TRUMP: 'U.S. HAS AUTHORITY TO TAKE GAZA'

US President Donald Trump is known for making jaw-dropping remarks that range from threats of war to expansionist ambitions. After returning to the White House for a second term, he announced the US was interested in re-taking control of the Panama Canal, renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, annexing Canada as the 51st US state, and buying Greenland from colonial power Denmark.

On 4 February, Trump made headlines by announcing US intentions to occupy and rebuild Gaza during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. 

Continued……While Netanyahu described the idea as ‘revolutionary’ and ‘creative,’ Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq, as well as the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia) have rejected Trump’s plan, which also called for building towns to house displaced Palestinians in other countries. The Biden administration’s request for Egypt to accept Palestinian refugees had also been rebuffed, given the historic importance of the Palestinian struggle to Arabs as well as the possibility that moving Palestinians out of Gaza would violate their right to their land. The countries have insisted on a comprehensive plan for reconstruction that would ensure Palestinians' right to Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, and Egypt has announced it will host an emergency summit to discuss the proposal with Arab countries on 27 February.

Trump said his plan would create ‘a lot of jobs’ and that Gaza would come under US authority. King Abdullah emphasised that finding a solution that ‘was best for everyone’ should be the priority, and he promised to accept 2,000 Palestinian children in need of medical care.

Earlier in the week, Trump hinted that he would withhold aid to Jordan and Egypt unless they agreed to take in Palestinians from Gaza. Jordan, a US ally, already hosts more than 2 million Palestinian refugees. 

The death toll from Israel's war on Gaza has been updated to 61,000, according to the Gaza media office, with estimates potentially reaching as high as 186,000 as of July 2024, according to the Lancet medical journal.

Video credit: @cnn

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly9m7kv7lro

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-withhold-aid-jordan-egypt-reject-gaza-development/story?id=118668060

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-netanyahu-press-conference-ceasefire-hostages

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

https://truthout.org/articles/gaza-officials-update-death-toll-to-over-61000-adding-thousands-presumed-dead

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/world/middleeast/trump-gaza-egypt-jordan.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/09/egypt-announces-emergency-arab-summit-after-trumps-gaza-plan-infuriates-key-allies.html

https://reason.com/2025/01/27/trump-revives-bidens-failed-proposal-to-remove-palestinians-from-gaza

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/9/saudi-arabia-slams-netanyahus-suggestion-it-should-host-palestinian-state

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/02/09/netanyahu-says-we-ll-do-the-job-of-carrying-out-trump-s-gaza-plan_6737960_4.html

SOCIALISM IS JUSTICE FOR THE MASSES - NYERERE

Poverty represents a profound injustice, and Tanzania could not postpone justice for its citizens in pursuit of economic development. These reflections were expressed by Dr. Julius Kambarage Nyerere (1922-1999), Tanzania’s founding president, during an interview with a Norwegian journalist in 1985, the year he stepped down from the presidency. Affectionately known as ‘Mwalimu,’ which means ‘teacher’ in Swahili, Nyerere led Tanzania first as the prime minister of Tanganyika and subsequently as the president of the united republic, including Zanzibar. Nyerere’s legacy is deeply intertwined with independence movements across Africa, standing alongside notable pan-African figures such as Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.

Continued……He advocated for a socialist economic framework that prioritised the needs of the people, focusing on basics such as education rather than large-scale infrastructure projects. Critics have highlighted alleged shortcomings of Nyerere’s social and economic strategy, termed ‘Ujamaa’ (familyhood), arguing that Tanzania lacked the financial capacity to sustain a welfare system without a capitalist foundation. The 1967 Arusha Declaration, which established the principles of Ujamaa, emphasised human equality, fair compensation for labour and strong state oversight of production means to promote the welfare of all citizens. Nyerere had to deal with historical challenges stemming from British colonialism and the geopolitical minefields of the Cold War era, which impacted the implementation of Ujamaa. All told, his success at nation-building and his personal humility as a leader remain widely recognised. In contrast to autocratic leaders living in luxury at the expense of struggling citizens, Nyerere’s legacy serves as a model of servant-leadership from which contemporary leaders can draw valuable lessons. Video credit: NRK, 1985

