PORT STRIKE SUSPENDED; MIDEAST MILITARY BRIEF; U.S. POWERLESS IN MIDEAST, OIL PRICES SURGE; HURRICANE HELENE DAMAGE; PANDEMIC STARTUPS THRIVE; CANNABIS ADDICTION HARMS; UKRAINE MILITARY BRIEF
Ad Astra Podcast
October 04 2024
Good morning citizens of America. This is the ad Astra Citizen Journal, daily brief for October 4, 2024 AD. I'm here to bring you the latest news from around the world. Let's dive into today's top stories. Port strike suspended, mid-east military brief, U.S. powerless in mid-east, oil prices surge, hurricane-helene damage, pandemic start-up strife, cannabis addiction harms, Ukraine military brief, flash. Port strike suspended until January 15, 2025, automation remains a sticking point. Striking dock workers agreed to go back to work Thursday evening after reaching a tentative agreement with court operators for 62% wage increase that extends the current contract through January 15, providing more. Time to bargain over remaining issues. The deal, brokered with the apparent help of senior Biden administration officials, according to a person close to the talks, came on the third day of the strike, sparing the U.S. economy the worst of the disruptions. The deal does not end the dispute between the two sides and the difficult issue of automation remains to be resolved. The union see new technology as a killer of jobs. But shipping lines are seeking new ways to improve efficiency at U.S. ports, which analysts say have lagged behind those in other countries when it comes to modernizing article source Walpo. 1. Mid-east military briefing, a "Israel bomb" Beirut last night. Israel's military carried out one of its heaviest bombardments of Beirut overnight with multiple airstrikes that aimed to kill surviving leaders of militant group Hezbollah. Residents across the Lebanese capital heard several large blasts, and flames and large plumes of smoke were seen rising from the southern suburb of Dahia in the early hours of Friday. Hashim Safidain, the heir apparent to Hezbollah's assassinated former leader Hassan Nasrallah, was the target, a person familiar with the situation said on Friday. B. Around a paper tiger? This is a terrifying moment for Iran. Common A. has long pursued what he calls a "no peace, no war strategy," Iran supports regional militias opposed to western interests and the Jewish state, but avoids actually getting into a war. The approach was always untenable. But Iran is not ready for an all-out war, its economically battered society does not share its leaders' enemies toward Israel, and its military capabilities don't even begin to match Israel's sophisticated arsenal. Iran lacks significant air defense capabilities on its own, and Russia has not left to compliment them. "We don't have a fucking air force, a source in Tehran close to the Iranian military told me, under condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals." Of the attack on Israel, he said, "I don't know what they are thinking. See, illustrating information war, Iran more successful at original attack than Israel acknowledges. At least two dozen long-range Iranian ballistic missiles broke through Israeli and allied air defenses on Tuesday night, striking or landing near at least three military and intelligence installations, according to a review of videos and photos of the attack and aftermath." Videos verified by The Washington Post showed 20 missiles striking the Nevidim Air Base in the southern Nijif Desert and three striking the Telnaaf Base in Central Israel. Analysts told The Post the visuals were consistent with direct impacts on the bases rather than debris from intercepted missiles. Other videos showed that at least two missiles landed near Tel Aviv in Cinema City Glillit, Hot Hasharin, close to Israel's Mossat spy agency headquarters, leaving at least two craters. The findings raised questions about the full scope of the damage to Israeli military bases and suggest that Iran was more successful in evading Israel's defenses than in April, when only two munitions eluded air defenses and impacted Israel according to Post reporting. The Israeli military said air defense systems identified 180 missiles fired from Iran but did not respond to questions about the number of locations affected by the strikes. The United States and Israel have said that there was minimal damage on the ground and the Israeli military said Wednesday that its bases were fully operational. Both the Pentagon and the Israeli military declined to comment on the Post's findings. Article Source FT Atlantic WALPOV 2 U.S. powerless AS Israel plans retaliation against Iran oil surges, a USA powerless to influence conflict. As Israel prepares a retaliatory strike against Iran, the Biden administration increasingly resembles the spectator with limited insight into what its closest Middle East ally is planning and lessened influence over its decisions. White House officials say they have been coordinating closely with their Israeli counterparts and are hopeful Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will limit a likely attack against Iran in response to a barrage of missiles Tehran fired at Israel on Tuesday. Israel's air defenses were able to parry the Iranian attack which caused only minor damage to one of its air bases. Israeli officials have conveyed that they don't feel the need to retaliate immediately or in a massive way, according to White House officials. U.S. and Israeli officials have been discussing potential targets, including Iran's oil facilities. President Biden said on Wednesday that he opposed any strikes on Tehran's nuclear facilities, but on Thursday left open the possibility that he would support an Israeli attack on the oil infrastructure, remarks that sent oil markets surging. B. oil surges after Biden's comments on Israeli retaliation, oil prices soared to their highest level in more than a month on Thursday, as traders speculated that Israel could engage in retaliatory strikes against Iran's oil industry. Brent crude rose by more than 5% to settle at $77.62 per barrel after U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters that such a move was under discussion in response to Tuesday's missile attack on Israel by Iran. The rise continued on Friday, with Brent up 1.6% at $78.85. Asked whether the U.S. would support Israel striking Iran's oil facilities, Biden said, "We're in discussion of that, although in his truncated comment the U.S. President went on to say, I think that would be a little." Anyway, article source, Wall Street Journal, FT. 3. Hurricane Helene Devastates Southeast, low flood insurance rates complicates recovery, editors note, "I generally do not cover whether in the ad Astra citizen brief, as weather events are fleeting and typically do not shape the course of history." However, this week, amid the major escalation in the Middle East, Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm, made landfall on the Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rain and causing widespread flooding across the Southeastern United States. While this story isn't about the weather itself, it highlights the significant economic burden that will arise from the cleanup efforts. Hundreds of thousands of people across parts of the Southeast will struggle to rebuild their homes after Hurricane Helene, for one reason, hardly anyone has flood insurance. In dozens of counties in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina that were flooded by Helene, less than 1% of households have flood insurance through the federal program that sells almost all of the nation's flood policies. People never thought they would have a problem with flooding, said Jimmy Isaacs, Fire Chief of Boone, North Carolina, a mountainous town in Watauga County, where less than 2.5% of households are insured. It's going to be a difficult recovery, article source, Politico. 4. Pandemic-sparked entrepreneurial boom creates 7.4 million jobs, one of the pandemic's most unexpected economic legacies and entrepreneurial boom. Stuck at home with time and, in many cases, cash to burn, Americans started businesses at the fastest rate in decades. What happened next might be even less expected, those businesses thrived, overcoming supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, rapid inflation, and the highest interest rates in decades. Businesses formed from 2020 to 2022 had created 7.4 million jobs by the end of 2022, according to data released by the Census Bureau last month, contributing to the strong rebound in the broader labor market. More timely, but less comprehensive data suggests that these businesses have continued to add jobs in the past two years. Article source, NYT. 5. Cannabis industry boom brings rising addiction and health risks. In mid-coast Maine, a pediatrician sees teenagers so dependent on cannabis that they consume it practically all day. Every day, a remarkably scary amount, she said. From Washington state to West Virginia, psychiatrists treat rising numbers of people whose use of the drug has brought on delusions, paranoia, and other symptoms of psychosis. And in the emergency departments of small community hospitals and large academic medical centers alike, physicians encounter patients with severe vomiting induced by the drug, a potentially devastating condition that once was rare but now, they say, is common. Those patients look so sick, said a doctor in Ohio who described them writhing around in pain. As marijuana legalization has accelerated across the country, doctors are contending with the effects of an explosion in the use of the drug and its intensity. A $33 billion industry has taken root, turning out an ever expanding range of cannabis products, so intoxicating they bear little resemblance to the marijuana available a generation ago. Tens of millions of Americans use the drug for medical or recreational purposes, most of them without problems. But with more people consuming more potent cannabis more often, a growing number, mostly chronic users, are enduring serious health consequences. The accumulating harm is broader and more severe than previously reported. And gaps in state regulations, limited public health messaging and federal restraints on research have left many consumers, government officials, and even medical practitioners in the dark about such outcomes. Article Source NYT Six Bonus Friday, Ukraine Military Briefing, a recent event summary, the news coming out of Ukraine lately has not been very good for Kiev, nor for its western backers. In fact, the news has been very bad and is only getting worse. Russia continues to grind out victory after victory in the Donbass, with the time between each victory becoming shorter and shorter. The Ukrainian invasion of Russia and the occupation of a salient on the border in the direction of the city of Kursk failed to lure Russia into moving some of its forces away from the Donbass, and towards that section of the front. The Ukrainians are now stuck on Russian soil, with no larger strategy to direct them as to what to do next besides hold. Even worse, they redirected precious resources for their gambit, resources that would have better served them in defending places like Pokrovsk and like Ubladar, the fortress town that has served as a linchpin in their defense in the Donbass, until it fell into Russian hands yesterday after holding out against them for two years. President Zelensky has just returned from an important trip to the USA, with reports informing us that he has come away empty-handed. An 8 billion US dollars check was cut to support Ukraine's continued defense, but that is nowhere near what he requested as part of his so-called victory plan. The Americans also rejected the other key element of that plan, denying Ukraine the right to use US arms to hit targets deep within Russia. What this should indicate to us is that the Americans have pretty much reached the end of the escalation road and cannot see any clear path to continue it without inviting serious repercussions from the Russian side. Editors note, the FT ran an excellent expose on the war this week. B. excerpts from FT expose, morale falls in Ukraine, surrounded by video monitors showing the advancing