Inflation-ridden Argentina is suffering another blowback from rising energy and food prices, while Scandinavian countries are worried about shortages in the winter

https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/economy-and-ecology/how-argentina-and-scandinavian-countries-are-dealing-with-inflation-6133

#ips-journal

Even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, its internet and particularly its social media had been subject to ever-increasing constraints for years. Since 2022, the already severe restrictions on online activity have dramatically tightened, as Freedom House outlines in its report covering the period from 2021 to 2022. The authorities' aim is to ensure that loyal, pro-war voices completely dominate any outlets used by a sizable proportion of Russia's domestic audience. Right from the onset of the war, we saw headline-grabbing moves to block Western-based social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democracy-and-society/russias-social-media-battleground-6727/

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The Taliban's leaders have regularly visited Russia, despite being on the Kremlin's list of banned terrorist organisations. Ties between Moscow and the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' have further deepened since February 2022, when Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Strong anti-American sentiments in both Kabul and Moscow offer commonalities. In economic terms, however, Russia's local influence is limited and doesn't compare with that of major regional players such as Pakistan or China.

https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/foreign-and-security-policy/the-enemy-of-my-enemy-6964

#ips-journal

South Korean public support for going nuclear is increasing. Moon Chung-in on the country's nuclear debate and its relations with the US and Japan

https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/foreign-and-security-policy/hardliners-argue-that-south-korea-should-have-its-own-nuclear-weapons-6915

#ips-journal

The quiet days of August are a good time to contemplate the year ahead. Peering at my 2024 calendar, the European Parliament elections loom largest. Sadly, they fail to inspire me the way they did five years ago. In 2019, I stood for the European Parliament in Germany while a German colleague stood in Greece. DiEM25, our pan-European movement, wanted to make the point that European democracy will remain a sham unless it becomes  fully transnational . In 2024, such  gestures  are not even symbolically meaningful.

https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/european-integration/europes-fading-democracy-6967/

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Ips pini, or the Engraver Beetles are insects that develop in pines and spruces. Ips are everywhere in the United States. They are attracted to pines and spruces under stress from drought, root injury, disease, or defoliation. These insects are not necessarily lethal to the pines and spruces. Attacks can be limited to the tops […]

https://www.journal-advocate.com/2022/09/28/ips-beetles-and-how-to-prevent-them/

#journal-advocate

1. Is Do Kwon a Kwon-Artist?
   original article — hacker news
2. Is “acceptably non-dystopian” self-sovereign identity even possible?
   original article — hacker news
3. “Code” 2nd Edition
   original article — hacker news
4. Apple M2 Die Shot and Architecture Analysis – Big Cost Increase and A15 Based IP
   original article — hacker news
5. Enormous ‘rogue waves’ can appear out of nowhere
   original article — hacker news
6. MIT researchers uncover ‘unpatchable’ flaw in Apple M1 chips
   original article — hacker news
7. New CRISPR-based map ties every human gene to its function
   original article — hacker news
8. How I finally get daily journaling done with a workflow on my iPhone
   original article — hacker news
9. Data Race Patterns in Go
   original article — hacker news
10. Cooperation among an anonymous group protected Bitcoin during failures
    original article — hacker news

#hn #hackernews #ycombinator

The Belarusian protest wave of 2020 has often been referred to as ‘a revolution with a female face'. While the public role of women since the end of the protests has diminished, women remain active drivers of resistance, though often operating in the background. ‘Revolution with a female face', ‘female trio of the Belarusian revolution' and ‘from housewife to presidential candidate' – these storylines, describing the Belarusian large-scale protests, headed the foreign media's front pages in the summer of 2020.

https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democracy-and-society/the-female-face-of-belarusian-resistance-6554/

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Schiedam, The Netherlands—This small city, beside Rotterdam, is the venue of the Aug. 21-25, 2023 conference of the International Society for Quality of Life Studies (isqols.org). Isqols, established in 1995, is the world's leading association of researchers into happiness and well-being; it presently has 442 active members from 59 countries; its journal is Applied Research in Quality of Life. Attending the conference are some 300 members and 100 nonmembers. There are six Filipinos here, including three from Social Weather Stations (SWS) and two from the University of the Philippines.

https://opinion.inquirer.net/165823/letter-from-rotterdam

#inquirer

Drinking water is running out in Uruguay — this headline got the small South American country onto international news. Prolonged drought has brought the reservoir and river that supply the capital Montevideo down to 10 per cent of their normal water level. Unless the rain comes, there is sufficient water only until mid-June, at best. Paradoxically, Uruguay is located in a region that holds more than 30 per cent of the world's freshwater reserves. So, there is groundwater. But the fact that drinking water is available only to those able to buy it in bottled form highlights rather different political priorities.

https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/economy-and-ecology/green-bills-over-blue-gold-6769/

#ips-journal