A reminder that as the US continues to threaten countries around the world, fedposting is to be very much avoided (even with qualifiers like “in Minecraft”) and comments containing it will be removed.

Image is of the three leaders of the constitutive states of the Alliance of Sahel States (Mali’s Assimi Goïta, Niger’s Abdourahamane Tchiani, and Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré) marching together in Bamako, Mali.


At the start of last week concluded the Summit of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES in French), in which, among other significant news, was the announcement of the creation of a unified military force for the alliance - called, rather straightforwardly, the Unified Force - which currently consists of about 5000 soldiers. Strictly speaking, joint military operations between the three countries had already been taking place for over a year before this point, but I imagine this organization streamlines the internal processes and makes it truly official.

Mali’s Goïta delivered a speech during the summit in which he stated there were three main threats to the alliance: military, economic, and media. While this new military force is a major effort to combat military threats, the three countries have also mutually launched television, radio, and print media organizations to combat disinformation and psychological warfare. The economic aspect is the most tricky aspect of all, as (albeit decaying) American hegemony is not friendly to states which seek an independent economic path, most especially if that path does not directly benefit Western international corporations. Nonetheless, the three countries are doing what they can; they mutually launched an AES passport earlier in 2025, and this month, Mali has taken a bold move, recovering $1.2 billion after renegotiating mining deals with mining corporations after a comprehensive audit. Gold mining in Mali is a major sector of the economy, comprising about 20% of annual government revenue.

The three countries have also withdrawn from ECOWAS. The remaining countries consist of a small collection of West African countries, most significantly among them Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire. ECOWAS is increasingly seen by the AES leadership - quite rightfully - as an organization which seeks to contain the radical shift in West Africa and return the region to the neocolonial French-governed status quo. As I talked about in a semi-recent news megathread, Nigeria is experiencing its own suite of internal problems, so perhaps in the coming years, ECOWAS will crumble from within and the AES can push back the terrorist organizations threatening them.


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

If you have evidence of Zionist crimes and atrocities that you wish to preserve, there is a thread here in which to do so.

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 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.

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.


      • FunkyStuff [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        8 days ago

        Not to be sanctimonious but isn’t it just as ghoulish to mock these people that could be getting sent to CECOT for buying into imperialist propaganda as when libs said latinos deserve ICE because we didn’t vote hard enough?

        • Le_Wokisme [they/them, undecided]@hexbear.net
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          8 days ago

          not “just as” because we don’t think people should be deported at all while the liberals are pro-deportation as long as it’s orderly. we’re not cheering for it, we’re laughing at fools.

          edit: also “not voting” is something people didn’t do, while supporting trump is actively participating in their own oppression.

        • InexplicableLunchFiend [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          8 days ago

          If they celebrate the destruction and bombing of their countrymen by the empire then they have forfeited any right to sympathy. If they materially support it in any way they are basically traitors.

  • manuallybreathing@lemmy.ml
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    8 days ago

    I apologise if these have been posted previously, public notes from a meeting held by PSUV approx 12 hours ago. these came out of a groupchat local to me, I don’t have a better source rn, but I understand them to be accurate


    PSUV CONFERENCE - circulated notes: Spokesperson: Tanya Díaz.

    Subject: Current situation analysis and actions to be taken in the coming days.

    INTRODUCTION:

    ● Venezuela demands the release of legitimate President Nicolás Maduro Moros and First Lady Cilia Flores, kidnapped by the US in a cowardly military attack in the early morning of January 3, 2026.

    ● The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is fully in power.

    ● The invaders held our President prisoner without cause or reason, and he remained dignified.

    Regarding Delcy’s swearing-in:

    ● Following the activation of the State of Emergency Decree, the Government took the necessary actions for the protection and safeguarding of our national territory.

    ● In light of the forced absence of our President, the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) has entrusted the presidency to Delcy Eloína Rodríguez to ensure the continuity of plans to defend our sovereignty.

    ● This is not an interim or temporary presidency; it is an acting presidency. There is no absence, either absolute or temporary, of our President. Nicolás Maduro Moros is the only legitimate President of Venezuela, and this message must be emphasized.

    INTERNATIONALLY:

    ● From Venezuela, we view with great love and profound compassion the solidarity efforts that have arisen.

