this post was submitted on 09 Apr 2026
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A reminder that as the US continues to threaten countries around the world, fedposting is to be very much avoided (even with qualifiers like "in Minecraft") and comments containing it will be removed.

Image is of Iranians celebrating the beginning of the ceasefire under the framework of Iran's 10 Points.


Mere hours before Trump's 8pm Tuesday deadline yesterday, Pakistan's government contacted Iran with a US-written proposal for a two-week ceasefire, explicitly stated to also include Lebanon, during which they would negotiate a permanent end to the war on the basis of Iran's 10 Points. Among other things, these points include 1) maintaining strict control (joint with Oman) over Hormuz, complete with a toll; 2) the end of sanctions on Iran; 3) keeping their enriched uranium; 4) a withdrawal of US forces from the Middle East [stated by the Supreme Leadership Council but not in the 10 Points, so who knows], and 5) some plausible guarantee that Iran would never be attacked again. I've heard rumors that China may have prodded Iran to accept these terms.

In theory, these are relatively confident and maximalist demands. In practice, Iran has already achieved military and economic control over Hormuz and the withdrawal of many US troops and bases from the region, so at least a few of Iran's demands are, to a greater or lesser extent, already achieved, and with little hope for an increasingly exhausted US to undo these achievements short of nukes.

A couple hours after the ceasefire, the Zionist entity began a wave of airstrikes in Lebanon, killing hundreds of civilians, as well as flying drones into Iranian airspace. This was a strange move to make even if you assume - very sensibly - that the US is completely agreement non-capable: why not agree to the ceasefire and simply pretend to negotiate for two weeks while regrouping/repairing what assets you can and then start hitting Iran again?

One theory is that the Zionists are testing to what degree Iran is actually willing to have solidarity with Lebanon and Hezbollah. While the Resistance has been relatively united since October 7th, the formation of separate peaces instead of negotiating terms as a united front has been a major exploitable weakness. Alternatively, it's been proposed that the US didn't even consider using the ceasefire to regroup and deceive Iran, and that Trump merely wanted a way to chicken out of his threat on Iran's electrical grid - the fact that US officials have since stated that Iran's 10 Points were not the same ones they agreed to is a point supporting this, I suppose. If the conflict resumes and Trump does not deliver another 48 hour deadline (and/or makes it something silly like a month from now) then this could be the explanation.

From Iran, I am getting the sense that a lot is happening behind the scenes. Statements from top officials like Araghchi have stated quite plainly that there will be no ceasefire and no negotiations unless the Zionists stop attacking Lebanon, but as of ~24 hours after the ceasefire began, there has been no significant military response from Iran yet. There have apparently been phone calls between Araghchi and numerous regional officials, but it is unknown to what end. All the while, the global economic situation continues to deteriorate. Over the next week or two, the last tankers that left Hormuz before it closed will arrive at their destinations. If the missile exchanges begin once more, then the West, much like most of the rest of the world, will be experiencing all sorts of fuel, energy, food, and product shortages while trying to justify why they broke the ceasefire to kill more Lebanese civilians.


Last week's thread is here.
The Imperialism Reading Group is here.

Please check out the RedAtlas!

The bulletins site is here. Currently not used.
The RSS feed is here. Also currently not used.

The Zionist Entity's Genocide of Palestine

If you have evidence of Zionist crimes and atrocities that you wish to preserve, there is a thread here in which to do so.

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 the Zionists' 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.

Mirrors of Telegram channels that have been erased by Zionist censorship.

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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[–] vietnoomer 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (2 children)

[2026-04-12] @genHCM: BREAKING: construction begins on Vietnam's first HSR line, 120 km long, speed of 350 km/h across 4 provinces

From Hanoi to Ha Long Bay will take just 30 minutes instead of 3 hours

[2025-12-28] @BeijingDai (it's that annoying bald man again):

Expand screed

8 days ago, Vietnam announced a cooperation plan between Vietnam's richest man and Germany's Siemens to invest in the construction of the north-south high-speed railway, 8 days later, this Vietnam's rich man announced to give up the plan.

I think everything Vietnam is currently doing is just acting, with the sole purpose of putting pressure or temptation on China to agree to build this north-south railway with harsh conditions such as transferring technology to Vietnam. This is a very common tactic in bidding.

