Bulletins and News Discussion from December 4th to December 10th, 2023 - The Legacy of Kissinger - COTW: Laos

BelTA - Lukashenko identifies source of funding for resolving all climate problems 01/12/2023

Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “Everyone looks for sources of funding to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. They are easy to find. First of all, it is necessary to stop wars and conflicts on the planet and everything that goes with it. And we will find about $5 trillion. It is five times as much as what we are trying to find today in order to reduce emissions.”

Speaking about prospects of the establishment of peace in Ukraine, the Belarusian leader referred to the speech of his Brazilian counterpart. In particular, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pointed out that $2 trillion spent on weapons last year should have been spent on fighting hunger and climate change instead of wars.

Foreign reporters asked the head of state about his stance on the conflict in Ukraine and pointed out that Vladimir Zelensky had not come to the summit. “Ukraine has been invited. Vladimir Zelensky should have been here. He may still be on the way. The forum is not over yet. He will come,” Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked.

PolandDaily24 - Duda Resigned from Group Photo at COP28 Due to Lukashenko’s Presence 01/12/2023

Polish President Andrzej Duda declined to participate in a group photo at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, citing the presence of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, according to a statement from the President’s Office. In solidarity with President Duda’s stance, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics also opted not to participate in the group photograph.

DW - Platitudes and accusations: Lavrov at the OSCE 02/12/2023

"I know that in Germany, it's fine for government members to tell journalists what they should write, but we treat our journalists with more respect," Lavrov said. The Russian diplomat also repeatedly criticized the OSCE itself in Skopje, calling it an appendage of NATO and the European Union, and questioning whether it still made sense to revitalize it.

Poland and the Baltic countries refused to attend the gathering.

Euronews - Wind of change: Germany gets serious about plans to make military 'fit for war' 15/11/2023

But with the Ukrainians struggling to push Russia back on their crucial southeastern front, Germany is trying to push things further. And Scholz's defence minister, Boris Pistorius, is now talking about Germany's defence posture in terms unlike anything heard since the country was reunified in 1990.

Writing in newspaper Tagesspiel recently, Pistorius called for "fundamental changes" to the German army, the Bundeswehr, which he said needs major structural reform "to be effective and fit for war in the future".

That phrasing is starkly different from the relatively tentative way German governments have addressed military strength in recent decades – and in his final paragraph, Pistorius wrote in even more strongly unilateral terms that will have made many thinkers and policymakers in Berlin uncomfortable.

"We need a change of mentality not only in the Bundeswehr, but also in politics and society," he declared. "At stake is the security of our country, and thus the foundation for social coexistence, progress and economic growth. As a state and a society, we need to be able to defend ourselves and be resilient so that we can continue to live in peace, freedom and security in the future."

Reuters - German union head: will expand railway strikes after talks failed 24/11/2023

The head of Germany's GDL train drivers' union on Friday said wage negotiations with state-owned railway operator Deutsche Bahn had failed and added that strikes will be expanded.

GDL wants a reduction in working hours with full wage compensation and an extension of the GDL collective agreements to the network and maintenance division of Deutsche Bahn.

Deutsche Bahn has firmly rejected both points, saying that a reduction in working hours would require the hiring of 10,000 new employees, which is impossible in the current job market.

Yahoo News - At protest in Lviv, students demand firing of university professor over her ‘disrespect’ for Russian-speaking soldiers 14/11/2023

The professor sparked a wave of criticism after she responded to the fact that some military brigades of the Azov Regiment and the 3rd Separate Marine Brigade speak Russian, stating that she cannot "accept" to call such fighters Ukrainians, during an interview with Yanina Sokolova on YouTube channel Rendezvous on Nov. 5.

Students from Lviv Polytechnic, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, and Kyiv National University of Technology and Design, among others, participated in the protest. The protesters brought posters with slogans such as "Farion out", and "Iryna Farion disgraces Ukraine" as seen in a video provided by Suspilne.

Farion herself said that she is supported by "hundreds of people." She called the incident a "regular provocation" organized by Russian propaganda. Lviv Polytechnic University said that it "does not bear responsibility" for Farion's statements and that the university students have contacted law enforcement.

Yahoo News - Politico names Zelenskyy Europe's most influential dreamer 2024 28/11/2023

The American digital newspaper Politico has chosen Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, as the most influential person in Europe in the Dreamers category.

:zelensky-pain:

Bonus: The newest installment of lib slop that is the Elon Musk biography clocks in at 688 pages or 20 hours and 27 minutes of audiobook time. :negative: