AnnGarrison

The history of US sanctions relief is not good. Look at what happened to Libya after sanctions were lifted in 2003. Look at Sudan, which signed the Abraham Accords to normalize relations with Israel in exchange for sanctions relief in 2021. #Eritrea blackagendareport.com/us-seeks-turn-…

Six hours ago Trump told Congress that hostilities with Iran were terminated as he withdrew 5000 troops from Germany and said he couldn't agree to Iran's proposals.

@CohenOnAfrica Why is Ethiopia so food insecure? It has lots of rich farmland.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen is urging Secretary Rubio to maintain U.S. food assistance to Ethiopia, warning that cuts could leave up to 3.1 million people without aid during the critical lean season. With food insecurity projected to rise to 16 million, she cautions this could trigger a humanitarian crisis. The U.S. should act now to sustain lifesaving support, prevent further instability, and work with partners to ensure uninterrupted aid reaches the most vulnerable communities. semafor.com/article/05/01/…

When asked what he'd do with the Venezuelan oil seized in the Caribbean, Trump said, "I guess we'll sell it." But it's important to distinguish, as Michael Parenti always said, between "the US," meaning all of us, and the elite criminal mafia profiting from this. Of course we should be upset that it's done in our name, but we're not profiting; we're just paying for it. As Michael would say, there's no limit to how much of our money they'll spend to protect and increase theirs.

@NatyYifru Street?

Just strolling through #AddisAbaba observing people enjoying their city has become one of my favorite activities of my trip. I tend to do the same in other parts of 🇪🇹 also It would be a greatest sin to agitate and disrupt such peaceful lives of people. #Peace

Trump on the The U.S. navy currently seizing ships in the Middle East: “It’s very profitable, we’re like pirates”. Out loud admitting & even bragging that the U.S. is an international criminal organization. Wow.

@AlnebiH @tesfanews Yes, thank you.

@AnnGarrison @tesfanews Fully agree with Ann here; something tells me this could be a trap. Look how they are coming to sudan with the new Berlin peac plan where they included among others UAE and Ethiopia the butchers of sudan while Eritrea is dsidelined though it tried to save sudan.

President Trump’s core Africa policy is built on a single idea: «Engaging governments as they are, not as we wish them to be.»

Why on earth would you take the words of the US at face value, given everything it has done throughout the history of the US empire? Everything it's done in West Asia and the Horn for many decades? Everything its doing right now, trying to bomb Iran into submission and collaborating with Israel in the ongoing Palestinian Genocide and seizure of the Gaza Strip? After Abiy, Isaias, and Farmaajo signed the Tripartite Agreement in 2018, the US moved to undermine it and succeeded within just a few years.

@AnnGarrison For me, Eritrea will be the ultimate litmus test of the Trump administration’s “new” Africa policy, if its words are to be taken at face value.

@NotifyEri @tesfanews @Lemlem82994 Why would you? Why would anyone?

@tesfanews @Lemlem82994 Can we trust them is the question ?

The UN sanctions were lifted in November 2018 at #Ethiopia's persuasion after it made peace with Eritrea and signed the Tripartite Agreement with #Eritrea and #Somalia. The agreement looked like the first step in creating a confederation that might even have become a federation and a regional powerhouse in the Horn. UN Chief António Guterres called it a "new dawn," but US elites didn't like it a bit and moved to destabilize it fast, preferring, as always, the war and chaos that make imperial domination possible.

The central question should not be why U.S. sanctions on Eritrea might be lifted, but why the unilateral sanctions imposed by the administration of Joe Biden were imposed in the first place. The administration of Barack Obama used its influence at the UNSC to push unjust and unfair sanctions on #Eritrea in 2009 and again in 2011. When those UN sanctions were lifted in 2018, during the first administration of @realDonaldTrump , the Biden administration later introduced a new round of unilateral sanctions in 2022. Consider the grotesque image this presents: one of the richest and most powerful nations in the world (lead by Obama and Biden) suffocating economically a small, poor, and young #African nation for decades. How such a policy can be justified under any circumstances is mind bendingly inexcusable . At the same time, Eritrea’s endurance under sustained pressure is a confirmation of the country’s resilience—its ability to remain stable, self-reliant, and at peace despite persistent external pressure.

@tesfayem74 I've wondered whether I've been shadow banned. It seems like I should get more response with over 100,000 followers.

@AnnGarrison I used to see your posts almost on a daily basis. For about 4-5 months, there was no trace of you? I wonder why!

A U.S. official said that a deal is still possible if Iran just "shows more flexibility" by acceding to all US demands. 🤣😝😜-Axios (Axios reports such quotes with a straight face.)

Latest from my Somali-American friend in Minneapolis is that the community's suffering economically because no one's out patronizing their businesses. He went to a Somali restaurant that's usually packed and had it all to himself. He went to a "Somali mall"—called such because most all the proprietors are Somali-Americans—and there was hardly anyone there. He got a haircut at 3 pm and the barber told him he was his first customer that day. He said there's a joke that everyone who'd been in the bars is now in the mosques.

@Scarlasfly @ATLHawks I had to stop watching.

@ATLHawks One of the most embarrassing displays of basketball, in a must win game, I've ever seen. Pathetic and gutless.

@Scarlasfly @ATLHawks The Knicks should put their bench in. Why risk the health of their starters in a game they can't lose? Besides, it's embarrassing to watch.

@nyknicks Put your bench in.

mikal bringing that ENERGY ⚡️

@TheHoopCentral The Knicks should put their bench in.

THE KNICKS TAKE A 41 POINT LEAD THIS IS CRAZY. 🔥

@ESPNNBA The Knicks should put their bench in. This is embarrassing, even to watch to a distant outsider.

Knicks start the 1Q hot in Game 6 👀

Brave CODEPINK protester Gus arrested at Pete Hegseth @SASCommittee hearing for speaking up against this unprovoked, unjustified, reckless war in Iran. Bravo, Gus!!!

Interesting that Obama imposed sanctions on #Eritrea at about the same time he lifted them on Cuba. Trump re-imposed sanctions on Cuba and never lifted them, but what happened during that brief window of sanctions relief demonstrated what sanctions relief can do. For a few years Cuba blossomed with all kinds of commercial and cultural exchange. The Rolling Stones even performed in Havana.

With Anya Parampil and Max Blumenthal at Michael Parenti's memorial. I'm not short, they're just tall. I'm actually as tall as Michael was, 5'5", but he was a giant.