Image is of the damage caused by an Iranian Kheibar Shekan ballistic missile in Israel, causing dozens of injuries.

Now in our second week of the conflict, we have seen continuing damage to both Israel and Iran, as well as direct US intervention which nonetheless seems to have caused limited damage to Fordow and little damage to Iran’s nuclear program. Regime change seems more elusive than ever, as even Iranians previously critical of the government now rally around it as they are attacked by two rabid imperialists at once. And Iran’s government is tentatively considering a withdrawal, or at minimum a reconsideration, of their membership to the IAEA and the NPT. And, of course, the Strait of Hormuz is still a tool in their arsenal.

A day or so on from the strike on Fordow, we have so far seen basically no change in strategy from the Iranian military as they continue to strike Israel with small barrages of missiles. Military analysts argue furiously - is this a deliberate strategy of steady attrition on Israel, or indicative of immense material constraints on Iran? Are the hits by Israel on real targets, or are they decoys? Does Iran wish to develop a nuke, or are they still hesitating? Will Iran and Yemen strike at US warships and bases in response to the attack, or will they merely continue striking only Israel?

And perhaps most importantly - will this conflict end diplomatically due to a lack of appetite for an extended war (to wit: not a peace but a 20 year armistice) or with Israel forced into major concessions including an end to their genocide? Or even with a total military/societal collapse of either side?

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.

  • mkultrawide [any]@hexbear.netEnglish
    36·
    8 days ago

    He said he would fight antisemtism by funding a general hate violence prevention program (not one specifically targeted at antisemtism). What exactly was he supposed to say, in your opinion? Antisemtism isn’t real, or that it shouldn’t be combatted?

    • very_poggers_gay [they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
      43·
      8 days ago

      I think there are fair reasons to be critical or skeptical of Zorhan, but I think there are fairer critiques than holding him to task for not going on Colbert and saying “death to israel” or tweeting packwatch in response to the DC incident.

      In the endlessly propagandized, MSM-watching, treatlerite world run by the brainwashed and complicit masses, stories of a muslim American politician being as uncompromisably anti-zionist and anti-israel as it gets is practically calling for political (or actual) assassination.

    • Muinteoir_Saoirse [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
      16·
      8 days ago

      It doesn’t matter what type of “hate crime” you are trying to prevent via policing. Increased funding for policing and putting the safety of marginalized people into the hands of police is violence. There is nothing progressive in the least about increasing hate crime funding, when the entire criminal justice system is a network of violence and oppression against the marginalized people who are supposed to somehow be safer through more police interaction.

      Edit: I recommend Dean Spade’s Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, & The Limits of the Law for a really good analysis of the way that “hate crime” laws and hate crime policing are dangerous ways to deflect from real justice, and also serve to increase the amount of violence that marginalized people face.

      • CoolerOpposide [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
        33·
        8 days ago

        Cool. Surely Zohran has said something about this funding going towards increased policing then right?

        Oh wait he hasn’t? He said it’d go to social workers and social programs? Alas, I’m already mad about something I invented in my head

        • Muinteoir_Saoirse [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
          17·
          8 days ago

          Social workers often work as arms of policing, actually. They are responsible for further entrenching the authoritative violence of America’s racist systems into the families of marginalized people, and are responsible for literally stealing children in many cases. They hold the power of life and death over marginalized people and work intimately with cops.

          Edit: I get it, he’s your pet politician that you worked for, but he’s still a democrat, get over yourself.

      • spectre [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        19·
        8 days ago

        It doesn’t matter what type of “hate crime” you are trying to prevent via policing.

        He has been clear that the 800% increase in funding is not going to policing. They are non-police anti hate violence programs.

        He has been clear that he is going to “defund the police” by explaining what that actually means instead of using the slogan. He will not be decreasing the officer headcount, but otherwise everything else is on the table according to his campaign (no increase to headcount or funding, reductions in overtime spending, reductions in equipment spending, no increase or possible decrease to overall budget).

        • Muinteoir_Saoirse [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
          13·
          8 days ago

          Hate crime prevention by its nature goes to policing, that is why they use the language “crime” and focus on criminalization, rather than justice (the networks of policing include far more than just officers on the streets)

          • spectre [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
            26·
            8 days ago

            Hate crime prevention by its nature goes to policing

            Ok, it’s fine to say “Zohran’s plan to reduce hate crime by increasing funding to non-police programs by 8x will be ineffective because he is not sending the police more funding and that’s the only way” as your opinion

            But to say “Zohran is giving the police funding to reduce hate crime” is not correct.

            I mean what are we doing here anyway? did we just leave socialism at the door? do we not generally agree that more habitable conditions for the working class, and a reduction in economic and social equality will reduce crime and other anti-social behavior across the board? or is it only the police who can reduce hate crime? It’s not a take I expected on this site, but maybe I’m the one who has it wrong?

      • mkultrawide [any]@hexbear.netEnglish
        15·
        8 days ago

        His 17-page public safety plan, which was released on Tuesday, does not call for hiring more officers, as several of his rivals have done. Mr. Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens, would instead create a city agency called the Department of Community Safety that would focus on expanding violence interrupter programs and mental health teams that respond to 911 calls.

        “The police have a critical role to play,” he said in an interview. “Right now, we’re relying on them to deal with the failures of our social safety net. This department will pioneer evidence-proven approaches that have been successful elsewhere in the country.”

        Mr. Mamdani said he also would eliminate the Police Department’s huge overtime budget and a unit known as the Strategic Response Group that responds to protests.

        …

        His proposed Department of Community Safety would have a budget of roughly $1 billion, comprising $600 million for existing programs and $450 million in new funding. It would be run by a commissioner-level position, and Mr. Mamdani would eliminate the deputy mayor for public safety, a role that Mayor Eric Adams revived in 2022.

        He would expand programs like the Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division, or B-Heard, which sends teams of mental health professionals, rather than the police, to the scenes of certain emergencies. He also wants to deploy “mental health navigators” in neighborhoods and outreach teams at 100 subway stations to connect people with services.

        https://archive.is/IfGMV