Ikan (214 followers)

Ilustrator | autor del comic Travellers | http://artstation.com/ikanart | Euskal Herria - Spain
(avatar by @estirdalin)

ameliepatin (778 followers)

Illustration ｜BD et édition jeunesse｜Sérigraphie
Membre de l'atelier Projéta
📍France, Nantes

Jacquie Kidd: Living while dying

“I’ve been in a relationship with cancer for almost four years.” Jacquie Kidd, Professor of Māori health at AUT, was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer in January 2023. (Photo supplied) Jacquie Kidd, a professor of Māori health at Auckland University of Technology, has a memoir out in April, looking back on a life that focuses on health equity for Māori, especially in cancer care. Here she is writing about how her whakapapa protected and guided her through her own terminal cancer experience. Jacquie, during her first year of nursing training in 1980. (Photo supplied) I grew up with images of medicine from books (like the Nurse Sue Barton series from the 1930s and ‘40s), and TV shows like M*A*S*H, Angels, and Casualty. Then I graduated to ER, House, The Resident, and now The Pitt. There’s an obvious line to draw between their portrayal of nursing and my nursing career, which likely explains my fascination. But there’s also a strong message in these shows about how unacceptable dying is, and a desperate attempt to present a tidy version of death for public consumption. On recent TV shows, with The Pitt a notable exception, there’s a hilariously predictable story arc. It starts with the scramble to find an elusive diagnosis, accompanied by lots of heroic (idiotic) posturing, whiteboards, and much thoughtful (vacant) staring into space. Then the dreaded words “It’s cancer” are snapped out with great authority, and there’s a flurry of activity. First, the patient and family cry as the stars of the show assure them that “We’ll be with you every step of the way.” Then there’s the “We’ve got no choice!” surgery, with rushed and minimal informed consent. When surgery doesn’t work, the final step is a highly risky and ethically questionable clinical trial with terrible side effects. But that’s okay, because the patient’s heroism is only surpassed by the staff who don’t take breaks or give handovers to other specialist teams because of the “every step of the way” thing. The end might be a cure, or it might be a tear-jerking death. Either way, there’s a tidy end within a contained Euro-focused, biomedical paradigm. We can sigh happily or sniffle our way to the kitchen for a cuppa. But here’s the thing. It turns out that going from being alive to a cancer diagnosis to dying isn’t a linear progression. Some days it doesn’t feel like anything at all. Other days, I wish it was all over with. I was diagnosed with incurable, terminal bowel cancer in January 2023, following a colonoscopy and bowel resection in July 2022. The surgeon thought he “got it all”, but a scan showed that the cancer had metastasised to my lungs, so my prognosis tanked at that point. In the same way that I know that my husband and I had our first date in December 1988 and got married in December 1990, I can track my diagnosis from first encounter to full commitment. In all, I’ve been in a relationship with cancer for almost four years. Jacquie and her husband, Tony, at Waimārama in 2023. (Photo supplied) That first encounter was very much like TV, but without the makeup. I used health insurance to get a colonoscopy because I wasn’t 60, the magical age at which bowel cancer becomes a possibility in the minds of service funders and policy writers, so no public hospital was going to accept me. After the procedure, there was the inevitable “It’s cancer” proclamation and the flurry of activity. I let myself be rushed onto the cancer treatment pathway of more scans and surgery, and for a hot minute, we all thought it had worked. A nice, tidy, happy ending, until it wasn’t. This is where the concept of time gets slippery. Western notions of linear time, those rules that dictate how jobs, deadlines and finances function, just don’t work for me anymore. The widely accepted path of symptoms, tests, diagnosis, treatment, and cure or death is a deception for terminal cancer patients. It sneakily shapes how we make decisions, or how we abdicate them to the professionals, and how we experience the rest of our lives. Time in te ao Māori is consistently portrayed in our lore as curving, shifting, and flexing between past, present and future. The ability to move around time, to experience more than one time at once, and to depend on a non-linear understanding, has been an essential part of my resistance to the medicalised cancer pathway. It’s been a crucial part of my journey so far. It has created time where it seemed like there was none, and has wrapped me in my history, mostly. A significant challenge to my way of moving through the world came about almost immediately after my diagnosis, when I found myself frozen in the present. I know from my research as well as my own experience that when a life-limiting illness is diagnosed, people feel powerless. It’s like you freeze in place until someone, anyone, comes to the rescue. That feeling leads to panic and urgency — people grasp at any treatment that offers a glimmer of hope. It can translate into blind trust in the expert behind the desk. For me, that paralysis disconnected me from the values I had lived by, and I was temporarily lost. As the oncologist reeled off the terrifying list of statistics, medications and side effects, I could feel myself emotionally folding in. My tinana (body) was curled up, shaking, while I inadvertently retreated from the wairua and tūpuna wisdom that could have helped me. But two things came to my rescue that terrible day. Firstly, my husband, Tony, was with me, and we were united in our urgent need to ground ourselves in connection with our kids. And secondly, the oncologist saw what was happening and cut the appointment short so we could start to process the news. She sent us off with written information and a plan to return, and we practically ran out of her office. Resurfacing from the panic took days. I focused on my estimated timeframe of one to five years to live, but knew that for Māori with late diagnosis, it could easily be less than a year. I imagined myself sick, frail, in pain, and bedridden from both the disease and the treatments. I felt guilty that I would make my whānau cry and grieve. In short, I was filled with every kind of negativity I could imagine. The only thing I didn’t do was ask: “Why me?” My professional life as a researcher made it very clear to me that this was common. I wasn’t special, nor was my terror. “Living while dying, grieving while anticipating, good days and appalling days, happiness and despair, all co-exist quite comfortably within te ao Māori.” Jacquie and Tony with their kids and mokopuna in 2023. (Photo: Abby Harrison) What is special in this situation, though, is my whakapapa. Despite being historically disconnected from my home rohe, I nonetheless understand my origins, and I feel both my tūpuna and our future mokopuna in my present. In my ngākau, in my puku, in my wairua. They exist in real time. And because of that understanding of time as fluid rather than linear, I can let go of my fears about what is to come. Not just death, but the manner of dying, and the passage of time that will lead me there and beyond. Panic and fear cannot survive in the presence of tūpuna wisdom and mokopuna aspirations. And now I’m back where I started this story, about how death is often seen as an enemy that must be desperately fought against and ultimately tidied away. In my research, I’ve talked with kaumātua and whānau who’ve had to choose either to reject health services because they’re required to “leave tikanga at the door”, or accept healthcare knowing they’ll have to navigate the systemic racism that’s so baked into our lives that a large part of our community doesn’t believe it exists. Many of them told me that honouring tikanga was more important to them than extending their lives. So they had walked away from the system. I thought they were displaying a kind of stoicism, even hopeless resignation. I understand those whānau better now. Not because I’m steeped in tikanga and mātauranga — I’m still in the pēpē stage of my understanding — but because my tūpuna whisper to me that they’ll see me soon, and because my future mokopuna will be cuddled and blessed by their nana before they come into te ao Marama. Dying in te ao Māori not only defies tidiness, it also resists the idea of a finite life. Time bends and twists to allow me to write some of my past life into a memoir for future readers while navigating treatment decisions. It allows me moemoeā — dreams of stepping into my unknown journey back to Te Pō and ultimately to Te Kore, while I anticipate my mokopuna graduating, travelling, and living their lives. I’m at peace with having an open-ended but ultimately limited “best by” date on this tinana. Without my whakapapa to guide me, I think I would have continued to struggle with my diagnosis. I may have accepted aggressive but ultimately futile treatments that could have extended my life by between nine and 20 months, but without improving its quality. My particular type of cancer has no known cure, although there are a lot of young researchers working on it. I have no doubt that they’ll succeed, eventually. But not today, not this year, probably not this decade. Living while dying, grieving while anticipating, good days and appalling days, happiness and despair, all co-exist quite comfortably within te ao Māori. This isn’t stoicism or heroism, nor is it the “right” way of managing the unimaginable. It’s just the way my whānau and I are guided to navigate it today, whatever that might mean. Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua. This in-between life feels like a tapestry of transitioning across time and space. It’s actually kind of delicious here. “Because of that understanding of time as fluid rather than linear, I can let go of my fears about what is to come. Not just death, but the manner of dying, and the passage of time that will lead me there and beyond.” Jacquie at home in Ahuriri Napier, in 2023. (Photo: John Cowpland / alphapix) Jacquie Kidd, Ngāpuhi, is a professor of Māori health at the Auckland University of Technology. She has a clinical background in nursing and almost two decades of expertise in whānau-focused Māori health equity research, examining inequities and racism in the health system. Her current work includes lung cancer screening for Māori, whānau hauora assess­ment in the cancer pathway, and antiracism practice in healthcare. She is a trustee and co-chair of Hei Āhuru Mōwai, the Māori Cancer Leadership group, and a keynote speaker at the World Indigenous Cancer Conference in Aotearoa in 2026. Jacquie lives in Ahuriri Napier with her husband and two dogs, just a short drive from her five mokopuna. See also, this extract from Jacquie’s memoir Ngākaurua: My experience of cancer, identity and racism in Aotearoa, out on April 1.** E-Tangata, 2026 The post Jacquie Kidd: Living while dying appeared first on E-Tangata. From E-Tangata via This RSS Feed.

ameliej_patin (275 followers)

Illustration ｜ Comic and children's book｜Screen printing 📍France, Nantes My Mastodon Profil (FR) : @[email protected]

JulieMG (76 followers)

Mi-LOL, mi-sérieuse, je cherche encore ma ligne éditoriale. En attendant je suis journaliste 📺 (France 5 / CMédiatique)

OmarNose (47 followers)

¡Ése perro tiene la cola peluda!

Kuwasi Balagoon (1946 - 1986) Kuwasi Balagoon, born on this day in 1946, was a queer New Afrikan anarchist and a member of the Black Liberation Army

Kuwasi Balagoon (1946 - 1986) Sun Dec 22, 1946 Kuwasi Balagoon was a queer New Afrikan anarchist and a member of the Black Liberation Army born on this day in 1946. A veteran of the U.S. Army, the racism he experienced in the military led him to begin tenant organizing in New York City, where he joined the Black Panther Party. He was one of the defendants in the Panther 21 case. Balagoon later escaped from Rahway State Prison in New Jersey and went underground with the Black Liberation Army (BLA) in 1978. On October 20th, 1981, he was captured while participating in an armored truck robbery (known as the Brinks Robbery of 1981) which killed two cops and a money courier. Balagoon was subsequently sentenced to life in prison. Balagoon authored several texts while in prison, writings that have become influential among anarchists since first being published and distributed by anarchist prisoner support networks in the 1980s and 1990s. He died in prison of an AIDS-related illness on December 13th, 1986, aged 39. Date: 1946-12-22 Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, theanarchistlibrary.org. Tags: #Birthdays, #Anarchism. Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

bobpatin (98 followers)

Husband to Mary, jazz pianist (find my CDs on iTunes Music, Spotify, Pandora, my website), programmer, owner of hosting company Longterm Solutions, voracious reader, progressive, lover of paronomasia, skeptic, Tennessee Titans fan.

Palestinian photojournalist killed in Israeli drone strike; Indonesia floods death toll tops 700; 40 killed in Sudan in alleged army strike

