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All Commenters Are Beautiful, but some posts are truly fabulous. DM me to feature effort posts and good threads in the newsmega/newscomm here (including your own posts)

See the NewsMegaMeta thread for discussion and feedback on comm policy

@sempersigh@hexbear.net with a thoughtful post on moralism vs materialism

resident materielist @MarmiteLover123@hexbear.net on the limits of Russian missile strikes against Ukraine imposed by aircraft refueling needs

@MelianPretext@hexbear.net on modern colonialism and double standards of foreign interference in Bosnia

Me, on Indigenous political economy in the context of resource extraction in Canada

@FuckyWucky@hexbear.net, @goldroger@hexbear.net, and @jackmaoist@hexbear.net on who really likes Modi anyway

Previous: Oct 27 | Nov 3 | Nov 10 | Nov 17

It looks like Labour party is fixing the hearing against Palestine Action

https://xcancel.com/Jonathan_K_Cook/status/1993417828091711694

Review judge pulled from Palestine Action hearing at last hour, in patent stitch-up:

The High Court judge who granted a legal challenge to the government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action – the first time in British history a civil-disobedience organisation has been declared a terrorist group, one now treated as on a par with al-Qaeda – has been removed at the last minute.

The judicial review hearing is due to start tomorrow without Justice Martin Chamberlain. He will be replaced with a panel of three judges.

Justice Chamberlain did not suffer any timetabling conflicts. The Justice Ministry declined to offer any explanation for such a highly irregular change.

In 2006, two academics, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, wrote a paper called “The Israel Lobby,” which argued that a loose group of Israel supporters used their connections and financial resources to tilt US foreign policy in Israel’s direction.

The savage response to the paper was like nothing academia had ever seen. We can now report that Jeffrey Epstein helped coordinate the counterattack with Alan Dershowitz, while Larry Summers was Harvard president. And Les Wexner was one of the largest donors to the Kennedy School, if not the largest. Epstein controlled Wexner’s money.

In other words, a loose group of powerful supporters of Israel used their financial resources and connections behind the scenes to destroy the reputations of two academics who wrote a paper arguing that a loose group of Israel supporters was using their connections and financial resources to shape American foreign policy. Story here

https://x.com/ryangrim/status/1993509279442079750

https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/jeffrey-epstein-aided-alan-dershowitz-mearsheimer-walt-israel-lobby

We are the generation that will see terrible cruelty and death as the empire crumbles. But we will be the generation that plants the seeds of revolution that will come from the despair.

I fear for Venezuela, I fear for Colombia.

I fear for Palestine.

But if death comes for me, I will gladly accept it if it moves the world a millimeter closer to revolution.

Death to America, Death to Israel.

Also, first

The Times: [UK] Army halts use of Ajax fighting vehicles after 31 soldiers fall ill

The British Army has been forced to stop the use of its Ajax armoured fighting vehicle after dozens of soldiers fell ill due to vibration and hearing problems, The Times can reveal.

Soldiers emerged from the £10 million vehicles vomiting while others were said to be shaking so violently they could not control their bodies after war games on Salisbury Plain, sources said. Others had weakness in their legs.

The absolute state of the Bri'ish military.

Average US news outlet:

Anyways, lets see how it went last time:

The main suspect of the Nord-Stream pipeline explosion has been extradited to Germany (German source)

What makes this particularly spicy is that the suspect's Italian attorney is already arguing that his defendant was part of the Ukrainian military and was "just following orders" (good bit to do in Germany) when they blew up the pipelines. Germany seems like it might actually take this kind of seriously, so maybe this will be when the EU starts completely turning on Ukraine now that the war is basically over?

Pete Hegseth has Ordered a Military Strike on a Surviors of a Previously Bombed Vessal , apperently with the verbal order "kill them All" ... Meaning ordering Military Strikes on Helpless survivors. (washington Post) This is a clear Violation of the Hague convention :"it is especially forbidden [...] to declare that no quarter will be given" Article 23 (D).

but even that would first need a "War" to be present , so he simply Ordered the Murder of Survivors (kill them all) . Making the hole commandchain liable for "well not even war crimes / but Murder" and explaining this Democrat video . Crime is Punishable by Death in US Law .