China should just ignore it and welcome Vietnam to try to cooperate with Japan, Germany, France, South Korea or anyone else. China has a lot things to do, such as China-Laos-Thailand railway and the railway in northern Vietnam and doesn't mind waiting another 10 years.

Expand smack down of this Amerikkkan psyop campaign

[2] This is only 4 months after Vingroup signed w/ Siemens for this specific project (and not for North South HSR as many were deliberately misled by "Free Media")

(the other line started almost immediately)

[3] No, Vietnam isn't building high speed rails connecting with China.

This is another classic "Free Media" psyop

@felix375: This is a dumb tactic for Vietnam. Because if they use anyone else's HSR then it won't connect to China. They have to offload everything before entering China.

This will give everyone else in SE Asia a head start. Why go to Vietnam to set up a factory when it costs a lot more?

[4] There will be 2 newly constructed lines using standard gauge 1,435mm, replacing French 1,000mm gauge line

1/ The 187-kilometer Hai Phong-Ha Long-Mong Cai railway

2/The 156-kilometer Hanoi-Lang Son railway

https://theinvestor.vn/vietnam-plans-to-invest-13-bln-in-2-railways-linking-to-china-d13064.html#%3A%7E%3Atext=By+Tri+Duc%2Cof+cargo+yearly+from+2050

@HungNguyenTuan: I am not 100% agreeing with german construction

I would rather see china to build it

Reason?

Experience, and german will gost 4x times and never ending bureaucracy

Since this guy didn't provide any supporting links, anyone want to make a better attempt? It's all in the spirit of inquiry.

@genHCM: Thread for you to educate yourself and STFU:

[2025-12-29] What this Amerikkkan doesn’t want you to remember: the first HSR project in China, from technology transfer to production, all comes from SIEMENS.

https://xcancel.com/BeijingDai/status/2005257234964762988#m (same QRT as OP)

Expand thread

Let’s help his befuddled audience wake up from historical amnesia 🧵

[2] Let’s remind these losers how embarassing mainland Chinese used to behave while begging for Western technologies.

Now many of these overseas fascists act like THEY invented everything

[2022–11-03] @BeijingDai: Vietnam choose Japan over China in 2010 to build railway from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh for political reasons.

Now the railway is delayed and practically suspended. It can't be done until 2045.

With the closer tie between China/VN, I hope VN will replace japan with China.

[…]

[3] 5 years after the first HSR project, China was still buying around 1,000 high-speed trains from SIEMENS (!)

[4] The entirety of Chinese HSR industry all started under “digestion, absorption and re-innovation” of foreign technology.

This direction was set even before cooperation with SIEMENS. (note that Jamestown is citing Xinhua correctly here, and he's not saying China's strategy was unsuccessful at all)

[5] China was not only forcing Western companies on techn transfer but also demanded JVa (!)

No such demands have come from any Vietnamese companies to any of their potential HSR partners, incl Chinese ones.

Yet @\BeijingDai cry & lie

[6] Even more, China used market leverage to lobby the Germans allowing Chinese HSR industry to be included in German HSR supply chains.

That’s how they could stay on par with international standards.

[7] It took 10 years with all this shennanigans for China to finally be able to compete against its German teachers.

Not on better quality or better technology. But on PRICE!

This is the characteristics of most Chinese industries for the past 2-3 decades

[…]

[2025-02-24] The graph is outdated as it was written in 2009, when the downfall of Japanese world power status wasn't so obvious. Korea and Taiwan are already Stage 4, and Japan is dangerously falling to Stage 3. Vietnam is likely already at stage 3.

https://wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/gvcs_report_2017_chapter5.pdf

[…]

That last thread is pretty amazing as well, have a look.

@HungNguyenTuan: ? Why hostility?

Read the room bruh that won't work

I said I would prefer chinese construction as they had experience while I have been in Germany many times and knows Germany well, their bureaucracy and quality have gotten worse and it will take mostly forever

If they prove me wrong, then sure

Just not trusting Germany much, as they themselves haven't gotten hsr in germany worth mentioning

I somewhat agree, bumbling man in the replies. This thread lacks sufficient anti-German perspective. I am intrigued by the claim that Viet Nam is implementing China's industrial strategy better than China. It's not overall anti-China, it's anti-Chinese nationalist.

Is it more important to wrench industrial expertise away from the first world, or develop an immediately fully-compatible regional rail system? It's not like Europe's gauge-incompatibility is the main barrier to becoming more i̫͒n͉̋̊t̐ᷘ͂e͙ᷮ͆r̂᷃͂l᷈ᷞ͊i̡᪽͆n̗ᷮᷡk̉᷑̍eͪ᷅̑d̀̈́ᷦ, it's their stupefying lack of capital management.

