Image is of Assad’s presidential palace in 2013. There’s more images of it in this article, though the words in it aren’t worth reading.
Here is Assad’s version of events. I like to imagine he’s making one of those Youtuber apology videos where they sigh at the start and talk in a chastised yet somewhat defensive tone of voice.
As terrorism spread across Syria and ultimately reached Damascus on the evening of Saturday 7th December 2024, questions arose about the president’s fate and whereabouts. This occurred amidst a flood of misinformation and narratives far removed from the truth, aimed at recasting international terrorism as a liberation revolution for Syria.
At such a critical juncture in the nation’s history, where truth must take precedence, it is essential to address these distortions. Unfortunately, the prevailing circumstances at the time, including a total communication blackout for security reasons, delayed the release of this statement. This does not replace a detailed account of the events that unfolded, which will be provided when the opportunity allows.
First, my departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles, as some have claimed. On the contrary, I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of Sunday 8th December 2024. As terrorist forces infiltrated Damascus, I moved to Latakia in co-ordination with our Russian allies to oversee combat operations. Upon arrival at the Hmeimim airbase that morning, it became clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen. As the field situation in the area continued to deteriorate, the Russian military base itself came under intensified attack by drone strikes.
With no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow requested that the base’s command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday 8th December. This took place a day after the fall of Damascus following the collapse of the final military positions and the resulting paralysis of all remaining state institutions.
At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any individual or party. The only course of action was to continue fighting against the terrorist onslaught.
I reaffirm that the person who, from the very first day of the war, refused to barter the salvation of his nation for personal gain, or to compromise his people in exchange for numerous offers and enticements is the same person who stood alongside the officers and soldiers of the army on the front lines, just metres from terrorists in the most dangerous and intense battlefields. He is the same person who, during the darkest years of the war, did not leave but remained with his family alongside his people, confronting terrorism under bombardment and the recurring threats of terrorist incursions into the capital over 14 years of war. Furthermore, the person who has never abandoned the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon, nor betrayed his allies who stood by him, cannot possibly be the same person who would forsake his own people or betray the army and nation to which he belongs.
I have never sought positions for personal gain but have always considered myself as a custodian of a national project, supported by the faith of the Syrian people, who believed in its vision. I have carried an unwavering conviction in their will and ability to protect the state, defend its institutions, and uphold their choices to the very last moment.
When the state falls into the hands of terrorism and the ability to make a meaningful contribution is lost, any position becomes void of purpose, rendering its occupation meaningless. This does not, in any way, diminish my profound sense of belonging to Syria and her people – a bond that remains unshaken by any position or circumstance. It is a belonging filled with hope that Syria will once again be free and independent.
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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.
o7 to the DPRK leadership for their uncharacteristically muted response to the drone incursions and SK political meltdown on December 3. Yoon Suk Yeol and SK military leadership tried to elicit a response from DPRK and Pyongyang gently pushed the spotlight back on Seoul where it belongs. Well played.
comradeworkwear was banned from all social media sites after creating a deck with playing cards with names and faces of amerikkklan CEOs, the product was named “most wanted CEOs” creatively named in parody of the Most-wanted Iraqi playing cards which were issued to amerikkkan soldiers during the ameriKKKlan invasion of iraq. the face side of the cards depict amerikkklan CEOs.
edit: text says why am i evil with a qr code to scan.
Manhattan DA has indicted Luigi on, among other things, a terrorism charge, alleging that United Healthcare is a part of the government.
Wtf
Democrats eye Harris 2028 presidential run as they devise political comeback Party aides are confident in US vice-president’s ability to bounce back, including a bid for California governor emocratic party aides have begun to float ideas for a Kamala Harris political comeback, reportedly eyeing another run at the US’s highest office even as the party continues to grapple with the electoral messages contained in the vice-president’s decisive defeat in November’s White House race against Donald Trump.
