@Lookout were of little to no interest to DC until this week.

Why?

Because last Saturday the last little bit of light was snuffed out on the Independent Taiwan fiasco.

I'd written about that last week on wotb and I think at c99 also and had a big hearty laugh along with Alex reporting from Monaco on the Duran tape you've posted as he laughingly pointed out my exact thoughts.

Penelope at wotb pointed out that the protest pix in China gave no numbers of crowd sizes and could have been taken at anytime.

Which I agree with.

The goal was to cover up the real story. China will not be influenced or moved by the fading USA. Easily defeated and humiliated in Taiwan. Brushed aside.

New world coming into focus.

from Daniel Dumbrill...
I fired up my camera to have a quick impromptu chat about my thoughts and feelings on China's covid-zero, the protests and the incoming reforms from the perspective of someone who's been on the ground since day one.
16 min
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wN0OALoj6M]

@snoopydawg

How many is that now just here in the states? More than 10. Probably many more. Plus how many oil refineries are closed down right now? Gawd things turned ugly fast didn’t they?

Yup!

And we’ve been re-electing them for the last 30-50 years while they promised us that things would get better if we only gave them a big enough majority. Welp A-hole Obama not only had a majority, he also had a mandate from we the people and everything he did was for his owners and the military industrial complex. Trump actually did more for us than Obama did.

Meryl Nass has a great essay on the attack against food for us and the absolute crack down on farms across the world and especially in the Netherlands. 70% of farms there are being told that they must stop farming and it’s happening in other countries. Monsanto and other wicked organizations are going to be in charge of what we can eat.

There have been protests in numerous countries across the pond whilst we continue to fight amongst ourselves about which party is trying to screw us. As mentioned here we have the most number of people in prison and many for minor crimes whilst those who have done heinous acts are still walking free. And little by little states are trying to take our guns. Credit card companies are tracking who buys which type of gun. Colorado passed some type of gun law that restricts what people can have. Canada has outlawed all guns. We know what happens when people and countries lose their gun rights.

Another good essay

People shouldn’t be afraid of their government; Their government should be afraid of the people. - V

The last chance is gone! What Is America’s Tipping Point and What are You Prepared to Do When it comes? (Our government has stated that they can imprison anyone without cause for an indefinite amount of time.)

We have seen in recent events, by now almost too numerous to mention, the effects of a rising frustration with the way things are. It isn’t necessary to go into all of the individual reasons, but as a society there are more and more outpourings of frustration on a global scale. There are increasingly tightening restrictions against people. There is a manipulation of markets and the economy. There is a great increase in the loss of freedom and there is a more open antagonism and almost outright animosity by Government towards their people.
(The patriot act took away many of our freedoms and congress just told railroad workers that they have to work according to their owner’s demands.)

Governments exist either because they have come to power through force and violence or they have been elected and given power by the people.

When governments will steal money outright from the citizens in order to pay bills that were not incurred by the people we have a problem. When government spies on its people and uses that information against them punitively we have a problem. When Government uses the force of the military that was supposed to defend the people that was paid for by the people, for the purposes of killing the people, we have a big problem. When someone brings to light crimes by the government and is labeled as the one who is a danger, we have a problem.

Our government has stated that they can imprison anyone without cause for an indefinite amount of time.

Can you seriously argue that we aren’t headed down the same path as others have in our not too distant past?

Biden Signs Legislation To Avert Crisis Of Treating Rail Workers Like Humans

“We were only a week away from a nationwide catastrophe in which we would have been forced to acknowledge the basic rights of these employees,” said President Biden, applauding lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who ensured rail workers would continue to be denied a benefit as humane as paid sick days. “So much of what Americans rely on is delivered by train—from clean water to food to gas—and the last thing we want is for the people responsible for transporting those goods to be able to stay home when they’re seriously ill. Thanks to this law, we can guarantee that no engineer driving 20,000 tons of freight across this great nation will be able to access healthcare without having their pay docked.” Biden went on to express confidence that next year, bipartisan legislation would be passed to ensure rail workers were no longer allowed to eat or sleep between shifts.

