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I tried to cut down my internet intake but kept my Hexbear slop. I found myself regularly uninformed about what was happening here in the US and abroad. I knew a lot about Beanis. But not much more than that. Is it because I wasn’t reading this mega? Or do I need to go back to obsessively reading news?

Super long article about how US intelligence is completely embedded within private security that corps like ebay, Microsoft, and sport franchises use to protect CEOs from getting Luigied:
https://www.valueaddedresource.net/cia-to-silicon-valley-ebay-cyberstalking-scandal/

Juicier bits:

Recently released documents expose new details about the eBay cyberstalking scandal, Senior Security Director Jim Baugh's alleged CIA past and how the revolving door between Big Tech and the US national security apparatus threatens free speech and press freedom.

At her criminal sentencing, Security contractor Veronica Zea called the culture at eBay under Baugh cult-like, toxic and abusive, weaving a stomach-churning story about how a carefully selected group of mostly young female analysts (nicknamed "Jim's Angels") were systematically broken down through coercive control techniques, sexual harassment and assault, sleep deprivation, and routine exposure to graphically violent content.

While Zea's letter to the court contains the most shocking revelations about the toxic culture at eBay, Baugh's sentencing letter gained even wider attention due to explosive claims that he had previously served in the National Clandestine Services - the undercover arm of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Baugh's letter to the judge was surprisingly candid about his government intelligence background - including claims that he worked for the CIA after a stint at Microsoft and that he assisted the CIA and FBI with intelligence gathering activities on a voluntary, unpaid basis after returning to the private sector as an independent security consultant on high-profile protection details including guarding then-Vice President Joe Biden at the 2016 Oscars.

The letter also revealed Baugh's supposed CIA and FBI code names as well as claims that during his private sector career, he assisted with recruitment of foreign agents and electronic surveillance of foreign leaders; reported observations from international travel and business meetings; and recruited colleagues (including a CEO) to assist the government by allowing the use of their private sector resources.

Other documents from the criminal sentencing which have not been sealed show that Baugh contends he was hired by eBay specifically for his prior government experience which demonstrated an "ability to solve difficult problems through unconventional means" and that this practice is not uncommon in corporate America, citing a New York Times article about a former CIA officer who was employed by Uber as one example.

During the time between Microsoft and bgC3 in which Baugh claims to have been working for CIA Clandestine Services, his resume shows he was a Strategic Planner at defense contractor Northrop Grumman, lending plausibility to the idea that he may have at least been contracted to the CIA during this time, if not directly employed by the agency.

The European Parliament is in the “final stages” of discussions with Beijing about removing sanctions on its members, smoothing the way for normalised relations with the bloc, according to a spokesperson for the lawmaking body.

“Discussions with the Chinese authorities are continuing and in their final stages,” the spokesperson said.

also as we have more brainworm-friendly audience here in news mega, nlr does shenanigans again and decides to interview ross duffus.

https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii152/articles/ross-douthat-condition-of-america

it's fascinating to see imperialist brainworms intersecting with catholic brainworms and compassion, intertwined with brazen classism and absences which imply existence of something. so if you want a land of contrasts

i found it somewhat interesting, if sometimes annoying (okay a lot annoying, but still amusing)

maybe it's nlr karma for interviewing pal action, so they have to balance it with shit

India downgrades Pakistan ties after attack on Kashmir tourists - Al Jazeera English

After very limited battlefield testing since January 2024, and rumours that Russia has started deploying them, we now have video of jet powered Shahed/Geran drones being used on an attack on Ukraine alongside propeller powered drones, at Odessa. The turbojet engines of the new Shahed 238/Geran 3 produce a new distinct noise audible at the beginning and end of the video (the noise in the middle is from the propeller driven Shahed 136/Geran 2 drones), and two jet engine exhausts can be seen glowing in the night sky at the beginning of the video, with one of the drones likely being shot down by AA gunfire, the video cuts so it's unclear. There's also a potential glowing jet exhaust in the middle to the end of the video.

