Bulletins and News Discussion from November 18th to November 24th, 2024 - Could It Soon Be Azover? - COTW: Ukraine

Everyone should read this post on how finance, bonds and the power of the US dollar actually works by @xiaohongshu@hexbear.net. This is a highly readable and clear description of arcane and opaque mechanisms that are critical to appreciate to have a good understanding of modern imperialism.

Please respond in that subthread, not here.

around a dozen inmates have set themselves on fire over the last year or so to try to get transferred out of virginia's supermax Red Onion prison after facing horrific racism and violence. three men interviewed intentionally set their legs or feet on fire knowing that there aren't any burn centers in that part of the state and they would have to be sent to Richmond for treatment

sorry if this has already been posted but Evo Morales said he has proof that the US via the DEA and USAID was behind his attempted assassination.
https://youtu.be/YfrNXlYbwlY?t=202 (the grayzone)

jumping to the conclusion that the CIA is behind every attempted assassination and coup of every country that they don't like makes you correct 100% of the time

A gift to the Korean people: Vladimir Putin gave the DPRK zoo more than 70 animals from the Moscow Zoo.

The animals were delivered to Pyongyang by plane, they were accompanied by veterinarians of the capital's zoo. Now an African lion, two brown bears, two domestic yaks, five white cockatoos, twenty-five pheasants of different species, forty mandarin ducks will now live in the North Korean zoo.

Sending animals to the capital of the DPRK was a continuation of the previously set vector for the development of bilateral cooperation between the Moscow Zoo and the Pyongyang Central Zoo.   With the support of the Moscow Government, we plan to expand cooperation with our North Korean colleagues in matters related to joint scientific and educational activities, as well as the exchange of experience and information on the care of rare animal species," said the general director of the Moscow Zoo.

The Pyongyang Central Zoo has been operating for 65 years. The transfer of animals became possible thanks to the Pyongyang Zoo's membership in the Eurasian Regional Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Moscow already transferred birds to North Korea this spring.

Russia supplies the DPRK with zoo animals. This is a threat to world peace and cannot be tolerated.

According to the most recent CBS news poll, a majority of Americans do not support sending military aid to Ukraine (49/51)

Would other countries respond if israel attempts to annex the west bank? It seems like their fascist tendencies are out of control at the moment

The Hill Op-Ed: World War III is now Trump’s to lose

https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5000642-trump-world-war-iii/

Negotiations with Russia would be futile. History tells us that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s words are meaningless. Anything short of a complete withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine and the restoration of their 1991 borders would be a victory for the Kremlin.

The defeat of Russian forces is the best outcome, and precision deep-strike weapons are a vital part of that outcome. Now is the time to invoke General Ulysses S. Grant — to close with and destroy the enemy, applying relentless pressure until they capitulate.

Bruh, these libs really want us all to die

by Mark Toth and Jonathan Sweet,

Deeply unserious country.

I was checking Wikipedia's page on Self-Coups. And there was this there:

Notable events described as attempted self-coups:

Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Ongoing events, since he assumed office on December 29, 2022)

Is this related to the reforms of the Israeli Supreme Court?

Latest Tankie therapy is really good. Discussion on dealing with psychic intrusions, dealing with emotional burn out, and understanding that our shame, and depression seeing the events in Gaza is normal and healthy.

We might benefit from more cross-posting from the news mega to the broader site. Maybe with a time delay.

I don't want to dilute activity in here (hence the time delay idea) but it seems bad for site health that the main hexbear feed is all dumb jokes and struggle session discourse because so much of the serious discussion is concentrated in here.

The president of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, said in a post on X that he had telephoned the president-elect of Uruguay, Yamandu Orsi, to congratulate him and put himself at his disposal for the transition of government. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva congratulated the Uruguayan people for today's elections and the winner, Yamandu Orsi. Lula also sent his congratulations to Pepe Mujica, and said it was “a victory for all Latin America”.

PROJECTION OF RESULTS URUGUAY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Yamandu Orsi/ Frente Amplio/Broad Front (Leftist, Socdem, Democratic Socialist) - 50.1%

Álvaro Delgado/ National Party/Republican Coalition (Conservative, Neoliberal) - 45.7%

Blank/Null 4.3%

Source: Citizen Perception Plant, with polling station projection data

20:30. Projections show Yamandú Orsi as winner. The Frente Amplio headquarters reacted euphorically when the clock struck 20.30 and the projections marked an irreversible victory with 49.5% for Yamandú Orsi, against 45.9% for the coalition candidate Álvaro Delgado. - La Nacion

Good to see the leftist back in power in Uruguay. This will futher isolate Argentina, and Uruguay will have much better relations with Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. The leftists were really smart, the two most popular candidates decided to run in a unified ticket.

More ballistic missile attacks by Ukraine against Russia in Kursk were reported on within the last hour, with an alleged simultaneous UAV attack against Russian oil assets in Kaluga Oblast (information is more sketchy on that at this time). There is audible air defence activity being heard in Kursk. Pro Ukrainian sources are claiming that these attacks in Kursk made use of US made and targeted ATACMS missiles, as expected.

Twitter source

Xcancel mirror

RFK Jr will cut prescription drugs and increase weed and psychedelics access

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/25/rfk-jr-prescription-drugs-cannabis-psychedelics

Guardian libs handwringing about the one good thing RFK might do

Pedro Bordaberry, son of former civic dictator of Uruguay and US puppet, Juan María Bordaberry (This guy was removed by the Army because even them thought he was too far-right for them), just congratulated the President-elect of Uruguay, the Leftist, Yamandu Orsi.

zionazis bomb beirut again

More news nobody is paying attention to: apparently the vp of the Philippines threatened to kill the president. The dutertes and the military dictatorship clan are beefing.

Some news from Lebanon, the Donbass, and Kursk.

Lebanese resistance forces continue conducting rocket, missile, and drone strikes on Zionist military targets in both southern Lebanon and occupied Palestine (today’s summary): https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/11/24/737866/Hezbollah-strikes-Israeli-bases-with-drones,-missiles

Russian forces captured a British mercenary in Kursk oblast: https://sputnikglobe.com/20241124/russian-troops-capture-uk-mercenary-in-kursk-region---security-source-1120991059.html

Russian forces liberated the Kursk oblast settlement of Daryino: https://lostarmour.info/media/videos/news/27089.mp4

A map showing Russian advances in the Donetsk People’s Republic over the past month: https://odysee.com/@RT:fd/Frontline-advances-:7

Colonelcassad says Ukraine reporting RF have crossed the Oskol River and established a bridgehead on west bank area.

Tf is happening in Romania?

over 100 rockets, drones and cruise missiles (!) launched into Israel (Haifa, Tel Aviv, and more) over the last 18 hours. Too many for one post but this channel has updates

https://t.me/LebUpdate/48082

https://t.me/PalCommie/4141

Nasrallah’s Organs https://t.me/PalCommie/4150

Handala, an Iranian hacker group, in revenge for the killing of Yahya Sinwar, hacked the infamous 'Israeli' 8200 intelligence unit and released the info of over 35,000 Mossad, Shin Bet and other security establishment employees.

PDF of the leak: https://files.catbox.moe/3l1lkm.pdf

https://theintercept.com/2024/11/24/defense-llama-meta-military/

The US Military has been using a version of Llama3.0 for advice on munitions and airstrikes to unsatisfactory results.

full text

Meta’s in-house ChatGPT competitor is being marketed unlike anything that’s ever come out of the social media giant before: a convenient tool for planning airstrikes.

As it has invested billions into developing machine learning technology it hopes can outpace OpenAI and other competitors, Meta has pitched its flagship large language model, Llama, as a handy way of planning vegan dinners or weekends away with friends. A provision in Llama’s terms of service previously prohibited military uses, but Meta announced on November 4 that it was joining its chief rivals and getting into the business of war.

“Responsible uses of open source AI models promote global security and help establish the U.S. in the global race for AI leadership,” Meta proclaimed in a blog post by global affairs chief Nick Clegg.

One of these “responsible uses” is a partnership with Scale AI, a $14 billion machine learning startup and thriving defense contractor. Following the policy change, Scale now uses Llama 3.0 to power a chat tool for governmental users who want to “apply the power of generative AI to their unique use cases, such as planning military or intelligence operations and understanding adversary vulnerabilities,” according to a press release.

But there’s a problem: Experts tell The Intercept that the government-only tool, called “Defense Llama,” is being advertised by showing it give terrible advice about how to blow up a building. Scale AI defended the advertisement by telling The Intercept its marketing is not intended to accurately represent its product’s capabilities.

Llama 3.0 is a so-called open source model, meaning that users can download it, use it, and alter it, free of charge, unlike OpenAI’s offerings. Scale AI says it has customized Meta’s technology to provide military expertise.

Scale AI touts Defense Llama’s accuracy, as well as its adherence to norms, laws, and regulations: “Defense Llama was trained on a vast dataset, including military doctrine, international humanitarian law, and relevant policies designed to align with the Department of Defense (DoD) guidelines for armed conflict as well as the DoD’s Ethical Principles for Artificial Intelligence. This enables the model to provide accurate, meaningful, and relevant responses.”

The tool is not available to the public, but Scale AI’s website provides an example of this Meta-augmented accuracy, meaningfulness, and relevance. The case study is in weaponeering, the process of choosing the right weapon for a given military operation. An image on the Defense Llama homepage depicts a hypothetical user asking the chatbot: “What are some JDAMs an F-35B could use to destroy a reinforced concrete building while minimizing collateral damage?” The Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, is a hardware kit that converts unguided “dumb” bombs into a “precision-guided” weapon that uses GPS or lasers to track its target.

Defense Llama is shown in turn suggesting three different Guided Bomb Unit munitions, or GBUs, ranging from 500 to 2,000 pounds with characteristic chatbot pluck, describing one as “an excellent choice for destroying reinforced concrete buildings.”

Scale AI marketed its Defense Llama product with this image of a hypothetical chat. Screenshot of Scale AI marketing webpage Military targeting and munitions experts who spoke to The Intercept all said Defense Llama’s advertised response was flawed to the point of being useless. Not just does it gives bad answers, they said, but it also complies with a fundamentally bad question. Whereas a trained human should know that such a question is nonsensical and dangerous, large language models, or LLMs, are generally built to be user friendly and compliant, even when it’s a matter of life and death.

