The protest movement arising from Ferguson has captured the world’s attention, heralding a new generation of radical Black organizers. A similar scenario is unfolding in South Africa. This movement needs support.

Acclaimed writer and Nobel Laureate VS Naipaul has spent much time traveling in and writing about Africa. But his views of the continent are ignorant and bigoted, like those of most foreign visitors before him. It is disappointing that such a towering literary figure who should know better chooses to see Africa and her people through a lens of racism and colonial prejudice.

The recent bitter spat between hip-hop artists Iggy Azalea and Azealia Banks over alleged identity theft reveals the commodification, capitalization and appropriation of Black identity, within a Western culture of violent and obfuscated race relations.

The eminent Africanist revolutionary Amilcar Cabral declared that: ‘no power in the world will be able to destroy this Cuban Revolution.’ America’s recent decision to resume relations with Cuba proves Empire’s failure to destroy the Revolution. But Cubans must now guard against a capitalist onslaught.

Economically, the overall IMF objective is stabilising crisis-prone world capitalism on behalf, mainly, of Western financiers.

Dear Editor,

Ordinarily, I would say police violence is more of a police militarization problem than one of race. However, this is St. Louis County we're talking about here.

There is still Klan activity in STLCO-- white robe-wearing, cross-burning KKK.

Check out the Wikipedia entry for Rosa Parks Highway. That was where the Klan used to participate in the state adopt-a-highway program.

About five months before the Michael Brown shooting, an STLCO PD lieutenant was fired for directing those under his supervision specifically to target racial minorities.

I, myself, was prosecuted for having re-published some of the words of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. on-line. Here is my crime:

‘[U]nenforceable obligations are beyond the reach of the laws of society. They concern inner attitudes, genuine person-to-person relations, and expressions of compassion which law books cannot regulate and jails cannot rectify. Such obligations are met by one's commitment to an inner law, written on the heart. Man-made laws assure justice, but a higher law produces love.’ --ML K, Strength to Love p. 37

I would like to get this story out. It never drew media attention the way that the shooting did.

I think Alemayehu G. Mariam is the right one to tell the story.

Please forward this on to him.

Thank you.

The black lives taken by the murderous assault on Panama 25 years ago should be a sober reminder that U.S. state violence is not confined to ghettos and barrios of the U.S., but is a central component of a racist, colonial, capitalist project.

Although the mission of Jesus on earth has always been understood as being spiritual, a closer look at his life and work exposes a social and political philosophy geared to building a better world for all people.

The political superstructure of the U.S. is dominated by right-wing ideology that completely ignores the growing demands for decent wages, adequate housing, quality education, an end to law-enforcement abuses and the cessation of military hostilities abroad. African American masses who are most affected by these injustices need new alliances to fight this system.

The latest spill should nudge policy elites and community activists to begin properly preparing for a post-carbon future. It is time South Africa – and the world - questioned its overconsumption of fossil fuels, especially via overpriced and dangerous pipelines.

2014 ended on a happy note for the Cuban people following the release of their three compatriots who were held unjustly by the US and the announcement of improved relations between the two nations. In this address to the nation, the Cuban president expresses his view of these developments.

A Norwegian state owned engineering company earlier this year chose to reject a deal for salt from Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara because they found that it would be in violation of their human rights standards. But a Danish company is doing the opposite.

What was Prof Mazrui’s most favorite quote? It was from a book by his mentor at Oxford, John Plamenatz: “The sins of the powerful acquire some of the prestige of power.”

Hamilton is a brilliant racer and a bona fide daredevil, already a legend. But in a world where so many people live in darkness starved of fuel, and oil extraction has caused so much suffering to communities, global warming and environmental activists must question motor sports: the misuse of fuel for the sole purpose of going fast.

The proposed Security Laws (Amendment) Bill 2014 offends the constitution of Kenya 2010 by undermining the sovereignty of the people, the supremacy of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Today, barely four years after it was inaugurated with much pomp and ceremony, Kenya’s new constitution is being undone. The Security Amendment Bill introduced in Parliament last week portends the return of the all-powerful, unchecked executive and its intrusion into almost every facet of Kenyans’ lives.

Civil Rights leader Rev Edward Pinkney has been sentenced to 30 – 120 months in prison for forging a successful recall petition against Mayor James Hightower. He maintains his innocence in the face of a conviction based on flimsy evidence. The conviction – delivered within a context of heightened anti-racist and anti-capitalist struggle in the US – is seen by many as politically motivated.

The hastily drafted security bill infringes on many basic rights and freedoms protected in Kenya’s constitution and international human rights law. The authorities need to focus on how Kenyan security agencies have long violated human rights with impunity, and not empower these forces further.

There is no doubt in Kenya that the Jubilee Administration is hell-bent on eroding the democratic gains achieved in the country through many years of blood and tears. Uhuru Kenyatta must not be allowed to establish a new dictatorship.

The narrative of“Africa is rising” has been echoing all over the world. A high-level international conference in China discussed what that really means and the role of agriculture and foreign stakeholders to create sustainable development that serves the African people.