news

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-vote-95-bln-ukraine-israel-aid-bill-after-failed-border-deal-2024-02-08/

A $95.34 billion bill that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan advanced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday after Republicans blocked compromise legislation that included a long-sought overhaul of immigration policy.

Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

China on cusp of next-generation chip production despite US curbs

The sanctions are working everybody

China’s national chip champions expect to make next-generation smartphone processors as early as this year, despite US efforts to restrict their development of advanced technologies.

...

According to two people with knowledge of the plans, SMIC is aiming to use its existing stock of US and Dutch-made equipment to produce more-miniaturised 5-nanometre chips. The production line will make Kirin chips designed by Huawei’s HiSilicon unit and destined for new versions of its premium smartphones.
While 5nm chips remain a generation behind the current cutting-edge 3nm ones, the move would show China’s semiconductor industry is still making gradual progress, despite US export controls.
“With the new 5nm node, Huawei is well on track to upgrade its new flagship handset and data centre chips,” said one person familiar with the plans.

Via FT: https://archive.is/oQkAq

@[email protected] congrats on the interview

new slammer post

i wonder if the Blue$kkky codes i have can still be used

The helicopter giveth and the helicopter taketh away

Germany’s last solar panel producer prepares to close shop

By Nikolaus J. Kurmayer at EURACTIV. The article is not quoted in full.

Meyer Burger, the last producer of solar modules in Germany, has announced plans to close down and relocate to the US, fuelling political debates on whether the industry deserves long-term state support to ensure its survival.

Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck’s plan to entice solar module manufacturers back onto German soil by offering generous state subsidies is faced with a dead-end. Within the fractuous government coalition, the liberal FDP party is blocking plans to grant a “resilience bonus” to would-be manufacturers, amid a continued budget crisis caused by a ruling from Germany’s top court last month which blew a €60 billion hole in the country’s finances.

Now, the Swiss module producer Meyer Burger is threatening to relocate to the US entirely, putting 500 jobs at risk.

Solar panels are mostly manufactured in China these days, but Germany is still home to some parts of the value chain. Polysilicon, for example, is produced by chemicals company WACKER in Saxony, a former communist state of East Germany.

...

“We are in talks with Meyer Burger, and we are very aware of the difficult situation of this company and the PV industry in Germany,” a government spokesperson said on Wednesday. The company set a deadline for “the second half of February 2024” and called for “resilience measures” to secure production in Germany.

Germany’s woes with solar PV manufacturing come as Europe debates its own industrial policy law, the Net-Zero Industry Act. The proposed law aims aims to support production in Europe of technologies seen as essential to achieve climate neutrality, like solar panels, wind turbines and heat pumps. Negotiations to conclude the law are now entering the final stages in Brussels after EU member states and the European Parliament both adopted their respective positions.

Neoliberalism: not even once, kids.

More helicopter news A military helicopter has gone missing that was traveling from Las Vegas to San Diego and they are looking for it along with the five marines that were on it. It should be noted that Southern California had major rainfall and heavy winds due to the atmospheric river which probably caused them to crash.

Archive link

AFL-CIO calls for a negotiated ceasefire in Palestine, releasing of prisoners, all aid to the Palestinian people, an affirmation of the U.N mandated Two-State as the best pathway to long-term stability and peace.

Opinions of their dogshittiness aside, this is a progressive direction in favor for the Palestinian people.

I would like to encourage any Union members here to sign or urge others to sign this petition initiated by UE and UFCW Local 3000.

Any complaints about purity will be allowed but also be met with the spray bottle.

This is most likely the best you'll get out of the American labor movement, take what you can get at this current time.

https://secure.everyaction.com/w1qW7B3pek2rTtv9ny5bqw2

Russia made a 30-km defensive line crafted from 2,100 railroad cars

Came across this short clip from The Interview on Carl Zha’s Twitter

Tucker interrupts: so you think Russia will reconcile with America if the next administration is not hostile?

