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On this week's episode of Global Digest, we are joined by Prof. Noah Midamba, Senior Associate at Global Centre for Policy and Strategy to dissect President Trump's State visit of the Middle East, lifting of sanctions against Syria's interim administration as well as EU-Nato or Trump who claim.the bragging rights for securing the elusive Russia-Ukraine ceasefire. Domestically, President Ruto's declaration that Kenya and China are the new world triggered the US Senate into reviewing Kenya-US relations
Today we explore the transformation of education systems. How does change happen? Is change always positive? And what do we even mean by an education system? With me are Sara Ruto, Rakesh Rajani, and Brad Olsen. Earlier this year, they were part of a Brookings Roundtable discussion about what it means to integrate scaling impact and systems transformation to advance education improvement around the world. Sara Ruto is a Program Officer at Echidna Giving, Rakesh Rajani is the President of JustSystems, and Brad Olsen is a senior fellow with the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. freshedpodcast.com/ruto-rajani-olsen/ -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com
Wanasiasa wakuu wa upinzani nchini Kenya, wakiongozwa na aliyekuwa naibu rais Rigathi Gachagua, Aprili 29 2025, walikutana jijini Nairobi kuanza mikakati ya kuunda muungano mpya, kwa maandalizi ya uchaguzi mkuu wa mwaka 2027. Je, muungano huu ambao pia umemjumuisha aliyekuwa Waziri wa usalama Fred Matiang'i, unaweza kumtikisa rais William Ruto wakati wa uchaguzi huo ?
Ruto's China Gamble & 2027 Election Clock Ticking | Global Digest SO6E4 by Capital FM
Kenyan President William Ruto wrapped up a four-day visit to China on Friday and returned home with a massive new railway deal and more than a billion dollars of investment pledges. Ruto's successful closing of the Phase III extension of the Standard Gauge Railway to the Ugandan border comes after nearly a decade of Kenyan lobbying in China. Also, this week, Eric & Géraud are at the Salzburg Global Forum in Austria, where they joined a diverse group of civil society stakeholders from across Africa to participate in a lively week-long conference on centering an African vision for a new multilateral future. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: X: @ChinaGSProject | @christiangeraud Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ChinaGlobalSouth Now on Bluesky! Follow CGSP at @chinagsproject.bsky.social FOLLOW CGSP IN FRENCH AND ARABIC: Français: www.projetafriquechine.com | @AfrikChine Arabic: عربي: www.alsin-alsharqalawsat.com | @SinSharqAwsat JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CGSP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff, including our Week in Review report, an invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CGSP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaglobalsouth
China and Kenya have elevated their relationship to a Community with a Shared Future for the New Era as Kenyan President William Ruto undertakes his five-day state visit to China from April 22 to 26. This marks Ruto's first official trip to China since taking office in 2022. During talks in Beijing, President Xi Jinping reaffirmed China's commitment to multilateralism and global fairness, while Ruto praised China's stabilizing role and support for the Global South amid growing trade tensions. What outcomes can be expected from this upgraded partnership? How can the Global South unite in response to rising U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty? Liu Baocheng and Peter Kagwanja share their insights.
Kenyan President William Ruto is in China for a state visit at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, where the two leaders agreed to elevate bilateral ties to a "China-Kenya community with a shared future for the new era." Xi described the move as a strategic choice reflecting global and historical trends, adding that China is ready to work with Kenya to set an example of all-weather China-Africa cooperation and promote solidarity among Global South nations.
① China and Kenya have upgraded their ties to a new level. Why is Kenyan President William Ruto's ongoing visit to China important to both sides? (00:54)② In a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, China's foreign minister said Beijing supports Tehran holding nuclear talks with Washington. We explore China's message on the Iran nuclear issue at a time when Iranian and US diplomats start talking to each other indirectly. (15:28)③ China has announced the successful launch its Shenzhou-20 mission. What role does this mission play in China's manned space program? (24:51)④ We take a look at a Federal Reserve report that points to growing signs of a slowdown in the US economy due to Washington's tariff policy. (35:11)⑤ How should Southeast Asia react to US tariffs of up to 3,500% on solar panels from the region? (43:51)
Ep 436 RUTO'S CABINET CHANGE, SUSAN KIHIKA'S HEALTH, CHIPUKEEZY GOVT JOB & UNITED AIRLINES PILOT
Mkuu wa Majeshi nchini Kenya, Jenerali Jenerali Charles Kahariri na Mkuu wa idara ya ujasusi Noordin Haji, wameonya dhidi ya kampeni inayoendelea kwenye mitandao ya kijamii na mikutano ya hadhara ya –Ruto Must Go- au Ruto lazima aondoke, inatishia hali ya kisiasa nchini Kenya na ni lazima, ikome.Je, jeshi la Kenya linaingilia siasa ? Tunajadili…
Het staatsbezoek van koning Willem-Alexander en koningin Máxima aan Kenia roept veel vragen op. Waarom een officieel bezoek aan Kenia als de mensenrechtensituatie er niet goed is en de Keniaanse politie demonstranten keihard aanpakt? Daarbij zijn tientallen mensen gedood en ontvoerd. Het bezoek wordt door veel Kenianen gezien als een goedkeuring van het beleid van president Ruto. Afrika-correspondent Joost Bastmeijer is in Nairobi om verslag te doen van het bezoek, en Jaya Khamala, oprichter van de petitie 'Opposing the Dutch Royals', vertelt over het gebrek aan mensenrechten in Kenia. (14:07) Waarom de EU Servische demonstranten niet in de steek moet laten In hoofdstad Belgrado gingen honderdduizenden mensen de straat op. Het was daarmee de grootste demonstratie ooit in Servië, en dat is uniek. Er wordt door studenten, boeren en andere burgers al drie maanden geprotesteerd tegen de regering en haar corruptie. Maar volgens historicus Geert Luteijn houdt de EU zich veel te afzijdig. En dat is volgens hem niet zonder risico. Presentatie: Tim de Wit
Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Djibouti's long-serving foreign minister, took office as the African Union Commission's chair yesterday, four weeks after defeating Raila Odinga, Kenya's former prime minister and perennial opposition leader, in the race for the job. He succeeds Chad's Moussa Faki, who leaves after serving two four-year terms. Youssouf's victory represents a diplomatic victory for one of the continent's smallest but diplomatically agile states. But it is being seen more as a setback for Kenya's ambitious foreign policy under President William Ruto. Though recently at odds with Odinga due to their domestic political differences, Ruto took the campaign for the commission chair personally, mobilizing the entire Kenyan government in an attempt to secure the post for his former rival. Ruto likely preferred the thought of Odinga occupied with work at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, as it would bolster his own re-election prospects. If so, his calculations recall those of former South African President Jacob Zuma, who ensured that Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma - his former wife and domestic political rival - was elected AU Commission chair in 2012. While the bloc's major donors - Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Nigeria and South Africa - have seldom held the top position, there has been a clear pattern of success for candidates backed by respected or influential heads of state. Dlamini-Zuma hailed from the continent's economic powerhouse, for instance, and at the time the outgoing Faki first won the post in 2017, he benefited from the influential support of then-Chadian President Idriss Deby, who had just held the more prominent position of AU Chair. One might have expected the same dynamic to play in Odinga's favor. However, Ruto did not anticipate the level of opposition the prospect of a Kenyan at the head of the commission would generate. Early in the race, Youssouf received the endorsement of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which includes 27 African members, in part because Ruto's portrayal of Kenya as a staunch Western ally alienated states that were more sympathetic to Palestine. There were also doubts about whether Odinga would be fully autonomous in his approach to the role or instead serve as a proxy for Nairobi. For all the headwinds Odinga faced, Youssouf also certainly benefited from his long experience in Djibouti, which despite its small size has an active diplomatic profile as part of its efforts to secure external investment in support of its stability. Djibouti hosts the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, or IGAD, the regional bloc comprising eight member states that oversees trade and diplomacy in the Horn of Africa. Unlike other groups on the continent, IGAD is supported by several non-African partner nations, including France, the U.K. and the U.S., highlighting the kind of multilateral networks of support Djibouti has been cultivating. Djibouti's approach serves as a model for leveraging great power competition for its own advantage, without aligning itself with one side or the other. The degree to which Djibouti has successfully leveraged its strategic location on the Horn of Africa is a further sign of its active diplomacy. It is home to at least eight foreign military bases from diverse and even rival countries. These include Camp Lemonnier, the U.S. military's sole permanent base in Africa, as well as a French military and naval base that is among France's largest overseas contingents. But Djibouti also houses China's first overseas military base, as well as bases for Italy, Japan and South Korea, all of which were established to combat piracy and defend vital economic interests in the Red Sea. This sizable foreign presence has contributed to ensuring Djibouti's stability by incentivizing global powers to keep it insulated from other conflicts in the Horn of Africa. These bases have also resulted in significant economic investments in the country, allowing it to boast a considerably higher GDP...
Mwishoni mwa juma lililopita rais wa Kenya William Ruto na kiongozi wa upinzani Raila Odinga walitiliana saini mkataba wa ushirikiano wa kisiasa, wanaosema utasaidia kutatua changamoto zinazowakabili raia wa taifa hilo. Unaamini makubaliano ya viongozi hawa ni sahihi?Ndilo swali tumekuuliza na haya hapa maoni yako.
Mwishoni mwa juma lililopita rais wa Kenya William Ruto na kiongozi wa upinzani Raila Odinga walitiliana saini mkataba wa ushirikiano wa kisiasa, wanaosema utasaidia kutatua changamoto zinazowakabili raia wa taifa hilo. Unaamini makubaliano ya viongozi hawa ni sahihi?Ndilo swali tumekuuliza na haya hapa maoni yako.
Ep 425 KASMUEL MCOURE - RAILA'S IMPACT IN RUTO'S GOVERNMENT Iko Nini Podscast
Rais wa Kenya William Ruto na aliyekuwa kiongozi wa upinzani Raila Odinga wameungana kisiasa rasmi, hali ya mzozo wa mashariki mwa DRC Kuchukua sura mpya, vikwazo vya kiuchumi kuikumba nchi ya Rwanda kufuatia uungwaji mkono wake kwa kundi la waasi la M23, Kiongozi wa kijeshi wa Gabon jenerali Oligui Nguema kuwania urais mwezi ujao, mzozo wa kibiashara kati ya Marekani nchi mataifa kadhaa, lakini pia mzozo wa Ukraine na Urusi.
