Following Armenian's right now is super depressing.

It will never happen, but I would love, for just one time during one of these GOP-led government shutdowns, for a Dem president to say, "Congress may control the purse, but I write the checks." Are you a multinational agricultural business that has been donating to the GOP? Well, you aren't getting your subsidies or tax refunds until the shutdown is over. Does your business in Florida rely on inspectors OKing goods at the Port of Miami so that you import/export? Tough shit, all of the ports in red states are being shut down because I'm not signing the checks to run them until the shutdown is over. Blue states will run normally, Dem donating business will get their refunds and subsidies, all the rest of you can go talk to your bank about bridge loans.

It's not even about the Dems, I just want to see someone actually fight these GOP freaks.

Army Corps of Engineers to barge 36 million gallons of freshwater a day as saltwater intrusion threatens New Orleans-area drinking water

The move comes as water levels are plummeting for the second consecutive year after this summer’s blistering heat and low rainfall triggered extreme drought over parts of the central US.

As water levels drop, the threat of saltwater intrusion grows in Louisiana as ocean water pushes north into drinking water systems, unimpeded by the Mississippi’s normally mighty flow rate.

The Mississippi River is forecast to reach “historic lows over the next several weeks,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said during a Friday news conference.

To help mitigate intrusion, the state and the Army Corps of Engineers are working to add 25 feet of height to a 1,500-foot-wide underwater levee in the Mississippi River, which was constructed in July to slow the saltwater’s progression, Army Col. Cullen Jones said.

Born too soon to die in the climate wars, born too late to enjoy a consistent normal climate throughout my life.

Peru Declares Emergency in Three Districts to Fight Crime

The decision follows the attack perpetrated last Friday night by unknown persons with an explosive device in a discotheque in the district of San Juan de Lurigancho.

The President of Peru Dina Boluarte announced on Monday the government's decision to declare a state of emergency in three of the country's districts in the face of high crime rate.

The measure is applied in two districts in the capital Lima, namely San Juan de Lurigancho and San Martín de Porres and in the Piura locality of Sullana, Boluarte said on state television TV Peru.

According to the president's declarations, the National Police with the support of the Armed Forces will intervene in the fight against delinquency and organized crime "within the legal framework that both institutions have."

Boluarte is currently in New York attending the 78th regular session of the United Nations General Assembly. She virtually attended the session of the Council of Ministers in Lima, where the Prime Minister, Alberto Otarola, confirmed the decision.

According to Otárola in statements to the press, the measure will allow "the control of internal order by the National Police with the strategic support and critical assets in charge of the Armed Forces."

The president of the Council of Ministers said that "an immediate and emergency presence of the forces of law and order is necessary in these localities, we are talking about San Juan de Lurigancho, San Martín de Porres (in Lima) and Sullana in Piura."

The measure will be made official in the next hours with a supreme decree that will give the green light for the police to enter social gatherings where there are suspects of criminal acts in order to give "forceful blows" to crime.

The decision follows the attack perpetrated last Friday night by unknown persons with an explosive device in a discotheque in the district of San Juan de Lurigancho. The attack, which left ten people injured, has been attributed to a group dedicated to extortion.

As of 01:00 Moscow time, heavy fighting continues in Artsakh along the entire line of contact. Baku has brought significant ground forces into the battle and is trying to advance in the direction of key cities. Azerbaijani artillery continues to hit Stepanakert.

The Kashen field came under the control of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. There are also reports about the loss of control of the Artsakh Defense Army over Martakert. The information is being verified.

Meanwhile, a rally continues in Yerevan near the Russian Embassy.

The head of the “Mother Armenia” bloc Tevanyan called on political forces to begin the resignation of Pashinyan by impeaching him

Treasury Buyback Plan Will Boost Market Resilience, US Debt Official Says

https://archive.ph/Qm64a

Does this mean they are buying T bonds back at market or face value? If the latter, this is effectively a bailout right? It's free money lol. Can't let the banks be sad.

Why the West’s attacks on China’s Belt and Road Initiative are futile.

Look at the article cartoon, lmao. Real energy:

...

China was not the first country to put forward the concept of infrastructure connectivity. In 1993, the EU linked up with newly independent countries across the Caucasus and Central Asia to create the Transport Corridor Europe Caucasus Asia. The Asian Development Bank also has the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Programme to foster connectivity between China and its Eurasian neighbours.

Going back further, the idea of an “Iron Silk Road” was first posited in the 1960s through the United Nations to create a rail link from Singapore to Turkey.

But it is the Belt and Road Initiative that is animating things now, largely because of the vast sums of money involved and the grand concepts put forward by China. It is also because the initiative is interpreted as a keynote Chinese offering at a time of geopolitical conflict with the West. And it continues to find receptive audiences in the developing world.

As a result, Western leaders are eager to suggest alternatives, seeking to defeat or stymie the Chinese vision in some way.

...

The key point is that fundamental needs are getting lost in the rush to conjure up new corridors and advance fresh visions. The reality is that many of these routes will not offer anything very different from what is already there. And, in many cases, the commercial viability may still be problematic compared with existing routes.

For example, seaborne transport costs remain a fraction of overland prices in most cases, suggesting that this endless stream of proposed routes across the Eurasian heartland still has some way to go before being able to effectively compete against the sea lanes they seek to displace.

And while each leader likes to have his or her own vision, the truth is that few will remain in power long enough to deliver it through to profitability. This is not to say that everything is a failure, but rather to highlight that real connectivity takes decades to deliver success and so the current metrics are unrealistic in terms of showing us what is really going on.

...

All the negative attention on the Belt and Road Initiative has failed to dent its popularity around the world. Continuing to offer new ideas is a waste of time when most recipient countries would like all projects – whether Chinese or some other – to proceed.

The belt and road’s problems will be exposed through its natural deficiencies. Rather than talking it down, the West should focus on simply delivering infrastructure and investment where it can, and where it is most needed. Continuing with the negative sentiment will only backfire.

New language just dropped? ~~Sorry if this is the wrong place to post I just thought it was cool news~~

https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/news-and-events/news/detail/news/new-indo-european-language-discovered/

I haven't seen any news headline about this yet, but a big labour lady here in Portugal made a blog post that in the federal congress of the DGB (German Trade Union Confederation) 11k union reps voted on a motion titled "Lower the weapons! Raise the wages!", specifically calling for a stop to arms shipments to ukraine and for solidarity with both russian and ukranian deserters