Image is from this SCMP article.

Much of the analysis below is sourced from Michael Roberts' great website.

Japan's ruling parliamentary coalition, consisting of the LDP (purple) and it's junior coalition partner Komeito (in light pink) have lost their ruling majority. They have ruled post-war Japan for almost its entire history. The LDP is currently led by Shigeru Ishiba after Kishida stood down due to a corruption scandal, and ties to the Unification Church.

While geopolitical factors (over the cold war between the US and China, etc) may have played a role, by far the biggest reason for this result in the poor economic conditions over the past few years. Inflation has risen and real wages have fallen, with little relief for the working class via things like tax reductions. While inequality in Japan is not as extreme as in America, it is still profound, with the top 10% possessing 60% of the wealth, while the bottom 50% possess just 5%.

Shinzo Abe previously tried to boost economic performance through monetary easing and fiscal deficits, while Kishida ran on a "new capitalism" which rejected Abe's neoliberalism and promised to reduce inequality. Nothing substantial has resulted from all this, however, other than increasing corporate wealth. Innovation continues to fall, and domestic profitability is low, resulting in decreasing investment at home by Japanese corporations. Labour productivity growth has only slightly picked up since the mid-2000s and is falling again. The rate of profit has fallen by half since the 1960s, and Japan has been in a manufacturing recession - or very close to it - since late 2022. In essence: there is no choice but between stagnation or decline.

Please check out the HexAtlas!

The bulletins site is here!
The RSS feed is here.
Last week's thread is here.

Israel-Palestine Conflict

If you have evidence of Israeli crimes and atrocities that you wish to preserve, there is a thread here in which to do so.

Sources on the fighting in Palestine against Israel. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:

UNRWA 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.
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.

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.
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.

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.

  • Al_Sham [she/her]
    ·
    2 days ago

    Really cool article about student resistance organizing written by a Palestinian former political prisoner about martyr-scholar-fighter Jihad Mughniyeh.

    Show

    Between Two Fields: Jihad Mughniyeh, the Student Fighter by Fairouz Salameh

    Excerpt:

    The university was a necessity for him, and his perception of its role is clear in his statement: “There is an abundance of weapons, but the problem is in the person who will stand behind it; the battle today is a battle of minds, weapons, and technology. If we are not educated, who will carry the weapon? Who will develop this weapon and who will develop and keep up with technology? And who will represent the resistance in conferences and on media platforms? As resistance and liberation movements, we need individuals from various fields, just like those who fight with weapons on the front, so being in university is part of my mission in the liberation movement I belong to, whether the Islamic Resistance or others.”

    Mughniyeh embodied the unity of words and actions, living out the principles he espoused. His call for “educated people who work” was not mere rhetoric; he led by example, excelling both in his studies and in resistance activities. He frequently reminded his peers, “I’m not telling you what you should do, but what we all must do. And I’ll be the first among you to do it.” This consistency set Mughniyeh apart and drew others to him, as his relationships were built on a foundation of fraternal camaraderie.

    Mughniyeh built his relationships on a solid foundation of trust and honesty, building enduring bonds rather than passing acquaintanceships during a temporary stage. He dedicated most of his time to students, engaging with them both on and off campus, during and after class hours. His goal was to forge a sustained movement rather than just an administrative framework for student activism. While many of his university peers were solely focused on academic pursuits, Mughniyeh centered his efforts on the resistance cause, particularly the Palestinian struggle. Palestine was a constant theme in every gathering or discussion he held with his peers. During a 2011 session with students, as Mughniyeh mourned his father with tears, he realized he was mourning in the wrong way. He understood that true mourning and loyalty were not expressed through grief alone, but through actual fieldwork, of which he saw student activism as one of its noblest forms. Mughniyeh often shared this personal story with his fellow students, using it to strengthen their connection with those who had become martyrs, whether they had a direct relationship to them or not. His message was clear: honoring the martyrs meant activating their role within the resistance movement for which the martyrs had made these sacrifices.