news

Theory question: Can the paroxyisms of Western Zionists (the non-cynical ones at least) in seeing in every scarf, watermelon & placard the start of a new Holocaust be considered an effect of the contradiction of the base (Imperialism) & the superstructure (We are morally superior for not abetting genocide) being forced into a personal sharp opposition by current events?

I've read about the general idea behind warrant canaries before, but I've never actually looked at one in action so I don't know what an issue is supposed to look like.

In the sidebar of the /c/feedback community, there's a link to the "Hexbear Warrant Canary". I've never looked at this before, but I was curious so I clicked it, and I can't get anything to load other than "Connection timed out Error code 522". Does this indicate that the canary is dead, or is this a purely technical error?

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/12/17/7433465/

A wiretapping device was found in the office of Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda sources in the Ukrainian military

Details: Sources told Ukrainska Pravda that a wiretapping device was found on Sunday, 17 December, during a routine inspection.

Similar devices were also planted in the offices of Zaluzhnyii’s colleagues.

Milei modified a Macri's decree so that his ~~wife~~ sister Karina could take a position in his government (spanish only)

The president-elect made his decision official in the Official Gazette presented this Monday, in one of the first decisions he made as head of state.

Decree 93/2018, which had been approved by Mauricio Macri during his term of office between 2015 and 2019 to limit appointments in the State of direct relatives of officials, was repealed by President Javier Milei and replaced by another one, as reported in the Official Gazette. Thus, with this modification, the new President was able to appoint his sister Karina as Secretary General of the Presidency.

The decree of the former president and leader of the PRO sought to guarantee transparency in the public function. "I know that with this measure we are going to lose very valuable collaborators of the team. That makes me very sad. But we always said that we wanted a more transparent country," Macri assured in January 2018.

Milei, in Decree 12/2023 published today, repeals that prohibition. Although it maintains the limitation for the hiring of direct relatives in the State, it raises exceptions to the appointments made by the President. Among the arguments, it details that it is the power of the President "to appoint and remove ambassadors, ministers plenipotentiary and chargés d'affaires with the agreement of the Senate".

"He alone appoints and removes the head of the cabinet of ministers and the other ministers of the office, the officers of his secretariat, the consular agents and the employees whose appointment is not otherwise regulated by this Constitution", it is mentioned.

In this regard, it stated that "it is necessary to limit the prohibition established by Decree No. 93/18 to those appointments or hires made within the framework of Laws Nos. 20,744 and 25,164 and Decree No. 1109/17, thus exempting the appointments made by the President of the Nation by virtue of the powers conferred upon him".

Once this decree was signed, yesterday, Javier Milei proceeded with the swearing in of his cabinet in a ceremony behind closed doors and without official transmission. One of the protagonists was his sister, whom he himself explicitly chose as "his right hand", or "The Boss", since the beginning of his political campaign. At the moment of presenting his position and reciting the appropriate words for the oath, he could not hold back the tears, and even paused to take a breath and continue.

????

"Karina Elizabeth Milei, do you swear by God and the Fatherland, on these Holy Gospels, to perform with loyalty and patriotism the duties of Secretary General of the Presidency of the Nation to which you have been appointed, fulfilling and enforcing the Constitution of the Argentine Nation as far as you are concerned?", read Milei between nerves and emotion.

In her turn, Karina Milei answered: "Yes, I swear". "If you do not do so, God and the Nation will demand it," Milei ended.

Brazil's Electoral Prosecutor's Office calls for Sergio Moro's impeachment

In an opinion sent on Thursday (14) to the Electoral Court of Parana, prosecutors Marcelo Godoy and Eloisa Helena Machado defended the impeachment of Senator Sergio Moro (Brazil Union) for abuse of economic power.

Brazil Union succeeded the ARENA, the governing party of Brazil’s military dictatorship.

The opinion asks the court to recognize the "practice of abuse of economic power, with the consequent annulment of the slate elected to the majority position of Senator of the Republic and decree the ineligibility of Mr. Sergio Fernando Moro and Mr. Luís Felipe Cunha", his first deputy.

