Image is from the Britannica article on CECOT, known as the Terrorism Confinement Center in English.


This megathread’s topic is inspired by our lovely news regular, @Frogmanfromlake@hexbear.net, who talks often about the conditions inside El Salvador and gives nuanced and informative takes.

As the Trump administration continues to make foreign policy blunders that would make even the staunchest anti-imperialist accelerationist blush - and we are barely three months in! - it’s interesting to compare and contrast his policies of incompetent imperialist and domestic management to the dictators in other countries.

Bukele is somewhat unique among fascists, in that he seems to not hide - and seems to even admit to - his evil, self-describing as the world’s “coolest dictator”. El Salvador has no particular shortage of prominent fascists in their history, but one major example is Maximiliano Martínez, who led the country over much of the 1930s and the early 1940s. He was responsible the deaths of many thousands of communists and indigneous people, and yet joined World War 2 on the side of the Allies and against the Nazis.

The comparisons between Martínez and Bukele - and, indeed, between Bukele and Trump - in terms of their impact on minority groups are slowly growing as world attention is being drawn to the country. The recent meeting between Bukele and Trump has shifted a spotlight onto El Salvador’s crime policy; the internal conditions of El Salvador’s prisons are genuinely monstrous. One gets a similar feeling as when reading descriptions of the conditions of Holocaust victims in German concentration camps. Trump has made statements to the effect that he want a similar crime crackdown inside the United States, and I certainly believe that he wants this (ICE is already just kidnapping people off the streets into vans), but his administration has been so chaotic and mismanaged that it’s difficult to determine whether this will be an interest he rapidly drops in favor of some other hair-brained scheme.


Last week’s thread is here. The Imperialism Reading Group is here.

Please check out the RedAtlas!

The bulletins site is here. Currently not used.
The RSS feed is here. Also currently not used.

Israel-Palestine Conflict

If you have evidence of Israeli crimes and atrocities that you wish to preserve, there is a thread here in which to do so.

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.


  • Zascoco [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    4 hours ago

    Algerian TV channel suspended over migrant racism

    "Algerian authorities on Friday suspended broadcasts by a television news channel for 10 days after it used a racist word on social media to describe African migrants.

    Echorouk News TV used the derogatory word in a Facebook post after police raids in which migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were detained. The ANIRA broadcasting authority called the publication ‘extremely serious’.

    The report contained ‘a racist and discriminatory term, an attack on human dignity, conveying hate speech against a category of people because of their race,’ said ANIRA which demanded that the channel’s management make an official apology."

    Did anything of the sort ever happen to a western news channel recently ?

    Link: https://www.newagebd.net/post/africa/263908/algerian-tv-channel-suspended-over-migrant-racism

  • SexMachineStalin [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    6 hours ago

    Estonia increased its military spending to 5.4% of GDP from 3.4% (an increase of €750M).

    This is enough money to provide a significant amount of funding to Rail Baltica, further improve public transport, or even build a nuclear power plant that can make Estonia self-suffifient in complementary renewables/nuclear energy (or even make Estonia an energy exporter).

    But you know, anglo-burn eu-cool nato-cool brainworms

    sounds of the Riigikogu collectively chowing down beet and onion slop and polishing horse cocks

  • SeventyTwoTrillion [he/him]@hexbear.netOP
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    8 hours ago

    If anybody wants to suggest a new thread topic, then you have a few hours before I put the next megathread up to make a suggestion.

    I was thinking either India/Pakistan, or maybe the Spain and Portugal blackouts.

  • Redcuban1959 [any]@hexbear.net
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    12 hours ago

    Israel indirectly places blame on the United States, with the Israeli Air Force stating that the American ‘THAAD’ system missed the Yemeni missile, allowing it to impact at Ben Gurion Airport – Kann

    • Telegram
  • MarmiteLover123 [comrade/them, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    10 hours ago

    US and UK airstrikes continue on Yemen for the 51st night in a row. The following governorates were hit by airstrikes:

    Hodeidah:

    • Unspecified amount of airstrikes hit Ras Isa Fuel Port.

    Sana’a:

    • Fighter jets heard over Sana’a.
    • 3 airstrikes hit the Sawad area in the Sanhan district.
    • Unspecified amount of airstrikes hit Al-Malikah area in Bani Hushaysh.
    • 6 airstrikes hit the Bani Matar District.
    • 2 airstrikes hit the Sa’wan area of Shu’ub District.
    • Unspecified amount of airstrikes hit Al Rawdah area of Bani Al Harith District, near the airport.
    • 2 airstrikes hit the Attan area of Bani Matar District.

