I do want to add a content alert; there is little to nothing horrible in Annie’s post, but there is a link to testimony that could be at the least disturbing. This is such an important story, and it really is on us to make sure this stuff stays out front all the time until there is justice.
December 20, 1946 The morning after Viet Minh forces under Ho Chi Minh launched a nighttime revolt in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, French colonial troops cracked down on the communist rebels.Ho and his soldiers immediately fled the city to regroup in the countryside. That evening, the communist leader issued a proclamation that read: Ho Chi Minh, Paris 1946 “All the Vietnamese must stand up to fight the French colonials to save the fatherland. Those who have rifles will use their rifles; those who have swords will use their swords; those who have no swords will use spades, hoes, or sticks. Everyone must endeavor to oppose the colonialists and save his country. Even if we have to endure hardship in the resistance war, with the determination to make sacrifices, victory will surely be ours.” The first Indochina War thus began.
December 20, 1960 North Vietnam announced the formation of the National Front for the Liberation of the South (usually known as the National Liberation Front or NLF), designed to replicate the success of the Viet Minh, the umbrella nationalist organization that successfully liberated Vietnam from French colonial rule. National Liberation Front flag Ho Chi Minh biography(2 separate links)
December 20, 1990 Kansas reservist Dr. Yolanda Huet-Vaughn refused orders to serve in the first Gulf War (Desert Storm) and was later sentenced to prison. The Kansas medical board withdrew her hospital privileges.“The issue was not whether I belonged in the military but whether the military belonged in the Middle East waging war. I did not want to focus on the personal decision. I was trying to focus on the decision for which each and every American would have to be responsible.” — Yolanda Huet-Vaughn What if they gave a war and nobody came?
December 20, 1994 100,000 Chechnyan civilians linked hands in a 65 km-long human chain (40 miles) to protest the Russian invasion of their country and attack on their capital, Grozny. Read more (It’s a NYT; if you can’t get it see it at Wikipedia.)
December 20, 1999 The Vermont Supreme Court rulled in Baker v. State of Vermont that homosexual couples were entitled to the same benefits and protections as wedded couples of the opposite sex. History of the Freedom to Marry
Experts say Observations Group’s connections to the Base and Rinaldo Nazzaro present ‘urgent danger’
In the underworld of accelerationist neo-Nazis, where talk of attacks against western governments are commonplace, the spread of illegal weapons manuals and tradecraft on drone warfare are proliferating. Experts say, in some cases, that classes are being taught online with the input of leadership from proscribed terrorist groups with links to Russian intelligence.
Authorities have been warning, on both sides of the Atlantic, about the accessibility of drone technologies and military veterans on the far right with the knowhow to use them, presenting a grave national security threat.
“Offering military-style training materials, including drone tradecraft, to the extreme right indicates that this is for prepping purposes,” said Joshua Fisher-Birch, a terrorism analyst with close to a decade of experience tracking militant movements. “[To] improve the capacity of extremist networks to commit violence, or to encourage acts of violence specifically.”
Fisher-Birch says a well-connected and dangerous network called the Observations Group has emerged with a following among internationalist neo-Nazis and bills itself as a “paramilitary project to prepare people for modern warfare”.
Part of its operations, so far, is promoting militant course materials through its closed chat groups.
On its open Telegram channel, however, the group is already bragging about its online “military course” which it says covers “basic command training, and for those with no military experience, the course will cover the basics of preparing a soldier”, and can be purchased using a cryptocurrency wallet it uses for fundraising.
Observations Group continues: “You will receive the latest information on drones […] Nato and [war] doctrines, techniques for engaging in war on both sides of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict […] the integration of modern communications technologies and military concepts of future armies.”
The leader of the network told the Guardian that “I myself am in Russia” but that his “units are autonomous and located in different countries”. Its posts are in English and Russian, making clear it is not an American-based group, but says it is allied with an accused Kremlin spy and leader of the Base – an internationally designated neo-Nazi terrorist group, originating in the US.
“Good news: Norman Spear (leader of the paramilitary group ‘The Base’ and a former FBI analyst) is participating in the development of the first course as a military strategist,” it said in a post, referring to Rinaldo Nazzaro and one of the aliases he uses to mask his legal name.
