Image is of container ships waiting outside the canal. While there is usually some number of ships waiting for passage, the number has increased significantly lately.
In order to move ships through the Panama Canal, water is needed to fill the locks. The water comes from freshwater lakes, which are replenished by rainfall. This rainfall hasn't been coming, and Lake Gatun, the largest one, is at near record low levels.
Hundreds of ships are now in a maritime traffic jam, unable to cross the canal quickly. Panama is attempting to conserve water and have reduced the number of transits by 20% per day, among other measures. The Canal's adminstrators have warned that these drought conditions will remain for at least 10 months.
It is unlikely that global supply chains will be catastrophically affected, at least this year. Costs may increase for consumers in the coming months, especially for Christmas, but by and large goods will continue to flow, around South America if need be. Nonetheless, projecting trends over the coming years and decades, you can imagine how this is yet another nudge by climate change towards dramatic economic, environmental, and political impacts on the world at large. It also might prompt discussions inside various governments about nearshoring, and the general vulnerability of global supply chains - especially as the United States tries, bafflingly, to go to war with China.
After some discussion in the last megathread about building knowledge of geopolitics, some of us thought it might be an interesting idea to have a Country of the Week - essentially, I/we choose a country and then people can come in here and chime in with books, essays, longform articles, even stories and anecdotes or rants, related to that country. More detail in this comment.
Here is the map of the Ukraine conflict, courtesy of Wikipedia.
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.
Weekly Update from August 28th to September 4th
It's time to report the GOD DAMN news! COLD HARD FACTS!
Part 1: Afghanistan to Ethiopia
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Afghanistan:
China has expressed its willingness to support Afghanistan as it transitions to stability.^GT^
Algeria:
China has proposed (and Algeria has accepted) a project in which they will construct 6000 kilometers of railways.^AN^
Argentina:
Will Argentina receive a BRICS bailout?^NC^ Sierra Grande has started pubic hearings for a controversial shipping terminal to export from the world's second largest shale gas reserve.^CCN^ Argentina and Brazil have agreed to finance imports worth $600 million.^MP^ Milei's victory in the primary election was actually much closer than thought, with all three big parties within 3% of eachother.^MP^
The Financial Times has written an article on how dollarisation would not really fix anything in Argentina. :heartbreaking: ^FT^
Armenia:
The leader of Nagorno-Karabakh, Harutyunyan, has resigned, connected to demonstrations in the de facto capital of Stepanakeri.^EN^
Australia:
Australians will vote next month on whether to amend the consitution to recognize Aborginal and Torres Strait Islander people.^AM^
Bahamas:
The Bahamas could be the fifth Latin American country to legalize marijuana, for medical, research, and religious/cultural purposes.^TS^
Bahrain:
Israel's foreign minister has gone to Bahrain for official talks, as speculation about a Saudi-Israel normalisation deal grows.^MEE^
Benin:
Benin's President has had a four day visit to Beijing, to deepen ties and attend the global summit for the service trade fair.^AN^
Bosnia-Herzegovina:
The secessionist Bosnian Serb leader Dodik has said that Bosnia-Herzergovina should join BRICS rather than the EU.^Euractiv^
Brazil:
Lula has launched an ambitious plan to eliminate food insecurity, stating that the problem isn't a lack of food, it's that people cannot afford to buy it.^Resumen^ Right wing think tankers align with agribusiness to seek a path back to power.^DeSmog^ Chinese investment in Brazil has hit a 13-year low , partially due to regulatory hurdles, and partially due to the economic slowdown.^SCMP^ Lula has left many of Bolsonaro's pro-Israel policies in place for whatever reason, though is also growing ties with Iran.^MEE^ Brazil's oil production has hit a record level,^MP^ as has soybean exports.^MP^
