Thread image created by yours truly, depicting Iran and Pakistan very impolitely not asking whether America, on the other side of the planet, is okay with them transporting gas around.
The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline has long been obstructed by American involvement in the region. Iran completed its section of the pipeline quite quickly, but Pakistan has been unable to finish its construction for a decade due to the fear of falling afoul of American sanctions on Iran. The United States has repeatedly tried to pressure Pakistan to give up the project and obtain gas from other countries instead. Recent articles on the state of the pipeline are contradictory, with some stating that Iran or Pakistan have given up on the pipeline while American sanctions persist. Pakistani officials reject this framing, saying that they are still working with Iran to try and get the project completed somehow. Nonetheless, Iran is becoming increasingly frustrated and is threatening a legal battle and a demand for reparations.
Meanwhile, back in Niger, the $13 billion under-construction pipeline connecting Nigeria and other West African countries to Spain and Italy will likely face delays due to the sanctions applied by the West and ECOWAS on Niger. Those following the European gas fiasco will be aware that while Spain and Italy have been impacted by the energy crisis, they have been very busy making deals with African countries to replace their Russian gas, and thus stand a better chance than Germany of making it through the crisis with their industries somewhat intact. The coup has thrown a wrench into their plans, though they can still obtain some gas from northern African countries.
And, last but not least, America tried for years to stop the construction of the Nord Stream pipelines between Germany and Russia, which culminated in them deciding to blow them up late last year.
All in all - the United States really does not like it when countries build up energy infrastructure and gain some independence from them.
Here is the map of the Ukraine conflict, courtesy of Wikipedia.
This week's first update is here in the comments.
This week's second update is here in the comments.
This week's third update is here in the comments.
Links and Stuff
The bulletins site is down.
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Add to the above list if you can.
Resources For Understanding The War
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.
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.
Telegram Channels
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
Pro-Russian
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
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.
Last week's discussion post.
Comrades from Germany or someone who knows more about German history, can anyone explain why the former GDR regions, which seemed very progressive back then, are now infested with fascist AfD supporters? Has there been a significant demographic change in eastern Germany or something?
94% of state enterprises were sold or shut down over a very short period in the the 1990s leading to mass unemployment which sent youth fleeing west but leaving most of the social security responsibilities for an aging population in the east.
After the mass privatization of the east, sometimes explored as a type of “colonization” in academia, there are no major firms with the headquarters in the east despite the east being a manufacturing giant under communism. Industrial production fell by 75% within just two years of reunification.
The “creative destruction” of capitalist looting has left deep scars and the only populist movement is the far right so when the people left behind by the economic elites seek populist representation they only have AfD. Unfortunately Der Linke never managed to find its populist feet, probably due to being too broad a leftist coalition and too afraid of being anti-elite.
I'm not an expert on Germany but I would reckon it has something to do with the liberals running the bourgeois German state failing to provide for the annexed territory of the GDR and there being no workers' movement to pick up that discontent.
Nobody cared for these people, or their home provinces, for 30 years. They can't move, don't have much money, they're old. When they vote AfD, at least they make the news.
Kinda like people in Kentucky voting for Trump even though they knew they wouldn't get a dime for that. Broke libs brains in 2016, I remember, they just couldn't process that. Bill Maher was trying to riff on that for like 3 years, stopped watching after that.
You watched Bill Maher for years?
... I know we were all libs once but OOF. It hurts to be reminded of where we began.
something something
germans are generelly evil Nazis east or west the pecentage of Brown swamp does not change really , they just vote diffrently.... West germany is a specificly hardcore psyoped society , fundemental Tenents include "we learned from our Genocide that Israel should not Critized when it does one itself"
& " Because of our unique history we are uniquely qualified to judge how all societies should be governent (exept israel) " the East Nazis sadly coud not be teached succesfully to fall for them , they are "Small European Nationalist Nazis" while west germany is a "We shall light the Flame of our wisdom and Humanistic Values on the skulls of our enemies ! - Imperial Nazis ....
, All germans are Nazis - But with different Focuses .. West germany are more "Superstructure Brainwormed Crusader nazis" , east german nazis are more "Materialist Small Village Slurs and Conspircy theory Nazis"
.. something like that ... ?
yeah you obviously can doubt that , you wouldnt be the first to make that mistake is all i gonna say to that...
But how would you explain the GDR then? It wasn’t materially well off but from what I’ve seen it was a very progressive state (much more so than the FRG) and apparently had a vibrant pro-LGBT community.
The GDR is the Direct result of "All Germans beeing Nazis" ! After it was evidently and undeniable that "all germans beeing nazis" is a real problem for the World , Stalin made the GDR to try to unnazi the Germans , this Project was cancelled after 40 years.. ... and only ever involved 1/4 of all Germans .... that was 30 years ago ...
if you beg , can give you a 0,1% compartment of "not ALL Germans" in which you can put the few specific cases that collide with my conclusio ...
It’s too broad a brush you’re painting with by far.
Marx was German. So was Engels and Luxembourg et al.
Many of the greatest communists were German. Many were also and are Nazis.
hey i gave you the 0,1% "passable Germans" specific for this reply ... put them in there ..
Saying "all X nationality is Nazi" is some Nazi shit. Yes, even when you excuse one tenth of one percent. Something like 20% of Germany's population are minorities. Sure, that includes minorities like Poles who can still be Nazi, but African Germans are alone over 1 percent (a lot more than 0.1%), are they all Nazis too? Even that 80% German majority is not all fucking Nazis though. I normally really like your comments comrade but this take is shit.