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Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina's source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), located in the heart of Africa, has been grappling with a complex crisis that demands global attention. Understanding the intricacies of the crisis is crucial for anyone concerned about human rights, geopolitical stability, and the well-being of millions. Here are 10 key things you need to know about the crisis in the Congo:

Historical Context:
To comprehend the current situation, it’s essential to recognize the historical factors that have contributed to the crisis. Decades of colonization, exploitation of natural resources, and political instability have left a lasting impact on the nation.

Resource Exploitation:
The Congo is rich in natural resources, including minerals like coltan, gold, and diamonds. However, the exploitation of these resources has fueled conflict, as armed groups vie for control over lucrative mines, leading to widespread violence and displacement.

Humanitarian Toll:
The crisis has taken an immense humanitarian toll, with millions of people internally displaced and facing severe food shortages. The lack of access to healthcare and education further exacerbates the suffering of the Congolese population.

Armed Conflict:
Multiple armed groups are active in the region, often funded by the illegal trade of natural resources. These groups engage in violence, recruit child soldiers, and contribute to the overall instability, making it challenging for the government to establish control.

Sexual Violence Epidemic:
The Congo has unfortunately earned a reputation for being the “rape capital of the world.” Sexual violence is used as a weapon of war, with women and children being particularly vulnerable. Addressing this issue is crucial for the long-term stability and well-being of the nation.

Role of International Actors:
The involvement of neighboring countries and international corporations in the exploitation of resources and political interference has complicated the crisis. International cooperation is crucial to addressing the root causes and finding sustainable solutions.

UN Peacekeeping Efforts:
The United Nations has deployed peacekeeping missions in the Congo to maintain stability and protect civilians. However, challenges persist, including limited resources, logistical difficulties, and the ever-evolving nature of the conflict.

Economic Challenges:
The economic landscape of the Congo has been severely impacted by the crisis. Infrastructure has been damaged, hindering economic development, and the instability discourages foreign investment, perpetuating a cycle of poverty.

Political Instability:
The country has experienced political turbulence, marked by contested elections and power struggles. A stable political environment is crucial for addressing the root causes of the crisis and implementing effective reforms.

International Solidarity and Advocacy:
Global awareness and advocacy play a vital role in addressing the crisis. Supporting organizations that focus on human rights, development, and conflict resolution in the Congo can contribute to positive change. Engaging with policymakers to prioritize the crisis on the international agenda is equally important.

The crisis in the Congo is a multi-faceted challenge that demands a comprehensive and collaborative approach. By understanding the historical context, resource dynamics, humanitarian toll, and the role of international actors, we can collectively work towards fostering peace, stability, and prosperity in the heart of Africa. Advocacy, awareness, and international cooperation are pivotal in bringing about positive change for the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Natural resources, particularly minerals, have played a significant role in fueling the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Here’s an overview of how this dynamic operates:

  1. Resource Wealth and Economic Motivations: The Congo is exceptionally rich in natural resources, including minerals like coltan, gold, tin, and diamonds. These minerals are essential components in the production of electronics, such as smartphones and laptops, making them highly valuable on the global market. The economic motivation to control and exploit these resources has fueled conflict, as armed groups seek to profit from their extraction and sale.
  2. Illegal Resource Trade: Much of the mining activity in the Congo is informal and often illegal. Armed groups take advantage of the chaotic and unstable environment to control mines and trade routes. They impose illegal taxes on miners and extort revenue from the transportation and sale of minerals. This illicit trade provides a significant source of funding for these groups, allowing them to sustain and escalate the conflict.
  3. Control over Mines: Armed groups and militias vie for control over strategic mining areas. The competition for these areas often results in violence, displacement of local communities, and the recruitment of child soldiers to maintain control over mines. The profits generated from the sale of these minerals fund the purchase of weapons and perpetuate the cycle of conflict.
  4. Lack of Regulation and Oversight: The lack of effective governance, regulation, and oversight in the mining sector contributes to the exploitation of natural resources. Weak institutions and corruption enable the illicit trade of minerals to flourish, with little accountability for those involved in the supply chain.
  5. Neighboring Countries’ Involvement: The conflict in the Congo has spilled across borders, with neighboring countries getting involved in the exploitation of resources. Some armed groups are supported by external actors who seek to profit from the illegal trade. This regional dimension further complicates efforts to address the conflict solely within the borders of the DRC.
  6. Human Rights Abuses: The race for control over mining areas often involves human rights abuses, including forced labor, child labor, and widespread sexual violence. The local population, particularly women and children, bear the brunt of these atrocities as armed groups seek to maintain dominance over resource-rich territories.
  7. International Demand: The global demand for minerals, driven by the electronics and manufacturing industries, creates a market for conflict minerals. While efforts have been made to establish ethical supply chains, the complexity of the mining sector in the Congo makes it challenging to completely eliminate the flow of conflict minerals into international markets.

