Blinken has voiced support for ECOWAS's efforts against Niger, though says that military force should only be used as a last resort.^AN Nigerians don't seem terribly enthusiastic about war with Niger based on this small sample.^AN France fully supports the decision by ECOWAS to deploy a standby military force on the borders of Niger.^Euractiv Niger has thanked Guinea for their support.^AN The construction of the $800 million Kandadji hydroelectric dam, which would have boosted electricity generation in Niger by 50%, has been halted by their Chinese contractor as the funds have been frozen by sanctions.

The Sahel Tug-of-War: U.S. And Russia Face Off For Influence In Niger^NC

RADIO FREE EUROPE ALERT! RADIO FREE EUROPE ALERT! Nonetheless, as Yves says, seeing what the propagandists are saying can be revealing about what the empire itself might be thinking.

Kenya's government has launched talks with the opposition following violent protests over the cost of living and electoral reforms.^AN Kenyan lion populations are dwindling, with a 90% decrease over the last century.^AN

Zambia’s plan to dig its way out of debt with a copper revival^FT

It's never good when Bezo and Gates are involved in things like this.

North America

A Google subcontrator fired two thirds of its employees for trying to unionize.^PW

A US workers' union has begun to fight back on a plan by TSMC to bring 800 foreign workers to work on their Phoenix plant.^SCMP

Grindr issues mandatory return to office policy 2 weeks after union drive^RNN

The FBI has investigated which dastardly Americans were using illegal Israeli software and found that the FBI was using it.^AW

Deaths of despair and suicides in the US at historic levels, with 49,000 suicide deaths in 2022 and over 500,000 since 2011.^WSWS

Why is Canada giving two automakers $30 billion dollars in subsidies for EV battery production?^WSWS

To make cars, presumably.

Latin America

An Iranian fuel company is helping Venezuela by selling it a home-made catalyst for the fuel production process.^AM

Indigenous groups say that Lasso is responsible for the spiral of violence in Ecuador, of whom the latest victim is Villavicencio.^TS State of emergency declared in Ecuador after killing of presidential candidate^WSWS

They speculate that Lasso might have a hand in the killings, or at a minimum is benefiting from it, to boost his chances of winning or to overturn the results if he loses.

Paraguay is in a bit of trouble as they have a strong connection to Taiwan but the bourgeoisie want economic ties with China now.^SCMP

Venezuela Expels Over 8,400 Illegal Miners From the Amazon^TS

The War Against The West

Zelensky has fired all heads of military enlistment in Ukraine due to corruption.^AM

Germany has sent Ukraine two more Patriots for Kinzhals to destroy.^AM They're also looking at sending Taurus missiles now according to some rumors. Usually I wouldn't report rumors like that but every single time the German government has said that they aren't going to send a weapons system to Ukraine, it ends up in Ukraine like six weeks later, so I assume this will be no exception.^DW

EU delivers Ukraine 224,000 shells under ammo plan^Euractiv

Over 6 months? That's less than 1500 per day.

Ukraine Starts Mandatory Evacuation From Kupyansk City^TS

The Polish President Said Kiev Isn’t Doing The West Any Favors & Its Counteroffensive Failed^NC

I hate it when two such lovely countries fight like this.

Egypt has given the US the middle finger when asked to supply weapons to Ukraine.^MEE

An absolute broadside of articles from Responsible Statecraft lately:

A security pact with Saudi Arabia would be a disaster for US interests^RS

How US media builds public support for confrontation with China^RS

UAE-Iran islands dispute complicates regional diplomacy (But Abu Dhabi'ss claims to Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa in the Strait of Hormuz aren’t likely to lead to direct confrontation.)^RS

The myth of a strong postwar Ukraine^RS

No matter how the war ends, Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has created the very outcome he most wanted to prevent: a thriving anti-Russian, pro-Western democracy, armed to the teeth with American weaponry, destined at a minimum to become a de facto ally of Washington, if not an official member of the NATO alliance.

Or so it is thought in Washington and other Western capitals. But, with the sole exception of Ukraine’s deepening and quite understandable revulsion toward Russia, it is much closer to wishful thinking than to reality.

They had me in the first half, not gonna lie.

Retrospectives, Analysis, History, Theory, and Technology

WeWork’s Stock Imploded to 13 Cents Yesterday; Its Cult-Master, Adam Neumann, Cashed Out Years Ago and Is a Billionaire^WSoP

Honey, wake up, read up on your Bidenomics^PW theory! ^PW

Eritrea celebrates freedom^MR

Dipshittery and Cope

FDA Tries to Pretend It Didn’t Oppose Ivermectin Use for Covid^NC

Oh god, they've turned into horse paste people. Okay, actually engaging with the material here - until there's actual good RCT studies about ivermectin being good at treating coronavirus, I will not be smearing it up my ass. Actually, even if there are, I won't be taking it, because there's a bunch of other things I could be doing to not catch it in the first place.

LGBTQIA+

The World Bank has cut off new funding to Uganda due to their new draconian anti-LGBTQIA+ laws.^Advocate

Ethiopia's LGBTQIA+ community has blamed much of the verbal and physical harrassment they get on TikTok, which has posts calling for violence against them.^AN

Christian and Muslim parents in Maryland have asked the state's largest school system to block a requirement for their students to learn about LGBTQIA+ people.^Advocate

An Idaho anti-trans bathroom law has been blocked by a temporary injunction by a judge.^Advocate

Malaysia has banned the possession of pride-themed Swatch watches.^Advocate

Climate and the Environment

Amazon nations decry EU deforestation rules in thinly-veiled joint condemnation^CCN

US takes $1.2 billion gamble on carbon-sucking vacuums, ^DW or, Energy Dept. Announces $1.2 Billion to Advance Controversial Climate Technology^DeSmog

"If we continue this pace of exponential growth every year, I think a billion tons a year is definitely, definitely achievable."

A solid 3% of current yearly emissions by some unspecified date! Holy moly!

Researchers who have analyzed the technical requirements of direct energy capture, such as energy load, warn that it is little more than a boondoggle. A 2020 analysis published in Nature Communications found that “the energy and materials requirements for [DAC] are unrealistic even when the most promising technologies are employed.”

In a 2019 study that examined the impacts of direct air capture, Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, found that it would increase CO2 emissions, air pollution, fossil mining and fossil infrastructure, largely because of the enormous amount of energy required to extract, compress, and separate the CO2.

The absolute most you could say about it is that's pointless but it could lead to new and better technologies. More realistically, it's the fossil fuel industry squirting out squid ink.