“‘We are moving in the wrong direction’: New UN report highlights the scale of global climate change. Last year, records for sea level rise, glacier melt, and temperatures were broken, the World Meteorological Agency (WMO) warns in a new report.
“In the State of the Global Climate 2022 report released ahead of Earth Day, the UN agency highlighted the concerning trends marking the progression of climate change.”
“‘Devastating’ melt of Greenland, Antarctic ice sheets found.
“From 1992 to 1996, the two ice sheets—which hold 99% of the world’s freshwater ice—were shrinking by 116 billion tons (105 billion metric tons) a year, two-thirds of it from Antarctica. But from 2017 to 2020, the newest data available, the combined melt soared to 410 billion tons (372 billion metric tons) a year…”
https://phys.org/news/2023-04-devastating-greenland-antarctic-ice-sheets.html
“Wildfire and degradation accelerate northern peatland carbon release…
“We find that wildfire processes reduced carbon uptake in pristine peatlands by 35% and further enhanced emissions from degraded peatlands by 10%. The current small net sink is vulnerable to the interactions of peatland degraded area, burn rate and peat burn severity.”
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-023-01657-w
“There was no snow in the European Alps by the end of summer last year for the first time in recorded history, a report has revealed…
“…the World Meteorological Organisation said some of the starkest changes were in the European Alps, with Switzerland losing 6 per cent of its glacier ice volume between 2021 and last year.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/no-snow-in-alps-last-summer-for-first-time-bpk7zs5gt
“Global Warming Is Already Hitting Europe Hard…
“Drought conditions not seen in some places since the Renaissance are becoming the continent’s new normal, with perilous knock-on effects for food security and supply chains in the European Union, the world’s third-biggest economy… Europe is a climate change front-runner, warming at twice the rate as other inhabited continents…”
“‘The new normal’: Farmers face drought despair in parched France…
“Southern France is parched. Rivers are running as low as they normally do in mid-summer and 43 areas of the country are already subject to water restrictions. There are severe drought warnings for this summer after a dry winter failed to replenish water supplies drained by last summer’s record breaking heatwaves.”
https://www.itv.com/news/2023-04-20/the-new-normal-farmers-face-drought-despair-in-parched-france
“This April is on track to become the driest in Spain since records began in 1961, according to worrying weather forecasts [it just had its driest March, too].
“Just five millimetres were accumulated throughout Spain during the first 16 days. The state meteorological agency (Aemet) said this was an “extraordinarily low” figure for this period which represented just 15% of the monthly average, which was 63.5 millimetres.”
“Weather tracker: heat in Spain could smash April temperature record.
“The highest temperature ever recorded in Spain for the month is 37.4C (99.3F) in Murcia on 9 April 2011. Forecasts suggest that on 26 April temperatures will widely reach 35-38C, and Seville may even hit a maximum of 39C. For comparison, the April high in Seville stands at 35.4C…”
“Records of highest temperatures are sprouting allover: Two days ago extreme heat in Central Morocco with the hottest April days on records: 38.2C [100.8F] Kasba Tadla; 37.6C Beni Mallal.
“More records will come in few days with temperatures expected to rise >40C in Morocco and 35C in Spain.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1649089417573810176
“6 killed, boy swept away by floods as rainstorm wreaks havoc in Delta [Nigeria]…
“Six persons have reportedly lost their lives in the Oko community of Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State following a heavy rain storm on Wednesday night. The victims died when a building collapsed as a result of the strong wind that also uprooted trees.”
https://tribuneonlineng.com/6-killed-boy-swept-away-by-floods-as-rainstorm-wreaks-havoc-in-delta/
“Angola – Thousands of Homes Damaged or Destroyed After Days of Heavy Rain.
“Heavy rain caused damages and flooding in several provinces of Angola from early April 2023. Strong winds were also reported in some areas. As of 21 April, at least 20 people had lost their lives, many of them children. Damage to houses has left hundreds of families homeless.”
https://floodlist.com/africa/angola-floods-april-2023
“Record day in the Thai capital Bangkok, an extremely muggy city. BKK Metropolis: 40C [104F] monthly record tied (0.1C from all time high); BKK Port:39.3 new monthly record; Laem Chabang: 39.2C monthly record tied.