Over the summer, former members of his group criticized Nazzaro for being an agent of Russian intelligence services – a charge he repeatedly denies – while the Ukrainian cell of the Base claimed responsibility for the July assassination of an intelligence officer in Kyiv.
Fisher-Birch explained how, “given Nazzaro’s likely connection to the Russian intelligence services or similar entities, it further indicates that the [Observations Group] project is potentially similarly connected”.
Nazzaro, reached on Telegram, did not deny his connections to the group.
“The Base has its own organic European network,” he said. “But we’re always open to collaboration with like-minded groups that recognize strength in unity.”
Initially, Observations Group planned its course to be an in-person training camp in Czechia, but changed it to an online seminar where it is “already live”. The group declared new partnerships with an unnamed American extremist group and “in the future, our project will be able to officially conduct exercises and training sessions in the USA”.
“This situation,” Fisher-Birch said, “certainly benefits the Russian government.”
Lucas Webber, a senior threat intelligence analyst at Tech Against Terrorism, says the group and its connections to a real-world actor like the Base show it is part of an “urgent danger” on the far right.
“Extremist groups that learn from foreign war zones pose a dangerous contagion threat, channeling battlefield experience into domestic or transnational contexts,” he said, pointing out the use of cryptocurrency is another alarm bell.
“Relying on cryptocurrency for fees and circulating combat manuals masks the group’s financial operations and strategic plans, making detection and disruption more difficult for law enforcement.”
Multiple national security sources previously told the Guardian the FBI has major concerns about terrorist organizations eyeing the use of easily purchasable, first-person view drones for domestic attacks in the US. From Mexican drug cartels to Islamic State – drones are being incorporated into paramilitary strategies all over the world.
Evidence has already emerged that military-trained neo-Nazis in the US, with relevant drone skillsets, have begun advising others within the movement. A writer and alleged former marine has a popular Substack among extremists and claims to be a former member of the now-defunct Atomwaffen Division – another hyper-violent, proscribed terrorist group aligned with the Base and connected to murders in the US.
“I am a drone operator, one of the first in the infantry,” wrote the anonymous writer. “The future is cheap, 3D-printed drones with a [high-explosive] round zip tied to it.”
Webber believes accelerationists on the far right, who view acts of terrorism as a means of setting off a domino effect taking down world governments, are already implementing drones into potential operations.
“Preventing the shift from virtual coordination to tangible violence requires both monitoring of illicit financial flows and a commitment to taking down key digital channels that facilitate recruitment and training,” he said.
“Failure to intervene could allow these battlefield-inspired tactics to spread further, potentially leading to high-impact attacks against civilian or governmental targets.”
MTG is a piece of work (as we know.) This is from Talking Points Memo, linked just beneath this. Then, there’s a video with that Bluesky post next; you’ll want to click through. I didn’t listen; her voice is slightly more pleasant than POTUS’s.
In a reality TV presidency, you need beefs, heels, betrayals, prodigals returning, and all manner of plot tricks to sustain the manufactured artificial drama. Who knows where this plot twist ends up going:
BASH: We have seen these attacks from the president at other people. It’s not new. And I haven’t heard you speak out about it until it was directed at you. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE: I think that’s fair criticism. And I would like to say, humbly, I’m sorry for taking part in the toxic politics.
CHICAGO (AP) — Baltazar Enriquez starts most mornings with street patrols, leaving his home in Chicago’s Little Village on foot or by car to find immigration agents that have repeatedly targeted his largely Mexican neighborhood.
Wearing an orange whistle around his neck, the activist broadcasts his plans on Facebook.
“We don’t know if they’re going to come back. All we know is we’ve got to get ready,” he tells thousands of followers. “Give us any tips if you see any suspicious cars.”
Moments later, his phone buzzes.
As an unprecedented immigration crackdown enters a third month, a growing number of Chicago residents are fighting back against what they deem a racist and aggressive overreach of the federal government. The Democratic stronghold’s response has tapped established activists and everyday residents from wealthy suburbs to working class neighborhoods.
They say their efforts — community patrols, rapid responders, school escorts, vendor buyouts, honking horns and blowing whistles — are a uniquely Chicago response that other cities President Donald Trump has targeted for federal intervention want to model.