Sources:

https://www.kas.de/en/web/tansania/laenderberichte/detail/-/content/ujamaa-past-and-present

https://africanarguments.org/2020/12/tanzania-remembering-ujamaa-the-good-the-bad-and-the-buried/

https://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/nyerere/1967/arusha-declaration.htm

RUBY BRIDGES: THE LITTLE BLACK GIRL WHO DEFIED ALL ODDS

Ruby Bridges made history on 14 November 1960 as the first Black child to enroll at William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, an all-white elementary school. Her feat came six years after the US Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling in the Brown vs Board of Education case, which declared segregation in US public schools unconstitutional. 

At just six years old, Bridges faced a daunting challenge: Daily taunts by an angry white mob shouting racial slurs. White parents also took their children out of school in protest. One protester also held a coffin showing a Black doll. Yet, Ruby remained resolute, never missing a day of school as federal marshals escorted her. Digital creator and storyteller @myjessstory breaks down the events and why this is such a pivotal moment in Black history.

Continued….. Ruby attended classes alone, guided by a teacher, Barbara Henry. However, Bridges’ parents paid a huge price when both lost their jobs, leaving us to wonder whether integration was worth the trouble.

Further, while many often speak of racial integration as a solution in the United States, it has yet to transform the system. According to a UCLA Civil Rights Project 2019 report, despite an increasingly diverse US population 65 years after the Supreme Court ruling, segregation is ‘expanding.’ Perhaps we can take a cue from psychologist Dr Amos Wilson (1941-95), who said that integration with the descendants of the ‘world’s greatest criminals and thieves,’ those who systematically work to marginalise us, is a mere ‘fantasy’ and that we would be better off building our own nation-states.

Video credit: @myjessstory (IG) 

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/may/06/ruby-bridges-the-six-year-old-who-defied-a-mob-and-desegregated-her-school

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ruby-bridges

https://www.epi.org/publication/schools-are-still-segregated-and-black-children-are-paying-a-price

https://x.com/african_stream/status/1879001913590440022

A TALE OF TWO SETTLER-COLONIALISTS

In this post, X user Nick Stankovic (@nickstankovic_) points out the irony in the United States advocating for forcing Palestinians out of Gaza while the US condemns South African policies addressing the inequitable land-distribution legacy of the apartheid era. 

Israel’s US-backed military onslaught against Palestinians in Gaza reportedly k*lled more than 186,000 as of early July 2024, according to the Lancet medical journal. Despite the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his then-Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant, the US continues to support Tel Aviv’s 76-year-old settler-colonial project to occupy Palestine. US President Donald Trump even went as far as announcing US intentions to occupy and rebuild Gaza—while displacing Palestinians—during a press conference on 4 February during Netanyahu’s White House visit.

Continued……. Ironically, the Trump administration has threatened South Africa with sanctions following a new land reform law seeking to remedy the injustice of European settler-colonialism and the apartheid era, which dispossessed Black South Africans of their indigenous lands. Over 70 per cent of privately owned farmlands are in the hands of white settlers, who comprise less than 8 per cent of South Africa’s population.

It appears the US only has an issue when people take a stand to end systemic white supremacy, while ardently defending initiatives that advance white supremacy, imperialism and colonialism.

Video credit: @nickstankovic_ (X)

Sources:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/analysis-trumps-gaza-stunner-builds-on-his-expansionist-aims/ar-AA1yr7lO

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

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/factbox-what-is-south-africa-s-land-law-that-triggered-trump-s-threats/3470475

BUJU BANTON ON THE MAROONS IN JAMAICA

Like many colonised and enslaved territories, Jamaica fronted strong resistance against imperialism. Listen to legendary Jamaican singer Buju Banton explain the role the Maroons played. 

The Maroons, enslaved Africans who escaped from Spanish and British plantations, formed independent communities in the island’s mountainous regions. Over time, they established well-organised societies, drawing on African cultural traditions for survival. Known for their staunch defiance of British rule and their resistance to slavery, they played a crucial role in the fight for liberation on the Caribbean island.