“Laos: 34.5 Phong Sa Ly (1360m) all time record tied for the 3rd time in a row!”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1649038407782346754
“Big contrasts in China today: Extreme heat persists in the South with temperatures from 38C to 42C [107.6F] in Yunnan, Hainan and Guangxi provinces, always at record levels and a return of cold and snow more north.
“In Shanxi Province from summer and 30C to winter and snow blizzard in 1 day!”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1649331865881391107
“N. Korea’s farming preparations hindered by springtime drought.
““Wells are lowering because of the drought, and people have access to tap water maybe three or four days a week at most,” the reporting partner in South Pyongan Province told Daily NK.. He added: “Reservoirs are too low because the drought continues on and on, a state of affairs that has led to problems.””
https://www.dailynk.com/english/north-korea-farming-preparations-hindered-springtime-drought/
“Two locations in Japan experienced the hottest April days on record Thursday, with Kahoku reaching a temperature of 30.9℃ (88F), similar to that of July.
“The heat could ease up in some parts of Japan Friday due to the arrival of northerly winds, along with Asian Dust.”
https://twitter.com/sayakasofiamori/status/1649038696203812865
“Eight killed after minibus swept by flash flood in North Sumatra.
“Eight people have died, including three toddlers, after a minibus was swept away by a flash flood while crossing the Sipange River in South Tapanuli, North Sumatra, on Wednesday (April 19) night.”
“Major mine Capricorn Copper will not be fully operational until 2024 after flood damage [N Queensland, Australia].
“One of the country’s major copper-silver mines has announced it will not be fully operational until the first half of 2024 after unprecedented floods ravaged north-west Queensland in March. Capricorn Copper’s mine, 120 kilometres north of Mount Isa, was inundated with 1.5 billion litres of water…”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-21/29-metals-capricorn-mine-flood-damaged-until-2024/102246314
“Century-old Sydney weather record broken with 184 days of 20C or higher.
“The previous record was a 180-day sequence of 20C or warmer days that ran from 6 November 1913 to 4 May 1914. Ben Domensino, a senior meteorologist with Weatherzone, said the long run without a notable cold spell was “amazing” given it began during the tail end of a La Niña event…”
“Cyclone damage shows New Zealand’s beekeepers are unprepared for climate change.
“Two months after a cyclone swept away thousands of beehives in the fertile fruit bowl of New Zealand’s North Island and left thousands more unreachable, beekeepers are facing a painful and costly recovery that has prompted questions of how they will adapt to the intensifying climate crisis.”
“It’s already the second half of autumn, yet incredible but true the Argentine Patagonia is still recording temperatures >30C [86F].
“31.9C [89.4F] yesterday at Cipolletti, 31.4C San Antonio Oeste and 30.8C Viedma. On Sunday and Monday it will still possible to hit 30C.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1649480941113319430
“Paraguay Floods: Families struggle as floods become common.
“In Paraguay, flooding has displaced thousands of families from low-lying riverside communities on the outskirts of capital Asunción. Experts say such disasters are becoming more common due to climate change. Residents say they have little choice but to live on a flood-plain.”
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-04-20/VHJhbnNjcmlwdDcxODI5/index.html
“Several States of Brazil are with record heat like Bahia, Minas Gerais and Espirtu Santo and many April records of heat are falling. The most important yesterday:
“39.6C [103.3F] Aracuai; 39.3C Itaoboim; 38.9C Itaberaba; 38.3C Sao Mateus; 37.4C Linhares… More records are falling today.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1649143766811308059
“Record heat widespread in South America, Peru keeps beating records since weeks and the past days weren’t an exception.
“Stations in the highlands above 3000m asl set new highs for April: 24.5C [76.1F] Challabamba; 20.4C Santa Lucia; 19.4C Santa Rosa; 18.4C Cuyo Cuyo.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1649198618585251841
“The numbers are in, and Santa Clara County officials expect it will cost $15.4 million to repair the roads damaged during the recent winter storms that drenched the Bay Area the last several months.
“The estimate has more than doubled since Feb. 7 — the last time the county’s roads and airports department gave a status report on the situation.”
“After the Deluge: California Floods May Taint More Drinking Water.
“For decades, high levels [of Nitrates] have contaminated groundwater basins throughout the state… Now this year’s heavy rains may worsen this widespread contamination as fertilizer from crops and orchards and manure from ranches and dairy farms are flushed into underground water supplies.”
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/california/california-floods-drinking-water/3210388/
“Lake Tulare in California continues to grow rapidly and is now over 100 square miles in size.
