this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2023
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Due to American cluster bombing campaigns advised by Kissinger during the Vietnam War to damage supply lines, over 2 million tonnes of ordinance were dropped on Laos over about a decade, averaging a planeload of bombs every 8 minutes. Laos is thus the most bombed country on the planet up to this point. 80 million bombs failed to explode - the cleanup operation is expected to take centuries, and 25,000 people have been killed and injured by bombs in the last 50 years. About 50 people are killed or injured every year to this day.

After the United States withdrew from Laos, the Pathet Lao took power and abolished the monarchy. Kaysone Phomvihane became a dominant figure in Laotian politics, keeping the course on Marxism-Leninism and implementing the first Five Year Plan in 1981. The second Five Year Plan in 1986 was modelled on Lenin's NEP, and this doubled rice production and significantly increased sugar production. After the fall of the USSR, Laos allowed a small capitalist class to exist, with similar control over them as in China. Laos maintains a 48-hour work week with paid sick leave, vacation time, and maternity leave, and workers are well-represented in trade unions. They faired relatively well during coronavirus from a social standpoint due to quick and efficient action to lock down the country, experiencing ~750 deaths out of a population of over 7 million.

There is hope even after utter destruction by genocidal oppressors.


The weekly update is here on the website.

Your Tuesday Briefing is here in the comments and here on the website.
Your Wednesday Briefing is here in the comments and here on the website.
Your Thursday Briefing is here in the comments and here on the website.
Your Friday Briefing is here in the comments and here on the website.


The Country of the Week is Laos! Feel free to chime in with books, essays, longform articles, even stories and anecdotes or rants. More detail here.

The bulletins site is here!
The RSS feed is here.
Last week's thread is here.

Israel-Palestine Conflict

If you have evidence of Israeli crimes and atrocities that you wish to preserve, there is a thread here in which to do so.

Sources on the fighting in Palestine against Israel. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:

UNRWA daily-ish reports on Israel's destruction and siege of Gaza and the West Bank.

English-language Palestinian Marxist-Leninist twitter account. Alt here.
English-language twitter account that collates news (and has automated posting when the person running it goes to sleep).
Arab-language twitter account with videos and images of fighting.
English-language (with some Arab retweets) Twitter account based in Lebanon. - Telegram is @IbnRiad.
English-language Palestinian Twitter account which reports on news from the Resistance Axis. - Telegram is @EyesOnSouth.
English-language Twitter account in the same group as the previous two. - Telegram here.

English-language PalestineResist telegram channel.
More telegram channels here for those interested.

Various sources that are covering the Ukraine conflict are also covering the one in Palestine, like Rybar.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Sources:

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.

Pro-Russian Telegram Channels:

Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.

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 Telegram Channels:

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.


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[–] theother2020@hexbear.net 50 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

Not that I wasn’t already jokerfied and radicalized, but this anti-zionism=antisemitism from the so-called “sane people” (Dems/Libs) has got me boiling.

The replies:

https://x.com/peterdaou/status/1731721735580336319

https://nitter.net/peterdaou/status/1731721735580336319

edit- word/clarity

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[–] FuckyWucky@hexbear.net 49 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Israeli police authorised the march organised by radical Temple Movement activists who call for demolishing the Al-Aqsa Mosque and replacing it with a temple.

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[–] InevitableSwing@hexbear.net 49 points 11 months ago (1 children)

A new camp area constructed in Rafah near the crossing. My friend shared with me these photos as he slept in the tents yesterday. He told me that there is no bathrooms or water. He told me it is unbearable and humiliating. He came back to Deir El Balah, he couldn't handle it.

Nitter

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[–] the_kid@hexbear.net 49 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

⚡️🚨 Al Jazeera:

A watchtower for the Spanish battalion in UNIFIL was hit by an #Israeli shell in Ebel al-Qamh, southern #Lebanon.

twitter | nitter

once again just targeting everyone who criticizes them

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[–] ThomasMuentzner@hexbear.net 49 points 11 months ago (6 children)
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[–] InevitableSwing@hexbear.net 49 points 11 months ago

Photos: Pro-Palestinian rally connects Picasso’s Guernica with Gaza - Al Jazeera

[–] edge@hexbear.net 49 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Ready for the most insufferable people on twitter to go from 🇺🇦🇮🇱 to 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇬🇾?

