Mark Russell
@markrussell.bsky.social
Former journalist. Sometimes writer. Usually in Korea
Reposted by Mark Russell
WH sources say Venezuela's opposition leader committed the "ultimate sin": She accepted the Nobel Peace prize.
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
January 5, 2026 at 3:02 AM
WH sources say Venezuela's opposition leader committed the "ultimate sin": She accepted the Nobel Peace prize.
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Amazing to me that this is still such a problem. I know there was a time management companies seemed more afraid of potentially offending their fans than protecting their artists ..: I hope things are better now and treated more seriously.
Unfortunately, 사생팬/sasaeng fans have no boundaries and do not accept no for an answer. And just as unfortunately, there’s a subset of weirdos who think none of this is a big deal because, hey, it’s not like Jung Kook was physically harmed or anything, right?
Why isn't More Being Done to Stop the Stalking of Jung Kook?
Experts say that being stalked is strongly associated with PTSD
jaehakim.substack.com
January 5, 2026 at 8:07 AM
Amazing to me that this is still such a problem. I know there was a time management companies seemed more afraid of potentially offending their fans than protecting their artists ..: I hope things are better now and treated more seriously.
I usually don’t concern myself much with celebrity deaths, but this one is a big deal to me — actor Ahn Sungki has passed away.
Ahn was kind enough to be interviewed by me several times over the years, and he was always insightful and fascinating.
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2026-01...
Ahn was kind enough to be interviewed by me several times over the years, and he was always insightful and fascinating.
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2026-01...
Ahn Sung-ki, veteran actor, dies aged 74
Veteran actor Ahn Sung-ki died on Monday, six days after being hospitalized in critical condition on Dec. 30, 2025. He was aged 74.
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com
January 5, 2026 at 1:41 AM
I usually don’t concern myself much with celebrity deaths, but this one is a big deal to me — actor Ahn Sungki has passed away.
Ahn was kind enough to be interviewed by me several times over the years, and he was always insightful and fascinating.
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2026-01...
Ahn was kind enough to be interviewed by me several times over the years, and he was always insightful and fascinating.
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2026-01...
Reposted by Mark Russell
NYT:
At least 40 people were killed in the US attack on Venezuela, including military personnel and civilians.
At least 40 people were killed in the US attack on Venezuela, including military personnel and civilians.
January 3, 2026 at 11:25 PM
NYT:
At least 40 people were killed in the US attack on Venezuela, including military personnel and civilians.
At least 40 people were killed in the US attack on Venezuela, including military personnel and civilians.
It never ceases to amuse me that the motto of Trump’s alma mater is “leges sine moribus vanae” (laws without morals are useless). Irony working overtime there.
January 3, 2026 at 11:43 AM
It never ceases to amuse me that the motto of Trump’s alma mater is “leges sine moribus vanae” (laws without morals are useless). Irony working overtime there.
Really impressed by the number of international news channels that aren’t bothering to interrupt their programming (on Saturday night, largely infomercials and soft packages) to report on the actual news. CNN and BBC are covering Venezuela, but no one else.
January 3, 2026 at 10:49 AM
Really impressed by the number of international news channels that aren’t bothering to interrupt their programming (on Saturday night, largely infomercials and soft packages) to report on the actual news. CNN and BBC are covering Venezuela, but no one else.
I can’t imagine what the next few years is going to be like for International Relations majors (which was me, kind of). The casualness with which Trump is burning down the international order is just staggering.
Maybe we’ll get lucky and things will just keep limping along. Or maybe…? Who knows?
Maybe we’ll get lucky and things will just keep limping along. Or maybe…? Who knows?
Among the many reasons you don’t kidnap a foreign head of state at gunpoint even if you have the capability, is that it sparks consequences you can neither control nor anticipate.
January 3, 2026 at 10:37 AM
I can’t imagine what the next few years is going to be like for International Relations majors (which was me, kind of). The casualness with which Trump is burning down the international order is just staggering.
Maybe we’ll get lucky and things will just keep limping along. Or maybe…? Who knows?
