At least around 156 school buildings in the UK are being evaluated for collapse risk due to use of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in their construction from the 1950s until the mid 1990s, with some being closed entirely just as the term starts.

More English schools could close due to crumbling concrete, minister warns

Taliban signs $6.5bn worth of mining contracts in Afghanistan

The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan announced on 1 September that seven mining contracts amounting to $6.5 billion were signed between Kabul and locally based companies, some of whom have foreign partners in China, Iran, and Turkiye.

...

In 2010, US military officials and geologists revealed that the country, which lies at the crossroads of Central and South Asia, was sitting on mineral deposits worth nearly $1 trillion.

“If Afghanistan has a few years of calm, allowing the development of its mineral resources, it could become one of the richest countries in the area within a decade,” Said Mirzad of the US Geological Survey told Science magazine in 2010.

“Afghanistan does sit atop huge deposits of copper, iron, marble, talc, coal, lithium, chromite, cobalt, gold, lapis lazuli, gemstones, and more—making Afghanistan one of the world’s most resource-rich countries on paper,” US-based outlet Foreign Policy reported in July 2022.

Washington has also estimated that lithium deposits in Afghanistan could rival those in Bolivia, home to the world’s largest known reserves.

I could totally see a future where Afghanistan is allowed to develop with the help of China and others and doesn't just export raw materials, but actually has internal manufacturing and everything. Could be a critical part of the green transition. Afghanistan is my sleeper pick for the list of strong, well-developed countries in 2100, and the early 2000s will be looked upon 80 years later like pre-revolution China is, and be a prime example of the barbarity of the then-dead American Empire.

BRICS summit ends

China releases map claiming Indian territory

Lol

Imagining chuds buying Tequila just to pour it out to own Mexico if we do invade

Exclusive: U.S. to send its first depleted uranium rounds to Ukraine -sources

I have mentioned this before, but as a reminder: the primary danger of Depleted Uranium (DU) ammunition is not radioactivity. Rather, it is the toxic dust particles that form when the round hits a vehicle or building. Anyone who enters such an enclosed area contaminated with DU particles is at risk of serious health consequences if they breathe them in. Drinking water contaminated with DU is also dangerous. Those dust particles will essentially never go away on their own, since the half life of DU is over 4 billion years.

Anyone else finished the new season of Blowback? Gotta say it really affected my outlook on China and its domestic extremism problem. Definitely more of a fuck around/find out vibe given that they also helped train fundamentalists in the country next door. Such an unnecessary self-own. I'm gonna need to stew on this for a while but I'm curious if anyone else noticed this/had thoughts.

My dad and I are probably the only two people in my state who care about the coups in Africa and the war in Ukraine. It literally seems like everyone else in America does not know or does not care.

We leftists might think we seem weird to others for being so heavily invested, but honestly just think how weird the Slava Ukraina libs look and sound like to the average American

J. C. Okechukwu :

THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS of Nigerien protesters have surrounded the French military base in Niamey, the nation’s capital, demanding that the French leave immediately. Remember that the new administration in the country had given French soldiers till today, September 3 to get out of the country, as should be. But rather than get out, they stayed put on the orders of Macron’s France.

I was careful to advise that we avoid using force but use civil action against not just the army but the stubborn French Ambassador who has refused to leave the country also, even after his visas was cancelled and he was stripped of all his diplomatic immunities - something that we haven’t seen happen anywhere before. And you would think that a body like ECOWAS and AU that say they’re seeking solution, would step in at this time and tell France that what they’re doing is very childish and unacceptable, but no! Everyone let’s France have its way with such gross violations of a sovereign nation’s territorial integrity. Macron, who obviously lives in the rusted, fading colonial past, keeps boasting that without France, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger would be no more, and that France won’t just let go! Talk about being high on some cheap drugs from Nigeria’s OJUELEGBA.

Shortly after I got the intelligence on what they were planning to do - how they want to use that stubborn Itte guy (the Ambassador) as a set up to initiate military action in Niger, I made a post advising our people in Niger to go slow on physical altercation with these enemies of the African continent. I advised civil action on a scale that the country hasn’t seen before and I advised that it be sustained till they get out. In fact a comment under that post suggested loud music and noise around the occupied locations to smoke out the “stubborn flies.” And what I’m seeing today shows they heeded that advise. Im delighted. And guess what? Shortly after I made that tweet, France went on record to say that any attempt to endanger the life of their “stubborn” diplomat will be met with a strong French military response, in other words, the 1,500 French soldiers now illegally stationed in Niger will start a war in defense of France’s illegal diplomat with zero diplomatic immunity or coloration. What a time to be alive! I knew it and that’s why I warned. That has always been the plan, because they know what they’re doing doesn’t make any sense in the world. But we will still win this and win it big.