Ep 422 BRIAN ODUOR - RAILA RUTO MEETING, KENYAN POLITICIANS & VYING 2027 ELECTIONS Iko Nini Podcast
The founder of Kenya's rebranded People's Liberation Party (PLP) says it aims to “liberate” the country from social, economic and political oppression in the 2027 presidential election. Martha Karua says the PLP, formerly Narc Kenya, says President Ruto should give way. Ruto has accused Karua and the PLP of lacking solutions to Kenya's problems but only focusing on removing him from power. Karua tells VOA's James Butty, the party will present its agenda to the country very soon.
Ce matin du mardi 18 février 2025, les experts et journalistes de RFI répondaient à vos questions sur la médiation de l'Arabie saoudite entre les Américains et les Russes, l'affaire Bétharram en France et l'hypothèse d'un contingent européen en Ukraine. UA : le président Ruto a-t-il saboté la candidature de Raïla Odinga ? Au Kenya, plusieurs observateurs accusent le président William Ruto d'être responsable de la défaite de l'opposant Raïla Odinga à l'élection de la présidence de la Commission de l'Union africaine. Comment expliquer de telles accusations ? Cette défaite peut-elle avoir des conséquences politiques pour le président ?Avec Gaëlle Laleix, correspondante permanente de RFI à Nairobi. Guerre en Ukraine : pourquoi l'Arabie saoudite joue-t-elle les intermédiaires ? Le secrétaire d'État américain Marco Rubio et le ministre russe des Affaires étrangères Sergueï Lavrov se sont rencontrés mardi en Arabie saoudite afin d'entamer des pourparlers sur le conflit en Ukraine. Pourquoi cette rencontre s'est-elle tenue à Riyad ? Quels sont les intérêts de Mohammed ben Salmane dans cette médiation ?Avec David Rigoulet-Roze, chercheur associé à l'Institut de relations internationales et stratégiques (Iris), rédacteur en chef de la revue Orients Stratégiques. France : que reproche-t-on à François Bayrou dans l'affaire Bétharram ? Le Premier ministre français est mis en cause après les révélations de violences physiques et sexuelles sur mineurs commises dans l'établissement scolaire de Notre-Dame de Bétharram. Pourquoi François Bayrou est-il accusé d'avoir fermé les yeux sur ces violences ? Cette affaire peut-elle provoquer son départ de Matignon ?Avec Valérie Gas, cheffe du service politique de RFI. Guerre en Ukraine : vers le déploiement d'un contingent européen ? Lors d'une réunion informelle d'urgence organisée à Paris, les chefs d'État européens ont évoqué l'hypothèse d'envoyer des troupes en Ukraine. Comment un tel projet pourrait-il s'organiser ? Quel serait le rôle des soldats européens ?Avec Gesine Weber, experte en sécurité et défense européennes au German Marhsall Fund of United States (GMF).
Ep 405 DARREN COLLINS - DONALD TRUMP'S SPEECH, RUTO'S SOCIAL MEDIA, COMING TO KENYA & STANDUP COMEDY
Ep 409 RUTO'S MEN, UHURU, PASTOR NG'ANG'A, DEEPSEEK'S AURA & NDIRITU'S BJ50 Iko Nini Podcast
Ep 121 part 1 RUTO'S SYSTEM, CHILD SUPPORT, AMERICA & LAWSUITS The Weekend Update
Kenyan President William Ruto, chair of the East African Community Heads of State Summit, has called for an emergency meeting to discuss the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Bram Verelst, a Senior Researcher with the Institute for Security Studies, a Pan African think tank headquartered in Pretoria, South Africa, tells VOA's James Butty, the Luanda peace initiative hosted by African Union mediator and Angolan President Joao Lourenco is the best option for peace
RUTO'S MEN, GABRIEL OGUDA, INFLUENCER & FUNNY TRADITIONS The Weekend Update
Ep 391 part 2 RUTO'S MEN, AIRPORTS, RELATIONSHIPS & DATING APPS Iko Nini Podcast
Au Mozambique, l'opposition manifeste sans relâche depuis plus de deux mois. Au Kenya, des milliers de manifestants ont contraint, il y a six mois, le gouvernement à reculer sur un projet de nouvelle taxe, sans aucune directive politique précise. Ces événements signalent-ils de nouvelles formes de mobilisation populaire en Afrique de l'Est ? Et dans ce contexte, les jeunes protestataires parviennent-ils à se libérer de la tutelle des partis politiques, qui les enferment souvent dans leur appartenance ethnique ? Marie-Emmanuelle Pommerolle, ancienne directrice de l'Institut français de recherches en Afrique à Nairobi et actuellement professeure à l'Université Paris 1, éclaire ces dynamiques sociales et politiques. RFI : Les émeutes de ces derniers jours au Mozambique, ainsi que les grandes manifestations de juin dernier au Kenya, sont-elles le signe d'une nouvelle mobilisation de la jeunesse dans plusieurs pays d'Afrique de l'Est ?Marie-Emmanuelle Pommerolle : Effectivement, nous avons eu des épisodes très intenses de mobilisation au Kenya, liés à une loi fiscale, et là au Mozambique pour contester les résultats électoraux. Ce sont des événements déclencheurs différents, mais effectivement ce sont des jeunes qui réclament de participer davantage au débat politique.Au Kenya, il y a eu une alternance démocratique il y a un peu plus de deux ans, en septembre 2022. Pourtant, 20 mois plus tard, la jeunesse est descendue dans la rue. Pourquoi ?Principalement pour protester contre la loi de finances qui augmentait les taxes sur les biens de première nécessité comme le pain et l'huile. La jeunesse, étranglée par des problèmes tels que le chômage et l'inflation, a décidé qu'il était temps de contester ce type de politique fiscale. Une jeunesse qui a également décidé de descendre dans la rue pour dénoncer la trahison du nouveau président William Ruto, élu démocratiquement. Celui-ci a été élu sur un programme visant particulièrement les jeunes, leur promettant des aides pour s'assurer qu'ils trouvent de l'emploi. Et évidemment ça n'a pas été le cas, il a augmenté les impôts. Donc il y avait un sentiment de trahison parmi ceux qui avaient cru en ce président élu démocratiquement en 2022.Donc, ce sont les mêmes jeunes qui ont voté pour Ruto en 2022 et qui ont crié « Ruto must go » en 2024 ?Effectivement l'analyse des élections de 2022 mettaient bien en avant le fait que des jeunes de tout le pays, et pas seulement dans ses bastions électoraux habituels, avaient voté pour ce président. Il mettait en avant l'idée que le Kenya devait aider les « hustlers », il parlait même d'une « hustler nation », ce qu'on peut traduire par « les débrouillards ». Il voulait vraiment insister sur l'idée que les jeunes devaient créer leurs propres entreprises et que l'État allait les aider. Ce sont effectivement ces mêmes jeunes qui se sont retrouvés dans la rue en juin 2024. On trouvait bien sûr des jeunes très éduqués, le Kenya a une politique d'éducation qui est relativement efficace, mais aussi des jeunes moins favorisés venant des bidonvilles de Nairobi. Donc une jeunesse assez diversifiée qui s'est retrouvée dans la rue et qui dénonçait cette politique fiscale qui les étranglait, alors même qu'on leur avait promis de les aider.À lire aussiKenya: nouvelle journée de tensions à Nairobi, 48 heures après une manifestation violemment répriméeDu coup, William Ruto a renoncé à sa réforme fiscale. Dans l'histoire du Kenya, il y a déjà eu plusieurs épisodes insurrectionnels. Jusque-là, ils s'appuyaient souvent sur des clivages ethniques. Cette année, c'était la même chose ou pas ?Ce qui a fait l'originalité de ce mouvement, c'est que les jeunes revendiquaient être « partyless » et « tribeless », c'est-à-dire ne pas être attachés à un parti ou à une appartenance ethnique. Ils revendiquaient un cosmopolitisme qu'on observe dans les grandes villes et les villes moyennes du Kenya, où les jeunes de toutes les régions se retrouvent pour chercher du travail. Ce rejet des divisions ethniques habituelles se voyait dans l'ampleur des manifestations, qui ont eu lieu non seulement à Nairobi, mais aussi dans des bastions pro-gouvernementaux comme la Rift Valley. Ce mouvement exprimait une jeunesse unie, trahie par des élites qui confisquent le pouvoir.Est-ce que cette mobilisation a été portée par les réseaux sociaux ?Oui, notamment au Kenya, qui est un hub numérique en Afrique, les réseaux sociaux jouent un rôle fondamental dans la vie quotidienne, que ce soit pour payer via un mobile ou pour s'organiser. Ils ont permis de coordonner les manifestations, de diffuser les lieux de rassemblement, et d'animer des débats politiques, notamment sur WhatsApp et X. Les « Space X », par exemple, sont devenus des forums où des voix souvent marginalisées peuvent s'exprimer dans un cadre relativement horizontal et sécurisé.Donc, au Kenya, il y a une forte mobilisation en dehors des partis politiques, alors qu'au Mozambique, on peut parler d'un mouvement porté par les partis politiques ?Oui, tout à fait. L'originalité de la mobilisation au Kenya était cette extériorité par rapport aux partis politiques habituels. Au Mozambique, c'est une contestation post-électorale qui effectivement drainait des foules importantes, notamment la jeunesse. Mais on voit bien qu'elle le fait après avoir été incitée par le candidat de l'opposition qui lui-même n'est plus au Mozambique et qui appelle à manifester pacifiquement pour contester les résultats électoraux.Au Mozambique, c'est aussi une remise en cause du tout-puissant FRELIMO, le parti au pouvoir depuis l'indépendance en 1975. Ces mobilisations remettent-elles en cause l'héritage des pères de l'indépendance ?Alors effectivement, au Mozambique, on trouve des traces de cette contestation des héros de l'indépendance, une statue de l'un des héros de l'indépendance a été déboulonnée récemment au Mozambique. Cette figure, qui avait joué un rôle crucial dans la libération, est également accusée de s'être enrichie grâce au pouvoir. Et effectivement, même au Kenya, même en Ouganda, on peut voir qu'il y a une forme de fatigue vis-à-vis de ces élites politiques qui sont les descendants directs de ceux qui ont effectivement gagné l'indépendance ou pris le pouvoir au nom de la révolution. C'est le cas en Ouganda, et le cas en Tanzanie. Au Kenya, les dirigeants se réclament encore régulièrement du combat Mau Mau. Et ce que montrent les jeunes protestataires, c'est que ces dirigeants ont pourtant trahi leur combat qui était celui d'une véritable indépendance, puisque l'un des registres aussi sur lequel jouent ces protestations, c'est de dénoncer la dépendance à l'extérieur. La dépendance à la Chine, la dépendance aux Occidentaux, un registre qu'on connaît bien en Afrique francophone, notamment vis-à-vis de la politique africaine française. Mais que l'on retrouve aussi, en Afrique de l'Est, avec l'idée que l'indépendance n'a pas été complètement achevée.Cette montée d'un sentiment anti-français en Afrique de l'Ouest trouve-t-elle un équivalent en Afrique de l'Est, avec une montée d'un sentiment anti-chinois ?L'histoire n'est pas équivalente, mais ce sentiment de dépendance vis-à-vis de l'extérieur et surtout de la dépendance des élites est également présent en Afrique de l'Est. Et ce registre commun de la souveraineté se retrouve également dans la jeunesse d'Afrique de l'Est.Les jeunes sont descendus dans la rue au Kenya, mais pas en Ouganda, ni en Tanzanie. Cela signifie-t-il qu'il y a moins de problèmes dans ces deux pays ?Alors les jeunes sont descendus dans la rue en Ouganda, suite au mouvement qui a eu lieu au Kenya au mois de juin. Il y a eu une forme d'imitation de ce qui se passait au Kenya, parce qu'évidemment les problèmes sont aussi nombreux, notamment sur les questions de corruption. Néanmoins, en Tanzanie comme en Ouganda, l'espace civique est très restreint. La moindre protestation donne lieu à des arrestations, à une répression très forte. L'espace public, du fait de cette histoire autoritaire, très prégnante encore en Tanzanie, en Ouganda, est moins susceptible de donner lieu à des mobilisations fortes que chez le voisin kényan.Et est-ce pour cela que le régime ougandais a fait capturer, il y a un mois au Kenya, le chef de l'opposition, Kizza Besigye, qui doit passer en cour martiale le 7 janvier prochain à Kampala ?C'est effectivement le signe que le pouvoir ougandais est très susceptible par rapport à la moindre opposition. C'est aussi le signe que le gouvernement kényan est très proche de ce pouvoir ougandais, jusqu'à lui laisser la liberté de venir enlever un opposant chez lui, au Kenya. C'est quelque chose qui est dénoncé fortement par les sociétés civiles ougandaise et kényane, qui voient une alliance de pouvoirs extrêmement autoritaires.À lire aussiManifestations au Mozambique: la répression a tué de nombreux enfants et arrêté des centaines d'autres
DONALD TRUMP'S VICTORY, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, FINANCE BILL & RUTO MEMES Iko Nini Podcast
Ep 378 KAREN NYAMU, KHALIGRAPH JONES MANSION & RUTO rejected DONATIONS Iko Nini Podcast
Ep 112 part 1 ADANI, RUTO, PASTOR NGANGA, FEMICIDE, KAREN NYAMU & BNBs The Weekend Update
Kenya's president William Ruto has been named the chair of the East African Heads of State Summit. The region's presidents met in Arusha, Tanzania amid deteriorating relations between member states. Moses Havyarimana reports.
