more like thucydideez nuts, gottem
Image is of a satellite image from MizarVision, a Chinese firm that has recently shown pride in being sanctioned for showing uncensored images of the Middle East. The West is not allowing up-to-date satellite imagery of the region to hide destruction.
As always, my weekly summary/preamble is in spoilers below.
preamble
Military news remained relatively subdued last week, with the main front continuing to be the Lebanon border. With dozens of vehicles destroyed and many more Zionist casualties, they are now desperately searching for a solution to the FPV drone threat, with certain analysts characterizing the whole situation as the entity stumbling foot-first into a bear trap (hence the megathread title). Unfortunately for them, two better and more resourceful militaries have spent the last year or two also searching for a solution and have generally failed - with anti-drone strategies consisting mainly of 1) build your own cheap drones designed to physically intercept their cheap drones and 2) separate your forces up rather than conducting large frontal assaults WW2-style and accept that you’re gonna have to fight for many months to gain substantial ground. This also explains why they’re so eager to kickstart a civil war in Lebanon, although as I’ve stated before, I don’t personally know whether that would be a silver bullet given how the Lebanese army has been deliberately not allowed to become a threatening force due to Zionist fears, and indeed, I don’t know how many Lebanese citizens and soldiers would fight against the only force in their country fighting against an army trying to annex their territory and which murders hundreds of people at a time in aerial bombings on their cities.
Aside from the ever-worsening global economic catastrophe, the main event has been the US visiting China. Trump clearly intended to time the summit such that it took place after subjugating Iran and perhaps also Cuba. However, with the former goal not even remotely achieved, and the latter goal delayed - hopefully indefinitely, though the US still seems pretty intent on it - it all amounted to a big nothingburger. Marxist economist Michael Roberts has written up a great piece on the current state of the US-China economic conflict, stating among things that, despite the last decade of US sanctions and economic warfare, the Chinese economy has done extremely well, building up their own domestic industries to replace commodities lost from sanctions. China has, up to this point, refused to withdraw its aid from Iran, and seems to be looking to start moving its tankers through the Strait via Iran’s new tolling mechanism.
China obviously continues to maintain its position on Taiwan, and Trump has continued the US tradition of respecting this in words and disrespecting it in actions, but it’s becoming clear to everybody but the most delusional diehards that the US will not be fighting China in and around the Pacific for at least a couple decades, and likely never will. There is little choice. The Ramadan War has definitively proven that the US has been severely militarily and logistically weakened over the decades despite skyrocketing military budgets, and much of their equipment, strategies, and tactics are woefully outdated for the modern battlefield. The prospect of the US fighting a war against China and not immediately losing has gone from “almost implausible” to “hilariously absurd”. Unable to meaningfully impede China, the US will have to content itself to increasingly ineffective sanctions campaigns and bullying/overthrowing nations that do not currently have much of a capacity to resist. In that vein, one hopes that Iran and friends will share their expertise in drone technology and underground fortification around the world. The age of the tunnel is upon us.
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.
The Zionist Entity's Genocide of Palestine
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against the temporary Zionist entity. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA reports on the Zionists’ 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.
Mirrors of Telegram channels that have been erased by Zionist censorship.
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.
OH CANADAAAA https://xcancel.com/e_l_g_c_a/status/2057551119195209803
Thank you, Canada🇨🇦🤝🇱🇻! Foreign Minister @AnandAnandMP announced that Canada will invest 64 million euros in the development of military infrastructure in Latvia. The investments strengthen the security of NATO’s eastern flank and the allies’ ability to respond quickly in the region.
Does she know that on May 13th ~10,000 Canadian non-deployable staff were ordered to return field gear because of critical stock shortfalls. We don’t have gear for new recruits, training, and overseas ops, including those in Latvia. But sure let’s develop military infrastructure in Latvia.
at least other militaries are having shortages in, like, missiles and artillery shells, not fucking backpacks!?
