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Thread: Keeping an eye on Africa

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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    Hmm, the media throw out this NASA map saying: see, Africa is burning, too and much worse! That‘s just ridiculous, imo.

    First one has to know how to read and interprete such a map and this needs quite some effort, I see. Then one has to educate oneself about the geography, the landscapes, vegetation, history, the population of the African countries (Angola, Zambia, DRC) to be able to interpret the map. It might occur that those fires have entirely different causes and consequences than those in the Amazon rainforest and cannot be compared at all. Maybe, maybe not.

    Bolsonaro and the European leaders, they have the exact same goal - to draw as much profit as possible through the ruthless exploitation of earth, they just fight over their position of power.

    This smells heavily from the manipulation of the viewers minds. It’s interesting to play with the map and to read up. Good ressource. Let‘s just not jump to the first apparent and obviously suggested conclusions provided by the media (MSM and alternative alike). Things might turn out to be quite different.

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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    West Africa: Flood death toll rises in Niger, homes destroyed in Nigeria, hundreds displaced in Chad

    Floodlist
    Wed, 11 Sep 2019 11:35 UTC


    Flooding in Borno state, Nigeria, affected displacement camps, August 2019. © Norwegian Refugee Council

    Further flooding has been reported in parts of Nigeria, adding to the long list of flood events that have affected countries in west and north west Africa over the last few weeks.

    Meanwhile the death toll from flooding in Niger has increased, while the International Organization for Migration (IOM) report that flooding in Chad has displaced hundreds of families.

    Other countries of the region have also seen major flooding over the last few weeks, including in Mali and Mauritania, along with Central African Republic and further north, Algeria and Morocco.

    Nigeria
    The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reported on 09 September, 2019, that over 600 homes have been destroyed by flooding in Ngala local government area of Borno State, north-eastern Nigeria.

    UNOCHA said heavy rains have inundated two camps and a village, affecting around 3,450 people.

    More than 600 houses, including emergency shelters, toilets and other water and hygiene facilities as well as food and household items have been destroyed. Humanitarian organizations are mobilizing assistance and are also working to prevent further damage as heavy rains and flash floods are expected to continue in September, according to forecasters.

    Flooding affected wide areas of north-eastern Nigeria in August this year. UNOCHA reported that at least 10 people have died and thousands displaced in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

    Niger
    Meanwhile the number of flood related fatalities in Niger has increased from the 42 reported a few days ago.

    In a statement of 10 September, government authorities said that that the ongoing floods have now resulted in 57 deaths and affected 132,528 people. Over 12,000 homes have been destroyed and widespread damage caused to crops and livestock.

    Flooding has affected some areas of Niger since June to July, but has worsened over the last week, with many of those affected in Maradi, Zinder and Agadez, as well as Dosso and the capital Niamey.

    Chad
    The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on 11 September that over 400 families were displaced by flooding in the Sila Region in south east Chad in mid August this year.

    The floods struck on 15 August in the village of Harata (located in the department of Kimiti, sub-prefecture of Kerfi) and its surroundings. IOM said that 423 households moved to the villages of Goulamaye, Aboundouroua, Sessabane, Badia, Andressa and Sadal Ali, all located in the same sub-prefecture.
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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    There is currently a Russia Africa forum underway in Sochi:

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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    Here is another article on the Russia-Africa meeting; this one focuses on Mauritius.

    Quote President of Mauritius Keen to Discuss Bilateral Ties With Putin at Russia-Africa Forum

    AFRICA
    17:13 22.10.2019 (updated 17:14 22.10.2019)

    SOCHI (Sputnik) - The inaugural Russia-Africa summit and business forum, co-chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah Sisi, is scheduled for 23-24 October in Russia's Sochi. There will be 54 African nations taking part in the Summit, with 43 of them represented by their heads of state or governments.

    President Paramasivum P. Vyapoory, the acting leader of Mauritius, has said that he was expecting to discuss bilateral ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin at their tete-a-tete meeting scheduled during the upcoming Russia-Africa forum in the Russian city of Sochi.

    Quote "Let me start by first commending the decision by President Putin to come up with such a great idea to have this very first Russia-Africa summit here in Sochi. I would like, of course, to have the opportunity to meet President Putin and, in fact, there is a tete-a-tete, a one-to-one meeting, which is on the programme, when I will be meeting him to discuss global issues of mutual interest to Russia and Africa and more particularly between Russia and Mauritius", President Vyapoory said.
    He has added that Russia and Africa enjoyed a good relationship over the past decades, with $20 billion in trade in 2018 alone.

