🚨Tragic Breaking News🚨

13 year old Israeli Brigadier General dies in Gaza !!!

Angola announces withdrawal from OPEC
Angola has announced its withdrawal from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Membership is not in the national interest, said Oil Minister Diamantino Azevedo in a televised speech on Thursday. You don't play a relevant role in the energy cartel, but sooner or later you could be forced to cut production. This would contradict the country's goals. Angola joined OPEC in 2007. When the organization set Angola's output target in November at current levels, about 1.11 million barrels per day (bpd), Azevedo sent a note of protest. OPEC members produce about 28 million bpd.

Ancap Update:

The Minister of Human Capital (which includes Education, Labor and others), Sandra Pettovello, announced that protesters who take part in the marches called for December 20 will be cut off from social benefits.

The measure follows Javier Milei's list of measures to reduce demonstrations against the austerity measures put in place by his government.

Bari Weiss targeting Refaat for how his tweet on fake baked babies made her feel versus Refaat actually being killed is the perfect encapsulation of this whole feelings debate in the West when an actual genocide is being committed.

Nitter

Radio CIA reports Ukraine is wasting more American taxpayer money and manpower on tearing down Soviet statues in a bold move to win the war against Russia

The authorities in Kyiv continued their policy of removing Soviet-era monuments in the capital, dismantling a memorial to the January 1918 communist uprising, “another symbol of Bolshevik tyranny,” according to the city council.

The fascist little town Schutzmannschaft ideological thought police declare victory in SMO on the grounds that ideas Triumph over material reality

"The ideological role of this pedestal was to glorify the Bolsheviks, who staged an armed rebellion against the Ukrainian Central Rada and the Ukrainian People's Republic. For decades, Soviet and imperial executioners have been imposed on us as heroes.

Village chiefs wearing schweinhund hats of their Schutzmannschaft bandit ancestors who gleefully pillaged and massacred the Ukrainian countryside says the brave men that put them down like rabid dogs and went onwards to save the world are the real monsters.

Now it's time to get rid of the hostile cultural influence forever," council member Hanna Starostenko said. On December 9, Kyiv removed a monument to Bolshevik military commander Mykola Shchors.

Heinrich Himmler enthusiast and ww2 larper Hamma StaroStenko says the correct fact that hostile cultural influences must be removed from Ukraine, doesn't realize she's talking about herself.

Never spend your morning arguing with a child on telegram, worst mistake of my life

new front opens in the war on christmas

New legislation passed in Ukraine earlier this year, making the official Christmas holiday December 25, instead of January 7.

In Sydney's west, Father Simon Ckuj, the parish priest of St Andrew's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lidcombe, said it was the first time Ukrainian Catholics would celebrate Christmas on December 25.

"We have changed it because the church in Ukraine has changed both Catholic and Orthodox," Father Ckuj said.

"It is in a large part due to the war, with a desire by Ukrainians to be more integrated into European society."

Earlier this month, the European Union agreed to open accession negotiations with Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the agreement as "a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe".

Father Ckuj said the change to the date for Christmas was more about leaning towards the West.

"It is a very real way for Ukrainians to turn their back on Russian Orthodoxy. It is a way of expressing the desire for the Ukrainian people to celebrate with the Western world."

Vice president of the Ukrainian Council of NSW Andrew Mencinsky said the change had not been accepted by all – yet.

"The Orthodox Church in Ukraine is celebrating Christmas on the 25th of December," Mr Mencinsky said.

"But some of the Orthodox Church in Australia is still clinging to January 7, but that will change shortly."

Looks like lemmy.world is now removing SCMP for "not meeting their reliability guidelines"

Those guidelines? 🤷

Kyiv Post is reliable though, guys. Don't worry.

Israeli military campaign in Gaza is among the deadliest in history, experts say | AP News

Between 1942 and 1945, the allies attacked 51 major German cities and towns, destroying about 40-50% of their urban areas, said Robert Pape, a U.S. military historian. Pape said this amounted to 10% of buildings across Germany, compared to over 33% across Gaza, a densely populated territory of just 140 square miles (360 square kilometers).

Nicaragua and China Agree on a Strategic Partnership

Nicaragua is ready to work with China to oppose external interference and power politics.

On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said he is ready to work with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to promote bilateral ties for fresh achievements with the newly announced strategic partnership between the two countries as a new starting point.

In his phone talks with Ortega, Xi pointed out that the political decision made by the Nicaraguan president two years ago to resume diplomatic ties with China has made significant contribution to bilateral relations.

The China-Nicaragua free trade agreement, which will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, is a landmark achievement of cooperation between the two countries, Xi said and encouraged Chinese enterprises to invest and start businesses in Nicaragua and carry out more cooperation projects that Nicaragua needs to help it achieve self-driven development.

China also stands ready to strengthen solidarity and coordination with Nicaragua in international affairs, and work with Nicaragua to oppose hegemonism and power politics, promote the development of a more just and rational international order, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, Xi added.

For his part, Ortega said that China's remarkable achievements have not only lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, but also made significant contributions to promoting world peace.

On the occasion of the second anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic ties between Nicaragua and China, Ortega said he is honored to jointly announce with Xi the establishment of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Nicaragua is ready to work with China to continuously deepen bilateral friendly relations, strengthen multilateral coordination, oppose external interference and power politics, and jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, he noted.

I guess the USA being openly hostile to the Sandinistas for no reason really didn't work out. They pushed Nicaragua 100% towards China.

cnn "analysis": chief international security correspondent tries to navigate a narrow line between 'ukraine is fucked' and 'ukraine will surely capture moscow if nato throws enough money at them'

Argentines March Against Milei's Economic and Security Policies

"Milei announced a declaration of war against the people's labor, social, and civil rights," stated the activists calling for the protests.

On Wednesday, human rights defenders, social activists, workers, students, teachers, and retirees will march in Buenos Aires to reject President Javier Milei's economic adjustments and security protocol.

This marks the first major mobilization against the far-right administration and coincides with the anniversary of the 2001 social upheaval that led to the resignation of then-President Fernando de la Rua.

The mobilization aims to defend the right to protest, which is under threat with the protocol announced by the Security Ministry. Among the groups participating in the march are the Worker Pole, the Left Front, Great Homeland, the Communist Party, the Railway Union, "Memory, Truth and Justice," the Peace and Justice Service, and the Teachers' Trade Union.

The march will have two columns starting at 4:30 PM local time from the Congress and the Obelisco. They will converge at Mayo Square where social activists will read a document agreed upon by various groups.

"Milei announced a declaration of war against the people's labor, social, and civil rights. It includes a mega-devaluation, the freezing of funding for popular dining facilities, and significant increases in service fees," stated the activists calling for the protests.

They also denounced a protocol that seeks to preserve the so-called "public order" because it undermines constitutional rights, including the right to protest.

Last week, Security Minister Patricia Bullrich announced an anti-protest protocol that includes prison sentences, charging protesters for the expenses incurred in deploying security forces, and deporting foreign demonstrators.

"The protocol establishes that any demonstration that is carried out with blockades of streets or routes constitutes the commission of a flagrant crime and enables the security forces to evict or disperse the protest," Piensa Prensa reported.

"At the same time, it contains provisions to collect information, criminalize, persecute and stigmatize participants in public demonstrations and the political, social and union organizations involved," it added.

On the eve of the first major protest against Milei, Human Capital Minister Sandra Pettovello announced that citizens participating in or promoting street blockades will cease to receive public support through social programs.

The package of measures to be announced by Javier Milei (Spanish Only)

The President will speak on national TV to detail the scope of the decree that will repeal laws such as the Rent and Supply laws, modify labor regulations and open the privatization process of State-owned companies. Afterwards, he will send to Congress a series of economic emergency projects, such as the return of the Income Tax for workers and a new law for the "blanqueo".

Coincidence or timing, Javier Milei will unveil the mystery behind his austerity package possibly on the same day that leftist social organizations will march against its consequences in downtown Buenos Aires. It will be through a national chain, the first of his term of office. The versions indicate that the President will explain this Wednesday the scope of the economic deregulation decree.

The Decree of Necessity and Urgency will include from the repeal of dozens of laws to a labor reform. It will be, however, the first step of a two-step movement: first the DNU, and then the package of economic emergency bills that will be sent to the Chamber of Deputies between Thursday and Friday. There will be the core of the reforms that Milei wants to pass before the honeymoon period of his government and the citizenship expires, before the resistances deepen.

The President will deliver his message in the afternoon, although there was no official confirmation at the time of going to press. It will be a message explaining -and justifying- the Decree of Necessity and Urgency which will include more than 500 articles. Part of it will be oriented to the repeal of several laws regulating the economy (most of them enacted to avoid abuses by the market), such as the Rent Law and the Supply Law. A group of officials of La Libertad Avanza, including the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, and the former head of the Central Bank, Federico Sturzenegger, collaborated in the drafting of the bill.

The other leg will be the labor reform, which will not pass through Congress as some unions were demanding. The changes will include the replacement of severance payments by severance funds -which will be, according to LLA, "voluntary"-, as well as the elimination of fines for improperly registered (or unregistered) work. It is speculated, in turn, that the DNU will also include the first step for the privatization of some of the State-owned companies. That is to say: to modify their status to that of corporations.

The DNU, however, will only be the initial step. The first sample of the tenor of the adjustment program that Javier Milei plans for the beginning of his government. Between Thursday and Friday it will take on its full dimension, when the Executive will send to Congress the package of economic emergency measures which, this time, will have to be supported by the opposition in order to be implemented. The two main axes of this package will be the reversal of the Income Tax reform and a new law for the "blanqueo" (laundering of taxpayers' money).

