Image is the famous photograph Raising a Flag Over the Reichstag, taken during the Battle of Berlin.
On Friday is May 9th, which is the 80th anniversary of Victory Day, which Russia, among other places, celebrates as the day when the Soviets defeated the Nazis. Naturally, one of the current hotspots of fascism in the world today, Ukraine, is essentially threatening that they might strike Russia or even Moscow itself during that timeframe. Any such strike would almost certainly be symbolic and not aimed at anything too important, as I doubt even Zelensky and his American handlers would actually want to kill a world leader, not least somebody like Xi Jinping. But I would not be surprised if they tried something nonetheless, if only to disrupt the event in some way and not actually kill anybody.
And, as we’re on this topic, @EllenKelly@hexbear.net has reminded me that Tuesday is the anniversary of the Nazis burning the Institut für Sexualwissenschaf in 1933, an early institute advocating for the rights of LGBT people, and which also provided early forms of gender-affirming surgeries, as well as hormone therapies. We are currently seeing a crackdown on LGBT rights throughout swathes of the imperial core (as well as countries in the periphery, to the extent that those rights existed there already), and this Nazi-inspired movement will be similarly defeated in the future.
Last week’s thread is here. The Imperialism Reading Group is here.
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The bulletins site is here. Currently not used.
The RSS feed is here. Also currently not used.
Israel-Palestine Conflict
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against Israel. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA reports on Israel’s 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.
English-language PalestineResist telegram channel.
More telegram channels here for those interested.
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.
Trump says India and Pakistan have agreed to a ceasefire
Article text
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said that India and Pakistan have agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire,” amid both countries launching strikes and counter-strikes against each other’s military installations.
“After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE. Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence,” he said in a post on Truth Social.
India has really damaged its international reputation as being the more ‘rational’ one compared to Pakistan. BJP is straight up criticizing the previous liberal-left alliance Government for being too ‘passive’ and not responding militarily after 26/11 attacks.
Random ass interaction
If anyone was wondering the reason for the Oreshnik missile threat: Starmer, Macron, and Merz are in Kiev for talks on the “coalition of the willing” to potentially enter the war against Russia. Clearly Russia sees this as a serious threat this time.
I think they are orchestrating the coalition stuff, the 30 day ceasefire demand, and Trump’s sanction threats to create a situation where there is no easy response for Russia. They can either accept a defeat, or lash out and look like the bad guy.
Abu Mazen attended victory day and Netanyahu didn’t 😂
Is anyone else really really scared by the world at the moment? It feels like everything is spiralling so quickly
How will India vs Pakistan play into WW3? Is Pakistan part of the Axis of Resistance?
Euhhh
Article
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested Friday at a new federal immigration detention center he has been protesting against and was held in custody for several hours. Baraka was released around 8 p.m. after being accused of trespassing and ignoring warnings to leave the Delaney Hall facility. Stepping out of an SUV with flashing emergency lights, he told waiting supporters: “The reality is this: I didn’t do anything wrong.”
The mayor said he could not speak about his case, citing a promise he made to lawyers and the judge. But he voiced full-throated support for everyone living in his community, immigrants included. “All of us here, every last one of us, I don’t care what background you come from, what nationality, what language you speak,” Baraka said, “at some point we have to stop these people from causing division between us.”
Baraka, a Democrat who is running to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy, has embraced the fight with the Trump administration over illegal immigration. He has aggressively pushed back against the construction and opening of the 1,000-bed detention center, arguing that it should not be allowed to open because of building permit issues.
Linda Baraka, the mayor’s wife, accused the federal government of targeting her husband. “They didn’t arrest anyone else. They didn’t ask anyone else to leave. They wanted to make an example out of the mayor,” she said, adding that she had not been allowed to see him.
Alina Habba, interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, said on the social platform X that Baraka trespassed at the detention facility, which is run by private prison operator Geo Group. Habba said Baraka had “chosen to disregard the law.”
Video of the incident showed that Baraka was arrested after returning to the public side of the gate to the facility.
Witnesses describe a heated argument
Witnesses said the arrest came after Baraka attempted to join three members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation, Reps. Robert Menendez, LaMonica McIver, and Bonnie Watson Coleman, in attempting to enter the facility.
When federal officials blocked his entry, a heated argument broke out, according to Viri Martinez, an activist with the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice. It continued even after Baraka returned to the public side of the gates.