    Quote "We expect now, with this Russia-Africa summit, that trade and other bilateral and multilateral relations will be further strengthened and developed … As regards Mauritius, in particular, there is great potential for development in a number of sectors, such as health, education, and fishing among others", he further stated.
    Mauritius Remains Open to Russia's Lukoil and Rosneft Joining Port Louis Development Project

    The Mauritian President went on to say that his country aims to attract the interest of Russian petroleum companies, such as Lukoil, Rosneft, and Tatneft, in fuel operations at the Port Louis Harbour.

    Quote "In line with government vision to enhance economic cooperation with the Russian Federation, the Mauritius port authority is putting in place a strategy aimed at attracting leading Russian petroleum companies, including Gazprom, Lukoil, Rosneft and Tatneft to expand their range of bunkering activities at Port Louis harbour. There is work for your [companies] there. We need scientific and technical assistance to undertake the offshore exploration of non-living resources, that includes minerals, and to make an economic evaluation of the mineral resource potential within this exclusive economic zone of ours. We would, therefore, welcome Russia as a trusted partner in this endeavour", Vyapoory said.
    Mauritius Asks Russia’s Aeroflot to Organise Direct Flight to Island

    Paramasivum P. Vyapoory continued by saying that he had asked Aeroflot to set up a direct flight to the island and expected the decision "in due time".

    Quote "Mauritius has made an official request for direct flights between Mauritius and Russia to boost trade and tourism. This is in line with Russia's drive to develop its partnership with Africa, using Mauritius as a gateway to Africa. It is essential to have this air connectivity for a sustained economic partnership. We want Aeroflot, a flagship company of Russia, to consider having direct flights between Mauritius and Russia as soon as possible. We believe that the decision will be made in due time", the acting president said.
    According to him, the flight could also proceed to South Africa and other attractive African countries of the Southern African Development Community.

    "There is a great potential for increasing tourist flow from Russia to Mauritius and Africa", Vyapoory added.

    Mauritius "Looks Forward" to Signing FTA With EEU ‘in Near Future’

    The island nation's leader further elaborated that his country is ready to reach a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union.

    Quote "We are looking forward to the signing of the free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union in the near future. We believe that this will bolster trade with the countries of the Eurasian Union, including Russia", the President said, adding that Mauritius signed a free trade agreement with China several days ago.
    President of Mauritius Expresses His Gratitude to Russia for Support in UN vote on the Chagos Archipelago

    Quote "I would like to use this opportunity here to reiterate our thanks to the government of Russia for its support for our efforts to exercise our sovereignty on our entire territory, which includes the Chagos archipelago; Russia voted in our favor when the case was taken up at the United Nations last May", the President said.
    Vyapoory has added that Mauritius needs other countries, including the Russian Federation, to support the island nation by formally opposing any stand taken by the UK at any relevant multilateral or bilateral meeting.

    Mauritius’ Students Are Excited to Receive Russian Higher Education

    Quote "In the past, cooperation in the sector of education was very important, many young Mauritians have benefited from scholarships offered by the former Soviet Union. Nowadays there is a renewed interest by Mauritian students in some prestigious Russian universities", Paramasivum P. Vyapoory said.
    According to him, Mauritius hopes to conclude an agreement between the University of Mauritius and Lomonosov State University and Pushchino State Institute of Natural Sciences. The President has also supported the idea of launching a student exchange programme which would contribute to sharing relevant experience and technology between the nations.
    From: https://sputniknews.com/africa/20191...-africa-forum/
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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    Update from the Russia-Africa forum:

    Quote Over 500 agreements worth $12 billion inked at Russia-Africa forum
    24 Oct, 2019 14:06
    RT


    Ilya Pitalev / Sputnik

    The first ever Russia-Africa economic forum, which kicked off on Wednesday, has resulted in hundreds of deals and agreements, Russian Presidential Adviser Anton Kobyakov said.

    According to him, more than 35 official events and 1,500 meetings took place in Sochi, the resort city where the summit was held.

    “The total amount of agreements sealed as of this moment was more than eight hundred billion rubles ($12 billion),” Kobyakov said, adding that the meetings are continuing.


