative industries, the SPIEF Youth Day, as well as the Drug Safety, SPIEF Academy and SPIEF Junior forums. SPIEF is organized by the Roscongress Foundation.

  • China recently scrambled fighter jets and threatened a dutch warship that was launching helicopters off the coast of Shanghai.

    https://www.newsweek.com/china-responds-after-its-figher-jets-confront-dutch-warship-1911168

  • What do we make of Hamas accepting the UN ceasefire agreement? The fact that Blinken is pushing it makes me feel like it canā€™t be goodā€¦ but Hamas did accept it and I donā€™t think they would abide an agreement with major poison pills in it.

  • To stop the far right, France's leftist parties come to agreement for legislative elections and announce union: ā€œPopular Frontā€. ā€œA page in the history of France is being written with the New Popular Frontā€, say the parties in a joint statement.

    FranƧois Hollande, former president of France, celebrates unity of the left in the legislative elections: ā€œTo prevent the far right from coming to power, there comes a time when we must go beyond our differences.ā€

  • Yeah but the U.S. media said that all of these blew themselves up though

    More than eight months into Israelā€™s devastating assault on Gaza, the territoryā€™s healthcare system is barely functioning, with the World Health Organization reporting this week that there have been 464 Israeli attacks on Gazaā€™s healthcare system since October 7, affecting 101 health facilities.

    https://truthout.org/video/israel-has-carried-out-464-attacks-on-gazas-health-care-system-since-october-7/

  • Wild speculation time:

    Something about Macronā€™s troop deployments seems very performative.

    Perhaps performative in the more obvious sense that he wants to boil the frog and sending in ā€œtrainers and advisersā€ is the thin end of the wedge before sending in troops to make NATO intervention in Ukraine a fait accompli.

    But what if itā€™s performative in another way?

    We all know what the outcome of this war looks like. Russia takes the eastern provinces and maybe more, perhaps up to the Dnieper in the south but probably not that far in the north, probably also takes Cherson but probably not Odessa, and maybe Kharkiv maybe not, depending on how good a resistance Ukraine puts up before the negotiations really start. Ukraine wonā€™t be allowed to join NATO and no NATO bases but probably will be allowed to have some security guarantees with the major western players and perhaps even a relationship with NATO that stops short of allowing forward deployments.

    So a few significant uncertainties, sure, but the broad shape of it is clear now.

    Zelenskyy probably needs to go before this deal can really happen, and there would need to be some force that the Ukrainian public trusts that can prevent the Nazi faction from simply installing another Zelenskyy.

    France is in conflict with Russia and has lost out big in Africa and is being poked in the eye in New Caledonia, but is also hitting back to some extent in Armenia.

    The UK is a wreckage and Germany is not very strong. Poland is already taking an antagonistic posture towards Ukraine that will probably only get worse especially after the conflict is over and Ukraine has a settlement with Russia.

    We donā€™t need to talk about Italy or Spain or anyone else in Europe.

    Leaving France.

    They are hostile to Russia and engaged in an active ā€œgreat gameā€.

    But this great game has at least some ground rules and operates mostly as a struggle over spheres of influence while respecting national borders. Itā€™s constrained great power shit between two second tier military powers.

    Germany would continue to be the USā€™s most loyal dog in Europe and will lead the Central European & Baltic alliance, funding strong defensive works but also putting the brakes on the more rabid Russophobia because Germany even today is against actually getting directly involved in shit and definitely against doing anything that isnā€™t preapproved by Washington.

    France as the regional power delegated control of the rump Ukrainian state would be advantageous to the US by keeping Europe still split between two deeply linked but identifiably distinct power blocs, it would place a power hostile to Russia as the designated subhegemon in southern Eastern Europe and would complement French influence in Armenia to a degree by inserting France into the Black Sea making it the obvious choice for Georgia if Georgia decides to throw down again or in the event of another color revolution. And France has at least historical links with the general region, having recently been a colonial power in the area and having shoved its Gallic nose into the Middle East again and again since the crusades.

    France as subhegemon in a rump Ukraine would be an adversary to Russia, but still it would probably be acceptable to Russia to divide Ukraine into two spheres of control, assuming that Russia does not want or cannot occupy all of Ukraine - or both it doesnā€™t want and actually cannot occupy all of Ukraine which seems to be the case in fact.

    So assuming Russia will realpolitik this and accept it both cannot and strategically should not occupy all of Ukraine then it needs to accept that rump Ukraine will be within the western sphere of influence.

    And if they donā€™t want that sphere of influence to be NATO itself, and since they likely both cannot and donā€™t want to completely dominate Ukraine militarily, then they need to accept some kind of western presence / sphere of influence that stops short of NATO.

    Whatā€™s more while France is definitely a dog of the US empire, itā€™s a bit of a Husky. It doesnā€™t like to do what itā€™s told. Itā€™s not Germany and will prioritize French interests over US interests, which makes it a good compromise position for Russia since a French presence is Ukraine is actually very different to a NATO presence in Ukraine while still being a western anchor. It also doesnā€™t hurt that Macron does the same macho bullshit that Putin does and they speak a similar language.

    French ā€œadvisersā€ in Ukraine could fairly quickly gain key influence over the military and promote the more pragmatic military faction to force the hard nationalists to accept a compromise and they would be a friend of Ukraine while doing it.

    Escalation from ā€œjust a few dozen advisersā€ to actual boots on the ground is a process that will take at least the rest of this year and into next, which is also when the new round of western military aid will start to run out, meaning this is the window for Ukraine to cut a deal.

    6-12 months to cut a deal, a suitable western subhegemon that will reliably maintain hostility to Russia while still playing the ā€œgreat gameā€ and accepting realist compromise in a rules-of-the-jungle based world order.

    Acceptable to Russia as preferable to nato, acceptable to the US, acceptable to Ukraine as saviors. Choreographed.

  • https://old.reddit.com/r/UkraineRussiaReport/comments/1dhbgws/ua_pov_countries_that_have_signed_the_ukraine/

    Final map of countries that signed the joint communique at the Ukraine "peace" summit. Pretty much just international-community-1international-community-2 with a sprinkling of a few extra countries.

  • More dumb ass airforce cope

    https://archive.is/k15Wg

    US Navy Operations Specialist explains why although the S-400 SAM System radar can detect the F-22 and F-35 it canā€™t achieve ā€œweapons lockā€ on them

    So before we've seen these dipshits and clowns say u.s stealth jets have fuckin romulan cloaking technology that the pesky Chinese communists are weak against, now we're seeing a bit of the truth come out with the fact that stealth planes aren't actually stealthy and the u.s government's enemies can detect them with the tech they already have.

    That said they make a playful addendum saying that they can see the jets but they can't hit them.

    Stealth fighters

    The F-35 Lightning II is the most advanced node in 21st Century Security: It brings stealth, sensor fusion, and interoperability to enable access in contested environments and enhances situational awareness. jagoff

    Like the F-35, the F-22 brings an unrivaled stealth capability to the fight: the Raptor is designed to project air dominance, rapidly and at great distances and defeat threats attempting to deny access to our US Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps.

    jagoff

    The F-22 was built to be an air-to-air superiority fighter and the F-35 was built to be a strike fighter. These airplanes complement each other and when the Raptor and Lightning II come together, it brings out the strength of both airplanes.

    Like dried squid and peanut butter being grilled over a charcoal fire.

    But can radars of advanced air defense systems like the Russian S-400 Surface to Air Missile (SAM) detect the F-22 the F-35 thus putting them at risk in a high threat environment?

    Lol fucking forgot an "and" between the two shitbirds.

    The S-400 SAM System radar can detect the F-22 and F-35 but it canā€™t achieve ā€œweapons lockā€ on them

    Eric Wicklund, former US Navy Operations Specialist, explains on Quora;

    Fuck off with making dogshit articles based off of random shit you see on knock-off reddit

    ā€˜Yes, it canā€¦ ā€œeventually,ā€ but this fact comes with a significant caveat, one Russia doesnā€™t want you to know. That caveat is: By the time an S-400 can get a lock on F-22/F-35, these planes have already fired ordnance to destroy the S-400 radar.

    jagoff

    ā€˜When using radar against anything, thereā€™s a difference between ā€œdetectionā€ and obtaining a ā€œweapons lock.ā€ They are not synonymous. Without a weapons lock, you cannot successfully engage what you are tracking. So, an S-400 can get a ā€œweapons lockā€ on F-22 or F-35 at about 20ā€“30 miles depending on conditions (the actual figure is classified).