“That’s just over half the size of Lake Tahoe, and the big snowmelt hasn’t even started yet in the Sierra Nevada.”
https://twitter.com/US_Stormwatch/status/1649160187587231748
“Saudi company draws unlimited Arizona ground water to grow alfalfa amid drought.
“Farms in western Arizona are growing alfalfa – one of the most water-intensive crops – in an area where there’s a shortage of water. Some farms are foreign-owned and are shipping the crop to Saudi Arabia, where it’s illegal to grow because it takes too much water. It’s a growing controversy that could lead to a reckoning over scarce water supplies…”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/saudi-company-fondomonte-arizona-ground-water-crop-alfalfa/
“Kansas drought: Spring so far, the driest since Dust Bowl for Wichita…
““Unfortunately, Exceptional Drought persists across generally the southwest half of Kansas. Amazingly since March 1st, Wichita has only recorded 0.30 inches precipitation, which is the driest since 1936,” NWS Wichita tweeted.”
https://www.kwch.com/2023/04/20/kansas-drought-spring-so-far-driest-since-dust-bowl-wichita/
“Fecal bacteria levels have skyrocketed 150 times beyond safe levels in some Florida canals after record flooding last week.
“Fort Lauderdale, just north of Miami, suffered massive flooding after 20 inches of rain left 20,000 without power and closed the city’s airport… Enterococci infections can cause vomiting, diarrhea and infections, such as UTIs, meningitis and wound infections.”
“A Critical Arctic Organism Is Now Infested With Microplastics…
“Melosira arctica forms the foundation of the Arctic Ocean food chain. During the spring and summer, its individual photosynthetic cells grow quickly, absorbing the sun’s energy and forming long chains. These become food for small surface-dwelling critters known as zooplankton, which are in turn eaten by bigger animals, like fish.”
https://www.wired.com/story/a-critical-arctic-organism-is-now-infested-with-microplastics/
You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back on Monday with an “Economic” thread.
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Regarding Spain, I got an offer last year to do some work there in a commune , I fear those people , putting al their northern european money in buying land there dont know what they’ve gotten themselves into.
Regarding Argentina , I’m going there later this year and both the financial troubles and the extreme warmth all year are a worry.
To get back to china , for the last time in this month if it’s up to me , I read some of the other commenters and resp0nses to my cold war mentions
I see some of you treat China as If it was a normal but large piece of our “great” globalized world economic system . Necessary to keep attached to.
That’s naive to say the least, I’ll stay civil
China has been a wrecking ball of bad ideas since their turn to communism. To add to that they’ve implemented some I’d rhe worst elements of capitalism into that . Macron and Merkel before him wanting to be buddies with them is all good and well, but China doesn’t think like you , as a trading partner
They’re ruthless. Crushed Tibet , crushed local communities in Vietnam, seized Phillipine islands from local fishermen , pressured every other asian country into economic submersion, have turned Africa against the west , even for all the dumb left wing development aid . And Chiina didn’t build a state of the art giant army to look pretty, they will use it . In Australia I even saw their dominance and agents in western cities growing by the day.
So no. Not a great idea to keep mega intertwined with them people
Some of your reasoning , I visit left and right wing leaning websites , some of the more lefty reasoning on China is on par in naivety with the century of development aid thrown at india and africa , by first overpopulating them and then expect to have enough room for their offspring in Europe .
It also reminds me of how liberals simultaneously turned super woke defending minorities at every turn and pro LGBT, while also very enthusiastic about the islamization of western europe , wanting to have Muslim holidays, while also being surprised about rising antisemitism
I mean , well educated liberals .. cannot be that dumb.. right ?
I’m a historian. History always culminates to struggle and war. In general never to campfires with very different people with contrasting interests holding hands
Technology has sped up our problems, ecological and cultural , its not going to fix them . The 20th century was not a long March towards a great equal globalized society, it was mostly a pressure cooker setting up mega land and resource shortages for 8 billion people , lower birth rates will be too late
Hello Harmon
It was like being thrown back into the history of ‘The Yellow Peril in new guise’ 🙂
By the way, you forgot the latest manoeuvres. Alexander Doegin, Putin’s geostrategic inspirer, symbolises the latest form of the Yellow Peril, the China-Russia alliance, a Eurasian land mass against the West.
And then China’s urban landscapes with Blade Runner skylines, AI surveillance, Weibo and TikTok…. which we talked about this week.
