Image is of a colectivo: an armed group, usually operating in impoverished areas, which act to support and defend the socialist government of Venezuela. They are often derided as vigilante terrorist groups which prop up the government, because cops are only bad when they are socialist and not murdering minorities, I suppose.

Maduro's party, the PSUV, has won the election after a staggering amount of propaganda by the opposition, who said their polls suggested they were going to win and that Maduro's loss was inevitable. The reaction across Latin America is what one would expect. Left-leaning leaders are generally respecting the results and congratulating Maduro, while those on the right and/or are US puppets (such as in semirecently-couped Peru) are calling for recounts, or even that the election was illegitimate. The US itself is also unhappy about the results. We shall soon see if their unhappiness boils over into yet another coup attempt.

Personally, I think they should have ran Guaido again.

guaido-despair guaido

Thank you to @Redcuban1959@hexbear.net for the election coverage here, and everything else they do in the news megathread.

The COTW (Country of the Week) label is designed to spur discussion and debate about a specific country every week in order to help the community gain greater understanding of the domestic situation of often-understudied nations. If you've wanted to talk about the country or share your experiences, but have never found a relevant place to do so, now is your chance! However, don't worry - this is still a general news megathread where you can post about ongoing events from any country.

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

Please check out the HexAtlas!

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.

  • Neptium [comrade/them]
    ·
    1 month ago

    Global Times - Peace and development are firm consensus reached between China and ASEAN: Global Times editorial

    The 57th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting and related meetings were held in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, from July 21 to 27. The main purpose of the meetings was to prepare for the political and outcome achievements of the Leaders' Meetings on East Asia Cooperation in October later this year. Against the backdrop of global economic slowdown and geopolitical tensions, the overall situation in East Asia remains stable, with regional economic integration continuing to advance. It is the common aspiration and universal voice of the people of the region to remain an engine of development and highland of cooperation. This consensus was prominently reflected in these series of meetings.

    In addition to the 10 ASEAN member countries, this meeting was attended by many countries and regional organizations such as China, the US, the EU, the UK, Russia and Japan. It has become an important platform for direct communication on bilateral and multilateral diplomatic issues. The 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, with the theme of "Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience," emphasized promoting infrastructure connectivity, narrowing development gaps, promoting economic integration and cultural exchanges, and emphasized resolving regional disputes based on international laws such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. These signs all indicate that peace and development have become the biggest consensus and firm choice of ASEAN countries. China is a fellow traveler in this vision of ASEAN. This is rooted not only in the historical genes of mutual recognition and pursuit of independence and mutual respect between China and ASEAN countries as developing countries, but also in the practical need to further strengthen relations in response to turmoil and challenges.

    continuation of article

    In recent years, whenever ASEAN meetings are held, some media outlets have predicted that the South China Sea will become a major topic. However, this has not been the case, as the behavior of external powers stirring up trouble in the region has not received collective approval from ASEAN. On the South China Sea dispute, the joint communique of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting is closer to China's position, both advocating peaceful resolution of disputes and resolving disputes through political means rather than resorting to force.

    Despite facing various disruptions and challenges, the atmosphere of "cooperation first, development priority" presented at the ASEAN meetings once again demonstrates that ASEAN countries are determined to stick to their own path rather than accept an agenda imposed by others. The joint communique of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting clearly reaffirms their commitment to upholding regionalism and multilateralism, emphasizing the maintenance of existing ASEAN-led mechanisms, in promoting peace, stability, security, development, growth to enhance regional resilience to respond to common and emerging challenges. Most ASEAN countries are tired of and resistant to "taking sides" and are unwilling to become appendages or pawns of major powers, which is a fundamental reason why the ASEAN meetings will not become a "home game" for the US.

    If we must "take sides," most of East Asia, including ASEAN, will definitely stand for regional peace and development. The China-ASEAN relationship has become the most successful and dynamic model of cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. ASEAN has reaped development opportunities in its cooperation with China, and the entire East Asian region has consistently ranked among the top contributors to global economic growth.

    Openness and inclusiveness are the important foundations and keys to the success of China-ASEAN cooperation. In contrast, today's Biden administration's "Indo-Pacific strategy," US' engagement with ASEAN has been increasingly tinged with "Cold War sentiments," putting pressure on ASEAN countries. As Indonesian President Joko Widodo said at an ASEAN summit last September, "the partnership will only be possible through a strong commitment by both parties in maintaining regional peace and stability." Peace and stability are preconditions for development. Manipulating so-called "security issues" may bring short-term investment and trade chips, but getting caught up in geopolitical disputes and conflicts will exact an unbearable cost on the region, a fact that ASEAN countries know.

    China and ASEAN are friendly neighbors who help each other, intimate partners, and a community of shared future in honor and disgrace. Accelerating negotiations for the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0, tapping into the potential of emerging industries such as artificial intelligence and financial cooperation, and hosting the China-ASEAN Year of People-to-People Exchanges are all on the shared wish list of both sides. After 33 years, China-ASEAN dialogue and cooperation have entered a mature and stable period, with peace and development becoming an even stronger consensus between the two sides.

    Reading this article I can’t help but think of Kim Il Sung’s words in 1985:

    South-South cooperation is a noble way for the developing countries to strengthen their economic independence and achieve complete economic freedom through close economic and technical cooperation.

    Only when they are economically independent can the developing countries free their peoples from backwardness and poverty, starvation and disease, the consequences of imperialist colonial rule, and consolidate the political independence which they have already won.

    In FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT.

    I know there is this belief that Chinese foreign policy isn’t as progressive as the Soviet Union’s, but speaking from a region of the world that was more influenced by Chinese Marxism than European, I don’t think that’s the case. This does not justify every single policy decision made but Chinese foreign policy has been especially pragmatic and beneficial for those in the Global South.

    Ultimately I do wish for Deng Xiaoping’s theory of “joint development” to be the mainstay in the South China Sea as the waterway continuously becomes a chokepoint for imperialist aggression through the Philippines and Taiwan Province.

    • Teekeeus [comrade/them]
      ·
      1 month ago

      this meeting was attended by many countries and regional organizations such as China, the US, the EU, the UK, Russia and Japan

      What were the EU and UK delegations even there for? America is already there to make their decisions for them