Harris, who has reportedly not ruled out a second run for the presidency, is now reported to be considering a run for the California governorship, currently held until 2027 by Gavin Newsom. Newsom was a rumoured presidential contender during the chaotic summer that saw Joe Biden step down from a rematch with Trump – whom he defeated in the 2020 election – and then endorse Harris as his replacement.
According to the Washington Post on Monday, some Democratic party aides believe Trump – who, among other things, overcame a criminal conviction and other such charges to win – has sufficiently overturned the norms of losing White House candidates’ not attempting a second bite at the proverbial apple to give Harris the opportunity of a repeat bid in 2028, this time for the full cycle.
“Since Donald Trump has rewritten the rules – the norms – I don’t believe Kamala Harris or anyone should try to go with precedent, ever,” said Donna Brazile, a Harris ally, Al Gore 2000 presidential campaign manager and political commentator. “There are no rule books.”
Molly Murphy, a pollster who worked on the both the Biden and Harris campaigns, told the outlet: “The rules potentially don’t apply this time, and she still absolutely could have a mulligan because of the unique circumstances of this race and the candidate switch.
“But I don’t think it will be a given.”
The sentiment that Harris could make another bid for the White House comes as the Democratic party is sculpting an argument that her loss to Trump was not as comprehensive as has been popularly portrayed. She emerged from her three-month, $1.5bn campaign with higher approval ratings than she entered it, according to the political website 538, though she lost the electoral college 312-226 and became the first of three candidates to lose the popular vote to Trump.
“She is ending this race in a very different place than other nominees that have lost,” one Harris adviser told the outlet. “Her approval is higher. People were very happy with the race that she ran.”
Supporters further point to unequal political consequences for male and female candidates following a ballot box loss. Hillary Clinton did not attempt another run after losing to Trump in 2016, handing the Democratic torch to one-term president Biden.
Debbie Walsh, director of the center for American women and politics at Rutgers University, told the Post, “landing in general has kind of been harder for women”, noting that women who served at state level positions “don’t get the soft landing of a position in a law firm that allows them to regroup and earn some money and maybe run for something else. They struggle a bit.”
But as Harris considers her future – husband Doug Emhoff is returning to entertainment law – donors and supporters in California, where she served as a US senator and state attorney general, are pushing for a run for governor in 2026 to replace who would then be the outgoing, term-limited Newsom.
“The people that drove that conversation – within 18 minutes of the election being called – was the finance team,” one Harris confidante told the outlet.
If Harris, who beat Trump by 20 points in California, runs for and wins the governorship, she would become the nation’s first Black female governor, a considerable consolation prize.
But other Democrats are also considering both races. For president, Newsom as well as fellow governors JB Pritzker of Illinois and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan are said to be getting into position.
Harris campaign aides acknowledge the competition but say her name recognition, coupled with donors and experience as well as a conviction that she was dragged by Biden’s unpopularity, opens the starting gate for a comeback.
It’s almost Shakespearean that Joe Biden didn’t just kill his own campaign – he killed hers, too,” a Harris campaign adviser told the Post.
Meanwhile, California congresswoman Katie Porter, a potential state governor candidate, diplomatically told the outlet: “I am certain that everyone will want to support Kamala Harris in continuing to serve this country.”
Harris herself has not revealed her thinking but is said to be “processing” her loss and plans to “stay in the fight”.
“The fight that fueled our campaign – a fight for freedom and opportunity – that did not end on November 5,” Harris said on a call with donors and supporters in November.
Harris ultimately used the word “fight” 19 times during that call.
That last sentence killed me inside. My day is ruined.
Harris, who has reportedly not ruled out a second run for the presidency,
This was her second run, are they saying she’s contesting the election or that the libs are just trying to erase the fact Harris was so absurdly unpopular she dropped out of the 2016 primaries before the first delegate casted their vote at
Idaho?Indiana?Illinois?Iowa?she dropped out Dec 3rd 2019, the day before the deadline to be removed from the ballot in California, so she wouldn’t get destroyed and come in fifth or sixth in her home state.