JAG (i know that from this Series) , > UNANIMOUSLY considers both the giving and the execution of these orders constitute war crimes, murder, or both.

(proably connected with the Mark Kelly thing)

The environmental damage the US will cause should they bomb or invade Venezuela isn’t talked about enough. I used to doubt we’d get 4.5+ degrees by the end of the century but the US and their brainless Latin American lackeys seem determined to make it happen.

This fire in Hong Kong is absolutely horrific. 36 confirmed dead so far and 270+ injured. Multiple buildings went up after bamboo scaffolding caught fire and windy conditions transferred the fire to other buildings with bamboo scaffolding too.

It's like Grenfell in London but multiple buildings, the fire travelling on the outside of the building. China needs to ban bamboo scaffolding.

https://www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk/news/national/25653705.death-toll-hong-kong-high-rise-fire-rises-36-279-people-reported-missing/

Warning this is not fun viewing:

This video of the IDF just straight up assassinating two Palestinians who are just peacefully surrendering is seriously bleak. First the kicking, then they tell them to go back in and kill them, then the drop they fucking garage door on top of them. Just endlessly evil.

https://x.com/DropSiteNews/status/1994099203212034430

Russia has deployed the Berserker corps

I just got a copy of Seth harp's book "The Fort Bragg Cartel" and fuck me if it isn't harrowing. There have been a number of chapo episodes about the antisocial behaviour and attitudes of delta force and if anything the dry boys paint a generous interpretation of the "operator" types. Based on the description of horrible, sociopathic crimes depicted in the first couple chapters of the book, the delta force scene sounds like a grotesque parody of Fear in Loathing in Las Vegas with brutal, instinctive violence replacing any search for the American dream. I'll share a more detailed review once finished.

The death toll of the fires in the Hong Kong Tai Po apartment blocks has now reached 83 as of writing this comment.

This now puts the Tai Po apartments fire as deadlier than the infamous 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in the UK, which claimed the lives of 72. For reference, the Grenfell Tower fire was considered the worst UK residential fire since the Blitz of World War II.

Three people have already been arrested for manslaughter over the Tai Po fire – two directors and a consultant of the contractor behind the apartment renovations. They allegedly used non-compliant materials in scaffolding nets and sealed windows with styrofoam, which sparked the tragedy as the highly flammable substances caused the fire to spread rapidly. Moreover, the apartment renovation site was inspected by the Labour Department 16 times since July last year, as recently as November 20 and reminded the contractor the previous week of the need to implement appropriate fire safety measures.

President Xi Jinping expressed his condolences on Wednesday evening and called for “all-out efforts” to minimise casualties and losses. After visiting the injured in hospital early on Thursday, HK chief executive John Lee Ka-chiu vowed to investigate the fire and the scaffolding. He also ordered inspections of all public housing estates undergoing major renovations and announced a HK$300 million fund to assist the victims, including a cash handout of HK$10,000 for each household. Development chief Bernadette Linn Hon-ho met with construction industry representatives to discuss switching from bamboo to metal scaffolding. Authorities are considering a road map to transition to using metal "as quickly as possible" she says, adding industry players are understanding and supportive.

https://xcancel.com/HedgieMarkets/status/1994458830768419284

AI data centers are crushing the US aluminum industry by outbidding smelters for electricity. Aluminum smelters need 10-20 year power contracts at $30-40 per megawatt-hour to operate profitably. Amazon and Microsoft are willing to pay over $100 per megawatt-hour. Alcoa is now considering selling assets to Big Tech companies that might get more use out of the power generation equipment than the aluminum it produces.

The Problem

Producing one metric ton of aluminum requires about 14 megawatt-hours of electricity, enough to power an average US home for nearly a year and a half. A new domestic smelter would need as much electricity annually as Boston or Nashville. Only six smelting sites remain in the US, with just four operating commercially, producing under 1% of global supply. Even at full capacity, US smelters could only meet one-third of domestic demand. Meanwhile, data centers need aluminum for cooling units, server racks, and radiators. Goldman Sachs expects aluminum prices to fall 15% by Q4 2026 as international supply increases, further squeezing margins.