‘die Gelbe Gefahr’ whether or not ‘ mit rote Händen!, once put on the map in recent history by the German Kaiser Wilhelm II.
And then of course now the Chinese manoeuvres around Taiwan sharpen the distress.
By the way, are you a follower of Steve Bannon, whisperer of ex-President Trump, and the technologist and right-wing capitalist Peter Thiel? who have put this anti-Asian fear of the 19th century in a white populist suit?
Ah yes, Chinese economic success sucks the myth of white supremacy and colonilae plunder that we only call ‘ otherwise’ .
It has long been popular to call Russia Asian rather than European including by the American evangelist and prophet of the end times, Ruppert, Russia in The Yellow Peril (1911). Ruppert even quoted the Bible, and specifically verse 16:12 of the biblical book of Apocalypse: ‘Then the sixth angel poured his bowl into the Euphrates and it dried up so that the kings of the east could raise their armies to the west without hindrance.’….. the archetypal fear of the Mongol hordes that became a world power in the 13th century and even penetrated into Ukraine.
In 1870, the French Orientalists you heard there warned of the beginning of their own colonilae wars with China especially around 1880 when Indochina was to be nconquered 🙂 and more generally of the eastern danger of the Russian Empire culminating in the Crimean War! Incidentally, in Los Angeles in 1871, anti-Chinese racism provoked the murder of 25 Chinese in Chinatown by 500 whites.
German Kaiser Wilhelm II was an ardent supporter in 1895 for ‘die Gelbe Gefahr’, after Japan’s victory over China. His cry became more acute when the Russians were defeated by the Japanese in 1904-1905. A shock to the West that learned to fear China and Japan as an alliance to conquer and subjugate Europe. Ah yes so new congtions and enemy images keep emerging, which Oswald Spengler led to in an extremely popular eschatological study 🙂 with one of the outcomes being that the West would be overrun and enslaved by the East’.
In 1900, the anti-colonial revolt of the Boxers intensified paranoia about the Yellow Peril. To the Boxers, China’s problems were a consequence of Western colonials in China. Prince Zaiyi allowed the Boxers into Beijing to kill Westerners and Chinese Christians in their siege of foreign legations.
But then again, the Russian press described the Boxer rebellion as a culture war between white Holy Russia and yellow Pagan China. In July 1990, Houston Stewart Chamberlain, the ideologue of the Völkisch movement in Germany, compared the cultural significance of the Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902) to the Boxer Rebellion: ‘It is criminal for Englishmen and Dutchmen to murder each other for all sorts of reasons, while the Great Yellow Peril overshadows the whites and aims at their destruction’.
And yes so the panels and sets shift, but Sinophobia in the West is a constant, with the central focus now being a video platform Tik tok….
I need to apologize . This site , even though I think 0panopticon is a fine gatherer of news and I will keep reading his climate day summaries, is not for me.
Being called an angry white boy made me realize what kind of crowd makes up the average here , I see the wokerati have speak broad and fast . Being a green-right winger it’s never an easy road.
I am a historian my master thesis was on the history of ecology as a science, and my real name and info is none of you’re darn buisiness.
I hope the real world will turn out as idealistic and intellectual and fuzzy as most of you seem to think it will , I wish you all the best with that.
Ciaociao.
Ps. ZIP you remind me a little bit of some college professors I had over the years stuck in 20th century intellectualism. I liked those guys but even at age 19 I was aware that it probably was a good thing for them to be retired once their lofty theories met real world conversion of geopolitical and ecological crisis in the 21st century. Relics of a bygone postwar age .
Harmon, as far as I can tell, there isn’t an average reader profile, politically or otherwise. Personally, I tend to see political movements as the surface manifestations of more fundamental forces and have tired of the whole circus.
I’m still finding my feet with moderation… I welcome a broad cross-section of views, even strongly expressed, as long as there is no real vitriol. Goodness knows there’s enough of that elsewhere.
Harmon, no need to worry about others attitudes towards China. Not one person who has read any of your comments has any influence or power at all, so go ahead & relax. No shot callers here. Try the next Davos conference.
The other thing, I’ll need to know your real name & links to the school you teach at before I believe you are a historian. If you want to play expert you need to give up the anonymity, just like the real experts do.
You do not sound like a historian to me. To me you sound like every other angry, white boy, US conservative. You certainty covered a number of party talking points, along with the denigrating attitude.
