#Law Zimbabwe

[countathon]

Strategies for Zimbabwean Law Firms to Thrive Digitally

Law firms in the current digital age need to also incorporate sufficient presence on the internet and the following will help to explain this aspect. For the target audience, individuals and companies looking for legal assistance, social media is the way to go, in the following ways.

Key strategies for optimizing social media include:Key strategies for optimizing social media include:

Tailored Engagement: When creating them, it’s recommended to address specific segments of the population to guarantee the persuasiveness of messages. For example, firms in family law can join the relevant Facebook groups, while the large corporates’ firms can network in the linked in platform. Building Credibility: The circulation of valuable legal information and the organization of a discussion is helpful in building the audience’s trust and crediting the source. Driving Website Traffic: Marketing blog articles, webinars, or other services available on the website is perfect for social media accounts to attract the potential clients. Navigating the social media landscape requires:Navigating the social media landscape requires:

Selecting the Right Platforms: Concentrate on the sites in which your goal market is most engaged, for example facebook, twitter or linked in. Creating Engaging Content: Share information that is useful for the reader that can include firm updates, articles, and case studies. Consistency and Interaction: Use it actively both in posting and in interacting with the followers in order to build the trust and increase recognition. Tracking and Refining: ground your content strategy in data analysis, and don’t be afraid to adapt the course you have set as quickly as possible. Through the above strategies, Zimbabwean law firms are able to popularize themselves and find Anas & Co clients amongst the ever growing online business population.

Sources

[How Zimbabwean Law Firms Can Thrive Online](https://countathon.co.zw/17220-2/)

[lefemmerougewriter]

From Bode DeSosa to Carmen Sandiego: More one-shots and short stories

Since Tumblr is acting weird, I had to divide this into two posts. My first post is pinned on this blog. My second is this post.

One-shots

From Prison to Revenge: Bode DeSousa Strikes Back

Tola Martins, Tunde Martins, and Kole Adesola have gone back to their lives after fooling Bode DeSousa's plan, a few months before, to use Kole in order to get at Tunde and steal information from his company for his own personal benefit. For them, peace has returned, but Bode will not remain silent, despite his monologue which explored his self-serving reasons why he kidnapped Tunde and Tola, which made him disliked by the populace. He plans to get back at the Martins family and everyone who has wronged him, including his former lackeys, and Tola's friend, Kole, among others.

Wyverna Dretch, Archives on the Dimensional Plane, and Typical Drudgery

One day, Wyverna Dretch, the resident demon teacher at High Guardian Academy, and an archivist (among other responsibilities) decides to show her ethics class about the school’s archives. After some class discussion, she brings them to this hallowed institution in a glass elevator, showing them what she does, while Snap and Rose are drawn closer together, either by purpose or accident, and Snap is curious about the "transition magic" section.

Joabana and the Specter of Doofatanian Intervention

Tensions in Joabana are peaking. Two women, Elena Castillo Flores and Adora Eros, have come together to debate this issue on public access television on a program hosted by a Latina woman, Amanda Lopez. Can they both keep their cool and debate this civilly, or will it descend into pandemonium? Furthermore, are Elena and Adora really foes of each other…or do they have a secret life they aren’t telling their viewers…is this all just for show?

Comrade Sandiego and the Zimbabwean Dream

Carmen Sandiego changes the course of the Zimbabwean liberation war, with reverberations for the present. ACME is tasked with reversing it, but Ivy refuses to go along, accusing her brother of having a "colonial mindset." Later that night, she meets a mysterious woman, her confidential informant, who often wears red-colored clothing. She is more attracted to this woman, than she originally thought, and considers whether the past was changed… for the better.

A Responsibility to Prevent Genocide?: Royalty, Revolution, and Bloody Zionists

One bright morning, Daphne Blake serves as the guest host of C-SPAN's Washington Journal, and she brings in two guests (Princess Rapunzel, CEO of the Corona Foundation and Mara, chief weapons specialist for Renegade Services) to talk about the brutal Israeli bombing of Gaza. While some callers are openly hostile toward the guests, others are more favorable, with Daphne, Rapunzel, and Mara having to find their way through the morass and make their viewpoints heard, even if they don't always agree with what each other has to say.

From Angry Zionists to International Popstars: Meet the Mess Discusses the Gaza War

Nristen Snelker had only recently become a host of Meet the Mess, with the network glad they had chosen someone who was a woman of color, rather than a White man (who had been hosts for over 50 years). She faced with one of the toughest discussions of her career about Israel's brutal and genocidal assault in Gaza, complete with angry Zionists, international popstars, and legal analysts. Can she hold it together or will it all fall apart?

Elena, Adora, and the Secret Marriage in Bana City

A blond-haired woman named Adora Eros recalls when she met a beautiful brown-haired woman, Elena Castillo Flores, in Joabana, and how their relationship developed, setting the stage for their live-TV debate.

Flight of the Eagle and the Rise of President Sandiego

Carmen begins her plan to seize power in the most powerful country on Earth. Can Zack and Ivy stop her before it is too late?

[xtruss]

Zimbabwe’s ‘White Gold’! Critical Minerals Law Favors China

Harare has Africa’s largest lithium reserves and Beijing is poised to benefit, despite an export ban.

— By Nosmot Gbadamosi | Foreign Policy | August 16th, 2023

A foreman looks on as an earth mover works on the slippery road at Arcadia Mine on Jan. 11, 2022 in Goromonzi, Zimbabwe. ​Tafadzwa Ufumeli/Getty Images

The world’s clean-energy transition will be impossible without African minerals—and a degree of resource nationalism from African countries is benefiting China, which has for decades invested in the African Green-Energy Market and accounts for 59 percent of the world’s lithium refining. Chinese companies run the majority of Zimbabwe’s mines and are better positioned to expand domestic processing there.

