Image of destruction in Mandalay, Myanmar, from Al Jazeera.

As if the ongoing civil war wasn’t enough, Myanmar has now been struck by a very powerful earthquake, resulting in 2000 deaths and thousands more injured as of the time of writing. Estimates are that the death toll could reach 10,000. Infrastructure like roads and bridges are damaged, and the hospitals are overwhelmed. The earthquake struck during Eid prayers, resulting in even higher casualties as several mosques collapsed. 20 million people already required humanitarian assistance in Myanmar, and now the situation there will be even worse. International rescue teams have rushed into the country, and aid is being raised, though with USAID experiencing the… changes that it is, the United States will be of even more limited help than usual. So far, China has sent $14 million, while USAID has supplied $2 million. In Thailand, the death toll seems considerably lower, though there has still been significant damage; a skyscraper under construction collapsed in Bangkok.

Myanmar is located very close to the boundary between the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. In particular, the country is divided in two by the north-south oriented Sagaing fault. This fault is typically strike-slip; that is, each side of the fault moves horizontally past each other. The earthquake’s depth was 10 kilometers, which is pretty shallow, and its proximity to the surface amplified the felt force of the earthquake. Additionally, the soft soil in this region tends to further amplify seismic waves through a process called liquefaction. Combine all this with the lackluster building codes due to many years of impoverishment and civil wars, and this explains why the death toll, and the expense to the country in general to repair damage, will probably be extremely high.

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.

  • SoyViking [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    A Storm In A Teacup: Danish Authorities Find Nothing Of Concern On “Russian Shadow Fleet” Ships

    In January Danish regime-loyal media ran a series of scare stories about “dilapidated oil tankers” belonging to “Russia’s shadow fleet”, i.e. tankers with non-western insurance, being anchored in the busy Skagerrak strait to refuel and resupply. Locals were scared and the media warned of the ships being a huge environmental disaster just waiting to happen.

    In response maritime authorities has been inspecting the ships. 19 ships has been inspected now and according to authorities they only found “minor violations but nothing out of the ordinary”. Authorities saw no reason to take further steps in any of the cases.

    Source:
  • Jabril [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    Just saw this posted and wanted to bring it here.

    “Digital RMB vs SWIFT: The emerging tech-backed disruption of cross-border payment settlement”

    The People’s Bank of China suddenly announced that the digital RMB (Renminbi, Chinese Yuan) cross-border settlement system will be fully connected to the ten ASEAN countries and six Middle Eastern countries, which means that 38% of the world’s trade volume will bypass the SWIFT system dominated by the US dollar and directly enter the “digital RMB moment”. This financial game, which The Economist called the “Bretton Woods System 2.0 Outpost Battle”, is rewriting the underlying code of the global economy with blockchain technology.

    There’s been a lot of chatter here about if the de dollarization hype from a few years ago was just that, a false hope with no backing in reality. Some like our favorite power user xiaohongshu pointed to BRICS+ conference and other examples showing that China isn’t interested in such a thing, due to factors like a strong neoliberal policy influence, lack of political unity within BRICS+, reliance on dollar reserves and on foreign capital investment.

    Worth reading the full article, but it seems to me like China is moving forward on de dollarization quietly and on its own, setting up the standards and processes internally using their position as the center of global production to get everyone on board without needing to include them as equals in the matter, which is what pursuing the same strategy through BRICS+ would require. No reason to telegraph these changes or to rely on politically unstable allies, China can do it all and everyone else will just fall in line.

    https://ict-pulse.com/2025/04/digital-rmb-vs-swift-the-emerging-tech-backed-disruption-of-cross-border-payment-settlement/

  • sexywheat [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    Japan: Nikkei 225, Topix Futures suspended due to circuit breaker

    The suspension of Japanese stock futures trading due to a circuit breaker indicates that the market has experienced a significant price movement—either a sharp decline or a rapid rise—triggering an automatic mechanism designed to halt trading temporarily.

    This is a regulatory measure used by stock exchanges, such as the Japan Exchange Group (JPX), which oversees the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Osaka Exchange, and Tokyo Commodity Exchange, to prevent panic selling or buying and stabilize the market during extreme volatility.

  • Coolkidbozzy [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    are we witnessing a major crisis of capital? This seems to be a big push by the US and now the UK to reduce real wages with the hope of increasing the domestic rate of profit

  • Redcuban1959 [any]@hexbear.netEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    Argentina’s Senate Rejects Supreme Court Nominees: A Major Blow to Javier Milei’s Government - Telesur English

    Article

    Argentina’s Senate rejects Javier Milei’s Supreme Court nominees in a historic 51-20 vote, escalating tensions between the president and Congress. The government calls it a ‘political attack.’

    Argentina’s Senate dealt a significant setback to President Javier Milei’s administration on Thursday by rejecting the nominations of Manuel José García Mansilla and Ariel Lijo to the Supreme Court. In a decisive vote, García Mansilla’s nomination was dismissed with 20 votes in favor and 51 against, while Lijo’s received 27 votes in favor, 43 against, and one abstention.

    Failed Negotiations and Political Tensions

    According to Tiempo Argentino, last-minute negotiations involved multiple opposition factions, including senators and governors who appeared unlikely allies. However, these efforts collapsed amid the political tensions that have defined Milei’s presidency. The rejection came while Milei was attending the World Economic Forum in Davos.

    Despite the government’s attempts to delay the session and avoid a legislative defeat, the two candidates—appointed by presidential decree—failed to secure Senate approval.

    Government’s Strong Reaction

    In a sharply worded statement, Milei’s administration condemned the Senate’s decision, calling it “historically unprecedented.”

    “>For the first time in history, the Senate has rejected a president’s nominees purely for political reasons, not over qualifications,” the government declared. It accused the upper house of being a “refuge for the political elite” and acting against the interests of the Argentine people.

    Broader Implications

    The rejection marks a turning point in the strained relationship between Milei’s executive branch and the Senate, highlighting his struggles to advance his agenda amid rising polarization. The move also raises questions about the future of Argentina’s judiciary, now left with two vacant Supreme Court seats. and Milei’s ability to govern effectively without legislative support.

    With this defeat, Milei faces mounting political challenges and must recalibrate his strategy to either propose new nominees who can gain Senate approval and double down on executive actions, risking further clashes with Congress.