Image is of container ships waiting outside the canal. While there is usually some number of ships waiting for passage, the number has increased significantly lately.

In order to move ships through the Panama Canal, water is needed to fill the locks. The water comes from freshwater lakes, which are replenished by rainfall. This rainfall hasn't been coming, and Lake Gatun, the largest one, is at near record low levels.

Hundreds of ships are now in a maritime traffic jam, unable to cross the canal quickly. Panama is attempting to conserve water and have reduced the number of transits by 20% per day, among other measures. The Canal's adminstrators have warned that these drought conditions will remain for at least 10 months.

It is unlikely that global supply chains will be catastrophically affected, at least this year. Costs may increase for consumers in the coming months, especially for Christmas, but by and large goods will continue to flow, around South America if need be. Nonetheless, projecting trends over the coming years and decades, you can imagine how this is yet another nudge by climate change towards dramatic economic, environmental, and political impacts on the world at large. It also might prompt discussions inside various governments about nearshoring, and the general vulnerability of global supply chains - especially as the United States tries, bafflingly, to go to war with China.

After some discussion in the last megathread about building knowledge of geopolitics, some of us thought it might be an interesting idea to have a Country of the Week - essentially, I/we choose a country and then people can come in here and chime in with books, essays, longform articles, even stories and anecdotes or rants, related to that country. More detail in this comment.

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

Okay, look, I got a little carried away. Monday's update usually covers the preceding Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but I went ahead and did all of last week. If people like a more weekly structure then I might try that instead, if not, then I'll go back to the Mon-Wed-Fri schedule.

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.

  • BynarsAreOk [none/use name]
    ·
    1 year ago

    To Train Ukrainian Troops, the Danish Military Had To Borrow Leopard 1 Tanks From Three Museums Is this one of those times where someone is too stupid to notice this just makes them look bad or something or maybe they're completely embracing the shitty clickbait farm, write whatever nonsense, as long as it gets enough outrage then job well done.

    These craggy Danish veterans formed the training cadre and, reinforced by some retired Danish tankers who volunteered to return to government service, set up shop at the Klietz training ground west of Berlin. They were joined by German instructors who had experience on German army engineering vehicles, which share the Leopard 1’s chassis.

    The Ukrainian trainees began arriving in May. According to a Danish military release, the Danes assumed responsibility for the first phase of their training—the basic stuff. The Germans took over for the second phase. Translators and contractors from German industry assist both phases.

    Having hired instructors, the consortium also needed vehicles for the trainees to practice on. While the Germans have made use of their turretless training vehicles—which previously trained drivers of engineering vehicles—the final stages of instruction, including gunnery, require combat-capable tanks.

    Again, the Leopard 1A5’s age posed a problem. Most of the tanks actually belonged to German firm Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft—and had been sitting in a warehouse for two decades. They needed refurbishment.

    So the consortium asked for help ... from Danish museums. Apparently the handful of Leopard 1A5s on display in museums were in better condition than were the nearly 100 in storage. Three museums lent the consortium six working tanks “so that the training of the Ukrainians could begin immediately,” the Danish military stated.

    Four months later, workers at German tank-maker Rheinmetall are turning over refurbished—practically new-looking—Leopard 1A5s at an accelerating rate. -Ten are in Ukraine, while others have joined the museum tanks in Klietz in order to bolster the training effort.

    Yes "accelerating rate" lol. hasan-ok-dude They really, really look down on their readers don't they? Wow amazing out of 100 tanks in storage they managed to get 10 after almost 6 months.

    "How do we make a terribly embarrassing story something actualy heartwarming about something something democracy and freedom?"

    "Ah yes lets... checks notes repeatedly make the point that the shit consortium promised almost 200 tanks but most of them are in fact in such bad condition they're literally worse than actual existing museum pieces."