Lithium, often referred to as “White Gold,” is essential to producing Solar Panels and the Rechargeable Batteries that power electric vehicles; and in 2022, demand pushed prices up by more than 100 percent. Africa could supply a fifth of the world’s lithium needs by 2030, but to best serve citizens, African leaders are demanding that miners go beyond extraction and add value by locally processing the raw mineral.

Last December, Zimbabwe 🇿🇼, which has Africa’s Largest Lithium Reserves, imposed a ban on raw lithium ore exports, requiring companies to set up plants in the country and process ore into concentrates before export in order to boost local jobs and revenue. Those seeking to export and not process domestically would need to provide proof of exceptional circumstances and receive written permission to export raw lithium ore.

Zimbabwe’s ban, called the Base Minerals Export Control Act, will stop the country losing billions in mineral proceeds to foreign companies, officials said. Namibia 🇳🇦 has followed suit; and in 2020 around 42 percent of African nations, excluding those in North Africa, had implemented restrictions on raw exports, including the Democratic Republic of Congo 🇨🇩, Ghana 🇬🇭, and Nigeria 🇳🇬.

Traditionally, “mining companies after extraction enjoy all the benefits [while] leaving communities in their catchment areas to bear the brunt of life-threatening dangers associated with their operations,” Edmond Kombat, research and finance director of Ghana’s 🇬🇭 Institute for Energy Security, told ESI Africa. “It is time to stop that practice.”

However, China, which controls the world’s critical minerals supply chain, is ideally placed to reap benefits in these situations, because several Chinese owned companies have recently completed processing plants in the country. Chinese-owned Companies have Spent more than $1 Billion acquiring and developing lithium projects in Zimbabwe, which in contrast has seen Very Little Western investment.

Last month, Chinese minerals giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt opened a $300 million lithium processing plant at its Arcadia Mine in Zimbabwe, which it bought last year from Australia-based Prospect Resources for $422 million. The plant currently has the capacity to process around 450,000 metric tons of lithium concentrate annually. Under Zimbabwean law the refined lithium can then be exported for further processing into battery-grade lithium outside Zimbabwe.

In May, another Chinese company, Chengxin Lithium Group, commissioned a lithium concentrator to produce 300,000 metric tons per year at the Sabi Star mine in eastern Zimbabwe. And China’s Sinomine Resource Group said last month it had completed a $300 million lithium plant, after it bought Bikita Minerals, one of Africa’s oldest lithium mines, for $180 million.

Zimbabwe hopes to satisfy 20 percent of the world’s total lithium demand when it fully exploits its known lithium resources. “If we continue exporting raw lithium we will go nowhere,” Deputy Mines Minister Polite Kambamura told Bloomberg last year. “We want to see lithium batteries being developed in the country.”

New rules stipulate that a 5 percent royalty rate will be payable on lithium exported, due half in cash and half in processed final products so that the country can build cash reserves it could use for government-backed borrowing.

U.S. sanctions on Zimbabwe 🇿🇼, imposed since 2001, have impacted the country’s access to borrowing and investment, leaving few options but China. Last year, Zimbabwean Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube claimed the country has lost more than $42 billion in revenue as a result of Western sanctions. The Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency reportedly received 160 lithium investment applications from investors based in China in the first half of 2023 compared to just five from the United States.

Even among Zimbabwe’s regional peers, U.S. companies have been left on the backfoot. Nigeria Rejected Elon Musk’s Tesla in favor of Beijing-based Ming Xin Mineral Separation to build Nigeria’s first lithium processing plant in Kaduna State, in the country’s northwest region. Nigerian officials reportedly rejected Tesla’s proposal because it did not align with the country’s new policies. “Our new mining policy demands that you add some value to raw mineral ores, including lithium, before you export,” Ayodeji Adeyemi, special assistant to Nigeria’s mines and steel development minister, told Rest of World.

For decades, African economists complained that foreign companies extracted minerals without benefit to citizens. In 2015, Zimbabwean researchers estimated the country had lost $12 billion due to illegal trade involving multinational companies in China 🇨🇳, Canada 🇨🇦, the United States 🇺🇸, and the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 —enough money to pay off Zimbabwe’s foreign debt.

Africa holds more than 40 Percent of Global Reserves of Key Minerals for batteries and hydrogen technologies. Yet it’s predicted that, by 2030, more than 80 percent of the world’s poor will live in Africa, and about 75 percent of them in resource-rich countries.

It makes sense for African Nations to step up efforts to increase quality jobs. “The United States and Europe must ensure that the partnerships they are building in Africa are mutually beneficial and non-extractive,” Theophile Pouget-Abadie and Rachel Rizzo recently wrote in Foreign Policy. “Otherwise, they will run headlong into the walls erected by an increasingly dominant Beijing.”

Washington in January signed a memorandum of understanding to help the Democratic Republic of Congo 🇨🇩 and Zambia 🇿🇲 develop an electric battery supply chain. But China is going beyond this in terms of thinking about what African nations need. Beijing, for example, with support from the United Nations 🇺🇳 Development Program, is facilitating a joint research center in Ethiopia 🇪🇹 to fast-track access to renewable energy in the country.

Experts warn that more African countries banning critical raw minerals exports will impede global decarbonization. Zimbabwe’s ban is perceived as unrealistic because the country lacks skilled workers. Some countries (Kenya 🇰🇪, Tanzania 🇹🇿, and Zambia 🇿🇲) have implemented policies requiring mining companies to train locals, according to a recent World Bank report. The report suggests national export bans alone can make countries worse off because investors simply move their business elsewhere, but that training requirements could ensure retention of investment and the creation of a skilled workforce.

[lady-shadow-and-darkness]

Right!

Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Somalia, Zimbabwe

Can you name seven different African countries?

[mightyflamethrower]

25 reasons Trump won’t pay a dime to E. Jean Carroll

That eye-popping $83 million judgment will not survive an appeal. A proper settlement would subtract at least $82,972,000.

