this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2024
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Image is of Cuba's National People's Power Assembly.


The most recent geopolitical news around Cuba is the arrival this week of four Russian vessels, including a nuclear submarine - not carrying any nukes, (un)fortunately - to Havana. This will, in Putin's words, merely be a visit celebrating historical ties and no laws are being broken. Nonetheless, it's not hard to imagine how American politicians and analysts are taking the news, especially as it comes shortly after Russia promised an "asymmetrical" response to further NATO involvement in Ukraine (notably, officially allowing the use of US weapons such as missiles in Russia, albeit in a small part of Russian territory, near the border).

Meanwhile, China has been increasingly co-operating with Cuba to overcome the economic hardship created by American sanctions. China has recently re-allowed direct flights to Cuba and has recently donated some small photovoltaic plants as part of an initiative to eventually boost the Cuban energy grid by 1000 MW - and any electrical expansion helps as Cuba is plagued by blackouts which last most of the day. Additionally, the EU has made meaningful contributions to Cuba's energy situation too, with large solar installations. Hopefully, the Belt and Road Initiative will help preserve the Cuban revolution against reactionary forces as the power of US sanctions wanes. The proximity of Cuba to the United States makes this much more challenging than it would be for countries elsewhere, however. Similarly to the situation in Mexico, it seems unlikely that the US's influence over Cuba will massively diminish for decades to come unless there is a catastrophic internal collapse in the American authoritarian regime.

The Havana Syndrome will continue until American morale declines.


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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.
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English-language (with some Arab retweets) Twitter account based in Lebanon. - Telegram is @IbnRiad.
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English-language PalestineResist telegram channel.
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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
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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.


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[–] [email protected] 63 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (5 children)

Argentina protesters facing charges include family selling sausages, man leaving subway

Dozens of people were arrested on Wednesday as they protested President Javier Milei’s Bases Law outside Congress

At least 33 people arrested during protests against the Bases Law on Wednesday have been accused of crimes including attacks on Argentina’s constitutional order. Argentina’s presidential press team has called the protesters “terrorist groups” who attempted to “perpetrate a coup d’etat” — allegations prosecutor Carlos Stornelli quoted in his charge sheet. But relatives of the detained say some were arrested while leaving peacefully, while others had only attended to sell food.

Their situations raise questions about the proportionality of charges, the criminalization of protest in Argentina, and whether those arrested played any role in the violence.

The Bases Law, previously known as the omnibus bill, is President Javier Milei’s broad-reaching flagship reform package. It strips away many economic and labor regulations, permits the privatization of numerous Argentine state companies, and courts investment from large multinationals. It was passed by the Senate late on Wednesday night, although the final version depends on whether deputies approve modifications introduced by the upper house.

Social movements, community assemblies, trade unions, rights organizations, and outraged citizens protested in Congress Square as senators debated the bill. Demonstrators threw stones and sticks and burned garbage dumpsters. A massive police operation responded with tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets. Hundreds of people were injured and five opposition deputies were hospitalized after being tear gassed. At least one car was flipped onto its roof and incinerated.

Article sucks on this part. The protest was mostly peaceful and by like 17:00hs people and their orgs began to leave, that's when the police advanced over the remaining protesters. Once again, the bellicose actions of the police plus WELL IDENTIFIED undercover cops began the "riot".

"He wasn’t doing anything but they took him"

Matías Leonel Ramirez was selling sausage sandwiches from a grill. He had driven to the protest. When the police advanced, he stayed with his car to protect it. “He couldn’t leave because he couldn’t get the car out,” said Yesica Maciel, Ramirez’s wife. “A squadron of federal police came by and took him for no reason. He never threw any stones, he’s not with a political organization, he has no criminal record.”

Since his arrest, Ramírez has been transferred to a prison. Maciel and Ramírez, who live in the suburb of San Fernando, have a 17-year-old daughter and are also raising Ramírez’s niece. “He didn’t run, he didn’t resist when they grabbed him, because he thought that since he wasn’t doing anything, they weren’t going to take him. But they took him anyway,” Maciel said.

“All my husband wanted was a couple of pesos so we could eat, because we have a family and our money isn’t enough to live from day to day.”