enemy. The battalion's commander says his objectives have begun to shift. "Right now, I'm thinking more about how to save my people," says Mikhail Atemper. "It's quite hard to imagine we will be able to move the enemy back to the borders of 1991," he adds, referring to his country's aim of restoring its full territorial integrity. Once buoyed by hopes of liberating their lands, even soldiers at the front now voice a desire for negotiations with Russia to end the war. Yuri, another commander on the eastern front who gave only his first name, says he fears the prospect of a forever war. "I am for negotiations now," he adds, expressing his concern that his son, also a soldier, could spend much of his life fighting and that his grandson might one day inherit an endless conflict. "If the U.S. turns off the spigot, we're finished," says another officer, a member of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade and nearby Curricove. "It is struggling to restore its depleted ranks with motivated and well-trained soldiers while an arbitrary military mobilization system is causing real social tension. It is also facing a bleak winter of severe power and potentially heating outages." "Society is exhausted," says Oleksandr Marisko, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Ukrainian Parliament. C. excerpts from FT Expoze, U.S. privately doubts Ukraine at the same time. Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelensky is under growing pressure from western partners to find a path towards a negotiated settlement. Even if there is skepticism about Russia's willingness to enter talks any time soon and concern that Ukraine's position is too weak to secure a fair deal right now. "Most players want de-escalation here," says a senior Ukrainian official in Kiev. "It would be naive to expect the applause we got two years ago." "The Biden administration is aware that its prison strategy is not sustainable because we are losing the war," says Jeremy Shapiro, head of the Washington Office of the European Council on Foreign Relations. They are thinking of how to move that war to a greater quiescence, D. excerpts from FT Expoze, NATO membership, the crux of the matter. An advisor who helped prepare the document says Zelensky had no choice, but to restate his insistence on NATO membership because anything else would have been perceived as a retreat on the question of western security guarantees, which Ukrainian see as indispensable. The most important thing for us is security guarantees. Proper ones. Otherwise, it won't end the war. It will just trigger another one, says a Ukrainian official. Land for membership is the only game in town. Everyone knows it, says one senior western official. Nobody will say it out loud, but it's the only strategy on the table. NATO membership remains Ukraine's key goal, but very few of the alliance's 32 members think it is possible without a full, lasting ceasefire and a defined line on the map that determines what portion of Ukraine's territory the alliance's mutual defense clause applies to. The model floated by some is West Germany's membership of the alliance, which lasted more than three decades before the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification with the east. The West German model is gaining traction, particularly in the White House, which has been the most skeptical about NATO membership, says Shapiro of the ECFR. The Russians would hate that, but at least it could be some opening gambit for compromise. But even that would require a vast force deployment by the U.S. and its partners that any U.S. administration, Democratic or Republican, would probably balk at, given Washington's focus on the threat from China. One question would be whether European powers would be willing to shoulder more of the burden. And would Russia accept Ukraine's entry into the alliance, an alignment with the West it has been trying to thwart militarily for a decade? Many on both sides of the Atlantic say it is unlikely. "I don't think Russia would agree to our participation in NATO," says a senior Ukrainian official. "Anything short of full membership is unlikely to be enough to stop the Kremlin's military aggression. Even if we get a NATO invitation, it will mean nothing." It's a political decision adds the senior Ukrainian official. E. excerpts from FT Expoze, the home front, Ukrainian public opinion, also appears to be more open to peace talks, but not necessarily to the concessions they may require. Pulling by the Key of International Institute of Sociology for the National Democratic Institute in the summer showed that 57% of respondents thought Ukraine should engage in peace negotiations, with Russia up from 33% a year earlier. The survey showed the war was taking an ever heavier toll. 77% of respondents reported the loss of family members, friends, or acquaintances, for times as many as two years earlier. Two-thirds said they were finding it difficult or very difficult to live on their wartime income. Life is about to get even tougher. Russia has destroyed at least half of Ukraine's power-generating capacity after it resumed mass drone and missile strikes against power stations and grid infrastructure this spring. If you get into any negotiation, it could be a trigger for social instability, says a Ukrainian official. Zelensky knows this very well. There will always be a radical segment of Ukrainian society that will call any negotiation capitulation. The far right in Ukraine is growing. The right wing is a danger to democracy, says Morishko, who is an MP for Zelensky's servant of the People Party, article source, Niccolo Soloto, FT. October 4, 1957, Sputnik launched, "That's All for Today's Brief." Join us again tomorrow for more news and updates. This show was produced by Greg Loving, wishing you a great day ahead. Please follow and rate us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps other listeners find us. Stay informed and manage to prosper. I can't seem to stand on my own feet. Who do you think of when you have such a common love? ♪ I'm all shook up, mmm, mmm, mmm ♪