Events
Globally
Anti War: Western Attempts to Isolate Russia at G20 Summit Failed
It was German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who had to admit that they had failed to isolate Russia at the G20 summit in Bali. On the Ukraine issue, he had to admit that “there are different opinions on the matter”. There are several countries in the G20 that refuse to condemn Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and Scholz had to concede that it is very important to keep communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin open.
Inquirer: Oil prices rise to near $90/bbl on U.S. crude stock drop
Oil Price: Oil Tanker Rates Soar To Astronomical Levels
RT: US clarifies Russian oil price cap plan
The Treasury Department policy guidance published on Tuesday permits American service providers to continue dealing in Russian oil only if it is “purchased at or below the price cap” the exact level of which is yet to be decided. The department claimed the cap, set to take effect on December 5, aims to “maintain a reliable supply of oil to the global market” while penalizing Russia for the conflict in Ukraine.
Europe
RT: EU waters down Russian oil price cap
EU leaders have reportedly softened proposed legislation on imposing a price cap on Russian oil exports. Full implementation of the policy will now be delayed, and key shipping provisions weakened, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing an internal document.
RT: EU divided over gas price cap
Some countries are not happy with the proposed €275 ($283) per megawatt hour ceiling on natural gas prices which aims to prevent sky-high costs for consumers, the media outlet reported. It pointed out that some nations are demanding concrete safeguards before greenlighting the proposal, while others say the cap is too high.
FT: Eurozone business activity contracts for fifth consecutive month
S&P Global’s flash eurozone composite purchasing managers’ index, an important gauge of business conditions, rose 0.5 points to 47.8 in November, but still indicated the second-biggest decline in companies’ activity for nine years excluding coronavirus lockdown periods. A reading below 50 indicates contraction rather than growth.
FT: European business confidence hits rock bottom
Business confidence in Europe has hit rock bottom in the second half of 2022, with a third of the region’s biggest industrial companies expecting to stop or scale back operations in the bloc because of record energy prices and slowing demand.
FT: EU tells capitals to pace their spending during energy crisis
TeleSUR: Russia Honors the Memory of Fidel Castro With a Statue
WSWS: German states abolish isolation requirements for coronavirus patients
WSWS: Germany’s “Citizen’s Income” will reinforce poverty levels
In fact, the planned Citizen’s Income is a hypocritical relabelling of the hated Hartz laws introduced in early 2005 by the former SPD-Green coalition government led by Gerhard Schröder (SPD). In the period since, the Hartz laws have forced millions of people into poverty and precarious low-wage jobs.
Al Jazeera: Is Germany changing tack on Ukraine?
A survey conducted in October suggests that 40 percent of Germans fully or partially believe that NATO provoked Russia into invading Ukraine. That number increases to a staggering 59 percent in provinces that were once part of communist East Germany.
WSWS: Many UK excess deaths likely caused by COVID reinfections
Since so-called “Freedom Day” on July 19, 2021, over 56,000 people have died due to COVID according to Johns Hopkins University figures available on Our World in Data. This brings the number of dead in Britain from COVID to 211,346. The government has manipulated the number of COVID cases and deaths, but even its own tally now approaches 200,000 (196,241).
FT: Credit Suisse forecasts $1.6bn loss on wealth management slowdown
RT: Norway resumes deliveries of gas turbine parts to Russia
Euro News: ‘We can’t manage anymore’: Spain’s ‘hunger queues’ lengthen as inflation soars
East Asia and Oceania
ANN: US to launch new Space Force command in Indo-Pacific amid North Korean missile provocations
SCMP: China and Japan agree to move on maritime dialogue and military hotline days after Xi Jinping and Fumio Kishida meet
Guardian: China holds talks on policing with Pacific island officials
ANN: China to complete lunar outpost by 2028
China will possibly complete the establishment of a lunar research outpost based on two robotic exploration missions by 2028 and send Chinese astronauts to the moon around 2030, according to the chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program.
SCMP: Chinese industry body declares initial victory in reducing video gaming addiction among minors, raising hopes for eased regulation
More than 75 per cent of gamers under 18 have capped their playing time to three hours a week, according to China’s video gaming industry association
ANN: Japan farmers shift from rice to feed crops as price of imported grain surges
TeleSUR: 268 Dead and 151 Missing in Indonesia Earthquake
The 5.6-magnitude earthquake that struck West Java province on Monday has left 1 083 people injured, 58 362 displaced and more than 21 000 homes and infrastructure destroyed.