Now that our Nigerien people have started the protest action on ground in Niger, I’m urging all Africans on social media to channel their energies to ensuring Macron and his cronies don’t have any rest until they PACK and GO! That’s what the owners of the land are saying and that’s what has to happen. Niger belongs to Nigeriens, not France. Niger is on the continent of AFRICA, not Europe. Somebody please wake Macron up from this bad dream and whisper this into his ears: “Monsieur, le Niger est parti !” (Mister, Niger is gone!)

Those of you who know how to create trending hashtags, come up with them. Let’s start an online version of what our people are doing on site in Niger. It’s gonna be operation #OccupyFrenchEmbassy and operation #OccupyFrenchArmyBase or whatever you can come up with. I’ll help to promote it. Let’s see how Macron will deal with this army of angry and patriotic citizens of Niger who want their country back at all costs, from the stifling grip of generational colonial enslavement.

Viva Mother AFRICA!

RT - US doubles uranium imports from Russia [24/08/2023]

The US bought 416 tons of uranium from Russia in the first half of the year, more than double the amount for the same period in 2022 and the highest level since 2005, RIA Novosti reported on Thursday, citing data from the US statistical service.

The US also significantly increased its purchases of uranium from the UK in the first half of this year, up 28% to $383.1 million, bringing it to just under 18% of all imports. Imports from France soared to $319 million (15% of US total imports), compared to $1.9 million for the same period in 2022.

According to a recent New York Times report, roughly a third of enriched uranium used in the US is imported from Russia. GHS Climate, a clean-energy consulting company, states that one out of every 20 American homes and businesses was powered by Russian uranium last year.

The US and the EU have sanctioned Russian oil, gas, and coal over the Ukraine conflict, but have continued to allow the purchase of enriched uranium from Russian state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom, as they race to cut reliance on fossil fuels.

Al Arabiya - Ukraine needs 130 fighter jets to achieve air supremacy over Russia: Air Force [21/08/2023]

“Ukraine needs 128 fighters to replace the old aircraft fleet – this number is prescribed in the vision of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” said Yuriy Ihnat, the spokesman for the Air Force Command of Ukraine, according to state news agency Ukrinform.

TASS - Poland to remain Ukraine’s ‘close friend’ until end of military action — Zelensky’s office [05/08/2023]

Ukraine will consider Poland as its close friend until the end of combat but afterwards Kiev will fiercely defend its interests, Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, has asserted.

"Poland is the closest partner and friend we have these days. And, generally, it will remain this way until the end of the war. After it’s over, of course, we will have a competitive relationship, of course, we will compete for various markets, consumers, and so on. And, of course, we will clearly adopt pro-Ukrainian positions, protect these interests, fiercely defend them," he told Ukraine’s Dom TV channel.

WaPo - Russia recruited operatives online to target weapons crossing Poland [18/08/2023]

The case also has political sensitivities for Warsaw, where officials have not publicly acknowledged that 12 Ukrainian refugees are among those in custody, anxious to avoid the backlash Russia likely intended. Others arrested include one Russian and three citizens of Belarus. In interviews, officials emphasized that while most of the Ukrainian suspects were from eastern provinces traditionally more aligned with Moscow, they appear to have been motivated more by money than ideology.

The postings used to lure potential recruits were scattered among job offers, housing tips and internet scams that litter the Telegram channels frequented by refugee groups in Poland, officials said. They promised pay ranging from a few dollars for painting a graffiti-like message to $12 for hanging a poster, said the ABW investigator. There were fliers and banners that said, “POLAND ≠ UKRAINE,” “NATO GO HOME” and “DO NOT BE BIDEN,” according to information provided by the ABW.

DO NOT BE BIDEN! 😄

NYT - The Smartphone Game That Ukrainian Soldiers Play on the Front Line [21/08/2023]

“Why would we play World of Tanks when it’s right here?” one soldier asked, referring to the real war. Instead they play FIFA, another soldier added, a nod to a popular soccer video game.

Some important front line investigating there from NYT.. what's the Ukrainian army's gaming situation??

https://archive.is/U8yAH

More forbes schlock saying "technically Ukraine only lost 5 leopard tanks"

Ukraine has lost about 15 tanks

Putin has no plans to attend Prigozhin’s funeral, says Kremlin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that he has dismissed Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov.

Reznikov was already internally ranked as a beta male, he will now be relegated to full on virgin cuck. After doing the most cringe begging routine since last summer, Zelensky now throws him away easily and he will take it like a cuck.

