PALESTINIAN KIDS CELEBRATE GAZA CEASEFIRE

Joy and relief flooded Palestinian homes following Qatar announcing a ceasefire agreement between Israel and H*mas.

This video showing jubilant children reflects the atmosphere in Gaza after 15 months of relentless Israeli military operations that, as of mid-January 2025, have claimed over 46,000 lives, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. However, the Lancet medical journal reported this month that authorities may have undercounted deaths by over 100,000 with an early July 2024 figure surpassing 186,000. The Gaza Health Ministry has said Israel has primarily k*lled women and children.

The latest surge in violence during Israel’s 76-year occupation of Palestine has disproportionately impacted Palestinian children.

Continued…….. A Human Rights Watch report from 9 April 2024 accused Israel of employing starvation as a weapon of war, resulting in severe malnutrition and dehydration among children, as well as pregnant and nursing mothers. Furthermore, Israel’s destruction of nearly all Gaza hospitals has exacerbated the crisis, leading to more child deaths.

While the Geneva Conventions, a set of international treaties that determine how civilians should be treated in armed conflicts, bar civilians from collective punishment, Israel has obstructed humanitarian aid deliveries and severed water, electricity, and fuel supplies to Gaza. An October 2024 UN report revealed that over 1.8 million Palestinians faced ‘extremely critical’ levels of hunger. Disturbingly, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich suggested it might be ‘just and moral’ to allow 2 million civilians to starve until hostages are released.

Under the ceasefire agreement set to commence on 19 January, H*mas will return Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, some of whom are women and children.

Yet, the memories of bombings, sniper fire, corpses, and blood may haunt Palestinians for years to come. Further, with Israel violating a ceasefire in Lebanon and the ceasefire drawn up early last year for Ramadan in Gaza, we can’t be sure this will stick. Do you think the ceasefire will stick. Please let us know in the comments.

Sources:

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202501/1326986.shtml

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/09/gaza-israels-imposed-starvation-deadly-children

https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-97/en/

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/06/middleeast/israeli-minister-smotrich-starve-gazans-intl/index.html

https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/10/1155836

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/10/deaths-from-israeli-attacks-in-gaza-undercounted-by-41-percent-study-finds

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext

L.A. FIRES: BLACK RESCUERS BRANDED LOOTERS

As California burns, the flames of racism have also been reignited. News coverage of looting going on in abandoned homes was accompanied by video of Black people going in and out of houses - immensely misleading, as a closer look reveals they were helping rescue items from the fire. It’s unclear whether the implicit racism was intentional, but our brother Louis Plummer (@advicefromloius), sick of the way upstanding Black people are still being constantly disparaged in the US, breaks the issue down.

https://x.com/AdviceFromLouis/status/1877524332735508642

JAMES BALDWIN ON FLEEING ‘SOCIAL TERROR’ IN U.S.

James Baldwin (1924-87) used his essays and speeches to challenge systemic racism and injustice in the United States.

In this clip from a 1969 debate with philosopher Paul Weiss (1901-2002) on ‘The Dick Cavett Show,’ Baldwin explained how it was impossible to extricate himself as a writer from the Black experience in the US. He explained how leaving the US in 1948 freed him from the ‘social terror’ he faced as a Black man. Outside the US, he could write without the constant fear of oppression.

Continued….. Baldwin has said the ‘American dream’ was built on the subjugation of Black people, and true freedom required the country to confront its racist past and present. He challenged the idea that racism was solely an individual failing, framing it instead as a systemic problem. His works, such as ‘The Fire Next Time’ and ‘Notes of a Native Son,’ explored the intersection of race, class and sexual identity, advocating for social justice and equal rights for all marginalised people.

Video Credit: ‘The Dick Cavett Show,’ @ABC/@PBS (X)

Sources:

1. https://www.openculture.com/2020/08/james-baldwin-talks-about-racism-in-america-civil-rights-activism-on-the-dick-cavett-show-1969.html#google_vignette

2. https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/introduction-james-baldwin

3. https://time.com/5859214/james-baldwin-racism/

L.A. FIRE BURNS HISTORIC BLACK TOWN

Wildfires do not choose their victims, yet the recent southern California blazes reveal the underlying racial disparities within a community.

High winds and lack of water supplies led to wildfires in the Los Angeles area tragically claiming the lives of at least 25 people, forcing about 180,000 residents to evacuate and reducing entire neighbourhoods to ashes. One such area, Altadena, located 22 kilometres (14 miles) northeast of Los Angeles, has a population of 42,000.

Continued……. During the 1960s Civil Rights era, Altadena was one of the few places in California where Black people could own homes. As a result, Black home ownership in Altadena surged to 81 per cent, nearly double the national average. Sadly, what’s been called the ‘Eaton fire’ destroyed about 1,400 homes in Altadena and neighbouring Pasadena.

In this video, Kahlil Greene, who calls himself the ‘Gen Z historian’ on TikTok, said residents fear the government overlooking them as it directs aid toward more affluent areas like Malibu. Many are also anxious about receiving adequate insurance payouts to help them rebuild their lives. Residents expressed their frustration, noting the absence of fire trucks in Altadena during the early morning on 8 January, leaving them feeling their community was not a priority.

