North Korea

i mean in south korea of course

The Military’s Return to Brazilian Politics
Brazil is in danger of becoming a country whose political economy is rooted in militarism, diverting precious social wealth to the military and police as it imposes a military ethic onto public life. To construct peace, on the other hand, would mean to eradicate hunger and illiteracy, to increase the social and productive capacity of the people, and to improve the infrastructure for social life and commerce – indicators that all saw tremendous improvements under the Workers’ Party (PT) government from 2003 until the 2016 coup against then President Dilma Rousseff. Since the 2016 coup, Brazil has experienced a rollback of these social gains as well as a military presence increased to the highest level since the 1964–1985 dictatorship.

The agenda of President Jair Bolsonaro (who is not affiliated with any political party) has been marked not only by his radical discourse, but also by his increased participation in military ceremonies – as was clear on 7 September 2021, Brazil’s Independence Day, when he called upon his supporters to take to the streets and protest Congress and the courts following weeks engulfed with tension and speculation over a possible coup. Proud of having emerged from the military’s ranks, the former captain knows that the armed forces have been decisive in his gaining and remaining in power.

https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-50-brazil-armed-forces/

It's still hard to believe that the election in Lebanon in a week is actually taking place, but it is... and I'm not thrilled about it.

No one expects the many civil society groups of the Oct. 17 color revolution to win more than a few seats. The only thing that the election results will really affect are the foreign powers. The parliament that will be elected will choose the next President of Lebanon later this year.

The story of this election is the declining fortunes of the Free Patriotic Movement, Hezbollah's Christian ally that controls the presidency and the largest parliamentary bloc. They will lose ground compared to the 2018 results due to a relentless assault by foreign-funded media, but by how much is important. The party that stands to gain is the Lebanese Forces, fascists who are beholden to the U.S. ambassador and Saudi Arabia. If they do well, there could be a Guaido-type situation.

There are many things to dislike about the FPM. But I am hoping for the best results for them. They have stood in opposition to the neoliberal, pro-Western establishment that has dominated the country for 30 years, including the central bank governor whose policies are responsible for the economic crisis. They were also the only ones supportive of Hezbollah's call to consider offers from Russia, China, and Iran for assistance instead of going to the IMF. Putin's United Russia party is a good comparison.

Saudi Arabia plans to annex several Yemeni provinces: Report
A Yemeni media report has revealed that Saudi Arabia, which has been waging a devastating war on Yemen for over seven years, is planning to annex a number of key Yemeni provinces.

According to a recent report by the Crater Sky, a Saudi official held a meeting with a committee consisting of a number of people from the Yemeni provinces of Hadhramaut, Shabwah, al-Mahrah, and Abyan to announce that the kingdom has made a decision to grant the people of those provinces the right to self-determination so that they would be able to join Saudi Arabia.

During the meeting, the Saudi official also announced that the decision would not be overturned, the Aden-based website reported.

The official also referred to the Yemeni provinces, which are rich in natural resources, as “Saudi Arabia’s Arab South.”

https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/05/09/681765/Saudi-plans-annex-Yemeni-provinces
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Troubling news if accurate. I've been wanting to write a long post about Yemen for a while now but haven't really had the time or energy.