    Ma’rib:

    • 2 airstrikes on Raghwan district.

    Al-Jawf:

    • 3 airstrikes hit the Khabb wa ash Sha’af District.

    Big focus on Sana’a today, after it was excluded from strikes yesterday.

    Warning for potential graphic imagery during ongoing airstrikes:

    Al Masirah TV twitter

    Xcancel mirror

    I hope to get my post about the Franken SAMs out tomorrow, but who knows, maybe Iran will unveil another ballistic missile, or Yemen will hit another target, and delay it further.

    Latest statement by the Yemeni Armed Forces on the ballistic missile strike at Ben Gurion airport, and the announcement of a air blockade on Israel, something that they’ve been working on since March 22nd. I think the direct hit very near the airport terminal and control tower has given Yahya Sare’e the necessary political capital and confidence to announce it more broadly now.

  • Redcuban1959 [any]@hexbear.net
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    12 hours ago

    More American Air Defense Is on the Way to Help Ukraine - NYT

    Article

    A Patriot air-defense system is moving from Israel to Ukraine, and Western allies are discussing the logistics of getting Germany or Greece to send another.

    Ukraine is getting more help in its war with Russia. A Patriot air-defense system that was based in Israel will be sent to Ukraine after it is refurbished, four current and former U.S. officials said in recent days, and Western allies are discussing the logistics of Germany or Greece giving another one.

    The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, declined to describe President Trump’s view of the decision to transfer more Patriot systems to Ukraine. The White House’s National Security Council does not provide details on the strength and placement of defense systems, said James Hewitt, a spokesman for the council. “President Trump has been clear: he wants the war in Ukraine to end and the killing to stop,” he said.

    A former White House official said that the Biden administration had secured the agreement with Israel in September, before the election won by Mr. Trump. The Defense Department said in a statement that “it continues to provide equipment to Ukraine from previously authorized” packages, referring to weaponry pulled from existing inventories and new purchases.

    The delivery, which has not been previously reported, comes as Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine, including an April 24 missile strike on Kyiv that was the deadliest since last summer. A year ago, allies struggled to answer a demand by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine for seven Patriot systems. Although Ukraine now has eight, only six are functioning. The other two are being refurbished, one of the U.S. officials said. With the one from Israel, and one from Germany or Greece, Ukraine would have 10 Patriot systems in total, largely to protect the capital, Kyiv.

    As Russia has intensified recent attacks, Mr. Trump’s recent public remarks on the war have softened in favor of Ukraine.

    Mr. Trump had a cordial meeting with Mr. Zelensky at Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome last weekend, after a disastrous one in February in the Oval Office. He has dialed down his negative rhetoric about Mr. Zelensky and questioned whether Russia is serious about peace talks. A delayed minerals deal with Ukraine was signed on Wednesday, paving the way for more U.S. military aid.

    On Saturday, Mr. Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv that the minerals deal could mean the United States would send more air-defense systems.

    Under U.S. export rules for sensitive defense equipment, the United States must approve any transfers of the American-made Patriot missile systems to Ukraine, even if they were coming via other countries. The systems are scarce, and their deployment is often a shell game of world hot spots, figuring out which global crisis requires them most to defend U.S. troops, bases and allies.

    Mr. Trump has made ending the war a signature goal of U.S. foreign policy, but at the same time, has flipped that policy on its head. Even though Russia started the war, Mr. Trump has frequently expressed admiration for its president, Vladimir V. Putin, and adopted some Russian talking points, like saying that Ukraine should not be able to join NATO and that Ukraine was somehow responsible for the war despite being invaded.

    Since the start of the war, Mr. Zelensky has repeatedly asked for more Patriot systems, saying they were essential to defend his country. Each Patriot surface-to-air system consists of a battery with a powerful radar system and mobile launchers that fire missiles to intercept incoming projectiles. The United States first sent a Patriot system to Ukraine in April 2023. By January 2024, there were already missile shortages.

    On Friday, Col. Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman in Ukraine’s air force, said it was no secret that Ukraine needed more air defenses. “We are really waiting” for supplies, he said.

    Since taking office, Mr. Trump has publicly brushed off Mr. Zelensky’s requests for more Patriots, which Mr. Zelensky has recently offered to buy. When asked about Mr. Zelensky’s request to buy Patriots almost three weeks ago, Mr. Trump said the Ukrainian leader was “always looking to purchase missiles.” But Russia has been increasing its attacks on Ukrainian cities — including an exploding drone attack on Kyiv on Sunday that wounded 11 people — ever since the United States started pushing peace talks in February.