In 2019, a strange woman named E. Jean Carroll accused Donald Trump of raping her in a changing room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Midtown Manhattan. Trump called her crazy, and a jury found him liable for both sexually abusing her and defaming her with the “crazy” talk. Last week, a New York jury decided Carroll deserves $83 million for defamation.

Here are 25 reasons why that’s nuts.

1) Carroll has said rape is “sexy”

She backs up this insane statement with, “Think of the fantasies” (which my wife and I can’t stop saying to each other). For the record, having someone forcibly violate you against your will is the exact opposite of “sexy.”

2) She’s already bragging about shopping sprees

Remember in “Goodfellas” when that idiot shows up at the party with his wife wearing a $20,000 fur coat and De Niro tells him to “bring it back”? When you run a scam, you need to lay low for a while. Carroll, conversely, is making appearances on national television telling Rachel Maddow she’s going to buy her a “penthouse in Paris” as well as fishing gear and a motorcycle for her counsel (could she pick weirder presents?). Her lawyer awkwardly murmured, “Uh, that’s a joke.”

Yeah, this whole thing is a joke.

3) The scenario she described came from her favorite TV show

She is a self-described “Law & Order” fan, and there is an episode wherein a man muscles his way into a changing room at Bergdorf Goodman and sexually molests a woman. This is likely where she got the idea. She’s also a big fan of “The Apprentice.” Would you like to watch your rapist on TV?

4) She didn’t want to press criminal charges

Being on the cover of New York magazine is one thing, but taking your BS story into an actual courtroom is a whole other level of fraud. When Bill de Blasio said he would change the law to make the case admissible, Carroll kept awkwardly repeating, “The experts told me … the time has passed.”

5) They changed the law

The case had no merit because the statute of limitations on civil action had passed. So what happened? The New York State Legislature changed the law. Is there anything that screams “witch hunt” more than that? What are we, Zimbabwe?

6) The man who backed the lawsuit is a major DNC donor

Leftist activist billionaire Reid Hoffman is the money behind this operation. His motive is obviously to bankrupt Trump so he can’t run again. Carroll denied this at first because she’s a liar, but her lawyer was forced to come clean.

7) The whole thing was George Conway’s idea, apparently

Though she denies it, it’s clear this entire plan was concocted by “conservative lawyer” Conway at a radical leftist cocktail party in Manhattan.

8) Carroll’s lawyer is desperate to fix her reputation as a rape-enabler

Roberta Kaplan was supposed to champion victims of sexual assault with her #TimesUp movement, but she used it instead to run cover for perverts such as Andrew Cuomo. She got caught and she got fired. Her comeback included representing Ashley Biden (A Biden lawyer going after Trump? Is anyone surprised?), but this case could permanently rescue her Google results.

9) Carroll’s dress didn’t exist back then

Carroll said the rape happened in the early 1990s. We just learned the particular dress she said she was allegedly wearing did not exist at the time.

10) She cannot remember when the rape happened

We’re not talking about the exact date. She can’t tell us if it was 1993 or 1995.

11) She won’t let anyone test her coat for DNA

Carroll calls the dress her “bad luck dress” and told CNN she will never make a talisman out of it — as though the idea had occurred to anyone. Why did she keep it around? This could be the left’s Monica Lewinsky dress, but she refuses to let anyone analyze it.

12) She doesn’t know if Trump ejaculated

I don’t know if anyone reading this has engaged in sexual intercourse, but evidence of the male orgasm is almost impossible to hide.

13) She is a serial accuser

Despite being a 3.5, she has claimed men have sexually assaulted her at least a half-dozen times. This isn’t proof of Trump’s innocence in and of itself, but it becomes relevant when surrounded by 24 other points.

14) She said it wasn’t sexual

Carroll has said pretty much everything that you could say about this encounter, from “it was not sexual” to “it was the definition of rape.” She said she would not press charges, however, because it would trivialize the experience of illegal aliens who are being “raped around the clock.”

15) She’s not his type

Trump is into elegant Slavs. This woman is like that hysterical chicken lady from “The Kids in the Hall.”

16) The judge and Carroll’s lawyer are pals

We’re told Judge Lewis Kaplan was Roberta Kaplan’s (no relation) mentor back when they both worked at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Roberta Kaplan denies this, but it can’t be denied they worked at the same firm at the same time. That alone is a conflict of interest.

17) Carroll didn’t talk to anyone about the alleged assault, until she did

If a woman is sexually assaulted, she is morally obligated to report it immediately, so the rapist doesn’t do it again. Carroll did not do this. What’s more, she didn’t talk to any of her friends about it. At least not at first. This is peculiar behavior for a blabbermouth.

18) Even if it’s all true, the settlement would be tiny

Carroll alleged that Trump cost her a columnist job at Elle, but the magazine made it clear it ended her contract as an advice columnist based on nothing more than lack of interest. But let’s assume Elle fired her because Trump wrote a mean tweet. A good price for an advice column would be a couple of hundred bucks per piece. That’s $2,000 a year for Elle. Assuming Carroll lives as long as “Dear Abby” columnist Pauline Esther Friedman, who died at 94, that would be a whopping total of $28,000 (Carroll is 80).

So, we’re off by about $82,972,000.

19) She said women “love” being abducted

She told Charlie Rose (remember him?) in 1995 that women love the idea of a caveman knocking them unconscious with a club and then dragging them — by their hair — back to the cave. I’m no feminist, but I’m pretty sure the cerebral contusions from this kind of violence are not a turn-on.

20) She said it wasn’t a big deal

“I’m a mature woman,” she said. “I can handle it.” OK, then why does she need $83 million to recover? That’s four times the amount of money you get when your kid is decapitated.

21) She lives in a Mouse House

Anyone who doubts this lady’s mental state needs to check out her house. She calls it “The Mouse House” because it’s infested with rodents (to whom she has given individual names, such as “Terbrusky”). She has painted the trees blue. She has printed out 27 years of advice column questions and stacked them all over the place. Yes, writers can be weird. But it is impossible to look at her place and not think, “This is nuts.”

