Image is of Gazans breaking their fast with the Iftar meal during the ongoing Ramadan.
Due to a request by @miz@hexbear.net, this thread’s COTW is Qatar.
The ceasefire deal broke down early last week after Israel unilaterally changed the terms of the agreement and then blamed Hamas for not meeting them. Violence against civilians has rapidly accelerated to pre-ceasefire levels, with many hundreds dead already, aid once again cut off, and Israeli soldiers once again entering and occupying the attritional labyrinth that is Gaza.
I’m not yet in a position to make any solid predictions or analysis, as the geopolitical situation in and around Israel has changed fairly substantially over the last 6 months; in some ways benefiting Israel, and in other ways not. We know for sure how Hamas and Ansarallah are reacting (thankfully, with open hostility to both Israel and the United States), but the state of Hezbollah has been a giant question mark for months now, and precisely what Iran plans to do (beyond the usual level of supplying weaponry and intelligence to all the allies it can) is unknown. Syria will be almost certainly be a big wildcard, and we’ll have to see if the compradors in Damascus can weather the storm.
Last week’s thread is here.
The Imperialism Reading Group is here.
Please check out the HexAtlas!
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.
Not a lot of people seemed to notice this lemmy post and I don’t see it posted here, but this article (computer scientist goes silent after fbi raid and purging from university website) is crazy and idk what to even make of it. Just really set off my conspiracy brain.
Trump: I haven’t heard that term in years. I don’t know anything about it… this country is going to boom. We’re going to have boomtown. We’re going to boom
its going to boom nerds
French court finds far-right leader Marine Le Pen guilty in embezzlement case - NPR
PARIS — A French court found Marine Le Pen guilty on Monday in an embezzlement case but didn’t immediately say what her sentence might be and how it might impact the far-right leader’s political future.
Le Pen, sitting in the front row in the Paris court, showed no immediate reaction as the chief judge declared her guilty. She later repeatedly nodded her head in disagreement as the judge went into greater detail, saying Le Pen’s party had illegally used European Parliament money for its own benefit. “Incredible,” she whispered at one point.
The judge also handed down guilty verdicts to eight other current or former members of her party who, like her, previously served as European Parliament lawmakers. Le Pen and her co-defendants face up to 10 years in prison. They can appeal, which would lead to another trial.
The biggest concern for Le Pen is that the court may declare her ineligible to run for office “with immediate effect” — even if she appeals. That could prevent her from running for president in 2027. She has described such scenario as a “political death.” The verdict was shaping up as a resounding defeat for Le Pen and her party. As well as finding her and eight other former European lawmakers guilty of embezzling public funds, the court also handed down guilty verdicts to 12 other people who served as parliamentary aides for Le Pen and what is now the National Rally party, formerly the National Front.
The chief judge, who read the ruling delivered by her and two other justices, said Le Pen had been at the heart of “a system” that her party used to siphon off EU parliament money. The judge said Le Pen and other co-defendants didn’t enrich themselves personally. But the ruling described the embezzlement as “a democratic bypass” that deceived the parliament and voters.
Le Pen and 24 other officials from the National Rally were accused of having used money intended for European Union parliamentary aides to pay staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, in violation of the 27-nation bloc’s regulations. Le Pen and her co-defendants denied wrongdoing.
Le Pen, 56, was runner-up to President Emmanuel Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, and her party’s electoral support has grown in recent years. During the nine-week trial that took place in late 2024, she argued that ineligibility “would have the effect of depriving me of being a presidential candidate” and disenfranchise her supporters.
“There are 11 million people who voted for the movement I represent. So tomorrow, potentially, millions and millions of French people would see themselves deprived of their candidate in the election,” she told the panel of three judges. If Le Pen cannot run in 2027, her seeming natural successor would be Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s 29-year-old protégé who succeeded her at the helm of the party in 2021.
Le Pen denied accusations she was at the head of the system meant to siphon off EU parliament money to benefit her party, which she led from 2011 to 2021. She argued instead that it was acceptable to adapt the work of the aides paid by the European Parliament to the needs of the lawmakers, including some political work related to the party.
Hearings showed that some EU money was used to pay for Le Pen’s bodyguard — who was once her father’s bodyguard — as well as her personal assistant. Prosecutors requested a two-year prison sentence and a five-year period of ineligibility for Le Pen. Le Pen said she felt they were “only interested” in preventing her from running for president.
US bank exec killed in plane crash https://www.youtube.com/embed/RUL6lEFoVIU?autoplay=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1
Le Pen and eight MEPs found guilty of embezzlement
In my experience, those who say Israel and Palestine are both bad tend to really fucking hate Palestine but not mind Israel all that much.
Found this, don’t know where it should go I guess it’s news
Can’t upload the picture for some reason. No content warning, except it’s still sad in a way.
US airstrikes continue on Yemen for the 16th night in a row, with multiple airstrikes targeting Sana’a Governorate.
Quite a few more strikes reported in Sana’a Governorate.
