Mere hours before Trump’s 8pm Tuesday deadline yesterday, Pakistan’s government contacted Iran with a US-written proposal for a two-week ceasefire, explicitly stated to also include Lebanon, during which they would negotiate a permanent end to the war on the basis of Iran’s 10 Points. Among other things, these points include 1) maintaining strict control (joint with Oman) over Hormuz, complete with a toll; 2) the end of sanctions on Iran; 3) keeping their enriched uranium; 4) a withdrawal of US forces from the Middle East [stated by the Supreme Leadership Council but not in the 10 Points, so who knows], and 5) some plausible guarantee that Iran would never be attacked again. I’ve heard rumors that China may have prodded Iran to accept these terms.
In theory, these are relatively confident and maximalist demands. In practice, Iran has already achieved military and economic control over Hormuz and the withdrawal of many US troops and bases from the region, so at least a few of Iran’s demands are, to a greater or lesser extent, already achieved, and with little hope for an increasingly exhausted US to undo these achievements short of nukes.
A couple hours after the ceasefire, the Zionist entity began a wave of airstrikes in Lebanon, killing hundreds of civilians, as well as flying drones into Iranian airspace. This was a strange move to make even if you assume - very sensibly - that the US is completely agreement non-capable: why not agree to the ceasefire and simply pretend to negotiate for two weeks while regrouping/repairing what assets you can and then start hitting Iran again?
One theory is that the Zionists are testing to what degree Iran is actually willing to have solidarity with Lebanon and Hezbollah. While the Resistance has been relatively united since October 7th, the formation of separate peaces instead of negotiating terms as a united front has been a major exploitable weakness. Alternatively, it’s been proposed that the US didn’t even consider using the ceasefire to regroup and deceive Iran, and that Trump merely wanted a way to chicken out of his threat on Iran’s electrical grid - the fact that US officials have since stated that Iran’s 10 Points were not the same ones they agreed to is a point supporting this, I suppose. If the conflict resumes and Trump does not deliver another 48 hour deadline (and/or makes it something silly like a month from now) then this could be the explanation.
From Iran, I am getting the sense that a lot is happening behind the scenes. Statements from top officials like Araghchi have stated quite plainly that there will be no ceasefire and no negotiations unless the Zionists stop attacking Lebanon, but as of ~24 hours after the ceasefire began, there has been no significant military response from Iran yet. There have apparently been phone calls between Araghchi and numerous regional officials, but it is unknown to what end. All the while, the global economic situation continues to deteriorate. Over the next week or two, the last tankers that left Hormuz before it closed will arrive at their destinations. If the missile exchanges begin once more, then the West, much like most of the rest of the world, will be experiencing all sorts of fuel, energy, food, and product shortages while trying to justify why they broke the ceasefire to kill more Lebanese civilians.
Last week’s thread is here.
The Imperialism Reading Group is here.
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The Zionist Entity's Genocide of Palestine
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against the temporary Zionist entity. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA reports on the Zionists’ 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.
Mirrors of Telegram channels that have been erased by Zionist censorship.
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.
tl;dr between '23 and '25 trade rose 50%. 50% people. I look at it every day & these numbers still make me feel very zero-g if that makes sense, not incredulous, just weird. I feel very funny
Libs, we’ve had our disagreements over the years, but wouldn’t it be better to have them over here? Ignore the monsoons. Don’t be a baby. Your govt’s disaster response will trend towards “Katrina everywhere all day every day” within decades. I’ve always maintained some real vegetables and REAL community can fix Burgerbrain.
Economic relations between Vietnam and China are entering a new stage of development with a record-breaking trade scale, strong investment inflows, & an increasingly iᷔᷥ̏n̒᷑͑t̳᪺͇e̪᷆ᷓr̙l᷾ᷝ̕i᷅ͧͪn᷂̝̉kᷙͨ̚e᷏᷒᷈d᪷͔ᷰ supply chain. – Tiênphong [2026-04-14]
Expand article
According to data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, trade relations between the two countries have experienced robust growth in recent years. While bilateral trade turnover in 2023 reached approximately 171.9 billion USD, this figure surpassed the 200 billion USD mark for the first time in 2024, reaching around 205 billion USD. By 2025, this number soared to about 256.4 billion USD, an increase of nearly 25%, solidifying China’s position as Vietnam’s largest trading partner and simultaneously making Vietnam China’s largest trading partner within ASEAN. In terms of trade structure, Vietnam’s exports to China last year reached approximately 70 billion USD, while imports surged to nearly 186 billion USD.
Notably, the composition of goods is undergoing a positive shift. Vietnam maintains its strengths in agricultural, forestry, and fishery products such as durian, dragon fruit, bananas, rubber, cassava and cassava products, and is increasingly penetrating deeper into China’s retail systems and supermarkets with higher standards. Concurrently, the export share of processed industrial goods like electronics, machinery, and components is rising, indicating a clear upgrade in the value chain of Vietnamese products destined for the market of 1.4 billion people. Conversely, imports from China are primarily concentrated in machinery, equipment, components, raw materials, and auxiliary materials—crucial inputs for industrial production. This serves as the foundation that helps Vietnam’s key export industries, such as electronics, textiles, and mechanics, maintain their global competitiveness.
