Bulletins and News Discussion from February 3rd to February 9th, 2025 - Fuhrer Failsons

Ecuador election results:

With 80% of ballots counted, preliminary results in the first round showed no candidate in the presidential election had won an outright majority, with Daniel Noboa receiving 44.43% of the vote, followed by Luisa González at 44.17%. Turnout was estimated at around 83%.

Leonidas Iza Salazar won significant votes—receiving between 5% and 28% of votes in 10 provinces—with remote areas still being counted. He's also factoring in the exterior vote. Whoever wants to win in April has to negotiate with CONAIE. (Leonidas Iza has 5.26% of the total votes).

Who ever Leonidas Iza supports will win the elections, unless Noboa attempts a coup.

How certain are we that American economic collapse would cause worldwide economic devastation? Is there a well-researched body of academic work explaining how this would come to pass? Or is it just "there is no alternative" capitalist cope from the oligarchs?

https://xcancel.com/MayadeenEnglish/status/1888731697136480655

Morocco has signed a defense contract with Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, strengthening its military partnership with the Israeli occupation.

According to French newspaper La Tribune, the deal entails the purchase of 36 Atmos 2000 self-propelled artillery systems.

This would make "Israel" Morocco's third-largest weapons supplier, making up to 11% of its total arms imports, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found.

It is worth noting that Elbit Systems is known for supplying the Israeli occupation forces with drones, munitions, combat vehicles, missiles, and various other types of weaponry. According to the British newspaper Morning Star, "The majority of their arms are marketed as 'battle-tested,' meaning they have been deployed in bombardments against the Palestinian people."

kaplya get off the lathe

I think the Russians are gonna call Trump's bluff, they've been burnt too many times to take proposals by the Americans seriously and the manpower and equipment they've lost is too great to settle on a freeze of the current battle lines, it's all of Donbass or its nothing

In coming months liberals are gonna display a form of cognitive dissonance never before seen, when Trump's "bluff" of sanctioning every single company on earth that does business with Russia becomes a reality and they can't triangulate anymore as the premier anti-russian faction

The proof lies in three facts; the Americans were willing to scutter crucial ideological scaffolding like USAID (which speaks to significant ideological derangement in the Trump regime)

Second, the Europeans and their two-minded Russophobic mania which applies out-of-proportion pressure to the middle strata of American bureaucracy to replicate that mania; despite the fact it will lead to the US capturing Europe's industrial base

And third the personal element of Trump being told by Putin to eat dirt, with liberals adding fuel to fire by insulting his seeming impotence

it is february 9 and stalin saved the world from fascism

Geopolitical Economy Report - How Trump's tariffs will accelerate US decline. Probably nothing that will surprise most people here, but it's good to hear the analysis reaffirming it all, as well as providing more and deeper details I was unaware of. I won't attempt to summarize the entire video, but one of the main points is that Trump & co. do not understand the economic levers they're pulling on, and will ultimately only accelerate the US economy's downturn. They also share a view I've had and seen echoed here, that they expect certain industries to eventually push back on some of Trump's policies once it becomes clear how harmful they are.

Edit: This bit was especially relevant, I know a lot of us have been trying to gauge deeper meaning behind this admin's actions. Radhika Desai: "[in response to another panelist] I would say that you're, inadvertently I'm sure, being too complementary to Trump when you say that Trump is trying to manage US decline. I think, really, Trump is surfing US decline. He will make the most of it for himself and his corporate cronies and beyond that, I don't think Trump has the capacity to think of the United States as an economy, as a people, as a country, or anything like that"

Trump Suggests Musk Found ‘Irregularities’ in Effort at Treasury

https://archive.is/9z6f9

President Donald Trump suggested that Elon Musk’s government efficiency team has found irregularities while examining data at the US Treasury Department, and intimated that may lead the US to disregard some payments.

“There could be a problem, we’ve been reading about that, with Treasuries,” Trump told reporters Sunday on Air Force One en route to the Super Bowl. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he was talking about US government debt, or payments processed through the Treasury Department.

“That could be an interesting problem because it could be that a lot of those things don’t count,” he said. “Therefore maybe we have less debt than we thought of.”

We have found that a lot of US Treasuries are actually woke.

Trump suggested DOGE has found irregularities in US treasuries & intimated that may lead the US to disregard some.

“Maybe we have less debt than we thought,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on the way to the Super Bowl.