Addressing the conflict in the Congo requires not only a focus on the symptoms, such as armed violence, but also a comprehensive approach that addresses the root causes, including the exploitation of natural resources. International cooperation, responsible business practices, and efforts to strengthen governance and oversight in the mining sector are crucial components of a sustainable solution.

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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    Heman Bekele, a 14-year-old student from Fairfax, Virginia, has won the3M Young Scientist’s Challenge 2023for his innovative invention of a soap that can treat skin cancer. The soap, calledMelanoma Treating Soap (MTS), is made using cancer-fighting chemicals, mainly Imidazoquinoline, integrated with a nanolipid-based particle transporter. The soap aims to deliver cancer-fighting drugs via lipid nanoparticles, which activate the body’s immune cells to combat cancer.

    Bekele’s invention is a significant breakthrough in the field of cancer treatment. The soap is affordable and accessible, making it an excellent alternative to expensive skin cancer treatments that cost almost $40,000 globally. Bekele’s efforts have earned him the title ofAmerica’s Top Young Scientistand a cash prize of $25,000.

    Bekele’s invention is a testament to the fact that age is just a number when it comes to innovation and creativity. His invention has the potential to revolutionize the field of cancer treatment and make it more accessible to people worldwide. Bekele’s story is an inspiration to young minds everywhere, encouraging them to pursue their dreams and make a difference in the world.

    We wish Heman Bekele all the best for his future endeavors and hope that his invention will continue to make a positive impact on people’s lives.

    Source:BlackDoctor4:

    Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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    At an event in Pittsburg two years ago, CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai committed to invest $1 billion over the next five years to Grow With Google, a program that helps people develop skills they need to find work or grow their business. In his re-commitment to “Grow With Google”, Pichai has announced $10 million would be set aside to for low-income minority entrepreneurs starting new businesses access to training and capital.

    The American Library Association will receive $2 million in order to build entrepreneurship hubs at libraries in ten states. This support’s Google’s goal to commit to partner with community-based organizations that help to furnish low-income business creators with the resources they need.

    “Small businesses make a big impact on our communities — creating jobs, treating customers like family, and often defining what makes a town unique,” wrote Google Small Business Ads product manager Kim Spalding in ablog postearlier this year. “Google is committed to helping these businesses use the power of the web to grow and thrive.”

    • Google went on to further explain the importance of small businesses that shape our world today. They revealed the following:
    • Google search for “mom and pop shops” recently hit a 3-year high
    • There’s 350 times greater search volume for local businesses than there was 10 years ago
    • Interest in “local shops” hit a record high in 2018
    • In Google’s “U.S. Economic Impact Report”, the company claims Google search and advertising tools created $335 billion in economic activity for millions of businesses, website publishers, and non-profits in 2018

    “Grow With Google” is only one initiative the company has created to assist small businesses in fostering entrepreneurship. Google also has the CODE2040 program which seeks African American and Latino entrepreneurs outside of Silicon Valley. There’s also Google Primer, this uses 5-minute interactive classes to teach digital marketing and business skills to owners of small businesses and startups.

