Episode 176 - Protests, Protests Everywhere!

Hi folks. Chuck Holton here. Welcome to this edition of the hot zone podcast, where we don't just make the news, we make it better. While the entire news cycle in the United States right now is pretty much dedicated to the death of a billionaire pedophile, around the world people are hurting and there are new threats popping up every day. So we're going to cover that. If you'd like to support the podcast, you can go to patreon.com/hotzone and subscribe, or send a donation to hotzoneholton@gmail.com via paypal.

 

on that note, I have a huge announcement to make. The Hot Zone Podcast has teamed up with my friend Victor Marx and All Things Possible Ministries. What that means for you is that all your donations can now be tax deductible! Just go to https://victormarx.com/hotzone/ and donate there. If you aren't familiar with Victor and his organization, go back and watch Episode 99 - where I interviewed Victor about all the great stuff he and his team are doing around the world. I've run into him in various hot zones and I can tell you he's the real deal.

 

Well, My dad used to say, "everyone's got to have something to gripe about." Well it seems that's never been more true than now, as The whole world seems to be up in arms about something. On my recent three-week trip to Nigeria, South Africa and Afghanistan for example, there were big protests taking place everywhere I went. In Nigeria it was the Shia muslims protesting against the government, claiming discrimination. they kept shutting down the center of the capital city, Abuja, and that made the already difficult traffic there even worse. The government in Nigeria doesn't play, though, and so a lot of protesters ended up getting shot, and unfortunately one young journalist was also killed.

 

On to South Africa, where they are facing a migrant crisis similar to that in the United States. In South Africa, hundreds of thousands of north africans, from nigeria, cameroon, zambia, lesotho and elsewhere are flooding in every year for the ...wait for it...generous social welfare benefits offered for refugees. It's like governments just can't grasp the fact that anytime you give away free money, you will have lots of people getting in line for it. Well these africans aren't content just to suck off the government teat, they also are known for lots of criminal activity - the culture there could be summed up by the motto: "If you aren't cheating you aren't trying." And so tens of thousands of migrants set up shop in downtown Johannesburg's commercial district, where they sell counterfeit goods on the street. While I was there, the government sent in the police to confiscate these illegal products, and that caused riots that really looked like a zombie apocalypse movie. Amazing footage. By the way if you aren't watching the podcast, you are missing out on a lot, as I'm putting tons of work into showing you what's going on, not just telling. Right now I'm showing clips of the protest in Johannesburg, and it's incredible footage, believe me.

 

In Afghanistan, where I was embedded with US forces last week, angry mourners were protesting airstrikes as violence in the capital city of Kabul has been heating up. The country is in the midst of a presidential campaign, and the Taliban has been blowing things up on a very regular basis - almost daily, and the body count is getting incredibly high. But of course, CNN reported last month that US and coalition forces along with the Afghan army are killing more people than the Taliban. Leave it to CNN to do whatever they can to tarnish the image of our men and women in uniform. Buried in their article, however, are stats that show only 14% of casualties in Afghanistan this year have come from airstrikes - and the US isn't out on patrol participating in many ground engagements. So they sort of self-refute on that one. Typical.

 

Okay, who's next? How about Brazil, where protests erupted last week after an 18-year-old student was hit by a stray bullet on his way to school - the latest victim of the city's ongoing warfare. Dozens of angry residents from the favela where the shooting happened on Friday took to the streets and blocked the road where Gabriel Ferreira Alves died waiting for the bus that would take him to school. A police statement said officers of a small unit stationed in the favela were attacked by criminals but did not retaliate. Some residents, however, told The Associated Press there had been an exchange of fire between criminals and the police. Fogo Cruzado, a group monitoring shootings in the Rio area, says 110 people have been hit by a stray bullets so far this year, 31 of whom died.

 

Moving north, Hundreds of Hondurans took to the streets of the capital Tegucigalpa on Friday demanding the resignation of President Juan Orlando Hernández. Former president Manuel Zelaya and leader of the Libertad y Refundación (LIBRE) party called on his supporters to take part in the demonstration, demanding Hernández stand down. The protest follows a series of anti-government demonstrations that have intensified this week, after Hernandez was linked to drug trafficking by U.S. prosecutors and accused of receiving illicit funds for his 2013 political campaign.U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is planning a visit to Honduras soon, so it'll be interesting to see how that goes. The political crisis in Honduras dates back to the overthrow of President Zelaya in 2009, and the great polarisation of society that followed it. During the 2013 elections, Zelaya founded the LIBRE party and campaigned for his wife, former first lady Xiomara Castro, who was defeated by Hernandez. President Hernandez was re-elected in 2017 and had supported the coup against Zelaya in 2009. The Venezuelan government has sent instigators into Honduras to stir up unrest and it appears to be working.

 

Okay, now how about Kashmir - that disputed semi-autonomous region of northern india that borders pakistan and china. India sent about 10,000 troops in there last week, and revoked the area's self-governing status. That, of course did not make the people there very happy, and thousands came out to protest. The government claims the region is a hotbed for terrorrism and that the move is necessary, but the people obviously feel a bit differently about the matter.

 

Violent election protests are happening in Russia right now, on Saturday as tens of thousands of people rallied in one of Moscow's biggest political protests in recent years, denouncing the exclusion of opposition and independent candidates from the Russian capital's city council ballot.

The rally was the fourth consecutive weekend demonstration in Moscow over the local election.

After the rally, which was officially sanctioned, hundreds of participants streamed to an area near the presidential administration building to continue with an unauthorised demonstration.

They were confronted by hundreds of riot police who detained almost 150 people.

 

Meanwhile nearby in Moscow, there were cheering fans rather than protesters who came out to support one of the most interesting and manly sports imaginable - a tank biathlon. Teams from Venezuela, Syria, Mongolia and Kazakhstan took part in the tank biathlon competition in Moscow region on Thursday, as part of the Army Games 2019 with crews from 22 countries, including Iran, Venezuela, China, and Russia.

Fans from Syria and Venezuela came to the range to support their teams. Well, say what you want about the Russians, but these guys know how to throw a party.

 

In Romania, tens of thousands of protesters came out over the weekend to mark a previous protest outside government headquarters in Bucharest. They are protesting corruption in government, which is a common theme we're seeing in protests around the globe. In Hong Kong the protests have been goin on for nine straight weeks, and are getting increasingly violent as Chinese forces mass along the border. It may very well turn into a Chinese invasion of hong kong before we know it...and I'll be talking about that a lot more in the future, I think.

 

Speaking of corruption in government, there are protests happening right here in Panama today to oppose the former president Ricardo Martinelli. He was indicted several years ago after his term ended for corruption and spying on his political opponents, and after he was extradited back here from Miami, stood trial and was last week exonerated by the Panamanian supreme court. Many people here though believe it had more to do with his money than his innocence.

 

There's a common theme here. Much of the consternation being seen around the world has to do with corruption - which shows government, even if it's of the people, by the people, is still run by people. Fallen human beings. The lesson I take from that is that we should always endeavor to have the smallest, weakest government possible that can still maintain law and order. But not much else. We should never put our hopes on government. And when it comes down to it, only changing the human heart will have a long-term impact on human culture.

 

That's all I have for today folks. Thanks for watching. I've got lots of great stuff coming up this week, so stay tuned!

 

I'm Chuck Holton and you're watching the Hot Zone.