Africa is a geographic mishmash because of capitalism

Al Jazeera, 2/23–Africa has the most countries of any continent with a total of 54. Rather than following natural terrains or historical boundaries, many of its borders are strikingly straight in some areas and jagged in others, cutting through mountains, rivers and even communities. Most of these artificial borders trace back to the 1884-1885 Berlin Conference, a meeting that concluded 140 years ago this week in which European powers carved up the continent among themselves with no African nations invited or represented…Britain drew a straight-line border along the 22nd parallel, a line of latitude 22 degrees north of the equator, separating Egypt and Sudan…

Housing costs are destroying the illusion of prosperity 

The Guardian, 2/24–I bought my home in a hurry in 2020,” said Meg, 60, an office manager from Maryland. “It was less expensive to take on a mortgage than to keep paying ever-increasing rents for my college-student daughter and me.” Now housing costs consume 50% of her income…Our necessities consume 75% of my income, with 50% of that housing costs” …“I’ve come to view home ownership and healthcare as destabilizing forces in my life,” said Bernie…the couple was foregoing medical and dental treatment of any kind…despite a pre-tax household income of more than $250,000.

Deaths in Gaza are greatly underreported

Nader.org, 2/21–The official Hamas count that all sides like to cite is now over 48,000 deaths…American doctors back from Gaza before the Rafah closing last year said…put the death estimate almost a year ago at a minimum of 95,000, not counting tens of thousands of families buried under the rubble…Why would all sides to this one-sided Israeli war of extermination rely on Hamas’ figures? Well, Hamas has an interest in low-balling the number of deaths to limit the rage of its inhabitants and allies abroad for not protecting the people of Gaza and not providing them with shelters. 

In San Diego, workers resist modern day slave catchers

KPBS, 2/20–...patrol San Diego’s Linda Vista neighborhood in search of suspicious vehicles…They’re activists with Union del Barrio, a locally based immigrant rights group, looking for any signs that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is trying to arrest their neighbors…These volunteers are trained to spot undercover vehicles. Usually American-made SUVs like Dodge Caravans or Ford Explorers with tinted windows that don’t normally park in their neighborhoods…Once they verify that a vehicle belongs to ICE, the activists notify hundreds of followers via social media and group chats…

In Los Angeles, workers organize to resist ICE blockheads

NBCLosAngeles, 2/20–a Los Angeles-based group is doing patrols of its own to look out for its community. A handful of volunteers patrolled throughout South LA on Wednesday to look out for immigration officers. The volunteers, which is comprised of activists organized by Community Self Defense Coalition, say their mission is to alert the public of the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and inform residents of their rights…when the volunteer group scopes out ICE agents, they look out for tinted SUVs without license plates or exempt plates. When they believe they’ve spotted immigration agents, patrol members livestream their location. Additionally, they pass out cards that remind residents of their rights.

Imperialist nations prepare for missile warfare

ForeignPolicy,2/20–Under former President Joe Biden, the U.S. military moved eagerly to seize the opportunities that the INF Treaty’s demise has opened in Asia by developing, testing, and fielding new ground-launched missiles that previously would have been prohibited…the Army in particular welcomed the end of the INF Treaty because it gave the service a clearer role in a possible conventional war in the Indo-Pacific. Army leaders have moved almost as quickly as technology will allow to develop and field the new capabilities…