China’s New Era of Social Control | Poland’s Reparation Debate | The State of Russia’s Military, and more

These events have been appalling enough for the levels of destruction and loss of life they have caused. What makes them considerably more worrisome is the growing climatological evidence that they are becoming routine and the clear signs that, when they occur simultaneously across wide geographic regions, they will cause global disruptions to food supplies, trade and energy.

What’s Behind Poland’s Reparation Debate?  (Slawomir Sierakowski, The Strategist)
Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, Poland has received daily threats from Russian propagandists that it will be next. Yet despite these high stakes, Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) party government has decided to start a fight with Germany—one of its closest allies—by demanding huge war reparations for the destruction caused by Hitler’s Third Reich.
On 1 September, the anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, PiS Chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski presented a report that puts the sum of Poland’s wartime losses at US$1.3 trillion. While PiS has been talking about reparations since it came to power seven years ago, this is the first time that it has broached the topic with Germany. In fact, the issue is both formally and morally unambiguous—and the correct policy lies in the opposite direction.

The ‘New School’ Far-Right: A Transnational Model on Telegram  (Michael R. Vandelune, Ardian Shajkovci, and Allison McDowell-Smith, HSToday)
Critically relevant is the transnational far-right’s relationship with the war in Donbas and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Trump Associate Heads to Trial Over Alleged Illegal Foreign Lobbying  (James Fanelli and Rory Jones, Wall Street Journal)
Thomas Barrack, a confidant of former President Trump, goes on trial this week James Fanelli and Rory Jones report for the Wall Street Journal on charges that he illegally pushed U.S. officials to support policies favoring the United Arab Emirates. Federal prosecutors allege that Barrack, the former chair of investment firm Colony Capital Inc, worked with a former colleague and an Emirati citizen to influence the Trump administration and U.S. officials at the direction of high-ranking Emirati officials. At the same time, Barrack solicited and received about $374 million in capital commitments from Emirati sovereign-wealth funds, they say. Barrack, who was charged in July 2021, is also accused of obstruction of justice and making false statements during a 2019 interview with agents from the FBI.

Here’s What We Know About the State of Russia’s Military  (Ellen Ioanes, Vox)
Ukraine’s continuing rout of Russian forces in the east has exposed fundamental problems within the Russian military, including deficiencies and power struggles in its command structure and gaps in intelligence gathering and processing. Though Russia’s early failures and difficulty recruiting enough soldiers for the front line have been clear for months, the latest operation shows the depth of the disarray and stasis in Russia’s armed forces.