Iran rebuilding military industrial base faster than expected, already producing drones, according to US intel
Iran has already restarted some of its drone production during the six-week ceasefire that began in early April, one sign it is rapidly rebuilding certain military capabilities degraded by US-Israeli strikes, according to two sources familiar with US intelligence assessments. Four sources told CNN that US intelligence indicates Iran’s military is reconstituting much faster than initially estimated.
more
The rebuilding of military capabilities, including replacing missile sites, launchers and production capacity for key weapons systems destroyed during the current conflict, means that Iran remains a significant threat to regional allies should President Donald Trump restart the bombing campaign, according to the four sources familiar with the intelligence. It also calls into question claims about the extent to which US-Israeli strikes have degraded Iran’s military in the long term. While the time to restart production of different weapons components varies, some US intelligence estimates indicate Iran could fully reconstitute its drone attack capability in as soon as six months, one of the sources, a US official, told CNN. “The Iranians have exceeded all timelines the IC [intelligence community] had for reconstitution,” the US official said.
Drone attacks are a particular concern for regional allies. If hostilities resume, Iran could augment its missile production capability — which has been significantly degraded — with more drone launches, to continue firing at Israel and Gulf countries that are well within range of both weapons systems. Trump has repeatedly threatened to resume combat operations against Iran if the two countries fail to reach a deal to end the war, including saying publicly on Tuesday that he’d been an hour from restarting bombing, meaning these military capabilities could come into play. Iran has been able to rebuild much faster than expected due to a combination of factors, ranging from support it is receiving from Russia and China to the fact that the US and Israel did not inflict as much damage as the two countries had hoped, one of the sources told CNN.
love how “the Iranians actually, y’know, have a lot industry” doesn’t enter the discussion at all, always the same shit with westerners…
For example, China has continued to provide Iran with components during the conflict that can be used to build missiles, two sources familiar with US intelligence assessments told CNN, though that has likely been curtailed by the ongoing US blockade. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CBS last week that China is giving Iran “components of missile manufacturing” but declined to elaborate further. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun denied the allegation during a press conference, calling it “not based on facts.” Meanwhile, Iran also still maintains ballistic-missile, drone-attack and anti-air capability despite the serious damage inflicted by US-Israeli strikes, according to recent US intelligence assessments, meaning the quick rebuilding of military production capacity isn’t starting from scratch. A spokesperson for US Central Command declined to comment, saying the command does not discuss matters related to intelligence.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told CNN in a statement that “America’s military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing.”
if I keep declaring “I’m the toughest guy around” surely it will become true!
“We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests,” Parnell added. CNN reported in April that US intelligence assessed that roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers had survived US strikes. A recent report increased that figure to two thirds partially due to the ongoing ceasefire providing Iran with time to dig out launchers that might have been buried in previous strikes, according to sources familiar with the intelligence. The US intelligence assessment total may include launchers that are currently inaccessible, such as those buried underground by strikes but not destroyed. Thousands of Iranian drones still exist — roughly 50% of the country’s drone capabilities — two sources previously told CNN the intelligence indicated. The intelligence also showed a large percentage of Iran’s coastal defense cruise missiles were intact, consistent with the US not focusing its air campaign on coastal military assets though they have been hitting ships. Those missiles serve as a key capability allowing Iran to threaten shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
Taken together, recent US intelligence reports overwhelmingly suggest that the war has degraded Iran’s military capabilities, but not destroyed them, with the Iranians demonstrating they can effectively limit the long-term impact of the war by quickly reconstituting after those strikes. That includes rebuilding its defense industrial base, which CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said on Tuesday has been largely eliminated. “Operation Epic Fury significantly degraded Iran’s ballistic missiles and drones while destroying 90% of their defense industrial base, ensuring Iran cannot reconstitute for years,” Cooper testified during Tuesday’s hearing before the House Armed Services Committee. But Cooper’s testimony stands in stark contrast to US intelligence assessments examining Iran’s ability to rebuild its military capabilities and the timeline in which they are able to do so, with two sources telling CNN the intelligence is inconsistent with the descriptions provided by the CENTCOM commander. One of the sources familiar with recent US intelligence assessments told CNN that the damage to Iran’s defense industrial base has likely set its ability to reconstitute back by a matter of months, not years. And some of Iran’s defense industrial base remains intact, which could further accelerate the timeline for reconstituting certain capabilities, the source noted.