Putin: shut up let me finish my story with Xi Jinping first (then proceeds to quote figures and stats for the next few minutes)

lmao the disrespect

As to Tucker’s question, Putin basically said near the end that if the US cannot stop its desire for domination, then nothing will change.

The government of the Belgian region of Wallonia cancelled two arms exports licenses to the zionist entity, citing the International Court of Justice's ruling. The cancelled gunpowder contracts, which were granted to PB Clermont in early 2023, had been set to arrive at the occupied port of Asdod.

Four days ago, Belgium summoned the zionist ambassador after a Belgian development agency building in Gaza City was bombed by the IOF. Belgium has also refused to suspend UNRWA funding, and its major trade unions have refused arms exports to the zionist entity since the end of October. Liège, a city in the Wallonia region, also suspended ties with the zionist entity in October.

Haiti: Mobilization of People in Name of a Revolution Proposed

The dismissal of Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry does not mean the end of the struggle, but rather its beginning, for other lapdogs will rush to take his place, warns the daily.

On Thursday, official sources said that Haiti is on the brink of the abyss and that workers, trade unionists, activists and young people of all stripes must unite to transform their popular demands into a revolution, suggests an article in the Haiti Liberté newspaper.

All face exploitation, insecurity and repression, and there is only one solution: a revolution.

"There is no other way to eradicate these evils that are killing us than to overthrow the system, and only a total upheaval will disrupt this imperialist laboratory that reproduces puppet leaders who have no patriotic conscience," the text points out.

“Mobilizing the people in the name of revolution is a crucial first step and even if we get rid of the rotten political class, we have barely begun,” the article points out.

“We will have to climb many mountains, and imperialism” - in reference to the U.S. government – “will turn its fury against us, seeking to divide and confuse us, to sabotage and destroy the embryo of a new society,” the article stated.

“The revolution will not triumph in a day, in a week, in a month, or even in a year, for it requires persistent, difficult and disciplined work,” the editorial clarifies.

This is a complex and long-term task. It cannot be achieved in a hurried, careless, spontaneous and thoughtless manner because it requires discussion, struggles, trials, sacrifices, mistakes and awareness, the text of the newspaper states.

The dismissal of Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry does not mean the end of the struggle, but rather its beginning, for other lapdogs will rush to take his place, warns the daily.

"The tentacles of the imperial monster are already in Haiti and even present in our popular mobilizations", denounces the daily Haiti Liberté.

The article also stressed that they must “prepare for setbacks and not be discouraged, for we have many lessons to learn from our neighbors Cuba and Venezuela, who endured countless trials, and with them, we must quickly build bridges.”

A revolution to be lasting must be led by a disciplined, broad and deeply rooted party among the people, that is the key to success, as it would make us strong and resistant ideologically, economically and politically, recommended the newspaper in its extensive work.

Spain has suspended all arms export licences to Israel since October 7, 2023, according to Spanish Foreign Minister José Albares Bueno.

https://nitter.mint.lgbt/MintPressNews/status/1754941034562212264

https://twitter.com/MintPressNews/status/1754941034562212264

Botswana has rejected plans by the G7, a group of Western countries, to have all African diamonds sent to Antwerp, Belgium for certification. Gaborone claims that such a move - which is designed to enforce sanctions on Russian diamonds - would cause a logistical nightmare and increase costs for African diamond producers:

https://twitter.com/african_stream/status/1755961179439001752

https://nitter.cz/african_stream/status/1755961179439001752

Is it just me or do pinkwashers like people from Israel never ever even pretend to care about trans rights?

For those who are not aware, Syrsky has a reputation for not caring about the lives of the soldiers under his command. He is responsible for the Bakhmut defense, and hence hated among the troops. And the cherry on top is that he wasn't even born in Ukraine -- he's from Russia.

It's such a disastrous choice that for the first time since the war started, I'm seeing both sides in complete agreement on Twitter.