Al-Mayadeen reports more strikes in Sana’a Governorate.
Lots of bad information circling around. The pictures of the “USS Harry Truman sinking” that are circulating on social media are six years old and of a different ship. Claims that the US Navy’s E-2 Hawkeye AWACS aircraft has been shot down are also highly unlikely, nothing in Yemen’s surface to air missile arsenal has the range to hit US assets in the rear like that, and with active SEAD operations going on from EA-18G Growlers, Ansarallah haven’t shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone over the past 16 days, yet alone a target as far away from the frontlines as an AWACS aircraft. They could try with some Jerry rigged anti radiation ‘Hormuz’ missiles to home in on the massive radome on the E-2, but such an attack is highly unlikely to succeed.
The Yemeni Armed Forces have announced two operations in two separate statements:
Cruise missile, naval and aerial drones launched at US Navy warships. No Anti Ship Ballistic Missiles. A Zulfiqar/Rezvan ballistic missile was also launched at Israel, a ballistic missile with a conventional ballistic flight path, no Palestine-2 missiles launched. Debris from the missile and an Israeli Arrow 3 interceptor landed in Israel.
Israeli news site N12 revealed that the US operated THAAD air defence system has intercepted 6 Yemeni missiles already. If anyone is wondering why this is, it’s because Israel don’t really have a terminal phase intercept system for MaRV (Maneuverable Re-entry Vehicle) capable ballistic missiles. THAAD is the only system that fits the bill and can plug the gaps. Arrow 3 is a midcourse interception system, it does not intercept ballistic missiles in the terminal stage of flight. So if Yemeni ballistic missiles bypass Arrow 3, and they are MaRV capable missiles, Israeli air defence systems are not adequate. I’ll explain below:
Arrow 2 has a maximum flight ceiling/altitude of 50km, and a range of 100km, and uses a fragmentation warhead, not a kinetic one. David’s Sling has a longer range up to 300km and a kinetic warhead, but a flight ceiling of only 15km, allowing for only last second interceptions. These flight ceilings are all problems when intercepting MaRV capable missiles that can perform glide phases within the earth’s atmosphere, gliding above or near the limit their flight ceilings in the terminal phase. A MaRV could perform two glide phases, first one above Arrow-2 and one above David’s Sling. So THAAD is brought in to plug the gap. THAAD can engage targets at altitudes between 40-150km, and at ranges up to 200km. So MaRVs cannot glide above the engagement ceiling of THAAD. The way to defeat THAAD would be to perform an extremely long glide phase below 40km under the engagement envelope of THAAD, but that puts the MaRV firmly within the engagement envelope of Arrow-2. Arrow 2s minimum altitude is 8km, so gliding under that would put the MaRV firmly within the engagement envelope of David’s Sling. Also, with thicker atmosphere/air at lower altitudes, long glide phases become increasingly difficult as drag increases.
Small and bizarre news, but still news:
So there’s a non-recognized nation in Africa called Republic of Annobon, which is a small island that is part of Equatorial Guinea. A small group of separatists declared independence in like 2022 or something and well, they travel around the world exposing their cause I guess. Many such cases.
Anyway, a small delegation headed by their Prime Minister visited our university, something completely random, and attended to a session of our History Assembly, which is celebrated each week or so to discuss career-related things and such. They were allowed to speak of their struggle against the Equatorial Guinean government. I failed to attend so I missed this peculiar event. Oh and Equatorial Guinea’s President, Theodoro Obiang Nguema, as been in power since 1982, so there’s that.
The world gets weirder and weirder each day.
And btw, before I forget:
death to “israel”
German Greens want to force people of all ages to serve the state in a new Freedom Service™. Either military or some community service.
“It is time to ask the question: What can you do for you country?”, Schulze said to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. The threats are growing.
“In order make our society more robust, to defend our freedom, and to strengthen cooperation, we need everybody. The Freedom Service is a collective project for Germany, by all and for all. Through the Freedom Service, we will to bring together generations and milieus, strengthen our society, and defend what is important to us.”
I’m not making this up btw.
They’re no longer in government of course, that’s just their contribution to the debate about re-introducing conscription.
White House aide Peter Navarro today: Trump’s tariffs will raise $600 billion per year, or $6 trillion over a 10 year period
Seems to reflect our reporting that Trump wants to go absolutely enormous on the tariffs, regardless of short-term economic consequences
The killing and terror in Syria continues unabated, the new “government” contains 1 Christian, 2 Druze, 1 Kurd, and 1 Alawite though so I’m sure it’s fine.
