news

Peter Thiel calls Pope Leo XIV the “woke American pope.”

He’s worried about Pope Leo working with a “woke American president like AOC” to create a Marxist “Caesar-Papist fusion.”

In leaked audio recordings, Peter Thiel revealed he told JD Vance to ignore Pope Leo XIV on moral issues, including the development of ethical AI.

He also suggested the American pope was a tool of the Antichrist.

https://www.thelettersfromleo.com/p/new-jd-vances-top-donor-suggests

Everyone who doesn't fully support me getting more money and power is the antichrist. This religion thing is great!

In just 2 months Cuba overhauled it's petrochemical industry to process it's native crude. A feat of engineering unrivaled by any other country in the world.

Thread breaking down the technical aspects

For decades Cuba had invested in petrochemical research, preparing for a day where their doctors for oil programs with Venezuela would end.

There were 2 key obstacles to overcome, the density of the crude available under their soil, and the high sulfur content

Cuba already refined its own crude but it required naphtha, an oil distillate, that they received via Venezuela, after the US intervention that supply obviously stopped

Naphtha works as a thinning agent, when mixed with their heavy crude it allowed their refineries to process it

Cuban engineers had already developed oil cracking methods that could thin out the oil but these were not implemented due to the economic costs, it was simply a better deal to import naphtha

But the foresight to invest in these technologies proved prophetic

The next hurdle is the high sulphur content in Cuban crude. Sulphur doesn't get pulled out of oil entirely in distillation, and it's extremely damaging to engines and pipes that carry it

Here too, anticipating this day, the investments in R&D saved the island

Sulphur is traditionally removed from oil with metals, usually palladium, which is not found in the island, so Cuban chemists had been experimenting with soils rich in aluminum, with great results

Thanks to the socialist political model, Cuban scientific research is focused on developing sovereignty, not foreign capital, if not for the political guadiance of the Cuban revolution, Cuba would forever be at the mercy of geopolitics

The cost is high, but Cuba proves, they will not bend, they will not surrender, no obstacle is too large to overcome.

Motherland or death, onwards to victory, we are Fidel.

🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺

“We … land on top of it and we took over the ship. We took over the cargo, took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” said Trump at a rally in Florida on Friday.

“We’re like pirates,” he added to cheers from the crowd. “We’re sort of like pirates. But we’re not playing games.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/02/trump-us-navy-pirates-iran-blockade

https://archive.ph/3An1C (the archiver seems to have messed up and only gotten the article partially for some reason, so here's the regular link too: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-02/beijing-tells-chinese-firms-to-ignore-us-sanctions-on-refiners)

Beijing Tells Chinese Firms to Ignore US Sanctions on Refiners

China ordered companies in the country not to comply with US sanctions on five domestic refiners linked to the Iranian oil trade, in a defiant move aimed at softening the impact of penalties. The refiners — including Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co. which was sanctioned last month and several other privately-owned processors — had been facing asset freezes and transaction bans. The US measures unlawfully restrict normal trade with third countries and breach international norms, the country’s commerce ministry said in a statement on Saturday. In a rare move, it issued an order banning recognition, enforcement, and compliance with the sanctions aimed at the five companies. “The Chinese government has consistently opposed unilateral sanctions that lack authorization from the United Nations and a basis in international law,” the department said.

One of the more high profile activists in the gaza flotilla, brazillian Thiago Ávila, got tortured and beaten by isreal, may be permanently blind

The post is in Portuguese

https://xcancel.com/tiagoguilhermef/status/2050690529763971217#m

Is the Ukraine war still a stupid waste of human life and a slow crawl meat grinder in general? I was talking to a libbed up colleague of mine about the war last night. The average lib still thinks Russia, and Putin specifically of course, are engaging in this war for purely expansionist/imperialist reasons, and have absolutely no conception of Ukrainian politics before 2022 of course. I was able to establish some credibility for myself by insisting that, no, they did not simply claim Ukraine for the love of the game, but initially were intervening in a years long civil war on behalf of a besieged minority receiving the brunt of legal discrimination. This person was completely ignorant of both the civil war and language law/discrimination.