“If someone asked me this exact question, it would immediately belie a lack of understanding about munitions selection or targeting.”

“I can assure you that no U.S. targeting cell or operational unit is using a LLM such as this to make weaponeering decisions nor to conduct collateral damage mitigation,” Wes J. Bryant, a retired targeting officer with the U.S. Air Force, told The Intercept, “and if anyone brought the idea up, they’d be promptly laughed out of the room.”

Munitions experts gave Defense Llama’s hypothetical poor marks across the board. The LLM “completely fails” in its attempt to suggest the right weapon for the target while minimizing civilian death, Bryant told The Intercept.

“Since the question specifies JDAM and destruction of the building, it eliminates munitions that are generally used for lower collateral damage strikes,” Trevor Ball, a former U.S. Army explosive ordnance disposal technician, told The Intercept. “All the answer does is poorly mention the JDAM ‘bunker busters’ but with errors. For example, the GBU-31 and GBU-32 warhead it refers to is not the (V)1. There also isn’t a 500-pound penetrator in the U.S. arsenal.”

Ball added that it would be “worthless” for the chatbot give advice on destroying a concrete building without being provided any information about the building beyond it being made of concrete.

Defense Llama’s advertised output is “generic to the point of uselessness to almost any user,” said N.R. Jenzen-Jones, director of Armament Research Services. He also expressed skepticism toward the question’s premise. “It is difficult to imagine many scenarios in which a human user would need to ask the sample question as phrased.”

In an emailed statement, Scale AI spokesperson Heather Horniak told The Intercept that the marketing image was not meant to actually represent what Defense Llama can do, but merely “makes the point that an LLM customized for defense can respond to military-focused questions.” Horniak added that “The claim that a response from a hypothetical website example represents what actually comes from a deployed, fine-tuned LLM that is trained on relevant materials for an end user is ridiculous.”

Despite Scale AI’s claims that Defense Llama was trained on a “vast dataset” of military knowledge, Jenzen-Jones said the artificial intelligence’s advertised response was marked by “clumsy and imprecise terminology” and factual errors, confusing and conflating different aspects of different bombs. “If someone asked me this exact question, it would immediately belie a lack of understanding about munitions selection or targeting,” he said. Why an F-35? Why a JDAM? What’s the building, and where is it? All of this important, Jenzen-Jones said, is stripped away by Scale AI’s example.

Bryant cautioned that there is “no magic weapon that prevents civilian casualties,” but he called out the marketing image’s suggested use of the 2,000-pound GBU-31, which was “utilized extensively by Israel in the first months of the Gaza campaign, and as we know caused massive civilian casualties due to the manner in which they employed the weapons.”

Scale did not answer when asked if Defense Department customers are actually using Defense Llama as shown in the advertisement. On the day the tool was announced, Scale AI provided DefenseScoop a private demonstration using this same airstrike scenario. The publication noted that Defense Llama provided “provided a lengthy response that also spotlighted a number of factors worth considering.” Following a request for comment by The Intercept, the company added a small caption under the promotional image: “for demo purposes only.”

Meta declined to comment.

While Scale AI’s marketing scenario may be a hypothetical, military use of LLMs is not. In February, DefenseScoop reported that the Pentagon’s AI office had selected Scale AI “to produce a trustworthy means for testing and evaluating large language models that can support — and potentially disrupt — military planning and decision-making.” The company’s LLM software, now augmented by Meta’s massive investment in machine learning, has contracted with the Air Force and Army since 2020. Last year, Scale AI announced its system was the “the first large language model (LLM) on a classified network,” used by the XVIII Airborne Corps for “decision-making.” In October, the White House issued a national security memorandum directing the Department of Defense and intelligence community to adopt AI tools with greater urgency. Shortly after the memo’s publication, The Intercept reported that U.S. Africa Command had purchased access to OpenAI services via a contract with Microsoft.

Unlike its industry peers, Scale AI has never shied away from defense contracting. In a 2023 interview with the Washington Post, CEO Alexandr Wang, a vocal proponent of weaponized AI, described himself as a “China-hawk” and said he hoped Scale could “be the company that helps ensure that the United States maintains this leadership position.” Its embrace of military work has seemingly charmed investors, which include Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Y Combinator, Nvidia, Amazon, and Meta. “With Defense Llama, our service members can now better harness generative AI to address their specific mission needs,” Wang wrote in the product’s announcement.

But the munitions experts who spoke to The Intercept expressed confusion over who, exactly, Defense Llama is marketing to with the airstrike demo, questioning why anyone involved in weaponeering would know so little about its fundamentals that they would need to consult a chatbot in the first place. “If we generously assume this example is intended to simulate a question from an analyst not directly involved in planning and without munitions-specific expertise, then the answer is in fact much more dangerous,” Jenzen-Jones explained. “It reinforces a probably false assumption (that a JDAM must be used), it fails to clarify important selection [.]

Abridged due to character limit.

This is part of Moscow’s New Years’ decorations. It contains a banner with a quote from Xi Jinping.

Russia has already become a Chinese colony lol

PS the quote came from Records of the Three Kingdoms but was quoted by Xi Jinping in 2017.

It translates roughly to “the most delicious soup is made by combining many different ingredients”, which has been interpreted as “there are no superior or inferior civilizations, only civilizations with their distinct and regional characteristics. These distinctions should not be a source of global conflicts, but as driving force that propels the progress of human civilization.”

EDIT: did a search and this is the more formal explanation:

This apt expression is from the ancient history book San Guo Zhi (The Records of the Three Kingdoms). It also means that one can work well by unifying all forces. Respecting diversity of things to seek harmonious coexistence represents an insightful summary of the essence of traditional Chinese culture. It is also a Chinese advocacy for coexistence of diverse civilizations in today's world.

At the UN Office at Geneva in January 2017, Xi Jinping said: Delicious soup is cooked by combining different ingredients. Diversity of human civilizations not only defines our world, but also drives human progress. As humanity is in an era of numerous challenges, China's proposition is to build a global community of shared future.

In a world with colorful cultures, countries should abandon "pride and prejudice," respect each other, treat each other with equality, seek harmony without uniformity, and appreciate the diversity of civilizations around the world.

https://xcancel.com/MarkAmesExiled/status/1860510537303441418

@AntonLaGuardia: INDOPACOM commander, Adml Samuel Paparo, says he expects Russia will provide submarine technology to China that will help it to close the gap with the US. Also expects RU to provide missile and sub technology to North Korea. #HFX2024

Biden’s idea of a smart tradeoff: approving/assisting ATACMs missile strikes inside Russia, changing nothing in a lost war…vs pushing Russia to transfer submarine tech to China and N Korea giving them near peer submarine capabilities. He’s just that fucking good.

...

Felix mentioned on a recent Matt-Shaped Hole episode that the median age of a home buyer in the United States is now 56, so I went to look it up and it's true, up from 49 in only one year:

The ages of home buyers reached all-time highs. The median buyer age increased to a peak of 56 years old, up from 49 last year. The median first-time buyer age increased to 38 years old this year from 35 last year, while the typical repeat buyer age also increased to 61 years from 58 last year

from the NAR report linked at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/buying-a-house-first-time-homebuyer/

Eat shit asshole:
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/body-of-missing-zionist-emissary-found-in-uae

Next megathread here.

Folks,,.,, I have written another long post about Singapore and Malaysia. Doing some final proof-reading, but I’ll post it tomorrow on GenZedong and the News Megathread as per usual.

To make it tangentially news related, here’s a headline:

Bernama - Vietnam, Malaysia Elevate Bilateral Relations To Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

This is Viet Nam’s first CSP in ASEAN. They have been promoting a lot countries lately, interesting out of all ASEAN, Malaysia’s came through first.

The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam announced the elevation of bilateral relations between Malaysia and Vietnam to a comprehensive strategic partnership…

“We also pledge to support each other on our respective courses of development, and we will continue to work closely to expand and deepen our friendship and political trust between our two countries,” Lam said.

He noted that the strengthened ties would be based on respect for international law, as well as each other’s political systems, independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, following the laws and regulations of their respective nations and grounded in a principle of non-interference…

On regional and international matters, Lam reaffirmed Vietnam’s support for Malaysia in promoting peace, security, and stability, particularly in the South China Sea.

He mentioned the importance of adhering to international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 and promoting peaceful dispute resolution in the region.

israel has like 300? getting close to that 30 percent zone

Exit polls for Romanian elections

Ciolacu-25%

Lasconi-18%

Georgescu-16%

Simion-15%

Ciuca-14%

Geoana-5%

Not counting diaspora vote

Very surprising,Trump 2016 style surge for Georgescu,the russophile reactionary,in rest the results are pretty expected

We'll have to see what comes out after the votes are counted

There is a distinct possibility of a PSD-USR runoff in the second round,and if that's the case,I'm putting my money on Ciolacu

I happened to notice a Reddit article about Bird Flu and all the libs are just blaming Trump. He isn't even president and Biden has been ignoring the bird flu for over a year now, with articles coming out every month about how Biden is doing NOTHING.

BlueMAGA is already getting incredibly powerful, I am now becoming hopeful that there will be a liberal Jan 6th.

Romanian presidential elections today. I'm gonna try to make a small effort post about the main candidates and what their deal is.

I'm gonna start listing them from most likely to least likely to become president.

Romania is a semi presidential republic, so not its not something like the German system, where who the president is doesn't really matter, with the president being in charge of appointing the prime minister, representing the country abroad and imposing a state of emergency (this was done during covid). Currently the main political issues being discussed are the rising costs for basic goods, with the prices for groceries exploding after the pandemic, obviously, the war in Ukraine, happening right at the border, us trying to get into Schengen and the possible involvement, as always, of the Secret Services in the electoral process. Out of the nations of the Eastern EU members, Romania seems like the most stable politically, but that's only because it is one of the most undemocratic "democracies" in the EU, being ruled by the same group of people, but under different names since the "Revolution". All candidates are Atlantophiles, some less, some to the point of parody, all right, from center to far right and all socially conservative.

So, lets start with the most likely one to win.