Israeli military kills Palestinian photojournalist in Gaza; as Israeli forces also kill two Palestinian teenagers in the West Bank. 200 trucks enter Gaza daily (far below the number required by the ceasefire agreement), while 6,600 trucks wait. More reports emerge of drugs being smuggled into Gaza by Israel-supported gangs. Prime Minister Netanyahu speaks with President Trump again and receives another invitation to the White House. Saudi Arabia sends the Palestinian Authority $90 million. Northwestern University surrenders to Trump and accepts additional federal government control over campus policies, admissions, and more. The Trump administration now admits it struck a “drug smuggling” boat in the Caribbean twice in a September operation. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem wants an even wider travel ban, and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says that the U.S. takes in “essentially…zero” refugees. Starbucks is ordered to pay up for labor law violations in New York. “Operation Midway Blitz” is suffocating the economy of the city’s most prominent Latino neighborhood. The U.S. wants to increase uranium mining, even if it means spiking cancer rates for the communities that do the work and for those who live nearby. Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces takes a critical transportation hub in the South, where another attack leaves 40 dead. Gang operations overrun central Haiti. The Nigerian government grants asylum to the leader of Guinea-Bissau’s opposition. This is Drop Site Daily, our new, free daily news recap. We send it Monday through Friday. Subscribe now New from Drop Site: “Honduras Vote Stuns Libre with Return of Traditional Parties as Trump’s Endorsement Reshapes Election.” Read José Luis Granados Ceja’s post-election report from Tocoa, Honduras. A Giving Tuesday Ask: Help Us Fight Back Right now, we’re defending against a lawsuit filed by a top BBC editor over our investigation into the BBC’s Gaza coverage. We’ve already spent tens of thousands—and we’re facing at least $250,000 more. This Giving Tuesday, we’re counting on the community that’s already made us a force: Help us raise $30,000 in monthly donations by midnight to fight back every time they come after us. When your journalism forces change and exposes what powerful interests want hidden, you become a target. Monthly support gives us the foundation to defend our work—and keep reporting without fear. PROTECT DROP SITE - DONATE TODAY A villager sits on a log in the midst of floodwater in the aftermath of flash floods at Tukka village, Central Tapanuli, North Sumatra province, on December 2, 2025. The death toll from floods and landslides that have struck Indonesia’s Sumatra island since last week has risen to 712, the National Disaster Management Agency said on December 2 (Photo by YT HARIONO / AFP via Getty Images). The Genocide in Gaza Israeli kills Palestinian photojournalist: The Israeli military killed Palestinian photojournalist Mahmoud Wadi in a drone strike in Khan Younis on Tuesday. Videos posted online show mourners gathering around Wadi’s body with his press vest laid on top of him. Wadi used to publish drone footage on social media depicting the vast destruction in Gaza as well as the tent encampments sheltering thousands of displaced Palestinians. The Israeli military has killed over 260 journalists and media workers in Gaza over the past two years in what is the deadliest conflict for journalists in modern history. The Israeli military killed another Palestinian near the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to AP. The Red Cross’s findings on Israeli captives: Israel is preparing to receive “findings” from the Red Cross that could belong to the two remaining Israeli captives thought to be in Gaza, according to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Conditions remain dire in Gaza, the UN says: Conditions in Gaza remain “extremely dire,” with UN Humanitarian Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov warning after a four-day visit that winter storms are hitting people already living in “appalling” conditions. Alakbarov urged Israel to grant unfettered access to aid groups. 234 health service points are functioning, compared to 197 before the October ceasefire, but the system remains incapacitated by destruction, shortages, and Israeli obstruction, with major roads remain closed to aid trucks, forcing convoys onto overcrowded coastal and border routes. 1.5 million people urgently need shelter, with only 160 new tents available. Aid groups reached just 4,300 households. 18 damaged learning spaces have reopened for just 8,000 children, while basic education supplies remain blocked. Cash transfers have reached 123,000 families since the ceasefire, slightly exceeding initial targets. Ceasefire violation in Al-Tuffah, artillery shelling in Khan Younis, and attacks on Bureij: A Palestinian woman was injured Monday evening when Israeli drones opened fire on Al-Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City, marking a fresh ceasefire violation, Al Araby reported. In the southern city of Khan Younis, Israeli artillery fire reportedly hit the city’s eastern areas Monday evening, alongside attacks on the Bureij refugee camp. Only 220 trucks enter the Strip daily, while 6,000 wait: No more than 220 trucks are entering Gaza each day, according to the Gaza Chamber of Commerce, an independent body of traders and importers. UNRWA says Israel is holding roughly 6,000 aid trucks containing enough food and relief supplies to sustain Gaza for three months. IDF repeats its “immediate threat” excuse: Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in northern Gaza, according to a statement on Monday by Israeli military Defence Forces, which claimed they crossed the “yellow line” into an Israeli-controlled area. Palestinian clans accuse Israel of smuggling drugs into Gaza: Israel is allowing “large quantities of narcotics” to be smuggled into Gaza through Israeli-backed militias while simultaneously blocking adequate humanitarian aid, the Palestinian Tribal and Clan Council said in a statement Monday. The council described the drug influx as part of a “systematic war targeting Palestinian youth,” and warned that these operations aim to erode Gaza’s social fabric and starve the population. While calling unified action against narcotics a “national and moral obligation,” the statement accused anyone involved in smuggling or distribution of committing “a national betrayal.” West Bank and Israel Israeli forces kill two teenagers: The Israeli military killed two Palestinian teenagers in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank on Monday. In Hebron, Israeli troops shot and killed 17-year-old Muhannad al-Zughair, accusing him of carrying out a car-ramming attack that injured an Israeli soldier. 18-year-old Raslan Asmar was shot by Israeli troops during a raid on his village near Ramallah. Asmar was left to bleed on the ground for hours and his body was seized by the Israeli military, according to Al Jazeera. Israeli demolitions: Israeli forces demolished the family home in Nablus of Abdul Karim Sanoubar, a Palestinian currently in detention, on Tuesday. The Israeli military accused Sanoubar without evidence of planting bombs on buses in February. Israeli troops also demolished two apartments in al-Walaja village, near Bethlehem, according to Al Jazeera. Israeli seizure: Israeli troops raided and sealed the headquarters of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees in Al-Bireh and its office in Hebron on Monday. Several staff members were arrested and office equipment was confiscated. The military posted a military order prohibiting the organization’s work and engagement with its activities. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the closure as “part of a systematic policy aimed at undermining civil and developmental work.” Netanyahu talks with Trump: Netanyahu spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, with the two leaders stressing their “commitment to disarming Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip,” according to Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office. Saudi Arabia funds the PA: Saudi Arabia has injected $90 million into the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, according to reports from The Times of Israel. The infusion gives Ramallah a brief lifeline, while Israel withholds an estimated $3 billion in tax and customs revenues, according to a September estimate from Reuters. The funds were delivered to acting Finance Minister Estephan Salameh by the Saudi envoy, with Riyadh framing the grant as support for basic governance during one of the PA’s worst fiscal crises in years. U.S. News Northwestern caves to Trump: Northwestern University agreed to an unprecedented settlement with the Trump administration to regain nearly $790 million in frozen research funds, according to reporting from Reuters and AP. Northwestern accepted a $75 million penalty and agreed to federal control over campus policies, student agreements, Title IX rules, and admissions practices. Sen. Chris Van Hollen criticized the deal as the university “throwing its students under the bus.” Whitehouse says second strike on “drug boat” was deliberate: The White House confirmed that the U.S. military carried out a second, deliberate strike on a suspected drug-smuggling boat during Operation Southern Spear on September 2, 2025, after the initial strike left survivors clinging to the wreckage. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Admiral Frank M. Bradley’s order, saying he acted “well within his authority and the law… to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States was eliminated.” David Gentil’s commutation: President Trump commuted the sentence of former investment manager David Gentile, just days into his seven-year prison sentence for fraud. The former chief executive and founder of GPB Capital, Gentile was convicted last year on charges of securities and wire fraud where he was accused of defrauding more than 10,000 investors of around $1.6 billion. Noem seeks a wider travel ban; Trump signals his interest: Homeland Security Chief Kristi Noem urged President Donald Trump to impose “a full travel ban on every… country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies,” as the administration escalates its crackdown on immigration following last week’s fatal shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan national. Trump reposted her call, while his administration has already paused asylum claims and reviewed green cards for people from 19 countries, while barring new Afghan arrivals. Leavitt boasts that the U.S. admits “essentially…zero” refugees: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a White House Press Conference Monday that U.S. refugee admissions are now “essentially at zero,” noting that the only significant exception is white Afrikaners fleeing “persecution” in South Africa. The Trump administration has cut the annual refugee ceiling to 7,500—the lowest in modern U.S. history, following four years in which the Biden administration kept it at 125,000. Starbucks ordered to pay millions for labor law violations: Starbucks has been ordered to pay more than $38.9 million for widespread violations of New York City’s Fair Workweek Law, including $35.5 million in direct payments to over 15,000 workers and a $3.3 million civil penalty. Investigators found that the company denied its employees stable schedules, cut hours unlawfully, and retaliated against employees who refused last-minute changes. Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani and Senator Bernie Sanders joined striking workers as the settlement was announced. Immigration raids destroy a Chicago neighborhood’s economy: Chicago’s Little Village business district, normally a $900 million-a-year commercial engine, has seen sales plunge 20–70% since the launch of “Operation Midway Blitz,” according to analysis from the neighborhood’s Chamber of Commerce, as relayed in a new report from The Washington Post. These raids have led to more than 3,000 arrests in the region—mostly of people without criminal histories. Latino-owned businesses nationwide, a sector contributing over $800 billion annually to the U.S. economy, report similar disruptions as fears of the ongoing raids empty stores, slash foot traffic, and force owners to cut staff and hours. Crippling after-effects of work in uranium mines: Four decades after working in unprotected uranium mines on Navajo land, Leslie Begay is one of countless former miners now battling cancers and lung disease linked to abandoned, unreclaimed sites. The industry has left entire communities poisoned, and despite the well-documented risks to workers and the areas in which the mining is done, the Trump administration has expanded the U.S. nuclear weapons program and sought to restart uranium mining in New Mexico. Begay’s survival, after a double lung transplant, underscores a broader legacy of government-driven extraction, corporate neglect, and still-unfulfilled cleanup commitments. His story and others can be read here, in the latest from In These Times. A close special election contest in Tennessee’s 7th District: Tennessee voters headed to the polls Tuesday in a closely watched race between Republican Matt Van Epps and Democrat Aftyn Behn. The special congressional election in Middle Tennessee, where President Donald Trump and other GOP candidates have historically won with about 60% of the vote, has drawn national attention and massive campaign contributions to the respective candidates. President Trump has endorsed Van Epps, saying “Remember, the world is watching this one.” He added, “I need somebody like Matt Van Epps. He is going to be one of our best congressmen.” Meanwhile, some Tennessee Democrats described Behn as “our very own AOC of TN,” in reference to New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who attended a virtual rally hosted by Behn. International News Sudan’s RSF claims it took control of a transport hub in the country’s south, where another attack saw 40 dead: Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said Monday that they had seized full control of Babanusa, a key transport hub in oil-producing South Kordofan, according to Reuters. The RSF said they repelled a “surprise attack” from the Sudanese army they claimed violated the truce. In another clash in the country’s south, at least 40 people were killed. Witnesses and rights monitors say the army struck a nursing school in the village of Komo, though the military denied targeting civilians. Fighting has generally been most intense in Kordofan and Darfur, where anti-government forces now hold roughly a third of the country. Sudan’s army offers Russia its first African naval base, the WSJ reports: Sudan’s military rulers have offered Russia a 25-year deal for what would be Moscow’s first naval base in Africa, granting up to 300 troops and four warships—potentially including nuclear-powered vessels—and access to Port Sudan in exchange for discounted weapons, according to the Wall Street Journal. U.S. officials reportedly worry that the base would give Russia a major strategic foothold in the Red Sea and new leverage over global trade routes. Humanitarian crisis deepening in Sudan, UN warns: Sudan’s crisis is growing more severe, the UN warned, as fighting spreads and displacement surges. UN envoy Ramtane Lamamra pressed Army general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on civilian protection during talks in Port Sudan before traveling to Addis Ababa for consultations with the African Union and Ethiopian leaders. Humanitarian agencies say that they still cannot reach civilians trapped in El Fasher—where more than 106,000 people have fled since late October—and they report that new displacement from Darfur and Kordofan is overwhelming northern states. The UN also noted funding shortages and renewed its call for safe humanitarian access and protection for civilians and aid workers. Tajikistan alleges 5 killed in cross-border attacks: Five people have been killed and five injured in two attacks in Tajikistan launched from Afghanistan over the past week, Reuters reports. These include a drone strike that left three Chinese citizens dead, which has intensified the strain between Dushanbe and the Taliban authorities. President Emomali Rahmon condemned the “illegal and provocative actions” and ordered security chiefs to reinforce the border, while Afghanistan’s government has yet to respond. Gangs overtake central Haiti: Heavily armed gangs overran parts of Haiti’s central Artibonite region over the weekend, according to the AP. The attackers killed civilians, torched homes, and forced the region’s residents to flee. Haitian police warned that half the department had fallen under gang control amid a near-total absence of security forces. Survivors who escaped to Saint-Marc demanded weapons and vowed to take justice into their own hands, as the Gran Grif gang—blamed for past massacres—streamed its attacks online, while the UN reported a dramatic surge in killings across the country. Flood and landslide casualties climb: The number of people killed by floods and landslides in Indonesia climbed to 708 on Tuesday, according to authorities, with 504 people still missing. The announcement marked a significant increase from the 604 reported dead by the government officials on Monday. More than 1,300 people have been killed in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand after heavy rains and tropical cyclones hit the region. Nigeria grants asylum to Guinea-Bissau’s Opposition Leader: Nigeria has granted asylum to Guinea-Bissau opposition leader Fernando Dias da Costa, a foreign affairs official said Monday, AFP reported. Costa ran against incumbent President Umaro Sissoco in last week’s elections, before Sissoco was ousted in a coup by his country’s military. Abuja framed the move as part of Nigeria’s “sovereign responsibility” and longstanding commitment to regional peace, stability, and democratic governance. Trump disinvites South Africa from the G20: President Donald Trump said the United States will bar South Africa from participating in next year’s G20 events in Miami and will “immediately” halt all payments to the country, calling it “not worthy of membership anywhere”—an unprecedented exclusion in the forum’s two-decade history. Pretoria condemned the remarks as “regrettable” and affirmed South Africa’s sovereignty, while the administration signaled plans to elevate Poland’s role at the 2026 summit as U.S.–South Africa relations continue to spiral. More From Drop Site Trump, Gaza, and Oslo déjà vu: The UN’s plan for Gaza, including President Trump’s controversial “Board of Peace,” aims to turn Gaza into a demilitarized investment zone under foreign control, which would grant Israel sweeping authority and kneecap Palestinian self-determination. According to a report from Jeremy Scahill and Jawa Ahmad, a broad array of Palestinian factions reject the scheme as a form of colonial guardianship. Human rights lawyer Diana Buttu calls it “an Israeli plan that has been rebranded as a Trump plan,” and notes that “all of the control rests in the hands of Israel.” Abbas and his Palestinian Authority see it as an opportunity to permanently sideline their rivals and to assert their political authority, in a situation reminiscent of the failed Oslo accords. Read the full piece from Scahill and Ahmad here. Drop Site exclusive reporting on the National Guard shooting: Rahmanullah Lakanwal—the former CIA-backed Zero Unit member now charged with killing a National Guard soldier in Washington, D.C.—was briefly jailed in Afghanistan after his unit killed Afghan police officers, but faced no real consequences because the CIA shielded his militia and continued paying him during his detention, a new report from Drop Site contributors Emran Feroz and Abdul Rahman Lakanwal uncovers. His trajectory highlights the impunity long afforded to Zero Unit fighters accused of torture, disappearances, and civilian massacres, whose effects may now be surfacing in domestic attacks like these. Read the full reporting here. Programming note: You can sign up here to get updates from us on our WhatsApp channel. If you want to continue getting this newsletter, you don’t have to do anything. 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What have you been reading/watching recently? [Anime - August 2025]

This is the most seasonal anime I’ve been watching in ages. There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… (a.k.a. WataNare) - oh hell yeah, you know I’m eating up that yuri goodness. It’s not high art, but it’s very fun and one of the shows that I look forward to the most each week. Bad Girl - more girlfail yuri. Yes please. The Summer Hikaru Died (Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu) - Compelling BL horror show set in the Japanese countryside. I won’t say more, since I don’t want to spoil anything, but if that sounds remotely interesting you should definitely check it out. The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity (Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku) - Very cute romance which dispenses with a lot of the things I dislike about romance anime. Both of the lead characters are precious cinnamon rolls. What’s not to love? Ruri Rocks (Ruri no Houseki) - This one is the sleeper hit of the season for me. I hadn’t heard any hype about it, but when I was scrolling through the anime schedule it caught my eye, and I’m glad that it did. The show features a mineralogy grad student introducing the main character to the world of geology and pulling her down the rabbit hole. It’s gorgeously animated, and the author’s love for the subject is really shines through (from what I’ve read, the author studied mineralogy in university and taught high school science). Watching the show will actually teach you some basic mineralogy, which I’ve found fascinating, and seeing Ruri’s pure-hearted joy in learning about the world around her really makes me want to dive deeper into my own passions.^[I should mention that there is a fair bit of Anime Bullshit™ in terms of character designs and some lingering camera shots, which become apparent even in the first episode. It hasn’t detracted from the show for me, especially since it really is just the camera and not any gratuitous scenarios, at least thus far, but it’s enough that it would definitely raise some eyebrows in a general audience.] See You Tomorrow at the Food Court (Food Court de, Mata Ashita.) - Not much to say about this one, tbh. Entirely dialogue-driven show with a nice dynamic between the two main characters, but I wouldn’t say it’s a standout. It’s also only 6 episodes, though, so not a major commitment. My Dress-Up Darling (Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru) Season 2 - My hetslop guilty pleasure show. Yes, there’s a lot of fanservice, but the main characters are both really charming and I enjoy learning about the craft of cosplay. Plus, you can tell that there’s so much love being poured into this production, and all those extra touches elevate this adaptation beyond the source material. Turkey! - Is it a great show? No. But it’s not terrible, and the premise is so silly that (so far) I’m still compelled to keep watching it. I ended up dropping With You and the Rain (Ame to Kimi to). It’s a cute show, but there’s such little substance to it that I just didn’t feel motivated to keep watching it after the first few episodes. I’m also sort of paused on CITY THE ANIMATION. It’s incredible for what it is (wacky non-sequitur comedy supported by gorgeous over-the-top KyoAni sakuga), but I think I tend to bounce off of pure comedy shows. There are exceptions (Asobi Asobase comes to mind), but a similar thing happened with Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan where I gradually fell off about halfway through even though I was enjoying it well enough. It’s just hard to sustain my interest over an entire season without that emotional throughline. As for non-seasonal shows: Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater (Houkago Teibou Nisshi) - was put onto this one by our very own Erika and I’m quite enjoying it! I’m a sucker for CGDCT focused on a niche hobby, and it’s nice to learn about fishing without any actual fishies being harmed.^[…yeah, I know the production team almost certainly went on some fishing trips for research purposes…] Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Season 2 - I watched the first season when it aired as well as a few eps of this season, but I dropped it back then for whatever reason. All of the recent excitement about the world release for the game piqued my interest, and I’m glad I returned to this because it’s a lot of fun. What’s not to like about hype horsegirl races and top-tier idol music? K-On! - I’ve been participating in the watchalong on Blorptube and goddamn, I forgot how good this show was. Of course it’s legendary, and I rated it 10/10 when I first watched it, but I’m sure everyone’s had the experience of going back and watching an old favorite only to realize it didn’t hold up. K-On! is the opposite of that for me—I appreciate it even more now since it’s spawned so many copycats and yet still stands as one of the greatest works in its genre. Doesn’t hurt that the music absolutely slaps.