    That means this jackass is talking out of his ass because he sure as fuck doesn't have the security clearance to know the truth. It's literally vibes based.

    ā€™The bad thing for the S-400 is either the F-22 or F-35 can release a JDAM or SDB II bomb long before that happens. An F-35 can release an AGM-88 HARM (High-Speed Anti-Radiation) missile waaay before (from 60 miles away) that S-400 gets that lock. What this means is that these planes can complete their mission (destroying the S-400) before the S-400 can even begin its mission.

    jagoff

    The S-400 is doomed from the start

    ā€˜In shortā€¦the S-400 is doomed from the start. ā€˜Pundits will claim that the Nebo-M radar used in the S-400 system can ā€œdetectā€ a stealth fighter from further out. That is true, but since it is doing this with an L-band radar, about all it can do it ā€œdetect.ā€ā€™

    jagoff

    Wicklund concludes;

    ā€˜As I pointed out above, ā€œdetectionā€ isnā€™t good enough to attack a stealth aircraft. You need that ā€œweapons lockā€ and Russia needs their X-band radars to get that. But they wonā€™t get that before missiles and bombs, set on destroying the Russian radars, are already screaming in.ā€™

    jagoff

  • Gaza aid leader faces backlash over Labour Party run

    Melanie Ward, CEO of the Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) charity, faces major backlash from volunteers and workers after deciding to run as a Labour Party candidate in Scotland. Some 2,250 healthcare workers, medical volunteers, supporters, and donors signed a letter expressing concern.

    On June 5, a protest letter was filed by workers and volunteers at MAP, expressing their dismay to the board over Wardā€™s candidacy with the UK Labour Party. To run for the position of MP in Scotlandā€™s Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency, Ward has taken a leave of absence but has not stepped down from her position.

    Despite Wardā€™s pledge to make real progress for the Palestinian people if elected to Parliament, MAP is currently without an acting CEO during a healthcare collapse in Gaza. Some fear her actions could jeopardize the aid organizationā€™s efforts on the ground, leading to threats of referring MAP to the Charity Commission.

    Ward has a history of affiliations with pro-Israel lobby groups, starting with her first trip to Palestine, organized by the Israeli Embassy-funded Union of Jewish Students (UJS). She blogged about meeting Israeli politicians and visiting settlements but shifted her perspective after a second visit to the West Bank. However, her relationship with UJS continued, including participating in a 2017 UJS panel called ā€œBridges Not Boycotts,ā€ opposing boycotts of Israel.

    Ward also supported the anti-Semitism ā€œwitch huntā€ during Jeremy Corbynā€™s leadership, which purged much of Labourā€™s pro-Palestinian base, including many Jewish anti-Zionists. She tweeted, ā€œFarewell to Jeremy Corbyn, who really was a truly terrible Labour Party Leader. He will be missed not one little bit by those of us who want to see Labour in government again.ā€

    In 2016, she signed a letter calling for Corbynā€™s resignation, shared an article urging the public not to vote for him and tweeted the former Labour leader in 2015, ā€œCorbyn unable to think of situation where heā€™d commit Forces to military action. Should think a bit harder if he wants to be PM,ā€ in response to his anti-war stance.

    I always thought MAP was a pretty good org (and itā€™s possible/probable they are, just bad leadership) but no reason to give them money so long as Ward is in charge and good orgs like PCRF exist.

  • Maybe Macron wants reelection and wants to be dethroned because he doesn't want to swim in the Seine River, which is probably full of shit? Will we see Le Pen swimming in shit??

  • Team of the President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum Suffers a Car Accident

    The accident left one dead and two injured, State Civil Protection reported

    On Friday, the team of Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum suffered a car crash on the Sabinas-Monclova highway as they were heading to the event of President AndrĆ©s Manuel LĆ³pez Obrador.

    The accident left one dead and two injured, State Civil Protection reported. According to statements, the jeep carrying SheinbaumĀ“s team hit a van, which triggered a second impact with another vehicle.

    The victim was an elderly woman who was in one of the hit vehicles.

    So far the name of the deceased and the two others who were injured, who were transferred to the nearest hospital, is unknown.

    ā€œWe deeply regret that one person died in the other vehicle. Those who came in the two impacted vehicles are receiving attention from the federal, state, and Sheinbaumā€™s own team,ā€ the presidentā€™s team said.

    This Friday, Claudia Sheinbaum started a work tour through Durango, Coahuila and Tamaulipas, in which she will be accompanied by LĆ³pez Obrador.

  • I love when I got an email from my boss telling me "Hey I broke this thing and can't fix it, it's your responsibility now, good luck"

    At least this one was easy

  • my favorite NGO is called "Hezbollah" ...

    Edit: okay i didnt expect IDF to answer with trebuchets

  • I hope the author of moonofalabama, b, is doing ok. He had some kind of medical thing a couple weeks ago and it's now a few days past his expected return without posts. The MoA twitter account was a little active about a week ago though

  • I don't really want to read the new Christian Parenti article, but I am curious how many times he uses the word "woke" in it, because between the title, the summary, and the first 2.1 sentences before the paywall, we're already at 8.

    https://catalyst-journal.com/2024/06/the-cargo-cult-of-woke

  • Iā€™m continuously impressed at how influential Bukele has been for Central America and the rest of Latin America. I donā€™t think any other politician from that country has been as influential. Every election in Central America brought him up in regards to how crime should be dealt with. Even Castro in Honduras imposed harsher anti-crime laws.

    Heā€™s a young guy too so chances are that heā€™ll continue to have influence over the region even after his terms are over.

  • Just learned that one of the Workers Party of Britain candidates in this election ran as a Conservative (Tory) candidate in a previous election. Radicalized or opportunist? Lol. Think I'm over the Workers Party of Britain.

  • https://www.mintpressnews.com/gaza-aid-leader-melanie-ward-labour-party/287603/#

    A CEO of a pro-Palestine charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is running for an election under the anti-Palestinian Labour party. This will leave the charity without leadership and volunteers are upset and are asking her to resign.

    Melanie Ward, CEO of the Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) charity, faces major backlash from volunteers and workers after deciding to run as a Labour Party candidate in Scotland. Some 2,250 healthcare workers, medical volunteers, supporters, and donors signed a letter expressing concern.

    On June 5, a protest letter was filed by workers and volunteers at MAP, expressing their dismay to the board over Wardā€™s candidacy with the UK Labour Party. To run for the position of MP in Scotlandā€™s Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency, Ward has taken a leave of absence but has not stepped down from her position.

    And you bet she hates long-corbyn

    Ward also supported the anti-Semitism ā€œwitch huntā€ during Jeremy Corbynā€™s leadership, which purged much of Labourā€™s pro-Palestinian base, including many Jewish anti-Zionists. She tweeted, ā€œFarewell to Jeremy Corbyn, who really was a truly terrible Labour Party Leader. He will be missed not one little bit by those of us who want to see Labour in government again.ā€

    In 2016, she signed a letter calling for Corbynā€™s resignation, shared an article urging the public not to vote for him and tweeted the former Labour leader in 2015, ā€œCorbyn unable to think of situation where heā€™d commit Forces to military action. Should think a bit harder if he wants to be PM,ā€ in response to his anti-war stance.

    I've always been worried about the leadership behind some of these charities since they take in a ton of money these days and they seem to be based in Western countries. Now my worries have been justified.

    Edit: read more here: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-elections-2024-palestinian-charity-ceo-standing-labour-candidate-faces-calls-resign

  • Here are some quotes from my country's government broadcaster about the west's Ukraine summit in Switzerland:

    ... large parts of the word stands behind Ukraine in the war against Russia while Russia today looks even more isolated

    Even though several important countries made themselves noticed by not being present the summit has shown a solid global support for Ukraine

    That [the absence of BRICS] doesn't change that a massive number of the world's countries has now sent a clear message that they back Ukraine in the struggle that once a peace agreement is to be signed it should be based on Russian withdrawal and that Ukraine's terrirtory should be what it was before Russia attacked

    The purpose of the summit was to begin a proper peace process where all participating nations could present ideas on how to work towards a lasting peace in Ukraine.

