RAPPER YASIIN BEY: US EMPIRE CRUMBLING

Rapper Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) has long been an outspoken critic of American exceptionalism and has a prediction for 2024. During this interview on The Cutting Room Floor Podcast, he suggests time is running out for empires built on brute force and says there’s still hope despite dreadful on-going global conflicts ravaging regions like Congo and Sudan. He concludes with the line: ‘Through the demise my heart is still alive. It looks awful outside but it’s still worth a try.’ As usual, artists have a way with with words. Listen to his and let us know if you agree.

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Continued…..Yemen’s Houthi rebel movement, officially known as Ansar Allah, had announced shortly after the 7 October escalation of the Palestine-Israel conflict that it would blockade ships headed to Israel until the massacre of Palestinians stops. Recently, the United States and the United Kingdom launched attacks on Yemen.

They also might have deliberated on the looming deployment of 1,000 Kenyan cops to Haiti, despite spirited public opposition in Haiti and in Kenya, as well as in Kenyan courts. The true motive is under question, as underlying systemic issues—and the US role in creating them—have been ignored. Previous foreign interventions have been disastrous. The US government has promised to foot the $200 million bill. Many have perceived it as Kenya being paid to be the ‘Blackface’ of US imperialism.

Anyway, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Why do you think the CIA chief stopped by Nairobi?

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A WIN FOR MALI’S A WIN FOR BURKINA!

AFCON always grips the continent as countries bid to become football’s African champions. But in West Africa, two countries have swapped football rivalry for brotherly love. Fans in Burkina don’t just root for their own national heroes; they’re cheering equally for neighbours Mali. They’re two nations that increasingly share political goals, after military leaders took charge in publicity-supported coups. Both are now part of the newly-formed Alliance of Sahelian States that also includes ally Niger. Sadly, the latter didn’t qualify for AFCON, but all three have been brought closer together - including, it seems, their football fans.

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LUMUMBA VILLAGE: DRC’S SANCTUARY FOR CHILDREN

Violence against children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached unprecedented levels. According to the UN, there are few (if any) worse places to be a child. The country has the world’s highest number of verified grave violations against children in armed conflict.

More than 26.4-million people in DRC are in need of humanitarian assistance, that’s about one in every four people - including some 14.2-million children. Conflict has been raging in parts of the country for nearly three decades, with children killed, sexually assaulted, abducted and forcibly recruited for use by armed groups.

Natural disaster has compounded the suffering for people in the east of the country.

Continued…..In 2021, Mount Nyiragongo - north of the regional capital Goma - erupted, displacing nearly half a million and killing 50. Some 2,000 children were separated from their parents amid the chaos.

A project called ‘I Heart Africa’ has tried to provide a sanctuary for some of those impacted by the disaster. The group, which puts African concerns first, has built a small community called Lumumba Village. Our man Erick Gavala paid a visit to learn more.

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ROBBED OF 44 YEARS OF FREEDOM!

Sixty-eight-year-old Ronnie Long, who spent 44 year in a US prison on a false rape conviction, has been awarded millions in compensation. While good news, it’s also a reminder of the relentless and disproportionate injustices faced by Black people in America. Not only does this have to change, but compensation should be made available to others who’ve suffered similar wrongs at the hands of the systemically racist US judicial and prison systems. Leave your thoughts below.

SYSTEMIC RACISM IN THE LAND OF THE FREE

The so-called Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation in the southern United States during the 19th and 20th centuries. You might have thought that their abolishment in the ‘60s would have eradicated structural racism and discrimination in US society, but sadly that’s not the case. As explained in this video, harsh drug laws and the way they’re enforced have seen Blacks disproportionately sent into the prison system - and thereby effectively disempowered, as inmates can have multiple rights removed.

CIA CHIEF IN SOMALIA

Mere days after touching down in Kenya, CIA Director William Burns visited Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The president’s official Twitter account reports the 18 January deliberations centred around regional issues of ‘mutual interest and enhancing Somalia-US strategic partnership,’ as well as the ‘fight against international terrorism and promoting regional stability.’

Of course, the elephant in the room is the increasing tension between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa. Somalia has taken issue with landlocked Ethiopia recognising breakaway republic Somaliland’s statehood in exchange for maritime access. Somalia claims Somaliland is part of its territory and, as such, has no right to give Ethiopia a 20-kilometre strip to build a port in the city of Berbera, on the Gulf of Aden. Somalia has threatened war should the deal proceed. Meanwhile, the US has reiterated its support for Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Continued…That two US naval personnel allegedly went missing off Somalia’s coast in the Gulf of Aden are probably a topic of discussion, too. The United States says one slipped and fell off a ladder while trying to enter a dhow (a small ship) on 11 January, in an attempt to seize Iranian arms reportedly destined for the Houthi rebel movement in Yemen. Another who tried to help went missing as well, according to the official account.

With a history of hostility between Somalia and the US—remember the film, ‘Black Hawk Down’?—it is, indeed, strange seeing the CIA chief in Mogadishu. Al Shabaab, the Islamist military and political outfit that has ravaged the region for close to two decades, owes its origins to the United States toppling in 2006 the Islamic Courts Union, formed after head of state Siad Barre was deposed in 1991.

Why else might the CIA chief visit Somalia? Let us know below.

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SLOVENIA TO JOIN ICJ CASE AGAINST ISRAEL

Slovenia has broken ranks with powerful European countries such as France and Germany by declaring its support for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ.

Tanja Fajon, Slovenia’s minister of foreign and European affairs, said the scale of the death and destruction inflicted on Gaza made it clear that international law had been breached. She added that, while Slovenia cannot be enjoined in South Africa’s action at this preliminary stage, it could be possible once the ICJ decides to deliberate on the case.

Continued….Fajon also said her country would now join an earlier case at the ICJ that was initiated by a UN General Assembly vote in December 2022 - concerning the illegality of Israeli policies against Palestinians. Explaining that decision, she cited Israel’s prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of Palestinian territory; Israel’s efforts to change the demographics, character and status of Jerusalem; and its adoption of legislation and measures that discriminate against Palestinians.

Let us know what you think of Slovenia’s support for South Africa.

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N*ZI GERMANY’S MADAGASCAR PLAN

N*zi-run Germany devised a plan in 1940 to deport the country’s Jewish population to the African island of Madagascar. At the time, it was a French colony, but Germany was desperate to be ‘cleansed’ of its prominent Jewish population. Before that, the Polish government investigated deporting Jewish people to the island in 1937. The plan reminds us of the 1903 Uganda Scheme, which proposed setting up a Jewish state in East Africa.

Now, Israel is allegedly trying to convince Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda to accept Palestinians who are fleeing Israel’s blockade and bombardment of the Gaza Strip. All three African states have denied negotiations are taking place. Meanwhile, Israel has killed close to 25,000 civilians since 7 October.

Is this another move in the vein of the ethnic cleansing attempts we have seen before? And why are African countries being considered for such plans? Let us know what you think.

Video credit: @lachaineinfo