I know I already posted the news story but I cant get this footage out of my head. So outrageously evil.
Footage shows a US-israeli drone strike on 4 paramedics in Lebanon who are providing medical assistance to a father and daughter that were struck in a previous strike.
The world has abandoned south Lebanon just as it has abandoned Gaza. Damn it all.
Research document released by a short seller.
The gist of it is that Nvidia have been directly cooperating with Alibaba, ByteDance, etc, to circumvent export bans on Nvidia chips to china.
The chinese firms have been creating and using shell companies in Malaysia and Singapore to export chips there. Those data centers then sell the compute time to their chinese owners, or in some cases immediately reexport the chips as “second hand” sales directly to China.
Nvidia CEO Jenseng Huang is specifically called out as frequently visiting these data centers and also partying and dining with the middlemen. The claim is that he has very specific knowledge and has personally and actively participated in enabling the scheme.
So, corruption. Sure nothing new.
But here’s the rub:
Nvidia claims that its china revenue is already at 0%.
China has started to aggressively enforce a policy of using domestic chips and a ban on nvidia chips.
Which means China will be forcing these schemes to stop.
Meaning Nvidia is about to lose 20-30% of revenue, very suddenly. Revenue it claims it has already lost and absorbed.
Nvidia is about to get absolutely wrecked and their CEO is a personal and direct participant in a massive scheme to circumvent US export controls and sanctions.
Al Jazeera - Israeli military says hostile aircraft ‘infiltrate’ northern Israel. Air attack sirens have been activated in Israel due to the “infiltration of a hostile aircraft” in the north of the country, the military said. Israel’s military said aircraft were detected in the airspace over Kiryat Shmona and also Rosh HaNikra near the border with southern Lebanon. We will bring you more information when it becomes available.
The fascist Kiev regime carried out a massive drone attack on a college dormitory in Starobelsk, in the Lugansk People’s Republic (which is in the Donbass). At least six people, including students, were massacred in the attack. 15 more people are missing under the rubble.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20260522/ukraine-attacks-school-in-lugansk-peoples-republic-1124169779.html
CBS is “reporting” that the Trump admin is preparing for a new round of strikes on Iran. We’ve seen this before, it is impossible to know if this is another bluff that is supposed to put pressure on Iran or if it is for real.
I have started to notice random Republican politicians talking about the protests in Bolivia, trying to portray it as a “coup”. To me that just shows the US fucked up and lost control of Bolivia and their puppet goverment is collapsing. As for regional gusanos, they seemly are angry with Petro, and also with Lula da Silva because both didn’t send anything to help the Bolivian goverment (why would they), but also because both are openly defending the end of the Embargo against Cuba.
Yeah, thats what all of these resignations are about. I just think its funny that she didn’t even go all the way and held onto one of her positions.
BREAKING: President Trump announces he will NOT attend his son Don Jr.'s wedding, saying government matters and his “love for the United States of America” are too important for him to leave the White House during this “important period of time.”
“While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so.”
now to the real news: disorder in trumpo household
China removes hukou hurdle for migrant workers in social insurance shake-up - SCMP
Read more
China has moved to ease residency restrictions that prevent migrant workers from accessing social insurance where they work, in a sweeping effort to expand coverage and strengthen labour protections nationwide.
The new measures were announced on Friday by the State Council, China’s cabinet.
The move is part of China’s broader push to create a unified national market by removing barriers to the free flow of capital and talent.
Under the new policy, workers can enrol in social insurance programmes in the cities where they are employed, regardless of their official hometown registration, or hukou.
Authorities will also refine the mechanisms for transferring and continuing social insurance relationships across regions, a long-standing challenge for a highly mobile workforce.
It reflects China’s latest policy reform emphasis on achieving renhu fenli - or the “separation between place of residence and household registration”. According to census sample data released on Friday, China’s migrant population has surpassed 357 million.
Historically, the hukou system locked migrant workers out of vital public services – like healthcare and public schooling – in the places where they lived and worked. In recent years, however, these rigid restrictions have been progressively relaxed.
This issue has taken on greater urgency amid structural shifts in China’s economy and evolving labour market dynamics.
