Image is of President Hakainde Hichilema and President Xi Jinping on September 15th, from this article.

Zambia is a country of 20 million people, located in southern Africa. Breaking free from British rule in the 1960s, the new government was a one party state ruled by the socialist UNIP party with its leader Kenneth Kaunda, who was a strong supporter of the Non-Aligned Movement (and was its chairman from 1970-73). Its economy has been and remains characterised by copper exports - it is the second-largest copper exporter in Africa - and the economy deeply struggled in the 1970s due to the price of copper plunging. After the fall of the USSR, and due to violent protests, Kaunda stepped down and instituted a multiparty democracy, which has been maintained without (successful) coups to this day, though there are warnings by the leader that some are plotting a coup, given the trend right now.AA

Earlier this year, in June, Zambia struck a deal to restructure the $6.3 billion in debt that they are burdened with, of which China is the single largest creditor.Reuters Though he has typically been more West-friendly, last week, President Hichilema traveled to China for two days, meeting with various companies, and Xi Jinping himself. They elevated their relationship to that of a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.Xinhua He and Xi have agreed to the increased use of local currencies in trade.BB

Hichilema said Zambia thanks China for supporting the African Union's entry into the G20 and China's positive role in resolving the Zambian debt issue. The Zambian side abides by the one-China principle, highly appreciates the guiding philosophy and principles of Chinese modernization, and hopes to learn from China's development experience.

Hichilema has also said:AN

"We can do more, faster, because the needs are tremendous in Zambia. I heard some of the solutions are here. All we need to do is to combine the two together."

Check out @Othello@hexbear.net's discussion of The Wretched of the Earth!

The Country of the Week is Singapore! 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 news summary for last week 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.

  • SeventyTwoTrillion [he/him]M
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    India:

    The Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers’ Movement (ICCFM) held a three-day forum in Bengaluru on the 7th of September, analyzing trade negotiations and the impact of the climate crisis.Bilaterals South Korea and India to improve their free trade agreement.Bilaterals India steps up plans to explore critical minerals crucial to its clean energy transition.MB National industrial production grew 5.7% in July.TS India imposes anti-dumping duty on some Chinese steel for 5 years.SCMP

    Hyperlocal weather forecasters are now influencers in India.RoW

    This enthusiasm for making weather predictions has now gone digital, with easy access to weather data and technology. A network of young “weather influencers” across India is predicting the weather for specific towns, villages, and even neighborhoods — and then sharing updates through social media or WhatsApp groups.

    Some have even gained government recognition. In the July 2021 episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s radio broadcast, Mann Ki Baat, he praised the then 24-year-old IT professional and weather influencer Sai Praneeth for helping farmers in Andhra Pradesh with his timely weather updates in Telugu.

    Honestly? This kinda rocks. I predict it's 3 months until there's a cryptocurrency based on how well you can predict the weather in a 10 by 10 mile area.

    Indonesia:

    43 people have been arrested during protests against a Chinese-led glass and solar panel factory, which is planned on Rempang, a small island close to Singapore, which would displace thousands of local residents.CGS Indonesian president takes ride on Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway.PD

    Japan:

    PM Kishida has reshuffled him cabinet, as the government's approval plummets.TS

    Laos:

    Laos-China railway led to a Chinese investment surge, but economy remains depressed from coronavirus fall out.BNE

    Myanmar:

    The government is paying for Russian petroleum products in yuan, but will try and switch to kyat-ruble exchanges soon.AM Cybercrime crackdown reveals warming ties between China and Myanmar.SCMP

    Nepal:

    Nepal's PM is to visit China on September 23rd, to boost ties; in the six years since the signing of the BRI MoU, not a single project or provision has been implemented yet.Bilaterals

    Singapore:

    Tharman Shanmurgaratnam has been sworn in as president.PD

    Vietnam:

    More than 50 people have died in a building fire in Hanoi.TS

    Africa:

    Crossings of African migrants have almost doubled from January and August 2023 compared to the same period last year, to over 114,000.AN

    The African Union (AU) plans to launch its own sovereign credit rating agency next year as an alternative to the “big three” international rating agencies.EN

    The governments of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have signed a security pact, promising to help each other in the event of a rebellion insurgency or external aggression.DW

