Alanna

[Alanna @asalzz]

@terrybythebay @mtracey This article is a great rebuttal to @mtracey 's misreading of Ortega's speech and provides important context for the Sandinista's interest in protecting its sovereignty by combatting U.S. imperial interference in their electoral process (9/9) https://t.co/RWnRnhaHp4

[Alanna @asalzz]

@terrybythebay @mtracey that imposed brutal austerity), supporting violent riots in 2018, and then add on top the kidnapping of the president of their not-so-distant neighbor etc…it makes all the sense in the world for the Sandinistas to root out U.S. interference their elections. (8/x)

[Alanna @asalzz]

@mtracey Co-President Murrillo's speech from 3 days after Ortega's (7/22) in which she confirms Nicaragua will hold elections, but ones in which the U.S. is not permitted to interfere, which respect Nicaragua's sovereignty https://t.co/5x15z1a9Ih

[Ben Norton @BenjaminNorton]

Nicaragua's Co-President Rosario Murillo gave a speech in which she emphasized that, YES, Nicaragua will still hold elections.

The reports in the corporate media claiming otherwise, echoing US government propaganda, are fake news.

This is what Co-President Murillo said:

"The history of the electoral processes here were established, designed, directed, and guided by the United States. That is history. That is the kind of election that will never return to Nicaragua.

"That kind of election that goes against the people will not come back, will never return to Nicaragua. Elections, yes, but our own elections, and when we say our own, we mean elections of our blessed people, designed and organized based on our national sovereignty, based on our national dignity, to elect the best Nicaraguans, those who know about struggle and honor. Blessed, free, dignified, sovereign elections".

This is the link to the official report on Murillo's remarks:
https://t.co/OYAt8MpSrL

In short, Nicaragua is NOT cancelling elections; it is creating a sovereign electoral system that prevents the US empire from meddling in Nicaragua's internal affairs, to block Washington from imposing a puppet regime (like the US has done across Latin America).

[Alanna @asalzz]

@mtracey US media has taken Ortega's comments wildly out of context. He was saying he is going to crack down on U.S. meddling in Nicaragua's elections, not end elections all together. https://t.co/PqVL4I6AKF Murillo confirmed they will indeed still hold elections: https://t.co/5x15z1a9Ih

[Ben Norton @BenjaminNorton]

Nicaragua's Co-President Rosario Murillo gave a speech in which she emphasized that, YES, Nicaragua will still hold elections.

The reports in the corporate media claiming otherwise, echoing US government propaganda, are fake news.

This is what Co-President Murillo said:

"The history of the electoral processes here were established, designed, directed, and guided by the United States. That is history. That is the kind of election that will never return to Nicaragua.

"That kind of election that goes against the people will not come back, will never return to Nicaragua. Elections, yes, but our own elections, and when we say our own, we mean elections of our blessed people, designed and organized based on our national sovereignty, based on our national dignity, to elect the best Nicaraguans, those who know about struggle and honor. Blessed, free, dignified, sovereign elections".

This is the link to the official report on Murillo's remarks:
https://t.co/OYAt8MpSrL

In short, Nicaragua is NOT cancelling elections; it is creating a sovereign electoral system that prevents the US empire from meddling in Nicaragua's internal affairs, to block Washington from imposing a puppet regime (like the US has done across Latin America).

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

“We were stripped, thrown to the ground...many of us were tasered, some were sexually assaulted.”

Global Sumud Flotilla organisers say freed activists faced abuse while in Israeli detention, including at least 15 reporting incidents of sexual assault https://t.co/RmDPuZHKoj

[yung🛠walken @as_a_worker]

The amount of disdain that centrists have for this particular striker is incredible to witness, there’s something about this guy in particular that just offends a particular think tank sensibility, like somehow a guy who looks like that could never be worthy of decent employment

[Evan Wasner @EvanWasner]

Inflation is back. Real wages are down. But things may already be worse than they look.

During the COVID inflation the data said real wages ROSE, providing a buffer against today’s price surges.

But my NEW WORKING PAPER finds: those real wage gains were a statistical illusion🧵

[Jeremy Loffredo @loffredojeremy]

Trump & Hegseth are reportedly preventing law enforcement from investigating domestic terrorist attacks linked to the war with Iran. With public support for the war extremely low, the implication is hard to ignore. Historically, US wars tend to gain public support only after Americans believe the violence has reached their own soil. The "rally around the flag" that followed 9/11.

According to Pew, support for war with Iraq was around 15% before 9/11. After the attacks, it eventually climbed to about 75%. It’s unsettling to consider what people with personalities like Trump and Hegseth (men who routinely react to criticism with thin skin and temper) might be willing to "let happen" in order to transform themselves from insecure war crime architects into brave wartime leaders.

[Liberation News Network @l_n_n_26]

The 100,000 Man Question: US Troop Deployments and the Logistics of Delusion

The White House is currently floating plans for a major troop deployment to the Middle East—figures of up to 100,000 are being discussed. But beneath the bluster lies a logistical nightmare that exposes the hollowness of American war planning.

