Sources

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/10/17/patrice-lumumba-congo-washington-00121755

https://africasacountry.com/2024/07/not-an-obvious-hero

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88-01314R000100660020-1.pdf

https://en.prothomalo.com/international/Washington-suspected-Mandela-as-Communist-menace
https://fair.org/home/despite-confession-cias-role-in-mandelas-capture-can-still-hardly-be-told/
https://mg.co.za/article/2013-12-12-floyd-shivambu-mandela-was-never-a-member-of-the-communist-party/

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88-01314R000100660020-1.pdf

https://www.e-ir.info/2023/11/12/thomas-sankara-how-the-leader-of-a-small-african-country-left-such-a-large-footprint/

file:///C:/Users/PC/Downloads/colmo7_148414.pdf

You don’t have to be an orphan or a calf for this week’s proverb to ring true: at some time, we all have to fend for ourselves against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

KAMALA IS CAPITALISM'S CHOICE

Claudia de la Cruz, running as the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s US presidential candidate, argued at a 30 August campaign event that Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party's nominee in November's election, is capitalism's choice for the top job.

Video credit: @Claudia_Karina2024 (IG) @votesocialist24 (X)

Continued...
De la Cruz (@Claud9_ on X and @1claud9 on IG) cited Harris’ record as California’s attorney general, during which she is accused of fuelling mass incarceration by subverting a 2011 Supreme Court ruling requiring the state to reduce its prison population. Claudia also brings up the Biden-Harris administration's support for Israel's military onslaught on Gaza, reminding people about the $26 billion the US gave Tel Aviv in April. That's on top of an annual $3.8 billion defence aid package that renews for 10 years from 2019 through 2028, which former US President Barack Obama signed into law in 2016. US support for Israel has featured prominently in the run-up to the election, with the Democrats experiencing a deep rift within party ranks and among ordinary people who once looked at it as the party for workers.

De la Cruz’s pitch to voters is they should not surrender their awakening over Gaza's suffering to the billionaire-funded political parties, whether Democrat or Republican.

Let us know in the comments what you think.

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/23/kamala-harris-democratic-nomination-convention

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-truancy-arrests-2020-progressive-prosecutor_n_5c995789e4b0f7bfa1b57d2e

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/goldman-sachs-sees-biggest-boost-us-economy-harris-win-2024-09-04/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2yylgze4ro

https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/kamala-harris-criminalized-and-prosecuted-parents

https://prospect.org/justice/how-kamala-harris-fought-to-keep-nonviolent-prisoners-locked-up/

https://www.voanews.com/a/american-panel-accuses-israel-defense-forces-of-systematic-pattern-of-war-crimes-/7583223.html

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/25/middleeast/former-palestinian-detainee-sexually-abused-in-israeli-prison-mime-intl/index.html

https://www.npr.org/2024/05/05/1249231420/politics-chat-how-u-s-support-for-israel-could-impact-the-election

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4355912-israel-palestine-democratic-divisions/

On the night of 30 September 1919, some 100 Black people gathered in a local church in Elaine, Arkansas, in the United States, for a meeting called by the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America. The meeting, whose attendees were predominantly African sharecroppers on White plantations, had been called to address the many grievances they faced - including the exploitative payment they received for their cotton. In fear of a possible attack by White-mobs, several guards were deployed outside the church. The meeting took place amid the so-called 'Red Summer,' an outbreak of White-on-Black terrorism across several parts of the US around mid-1919.

As expected, during the meeting, three White men affiliated with local law-enforcement agencies drove to the church and taunted the guards posted outside the venue. When the guards ignored them, the White men reportedly shot at them, leading to a shootout between the two groups.

Continued……. One of the White men was killed, while a second, a deputy sheriff, sustained injuries.

Fake news alleging that Black people were fomenting an insurrection quickly spread. Local White mobs reinforced by law-enforcement officers went on the rampage, lynching Black people, irrespective of their age or gender. Black homes and businesses were also ransacked and torched.

According to conservative estimates, some 200 Black people were killed by the military and vigilante mobs. Some estimates have put the number of killed at over a thousand. It is difficult to arrive at the true number as reporting on the massacre was heavily suppressed by the authorities at the time.

Hundreds of Black people were also arrested and detained in inhumane conditions by soldiers who had been deployed to the town on 2nd October. Most of those detained were eventually freed after their White employers 'vouched' for them. 122 were charged and tried by a grand jury for various offences. Twelve were charged with the murder of five White people who died during the massacre. They were eventually convicted by an all-White jury and sentenced to death by electric chair. Their sentences were, however, quashed by the Supreme Court.

SOURCES:

https://teachingamericanhistory.org/blog/the-elaine-massacre/
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/elaine-arkansas-riot-1919/

https://www.npr.org/2022/12/11/1137090651/elaine-massacre-tulsa-race-riot

https://digitalheritage.arkansas.gov/brough-scrapbooks/

Singer and songwriter Pharrell Williams recently shared his thoughts on the upcoming US elections in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. He mentioned that he finds it irritating when celebrities try to influence people's voting decisions. Pharrell, who described himself as apolitical, stated, "I don't do politics. In fact, I get annoyed sometimes when I see celebrities trying to tell you who to vote for." He's keeping his cards close to his chest on his preferred candidate.

However, Pharrell faced criticism online when his supposedly apolitical stance was scrutinised. Social-media snoops were quick to point out that, in 2018, he headlined a fundraiser event for Friends of the Israeli Defence Forces, which raised $60 million for the army. That’s the same IDF that, in its current war on Gaza, has slaughtered over 41,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children (Gaza Heath Ministry).

So is Pharrell a hypocrite or is he just naive?

Let us know in the comments.

SOURCES:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/pharrell-williams-interview-lego-documentary-piece-by-piece-collaborations-1235996237/

SUDAN’S HUNGER EMERGENCY

25.6-million Sudanese people face food insecurity amid the ongoing war in their country. It’s estimated that hundreds are dying daily from hunger or hunger-related diseases, with the most affected areas being Kordofan, Khartoum and Darfur.

The warring sides have both blocked aid - meaning life-saving items such as cooking oil, salt, grain and lentils cannot reach the people who desperately need them. The Rapid Support Forces paramilitary is accused of using food as a weapon of war. Around 15% of children are acutely malnourished and over 30% are chronically malnourished, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In August, the Global Food Monitor reported that the war in Sudan and restrictions on aid delivery had caused famine in at least one location in the state of North Darfur, and that other areas were potentially experiencing famine.

Continued……In South Kordofan, food stocks were already low before the war. A poor harvest in 2023 was worsened by a locust plague that devoured crops. The war and resulting refugee influx made the situation far worse.

Sudan’s civil war has resulted in the world’s largest displacement crisis and has killed around 19,000 people at a minimum (though the real figure is expected to be much higher: a US envoy estimated in May that it might already be 150,000).

SOURCES:

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/famine-aid-sudan/#:~:text=More%20than%20half%20the%20people,people%20who%20desperately%20need%20it

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/global-food-monitor-says-famine-has-taken-hold-sudans-darfur-2024-08-01/

'DO YOU HAVE YOUR PAGER ON YOU?' U.S. CONGRESSMEMBER MOCKS ACTIVISTS

US congress member Harriet Hageman recently shocked many when CodePink activists caught her on camera mockingly asking if they had their pagers on them, appearing to allude to last week's attacks that k*lled at least 37 people and injured more than 3,250 people in Lebanon and Syria.

Unnamed sources in news reports said Israel appeared to carry out the attacks. However, the focus has turned to US elected officials like Hageman because the US has funded Israel since 1948. To many people's dismay, the US continues to arm Israel amidst its military onslaught in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023, which has so far killed at least 41,000 Palestinians and as many as 186,000 as of early July, according to the Lancet medical journal.

Continued......Last week's attacks appeared to detonate thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies held by Hezbollah members, but it impacted non-Hezbollah members, too. 

Meanwhile, Lebanon's Ministry of Health said Israel's airstrikes over the past two weeks have also k*lled more than 1,000 Lebanese and wounded 6,000.

Video credit: @codepink

SOURCES:

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/27/middleeast/israel-pager-attack-hezbollah-lebanon-invs-intl/index.html

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240930-1640-killed-by-israel-in-lebanon-including-104-children

https://www.barrons.com/news/health-ministry-in-hamas-run-gaza-says-war-death-toll-at-41-615-424f56d6