Gotta give Trump some credit now, his dumbass instincts seem to have accidentally stopped any chance for Saudi-Israel normalisation. Official Saudi media sources are absolutely livid after the latest comments by Trump and Satanyahu and are weirdly enough using resistance-like lingo in describing the Israeli state, which I haven't seen in a more than a decade now. It would be so funny if Trump manages to unite the Arab position just by being an imbecile like always.

Ecuador Elections El País

Edit: Daniel Noboa is at 45,3% and Luisa González at around 43% So that Means they will go the second round if no one gets the 51%, Total votes is currently at 50,9% counted

A long night is expected in Ecuador. The first exit poll, from the Estrategas company, gives Daniel Noboa a victory in the first round. According to his measurement, he has obtained 50.2% of the votes, which would give him an absolute majority. There would be no need for new elections. Luisa González follows with 42.2%. The margin of error is 2.98%, so we have to wait. Rafael Correa, the leader of the leftist candidate's party, has discredited the survey by pointing out that it is a firm hired by the Government. We have to wait in any case.

If none of the candidates achieves a majority, a second round will be held in April. Noboa and González cast their vote in the morning. The president did not make any statements, but his rival reiterated to the press his accusations against the president and the electoral process. “Noboa has violated the law and the Constitution,” González emphasized, referring to the leader of the Executive, who campaigned without leaving office, breaking a tradition in the South American country. In addition to the presidential elections, the focus will be on the election of 151 representatives for the National Assembly.

Its Neolib Fail State time

Westerners laughed at us Arabs because our revolutionary energy of the 50-70s got transformed into some kind of Failson Republics with the likes of Bashar Al Assad getting to power and Uday Hussein, Gamal Mubarak and Saif Al Islam Gaddafi getting really close to power. Not to mention all the weirdo hereditary political party leader families like the Jumblatts, the Gemayels and the Aouns in Lebanon. Well who's laughing now huh? Our monarchies are mostly ruled by fresh cool guys like MBS and Tamim bin Hamad, and even the republics have fresh faces these days. While westerners are now forever stuck with whatever gets produced by the Trudeau, Trump and the African comprador political dynasty failson factories.

Presidential Elections in Ecuador today, we'll see if the correistas will win, or if the dictator wannabe failson Noboa will win.

Florida tycoon is behind oil-for-migrants deal U.S. reached with {President Maduro}

In what constitutes a shift on how the U.S. government views conditions in Venezuela, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed “notable improvements” in several areas of the country, such as the economy, public health and crime. Her comments were part of a memorandum justifying ending a policy, Temporary Protected Status, that protects many Venezuelans in the U.S. from deportation. The Biden administration had awarded TPS to more than 500,000 Venezuelans because of the dire humanitarian conditions and widespread political {responses to anti-gov't protests} under Maduro's {government}

@JDPONDON@hexbear.net you did this?

The CFPB homepage currently has a 404 error

BREAKING: Elon Musk supports the idea of Ron Paul leading a Federal Reserve audit team

https://xcancel.com/LeadingReport/status/1888341322626658741

This is very unsubstantiated, but also

Stream in Argentina Turns Blood-red:
https://www.geologyin.com/2025/02/stream-in-argentina-turns-blood-red.html

The Sarandí Stream in Avellaneda, a suburb of Buenos Aires, recently turned a vivid red, shocking residents and prompting swift action from environmental authorities. Witnesses described the water as resembling "a river of blood," with a strong, unpleasant odor lingering in the air.

Preliminary investigations by Buenos Aires' Ministry of the Environment suggest the discoloration may be linked to an organic dye spill. The Sarandí Stream flows through an industrial zone housing tanneries, textile factories, and chemical plants—facilities previously implicated in environmental contamination. Residents have long complained about pollution in the stream, noting past discolorations in shades of yellow, blue, green, pink, and purple, often accompanied by oily films and acidic odors.

https://t.me/Middle_East_Spectator/15421

https://t.me/AMK_Mapping/6886

Israel has reportedly resumed bombing and pushing into Syria while the "government" forces (HTS) are busy attacking... Lebanon... for some reason.

Magnitude 8 earthquake south of the Cayman Islands, possible tsunami warning (warning twitter link)

Deutsche Bank report: China eats the world

On February 5, 2025, Deutsche Bank published a research report titled "China Eats the World", drawing on the phrase by Marc Andreessen, who said in 2011, "Software is eating the world," making a prescient prediction that software would drive tremendous economic benefits. Deutsche Bank is also optimistic about China, viewing its criticized economic flaws as minor in light of its broader momentum.

