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☆ Opinion: ‘Dune: Part Two’ falls into a familiar – and telling – trap
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Opinion Noah Berlatsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

His hero, Paul Atreides, is filled with doubts about his role as a Messianic leader and director of colonial conquest. (The distributor of “Dune” and “Dune: Part Two” shares a parent company, Warner Bros. So in the movie, it’s not just Paul who sees problems with his colonial power. Timothée Chalamet in "Dune: Part Two" Warner Bros. PicturesIn the book, Chani is mostly supportive of Paul, with few reservations. Paul feels bad for being the destined one; Herbert and Villeneuve, to varying degrees, seem to regret making Paul the destined one.

Persons: Noah Berlatsky, CNN — Frank Herbert’s, revel, Whitey, Edgar Rice Burroughs, James Fenimore Cooper, Rider Haggard, Herbert, Paul Atreides, Noah Berlatsky Noah Berlatsky Denis Villeneuve’s, ”, Villeneuve, he’s, Paul, Timothée, Atreides, Paul’s, Leto Atreides, Oscar Isaac, Arrakis, Emperor, Christopher Walken, Baron Harkonnen, Stellan, Leto, Jessica, Rebecca Ferguson, Natty Bumppo, it’s, Chani, Tasha Suri’s “, Ambha, Sriduangkaew’s, Thompson’s, Suri, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Paul doesn’t, “ Organizations: CNN, Warner Bros, Pictures Locations: Chicago, swash, Vietnam

☆ Russia says it has delivered 200,000 tons of grain to African countries
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Russian Ministry of Agriculture said Tuesday it had shipped 200,000 tons of grain in humanitarian aid to six African nations, fulfilling the Kremlin’s pledge to the continent last July. Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev said late Tuesday that Burkina Faso, Mali, Eritrea, and Zimbabwe each received 25,000 tons of grain while the Central African Republic and Somalia got 50,000 tons each, Russian state news agency TASS reported. Somalia and Eritrea had previously sourced 90-100% of their grain needs from both Russia and Ukraine before the conflict, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). ‘A strategic donation’The Kremlin’s grain initiative has been described by analysts as a “strategic” move as Putin’s African alliance broadens. So, it’s contestation.”Many African states took a neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in perceived loyalty to the Kremlin.

Persons: Dmitry Patrushev, Vladimir Putin, “, ” Patrushev, ”, Godfrey Kanyenze, Kanyenze, they’ve Organizations: CNN, Russian Ministry of Agriculture, Central African, United, Agriculture Organization, FAO, Labor and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe Locations: Burkina Faso, Mali, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Somalia, United Nations, Turkey, Africa, St . Petersburg, Russia, Ukraine, rocketing

☆ Opinion | Restoring the Past Won’t Liberate Palestine
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Lydia Polgreen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Amid the graphic images, fierce polemics and endless media criticism that have dominated my social media feeds since the war in Gaza began late last year, I noticed a seemingly bizarre subplot emerge: skin cancer in Israel. “You are not Indigenous if your body cannot tolerate the area’s climate,” one such post read, highlighting outdated news coverage claiming that Israelis had unusually high rates of skin cancer. In the context of the ongoing slaughter in Gaza — more than 28,000 people dead, mostly women and children — such posturing may seem trivial. But even, or maybe especially, at this moment, when things are so grim, the way we talk about liberation matters. In this analysis, there are two kinds of people: those who are native to a land and those who settle it, displacing the original inhabitants.

Persons: “, slinging, Frantz Fanon, Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, Jawaharlal Nehru, Fanon — Organizations: Palestine Locations: Gaza, Israel, Jordan, Palestine

☆ Opinion: The Mideast conflict on campus is too simplistic
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Peter Rutland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Many college students are taught that American society is the product of “settler colonialism” — a history of conquest and exploitation. In this simplistic framing, the plight of the Palestinians is just one more example of the familiar evils of settler colonialism. The Gaza war is better understood as a conflict between two competing nationalist projects than as a case of settler colonialism. There are a number of inconvenient historical truths that complicate the “settler colonialism” narrative. Another problem with the settler colonialism narrative is that it treats each side as a monolithic actor, playing the role of colonizer and victim, respectively.