EDIT: fix the date
Eh close enough.
was trying to agree, just say that she dropped out months before Iowa
EDIT: lol I got the date wrong too
Eh close enough lol
*2020 primaries
Close enough, eh.
Democrats eye Harris 2028 presidential run
Electoral human wave tactics
If the candidate in front of you drops dead, pick up their PAC and continue fundraising!
If you’re in line to lose another presidential election, stay in line!
Rofl
And here I thought they would pick gavin newsom.
cw suicide
the problem is not the perfect party platform, it is the peasants who are too stupid to understand our perfect technocratic solution
In any reasonable world, the Democratic party should be dissolved after this kind of performance, but the Democratic electorate ecosystem is a universal job guarantee program for ivy league ghouls
Even in most unreasonable worlds at least Harris and HIllary would have been thrown out on their ass after losing to Trump. Only hellworld would let them stay.
Hilary at least won the popular vote.
Hillary Clinton did not attempt another run after losing to Trump in 2016, handing the Democratic torch to one-term president Biden.
Debbie Walsh, director of the center for American women and politics at Rutgers University, told the Post, “landing in general has kind of been harder for women”, noting that women who served at state level positions “don’t get the soft landing of a position in a law firm that allows them to regroup and earn some money and maybe run for something else. They struggle a bit.”
LMFAO did they just do a pity party for Hillary Quarter-Million-Dollar-Speaking-Engagements Clinton, FFS?
The biggest winner from this future second failed run at US President is Hillary Clinton.
“See, its wasn’t just me! It really wasn’t!”They actually want to try and somehow lose the Governator position again.
Welcome back JD Vance!
Hell yeah, let’s keep doing the same exact thing
I don’t believe it. It’s going to be Gruesome Newsome 2028.
A Reddit link was detected in your comment. Here are links to the same location on alternative frontends that protect your privacy.
wanna see me do it again
While it’s incredible she and her team hasn’t been purged, there’s no reason to give any thought to the dem presidential candidate in four years. Nothing anyone says at this moment will matter in four years time (or one year, which is when they’ll start campaigning for primaries I guess).
Also
“Since Donald Trump has rewritten the rules – the norms – I don’t believe Kamala Harris or anyone should try to go with precedent, ever,” said Donna Brazile, a Harris ally, Al Gore 2000 presidential campaign manager and political commentator. “There are no rule books.”
Your guy literally got robbed of an election and you pretend as if trump was the one who threw out the rulebook? Give me a break
Lol. Lmao even.
lol you have got to be fucking kidding me
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/16/kamala-harris-2028-election-president-governor
deleted by creator
She’s got a lot more name recognition now. Her next primary campaign might actually make it to the voting part this time.
the Trying To Lose party isn’t doing everything possible to win? damn
Death to America
Amazing. Truly amazing. You’ve really got to hand it to them, nobody is more committed to losing than them.
As much as we love to crap on Kamala, there’s absolutely no reason for her to not run for Governor. She’s won statewide races in California in 3 or 4 elections and she has the financial backing. Running for election in CA is expensive so if she jumps in, who can challenge her?
NYPD decided to do a perp walk photo op with Luigi:
This seems to have pretty much backfired on social media, for obvious reasons (this picture objectively goes hard). Lots of people comparing him to pics of Superman in handcuffs or saying they are treating him like a supervillain in Gotham.
Oh, also, that’s Eric Adams directly to his right behind him. He might have given a speech about how Rikers is the Blackgate Penetentiary of New York, I am trying to check.
: You are not a sovereign country, 
. You know this.
https://xcancel.com/camilapress/status/1869212016558449101Venezuela says new sanctions announced by Ottawa today “confirms, once again, [Canada’s] servile role as a slave to the imperial interests of the United States.”
The head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was assassinated in a bomb attack in Moscow, along with his assistant.
Russian leadership really needs to wake up and realize that Ukraine/NATO are not going to just sit on their hands and wait to lose the war.
