Achraf Hakimi is not the 2024 African footballer... CAF disowned?
We are the day after the African Football Awards ceremony. A ceremony celebrated with brio and above all experienced with a fast sublimated to the maximum in Marrakech... A ceremony that only Morocco, in its millenary way, is capable of delivering at a level bordering on perfection.
It was a beautiful evening, in which the brilliance of Jalal Bouzrara at the height of his powers, and his slightly outdated but well-endowed team-mate, gave a good rhythm that was only occasionally disturbed by the turbulence of a President with his jacket unbuttoned, his stomach hanging out and his attire far from respectful of the occasion.
Infantino himself was ill at ease, suffering at will from the galloping hands of a president who plays at being more African than Africans. His gaze and sometimes his grimaces betrayed his phlegm, letting the CAF President know that this was not the way to act at a ceremony that was being watched throughout the world, at least the African world.
The room was packed and many of the guests were mechanically applauding the trophies awarded here and there to the best this or the best that. The impression on the other side of the screen was that of one of those television programs where a chauffeur de salle, an ‘ambianceur’, orders the well-sorted audience to applaud and to stop according to the timing chosen by the director. This is not to say that the winning individuals or teams were not entitled to receive the trophies that were awarded to them, but the way in which they were announced by stars or lesser stars was not always successful.
Each time, there was an attempt to create suspense and surprise when there was no need for it. The evidence was there. Which team could we have chosen if not Côte d'Ivoire, who have delivered one of the most exciting African Cup ever? What other female coach could have won the award if not the courageous Lamia Boumehdi. There is nothing worse in such a context, for the sake of spectacle, than to overplay the surprise in the face of the obvious.
Under such circumstances, at some point, boredom sets in and the audience becomes bored. The President of the CAF sensed this and once on stage, once again, he make thinly disguised excuses: I know we are late... He pretended to want to move quickly but ended up delaying things even more, much to the dismay of our friend Jalal Bouzrara who saw his driver being badly led.
In fact, and this is perfectly understandable, everyone in the room, as well as all of us behind our screens, were waiting for just one moment: the announcement of the best African player of the year. It is the one and only trophy that is remembered years later and that marks such ceremonies and adds value to them. If it were to be announced at the start of the festivities, it is almost certain that the halls would empty very quickly afterwards.
Marrakech was no exception. The suspense was maintained by musical choices that were no doubt debatable, if not by those who recommended them. To each his own.
In an instant, the hall was transformed into a mosque and a silent cathedral. To each his own, but football brings everyone together around six liters of air. The moment they had been waiting for had arrived this time.
Again, on behalf of the two football bosses present, the one from the world and the one from Africa, the name of the African Golden Ball for 2024 was announced, not without some formality.
For a moment, there was a heavy silence before a few voices chanted Hakimi's name, and the number of voices grew. It was a cold shower for the Moroccan clan, but not the only one. CAF found itself disowned. The choice was not the right one. Not that the player chosen is undeserving, but Hakimi is undoubtedly more deserving for more than one reason, all of them objective.
Questions then de facto arose. How is it that the Golden Ball did not go to a Moroccan following the Qatar World Cup in 2022. How is it that the 2023 trophy did not go to Bounou and, of course, how is it that the golden ball did not go to one of the Moroccan players who won bronze at the Olympic Games, in this case Hakimi, the imposing and effective leader of this team?
This is where hypotheses and questions can be put forward. Do the voters have something against the Moroccan players? Do they not see them as sufficiently African, even though they are just as African as the others? Perhaps, and above all, some people, no doubt a minority but influencing the vote, are confusing the issue with what is happening here and there, to which some sub-Saharan Africans are victims. Doesn't the laborious, hollow and unfounded concept of the Maghreb encourage people to lump together all the inhabitants of North Africa, knowing that the leaders of certain North African countries have gone astray with unacceptable remarks about sub-Saharans and that others have acted in a rather inhumane manner towards poor people, forced against their will to migrate from south of the Sahara to the north in search of a better life. Words spoken elsewhere, abuses committed elsewhere, thousands of kilometers from the Kingdom of Morocco.
These are only hypotheses that some will find inappropriate or unfounded, but they can be discussed and disproved if they are not verified.
It is at this point that we should perhaps be quick to point out that Morocco is the North African country with the highest number of migrants, more than 148,000 in 2024, with an annual increase of 5.6%, a spectacular leap of 71.86% in just ten years. The Kingdom is a destination and transit country. It has put in place a genuine policy to support and integrate these migrant populations. The country is fully committed to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. It is for this reason that large numbers of migrants, particularly from sub-Saharan Africa, are regularly regularized and enjoy the same rights as Moroccan citizens.
That's all there is to it, just in case...
In any case, this morning the Moroccans are rightly not happy and understand even better the anger of Venicius and Real Madrid.
Hakimi richly deserved to win the 2024 African Golden Ball.
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Achraf Hakimi is not the 2024 African footballer... CAF disowned?
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Bashar Al Assad, in fact a snowman, not more...
I wish, like everyone else, that the images and videos that have been plentiful on the net since the fall of Assad were fakes or extracts from horror films.
They are unbearable to vomit.
How can a human being in the 21st century pride himself on being a leader, a head of state in a country, and allow his security officials to subject his compatriots to such odious, cruel, degrading and dehumanizing torture?
They were also degrading first and foremost for the narcissists who were inflicting the torments on other human beings, their brothers and sisters.
What kind of man was this Bashar, this Assad, lion in Arabic.
A lion is supposed first and foremost to protect and defend his own, but Bashar was in fact nothing more than a lion made of powdered ice, a little snowman with a Pinocchio nose, because at a height of almost two meters he was going to melt like snow.
Two blows from a few armed men, no doubt none of them well-supported, were enough to make him flee like a rat that has inadvertently got in somewhere. This inadvertence lasted for almost sixty years, shared between him and his father, another bloodthirsty man who had worked hard and plotted relentlessly to extend this type of regime and the doctrine of his party: Baat to the whole region and even further afield. Humiliating, degrading, torturing and killing seem to be engraved in their genome. The father was a killer, the uncles were cruel, the relatives were bloodthirsty. They were all in the same boat.
For sixty years, in prisons of absolute horror that not even Alexandre Aja, making the film ‘The Hills Have Eyes’, could have imagined, men and women have been flayed alive, crushed, pressed and crushed between two steel plates. Men and women were hanged to death from ropes with a very specific colour: red.
Each and every person whose misfortune led them to the Saydanaya hellhole - and there must be others - had to undergo the welcoming ritual. A ritual documented in videos. These videos are undoubtedly a kind of victory over the executioners wearing the uniform of horror. They show human cruelty sublimated by madmen and murderers. These fools were undoubtedly themselves victims of the Assad system, which blocked every last vein of humanism in them and their generals. Victims probably, but victims who were complicit and accountable to justice.
How could this bloodthirsty head of state, this madman, this extreme neurotic, and his henchmen, eat, sleep, shave in front of a mirror, reach out to people, talk about democracy, promise prosperity and peace to the people while knowing that every day that the good Lord did, young and old were kept in absolute darkness, underground, to the point of dispossessing them of their humanity, their reason and their raison d'être.
How could a regime like this sit alongside others in international institutions, benefiting from a tolerance that today can only be described as indecent to say the least.
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Trump, like a Roman emperor...
During his campaign, candidate Donald Trump was hosted by Joe ROGAN in his famous Podcast, which is now more powerful than al large part of the mainstream media combined. That's where Trump confided the most, and that's where you have to go to understand his projected policies, both internally and externally.
On this occasion, Trump said, in essence, “I'll be a dictator for a day, and the rest of the time, I'll be a Democrat”. By which he meant that, once installed in the 75.8 m2 office facing the White House Rose Garden, he would sign a lot of “Presidential Orders”. He's no stranger to this. He signed 53 in 10 months only during his first term.
Presidential Orders are the decrees that a U.S. President can issue without reference to Congress. Although the procedure is not enshrined in the Constitution, it has always been used. As far back as 1793, George Washington used it to impose neutrality of the country in the conflict between France and England. It was under Franklin in 1862 that the procedure seems to have become a permanent fixture. Franklin D. Roosevelt is the president who holds the record, signing 3,700 of them. This didn't bother Americans too much, who trusted their president to get them out of the crisis and keep the country out of bankruptcy. More recently, George W. Bush signed 291 Presidential Orders. Congress remains in control of the situation, however, when it comes to funding and therefore the budget. For Trump, this won't be a problem. His loyalists have a majority in both chambers and are unlikely to encounter any difficulties.
On January 20, he will show his devotion to the USA and put his commitments into practice, if only in part, by signing a multitude of documents of all kinds. Some of these will reach people's wallets the very next day. Like a true team captain, he will offer the people gathered around him ink pens from prestigious brand. Last time, there were as many pens as signed sheets.
Trump has made it clear that he intends to put an end to wars and does not intend to wage or allow new ones. He also said he wanted to cut certain government bills, including those for the army. He was well aware that the great empires had all collapsed when their military spending had exceeded all comprehension. For him, the country spends too much on war and on the army. Will he really weigh in against the might of the Pentagon and its hidden motives. He's going to sack it boss.
Buoyed by the swell in his favor in the recent elections, he intends to use this major advantage to rapidly influence the course of events. In his economic approach, his first priority will be to reduce the trade deficit. The Americans have a trade deficit with all the world's major economies: US$275 billion with China, US$152 billion with Mexico, US$72 billion with Japan and so on. A huge and rather unhealthy deficit. In alcohols and spirit beveradges alone, the deficit is 15 billion.
He also wants to regain control of oil and gas production, and will heavily promote the exploitation of bituminous shist. He couldn't care less about the Paris agreements.
He intends to reinvigorate certain industries, including the automobile industry, once the flagship of the American economy. To do this, he will need labor, which is increasingly scarce in the USA. While apparently opposed to immigration, he does have a solution. In short, he doesn't want any more stowaways, random intruders or those from the famous lottery. He advocates immigration based on skills and the country's needs.
The president is convinced that this is the way the make this famous 'America first' a reality.
Trump no longer wants to meddle in the affairs of other countries, but will nevertheless indirectly impact their economic policies through the introduction of rather high taxes on imports. And he's rather selective. His first target is China. He plans to apply chineese a rate of 60%. Mexico, on the other hand, will bear the brunt. A rate of 200% would be applied to the electric cars it exports to the USA. The Latin American neighbor has encouraged the establishment of Chinese companies manufacturing electric cars on its soil. These cars are then introduced into the USA under the NAFTA agreements signed in 1994 with Canada and Mexico. For the rest of the world, according to the customer, the rates would be from 10 to 20%.
Another provision is also likely to disrupt the course of events: the 100% customs tax he wants to impose on imports from countries that do not use the US dollar in their international transactions. The BRIX is directly targeted.
If Trump says he doesn't want a new war, now he's likely to declare a good one on a lot of countries at the same time. An all-out war. The very serious Centre d'Etudes Prospectives d'Informations Internationales -CEPII- estimates, for example, that these measures could lead to a fall in world GDP of around 0.5%. This is not insignificant given the rates achieved in almost all countries, barring exceptional cases. All countries exporting to the USA would so be affected.
On the face of it, these measures will make it possible to relocate certain productive sectors to the USA, but with which workers, while at the same time he intends to expel almost 13 million people whom he and his followers consider to be too many on American soil. However, deportation is no easy task, and is likely to be very costly for the state whose money he claims to be defending. The operation would cost the American taxpayer some US$315 billion. In fact, what he would save or take with one hand, he may lose it with the other.
It also remains to be seen how the American housewife will react. While the vast majority of them have punished the Democrats for inflation, all the measures mentioned above, and others still proposed, are likely to increase the cost of living. The average American who has become accustomed to paying USD15 for a shirt made in China is likely to have to pay more than USD20 for the same article...and that's not why he voted for Trump.
In any case, the two months that separate us from the nomination of the 47th President of the USA are not going to be easy for the whole world. Economists and politicians are hard at work, calculators in hand. Both of them. There's no doubt that some of them are already preparing their response to the planned measures. The USA is not what it was fifteen or twenty years ago. It has lost much of its superb economic hegemony, and Trump may well learn this the hard way, or not. He'll still sign a bunch of Presidential Orders with his own hand on January 20, 2025, savoring his great triumph like a Roman emperor...
