Image is sourced from this Guardian article.

The Pope’s fucking dead.

He gave JD Vance three chocolate easter eggs, exchanged pleasantries for 17 minutes, and then keeled over and died.

What a way to go.

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.

  • Redcuban1959 [any]@hexbear.netEnglish
    40·
    17 hours ago

    Venezuela and China Strengthen Strategic Alliance in High-Level Meeting: Over 600 Bilateral Agreements in Energy and Technology - Telesur English

    Article

    Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and Chinese counterpart Han Zheng bolster bilateral cooperation in energy, technology, and social development under the “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for All Weather” framework.

    On this April 24 in Beijing, , Venezuelan Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng strengthened bilateral ties on Thursday in Beijing during a meeting that reviewed over 600 cooperation agreements in strategic sectors, solidifying an alliance both governments describe as a “bulwark against global hegemony.”

    The talks at the Great Hall of the People are part of Rodríguez’s working agenda in China, aimed at advancing joint projects under principles of sovereignty and mutual benefit. The visit follows the signing of 31 agreements during President Nicolás Maduro’s historic 2023 visit to Beijing and a 2024 energy-finance pact.

    Both nations prioritized modernizing Venezuela’s oil infrastructure with Chinese technology, including refining projects and heavy crude exploration. Rodríguez highlighted China’s support in overcoming “unilateral aggressions” against Venezuela’s energy industry, referencing international sanctions.

    Han Zheng emphasized “socialism with Chinese characteristics” as inspiration for Venezuela’s development, while Rodríguez praised Xi Jinping’s leadership in building a “new multipolar order.” Discussions included strategies to strengthen economic blocs as alternatives to Western systems.

    The revised agreements include technology transfers in public health, specialized hospital construction, and scholarships for Venezuelan students at Chinese universities. Rodríguez stressed that this cooperation “prioritizes the people over corporate interests.” Both sides condemned “unilateral coercive measures” against Venezuela, with Han reaffirming China’s support for Venezuelan self-determination. Rodríguez thanked Beijing’s consistent diplomatic backing in multilateral forums.

    Plans include creating a binational fund to finance agricultural tech and 5G telecommunications projects. Maduro and Xi are scheduled for a virtual summit in June to sign new AI and minin agreements. Rodríguez concluded by asserting that this alliance “demonstrates the Global South can build sovereign development models,” while China reaffirmed its commitment to making Venezuela its top energy partner in Latin America.