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Since the 1990s, no government has been able to control the whole of Somalia’s territory. Lurid news reports about piracy and terrorism obsc
A fairly good synopsis of U.S. interference and exploitation in Somalia, which has had horrific consequences.
How the CIA Cultivates a Fake Left: From the Cultural Cold War to Intersectional Imperialism
Published: May 11, 2021
Ben Norton was invited to give this talk about the fake left and imperialism. He discusses how the CIA's "woke" recruitment ad is not new; it is rooted in an "intersectional imperialist" history going back to the first cold war, in which the CIA poured money into cultivating anti-communist, pro-imperialist progressive groups, using fronts like the Congress for Cultural Freedom and billionaire-funded foundations like Ford and Rockefeller.
Ben goes through the book "The Cultural Cold War," and talks about supposed "leftist" CIA assets like feminist leader Gloria Steinem and Trotskyite civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, then analyzes examples of astroturfed, Nonprofit Industrial Complex-backed pseudo-left campaigns in the US, Western Europe, and Latin America.
The ruling comes a month after Brazil’s top court ordered the former president to wear an ankle monitor, submit to a curfew and abide by lim
...and abide by limitations on his activity as legal proceedings investigating an alleged coup plot continue. Brazil’s Supreme Court issued a house arrest order on Monday for former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly masterminding a coup plot following his defeat to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the 2022 general elections. Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who has been leading investigations into Bolsonaro’s alleged misconduct before the top court said the 70-year-old former president had violated precautionary measures imposed on him by spreading content through his three lawmaker sons. Bolsonaro’s legal team said in a statement that they will appeal the decision. His attorneys stressed that his words “good afternoon, Copacabana, good afternoon my Brazil, a hug to everyone, this is for our freedom”, broadcast from the cell phone of one of his children during a protest in Rio de Janeiro “cannot be regarded as ignoring precautionary measures or as a criminal act.” “The flagrant disrespect to the precautionary measures was so obvious that the defendant's son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, decided to remove the posting in his Instagram profile, with the objective of hiding the legal transgression,” wrote de Moraes.
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It is disconcerting that the United States government is surveying Dutch universities about whether their research has to do with climate ch
It is disconcerting that the United States government is surveying Dutch universities about whether their research has to do with climate change, gender studies, or has ties with communist parties. Minister Eppo Bruins of Education said this in a letter to parliament before the PVV pulled out of the coalition and left the state of the Dutch government uncertain, De Telegraaf reports. Since taking office, American president Donald Trump has cut the funding of universities and research institutions and published a list of research topics that will not be funded, including studies into things like climate change and transgender health. His policy has had many international consequences and also affects Dutch scientists, who lost funding, suddenly couldn’t collaborate with American colleagues anymore, or lost access to data stored in the United States. Researchers at Wageningen University who collaborated with the American Geological Survey, which uses satellites to monitor the condition of forests, received a survey with 36 questions on it, including: “Does your organization work with groups affiliated with communist, socialist, or totalitarian parties? Can you confirm that this is not a climate or environmental law project? Does this research project take appropriate measures to protect and defend women against gender ideology?” Bruins confirmed that several Dutch universities and universities in other countries received the survey from the American government. The Dutch universities advised employees not to answer the question.
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Even as weather extremes worsen, the voices calling for the rolling back of environmental rules have grown louder and more influential
....“We’re moving toward self-destruction of the planet,” said Navarro, adding that at the age of 60 she had witnessed the effects of climate change first-hand. “It’s not something ‘they’ told me, it’s something I’ve seen. How can anybody say this is an invention?” The answer, particularly in the US, is with breathtaking ease. The president, Donald Trump, has ramped up his attacks on climate policy in recent weeks – quitting the Paris agreement again and repealing a finding that underpins pollution controls – while going global with his “drill, baby, drill” policy. Chris Wright, the US energy secretary and former fracking executive, has pressured Europe to roll back methane standards and sustainability rules that could threaten American exports of liquefied natural gas. On Wednesday, he urged spreadsheet-wranglers at the International Energy Agency to “drop the climate” from its models. Even in Europe, where polls show citizens overwhelmingly accept climate science and support stopping planet-heating pollution, a quiet but deadly form of denial has emerged. Far-right parties have gained ground across the continent, even as they make fighting climate policy – aided by the Heartland Institute, a US thinktank funded by fossil fuels – their second priority after immigration. Centrist leaders, alarmed by their success and anxious to placate polluting industries, are rolling back green rules with a vigour that has surprised even some lobbyists. This month, ahead of a meeting in Antwerp between the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and business leaders, the EU’s carbon price – the cornerstone of its pollution-cutting efforts – found itself in the crosshairs of the powerful chemical industry...