MI5 tried to recruit British man in Gaza by offering to help family escape

A British man stranded in Rafah with his young family has told Middle East Eye that MI5 offered to help them to escape from Gaza but only if he agreed to work for the spy agency.

The man, who said he did not accept the offer, now fears that his displaced family – who include a one-year-old daughter with a serious medical condition, and two other young children – is in imminent danger from an expected Israeli offensive and a humanitarian crisis that is worsening by the day.

Shout out to @[email protected]'s suggestion of

Using April 1st as an excuse to post fake headlines, like the resurrection of Kissinger while he is still fortunately dead

Winning the popular vote! The rule has now been edited to reflect the will of the people.

Wow, interesting choice going with Germany for COTW. Might do an effort post or two on this weird country later since I'm old enough to, uhm, speak with some authority on the subject. Have to figure out my password first though in order to log in on my PC cause I ain't writing several paragraphs on my damn phone.

Like Donald Trump used to say, stay tuned!

My memory is fine Jack, please find me guilty

I sometimes think to myself this is the most horrific thing I've seen in my life, then I remember the "so far". I can't comprehend anything more horrific than what is going on in Gaza, but I feel like I will see even more horrific things in the future.

US congress receives bill to review SA relations following ‘politically motivated’ ICJ case

A bill has been submitted to the United States congress calling for a full review of the country’s bilateral relationship with South Africa following the International Court of Justice ruling that found it plausible that Israel has committed acts of genocide against Gaza.

Is it really called the "David's Sling" missile defense system? These people are so fucking gay for the bible. Just put your dick in it, you know you want to.

Virgin David's Jockstrap vs Chad

"More than anything, I am frightened by the Palestinianization process of the public" Twitter thread on how the IOF engage in massive looting:

https://twitter.com/ireallyhateyou/status/1756095062218252562

https://nitter.mint.lgbt/ireallyhateyou/status/1756095062218252562

The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, is on his way to the Moneda Palace, the seat of the Chilean government, after the helicopter in which Sebatian Pinera was riding crashed

According to CNN Chile, the helicopter crashed in Ilihue, in the Los Rios region, killing one person and injuring three. Sebastian Pinera was reportedly piloting the helicopter.

lmao EU gardeners agitating to sanction Tucker Carlson

No comment even needed. The bold sentence gives me deep anger.

Genius reporters from bild, 5 years after baerbock happily said that her opa was defending oder against soviet army, discovered that he might have been, in fact, a nazi 🕵️‍♀️

This is top-notch yellow journalism from axel springer (also a collaborator with the nazis btw)

Another example why Syrians love Russia:

"The Russian army carried out a humanitarian operation in the city of Basra al-Sham in Daraa governorate. The Russian side donated medical equipment, medicines and food parcels to an optical hospital."

It's noteworthy that Daraa is is the Southwest of Syria and thus under complete US embargo and blocked from receiving UN aid. Most of the infrastructure had to be completely rebuilt after it was liberated from US-israel-Qatar-Turkish backed terrorists in 2018.

https://t.me/JH_Team_SyriaNews/1495?single

I wonder if the recent developments in relations between Russia and the DPRK will have a big impact on the DPRK's economy. I believe that the DPRK is sanctioned by practically every major country, as well as having to spend a lot of money on defense, because they literally have the enemy on their border. Something that even Cuba doesn't have to deal with. Cuba only has to take care of the Guantánamo Base and can easily attack the mainland USA if it wants to.

Now, with practically the entire West sanctioning Russia, I think Russia has decided to remove its sanctions against the DPRK and has normalized their trade relationship. So, will this really have a big impact on the DPRK's economy and quality of life, as Russian companies can sell things to the DPRK without running the risk of being sanctioned by the US?

Will it be like when Cuba was suffering during the 1990s and then the Pink Wave hit Latin America and Cuba can now trade with its neighbors and receive aid and money from Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil?

