Over the last week, Sri Lanka has been hit by their worst national natural disaster since the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. Over 2 million people (about 10% of the population) were affected; the death toll is currently climbing past 600; nearly a hundred thousand homes have been damaged or destroyed, transport infrastructure is heavily damaged; industry has been damaged; and farmland has been flooded. The cost of damage so far looks to be about $7 billion, which is more than the combined budget spent on healthcare and education in Sri Lanka.
While there is plenty to say meteorologically about how this yet another concerning escalation as a result of climate change (Sri Lanka does experience cyclones, but they are usually significantly weaker than this), it’s important to note that such disasters are, to at least a certain extent, able to warned about and their impacts somewhat mitigated. However, this requires both access to early detection and warning equipment, and an economy in which development is widespread - in this case, particularly in the construction of drainage systems and regulated construction, which has not generally occurred.
The IMF, on its 17th program with Sri Lanka, is doing its utmost to prevent such an economy from developing, as they instead promote reductions in public investment. On top of this, the rebuilding effort for Sri Lanka is already being planned and funded, and such donors include, of course, many Sri Lankan oligarchs, who will rebuild the damaged portions of the country yet further according to their visions, while sidelining the working class.
Perhaps neoliberalism’s decay into its eventual death occurring concurrently into the gradual intensification of climate change and renewed wars signifies the rise of the era of disaster capitalism.
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 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.
Hey buddy, I heard you like posts… DM me to feature effort posts and good threads in the newsmega/newscomm here (including your own posts). Some great discussion this week. I’m grateful to be part of this community.
Please review and provide feedback on revised comm policy and rules
@xiaohongshu@hexbear.net with a real banger on upward social mobility or lack thereof for China’s Gen Z, the modern appeal of the Cultural Revolution, and CPC censorship Part 1 | Part 2. The subthread with @jack about modern youth Maoism is worthwhile as well.
@jack@hexbear.net on who owes the IMF money and the potential for China to upend the debt of the developing world. @xiaohongshu@hexbear.net has a good response here about the likelihood of China rugpulling the IMF/dollar denominated debt (he doubts it).
@seaposting@hexbear.net analyzing the class character of Malaysian resistance to Japanese occupation in WW2 and linguistic nuance around Malaysia’s national monument
@Redcuban1959@hexbear.net on the state of Bolivia, Acre and Morales
Previous posts of the week: Oct 27 | Nov 3 | Nov 10 | Nov 17 | Nov 24 | Dec 1
Only been a day and there’s already a lot of great posts!
Best part about this community is that there’s always good posts
there are threads where Nothing Happens and days where GOOD posts are posted
Before anyone asks, US F/A-18 Super Hornets did not fly over mainland Venezuela. Flightradar24 can provide both an actual position (blue line/track) and an estimated position (dark gray or black line/ track). The F/A-18 showing up over Venezuela was based on an estimated position. Estimates can be (and are in this case) inaccurate.
Estimations:
When an aircraft is flying out of coverage, Flightradar24 will estimate the position of the aircraft for up to 4 hours if the destination of the flight is known. For aircraft without a known destination, positions are estimated for up to 10 minutes. The position is calculated based on many different parameters and in most cases it’s quite accurate, but for long flights the position can in worst cases be up to about 200 km (110 miles) off. You can customize how long aircraft out of coverage are estimated on the map under Settings. Estimations are displayed with a black trail on the map.
In all the screenshots of this F/A-18, the black trail is visible over Venezuela, it’s an estimated position, not an actual one.
While it’s not necessarily news, just thought it was worth posting because every second twitter account is talking about "F-18s over Venezuela.
Thailand is dropping bridges now in Cambodia with their F-16s, as well as plinking tanks and rocket artillery/MLRS launchers with laser guided munitions. Thailand has been threatening to destroy bridges for days now, while also targeting Cambodian “scam call centres” in the meantime. Targeting the bridge is an escalation.
Trump has been talking about a “ceasefire” between Cambodia and Thailand that was set to go into effect this evening.
A UN fact-finding mission has accused the Bolivarian National Guard of crimes against humanity
Can’t comment on how true it may be but seems like something we should have on our radar and understand fully.
spoiler
GENEVA – Officials of Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) have committed serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity for more than a decade, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela said in its latest report today.
This report was prepared during the mandates of the three Members – Marta Valiñas, Francisco Cox Vial, and Patricia Tappatá Valdez – the latter two having concluded their terms on 31 October 2025.