My Take

This is the AI infrastructure buildout eating itself. Data centers need aluminum to build more data centers, but the power demand from existing data centers is making it impossible to produce aluminum domestically. The companies creating the demand are outbidding the suppliers who would fill it. Alcoa's CEO said they haven't seen competitive long-term energy prices in the US, and "the opposite of that is occurring." The Aluminum Association says rebuilding domestic capacity would take five years, five new smelters, and $25 billion. But why would anyone build a smelter when Big Tech will pay three times the electricity rate you need to stay profitable? This is what happens when one sector can outbid everyone else for power. The AI boom doesn't just strain the grid, it restructures who gets access to electricity and at what price.

zionist media reporting 13 injured iof pigs during an incursion to beit jinn near damascus. the residents resisted and iof had to evacuate their piggies, bombed the village. 9 syrian martyrs being reported

Soyuz MS-28 has been rolled out on the launch platform of Baikonur Cosmodrome and will be launched in the coming hours.

The paint job features beautiful drawings of children fighting cancer, depicting their “innermost desires”:

This is also a joint Russia-US mission that will carry an American astronaut, Christopher Williams, together with Mikaev and Kud-Sverchkov, as shown on the mission patch:

DHS using the term remigration which is legit ethnic cleansing term originating from European nationalists should alarm people more

Imperialists malding that Russia begins with an R instead of an H:
https://xcancel.com/CSIS/status/1993409503325548891

China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea (CRINK) are increasingly cooperating to challenge the U.S. and global governance. New charts show how China and Russia anchor CRINK cooperation and how the war in Ukraine has accelerated CRINK alignment.

Peace deal should limit Russia's army rather than Ukraine's, says Kaja Kallas

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/11/26/peace-deal-should-limit-russias-army-rather-than-ukraines-says-kaja-kallas

??? ???????

https://open.substack.com/pub/quadzillahikes/p/dc-shooter-served-on-cia-assassination

Long form article on the milieu of death squads operating in Afghanistan that gave rise to the DC shooter, imperial boomerang

Some people are saying its a terrific boomerang, the best of all time

Translated through Google.

📺 YouTube in Russia will be completely replaced by domestic services

Russian platforms will completely replace YouTube in the domestic market in the medium term. This was announced by Anton Gorelkin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy.

"YouTube entered our market in the 2010s and established a dominant monopoly on video hosting services. Today, we are trying to rectify this situation; we are developing our own alternatives and are confident that in the medium term, we will completely replace YouTube, which, unfortunately, has become a propaganda weapon," he said in an interview with TASS.

The deputy emphasized that digital sovereignty requires significant investment and qualified personnel, and the need to develop Russian digital platforms became clear back in 2014, after the imposition of the first sanctions.

https://t.me/TEFI_Russia/34976

A large swath these Americans have no moral issue with invading venuzuela they’re just opposed to it because they don’t want it to impact their pocket book and are worried about precious Americans dying in a conflict.

53 percent support wanton murder because that won’t affect them and hey the government says they have drugs so kill them!!

They (the US media) will just call every strike drug-related. They know it is weak, but what is the job of a journalist if not reprinting US press releases. My guess is that they are begging the government to come up with something better. NYT;

Haiti has finally qualified for the World Cup after 52 years since its first participation.

What is it with the notable increase in even radlib racism against Indians/Pakistanis so recently? Why does it smell like manifacturing consent for something. I am aware that it has always been quite normalized, but rhetoric has exploded recently and even lib spaces have an "askhually 👆 🥸 " moment

Good news everyone! Adolf Hitler has won his 5th reelection.

President Donald Trump says he's terminating all orders Biden signed with autopen

Damn, this autopen stuff has now been going on for years. I know that the chuds are very mad at this, I still don't know why. I just see it sometimes in the internet comments and it is the most ignorable "scandal" ever.