Bulgaria:
Bulgaria is starting negotiations with military production companies for new radars.^Euractiv^
Canada:
Canada's mining sector raked in a record $177 billion in revenues in 2022, with many firms in the sector committing horrific human rights abuses.^CD^ An excerpt from a book on food insecurity in the north, and how it has colonial origins.^CD^ An article on Pierre Poilevre's rhetoric, doing the typical thing of appealing to the working classes while also being a fascist who attacks unions, etc.^CD^ Canada's GDP fell by 0.2% in Q2.^CGTN^
Chad:
Hundreds of thousands of people fled from Sudan to Chad in the wake of the civil war, and their camps in Chad are running low on basically everything.^AN^
Chile:
The government is looking for people who disappeared during Pinochet's dictatorship.^Resumen^
China:
Gao Yunxiang has released a book, Arise Africa! Roar, China!: Black and Chinese Citizens of the World in the Twentieth Century.^PW^
China's manufacturing PMI has edged upwards for the third straight month, now at 49.7 - so, just barely contracting.^CGTN^ First Canadian minister (the Environment one) visits China in 4 years.^GT^ An Australian delegation is visiting China for the first time in 3 years.^GT^ The US Commerce Secretary has also gone to China as America's bizarre strategy of trying to be friends and also piss China off simultaneously continues.^GT^ China has removed pre-entry coronavirus testing.^GT^ China rolls out forceful policy mix to spur economy in push to meet growth goals.^GT^ Beijing, Shanghai easing of mortgage condition sends positive signal, more cities to follow suit.^GT^ Prosperity in Xinjiang speaks louder than ‘UN report’;^GT^ Xinjiang develops seawater aquafarming for fish, prawn, lobsters, etc.^SCMP^ The government has called on urban retirees and veterans to return to their rural roots in an effort to revitalize the countryside.^SCMP^
Typhoon Saola weakens after landfall in China; Shenzhen resumes transportation, business^GT^ China's "giant rice" hybrid, which grows twice as tall as typical, experienced a bumper harvest this month, encouraging for future wider use.^SCMP^ Chinese semiconductor scientists have unveiled new 12-inch wafers that are one atom thick.^SCMP^ China has launched a roadmap to explore the solar system, with asteroid and planetary resource extraction by 2100.^SCMP^ China's coal power plant approval/construction spree continues, with over 300 new plants in the pipeline.^SCMP^ China has used "smart drilling" in the Tarim Basin to boost oil and gas extracton.^SCMP^
The UK Parliament has termed Taiwan an "independent country", amid the UK Foreign Secretary's visit to China, an obvious violation of the One China policy. ^AM^ Foxconn founder and billionaire Terry Gou is running independently for president after being rejected for candidancy by the KMT.^AM^ Typhoon Haikui is hitting Taiwan, with thousands being evacuated.^AM^
Colombia:
President Petro has denounced the right-wing opposition and big businessmen that he claims are planning to overthrow him (very probably true).^TS^
Cuba:
An article on Cuba's international role, helping countries throughout Africa with medical and weaponry in their fights for independence.^Resumen^ Xi vows to support Cuba's defense of its sovereignty after meeting with Diaz-Canel.^MR^
Denmark:
The foreign minister has emphasized that his party's (Moderate) position is that a diesel tax is unavoidable if they are to reach climate targets by 2025.^Euractiv^
DRC:
Victims of a protest-turned-clash in Goma are being treated, with a death toll of at least 40.^AN^
Dominican Republic:
The government has requested that Haiti stop the construction of a canal which would divert water from the Masacre River; Ariel Henry has affirmed that the project is not governmental.^TS^
DPRK:
An article by the Valdai Club (Russian bougie analysis) on the DPRK and the reconstruction of Moscow-Pyongyang-Beijing ties.^VC^ The government has decried that the South Korea-US-Japan summit is creating an Asian version of NATO.^ANN^
Ecuador:
Ecuador's oil drilling ban is good, folks.^CD^ All the car bombings and prison riots that are accelerating are much less good.^TS^
Egypt:
Egypt is to build 35 more natural gas wells over the next 2 years.^AM^
Ethiopia:
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is very happy about the country's soon-to-be membership in BRICS,^AN^ and it is hoped that it will boost economic growth, foreign investment, productivity, etc.^PD^
Part 2: France to Russia
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France:
France is preparing to destroy 80 million gallons of wine to help farmers in wine-producing areas to cope with a sharp fall in prices; the wasted alcohol could potentially be used for use in hand sanitizer and cleaning products.^MP^ The government has earmarked 4 billion euros for low-carbon hydrogen.^Euractiv^ The transport minister is calling to increase the cost of plane tickets to disincentivize people from using them, to help reduce their climate impact.^Euractiv^ EU fossil fuel electricity production has hit a record low of 33%.^Euractiv^ France is extending the life of their coal-fired plants.^Euractiv^
Melenchon on the left and Le Pen on the right have criticized, in their own ways, France's Africa policy of supporting Bongo's regime in Gabon.^Euractiv^ Burglars stole IT equipment used by the French communist daily newspaper l'Humanite, prompting appeals for finanacial aid.^PW^
Gabon:
General Oligui Nguema, who overthrew Bongo, will be the "transitional president" of Gabon,^AN^ and Nguema has threatened business leaders to show patriotism and commitment to the "development of the country".^AN^ The borders have been reopened.^CGTN^
The African Union has suspended Gabon.^AN^ Meanwhile, China has called for peace and order to be restored in Gabon, and media has accused the West of only caring if a pro-Western government takes/maintains power.^GT^
Germany:
Farmers have warned about the future impact of climate change on agriculture, with yields a few percentage points below average already.^Euractiv^
AfD sent a high-ranking delegation to China in June, and has demanded that the German government stop meddling in China's internal affairs and to stop fueling provocations in the Taiwan Strait. :heartbreaking:^SCMP^
Greece:
Greece's forest fire is the largest wildfire ever recorded in the EU, burning an area of 810 square kilometers, larger than New York City.^Euractiv^
Guatemala:
The President-elect, Arevalo, has denounced an ongoing coup, where Congress refuses to recognize the parliamentary bloc of his party after the party's legal status was temporarily suspended by the judiciary.^Resumen^ (This has since been amended and his party is legal now.)
Haiti:
Nearly 2500 people have been killed in Haiti this year, 1000 have been injured, and nearly 1000 have been kidnapped.^MP^
Iceland:
Iceland is resuming whaling after a temporary ban two months ago.^MP^
India:
India has experienced a GDP growth of 7.8%.^PD^ Modi subtly blames China for the Global South debt crisis. Actually, the article is paywalled, but his statements before the paywall just says "forces" which could even be targeting the West. IDK. ^CGS^ Modi has proposed full G20 membership for the African Union.^AN^ India and China are arguing about the border again.^CGS^ An article on the destruction of Indian universities.^MR^ Indian banks have no plans to step away from coal investments yet.^Mongabay^ India has bought its first batch of Russian uranium since 2019.^AM^
Amnesty is urging the G20 to address Kashmir human rights violations.^MEE^ WSWS criticizes the anti-Modi opposition alliance as just being a reactionary trap for voters.^WSWS^
Indonesia:
The government is shutting down the factories of four companies that are causing major pollution in Jakarta and are spraying mist to reduce air pollution after public outcry.^ANN^
Iran:
Iran's oil production capacity has increased 40% over the last two years.^AM^
Ireland:
Irish manufacturing PMI has risen to 50.8 from 47 in July, indicating expansion, defying the wider European (and global) trend.^FT^
Israel:
Netanyahu has called for the immediate deportation of Eritrean migrants (the majority of African asylum seekers in Israel, but deemed "economic migrants" by Israel) involved in a riot^AN^ in Tel Aviv.^AN^
Italy:
Italy's Foreign Minister is heading to China, with hopes (not from the West lmao) that they will continue to co-operate and trade extensively with China and renew the Belt and Road co-operation document.^GT^
Japan:
Travel companies are cancelling tours to Japan over the wastewater dumping.^GT^ China is angry at Japan for dumping the wastewater and also for trying to take China to the World Trade Organisation to seek a reversal on China's seafood ban.^GT^ A system glitch briefly put all of Toyota's production plants offline.^AM^
Jordan:
How American aid supports autocracy in Jordan.^RS^
Kazakhstan:
The country is holding a referendum on whether to build its first nuclear power plant, with Russia's Rosatom as a potential partner. The country is the world's largest uranium producer.^Euractiv^
Kenya:
Two Chinese construction companies are facing legal challenges over failures to build infrastructure, or pay for work.^CGS^ Kenya intends to extend electric trains from its port of Lamu to Ethiopia and South Sudan, with 3000 km of high-speed railway and a cost of $14 billion.^TS^
Kyrgyzstan:
The government is moving to ban TikTok due to concerns about child welfare and addiction.^EN^
Libya:
One of Libya's rival prime ministers has rejected the idea of normalizing relations with Israel, after news broke of a secret meeting between their foreign ministers;^AN^ the foreign minister has been suspended^EN^, and Libya's PM has visited the Palestinian embassy in Tripoli to show support for the cause.^AN^ Libyans now have a more stable power supply, so the chronic power cuts and load shedding can end.^AN^
Mali:
Russia has vetoed a UNSC proposal to extend sanctions on Mali.^AN^ UN peacekeepers have completed the first phase of four of their withdrawal.^PD^
Namibia:
Cuba's president visited Namibia and says that they're always open to co-operation, and generally expressed good vibes.^Resumen^
Nicaragua:
Daniel Kovalik has released a book, Nicaragua: A History of US Intervention & Resistance.^PW^
Niger:
Chinese commentators are nervous about Russian and Western influence in Niger.^CGS^ Nuland appeared "desperate" during Africa tour, which is an emotion I hope she feels regularly from now on.^SP^ Mass protests^AN^ against French troops are happening.^GL^
Algeria has offered Niger a six month transition plan to return to democracy, instead of 3 years as they proposed;^AN^ Nigeria has offered Niger a 9 month transition instead.^AN^ Niger has recalled all its ambassadors as it initiates reforms to shift from Western dominance to sovereignty.^AM^ EU foreign and defense ministers discussed and reassessed their Sahel region approach.^Euractiv^
Nigeria:
The Dangote refinery, the world's largest, has started production and could produce 650,000 barrels of oil per day.^TS^
Pakistan:
100,000 people have been evacuated due to floods after the Sutlej River burst its banks.^ANN^
Poland:
The Polish ruling party, responsible for policies that would make Ron DeSantis blush, is ramping up fears of Russia to try and ensure victory in next month's elections.^PW^ They have filed a lawsuit against EU climate policies.^Euractiv^
Romania:
An article on a housing approach for the Roma community in the municipality of Resita, which suffers from bad and overcrowded housing conditions.^Euractiv^
Russia:
Russia's unemployment has hit an all-time low of 3% in July (...well, maybe not "all-time" low...)^BNE^ Putin's approval rating is at 82%.^BNE^
The Nobel Foundation has decided not to invite Russian, Belarusian, or Iranian envoys after initially saying they would, due to complaints.^AM^ America has doubled Russian uranium imports.^BNE^
Part 3: Rwanda to Zimbabwe (and BRICS)
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Rwanda:
Rwanda (and Cameroon) are making big changes in their military forces in the wake of all these coups.^AN^
Saudi Arabia:
Their foreign reserves have dipped to a 14 year low.^AM^ They are considering offering $50 billion worth of shares in Aramco, the largest public stock offering in history.^MEE^ The government is considering bids from China, Russia, and France to build a nuclear power station in an attempt to pressure the US over their proposed security pact.^MEE^
Slovakia:
Slovakia, which produces 60% of its electricy from nuclear, is cutting off Russian uranium within a year (I think) and is talking to France to get some of the good stuff.^Euractiv^
Slovenia:
