Image is from this article, showing a march by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela Youth. The preamble’s information came from a few sources, such as here, here, and here.
Over the last few weeks, pressure on Venezuela from the US has mounted as their newest proxy, Gonzalez, lost the election to Maduro. The Trump administration now alleges that Maduro is the mastermind behind the “Cartel of Suns,” raised the bounty on Maduro’s head from $25 million to $50 million, and is working to deploy troops and naval assets to the region.
While I would not consider myself an expert, I believe an explicit boots-on-the-ground campaign by the US in Venezuela would be, at best, implausible, though the administration has not explicitly denied it (and even if it did deny it, denials by the US are merely confirmations that are being delayed). What seems much more likely is an intensification of a subversive campaign against Venezuela which seeks to further isolate it, with intelligence from the US given to whatever groups and individuals exist inside the country. There are certainly some parallels in regard to recent US belligerence towards Mexico, with both countries being implicitly or explicitly threatened with military force under the guise of “preventing drug trafficking” - and, of course, spreading drugs is one of America’s greatest specialities.
Will this work? I don’t know, though I am optimistic about Venezuela’s chances. The Venezuelan government does seem to be taking this threat with a refreshing degree of seriousness - with over 4 million militia members being activated across the country as of August 18th, as well as a call from Maduro to the armed forces to be on high alert. The socialist youth of Venezuela are being mobilized in defense of the revolution.
Last week’s thread is here.
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The RSS feed is here. Also currently not used.
Israel's Genocide of Palestine
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against the temporary Zionist entity. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA reports on Israel’s destruction and siege of Gaza and the West Bank.
English-language Palestinian Marxist-Leninist twitter account. Alt here.
English-language twitter account that collates news.
Arab-language twitter account with videos and images of fighting.
English-language (with some Arab retweets) Twitter account based in Lebanon. - Telegram is @IbnRiad.
English-language Palestinian Twitter account which reports on news from the Resistance Axis. - Telegram is @EyesOnSouth.
English-language Twitter account in the same group as the previous two. - Telegram here.
English-language PalestineResist telegram channel.
More telegram channels here for those interested.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Sources:
Defense Politics Asia’s youtube channel and their map. Their youtube channel has substantially diminished in quality but the map is still useful.
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don’t want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it’s just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
Simplicius, who publishes on Substack. Like others, his political analysis should be soundly ignored, but his knowledge of weaponry and military strategy is generally quite good.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists’ side.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Pro-Russian Telegram Channels:
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR’s former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR’s forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster’s telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a ‘propaganda tax’, if you don’t believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.
Pro-Ukraine Telegram Channels:
Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.
I’ll be taking a break from the news mega for a while, I have been having some stress related heart problems recently. I will still be online on hexbear do net and on blorptube, probably commenting and chatting with other users. So if I don’t show up here for a while, that’s the reason.
The US subcontracts out a genocide to Israel and the rest of the world’s leadership says and does nothing because they are either afraid of the US, they don’t want “rock the boat” diplomatically, or they are quietly supportive of it.
US troops murder Korean fishermen in cold blood and the rest of the world’s leadership says and does nothing because they are either afraid of the US, they don’t want “rock the boat” diplomatically, or they are quietly supportive of it.
The US blows up a boat they say is a drug boat and don’t provide any evidence (and even if they did, this is ok because…) and the rest of the world’s leadership says and does nothing because they are either afraid of the US, they don’t want “rock the boat” diplomatically, or they are quietly supportive of it.
We are staring down a potential regime change attempt or even all out war on the objectively ridiculous premise that Maduro is a “narco-terrorist kingpin”, and the rest of the world’s leadership says and does nothing because they are either afraid of the US, they don’t want “rock the boat” diplomatically, or they are quietly supportive of it.
The US is going to bar a Palestinian delegation from attending the UN. When this happened before with Arafat, the general assembly voted to hold the session in Switzerland instead. Now all they are doing is making some mild statements… because no one wants to anger the US.
This is the rules based international order.
You guys scared the shit out of me, with numbers like this I thought the US started invading Venezuela or something.
🇺🇸❌🇻🇪 United States President Donald J. Trump states that fighter jets with the Bolivarian Military Aviation of Venezuela will be “shot down” if they “put us in a dangerous position.”
venezuela just did a second flyover.
From today. He’s parched. The Cubans used their Brandonification gun on him
Holy shit he actually looks better with the dorito dust
Also look at that sigma grindset hand positioning by the guard
The Brandonfication of the dang Cheetos continues
Those diuretics are really draining the life force from him. Just balancing the kidneys, the heart, and the various swelling at this point until it’s over.