The report – which includes an in-depth analysis of the internal operational structures of the GNB, including its chain of command – concluded that GNB officials perpetrated arbitrary deprivation of life, arbitrary detentions, sexual and gender-based violence, as well as torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment during law enforcement operations in the context of protests and in actions of targeted political persecution since 2014. The persistence of these abuses reflects structural failures within Venezuela’s accountability and political system which have further entrenched impunity.
“The facts we have documented show the role of the GNB in a pattern of systematic and coordinated repression against opponents or those perceived as such, which has continued for more than a decade,” said Marta Valiñas, Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission. “The persistence of these crimes and the absence of adequate justice require a determined response from national and international accountability mechanisms.”
The report details how Venezuela’s “national security” doctrine has merged military and police functions, legitimising the militarization of public security and expanding the role of the GNB in operations aimed at social control and internal repression. The highly centralised chain of command – under the direction of the President of the Republic as Commander-in-Chief of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) – has facilitated the execution of unlawful actions without effective internal control mechanisms or accountability.
During protest peaks in 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2024, the GNB used excessive force, including the improper use of lethal and less-lethal weapons. The Fact-Finding Mission has reasonable grounds to believe that GNB officials fired firearms indiscriminately, including shots aimed directly at vital areas of victims’ bodies. The Fact-Finding Mission also received information regarding the practice of modifying projectiles to cause greater harm.
The report also documented mass and targeted arbitrary detentions, physical violence during arrests, planting of evidence, torture and other ill-treatment, and sexual and gender-based violence inside GNB facilities used as temporary detention centers.
“The torture, ill-treatment, and acts of sexual violence we have verified – including assaults andremoved – were not isolated incidents. They form part of a pattern of abuse used to punish and break victims,” said Valiñas.
The Fact-Finding Mission found that the GNB was a central actor in the commission of the crime against humanity of persecution on political grounds. According to data collected by civil society, it carried out the highest number of politically motivated detentions in 2019 and 2020. It also played a key role in the 2024 post-election “Operation Tun Tun,” aimed at targeting and criminalizing opponents through unfounded accusations of terrorism or incitement to hatred.
The report identifies a pattern of structural impunity sustained by systemic failures within the Venezuelan judicial system, revealing its inability or unwillingness to investigate or prosecute violations committed by the GNB: stalled investigations, prolonged procedural paralysis, manipulation of evidence, deliberate obstruction by the GNB, and accountability limited exclusively to low-ranking personnel.
The Fact-Finding Mission considers that there are reasonable grounds to believe that GNB officials, as well as senior military and political authorities, may bear criminal responsibility under Articles 25 and 28 of the Rome Statute as direct and indirect perpetrators, co-perpetrators, and through command responsibility.
“The Mission has reasonable grounds to believe that GNB officials made essential contributions to the crimes under investigation, including arbitrary detentions, torture and ill-treatment, gender-based violence, and persecution,” said Valiñas.
ENDS
Read the full report (in Spanish only) here.
The Grayzone revealed that the NED’s “International Republican Institute” (IRI) secretly funded this year’s color-coup that targeted Nepal:
The IRI sought to cultivate a Nepalese network of young political activists explicitly designed to “become an important force to support US interests,” it said.
The documents say the IRI’s program “connects vibrant youth… and political leaders” and “provides comprehensive trainings on how to launch advocacy campaigns and protests,” The Grayzone reported.
https://www.rt.com/india/629369-us-backed-regime-change-agency/
UK Navy to stop provoking China
spoiler
The Royal Navy is to reduce overseas training in the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East amid concerns that stealth cost cuts are destroying Britain’s ability to project power and challenge China.
Al Carns, Labour’s armed forces minister, who unveiled the plan, said the decision was intended to strengthen “homeland defence” by focusing on activity with Nato in the Atlantic, Arctic and European waters, which were increasingly being threatened by Russian warships.
The decision means ships will be deployed on fewer training exercises outside Britain’s immediate neighbourhood, casting doubt on the Senior Service’s ability to fight anywhere in the world.
Critics said it risked weakening the country’s role in combating the threat from China, which now has the world’s biggest navy and is increasingly aggressive towards Taiwan and other nearby rivals.
The Conservatives accused the Government of attempting to make stealth cuts to training to save cash, after The Telegraph revealed in October that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had overspent by more than £2bn on its 2025-26 financial budget.
James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said: “We all know the real reason Labour are slashing overseas training for the Armed Forces – to save money.
James Cartlidge James Cartlidge says ‘the men and women of our Armed Forces deserve much better’ “The Telegraph recently exposed the £2.6bn black hole in the Ministry of Defence this financial year, and the continued delays to the defence investment plan – promised for the autumn – show this is a Government failing to prioritise defence, as the threat demands.