Video credit: @kahlil_greene (X)

Sources:

https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/25622/chapter/4#18

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/lieutenant-willa-brown

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/l-wildfires-leave-diverse-historic-altadena-ashes-rubble-rcna187065

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/altadena-left-devastated-by-deadly-eaton-fire-everything-is-gone/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/01/14/altadena-california-fires-burned-rebuilt/77623737007/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/01/13/homes-burned-los-angeles-wildfires/77669976007/

CIA AND LUMUMBA’S ASSASSINATION

The US-backed assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the DRC and the country’s independence hero, took place 64 years ago today, on 17 January 1961. The gruesome murder was the culmination of multiple plots by the American, British and Belgian governments, which relied on paid Congolese accomplices and a Belgian execution squad to carry out the hit. Declassified CIA documents revealed the American government’s desire to assassinate Lumumba even before the country’s independence, and the director of the CIA had called him “worse than Castro.”

The straight-talking pan-Africanist stated numerous times that his interests were those of the Congolese people and described himself as a nationalist.

Continued……. He wanted full independence and full control over natural resources to improve the lives of the Congolese people - and that irked imperialists. While discussing the Congo crisis with Lord Home, Britain’s foreign secretary, US President Dwight Eisenhower said he wished “Lumumba would fall into a river full of crocodiles.”

After failed attempts to use a Georgian hitman and a poison expert to spike Lumumba’s toothpaste, the CIA pulled strings behind the scenes, exploiting the country’s political situation following independence to paint Lumumba as a ‘Commie.’

Lumumba and two of his associates were executed by firing squad. Their bodies were hacked to pieces and dissolved in sulphuric acid. Our video recalls the chilling details surrounding the assassination, one of the most significant in the 20th century.

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MORE DEATHS AS MOZAMBIQUE’S
CHAPO SWORN IN

Civil-society organisations reported at least eight deaths across Mozambique as the country's new president, Daniel Chapo, was sworn in on 15 January at a low-key ceremony in the capital, Maputo. Chapo, declared the winner of the 9 October presidential race by the country's electoral authorities, took the oath in front of a relatively small crowd of supporters and foreign dignitaries at a heavily guarded ceremony.

As the ceremony was underway in the city's iconic independence square, opposition protests over alleged vote-rigging raged in different parts of the country, including a few blocks from the venue.

The post-election violence adds to the long list of challenges that await Chapo, including a terrorist insurgence in the north and a sluggish economy.

RIGHTS GROUP ACCUSES SECRETIVE KENYAN SECURITY UNIT OF MASS KIDNAPPINGS

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has raised concerns about Kenya’s Operation Support Unit (OSU), accusing it of carrying out a wave of abductions similar to those perpetrated by the disbanded Special Service Unit (SSU), both under the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. President William Ruto had dissolved the SSU, citing its involvement in extrajudicial killings - including of around 30 people whose bodies were found in the River Yala. Now, HRW alleges the OSU - the SSU’s replacement - is perpetuating similar abuses. Since mid-2024, the group documented 86 abductions, including 26 individuals still missing, following mass protests against an IMF-backed finance bill.

Continued…….. Sources
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/report-exposes-dci-abduction-squad/ar-AA1xlAuo
https://citizen.digital/news/human-rights-watch-claims-dci-squad-osu-formed-by-ruto-behind-abductions-n356001
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/national/article/2001509758/rights-lobby-links-secret-units-within-dci-nis-to-abductions

Ruto disbands SSU
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3196303/kenya-disbands-killer-police-unit

Four Turks refouled
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgwg5n0y0lo

Besigye abducted
https://kenyainsights.com/how-besigye-was-abducted-in-nairobi-and-secretly-ferried-to-kampala-military-jail/

Maria abducted
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/tanzanian-journalist-maria-sarungi-abducted-in-kilimani-kenya/ar-BB1rjVRk

HAWAII IS NOT AMERICA!

More Native Hawaiians now live on the US mainland than on the islands themselves. In 2023, the US Census Bureau reported that 53% of them resided on the continent, compared with 47% in Hawaii. The devastating fires on Maui in August that year only aggravated the trend.

However, the displacement of indigenous people began centuries ago through European and American expansion. Before Captain James Cook landed in 1778, Hawaii was inhabited by descendants of Polynesians who’d settled there from as early as the 5th century AD.

The US-backed overthrow of Queen Lili‘uokalani - the only reigning queen and last monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom - led to the annexation of Hawaii by the United States in 1898.

There’s still a lot of Western ignorance surrounding the history of these Pacific islands. In this 1990 clip from an episode of Island Issues, activist and educator Hunani-Kay Trask (1949-2021) quickly educates a caller on America’s dark past.

Continued……. Sources:

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1018804108

https://womenshistory.si.edu/herstory/activism/object/queen-liliuokalani

https://womenshistory.si.edu/herstory/activism/object/queen-liliuokalani

SUDAN ARMED FORCES ETHNICALLY TARGETING SOUTH SUDANESE

Reports are surfacing of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) ethnically targeting South Sudanese with k*llings, torture and harassment following the SAF recapturing Wad Madani in Al Jazirah state from UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group (RSF).

South Sudanese are enraged and call for immediate accountability. The scenes depicted are not only horrific but are also a painful reminder of the systemic racism and discrimination South Sudanese communities faced in Sudan, leading to the country’s independence in 2011.

In other reports earlier this week, rights groups also accused the SAF of ethnically targeting indigenous Sudanese civilians, k*lling 13 people, including two children, in Wad Madani. SAF issued a statement on 14 January, calling these incidents ‘individual violations.’ And, in December 2024, an SAF airstrike on a Darfur market injured many civilians and k*lled over 100.