A New Chapter in Investment Flows
In parallel with trade, investment flows from China are emerging as a new highlight and a factor creating a “new chapter” in bilateral economic relations. According to data from the Ministry of Finance, investment capital from China into Vietnam has increased continuously, reaching nearly 6 billion USD in 2025, an increase of over 33%, propelling China to second place among foreign investors in Vietnam. Significantly, whereas capital flows previously concentrated mainly on labor-intensive industries, they are now shifting strongly towards high-tech sectors and foundational industries.
A series of Chinese “eagles” have established a presence in Vietnam with large-scale projects. Corporations such as Foxconn, Luxshare-ICT, Pegatron, Goertek, and Compal have invested billions of USD in the electronics sector. Luxshare-ICT alone has invested over 1.8 billion USD and considers Vietnam a key production hub within its global network. The electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has also initiated a battery production project worth approximately 130 million USD in Hue, opening a new avenue for cooperation in the electric vehicle and clean energy sectors. Furthermore, ongoing expansion of projects in component manufacturing, materials, fibers, and tires, ranging from hundreds of millions to billions of USD, demonstrates that Vietnam is becoming an important destination in the supply chain restructuring strategies of Chinese enterprises, especially within the context of global production shifts.
Promoting Cooperation in High-Tech Fields
Stepping into this year, although investment capital in the first three months reached approximately 828 million USD and showed signs of slowing down, the outlook for cooperation remains highly positive. Emerging sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and green energy are rising as potential pillars of cooperation, capable of creating significant leaps forward in the near future.
Another noteworthy aspect is the enhancement of infrastructure and logistics connectivity, a factor that is directly elevating the quality of economic cooperation. Both sides are vigorously promoting cross-border railway connection projects, particularly the routes from Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong and Dong Dang - Hanoi - Hai Phong, aiming for deeper integration with China’s railway network. The development of smart border gates, digitalization of customs procedures, and the construction of cross-border economic corridors are helping to shorten customs clearance times, reduce logistics costs, and enhance supply chain efficiency.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan assessed that economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and China is maintaining strong growth momentum, with its scale continuously expanding. The goods structure of the two economies is highly complementary, creating conditions to boost production and exports. According to the leadership of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the approach to the Chinese market needs significant adjustment in the coming period. This is no longer an “easy” market as before; rather, it is increasingly tightening standards regarding quality, traceability, and food safety. Therefore, Vietnamese enterprises need to promptly update themselves on new consumer trends in the market, thereby restructuring production towards improving quality, increasing value, and meeting higher standards.
In attracting capital flows from China, Vietnam encourages Chinese enterprises to shift investment from traditional sectors such as textiles, footwear, and assembly towards high-tech and innovative industries, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, renewable energy, the green economy, and the digital economy.
Some of it could be because of Trump’s tarrifs, right? I heard that China was sending their parts to Vietnam to complete the product and sell from there, evading the restrictions on Chinese tech
I adore Vietnam, I think it is the most beautiful country I have ever been to, with some of the most good-humored people I have ever met. I really hope to move there someday.
What a lovely daydream; one I’ve been having for years in fact. I’d be single-minded about moving there if it were just me to consider.
Yeah true, that’s what everyone has said actually. They are straight-up friends-and-family-pilled. I kinda have a fucked up extended family & my mom is cool with it, it’s very perplexing though. She’s terrified of ICE (unfounded IMO but not impossible) but insists “secret police” would interfere with her here #ok (I think this is more related to wanting to do more shit in the medical insurance industry 😦 not a lot of transferrable skills there, maybe practice management but idk it’s not like science and other shit with widely-applicable systems knowledge that can be rebuilt, like even if you’re an electrician you can adapt to a different country’s system) anyways I’ll convince her. As for everyone else, I honestly had a lot of shithead friends left over from high school who got into uh heroin and uh uhhh car crashes and i’m sure lots of other cool shit I no longer care to know about. One guy I knew is literally gone not even dead, gone, he went to Alaska to do drug “entrepreneurship” & is just flat out missing. Also apparently got into meth, it was no loss I mean, huge tangent sorry, honestly it was stupid not to commit to moving earlier family makes it easier but it’s entirely possible vs like China way more career opportunities. I was just procrastinating language skills I could have easily gotten from an early age.
I wouldn’t be so insistent but some of you are clearly sitting on professional skills (no offense to those of you just smoking weed that’s fine) it could be pretty easy! If I get one another person to do it & not get massacred by Kyle RittenBOTs that clearly makes up for the wrong things I have done in life ╭(°ﾛ° ”)╯I’ll stop torturing yll with it if you’re straight up wistful & already been known