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[–] jackmarxist@hexbear.net 49 points 11 months ago (10 children)

The IDF stole someone's Lingerie collection from gaza and are using that as a justification for genocide.

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[–] Torenico@hexbear.net 49 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Two things I'll be looking into soon:

"How to renounce argentinian citizenship"

"How to apply for Yemeni citizenship"

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[–] Redcuban1959@hexbear.net 49 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Billionaires Are Suing the Honduran Government for Blocking Their Profit-Making Scheme

US billionaires are trying to establish a libertarian city-state in Honduras to evade democratic constraints. As progressive president Xiomara Castro resists their efforts, the Peter Thiel–backed firm Próspera is suing the country for constraining its profits.

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[–] Aru@lemmygrad.ml 49 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Not really new, but this dude was hunted down for sport in oct.7

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[–] 420LetPobedy@hexbear.net 49 points 11 months ago (1 children)
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[–] carpoftruth@hexbear.net 48 points 11 months ago (5 children)

I literally cannot believe that a) Blinken appointed Rich Nephew to be coordinator of the global anti corruption group and that b) I didn't hear about it until now

https://www.state.gov/biographies/richard-nephew/

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[–] Redcuban1959@hexbear.net 48 points 11 months ago

Lol, In Colombia the president is reforming the health services, but I only found US media criticizing the new reform of the health system, which will turn it into a public health system instead of public-private. They are complaining that it will break the country and "waste" money.

[–] AssortedBiscuits@hexbear.net 48 points 1 year ago

Hasbara makes Zionist presence seem very large on the Internet when they're very small in real life: https://nitter.cz/ysxsh/status/1731783737476583470 (CW: Zionist cope)

[–] DivineChaos100@hexbear.net 48 points 11 months ago (7 children)

CIApedia about China's former foreign minister: "On December 7, 2023 he died at the age of 57 from either suicide or torture."

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[–] the_kid@hexbear.net 48 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

#Breaking | Israeli media: Attack helicopter bombed a building in which our forces were positioned by mistake, killing one soldier and injuring others.

twitter | nitter

whoopsie

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[–] InevitableSwing@hexbear.net 48 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)
[–] Tervell@hexbear.net 48 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (16 children)

the power of American war planning (archived: part 1, part 2)

Miscalculations, divisions marked offensive planning by U.S., Ukraine

pretty long article, so only some choice bits:

spoiler

Key elements that shaped the counteroffensive and the initial outcome include:

● Ukrainian, U.S. and British military officers held eight major tabletop war games to build a campaign plan. But Washington miscalculated the extent to which Ukraine’s forces could be transformed into a Western-style fighting force in a short period — especially without giving Kyiv air power integral to modern militaries.

● U.S. and Ukrainian officials sharply disagreed at times over strategy, tactics and timing. The Pentagon wanted the assault to begin in mid-April to prevent Russia from continuing to strengthen its lines. The Ukrainians hesitated, insisting they weren’t ready without additional weapons and training.

U.S. military officials were confident that a mechanized frontal attack on Russian lines was feasible with the troops and weapons that Ukraine had. The simulations concluded that Kyiv’s forces, in the best case, could reach the Sea of Azov and cut off Russian troops in the south in 60 to 90 days.

Many in Ukraine and the West underestimated Russia’s ability to rebound from battlefield disasters and exploit its perennial strengths: manpower, mines and a willingness to sacrifice lives on a scale that few other countries can countenance.

ah, so we're back to the good old Nazi excuse of "they just won through superior numbers"

The year began with Western resolve at its peak, Ukrainian forces highly confident and President Volodymyr Zelensky predicting a decisive victory. But now, there is uncertainty on all fronts. Morale in Ukraine is waning. International attention has been diverted to the Middle East. Even among Ukraine’s supporters, there is growing political reluctance to contribute more to a precarious cause. At almost every point along the front, expectations and results have diverged as Ukraine has shifted to a slow-moving dismounted slog that has retaken only slivers of territory.