Heavy flooding, with total damage costing 5 billion euros^Euractiv^, has disrupted the supply of Volkswagen engine components to Portugal, and a factory in Portugal is being temporarily shut down because of it.^BNE^ Unions have talked about the impact on upstream suppliers and their temporary and contract workers.^Euractiv^
Somalia:
Young activists attended a three-day training session in Mogadishu, calling for effective action to combat the impacts of climate change on vulnerable groups in the country.^TS^
South Africa:
A paywalled article on electricity deals that China made with South Africa at the BRICS summit.^CGS^
South Korea:
South Korea's wind farms on Jeju island aren't able to generate power sometimes because the grid can't handle the power flowing into it during periods of high wind, a phenomenon that is happening more and more around the world.^ICN^ Lawmakers held rallies against Japan's dumping of wastewater into the ocean.^PD^
Sweden:
Swedish Liberals and their allied far-right party are arguing over whether school staff should be forced to report children illegally residing in the country to the police.^Euractiv^ Several people have been arrested and detained after a riot broke out at a protest involving a burning of the Quran.^EN^
Syria:
There are anti-Assad protests in the south of Syria for the second consecutive week.^MEE^ Syria and Belarus are celebrating 30 years of diplomatic relations and have reiterated their commitment to further co-operation.^AM^ A f-35 nearly collided with a Russian Su-35.^AM^
Thailand:
Two large Chinese electric automakers want to set up manufacturing in Thailand, with hundreds of millions of dollars being invested into factories.^CGS^
Ukraine:
The Ukrainian secret poli-- sorry, sorry, their security and intelligence service, have arrested a veteran communist party member Georgi Buiko, for anti-Ukrainian activities and of possessing pro-Kremlin publications.^PW^
United Kingdom:
The UK's new minister for net-zero is connected to a think tank funded by oil giants that called for climate protestors to be jailed.^OD^ Two thirds of Conservatitve endowment fund directors are linked to the fossil fuel industry.^DeSmog^ The government is in talks with Tata Steel over a £500 million funding package to help them switch to greener technologies.^FT^ The Labour Party took $10,000 in gifts from Google and Youtube and then backtracked on a plan to hike the digital services tax; fucking dweebs.^OD^ DeSmog asks who's going to cleap up the scrap heap in the North Sea, which is a bit of a rude name for Britain but I'll allow it (it's actually about derelict oil platforms).^DeSmog^. The government has promised to cover the costs associated with the emergency closure of 150 schools built from a form of concrete that is prone to collapse.^FT^ UK house prices are falling at their fastest pace since 2009.^FT^ The National Grid will pay households and businesses to cut power consumption during peak hours this winter.^FT^
United States:
The US's path towards recession is still plenty open, as consumer spending may slow down in 2024.^NC^ Large banks continue to shed deposits at a frightening pace, while smaller banks are doing pretty great.^WSoP^ JP Morgan is racking up felonies.^WSoP^ The Labor Department has proposed to increase overtime pay coverage by $20,000 per worker, benefiting 3.6 million people immediately.^PW^ The US opioid crisis does more harm to black and brown communities.^PD^ Fauci has said that older people, the ill, and the disabled will "fall by the wayside" in the newest coronavirus surge.^WSWS^
Biden's administration is calling for the privatization of US water systems.^RNN^ Texas is permitting a lignite mine expansion.^ICN^ Companies wanna mine underneath the Salton Sea for lithium.^ICN^ California has endorsed the call for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty.^CD^ America's hydropower industry is trying to get approval to expand and also covert non-power generating dams into power-generating ones, with industry groups, environmental groups, and native tribes in favor, though others opposed because dams generate shitloads of methane from piled-up dead organic material.^ICN^ Major global banks are financing US coal plants due to loopholes in commitments.^CD^ The Transportation Department is suspending the transport of LNG by rail.^CD^ A Pennsylvanian crypto-mining firm is looking to start burning tyres for Bitcoin, instead of coal.^AM^