"Your comments on this?" As they say.

I can't even read replies from my main instance, so should be fun, see you later! Enjoyed the discussion of anarchist vibes on the US left the last one provoked.

[–] vietnoomer 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

@cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml nobody would argue that German industry at home is efficient, except relative to other core countries. It's not like they forgot how to build trains, though. It's the cost of living + energy + materials & components, combined with unwillingness to manage where investment goes. Not problems when working in CN & VN. Just look at how differently car factories operate. The argument is essentially that VN is going for a better bid, & getting the rail tech directly rather than secondhand. Wouldn't it be wise to deepen collaboration with CN rail industry, though, thinking forward?

Anyways, it's past my bedtime. Check this shit out. https://m.soundcloud.com/dreamcatevo/vaporwave-mix-by-sephora-dream_mix_4

[–] cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

I don't know anything about this specific deal but i can confirm with 99.9% certainty that if they contracted a German firm to do it, it would take an excruciatingly long time and cost far, far more. Infrastructure construction here in Germany is a disaster. We had a construction site in front of our apartment for over a year just so the city could fix a 100m segment of street. And they fucked up our internet and water multiple times in the process.

[–] Tervell@hexbear.net 38 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

https://xcancel.com/ripplebrain/status/2042750894861648212

Iran cannot currently open the Strait of Hormuz because it "cannot find" some of the mines it placed, US officials say

Hitting Vance with the one trillion IQ chess moves on day one

soleimani-amused we, uh, lost the keys, sorry

https://xcancel.com/sacruseuropa/status/2042848828835995760

It’s probably true since the Americans sank all the Iranian minesweepers and may have killed some of the people after laying the mines. They literally lost the navy officers who laid the mines.

[–] vietnoomer 1 points 2 hours ago

Unparalleled meme fodder

[–] aanes_appreciator@hexbear.net 28 points 1 day ago

Yes... yes... send your carrier strike group and minesweeper ships into the strait... yes..

[–] mkultrawide@hexbear.net 7 points 1 day ago

I do not recall soleimani-amused

[–] Kieselguhr@hexbear.net 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Trump claims US is clearing mines in strait of Hormuz

"Donald Trump has claimed the US has begun clearing mines in the strait of Hormuz “as a favour to countries all over the world”.

In a post on his Truth Social app, the US president said Iran’s minelaying ships “are also lying at the bottom of the sea”.

While claiming all of the Iranian military’s air and naval capabilities have diminished and its missiles and drones “have been largely obliterated”, Trump added:

The only thing they have going is the threat that a ship may “bunk” into one of their sea mines which, by the way, all 28 of their mine dropper boats are also lying at the bottom of the sea. We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others. Incredibly, they don’t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves.

He repeated an earlier comment that empty tankers “from many nations” are heading to the US for oil."


yeah I think Trump is simply lying, as the US Navy is a 1000 miles away

edit from Guardian live feed:

Iranian media has denied reports that US warships have crossed the strait of Hormuz.

The denial in the semi-official Tasnim news agency follows a report by the US news site Axios, citing a US official, that several US navy ships crossed the narrow waterway today.

There are conflicting reports over what’s happened. Tasnim, quoting an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, reported that a US destroyer attempted to enter the strait but was forced to retreat after a warning from Iran’s armed forces. Axios, citing a US official, said no such warning was given.

Earlier today, Donald Trump claimed the US has started to clear mines in the strait of Hormuz.

[–] joaomarrom@hexbear.net 7 points 1 day ago

The denial in the semi-official Tasnim news agency follows a report by the US news site Axios, citing a US official, that several US navy ships crossed the narrow waterway today.

Here's the Axios piece. Written by Barak Ravid, so could be bullshit fed by israel to disrupt peace talks.

[–] TheoryofChange@hexbear.net 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I agree. This is likely 100% fake news. I seem to recall from several mega threads back that the consensus here was that there was no evidence the Iranians had mined the strait.

