Bulletins and News Discussion from October 14th to October 20th, 2024 - Paper Tigers
Bulletins and News Discussion from October 14th to October 20th, 2024 - Paper Tigers
Image is a frame taken from this video of Iranian missiles raining down on Israel without interception due to a weak and depleted air defense system after a year of war and genocide.
Mao, 1956:
Now U.S. imperialism is quite powerful, but in reality it isn't. It is very weak politically because it is divorced from the masses of the people and is disliked by everybody and by the American people too. In appearance it is very powerful but in reality it is nothing to be afraid of, it is a paper tiger. Outwardly a tiger, it is made of paper, unable to withstand the wind and the rain. I believe the United States is nothing but a paper tiger.
When we say U.S. imperialism is a paper tiger, we are speaking in terms of strategy. Regarding it as a whole, we must despise it. But regarding each part, we must take it seriously. It has claws and fangs. We have to destroy it piecemeal. For instance, if it has ten fangs, knock off one the first time, and there will be nine left, knock off another, and there will be eight left. When all the fangs are gone, it will still have claws. If we deal with it step by step and in earnest, we will certainly succeed in the end.
Strategically, we must utterly despise U.S. imperialism. Tactically, we must take it seriously. In struggling against it, we must take each battle, each encounter, seriously. At present, the United States is powerful, but when looked at in a broader perspective, as a whole and from a long-term viewpoint, it has no popular support, its policies are disliked by the people, because it oppresses and exploits them. For this reason, the tiger is doomed. Therefore, it is nothing to be afraid of and can be despised. But today the United States still has strength, turning out more than 100 million tons of steel a year and hitting out everywhere. That is why we must continue to wage struggles against it, fight it with all our might and wrest one position after another from it. And that takes time.
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Israel-Palestine Conflict
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against Israel. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA reports on Israel's destruction and siege of Gaza and the West Bank.
English-language Palestinian Marxist-Leninist twitter account. Alt here.
English-language twitter account that collates news.
Arab-language twitter account with videos and images of fighting.
English-language (with some Arab retweets) Twitter account based in Lebanon. - Telegram is @IbnRiad.
English-language Palestinian Twitter account which reports on news from the Resistance Axis. - Telegram is @EyesOnSouth.
English-language Twitter account in the same group as the previous two. - Telegram here.
English-language PalestineResist telegram channel.
More telegram channels here for those interested.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Sources:
Defense Politics Asia's youtube channel and their map. Their youtube channel has substantially diminished in quality but the map is still useful.
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don't want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it's just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
Simplicius, who publishes on Substack. Like others, his political analysis should be soundly ignored, but his knowledge of weaponry and military strategy is generally quite good.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists' side.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Pro-Russian Telegram Channels:
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR's former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR's forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster's telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a 'propaganda tax', if you don't believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.
Pro-Ukraine Telegram Channels:
Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.
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Normality in Cuba as the Island's government works to solve the electricity disconnection.
Cuba suffers a total blackout and announces an 'energy emergency'. The Cuban electricity company announces that “there is no set time for total restoration”.
On Friday morning (18), Cuba's electricity system suffered a “total disconnection” that left the country without power. The massive blackout occurred after the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant, the most important in the country, broke down causing an “unforeseen exit” from its functions, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mines.
In a brief message on social media, President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated that the country's authorities are “giving absolute priority to the attention and solution of this highly sensitive energy contingency for the nation”, guaranteeing that “there will be no rest until it is restored”.
The collapse at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant comes at a dramatic time, just hours after the government declared on national television that the country is in an “energy emergency”.
I am really worried about Cuba. Things are getting worse, shortages are still regular, power infrastructure is crumbling. it feels like so many anti-american projects are getting isolated again. From Venezuela, to Cuba, to Iran, to Yemen, to Bolivia. Come on China build them a new power plant
Venezuela will not fall because it has Mexico, Colombia and Brazil on its side. Colombia and Brazil literally depend on Venezuelan oil and military aid to keep their northern and eastern provinces stable. They will aid and trade with Venezuela as long as they can. The same goes for Bolivia (which is currently going through a major internal left-wing struggle between Evo and Arce). And there was another coup attempt in Colombia, trying to annul the previous election that elected Gustavo Petro.
I don't think Russia will ever let Cuba fall because Putin sees Cuba as a very important ally. Russia uses Cuban ports to put pressure on the US with the Russian Navy and its nuclear submarines. If things get as bad as they did in Venezuela in 2019, they will send in Russian troops in the same way they did in Venezuela in 2019. The US will never allow Cuba to finish its nuclear power plant, which, after the dissolution of the Soviets. France, Germany, Spain, the UK and Italy offered to finish and Russia would pay for in exchange for licenses to operate in the Cuban market, but Bill Clinton decided to strengthen the embargo and pressure Russia and Yeltsin/Putin, after that the whole deal was canceled.
I just wish "not letting Cuba fall" entailed more than lifesupport. Cuba can and has thrived in living memory
it feels like so many anti-american projects are getting isolated again.
I've never heard it put like this but I think this really nails what's happening, it's isolation
I'm sure that each country although under US sanctions, are under different levels and types of sanctions that make mix up the incentives to say fuck it and cooperate and try to follow other sanctions
Over/under on this being the US' handiwork?
Venezuela suffered power outages, and the Venezuelan FBI (SEBIN) and CIA (DGCIM) said they were terrorist attacks by far-right elements and paramilitaries paid by the US. Idk if the US has done sabotage, but the US embargo on Cuba is the main reason why this is happening. Cuba relies heavily on aid from Russia, China, Spain, France, Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil to keep its power plants running.
Yeah unfortunately the US doesn't have to do direct sabotage for this, though they have in the past. It is like how Iranian officials dying in helicopter crashes or civilian flights crashing there because the US has prevented them from expanding their civilian airfleet