Beijing assumes that Washington’s own policies will dismantle the foundations of U.S. global hegemony, even if it creates a lot of turbulence for other countries in the process. China’s top priority, then, is simply to weather the storm.

https://archive.is/Oywuf

Army was ordered to kill Israelis during Al-Aqsa flood confirmed by the war criminal himself

Pls consider buying our official merch, support Federal service that matters, we are not USAID

https://noaamerch.com/

NSFW probably death.

With the country now two-and-a-half weeks into President Donald Trump’s second term, an average of national polls shows him with an approval rating just under 50%.

The polling average at FiveThirtyEight.com shows the president with a 48.8% approval rating

Honestly the funniest thing is how much Americans are loving the unraveling of their own country

chat is this true

(yes I literally snapped a pic from a newspaper. Right from da source baby)

From the AES to ALBA: Burkina Faso activists visit Caracas to support President Maduro - Kawsachuan News

shitlib redditors being dumbfounded part 4630135:

Former gov lawyer here:

1. it is illegal. Like not even close. My whole job is making nuanced "It depends" statements, but this isn't that. The last three weeks is mind melting.

2. it doesn't matter. Like at all. By the time a judge gets a case number, they've moved on to the next atrocity. They might not even be in office by the time any substantive briefs hit their desk. Scotus is complicit and will give them 80% and tut at the other 20 in the name of fairness.

The system relies on good faith, but that time has passed. We're fornly into the Real Politik "the strong do what they will" territory.

The worst part is that voters asked for this and they're happy with the dysfunction.

We got the government we deserve.

you stupid idiot, it was always realpolitik! only D-flavoured liberals are terrible at it except when they are supporting genocide, sending weapons to azov-nazis, bailing out wall street, or clamping down progressive movements

Ecuadorian Tariffs on Mexican Products Have Minimal Impact: Sheinbaum - Telesur English

Noboa is such a failure, no one is going to remember him, not even Trump or Rubio gives a shit about him, he should just do like Dina Boluarte and stfu.

I saw someone asked about Trump’s sovereign wealth fund a few days ago, and here are some very superficial thoughts about it.

Of course, as Stephenie Kelton already wrote in her blog, SWF is completely non-sensical for the US, who is the one who runs huge trade deficits such that other countries can accumulate the dollars the US spent (by exporting their own goods to earn the dollars) to store in their wealth funds.

In other words, the US can simply print the money it needs to spend, and storing “wealth” in a fund while you are not running a surplus is a completely ridiculous idea.

However, let’s get a bit creative about it. From The Class Politics of the Dollar System by Feygin and Leusder, an interesting paragraph stood out near the end:

Thirdly, the United States should begin to view its deficit not as a problem but as a public resource, and to manage it like energy exporters use sovereign wealth funds to avoid Dutch Disease. To administer this public good, the US should establish a series of public banks to fund specific economic investment initiatives. The Federal Reserve would guarantee the debt of these institutions by discounting it at a penalty rate for reserves or United States Treasury debt or dollar reserves. These securities could thus trade at a slightly higher yield than treasuries and provide investors with an alternative product to general purpose treasuries. The liabilities of these investment vehicles would provide global collateral and promote financial stability while also offsetting the effects of dollar hegemony on domestic industry via permanent, active investment.

So, in theory, here’s what the US can do: Trump’s SWF can offer its debt (guaranteed by the Federal Reserve) at a slightly higher yield than US treasuries. So when the US spends its money as usual, and when the surplus dollars are absorbed back to the US government, instead of buying treasuries, investors could choose and even prefer to purchase the SWF debt offering a slightly better return. Then, the US government can use these new “wealth” from the SWF to fund active investment in domestic industries, thereby circumventing the “national debt” problem.

Notice that nothing has really changed here, what changed is merely the re-framing of US deficit spending from the federal government “racking up national debt” (bad! scary!) into “investing them in wealth fund” (good! prudent!) with extra steps. There is absolutely no need to do anything like this but this roundabout way might play better for the media and the people’s perception of how the government manages its budget.

Again it all depends on the mechanisms of the proposed SWF (no details yet, and I also haven’t double checked the logic of the flow yet), whether the US financial infrastructure actually allows this (I’m not an expert) and whether it is in the class interest of the bourgeoisie to do so.