Honestly love that I can just post an emote in a thread. It solves a lot of posting anxiety.

[Germany] Annalena Baerbock quote on the economic sanctions on Russia in the Handelsblatt, 24 August 2023

"Economic sanctions are supposed to have an effect. But that's not been the case. This is because the logic of democracies doesn't work in autocracies"

Germany is ruled by real brain geniuses

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/8/28/panamas-doomsday-warning-is-not-about-holiday-shopping

Panama’s doomsday warning is not about holiday shopping

The Panama Canal is in dire straits.

A severe drought is impeding navigation of the United States-dominated trade artery that bisects the isthmus of Panama in Central America.

As of mid-August, more than 200 ships were stuck at the canal. On August 26, CNN warned that the situation is “not a good sign for supply chains – or your holiday shopping”.

Always funny when aljazeera publishes something on climate change using funds from one of the world's worst emitters per capita. But also, fuck CNN and the American treat pipeline

https://archive.is/q85nx

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/08/29/china-japan-fukushima-boycott-backlash/

Chinese consumers punish Japan over Fukushima nuclear water release By Christian Shepherd, Theodora Yu and Lillian Yang

Wapo writers whine about Chinese citizens being understandably upset about having their water possibly irradiated

CW: drones killing people

Has anyone else noticed that since last week, there has been an increasing amount of Lancet footages where the drones were used to explode individual or a small group of soldiers?

Has Ukraine really run out of armored vehicles for the drones to target? Or have they ramped up the production so much that they can afford to use them on individual soldiers now? (There was also a video yesterday where they used 5 Lancets to kill a single tank, 5 times over)

Anyway seeing a scared soldier running from the drone before being exploded really fucked me up.

So Meta recently released their Adversarial Threat Report... Am I right to be cautious about the rather high density of ex-US intelligence as authors on the report?

I'm going to take the adversarial position on Fukushima fears and point out that according to this paper published in Science, the variance of concentration of other radioactive isotopes is rather high between tanks... And while on average they do meet legal guidelines, there are tanks that exceed the legal limit for discharge. For what it's worth, the concentrations allowed for discharge also seem to not entirely be coupled with the bioaccumulation factor of these radioactive isotopes in fish... which isn't great when the goal is to avoid eating toxic fish with radioactive isotopes that will accumulate in the human body.

Plus, Tepco has a record of cutting corners in the name of profit and the Japanese government has a strong incentive to stop bleeding hundreds of billions of dollars into the cleanup... So the incentives aren't really lining up to give confidence in Tepco's ALPS system.

No too on-board with the "false fears" title, TBH.

The big deal about Fukushima wasn't that waste water couldn't be eventually treated and dealt with with moderate safety eventually—in theory. It's more that they were leaking tons of it off-plan due to extremely poorly maintained facilities (the kind of shit capitalism—and the energy industry more specifically—depends on to remain profitable). Like, okay: you can treat it eventually in ways we don't have to freak out too much about, but in the meantime your holding facilities are leaking the untreated waste water like a fuckin' sieve, spewing tons of that caesium into the ocean in an uncontrolled manner. And that leakage was pretty well-documented at the time.

It wasn't just uninformed "lay-people" who were concerned about that leakage, either. It was knowledgeable physicists, nuclear engineers, and marine biologists.

Big industry is always quick to "poo-poo" serious environmental concerns. We have oceans full of waste (nuclear, chemical, physical, and other), generations of radiation-poisoned Diné (Navajo) children from tailings and otherwise uncleaned Uranium mining, a planet that's burning its way into human uninhabitability, and a whole lot of other harm that the energy industry—and it's watchful big brother the arms industry—would just as soon like us to forget about. Let's not help it along that way, please.

Archive .is ain't working for me at the moment so I'll just post the article straight.

Link

"NATO-trained Ukrainian recruits admit they're being overpowered by Russia's battle-hardened troops in the northern sector, Kyiv Independent reports" by George Glover.

Once in a while the propaganda facade in Ukraine cracks and gleams of reality on the war front leaks into the isolated-from-the-world western information sphere.

NATO-trained recruits fighting in northeastern Ukraine are feeling demoralized as they struggle to cope with Russia's better-equipped and "fearless" soldiers, according to a new report by the Kyiv Independent.

Reporter Igor Kossov interviewed troops from the 32nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, assigned about an hour east of Kharkiv in the northern sector of the 600-mile-long frontline, where Russia has advanced over the past month.

Many soldiers from the 32nd were civilians before the brigade was set up in January and received just three weeks of NATO basic training in Germany before they were deployed.