Video of the drone attack

Xcancel mirror

The Shahed 238/Geran 3 is a turbojet engine powered version of the Shahed 136/Geran 2. The PBS TJ150 turbojet engine allows for the 238 to fly much faster than the 136, the 238 can fly at speeds of between 500-600kph/312-375mph in level flight, and 800kph/500mph in a dive. The 136 has a maximum speed of 185 kph/115mph with its MD550 piston engine that powers a propeller. This turbojet engine will also enable the 238 to have a much higher flight ceiling, if that's desired. However , the turbojet engine takes up more space, meaning less fuel onboard and likely a shorter range, and requires jet A1 fuel instead of standard petrol/gasoline. The 238 comes in three versions, one with standard GNSS/INS navigation and guidance like the 136, one with a infrared camera for terminal guidance and potential operator control, and one with a radar seeker for use as an anti radiation munition to take out radars and air defence systems.

So Trump said something about "tariff will not be 145%, but more like 50%", but nothing actually happened, no? No change in policy and negotiations aren't happening, as far as I know?

Well I’m back from El Salvador and my break. Hadn’t been in a while because Bukele fans said they’d hang me from a tree with a fork up my ass lol but that clearly didn’t happen. I ended up meeting with leftists in the country who are concerned with him. Bukele is a clever person who is a good example of a competent fascist. You don’t gain control of a country as fickle as El Salvador for as long as he has without having some level of competency.

My own family are mixed on him. The men are unsurprisingly die hards who see him as some sort of tough guy while most of the women respect him cracking down on crime but want him to leave migrants alone.

You have to remember that the things he’s doing didn’t start with him but he’s making the largest spectacle out of it. The whole targeting people with tattoos was a thing that started with Honduras and Guatemala has a long history of disappearing people in US backed prisons, including American citizens.

CECOT is a big concern as well just for what it means. This sort of thing was expected with Bukele and it didn’t take long for him to lock up leftists and indigenous he has issues with. Now I said before that CECOT conditions aren’t the worst and superficially that’s true. Smaller prisons are even worse with cells that look like they haven’t been touched since being built in the 50’s. What makes CECOT stand out is the idea of nobody ever being able to get out. Guard brutality is a common thing and it’s assumed for now that prisoners either just stay until they die from the conditions (which are considered the best but still far from being good compared to even US prisons) or face some kind of death penalty. A lot of the details are murky because of how secretive CECOT is but for now it’s not quite on the same level of notoriety within the country as Izalco while still being a major concern. Even bigger is how other countries are responding. Every country in Central America did their own version of Bukele when it came to cracking down on crime. From the same people who used to always call Nicaragua authoritarian when it never went as far as Bukele did.

We have to also remember that climate change is hitting El Salvador hard. Harder than it is with Guatemala. I think Guatemala will survive by the end of the century in a very fractured state but I think El Salvador will be one of those countries that will no longer exist. This is going to make people like Bukele more common in the region as climate refugees and emigrants become more common.

Also WWE is one of the US’s strongest cultural exports. It’s pretty popular in Guatemala but the kids in El Salvador love it as well. They were talking about John Cena, Cody Rhodes, and Rey Mysterio constantly and trying to act out their moves. I would love to dissect the global presence of WWE because I’ve been to small villages in Central America where their TV’s only had three channels and one of them played WWE all the time.

Israel's official Twitter account has deleted its condolence tweet for Pope Francis due to his statements in support of Palestine.

• Telegram

UN Warns of Escalating Gang Violence in Haiti, Calls for Urgent International Intervention - Telesur English

another day another disappointing effort of joint dictatorship of treasury holders (this is for 1 month, for some scale)

if inventory and shipping won't implode in next 1-2 monthss, back to nothing ever happens gang (and bean watching)

Thankfully the Ukrainians got in their own way before the Russians were forced to officially reject the Kellogg "peace plan"

Now it's likely Trump will blame the Ukrainians instead of the Russians for ruining his "negotiations"

I'm not used to writing long posts here but since the French communist youth (MJCF, Mouvement jeunes communistes de France) held its 44th congress recently I thought I might share some takeaways from it. Note however that I am not in France at the moment, nor was I there during the whole run-up to the congress itself, so I am sharing what I've been told by other comrades and what I can gather from the new texts that have been voted on.