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Congratulations Mr Donald Trump, 47th President of the United States of America
Trump is now the 47th President of the USA, after having been the 45th. It's a new and interesting development. During his first term, he broke with what the world had become accustomed to from the USA. He even went so far as to make contact with Kim Jong-Un, supreme leader of Pyongyang and of more than 26 million North Koreans. His relationship with Putin was marked by respect, and China was able to trade with him without ideological difficulties.
His philosophy is basic: USA first. Anything that serves his country's interests is welcome. In his mind, there are no allies, only economic rivals, not even the Europeans. NATO is a heavy burden for him, and defending anyone is none of his business. He'll say to the Europeans, you want NATO to defend you, pay up.
European leaders, intervening in scattered order, came begging for his blessing and protection, to no avail. All they got was disdain, if not humiliation. Merkel and Macron know all about it.
World leaders, Europeans and others stayed up late on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, and watched helplessly as the USA's most atypical president was re-elected. The man who turned all North American electoral habits on their head. Many of them had a headache, a very bad one indeed. Most of them had secretly hoped for Kamala's election in the hope of a political and strategic continuum, that of the Democrats, embodied by Biden. They will be jostling to offer their congratulations: Congratulations Mr. President.
Trump knocked out Kamala and his $2.8 billion campaign fund, while he, despite Elon Musk's boundless support, didn't raise more than $1.8 billion. Kamala's forced and cartoonish smile wasn't enough. Having never lost an election in her life, she didn't even have the courage to address her supporters on the election night.
Kamala couldn't shake off Biden's tainted image. It has stuck to her. The economic success of his mandate wasn't enough; neither was the $1,000 billion invested in infrastructure. American housewives, young executives and blue-collar workers alike held him responsible for the decline in their purchasing power, and let Kamala know it at the ballot box.
It's not totally untrue.
The inflation that has raged around the world is largely due to the Russo-Ukrainian war, which the Biden administration has kept going with its generous arms and ammunition aid to the man who went straight from a TV series to a presidential mandate in a country that is, to say the least, bizarre since it broke away from the USSR. Wasn't there room for negotiation, particularly if we had revived the Minsk agreements, signed under the aegis of the Europeans, led by Germany and with the blessing of the Americans? That's all Putin wanted.
The tensions stirred up with China also helped in this inflationary crisis that impacted the whole world, with catastrophic consequences for small economies and the 8 billion people on earth. Kamala paid for this, but also for the fact that her words were confusing and that, instead of presenting a plan for the future of Americans, she merely dug her own grave, getting bogged down in the rhetoric that Trump deftly lured her into. Her advisors and communicators failed to grasp the trick.
On January 20, just after the pleasure of celebrating Christmas and New Year's Eve; victorious, Trump will deliver his sermon.
Between now and then, he'll be fine-tuning his plans and putting together a team of loyal followers. He doesn't want to relive the first term and its defections from his team. And he'll be a strong 47th President of the USA, unopposed in the US Congress, his party having won a majority in both houses. The Supreme Court will also be his. He'll have the upper hand.
There's more in the world than only Europe and China, or India and Russia, there's also Africa. In his previous term of office, he didn't even look at it. Biden, on the other hand, paid attention to what was happening on the black continent, and to the growing intrusion of Russia, India, Turkey and, above all, China. He saw this as a threat to American interests and began to act to counter it. He accused his rivals of exploiting African resources without fair compensation. He called for greater justice in a partnership that respected the dignity of Africans. Biden will even organize a U.S.-Africa summit and shake hands with African leaders as no U.S. president before him has done. Not even Kenya's Obama. Joe made Kenya a strategic partner and received the Kenyan president on a state visit, a privilege no African leader had enjoyed for over forty years. He spoke of integrating Africa into the global market, facilitating the mobilization of capital to finance major projects. 55 billion will be mobilized for this purpose. Among other projects, the Lobito Corridor railroad line will be financed, integrating Angola with its Benguela line and linking it with Zambia and the DRC.
Africans and Europeans alike have legitimate questions about the place Donald Trump will reserve for them in his foreign policy, especially his economic policy. Many were undoubtedly hoping to take advantage of Kamala's skin color and her origins... But that's not knowing the mentality of Americans of all origins.
The ones who should be worried are the Palestinians. Trump is all about Israel. After all, he's the president who moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. No president before him had the courage to do so. Netanyahu must have followed the American elections closely and slept very well that night. Despite his unconditional support, Trump will seek to restore peace in the Middle East. Does he seek to impose a lasting solution: probably. He would like history to remember that. But at what cost to the Palestinians? The consequences of October 7 are likely to harm them in more ways than one. In Trump's mind, they'll make up for it.
In any case, the day after the election, the price of oil fell drastically and the dollar recovered.
For Moroccans, Trump is adored. This is the American president who solemnly recognized the legitimacy of the Cherifian Kingdom's sovereignty over its southern provinces, and who will no doubt speed things up even further.
As for our friend Zelenski, there's a good chance that the play will be over for him this time.
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Despite this, the United States will continue to make us dream...
The world holds its breath. We are only’ a few hours from the American presidential elections. Those that will impact our lives for at least four years.
No matter who the white house tenant is, he or she will be the greatest influencer in the world. Every day at the office will be made decisions that will impact the lives of all. The office that George Washington had wanted elliptical seems to be like this for a view of everyone, without any obstructive angle. The United States has thus placed itself at the center of the world.
The white house is not just the oval office and the home of the president and his family. Other influencers, more or less known exercise their power there. They are advisers, secretaries of state, journalists or simple friends.
All kinds of journalists have offices there and spend their days scrutinizing information, weighing on decisions and provoking them, especially when they face the President in person. He too obeys the dictate of the press and fears its omnipotence.
Power in the US is not just the White House. Not far from there throne the Congress with a gerontocracy to give you cold sweats. Some of the Congressmen may go so far as to lose their Latin but hold much to the power conferred on them by the oldest constitution in the world. They appear to be the reincarnation of those who imagined and drafted the constitution. There was a Jewish Moroccan among the authors, by the way. Some’s have no knowledge and skill in out of what gives the millions of dollars that allow them to sustain themselves. They have no idea of geography or history and even less of the cultures of other peoples. They are Americans and therefore the best and the smartest and arguably the most powerful. They can make decisions to shake the world. No matter, in the evening, they will doze without seeing or understanding what’s would their decisions have caused.
Old people are not alone. There are also young people, boys and girls who make their teeth. Many are from’ immigration but are against it. The US needs it for growth, but it doesn't matter. They are Mexican or Cuban of origin but do not want new Cubans or Mexicans.
All make laws on subjects that only a minority understands. They denounce tyranny in the world but do not measure the one that they exercise on this same world. They defend human rights but do not realize that their army and companies may flout them every second. They are the best and the others are may be just ignorant barbarians.
On January 6, 2021, Africa lost the primacy of contested elections. The outgoing president challenges the results a bit like those African opponents whose statements after counting votes can easily be imagined. A real coup d’etat. The United States will lose its brilliance in front of the world. The Capitol, the house of the people is stormed. Enlightened people rise to the rank of mentors and saviors of the democracy.
Some Americans think that democracy is in danger and that it is up to them to defend it. Many find that their system is gangrenous and sick. Many have become aware that something must change but have no choice but to suffer. Albert Arnold Gore paid the price. Kind as he seemed, he had agreed to lose to the worst presidents the US would have, just to save the system. His features betrayed him.
Not far away you have the’ other center of power: The Supreme Court of the USA. The designers of the system thought that with this institution they would spare the USA any kind of abuse. They could not imagine the type of humans who would succeed them. Those who by “micmacs” will seek to divert this institution and impose friends to support their drifts. The Court will decide according to the winds and the will of the one who presided over the appointment of this or that judge.
On the eve of the elections these three symbols of the great American democracy are barricaded. Security has installed barriers and almost barricades. They are afraid of the illuminated man who to contest the results will come to immolate himself, of the fanatic who gun in hand may shoot some innocents, of the people convinced by the one or the other of the candidates to come to save democracy. The US is afraid of Americans.
Not far away, the Pentagon seems to be quietly scrutinizing what is happening. The deep state is peaceful. Not much moves here. It looks like no one want to disturb the rest of the tenants of Darlington. This’ is where the big decisions would be made in case of problems.
The tour would be incomplete without mentioning the tens of thousands of lobbies who scrutinize the situation, smiling. Regardless, they are only concerned with tilting decisions in favor of those who finance them. In caulked offices, feeding and feeding their prey in upscale restaurants, have them pounded in recommended bars. A power for which no one has voted. Around a meal or a glass one can seal the future of the people and why not of the entire humanity. Weapons, tobacco, medicines, chemicals are never far from the Capitol.
Never American campaign had resembled that of today. Both candidates fell to the lowest. Insults are common. Infamous rhetoric and unbearable slanderous remarks resound on both sides.
Even universities no longer escape violent ideological confrontations. Radicality does not seem to bother anyone; on the contrary, it is well nourished by the words of the candidates and their henchmen.
Elon Musk and other stars are there to influence who with millions who with millions and forced smiles.
It’s really funny to see their forced and caricatural smile.
In any case, the show is both fun and alarming to the point of asking us the question of whether the’ system was not at an end.
No matter who is going to occupy the Oval Office, the United States will remain the United States and all will carefully watch over who will govern them and rule us by ricochet for at least four years.
I have a dream, Martin Luther King said. The pastor will eventually be killed.
Today, not far from the White House, the Capitol, the Congress, the Supreme Court and the Pentagon, dozens of people are creating the slab and their children, at an increasingly early age, are killing each other with war weapons. Washington is no longer the chocolate city. It’s one of the cities where the social gap is most pronounced. It’s the Fifth deadliest city in the United States.
Despite this, the United States will continue to make us dream...
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Despite this, the United States will continue to make us dream...
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President Macron visit to Morocco:the shadow and the spirit of Moulay Ismail, those of his ambassador Benaicha were very present and those of Louis XIV too.
His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco has given a historical character to President Macron's visit to the Kingdom. From the memory only the great monarchies and the oldest nation can reserve to a foreign head a so authentic welcome, as rich in symbols.
There was indeed the insistence of the President when he evokes the position of the state of France with regard to the provinces of the Moroccan South and of course the ten billion of Euros signed economic agreements but is there the essential?
In one of his words, President Macron has not failed to evoke the history. He even went back to the fascinating character of the ambassador Benaicha, the one that Sultan Moulay Ismail had dispatched to the Sun King. It could have gone back further because there were many exchanges prior to the period or years mentioned.
To remain in the same reigns in Paris and Morocco we can recall that Louis XIV had in 1689 sent to the Cherifian Sultan Moulay Ismail, Francois Pidou of Saint-Olon. At the time when a sovereign sent an emissary to another, one spoke of embassy. It is therefore in response to this embassy that the Sultan sent in turn an embassy in the person of Abdallah Benaicha who took the road to Paris in 1698, almost ten years later.
Travelling was long, tedious and risky at the time and exchanges very little political otherwise when it came to guaranteeing a little bit of security to allow and promote trade and much to free the captives of on one side as in the others. At the’ time the Cherifian Empire made a lot in the export leathers, salt, wheat in particular. Benaicha, who did not meet Louis XIV until February 16, 1699, had in fact come to negotiate the release of Muslim captives taken prisoner at sea by the ships of the Sun King. The unfortunates were used forcibly in careers. He wanted to negotiate a treaty to that effect.
Abdallah Benaicha was a high-ranking sailor. He can be compared to a sort of Admiral of the time. He did not speak French but rather English and Spanish. These were the languages that traders and knowledgeable people, especially those in navigation, spoke on the southern side of the Mediterranean as well. The maritime powers that were emerging were precisely Spanish and English.
Who else could negotiate such a treaty than Benaicha who himself had been captive in England in his youth and who had only been released at the cost of a large ransom. It was commonplace. People were generally captured at sea, their strength of arms and their knowledge were taken advantage of when they had it and their release was negotiated for large sums of money, later. The rulers of the time easily gave in to this kind of blackmail. Religion was never far from the problem. Christians captivated Muslims and Muslims did the same to Christians. The world was thus divided according to the confessions of the inhabitants of particular regions.
In Paris, Benaicha will be warmly welcomed with great respect, in order to show Versailles' consideration for Moulay Ismail and his power. Many visits to monuments were organized for him, obviously not at all for a cultural purpose but rather to show him the power of the country and the reign of its sovereign at the time. He had to be impressed in order to come back and tell his own Sultan about it. Louis XIV thus boasted of his power to intimidate the Cherifian Sultan. It was a way to impress and dissuade anyone who might doubt the power of the country. This was the way it was done at the time and perhaps still is today. These were the assets of foreign policy: to scare and show how advanced and powerful one was.