These poor fuckers are literally being sent to die with not even 30 days of training.

They described feeling "in over their heads" and ill-equipped — with one even questioning the futility of the ongoing war.

Pretty sure many more of them are questioning why they're being sent in the meat grinder but are keeping it on the down low.

"Everything is not like what you read in daily briefings and on the news," Volodymyr, an infantry sergeant interviewed by the Kyiv Independent, said.

Fucking tankie for saying anything different from the western line.

"A heroic feat — to jump out from that basement and shoot aimlessly in their general direction, then end up without an arm or a leg, or just dead?" he added. "What's the point?"

Other recruits the Kyiv Independent spoke to said three weeks of NATO basic training had left them underprepared for the reality of the situation on the ground.

Pretty sure any level of NATO training would leave one unprepared to fight in a conventional war.

"A NATO infantryman knows he's supported and can advance with the confidence that there's a high likelihood that he won't be killed or maimed," Ihor, who was a lawyer before being recruited by the 32nd Brigade, told the outlet.

A NATO infantryman also knows he's only fighting against goat herders in flip-flops with rusty AKs and not a conventional army that's got the same level of firepower and support he does.

Ukraine has deployed most of its resources to the counteroffensive it's waging in the south, leaving the soldiers fighting in the northern sector starved of ammunition, vehicles, and other equipment.

While choking on its "counteroffensive" the entire summer by sending human wave assaults into minefields to clear a path for more human wave assaults to die from Russian artillery.

Meanwhile, Russia has amassed over 100,000 troops at the Kupiansk axis on the northern frontline, according to authorities in Kyiv.

It likely believes that its gains there could undermine Ukraine's counteroffensive by forcing the country to shift its attention from the south to the north, according to UK military intelligence.

"Russian forces are likely seeking to distract Ukraine from its counteroffensive," the Ministry of Defence said on X Saturday.

"Given that Russia has made modest gains near Kupiansk since the Ukrainian counteroffensive began in June, they are highly likely seeking to capitalize on these by continuing to resource the access," the MoD added.

I wished it fucking worked so Ukrainian conscripts could stop being sent to die pointless deaths and get sent to sit in foxholes to hopefully survive by outlasting the war.

Like others here, I know very little about Gabon (though I did at least know that it was a country and its approximate location). So here's an article on one factor affecting the country:

Oil Palm Plantations and Water Grabbing: Ivory Coast and Gabon

Industrial palm oil production in West and Central Africa is mainly controlled by five companies: Socfin, Wilmar, Olam, Siat, and Straight KKM (former Feronia). These multinationals control an estimated 67 per cent of the industrial oil palm planted area with foreign investment and may drive continuous expansion. (1) Their established industrial plantations have been linked to numerous impacts on the populations and territories. The impact on water availability for communities that live in and around industrial oil palm plantations is systematic and dramatic. This is becoming increasingly evident with the many community reports of water scarcity and water pollution.

Industrial plantations often lead to loss of lakes, springs or streams, directly affecting the livelihoods and wellbeing of communities. Drinkable water becomes scare or inexistent. Besides, the intensive use of chemicals in the plantations and processing plants results in a high pollution of the water sources that remain available, posing a serious health risk for the population, workers and all life that exist in those areas. This also puts at risk local food sovereignty, as water availability for growing crops becomes increasingly challenging as well as fishing and drinkable water for livestock. In consequence, it is often women and girls who are forced to walk longer distances to access drinkable water. This in turn no only heavily increases their workload but also puts them at risk of sexual violence and harassment during the walks.

Palm oil plantations are systematically grabbing from communities and forests. Land and water are interdependent and cannot be separated. The water crisis would not exist if the companies had not taken the communities’ land. Their resistance is therefore one: to claim back their territories, with all that belongs to them.

The article discusses Ivory Coast first, then Gabon:

In Gabon, a public-private partnership between agribusiness multinational Olam, and the Gabonese government began setting up industrial plantations in 2012, on land the company received for free from the government. The activities of the company are linked to deforestation and land conflicts on its palm oil, rubber, and timber concessions. A 2020 report from WRM evidenced how the company hides under false claims of ‘zero-deforestation’ while neglecting the rights of communities.

