On Tuesday and Wednesday, this year's NATO summit will take place in Vilnius, Lithuania, in a grand meeting of some of the most awful ghouls currently populating the planet

Despite strong efforts and words from Ukraine, membership is still very unlikely to be forthcoming and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Sweden might not get membership for a while either, as Erdogan continues to play both sides off each other, but who can truly say.

All of this is in the wake of Biden announcing the delivery of cluster bombs to Ukraine, as he admits that they are running out of other munitions to send, ensuring that Ukraine, its people, and its children - the ones that remain, anyway - will continue to suffer for many, many generations to come. Cluster bombs have, I believe, already been used in the conflict, but now will presumably be used at a higher rate. The leader of Cambodia, a country that is a major victim of US cluster bombing, has said:

"It will be the worst danger for the Ukrainians for decades or even centuries if those cluster bombs are used," Hun Sen said.

"I know for sure that Cambodia is small and weak, and our voice is weightless, but with our pity towards the people of Ukraine, I call on the U.S. president, the provider, and the Ukrainian president, the recipient, not to use cluster bombs in this war because the real victims will be civilians, especially the Ukrainian ones," he said.

What a perfect exemplification of the conflict as a whole. Millions of Ukrainians will be thrown into the inferno, entirely disposable in the eyes of the West, so long as we burn some Russians in the fire.

The suffering is the point.

Here is the map of the Ukraine conflict, courtesy of Wikipedia.

Here is the archive of important pieces of analysis from throughout the war that we've collected.

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

Want to contribute?

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Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists

Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Add to the above list if you can, thank you.

Resources For Understanding The War Beyond The Bulletins

Defense Politics Asia's youtube channel and their map. I recommend their map more than the channel at this point, as an increasing subscriber count has greatly diminished their quality.

Moon of Alabama, which tends to have decent analysis. Avoid the comment section.

Understanding War and the Saker: neo-conservative sources but their reporting of the war (so far) seems to line up with reality better than most liberal sources. Beware of chuddery.

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 journalist reporting in the warzone.

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 still quite reactionary in terms of gender and sexuality and race, so beware). 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 ~ Another 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's army.

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.

  • SeventyTwoTrillion [he/him]M
    ·
    1 year ago

    Update for July 12th

    Takeaways:

    • The IEA is feeling pretty good about the green energy transition with all these minerals soon to come out of the ground, if investments are anything to go by. The EU's trying to make better batteries, and Indonesia also wants more lithium from Australia for electric vehicles. But the deep-sea mining controversy continues, with tuna enthusiasts unhappy about the potential economic and environmental damage.
    • Business closures are up in France and Slovakia's emissions are falling by bigger percentages than previous recessions due to industry decaying from high energy prices. Italy's getting some LNG from Algeria.
    • The Russian GDP growth estimate is at 5.4%. I'd be surprised if it's that high unless the neoliberals get got though. Lula's also struggling with his own Central Bank guys. China and Russia still seem to be best of friends despite speculation - mostly hopium - that Xi might finally ditch ol' Putler after the Wagner mutiny. Speaking of, Putin's spoke with Wagner commanders in a three hour(!) meeting, which will hopefully be the epilogue of the saga. My god, I do not want to hear from Prigozhin ever again.
    • Chinese scientists have launched the first methane-powered rocket, beating Elon to the punch. The Solomon Islands are also boosting ties with China, while Japan and NATO hold talks and India buys French equipment with Modi soon to head to celebrate Bastille Day with Macron. Heat stress across Asia is only getting worse.
    • Turns out a solid 40% of the US attack submarine fleet is out of action right now. One would hope they could deal with water better than the F-35 can, but perhaps not. The US has also finished destroying its declared chemical weapon stocks, but I assume they have plenty more in the undeclared column.
    expand

    Globally

    The International Energy Agency has said that minerals investment to the tune of $41 billion last year has brightened the future of the energy transition necessary to meet climate pledges by 2030, provided all projects go as planned.CCN

    Erdogan has said that he will allow Sweden to join NATO in exchange for Turkey being let into the EU, leaving Hungary as the last country standing between Sweden joining the infamous terrorist organization. Erdogan and Europe deserve each other tbh.MP

    Europe

    The EU has adopted a law designed to boost the bloc's battery production industry by trying to make higher quality batteries than China, rather than trying to make them cheaper.Euractiv

    The heatwave last year killed 61,000 people, and Europe experienced its second-worst ever wildfire season.AM

    United Kingdom: The trans youth charity, Mermaids, has had its legal appeal against the LGB Alliance - an alliance whose real purpose is to denigrate trans people and to destroy organizations that support them - dismissed on technical grounds.OD

    France: The number of business closures is up to over 13,000 in Q2 2023, compared to 10,000 in Q2 2022, as bankruptcies surge to their highest level since 2016. At least 55,000 jobs are at risk.Euractiv

    Germany: Agricultural business wants to deepen ties with China, and hopes that China will resume imports of German pork, banned in 2020 due to African swine fever.SCMP

    Finland: The circus shitshow in Finland continues as right-wing politicians in the new government have their gamer moments exposed, for which they refuse to apologize.Euractiv Also check out the post in the megathread about this.@super_mario_69

    Italy: The first LNG cargo, of 3.1 billion cubic feet, has been delivered from Algeria to Italy, and ENI is also hoping to increase oil production in the country.AM

    Romania: The age of sexual consent has been raised from 14 to 16, and the offence of sexual corruption of a minor was extended to any form of messaging with the intention of inciting individuals under the age of 16 to engage in sexual acts; Romanian libertarians probably seething.Euractiv

    Slovakia: Oh, okay Putinbros, you think that cutting off our source of cheap energy was a bad thing, but have you considered that factory emissions have been brought down by 20% in Slovakia because of all the industries shutting down? We're saving the environment while you worship a dictator.Euractiv

    Slovenia: Coalition parties have removed a health digitalisation and reform bill from the agenda after heavy criticism. It would require all public healthcare providers to put all medical data into a single IT system managed by a state-owned limited liability company. This comes days after the Health Minister was asked to step down.Euractiv

    Western Asia

    Saudi Arabia: The ~$650 billion Public Investment Fund has lost $11 billion in 2022 after splurging on US stocks and tech investments.MEE

    Yemen: The UN Special Envoy for Yemen has urged the warring parties to make a serious breakthrough, noting that the period of relative calm is an opportunity to do so.TeleSUR

    Iraq: The government and TotalEnergies have signed a $10 billion deal to increase the nation's electricity supply by recovering flaring gas and using solar energy.AM

    Iraq is to begin paying for Iranian gas with crude oil, to avoid falling foul of US sanctions.MEE

    Central Asia

    Russia: The growth estimate of the GDP has increased to 5.4% year-on-year from 3.4% year-on-year in April.BNE

    Afghanistan: Elon Musk has received the key endorsement of the Taliban of his free speech approach to Twitter.EN

    A former CIA official - apologies, a CIA official has said that the US should have an official presence in Afghanistan and engage with the Taliban leadership, and to try and have conversations about fighting terrorism and Islamic State. My brother in christ, they could fight Islamic State by revoking their funding.MEE

    Uzbekistan: The China Southern Power Grid plans to build three hydropower plants worth a total of $164 billion, which would boost annual electricity generation by 3 billion kWh, enough for 1.6 million people.BNE

    Eastern Asia and Oceania

    China: Scientists launched the world's first methane-powered rocket - the Zhuque-2 - from the Gobi Desert.SCMP

    Heatwaves are scorching the country and will continue to do so until the end of the month, with temperatures reaching 35 degrees, or even 40 degrees Celsius in some area.GT

    Xi has called for stronger China-Russian cooperation after meeting with the visiting Russian Federation Council Speaker, Matviyenko, after much speculation by body language experts and phrenologists about whether Xi's choice of tie color and slight tilt of his chin indicates whether he is about to denounce Putler and leave Russia in the dust. After a short period of depression, they will likely continue their theorycrafting in the very near future after noticing that Xi's handshake with a Russian official exerted 0.74% less force than past handshakes. ANN

    Japan: NATO and Japan are formulating an agreement to strengthen co-operation, in the fields of disinformation (of the Russian and Chinese variety, of course), cyberspace, and advanced technology.ANN

    India: The military is likely to buy fighter aircraft and submarines from France while Modi visits Macron this week, the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade.ANN

    Cambodia: David Hutt at SCMP complements Cambodia for being a stable friend to China while others are less so. I think he exaggerates how unstable Russia and Iran are, and gives the impression that China has fewer allies than it actually has, but the general idea of "Dang, these countries are often relatively vulnerable to coups, often sponsored by the US" is well-taken.SCMP

    Bangladesh: Exhaustion and heat stress is piling on pressure for workers, with load-shedding for up to 10 hours at a time making meaningful work almost impossible and impacting labor productivity and supply across the region:^Rest of World^

    Five hours from Dhaka, in Chattogram, known for its balmy summers with frequent spells of rain, 27-year-old BPO worker Naima Shirmen said the heat has felt like “living hell” this year. “I’ve never seen heat as bad as this in my whole life. I get headaches everyday. I feel sick. I’m not able to sleep at night properly,” she told Rest of World. “And as you know, if you can’t sleep properly, you can’t do work.” Shirmen provides remote marketing support for foreign clients of BPOs in Dhaka.

    Indonesia: The government wants to get an additional 60,000 tonnes of lithium per year from Australia to build an electric vehicle industry, a mineral it lacks - unlike nickel, of which it has the world's largest reserves.ANN

    Australia: Six coronavirus respiratory clinics in Melbourne are being closed due to a lack of government funding, while the remaining 17 are also expected to close in the short to medium term.WSWS

    • yastreb
      ·
      1 year ago

      deleted by creator

    • SeventyTwoTrillion [he/him]M
      ·
      1 year ago
      expand

      Solomon Islands: The country has established a comprehensive strategic partnership with China, and additionally a new deal on police co-operation,ANN and an embassy in Beijing,GT

      Africa

      Angola and the DRC have announced a joint project to rehabilitate the railway linking the Congolese mining regions to the Atlantic, after previously granting investors a 30-year concession to operate the line linking Lobito in Angola to Kolwezi in the DRC.AN

      Libya: 38 human traffickers have been jailed over the deaths of migrants heading to Europe, with five receiving life sentences.EN

      Nigeria: Ride-hailing drivers are at risk of losing their livelihoods as the price of fuel triples as the government ends the fuel subsidy to try and relieve its $110 billion debt burden:^Rest of World^

      “I almost cried that day,” Ayodeji told Rest of World. “Was 100 naira [13 cents] all I deserved to earn after driving for several hours on three trips? What could that money do for me? When did being a Bolt driver become a crime?”

      Kenya: Iranian President Raisi has arrived in Nairobi for a three-day African tour, the first visit to the continent by an Iranian leader in 11 years. He'll go to Uganda and Zimbabwe also.AN

      North America

      United States: The Red Clarion discusses the end of Affirmative Action:RC

      While the Supreme Court tries to disguise its decision as a blow against discrimination, it is really another powerful legal shove designed to protect white supremacy. It also puts the reality of much of US “anti-discrimination” law under the spotlight, revealing it for what it is: a mechanism for rationalizing anti-Black racism.

      About 40% of US attack submarines are in repair - or 18 out of 49 - which is double what the Navy estimated.AM

      The US has completed its liquidation of its declared chemical weapons stocks, making it the last country to do so under the schedule established by the Chemical Weapon Convention, which was signed in 1997.AM

      Major US banks like Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are funding ultraconservative anti-LGBT+ groups.OD

      Confidence in US banks has fallen from 60% in 1979 to 33% in 2021, and 26% today.WSoP

      Canada: The longest active strike in the country is ongoing, the result of the owners of a Vancouver hotel firing 140 workers after taking money from government programs.Jacobin

      Latin America

      Mexico: AMLO is debating an import tax on Chinese shoes, as he wants to protect local production but also wants footwear to be affordable.SCMP

      Brazil: Lula has urged the Central Bank to cut interest rates, which currently stand at 13.75%, as the inflation rate falls from about 4% to about 3%.^TeleSUR

      Ecuador: Ecuadorians are to vote on whether the large oil reserves in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon will be exploited or left in the ground, the first referendum of its kind in the country.CCN

      Uruguay: The freshwater reserve for Montevideo has been increasing and hopefully will continue to do so as the country suffers its worst drought in 70 years.TeleSUR The Uruguayan president actually accepted Argentina's help apparently, but said that the aid on offer was insignificant - and to be fair, it basically is - and is also rather peeved about the comments of an Argentinian ambassador.MP

      Paraguay: The incoming president Pena has confirmed that his adminstration will maintain close ties to Taiwan under his five-year term - the last remaining diplomatic ally of Taiwan in South America - and has gone to Taiwan to meet President Tsai Ing-wen.AM

      The War Against The West

      The Western Front: Russian Defense Minister Shoigu has said that Ukraine has received 26,000 casualties in the last month since the counteroffensive began, and lost 3000 pieces of equipment and vehicles, including 17 Leopards, 12 Bradleys, and 27 Storm Shadow missiles.TeleSUR

      German President Steinmeier has backed Biden's decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine, saying, hilariously:WSWS

      He told broadcaster ZDF that the official position of the German government to speak out against these internationally outlawed weapons was still correct, only to add, “But it cannot stand in the way of the USA in the current situation.”

      Ukrainian journalists are having their accreditation privileges withheld if they produce coverage that isn't in the national interests of the Ukrainian government, or if the government believes that they are being disloyal. One journalists, Skyba, was accused of holding a Russian passport and was told he'd need to submit to a lie-detector test to continue reporting on the conflict, and Trudeau had to directly intervene to get his accreditation back. Additionally, a NYT reporter has had his press credentials revoked for reporting on Ukraine's use of cluster bombs, as well as reporters from NBC and CNN.CL

      Responsible Statecraft calls out the United States' "rules-based order" after a recent meeting about the Iran deal, in which the US, UK, and France argued that Iran supplying drones to Russia was a violation of the JCPOA which impacts Ukraine directly, giving it the right to be present, while Russia and Iran countered that it would be political and inappropriate to do so.

      Retrospectives, Analysis, History, Theory, and Technology

      Radhika Desai, Michael Hudson, and Ann Pettifor discuss the international financial system and necolonialism.GPE

      Climate Change

      The seafood industry and marine conservation groups are calling for a pause in deep-sea mining, after research showed that it could cause tuna populations to plummit.ICN

      I Love My Trans Comrades!