Benaicha, with his class, his refined manners, his very rich attire, his appearance and his culture, will be perceived as a rather interesting and attractive curiosity. It is even said that he seduced more than one lady of the nobility of the Court of Louis XIV. The women of the court did not hold back at the time and had their barely hidden habits as well...
During his very prolonged stay, with apparent reasons or not, Benaicha also met James Stuart, the dethroned King of England, who had taken refuge in France. He had apparently known him in his youth when he had been, as mentioned above, made a Muslim slave. England at the time was prey to real instability with a complicated religious substratum. Catholicism was facing very great difficulties. Normal that James Stuart himself a Catholic took refuge with a Catholic King. As a reminder, while he was having difficulty maintaining himself on the English throne, James Stuart is said to have received an offer of help from Moulay Ismail. But the military support had been accompanied by a complex and complicated condition. Moulay Ismail, is said to have simply asked James Stuart to convert to Islam and failing that to Protestantism.
Unlike President Macron's state visit to Morocco, which ended in apotheosis with grand conventions, gigantic contracts and promising and sincere smiles, Benaicha's mission ended with not much... Like all the expeditions of the time. However, should we not recognize that this embassy had left some seeds? It had the merit of making known to both of us what we truly were, each on our own side.
The milestones laid then and the seeds sown by Benaicha during his Parisian journey will certainly have served as the foundations for what has just been experienced during the visit of President Macron, who had the intelligence to mention it. This is precisely the moment that was seized on both sides to say loud and clear that only consideration and mutual respect could seal a great friendship and guarantee the interests of each other.
Four centuries of relations were evoked with intelligence, no doubt, to say that one cannot do without registering in the historical perspective to reflect and build the present and the future.
In any case, the shadow and the spirit of Moulay Ismail, those of his ambassador Benaicha were very present and those of Louis XIV too.
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President Macron visit to Morocco:the shadow and the spirit of Moulay Ismail, those of his ambassador Benaicha were very present and those of Louis XIV too.
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Historic turning point with the transfer of 2.5 million archive documents to Rabat, a source of concern for Algeria
President Macron's visit to Morocco has been repeatedly postponed for a variety of reasons. While many saw the visit as a stalemate in a serious and insoluble situation, time has shown otherwise. In view of recent developments, rather than speaking of successive deep crises, it would be better today to speak of a beneficial and productive halt, since it enabled us to set the record straight, clarify the situation on both sides, make clear the positions of each party on the issues that concern it, and dispel certain latent difficulties that in fact haunted both parties.
The hope now is to see the locomotive and wagons of complementarity on the rails, in a spirit of mutual respect and common interests, with the most absolute programmatic and the most profitable perspective for both parties.
In this context, one of the issues that has been outstanding between the two countries for decades is that of the archives concerning Morocco, in particular those from the protectorate period and slightly earlier. In other words, documents from the time when France began to take an interest in Morocco. For a long time, and right up to the 'post' recent crisis, France had always pretended not to hear Morocco's claims to the paternity of its archives, even though they concerned it directly.
In fact, France, in its balancing act, seeking to remain halfway between Algeria and Morocco, didn't think it productive to deliver such a treasure trove of information to the Kingdom, without it casting a shadow over its relations with its former departments; a rather relative equidistance, since the former colonial power has acted more to Algeria's advantage, for historically obvious and understandable reasons. However, France has never shown any consideration for this position, which is perceived as unfair by Rabat.
Clearly, these archives are of capital importance for Morocco, as they concern its history and, above all, its geography prior to the colonization of its South by Spain, the despoiling of its East by France, the attachment of some of its provinces to Algeria and the division of the rest of its territory into strata, again between France and Spain. In fact, the Cherifian Empire had been stripped, no doubt with a view to weakening it forever.
Now that the cold period between the two countries is over, the thorny issue of archives will be brought to the table, leading to an agreement that will enable the Cherifian Kingdom to recover more than two and a half million documents. The boxes that will be handed over to Morocco will undoubtedly be of real use and will have a major impact on the future of its foreign policy. They will undoubtedly weigh heavily in its relations with its neighbors.
My friend MH has just devoted a most pertinent reflection to the question, which he has published, as usual, on LinkedIn. With his permission, I'm publishing it here in its entirety. It is essential to read this text to understand what is really at stake in Morocco's insistence on recovering the said archives.
“Morocco and France have just reached a crucial stage in their relations with the signing of an official agreement providing for the transfer of some 2.5 million French archival documents to Rabat.
This development, which follows decades of Moroccan demands, is of major strategic importance. These documents, which contain valuable information on Morocco's historical claims and territorial borders, particularly in areas disputed since the end of the colonial era, reinforce the legitimacy of Moroccan positions.
This transfer of archives concerns in particular illegally occupied territories such as the Eastern Sahara, a region whose sovereignty is at the heart of disputes between Morocco and Algeria. These documents provide historical evidence likely to consolidate Moroccan claims to these territories.
At the meeting which formalized the agreement, Moroccan and French officials stressed the importance of this documentation in resolving territorial disputes and recognizing Morocco's historical rights.
The agreement sent shockwaves through the Algerian regime, which was particularly concerned by the handover of the archives. Algeria, aware of the validity of Morocco's claims, fears that these new historical elements will strengthen Morocco's position in international forums.
For decades, Algerian leaders have sought to deny the legitimacy of Moroccan claims. To conceal these claims and delay any negotiations, Algeria has found no better way than to create a conflict over the Western Sahara. In vain.
This agreement marks a decisive turning point not only in the management of historical disputes between Morocco and France, but also in the regional geopolitical balance. It is seen by many as an implicit recognition by France of the importance of the historical context in contemporary territorial claims. The handover of these documents to Rabat, after decades of claims, represents a major blow to the Algerian regime, whose positions are increasingly weakened in the face of a historical truth that is now accessible and indisputable.
Morocco, thanks to this agreement, strengthens its means of defense on the international stage, while Algeria, faced with a delicate situation, could see its arguments crumble in the face of irrefutable archival evidence. This transfer of archives is not only a diplomatic victory for Morocco, but also an act that sheds light on the historical injustices committed during the colonial period and the legitimate claims arising from them.”
Now that's been said, but above all, it's an eminently political gesture to return such archives, knowing the powerful impact this will inevitably have, namely on the geostrategy of the region. France knows it, Morocco knows it. As for Algeria, it has only its eyes to cry and, above all, to pull itself together and, why not, abandon the headlong rush that has characterized its day-to-day actions for a long time now....
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Vinicius'Jr. paving stone: moving World Cup form Spain...
The recent statement by Vinicius Jr., Real Madrid's best player, concerning the awarding of the World Cup to Spain continues to provoke strong reactions. He basically said that the 2030 World Cup should be played in another country if things don't improve, and that he is often the victim of racial insults in Spain.
‘I hope that Spain will learn not to insult people because of their skin colour. If things don't change by 2030, the World Cup should move on. ‘If the players don't feel safe from racism, it's hard to play,’ he told CNN in essence.
The power of the chosen media is well interwoven with that of the word of one of the best-known players on the planet.
He has thus embarrassed the whole Spain, aware of the star power he enjoys and knowing full well that the opinions of top sportsmen and women have an impact and can affect institutions and countries.
Has he thought carefully about the possible or probable consequences of his remarks before embarking on such an adventure: the consequences for his club, which is working with FIFA to make the renovated Santiago Bernabeu the venue for the World Cup Final?
This statement sounds like a warning that black sportsmen in Spain are fed up, and perhaps even a sign of revenge. Venicius Jr. surely knows that his comments will not be well received by fans of sport and Spanish football in particular, but he is making it clear that in Spain you can be insulted in a racist way in sport as well as in everyday life... It's a real problem for society.
Vinicius Jr. took the precaution of qualifying his remarks by not saying explicitly and categorically that Spain was a racist country, but rather ‘a country where you can suffer from racism’.
Nevertheless.
Everyone understood that he simply meant that Spain is a racist country where players of colour do not necessarily feel very comfortable; otherwise why did he go so far as to ask FIFA, in a barely attenuated manner, to think before awarding the 2030 World Cup to Spain?
Spain is in a three-way bid with Morocco and Portugal to host the centenary edition of the World Cup.
It won't be long before comments like these create a rift between those who will rise up and reject them out of hand and those who will rally behind Vini... Let's bet there won't be many of the latter. One thing is certain: this will not be without consequences... even for Real Madrid, who will no doubt be thinking about how to calm things down before taking a decision on the player's future with the club...
Some people have already gone ahead and dismissed the Brazilian's comments, pointing out that the most adored players in Spain at the moment, and particularly in the Spanish national team, are LAMINE YAMAL AND NICO WILLIAMS, and they are not white...
Isn't this a way of discrediting Vinicius Jr. with a touch of irony?
Will the Madrid striker's comments have helped to silence insults and unpleasant and inappropriate comments in the stands of football stadiums in the future? Only time will tell. What is certain is that it has sparked a real debate throughout a Spain that breathes nothing but football... It will have made some people ask serious questions about their behavior in tolerating or participating in acts of a racist nature in Spain and beyond.
The player's words spread like wildfire across Spain and the world in the space of a few hours, demonstrating the power of the voice of top sportsmen and women.
FIFA will no doubt be hearing about this, but not to the extent of going along with the player's idea of not giving Spain the World Cup if the situation does not change before 2030.
Let's hope that things really do change. Every one will then say Thanks Vini.
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Africa's inescapable awakening must be taken into account as a matter of urgency.
Is the world truly aware of the great changes taking place before our eyes?
Probably yes.
But then what does he do to anticipate them, accompany them, prepare and above all to make them assets of development, peace, harmony and coexistence.
What do we do to combine them in efforts to understand each other, in common strategies, while geopolitics is impacted and is evolving, a little freewheeling anyway?
The answer is unequivocal: not much. Instead, some are trying to save time, some pushing the dust under the carpet and or are just resisting.
For what reason and until’ when?
It is clear that the "dominant powers" do not want to see things evolve differently, no desire to see contexts move other than in the consolidation of their historical, economic and political gains.
For « The up’ until when », the answer is even more complex. Depending on whether one is located north or south, the perspective is different.
The youth of the south, is now more and more qualified, better and better trained, more and more ambitious. It no longer understands things with the defeatist and resigned logic of their elders.
The populations of the south, especially those of ’Afrique, are no longer sensitive to the hollow discourse of revolutionary ideologies, formerly served as a poultice to coax them, or even silence them, while waiting for better days.
Napoleon is attributed in 1816 : « So Let China sleep, because when China S’awaken, the whole world will tremble ». We know since that China is very much awake... and in what way. Alain Peyrefitte predicted it well, in turn.
Funny story, no one has ever said such a thing with regard to Africa.. And yet,’Africa is well out of its sleep... So wait for to get rid of a little.
China, is not much’ in front of’Africa, if not the resurrected legacy of Confucius skillfully combined with a communist pragmatism that nobody’ had imagined.
Africa is much larger, with a larger and constantly growing population. Its young people are lively and enthusiastic. It's the world's largest island, compared with all the other continents.
The so-called ‘dark continent’ has many assets, but it probably also has a few disadvantages that could block or slow down the momentum. We can list them in no particular order: the subservience of certain leaders, a number of failing political regimes, toxic borders inherited from colonialism, endemic corruption encouraged and supported by multinationals and certain Western regimes and their services, and a deeply rooted fatalism.
But Africa is also determinedly dynamic. Travel to the east, west, north or south of the continent and you will see that Africa is in turmoil. Young people are talking, acting, working, innovating; they are doing politics differently and they want to change things. Their aspirations are growing, if not limitless.
Of course, there are still some fools who swear by immigration, but that will soon fade. Growth prospects and the rates already achieved in some countries will change the situation.
Overall, the 54 African countries have understood what is at stake and are increasingly aware of the possibility of imposing themselves and their point of view for the benefit of their young people. Remember the altercation between the President of the DRC and President Macron, or the historic speech by King Mohammed VI on the occasion of Morocco's return to African Unity. (you can find the link to the speech below)
The ambitious ZLEKAF is undoubtedly the most daring response, as are the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline, the fertilizer manufacturing platforms, the tunnel project between Morocco and Spain, and the Giga factories that are being set up there, to name but a few.
Two factors determine these trends: geography and demography. Both are in Africa's favor.