The Witkoff files just dropped, and oh boy are they something.

Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump - Bloomberg News

Update: an archive of the full transcript of the phone call between Steve Witkoff and Yuri Ushakov

Screenshot of the Dmitriev - Ushakov call transcript:

Bloomberg apparently has audio recordings of phone calls between Witkoff and Ushakov (assistant to Putin on foreign policy) and a phone call between Dmitriev and Ushakov in Russian. They released the full transcript on the terminal, ~~but I don't have access to that~~. Screenshots are all over social media. Witkoff apparently personally advised Russian officials on how to massage Trump's ego, what to say, and to call Trump before the Trump - Zelenskyy meeting to interdict. Ushakov and Dmitriev then discuss how to proceed, with Ushakov suggesting a more maximalist approach. Some of the screenshots from the transcript of both phone calls are just incredible to read. I'll try find the best ones and add them here.

What prompted Bloomberg to drop the Witkoff files? One factor that definitely played a part (in my opinion) is Dmitriev's mafioso style threat to Axios journalist Barak Ravid on twitter a few days ago. Dmitriev, in his denial of leaking the 28 point "peace plan" to Axios, tagged Ravid and stated that "all conversations with journalists are recorded", apparently for "transparency". The journalists are now reminding them that they too have recordings of all their behind the scenes dealings... Dmitriev has predictably called the Bloomberg story fake.

“In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Hezbollah’s Message to His Holiness, the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV

Your Holiness, The Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV — with utmost respect,

Greetings and peace be upon you,

To begin, we express our full welcome and deep appreciation for your honorable presence and your visit to Lebanon — this beautiful country, blessed by God with its unique geographic location and harmonious religious diversity. This diversity, embodied in a shared life and broad consensus, is essential to the stability of its political system and the security of its nation.

Your predecessor, Pope John Paul II, once declared that Lebanon is “not merely a nation, but a message.” Indeed, Lebanon — with its rich mosaic — represents a civilizational bridge between the followers of the two heavenly messages, Christianity and Islam, and among all religious, cultural, and secular traditions across the world.

When human beings are placed at the center of concern for all faiths — and even for secular ideological systems — one can truly hope for the possibility of achieving lasting peace and security.

We read in your guidance and messages a firm commitment to human rights and the imperative to respect and protect them. These rights, however, extend beyond the individual to the broader sphere of peoples and nations.

The conflicts taking place across the world today stem, in large part, from the refusal of some actors — leaders, parties, groups, or states — to acknowledge or respect the rights of others, whether due to differences in religion, race, language, or interests.

It is no secret that the erosion of respect for human rights by certain entities fuels greed, domination, and the use of force instead of justice.

The tragedy witnessed in Gaza over the past two years — and still ongoing — is the result of the Zionist occupiers stripping the Palestinian people of their rights to their land, homeland, and self-determination, as well as the international system’s failure to embrace justice as the basis for resolving the long-standing conflict between an indigenous people and an occupying force.

Similarly, the suffering of the Lebanese people — caused by the Zionist occupation of parts of our land and its continuous aggressions and threats to our security and stability — reflects the enemy’s ambition to control our waters, land, and gas resources, and to impose political, security, and expansionist conditions without limit.

There is no doubt that the Zionist occupation receives — regrettably — unconditional support from major powers that share its ambitions to dominate our region and exploit its resources, with no regard for the rights of our people.

What the “Israeli” enemy has committed in Gaza against the Palestinian people is an act of genocide; and what it continues to commit in Lebanon is an ongoing and condemned aggression.

We, in Hezbollah, seize the opportunity of your blessed visit to reiterate our commitment to shared coexistence, consensual democracy, internal security and stability, and the protection of national sovereignty. We stand alongside our army and our people in confronting any aggression or occupation targeting our land and our nation.

We also hold firmly to our legitimate right to reject foreign interference aimed at imposing tutelage on our country, undermining our national decision-making, and usurping the constitutional authority of our institutions.

