Thread image created by yours truly, depicting Iran and Pakistan very impolitely not asking whether America, on the other side of the planet, is okay with them transporting gas around.


The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline has long been obstructed by American involvement in the region. Iran completed its section of the pipeline quite quickly, but Pakistan has been unable to finish its construction for a decade due to the fear of falling afoul of American sanctions on Iran. The United States has repeatedly tried to pressure Pakistan to give up the project and obtain gas from other countries instead. Recent articles on the state of the pipeline are contradictory, with some stating that Iran or Pakistan have given up on the pipeline while American sanctions persist. Pakistani officials reject this framing, saying that they are still working with Iran to try and get the project completed somehow. Nonetheless, Iran is becoming increasingly frustrated and is threatening a legal battle and a demand for reparations.

Meanwhile, back in Niger, the $13 billion under-construction pipeline connecting Nigeria and other West African countries to Spain and Italy will likely face delays due to the sanctions applied by the West and ECOWAS on Niger. Those following the European gas fiasco will be aware that while Spain and Italy have been impacted by the energy crisis, they have been very busy making deals with African countries to replace their Russian gas, and thus stand a better chance than Germany of making it through the crisis with their industries somewhat intact. The coup has thrown a wrench into their plans, though they can still obtain some gas from northern African countries.

And, last but not least, America tried for years to stop the construction of the Nord Stream pipelines between Germany and Russia, which culminated in them deciding to blow them up late last year.

All in all - the United States really does not like it when countries build up energy infrastructure and gain some independence from them.


Here is the map of the Ukraine conflict, courtesy of Wikipedia.

This week’s first update is here in the comments.

This week’s second update is here in the comments.

This week’s third update is here in the comments.

Links and Stuff

The bulletins site is down.

Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists

Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Add to the above list if you can.


Resources For Understanding The War


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.

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.


Telegram Channels

Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.

Pro-Russian

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

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.


Last week’s discussion post.


  • Torenico [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    Argentina’s primary election winner Javier Milei, the ancap, said that if he’s elected he’ll cut diplomatic ties with China because “they’re Communists and I don’t deal with Communists”. Diplomatic, political and economic suicide, here we go!

    Also he said the US and Israel would be “our top allies” if he wins, how original. He also gave names for a possible cabinet and how he’s going to reorganize the government: A number of ministeries will be eliminated, state scientific institutions will be privatized (He’s on the record saying “What have scientists done for us?, they need to be competitive”) and the Central Bank will be “demolished”. He mentioned the Ministry of Defense will be under a woman who is known for being a Videla apologist, she claims the last military junta did not carry out a genocide and denies 30,000 people were disappeared, tortured and killed by the state. He also wants a “voucher system” for education, public schools and universities are pretty much gone, instead, the state would give people “vouchers” for them to “spend on educative institutions of their choosing”, thus “forcing schools and universities to compete among themselves”. And probably his “top issue” is complete dollarization of the economy. His path will be most likely similar to Menem’s neoliberal plan, first he’ll “fix” high inflation (In the case of Menem it was hyperinflation of the late 80s), this will be seen as very positive by the general population. He’ll most likely do this by cutting a deal with the IMF and other foreign entities, they’ll let him “reign in peace” for two or four years, in exchange, Argentina will give up it’s energy and lithium reserves (among other things, like labor reforms and shit like that), sealing our fate.

    We’re living in the wildest nightmare. Capitalism has brought this country to it’s knees numerous times before, and the “libertarian” solution to capitalism is even more capitalism. I am contemplating more and more just leaving this hollow piece of shit behind and migrate to Spain, at least for a number of years. I just don’t feel particularly safe here no more, this is a nightmare scenario, this isn’t just your typical right winger taking power and getting kinda obstructed by democratic institutions, these are true Fascist demons taking power and going all in. I’m not sure he’ll be able to fully implement his agenda, most likely he’ll fail along the way, the problem is that this shit will bring high social tension, economic devastation and a massive drop in quality of life. Do I really want to live through this crap AGAIN? I grew up during the late 90s and early 2000s, I remember the December 2001 riots, I can still hear the echoes of the “Cacerolazos” (people banging pots to protest), I remember my school friends asking me if we could give them spare cardboards to their parents because these could be sold for some money, I remember the endless waves of unhoused people looking for food in the trash (who are more and more visible today) and, of course, I remember the police killing 30+ people during the protests as if this was 1978. No, I don’t think I want to live through this again, even less when I’m a target for these lunatics. There is fight in me, but is there any fight in those around me?

