I made a post about this in the podcasts comm, but I think the news heads here should be aware of it. The latest episode of Electronic Intifada interviews a political economist involved in BDS. They cover the possible economic collapse of Israel. Really interesting stuff.

BIDEN: "She know long! She knew suhlongasuhijeruhhnied, our freedom can never be secured"

Just a stutter, lmao.

Link is a chud account tho, https://nitter.poast.org/RNCResearch/status/1800335769539694742#m

Cuba after Mexico, I see what you did there !

Old news, but Slovenia also recognized Palestine recently

Russian Language map:

2010 Election results - Yanukovych was pro Russian candidate:

US Supreme Court Lifts Ban on Bump Stocks

The US Supreme Court has lifted a ban bump stocks, the rapid-fire gun accessory used in America's deadliest mass shooting. In a decision on Friday, the court said the government did not have the right to ban the accessories... The court said a semi-automatic rifle with an attachment does not qualify as a machine gun under federal law.

The Supreme Court’s opinion, written by conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, said the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms had “exceeded” its authority. The court, quoting part of the legal definition of machine guns, said rifles with a bump stock "cannot fire more than one shot 'by a single function of the trigger', and even if they could, they would not do so 'automatically'".

Calling all Russian bots. Calling all Russian bots. It is now open seasons again to hunt down and cook up some nafo hotdogs on the grill.

Lol. Lmao. is so fucked

Nature is healing

https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1800181501608542694

Cw: people getting ragdolled, no gore.

look at this dying empire not even able to paint its Ships .. You are an Embarresment for dying empires !

Palestine Action fucks up more bank branches:
https://twitter.com/Pal_action/status/1800086647846904202?mx=1

First polling in France: RN on 31%, left alliance 28%, Renaissance (Macron’s party) 18%.

I hope macron eats shit and dies

Everyone goes around saying "oh China is doing this but at what cost?" or "China achieved that but at what cost?" But nobody says "Yeah, Capitalism developed the productive forces like no other but at what cost?"

Bolivian President Arce says BRICS have broken the hegemony of the United States

The Bolivian president stressed that his country is aiming to join the bloc

NYT: Pro-democracy activists sentenced to life in prison! "The convictions show how the authorities have used the sweeping powers of a national security law imposed by Beijing to quash dissent across broad swathes of society." (Archive)

The reality: "‘Dragon Slaying Brigade’ leader Wong Chun-keung says he spent money raised through crowdfunding on petrol bombs, but also on trip to Thailand, betting and loan repayments" , "Wong has admitted to a joint conspiracy charge of planting two bombs in Wan Chai on December 8, 2019" (SCMP)

Edit - A connected trial but not the same one. But we definitely don't hear anything about the second trial in the Western press.

Via https://mronline.org/2024/06/10/what-western-mainstream-media-wont-tell-us-about-china/

China has recently re-allowed direct flights to Cuba

Why were they disallowed in the first place?

Perhaps this isn’t the most important thing, but just something interesting to know about Cuba:

Initially, the World Baseball Classic fielded a “Cuban” team that wasn’t sanctioned by the government of Cuba or the Cuban Baseball Federation. So it was run by MLB and was made up of defectors. Then in 2023, for the fifth WBC, the Cuban Baseball Federation was allowed to field a team directed by them. It included Cuban nationals who didn’t defect and haven’t been trash talking Cuba since playing in MLB. So the team included some legit pros like Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jiminez. They got beat but for the first time it was a truly “Cuban” team. I have hard time criticizing people for their funko pops and stuff because I spent more than I should to get a 2023 Cuba WBC baseball cap.

The situation with baseball player defectors is tricky. On one hand, I feel it just isn’t worth the negative press Cuba gets for trying to stop baseball players from defecting. I get it when you’re talking about like doctors or engineers. But pro athletes are particularly socially necessary. Just let them go.

OTOH, the US policy of granting citizenship (or permanent residency, I don’t remember which) to anyone in Cuba really does tie Cuba’s hands here. What Cuba has done economically despite the blockade is nothing short of heroic. Cuba can boast better living standards than the rest of the Caribbean. But… it’s still a poor country (which would be significantly poorer if it was run by capitalists subservient to US hegemony). If there was any other poor country whose people could get US citizenship or permanent residency just by being there and defecting, then you can bet that most people who came there as part of a sports team would take that offer. And even if athletes aren’t quite socially necessary, that’s gotta be pretty demoralizing that if every time your baseball team goes to play in the US, half the players don’t come back. This has nothing to do with “authoritarianism”, it’s the position that any country with any system of governance would have to deal with.