Musician Santiago Adano, 38, went to the protest with his local community assembly. They left the protest when the situation started heating up. “They have that logic of looking after themselves, because there are retired people in the assembly, so logically, they left,” said his sister, Lucila Adano. “I was chatting with him, and suddenly he stopped replying. Then friends started sending me videos, and it was him.”

He was arrested leaving the subway station, as his friend returned to the square to check on his car. Video footage of Adano’s arrest shows at least 16 officers carrying him away. “They dragged him for like a block,” Lucila said. “They were squeezing his neck, he was completely red and saying he was suffocating, and would they please let him go?”

“The last thing I saw was him fainting.”

Other detainees include three generations of the Ocampo family — father, daughter, and granddaughter. Like Ramírez, they were selling food at the protest. The detainees have been in custody since Wednesday night. Prosecutor Carlos Stornelli has asked Judge María Servini to order all of the detainees be placed in pre-trial detention. Her decision was pending at the time of writing.

Stornelli has charged the detainees with fifteen different crimes including inciting collective violence against institutions by instilling public fear, arson, possession of explosives, and attacking the constitutional order to disturb the free exercise of the Senate. The last charge is punishable by up to 25 years in jail. The Security Ministry said it would file a legal complaint over “damages it suffered to its equipment” and said that more arrests are to come. Vice President Victoria Villarruel said the Senate would also file a legal complaint against “the criminals that yesterday attacked the democratic institutions.”

“We are going to make them pay for all the material damages directed towards the historic buildings and sidewalks of the National Congress,” Villarruel said in a post on X. “ The Argentina of sedition and anarchy is over.”

Manipulating concepts adulterates facts

Human rights groups have called the move a criminalization of protest. “The arrests were made at random. The government posted that there was terrorism and coup d’état, the prosecutor made accusations, and 35 people are being used to generate fear to go to a march,” the Centre for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) posted on X. “The goal is political: to instill fear in anyone who mobilizes against the government,” they added. CELS called on Servini to release the detainees.

Mariela Belski, executive director of Amnesty International Argentina, wrote in an Instagram post that the violence during the protests aimed to “cause damage and disturbance” — but rejected the state’s classification of the events as an attempted coup. “A coup d’etat has the aim of overthrowing a government and its institutions. Manipulating the definition of concepts is a way of adulterating the facts,” Belski wrote. “At such dramatic moments for society, this attitude only adds confusion and impoverishes public debate.”

Some of the comrades have been released already, but others still remain "in custody" as of this moment. Local orgs and trots have mobilized and demanded the release of all hostages. For some, the memories of the 1976/1983 dictatorship, which used to "suck" targeted people off the streets and their homes to disappear them, came rushing back, which is why a quite seizable movement was instantly organised to demand the immediate release of all hostages.

milei and his adminsitration have doubled down not only on rethorics (calling protesters terrorists) but also on the level of violence. And no government can sustain itself in power by cracking skulls open with batons.

They might have scored a win in the Senate, the tiebreaker fell to the Vice President who of course voted yes. Even after all the bribes, all they could manage was a tie. However, despite their victories, internal contradictions are becoming stronger and stronger.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Milei is somehow more incompetent than Bolsonaro and Jeaninez lol. He's like if Juan Guaido actually came to power. Even if his reforms and garbage laws pass, the situation won't improve for him. And as people get hungrier, the more violent they will become. I hope that soon even the police will give up protecting the government. Milei will try to use the army, which will be 100% blocked by the Peronists and the other socdems.

I expect a right-wing coup to remove Milei from power and put in his vice-president. Milei seems to be an idiot who loves the spotlight, and his failures to appease the Argentine elite, together with his infamous antics, as well as begging Brazil and China to help him, make him and the Argentine right look very bad. I think he'll piss them off too much and be removed from power.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Wtf is the point if a far right government if it doesn't even help the elites? Has anyone benefited from this idiot?

[–] [email protected] 30 points 5 months ago

I believe foreign investors (Brazilians, Chinese, Chileans, Americans and Europeans) have gained a lot of money.

Milei also used public funds, that should have gone to social programs and pensions, to bail out private owned companies.

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