As for history, it’s totally overrated and is primarily used as a weapon. I have yet to hear a convincing argument for why history matters. I also have yet to see a historian use broad, black & white language as you do – “..History always culminates to struggle and war.” “Always”. Really? I think not. Moreover, I’ve never read a historian who is so judgemental & angry. Unprofessional. Being impartial is paramount to being a proper historian.
‘Life always culminates to death’.
“It’s the end of the world and as we know it, and I feel fine!” (R.E.M.)
HAPPY EARTH DAY EVERYBODY! Get out there and pick up some litter or something.
I was mentioning to my husband about all those Americans clutching their plane tickets ready for their steamy European vacation this summer. I am thinking given the water woes/drought situation that Europe is experiencing that maybe it’s not a wise idea to travel to Europe?! Is it a good idea to be using up water resources the locals are going to be needing to get through this summer? I don’t know, seems a little nuts to me. Not to mention it will be ABSOLUTELY sweltering, along with no air conditioning in your hotel/ air bnb.
There is waaaay too much $$$$ out there. People are traveling like its business as usual when we are entering into a new phase of the climate crisis with El Nino on our doorstep. What a weird world we live in.
Weird indeed, EMJ! Re travelling to Europe, I was wondering if the drought had eased in Italy, as that situation has not featured prominently in the news of late but it seems they are still having issues:
“Water is already being rationed in 40 towns on the Piedmont provinces of Novara and Verbania because of the severe and prolonged drought northern Italy is enduring, a regional official said on Friday.”
https://www.ansa.it/english/news/general_news/2023/04/21/drought-water-already-rationed-on-40-northern-towns_20afc44e-106e-4ae6-8863-e4103e02eafc.html
Let’s not overdo it….
I live in one of those official drought areas in the Cevennes and I talk about it every day with my farmer opposite. According to him, it never rains!!! enough for 20 years now.
Next week it is going to rain quite a bit here in southern France between 40 and 60 litres and it is colder than normal. This is favourable because then the soil won’t dry out so quickly just as spring is approaching.
I still heat up my stove well every day…. The summers of 2003 and 2004 were much drier here 🙂 I remember that well
We like to exaggerate when it comes to the weather, but the reality is that everyone is adjusting to a slow change in climate and it will rain again.
I would say feel free to come to Europe
“… it will rain again.” Yes, it will. It certainly did in Australia and California! Let’s hope the end of La Nina helps the Horn of Africa, too. Way too many consecutive failed rainy seasons there.
“We like to exaggerate when it comes to the weather,..”
Don’t include me in your we, ok zip? I use data, not personal anecdotes. When the previous rainfall record was 120 mm over X amount of time then it rains 345 mm over the same time period, that’s called record breaking. It’s not an exaggeration. If on average rainfall records in the region averaged10 -15 mm over previous records and the new record was 3X> then you have a record smashing event.
I don’t see anyone exaggerating. I see loads of denial, minimizing, willful ignorance, magical thinking & dudes whistling past the grave yard. It’s all in the name of protecting their psyche. You may want to consider laying off the doom watching, because most of these new records are going to be beaten again & again & again & the damage they cause will also increase. I don’t see how anyone can accuse another person of exaggerating the severity of global warming jacked rainfall & flooding over the last decade. Remember, we spent trillions of dollars in the 20th century on massive hydraulic engineering projects, but now that we have altered the hydrologic cycle & it now holds more moisture (approx 7% for every 1C of increased warming) it has resulted in record smashing precipitation events usually followed by record flooding which over-tops and/or destroys growing amounts of our 20th century hydraulic engineering projects. The same goes for drought, heatwaves, wildfires etc.
I don’t know where you got the notion there is a slow change in climate happening, but compared to other times the climate changed in similar fashion (volcanism puking out GHG’s causing global warming & a mass extinction) we are a rocket.
Climate change occurring ten times faster than at any time in past 65 million years
Date: August 1, 2013
Source: Stanford University
Summary: Not only is the planet undergoing one of the largest climate changes in the past 65 million years, scientists report that it’s occurring at a rate 10 times faster than any change in that period. Without intervention, this extreme pace could lead to a 5-6 degree Celsius spike in annual temperatures by the end of the century.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130801142420.htm
I am not aware of any adjusting on any level & scale that matters. The vast majority of humans are asleep at the wheel. Many lives, homes, businesses & infrastructure could have been untouched or had much less damage if there had been a plan/adjusting for such scenarios, but the world is still largely walking around with it’s head up it’s ass & acting like the latest record flooding or wildfire in their region is a one off, random act of nature or god when we had been warned for decades this would happen under BAU.