If our religious conviction affirms that the followers of Jesus Christ — peace be upon him — are messengers of love, justice, and human dignity, then we rely on your principled stance in rejecting the oppression and aggression inflicted upon Lebanon by the Zionist invaders and their supporters.

This is the message we deliver to Your Holiness during this visit, in which you express your care, affection, and solidarity with all Lebanese. We wish you comfort and safety during your stay, praying to Almighty God to grant justice, security, and relief to the oppressed across the world.

With our sincerest regards,

#Military_Media”

https://t.me/mmirlb/33816

The Russians have apparently already entered Hulyaipole, a logistical hub that sits on the first line of defense in the Zaporizhia region, something DeepState map was adamant the Russians didn't have enough forces for. This comes after they already rolled up the entire first line of defense to the east of the town.

I've been watching the map updates daily (primarily from Weeb Union, who aggregates map updates from sources such as DeepState, Suriyak, and direct Ukrainian and Russian reports) and the progress of the Russians towards Zaporizhia has been nothing short of astounding given the usual pace of advances. At the current rate, I'd wager they will have taken most of the oblast, and will start surrounding Zaporizhia city from the east within 9 months. Do note that they have pretty much bypassed the main lines of defense, and can pretty much just advance into open territory, so I don't expect this pace to slow down much at all.

Sorry to make a game reference, but this reminds me a bit of the Starcraft 1 rounds I used to play against the AI, where the opponent pulls every single unit he has from the entire map to defend one base -- and then you take it, you advance further and realize that all the other structures are now completely undefended and you can just steamroll through. In this case, Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad appear to have been that base.

The West is of course ignoring these advances in their communication and focusing entirely on the relatively slow advances in the Pokrovsk encirclement (which also favors Russia, but the Westeners are still pretending that the city isn't already lost). But subconsciously, I think they know that Ukraine is losing badly. The responses from Pro-Ukraine defenders online have become a lot more unhinged in recent weeks, either through easily disproven arrogance, or just by frothing at the mouth to the point where one must imagine steam coming out of their ears. Still, they don't see a peace deal as an option. They prefer to rely on Pro-Western propaganda outlets like the Moscow Times, which tells them that Russia will surely collapse within the next 2 years, which is the same they said 2 years ago, and will be the same they will say 2 years from now. So, no real action needed.

The negotiations are a joke from my point of view. The war will be fought to its military conclusion, and 2026 may prove to be VERY interesting in this regard.

Al mayadeen

Heavy rain floods Gaza’s displacement camps, threatening tens of thousands amid disease spread and collapsing health services, as urgent calls rally for international action.

Rafflesia hasseltii bloom seen in the wild by human eyes for the first time in more than a decade

"After 13 years, a 23-hour journey, risking tiger attacks, nearly dead phone batteries, I couldn't talk. I just cried," Deki said.

University of Oxford Botanic Garden deputy director Chris Thorogood filmed the moment and the footage quickly went viral.

The location of the plant was not only tricky to get to but was in "a place where tigers and rhinos live", Dr Thorogood said.

"I imagine more tigers have seen this flower than people," he added.

The $20 billion bailout plan for Argentina by JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup has been cancelled after bankers opted for a smaller package of short-term loans, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday (20), citing sources. In October, the U.S. Treasury reached a $20 billion currency stabilization agreement with Argentina, which would be combined with a bank credit line of the same amount. The agreement came just days before the midterm elections, which were crucial for Argentina's libertarian president, Javier Milei.

• Telegram

It looks like everyone figured out that the Saudis are very good targets for scams. Easy come easy go.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is reportedly running low on cash for new investments, due to several projects that are said to be in financial distress.

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/saudi-arabia-is-reportedly-running-low-on-cash-for-investments-following-ea-deal/

The article doesn't mention the Saudi investment into Softbank - big investors into everything from WeWork to Nvidia. SoftBank just sold their Nvidia shares in order to give OpenAI $30 billion cash. But I guess that isn't technically accounted as a loss yet. Despite the fact that the initial Saudi cash at the start of the Saudi-Softbank relationship was specifically for a Softbank investment into the tech company that we all know and love, WeWork.