I wish there was a culmination of articles changing their narrative over time from Western media. I remember how bakhmut and other cities were initially declared important fortresses, then brazenly claimed to be killing thousands of Russians per day, and then immediately declared not actually important as soon as Russia finished their sieges. It would be nice to be able to confront them with the changing narrative before their very eyes. I swear to God these people don't have object permanence. They still think Ukraine is soundly winning the war and are baffled at how anyone could think otherwise. Pretty funny that they were talking about how Russia is instituting a more active draft and that shows how weak they must be now, given that of course busification has been a thing for at least 2 years now in Ukraine. Real "Our glorious mobilization, Their wretched draft" hours.

I don't know I'm just ranting as I try to comprehend the brain worms I was just exposed to. I don't even have to start listing alternative sources or narratives with these people. Like, their own sources fall apart under even a little bit of scrutiny. It would blow their minds to hear not just the narrative critiqued but an entirely different vision of events put forward.

🚨JUST IN: Kid Rock addresses The Pentagon on the Strait of Hormuz.

The first test flight of the Soyuz-5 medium-lift launch rocket was successfully completed earlier today from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

I’ve been thinking about doing space updates if people are interested, mostly for Chinese and Russian stuff as western coverage is either entirely nonexistent or incredibly dismissive.

israeli military boats have illegally surrounded the flotilla in international waters and threatened kidnapping and violence.

Communications with 11 vessels have been lost and israeli media claims that 7 boats have been intercepted. Governments must act now to protect the flotilla, hold israel accountable for these flagrant violations of international law and for israel's ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people.

Protect the flotilla. End the siege. Free Palestine.

BREAKING: OpenAI's Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has expressed worry that the company might not be able to pay for future computing contracts if the revenue doesn't grow fast enough, per Bloomberg.

https://xcancel.com/PacifistKab8/status/2050253259076432114

Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade fighters alongside a catholic nun in Gaza.

okay what the fuck amazing bit of Brit lore: https://xcancel.com/buffetbreaker/status/2050062047350550623

Wesley Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander: We’ve lost radars to Iranian attacks. Tomahawk stocks are down about 50%, ballistic missile interceptors by a third, and THAAD by nearly half. Replacing them could take years.

My favourite thing about this guy is that he tried to destroy the world by ordering a nato force to attack Russian troops at an airport in Kosovo and James “you’re beautiful” Blunt and his CO disobeyed the order. Why you would talk to such a maniac about anything is just always funny to me in light of that. thwarted by a British soft boy one hit wonder.

(maybe not news exactly, but at least the bit about how Western news media always manage to find the most bloodthirsty ghouls imaginable to ask for military commentary is pertinent)

BREAKING: President Trump has "rejected" Iran's proposal to open the Strait of Hormuz and the US has prepared a plan for a "short and powerful" wave of strikes on Iran, per Axios.

Have these morons learned nothing? The Epstein Axis are not the folks who get to determine if their "limited strikes" are "short" or not. I know this is just more bluster in Trump's pathetic flailing to construct an off ramp, but it's insane that every time they can just pretend that they can shoot off a few "powerful" airstrikes that will do anything, and somehow Iran will just not respond?

The NYT doesn't have a live updates page for the war right now. But they do have multiple pages devoted to Trump.

Because that's what we need. Minute-by-minute updates about the shooter and king and queen's visit.

https://xcancel.com/ArmchairW/status/2049657243277095297

Trump very publicly has said he thought his initial strikes would last a few days and the regime would fall or he’d get negotiating leverage. He expressed extreme surprise when that didn’t happen. Being wrong then is one thing. Doing the exact same thing again 2 months later and still thinking the same thing is so monumentally stupid I can’t even get my head around it. Iran has said if the U.S. attacks again they’re going to go bananas on us and our allies. Does Trump even know they’ve promised that?

What's most amusing is this latest scheme comes on the heels of the easily-predictable failure of the blockade plan, which was never going to work because even trying to cut off that traffic FORCES China to get involved. This war is being run by AI LLMs with inadequate context.