Will this get people off their buttocks and walk out on their jobs nationwide or will we just take another clubbing to our rights and freedom? One way to tell government that this is unacceptable is for millions to walk out in strike. People are hoping that the rail workers do just that and they will support them monetarily, but why should they take the risk others aren’t willing to? People have the power. The government should be afraid of it. Instead we have Powell doing everything he can to low wages, throw millions out of work and take people’s power away from them and give it to the oligarchs. I hope people see that the window for doing something is closing fast.

Boy things have changed in the last year when instead of being told to stay home if sick to fck that and go to work anyway and make sure that they infect as many others as they can. Biden took 17 days off when he got the Rona again. But us peons? Nope.

Btw Italy’s court just said that yes the government has the right to make people take an mRNA against their will.

Biden is going to sign us up for vaccine passports that anyone who wants to travel internationally. He is also going to sign on to letting the WHO run the next pandemic that will nullify whatever is left of the constitution. It might just start with having to have a passport to travel, but that’s not the end game. There are already plans for digital money and not only has Biden signed on for it, but many states are working on implementing it. Banks will get to run our lives?

Halt Vaccine Passports and Stop Genocide 2030 - Every Human Being Must Fight For Freedom NOW

So again how much longer are we frogs going to enjoy our sitting in the pot of increasing hot water? Dunno but really thought I’d be dead before this shit happened.

@snoopydawg has come as a very hard knock on the noggin to me. I knew things were dire but this!?!

The Government and the Corporations blatantly ganging up on the workers and our unions?

It is gobsmacking and it leaves us with very few options.

My first idea is a nationwide stoppage of all union dues. What is the point of that pretense, if the unions cannot protect its workers. IDK how well this would work, but it is easier to organize than a strike and the workers who opt out will have more money in their hands as they fight. I expect the unions to fight very hard against this.

Meryl Nass has a great essay on the attack against food for us and the absolute crack down on farms across the world and especially in the Netherlands. 70% of farms there are being told that they must stop farming and it’s happening in other countries. Monsanto and other wicked organizations are going to be in charge of what we can eat.

There have been protests in numerous countries across the pond whilst we continue to fight amongst ourselves about which party is trying to screw us. As mentioned here we have the most number of people in prison and many for minor crimes whilst those who have done heinous acts are still walking free. And little by little states are trying to take our guns. Credit card companies are tracking who buys which type of gun. Colorado passed some type of gun law that restricts what people can have. Canada has outlawed all guns. We know what happens when people and countries lose their gun rights.

Another good essay

People shouldn’t be afraid of their government; Their government should be afraid of the people. - V

The last chance is gone! What Is America’s Tipping Point and What are You Prepared to Do When it comes? (Our government has stated that they can imprison anyone without cause for an indefinite amount of time.)

We have seen in recent events, by now almost too numerous to mention, the effects of a rising frustration with the way things are. It isn’t necessary to go into all of the individual reasons, but as a society there are more and more outpourings of frustration on a global scale. There are increasingly tightening restrictions against people. There is a manipulation of markets and the economy. There is a great increase in the loss of freedom and there is a more open antagonism and almost outright animosity by Government towards their people.
(The patriot act took away many of our freedoms and congress just told railroad workers that they have to work according to their owner’s demands.)

Governments exist either because they have come to power through force and violence or they have been elected and given power by the people.

When governments will steal money outright from the citizens in order to pay bills that were not incurred by the people we have a problem. When government spies on its people and uses that information against them punitively we have a problem. When Government uses the force of the military that was supposed to defend the people that was paid for by the people, for the purposes of killing the people, we have a big problem. When someone brings to light crimes by the government and is labeled as the one who is a danger, we have a problem.

Our government has stated that they can imprison anyone without cause for an indefinite amount of time.

Can you seriously argue that we aren’t headed down the same path as others have in our not too distant past?

Biden Signs Legislation To Avert Crisis Of Treating Rail Workers Like Humans

“We were only a week away from a nationwide catastrophe in which we would have been forced to acknowledge the basic rights of these employees,” said President Biden, applauding lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who ensured rail workers would continue to be denied a benefit as humane as paid sick days. “So much of what Americans rely on is delivered by train—from clean water to food to gas—and the last thing we want is for the people responsible for transporting those goods to be able to stay home when they’re seriously ill. Thanks to this law, we can guarantee that no engineer driving 20,000 tons of freight across this great nation will be able to access healthcare without having their pay docked.” Biden went on to express confidence that next year, bipartisan legislation would be passed to ensure rail workers were no longer allowed to eat or sleep between shifts.

Will this get people off their buttocks and walk out on their jobs nationwide or will we just take another clubbing to our rights and freedom? One way to tell government that this is unacceptable is for millions to walk out in strike. People are hoping that the rail workers do just that and they will support them monetarily, but why should they take the risk others aren’t willing to? People have the power. The government should be afraid of it. Instead we have Powell doing everything he can to low wages, throw millions out of work and take people’s power away from them and give it to the oligarchs. I hope people see that the window for doing something is closing fast.

Boy things have changed in the last year when instead of being told to stay home if sick to fck that and go to work anyway and make sure that they infect as many others as they can. Biden took 17 days off when he got the Rona again. But us peons? Nope.

Btw Italy’s court just said that yes the government has the right to make people take an mRNA against their will.

Biden is going to sign us up for vaccine passports that anyone who wants to travel internationally. He is also going to sign on to letting the WHO run the next pandemic that will nullify whatever is left of the constitution. It might just start with having to have a passport to travel, but that’s not the end game. There are already plans for digital money and not only has Biden signed on for it, but many states are working on implementing it. Banks will get to run our lives?

Halt Vaccine Passports and Stop Genocide 2030 - Every Human Being Must Fight For Freedom NOW

So again how much longer are we frogs going to enjoy our sitting in the pot of increasing hot water? Dunno but really thought I’d be dead before this shit happened.

@soryang

...your generous and timely insights about S.Korea's political drama... or shall I say, palace intrigue. Although I've spent time in all three cultures, in many places, I find myself far more familiar with the modern politics of China and Japan. Now, as I watch the US planning its clumsy, flat-footed, tone-deaf Pivot to Asia — with the full intention of unleashing NATO-esque Murder and Mayhem across the region — I can see a wide gap in my grasp of the situation where S.Korea is concerned. Your accounting of the internal political conflicts taking place in South Korea — is fraught with unknown geopolitical potential.

There is a lot of news breaking in South Korea which is pretty much off the radar screen because of the preoccupation with Russia, China, and Ukraine and Taiwan respectively. I had taken the trouble last night to write a an account of the creeping eclipse of democratic government in South Korea as a result of President Yoon's complete capitulation to US and Japanese foreign policy goals. He's basically adopted the anti-China so called Indo-Pacific policy. Meanwhile, his unpopularity in South Korea continues to rise. Unfortunately, I pushed the wrong button, and lost it; will try again.

.
Ouch. Thanks for persevering. Lookout made a good guess at what the problem was. I've made that mistake, as well, and now save often as I am composing or editing. Meanwhile, I find it amazing that we have a private corespondent reporting the real politik of S.Korea at this historic time. If the prescient mental sketching of global events composed at c99 should fall silent while the US is engaged in a monumental act of self sabotage by provoking China — we will have gained depth and accuracy from the clarity and timeliness of reports such as yours.

I did not see clearly until now how Westernized the Korean political hive-mind has become. There is an uncanny synchronicity between the existential dilemma that currently grips US politics and S.Korea's unfolding political and legal power struggles. The political outrages in S.Korea happen to precisely mirror the recent and unresolved political turmoil that occurred in the US, when legal subterfuge, fake investigations, spying and covert sabotage, corrupt warrants, expensive cover-up operations, and a deep-state psy-op of media propaganda drowned out rational thinking in the US. This took place at the highest levels of the Federal Government, both before and after Donald Trump won the US Presidential election. These events triggered an ongoing nationwide frenzy of censorship, which is performed from an array of corporations, public non-profits, and at hastily-founded NGOs.