Palakasin ang NDFP at labanan ang imperyalistang panggegera ng US

Buong sigla nating gunitain sa darating na Abril 24 ang ika-53 anibersaryo ng National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). Sa okasyong ito, ibayong patatagin natin ang pagkakaisa at determinasyon ng NDFP at ng buong sambayanang Pilipino na isulong ang rebolusyonaryong pakikibaka para palayain ang bansa mula sa paghahari ng imperyalismong US at ng lokal na mga naghaharing uri. Ipagdiwang natin ang mga tagumpay ng NDFP bilang pinakakonsolidadong alyansa ng mga progresibo at patriyotikong pwersa na nagsusulong ng demokratikong rebolusyong bayan. Sa nagdaang mahigit limang dekada, binuklod ng NDF ang iba’t ibang demokratikong sektor sa 12-puntong programa nito para sa pagsusulong ng pambansa-demokratikong rebolusyon. Habang nagbabalik-tanaw sa kasaysayan ng walang-humpay na pakikibaka, dapat maghanda rin ang NDFP sa pagbalikat ng higit na mabibigat pang tungkulin sa hinaharap, laluna sa gitna ng lumalaking banta ng mga imperyalistang digmaan sa kalayaan, kaligtasan at kabuhayan ng bansa, bunga ng tumitinding panggegera at agresyon ng imperyalismong US, para angkinin o agawin ang mahahalagang rekurso sa iba’t ibang panig ng daigdig. Magkasunod na sinalakay ng imperyalismong US ang Venezuela at Iran, una at ikatlong bansang may pinakamalaking reserbang langis sa buong mundo. Gamit ang kanyang nakapangyayaring pwersang militar, niyurakan ng US ang lahat ng panuntunan ng internasyunal na batas. Hayagan ding pinagbabantaan ng US ang Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Greenland, maging ang bahagi ng teritoryo ng Ukraine. Papatindi ang panggegera ng US sa layong panatilihin ang pandaigdigang dominasyon sa harap ng estratehikong paghina ng kanyang ekonomya at pandaigdigang imperyo, at paglitaw ng iba’t ibang sentro ng kalakalan at sistemang pampinansya na hindi gumagamit ng dolyar, at mga alyansa at tulungang militar na wala sa kanyang kontrol. Ginagamit at iwinawasiwas ngayon ng US ang pwersang militar nito upang ipataw ang hegemonya sa iba’t ibang panig ng daigdig, at pigilan ang paglawak ng kapangyarihan ng mga karibal nitong imperyalista, higit lalo ang China. Lalong pinahihigpit ng US ang kontrol nito sa Pilipinas. Nagkukumahog ang mga kapitalistang Amerikano na sairin at sarilinin ang natitirang yamang mineral ng bansa, at ang malalawak na lupain para itayo ang kanilang mga plantasyon, at mga proyektong “renewable energy” o panturismo. Lihim na pinirmahan kamakailan ni Marcos ang isang kasunduan sa US (sa tabing ng diumano’y Luzon Economic Corridor) na magsusuko ng mahigit 1,620 ektarya sa buong kontrol ng mga kapitalistang Amerikano, para dambungin at kamkamin. Tuluy-tuloy na pinalalawak ng US ang presensyang militar sa Pilipinas. Parami nang parami ang naka-istasyong tropang Amerikano at nakalagak na misayl at mga kagamitang pandigma sa mga base militar, kapwa sa mga EDCA site at sa mga lihim na pasilidad militar sa iba’t ibang panig ng bansa. Taun-taon ay palaki nang palaki ang isinasagawa nitong mga ehersisyong militar at war games, katulad ng Balikatan exercises na nagsimula ngayong buwan na kalahok ang hindi bababa sa 10,000 tropang Amerikano. Ginagamit ng US ang Pilipinas, pati na ang South Korea at Japan, para palakasin ang presensya ng mga pwersang militar nito sa mga karagatan sa palibot ng China. Sa South China Sea, isinasagawa nito ang “transparency operations” gamit ang Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at Philippine Coast Guard para hamunin at upatin ang China. Balak rin ng US itayo ang malaking imbakan ng langis sa Davao Gulf para magserbisyo sa kanyang mga barko de gera. Plano rin nitong itayo ang pagawaan ng mga kagamitang militar (bala, drone at iba pa) sa Subic at sa Aurora. Lahat ito’y bahagi ng paggamit ng US sa Pilipinas para sa agresyong militar, katulad na ginamit nito ang mga base militar nito sa mga bansa sa gulpo, para sa armadong pagsalakay sa Iran. Ang kamay ng lahat ng sundalong Amerikano ay may bahid ng dugo ng libo-libong Iranian at Palestino na pinatay sa pambobomba ng US-Israel, ng milyun-milyong pinatay sa mga gerang agresyon sa nagdaang siglo, kabilang ang milyong Pilipinong pinatay ng US sa gerang pagsaklot nito sa Pilipinas. Malaking insulto sa sambayanang Pilipino na ginagamit ang bansa na pahingahan ng mga dayuhang mananakop, lagakan ng kanilang mga sandata at lunsaran ng mas marami pang digmaang agresyon. Ang pagkakaladkad ng US sa Pilipinas sa pakikipagribalan nito sa China ay taliwas sa hangarin ng sambayanang Pilipino na mapayapang makipamuhay sa mga kalapit nitong bansa. Tahasan itong pagyurak sa kasarinlan ng Pilipinas at banta sa kanyang kaligtasan. Sa harap ng sitwasyong ito, malaking hamon sa NDFP na buklurin at pukawin ang sambayanang Pilipino na tumindig laban sa papalaking banta ng panggegera ng US, at paggamit nito sa Pilipinas na lunsaran ng mga gerang agresyon. “Digmang bayan laban sa imperyalistang gera” ang panawagan para bagtasin ang landas ng armadong rebolusyon para palayain ang bansa sa kuko ng imperyalistang mandaragit at maninibasib. Nasa mainam na katayuan ang NDFP na balikatin ang mga tungkuling ito, laluna sa paglakas at pagsigla nito sa nagdaang mga taon. Tuluy-tuloy na lumalawak at tumatatag ang mga rebolusyonaryong organisasyon mula nang ideklara ng Partido ang kilusang pagwawasto noong 2023. Paparami ang itinatayong balangay ng KM, PKM, Armas at iba pang rebolusyonaryong samahan. May ilang nakapaglunsad ng kanilang mga pambansang kongreso at pulong ng mga konseho, habang tuluy-tuloy na nakapagpapalawak at nakapagkokonsolida. Naisagawa ng NDFP ang mga kumperensya at pulong para pagkaisahin ang tindig ng mga alyadong organisasyon nito sa maiinit na isyung pambayan, at para magbahaginan ng mga karanasan at aral sa pag-oorganisa at pagpapakilos sa masa. Papasigla ang mga aktibidad na pumupukaw sa malawak na masa tulad ng mga raling iglap, at paglalabas ng iba’t ibang anyo ng propaganda, maging sa labas ng bansa. Papalawak ang suportang kinakalap para sa hukbong bayan habang paparami ang nagnanais magtungo sa kanayunan upang lumahok sa armadong pakikibaka. Pagtibayin natin ang pasyang palakasin at palawakin ang NDFP sa okasyon ng ika-53 anibersaryo nito. Ibayo nating pasiglahin ang pag-ambag at paglahok ng NDFP sa pagpapalakas ng matagalang digmang bayan, digmang isinusulong ng buong sambayanan, para makamit ang pambansa at panlipunang paglaya. The post Palakasin ang NDFP at labanan ang imperyalistang panggegera ng US appeared first on PRWC | Philippine Revolution Web Central. From PRWC | Philippine Revolution Web Central via This RSS Feed.

What's your "favorite" facepalm inducing take that libs regularly trot out?

In their math even 0 equals 1 because not voting is somehow also a vote for Trump It’s because the average Amerikan still has plantation hand brainworms infesting them-- they have to be able to control your actions. As a result, everything but doing what they want is a loss-state for them; including not participating.

*Permanently Deleted*

Took my suggestion. It’s shaping up to be a great basho too! Doing my best to not nerd out on sumo right now, but I definitely recommend it. Sumo is an awesome sport and still culturally important. I know when I go, I’m 100% going to visit the Kokugikan. ::: spoiler I’ll nerd out in here It’s going to be a super exciting basho. It’ll be very interesting to see if Takerufuji can keep up his immense effort at Maegashira 6 since he won’t be able to bottom feed for the first week of the tournament. Onosato being bumped up to sanyaku status is exciting if you’re able to ignore his recent warning for his deplorable conduct. Asanoyama being back in sanyaku is exciting, but the man is injured again and will probably not be at full power. Daiesho finds himself out of sanyaku for the first time in a VERY long time and that sucks. He’ll be put through the winter week 1, so I hope he can persevere. Hoshoryu looking very strong right now and is going to be strong at the top of the active banzuke as I expect Terunofuji to not participate in any meaningful way since he reported a decent bit of discomfort in practice this week. Kotozakura taking up his grandfather’s shikona this basho is exciting. He’s my fav and I really hope he gets his first to level yusho. I’ve been rooting for him for years and it makes me happy af to see him as an ozeki let alone O1w ffs. Enho may actually be participating for the first time since he was practically paralyzed last year. I honestly wish he would retire, but he needs just one more basho in sekitori to have a chance at elder stock. Nabatame is looking to barge his way into sekitori this tournament sitting at Makushita 2w. Love the man and I hope he succeeds. Juryo is going to be super exciting as a lot of talent is starting to beat each other up in that rank. My bet remains on Wakatakakage taking the Juryo sushi, but I think that’s an ice cold take. Should be fine now that he has managed to get a full 15 but basho in after his return from injury. Shirokuma is always fun to watch and easily had my favorite shikona out of all active sekitori. This is going to be a super exciting 15 days and I can’t wait for it. But enough about that, I only have a passing interest in the sport :3 :::

Presensya ng mga Amerikanong sundalo sa Cagayan de Oro, lubos na ikinaalarma ng mga residente

Naalarma ang mga residente sa Cagayan de Oro sa biglang pagdating ng mga sundalong Amerikano sa kanilang syudad noong Marso 13. Nangamba sila sa presensya ng mga ito sa gitna ng pananalakay ng US sa Iran at pagpapasiklab nito ng gera sa Middle East. “Nasa Cagayan de Oro ang isa sa siyam na mga EDCA site ng militar ng US, ang Lumbia Air Base,” pahayag ng International League of PEoples’ Struggles-Philippines. “Tama lamang na mag-alala ang mamamayan dito sa harap ng papatinding sigalot sa Iran at West Asia na gawa ng agresyon ng US at Israel.” Lumaganap sa social media ang ligalig lalo’t namataan ang mga sundalo na pumasok sa ilang otel sa syudad. Pinangambahan nilang makakaladkad ang kanilang syudad sa gera. Palusot ng 4th ID, ang host ng mga tropang Amerikano, naroon lamang daw sila para sa pagsasanay para sa humanitarian aid at disaster response. Bahagi ang pagsasanay sa taunang Balikatan war games ng US, na isinasagawa sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng bansa. “Nagiging estratehikong outpost ng US sa mga imperyalistang gera nito ang Pilipinas dahil sa mga EDCA site,” ayon pa sa ILPS. “Hindi ito para sa disaster response. Ito ay pagdadala sa mga heyopulitikal na tensyon direkta sa tarangkahan ng Mindanao.” The post Presensya ng mga Amerikanong sundalo sa Cagayan de Oro, lubos na ikinaalarma ng mga residente appeared first on PRWC | Philippine Revolution Web Central. From PRWC | Philippine Revolution Web Central via This RSS Feed.

Are the Jedi assholes?

add in the fact that palpatine told anakin to execute count dooku when anikan didnt want to, saying its not the jedi way, then later on sees a master jedi decide to execute palpatine. he saw their hypocrisy