An interview with Margaret Power about her latest book, Solidarity Across the Americas: The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and Anti-Imperialism.^Alborada^ The government of Puerto Rico have a new plan to reduce the debt of their electric power authority.^TS^ Florida was hit by Hurricane Idalia.^ICN^
Vanuatu:
There is an ongoing political crisis, with a sharply divided parliament forestalling an Australian security agreement and the country's Prime Minister was ousted last month.^WSWS^
Venezuela:
An article on the war on the Bolivarian revolution and Venezuela.^RC^
Zimbabwe:
China is ready to work with the Zimbabwean government, saying that the controversial vote was peaceful and orderly, albeit with some irregularities, but it would not interfere.^CGS^
BRICS vs G7:
Some pro and skeptic BRICS coverage. On the pro side, we have this article from AntiWar, this article from Ben Norton, and an interview with Hudson and Escobar by Danny Haiphong.^MH^
And on the skeptic side, we have this article from Morning Star (reposted in People's World). Somewhere in between is this article by Prabhat Patnaik.^MR^
Western countries will never be allowed to join BRICS because they put sanctions on BRICS members.^AM^
China is expected to skip the G20 meeting in India, with several reasons speculated (doesn't like India? doesn't want to get involved in the inevitable Ukraine row? is snubbing the G20 in general in favor of BRICS?)^SCMP^
Part 4: Everything Else
War:
An article analyzing internal rifts growing in the Western alliance.^CD^
War in Africa and the Americas: Accelerating the end of White world supremacy^MR^ A French ex-ambassador to the US has stated that Europe is no longer the power it was once, and that the future of the world will be decided elsewhere.^AM^ The Atlantic has said that NATO and Europe must be prepared to be abandoned by the United States if the Republicans win in 2024.^AM^
Bernard Sanders has proposed that both America and China cut military spending and spend the money on climate change.^PW^ The US has approved $500 million in arms to Taiwan.^Inquirer^ The US military has announced a new program in which many thousands of drones will be built and unleashed across land, sea, and sky to counter China's mass with mass of their own;^RS^ China says that this is just what China has been doing for the last decade to counter America.^SCMP^ Australia is sending more troops to the Solomon Islands to boost security.^AM^ We have some actual figures on US-China decoupling, which suggests that while some degree of decoupling is occuring, by and large it's exaggerated and the US is just getting Chinese products via middlemen.^NC^
Western military contractors are making profits in the hundreds of billions, at the small, small cost of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian lives.^PW^ Is pressure building to end the Ukraine War?^PW^ Sarkozy is being accused of being a pro-Putin stooge for trying to offer a diplomatic way out. He's a terrible person in other ways, guys, this isn't what you're meant to dunk on him for.^RS^ Bhadrakumar on Prigozhin, Niger, France, and what Wagner does now.^IP^ Zelensky has dismissed Reznikov as Defense Minister, and replaced him with Umerov.^AM^ Ukraine's foreign minister has told critics of the counteroffensive to shut up.^Euractiv^ Swedish liberals are calling for permanent NATO bases in their country.^AM^
Labour:
Lessons and ideas for picket lines, like chants and signs and stuff.^LN^ The Oakland Education Association has won substantial raises and benefits.^LN^ Toronto grocery workers turned down an agreement agreed by their union leadership,^PW^, and then accepted a new agreement with a higher wage increase.^PW^ Japanese retail workers are striking, in the country's first major walkout in decades.^PW^ United Auto Workers at Detroit car companies are going on strike.^PW^ New Jersey nurses are striking for safe staffing ratios, better retirement benefits, and other issues.^LN^ Kentucky Auto Workers at Ford are preparing for a strike.^LN^ The Anchor Brewing Company is trying to reopon as a co-op.^RNN^ An article on South Korea's war on unions, and how arch anti-authoritarian and most progressive US president in history, Joe Brandon, has embraced the country nonetheless.^SP^