In my informal anthropological view, Korean art has always struck me as 'fierce', compared to Japanese or Chinese art. I've also thought that Korean expat communities seem to adapt and merge more completely with Western civilizations — the US, for example — than do Japanese and Chinese expat communities. Of course, these are stereotypes and assumptions. But the open hypocrisies and fearless corruption that's taking place in S.Korean politics is a surprise to me. When I see Leaders who have normalized acts of blatant corruption, I assume they regard their their people as too clueless and gullible to understand, or too disenfranchised and powerless to act. It's true in the US, where Federal level politicians represent the predatory capitalists who make them all millionaires, and their cynical gun-ownership policy is deliberately designed to get the organizers of revolution in the US quickly killed. If I recall correctly, the US signed is a Patriot-Act-era treaty with Canada that allows Canadian troops to enter the US, who may be more willing to participate in the clean-up of such "acts of terrorism."

South Korea appears to mirror the blatant political corruption of the US, but are the people politically powerless as well? The situation in South Korea may open the door to new speculation about both the viability of the US attack on China and the political future of S.Korea. Of course, the reunification of Korea will remain completely off the table, until S.Korea can remove the leash around its neck, held taut by the US. In the end, it could be North Korea's global view that will prove to be the correct one.

Again, thanks for the great, informative post.

Alex, Alexander, Alex, Patrick, and Daniel Dumbrill. I've missed Daniel's videos lately. We like Alex of reporterfly too.

There is a lot of news breaking in South Korea which is pretty much off the radar screen because of the preoccupation with Russia, China, and Ukraine and Taiwan respectively. I had taken the trouble last night to write a an account of the creeping eclipse of democratic government in South Korea as a result of President Yoon's complete capitulation to US and Japanese foreign policy goals. He's basically adopted the anti-China so called Indo-Pacific policy. Meanwhile, his unpopularity in South Korea continues to rise. Unfortunately, I pushed the wrong button, and lost it; will try again.

In the last few months, the public prosecutor's office has caused the three leading national security figures of the prior Moon administration to be arrested on fabricated charges. The former National Security Advisor was ordered jailed on Friday under a warrant approved by a judge after a ten hour hearing. The former Secretary of Defense and the former Director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) were arrested as well during the summer. There was an incident in September 2020 during the prior Moon Jae-in administration in which a marine patrol officer was shot and killed by North Koreans in North Korean waters during an attempt to defect.* In June 2022 the NIS and MOD findings related to the defection and killing were disputed by the Yoon administration and the arrests and McCarthyite witch hunt began. It is believed that imprisonment of the former democratic president Moon Jae-in is the ultimate object of this series of arrests, and investigations. Dozens of search warrants of private property and government offices were issued in connection with these investigations of the highest level national security officials.

*South Korean Seaman killed attempting to defect,
September 28, 2020
https://civilizationdiscontents.blogspot.com/2020/09/south-korean-seaman...
As a former sailor, I found this story interesting at time and took the trouble to interpret the reports.

Meanwhile investigations of the current leader of the democratic party and former presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung are underway. This is not the first such effort at prosecution of Lee Jae-myung in continuing attempts to eliminate him from the political field. In its usual modus operandi Yoon's clique in the Public Prosecutors Office has been threatening people already incriminated in the Hwacheon Daewoo/ Daejangdong land development scandal to change earlier courtroom testimony to incriminate Lee Jae-myung. Ironically, Yoon (as a prosecutor) in the past was in charge of an investigating team that covered up the Pusan Savings Bank scandal that financed corrupt businessmen investing in the Daejangdong project.

At the same time, similar tactics against former Justice Minister Cho-guk, have been ongoing for at least two years. His wife was already convicted of "college entrance corruption" on behalf of her daughter and sentenced to more than four years in prison. I read the closing argument of the attorney for the college professor who allegedly conspired with Cho Guk to award his daughter a college scholarship, characterized as a "bribe" by the confabulating prosecutors. It was brilliant and powerful, and made the point that the reviewing court not let itself be used as an instrument of political repression destroying the lives and families of innocent people when the prosecution cases are based on false testimony, and fabricated evidence submitted by politically motivated corrupt prosecutors violating their oath of office and public duty.

