The imperial core is continuing the process of self-cannibalization as the interimperial wars between Europe and the US over resource and territorial control continue. Greenland, populated with less than a hundred thousand heavily exploited people, is the newest territory to fall under Trump’s gaze. The main draw is the mineral resources present there, of which it boasts nickel, copper, cobalt, and platinum, and much more than remains unexplored under the ice. But the ice is melting, and profit must be made. There is an additional element of wanting Arctic territory to counter Chinese and especially Russian interests and aims; Russia is increasingly eyeing the northern Arctic route as an alternative to more vulnerable routes through the Suez Canal or around Africa, and is investing heavily in icebreakers for that purpose.
However, even if Europe possessed the desire to resist American annexations - and they absolutely do not, at the end of the day - they do not even have the ability. Denmark may, to a lesser or greater extent, make angry sounds and talk about national honour or some such, but their military would be trampled underfoot by even the New York Police Department, let alone a concerted military effort by the US. If Trump wants Greenland, he will have it. This will naturally increase the grumbling in Europe about reconsidering the Transatlantic alliance, and that grumbling may, in the medium-term future, as the American Empire continues its decline, lead to meaningful results. But in the short term, Europe shall have to bear whatever Trump throws at them, for they obviously cannot now ally with Russia, who was the natural counterweight to American interests for decades before 2022.
Last week’s thread is here.
The Imperialism Reading Group is here.
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The bulletins site is here. Currently not used.
The RSS feed is here. Also currently not used.
Israel-Palestine Conflict
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against Israel. 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.
English-language PalestineResist telegram channel.
More telegram channels here for those interested.
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.
China’s local governments raise minimum wages to boost consumption
China’s economy beats forecasts in 2024, braces for trade war
BEIJING, Jan 17 (Reuters) - China’s economy ended 2024 on better footing than expected helped by a flurry of stimulus measures, although the threat of a new trade war with the United States and weak domestic demand could hurt confidence in a broader recovery this year.
Exports, one of the few bright spots, could lose steam as United States President-elect Donald Trump, who has proposed hefty tariffs on Chinese goods, is set to return to the White House next week.
For the full-year 2024, the world’s second-largest economy grew 5.0%, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Friday, meeting the government’s annual growth target of around 5%. Analysts had forecast 4.9% growth.
The economy grew 5.4% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, significantly beating analysts’ expectations and marking the quickest since the second quarter of 2023.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) would expand 5.0% from a year earlier, quickening from the third-quarter’s 4.6% pace as a flurry of support measures began to kick in.
“China’s economy is showing signs of revival, led by industrial output and exports,” said Frederic Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC in Hong Kong.
However, he added, the strong GDP print last quarter may already have been flattered by front-loading of shipments to the U.S. - something that will inevitably lead to a pay-back with production and exports turning down once tariffs begin to bite.
“As exports come under pressure in 2025, dragged lower by U.S. import restrictions, there will be an even bigger need to apply domestic stimulus.”
Two US journalists bravely called out “Secretary of State” Antony Blinken for being a war criminal today.
Max Blumenthal: https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1879926469633487204
Sam Husseini: https://www.rt.com/news/611039-state-department-husseini-blinken/
Huge respect to these two guys for doing what is right.
We were banning TikTok because it is a huge national security threat, but also we need to roll the TikTok ban back because it hurts the influencers!
Congress panics realizing no one is going to buy TikTok before the ban (a problem they created!), with Sen. Schumer saying: " It’s clear that more time is needed to find an American buyer and not disrupt the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans of so many influencers who have built up a good network of followers."
What’s stopping TikTok from moving their URL to tiktok.cn and giving instructions on sideloading the app? Even a non-jailbroken US iPhone can have apps sideloaded.
As far as I’ve seen, the ban bill just says that app stores and web hosts can’t do business with them.
Edit: they could even move the URL and release an update to the app now before it’s banned. Anyone who already had the app installed would still be able to access it.
🇺🇸🇨🇳Biden administration looks for ways to keep TikTok available in the U.S President Joe Biden’s administration is considering ways to keep TikTok available in the U.S. if a ban that’s scheduled to go into effect on Sunday proceeds, according to three people familiar with the discussions. “Americans shouldn’t expect to see TikTok suddenly banned on Sunday,” an administration official said, adding that officials are “exploring options” for how to implement the law so that TikTok does not go dark on Sunday.
Lol America is so cooked. I can’t wait for the millenium of humiliation for the US
https://xcancel.com/Sino_Market/status/1879755727583195436#m
ben gone-vir more like (now sounds like anti-viral and net benefit for humanity, needs some workshopping)
The Greenland Crisis Continues: Danish Regime Scrambles to Reassure Business Leaders After Trump Call
Denmark’s Social Democrat-led government finds itself in crisis mode following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s demand to buy Greenland, accompanied by threats of economic warfare and even military action. This unprecedented situation marks the most serious threat to Denmark’s territorial integrity since World War II, thrusting one of Washington’s most loyal vassals into the unfamiliar position of being the target of American imperialist ambitions.
Yesterday Danish leader Mette Frederiksen had a 45 minutes long phone call with Trump, asserting that Greenland is not for sale and any future change in its status must be decided by the Greenlanders themselves. In statements to the press Frederiksen avoided confirming if Trump fully grasped her message, she only acknowledged his “very strong” interest in Greenland. Trump, however, did not back down from his threats of putting punitive tariffs on Danish goods, placing Denmark in a precarious position given its economic reliance on U.S. trade, with the U.S. being Denmark’s largest export market, ahead of Germany.
In response, Frederiksen held a meeting with business leaders to inform them and help them prepare for potential tariffs. Minister of Business Morten Bødskov sought to project calm, stating that the government was “taking it easy”. Criticism arose from the pro-democracy Red-Green opposition for excluding unions from these discussions, arguing that workers will suffer most from any economic fallout.
Despite Trump’s continued threats, Frederiksen extended an invitation for him to visit Denmark during their phone call, underscoring the regime’s steadfast Atlanticist loyalty. No concrete plans for a visit have been made. Since the end of WWII, Denmark has been a an extremely loyal vassal to the U.S., even among western European countries. Trump’s previous attempt to buy Greenland in 2019 was dismissed by Frederiksen as “absurd,” led to him to throw a tantrum and labeling her “nasty.” Now, Frederiksen walks a tightrope, trying to square the circle of rejecting of Trump’s outrageous and offensive demands while continuing Danish subservience to U.S. interests.
As Denmark’s political elite continues to recite the atlanticist mantra of the U.S. being “our most important ally,” their desperation becomes increasingly apparent. With allies like these, Denmark may find that enemies are hardly necessary.
David Lynch died at 78 Im sad hexbear users
David Lynch, Visionary Director of ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Blue Velvet,’ Dies at 78.
In January 2025, Lynch evacuated his Los Angeles home due to the Southern California wildfires; Deadline Hollywood reported that these events preceded a terminal decline in his health, and on January 16, 2025, Lynch’s family announced that he had died at the age of 78.
Director-writer David Lynch, who radicalized American film with with a dark, surrealistic artistic vision in films like “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Drive” and network television with “Twin Peaks,” has died. He was 78.
Lynch revealed in 2024 that he had been diagnosed with emphysema after a lifetime of smoking, and would likely not be able to leave his house to direct any longer. His family announced his death in a Facebook post, writing, “There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.'”
The “Twin Peaks” TV show and films such as “Blue Velvet,” “Lost Highway” and “Mulholland Drive” melded elements of horror, film noir, the whodunit and classical European surrealism. Lynch wove tales, not unlike those of his Spanish predecessor Luis Bunuel, which proceeded with their own impenetrable logic.
A four-time Oscar nominee, Lynch received an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 2020. After years spent as a painter and a maker of short animated and live action films, Lynch burst onto the scene with his 1977 feature debut “Eraserhead,” a horrific, black-humored work that became a disturbing fixture on the midnight movie circuit. His outré and uncompromising style quickly won the attention of the Hollywood and international movie-making establishment.
He was hired by Mel Brooks’ production company to write and direct “The Elephant Man,” a deeply affecting drama about a horrifically deformed sideshow freak in Victorian England who became a national celebrity. The feature captured eight Academy Award nominations, including Lynch’s first for best director.
Related to news. The national news of Finland has taken the time out of their Russia = bad focus to tell us plebs that Rednote is bad and heavily state controlled and nobody should use it.
Seeing a status quo maintenance piece about the TikTok ban and Rednote is a great example of the vassal state status that we now occupy.
Edit. The source our state media is using on this is China Digital Times.🤡
They have a label plastered all over their newssites that claims them to be “responsible journalism”.
Argentina’s Health Ministry announces 1,400 layoffs
The latest round of dismissals came as a surprise for most of the already-reduced workforce. ‘It’s a bloodbath.’
Argentina’s Health Ministry announced in a press release on Wednesday that it would not renew the contracts of 1,400 workers. The ministry cited a “reorganization of its competencies and the reorientation of health policies.” The ministry’s communiqué described the layoffs as “a resource optimization” that would affect national hospitals. The decision resulted from “the identification of hiring irregularities during the previous administration, duplicate roles, and non-compliance with tasks,” the communiqué added, saying they had already fired 30% of the ministry’s “political positions.”
President Javier Milei celebrated the layoffs on X with his usual catchphrase: “Afuera.”
“We keep going with the chainsaw. The End,” he wrote.
These are not the first cuts Milei’s administration has made in the health sector. Medical doctors nationwide held protests throughout 2024, saying their salaries were virtually frozen, and the government stopped giving some medications for free to retirees. In 2024, the Milei administration fired 120 workers from the Posadas National Hospital. In its 2025 budget proposal, the government put forward a minimal increase for the country’s national program combatting HIV, STIs, Hepatitis, and Tuberculosis, which Act Up Argentina condemned as equalling a 76% cut when considering inflation.
Some workers had been notified of the impending layoffs: on Tuesday, 130 employees at the Baldomero Sommer National Hospital, located in the Buenos Aires province, got the news. “The notices are coming in right now. It’s a bloodbath,” Leonardo Fernández Camacho, the union’s representative of the Laura Bonaparte Mental Health Hospital, told the Herald on Wednesday evening. Fernández Camacho said there were “more than 100 layoffs and counting.”
I would almost say there are virtually not enough people to open the hospital tomorrow,” he added.
Last year, the government announced it would partially shut down the Bonaparte Hospital, the only national government-owned public hospital dedicated to addictions, but backtracked on it after widespread protests.
A source from the ATE state workers union told the Herald that other affected areas include the Malbrán Institute—an award-winning microbiological research center—the ANMAT—the government agency that monitors the efficacy, safety, and quality of drugs, food, and medical device — and the ministry’s central headquarters. The ATE source also confirmed to the Herald that they will hold an assembly on Thursday and then speak with Health Minister Mario Lugones.
And they celebrate shit like this, not only they don’t give a single fuck about the people they’re sending straight into poverty – they celebrate it, they have the courage to show how proud and happy they are about it. I swear to God, if it’s even out there, that this will not be forgotten nor forgiven. One day they will finally find out that their actions have consequences, that they can’t escape them.
The social fabric is being torn apart, I see a lot of poverty and misery just about everywhere now. Entire families struggling to secure some food and a shelter, and I’m not even talking about a proper house. Material conditions are worsening, society as we know it is being destroyed slowly but surely… all in the name of Capital.
It can’t go on like this, it’s impossible, it’s against nature itself. Despite the shit times, the setbacks, the defeats and the deaths, we will have the final word.
Ryan Grim out here with a banger tweet.