    About the Russia peace offer:

    But his [Putin's] criteria for peace can best be described as an insult to the Ukrainians and the proposal was also blankly rejected by the summit's participants.

    No wonder westoids think like they do when this is the reality that is presented to them.

  • https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-azov-brigade-us-arms-ban-lifted-russia-1913372

    Nazi commander tells journalists they will use U.S provided weapons effectively.

    Ukraine's Azov Brigade Sends Direct Message to US After Arms Ban Lifted

    Ukraine's Azov Brigade will "prove the effectiveness" of the U.S.' decision to lift a long-standing ban on providing weapons to the unit, according to the brigade's commander.

    See, I wasn't lying

    "We will justify the responsibility entrusted to us, and with our discipline, resilience and bravery in battle, we will prove the effectiveness of this decision," Colonel Denys Prokopenko said in a statement posted to social media on Saturday.

    pigmask-off

    Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department reversed a decision made back in 2014 to stop the Ukrainian brigade receiving American weapons.

    Hmm I wonder what happened back in 2014 thinking-about-it

    The move comes as Ukraine, despite a number of successes in the Black Sea against Moscow's naval fleet, struggles to hold off incremental but steady Russian advances in eastern Ukraine.

    Lol they gotta fit in some cope somewhere to deal with the constant stream of Ls from the frontlines.

    As military aid from Washington dried up earlier this year, deep anxieties settled in over the supply of weapons and ammunition to the Ukrainian front lines. The U.S. then passed a long-awaited military aid package in late April.

    Jerk-offs not even mentioning all that sweet genocide material's being redirected to the fascists in Israel so they can be used on people that can't defend themselves, as the bombs and guns were designed to be used for.

    The Azov Brigade rose out of the volunteer Azov Battalion, with its roots in far-right and ultranationalist ideology. The fighters were on the front lines fighting pro-Moscow separatists in Ukraine from 2014; the battalion's founders were accused of having neo-Nazi sentiments.

    Bite your tongue and drown in your own blood.

    The brigade's current members have rejected these ties, distancing themselves from the battalion's reputation since the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022. The brigade is now a part of Ukraine's National Guard, and has been lauded as one of the most effective fighting forces, noted particularly for its role in battling Russian forces in the Moscow-controlled southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

    Their virulence has spread through the entire state.

    Also they're the most effective nazi brigade in eating shit since ww2.

    The Kremlin has repeatedly attempted to justify its invasion by claiming a "neo-Nazi regime" is in charge in Kyiv. This has been emphatically rejected by Ukraine and the international community.

    international-community-1international-community-2

    "Such a sudden change in Washington's positions shows that they stop at nothing in their attempts to suppress Russia, using Ukraine and the Ukrainian people as a tool in their hands," Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said in remarks referring to the State Department's decision, as reported by Russian state media earlier this week. The U.S. is "ready even to flirt with neo-Nazis," he added.

    I wonder how the journos were reporting on Ukraine prior to the war. They certainly weren't saying Ukraine had a nazi problem, nosiree.

    "I would like to congratulate all the soldiers of the 12th Special Forces Brigade Azov and the entire civilized world on the victory over Russian propaganda," Prokopenko said on Saturday.

    I guess everyone that says otherwise are uncivilized. Something something Garden and jungle.

    An unnamed State Department spokesperson told the BBC that "Russian disinformation" had tried to "conflate" the current Azov Brigade with "a militia formed to defend Ukraine against Russia's invasion in 2014," or the Azov Battalion.

    Didn't know reality was Russian disinformation. But what do I know, it isn't as if me and my party hasn't been keeping close tabs on this for over a decade now.

    Under the U.S.' "Leahy Law," the Washington government cannot use funds to help foreign security forces when there is "credible information" suggesting the unit has committed gross violations of human rights.

    Publicly.

    "Eligibility for U.S. assistance will not only increase Azov's combat effectiveness, but, most importantly, will help save the lives and health of the brigade's personnel," the brigade said in a statement on Tuesday.

    At the cost of Ukrainian and Russian conscripts and civilians of both countries. Giving nazis arms historically is a very bad idea.

    "This is a new page in the history of our unit," the unit added. "Azov is becoming more professional and more effective in defending Ukraine against the invaders."

    God willing, a page shy of a bitter and conclusive end to your unit.

    The Azov Brigade has not yet received U.S. weapons, Azov's deputy commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sviatoslav Palamar, told The Washington Post on Tuesday.

    And may they continue to not receive any and continue to die violent and painful deaths

  • Armed conflicts hit post-WWII record in 2023

    More armed conflicts took place in 2023 than in any other year since the end of World War II, a new study has found. The Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO) said 59 armed conflicts took place worldwide last year, led by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Twenty-eight of the conflicts were in Africa, followed by Asia with 17 and the Middle East with 10. Just three conflicts were recorded in Europe and a single example in the Americas. Although the number of conflicts grew last year, the number of countries that experienced conflicts declined from 39 in 2022 to 34.

    Peace Research Institute of Oslo sounds like a typical western scam NGO but i haven't actually looked into them. even if it isn't 100% accurate it does feel like the amount of violence around the globe has been increasing, and with climate change and declining capitalism/american imperial position i worry it's gonna get worse before it gets better

  • No, a remote village in the Amazon has not become addicted to pornography

    A New York Times report on the arrival of high-speed internet in a remote village in the Amazon ended up bringing a warning about the dark side of the web itself.

    Article (Translated from Portuguese)

    In April, I hiked more than 80 kilometers through the Amazon rainforest to visit the remote villages of the Marubo people. The 2,000-strong indigenous group had recently been connected to high-speed internet, and I wanted to understand how this had affected their lives.

    In a week-long visit, I saw how they used the internet to communicate between villages, talk to distant loved ones and ask for help in emergencies. Many Marubo also told me they were worried that the connection with the outside world would shake their culture, which they have preserved for generations in the forest. Some elders complained about teenagers glued to their cell phones, participating in gossip groups and watching pornography.

    As a result of the investigation, the story that the New York Times published on June 2 was partly about introducing the Marubo people to the evils of the internet.

    But after publication, this perspective took on an entirely different dimension.

    Last week, more than a hundred websites around the world published headlines that falsely claimed that the Marubo had become addicted to pornography. Alongside these headlines, the websites published images of the Marubo people in their villages.

    The New York Post, a New York tabloid, was one of the first to say last week that the Marubo people were "addicted to pornography". Dozens of media outlets quickly followed suit. The headline on the TMZ website was perhaps the most blunt: "TRIBE CONNECTION TO STARLINK PROVES PORN ADDICTION!!!"

    The Post and TMZ did not respond to the Times' requests for a statement.

    Similar headlines have proliferated around the world, including in countries such as the UK, Germany, Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Nigeria, Mexico and Chile. RT, the Russian state media, published a text with the claim in Arabic. There were countless videos, memes and posts on social media.

    The Marubo people are not addicted to pornography. There was no suggestion of this in the villages, nor in the New York Times report.

    Instead, the report cited a complaint made by a Marubo leader that some teenagers had shared pornography in WhatsApp groups. This is especially worrying, he said, because Marubo culture disapproves even of kissing in public.

    Many of the sites that distorted this information are news aggregators, which means that their business model largely revolves around repackaging reports from other news outlets, often using sensationalist headlines in order to sell ads.

    As these sites also post links to the original report, they are generally protected by law, even if they misrepresent the content.

    Today, these types of sites and misleading headlines have become yet another part of the internet economy. To an experienced web user, these tactics are familiar.

    For the Marubo, however, the experience was disconcerting and infuriating.

    "These allegations are unfounded, untrue and only reflect a biased ideological current that disrespects our autonomy and our identity," said Enoque Marubo, a Marubo leader who brought Starlink to his villages, in a video posted on his networks on Sunday evening.

    According to him, the Times report overemphasized the negative aspects of the internet and "resulted in the dissemination of a distorted view".

    Alfredo Marubo (all Marubo use the same surname), the leader who said in the Times report that he was worried about pornography, also spoke out on Tuesday in a statement through his indigenous association. He said that misleading headlines have the potential to generate "irreversible exposure to people's image and, for this reason, we feel exposed in the face of the misinterpretation of true news".

