this post was submitted on 13 May 2024
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An image of a Central Committee meeting in Hanoi. Image taken from this article.


General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng implemented an anti-corruption campaign in 2016 called "blazing furnace" in shorthand. Since then, the fire has ripped through both politicians and businesses, up to even the Presidency. Nearly 200,000 party members, 36 Central Committee members, and 50 police/military generals have been disciplined since the initiative began. In 2018, Dinh La Thang, the former party chief of Ho Chi Minh City, became the first sitting Politburo member to be criminally charged, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. In 2023, President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc was implicated in a corruption scandal and resigned. He was replaced by Võ Văn Thưởng, who was then also caught in a corruption scandal a year later in March 2024, making him the shortest serving President in Vietnamese history. The Presidency is current headed by Võ Thị Ánh Xuân while they find a new President; she also took that role in 2023.

The ousted leaders tend to also be part of the more West-friendly, technocratic faction inside Vietnam, either reflecting how these people also tend to be more easily corrupted, or how the Communist Party is slowly moving away from a foreign policy which allies itself with the West (as Vietnam has comprehensive strategic partnerships with several Western countries), or some combination. Of course, this shouldn't be overstated - Vietnam has maintained a close friendship with China for years, and both incumbent leaders are intimately familiar with anti-corruption campaigns and how and why they must be conducted in order to deliver maximum public benefit.

America clearly desires Vietnam to pick their side, because America strongly desires another vassal state in East Asia like the Philippines, South Korea, and Japan to further encircle and isolate China. And so the headlines and commentary of Western state propaganda like Radio Free Asia, the BBC, WaPo, Business Insider, etc reveal their increasing annoyance with Vietnam's government. They often couch this in the standard "objective" economics language); about how removing leaders who foreign investors were reassured by might mean economic pain for Vietnam ahead. As Bhadrakumar noted in 2023, perhaps the BBC revealed their intentions the best:

Reading Vietnamese politics is always difficult — the Communist Party makes its decisions behind closed doors. But hard-line General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who was given an unprecedented third term at last year’s party congress, appears to be consolidating his authority by ousting senior officials seen as more pro-Western and pro-business. Officially this is all happening in the name of fighting corruption,.. but it’s indicative of a power struggle at the top of the party… the likely rise now of more security-focused officials to the top of the party will be bad news.

Even a quick google search right now will show a bunch of articles by clearly nervous Westerners: Why Vietnam’s Escalating Anti-Corruption Campaign Might Backfire because, as we all know, only authoritarian regimes are vulnerable to things like public opinion and discontent, while Western "democracies" are insulated from such petty phenomena. Leaders here can have disapproval ratings of 60-70% and not even the slightest consequence will happen to them - a real sign of democratic freedom and justice over those primitive regimes in the East! Or, take: ‘Blazing Furnace’ Turns Vietnam Into Another Chinese Province; China turning both Russia and Vietnam into their provinces in just two years was a real diplomatic masterclass. Or, back in 2022: Vietnam's 'blazing furnace' crackdown burns $40 bln off stocks. Not the stocks! Anything but the stocks!

If your actions as a leader are pissing off Bloomberg, you are going in the right direction.


The COTW (Country of the Week) label is designed to spur discussion and debate about a specific country every week in order to help the community gain greater understanding of the domestic situation of often-understudied nations. If you've wanted to talk about the country or share your experiences, but have never found a relevant place to do so, now is your chance! However, don't worry - this is still a general news megathread where you can post about ongoing events from any country.

The Country of the Week is Vietnam! Feel free to chime in with books, essays, longform articles, even stories and anecdotes or rants. More detail here.

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 daily-ish 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 (and has automated posting when the person running it goes to sleep).
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.

Various sources that are covering the Ukraine conflict are also covering the one in Palestine, like Rybar.

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.
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.


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[–] Evilphd666@hexbear.net 36 points 6 months ago (4 children)

I saw Rod Stewart in my sleep for some reason last night.

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[–] GVAGUY3@hexbear.net 36 points 6 months ago (6 children)

Again, never get on a helicopter. Mainly so I don't have to see a bunch of Iranian monarchists celebrate.

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[–] Redcuban1959@hexbear.net 36 points 6 months ago

Juraj Cintula, Perpetrator of Attack Against Slovak Prime Minister

The first images showed the moment of the alleged attacker's arrest and the premier's vehicle as he left the scene on his way to the hospital.

Local media reported on Wednesday that security forces arrested the alleged perpetrator in the shooting attack on Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico.

The attacker is 71-year-old Juraj Cintula, a writer and founder of a literary club, Slovak media report. They said that the assailant, originally from Levice in the southeast of the country, was a former employee of a private security company and author of a poetry collection.

The first images showed the moment of the alleged attacker's arrest and the premier's vehicle as he left the scene on his way to the hospital.

Official reports confirm the seriousness of the injuries of the president. According to the private broadcaster TV Joj, the attacker hit Fico in the sternum and extremities after shooting four or five times.

The attack occurred in the village of Handlova, about 150 kilometers northeast of the capital Bratislava. Fico was chatting with supporters of his party outside a cultural center when several shots rang out.

Fico was taken by helicopter to the town of Banská Bystrica, about 65 kilometers from Handlova.

Fico, whose Smer-SD party won the general elections last September, has served four times as Prime Minister. In addition to his current term as Prime Minister, Fico also headed the government in 2006-10 and 2012-18.

Following his election, he has generated some contradiction with neighboring Kiev. He has questioned Ukraine's sovereignty and called for a compromise with Russia.

[–] Redcuban1959@hexbear.net 36 points 6 months ago (4 children)

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Fico in life-threatening condition after being shot multiple times

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was in a life-threatening condition in hospital Wednesday after he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt.

The shooting took place after an off-site government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova. The suspected gunman was among a small crowd of people waiting to greet the prime minister on the street outside the cultural center, where the meeting took place, local media reported.

Footage from the scene shows the injured prime minister being bundled into a vehicle by his staff, before it speeds away with him inside. Fico was taken to a local hospital and then transferred by helicopter to a major trauma center about 20 miles (30 kilometers) away in Banska Bystrica.

A statement posted on Fico’s official Facebook page and his party’s website called the attack “an asassination attempt.”

“He was shot multiple times and is currently in a life-threatening condition. The next few hours will be decisive,” according to the statement.

No one else was injured in the attack, according to Slovak Labor Minister Erik Tomáš.

The official statement said the PM was taken to Banska Bystrica instead of the capital city of Bratislava because “an acute intervention” was necessary. Handlova is about two hours’ drive from the capital Bratislava.

Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová said the suspected gunman was detained by the police. She said law enforcement agencies will release more information when they can and asked the public not to spread unconfirmed rumors. A video from the scene showed a man on the floor being detained by several officials.

Čaputová condemned what she called a “brutal and reckless” attack on the 59-year-old politician. “I’m shocked. I wish Roberto Fico all the strength in this critical moment to recover from the attack,” Čaputová wrote on Facebook. Speaking at a news conference later in the afternoon, she said the attack was “an attack on democracy as well.”

Opposition lawmaker Maria Kolikova described the assault as “an attack on the internal security” of Slovakia.

Felt like a ‘nightmare’

An eyewitness who was at the scene where Fico was shot said the attack felt like a “nightmare” after hearing three “quick” shots, fired one after the other as if you were to “throw a firecracker on the ground.”

“I heard three shots, it was quick one by one like if you throw a firecracker on the ground,” eyewitness Lubica Valkova told Reuters, adding that “he (Fico) fell next to the barrier.”

“I think it is a nightmare, I’ll tell you I think I will not wake up from this,” the 66-year-old said. “That this is not possible to happen in Slovakia.”

Valkova said she had been waiting a long time to shake Fico’s hand and was taking pictures of him when he walked out of the building in Handlova.

“At this moment we heard something like a bang, we thought someone made a joke and threw a firecracker on the ground, that was my first reaction,” Valkova recalled.

The Slovak resident told Reuters she had been waiting from 10 a.m. local time. She claimed police did not search people who were waiting at the event, adding that “we could have shown our empty hands.”

Ally of Moscow

In what was a stunning comeback for the controversial politician, Fico won a third term as Slovakian prime minister last October after running a campaign that criticized western support for Ukraine. Fico had pledged an immediate end to Slovak military support for Ukraine and promised to block Ukraine’s NATO ambitions in what would upend Slovakia’s staunch backing for Ukraine.

Ahead of the election, Fico made no secret of his sympathies towards the Kremlin and blamed “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists” for provoking Vladimir Putin into launching the invasion, repeating the false narrative Russia’s president has used to justify his invasion.

While in opposition, Fico became a close ally of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, especially when it came to criticism of the European Union.

Fico previously served as Slovakia’s prime minister for more than a decade, first between 2006 and 2010 and then again from 2012 to 2018. He was forced to resign in March 2018 after weeks of mass protests over the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová. Kuciak reported on corruption among the country’s elite, including people directly connected to Fico and his party SMER.

European leaders immediately condemned the attack. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, tweeted: “I strongly condemn the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico. Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family.”

And Hungarian Prime Minister Orban added: “I was deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico. We pray for his health and quick recovery! God bless him and his country!”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed “solidarity with the people of Slovakia” following the “appalling” assault on Fico.

“We strongly condemn this act of violence against our neighboring partner state’s head of government. Every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form, or sphere,” he posted on X.

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[–] VILenin@hexbear.net 36 points 6 months ago (5 children)

So it seems like everyone on the chopper is ultra omega super extremely dead

How does this affect the “hardliner”/not-hardliner political sphere? I mean aside from delusional Shahist gusanos who think this is their chance to restore the monarchy

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[–] EmoThugInMyPhase@hexbear.net 35 points 6 months ago

Someone edit Xi at the Nuremberg trials and it’s because he won’t pay foreign investors

[–] ThomasMuentzner@hexbear.net 35 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (3 children)

yeah they are 100% Dead. Basiclly flew to their execution .. what a bunch of morons ..

Lets take the Helicopter ride over the Hilly Forested Foggy mountains to Azerbaijan .... the Place the Mossad used for its Drone attacks .. I mean thats a insanly stupid idea even without Having your Host crawling with your enemies agents..

What an insanly easy kill that was , i mean its a ceremony , so you know by azerbaijan Sources the direct arrival and Departure times and Flight plan , then all you have to do is having a Proxy with an Igla somewhere in the Forest.

[–] SeventyTwoTrillion@hexbear.net 35 points 6 months ago (2 children)

If Israel is at the point where they think assassinating the Iranian president is a good idea, we're basically at the end times and the Samson Option is imminent, so that's, uh, great

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[–] puff@hexbear.net 35 points 6 months ago (1 children)

We finally know what "hard landing" means it means everything but the tail blew the fuck up.

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[–] Awoo@hexbear.net 34 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Image from the scene

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