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 14th

    Oh my fucking god, this one is long. Genuinely tired me out.

    Takeaways:

    • El Nino and just various climate fuckery is not establishing great conditions for growing wheat, rice, and other food crops. Russia's just about the only big country producing more grain this year and the West's sanctions is trying to depress international transport of it. Also, India is already having a bad monsoon season (in the rainy way, not the droughty way), and also Taiwan's Foxconn has cancelled their chip plant thing while Modi's in France celebrating Bastille Day, presumably on the side of the Bastille.
    • The EU's bootlicking saga continues as the UK says "whoopsie doopsie, we let China into our economic sectors because it was profitable and now we have to pretend that Xi Jinping personally bribed our officials and is a very very evil man" and Germany, in a recession + inflation combo, decides that the hole they're in must be dug yet deeper by going ahead with their China de-risking dipshittery. They're also attacking Cuba like good dogs.
    • Now we know why Erdogan felt so safe to figuratively flip the double bird at Putin these past couple weeks - he's now Russia's second largest supplier of goods, coming out ahead of Belarus. As for the question about Wagner, Putin says that they both exist and don't exist - which I'm assuming is a deeply philosophical point about whether reality truly exists or not. Putin is also suggesting that he might not refresh the grain deal, but he definitely will because he does it every time. In all, Putin descends to virgin cuck territory.
    • Sudan continued to be fucked. Raisi's trip to Africa has been... mixed, with him joining Zimbabwe's leader in calling on all sanctioned nations to band together against the oppressors, and him also joining Uganda's leader calling out homosexuality.
    • Republicans came out in much larger numbers against the cluster bomb shipments to Ukraine than Democrats in the House vote, in yet another stunning victory for harm reduction advocates. Obviously the Republicans are just opportunists who are no less bloodthirsty than the Democrats, but even so: a big L in a series of big Ls lately for the Dems.
    expand

    Globally

    The UN says that HIV can be eradicated by 2030, noting that despite the lack of a full cure, treatments have improved sufficiently such that financing and development in afflicted countries are the main roadblocks and not the science. However, increasingly homophobic and xenophobic policies in some countries will make this target much more difficult to achieve.TS

    Global debt hit a record $92 trillion in 2022, with 59 developing countries facing a debt-to-GDP ratio above 60%.AM

    Europe

    A columnist at EuroNews suggests that Europe has to embrace mining on its own turf - rather than relying on developing nations - in order to meet the goals of the green transition, with it needing "as much copper over the next two decades as we have taken from the Earth since the beginning of civilization", as well as vast amounts of lithium, silver, aluminium, iron, and nickel.EN

    A Koch-linked pressure group - which hasn't been registered as a lobbying group - has called on Europe to stop with their climate ambitions, refine more oil, and presumably kick more puppies.DeSmog

    United Kingdom: The River Wye is being pushed to ecological collapse after lobbying by farmers resulted in regulations on manure dumping not being enforced.OD UK Junior doctors have begun a 5 day strike over better wages.TS The workers at Royal Mail have greeted and expressed solidarity with the UPS Workers Rank-and-File Committee in the United States.WSWS A report by a UK parliament committee has said that China is involved in all British economic sectors, particularly industrial and civil nuclear energy assets, and that they have infiltrated academia to ensure that its "international narrative" is advanced and criticism suppressed.AM Mortgage rates in the UK have hit their highest level since 2008.RT

    Germany: The number of insolvencies in Germany has risen by 14% year-on-year last month.TS Germany's "China Strategy" has arrived, which contains measures less harsh than hardliners wanted but is still going to harm trade with China, as Germany continues to experience a simultaneous recession and inflationary crisis, with business morale plummeting and exports falling.NC Germany's hydrogen ambitions are increasing, with plans to construct 11,200 kilometers of hydrogen pipelines, consisting largely of repurposed natural gas pipelines. The government doesn't want to fund it and so is hoping for private sector development.Euractiv 44% of the over 1 million Ukrainian refugees in the country would like to stay.Euractiv

    France: Drought is threatening this year's grain harvest in France, the largest wheat exporter in the EU. It joins the US, Canada, and Ukraine, which together account for a large minority of the global wheat supply, in experiencing significant production declines.BNE

    Spain: A heatwave has struck the country, with temperatures as high as 40-45 degrees Celsius n certain places.TS

    Italy: The government plans to re-open mines closed 30 years ago to try and re-establish supply chains of raw materials.Euractiv

    Netherlands: The government is investing $100 million into a photonics chip plant in Eindhoven.Euractiv

    Austria: Imports of Russian gas have returned to pre-invasion import levels. Other European countries are mad about it despite also importing Russian fossil fuels, just much more expensively through third countries.EN Austria is hoping for EU chip investment to boost their semiconductor production in the wake of the EU Chips Act being passed.Euractiv

