this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2023
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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.


(page 7) 50 comments
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[–] SeventyTwoTrillion@hexbear.net 29 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

Russia’s war economy

Michael Roberts comes along in our time of need to discuss what's going on economically in Russia with a little more rigor than I can do, though he mostly examines what factors are affecting Russia from the outside rather than what's going on inside the government and central bank.

It's worth noting that while he is pro-Global South, he is very much not pro-Russia - at least, not to the same extent that Hudson and Desai and other similar economists are. Nevertheless, he comes to the same conclusion that I and others have:

But the impact of sanctions is slow burn. It may weaken Russian productivity and domestic production over the long term, but it is not going to stop the Russian war machine now and energy revenues to finance it. That could only happen if fast-growing Asia led by China and India refused to buy Russian oil and gas, but the opposite is the case – they are buying more at cheap prices.

Russia’s war machine will continue but as emigration of skilled workers and capital owned by richer Russians accelerates, it is weakening the currency and reducing available skilled labour in production.

Inflation had fallen in the last year due to the collapse in domestic demand and imported goods. But if the currency continues to dive, then it will start to rise, increasing the pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates to support the currency and try to curb inflation. A stronger ruble and higher interest rates would mean lower foreign currency revenues and a weaker domestic economy. That will hit Russian households hard.

As it is, potential average growth is probably no more than 1.5% per year as Russian growth is restricted by an ageing and shrinking population, with low investment and productivity rates. The profitability of Russian productive capital even before the war was very low.

So Russia will not collapse this decade, at least as far as we can see. It'll be mediocre growth and the slow compounding of domestic crises that they'll have to watch out for, but this is no different from any other major economy.

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[–] Awoo@hexbear.net 29 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

1000 comments and it's a boring ass slow news week

[–] SeventyTwoTrillion@hexbear.net 28 points 2 years ago (2 children)

China to scale up wind and solar recycling to tackle environmental impact of decommissioned hardware

China, the world’s largest renewable energy producer, will set up a recycling system for ageing solar panels and wind turbines in an effort to tackle millions of tonnes of equipment slated for retirement in the coming years, according to the state planner.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and five other state agencies on Thursday jointly released guidelines that seek to accelerate the recycling of old wind and solar equipment.

China’s new energy sector, which covers wind, solar, battery and other emerging energy technologies, will face a problem of “mass decommissioning of equipment” as industry upgrades accelerate, the state agencies said.

A set of technical standards and policies will be introduced for the wind and solar industries to recycle their decommissioned equipment and form dedicated industry clusters across the nation by 2030.

Wind and solar manufacturers should design equipment that is lightweight and easy to disassemble and recycle, according to the NDRC’s guidelines. Renewable energy generators will also be responsible for decommissioning end-of-life equipment and will not be allowed to discard or bury the waste in landfill sites, it added.

Genuinely really encouraging. We've gotta get better recycling industries if we're gonna reduce the amount we have to quarry out of the ground so it's nice to see the world's leading renewables manufacturer getting on that ASAP.

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[–] puff@hexbear.net 28 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (4 children)

Western regime media (BBC etc.) are claiming that the Ukrainians have finally broken through the first of three Russian defence lines in the south. Is there any confirmation of this from unbiased sources or is it more cope?

Edit: it was more cope.

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[–] SeventyTwoTrillion@hexbear.net 28 points 2 years ago (1 children)

CW: mentions of suicide, prisons

Suicide Watch Incidents in Louisiana Prisons Spike by Nearly a Third on Extreme Heat Days, a New Study Finds

The number of suicide watch incidents in Louisiana prisons increased by 30 percent on extreme heat days, a recently published study in the JAMA Journal found. Researchers from Emory University analyzed data from 2015 to 2017 to examine how the heat index related to suicide watch incidents in six prisons. At the time, only one had air conditioning.

Scientists classified days into six categories according to their average heat index, and also created an “extreme heat indicator” for those that were hotter than 90 percent of the days. The number of people put under suicide watch increased 36 percent when the heat index was above 90 degrees and 30 percent on the extreme heat days, which in most cases were even hotter.

...

Although there is still no clear explanation for this, some scientists believe it is related to how warm weather negatively affects sleep.

...

Julie Skarha, an epidemiologist from Brown University who co-authored the March study and didn’t participate in the Louisiana research, said the work was “so important because it’s another element of how heat is affecting people’s health.” The study also highlights the fact that people with mental health problems are overrepresented in prisons, which makes them more vulnerable to the heat’s adverse effects on mental health. “Prison is stressful enough, and then you add this layer of heat that people are powerless to escape,” Cloud said.

...

For him, it is “baffling” to see how much money states spend on litigation cycles instead of on implementing the air conditioning that prisons need. “We can all see the problem, we can all feel the problem,” he said. “But why don’t we use our money to do something about it rather than fight?”

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[–] cynesthesia@hexbear.net 28 points 2 years ago (1 children)
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[–] RION@hexbear.net 28 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

ATTENTION:

This post is now in planet-hillary mode. You may planet-hillary every planet-hillary seconds.