It seems like the newsmega has a lot fewer of the regulars recently. I miss the input from the users who are actually proximate to the conflict in Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon. Their input was extremely valuable.
In one way I’m glad some of them aren’t on here to see this and having to deal with our stupid arguments, the last few weeks have just been really bad. They’re probably feeling the same emotions we are feeling times a hundred, and way more complicated and nuanced, as they actually live there and have a personal attachment to their country. Imagine commenting on and correctly predicting the downfall of you and/or your loved ones’ country, for example. And then seeing people, maybe even someone you know being freed from prisions. And then the country gets bombed by a powerful adversary. In another scenario, imagine returning to your homeland after months of bombings, after a ceasefire agreement gets singed (no matter how bad the terms, a ceasefire is a ceasefire). That’s extremely emotional. Being on the internet and arguing with a bunch of people (mostly westerners) who didn’t even know what the SAA, 1974 agreement, the blue line, South Litani area, HTS, SNA, SDF, etc, were until a few weeks ago is probably not the best course of action in such a scenario.
I’ll keep on reporting until the end, no matter how bad it gets, someone has to do it after all. Or good, never give up hope comrades, even in the worst hours, we have to be resilient, there is no other choice.
Removed by mod
https://xcancel.com/AryJeay/status/1870290401510264884#m
Yemeni missile dodges 2 Israeli interceptors before striking in Tel Aviv.
Another school shooting
I’m sure that’s great news for the bourgeois who are glad the ruling class is no longer being targeted and we’re back to our regularly scheduled hell world programming
Abundant Life Christian School, the irony
one-star google maps review, “not as abundant as advertised”
Wonder how much coverage it will get compared to the CEO getting shot.
Guessing little to none aside from a headline
In Kids TV News, HBO is dropping Sesame Street (they license content, which essentially funds its production and availability on PBS). Given Trump will almost certainly end federal funding for PBS (and the show is a personal target of Matt Schlapp and Ted Cruz), it may prove to be one of the casualties of the new republican regime unless someone else picks it up.
As a parent, it’d actually be quite sad to see it go, either entirely or from PBS. High quality, freely available children’s content that is positive, educational and inclusive should be a given, but naturally, the market will consume all - even Elmo.
This whole drone saga really reminds me of the clowns in the woods if anyone remembers that
A new virus with pandemic potential is rapidly spreading around American farms. I hear this one is from a weird American meat selling market where animals in the facility are kept trapped in small cages around feces all day, and sometimes even fed feces in some cases? Apparently the Americans believe this helps the animals grow faster and taste better? So barbaric
After relentlessly bending the knee to “mama bear” Nancy Pelosi and the Dem establishment, all while providing cover for American participation in the Gaza Genocide with progressive voters, AOC lost the vote for top Dem spot on the House Oversight committee to Gerry Connolly, a 74-year old Democrat from Virginia with throat cancer, after Pelosi threw all her weight behind Connolly.
Serves that worm right lol.
She debased herself to the Dem establishment, endorsed Biden & Harris without asking for any policy in return (policy that might help Dems win in 2024 as well!!), she lied for them and she was still “TOO RADICAL” for them anyway.
A tale as old as time.
She played the insider strategy in order to gain power to then pass her radical left-wing agenda… that doesn’t even exist. Since Biden was inaugurated everything died, from M4A to opposing “kids in cages”.
Yep, once you’re labeled a “radical” the system shuts you out forever, regardless of your capitulation. Deserved.
Ahahahaaaaaaa, this was the main part of her case to the Dem committee members.
NEWS - Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez privately signaled to Democrats that she might no longer back congressional primary challenges to her colleagues, according to three people familiar with the situation.
Did she debase herself or was she just playing the game? After all she had a suspicious foreign studies year in Mauritania one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world.
She’s doing what the unions wanted
Do you disagree?
This bit will never end lol.
Not as long as there are Power Dynamics.
I’m with pelosi on this one, always keep the snake in check so you don’t get outsnaked