In this changing context, there are two ways to act: either integrate the continent into a process of recognition, esteem, respect for dignity and co-development; or risk the most bitter confrontations and clashes. France has been aware of this during recent time... and this is only the beginning.
The one and a half billion inhabitants, i.e. more than a quarter of the members of the United Nations, must be taken into account as a matter of urgency.
So shouldn't Africa be integrated into global governance as soon as possible?
Should we not heed Africa's solemn appeal to be given seats on the Security Council as soon as possible in place of the three non-permanent members?
Should we not start paying a fair price for what the West is pumping into Africa?
These are all questions that urgently need to be answered sensibly and pragmatically, because the normal course of history is as Ibn Khaldun already observed...
Either evolution is controlled and channeled to the benefit of all, or change is going to come with pain... to the benefit of the most numerous, whom neither weapons, borders nor migratory blockade policies will be able to curb or stop.
Africa is in the process of cleaning itself up, but not for long before its great awakening.
An inevitable resurrection.
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25 years of His Majesty Mohammed VI's reign, as far as sport is concerned...
It should be remembered that the reign of His Majesty Mohammed VI, may God glorify him, began with the greatest feat ever achieved by Moroccan athletics: placing 5th in the world championships held at the time in Seville, Spain. The country brought home an excellent haul of medals. The athletes felt it was the best present they could have given His Majesty on the occasion of his enthronement.
In return, Her Majesty responded in the most beautiful way, with a royal solicitude that will remain with each and every one of us forever.
From the outset, His Majesty gave a number of signals to make everyone understand the importance of sport in sustainable socio-economic development, the fulfilment of Moroccan citizens and, of course, the consolidation of the country's brand image.
Having probably noticed a certain slowness in the fulfilment and implementation of the Royal vision, in 2008, on 24 October to be precise, His Majesty sent a historic letter to the various stakeholders in sporting life, who were brought together for a national conference. After leaving no doubt as to the King's lack of satisfaction, this letter mapped out the path and indicated the axes for the hoped-for development. The letter even went so far as to spell out how this could be achieved according to the enlightened vision of the august sovereign. This letter is still relevant today, and no one involved in sport can afford the luxury of ignoring its contents.
To show the way and point the way, His Majesty personally inaugurated the Mohammed VI Football Academy and the Mohammed VI National Centre for the Disabled, where sport was seen as a cornerstone in the integration of people with special needs.
In 2011, following the Royal initiative to revise the country's Constitution, the Moroccan people voted overwhelmingly in favour of the project, which for the first time in the country's history included sport and physical activity as a right for Moroccan citizens. There are few constitutions in the world that enshrine sport so explicitly and so clearly.
This is how His Majesty's vision is being put into practice today, and this explains the major investment in sport, the qualitative change in infrastructure and the level of results achieved in certain sporting activities. Unfortunately, other disciplines are still slow to seize the opportunities offered to them to reach the desired level, no doubt due to a lack of foresight or skill.
The royal vision has also proved to be very clear and ambitious for the country in terms of Morocco's place in the concert of countries capable of organising major sporting events. The country has organised numerous African championships in various sports.
The Kingdom will make this vision a reality by hosting the All-Africa Games for the first time in its history. These are the biggest sporting event on the continent. All 54 African countries took part.
At the instigation of His Majesty, may God assist him, Morocco did not give up when it came to defending its right to host the Football World Cup.
The country has presented its bid six times without ever losing heart.
With each bid, the country assured the FIFA authorities that its determination was strong and legitimate, and whatever happened, the bid was a real guarantee for the country and the projects included in it were going to be carried out in any case.
On each occasion, Morocco has kept its word. It has always seen the Football World Cup as a catalyst for development, not as a one-off event.
We must also remember the occasion and circumstances of the last presentation of the Moroccan bid. The African Football Congress was held in Kigali, Rwanda. Morocco was represented there, of course, by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, but also, at official level, by the Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sport, Chakib Benmoussa. He was officially present to receive the Prize for Excellence awarded by CAF to the Moroccan sovereign and President Kagame.
The minister then read the message that His Majesty had kindly addressed to the audience. In this message, His Majesty announced to Moroccans, Africans and citizens of the world, the news of the bid to organise the Football World Cup. This time, the bid is being made jointly with Spain and Portugal. The formula announced by the Sovereign is historically new: to organise the competitions on the two shores of the Western Mediterranean: a strong civilisational signal to FIFA and to the world.
The primacy given to His Majesty in making this important announcement speaks volumes about the esteem in which the Sovereign is held in the region. Indeed, His Majesty made the announcement not only on behalf of the three countries, but also on behalf of the entire continent.
On this occasion, the Football World Cup will be celebrating its 100th anniversary.
In his message on the occasion of the presentation in Kigali of the CAF Excellence Award for 2022, just before the announcement of the tripartite bid for the World Cup, the Sovereign had said, ‘I remain faithful to the conviction I expressed in my speech on the occasion of the 29ᵉ African Union Summit in 2017: “Africa's future lies with its youth” and only “a proactive policy geared towards youth will channel the energy for development”.’
This demonstrates the royal conviction that Africa's development can only be achieved within the framework of his vision of the continent, namely the need for understanding, respect, complementarity and win-win cooperation. Taking care of young people and opening up the necessary opportunities for them in this process is essential and unavoidable.
Everyone knows the role that football plays in the development of young people, which is why His Majesty said later in his message: ‘...In my country, the Kingdom of Morocco, I have made a point of making football a lever for success and sustainable human development’. A way of inviting the countries of the continent to do the same.
Today, we Moroccans are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the reign of His Majesty Mohammed VI, may God help him. But it should be noted that almost all the peoples of Africa are also celebrating with us, given the radiance of the royal personality on the continent and the fact that Morocco is seen as a definite ally for the development and well-being of its citizens. Our country is seen as an example and an ally, and we should all work to consolidate this special place, built up by the many visits and royal solicitude in different parts of Africa.
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The African Union and the "Ten Commandments" for improving women's education
The African Union and the "Ten Commandments" for improving women's education
A piece of information has just caught my attention and aroused my astonishment, so obvious is it. It is a reminder of one of the known chronic deficits of the African continent, at the root of its socio-economic situation and its difficulties in leaving the zone of systemic precariousness of a large fringe of the population.
On 4 and 5 July 2024, African Unity organised a gathering of great importance, which was given the name of Conference.
The conference was devoted to debating the importance of education for girls and women. Of course, for the sake of fashion and to fit in with a modern narrative, we talked about strategy.
The conference discussed a strategy for increased access to "inclusive, lifelong, quality and relevant learning in Africa".
My astonishment stems from the fact that it was only in 2024 that African Unity finally took an interest in a recurring problem that has been present throughout the continent since the dawn of time. A problem that everyone believes to be one of the main causes of the continent's underdevelopment and the pervasive precariousness of its population.
In fact, for a very long time now, the pan-African organisation, whether in its old form or in its new one, has been floundering in so-called political difficulties. It lives to the rhythm of petty conflicts and never-ending conciliations between petty warlords imbued with imported ideologies in which they themselves do not believe, but who cares? All it does is denounce or try to appease the perpetrators of massacres in the name of causes that are often in the interests of this or that interest, without ever succeeding in imposing or settling anything...
Finally, in July 2024, the Commissioner dedicated to this mission within African Unity will give us his prophecy. In essence, he said: "As Member States, we must redouble our efforts to support girls' education by acting on knowledge and skills. Let's support girls' education at primary, secondary and even tertiary levels, so that our girls complete their studies successfully and become very responsible citizens, capable of making very sound decisions".
Fantastic. All we have to do, Commissioner, is prepare our girls and women to make the right decisions... What decisions are we talking about, Commissioner: stopping the conflicts that are making more than one rich region tired, stopping the squandering of public money on far-fetched projects and misguided policies, creating work for young people by encouraging investment, primarily in the country itself, helping to improve governance for the benefit of all, improving health services and other public necessities? To do this, Commissioner, we need to go further and deeper and question the political systems in particular and the way in which power is seized in certain countries...
Thank you, Commissioner, for reminding Africa of something it should have been doing a long time ago. You would just have added 'so much time wasted on infighting and idiotic debates instead of addressing the continent's real problems'.
What's even more astonishing is that, in order to supposedly help overcome the endemic situation of women on the continent, we are still making recommendations...
As the Conference was only consultative, the only outcome was obviously the publication of recommendations. There were ten of them.
Even Moses has not been able to impose his recommendations for thousands of years, despite the divine words: "You shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not bear witness".
Commissioner, wouldn't it have been wise to recall these Commandments of Moses as a preamble to the Conference's recommendations?
Perhaps...
In its 'Ten Commandments', for example, the Conference calls on the parties concerned, those who finance or can do so, to put a little more money into education budgets... The problem that the conference did not address, but did it have the courage to do so, is how to ensure that this money, which is supposed to be forthcoming, will be protected so that it is really spent on education for education's sake... and does not, as in many cases, end up in the pockets and distant accounts of those who are supposed to manage it for the good of Africans...
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But what is happening before our eyes?
What is happening to the world?
France is about to stand to attention under the rule of a man who has barely passed his baccalaureate, but who is nonetheless charming and appealing. An angel's face that has managed to conceal an entire history of adulated hatred, obvious racism, claimed segregationism and the overt fascism of the party it embodies. As if by magic, with the help of the bought-in media, the young bachelor managed in the twinkling of an eye to disguise an entire ideology and bamboozle the people of France, who would eventually realise that Vichy was no accident and that a very large proportion of the population at the time was not in the Resistance but rather in the Collaboration...
France is moving to the right, but nothing is really likely to change, at least not immediately, because for that to happen you need full power, and that requires a RN President, a RN Prime Minister and a RN parliamentary majority. The RN are not stupid and will know how to wait... unless young Bardella is in a hurry and has his own agenda aimed at overtaking Mme Le Pen and putting her out of the running for the next presidential elections. Will he be in such a hurry to move quickly? Possibly, but unlikely. In any case, the attitude of the amateur President, a poker player, will have been the cornerstone in accelerating the success of the RN and is now the propellant of the expected rise to the presidency of Mme Le Pen, in a short time... Because with Bardella, Macron will no doubt be kept under "house arrest" at the Elysée Palace by his sweetheart, and no more.
Far from it, in South Africa we were expecting the real change desired and wanted by the rainbow people, after decades of ill-fated 'dictatorship' by the ANC, which has made memory rent the sole basis of a policy that has led to disaster and the hopeless impoverishment of a large fringe of the population. This will not be the case. The ANC has just obtained 20 of the 32 ministerial posts in the new so-called government of national unity. The most important missions have not escaped it in this unprecedented government. Finance, Energy, Foreign Affairs, Police and Justice remain in ANC hands. The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has only been given six portfolios in the new government: Agriculture, Environment, Home Affairs and Public Works - in other words, the breakthrough ministries.
On the other side of the Atlantic, things are not looking good. The recent Biden-Trump debate revealed an America staggering to the rhythm of the crumbling president. America is going through a real disaster, a moment unprecedented in its history, a moment of confusion and political fatigue. A moment that makes you wonder whether it was possible for Americans to have sunk so low and for their major parties to have become so locked in a historically astonishing blindness. The world's leading power thus appears to be in a state of serious decrepitude, presenting the world with a spectacle of desolation and shipwreck. The American people have a choice between a colourful, neo-authoritarian old man and another old man who is crumbling and still president, but who won't give up... Isn't it embarrassing for the American people (50 million live viewers) to see their president's memory failing, a president who has lost the coherence of his words, lining up words in sentences that are as inaudible as they are confused. Isn't it embarrassing for them to see that, opposite them, their only choice is a colourful character whose run-ins with the law are not about to get any easier.
Let's go back to Africa and see that the Mauritanians have chosen continuity with Ould El Ghazouani, whom they re-elected with nearly 56% of the vote... Will this time be the right time for stability in this Sahelian country, a colonial legacy with a population of barely 5 million, which has undergone more than one brutal change through successive coups d'état, a country where political crisis is an almost permanent feature of daily life; tribal and personal rivalries are bitter and unremitting.
This is the way the world is going, a world that is certainly changing but not very reassuring... In any case, this is not the world that we dreamed of and that we are preparing to bequeath to future generations.
But what is happening before our very eyes?But what is happening before our very eyes?
That's the way the world works. Doubts here, worries there, but there's no doubt that tomorrow will be different - yesterday was already different from today...
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A weak G7, weaker than ever...