Alongside traditional migrant workers, China has seen a rapid rise in flexible employment and new forms of work tied to a booming digital economy, including ride-hailing drivers, food delivery couriers, live-streaming workers, and other platform-based gig workers.
This sector is a vital source of jobs, driving years of pressure on Beijing to provide equal access to social welfare benefits for all workers.
Moves to relax the restrictions also aim to narrow the rural-urban gap, speed up urbanisation and boost public consumption – factors Beijing views as key pillars for expanding the middle class and driving long-term economic growth.
While the idea of ending residency-based barriers to social insurance is not new, the policy marks a major step in advancing reforms first outlined in July 2024, during the third plenum of the Communist Party’s 20th Central Committee.
A policy document issued jointly by the Central Committee and State Council last June explicitly called for the “full removal of hukou restrictions on participation in social insurance at the place of employment”.
Tulsi Gabbard resigns as director of national intelligence
Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump’s director of national intelligence, is leaving the administration, Axios learned Friday.
The big picture: Gabbard’s departure is not due to any controversies surrounding her work or job performance, but due to her husband being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, one senior Trump administration official and another source familiar told Axios.
The biopic Dark Horse, produced by CPAC darling Eduardo Bolsonaro, is the most expensive Brazilian movie ever, yet it looks cheaply made. Where did the the R$61 million in funding, embezzled from small investors by jailed banker Daniel Vorcaro, really go? I cut off the end due to X space limitations. It goes, “2 election polls released this week show Flavio Bolsonaro dropping 7 points behind incumbent Lula da Silva. Meanwhile, news has come out that he continued to visited Vorcaro after his arrest.”
Top US intelligence official resigns over war in Iran: Report
Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, daughter-in-law of RFK Jr. and a key ally of the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, has resigned from two of her three intelligence positions
Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, a top US intelligence official, is stepping down this week from two key posts due to her opposition to US President Donald Trump’s war on Iran, the Washington Post reported on 22 May.
Kennedy, a former undercover CIA officer in East Asia and a daughter-in-law of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.), is a close ally of Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard.
“Five people familiar with the matter cited her disagreement with Trump’s war on Iran as a reason for her resignation,” The Post wrote.
Kennedy currently holds three intelligence posts simultaneously. She is resigning as deputy to Gabbard at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and as associate director at the Office of Management and Budget, where she oversaw classified intelligence budgets.
Kennedy hopes to remain in her role as a member of President Trump’s Intelligence Advisory Board, which gives the president independent advice on the legality and effectiveness of US spy programs.
Her resignation follows that of Joe Kent, who served under DNI Gabbard as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Kent, who is also a former CIA officer, resigned in March, publicly citing his opposition to the war in Iran as the reason for his departure.
Kent has since stated in interviews that the war is being fought on behalf of Israel and that Iran does not pose a threat to the US, as Trump has claimed.
“The idea that they could put a nuclear weapon on a ballistic missile system and get it to America, it’s just preposterous,” he stated in an interview on Wednesday.
Kennedy announced her resignation in an email to colleagues, saying she planned to return to the private sector and spend more time with her family. “Being a mom is God’s greatest gift, and after two years on the campaign trail and a year serving in this extraordinary administration, I have to make sure my family has all it needs,” wrote.
Her email did not mention the Iran war.
“The fact that she has held three jobs, dealing with intelligence policy, budget, and oversight, has raised eyebrows among some current and former US officials,” The Post noted.
“We are grateful to Amaryllis Fox Kennedy for her leadership and exceptional service,” Gabbard said in a statement. “Under her leadership, we successfully aligned the Intelligence Community agencies with the administration’s and ODNI’s goals, driving a unified approach to our mission.”
After Trump’s election, Kennedy lobbied to become deputy director of the CIA. However, her candidacy was rejected by Republican senators worried she would impose “disruptive changes at the spy agency.”
The sources speaking with The Post said that Kennedy pushed to declassify historical documents about the assassinations of her father-in-law’s uncle and father, president John F. Kennedy, and senator Robert F. Kennedy, as well as Martin Luther King Jr.
Before working under Gabbard, Kennedy expressed opposition to US intervention abroad, including against US involvement in the war between Ukraine and Russia and any war on Iran.
