Image is from this article in the New York Times.
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Morocco on September 8th, with the epicenter 73 kilometers away from Marrakesh.
At least 2500 people have died as of September 11th, most outside Marrakesh, with more people being pulled out of the rubble every day, making it the deadliest earthquake in Morocco since 1960, and the second-deadliest earthquake this year (first being, of course, the one in Turkiye-Syria in February, which killed nearly 60,000 people). While the deaths are the most horrific part, damage to historic sites has also been very significant - including buildings dating back to the 1000s.
Morocco is situated close to the Eurasian-African plate boundary, where the two plates are colliding. The rock comprising the Atlas Mountains, situated along the northwestern coast of Africa separating the Sahara from the Mediterranean Sea, are being pushed together at a rate of 1 millimeter per year, and thus the mountains are slowly growing. As they collide, energy is stored up over time and then released, and faults develop. The earthquake this month originated on one such fault, as did the earthquake in 1960. The earthquake hypocenter was 20-25 kilometers underground, with 1.7 meters (or 5 and a half feet) of rock suddenly shifting along a fault ~30 kilometers (19 miles) long.
Earthquake prediction is still deeply imprecise at best, and obtaining decent knowledge and forewarning of earthquakes is highly dependent on dense seismometer arrays that constantly monitor seismic activity, such as in Japan, and detailed understanding of the local and regional tectonic environment. The best way to prevent damage is to build earthquake-resistant infrastructure and establish routines for escaping buildings and reaching safety. All of these, of course, are underdeveloped to nonexistent in developing countries, particularly in poorer communities inside those countries.
The Country of the Week, in honour of Allende's death 50 years ago (the only bad geopolitical event that has occurred on September 11th, of course), is Chile. Feel free to chime in with books, essays, longform articles, even stories and anecdotes or rants. More detail here.
Here is the map of the Ukraine conflict, courtesy of Wikipedia.
The weekly update is here!
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.
Part 3
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Ghana:
Niger coup sanctions drive Ghana’s onion prices up, deepen food crisis (Ghana gets 70% of its onions from Niger).AJ
Guinea-Bissau:
President Embalo has ruled out any risk of a coup.AN
Libya:
The GNU has stated that 2.3 million new students have started a new school year, with plans to build 1500 more schools on top of the 6000 already present.TS Tens of thousands of Libyans have been expelled from their homes in Benghazi due to General Haftar's brigades.MEE
Mali:
64 people were killed (mostly civilians, some soldiers) in an attack by insurgents in northern Mali.AM
Morocco:
The country has been hit by its deadliest earthquake in decades, killing over a thousand people [now over 2000 people and climbing] and forcing the evacuation of many more.AM Fears for Marrakesh’s ancient structures in the UNESCO World Heritage Site after the earthquake.AJ
Mozambique:
CW: mentions of rape.
Refugees fleeing conflict have revealed that they are having to trade sex for food from relief workers to survive, who even prey on teenagers at least as young as 13 and impregnate them.OD
Niger:
An article on how overthrowing Qaddafi in Libya led to the current Sahel situation where governments are falling left and right.RS
Tens of thousands of people continue to protest against the French troops in the country,WSWS while the US repositions and withdraws some troops (details on numbers not given).AM Niger's post-coup PM hopes for 'agreement' with ECOWAS,AN and has reopened their airspace.AM China has announced its intention to facilitate a peaceful resolution to the Niger crisis,RT and Russia has warned that the US is considering assassinating the Niger coup leaders.RT
The Nigerien government claims that France is planning to intervene in Niger as they deploy forces to several ECOWAS countries.RT Macron has said that the redeployment of troops out of Niger would only happen if deposed president Bazoum asked for it.AN
Nigeria:
A Chinese-constructed light rail has begun operation in Lagos.PD The appeals court has rejected two out of the three petitions to challenge Tinubu's victory in the February election.AN
Senegal:
President Sall has nominated his Prime Minister to represent his party in the February 2024 election, as he cannot constitutionally run for a third term.AN
Sierra Leona:
Power cuts in Sierra Leone as Turkey operator cuts supply over unpaid debt.AJ
Sudan:
Five million people have been displaced by the war in Sudan.TG Over half of Sudan's population can't access health services.AN Hospitals face looting according to Doctors Without Borders, as well as bureaucratic and administrative obstacles.MEE Sudan army chief arrives in Qatar on third trip since war began.AN
CW: rape, violence
Torture, rape, and enforced hard labour is taking place in illegal detention centres, where hundreds of people are trapped.MEE
Tunisia:
The former Prime Minister, Hamadi Jebali, was arrested.CGTN
Uganda:
Uganda says its operations in Congo have killed 567 IS-allied fighters.AN
A Guardian piece on the Ugandan secondhand fashion industry, with the ominous 'Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation' stamp on the article.TG A Ugandan church has broken the Guinness World Record after clapping for over three hours, maintaining a level above 80 dB.AN It's like those stories about how the first person to stop clapping for Stalin was executed.