    Ramil Sitdikov / Sputnik
    The Russia-Africa Economic Forum brought more than 50 African leaders to Sochi. Eight major African integration associations and organizations also took part in the event.
    From: https://www.rt.com/business/471740-r...mpression=true
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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    A new release from Wikileaks with files concerning corruption in accessing fishing rights for Namibia.



    ~~~

    Namibia is a beautiful desert country (I was lucky enough to visit Swakopmund). It has some mineral resources and an Atlantic coastline:

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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    Quote Posted by Cara (here)
    Namibia is a beautiful desert country (I was lucky enough to visit Swakopmund). It has some mineral resources and an Atlantic coastline:
    Thanks! I've always wanted to visit Namibia. It's an absolutely gorgeous country. Take a look at this.
















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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    Some developments in Russian-Madagascan relations: an investment agreement is in the works.

    Quote Madagascar, Russia Could Sign Investment Guarantee Agreement - Ambassador

    MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Antananarivo and Moscow could sign an investment guarantee agreement before the end of the year, Eloi Maxime Alphonse Dovo, the Malagasy ambassador to Russia, told Sputnik in an interview.

    "We will soon sign an investment guarantee deal… Yes, maybe after these meetings [during the St. Petersburg Economic Forum], several documents and treaties are being prepared at the moment. Now we have mutual trust," the diplomat said answering a question if the accord could be singed in 2018.

    Cooperation with Russian companies and the use of Russian technologies could allow Madagascar to become a grain hub for the African continent, Eloi Maxime Alphonse Dovo said.

    "If we start working with Russian companies and start using Russian technologies… we can become a hub for everyone," the diplomat said answering a question about the prospects of becoming a grain hub.

    According to the ambassador, there are over 44 million acres of land in Madagascar which is not used at the moment, but could be used by foreign entrepreneurs. The ambassador recalled that some 75 percent of the island nation's population is engaged in the agricultural sector.

    "It would be too bad if Russian companies do not have an opportunity to work in Madagascar, because, as you know, oil and gas reserves have been found at the Mozambique Channel and these reserves are bigger than the ones in the North Sea. We want all our partners, including Russians, to partake in oil production," the diplomat said.

    The ambassador, who is the dean of the African diplomatic corps in Russia, said that a number of western companies such as French Total and US Exxon Mobil had already participated in oil and gas projects in the African state.

    Diplomatic relations between Moscow and Antananarivo were established in 1972. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the two states have contacts in the sphere of diplomacy, culture, and education.

    In 2015, the ministry said that after talks between the foreign ministers of the two states, Russia and Madagascar reaffirmed their intention to cooperate in the sectors of tourism, banking, and geological exploration among other issues.
    From: https://sputniknews.com/world/201805...a-investments/
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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    Those Namibia pics are amazing. Namibia Avalon meet up would be amazing!

    Not to sound all hippyish but pressing my palm against a baobab tree is in the bucket list.
    Today is victory over yourself of yesterday. Tomorrow is your victory over lesser men.

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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    I had never heard of humans whistling as a language. Hope you all enjoy history that may soon be lost. Hope not.

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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    To all the women in the world . . .

    Why Straight Women Are Marrying Each Other

    In the Mara region of northern Tanzania, Abigail Haworth discovers an empowering tribal tradition undergoing a modern revival.



    In Musoma region in Tanzania, a woman who has wealth (=cattle) but no husband or son who can look after her as she grows old, can take one or several young women as wives. Such a family is called "nyumba ntobhu". These women will have lovers and give birth to sons, who will not belong to the biological father but to the woman who paid the cattle to their fathers weeding.

    This film is part of a series of six documentaries produced by young women around Lake Victoria in East Africa in 2004.

    Swahili language with English subtitles.





    https://netzfrauen.org/2019/12/24/ta...-2/#more-67568


    Scroll down for full article in English.
    Last edited by Iloveyou; 26th December 2019 at 15:07.

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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    xxxxx
    FITBITS . . .


    FITNESS TRACKER DATA HIGHLIGHTS
    SPRAWLING U.S. MILITARY FOOTPRINT IN AFRICA


    Out in the cocoa-colored wastes of north-central Niger, people have been running around in circles. Exactly who has been jogging or walking around this compound outside the town of Arlit is unclear. But there’s a good chance it has something to do with U.S. Africa Command’s “Analysis Office” there, the existence of which was disclosed in 2016 contracting documents.

    Not far away, people have been running round and round in a compound near the airfield in Agadez, Niger, where the U.S. military is building a $100 million drone base. There has also been a significant amount of movement going on around the airport in Gao, Mali, where the U.S. military established an outpost in the early 2010s. And Garoua, Cameroon, the site of a U.S. drone base, is also aglow with the digital evidence of many past runs, according to an online interactive map that shows the routes of people who use fitness devices, such as Fitbit.



    Strava Global Heat Map

    https://www.strava.com/heatmap#7.00/....36000/hot/all


    While Strava’s Global Heat Map was posted online last year, it only attained widespread notoriety over the weekend [January 2018], when it was publicized on Twitter by Nathan Ruser, a 20-year-old Australian student studying international security. This has led to disclosures of the supposed locations of numerous low-profile U.S. military outposts, forward operating sites, and bases. It has raised fears about how such information might be linked to individual troops and imperil U.S. forces, while shining a light on the poor operational security habits of many U.S. military personnel based overseas.

    https://theintercept.com/2018/01/29/...se/?comments=1



    . . . AND LILY PADS





    The US Military Expansion in Africa, One “Lily Pad” at a Time

    Using the “lily pad” strategy of “temporary” troop deployments, the US now has an “imperial-scale” military presence in Africa. With troops in more than 15 countries the US expansion has become self-justifying. The US must now stay in Africa to protect the interests of the US military there.


    April 14, 2018 Eric Schewe JSTOR DAILY

    https://portside.org/2018-04-14/us-m...-lily-pad-time

    __________________________________________________


    The Lily-Pad Strategy


    The U.S. military is garrisoning the planet through ever smaller, remote, and secretive bases called ‘lily pads’, according to David Vine in this TomDispatch article. Projecting power is no longer a simple matter of building huge bases–it is about scattering and infiltrating American presence “everywhere”.

    Unknown to most Americans, Washington’s garrisoning of the planet is on the rise, thanks to a new generation of bases the military calls “lily pads” (as in a frog jumping across a pond toward its prey). These are small, secretive, inaccessible facilities with limited numbers of troops, spartan amenities, and prepositioned weaponry and supplies.

    Around the world, from Djibouti to the jungles of Honduras, the deserts of Mauritania to Australia’s tiny Cocos Islands, the Pentagon has been pursuing as many lily pads as it can, in as many countries as it can, as fast as it can. Although statistics are hard to assemble, given the often-secretive nature of such bases, the Pentagon has probably built upwards of 50 lily pads and other small bases since around 2000, while exploring the construction of dozens more.

    Africa, in particular, has seen a rapid increase in bases.

    In Africa, the Pentagon has quietly created“about a dozen air bases” for drones and surveillance since 2007. In addition to Camp Lemonnier, we know that the military has created or will soon create installations in Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritania, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, South Sudan, and Uganda. The Pentagon has also investigated building bases in Algeria, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria, among other places.

    Next year, a brigade-sized force of 3,000 troops, and “likely more,” will arrive for exercises and training missions across the continent
    The rest of the article details the geographic reach of bases across the globe, as they form part of American hegemony in an evolving multi-polar world.

    The possibility of “blowback” associated with these drones is likely, as other countries adopt the strategies pioneered by the U.S. In addition:

    First, the “lily pad” language can be misleading, since by design or otherwise, such installations are capable of quickly growing into bloated behemoths.

    Second, despite the rhetoric about spreading democracy that still lingers in Washington, building more lily pads actually guarantees collaboration with an increasing number of despotic, corrupt, and murderous regimes.

    Third, there is a well-documented pattern of damage that military facilities of various sizes inflict on local communities. Although lily pads seem to promise insulation from local opposition, over time even small bases have often led to anger and protest movements.

    Finally, a proliferation of lily pads means the creeping militarization of large swaths of the globe. Like real lily pads — which are actually aquatic weeds — bases have a way of growing and reproducing uncontrollably. Indeed, bases tend to beget bases, creating “base races” with other nations, heightening military tensions, and discouraging diplomatic solutions to conflicts. After all, how would the United States respond if China, Russia, or Iran were to build even a single lily-pad base of its own in Mexico or the Caribbean?

    David Vine on https://understandingempire.wordpres...-pad-strategy/and tomdispatch.com




    A “cooperative security location” in Ouagadougou reflects a new generation of small, clandestine “lily pad” bases appearing in countries with little previous U.S. military presence. At least 11 such bases in Africa host special operations forces, drones and surveillance flights.

    Map: © David Vine

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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    Nick Turse on “America's Secret War in Africa"

    October 24, 2019





    Despite or (some analysts would say) because of the long running US military efforts in the region military groups in the Sahel have grown more active, their attacks are more frequent and violent episodes that are linked to groups as Al Kaida or ISIS in the Greater Sahara increased from 192 in 2017 to 464 last year.

    At the same time fatalities linked to these groups more than doubled from 529 to 1112.

    The increase of violent events across the continent since AFRICOM began its operations - the number of violent events was something that AFRICOM was supposed to help control - went from 288 in 2009 to 3050 in 2018, that’s an increase of 960 % over the course of a decade!


    From the Q+A section (32:50)

    How are these operations named?

    Nick Turse: One time they were chosen by actual humans, but now I’m told there’s a [classified computer] system called NICKA, an acronym, can’t remember what it stands for . . . it pairs up various names in a system . . . it pairs them together. I’ve been told that sometimes it comes up with things so outlandish, so nefarious, they reject those names. Sometimes there’s an unfortunate acronym . . . like Operation Iraqui Liberation (OIL)

    Last edited by Iloveyou; 28th December 2019 at 09:58.

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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    African Footsteps: Miriam Makeba

    South African singer, Miriam Makeba, returns to her country of exile.
    Guinea in West Africa. A journey full of nostalgia and sadness.



    Source: Watch on Vimeo


    Miriam Makeba ! Meet me at the river !


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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa



    Some additional info on Namibia

    Namibia: the story of a German colony

    (Available from 06/01/2020 to 05/04/2020, German, English subtitles)

    https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/081667...errenmenschen/

    German’s colonialism of Namibia was short but bloody, leaving deep scars in Namibian society. A look at the little known tale of Germany’s empire in southern Africa, a story of dispossession, repression and genocide.

    Can anyone else see the analogy between what the European Empires have done to the African Continent and what a possible invisible Superpower actually probably does to Planet Earth?

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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    Quote Posted by Iloveyou (here)
    Can anyone else see the analogy between what the European Empires have done to the African Continent and what a possible invisible Superpower actually probably does to Planet Earth?
    I absolutely can. It's a VERY VERY astute point.

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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    Quote Posted by Iloveyou (here)


    Some additional info on Namibia

    Namibia: the story of a German colony


    (Available from 06/01/2020 to 05/04/2020, German, English subtitles)

    https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/081667...errenmenschen/

    German’s colonialism of Namibia was short but bloody, leaving deep scars in Namibian society. A look at the little known tale of Germany’s empire in southern Africa, a story of dispossession, repression and genocide.

    Can anyone else see the analogy between what the European Empires have done to the African Continent and what a possible invisible Superpower actually probably does to Planet Earth?
    Thanks so much for starting this thread, Iloveyou. I have a sense our belief systems are being manipulated and I am unsure of where it is all coming from -- but it feels like there is an invisible hand there, working within pre existing structures of belief. And Europeans, being unfamiliar with imperialism being done TO them, may be specifically targeted. A big, 'maybe', in my mind, but seems real.

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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    Good by to glyphosate in Togo. Well done.

    A million galaxies are a little foam on that shoreless sea. ~ Rumi

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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa

    China - another big player in Africa





    I may not easily and entirely be ready to follow Peter Koenig‘s stance in this
    case, though it’s an interesting viewpoint and well worth to consider, I think.

    Can China be trusted ?


    China’s and Russia’s policy may save the world from extinction

    By Peter Koenig

    The west has colonized, exploited, ravaged and assassinated the people of the Global South for hundreds of years. Up to the mid-20th Century Europe has occupied Africa, and large parts of Asia.

    In Latin America, though much of the sub-Continent was “freed” from Spain and Portugal in the 19th Century – a new kind of colonization followed by the new Empire of the United States – under the so-called Monroe Doctrine, named after President James Monroe (1817 -1825), forbidding Europeans to interfere in any “American territory”. Latin America was then and is again today considered Washington’s Backyard.

    In the last ten years or so, Washington has launched the Monreo Doctrine 2.0. This time expanding the interference policy beyond Europe – to the world. Democratic sovereign governments in Latin America that could choose freely their political and economic alliances in the world are not tolerated. China, entering into partnership agreements with Latin American countries, sought after vividly by the latter – is condemned by the US and the west, especially vassalic Europe.

    Therefore, democratically elected center-left governments had to be “regime-changed’ – Honduras, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Paraguay. So far, they stumbled over Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua – and maybe Mexico.

    Venezuela and Cuba are being economically strangled to exhaustion. But they are standing tall as pillars in defending the Latin American Continent – with economic assistance and military advice from China and Russia. Latin America is waking up – and so is Africa.

    In Latin America, street protests against the US / IMF imposed debt trap and de consequential austerity programs, making the rich richer and the poor poorer, are raging in Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina and even in Brazil. In Argentina, in a democratic election this past weekend, 27 October, the people deposed neoliberal President Macri. He was put in the Presidency via “tricked” elections by Washington in 2015. Macri ruined the prosperous country in his 4 year-reign. He privatized public services and infrastructure, education, health, transportation – and more, leading to hefty tariff increases, worker layoffs, unemployment and poverty. Poverty, at about 15% in 2015, when Macri took office, soared to over 40% in October 2019.

    In 2018 Macri contracted the largest ever IMF loan of US$ 57.2 billion – a debt trap, if there was ever one. The new, just elected Fernandez-Fernandez center-left Government will have to devise programs to counter the impact of this massive debt.
    All over in Latin America, people have had enough of the US / western imposed austerity and simultaneous exploitation of their natural resources. They want change – big style. They seek to detach from the economic and financial stranglehold of the west. They are looking for China and Russia as new partners in trade and in financial contracts.

    The same in Africa – neocolonialism by the west, mostly France and the UK, through financial oppression, unfair trading deals and wester imposed – and militarily protected – despotic and corrupt leaders, has kept Africa poor and desolate after more than 50 years of so-called Independence. Africa is arguably still the Continent with the most natural resources the west covets and needs to preserve its luxury life style and continuous armament.

    People, who do not conform, especially younger politicians and economists, who protest and speak out, because they see clearly through the western imposed economic crimes committed on a daily basis, are simply assassinated or otherwise silenced.
    Here too, Africans are quietly seeking to move out of the claws of the west, seeking new relations with China and Russia. The recent Russian-African summit in Sochi was a vivid example.

    China is invited to build infrastructure, fast trains, roads, ports and industrial parks – and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is more than welcomed in Africa, as it projects common and equal development for all to benefit. BRI is the epitome for building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind. China also offers a gradual release from the US / western dominated dollar-debt claws. Freeing a country from the dollar-based economy, is freeing it from the vulnerability of US / western imposed sanctions. This is an enormous relief that literally every country of the Global South – and possibly even Europe – is hoping for.
    However, as could be expected, the west, led by the US of A, is pouncing China for engaging in “debt trap diplomacy”. Exactly the contrary of what is actually happening.

    The truth is, though, countries throughout the world, be it in Africa, Asia, South Pacific and Latin America, are choosing to partner with China by their free will. According to a statement by a high-level African politician “China does not force or coerce us into a deal, we are free to choose and negotiate a win-win situation.” – That says it all.

    The difference between the west and east is stark. While anybody and any country that does not agree with the US dictate and doctrine, risks being regime-changed or bombed, China does not impose her new Silk Road – the BRI – to any country. China invites, respecting national sovereignty. Who wants to join is welcome to do so. That applies as much to the Global South, as it does to Europe.

    China’s President Xi Jinping launched the BRI in 2013. In 2014 Mr. Xi visited Madame Merkel in Germany, offering her to be at that time the western-most link to the BRI. Ms. Merkel under the spell of Washington, declined. President Xi returned and China continued working quietly on this fabulous worldwide economic development project – BRI – THE economic venture of the 21st Century, so massive that it was incorporated in 2017 into the Chinese Constitution.

    It took the west however 6 years to acknowledge this new version of the more than 2000-year-old Silk Road. Only in 2019, the western mainstream media started reporting on the BRI – and always negatively, of course. The preaching was and still is – beware of the Chinese Dragon, they will dominate you and everything you own with their socialism.

