Topic: Angola

The United States has brokered a provisional peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, set to be signed on June 27. Simultaneously, the DRC has extended its ban on cobalt exports, a move interpreted as a strategic play to limit China's access to essential minerals for electric vehicle batteries. The conflict in the eastern DRC involves over 100 armed groups vying for control of natural resources.

During his final overseas trip to Angola, President Biden promoted the Trans-Africa Corridor, a massive rail project designed to transport critical minerals from Central Africa to the coast. The $600 billion infrastructure initiative is a strategic effort to counter Chinese and Russian influence on the continent. Critics argue the project was framed as a climate change initiative in the media to obscure its primary geopolitical and resource-extraction goals.

The hosts read a list of donors from various locations, including Luanda, Angola, and Australia. They acknowledge "Aussie Boobs" (a donation of $57.23, the local equivalent of 8008) and discuss the "Value for Value" model. They clarify that they did not invent the model but adapted it for the podcasting medium from non-profit and religious traditions.

The hosts acknowledge a series of $50-$150 donations, including a heartfelt note about the podcast's role in a listener's journey to sobriety. They process various "de-douching" requests and acknowledge a producer from Luanda, Angola. While joking about not using African news, they emphasize the importance of "boots on the ground" reports from around the world to maintain the show's global perspective.

Former CIA officer John Stockwell's disclosures regarding the agency's propaganda techniques are revisited. Stockwell detailed how the CIA would plant false stories in foreign newspapers, such as the Zambia Times, and then have them picked up by unwitting global news agencies like Reuters. These "covert actions" were designed to influence international opinion through fabricated atrocities and staged photographs during conflicts like the Angolan War.

A "clip blitz" provides updates on international news, including U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan that killed civilians and the mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Burma to Bangladesh. In Angola, the ruling MPLA party extended its 37-year rule with the election of João Lourenço. The hosts note the "mean-spirited" nature of the Buddhist-led violence against the Rohingya.

General Carter F. Ham, the new commander of AFRICOM, recently visited Angola to assert U.S. interests in a region heavily influenced by Chinese investment. With massive new gas field discoveries in Mozambique and oil in Angola, the U.S. strategy appears focused on displacing Chinese infrastructure projects with American military and diplomatic presence.