So Cuba doesn’t really have any good options here, but it’s the fault entirely of US policy.

milei posting more AI generated images and general cringe. Here he says that there have been "great news" from e*rope thanks to the victories of the far right parties in the latest elections. He also claims responsibility for their victory, saying his Davos speech (where he spoke about Communism, the imminent fall of western civilization and LGBT bad) inspired millions to "open their eyes" and vote for fascists and neonazis. . Wait a second, I thought libertarians were supposed to hate fascism and nationalism?!?!? .

Anyway, that doesn't surprise me at all. What I love is the AI rendered image. It's him holding europe? But it's fucked up. Ukraine is shredded, Finland shredded, northern Russia grew a mutation of some sort and huge chunks of it and Belarus as completely missing, even though neither of those countries are in the EU. For some reason parts of Turkey and Syria are shown. He's holding the UK, please I beg him to crush it. Unfortunately Ireland was indeed crushed. Iceland is missing, RIP. Also why does he have medals? What is the instrument that is hand is holding that's literally puncturing Spain? Some sort of compass?

I cringe a lot when I see AI generated images but I can't stop looking at them. The more you look, the worse it is. Like the presidential band and part of his body are cut when you look at it near Sicily, it's just gone. The stars of the EU flag are not aligned. His index finger of his left hand is fucked up, is that a cigarette?

China recently scrambled fighter jets and threatened a dutch warship that was launching helicopters off the coast of Shanghai.

https://www.newsweek.com/china-responds-after-its-figher-jets-confront-dutch-warship-1911168

23 June has become "Shit in the river day" in France.

Lmao Macron Dissolved Parliament and is holding a snap election

Yeah but the U.S. media said that all of these blew themselves up though

More than eight months into Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza, the territory’s healthcare system is barely functioning, with the World Health Organization reporting this week that there have been 464 Israeli attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system since October 7, affecting 101 health facilities.

https://truthout.org/video/israel-has-carried-out-464-attacks-on-gazas-health-care-system-since-october-7/

To stop the far right, France's leftist parties come to agreement for legislative elections and announce union: “Popular Front”. “A page in the history of France is being written with the New Popular Front”, say the parties in a joint statement.

François Hollande, former president of France, celebrates unity of the left in the legislative elections: “To prevent the far right from coming to power, there comes a time when we must go beyond our differences.”

Wild speculation time:

Something about Macron’s troop deployments seems very performative.

Perhaps performative in the more obvious sense that he wants to boil the frog and sending in “trainers and advisers” is the thin end of the wedge before sending in troops to make NATO intervention in Ukraine a fait accompli.

But what if it’s performative in another way?

We all know what the outcome of this war looks like. Russia takes the eastern provinces and maybe more, perhaps up to the Dnieper in the south but probably not that far in the north, probably also takes Cherson but probably not Odessa, and maybe Kharkiv maybe not, depending on how good a resistance Ukraine puts up before the negotiations really start. Ukraine won’t be allowed to join NATO and no NATO bases but probably will be allowed to have some security guarantees with the major western players and perhaps even a relationship with NATO that stops short of allowing forward deployments.

So a few significant uncertainties, sure, but the broad shape of it is clear now.

Zelenskyy probably needs to go before this deal can really happen, and there would need to be some force that the Ukrainian public trusts that can prevent the Nazi faction from simply installing another Zelenskyy.

France is in conflict with Russia and has lost out big in Africa and is being poked in the eye in New Caledonia, but is also hitting back to some extent in Armenia.

The UK is a wreckage and Germany is not very strong. Poland is already taking an antagonistic posture towards Ukraine that will probably only get worse especially after the conflict is over and Ukraine has a settlement with Russia.

We don’t need to talk about Italy or Spain or anyone else in Europe.

Leaving France.

They are hostile to Russia and engaged in an active “great game”.

But this great game has at least some ground rules and operates mostly as a struggle over spheres of influence while respecting national borders. It’s constrained great power shit between two second tier military powers.

Germany would continue to be the US’s most loyal dog in Europe and will lead the Central European & Baltic alliance, funding strong defensive works but also putting the brakes on the more rabid Russophobia because Germany even today is against actually getting directly involved in shit and definitely against doing anything that isn’t preapproved by Washington.