This is the judge who arrested Lula on false corruption charges. The same man who went to the US, inside the CIA building, to receive a round of applause for arresting Lula and trying to destroy Brazil's construction, engineering, chemical and petrochemical industries.

This man supported Bolsonaro, was the justice minister in his government, and later tried to be a presidential candidate, but backed down to support Bolsonaro instead. He literally stole his political party's money for his own use, much like George Santos.

But for the average lib, Lula's arrest was totally normal and not politically motivated.

Argentine Government Announces a Total Crackdown On Protests

The new "Security Protocol" precedes potential widespread discontent in a country where nearly 45 percent of the population is poor.

On Friday, social and political groups in Argentina rejected the "Security Protocol" announced by Security Minister Bullrich, labeling it as unconstitutional.

"If the streets are taken, there will be consequences," Bullrich declared in anticipation of street protests following the economic policies promoted by the far-right President Javier Milei.

"The four federal forces and the penitentiary service will intervene in the face of blockades whether partial or total. The law is not fulfilled halfway. The law is either fulfilled or not," she said.

In the case of blatant crimes being committed, Argentine security forces will intervene immediately, using force progressively in proportion to the resistance people pose.

"Streets are not to be taken. We will restore order to the country so that people can live in peace," Bullrich affirmed, warning that the Milei administration will penalize those who make, organize, instigate, or are accomplices to blockades.

It will also inspect the facilities of organizations suspected of promoting protests, establish a ban on marching with covered faces, or bringing children to protests. If participants are foreigners with temporary residence, they will be reported to the Immigration Directorate.

The far-right regime also threatened to make groups related to the organization of protests pay for the costs of the deployment of federal security forces.

These repressive measures precede potential widespread discontent in a country where nearly 45 percent of the population is poor.

In the short term, Argentinians will have to cope with a year-on-year inflation rate of 161 percent, which could escalate to hyperinflation of 15,000 percent in the coming years, as acknowledged by Milei himself.

Leaders of workers' organizations such as Vanina Biasi, Gabriel Solano, and Eduardo Belliboni upheld the constitutional right to protest, emphasizing that the Milei regime "lacks legal authority" to prevent it.

"What bothers them is that people protest against the measures of their government," said legislator Myriam Bregman from the Left Front and Workers (FIT), who recalled that far-right activists previously blocked roads to protest against progressive governments.

The leader of the Public Workers' Association (ATE), Rodolfo Aguiar, emphasized that social conflicts should not be resolved by the police or the judiciary but by those who govern because that's why they were elected.

"The measure announced by the minister aims to address the consequences and not the causes of the protests. If they don't want conflicts, then the government should stop economic adjustments and increase salaries."

John Helmer on material materialism for uranium reactor fuel.

https://johnhelmer.org/us-house-of-representatives-passes-depleted-brains-blackout-bill-for-banning-imports-of-russian-uranium/#more-71175

The clowns in Congress are at it again, passing a ban on Russian reactor fuel with many loopholes for power plants and the pentagon. I doubt much comes of this in practice beyond higher fuel costs that are passed on to ratepayers, but still JH brings up some interesting data and observations about the long term nature of fuel supply. This is another one of those commodity sectors where the US absolutely could and has done this domestically before, but hollowed itself out in favour of putting addictive pharmaceuticals on the blockchain. Money printing alone won't bring that capacity back, so no one should be holding their breath.

RIP to Rudy G (pictured here at 29 years old) at the hands of New Jersey loan sharks.

A few good Canada news/media sites:

Thenarwhal.ca - enviromental, resource sector stories with a fair amount of focus on indigenous perspectives. Great photography too

Readthemaple.com - Canada geopolitical news and analysis

Thetyee.ca - West Coast progressive liberalism, libs but good on most topics

Alberta advantage podcast https://albertaadvantagepod.com/ - I'm not sure if they are explicitly communists but they are definitely good, lots of Canadian labour history

https://www.thecanadafiles.com/ - more Canadian foreign policy/geopolitics news

https://pvonline.ca/ - media outlet of Canada's cool CPC, the communist party of Canada

The top stories at The Times of Israel are from an alternate, even more ghoulish universe.

