Bulletins and News Discussion from December 2nd to December 8th, 2024 - May A Hundred Hazel Flowers Bloom - COTW: Russia
Image is of one of the six salvos of the Oreshnik missile striking Ukraine.
The Oreshnik is an intermediate-range ballistic missile that appears to split into six groups of six submunitions as it strikes its target, giving it the appearance of a hazel flower. It can travel at ten times the speed of sound, and cannot be intercepted by any known Western air defense system, and thus Russia can strike and conventionally destroy any target anywhere in Europe within 20 minutes. Two weeks ago, Russia used the Oreshnik to strike the Yuzhmash factory in Ukraine, particularly its underground facilities, in which ballistic missiles are produced.
Despite the destruction caused by the missile, and its demonstration of Russian missile supremacy over the imperial core, various warmongering Western countries have advocated for further reprisals against Russia, with Ukraine authorized by the US to continue strikes. Additionally, the recent upsurge of the fighting in Syria is no doubt connected to trying to stretch Russia thin, as well as attempting to isolate Hezbollah and Palestine from Iran; how successful this will have ended up being will depend on the outcome of the Russia and Syrian counteroffensive. Looking at recent military history, it will take many months for the Russians and Syrians to retake a city that was lost in about 48 hours.
Even in the worst case scenario for Hezbollah, it's notable that Ansarallah has had major success despite being physically cut off from the rest of the Resistance and under a blockade, and it has defeated the US Navy in its attempts to open up the strait. Israel has confirmed now that their army cannot even make significant territorial gains versus a post-Nasrallah, post-pager terrorist attack Hezbollah holding back its missile strike capabilities. In 2006, it also could not defeat a much less well-armed Hezbollah and was forced to retreat from Lebanon.
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. Simplicius, who publishes on Substack. Like others, his political analysis should be soundly ignored, but his knowledge of weaponry and military strategy is generally quite good.
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.
I am completely unsurprised by the SK news. The government is little more than three chaebol held together by a cult. Any other cultural elements that could have united the populace have been systematically eliminated.
The intense misogyny and other prevalent right-wing traits are imo largely a result of an oppressive authority that has been in crisis for many decades now. Without the fear of NK to hold things together, they probably would have fallen apart years ago. (I don't consider this NK's responsibility and therefore I also don't consider it their fault.)
I don't think any of that is too controversial... but I will withhold my more inflammatory opinions on k-pop so as not to instigate a struggle session.
There's a bigger underground communistsocialist (those are illegal and referring to oneself as such is illegal) friendly fellow traveler progressive movement, social democratic elements, and radical trade and labor unionism in South Korea than there is in the United States.
Let's try to keep things grounded, the reactionary State of the ROK is constantly struggling to keep the People under its thumb and relies on constant political apparatus manipulation, unending propaganda, constant paranoid oversight from the KCIA, and unending interference from the U.S and its agencies to stop the southern Korean people from actually charting their course of self-determination and reconciliation with our brothers and sisters to the north.
As dogshit as the south is, it's still better than the U.S and the Korean people of the south have a stronger revolutionary potential than the entirety of the American people across all 50 states, as much as it both wounds me and fills me with pride as a Korean American
All good points of course. I agree. And I can see why you might want to add this context.
I'm trying to criticize the systems current generations inherited (and commenting on some of their cultural effects). The people have done a lot with the hand they were dealt. They do show more potential (and realization of potential) than in the US.
Perhaps the history of poor governance will soon work to the advantage of organizers and activists.
e: I wanted to specify that the "bad hand" they got was really, really bad and a huge part of that was the result of foreign powers. But it got lost because I was also trying not to ramble.
South Koreans have bigger revolutionary potential simply because there is "a better example up North" that was the same issue with east germany, thats why the west had to basically sterilize any potential strength the former east german worker had.