    Eliesio Marubo, a lawyer and indigenous rights activist, is one of the best-known figures among the Marubo people. That's why, when the headlines went viral, Eliesio said he received tens of thousands of messages and tags in comments on social networks. Many mocked the Marubo people, he said.

    Eliesio said the report opened up an important debate about the sudden arrival of high-speed internet in remote indigenous groups. This discussion shows the promises of the internet, but illustrates its dangers with misinformation.

    "The internet does bring a lot of ease," he said, "but it also brings a lot of difficulty."

  • Financial Times: Russia overtook US as gas supplier to Europe in May

    Blah blah blah, context and quotes at the start, the meat of the article is here:

    The US overtook Russia as a supplier of gas to Europe in September 2022, and has since 2023 accounted for about a fifth of the regionā€™s supply. But last month, Russian-piped gas and LNG shipments accounted for 15 per cent of total supply to the EU, UK, Switzerland, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia, according to data from ICIS. LNG from the US made up 14 per cent of supply to the region, its lowest level since August 2022, the ICIS data showed.

    The reversal comes amid a general uptick in European imports of Russian LNG despite several EU countries pushing to impose sanctions on them. Russia in mid-2022 stopped sending gas through pipelines connecting it to north-west Europe, but continues to provide supplies via pipelines through Ukraine and Turkey. Flows in May were affected by one-time factors, including an outage at a major US LNG export facility, while Russia sent more gas through Turkey ahead of planned maintenance in June. Demand for gas in Europe also remains relatively weak, with storage levels near record highs for this time of year.

    The reversal was ā€œnot likely to lastā€, said Marzec-Manser of ICIS, as Russia would in the summer be able to ship LNG to Asia via its Northern Sea Route. That was likely to reduce the amount sent to Europe, while US LNG production had picked up again, he said. ā€œRussia has limited flexibility to hold on to this share [in Europe] as demand [for gas] rises into next winter, whereas overall US LNG production is only growing with yet more new capacity coming to the global market by the end of the year,ā€ he added. The transit agreement between Ukraine and Russia also comes to an end this year, putting at risk flows through the route.

    the US can't even subjugate their vassals correctly. good god.

  • "We uncovered a large American-Israeli spy NETWORK .............................. operating in various institutions SINCE 2015! "

    The network collected important information on various FIELDS ............................... and provided it to hostile intelligence AGENCIES!

    The network was able to influence decision-MAKERS ....................................... penetrate state AGENCIES .................................. and work to attract OFFICALS!.

    The network worked to influence, control, and strike the ECONOMY ............................................... by collecting information and carrying out acts of SABOTAGE!

    The network worked to harm agriculture by increasing agricultural pests in the COUNTRY ......................................... with the aim of encouraging agricultural IMPORTS!

    The spy network sought to harm health in the country by spreading EPIDEMICS ...................................... harming education and spreading moral CORRUPTION!.

    The network provided American and Israeli INTELIGENCIA ........................................... with military information with the aim of weakening the army and its CAPABILITIES !

    The American-Israeli spy network conducted intelligence ACTIVITIES ......................................................... targeting the military and manufacturing capabilities of our armed FORCES!

    there

  • Do you ever find yourself filled with hate for no real reason? Like you can't get happy at all.

    I think my happy pills are wearing off and I'm realizing what a shitty world I live in.

  • US imperialists are learning, by ramping up financial warfare against Russia once again. The first time might have failed, but they are trying again:

    The thought persists that sanctions against Moscow Exchange and National Clearing Center (NCC) are the Americansā€™ plan number two, after plan number one had no effect. Yes, sanctions don't work. But they may not work in the opposite direction. Will explain.

    After the start of the SMO, under the conditions of the first restrictions, a strong trade balance surplus arose in the Russian Federation. There was too much currency coming into the country, and there was nothing to spend it on. As a result, the ruble strengthened significantly. Everyone remembers how much the dollar fell. Russian (especially raw materials) exports then approached the threshold of unprofitability; The government also recorded a sharp drop in revenue. At the end of 2022, the Ministry of Finance announced the need to lower the ruble exchange rate in order to help exporters survive and fulfill the federal budget themselves. This was done last summer.

    Question: why didnā€™t the Americans impose sanctions against Moscow Exchange and NCC in 2022, but did it only now. I think that they studied the situation and realized that for the Russian economy it is not the dollar at 200 rubles that is scary, but rather the dollar at 50 rubles. It seems that this is the plan that will now be implemented. For example, how will the largest exporters now sell foreign currency earnings? This is one of the pillars of maintaining the course at the desired level. The currency received from Russian exports was sold on the Moscow Exchange by the so-called SZKO. On average from $800 million to $1 billion daily. The largest buyers of foreign currency were non-resident banks. This was convenient, since the Americans prohibit transactions with sanctioned Russian banks. Now the exchange is closed, and you cannot buy currency directly from SDN banks. I'm not a forecaster, but I want to highlight the risks. Sanctions against the Moscow Exchange may not weaken the ruble, but strengthen it. With the sole purpose of causing damage to exporters and reducing federal budget revenues. The Americans have been achieving this since 2022. Now they are on their second run.

    This is once again a double-edged sword. The Russians could choose to submit to the rules set by the global hegemon as usual, or it could end up pushing them further away from neoliberalism.

    The Americans are gambling that Russia wouldnā€™t dare to abandon neoliberalism, and they might turn out to be right once more.

  • Busting out the siege weaponry in Northern isnā€™treal

    Cw: flaming trebuchet https://t.me/jeninqassamm/8605

  • Someone should tell PressTV that Caleb Maupin is not the expert they think he is.

  • What a weekend it's been I had to count votes, not for the EU election, and there was the EU election that did a bunch a thing namely my favorite country to hate, Germany did a thing.

    AfD won and is not the second largest political party, which most people paying attention doesn't come as a suprise since they've been polling really strong, however they did less than their normal polls only getting 16% instead of the 20% they polled in the recent couple rounds.

    So were the polls wrong and in the upcoming elections AfD won't reach 20%? I don't think so, AfD is not exactly a 'EU-Aligned' party and I think quite a few AfD voters don't see the EU as legitimate and would probably not vote in an EU election. So they'll probably do even better in the upcoming state elections which I mean yeah germany is going full throttle fash now, they've been idling their fash engine but guess what germany is back to their old tricks.

    Anyways since I am not a german I went to look for some people that are and I found them and translated them. Enjoy

    Das gute Ergebnis fĆ¼r Volt freut mich. Hoffe es reicht noch fĆ¼r einen Sitz fĆ¼r die Piraten.

    I'm happy about the good result for Volt vote. Hopefully there's enough for another seat for the pirates.

    Im Kreml knallen die Sektkorken.

    *In the Kremlin they are opening champagne bottles *

    Because this is all russias fault not a single german is at fault here nope just russia puppeting poor innocent germany.

    There's a couple fuck nazis which you know good but that's the lowest bar ever so let me give you another gem.

    Bin ich einfach nur das Simpson meme oder hat ein GroƟteil der Deutschen den Verstand verloren? Laut der Umfrage, die in der Tagesschau abgebildet ist, geben viele an, dass sich die GrĆ¼nen nicht genug um die Wirtschaft kĆ¼mmern und auch nicht genug um die zukĆ¼nftige Klimapolitik, wenn einfach an allem Lindner Schuld ist? Habeck wollte jetzt schon auf verschiedenste Weise die heimische Wirtschaft unterstĆ¼tzen, aber andauernd fƤhrt Lindner ihm mit der Schukdenbremse in die Parade. Bei den Bauernprotesten haben sich die Bauern vom Lobbyverband treiben lassen, der zufƤlligerweise enge Verpflechtungen mit der Nahrungsmittelindustrie hat, welche dafĆ¼r verantwortlich ist, dass die Bauern so unter Preisdruck stehen. Und Sowohl die FDP, als auch die SPD lƤsst sich in Sachen Migration von der AfD treiben, aber dann wirds wieder den GrĆ¼nen angehƤngt? Was ist falsch mit den Leuten? Blicken die da echt nicht durch?

