Is there any evidence that crypto was used by the Epstein gang? I’ve only seen donations and other perfectly ordinary-looking transactions between them in the reports I’ve read. I feel like we’re trying too hard to pin absolutely everything on Epstein now.
Apparently Iran has already deployed another Shahed and the IRGC is being coy about whether the drone was attacked, as acknowledging it would require enacting their promised non-symbolic retaliation too soon.
Shooting down individual surveillance drones isn’t that difficult for a navy that size. Both Russia and Ukraine do it all the time, and this one drone was known to be observing CENTCOM movements for a couple days now. They don’t need to lie when it was clearly meant as a provocation, though I assume the drone will be framed as a kamikaze FPV drone by the Imperial Press.
Damn, Russia somehow didn’t account for that. Guess more war is in order.
Then this revelation is kind of boring, which is why I think it’s misleading. There are many more effective ways to influence US policy than blackmailing presidents, which last like 4 years each. And given Trump backed down on his promise to end the Ukraine war, and US support for Israel hasn’t changed at all since even the Obama days, I don’t see what either country would’ve got out of it.
On the other hand, here we are discussing whether Trump is receiving foreign influence or not, instead of how the bourgeoisie knows no borders and has no limits to their depravity. If it were a distraction, I think it was successful.
I’m not ignoring it, I’m afraid of it being reframed under the rug of “foreign influence” and “bad actors”. I see the Israel Lobby as a US sub-operation rather than a particularly Israeli one. I believe the US controls Israel rather than the other way around, and Zionist psyops are just another tool for maintaining the relationship no matter how domestically unpalatable it becomes. If there was no Epstein and no worldwide sex-traficking ring or related blackmail, I can still see Trump, Biden, Clinton, Obama or any other bourgeois spokesperson enacting the exact same policy because of material conditions, not being personally compromised through a Jewish relative. The MIC doesn’t need to blackmail their representatives to maintain support for the rabid dog white supremacist military colony in the Middle East. If anything, these revelations could be a prelude for smoothly replacing Trump the Person with another Trump the Politician.
That’s the thing that irks me, it has all the people that the run-of-the-mill USian “moderate” agrees is bad, and none of the actual political reasons why those actors act like they do. Are we supposed to believe the Trump admin supports Israel because of Epstein? And Putin?? Seems too Great Man-ish to me. Also very convenient for (actual) anti-Semites to write it off, but that’s a tangential point.
Honestly, this one leak seems to tie things up too neatly. Suspiciously neatly, specially if you have “problematic” preconceptions. Like, Trump is compromised by an ex-Mossad agent, who’s also the world sex-traficking kingpin, through Trump’s Jewish son-in-law, and it all ties back up to a Russia-based organisation led by a Putin advisor? It fits too perfectly into the “Trump is an anomaly” narrative. I’d be happy to be proven wrong, but I don’t trust this one.
The law name, because gringo outlets are allergic to naming things. Seems to be legalising and making it easier for subcontractors to operate and develop Venezuelan oil fields. However the oil is still “property” of the state company, to be subcontracted.
I wouldn’t say it “throws open” the oil sector, but it looks just like the general trend in Latin America to slowly gut nationalised companies through ever growing subcontracting, which was already a thing anyway. Sucks, but actually not surprising at all. That’s been the trend in Venezuela for a while, and in fact this law has been in the works since 2021.
Also small nitpick but the framing on this article makes it seem like PSUV wanted to not export the oil, for some reason reason. They actually want to do it, and it was a ridiculously large portion of their economy and foreign policy, but sanctions and embargo made it more difficult both to export their oil (crude or refined) and develop new oil fields. Idk, just sounds weird when people like Trump talk about “making the oil flow” when they’re personally responsible for it not flowing.
Doesn’t seem very reliable given the sheer amount of “sources say” but no named source corroboration. And any ambitious high ranking PSUV cadre would be chomping at the bit to denounce some traitors publicly if that were the case. I think it’s more likely the Guardian is just using the fact that Americans just learned a third Venezuelan name after Chavez and Maduro.
Remember folks: this isn’t a threat to the Canadian citizenry. It’s a threat to the Canadian bourgeoisie, specially the extractive sector. US denizens paying higher prices also doesn’t matter, this is all about pressuring the Canadian ruling class that’s deeply dependent on exporting to the US in the short term. This is also why US corporations that operate in the target country usually get exemptions.
How do you know a Russian is lying? Their mouth moves
Just read your own words. I’ve got nothing else to add. If you can’t see the issue here, you’re beyond hope.
They were on the first camp in part because of that. Rather than having a party be “free for all” but in reality only for those of means, it would be restricted to those who dedicated their lives fully to the party. I haven’t read this myself so I can’t attest to it, but some comrades have claimed that they even went so far as to cover living expenses of militants with party funds.
Only in the USA is a party talking about another party positively a leak-worthy sinister plot against democracy.
Also “Xinjiang genocide” in 2026? I thought we were already over that when every single travel influencer both in and out of China went there and the government even used this as a tourist attraction.
Kinda but it wasn’t just about being secretive and selective. It was over whether membership should be extended only to professional and dedicated militants, or also to supporters regardless of dedication. It’s a common issue “open” mass parties that they cultivate a petit bourgeois tendency because middle class people are the main group able to dedicate their time to the party.
Genuine question, is there any relevance of using the Oreshnik to the target? Wouldn’t it have been possible to do similar damage with Kinzhal’s and Kh-101’s? I’m trying to understand if there’s more to it besides the signalling of shooting a nuclear capable IRBM right next to Poland.
That’s a actually the problem. It’s a definition so broad to be useless. Neither provides any distinction between countries who fit or not the Marxist definition, but also encompasses almost the whole world. Give me a single country that isn’t imperialist according to that definition?
Ah yes, Eastern Europe, the leading voices of the Global South.
Paying for criminal activities does not necessarily only include spy movie shenanigans. Lots os banned pharmaceuticals are sold through crypto, including abortion pills and HRT hormones. I doubt we’re ever going to agree on sanctions, but hopefully we can still find a middle ground on people getting access to necessary pharmaceuticals in countries that ban them, even if it is a crime.
Though to be fair most of that is done on more stable and cheaper currencies like Montero.