    ● The line of diplomacy has been crossed, making it necessary to immediately exert pressure on multilateral organizations from all possible fronts.

    ● Statements cannot remain solely within social media posts; they must be taken to Parliaments, Congresses, and International Diplomatic Institutions to generate maximum pressure. ● Venezuela has no conflict with any nation, and the last 17 reports, which will be shared by the Info PSUC group, demonstrate that there is no way to link us to drug trafficking.

    CONFERENCE CLOSING:

    ● Venezuela experienced 9% internal GDP growth, while ECLAC recognized 6%. All of this was achieved through unilateral coercive measures.

    ● Reverse engineering was applied to recover our oil industry, empower our agricultural and livestock industries, and other sectors, yielding resounding results.

    ● We will not return to slavery, and we will defend our sovereignty. We have an organized and active base that is fully mobilized.

    ● We must set an example for the world regarding solidarity, as sister nations of Our America. Therefore, immediate action is key to the swift return of our President and the First Lady to our national territory.

    • ColombianLenin [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      8 days ago

      ● This is not an interim or temporary presidency; it is an acting presidency. There is no absence, either absolute or temporary, of our President. Nicolás Maduro Moros is the only legitimate President of Venezuela, and this message must be emphasized.

      This is actually big considering that the US is asking for elections to be held. If there is no absence, there is no need to call for elections. Still I do think they will abide to the 3-6 month period in the constitution. We’ll see.

      • Redcuban1959 [any]@hexbear.net
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        8 days ago

        They’ll (PSUV) probably test the popularity of Delcy, if they think she is not that popular they will probably hold new elections with Disodado as their main guy.

  • Redcuban1959 [any]@hexbear.net
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    8 days ago

    It seems like theres a huge confusion with the American goverment and media on who they even support anymore, the journalist asked if Machado is now going to be the new president of Venezuela, and Rubio had to explain to them who Edmundo Gonzalez was and that he was elected, and Machado wasn’t even on the ballot.

  • Redcuban1959 [any]@hexbear.net
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    8 days ago

    Gusanos having a full meltdown and asking the US to kill opposition leader Henrique Capriles because he didn’t boycott the elections and got elected…

  • Redcuban1959 [any]@hexbear.net
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    8 days ago

    The New York Times reports that Trump decided to attack Venezuela and capture Maduro after the Venezuelan politician appeared in public singing and dancing to songs about war and calling for peace. Trump understood this as mockery of the United States.

  • InevitableSwing [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    8 days ago

    I know I’m preaching the choir but it’s always amazing to me how the lib’s law/process fetish veneration syndrome cripples their critical thinking skills. I saw a post this morning that I’ve been thinking about all day. It was a quote post and the embed was a comment by a German. Basically the OP said that the Iraq War situation was entirely different from the situation with Venezuela now. And the quoter entirely agreed.

    The OP’s argument was even though Bush and company lied - they did get congressional approval. What Trump has done and is doing is all on him. The top reply was a friendly dog pile where more Germans and a Swiss person agreed. I think it was the top reply because Bluesky is not only lib-centric but very American so libs pushed the like button as a way to say “See, Europeans agree with us!”

    They entirely ignored the 100% predictable yet insane echo that the propaganda ~20 years ago and the propaganda right now is as similar as can be. They ignored Dubya’s Hague Invasion Act. Plus they ignored that Obama basically said we must look forward and not backward which guaranteed a future president again lying to congress and starting a war would result in zero consequences.

    Meanwhile in a million other threads - the libs are demanding eventual justice. The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice? It’s easy as pie to predict that a future President Newsom (or equivalent) would say about Trump and all his cronies that we must look forward and not backward…

    • Redcuban1959 [any]@hexbear.net
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      8 days ago

      Some random chud: Hundreds on the streets of Venezuela, but millions across the world!!

      Are these people really this stupid? Who gives a shit about people who don’t even LIVE in the fucking country.

      • VILenin [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        8 days ago

        Westerners frequently discuss whether or not they should kill millions of people over dinner with their family, it comes naturally to them

  • BeanisBrain [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.net
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    8 days ago

    Been hearing libs accuse the left of “wanting Venezuelans to die for your anti-imperialism” which is rich coming from the people who have spent years demanding a fight to the last Ukrainian