An image of the wildfires in Rhodes, taken on July 23rd, showing the flames and the plume of smoke.
Greece, in late July, faced a heatwave in which over 8 million people experienced temperatures about 41C, with some areas reaching above 45C - all in all, both the longest heatwave in Greek history, as well as some of the highest temperatures on record.
Due to these high temperatures, Greece was then struck by hundreds of wildfires this summer, affecting nearly 200,000 hectares. About half of the total burned area was in the north-east of Greece, in the Dadia national park near the city of Alexandropoulis - the single largest blaze that the EU has recorded. Other parts of the country were also struck, such as Attica, Magnesia, and islands like Corfu and particularly Rhodes; the last one prompted an evacuation of 20,000 people, the largest evacuation operation the island had ever seen. Of course, this is just one country of many that have been caught in the European wildfires this year, of which the total burned area approached 500,000 hectares - the only consolation is that this was less than last year.
Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkiye were impacted in early September by flooding caused by massive storms bringing a deluge of water - in Greece, this mainly impacted Thessaly, in the centre of Greece.
Luckily for Greece, despite being a very earthquake-prone country, they have experienced no significant quakes lately to round out the four (I hope I haven't jinxed it) - though, of course, earlier this year, a major earthquake struck nearby Turkiye, killing 60,000 people and injuring 120,000.
The Country of the Week is Greece! Feel free to chime in with books, essays, longform articles, even stories and anecdotes or rants. More detail here.
Here is the map of the Ukraine conflict, courtesy of Wikipedia.
This week's update is here!
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.
Part 5
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Labour:
Europe:
Portuguese teachers begin a week-long strike.^TS^ VW in Germany cuts at least 2,200 jobs at its Zwickau plant and threatens other sites.^WSWS^
Anglos:
UK retail chain Wilko collapses, threatening 12,500 jobs.^WSWS^ 3,000 job losses planned at Tata Steel as company receives £500 million subsidy from UK government.^WSWS^ NHS consultants and junior doctors begin historic joint strike in England.^FT^ Doctors and nurses in England could be forced to work during strikes.^FT^ Australia’s Offshore Alliance union continued the rolling 24-hour stoppages at Chevron’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants in western Australia for a second day.^RT^
America and Canada:
Work Extra During a Strike? Auto Workers Say ‘Eight and Skate’^LN^ Canadian auto workers’ strike at Ford engine plants could cripple Big Three.^PW^ Auto Workers Strike Spreads to 38 Parts Depots.^LN^ UAW President Fain’s “expanded strikes” will have zero impact on automakers’ production or sales.^WSWS^ The Trots at WSWS are always such a ray of sunshine and positivity. (/s)
GOP lend their ‘support’ to an autoworker strike that doesn’t exist.^RNN^ Biden, Brazil’s Lula unveil joint deal to promote workers’ rights.^PW^ College athletes are being exploited. It’s time to unionize.^RNN^ Unifor announces sellout tentative agreement for 5,600 Ford Canada workers to block strike.^WSWS^
Everybody Else:
Contract fight begins for 150,000 metal, auto workers in Turkey.^WSWS^ Mexican Auto Parts Workers Face Blacklist After Union Campaign.^LN^ Indian and Sri Lankan auto industry workers support US autoworkers.^WSWS^ South Korean union pushes through sellout deal at Hyundai Motors.^WSWS^
Left and Right:
Hammerskins: German branch of US-based neo-Nazi group banned.^DW^ Paraguayan forensic psychologist causes uproar with swastika tattoo.^MP^
Georgia RICO Arrests Are A Declaration of War on All Socialists.^RC^ Degrowth and ecosocialist revolution.^MR^ degrowth: a remarkable renaissance.^MR^
LGBTQIA:
Content Warning - this section is not usually good news.