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[–] Lovely_sombrero@hexbear.net 12 points 1 day ago (3 children)
[–] Tervell@hexbear.net 41 points 1 day ago (2 children)

https://xcancel.com/tombelaviv_/status/2042721214834098638

Friends who have family on active duty in the military have told me that when talking to their family member and telling them that Iran agreed to a deal prior to Feb 28th, they freak out. They were told that Iran had said they were building a nuke and they were gonna nuke us. The reaction is first incredulity, then when shown news reports on the Feb. negotiations, they blackpill spiral.

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[–] Awoo@hexbear.net 9 points 1 day ago (4 children)
[–] THEPH0NECOMPANY@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago

Lmao so what just a second labor party?

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[–] Tervell@hexbear.net 32 points 1 day ago (5 children)

https://archive.ph/gHhoE

US military bases in Gulf 'useless' after Iranian strikes, experts say

One expert said it was 'highly unlikely' the US Fifth Fleet will ever return to the Gulf state of Bahrain

more

At least a dozen US military sites across the Gulf region have been so badly damaged by Iran's retaliation to US and Israeli attacks that their presence now creates significantly more vulnerabilities than it does benefits, a slate of Middle East experts argued on Thursday. The original revelation about the state of the bases was first reported in The New York Times last month, in which they were described as "all but uninhabitable". The Trump administration has yet to acknowledge the extent of the damage sustained. "This is the physical architecture of American primacy, and Iran has essentially rendered it useless in the span of a month," Marc Lynch, director of the Project on Middle East Political Science at George Washington University, said at the Arab Center Washington DC's annual conference. "We are not seeing a full and accurate reporting of the extent of damage that has been done to US bases in the region," he added. Access to these sites - some of which are logistical hubs and not necessarily active bases - is tightly controlled by both the Pentagon and the Gulf states themselves: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman. Last month, they banned the photography and dissemination of any videos of missiles in their skies, leading many to speculate whether the motive was to shield US bases as they launched attacks on Iran. Gulf leaders had previously pledged not to permit the US to use bases on their territory for the war. "My friends in the region, they'll send me pictures of the base in Bahrain," Lynch said, referring to Naval Support Activity on the island, which is home to the US Fifth Fleet and houses some 9,000 military personnel. "The bases around the region are suffering real damage, and I think it's very unlikely that we're ever going to go back and put our Fifth Fleet back in Bahrain. It's too vulnerable," he added. "So in a sense, the entire purpose of 'America's Middle East' has come crashing down [and] we don't have an alternative way yet of articulating or thinking about what might replace it."

'Less of a benefit, more of a liability'

Altogether, there are 19 disclosed sites run by the US military across the Middle East region - an area that runs from Egypt across to Iraq, and from northern Syria down to southern Oman. These sites can encompass up to 50,000 soldiers altogether. The deployment of US troops to the region dates back to the late 1950s, but the current size and scope of the active bases in the Gulf specifically materialised after the 1990 Gulf War, in which the US intervened to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. The deal was for protection in exchange for oil and petrodollars. But in light of the US-Israeli war on Iran, that transaction hasn't worked out so well for the Gulf, which now has severely depleted interceptor stocks, was forced to shut down airports and schools, and has most recently taken Iranian hits to its energy production facilities. "When the benefits of a transactional approach like that begin to erode so much from one side, then that relationship is going to fray," Shana R Marshall, associate director of the Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University, said at the conference. It is, however, not the first time, she acknowledged. Marshall pointed to the 1996 Khobar Towers bombings in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, when 19 US soldiers were killed by the group later identified as Hezbollah in the Hijaz. Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden's stated grievances also initially revolved around the basing of US military forces in the Gulf, Marshall noted. "Close relations with the US, whether it's US military bases or promoting normalisation with Israel, or enforcing US sanctions or maintaining the dollar peg of their currencies, is less a benefit now than actually a liability," she said.

Unexpected moves

While the last seven weeks of war have made it clear that the Gulf states can no longer fully rely on the US as a security partner, they may start looking to Israel as a security partner, Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said on the panel. The reliance on the US was further hampered by the fact that this week's ceasefire agreement did not explicitly end Iranian attacks on US-adjacent assets in the Gulf states, leading many in the Gulf to express a sense of betrayal. "Those bases were not a deterrent against Iranian attacks. Instead, they became the target of those attacks. They became magnets for those attacks, and as a result, reliance on the American security umbrella really seems to be in shatters," Parsi explained. One outcome of this may be the Gulf turning towards Israel to make up for their inability to "find some sort of an arrangement with Iran", he said. This shift could take place even if there are no "US concessions" involved as there were in the Abraham Accords, Parsi added, referring to the 2020 normalisation agreements between some Arab nations and Israel, which were driven by particular US security guarantees. "There may be some sort of a gravitation towards Israel among some of these [Gulf] states, if they believe that they either cannot or do not want to find a new relationship with Iran," he said.

