Trump's victory, and the further mass oppression of minorities, is closer than ever before. May god have mercy on our souls.
previous preamble
The totalitarian capitalist dystopia which was created by the United States in the aftermath of the Korean War has increasingly experienced problems as the multipolar world is being gradually birthed.
Due to the widespread exploitation of the population, long work weeks, and high housing prices, the population growth of South Korea has plummeted, with the lowest fertility rate on the planet, and the highest suicide rate in the OECD. While a capitalist "success story" before the 2008 recession in terms of profit accumulation for the richest at the expense of most others, conditions have grown more dire in the Long Depression since the crash. GDP growth per year has averaged out at 2-3%. For more concrete figures, labour productivity has stagnated, particularly in the service sector. The rate of profit hit a peak when the dictatorship ended in the late 1980s, but has since massively tumbled. These dynamics are not unique to South Korea; they are happening throughout the West.
While South Korea is stagnating, perhaps even falling, its northern neighbour is rising. With Russia already persona non grata to much of the developed world and yet still maintaining fairly good economic growth and continuously albeit gradually moving towards victory in Ukraine, Putin sees no reason to be intimidated by the West's shunning of the DPRK, and Russia is establishing ties as well as military and economic deals. This seems to portend an end to the post-Soviet period of forced isolation due to UN actions forbidding the people of the DPRK to leave the country (which many westerners believe is a policy originating from the Korean leadership due to their propagandized education).
Many in the West are still, regrettably, unable to properly analyze the geopolitical situation of Korea due to their government programming, leading to bizarre takes about imminent collapse, or desperation on the part of Russia or the DPRK, unable to recognize that the DPRK has a powerful military sector all its own, and decades of autarky has created a durable society where limited resources must be used efficiently and effectively. The position of the Korean Peninsula seems likely to be a critical part of the US-China conflict, whether this is an outright war or instead a series of proxy wars. Indeed, Korea's position may soon become very important in global trade routes if the US tries to cut off the Strait of Malacca to Chinese-bound cargo ships, with vital resources like oil and food potentially transported both over land and via the Arctic Route over Russia and through the DPRK to China. Russia's leadership clearly sees the importance of Korea in the future, hence their actions now; and, of course, South Korea siding with Ukraine has also forced Putin's hand to oppose them more openly.
The COTW (Country of the Week) label is designed to spur discussion and debate about a specific country every week in order to help the community gain greater understanding of the domestic situation of often-understudied nations. If you've wanted to talk about the country or share your experiences, but have never found a relevant place to do so, now is your chance! However, don't worry - this is still a general news megathread where you can post about ongoing events from any country.
The "Country" of the Week is South Korea! Feel free to chime in with books, essays, longform articles, even stories and anecdotes or rants. More detail here.
Please check out the HexAtlas!
The bulletins site is here!
The RSS feed is here.
Last week's thread is here.
Israel-Palestine Conflict
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against Israel. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA daily-ish reports on Israel's destruction and siege of Gaza and the West Bank.
English-language Palestinian Marxist-Leninist twitter account. Alt here.
English-language twitter account that collates news (and has automated posting when the person running it goes to sleep).
Arab-language twitter account with videos and images of fighting.
English-language (with some Arab retweets) Twitter account based in Lebanon. - Telegram is @IbnRiad.
English-language Palestinian Twitter account which reports on news from the Resistance Axis. - Telegram is @EyesOnSouth.
English-language Twitter account in the same group as the previous two. - Telegram here.
English-language PalestineResist telegram channel.
More telegram channels here for those interested.
Various sources that are covering the Ukraine conflict are also covering the one in Palestine, like Rybar.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Sources:
Defense Politics Asia's youtube channel and their map. Their youtube channel has substantially diminished in quality but the map is still useful.
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don't want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it's just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists' side.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Pro-Russian Telegram Channels:
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR's former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR's forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster's telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a 'propaganda tax', if you don't believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.
Pro-Ukraine Telegram Channels:
Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.