In the First Maroon War, Africans used guerrilla war tactics to defend their freedom and disrupt British plantations. Maroons’ extensive knowledge of Jamaica’s terrain challenged colonial forces, and so, after years of conflict, Britain was forced to negotiate peace treaties in 1739 and 1740.

Continued……The terms recognised Maroon autonomy and the right to own land. In return, the Maroons agreed to stop raiding plantations.

However, tensions persisted despite the treaties, leading to the Second Maroon War in 1795. The war ended in December of that year, with the Maroons agreeing to lay down their arms, return runaway enslaved Africans and be relocated to another part of the island in exchange for being spared repercussions. The British, as usual, broke the agreement.

They deported many to Nova Scotia in Canada, and later to Sierra Leone upon demand due to Canada’s hostile climate. This marked the end of large-scale Maroon resistance to British colonial rule.

Maroons hold a cherished legacy in Jamaica to this day. Communities, such as Accompong and Moore Town, still celebrate their heritage, preserving rich African cultural practices. For example, on 5-6 January each year, the Maroon festival brings together people from around the world to commemorate the signing of the 1739 treaty under Captain Cudjoe, who is considered the greatest of the Maroon leaders.

Video credit: @revolttv 

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

Continued…..Sources:


Who were the Maroons? https://discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/against-slavery/black-resistance-against-slavery/the-maroons-of-jamaica/

Fought against slavery https://discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/against-slavery/black-resistance-against-slavery/the-maroons-of-jamaica/

First Maroon war https://face2faceafrica.com/article/how-the-maroons-from-africa-battled-the-british-in-jamaica-and-won-in-the-1700s
https://discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/against-slavery/black-resistance-against-slavery/the-maroons-of-jamaica/

Second Maroon war https://jamaicatimeline.com/history/maroon-2ndwar.html

Deportation to Canada
https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20240731/what-happened-trelawny-town-maroons

British breaking the agreement
https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20240731/what-happened-trelawny-town-maroons

Petition to go to Sierra Leone
https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20240731/what-happened-trelawny-town-maroons

Legacy today.
Accompong https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/legendary-community-that-fought-for-its-freedom-in-jamaica

Moore Town https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3xW808tdJE

https://schoolhistory.co.uk/early-modern/second-maroon-war

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2018/04/07/what-triggered-the-second-maroon-war-in-1795

Captain Cudjoe
https://nlj.gov.jm/history-notes/The%20Maroons%20edited%20final.htm

Maroon Festival
https://maroonfestja.com/about-us

ROADS, RAILS & PLANES FOR AES

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have put the necessary infrastructure in place to forge greater unity in Africa’s Sahel region.

Between 14-16 January 2025, ministers from the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) member countries met in Bamako, Mali, to develop a plan of action to establish a unified road, railway and air infrastructure to support the circulation of people and goods.

Then, on 22 January, Malian President Assimi Goïta chaired a meeting to ratify the plan.

While a railway links Mali and Senegal, and another railway links Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, no railways connect Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Furthermore, neither of the aforementioned railways carries passengers between neighbouring West African countries.

The ultimate goal of the AES confederation is to unify the three countries into a single federal state, as first agreed upon by their foreign ministers on 30 November and 1 December 2023.

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

Sources:

https://primature.ml/communique-du-conseil-des-ministres-du-mercredi-22-janvier-2025-cm-n2025-04-sgg

https://wadr.org/mali-sahel-states-outline-roadmap-for-development-projects

https://apanews.net/aes-member-states-adopt-ambitious-projects-at-ministerial-council

https://www.aglgroup.com/en/solutions/rail-transport

https://www.jeuneafrique.com/1506488/economie-entreprises/comment-le-senegal-et-le-mali-veulent-faire-renaitre-le-train-dakar-bamako/?__cf_chl_tk=Lv1Xjn1Gj3uyGTLJOTHaHcwLIYJEQgYArZXJwSQCM2A-1738840467-1.0.1.1-PgIWdjhigvdWmtQk3g5ZJQoH0auRDAhIhJYQZbHipFY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjOrFD0oqUw

‘NO COLTAN, NO COBALT IN RWANDA’ - MINING EXPERT

According to an anonymous mining expert from Colorado, USA, Rwanda has no coltan, cobalt, or gold deposits.