Cw blood kidnapping corpses
full text
🇸🇾 Report: Julani’s Terror Belts Continuing Massacre of Innocent Masses Across Syria Without Outrage: (1/2):
In the past ten days, the massacres have not stopped, and they continue to unfold across Syria with no end in sight. The ongoing violence and brutal killings have escalated under the influence of militants affiliated with Julani’s terror groups. The situation is dire, with missing persons reports coming in from different parts of the country. One such case involves Asma Lana Ahmed, a 16-year-old girl who was last seen between 4:00 and 4:30 PM near the Awqaf Project, opposite the Arab Writers’ Union and close to Lubna Salon. Her whereabouts remain unknown, and she has disappeared without a trace. Another case involves Umm Sumer Daadaa, a woman from Al-Safraqiya village, who left her home on the morning of March 25, 2025, to collect her retirement salary from Jableh. She was last seen wearing black clothing, and although she made contact after arriving in Jableh, she has not been heard from since and is now considered missing.
In Homs, the body of Yahya Mutee Zidane was discovered on March 25, weeks after he was taken from his home in the Karm Shamsham neighborhood of Homs on March 7 by HTS-affiliated militants. Zidane, a member of the Alawite sect, became yet another victim of sectarian violence in Syria, which continues to target minority groups in the country. In Aleppo, the situation has worsened, with over 12 cases of kidnappings and killings reported in the last week alone. Among the missing persons are Lynn, Azhar Al-Obaidi, Ra Kassar, and Abdul Rahman Al-Hakim – their fates remain unknown. Ms. Ezdihar, who was found alive after being kidnapped, physically abused, and dumped at Al-Salihin Cemetery, adds to the growing list of victims. Hevin Mahmoud Daoud went missing on March 26 after heading to her institute near the Al-Rahman Mosque in the New Syriac area. Ibrahim Sheikh Nasser disappeared after evening prayers in the Al-Mashhad neighborhood. Amir & Muhannad Salem Matar have been missing for over 15 days after being kidnapped in Aleppo. Rawaa Al-Ahmad Al-Mustafa was last seen at 10 AM in Al-Shaar heading to “Ahla Bel Dayaa” before her phone was disconnected.
The killings in Aleppo have also escalated. Ahmed Naasani, former president of the Al-Ittihad Club fans association, was killed by unidentified assailants. Engineer Hussam Aweera was murdered in his home, and his wife critically injured. Ahmed Sourani was shot dead in Masaken Hanano, and his brother Kamel Sourani was injured, along with a taxi driver. The attackers escaped on a motorcycle. In Damascus, militants affiliated with HTS abducted Tamim Ali Rustam, 65, and his son Ali Rustam, 25, from the Al-Qadam neighborhood. Their whereabouts are still unknown. This is part of a rising trend of sectarian targeting, with local reports indicating that at least 20 other Alawite individuals have been abducted. Relatives have urged authorities to intervene and disclose their whereabouts.
In Bustan Al-Hamam, rural Baniyas, Mohammad Izzat Shiha was shot and killed by gunmen affiliated with the so-called “General Security” forces. Witnesses reported that several young men were severely beaten, and gunmen fired indiscriminately to terrorize the local population before withdrawing from the area. In the village of Al-Dhahabia, a young man named Ahmed Al-Youssef was shot and killed at his doorstep by assailants who asked him to fill their pickup truck’s gas tank. The attack occurred in front of his mother, who witnessed the brutal killing. Ahmed had been working at a small gas and diesel stand to support his family. In Al-Bab, a young man was shot dead by members of the General Security forces in the city market. This follows reports of clashes in the area, adding to the mounting violence and insecurity in the region.
A video has emerged showing a kidnapped man pleading for his life, stating that he will be killed unless his captors’ ransom demands are met. This is yet another example of the growing trend of kidnapping for ransom in the region.
In Homs, a group of young men has been kidnapped for ransom. One victim, Omar Nashar, is seen in a video with visible bruises and marks across his chest, indicating he has been tortured by his captors. In Hineh village, Mount Hermon, two masked gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on civilians standing outside a butcher shop. The victims, Louis Azar (the butcher shop owner), Johnny Bshara Hilaneh, Elie Haitham Hilaneh, and Michel Ayman Bshara, were injured. Fortunately, no fatalities have been confirmed. In Tartous, Ezzat Nafez Raslan, from the village of Jneinet Raslan in Al-Dreikish, went missing at 10:00 AM while driving in the Karto–Al-Hish–Autostrad area. His body was later found at Talkalakh Hospital.
In Tartous, two members of the HTS-affiliated General Security forces, Hussam Khaled Al-Ghabr and Abdul Latif Abdul Salam, were killed in a drive-by ambush. The two officers, originally from Idlib, were the victims of this attack. In Al-Qadam, images have surfaced showing four civilians detained by HTS-affiliated “General Security” units and later found dead. Among the victims was Tamim Rustum, a retired mathematics teacher. This incident adds to the growing number of arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings being carried out under the pretext of sectarian profiling and alleged affiliations with the regime.
The terror belts continue to spread violence and fear across Syria, with countless innocent civilians falling victim to the brutality of militias and extremist groups, including HTS. The international community remains silent as this campaign of terror, kidnapping, and sectarian killing continues unabated.
🔹@enemywatch