    This train of thought is typically western. Aggression seems to be in the genes of western societies, of western culture, as the hundreds of years of violent and despotic colonization and exploitation – and ongoing – are proving. Does it have to do with western monotheistic doctrines? – This is pure speculation, of course.

    Again, the truth is multi-fold. – First, China does not have a history of invasion. China seeks a peaceful and egalitarian development of trade, science and foremost human wellbeing – a Tao tradition of non-aggression. Second, despite the “warnings” from the throne of the falling empire, about a hundred countries have already subscribed to participate in BRI – and that voluntarily. And third, China and Russia and along with them the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are in a solid economic and defense alliance which encompasses close to half of the world population and about one third of the globes total economic output.

    Hence, SCO members are – or may be, if they so choose – largely detached from the dollar hegemony. The western privately run and Wall Street controlled monetary transfer system, SWIFT, is no longer needed by SCO countries. They deal in local currencies and / or through the Chinese Interbank Payment System (CIPS).

    It is no secret, that the empire, headquartered in Washington, is gradually decaying, economically as well as militarily. It’s just a matter of time. How much time, is difficult to guess. But Washington’s everyday behavior of dishing out sanctions left and right, disrupting international monetary transactions, confiscating and stealing other countries assets around the world, puts ever more nails in the Empire’s coffin. By doing this, America is herself committing economic and monetary suicide. Who wants to belong to a monetary system that can act willy-nilly to a county’s detriment? There is no need for outside help for this US-sponsored pyramid fiat monetary system to fall. It’s a house of cards that is already crumbling by its own weight.

    The US dollar was some 20-25 years ago still to the tune of 90% the domineering reserve currency in the world. Today that proportion has declined to less than 60% – and falling. It is being replaced primarily by the Chinese yuan as the new reserve currency.

    This is what the US-initiated trade war is all about – discrediting the yuan, a solid currency, based on China’s economy – and on gold. “Sanctioning” the Chinese economy with US tariffs, is supposed to hurt the yuan, to reduce its competition with the dollar as a world reserve currency. To no avail. The yuan is a worldwide recognized solid currency, the currency of the second largest economy. By some standards, like accounted by PPP (Purchasing Power Parity), the most important socioeconomic indicator for mankind, China is since 2017 the world’s number one economy.

    This, and other constant attacks by Washington, is a typical desperate gesture of a dying beast – thrashing wildly left and right and above and below around itself to bring down into its grave as many perceived adversaries as possible. There is of course a clear danger that this fight for the empire’s survival might end nuclear – god forbid!

    China’s and Russia’s policy, philosophy and diplomacy of non-aggression may save the world from extinction – including the people of the United States of America.





    Peter Koenig is an economist and geopolitical analyst. He is also a former World Bank staff and worked extensively around the world in the fields of environment and water resources. He lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for Global Research, ICH, RT, Sputnik, PressTV, The 21st Century (China), TeleSUR, The Vineyard of The Saker Blog, and other internet sites. He is the author of Implosion - An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed – fiction based on facts and on 30 years of World Bank experience around the globe. He is also a co-author of The World Order and Revolution! – Essays from the Resistance.

    Peter Koenig Archive on globalresearch

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    Default Re: Keeping an eye on Africa



    „Dear Friends:

    This wonderful and inspiring short speech by the great Zulu shaman, author, historian and philosopher Credo Mutwa is the most heartfelt and passionate appeal for Africa you will ever hear. It was recorded while David Icke and I were visiting him at his South African home last month to record his life's story. (Please read previous posts below for more...)
    Here's the story of how this remarkable clip was captured. I had just that minute switched on the microphone, and had asked Credo to say a word or two as a routine audio test. I thought he might say "1-2-3", or "Hello, hello".
    What he said instead was worthy of an appeal to the United Nations by one of the great statesmen of the world. It was quite unplanned, and I was more than fortunate to be able to record it all.
    This moving speech is MUST WATCH essential viewing for anyone who knows Credo Mutwa's life and work, and for anyone who cares about the fate of Africa.

    Bill Ryan 04/09/2010“





    David Icke‘s interview with Credo Mutwa, 1999/2014 (06:32:40)
    https://newsvideo.su/video/4626684
    Last edited by Iloveyou; 5th February 2020 at 15:23.

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