Image is sourced from this Guardian article.
The Pope’s fucking dead.
He gave JD Vance three chocolate easter eggs, exchanged pleasantries for 17 minutes, and then keeled over and died.
What a way to go.
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.
Great post by Comrade Anas Al-Qadhi, member of the Yemeni Socialist Party:
“Militias? We socialists were the first to theorize this concept in Yemen, and the first to practice it as a path to liberation and struggle.
Comrade Abdel Fattah Ismail was among the first to develop an ideological vision of the revolutionary militia.
Our National Front, which defeated the British Empire, was not a regular army but a fighting popular militia. The National Front, the Popular Militia, the Revolutionary Resistance, and the Revolutionary Democratic Party—all were armed revolutionary formations born from the people.
And comrade Yahya Abu Asba’ was the commander of the People’s Liberation Army—let’s not forget.
To the US, Britain, Saudi Arabia, these militias were “terrorist” communist heretics who cursed capital, the Gulf rulers, and imperialist circles!
But to the people, they were the spark of revolution and the voice of liberation.
And so are the scruffy Ansar Allah today—those who carry the banner of sovereignty and reject submission.
The name is no slur, no stigma—it is a badge we wear with pride.
It is our revolutionary history. This is the people’s war, waged by the free, left or right.
Under Marx’s banner or Ali’s sword, the battle is the same: dignity and sovereignty.
And you, gentle ones and sons of vipers, have the Americans, Saudis, Emiratis, and British fighting for you!
You beg the “international community” to return you to Sana’a, to restore your state, to build you a liberal paradise on our land!
You are rootless, You fled the land when war broke out, and took refuge in hotels and capitals,
And when the Gulf remittances stop, Your camps collapse into chaos, shouting, and collective breakdown!”
Has it ever been more over for Zelenskyy? His delegation can chat as much as he likes with the useless Europeans, but that will not accomplish much.
another day another disappointing effort of joint dictatorship of treasury holders (this is for 1 month, for some scale)
if inventory and shipping won’t implode in next 1-2 monthss, back to nothing ever happens gang (and bean watching)
So Trump said something about “tariff will not be 145%, but more like 50%”, but nothing actually happened, no? No change in policy and negotiations aren’t happening, as far as I know?
Super long article about how US intelligence is completely embedded within private security that corps like ebay, Microsoft, and sport franchises use to protect CEOs from getting Luigied:
https://www.valueaddedresource.net/cia-to-silicon-valley-ebay-cyberstalking-scandal/Juicier bits:
Recently released documents expose new details about the eBay cyberstalking scandal, Senior Security Director Jim Baugh’s alleged CIA past and how the revolving door between Big Tech and the US national security apparatus threatens free speech and press freedom.
At her criminal sentencing, Security contractor Veronica Zea called the culture at eBay under Baugh cult-like, toxic and abusive, weaving a stomach-churning story about how a carefully selected group of mostly young female analysts (nicknamed “Jim’s Angels”) were systematically broken down through coercive control techniques, sexual harassment and assault, sleep deprivation, and routine exposure to graphically violent content.
While Zea’s letter to the court contains the most shocking revelations about the toxic culture at eBay, Baugh’s sentencing letter gained even wider attention due to explosive claims that he had previously served in the National Clandestine Services - the undercover arm of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Baugh’s letter to the judge was surprisingly candid about his government intelligence background - including claims that he worked for the CIA after a stint at Microsoft and that he assisted the CIA and FBI with intelligence gathering activities on a voluntary, unpaid basis after returning to the private sector as an independent security consultant on high-profile protection details including guarding then-Vice President Joe Biden at the 2016 Oscars.
The letter also revealed Baugh’s supposed CIA and FBI code names as well as claims that during his private sector career, he assisted with recruitment of foreign agents and electronic surveillance of foreign leaders; reported observations from international travel and business meetings; and recruited colleagues (including a CEO) to assist the government by allowing the use of their private sector resources.
Other documents from the criminal sentencing which have not been sealed show that Baugh contends he was hired by eBay specifically for his prior government experience which demonstrated an “ability to solve difficult problems through unconventional means” and that this practice is not uncommon in corporate America, citing a New York Times article about a former CIA officer who was employed by Uber as one example.
During the time between Microsoft and bgC3 in which Baugh claims to have been working for CIA Clandestine Services, his resume shows he was a Strategic Planner at defense contractor Northrop Grumman, lending plausibility to the idea that he may have at least been contracted to the CIA during this time, if not directly employed by the agency.