Maybe we’ll get lucky and things will just keep limping along. Or maybe…? Who knows?
Oh for fuck’s sake…
Explosions hit Venezuelan capital Caracas ft.trib.al/OC2sZmM
Explosions hit Venezuelan capital Caracas
Residents report loud blasts and aircraft flying over the city
ft.trib.al
January 3, 2026 at 8:26 AM
Oh for fuck’s sake…
I’m way late, but damn if SINNERS isn’t a great film. Beautifully filmed. Great actors.
January 2, 2026 at 3:31 PM
I’m way late, but damn if SINNERS isn’t a great film. Beautifully filmed. Great actors.
I think we’re beginning to realize how much Gresham’s Law — “bad money drives out good” — applies to most aspects of society. It was true of online communities (blogs, boards, etc), and now we’re seeing it with AI slop.
December 29, 2025 at 10:22 PM
I think we’re beginning to realize how much Gresham’s Law — “bad money drives out good” — applies to most aspects of society. It was true of online communities (blogs, boards, etc), and now we’re seeing it with AI slop.
Salsa bravas! Turn those fries into patatas bravas.
December 29, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Salsa bravas! Turn those fries into patatas bravas.
Looks like the Korean movie industry is ending 2025 is pretty dire shape. With 41.3% of this year’s box office, that’s the 2nd-worst percentage in over 20 years (and 2021, the worst year, was during Covid, so that was just a weird time).
www.kobis.or.kr/kobis/busine...
www.kobis.or.kr/kobis/busine...
KOFIC 영화관 입장권 통합전산망 :: 월별 총관객수및매출액
www.kobis.or.kr
December 29, 2025 at 4:39 AM
Looks like the Korean movie industry is ending 2025 is pretty dire shape. With 41.3% of this year’s box office, that’s the 2nd-worst percentage in over 20 years (and 2021, the worst year, was during Covid, so that was just a weird time).
www.kobis.or.kr/kobis/busine...
www.kobis.or.kr/kobis/busine...
BRAZIL is the most underrated Christmas movie of all time, no question.
December 26, 2025 at 12:06 AM
BRAZIL is the most underrated Christmas movie of all time, no question.
Reposted by Mark Russell
President Trump’s spiteful defamation suit against the Pulitzer Prize Board may backfire, as the latter is now demanding Trump’s psychological records, prescription medication records, and tax returns in the discovery process. trib.al/LUCScTR
December 25, 2025 at 10:39 PM
President Trump’s spiteful defamation suit against the Pulitzer Prize Board may backfire, as the latter is now demanding Trump’s psychological records, prescription medication records, and tax returns in the discovery process. trib.al/LUCScTR
Follow-up on The Sneak’s Santa-filming plans—
He slept until 7am (pretty good for an 8-year-old) but the moment he woke up, he went straight for the camera. But, plot twist, the battery was totally drained. He had to plug the iPhone into the recharger before he could scour the evidence.
He slept until 7am (pretty good for an 8-year-old) but the moment he woke up, he went straight for the camera. But, plot twist, the battery was totally drained. He had to plug the iPhone into the recharger before he could scour the evidence.
After he fell asleep, I went to wrap his presents and put them under the Xmas tree… but as I’m putting them under the tree, I notice a faint light in the corner— the little sneak had set up his grandma’s iPhone on a tripod and was secretly filming the tree! Clearly trying to film Santa in action.
December 25, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Follow-up on The Sneak’s Santa-filming plans—
He slept until 7am (pretty good for an 8-year-old) but the moment he woke up, he went straight for the camera. But, plot twist, the battery was totally drained. He had to plug the iPhone into the recharger before he could scour the evidence.
He slept until 7am (pretty good for an 8-year-old) but the moment he woke up, he went straight for the camera. But, plot twist, the battery was totally drained. He had to plug the iPhone into the recharger before he could scour the evidence.