Is there no backstop human analysis and recommendations to both reinforce and counter the AI? Or is Trump's boomer brain just shorted out by the AI? "Between this war plan and the cat videos, America will be great again when we cover it bigly with beautiful Data Centers!"

The DoD literally bragged last month that a 20-man cell was doing what had previously been the work of a 2000-man MI brigade thanks to AI tools. This means that there is ZERO human backstopping or sanity checking happening in the pipeline. None at all. Recipe for disaster.

Chinese Courts Rule Companies Cannot Fire Workers Simply to Replace Them With AI

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2026-04-30/chinese-courts-rule-companies-cannot-fire-workers-simply-to-replace-them-with-ai-102439602.html

https://archive.is/7nJ6g

Christians unite with Hezbollah against Israel - Telegraph

Catholic residents of Ras Baalbek say the militia protects churches – and gives them Christmas trees

Israeli company uses deepfake tech to generate fake Iranian SA victims.

An Israel-based AI firm, "Generative AI for Good", claims to be using deepfake technologies for positive ends. ‘Positive’ appears to mean creating deepfake videos to help the illegal US-Israel war on Iran.

[…]

Generative AI for Good claims that it uses AI to ‘help survivors testify safely — in their real voice, without revealing their identity’. But Israel and its mouthpieces have been shown to have used false allegations ofremoveds and other atrocities on 7 October 2023 to justify its genocide in Gaza.

🛢️ Bessent Predicts “GASOLINE SHORTAGES IN IRAN NEXT.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posted Monday that Iran’s oil industry is “starting to shut in production” due to the U.S. blockade, that “pumping will soon collapse,” and — in all caps — that “GASOLINE SHORTAGES IN IRAN NEXT.”

The problem is basic arithmetic. Iran in March produced roughly 3.06 million barrels per day of crude, according to OPEC survey data. Of that, it exported approximately 1.1 to 1.5 million bpd (almost entirely to China). The remaining 1.9 to 2 million bpd goes to domestic refining to meet Iran’s own fuel needs.

Even if the U.S. naval blockade cuts Iranian oil exports to zero, Iran’s domestic refining supply chain does not suddenly stop.

The crude that was previously exported would have nowhere to go — filling storage — but the barrels feeding Iranian refineries come from the same fields and move through domestic pipelines entirely insulated from the Strait of Hormuz. Domestic gasoline production does not require export infrastructure.

Iran also survived near-zero export periods in 2019-2020 without domestic fuel shortages. Bessent’s post does not explain the mechanism by which blocked exports translate into gasoline shortages inside Iran.

Copying this over from a different sub: After the US Bombing, a Venezuelan Community Under Siege Speaks

They explained how they truly felt the horror that the Palestinians experience. The difference, they added, was that for them it was a single day while in Gaza it is every day.

At the time, many feared the attack could signal a protracted full-scale land invasion. Such an incursion, they warned, could well be launched in the future. (This was also the opinion of government officials that we conferred with.) They are proud that the Bolivarian leadership remains firm and united. This they attribute to the support of the people such as themselves. The concessions forced upon the government under the threat of an even more devastating attack have been bitter to accept, but better than the alternative of greater destruction.

Our hosts described themselves as Chavistas, militants in support of the current government. Some wore shirts bearing the phrase dudar es traición – to doubt is to betray. Their lived experience is of a nation under imperial siege – in a perpetual state of war with the threat of more. Under such circumstances unity is prioritized. They rejected speculation that the kidnapping was aided by traitors within, arguing that such narratives serve the purposes of the enemy of eroding unity by fostering distrust. They emphasized the continuity of revolutionary policy from Chávez to Maduro and now to Delcy, as she is affectionately called.