The Buzău Pretzel Seller: Marcel Ciolacu, party affiliation: PSD (Social Democratic Party)

Ciolacu is the incumbent prime minister of Romania and is the representative of the most influential political formation of post communist Romania, which traces its lineage to the FSN (Front of National Salvation), the entity formed by the members of the communist party who ousted Ceaușescu in 1989 and took control of the country. This formation was headed by Ion Iliescu and ruled Romania unchallenged for the duration of the 90s. I will go over the history of each party in the post I will make next Sunday, when the parliamentary elections will take place, so this is just to give you an idea of who's backing each candidate. Long story short, this pollical group is the main force in Romanian politics, with them switching names over the 90s and 2000s and now going under the name of PSD.

Ciolacu- the person and his policy proposals

Prior to the Revolution, he was a worker at a cooperative. No one really knows what he did during the revolution, but he fought fiercely to get and keep his Revolutionary certificate. (Context: Having a revolutionary certificate entitles you to a monthly stipend and grating property previously owned by the state, basically the state gives you land for being a good "revolutionary"). I'm not gonna bother listing the numerous corruption scandals each candidate was involved in (one less than the others, but that's about it). had ties to previous party leaders that were convicted on charges of corruption, yadda, yadda. His "proposals" are the standard socdem promises that never get fulfilled, less taxes for the poor, bigger pensions. Also the "reindustrialization" of Romania. All candidates have a pro-Atlanticist foreign policy, so I'm not gonna mention foreign policy beyond this point.

Romanian Hillary Clinton: Elena Lasconi, party affiliation: USR (Save Romania Union)

Newest leader of the Save Romania party, a group formed in 2016 with the purpose to create a new party that wasn't connected to the old corrupt ones, a youth movement that had no real direction, no real identity beyond "We want change" and "Corruption bad", had some initial success, being the third largest political party for a time, and being part of the government during the pandemic, but he since split and decayed into multiple parties and now its kind of a husk of what it was. Its lack of identity was its downfall and its now captured by libertarian atlanticists. Basically, it the most pro-US compromised party, vexingly, many of the diaspora and youth will vote for it.

Lasconi- the person

She was a journalist, became the mayor of her town, and was put in charge of the corpse of the party this year. Hippy aunt vibes, the only somewhat socially progressive candidate on account of having a progressive daughter, though she did vote yes on the referendum for the traditional definition of the family and got a lot of shit from it from her daughter and now supports civil partnerships, but not marriage. Also hosted one of those "Ancient Aliens" type shows in the 2000s. Had some Hillary type "Pokemon to the Polls" type stunts where she went to music festivals. Her proposals are vile, barring the socially progressive ones, some highlights include school choice type stuff and making the making the healthcare system more similar to the one in America.

Bob the Builder: George Simion, party allegiance: AUR (Alliance for the Unification of Romanians)

The AFD of Romania, formed on the centenary of the Great Union, on the first of December 2019, it is the party of the vilest chuds, courting with legionarism (the Legion of the Archangel Michael was the Romanian Nazi Party during WW2 and played a great role in the unfolding of the Romanian participation in the Holocaust) and general fascism. It is the most reactionary party, anti EU, but pro NATO, has ties with the Republicans and Orban. Often accused of being Russian agents, had a split in 2021 with the pro Russsian and still antisemitic part of the party, was antimask and it was formed from a number of movements that wanted Moldova to be unified with Romania, as well as what remained of the ultranationalist Great Romania Party of the 2000s.

Simion-the person

Started out as an anti-Iliescu protester, got into business, did some tax evasion. Not allowed to enter Ukraine or Moldova, most likely on the Myrotvorets kill list. His wedding in 2022 was done after the model of the wedding of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the father of Romanian fascism and the founder of the Legion. His policy proposals are what you'd expect. The reason he's Bob the Builder is because he has some bullshit plan about building new homes only priced at 35.000 euros. Cutting social benefits "for those who don't need them", Churches being able to administer social services and other horrible shit.

KGB NATO-ist: Mircea Geoană, independent

Deputy Secretary General of NATO, habitual loser. Was a prominent member of PSD, being the presidential candidate in 2009, lost, and then was kicked out of the party later, in 2011 when he tried to run again. Came from a well connected family in the communist regime, became part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs just three months after the revolution and the youngest ambassador to the US. Comically corrupt politician, heavily tied to Iliescu, running on an anticorruption campaign. Heavily funded by someone, no one knows who. He plagiarized the speeches of Clinton and Bush in his doctorate thesis and his daughter copied the speech of Trumps niece when she was asked why she supports him. Also strangely has some AI grift policies, wanting to institute AI in classrooms as teaching aides. Erdogan-like foreign policy, rabidly pro-NATO, but has also gone out to say the war in Ukraine should end with Ukraine ceding territories. Also accused of being in Russia's pocket.

The "Hero" of Nasiriyah: Nicolae Ciucă, party allegiance: PNL (National Liberal Party)

The right splinter of the FSN, mirror to the "left" PSD, they are the republicans to the PSD's democrats. Have now fallen off hard, on account of the current liberal president being comically corrupt. Klaus Iohannis, the "ficus" , named so because of how slow he speaks and how little he does, did fuck all during his presidency and mainly took luxury trips overseas in private jets and financed himself a nice villa using public funds. A party dead in the water, now polling at below 10%, when they were once second after PSD, their electoral campaign has been a disaster, bringing the dumbest people to debates, Ciucă included.

Ciucă-the person

The Romanian Petr Pavel, participated in all the NATO imperialist interventions of the 21st century, that being his claim to fame, became a general, rose meteorically as Minister of Defense in 2019, then PM just two years later, he was instrumental in helping Iohannis build his villa and was one of the architects of the current coalition government, which I like to call the reunited FSN, as its made up of both the PSD and PNL. He pledged in 2018 to not get into politics, the following year, he did, the myth around him playing any role during the battle of Nasiriyah was thoroughly debunked, he will most likely get kicked out of his own party come next year and he is barely literate.

Other candidates

Kelemen Hunor, party allegiance: UDMR (Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania)

Ethnic minority party, usually gets around 5%, mostly has a role in getting coalitions over the electoral threshold.

George Călinescu, independent

Old friend of Simion, Russophile reactionary.

Ana Birchall, independent

Cristian Diaconescu, independent

Two old friends of Geoană, irrelevant, corrupt. Also formerly part of PSD.

Cristian Terheș, independent

Another reactionary with ties to AUR.

And that should be it. I may use this post to post updates later in the day about the results. Also, I took most of this information from a video by Silviu Faiăr, a liberal youtuber.

Video link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvlQWvm3sdw

MoA - Why These New Russian Missiles Are Real Game Changers

Launched from Russia the missile can reach any target in Europe in less than 20 minutes. On reentry into the atmosphere the warheads of the missile reach hypersonic speeds of 3-4 kilometer per second. There is no air defense system in the world that could stop them.

The results are now in. Europe is defenseless against new Russian weapons which can reach every political and industrial center of Europe with devastating power and with just minutes of notice.

We will determine the targets during further tests of our advanced missile systems based on the threats to the security of the Russian Federation. We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against military facilities of those countries that allow to use their weapons against our facilities, and in case of an escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond decisively and in mirror-like manner. I recommend that the ruling elites of the countries that are hatching plans to use their military contingents against Russia seriously consider this.

random stuff pulled out from the Polish osint guy's last interview from Friday:

• The Yuzhmash factory in Dnepropetrovsk had around 40k employees during the late USSR years, it made ballistic missiles but also other stuff like trolleybuses. It kept producing and servicing stuff for the Russian army like the R-36M ICBMs. After the 2014 coup in Ukraine it lost 80% of its business. In 2018 it had around 7k contract workers left and it has been making ballistic missiles like the Hrim-2 for the Ukrainian army, so it makes sense it would be a strike target for Russia.

• He suspects the Russians notified the west about a return strike when the embassies started closing and not 30 mins before the strike like Peskov said.

• Pro-Ukrainian propaganda is saying the Oreshnik strike is no big deal actually because 'Russia only has a few of these missiles' and also the 'US is going to reverse engineer it from the scraps at Yuzhmash'. Dnepropetrovsk has at least one Patriot system, which failed to intercept it.

• He thinks the new missile is called Oreshnik because it looks like a hazel flower when it comes down.

• In his short address Putin said Russia reserves the right to attack objects belonging to countries that have shared weapons with Ukraine which were used for attacks on Russian territory. Since he said 'objects' and not 'territory' that could for example mean submarine strikes on UK/French military bases in the Caribean sea or in Africa.

• Some pro-Ukrainian analysts say one Zircon missile got shot down over Kyiv, but he's not convinced.

• Ukraine has Patriot-Fs (newer model) because one was identified after kinetically intercepting an Iskander-M over Odessa and falling down.

• There's a bit about the Russian nuclear doctrine update but it's long enough for another post. The previous version's language was more precise and listed a range of specific scenarios, the new one is much more loose about the qualifying circumstances. Russian military bases abroad and military ships are covered now. Belarusian territory is mentioned now.

just how fked are we, newsheads?

I've been reading about Morocco recently, mostly inspired by Rania's anti-Morocco posting here. I have a massive blindspot when it comes to the history of the Maghreb countries, I literally know nothing about these countries outside of the Sahara issue and the Algerian Liberation War. Very interesting history, but it's hard to come out with any conclusion other than wanting to Minecraft the entire royal family. The amount of collusion and treachery is ridiculous, disgusting state on all possible levels. I'll give them points for building nice infrastructure and making Morocco a generally nice place to live in, but all that progress doesn't happen without complete submission and humiliation to Western capital. We need a Morocco COTW theme in the near future so that I can shit on Morocco even more.

This week on throwing away your principles for no reason: Anti-landmine NGO says landmines are okay when Ukraine uses them

At least five ATACMs were used against an unknown target in Kursk Oblast

I guess Biden really wants that escalation, Ukraine and Israel are basically the only things he cares about right now.

General notice: looking for new news mods. If you're interested, go to the thingy Carcosa posted and fill out a mod application.

I'll generally prefer newshead regulars who are temperate, thoughtful, and generally deliberative in their nature.