The Cyprus Problem
Recent reports suggest Cyprus as a potential staging ground. This is militarily absurd. RAF Akrotiri—already struck by Iranian drones—covers just 99 square miles. You cannot fit a corps-sized force there, let alone sustain it. The British government has explicitly barred US forces from using Cypriot bases for offensive operations against Iran, restricting them to "defensive" postures, though the seriousness of that apparent restriction should be doubted. The base is already evacuating dependents after repeated Iranian drone attacks. This is not Desert Storm. There is no Saudi desert sanctuary this time.

The Assembly Dilemma
American assumptions remain frozen in 1991 and 2003, when they assembled vast forces in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia unmolested. Iran is not Iraq. Any attempt to concentrate 100,000 troops in the region would face relentless missile attack. The Iranians have already demonstrated range and accuracy—striking US bases, air and naval assets. Where, exactly, will these men assemble? In what fantasy world does this force avoid detection and destruction?

Trump's Hormuz Fantasy
Trump's proposal to "escort" oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz has been dismissed even by American military experts as "ludicrous." The Strait is a narrow chokepoint under effective Iranian fire control. US naval forces have not suppressed Iranian missile batteries. The escort plan is strategic theatre, not strategy.

Narrative Over Reality
What we are witnessing is not military planning but confidence-building theatrics for the US domestic audience. The White House projects control while lacking the material conditions to exercise it. The "hardest hits are yet to come," they promise—yet admit the war could last weeks. They threaten invasion-scale deployments while possessing no viable basing options.
This is imperialism in crisis: the gap between political rhetoric and military capability has never been wider. The successful deployment of a large number of US troops exists in press releases, not in any achievable operational reality. The Iranians know it. The region knows it. Only the American public is being asked to believe otherwise.
The question isn't whether the US can deploy 100,000 troops. The question is why they're pretending they can do so without meeting fierce resistance from Iran and its allies. The answer lies in the fact that so much about US imperialism and its supposed power is based on confidence tricks that are never supposed to be challenged. The actions of the Iranians show just how fragile the control of the US really is and this is also why Trump is desperate to rebuild this illusion. He is too late though. The world has already seen that the paper tiger is being worn away by the elements.

#USIranWar #ImperialismInCrisis #AntiImperialistAnalysis #MiddleEast #Cyprus #Hormuz #MilitaryLogistics #TrumpForeignPolicy

[Thomas Fazi @battleforeurope]

Yeaaaah right. This is a textbook example of what you might call drip-feed disclosure or strategic normalisation: a communication strategy where information pertaining to a particularly controversial truth — in this case the fact that the US blew up Nord Stream — is released gradually rather than all at once.

Instead of presenting the full reality immediately (which might provoke shock, resistance or backlash), details are introduced in small, manageable increments. Each new piece slightly adjusts expectations, reduces surprise and allows audiences to adapt psychologically and emotionally.

Over time, what might initially have seemed unacceptable or radical becomes familiar and therefore more socially or politically tolerable. The process relies on habituation: repeated exposure lowers resistance.

In this case, the narrative has gone through the following adjustments:

– “Russia did it”

– “Russia probably didn’t do it but we don’t know who did it”

– “Let’s forget about the bombing, it’s not a big deal anyway”

– “BREAKING: it looks like a bunch of drunken Ukrainian divers gone rogue did it, unbeknownst to everyone”

- “Okay, it wasn’t just a bunch of Ukrainian drunkards, but an operation carried out by rogue elements of the Ukrainian state, unapproved by the government, of which US-Western intelligence agencies were unaware”

– (“By the way, what those rogue Ukrainians did was a great act of heroism and Europeans should be thankful to them”)

– “Okay, the Zelensky regime and US-Western intelligence agencies knew about it — but tried to stop it”: this is where we are know

We’re getting closer and closer to the final admission: “Fine, it was a CIA operation carried out by US operatives with foreknowledge by several NATO governments. What are you gonna do about it?”

The question is: will anyone care at that point?

[Camila @camilapress]

“I have seen in the faces of mothers the face of a woman, my mother, when my father was murdered.

In the faces of the wives of the fallen, I have seen the face of my mother, who also lost a husband.

And in the faces of the girls and boys who lost their parents, I have seen the faces of Jorge and myself when, as children, we also lost our father, who was viciously murdered.

I tell you that these wounds will remain with us forever.”

[Nora Loreto @NoLore]

Israel has singlehandedly desensitized Western audiences to extrajudicial murder. In the past 24 hours, the US has killed 14 people *today* in their murderous campaign on fishing vessels. Just low enough to not raise rage, just like Israel does daily.

https://t.co/8klVnZyjOp

[Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald]

In 2022, the IDF murdered American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by shooting her in the head in the West Bank.

The Biden State Dept said it was "unintentional" even though US military investigators compiled mountains of evidence that it was deliberate.

https://t.co/bOCno5QBOh