Incredibly validating to be able to come to the same conclusions as actual revolutionaries by utilizing dialectical materialism. I hope to continue learning from their examples and am very thankful that so many here are able to utilize the same tools to independently come to the same conclusions

NEW: Senior Iranian Official to Drop Site: Iran Is Setting Its Own Terms for Ending the War

Nationwide USA Gas Prices: 5/1

Happy May Day

Prices up 9 cents today. Up 40 cents over the last 5 days

Current Avg. $4.392

Yesterday Avg. $4.300

Week Ago Avg. $4.059

Diesel $5.496

This is the fourth day in a row of a new wartime high

Current Record: $5.016 on 6/14/22

https://gasprices.aaa.com/

Owned :)

https://t.me/mmirleb/15594

Survival instincts of a domesticated dog. At least Ukranian soldiers run for their lives

I can not overstate how little of a surprise attack this was

The so-called antisemitism commissioner of Brandenburg had his shed firebombed (complete with red triangle and public letter) by ... drumroll please ... two 25 year old friends / business partners of his. He denies any involvement or knowledge himself.

According to this newspaper’s investigation, there is no evidence of tension or discord between the two men and Büttner, who are said to have a friendly relationship. They are also said to have met after the arson attack, in Potsdam and Berlin. In early February—just one month after the arson attack—they are said to have attended a performance at the Leipzig Opera together.

Source: tagesspiegel (archive)

Owner of Politico & The Telegraph tells staff to quit if they don’t align with 'corporate values' including supporting Israel's right to exist

The CEO of Axel Springer, which owns Politico and The Telegraph, told staff that anyone who disagrees with the company’s “corporate values,” outlined in its mission statement known as the “Essentials,” including support for Israel’s right to exist, should simply find another job, openly suggesting there is no place for dissent within the organization, according to audio of the call obtained by Jewish Insider.

In a call with journalists, Mathias Döpfner dismissed concerns raised by staff over his political opinions influencing coverage, doubling down instead and saying he would “write more, not less,” while insisting that certain positions, like labeling Iran as aggressors or worse, or the fact that Iran is working on acquiring a nuclear bomb, are so “obvious” they don’t even require evidence.

The remarks came after employees warned that his public commentary risked undermining Politico’s credibility as an independent news outlet, but leadership largely backed him, reinforcing a corporate culture where editorial independence is claimed, yet alignment with top-level ideology appears non-negotiable.

This comes amid recent controversies at Politico, including backlash over a sympathetic profile of UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese and the publication of a political cartoon criticized for invoking antisemitic tropes, which was later removed following public criticism.

BREAKING: The S&P 500 officially posts its highest close on record, now up +14.2% since the March 30th low.

That's +$8.1 TRILLION in market cap in 23 trading days.

WOO HOO I love how real this all is!!!

Salvador Nasrallah, the liberal who bootlicked the U.S. and Israel because he believed he had won the election by thowing the socialists under the bus, and who, when the U.S. committed election fraud to elect a candidate backed by drug cartels, repeatedly whined and begged Trump and Bukele to take his side and not that of the drug cartels, has only just realized that the U.S. is against him and will not help him.

He is currently posting about the leaked audio recordings between the CIA and the drug cartels in Honduras, in which they discuss how they intended to use the army to rig the elections, and how they wanted to use Honduras and Argentina as testing grounds to see how they would attack Mexico and Colombia.

"Iran using Hormuz as 'economic nuclear weapon' – Marco Rubio" (RT link)

This is worrying to me in that talking of them using it as a nuclear weapon invites the idea that the US can use real nuclear weapons to counter their "economic nuke". It's setting the groundwork for a justification there and/or threatening Iran not so subtlety that the US will use nukes if they don't comply.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/28/uae-leaves-opec-and-opec

UAE leaves OPEC and OPEC+ Well newsheads, is this Something's Happening or Nothing Ever Happens?

:goodnews everyone !

The Confused whale named Timmy or Hope (its Timmy or you are a Liberal) was succesfully Saved from the Shallow Baltic Waters of Timmendorfer-Strand with the Barge. He has now reached deeper waters in the North Sea , has left his barge and is heading towards the northern Atlantik.

Trial of pro-Palestinian activists begins in Germany.