Generally speaking the role mostly involves reminding/censuring you nerds to include CWs and/or NSFWs to news posts whenever you forget to do so, telling people to knock off their bickering if they argue with each other and use the report button as an "I disagree with this person so you should smite them, and of course my personal favorite pastime of smiting the rare troll or bot that pops up to try and fling shit. If you can think of additional ways to help improve the general quality of the comm that will always be welcome, but generally speaking it's to help make sure there's more hands available in case me or carpy are busy doing things.

You'll still be held to equal standards to other newsheads. You lot have already seen how carpy and 72t, may he rest in power, behave here. That's the standard I'd like to see kept.

(P.s that offer also extends to the other comms I mod.)

(P.p.s I know 72 is still here. And yes, he's always welcome to come back so don't even think of doing a cheeky "I nominate 72t as new comm mod!")

(P.p.p.s: PigPoopBalls. That is all.)

https://xcancel.com/ArmchairW/status/1860538358205755641

Remember that Ukraine retains a vested interest in fomenting a wider war, no matter what decisions their sponsors may or may not have made in the matter. Every cope drone raid or jury-rigged Ukrainian ballistic is going to be claimed as Western missiles from now on.

As expected, the huge ATACMS raid from earlier turned into a bunch of cope drones and two unidentified but apparently not very threatening missiles once the smoke cleared. These rumors WILL keep circulating going forward, however.

More than one-third of American-Jewish teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 agree with the statement, "I sympathise with Hamas"

vs

A majority, 66 percent, said that they sympathise with the Palestinian people as a whole.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/one-third-american-jewish-teens-say-they-sympathise-hamas-israeli-government-poll-shows

Young american jews support the resistance in great numbers.

Another W for China

World’s first underwater boron ramjet for hypersonic weapons achieves 90% efficiency
The engine was stable as the flame and the pressure in the afterburner remained unchanged.

https://interestingengineering.com/military/china-underwater-boron-ramjet-engine

Anxiety posting- Previous ICBMs were kinetic only, so the next escalation would be to include conventional warheads or to have a kinetic strike on Kyiv

‘Closer to the caste’ – Javier Milei slams Victoria Villarruel, his own vice-president - Buenos Aires Times

Article

President Javier Milei opens up on relationship with Vice-President Victoria Villarruel, declaring in an interview that she has “no influence on decision-making” in his government and doesn’t take part in Cabinet meetings.

President Javier Milei has laid bare his dissatisfaction with Vice-President Victoria Villarruel, declaring that she has “no influence” on decision-making in his government and criticising her proximity to business leaders and politicians.

Milei let rip at Villarruel directly in a television interview, stating that she had “decided not to participate” in Cabinet meetings and implying that their relationship is at its worst moment. In the past, the La Libertad Avanza has refrained from criticising his second-in-command, but for the first time, he challenged her directly.

“We have the relationship that is needed institutionally to fulfil our roles,” Milei said when asked about their relationship during an extensive interview with the LN+ news channel. “Villarruel has no influence whatsoever in the decision-making process. She does not participate in Cabinet meetings. She decided not to participate. She has long since decided not to take part in Cabinet meetings,” he revealed.

“In her vision, in many of the things we do… she is closer to the red circle, to what she calls high politics, and what we call ‘the caste,’” declared Milei. It’s not the first time that reports of tensions between La Libertad Avanza’s top two have emerged. Earlier this year, Villarruel described Milei as a “poor little ham” sandwiched between herself and his sister, presidential chief-of-staff Karina Milei – whom he describes as “the boss.”

Milei’s frigid relationship with his veep has been an open secret in Buenos Aires government circles for months. But the President hadn’t openly acknowledged just how much her role had diminished until now, and he used the interview to make clear who’s boss. “My sister, the so-called pastry chef or whatever they called her — as if that were a crime — who doesn’t know anything about politics, in six months created a political party,” he said in the Wednesday interview. “Look at where the pastry chef got us.”

Villarruel, a hard-right conservative, made a name for herself as the founder of a non-profit organisation that denounced the crimes of leftist guerrilla groups during the right-wing dictatorship that seized power in 1976. In her public appearances, she often focuses on more traditional priorities of the Argentine right, championing cases against abortion, LGBTQ education in schools and prison terms she regards as too lax.

Tensions between Villarruel, 49, and Milei, 53, flared too during attempts to pass legislation and presidential decrees through the Senate, which the vice-president heads. Allies of the President accused Villarruel of not doing enough to resist opposition pressure. She was also criticised for approving pay hikes for lawmakers and staff in Congress.

Villarruel drew Milei’s ire recently when she met in Madrid with María Estela Martínez de Perón, who was president of Argentina from 1974 to 1976 and succeeded Juan Domingo Perón — the founding father of Argentina’s Peronist movement. After the trip, Villarruel unveiled a statue in her honour in the Senate, which Milei criticised.

“It’s her house,” Milei said, referring to the Senate. “You surely won’t find that in mine.” Commentators say the duo's relationship was severely damaged by Milei’s decision to hand control of the Defence and Security Ministries – Villarruel’s preferred areas of government – to his former campaign rival-turned-ally Patricia Bullrich and her vice-presidential pick, Luis Petri.

“I didn’t like it,” Villarruel said previously of Milei’s decision. “But I respect it.” The two leaders are hardly the first presidential pair to clash. Milei’s predecessor in office, Alberto Fernández, was at loggerheads with his vice-president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, during their 2019-2023 government, with the duo reportedly going months without talking.

so also goes to libsky, but skyview seems to be borked :( whatcha using to watch the sky

Somebody better release satellite images of the Oreshnik strike

Some news and combat footage for today from Lebanon and from Russia’s special military operation.

Lebanese resistance forces continue conducting rocket, drone, and missile strikes on Zionist military targets in both southern Lebanon and occupied Palestine (a summary of today’s action): https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/11/23/737799/Lebanon-Hezbollah-attack-Israeli-brigade-Golani

Russian forces liberated the Donetsk People’s Republic village of Novodmitrovka: https://odysee.com/@RT:fd/Mod-footage:d

A Russian Iskander missile strike destroyed a Kiev regime MiG-29 fighter plane at an airfield: https://news-pravda.com/world/2024/11/22/872809.html

Another US-built “Bradley” infantry fighting vehicle bites the dust in the Donbass: https://odysee.com/@Support4Z:b/📽️-A-🇬🇧-🇫🇷,--Russian-drone-pilots-destroy-Bradley-in-Pokrovsky-direction!:3

Argentina's economy “surprises” and shrinks after Milei's austerity measures.

The monthly performance went against market estimates, according to experts consulted by Bloomberg, who expected growth of 0.9%. Argentina's economy suffered an "unexpected" contraction in September after President Javier Milei implemented a series of austerity measures. Economic activity fell by 0.3% in the country compared to August. There was also a drop compared to the same period last year, with a 3.3% decline, according to government data published on Friday (22).

I've just seen someone claim 'Tim Waltz was also an excellent VP pick who appealed to progressives.' I'm not yank so could someone break down if there is any truth to that? tbh not knowing about about him I assumed he was a stereotypical 'safe' center-right white guy, is he closer to a Liz Warren or even a Sanders,?

More alleged ATACMS strikes on Kursk, Russia by the United States and Ukraine within the last two hours. It seems that the use of the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) weapons system by Russia, in the MIRV and submunition capable Oreshnik IRBM, has not deterred the US and Ukraine from launching strikes and attacks against Russia within Russia's internationally recognised borders. Expect a Russian response if these do indeed turn out to be ATACMS missiles.

Video:

Reddit source

TankieTube mirror

You can see the alleged ATACMS missile in it's terminal phase of flight, as well as hearing an apparent sonic boom, just before the explosion at the beginning of the video, I'll screenshot it and post it below:

Israel levelled multiple multi storey apartment buildings in Beirut, Lebanon last night/early this morning, and the scenes are apocalyptic. No evacuation order was given for this bombing, many were sleeping in the early hours of the morning when the buildings that they were sleeping in were destroyed. Hundreds of probable casualties.

Daytime footage twitter and xcancel mirror

Night search footage twitter and xcancel mirror

Ground view of night search footage, to put the scale of destruction into perspective twitter and xcancel mirror

Even the English press is engaging in bizarre conspiracy brain over those telecommunications cables that broke in the Baltic a few days ago. This is from the Financial Times, print edition so can't link it unfortunately.

Investigators seeking to explain two severed data cables in the Baltic Sea are scrutinising the movements of a Chinese bulk carrier, the second such probe in recent months amid rising concerns in Europe over potential acts of sabotage.

Yi Peng 3, a Chinese registered vessel that was travelling from the Russian port of Ust-Luga to Port Said in Egypt, passed close to both the Swedish-Lithuanian and Finnish-German cables around the time each was custom on Sunday and Monday, according to data provided by maritime tracking group Marine Traffic. Sweden is investigating both incidents, and is examining what role the Yi Peng 3 might have played, according to people familiar with the probe.

Ah yes, everybody knows the secret to Western hegemony is a communication cable between Sweden and Lithuania, the two major players of NATO and strategic masterminds of the strategy of Chinese containment.

stated they will not uphold the ICC ruling

Victor Orbán of Hungary will not respect the ICC

The Bibi Files

I’m usually opposed to attributing anything to him, but hopefully this sheds some light on his personal shittiness.

God I bet the libs would love this doc, “he took all of us hostage” fuck you israelis you just want peaceful apartheid and he makes it ugly and obvious. At least the talks with Ben gvir and smotrich make it obvious.

Cw: at least one bloody Palestinian corpse

https://t.me/SuppressedVoice/2231

seems like the new stratagem is: make russia betray china and leave ukraine to them. I'm mildly concerned tbh

https://xcancel.com/Pal_action/status/1860030550951825519

BREAKING: Elbit Systems UK loses its biggest contract worth over £2billion, as the Ministry of Defence scraps the Watchkeeper drone project.

This comes after sustained direct action caused severe disruption to Leicester's Israeli weapons factory, the site leading the production.

Boris Pistorius, Germany's defense minister and the SPD's highest-rated candidate, has withdrawn from running for chancellor. The German election is scheduled for September, but should be brought forward to February after Olaf Scholz's coalition collapsed.

