#political corruption

[simply-ivanka]

#american politics #2024 elections #political corruption #republican #trump #liberal hypocrisy #joe biden #america first #trump 2024 #president trump #repost #americans first #america #donald trump #ivanka #democrats

[bouncinghedgehog]

#political corruption #politicians #lobbyists #politics #corruption #call a spade a spade

[reasonsforhope]

Note: I super don't like the framing of this headline. "Here's why it matters" idk it's almost like there's an entire country's worth of people who get to keep their democracy! Clearly! But there are few good articles on this in English, so we're going with this one anyway.

--

2024 is the biggest global election year in history and the future of democracy is on every ballot. But amid an international backsliding in democratic norms, including in countries with a longer history of democracy like India, Senegal’s election last week was a major win for democracy. It’s also an indication that a new political class is coming of age in Africa, exemplified by Senegal’s new 44-year-old president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

The West African nation managed to pull off a free and fair election on March 24 despite significant obstacles, including efforts by former President Macky Sall to delay the elections and imprison or disqualify opposition candidates. Add those challenges to the fact that many neighboring countries in West Africa — most prominently Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, but other nations across the region too — have been repeatedly undermined by military coups since 2020.

Sall had been in power since 2012, serving two terms. He declined to seek a third term following years of speculation that he would do so despite a constitutional two-term limit. But he attempted to extend his term, announcing in February that elections (originally to be held that month) would be pushed off until the end of the year in defiance of the electoral schedule.

Sall’s allies in the National Assembly approved the measure, but only after security forces removed opposition politicians, who vociferously protested the delay. Senegalese society came out in droves to protest Sall’s attempted self-coup, and the Constitutional Council ruled in late February that Sall’s attempt to stay in power could not stand.

That itself was a win for democracy. Still, opposition candidates, including Faye, though legally able to run, remained imprisoned until just days before the election — while others were barred from running at all. The future of Senegal’s democracy seemed uncertain at best.

Cut to Tuesday [April 2, 2024], when Sall stepped down and handed power to Faye, a former tax examiner who won on a campaign of combating corruption, as well as greater sovereignty and economic opportunity for the Senegalese. And it was young voters who carried Faye to victory...

“This election showed the resilience of the democracy in Senegal that resisted the shock of an unexpected postponement,” Adele Ravidà, Senegal country director at the lnternational Foundation for Electoral Systems, told Vox via email. “... after a couple of years of unprecedented episodes of violence [the Senegalese people] turned the page smoothly, allowing a peaceful transfer of power.”

And though Faye’s aims won’t be easy to achieve, his win can tell us not only about how Senegal managed to establish its young democracy, but also about the positive trend of democratic entrenchment and international cooperation in African nations, and the power of young Africans...

Senegal and Democracy in Africa

Since it gained independence from France in 1960, Senegal has never had a coup — military or civilian. Increasingly strong and competitive democracy has been the norm for Senegal, and the country’s civil society went out in great force over the past three years of Sall’s term to enforce those norms.

“I think that it is really the victory of the democratic institutions — the government, but also civil society organization,” Sany said. “They were mobilized, from the unions, teacher unions, workers, NGOs. The civil society in Senegal is one of the most experienced, well-organized democratic institutions on the continent.” Senegalese civil society also pushed back against former President Abdoulaye Wade’s attempt to cling to power back in 2012, and the Senegalese people voted him out...

Faye will still have his work cut out for him accomplishing the goals he campaigned on, including economic prosperity, transparency, food security, increased sovereignty, and the strengthening of democratic institutions. This will be important, especially for Senegal’s young people, who are at the forefront of another major trend.

Young Africans will play an increasingly key role in the coming decades, both on the continent and on the global stage; Africa’s youth population (people aged 15 to 24) will make up approximately 35 percent of the world’s youth population by 2050, and Africa’s population is expected to grow from 1.5 billion to 2.5 billion during that time. In Senegal, people aged 10 to 24 make up 32 percent of the population, according to the UN.

“These young people have connected to the rest of the world,” Sany said. “They see what’s happening. They are interested. They are smart. They are more educated.” And they have high expectations not only for their economic future but also for their civil rights and autonomy.

The reality of government is always different from the promise of campaigning, but Faye’s election is part of a promising trend of democratic entrenchment in Africa, exemplified by successful transitions of power in Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone over the past year. To be sure, those elections were not without challenges, but on the whole, they provide an important counterweight to democratic backsliding.

Senegalese people, especially the younger generation, have high expectations for what democracy can and should deliver for them. It’s up to Faye and his government to follow."

-via Vox, April 4, 2024

#senegal #africa #bassirou diomaye faye #elections #2024 elections #democracy #voting matters #young people #political corruption #coup attempt #good news #hope #international politics #african politics #fair elections #autocracy #macky sall

[nando161mando]

When you realize who the baddies are…

#u.s. healthcare system #usa #america #health #healthcare #healthcare system #australia #ausgov #politas #auspol #tasgov #taspol #joe biden #biden administration #president biden #biden #class war #fuck neoliberals #neoliberal capitalism #anthony albanese #albanese government #fascism #capitalism #statism #eat the rich #eat the fucking rich #government corruption #biden corruption #democrats are corrupt #political corruption

[canadianabroadvery]

#corruption #us politics #political corruption

[reality-detective]

Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine, indicted on bribery charges

Demonrats from New Jersey. 👇

He dismissed the allegations against him in a statement, saying; Prosecutors have “misrepresented the normal work of a Congressional office.”