B O M B R E A D Y for those without Telegram accounts:
https://xcancel.com/MayadeenEnglish/status/2048783241402872296

#WATCH | The Resistance in Lebanon published footage of an operation targeting a grouping of Israeli soldiers and an evacuation unit, subsequently, in the southern Lebanese town of al-Taybeh, using two FPVs.

Fousseynou Ouattara, Vice President of Mali's Defense and Security Commission, thanked Russia's Africa Corps for their assistance in helping defeat the Western-backed coup attempt over the weekend:

"I have no words to describe the actions of the Africa Corps soldiers. Their participation in thwarting the diabolical plot to overthrow Mali’s transitional leadership was decisive," Ouattara pointed out.

According to him, Russian specialists were on the front lines from the very beginning. "Their skill and professionalism enabled us to achieve great success in fighting armed terrorist groups," he emphasized.

https://tass.com/world/2123633

Brazilian activist allegedly tortured by Israel - Prensa Latina

Mali progress update:

The Malian military has eliminated 2,195 terrorists while rebuffing the April 25 attacks by extremist groups Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin’ (affiliates itself with the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda that is outlawed in Russia) and Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front, the Sawadogo portal reported.

According to the portal, the local population helped eliminate the extremists. It also said, citing witnesses, that Ukrainian and French mercenaries took part in the attacks. They reportedly used Western-made man-portable air defense systems, including Stingers and Mistrals. More than 10,000 Malian troops were deployed to repel the terror attacks.

https://tass.com/world/2123113

Exclusive: US spy agencies examine how Iran would react to Trump declaring victory

Probably the same way they've reacted the last dozen or so times when Trump declared victory?

Albertan separatists created an app with a public, searchable list of three million people's information. Massive province-wide doxxing facilitated by an electoral list provided to the Republican Party via Elections Alberta.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/livestory/elections-alberta-electors-list-9.7182971

Hondurasgate: Leaked Audios Reveal Trump-Backed Plot Targeting Petro, Sheinbaum, and Latin American Left - El Ciudadano

A recent leak has brought to light the existence of a political and media cell associated with Trumpism, funded by Honduran government structures, aimed at destabilizing both Gustavo Petro’s administration in Colombia and Claudia Sheinbaum’s in Mexico, as well as the Latin American left.

A collection of audios obtained by Diario Red revealed discussions between former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández—who was convicted of drug trafficking in the United States and later pardoned by the Donald Trump administration—and the current president of the Central American nation, Nasry Asfura, along with his vice president, María Antonieta Mejía.

The recordings detail the formation of a communication team funded with Honduran public resources and contributions from the government of Argentine president Javier Milei, totaling over half a million dollars. The objective is to “strike media blows” against the progressive leaders in the region.

The geopolitical context, characterized by the competition between China and the United States over critical minerals and supply chains, helps explain why Washington resorts to local operators like Hernández to hinder the advance of the Latin American left.

In one of the most revealing audios, dated January 30, 2026, Hernández instructs Asfura from the United States: “I need you to send about 150 thousand dollars to Rosales’ account […] because here we are going to rent an apartment and set up an office for a digital journalism unit. Someone else from here will handle it, from the team of the President of the United States. Well, he is from the Republicans who are helping us. They are going to set up a news site where important information about Manuel Zelaya and Xiomara Castro will be released.”

Asfura responds by offering additional transfers from “a friend’s” account, including resources from the Social Security Institute (INSEP). According to the conversations, the operation included a call between Hernández and Milei, who allegedly committed 350 thousand dollars to execute the destabilizing actions.

The dialogue reveals that Hernández informs Asfura the news site would operate as an informative cell based in the United States to avoid being tracked in Honduras. The aim is not only to attack Xiomara Castro’s government but also to prepare “files” against Mexico (Sheinbaum) and Colombia (Petro).

“Files against Mexico are coming, files against Colombia, and most importantly against Honduras, specifically against the Zelaya family,” states the former Honduran president in the recording.

In another call with Vice President Mejía, Hernández reiterates the need for liquidity to set up an office with support from political actors of the Republican Party in the United States, aiming to “attack and eradicate the cancer of the left” throughout Latin America. Mejía, who requests “details to be omitted” to leave no traces, confirms the management of 300 thousand dollars.