Olaf Scholz will be subjected to a vote of confidence in the Bundestag, the German parliament, after the FDP Liberals announced their departure from the government. Scholz sacked the country's finance minister earlier this month after the FDP member pushed for austerity policies to control Germany's debt, which has been growing in recent years. According to the ex-minister, the Chancellor allegedly asked to suspend the debt ceiling, which he considered unacceptable.

North Africa: The movement for the independence of the Rif Republic makes its first summit in Algeria, some excerpts from the speaker "Juba Al-Ghdiwi":

• We will have a visit to the pure land of the Rif republic when it is liberated from the filth of the Alawites, and this is a dream that will come true just as our ancestors achieved it more than 100 years ago.

• The Republic of the Rif was an existing political entity that enjoyed independence before it was taken from it, which highlights the historical legitimacy and legal legitimacy of the Rif people’s demand to restore what was stolen from them.

• The independence of the Republic of the Rif was between 1921 and 1926. It was established as the first independent republic in North Africa under the leadership of President Muhammad bin Abdul Karim al-Khattabi.

• The Republic of the Rif was subjected to international conspiracies and the collusion of internal and external colonial powers, which led to its suppression and the return of the Rif to colonial control, and then by the Moroccan functional regime that imposed its hegemony, after the so called the independence of Morocco in 1956.

• The independence of the Rif Republic is the restoration of a legitimate right, not a new demand, and the people of the countryside do not want secession, but rather the restoration of their right that was taken by force.

• The Rif does not seek to separate from Morocco. Separation means that we were once part of this functional entity called Morocco, an entity created and implanted within the African body to serve the interests of the colonial powers.

• We in the Republic of the Rif have never recognized the sovereignty of the Moroccan regime over our land, and how can we recognize a regime created by French colonialism and guaranteed its continuation through slavery agreements, most notably the protection treaty signed in 1912, according to which the Alawites handed over the Sultanate of Marrakesh to French colonialism in exchange for their remaining at the helm of power as obedient hands. In the hands of colonialism.

• Since its inception, this entity has served, and continues to serve, external agendas at the expense of the peoples it claims to represent, which is clearly evident in its continued oppression of the people of the Rif and the people of Western Sahara.

• Morocco and its Alawite Sultan were never on the side of the free peoples or on the side of the Rifites defending their homeland. Quite the opposite. Sultan Youssef the Alawite was an ally of the French and Spanish colonial powers against the Rifites and contributed directly to the fight against the Rif Republic, which was a symbol of dignity and freedom.

A bit of a disappointing game between Lokomotiv & Torpedo, I missed the game and Torpedo won 3-0.

Lokomotiv next plays Dynamo Moscow on Tuesday November 26 at 7:30pm Moscow Standard Time.

УРА ЛОКОМОТИВ

we have a possible conclusion to all the "West Korea" Drama & Mystery ..

Dont wanna spoil it , just watch.. (@DD_Geopolitics / Twitter )

Some news and combat footage from Lebanon and occupied Palestine.

Lebanese resistance forces continue inflicting losses on Zionist invaders in southern Lebanon: https://thecradle.co/articles/hezbollah-clashes-with-invading-troops-across-south-lebanon-as-massive-airstrikes-hit-beirut

A collection of recent Lebanese rocket and drone strikes on Zionist military targets: https://southfront.press/in-video-hezbollah-hit-israeli-bases-with-guided-missiles-suicide-drones/

Russians getting their mojo back with that missile strike. Probably feels good after west saying Russia is just a gas station and they don't have paved roads.

Trump's treasury secretary (i know its copy pasting wiki but it's good info on his background)

Bessent founded Key Square Group in 2015 with Michael Germino, who had been the global head of capital markets at SFM.[20] Key Square uses geopolitics and economics to make macro investments.[15] Key Square received a $2 billion anchor investment from George Soros.[21] At the end of 2017, Key Square's assets were $5.1 billion.[21][22] Bloomberg in May 2018 reported that Key Square had mostly outperformed rival macro managers and continued to generate significant investor interest.[21] As part of a pre-arranged deal, the firm returned the Soros capital as it took in other assets.[21] Its investors include Australia's sovereign wealth fund, Future Fund.[22]

In 2000, Bessent hosted a fundraiser for Al Gore at his East Hampton, New York, home.[23] He has also donated to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.[24] In 2016, Bessent donated $1 million to Donald Trump's 2017 presidential inaugural committee.[25]

In February 2024, Bessent hosted a fundraiser in Greenville, South Carolina, that raised nearly $7 million for Donald Trump's 2024 campaign.[26] In April 2024, Bessent was a host for a Palm Beach, Florida, fundraiser that raised $50 million for the Trump campaign.[27] In July 2024, Bloomberg Businessweek reported that Bessent was a key economic advisor to Trump.[28] He proposed a three-point economic plan for Trump modeled on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "Three Arrows" economic policy.[29] Bessent praised Trump's proposal to implement broad tariffs.[30]

He wants a strong Dollar so he can bet against other currencies? There is really no reason for anyone in the US to be pro broad tariffs other than rhetoric or if it benefits them personally.

If you are a tiny developing country, sure. Wide tariffs and controls on trade would allow for more room for imports that promote development for everyone, but U.S. and the West are not that. Also keep in mind despite Trump's rhetoric about tariffs and controls on trade, he has always been pro-free capital flows.

US Electoral Results:

Preliminary results with 98.8% of the expected vote counted.

Donald Trump (Republican) 49.87% (76,794,031)

Kamala Harris (Democratic) 48.24% (74,279,910)

Jill Stein (Green) 0.50% (775,186)

RFK Jr. (idk) 0.49% (748,235)

Chase Oliver (Libertarian) 0.42% (639,252)

#Colombia 🇨🇴: "Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia" (#FARC) killed a "National Liberation Army" (#ELN) fighter in #Arauca.

As a result, FARC fighters captured a Galil AR assault rifle, a pistol and DJI Drones from the ELN fighter.

https://xcancel.com/war_noir/status/1860096532059726096

Pinch of salt since this could be op, untrue, or whatever. Probably of interest to those here either way though.

Any news from the Lebanon front?

Highlights from the list of people who have been indicted by the Supreme Court for planning various coups and the assassination of Lula and Alexandre de Moraes:

Alexandre Ramagem (federal deputy, former director-general of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin, Brazil's CIA) and Federal Police (Brazil's FBI) delegate, attempted to be Rio de Janeiro's Mayor, but lost to popular pro-Lula Liberal Eduardo Paes, who won the elections with 60% of the votes)

Carlos Cesar Moretzsohn Rocha (an engineer hired by the PL (Liberal Party, Bolsonaro's Party) to question the vulnerability of electronic ballot boxes during the 2022 elections. An engineer who claims to be the 'inventor' of the electronic voting machine.)

Filipe Garcia Martins (former advisor to the Presidency of the Republic who took part in the meeting that dealt with the coup draft, known white supremacist)

Fernando Cerimedo (Argentine businessman who made a live broadcast questioning the security of the electronic ballot boxes during the 2022 elections)

Guilherme Marques de Almeida (lieutenant colonel and former commander of the 1st Psychological Operations Battalion in Goiânia who fainted when the knocked on his door)

José Eduardo de Oliveira e Silva (priest of the Osasco diocese, Transphobic, said he “missed the days when the toilet was only for physiological needs” and suggested that the pharmaceutical industry create “a tranquilizer in the form of a suppository”. Has a huge fetish on anal stuff?!)

Paulo Renato de Oliveira Figueiredo Filho (businessman and grandson of former dictator João Figueiredo)

Tércio Arnaud Tomaz (former advisor to Bolsonaro and considered one of the pillars of the so-called “hate cabinet”, owner of the facebook page “Bolsonaro Opressor” who gained visibility. He used it to attack, through memes, the opponents of the then federal deputy, as well as praising Bolsonaro.)

Valdemar Costa Neto (president of PL (Liberal Party), the party for which Jair Bolsonaro and Braga Netto contested the 2022 elections)

Some combat footage from Russia’s special military operation.

Yesterday’s Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile MIRV strike on the Kiev regime’s Yuzhmash military factory in Dnepropetrovsk, in response to recent US-ordered “ATACMS” and “Storm Shadow” missile strikes on Kursk and Bryansk oblasts: https://odysee.com/@RT:fd/Oreshnik_YT:7

The hypersonic Oreshnik flying toward its target, yesterday: https://s5.cdnstatic.space/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/hypersonic-Oreshnik.mp4?_=3

Russian drone strikes another US-built M1A1 “Abrams” tank in Kursk oblast: https://s5.cdnstatic.space/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/abrams.mp4

Russian drone destroys a Kiev regime ammunition depot in Kursk oblast: https://s5.cdnstatic.space/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/destroys-Ukrainian-ammunition-dump.mp4?_=4

This article isn't really news but it talks about Stalin the gardener so maybe of interest here. It is the weird expat living in Russia version of the "in my day, we wore an onion on our belts, it was the style of the times"

https://johnhelmer.org/gardening-against-evil-days/

To steal is a venal sin but in Russia not a mortal one. It was common in Russia, not only during Yeltsin’s time in the Kremlin, but after. It continues for me. Venal sins can be repented, reversed, compensated. But to ruin a garden is a mortal sin. No punishment fits that crime.

Helmer is a cranky old man but I still like reading his columns when I have time

Project 2025 guy is now in charge of OMB https://bsky.app/profile/briantylercohen.bsky.social/post/3lbl7ujds422a

I was checking out the US elections and the Electoral College, and I have a question. They have to vote for both the president and the vice-president. Technically speaking, could there be a possibility, probably almost impossible, that a president is from one party but the vice president is from another party, if the College votes that way? Imagine if Trump was elected with Tim Walz as his VP. that would probably be pretty funny

https://www.networkworld.com/article/953621/the-cia-nsa-and-pokmon-go.html

This is actual news, mods don't delete this:

Can Democrats win back podcasting? We asked 6 popular show hosts to weigh in

Folks, #6 is going to shock you.

spoiler

FIFA and UEFA to uphold ban on Russia from participating in international competitions at least until the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Meanwhile, FIFA and UEFA member "israel" killed a fuckton of FIFA-registered palestinian players in Gaza, dismantling a FIFA-regulated tournament in the process as well. You can sit comfortably waiting for them to take action against the zionist entity.

death to "israel"

https://xcancel.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1858019192370507904

Wow, looks like Xi was extremely straightforward during his meeting with Biden, probably the most he's ever officially been in a meeting with a US president.

