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.
Please check out the RedAtlas!
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.
The big cheese himself, General Gerasimov, has confirmed the participation of DPRK troops in the recapture of Kursk.
I don’t think it was ever in dispute that they were present in Kursk. Ukrainians were claiming they were in Ukraine
My long-held take was that they were stationed near the border after the Kursk invasion to defend against further attacks. I didn’t think they would be actively participating in counteroffensives.
DPRK’s government has not been shy in stating that they support Russia in this war very vehemently. They called it a righteous and holy war.
There’s been plenty of North Korean equipment (mainly artillery in self propelled guns, ballistic missiles and artillery rockets, though some air defence systems and small arms were spotted) spotted in Russia and around Kursk, so this makes sense.
I was on the fence about this one since it seemed plausible but oddly unsupported by evidence but ok this settles it.
I still think the question “why no photos of them then?” is a valid one, but I guess the answer is instead that the Ukrainians weren’t taking many prisoners.
I still think the question “why no photos of them then?” is a valid one, but I guess the answer is instead that the Ukrainians weren’t taking many prisoners.
I think it’s because a majority of North Korean troops were rocket, artillery, and air defence troops, with only a minority being frontline troops, the frontline troops were there, but not tens of thousands storming the trenches.
Still seems like they’re only fighting in Russian Territory and are not in Ukraine itself.
Huge power outage in Spain, Portugal, some parts of France at least. A while ago.
Edit: No cell data. Using my dad’s Internet hot-spot which has satellite Internet
Edit 2: My father says some airplane crashed into a very high voltage line
Edit 3: Some cell data, but very slow, probably under a lot of pressure
Edit 4: airplane story might be fake, but it’s confirmed a very high voltage cable got cut somehow
Also radio is so back lol
Chief of General Staff Gerasimov through TASS has confirmed the presence of DPRK fighters in some capacity:
Gerasimov also commended the role of North Korean fighters in the liberation of the Kursk Region.
“I want specially to note the participation of servicemen of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in liberating border areas of the Kursk Region who in accordance with the Treaty on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between our countries rendered considerable assistance in crushing the Ukrainian army’s combat group that had launched an incursion,” Gerasimov said.
As Russia’s military chief pointed out, “soldiers and officers of the Korean People’s Army were accomplishing combat objectives shoulder to shoulder with Russian servicemen and in the process of repelling the Ukrainian incursion showed high professionalism and displayed endurance, courage and heroism in combat.”
Israel bombs Lebanon’s capital Beirut
Israeli forces have carried out an airstrike on Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, in the latest violation of a ceasefire agreement with the country’s resistance movement, Hezbollah.
Total blackout in Portugal, Spain and some parts of France!!!
Guees who’s not working 2day
Some news from the Kursk front. Russian forces fully liberated the Kursk oblast border areas today. Russia confirmed that some DPRK troops (including elite Special Operations Forces) participated in the Kursk border area’s liberation.
Russian forces liberated the last Kiev-occupied Kursk oblast village, Gornal: https://sputnikglobe.com/20250426/russias-kursk-region-completely-liberated-from-ukrainian-forces---kremlin-1121935136.html
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated, “The soldiers of the Korean People’s Army, in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Russia and the DPRK, which entered into force on December 4, 2024, fought shoulder to shoulder in one trench and shed blood with our soldiers and officers in the Kursk Region and made a significant contribution to the liberation of the Russian land from enemy invaders.” https://sputnikglobe.com/20250426/n-koreas-solidarity-on-liberating-kursk-region-demonstrates-high-allied-level-relations---moscow-1121938683.html
Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov stated, “The DPRK military, acting shoulder to shoulder with the Russian military in Kursk Region, showed resilience and heroism.” https://www.rt.com/russia/616356-north-korean-troops-kursk/
The Swiss under-23 fencing team turns its back on the Israeli team during the medal ceremony of the European Fencing Championship in protest against genocide.
- Telegram
The PLA deploying their thirst traps to win the hearts and minds of Vietnam:
https://xcancel.com/XH_Lee23/status/1916059226734268449genuinely impressed that none of them visibly cracked at hundreds of ladies screaming “husbands!” at them lol
The comments on that post are truly awful, fun video though!
Click on it to see white dudes talking about Asian “trad wives” and another one complaining about “CCP PROPAGANDA.” Click on his profile and it’s a bunch of tradwife shit. Twitter is too predictable.
free block list
Rally attended by over 250000 people against the Lai regime:
https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20250426003700-260407?chdtv
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TopCth7qIwThe black signs they’re holding are pretty cringe (It says “Oppose green (color of the DPP) communism. Fight against dictatorship”), but I skipped through the livestream and saw Han Kuo-yu made a speech about how Taiwan can’t fall into the trap of becoming the next Ukraine. And this isn’t the first major political rally against the Lai regime either.
Anyways, we need to keep calm and trust the plan.
The black signs they’re holding are pretty cringe (It says “Oppose green (color of the DPP) communism. Fight against dictatorship”)
Libs are incoherent everywhere it seems.
KMT central is never gonna adopt communism without full reunification. Would be interesting if they reject being America’s sacrificial goat, though.
250k is a pretty big turnout when Taibei metro area is only 7 million people
There’s just something very funny about an anti-DPP protest accusing the government of being Communist when the CPC openly hates the DPP for being a US lap dog, while simultaneously many KMT officials and supporters in the military keep taking bribes from the CPC, and in some cases, go on trips to mainland China to have friendly exchanges with CPC officials.
Like chuds being mad about NED regime change programs having woke sounding mission statements.
Article
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and Chinese counterpart Han Zheng bolster bilateral cooperation in energy, technology, and social development under the “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for All Weather” framework.