    Am I just the Simpson meme or has a majority of the germans lost their minds? According to a poll in the Tagesschau many say that the greens don't care enough about the economy and not enough about future climate politics, when everything is the fault of Lindner (FDP so not greens) Habeck wanted to support the national economy through several ways and every time Lindner stops him with the national debt. The farmers lobby led the farmers protests which have close connections to the food industry, which is responsible for the low prices. And FDP as well as SPD let them selves get moved by the AfD on issues like migration but that's the fault of the greens? What's wrong with people? Are they dumb or something?

    For those that do not understand anything the SPD (call themselves soc dem) the greens and the fdp (neoliberals) made a coalition and somehow someway only the policies that the fdp, a party that only has 5% of the votes by the way, go through everything else gets blocked somehow. So for the americans the FDP are you Joe Mansions your Kirsten Cinemas etc. the greens and the spd really want to do things but that darn FDP just stops them. Habeck is their green guy and hasn't been able to do anything at all which is really unfair I mean come on, and then people don't vote for the guy that doesn't do anything are they crazy? Oh also SPD and FDP do basically the AfDs migration policy and the greens are in a coalition with them so yes the greens also have fucking garbage politics this isn't hard.

    Anyways don't worry the brightest german fedditor has the answer why people don't vote for the greens that don't do anything except be really enthusiastic about genocide and sending weapons to people can get blown up

    Springer Presse hat einen astreinen Job gemacht. Mit Ansage. Und alle fallen drauf rein. Die Leute sind wirklich unglaublich dumm.

    That's right guys, gals and nonbinary pals it's the press' fault. Like don't get me wrong fuck right wing media but again if the so called left-wing parties did anything to materially make peoples lives better they wouldn't get fucking demolished like this, but I guess that's just not possible.

    I've said it too many times but I will not stop saying it, deeply unserious country and it should be broken up in at least 10 smaller countries and best case scenario would be a hundred tiny german principalities that would make Charles V say "Das ist ein bisschen viel oder?"

    Also I cleaned up the exhaust vent above my kitchen before I wrote this so imagine the most greased up guy ever writing this.

  • Iā€™ve been hearing that the US eased sanctions on Cuba with their private sector. Sounds like a way to stir up a color revolution.

  • Geopolitics nerds, please someone confirm me if the petro-dollar news are real, i've seen these news circulating around on minor sites and from even some shady guys like Jimmy Dore. Something of this magnitude can't go unseen which makes me wonder if its just fake news. I can not state how closely linked the petro-dolar is to US hegemony.

    https://www.tbsnews.net/world/global-economy/saudi-arabias-petro-dollar-exit-global-finance-paradigm-shift-875321

  • Stoltenberg: NATO Is ā€˜Adaptingā€™ Its Nuclear Arsenal to ā€˜Current Security Environmentā€™

    NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that the alliance was discussing the ā€œadaptionā€ of its nuclear arsenal to the ā€œcurrent security environmentā€ amid soaring tensions with Russia.

    He listed two examples of NATOā€™s ā€œadaptation,ā€ the Netherlands acquiring F-35 fighter jets that could drop US nuclear weapons stored in the country and the US modernizing its nuclear warheads that are deployed across Europe.

    Stoltenbergā€™s comments mark a rare public discussion of NATOā€™s nuclear arsenal from a top NATO official. Under NATOā€™s nuclear sharing program, US nuclear weapons are deployed in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Turkey, and Italy.

    Poland has repeatedly said itā€™s willing to also host US nuclear weapons as a response to Russia deploying tactical nukes to Belarus, but itā€™s unclear if the US is seriously considering the move.

    At least two of the countries that host US nukes, Germany and the Netherlands, maintain fleets of planes that could drop the bombs. France and the UK also have their own nuclear arsenals. Earlier this year, The Telegraph reported that the US was planning to deploy nuclear weapons to the UK for the first time since 2008.

    ā€œThere is not a new policy. This is a well-established procedure, where the US has nuclear bombs deployed in Europe, and where some allies take part in what we call a cold nuclear sharing, having planes that can deliver these weapons,ā€ Stoltenberg told reporters.

    Stoltenberg called NATOā€™s nuclear arsenal the ā€œultimate security guarantee.ā€ He also condemned Russiaā€™s deployment of nuclear weapons to Belarus, which Russia compared to NATO nuclear sharing, and claimed NATO also faces a nuclear threat from China. ā€œWe also have to bear in mind that we donā€™t only face nuclear challenges from Russia, but also from China, which is now heavily modernizing their nuclear capabilities,ā€ he said.

    Stoltenbergā€™s comments come amid Russian military drills that are simulating the use of tactical nuclear weapons, which Russian officials said were launched in direct response to provocative rhetoric from Western officials and escalations in Ukraine. Stoltenberg has brushed off Russian warnings against NATO allowing its missiles to be used to strike Russian territory.

  • omg joe frenchmiddlename corncob butass hugged his (alleged) son who is a FELON and also maybe didnt' fill out paperwork correctly! press like if ur a real patriot who smokes crack every 20 minutes (the objective correct amount of time between crack smoking sessions)

    edit: i've edited this like 7 times just adding more unhinged shit don't mind me who knows whats real anymore

  • The second question, however, showed a marked change: over 69 percent supported Iran possessing nuclear weapons, a significant departure from previous polls where most Iranians opposed nuclear weaponization.
    https://twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1801313451597336863?mx=1

  • cypriot mr beast got into the eu parliament lmao

    does the deep unseriousness of this come from the eu or cyprus (probably both)

  • Heh, doesn't Yemen's blockade hurt Egypt most? smuglord

  • South Africa election results update: ANC-DA coalition is official, both parties have signed the "Government of National Unity (GNU) document. The ANC is the largest party from the liberation movement against apartheid South Africa, was the party of Nelson Mandela, and has ruled with a majority since 1994. However, they only got 40.2% of the votes in the recent elections two weeks ago. The DA is a majority white liberal political party, and fairly right wing. They got 21.8% of the vote in the national elections. The DA and the ANC are the two biggest political parties in South Africa, and have formed a coalition.

    The coalition document can be viewed here

    Important, Section 19:

    Sufficient consensus exists when;

    • 19.1 All parties have had the opportunity to express their views;
    • 19.2 Despite reasonable attempts to resolve disagreements, and find common ground, there is no general consensus;
    • 19.3 Parties to the GNU representing 60% of seats in the National Assembly agree; and
    • 19.4 Any party that disagrees has been able to formally record their objections.

    This means that for consensus to exist mathematicaly, the the DA and ANC have to agree on policy. There is no other way for consensus to be achieved. In essence, this makes it a full blown coalition, and not just a supply and confidence agreement, and also not a government of national unity as claimed.

    As a reminder for everyone, the DA has been working on going into coalition with the ANC since 2019.

    article snippets and my opinions on it

    This week [October 2021] a leaked audio from 2019 was circulated on social media in which Zille was heard saying the DA must consolidate its support at 20% and work with the ANC.

    In the audio, Zille said the DA would consider going into a coalition with the ANC under President Cyril Ramaphosaā€™s leadership.

    ā€œIā€™d rather make tough demands on Cyril Ramaphosaā€™s ANC and force to unite under them, and go into coalition with them and make strict conditions for them, than go into coalition with anyone else. That I think should be our aim in the next election.

    ā€œWe want 20% of South Africans and remember thereā€™s only 8% of white voters. Between 15% and 20% gives us a strong, strong consolidated block in coalitions,ā€ Zille can be heard saying in the audio...

    This is literally exactly how it has played out now in 2024.

    However, speaking on CapeTalk on Tuesday, Zille claimed the audio was edited and taken out of context...

    Quite unknown to me, I was being recorded. They have carefully edited out the context of that discussion, taken a short clip, waited for two years now that the context was entirely changed, and a week before the election release it as if it means something that it does not mean at all,ā€ Zille alleged.

    So it wasn't taken out of context then?

    She said the DA was aiming to win a majority of 50% plus one so it doesnā€™t have to go into a coalition.

    Politicians and lying, what an iconic combination

    ā€œPeople hate coalitions. Theyā€™ve seen what coalitions have done with their complete instability and the jumping of smaller parties from one side to the other,ā€ she said.

    Lmao šŸ¤£ And guess who's signature is on this coalition document? Helen Zille's. I rest my case.