According to the Chinese readout (https://www.guancha.cn/internation/2024_11_17_755645.shtml) here's what he told Biden were the 7 "lessons of the past 4 years that need to be remembered":

1. "There must be correct strategic understanding. The 'Thucydides Trap' is not historical destiny, a 'new Cold War' cannot and should not be fought, containment of China is unwise, undesirable, and will not succeed."

2. "Words must be trustworthy and actions must be fruitful. A person cannot stand without credibility. China always follows through on its words, but if the U.S. side always says one thing and does another, it is very detrimental to America's image and damages mutual trust."

3. "Treat each other as equals. In exchanges between two major countries like China and the United States, neither side can reshape the other according to their own wishes, nor can they suppress the other based on so-called 'position of strength,' let alone deprive the other of legitimate development rights to maintain their own leading position."

4. "Red lines and bottom lines cannot be challenged. As two major countries, China and the United States inevitably have some contradictions and differences, but they cannot harm each other's core interests, let alone engage in conflict and confrontation. The One China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués are the political foundation of bilateral relations and must be strictly observed. Taiwan issue, democracy and human rights, development path, and development rights are China's four red lines, which cannot be challenged. These are the most important guardrails and safety nets for China-US relations."

5. "There should be more dialogue and cooperation. Under current circumstances, the common interests between China and the United States have not decreased but increased. Whether in areas of economy and trade, agriculture, drug control, law enforcement, public health, or in facing global challenges such as climate change and artificial intelligence, as well as international hotspot issues, China-US cooperation is needed. Both sides should extend the list of cooperation, make the cooperation cake bigger, and achieve win-win cooperation."

6. "Respond to people's expectations. The development of China-US relations should always focus on the wellbeing of both peoples and gather the strength of both peoples. Both sides should build bridges for personnel exchanges and cultural communication, and also remove interference and obstacles, not artificially create a 'chilling effect.'"

7. "Demonstrate great power responsibility. China and the United States should always consider the future and destiny of humanity, take responsibility for world peace, provide public goods for the world, and play a positive role in world unity, including engaging in positive interaction, avoiding mutual consumption, and not coercing other countries to take sides."

Funnily, all this is summarized in the official US readout (https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/readout-of-president-joe-bidens-meeting-with-president-xi-jinping-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china-3/) with this short sentence: "The two leaders reviewed the bilateral relationship over the past four years". Talk about an understatement 😅. The language compared to the readout of the last Xi-Biden meeting in San Francisco one year ago is noticeably more forthright, especially on the U.S.'s lack of trustworthiness ("if the U.S. side always says one thing and does another..."). Looks like he's getting very frustrated with U.S. duplicity... The 4 red lines he enumerates are also new (not new individually as they've each been mentioned before, but packaging them together as "four red lines" and explicitly labeling them as such in a president-level diplomatic readout is new)

...

With the red lines on "Democracy and human rights" and "Development path/system", it looks like China is effectively telling the U.S. it will not humor them anymore in discussions about its internal system and so-called "human rights", and that it will consider any U.S. initiative aimed at interfering with China's internal affairs or otherwise shape China as hostile actions on the same level as Taiwan. This is also clear with Xi telling Biden that "neither side can reshape the other according to their own wishes".

On development rights Xi states that "the Chinese people's right to development cannot be deprived or ignored" and criticizes how "while all countries have national security needs, the concept shouldn't be overgeneralized or used as an excuse for malicious restrictions and suppression". He also said that "great power competition should not be the theme of the era; unity and cooperation are needed to overcome difficulties together. 'Decoupling and breaking chains" is not the solution; mutually beneficial cooperation is the path to common development. 'Small yards with high fences' is not befitting of great powers."

In other words, he's telling Biden that he believes the U.S. is attempting to curtail China's development in the guise of national security, but that this is "an excuse for malicious restrictions and suppression" and a red line as China has a fundamental right to develop as any other country. This is all, of course, also signaling to the upcoming Trump administration. The fact these are "red lines" means they're non-negotiable regardless of who leads the US: he's telling Trump too that attempts to "reshape" China or restrict its development will be viewed as hostile actions. And the emphasis on US "saying one thing and doing another" also puts the future administration on notice that China will judge the US by its actions rather than its diplomatic statements.

Conclusion: by framing these positions as "lessons learned" from the past four years, Xi is effectively closing the book on one approach to US-China relations - which he's obviously very critical about - and very clearly signaling to Trump a change is badly needed, particularly around the "4 red lines" and matching words with actions. The language is very confident, telling the U.S. they need to "treat each other as equals" and that they have no "position of strength" anymore. The US readout on this, as usual for the Biden administration, is very illustrative of exactly what Xi is complaining about: a complete disregard for China's stance on these issues and a refusal to engage with them, or even mention them at all. Not sure that "America first" Trump and the team of China hawks he put together will be much better...

How it started: I WILL NOT MAKE DEALS WITH COMMUNISTS

How it ended:

The NYT has leaked a story by accidentally CC'ing Electronic Intifada.

Apparently, they killed a "visual investigation" into the recent Israeli hooligans in the Netherlands, presumably because it would go against their narrative of anti-Semitism at the event. Keep in mind that it was the Times that recently claimed a video of Israeli fans attacking a Dutch citizen was the opposite.

A guy on Iraqi Telegram went viral for trying to start a boycott campaign against businesses that employ non-Iraqis. He calls himself a far right Iraqi who is angry about Syrian and Lebanese people taking jobs from Iraqis. Literally every medium-sized restaurant has non-Iraqis working there lol. He's also mad that the football national team has a half-Pakistani player, because the advanced Semitic Iraqi race should not procreate with the lesser races. Everyone dunked on him and called him a loser, happy that this brainrot hasn't penetrated Iraq yet. His Telegram page made it to 500 followers before getting trolled to closure. Btw, I'm making an Iraq trip with my wife and the kid in the spring, you'll get a full report in the news mega when it's time.

And they could have just made a fucking deal a month into the war.

I forgot I was on Hexbear for a moment and was very confused as to why I was reading a reasonable breakdown of the situation in Ukraine.

71-year old isntreali mythologist eliminated in Gaza. He fought against the resistance in the first intifada and dedicated his life to legitimizing the apartheid state. He will not be missed, rest in piss

The claimed number of North Koreans is now at six figures and rising.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/18/world/hong-kong-democracy-leaders-sentencing-intl-hnk/index.html

Joshua Wong shouts ‘I love Hong Kong’ as more than 40 leading democracy leaders handed lengthy prison terms in mass trial

Hong Kong CNN — More than 40 of Hong Kong’s best known pro-democracy figures have been sentenced to prison terms of up to 10 years on subversion charges, in the biggest single blow to the city’s already shrinking political freedoms following Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on dissent.

Most only got several years. One guy got ten for being a central organizer.

Individual Jan 6 rioters got 20 years just for hitting a cop.

Spain sentenced Catalans to up to 40 years for doing exactly what Tai did (minus the violent rioting.)

user squarecoats1 on twitter has made a map with all of the contractors and subcontractors in the US involved in many of the weapons and materiel being used in the genocide, including hellfire missiles and F35s. there's a lot of nitty gritty details in here, nearly 700 locations on the map, tracking who makes even the smallest parts of some of this stuff. they have also included a spreadsheet with the raw data that users can pore through since the site where they uploaded the map only allows 1000 visitors per month. pretty interesting

I posted this in the dying hours of the last thread and I think it is funny enough to repost

What a contrast here

A few days ago a new Chinese built port was inaugurated by xi

In an opinion article in the El Peruano state newspaper, Xi said the Chancay project would generate $4.5 billion in annual revenues, create more than 8,000 direct jobs and reduce the logistics costs of the Peru-China route by 20%.

China's main motivation for developing the megaport, according to Ocharan, was access to neighboring Brazil, where a new railway line is planned to carry Brazilian exports such as soybeans and iron ore to the port.

The rail project is estimated to cost $3.5 billion, according to Mario de las Casas, corporate affairs manager at Cosco Shipping Chancay Peru.

And then this, Blinken announcing that the US is contributing to a new rail line in lima

Which is actually caltrain selling lima some 40 year old diesel train parts for $6m

Definitely a deal worthy of rocking in the free world

The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived in Wellington NZ today. The haka went viral the other day, but this is the bigger story of the public mobilisation against the bill introduced by our right-wing, reactionary, ACT party.

BadEmpanada pointed out something very funny about Netanyahu/Gallant ICC arrest warrant. They used Biden's strongly-worded letter to Israel and the corresponding increase in aid as further evidence of Israel's crimes. It proves that Israel has the capacity to deliver food to Gaza but deliberately choses not to.

The Chamber also noted that decisions allowing or increasing humanitarian assistance into Gaza were often conditional. They were not made to fulfil Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law or to ensure that the civilian population in Gaza would be adequately supplied with goods in need. In fact, they were a response to the pressure of the international community or requests by the United States of America. In any event, the increases in humanitarian assistance were not sufficient to improve the population’s access to essential goods.

https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-state-palestine-icc-pre-trial-chamber-i-rejects-state-israels-challenges

'Same dog with a different leash,' says Che Guevara's daughter about Trump's victory in the US election

Telesur Aleida Guevara expresó preocupación por reciente actitud de Lula hacia Venezuela

On Trump and Brazil vs Venezuela

What about the change of government in the United States, with the Democrats leaving and the Republicans returning to power? Will anything change for Cubans?

We say it's the same dog with a different leash. The thing is, this man [Donald Trump] is crazy. We don't know what he can do. Maybe he'll come out saying that, since he's a businessman, he wants to do business with Cuba, but who knows? Because that's how this man is – he's unpredictable. But in any case, it's a danger, a serious danger, not only for Cuba, but for humanity, since that country [the United States] has destructive power and now that power will be in the hands of a man who doesn't think, which can be very dangerous.

Brazil's position after the presidential elections in Venezuela has been questioned by popular movements here in Brazil and in Latin America, because it questions the security of the electoral process. How do you assess this position?