President Moon released a rare public statement concerning the disputed findings of the September 2020 incident near Yongpyeong Island in the West Sea near the Northern Limit Line. He basically said the investigation and prosecution of former national security officials acting within the scope of their duties was harmful to national security. He also said that it was he who made the ultimate determination of the nature of the homicide in North Korean waters of the South Korean maritime official. I doubt if the Yoon government has the nerve to prosecute Moon at this point. It seems Yoon's clique is trying to see how much they can get away with. If they succeed in getting rid of the ministers and Lee Jae-myung, I'm sure they think Moon will easily fall into their hands.

In other moves aimed at creating a state of martial law inside South Korea, Yoon's office has prepared a reorganization of the Presidential security guard chain of command which enlarges it from the former Blue House contingent of 700 guards committed to presidential security to expand it by inclusion of approximately 1300 Yongsan police and 1000 military police. There is blowback from those organizations informally as they note they are under their own institutional command chains and that police and military organizations are constitutionally established by law. This move follows an earlier edict placing the formerly independent National Police Agency under the direct control of the Minister of Interior and Public Safety, as it was during the dictatorships.

The public safety minister is now trying avoid blame for the disaster in Itaewon on October 29 which resulted in the deaths of over 150 young people. This minister has attempted to deflect blame by claiming the victims may have died because they may have been taking illegal drugs. There is no question, the minister had diverted Yongsan police forces away from Itaewon October 29 and that the lack of police in the area directly led to the disaster. The government has further enraged the surviving families and the public generally by exempting the Minister's office and the Presidential Office from investigation. To add insult to injury the government is obstructing efforts of the survivors to obtain condolence payments or organize in their own interest.

Prosecutors who were unable to stop a South Korean reviewing court (post election) from dismissing an injunction filed by Yoon's attorneys just before the election campaign are being retaliated against by Yoon clique prosecutors currently. One of the prosecutors who worked on the court review process which ultimately led to the upholding of the independent disciplinary committee findings against Yoon as Prosecutor General, is now being prosecuted in turn for abuse of office and leaking confidential court documents. The charges are absurd. The retaliation against the career prosecutor won't change the disciplinary board's finding that Yoon violated the political impartiality of his office, intervened in a case in which he had a personal interest, and investigated sitting judges unlawfully. The was the second adverse disciplinary board outcome in Yoon's legal career with the prosecutors offices. It was the delay in the legal review of the injunction which enabled Yoon to be elected.

Demonstrations in Seoul took place downtown and in Seocho next to the PPO building Saturday evening. They apparently weren't coordinated. One from Namdaemun to Myongdong was about 30,000 and the one in Seocho was only a few thousand. I think the organizers were disappointed in the turnout, but the weather was cold about 28 degrees F. The trucker's strike has been broken by the government, with a few of the leaders jailed. In the videos I watched it didn't seem that the labor or farm unions were present at the main demonstration. Coats, scarves, gloves and masks were worn by most demonstrators.

The legal retaliation by the Yoon administration against unions, the independent media, and opposition is taking its toll. It's looks like the Lee Nak-yon DINO faction in the National Assembly and democratic party organization are separating themselves from the plight of Lee Jae-myung the party leader, and the former top officials of the Moon administration. How long traditional conservatives will stick with the Yoon faction remains to be seen, as his popularity and the approval rating for the conservative party (PPP) have hit their 30 percent base.

@humphrey

You have to work as slaves or Putin will win. But I’m betting that’s all it will take for some people to fold. Oh noes..Putin wants us to strike. Well I’m not gonna! Take that Putin!

There seems to be no limit by those in power to attempt to use Russia as the scapegoat for everything that has gone wrong with their failed policies.

https://inews.co.uk/news/nhs-strikes-action-nadhim-zahawi-angers-nurses-...

Union bosses have dismissed Tory chairman Nadhim Zahawi’s comments linking strike action to the war in Ukraine, calling it a “new low for this Government” and “disgraceful”.

Mr Zahawi used his media appearances on Sunday to urge nurses not to strike and “send a very clear message” to Russian President Vladimir Putin as he said rising prices were being driven by higher energy costs due Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“This is not a time to be divided. We have to come together to, I hope, send a very clear message to Mr Putin that he can’t use energy as a weapon in this way,” he said on Sky News. He repeated the same message in later appearances on the BBC and Times Radio.