Image is of the Preah Vihear Temple on the Cambodian border. Image sourced from the UNESCO World Heritage website.
Over the last few days, Thailand and Cambodia entered into a heightened stage of conflict due to a long-running border dispute. Like many problems on this planet, Europeans are ultimately to blame - specifically France. Certain sections of the border drawn up by France about a century ago were not fully agreed upon by both sides, with the ownership of some Khmer temples being the most visible points of disagreement.
Despite interventions in favor of Cambodia in the 1960s and later 2010s by the ICJ - one of the mainly mostly useless global institutions that liberals periodically disown - the border conflict has simmered at a generally low level. Of the two countries, Thailand is significantly more militarily and economically powerful.
Last Wednesday, a Thai soldier lost his leg by stepping on a landmine, prompting a rapid escalation between Cambodia and Thailand that has since resulted in dozens of deaths and tens of thousands displaced. Cambodia was willing to come to the negotiating table fairly quickly, but Thailand was more hesitant. International pressure on the two countries by Malaysia, China, and the United States eventually forced Thailand to the table, and they have recently agreed to an immediate ceasefire courtesy of ASEAN.
Notably, Trump refused to hold trade talks with either country until they agreed to peace, which suggests that he really wants a Nobel Peace Prize - which he seems a shoe-in for given that he’s met the two most important requirements that several Nobel Peace Prize recipients have needed to meet in the past, which are: 1) start at least one war, and 2) accelerate the genocide of millions of people as billions more people watch on. His policies vis-a-vis ICE creating a domestic terror regime only further increase his chances of winning the prize.
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
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.
Israel is currently carrying out airstikes in the Beqaa Valley in northeastern Lebanon, reportedly targeting underground Hezbollah missile and rocket production facilities.
https://xcancel.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/1950811690171318541#m Chris Smalls released from Israeli prison
Sky News (tv) has been banging on ALL DAY that China is preparing to invade Taiwan. Why are they suddenly on this shit again? Is it true? I don’t even know anymore.
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine leader Marwan Abdel-Al to L’Humanité:
“The so-called two-state solution conference is not so much a peace initiative as it is a recycling of a political illusion that reality has surpassed. The conference, in format and timing, resembles an official funeral for a solution that no longer exists except in diplomatic statements. What is being presented today under the title of “two-state solution” does not constitute a project for liberation, but rather a permanent management of a colonial tragedy.
Europe, including France, may now theoretically recognize a Palestinian state, but in reality, it finances coexistence projects with the occupation, funded the war—being the mother of the nuclear bomb—and avoids any real measures against settlements, the siege, or stopping the genocide.
Palestinians do not need more words, but clear political action: recognition of a sovereign, independent state, the removal of the occupation, and an end to Western colonial partnerships with the “israeli” apartheid regime.
The real solution begins with changing the balance of power on the ground. Our people want an end to the occupation… not an international absolution.
Most Palestinians—especially the new generation—have come to consider this solution a political trap. How can one speak of “two states” when there are projects of annihilation, ethnic cleansing, annexation, and expansion, and there are more than 700,000 settlers in the West Bank?
Where is the state in the shadow of a wall that separates families, and with crossings managed at the whim of occupation soldiers?
We are not demanding a symbolic entity under “israeli” sovereignty; rather, we want real liberation, the right of return, and historical justice.
The majority of Palestinians, at home and in the diaspora, have come to see it as an illusion. How can we talk about “two states”? The issue has moved beyond symbolic recognition to a question of justice, the right of return, and the dismantling of the apartheid system.
The Palestine Liberation Organization is the product of a national experience and the foundation of Palestinian national action, and its pandemic stems from this basis.
[What is the alternative?] The alternative is the dismantling of the colonial system from its roots. The alternative is not a ready-made recipe, but a long liberatory path. It begins, however, with the recognition that Israel is not a “democratic” state but a colonial regime, as happened in South Africa. We do not reject the “two-state solution” because we are radicals, but because it is no longer viable.
The alternative is a single democratic state on the entire land, where all people are equal without religious or ethnic discrimination. Or, at the very least, a liberation framework that opens the door to all options, far from the logic of “peace in exchange for submission.”
Palestine today is a mirror to the world: between international law and the force of arms, between the victim and propaganda. Standing with Palestine is a test of human conscience, not just a political stance. We do not want the colonial system to use the proposal of a two-state solution to whitewash its record or its inaction. This requires the French left to free itself from the pressure of the dominant imperialist media or the fear of moral blackmail. We expect the left to reclaim its radical language: to say that what is happening in Palestine is not a conflict, but settler-colonialism and systematic genocide. And to stand with the truth without a false equivalence between the murderer and the victim. There is no neutrality in the face of genocide.
We are not asking for emotional solidarity, but for political and moral commitment. Palestine today is not just the cause of a people being slaughtered, but a universal issue in which our humanity is being tested.
If Palestine falls, international standards and justice fall with it. From Paris to Gaza, the battle is one: against fascism and the new racism, and against the colonial memory that has not yet died.”
Kamala Harris to release book on presidential run: ‘I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting’
Who knew “What Happened” was the first of a long-running DNC series…
Iraqi PM says his security forces stopped attacks against US & israeli bases during the 12 day war in June.
Excerpt:
spoiler
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in an interview that Baghdad thwarted dozens of attacks targeting Israel and US military bases during the 12-day war between Tehran and Tel Aviv.
Speaking with AP in an interview released on 29 July, the Iraqi premier said armed groups attempted to carry out drone and missile attacks at Israel and US bases in Iraq, but were thwarted 29 times by “security operations.”