On this April 24 in Beijing, , Venezuelan Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng strengthened bilateral ties on Thursday in Beijing during a meeting that reviewed over 600 cooperation agreements in strategic sectors, solidifying an alliance both governments describe as a “bulwark against global hegemony.”
The talks at the Great Hall of the People are part of Rodríguez’s working agenda in China, aimed at advancing joint projects under principles of sovereignty and mutual benefit. The visit follows the signing of 31 agreements during President Nicolás Maduro’s historic 2023 visit to Beijing and a 2024 energy-finance pact.
Both nations prioritized modernizing Venezuela’s oil infrastructure with Chinese technology, including refining projects and heavy crude exploration. Rodríguez highlighted China’s support in overcoming “unilateral aggressions” against Venezuela’s energy industry, referencing international sanctions.
Han Zheng emphasized “socialism with Chinese characteristics” as inspiration for Venezuela’s development, while Rodríguez praised Xi Jinping’s leadership in building a “new multipolar order.” Discussions included strategies to strengthen economic blocs as alternatives to Western systems.
The revised agreements include technology transfers in public health, specialized hospital construction, and scholarships for Venezuelan students at Chinese universities. Rodríguez stressed that this cooperation “prioritizes the people over corporate interests.” Both sides condemned “unilateral coercive measures” against Venezuela, with Han reaffirming China’s support for Venezuelan self-determination. Rodríguez thanked Beijing’s consistent diplomatic backing in multilateral forums.
Plans include creating a binational fund to finance agricultural tech and 5G telecommunications projects. Maduro and Xi are scheduled for a virtual summit in June to sign new AI and minin agreements. Rodríguez concluded by asserting that this alliance “demonstrates the Global South can build sovereign development models,” while China reaffirmed its commitment to making Venezuela its top energy partner in Latin America.
The US Department of Justice is setting its sights on Wikipedia, threatening the Wikimedia Foundation’s tax-exempt status over allegations of spreading foreign propaganda.
“Wikipedia is permitting information manipulation on its platform, including the rewriting of key, historical events and biographical information of current and previous American leaders, as well as other matters implicating the national security and the interests of the United States,” [US Attorney] Martin wrote. “Masking propaganda that influences public opinion under the guise of providing informational material is antithetical to Wikimedia’s ‘educational’ mission.”
Fanatical Zionist and genocide enjoyer Bari Weiss’s rag “The Free Press” is leading the charge on reporting this, so it not difficult to imagine what the objective is here. As a relatively new story, the only article I found that isn’t part of this reactionary media blitz was in the NZ Herald: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/us-attorney-for-dc-accuses-wikipedia-of-propaganda-threatens-non-profit-status/6TCXK6CRPNFY3JBAB65JEBSM3Y/
This may amount to nothing, but watch this space.
President Trump, after talking to Zelensky for 15 minutes at the Vatican:
'There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days! It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along. Maybe he has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’.
- Telegram
the last person to talk to trump is in full control of the united states until the next last person to talk to trump gets their turn
It reminds me of my idea for a cult where the last person to join automatically becomes leader.
These people are all capitalists with many competing interests. Will be entertaining to see the ways in which this prevents coherent policy decisions from being made.
Don’t worry, he’ll talk to someone else in the next day and reverse position yet again.
Honestly impressive how stupid he is sometimes. If I were a hog I’d get exhausted having to change all of my beliefs every time Trump talked to someone different.
here’s the neat thing for them… they don’t have to change positions! ever!
They just hold their own bespoke brainworms, and use mental gymnastics and “Trump is playing 5D chess” arguments to justify everything to themselves. There’s not one Trump, there are 150 million different Trumps inside 150 different reactionary little minds
His incoherency, inconsistency and waffling all benefit him. They make him even more unknowable, like god, so that everyone can worship their own bespoke image of him that works in mysterious ways.
The thing is, this works on Liberals with Trump Derangement Syndrome as well. They hate an idea of Trump, and have made him into an equally powerful and eternal evil god or devil. They both have reified him as integral to their metaphysical worldview.
Trump is so stupid lol.
Lets go back to doing what Biden was doing! But this is Biden’s war!
I agree with your point, but I dont believe the T man is unaware of what he’s doing.
okay so it turns out that after all …
🇰🇵 🤝 🇷🇺 DPRK officially announces sending troops to Russia in accordance with strategic partnership agreement — KCNA
On the occasion of the liberation of Kursk, Comrade Kim Jong Un specially stressed the following:
"They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland.
In praise of the heroism and bravery of the proud sons of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, a monument to the battle feats will be soon erected in our capital city and flowers of praying for immortality given by the motherland and the people will be placed before the tombstones of the fallen soldiers.
The fighting spirit and heroism of the soldiers who demonstrated the great name of the strong and the glory of the victors will shine long in the high platform of respect and honor generation after generation.
The motherland should hand down forever the soul of them who fought to defend the great honor and take important state measures to specially and preferentially treat and take care of the families of the brave soldiers who participated in the war."
massive port explosion in iran, Shaheed Rajaee Port which is a large container port. Over 500 reported injured, unknown number of casualties. If you watch the videos it is strikingly similar to the Beirut explosion a few years ago
Investigations and recovery are still ongoing
BREAKING | A massive explosion has been reported at the Port of Shahid Rajaee, one of two parts of the port of Bandar Abbas, located on the north shores of the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran.
According to Mehr News, a fuel tank in the port exploded for an unknown reason, and rapid response teams were immediately dispatched to the area.
Port activities have now been suspended so that the situation can be quickly brought under control by security and relief forces.
The number of casualties from the explosion has yet to be determined.
UPDATE | The number of injured in the Shahid Rajaee port explosion has risen to at least 516.
Source- the Cradle