The Congressional bidding

"There are measures that are not friendly and there is no other choice. But when the President takes this kind of emergency measures to reverse the extremely serious situation in which we find ourselves, we know that they will be temporary, they will not last 40 years". Martin Menem's phrase resounded in the lower chamber of the Chamber of Deputies, a couple of hours after the governors' meeting in Casa Rosada.

During a toast with journalists, the President of the Lower House was referring to the package of initiatives that will enter the Congress between Thursday and Friday. But not just any law, but those which, going against everything Milei had said during the campaign, would condense the core of the "economic emergency". That is to say: the restitution or increase of taxes, that which the libertarian economist had defined as a "robbery" on numerous occasions.

The main focus of conflict will be the restoration of the income tax for the fourth category: a reversal of the reform that Sergio Massa had led during the campaign and that Milei himself had supported. The libertarian government's horizon is the zero deficit, so it will bet on increasing tax collection by lowering the non-taxable minimum (which with the reform had been set at 15 minimum wages). It will be ideologically uncomfortable for Milei and, furthermore, it is not entirely clear that he will have the numbers to approve it, because Unión por la Patria has already expressed its opposition and, at the same time, several provincial blocks are reluctant to vote for it. On the other hand, many governors asked for the co-participation of 50 percent of the check tax, but the bill, as far as this newspaper has learned, will not be included in the package of measures.

There will be, on the other hand, other tax reforms -such as a modification of Bienes Personales or the increase of the PAIS tax-, but also others of an electoral political nature. This is the case of the elimination of the PASO and the implementation of the Single Paper Ballot (which had already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies), although LLA insists that the "priority" will be the economic laws. In turn, a law on money laundering will be included, although there will not be a draft Budget 2024. "To have a serious budget it is necessary to have serious variables, otherwise it is a drawing, as it has been so far. It is not the moment", stated from LLA, from where they bet on the extension of the Budget 2023 with the objective of liquefying the items based on inflation.

Until the package of bills enters the front desk of the Chamber of Deputies -which is where the laws will be discussed-, LLA is sharpening its knives. Menem is gathering his troops, distributing functions -they need an economic spokesperson to defend the adjustment and they do not have many names, although Marcela Pagano's name is being mentioned- and negotiating places in the commissions with the opposition.

With only 38 deputies of its own, the ruling party will be in the minority in all the committees, although it intends to be granted the chairmanship of the most important ones, those of governance, which will be the only ones to be convened during the extraordinary sessions: Budget, General Legislation, Constitutional Affairs and the Legislative Procedure for DNUs (bicameral). Menem fantasizes about starting to work next week, but the opposition doubts it: to some of them, he has barely answered the phone.

Engineered famine. I really have no words anymore.

Australia refusing to send any battleships to participate in "Operation Prosperity Guardian". Wonder why?

The US is concerned that Houthi-led Yemen will attack or even sink American ships, according to US officials who spoke to The New York Times. They fear that the war that could break out again between the Gulf states and the Houthis if the US reacts to it will have more serious consequences. For this reason, they abandoned attempts to directly attack the Houthis.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abdullahian also said the US has requested assistance in combating the Houthi attacks. Iran said it could not help because the United States was a party to the war. After the collapse of the anti-Houthi coalition, it turned out that the United States feared that the Houthis would sink their ships, and then they had to ask Iran for help.

The Houthis managed to inflict one of the biggest strategic and tactical defeats on the US this century without even hitting them directly with a handful of missiles and drones.

From sea to ocean arabia should be yemeni

Milei should be made the president it the United States. He's too good for Argentina.

‘Russia stopped us from buying fighter jets’ – Ukrainian arms firm

The CEO of a controversial private firm that helps Ukraine procure weapons in foreign markets, has lamented that Russia was able to derail its bid to buy fighter jets.

The company, Ukrainian Armored Technology, was identified by The New York Times in August as the biggest private supplier of arms to Ukraine, raking in hundreds of millions of dollars through what the US media outlet alleged are shady price-gouging schemes.

Vladislav Belbas discussed the firm’s operation and ties with the Ukrainian publication Ekonomicheskaya Pravda in an interview on Thursday.

The proposed jet deal involved a nation “on the other side of the planet,” Belbas told the outlet, but Russia somehow intercepted one of the messages detailing it.

“Soon, a representative of the Russian embassy in that nation started going around with that letter, threatening local officials that Russia would cut some projects in that nation,” the arms trader recalled. The sale was aborted by the seller, he said, offering no further details about the incident.

...

“Much of the money that fuels this system comes from European aid,” the report said, citing an inside source. “But European and American officials are loath to discuss Mr. Pashynsky, for fear of playing into Russia’s narrative that Ukraine’s government is hopelessly corrupt.” In 2022, the firm reported sales totaling $350 million, up from $2.8 million the year before hostilities with Russia started, NYT reported.