If it’s congestive heart failure, the diaurtics are doing their best to keep him alive. He is not well.
Safe to say a total Russian victory is locked in at this point, but I’ve started to notice the percolations of something potentially disastrous forming within the western “left” space
The left ate absolute and total shit on the subject of Ukraine, compete delusion and surrender to the establishment at every point of contact with the issue, I’m sure everyone knows what I’m talking about; outside of this space even pointing out basic facts about the conflict or mentioning the mere existence of Donbass, Ukrainian military buildup prior to 2022 and the open Nazi state in Kiev is liable to get you called a Putin shill by even people who normally disdain bluemaga/shitlib sentiments on any other subject
There is no public leftist figure who has a good take on it beyond “Russia bad”, streamer, podcaster, politician, none
As a consequence, Russian victory is likely to be perceived as an earth-shaking catastrophe by a majority of the western left and much ink will be spilled looking for scapegoats and blameholders
Basically what I’m saying is alot of your “leftie” friends are about to get real annoying trying to eulogize the memory of 25% of Ukraine that speaks Russian and this coming psychic wound may develop into a new Left-to-neocon pipeline
The overwhelming response from Western commentariat in regards to the Chinese parade is that it must be AI.
The height of delusion is upon us. Forever more all achievements of non western countries will be utter denial.
Last night, a friend of mine texted me about China’s big military parade. Out of nowhere, at almost 1am.
She’s a person who I would never have guessed would be even remotely interested in a chinese military parade of all things. She’s of course politically active in her own way, leftist and feminist. But that took me by surprise, she asked me if I watched it to which I replied “Yes, we even had a watch party with a few friends” (true story). She even told me she set an alarm so that she wouldn’t miss it… she had a positive outlook on the whole show, saying she was “very impressed by the drone helicopters”. Later on, my group of close friends also started to talk about the parade and how “we know so little about China”. It really made waves…
People are watching China now, people are getting interested in chinese affairs and developments. The US empire is crumbling.
Stay winning, Xi.
ryan routh, the NAFO guy who tried to kill trump at his golf course last year, is representing himself in court (has anyone ever won a major case by representing themselves?). he challenged trump to a trial by combat, or golf: “I think a beatdown session would be more fun for everyone; give me shackles and cuffs and let the old fat man give it his worst” … “a round of golf with the racist pig, he wins he can execute me, I win I get his job (sorry hillbilly vance)”. he has also volunteered himself as part of a prisoner swap with China, Iran, North Korea or Hamas recently https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/would-be-assassin-ryan-wesley-routh-challenges-trump-to-golf-game-in-bizarre-court-filing-he-wins-he-can-execute-me/ar-AA1LKkhd
I like how China call it the World Antifascist War, it’s less diluted than WW2 and it prevents anyone from every taking away the antifascist-ness of it. Harder to revise it.
Russia just signed a deal to tap its Europe facing gas reserves towards China
Russia has finally signed a binding agreement with China on Power of Siberia-2; a 50 bcm pipeline through Mongolia from the Yamal fields.
Unlike the current line, which taps Asia-facing reserves, this one diverts gas once meant for Western Europe straight into the Chinese embrace. Gazprom has courted Beijing for years to seal it, and now the pivot appears to be set in steel.
Not sure people grasp how huge this is. With Power of Siberia-2 signed, the map shifts for good. Russia’s Arctic gas, the lifeblood of Western Europe’s factories for half a century, will now flow east to China through Mongolia. This is the loss of fuel that helped deliver consistent economic growth and underpinned Germany’s erstwhile status as the world’s leading exporter.
For years Beijing was reluctant; wary of being too dependent on Russian gas. Something has shifted (perhaps renewed EU hostility, maybe Trump’s threats). Either way, Western Europe won’t see cheap reliable gas again. China gets it now. The game is over. And it will only be as time passes that consequences will be fully understood.
Do Nothing
Get cheap gas
I don’t think people realize how big this is. Russia’s pivot from Europe to Asia is now permanent, and Europe’s fate has been sealed.
Yeah I remember an early take on the war from Branko Milanovic was that Putin, concerned with his succession, could have a side-objective of making it so whoever succeeds him can’t be fooled into cozying up with the west again due to how hostile the EU would become towards russia, and how this would supposedly tie into his goal of really solidifying a pivot to the east that post-putin pro-eu russian elites would not easily reverse
Regardless of whether that was a goal he set out to fulfill with the SMO it certainly looks like it materialized now
This will also mean much harder terms for Ukraine, since the window of rapprochement towards Europe is shrinking and it’s less important to be lenient towards the Ukrainians for diplomatic relations.