“The strategy here is to make us afraid. The response from Chicago is a bunch of obscenities and ‘no,’” said Anna Zolkowski Sobor, whose North Side neighborhood saw agents throw tear gas and tackle an elderly man. “We are all Chicagoans who deserve to be here. Leave us alone.”
Baltazar Enriquez, president of the Little Village Community Council, walks with a Chicago Public School’s student walkout in protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents around Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Talia Sprague)
The sound of resistance
Perhaps the clearest indicator of Chicago’s growing resistance is the sound of whistles.
Enriquez is credited with being among the first to introduce the concept. For months Little Village residents have used them to broadcast the persistent presence of immigration agents.
Furious blasts both warn and attract observers who record video or criticize agents. Arrests, often referred to as kidnappings because many agents cover their faces, draw increasingly agitated crowds. Immigration agents have responded aggressively.
Officers fatally shot one man during a traffic stop, while other agents use tear gas, rubber bullets and physical force. In early November, Chicago police were called to investigate shots fired at agents. No one was injured.
Activists say they discourage violence.
“We don’t have guns. All we have is a whistle,” Enriquez said. “That has become a method that has saved people from being kidnapped and unlawful arrest.”
By October, neighborhoods citywide were hosting so-called “Whistlemania” events to pack the brightly colored devices for distribution through businesses and free book hutches.
“They want that orange whistle,” said Gabe Gonzalez, an activist. “They want to nod to each other in the street and know they are part of this movement.”
Midwestern sensibilities and organizing roots
Even with its 2.7 million people, Chicago residents like to say the nation’s third-largest city operates as a collection of small towns with Midwest sensibilities.
People generally know their neighbors and offer help. Word spreads quickly.
When immigration agents began targeting food vendors, Rick Rosales, enlisted his bicycle advocacy group Cycling x Solidarity. He hosted rides to visit street vendors, buying out their inventory to lower their risk while supporting their business.
Irais Sosa, co-founder of the apparel store Sin Titulo, started a neighbor program with grocery runs and rideshare gift cards for families afraid of venturing out.
“That neighborhood feel and support is part of the core of Chicago,” she said.
Enriquez’s organization, Little Village Community Council, saw its volunteer walking group which escorts children to school, grow from 13 to 32 students.
Many also credit the grassroots nature of the resistance to Chicago’s long history of community and union organizing.
Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan said Chicago area residents were so familiar with their rights that making arrests during a different operation this year was difficult.
So when hundreds of federal agents arrived in September, activists poured energy into an emergency hotline that dispatches response teams to gather intel, including names of those detained. Volunteers would also circulate videos online, warn of reoccurring license plates or follow agents’ cars while honking horns.
Protests have also cropped up quickly. Recently, high school students have launched walkouts.
Delilah Hernandez, 16, was among dozens from Farragut Career Academy who protested on a school day.She held a sign with the Constitution’s preamble as she walked in Little Village. She knows many people with detained relatives.
“There is so much going on,” she said. “You feel it.”
A difficult environment
More than 3,200 people suspected of violating immigration laws have been arrested during the so-called “ Operation Midway Blitz.” Dozens of U.S. citizens and protesters have been arrested with charges ranging from resisting arrest to conspiring to impede an officer.
The Department of Homeland Security defends the operation, alleging officers face hostile crowds as they pursue violent criminals.
Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol commander who’s brought controversial tactics from operations in Los Angeles, called Chicago a “very non permissive environment.” He blamed sanctuary protections and elected leaders and defended agents’ actions, which are the subject of lawsuits.
DHS, which oversees CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has said operations won’t end in Chicago.
Interest nationwide
Alonso Zaragoza, with a neighborhood organization in the heavily immigrant Belmont Cragin, has printed hundreds of “No ICE” posters for businesses. Organizers in Oregon and Missouri have asked for advice.
“It’s become a model for other cities,” Zaragoza said. “We’re building leaders in our community who are teaching others.”
The turnout for virtual know-your-rights trainings offered by the pro-democracy group, States at the Core, doubled from 500 to 1,000 over a recent month, drawing participants from New Jersey and Tennessee.