Villages like Mbadi, Sanga, Mboukou, Rembo, and Mounigou were especially hit hard by OLAM’s large-scale industrial plantations. Despite local resistance, the company expanded its oil palm crops up to 200 meters from villagers’ farms—almost fencing in the villages. This expansion is particularly worrisome given the massive use of hazardous pesticides in the plantations. These chemicals spread to the surrounding community lands, thereby contaminating also the smallholder farms. (3)

Already in 2018, an article in the WRM Bulletin alerted on the severe situation of the water around the village of Sanga. (4) The village’s main water source, located about 50 meters from the houses, is polluted due to the advance of the plantations. In response to villagers’ complains, OLAM built a well near the polluted water source, which is fed by the same contaminated groundwater. People use the water from swamps for various livelihood purposes, including drinking, fishing, and sanitation. The expansion of the plantation has resulted in water streams being filled up with soil to enable the cultivation of oil palms; besides hindering local communities’ access to water basins and lakes. Women have been particularly affected, since fishing, an important traditional activity, was particularly impacted by the company altering the flow of the streams and the pollution.

There's then a series of testimonies from locals about the pollution of their rivers and how it's badly affecting the fish. Best exemplified by a member of Mandji village:

“The water here at Lake Mangui is not drinkable at all. They pass the water from OVigui river through a motor pump to a reserve, and from the reserve, they put products to be able to whiten the water so that it can be consumed. But it is not drinkable at all. When you wash with this water, it makes you itchy, you get pimples on the skin, there are some who get diarrhea from drinking this water, some children get sick. Those who do not have the means, have to use this water for drinking and cooking. When people can, they use the water in Ouanza or Keyua. But there is no joy here, the water is not drinkable at all.”

A panda has been born at the Moscow zoo for the first time

I have been tricked by a fake 72 trillion, keep your eyes out, they are silly and in the walls.

India vetoed Algeria BRICS+ entry at France's request: Report

Informed sources that spoke with Algeria's Dzair Tube say French intelligence contacted their Indian counterparts ahead of the BRICS+ summit to urge New Delhi into vetoing Algeria's entry to the bloc, describing the move as “revenge” for Algiers' growing influence in the Sahel region “at the expense” of France and as a way to slow down burgeoning ties between Algeria and China.

Tensions between Paris and Algiers spiked after a military junta ousted the French-backed government in Niger, in the latest example of a growing anti-west movement in the Sahel. Since then, Algeria has opposed an ECOWAS military operation in Niger, emphasized the role of diplomacy in bringing about a peaceful solution to the crisis, and refused permission for French military aircraft to fly over Algerian airspace.

The French plot took shape in the wake of a failed bid by President Emmanuel Macron to attend the summit in South Africa. India saw an opportunity in the request from Paris, as officials were reportedly offered western help to “fill the void” left in former French colonies that have recently risen against neocolonial rule and extend its influence in a vital continent for BRICS+.

While France has maintained close ties with successive Indian governments for decades – being the only European permanent member of the UN Security Council that supported India's nuclearization in 1998 – their relationship has grown closer under Macron, who in 2019 supported India's position at the UN over occupied Kashmir and has sealed multiple defense agreements with the South Asian nation.

...

Nonetheless, India's veto against Algeria led to a dispute with China during the voting process, which reportedly almost caused the “failure of the Johannesburg summit.” Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also opposed Algeria's entry, according to Anadolu Agency.

China sees great potential in the North African country joining BRICS+ due to its massive fuel reserves, minimal national debt, and its strategic location between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. China is also funding the rehabilitation of the strategic Port of El Hamdania, as Algeria remains an essential part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Russia has similarly voiced its support for Algeria's entry to the Global South bloc, which last week formally invited Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Ethiopia to join its ranks.

There's one part of me saying "Well, this is what realpolitik is all about, I'm just too used to countries having total subservience to the United States such that compromises like these are never made," and another part of me saying "The next few decades are going to be Russia and China trying to herd cats to weaken the United States and Modi and Lula and others like them are going to get in the way and we have to hope they can overcome them."

Again, I'm not really celebrating the new nations joining BRICS yet because it's not really clear what that means yet. It could be anything from "Leaders get together for nice photoshoots every year and get a little New Development Bank funding and that's it" to "They're going to form a new global financial system with oil markets and terminally weaken the United States." India and Brazil clearly want the former, Putin and Xi clearly want the latter. BRICS means something different to everybody; like, we see some nations (like Nigeriens in my other recent comment) waving BRICS flags to signal their support for an anti-imperialist challenge to Western hegemony.

Shoigu said: "Here are the missiles we promised, Prigo" as the S-400 missile was fast approaching it's target in the skies above Tver.

The Stealth Bank Bailout

https://nicolasdvillarreal.substack.com/p/the-stealth-bank-bailout

Interesting essay, can anyone with more fluency in ghoul-based finance comment on this? Seems like something Hudson would write. I wonder if he's remarked on this recent phenomena

Like this seems bad, and by bad, I mean very good for bank shareholders. Is this bidenomics?

We really are living in interesting times, huh?