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[–] ElChapoDeChapo@hexbear.net 28 points 2 years ago (1 children)
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[–] Redcuban1959@hexbear.net 28 points 2 years ago

Ecuador's own foreign ministry urges the country's electoral authority to rectify the problem which is impeding the ability of Ecuadorians to vote abroad. Polls have closed overseas with widespread reports that voters were denied their right to vote

Damn

[–] Redcuban1959@hexbear.net 28 points 2 years ago

Just like in 2021, it seems that the Correaistas (Left-Wing) will be the largest party in the Ecuadorian National Assembly.

[–] nat_turner_overdrive@hexbear.net 27 points 2 years ago (2 children)

We are ready to exchange Belgorod for NATO membership – Zelenskyy

In response to a question on the possibility of territorial concessions for the sake of Ukraine’s membership in NATO, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was ready to exchange it for the Russian city of Belgorod.

According to Zelenskyy, it is difficult to criticise the Ukrainian counteroffensive when the country’s forces do not have appropriate weapons. According to him, Ukraine will not risk the lives of thousands of defenders in order to advance up to 5-8 kilometres with no powerful weapons.

He noted that while Ukraine was preparing for a counteroffensive, the Russians really dug in, mining the territory and building up their defences, but they have been doing all this since 2014.

michael-laugh

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[–] Alaskaball@hexbear.net 27 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (6 children)

https://archive.is/PURLY

Nonarchived link

Some fresh slop for the "7 days to China collapse" watchers

China is too big for a Soviet Union-style collapse, but it’s on shaky ground. By Larry Elliott

Outside of being insulted on the Soviets behalf, the article boils down to say a collapse of China may actually be a bad thing for the economy. capitalist-laugh

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[–] Redcuban1959@hexbear.net 27 points 2 years ago

Ecuadorian President is Denounced in Villavicencio Murder Case

The Fernando Villavicencio family also blames Interior Minister Juan Zapata, Police Commander Fausto Salinas, and the director of the security operation.

On Friday, the family of the late presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio announced that they will file a complaint against President Guillermo Lasso and other public officials for the assassination of the Ecuadorian politician on August 9.

At press conference, the family's lawyer, Marco Yulema, explained that the assassination of Villavicencio at the hands of hitmen occurred as a result of an "intentional omission" by the authorities.

The Lasso administration did not comply with its responsibility to ensure the life of a presidential candidate who had received threats against him and requested political protection.

"The Ecuadorian State did not fulfill its role as guarantor... They left him abandoned, they let him die," the lawyer said and recounted the breach of various security protocols that occurred at the time of Villavicencio's murder.

Among them, for example, was the total absence of protection on the left side of the vehicle in which the candidate was embarking. For this reason, the hitmen fired without any impediment and at a very short notice against Villavicencio.

The Villavicencio family also blames Interior Minister Juan Zapata, Police Commander Fausto Salinas, and the director of the security operation.

In another press conference, Zapata said that the Villavicencio family has the right to file a complaint. However, he did not refer directly to the failures in the protection protocols.

Instead, the Interior Minister said that the police authorities cannot pronounce themselves until the Internal Affairs Directorate does not conclude an investigation on this case.

[–] SeventyTwoTrillion@hexbear.net 27 points 2 years ago (11 children)

Update for August 18th

Perhaps a few too many articles.

expand

Global


AUKUS, QUAD transforming alliance-like^Bhadrakumar^

Modi is doing Modi things, basically. A little disappointing but most saw this coming.

The BRICS have changed the balance of forces, but they will not by themselves change the World: The Thirty Third Newsletter (2023)^MR^

The entire BRICS project is centred around the question of whether countries at the nether end of the neo-colonial system can break out of that system through mutual trade and cooperation, or whether the larger countries (including those in the BRICS) will inevitably enjoy asymmetries of power and scale against smaller countries and therefore reproduce inequalities rather than transcend them. Our latest dossier, on Marxist dependency theory, calls into question any capitalist project in the South that believes it can somehow break free from the neo-colonial system by importing debt and exporting cheap commodities. Despite the limitations of the BRICS project, it is clear that the increase in South-South trade and the development of Southern institutions (for development financing, for instance) challenges the neo-colonial system even if it does not immediately transcend it. At Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, we have been closely following the developments and contradictions of the BRICS project from its inception and continue to do so.


Europe


Sarkozy on Russia: 'We need them and they need us'^AM^

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy considered that "diplomacy, discussions and talks" are "the only ways" to end the Ukraine war, French media reported.

Sweden raises its terror threat to four out of five after Quran burnings^EN^

Right-wing danger grows as crisis in German left continues^PW^ Germany’s skilled labor shortage worsens^RT^

The results of the poll, released on Wednesday, show that over 43% of respondents reported a deficit of skilled employees in July, up from just over 42% recorded in April. An all-time high of nearly 50% was reached in July 2022.

Netherlands dips into recession after strong COVID rebound^DW^ Netherlands hit with 'mild recession': CBS^AM^

"Mild recession" vs China's "troubled economy" while still growing.

