news

https://www.middleeasteye.net/explainers/israel-war-lebanon-what-arms-hezbollah-have

A detail-light breakdown of the main equipment being used right now (drones, rockets, short and medium range missiles, and ballistic missiles). When thinking about the ranges, keep in mind the current depth Hezbollah seems to be attacking is roughly up to 80 km from the border, and “israeli” censorship begins at Haifa, roughly 80 km from the border. This depth is Hezbollah’s escalation ladder. Incredibly, they also seem to have found a Western military professor with eyes, who comments “…the Hezbollah threat [is] one that Israel cannot destroy militarily.”

https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/three-carriers-simultaneously-china

A description of PLAN deployments in its own waters. The ocean surface isn’t the only thing getting hotter in the East Pacific. For those who don’t like ship details, it’s worth noting that Kuznetsov class carriers are really missile cruisers with a flight deck. The titular Russian vessel has anti-air, anti-missile, and anti-submarine defenses as well as 12 anti-ship cruise missiles and 24 8-missile Kinzhal batteries. The USamerican Nimitz class super carrier (which admittedly has a larger flight deck) has anti-air and anti-missile batteries, and no offensive armaments. Presumably, the Chinese have their own missile systems. There is one US carrier group asea in the Pacific, and i think it’s leaving through the Straits of Malacca. Always a good time to drill and train your ships when the enemy isn’t there.

https://www.labornotes.org/2024/09/strike-threat-wins-boarding-and-retro-pay-american-airlines

A little positive news about successful labor action. Every time i’ve been to LAX since 2021 or so, there has been a billboard about labor action on Howard Hughes (the main drag that we must sit in traffic before entering the airport where we sit in traffic). Covid kind of ravaged them, but there seems to be more and more airline related labor action. While the pilots, flight attendants, and transit workers are not necessarily radical unions, every win for labor lets the snowball roll forward. The reputation shift of unions is not because of messaging, it’s because of results. Good to get in the last hits before Trump or Harris guts the NLRB (which is doing pretty good under this admin, exceptionally critical support with an eye to past betrayals).

https://gordonhahn.com/2024/09/22/a-river-runs-through-the-end-of-the-nato-russia-ukrainian-war/

An article discussing the future significance of the Dnieper as a defensive line in the SMO. The naked capitalism discussion linked is a good one, about how much of Ukraine is flat and so its water systems are based on pumps and dams. This means that to achieve one of its war aims (fresh water access to Crimea), Russia will need to ensure Kiev does not dump raw sewage upstream. The least desirable option there is having Ukraine (or whatever) control Kiev, and Russia has to rebuild infrastructure. Actually taking Kiev is its own can of worms. The most effective and somewhat heartless option is the Russians continue to focus on power infrastructure. This is necessary for heating and water, especially as we enter northern hemisphere Autumn. Without power, the population density that can be supported is very low. This will cause refugee flows west, but i have also seen estimates that Ukraine has already lost half of its pre-war population. War is tragic.

https://splash247.com/91-hours-left-to-avert-supply-chain-mayhem-in-the-us/

An article about an imminent (October 1st) strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association. This sounds really cool, and the US Chamber of Commerce seems very concerned. Keep in mind the ILA has pledged that cruise ships and military deliveries will not be affected by the strike. If this does happen, expect oil and gas to go nuts. The biggest hubs for oil and gas are on the Gulf Coast, and the majority of Liquid Natural Gas terminals and capacity are also there. If the US cannot export natural gas to Europe, then the EU might be forced to reach the negotiating table before NATO (more realistically they further set their economies on fire voluntarily).

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/chinese-and-russian-firms-among-first-foreign-investors-indonesias-new-capital-nusantara-building-projects-4639486

An article about BRICS+ investment in the construction of Nusantara. For those unaware, Indonesia has been looking to replace Jakarta as the capital for decades, and the plan has been moving forward now that part of the city is below sea level. In theory, this will be an opportunity to correct for the poor sanitation, overcrowding, bad traffic, lack of green spaces, flooding, and depleted ground water of the much older and organically developed Jakarta. The new capital is being built on the east coast of Borneo. Hopefully, basic infrastructure gets more money than hotels and luxury secondary schools, though i do understand that the latter things make for better news articles.

The country's former president gave the government, led by Luis Arce, a 24-hour deadline to resolve the country's fuel supply problem. He also said that if Arce wants to continue governing, he must “sack the narco ministers”.

The Bolivian government said that the deadline given was “impossible to meet”, and that Evo Morales was threatening the democratic order in the country, denouncing an attempted “coup d'état” to the world. Nationwide blockades are scheduled for September 30 if no agreement is reached.

Israeli strikes hit civilian areas as usual, Sidon, Lebanon

https://files.catbox.moe/51ft2f.MP4

From Al Mayadeen:

19:49 - The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon says it targeted the Zovulon military base with barrages of rockets

21:32 - Israeli media platform: A single missile was launched from Lebanon, and it appears to be a ballistic one

21:33 - Israeli Army Radio: A surface-to-surface ballistic missile was launched from Lebanon toward Haifa

21:33 - Israeli Army Radio: More than one million Israelis are rushing to shelters following Hezbollah's rocket fire on Haifa and the northern region

From Quds News Network: According to Israeli media reports, more than a million settlers rushed to shelters after Hezbollah fired a rocket at Haifa and northern Israel.

John and Matt got a new episode of Radio War Nerd up talking about Nasrallah about an hour ago. Jus tstarrting it right now.

Tepid take: it's actually good that the US has put sanctions and export controls on China because it creates a lot of pressure to innovate

Helene chomp chomp Florida beaches.

Rockets over Shefa Amr

https://files.catbox.moe/5yuxsq.mp4

Fed accounts have switched to "there will be no statement from Hezbollah about Nasrallah today"

I think he's alive. The story is getting shifty.

View of missiles from Haifa

https://files.catbox.moe/z074pi.mp4

Sky over Acre

https://files.catbox.moe/bki8t5.mp4

https://www.kitklarenberg.com/p/british-intels-counter-disinfo-war

A article about how parts of the British intelligence community are seen as experts in mis- and dis-information, and how they are now exporting their experience. There is some detail about intelligence interacting with social media. The discussion is rooted in a leaked slideshow from an intelligence meeting in 2021. The exact way the author talks about the Biden admin’s Covid “censorship push” sets off my personal crank alarm, but the analysis of the leaked slideshow is not affected by this. Saying ‘counter-disinformation’ instead of propaganda might be a rehash of changing the ‘department of war’ to ‘defense’. Sir Kid Starver and many of his Red Tory compatriots are actual, factual MI6 assets. Czechoslovakian Internal Ministry documents from the Cold War had a whole file on the then-Mr. Starver. It’s also known that the British are more gung-ho about Ukraine than the US, and also that the Ukraine project was CIA before it was NATO. You can almost see the shades of our future where a need for internal security and countering Russian influence can only be entrusted to apolitical, non-partisan intelligence experts. See also the USAF intelligence general sending out an email requiring all federal and state candidates to agree to uphold election integrity as decided by the intelligence community.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/japan-says-it-received-no-advance-notice-of-chinas-intercontinental-ballistic-missile-launch/3340804

A short article about Japan rattling sabers over the PLA testing an ICBM. The article is from the Anadolu Agency, a news site from Türkiye with a logo that looks exactly like American Airlines. It’s Turkish bourgeois media, but Türkiye is trying to join BRICS+, so we might see reporting contrary to Western spin. Even if China informed every possible party and followed international law, the more important fact is that Japan is rapidly rearming under US encouragement (and, i believe, some popular discontent with militarizing). Every statement made now is building up a raft of ‘provocations’ and ‘lines crossed’ and ‘aggression’ for whenever the USA decides it wants a war in East Asia. See also the Philippines ‘accidentally’ having Typhoon missiles left in their country after exercises with the USA.

Mexico BFTO Spain's king from Claudia's inaguration for not acknowledging their colonial oppressive past.

[CW:Gore/DEATH] Alleged aftermath of battle between the KDNF and Junta in Myanmar. Junta deaths.

https://tankie.tube/w/3RL6iiScBRuVeYVJcFXCNM

These dudes are listed as allies to some of the communist factions. I know nothing about them at all, nor anything about the communist factions tbh fog of war and reliable information is a fucking mess.

Stolen from @ThomasMuentzner@hexbear.net