The campaign’s inconclusive and discouraging early months pose sobering questions for Kyiv’s Western backers about the future, as Zelensky — supported by an overwhelming majority of Ukrainians — vows to fight until Ukraine restores the borders established in its 1991 independence from the Soviet Union. “That’s going to take years and a lot of blood,” a British security official said, if it’s even possible. “Is Ukraine up for that? What are the manpower implications? The economic implications? Implications for Western support?”

In a conference call in the late fall of 2022, after Kyiv had won back territory in the north and south, Austin spoke with Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s top military commander, and asked him what he would need for a spring offensive. Zaluzhny responded that he required 1,000 armored vehicles and nine new brigades, trained in Germany and ready for battle. “I took a big gulp,” Austin said later, according to an official with knowledge of the call. “That’s near-impossible,” he told colleagues.

During one visit to Wiesbaden, Milley spoke with Ukrainian special operations troops — who were working with American Green Berets — in the hope of inspiring them ahead of operations in enemy-controlled areas. “There should be no Russian who goes to sleep without wondering if they’re going to get their throat slit in the middle of the night,” Milley said, according to an official with knowledge of the event. “You gotta get back there, and create a campaign behind the lines.”

??? dude just infiltrate a gajilion special forces behind enemy lines lmao, like what the fuck are American military "thinkers" even smoking?

Ukrainian officials hoped the offensive could re-create the success of the fall of 2022, when they recovered parts of the Kharkiv region in the northeast and the city of Kherson in the south in a campaign that surprised even Ukraine’s biggest backers. Again, their focus would be in more than one place.

recreate the success of the time the enemy just retreated because they were in a bad position and barely fought us at all

The exercises also predicted a difficult and bloody fight, with losses of soldiers and equipment as high as 30 to 40 percent, according to U.S. officials. ... War-gaming “doesn’t work,” the [senior Ukrainian military official] said in retrospect, in part because of the new technology that was transforming the battlefield. Ukrainian soldiers were fighting a war unlike anything NATO forces had experienced: a large conventional conflict, with World World I-style trenches overlaid by omnipresent drones and other futuristic tools — and without the air superiority the U.S. military has had in every modern conflict it has fought. “All these methods … you can take them neatly and throw them away, you know?” the senior Ukrainian said of the war-game scenarios. “And throw them away because it doesn’t work like that now.”

A far bigger problem was the supply of 155mm shells, which would enable Ukraine to compete with Russia’s vast artillery arsenal. The Pentagon calculated that Kyiv needed 90,000 or more a month. While U.S. production was increasing, it was barely more than a tenth of that.

“The plan that they executed was entirely feasible with the force that they had, on the timeline that we planned out,” a senior U.S. military official said.

it's not our fault we have no idea what the fuck we're doing, the plan was perfect, those damn slavs just couldn't execute it correctly

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[–] jackmarxist@hexbear.net 48 points 11 months ago (6 children)

God I really really wish that Democrats lose the elections and liberals for once realise that reality actually exists.

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[–] Alaskaball@hexbear.net 48 points 11 months ago (3 children)

https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-soldier-stopped-shooting-on-russians-running-out-of-ammo-2023-12?

Business Insider writes

A Ukrainian soldier says he stopped shelling small Russian units because he is running out of US-made artillery ammo

Lol

A Ukrainian soldier said he stopped shelling small Russian units because his brigade was running out of US-provided artillery ammunition, per The Times of London.

"When it's two or three soldiers, I'm not shooting any more; only when it's a critical situation, say, ten guys close to our infantry, we will work," Sergeant Taras "Fizruk" told the newspaper.

The 31-year-old mortar gunner said that he and his comrades from the 47th Mechanized Brigade "had ten times more ammunition over the summer." per the newspaper.