Seems like missiles and drones aren't so useless.

[–] SoyViking@hexbear.net 11 points 1 day ago

Nature is healing

[–] red_giant@hexbear.net 9 points 1 day ago

It seems like a very not-strategic location given that a hostile nation can bottle up any ships based there just by sending a threatening tweet

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[–] Boise_Idaho@hexbear.net 38 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Pentagon grossly underestimates amount of Chinese missiles in their arsenal:
https://xcancel.com/policytensor/status/2042732854463857062

Iran has already fired as many SRBMs and MRBMs as the Pentagon told Congress were estimated to be in the Chinese arsenal last year.

“Iran has launched roughly 5,156 drones, 2,181 ballistic missiles, and 59 cruise missiles since the war began, according to JINSA data.”

[–] Tervell@hexbear.net 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)

2,181 ballistic missiles

This, btw, averages out to ≈54.5 missiles daily. So, all the "Iranian launches have collapsed into the single-digits!" cope-charts were, as it turns out, bullshit

[–] MarxMadness@hexbear.net 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Maybe they fired at a higher rate early and a lower rate when the war developed into a stalemate. I think the cope is the assumption that fewer launches means they're close to running out, rather than conserving ammo for a war that may last years.

[–] bunnossin@hexbear.net 32 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

2,181 ballistic missiles

Did they seriously not think China, the country with a quarter of the manufacturing power of the entire planet and 6% of the total landmass of the Earth, had more than two thousand missiles?

[–] volcel_olive_oil@hexbear.net 23 points 1 day ago

the assumption goes that "China don't even know how to make missiles lmao Hitler Hitler Hitler [cums]"

[–] Hermes@hexbear.net 22 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Honestly, I could see an argument for China having a lower (relative to manufacturing capability) stockpile of missiles, since they have industrial capacity and they could just make more if they need them.

[–] OrionsMask@hexbear.net 13 points 1 day ago

Honestly let them keep thinking that. Let them keep underestimating their enemies and getting their shit rocked.

[–] Awoo@hexbear.net 8 points 1 day ago

I would put 3 more zeroes on the end of that number

[–] Tervell@hexbear.net 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

https://xcancel.com/FaytuksNetwork/status/2042953155508363365

Iran’s Fars News Agency reports a U.S. destroyer moving from Fujairah toward the Strait of Hormuz turned back after an Iranian warning issued via Pakistani mediation during Iran–U.S. talks in Pakistan. Iran said it told mediators the vessel would be targeted “within 30 minutes” if it continued, and that talks would be affected. The ship then halted and withdrew according to the report.

[–] Rojo27@hexbear.net 5 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I wonder if this was supposed to be part of the mine clearing that Trump was mentioning. Although if they were turned away there isn't much minesweeping happening.

[–] corvidenjoyer@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Unless I missed something, Trump is the source for the mines both existing and being cleared by him.

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[–] InevitableSwing@hexbear.net 47 points 1 day ago (3 children)

US intelligence reports China preparing to send air defence systems to Iran in next few weeks - Guardian update

US intelligence indicates China is preparing to deliver new air defence systems to Iran within the next few weeks, CNN reports, citing three people familiar with recent intelligence assessments, according to Reuters. The network said Beijing could be routing shipments of shoulder-fired anti-air missiles known as MANPADs through third countries to mask their origin, citing unnamed sources.

The US state department, the White House and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. President Trump and Pakistani officials have confirmed that China helped step in to push Iran to accept a tentative ceasefire.

But while the Chinese government says it backs the ceasefire, it has not to date tried to claim any diplomatic credit as a security guarantor, with a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington merely saying “as a responsible major power, China will continue to play a constructive role and make efforts to de-escalate tensions”.

[–] SchillMenaker@hexbear.net 29 points 1 day ago (1 children)

US intelligence indicates China is preparing to deliver new air defence systems to Iran

mattjak

MANPADs

wojak-nooo

[–] spectre@hexbear.net 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Isn't it the best move they can make, considering they might be needed as soon as tomorrow? Anything else would take longer to deploy

[–] InexplicableLunchFiend@hexbear.net 17 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If only we had time to know this was coming

[–] spectre@hexbear.net 20 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Well I hope all USians here are doing their best to meet the moment cause opportunity is probably going to be knocking, and the Democrats are incredibly weak.