Giorgia Meloni, the woman propelled to power by the Italian outer right-hand, received the G7 in an unprecedented situation. Of all those present, she is probably the only one to feel strong, while the others are almost all politically weakened or moribund.
The situation in Great Britain is in the process of pushing Mr Rishi Sunak out of office, with Brexit just around the corner and the situation far from stabilising, especially economically. Its French neighbour is going through the same nightmare, having been forced to call a general election following the debacle of his majority in the European elections, to the benefit of Mr Jordan Bardella,with only the baccalaureate in hand, who no doubt dreams of attending the next G7 summit alongside Mr Macron. Cohabitation is not far off... Macron has played Russian roulette and risks receiving the only bullet in the barrel in the heart.
Not far from there, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, unable to become a worthy successor to Angela Merkel who is back to normal life, is also in great difficulty and has been genuinely weakened since the last European elections. Among other things, he has come under fierce criticism from within his own coalition.
The representatives from across the Atlantic at this summit are in no better shape. Mr Justin Trudeau, who is going through a difficult time both at home and politically, looking more attenuated than ever. Some Canadians are even saying that Canada has never been in such bad shape. His American neighbour is also exhausted and is not certain of staying in the White House, with Donald Trump bullying him and showing his fangs.
So it was a G7 of people bathed in weakness that Ms Meloni received in a superb pink suit, as if to signal to her peers that she, the woman in the group, was the only one comfortable in her chair.
Madame Meloni, who called Macron irresponsible few months ago, was there strutting her stuff and looking down on him. She'll probably be there, at another G7 with a triumphant president Mme Lepen...or who knows, President Bardella.... an Italian next to a italian...Bardella is Italian origin.
So in this G7 of weakness, once decried, fascism finds itself powerfully rehabilitated and frequented... Mussolini and why not Hitler are so happy about it in the depths of their graves... Their offspring are doing a good job and today dominate the most powerful political and economic group, the G7, which is also becoming the group of shame in the eyes of those who still believe in the greatest lie of modern history: humanism and universal values...
The question that arises is whether the real winner in this situation of Western uncertainty is none other than the Absent-Present Vladimir Putin... who has just won the elections by a landslide, and who awaits all these fine people on Ukrainian soil...
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South African elections: change or continuity?
It's a fact: the ANC lost badly in the 2024 elections, unlike all the previous ones in which it held sway without any notable rivalry.
Memory rent and populism with a taste for fighting against all sorts of chimeras, promises that were never kept, were no longer enough to win over the masses and get them to vote for those who today are more likely to be held responsible for what many South Africans feel is a betrayal.
The results today confirm the debacle of the party in power since Mandela.
Ramaphosa's ANC is still the country's leading party, but it has been heavily punished, with just 40% of the vote. That's a dry loss of 17 points compared with the 2019 elections.
The latter already heralded today's debacle.
For the South Africans. The results of the 2019 elections were already a kind of alarm bell... But it was not enough for the expected wake-up call, for the realisation that something had to change.
As a result, this year's South African legislative elections will go down in the country's political annals, with some interpreting the results as the expression of a fed-up with the political system imposed since 1994 by the ANC.
The results obtained today would require a cohabitation, which is rather unprecedented, as the ANC has governed without sharing power since 1994.
The question is, with whom will this coalition be formed?
Many are inclined to think that it will be with Zuma; a multi-recidivist who has been convicted many times, he has managed to regain control and revive those nostalgic for the struggle, namely the ANC's armed wing... Umkhonto we Sizwe... known as MK. This ‘new party’ managed to glean 14.9% of the vote, putting it in third place.
If it were to join the ANC, this would in fact give the same party, with these two factions, a comfortable majority of just over 55%, a score quite close to that of the ANC in 2019, which was some 57%.
If this coalition is formed, South Africa will not have changed and the ANC will have five years in which to either reform the country and get it back on track, or to bog it down further in economic and social problems. The separatists in the Cape region who believe that the country cannot be saved would have more opportunity to make their voices heard.
The ruling party's corruption scandals, most recently that of the former Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, have certainly had an impact, but not to the extent of bringing about radical change.
Jacob Zuma, who was president from 2009 to 2018 and was found guilty, is now back through the window with the support of the ANC's armed wing... This shows that part of society is not sensitive to scandal and votes on the basis of allegiance rather than morality when it comes to the exercise of power.
Cyril Ramaphosa, the outgoing president, is fairly certain, according to his own words, of obtaining a majority, as he finds it hard to see all the opposition parties getting on the same side and denying the ANC a majority. In other words, nothing will change in practice.
The question then is whether this new coalition situation will find the right answers to the question of endemic unemployment, for example?
The turnout of around 60% of the 27 million people called to the polls is almost the lowest since the beginning of the rainbow country's current political experiment. This is another indication of the disenchantment between the 62 million inhabitants and their political model, which no longer reassures them about their future. The flight of capital to neighbouring countries is a strong indication of this disenchantment.
The next few days are likely to bring their share of surprises, but will they be enough to really surprise?
Here are the final results of these elections
• ANC 40.18,
• Democratic Alliance (DA) 21.82
• Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) 14.59
• Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) 9.49
• Inkhata Freedom Party (IFP) 3.86
• Patriotic Alliance (PA) 2.06
• Freedom Front (VF) 1.36
• ActionSA 1.18
• African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) 0.60
• United Democratic Movement (UDM) .049
You will have noticed that three of the 10 parties that obtained votes have the word freedom in their names and that three claims to be democrats... This says a lot about the expectations of the South African people and their dreams.
In any case, these elections will have an impact on the history of the country and will have repercussions on the whole continent. South Africa is currently the second largest economy in Africa.
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South African elections: change or continuity?
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Impending Nuclear Apocalypse
An atomic blast releases three types of radiation: beta particles, neutron radiation, and gamma rays. After a few days the only radiation are neutron radiation and gamma rays from radioactive fallout. It's believed most people outside cities would survive the initial blasts. There will also be a nuclear winter, estimates show it could last from days to a decade, making it extremely difficult to grow food. Everything will be poisoned from fallout. I already have the basics: air filters, water filters, geiger counters, gold, guns, 6 months worth of canned foods, etc.
Many would survive up to this point, but come out realizing they have no source of clean water, food, and are already on the brink of death. Most would later die from radiation poisoning, cancer, starvation, or conflict over resources. It's believed that after two years, almost everybody would die.
Given the current war in Ukraine and it seemingly not having a resolution, nuclear war is more concerning every year. It is irresponsible to consider something potentially so devastating as irrelevant to our everyday concerns. The fact is that preparing a little can significantly increase your odds of survival and something everyone should do. As much as we don't like to think about it, it could actually happen.
**WHERE ARE THE TARGETS?**
In the case of a full-blown nuclear exchange, if you live in Europe, The Middle East, North America, Russia, China, Korea, or any countries in proximity, you are at high risk of being a direct nuclear target. The goal of a nuclear exchange isn't to kill as many people as possible in the blasts, but to make the aftermath as hellish as possible for the survivors. Primary targets will be military bases, major cities, and intermediary infrastructure. The aftermath will be absolute anarchy, as people are killed over shoes and canned beans.
**WHO'S PREPARED?**
There isn't a comprehensive list. Switzerland has fallout shelters to house her entire population.
**ARMOR YOURSELF**
Conflict over resources will be a major tension in a post-apocalyptic world. You want to protect yourself, not only from the potential of violence, but also radiation exposure. You want to be bulletproof. You want to be radiation resistant. Hydrogenated Boron Nitride Nanotubes (H-BNNTs) are 100x stronger than steel with best-in-class protection against neutron radiation. And unlike other ultra-high-strength materials, H-BNNTs are astonishingly easy to manufacture in bulk and spin into sheets. They're typically used to reinforce other materials and can be purchased in a powdered form for that purpose.
What I'm going to do is buy a full body cooling garment as an underlayer and build an exolayer of radiation-resistant plates. It sounds kind of silly, but in a radioactive world you need to protect cover yourself or you will probably get sick and die. This can only be done with impractically heavy layers or by using cutting-edge materials. H-BNNTs are also hydrophobic so radioactive matter won't stick to you. They also self-heal. Another reason this is an absolute must: unless sufficiently protected, nuclear radiation can make you impotent.
People will provoke you if you have things. Being resistant to small bullets with armored plates is invaluable. I'll also build a helmet I can screw air filters into. Consider the predicted mortality causes: radiation poisoning, cancer, starvation, or conflict over resources. An armored suit of such specification would effectively protect against radiation poisoning, cancer, and conflict over resources. It's remarkably valuable and there is no substitute.
How to make BNNT according to Jun Hee Kim et al.: "Ball milling is a promising technique to synthesize BNNT at industrial scale with low cost. In principle, direct reaction between boron and nitrogen in ambient conditions can be stimulated by introducing defective or amorphous structure in boron starting powders. This transformation is easily done by applying sufficient amount of mechanical energy that is controlled by several parameters such as milling time, and intensity (round per minutes). Therefore, the quantity of BNNT can be immensely produced in a typical run. This process is dependent on the milling time that could be extended to hundreds of hours, and the subsequent annealing of treated boron powder has an essential role in the formation of BNNT."
**BE SCARY AF**
Suppose your starving and have no weapons. You see someone walking and eating an apple from the bushes. If they don't look armed, you might want to jump them and steal their food. If they're wearing a full bullet-resistant armor suit with a semiautomatic rifle strapped to their back, you might think twice.
**SOURCES OF FOOD**
What are the best sources of food during the nuclear winter? Your neighbors and pets, and not in the way you'd like to think. You might not be able to grow anything outside. Sourcing energy for a greenhouse will be exceptionally difficult. People will also try to kill you if you do have food. You can mill flour out of cambium, the inner layer of tree bark, to make bark bread. You can also grow mushrooms and nutritional yeast. Dinner a la oyster mushrooms, nutritional yeast, bark bread, and bat meat. Not bad given the circumstances. Other than that, you're pretty much hopeless. There is no easy answer to the problem of finding food. Clean water can be sourced from a well or collected from the condensate of boiling water.
**WHERE SHOULD YOU HIDE?**
When you learn that nuclear war has been initiated, you should consider the amount of time you have, and go to your basement or another underground dwelling before the blast. It's important to stay underground for a 2-3 weeks, then you can come up and assess the circumstances. Make sure you have a geiger counter to assess your exposure to radiation.
**WHO'S IN CHARGE??**
The government would collapse. Some places would remain untouched by direct nuclear bombing. Countries in Africa, South America, Australia, South East Asia, Oceania, and of course Antarctica, may remain safe. Getting there would be a top priority. Aid packages may also arrive, but probably not. Every country would be suffering it's own ecological crisis as a result of radioactive material carried by weather.
There is also the possibility of haven cities that were not destroyed by blasts through shear luck. READ THE ROAD. Gangs will block the roads to take your things, but if you can't survive by yourself, it would be wise to try to find a haven city.
**NUCLEAR FANTASY**
Some places could be hit REALLY hard. In America, England, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and other major targets, it would be a mistake to assume that society will ever be remotely similar. Some people hold out hope for gov aid. It won't be coming. The government will collapse. As Einstein said, WW4 will be fought with sticks and stones
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Impending Nuclear Apocalypse
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Sport as a sustainable development tool?
Anyone operating in the public sphere is doubly challenged when it comes to sustainable development and social responsibility. Those active in sport are also.
It has to be said that the issue of sustainable development is very confused in people's minds. In some countries, the need is for development pure and simple, so that people can live decently, in dignity, with their needs properly met, while benefiting from the wealth of their countries.
However, there is a lot of confusion in the messages conveyed by almost all the politicians and various influencers who have taken over the issue without the slightest competence in the field, with a predominance of ideology in their communication, which makes it difficult to understand a subject that is so important.
For example, to say that the planet is in danger is just ridiculous. It's humans who are threatened with extinction and a whole host of problems that are likely to arise before they do, if nothing is done to reverse the trend.
So isn't it legitimate to openly ask whether carbon offsetting as a solution is a way of keeping the poor poor and the rich comfortable?
When I was working in my capacity as a direct manager in sport, the issue of sustainable development was much more concerned with its social rather than its environmental dimension, but it just so happens that sport and athletics in particular, in certain regions of the continent, have made it possible to solve an enormous number of problems by improving the standard of living of individuals. Each time, this improvement has had a positive impact on the immediate environment of the people concerned and sometimes on an even wider circle around that person, at the level of an entire village through the creation of schools, health facilities, means of production and water points.
