Continued......Why isn’t the suffering of African people taken seriously? Why isn’t the plight of the Congolese getting as much global attention as that of Ukrainians, say?

Our man Erick Gavala reports from the ground. Your thoughts and insights in the comments are always welcome.

HERO RESCUES PROTESTER FROM KENYAN COPS’ CLUTCHES

The second month of protests in Kenya have seen young people flood the streets, demanding better governance - including calls for President Ruto to step down.

In this clip, we witness an inspiring display of camaraderie as Communist Party of Kenya’s chairman, Kinuthia Ndungú, prevents the arrest of Kiritu Chege, a fellow protester, even in the face of physical assault.

Continued.....
The protests, sparked by the widely unpopular IMF-backed Finance Bill, have now morphed into wider calls for systemic change addressing issues like corruption (which reportedly gobbles a third of Kenya’s budget), low living standards and the high cost of living. The violence witnessed here has been a running theme over the past month, despite the law clearly granting Kenyans the right to protest.

Article 37 of Kenya’s constitution is clear: “Every person has the right, peacefully and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions to public authorities.” Kenyan police are supposed to provide protection to the protesters - in reality, they have been the main perpetrators of violence, with more than 50 killed so far. As this video shows, however, the people remain unbowed and have vowed to continue the struggle.

Video credit:
@Africa Uncensored
@Young Communists League
@MutembeiTV

IBRAHIM TRAORÉ EXPOSES U.S. CRIMES IN IRAQ

While Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traoré addressed the Burkinabé people about upcoming programs, policies, and developments on 11 July, he reminded them about the lies used to justify US imperialism. This involves creating and propping up violent rebel groups that the US later combats. This happened in Iraq. It happened in Afghanistan. And, according to Traoré, it happened in the Sahel following the 2011 NATO invasion that helped oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Traoré (@capitaineib226 on X) also demonstrated that almost all US accusations against Iraq turned out to be fabricated, including that Niger sold uranium to later deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (1937-2006), whom the US coalition-installed interim Iraqi government executed following a trial he denounced.

Continued....Kwame Ture once stated, ‘Capitalism doesn't lie some of the time. It lies all of the time. Even if it tells the truth, it's only the result of a double lie.’

Video credit: Faso7 TV (@faso7tv on YT, @faso7_bf on X and IG, @faso7bf on TikTok)

REMEMBERING EMMET TILL

Emmett Till would have turned 83 today - had racists not lynched him aged 14.

In 1955, he was falsely accused by Carolyn Bryant of whistling at her and threatening her. Two men, one of them her husband, kidnapped the boy, tortured him to death, mutilated his body and dumped it in a river.

The men confessed to the murder but were acquitted by an all-White jury.

Emmett’s vile murder shaped the Black civil-rights movement in America. 250,000 people attended his funeral. Close-up photographs of his face and body, and the television coverage of the funeral, turned his lynching into a global symbol of racial injustice.

Continued…. But even in death, racists won’t leave Emmett alone. White nationalist and supremacist groups over the years have found ways to desecrate his memorial marker - located at the place where his swollen and disfigured body was discovered.

Who knows what a life this beautiful boy would have gone on to have. His fate is a cause of great sadness and a reminder of the atrocities our people have had to endure. May he inspire our continued resistance.

Happy Birthday, Emmett Till.

‘WESTERN LOANS WE CAN NEVER PAY’

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) clocked 80 years this month. It was formed after the Bretton Woods Conference took place in New Hampshire, in 1944.

However, while the organisation insists it helps countries, a significant number, particularly in the Global South, have experienced a different reality.

For decades, the IMF’s been synonymous with austerity reforms that have brought economic ruin and misery to the most vulnerable. These programmes have forced governments to lay off workers, impose wage freezes and reduce social spending in order to pay back IMF loans.

Continued…. As a result, economic growth is stifled and countries fall into a so-called debt trap, where they need to borrow more to pay back existing debt.

In this clip, former AU Ambassador to the US, Arikana Chihombori-Quao explains how the IMF and other Western lending institutions exploit Africa. While they charge their ‘friends’ low interest rates for dollar loans, African countries get fleeced. Some commentators have called it financial apartheid, but Chihombori-Quao believes the game is up.

Listen to this interview she gave to US broadcaster Voice of America. She’s never one to hold back.

Credit: VOA Africa

MALEMA: WE WILL NOT SHARE SPACE WITH MURDERERS

Israel’s embassy in Pretoria remains open, despite South Africa’s parliament voting to shut it last year over Tel Aviv’s assault on Gaza. At the time, it was seen as part of South Africa’s tough stance and was followed by its genocide case against Israel at the UN’s top court. So, why is the embassy still in operation all these months later?

Julius Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, blames South Africa’s new Government of National Unity (GNU) for dragging its feet. In particular, he singles out the influence of the pro-Israel Democratic Alliance, which won about 20 per cent of the vote in recent general elections.

Continued….. As far as Malema’s concerned, his party will always refuse to ‘share its geographical space with murderers’ Too bad the GNU doesn’t hold the same conviction. In November 2023, South Africa’s parliament voted in favour of an EFF motion to shut the Israeli embassy and cut diplomatic ties. Eight months later, still nothing has happened. Don’t hold your breath either, given the pro-Palestine African National Congress has now climbed into bed with the DA.

REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION VS. ‘IDIOCRACY’ THE MOVIE

It’s the so-called ‘Silly Season’ in US politics, when the media is flooded with frivolous information about political candidates, often aiming to sway voters. We think this comparison of the recent Republican National Convention with the 2006 science-fiction comedy film, ‘Idiocracy,’ is spot on. With US political discourse reduced to a zero-sum ‘us vs. them’ dichotomy, we strive to present all sides—warts and all—to empower the audience to make informed decisions.

Video credit: @Vision4theBlind (X)

Original videos: @NBCNews and ‘Idiocracy,’ 20th Century Studios (2006)

RIZZA ISLAM DISMANTLES NBC’S FAILED HIT JOB!

It’s one thing to be the target of a mainstream-media smear campaign - but it adds insult to injury if they can’t even be bothered with minimal journalistic standards. Watch Rizza Islam of the Intellectual Xtremist show break down NBC’s recently attempted hatchet-job against his and five other organisations as part of a wider legacy-media push to sideline independent voices.

In recent years, with audiences increasingly media savvy and clued up about how the mainstream operates, alternative platforms have enjoyed a surge in popularity. And they pose an ever greater threat to the media giants who could previously get away unchallenged when, for example, dressing up Western propaganda as objective reporting.

One likely reason behind NBC’s attack on six Black outlets is the upcoming 2024 US presidential election. Liberal establishment media have for a long time been useful in pulling in the Black vote for the Democrats.

Continued……Against this, outlets like yours truly, African Stream, argue with evidence that neither the Democrat nor the Republicans have Black interests at heart.

If anything, while the mainstream media accuses independent outlets of disinformation, it is the establishment that has ‘manufactured consent’ for (for example) the killing of Palestinians for nine months now. Take the debunked claim that Hamas beheaded 40 babies - which swept like wildfire through the information space, while the correction barely registered. This helped desensitise mass-media consumers to the very real atrocities committed against Palestinian children.

Rizza Islam begins his response to the NBC piece by looking through the email its reporter sent him. It’s a masterclass in how not to do journalism. Enjoy!

Video Credit: @RizzaIslam (Rumble)

ISRAELI ANCHOR’S EVIL TIRADE BECOMES REALITY

At the start of Israel’s obliteration of Gaza, this clip of an Israeli TV anchor went viral. Channel 14’s Shay Golden warned Palestinians they would ‘see numbers [of dead] that you never imagined were possible’. He also warned his country was willing to be ostracised by the International community.

Well, his shocking tirade was prophetic. Since then, over 39,000 people have been k*lled in Gaza, mostly woman and children. The Lancet medical journal says the overall death toll could be more than 186,000 due to the devastating impact on healthcare systems and food supplies in the enclave. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice has called it genocidal, while the International Criminal Court Prosecutor has requested arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister and Defence Minister, along with Hamas leaders.

Continued….. As Shay Golden warned, Israel has indeed k*lled on a scale ‘you never imagined possible’ despite being ostracised on the world stage.

Of course, there’s one caveat. The US continues to bankroll Israel’s slaughter and in April Congress approved another $14-billion in ‘security assistance’. Now we have US presidential candidates doubling down on Washington’s support ahead of elections in November.

Video credit: @now14

A LOOK AT NIGER 1 YEAR AFTER COUP

Today marks one year of Niger’s revolutionary military coup d’état bringing to power President Abdourahamane Tiani and a new government known as the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP). History has been made with Niger charting a path of sovereignty and self-determination.

The CNSP not only followed in the footsteps of Mali, the Central African Republic and Burkina Faso in expelling the French military, it also became the first African country in history to give the boot to the US military, operating under the US Africa Command (AFRICOM). Some US forces have already left the country, evacuating Air Base 101 in Niamey and working to leave Air Base 201 near Agadez by 15 September. 

Niger has also implemented economic policies that put control of its resources back in its hands, such as nationalising its drinking water and ending French exploitation of the Imouraren mine, one of the world’s largest uranium reserves.

Continued….. Niger has co-founded the Alliance of Sahel States confederation with Burkina Faso and Mali. The confederation aims to unify the three countries’ foreign policies, facilitate the free circulation of people and goods, and create and execute a shared defence plan to set the foundation to unite into a single Pan-African federated state.

Last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that Niger was expecting a 10.6 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase this year due in part to an increase in oil exports and agricultural production. Compare this to last year’s 7.3 per cent growth.

More control over land and resources appears to benefit African states.

What do you think of Niger’s CNSP government? Let us know in the comments.