Persons: Peter Rutland, Olivia Drake, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel ”, ”, —, Israel, Raphael Lemkin, colonizer, Netanyahu, Abraham Organizations: Wesleyan University, Association for, Nationalities, CNN, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, United, Palestine, Palestinian, Austrian, West Bank, Abraham Accords, United Arab, Arab League Locations: Russia, Europe, Eurasia, Israel, United States, Gaza, Israel’s, Americas, Palestine, Vienna, Vilnius, Lviv, Russian, Galicia, Egypt, Jordan, Bosnia, Northern Ireland, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, Palestinian, Iran, Turkey, Qatar, Cairo

☆ Art’s Colonial Legacy: Congolese Masks Voice Aimé Césaire’s Words - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-09 | by ( Matthias De Groof | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The idea for this film began when a friend was planning an exhibition featuring Congolese artwork. Even if the original film were presented with commentary, such critique typically appears offscreen, only available to those who choose to or are able to seek it out. I suggested that we instead create a new film that would reframe the original imagery. I began by selecting images from “Under the Black Mask” that gave me the feeling that the masks faced me directly, allowing them to momentarily escape Haesaerts’ frame. We decided to replace the narration with excerpts from Aimé Césaire’s seminal work “Discourse on Colonialism,” which argued that colonization dehumanizes the colonizer and was published less than a decade before the original film was made.

Persons: ”, Paul Haesaerts, Aimé Césaire’s Organizations: Democratic Locations: Belgian, Congolese, Belgium, Democratic Republic of Congo

☆ In Israel and Gaza, Searching for Humanity - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( David Brooks | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The conceptual frames that many people use to organize their understanding of the world are crashing and burning upon contact with Middle Eastern reality. The first paradigm that failed this month was critical race theory or woke-ism. A group of highly educated American progressives cheered on Hamas as anti-colonialist freedom fighters even though Hamas is a theocratic, genocidal terrorist force that oppresses L.G.B.T.Q. American universities exist to give students the conceptual tools to understand the world. It appears that at many universities students are instead being fed simplistic ideological categories that blind them to reality.

Persons: Mounk, It’s, Israel, —, Boko Haram Locations: American, Nigeria

☆ India same-sex marriage: The Supreme Court may be about to legalize it for millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But they’re up against a tough opponent: the ruling government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which argues that same-sex marriage is a “Western” concept without “any basis” in the constitution. Since then, India’s LGBTQ community – likely one of the world’s largest given its population of 1.4 billion people – has faced widespread marginalization from society. But Victorian laws governing same-sex marriage are one throwback to the colonial past his party has fought to retain. In 2018, after a decade-long battle, the Supreme Court struck down the colonial-era law that criminalized same-sex intercourse – though it left intact the legislation limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. Anand agreed, adding that what started off as a conversation in their home has morphed into a movement that has united India’s LGBTQ community.

Persons: Aditi Anand, Susan Dias, ” Anand, “, ” Weeks, Dias, Anand, Susan Dias India, ”, Dipa Chakraborty, India’s, –, Narendra Modi, Vivek, Vivek Kishore, Karan Johar, ” Vishwa, Suvir Saran, Saran, ” Saran, Anish Gawde, ” Gawde, ” Vivek, It’s Organizations: CNN, India’s, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Pride, Future Publishing, Bollywood, Pink List Locations: Mumbai, India, India’s British, England, Wales, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Pink List India

As the death toll rises in the Israel-Hamas war, they have become seats of anguish. On many campuses, these students agree on one thing: Their colleges, which are increasingly staking out positions of neutrality, have not done enough to support them. College officials, already under pressure to allow conservative opinions on campus, have been trying to preserve free speech and open debate. Some students were angry that a statement from the university president did not go far enough to acknowledge Palestinian deaths. “It shouldn’t be hard to support Palestinian rights and dignity ... while still condemning what Hamas did to Israeli civilians,” Spitalnick said.