Berlin shutdown of pro-Palestine conference was unlawful, court rules

They haven't sentenced anyone yet, but this was surprising to read

Following the official NOTAM (notice to all airmen) issued to do with Venezuelan airspace a few days ago, Trump has decided to issue a NOTAM of his own, via truth social:

Truth Social source

Right now the only airlines flying over Venezuelan airspace are low cost Venezuelan airlines flying older aircraft like LASER.

World Socialist Web Site to launch Socialism AI

Just as Diderot’s Encyclopedia in the eighteenth century became an instrument for enlightenment that contributed to the French Revolution by making knowledge available to masses of people who had been kept in ignorance, so artificial intelligence—properly developed and democratically controlled, utilized by the revolutionary Marxist-Trotskyist party and placed in the service of the working class rather than capitalist profit—can become an instrument of socialist consciousness.

I am pleased to announce today that the International Committee has taken measures to harness the power of AI for the purposes and interests of the working class movement. Within a few weeks, we will be releasing Socialism AI, a revolutionary application of augmented intelligence to the development of socialist consciousness and the organizational capacity of the international working class. It is a chatbot which will enable users to pose political, historical, social questions, problems of organization and tactical initiative, and receive a response which draws on the vast archive of Marxist thought. First and foremost, the archive of the World Socialist Web Site itself, which encompasses well over 100,000 articles.

Yup I'm sure these guys have definitely solved the problem with LLMs and it won't just end up leaving people with an even more confused idea of socialist theory!

Narendra Modi apparently has 70%+ approval.

BBC article on NG shooting https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgex957qg97o

Tens of thousands of Afghans entered the US under special immigration protections following the chaotic US withdrawal from the country in 2021 under former President Joe Biden.

The Department of Homeland Security named the suspect in a press release as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, "a criminal alien from Afghanistan".

It said Lakanwal had entered the US during the presidency of Joe Biden in September 2021, under a programme for Afghans named called Operation Allies Welcome.

At the time, the Taliban had taken back control of Afghanistan following a chaotic withdrawal of US forces.

I mean it was a chaotic withdrawal, but isn't using the same phrase two paragraphs apart bad form? don't these stenographer's go to school so they can write better than plebs like moi?

huh... what are all those US ships in the Caribbean even doing? https://archive.ph/JJn1l

Second Russian Tanker Appears Off Venezuela After Seahorse’s Cat-and-Mouse With U.S. Navy

A second vessel tied to Russia’s shadow fleet has joined the sanctioned tanker Seahorse off the coast of Venezuela, days after the Seahorse was involved in a cat and mouse game with U.S. Navy forces, according to people familiar with the ship movements.

The media website of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, published an article honoring Imam Jamil al-Amin, Black revolutionary and POW who transitioned to the next life in US federal prison on Sunday due to deliberate medical neglect.

Once known as the Minister of Justice, he has become the man who gave his life for justice, Imam Jamil al-Amin. This American freedom fighter, spiritual leader and anti-imperialist revolutionary has returned to Allah after being in American prisons for the last 23 years. He was a prisoner of war. The war launched by the United States against Black America.

https://english.khamenei.ir/news/12001/Imam-Jamil-al-Amin

Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said the govt has proof that drug gangs are laundering money through hedge funds in Deleware. Some of the funds are used to purchase and smuggle automatic weapons back to Brazil. Lula will bring this up in negotiations w Trump, he says.

Folha reports that Lula will suggest a partnership with the US government to go after Brazilian organized crime groups in the US. Frankly, the fact that it's allegedly happening in Biden's tax haven state of Deleware might interest the Trump administration

• Tweet

archiving this as a whole HTML file, since there's a paywall that archivers don't bypass (I think I got to the article on some kind of free trial? I put in my email, didn't pick a subscription and then it just unlocked so I downloaded the page itself)

The Valley of Death: Why $100,000 Is the New Poverty

The poverty line, a six-decade-old benchmark, claims to define the threshold to the middle class. The number is a lie.

cont'd in response