It doesn't matter if it's electoralism or something more cool than that, but I'll take unlimited Mamdanis on the imperial core and I don't think that's a hot take for a normie-lib at this point. Would that be anything other than Allendeist Chile?

[–] woodenghost@hexbear.net 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I agree, but it would be different in that Allendes Chile wasn't aggressively doing imperialist wars all around the world, which Mamdanist Democrats still would.

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[–] Satanic_Mills@hexbear.net 17 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

The network said [country] could be routing shipments of shoulder-fired anti-air missiles known as MANPADs through third countries to mask their origin

seen-this-one

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[–] InexplicableLunchFiend@hexbear.net 22 points 1 day ago (11 children)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nt1CgQsgpI

Richard Medhurst succinctly putting the last 5 years into perspective.

[–] MrPiss@hexbear.net 7 points 1 day ago

I disagree with a lot of this. My main criticism is that I think we're in the middle of a complex and evolving situation and a lot of this is opportunism for the benefit of long term imperial projects as opposed to the plan for those projects. There are also many factions, goals, and unspoken impulses of empire to say that this is the one plan that they have.

Controlling commodity flows and especially fossil fuels is core to dollar hegemony. Taking back control of Iran and their oil has been a core goal for decades. It's much easier for me to believe that a lot of imperial planners wanted Iran to be subjugated, but when it wasn't quickly brought to heel they moved to take advantage of the oil shock.

Also, I doubt anyone in the deep state thinks that this is a serious and permanent plan. Within a decade most of the oil and gas that was destroyed will be rebuilt and renewable energy sources will have expanded significantly. This can only be temporary as the world moves away from fossil fuels and the systems of international control that the US has built and maintained.

[–] Awoo@hexbear.net 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

This is the strongest and most holistic analysis I've seen. I like it a lot, I like how much it's trying to zoom out and see the whole picture as one larger thing.

His point on moving the planet's energy source away from the middle east and to the gulf of mexico makes the reason they want to eliminate Cuba so much clearer as well. Cuba would be able to do what Iran are doing otherwise.

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[–] InevitableSwing@hexbear.net 67 points 1 day ago (1 children)

China to ban sulfuric acid exports as Iran war hits supply - mining.com

Bluesky comment mashup

Sulfuric acid is the industrial "workhorse" used in fertilizers, batteries and household & industrial cleaning products. It's pretty much used in everything from paper to plastics to chemicals to medicine.

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[–] joaomarrom@hexbear.net 64 points 1 day ago (6 children)

WSJ: Trump Promises Mass Pardons to Staff Before Leaving Office

I’ll pardon everyone who has come within 200 feet of the Oval,” Trump said in a recent meeting to laughs, according to people with knowledge of the comments. That radius appears to be expanding as the president repeats the line. Another person who met with Trump earlier this year said the president quipped about pardoning anyone who had come within 10 feet.

Crazy that he just came up with this gangster strategy, no other US president would ever d--

Trump’s liberal use of the pardon power follows former President Joe Biden’s sweeping and pre-emptive end-of-term grants to multiple top officials and family members who he said could face scrutiny from the Justice Department under Trump. Those included his son Hunter Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime leader of the National Institutes of Health.

Former Biden aides said** they understood why Biden granted them**, but that they served as a norm-breaking precedent for Trump to exploit.

“By testing the boundaries of the pardon power, Biden cracked the door open and we can’t now complain about Donald Trump walking through it, even if he blows it wide open,” said Michael LaRosa, a former communications aide to Biden.

[–] ghosts@hexbear.net 55 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Biden cracked the door open...

That motherfucker pardoned his son for any crime he may have committed in the last 10 years agony-shivering

[–] PorkrollPosadist@hexbear.net 53 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

for any crime he may have committed

The real blame rests on Gerald Ford who pardoned Nixon under the same framework to prevent the Department of Justice from investigating any of his official crimes. As Communists, we understand the US has been a gangster cabal much longer than this, but the notion a serious liberal democracy certainly was buried at this point. Anyone pretending otherwise is full of shit. We have had full indisputable executive impunity since then.

[–] bunnossin@hexbear.net 22 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Free and fair democracy where the leader can make anyone above the law for any reason.

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