The Left:
The Red Clarion talks about the power of study groups, and more generally about ridding yourself of rugged individualism.^RC^ An article on how landlords are parasites and deprivers of housing.^RC^
LGBTQIA:
The Alaska State Board of Education has banned trans girls from partipating in school sports.^Advocate^ Gender-affirming care bans for trans youth will still go into effect in Texas and Missouri despite court challenges.^Advocate^ Gender-affirming surgeries have tripled from 2016 to 2019.^Advocate^ The New York Times is doubling down on transphobia.^FAIR^ Canada has issued warnings to LGBT citizens when travelling to America.^Advocate^
A 20 year old man in Uganda is facing a potential death sentence, the first to be charged with "aggravated homosexuality" under their new anti-LGBT law.^Advocate^ Over 60 people have been arrested for attending a gay wedding in Nigeria, where homosexuality is illegal.^Advocate^ Chinese LGBTQIA+ organizations are monitored by police and censored online but are finding ways to continue their work.^SCMP^ Lebanon's LGBTQIA+ community is under threat, as political factions, which have been so divided that they haven't been able to select a president for 10 months, decide that they're going to take it out on the LGBTQIA+.^EN^ Budapest Pride is fighting back with a legal challenge against Hungary's "LGBT propaganda" ban.^EN^
Climate:
Bolivia explicitly asked for deforestation targets to be deleted at the Amazon summit due to increasing beef and soy export targets; Venezuela is also reluctant.^CCN^ Kenya's president is facing opposition from environmentalists over lifting a ban on logging, which he intends to boost the economy while only affecting a small number of forests.^CCN^ Developing countries want a minimum of $100 billion per year by 2030 for loss and damage caused by climate change (a UN report predicts damages reaching up to $300 billion per year).^CCN^ First Nations communities say that they are climate refugees, not wildfire evacuees.^RNN^ Global fossil fuel subsidies have increased to $7 trillion.^NC^ Most carbon offsets aimed at avoiding deforestation are failing to keep forests standing or cut atmospheric greenhouse gases.^ICN^
Emperor penguins are facing steep population declines due to sea ice declines.^ICN^ Polar bear decline correlates well with greenhouse gas emissions.^ICN^
Circle of Blue talks about the book Three Ages of Water.^CoB^ US weaponizes environmental rhetoric to seek water hegemony.^NC^ An article on the potential of capturing carbon from water rather than air.^ICN^
Dipshittery and Cope:
Conscription is resurging across Europe. Is that a good thing?^EN^
Probably not.
How to fix Tunisia’s economic misery with a fair and bold IMF program^EN^
Ukraine cannot win against Russia now, but victory by 2025 is possible^FT^
Keir Starmer’s Labour has ‘a lot to learn’ from Blair, Reeves says^FT^
To be slightly more fair, she then said that Labour's position couldn't be the same as Blair's because it faces different challenges. But an admission that that turgid fucking war criminal could have any good lessons is still going way too far.
Unsorted Analysis:
An article about the Mediterranean refugee crisis.^CoB^ And FAIR talks about how the media encourages hatred of immigrants.^FAIR^
How companies in the West use online gig work to exploit developing countries.^RNN^
Sanctions don't help! Weird.^RS^
Imperialism: How the struggle of both classes and nations creates our world^GPE^
Silent coup: How corporations overthrew democracy – book review^Bilaterals^
Endorsed by Varoufakis and Chomsky!
A review of a book to do with workers, particularly of the migrating variety, from South Asia entering the Gulf; idk if it's good.^DE^
The cruelty towards the homeless is the point.^CA^
The birth of dialectics in Ancient Greece^MR^
The UN is unable to mediate nowadays because conflict-ridden countries see the UN has a tool for the West (it is).^SP^
Michael Roberts talks about materialism, via a recent book written by an economics editor at Sky TV.^MR^
I Love My Trans Comrades!