Anglican Church bishops in Kenya have added their voice to criticisms of President William Ruto's government. Last week, Roman Catholic bishops in Kenya criticized the government for what they called unexplained killings, abductions, and disappearances in the country, especially the murder of women. Some supporters of the government urged the bishops to focus on ministering to the flock and not to dabble into politics. In a statement on Monday, the Anglican bishops said it was their duty to take a second look at the morality of Kenya's democracy and jumpstart civil engagement to bring about accountability. The Right Reverand Professor David Kodia, the Anglican Bishop of Bondo, tells VOA's James Butty, the church represents Kenyans, some of whom cannot afford a meal a day or who are paying taxes but do not see the value of their taxes
On Daybreak Africa: Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution Monday calling for an immediate cease-fire in the war between Sudan's military and paramilitary forces and delivery of humanitarian aid to millions in desperate need. Plus, US criticizes Russia's veto of a Security Council resolution on protecting civilians in Sudan. Burundi's opposition leader says presidential clemency for about 41 percent of the country's prison population does not include political prisoners. A call for parliamentary term limits in Zambia. Nigeria celebrates ‘Miss Universe' success amid citizenship controversy. Anglican Church bishops in Kenya add their voice to criticisms of President Ruto's government. Senate Republicans ready for unified control in 2025 with new leadership. For these and more tune in to Daybreak Africa!
On Daybreak Africa: Armored vehicles manufactured by the United Arab Emirates and equipped with French defense systems have been captured by the Sudanese army during the civil war in Sudan, Amnesty International says. Plus, stark differences over financing are emerging at the UN climate change summit, also called COP29. Mozambique's political unrest is costing the Southern Africa region. An estimated 4,000 illegal miners remain trapped inside a closed mine in South Africa's Northwest province. Vote counting from Wednesday's breakaway Somaliland's presidential election continues. We'll have an analysis. Roman Catholic Bishops in Kenya criticize President Ruto's government for what they called unexplained killings and abductions. Nigeria launches 'Human Rights Defenders' forum. For these and more tune in to Daybreak Africa!
The US Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman, resigned Wednesday, one week after Donald Trump's re-election. In a statement, Ambassador Whitman touted some of her achievements to include various trade, health and security agreements that Kenya signed with the United States, including Kenya's elevation as the first major non-NATO ally in Africa. Barrack Oduor, a political reporter with the People's Daily of Kenya, tells VOA's James Butty, Ambassador Whitman's resignation met a mixed reception on various Kenyan social media platforms for her good work, but also what some Kenyans saw as her failure to criticize President Ruto's government during the June anti-tax protests.
((Recorded Live)) As America prepared for one of the most pivotal elections in recent history, I went live to break down the stakes, the key players, and the issues that could shape the future of the nation. Join me as we explore what's at risk in the 2024 election, from the candidates' platforms to the critical choices facing voters. Whether you tuned in live or are catching the replay, don't miss this deep dive into the upcoming election and what it means for all of us! We are live Monday through Friday! Find me and the show on social media. Click the following links or search @DrWilmerLeon on X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! -Please consider donating to keep us on the air. -Patreon.com/WilmerLeon Announcer (00:00:07): Connecting the dots with Dr. Wilmer Leon, where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge. Wilmer Leon (00:00:15): Good morning. Good morning. And as most of you know by now, this coming Tuesday, November 5th will be as the Constitution states, the Tuesday next, after the first Monday in November is election day. What are you all going to do? Are you going to vote? Are you going to abstain? If you decide to vote, who are you going to cast your ballot for? Let's talk and let's talk live. We're live today. I want to welcome you all to the Connecting the Dots podcast with me. I am Dr. Wiler Leon. And here's the point. We have a tendency to view current events as though they occur in a vacuum, failing to understand the broader historic context in which most events take place. During each episode, my guests and I have probing, provocative, and in-depth discussions that connect the dots between these events and the broader historic contexts in which they occur, thus enabling you to better understand and analyze the events that impact the global village in which we live. (00:01:26): On today's episode, it's just me, it's me, no guests. I'm live today. And I know this is very, very short notice, but here we are. So the issues or the issue before us is or are this Tuesday, as I said in the tease, November 5th will be as the Constitution states, the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November is election day. Folks, what are you all going to do? Are you going to vote or are you going to abstain? If you decide to vote, who are you going to cast your ballots for? And for me, here's the real important salient question, why vote or abstain? I strongly suggest voting. I don't think that you can abdicate your duty as a citizen and sit this one out. And I firmly believe that the primary responsibility of a citizen is to participate in the electoral process to determine who you select to represent your interests in government. (00:02:48): Folks, I believe America is recklessly muddling its way through these incredibly, incredibly perilous times, very, very recklessly. As America muddles its way through these perilous times, there are too many Americans that appear to be more confused than ever. Many of us have traded our interests in for electability or anybody. But Trump, former NAACP board chairman Julian Bond, told us that in the African-American community, we have no permanent friends. We have no permanent enemies, we have just permanent interests. Malcolm called them permanent agendas. And as we look at this whole issue of America muddling its way through these perilous times, I think it's very, very important for us to understand what this really means and who is responsible for the peril that we find ourselves in. Many of you all may take exception to what I'm about to say, but I think the data supports disposition. The American empire is on the wane. It is failing. Some will say it has already failed, and what we are experiencing are the last kicks of a dying mule. I think the African proverb says the last kicks of a dying mule are or can be the most dangerous. (00:04:26): The United States started this war in Ukraine. The United States is backing the genocide that we see playing itself out right before our very eyes in the Zionist colony known as Israel. The United States is trying to provoke a fight with Venezuela by not recognizing the democratically elected president Nicholas Maduro as the president of Venezuela. The United States is trying to start a fight with China over Taiwan. So that's why I say that we are in incredibly, incredibly perilous times and most of this peril is at our own doing. And I see sister Sandra Muhammad, thank you so much for tuning in greatly, greatly appreciated. So again, incredibly reckless. Too many of us are confused more than ever again. Many of us have traded in our interests for this concept of electability and anybody but Trump. Well, we have to ask ourselves, what are our politics really all about? (00:05:53): And this question not only applies to those of us in the African-American community, but it applies to the country overall. Candidates right now are out on the campaign trail asking us for our vote. But what are they offering us? Even more important than that, even more important than what are they offering? What are we as citizens demanding from them? For the most part, I'm hearing racist diatribes of I'm hearing, I'm hearing racist diatribes. I'm hearing offers of higher taxes that are really masking themselves as tariffs on imported goods. I'm hearing anti-immigrant rhetoric, and I'm hearing a lot of ideas being floated as policy. They sound great, but they'll meet stiff opposition if they make their way to Congress. Let me just quickly jump back to the anti-immigrant rhetoric because both sides from the Trump campaign as well as from the Harris campaign, there's a whole lot of clamoring. There's a whole lot of chatter that we're hearing regarding the border immigration. (00:07:21): Oh, our country's being overrun by immigrants. I Trump tells you they're eating our pets. And Vice President Harris talks about building the wall funding for more border agents. All of this stuff about keeping people out. What I don't hear anybody talking about, I don't hear anybody asking the question, why are these people trying to come in the first place? Why are Mexicans trying to cross the border? Why are people from Honduras? Why are people from Guatemala risking life in limb, spending thousands of dollars that they've spent years saving, trying to come across this border? I don't hear anybody asking that question. Donald Trump and JD Vance made this horrifically racist, unsupportable false accusation that Haitian immigrants, who by the way, are in Springfield, Ohio legally, who by the way, salvage the economy of Springfield, Ohio. Nobody's asking the question, why are Haitians there in the first place and nobody talks about American foreign policy? (00:09:00): Do you think Mexicans just want to come to the United States because they woke up last week and said, you know what? I think I'm going to risk life and limb and go to the United States. Do you think Guatemalans, do you think Hondurans? Do you think El Salvadorians are saying to themselves, you know what, I ain't got nothing else better to do. I'm going to pay some Mule $3,000 that it took me five years to save to risk life and limb to try to sneak into the United States only to run the risk of being deported and wasting all that money. Do you think that maybe they're making these decisions because their economies have been decimated by American foreign policy and they're coming. So you don't hear the immigration czar as Donald Trump loves to call Vice President Harris. You don't hear her talking about that. You don't hear Donald Trump talking about that. They talk about failed solutions such as building the wall and all that other foolishness. They don't talk about the real crux of the problem, which is American foreign policy in their countries. What happened with Mexican corn? Well, it got decimated because of nafta importing American yellow corn into Mexico. And that brown multicolored Mexican indigenous corn got decimated through cross pollenization by the American yellow corn that was imported because of nafta, decimating agriculture in Mexico. So what are those farmers to do? Nobody's offered them any assistance. What are those farmers to do? (00:11:09): Chiquita brands, about a month ago was convicted in federal court in Florida for funding death squads in Columbia. Chiquita brands now has to pay millions of dollars, millions of dollars to families in Columbia because they were backing death squads in Columbia. So if you are a Colombian, what are you to do? Stay in your native country, running the risk of being murdered by death squads funded by Chiquita brands or do everything in your power to get out of Columbia and go someplace else. And where is that someplace else? The United States as Donald Trump is using these, I see Steve, I'm getting to Haiti right now. Steve, stay out of my head, man. Stay out of my head. Steve. I'm getting to Haiti right now. (00:12:22): As Donald Trump and JD Vance are extolling these racist diatribes about Haitians eating dogs and cats. Steve, here we go. Nobody's asking why are the Haitians in Springfield, Ohio in the first place? Nobody's asking why'd they leave Haiti and come to the United States? They should be sitting on the island drinking barbering court five star rum in Eaton Grill. No, they've left their lovely country come to the United States. Why? Here's the answer. As during the debate, you saw Vice President Harris wring her hands and twist contorting her face and showing the utter