According to our general secretary, the number of members doubled since the last congress in 2022.

Speaking of doubling in size, since the last congress in 2022 the size the MJCF's policy text grew from 37 pages to 56. Generally, it seems that this new text confirms the return to Marxism-Leninism that had been started by the previous congress, and clarifies many things that have been left merely implied or glossed over. One part of the text that I want to highlight is the way that the text lists the historical and philosophical foundations that make up the MJCF's understanding of Marxism-Leninism:

"It [the MJCF] draws from the French Revolution the aspiration to truly popular sovereignty, which only the emancipation of the proletariat can achieve. It rejects the bourgeois confiscation of the Republic and human rights, and asserts that only a society free of capitalism will enable the people to exercise their sovereignty fully. It also draws on universalism, the foundation of equality in rights and a necessary step towards genuine equality. It draws on French history to build its political project around the demand for a Social Republic, as opposed to a bourgeois republic.

It adopts the work of Marx and Engels to analyse and change the social relations of production. It affirms the revolutionary role of the proletariat in opposition to ["antagoniste à" in the original] the bourgeoisie, whose political and economic goal is the abolition of private ownership of the means of production and the need to socialise those means.

It appropriates Jaurès' contributions to socialist ideas in France, as well as his fights for peace and secularism ["laïcité" in the original]. He saw capitalism as incompatible with any aspiration for peace between peoples.

It draws from the work and life of Lenin his conception of organisation and the seizure of power. Without a party and without organisation, there can be no revolution and no seizure of power by the working class. It embraces Lenin's analysis of imperialism. It defines imperialism as the supreme stage of capitalism.

This is what the MJCF calls Marxism-Leninism."

Contrast this with the policy text of the 43rd congress, where the only mention of Marxism, Leninism or the rest of the movement’s historical roots was this single short sentence:

"The MJCF embraces Marxism-Leninism as the historic political current to which it belongs."

But the text doesn't just mention Marx, Engels and Lenin here and leave it at that. Indeed, another change from the previous policy text is that there are now proper definitions of the socialist revolution, of the dictatorship of the proletariat (as part of the new definition of socialism) and of democratic centralism (which has a whole section dedicated to it). They are as follows:

"Socialist revolution consists of the overthrow of capitalist social relations through democratic control of economic, social and political institutions by the working class and the abolition of bourgeois property. […] The French Socialist Revolution will take a form which is appropriate to the material conditions of the country. It is a long-term construction which requires the structuring and strengthening of the organisation."

"Socialism is a phase in which the working class has taken control of the state and the economy, but where the reminiscences of capitalism and the reaction of the bourgeoisie remain strong. It is a phase in which workers are learning to manage society themselves, with the defence of their long-term interests at its heart. The dictatorship of the proletariat, i.e. the total exercise of power by the proletariat, is necessary to prevent the counter-revolution of the bourgeoisie and to bring the revolution to a successful conclusion."

"The MJCF does not operate on the basis of factions. It does not tolerate any strategy of entryism by other organisations into its midst and does not practise entryism in other organisations. Each level of the MJCF respects the decisions taken by the higher level. In return, the higher echelon must take into account the opinions and feedback of grassroots activists, thus guaranteeing that decisions are rooted in the reality on the ground. This ensures the unity of the movement, while guaranteeing that debates take place within the framework provided. The democratic nature of the movement is at the heart of the democratic centralism that the MJCF embraces.