  • Blinken, the ā€˜ultimate spinnerā€™ by Marwan Bishara

    text

    This is whatā€™s so infuriating about Secretary Blinken: He is so well-mannered, soft-spoken, very diplomatic. But when it comes to the content of what he says, he is the ultimate spinner ā€“ half facts, half truths.

    He said the two proposals are virtually the same. But I will name you two important differences: One is that the Hamas proposal calls for the end of Israelā€™s siege; the proposal outlined by the US does not. Whatā€™s the point of this war or the past 20 years of four wars against Gaza if weā€™re going to go back to square one where Israel imposes a siege on Gaza? So the Hamas proposal suggested ending the Israeli siege on Gaza. This new proposal does not.

    Two, thereā€™s the key difference between a permanent and temporary ceasefire. This proposal speaks of a temporary ceasefire. Hamas presented a permanent ceasefire. The difference lies in phase two, which says that Israel will withdraw from the Gaza Strip upon the agreement of the parties ā€“ which means Israel will have to agree. And thereā€™s every proof and demonstration that Israel does not want to end the war, and it keeps saying that this resolution will allow it to achieve its war objectives.

    Blinken assures us that Israel said ā€œYesā€ to the proposal. I am not convinced. Why hasnā€™t Netanyahu come out and said, ā€œI support and embrace the new Security Council resolutionā€? Thatā€™s the question that needs to be posed to Secretary Blinken.

  • icc judges for the last month šŸ™ˆšŸ™‰šŸ™Š

    ("condo in miami do be important to me")

  • Russian Defenses Thwart Massive Ukrainian Attack With Drones

    Article

    At least 87 unmanned aerial vehicles were intercepted and destroyed in the airspace of six Russian provinces.

    The Russian Defense Ministry reported that its units intercepted at least 87 Ukrainian attack drones in the countryā€™s airspace between Thursday night and early this Friday.

    Through a statement, the Defense Ministry specified that two drones were destroyed in the province of Belgorod, two in Volgograd, six in Voronezh, six in Kursk, 70 in the province of Rostov-on-Don and one on the Crimean republic.

    The portfolio stressed that thanks to the work of the anti-aircraft defense this massive attack perpetrated by the Ukrainian armed forces, which it described as a terrorist, was prevented from succeeding.

    Through his social networks, the governor of Voronezh, Alexandr Gusev, said that no victims or substantial material damage are reported in that territory.

    He added that fragments of drones intercepted in the district of Liski Ā«caused minor damage to an inoperative tank of a fuel tankĀ».

    Defense recalled that during recent months Ukraine launched drone strikes against civilian targets in the Russian provinces on the border, as well as oil refineries and fuel depots.

    The Ukrainian military has also carried out attacks on energy installations further away from the border line, such as in the provinces of Nizhny Novgorod, Baskortostan and Tatarstan.

  • Lmao, looks like KKKanada is going 1 party rule time

  • The Jordan logo

  • The end is near, KKKavier: ancaptain stalin-gun-1stalin-gun-2

    Omnibus bill: Argentine police crack down on protesters outside Congress

    The demonstrators were protesting for a second night against President Javier Milei's reform package, which proposes massive privatizations and delegating legislative powers to the president

    Argentinaā€™s security forces cracked down hard on demonstrators outside Congress protesting President Javier Mileiā€™s reform package known as the omnibus bill on Thursday evening. Police used water cannon, rubber bullets, and tear gas to clear the protesters, hitting demonstrators, journalists, and deputies. Members of the Military Police, Naval Prefecture, Federal Police, and City Police participated in the operation.

    Photojournalist NicolĆ”s Ramos, from the Anred news outlet, showed TV channel C5N a wound on his calf where he had been hit with a rubber bullet. Over 25 journalists were injured in the crackdown, according to journalistsā€™ union SiPreBA.

    MartĆ­n Vega, a 50-year-old photojournalist working for Crisis magazine, was hit by two rubber bullets ā€” one in his finger and the other in the leg. ā€œEverything was calm,ā€ he said. ā€œNobody was trying to block the road, or insulting anyone, or anything.ā€ He said that the situation at the protest did not seem particularly tense when Federal Police officers started to shoot people, both in the square in front of Congress and on the sidewalks. ā€œItā€™s like, at a given moment, they made the decision to shoot.ā€

    He saw some children among the protestors, he added.

    The crackdown started when a large group of people left, Vega said. ā€œ[The Federal Police] started to do a dance with their motorbikes, then they started to shoot anyone on sight ā€” they shot a lot of people, one in the head.ā€ Vega hid behind a trash container, trying to take photographs, and then he felt the bullets in his leg and finger. He thinks they ricocheted off the floor.

    The advance of the security forces, including the use of fire trucks, took place in two stages in the late afternoon.

    Inside Congress, Romina del Pla, a deputy from the left-wing party Frente de Izquierda called for the session to be suspended because of the violence outside. The head of the UniĆ³n por la Patria bloc, GermĆ”n MartĆ­nez, endorsed the proposal and also asked for a recess, but the motion was rejected.

    Thursdayā€™s events marked the second night of protests outside Congress, as demonstrators demanded that lawmakers reject the omnibus bill, which proposes giving Milei some legislative powers, declaring a state of emergency in some issues, the mass privatization of Argentinaā€™s state companies, and wholesale economic deregulation.

    At least six people were arrested during Wednesdayā€™s protests. Four women were released on Thursday morning after spending the night in a police station. Ivana Bunge, a UniĆ³n CĆ­vica Radical (UCR) activist whose arrest was shown on TV, said as she was escorted to a police SUV that she and her friends ā€œwere just sitting on the street, singing the National Anthem.ā€

    Photographs taken at the scene showed that security forces were using a U.S.-made combination of OC gas (pepper spray) and CS gas (tear gas) to disperse the crowd. Franco Capone, a doctor and activist with the Socialist Workersā€™ Party who assisted over 150 people who were sprayed with it, said that the gas is new in Argentina. ā€œIt generates an acute pain when in contact with the skin,ā€ Capone said in a post on X. ā€œPress freedom is a fundamental pillar of democracy, which must be defended, guaranteed and respected by all powers of the state and by all political and economic sectors that make up our society,ā€ SiPreBA wrote in a statement condemning the repression.

    The police crackdown is taking place after Security Minister Patricia Bullrich launched a new anti-protest protocol that bans protesters from blocking roads, among other provisions. Three United Nations special rapporteurs warned last week that the protocol does not comply with international human rights standards.

    Photographs of a Federal Police officer with a Gandsen rattlesnake sewn to his uniform, a symbol of the U.S. far right adopted by Milei followers, were circulated on social media on Wednesday.

    That day, people also shared pictures showing officers of the Naval Prefecture throwing tear gas at a group of protestors, including left-wing deputy Alejandro Vilca. The leader of the Polo Obrero social organization, Eduardo Belliboni, said to media outlets in the streets that the police hit him when he was protesting peacefully by sitting down in the street.

    IN DEVELOPMENT.

    There are rumours, still very early and unconfirmed, of very important cracks within milei's government (which is already cracked tbh). There has been a massive flight of personnel working on Sandra Pettovello's Ministry of Human Capital (I will forever hate this name) after she refused to distribute food to soup kitchens when +50% of the population fell under the poverty line in recent months, while she is also under heavy fire from critics and cornered by social movements. On the other hand, foreign minister Diana Mondino (the one who made racist remarks about the chinese not long ago) appears to be on the list of either purges or resignations. Meanwhile, milei's Martin Bormann, his wif- sorry, sister, is accumulating more and more power within his cabinet. Let me remind everyone that milei's sister has ZERO and I mean ZERO, NOTHING, NADA, IT'S COMPLETELY DEVOID of any political knowledge or background, she's into tarot and is said to be a medium -- able to communicate with the dead. She's as if you take a random dude from the streets and make him Head of the State Department or something.

    I am convinced that, if his law is not approved by the Senate, and things continue to deteriorate on the streets and the economic front, we might be at the gates of at least a soft coup carried out by capital.

  • There was a western news story recently(last couple weeks) about a journalist going with a ukrainian unit and seeing a bunch of pensioners and old men. There were several good photographs of the soldiers. Does anyone have the link?