disgust for that racist diatribe that she should have shown. But nobody asked her Vice President Harris, why did you go to Racom last year and try to convince the leaders of Racom, the organization of Caribbean states to be the tip of the United States spear as the United States is trying to rein, invade Haiti, recolonize Haiti? Nobody asked her that question. And I think that's a very, very important question to ask. I call that minstrel diplomacy, black faces on Euro-American foreign policy, menstrual diplomacy. Nobody asked Hakeem Jeffries, Congressman Jeffries, why did you go as a black man? Why did you go to Caron with Vice President Harris, a black woman to convince black countries to invade another black country? (00:14:41): Nobody's asking that question. So it's not simply building a wall. It's not simply enforcing the border. It's not simply funding for more border agents. It's not simply building internment camps to house these individuals and their children. It's not simply deporting people. And by the way, I think former President Barack Obama deported more people than anybody in the last 50 years. It's about American foreign policy decimating the economies of Mexican, central American and South American countries. That's why these individuals are doing everything in their power to come to this country. Now, really quickly, I really quickly, it's also a matter of going back to Haiti. Why such a focus on Haiti? (00:16:03): A couple of reasons. One is geographic the United States is trying to do, has been trying, I think for about a hundred or so years to build a naval base in Haiti, and it has met incredible resistance by Haitians. Why does the United States want to build that naval base in anticipation of China gaining a greater foothold in the region? China right now is talking about building a canal. I believe it's through Honduras, building a canal through Honduras, which would make it easier for Chinese ships to circumnavigate the globe. And that would also be a direct challenge to the Panama Canal. (00:17:10): So you have a number of geopolitical aspects to this as the United States further alienates China, the United States is anticipating the need to replace that cheap Chinese labor with another cheap labor source, and where are they thinking of getting that labor? Haiti. So those are just two very current examples of why the United States is so focused on recolonizing Haiti. Of course, we can go back to the overarching issue of the Haitian Revolution, the successful Haitian revolution, the United States, I'm sorry, Haiti throwing out France as a result of the Haitian Revolution and the belief that no European country, we'll consider you the United States because it's founded by Europeans, would ever allow the successful revolution of a black country. So that's also part of this calculus as well. Those are just a couple of examples of what I'm talking about in terms of these politics and permanent friends, permanent enemies and permanent interests. Again, candidates they're asking us for are vote, but what in fact are they offering us? And again, more important than that is what are we demanding from 'em? (00:19:00): Where are the substantive policies that are focused on making the lives of each American better? Where's the plan to fund them and to get these ideas turned into legislation submitted, brought before Congress, passed by Congress and signed by the president. There are a lot of ideas being floated out there, but one of the things I'm not hearing, particularly from the Harris campaign is how are you going to get this stuff funded? Where's the money going to come from anyway? By failing to develop, understand and articulate our permanent interests, our agendas, we then fall victim to the problem of what I call binary politics. The simplistic either or scenario. Yes, this is a two party system, but being stuck in the mindset of binary politics, the simplistic either or scenario, continues to leave us with simplistic and deadly choices of the status quo. Do you want lead in your drinking water or mercury? (00:20:21): Do you want arsenic on your grits or baby? Do you want mama to sprinkle a little bit of strict nine on them? Grits for you, the dangers of binary politics, this rant of anybody. But Trump is a perfect example of the dangers of binary politics, especially for the African-American community. And please, please, please, baby. Please baby, baby. Please don't get this twisted. Yes, Trump is disgustingly ignorant. He's vile, he's gosh, he's racist. He's an admitted sexual predator and a convicted felon. However, following the simplistic narrative of anybody but Trump as the basis of your analysis will not ipso facto lead you to a better alternative as sporting life said in Porgy and best, it ain't necessarily. So folks, I unapologetically see the world through. We're doing live radio, so I got to every now and then check my messages here to be sure that I'm staying on course, staying on track. Okay? So anyway, folks, I unapologetically see the world through the lens of an African-American man, and I focus on the interests of the African-American community. But my analysis I applies to every demographic across the board. (00:22:09): Let me pause here and just say, Steve, you're right. We're talking about Haiti. Sandra, you said you don't know. It looks as though folks would rather remain in Lala ignorant about many issues, the Western individualism value. Oh, you're absolutely right, Sandra. You're absolutely right about that. And that really gets to the crux of my point. And as I talked about the decline of the empire, this is all part of that western individualist value. And by the way, which is a conservative construct, and Sandra, help me out here if I'm on track with this, is that too many of us in the African-American community have bought into this whole idea of I've got mine. Now you have to get yours. We have lost track of the power of the collective. We have lost track of how we as a community, as we as African-Americans with a distinct history, with a distinct culture, have been able to make it through the challenges that have been imposed upon us by the dominant culture. (00:23:41): Look, I say this all the time. Du Bois wrote The Souls of black folk, not the soul of some guy. Mrs. Hamer dedicated her life championing the right for us to vote. She did not dedicate her life simply so that she could vote. And now what too many of us are looking at, what too many of us are confused about and confused by is the progress of some at the expense of the many. I got mine. You got to get yours. That has never worked for us. It will never work for us. And then there are too many of us like Richardson down in North Carolina, and who's the brother that from Florida that appeared at that Trump race Fest 2024 in New York. He comes on stage after the dude, before him played, Dixie played, what's his name? (00:25:07): I'm drawing blank on a guy that sang it, but what kind of cery was that? A black man going to come on stage, Elvis Presley after a white cat before him, his bumper music was Dixie. And instead of coming to the mic saying, oh hell, to the na Bobby, hell to the na, I'm not going to stand here and follow that racist foolishness. He just goes along, buck dancing, cooning shining, and you know, any of you all that have spent any time listening to me, rarely will I use those types of references when I'm talking about Buck dancing coons. But that just shows you the depths and the utter depravity that our community has fallen into global insight perspectives. You ask, what do I say to African American voters who say, if you vote third party, you'll enable Trump to, ah, okay, global insight perspective. Great question. I was going to get to that a little later, but let me do that right now. (00:26:37): That gets back to my point of the dangers of binary thinking because right now we're stuck in this duopoly Republican and Democrat thinking that there are truly substantive differences between the parties when in fact it's a duopoly. They are two wings on the same bird. They are two sides of the same coin. The Democrats to a great degree, they will couch their racism, they'll couch their militarism in slightly softer language. They'll bring black faces to the forefront to sell you that bs. Linda Thomas Greenfield at the UN championing genocide, right? Kamala Harris going to Kom as I mentioned earlier, Hakeem Jeffries go to Racom, who's the head of africom. It's a black general. Lloyd Austin goes to Kenya to convince William Ruto the president of Kenya. They show him given the check to Ruto, to invade Haiti on behalf of the United States. So the Democrats, they'll roll out black faces to Barack Obama, they'll roll out black faces to sell you basically the same policies that the Republicans, they just Bogart. They go hard in the paint. They go hard in the paint. No, easy layups, hard fouls. They don't care. Democrats try to be, they try to give you a kinder, a kinder, softer militarism. (00:28:50): And Daniel dvi Du Bois said, race is not biological. It's cultural. Oh, that's very, very true. That's why you don't hear me usually speaking in the context of race. I speak in the context of ethnicity and I speak in the context of culture because there is absolutely no biological proof, scientific, empirical data to support the construct of race. Race is a eugenic construct, and I was just in London lecturing on this at Oxford and at Westminster Universities just got back Saturday. Thank you to Dr. Chantel Sherman for putting on that conference. Yeah, race doesn't exist. It just doesn't. It exists only in the warped mind of those that have been convinced that race is real. Race is an artificial construct that was created to a great degree by Christians in order to rationalize the dehumanization of enslaved Africans because they had to figure out if we can consider ourselves to be Christian, then how can we rationalize and justify enslaving other human beings? (00:30:26): Oh, here's an idea. We create this construct of race. Therefore, we can say they are an inferior group of people. And Calvinism played a very, very key part in this because one of the elements of Calvinism is predestination, predetermination. So they then were able to say, oh, these people were predetermined by God to be inferior and subservient to us, the white European. So that's where the whole construct of race comes from. Daniel, thank you so much for that. Byron Donalds. Yes, thank you. Thank you, Rell. I think that's, if I pronounced that correctly, yeah, Byron Donalds is who I was trying to think of again, folks, you have never even heard me call Clarence Thomas a coon, but Byron, Donald Coons coon, anybody that comes on stage on a stage at an event where Dixie was played. I don't care what time in the lineup, you are supposed to come on stage and shut that rascal down. (00:31:47): You're supposed to come on stage and quote that brilliant African-American, that late African-American philosopher Whitney Houston, and say, oh hell, to the Nall Bobby held to the Nall. We ain't going for this. But anyway, oh well, Daniel, excellent, excellent. Thank you. I appreciate your critique of that analysis. Okay, so let me try to move a little further here. Again, as I said, I see the world in unapologetically so through the lens of an African-American man. And please understand this my saying that my being pro me do not ever, and this is something that people do all the time. Black Lives Matter was an example of this. Never equate my being pro me with my being anti you, my being pro me is me being pro me. (00:32:50): The retort to Black Lives matter was, well, all lives matter. Yeah, that's true. But if that were a reality in the United States, if all lives in the United States actually mattered, then we wouldn't have to highlight the fact that Black Lives Matter. The reason that Black Lives mattered was developed was because we saw on our phones, on our television screens, on our computer monitors, black people being slaughtered in the street, and I'm not even going to say shot down in the street like dogs, because if I went out into the street and shot a dog in the street, I would be immediately arrested. (00:33:41): That's why I don't say shot down in the street like dogs, because in many communities, they seem to hold the lives of dogs in higher regard than they do African Americans. So anyway, I see the world through the lens of an African-American man and as a political scientist, I go back to the piece by Mac Jones, a message to a black political scientist where he says, as such, it's my obligation to develop a different wean Chung, a different worldview that I view the world through the prism of my experience, historical, current and personal as an African-American human being, and that I can never allow my analysis to deviate from that because that's what is the most relevant to my community. So vote or abstain, back to that point, I strongly suggest voting. I don't think that you can abdicate your duty as a citizen and sit this one out. We as American citizens, we can no longer afford to leave the management and governance of this country and system to those that we have elected to represent our interests. And I think that little element, that little kernel right there, is what unfortunately is being overlooked, and I'll say particularly in the African-American community, we keep hearing vote for Kamala vote, and I'm not saying vote or don't vote for him or her. (00:35:45): I'm not going to do that. If you want me to, I will tell you who I think is going to win this. I'll get to that in a minute, but I'm not saying vote for him or vote for her, vote for them or not them. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying though is that too many of us have been bludgeoned with you have to vote for her because she's a black woman. If you don't vote for her, you hate black women. You have to vote for her because Donald Trump is the reincarnation of the devil, which by the way, he is. (00:36:21): No, no, no. I need to know. I need her to tell me what she's going to do for me and how she's going to do it. That's all I've been demanding. Kamala, vice President Harris, tell me very, I need you to come on up to stage and say, Wilmer, look. This is what I'm going to do. This is how I'm going to do it, and this is how we're going to pay for it. I need her to do that. Folks, you can't abdicate your duty as a citizen. You can't sit this one out at a campaign event. This past Thursday evening in Arizona, former President Trump said to Tucker Carlson, she, Liz Cheney, she's a radical warhawk. Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her. Okay, let's see how she feels about it. When the guns are trained on her face, they're all warhawks. When they're sitting in Washington with a nice building, Trump continued. (00:37:35): What he might think that casting that in the light of put a rifle in her hand and train nine at her face is some kind of military construct. No, Donald, you're not really that smart. We understand that's the context of a firing squad, and no matter how you try to spin that one, that's just disgusting. That's just disgusting. Torito, we did a show last talking about my SiriusXM show. Yes, there was a show it was a best of because I was in London at the time. I will be live tomorrow, tomorrow on SiriusXM 1 26 from 11 to two Eastern. Hopefully that answers your question. Where am I here? (00:38:46): So Kamala had an interview on Fox. She was asked about her platform and she didn't know it. She said, go to my website and read it. Well, yeah, that one speaks for itself, and that's what I've been saying during the whole campaign is folks, politics is not about phenotype. Politics is not about skin color. Politics is about policy, policy initiatives, policy output, policy results. I'm a political scientist. Public policy is my primary area, public policy and black politics, or it was supposed to be a political economy, but that's a whole nother conversation. That's why I'm so stuck on policy. That's what I do. That's what I do. Meg, yo from Baltimore, thank you for joining us. Get me a crab cake if you wouldn't mind. How do I feel about Dick Cheney supporting Kamala Harris? Carl, how do I feel about Dick Cheney supporting Kamala Harris? Let's understand. Now, this is my opinion. I don't have any data to support this point, but this is my opinion, and I think this is fairly accurate. I don't think that Dick Cheney in the middle of the night opened his eyes as a light was shining upon him in a voice of power and majesty filled the room and said, Announcer (00:40:35): Dick Cheney, purveyor of evil war criminal, you must repent and endorse Vice President Harris. And then Dick Cheney pushed back the covers Wilmer Leon (00:40:53): And sat up in the bed and said, oh my God, I have been saved. No, didn't happen. I think the Republican elite have come to the realization that the Frankenstein monster that they have created, Donald Trump is now ravaging and pillaging their village, and they see Kamala Harris as the last ditched attempt to salvage their party as they've known it to exist. Look, you can go back and find the language from, what's it? The Senator from South Carolina. What's the dude's name? I'm drawing a blank on that. Anyway, who told us that Donald Trump was a racist, narcissistic, xenophobic, bigot. (00:42:10): The record is replete with the examples of Ted Cruz. Lindsey Graham, what's her name from South Carolina, Nikki Haley, all of these Republicans, traditional members of the traditional Republican elite telling us that Donald Trump is everything but a child of God. They created this monster. You can go back to the Tea Party and one of the founders, Tom Tan credo. Remember Tom Tancredo back in 2020 or 2016 talking about we want our country back. Tom, who had your country? Tom Tancredo. I don't have your country. I don't know anybody that does Remember that. I also believe that Sarah Palin being on the ticket with what's his name from Arizona, was the precursor to Donald Trump and Carl, this is a very long way. I'm getting to your question because she made you comfortable with stupidity. She made you comfortable with ignorance. (00:43:48): She made you comfortable, and the you is a generic general. You as the country, she made the country comfortable with an ignorant person being a heartbeat away from being the leader of the free world. She tilled the soil, she laid the groundwork for Donald Trump, and then he came in and just bogarted the whole damn game. So Carl, getting back to your point, your question. So again, Dick Cheney didn't find Jesus. What Dick Cheney realized is looking at the policies of the Biden Harris administration, particularly foreign policy, particularly militarism, because remember where he came from. Lemme see if I got the book. Remember where he came? I got over here somewhere. Oh, wait a minute. Here it is. (00:44:58): Sorry. The shadow world inside the global Arms trade. See if I can quickly, after Cheney left the defense department in 1992, his appointment as CEO of Halliburton in 1995 led us to a remarkable improvement in the company's fortunes, especially with regard to federal contracts. In the five years prior to his arrival, Halliburton received the poultry 100 million, paltry 100 million in government credit guarantees under Cheney. Halliburton received 15 times that amount, 1.5 billion. Cheney was paid well for her services for 48 months. He received $45 million from Halliburton, the shadow world inside the global arms trade, Andrew Feinstein. Okay, so Dick Cheney, again, it wasn't divine intervention. The hand of God didn't touch Cheney on his shoulder. No, he realized backing her, he, Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney and all those other Republicans that are now on the Harris bandwagon, they're not on that bandwagon because they're coming closer to her. They're on the bandwagon because she has come closer to them. That's my opinion. Hopefully, Carl, that answers your question. Now is that a good thing or a bad thing? It depends on who your candidate is, but I think that's the reality because when you look at Liz Cheney and Kamala Harris on stage, that's not a good vibe. I don't think I've ever seen them embrace. They may have. (00:47:06): I haven't seen it. It there's a distance between them because I don't think personally they really like each other beyond politics. Again, that's my opinion. I could be as wrong as the day is long. Yes, Ramel sense. They are all war mongers and war criminals based upon the international criminal court standards. They are all, not only are they war mongers, they are also war criminals. Carl, please listen tomorrow. I think I got a hell of a show for y'all tomorrow, but anyway. Oh, okay. Who do I think will win the election and why? You know what, Fred? Hold that. I'm going to get to that in a minute. I, because I have an answer for you. So lemme go back to Trump's what I call the racist hate fest. 2024 in Madison Square Garden. This was a six hour eugenic, racist hate-filled rant, and there was one in particular, which I'm sure most of you now are familiar with this. (00:48:29): So-called comedian, I'm not even going to mention this guy's name called Puerto Rico, a floating island of garbage. He said there's a lot going on. I don't know if you know this, but there's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it's called Puerto Rico. Now, there is actually a floating island of garbage in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii. Why not talk about that? Why not talk about the impact that there is truly a floating island of garbage off the Pacific, not the Atlantic coast, and it's full of plastics that are decimating the ecology. Fish are now being found to have microparticles of plastics in them. Sea turtles are getting caught up in all kinds. You could have talked about that in terms of a floating island of garbage, but no, you have to take that ecological disaster called a floating island of garbage off the Pacific Coast, and you have to turn that into this racist eugenic diatribe targeted at Puerto Ricans. Well, lemme tell you this, homie, Pennsylvania is a swing state. (00:50:03): Pennsylvania has 20 electoral votes in the electoral college. Trump won the state in 2016 by a narrow margin of 0.72%. Biden was able to reclaim the state in 2020, winning it by a similarly narrow 1.17% margin or about 80,500 votes. See folks, I use data. When I take a position, when I tell you something, if it's my opinion, I'm going to tell you very clearly I don't have the data for it. Here's my opinion. When I have the data, I'm going to give you the data. So Biden was able to reclaim Pennsylvania and he won it with a 1.17% margin or about 80,500 votes. (00:51:12): Pennsylvania's Latino eligible voter population has more than doubled since 2000 from 206,000 to 620,000 in 2023. Now, Biden won with a margin of 80,500 votes in 2020. Now in 2016, there are 620,000 Latinos, and this is according to Census Bureau figures, and more than half of those voters, about 310,000 are eligible voters who are Puerto Rican, and they are pissed. They are pissed to the highest of Tivity. They are pissed. That's not good, Mr. So-called funny man, racist, funny man. That's not good. You didn't do your boy, you didn't do Trump any favors by going down that alleyway as Richard Pryor would say, because it may not be the voice of God. (00:52:34): Here's what's overlooked by a number of people. Too many of us believe that once you've cast your vote or once you've cast your ballot that your job is done. But folks, casting your ballot is just the beginning of the process. Once you've cast your ballot, your job isn't done. It's only just begun. You have to stay engaged. You have to hold those you voted for or didn't vote for accountable. You have to stay engaged. You can't abdicate your duty as a citizen and sit this one out and if you vote, you have to stay engaged. You've got to, folks, there are many, getting back to the Puerto Rican issue. There are many who will tell you, Dr. Anthony Montero, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant brother out of Philly, who will tell you that the disenchanted African-American, particularly black male community in Philly, that many of them are going to sit this out, and as a result of that, it's going to cost vice president heresy election. (00:53:50): I wonder if those disenchanted African-American males and females who are going to sit this out will now be offset by these angry Latinos, specifically Puerto Ricans. Again, this so-called Mr. Funny Man, I don't think at the end of the day this is going to prove to be, prove to be too funny. Harrison Wall said, claim that they're charting a new way forward to a future where everyone has the opportunity to get by, not just get by, but get ahead. I'm sorry. Her articulation of the opportunity economy is so that you don't just get by, you get ahead. They're proposing, for example, $25,000 as a down payment assistance for first time home buyers, small business entrepreneur assistance, tax cuts for the middle and working class. That's all great, that's all great and it's damn sure need it. (00:55:05): My question is, how's it going to be paid for? Again, I'm a policy