I'm one of those who are convinced that the return and enhancement of customary systems and ancestral traditions - the result of a cultural accumulation over time and history - is extremely important, not in a vision of nostalgia or ‘folklore’, but rather as a source of solutions to current problems. People all over the world have always set up ingenious systems to solve their problems of water supply, conservation and sharing, for example.
Pour en revenir aux valeurs actuelles, le sport, sans doute aucun, est un vecteur d'éducation des jeunes filles et des femmes, une école du vivre ensemble, de paix et de diplomatie. Il est du reste le moyen le plus efficace pour la cohésion et l’inclusion sociale, même quand il s’agit de populations carcérales.
Dans les années 80 j’avais initié l’activité sportive en faveur des handicapés dans mon pays, ce qui a abouti peu de temps après à la création d’une Fédération Royale Marocaine dédiée. Aujourd’hui au Maroc, la quasi-totalité des catégories de personnes à besoins spécifiques bénéficient d’encadrements sportifs dans des centaines associations and numerous specialist centres. Morocco's achievements in this field are often cited as an example.
As a result of this conviction, I am still involved in two major associations dedicated to physical activity and sport for girls and women: the Association Nationale Femme et Activité Physique (National Association for Women and Physical Activity), set up in the early 1980s by Mrs Fatima El Faquir, and the Association Femmes Réalisations et Valeurs (Women's Achievements and Values Association), set up by Mrs Nezha Bidouane. Both of these organisations provide tens of thousands of women with regular, sustained exercise.
I also take part quite regularly in activities initiated in prisons, etc.
In order for sport to play its role of sustainable and social development properly, there are many things that need to be improved in the training of supervisors. First of all, we need to give priority to academic training in specialised institutions and faculties. Physical activity and sport are highly complex fields. The international federations have done a very poor job of sticking their noses into training. They should focus on qualifications and leave training to the university system.
We mustn't forget that sport itself is threatened by climate and environmental risks, but also by a host of abuses that it can undergo or engender.
Global warming, for example, is forcing sportsmen and women to adjust their training times, while the lack of water means that certain sports facilities cannot be installed in certain areas (swimming pools, tennis courts, golf courses, etc.).
The atmospheric and noise pollution caused by certain sports, the violation of human rights that tarnishes the credibility of certain major sporting events, and the psychological or physical violence inflicted on sportswomen are all threats that weigh heavily and compromise the noble mission of sport.
Another major risk here is exploitation, whether financial or physical. I'm thinking here of all those young sportsmen and women who are exploited, lured into a bright future by the promise of good things, in various so-called training centres that obey no demonological rules or ethical codes. I'm also thinking of sexual exploitation, paedophilia, harassment and the sexual exploitation of young girls.
There is also the heresy of all these highly polluting activities that call themselves sports... whether directly through the use of powerful engines, rubber, plastic and other harmful components.
La violence est également présente au quotidien dans le sport notamment quand les enjeux sont très importants et quand s’y ajoute une dimension exagérée de fanatisme.
Racism is also increasingly expressed without embarrassment in the stands by a public increasingly free of moral or legal constraints, with disconcerting impunity.
So of course there are actions being taken through what is commonly known today as Safeguarding. Many international federations, including World Athletics, have embarked on this path. Let's wait and see the results of such strategies, but the fact remains that these issues cannot be resolved by simple rules and sanctions.
The creation by the United Nations of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace was certainly conceived with this in mind. The day was proposed by an African, the Moroccan Kamal Lahlou
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Sport as a sustainable development tool?
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Function of the American Political Body
The American Federal Government has been weaponized against dissent, media is increasingly censored and controlled, foreign interests have an unprecedented influence on political power, and many politicians are extorting money from their policy influence.
**Media Censorship/Bias**
There used to be a law called the Fairness Doctrine that required media sources to report the news without political bias, but it was eliminated in 1987. There has been a rise in partisan news coverage since, resulting in isolated groups and a brewing resentment and distrust between them, manifested in congressional activity. It used to be there were two parties and they worked to balance each other, but now they act like single-party interests warring against each other. Traditional news sources not only compete on narrative, but try to discredit each other along party lines.
On the other hand, there is the new world of social media, so party interests have turned to censoring certain narratives, on which the House Committee on The Weaponization of The Federal Government wrote an 880 page report called *THE CENSORSHIP-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX: HOW TOP BIDEN WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS COERCED BIG TECH TO CENSOR AMERICANS, TRUE INFORMATION, AND CRITICS OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION*, which says it all.
**Foreign Interests**
In 1970, a Soviet journalist named Yuri Bezmenov defected to the United States. He claimed the Soviet Union was executing a long-term plan to subvert American society.
Currently, there are several foreign entities with their mits in American pockets. Russia has been accused of election interference several times. China has also been accused of large-scale espionage and interference. TikTok was recently banned in America over concerns of it being an extension of Chinese Communist Party and a mechanism of social subversion. Reading the law that banned it, it also extends FISA, the governments surveillance program for foreign and domestic citizens, but nobody reports that.
From the House Committee on Oversight: “We found 170 major bank violations. These were from six major banks, and they alleged that the Bidens were, among other things, money laundering, and receiving suspicious wires from state-owned entities. […] The bank is alleging that the Bidens took a suspicious wire from the Chinese government, and then laundered it through these shell companies. Many laws were broken there.”
Personal investments by legislators tend to significantly out-perform investors on Wall Street. It's believed that they're insider-trading and no longer represent the needs of the people. They can still get elected because there's a one-party mentality created by the isolated news sources. Everyone thinks the other side is shit, but in reality, both are shit.
**Wokeism And Useful Idiots**
Wokeism is a nuanced cultural movement with good intentions and awful consequences. Google's Gemini explains Wokeism: "Wokeism is the promotion of liberal progressive ideology and policy as a way to express sensitivity to systemic injustices and prejudices. It's also defined as a set of theories that revolve around "identity, gender, and race". The core principle of wokeism is to "reveal and condemn concealed forms of domination"."
Disaster comes wherever people start identifying as Woke. In San Francisco and Seattle, where Wokeism first took root, the homeless population and crime rate have skyrocketed. Wokeism attempts to address systemic issues and prejudice: disproportionate incarceration rate for black males, income inequality between men and women, but disrupts meritocracy to do so.
In attempt to reduce the black population in prisons, they stop enforcing laws, because black people do commit significantly more criminal activity on a per-capita basis. When the laws stop being enforced dangerous people are empowered and kept out of prison. They sell drugs, they steal, and communities fall apart. Substance abuse becomes prevalent, homelessness, prostitution, etc. In Seattle, someone can defecate in the middle of road and not get arrested. You can shoot a gun at someone and walk out of prison that night with no bail. You can shoot up heroine in public and the cops will watch you do it. You can set up homeless tents outside schools. The laws go unenforced. When the Mayor of Seattle was asked in 2019 about the devastating crime rate, he said he's a firm believer we can't arrest our way out of this problem.
After police brutality gained widespread public attention due to the George Floyd murder, even though an autopsy revealed he had a clinically lethal dose of fentanyl in his blood, Woke protesters championed "defund the police" as the crime rate was rising. In justice, police brutality is a problem and needs to be addressed as well.
The axiomatic flaw of Wokeism is that meritocracy is seen as a concealed form of domination. The incentive is not to do better, but to appear more disadvantaged, so people act crazy. Insanity is mislabeled as virtue and compassion. Because it doesn't make any sense, Wokeism is often antagonistic to free speech as well.
I call Woke people useful idiots because they're loud about their ideology and easily taken advantage of by ideas against their own interests.
**Why you should care**
Since WW2, America has basically acted as world ocean police, ensuring the security of international free-trade. America has one of the largest collections of nuclear weapons. America is the greatest force in NATO. America is always on the cutting-edge of science and technology. The NSA is probably spying on you. These problems will make it to Europe as American import.
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Function of the American Political Body
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America is falling apart
Over the past two decades, America has transformed from a functional republic to a klepocratic republic fueled by information censorship and deep-state interests. The level of political polarization is at an intensity only paralleled by the civil-war era of the 1860s. It is so bad, if I were unfamiliar with the situation, I wouldn't believe me. 8 years ago it was completely different.
I understand there are other nations under far greater distress, but America is in a unique kind of decline, not seen anywhere else, serving as a warning to other liberal democracies in the 21st century.
In Seattle, Washington, the streets are littered with homeless drug abusers with tents propped up in EVERY park and EVERY street. The democracy is dysfunctional. Take a look at this video of a city meeting in Seattle: https://youtu.be/bpAi70WWBlw?feature=shared&t=240.
Citizen 1 to council members: "Will you manage these camps? Will you enforce the law?"
Council Member: "If property damage or violence is committed you need to call 911."
Citizen 2 to council members: "You've lost all credibility when you say ... you said two words, you said call 911. Do you understand that the police have told us to vote you all out so they can do their jobs, and you're telling us to call 911. You're smiling! You think this is funny, you think it's funny the way we're living?" People cheer with their signs that say "**LISTEN TO US**."
It's been 5 years and the problem has only worsened. Policy decisions seem conspiratorially designed to destroy the nation. Petty crimes are almost entirely unenforced. Political violence has been normalized. The Department of Justice has become weaponized for political purposes. Substance abuse has never been worse. National security is in crisis. The majority of Americans don't trust the elections. The school systems are failing.
"Our K-12 public education system is not designed to be effective in student learning, educator performance, or the effective utilization of money. Devoid of accountability, it will never effectively educate our children. It would be more accurate to describe our public education system as our country’s largest adult employment program."
- Donald Nielsen, Senior Fellow and Chairman, American Center for Transforming Education
The scope and speed of America's unraveling is unprecedented and difficult to emphasize enough. If I wanted to destroy the country I would do everything that politicians are doing.
I've linked a document at the bottom from a Republican House Judiciary Committee outlining constitutional violations and censorship of true information from the existing presidential administration. The document is almost 900 pages long, but to summarize: it's a horrible situation.
**LOOMING THREAT OF CIVIL WAR**
Donald Trump is the first president in American history trying to defend his innocence in court. He's also running for re-election. He lost the last election, criticized it's integrity, and mobilized his supporters to break into the US capitol, killing four people. In a recent interview he said he hasn't ruled out the possibility of political violence if he loses again (cnn.com/2024/04/30/politics/trump-political-violence-2024-time-interview/index.html).
America is also facing what I consider to be the worst migrant crisis in her history. The borders are completely open, which the FBI director called a major national security threat. For 4 years the president has been complicit with an open-border policy, repeating the lie that he doesn't have the presidential authority to fix the problem. It's not that I'm advocating an anti-immigration stance, but it's believed that tens of thousands of foreign military nationals have crossed the border, in what some have labeled a "planned invasion."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/26/texas-border-dispute-breeds-loose-talk-civil-war-resistance-right/
Also, the worst substance abuse and homelessness crisis in American history. Streets of major cities are overrun with tent encampments and drugged out "zombies," as people call them, because they roam incoherently with necrosis of their flesh from a drug called xylazine, also known as Tranq. There are widespread reports of mentally-ill homeless people attacking pedestrians in major cities.
This movie was made depicting an American civil war in 2024
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17279496/
According to Gallup News, the approval rating for Congress is 18%. I haven't talked to a single person who's told me they think a civil war in 2024 is implausible.
**CONCLUSION**
There is A LOT that I haven't gone over, but America is in freefall. The system has been hijacked by a kleptocracy and cultural subversion. For many Americans, the 2024 election is their last hope to see the system work. Most people plan to vote not for their preference, but against who they're afraid of being in power. I don't know how to explain to it to myself, it seems surreal.
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America is falling apart
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Mother tongue in education: a development imperative...
I would like to extend my warmest thanks to the many people who have responded to my previous articles on the issue of language in Morocco. Opinions continue to differ on the use of the Moroccan mother tongue in education.
Some, without the slightest argument, oppose it with immeasurable fervour.
False debate, say others.
In fact, almost all teachers already use Darija to explain the content of their lessons, particularly in science subjects.
So much the better.
What is perplexing, however, is the logic of opposition that some people are striving to impose between Arabic and Darija.
In fact, scientifically, what is required in teaching, particularly in the early years, what is recommended by all the international bodies concerned, what is concluded by almost all the scientific research on the subject, is a linguistic continuum, in the complementarity between the language used at home and the other languages, Arabic first and foremost in the case of Morocco, since politically we have made it the language of the country.
Darija and Arabic complement each other perfectly.
The advantage of learning in the mother tongue during the first years of schooling is precisely that it allows a transfer to other languages without fractures or breaks, ensuring normal mental structuring.