Brazil’s Senate approves Lula ally as new Supreme Court justice

Brazil’s Senate approved the appointment of Justice Minister Flávio Dino on Wednesday to take a seat on the country’s Supreme Court.

Dino, a former leftist state governor who cracked down on supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro after they rampaged through government buildings last January, was approved for the court of 11 justics on a vote of 47-31.

The vote, which came after a full day of speeches by senators in a divisive hearing, underscored that the opposition led by the rightist Bolsonaro is not strong enough to block the agenda of his leftist successor, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Dino will replace former Chief Justice Rosa Maria Weber, who stepped down in September after turning 75, the age limit for the nation’s Supreme Court justices.

Dino, who was a federal judge for 12 years before starting his political career, governed Brazil’s northeastern state of Maranhao in 2015-2023. His decisions to impose curfews and movement restrictions during the pandemic made him an antagonist of Bolsonaro, who argued against strict measures against COVID-19.

“He is one of the few Brazilians who has had jobs in the executive, the legislative and the judiciary,” Sen. Weverton Rocha said before the vote. “He clearly suits the supreme court well. He knows how to behave in every role he has had.”

Sen. Magno Malta, an evangelical leader and staunch Bolsonaro supporter, voted against the appointment over Dino’s past in the country’s communist party and as a member of the Brazilian Socialist Party.

“He has never hidden he is a communist, a marxist,” Malta said. “We are taking a communist to the Supreme Court. His team is the left, it is against everything I believe in.”

Dino is the second Supreme Court justice appointed by Lula, who is in his third term as president, who also was in the top post in 2003-2010. Cristiano Zanin, once Lula’s lawyer, was approved to join the court in July on a 58-18 vote in the Senate.

Feminist activists have criticized Lula for not naming a woman to replace Weber on the high court. Its only female member now is Justice Carmen Lúcia.

Senators also approved Paulo Gonet as Brazil’s prosecutor-general on a 65-11 vote. He will replace Bolsonaro-appointee Augusto Aras.

Lula says his government managed to put a "communist" on the Supreme Court.

"You don't know how happy I am today. For the first time in the history of this country, we've managed to put a communist on the Supreme Court, a comrade of the quality of Flávio Dino," said the President of the Republic.

Dino is due to be sworn in as a Supreme Court minister officially on February 22. Until then, the former governor of Maranhão and senator will remain in charge of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. He will take over the position vacated by Rosa Weber, who retired at the end of September.

Venezuela and Guyana agree not to use force in Essequibo dispute

Brazil to host more negotiations between Guyana and Venezuela.

Leaders hold tense talks after Venezuela organised referendum to claim oil-rich territory that makes up two-thirds of Guyana.

Nicolas Maduro and Irfaan Ali, the rulers of Venezuela and Guyana respectively, have agreed to continue the dialogue on the Esequibo.

Both recognize Brazil's role in the medications, and in the possible solution of "incidents"

The declaration recognizes dialogue, and also says that any incident should be reported through CELAC, CARICOM, and through the President of Brazil.

Both pledge not to use military force in the conflict, and agree to resolve it "through international law".

Venezuela and Guyana have agreed not to resort to force to settle a territorial dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo region after a tense meeting between the two countries’ leaders in the Caribbean.

Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro agreed to “not threaten or use force against one another in any circumstances, including those consequential to any existing controversies between the two states” and to “refrain, whether by words or deeds, from escalating any conflict,” in an 11-point declaration that was read out at a press conference after the meeting.

The two men were unable to make progress in resolving the long-running dispute over the territory, however, with a joint commission composed of the foreign ministers of both countries and other officials asked to address the issue and report within three months.

No questions were allowed at the press conference.

Essequibo amounts to more than two-thirds of the territory of Guyana and is home to 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens.

Tension has been rising in recent weeks after Venezuela held a referendum earlier this month on whether to establish a Venezuelan state there in a move Guyana feared was a pretext for a land grab.

Venezuela insists Essequibo should be under its control because it was within its borders during the Spanish colonial period while Guyana says a border drawn by international arbitrators in 1899 means it is part of Guyana.

The hours-long meeting between Ali and Maduro took place at the main international airport in the eastern Caribbean island of St Vincent following mediation efforts by the regional groupings of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

The declaration noted the impasse between the two men, who clasped hands before their talks.

Guyana argues the controversy should be resolved by the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands while Venezuela says the court does not have jurisdiction.

Earlier in the day, Guyana’s government issued a statement saying that Essequibo was “not up for discussion, negotiation or deliberation”. Ali echoed those comments during a news conference he held during a break in his talks with Maduro.

“All of this belongs to Guyana,” Ali said, pointing to a thick leather bracelet on his right wrist featuring the outline of Guyana. “No narrative propaganda [or] decree can change this. This is Guyana.”

Ali noted that while both parties were committed to keeping peace in the region, Guyana “is not the aggressor”.

“Guyana is not seeking war, but Guyana reserves the right to work with all of our partners to ensure the defence of our country,” he said.

Maduro said ahead of the meeting that “we will make the most of it so that our Latin America and the Caribbean remains a zone of peace”.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that the United States was monitoring the situation closely. “We don’t want to see this come to blows,” Kirby said. “There’s no reason for it to, and our diplomats are engaged in real-time.”

Maduro has ordered state-owned companies to explore and exploit the oil, gas and mines in Essequibo. Both sides have put their militaries on alert.

The Biden administration "Red light! Green light!" shtick rolls on.

White House walks back Biden remarks that Israel was losing international support over Gaza bombing

The White House went on the defensive Wednesday afternoon over Joe Biden’s eye-raising comments to Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing”, and that Netanyahu should change his hard-right dominated government.

John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, attempted to downplay the remarks of the US president at a lunchtime press briefing from the White House.

Biden’s comments were the sharpest public disagreement yet between the allies over the conduct and future of the war against Hamas.

Kirby was evasive when asked if it was the official US government position that Israel was indiscriminately bombing civilians:

The president was expressing concerns about the civilian casualties that we’ve seen. It’s reflective of our constant efforts to urge the Israelis to be as precise and careful as possible. We know they’ve stated their intent to reduce the casualties and they have acted on that. They are making efforts and they are taking steps, but we want to see, of course, more results in that regard. That’s what he’s referring to.

Similarly, Kirby avoided a question about what specific changes in the Israeli government Biden wanted to see:

It’s not for us to to dictate terms to a foreign sovereign government. Israel is a democracy. And the Israeli people get to decide what that government looks like and they did. And we respect that. That’s what democracy is all about. We’re not dictating terms to the Israelis one way or the other.

- The Guardian

Anyone know about the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation? Recently discovered their existence through the posting of garbage articles such as this:

https://www.rosalux.de/en/news/id/51112/against-the-logic-of-violence

Also this:

https://www.rosalux.de/en/news/id/51361/mandela-forever

I was very confused just now. I got a notification on my phone that just said PFLP. I guess I set a reminder that today is the anniversary of the founding of the PFLP.

DB board members subsequently collect five million euros in bonuses despite missing targets for punctuality and customer satisfaction

There are generous basic salaries totaling four million euros for the board members last year, company cars for professional and private use, rental subsidies for second homes and other extras. But no one wants to miss out on the bonuses.

The bosses define goals that can be easily achieved or exceeded, which compensate for the rather poor performance in the areas of route renovation, punctuality and customer satisfaction.

If goals such as customer satisfaction and punctuality are not achieved, employee satisfaction, the number of ICE trains provided or increasing the proportion of female managers take effect. So it doesn't matter to the management team that they claim zero percent target achievement in terms of punctuality and customer satisfaction.

It must be so easy being one of those ghouls running the Deutsche Bahn into the ground.