“I will handle all the arrangements, so 300 thousand dollars,” she indicates in the audio.

Beyond the media war, this leak reveals an ambitious plan for territorial reconversion of Honduras into a strategic enclave for the United States. The agreements include the expansion of Employment and Economic Development Zones (ZEDES), the construction of a new military base in Roatan, similar to Soto Cano Air Base (Palmerola)—operated by Southern Command since 1982—and a Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in Tegucigalpa, emulating the repressive Salvadoran model.

In a voice note from February 10, 2026, Asfura informs Hernández that a group of investors has already greenlit these projects, including a transoceanic train to be awarded to General Electric, deliberately excluding Canada and China. “The Chinese were bidding. But we are not going to give in,” he asserts.

Violence as a tool of control is mentioned unequivocally. In a message directed to Tomás Zambrano, president of the Honduran National Congress, Hernández conveys a directive attributed to U.S. President Donald Trump: “In Honduras, strength is needed, logistics are needed, blood is needed. If you want to keep people controlled, you need to oppress them. Squeeze them. Counter violence by generating violence. It’s what President Trump says.”

Hernández even references the infamous Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar: “Don’t be so soft […] So said Pablo Escobar.”

Meanwhile, Romeo Vásquez Velásquez—who led the 2009 coup against former Honduran president Manuel Zelaya—appears to be coordinating with the Armed Forces “to start the hunt.”

Another pillar of the strategy is the cultural battle waged from evangelical churches. According to the audios revealed by Diario Red, Hernández instructs Zambrano to align all religious congregations so that “people forget the past. And that they think it was the left who did that.”

“In Honduras, evangelicals have already mobilized their parishioners in massive marches against Xiomara Castro’s government, such as the one summoned in August 2025 under the slogan ‘for peace and in defense of democracy’ in coordination with the Honduran Council of Private Enterprise,” the reported source notes.

This web of activities—which combines lawfare, military control of resources, violence, and religious manipulation—confirms that under Nasry Asfura’s government, Honduras has become a pawn on the chessboard for Donald Trump and his interest in regaining the hegemony lost by Washington in the Latin American region due to the defense of sovereignty undertaken by progressive governments.

https://xcancel.com/AryJeayBackup/status/2049900932461105486

Footage published on Iranian channels with the description that Iranian security forces installed these inflatable rocket launchers throughout the country and reported them to Mossad-affiliated ‘Iran International’, under the guise of an ordinary citizen. Many flight sorties and missiles were wasted on these mockups.

https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2049900917428752384/vid/avc1/352x640/FDO21UvRJVdrjTnB.mp4?tag=27

https://xcancel.com/Straigh60283313/status/2049985649525076238   https://xcancel.com/JerkPup/status/2050052228514517015

How did the U.S. and Israel spend billions building aircraft that can “see everything,” only for Iran to make them chase balloons like it was a children’s birthday party with radar signatures?

It's very likely proof that the F-35 saw very little use. EOTS has the resolution to see whether things are real. Lightning pods don't.

to the surprise of absolutely no one, keir starmer is now attacking pro palestinian demos, starting with calling “globalise the intifada” chant “racist” (source)

https://xcancel.com/admcollingwood/status/2050158381667623235

One lesson to learn for other nations from Iran's "strategic investments" in missiles is the hard trade offs she was willing to make. The Iran Air Force was basically jettisoned as a serious fighting force, for example. So was a 'proper' navy. Many western nations, my own included, get caught up in trying to do everything. Iran thought seriously about how it might win the sort of war it would probably fight, and invested in that at the expense of other lobbying centres. Not an easy playoff, but one that others would do well to make. Otherwise you might end up with one available destroyers, two air craft carriers, a couple of score of highly capable fighter jets, a hundred working tanks, but a tiny army, hardly any missiles, and a practically non-existent air defence.

US Mint gold source tied to criminal networks in Colombia: NYT - Mining dot com