~
These people did not adjust
.
Over 20,000 died in western Europe’s summer heatwaves, figures show
This year’s temperatures would have been virtually impossible without climate crisis, scientists say
“During the summer heatwaves temperatures exceeded 40C (104F) in London, areas in south-west France reached 42C and Seville and Córdoba in Spain set records of 44C. Analysis from the World Weather Attribution group of scientists found that such high temperatures would have been “virtually impossible” without the climate crisis.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/24/over-20000-died-western-europe-heatwaves-figures-climate-crisis
Where I live (BC) a number of seniors who live alone were found dead in the days after our record shattering 2021 heatwave. Most of them would have probably lived if they had a $15 electric fan or two or had someone drop by & take them to a cooling center.
During that heatwave a small town in BC broke & set the all time Canadian high temperature 3 days running, peaking at 49.6 C. On the 4th day the town burnt to the ground.
How do you ‘adjust’ to that?
For 3rd straight day, B.C. village smashes record for highest Canadian temperature at 49.6 C
‘Lytton is baking as unprecedented heat wave blankets Western Canada’
‘The latest record was broken as a historic heat wave continues to scorch Western Canada, leading to a spike in sudden deaths in B.C. and dangerous wildfire conditions.’
“It is so incredibly intense,” said Bernie Fandrich, a Lytton resident and president of the local chamber of commerce. “It’s a perpetual oven door open, and it’s just too hot.”
“There’s really no hyperbole strong enough for this,” he said. “We’re just flummoxed with how much these records are breaking.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-alberta-heat-wave-heat-dome-temperature-records-1.6084203
The people in the middle of the climate change jacked weather don’t think anyone can exaggerate just how brutal & deadly the weather has become – “”There’s really no hyperbole strong enough for this,” he said. “We’re just flummoxed with how much these records are breaking.”
I wouldn’t use the word “exaggerate” either… Obviously when I’m parsing the climate news I am interested in the extremes but I make no apology for that because clearly those extremes are increasing in intensity, frequency and duration.
“That’s naive to say the least, I’ll stay civil”. That is good of you, and I will too.
Lets start with the official position of the CPC:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdYFBzXOx8g
I did not hear the gentleman equivocate, or hesitate. He said that it is the official position of the CPC and China in general that Taiwan is (and always has been) Chinese. He also said that China will do anything to protect its national sovereignty.
So, what is the solution to that? Should the US go to war with China? Why would a war with China not become a nuclear war very quickly? The west is currently loosing a war with Russia in Ukraine. What delusion/pathology would one need to have to imagine that we could, at the same time, fight China and win?
Here, a professional writer explains how further isolating the US from the rest of the world is not a wise economic policy. I disagree with him occasionally, but not this time, so this explains my position, and I don’t have to type it all out.
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/04/us-cuts-itself-off-from-future-chinese-profits.html#more
Harmon said, “It also reminds me of how liberals simultaneously turned super woke defending minorities at every turn and pro LGBT”
I don’t understand this sentence. Minorities should not be defended? Should minorities have no rights? Do you really hate all LGBT people?
Harmon said, “… naivety with the century of development aid thrown at india and africa , by first overpopulating them and then expect to have enough room for their offspring in Europe .”
I didn’t know that immigration from India to Europe is a problem. Can you show me some articles that document that? Are you saying that “development aid” causes overpopulation or that causes overpopulation in countries where dark skinned people live?
And finally, Harmon says, “History always culminates to struggle and war. In general never to campfires with very different people with contrasting interests holding hands”
So, we fundamentally agree. Our “leaders” are pushing us into nuclear armageddon, and that lack of judgement is a worse existential threat than AGW, and overshoot combined because the other threats give us some BAU time (maybe years), while a nuclear war can end it all tomorrow.
Im sorry, I pushed the “Reply” button to reply to Harmon, but my comment ended up in the wrong spot.
No problem, Lou. It’s clear that you’re responding to Harmon’s points.
Thought I’d opened the wrong site.
No matter, I have opinions on China too, but would take just a little issue with the assertion of ‘China’s dominance’ in Australia. According to stats, Chinese birth population is 3rd highest percentage, bloody “whingeing Poms” still take Number 1 spot, with Indian folks in 2nd. Another significant percentage are 3rd, 4th etc generation Oz-born as immigration has been going a long time. In some parts, there is a sizeable Chinese ethnic population who descended from the 1850s “GoldRush” period. (Same time as California’s goldrush)
In our biggest cities, the percentage of ‘other Asians’ (including Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Afghani, Pakistani etc etc etc ) not to mention Hong Kong from before it was reverted to Chinese control – are often lumped in with Chinese, so a casual observer’s glance around a big city morning/evening commuter train might give a very different impression. Our foreign Minister is Malaysian-born of Chinese speaking-Malay ethnic population. I have a friend, also a Malay-born and who gets regularly pissed off at being taken for Chinese. Her mother moved to California years ago when she married a US dual citizen, and also gets annoyed at being taken for a) Chinese b) Hispanic or c) Native American?!? (not kidding).
As for foreign investor ownership in Australia, 15 of the top 20 companies, on the Australian SX, are still majority US-owned. According to the stats I can find, Chinese investment in Australia was dropping off even before Covid, as China was shifting towards Africa.
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/australias-population-country-birth/latest-release
I don’t see Chinese foreign/expansionist policies, as any different to the US and Russia, although they do appear to be more pragmatic in their expansionist tactics than the US, which not only weaponises their economic clout of the $US to cause great lasting harm to masses of people worldwide, but backs it up with both overt and covert military threats. China seems to prefer bribery, to threats more often than not.
I’m also with Noam Chomsky on the US in his recent interviews on Youtube, but he is an elderly man now (94??) as the US being the far bigger and far more dangerous “bully”, and sentiment in the ‘Global South’ is far more anti-American than anti-Chinese. China may not be anybody’s friend, but kabillions on Earth have painful memories and a long history of US hegemony crushing them. China may be overseeing horrific mining and exploitative practices in Africa (eg cobalt mining in the DRC) but some argue those practices were already there, and just took advantage of existing corrupt cultural/political/economic systems for their own benefit.
Russia wants the Ukraine back, or at least the Eastern/Southern parts of it, along with the Caucasus countries they’ve slowly taken back. China wants to keep Taiwan as a provincial region same as they kept Hong Kong, and took Tibet so long ago now. US wanted control of central and southern americas, and the bloody, cruel wars they instigated in the region in the 70s/80s still give me chills.
Who is right? Who is wrong? Neither or both.
Just I keep recalling “When elephants fight, ants get trampled”, and so many individuals, groups, and nations of our species are just ‘ants’ with no control over how the elephants treat us or each other.
And to countries like both the US and China and Russia — being ‘ants’, we are at worst, minor irritations.
Rain, thank you – those are good insights and I love that quote, “When elephants fight, ants get trampled”.
“…sentiment in the ‘Global South’ is far more anti-American than anti-Chinese.”
This is true. The US hegemon is terrible at “winning hearts and minds”. The emotional intelligence is low. Europe also has the baggage of post-colonial resentment, which China does not.
“Who is right? Who is wrong? Neither or both.”
As you suggest, you can only go so far with a moral framing of the situation.
Hello Rain
Thanks for your analysis, What has stayed with me are the Chinese New Year celebrations in Chinatown Sidney…. You don’t know that in Europe. By the way, Chinese and the Netherlands have been more or less integrated for a very long time mainly thanks to their ‘Chinese restaurants’. I nmade a couple of docu’s about the Chinese in the Netherlands; What did stick is that they remain closed communities. There has never been much China xenophobia, although it flared up briefly when the Covid epidemic reached the Netherlands. In France there are mainly many Southeast Asians from their former colonies who never really make the ‘news’ either.
Speaking of war yesterday this news with Australia taking centre stage.
….. NOS News
yesterday, 08:35
Shipwreck with over 1,000 WWII victims found after 81 years
In the South China Sea, the wreck of a Japanese merchant ship on which more than 1,000 prisoners of war died in World War II has been found. With the help of specialists from Dutch soil research company Fugro, the Montevideo Maru was found off the Philippine coast at a depth of 4,000 metres, deeper than the Titanic. The shipwreck will continue to be left undisturbed.
The ship was en route from Papua New Guinea to the Japanese-occupied Chinese province of Hainan when it was hit by torpedoes from a US warship on 1 July 1942. The boat capsized and sank in 11 minutes. 1,060 POWs died, including 980 Australians and dozens of civilians from 14 countries, including two POWs from the Netherlands, according to a Red Cross registration. The Americans did not know there were POWs on board.