…
Sudani told AP in the interview that his government is planning to “keep these groups in check going forward” and that he “wants to get closer to the Trump administration,” even while maintaining strong ties with Iran-linked groups.
…
According to the Iraqi prime minister, Washington and Baghdad will meet by the end of 2025 to “arrange the bilateral security relationship” between both countries. He also said he hopes to secure US investments in oil, gas, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) – which would “contribute to regional security” and make “the two countries great together.”
What a banger this article from ForeignPolicy is: China Has Picked Its New Model Entrepreneurs. As they are a journal for the economic and political elites they have to provide facts and not juste baseless propaganda, but the neoliberal viewpoints is so funny seeing what they find horrible are things I would love form my government to do lmao.
Here are some choice quotes, but the article is worth reading in its entirety:
Jointown’s positioning aligns with official campaigns such as “rural revitalization” and more broadly with the CCP’s long-standing concerns about inequality. Although the slogan of “common prosperity” has largely disappeared from official headlines—likely due to the chilling effect it had on private-sector sentiment—the core economic rationale behind it remains. A focus on redistribution, social equity, and public service provision, particularly in the countryside, continues to feature in the state’s evolving approach to economic governance.
This tension lies at the heart of China’s private-sector predicament. Beijing’s notion of entrepreneurship doesn’t fit easily with the traits that modern markets reward most readily: risk-taking, independence, and relentless disruption. In China, to grow too large, to become too rich, or to innovate in ways that unsettle vested interests can still provoke suspicion. For example, in 2020, after Alibaba founder Jack Ma publicly criticized China’s financial regulatory system for stifling innovation, Chinese regulators abruptly halted the IPO of Ant Group—Alibaba’s fintech affiliate, which had been poised to launch the world’s largest public offering—citing concerns over anti-monopoly violations and financial risk.
Many entrepreneurs, especially those beyond the political spotlight, remember the antitrust campaigns against the technology sector, the devastation of the private education industry, the arbitrary zero-COVID lockdowns, and the rent-seeking behavior of local officials.
We have another crashed F-35 in Central California
Non-archive Link
I linked this in a comment below, but I think it’s important and interesting enough to post itself. Here are the results of a survey conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in May 2025.
They had 1270 responses, and participants responded to questions about
- humanitarian conditions;
- opinions on October 7th;
- expectations regarding the genocide and ceasefires;
- the political outlook after the genocide;
- anti-Hamas demonstrations;
- the decision to release israeli hostages, and accept disarmament/expulsion of Hamas;
- opinions about local, regional, and international actors;
- fall of Assad and the US war against the Houthis;
- two-state solution; preferred means of resistance;
- and more.
I don’t have the brain power at this hour to create a more detailed post, so I hope y’all can take it and make some good convo about it.
https://www.palestineremembered.com/Haifa/Sabbarin/index.html
from the river to the sea palestine will be free
So why are multiple countries, including Qatar (where much of Hamas’ civil leadership is currently located), Egypt, the UK, France and other EU member states suddenly putting out statements or making UN statements about recognising a Palestinian Authority led Palestine State, with Gaza demilitirised and Hamas surrendering all power?
I think it’s because of the latest Israeli ultimatum, according to Israeli sources. These sources have said that if Hamas do not sign the “60 day ceasefire”, Israel will formally annex parts of Gaza, speculated to be the so called “buffer zone” first, followed by the rest of Gaza if no agreement is reached. The Israeli plan is obviously supported by the United States, if the US didn’t come up with it themselves. There’s speculated to be a 48 hour countdown on this, which started at 14:00 UTC, July 29th. It’s currently 01:00 UTC, July 31st, so 35 hours have passed. This means that Israel, if they’re going to follow through on this, will have to announce the plan sometime on July 31st. This would explain all the statements on recognising a Palestinian state sans Hamas that have come out over the past days, both a last ditch effort to pressure Hamas into signing the 60 day ceasefire/surrender (especially in the case of Qatar) to avoid the formal annexation being triggered, and as a way for some western European countries to wash their hands clean of the potential upcoming formal annexation of Gaza, as they won’t officially recognise it.
I could obviously be very wrong here, this is speculation. But the timeline is very coincidental. It also lines up with the September 2025 part of the Palestinian recognition. If a 60 day ceasefire is signed on July 31st, it would last until 29 September.
Why is a formal annexation different from current and previous Israeli military occupation? To reverse/undo annexation, two thirds of the Israeli parliament must vote in favour of it’s reversal (80/120 seats) or a national referendum must vote in favour of reversal, according to past precedent. The military or Netanyahu can’t just decide to withdraw if annexation goes forward, any withdrawal or reversal will require large political alignment.
Yes this is a low follower random twitter account, but their reporting has been highly accurate in the past:
Qatar, Saudi, Egypt join call for Hamas to disarm, give up Gaza rule - France24
Mark Carney says Canada will recognize Palestine as a country only if they hold Hamas-less elections by the end of 2026 and completely demilitarize. I would compare this to apartheid bantustans but at least those didn’t have half their de jure territory blocked off from them by their overlords
The Trump admin is now doing vibes-based inflation data tracking
ADDRESSING THREATS TO THE UNITED STATES BY THE GOVERNMENT OF BRAZIL
I am laughing my ass off at this executive order. It’s essentially “Brazil is being mean to Bolsonaro and threatening the US economy, so we will henceforth impose a 50% tariff on ALL IMPORTS FROM BRAZIL, except for the items listed in Annex I.”
Annex I: [a list of literally every single thing Brazil has ever sold to the US, except coffee for some reason]
