Notices by Ramesh #NotGoingBack (rameshgupta@mastodon.social)

⬆️ @aquarius1842 @davidaugust

>> … trump is compromised.

@emptywheel #LiftedTheFog

https://www.emptywheel.net/2024/11/12/russia-attempts-to-collect-its-winnings/

#Russia is trying to collect while it still can, and could still sink #Trump, at least until inauguration.

https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/08/02/lawfare-missing-the-kompromat-for-the-pee-glee/

Trump’s behavior at the #Helsinki summit reflects lashing from Putin after Rod #Rosenstein slyly alerted Putin that #Mueller knew certain things that Trump wouldn’t fully understand.

Putin has receipts.

Mueller hinted he knew what some of them are.

⬆️ @mekkaokereke

>> Y'all need to stop trying to paint pro-racism white women as the victims. They're not the victims. They're the perpetrators of about half the racism experienced by Black folk.🙋🏿♂️

He's back to sowing division among Americans. After frequently accusing #Biden of #racism without offering proof, he is now calling white women "perpetrators".

Somebody needs to show him this from @heidilifeldman

It is counterproductive to the cause of justice and liberation for all to sow division

⬆️ @br00t4c

>> #Trump - #Vance are doing to #Haitians what the #Israeli #Right has done to #Palestinians -- Demonize a Whole People

#FalseEquivalence

I'm not defending what #Netanyahu has done and continues doing, but #Trump is worse.

#Israel's actions are at least grounded in continued political violence targeting Israeli civilians for nearly 8 decades.

Trump and Vance just demonized legal Haitian immigrants without being provoked — simply on the basis of latter's race and skin color

⬆️ Saw both #KamalaHarris speeches in NC and #TimWalz speech in MI. If you stopped watching because you think they are same, watch again.

#Harris is slaying #Trump’s narcissistic ego by mercilessly mocking his #ConceptsOfAPlan 😂 and it is positively energizing!

#Walz speech is more serious this time, because this election is very serious 👀

One thing I noticed consistently in ALL 3 speeches is the loud enthusiasm for gun control, even in a Southern state.

@mastodonmigration @KamalaHarrisWin

#KamalaHarris came across very forcefully in support of #Ukraine and really put #Trump through the wringer on that

#KamalaUnitesUS
@KamalaHarrisWin

#Psycho #JDVance says #schoolShootings are a "fact of life," echoing #Trump's “we have to get over it,” after an Iowa school shooting, and "It is what it is" on the rising death toll from #Covid19 in Trump's first term.

Earlier, in June, #Vance had said that gun violence in schools is a “fake problem,” and after the #Vegas shooting that claimed 60 lives, he said an attempt to ban bump stocks is a “huge distraction.”

https://www.salon.com/2024/09/05/jd-vance-says-school-are-a-fact-of-life/

#KamalaHarris #Harris #HarrisWalz

@KamalaHarrisWin

⬆️ @mathieugotteland

>> these summits are proof of a renewed interest in the #African continent on the part of everyone, not just the hegemonic powers and traditional partners

#Russia is trying hard to cut a wide swath across the middle of the continent — from #Mauritania on the #Atlantic to #Eritrea on the #RedSea — and everything in between

Quickly hemming up support with Sahel States #Mali, #Niger, & #BurkinaFaso, & most recently #Chad, #Putin is on a collision course with #France and #EU.

⬆️ @mathieugotteland

…Timeline, continued

Jan 2024: #Blinken tried appeasement and pitched #US as a better security partner for #Africa in place of #Russia’s #Wagner mercenary group

Feb 2024: #ECOWAS tried appeasement (in vain) ➡️ https://mastodon.social/@rameshgupta/111987078253232097

March 2024: After high-level talks with US diplomatic and military officials this week, #Niger practically said #FU to US, and stopped short of saying US forces should leave.

So, the question now is: Who is begging whom?

⬆️ @mathieugotteland

Timeline ➡️ https://mastodon.social/@rameshgupta/111836301011875199

July 2023: #Niger military toppled #Bazoum

July 2023: #Putin visited #BurkinaFaso

Sept 2023: Niger, Burkina Faso, and #Mali ganged up to form #AllianceOfSahelStates (#ASE) and turned toward #Russia

Oct 2023: US officially designated the military takeover as a coup

Dec 2023: US said it was willing to restore aid and security ties if Niger met certain conditions

Niger junta spokesman said the US tone was condescending

⬇️

⬆️ @mathieugotteland

>> dozens of African countries that have to beg for an equal partnership with powers that are not only global…

At least one of them doesn't want any partnership with US & West.

