Thread image created by yours truly, depicting Iran and Pakistan very impolitely not asking whether America, on the other side of the planet, is okay with them transporting gas around.
The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline has long been obstructed by American involvement in the region. Iran completed its section of the pipeline quite quickly, but Pakistan has been unable to finish its construction for a decade due to the fear of falling afoul of American sanctions on Iran. The United States has repeatedly tried to pressure Pakistan to give up the project and obtain gas from other countries instead. Recent articles on the state of the pipeline are contradictory, with some stating that Iran or Pakistan have given up on the pipeline while American sanctions persist. Pakistani officials reject this framing, saying that they are still working with Iran to try and get the project completed somehow. Nonetheless, Iran is becoming increasingly frustrated and is threatening a legal battle and a demand for reparations.
Meanwhile, back in Niger, the $13 billion under-construction pipeline connecting Nigeria and other West African countries to Spain and Italy will likely face delays due to the sanctions applied by the West and ECOWAS on Niger. Those following the European gas fiasco will be aware that while Spain and Italy have been impacted by the energy crisis, they have been very busy making deals with African countries to replace their Russian gas, and thus stand a better chance than Germany of making it through the crisis with their industries somewhat intact. The coup has thrown a wrench into their plans, though they can still obtain some gas from northern African countries.
And, last but not least, America tried for years to stop the construction of the Nord Stream pipelines between Germany and Russia, which culminated in them deciding to blow them up late last year.
All in all - the United States really does not like it when countries build up energy infrastructure and gain some independence from them.
Here is the map of the Ukraine conflict, courtesy of Wikipedia.
This week’s first update is here in the comments.
This week’s second update is here in the comments.
This week’s third update is here in the comments.
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.
Update for August 18th
Perhaps a few too many articles.
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Global
AUKUS, QUAD transforming alliance-likeBhadrakumar
Modi is doing Modi things, basically. A little disappointing but most saw this coming.
The BRICS have changed the balance of forces, but they will not by themselves change the World: The Thirty Third Newsletter (2023)MR
Europe
Sarkozy on Russia: 'We need them and they need us’AM
Sweden raises its terror threat to four out of five after Quran burningsEN
Right-wing danger grows as crisis in German left continuesPW Germany’s skilled labor shortage worsensRT
Netherlands dips into recession after strong COVID reboundDW Netherlands hit with ‘mild recession’: CBSAM
“Mild recession” vs China’s “troubled economy” while still growing.
Spain’s Socialists candidate speaker wins key vote backed by CatalansAM
Spain battles ‘out of control’ wildfire on TenerifeAM
30 years after Yugoslavian socialism, Slovenian unions fight for the workers capitalism has forgottenRNN
Romania is EU’s largest wheat exporter in JulyBNE
Poland’s GDP falls 1.3% y/y in Q2, flash estimate showsBNE
Turkish Cypriot forces assault UN peacekeepersEuractiv
Western Asia
1,000 Palestinian prisoners go on hunger strike in IOF prisonsAM
Reviving hegemony: Israel’s land-and-rail proposal to the Persian GulfTC
Washington approves largest-ever Israeli arms dealTC
Presidents of Russia and Iran Discuss BRICS MembershipTS
Russia hosts first-ever meeting of Iran, Saudi defense officialsTC
Saudi Arabia welcomes ‘new phase’ in ties with IranTC
Iranian FM says ties with Saudi Arabia "moving in right direction"PD
Saudi Arabia’s oil exports fall to 21-month lowRT
Saudi Arabia and UAE race to buy computer chipsFT
Saudi Arabia inks $1.33bn worth of housing, infrastructure deals with ChinaTC
US occupation loots tons of Syrian oil, smuggles them into IraqAM
Central Asia
Russia’s war economyMichaelRoberts
Putin hints at plans for high-speed rail to DonbassRT
Former Mercedes plant near Moscow to resume production – deputy PM RT
Belarusian president says to work with China in promoting world peaceCGTN
China’s defence chief Li Shangfu mounts Belarus military ties mission on trip to Russian allySCMP
Kyrgyzstan: President pushes back on US accusations of sanctions-busting behaviorEN
…
Eastern Asia and Oceania
Xi Jinping urges speed in China’s rush to recover from devastating floodsSCMP
China’s outbound direct investment grows steadily in first seven months of 2023CGTN
China: Evergrande files for bankruptcy protection in USDW
China’s biggest banks offloading dollars – ReutersRT
Nooooo! That’s cheating! That’s not very Wholesome 100 free market of you!!!
