Image is of Yemen seizing the first ship in its blockade of Israel (the Galaxy Leader) with a helicopter raid.

Alternate title: What If It Was The Bab El-Womandeb And It Was Just For The Ladies?

Ansarallah is a key component of the broader Resistance movement, backed by Iran, and has been a stalwart member in engineering the ongoing collapse of Zionism. It has steadily escalated both its rhetoric and, rarely nowadays, its actions, proving that the mythical "red line" might actually exist in the world after all, after going MIA in both Russia and China. It has been striking first Israel-owned ships heading through the Bab el-Mandeb - the strait that leads into the Red Sea and then to the Suez Canal - and, recently, has demonstrated its promise that any ships that intend to dock in Israel will be attacked. While this is really only half a blockade, the cost of going around Africa is significant, and Western insurance companies really don't like it when their ships get blasted by missiles and drones. Several shipping companies have already stated their intention to alter/stop shipping routes through the Red Sea, trying to prompt the West to find a "solution".

Despite US naval presence in the area, Yemen possesses the ability to strike the oil refining facilities of the Gulf monarchies, leaving the US in a very difficult position. If they attack Yemen, then not only do Western ships risk being attacked directly, but those oil refineries may go up in smoke depending on if they help the West - and global oil prices will skyrocket, in an already declining world economy - and it might cost several Western leaders their leadership positions, including Biden himself. A regional war could ultimately tumble into worldwide chaos.

Equally, however, the US cannot afford to lose Israel. It is the single most important American imperial outpost, perhaps alongside Taiwan. If Zionism is destroyed as a local destabilizing influence, then the Russia-China-Iran axis will find itself in a leadership position over the region. Israeli military losses in Gaza increase every single day as they advance further into the labyrinth death trap under the obligation to show some kind of military victory, with Hamas' strategy of attrition taking its toll. And Hezbollah sits there, having destroyed most of the border infrastructure, silently threatening the obliteration of Israel's infrastructure under the rain of a hundred thousand missiles.

As world attention gradually shifts away from the Gaza genocide, we continue to approach the brink.

The weekly update is here on the website.
Your Tuesday Briefing is here in the comments and here on the website.
Your Thursday Briefing is here in the comments and here on the website.
Your Saturday Briefing is here in the comments and here on the website.

The Country of the Week is Yemen! Feel free to chime in with books, essays, longform articles, even stories and anecdotes or rants. More detail here.

The bulletins site is here!
The RSS feed is here.
Last week's thread is here.

Israel-Palestine Conflict

If you have evidence of Israeli 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 Israel. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:

UNRWA daily-ish 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 (and has automated posting when the person running it goes to sleep).
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.

Various sources that are covering the Ukraine conflict are also covering the one in Palestine, like Rybar.

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.
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.

  • Redcuban1959 [any]
    ·
    1 year ago

    Saab is free.

    Venezuela expected to release up to 36 people, including Americans, in prisoner swap

    The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro plans to release up to 36 people, including up to 12 Americans, in exchange for the U.S. government's release of a Maduro ally, two Venezuelan sources said on Wednesday.

    The Maduro ally is Colombian businessman Alex Saab, one of the sources said. U.S. prosecutors have accused Saab of siphoning off some $350 million from Venezuela via the U.S. in a scheme that involved bribing Venezuelan government officials. He denies the charge.

    Six Venezuelan activists have already been freed, according to their lawyer and the wife of one of them. The long-time education campaigners were convicted on conspiracy charges earlier this year and sentenced to 16 years, but have proclaimed their innocence.

    The White House has said in recent weeks that it expected to see progress on prisoner releases in order to continue with sanctions relief for Caracas, which were unveiled in October in response to an agreement by the Venezuelan government to hold fair elections in 2024.

    Although the releases could be seen as a step by Maduro to comply with U.S. demands, the return of Saab would mark a victory for Maduro. Saab has not yet been convicted and his return to Venezuela was previously seen as unlikely.

    Washington had given the Venezuelan government until Nov. 30 to make progress on removing public office bans on opposition candidates and start releasing political prisoners and "wrongfully detained" Americans in order to avoid a reinstatement of sanctions.

    Venezuela is allowing opposition candidates to appeal their bans, but it had not made much progress on prisoner releases before Wednesday.

    Biden, asked about the possibility of a prisoner exchange, told reporters traveling with him in Wisconsin that the situation "looks good."

    He added: "It looks like Maduro, so far, is keeping his commitment on a free election. It ain't done yet. Got a long way to go. But it's good so far."

    QATAR MEDIATION

    The prisoner swap talks were "mediated" by Qatar, which was asked by both sides to help improve relations between the United States and Venezuela, according to a person briefed on the agreement. Qatar's chief negotiator met Maduro last week.

    "We want to make sure that our fellow Americans are released," said Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, at a press briefing. "We are also focused on political prisoners in Venezuela and trying to ensure their release. We hope to have some good news to share probably later today."

    The Associated Press reported that the U.S. has already released Saab.

    A lawyer for Saab declined to comment. Saab has pleaded not guilty, and his trial date had not yet been set.

    Those expected to be freed include opposition-linked Venezuelans who have been in jail for some time, the sources said.

    Others involved either with the campaign of opposition presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado or the organization of the opposition's October primary would be freed or their arrest orders withdrawn.

    Reuters could not immediately determine the identities of the Americans who would be released.

    U.S. citizens who have been classed by the U.S. government as "wrongfully detained" include Eyvin Hernandez, Jerrel Kenemore, Joseph Ryan Cristella and Savoi Wright.

    Hernandez and Kenemore were arrested near Venezuela's border with Colombia in March 2022, while Cristella was arrested in July last year. The three men were accused of trying to enter the country illegally.

    Other Americans in prison in the South American country include former Green Berets Luke Denman and Airan Berry, who were jailed for their participation in a failed armed incursion in 2020.