The levers of power are broken. The only switch that works is culture. Trump to name self as director of Kennedy Center

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/07/g-s1-47322/musks-team-takes-control-of-key-systems-at-consumer-financial-protection-bureau Musk's team takes control of key systems at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

President Nicolas Maduro Interview with Breno Altman - Opera Mundi (Portuguese Only)

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei: 'Negotiations with the United States are useless, and will not benefit the country in any way' In his speech today, the Supreme Leader once again emphasized that negotiating with the U.S. is not of any benefit to the Iranian nation:

"For some time now, you have been hearing, in newspapers, in cyberspace, and in the words of various people, that there is discussion about negotiations with America. They mention the word 'negotiation', saying, 'Sir, negotiation is a good thing,' as if someone is opposed to the goodness of negotiation. Today, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of the busiest foreign ministries globally. That is its job, after all. It negotiates with countries around the world — Eastern, Western, all kinds — it travels back and forth, speaks, and signs agreements."

"The exception that exists is America. Of course, I do not mention the Zionist regime because it is not a real country. The Zionist regime is a gang of criminals who came and occupied a land and are committing crimes. That is not a subject of discussion. The exception is America. Why is it an exception? What is the reason? Negotiating with America has no effect on solving the country's problems. We must understand this. They should not make it seem as if sitting at the table with that government will solve this or that problem. No, not at all."

"No problem is solved through negotiations with America. The reason? Experience. In the 2010's, we sat down and negotiated with America for about two years. A treaty was formed with them (JCPOA). Our government sat down and negotiated. They went, came, sat, stood, negotiated, talked, laughed, shook hands, became friends — they did everything. A treaty was formed. In this treaty, the Iranian side was very generous. It gave many concessions to the other side. But the Americans did not implement the treaty."

"The very person who is now in office [Trump] tore up this treaty. He said, 'I will tear it up,' and he did. Even before he came, those with whom this treaty was signed did not implement it. The treaty was meant to lift U.S. sanctions. The U.S. sanctions were not lifted at all. We should learn from this experience. We gave concessions, we negotiated, we compromised, but we did not achieve any result. That is what happened. Even this treaty, with all the concessions we gave, was still undermined, violated, and torn apart by the other side."

"Negotiating with such a government should not be done. Negotiation with them is neither wise, nor intelligent, nor honorable. We must solve our problems internally, not relying on outside factors. As for the Americans, they comment on us, they talk, they express their opinions, they issue threats. If they threaten us, we will threaten them. If they carry out their threat, we will carry out our threat as well. If they violate the security of our nation, we will undoubtedly violate their security as well. This is our duty.'"

Some images of the removal and taping up of USAID signage at Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington D.C. Comrades, I don't think we'll get more poetic imagery than this of the death of contemporary globalised neoliberal capital:

Which brings me to the point of discussion, what comes afterwards? More barbarity? Isolation? Protectionism? The fall of empire? I encourage any analysis or reply, no matter how brief or detailed.

As for me, the enternal pessimist, I think we're entering a new phase of the US empire, not a fall or decline but a shift in tactics, and the current focus appears to be around shipping lanes and freedom of navigation. If we look at the current targets of the US administration's aggressive rhetoric, in Panama, Canada, México, Greenland, Egypt, Iran and China, and even South Africa, a picture emerges: that is drawn on the USA controlling the world's shipping. With Panama we have the Panama canal as an obvious flashpoint, México with the Gulf of México, then with Egypt we have the Suez, Iran is about the Strait of Hormuz and the oil trade with China, with China itself it's about the South China Sea, with Canada and Greenland there's the Arctic shipping lanes such as the North West Passage, and with South Africa there's the Cape of Good Hope and Durban. It really looks as if Trump and his advisors are playing the board game "Risk" here, and looking to exert influence or directly control key points in this regard. If manufacturing can't be brought back to the United States, the consolation prize is to control the flow of goods and the world's oceans.

What Iran and Yemen demonstrated over the past year and a half in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden is scary for whoever seeks to control the world's oceans. Which brings me to the topic of Yemen, Trump has been scarily quiet here, with regards to Ansarallah/the Houthis. Aside from designating them as a terrorist organisation, he hasn't said much. When the right hand is moving, you must watch what the left is doing. Trump's first call to a foreign leader after taking power was to Saudi Arabia's MBS. Yes, even before Netanyahu. There was been increased US and French reconnaissance flights around Yemen. And despite all the cuts to USAID and various other three letter organisations, rumours are that the US has increased contact with the opposition/internationally recognised government in Yemen. If I were in the position of Ansarallah, I'd be preparing for for engagements with the United States.