    Western Asia

    Turkey: Turkey has become Russia's second-largest supplier of goods this year, overtaking Belarus.RT

    Occupied Palestine: The Israeli occupation forces today launched a campaign of incursions, raids, and arrests in several cities and villages throughout the West Bank.AM

    Saudi Arabia: Germany is loosening its restrictions on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia but will not send Eurofighter jets.MEE

    Yemen: Responsible Statecraft suggests that China is attracted to the potential resources, the reconstruction, development, and diplomatic boost that would come from an end to the war, and thus is talking with both sides of the conflict.RS

    Central Asia

    Russia: Foreign Minister Lavrov has accused the US and its allies - such as South Korea, Japan, and Australia - of obtaining or trying to obtain nuclear weapons.TS Putin has proposed a new national project to form a data economy for the period up to 2030, stressing the need for less reliance on foreign technology and instead to construct an entire technical and production chain.AM The value of Russia's Ural crude oil has hit $60 per barrel for the first time since the G7 price cap was established, which is posing a problem for Greek shippers which would not be allowed to ship it above the $60 price cap despite it increasingly transporting Russian oil.BNE Russia is set to surpass Saudi Arabia as the largest oil-producing country in the OPEC+ alliance due to Arabia's oil cuts.MEE Russia's current account surplus has decreased in Q2 2023, and is now the smallest surplus since Q3 2020.RT

    Russia has maintained its position as the world's top wheat exporter, with a record production of grain this year, though sanctions restrictions have made it difficult for farmers to get the grain out on the international market.BNE The UN has proposed that in exchange for Putin extending the grain deal for Ukraine's grain, a subsidiary of Russia's agricultural bank could be reconnected to SWIFT.Euractiv Putin has said that he's considering pausing Russia's participation in the grain deal until Russia's food and fertilizer exports are unblocked, with this being the... ...hang on... ah, yes, 292,320,230th time he's said this and then continued the grain deal anyway.RT

    The government is passing legislation to make sex transitioning illegal, with some medical exceptions, in order to combat the "transgender industry".RT Putin has told the media that Wagner does not legally exist as Russian law does not recognize the existence of private military companies, saying "The group exists, but legally it does not," when asked about whether Wagner will continue operating as a combat formation.RT

    Pakistan: The IMF has approved a $3 billion loan for Pakistan.ANN

    • Sinister [none/use name, comrade/them]B
      ·
      1 year ago

      The greens really are outflanking the conservatives on the right regarding international diplomacy, my take of Baerbock as the german incompetent version of Hillary Clinton seems to hold true. There used to be a time when the American position on Cuba was seen as illegal and inhumane.

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

      Eastern Asia and Oceania

      China: Trade with Russia is up 40% year-on-year over the January-June period; meanwhile, trade with the US is down by 14% over the same period, with Chinese exports to the US falling 18% and US exports to China falling 4%.AM China's financial regulators have announced that financial support measures for qualified real estate developers will be extended through the end of 2024.MP China has reportedly invited Putin to visit in October to participate in the Belt and Road Forum.SCMP A new high-temperature (80 Kelvin) superconductor has been discovered by a Chinese research team.ANN Durian imports to China have surged this year as gifts, status symbols, and obviously a source of nutrition.SCMP

      India: Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn has withdrawn from its $20 billion semiconductor joint venture with Vedanta.RoW The Yamuna River has swelled to an all-time record level, with homes and markets flooded.TS Educational institutions in Delhi have shut until Sunday.PD Torrential downpours have killed over 100 people in the last two weeks in the worst monsoon in decades.WSWS The Indian government has rejected a resolution adopted by the European Parliament over the violence in Manipur, saying such a resolution reflected a "colonial mindset".PD India is mulling a ban on 80% of rice exports over growing inflation, which would push up global prices while El Nino is causing havoc.AM

      Thailand: The price of Thai rice has increased by 15% over the last four months, reaching its highest level since March 2021, due to El Nino.ANN

      DPRK: The government has launched its first ICBM in three months - the Hwasong-18, the country's most powerful nuclear weapon - after warning of consequences to protest US surveillance activity. It flew 1000 kilometers for 74 minutes (a new record) and landed in the sea. Its US-occupied southern neighbour is seething and malding.EN

      US-Occupied Korea: The government plans to increase the visa quota for foreign skilled workers from 5000 to 35,000 within a year due to labor shortages.ANN 50,000 healthcare workers are to go on a two-day nationwide strike, the union's first in 19 years.ANN

      Sri Lanka: The Colombo Port Workers Action Committee support the Canadian dockworkers' strike and have appealed to other sections of workers in Sri Lanka to also express solidarity.WSWS

      Africa

      Ghana: Hundreds of Burkinabe citizens have been expelled from Ghana, prompting the UNHCR to urge the government to halt these expulsions.TS The parliament has passed a law which allows licenses to be granted for cannabis cultivation for industrial and medicinal purposes.AN

      Gabon: President Bongo Ondimba of the ascendant Gabonese Democratic Party is seeking a third term, with little unified opposition.TS

      Kenya: Ruto and Raisi have signed five memorandums of understanding and agreements to increase bilateral relations.PD

      Sudan: The number of people who have been displaced is now at 3.1 million, with 700,000 leaving the country altogether, with 250,000 of those going to Chad.EN Leaders from six neighbouring countries met in Cairo to try and hash out steps to end the conflict.AN Sudan's foreign ministry has dismissed the IGAD's bid to deploy peacekeeping forces to protect civilians.MEE The United Kingdom has tried to help stop the conflict by... drumroll ...putting sanctions on everybody.AN

      Uganda: On his visit to Uganda, a country which has recently passed draconian anti-LGBT+ laws, Raisi accused western nations of promoting homosexuality, and suggests that Iran and Uganda could co-operate in opposing it.AN

      Zimbabwe: President Mnangagwa has urged nations targeted by Western sanctions to unite together as he met with Iranian President Raisi.AN The High Court of Justice has annulled the candidacy of an ally of former president Mugabe in the August 23rd election.AN

      Central African Republic: Wagner mercenaries have rescued a group of Chinese miners in central Africa two weeks ago after the Chinese embassy contacted them for help.SCMP

      South Africa: Zanile Mafe, who started a fire that badly damaged the country's parliament building last year, said in court that he "burned it intentionally" and that he would "burn it more" if the parliament wasn't moved from Cape Town to Bloemfontein or Pretoria, said that he wasn't afraid of a life sentence, and says that he is angry about racism and failures to help the poor.AN

      North America

      United States: Not-for-profit hospitals are increasingly cutting ties with Moody's rating agency over high costs and time commitments.STAT Hollywood's largest union representing 160,000 actors and workers have announced a strike, leading to the first industry-wide shutdown of the US entertainment industry in over 6 decades.PD US national security authorities and Microsoft have blamed a Chinese hacker group of infiltrating the email accounts of over 20 government organizations.AM Americans' trust in academic institutions has dropped from 48% in 2018 to 36% this year.AM

      Canada: 7400 workers from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union are striking across 30 ports after management signalled their intent to cut jobs and wages.Jacobin A minority of chiefs at the Assembly of First Nations unseated National Chief RoseAnne Archibald, prompting criticism from some of the Canadian First Nations.CD

      Latin America

      Cuba: A US nuclear submarine has crossed Cuban waters and docked at Guantanamo Bay, an action which the Cuban government has formally denounced.Resumen

      The European Parliament voted to approve a resolution which condemns the Cuban government for human rights violations and called for the EU to impose sanctions, ahead of a meeting between CELAC and the EU on July 17-18th.Resumen

      Guatemala: The Constitutional Court has reverted the suspension of the party Semilia, allowing Bernardo Arevalo de Leon to run in the second round of elections on August 20th.TS Various social organizations denounced the suspension as an attempted electoral coup after the Public Ministry first suspended the party.TS

      Peru: The US proxy government has extended its state of emergency for another 30 days in response to protests demanding the resignation of Boluarte.TS

      Ecuador: The electoral campaigns for the August 20th election are kicking off, with polls indicating that over 40% of the population would vote for Luisa Gonzalez from the Citizen Revolution movement led by former President Correa.TS

      Paraguay: Pork exports have increased 6-fold this year due to Taiwan opening their markets to Paraguayn produce.MP

      Brazil: The government has said that 43 million people left the poverty line in June due to an increase in the allowances of the Bolsa Familia welfare program.MP

      The War Against The West

      The Western Front: The US House has struck down an effort to stop the transfer of cluster bombs to Ukraine, in a vote of 147-276 (98 Republicans, 49 Democrats).GZ Ukraine has received more Western equipment to let Russia destroy, to the tune of two Patriot systems, 25 Leopard 1 tanks, 40 Marder IFVs, French SCALP missiles, as well as various armored vehicles from Australia, Canada, and Britain, a NASAMS package from Norway, and the Netherlands has promised to train Ukrainian pilots.PD Le Pen has called Macron's decision to send SCALP missiles "irresponsible".AM Putin has downplayed the threat of Western missile systems, and also said that foreign tanks burn better than Soviet-made ones, and that Ukrainian soldiers sometimes refuse to enter Western tanks as they are a priority target.AM

      Climate Change

      Canada has pledged $340 million to the United Nations' Green Climate FundCCN

      Kerrywatch

      John Kerry will visit China from July 16th to 19th, with observers on both sides expressing pessmism that the visit will achieve anything - but one should never, ever underestimate a man like John Kerry.AM

      I Love My Trans Comrades!