Democratic centralism can be summed up as follows: ‘total freedom in discussion, unity in action’. The democratic aspect ensures collective decision-making: freedom of debate in the bodies set up for this purpose within the MJCF and constant feedback from members based on their experiences. The centralist aspect ensures unity of action, by respecting the decisions of the higher echelons and ensuring that they are strictly applied, as well as respecting the governing bodies and their members, and respect for national and federal bodies and executives. It implies a permanent link with the movement's management, particularly through regular monitoring in each federation.

Once a decision has been taken democratically, all members must respect and defend it publicly and show discipline, even in the event of disagreement. In the event of disagreement, it is essential not to express criticism in public, but to discuss matters internally in order to preserve the unity and cohesion of the organisation.

The NC [National council] is responsible for ensuring the ideological, organisational and militant coherence of the movement at national level. The monitoring system, a prerequisite for mass organisation. Monitoring members of the NC occupy a key position within their federations. They must be able to go there face-to-face several times a year and be available to federal executives, with weekly telephone calls. Executives must be particularly attentive to the profiles of comrades with experience who could be relevant for the monitoring role but who sometimes do not dare to apply to the NC. This issue is linked to the wider issue of under-candidacy for the NC, particularly among our female comrades."

There are also a lot of other important changes which I'll summarise now. There is a renewed emphasis on class struggle, the need to abolish private propriety and establish a planned economy. On class struggle, that is also shown in the updated section on the European Union, which in addition to being much longer also focuses for a big part of it on the role the EU plays in the domination of capital. Additionally, France's own role as an imperialist power is criticised more in the new text, not only within the EU and NATO but also in relation to former colonies in Africa as well as Kanaky-New Caledonia. And finally, the section on LGBTI rights is also greatly expanded in the new text, with an interesting passage on transition (defined in the text as three things: social transition, administrative transition and medical transition) as well as on the mutilation of intersex people; in contrast, the old text only had once sentence regarding LGBTI people, about how anti-LGBTI discrimination was a cause of patriarchal ideology. Here is what the new text has to say on transition:

"Transition paths must be facilitated. It is essential that these paths be supported medically and socially.

It must be possible to change one's marital status at the town hall on simple request, and the process must be streamlined. The use of hormones, regardless of the method used, must be fully reimbursed by Social Security.

A better understanding of transition paths is needed to provide this support. By transition we mean 3 different things: social transition, i.e. changing first names and pronouns in everyday life and wearing gender-affirming clothing; administrative transition, i.e. changing first names and sex on the civil register; medical transition, ranging from hormone treatment to surgery. A transgender person may undergo some or all of these transitions, sometimes without the support of family and/or friends, leading to social insecurity."

Overall I'm very happy with my comrades' work and I'm hopeful about the future of the MJCF. I'm a bit bummed out now that I still won't be in France for the next few years to see how these changes will be put into practice concretely within the movement.

Im a couple of cones and more than a couple of beers deep so can someone explain why the following:

As many as one in 200 adults and one in 50 children have a nut allergy, charities say.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgpvzrjjdzo

isn't implying a quarter of kids die from the allergy? better testing methods? that doesn't make sense unless there's a level of allergy that can skirt by unnoticed even when straight up eating a peanut right? Just bad writing?

Ukrainian delegation plans to ignore Trump's 'peace plan' in London talks - Axios

The New York Times also reported that Zelensky disrupted the negotiations by refusing to recognize Crimea as Russian. US Secretary of State Rubio has cancelled a trip to London, where talks on settling the Ukrainian conflict will take place, amid Zelensky's words about refusing to recognize Crimea as Russian.

US withdraws from negotiations, says Ukrainian MP Bezugla. An hour earlier, US Secretary of State Rubio cancelled a trip to London, where negotiations on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict will take place, against the backdrop of Zelensky's words about refusing to recognize Crimea as Russian.

Saw something a bit ago about how the Burkina Faso government managed to foil a coup attempt, anybody got any info about that? Based if true.

U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, ordered the Pentagon to brief Elon Musk on approximately 20 top secret China-related issues, without the approval of a legal advisor or the President – CNN

Garnishing wages of people with student loan debt is just another tax draining demand for real goods. Good job.