Is that article misrepresenting? Is this the normal work of a congressional office? Why is his wife involved? What other normal work do the spouses of a congressional office do? 🤔

#pay attention #educate yourselves #educate yourself #knowledge is power #reeducate yourself #reeducate yourselves #think for yourselves #think about it #think for yourself #do your homework #do some research #do your own research #ask yourself questions #question everything #news #criminal #government corruption #political corruption

[workersolidarity]

Three, four years ago I could have told you, and did tell people, that inflation would start steadily going up, and I said even then that it would likely be stubborn, meaning it wasn't going to be an easy fix.

I knew this back then because it was obvious, even years ago, that the BRICS countries, along with many African and South Asian countries and elsewhere were looking for ways to get around using the US Dollar for trade.

They were making moves to expand trade relations outside US dollar transactions and were for many years planning and building the infrastructure for a future Multipolar world.

And that process began rapidly picking up pace three or four years ago.

I began to say then, what I'm still saying now, as that process goes on and trade outside the US Dollar system grows exponentially year-on-year, that's going to begin to have an effect on inflation.

Why? Well, Imperialism really. Because the US for decades has depended on the steady demand for US Dollars to hold down inflation, allowing the US to use debt spending to finance wars, military bases and imperialistic ventures like Syria.

Remember, it was the US in its massively dominant position after WWII that built the Bretton Woods System that made the US Dollar the world reserve currency pegged to gold, and it was the US that unilaterally abandoned Bretton Woods 1 and took the dollar off Gold, allowing for the US to finance wars through debt spending, and created the Petro-Dollar with Saudi Arabia in the 1970's.

This debt spending is essentially the surplus value from the Global South and other poorer countries that must buy US Dollars to fund infrastructure projects, energy consumption, food and medicine imports, etc since it's the world reserve currency and if you wish to use the US Financial System at all, such as the World Bank, or SWIFT messaging system, well you have to use US Dollars.

Basically, it's the sucking of the wealth out of poorer countries to finance their own economic oppression.

But as these countries catch on and with new rising global powers like Russia, China and Iran building the infrastructure for an alternative system, the US Dollar is being abandoned faster than ever.

In 2000, more than 70% of Foreign Exchange Reserves were held in US Dollars. By 2020, that figure had dropped considerably to 59%. And the rate at which it's dropping is only increasing.

Knowing this, I said back in 2019 and 2020 that inflation was likely to become a problem. And if it did become a problem, then we knew exactly what the Fed would do as a result: dramatically increase benchmark Interest rates.

This didn't take any particularly specialized or secretive sources to figure out. It's been obvious for years to anyone seriously interested in economics and geopolitics.

And what happens when interest rates go up? The value of the bonds bought under lower interest rates suddenly go way down, while debts become more expensive. It's like gravity in economics.

So with all that being said, why then did all these banks (Signature Bank, First Republic Bank, and Silicon Valley Bank) continue buying troubled assets and Treasury bonds if they're so smart and educated and knew all this?

I mean, these guys are supposed to be the best of the best corporate bankers, right? On the cutting edge of investment banking, right? That's what everyone said even just months before Silicon Valley Bank failed. (CNBC host and moron of the year Jim Cramer literally praised Silicon Valley Bank less than a month before its failure)

So one of two things must be true here and neither one is good for YOU the average worker.

Either these bankers are idiots; complete morons who have little to no understanding of basic economics, geopolitics, and monetary policy, something that should be of concern to all of us.

I mean, I'm just a dude working for a small retailer in New Orleans and even I knew this inflation and higher interest rates were coming.

So why exactly are these people paid such exorbitant salaries? If I can understand the basics of their job better than they can, why am I a retailer, and he, a millionaire banker???

So that's one possibility, one I'm virtually certain is actually true, that our ruling Elite isn't particularly smart or well educated in reality, anymore than ordinary people I meet everyday, and any one of us could easily do their jobs just as well or better than they do given the opportunities afforded to them.

But even if in this case, that's not what happened. That these weren't idiots. Well then the alternative is something that should also be deeply disturbing to you: that these bankers knew they would be facing this situation, that they were well aware of the coming inflationary pressures and equally aware what the Feds response would be, interest rate hikes.

And instead of using the last couple of years to shed possibly dangerous assets and shore up the money the banks kept on hand, they continued to do what was personally making them so much profit, at the expense of tax payers, because they were absolutely certain that the government these bankers spend so much money on campaigns for, would swoop in regardless of the recklessness of their behavior, and bail them out no matter what.

These are not the signs of a healthy political, economic or banking system.