guy. How's it going to be paid for? Has anyone publicly asked that question? How much is it going to cost? What's it going to do to the budget? What's it going to do to the deficit and how are you going to pay for it? Because with billions of dollars going to Ukraine, 8 billion about 10 days ago, 8.7 billion, about 10 days ago, going to Israel, 600 million going to Taiwan, that's 17 billion in one day last week or 10 days ago to the settler, 8.7, going to the settler colonial Zionist, settler colonial state called Israel, trying to pick a war with China. Where's this money going to come from? She's made the promise, the campaign promise. My question is, if she wins, will you hold her accountable to deliver on that promise to those who are so offended by the genocide being committed against the Palestinians and rightfully so, many of those of you believe that the answer to that atrocity is a protest vote for Trump. This gets back to the third party question. I believe my opinion that by failing to develop, understand and articulate our permanent interests and agendas, we are falling victim to the problem of binary politics. The simplest either or scenario. You're angry with Biden Harris, the Biden Harris administration for backing funding, participating in the genocide and Gaza. (00:57:15): So you believe that the answer to that is a vote for Trump to our Muslim brothers and Arab brothers and sisters who are rightfully appalled by these genocidal policies, I don't think your viable option is a protest vote for Trump, because remember his son-in-law, Jared Kushner is articulating plans to turn Gaza into beachfront Mediterranean condos, and Jared Kushner is a key advisor to his father-in-law. So if by chance you vote for Trump thinking, you're voting for Trump as a protest against the Biden Harris administration, I personally believe you're making a big mistake because yes, this is a two party system, but there's also third party candidates out there as well. (00:58:25): You've got Dr. Cornell West and Dr. Molina Abdullah. You've got Dr. Jill Stein and Dr. Butch Ware. Two examples from the Green Party. So if you're going to make a protest vote, then in my opinion, I believe in you cast a protest vote. Think about third party the real signal, in my opinion. If you want to really send a message, let the duopoly see a third party campaign. Get 20% of the vote, let a third party get enough to qualify for public campaign funding. Let a third party get a significant enough vote to qualify to be on the debate stage. Can you imagine Dr. West on stage debating Donald Trump? Can you imagine Dr. West on stage debating Vice President Harris? Can you imagine Dr. Butch Ware on the stage debating JD Vance, folks, I'm talking peace shooter at a gunfight. That's what you would be witnessing. And I'm not saying that Dr. West on stage against Kamala Harris. In fact, I'm wrong to put it in that kind of conflict scenario because it's all about the best interest of the American people. It's not about protecting one person's image against and using another person to tarnish that image. That's not what this is about. (01:00:10): Thank you, Sherry, for coming back and agreeing with me. This is about you. This is about America. This is about our country. This is about social security. In fact, to that point, let give y'all, let me give you a very simple example of this. We keep hearing that social security is in jeopardy, right? You've got George W that wanted to privatize social security, which we know was just grant theft auto. Here's the solution, and you can do the math yourself. This one is so simple, a 10-year-old can figure it out right now, the social security contribution that comes out of your paycheck every month if you have a paycheck gets capped at, I think it's either 140 or $144,000. Every dollar you make after 140 or $144,000 is exempt from the Social Security payroll tax. (01:01:49): You want to salvage social security, which by the way isn't really in jeopardy, but if you want to salvage social security, raise the ceiling on the Social security payroll tax, raise it to, I don't know, pick a number, raise it to $500,000 of salary, raise it to a million dollars of salary, raise it to 1.5 million of salary. If you are making $500,000 in salary, you can afford an additional 10%, 15%, or 10% on that. Whatever the payroll tax is, I don't have it in front of me. And what you would be able to do by doing that, you would ensure the sustainability. That's not the word I was looking for, but anyway, sustainability of social security, you ready for this? Lower the retirement age, you could lower the retirement age and don't send your money yet because there's a bamboo steamer that comes with this deal. You could expand benefits, raise benefits. (01:03:19): They right now are talking about what? Raising the retirement age to like 72 and what's the life expectancy of the average American about 67 years. So now you got to work five years beyond your death. Does that make sense? No, not at all. That's a very simple fix, folks. The math is simple. Raise the social security ceiling from 140 or $144,000 to a million if you make a million dollars in salary. We're not talking about return on investments, we're not talking about all those other revenue generating elements in your stock, in your portfolio, just salary. You could salvage social security, you could lower their retirement age, you could increase benefits. Why isn't Kamala Harris talking about that? Well, because as son Ray says, if we hold her accountable, they will send her the, oh, that's not one. (01:05:03): Oh, I'm sorry. It was JJ Mars who says the American oligarchs will never allow it. Well, JJ Mars, that's why I'm saying it's not about what the oligarchs will allow. It's about what you as American people and voters and constituents will demand so that a candidate cannot come forward and win unless they commit to doing that. And then you have to ensure that the members of Congress understand if that doesn't happen, they no longer have jobs. See, I'm not going to concede this to the American oligarchs. If I were doing that, then I'm wasting my time talk. I've wasted an hour and six minutes of my day talking to you. I could be playing golf. I could be a shaan right now on number seven, teeing off on number seven. It's beautiful outside, right? Shit, it's 80 degrees outside. (01:06:12): So jj, if I'm going to concede that to the oligarchs, then why have I been sitting here doing this? I'm about to fight, man. JI don't know if you're male or female, so please forgive me. I'm about to fight. I'm about to struggle. I'm about kicking ass and taking names. I'm not throwing the towel in because I'm going to succeed or die trying. The Powell memo, Sherry, what was the Powell memo and the chamber? Okay, Louis Powell, former Supreme Court Justice before Lewis Powell was nominated and appointed to the Supreme Court, Lewis Powell was the chairman or president, I don't remember the title of the National Chamber of Commerce. He was out of Richmond, Virginia. And Powell wrote what has now become known as the Powell Memo in, I want to say in the mid seventies. And the crux of the Powell memo was corporate America. Remember, he was the chairman or the president of the National Chamber of Commerce. (01:07:43): It was his position that corporate America had to get more involved in American politics, that corporate America had to invest more money into candidates, had to invest more money into parties, had to invest more money into the machinery. Sherry, thank you, 1972, had to invest more money into the machinery of the American political process in order to ensure that their corporate interests prevailed in the legislative system. And so that's how you now wind up with, oh, shoot, I'm drawing a blank on the Supreme Court case that now comes out and says that corporations are people too, and that corporations have interest and voices that should be allowed, and you can now contribute ungodly amounts of money into the American political system. Corporations can donate all this money to candidates. Thank you. Thank you, Zach. The Citizens United Case. Thank you. That's how you wind up with the Citizens United case. (01:09:20): And Sherry, I'm glad you No, I'm not talking about Elon Musk, jj. I'm talking about talking Powell. But look at how long it took. It took from 72, I think this is right to 2010 for the Citizens United case to be passed however many years that is. See, they play it for the long game. Powell writes this memo in 72, gets a Supreme Court case validating that position in 2010. Look at how long it took. They play it for the long game. We play it. I wouldn't even say for the short game. We play it. We play it an inning. We're happy with an inning at a time. They're looking at series. (01:10:23): So hopefully, Sherry, does that answer your question about the Powell memo and what has also become, well, some call it the Powell Doctrine. Others associate the Powell Doctrine with General Colin Powell and the You break it, you own it thing. But anyway, do I think Trump and Harris are both fascists? Yes. Yes. Yes. And how so? Because look at the industrialists that are actually controlling the policies, and what does Kamala Harris say? We are going to have the most, she didn't use the word dominant. I can't remember, Sherry. Oh, yes, sir. I have a PhD. Well, you know what, Sherry, to that point, PhD, my son says, it means two things piled higher and deeper, and it also means, please help dad. Anyway. (01:11:36): Now, what was I talking about? Oh, fascism. It's the corporate interests controlling policy and using the police force slash military in order to support it domestically and internationally. And so I believe that Trump is just a more vocal fascist than Kamala Harris, but I believe that she's just as fascist as the rest of 'em, as Barack Obama was, as well as was George. I mean, I don't see how you get to the exalted position of president without being a fascist, because that's one of the basis of American foreign policy is fascism. You can put a, okay, to those of you that are now up in arms, Wilmer, how can you call Kamala Harris a fascist? She's a kinder, gentler, fascist. Remember in a more attractive fascist. Remember George HW Bush and his kinder, gentler conservatism. Remember that? Well, we are now dealing with a kinder, gentler fascism. So let me look to wrap this up for now. (01:13:24): Anybody but Trump, I believe that whole mantra ignores the fact as a US president that he's a functionary. A US president is a functionary of the United States government. An American president is a functionary of the interests of the elite. Look at Trump's position on Venezuela. It was the same as the Biden administration. Both Democrat and Republican administrations have had policies that included US interference and other Central American and South American countries. Trump's position on tax cuts and cuts to social programs builds upon tax policy and social policy cuts from previous administrations. Remember Bill Clinton and ending welfare as we know it. (01:14:18): And remember, Obama's failed grand bargain. Again, folks, I'm not talking with you now saying that any candidate is the right choice or the wrong choice. I'm merely asking you, what do we get for our loyalty? What do you get for your vote? Do you get more hope without substantive and systemic change? What do you get by settling for the status quo through the willful ignorance of supporting a candidate that has a proven track record on issues that aren't in the best interest of the American people that aren't in the best interest of the African-American community? We, as Baldwin said, are merely making peace with mediocrity without substantive systemic change. Are we believing that we are really what the white world calls a nigger? (01:15:34): This should never become our reality. So with that, let me say to all of you all that have invested the last hour and 15 minutes of your morning with me, with us, my phenomenal, phenomenal producer, melody Graves. I would not be able to do any of this without her. Let me see. S one. All we can hope for is a president that will give us the softest landing for this dying empire. Create your own strategy to save you and your loved ones as many others as you are able to do. You're absolutely right. Oh, oh, oh, oh, right. Who do I think is going to win the election? Thank you for bringing me back to that. This is what I see you ready. (01:16:34): I believe that either at the end of Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, the 47th president of the United States is going to be Kamala Harris. I believe