Today marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of AFRICOM, short for US Africa Command. Although US leaders say AFRICOM is "fighting terrorism" on the continent, my first guest Dr. Ajamu Baraka argues, "Geopolitical competition with China is the real reason behind AFRICOM's existence. AFRICOM is a dangerous structure that has only increased militarism." As a response, The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) has launched US Out of Africa!: Shut Down AFRICOM, a campaign designed to end the US invasion and occupation of Africa. We'll discuss their demands and what impact they hope to create.
US Pacific Fleet Spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Tim Gorman says a Chinese destroyer approached the USS Decatur in an "unsafe and unprofessional maneuver" on Sunday near Gaven Reefs in the South China Sea. Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said on Tuesday, "The US has been repeatedly sending warships to the islands and the adjacent waters in the South China Sea, which has seriously threatened China's sovereignty and safety." Wu also said, "The Chinese military will resolutely perform its defense duties and continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard our sovereignty and the regional peace and stability." It's interesting how the Chinese used the word sovereignty, as that was one of the key themes to US President Donald Trump's address to the UN Security Council last week. What does it all mean?
According to a new lawsuit, legitimate and eligible voters, mostly minority, have been illegally canceled. Georgians will file a federal court action against Secretary of State Brian Kemp for using a faulty and racially biased process to remove legitimate voters from the rolls. The Georgians are represented by the law firm of Mirer Mazzocchi Julien. Investigative reporter Greg Palast, also a plaintiff in the suit, will charge that Kemp has stonewalled his requests for legally public information on the methods and reasons for the purge of over 700,000 Georgians purged from the voter rolls in 2017 — one in 10 voters in the state. As Kemp has sent NO NOTICES to the voters purged, the group will announce that they are making the ENTIRE Kemp 2017 purge list available to the public immediately, so wrongly purged voters can re-register by the October 9 deadline. The suit, filed under the National Voting Rights Act of 1993, will seek to get the entirety of the "Interstate Crosscheck" files, the method used to confirm voters had supposedly left the state, and thereby allow the restoration of the voting rights of thousands.
According to a recent MintPress News article, "A recently uncovered US government document published by WikiLeaks has revealed that the U.S. directly advocated for undermining 'democratic' elements of the so-called Syrian 'revolution' of 2011 in order to ensure the dominance of authoritarian, sectarian Sunni groups within the Syrian opposition." In her piece, "Wikileaks: To Weaken Iran, US Undermined Democratic Elements of Syrian Opposition to Empower Radical Groups," writer Whitney Webb goes into detail about the document. She also states, "According to the document, which was buried in a previous WikiLeaks release and recently uncovered by journalist Dr. Nafeez Ahmed, US military intelligence was well aware that the Syrian opposition movement in 2011 did not pose 'a meaningful threat against the [Syrian] regime,' given that it was 'extremely fractured' and 'operating under enormous constraints.'"
Dr. Ajamu Baraka — Internationally recognized activist, author and contributor the Black Agenda Report. He was also the Green Party's nominee for vice president of the United States in the 2016 election.
Greg Palast — Author and award-winning investigative reporter featured in The Guardian, Nation Magazine, Rolling Stone Magazine, BBC and other high profile media outlets.
Whitney Webb — Journalist and a staff writer for MintPress News.
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