SSDG World News - 15 Dec 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a 4-hour public and press conference.
News helps form belief but belief is only proportional to our action e.g., most vote for the personality of parties instead of their policies and accomplishments; and the idea of Christians versus Muslims is absurd considering one side preaches without acting.
Read the news, research what tingles you, form a proper opinion, and then act on those within reach. We cannot believe in kindness if we only expect it to happen to us.
PUTIN DOING WHAT OTHER’S DON’T
AFRICA
SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa continues to rip itself apart:
The Blue Drop report into the country’s 958 water supply systems found that 46% failed compliance, dropping from 5% in 2014. Less than 3% achieved Blue Drop Certification. 47.4% of the water is being lost (mostly because of broken underground pipes). 67.6% of wastewater treatment works are failing. One major NGO reckons that safe water will run out within 5-10 years unless there’s drastic intervention.
South Africa’s trust in its Government is exampled by there being 140,000 police officers versus 600,000 active private security guards (2.2m are registered). The bigger problem is that the most skilled officers have joined the private sector. Furthermore, ‘Gangsters allegedly take over business and infiltrate the Western Cape police’.
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The headline at Bitcoin News: ‘Jailed Mastermind of South African Bitcoin Scam Reportedly Getting Preferential Treatment in Brazilian Prison’.
AFRICA SUBSTACKED
ASIA
CHINA
Chinese President Xi Jinping was warmly welcomed in Vietnam. A local newspaper published his letter, ‘Building a China-Vietnam Community with a Shared Future That Carries Strategic Significance And Writing Together a New Chapter in Our Modernization Drive’.
JAPAN
From the many documentaries I’ve seen, Japan is remarkable. For the elderly, it’s brilliant, because they get to live longer than the rest of the humanity.
Movies paint a mixed picture. New dramas often feature the depression and challenges of being a young, low-income adult. That’s an extension of reality because anime, manga and sexy porn stars haven’t been medicine stopping its high suicide rate.
One of the biggest causes is the cultural sense of duty and respect that makes employees comply with being overworked to death. It’s so common that there’s a name for it - karoshi.
The latest sensational case involves Dr. Shingo Takashima, a 26-yr-old who “worked over 100 days straight without a day off, and put in 207 hours of overtime in the month leading up to the day he took his own life.” 30% of 7,558 doctors polled said they had contemplated suicide. Takashima was ‘successful’.
MYANMAR
Myanmar has replaced the American military as the world’s top opium producer, proving that you don’t have to be a Superpower to save drug addicts and support Big pharma.
INDIA & PAKISTAN
EUROPE
This BBC article simply explains the UK’s illegal immigrant deportation to Rwanda plan.
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Serbia will hold parliamentary elections this Sunday.
LATIN AMERICA
MIDDLE EAST
ISRAEL & PALESTINE
The U.N. uses words for peace but acts for war
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has overwhelmingly voted for a ceasefire in Gaza, expanding the USA's verbal loneliness in supporting Israel. 153 For 10 Against 23 Abstaining That’s a significant increase in the call for Israel’s hostilities to end, in comparison to the vote on October 27 which was 120 versus 14 (with 45 abstentions).
SAUDI ARABIA
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE)
USA
A stock option is a share bought at a set price for a specified period. On Friday, $5 trillion in U.S. stock options will expire. How will this affect the market?
Zelensky met with the U.S. Congress who made big promises to him. Afterwards, he said he’d only believe them once delivered.
PODCASTS
Blocked & Reported: ‘What Do We Want? Genocide! When Do We Want It? Now!’
Hardtalk: ‘What Rwandans think of the UK migrant transfer deal’
UK Column: ‘Dark Crusade, A Look at the Origins of Christian Zionism’
DOCUMENTARY
INTERVIEWS
My internet data running low again but I’ve scheduled a few smaller posts for you until year end, here and on my diary page. I’ll get a one day bundle to post a news update next week.
A plethora of pertinent geopolitical and South Africa related info. Thanks for posting! Did not follow the situation in SA until recently and am dismayed. The situation in Gaza is barbaric, as is the carnage in Ukraine. Am opposed to any personality cult but would wager that if there were more leaders like President Putin this would be a much improved reality for most.