    Algeria:

    Why Algeria wants to prevent war in Niger (it's about not wanting the spread of even more instability and militants across the region).RS

    Angola:

    Angolan Minister of State for Economic Coordination Jose de Lima Massano emphasized the crucial role of the oil and gas industry for the country's economy and pledged continued investment in petroleum resource exploration; Angola is the second largest oil producer in Africa.TS The three-year China debt freeze has ended; Angola is the biggest recipient of financing from China, to the tune of $42 billion in loans, and interest payments have doubled to $1.57 billion.SCMP

    Burkina Faso:

    Burkina Faso’s junta-led government said one of the country’s most popular radio stations could resume broadcasting after being suspended for airing an interview that called for Bazoum to be restored to power.AN

    CAR:

    Wagner Group sustains significant losses in clashes with Central African Republic rebels.MEE

    They lost the +10 to Attack buff that Prigozhin was providing in a 1000 mile radius.

    DRC:

    The Democratic Republic of Congo warned Thursday of the "humanitarian tragedy" and the "damage" caused by the "aggression" of Rwanda, accused of supporting a rebellion in the East of its territory.AN

    Property disputes, evictions plague DR Congo capital.AN Amnesty International accuses multinationals of forced evictions, threats, intimidation and deception against local populations at cobalt and copper mining sites in the DRC.AN

    Egypt:

    Egypt's Ministry of Education has banned the wearing of full-face veils in public and public schools.AN Egypt is the second most at risk of debt crisis after Ukraine, according to Bloomberg data.MEE

    Egyptian and French foreign ministers hold talks in Cairo, and discussed bilateral relations and developments in the region, including Palestine.AN

    Ethiopia:

    The Egyptian government declared that Ethiopia's filling of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam reservoir without consensus with Egypt and Sudan, the two downstream countries, is a violation of the Declaration of Principles, a tripartite agreement previously signed.TS

    Gabon:

    President Oligui relaunches investigations into public markets.AN Gabon's government is considering a two-year return to civilian rule.AN

    Kenya:

    Fuel prices hit all-time high, adding to the already harsh cost of living crisis.AN President Ruto is appealing to US technology companies and investors in San Francisco, highlighting investment opportunities in his country.AN

    Kenya, Indonesia to sign preferential trade agreement.Bilaterals

    Libya:

    Death toll reaches over 11,000 in the flooding, with tens of thousands more missing.AN Libya’s Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah on Thursday acknowledged issues in the maintenance of two dams that burst.AN Perhaps the West might have something to do with that, when, y'know, they bombed the country and overthrew the government?MR

    Mali:

    Mali's government has cancelled festivities planned for the anniversary of the country's independence celebrated on September 22 due to attacks, instead directing funds for the festivities to the victims and their families.AN

    Morocco:

    Morocco unveils rehousing programme for quake-hit areas.AN Many Algerians call on their leaders to offer humanitarian aid to their longtime regional rival.MEE Rescue teams are frustrated that Morocco did not accept more international help after earthquake.EN

    Earthquake in Morocco: Government and European Imperialism to Blame for Rising Death Toll.SP The social roots of the Moroccan earthquake disaster.WSWS

    This catastrophe reveals the consequences of the misery and abandonment to which the Moroccan regime has subjected large rural areas of the country, where there is not even basic infrastructure by which aid can arrive. This is a direct consequence of the subordination of the Moroccan regime to European imperialism, especially Spanish and French imperialism, and the brutal plundering of the country’s resources.

    ...

    While capitalist governments were sending letters of condolence and the Spanish crown was honoring its friendship with the king of Morocco, Moroccan workers were begging for blankets and tents to bear the cold nights in the Atlas area and burying their dead with their own hands. While King Felipe VI and King Mohamed VI exchange messages from their opulent palaces, the working class and poor people of Morocco suffer and pay the consequences.

    Mozambique:

    The government of Mozambique announced in May 2020 the completion of a project, co-funded by China, to bring digital satellite television signal to 1,000 villages in the country, which has benefited over 20,000 families.PD Mozambique To Build 60 District Hospitals By End Of 2024.TS

    Niger:

    55 Pan-African organizations oppose sanctions on Niger.MR The USA resumes surveillance flights over Niger.AN

    The government of Niger have denounced a military cooperation agreement concluded in 2022 with neighboring Benin, which has now said that they would take part in an ECOWAS-led invasion of NIger.AN.