Spain's Socialists candidate speaker wins key vote backed by Catalans^AM^
Spain battles 'out of control' wildfire on Tenerife^AM^

30 years after Yugoslavian socialism, Slovenian unions fight for the workers capitalism has forgotten^RNN^

Romania is EU's largest wheat exporter in July^BNE^

A breakdown of the European Union’s 3.72mn metric tonnes of soft wheat exports in the new marketing year 2023/2024, namely from July 1 to August 13 shows Romania as the biggest EU exporter so far, with 1.04mn tonnes shipped, according to European Commission data.

Poland exported 734,000 tonnes, Bulgaria 685,000 tonnes, France 682,000 tonnes and Germany 414,000 tonnes.

Poland’s GDP falls 1.3% y/y in Q2, flash estimate shows^BNE^

Turkish Cypriot forces assault UN peacekeepers^Euractiv^

Turkish Cypriot forces assaulted UN peacekeepers Friday (18 August) as they attempted to block the construction of a controversial road in the buffer zone dividing Cyprus, the UN mission on the island said.


Western Asia


1,000 Palestinian prisoners go on hunger strike in IOF prisons^AM^
Reviving hegemony: Israel's land-and-rail proposal to the Persian Gulf^TC^
Washington approves largest-ever Israeli arms deal^TC^

The US has given Israel approval to sell the Arrow 3 missile defense system to Germany in a deal worth $3.5 billion, making it Tel Aviv's largest-ever weapons sale.

Presidents of Russia and Iran Discuss BRICS Membership^TS^
Russia hosts first-ever meeting of Iran, Saudi defense officials^TC^
Saudi Arabia welcomes ‘new phase’ in ties with Iran^TC^
Iranian FM says ties with Saudi Arabia "moving in right direction"^PD^
Saudi Arabia’s oil exports fall to 21-month low^RT^
Saudi Arabia and UAE race to buy computer chips^FT^
Saudi Arabia inks $1.33bn worth of housing, infrastructure deals with China^TC^

US occupation loots tons of Syrian oil, smuggles them into Iraq^AM^


Central Asia


Russia’s war economy^MichaelRoberts^

Putin hints at plans for high-speed rail to Donbass^RT^

The new transport route would link the cities of Donetsk and Lugansk to Moscow and the Black Sea resort of Sochi, the Russian president has said

Former Mercedes plant near Moscow to resume production – deputy PM ^RT^

Russian auto dealer Avtodom could launch production at a former Mercedes-Benz plant in Moscow Region with new partners next year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, who serves as trade and industry minister, announced this week.

Belarusian president says to work with China in promoting world peace^CGTN^
China’s defence chief Li Shangfu mounts Belarus military ties mission on trip to Russian ally^SCMP^

Kyrgyzstan: President pushes back on US accusations of sanctions-busting behavior^EN^

In an August 8 letter sent under the aegis of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat and the committee’s chairman, called on Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov to address allegations of sanctions-busting activity that assists “Russia, or its proxies.” Menendez also called out Japarov’s administration over authoritarian practices.

...

Japarov obliged indirectly, releasing a statement to the Kabar news agency disavowing any official role in facilitating trade with Russia that violated sanctions. He claimed Russia did not need Kyrgyzstan to act as a middleman for Chinese trade. Citing the fact that Russia and China share thousands of miles of common frontier, Japarov said that “if Russia wants, she can import any goods she desires by rail or via barges.”


Eastern Asia and Oceania


Xi Jinping urges speed in China’s rush to recover from devastating floods^SCMP^

Xi said food security must be ensured and insurance payments speeded up, and he urged officials to make good use of disaster relief funding in the wake of Typhoon Doksuri, which swept through large parts of China earlier in August. Close to 4 million people were affected by the consequent floods, which caused more than 30 deaths in northern China. Dozens of people are still missing.

China's outbound direct investment grows steadily in first seven months of 2023^CGTN^
China: Evergrande files for bankruptcy protection in US^DW^
China’s biggest banks offloading dollars – Reuters^RT^

An unnamed Shanghai-based trader told the news outlet that the action is not uncommon. Banks in China largely trade for their own purposes or on orders from clients. However, they are also known to do it upon request from the country’s central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), when it needs additional support for the domestic currency.

Nooooo! That's cheating! That's not very Wholesome 100 free market of you!!!

China demands US lift tariffs on steel, aluminum after WTO ruling^AM^
Taiwan may be in breach of WTO rules: Beijing^ANN^

A preliminary investigation has found that the Taiwan region’s restrictions on products from the Chinese mainland are suspected of violating rules set by the World Trade Organization, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

Nepal says it never allows anti-China activities on its territory^CGTN^
China to help Sri Lanka address challenges of financial debt: Wang Yi^CGTN^
Sri Lankan president emphasizes importance of learning Chinese^PD^ Over 50,000 families affected by dry weather in Sri Lanka^PD^

The DMC said there are over 180,000 people belonging to these families affected by the dry weather in terms of scarcity of drinking water. According to it, the northern and eastern provinces are the hardest hit by the dry weather.

Hopes up for positive real growth in Japan in fiscal 2023^ANN^

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