“There was yelling and pushing,” Martinez said. “Then the officers swarmed Baraka. They threw one of the organizers to the ground. They put Baraka in handcuffs and put him in an unmarked car.”
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the lawmakers had not asked for a tour of Delaney Hall, which the agency said it would have facilitated. The department said that as a bus carrying detainees was entering in the afternoon “a group of protestors, including two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, stormed the gate and broke into the detention facility.”
Watson Coleman spokesperson Ned Cooper said the three lawmakers went there unannounced because they planned to inspect it, not take a scheduled tour.
“They arrived, explained to the guards and the officials at the facility that they were there to exercise their oversight authority,” he said, adding that they were allowed to enter and inspect the center sometime between 3 and 4 p.m.
Watson Coleman later said the DHS statement inaccurately characterized the visit.
“Contrary to a press statement put out by DHS we did not ‘storm’ the detention center,” she wrote. “The author of that press release was so unfamiliar with the facts on the ground that they didn’t even correctly count the number of Representatives present. We were exercising our legal oversight function as we have done at the Elizabeth Detention Center without incident.”
In video of the altercation shared with The Associated Press, a federal official in a jacket with the logo of the Homeland Security Investigations can be heard telling Baraka he could enter the facility because “you are not a congress member.”
Baraka then left the secure area, rejoining protesters on the public side of the gate. Video showed him speaking through the gate to a man in a suit, who said: “They’re talking about coming back to arrest you.”
“I’m not on their property. They can’t come out on the street and arrest me,” Baraka replied.
Minutes later several ICE agents, some wearing face coverings, surrounded him and others on the public side. As protesters cried out, “Shame,” Baraka was dragged back through the gate in handcuffs.
Several civil rights and immigration reform advocates, as well as government officials, condemned Baraka’s arrest. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, whose office is defending a state law barring private immigration detention facilities, criticized the arrest during a seemingly peaceful protest and said no state or local law enforcement agencies were involved.
Rep. Menendez said in a statement that as members of Congress, they have the legal right to carry out oversight at DHS facilities without prior notice and have done so twice already this year. But on Friday, “Throughout every step of this visit, ICE attempted to intimidate everyone involved and impede our ability to conduct oversight.”
The detention center: The two-story building next to a county prison formerly operated as a halfway house.
In February, ICE awarded a 15-year contract to The Geo Group Inc. to run the detention center. Geo valued the contract at $1 billion, in an unusually long and large agreement for ICE.
The announcement was part of President Donald Trump’s plans to sharply increase detention beds nationwide from a budget of about 41,000 beds this year. Baraka sued Geo soon after the deal was announced.
Geo touted the Delaney Hall contract during an earnings call with shareholders Wednesday, with CEO David Donahue saying it was expected to generate more than $60 million a year in revenue. He said the facility began the intake process May 1.
Hall said the activation of the center and another in Michigan would increase capacity under contract with ICE from around 20,000 beds to around 23,000.
DHS said in its statement that the facility has the proper permits and inspections have been cleared.
https://youtu.be/FUi0YdGXle4 Spanish bombs by the Clash
This conflict with Pakistan/india is escalating faster than my ability to become properly educated on it while working constantly and I’d like to say thank you to the posters in advance for sharing their knowledge of it in on here! I’ve also found Arunannow on twitch (tamil guy who Hasan has spoken to a few times) to be very informative and he’s starting to freak out right now
This mayor getting arrested in Jersey thing seems like an obvious escalation to arrest of political opponents with ICE as the Gestapo.
- facility is run by GEO, who have a $1t contract with the federal government and obviously every relevant politician holds stock in. The mayor has actively fought against it since its inception
- he is in the Dem primary for governor, not polling terribly and is vocally anti trump
- I haven’t seen the entire video and don’t care to, but according to the article, he went on with the congress people, was told to leave and complied, rejoining the protest on the street. Masked ICE agents then dragged him back onto the property and arrested him in handcuffs. AFAIK he is still in detention
Given that trump is also ‘looking at’ suspending habeas corpus for migrants (aka anyone they ‘suspect’ is a migrant), I fear that we are moving toward the armed crackdown on minorities, in a matter of months. Shit makes me anxious as fuck
https://youtu.be/vsKH0-XraSQ Just your friendly reminder we do the work