Napakainam ng sitwasyon para ibayong isulong ang demokratikong rebolusyong bayan

Buong-kagalakan nating ipagdiwang ang ika-57 anibersaryo ng dakilang Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas! Sa makasaysayang okasyong ito, ipinararating ng Komite Sentral ang maalab nitong pagbati sa lahat ng kadre at kasapi ng Partido, sa mga kasapi ng mga kaalyadong rebolusyonaryong organisasyon sa National Democratic Front, sa mga kaibigan, sa mga kapanalig na komunista, pwersang rebolusyonaryo at anti-imperyalista sa iba’t ibang dako ng mundo, at sa buong sambayanang Pilipino. Sa araw na ito ay alalahanin at kilalanin natin ang lahat ng bayani at martir ng rebolusyong Pilipino. Tumindig tayo para taas-kamaong magbigay-pugay sa alaala ni Kasamang Jose Maria Sison, tagapangulong tagapagtatag ng Komite Sentral ng Partido, na nagsilbing gabay at liwanag sa Partido at ilang salinlahi ng mga komunista at rebolusyonaryong aktibista. Magbigay pugay din tayo sa alaala ng lahat ng bayani at martir ng sambayanang Pilipino, kabilang ang pinakamamahal na mga lider na nagsilbi sa Komite Sentral, mga Pulang mandirigma ng Bagong Hukbong Bayan, at lahat ng mga kadre at kasapi na buong-pusong inalay ang kanilang buong buhay para sa kapakanan ng paglaya ng lahat ng inaapi. Saluduhan natin sina Kasamang Luis Jalandoni, dating punong internasyunal na kinatawan ng NDFP at pinuno ng NDFP panel sa usapang pangkapayapaan, na pumanaw noong Hunyo sa The Netherlands; at si Kasamang Maria Malaya (Myrna Sularte), na pinatay ng kaaway sa isang labanan sa kabundukan ng Butuan City noong Pebrero. Ipaabot din natin ang pagsaludo kay Kasamang Basavaraju, dating pangkalahatang kalihim ng Komite Sentral ng Communist Party of India (Maoist) at si Kasamang Madvi Hidma, kumander ng People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army sa India, at sa lahat ng iba pang rebolusyonaryo sa iba’t ibang dako ng mundo na nag-alay ng kanilang buhay para sa internasyunal na proletaryado. Humalaw tayo ng inspirasyon sa kanilang maniningning na buhay. Batiin din natin sa araw na ito ang lahat ng bagong kasapi ng Partido, laluna ang mga kabataang kadre mula sa hanay ng masang anakapawis, mga intelektwal at iba pang saray ng lipunan. Kayo ang kinabukasan ng Partido at ng rebolusyong Pilipino. Mataman kayong mag-aral, kumuha ng gabay, patalasin ang isip at maging mapagkumbaba sa pagharap sa mga hamon sa pamumuno sa iba’t ibang larangan ng rebolusyonaryong gawain ng Partido. Katuwang ninyo sa pagbalikat ng mabibigat na tungkulin ang mga nakatatanda at may karanasang mga kadre at kasapi ng Partido na handang magpayo at magbahagi ng kanilang karanasan. Itanghal natin sa araw na ito ang Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo, ang matibay na teoretikal na pundasyon kung saan nakatindig ang Partido. Ito ang unibersal na teorya para sa pagpapalaya ng uring manggagawa at lahat ng aping uri. Pagtibayin natin ang mga saligang prinsipyo ng Partido at ang programa nito para sa demokratikong rebolusyong bayan sa pamamagitan ng matagalang digmang bayan, para wakasan ang mapang-aping sistemang malakolonyal at malapyudal, ibagsak ang tatlong saligang suliranin na imperyalismo, pyudalismo at burukrata-kapitalismo, at kamtin ang demokrasya at pambansang paglaya para likhain ang kundisyon para sa sosyalistang hinaharap. Pumapasok tayo ngayon sa ikatlong taon ng ating kilusang pagwawasto, na sa pangunahi’y isang Marxista-Leninista-Maoistang kilusang pag-aaral. Sa diwa ng kilusang pagwawasto, nagbalik-aral tayo sa ating karanasan at kritikal-sa-sariling tinukoy ang ating mga kahinaan at mga naging pagkakamali. Ikinalulugod ng Komite Sentral na iulat na patuloy na nagbubunga ang ating kilusang pagwawasto at nagkamit ng makatuturang mga pagsulong sa ideolohiya, pulitika at organisasyon. Nagtitiwala tayo na sa patuloy na pagpupunyagi ng lahat ng kadre at kasapi ng Partido, sa pamumuno ng Komite Sentral, makakamit natin ang higit na malalaking tagumpay sa mga taong darating. Sa tanglaw ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo, matalas nating suriin ang pangunahing mga kontradiksyong bumubuo ng kasalukuyang kinakaharap na sitwasyon sa bansa at buong daigdig. Gagapin natin ang pamalagiang krisis ng malakolonyal at malapyudal na sistema sa Pilipinas, at ang nagtatagal nang istagnasyon ng pandaigdigang sistemang kapitalista. Nagbubukas ito ng marami at malalaking oportunidad para isulong ang adhikain ng uring manggagawa at lahat ng api at pinagsasamantahalang uri para sa paglaya. Sa simula ng kasalukuyang taon ay inasahan natin ang pagsiklab ng krisis ng naghaharing sistema sa ilalim ng rehimeng US-Marcos. Subalit sadyang nahigitan ito ng bilis ng paghinog at pagputok ng sitwasyon simula kalagitnaan ng taon. Tanda ito, hindi lamang ng lalim ng krisis pang-ekonomya at panlipunan, kundi lalo’t higit, ng nag-uumapaw na galit ng sambayanang Pilipino sa pang-aapi at pagpapahirap sa kanila ng mga mapagsamantala at mandarambong na naghaharing uri. Tiyak na magpapatuloy pa sa hinaharap ang walang kalutasang krisis sa harap ng walang sukat na korapsyon, paghahasik ng pasistang terorismo at sagadsaring pagpapakapapet ng rehimeng Marcos. Ang rehimeng US-Marcos ngayon ang pinakakonsentradong anyo ng pang-aapi at pagpapahirap sa sambayanang Pilipino. Sa taong darating, tiyak na lalaki at lalawak pa ang kilusang protesta na dumaluyong sa nagdaang mga buwan para panagutin at patalsikin sa poder sina Marcos at Duterte na siyang kumakatawan ngayon sa pinakareaksyunaryong pangkatin ng mga naghaharing uri. Kasabay nito, tiyak na sisiklab din ang malawakang mga paglaban sa kanayunan sa harap ng walang habas na pang-aagaw ng lupa at pandarambong sa yaman ng bansa. Sadyang napakainam ng sitwasyon ngayon sa Pilipinas para pamunuan ng Partido ang ibayong pagsulong ng demokratikong rebolusyong bayan sa pamamagitan ng matagalang digmang bayan. Sunggaban natin ang pagkakataon para ibayong palawakin at palakasin ang Partido at ang buong rebolusyonaryong kilusan, at tanawin ang malaking pagsulong sa hinaharap. I. Tumitinding mga sigalot sa harap ng hindi malutas na krisis ng pandaigdigang sistemang kapitalista Inuuga ang buong mundo ng apat na pangunahing kontradiksyon: sa pagitan ng monopolyong burgesya at uring manggagawa, sa pagitan ng imperyalismo at aping mamamayan sa buong daigdig, sa pagitan ng mga imperyalistang kapangyarihan at mga bansang naninindigan para sa pambansang kasarinlan, at sa pagitan ng mga nagriribalang mga imperyalistang bansa. Sa kasalukuyan, ang tumitinding mga sigalot sa pulitika, pinansya, ekonomya, kalakalan, at militar sa pagitan ng pinakamalaking imperyalistang bansa ang prinsipal na kontradiksyon, laluna sa harap ng walang awat na pagpapataw ng imperyalistang US ng kanyang hegemonya sa buong mundo. Ito ang prinsipal na kontradiksyon na naghuhugis ng kasalukuyang sitwasyon sa buong daigdig. Sumisiklab sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo ang mga armadong sigalot, pangunahin bunsod ng pang-uupat ng imperyalismong US. Mahigpit itong nakaugnay sa nagtagal nang istagnasyon ng ekonomya ng pangunahing mga kapitalistang bansa na hindi malutas-lutas ng monopolyong burgesya. Resulta ito ng nagpapatuloy na krisis ng sobrang produksyon sa halos lahat ng industriya, at lumalaking imbentaryo ng hindi mabentang mga kalakal. Sobra-sobra ang produktibong kapasidad, higit lalo ng mga pangunahing bansang industriyalisado. Bunsod ito ng paghahabol ng magkakaribal na kumpanya na daigin ang isa’t isa sa produksyon ng pinakamaraming kalakal. May labis na produksyon sa halos lahat ng industriya dahil sa patuloy na pagpapaunlad ng mga pwersa sa produksyon, partikular na ang mga pag-abante sa teknolohiya (kabilang ang paggamit ng artificial intelligence o AI). May sobra-sobra kapasidad sa produksyon ng mga kagamitang elektroniko, semikonduktor, mga baterya, sasakyang elektrik at de-gasolina, mga solar panel, asero (bakal), langis at petrolyo, kemikal, barko, transportasyong komersyal, eroplano, at maraming iba pa. May sobra-sobrang produksyon din sa halos lahat ng produktong pang-agrikultura (bigas, mais, soya, trigo at iba pa), laluna sa mga kapitalistang bansa. Winawasak o winawaldas ang mga pwersa sa produksyon. Dahil sa sobrang produksyon, maraming mga industriya ang pinatatakbo na mas mababa kaysa kapasidad sa produksyon. Sa US, halimbawa, 60%–70% lamang ng kapasidad nito sa produksyon ng mga sasakyan ang nagagamit. Sa Germany, nasa 70% lamang ng kapasidad sa kabuuang produksyon ang nagagamit, dahilan na hindi nagagamit ang bilyun-bilyong dolyar na mga kagamitan sa produksyon. Sa China, may kapasidad ang mga pabrika dito na magprodyus ng hanggang 45 milyong sasakyang elektrik (e-vehicle), subalit hindi ito lubos na nagagamit dahil ang bentahan sa pandaigdigang pamilihan ay nasa 16–18 milyon lamang. Paparami ang mga kumpanyang nalulugi o nilalamon sa harap ng matinding kapitalistang kumpetisyon. Mabilis ngayong lumalaki ang bula ng AI na kinahihibangan ng malalaking monopolyong burgesya. Ilang trilyong dolyar ang ibubuhos sa larangan ng AI sa mga susunod na taon, sa wala pang kapantay na laki ng pamumuhunan sa imprastruktura at bono, lagpas-lagpas sa inaasahang demand at kikitain nito. Inihahambing ito ngayon sa bula ng “dotcom” noong dekada 1990 na malao’y pumutok at nagresulta sa isang krisis sa pinansya. Lalong sumisidhi ang problema ng maramihang pagsisisante ng mga manggagawa, pagbawas sa araw ng trabaho o pagsasara ng mga pabrika. Sa US, halos 560,000 kumpanya ang nabangkarote sa isang taon mula Setyembre 2024, mahigit 10% pagdami kumpara sa taon, pinakamatarik mula 2010; kabilang ang 32 na may sobra sa $1 bilyong ang halaga, na nagsara sa 12 buwan mula Setyembre 2024. Sa nagdaang sampung taon, hindi bababa sa 100,000 kapitalistang sakahan sa US ang tumiklop dahil sa patuloy na pagbasak ng presyo ng kanilang kalakal. Sa Germany, inaasahang aabot sa kabuuang 22,000 ang magsasarang kumpanya sa buong taon (60 kada araw), pinakamataas sa isang dekada. Sa UK, mahigit 2,000 kumpanya ang nagsasara buwan-buwan ngayong taon, habang nasa 50,000 empresa ang nasa kritikal na sitwasyon. Sa China, inaasahang 15 kumpanya na lamang (mula 129 kumpanya) ang matitirang nakatayo sa industriya ng e-vehicle sa susunod na limang taon. Patuloy na lumalala ang disempleyo sa buong daigdig. Sa sektor ng teknolohiya, tinatayang aabot sa mahigit 200,000 ang masisisanteng manggagawa hanggang sa katapusan ng taon (70% nito sa US), kabilang ang 24,000 sa Intel, 14,000 sa Amazon, 13,000 sa Verizon at 9,000 sa Microsoft. Sa industriya ng sasakyan sa US, aabot sa 15,000 (20% mas mataas kumpara sa taong nakalipas) ang inianunsyong masisisante ngayong taon. Tinatayang hanggang 60,000 manggagawa sa sektor ng sasakyang elektrik sa China ang tinanggal sa trabaho mula 2024. Mahigit 48,000 empleyado naman ng United Parcel Service ang sinipa sa trabaho dahil sa pagbagsak ng mga deliberi. Nakasadlak sa istagnasyon hanggang makupad na paglago ang pandaigdigang ekonomya. Humaharap sa lumalaking banta ng resesyon ang mga ekonomya ng lahat ng sentro ng kapitalismo. Ang tunguhin ito ng mabagal na paglago ng mga ekonomya ay magdadalawang dekada na, simula nang sumambulat ang krisis pampinansya noong 2008. Rumebanse ang pandaigdigang ekonomya noong 2022 matapos bumulusok noong pandemyang 2020–2021. Ngayong taon, may mga pagtaya, kabilang ang sa World Bank at IMF, na hindi lalago ang pandaigdigang ekonomya lagpas sa 2.3%, mas mababa kumpara sa mababa ding 2.5% paglago noong 2024, sa harap ng malawakang pagsasara ng mga empresa, pagsisisante sa mga manggagawa at mababang demand dahil sa mataas na tantos ng implasyon, laluna sa mga kalakal na pangkonsumo. Nananatiling nasa bingit ng resesyon ang ekonomya ng US na tinatayang lalago lamang ng 1.7%–2% ngayong taon. Halos kalahati (o 22) ng mga estado sa US ang nasa resesyon na. Sa ilalim ng patakarang “America First” ng gubyernong Trump, ipinatupad ang mga desperadong hakbang na diumano’y para buhaying muli ang ekonomya at industriya. Kabilang dito ang pagtataas ng taripa sa halos lahat ng inaangkat na kalakal ng US na may deklaradong layunin na proteksyunan at suportahan ang lokal na industriya at manupaktura. Gayunman, sa nagdaang 11 buwan, nanatiling tigil o humina pa ang produksyong industriyal, kabilang ang bakal at mga sasakyan, sa harap ng sobrang pandaigdigang produksyon at labis na imbentaryo. Inaasahan namang lalago lamang nang 1.3% ang ekonomya ng mga bansa sa European Union, kabilang ang lugmok na ekonomya ng Germany na inaasahang aabot lamang sa 0.2% (mula -0.3% noong 2024). Nasa bingit naman ng resesyon ang United Kingdom mula pa nakaraang taon. Bumagsak sa -2.3% ang Japan noong ikatlong kwarto ng taon, at hindi inaasahang lalago lagpas sa 1% sa buong taon. Patuloy namang bumabagal ang paglaki ng ekonomya ng China na inaasahang aabot lamang sa 5% (mula mahigit 10% paglawak noong 2000–2010), sa harap ng pagkalugi ng mga natenggang proyektong real estate (kabilang ang sobra-sobrang mga kondominyum at gusaling pang-upisina), naipong gabundok na hindi mabayarang lokal na utang at pagbagsak ng pamumuhunan sa manupaktura at imprastruktura. Sa kabuuan, tinatayang may 40–60 bansa ang nasa bingit ngayon ng resesyon. Liban sa mga pangunahing sentro ng kapitalismo, kabilang rin dito ang ilang abanteng ekonomya sa Europe tulad ng Austria, Germany, Italy, France at Switzerland na pawang negatibo o sero ang tantos ng paglago ng ekonomya, dagdag pa sa ilampung mga bansang atrasado. Ang masidhing krisis ng sistemang kapitalista ay lalong nagpapalala sa pagkawasak ng kapaligiran at krisis sa klima. Tahasang tumatanggi ang malalaking kapitalistang bansa na magpapigil sa pagkamkam ng likas na yaman at mga hilaw na materyales, na dahilan ng papalalang polusyong industriyal at pagtaas ng temperatura sa buong mundo. Walang saysay ang taunang pakitang-taong “climate change conference” na pinasimunuan ng UN, kabilang ang idinaos kamakailan sa Brazil. Sa gitna ng krisis ng pandaigdigang sistemang kapitalista, lalong nalulugmok ang hindi industriyalisado, agraryo at atrasadong ekonomya ng mga bansang kolonyal, malakolonyal at malapyudal. Ang mga bansang ito ay nilumpo ng ilang dekadang mga patakarang neoliberal na nagbukas sa mga ito sa pagtatambak ng dayuhang sobrang kalakal at pandarambong ng dayuhang kapitalistang pamumuhunan. Dahil sa hindi pantay na palitan, dumaranas ang mga ito ng pamalagiang depisito sa kalakalan, krisis sa pinansya at pagsalalay sa utang. Habang umiigting ang kumpetisyon ng mga monopolyong burgesya para sa pagkukunan ng pinakamurang mga hilaw na materyales, lalong pinag-aagawan ang mga bansang ito ng mga imperyalistang kapangyarihan. Nagdurusa ang ilang bilyong mamamayan sa mga bansang ito sa harap ng malawakang disempleyo, mababang sahod, pang-aagaw ng lupa at kabuhayan, at iba pang anyo ng pagpapahirap at pang-aapi. Patuloy na bumabaling sa pangungutang ang mga bansa sa tangkang tawirin ang krisis sa kanilang mga ekonomya, tustusan ang mga subsidyo ng estado para sa mga naluluging kumpanya, pondohan ang mga imprastruktura at papalaking gastos sa depensa. Sa loob lamang ng unang anim na buwan ng 2025, sumirit nang $21 trilyon ang pandaigdigang utang at sa halos $340 trilyon sa kalagitnaan ng taon. Kinakatawan ng kabuuang pandaigdigang utang ang halos 290% ng kabuuang pandaigdigang produksyon, na halos kapantay ng pinakamataas na inabot noong 2023. Mayorya ng pandaigdigang utang ay hawak ng US, Japan, China at ilang mayor na bansa sa Europe. Sangkatlo nito ay utang ng US. Ang pampublikong utang ay inaasahang lumaki mula $102 trilyon noong katapusan ng 2024 tungong $115 trilyon sa katapusan ng taon. Umabot sa $31 trilyon ang pampublikong utang ng mga atrasadong bansa, dobleng paglaki sa nagdaang 15 taon. Hindi bababa sa 35 bansa ang nanganganib na hindi makapagbayad ng kanilang mga utang. Ginagatungan ng sumisidhing pandaigdigang krisis ng kapitalismo ang maigting na tunggalian ng mga imperyalista at mga sigalot sa mundo. Ipinataw ni Trump ang dagdag na mga taripa sa halos lahat ng bansa para makakuha ng mga konsesyon sa kalakalan (kabilang ang pagpapasok ng mas maraming produkto mula sa US, at pakontrata sa pagbenta ng mga sarplas na kagamitang militar). Sa ginawa niyang ito, lalo niyang pinatindi ang kumpetisyon sa ekonomya at kalakalan ng mga imperyalista at pinalalim ang mga sentimyentong anti-US sa buong mundo. Palaki nang palaki ang banta ng pagsiklab ng mga mayor na armadong sigalot sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo, kasabay ng papalaking pondong ibinubuhos ng mga imperyalista sa militar