#Niger suspends military cooperation with #US after moving away from #France and #EU last year.

US invested 100s of millions in training Niger’s military against resurgent #AlQaeda. Some in that military overthrew the democratically elected president #Bazoum in a coup.

https://apnews.com/article/niger-junta-us-military-base-b70bfba835a567d5f3439a32c9c82836

⬇️

⬆️ @mathieugotteland

Feels like the entirety of the continent of #Africa, from #Algeria in the north to #SouthAfrica in the south are in the tank for #Putin.

#US says Algeria push for #UN ceasefire resolution could hurt #Gaza talks. #permanentStateOfWar

Algeria and Russia are uniting to divide West Africa ➡️ https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4214238-algeria-and-russia-are-uniting-to-divide-west-africa/

Algeria-Russia Relations After the Ukraine Invasion ➡️ https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/algeria-russia-relations-after-ukraine-invasion

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-says-algeria-push-un-ceasefire-resolution-could-hurt-gaza-talks-2024-02-02/

⬆️ #Coup-hit #Niger was betting on a #China-backed oil #pipeline as a lifeline. Then the troubles began.

The linked story below explains why Niger might have revoked the #French company’s uranium mining permit reported above.

With Niger tilting towards #Russia and neighboring #Benin aligned with #France and the #WestAfrican bloc, China has tried to step in and resolve the impasse and benefit from its investment in the project.

#Chinese #DebtDiplomacy

https://apnews.com/article/niger-benin-oil-pipeline-china-agadem-coup-01891707e30450361eeaedbb3daf7bce

⬆️ #Niger revokes #French company’s operating permit at major uranium mine.

Feels like the entirety of the continent of #Africa, from #Algeria in the north to #SouthAfrica in the south are in the tank for #Putin.

#Niger had suspended military cooperation with #US in March this year after moving away from #France and #EU last year.

https://apnews.com/article/mining-uranium-niger-france-junta-orano-ef4878557b0ec558c36639ed7464d7e3

⬆️ Last month, #Niger said #FU to #US.

US had considered Niger a key partner & ally. It invested heavily in training Niger’s forces to beat back insurgencies by #AlQaeda & #IslamicState militants.

When US warned Niger junta against cooperating with #Russia & #Iran, they were upset, saying US was trying to force Niger to choose between partners.

Now they have made a choice, as #Russian military trainers have arrived to reinforce Niger's air defenses.

https://apnews.com/article/niger-russia-military-trainers-18d6435d00e7790de9ee53e24bfca7ba
@mathieugotteland

⬆️ >> #Russian mercenaries are now going back to #Russia because of #Ukraine incursion into Russian territory.

As Russians retreat (and the West before that) from #BurkinaFaso, Islamist jihadists kill hundreds in one of the deadliest attacks since groups linked to #alQaeda and #IslamicState moved into Burkina Faso from neighbouring #Mali almost a decade ago, plunging the #Sahel nation into a security crisis that contributed to two coups in 2022.

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/suspected-jihadists-kill-hundreds-burkina-faso-attack-2024-08-27/

⬆️ >> #US faces a critical inflection point in #Africa, struggles with shaky relations and troop cuts in #African nations. Military #juntas that overthrew gov in #Mali, #BurkinaFaso, & #Niger are reassessing their ties to US and turning to #Russian mercenaries instead

The Russian mercenaries are now going back to #Russia because of #Ukraine incursion into Russian territory

This is another way Ukraine is helping us protect not just #Europe, but #Africa too.

Via @timkmak
https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2024/08/29/les-paramilitaires-russes-de-la-brigade-bear-quittent-le-burkina-faso_6298336_3212.html

⬆️ #US faces a critical inflection point in #Africa, struggles with shaky relations and troop cuts in #African nations.

Military #juntas that overthrew gov in #Mali, #BurkinaFaso, & #Niger are reassessing their ties to US and turning to #Russian mercenaries instead.

Forced US troop withdrawals from bases in Niger & #Chad and potential to shift some troops to other West African nations will be key issues as Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff meets with his counterparts.

https://apnews.com/article/us-africa-niger-chad-defense-brown-05cb62aff7faa0318f2e39290f708666

Ruins of exploitative 18th c. #CinnamonBay #plantation and sugar factory on St. John in #US #VirginIslands.

Edit: Diff plantation. This is one of 4 plantations now owned by descendants of former slaves.

⬆️ Hollowed out ruins of the #Annaberg #Plantation sugar factory

⬆️ Ruins of the #Annaberg Plantation in St. John, US #VirginIslands.

This area is under preservation by the National Parks Service, which now owns 90% of St. John