Bulletins and News Discussion from October 14th to October 20th, 2024 - Paper Tigers
Bulletins and News Discussion from October 14th to October 20th, 2024 - Paper Tigers
Image is a frame taken from this video of Iranian missiles raining down on Israel without interception due to a weak and depleted air defense system after a year of war and genocide.
Mao, 1956:
Now U.S. imperialism is quite powerful, but in reality it isn't. It is very weak politically because it is divorced from the masses of the people and is disliked by everybody and by the American people too. In appearance it is very powerful but in reality it is nothing to be afraid of, it is a paper tiger. Outwardly a tiger, it is made of paper, unable to withstand the wind and the rain. I believe the United States is nothing but a paper tiger.
When we say U.S. imperialism is a paper tiger, we are speaking in terms of strategy. Regarding it as a whole, we must despise it. But regarding each part, we must take it seriously. It has claws and fangs. We have to destroy it piecemeal. For instance, if it has ten fangs, knock off one the first time, and there will be nine left, knock off another, and there will be eight left. When all the fangs are gone, it will still have claws. If we deal with it step by step and in earnest, we will certainly succeed in the end.
Strategically, we must utterly despise U.S. imperialism. Tactically, we must take it seriously. In struggling against it, we must take each battle, each encounter, seriously. At present, the United States is powerful, but when looked at in a broader perspective, as a whole and from a long-term viewpoint, it has no popular support, its policies are disliked by the people, because it oppresses and exploits them. For this reason, the tiger is doomed. Therefore, it is nothing to be afraid of and can be despised. But today the United States still has strength, turning out more than 100 million tons of steel a year and hitting out everywhere. That is why we must continue to wage struggles against it, fight it with all our might and wrest one position after another from it. And that takes time.
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Israel-Palestine Conflict
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against Israel. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA 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.
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.
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.
Simplicius, who publishes on Substack. Like others, his political analysis should be soundly ignored, but his knowledge of weaponry and military strategy is generally quite good.
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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Israel is considering establishing a base in the unrecognized Somaliland. - Jerusalem Post
Article
Israel eyes Somaliland base bid to counter threats from Yemen's Houthis, bolster security - report. Somaliland is positioned in the Gulf of Aden and near the entrance to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, through which nearly a third of the world's maritime cargo passes.
Israel is interested in establishing a military base in northern Somalia in order to keep tabs on Yemen and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, Middle East Monitor, the Qatari state-funded news site reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, in exchange, Israel would establish relations with Somaliland, which controls northern Somalia but is not currently recognized by Israel.
Middle East Monitor noted that Somaliland is geographically strategic. It is a former British colony that borders Ethiopia, Somalia, and Djibouti. Somaliland was considered an autonomous region of Somalia that declared independence in 1991.
Somaliland is positioned in the Gulf of Aden and near the entrance to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, through which nearly a third of the world's maritime cargo passes.
Somaliland has 740 kilometres of coastline along the Gulf of Aden and could play a key role in safeguarding the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea from piracy, terrorism, and smuggling, Middle East Monitor wrote.
Various international shipping companies have grown hesitant to charter merchant vessels through the Bab al-Mandab Strait due to attacks by Yemen's Houthis, disrupting global trade and triggering multinational naval action.
Traders are scrambling to find alternative shipping routes to get consumer goods to retailers, with journeys around Africa adding roughly 10 days to voyage times.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced in late 2023 the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new multinational security initiative involving key countries such as the UK, France, the US, and Italy.
Securing Israel from afar
According to the report, Israel seeks to enhance its national security from afar and challenge the Houthis presence in Yemen, along with other potential economic opportunities that could be spurred from diplomatic relations.
Potential economic opportunities include growing investments in agriculture, energy, and infrastructure. Israel's historic success in agriculture and knowledge of this field, such as its kibbutz model, could be used to leverage and secure a military base in Somaliland, Middle East Monitor stated.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has ties with both Israel and Somaliland and has maintained a base in Somaliland since 2017. The UAE was one of the first countries in the region to recognize the Republic of Somaliland and has invested in the area, Middle East Monitor wrote.
The UAE is mediating on behalf of Israel to establish a military base in Somaliland, Middle East Monitor reported, citing diplomatic sources that could not be verified.
I think Israel used to support Eritrea to attack Yemen, but it seems Eritreia broke their relations with Israel recently.
when in doubt, open another front
Djibouti normally sells bases to any country who wants one, but they've kept a firm line that they will not recognize Israel until the creation of a Palestinian state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djibouti–Palestine_relations
I guess that's why Somaliland looks like a more promising partner, though they've also been lukewarm historically.