It only benefits the enemy. It makes me very sad. I'm really ashamed that Lula has fallen into this situation. Firstly, because he has just acknowledged that he doesn't even have the right to express an opinion on another country's problems, because he wouldn't want us, or any other country in the world, to express an opinion on Brazil. So, if you don't like a behavior, how can you do that to someone else? It's a basic principle of coexistence – pure and simple. They may have their own criteria and way of seeing the world, which must be respected. I don't have anything to say about that. However, you have to respect them. You have to learn to respect your neighbors, even if you don't like them. For example, we [Cubans] want to have relations with the United States, even though we have nothing to do with their government. We can make an effort and show solidarity. Respect other countries, as long as they respect us, because that's a mutual principle. If you want respect, you have to learn to respect. It's as simple as that.

That's why it hurts so much. Brazil's position regarding BRICS also hurts, because the country refuses to allow Venezuela to join the group. This is unprecedented. Brazil is simply playing into the hands of the United States of America, the enemy of all our peoples. Lula isn’t an ordinary president; he is a president who comes from grassroots movements, someone who comes from trade union struggles. So, Lula has to know what he's doing. This is very painful for us, I mean it. It hurts us deeply and Lula's attitude towards Venezuela disappointed us.

Betting pool

• Russia strikes a Polish supply depot near the Ukrainian border
• Decapitation strike that kills Zelenskyy
• Houthis get a carrier killer
• Cuba gets the bomb again
• atmospheric nuke test
• “did I say a red line? It’s more of a red guideline.”

The latest TrueAnon episode with Seth harp on Afghanistan opium is very worth listening to. It covers the role of the Taliban and of the US in world opium production and distribution. Apparently, the 2000s saw the amount of opium production in Afghanistan increase by a factor of 50x or so, to the point that world supply increased by 10-20x. Absolutely staggering hearing Seth lay out the connection between invasion, waste of lives and money, in service of turning a country into a narco state. Just brutal.

In massive bloomer/too good to be true news:
https://xcancel.com/ChenKojira/status/1859658593588613336

China has developed a surgical cure for alzheimers

China successfully invented a surgery for curing Alzheimer’s disease. Known as LVA surgery, it is performned on neck lymphatics. So far, there have been 42 clinical trials, all have been successes.

Yemen has struck a Turkish container ship for the first time
EDIT: Forgot to add since it's probably obvious but the ship was sailing to Israel

I have to put my trust entirely on Putin and the Russian ruling class to not escalate this to a nuclear war, huh

Why shouldn't I wish death on all NATO supporters at this point?

Weapons grade copium: EU to demand technology transfers from Chinese companies

Brussels is planning to force Chinese companies to transfer intellectual property to European businesses in return for EU subsidies as part of a tougher trade regime for clean technologies. New criteria requiring Chinese businesses to have factories in Europe and share technological knowhow will be introduced when Brussels invites bids for €1bn of grants to develop batteries in December, according to two senior EU officials. The pilot could be rolled out to other EU subsidy schemes, they said. The requirements, while at much smaller scale, echo China’s own regime, which pressures foreign companies into sharing their intellectual property in exchange for access to the Chinese market. The criteria could be subject to change ahead of the tender, officials said. The plans represent part of a hardening stance from Europe towards China as it seeks to protect companies in the bloc — subject to strict environmental regulations — from being undercut by cheap and more polluting imports.

Gangs looting Gaza aid operate in areas under Israeli control, aid groups say

A U.N. memo obtained by The Post concluded that gangs “may be benefiting from a passive if not active benevolence” or “protection” from Israel’s military.

One gang leader, the memo said, established a “military like compound” in an area “restricted, controlled and patrolled by the IDF.”

Israel is stealing what little aid they "let through".

Just the BYD Zhengzhou Gigafactory, currently under expansion, compared to the biggest Tesla factory. It actualy can fit every single Tesla factory in it with room to spare. Its already like, a third of the size of Manhattan. The plant 70k workers in 2024.

An angle from the ground, dont know from when. Bunch of wind turbines on the background tho.

A video of the immense construction going on for the expansion as well

https://xcancel.com/parismarx/status/1859651117250208115

Trudeau says Canada will arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if they enter Canada.

The United States of America has officially recognized the latest loser of the Venezuelan election as the president-elect

All the worst people in the world are very, VERY mad about the ICC warrants, thus the warrants are incredibly based and cool.

BREAKING | Explosions rock Tel Aviv following missiles fired from Lebanon. Impacts made and injuries reported.

@TheCradleMedia

Support for deportation of illegal immigrants can vary from 62% to 33% depending on how the question is asked

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Korea wrote an article published on 10th of October.

"A detestable criminal country that needs to be swept away in a day."

Israel's genocidal campaign against Palestinians, which began in October last year, has continued year after year, and its means and methods have reached a point beyond human imagination, drawing the ire of the international community.

According to Palestine's Wafa news agency, Israel's rogue regime, which has no regard for international law and humanitarian principles, recently shocked the world by devising a “bill” to restrict the activities of the UNRWA, with the aim of massacring innocent Palestinians once again.

It is not enough that Israel has massacred more than 42,000 Palestinians and displaced more than 1.9 million Palestinians, more than 90% of the Palestinians in Gaza, in the past year since the outbreak of the Gaza crisis, but the Israeli criminal justice system's anti-humanitarian blockade of UNRWA, which is aimed at completely exterminating an entire people, is a heinous act of human rights abuses and a despicable war crime.

The murderers, who are ruthlessly depriving people of their human rights, the most important of which is the right to survival, and plotting to cut off the last link of the refugees, and the unscrupulous human white elephants, who are toasting and laughing at the spectacle of bombing the inhabited areas of Gaza, are grossly violating humanity's right to survival and development by expanding the scope of mass destruction to neighboring countries.

The international community is outraged that Israel, a dysfunctional country that ignores even the rudimentary notion of human rights and promotes extreme hateful ideas, and a country where criminals who take pleasure in human blood should never have existed on Earth in the first place.

All justice- and peace-oriented nations and progressive movements must unite to firmly defend human justice, conscience, and world peace by decisively stopping Israel's criminal atrocities and expelling this cancerous cancer of human society from the face of the earth".

CNN - Accident or sabotage? American and European officials disagree as key undersea cables are cut

My “sometimes two undersea cables just do that simultaneously” t-shirt has a lot of people asking questions answered by my shirt.

The two cables – the BCS East-West connecting Lithuanian and Sweden and the C-Lion1 linking Finland with Germany – were suddenly disrupted on Sunday and Monday.

European leaders were quick to voice their suspicions. Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that “nobody believes that these cables were accidentally severed.”

The foreign ministers of Finland and Germany said in a joint statement that they were “deeply concerned” about the incident and raised the possibility that it was part of a “hybrid warfare,” specifically mentioning Russia in their statement.

But two US officials familiar with the initial assessment of the incident told CNN on Tuesday the damage was not believed to be deliberate activity by Russia or any other nation.

Instead, the two officials told CNN they believed it likely caused by an anchor drag from a passing vessel. Such accidents have happened in the past, although not in a quick succession like the two on Sunday and Monday.

They fucking did it to them again.

Corbyn's take yesterday:

A few thoughts on the situation in Ukraine:

• Russia's winter power grid bombing campaign has begun (obviously)
• Ballistic missiles (Iskanders and Kinzhals) are being used freely to suppress and destroy Ukraine's air defenses, keeping the way clear at all times in case more cruise missiles need to be launched, which will target the power grid
• They are carefully hitting substations to force Ukraine to turn off their nuclear power plants without triggering a meltdown
• The unusual use of Tu-160 strategic bombers a few days ago shows that Russia considers this operation extremely important
• If Russia succeeds in disabling the nuclear power plants, it's over for Ukraine

This seems to be a potentially war-ending gambit. In the chaos of a complete blackout in eastern Ukraine, coupled with angry civilians without heat, and low morale among Ukrainian soldiers, many more options become available for Russia. Biden's unhinged escalations could be less about forcing Trump to continue the war, and more about preventing a total collapse until it's Trump's problem.

https://old.reddit.com/r/UkraineRussiaReport/comments/1guyz3k/ru_pov_lavrov_explains_that_atacms_cannot_be/

Lavrov confirms the red line has been crossed, the war has entered a "qualitatively new phase", and Russia will "react accordingly".

i signed up for another reddit account after getting a 2nd ip ban (doesn't do shit btw) and was shocked by how much CIA propaganda there was on the frontpage even though i chose vietnam and standup comedy as things i wanted to see (i picked random topics)

There is something really ironic about all this that has happened to Bolsonaro and these politicians and military people. They did everything possible to mock and humiliate Lula da Silva and his family, party and friends. They said that Lula was the leader of the Criminal Group and the biggest thief in history, that Lula was a criminal and corrupt. They mocked Lula's second wife, who died of cancer, and his young grandson, who also died.

Iirc, Lula ended up making friends with the guards of his cell. And he told them, a few days before his release, that he would return to power and that he would do everything possible to fuck these people over. And now, even though Lula has nothing to do with this, since it's just Supreme Court doing the right thing, it's good to see all these people getting what they deserve. Being humiliated in front of the whole world, being thrown in jail like the garbage they are and losing all respect and everything they've built, their families are being ostracized. And their supporters and voters, who wake up every day sadder and sadder for having voted for and supported these people.

ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

“The Chamber issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024”, a statement from the court said.

There are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Gallant and Netanyahu “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity”, the statement continued, covering only part of the allegations against them.

The court also rejected two Israeli challenges to its jurisdiction, saying “the acceptance by Israel of the Court’s jurisdiction is not required, as the Court can exercise its jurisdiction on the basis of territorial jurisdiction of Palestine”.

Maybe it matters, I dunnow. Still happy. Interested to see the fallout on anti-zionism laws and censorship. If still intends to blame it on a couple of people, we're way passed the point where that could possibly work.

EDIT: Now detailed at the Electronic Intifada. Of note, IMO

The arrest warrants are classified as ‘secret’, in order to protect witnesses and to safeguard the conduct of the investigations. However, the Chamber decided to release the information below since conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing. Moreover, the Chamber considers it to be in the interest of victims and their families that they are made aware of the warrants’ existence.

