news

"In short, Detroit is drifting further and further from the starter car, while factories in China are specializing in it. Just don’t expect the latter to solve for the former anytime soon."

https://archive.ph/xYi2U

There is a bit of union blaming in the article, but it is an overall good article. Basically import taxes, tariffs, and anti-Chinese political sentiment prevent us from having sub $20k EV car.

2 Molotov cocktails were thrown at the Cuban Embassy in Washington DC last night, thankfully no one was hurt

An image of the wildfires in Rhodes, taken on July 23rd, showing the flames and the plume of smoke.

Greece, in late July, faced a heatwave in which over 8 million people experienced temperatures about 41C, with some areas reaching above 45C - all in all, both the longest heatwave in Greek history, as well as some of the highest temperatures on record.

Due to these high temperatures, Greece was then struck by hundreds of wildfires this summer, affecting nearly 200,000 hectares. About half of the total burned area was in the north-east of Greece, in the Dadia national park near the city of Alexandropoulis - the single largest blaze that the EU has recorded. Other parts of the country were also struck, such as Attica, Magnesia, and islands like Corfu and particularly Rhodes; the last one prompted an evacuation of 20,000 people, the largest evacuation operation the island had ever seen. Of course, this is just one country of many that have been caught in the European wildfires this year, of which the total burned area approached 500,000 hectares - the only consolation is that this was less than last year.

Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkiye were impacted in early September by flooding caused by massive storms bringing a deluge of water - in Greece, this mainly impacted Thessaly, in the centre of Greece.

Luckily for Greece, despite being a very earthquake-prone country, they have experienced no significant quakes lately to round out the four (I hope I haven't jinxed it) - though, of course, earlier this year, a major earthquake struck nearby Turkiye, killing 60,000 people and injuring 120,000.

The Country of the Week is Greece! 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.

This week's update is here!

🥐 🥐

Archive

More like a long lunch break:

Several Oakland businesses are expected to participate in a one-day strike Tuesday, protesting rising crime in the city and calling on officials to help struggling merchants.

The strike is set to start at 10 a.m. with a news conference at Le Cheval, a downtown restaurant that announced it is closing after 38 years due to crime and slow sales post-pandemic, according to a flyer distributed by the local NAACP chapter.

Some merchants plan to close their doors for the whole day, while others just for a couple of hours, said Carl Chan, a public safety advocate in Chinatown. He said a majority of businesses participating are small convenience stores, as well as restaurants throughout the city. Chan declined Sunday to provide a full list of the businesses participating in the strike.

. . .

The one-day strike comes as city leaders are facing pressure from business owners and residents to address public safety concerns, and criticism for missing a grant deadline to receive millions in state funding to help police combat organized retail theft. Merchants said they feel the city isn’t doing enough to lower crime, which they said is preventing customers from shopping at their businesses.

The City Council passed a resolution Tuesday directing the city administrator to come up with recommendations on how to hire and retain more 911 dispatchers and police officers, expand violence prevention programs, and create a grant program to help local businesses buy security cameras. The recommendations are due to the City Council by December.

The wife shot back, unaware that it was the police, and then the police shot blindly into the house 20 times.

Confirmed by AP news here (go directly to slide 4 in the slideshow for more information)

For those who don’t want to click the link:

And here is info on the “1st Ukrainian Division”

Go to UN, immediately mention Castro

Lol rip bozo

the sound of a pro-israeli rally getting an involuntary golden shower from my 20th floor johannesburg apartment

In a marathon day of speeches, Colombia´s president Gustavo Petro told the forum "we are killing each other" in reference to the war in Ukraine.

"I would ask the G77 that we also address this issue of war, to overcome it, not because we have to take sides between Russia or Ukraine," said Petro, among the few representatives present who mentioned the Ukraine war.

"What is the difference between the war between Russia and Ukraine, and that between Israel and Palestine?" Colombia´s president said.

This is a new line of comparison I haven't seen before. I think the ordering could be reversed, but I think comparing RF to Israel has the potential to break a lot of libs brains.

I think this comparison is more accurate overall considering the history since 2014:

Ukraine : Israel :: Donbas : Palestine

WDYT?

archived link / original link (the guardian)

“We are herbivores in a world of carnivores. It is a power politics world, yet we still have in mind that through trade and preaching the rule of law we can have influence on the world. We must still preach the rule of law but we have to be aware there are some leaders that need to be dealt with in a different way.”

. . .

Borrell predicted the war in Ukraine, and the eventual outcome, would be one of the three driving forces creating a new world order, alongside competition between China and the US, and the rise of the global south.

He admitted he was no fan of the term “global south” to describe such a heterogeneous group of people but that an entity existed that “consider themselves part of an alternative to the western models”. He said it was critical to “try to avoid the alliance of China plus Russia, plus parts of the global south.

“The people of the global south want to be recognised because 40, 50 years ago, when the world order was built, some of these countries did not exist. Either they were colonies or so poor they did not have a vote.

“So now they are independent countries and they have been growing economically, demographically, and they want to have a say.”

He added: “Understandably these countries are hedging. One day they look at Russia , another at China. At the UN they vote against the war in Ukraine but many of them do not have this feeling of moral indignation that we have.”

A very short tweet thread by one of the reporters...

Scoop: Joe Biden to join UAW workers in Michigan on Tuesday, in likely one of the most significant pro-union displays ever by a sitting US president amid a contract dispute, sources say

[...]

The fact that Biden is going out to Michigan to support UAW workers is significant. But we don't know exactly where yet he'll be

Nitter

The United Auto Workers union (UAW) is escalating its fight with some of America's biggest carmakers by taking strike action at dozens of parts distribution centres across the US.

UAW boss Shawn Fain said the new walkouts would hit 38 sites owned by General Motors and Stellantis, as the row over pay and benefits continues.

The move excludes Ford, which the UAW said was making more progress in talks.

The UAW declared a strike against the three carmakers last week.

Mr Fain warned that the expansion of the action could lead to delays for customers needing repairs and said he hoped it would raise pressure on the firms to agree new labour contracts.

We're focused on moving the companies at the bargaining table," he said during an online update on the negotiations.

"Right now we think we can get there," he added. "Stellantis and GM in particular are going to need some serious pushing."

This month's strike is the first in the union's history to target all three carmakers - known as the Big Three - at once.

The car companies have said the requests are too onerous. Their most recent proposals include pay rises of roughly 20%.

Last week, President Joe Biden spoke in support of the workers' cause. He said he was sending senior advisers to try to help mediate the dispute, which comes at a time of wider labour tensions.

Mr Fain said on Friday that Ford had agreed to some of the union's demands, such as the reinstatement of automatic pay increases tied to inflation.

The offer of a roughly 20% pay rise was already a "remarkable" gain for the union, Mr Anderson said.

"The UAW has been very successful in identifying what they want, in making the case in front of the public and then systematically exerting the full measure of their capability in a strike," said Mr Anderson.

Car worker JT O'Malley, who has been on strike at a GM assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri since last week, said he was hopeful that the other two firms would also start to bend.

"I feel like the pressure's getting put on," said the 38-year-old, who has worked at the plant since 2015. "We are energised to make this happen."

Those struggling to mention War in Ukraine without calling it 'unprovoked' need to listen to #NATO Boss @jensstoltenberg explain at our Foreign Affairs Committee that NATO expansion provoked the War - the invasion breached the #UN Charter so it was illegal, it was also provoked..

https://x.com/wallacemick/status/1705126114539053505