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Image is of Trump's initial set of reciprocal tariffs. Source is CNN and Reuters.


It's difficult to keep up with the news around the tariffs; they get instated, then dropped, then reinstated... for example, on Friday, Trump said that certain electronics like smartphones would be exempt, causing markets to rally a great deal, but now the Commerce Secretary has said that they might not be exempt? The state of play right now, if you haven't been keeping up this week, is that the US recently announced a 90-day global pause on implementing the tariffs he had planned (that is, 25% on certain Canadian and Mexican goods, and at least 10% on every other nation) but nonetheless increased tariffs on China to 145%.

Meanwhile, China has been - quite remarkably - standing their ground, increasing tariffs on the US to 125%, and putting restrictions on rare earths. Xi Jinping has been in Vietnam and has made statements against a tariff war there, saying that it would have no winners. Meanwhile, a Chinese spokesperson has essentially said that China can endure the tariff war due to the increasing demand from its domestic market in combination with its growing economic ties with other countries.


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.


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[-] Cowbee@hexbear.net 110 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Existing liberal lines on the PRC are shattering, and those antagonistic towards the PRC are increasingly being opposed. The time is good to be correcting misconceptions about the PRC and explaining the benefits of siding with it over the US.

I may have to hand it to the accelerationists, Trump may go down in history as one of the accidentally best presidents in USian history.

The Chinese Century is well upon us, as we already knew, but increasingly liberals are accepting this. The Paper Tiger is dissolving.

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[-] Staines@hexbear.net 103 points 2 weeks ago

UK Supreme Court has ruled that the concept of sex is strictly binary, and based on sex at birth.

Trans women are now excluded from women's spaces and services, even if they have a gender recognition certificate. Discrimination is now codified.

[-] Sickos@hexbear.net 80 points 2 weeks ago

ukkk may terf island sink beneath the waves forever

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[-] Frogmanfromlake@hexbear.net 102 points 2 weeks ago

Bukele is one of many Salvadoran fascists. Every generation of my leftist family have dealt with them through orgs and sometimes militant acts. He’s proving to be more like Maximiliano Martínez. A self-admitted facist who’s responsible for heavily kneecapping the Communist movement in El Salvador and nearly wiping out their indigenous population. My great-grandfather was jailed during his reign and I don’t think he ever came back.

Even worse is that he did all this before the CIA even existed. Much like Bukele, Martínez was an opportunist who was more than happy to suck the imperialists teats if he got something out of it.

I have to say that it’s a little amusing how nobody gave a shit about Central America and now all these foreigners keep talking about us. The takes here are much better than other sites that regularly frustrate me.

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[-] PalestinianDream@hexbear.net 99 points 2 weeks ago

havent posted in a few years, been lurking since october 23, my whole family is in Jenin, but I live in the so called united states. So I'll try to post news from and about Palestine when I can as my contribution to the mega.

havent seen this posted yet but US killed 70+ civilians and injured over 200 at Ras Issa Port in Hodeidah, very significant escalation in my view

UPDATE | Sanaa's ministry of health reports that the death toll of the US attack on Ras Issa Port in Hodeidah last night has reached 74 Yemenis.

At least 171 others were injured.

Rescue teams from the ambulance and civil defense are still identifying missing persons and searching for victims.

Source: The Cradle

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[-] Redcuban1959@hexbear.net 99 points 2 weeks ago

China says Latin American countries ‘are nobody's backyard’. After the US Secretary of State said that the US wants to reclaim its ‘backyard’, the Chinese Foreign Minister said that Latin America does not want ‘doctrines of domination’. In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Hegseth accused China of dominating Latin America and said that Donald Trump's administration wants to regain US influence over countries in the region.

"The Obama administration took its eye off the ball and let China take over all of South and Central America, with its economic and cultural influence, making deals with local governments for bad infrastructure, surveillance and debt. President Trump said ‘no more’! Let's take back our backyard."

In response, Wang Yi declared that Latin American countries are seeking independence, not “doctrines of domination”. Chancellor Wang Yi: "What the Latin American peoples want is to build their own home, not to be anyone's backyard. What they are looking for is independence, not doctrines of domination."

  • Telegram
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[-] edge@hexbear.net 97 points 2 weeks ago

"Youngest political prisoner in Russia", exchanged to the West last year, publicly confesses that he was not a "political prisoner", but an actual spy and enemy combatant.

https://twitter.com/RWApodcast/status/1912169328369418634

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[-] ClathrateG@hexbear.net 97 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)
[-] xiaohongshu2@hexbear.net 95 points 2 weeks ago

Currently riding on a train through Xinjiang. Hopefully I'll update later with more details.