    Nigeria:

    Nigeria experiences a nationwide power outage after its electrical grid fails.AN

    Rwanda:

    Rwanda strikes deal to build an experimental nuclear reactor with a German-Canadian start-up.AN

    • SeventyTwoTrillion [he/him]M
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      South Africa:

      During the first half of 2023, South Africa quadrupled its imports of solar panels from China to 3.4 GW, which at peak production corresponds to the total production capacity of some power plants belonging to the country's public company.AN

      US pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson is under investigation in South Africa for charging "excessive" prices for a key tuberculosis drug.AN

      Tanzania:

      Indonesia has pledged to increase investments in Tanzania, including in management of the Mnazi Bay gas block by its state-owned company.Bilaterals

      Tunisia:

      The government is amending a free trade agreement with Turkiye.Bilaterals Tunisia bans visit by European Parliament delegation.AN

      Zambia:

      Zambian President Haikinde Hichilema Does the Rounds of Shenzhen’s Tech Giants.CGS Forget About Everything Else, Hichilema’s in China to Resolve Zambia’s Still Unfinished Debt Restructuring Deal.CGS Hichilema eyes collaboration after tour of top tech firms.AN

      Zimbabwe:

      Most of the new cabinet are men, in violation of the constitution which calls for gender balance.DW

      North America:

      Canada:

      Trudeau has brushed aside the idea that he might quit due to poor polling numbers, and has acknowledged public "grumbling" about the cost of living.[CGTN]9https://archive.ph/Q7rgi)

      The leader of Cold Lake First Nations has revealed the initiator of a major carbon capture project in Northern Alberta has not consulted with local Indigenous communities.DeSmog

      United States:

      Romney isn't seeking re-election in 2024.Advocate 59% of Californians are against cash reparations to the descendants of slaves.PD Palestinian students have filed a federal complaint alleging discrimination at the University of Illinois.MEE Child poverty in the US more than doubled in 2022, with 9 million children in poverty.WSWS Biden has declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts due to Hurricane Lee.CGTN

      Another FDIC-Insured Bank Is Teetering, Closing at 27-1/2 Cents Yesterday, Down 96 Percent in a Year.WSoP Google spends $10 billion per year, giving money to companies like Apple and other entities, to monopolize online searching.MR

      The government announced last week the cancellation of oil and gas drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.PW ‘Project 2025’: The Republican blueprint to wage war on the environment.PW Four fracking waste injection wells in Ohio have temporarily suspended operations by order of the government, which says the wells present an “imminent danger” to health and the environment.ICN Large corporations that want to do business in the state of California could soon be required to calculate and report all of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their companies, including emissions from their supply chains.ICN In Nevada, Indigenous land protectors face off with a Canadian mining company.RNN

      Latin America:

      Negotiators for the European Union and Mercosur on Thursday discussed the next steps towards completing their long-awaited trade deal after the South American trade bloc responded to a European addendum to the agreement, officials said.Bilaterals

      The Association of Indigenous Peoples Conservationistsinsisted this week that an emergency be declared in Lake Titicaca, on the border between Bolivia and Peru and one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world, which is suffering from water stress.

      Argentina:

      Inflation hits 12.4% in August, for a total of 124.4% in the last 12 months.MP The government is planning to become a major exporter of natural gas.MP

      Top presidential candidate and hyper-libetarian Milei has said that while the Malvinas (Falklands) are Argentinian and that is non-negotiable, the people living there must be considered when making decisions and that a peaceful solution is desirable.MP

      Brazil:

      As with soybeans and corn, Brazil is ready to unseat the US as the world's top cotton exporter.MP

      Chile:

      Chilean mothers continue to search for their babies stolen from them in an international trafficking scandal under Pinochet.OD

      Milton Friedman and Friedrich von Hayek cheered on Pinochet's dictatorship and helped him enforce the brutal regime he created.Jacobin

      Colombia:

      Coco production last year reached a record high, the main ingredient in caocaine.FT

      Ecuador:

      Ecuadorian migrants are fleeing to the US as the rightwing undoes the policies of Correa.Jacobin

      El Salvador:

      The prison population has tripled to 100,000 in less than two years under Bukele's crackdown on gangs.TS

      Jamaica:

      A new strain of dengue has broken out on the island.TS

      Mexico:

      Mexico has expressed its "great concern" over a decision by the Federal Court for the Southern District of Texas in the United States to declare the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program unconstitutional.PD Mexico is rejoining the G77+China.TS

      Nicaragua:

      More sanctions.Resumen Ortega has led the parade celebrating 202 years of Central American independence and the 167 years of the Battle of San Jacinto.TS

      Peru:

      The coup government of Peru has pledged to use the proceeds from a %20 million debt swap with the United States for climate action in the Amazon to finance a tropical forest protection fund over the next 13 years.MP

      Trinidad and Tobago:

      The coral and seagrass restoration project of the Institute of Marine Affairs, MARIN, in collaboration with bpTT, has successfully completed its pilot phase and will now enter the main phase.TS

      Uruguay:

      The economy has shrunk by 2.5% year-on-year, partially due to the extreme drought.MP

      Venezuela:

      China holds Venezuela as an all-time strategic partner.MP China will train Venezuelans as astronauts to join Beijing’s moon project, according to Maduro.SCMP

      War:

      Ukraine:

      'We will fight imperialism together', North Korea's Kim tells Putin.EN Vladimir Putin ‘gratefully’ accepts Kim Jong Un invitation to North Korea.FT

      The Swedish government is studying the possibility of transfering Gripen fighters to Ukraine.Euractiv Swedish government to increase defence spending amid NATO bid,EN by almost 30%.[FT](Sweden to boost defence spending next year by almost 30%) Reports suggest the US may give Ukraine long-range ATACMS missiles.EN

      US singles out Turkey with latest war sanctions package.BNE Russia's war on Ukraine deserves condemnation, Uruguayan Defense Minister says.MP Bulgaria, NATO discuss response to Russian blockade in Black Sea.Euractiv Baltic states ban vehicles with Russian license plates in line with EU sanctions interpretation.EN

      Ukraine Has Lost 71,500 Soldiers in Counteroffensive: PutinTS Russia says Crimean shipyard on fire, two ships damaged in Ukraine missile attackEuractiv Russian hawks push Putin to escalate as US crosses more ‘red lines’.RS

      Ukraine’s counteroffensive to continue after onset of bad weather, Budanov says.Euractiv

      Thank god, there will be no end to the carnage. I was getting anxious that maybe the bloodshed might at least slow down, but fortunately manmade horrors beyond our comprehension still await us!

      Hyping Ukraine Counteroffensive, US Press Chose Propaganda Over JournalismFAIR

      Over the last three months, it has become clear that the Ukrainian military operation will not be the game-changer it was sold as; namely, it will not significantly roll back the Russian occupation and obviate the need for a negotiated settlement. Only after this became undeniable did media report on the true costs of war to the Ukrainian people.

      How Bill Clinton looted Russia and started NATO expansionMR

      China:

      The Quincy Institute reminds everybody that Vietnam may have a China strategy, but it is not America's China strategy, and they will not align with America against China any time soon.RS China is still confident in their Vietnam ties.GT

      China to impose sanctions on two U.S. companies over Taiwan arms sales.CGTN

      China’s newest aircraft carrier prepares to take to the seas.FT

      • SeventyTwoTrillion [he/him]M
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        The West:

        Antony Blinken and the diplomacy deficit: His remarks to students this week shows how much American exceptionalism and Great Power competition have taken over the craft.RS

        Air Force misses recruitment goal for first time since 1999.RS

        How the UK’s arms trade funnels public cash into private pockets.OD

        Labour:

        Kaiser Permanente workers have voted to authorize strike action to fight for safe staffing and fair wages.WSWS Auto Workers Strike Plants at All Three of the Big 3.LN ‘No Justice, No Jeeps!’ Scenes from the Auto Workers Strike.LN ‘We’re looking for the means of production’: Bakehouse workers in Chicago fight for independent union.RNN

        New Zealand doctors hold second strike.WSWS Sri Lankan railway union calls off drivers strike, after government threats and bogus promises.WSWS Sri Lankan government begins looting workers’ pension funds.WSWS