It’s the other way around actually. Russia has been trying to get China to sign the Power of Siberia 2 deal since 2022, but China had remained very hesitant and pretending PoS2 wasn’t a thing while signing the other trade deals were with Russia. Apparently it had to do with the gas lines going through Mongolia or something.
So it is China that has finally pivoted to Russia, not the other way round.
Having said that, both China’s import and export with Russia has gone down. Import from Russia (Jan-Jun 2025 compared to same period 2024) has been down -8.6% and export to Russia also down -7.4% (look for 俄罗斯 in the table below). So the deep economic cooperation that has so often touted between the two is definitely ramping down. It’s sad to say this but I’m afraid Russia’s economic transformation has not materialized (I’ve talked about how the central bank’s high rate killed the growth already) and Russia is now relegated to a resource colony for China nowadays.
Most of China’s surge in exports has been to the EU (欧洲联盟), Southeast Asia (东南亚国家联盟), Canada (加拿大) and Latin America (拉丁美洲).
出口 = export, 进口 = import
Also note the last row 共建一带一路国家 (Belt and Road countries) where export has gone up +10.8% but import is down -2.8%. That means despite Chinese investment, China has not been able to absorb the productive capacity from those countries so the BRI countries would have to sell to Western countries anyway. This is effectively building the supply chain for the US.
The EU’s gas imports have been going down every year though
Surely they’ll still be using and importing some gas but not as much as in previous years. I wonder if this will be as damaging as we might otherwise think?
Good for China. Bad for Europe. Win for the US.
Thanks Biden
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPZNRZNvwCU
Joe Biden in 1997 gloating to the press corps about Russia telling him if the west keeps expanding NATO, Russia will need to turn towards Asia. “When that doesn’t work, try Iran” he said, and a monkey’s paw somewhere in the White House twitched.
This has got to be the Platonic ideal of a military parade. Absolutely fucking bonkers how well put together the whole thing is. It gives “we’re celebrating the glory of our nation” while also shouting “do NOT fuck with us”, which is exactly what a grand parade should communicate.
And to think that Coinbase and UFC didn’t even have to sponsor them! Truly outstanding.
NYT’s short-form news thing about the parade says “Some weapons seem tailor-made to counter American forces.”
How dare they make missiles that give me the vibes that they would really hurt if they hit Our Troops
A story in three parts:
Elbit Systems factory apparently shuttered following Palestine Action campaign - Middle East Eye
Read More
One of defence company Elbit Systems’ plants in the UK city of Bristol has reportedly been closed in the wake of a Palestine Action campaign, according to The Guardian.
The Elbit Systems UK site in Aztec West business park was repeatedly targeted by activists, including the day before the group was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by then Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. Actions included lock-ons, rooftop occupations, smashing windows and covering the building in red paint.
The Guardian visited the site earlier this week and said the property was deserted, with “no staff present aside from a security guard stationed in a vehicle parked outside the premises”.
The Israeli company, which has drawn criticism for producing weaponry used in the ongoing genocide in Gaza, had held the lease since 2019, with a contract due to run until 2029.
Elbit Systems provides around 85 percent of Israel’s drones and land-based military equipment and has played a major role in supplying Israel with weaponry for its genocide in Gaza.
Private Eye reported last month that the company’s British arm, Elbit Systems UK Limited, was close to winning a major contract that would make it a “strategic partner” of Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The Guardian’s report comes as the UK has continued to crack down on supporters of Palestine Action, with police rounding up activists in dawn raids.
Earlier this week, six campaigners seeking to lift the UK government’s ban on Palestine Action were charged with terrorism offences for allegedly expressing support for the group.
Defend Our Juries (DOJ) said on Tuesday that six of its key spokespeople had been rounded up in dawn raids, hours before a scheduled news conference announcing that a mass action to challenge the ban would be going ahead this Saturday.
Police said the charges were part of an investigation led by the Counter Terrorism Command, related to the alleged organisation of protests and 13 Zoom calls in support of Palestine Action.
The spokespeople, including former government lawyer Tim Crosland, were held over the custody time limit of 24 hours and had their homes raided, according to DOJ.
DOJ said that during a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, the judge granted the defendants bail, rejecting a request by the Crown Prosecution Service to hold them on remand.
The UK government proscribed Palestine Action under anti-terror laws on 4 July, following an incident in which members broke into RAF Brize Norton and attacked with paint and crowbars two planes they said were “used for military operations in Gaza and across the Middle East".
The designation puts Palestine Action on a par with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, making it a criminal offence under British law to show support for or invite support for the group - punishable by up to 14 years in prison under the Terrorism Act 2000.
