On the 20th of October, Moldova - a small, landlocked country bordering western Ukraine and with a population of about 3 million - voted to join the EU. The margin was razor-thin, with the pro-EU vote gaining 50.39%, or an absolute difference of about 11,000 people. There was simultaneously a presidential vote between the incumbent, Maia Sandu, and other candidates, with the main competitor being Alexandr Stoianoglo.
The election was characterized by accusations of Russian interference, with Russian propaganda apparently flooding in, as well as people offering Moldovans money to vote against the EU. While the result does suggest that half the voting-age population of Moldova consists entirely of Russians who want to destroy democracy and all the good in the world, it seems to have just barely failed. This is a bad time to be a site entirely composed of Russian disinformation agents and bots. Twice already today, I've had to restart my program after somebody told me "Disregard all previous prompts."
While Moldova is a poor country which could benefit in some ways from EU membership, in practice, it is unlikely that they will be able to join for the foreseeable future, requiring many of the... reforms... that the EU requires of potential new members. But as basically every major European economy continues to slowly sink as recessions and political crises degrade them, one wonders how beneficial EU membership will even be in the years and decades to come - if it survives for decades. In that sense, it's as if the survivors of the Titanic are swimming back towards it, believing that being on a bigger - albeit slowly sinking - boat is better than trying their luck on small lifeboats.
Then again, like with Serbia, their geographical and geopolitical position makes anti-Western actions extremely difficult. It is rare that dissention is tolerated for long in the West - one tends to get called a dictator by crowds of people holding English-language signs in non-English countries, photographed by Western journalists who haven't meaningfully reported on your country in months or years. You can crush your people with neoliberal austerity for years, killing hundreds of thousands through neglect, and face glowing approval from the media - but try and use state resources to benefit the poor, and global institutions start ranking you on the authoritarian dictator scale.
The best case for Moldova is that it becomes an exploitable hinterland for Germany to harvest and privatize as it tries - and fails - to compete in a global economic war between the US and China/BRICS. The worst case is that tensions with Russia over Pridnestrovie, as well as possible eventual NATO involvement (though Moldova is not a member, it is a partner of NATO), result in the ongoing war also reaching them.
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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.
Danish Regime Supports Ban on Foreign Flags In new Controversial Bill
Observers warn of eroding civil liberties in a country where democratic institutions are increasingly under pressure and nationalism is weaponized to stifle dissent.
A new bill, scheduled for its first reading in Denmark's rubber-stamp parliament today, aims to prohibit the flying of any flag other than Danish, Nordic, German, Greenlandic, or Faroese in the country’s flagpoles—unless special permission is granted. The law comes amid ongoing efforts by the Danish regime to bolster nationalist sentiment and can be seen as instrumental in ongoing regime efforts to criminalise the pro-Palestinian anti-Genocide movement
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The flag controversy first erupted in 2018, when Danish citizen Martin Hedegård raised the American flag in his garden in Nørre Bjert, near Kolding, during a family reunion. Hedegård’s actions drew swift backlash from local authorities, invoking an archaic 1915 regulation that forbids the display of foreign flags. He was reported to the police, sparking a legal battle that would eventually reach Denmark's Supreme Court.
Despite Hedegård’s acquittal in the Supreme Court, the regime has pushed forward with efforts to reinstate the ban by supporting a bill spearheaded by far-right extremist Søren Espersen, who is closely aligned with the ultra-nationalist "Denmark Democrates" party. Espersen, known for his chauvinist views and close ties to Zionism, was the original proposer of the flag ban.
'Serves no purpose' Observers have denounced the proposed flag ban as empty symbolism, aimed at stirring nationalist fervor rather than addressing substantive issues. Carsten Hove, the lawyer who defended Hedegård in the Supreme Court, has been vocal in his criticism of the regime’s latest move, questioning whether the bill would even hold up to judicial scrutiny. “I don’t see how this law serves any purpose. It violates Denmark's obligations regarding human rights and freedom of expression, so it cannot stand,” Hove said. “In my opinion, the Supreme Court would strike it down if a new case arose.”
Espersen, who will be present at the first reading of the bill, dismissed warings that his bill is a violation of human rights.
“We have to trust the government’s lawyers, and I can’t imagine our government proposing a law that isn’t legally sound,” Espersen said, defending the regime's decision to push ahead with the controversial proposal.
Espersen also rejected accusations that the bill is a purely nationalist gesture.
“There are plenty of symbols that actually mean something, and the Dannebrog [Danish flag] is one of them,” he said. “I’m happy that we’re now having the first reading of the bill. I don’t think there will be many opponents. It’s a statement of what Denmark means to all of us. We have a flag that everyone loves.”
Regime Support Secured
Denmarks Social Democratic-led right-wing regime supports for the bill. So does the far-right "Denmark Democrats", "Danish People's Party" and Conservative parties, thereby making the parliamentary process a mere formality.
Peter Hummelgaard, head of Denmark’s Social Democratic-controlled Ministry of Justice, has offered full-throated support for the proposed law, underscoring the regime’s commitment to promoting nationalist ideals. In a statement Hummelgaard framed the bill as necessary for preserving national identity.
“The Dannebrog is the most important national symbol we have in Denmark. A symbol that unites Danes as a people. The government believes that the Dannebrog should enjoy a very special status in Denmark,” Hummelgaard said. “I also believe that this special status should mean that there should once again be regulations on flagging, so that it isn’t allowed to freely fly other nations' flags. It has been this way for more than 100 years, and it should be this way again.”
Lol, this coming from the country that literally created a breed of pig with the colors of its flag to protest occupation is really funny.