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BBC: MI6 distances its new chief from Nazi grandfather standard

Constitutional Court halts investigation against President Petro - Prensa Latina

Another W for Petro?

Brazil is negotiating with Russia over floating nuclear power plants for the Amazon The government is evaluating a proposal from Russian state-owned Rosatom to install small reactors in the northern region and strengthen its alliance with Moscow. According to Rosatom's director for Latin America, Ivan Dibov, the state-owned company intends to expand its partnership with Brazil, which began in March with the joint exploration of uranium at the Caetité mine in Bahia. “We are very interested in expanding our cooperation,” said the executive.

Rosatom is one of the world's leading companies in the nuclear sector, with around US$ 100 billion in external revenues by 2024 - 20% coming from countries considered to be Russia's adversaries in the context of the Ukraine war, such as the United States. The state-owned company is a pioneer in the production of small modular reactors, known as SMRs (Small Modular Reactors), which have a capacity of between 10% and 50% of traditional plants, but with the advantage of taking up less space.

In May, during a visit to Russia, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party) had already signaled Brazil's interest in expanding the partnership in the energy sector. "We are interested in discussing the energy sector in particular. We are very interested in establishing a relationship with Russia on small nuclear power plants," said Lula at the opening of a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

According to the Russian company, the Amazon region could be home to up to 12 reactors by 2035, with a generating capacity of 0.6 GW. Another ten floating reactors would be installed off the coast of the Northeast, increasing the supply by 0.5 GW. Together, these projects would represent around half of the current installed capacity of the Brazilian nuclear matrix.

The nuclear sector has experienced a renaissance since the Fukushima disaster in 2011. Last week, the World Bank lifted its veto on funding for nuclear projects, including modular reactors, like the ones Brazil is now considering taking to the Amazon.

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Does anyone here know the Iranian born western academic Vali Nasr? He wrote "The Shia Revival" a while back and also a book titled "The Rise of Islamic Capitalism: Why the New Muslim Middle Class Is the Key to Defeating Extremism" (just so you know where he stands).

Anyway he put out a book written right before the Assad government fell called "Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History", it's what it says on the tin. I think for anyone confused about why the fuck Iran does what it does and what its leaders think, usually in their own terms and not the author's, this is a good read.

But before reading just listen to that episode of about the terms "proxy" and "backed" because the author views Iran's "Forward Defense" strategy of supporting these organizations as reprehensible, while no doubt he would not say the same about whatever NGOs the US literally funds. Despite that, it's not too axe-grindish a read I think he did a good job of relaying what the hardliners and reformists believe and why, and any sensible reader will read this and note how in plenty of matters the hardliners are correct.

There's lots of good stuff about Khamenei too, like how he was influenced by new left theories of anti-imperialism and dependency theory. Also explains why Iran for a long time (and even until today) is very reluctant to join a Russia-China axis (the iranian foreign minister literally has "neither east nor west" on its entrance)

At the end he puts out a warning to the regime that basically there's a chasm forming between its commitment to its strategies for resisting the united states as a means of becoming a regional power and the wishes of many iranians to adopt a more """""pragmatic""""" approach (like nuclear negotiations). This was obviously all before the recent missile lobbing war so I hope that chasm as been reduced in favor of the regime.

It's on the audiobook torrent site too

EDIT: Found the guy's twitter and he seems to understand that Iran is not just going to return to the negotiating table after one happens, and it may have only hardened Khamenei's already incredibly hard will to resist the US

Like how NATO rolled out a Ukranian citizen for sympathy points as they beg Trump for more weapons.

“An army from a people, and a people who are all an army. The descendants of the Ansar today renew their honorable presence with the greatest values ​​of courage, generosity, and loyalty to God's messengers and religion. They congratulate the Iranian people on a victory that strengthens their steadfastness with Gaza. Million-man march: "Blessed be Iran's victory... and steadfast with Gaza until victory." #Sanaa #Sabaeen_Square”

http://t.me/army21ye

I find it funny how some Malaysian states banned the use of single-use plastics years ago and are planning to phase-out use nationally by 2030 but we continued to accept Western plastic waste.

Malaysia will stop accepting U.S. plastic waste, creating a dilemma for California

Malaysia will ban plastic waste imports from the U.S. starting Tuesday because of America’s failure to abide by the Basel Convention treaty on international waste transfers, in a move that could have significant consequences for California.

Malaysia emerged as a major destination for U.S. waste after China banned American waste imports in 2018. California shipped 864 shipping containers, or more than 10 million pounds of plastic waste, to Malaysia in 2024, according to the Basel Action Network, an advocacy group. That was second only to Georgia among U.S. states.

Malaysia to set stricter plastic import controls

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the country exported 35,316 tons of plastic scrap to Malaysia in 2024. United Nations Comtrade data shows that from 2021-2024, Malaysia received more plastic scrap imports from around the globe than any other non-OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development) country.

…

“Our people and environment in Malaysia have suffered greatly from the pollution caused by imported plastic and electronic waste,” says Wong Pui Yi, BAN researcher from Kuala Lumpur. “Other countries in Southeast Asia are likewise being harmed by foreign plastic waste daily. We sincerely hope that exporting countries will help us put a stop to waste dumping and trafficking.

“But for these new regulations to be successful, the government must enforce them transparently, swiftly prosecute those who violate the law and close any loopholes that may arise, including clamping down on corruption. We must remain vigilant and continue to spot-check the system with intelligence-led searches and seizures.”