Looming disaster episose 8764

The Government told the IMF that poverty already affects more than 50% of Argentines

In a document presented to the international organization, the Ministry of Economy made a harsh diagnosis of the current economic panorama and assured that they are doing everything possible to protect the most vulnerable sectors.

(They are not doing anything to protect the vulnerable sectors)

The government estimates that more than 50% of Argentines live below the poverty line and that number is close to 60% for children, according to the letter of intent presented to the staff of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The document signed by the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, and the head of the Central Bank, Santiago Bausili, ensures that the current administration “has inherited the worst economic, financial and social situation in our history, with an economy on the brink of a crisis.” due to chronic and widespread macroeconomic imbalances.

Partially true. I don't think this is the worst inheritance a government had in history, but since the return of democracy (1983) it probably is. The disaster of today (milei) can be explained with the disasters of yesterday (Fernandez and Macri).

In this sense, they stated: “Real salaries have decreased and levels of informality and poverty have increased. Today, more than 50% of Argentines live below the poverty line, and that number is close to 60% for children.” According to the latest data available from Indec, in the first half of 2023, poverty reached 40.1% of the population.

As a solution, they indicate that they are in the process of implementing “an orthodox and ambitious stabilization plan aimed at correcting the extensive policy failures of the previous administration to avoid the collapse of the economy.” In this regard, the letter of intent states: “Our program is based on an ambitious fiscal adjustment of approximately 5 percent this year, achieved through a balanced combination of spending cuts and, initially, temporary revenue measures, which provide room for increase social assistance.”

Regarding the fiscal deficit, Caputo and Bausili assured that in 2023 it exceeded 5% of GDP, reaching and rising to 15% when taking into account quasi-fiscal costs. “The monetization of the 2023 fiscal deficit by the Central Bank reached 5% of GDP, fueling inflation, creating a large oversupply of pesos and significantly weakening the central bank's balance sheet,” they considered.

“Upon taking office, we faced a dangerous 5% collapse in industrial activity and uncontrolled inflation already at a daily rate of 1.5%, close to hyperinflation. We also had imminent payments to the IMF and international bondholders of over $2.5 billion. With insufficient international reserves in the Central Bank, we face the risk of not being able to meet our external obligations,” they said as a diagnosis of the country's situation.

“Liquid international reserves were depleted, and net international reserves fell to an alarming deficit of USD 10.3 billion. In short, misguided economic policies led to the loss of access to private financing and jeopardized access to crucial multilateral financing,” they added.

With this diagnosis, the Minister of Economy details in the document that public spending is being drastically rationalized through several cuts in poorly directed and inefficient energy and transportation subsidies, public employment, capital expenditures and transfers to provinces and state companies.

Which makes everything more shittier. Like, for the sake of argument, I """understand""" the """need""" to cut subsidies to transport and energy, but now people have to pay much more in taxes and transport fees without any compensation. As it article said before, salaries dropped significantly and are losing to monthly inflation, most workers are NOT getting raises. We don't have the pockets to face the current economic disaster.

“Revenue is being mobilized through a temporary increase in export taxes and the tax on access to foreign currencies (Impuesto País), as well as efforts to reverse harmful changes in the personal income tax,” it indicates.

And he adds: “Over time, we will seek to safeguard our consolidation and improve the quality of adjustment, including through reforms that strengthen and simplify the tax system, improve the sustainability and equity of the pension system, and continue to reduce the burden while increasing the efficiency of public spending, including in areas such as subsidies, social programs and infrastructure.”

However, the IMF indicated in its report that this stabilization plan must include a temporary expansion of specific social aid to protect the most vulnerable from the initial burst of inflation and the contraction of activity. The recommendation of the agency's staff is based on the fact that "Argentina has experienced a constant increase in poverty, amid accelerated inflation and the decline in real wages."