at depensa. Sumirit ito nang 9.4% noong 2024 tungong $2.72 trilyon, pinakamatarik na pagsirit sa nagdaang mahigit tatlong dekada. Patuloy ang pagsirit na ito ngayong 2025. Aabot sa $1 trilyon ang gastos militar ng US ngayong taon. Sa balangkas ng bagong National Security Strategy (2025) ng US (na nakatuon pangunahin sa China at Russia), idineklara nito ang layunin na paunlarin ang “pinakamakapangyarihan, pinakamatindi, at pinakaabante sa teknolohiya” na pwersang militar. Idinidiin ng US na dapat nitong higitan ng mas malaking pwersa ang China sa karagatan at “first island chain” sa palibot ng bansa. Layunin nito diumano ang “iwasan ang kumprontasyon,” subalit lalo lamang nitong pinalalaki ang posibilidad na masindihan ang armadong sigalot at gera. Sa sariling bahagi ng mundo, ikinakasa ngayon ng US ang planong lusubin ang Venezuela (sa South America) sa tabing ng “paglaban sa drug cartel” para pabagsakin ang anti-imperyalistang gubyerno ni Maduro, at itayo ang isang papet na gubyerno. Matapos ang nagtatagal na gera sa Ukraine na sinulsulan ng US at NATO, itinutulak ngayon ng US ang isang kasunduan para paghatian ang rekurso at lupain ng bansa. Sa Middle East, tuluy-tuloy na katuwang ng US ang Zionistang estado ng Israel sa gerang henosidyo laban sa Palestine na pumatay sa hindi bababa sa 67,000 Palestino sa dalawang taong pambobomba sa Gaza mula Oktubre 2023. Sa kabila ng “tigil-putukan” na pinamagitan ng US noong Oktubre, patuloy ang mga pag-atake ng mga pwersang Zionista na nagresulta sa pagpatay sa hindi bababa sa 400 nang Palestino. Ikinakasa ng US ang plano nitong kontrolin ang ilang bahagi ng Gaza Strip, kahit pa taliwas ito sa plano ng Israel na kamkamin ang buong lupain. Pinagtulungan ng US at Israel na bombahin ang Iran, na nagtanggol ng bansa sa pamamagitan ng mga kontra-atake. Patuloy ang pagpapalakas ng “komprehensibong estratehikong tulungan” ng Russia at China sa anyo ng pinalakas na kalakalan (laluna sa langis at enerhiya) at kooperasyong militar. Patuloy na pinalawak ang alyansang BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China at South Africa) na ngayon ay may sampu nang myembrong bansa matapos ang pagsapi ngayong taon ng Indonesia (kasunod ang Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, United Arab Emirates). Sa tulak nito, at bilang ganting tugon sa mga taripa ni Trump, patuloy ang pagsisikap ng maraming bansa na lumayo sa paggamit ng dolyar sa mga transaksyong pampinansya, kahit pa nananatili itong dominante. Kabilang dito ang bentahan ng langis ng Saudi Arabia at iba pang bansa sa Middle East (laluna sa China), kalakalang yuan-ruble ng China at Russia, at kalakan gamit ang lokal na salapi sa ASEAN. Mula sa halos wala bago 2022, aabot na ngayon sa 20% ng kabuuang kalakalan sa mundo ang hindi gumagamit ng dolyar, dahilan ng tunguhin ng pagbaba ng halaga nito, at lumalakas na bentahan ng ginto. Nagsimula noong 2022–2024 ang lagpas sa 1,000 toneladang bentahan, mula sa karaniwang taunang bentahan na 450–500 tonelada noong 2010–2021. Ang nagpapatuloy na krisis sa mga kapitalistang bansa ay nagbubunsod ng umiigting na tunggalian ng mga uri. Patuloy na umiigting ang mga pakikibakang manggagawa sa mga sentrong kapitalista, kabilang ang welga ng mga manggagawa ng Amazon sa US at iba’t ibang bansa. Sumiklab din nitong kalagitnaan ng taon ang malawakang mga welga ng mga manggagawa sa China para sa umento sa sahod, partikular sa kumpanyang BYD (gumagawa ng sasakyang elektrik). Sumiklab naman ang malawak na mga welga at kilos protesta ng mga manggagawa sa mga pantalan sa Japan noong Marso hanggang Mayo. Sa Europe, sumiklab ngayong Disyembre ang mga pangkalahatan o sabayang welga ng mga manggagawa at mamamayan sa Belgium, The Netherlands, Portugal, Italy at France, laban sa mga patakarang austerity o paghihigpit ng sinturon, na pangunahing tatama sa pensyon, sahod at mga serbisyong panlipunan. Sumiklab din ang mga mayor na welga sa mga nagdaang buwan sa Germany, Spain, United Kingdom at iba pang bansa. Reaksyon sa lumalakas na paglaban ng mga manggagawa at mamamayan ang kapuna-punang pagbaling ng mga estado sa garapalang pasistang mga patakaran. Sa US, sumasahol nang sumasahol ang awtoritaryanismo ni Donald Trump sa tahasang paglapastangan sa mga batas at ligal na proseso sa isinasagawang marahas na crackdown laban sa mga imigrante sa US, na bumubuo ng malaking bulto ng uring manggagawa. Sa sulsol ng monopolyong burgesya, lumalakas ang mga partido at kilusang pasista at konserbatibo, at may mga nahahalal sa gubyerno. Patuloy na lumalala ang mga atake laban sa mga Muslim at Arabo (pinakamalala sa US sa nagdaang tatlong dekada, kaakibat ang pagsupil ng gubyernong Trump sa mga protestang maka-Palestine), mga Black at Latino sa US, mga LGBT, at mga migrante sa Europe. Bahagi ng lumalakas na tunguhing pasista, ipinatutupad ang mga batas at patakaran na malawakang sumusupil sa mga karapatang sibil, katulad ng pagpapalakas ng mass surveillance, paggamit ng mga drone, AI at iba pang teknolohiya na lumalabag sa mga karapatan sa pribasiya. Matapos ang mahigit tatlong taon, walang habas pa rin ang gerang henosidyo ng Zionistang Israel sa Gaza. Sa tulak pangunahin ng US, pinahihina ang United Nations sa pamamagitan ng pagkakait dito ng pondo, laluna sa mga ahensya nito para sa karapatang-tao. Ang papalakas na pasisasyon o tunguhing pasista ng mga estado sa US at iba pang bansa ay nagtutulak sa mga mamamayan na palakasin ang mga pakikibakang anti-pasista sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo. Idinaos ang mayor na mga rali at protestang anti-pasista, kabilang ang 7-milyong kataong rali sa mahigit 2,700 pagtitipon sa US laban sa pag-aastang hari ni Trump. Sa Europe, idinaos ang malalaking raling anti-pasista sa Netherlands, France, Germany, UK, Norway, at iba pang mga bansa. Nagpapatuloy ang malawakang mga demonstrasyon ng milyun-milyong mamamayan sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo laban sa nagpapatuloy na henosidyo ng US at Zionistang estado sa Gaza. Sumisiklab din ang mga pakikibakang masa sa mga bansang atrasado, sa harap ng nagtataasang presyo ng mga bilihin, mababang sahod, pagbagsak ng pamantayan ng buhay, pang-aagaw ng lupa at kabuhayan, korapsyon at marangyang pamumuhay ng mga upisyal na gubyerno, pabigat na mga buwis, paglulustay ng pera ng gubyerno sa mga pasiklab na proyekto, pagkabulok ng mga serbisyong panlipunan, at matinding hindi pagkakapantay-pantay; at mga protesta laban sa korapsyon sa Kenya, Nepal, Indonesia, Morocco, Madagascar, Peru, Pilipinas at iba pang mga bansa. Marami sa mga ito ay tinaguriang mga “protestang Gen-Z” dahil sa malawak na ispontanyong pakilos ng mga kabataang nagdurusa sa gitna ng malalim na krisis sosyo-ekonomiko. May ilan sa kanilang ginamit ng mga reaksyunaryo o repormistang partido, pero marami din ang kalauna’y nakonsolida bilang mga progresibo at rebolusyonaryo. Napakainam ng kundisyon sa mundo para magpalakas ang mga proletaryong rebolusyonaryo sa iba’t ibang dako ng mundo, at itayo ang mga partido komunista, upang magsilbing tanglaw sa masang manggagawa at iba pang api at pinagsasamantalahang uri. Sa iba’t ibang bayan, nagpapalakas ang mga proletaryong rebolusyonaryong grupo at partido sa ideolohiya, sa pagbabalik-aral at pagpapalalim ng gagap sa Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo, at paglalapat nito sa kinakaharap nilang kongkretong kalagayan. Salamin ng pagsisikap na ito ang naidaos na lima nang kumperensyang teoretikal ng NDFP mula lamang Oktubre 2023, na dinaluhan ng maraming partido komunista at iba pang organisasyong rebolusyonaryo para talakayin ang iba’t ibang mahahalagang usaping kinakaharap ng proletaryo sa buong mundo. Sa mga bansang nakatayo ang mga partido komunista, nasa ubod at unahan ang proletaryo sa iba’t ibang anyo ng mga demokratikong pakikibakang masa, pagbubuo ng malapad na nagkakaisang prente para sa pagtatanggol sa interes at kapakanan ng malawak na masa laban sa mga imperyalistang patakarang neoliberal, programang pahirap, korapsyon at pasismo ng reaksyunaryong estado. Sa India, Turkey, Peru, Colombia, Pilipinas at iba pang bansa, patuloy na nagpupunyagi ang mga partido komunista sa paglaban sa teroristang todo-gerang panunupil, at pamumuno sa rebolusyonaryong armadong pakikibaka. Hinog na hinog ang sitwasyon para sa pag-usbong at paglago ng mga partido komunista at para sa pagpapaigting ng mga rebolusyonaryong pakikibaka sa buong mundo. Ang kundisyon ng krisis ng nilikha ng kapitalistang sistema ay matabang lupa para sa paglaganap ng mga rebolusyonaryong ideya at malawakang pagkilos ng masa. Sentral ang papel ng mga partido komunista sa pamumuno sa uring manggagawa at iba pang aping uri, sa pakikibaka para sa kalayaan, demokrasya at sosyalismo. II. Lumalalang krisis sa ekonomya at pulitika sa ilalim ng rehimeng US-Marcos Lalong nasasadlak sa krisis ang naghaharing sistemang malakolonyal at malapyudal sa ilalim ng paghahari ng rehimeng US-Marcos. Lalong sumasangsang ang sistemang bulok sa kaibuturan, sa harap ng garapalang korapsyon ni Marcos at kapwa niya burukrata-kapitalistang magnanakaw, ng pagkamal ng dambuhalang yaman ng pinapaburang mga burges kumprador, ng tumitinding pandarambong ng mga dayuhang kapitalista sa yaman ng bansa, ng malawakang pang-aagaw sa lupa at kabuhayan ng masa, at ng sumisidhing pagdurusa at pang-aaping dinaranas ng sambayanang Pilipino. Sadyang mahigpit na hinihingi ng sitwasyon ang rebolusyonaryong pagbabago para iwaksi ang lumang daan at dalhin ang bansa sa landas ng kalayaan, demokrasya at kaunlaran. Sa harap ng nagpapatuloy na krisis ng pandaigdigang sistemang kapitalista, hinihila sa mas malalim na krisis ang lokal na ekonomya ng Pilipinas. Patuloy na sinasagkaan ng imperyalismong US at mga naghaharing uri ang pag-unlad ng mga pwersa sa produksyon, dahilan na nananatili itong agraryo, atrasado at hindi industriyalisado. Wala pa ring kakayahan ang lokal na ekonomya na tugunan ang pangangailangan ng mamamayan at paunlarin ang bansa. Ang lokal na produksyon ay nakaasa sa pag-aangkat ng mga kalakal na pangkonsumo at pamproduksyon, at nakatuon sa pagluluwas ng mga hilaw o bahagya lamang na naprosesong mga materyales, at mga kalakal na inasembol mula sa inangkat na mga piyesa. Ang ekonomya ng bansa ay patuloy na nakaasa sa dayuhang kapital at pangungutang, kahit pa itinutulak ng World Bank na palakihin ang bahagi lokal ng pangungutang. Dahil sa tagibang na kalakalan, nananatiling malaki ang pamalagiang depisito o pagkalugi sa kalakalan, na umabot sa $54 bilyon noong 2024 (mula $52 bilyon noong 2023). Inaasahang mananatili ito sa ganoon ding antas sa 2025. Bumulusok nang mahigit 83% ang sarplas sa balance of payments o balanse ng dayuhang transaksyon (kalakalan, kita at remitans mula sa ibayong dagat, pasok ng dayuhang pautang, ayuda o pamumuhunan) ng Pilipinas, mula $3.7 bilyon noong 2023 tungong $609 milyon noong 2024. , sa kabila ng wala pang kasinlaking $38.34 na bilyong ipinasok na remitans ng mga migranteng manggagawang Pilipino. Sumirit ang pangungutang ng gubyernong Marcos tungong ₱17.5 trilyon noong Oktubre 2025 (kabilang ang ₱5.5 trilyon o $93 bilyong dayuhang utang), 40% paglaki mula maupo si Marcos noong 2022, para itawid ang depisito sa kalakalan, punuan ang balance of payments, at pondohan ang malalaki ngunit di produktibong mga proyektong pang-imprastruktura. Patuloy na tumutumal ang lokal na manupaktura dahil sa pagliit ng order o paghina ng bentahan sa pandaigdigang pamilihan. Kabilang dito ang halos 5% pagbaba ng eksport ng mga produktong elektroniko tulad ng mga semikonduktor sa unang bahagi ng taon, na bumubuo ng malaking bahagi ng dayuhang pamumuhunan sa Pilipinas at 55%–60% ng inieeksport ng bansa. Nananatiling mababa ang produksyon sa agrikultura, kahit pa mayroong kaunting pagbawi ngayong 2025 kumpara sa 2.2% pagkitid noong nakaraang taon. Pangunahing dahilan nito ang pananatiling atrasado ng mga kagamitan, maliitang antas ng produksyon, at bulnerabilidad sa mga bagyo at pagbaha. Lalong sumahol ang lokal na produksyon sa agrikultura dahil sa liberalisasyon sa importasyon ng bigas (na umabot sa wala pang kapantay na 4.8 milyong tonelada noong 2024) at iba pang mga produkto na nagresulta sa pagkalugi ng mga magsasaka at paghina ng produksyon. Katulad na sitwasyon ang dinaranas sa sektor ng pangisda, manukan at babuyan. Markado ang paglaki ng bilang ng mga nawalan ng trabaho. Mula Abril 2024 hanggang Abril 2025, tinatayang aabot sa 500,000 trabaho sa manupaktura ang nawala, kabilang ang 76,000 trabaho sa sektor ng semikonduktor at elektroniks. Ngayong taon, naglaho ang mahigit 300,000 trabaho. Daan-daanlibo ring mga drayber ng dyip, mamamalakaya, manininda sa palengke at iba pang maliliit na naghahanapbuhay ang inaagawan ng pagkakakitaan sa ilalim ng mga programang pinakikinabangan ng mga kapitalistang dayuhan at lokal. Sa kanayunan, milyun-milyon ang nawalan ng trabaho sa nagdaang mga taon dahil sa pang-aagaw ng lupa, pagpapalayas, pagpapalit-gamit ng libu-libong ektaryang lupa tungo sa real estate, mga minahan, plantasyon, mga proyektong “renewable energy” at iba pa. Napipilitan silang maging manggagawang-bukid, maghanap ng iba’t ibang pagkakakitaan sa agraryo o natural na ekonomya, o mamasukan sa mga sentrong bayan. Dagdag na pahirap sa masang magsasaka ang mga patakaran ng pasistang panggigipit, laluna ang pagtatakda ng limitadong oras sa pagtatrabaho sa bukid na ipinapataw ng mga nag-ooperasyong sundalo ng AFP. Pilit pinagtatakpan ng gubyernong Marcos ang masidhing problema ng kawalan ng trabaho. Para palabasing mababa lamang ang tantos ng disempleyo (humigit-kumulang 95%), hindi binibilang sa “pwersa ng paggawa” ang 10–15 milyong kababaihang walang trabaho (na mayorya ay nasa kanayunan) at gumaganap ng hindi bayad na trabaho sa mga tahanan, liban pa sa ilang milyong ikinategoryang “dismayadong manggagawa” na hindi na naghahanap ng trabaho. Sa kabilang panig, binibilang na “may trabaho” maging ang mga “self-employed” at mga “unpaid family workers” (na kung tutuusin, ay mga walang mahanap na trabaho) na sa kabuuang ay bumubuo ng 13–16 milyon o hanggang 34% ng sinasabing may trabaho. Kung isasama ang milyun-milyong kababaihang tinanggal sa “pwersa ng paggawa” na ikinategoryang “maybahay” at aalisin sa bilang ng “may trabaho” ang sa aktwal ay wala namang hanapbuhay, ang tunay na tantos ng disempleyo sa Pilipinas ay hindi bababa sa 52% o mahigit kalahati ng pwersa ng paggawa sa bansa. Hindi pa kasama dito ang malaking bilang ng “kulang ang trabaho” o underemployed, na sa malaking panahon ay wala ding trabaho, kung tutuusin, kabilang ang mas malaki na nasa kanayunan. Sa harap ng napakasidhing problema sa disempleyo, umabot sa 2.47 milyong Pilipino ang nangibang-bayan para magtrabaho noong 2024, pinakamataas sa nagdaang limang dekada, at inaasahang singdami ang bilang ng daragdag sa mga migranteng manggagawang Pilipino. Humigit-kumulang naman 10 milyon ang mga “gig worker” na katumbas ng 22% ng kabuuang may trabaho. Kasama dito ang halos 200,000 mga “platform worker.” Nabibilang sa mga ito ang halos 90,000 mga delivery rider, na araw-araw nag-uunahan sa limitadong mga order o pasahero, at nagdurusa sa katakut-takot na trapik, habang kinakaltasan ang maliit nilang kita ng mga kapitalistang may-ari ng mga “app.” Pabulusok nang pabulusok ang antas ng buhay ng mayorya ng sambayanan, sa harap ng tuluy-tuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin, laluna ng langis at pagkain. Nananatiling mataas ang presyo ng bigas na nasa ₱40–₱50 kada kilo. Pataas nang pataas ang gastos sa edukasyon, transportasyon, kalusugan, upa sa bahay, tubig, kuryente at iba pang serbisyo, na malaking bahagi ay negosyo ng malalaking kapitalista. Tinatayang nasa ₱1,225 kada araw na ang nakabubuhay na sahod para mabuhay nang disente ang lima-kataong pamilya. Humigit-kumulang kalahati lamang nito ang arawang minimum na sahod na ₱695 (mula Hulyo) sa National Capital Region, at lalong malayo ang mas mababang minimum na sahod sa iba’t ibang rehiyon. Sadlak sa kahirapan ang masang mga manggagawang kumikita lamang ng minimum na sahod. Nagtitiis sila sa masisikip na barungbarong sa mga syudad, at humaharap sa banta ng pagpapalayas sa kanilang mga tirahan. Milyun-milyong walang hanapbuhay ang pumipila at handang tumanggap ng barya sa mga trabahong kontraktwal o pana-panahon. Nasa kanayunan ang masang magsasaka. Sila ang bumubuo ng mayorya ng mga produktibong uri ng bansa, subalit ang dami nila ay itinatago sa mga upisyal na estadistika ng reaksyunaryong gubyerno. Para bigyang-matwid ang pagpapabaya sa kanayunan at palabasing