Corduroy Academy

( Mostly) radical thoughts, ideas, and links from late stage colonial capitalism.

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    Aidan
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    EU targets six people under new Hamas sanctions scheme

    The European Union on Friday imposed asset freezes and travel bans on six people it said were linked to Hamas, under a new sanctions regime targeting the Palestinian militant group.

    The EU already listed Hamas as a terrorist organisation but moved to create a legal framework focused on the group after its deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7.

    Along with the rest of the west, the EU is straight up genocidal. Seriously, where’s the Israeli sanctions – oh no that’s right you’re funnelling them weapons and financing their genocide – because the EU is racist and genocidal.

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    Biden speaks with Netanyahu amid two-state solution outrage

    “Obviously, we’re talking to them actively about post-conflict Gaza, and what governance there needs to look like and the importance of an independent Palestinian state for long-term security, not just for the Palestinian people but for the Israeli people as well.”

    The Biden administration has forcefully pushed for a two-state solution in the region, but Netanyahu’s latest remarks signal that he won’t adhere to Washington’s appeals. It’s put the two leaders on a collision course about the breadth of Israel’s war and the future of Gaza, further complicating Biden’s efforts to manage the delicate foreign policy crisis.

    This is like a bad play that no one can seriously believe, but they also don’t believe how bad it is.

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    Putin could attack NATO in ‘5 to 8 years,’ German defense minister warns

    An increasingly belligerent Russian President Vladimir Putin could attack the NATO military alliance in less than a decade, Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned.

    “We hear threats from the Kremlin almost every day … so we have to take into account that Vladimir Putin might even attack a NATO country one day,” Pistorius told German outlet Der Tagesspiegel in an interview published Friday.

    While a Russian attack is not likely “for now,” the minister added: “Our experts expect a period of five to eight years in which this could be possible.”

    With what? An army of ants? This screams fear-mongering for political advancement.

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    Aidan
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    Google Search Really Has Gotten Worse, Researchers Find

    Google search really has been taken over by low-quality SEO spam, according to a new, year-long study by German researchers (https://downloads.webis.de/publications/papers/bevendorff_2024a.pdf).

    The researchers, from Leipzig University, Bauhaus-University Weimar, and the Center for Scalable Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, set out to answer the question “Is Google Getting Worse?” by studying search results for 7,392 product-review terms across Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo over the course of a year. 

    They found that, overall, “higher-ranked pages are on average more optimized, more monetized with affiliate marketing, and they show signs of lower text quality …  we find that only a small portion of product reviews on the web uses affiliate marketing, but the majority of all search results do.” 

    I, for one, thank these particular techno fascists for forcing me to switch to Kagi – an ad free, slightly more private, search experience.

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    Aidan
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    US and allies should beat China in space race to assure rules-based order there: experts and lawmakers

    The US and its allies should win the 21st century space race and lead a rules-based international order there before China creates its own undesirable norms, American space experts, government officials and lawmakers urged on Wednesday.

    “The Chinese Communist Party is actively soliciting international partners for a lunar research station and has stated its ambition to have astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030”, said Frank Lucas, chair of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.

    The Oklahoma Republican delivered his observation at a congressional hearing on Nasa’s Artemis programme, which aims to send four astronauts to the moon by 2026.

    USA: “you guys feel free to do anything but communism up here, k?”

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    Uganda opposition leader Bobi Wine says under house arrest

    Ugandan opposition leader and former presidential candidate Bobi Wine said on Thursday that police had surrounded his residence and put him “under house arrest” ahead of a planned protest.

    Opposition politicians had planned demonstrations on Thursday against the poor condition of roads in Uganda, which is hosting two global summits this month.
    Wine, a popstar-turned-politician, said police and soldiers had barred him from leaving his home in Magere, north of the capital Kampala.

    “The cowardly military and police have surrounded our home and put us under house arrest but the protest is on,” the National Unity Platform (NUP) leader said on his official social media accounts.

    Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, challenged veteran President Yoweri Museveni in Uganda’s last election in 2021, calling for an end to his iron-fisted rule.

    Former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye of the Forum for Democratic Change opposition party said on Thursday that he had not been allowed to leave his house either.

    Not the main gist of this story — but the global right’s crackdown on protest as a means of social change is deeply concerning.

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    Thai Man Jailed For Record 50 Years For Criticising Monarchy

    A Thai man was given a 50-year prison sentence Thursday for criticising the monarchy — the longest jail term ever handed down under the kingdom’s strict royal insult laws, a legal rights group said.

    The record-breaking sentence comes after several years in which Thailand has ramped up use of the controversial legislation against pro-democracy protesters in what critics say is a tactic to silence dissent.

    An appeal court in the northern city of Chiang Rai sentenced Mongkol Thirakot, 30, a former pro-democracy activist to a total of 50 years over posts on his personal Facebook account.

    He was initially sentenced to 28 years by a lower criminal court, but was found guilty on 11 more counts during his appeal, leading to the longer sentence.

    “The appeal court sentenced Mongkol Thirakot to 22 years for 112 over his 27 Facebook posts, in addition to the 28-year sentence already passed by the preliminary court. His total jail sentence is 50 years,” Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said in a statement.

    Honestly I don’t feel like this is that far away here. The critique phobia and thin skin the oligarchs have developed does seem to be a global phenomenon. Abolish (global) monarchies.

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    Netanyahu Says He Opposes Palestinian State In Any Postwar Scenario

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he has told the United States that he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of any postwar scenario, underscoring the deep divisions between the close allies three months into Israel’s assault on Gaza aiming to eliminate its Hamas rulers.

    The U.S. has called on Israel to scale back its offensive and said that the establishment of a Palestinian state should be part of the “day after.”

    But in a nationally broadcast news conference, Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with the offensive until Israel realizes a “decisive victory over Hamas.” He also rejected the idea of Palestinian statehood. He said he had relayed his positions to the Americans.

    Can we please be clear here. He is literally proclaiming genocide. He is a fascist, murderous, evil human backed by a global group of those holding the same values.