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[-] edge@hexbear.net 92 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

A sitting US Congressman personally firing on the Russian military.

There has to be some law against this (not that it will be applied). MAGAs have been crying “Logan Act” because of van Hollen’s visit with Abrego Garcia, meanwhile a Republican elected official is personally committing acts of war against a sovereign nation.

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[-] Parsani@hexbear.net 92 points 2 weeks ago
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[-] mkultrawide@hexbear.net 90 points 2 weeks ago

ICE arrested and is holding a Latino man in Florida as an "unauthorized alien" after he crossed into the state from Georgia. He is a US citizen born in Georgia.

https://x.com/LlanosJackie/status/1912908068167221653

https://xcancel.com/LlanosJackie/status/1912908068167221653

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[-] thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net 90 points 2 weeks ago

There are factories in China going on tiktok and telling people how to buy stuff directly from them and ways to evade tariffs

Its all extremely funny some-controversy

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[-] Goblinmancer@hexbear.net 89 points 2 weeks ago

ICE nuking tourism by kidnapping random tourists.

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[-] TheModerateTankie@hexbear.net 89 points 2 weeks ago

A deadly E. coli outbreak hit 15 states, but the FDA chose not to publicize it

joker-amerikkklap

We are continuing down the eugenics "let disease cull the weak" path. They will probably unrecommend vaccines next, so insurance will stop covering them, and people will be priced out of vaccine access like they've done with uninsured people and covid vaccines. Dr. Brianworm will say they cause autism, and disease makes you strong, and that will be that.

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[-] Lovely_sombrero@hexbear.net 89 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Looks like Trump is pushing forward the Biden export license rule for high-end "AI" accelerators. Similar to what China implemented for rare earth minerals. NVidia is expecting a ~$5bn hit from this. Poor China, they will now have a harder time wasting energy on AI.

[edit] as is tradition, someone was buying big puts on NVDA the entire day before the announcement. Insider traders are making insane amounts of $$$.

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[-] Lovely_sombrero@hexbear.net 87 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

So that pause on tariffs happened because a couple of sleuths knew that Trump would be alone and since there would be no counterarguments to them, Trump would just default to whatever they were saying. They even waited to see him type it out, to make sure he didn't just forget about it.

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[-] Lovely_sombrero@hexbear.net 87 points 1 week ago
[-] TreadOnMe@hexbear.net 73 points 1 week ago

Phew, with him taking another IMF loan I was beginning to fear he wasn't a real libertarian.

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[-] grandepequeno@hexbear.net 86 points 2 weeks ago

possum-mama And now for positive India news: Communist-led Kerala soon to become India’s first state free of extreme poverty

The low levels of destitution in the state is a result of decades of progressive policy interventions such as:

Land reforms

High social spending

Institutionalizing healthcare as a public service

Providing job training and other necessary support for families that did not have a stable source of income

Launching a minimum 100-day job guarantee

Developing individual livelihood plans based on the specific needs of a particular family

Various other programs under successive communist governments

So Kerala is the indian state with the highest human development index. For those that don't know about Keralan politics, state elections are contests between the Communist Party of India (Marxist) led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Indian National Congress led United Democratic Front (UDF), Modi's BJP only has 1 single MP in the state.

For decades it used to be that Keralan elections would go like this, every 5 years the incumbent government would lose and the opposition would get to govern, however in 2021 for the first time ever the LDF, which had been governing since 2016, consecutively won the elections and so they have governed the state for almost 10 years, that could explain why so much progress has been achieved.

Now, as someone who doesn't know a lot about Kerala, if winning twice in a row is an outlier outcome then one would guess that, regardless how well they have governed, the LDF will probably lose in 2026 and the UDF will get to govern again, but I just saw this headline in an article I'm not gonna read saying they're polling well and could win 3 times in a row so maybe there's hope! egg-dog

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[-] john_brown@hexbear.net 86 points 2 weeks ago

NYT says Trump vetoed Israels plan to strike Iranian nuclear facilities

Israel had planned to strike Iranian nuclear sites as soon as next month but was waved off by President Trump in recent weeks in favor of negotiating a deal with Tehran to limit its nuclear program, according to administration officials and others briefed on the discussions.

I haven't decided whether I think Biden would have green lit this or not.

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[-] sempersigh@hexbear.net 85 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Okay this is actually…. Big fucking news?