Persons: ”, Alex Morey, ” Morey, —, Stanford, Richard Saller, Jenny Martinez, Martinez, we’re, Nadia Ali, Ashkenazie, Zareena Grewal, Grewal, “, ” Eytan, they’ve, Israel, Hussam Ayloush, Ayloush, Israel “, “ Harvard’s, Lawrence Summers, ” Summers, Claudine Gay, ” Harvard Hillel, Amy Spitalnick, ” Spitalnick, Chris Megerian, Collin Binkley Organizations: Jewish, College, Foundation, Rights, Stanford University, ”, Columbia University, Israel, Palestinian, Hamas, Yale University, “, Yale, Islamic, Harvard University, Palestine Solidarity Committee, Media, Harvard, Twitter, university’s Hillel, Jewish Council, Public Affairs, Hillel, Tufts University, Associated Press, Carnegie Corporation of New, AP Locations: Israel, Gaza, California, Manhattan, ” Eytan Israel, Palestine, U.S, Washington, Carnegie Corporation of New York

☆ Stanford suspends lecturer accused of making his Jewish students stand in a corner and calling Israelis 'colonizers'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The lecturer is alleged to have singled out Jewish students based on their "backgrounds and identities." AdvertisementAdvertisementStanford University has suspended a lecturer following reports that he directed Jewish students in his class to stand in the corner and described Israelis as 'colonizers.' "'He then asked Jewish students to raise their hands,' separated those students from their belongings, and said he was simulating what Jews were doing to Palestinians,", Cohen told the Chronicle. In a statement, Stanford University said: "Without prejudging the matter, this report is a cause for serious concern. Cohen, Mandelshtam, and Stanford University did not immediately respond to a request by Insider for comment.

Persons: Stanford, —, Nourya Cohen, Andrei Mandelshtam, Israel, Cohen, Mandelshtam, Rabbi Dov Greenberg, Greenberg, he'd Organizations: Hamas, Service, Stanford University, San Francisco Chronicle, Chronicle, Jewish, Stanford Jewish Center, Harvard, Harvard University Locations: Israel, Gaza

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — New fighting erupted between the Malian military and armed rebel groups in an area south of Kidal late Friday, with both sides claiming to control the town of Anefis as night fell. The violence is the latest in a string of increasing attacks by the rebels, known as the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP-PSD). Political Cartoons View All 1202 ImagesThe 2015 peace deal called for the ex-rebels to be integrated into the national military among other things. Former colonizer France, which led a 2013 military intervention to oust jihadis from power, has since moved its forces outside Mali. Since the peacekeepers completed the first phase of their withdrawal in August, attacks in northern Mali have more than doubled.

Persons: Wagner, “, Staff Gal, Oumar Diarra, Assifmi Goita, jihadis Organizations: Malian, Peace, Security, Development, Analysts, Staff, Islamic, colonizer Locations: BAMAKO, Mali, Kidal, Anefis, Malian, Azawad, West, colonizer France

☆ Burkina Faso junta suspends French magazine over ‘untruthful’ articles
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —Burkina Faso’s military junta on Monday suspended the French news magazine Jeune Afrique for publishing “untruthful” articles that reported tension and discontent within the country’s armed forces, it said in a statement. Jeune Afrique’s suspension marks the latest escalation in a crackdown on French media since the West African country fell under military rule last year. A soured relationshipRelations between Burkina Faso and its former colonizer France have soured since frustrations over worsening insecurity linked to a jihadist insurgency spurred two military takeovers last year. In April, two French journalists working for newspapers Le Monde and Liberation were expelled from the country. Liberation said the suspension was unjustified as the two journalists were of “perfect integrity” and had all their paperwork in order.

Persons: Jeune, Liberation Organizations: Reuters, Burkina, Jeune Afrique, Afrique, Radio France, TF1, Le Monde, Liberation Locations: Burkina Faso, France, French, Sahel

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The military government that seized power in Niger has accused United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of “obstructing” the West African nation's full participation at the U.N.'s annual meeting of world leaders in order to appease France, Niger's former colonizer, and its allies. The junta had wanted Niger’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Bakary Yaou Sangare, who was made foreign minister after the coup, to speak on its behalf at the General Assembly. The deposed president appealed to a regional court this week to order his release and reinstatement as president. Bazoum took office in 2021 in the country's first transfer of power between elected leaders since the country's independence from France in 1960. ECOWAS has said it considers a military intervention an option for restoring Bazoum as president.

