Continued….He pointed to US hypocrisy in pushing for Ukraine’s membership in NATO, which stands in contrast to the United States’ spirited opposition to the USSR placing missiles in Cuba in the 1960s.

Given US military operations and so-called military partnerships on the continent, might it make sense for Africa to place a military base in the US? Let us know what you think.

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9 February marks the 74th anniversary of US Senator Joseph McCarthy giving a speech noscriptd, ‘Enemies From Within.’ It paved the way for anti-communist paranoia and persecution, referred to as ‘McCarthyism.’

Starting in the late 1940s, the United States attempted to stifle communist sentiment in the United States, which had been gaining traction in Global South countries. Estimates say the US government arrested hundreds of people and caused more than 10,000 people to lose their jobs. Africans were among those targeted.

For example, after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, an FBI official called King the ‘most dangerous Negro … from the standpoint of communism, the Negro and national security.’ His family is suing the government for its role in his 1968 assassination.

With the support of the FBI, the Chicago Police Department murdered Fred Hampton in his bed in 1969.

Continued…The 21-year-old was chairman of the Black Panther Party’s Illinois chapter. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover referred to the party as the ‘greatest threat to the internal security of the country.’

When actor and singer Paul Robeson refused to recant his political beliefs, the US government confiscated his passport in 1950, and his income plummeted. This followed his visit to the USSR where he remarked at the absence of racism as in the US.

In Africa, with the CIA’s help, the apartheid government arrested Nelson Mandela in 1962. Then, the US government placed the South African freedom fighter on a terror watch list until 2008. It also monitored Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC) due to suspected communist ties.

Meanwhile, the US government referred to the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s first democratically elected prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, as ‘Castro or worse.’ The CIA claimed the USSR and other states had paid Lumumba for loyalty.

However, McCarthyism never ended. Today, many who do not subscribe to the West’s so-called ‘rules-based order’ are branded ‘China shills’ or ‘Kremlin bots.’

Is it possible for African agency to exist without us being smeared as unwitting pawns of the West’s enemies? Let us know what you think.

SOUTH AFRICA F.M.: ‘ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE TARGETING MY FAMILY’

Israeli intelligence services have Naledi Pandor in their crosshairs. That’s according to the South African foreign minister. She recently conveyed to @salaam_onair that people have sent her threatening messages on social media that have mentioned her children, which prompted her to ask for more security.

However, Pandor remains unshaken in her support for Palestine. Pandor criticised the African Union for granting observer status to Israel in 2022 without consulting member-states, going on to say South Africa would have to reconsider its membership. In 2023, the AU rescinded Israel’s observer status.

Continued….Meanwhile, Israeli intelligence has been used for ulterior ends against Africa. For example, a 2021 leak alleged Israeli cyber-arms company NSO Group’s spyware, Pegasus, monitored South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, since 2019. Rwanda’s government had been accused of placing Ramaphosa’s phone number on a list of thousands of people to track using Pegasus. However, Rwanda denied the claim.

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KILLER MIKE GRAMMY ARREST RACIST?

Here’s a question for you. Was the arrest of Black rapper, Killer Mike, at the Grammys racist?

Well, that’s what Atlanta-based Hip Hop radio station, Hot 107.9, suggests in this clip. After all, the artist had just won best rap album, best rap song and best rap performance and ended up leaving in handcuffs. Can you imagine the same happening to Taylor Swift or another artist of non-African descent?

It was alleged he’d pushed over a female security guard backstage and was detained for ‘misdemeanour battery’. Details of what happened were only released after a public outcry.

The radio hosts say the ‘atrocity’ reflects the story of the Black man in America. When he gets success, there’s always someone looking to take him down.

Killer Mike, whose real name is Michael Render, is due in court on February 29th.

Comments page ready and waiting.

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DRC PLAYERS: ‘WORLD SILENT OVER MASSACRE’

Democratic Republic of Congo’s amazing run to the semi-finals at AFCON gave fans plenty to celebrate.
But it also gave players a chance to highlight horrific mass violence that’s swept their country’s east for decades.

Just before they kicked off against Ivory Coast, they covered their mouths to demonstrate the world’s silence on what’s happening. The team’s captain also raised awareness on social media.

Over a hundred armed groups are battling for control of resources needed for modern-day phones and laptops. Meanwhile imperialist multinationals are raking in tremendous profit. Fighting and exploitation of the region has killed six million and displaced many more.

Fair play to the players for taking a stand, but will it change anything?

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BAFANA BAFANA A VICTORY FOR DEMOGRAPHICS?

South Africa’s footballers bowed out of AFCON with their heads held high. A penalty-shootout defeat to Nigeria ended their dream of winning the tournament for only a second time. But away from the pitch, their performance has ignited a debate on the transformation of sport in the post-apartheid era.