Americans are pretty divided when it comes to students using chosen names and pronouns in school, according to a new survey released earlier this week. Four in ten Americans believe teachers should be allowed to use a student's chosen name that aligns with their current gender identity without informing the student's parents. Younger adults aged 18-34 are more inclined to support this notion, with 49 percent backing it, compared to 36 percent of adults aged 35-64 and 40 percent of those aged 65 and above. When it comes to individuals who personally know someone who is transgender, the support increases, with 48 percent in favor compared to 34 percent of those without such connections.^Advocate^ Most Americans are not concerned with legislation around transgender issues and harbor doubts about whether lawmakers are informed enough on matters related to trans lives to create fair policies about access to gender-affirming care, according to a survey released Monday.^Advocate^ Right-wing forces have turned to using parental rights to obscure but reinitiate the fight against queer and trans lives.^CD^ Millions of LGBTQ+ Americans Overlooked in Census Data May Soon Be Able to Share Their Experiences.^SP^ The Associated Press reports that access to gender-affirming care is becoming increasingly difficult even in those states where it remains legal for those to continue on treatments.^Advocate^
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdoğan complained that he was uncomfortable with the use of what he described as “LGBT colors” at the United Nations.^Euractiv^ Kenya's anti-gay bill proposes 50-year jail term.^AN^ Romanian LGBTQ+ community wants equal rights, not special conditions.^Euractiv^
Climate:
There will be no confirmation that rich countries have met their $100 billion a year climate finance promise until 2025 at the earliest.^CCN^ UN to start ratifying historic deal to protect high seas.^DW^ Is the UN carbon neutral? No, finds an investigation.^MB^ A Guide to Six Greenwashing Terms Big Ag Is Bringing to COP28.^DS^ The Era of Climate Migration Is Here, Leaders of Vulnerable Nations Say.^ICN^ Study finds human-driven mass extinction is eliminating entire branches of the tree of life.^MR^ Human Activities Increased Extinction Rate of Species Groups by 35 Times^SP^ At UN climate summit big polluters’ absence speaks volumes.^CCN^
Panama Canal drought: Rolling ecological crisis is raising prices everywhere.^OD^
In West Virginia, plan to clean up radioactive fracking waste ends in monster lawsuit.^DS^ Headache for carmakers as UK backtracks on green agenda.^FT^
China sets world's first geothermal industry standard to boost green transition.^CGTN^ China launches ‘Kuafu’ nuclear fusion research facility.^SCMP^ China’s coal use set to rise until 2026, pushing world’s top carbon emitter ‘off track’ from Paris Agreement^SCMP^ China's climate envoy opposes global fossil fuel phase-out, as fossil fuels should be kept as a flexible back-up, also saying that the emissions of burning fossil fuels can be reduced with carbon capture..^CCN^ I support a more nuclear approach to back-up energy generation and don't think CCS is in any position yet to even PROMISE that it can match even massively reduced emission rates, let alone historical emissions - but at least he's honest and wrong, as opposed to promising net zero in 30 years and then pulling back a couple years later, ad infinitum.
Amazon countries lose 1 million hectares of water surface in 10 years.^TS^
Miscellaneous Analysis:
Professors Point to JPMorgan Chase as Poster Boy of a Financial System Dependent on Corruption to Sustain Itself^WSoP^
Meet the Banking Cartel that Is Planting the Seeds for the Next Banking Panic and Bailout^WSoP^
The Lehman Disaster and Why It Matters Today.^SP^
A soft landing?^MichaelRoberts^
We shouldn’t call ‘peak China’ just yet.^FT^ Holy hell Financial Times, you're suggesting that China ISN'T about to collapse? Calm down a little!
Why Barack Obama can’t shut up.^MR^
Suppressing negative thoughts good for mental health, UK researchers find.^FT^
Can humanity avoid the “nightmare scenario” that could be caused by mounting space junk?^ET^
Dipshittery
A Chinese military blockade of Taiwan would likely fail and nothing easy about an invasion: Pentagon.^SCMP^
Donald Trump Asked Joint Chiefs Chair Mark Milley, 'Are You Soft on Transgenders?'^Advocate^
One Billion People Will Die Without Oil Production, Kuwait Official Claims.^DS^
Why don’t people leave bad jobs?^FT^ Okay, to be a little fair, she does in fact answer the question. Why it's in this section is that the Financial Times is such a fucking bougie hellhole that they need people to come along and tell them why people might not be able to be homo economicus.
I Love My Trans Comrades!
Hmm. Why do I doubt...
Ah, yes. There it is. Rhetoric, but absolutely nothing concrete. The "most labor-friendly U.S. president ever" strikes again. Just don't ask the targets of his fascist railroad-strike-breaking policy how well it actually pans out in practice.