22) She is a hoarder

Hoarding is a mental disorder. You can’t sue someone for calling you “crazy” if you have a mental disorder.

23) Her cat is called “Vagina” — seriously

E. Jean Carroll is obsessed with sex and her vagina. She said she lives in the woods because if she lived in the city, she’d have 16 boyfriends. She’s 80, remember?

Her dog “Tits” has blue hair, and her cat is named “Vagina.” The left-wing media thinks this is irrelevant. “Among the stranger complaints made by the former president … was that the jury wasn’t informed about the name of his accuser’s cat: Vagina T. Fireball.” Uh, when the charge is “calling a sane woman crazy,” Vagina T. Fireball matters.

24) She writes notes to herself

Wait, doesn’t everyone do that? Not like this. “The Mouse House” is festooned with bizarre messages. Her microwave says, “Burn Baby Burn.” Her bookshelf says, “Always amused never angry.” And, in a moment of deranged honesty, she taped a note to a lamp that says, “Hold your nerve. Pursue your radical options to the bitter END!”

25) Carroll said she wanted to “rape” Trump

Apparently, she thought having rough sex with him in the changing room would make for a “funny story.” (Wait, I thought she didn’t tell anyone about what happened to her out of fear.) She also suggested she’d do it for $17,000 if he was unable to speak. Sounds awfully rapey, doesn’t it?

Anyone who takes this case seriously and doesn’t see E. Jean Carroll as a complete basket case is a complete basket case.

[1ore]

Scuttling into ur askbox like a little beetle

i think i recall you reblogging/posting things about geography and culture + human effect on it - I vaguely recall a piece of art where it showed a blurred out, cropped piece of people fighting, and focused instead on the flora in the scene.

ANYWAY! getting back on track. seeing that piece inspired me to take a course this semester called "people and the land: cultural geography". and the whole reason I came to your askbox was to ask if you had any suggested reading materials? We'll get stuff in class ofc, but I am curious to see if there's any bias of materials on the prof's side vs someone else.

Phew that was a long ask. thank you o/!

That sounds like Liz Anna Kozik’s piece : D So happy it stuck with you! I love her work!!

As for your ask, what an awesome class! Land-human relationships are my bullshit, and I really enjoyed my own cultural geography class.

Thinking back on my schooling, I would say about 70% of my classes fell in with the “everything is awful and humans are the worst” narrative, and the other 30% made time for land-human relationships other than the extractive hellscape that most people currently live under. So, full disclosure, when I think of “bias,” that’s what I think of. You grow up in the miasma, it’s hard to imagine that there’s any other way of living. It’s also hard to say without knowing the professor, but I think, in general, it’s good to be mindful of who is or isn’t telling the story.

ANYWAY. All that in mind, here’s some articles about people-land relations that I think are neat:

The Environment and Society portal - I like their digital exhibits especially. I remember enjoying Oceans in Three Paradoxes and The Northwest Passage. Great place to wander around and pick a random article that catches your eye.

Of Deserts and Decolonization: Dispelling Myths About Drylands – obligatory desert propaganda. An article looking at how colonial mindsets about deserts disrupt existing relationships and hurt both people and land, and also how those attitudes shape environmentalism/conservation/etc. still today.

The Miracle of the Commons – lovingly challenging the Tragedy of the Commons with a creative solution to poaching and human-animal conflict in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. Great article to sit in discomfort about (productively!)

Biodiversity: The Variety of Life that Sustains Our Own – Contains one of my go-to examples when explaining how humans can be good for land and biodiversity, the story of Quitobaquito Springs (and its sister spring Ki:towak, though the author doesn’t mention it here.)

The Environmental History Timeline - just fun to look at, especially the further you go back. It’s funny to spot where a young branch of history is trying *really hard* to reframe how academia thinks about the past, by bringing the invisible landscape forward:

2700 BCE —  Epic of Gilgamesh describes vast tracts of cedar forests in what is now southern Iraq. Gilgamesh defies the gods and cuts down the forest, and in return the gods say they will curse Sumeria with fire (or possibly drought). By 2100 BCE, soil erosion and salt buildup have devastated agriculture. One Sumerian wrote that the “earth turned white.” Civilization moved north to Babylonia and Assyria. Again, deforestation becomes a factor in the rise and subsequent fall of these civilizations. (Perlin, 1991). 2700 BC — Some of the first laws protecting the remaining forests are decreed in Ur, Messopotamia. (Grove, 1995).

^^^ fucking around and finding out forever and ever and ever.

[zvaigzdelasas]

[The East African is Kenyan Private Media]

The United States has officially struck off Uganda and three other African countries as beneficiaries of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), effectively ending Kampala’s ability to export certain commodities to the US duty-free.

In a decree dated December 29, President Joe Biden said he had “determined” that the four countries “do not meet the requirements” necessary to allow them to continue benefiting from the trade deal, effecting his earlier stated plans to delist them.

“Accordingly, I have decided to terminate the designations of the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Uganda as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries for purposes of section 506A of the Trade Act, effective January 1, 2024,” read the statement by the US President.

In an October 2023 letter to the speaker of the US Congress expressing his intention to remove the four countries from the list of Agoa beneficiaries, Mr Biden said Uganda has “engaged in gross violations of internationally recognised human rights.”

This came after President Yoweri Museveni assented to the anti-gay law passed by the Ugandan lawmakers, which introduced serious repercussions, including life imprisonment or death, for same-sex relations in the country.

Uganda’s expulsion from the deal could destroy thousands of jobs, cause a foreign-exchange earnings drought, and low utilisation of raw materials locally, experts have warned.[...]

Over 80 percent of Uganda’s exports under Agoa were from the agricultural sector, which employs about 72 percent of the country’s workforce, indicating that the expulsion could have a significant hit on jobs.[...]

In the region, Uganda now joins South Sudan, Somalia, and Burundi on the list of countries unable to benefit from the preferential trade agreement with the US. Juba was suspended in 2015 due to the rise of ethnic conflicts.