Reposted by Mark Russell
"Across the Atlantic world, Puritan clergymen and pamphleteers railed against Christmas as another 'popish' and 'pagan' error that true Christians need to do away with." Daniel Gullotta from the archives:
When Christmas Was Really Under Attack
The Puritans and the original “war on Christmas.”
lnk.thebulwark.com
December 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM
"Across the Atlantic world, Puritan clergymen and pamphleteers railed against Christmas as another 'popish' and 'pagan' error that true Christians need to do away with." Daniel Gullotta from the archives:
So, it’s Christmas Eve in Korea. And I was putting my 8-year-old to bed, when he suddenly got all mysterious and left the bedroom for a couple of minutes. Tried acting as nonchalant as a lying 8-year-old can. I assume he was looking for presents…
But no!
But no!
December 24, 2025 at 2:01 PM
So, it’s Christmas Eve in Korea. And I was putting my 8-year-old to bed, when he suddenly got all mysterious and left the bedroom for a couple of minutes. Tried acting as nonchalant as a lying 8-year-old can. I assume he was looking for presents…
But no!
But no!
Simply bizarre that people still debate this. Like, all you have to do is compare the death rates in Korea (where I live) to the United States (way, way higher). You didn’t have to go full Chinese authoritarianism to save a lot of lives, while having a functional society.
The thesis of the book is that early COVID lockdowns weren't worth it and mid-COVID mitigation measures like masks, contact tracing and business closures don't work.
This is laughably false and the authors have endorsed the people now running Trump's HHS.
This is laughably false and the authors have endorsed the people now running Trump's HHS.
December 24, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Simply bizarre that people still debate this. Like, all you have to do is compare the death rates in Korea (where I live) to the United States (way, way higher). You didn’t have to go full Chinese authoritarianism to save a lot of lives, while having a functional society.
December 23, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Reposted by Mark Russell
Can confirm: Pulled 60 Minutes “Inside CECOT” segment on the El Salvador mega prison housing hundreds of Venezuelan deportees sent by the U.S. is on Global TV’s free app
December 22, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Can confirm: Pulled 60 Minutes “Inside CECOT” segment on the El Salvador mega prison housing hundreds of Venezuelan deportees sent by the U.S. is on Global TV’s free app
Watching the Martin Scorsese documentary on Apple TV, and the section on THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST is really fascinating. I remember the crazy controversy … and I then my thinking changed when I read the Kazantzakis book.
Even my fundamentalist father changed his thinking when he read the book.
Even my fundamentalist father changed his thinking when he read the book.
December 19, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Watching the Martin Scorsese documentary on Apple TV, and the section on THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST is really fascinating. I remember the crazy controversy … and I then my thinking changed when I read the Kazantzakis book.
Even my fundamentalist father changed his thinking when he read the book.
Even my fundamentalist father changed his thinking when he read the book.
In other random gender observations in Korea … the sports channels are remarkably balanced between male and female sports programming. Lots of women’s volleyball, basketball, billiards… curling. And golf, of course.
December 18, 2025 at 11:34 AM
In other random gender observations in Korea … the sports channels are remarkably balanced between male and female sports programming. Lots of women’s volleyball, basketball, billiards… curling. And golf, of course.
The rise of dads taking time off work for parental leave in Korea — not just mothers — is a pretty dramatic change. Dads are now nearly 30% of the leave-takers.
www.chosun.com/english/mark...
www.chosun.com/english/mark...
Fathers Take Parental Leave for School Commute Care Gap
Fathers Take Parental Leave for School Commute Care Gap One-third of fathers now take leave during elementary years, up 18.3% from last year
www.chosun.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:17 AM
The rise of dads taking time off work for parental leave in Korea — not just mothers — is a pretty dramatic change. Dads are now nearly 30% of the leave-takers.
www.chosun.com/english/mark...
www.chosun.com/english/mark...
“Baby, you’re going to miss that plane…”
“I know.”
One of the all-time great movie endings.
“I know.”
One of the all-time great movie endings.
December 17, 2025 at 3:44 PM
“Baby, you’re going to miss that plane…”
“I know.”
One of the all-time great movie endings.
“I know.”
One of the all-time great movie endings.