But vibes!

Homelessness increased 18% in 2024, affecting over 770,000 people. Child homelessness also increased 33%, with nearly 150,000 kids living without a home.

Musk's net worth to drop from about $433B to $401.8B... Tariffs. Lol remember when dude lost 180 billion like it wasn't a thing. What a system. https://thehill.com/business/5130784-elon-musk-donald-trump-tariffs-doge-net-worth/?ICID=ref_fark

To nobody’s surprise, the Qassam brigades are inducting new recruits at speed

“🇵🇸🇵🇸 The Al-Qassam Brigades has recruited thousands of new fighters since the beginning of the ceasefire. The fighters swear that they will confront the occupation with everything they have, and will continue the path of resistance until the complete liberation of Palestine, no matter the sacrifices.”

https://streamable.com/lfmnu0

Source: telegram

The White House just issued an executive order on South Africa that includes admitting Afrikaner South Africans as refugees to the United States

Indoor vs. Outdoor cat debate just intensified

C.D.C. Posts, Then Deletes, Data on Bird Flu Spread Between Cats and People

The data, which appeared fleetingly online on Wednesday, confirmed transmission in two households. Scientists called on the agency to release the full report.

Outdoor cats are bringing bird flu into housholds

The US is so fucked. Here are 7 posts I made in c/news in just the last ~30 minutes.

• A Trump megadonor wants the Supreme Court to overturn the landmark 1964 decision in New York Times v. Sullivan which protects the media's ability to aggressively cover public officials.
• Trump has plans for “imminent mass layoffs” for up to as many as 200,000 employees hired within the last two years.
• Republicans planning ‘deep cuts’ to Medicaid [See body text]
• Senate Republicans' opaque budget resolution points in troubling direction. It hides how hides how the $342 billion spending increase (mass deportations etc) would be paid for.
• Hospitals could be Congress’ next target as GOP looks to extend Trump’s tax cuts
• Trump Tax Cuts Would Cost Between 5 and 11 Trillion Dollars
• Senate GOP Proposes $350 Billion for Mass Deportations

yoav gallant admits that israel used the hannibal directive on oct 7. we all knew this here but i was surprised that he was willing to say it https://thecradle.co/articles-id/28788

So a friend of mine just told me that shortly after the Elon Musk sieg heil salute there was a video recorded from behind him which showed him click his heels together when he did the nazi salute (both times), eliminating any doubt whatsoever what his intention with that gesture was.

Now, try as he might, he can't find the video anywhere - he seems to think it's been completely scrubbed from the web.

Anybody else seen this? Clearly Google has scrubbed it, but I also briefly checked Yandex and I'm not seeing anything there either.

Any ideas on how to track this down?

Musk’s DOGE descends on CFPB with intention to shut it down

https://www.investmentnews.com/regulation-and-legislation/musks-doge-descends-on-cfpb-with-intention-to-shut-it-down/259238

Really though the states should start having their own Dollars. Virgina Dollars, Rhode Island Dollars with different exchange rates against one another and no guaranteed convertibility to Federal Dollars.

All Federal denominated debts converted to State Dollars. Income Tax collection all done by "State Revenue Service" or something like that in State Dollars.

https://xcancel.com/FarmerRigzDTS/status/1886458058852745295 ^gigachud farewell video from before he got smoked by police a few days ago.

Does this guy not sound exactly like shia labaouf doing a conner o'malley character?

Half a billion dollars in USAID funding was allocated for coup efforts in Venezuela in 2017-2019, much of which filled the pockets of the Guaido opposition and other fraudsters, including NGOs. Through money laundering operations like NGO, Venezuelan opposition figures working with Guaido have been able to purchase high-end condominiums in Madrid, Miami and Bogotá, in cooperation with Colombian paramilitaries.

• Kawsachuan News

CW: SA, child prostitution

"You've never been with a daddy?"

The public prosecutor's office found that this message was sent to a child prostitute by a portuguese Far-Right local MP before asking the boy's age, to which he said 15. After having sex with the boy he paid him 20 euros. He tried for a second encounter but was rejected.

This one is far more serious than the national MP that was stealing bags from airports and selling them on Vinted.com that was revealed a few weeks ago, especially from a party where members call LGBT people "pedophiles".

I'd like to think it would have some electoral repercussions since this type of criminality is not the usual scandals the far-right here get caught up in, but we'll see.