CPUSA leadership yet again endorses Democratic presidential candidate and plans to commit the Party to do everything they can in their power to ensure the genocidal bourgeoise monsters win over the bourgeoise genocidal monsters, with added bonus of this time capping for a senile, genocidal, geriatric corpse that's surrounded by yesmen
If you're still in CPUSA at this point you're either in it for the retirement community home vibes, a DNC operative/operative-in-training, in denial to the truth, or an outright traitor to the communist movement. Even the CPSU under Gorbachev fought tooth an nail against being dragged behind the barn by Yeltsin's bourgeoise with their failed "coup" before the overthrow of the Soviet Union, and the CPUSA can't even manage to vote down their leadership's "Vote blue no matter who" motion
Blow it out your ass CJ
Who promised to be a one-term president CJ.
Yeah who are you going to believe in regards to why we must vote for biden, the lying Communist News Network and Red Square Street Journal, or CPUSA's sterling leadership?
What policy differences, CJ?
They won't be talking about the current war criminal-in-chief being given the legal stamp by Trump's supreme court to aid and abet genocide without even a slap on the wrist
They won't talk about the white supremacists who've been dancing in the streets in support of the Biden Administration as they've poured billions of american tax dollars into fascist Ukraine and fascist Israel
They won't talk about the literal reincarnation of Andrew Fucking Jackson ruling the USA with his own fucking kitchen cabinet of yesmen who've continued the so-called wannabe dictator's policies from day one of his administration
CJ guess whats fucking going on right now again under your beloved democrat president
Hey CJ did you hear about all of the most reactionary sector of the capitalist class have been supporting biden all the way up until the debate? Are you gonna call them progressive because they vote blue like you? Sounds like you're also calling for class collaboration with both international and finance capitalists, CJ.
Cj if you love feasting on the dust particles that comes off of the crumbs that the democrats let fall off the table to the point you'll clap like a seal and bob your head like a parrot for them, you fucking deserve crumbs you line of shit out of a worm's ass.
CJ, the name Tara Reed sound familiar? Also Roe happened under Biden and he's said he will roll over and beg like a dog at whatever they rule. The anti-democratic supreme court will continue to roll back every concession we've gained until in the souls of the People the grapes of wrath are filled once more.
They aren't talking about how nothings been done under biden to prevent this, nor his roll under obungler in ensuring that wallstreet was rewarded with golden parachutes for their crimes against the american working class, who themselves were left out to dry after their livelihoods were destroyed.
As fucking if any of the lying press is worth a wet shart
YOU FUCKING GENOCIDAL FREAK
Neither independent, nor working class. My posting on hexbear's more independent and I just got off the clock from my job to ragepost about your shit genocide-supporting articles, CJ
Good.
the answer is yes to all the raised questions.
THIS IS LITERALLY HOW THE COOKIE CRUMBLES EVERY FUCKING TIME YOU FUCKING TURKEY STARING AT THE HURRICANE
That’s a lot of words to say “I don’t care about genocide and don’t view Palestinians as people”.
a lot of words to say "CPUSA endorse the palestinian genocide"
Country’s largest Fed make-work program
Most successful deradicalization program
point 1, you sound like a fucking liberal and not a communist but that's not new news. point 2 pandemic still going fuckface. point 3 that's not biden's achievement nor your party's achievement, the situation in America is just that bad the people's class conciousness is organically stirring. point 4, that's a non-point, nothing any normal person can do can overturn what the supreme court's done unless the FUCKING PRESIDENT THREATENS TO BLACK BAG THEIR ASSES UNLESS THEY DO AS HE SAYS. point 5, fucking lol no. point 6, look to point 5. point 7, wet shart noises.
That shit was funny you fucking lib
Jamaal fucking sucked and was a traitor to the DSA. Which i don't really give a shit about because they're not communists nor are they revolutionary, but that's a whole separate article.
Its important to look beyond the fact you're voting for RedMAGA or BlueMAGA. We have to remember that as our beloved president has said, nothing will fundamentally change.
Your entire party's idea of operating is acting as agents of the DNC electoral committee. You aren't fighting fascism to save democracy, you're fighting to enable fascism to strangle democracy.
Shut the fuck up. Nothing fucking changed under trump the first time, I'm at the point that there's precident that nothing's really gonna be different if there's a second serving of Cheeto dust in your brunch mimosas.
Bull shit.
It's like someone was actually stupid enough to give some
Vaushite "anarcho-Bidenist" a platform. 