        Don’t Do the Boss Any Favors.LN

        Australian billionaire real estate developer Tim Gurner has said that unemployment needs to rise "40 to 50%" to discipline workers into working again, saying that “people decided they didn’t really want to work so much anymore through COVID, and that has had a massive effect on productivity.”PW

        Left and Right:

        Beneath the polycrisis is the singular dilemma of humanity called capitalism: The Thirty-Seventh Newsletter (2023)MR

        The Black Working Class Can No Longer Be Ignored.Jacobin

        Nazis Swarm Florida But Whew At Least No Trans Kids In SightCD

        Argentina shuts down Nazi and antisemitic publisher.DW

        Far-right AfD's Björn Höcke faces trial over Nazi slogan.DW

        LGBTQIA:

        Content Warning - this section is not usually good news.

        Florida City Declares Itself LGBTQ+ Sanctuary.Advocate Judge Won't Block Florida's Restrictions on Care for Trans Adults.Advocate Who could have possibly seen this coming? GOP Sen. John Kennedy Reads Queer Sex Excerpts at Cringe-Worthy Senate HearingAdvocate Alabama Families Continue to Appeal to Block Transgender Care Ban.Advocate Olivia Hill of Nashville Council Is First Trans Person Elected in Tennessee.Advocate California Becomes First State to Declare Transgender History Month.Advocate

        Mausoleum for Trans Women Inaugurated in Mexico City.Advocate Czech companies urge PM to ensure equal rights to LGBT+ people.BNE Rwanda: Activists want trans and intersex legal rights.DW

        ‘Standing up for trans people is self-defense for every worker’MR

        Climate:

        New Documents Show Exxon Executives Cast Doubt on Climate Science to Protect Profits.CD New Research Exposes 5 Global North Countries Responsible for 51% of Planned Oil and Gas Expansion Through 2050.CD Revealed: How Big Dairy Is Milking Net Zero.DS ‘There is nothing green about economic growth in high-income countries’.MR Only 11 countries are reducing emissions and all will miss Paris targets.BNE

        Hundreds of Scientists Endorse Demands of March to End Fossil Fuels.CD 400+ Actions to End Fossil Fuels Planned Around the World.CD Latin America, most dangerous region for environment defenders, Global Witness report.MP Electric vehicles aren't enough.Ecologist

        Small islands slam ‘endless’ climate talks at landmark maritime court hearing.CCN

        Overshoot Commission calls for research into solar geoengineering.CCN All planetary boundaries mapped out for the first time, six of nine crossed.MR

        Stop calling people ‘climate refugees’.CCN

        Climate change, unfortunately, has many negative effects. It might be clear that those fleeing an extreme weather event, such as storms or flooding, require emergency protections. Here, it’s easy to attribute the cause of displacement to climate change. But the task is more difficult when the impact develops over time, for example when droughts lead to land degradation and the loss of economic opportunities.

        Climate change is also a threat multiplier, meaning it exacerbates existing vulnerabilities. The decision to leave one’s home is usually based on multiple factors.

        At what point can we say climate change is the driving factor of displacement? And if moving is only partially motivated by climate change, does that mean the people affected are not deserving of safe migration routes and protection? Rather than try to reduce the experience of climate mobility into one, provocative, label, we need discussions and international policies capable of creating comprehensive labels that recognise the diversity of experiences and address the context-specific needs of people on the move due to climate change.

        Highly invasive fire ant reaches Europe, scientists call for urgent action.Euractiv

        Miscellaneous Analysis:

        FDIC Releases a New Problem Bank List: It’s an Exercise in FantasyWSoP

        Financial Statecraft and its Limits in the Semi-Periphery.DE

        Maha Hilal on Innocent Until Proven Muslim.FAIR

        IIPPE 2023 Part Two – China, profitability and financialisation, Michael Roberts.MR

        Dipshittery and Cope:

        The Left's Electoral Strategy Is Working. Let's Keep Building It.Jacobin

        Together, we can combine and amplify our struggles, and enhance solidarity. Together, we can crush strikes across America, as well as cry after voting for reactionary policies.

        I Love My Trans Comrades!