Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Black Agenda Radio, February 23, 2015
25 Feb 2015
🖨️ Print Article

U.S. and Europeans Seek Control of Nigeria

Boko Haram’s jihadist rebellion in northern Nigeria has caused “the fracturing of the Nigerian body politic,” making the country more vulnerable to manipulation by the United States and European powers, said Eric Draitser, a political analyst and publisher of the web site StopImperialism.com. “Nigeria is by far the most dynamic economy in Africa.” Therefore, “it is a major prize for the United States and the European powers,” said Draitser.

Rwandan Dictator Fears Loss of Immunity

Paul Kagame’s government allows “no freedom of movement, no freedom of association,” and “has massacred Rwandan Hutu refugees” in Congo, said Paul Rusesabagina, the real-life hero played by actor Don Cheadle in the movie Hotel Rwanda. The movie portrayed Kagame’s forces as the good guys, but Rusesabagina, now in exile, tells a different story. Kagame is trying to remain in power past constitutional limits because he fears indictment by foreign courts as soon as he loses presidential immunity, said Rusesabagina, in an interview on the Taylor Report, CIUT Radio, Toronto, Canada.

U.S. Helped Create ISIS “Monster”

What we see in the Middle East, today, “is the product of two and a half centuries of European and American intrusion” into the Arab and Muslim world, said Jennifer Lowenstein, who teaches Middle East Studies at the University of Wisconsin, at Madison. ISIS is “a Frankenstein’s monster that the U.S. helped create.” Lowenstein, who has lived and worked for many years in the region, said the U.S. is “becoming a pariah nation, despised by almost every other country in the world.”

Proposed Limits on Solitary Confinement in New Jersey

Atty. Jean Ross, a member of the Newark-based People’s Organization for Progress, testified recently in favor of legislation that would bar solitary confinement for prisoners under 21, people with mental illness, and pregnant women. The bill would “require that anyone in solitary confinement be reviewed every day by a clinician,” to monitor their mental and physical condition.

The Worst “Crap Hole” Among Pennsylvania’s Prisons

Prisoners rate Frackville State Prison as “a crap hole” and “perhaps the worst” facility in the state’s prison system, said inmate Bryant Arroyo, in a report to Prison Radio. Arroyo calls Frackville an “anonymous fiefdom” where “the guards seem to find great pride, even honor, in perpetrating their anti-prisoner culture” of “unrestrained authority, separate from the state correctional system.” Frackville is also home to Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner.

Black Agenda Radio on the Progressive Radio Network is hosted by Glen Ford and Nellie Bailey. A new edition of the program airs every Monday at 11:00am ET on PRN. Length: One hour. Click here to download the show.

U.S. and Europeans Seek Control of Nigeria

Boko Haram’s jihadist rebellion in northern Nigeria has caused “the fracturing of the Nigerian body politic,” making the country more vulnerable to manipulation by the United States and European powers, said Eric Draitser, a political analyst and publisher of the web site StopImperialism.com. “Nigeria is by far the most dynamic economy in Africa.” Therefore, “it is a major prize for the United States and the European powers,” said Draitser.

Rwandan Dictator Fears Loss of Immunity

Paul Kagame’s government allows “no freedom of movement, no freedom of association,” and “has massacred Rwandan Hutu refugees” in Congo, said Paul Rusesabagina, the real-life hero played by actor Don Cheadle in the movie Hotel Rwanda. The movie portrayed Kagame’s forces as the good guys, but Rusesabagina, now in exile, tells a different story. Kagame is trying to remain in power past constitutional limits because he fears indictment by foreign courts as soon as he loses presidential immunity, said Rusesabagina, in an interview on the Taylor Report, CIUT Radio, Toronto, Canada.

U.S. Helped Create ISIS “Monster”

What we see in the Middle East, today, “is the product of two and a half centuries of European and American intrusion” into the Arab and Muslim world, said Jennifer Lowenstein, who teaches Middle East Studies at the University of Wisconsin, at Madison. ISIS is “a Frankenstein’s monster that the U.S. helped create.” Lowenstein, who has lived and worked for many years in the region, said the U.S. is “becoming a pariah nation, despised by almost every other country in the world.”

Proposed Limits on Solitary Confinement in New Jersey

Atty. Jean Ross, a member of the Newark-based People’s Organization for Progress, testified recently in favor of legislation that would bar solitary confinement for prisoners under 21, people with mental illness, and pregnant women. The bill would “require that anyone in solitary confinement be reviewed every day by a clinician,” to monitor their mental and physical condition.

The Worst “Crap Hole” Among Pennsylvania’s Prisons

Prisoners rate Frackville State Prison as “a crap hole” and “perhaps the worst” facility in the state’s prison system, said inmate Bryant Arroyo, in a report to Prison Radio. Arroyo calls Frackville an “anonymous fiefdom” where “the guards seem to find great pride, even honor, in perpetrating their anti-prisoner culture” of “unrestrained authority, separate from the state correctional system.” Frackville is also home to Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner.

Black Agenda Radio on the Progressive Radio Network is hosted by Glen Ford and Nellie Bailey. A new edition of the program airs every Monday at 11:00am ET on PRN. Length: One hour. Click here to download the show.

More Stories


  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    11 coups in Africa: Drone Ranger's legacy??
    09 Aug 2023
                                                           â€¦
  • BAR Book Forum: Interview with Alex A. Moulton and Inge Salo
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Interview with Alex A. Moulton and Inge Salo
    09 Aug 2023
    This week’s featured scholars are Alex A. Moulton and Inge Salo. Moulton is an Assistant Professor at Hunter College. Salo is a PhD student in Geography at Clark University. Their article is “Black…
  • Capitalist Greed and Imperialist Policies Fuel New York's Migrant Housing Crisis
    Janvieve Williams Comrie
    Capitalist Greed and Imperialist Policies Fuel New York's Migrant Housing Crisis
    09 Aug 2023
    The migrant crisis in New York City is a multifaceted issue, rooted in a complex interplay of domestic and international politics and policies.
  • US Moves to Curtail China’s Economic Investment in the Caribbean
    Tamanisha John
    US Moves to Curtail China’s Economic Investment in the Caribbean
    09 Aug 2023
    It doesn't matter if China and Caribbean nations may want to have friendly relations and economic cooperation. Washington wants nothing of the sort and undermines what could be mutually beneficial…
  • In Haiti, Kenya Chooses Imperialist Servitude Over Pan-African Solidarity
    Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team
    In Haiti, Kenya Chooses Imperialist Servitude Over Pan-African Solidarity
    09 Aug 2023
    Kenya has chosen its side. That nation has agreed to give cover for the next occupation of Haiti by providing a Black face for imperialism.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us