Image is from @Parsani@hexbear.net, who got it from @RNAi@hexbear.net, who got it from Discord.
Thread update: Prigozhin's fucking dead.
The BRICS summit will begin on Tuesday and end on Thursday, with various world leaders, politicians, and representatives meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.
America's anxiety about the summit has been obvious. They have been complicating the event by pushing for the arrest warrant for Putin to be upheld if he steps foot in the country. While this is a remarkably dangerous and unhinged thing to do - even by America's standards - to the leader of a nuclear superpower who could end the world within an hour, it does betray their desperation. Unfortunately, for those of us who wanted to see Putin surrounded by an army of security guards fending off people holding handcuffs, he has sent his Foreign Minister, Lavrov, in his place. Additionally, America has likely been spreading rumors about the lack of interest in gaining new members in the organization.
With apparently 20 countries formally seeking membership and another 20 informally doing so, the bloc has been elevated, whether they like it or not, to the position of the international vanguard of the non-western world. It is extremely important to say that this is not the same as it becoming an anti-American bloc, and many of them (including original members Brazil and India) wish to keep a friendly relationship with the United States. Nonetheless, with the United States' policy of "if you are not with us, you are against us," and as the US seeks to weaken China, in coming years many of them might find themselves under hostile pressure.
BRICS has to try and solve many problems if they are going to chip away at America's stranglehold of the world economy. These problems - like mitigating the dollar's status as a global reserve currency, and America's dominant role in the world economy - are extremely complicated, and will takes years, even decades, to be overcome. Therefore, one should temper their expectations and excitement for this summit. It took tens of millions of deaths in cataclysmic wars, and then several more decades, for America to reach its current position. I see no reason to believe why its downfall will be any less bloody and elongated.
To end on a less depressing note, I've been searching for appropriate anagrams given the list of countries that seek to join BRICS. Obviously not all of them will make it in, but even so. The best I've come up with is HIBISCUS EMANCIPATES BBBBKKRVV.
(also, "bulletins and news discussion" can be rearranged to "libidinous newsstands uncles".)
Here is the map of the Ukraine conflict, courtesy of Wikipedia.
This week's first update is here in the comments.
This week's second update is here in the comments.
Links and Stuff
The bulletins site is down.
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Add to the above list if you can.
Resources For Understanding The War
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.
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.
Telegram Channels
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
Pro-Russian
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
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.
Last week's discussion post.
Big fed news updating on the federation.
First off I just stumbled upon this tool over here
which @Nerd02@lemmy.basedcount.com built
So which instance have since defederated hexbear or have gone for a preemptive defederation? Around 53 instances defederated already but quite a few seem to be personal or incredibly small instances so I won't mention them.
Lemmy.world - I mean so much has been said already I don't feel I need to add more.
Feddit.de - The german federation, now I get it you are a language specific instance you want to defederate from larger instances so they don't take over your entire feed very normal. Wait they haven't defederated from Lemmy.world, lemmy.ml, or really any of the large english speaking instances. ~~At the time of writing this here they haven't even defederated from the outright nazi instance exploding-heads.~~ Browsing through some threads you get some gems as "We will beat the AfD by VOOOOOOOOTING". And funny enough another face has shown themselves the literal banderite nazi warrior of ukraine.
~~Between finishing up writing this and waiting for 72T to post the new news mega something extremely funny has happened the defederated instances has gone up from 75 to 170. I didn't keep any screenshots BUT someone else did. So say thanks to comrade polskilumalo@lemmygrad.ml for keeping a watchful eye on ze germans. And this isn't something the german admins weren't aware of it because two months ago there was a post on their own instance.~~
Conclusion feddit.de did a preemptive defederation to appear unscratched still think there's questionable stuff over there.
I fucked up here as was pointed out to me when I went by the info from the defed tool. And saw a post complaining about being federated with EH two months back so quickly assumed. @detox@infosec.pub pointed it out over here.
Lemmynsfw - Here I will fully and openly defend their defederation because as a hot blooded anarchist I will always stand by ACAB we are living in an authoritarian police state and the Volcel police has kicked down the door to my policule apartment several times for posting flushed emojis. I appeal to the people of lemmynsfw.com I yearn for the freedom to jack it please topple our mods.
Beehaw - Don't think we really need to rehash this
Lemmy.ca - Or this really
lemmy.blahaj.zone - I mean yeah
Sopuli - Finnish instance I can't read finnish but they seem fairly similar to feddit. They and lemmy.one seem to be one big thing so throw them into that pile. Currently defederated from exploding heads.
lemmy.one - An english speaking finnish instance they link to beehaw and sopuli so pretty much the same as with sopuli, they seem to be really big into crypto, privacy and libertarianism. Currently defederated from exploding heads.
Pawb.Social - Uh furry instance that just recently defederated us here's the thread. currently still federated with exploding heads.
SLRPNK - Listen we are kinda getting towards the really low population federations they banned together with lemmygrad because the admin hates tankies. Currently defederated from exploding heads.
Feddit.dk - Oh would you look at that the perfidious danes, sadly I can only speak one fake language so this is all gibberish if someone wants to look through like 20 comments in a week do it but there's very little actual posting. Although I can't prove it anymore feddit.dk was still federated with exploding heads when I wrote this and I will point out their disgusting behavior.
Geddit.social - Almost no posts, one of the admins has a ukraine flag profile so figures. Currently defederated from exploding heads.
literature.cafe - Incredibly small instance, defederation was over perceived antisemitism they seemed to have talked a bit to admins here. Currently defederated from exploding heads.
lib.lgbt -
also considering what feddit.de did I'm watching you HERR WEHRHAFTE DEMOKRATIE. Currently defederated from exploding heads.
Instances after that don't even have 20 active users so calling them out seems kind of shitty and I won't do it. ~~~~~~~~
نحن شرطة VolCel.بناءا على تعليمات الهيئة لترويج لألعاب الفيديو و النهي عن الجنس نرجوا الإبتعاد عن أي أفكار جنسية و الحفاظ على حيواناتكم المنويَّة حتى يوم الحساب. اتقوا الله، إنك لا تراه لكنه يراك.
This image is always really funny to me cause it's just a random town near where I used to live. I've been to Cumming!