“We train and we let go, and the people of Chicago are the ones who run with it,” said organizer Jill Garvey.
Awaiting the aftermath
Enriquez completes up to three patrol shifts daily. Beyond the physical exertion, the work takes a toll.
Federal agents visited his home and questioned family members. A U.S. citizen relative was handcuffed by agents. His car horn no longer works, which he attributes to overuse.
“This has been very traumatizing,” he said. “It is very scary because you will remember this for the rest of your life.”
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The election may be over in New York City, but Mayor Eric Adams isn’t done fighting against Zohran Mamdani.
In the last two weeks, Adams has made – or flirted with – maneuvers that could cause some political headaches for mayor-elect Mamdani and even stall his affordability agenda. The moves have implications for Mamdani’s pledge to freeze the rent for stabilized tenants, maintain funding for the NYPD and build more housing to address the city’s affordability crisis.
Political experts say Adams is following a tried and true tradition.
“There’s a history of mayors making decisions in the final days of their mayoralty,” said Chris Coffey, a political strategist who worked for Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “Whether it’s for messing with the next mayor, or getting the things they want before their term is up, only a psychiatrist could tell you.”
Late last month, Adams began weighing whether to pack the Rent Guidelines Board with members opposed to Mamdani’s plan to freeze the rent on the city’s 1 million regulated apartments. Those appointees would remain in place when Mamdani took office, potentially setting up an unprecedented legal battle over whether the new mayor could fire them.
Adams has not yet announced any new appointees. Eleonora Srugo, a real estate agent and star of a Netflix reality show, “Selling the City,” told the New York Times she had declined Adams’ job offer.
Days later, Adams announced additional funding to hire 5,000 police officers. Mamdani has said he would keep the police headcount at its current level of 35,000 officers — a headcount the NYPD has failed to reach under Adams due to struggles with recruitment.
Once Mamdani takes office, he will have to decide whether to rescind the $316 million Adams allocated to hire the additional officers. The move would be largely symbolic since the city can’t meet its currently budgeted staffing levels.
During the primary, Mamdani distanced himself from his previous calls to reduce police spending.
“I am not defunding the police. I am not running to defund the police,” he said in July. He described himself as a person who “learns and one that leads, and part of that means admitting as I have grown.”
The latest example of Adams’ maneuvering came on Wednesday, when Gothamist exclusively reported that the administration had designated Elizabeth Street Garden as parkland. The move was the latest development in the years-long saga over whether the city could build an affordable housing development for seniors on the site in Nolita.
Mayor Adams has said he’s committed to a smooth transition. But he’s implemented policies that go against Zohran Mamdani’s agenda.
Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office
On Thursday, Mamdani accused Adams of “using his final weeks and months to cement a legacy of dysfunction and inconsistency.”
But he also said that the administration’s actions “make it nearly impossible to follow through with” building housing on the garden.
Adams is far from the first mayor to complicate his successor’s plans.
Former Mayor David Dinkins ignored his successor Rudy Giuliani’s criticisms of a deal to keep the U.S. Open in Queens by building Arthur Ashe Stadium.
During the final month of his second term, Giuliani, a baseball fan, signed deals for new stadiums for the Mets and Yankees. Bloomberg canceled them not long after he took over City Hall.
Adams has publicly said he’d ensure a smooth transition. On Thursday, he rejected Mamdani’s criticism of his move to preserve Elizabeth Street Garden.
“It’s not about a legacy of dysfunction,” Adams told reporters. “It’s about protecting a legacy in the promises we made.”
He also said, “I’m the mayor until December 31st.”
With the Elizabeth Street Garden, Adams may have actually done Mamdani a favor. The proposed development has devolved into a nasty fight pitting housing advocates against the garden’s well-heeled supporters, who include Patti Smith, Robert DeNiro, Martin Scorsese and others.
“These are political sh– sandwiches,” Coffey said, referring to the garden. “I’m sure the mayor- elect would want that off the table.”
During a live podcast with the news site Hell Gate last month, Mamdani said he would evict the garden’s operators in his first year as mayor. But at least one key member of his inner circle may be pleased with Adams’ move to make the Elizabeth Street Garden a park — filmmaker Mira Nair.
“My mother really disagrees with me,” Mamdani said.
