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PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   1142 thread views

Transnational Thursday for December 19, 2024

Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.

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Some items I've been reading this week:

Uzbek man kills Moscow general at behest of Ukraine service

Study analyzed data from 56,450 stars observed by NASA's Kepler telescope and discovered 2,889 superflares on 2,527 stars, establishing that superflares are significantly more common than previously understood. The energy released during such an event could reach one octillion joules, far surpassing the Carrington Event of 1859.

Guyana is cooperating more with the US, amidst conflict with Venezuela and ExxonMobil operating in contested waters, reports a Venezuela pres

At least 110 people have died in 7 weeks of post-election protests in Mozambique. Protesters alleged that the presidential election was rigged in favour of the long-entrenched Frelimo party, which has been in power since the country gained independence in 1975. Protests escalated following the killing of two opposition officials.

The world's 'deadliest day' when over 800,000 people died | World

isp.netscape.com seems to be a frontend for associated press

Donald Trump 'considering proposal to strike Iran's nuclear programme', and so is Israel, now that they can freely operate in Syrian airspace after the fall of the Assad regime.

An article in The Times looks at how Israel has been using AI to systematically identify airstrike targets, following up on earlier reporting.. “During the period in which I served in the target room [between 2010 and 2015], you needed a team of around 20 intelligence officers to work for around 250 days to gather something between 200 to 250 targets,” Tal Mimran, a lecturer at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a former legal adviser in the IDF, tells TIME. “Today, the AI will do that in a week.”. One intelligence officer tasked with authorizing a strike recalled dedicating roughly 20 seconds to personally confirming a target, which could amount to verifying that the individual in question was male.

The US Department of Defense's Annual Report to Congress reviews China's ambitions and capabilities.

Russian air force [flies](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/12/18/russian-air-force-flies-nuclear-cSome items I'm tracking:apable-bombers-near-alaska-a87390) nuclear-capable bombers in neutral waters near Aalaska

California Gov. Declares 'roactive' State of Emergency Over Bird Flu

Wisconsin reports presumptive avian flu in poultry worker as California declares emergency

First person in US to develop severe illness from bird flu is hospitalized

Drones reported above N.J. nuclear power plants, N.Y. airport, officials say

FAA bans drones over several New Jersey towns

Switzerland to spend £200m upgrading nuclear shelters

I wonder if the "chemical weapons" this general supposedly ordered to be used in the Ukraine happen to be exactly the same sort of non-lethal tear gas that Ukrainian forces also use for the same purposes. In other words, I suspect it's the same story all over as with the landmines.

It reminds me of a news story I once saw about a protest. The article said that the protestors had “attacked the police with a chemical weapon” by which they meant the protestor had picked up one of the tear gas grenades the police were shooting at them and threw it back. That said, tear gas is technically a violation of the Geneva Conventions on chemical weapons.

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