Tag: Natural Resources

French military bases in Africa will now self-identify as schools

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Emmanuel Macron wants to rebrand Paris’ presence in its former colonies as cultural and economic projects

French military bases in Africa will now self-identify as schools

Related:

Macron: ‘New era’ in economic, military strategy in Africa

Monday’s speech came at a time when France’s influence on the continent is facing its biggest challenges in decades. Growing anti-French sentiment has led to street protests in several West and North African countries.

In addition, historical economic ties that France had with the region are under pressure from the growing commercial presence of Russia, China and Turkey.

Macron acknowledged that Africa now is a “field of competition” and urged French businesses to “wake up” and get involved in the fight.

In the past year, French troops had to withdraw from Mali, which turned instead to private Russian military contractors of the Wagner group, and most recently from Burkina Faso, which also appears to increasingly look towards Moscow.

Elections & Lithium Mining: Why is the US Suddenly Running ‘Get Out the Vote Ads’ in Nigeria?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Elections & Lithium Mining: Why is the US Suddenly Running ‘Get Out the Vote Ads’ in Nigeria?

Last year, US-based electric vehicle company Tesla put in a bid for a contract to mine some of that Lithium, but the Nigerian government denied them. Nigeria, like most African countries, has a history of foreign powers exploiting them for their national resources while offering little value to the people of Nigeria.

Video via Activist News Network

Related:

What Would It Mean for Nigeria to Elect an Igbo President?

To Be Updated: USAID is sponsoring YouTube channels

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

How Democracy Can Win: The Right Way to Counter Autocracy

The most important step the United States can take to counter foreign influence campaigns and disinformation is to help our partners promote media and digital literacy, communicate credibly with their publics, and engage in “pre-bunking”—that is, seeking to inoculate their societies against disinformation before it can spread. In Indonesia, for example, USAID has worked with local partners to develop sophisticated online courses and games that help new social media users identify disinformation and reduce the likelihood that they will share misleading posts and articles.

The United States has also helped Ukraine in its fight against the Kremlin’s propaganda and disinformation. For decades, USAID has worked to enhance the media environment in the country, encouraging reforms that allow greater access to public information and supporting the emergence of strong local media organizations, including the public broadcaster Suspilne. After Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014, our work expanded to help the country’s local journalists produce Russian-language programming that could reach into Kremlin-occupied territories, such as Dialogues With Donbas, a YouTube channel that featured honest conversations with Ukrainians about life behind Russian lines. We also helped support the production of the online comedy show Newspalm, which regularly racks up tens of thousands of views as it skewers Putin’s lies. And even before Moscow’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, we worked with the government of Ukraine to stand up the Center for Strategic Communications, which uses memes [memetic warfare], well-produced digital videos, and social media and Telegram posts to poke holes in Kremlin propaganda.

I still need to look into Newspalm. I’ll update if I find anything. As I don’t know Ukrainian, or Russian, I’m using Google translate for the following information. Note, this is all speculation!

Speculation:

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