Thankfully the Ukrainians got in their own way before the Russians were forced to officially reject the Kellogg “peace plan”
Now it’s likely Trump will blame the Ukrainians instead of the Russians for ruining his “negotiations”
Saw something a bit ago about how the Burkina Faso government managed to foil a coup attempt, anybody got any info about that? Based if true.
Ukrainian delegation plans to ignore Trump’s ‘peace plan’ in London talks - Axios
The New York Times also reported that Zelensky disrupted the negotiations by refusing to recognize Crimea as Russian. US Secretary of State Rubio has cancelled a trip to London, where talks on settling the Ukrainian conflict will take place, amid Zelensky’s words about refusing to recognize Crimea as Russian.
US withdraws from negotiations, says Ukrainian MP Bezugla. An hour earlier, US Secretary of State Rubio cancelled a trip to London, where negotiations on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict will take place, against the backdrop of Zelensky’s words about refusing to recognize Crimea as Russian.
Jordan Moves to Ban Muslim Brotherhood as ‘Illegal’ Group - Asharq Al-Awsat English
Article
As the fallout continues from Jordan’s recent security crackdown on a militant cell accused of manufacturing missiles and drones, officials remain tight-lipped about why a court-banned branch of the Muslim Brotherhood continues to operate freely.
The group, declared illegal by a final court ruling in 2020, has maintained its political activities with apparent impunity—a contradiction analysts say points to selective enforcement of the law.
While Jordanian authorities have detained extremists over what was described as a “chaos plot,” they have avoided confronting the unlicensed movement. The Brotherhood’s continued presence, despite Article 159 of the penal code criminalizing illegal associations with potential jail sentences, has puzzled observers.
Analysts say the government’s “soft containment” approach reflects a broader political culture in Amman that avoids clashes with groups enjoying popular support, even if that means ignoring binding court decisions.
Critics argue the state’s flexibility towards the Brotherhood undermines legal consistency and raises questions about the rule of law, especially as other groups face swift and public consequences.
Jordan’s government appears to have taken a markedly tougher stance following the recent exposure of the militant cell allegedly backed by foreign actors and accused of planning attacks with home-built missiles and drones targeting domestic sites—not under the pretext of “supporting the resistance in Gaza”.
The discovery of the plot has prompted a reassessment within the country’s decision-making circles, which are now closely watching for verdicts from the State Security Court—the judicial body with jurisdiction over terrorism and national security cases.
While authorities have clamped down on the immediate threat, they have stopped short of confronting the unlicensed Muslim Brotherhood group and its political wing, the Islamic Action Front.
Analysts say officials are treading cautiously, wary of provoking parliamentary unrest or street mobilizations that the faction could spearhead if directly challenged.
The government’s current posture suggests a strategic pause—one that balances national security concerns with the potential political fallout of taking on a well-rooted opposition force.
Jordanian decision-makers, however, are stepping up preparations on multiple fronts as the country braces for a possible legal showdown with the Brotherhood.
Authorities are weighing the implications of formally designating the Brotherhood as an unlicensed entity, a move that would entail shutting down its activities, seizing its assets and properties, and treating any political statements or public events linked to its members as violations subject to prosecution under the penal code and counterterrorism laws.
Behind the scenes, government institutions are working to draw a legal and operational distinction between the Brotherhood and the Islamic Action Front, which remains registered under the country’s political parties law.
This delicate balancing act hinges on upcoming hearings at the State Security Court, expected to begin next week. However, officials fear that any legal escalation could spark backlash, including street protests or social media campaigns led by the Islamic Action Front.
Analysts say such a scenario could force authorities to take more decisive measures, including dissolving the party itself, in a bid to dismantle what critics view as a monopolized Islamist platform and reassert control over religious political representation in the kingdom.
London talks on ending war in Ukraine downgraded as Rubio pulls out - Reuters
Article
LONDON/PARIS, April 23 (Reuters) - Talks between the U.S., Ukraine and European officials to discuss ending Russia’s war in Ukraine faltered on Wednesday as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio abruptly cancelled his trip to London and negotiations were downgraded. Rubio’s no show prompted a broader meeting of foreign ministers from Ukraine, Britain, France and Germany to be cancelled, although talks continued at a lower level. The U.S. would now be represented by Ukraine envoy General Keith Kellogg.
The downgrading of the talks comes at a critical time, just days after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Washington could walk away if there was no progress on a deal soon. Trump raised the pressure on Sunday when he said he hoped Moscow and Kyiv would make a deal this week to end the three-year war.
A source close to the discussions said the downgrading of the trip came after Ukraine drafted a paper for the Europeans on Tuesday, in which it said there would be no discussions on territorial issues until “a full and unconditional ceasefire”. The source said the apparent U.S. nervousness could indicate that the Ukrainian position did not align with what Washington’s representatives had agreed so far with the Russians.