China demands US lift tariffs on steel, aluminum after WTO rulingAM
Taiwan may be in breach of WTO rules: BeijingANN
Nepal says it never allows anti-China activities on its territoryCGTN
China to help Sri Lanka address challenges of financial debt: Wang YiCGTN
Sri Lankan president emphasizes importance of learning ChinesePD Over 50,000 families affected by dry weather in Sri LankaPD
Hopes up for positive real growth in Japan in fiscal 2023ANN
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More Koreans to suffer from ‘climate depression’: expertsANN
Young people reject partisan bickeringANN
:matt-jokerfied:
Biden ready to meet Kim without preconditions, Kirby saysAM
Household wealth rose in Singapore, defying downtrend elsewhere: UBS-Credit Suisse reportANN
Indonesia’s per capita income to double in next decade, Jokowi predictsANN
Indonesia, Singapore debut linked cross-border QR payment systemANN Indonesia delays $20bn green plan, after split with rich nations on grants and new coal plantsCCN
Australia identifies 5 mines of lithium, cobalt for IndiaBilaterals
Hyundai takes over General Motors plant in IndiaANN
Gig workers in India are exposed to highly polluted air and carcinogens, finds preliminary studyMongabay
India may import wheat from Russia at discountANN
India to buy a record 9mn tonnes of discounted Russian wheat to head off domestic price spikeBNE
Myanmar eyes surge in rice exports after India curbs supplyANN
2 US House members visit Solomon Islands but prime minister is ‘unavailable’ for meetingSCMP
lmfao.
Africa
Niger coup is doomed to “failure” - Nicolas SarkozyAN
Daily survival becomes a struggle for Niger residentsAN
France’s colonial legacy, US’ security concerns intersect in Niger; Russians at the gates look for new hunting groundsBhadrakumar
ECOWAS defense chiefs meet on deployment of standby force to NigerCGTN
At least 36 Nigerian soldiers killed in ambush, helicopter crashAN
There will be no further increase in petrol price - TinubuAN
Angolan president João Lourenço pledges more diverse funding for investment in southern AfricaEN Tanzanian farmers benefit from introduction of Chinese agricultural technologyPD
Over 60 dead in migrant boat sinking off Cape Verde coastAN
Libya: release of the leader of the militia at the center of the fightingAN
Chad: outbreak of a dengue “epidemic” in the east (health minister)AN
South Africa opposition parties join forces in bid to unseat ruling ANCAN
Senegal: Sonko on life support according to his lawyers and his partyAN
North America
Three largest U.S. airlines to double flights to ChinaCGTN US to impose tariffs on tin mill steel from China, Canada and GermanySCMP
CW: suicide, prisons
Suicide Watch Incidents in Louisiana Prisons Spike by Nearly a Third on Extreme Heat Days, a New Study FindsICN
end CW
As EU Weans Itself From Russian Energy, U.S. Shale Gas Industry Pushes New LNG Export Plant in PennsylvaniaDeSmog
US judge declines to block Florida law restricting Chinese from buying propertySCMP
U.S. gas prices hit 10-month highs amid tighter supplies, heatwavesPD
Giuliani Was in the Running to Be Trump’s Attorney General. His Authoritarian Rule as Mayor Suggests a Nightmare OutcomeWSoP
Mega Banks Take Down Stock Prices after a Fitch Warning About a Possible Downgrade to JPMorgan Chase and Its PeersWSoP
Teamsters and Auto Workers Are Raising the Bar for Contract CampaignsLN In UAW’s Negotiations With the Big Three Automakers, Ending Tiers Is a Central DemandJacobin
Safe staffing, wage hike in new pact for 8,000 NYC nursesPW
U.S. East Palestine residents endure toxic train wreck ordealPD
How Maui’s wildfires became the country’s deadliest in more than a centuryPW Maui’s deadly fires: Government failures and disaster capitalismGL Maui wildfire devastation exposes the legacy of colonialismMR Amid Maui fire devastation, Big Oil tries to kill Hawaii climate lawsuitRNN
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Latin America
‘Worse than the Special Period’: Cuba’s food situation more desperate by the dayPW
US escalates trade dispute over GM corn, challenges Mexico’s food sovereigntyBilaterals
El Salvador’s model of authoritarianism may be spreading to countries like Costa Rica and HondurasRNN
Critiques of Costa Rica’s Chaves might be legitimate, less certain of Hondura’s Castro. Rolling my eyes at the use of “authoritarianism” either way.