Most of the POWs were Australian soldiers stationed at a British army base near the town of Rabaul, on the Australian part of New Guinea. The base fell into Japanese hands in January 1942, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Montevideo Maru disaster is the biggest shipping disaster in Australian history.
Long preparation
Australian non-profit organisation Silentworld Foundation spent five years preparing for the search for the ship. By this month, enough data had been collected to start a targeted search. The wreck was found after 12 days of searching with help from the Australian Ministry of Defence and a vessel and deep-sea specialists from Fugro. A self-steering underwater vehicle was used, scanning the seabed with sonar equipment……
Indeed where elephants fight ants are trampled
https://nos.nl/artikel/2472361-scheepswrak-met-ruim-1000-slachtoffers-wo-ii-na-81-jaar-gevonden
Hey Zip, I didn’t realise it had made international news? Ha!
Was a heart-warming piece for us too, being so close to our ANZAC Day holiday on 25 April. Probably the biggest national holiday with such a big national shutdown and mourning military parades *everywhere* – starting with the early ‘Dawn Services’ – shared of course, with NZ. This news was also combined with a dual Oz-NZ PMs announcement of finally relaxing NZ-born citizenship rules.
And a sad suicide-by-cop of a veteran also coming just before ANZAC Day, the day after being discharged from hospital (with only a few hours) to which he sought help for mental distress/ suicidal ideation issues – highlighting of course the sad state of veteran mental health 🙁 A few years ago, they finally identified the occupant of the ‘Tomb of the Unknown Soldier’ with advanced DNA techniques.
Interesting — our war day of remembrance, is in honour of one of the worst military defeats in WW1 – the Gallipoli campaign in Turkiye in April 1915, but it was also the first time Australia and NZ first fought in a war as Nations in their own name – instead of previous colony regiments being sent along to the earlier Boer wars and so on. It was stupid, it could not be held, they landed on the wrong beach at the wrong time etc etc 🙁 Did help a little in relieving the Russians attacking from the north. But the ANZACs held on for several months with obscenely high casualties, even for the time – an embarrassing strategic failure for the stupid British leaders at the time (including the young Winston Churchill). Followed by our WW2 battles in Papua-New Guinea, the 1942 Japanese bombing of Darwin, and the long years of Vietnam (like USA, we also had the Draft / Conscription, with the boys’ birthday lottery etc – along with streets full of anti-Vietnam war protests).
But somewhat different to other countries, its a ‘mourning’ day – not a celebration like other countries have with their military parades. The marches are subdued, remembering/respecting both the national dead and the ones who survived – applause for the lead marchers with their medals, businesses closed, parades to watch and flags to wave, poppies in the lapels etc – the only day of the year where public gambling in the game ‘Two-Up’ is legal all over the country. Pubs and clubs, outdoor parks etc – the house ‘takings’ go to the veteran charities. But will be over soon, then back to BAU.
As for Chinese New Year, yes, it is big here – but I visited San Francisco in 2005 and saw their city’s Chinese New Year parade and festivities – and was gobsmacked at how it was even bigger than Sydney’s 🙂 But the food was awful! Chinese take-out in San Francisco was not good, perhaps I’m spoiled as the old joke says “What is Australian cuisine? Ten Nations on a Plate” (and prepared in the original national style, not amended for local tastes).
https://www.racket.news/p/news-blackout-in-effect?publication_id=1042
Mind boggling:
“If we go by the usual measuring stick of American scandal, the Watergate story, this potentially meets or exceeds that, on almost every level. Does it reach into the current White House? Check. Was it a craven attempt to subvert the electoral process? Check again. Did a presidential candidate engineer a massive public deception? Yes, resoundingly. Did it involve intelligence agencies? Yes, and these weren’t amateurs like Nixon’s plumbers. These were 50 of the most powerful people in the intelligence world — including five former heads or acting heads of the Agency in Morell, John Brennan, Leon Panetta, Michael Hayden, and John McLaughlin — conspiring to meddle in domestic politics on a grand scale.”
I *never* thought that I would say this, but here goes … The 2020 election was rigged for Biden.
What a mess US politics is. I see Trump may be up on a rape charge next… Meanwhile, our Deputy Prime Minister has just been forced to stand down due to a bullying scandal.