Rubio spoke to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy late on Tuesday and said he looked forward to rescheduling his trip in the coming months after Wednesday’s “technical meetings”. Speaking on his arrival in London with the foreign and defence ministers, Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak said the talks would focus on ways to achieve a full and unconditional ceasefire as a first step to peace.
“Despite everything, we will work for peace,” he said on social media. But underlining the distance between the sides in the negotiation, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said Kyiv would not recognise Russian sovereignty over Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula Russia annexed in 2014. That recognition was part of the proposals outlined by the United States to the Europeans last week, sources close to the talks have said.
“Ukraine is ready to negotiate - but not to surrender,” Svyrydenko wrote on X. The meeting is a follow-up to a similar session in Paris last week where U.S., Ukrainian and European officials discussed ways to move forward and narrow positions.
During those talks, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff presented a paper to the participants outlining proposals in which Ukraine in particular, but also Russia, would need to make concessions, according to three diplomats aware of the talks. The diplomats differed on whether the position paper was a firm U.S. stance or a starting point to work with Ukraine and its British, French and German allies to formulate a joint position before taking it to Russia.
DIFFICULT PROPOSALS
Some of Washington’s proposals were unacceptable to European countries and Kyiv, multiple sources said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday that the Europeans had detailed to the United States what they view as the non-negotiable aspects of a potential peace accord. Rubio last week said the U.S. framework that he and Witkoff proposed in Paris received an encouraging reception.
But the sources said that among the U.S. proposals was recognising Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea - a move that was a non-starter for Europe and Ukraine - as well as accepting the reality of Russia’s control of the remaining 20% of Ukraine’s territory. In addition, NATO membership for Ukraine would be ruled out and the U.S. would begin to lift sanctions on Russia.
The London talks were aimed at working to bridge differences and find areas that could satisfy Moscow and open a serious negotiation, diplomats said. Beyond Crimea, other major sticking points remain, including Russia’s push for lifting of European Union sanctions against it before negotiations are finished, which Europe staunchly opposes, diplomats said. Washington proposed last week to establish a neutral zone at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Russian-occupied Ukraine, according to European diplomats. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he would be ready to partner with the United States to restart the plant.
Some of Washington’s ideas are also likely to displease Moscow. Two diplomats said the U.S. was not pushing a Russian demand to demilitarize Ukraine and was not opposed to a European force as part of future security guarantees for Ukraine. Witkoff had not been part of the London talks. But, on Washington’s parallel track of diplomacy with Moscow, he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week in Russia, the White House said. Trump has repeatedly said that he wants to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine by May, arguing the U.S. must end a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and risks a direct confrontation between the U.S. and nuclear-armed Russia.
Ukraine is ready to negotiate but not to surrender, deputy PM says - Reuters
Article
April 23 (Reuters) - Ukraine is ready to negotiate but not to surrender, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Wednesday as details emerged in media reports of a U.S. proposal for a deal which would see Ukraine give up almost all territory currently occupied by Russia. “There will be no agreement that hands Russia the stronger foundations it needs to regroup and return with greater violence,” Svyrydenko wrote on X.
“Our people will not accept a frozen conflict disguised as peace,” she added.
Media outlets have this week reported details of a broad proposal by Washington for a deal between Kyiv and Moscow which proposes the formal recognition of the occupied Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea as Russian as well as Moscow keeping de facto control of most captured Ukrainian territory.
On the other hand, Ukraine has pushed for a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire with negotiations proceeding after it is established. “A full ceasefire - on land, in the air, and at sea - is the necessary first step,” Svyrydenko said, adding that if Moscow instead opted for a limited pause, Kyiv would respond in kind.
Israel’s official Twitter account has deleted its condolence tweet for Pope Francis due to his statements in support of Palestine.
- Telegram
Israeli forces attack the El Dorra Children’s Hospital in Gaza and destroy backhoes used to remove rubble and rescue trapped Palestinians.
- Telegram
Well I’m back from El Salvador and my break. Hadn’t been in a while because Bukele fans said they’d hang me from a tree with a fork up my ass lol but that clearly didn’t happen. I ended up meeting with leftists in the country who are concerned with him. Bukele is a clever person who is a good example of a competent fascist. You don’t gain control of a country as fickle as El Salvador for as long as he has without having some level of competency.
My own family are mixed on him. The men are unsurprisingly die hards who see him as some sort of tough guy while most of the women respect him cracking down on crime but want him to leave migrants alone.