He claimed this during a livestream hosted by Congolese digital creator Muyisa Michelline (@MuyisaMichelline on Instagram), choosing to keep his identity hidden due to the sensitive nature of his job.

Based on satellite imaging of Central Africa, the mining expert said mineral deposits are contained in geological structures akin to veins in a human body, running down the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)’s North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, then onward to Kasai and Bandundu provinces. Rwanda, to the east of the DRC, happens to be outside the path of these geological ‘veins.’

Continued……The mining expert claimed Western buyers of ‘Rwandan’ minerals know that it does not have a mineral portfolio of note, if at all. In November 2022, at a ministerial swearing-in, Rwandan President Paul Kagame acknowledged that Rwanda acts as a transit point for smuggled Congolese minerals. He remarked, ‘Some people come from Congo, whether they smuggle or go through the right channel, they bring minerals. But most of it goes through here, but does not stay here. It goes to Dubai, to Brussels, Tel Aviv.’

Rwanda reported mining revenues of $1.1 billion in 2023, a 43 per cent year-on-year increase. An eye-popping 2021 report from the US Geological Survey revealed that the US sourced 36 per cent of niobium and tantalum ores and concentrates from Rwanda, the highest share among global suppliers, while only 7 per cent came from the DRC.

A December 2024 UN experts’ report noted that after Rwanda- and Uganda-backed M23 rebels seized the Rubaya region, home to the largest coltan mines in eastern DRC, they imposed taxes generating $800,000 monthly on extracted minerals and ensured their transfer to Rwanda.

Rwanda and its international allies are key players in Congo’s nearly 30-year resource war, which cost a recorded 6 million lives by 2010 and internally displaced about 7 million as of last year, with more blood shed every day.

Video credit: @muyisamichelline / @congoamerica (IG)

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

Sources:

https://www.voanews.com/a/rwandan-mining-soars-as-minerals-certified-conflict-free/1798931.html

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-10-2024-002684_EN.html

https://www.mining.com/web/congo-rebel-gains-to-boost-illicit-mineral-trade-through-rwanda-analysts-say

https://amsterdamandpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024.04.25-AP-DRC-Blood-Minerals.pdf

https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021.pdf

https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/rwanda-mining-and-minerals

https://youtu.be/Opf0b_svQl8?t=3444

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/5/2/blood-minerals-what-are-the-hidden-costs-of-the-eu-rwanda-supply-deal

https://www.forbesafrica.com/opinion/op-ed/2023/03/29/rwandas-mining-sector-is-poised-for-even-more-growth-as-commodity-prices-continue-to-rise

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/congo-rebel-gains-boost-illicit-mineral-trade-through-rwanda-analysts-say-2025-01-28

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-rwanda-minerals-agreement-coltan-ore-mining-conflict-smuggling-rubaya-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-paul-kagame

https://www.caritas.org/2010/02/six-million-dead-in-congos-war

https://drcongo.iom.int/en/news/internal-displacement-overview-2024-published

https://docs.un.org/en/s/2024/969

https://rwandadispatch.com/rwandas-mineral-exports-rise-to-a-record-1-1-billion-in-2023

PAYPAL MAFIA’S LINKS TO APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

Elon Musk’s role in the ongoing spat between Donald Trump and South Africa has brought to the fore ties between powerful US interests and individuals linked to the apartheid-era.

The tech tycoon is on everybody’s radar, but there are several other individuals in US business and political circles whose rise to the top can be traced to the privileges that the apartheid system gave to White people at the expense of indigenous Black South Africans.

In this interview, journalist and former South Africa correspondent for The Guardian newspaper Chris McGreal explains how men with links to apartheid South Africa created the payment platform PayPal.