Corduroy Academy

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

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    Aidan
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    North Korea: Rare footage shows teens sentenced to hard labour over K-drama

    Rare footage obtained by BBC Korean shows North Korea publicly sentencing two teenage boys to 12 years of hard labour for watching K-dramas.

    The footage, which appears to have been filmed in 2022, shows two 16-year-old boys handcuffed in front of hundreds of students at an outdoor stadium.

    It also shows uniformed officers reprimanding the boys for not “deeply reflecting on their mistakes”. 

    South Korean entertainment, including TV, is banned in the North. 

    Despite that, some are prepared to risk severe punishment to access K-dramas, which have a huge global audience.

    Dictators gonna dictate, as they say. It is interesting how we react to direct action control vs coercive control. Not to mention “mounting tensions in the area”. World War Three vibes anyone?

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    Science fiction: double feature

    A groundbreaking study shows kids learn better on paper, not screens. Now what?

    What happens when a school bans smartphones? A complete transformation

    Oh, the guardian, how I used to value you.

    Atrociously back to basics coverage on two educational issues which, quite literally, promote philistinism. Technology is a tool. A ubiquitous tool in the anglosphere. Denying kids access just creates black markets and a thrill when they circumvent the rules.

    Instead of creating, then using the mainstream media as a tool of normalising, (the next) tech bros, could we try a progressive technology inclusive way forward that empowers students as agents of active and transformational learning?

    I didn’t even say activism this time… guys… guys? ah nevermind.

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    Aidan
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    A drought has forced authorities to further slash traffic in Panama Canal, disrupting global trade

    A severe drought that began last year has forced authorities to slash ship crossings by 36% in the Panama Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes.

    The new cuts announced Wednesday by authorities in Panama are set to deal an even greater economic blow than previously expected.

    Canal administrators now estimate that dipping water levels could cost them between $500 million and $700 million in 2024, compared to previous estimates of $200 million.

    Climate change is, of course, apparently only important when it disrupts the economy. It is only going to get exponentially worse unless we take collective action against these unnecessarily global and wasteful modes of production.

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    Aidan
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    EU bans ‘misleading’ environmental claims that rely on offsetting

    Terms such as “climate neutral” or “climate positive” that rely on offsetting will be banned from the EU by 2026 as part of a crackdown on misleading environmental claims.

    On Wednesday, members of the European parliament [MEPs] voted to outlaw the use of terms such as “environmentally friendly”, “natural”, “biodegradable”, “climate neutral” or “eco” without evidence, while introducing a total ban on using carbon offsetting schemes to substantiate the claims.

    Under the new directive, only sustainability labels using approved certification schemes will be allowed by the bloc. It comes amid widespread concern about the environmental impact of carbon offsetting schemes, which have often been used to justify labelling products “carbon neutral”, or imply that consumers can fly, buy new clothes or eat certain foods without making the climate crisis worse.

    Cool, could we now just ban “net zero”? And go for an actual zero? Please? Global leaders?

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    Biden designates Houthis terrorist group, as U.S. ramps up Red Sea counterstrikes

    The U.S. State Department on Wednesday designated the Iranian-backed, Yemen-based Houthi rebels as specially designated global terrorists, or SDGTs, in an effort to deter further attacks against commercial ships traversing the Red Sea.

    The SDGT designation triggers an asset freeze aimed at cutting off Houthi financing, but will not take effect until mid-February. The SDGT sanctions specifically do not apply to food, medicine, fuel and other humanitarian assistance going to the Yemeni people.

    “If the Houthis cease their attacks, we can consider delisting the designation,” a senior administration official said Tuesday on a call with reporters.

    Ugh.

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    Ubiquitous acceleration in Greenland Ice Sheet calving from 1985 to 2022

    Nearly every glacier in Greenland has thinned or retreated over the past few decades, leading to glacier acceleration, increased rates of sea-level rise and climate impacts around the globe. To understand how calving-front retreat has affected the ice-mass balance of Greenland, we combine 236,328 manually derived and AI-derived observations of glacier terminus positions collected from 1985 to 2022 and generate a 120-m-resolution mask defining the ice-sheet extent every month for nearly four decades. 

    Rise up while you can, folks. We’re utterly fucked.

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    King Charles To Undergo Procedure In Hospital Next Week

    Buckingham Palace announced Wednesday that King Charles has “sought treatment for an enlarged prostate” on the same day it was revealed that Kate Middleton had undergone abdominal surgery. 

    “His Majesty’s condition is benign and he will attend hospital next week for a corrective procedure,” the palace said in a press release shared with HuffPost. “The King’s public engagements will be postponed for a short period of recuperation.”

    Maybe it’ll plot twist itself into a cancer like his entire family’s long held unearned extractivist rule.

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    Aidan
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    Italian province orders all dogs to be DNA tested in poo crackdown

    Dog owners in Bolzano must submit their pets for DNA tests as the authorities in the northern Italian province crack down on the scourge of dog poo in the streets.

    The swab test results will be inserted into a database, which police can then refer to in their search for the culprits and their owners. The evidence will be used to fine owners between €292 and €1,048 (£250 and £900).

    The law required the estimated 45,000 dogs in the province, located in the mountainous Trentino-Alto Adige region, to undergo a DNA test at a veterinary clinic by the end of December 2023 before the initiative is introduced this month. But only 5,000 have complied, according to reports in the Italian press.

    In less serious but still grimly dystopian news…