You have to remember that the things he’s doing didn’t start with him but he’s making the largest spectacle out of it. The whole targeting people with tattoos was a thing that started with Honduras and Guatemala has a long history of disappearing people in US backed prisons, including American citizens.
CECOT is a big concern as well just for what it means. This sort of thing was expected with Bukele and it didn’t take long for him to lock up leftists and indigenous he has issues with. Now I said before that CECOT conditions aren’t the worst and superficially that’s true. Smaller prisons are even worse with cells that look like they haven’t been touched since being built in the 50’s. What makes CECOT stand out is the idea of nobody ever being able to get out. Guard brutality is a common thing and it’s assumed for now that prisoners either just stay until they die from the conditions (which are considered the best but still far from being good compared to even US prisons) or face some kind of death penalty. A lot of the details are murky because of how secretive CECOT is but for now it’s not quite on the same level of notoriety within the country as Izalco while still being a major concern. Even bigger is how other countries are responding. Every country in Central America did their own version of Bukele when it came to cracking down on crime. From the same people who used to always call Nicaragua authoritarian when it never went as far as Bukele did.
We have to also remember that climate change is hitting El Salvador hard. Harder than it is with Guatemala. I think Guatemala will survive by the end of the century in a very fractured state but I think El Salvador will be one of those countries that will no longer exist. This is going to make people like Bukele more common in the region as climate refugees and emigrants become more common.
Also WWE is one of the US’s strongest cultural exports. It’s pretty popular in Guatemala but the kids in El Salvador love it as well. They were talking about John Cena, Cody Rhodes, and Rey Mysterio constantly and trying to act out their moves. I would love to dissect the global presence of WWE because I’ve been to small villages in Central America where their TV’s only had three channels and one of them played WWE all the time.
Brain Draining the Swamp: European Countries Welcome Purged American Scientists
European nations are launching initiatives to attract scientists persecuted under the American Trump regime. In response to budget cuts, ideological purges, and political interference in research across the United States, these countries are positioning themselves as sanctuaries for exiled intellectuals and displaced expertise.
Norway has announced a NOK 100 million (RMB 70 million) initiative aimed at recruiting up to 50 foreign researchers into its universities and research institutions. Although the program is nominally global, officials acknowledge it was fast-tracked due to what they describe as the “acute situation in the U.S.” Mari Sundli Tveit, Director of the Norwegian Research Council, pointed to “academic freedom under pressure” and the emergence of “forbidden word lists” in U.S. grant applications—including banned terms like “climate change,” “black,” and “woman”—as signs of deeper systemic rot. “There is great concern about irreplaceable data on health and climate stored in the U.S.,” Tveit warned.
Norwegian Education Minister Sigrun Aasland underscored the country’s urgent need for top-tier scientific expertise, even as she acknowledged the complex but vital partnership with American researchers. “We have an extensive collaboration with American researchers, and we want that to continue,” she noted.
Across the Skagerrak, Danish academic institutions report an unprecedented influx of interest from U.S. scientists, many from elite institutions such as Harvard, Yale, MIT, and Princeton. “We are seeing an interest from U.S. researchers I have never experienced in my 12 years in this field,” said Nikolaj Lubanski, deputy director of Copenhagen Capacity, the agency behind Science Hub Denmark, an organisation recruiting international talent for Danish universities. This initiative, backed by major Danish research foundations, is now explicitly targeting American talent.
Lubanski describes a “special window” created by the collapse of stability in U.S. science policy. Danish universities are particularly eager to recruit experts in green technology, neuroscience, and sustainable biosolutions. A recent recruitment event by Science Hub Denmark at MIT attracted three times more applicants than it could accommodate and half of the unique visitors to the organisation’s home page are Americans.
This pan-European effort also includes France’s “Safe Place for Science” program. President Emmanuel Macron proclaimed via social media: “Science is a boundless horizon. Researchers of the world, choose France, choose Europe.” Éric Berton, rector of Aix-Marseille University, framed the effort as “a form of scientific asylum” for embattled colleagues.
Though European leaders stop short of directly denouncing their imperial overlord’s crackdown on scientific inquiry, the quiet exfiltration of intellectual capital from the United States points to an unraveling of the hegemon’s soft power. As universities across Europe mobilize to absorb the human capital purged by the Trump regime, the long-term consequences for global scientific collaboration—and for American imperialism’s ability to project power through research—remain to be seen.
Sources:
- 100 millioner kroner til å hente forskere til Norge, NRK (state media), April 23rd 2025
- Trump-effekten får amerikanske forskere til at søge mod Danmark: ‘Jeg har aldrig oplevet noget lignende’, DR (state media), April 19th 2025