    Death and Eternal Suffering to all Fascists.

  • SeventyTwoTrillion [he/him]@hexbear.netOPM
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    1 year ago

    Lukashenko, to Ukrainian journalist, emphasis mine:

    Lukashenko: “I’ve drawn this map specifically for you. Russia will crush your personnel and hardware over there. Those motivated, ideologically strong, Nazis as they are called, those ideologically strong men are no longer around. All of them have died already. Who is fighting here, then? Those you can catch in the streets and bring here. They are not prepared. Well, and a bit of military personnel. They will not be able to defeat this machine. Russia has changed. At present, Russia has cutting edge weapons at the front. There are plenty of drones now. Well, it is a totally different army now. And the most dangerous thing… I don’t know whether I should tell you or not…”

    Reporter: “Please do!”

    L: “They have 250,000 volunteers! Russia has 250,000! Who are not at the front yet!”

    R: “In reserve now?”

    L: “Volunteers! They have been trained and they are in reserve. Do you understand how many people 250,000 are? Russia has fewer people at the front now. So they are staying on the defensive. Not because they cannot advance. They don’t have to! And you keep walking like people who have had too much drugs and alcohol. You walk [with assault rifles] at the ready like German Nazis in movies. You walk towards these barricades. But you cannot even reach them. We can see it, and it is so. You cannot even reach the minefields. You are just getting slaughtered in thousands. Your counteroffensive cost 45,000 in dead and maimed. 45,000! So they are on the defensive. Your losses are 1 to 8. 1 to 8 at the front line. And 250,000 in reserve with cutting edge hardware. You will be crushed. Then they will do what you and your leadership fear the most. They will cut you off by advancing towards Moldova, towards Transdniestria. What will you do after that? And Poles rub their hands in glee. Pushed by Americans, they will cut off the western regions. You will have only this little bit left, if any at all. This is what will happen to you. And the state, the Ukraine you and I know, will cease to me. Our native land. Yours and mine.”

    R: “Has this history been determined? What you are saying now…”

    L: “If you don’t stop now, it will happen! If you don’t start negotiations now. Russia suggests it. You don’t want it? Well, if you don’t want it, we don’t need it! Russia is powerful enough. No West will help you in this regard. You have to take your head into your hands and act on the basis of reality. Act in the interests of this huge and beautiful territory. The West is already starting to understand that nothing will come out of it. Ukraine will not be able to survive even with the West’s aid.”

  • mkultrawide [any]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    Marxism-Leninism is when the capitalists sell us the rope with which we will hang them.

    Socialism with Chinese Characteristics is when we sell the capitalists the rope with which they will hang themselves.

    It’s a slow news week.

  • Catradora_Stalinism [she/her, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    I was pissed when the colonial government in hawaii did nothing to help us when we burn, and move mountains to evac tourists. And now that they’ve sent “aid”, I’m even more pissed.

    you want to know why?

    Instead of sending extra volunteers, more firefighters, or further aid. Instead of stopping the landlord leeches currently using this crisis to further buy up land.

    they sent a mortuary assistant to help identify our burnt corpses https://www.khon2.com/hawaii-fires/portable-morgue-unit-in-hawaii-to-help-identify-maui-fire-victims/

  • Torenico [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    So I was browsing reddit-logo and I saw a user post a video of Pyongyang taken from a very tall building. The user kinda admits the city looks cool but finishes by saying “these buildings are all empty and there are impoverished people”, first commenter say Pyongyang is the cleanest city because people are “not allowed to do anything” (???).

    May reddit-logo burn and suffer a painful death. I am tired of better than thou white ass cracker motherfucker gringos. The world will be a better place without them.

  • Wertheimer [any]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    China puts dissident in 24-hour isolation for posting flyer about authoritarian state crackdowns

    Then I was brought to an isolation room, and it was not explained why. It was around midnight at this point; we were arrested around 4:30 p.m. When I woke up the next morning, it sunk in that I was in isolation. Normal isolation is twenty-three-hour lockdown with one hour of access to a kiosk, a phone, and socialization. But for some reason I was put in double isolation, which is twenty-four-hour lockdown, with twenty-four-hour lights. At no point did I resist arrest, and I complied with the medical intake requirements. I felt very targeted. As the days went by, no one would really give me information.

    I was trying to file a grievance, because the Bartow County Jail’s inmate handbook says that if an inmate is in an area without access to a kiosk, then the inmate can request a paper grievance form from the guard on shift. When I asked for this form, the guard said she didn’t have to do that. After I went to medical, because I was having some health problems while I was in isolation, the guard took pity on me and looked it up and there was nothing entered in the system as to the reason for my being put in isolation. Isn’t that funny?