Real talk, when you got guys saying they're running low on mortar rounds you definitely know they're running dry on everything bigger than a mortar too.

"American rounds come in batches of almost identical weights, which makes it easier to correct fire, with very few duds. Now we have shells from all over the world with different qualities, and we only get 15 for three days. Last week, we got a batch full of duds," said the soldier.

hahaha

The lack of shells, Fizruk said, has hampered his unit's control over the northern flank of Avdviivka in eastern Ukraine and their ability to shoot at Russian troops.

"We should be controlling our sector from 4km away, so we can kill a few hundred Russian soldiers before they get to our infantry, and we only take a few wounded," he told the newspaper, adding: "But without ammunition, we can't."

The US and NATO allies have struggled to keep up with Ukraine's demands for artillery shells and ammunition, with Western ammunition stockpiles depleting.

Read: US-NATO struggle to fight a modern war against an enemy that can actually fight back

Ukrainian forces have been burning through artillery shells and ammunition at a rate of about 7,000 rounds a day, according to figures from Estonia's defense ministry.

Imagine having to rely on the Ostonianscringe

And Western supplies are now at the "bottom of the barrel," Admiral Rob Bauer of the Netherlands, who chairs NATO's Military Committee, said at a Warsaw Security Forum meeting in October.

he-laughed

"We need large volumes. The just-in-time, just-enough economy we built together in 30 years in our liberal economies is fine for a lot of things — but not the armed forces when there is a war ongoing," he said, per the BBC.

Muh invisible hands of the free market is choking the war effort

The issue has been compounded by Republicans in Congress, who are threatening to withhold crucial aid to Ukraine, including ammunition, a defining element in frontline combat.

Let's go legislative gridlock!

Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, said that Congress' delay in providing aid to Ukraine would "very likely make it impossible to continue liberating territory and create a high risk of losing the war," per The New Voice of Ukraine.

Continuing liberating territory? What territory? Some shrubs and a few patchs of farmland doesn't constitute "territory"

Newly committed aid to Ukraine reached a "new low" between August and October, with a 90% drop compared to the same period in 2022, according to a report compiled by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

So you're saying it could be lower thinking-about-it

The Kiel Institute, which has tracked aid promised and sent to Ukraine, said in an update on Thursday that while the new US aid package was delayed to next year, the EU's promise to supply one million rounds of ammunition has stalled.

point-and-laugh-1point-and-laugh-2

Israel's war with Hamas could also divert tens of thousands of artillery rounds initially slated for Ukraine, Axios reported in October. Despite having German Leopard 2 tanks and American Bradley M1 fighting vehicles, Fizruk told The Times of London that his unit couldn't break through Russia's defensive lines without artillery shells.

Other than saying fuck Israel and the Israeli genocide force, I agree with Fizruk that artillery is indeed the king of the battlefield. May he reign Supreme over all other monarchs.

To make up for the shortfall, Fizruk told the newspaper that his unit is now using unarmed drones to scare Russian troops away and fundraising for weapons they can buy.

Fundraising? The fuck are they fundraising with? Bake sales? Threatening to conscript you in you don't fund the war effort?

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[–] Parsani@hexbear.net 48 points 11 months ago (6 children)

I hope Russians come to their senses and vote prigo in the next election

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[–] the_kid@hexbear.net 48 points 11 months ago (6 children)

the epic reddit senator has struck again!

CW: SA

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[–] the_kid@hexbear.net 48 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

🚨 The French Navy claims to have shot down 2 drones over the red sea using a FREMM class frigate. The drones were launched from the coast of Yemen and they claim the drones were heading towards the frigate.

twitter | nitter

why tf is france-cool there

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[–] thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net 48 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

The US is scrambling to avoid another foreign policy crisis — this time in Congo

The U.S. drew up a multi-part deal for Congo and Rwanda to deescalate fighting between their forces. Democratic Republic of the Congo youth get the first steps of basic military training in Goma, eastern Congo, Monday, Nov. 7, 2022.

