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
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.
Activists did a bunch of anti-genocide graffiti at a Danish university and every horrible person is mad about it. University management "does not agree with the criticism" calling them genocidal, the minister of education is screaming for blood and want the activists expelled, Zionists are crying their crocodile tears and a Liberal Party member with local politics aspirations photographed it all hoping to make a name for himself by being a good little snitch.
From DR (state media) (machine translation):
Vandalism at Roskilde University Honors Deceased Hamas Leader: Minister Wants the Perpetrators Expelled
Roskilde University has been struck by extensive vandalism, glorifying a Hamas leader and accusing the university administration of being genocidal.
Full article
October 31, 2024
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Students and staff at Roskilde University encountered widespread graffiti vandalism on the university’s facades on Tuesday.
The graffiti praised the deceased Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to be one of the main architects behind the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
"Rest in power, Yahya Sinwar, long live resistance," was written on one of the walls.
Elsewhere, the graffiti equates Zionists with Nazis, while at least two places say, "Zionists should be afraid."
On a fence, it is also written that the university's rector and director, Hanne Leth and Henrik Zobbe, are "proud, genocidal racists."
There have been several instances of vandalism at Roskilde University. In early September, students were met with messages like "One solution, Intifada revolution."
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Student Movement Shares Image of Vandalism
It is unclear who is behind the vandalism.
On Instagram, the pro-Palestinian student movement RUC Intifada, which has held several demonstrations at Roskilde University, shared a picture of the vandalism and wrote, "We welcome RUC’s awakening."
DR News asked RUC Intifada if they knew anything about the vandalism. They have not responded to our inquiry.
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The student movement gained attention when a demonstration at Roskilde University on October 4 escalated. Masked participants pulled forcefully at doors to locked areas, entered offices and meeting rooms where staff were present, and prevented some personnel from attending meetings, reported Berlingske at the time.
Today, the movement held another demonstration at Roskilde University. According to their Instagram account, they planned to "honor the dead in Gaza and celebrate the martyrs who died fighting for freedom and justice."
The demonstration led the university administration to call the police, as it disrupted multiple staff members, Berlingske reports.
A P1 morning reporter on the scene also requested an interview with the student movement, which they declined.
On the movement’s Facebook page, RUC Intifada demands that Roskilde University boycott all Israeli institutions and companies that "profit from the occupation" and condemn Israeli actions.
Minister: Perpetrators Should Be Expelled
Education and Research Minister Christina Egelund (M) calls the situation "serious" and strongly condemns the vandalism.
"This has nothing to do with debate. It is vandalism, intimidating behavior, harassment, and it has very real victims – namely, the Jewish students," Christina Egelund told P1 Morning before continuing:
"Imagine being Jewish and having to see a tribute to Yahya Sinwar at your university. This is far over the line."
She also considers the harsh messages directed at the university administration, including Hanne Leth and Henrik Zobbe, as "far, far over the line."
Christina Egelund believes it should have severe consequences for the perpetrators.
"If you are behind this type of behavior, I believe you should be expelled from the university," she told P1 Morning.
It remains unknown whether those responsible for the graffiti are students at Roskilde University.
If they are, it will have consequences, assures Roskilde University director Henrik Zobbe.
"We don’t know who is behind it, but we have reported the graffiti to the police and will ensure it is removed as soon as possible. It will have consequences for the perpetrators if it turns out to be students at the university," he wrote in a statement.
He also clarified that the university disapproves of the messages written around campus.
How do you feel about being labeled as genocidal?
"We think the tone and statements are unnecessarily harsh, and we disagree with the criticism," said Henrik Zobbe.
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Student Council: RUC Intifada Knows There is No Collaboration
Mads Hansen Bager, head of the Roskilde University Student Council, explains that earlier this year, the council investigated the university’s ties to Israel—the ties that RUC Intifada demands be cut.
According to him, none were found.
"We had the opportunity to review Roskilde University's financial investments in the West Bank and any scientific collaborations. We were pleased to find that there was nothing," Mads Hansen Bager told P1 Morning.
Did you inform RUC Intifada of this?
"In September, we had a dialogue meeting with RUC Intifada, where we conveyed this to them," Mads Hansen Bager said.
Jewish Community: Emphasizes Feeling of Insecurity
The Jewish Community in Denmark does not hesitate to call the vandalism and messages "unacceptable." They believe it clearly illustrates why Jewish students feel unsafe at Danish universities.
"For some time, we have received reports from Jewish students at Danish universities that it is necessary to hide their identity—not to mention the possibility of participating in debates on equal terms with other students," writes Henri Goldstein, chairman of the Jewish Community, in a statement.
"If you are met with graffiti containing threats and praise for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the man behind the October 7 terrorist attack, we no longer need to debate whether the feeling is unwarranted," writes the chairman.
He believes that Roskilde University should work harder to ensure a safe work environment.
"We expect the administration at Roskilde University to ensure a study environment that is safe and inclusive for all students, regardless of ethnicity, religion, and political stance. The time for hiding is over," says Henri Goldstein.
In response to the criticism from the Jewish Community, university director Henrik Zobbe replied:
"We understand that sharp rhetoric and actions can create insecurity among some students. We will do everything we can to ensure a study environment that is safe and inclusive for all students."
Most of the article’s photo documentation consists of images provided to DR by Benjamin Haxha, a RUC student and a candidate for the Liberal Party in the 2025 municipal elections in Herlev Municipality.
When I was Copenhagen I saw that the historic city hall was flying the Ukrainian flag but would that be prohibited if that law forbidding foreign flags passes?
Yes and no. Flying the Ukraine flag without permission would be illegal, as it was before the old ban was struck down. But when Russia entered the war and the Slava Ukraini craze took off the regime issued a blanket permission.
So it is a ban on flags the regime don't like