South Africa votes to seize land from white farmers without compensation
"Critics have compared the move to the disastrous redistribution of land in neighbouring Zimbabwe, which was often accompanied by violence and left farms neglected."
Drug Wars, Missing Money, and a Phantom $500 Million
"More effective use of spreadsheets won’t solve the underlying problems of America’s wars or cure an addiction to policies that continue to fail."
Pat Buchanan: Too Many Wars. Too Many Enemies.
"Like the Romans, we have become an empire, committed to fight for scores of nations, with troops on every continent, and forces in combat operations of which the American people are only vaguely aware. As in all empires, power is passing to the generals. And what causes the greatest angst today in the imperial city? Fear that a four-page memo worked up in the House Judiciary Committee may discredit Robert Mueller's investigation of Russia-gate."
Libya after US ‘liberation’: Where lives are auctioned for $400
"A recent clampdown by the Libyan coastguard means fewer boats are making it out to sea, leaving the smugglers with a backlog of would-be passengers on their hands. So the smugglers become masters, the migrants and refugees become slaves."
Eat, pray, live: the Lagos megachurches building their very own cities
"Redemption Camp has 5,000 houses, roads, rubbish collection, police, supermarkets, banks, a fun fair, a post office – even a 25 megawatt power plant. In Nigeria, the line between church and city is rapidly vanishing."
Pentagon’s African Command: “We Don’t Consider You a Legitimate Journalist”
"The command has deflected questions about the killing in Mali, offered murky and shifting explanations of the attack in Niger, and cleared U.S. personnel of wrongdoing in Somalia before launching a new investigation into the killings. All of this comes as the Defense Department as a whole has become less transparent and accessible, according to numerous journalists who cover U.S. national security. At the same time, according to the Pentagon’s Inspector General, there has been a rise in complaints of misconduct by senior officials, as well as reprisals against whistleblowers."
Double standard: Mugabe ‘was leasing out land to whites’, says report
"As recently as late October, Mugabe said black owners who invited whites back to rent and work seized fields would lose their farms. But the Zimbabwe Independent reports that the former first family was doing exactly that: leasing out part of Mazowe Citrus Estate to a company in which some of the main shareholders were white."
How Bitcoin Is Saving Lives in Venezuela
"Many people in Zimbabwe don’t have bank accounts. But a growing number own smartphones. And that’s all you need to buy bitcoin. But this isn’t just happening in Zimbabwe. The people of Venezuela are becoming increasingly desperate. And many are buying bitcoin to survive. That’s because bitcoin doesn’t lose value by the day like the bolivar, Venezuela’s currency. Instead, it becomes more valuable."
Zimbabwe army takes control but denies coup
"In a televised address early on Wednesday morning, military spokesperson, Major General SB Moyo, said the army was seeking to 'pacify a degenerating, social, and economic situation' in the country. The army spokesperson said that once the military's objectives have been achieved, the situation in the country would return to normal, before urging Zimbabweans to continue with their lives as usual."
U.S. African Military Activity Is a “Recruiting Tool” for Terror Groups
" U.S. efforts, primarily focused on training allies and proxies, are flawed, often ineffective, and can have destabilizing effects on countries that military operations are meant to strengthen, according to experts. Cast as benign training operations, they can lead to unforeseen consequences and dangerous blowback."