news

Trump's FCC pick Brendan Carr posted this

https://xcancel.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1857419658812440927

leading to me desperately needing to post this:

fact chucking

zionazis bomb beirut again

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/%F0%9F%93%BD%EF%B8%8F-A-%F0%9F%87%AC%F0%9F%87%A7-%F0%9F%87%AB%F0%9F%87%B7,--Russian-drone-pilots-destroy-Bradley-in-Pokrovsky-direction!:3

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.

...

me looking for the moscow connection: it's right there

(it passed )

How does the Mongolian precedent reflect on the Netanyahu warrants? Are we more or less likely to see action if Netanyahu travels abroad compared to Putin?

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.

I don't think there's been a News Mega with THAT many Ukraine posts since...well, when they still had the Ukraine maps!

Great COTW contributions here all around

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

Maps and arrows in the megathreads are back! What is this, 2022? Time to start learning the names of every minor Ukranian village east of the Dnieper.

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.

fuck you [adds another 3 months to the war]

US Is Now Calling González the President-Elect of Venezuela

https://archive.is/5Z1e9

The Biden administration is beginning to refer to Edmundo González Urrutia as Venezuela’s president-elect, a senior administration official said, its strongest acknowledgment yet that that the opposition candidate won July’s presidential election.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told partners about the decision in a meeting yesterday at the Group of 20 meetings in Rio de Janeiro, the official said. While the US and other countries have previously concluded that González had more votes than incumbent strongman Nicolás Maduro, the Biden administration hasn’t gone as far as using the term “president-elect” until now.

The move is designed to increase pressure on Maduro, who has claimed he won the election without providing proof. Referring to González as president-elect doesn’t mean that the US will eventually call the opposition figure the “rightful president” after inauguration day Jan. 10, when Maduro expects to be sworn in. That term that was applied unsuccessfully to another opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, in a failed attempt to remove Maduro from power under the previous Trump administration.

President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to office in the US on Jan. 20.

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

A spokesperson for the German regime said they will only definitely decide whether or not they would arrest Netanyahu or Gallant if/when they plan on coming to Germany, but he said arresting them would be "hard to imagine". ^tagesschau^

So they have definitely decided they will not arrest Netanyahu but don't want come right out and say that.

Since @plinky@hexbear.net did post that question I did my part only intending to write something short which got longer so now ima do it as a seperate post.

So I chose a 'left wing newspaper' and a 'right wing newspaper' for fairness here because we gotta see both sides of the worm.

TAZ (These are actually fairly left wing like I'm not doing a bit here)

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of alleged war crimes and alleged crimes against humanity. Warrants were also issued against Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the leader of the radical islamist group Hamas, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, as announced by the ICC in The Hague on thursday. The alleged crimes include murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. Netanyahu and Gallant are additionally accused of using starvation as a method of warfare.

This is pretty much all they got to say about it at least when I looked so this is like the 'respectable left wing german' position.

Now FAZ aka Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is 'center-right' you know respectable nazis.

War in Gaza: Arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.

This is what the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant mean.

~~Honestly I tried to properly translate this but I got kinda mad through it. Because it uses quite a bit of weasely language but here goes.~~ I fucking ran on hateorade....

Prosecutor Khan accuses Netanyahu and Gallant of crimes against humanity as part of a "widespread and systematic attack on the Palestinian civilian population." thanks to state policy. It's not about specific attacks by the Israeli army on civilian infrastructure but rather on the restriction and obstruction of humanitarian aid to people in the Gaza strip. Especially immediately after the war began, when Israel completely sealed off the coast and severely restricted acces to water, electricity and food.

Ok kinda lying there since Israel is still starving the people of Gaza but it's like only bad.

Israel's government reportedly used starvation and other acts of violence against the civilian population as part of a broad strategy aimed at eliminating Hamas, freeing Israeli hostages, and collectively punishing the Palestinian population. However, Chief Prosecutor Khan did not clarify to what extent the eventual lifting of the complete blockade and the resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza factored into the overall assessment.

Go fuck yourself Alexander Haneke you fucking bavarian piece of shit. He then goes on to write about how awful hamas is for roughly the same amount.

Why is the prosecutor so fixated on the allegation of starvation?

Since the beginning of the war, Israel has faced accusations from many sides of violating international humanitarian law. However, experts urge caution, as the legal assessment of these actions is often highly complex and depends on a variety of factors. For instance, when Hamas uses civilian facilities for military purposes, these buildings become legitimate targets; in such cases, Israel may accept civilian casualties if they are not disproportionate to the military advantage gained. By focusing on accusations of starvation and systematic violence against the civilian population, Chief Prosecutor Khan avoids these nuanced questions. “This approach allows him to target the investigations directly at government officials responsible for these strategic decisions,” explains Christoph Safferling, an international criminal law expert from Nuremberg.

HMMMMMM MY NUANCE, HMMMMMMMM MY HAMAS IS USING CIVILIAN SHIELDS, HMMMMM ISRAEL IS NOT TRYING TO BLOW EVERYBODY UP. LIKE YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY HE 'FIXATED' ON STARVATION? IT'S BECAUSE THERE IS UNDENIABLE TRUTH THAT ISRAEL DID AND IS CURRENTLY DOING IT, THERE'S NO 'HAMAS WAS IN THE REFUGEE CAMP' 'HAMAS IS HOSPITALS' HERE YOU FUCKING DOLT.