Persons: Antonio Guterres, Col, Maj, Amadou Abdramane, Mohamed Bazoum, Bakary Yaou Sangare, Bakary, ” Stéphane, Guterres, Hassoumi Massoudou, ”, France, ” Abdramane, Bazoum Organizations: United Nations, African, General Assembly, General, Nigerien, European Union, West African, ECOWAS Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, Niger, France, New York, Bazoum

The annual Best Countries rankings from U.S. News may inspire hopeful chants of "USA!" The Best Countries survey gathered perceptions about 87 nations across 73 descriptive attributes, and Americans did view the U.S. as No. For instance, the world viewed the U.S. as No. A lower self-image was observed in several dozen other attributes as well, with the U.S. falling in rank when assessed by its residents compared with the full set of global respondents. Agreement elsewhere was more polarized, however, including on statements that assessed whether some of the most powerful countries are threats to the world.

Persons: – Organizations: U.S ., United States, U.S Locations: United, U.S, United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Switzerland, Myanmar, Ukraine, Bahrain, Jordan, Russia, China

☆ A Shrinking Footprint in Africa for France, the Former Colonizer That Stayed
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Elian Peltier | More About Elian Peltier | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The country’s president, a trusted ally of France, was taken hostage in the presidential palace by his own guards in late July. A colonel in uniform appeared late Thursday on state television and announced that the military was ending its cooperation with France. The coups have fanned the flames of popular anger against France, a former colonial power that critics say never really let go of its former possessions. Now, France has become a scapegoat of sorts in a region buckling under the forces of poverty, climate change and surging Islamist militancy. “France did not see this coup coming, so they have not learned from Mali or Burkina Faso,” said Mujtaba Rahman, the managing director for Europe at Eurasia Group, a consultancy.

Persons: “, ”, Mujtaba Rahman Organizations: Protesters, French Embassy, Eurasia Group Locations: France, French, West African, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, “ France, Europe

At 190 minutes, the running time of “Avatar: The Way of Water” is longer. Jake and Neytiri have had numerous children and adopted Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), the daughter of a human scientist’s avatar body. Rather than invaders exploring the land they’ve invaded, the second “Avatar” film is about the encounter of two different indigenous societies. But the human colonizers —preparing to strip-mine Pandora for its minerals and its biological resources (including space whale essence) — are the aliens. Rather than invaders exploring the land they’ve invaded, the second “Avatar” film is about the encounter between two different indigenous societies.

☆ Morocco vs. France World Cup 2022 game highlights globalization
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Tony Karon | Tony Karon Is The Editorial Lead Of Al Jazeera'S Aj | Channel. Also An Associate Professor At The New School In New York | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The iconic image of the 2022 World Cup may well be Morocco’s Sofiane Boufal dancing with his mum after his team’s brilliant upset victory over Portugal in the quarterfinals. Boufal and his mother — like the majority of Morocco’s players and coaches — live in European cities, part of that continent’s vast marginalized and embattled migrant underclass. Morocco’s prowess as the first African team to make the semifinals of the World Cup brings us ever closer to fulfilling soccer icon Pelé’s prophecy. Indeed, this was the first World Cup in which all five African teams were coached by African coaches, rather than by European journeymen. The team's strategy suggests its coach has rewritten the playbook that long recommended African teams play pessimistic defensive football, hoping for a lucky break.

☆ Burkina Faso coup: ECOWAS mediator 'satisfied' after meeting new military leader
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The mediator sent to Burkina Faso by West Africa’s main political and economic bloc ECOWAS, Mahamadou Issoufou, on Tuesday said he was satisfied by a meeting with the country’s new military leader Ibrahim Traore. Issoufou added that the 15-member bloc would continue accompanying Burkina Faso’s transition to constitutional rule after the country was hit by its second military takeover this year. “I can assure you that ECOWAS will remain with the people of Burkina Faso … and the difficult challenge they face,” he added. Burkina Faso’s government released a statement saying the meeting took place but provided no further comments. ECOWAS is struggling to facilitate a return to constitutional order in Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, and Mali, all of which have seen coups since 2020.

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