“The latest statistics until the first half of 2023 suggest that poverty has reached 40%, with 56% of children below the poverty line and almost 10% of the population in extreme poverty. Preliminary estimates (based on World Bank models) suggest that total poverty has increased to around 45% more recently, driven by increases in the price of the basic consumer basket (up 190% year-on-year through November) and decreases in the real wages of informal workers (a decrease of 20% year-on-year in October),” they noted.

Taking into account that the government will implement “policies to correct exchange rate and relative price misalignments (for example, public transport tariffs that covered less than 8 percent of the cost of service and lower level energy bills that represented only 15 percent of the real production costs), the Ministry of Economy indicates, in line with the requests of the IMF, that they are doing everything possible to protect the most vulnerable sectors of Argentine society and ensure that the burden of adjustment falls on those who receive excessive privileges.

Pure garbage from the IMF. We're here stuck in this place thanks to them too.

And it's going to get worse. I work night shifts (delivery) and there's a ridiculous amount of unhoused people living in the streets, small kids walking around, entering businesses and asking people for money. It's heartbreaking to see entire families sleeping together in one matress, people opening up garbage containers in search for food or scraps they can sell. The number of Cartoneros (People who collect cardboard or paper to sell) has skyrocketed as well, you see them moving their huge carts, which are insanely heavy, all day long. It must be incredibly painful to work like that under the scorching sun in the middle of summer at 38°C, all of that for pennies. Power to them.

This country keeps more than half of it's children under poverty line. It's a disgrace, it's shameful.

Chinese yuan gives US dollar a run for its money as African trade embraces other currencies

By Jevans Nyabiage at SCMP. Article is quoted in full.

When you land at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka, one of the billboards welcoming you to the Zambian capital advertises the services of the Bank of China (BOC). There are not many countries in Africa where the Chinese government-owned financial institution offers fully fledged banking services in yuan, the Chinese currency. In addition to Zambia, BOC has a branch in Johannesburg, South Africa, as well as a representative office in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

But it was in the southern nation of Zambia where BOC established its first African subsidiary, allowing customers to make deposits in and even withdraw Chinese yuan. Branches in both Lusaka and Kitwe, a mining town in the country’s northern Copperbelt region, serve the growing number of Chinese mining firms and immigrants. Recently, the lender also announced that its Zambian division would help to boost the use of the yuan for trade as part of China’s efforts to promote the Chinese currency in Africa.

BOC vice-president Lin Jingzhen visited Zambia in December. In a meeting with President Hakainde Hichilema, Lin promised to use the lender’s global reach to facilitate economic and trade ties using the Chinese currency – not only with Zambia, but other African nations as well. “Actually, Bank of China is a local clearing bank and we will earnestly act upon our responsibility and leverage on our role in Zambia to support other African countries to provide holistic products and services related to the yuan and to promote the use of the yuan in bilateral trade and economic activities,” Lin said during his visit to Lusaka. Lin’s trip followed Hichilema’s state visit to China in September, when the two countries agreed to trade more using their own currencies.

A joint statement following a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Hichilema said the two nations would “create a favourable policy environment for promoting settlements in local currencies and support a greater role of the Chinese renminbi settlement bank in Zambia”. Zambia is Africa’s second-largest copper producer, most of it exported to China, the world’s largest consumer of the metal. But financial woes hit Zambia in 2020 when it defaulted on foreign debt.

Last June, China helped strike a deal to restructure US$6.3 billion in Zambian loans. About US$4.1 billion of this is owed to China, the country’s largest bilateral lender. Beijing has also encouraged the use of local currencies across various African countries as part of its de-dollarisation bid. And it has pushed for the issuance of cross-border yuan-denominated “panda” bonds.

Last year, Egypt issued three-year panda bonds worth 3.5 billion yuan (US$490 million), when it decided to opt for less conventional borrowing as it faced an economic crisis that resulted in fewer dollars and other hard currencies. Kenya, which is also facing debt repayment troubles, is considering issuing panda bonds to secure funds to retire its US$2 billion Eurobond which is due this year.

Charlie Robertson, head of macro strategy at FIM Partners, an asset management firm, said the West’s stringent financial sanctions on Russia had made China determined to accelerate the use of the yuan, to reduce its vulnerability to similar sanctions that could stem from a possible invasion of Taiwan. “Encouraging the use of China’s currency gives China more foreign policy flexibility,” Robertson said. “It also transfers currency risk from China, which might otherwise have to accept very undervalued or overvalued US dollars from trading partners, on to its trading partners.” Robertson explained that Egypt now carried the currency risk from borrowing in China’s currency after issuance of its panda bonds. Equally, Zambia carried the currency risk from accepting yuan as payment for its resources.

“There is a good case to be made for Egypt and Zambia; this is a reasonable diversification – from mainly US dollar currency risk to a broader range of currencies,” Robertson said. Until now, if the US Federal Reserve increased rates significantly and the US dollar strengthened, Egypt and Zambia would be very exposed, Robertson said. “In the future, the Fed will matter a little less, and the People’s Bank of China will matter a little more. “I have no doubt that China will push hard for more and more trade and debt to be issued in its currency, with the inducement today that Chinese interest rates are lower than in the US.”

Sub-Saharan geoeconomic analyst Aly-Khan Satchu said a powerful tailwind was driving greater adoption of the yuan. “We are at a tipping point in Africa,” he said, saying African countries that had borrowed in dollars were not only shut out of dollar capital markets but their debts had increased on a foreign exchange-adjusted basis. “It is an untenable situation,” Satchu said, adding that this was now pushing African countries to diversify their dollar exposure. “It makes perfect sense to trade in [the yuan] with your largest trading partner, which is China for most of the continent. So further adoption is a no-brainer.” Satchu also expected more panda bonds to be issued by African countries. “I think we are just embarked on the sophistication curve and could see asset-backed pandas, for example, which would free up China-Africa credit lines and allow China to better manage its Africa lending book,” he said.

Beijing is likely to continue to encourage Chinese firms to use the yuan in trade payments across countries in the Belt and Road Initiative, according to Robert Greene, a non-resident scholar for the Asia Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “In 2024 we could see China’s largest state-owned banks’ presence in Africa expand, as well as further growth of China-Africa cross-border [yuan] settlement arrangements. It is also important to watch how African banks’ connectivity with China grows,” Greene said. A China-Africa cross-border yuan settlement centre launched in Zhejiang province in mid-2023, and Mauritius now has the third clearing centre for the Chinese currency in Africa, after South Africa and Zambia. “We could see new agreements involving China’s central bank and state-owned commercial banks aimed at increasing [yuan] use in China-Africa cross-border trade payments,” Greene said. “One thing to watch for in 2024 is the establishment of bilateral currency swap agreements between China’s central bank and African counterparts. These agreements can be used to facilitate greater [yuan] use in cross-border trade and finance.”

In Nigeria, politicians are reportedly working to revive a 2018 bilateral currency swap agreement with the Chinese central bank. In August, South Africa’s largest lender, Standard Bank, and the largest Chinese state-owned bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, renewed a long-standing partnership that facilitates yuan use across 15 African markets.

Greene said many emerging markets were pursuing policies aimed at increasing the use of local currencies in cross-border trade payments. “In some jurisdictions, officials believe that such policies could reduce domestic demand for dollars, and … help address local currency depreciation and exchange rate risks,” he said. “Also, in certain countries, there is a desire to build out financial infrastructure that is more resilient to US and European economic sanctions.”

Zaluzhny's replacement is Syrskyi, aka. "The Butcher of Bakhmut"

Expect unlimited Ukrainian casualties under his command.

Leading Finnish presidental candidate just said he would be open to storing nuclear warheads in Finland.

Completely unhinged. Not only would it escalate tensions, in an actual war between Russia and NATO it's probably gonna make bombing Finland into the ground a much higher priority goal for Russia, seems like an incedibly counter-intuitive way to protect your people.