#bailout #bank bailout #bank bailouts #us corruption #economic corruption #political corruption #us imperialism #us hegemony #wall street #bankers and bailouts #fuck capitalism #neoliberal capitalism #neoliberalism #fuck neoliberalism #socialism #communism #marxism leninism #socialist politics #socialist worker #socialist news #socialist #communist #marxism #marxist leninist #progressive politics #politics #us banking crisis #us banking system #recession #economics

[mileenaxyz]

For fuck's sake

#democratic republic of the congo #dr congo #congo genocide #free congo #congo #political corruption #colonial violence

[marxman1]

The latest provisional data from the CDC indicates that at least 1,036 people died of COVID-19 during the week ending March 2, which would mean that for 28 consecutive weeks since August 26, more than 1,000 people died from a preventable infection. In total, the CDC estimates there have been roughly 1,185,000 COVID-19 deaths in the US, but reliable estimates of excess deaths attributable to the pandemic place the real figure at over 1.4 million.

#workers struggles #wsws #socialist equality party #iysse #class war #capitalism #covid 19 #long covid #health workers #health professionals #public health #political corruption #workers of the world unite #end capitalism #socialist revolution #socialism #leon trotsky #trotskyism #karl marx #marxism #the communist manifesto #vladimir lenin #fourth international

[hezigler]

For the moment, consider Donald J. Trump as an emetic sent by Providence to clean the body politic. Like any good emetic action, the body politic will expell a lot of corruption along with the emetic.

#donald trump #trump #political corruption #republican party #maga

[simply-ivanka]

Read this statement from the Biden campaign. Classic.

#political corruption #liberal hypocrisy #joe biden #biden #trump #trump 2024 #ivanka #president trump #repost #america first #americans first #america #donald trump #democrats

[bouncinghedgehog]

Homelessness

View On WordPress

#accountability #capitalism #corporate influence #corruption #democracy #graphics #political corruption #quotations #RESISTANCE

[awesome-casuallyfamouscollector]

Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft has collided with the surface of moon after communication was interrupted, Russian state media TASS reported, citing Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos.

The spacecraft was meant to be Russia’s first lunar landing mission in 47 years.

According to preliminary calculations, Luna-25 “switched to an off-design orbit” before the collision, TASS reported.

P.S. Breaking news: The moon has successfully repelled the Russian imperialist invasion! Good!

The Kremlin intended to use this mission to propagandize the dictatorial regime and boost the morale of corrupt Russophiles...

#Moon #russian invasion #russian world #russian defeat #political corruption #space exploration

[wyrmfedgrave]

Pics: Evil Orange Rump at his 'best'...

1 & 2. The ex-prez continues to rail against constitutional law.

Rump's still set on becoming a corrupt President-for-Life, by the worst ways possible.

Keep an eye on everyone that he planted - err - 'appointed' while he was in office.

These For Reich Republikkkans are there to help him steal another 4 year term...

Yet, even during his many trials he's being treated with kid gloves!

When he 'couldn't' pay his 1st trial's reward, his assets (the dough he's got for the election & his NY buildings) should have been seized & sold!!

Instead, his bond payments were lowered...

Worse, his continued breaking of the judge's gag order, should have seen him in prison!

Yet, once again, his only punishment is to be continually "warned."

How long is this kind of treatment supposed to last?

Does anybody still remember how many people were victims of this con man?

Quite a lot of voters & others are being denied their due justice...

3 to 7. Everything Dumb Don & his enablers do is crooked.

Nothing they say has any legal merit.

All of their promises are of torture & pain - not of proper governance.

They literally care for no one. And , that includes the suffering of their own political cultists.

How many of his followers have been left to rot - when the Rump who would be king had no more need of them?

How many of his own Republikkkans have turned tail against Lord Rump?

And, are now testifying against King Dump?

Wake up, voters!!

You've long been fooled.

Dump the Rump...

Vote Blue & be True - to your Nation.

#political corruption #political cartoons #history #aside #evil orange rump #vote like it matters #cause it does

[canadianabroadvery]

#editorial cartoons #political corruption #corrupt us supreme court #plutocracy

[aseelayelia99]

Am I addicted to tragedy, or is the tragedy addicted to me?

Do I look for the wreckage, or is the wreckage all I can see?

Our planet is burning up and our politicians are arguing if there is heat.

Natural disasters are everywhere yet many aren’t sure if the ground is shaking under their feet.

Thousands are dying yet we question if their death is real,

as we doom scroll through our socials and see our faves score a new brand deal.

With one fist they collect our money and with the other they drain our blood,

as they fire those who dare to speak and drag their names through the mud.

The American dream has turned into an American nightmare we can’t wake up from,

yet our politicians turn down the volume of our suffering and beat the war’s drums.

am I addicted to tragedy, or is the tragedy addicted to me?

do I look for the wreckage, or is the wreckage all I can see?

This poem was initiated by a writing prompt posted by @betweenthetimeandsound and inspired by the state of the world that we are in.

#poetry #prose #poets on tumblr #poem #original poem #spilled thoughts #spilled poetry #poems on tumblr #poem of the day #my words #genocide #late stage capitalism #angry poetry #political corruption #global warming #climate change #climate crisis #american dream #greed