it's going, and I've consulted with a former classmate of mine, Dr. Bari Jahi, who's a brilliant, brilliant brother, and I agree. The numbers will be around 2 93 Harris, 2 45 Trump. Remember, you need two 70 to win. I don't even think Trump's going to win the popular vote. He got 75 million votes against Biden. I don't think he'll get 75 million this time. It could go to three 19 Harris, because I think that she's going to win North Carolina and I believe that she's going to win Arizona so she could go as high as three 19 or three 20. This hate fest, racist diatribe 2024 that he held in New York, I think did him incredible damage, and what he said Thursday yesterday about Liz Cheney, I think it is going to do him incredible damage. Also, I don't believe that the polling numbers that we're seeing, excuse me, I don't believe that the polling numbers are anywhere near accurate. I think you're, if you look at the polls, I think you're being sold a pig and a poke. (01:18:41): Remember, I forget the year in the first Obama campaign, the polling and all of the analysts and everybody, la, and everybody was telling us that Mitt Romney was going to defeat Barack Obama and that Romney was going to win by seven to nine points. Didn't happen even election night. They were still talking about Romney seven to nine point victory didn't happen. Their polling is skewed. Some of it is intentional, some of it is inherent in the systemic nature of it. Let me go through these real quickly. Please tell you who, doctor, please tell me this live will be uploaded. It will be so you can watch it again, Jackie. Thank you. Sandra believes Kamala will win as well. Trump wins with 300. Okay, Zach, we'll see. You say Trump wins with 300 plus, it might happen. Let's see, jj, whoever wins will not be able to complete their four year term. I can't speak to that. I can't predict the future. My crystal ball right now, unfortunately, is in the shop. (01:20:08): Sherry, I will not be voting for Harris or Trump. Okay? There are viable third parties out there, and when you think third party, you got to think long game, which I think if you really want to send a message, if you really want to have a vote protest, let the elite see a significant increase in support for third parties, and I think that'll do this. Democracy and incredible service, big C. Hey, you want to thank me for my brilliant commentary? Oh, brilliant. You're too kind. I think you just need to get out more. You believe Harris will win. Okay, so with all that and a bag of chips, here's what I want to do. I got to thank you all so much for listening, for participating in the Connecting the Dots podcast, this live podcast, we are going live, and I hope to start it next week, but there'll be more posted on that one. (01:21:07): Thank you again for listening to the Connecting the Dots podcast with me, Dr. Wier Leon. Stay tuned for new episodes, hopefully every day Monday through Friday. Please follow and subscribe. Leave a review. Folks, we're going live that costs and it costs big. I need help. I need your help. Leave a review. Share the show. Follow me. Follow us. Again, without the wonderful, brilliant Melody Graves, I would just be sitting here talking to myself. You can follow us on social media. You can find all the links below in the show description. Remember that this is where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge, because talk without analysis is just chatter. I don't chatter here. We don't chatter here on Connecting the dots. Tomorrow. Saturday, my show Inside The Issues with Wilmer Leon on SiriusXM 1 26, urban View, 11 to two. Got a great lineup for y'all tomorrow. Check it out. You'll be really interested and surprised, and folks, I'm going to see you again next time. Until then, I am Dr. Wilmer Leon. Have a great, great one. Peace. I'm out Announcer (01:22:28): Connecting the dots with Dr. Wilmer Leon, where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge.
In this episode, Loye and Fola discuss Nigeria's economic struggles, Gabon's constitutional changes, Zimbabwe's land compensation issues, Mozambique's election irregularities, and Kenya's political landscape. They also touch on Botswana's upcoming elections and celebrate Egypt's malaria-free status.01:57 Nigeria's Economic Challenges and Reforms10:00 Gabon's Constitutional Referendum and Military Rule13:49 Zimbabwe's Land Compensation Controversy20:06 Mozambique's Election24:54 Quick Takeshttps://www.instagram.com/thebrief.xyz/
Youth movements have become a powerful catalyst for demanding change across Africa. Kenya's #RejectFinanceBill2024 protests emerged in June 2024 as a response to a controversial finance bill that included significant tax hikes. Despite violent police crackdowns resulting in over 60 deaths, the movement successfully pressured President Ruto to withdraw the bill and dismiss several cabinet members. Mvemba is joined by Kenyan youth leaders Hanifa Adan, Journalist and Activist, Kasmuel McOure, Spokesperson for the National Coordination Committee of Peoples' Assemblies, and Mwanase Ahmed, Socio-environmental Activist, to discuss the ongoing dissatisfaction of Kenyan youth. They highlighted the failure of previous regimes to address economic hardship and government corruption that led to a collective awakening among young people. These activists stressed the need for civic education and community engagement to mobilize support across Kenya. Furthermore, the overarching sentiment is that youth will continue to strive for change and seek accountability from Kenyan political leaders, a sign of growing resilience in the face of systems that do not work for them.
Kenya's President Ruto has struck a labour deal with Germany, but how will the policy work, and will the skilled and semi-skilled workers arriving from Kenya be well-received? Is Tanzania's increasing involvement in the tobacco industry sacrificing the health of its population? And why did a student take Ghana's education department to court over his hairstyle?Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Charles Gitonga and Frenny Jowi in Nairobi. Yvette Twagiramariya, Benjamin Woodroof and Nyasha Michelle in London Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne Technical producer: Francesca Dunne Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
Listen to the Sun. Sept. 15, 2024 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. This program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the warning by the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) against its adversaries; the war between Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the IOF is intensifying; Kenyan airport workers upended the privatization plans of the Ruto government; and the military leader of the Republic of Sudan is attempting to build legitimacy internationally. In the second and third hours we continue our James Baldwin centenary commemorations with a review of the 1971 discussion between the African American novelist, playwright, essayist and public intellectual with Margaret Mead, the United States anthropologist.
Ralph welcomes Washington Post reporter Shannon Osaka to discuss her new article, “The Plastics We Breathe” and the shocking truth that all of the plastic we're using isn't just polluting the environment—it's polluting our bodies as well. Then, Ralph checks in on the state of the industrial hemp movements with “Hempster” filmmaker and activist Michael Henning. Shannon Osaka is a climate reporter covering policy, culture, and science for the Washington Post. Before joining the Post, she was a climate reporter at the nonprofit environmental outlet Grist.Microplastics are not only around us, they're also inside us…This is a really difficult problem, and it's partly because there is no one microplastic. Microplastics are made of a whole bunch of different materials—they're made with different chemical additives. So scientists have found that microplastics can have certain effects in the laboratory—they can cause cell death, they can cause tissue damage, they can cause allergic reactions, they are starting to put the pieces together on the impact on human health.Shannon Osaka[“The Plastics We Breathe” by Shannon Osaka and Simon Ducroquet] comes across as a massive global assault—hour by hour, a violent, violent pandemic—when you look at the fact that it's everywhere, it's in the water, it's in the air, it's in human bodies, it's in the animals that are eaten, it's in the pipes, it's being swallowed regularly, it's invisible, it doesn't produce immediate pain, it's in the placenta, the liver, the breast milk.Ralph NaderMichael Henning is a filmmaker, public speaker, and longtime proponent of the Industrial Hemp Movement. He is the director of Hempsters: Plant the Seeds, a documentary about the struggle to legalize industrial hemp.The DEA is the most profitable hemp farmer in the world. They get a million dollars per acre. Here's the irony of all this—they're cutting down feral ditch weed…Well, why the hell are they eradicating cannabis when it's legal to grow in all 50 states? They're taking us to the cleaners with the amount of money that taxpayers pay to support the Cannabis Eradication Program. How can you have a Cannabis Eradication Program when it's legal to grow in all 50 states?Michael HenningIn Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantisNews 7/3/241. Following President Biden's disastrous performance in the first presidential debate, pressure is beginning to build for Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee against Trump. The Texas Tribune reports Congressman Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat representing Austin, Texas is the first to explicitly call for Biden to stand down, writing in a statement, “President Biden...has the opportunity to encourage a new generation of leaders from whom a nominee can be chosen to unite our country though an open, democratic process….I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so.” Other top Democrats have not gone quite so far, but haven't closed the door completely. Congressman Jim Clyburn, a powerful South Carolina Democrat and co-chair of Biden's campaign, told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell “I will support…[Vice President Kamala Harris if President Joe Biden]…were to step aside,” per NBC's Gary Grumbach. NBC reports House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said Biden's mental fitness is a “legitimate question.”2. Israel's rabidly right-wing Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir has issued a statement on Twitter responding to claims from Palestinian prisoners that they faced “rape, physical and psychological torture, deprivation of food, medicine and sleep, humiliation and degradation,” in Israeli prisons, per the Middle East Eye. In this statement, Ben Gvir wrote “Everything published about the abominable conditions…was true…I have already proposed a much simpler solution…enacting the death penalty.”3. +972 Magazine is out with a report on the Sde Teiman detention center in the Negev desert, where Israel has held more than 4,000 Palestinian prisoners since October 7th. The magazine report recounts the countless instances of horrific abuse at the detention center, many perpetrated against Arab-Israeli citizens. The magazine also cites the New York Times report that “doctors at the facility were instructed not to write their names on official documents or address each other by name in the presence of patients, for fear of being later identified and charged with war crimes at the International Criminal Court.”4. CNN reports that the Israeli military has “issued new evacuation orders…for areas in southern Gaza, including eastern Khan Younis and Rafah….