“The real horror, to me, lies in the fact that there is absolutely no vehicle in American journalism for the kind of ‘sensitive’ and ‘intellectual’ and essentially moral/merciless reporting that we all understand is necessary–not only for the survival of good journalism in this country, but for the dying idea that you can walk up to a newsstand and find something that will tell you what is really happening.” ~Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in America
On this day, 6 September 1945, following the defeat of the Japanese colonial authorities, the People’s Republic of Korea was declared (not to be confused with the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, aka: North Korea). It had a 27 point program including land redistribution, rent controls, nationalisation of major industries, guaranteed human rights, universal suffrage, equality for women, a ban on child labour, workers’ rights and an 8-hour maximum working day.
US forces arrived in Korea on September 8 and occupied the southern portion of the country. While they were supposedly committed to “national self-determination”, they decided to abolish the Republic. Instead they helped establish an authoritarian government led by Syngman Rhee, who soon assumed dictatorial powers.
Thousands of those who opposed the regime were massacred, including roughly 10% of the population on the island of Jeju.
Learn more about recent South Korean history in our podcast episodes 51, and 53-56: https://workingclasshistory.com/tag/south-korea/
Pic: Refugee and orphaned children from the Jeju massacre https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.1819457841572691/2075608375957635/?type=3
New research into the minds of crows has revealed a jaw-dropping finding: the canny corvids aren’t just clever - they also possess a form of consciousness, able to be consciously aware of the world around them in the present. In other words, they have subjective experiences.
This is called primary, or sensory, consciousness, and it had only previously been demonstrated in primates - which means we now may have to rethink our understanding of how consciousness arises, in addition to reconsidering the avian brain.