hindi na agraryo ang ekonomya, hindi binibilang sa upisyal na estadistika ng reaksyunaryong estado ang malaking bahagi ng produktibong populasyon sa kanayunan kabilang ang mga magsasakang kababaihan at mga bata na kalahok sa produksyon. Mayorya sa kanila ay walang sariling lupa o may maliit na parsela lamang na sinasaka, o nakikisaka lamang bilang kasamá o tenante, o nagtatrabaho bilang mga manggagawang-bukid. Dumaranas sila ng patindi nang patinding mga anyo ng pyudal at malapyudal na pagsasamantala at pang-aapi, partikular na sa anyo ng mataas na upa sa lupa at napakababang sahod. Kayod-kalabaw sila sa pagtatrabaho at pasan-pasan ang mataas na gastos sa produksyon, mataas na interes at pagkalubog sa utang, pambabarat sa kanilang mga produkto, at mataas na presyo ng bilihin. Lalong lumala ang kanilang kalagayan dahil sa liberalisasyon sa pag-aangkat na nagresulta sa pagbaha ng imported na bigas, sibuyas, bawang at iba pang mga produktong pang-agrikultura, at pagbaha sa kanilang mga bukid dahil sa pagkakalbo sa mga kabundukan. Daan-daan libo ang pinalalayas sa sariling lupa dahil sa malawakang pang-aagaw ng lupa ng mga panginoong maylupa, burgesyang kumprador at mga burukratang kapitalista, kinakasangkapan ang mga korte at iba’t ibang ahensya ng reaksyunaryong gubyerno, at kadalasang gamit ang pwersa ng militar at pulis, para bigyang-daan ang pagpapalawak ng mga plantasyon, minahan, mga proyektong ekoturismo, real estate, “renewable energy” (tulad ng malalawak na solar farms) o proyekto para diumano sa “climate change mitigation” (tulad ng mga plantasyon ng kawayan). Inaagawan din ng kabuhayan ang maliliit na mamamalakaya at magdaragat sa panghihimasok ng malalaking komersyal na trawler o barko sa 15-kilometrong municipal waters, taliwas sa itinakda ng reaksyunaryong batas na eksklusibong gamit ng maliliit na mangingisda. Pinagkakaitan din sila ng kabuhayan sa ginagawang reklamasyon ng lupa, at kapag nagsasagawa ang US at AFP ng ilang araw o linggong ehersisyong militar sa mga baybaying dagat. Humaharap din sila sa banta ng pagtatayo ng mga “coastal wind energy projects.” Pasan din nila ang bigat ng liberalisasyon sa importasyon ng isda, mataas na gastos sa pangingisda at interes sa pautang. Dinaranas sa buong bansa ang matinding epekto ng pagbabago sa klima. Dahil ito sa pagkawasak ng bundok at ilog na ilang dekada nang dinadambong ng mga gahamang dayuhang kapitalista at kasabwat na lokal na naghaharing uri. Hindi masukat ang pagdurusa ng masang anakpawis kapwa sa kalunsuran at kanayunan sa harap ng malalalang pagbaha at pagguho ng lupa, na nagreresulta sa pagkawasak ng mga tanim at pinagkukunan ng kabuhayan, pagkasira ng mga bahay at maramihang pagkasawi. Upang mapanatili ang kanilang maalwan-alwang buhay, maghapong kumakayod rin ang mga guro, mga ordinaryong kawani, maliliit na propesyunal, mga may-ari ng sasakyang pampasada, maliit na tindahan o pwesto sa palengke, mga may kasanayang freelancer o gig worker, mga call-center agent, at iba pang sektor na bumubuo ng uring petiburges. Sa gitna ng masidhing krisis panlipunan, ang mayorya sa kanila ay hindi na nakapag-iimpok para makapag-ari ng sariling bahay o makapagpalago ng kapital, at marami ay mabilis na dumadausdos sa katayuan sa buhay ng masang anakpawis. Milyun-milyong mga kabataan ang hindi na makapagtapos ng pag-aaral sa kolehiyo dahil sa taas ng singilin at mga gastusin. Langit at lupa ang agwat ng buhay ng masa ng sambayanang Pilipino at ng iilang naghaharing uri. Habang dumadausdos o bumubumulusok ang buhay ng masang Pilipino, palaki nang palaki naman ang kinakamal na yaman ng malalaking burgesyang kumprador, panginoong maylupa at burukratang kapitalista. Mula nang maupo si Marcos, ang pinagsamang ari-arian ng tatlong pinakamayaman sa Pilipinas—sina Enrique Razon, Manuel Villar at Ramong Ang—ay lumaki nang 56% mula ₱485.6 bilyon tungong ₱1.3 trilyon, habang ang sa 50 pinakamayaman ay lumago nang 25% mula ₱979 bilyon tungong ₱4.9 trilyon, malayo sa ibinigay na 7.5% pagtaas sa sahod ng mga manggagawa sa National Capital Region ngayong taon. Habang sadlak sa lusak ng kahirapan ang masang anakpawis, nabubuhay nang marangya at maluho ang mga naghaharing uri. Nilulustay nila ang yaman sa kanilang mga mansyon, mamahaling sasakyan, pribadong resort at mga yate, gintong mga relo at alahas, pagkakasino at paroo’t parito ng biyahe sa ibang bansa lulan ng kanilang sariling mga eroplano. Kumakamkam sila ng dambuhalang yaman sa pakikisosyo sa mga dayuhang malalaking kapitalista at bangko, bilang mga ahente sa pagluluwas ng mga hilaw na materyales (mga mineral, prutas, kopra, yamang-dagat, goma), pag-aangkat ng mga yaring kalakal at kagamitan, at bilang mga manedyer ng mga dayuhang namumuhunan sa mga kumpanyang nagsasamantala sa murang lakas-paggawa para sa asembliya para sa pag-eeksport. Sila ang nasa likod ng pang-aagaw ng lupa at pagsasapribado at pagnenegosyo sa mga serbisyong publiko tulad ng kuryente, tubig, telekomunikasyon at transportasyon. Hawak nila ang pinakamalalaking bangko, mga kumpanya at konglomereyt kabilang ang International Container Terminal Services (ICTS), SM Investments, BDO, SM Prime, Meralco, BPI, San Miguel Corporation, Ayala Land, PLDT, China Bank at iba pang malalaking korporasyon. Sila ang nagpopondo at sumusuporta sa pinakamalaking partidong pampulitika, at nakikinabang sa pabor ng gubyerno sa mga kontrata, batas, proyektong pang-imprastruktura at mga desisyon ng korte. Katuwang ang naghaharing uri ng imperyalismong US sa pagpapanatiling atrasado ng bansa. Wala silang interes na ipundar ang saligang mga industriya at paunlarin ang agrikultura, o itaguyod ang ekonomyang nakapagsasarili. Nagkakamal sila ng yaman mula sa pagkaatrasado ng bansa. Ang naghaharing uri ay pangunahing kinakatawan ngayon ng sagadsaring papet na rehimeng Marcos. Pinamamahalaanan niya ang estadong neokolonyal, na ang pangunahing haligi ay ang Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) na kinokontrol ng imperyalismong US. Sa harap ng tumitinding ribalan sa China sa nagdaang dekada, ibayong pinahihigpit ng imperyalismong US ang kontrol sa Pilipinas. Tumindi ang panghihimasok ng militar ng US sa pamamagitan ng palaki nang palaking Balikatan exercises, na isinasagawa sa ilalim ng Mutual Defense Treaty, Visiting Forces Agreement, Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) at iba pang tagibang na kasunduang militar ng US at Pilipinas. Sa ilalim ni Marcos, palaki nang palaki ang presensya ng mga tropa, mga sasakyan at kagamitang pandigma ng US sa Pilipinas. Binuksan ng US ang dagdag na sikretong mga EDCA site para magsilbing himpilan ng mga tropa at tagapayong militar ng US, at lagakan ng mga misayl at iba pang sandata ng US. Karugtong ito ng papalaking presensyang militar ng US sa rehiyong Asia kasabwat ang mga papet na gubyerno sa Japan at South Korea. Suson-suson ang mga ehersisyong pandigma at pagmamaniobra ng mga pwersang militar ng US. Sinasamantala ng imperyalismong US ang hidwaan ng Pilipinas at China sa South China Sea para mag-udyok ng armadong sigalot. Ginagamit nito ang sagadsaring maka-US na grupong Akbayan bilang sibilyang tagasulsol ng gera, at tagapaypay ng Sinophobia o sentimyentong anti-China para ilarawan ang US na “kakampi” o “tagapagtanggol” ng soberanya ng Pilipinas. Inilalarawan ng mga upisyal ng gubyernong US na nasa “hyperdrive” o napakataas na antas ng “kooperasyon” ng US at Pilipinas, sa harap ng walang kasimpantay na panghihimasok militar nito sa bansa. Itinayo kamakailan ng US ang Task Force Philippines para lalong pahigpitin ang kontrol sa AFP, at mas epektibong gamitin ito sa mga operasyong militar ng US sa Pilipinas. Kasunod nito, pinagtibay ng Kongreso ng US ang Philippine Enhanced Resilience Act o PERA na maglalaan sa Pilipinas ng aabot sa $500 milyong taunang Foreign Military Financing o kabuuang $2.5 bilyon sa 2026–2030, mahigit sampung ulit ng karaniwang inilalaan ng ayudang militar sa bansa. Sadlak sa krisis pampulitika ang neokolonyal na estado sa harap ng matinding sigalot ng magkakaribal na pangkatin ng naghaharing uri, at pagkahiwalay sa mamamayan ng pasista at bantog sa korapsyon na rehimeng Marcos. Naging tampok sa nagdaang taon ang pagpayag ni Marcos sa paghuli at pakulong sa dating tiranikong presidente na si Rodrigo Duterte sa mga pasilidad ng International Criminal Court sa The Netherlands dahil sa mga kaso ng krimen laban sa sangkatauhan kaugnay ng maramihang mga pagpatay sa huwad na “war on drugs.” Naging maigting rin ang bangayan sa naunsyaming impeachment kay Sara Duterte na itinulak ng malawak na hanay ng mga pwersang progresibo, katuwang ang mga karibal ng mga Duterte sa kongreso. Subalit sa takot na siya ang isusunod, ipinatigil mismo ni Marcos ang paglilitis sa Senado, kasabwat ang mga kaalyado ni Duterte. Naganap ang isa sa pinakabulok na reaksyunaryong eleksyon noong Mayo, kung saan naging garapalan ang pandaraya, pagbaha ng kinurakot na salapi upang ipambili ng boto, karahasan, at pampulitikang akomodasyon na inareglo ng mga opereytor ng US. Salamin ito ng bulok na naghaharing sistemang pampulitika. Sa kabilang panig, naging makatuturan ang paglahok ng mga progresibo at patriyotikong partido sa eleksyon, kahit pa pinuntirya sila ng panggigipit ng mga armadong pwersa ng estado. Katangi-tangi ang kanilang mga kandidato sa mahigpit na pagdadala ng mga hinaing ng masa, paglalantad sa bulok na eleksyon at pagtataguyod sa pambansa at demokratikong hangarin ng sambayanan. Sa gitna ng masidhing krisis sa ekonomya at pagbulusok ng kabuhayan ng malawak na masa ng sambayanan, sumiklab ang malawak na galit sa korapsyon at pandarambong sa pondo ng bayan. Tumambad sa mga publikong imbestigasyon ang dambuhalang pondo ng bayan na kinulimbat ng mga burukratang kapitalista sa maaanomalya at palpak ng proyektong flood-control, at pagbulsa ng daan-daang bilyong pisong kikbak ng mga upisyal ng Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), mga kongresman, senador, at matataas na upisyal ng Malacañang. Simula Setyembre, ilang buwan na dumaluyong ang kilusang protestang anti-korapsyon, sa pangunguna ng mga kabataang estudyante, ang karaniwang tinaguriang Generation Z o Gen-Z, katulad ng mga protesta sa ibang bansa. Subalit hindi katulad ng sandaling ningas ng protesta sa ibang bansa, nagtuluy-tuloy ang protesta ng mga kabataang estudyante sa Pilipinas, sa payong ng pambansa-demokratikong mga pwersa. Sumanib ito at humugot ng lakas sa pagkilos ng iba’t ibang demokratikong sektor. Sa harap ng mga protesta, nilantad ng dati kasapakat na kongresman ni Marcos na mismong siya ay tumanggap ng ₱25 bilyong “SOP,” at na siya mismo ang utak sa likod ng pagpasok ng maaanomalyang proyekto sa badyet ng kanyang gubyerno. Para iligtas ang kanyang sarili, napwersa si Marcos na isakripisyo ang malalapit niyang upisyal na pinangalanang sangkot sa pangungulimbat, bagay na lumikha ng mga lamat at nagpasidhi ng hidwaan sa pagitan ng magkakatunggaling pangkatin sa loob ng Malacañang. Sa pamamagitan ng kunwaring imbestigasyong ipinag-utos ni Marcos, pilit pinagtatakpan ang kanyang tuwirang pananagutan sa korapsyong sa mga proyektong flood-control na pinondohan sa kanyang tuwirang utos sa ilalim ng “unprogrammed appropriations.” Sa pagdaloy ng kilusang protesta nabuo ang malawak na mga alyansang anti-korapsyon sa buong bansa. Lumakas ang sigaw ng mga progresibo at demokratikong grupo, laluna ng mga kabataan, para sa pagpapabitiw o pagpapatalsik kay Marcos at Duterte, kahit pa tinangka ng pseudo-progresibong grupong Akbayan para ilihis ang galit ng taumbayan kay Marcos. . Iniaabante ang panukala para itayo ang isang “national transition council” na hahalili sa gubyernong Marcos-Duterte, itulak ang pagtitiyak ng mga hakbangin para panagutin ang mga nasangkot sa korapsyon, at isakatuparan ang mga pagbabago sa sistema ng eleksyon at pamahalaan. Bagaman nasa balangkas pa rin ito ng kasalukuyang sistema, at hindi maghahatid ng pundamental na pagbabago sa sistema, ang ganitong panawagan ay sadyang salamin ng malalim na pagkadismaya at kawalang tiwala ng taumbayan sa reaksyunaryong sistema at sa mga naghaharing uri, sa harap ng pabalik-balik na kaso ng korapsyon sa nagdaang mga dekada. Upang pigilan ang paglaki ng mga kilos protesta sa lansangan, ginamit ni Marcos ang mga pwersa ng pulis at militar sa pagsupil sa mga demokratikong karapatan. Noong Setyembre 21, sa ika-53 anibersaryo ng batas militar, mahigit 270 ang inaresto sa Mendiola nang sumiklab ang kumprontasyon sa pagitan ng mga pulis at ng mga kabataang matapang na lumaban. Sa rali noong Nobyembre 30, ginawang mistulang garison ang Malacañang na pinalibutan ng libu-libong pulis para hindi makalapit sa Malacañang at hindi madinig ni Marcos ang mga sigaw ng taumbayan. Ang naging pagsupil sa mga rali ay isang bahagi lamang ng papatinding pasistang panunupil ng rehimeng Marcos. Inilabas ni Marcos ngayong taon ang National Action Plan for Unity, Peace and Development (NAP-UPD) na ngayo’y nagsisilbing plano sa malawakang pagsupil sa mga demokratikong karapatan sa balangkas ng counter-insurgency. Ginagamit nito ang Anti-Terror Law at Anti-Financing Terrorism Law upang ipitin ang mga samahang masa at mga organisasyong civil society, idawit ang mga ito sa rebolusyonaryong kilusan, at supilin ang kanilang mga aktibidad. Sa kalunsuran, isinasagawa ng mga ahente ng estado ang sarbeylans, panggigipit at paninindak para pigilan ang pag-uunyon ng mga manggagawa at pag-oorganisa ng mga kabataan at iba pang sektor. Ang mga kilalang lider o kalahok sa mga kilos protesta ay target ng “pagbisita sa bahay” ng mga pulis upang “kumbinsehin” silang tumiwalag sa kanilang mga organisasyon at huwag lumahok sa mga pagkilos. Kaliwa’t kanan ang pagsasampa ng gawa-gawang kaso, kabilang ang bantang pagkakaso ng pulis sa mahigit 90 lider-kabataan at mga kalahok sa rali noong Setyembre 21 sa Mendiola. Sa balangkas rin ng NAP-UPD, patuloy na ipinapataw ng AFP, kasabwat ang NTF-Elcac, ang de facto na batas militar sa daan-daang barangay sa buong bansa. Ipinatutupad ang mga hakbanging mapaniil at mapang-api sa masang magsasaka, kabilang ang pagtatakda ng limitadong oras sa pagtatrabaho ng mga magsasaka sa kanyang bukid, pagpapapirma sa logbook sa paglabas o pagpasok sa baryo, pagtakda ng limitadong dami ng bigas na pwedeng bilhin, pagpapataw ng karpyu, at iba pang patakaran ng pagkontrol sa kilos ng taumbaryo. Ipinapakat ang mga pangkat ng mga sundalo sa mga barangay o kulumpon ng mga baryo ng mga magsasaka, laluna ang mga pinaghihinalaan ng AFP na sumusuporta sa rebolusyonaryong kilusan, sa ngalan ng pagpigil sa pagsuporta sa Bagong Hukbong Bayan (BHB). Ang imperyalismong US ang pangunahing tagapayo at tagabigay ng suporta sa pinansya at materyal sa operasyong kontra-insurhensya ni Marcos at ng AFP. Walang-lubay ang panggagalugad ng AFP sa mga baryo at mga operasyong laban sa BHB. Patuloy ang mga triad o tatluhang operasyong saywar, intelidyens at kombat, sa desperadong tangkang gapiin ang hukbong bayan o pigilan ang mga pwersang gerilya na maggawaing masa sa mga baryo. Sa mga lugar na nasa ilalim ng focused military operation ng mga dibisyon at area command ng AFP, isinasagawa ang malawak na mga operasyon sa magkakanugnog sa pinaniniwalaan nitong mga sonang gerilya ng BHB. Bata-batalyon ang ginagamit ng AFP para habulin ang mga gerilyang platun o iskwad ng hukbong bayan. Kasabay ito na ginagamit ang pakanang amnestiya para sa saywar. Mula 2023, ginamit ni Marcos at kanyang mga sugo ang sikretong pakikipag-usap sa NDFP sa tangkang siluin ito sa usapang pagsurender ng rebolusyonaryong kilusan. Nagpapakalat rin ito ng mga iskwad o pangkat ng mga pasistang sundalo, minsa’y nagpapanggap na mga pwersang gerilya sa tangkang linlangin ang masa. Gumagamit rin ang AFP ng masasamang elemento sa baryo para ipuslit ang mga kagamitang elektroniko (GPS tracker) sa pwesto ng mga yunit gerilya, upang asintahin ang mga Pulang mandirigma ng pangananyon, istraping at pambobomba mula sa ere gamit ang mga FA-50 jet fighter o Super Tucano na pang-atakeng eroplano. Saanman at kailanman isinasagawa ng AFP ang mga operasyong kontra-gerilya, kasama sa target nito ang masang magsasaka sa baryo. Tuwing magkaroon ng armadong engkwentro, pwersahang pinalilikas ang masa sa kanilang mga baryo bilang pagparusa sa taumbaryo na paniniwalaan ng mga pasistang upisyal ng AFP na sumusuporta sa BHB. Sa nakaraang taon, mahigit 7,600 mga magsasaka ang biktima ng sapilitang pagbakwit. Bahagi sila ng kabuuang halos 240,000 naging biktima ng pasistang panunupil at pandarahas ng rehimeng US-Marcos mula Disyembre 2024. Kabilang dito a

Trump signs order prioritizing US ‘resettlement’ of white South Africans over ‘discrimination’

::: spoiler Article text After years railing against immigrants coming to America, Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday to prioritize the U.S. resettlement of white South African “refugees” suffering from what he called “government-sponsored race-based discrimination.” Trump also shut down all funding for the country, much of which is used to battle AIDS. Afrikaners, architects of the historically brutal discriminatory system of apartheid in South Africa, would be resettled in America through the U.S. refugee program, which Trump had suspended by executive order on his first day in office, according to the president. Trump accused the South African government in his order of discriminating against the white Afrikaaners, descendants of the largely Dutch colonists who arrived in the country in the 1600s and imposed apartheid against the overwhelming majority of Blacks living there until the 1990s. Trump raged in his order that South Africa’s government is seizing “ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation” and enacting “countless government policies designed to dismantle equal opportunity” in employment, education and business.” He wrote that the U.S. cannot support the government of South Africa’s “commission of rights violations in its country.” Donald Trump speaks earlier this week before signing a previous executive order, this one barring transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports Donald Trump speaks earlier this week before signing a previous executive order, this one barring transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) South Africa’s government has denied private land confiscations or racially motivated discrimination. Officials have said the government is looking at unused or publicly owned land to give citizens help who suffered generations of apartheid. The Washington Post has reported that private land is confiscated only “rarely,” and is intended to address the disparities created by apartheid. Afrikaners, who make up only 8 percent of the population, own three-fourths of the country’s farmland, while Blacks, who comprise 80 percent of the population, own just 4 percent of agricultural land, according to the country’s 2017 land audit, The Post noted. In a post on X Monday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responded to Trump’s earlier attacks on the country, saying the land measure is “not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process.” Later he vowed in his state of the nation address: “We will not be bullied” Trump instructed Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in his order to “prioritize humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program, for Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination.” Trump’s right-wing “best buddy” Elon Musk grew up in apartheid South Africa, and overstayed his student visa after moving to the United States for school, his own bother Kimbal has recounted. Musk has long criticized his homeland for being “anti-white.” The new order was a flip flop from one Trump signed his first day in office, in which he argued that refugees are a strain on the nations receiving them. Trump said he would only restart the refugee program if he concluded that doing so would serve the interests of the U.S. Trump’s earlier order did, however, allow officials to make case-by-case exemptions. The United States provided nearly $440 million in aid to South Africa in 2023, with the majority of funds allocated to HIV/AIDS treatment through PEPFAR, a program that supports 17 percent of South Africa’s HIV/AIDS response and provides lifesaving medication to millions. :::

aurele (26 followers)

🇫🇷 🇨🇦 Postdoc in the McBride Lab.

Interested in all things mitochondria/peroxisomes/Liver

Israel has killed 23 Palestinians during “ceasefire”; Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya to remain in Israeli prison

Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza continue despite ceasefire, with at least 23 confirmed killed since Saturday. Israel hands over 30 more bodies of dead Palestinians, and the Gaza health ministry publishes photos showing signs of abuse. Hamas hands over two more bodies of Israeli captives, saying it could not access the last remains without additional machinery. White House advisers indicate that they do not think Hamas failed to uphold the ceasefire agreement regarding hostage return, noting that it is ill-equipped to handle the sophisticated task of removing bodies from mounds of rubble. Palestinian prisoners detail horrific sexual abuses at the hands of their Israeli captors. The U.S. doubles the financial commitment President Donald Trump made to Argentina in support of right-wing President Javier Milei, increasing aid from $20 billion to $40 billion. The Trump administration plans to privilege white Europeans—those who demonstrate “opposition to migration” in their own countries—in its reformation of the U.S.’s refugee acceptance program. The White House gives the CIA a green light to conduct covert lethal operations in Venezuela, the New York Times reports. Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to a ceasefire. Ukrainian officials meet with American weapons manufacturers ahead of a Trump-Zelenskyy summit. Scam compounds bloom in Myanmar with the help of Elon Musk’s Starlink. This is Drop Site Daily, our new, free daily news recap. We send it Monday through Friday. Subscribe now Images of Palestinian doctors from Gaza detained by Israel, including Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, are displayed by pro-Palestinian activists protesting outside Woolwich Crown Court on the occasion of a bail hearing for the Filton 24 on October 13, 2025 in London, United Kingdom. (photo by Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images.) The Genocide in Gaza At least three Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks today despite the ceasefire, according to Al Jazeera. The bodies of 29 Palestinians—including 22 recovered from under the rubble and three who died of previous wounds and four killed in new Israeli attacks over the past day—arrived at hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, according to the ministry of health. At least 10 Palestinians were wounded. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 is now 67,967 killed, with 170,179 injured. The health ministry reported that since Saturday—the first full day of the ceasefire being in effect—Israel has killed 23 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 122. At least 381 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble. The health ministry also announced it received the bodies of 30 dead Palestinians handed over by Israel via the Red Cross, bringing the total number of bodies received to 120. Under the ceasefire deal, Israel is to hand over 15 bodies of Palestinians for each deceased Israeli captive. Many of the bodies of dead Palestinians handed over by Israel show signs of abuse, beatings, handcuffing, blindfolding, and field executions. The health ministry on Thursday published a link for Palestinians in Gaza to access and called on anyone who could identify a body through their belongings or any identifying marks to visit the Martyrs’ Management Committee at the field hospital in Nasser Medical Complex. Many of the bodies in the photos are charred and mangled and some have their hands bound. Earlier today, Hamas handed over two more bodies of Israeli captives via the Red Cross, bringing the number of bodies handed over to Israel to eight. Hamas released a statement saying it had now handed over all the bodies it could access. “As for the remaining corpses, it requires extensive efforts and special equipment for their retrieval and extraction. We are exerting great effort in order to close this file,” Hamas said. The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza remains closed to the delivery of humanitarian aid. An official with the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the branch of the Israeli military that oversees the West Bank and Gaza, told Reuters that with Rafah closed, only 300 aid trucks had entered Gaza—not the full 600 trucks agreed to in the ceasefire deal. The official added that humanitarian aid will not pass through Rafah for the time being, but will continue to enter through Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) and other crossings. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said it has enough food outside the enclave to supply people for three months, and teams are ready to deliver it. “But despite the ceasefire, the Israeli authorities’ block on UNRWA bringing any supplies into Gaza still continues after over 7 months,” UNRWA wrote on X. Ceasefire Updates An Israeli court has rubber-stamped the extension of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya’s detention without charge or trial for another six months, according to Al Mezan Center for Human Rights. There were widespread calls for Abu Safiya to be among the hundreds of Palestinian captives freed on Monday as part of the ceasefire deal. “This decision strips away any pretense: Dr. Abu Safiya is a hostage, a bargaining chip in ongoing negotiations,” Al Mezan said in a statement. Abu Safiya was the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia when Israeli troops raided the hospital in December 2024. He has been imprisoned along with dozens of other doctors and medical staff for nearly 10 months. In a CNN interview on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he personally stopped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from resuming large-scale attacks in Gaza, claiming Israeli forces could “go back in as soon as I say the word” if Hamas fails to comply with the ceasefire. Trump defended reports of Hamas executing alleged collaborators, describing them as “violent gangs,” and said his plan envisions a “demilitarized Gaza” under independent monitoring and without Hamas in governance. He acknowledged a dispute with Netanyahu—“I had it out with Bibi”—over Israel’s push to restart the war, and said humanitarian aid restrictions imposed by Israel would be “resolved quickly.” Trump added that 59 countries now back his “Trump Peace Agreement” and asserted that “Iran isn’t a problem anymore.” A senior adviser to Donald Trump said the United States is recruiting Palestinians to form a transitional technocratic government to administer post-war Gaza, prioritizing demilitarization, humanitarian relief, and recovery of Israeli captives’ remains. The adviser said Palestinians, including members of the diaspora, have expressed interest, claiming Hamas is “weaker than ever,” while also condemning both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority as corrupt. The envisioned administration, distinct from both factions, would operate under a Trump-chaired “Board of Peace”; Egyptian officials said earlier this week that 15 Palestinian technocrats have already been approved to manage Gaza in coordination with Israel. Two advisers to President Donald Trump told reporters they do not believe Hamas has violated the ceasefire agreement regarding the recovery of Israeli hostages’ bodies, noting that the group lacks the heavy equipment needed to locate remains in Gaza. “It’s almost impossible for Hamas to reach all the dead hostages,” one adviser said. Israeli officials, however, informed Washington on Wednesday that Hamas “isn’t doing enough” to retrieve the bodies, warning that the Gaza deal cannot proceed to its next phase until progress is made. CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper publicly urged Hamas to “disarm without delay” and comply with President Trump’s 20-point plan, calling it a “historic opportunity for peace.” He also condemned attacks on civilians, echoing Israeli claims, even as Trump defended recent Hamas operations as targeting “dangerous gangs” causing chaos. A video of Gaza journalist Shadi Abu Sido reuniting with his wife, journalist Hanaa Bahloul, and their children after nearly two years in Israeli detention went viral this week. In an interview with Al Jazeera Mubasher, Abu Sido—arrested while reporting at Al-Shifa Hospital—described routine abuse in Ofer and Naqab prisons, where guards woke prisoners at dawn, forced them to kneel, and denied them sunlight or any sense of time. He said he lost 30 kilos and partial sight and hearing after being beaten by a guard who “smashed my eye like my camera lens.” Bahloul, who spent months seeking news of him while their Gaza home was damaged by bombing, said with a weary smile: “I’ll give him a week to rest — then I’ll hold him accountable for all the days I raised the kids alone.” A recently released Palestinian hostage opened up about the horrific abuse he and others encountered in Israeli occupation prisons, recounting that “They had a dog rape the hostages and they raped me with a stick” Alaa al-Din al-Aklouk, vice president of the Supreme Council of the Reform and Clans Forum in Gaza, told Ultra Palestine that recent security operations in Gaza “aim to preserve order and deter those who break the law or collaborate with the occupation.” He said those targeted “were well known for past crimes” and accused some of “acting as tools for Israel to destabilize the home front.” Al-Aklouk added that Gaza’s families had “withdrawn tribal protection from anyone who broke national ranks,” saying such actions reflect “a national responsibility to protect society from chaos and lawlessness.” ​​The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office reported that senior Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti lost consciousness and sustained four broken ribs after being beaten by Israeli guards during his mid-September transfer from Rimon to Megiddo Prison. The office accused a special Israeli suppression unit of carrying out the assault. Barghouti, imprisoned since 2002 and serving multiple life sentences, was excluded from the October 2025 Gaza prisoner exchange despite repeated calls for his release. Palestinian novelist Bassem Khandaqji, imprisoned for 21 years in Israeli facilities, was released and deported to Egypt under the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement. During his incarceration, he transformed his cell into a “cultural operations room,” producing novels and poetry that redefined Palestinian prison literature, including the 2022 Arabic Booker Prize-winning A Mask Dyed the Color of the Sky. Khandaqji emphasized that his work transcends autobiographical accounts of captivity, aiming to preserve Palestinian narratives and culture beyond politics. Turkey has sent 81 search-and-rescue technicians to Gaza, marking the country’s first official deployment there in over a century. Authorized by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and coordinated through Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, the team traveled via Egypt to assist in locating bodies of Israeli captives, aid recovery in rubble, and support humanitarian relief following the ceasefire and Egypt peace summit, according to Israel Hayom and i24NEWS. U.S. News CNN reports that a U.S. military strike on September 19 targeted a boat carrying Colombian nationals in the Caribbean, one of at least five lethal operations in President Donald Trump’s expanding regional campaign. The Pentagon has not confirmed the victims’ identities, while a classified legal opinion reportedly allows Trump to classify drug traffickers as enemy combatants without judicial review. Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the killings as “murder of Colombian citizens,” while the White House, without offering evidence, maintained that all those targeted were “designated narcoterrorists.” Donald Trump confirmed that he has authorized the CIA to conduct lethal covert operations in Venezuela under a classified presidential order aimed at removing President Nicolás Maduro from power. The New York Times and other outlets reported that the directive grants the agency wide latitude for clandestine actions across Venezuela and the Caribbean, marking a major escalation in Washington’s regime-change efforts. Trump said Wednesday that the authorization was intended to combat narcotics trafficking and illegal migration, alleging—without evidence—that Maduro’s government has released prisoners into the United States and runs drug networks tied to the “Cartel of the Suns.” The move accompanies a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, with roughly 10,000 troops and warships stationed near Puerto Rico and several recent naval strikes off Venezuela’s coast reportedly killing 27 people. Lawmakers from both parties have questioned the operation’s legality, though a War Powers Resolution introduced by Senator Rand Paul failed to pass. The Trump administration is effectively doubling U.S. financial support for Argentina, increasing aid from $20 billion to $40 billion through an additional $20 billion arranged via private banks and sovereign wealth funds, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on October 15, 2025. The move aims to stabilize Argentina’s collapsing currency and bolster President Javier Milei ahead of midterm elections. Democrats, including Senators Ruben Gallego and Jack Reed, criticized the plan as prioritizing foreign aid over domestic issues, while supporters framed it as a strategy to counter Chinese influence in Latin America and promote free-market reforms. The expansion builds on a prior $20 billion U.S. currency-swap line discussed by Trump yesterday. President Trump signed a memorandum expanding his administration’s authority to repurpose unspent federal funds to pay military personnel during the ongoing government shutdown, bypassing Congress’s explicit approval. The memo directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in coordination with the White House budget office, to use any remaining FY2026 appropriations for military payments—a move Democrats have criticized as likely illegal. Trump also announced plans to fund FBI salaries during the shutdown, with Director Kash Patel praising the action, framing it as ensuring that “the people that we want paid, paid,” despite broader disputes over federal spending authority. The Trump administration is reportedly planning a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. refugee program that would drastically reduce admissions while favoring English-speaking, white Europeans and South Africans, including Afrikaners, over refugees from other regions. Documents obtained by The New York Times show proposals emphasizing assimilation, cultural “fit,” and security vetting, with some already enacted, such as cutting refugee admissions and prioritizing certain groups. Critics say the plans reflect a racially and culturally selective vision for America, while supporters argue they prioritize U.S. interests amid high immigration levels. Six U.S. press freedom organizations—including Defending Rights & Dissent, Freedom of the Press Foundation, and PEN America—urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to denounce Israel’s detention of three American journalists, Alex Colston and Noa Avishag Schnall of Drop Site News and Emily Wilder of Jewish Currents, who were seized from Gaza aid flotillas and held at Ketziot Prison. In a joint letter, the groups criticized the State Department’s silence and condemned Ambassador Mike Huckabee for publicly attacking members of Congress and “demonizing the detained.” They called on Washington to hold Israel accountable and to press for international journalists’ access to Gaza. The Supreme Court signaled on Wednesday that it may further limit the use of race in drawing legislative districts, potentially undermining Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which has protected minority voters’ ability to elect candidates of their choice for decades. Conservative justices expressed openness to restricting race-based redistricting, while liberal justices warned that weakening Section 2 would “gut” the law and threaten the gains of Black elected officials, particularly in the South. The case, stemming from disputes over Louisiana’s congressional map, could have far-reaching consequences for minority representation nationwide if the court curtails the law’s protections. Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans has barred ICE from making civil arrests at, or near, courthouses, citing the need for residents to attend court without fear of detention. The order—covering courthouses, parking lots, sidewalks, and entryways—follows complaints from public defenders, domestic violence advocates, and legal organizations that ICE’s courthouse arrests were deterring people from participating in legal proceedings. The move has drawn praise from local officials, including Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Welch and Governor JB Pritzker, and is part of a broader push nationwide to protect courthouses as safe spaces from federal immigration enforcement. A U.S. Border Patrol video posted to Instagram and Facebook featuring antisemitic lyrics from Michael Jackson’s 1995 song went viral on X this week, drawing far-right attention before being removed from platforms, Gizmodo reports. The 13-second clip, which showed Border Patrol agents in the field, was widely criticized for its offensive content, with far-right users celebrating the video as a signal to extremists. The incident underscores a broader pattern of far-right and extremist messaging emerging from DHS and related agencies since President Trump’s second inauguration, raising alarm over the normalization of antisemitism and racist propaganda by a government body with real enforcement power. Labor unions criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom after he vetoed SB-34, a bipartisan measure aimed at protecting longshore jobs by limiting the use of public funds for port automation. Newsom argued the bill would restrict ports’ flexibility and modernization, though he expressed support for combining technological upgrades with worker protections. The International Longshoremen’s Association called the veto a “gut punch,” accusing Newsom of siding with foreign carriers over workers, while the International Longshore and Warehouse Union has long opposed automation but negotiated semi-automation contracts to preserve jobs. Silicon Valley defense startups are poised to profit massively from the Pentagon’s record-breaking budget, particularly through investments in drones, artificial intelligence, and autonomous weapons, even as many of these technologies lack clear operating doctrines and have previously caused cost overruns. Congress has codified policies treating small drones as expendable ammunition and promoting AI to increase “warfighter lethality,” while deregulation and lobbying by tech firms like Palantir, Anduril, and Amazon-linked contractors have accelerated adoption. Critics say these moves are driven by hype over foreign threats, overstate national security risks, and funnel taxpayer dollars to well-connected companies without sufficient oversight or evidence of effectiveness. Read more here from our friends at The Lever. International News Greta Thunberg spoke to Aftonbladet about her torture and sexual humiliation while in Israeli captivity. Israeli drone strikes in southern Lebanon have wounded several civilians in multiple incidents. Between Kafra and Seddiqin, a drone hit a rapid-response vehicle, injuring occupants. Yesterday, strikes targeted a car on the outskirts of Wadi Jilo near Al-Bazourieh and another parked vehicle between Tebnine and Haris in the Bint Jbeil district, wounding two civilians nearby. Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a ceasefire on Wednesday after several days of deadly border clashes left dozens dead on both sides. The truce followed appeals from Saudi Arabia and Qatar to stop the fighting, which risked further destabilizing a region already facing renewed activity from the Islamic State group and al-Qaida. Each government blamed the other for the violence—Pakistan citing militant sanctuaries in Afghanistan, and the Taliban accusing Pakistan of cross-border bombardments—while key border crossings remained closed amid reports of civilian evacuations and casualties in both countries. A Ukrainian government delegation met with U.S. defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Raytheon ahead of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s planned White House meeting with President Donald Trump, signaling Kyiv’s push for cruise missiles, air defense systems, and joint drone production, senior adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said. While Trump has hinted at sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, Washington remains cautious over escalation risks, and NATO ministers met in Brussels to discuss sustaining weapons supplies after a summer decline in European aid. Separately, Ukraine struck a Russian-controlled oil terminal in Crimea, damaging 16 fuel reservoirs, while Russia hit Ukrainian thermal power plants, leaving at least two regions without electricity. Ryan Grim reports that Pakistan’s military opened fire on pro-Palestine protesters near Lahore, leaving scores dead and possibly more than 1,000 wounded, in an attack that targeted supporters of the far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan movement. The crackdown coincided with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s trip to Egypt for the Gaza ceasefire summit, where he praised Donald Trump as a “candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.” Grim writes that the killings reflect the military’s efforts, backed by Washington, to suppress dissent over normalization with Israel and reassert domestic control.iWitnesses described hundreds of bodies left in the streets after the crackdown. Media coverage of the event within Pakistan remains heavily censored. A wave of drone strikes hit Khartoum overnight Wednesday, targeting two army bases in the city’s northwest, according to an army source and eyewitnesses cited by AFP. The military said it intercepted “most of the drones,” blaming the attack on the paramilitary faction Rapid Support Forces (RSF) it has battled since April 2023. The strikes marked the second consecutive day of attacks on the capital. Local witnesses in Omdurman reported loud explosions throughout the night. The RSF continues to launch long-range assaults from western and southern fronts, particularly around El-Fasher in Darfur, where over 400,000 civilians are trapped amid famine and daily bombardment. An Agence France-Presse investigation found that online fraud groups in Myanmar have rapidly expanded, despite a February government crackdown, using Elon Musk’s Starlink network to keep their compounds online after Thai authorities cut their internet access. Satellite images show construction surging at sites like KK Park near the Thai border, where dozens of Starlink dishes power large-scale fraud operations run by Chinese crime syndicates with backing from Myanmar militias. U.S. lawmakers have opened an inquiry into Starlink’s role in the online scam industry—fueled by human trafficking and violence—as it continues to defraud victims worldwide of tens of billions of dollars. Madagascar’s new military ruler, Colonel Michael Randrianirina, said Wednesday he would soon be sworn in as president after leading a coup that ousted Andry Rajoelina, who fled abroad and has refused to formally resign. The African Union suspended Madagascar with immediate effect, calling for “the rule of law to prevail.” Randrianirina, a former commander in the elite CAPSAT unit that helped bring Rajoelina to power in 2009, said a military-led committee and transitional government will rule for up to two years before new elections. More From Drop Site Despite being hailed internationally as a Gaza ceasefire broker, Egypt continues a sweeping crackdown on citizens expressing solidarity with Palestine under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Since Israel’s war on Gaza began, over 150 people have been detained for protesting, organizing, or even sharing support online, while thousands of political prisoners remain held indefinitely under pretrial detention. Activists warn that the regime uses the Palestinian cause to polish its global image while suppressing any independent mobilization at home or abroad, leaving Egyptians largely unable to publicly support Gaza. Read the latest here from Drop Site News. Programming note: You can sign up here to get updates from us on our WhatsApp channel. If you want to continue getting this newsletter, you don’t have to do anything. But if this is too much—we do try to be mindful of your inbox—you can unsubscribe from this newsletter while continuing to get the rest of our reporting. Just go into your account here at this link, scroll down, and toggle the button next to “Drop Site Daily” to the off setting. It looks like this: Share Leave a comment From Drop Site News via this RSS feed