    On April 24, a Russian ballistic missile killed 13 people and injured almost 90 others in Kyiv. In a rare rebuke of Mr. Putin, Mr. Trump wrote on social media, “Vladimir, STOP!” He later said there was no reason for Mr. Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas. “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along.”

    The attack starkly illustrated how Russia can overwhelm Patriot systems, often by sending a barrage of drones and missiles almost simultaneously. Nearly 70 missiles, including ballistic ones, and about 150 attack drones targeted cities across Ukraine that night, although Kyiv was hit the hardest.

    Ukraine lacked the air defenses to shoot down that many missiles and drones, said Ihor Klymenko, the country’s minister of internal affairs. The next night, Mr. Zelensky renewed his offer to buy Patriots. “We are ready to purchase the necessary number of Patriot systems for our country,” he said in his nightly speech. “This is not about charity.”

    On April 26, Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Trump met on the sidelines of the pope’s funeral in Vatican City, leading to the apparent reset of their relationship after the Oval Office encounter in February. Both Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated the Ukrainian president in that meeting, saying he had not expressed sufficient gratitude for American help.

    After the pope’s funeral, Mr. Zelensky said he and Mr. Trump had talked about a deal to share in the profit from extraction of Ukraine’s natural resources. Mr. Trump later said Mr. Zelensky asked for Patriot missiles.

    “He told me that he needs more weapons,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “He’s been saying that for three years.” But then, he added, “Look, he wants to do something good for his country.”

    On Wednesday, the United States and Ukraine signed the minerals deal. While it does not explicitly mention security guarantees for Ukraine, it ensures the possibility of shipments of American weapons to Ukraine if a peace deal is not reached with Russia.

    While Ukraine is still receiving weapons authorized under Mr. Biden, those supplies are expected to end this summer.

    The Patriot systems cost at least $1 billion to build and about 90 troops to run.

    Data compiled by the weapons trackers at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London suggest about 186 Patriot systems are in operation worldwide. The United States owns about one-third of them and has sent many abroad to protect allies in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

    Several dozen Patriots have been sent to the Indo-Pacific region because of threats from China and North Korea, although the United States recently moved at least one to the Middle East to safeguard Israel.

    European allies own about 40 systems, including the eight now in Ukraine.

    The ninth Patriot coming from Israel and being overhauled for Ukraine is an older model, according to two of the U.S. officials. It is expected to be delivered to Ukraine by this summer. Germany and Greece together own about 15 Patriot systems, according to the international institute’s data.

    Kateryna Stepanenko, a Russia analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based organization, said the increased Russian strikes likely sought in part to deplete some of Ukraine’s air defenses and stocks.

    “Part of it is a psychological and political campaign that the Kremlin is waging, in which it’s trying to scare Ukrainian people into essentially accepting capitulation, when the realities of the battlefield for Russia are far from Russia actually winning,” Ms. Stepanenko said in an interview.

  • RedStarOS [it/its]@hexbear.net
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    15 hours ago

    TASS: Trump vows to reduce customs duties for China

    “At some point, I’m going to lower them because otherwise, you could never do business with them. And they want to do business very much. Look, their economy is really doing badly. Their economy is collapsing,” he told NBC News in an interview.

  • buckykat [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    14 hours ago

    Trump is cancelling SLS

    Pros: SLS sucks and is a scam

    Cons: it’s all gonna be Starship now, which also sucks and is a scam. Falcon does not suck and is not a scam, but is pretty small and narrow for BLEO use.

  • Redcuban1959 [any]@hexbear.net
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    19 hours ago

    Trump is sending his Sanctions Coordinator, David Gramble, to Brazil on Monday to negotiate “punishment” for one of Brazil’s 11 Supreme Court Justices, Alexandre de Moraes. People like Trump & Greenwald accuse Moraes of censorship but sanctioning a judge IS a form of censorship.

    Moreas oversaw the criminal investigation of Trump’s buddy Jair Bolsonaro. When sanctions are levied against a foreign judge as a direct response to their rulings, they function as a tool of censorship by seeking to control or punish judicial speech (i.e., legal decisions). Moraes is also the Supreme Court Justice behind the temporary ban of Trump overlord Elon Musk’s X platform, when it failed to abide by local laws.

    According to Brazilian journalist Paulo Capelli, the Trump administration is thinking of barring Moraes from visiting the US (as if he cares), and freezing any US assets (of which he doesn’t have any).

    Silicon Valley technofash and their puppet-journalists have wasted so much effort pushing the false, Moraes as dictator narrative, they don’t seem to realize that if he were deposed tomorrow, it wouldn’t affect Bolsonaro’s trial. Only 2 Justices are expected to vote ‘not guilty’.