Al Jazeera: New Zealand delivers record rate hike, flags 2023 recession
Central Asia and the Middle East
People’s Daily: Chinese envoy to UN calls for restoration of truce in Yemen
Euro News: UN nuclear watchdog says Tehran is enriching up to 60% at underground facility
FT: Saudi Arabia in talks to deposit $5bn into Turkey’s central bank
Reuters: Turkey used U.S., Russian-controlled airspace in Syria strikes
Africa
MEMO: Morocco: Israeli company has eye on ‘large reservoir’ of natural gas in desert
All Africa: Germany to Withdraw Troops From Mali By 2024
Monthly Review: “South Africa’s ‘Just’ transition climate deal with the west is a betrayal of the working class”
North America
Common Dreams: ‘A Death Sentence’: Biden Blasted for Approving Oil Export Project
The Biden administration provoked national outrage this week by approving an oil export project off the coast of Texas—despite pledging to battle the climate emergency, including at COP27, the United Nations summit that just wrapped up in Egypt.
Jacobin: Part-Time Faculty at New York’s New School Are on Strike
WSWS: President Biden intervenes in rail talks in last-ditch effort to head off national strike
President Biden is “directly” involved in contract talks in the rail industry, following Monday’s rejection of a White House-backed deal by members of SMART-TD, the largest rail union, the White House confirmed in a press briefing Tuesday.
South America
TeleSUR: Cuba Embraces Eco-Farming Amid Tightened US Blockade
TeleSUR: Cuban President Begins Visit to Türkiye
Diaz-Canel will hold a meeting with President Erdogan to exchange views on bilateral political, economic, and energy priorities.
TeleSUR: Bolivian Government Guarantees Food Despite Severe Drought
The Ukraine Proxy Conflict
RT: EU has ‘no right’ to Ukraine fatigue
The European Union must cast aside all doubts about new anti-Russia sanctions and double down on slapping Moscow with new restrictions that would curb its missile industry, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said on Tuesday.
Reuters: Ukraine promises shelters for its people as winter sets in
Special “invincibility centres” will be set up around Ukraine to provide electricity, heat, water, internet, mobile phone connections and a pharmacy, free of charge and around the clock, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address on Tuesday.
RT: UK to support Ukraine with retired weaponry
According to the BBC and The Times, the shipment includes three former military Sea Kings, one of which has already been delivered to Ukraine. Wallace also noted that Britain would provide Ukraine with an additional 10,000 shells for unspecified artillery pieces.
RT: CIA reveals plan for disgruntled Russians
“We’re looking around the world for Russians who are as disgusted with that as we are,” Marlowe reportedly said, referring to the current events in Ukraine. “Because we’re open for business.”
Analysis
Retrospectives, History, and Theory
Developing Economics: Beating around the Bush: Polycrisis, Overlapping Emergencies, and Capitalism
It is in vogue nowadays to describe the multifaceted and intertwined crises of capitalism without referring to capitalism itself. Obscure jargon of ‘overlapping emergencies’ and ‘polycrisis’ are brought up to describe the complexity of the situation, and they serve, with or without intention, to conceal the culprit, namely the totality of capitalist relations. This short piece discusses the content, function, and limits of these evasive practices with concrete examples.
Responsible Statecraft: Six reasons the Afghan government utterly collapsed during US withdrawal
So what does the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s latest report conclude? It boils down the causes of the Afghan government’s collapse to six factors: (1) Kabul failed to recognize the U.S. would actually leave; (2) the decision to exclude the Afghan government from US-Taliban talks undermined it; (3) Kabul insisted that the Taliban be integrated into the Republic rather than create a new model altogether; (4) the Taliban wouldn’t compromise; (5) former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani “governed through a highly selective, narrow circle of loyalists” (read: yes men) which destabilized the government; and (6) Kabul was afflicted by centralization, corruption, and a legitimacy crisis.
To be fair, the article does dunk on this a little bit and does talk about how the United States is responsible for these shortcomings, not Afghanistan, but it’s very funny that at no point, that I’m aware of, has the United States ever officially been like “Yeah, we shouldn’t have invaded Afghanistan in the first place” and is instead organizing its thinktanks to create Buzzfeed top ten lists for the reasons why Afghanistan’s civilians simply didn’t want freedom and democracy (with a little phrenology mixed in). Like, this only makes sense if you’re such a cretin that you actually believe the “spreading freedom to the Middle East” bullshit and don’t believe the very evident and obvious conclusion that it was basically just to enrich the MIC and try and get some minerals out of it.
Outside the Imperial Core
Monthly Review: Sporting values built on bloodied sand: Qatar 2022
Monthly Review: Open veins of Africa bleeding heavily
The ongoing plunder of Africa’s natural resources drained by capital flight is holding it back yet again. More African nations face protracted recessions amid mounting debt distress, rubbing salt into deep wounds from the past.
Climate Change
Naked Capitalism: COP27’s Loss and Damage Deal Isn’t a Win. It Committed Us To Devastation