Zambia:
India corporation Vedanta is taking back ownership of a Zambian copper mine four years after they were kicked out by the government, as they need mining investment.FT The government is intensifying measures to monitor the operations of mining firms to ensure adherence to regulations.TS The president of Zambia is off to visit China.CGTN There's a fresh cholera outbreak in the north of the country.CGTN
North America:
Canada:
The NDP has been co-opted by Western imperialismCD
As West African states take greater role in mining sector, how will Canada respond?CD
Probably not well.
United States:
Bernard Sanders has re-upped his call for a 32-hour work week with no loss in pay.MR Student loan payments resume on October 1st for the first time since March 2020.WSWS The number of people filing for unemployment benefits has dropped to a six month low.PD Jacobin points out that Biden has to actually run on something to win the election.Jacobin The Press Secretary has dismissed allegations that Biden is treated like a baby by his staff.AM
Toxic chemicals from the Marathon refinery fire in Louisiana late last month leaked for 15 hours before an evacuation was called for by officials.DS The same fossil fuel lobbyists trying to defeat climate legislation in California are also collecting money from cities and counties being hit by climate change as if they are the victims.Jacobin An article on how fossil fuel infrastructure on native land continues to cause problems and those communities fail to receive any development for their troubles.SP Nearly 400 people are still missing on Maui after the fires.PD The toxic wildfire smoke from the wildfire will affect health for years.PD
Joliet, 30 miles from one of the largest freshwater lakes on the planet, is on the verge of exhausting its groundwater, and are trying to get a 65 mile pipeline constructed to Lake Michigan by 2030.CoB Various reservoir and dam projects are being proposed and constructed on the Colorado river to divert more of its water, as people call for the exact opposite thing to happen as the river's flow rate has declined significantly over time.ICN The Texas heatwave has dealt a lot of damage to Texas's water system, with thousands of leaks.ICN The insurance costs of agriculture are skyrocketing as climate disasters accelerate.ICN
Arlington National Cemetary was closed due to a bomb threat; hundreds of bodies reported in the area already, though strangely already buried.RT
Study Finds 75 Percent of U.S. Banks Didn’t Hedge Interest Rate Risk; Unrealized Losses on Securities $516 Billion at End of First QuarterWSoP
Latin America:
Argentina:
Automobile manufacturing, and sales, are growing pretty significantly.MP Argentina has been found liable for $16 billion in damages over oil group nationalisation.FT
Bolivia:
The government has announced that the country's natural gas reserves have been depleted and exports to Argentina and Brazil will be interrupted.MP
Brazil:
An article on an interesting experiment by a prison which doesn't have guards and prisoners are treated humanely.ET Brazil's Supreme Federal Court has ruled that Lula's imprisonment was a big oopsie doopsie.MP The death toll from the cyclone has risen to 37 and there is flooding.MP Two indigenous lands in the Amazon have been demarcated.MP Lula has sealed a pact with two oppositional parties, exchanging two cabinet posts in the government for political support in Congress from the right-wing.FT
Lula has promised that Putin won't be arrested at the G20 Brazil Summit in 2024.AM
Chile:
The Central Bank has lowered interest rates from 10.25% to 9.5%.MP
Pinochet's coup set the country's environmental policy back decades.Jacobin Many on the Chilean right wing continue to defend PinochetFT even after all the atrocities have been revealed (probably because of them, not in spite of them).Jacobin
Chile’s ‘1000 Days of Revolution’: A Marxist analysis of the Allende years.PW
Colombia:
AMLO landed in Colombia for talks with Petro.MP
Part 4
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Ecuador:
Ecuador Faces Economic Dilemma After Vote to Ban Oil Drilling In the Amazon.SP
This is also what I fear... in a socialist world, this would be an unequivocally good thing as the country would have no need to make profits for its people to receive what they need. But in our capitalist world, leaving the oil in the ground will cost them hundreds of millions of dollars of potential profits, which could be used positively. But you can't even really be like "The realist position is to extract it despite the climate impact because people come first, not the environment," because those profits could also just go straight to the capitalists, under a right-wing president for example. Tricky.
El Salvador:
Two years ago, bitcoin became legal tender. It hasn't really done much to help them and people don't seem to particularly care.TS
Guatemala:
The country is joining a free trade agreement between South Korea and a group of Central American nations.Bilaterals Guatemala's fragile democratic opening.RS
Haiti:
The water canal that the Dominican Republic complained about has been sealed, and after the border was closed.TS
Mexico:
AMLO has praised the decision of Texas to remove buoys and wire barriers placed in the Rio Grande to prevent the passage of migrants.TS
Panama:
The government is increasing deportations of migrants to their country of origin.TS
Peru:
On Hugo Blanco, the head of one the guerilla movements in Peru.Ecologist
Uruguay:
A sea lion has died of avian flu, which is obviously concerning for the country with the largest colony of sea lions in South America.MP
Venezuela:
The VP met the BRICS NDP president in Shanghai.TS Maduro has gone to ChinaTS and signed development deals,TS like though on oil.SCMP
War:
The UK will declare the Wagner Group a terrorist organization, despite attempting to overthrow the Russian state. You just can't please some people.MEE Erdogan says that the grain deal will be revived soon, while Putin has reiterated that there will be no grain deal unless Russian demands are met;MEE the UN has said that a subsidiary of Russia's agricultural bank might get access to SWIFT this month, tempting Russia to return to the grain deal.RT Eastern Europe says we must fear peace.SP Naked Capitalism talks about how the mainstream media is "negotiating with itself" via articles that fantasize about what outcomes are tolerable ("Haha, wouldn't it be bad if this happened? Or would it? ...yeah, it definitely would be bad. ...or?")NC More money for Ukraine.TS Cuba has dismantled a Russian fighter recruitment network, as it has pledged neutrality.FT Western nations were forced to remove their condemnations of Russia's war against Ukraine in their communique after five days of discussions or not have a communique at all.FT Anti-Putin group "Anti-Corruption Foundation" conducted a poll in Europe, in which 60% of Germans blamed the US, NATO, or Ukraine for starting the war, compared to 29% blaming Russia or Putin.GPE Declassified: How US deceived Russia over NATO enlargement.AM
Challenger tanks are being owned.RT The US is sending depleted uranium shells to Ukraine.RNN Lavrov has said that Ukraine plans to blow up gas pipelines to Turkiye.RT Ukraine's new defense minister is even more corrupt than Reznikov, according to Seymour Hersh's sources.RT Human Rights Watch has said that Ukraine used cluster munitions to shell Izyum and caused civilian deaths.RT The Estonian Defence Minsiter has warned that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has just 4 to 7 weeks before movement becomes difficult due to weather.EN
Hawks, such as in the Wall Street Journal, want Biden to take the fight with Russia global, rather than back off.RS Responsible Statecraft also talks about the two-year anniversary of the Afghanistan withdrawal and how its lessons may be forgotten already, if Americans learned anything to begin with,RS and how America's predictions about what Afghanistan might turn into (a hotbed of international terrorism, a Russia/China proxy state, etc) were all wrong.RS
The US has cancelled a hypersonic missile test, as it continues to fail where Russia, China, and others have already succeeded.RT
Western sanctions failing: EU imports more Russian gas, China beats US tech war.GPE
Bhadrakumar talks about "ice cracking" in the frozen state of diplomacy over Ukraine, AKA suggesting that Russia and the United States may start negotiating soon in the aftermath of the counteroffensive's failure. There are some genuinely interesting points here (that Blinken seemed much less combative in his statements in Kiev, that Umerov was part of the Istanbul peace talks last year, and that the acting governor of Zaporozhye region said, out of the blue, that Russia and Ukraine need a neutral platform to negotiate pragmatic solutions), but all in all, I still see no end to this war this year - we've seen signs of potential peace before that led nowhere.IP
Part 5
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Labour:
Striking workers in America (aside from in New York and New Jersey) are not allowed to claim unemployment benefits, though Californian officials are trying to fix this in their state. A similar bill was introduced in Massachusetts, and Senator Fetterman in Pennsylvania has introduced legislation to give benefits to strikers.Jacobin Workers are trying to turn Los Angeles into the epicenter of a national strike wave.PW Workers at another public library in Ohio vote to unionize.PW
Some German rail workers are understandably unhappy about the wage settlement that ended their industrial action.WSWS Australian natural gas workers began strike action, causing natural gas prices in Europe to rise.FT
How scary headlines about ‘economic impact’ of strikes erode solidarity.RNN
Left and Right:
South African communists have called for the US ambassador to be expelled after he accused South Africa of sending weapons to Russia.PW
LGBTQIA:
Content Warning - this section is not usually good news.
A California school district has been temporarily stopped from outing trans, non-binary, and GNC students.Advocate Georgia can enforce a ban on hormone therapy for trans minors after a judge ruling.Advocate Two More California School Districts OK Forced Outing of Trans Students.Advocate Miami School Board Shoots Down LGBTQ+ History month — Again.Advocate
Hong Kong has rejected marriage equality, but has ordered some form of legal recognition for same-sex couples.Advocate Hundreds attend Serbian Pride march.EN
Jewelle Gomez: the Black lesbian writer who changed vampire fiction – and the worldTG
Climate:
Socialism and Ecological SurvivalMR
The many colours of hydrogen and the scam of carbon captureMR
Africa should not become a source of carbon credits as it will benefit pollutors, not Africans.CCN Climate groups reject African environmental initiative.RT
Antarctica warming faster than predicted,AM but sea ice melt in Antarctica is not yet irreversible.EN
The first successful breeding of Atlantic bluefin tuna at a Spanish research centre has spurred at least two companies to ramp up plans for the industrial farming of land-bred tuna.TG
Miscellaneous Analysis:
Iranian-Saudi deal: They didn't do it for loveRS
Emerging Economies Face Prospect of Worse Than 1970s-1980s Wave of Financial CrisesNC
Imperialism and the new Cold WarMR
None of the contents should be new to us, but it's worth mentioning nonetheless.
African countries are increasingly banning TikTok, to suppress criticism of their governments.RoW
EU and The Washington Post Escalate Their Censorship Campaign with a New Fraudulent “Disinformation Study” About Twitter and RussiaSP
IIPPE 2023: part one -the end of US hegemony?MR
Dipshittery and Cope:
Don’t ban Russians from coming to Europe. Ban Putin's imperialism insteadEN
Putin, you're fired.
Russia ‘will be happy’ if Georgia fails to join EU, warns BorrellEuractiv
Going up to my boss like "Sir, if you don't give me a raise, Putin will have a big smile on his face."
Who’s Afraid of an Alternative for Germany?NC
I think the article goes way overboard trying to make AfD look like innocent, misguided puppies that are being oppressed by German neoliberals - the party does contain many fascists. Nonetheless, this paragraph is interesting:
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine would be a moral defeatFT
It’s no longer a given that China will become the world’s largest economyFT
China’s demand dilemma could spell trouble for the worldFT
Have we reached peak pessimism on China?FT
I Love My Trans Comrades!
This format scratches an itch in my brain
Thanks 72T