Corduroy Academy

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

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    Aidan
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    South Africa’s private security industry is booming, as police struggle against record levels of crime

    While it may be Africa’s most developed country, South Africa also has one of the highest violent crime rates in the world.

    A daily average of 75 murders and 400 robberies with aggravating circumstances were recorded in the year to February 2023.

    Experts have warned that the country’s police are fighting a losing battle against crime.

    “It’s not getting better, it is getting worse,” said Anton Koen, a former police officer who now runs a private security firm that specialises in tracking and recovering hijacked and stolen vehicles.

    “The murder rate is the highest in 20 years, violence is getting worse because our justice system seems to be failing us, the public of South Africa.”

    There are fewer than 150,000 police officers in South Africa for a population of 62 million people.

    Yet, in comparison, more than 2.7 million private security officers are registered in the country, making the security industry one of the world’s largest. 

    This feels like it says something about privatisation… and that policing doesn’t work.

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    Aidan
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    A year after pro-Bolsonaro riots and dozens of arrests, Brazil is still recovering

    “Brazil’s society still doesn’t know how to handle what happened, there’s no consensus,” said Creomar de Souza, founder of political risk consultancy Dharma Politics. “Brazil’s society is now in extreme opposites. And parts of those opposites are in a place that they cannot reconcile with the other.”

    Mimicking the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection by defenders of outgoing U.S. president Donald Trump at the Capitol in Washington, thousands of Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court buildings, in one of the biggest challenges to Latin America’s most populous democracy.

    This kind of unrest feels like the end of democracy and the purpose of populist authoritarians.

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    Aidan
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    Islamic State group claims responsibility for a minibus explosion in Afghan capital 

    The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a minibus explosion in the Afghan capital late Saturday that killed at least two people. 

    Fourteen others were wounded in the attack in Kabul’s western Shiite neighborhood of Dashti Barchi, according to police spokesperson Khalid Zadran.

    The Sunni militant group said its members detonated an explosive device on the bus carrying Shiite Muslims, whom they called disbelievers, in a statement released shortly after the explosion Saturday. It was the first attack in the country in 2024.

    The perpetually increasing “tension” in the nebulous “Middle East” has been a feature my entire life. And that whole time I’ve been constantly reminded that US imperialism and political destabilising created the situation. Got to keep people distracted and fighting against anyone but the capitalists. Devastating that this happens regularly in the name of religion.

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    Aidan
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    Israel and Hezbollah trade fire across the Lebanon border as more bombs hit Gaza

    The Israeli army said it had “struck a series of Hezbollah terror targets” across southern Lebanon including “a launch post, military sites and terrorist infrastructure”.

    It said its fighter jets struck two Hezbollah military compounds containing significant assets, including one used by the group’s surface-to-air missile unit.

    It said that earlier in the day a missile had been fired at one of its drones.

    Some of these articles discuss the US visiting as some kind of peacekeeping mission. Let’s just see how that really plays out, given they are, themselves, planning to drop bombs.

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    Aidan
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    Amid Fears of Wider War, US Reportedly Drafting Plans to Bomb Yemen

    The Biden administration is reportedly drafting plans to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen amid escalating fears of a wider war in the Middle East, where the U.S. is inflaming regional tensions by heavily arming Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip.

    Politico reported Thursday that U.S. officials are “increasingly concerned” that Israel’s devastating war on Gaza “could expand… to a wider, protracted regional conflict.” Citing unnamed U.S. officials, the outlet noted that the U.S. military is drawing up plans to “hit back at Iran-backed Houthi militants who have been attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea.”

    Make no mistake folks, war is good for capitalism, and what’s good for capitalism is good for “democratic officials”.

    p.s. what’s good for capitalism is universally bad for nature (humans included).

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    Aidan
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    Belarusian president signs law granting him lifelong immunity from prosecution

    The Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, has signed a new law granting him lifelong immunity from criminal prosecution and preventing opposition leaders living in exile from running in future presidential elections.

    The law theoretically applies to any former president and members of his or her family. In reality, it is only relevant to the 69-year-old Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist for almost 30 years.

    The new measure appears aimed at further shoring up Lukashenko’s power and eliminating potential challengers in the country’s next presidential election, which is due to take place in 2025.

    The law significantly tightens requirements for presidential candidates and makes it impossible to elect opposition leaders who have fled to neighbouring countries in recent years. Only citizens of Belarus who have permanently resided in the country for at least 20 years and have never had a residence permit in another country are eligible to run.

    Scream dictator with ever increasing paranoia a bit louder.

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    Aidan
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    Bangladesh’s main opposition party starts a 48-hour general strike ahead of Sunday’s election

    Bangladesh’s main opposition party on Saturday started a 48-hour general strike on the eve of a general election, calling on people to boycott the vote because it says the government of incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina can’t guarantee its fairness. Hasina is seeking to return to power for a fourth consecutive term. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by former premier Khaleda Zia, has vowed to disrupt the election through the strike and boycott.

    Campaigning in the nation of 169 million people has been marred by violence, with at least 15 people killed since October. At least 18 arson attacks were reported across the country between Friday midnight and Saturday night, Talha Bin Jasim, an official with the Media Cell of the Fire Service and Civil Defense in Dhaka, told The Associated Press by phone.

    At least 10 of the attacks targeted polling stations, he said, with police calling them acts of sabotage.

    The thin veil between capitalist oligopoly and democracy is weakening by the day. Manifestations of violence around elections seems to be on the rise globally — not a great start to 2024.

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    Aidan
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    DR Congo annuls vote results for three ministers over fraud

    The electoral commission Ceni stated late on Friday it had cancelled all ballots cast for 82 election candidates in the central African nation.

    Three sitting government ministers are on the list, as well as four provincial governors — including the governor of the capital province Kinshasa.

    The announcement comes after an election last month that was marred by bureaucratic chaos, and which the Congolese political opposition has rejected. 

    I wonder how this feels on the ground. Hopefully the people are happy this action has been taken, and they’ll get a better chance at fair representation.