Like the whole thing is just this hemming at hawing at how Israel certainly didn't do a genocide they just went a little too far like holy shit how is your next paragraph.

COULD THE ICC HAVE DONE SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR THE INVESTIGATIONS?

In principle, the same procedures apply at the International Criminal Court as in German law. Arrest warrants and pre-trial detention are not convictions—they primarily serve to secure the legal process and prevent the accused from evading the court or committing further crimes. In cases of particularly serious allegations, issuing an arrest warrant is standard practice, even in Germany. However, when it comes to government officials of a state engaged in a war, the question arises whether an arrest is truly necessary and politically feasible.

HMMMMMMMMM I WONDER IF HE DID IT, HMMMMMMMMM I WONDER IF THE GENOCIDER REALLY SHOULD BE JAILED AFTER ALL HIS COUNTRY IS AT WAR HMMMMMMMM I AM THE THINKER, WE CAN'T ARREST HITLER HIS COUNTRY NEEDS HIM IT'S AT WAR

One last for the road...

Hamas celebrated the arrest warrants as a historic step, calling the decision an “important historical precedent and a correction of a long history of injustice against our people.” According to Hamas, the United States had spent months trying to block the action against the two “terrorists,” Netanyahu and Gallant, and had “terrorized” the court and its judges. Hamas did not comment on the warrant against Mohammed Deif. The group urged the court to expand its investigations to include “all criminal leaders of the occupation,” targeting ministers and officers who have “shed the blood of our Palestinian people.”

YES THEY ARE TERRORISTS THEY LITERALLY DID TERROR BOMBINGS, YES THE USA TERRORIZED THE COURT AND JUDGES GET THE FUCKING " " OUT OF THERE LIKE IT'S CRAZY HOW HE IS JUST QUOTE MINING HAMAS WHILE GIVING ENTIRE PARAGRAPHS TO ZIONISTS.

Johann Wadephul, the Deputy Chairman of the CDU parliamentary group responsible for foreign policy, told the FrAZ that the issuance of the arrest warrants was problematic. “There are doubts about the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in this matter. The German government is called upon to take a clear stance,” said Wadephul. He linked his response to criticism of Foreign Minister Baerbock, accusing her of failing to send “the best German candidate into the race for a seat at the ICC.” “That Germany is not represented in this important body, and thus unable to advocate for Israel’s right to self-defense, is a serious failure by the foreign minister.” For him, it was inconceivable that “a democratically elected Prime Minister of the State of Israel would be arrested on German soil.” The arrest warrants, he said, demonstrated the “complete lack of sensitivity at the top of the International Criminal Court.”

SHUT THE FUCK UP JOHANN SHUT THE FUCK UP ALEXANDER SHUT THE FUCK UP GERMANY

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”.

and now news for real legal heads 🧠

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/11/paris-and-washington-go-scorched-earth-in-the-sahel.html

The forces involved in the Mali attack were from a coalition of armed separatist groups consisting of the Cadre Stratégique pour la Défense du Peuple de l’Azawad (CSP-DPA) and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for Supporters of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), which reportedly received training from Ukrainian forces in Mauritania and Ukraine.

A CSP-DPA spokesman downplayed any special ties to Ukraine’s intelligence services, however, saying “We have links with the Ukrainians, but just as we have with everyone else, the French, Americans, and others.”

always wonder, what "independent" radical islamist groups think of their foreign policy friendos

Four to seven Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers have conducted launch manouvers for long range cruise missiles, according to Russian aligned sources on telegram. No Tu-160s this time, unlike the last attack on November 17th.

Some combat footage for today from the special military operation.

Russian forces liberated the Donetsk People’s Republic village of Novaya Ilyinka, north of the Kiev-occupied DPR city of Kurakhovo: https://s5.cdnstatic.space/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/novaya_ilyinka.mp4?_=1

A Russian drone destroyed another US-supplied “Stryker” armored personnel carrier in Kursk oblast (18+): https://news-pravda.com/world/2024/11/19/864305.html

Russian forces destroyed more German-built Leopard tanks near Kurakhovo: https://news-pravda.com/world/2024/11/19/864112.html

Odessans started protesting against the Kiev regime due to being without power for almost three days: https://news-pravda.com/world/2024/11/19/864592.html

After signing 37 bilateral trade deals, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave Brazil's President Lula da Silva with a gift: a piece of the Moon collected by the Chang'e-5 during China's, 2020 Lunar exploration mission.

The Israel-1 "AI supercomputer" debuts on the list of fastest supercomputers, ranked #34 out of 500. The list was published today.

The system has Intel CPUs and Nvidia GPUs.

Here's an article from last year on it: regular link □ archive link

The Israel-1 is listed as a U.S. system despite being in Israel. Israel doesn't have any systems on the Top 500 super-computer list. The other system Nvidia announced around the same time, called Tapei-1, shows Taiwan as the country. Both systems are said to be housed in Nvidia data centers.

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.

Does anyone have sources on how much US/UK involvement is required to launch these missiles? It is guaranteed that they provide intel and potential targets. From there, does Ukraine program the missiles? According to Wikipedia, it seems the Storm Shadow missiles are guided by GPS, which—despite its ubiquity—is US military tech. It also appears the missiles need to be loaded with satellite images for target matching. Apparently, they can relay images of a site just before impact and presumably that won't be going directly to Ukrainian military staff but more likely somewhere in the US/UK?

I was almost impressed for a second by some of the tech, but then I remembered that Russia has missiles flying at up to 3 km/s, and now I’m not as much.