Democratic Republic of the Congo youth get the first steps of basic military training in Goma. Fighting in the eastern part of Congo has dragged on for decades.

A top U.S. intelligence official presented a detailed proposal to the leaders of Congo and Rwanda last week for a pact to reduce fighting in eastern Congo — and promised to help enforce the deal.

The leaders largely signed off on the U.S. plan, which included commitments for Rwanda to pull back its forces and offensive military equipment by Jan. 1 and for Congo to ground its drones, according to a readout of the meetings.

The readout shows that the U.S. is playing a much more active role than previously disclosed in trying to calm tensions in the increasingly volatile region, where conflict between Congolese forces and rebels backed by neighboring Rwanda is threatening to escalate into all-out war between the countries.

The Biden administration previously said that Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines flew to the region last week to “secure commitments” from Congolese and Rwandan leaders to deescalate fighting and that they “plan to take specific steps to reduce current tensions.” But the administration did not disclose the extent to which the U.S. was designing and overseeing the plan.

Wars in Ukraine and between Israel and Hamas are already destabilizing regions and straining global alliances. And a conflict between Congo and Rwanda could easily spill into other parts of Africa. It could also undermine U.S. efforts to counter China on the continent.

This is another region where it looks that it could escalate into a war, what happening is that for decades Rwanda has funded rebel groups and send its military into eastern congo to raid for resourses like rare earth minerals.

The main rebel groups its M23 a group made up by mainly people of rwandan decent and supported by the rwandan gov

In May DR Congo aligned groups has launch counteroffensives into the rebel held territory which has led to a humanitarian crisis.

There are also 2 big factors that could escalete the conflict, that China controls most of the business on rare minerals in congo with the US slowly trying to enter the sector which could turn this into a proxy war of some kind, and that the UN peacekeepers are leaving by the end of the year which would led to a security power vacuum.

All of this could end in the conflict escalating into war, that could escale to the size of the Second Congo War also known as the Great African War

amerikkka qin-shi-huangdi-fireball

Another thing i forgot to mention is that Rwanda biggest ally and main weapons supplier is Israel, and the rare minerals rwanda gets sold to israel too, so this is another problem the US will have to deal with, since it either pushing rwanda out and weakening israel (and making rwanda more aligned to russia) or piss off Congo and lose their rare minerals sector to China

isntrael qin-shi-huangdi-fireball

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[–] SoyViking@hexbear.net 48 points 11 months ago (2 children)

After just a fortnight in office, girlboss tech investor Mia Wagner has resigned as Denmark's minister of gender equality and digitalisation, citing health reasons. Wagner rose to prominence, first as a lawyer in her daddy's law firm, later as the leader of her daddy's web portal business. Having had no previous experience in party politics, Wagner joined the right-wing Liberal Party and was appointed minister as part of a purge of ministers brought about by a change in party leadership.

Shortly after her appointment to government she fell ill with what is reported to be a heart condition and went on sick leave. Having gone to work as a minister for just six days, Wagner will be entitled to a golden parachute if six months' salary.

The Liberal Party had usually been considered to be the natural leader of the Danish right but they have been in crisis for the last years and have some of the worst polling ever. They had hoped that bringing in an energetic outsider girlboss entrepreneur would win back younger PMC voters in cities but now they plan has failed.

In other news from Denmark's parliament, Mike Fonseca, the 28-year old neoliberal centrist MP who was expelled from the Moderate Party after admitting to having a 15-year old "girlfriend" has extended his sick leave from parliament for an indefinite time. Apparently being a nonce is a disease that makes you unable to go to work.

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[–] Coolkidbozzy@hexbear.net 48 points 11 months ago (3 children)

what if we give venezuela french guiana instead

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[–] AssortedBiscuits@hexbear.net 48 points 11 months ago (5 children)
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[–] SeventyTwoTrillion@hexbear.net 48 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Financial Times: Sorry America, China has a bigger economy than you

You might have seen sober and accurate Financial Times reporting of the US economy’s remarkable annualised growth rate of 5.2 per cent in the third quarter of this year. Let me give you an advanced sight of what happened in November. Forget talk of rapid growth or soft landings, the US economy shrank at an annualised rate of around 30 per cent in that month alone. It is so large, President Joe Biden must be toast and it probably spells the end of the American dream.