What Will Change in Guatemala with the 2023 Presidential Elections?Resumen
Jesuit university closed in Nicaragua for “terrorism”MP
…
Eyeing normalizing ties with Maduro’s Venezuela, France appoints envoyAM
Venezuela’s oil production signals remarkable reboundAM
Colombian president wants to amend free trade accord with USBilaterals
Russia overtakes US to become Brazil’s top fuel supplier – BloombergRT Brazil: Agrarian reform to focus on womenMP Bolsanaro’s Butchery: CIA Fingerprints Are All Over Brazil’s Indigenous Genocide MPN
The War Against The West
Zelensky holds court with Ukraine’s most notorious neo-NaziGrayZone
US approves F-16 fighter jets to be re-exported to UkraineFT
US approves sending F-16s to Ukraine from Denmark and NetherlandsEuractiv Ukraine’s counteroffensive has failed – US congressmanRT
Better Late Than Never? Spain’s El País Sounds Alarm Over Consequences of Ukraine “Proxy War” for EU’s FutureNC
Ukraine tells military-age citizens to ‘overcome their fear’ in recruitment campaignEuractiv
DPRK, Russia agree to military cooperation: reportCGTN
Philippines-Japan relations now evolving to include defence: MarcosANN
Retrospectives, Analysis, History, Theory, and Technology
Summer of the HawksSeymourHersh
NYT Reveals That a Tech Mogul Likes China—and That McCarthyism Is Alive and WellFAIR
The nonsensical ‘right and left need to unite to take on elites’ take that just won’t dieRNN
Yes! Thank you, RNN! What a gallery of bad takes they’ve collected. Cenk Uygur, Matt Stoller, Glenn Greenwald, Matt Taibbi… e.g, from Greenwald:
They might share antipathy, but one side wants to create something better in its place whereas the other wants to repurpose them to better oppress minorities. It’s obviously true that the elite are designing and amplifying a narrative of political polarization, but we shouldn’t play into that narrative by suggesting “What if we all just held hands?” We should reject the framing entirely and say “Actually, we need to overthrow them and also the right-wing are genocidal fascists and we cannot ally with them.”
Eugene Debs Really Loved BicyclesJacobin
8 scientists win China’s 2023 Future Science PrizeCGTN China’s robotics industry makes big stridesANN
Chinese scientists realize precise artificial synthesis of hexose from CO2CGTN
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LGBTQIA+
CW: transphobia
Chess Governing Body Bars Trans Women From Women’s CompetitionsAdvocate
80% of LGBTQ+ People Feel Less Safe Due to Gender-Affirming Care BansAdvocate
North Carolina Lawmakers Override Governor’s Veto of 3 Anti-LGBTQ+ BillsAdvocate
end CW
Climate and the Environment
Efforts made to bring back red-crowned cranes from brink of extinctionANN
Irish fishermen fear climate crisis will end fishing in IrelandAM
Can US and EU unseat China as the dominant supplier of green energy tech globally? Highly unlikely, experts saySCMP
China to scale up wind and solar recycling to tackle environmental impact of decommissioned hardwareSCMP
Discrediting carbon creditsEcologist
Carbon capture is only a way to make people feel good about continuing emissionsBNE
Essentially, yes.
Joe Biden’s DOJ Is Claiming “There Is No Constitutional Right to a Stable Climate”Jacobin
California’s Top Methane Emitter is a Vast Cattle Feedlot. For Now, Federal and State Greenhouse Gas Regulators Are Giving It a Pass.ICN
A Texas Dairy Ranks Among the State’s Biggest Methane Emitters. But Don’t Ask the EPA or the State About ItICN
Microplastics in J&K’s waterbodies dangerous to ecosystems and humans alikeMongabay
How an ancient Chinese city used ‘collective power’ to divert the threat of floodsSCMP
I Love My Trans Comrades!
Check out !traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns@hexbear.net !
Thought #1: What sort of advantage do trans people have over cis people in chess?
Thought #2: Why the hell are chess competitions gendered in the first place?
They think that men are naturally smarter than women, I guess
deleted by creator
It’s been a few years since I watched it, and it’s not specifically about trans people, but I remember Shaun made (as usual) an excellent video about women and chess, dismantling the ridiculous arguments that because there are more higher-ranked male chess players, men’s brainpans are better suited (than those of the emotional feeemale) for the kind of logical thinking that chess requires.
hey please remember to use ! when you link comms so that users from other instances and those that use apps especially have a much easier time navigating to the comm, like !traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns@hexbear.net
sweden raises terror alert to 4/5 quran burnings allowed this very hour. ‘a new age of hate-tourism has begun and stockholm shall be its cornerstone’, says swedish economy minister.
…please tell me they’re framing that as a bad thing, right?