  • Comrades that are (sadly) based in the UK, what are you planning to do in the election? Will you actually vote for someone or just sit it out? Debating on what to do

  • The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo denounced that "Argentina has fallen into tyranny and assumes a democratic facade that is not enough to cover its authoritarian face," after the repression generated near the Congress in the context of the Basic Law.

  • Ancap Update: ancaptain

    While Argentina's congress is debating the basic law, known as the star law of the country's president, Javier Milei, outside the building, demonstrators are gathering to protest against the law.

    A vehicle was burned during the act. Opposition senators say the bill gives too many powers to Javier Milei.

    The government defends the bill as a way of "restarting" Argentina's economy. The bill is expected to be voted on today. The expected score is very close, and it could be approved or rejected by just one vote.

    The office of the President of the Republic of Argentina posted a controversial tweet, in which they congratulate the security forces for their work outside the congress in repressing the "coup attempt" by terrorist groups outside the congress.

    Opposition senators and deputies called the post "delusional" and demanded a retraction. An unusual scene took place outside Argentina's congress, when the country's senate was meeting to vote on the General Framework Law.

    A man hung himself naked outside the building in protest and drew attention.

  • Greek results for the Euro-elections are both more of the same and somewhat unique.

    On the communist side (there actualy being one is already somewhat unique) KKE ,love it or hate it (or more likely be somewhere in between), continued their steady rise hitting 9.3% (vs 7.5% in the parliamentary/presidential elections) last year and basicaly double the ~5% that they were stuck at over last decade. Yeah they arent on the forefront on LGBT issues to say it lightly (tho still not to be lumped with patsocs culture warriorism, spewing hate or Russian communist party levels of social conservativism) and yeah they weirdly have almost leftcom/maoist positions regarding the Russia-Ukraine war and China. But they have survived the waves of eurocommunism, opportunism,reformism, gladio and anti-communism that have swept through the European communist and socialist scene in the last 50 years and stand today, despite their issues, as arguably the most popular and active hardline ML party in "western democracies".

    On the "center-left" /socdem side more of the same. Syriza after having eaten shit and imploded in the last 1-2 years continues to stay in useless territory and got ~15%. Tsipras resigned last year and then they literaly imported some better looking Pete Buttigieg - Beto O'Rourke dude from the US but with worse politics (reaganite, campaigned for Biden in 2008) and made him the leader. Like look at this . That caused some demsocs to split and form a new party "New Left" that got 2% or smth. PASOK continues to do nothing after being Pasokified and sits at like 11-12%. Sad to see since they had a kinda cool socdem regime aura in the 70s and 80s. Varoufakis continues enjoying his internationalist demsoc larp party at ~2.5% outside of parliament.I dont hate him or anything but like 90% of Greece does ,mostly unfairly tbh, but good luck with that.

    Reminder that Greece also has an active and well organized anarchist and communist sphere outside of KKE and KKE aligned orgs and unions that doesnt care or doesnt do much in elections either but is also a factor in the relative balance of politics

    On the far right there has been some rise but im convinced its much less so overall compared to most of Europe. The voter/supporter pool for far right, hard-nationalist/conservative parties has been at 15-20% for a decade now. Its just that there hasnt been a unified movement or party to exploit that and coalesce that support around them and even break through. Far right is actualy quite fractured in Greece with multiple ultra orthodox, alt right grifters or neonazi parties capturing 1-5% of the votes each and the rulling New Democracy party (not Maoist sadly, 80% Macron - 20% Le Pen) also capturing some % of the fascist base. And they cant as of now act together or have coherent plans and coalitions. In these elections a far right party Greek Solution (that despite its name isnt really commited golden dawn ultra-nazi as much as grifter-orthodox fascists) did managed to rise at 9.3% , matching KKE, but i believe its mostly due to circumstance. They were at 4.5% in last years elections and another fascist party that got 4.5% as well was banned from running now because of connections/being a continuation to Golden Dawn. So they got a bunch of those votes and some ultra nationalists moved from New Democracy to them as well. Overall i still see it as yet another reconfiguration of the existing far right base that just moves to and from different parties as if they are communicating vessells for the better part of a decade now and especially after golden dawn's ban. For example a completely evangelical tier orthodox brainworms party also got 3% and some alt right grifter chick run on incel stuff and being somewhat hot and also got 3%. These parties wont exist in 5 years time and others will have taken their place. Lastly i have to note that in the north part of Greece , Macedonia etc, far right is seeing a surge and the communist party despite also gaining, is being left behind. Thats mostly a function of the whole North Macedonia name debacle that has left many, many Greek nationalists there absolutely seething and maybe something of a movement may be forming.

    Lastly the rulling party , New Democracy, got ~29%. A notable drop from last years elections where it dominated with 40%. A lot of their base probably didnt care ,they are increasingly unpopular for sure and also like i said some of their far right and nationalist base moved towards smaller more hard line far right parties in this occassion since to protest against some of the Ukraine war support, Macedonia name stuff and Turkey dialogue stuff . They'll prbably be back tho

  • dumb finance question: why do people even become landlords, or invest in real estate at all? everything i read about it says that the stock market always outperforms the housing market

  • possum-party Hexbear Euro 2024 watch: Day 2 possum-party

    This afternoon, swiss-cool vs. hungary-cool gave us a solid 3 - 1 for Switzerland, which confirmed its underdog status, we'll definitely keep them on our map!

    spain-cool vs. Bad Ex- yugoslavia ended 3 - 1 with my #1 Spain rule: When Spain plays one good half, the next half will probably suck.

    Right now we have anti-italian-action going up against albania , which Italy currently leads 2 - 1.

    Free streams for Italy vs. Albania here:

    https://v2.streameast.to/ - reddit link aggregator, #2 Crackstreams seems good

    https://plentypass.com/footy-3

    https://sportos.co/italy-vs-albania/ - let me know when a stream doesn't work

    (this post is updated as the day progresses)

  • Can we please get some Hexbear Euro 24 watching going? There must be a couple comrades who are kinda into soccer.

    I just want Germany to lose, but their group is probably too easy and they'll make it into the quarter final or something, which sucks.

  • Denmark's succdem-led right-wing regime ate shit at last night's EU elections with especially the succdems suffering a humiliating defeat. The right-wing coalition is unpopular and excites nobody but the most annoying centrist nerds. Prime minister Mette Frederiksen stayed far away from the shitshow and did not appear at any election night events citing alleged injuries related to a recent incident involving a physical altercation. The top succdem candidate Christel Schaldemose did not answer questions but fled reporters.

    Today various lower-ranking succdem officials has broken party discipline which is otherwise very strong among the succdems and has gone on the record criticising party leadership for abandoning welfare politics and being completely absent from the green agenda. Party leadership has rejected the calls for change, instead claiming that upcoming "investments in welfare" will change the public's mind.

    The most bizarre reaction comes from current foreign minister and former right-liberal prime minister Lars LĆøkke Rasmussen who today heads his own astroturfed centrist party-like organisation.

    His statement in response to the government eating shit because it has made itself unpopular was this:

    I'm worried the Danes have not understood the greatness in the project [the succdem-led right-wing coalition]. That is why the government needs to take this result down and think about how we can make sure to stay relevant

    Rasmussen went on to claim that the result meant that the government now had to "sharpen their appetite for change" and claimed that "If it is red or blue doesn't matter as long as it's good"

  • some weird murmuring that saudi oil-dollar pact has lapsed recently after 50 years. Its true 50 years passed, but i can't find non-crank reputable info whether the deal was really for 50 years flat

  • Weird twitter bug. Viewing Nollagames (developers of noita) while logged out? Newest tweet shown is 2020. Makes it look like they literally do not post. In reality their last post was 2023, looks like they quit using it because of Musk as they're still actively updating on Steam.

    Anyway I don't know why Twitter has just decided to pretend all their activity from 2020-2023 doesn't exist. This is probably occurring to others as well.

  • The Argentine Senate approved, in a vote that ended in a tie, the basic text of the general basic law, which modifies several economic aspects of the country.

    The law was promoted by the government of President Javier Milei. The Vice President of Argentina, Victoria Villaruel, broke the tie. The law now goes to voting by articles, where it may still undergo changes.

    It's Mileiover?

  • Bolivia and Paraguay To Increase Cooperation in Energy and Fertilizers

    Article

    ā€œWhen we work together, we are unbeatable,ā€ Paraguayan President PeƱa stated.