Supreme Court backs parents seeking to opt their kids out of LGBTQ books in elementary schools

The Supreme Court on Friday bolstered religious rights as it ruled in favor of parents who objected to LGBTQ-themed books that a Maryland county approved for use in elementary school classrooms.

In a 6-3 vote, the court backed the parents' claim that the Montgomery County Board of Education's decision not to allow an opt-out for their children violated their religious rights under the Constitution's First Amendment, which protects religious expression.

"The board's introduction of the 'LGBTQ+ inclusive' storybooks, along with its decision to withhold opt-outs, places an unconstitutional burden on the parents' rights to the free exercise of their religion," Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the court.

The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority that is often receptive to religious claims. The liberal justices dissented.

So this means my kid doesn't have to get flunked in history class when they teach "sTaLiN sTaRvEd tHe uKrAinIAns!!!" in class, right?

I assume this mean evangelical nuts like my parents will be allowed to pull their kids out of class when the topic of evolution or geology comes up, god bless America.

Haaretz article on the horrifying killings of unarmed civilians at the joint Israeli-American "aid distribution" locations in Gaza. Content warning for descriptions of brutal violence

https://archive.ph/ilyEU

This is what defenders of Israel are defending

CW: Nazi shit

MI6 distances its new chief from Nazi grandfather

I like how MI6 try to make it sound that having a muderous Nazi grandfather is a good thing and an example of diversity in action, actually:

A spokesperson added: "Blaise's ancestry is characterised by conflict and division and, as is the case for many with eastern European heritage, only partially understood.

"It is precisely this complex heritage which has contributed to her commitment to prevent conflict and protect the British public from modern threats from today's hostile states, as the next chief of MI6."

The Daily Mail, which first revealed the family link, reports that it found hundreds of pages of documents in an archive in Freiburg, Germany, which showed Mr Dobrowolski was known as "The Butcher" or "Agent No 30" by Wehrmacht commanders. He reportedly signed off letters to his Nazi superiors with "Heil Hitler" and said he "personally" took part in "the extermination of the Jews".

Supreme Court curbs injunctions that blocked Trump's birthright citizenship plan - NBC News

The Trump administration wants to end automatic birthright citizenship as enshrined in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday handed a major win to the Trump administration by allowing it to take steps to implement its proposal to end automatic birthright citizenship.

In a 6-3 vote, the court granted a request by the Trump administration to narrow the scope of nationwide injunctions imposed by judges so that they apply only to states, groups and individuals that sued. That means the birthright citizenship proposal can likely move forward at least in part in the states that challenged it as well as those that did not. The court was divided on ideological lines, with conservatives in the majority and liberals in dissent.

"When a court concludes that the executive branch has acted unlawfully, the answer is not for the court to exceed its power, too," Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the majority. But she indicated that the nationwide injunctions are limited "only to the extent that the injunctions are broader than necessary." Lower courts, she added "shall move expeditiously" to figure out how broad the injunctions can be.

The court also said that the administration can continue working administratively on how the policy would be implemented. Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor read a summary of her dissent from the bench in the courtroom, saying the ruling was a "travesty for the rule of the law" and an "open invitation to bypass the constitution."

Federal courts "will be hamstrung" when it comes to nationwide injunctions but she urged potential plaintiffs to immediately file class action lawsuits, a legal avenue the court left open. In a separate dissenting opinion, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that the decision was “an existential threat to the rule of law.”

The policy remains blocked for now in one additional state, New Hampshire, as a result of a separate lawsuit that is not before the Supreme Court. As a result of the ruling, the proposal can potentially move forward nationwide, although individual plaintiffs could still file their own lawsuits in those states and the current challengers can still move to reinstate injunctions that are less broad in scope. Trump's original executive order said the plan would go into effect after 30 days, but it was almost immediately blocked.

The decision does not address the legal merits of the plan, but only whether judges had the authority to put it on hold across the entire country. President Donald Trump and his MAGA allies have been harshly critical of judges who have blocked aspects of his agenda, although it is not a new phenomenon for courts to impose nationwide injunctions.

It has long been widely accepted, including by legal scholars on left and right, that the Constitution’s 14th Amendment confers automatic citizenship to almost anyone born in the United States.

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States,” the amendment says. Based on historical practice, the only exception is people who are the children of diplomats. Trump wants to adopt a completely new meaning of the language that would confer citizenship only on those who have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Trump’s executive order, issued on his first day in office in January, was immediately challenged, and every court that has ruled on the proposal so far has blocked it. At issue at the Supreme Court were cases filed in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state. In court papers, former acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris said judges did not have the authority to issue nationwide injunctions and that the states that sued did not have legal standing.

The Trump plan has the backing of 21 other states. The administration has complained bitterly as judges have issued nationwide injunctions in response to Trump’s bold and aggressive use of executive power to implement his contentious agenda, which has included ramping up deportations, downsizing federal agencies, targeting law firms and universities, and firing thousands of federal employees.

Justice Department officials say there have been dozens such rulings and have described them as being an unconstitutional attack on the president’s authority. Previous administrations, both Republican and Democratic, have also had their agenda’s threatened by nationwide injunctions, although they have become more commonplace in recent years.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-curbs-injunctions-blocked-trumps-birthright-citizenship-rcna199742

In a 6-3 vote, the court granted a request by the Trump administration to narrow the scope of nationwide injunctions imposed by judges so that they apply only to states, groups and individuals that sued. That means the birthright citizenship proposal can likely move forward at least in part in the states that challenged it as well as those that did not.

AFP News Agency: Israeli court rejects PM Netanyahu's request to postpone his corruption trial hearings (BlueSky)

Looks like there might be another wave of zionist aggression coming?