The child is not shocked and develops psychologically, normally, in the continuity of its linguistic, genetic, historical, civilisational and social baggage.
Logically, as has proved to be the case in countries that have long opted for the use of the mother tongue in education, the salutary effect of this approach is that learners assimilate knowledge easily and confidently, adopt social values without difficulty and integrate civic values more easily. The school is here a component of life, perfectly integrated into its environment.
Unfortunately, doing things the way we've been doing them up to now is the exact opposite of this logic.
Our way of doing things encourages a split personality, to put it mildly. As soon as a child starts school, he will adopt a behaviour for school, a behaviour for his family and later another behaviour for the street and everyday life. They will develop a language for each of these spheres.
This is conducive to many mental abnormalities and is the main cause of school drop-out rates, which in Morocco are reaching rather worrying figures, not to mention the colossal budgets spent for little return. The result is unfortunate public spending and unbelievable amounts of money that have been squandered shamelessly for a long time without question.
Children who have not properly assimilated the language of learning imposed on them are simply discouraged and will eject themselves from the school system.
Later on, young people who have not succeeded at school will find themselves to be a sub-human and see themselves as such.
Whatever professional knowledge they acquire later on, as long as they are unable to express it in classical Arabic or French, they are considered ignorant.
The citizen they are about to become is excluded, for example, from official information, which is only provided in the two languages mentioned above, if not in Amazigh and Spanish.
Little by little, they become disconnected from "official life", drop out of cultural life, stop reading, stop writing and soon fall back into primary illiteracy.
This abnormal situation creates a divorce between these citizens, who are unfortunately very numerous, and the public sphere, for example. They are no longer able or willing to take part in social life, let alone political life. This rejection is normal because these citizens no longer feel concerned and see themselves as living on the margins, the language or languages used being foreign to them.
In the logic of things, the most embittered will go so far as to develop a rejection and then a hatred of public affairs. They are the breeding ground for nihilism and, why not, fundamentalism.
Children begin by rejecting and hating their school, and will then transfer this attitude to their entire environment, and in particular to institutions. The violence that is developing in our society can find a plausible explanation here.
That, in a nutshell, is the problem of mother tongue denial. It's not just a technical or linguistic issue, but an existential one for a society. It is intimately linked to human development and hence to the country's development as a whole.
Any reflection here must be conducted with intelligence, far from any partisan ideologies or immutable convictions.
The mother tongue is by its very nature a structuring factor, and nothing can replace its effectiveness or its richness.
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Mother tongue in education: a development imperative...
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Everyone nowadays claims to be an AI expert, a concerning reality!
Include Artificial Intelligence in your speech, and you'll sound fancy and expert. That's the sad reality nowadays. People are confused between being fans of Artificial Intelligence and being experts. It's kind of funny when you think about it.
Being an expert in AI requires years of experience, traceable achievements, and a deep understanding of the field.
I've been working with artificial intelligence every day for a while now, and I can say I'm still not close to being an expert. A fan, yes, but not an expert.
These days, it's too easy to pretend you know more than you do. You could just ask ChatGPT for a quick summary or some tools about something you don't really understand, and boom, you can make it look like you know a lot.
This makes things confusing for people trying to hire the right person, and it's why trust and reliability are becoming rare.
We need to bring back honesty and the human touch that's missing in AI. If we rely too much on AI, we might end up losing what makes us human. So please, let's keep it real.
Note: This text was not generated by AI.
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Everyone nowadays claims to be an AI expert, a concerning reality!
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13th african games: exceptional results in athletics
The athletics competitions at the 13th All-Africa Games in Accra- Ghana left no one indifferent, of course because of the quality of the infrastructure and organisation, the exceptional enthusiasm of the public, but certainly because of the exceptional quality of the results obtained.
A great number of specialists dwelt on the very positive results of these competitions, the number of records, the numerous best world performances and the density of these high level performances in more than one event.
In the video linked here, Carole Fuchs, a leading specialist, is the guest of Anna Legnani, a lesser-known specialist who worked for the IAAF in the media field for many years.
They both go into detail about these exceptional results and put them in perspective for the next Olympic Games. This was part of the podcast that Anna regularly hosts: Love Athletics.
All that remains now is for this exceptional rise in African athletics, which has been the trend for nearly twenty years, with a marked acceleration over the last few years, to be confirmed at the next African Championships, scheduled for Douala in June, and of course to take shape at the Paris Olympics.
Thank you Anna Thank you Carole
The video link is here below.
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Track and Field, the most representative sport on the African continent
4 months ago I published this article in French. Today, as I'm getting ready to leave for Accra for the All African Games, I thought it would be a good idea to republish it, this time in English. It's a reminder of the dynamism of African athletics and its place on the continent and the world stage. I am here using an old wording: instead of Athletics i used Track and Field as title...A kind of nostalgia of the old days.
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One of Africa's most dynamic sporting bodies is the Confederation of African Athletics. This dynamism is obviously the result of the fact that it manages the continent's most representative sport, but it also comes from its component parts, which are of course the national federations, of which the CAA is simply an offshoot. Its role is to encourage, channel and coordinate efforts to develop athletics on the continent.
Athletics is the sport that has won, is winning and will continue to win the most titles and glories for the continent for a long time to come. To this end, the CAA, under the leadership of its President Hamad Kalkaba Malboum, has made great efforts to develop the sport. It has succeeded in setting up an initial ten-year strategic plan, the objectives of which have almost all been achieved: in particular, revitalizing the most precarious national federations and developing youth sport by introducing regional and continental competitions for U18s. This plan was aimed at popularization and more quantitative aspects: number of countries and athletes taking part in African competitions, number of African countries and athletes taking part in world competitions.
The 2nd plan, launched in 2019, also covers a ten-year period and aims to consolidate and strengthen the gains made by moving a little closer to the quality of the activity as a whole, by reducing the disparities between members and regions. Aware of the importance of scientific aspects for the development of athletics, the CAA has based a large part of its strategy on collaboration with universities in each of its member countries: for the training of executives and for research and development in governance and management.
If Africa accounts for more than 35% of world athletics, it is because it also has close relations with the world body, which is done in perfect harmony. There are, of course, points of disagreement that the two parties are trying to overcome to ensure perfect complementarity. World Athletics has delegated a number of prerogatives to the CAA, including development. This policy of decentralization is working rather well, to the satisfaction of both parties.
The CAA's other major partner is ANOCA (Association of National Olympic and Sports Committees), with which we are in the process of establishing a close working relationship. ANOCA is the IOC's arm on the continent. This body, which has a major impact on sporting activity on the continent, particularly since it took over responsibility for the All-Africa Games, has entrusted the task of developing sport in Africa to M Hamad Kalkaba Malboum, President of the CAA. The athletics development model thus inspires all sports in Africa.
A great deal of cooperation has also been undertaken with the African Union, which is linked to the CAA by a very important agreement with multiple objectives.
Of course, the AAC will not succeed without collaboration with its members, their respective governments and the respective NOCs.
Funding remains the major challenge. It is difficult to put forward figures as it is impossible to compile all the money spent or invested in athletics. We have the involvement of local authorities, governments and the NOCs, as well as what is certainly a very significant contribution from individuals and civil society through associations and clubs. If today athletics is practiced in all 54 African countries and all of them take part in continental competitions, it is because this is accompanied by substantial budgets. But more is still needed.
Paradoxically, there are some countries, without naming them, that invest more than 10 million dollars a year in the running of their athletics federation and hundreds of millions in infrastructure. Others don't spend more than 20 or 30 thousand USD. This is understandable, given the GDP of some countries and the lack of interest shown by some governments in athletics, even though it is the most basic of sports.
Funding is made difficult in many countries by the weakness of the economic fabric, characterized by monopolies, low levels of consumption and the stranglehold of certain multinationals, which make no effort to promote local development and are far from supporting the development of young people through sport.
CAA has placed youth development at the heart of its strategy. It has made this its exclusive mission. It believes that the development of athletics on the continent must be centered on the athlete. Based on this philosophy, management training is a key lever. Young people need to be supervised by competent managers. As a result, it now has eight centers whose mission is to train managers as well as athletes. These are known as AADC: African Athletics Development Centers. And it's working so well that new centers are being planned. A center has just been launched in Abidjan in 2023 and another is about to be launched in Praia, Cape Verde, for Portuguese-speaking countries. This is how CAA, its partners and member federations are responding to the pressing need for development, by bringing its actions closer to the beneficiaries.
The CAA has also signed agreements with federations in "wealthy" African countries to ensure that their infrastructures and know-how benefit the "less wealthy". In particular, it has signed an agreement with the Royal Moroccan Federation and with those of Ethiopia and South Africa.
The CAA has also set up training units in more than one country. These are groups of talented youngsters who train under the guidance of qualified coaches appointed by the CAA. All financed by the CAA. The aim is to improve standards in the continent's least developed events and to help countries that are having difficulty setting up a good athlete training system.
The CAA believes that African athletes should have the opportunity to compete on the continent, and has thus ensured the continuity of a competition system that Covid has unfortunately disrupted. In addition to the African championships in three age categories in cross-country and athletics, the CAA organizes an African Tour of one-day meetings in three categories Gold, Silver and Bronze, in addition to the Diamond League in Rabat, the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi and the Botswana Golden in Gaborone.
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Track and Field, the most representative sport on the African continent
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The Death of Liberalism: Nature and the Steppe
Liberalism has failed. The liberal paradigm, which began during the Enlightenment, is collapsing. We are at the end of a great civilizational cycle. Another dark age is upon us. But out of this dark age will emerge afresh the doctrine of nature, and new barbarians to revitalize the West and direct it towards a new destiny.
The fundamental failure of liberalism is that it does not address the problem of nature, and it moreover conceals it with the idea of natural rights, when no such thing exists. Failing to recognize the fundamental laws of nature and concealing them with idealistic human laws of convention is one of the most fatal errors a civilization can make, and may in fact be why all civilizations fall.
The Greeks devoted much of their philosophy to the relationship between Physis, nature, and Nomos, law. Yet the idea of nature, the discovery of nature, is quite rare throughout human history.
In Selective Breeding and the Birth of Philosophy, Costin Alamariu argues that the idea of nature emerges out of a “refinement, abstraction, or radicalization of the aristocratic way of life and of the principle that underlies aristocratic life and the aristocratic worldview.”
He writes, “When the idea of nature merged, it did so in opposition to convention or ‘custom.’ Cows graze, wolves hunt by nature; but different tribes of people deal differently with the dead—cremation, burial, etc.—by custom or convention. It is a notion distinctly similar to our ‘nature versus nurture’ or ‘nature versus culture’ or ‘nature versus social construct.’ The question of what was ‘by nature’ or ‘by convention’ animated much of Greek intellectual life, and had important political meaning, for example, with the aristocratic party generally favoring the side of nature and the democratic party generally favoring the side of convention. In the first chapter I try to explain how a rudimentary idea of nature could have emerged out of the ‘primitive’ or ‘prehistoric’ mind, out of the mind as ruled exclusively by ancestral convention or custom.”
He later continues, “The answer is that it could not. The moment us discovery of nature—which is the precondition of both philosophy and science—is the preserve of one very unusual people, the ancient Greeks, and, long thereafter, those parts of Europe where Hellenistic civilization was promoted, first by Rome, and later in a considerably modified form in Christianity and various Christian states that had inherited some of the roman institutions.”
The idea of nature emerged in the late stages of Athenian aristocracy, as a response to the aristocracies many critics; as a solidification and abstraction of the aristocratic worldview. But we then must ask the origins of the aristocratic worldview.
As we have talked about at length on this channel, the first aristocracies were formed out of nomadic, pastoralist peoples conquering sedentary farmer populations and imposing their hierarchies and worldview upon them. This means that the aristocratic worldview, and the first seeds of the idea of nature, was born among pastoralists peoples.
The sedentary, tribal life of the farmer is ruled by convention and custom, and he is therefore unable to separate what behaviors he has inherited through custom or religion and which through biology and nature. However, a nomadic people would have been able to observe a great many peoples and their differing way of life, allowing them to see the behaviors which remain consistent across the species and formulate a rudimentary idea of ‘human nature.’
Further, the harsh conditions of the nomadic way of life, which relied on the breeding of strong herds, and later, the domestication and breeding of horses, would have made ideas of heredity and breeding, of nature and biology, especially important. Darwin’s natural selection would have been self-evident: only the strong—the fittest specimens—survive the harsh life on the steppe. And sexual selection would have been just as evident: if the fittest specimens are bred, they will improve the quality of the herd over time and even lead to behavior alterations, like the domestication of horses.
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The Death of Liberalism: Nature and the Steppe
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Man, people and humanity
People have always aspired to freedom and prosperity. They always wanted to live from their work. Their pleasure is to see their offspring play, learn and prosper. People have always wanted peace as a way of life. Living in peace…a whole concept, a chimera.
Alas It has never been completely like this. Except for brief, precious and rare moments that history could not remember. These moments remain exceptional, they were brief, even ephemeral.
People have always sought to not be exploited by anyone, all the while they tend to exploit others. Sometimes, unfortunately, by dehumanizing with immeasurable cruelty. A history of exploitation while giving yourself a clear conscience.
In fact, peoples are groups of humans with common traits. People are formed over time and coalesce around common interests. To defend himself and his interests, man can only live in community among a people.
Man aspires to freedom and peace; humans say they have values but humanity does not care. The course of history unfortunately demonstrates this.
Humanity imagined a way to aspire to this freedom to live in harmony: Involve everyone in the decision and give man the impression that he is part of his destiny. Nothing better than a word with Greek etymology to make it serious and credible: Democracy.
This sounds very good.
Yes, Democracy is there in principle to free us and make our voices heard. To realize our desires and respond to our need to live in peace. To live together. To respect others in their human dimension. To limit ourselves to our rights without encroaching on those of others.
Democracy is a sort of safeguard for each and every one. At least that is how it was perhaps imagined and designed.
It allows us, in theory, to express ourselves, defend and assert our rights from the most basic to the most sophisticated.
Democracy is sold to us as the one and only model for the prosperity of people and their moral and material well-being.
Now democracy is playing a dirty trick on us: handing over with tied hands the most mediocre among us, the most ferocious, the hungriest, the most bloodthirsty; to those who rejoice when graves are dug, when blood flows, when a child cries or a woman cries.
Downside...
I was born in a moment of peace, one of the few, just a few years after a cruel war started by Europeans. At the beginning they killed each other. They will then involve poor Africans as cannon fodder.
Absolute cruelty for years.
Millions of innocent people thrown underground.
The break will be short. Without wasting time, humanity will experience the Korean War, that of Vietnam, that of Iraq, that of the Falklands, lots of squabbles in Africa and so on...The instigators and authors are always the same.
Each time it's good versus evil...Each time democracy is involved, rightly or wrongly. The democratic world against the other...A democratic world which defines itself in absolute, total, integral contentment, with double standards as the only alternative of "reasoning" and "judgment" too; eliminating all others from the good square at will.
Each time, genocide, each time cruelty, each time dehumanization.
Each time faced with the helplessness of the man who only wants to live in peace.
As for whether humanity ever existed. Will it exist one day...
You understand, I don't want to talk about Palestine, the wound is still fresh and the criminals are still alive.
Aziz Daouda
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Man, people and humanity
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Sports performance, Africa has only one choice...
The extraordinary experience of Nezha Bidouane, Hicham El Guerrouj, Khalid Skah, Brahim Boutayeb, Nawal El Moutawakel, Salah Hissou, Hasna Benhassi, Zahra Ouaziz, Said Aouita, Jawad Gharib, Ali Ezzine and so many others has made Morocco a super power of world athletics. At that time, Morocco was among the notable countries in world athletics with dazzling results and a continuity of almost a quarter of a century.
Morocco was even fifth in the world in 1999, during the world championships in Seville.
Very high-level performances, charismatic athletes, Moroccan coaches trained properly in Morocco, an inspired federal policy, unconditional support from the State, generous royal concern have made this Morocco great for athletics.
At the world level, for the training of high-level athletes, there are two successful and time-honoured experiences, two ways of training and producing performance and a third which is gaining a good place, which is even becoming the more productive, the one invented and implemented in Morocco.
This Moroccan method has been emulated. It was adopted by the IAAF at the time, by the African Confederation and also by more than one country.
Roughly speaking, you have the American system with large, very rich universities having all the means to train very high-level athletes. American universities are developing scientific research in sports performance, investing in large laboratories in exercise physiology, psychology and other cognitive sciences, sports sociology and all other areas of physical activity for well-being and the production of sports performance. They invest in sporting performance to improve and consolidate their respective image, in a major inter-university competition. They are therefore the most productive in the world, benefiting from developed knowledge, an unrivaled level of supervision and an inspiring historical record. They are a super power and provide the USA with all-round sporting power. So the USA has always been one step ahead of the rest of the world.
Alongside the American system there is the European system with large clubs supported by very rich local authorities and very generous sponsors. This system therefore produces the second largest sporting power in the world and this is seen at the various world championships and the Olympic Games every four years.
In Africa we have neither of these systems, nor could we have one in the near future.
So, in Morocco, we invented our own path which is to design and set up a national institution which brings together very talented young people selected from a good prospecting and talent detection system. The selected ones are then placed in an environment of high competence, optimized performance, under the leadership of 100% Moroccan executives. Having an exclusively national framework is of great importance on a cultural, sociological and emotional level. We must never forget that sporting performance is a cultural expression. Everyone's motivation is the same: to represent the country with dignity. This is what allowed us for more than 20 years to be among the ten greatest nations in the world, to have dozens of titles and world records.
I think this is the path for African countries. In Kenya too, almost all athletes come from a similar system initiated by certain equipment manufacturers and by the IAAF in the past. Ethiopia has adopted the same path. This is also the path that the CAA is currently developing by multiplying the African Athletics Development Centers -AADC-. These are executive training and training units for young athletes. Unfortunately the system is threatened by lack of resources, World Athletics having chosen not to follow the CAA in this voice.
Such a system can only work on the basis of an intelligently thought out and effectively carried out detection system.
Why don't we see new generations of great Moroccan athletes, would be the question that more than one would ask me?
Sports performance, if it depends on the will of leaders and a favorable environment, it depends above all and above all on the men who work in the system, on their commitment and their genius.
Structures and funding are not sufficient to generate high performance. We are here in a cultural domain of permanent creativity, based on a vision which combines will with cultural aspects but without neglecting the consideration of scientific advances at the highest level.
The foresight of decision-makers, the level of confidence in management, the continuity of the system are all factors which will impact the process of producing sporting performance. As soon as one of these factors is disturbed, the machine jams.
We must therefore conclude that to produce sporting performance, the continent has only one choice: that of training centers. This is what football does brilliantly in certain African countries including Morocco.
Aziz Daouda
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Sports performance, Africa has only one choice...
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But what is Gamal Abdel Nacer still doing in Conakry...
What was my surprise when I was told that for my stay of only 3 nights in Conakry, I was going to stay at the « Hôtel de L'Université » which is in fact called Gamal Abdel Nacer University.
We must return to both the recent and distant history of Guinea Conakry to understand what Gamal Abdel Nacer is doing, or rather was doing, in this region of Africa.
The University is now some 60 years old. It has no less than 35,000 students and some 620 teachers. The students represent nearly twenty countries.
It is a university that aims to be innovative and competitive in the service of socio-economic development and environmental balance in Guinea, in the region and in the world.
Built with the support of the Soviet Union in 1962, it was known until 1984 as the Polytechnic Institute of Conakry. The University was then named in honor of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. It served for a long time to provide the country with its elites.
Here Gamal is honored, elsewhere he was named Paper Tiger or even Tiger of Falouga, so much so that he puffed out his chest and suffered a series of defeats and disasters that his country continues to pay till today. An excess of "philosophical" vision undoubtedly misguided, meaningless slogans, based on an ideology without anchor, neither social nor even less cultural or historical, if not just a dream.
The Officer who called himself free had, with a group of friends, overthrown the very young egyptian Monarchy as a Kingdom. Previously, Egypt had Sultans. Fouad II overthrown by Gamal and his barracks friends, acceded to the throne in July 1952, aged only 7 months and 10 days, after the abdication of his father Farouk.
Farouk thought that by abdicating, leaving the throne to his baby with a regent who seemed to be accepted, he would calm the ardor of the officers and thus save his young monarchy. It didn't work. Farouk ended up leaving the country with honors, thus avoiding a bloodbath and confrontation between the military and pro-monarchist forces. The free officers will then name Mohammed Naguib president of the Arab Republic of Egypt in June 1953.
An Arab Republic in Africa, heir to the greatest civilization that the African continent and the world had given birth to.
Gamal was appointed prime minister in April 1954 but not for long...A few months later, on November 14, 1954, poor Naguib was kindly thanked and Gamal succeeded him quite naturally. Naguib born in Sudan will then go and write books...At the time it should be remembered, Sudan was part of Egypt but under shared sovereignty with the United Kingdom. Sudan will be declared an independent state in January 1956.
The free officers of Egypt in fact, carried a project of national independence, believing that Egypt was not in fact free and that the English still had an ascendancy over the monarchy. There was also there, and above all an air of revenge of the common people, who were the young army officers, on a Cairo bourgeoisie or even nobility, speaking mostly in French, moreover, of Turkish or very close.
The officers naively promised and no doubt dreamed of rapid economic development for the benefit of all...A somewhat special vision of communism and a socialism which was sought for a long time without ever succeeding, based on the doctrine of the Baathist Michel Aflak, a Syrian which skillfully combines socialism and pan-Arabism.
Michel Aflak is a fan of secularism and freedom from Western interests. The Baath subtly opposed socialism to Marxism, a way of satisfying the deeply religious populations, predominantly Muslim and not only, and for whom Marxism was synonymous with atheism. We are here in the Middle East, the cradle and heart of all monotheistic religions...
The Baath found in Gamal the ideal tribune. His inflammatory speeches met with an immense echo in Egypt and the Arab world: the army then appeared as the savior of an enlarged nation. The Arab Nation…
Nacer's speeches mobilized and inflamed crowds at home and beyond. Its Cairo Radio, then received on short wave throughout the so-called Arab world, would play a capital role in propaganda that would restore pride to populations who had not yet emerged from the yoke of colonization in the region.
Mohamed Abdelwahab will add a nice layer with the song Douae Echark (Call of the Orient) to the words of the great poet Mahmoud Hassan Ismail. It is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful pieces of music by the Egyptian virtuoso. Oum Kaltoum will do his part in 1964 with Ala Bab Masr (At the Gates of Egypt); words by Kamal Echanaoui and a composition once again by Mohamed Abdelwahab. She will also sing among others Ya Gamal ya Mital Alwatania (Gamal Example of nationalism or patriotism...). But the one who sang the most on the occasion of the July 23 celebrations was the young singer of that time, Abdel Halim Hafez, notably with his famous song Ihna Chaab (We the people).
In fact, we are here faced with an extremely well-oiled system serving a cause that wanted to be pan-Arabist in the service of a military regime that wanted to be exportable to all countries with the Arabic language as the common denominator.
The revolution was intended to be Egyptian but was to extend to the entire Arab world. It will succeed in overthrowing regimes almost everywhere, in Iraq, Libya, Syria... it will settle in Algeria and fail to make Hassan II of Morocco bend for example... The war of sands (Guerre des sables) was imposed to him but his solidity and his political sense will surprise them...
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But what is Gamal Abdel Nacer still doing in Conakry...
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Africa, the share of sport in the economy
It is difficult to assess the true share of sport in GDP across the African continent, as it is clear that this share varies greatly from one country to another. In Morocco, for example, this share is estimated at 1%.
The study of market shares in the sports business also shows that Africa only picks up crumbs. Africa is barely present in global statistics. The continent is undergoing globalization but benefits very little from it. Africa only plays the role of talent reserve; a kind of nursery.
The weakness of Africa's weight in the world economy is glaring here. The continent benefits little from the financial windfall from sport, just as it benefits little from the fair value of the wealth it “generously” offers to the world economy.
The very nature of sporting activity generates this anachronistic situation. Sport in America or Europe and increasingly in Asia as well, lives in part thanks to the talents that only Africa can provide on a genetic and phenotypic level. Many sports, particularly the most popular and economically promising, require particular qualities and human potential that fit perfectly with the type of young people Africa abounds with. It is almost the only continent to offer this particularity.
There is also the informal economy which has established itself as a saving palliative for young people since it allows them to benefit from cheap sports equipment. Even counterfeit or second-hand, this particularly individual equipment still allows a certain practice at a certain level. This informal activity, if encouraged and guided, can constitute the basis of a local sports economy and move into the formal sector.
Aziz Daouda
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Africa, the share of sport in the economy
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