Other countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have been removed from the list are Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, Gabon, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Central African Republic, [Niger,] Zimbabwe and Sudan.

2 Jan 24

[crystalis]

-

"Why does the Biden administration support the Israeli genocide and war crimes even in the face of virtually universal condemnation, at massive expense, and to the point of totally debasing the rules-based international order? Why do it?

People fall back on narratives about the power of AIPAC in US elections etc, which is real but also doesn't capture the whole story. The truth is that US capitalism depends on it, and the US ruling class broadly understands this fact.

The key thing to understand is that capitalist growth and accumulation in the imperial core (the US, Britain, Germany etc) relies heavily on the appropriation of cheap inputs and resources from the periphery and semi-periphery of the world economy (broadly, the global South). They need the South remain a subordinated supplier within global commodity chains.

In order to maintain this arrangement, it is imperative for them to suppress sovereign economic development in the South. Because the "problem" with development is it means Southerners begin to produce for themselves and consume their own resources. This makes resources and inputs more expensive for the core, which constrains consumption and profits.

Economic sovereignty in the periphery threatens capital accumulation in the core. To avoid this, the core states constantly intervene to prevent or crush any movement or government in the periphery that seeks national liberation and economic sovereignty.

The US started to support the Zionist project in the 1960s, and invested heavily in the Israeli arms industry, with the explicit intention of using Israel as a staging ground—a massive military base—for counter-revolutionary interventions against rising Arab socialist and national liberation struggles in North Africa and the Middle East. The US could not accept the prospect of sovereign development in that region: liberation movements had to be crushed or destabilized and they used Israel to help them do it. Israel is not an "ally" in the conventional sense. It is a proxy.

They support Israel for the exact same reasons that they have backed assassinations or coups against liberation leaders across the global South: Mosaddegh, Lumumba, Nkrumah, Allende, Arbenz, Sukarno, Sankara...

Israel assassinates movement leaders in the Middle East and interferes in regional political processes, all in concert with the US, but it also constantly bombs the frontline states, destabilizing their societies and economies and forcing them to divert resources toward defensive spending rather than industrial development. The Zionist project is intolerable not only because it is murderously hell-bent on ethnically cleansing Palestine, but because it creates chaos and instability across the whole region.

The core states used South Africa in the very same way. The key reason that Western powers supported the apartheid regime in South Africa – against overwhelming international condemnation – was because it served as a highly militarized Western colonial outpost that was geared up to run counter-insurgency operations not only within South Africa, but also in Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, the DRC, etc., leaving immense violence and chaos in its wake.

The vast majority of the world—and international law itself—supports Palestinian liberation, but Palestinian liberation would constrain Israeli power and open the way to regional liberation movements, and this is strongly antithetical to the interests of Western capital. So this is the situation we are in. The Western ruling classes are willing to back obscene violence in Gaza, and shred the liberal values they claim to believe in, because they want to maintain the conditions for capital accumulation and geopolitical hegemony.

You cannot appeal to imperial power in moral terms. The only way the US will stop propping up the Zionist regime is when it becomes too costly for them to do so. This will come down to the strength of the resistance and regional political and military opposition, but also the extent to which people can coordinate boycotts, divestment and sanctions, and punitive measures under international law."

[lefemmerougewriter]

Some of my favorite fics

This will replace my last pinned post, for High Guardian Space series, which has ended. This featured many recent fics, all of which I wrote:

Crossovers

Claire and Rae Meet the Aang Gang

(ILTV / ATLA crossover)

Rae and Claire finally get a chance for a respite. Unexpectedly, they encounter an emotionally-driven waterbender, a blind earthbender, an emotionally unstable firebender, and a master of all the elements (Water, Earth, Fire, and Air) known as the "Avatar." Intrigue, romantic entanglement (in some ways), and demonstrations of their bending (and magical abilities) await them all, with an encounter which will influence them for days, months, and years to come.

A Responsibility to Prevent Genocide?: Royalty, Revolution, and Bloody Zionists

(many series)

One bright morning, Daphne Blake serves as the guest host of C-SPAN's Washington Journal, and she brings in two guests (Princess Rapunzel, CEO of the Corona Foundation and Mara, chief weapons specialist for Renegade Services) to talk about the brutal Israeli bombing of Gaza. While some callers are openly hostile toward the guests, others are more favorable, with Daphne, Rapunzel, and Mara having to find their way through the morass and make their viewpoints heard, even if they don't always agree with what each other has to say.

When You Put Out Love, You'll Get Love Back: Lunella's Visit to Hansberry Heights

(Karma's World / Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur crossover)

One day, Karma meets a girl, only a few years older than her, with a unique style at a local diner in her neighborhood, who acts very generous to the chef. She is taken by her. When she tries to track down this cool kid, she can't find her, until she comes across Moon Girl, a superhero from the Lower East Side...

From Angry Zionists to International Popstars: Meet the Mess Discusses the Gaza War

(many series)

Nristen Snelker had only recently become a host of Meet the Mess, with the network glad they had chosen someone who was a woman of color, rather than a White man (who had been hosts for over 50 years). She faced with one of the toughest discussions of her career about Israel's brutal and genocidal assault in Gaza, complete with angry Zionists, international popstars, and legal analysts. Can she hold it together or will it all fall apart?

Cassandra and the Catgirl from the Sky

(Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure / She-Ra and the Princesses of Power crossover)

A young woman, trying to make amends for the errors of the past, and the harm she caused, comes across a catgirl who fell from the sky in an escape pod. She isn’t sure what to expect. Both become closer than either one had intended. As a result, this young woman, a former lady-in-waiting, begins to have some romantic feelings for this mysterious catgirl, while the catgirl hopes to get in contact with her blond-haired girlfriend after her radio gets busted.

A Red Moonstone Shines Brightly

(Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure / Carmen Sandiego crossover)

Cass thought about her past as she walked across the rolling hills on the edge of the last kingdom in the Ever Realm she hadn’t visited yet, Enchancia. Suddenly, a wormhole opened in front of her. She walked through without realizing it... In a new world, Cass finds an unlikely companion, a former (and well-known) international thief. Both bond with one another even though they come from vastly different circumstances.

Rise of the Scarlet Wildcat

(She-Ra and the Princesses of Power / Carmen Sandiego / Steven Universe crossover)

Catra tells Adora to break-up with Pearl and it goes badly. She gets thrown out. Adora tries to search for Catra, with the assistance of friends, and is unsuccessful. One day, everything changes for the wildcat when she meets someone, dressed in a red trench-coat and fedora, that... she never expected. They have a much deeper connection than either had originally anticipated.

Joabana and the Specter of Doofatanian Intervention

(many series)

Tensions in Joabana are peaking. Two women, Elena Castillo Flores and Adora Eros, have come together to debate this issue on public access television on a program hosted by a Latina woman, Amanda Lopez. Can they both keep their cool and debate this civilly, or will it descend into pandemonium? Furthermore, are Elena and Adora really foes of each other…or do they have a secret life they aren’t telling their viewers…is this all just for show?

One-shots

Korra and Asami's Swim in Manarola's Natural Harbor

Korra and Asami take a break from their duties in Republic City and have a nice time in the natural harbor of Manarola. They arrive in Manarola after to hitching a inter-dimensional ride on some robots with a funky flow. They enjoy each other's company more than expected and receive unexpected relaxation, something both of them sorely need.

Greta, Saga, and a Cheek Kiss Which Changed Everything

Saga has been trying to cheer herself up after the departure of snow fairy, Sugar, following the blooming of her flowers, and the two other fairies (Salt and Pepper) leaving as well. Saga knew this would happen, she still felt a bit lonely. Even so, she remained grateful to her friends and her classmate Greta, who tried to bring her mother’s piano to her house in an ill-fated plan. All the while, Greta has been thinking about Saga a lot, more than a "rival" is supposed to do...

Wyverna Dretch, Archives on the Dimensional Plane, and Typical Drudgery

One day, Wyverna Dretch, the resident demon teacher at High Guardian Academy, and an archivist (among other responsibilities) decides to show her ethics class about the school’s archives. After some class discussion, she brings them to this hallowed institution in a glass elevator, showing them what she does, while Snap and Rose are drawn closer together, either by purpose or accident, and Snap is curious about the "transition magic" section.

A Firenze Gelateria and Carmen's Delight

Carmen has a nice time in Firenze (Florence), Italy, enjoying her stracciatella gelato, while Ivy eats a pizza that tastes like cardboard, and Player is jealous of Carmen's gelato, in this short, but sweet, slice-of-life story.

The Manarola Hike of a Lifetime

Le Chevre and El Topo go on a hike on a rocky trail near Manarola, Italy, and it is tougher than they expected.

Comrade Sandiego and the Zimbabwean Dream

Carmen Sandiego changes the course of the Zimbabwean liberation war, with reverberations for the present. ACME is tasked with reversing it, but Ivy refuses to go along, accusing her brother of having a "colonial mindset." Later that night, she meets a mysterious woman, her confidential informant, who often wears red-colored clothing. She is more attracted to this woman, than she originally thought, and considers whether the past was changed… for the better.

Final chapters of short series

He's got a way that makes me tremble

Hailey wakes up in a hospital after her fall in the woods and tries to recover from her injuries. She resolves to apologize and make amends for what she did with Sanjay, breaking the friendship with Scott, and pushing away Beta, and the list. However, things will not be the same as before. Hailey goes through this awkwardness, with help from Scott, who is more than happy to re-begin their friendship, and tries to figure out how she really feels about Scott, and how to balance working on the list with being able to do her own things in her life. In the process, Beta accidentally reveals the list's existence to Hailey and Scott's parents, resulting in them getting involved, in some way, in completion of the list. Through it all, Hailey has to figure out what she and Scott are together (friends? lovers?), how she can juggle her responsibilities to item item completion and what else she wants to do, and her family, and deal with the feelings that people, other than Scott, have for her.

You only told me lies, only phony alibies

Sugar confronts Elder and the other high fairies about the barrier between humans and fairies. After her request to see Saga one last time isn't granted, she accidentally causes the barrier between these two worlds to be broken, and sees Saga again... but things are more complicated than she guessed. Can she restore the barrier before it is too late? Will Saga think she is real? Or just a figment of her imagination? This fic, one of the few for this series, will answer those questions and more.

[flodaya]

I sometimes find myself being like Zendaya isn't a unique name, then I have to remind myself that we're not from the same country or continent. So ofcourse a Shona name would be unique to someone who isn't from here

that is actually such a good point, is it a very common name in Zimbabwe then? it reminds me of my sister-in-law who has the most common korean name ever but in germany people literally mispronounce it everwhere she goes

[rjzimmerman]

Images of injured wolf, muzzled in a bar, draw fury over Wyoming hunting laws. (Washington Post)

This "hunter" has done more to promote a change in laws and attitudes to protect wolves and other predators than have the letter-writing, petition-signing, telephone call-making and teeth-gnashing from wildlife protectors and wildlife organizations.

From the Washington Post:

Phones in Wyoming’s Sublette County are still ringing off the hook nearly three weeks after images of an injured wolf spread widely on social media. Local businesses have fielded threats from angry callers while the sheriff’s office was inundated by thousands of complaints — some from as far as Brazil, Greece and Australia.

The rural county just south of Yellowstone National Park, home to oil wells, ranches and around 8,900 people, is an unlikely target for international outrage. But the images of the injured gray wolf, reportedly taken in Sublette County, drew swift condemnation, including from officials in Wyoming, one of the few states where it is legal to hunt wolves.

A man seen posing with the wolf in a photo allegedly struck the animal with a snowmobile before muzzling it, showing it off at a Sublette County bar and later killing it, the Cowboy State Daily reported in early April. Videos later released by Wyoming’s Game and Fish Department show the wolf muzzled and slumped on a wooden floor, as one of its hind legs twitched and bar patrons talked in the background. The man was fined $250 for violating Game and Fish Department regulations on possessing live wildlife, according to records obtained by The Post.

Gov. Mark Gordon (R) issued a statement calling the incident “reckless, thoughtless and heinous.” The Sublette County sheriff’s office announced it is investigating “allegations of animal abuse” after activists called for the man to face further punishment. But Sublette County officials announced on Monday that the treatment of the wolf might not break state laws, which exempt the creatures and others classified as “predatory” from animal-abuse protections.

Kristin Combs, the executive director of Wyoming Wildlife Advocates, likened the controversy to the high-profile killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe in 2015. Attempts to toughen Wyoming’s wildlife protection laws have failed in the past. But the anger over the images of the injured wolf might be enough to rekindle efforts, she said.

[easy-edible]

Being Gay is African: A Historical Perspective

The assertion that homosexuality is a Western concept is a myth largely propagated by colonial influences and the import of Christianity. Historically, African cultures have recognized and included various forms of same-sex relationships and identities, which have only been obscured by later colonial and religious narratives.

Contemporary Conflicts and Historical Evidence

During his visit to Africa in 2015, US President Barack Obama highlighted the legal discrimination against LGBT individuals. In Kenya, he emphasized the importance of treating all individuals equally, irrespective of their differences. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta responded by asserting that Kenyan culture does not accept homosexuality. This sentiment is not unique and has been echoed by other African leaders such as Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. However, historical evidence contradicts these assertions.

Historical Examples of Homosexuality in Africa

Ancient and Pre-Colonial Evidence

Yoruba Language: The Yoruba language has a term, "adofuro," which describes someone who engages in anal sex. This term, which predates colonial influence, indicates an awareness of homosexual behavior.

Azande Warriors: In the 19th century, the Azande people of Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo practiced same-sex relationships where warriors would marry young men due to the scarcity of women. These relationships were socially accepted and included rituals and formal marriage customs​ (Face2Face Africa)​.

King Mwanga II of Buganda: King Mwanga II of Uganda openly engaged in homosexual relationships with his male servants before the advent of Christian missionaries who brought condemnation​ (JSTOR Daily)​.

Ancient Egypt: Paintings and records suggest that Nyankh-Khnum and Knum-Hotep, royal servants in ancient Egypt, may have had a homosexual relationship. These men were depicted in affectionate poses and shared a tomb, highlighting the acceptance of their relationship within their society​ (AfricaOTR)​.

Meru Community in Kenya: The Mugawe, religious leaders among the Meru, often dressed in women's clothes and married men. This role was not just accepted but integrated into the spiritual and social fabric of the community​ (AfricaOTR)​.

Anthropological Insights

Marc Epprecht, a historian, documents various forms of same-sex relationships across Africa that were ignored or misinterpreted by early Western anthropologists. These relationships ranged from love affairs to ritualistic practices. For example, among the Imbangala of Angola, same-sex relationships were part of ritual magic. Similarly, in South Africa, temporary "mine marriages" were formed among men working in mines during colonial times​ (JSTOR Daily)​.

The Influence of Christianity and Colonialism

The rise of fundamental Christianity, heavily influenced by American televangelists since the 1980s, has significantly shaped the contemporary African stance on homosexuality. Many Africans argue that homosexuality is against Biblical teachings, yet the Bible itself is not part of African historical culture. This adoption of a Western religious framework to argue against homosexuality demonstrates a significant cultural shift influenced by colonialism.

The Political Use of Homophobia

Populist homophobia has become a political tool in many African countries. Politicians gain votes by promoting anti-gay sentiments, creating an environment where hatred and violence against LGBT individuals are not only accepted but encouraged. This has led to severe consequences, such as corrective rapes in South Africa and oppressive laws across the continent.

Reclaiming African Heritage

To combat the dangerous narrative that homosexuality is un-African, it is crucial to retell and reclaim African history. African culture historically celebrated diversity and promoted acceptance, including various sexual orientations and gender identities. By acknowledging and teaching this true history, we can foster a more inclusive and equitable society.

Reaffirming our commitment to historical accuracy and cultural inclusivity is essential. True African heritage is one of acceptance and recognition of all its members, regardless of their sexuality.

[lboogie1906]

Zimbabwe has one of the richest histories of any nation in southern Africa, and first became a major trade route in the 11th century. During its late iron age, the Gokomere, the Bantu people who would become the ethnic Shona, built the vast city-state of Great Zimbabwe. Built on a wealth of natural resources, Great Zimbabwe flourished financially and culturally from the 14th to 15th centuries, becoming a mercantile powerhouse that controlled the gold, ivory, and copper trades with the Swahili coast and various Arab and Indian states. From there, the powerful Kingdom of Zimbabwe was established, followed by the Rozvi, Mutapa, and Mthwakazi empires. The Shona and Ndebele peoples, among others, had shaped Zimbabwe into a prosperous and strategically important region when Europeans began to colonize the area in the 1800s.

The British South Africa Company of Cecil Rhodes first demarcated the present territory in 1890 when they conquered Mashonaland and in 1893 Matabeleland after fierce resistance by the Matabele people known as the First Matabele War. Company rule ended in 1923 with the establishment of Southern Rhodesia as a self-governing British colony. In 1965, the conservative white minority government unilaterally declared independence as Rhodesia. The state endured international isolation and a 15-year guerrilla war with Black nationalist forces; this culminated in a peace agreement that established universal enfranchisement and de jure sovereignty as Zimbabwe on April 18, 1980. Zimbabwe joined the Commonwealth of Nations, from which it was suspended in 2002 for breaches of international law by its government under Robert Mugabe, and from which it withdrew in December 2003.