Edit: it’s a MAYBE but still cool! I know science news Isn’t exactly the purpose of this thread but it seems possibly big enough to warrant a comment here

nytimes

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[-] carpoftruth@hexbear.net 85 points 2 weeks ago

Ghana created a new state body to take over all gold sales in the country, banning foreign and other domestic interests from playing that role. This is notable as Ghana is one of the most western friendly countries of West Africa.

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[-] Evilphd666@hexbear.net 85 points 2 weeks ago

Zionazi controlled University of Amsterdam, Neanderthalands 🇳🇱 sent plain clothed pig thugs to beat the shit out of peaceful protesters cw violence by pigs, reddit link

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[-] gwysibo@hexbear.net 84 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

AP: Thousands gather in London to support trans rights following UK ruling over definition of woman

Including this wonderful bit of cognitive dissonance:

Trans groups are worried that Wednesday’s landmark decision would undermine their rights, even though the U.K.'s highest court said transgender people remain protected from discrimination. The head of Equality and Human Rights Commission said the ruling will mean transgender women will be excluded from women’s toilets, hospital wards and sports teams.

Of course, the BBC has the real news: Westminster statues vandalised at trans protest

cw slurBasically some removed rights activists wrote "removed rights <3" in chalk (not even spray paint) on a suffragette statue, also the statue of a "South African Statesman" got improved with a pro-trans message but you can see why some outlets like the Telegraph are leading with the first one

[-] CthulhusIntern@hexbear.net 83 points 1 week ago

I've noticed recently that Wikipedia has been a lot less pro-Israel recently. Like, they directly call it an Apartheid state and what Israel is doing a genocide without any qualifiers, and if you look at the Talk pages on those articles, any time someone tries to bring it up, they're basically just like "No. We've already settled on this discussion."

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[-] plinky@hexbear.net 81 points 2 weeks ago
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[-] Lovely_sombrero@hexbear.net 80 points 1 week ago

The libs are mad again because Pete Hegseth didn't properly file his paperwork and protect the information about doing massive war crimes. The war crimes themselves tho, those are great.

[-] Redcuban1959@hexbear.net 79 points 1 week ago

While the world is distracted by media noise… China is quietly rallying Asia to shift global power. In just a few days:

  • 45 economic agreements signed with Vietnam
  • A 5-year strategic pact sealed with Malaysia
  • Key diplomatic meetings in Thailand
  • Military and strategic cooperation boosted with Indonesia
  • Telegram
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[-] Lovely_sombrero@hexbear.net 79 points 2 weeks ago

This is the moment just minutes ago when Mohsen Madawi a Columbia University student was apprehended by HSI agents in the middle of his appointment to become a U.S. citizen. He is a Palestinian-born green card holder. Video was taken by his friend ⁦

https://x.com/lilialuciano/status/1911821866408522045

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[-] Babs@hexbear.net 78 points 2 weeks ago

A NATO country will send troops to Ukraine to learn from the war. Russia said they will be legitimate targets.

Denmark sending troops to Ukraine to "learn drone warfare."

100% chance NATO troops will be directly involved in droning some Russians.

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[-] Redcuban1959@hexbear.net 77 points 2 weeks ago

President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country will not resume diplomatic relations with Ecuador.

  • Telesur English
[-] Lovely_sombrero@hexbear.net 77 points 1 week ago
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[-] sempersigh@hexbear.net 76 points 2 weeks ago
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[-] CthulhusIntern@hexbear.net 76 points 2 weeks ago

Awful thought I just had: Will Luigi Mangione be sent to CECOT?

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[-] edge@hexbear.net 76 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)
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[-] QuillcrestFalconer@hexbear.net 76 points 1 week ago

Well, well, well. Look at the completely predictable consequences of my actions

U.S. Chipmakers Fear They Are Ceding China’s A.I. Market to Huawei

New restrictions on semiconductor exports to China are scrambling sales and fueling concerns that the Chinese tech giant will become a chip-making powerhouse.

https://archive.is/YSBZK

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[-] Frogmanfromlake@hexbear.net 76 points 1 week ago

Currently on a break from Anglo political content while visiting family in El Salvador. I did decide to come back just to relay some interesting information from leftists in the country.

CECOT is actually the prison with the best conditions in the entire country and it certainly looks like it from the outside. I’ve seen much worse looking ones since arriving.