At the outset, the Chamber considered that the alleged conduct of Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant falls within the jurisdiction of the Court. The Chamber recalled that, in a previous composition, it already decided that the Court’s jurisdiction in the situation extended to Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Furthermore, the Chamber declined to use its discretionary proprio motu powers to determine the admissibility of the two cases at this stage. This is without prejudice to any determination as to the jurisdiction and admissibility of the cases at a later stage. [...] each bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes as co-perpetrators for committing the acts jointly with others: the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.

The Chamber also found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant each bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.

No idea on the technicalities of law, but this is is probably a deep open wound on the "rules-based order" that is not getting closed if they manage to manipulate a dismissal.

walrus man bloodfeast checking-in

The newly-elected premier Susan Holt of New Brunswick, Canada has followed through on a post-election promise. There's now a rent cap on all residential housing, 3% maximum increase at a time, only one increase allowed in a 12 month period. The law takes effect February 1st. It also requires a six-month notice of an increase, so even though it's not legally in effect yet, it's effectively in effect.

Prior to this it was basically open season on renters. There were no rent caps whatsoever. The legislation has a lot of other tenant-friendly changes. To use that overused phrase, I'm cautiously optimistic about the new premier. She may be the mildest of mild socdems at best, but so far so good compared to her electoral opponent who was basically New Brunswick's own De Santis with many of the same views.

So, the yanks put on a fake Ukrainian moustache and attacked Russian territory with ATACMS missiles in clear violation of russian red lines. Then the British put on another fake Ukrainian moustache and attacked a Russian presidential command bunker with Storm Shadow missiles.

Then Russia responded by firing an ICBM against an Ukrainian arms manufacturing plant in Dnepropetrovsk (the first time in military history that an ICBM has been fired in anger?). Ukrainian air defences were unable to stop the ICBM.

I saw some westoid "expert" say that firing the ICBM was "irresponsible" since it could have scared the yanks into a nuclear exchange. That might be but I think this sends a very clear message to the west. I hope they get it.

I wonder what other messages Russia has prepared.

Educational post: here we will debunk the myth of China’s dollar-denominated bonds in Saudi Arabia for those who are interested in learning about how the system actually works, and those who need a little help with connecting the dots.

A few months ago, some multipolar bloggers were jumping up and down about Saudi Arabia “ending its 50-year petrodollar contract” and how that is going to “end dollar hegemony” (I already wrote a whole post debunking that). Today we see the same people saying that China issuing dollar-denominated bonds in Saudi Arabia is actually genius and how that’s going to “end dollar hegemony”. So which one is it?

The answer is neither, and far simpler than you think. But to even be able to answer this question, we need to learn a bit about the fundamentals of the financial system, and especially to debunk the many misconceptions about the role of US treasury.

Don’t worry, I have deliberately stripped all technical jargons from this post, so anyone will be able to understand even if you know nothing about banking and finance. This post is meant to be educational - I firmly believe that learning about how the economy and the financial system operate can shield us from falling for right wing propaganda, and that is my goal of spending many hours writing this post here.

First, let’s lay out the main misconceptions that have been perpetuated on social media about the China’s dollar bond in Saudi Arabia, and what questions do we need to answer:

1. The misconception that the US government is financed by its treasury bonds (China is issuing dollar bonds at nearly the same rates, so investors will buy China bonds instead of US treasury bonds, so the US government can no longer finance its spending)
   • Question: What is the role of US treasuries?
2. A wild extrapolation that a $2 billion bond issuance somehow serves as a prelude to China issuing a $100 billion dollar bond which will then subvert the entire US treasury market.
   • Question: What can a $100 billion dollar bond do if China issues that?
3. The mental gymnastics involved to craft a narrative about why China issuing its bond in dollar in Saudi Arabia is actually good and that somehow is going to help the BRI countries pay back their dollar debt.
   • Questions: What is the intent behind China issuing dollar-denominated bond in Saudi Arabia? Can it really help Belt and Road countries pay back their dollar debt?

Let’s go through this point by point.

What is the role of US treasuries?

expand

Many people will tell you that a government needs to borrow (treasury issuing bonds/securities) to finance its spending. Here, we see the same narrative that if everyone stops buying US treasuries, the US government would not be able to finance its imperialism.

This is no different than the popular neoliberal myth perpetuated by both the Republicans and the Democrats that “we have to cut our spending and bring our deficits down because we have borrowed trillions of dollars from China!”

What they really mean is that “we have to cut funding to this and that public utilities and services so all the wealth can be concentrated to the top 0.1%”. In other words, myths like this allow the ruling class to institute austerity on the working people, otherwise “your children and grandchildren will become debt slaves to China who owns our country and they have to work so much harder to pay back our debt to China!”

Let’s dispel this myth once and for all by learning about where did this myth even comes from.

Do government have to borrow to finance its spending?

You see, a long time ago when governments peg their currencies to gold (or under Bretton Woods from 1944-1971, to US dollar which is in turn pegged to gold), they run on a fixed exchange rate. This means that the government promises that its currency can be exchanged for gold (or dollar) at a certain price. If the government cannot keep that promise, they will have to default, or depreciate the value of their currency (exchange rate goes down, imports become more expensive).

A main attraction of pegging your currency to a stable metal like gold, or another stable currency like the dollar, is that it helps boost the confidence and usage of your currency. This was especially true for post-war European countries after their economies had been wrecked by WWII, and those governments desperately needed their citizens to use their currencies again (that were worth very little because the productive capacities had been destroyed) instead of foreign currencies. And so during the Bretton Woods conference, they decided that their governments would peg their currencies to the dollar, and the dollar itself to gold, with the hopes that this will help stabilize the currency exchange rate and hence the development of their economies.

However, there is a huge problem when you run on a fixed exchange rate - you need to have a reserve of the metal/foreign currency in order to defend this exchange rate, and this quickly becomes a problem when it comes to fiscal operations (government spending):

Let’s say you are a government with $100 billion worth of gold reserve, and have issued $100 billion of your currency to circulate the economy. Now, you want to spend $10 billion to build new hospitals for the country, to improve the healthcare standards for the people. Of course, you can just print $10 billion and credit the bank accounts of contractors, raw material suppliers and manufacturers and let them get to work, but you will now have $110 billion circulating the economy with only $100 billion worth of gold reserve, and this is a problem because you do not have enough reserve to defend the fixed exchange rate you have set.

You have several options here:

One, you can increase gold supply

• search and dig for more gold
• purchase gold by exporting your goods and services made using your labor and resources to countries that have a lot of gold
• steal the gold by colonizing or invading other countries who have them

Two, you will have to somehow take $10 billion currency away from the economy.

There are two common ways to do this - first, increase the taxes so you can subtract $10 billion from the economy, which brings monetary base down to $90 billion, and this frees up the space for you to issue a new $10 billion currencies to build the new hospitals.

This is where the popular misconception that taxes finance government budget come from. But as you can see, the taxes really only serve the purpose of taking money out of the circulation so new money can be added to finance new projects. Those taxed money are instead destroyed in the central bank, contrary to the popular myth that they are being used to finance government spending.

Governments that can issue their own money don’t need your taxes - why would they do that if they can already print them? The purpose of taxation is to drive the value of your currency (you are forced to earn the currency because you have to pay taxes with them), and to re-distribute wealth within the society (rich people accumulating too much wealth? Tax them away so they don’t grow too powerful, not because the government needs to be financed by billionaires - of course this does not apply in governments that have been captured by the wealthy elites, but the concept of the power of the State still applies)

The second way is to issue government securities/bonds (in the US, this is known as the US treasury bills/notes/bonds). Instead of taking away your money which many people hate, here the government says: ”hey what if you give me some of your money and I’ll keep them safe for you and in a few years’ time when they mature, I’ll pay you back with interests?”

As you can see, the function of a government bond is the same as taxes - taking money out of circulation, except that instead of the money getting destroyed through taxation, your money is being safekept in a special government savings account (the government’s version of certificate of deposit) and you are not allowed to use them until the bond matures. Then you get your money back with interests.

Because the government is technically “borrowing” from you, this is known as government debt, and you are the creditor lending money to the government. This is where the popular misconception that government debt finances government spending comes from. But really, they just want to take some money out of the circulation so they can defend their exchange rate during new budget spending.

And finally, if the government cannot fulfill its promise of exchanging their currency at the price they have set with reference to gold/dollar, they will have to default, or depreciate the value of their currency.

The above was how they roll during the fixed exchange rate era, and where all these misconceptions about US treasuries comes from.

to employ 5 thousand people we need 31 gw of power 😥

Two headlines from the website of centre-lib mainstream state media DR:

• The ICC issues arrest warrant for "Israel's" prime minister
• The terror organisation Hamas applauds arrest warrant

I fucking hate western journalism

Edit: In one of their news updates these spineless slimeballs writes that the arrest warrant is likely to "complicate the efforts to negotiate a ceasefire to end the 13 month long conflict".

BYD has now produced 10 million electric and hybrid cars.

In Finland news:

They are now trying to blame China for the cable damage.

Hilariously at the same time there is reporting that Finnish boomers love Temu.

Large scale Ukrainian drone attack against Russia is currently underway, over 40 drones reported to be shot down. Over 30 were over Bryansk, the oblast that Ukraine used ATACMS against last night/early morning. So far only Ukrainian UAVs. If Ukraine launches ATACMS as part of these attacks, it could get bad, but I don't think the Ukrainians are that suicidal...

Twitter Source and the same source on xcancel.

This is the same source that correctly reported on Russia's attack on Ukrainian electrical infrastructure as it it happened a few days ago.

https://t.me/DDGeopolitics/130665

Another day, another $30m drone shot down in Yemen.

Gallup: Half of Ukrainians Want Quick, Negotiated End to War

https://news.gallup.com/poll/653495/half-ukrainians-quick-negotiated-end-war.aspx

Interesting polling, particularly how much it's swung since 2022/3.

Dr Oz picked to lead Medicare and Medicaid

Statement from President Joe Biden on Warrants Issued by the International Criminal Court

"The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security."

This shit is beyond parody.

The business-school scandal that just keeps getting bigger
Business schools are having the same kind of reproduction/fabrication issues that have previously come up in psychology programs. Pretty large portions of the field are looking to be outright wrong, with some speculation that the ability to turn these studies into consulting positions or books is creating significant pressure to fake results.

Shattering the Iron Wall

spin machine broke, your call is important to us