Maybe he wants to give as many Finns as possible a quick death to nuclear bombs rather than slowly starving after a nuclear war, which I guess is understandable.

Since germany is the cotw here's something some people don't really get just how fucked it currently is:

The current ruling regime is deeply undemocratic, the SPD after decades of being junior parties to the CDU/CSU have basically become a party without politics they for the most part lean on some left-wing aesthetics they've been able to retain but they are deeply deeply unpolitical. Up next the Greens, there's more than a few that are just straight up US plants I think the most obvious one is Baerbock who used to work for a US-funded think tank so all you are left with is the FDP, who are only concerned with neoliberalism. They were able to do quite well during the elections but since are polling at 4%. So in short germanys politics are decided by the US and 4% of wannabe capitalist germans.

Germany is not a democratic country, inb4 duh, just keep that in mind whenever you see crazy stuff like farmer's protests, Reichsbürger, nazi parties polling at 20+% and any other crazy shit that'll happen it is because currently only 4% of the voter base is actually 'represented'.

Edit: In short deeply deeply unserious 'country' it should be deleted.

Hardly news at this point but the there is an eruption again in Iceland, this one will probably go for about 80 hours like the last one. We might lose heating unless our gigachad hero labourers manage to protect the water pipe. Here is a ticker in English

The residents of the now permanently evacuated town of Grindavík, have by now all found lodgings but face the fact that their homes now have no monetary value. There is a state mandated insurance policy for large scale natural disasters but it is nowhere near enough for a whole entire municipality. The government is deliberating on some sort of aid but exactly what and how much is still to be seen. Since they are respectively fairweather centrists, spineless socdems and soulless neolibs I don't have much hope for something good, but they might surprise.

Local unions have already been fighting with pension funds and banks about freezing payments and have had some success, especially since it's not gonna get better for the inhabitants.

In other labour news the largest Unions formed a united front for the next rounds of labour bargaining. Negotiations went well at first but are now being overseen by the labour arbitrator. The unions want pay increases based on absolute numbers rather than percentages, the Employers Union wants wage slavery.

Backpackers are probably my favorite type of foreigner. They're usually the most open-minded to the local culture and are either chill dudebros or hippy types that want to do recreational drugs with the indigenous people. Haven't really had any negative incidents with them.

This is definitely a good sign that your country isn't going to be technologically surpassed by China: https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/jpl/jpl-workforce-update/

After exhausting all other measures to adjust to a lower budget from NASA, and in the absence of an FY24 appropriation from Congress, we have had to make the difficult decision to reduce the JPL workforce through layoffs. JPL staff has been advised that the workforce reduction will affect approximately 530 of our colleagues, an impact of about 8%, plus approximately 40 additional members of our contractor workforce. The impacts will occur across both technical and support areas of the Lab. These are painful but necessary adjustments that will enable us to adhere to our budget allocation while continuing our important work for NASA and our nation.

https://archive.is/bnVu1

Maybe a bit of more lighthearted news.

US Army spent billions on a new helicopter that now will never fly By Jen Judson

That's right, more money burned for no reason, with even more money that was assigned to the project being funneled into modernizing the aging army helicopter fleet

Nothing pisses me off more than US government officials saying they are "disturbed" by the way elections are being conducted in Pakistan. Well, yes, we had a really hard fucking time and who's fault was it? Ilhan Omar tweeting "I call on the State Department to refrain from recognizing the results until credible" makes me want to rip my hair out. How dare you put on this patronizing act.

The election itself has been something else. Violence, shootings, bombs, jailed leaders, cell/internet blackout, 🍆 as an election symbol, parties divided within themselves, the winning party using a fucking AI generated version of their leader for speeches because the real person is jailed.

This is a good article if anyone wants a non-doomer overview of it all. But it's quite tragic that despite so much resistance, the US-backed military continues to tear apart this society.