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Trump endorsed the nominee of the right-wing party, while pledging to pardon its most recent president, who sits in U.S. federal prison for
Days before Hondurans elect their next president this Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump’s unprecedented and overt endorsement of the right-wing candidate has injected a jolt of foreign intervention into an already competitive and polarized race. In a social media post Wednesday to his Truth Social site, Trump expressed his support for Nasry “Tito” Asfura of the conservative National Party, while simultaneously taking the opportunity to sharply criticize the other two leading candidates. The boost to Asfura could paradoxically benefit the left-wing candidate, as it may undermine the closest challenger by further splitting votes. Trump doubled down on his endorsement of Asfura on Friday, suggesting he would withhold U.S. cooperation and aid with Honduras if he did not win and furthermore committed to pardoning former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who sits in federal prison for narcotrafficking. Trump’s pardon of a major narcotrafficker comes as he threatens war with Venezuela and wages a campaign of extrajudicial killing of boats he claims are associated with drug trafficking. Trump’s message mirrors his strategy ahead of Argentina’s legislative elections in October where he offered a 20 billion dollar bailout to the country only if President Javier Milei’s party performed well.
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Ariel Henry agrees to resign after Caribbean leaders held talks in Jamaica.
Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry has agreed to resign following weeks of mounting pressure and increasing violence in the impoverished country.
It comes after regional leaders met in Jamaica on Monday to discuss a political transition in Haiti.
Mr Henry is currently stranded in Puerto Rico after being prevented by armed gangs from returning home.
In a video address announcing his resignation, Mr Henry urged Haitians to remain calm.
"The government that I am leading will resign immediately after the installation of [a transition] council," Mr Henry said.
"I want to thank the Haitian people for the opportunity I had been granted. I'm asking all Haitians to remain calm and do everything they can for peace and stability to come back as fast as possible."
Mr Henry, who had led the country supposedly on an interim basis since July 2021 following former President Jovenel Moïse's assassination, had repeatedly postponed elections, saying security must be restored first.
Many Haitians had questioned him governing the country for this long without an elected president.
Heavily armed gangs have tightened their grip on the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince, and attacked the main prison to help thousands of inmates escape.
They also demanded the resignation of the unelected prime minister.
The capital Port-au-Prince and the surrounding region is under a month-long state of emergency, while a curfew has been extended.
Matthias Pierre, a former elections minister in Haiti, broke the news of Mr Henry's resignation to the BBC's Newsday programme before it was confirmed publicly.
He described the current situation in the country as "very precarious".
"The police force is weak, and more than 40 police stations [are] destroyed. The army is very limited and not equipped; gang members occupy most of the [Port-au-Prince] downtown and some government headquarters.
"Very soon people will be out of food, medication and... medical support."
Mr Pierre said the gangs were now pushing to be part of any new power-sharing deal, adding that such a political settlement was impossible without the "support" of an international armed force.How gangs came to dominate HaitiWhere aid delivery depends on talking to 300 gangsHaiti spirals to collapse as gangs tighten grip
Mr Henry had been in Kenya to sign a deal on the deployment of an international security force to help tackle violence when a coalition of gangs attacked police stations and stormed two of Haiti's largest prisons.A plane carrying Mr Henry was stopped from landing following sustained attacks at Haiti's international airport.
Mr Henry's resignation had been expected for several days. The Caricom group of Caribbean nations had made its position clear that he was seen as an impediment to Haiti's stability and that he would have to stand down so the move to a transitional council could begin.
The White House had initially wanted to see Mr Henry return to Haiti to oversee the transitional process, but the ferocity of fighting in the country changed minds in Washington in recent days.
Without the support of either the US state department or his neighbours, it was clear that Mr Henry had no alternative but to stand down.
Mr Henry has expressed a wish to return to Haiti but the security situation has to improve before he is able to do so, according to the US which was at the talks in Kingston on Monday.
A senior US official said Mr Henry had first made the decision to step down on Friday but he had waited for an official announcement so talks could take place.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken committed a further $100m (£78m) to the 1,000-strong UN-backed security force Kenya is expected to lead in Haiti.
The proposed US contribution to the security force now stands at $300m following Mr Blinken's announcement, with a further $33m allocated for humanitarian aid.
However, the top civil servant in Kenya's foreign affairs ministry has told the BBC that its deployment of police to Haiti has been put on hold following Mr Henry's resignation.
Korir Sing'oei added that Kenya would wait for the installation of a new constitutional authority before further decisions were made.
Earlier, the chairman of the Caricom group and Guyana's President Irfaan Ali said: "We acknowledge his resignation upon the establishment of a transitional presidential council and naming of an interim prime minister."
President Ali said the transitional presidential council would have two observers and seven voting members, including representatives from several coalitions, the private sector and civil society, and one religious leader.
The council has been mandated to "swiftly" appoint an interim prime minister, he said, adding that anyone intending to run in Haiti's next elections will not be able to participate.
It is hoped the council will pave the way for the first elections in Haiti since 2016.
Haiti: The basics
The Caribbean country shares a border with the Dominican Republic and has an estimated population of 11.5 million
It has a land area of 27,800 sq km, which is slightly smaller than Belgium and about the same size as the US state of Maryland
Chronic instability, dictatorships and natural disasters in recent decades have left Haiti the poorest nation in the Americas
An earthquake in 2010 killed more than 200,000 people and caused extensive damage to infrastructure and the economy
A UN peacekeeping force was put in place in 2004 to help stabilise the country and only withdrew in 2017
In July 2021, President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated by unidentified gunmen in Port-au-Prince. Amid political stalemate, the country continues to be wracked by unrest and gang violence
She said a security mission will not solve the problem, they need a transitional government
The conflict in Haiti continues to escalate after another violent weekend.
US officials are expected to take part in an emergency meeting Monday in Jamaica with other Caribbean leaders to discuss the dire situation. Members of the CARICOM regional trade bloc have been trying for months to get political actors in Haiti to agree to form an umbrella transitional unity government.
During a news conference in Fort Lauderdale, US Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick two ministerial departments were overtaken by gangs this weekend. They've promised to take over Haiti's capitol building next.
Haiti's embattled prime minister Ariel Henry remains off the island and has not resigned even after calls from the US.
Cherfilus-McCormick, the Haiti Caucus Co-Chair, encouraged Haitian Americans in Miami and Haiti to hold on.
"We want to make sure that this time when we come in, that this is truly a Haitain led solution. That's why we are partnering with CARICOM. We understand that it's not just a security mission that is going to solve the day. It's really going to take a transitional government and that transitional government cannot move forward with Ariel Henry," she said.
On Sunday, the US military evacuated some nonessential personnel from the US Embassy in Haiti and flew in forces to beef up security. The aircraft flew to the embassy compound, the U.S. Southern Command said, meaning that the effort involved helicopters.
The neighborhood around the embassy in the capital, Port-au-Prince, is largely controlled by gangs.
"This airlift of personnel into and out of the Embassy is consistent with our standard practice for Embassy security augmentation worldwide, and no Haitians were on board the military aircraft," according to the Southcom statement.
In many cases, nonessential personnel can include the families of diplomats, but the embassy had already ordered departure for nonessential staff and all family members in July. The personnel ferried out of the embassy may have simply been rotating out, to be refreshed by new staff.
The statement Sunday said that the United States remains focused on aiding Haitian police and arranging some kind of U.N.-authorized security deployment. But those efforts have been unsuccessful so far.