“Cutting training and funding is not a serious approach to boosting war readiness, and the men and women of our Armed Forces deserve much better.”
The Navy is already facing immense pressure. General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, the First Sea Lord, this week warned it was “struggling” to cope with the number of Russian ships entering UK waters, and that without extra cash the Navy was at risk of “losing its advantage” in the Atlantic.
The Navy’s ability to go to sea has been on a downward trend for at least a decade, The Telegraph can disclose.
Reports by the MoD show the number of so-called “readiness days” – when ships are available to sail – has plunged from 16,630 in 2014 to a decade low of 12,433 last year. The overall size of the Navy has also shrunk during this time.
The UK is responding to the leash jerk and pulling back from harassing China with their tin navy. Good news for the world, let’s hope they don’t change their minds.
We haven’t seem to have had an update on the Ukraine/Russia war in the news mega this week as of yet. Anybody able to fill us in?
I’m seeing a lot of NATO libs yapping about how Ukraine is doing great now and this time - THIS TIME - things are going to turn around, but I can’t make heads of tails of it. They always seem to distort the facts to fit their narrative anyway so I don’t really believe anything that they say.
Honduras Election Update.
The Standing Commission of the Honduran Congress will refuse to validate the 2025 elections. The Commission denounces the existence of an ongoing electoral coup and condemns U.S. interference in the November 30 election.
It looks like Dems and Republicans are coming after Section 230. IIRC, this would basically make the internet platform liable for anything the users do on the platform. Posted by the official account of the Senate Judiciary Democrats;
Sen. WHITEHOUSE: We finally are moving to file a bipartisan Section 230 repeal bill. Waiting any longer serves no useful purpose.
Internet age verification bills passed the subcommittee yesterday as well. In one week, there will be a full committee vote.
Court awards $54,000 to protester for Victoria Police’s use of capsicum spray
A Supreme Court judge has awarded $54,000 in damages to a protester who sued police over their use of OC (capsicum) spray at a protest in 2019.
The lawsuit came after a protest at a mining conference at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre where police deployed the spray.
The judge found the use “constituted cruel and degrading treatment” and limited the plaintiff’s rights to freedom of movement and peaceful assembly.
Reports of a Russian drone targeting a Turkish cargo ship in Odessa as Iran seizes another oil tanker in the Sea of Oman. The Age of Sail is back, baby
CNBC and Reuters are reporting that Trump intends to lower the federal classification for cannabis & marijuana to Schedule III next week.
With things like the economy dragging down his ratings, this probably won’t change much for him. Also, if this does happen, it shows how easy this was to do the entire time! Obama could have done it in 2016 and Hillary might have won because that election was just incredibly close.
An update to last night’s post
The F-35As from the 158th Fighter Wing in Vermont that were used in US airstikes on Iran earlier this year, are on the move towards Puerto Rico. A KC-46 Pegasus mid air refueling aircraft was tracked from Burlington to Key West, Florida, and the F-35As were photographed at Key West.
F-35A photographs and flight tracking of the KC-46.
The 158th Fighter Wing (“Green Mountain Boys”) appears to have been converted to a specialist Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD/DEAD) unit upon operating the F-35As. Their insignia features a “Wild Weasel” holding a lighting bolt. Another name for the SEAD/DEAD mission in the US military is the wild weasel mission. This would explain their use in Iran earlier this year, and moves towards Venezuela now:
Combat Search And Rescue (CSAR) aircraft have also been forward deployed to Puerto Rico, including 3x HC-130J Combat King II aircraft, and a specialist HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter flown over from Japan, one of only two operating outside of the continental US. These are the aircraft that will assist with the rescue and extraction of any US pilots if they get shot down or their aircraft malfunction.
Everybody, particularly those in the UK, please keep talking about the Filton 24, 24 UK activists in prison without trial for opposing genocide.
Several of the British political prisoners, some of whom have been imprisoned without trial for well over a year, are on hunger strike and have not eaten in over 41 days. They have been forced to do this due to their horrifying treatment in prison by the British state.
When questioned, vermin like David Lammy continue to pretend to not know who they are despite e.g. MP Zarah Sultana writing to him multiple times with concern about their deteriorating health.
I watched an interview with one of prisoners talking about how they are making preparations for death. It is my belief that the British government is expecting them to die and to then silence any media coverage when they do, MSM has literally not mentioned any of them and I don’t expect that to change if they pass. It’s an easy way to do a death penalty basically, to remove an annoying problem for the British state.
Rubio mandates return to Times New Roman for Trump administration documents against Calibri’s “wokeness”. In 2023, diversity and disability rights groups in the U.S. government called for the switch to the Calibri font in official documents.