Don’t worry. I have not lost my marbles. The calculation above is true, but it is not fair. I have taken the US economic performance in November — assumed to have not done much — and calculated that in euros or renminbi after converting US GDP using market exchange rates. Then I annualised the result. The thing that drove the result was the near 3 per cent fall in the US dollar’s value during the month.

You would be right to think this is an absurd way to compare economies, but it is deeply fashionable among people who should know better. Take Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of England, who said that before the Brexit referendum, the UK economy was 90 per cent the size of the German economy but it had declined to 70 per cent by late 2022. That change was caused by the relative decline in sterling.

Remember European angst spread by the European Council on Foreign Relations that the EU had a bigger economy than the US in 2008 and now the US was a third larger? That was simply a rise in the US dollar from a low base.

The list goes on. On these silly market exchange rate comparisons, many news organisations have reported that Japan will lose its spot as the world’s third-largest economy to Germany this year. And, apparently, the US is still the world’s largest economy with China’s economy failing to catch up.

A basic requirement for international comparisons is that domestic data and international data give similar results. This is why the economics profession invented purchasing power parity exchange rates, allowing (imperfect) comparisons to be made based on the goods and services that money can buy. This matters for economic size and even military power. Remember, China funds the People’s Liberation Army using renminbi. It does not source from the US.

Measured at PPP, the latest IMF data shows China’s GDP exceeded that in the US around the time Donald Trump was “making America great again”. It is now 22 per cent larger. The figures make sense when you look at corroborating evidence. China’s electricity generation, for example, overtook that in the US in 2010. And during the 2016-22 period when China’s economy was supposedly making no progress compared with the US, its generation grew 45 per cent, while it was broadly flat in America.

It comforts both the US and China not to acknowledge the changing shift in global economic power. Coming from the UK, which lost its top economic dog status in the late 19th century but still has some delusions of grandeur, I can understand American denialism. For China, it is also easier to avoid responsibilities for climate change, debt relief and other global goods if it can still maintain its minnow status. In Europe, it is convenient for those wanting economic reforms to highlight a sense of falling behind because that can make change appear more urgent.

But ultimately, bad comparisons foster bad decisions. It would be easy for the EU economy once again to become the world’s largest at market exchange rates. All the European Central Bank would need to do is raise interest rates enough to push the euro up to the sufficient threshold. That might make Europe temporarily feel better, until it recognised it was suffering the mother of all recessions.

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[–] InevitableSwing@hexbear.net 47 points 1 year ago (1 children)

archive.today • Cindy McCain, Head of World Food Program, Faces Staff Revolt Over Gaza Conflict - The New York Times

Staff members accused Ms. McCain, the W.F.P.’s leader, of not leveraging her position to speak out against the suffering of Palestinian civilians, and some have called for her removal.

[...]

Staff members also accused Ms. McCain of compromising the neutrality of the organization by attending an international security forum on Nov. 18 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. There, she was introduced in her official U.N. capacity and sat next to Ehud Barak, the former prime minister of Israel. An annual prize in public service named after her late husband, Senator John McCain, was awarded to the “People of Israel.”

[...]

Addressing her attendance at the Halifax forum, she says: “I will always support the legacy of my husband. No one will ever take that away from me.”

[...]

In interviews and in the video meeting, they accused Ms. McCain of not calling out Israel for what they described as using food as a weapon in the Gaza Strip, where water and electricity have been cut off during Israel’s military offensive.

[...]

When Ms. McCain called the meeting, staff members in the program’s Jordan offices boycotted it. Others staged a symbolic walkout because, they said in interviews, they believed that Ms. McCain was defensive, combative and not listening to their concerns.