France as the regional power delegated control of the rump Ukrainian state would be advantageous to the US by keeping Europe still split between two deeply linked but identifiably distinct power blocs, it would place a power hostile to Russia as the designated subhegemon in southern Eastern Europe and would complement French influence in Armenia to a degree by inserting France into the Black Sea making it the obvious choice for Georgia if Georgia decides to throw down again or in the event of another color revolution. And France has at least historical links with the general region, having recently been a colonial power in the area and having shoved its Gallic nose into the Middle East again and again since the crusades.

France as subhegemon in a rump Ukraine would be an adversary to Russia, but still it would probably be acceptable to Russia to divide Ukraine into two spheres of control, assuming that Russia does not want or cannot occupy all of Ukraine - or both it doesn’t want and actually cannot occupy all of Ukraine which seems to be the case in fact.

So assuming Russia will realpolitik this and accept it both cannot and strategically should not occupy all of Ukraine then it needs to accept that rump Ukraine will be within the western sphere of influence.

And if they don’t want that sphere of influence to be NATO itself, and since they likely both cannot and don’t want to completely dominate Ukraine militarily, then they need to accept some kind of western presence / sphere of influence that stops short of NATO.

What’s more while France is definitely a dog of the US empire, it’s a bit of a Husky. It doesn’t like to do what it’s told. It’s not Germany and will prioritize French interests over US interests, which makes it a good compromise position for Russia since a French presence is Ukraine is actually very different to a NATO presence in Ukraine while still being a western anchor. It also doesn’t hurt that Macron does the same macho bullshit that Putin does and they speak a similar language.

French “advisers” in Ukraine could fairly quickly gain key influence over the military and promote the more pragmatic military faction to force the hard nationalists to accept a compromise and they would be a friend of Ukraine while doing it.

Escalation from “just a few dozen advisers” to actual boots on the ground is a process that will take at least the rest of this year and into next, which is also when the new round of western military aid will start to run out, meaning this is the window for Ukraine to cut a deal.

6-12 months to cut a deal, a suitable western subhegemon that will reliably maintain hostility to Russia while still playing the “great game” and accepting realist compromise in a rules-of-the-jungle based world order.

Acceptable to Russia as preferable to nato, acceptable to the US, acceptable to Ukraine as saviors. Choreographed.

What do we make of Hamas accepting the UN ceasefire agreement? The fact that Blinken is pushing it makes me feel like it can’t be good… but Hamas did accept it and I don’t think they would abide an agreement with major poison pills in it.

Sen. John Fetterman was at fault in car accident and seen going ‘high rate of speed,’ police say

Maybe Macron wants reelection and wants to be dethroned because he doesn't want to swim in the Seine River, which is probably full of shit? Will we see Le Pen swimming in shit??

More dumb ass airforce cope

https://archive.is/k15Wg

US Navy Operations Specialist explains why although the S-400 SAM System radar can detect the F-22 and F-35 it can’t achieve “weapons lock” on them

So before we've seen these dipshits and clowns say u.s stealth jets have fuckin romulan cloaking technology that the pesky Chinese communists are weak against, now we're seeing a bit of the truth come out with the fact that stealth planes aren't actually stealthy and the u.s government's enemies can detect them with the tech they already have.

That said they make a playful addendum saying that they can see the jets but they can't hit them.

Stealth fighters

The F-35 Lightning II is the most advanced node in 21st Century Security: It brings stealth, sensor fusion, and interoperability to enable access in contested environments and enhances situational awareness.

Like the F-35, the F-22 brings an unrivaled stealth capability to the fight: the Raptor is designed to project air dominance, rapidly and at great distances and defeat threats attempting to deny access to our US Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps.

The F-22 was built to be an air-to-air superiority fighter and the F-35 was built to be a strike fighter. These airplanes complement each other and when the Raptor and Lightning II come together, it brings out the strength of both airplanes.

Like dried squid and peanut butter being grilled over a charcoal fire.

But can radars of advanced air defense systems like the Russian S-400 Surface to Air Missile (SAM) detect the F-22 the F-35 thus putting them at risk in a high threat environment?

Lol fucking forgot an "and" between the two shitbirds.

The S-400 SAM System radar can detect the F-22 and F-35 but it can’t achieve “weapons lock” on them

Eric Wicklund, former US Navy Operations Specialist, explains on Quora;

Fuck off with making dogshit articles based off of random shit you see on knock-off reddit

‘Yes, it can… “eventually,” but this fact comes with a significant caveat, one Russia doesn’t want you to know. That caveat is: By the time an S-400 can get a lock on F-22/F-35, these planes have already fired ordnance to destroy the S-400 radar.

‘When using radar against anything, there’s a difference between “detection” and obtaining a “weapons lock.” They are not synonymous. Without a weapons lock, you cannot successfully engage what you are tracking. So, an S-400 can get a “weapons lock” on F-22 or F-35 at about 20–30 miles depending on conditions (the actual figure is classified).

That means this jackass is talking out of his ass because he sure as fuck doesn't have the security clearance to know the truth. It's literally vibes based.

’The bad thing for the S-400 is either the F-22 or F-35 can release a JDAM or SDB II bomb long before that happens. An F-35 can release an AGM-88 HARM (High-Speed Anti-Radiation) missile waaay before (from 60 miles away) that S-400 gets that lock. What this means is that these planes can complete their mission (destroying the S-400) before the S-400 can even begin its mission.

The S-400 is doomed from the start

‘In short…the S-400 is doomed from the start. ‘Pundits will claim that the Nebo-M radar used in the S-400 system can “detect” a stealth fighter from further out. That is true, but since it is doing this with an L-band radar, about all it can do it “detect.”’

Wicklund concludes;

‘As I pointed out above, “detection” isn’t good enough to attack a stealth aircraft. You need that “weapons lock” and Russia needs their X-band radars to get that. But they won’t get that before missiles and bombs, set on destroying the Russian radars, are already screaming in.’

https://old.reddit.com/r/UkraineRussiaReport/comments/1dhbgws/ua_pov_countries_that_have_signed_the_ukraine/

Final map of countries that signed the joint communique at the Ukraine "peace" summit. Pretty much just with a sprinkling of a few extra countries.

More property damage by Palestine Action:
https://twitter.com/Pal_action/status/1800821588398637206?mx=1

Gaza aid leader faces backlash over Labour Party run

Melanie Ward, CEO of the Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) charity, faces major backlash from volunteers and workers after deciding to run as a Labour Party candidate in Scotland. Some 2,250 healthcare workers, medical volunteers, supporters, and donors signed a letter expressing concern.

On June 5, a protest letter was filed by workers and volunteers at MAP, expressing their dismay to the board over Ward’s candidacy with the UK Labour Party. To run for the position of MP in Scotland’s Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency, Ward has taken a leave of absence but has not stepped down from her position.

Despite Ward’s pledge to make real progress for the Palestinian people if elected to Parliament, MAP is currently without an acting CEO during a healthcare collapse in Gaza. Some fear her actions could jeopardize the aid organization’s efforts on the ground, leading to threats of referring MAP to the Charity Commission.

Ward has a history of affiliations with pro-Israel lobby groups, starting with her first trip to Palestine, organized by the Israeli Embassy-funded Union of Jewish Students (UJS). She blogged about meeting Israeli politicians and visiting settlements but shifted her perspective after a second visit to the West Bank. However, her relationship with UJS continued, including participating in a 2017 UJS panel called “Bridges Not Boycotts,” opposing boycotts of Israel.

Ward also supported the anti-Semitism “witch hunt” during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, which purged much of Labour’s pro-Palestinian base, including many Jewish anti-Zionists. She tweeted, “Farewell to Jeremy Corbyn, who really was a truly terrible Labour Party Leader. He will be missed not one little bit by those of us who want to see Labour in government again.”

In 2016, she signed a letter calling for Corbyn’s resignation, shared an article urging the public not to vote for him and tweeted the former Labour leader in 2015, “Corbyn unable to think of situation where he’d commit Forces to military action. Should think a bit harder if he wants to be PM,” in response to his anti-war stance.

I always thought MAP was a pretty good org (and it’s possible/probable they are, just bad leadership) but no reason to give them money so long as Ward is in charge and good orgs like PCRF exist.

Team of the President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum Suffers a Car Accident

The accident left one dead and two injured, State Civil Protection reported

On Friday, the team of Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum suffered a car crash on the Sabinas-Monclova highway as they were heading to the event of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The accident left one dead and two injured, State Civil Protection reported. According to statements, the jeep carrying Sheinbaum´s team hit a van, which triggered a second impact with another vehicle.

The victim was an elderly woman who was in one of the hit vehicles.

So far the name of the deceased and the two others who were injured, who were transferred to the nearest hospital, is unknown.

“We deeply regret that one person died in the other vehicle. Those who came in the two impacted vehicles are receiving attention from the federal, state, and Sheinbaum’s own team,” the president’s team said.

This Friday, Claudia Sheinbaum started a work tour through Durango, Coahuila and Tamaulipas, in which she will be accompanied by López Obrador.