There is undeniably a lot more activity around the DPRK these days, the newly constructed greenhouse, hospital, and resort all reflect a growing, stable economy, and there have been first-in-a-decade visits from Vietnam and Indonesia. It is fantastic for the people of the DPRK, and with the US in decline, I can’t see this slowing down.

Huh, Open Desk? Why not LibreOffice or OnlyOffice? They’re both European and more widely used I’m pretty sure. Seems like a strange choice.

Ugh, hopefully this is just the flailing of a dying empire rather than anything more systemic. The US knows that as its grip on the global economy weakens, so does the efficacy of its embargo.

Don’t know too much about Cuban foreign relations, but are there any surprises on this list?

Something I have always wondered is how much these agents genuinely buy their own propaganda. At this point, the whole “freedom and democracy” spiel is probably less effective than appealing to plain old selfishness and greed, especially in a region like Latin America at the front row of US imperialism. I honestly think that they don’t realise how hypocritical they sound, and will continue to shoot themselves in the foot every time they try recruiting new assets.

In a free market structure, Saudi oil exports create huge demand for the Saudi Riyal, making it appreciate massively against all other currencies. This makes any other export uncompetitive, and imports really cheap. Thus, it kills off most of Saudi Arabia’s domestic industries, actively punishing diversification despite being the smart thing to do.

To extend this further, Saudi Arabia exemplifies how capitalism is very efficient at making huge profits, but really bad at building a functional economy. It’s why the US spends 17.6% of its GDP on healthcare, and yet has a terrible life expectancy for a developed country.

Saudi profits 😔

Why is Europe always so eager to jump in the firing line for the US? Is their ruling class really so captured by American interests?

Honestly ridiculous how no one in the US administration seems to understand supply chains. Trying to bully the country that makes all the stuff you need to make your own stuff is not a viable strategy.

Maybe they should try getting Biden to run again? We’ve all seen how much the liberals are praising his policies nowadays. I’m sure they would be just as enthusiastic in reelecting him.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2499052-biodegradable-plastic-made-from-bamboo-is-strong-and-easy-to-recycle/

The plastic’s toughness is comparable to commonly used engineering plastics – strong plastics used in vehicles, appliances and construction

However, its rigidity also means that its potential uses aren’t the most widespread. “It’s not something that’s going to challenge the use of the main plastics we use in packaging, like polyethylene and polypropylene,” says Dove.

Ah, that’s unfortunate. Still, industrial use cases are valuable, especially for a manufacturing heavy country like China.

Cuba Solar Irradiance

Cuba has pretty high solar irradiance everywhere in the country, not the best, but pretty good and consistent. Given how cheap solar + batteries is getting, it is a great way to achieve energy independence.

It is really unfortunate that all the good soil for agriculture is at the south of the peninsula, leaving the DPRK in a really difficult spot. That’s why these greenhouses are so vital.

This chart really shows the stark difference between the two countries, which is to be expected, as neoclassical economics treats energy as an intermediate good, rather than as the foundation of basically every economic sector today.

Everything needs energy, and you can’t just substitute it with something else. China recognizes this, and is expanding renewable energy production faster than the rest of the world combined. I suspect this blind spot will haunt the US for decades to come as their industries become increasingly noncompetitive due to high energy prices.

Excellent. The more countries become willing to engage in bilateral or multilateral agreements without involving the US, the less Washington can throw its economic weight around to force concessions and bully smaller economies. The effectiveness of US sanctions have already been eroding, and the tariffs will only accelerate that.

Found more specifics here: https://en.mehrnews.com/news/236644/What-happened-at-UN-Security-Council-meeting-on-Iran

• Against: United States, United Kingdom, France, Greece, Denmark, Slovenia, Panama, Sierra Leone, Somalia
• In favor: China, Russia, Pakistan, Algeria
• Abstentions: South Korea (Council President), Guyana