[–] Evilphd666@hexbear.net 49 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

How did the spouse of a fucking carrier war criminal get to be head of the WFP? Seems to be a severe conflict of interest.

I will always support the legacy of my husband. No one will ever take that away from me.”

The gulag is too good for her.

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[–] BigBoyKarlLiebknecht@hexbear.net 47 points 11 months ago (1 children)
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[–] wheresmysurplusvalue@hexbear.net 47 points 11 months ago (11 children)

Some day, when all this history is done occurring, I hope to see you all at a beach party. Communism will be established, all work fully automated, and no more news.

thought-l

meow-coffee

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[–] RyanGosling@hexbear.net 47 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Hearing talks of COVID or worse happening in China again. What are the chances there’s a second visible pandemic and Biden follows the Trump playbook because he’s too afraid that strict health measures will make him lose

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[–] kleeon@hexbear.net 47 points 11 months ago (5 children)

Germany's latest military aid package to Ukraine:

  • LUNA NG reconnaissance drone
  • 10 VECTOR reconnaissance drones
  • 1,750 155mm caliber shells
  • 70 MGW automatic grenade launchers
  • 6 patrol vehicles
  • 8 Zetros trucks
  • 100,000 military first aid kits

1750 shells. this is so over

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[–] AssortedBiscuits@hexbear.net 47 points 11 months ago (7 children)

Background of that Chinese settler. Netizens are absolutely brutal lmao: https://nitter.cz/epipeny/status/1732905307821728115

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[–] thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net 47 points 11 months ago (8 children)

A newspaper from 1981

"Venezuela is expansionist"

Cuba today reiterated its support for Guyana*

translated articlein its border dispute with Venezuela and accused the latter of claiming something that does not belong to it, according to Cuban Foreign Minister Ricardo Alarcón in a press conference. Alarcón gave a press conference, a few hours before returning to his country, after having stayed here for two days on an official visit. According to the Cuban Foreign Minister "Venezuela's claim is proof of expansionism and Guyana* has the full right to enjoy its entire territory with complete freedom." "We reiterate our solidarity with Guyana." * and we support their full right to be able to develop their territory, in all their regions," declared the head of Cuban diplomacy. Alarcón met with Guyanese personalities, especially with Foreign Minister Rasheleigh Jackson, during his stay in this capital.

fidel-peace

Chavez also was against the esequibo claims and the right called him a traitor for it

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[–] Dull_Juice@hexbear.net 47 points 11 months ago (5 children)

In NFL News

This Sunday against the Raiders, various people within the Vikings organization will be supporting Israel on their feet. Kicker Greg Joseph’s cleats and sneakers that will be worn by the Wilfs and team CEO Andrew Miller.

Twitter Nitter

Some context is the kicker is a white South African. The Wilfs are NJ based real estate "developers".

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[–] Redcuban1959@hexbear.net 47 points 1 year ago

Peru Update:

Pedro Castillo, former President of Peru, said at the hearing asking for his pre-trial detention to be revoked that the country's Attorney General, Patricia Benavides, set up his arrest because he "didn't agree with her actions".

Castillo also reaffirms the accusations he made at the time, that it was a plot by Congress and the Attorney General's Office to remove him from office.

He also said that it is now public and notorious that the Attorney General led an alleged criminal group that enticed members of Congress.

[–] DeDollarization@lemmygrad.ml 47 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (8 children)
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[–] CyborgMarx@hexbear.net 47 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (6 children)
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[–] SexMachineStalin@hexbear.net 47 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

More exciting things still continue to happen in South Africa - Hamas has sent a delegation there recently and pretty much was given a warm welcome by Mandla Mandela and Solly Mapaila, alongside interviews on major Islamic broadcasts.

The SAJBD and SAZF continue to cope and seethe as is tradition. The forecast of rainy weather in Johannesburg until at least next Monday is actually their tears.

spoilerEliyahu David Kay's semen was not recovered in time. PIGPOOPBALLS

[–] refolde@hexbear.net 47 points 11 months ago (6 children)

What if inherently evil fantasy race but it's literally just white settlers.

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