Hi Global Recap readers,

It’s starting to get really cold where I live.

As for our Australian readers, it’s getting really hot there, right?

In any case, welcome back to another week of geopolitics updates!

🌐 Around the world:

• Russia celebrates killing its own.

• Irish asylum seeker hotel torched down.

• Germany’s first deployment of troops since WWII.

• Oil supply chain disrupted.

• EU to probe Musk’s social media platform X.

Let’s get into today’s news.

🇷🇺 Russia Celebrates Friendly Fire

Russian troops mistakenly celebrated shooting down a Ukrainian jet, only to discover it was their own.

• The Jet: The Su-25, believed to be hit by a Russian missile, was initially reported as a Ukrainian loss.

• Ukraine: Ukraine’s air force refuted this, thanking Russian anti-aircraft gunners for the error.

• Backtrack: Later, Russia claimed the plane “crashed” due to low visibility.

Fog of war is real.

Click for more

🔥 Irish Hotel: Torched

Galway’s Ross Lake Hotel prepped to house 70 asylum seekers, fell victim to suspected arson. The blaze, following a protest, signals Ireland’s refugee backlash.

• Refugee Boom: According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), around 141,600 immigrants arrived in Ireland in the year up to April 2023 - a 16-year high.

• Recent Riot: The anti-immigration sentiment has been building up since November’s “most violent” riot in Irish history. This was a reaction to a stabbing at Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire primary school, where a knife-wielding 49-year-old man of Algerian descent stabbed a 5-year-old girl and a care assistant who tried to protect the school’s children. Two more children suffered less serious injuries.

• Twist of Fate: Ironically, a Brazilian delivery driver rushed to knock the suspect out with his helmet.

This is such a complex situation.

Click for more

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🫡 Germany Deploying Troops

For the first time since WWII, Germany is deploying troops to Lithuania amid NATO’s strategic bolstering.

• Deployment: 4,800 German soldiers + 200 civilians will be stationed in Lithuania, marking a significant NATO reinforcement against a possible attack by Russia.

• Timeline: Full operation expected by 2027, with most troops arriving in 2025-2026.

What does NATO know that we don’t?

Click for more

🛢️ Oil Supply Chain Disrupted

Oil giant BP is halting Red Sea transits amid an escalation of Houthi attacks, joining other shipping giants in rerouting vessels.

• Security Pause: BP’s precautionary halt reflects escalating regional tensions.

• Naval Action: US Defense Secretary Austin is calling for an international coalition to combat threats.

• Market Impact: Oil prices surge; supply chains brace for “seismic” shifts.

Inflation 2.0 + international response?

Click for more

X

X Marks the Spot: Musk’s Social Media Platform Under Legal Spotlight

The European Union has launched its probe into Elon Musk’s social media platform X.

🔍 Investigating X’s Missteps. The Commission is probing potential breaches of the Digital Services Act (DSA), focusing on four key areas:

• illegal content dissemination,

• information manipulation,

• transparency, and

• deceptive user interface design.

📋 What is DSA? Under the Digital Services Act, X and other major online platforms are required to reduce disinformation risks and implement assessments and external audits to combat illegal content like hate speech.

💭 What Musk Said. In response to the announcement post, Musk questioned why Breton is only targeting X and not other social media platforms.

🚨 Previous Warning. Back in October, the European Commissioner for Internal Market sent a request for information to X for supposedly allowing the spread of illegal content and disinformation regarding the Israel-Hamas war.

Here’s our extensive coverage back then:

• Post 1: “X and Meta: Two Very Different Responses to EU”

• Post 2: “EU Launches Probe Into X”

🌍 Why It Matters. This is the first-ever proceeding under the DSA. The outcome could set a precedent for how online platforms are regulated in the future.

🔎 The Commission’s Powers. As part of its investigation, the Commission can conduct interviews, carry out on-site inspections, and request access to X’s algorithmic databases.

🏃‍♂️ Musk’s Exit Strategy? Musk has reportedly considered pulling out of the European market in response to the new legislation.

💰 The Cost of Non-compliance. If X is found guilty, it could face a fine of up to 6% of its global turnover, which would have been about $264 million in 2022. The investigations, while not implying guilt, will thoroughly examine X’s practices and policies over the coming months.

📱 X’s Troubles Multiply. Concerns about X’s role in disseminating “illegal content” and disinformation have intensified, especially in the context of the Israel-Hamas war.

• Supporters of the platform view the EU’s actions as an attack on freedom of speech.

• Critics hail it as justice.

🌐 Opinion

Here’s the poll result from last week’s question. The comments were very passionate, as expected. And to the one person who wrote a huge essay about American politics, Russia, etc., I heard you.

• 🟠 🟠 ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚪️ Yes: 26%

• 🟢 🟢 🟢 🟢 🟢 No: 60%

• 🔴 ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚪️ I am not sure: 14%

Yes.

• Many who expressed that their view of Israel changed after reading about the unguided dumb bombs expectedly criticized the brutality and inhumane nature of Israel’s attacks.

• Critics argue Israel should prioritize minimizing civilian casualties, despite the economic hurdles of using “smart guided bombs.”

• Many also pointed to the cruel disproportionality of Israel’s response. The imbalance is irrefutable. The point of contention is the justification of it.

No.

• Many put some of the blame on Hamas, who has refused to return all hostages.

• There were quite a few comments hightling the stark contrast between WWII’s unified resolve to destroy the Nazis and Japanese, and today’s war ethics.

• The US and the allies were indeed unified in their resolve to stop the Nazis and Japanese, without as much of a concern for civilians as now. Perhaps because citizens of the allies countries were actually attacked, and had personally experienced war?

I am not sure.

• Surprisingly, people in the camp had quite a concrete opinion about the situation. Many seem convinced of each side’s wrongdoings.

No side is ever fully right. History attests - WWI, WWII, all wars.

So, although we can have strong convictions on the matter (believe me I do), we should not lunge into internal conflicts against our own community.

Thank you again for voicing your opinions on such a dicey subject. 🙏