Robert Mugabe became Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in 1980 when his ZANU–PF party won the elections following the end of white minority rule; he was the President of Zimbabwe from 1987 until his resignation in 2017. Emmerson Mnangagwa has since served as Zimbabwe’s president.

Zimbabwe is a member of the UN, the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[mezzopieno-news]

IL GHANA HA ABOLITO LA PENA DI MORTE

Il Ghana ha abolito la pena di morte diventando il 124esimo Stato a livello globale a escludere la pena capitale in modo pressoché definitivo.

Con l’abrogazione della Legge sui reati penali del 1960 e della Legge sulle forze armate del 1962, il parlamento dello Stato africano ha stabilito che venga cancellata la pena di morte per tutti i reati comuni, con l’unica eccezione per il reato di alto tradimento. In Ghana non si eseguono condanne dal 1992 e la nazione è la 29esima del continente africano ad approvare la normativa abolizionista. Il Paese ha attualmente 170 uomini e sei donne detenuti nel braccio della morte, le cui condanne saranno ora commutate in ergastolo. La pena di morte fu adottata dal Ghana a partire dall’introduzione della common law inglese nel 1874 ed era prevista per i reati di omicidio, rapina a mano armata e alto tradimento.

“L’abolizione della pena di morte dimostra che siamo determinati come società a non essere disumani, incivili, chiusi, regressivi e oscuri” ha commentato il deputato Francis-Xavier Sosu che ha presentato il disegno di legge in parlamento. Molti Stati africani hanno cancellato la punizione capitale dalle loro costituzioni negli ultimi anni mentre altri non la eseguono praticamente più da molto tempo, come Algeria, Cameroun, Repubblica democratica del Congo, Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Marocco, Nigeria, Sudan, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda e Zimbabwe,

___________________

Fonte: Francis Xavier Sosu; foto di RDNE Stock Project

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[rabbitcruiser]

World Rhino Day

Visit a wildlife preservation, “adopt” a rhino, or donate to any of the many organizations caring for this fascinating but tragically endangered species.

Almost every child in the world should be able to immediately recognize this magnificent beast, with its heavy grey skin and prominent horn (or horns!) upon its snout. The rhinoceros is a much-loved critter!

However, it is deeply endangered in the wild and is quickly on the road to extinction if something isn’t done to help this animal in its plight. So it is that World Rhino Day was established to help raise awareness and protect what remains of these magnificent creatures.

History of World Rhino Day

As far back as the early 1990s, the crisis related to rhinos in Africa, particularly the black rhinos in Zimbabwe, became well known and people began to be concerned. By 2010, it was apparent that the potentially hazardous future of the Rhinoceros still wasn’t well known to various people around the world. At that time, most people did not know just how close the planet was coming to the total extinction of this majestic species.

So critical and dire was the condition of the species that less than 30,000 rhinos were alive in the world at that time. It was because of this that the WWF-South Africa announced World Rhino Day with the desire to save the world’s remaining rhinos, an effort that grew to be an unprecedented success.

In 2011, a woman named Lisa Jane Campbell fired off an email to Rhishja, a fellow lover of rhinos who wanted to see the five species of rhinos in the world continue to thrive and be there for future generations to enjoy.

At the hands of these two incredible women, World Rhino Day has become a phenomenon that spreads across the globe and has been a resounding success.

There’s still work to do though, as there are only about 100 Sumatran Rhinos left in the world, and between 60-65 Javan rhinos. So, while the rhino populations of Africa are doing well, there are certainly still more to save.

Taking the time out on Rhino Day to be aware and share the concern about the struggle this species faces is a great way to celebrate the day!

How to Celebrate World Rhino Day

Celebrating World Rhino Day starts by people deciding to educate themselves on the plight of rhinoceros in the modern world. In this way, people can figure out what actions they can take to help save those that remain. Try these ideas for celebrating this important day:

Learn More About Rhino-Friendly Organizations

Take a look at these reputable organizations that are doing what they can to help remove the burden from the lives of rhinos:

World Wildlife Federation (WWF). For almost 50 years, WWF has been working on behalf of rhinos by aiming to expand protected areas where rhinos can live and breed safely, improving security to prevent poaching, helping with law enforcement to keep the trading of wildlife illegal, and promoting wildlife based tourism that expands experiences and funds more efforts toward conservation.

Save the Rhino International. Beginning in 1992, Save the Rhino uses extreme challenges to raise money in the UK and beyond to help fund efforts for rhinos. Working to protect rhinos from poaching, educating communities who live near rhinos, and bringing experts together to share information and skills allows this organization to be effective in their goal of saving the rhinos.

International Rhino Foundation. Fighting for the survival of rhinos, this organization offers support through grants and field programs that have affected rhino conservation in at least ten countries. Focusing on protecting, education, breeding, conservation and demand reduction, this group was also founded in the early 1990’s.

Adopt a Rhino Orphan

In addition to the organizations listed above, Helping Rhinos is a group that pairs people with baby rhinos whose parents are not able to take care of them. Adoption participation is a minimal cost per month or year, and those who want to adopt can choose which baby rhino they want to help support.

Adoption comes with a certificate with the name, photo, and fact sheet of the adopted rhino as well as a subscription to e-news from the Helping Rhinos Organization. Check out the website to see stories of which rhinos are available for adoption and how they came to be rescued and placed in the rhino orphanages for care.

Share with Family and Friends about Rhinos

Rhinos are such an impressive symbol of strength, resilience, and tenacity that it would be a heartbreaking shame to have those traits disappear as they become a species that used to exist. Don’t let these magnificent creatures disappear from the world, get together with friends and family and see what you can do to help build funds to protect them.

Throw a little party or get-together in honor of Rhino Day where guests can be educated on the worries about the future for Rhinos. Be ready to share fun facts about the uniqueness of rhinos, how important they are to their habitat areas, and what makes them such an interesting species. Help guests understand what they can do to help promote the cause, and perhaps take some donations to send to organizations, or encourage guests to consider adopting one of the orphan rhinos.

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