Summary

News

Europe's gas prices are equivalent to $410 per barrel of oil, and will only get higher as winter approaches. Joseph Borrell has said that he does not support banning Russian citizens from visiting Europe. China has spent $35 billion on Russian energy imports since the Ukraine War started, up from $20 billion a year before. The Russian communist party is inviting all "patriotic left" factions to unite under their banner in order to obtain more parliamentary votes. UK inflation could hit 18% next year, which Britain has not seen since 1976 - it is currently at 10.1%, the highest since 1982. UK firewood suppliers project sales to soar 20% due to more people burning firewood rather than directly use gas or electricity for heating. The English Collective of Prostitutes has said that many British women are being driven to prostitution as economic conditions get worse. Germany's economy minister, Habeck, has said that he has ruled out extending the lifespan of the country's nuclear plants. Inflation in Germany could hit a 70 year high of 10%, says Germany's central bank chief. German supply chains are worsening in the face of drought-stricken rivers and chronically underfunded and underworked transport infrastructure. 62% of Germans believe that Scholz is doing his job badly, up from 39% in March, due a mixture of domestic scandals and the deteriorating economic situation. Italy's manufacturers, such as in glass and canning, are self-rationing their output to save energy. Swiss ski resorts are facing power cuts to ski lifts and snow-making equipment. Cyprus has bought Iron Dome air defense systems from Israel, as tensions with Turkey escalate.

China's position as the world's manufacturer has remained in place despite rhetoric from various people about decoupling from China amid coronavirus lockdown pressure on industry and so on, as China's exports boom as the exports of other major countries decrease. China accounts for nearly half of the world's renewable energy capacity. China's central bank has cut benchmark loan rates in order to boost the economy. China's drought is causing the Yangtze to dry up, as the Sichuan provincial government declares the highest warning level of drought. Fires are spreading in southwest China due to the dry conditions, prompting the evacuations of thousands. Mall hours are being shortened to ensure power is conserved. Sichuan power cuts are affecting various foreign companies' factories as they are temporarily shut down, including Tesla. Japan is considering the deployment of over 1000 long range cruise missiles in order to counter threats from China. South Korea and the United States have launched major war games, which the DPRK has called a rehearsal for a future invasion. Singapore has decriminalized gay sex, though the PM has also promised that strong conservative and tradition values will remain.

The CIA has said that it cannot corroborate Israel's accusation that Palestinian rights groups are terrorists. Tens of thousands of Palestinians working in Israel did a one day strike yesterday over demand for bank accounts, rather than receving all their salaries in cash. Kuwait has announced that it will lay off 250,000 Egyptian workers next month and suspended all contract with non-national workers, with another 500,000 workers set to lose their jobs over the next year. Iran has said that the US is procrastinating over the nuclear deal, as they have not offered a response to the current deal yet. Turkey has said that it will enforce anti-Russian sanctions but that it remains balanced on the conflict, as the United States came knocking to "ask" if Turkey was still on board, or maybe its financial sector might face some... inconveniences.

The Fed will raise rates by 50 basis points in September, says a gaggle of economists.

Iran and Argentina have applied to join BRICS, and Algeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Sudan, and Syria, Pakistan, and Venezuela have expressed interest in joining the organization, as these countries recover from the pandemic and face headwinds from interest rate hikes in the US. WSJ has a decent article detailing how droughts are fucking over economies all over the world.

Conflict and Climate

Russia has struck a HIMARS ammo depot in Odesa, while Kiev says that a granary was hit. Ukraine is in the process of evacuating 750,000 people from near the front lines in order to protect them from the evil, evil Russians, though they'll be sent right back after Ukraine retakes all that territory, so no worries. Zelensky's latest red line is that if Russia tries the brave Mariupol Azov fighters, then peace talks would be off the table, and then Ukraine will take the kids' gloves off! Scholz has said that they will give more weapons to Ukraine... eventually. Russia has said that it has fired three Kinzhal hypersonic missiles in Ukraine during the conflict, showing off its capabilities.

The NYT has written a decent article about how Russia and China decoupling from the West, and vice versa, will negatively affect the advance of scientific discoveries.

Dipshittery, Good Takes, and Hope

The west better not forgot the war in Ukraine, says the Guardian - as most people forgot about the war in Ukraine by week 6. Ukraine has warned Russia's arms buyers around the world about how their weapons do not survive on the battlefield, and that the positive reputation of the Su-35 fighter jet is being destroyed. Business Insider describes Dugin as a "top philosopher", which is hilarious. CNN asks if China's BRI can be countered by the United States, to which the answer is an obvious "no."

Jacobin describes how climate-related disasters are growing in frequency and intensity, and that the US government is incapable of dealing with them. Jacobin also dunks on Ben Shapiro, which I usually wouldn't give a shit about, but in the process addresses the common misconception that America is somehow immune to Marxism or socialism in general due to [insert exceptionalist reason here].

China has announced that they have forgiven 23 interest-free loans from 17 African countries while also pledging deeper cooperation, a dastardly move to increase their debt-trapping of those poor, poor people... somehow.