[forcing] residents, many already displaced, to find new shelter,” in advance of yet another ground invasion. The Gaza European Hospital, one of the last hospitals in Gaza, is located within this evacuation zone. While the IDF has said the evacuation order “does not apply to the patients in the European Hospital or the medical staff working there,” the hospital has already “transferred patients, including those in intensive care and babies in incubators…to other facilities ‘in fear of bloodshed,' according to the hospital's deputy director and doctors.” The Palestine Red Crescent Society reported earlier this week that the few remaining hospitals in Gaza are overwhelmed by the influx of patients from the European Hospital, as well as other hospitals that have been bombed or evacuated during the Israeli bombing campaign.5. Axios reports that even pro-Israel Democrats are expressing apprehension about what they describe as AIPAC's “overkill” in the recent campaign to defeat progressive Congressman Jamaal Bowman. AIPAC, via their United Democracy Project PAC, spent at least $14.5 million on anti-Bowman ads as of June 20th, making this the most expensive primary ever, per POLITICO. One House Democrat, speaking anonymously, expressed concern that “that much money could backfire,” with another noting that “They do that a lot.” Progressive House Democrat Greg Casar said “[Progressives] have to adapt…voters have to know that, if they're seeing a huge barrage of ads, they've got to…find out if those [millions] of dollars are telling [them] the truth."6. The Department of Justice will formally charge Boeing with fraud over its fatal 2019 crashes, per Reuters. However, the Justice Department will offer the company a plea deal, including “a financial penalty and imposition of an independent monitor to audit the company's safety and compliance practices for three years.” If Boeing does not take the deal and plead guilty, the Justice Department has vowed to take the company to court; if they do plead guilty, it could affect the company's ability to enter into government contracts. Companies with felony convictions are barred from being awarded such contracts, but can receive waivers. The Department “declined to comment on the families' reaction.”7. AP reports “Tesla is recalling its…Cybertruck pickup…to fix problems with trim pieces that can come loose and front windshield wipers that can fail.” This is the fourth recall of the Cybertruck since it went on sale late last November. Each recall affects over 11,000 vehicles, each of which cost between $80-100,000.8. Last week, the Supreme Court ruled in Grant's Pass v. Johnson that a local ordinance banning homeless people from sleeping outdoors – even when there is inadequate shelter space available – does not violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Within days, lawmakers in Oregon and Los Angeles, among others, began to publicly signal they would utilize this ruling to crack down on unhoused people. The National Alliance to End Homelessness reports nearly 600,000 Americans are experiencing homelessness, an increase of six percent since 2017.9. France is facing a political crisis. In the first round of legislative elections, the far-Right National Rally and its allies claimed first place with just over 33% of the vote, followed by the Leftist New Popular Front with 28%. The centrist allies of President Macron came in a distant third. Going into the second round of voting, uncertainty swirled over whether the Center and the Left could form a so-called “republican front” against the far-Right, specifically whether the centrist candidates would stand down in close run-offs between the Left and far-Right, and vice versa. Macron now seems to have endorsed this position. According to Reuters, “A survey…showed a small majority of those who voted mainstream conservative in the first round would back the left-wing candidate best placed to beat an RN rival in the second round.”10. Finally, Kenya is being rocked by its own political crisis – one of neoliberalism. In order to meet targets set by the International Monetary Fund, Kenyan President William Ruto pushed a bill that would have imposed new taxes on “bread, vegetable oil…sugar, mobile-money transfers and some imports,” per Reuters. This announcement led to nothing short of a popular uprising in the streets, leading to violent clashes as the police sought to quash these protests. Those clashes left at least two dozen protesters dead. President Ruto has now pulled the bill, but protests continue to rock the country. One protester told Reuters “People are dying in the streets and the only thing he can talk about is money. We are not money. We are people. We are human beings…He needs to care about his people, because if he can't care about his people then we don't need him in that chair."This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe
Like many countries, Kenya is struggling with a cost of living crisis and how to balance the books. The government's answer was a plan to raise taxes, in what was called the Finance Bill, and this created a spark for protests across the country. According to estimates by the state-funded rights commission, 39 people have been killed in those demonstrations. Parliament was set on fire and hundreds were arrested. Many of those protesters are in their 20s, from what is known as Generation Z. Ultimately, President Ruto said he would not go ahead with tax increases, and he would listen to the country's youth - but the protests continue. Host James Reynolds brings together several Gen Z protesters to discuss what is making them so angry.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump meet in Atlanta, Georgia for a memorable debate.The Supreme Court temporarily blocks the Environmental Protection Agency's "Good Neighbor Plan" and blocks the multibillion Purdue opioid settlement, finding it inappropriately protected the Sackler family. And the Court sides with the Biden Administration in a challenge to Idaho's strict abortion ban.Meanwhile, Bolivia foils a military coup attempt. Army General Juan José Zúñiga is arrested hours after he led troops and tanks to storm the presidential palace in the capital, La Paz.In Kenya, protests resume a day after President Ruto makes a dramatic U-turn and withdraws contentious tax hikes. And Israel warns it can send Lebanon "back to the Stone Age" as the United Nations humanitarian affairs chief warns a conflict would be "potentially apocalyptic."We cover all this and more during this week's News Roundup.Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Yesterday was Debate Night in America, today we see the results. This week: in Palestine/Israel, a grim Save the Children report on Gaza (0:30), Netanyahu again rebuffs a ceasefire and suggests a new phase of the operation (2:41), a new court ruling on ultra-Orthodox Jews' conscription (7:14), and Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich again pushes West Bank annexation (10:17); Lebanon is still on edge as the US—while hosting Israeli minister of defence Yoav Gallant—warns Hezbollah that it will not stop Israel from attacking (13:00); a preview of Friday's presidential election in Iran (17:06); a disputed weapons test in the DPRK/North Korea (20:50); rumblings of an imminent coup in Burkina Faso (22:38); widespread protests break out in Kenya, leading President Ruto to back off of the controversial tax legislation (26:28); deadly attacks in Dagestan (29:47); the espionage trial of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich begins in Russia (32:02); a failed coup attempt in Bolivia (33:16); Kenyan police arrive in Haiti to face armed groups (36:23); and Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the United States (38:27). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.americanprestigepod.com/subscribe
This week hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, and Andrew Gillum take a look at the democratic primary race between progressive Jamaal Bowman and moderate George Latimer. The race was the most expensive House primary race in US history for ad buys…but it's more than just AIPAC money that impacted the outcome. Angela challenges the divide between Democrats and the group has some analysis that the mainstream missed. Then, it's OFFICIAL—social media can be bad for you. As if we didn't know! The Department of Health and Human Services issued new social media health guidelines for kids, while the Surgeon General called for social media to come with a warning label, like cigarettes. But how necessary are these measures, really? In Politics Are Everywhere, X, formerly known as Twitter, announced a distribution deal with Verzuz, which was created by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland. Folks were outraged at the pictures of Swizz and Timabland hanging out with Elon Musk and that the announcement came out Juneteenth. Did they sell out or is it Elon who's getting played OR a little more nuanced?? Stick around for a SPICY conversation at the end of the show. Tiffany brings us news from Kenya, where the self-described Gen Z'ers have stormed Kenya's parliament in protest of a highly unpopular tax bill. President Ruto has since conceded to the protestors' demands and vetoed the bill. Tiffany finds parallels between the young people protesting in Kenya and our own youth-led protests here in the states, while Andrew hears echoes of another set of protestors. With the weather heating up, it's a nice time to remind folks that the Summer EBT program is in full swing. You can find out how to get your SUN bucks at the USDA website. And of course we'll hear from you, our #NLPFan listeners. We are 131 days away from the election. Welcome home y'all! —--------- We want to hear from you! Send us a video @nativelandpod and we may feature you on the podcast. Instagram X/Twitter Facebook Watch full episodes of Native Land Pod here on Youtube. Thank you to the Native Land Pod team: Angela Rye as host, executive producer and cofounder of Reasoned Choice Media; Tiffany Cross as host and producer, Andrew Gillum as host and producer, and Gabrielle Collins as executive producer; Loren Mychael is our research producer, and Nikolas Harter is our editor and producer. Special thanks to Chris Morrow and Lenard McKelvey, co-founders of Reasoned Choice Media. Theme music created by Daniel Laurent.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Soldiers stormed Bolivia's presidential palace in the city of La Paz; Evo Morales, the former president, called it a “coup”.
President Ruto of Kenya has abandoned planned tax rises in response to deadly protests on Tuesday. Newshour gets reaction from a young protestor.Also in the programme: the US Supreme Court's accidental abortion leak; and an astronaut on when things go wrong in space; (Picture: Kenyan President Ruto withdraws controversial tax bill in the wake of violent protests, Nairobi, Kenya - 26 Jun 2024 leak. Credit: handout)
Ruto withdraws finance bill; Biden's Supreme Court win, and more
People have been killed and injured in Kenya as demonstrators break into parliament in escalating protests over government tax hikes. President Ruto has promised a tough response.Also in the programme: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange prepares for a court hearing on a remote US island that could lead to his freedom. But the debate continues - was he a hero or villain for leaking classified US documents? And as scientists make progress in attaching living human skin to humanoid robots, we hear about the potential advantages.(IMAGE: People attend a demonstration against Kenya's proposed finance bill 2024/2025 in Nairobi, Kenya, June 25, 2024 / CREDIT: Reuters / Monicah Mwangi)
Protesters stormed the Parliament of Kenya on Tuesday as gunshots rang out in the capital, and at least five people were killed. The violence erupted over a new bill to increase taxes. According to protesters, it could have a devastating effect on many Kenyans' lives. What ignited these protests, and why are young people leading them? In this episode: Zein Basravi (@virtualzein), Al Jazeera Journalist Episode credits: This episode was produced by Tamara Khandaker and Chloe K. Li with Mohamed Zain Shafi Khan, Veronique Eshaya, and our host Malika Bilal. It was edited by Amy Walters. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad is our engagement producer. Alexandra Locke is The Take's executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced plans on Wednesday to fast-track a vote on a bill to protect access to birth control and other contraceptives. It comes the day after former President Donald Trump suggested he would be open to new restrictions, only to backtrack hours later. Longtime Capitol Hill reporter Eugene Scott explains the strategy behind Schumer's fast vote.Kenyan President William Ruto arrived in Washington on Wednesday for a three-day state visit. The White House will host him at an official state dinner tonight, making Ruto the first African leader to have state visit since 2008. We'll look at what that 16-year gap says about broader U.S. relations on the African continent.And in headlines: The New York Times reports a second right-wing flag was flown at a beach house owned by Justice Samuel Alito, the families of 19 victims of the Uvalde, Texas school shooting sued the school district and nearly 100 police officers for the botched response to the attack, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for a snap general election on July 4.Show Notes:What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday