Image is of Assad’s presidential palace in 2013. There’s more images of it in this article, though the words in it aren’t worth reading.
Here is Assad’s version of events. I like to imagine he’s making one of those Youtuber apology videos where they sigh at the start and talk in a chastised yet somewhat defensive tone of voice.
As terrorism spread across Syria and ultimately reached Damascus on the evening of Saturday 7th December 2024, questions arose about the president’s fate and whereabouts. This occurred amidst a flood of misinformation and narratives far removed from the truth, aimed at recasting international terrorism as a liberation revolution for Syria.
At such a critical juncture in the nation’s history, where truth must take precedence, it is essential to address these distortions. Unfortunately, the prevailing circumstances at the time, including a total communication blackout for security reasons, delayed the release of this statement. This does not replace a detailed account of the events that unfolded, which will be provided when the opportunity allows.
First, my departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles, as some have claimed. On the contrary, I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of Sunday 8th December 2024. As terrorist forces infiltrated Damascus, I moved to Latakia in co-ordination with our Russian allies to oversee combat operations. Upon arrival at the Hmeimim airbase that morning, it became clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen. As the field situation in the area continued to deteriorate, the Russian military base itself came under intensified attack by drone strikes.
With no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow requested that the base’s command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday 8th December. This took place a day after the fall of Damascus following the collapse of the final military positions and the resulting paralysis of all remaining state institutions.
At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any individual or party. The only course of action was to continue fighting against the terrorist onslaught.
I reaffirm that the person who, from the very first day of the war, refused to barter the salvation of his nation for personal gain, or to compromise his people in exchange for numerous offers and enticements is the same person who stood alongside the officers and soldiers of the army on the front lines, just metres from terrorists in the most dangerous and intense battlefields. He is the same person who, during the darkest years of the war, did not leave but remained with his family alongside his people, confronting terrorism under bombardment and the recurring threats of terrorist incursions into the capital over 14 years of war. Furthermore, the person who has never abandoned the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon, nor betrayed his allies who stood by him, cannot possibly be the same person who would forsake his own people or betray the army and nation to which he belongs.
I have never sought positions for personal gain but have always considered myself as a custodian of a national project, supported by the faith of the Syrian people, who believed in its vision. I have carried an unwavering conviction in their will and ability to protect the state, defend its institutions, and uphold their choices to the very last moment.
When the state falls into the hands of terrorism and the ability to make a meaningful contribution is lost, any position becomes void of purpose, rendering its occupation meaningless. This does not, in any way, diminish my profound sense of belonging to Syria and her people – a bond that remains unshaken by any position or circumstance. It is a belonging filled with hope that Syria will once again be free and independent.
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Israel-Palestine Conflict
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against Israel. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA reports on Israel’s destruction and siege of Gaza and the West Bank.
English-language Palestinian Marxist-Leninist twitter account. Alt here.
English-language twitter account that collates news.
Arab-language twitter account with videos and images of fighting.
English-language (with some Arab retweets) Twitter account based in Lebanon. - Telegram is @IbnRiad.
English-language Palestinian Twitter account which reports on news from the Resistance Axis. - Telegram is @EyesOnSouth.
English-language Twitter account in the same group as the previous two. - Telegram here.
English-language PalestineResist telegram channel.
More telegram channels here for those interested.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Sources:
Defense Politics Asia’s youtube channel and their map. Their youtube channel has substantially diminished in quality but the map is still useful.
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don’t want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it’s just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
Simplicius, who publishes on Substack. Like others, his political analysis should be soundly ignored, but his knowledge of weaponry and military strategy is generally quite good.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists’ side.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Pro-Russian Telegram Channels:
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR’s former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR’s forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster’s telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a ‘propaganda tax’, if you don’t believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.
Pro-Ukraine Telegram Channels:
Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.
House Democrats say GOP caved to Musk in funding bill, protecting his China interests
House Democrats Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut say their Republican colleagues in Congress caved to the demands of Elon Musk, sinking a bipartisan government funding bill that would have regulated U.S. investments in China.
Congress passed a separate stopgap funding bill over the weekend, averting a government shutdown.
In a series of posts on X, McGovern said more could have been accomplished. The scrapped provision “would have made it easier to keep cutting-edge AI and quantum computing tech — as well as jobs — in America,” he wrote. “But Elon had a problem.”
Tesla, run by Musk, is the only foreign automaker to operate a factory in China without a local joint venture. Tesla also built a battery plant down the street from its Shanghai car factory this year, and aims to develop and sell self-driving vehicle technology in China.
“His bottom line depends on staying in China’s good graces,” McGovern wrote about Musk. “He wants to build an AI data center there too — which could endanger U.S. security. He’s been bending over backwards to ingratiate himself with Chinese leaders.”
SpaceX, Musk’s aerospace and defense contractor, has reportedly withheld its Starlink satellite internet service over Taiwan at the request of Chinese and Russian leaders. Taiwan is a self-ruling democracy that Beijing claims as its territory. Taiwan’s status is one of the biggest flashpoints in U.S.-China relations.
DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, wrote in a letter to Congress on Friday that Musk needs “Chinese government approvals for his company’s projects in the country.” It’s concerning, that Musk “has ingratiated himself with Chinese Communist Party leadership,” she wrote.
lmao
The Democrats are going with the “Elon Musk is a security threat for selling our country to China” narrative.
And yet, I would not be surprised to see the relations normalized under Trump, beneath all of Trump’s anti-China rhetoric for America to save face. China sees this as a win-win for them (though not so much for the rest of the world because the empire is going to be saved by China once again).
https://xcancel.com/koryodynasty/status/1870470848571965927#m
South Korean media reporting growing concerns about the extent of alleged shamanistic and fortune-telling influences within President Yoon’s administration, with multiple spiritual advisers allegedly operating at different levels of power.
Korea’s martial law probe has uncovered extraordinary meetings at a burger joint involving a former military commander who, after being dishonourably discharged, was found to be living in a fortune-telling shop where he allegedly practiced divination alongside other shamans.
what is it that makes south korea such fertile ground for shamans and mystics?
Statement from Ansarallah on last night’s operations against the US Navy.
Statement implies that the US shot down their own aircraft while trying to intercept cruise missiles and drones. Impressive military operation by the Yemeni Armed Forces. I wondered why they didn’t fire any ballistic missiles last night, this seems to be the reason why, they wanted to confuse the US Navy with targets that can appear similar to an aircraft. Maybe even shadowing one? Either way, they succeeded in causing a chaotic situation that lead to the downing of a US F/A-18F aircraft. That is impressive. May Ansarallah continue in their operations to dissuade the imperialists and defend Palestine.
Just going to add a tweet that Mohammed Ali al-Houthi made on the 8th March 2024, I think it fits in nicely given the current situation:
The heroes in the [Yemeni] armed forces know about the loopholes that can be exploited by synchronizing the take-off or landing of American aircraft on the battleships.
I advise the American and their ally to issue a decision not to take off at all.It seems as if the “loophole” was used. The Americans were warned, they were told what would happen months in advance, and it happened. 1 F/A-18F down.
News from Iceland:
The (fe)madlads did it! They made a new government!Socdem - People’s Party - Pro EU rightists
Their policies are of course disgustingly liberal along with some sus ones like “Revise immigration policies based on Nordic models.” but also some interesting ones like “Formulating policies on natural resources and their sustainable use.” as well as poverty alleviation and housing security
here is a transcript of the press conference
see earlier post for some context
and here is a post about the election resultsPutin on the fact that the decision to start the SMO should have been made earlier: It is impossible to name a specific date and time, but, in any case, we should have gotten our bearings earlier and understood that our opponents were not going to implement the Minsk Agreements, that they were simply leading us by the nose, misleading us. Later, Western leaders admitted this - they publicly stated that they did not intend to implement the Minsk Agreements, that they were only going to achieve one goal - to give time for the rearmament of the Ukrainian Armed Forces so that they could prepare for future military actions. And if they gave them the opportunity to prepare for future military actions, it means they were counting on them starting. This means that they assumed that there would be military actions. And we, understanding this, should have acted more decisively and promptly, should have prepared for this and chosen the right moment to start them, and not wait for the moment when it would be impossible to do nothing further. A crime can be committed either by action or by inaction. Our inaction would be a crime against the interests of Russia and its people.
The war was always going to happen. Russia was forced to seize the pre-emptive strike ahead of a Ukrainian offensive. Putin was being naive but eventually realized that it would have been far worse by just waiting for things to happen.
By the way, I was very surprised to hear from the President on the direct line that our people allegedly helped evacuate 4 thousand Iranian soldiers through Khmeimim. I was tormented by vague doubts.
Today, the Iranian Foreign Ministry denied this information from Putin.
That is, our geniuses of reports and reports managed to screw the head of state here too.
And this is not only about Syria. This is about everything in general.
Either there is a communication issue between Iran and Russia, which speaks to the current state of relation between both countries, or Putin is openly lied to by his ministries.
In either case, evacuation is underway from Syria. Russia is out.
Why would the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser “USS Gettysburg (CG-64)” switch their allegiance to Hamas and shoot down one F/A-18?
Clearly this act of betrayal cannot go unpunished. I hope the US Navy sinks the rebellious cruiser.
Yankoid airplane down!!! Yemen got one! Of course, westerners are claiming friendly fire.
Some combat footage for today.
Russian FPV drones destroyed another German-built Leopard tank in Kharkov oblast: https://sputnikglobe.com/20241221/watch-german-leopard-tank-get-taken-out-with-fpv-drone-strikes-1121230395.html
A Russian drone strike destroyed a Kiev regime anti-aircraft system: https://odysee.com/@Support4Z:b/📽️-A-🇬🇧-🇫🇷,--The-Mighty-Beavers-found-and-destroyed:0
Macron visited the French department of Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean, which was devastated by Cyclone Chido, the worst in 90 years. But he went berserk with the island’s natives and cursed a lot into the microphone, saying that without France they would be even more in the shit.
When confronted by the population without water, electricity and food, Macron goes berserk and spouts colonialist pearls such as “you must be happy with France”, “you can’t be French and criticize the Metropolis”, “we give you everything”, and other hits from the century before last.
In news from countries you don’t really hear about
Albania is set to ban TikTok for a year https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/21/albania-bans-tiktok-for-one-year-following-school-stabbing)] (removed amp link)
Warplanes are in Yemeni airspace conducting aerial assualts, according to the Al Mayadeen correspondent stationed there. Explosions were reported in Sana’a, as well as the sounds of aircraft. This appears to be in response to Yemen’s ballistic missile attack yesterday that evaded Israeli air defenses. Unknown at this time if it’s Israeli, US or UK aircraft, or a coalition force of multiple countries. US surveillance aircraft and drones were operating close to Yemen within the last few hours, and the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), was spotted less than 600km off of the coast of Yemen today. Mohammed al-Houthi also tweeted about it. Just be aware that most of the photos circulating online are of previous attacks and not the current attack.
Update from the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), click here to expand:
CENTCOM forces conducted precision airstrikes against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility operated by Iran-backed Houthis within Houthi-controlled territory in Sana’a, Yemen, on Dec. 21 Yemen time.
CENTCOM forces conducted the deliberate strikes to disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden.
During the operation, CENTCOM forces also shot down multiple Houthi one way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAV) and an anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) over the Red Sea.
The operation involved U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy assets, including F/A-18s.
The strike reflects CENTCOM’s ongoing commitment to protect U.S. and coalition personnel, regional partners, and international shipping.
So it was a US airstrike, no Israeli involvement as of now. Also apparently no anti-ship ballistic missiles were launched at US Navy ships this time, only cruise missiles and one way attack drones. Again, all according to US sources. Also I’m not posting US sources because I uncritically believe what they say, but rather to get an idea of what they were doing and who was responsible for this attack.
In geo-solar news, it’s Solstice, folks. The northern hemisphere’s about to start getting more of the sun back, and the southern hemisphere’s about to start getting a break from its relentless beating. Happy Solstice, y’all.
In this whole article, the discussion is only around wild birds spreading disease. No mention of feeding the doodoo to cows 🤦♂️
Scientific American How the U.S. Lost Control of Bird Flu, Setting the Stage for Another Pandemic
Edited to fix an autocorrect typo