But it isn’t the industrial extermination camp people think it is. The real one is under the radar and it’s at Izalco. There’s an unmarked graveyard rumored to be inside or nearby it while no such thing has been heard of at CECOT.

So I’m off for another couple of days.

Also an obligatory fuck you to anyone still looking to “punish” or invade El Salvador.

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[-] BodyBySisyphus@hexbear.net 75 points 2 weeks ago

From the NYTimes live thread on the hearing of Kilmar Abrego Garcia:

Forcing the administration to reveal what it has done behind the scenes is an interim step on the way toward Judge Xinis figuring out if officials are in contempt of court. The judge also notes that this could be an uncomfortable process as the administration is compelled to answer specific questions and officials are possibly made to sit for depositions. She says she envisions the discovery process taking about two weeks. Suggesting how expeditiously she intends to move, Judge Xinis tells Drew Ensign, the Justice Department lawyer, that he should clear his calendar in order to arrange the discovery information she intends to request. “Cancel vacation,” she says. “Cancel other appointments. I’m usually pretty good about this in my courtroom, but not this time.”

Look at that, only two short weeks until they've legally figured out if the government didn't "facilitate" Garcia's return.

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[-] Lovely_sombrero@hexbear.net 75 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Ford stops car shipments to China from Michigan and Kentucky.

In April, ~80 cargo ships are "blank sailing" so far, while around 50 were at the height of Covid. So more cargo ships have either cancelled their scheduled travel entirely, or are at least skipping ports than at any point during Covid.

Trump did something to fuck with the student loan system, I completely forget what it was. Anyway, student loan defaults spiked 289%.

[-] Parsani@hexbear.net 74 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

FT: Trade, tech and Treasuries: China holds cards in US tariff stand-off

https://archive.is/ZKce1

This is the important chart, idk why archive.is doesn't load it:

funny quote and comments

Autocracy over democracy While China’s ruling Communist party is not immune to swings in public opinion, it is less reactive to pressure than the White House, which has already been forced to respond to turmoil in the bond and stock markets and the threat of higher prices. Alfredo Montufar-Helu, head of the China Center at the Conference Board think-tank in New York, noted that Beijing — despite contending with challenges of its own — was entering the trade stand-off with a greater capacity to stimulate its economy in the event of a slowdown.

It also has more levers to manipulate its domestic market, which Chinese authorities watch as an indicator of social stability and economic sentiment. Beijing has intervened heavily in the market in recent weeks, with the “national team” of state institutions driving co-ordinated action to support share prices.

But China’s government is also highly sensitive to displays of public discontent. In late 2022, it lifted its three-year Covid-19 restrictions shortly after protests emerged in major cities.

So China is autocracy and but also responds to public discontent versus responding to the discontent of the bond market. In democracy, the bond market is the people.

Also including some comments on the article because its the Chinese century.

Trump can’t bully the Chinese, they are smarter than him

Capitalism must be eliminated without traces from the world. It is now a perfect time in mankind´s history.

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[-] ziggurter@hexbear.net 73 points 1 week ago

William Shatner went to space with Jeff Bezos and said, "It felt like a funeral." QED.

From this video, which is also very good in that it talks about the absolute dumbification of feminism and women working in science and technology: women in space but it sucks

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[-] Lovely_sombrero@hexbear.net 72 points 1 week ago

Send in the clown: Bill Maher turns pro-Trump

Maher, the comic who once fancied himself a fearless political truth-teller, is now wobbling under the weight of his own ego. His recent televised monologue — an extended love letter to his dinner with Trump — was less a political reflection than a highlight reel of self-flattery and unearned gravitas.

Maher bragged that he had dinner with Trump — “a dinner that was set up by my friend Kid Rock.” Yes, when your access to the leader of the free world is coordinated by a rap-rock-country novelty act — a man who has assaulted a strip-club DJ, waved Confederate flags and hurled homophobic slurs at his own fans — you might want to reevaluate your choices. But Maher treated it like an RSVP to the Met Gala.

“I’m not the leader of anything,” Maher proclaimed, “except maybe a contingent of centrist-minded people who think there’s got to be a better way of running this country than hating each other every minute.”

Amazing timing, just as Trump is becoming less popular than ever, including his entire first term.

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[-] BodyBySisyphus@hexbear.net 72 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)
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[-] sempersigh@hexbear.net 71 points 2 weeks ago
[-] miz@hexbear.net 82 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

he's just doing this because he craves that upper drug cocktail they put him on for speeches

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[-] cricbuzz@hexbear.net 71 points 2 weeks ago
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this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2025
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