South Africa’s national football team almost reflects the country’s demographics. Ok, every player in the starting eleven on Wednesday night was Black. But that means they only needed one White player to be representative of a country where Blacks make up around 90 per cent of the population.

Compare that to the nation’s Rugby team, the Springboks. During their World Cup triumph last year, half the squad was White. An improvement on previous years but for many still not good enough.

Continued….After all, it’s nearly thirty years since the end of apartheid when Blacks were banned from playing rugby and the national side refused to compete against teams that fielded non-Whites.

It’s a point that wasn’t lost on Mbuyiseni Ndlozi , a politician and senior member of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party. When South Africa’s rugby stars won the World Cup for a third time in 2019, he made this fiery speech.

Progress has been made since then, but his point is still relevant. Today, laws may not prevent players of colour from donning the green and gold jersey, but social-economic barriers do.

Until the rugby team looks like football team, can we really say sport has won the post-apartheid battle?

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EGYPTIAN: ‘BRITS, RETURN STATUE!’

The British stole the top half of the Queen Ahmose-Meritamon statue many decades ago. It’s now displayed in the British Museum, so this Egyptian pleads in this video that Brits return the bust.

Many peoples around the world have demanded former colonisers return artefacts they stole. What’s the best way to get back our belongings? Let us know in the comments.

A HUNGRY STOMACH KNOWS NO POLITICS!

There’s been a profound shift in the consciousness of Africa’s young people. That’s the contention of author Joshua Maponga - who contrasts today’s rising generation with what he alleges is more a ‘docile’ and subservient one of the ‘60s.

He claims that Africa’s youth will no longer tolerate bad governance and inequality and are ready to take matters into their own hands if necessary.

The spate of revolutionary coups across the Sahel - which boast popular support - vividly illustrate Maponga’s words. As he puts it here, “A hungry stomach knows no politics.”

Are you hungry for change?

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HIP HOP PUSHES POISON FOR PROFIT

Hip Hop artists have long been accused of glorifying violence and drugs - but should we blame them or the people who run the record labels and sign them?

Here, Lyor Cohen, a veteran music executive, openly admits he signs artists for profit. And if that means pushing poisonous lyrics, so be it. Cohen is currently the Global Head of Music at YouTube, and before that ran mega labels like Def Jam and Warner Music Group.

To help you understand the damage being done, we’ve tagged on an interview with Veteran of the Black Arts Movement, Amiri Baraka. In 1966 he wrote, “The Black artist’s role in America is to aid in the destruction of America as he knows it.” He makes clear oppressed people are being enticed to make songs that attack and discriminate against them. Putting it another way, he says artists are teaching themselves the ‘propaganda of the opposed.’ Is he right?

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PT. 2: CALL CEASEFIRE TO END HOUTHI ‘BRANDING CAMPAIGN’

Here’s part 2 of our reaction to a viral clip of British journalist and filmmaker Myriam François setting straight a corporate journalist.

The filmmaker was responding to Sky News presenter Yalda Hakim, who said many have remarked that blocking the Bab al-Mandab Strait is ‘doing wonders for [Houthis’] branding,’ and that they must have ulterior motives for doing so.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels—officially known as Ansar Allah—have been launching attacks against Israel-linked ships for the past few months. They have deterred other shipping companies from sailing through the area, costing corporations hundreds of billions of dollars. The Houthis have said they will stop once a ceasefire is in place in the Gaza Strip and humanitarian aid is delivered.

Continued….We love François’ factual, articulate clapback against the unconscionable defence of Israeli atrocities in Gaza. As of press time, Israel has killed almost 28,000 civilians since 7 October.

What do you think of this back-and-forth? Join the conversation here and watch our complete reaction on YouTube for more.

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2 MILLIONAIRES GAMBLE ON BLACK & BROWN PEOPLE’S LIVES

Watch two callous multi-millionaires, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and British journalist Piers Morgan, play casino with the lives of vulnerable Global South people seeking refuge in the United Kingdom.

For decades, the UK government has attempted to deport migrants and refugees and/or has enacted hostile policies against asylum seekers. In November, the UK Supreme Court ruled on a plan to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda, saying refugees would be at risk of being returned to their home countries, where they could face ill treatment. In January, the European Court of Human Rights said the move also breaches the European Convention on Human Rights.

Continued….Britain’s intolerance for refugees seems ironic, given how quickly it takes actions abroad that force people out of their home countries. In recent weeks, the United Kingdom and the United States have tag-teamed to bomb Yemen, which has experienced one of the worst Western-backed humanitarian crises for close to a decade. In 2011, NATO, of which Britain is a member, funded and armed rebels to oust Libya’s leader, Muammar Gaddafi. That paved the way for the most prosperous African state to collapse, a civil war to ensue that split the country, a migrant crisis to occur in the Mediterranean Sea and open-air slave markets to operate in Libya.

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