    On Thursday, Bolivian President Luis Arce and Paraguayan President Santiago PeƱa held a meeting in La Paz, where they discussed matters related to increasing the trade flow of fuels and fertilizers.

    ā€œDuring the visit of our brother, the President of Paraguay, Santiago PeƱa, we signed important agreements for the benefit of our peoples, including the Framework Agreement for Technical and Scientific Cooperation and the Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation on Consular and Migration Affairs. These joint efforts are part of the mandate from our peoples. United we are stronger!ā€ Arce stressed.

    In statements to the media, PeƱa highlighted that Bolivia has increased its productive capacity and has a significant competitive advantage in the production of natural gas and mineral extraction.

    Given that Bolivia is currently a major producer of fertilizers, he expressed his willingness to promote the import of inputs such as urea to Paraguay, a country that has established itself as a major producer of grains and food.

    ā€œWe are looking at how we could improve logistics so that trade exchange is much smoother,ā€ the Paraguayan president indicated, adding that there is also a frequent exchange of diesel and gas between both countries.

    President Luis Arceā€™s text reads, ā€œAs governments responding to the people, we understand perfectly that the unity between Bolivia and

    Paraguay facilitates work and paves the way to improve our peopleā€™s quality of life.ā€ On Friday, Eddie Jara, the president of the state-owned Petroleos Paraguayos (Petropar), will hold meetings with Armin Dorgathen, the president of the state-owned Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB), to explore areas of mutual benefit between the two nations.

    ā€œFor us, it is essential that Bolivia sees Paraguay as a stable and secure supplier. This will also allow us to increase purchases and lower prices. Paraguay has its strengths and Bolivia has its own. When we work together, we are unbeatable,ā€ PeƱa stated.

    The presidents of Paraguay and Bolivia signed a joint declaration in which they agreed to provide facilities for the supply, transit, and transportation of fuels, as well as to promote the establishment of bilateral alliances in the hydrocarbons sector.

    In addition to meeting with Arce, the Paraguayan president also had a meeting with representatives of Bolivian business associations, including Giovanni OrtuƱo, the president of the Confederation of Private Entrepreneurs of Bolivia (CEPB).

    Good to see that Paraguay and Bolivia are improving their relations. In the past they went to war over the Chaco region.

  • Queen's gambit season 2 should be called queen's gambit declined.

  • SEA Headlines

    Been a busy week, dealing with Eid preparations and all.

    CNA - Analysis: Why more than half of ASEAN states are set to miss Ukraineā€™s peace summit in Switzerland

    The Manila Times - The question of Asean centrality

    Viet Nam News - Viį»‡t Nam, Cuba intensify solidarity, cooperation

    Nikkei Asia - U.S. tops China as ASEAN's largest export destination

    SCMP - As China ties deepen, Malaysiaā€™s Anwar Ibrahim says geopolitics is no zero-sum game

    Anwar did not dispute that the overlapping [South China Sea] claims were an issue between the two partners, but stressed that the West had an ā€œobsession, the tendency to exaggerate the problemā€.

    Anwar called for settling South China Sea disputes through bilateral engagements and discussions within Asean, rather than third-party intervention, especially to quell the latest tensions between Beijing and the Philippines.

    ā€œIt is important to impress on the Philippines, on the Chinese, that we are here. We must be prepared and able to manage our own affairs,ā€ he said, adding that Malaysia would push this point upon assuming the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year.

    VietnamPlus - Malaysia calls on ASEAN countries to push to connect railway network

    The Business Times - South-east Asian economies no longer tethered to Fedā€™s decisions

    The Bangkok Post - Is Asean ready to abandon coal?

    Reuters - Prabowo adviser denies plans to raise Indonesia's debt to 50% of GDP

    Neoliberalism still reigns supreme.

  • The Country of the Week is Cuba!

    Feel free to post or recommend any books, essays, studies, articles, and even stories related to Cuba.

    If you know a lot about the country and want to share your knowledge and opinions, here are some questions to get you started if you wish:

    spoiler
    • What is the general ideology of the political elite? Do they tend to be protectionist nationalists, or are they more free trade globalists? Are they compradors put there by foreign powers? Are they socialists with wide support by the population?
    • What are the most important domestic political issues that make the country different from other places in the region or world? Are there any peculiar problems that have continued existing despite years or decades with different parties?
    • Is the country generally stable? Are there large daily protests or are things calm on average? Is the ruling party/coalition generally harmonious or are there frequent arguments or even threats?
    • Is there a particular country to which this country has a very impactful relationship over the years, for good or bad reasons? Which one, and why?
    • What are the political factions in the country? What are the major parties, and what segments of the country do they attract?
    • Are there any smaller parties that nonetheless have had significant influence? Are there notable separatist movements?
    • How socially progressive or conservative is the country generally? To what degree is there equality between men and women, as well as different races and ethnic groups? Are LGBTQIA+ rights protected?
    • Give a basic overview of the last 50 or 100 years. What's the historical trend of politics, the economy, social issues, etc - rise or decline? Were they always independent or were they once occupied, and how have things been since independence if applicable?
    • If you want, go even further back in history. Were there any kingdoms or empires that once governed the area?

    Check out the reading list. Our books on Cuba:

    These books focus on the Cuban Revolution and largely its pre-1990 history.

    • Women and the Cuban Revolution by Fidel Castro (1970).
    • People's Power: Cuba's Experience with Representative Government by Peter Roman (1999).
    • My Life: A Spoken Autobiography by Fidel Castro (2006).
    • Che Guevara: The Economics of Revolution by H. Yaffe (2009).
    • A History of the Cuban Revolution by Aviva Chomsky (2010).

    These books focus on Cuba after the fall of the USSR:

    • Rainbow Solidarity in Defense of Cuba by Leslie Feinberg (2009).
    • Cuba and Its Neighbours: Democracy in Motion by Arnold August (2013).
    • Farming Cuba: Urban Agriculture From the Ground Up by Carey Clouse (2014).
    • We Are Cuba!: How a Revolutionary People Have Survived in a Post-Soviet World by Helen Yaffe (2019).
    • How the Workers' Parliaments Saved the Cuban Revolution: Reviving Socialism After the Collapse of the Soviet Union by Pedro Ross (2022).
  • possum-party Hexbear Euro 2024 Watch - Day 3 possum-party

    Free soccer streams: https://pre.soccerstreamlinks.com/ - Crackstreams / Methstreams always worked fine for me so far.

    https://plentypass.com/footy-3

    Games are almost over. So far today we had:

    poland-cool just got owned 2-1 by :netherlands-cool: (apparently we don't have that emoji?)

    Melania's birthplace Slovenia versus Happiest Country on EarthĀ© Denmark came down to a rather boring 1-1.

    Right now england-cool is playing tito at 1-0

  • #Tradle #830 3/6

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    https://oec.world/en/games/tradle

    reasoning

    never knew that this country had an actual economy that was so heavily reliant on pharmaceuticals. Pretty fun one, even if the size and industrialization makes it pretty easy to guess the general area.

  • #Death šŸ‘ to šŸ‘ Israel šŸ‘ #831 4/6
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    slowly learning the layout of west Africa

  • #I Swear Death unto Israel #829 3/6
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    awooga GOLD

  • Chris Bluefield

  • #Heck, Death to Israel #828 5/6
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    Wild booze chase kelly

  • #Deadest Israel Yet #833 3/6
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    https://oec.world/en/games/tradle

    with apologies to today's country

    benis

  • #Tradle #832 2/6

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    https://oec.world/en/games/tradle

    spoiler

    Manufacturing sector made this fairly obvious.

  • #Good Morning and Death to Israel #834 2/6
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    https://oec.world/en/games/tradle

    spoiler

    it's Cameroon again (feels like it wasn't that long ago)

  • #Tradle #833 4/6 šŸŸ©šŸŸ©šŸŸ©šŸŸ©šŸŸØ

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    šŸŸ©šŸŸ©šŸŸ©šŸŸ©šŸŸ© https://oec.world/en/games/tradle

    spoiler

    Did this one without a map, worked my way through francafrique france-cool

  • The only cool thing Eminem has done in the last 20 years is dissing MGK so hard he quit rapping

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