bobpatin (8 followers)

Keeping my head down and my spirits up | www.bobpatin.com | Jazz pianist | Avid reader | Amateur photographer | Ardent traveler | Computer programmer | Owner of Longterm Solutions www.longtermsolutions.com | Democrat | Lover of good humor

What Are People Still Doing on X?

This has been a banner month for X. Last week, the social network’s built-in chatbot, Grok, became strangely obsessed with false claims about “white genocide” in South Africa—allegedly because someone made an “unauthorized modification” to its code at 3:15 in the morning. The week prior, Ye (formerly Kanye West) released a single called “Heil Hitler” on the platform. The chorus includes the line “Heil Hitler, they don’t understand the things I say on Twitter.” West has frequently posted anti-Semitic rants on the platform and, at one point back in February, said he identified as a Nazi. (Yesterday on X, West said he was “done with antisemitism,” though he has made such apologies before; in any case, the single has already been viewed tens of millions of times on X.) These incidents feel all too natural for Elon Musk’s social network. Even without knowing the precise technical reason Grok decided to do its best Alex Jones impression, the fact that it became monomaniacally obsessed with a white-supremacist talking point says something about what the platform has become since Musk took over in October 2022. Specifically, it validates that X has become a political weapon in his far-right activism. (To be clear, white farmers have been murdered in South Africa, which has one of the world’s highest murder rates, according to Reuters. But there is no indication of a genocide. In 2024, eight of the 26,232 murders nationwide were committed against farmers. Most murder victims there are Black.) [Read: The day Grok told everyone about ‘white genocide’] This has been obvious to anyone using the site or paying attention to Musk’s managerial decisions. He’s reinstated thousands of banned accounts (QAnon supporters and conspiracy theorists, and at least one bona fide neo-Nazi), and the platform is engorged with low-rent outrage porn, bigoted memes, MAGA AI slop, and, well, a lot of people proudly using racial slurs, frequently to attack other people. The platform’s defenders would likely argue that X is an experiment in free-speech maximalism and that it is one of the only truly neutral zones on social media. Musk and his sycophants have constantly cited his takeover as an attempt to “solve free speech”; Joe Rogan has suggested that Musk has done just that. (This isn’t quite accurate, as X has complied with government takedown requests, temporarily suspended journalist accounts, amplified accounts that promote Musk’s worldview, and tried to censor words its owner doesn’t like: Last year, it briefly warned users who attempted to use the word cisgender in posts, after Musk said he considers it a “slur.”) But Grok’s white-genocide Wednesday is a major indication that the platform is not neutral. Either X has a natural bias, based on the site’s architecture and user base—that is, the chatbot, which is able to search tweets in real time, acts on an attitude that is endemic to the platform—or X is being directly manipulated to emphasize a certain viewpoint. In other words: Either way, X is racist. The only thing up for debate is whether this is a feature or a bug for those in charge. Twitter always had an outsize cultural influence, and X—despite its marked decline under Musk—does as well. Yet mainstream culture is no longer dominant there: The media outlets and public figures are now punch lines for the site’s main characters, Musk and his MAGA acolytes. Platform events such as the Grok rampage and Ye’s “Heil Hitler” offer a window into the ways that X has become an accelerator for a broader, more durable culture of hate. It’s not only that some of this vile discourse seeps out into the physical world (memes about immigrants eating cats and dogs leading to harassment in Ohio, Trump bringing up conspiracy theories about white genocide during an Oval Office meeting with the South African president)—it’s that the worst of the internet is no longer relegated to the shadows. Instead, it is elevated, perhaps even at times normalized, by its proximity to everyone else’s content. Last Wednesday, as I watched Grok bring up white genocide in response to an anodyne query about the Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer’s career earnings, I couldn’t shake the question: Why are people still using this website? The same thought had also occurred to me around the time that Ye released “Heil Hitler” and I toggled over to X’s algorithmic “For You” feed. It showed a smattering of the platform’s least savory commentators posting about how the anti-Semitic anthem was “the song of the year” and how it had become popular in Thailand. What happened next is pretty standard: By clicking on a few posts about the song, I’d expressed enough interest in it that the platform fed me a steady stream of “Heil Hitler” content: AI-generated remixes of the song, covers, dozens of memes about how the song was secretly popular. I saw a video of a white couple singing the song in their car, throwing up Nazi salutes. Not long after that, I saw a link to a crowdfunding campaign for that same couple, who were asking for money to “relocate” after their video went viral and they were doxxed and “threatened.” The couple set their funding goal at $88,000—a reference, almost assuredly, to “88,” a neo-Nazi code for “Heil Hitler.” This Russian nesting doll of irony-poisoned, loud-and-proud racism is a common experience in the algorithmic fever swamps of X. It’s worth noting that Ye’s song was banned by other major streaming platforms and social networks. Writing about X, The New Yorker’s Kelefa Sanneh said, “West has given the platform a kind of exclusive hit single—a song that can be heard almost nowhere else.” Neo-Nazis and trolls expressed a palpable delight that all of this was happening on an ostensibly mainstream platform—wanton hatred not on 4chan or Stormfront, but on the same network where Barack Obama posted a condolence message about Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis. “Heil Hitler” is almost assuredly not the global phenomenon that the fascists on the platform think it is, but its prevalence on X is not nothing either. As Sanneh wrote last week, “We now live in an era when a top musician can distribute a song called ‘Heil Hitler,’ and there’s no way to stop him. That is the true message of this song, which has spread and thrived beyond the reach of boycotts or shaming campaigns: no one is in charge.” In July 2020, the Twitter user Michael B. Tager shared an anecdote that went viral. Tager was at “a shitty crustpunk bar” when the gruff bartender kicked out a patron in a “punk uniform”—not because the customer was making a scene, but because he was wearing Nazi paraphernalia. “You have to nip it in the bud immediately,” Tager recounted the bartender as saying. “These guys come in and it’s always a nice, polite one. And you serve them because you don’t want to cause a scene. And then they become a regular and after awhile they bring a friend.” Soon enough, you’re running a Nazi bar. The Nazi bar is an apt analogy, yet it doesn’t fully capture the weirdness of a social network and of the strange, modern power of algorithms to sort and segregate experiences. Many people use X merely to post about sports, follow news, or look at dumb memes, and they’re probably having a mostly normal online experience; I don’t have any wish to judge them. To torture the metaphor, though, they’re sitting at a table outside the Nazi bar; their friends are there, they’re having a good time, maybe they hear a slur emanate from the window from time to time. Others fully recognize that they’re at a Nazi bar, but this was their bar first and they don’t want to cede the territory; they’re hanging around to debate, never mind that the bar’s owner is palling around with the new customers. Of course, with a broadcast social network like X, everyone is both a patron and an owner of sorts. Followers can feel like a kind of currency, built up over years: Some people don’t leave the bar, because they’re invested and don’t want to dump their shares. Other people don’t leave, because the alternative hangouts aren’t enticing enough. Some simply don’t want to give the Nazis the satisfaction of successfully driving them out. There is plenty of commentary, even among users of other platforms, about how Threads is bloodless (and owned by Mark Zuckerberg), Mastodon is inscrutable, and Bluesky is humorless. These quibbles make some sense in the brain-rot context of social media, where people have been conditioned to think it’s normal to have interactions with millions of strangers at the same time, but this is not really tenable or healthy. Nor is it something most people would tolerate in the physical world. If a billionaire bought one of your local haunts, renamed it, humiliated the employees, brought back many of the people who’d been banned for harassing other regulars, eliminated basic rules of decency, started having town halls with Republicans and a leader of the AfD, taking your business elsewhere would be perfectly rational. This is essentially what’s happened on X, only the reality is wildly, at times comically, more extreme. A critical mass of the nation’s politicians, news outlets, and major brands regularly post content for free to the exclusive streaming platform for the Ye song “Heil Hitler.” This platform is owned by the world’s richest man, a conspiracy theorizing GOP mega-donor who still holds a position in the Trump administration. Even if he winds down his official role, X will remain an instrument for Musk’s politics. Let’s pause to sit with the absurdity of these facts. Acknowledging the role X plays in mainstreaming the worst constituencies makes for awkward conversations with those who continue to use it. These discussions grow exhausting, fast. There’s a definite purity-politics flavor to any suggestion that people should take a moral stand and leave a social network, but also a pretty airtight case to be made for boycotting it. There is no ethical consumption under tech oligarchy, etc. You’re not a Nazi simply because you use X—but also, what exactly are you doing there? You may not have any interest in participating in a culture war. The problem is that on X, everything is a culture war. Culture war is the very point of the MAGA AI slop the platform traffics in and the viscerally cruel White House X account. Culture war is behind Tucker Carlson’s choice to debut his post-Fox show on X and why Alex Jones livestreams on the platform every day. West’s nihilistic neo-Nazi single is an act of culture war: Its message isn’t just that X has energized his ideas, but that the platform renders people like Ye unignorable. Only Musk could shut this machine down, but plenty of others lend it their credibility and happily turn the cranks, ensuring that the culture war grinds on and on. From The Atlantic via this RSS feed

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