    Oops, why did I say China, it was the U.S. state of Georgia.

  • SeventyTwoTrillion [he/him]@hexbear.netOPM
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    Hearing rumors that the Russian government is authoritarian. Yes, I know, I was shocked too. Even China’s, and Cuba’s. Can anybody substantial these rumors? It’s the first I’m hearing these critiques and I have no response to them.

    Deeply disturbing to me if these nations have actually created authoritarian governments, quite unlike every other countries’ governments. Authoritarian governments are deeply unnatural and it’s always frightening when a leader manages to access the Tyranny Nexus deep under their government building and convince everybody through psionic networks to support them.

  • AntiOutsideAktion [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    Hearing from a friend of a friend that’s on the ground in the Maui fire area saying things are starting to get real militia-y. Apparently the firefighters lost water pressure in their hoses and were helpless to fight the fires because of water being used up by 3 golf courses owned by billionaires.

  • SimulatedLiberalism [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    Geopolitics Special Edition: the Moon

    As you may know, the race is on for India vs Russia to be the first country to land on the lunar south pole, an unusually challenging site on the moon with treacherous terrains and craters stretching thousands of kms.

    Fun facts about their predecessors

    This will be India’s third attempt with their moon missions. The last mission, Chandrayaan-2 (which means “mooncraft” in Sanskrit), was launched in September 2019 but due to a software glitch, the Vikram Lander veered off course and crashed. However, the orbiter stayed on the moon’s orbit and in April 2021, with an optical camera (OHRC) with the highest resolution mapping the moon’s surface to date, was able to send back a photo of Apollo 11’s Eagle descent stage. The Americans did land on the moon. Checkmate conspiracy theorists.

    Meanwhile, the last time Russia conducted a moon mission (Luna-24, which means “moon” in Russian) was in… 1976! It was actually the Soviet Union, and this will be post-Soviet Russia’s first attempt at a moon mission, practically a reboot of the space industry. Did you know that Luna-24 was the third time the Soviet Union carried back soil samples from the moon and was the first to discovered water in the regolith (moon soil)? The scientific findings were published in 1978 and almost nobody noticed.

    Who will be the first to land on the lunar south pole

    So, you have India aiming to have its first successful moon landing mission, and Russia who hasn’t been back to the moon in 47 years. And what makes this race particularly interesting is that both not only target the lunar south pole as their landing sites, but apparently also had their mission timeframe coinciding closely (merely a week apart) and will land relatively close to one another:

    With India’s Chandrayaan-3 (Чандраян-3) targeting an error within 500m, and Russia’s Luna-25 (Луна-25) with a 3 km error.

    Actually, both missions had been delayed by a year. Chandrayaan-3 was supposed to launch back in August 2022, but was delayed due to COVID lockdown affecting several projects. Meanwhile, Luna-25 was supposed to launch in October-November 2022, but the war in Ukraine caused several European collaborations to be ceased, forcing Roskosmos to reproduce the components indigenously.

    India’s Chandrayaan-3 was launched several weeks ago, on July 14, entered Moon’s orbit on August 5, and is expected to land on August 22-23. Owing to its larger payload (3800kg vs Luna-25’s 1750kg), its journey will take slightly longer than the Russian’s.

    Once landed, if successful, the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover, both solar powered, will have about 1 lunar day (14.5 Earth days) to conduct its scientific missions. They are not designed to survive the cold and harsh night on the moon.

    Meanwhile, Russia’s Luna-25 is a lander only without a rover, but is equipped with a plutonium-based radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) that will provide heat and power throughout the night, and is expected to last for about 1 year.

    The Luna-25 was launched on August 10, and is expected to land on August 17-19 21-22 (updated dates):

    Just less than 24 hours earlier, on August 16 11:57 MSK, Luna-25 switched on the propulsion system of its automatic station. The first activation was performed by a corrective braking engine that lasted 243 seconds. And the second - the soft landing engines, lasted 76 seconds. At 12:03 MSK, Luna-25 has entered the moon’s orbit.

    All systems are functioning normally, communication is stable. From here, at a height of 100km lunar orbit, Luna-25 will spend the next 3 days making 36 orbits around the moon.

    Which means that over the next 48 hours few days, the most critical stage will happen - will a soft landing take place successfully?

    If so, then Russia will claim the first landing spot on the moon’s south pole. If not, then the Indians will have their shot immediately after on August 22-23. The race is on for a nail-biting finish.