    Udacity also committed to partnering with Google to create dozens of free course, and Coursera will launch their new program next year to train IT support professionals. Also check out Google for Small Business, this is designed to make things easier for entrepreneurs to find business tools and services!

    So to all my entrepreneurial friends, the tools are out here and thanks to Google and its partners, you can make building your business just a little bit easier with access to these initiatives.

    Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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    The Godfather of Tennessee Whiskey – Uncle Nearest

    The next time you order your Jack & Coke, Manhattan, Whiskey Sour, or Irish Coffee, if they ran out of Jack Daniels, or perhaps you want to try something different, you could tell them to bless you with one of Jack’s mentors – Uncle Nearest. Uncle Nearest isn’t just a new whiskey distillery in Tennessee, it honors an African American Slave who taught the real Jack Daniels everything he knew about the craft of creating the Whiskey that we all still drink today. Not only does Uncle Nearest honor Nathan Nearest Green, who was the first known African American Master Distiller in the country; the brand was created by a black woman named Fawn Weaver.

    Fawn Weaver is a best-selling author who dedicated years of her life uncovering Nathan Nearest Green’s amazing history. What started out as an obsession to reveal that Nathan Nearest Green was the person who taught Jack Daniels, turned into a mission to let the world know the real story of how this popular whiskey was actually birthed. In a three-year period, Green has raised approximately $20 million to turn a horse farm into a distillery to take over whiskey production. This makes Weaver the first female person of color to run a major whiskey/spirit brand.

    Nathan Nearest Green was a slave around 1850, and he started working with an orphan boy by the name of Jack Daniel. Many people today believe that Jack Daniel owned slaves, but this was never the case; it appears that Green was some sort of mentor to Daniel. Although there is no photo of Green, there is a photo of Jack Daniel with Green’s son, George and other workers in the early 1900s. It simply shows a black man and a white man sitting side by side, in the south, during a time when the south was deeply divided in America. This is a testament to the relationship that Jack Daniel had with Nathan Nearest Green.

    Historic photo of Jack Daniel seated next to George Green, the son of Nathan “Nearest” Green, the man who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/PUBLIC DOMAIN

    Actor Jeffrey Wright, who plays in HBO’s “Westworld” is so passionate about Nathan Nearest Green he created a short film to honor him. Wright also got two tattoos; on one arm, Jack Daniel’s barrel house – and on the other arm, Uncle Nearest’s logo. Wright says, “we just need to know stories like this because it smashes the lies. You have this great…iconic brand, and ..this thing that is representative of something that sits in our soul that’s created by the coming together of two families…an unlikely partnership.

    The Daniels family and the Green family are bonded by some kind of bond that most of us will never understand. Victoria Butler, the great-great-granddaughter, said she wished her grandmother was around to see this. Butler told CBS that the idea to create a brand with Green’s name first came from a member of Jack Daniel’s family, then from the Green family. Fawn Weaver had asked the family, “what can we do to keep Nearest Green’s legacy alive – one member said put his name on a bottle.” These two families are so bonded, three of Green’s descendants still work at the Jack Daniel’s distillery. Weaver explained this is not a competition, “when we go out in the marketplace, we are selling Uncle Nearest, but we are talking about Jack in a way that makes you want to drink Jack Daniels as well.”

    These families are working together to tell a story of unity that is gracious, and a perfect testament to the bond that Jack Daniel had with his mentor Nathan Nearest Green.

    Uncle Nearest is the fastest-growing independent American spirit. Some of the proceeds from the sales will go into a foundation for Green’s descendants for their college education. As of today, 10 of Nathan Nearest Green’s descendants have graduated from college. Uncle Nearest is currently available in 48 states and 148 countries; if you’re in the lowcountry, you can find it in your nearest Total Wine.

    The new Uncle Nearest whiskey distillery will open to the public in Tennessee, September 2019.

    Source: CBS

    Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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    Dear Ranky Tanky, Ya’ll Did THAT!

    When was the last time you watched a music video that made you smile from start to finish? Now, trust some of us may be a little biased, because Charleston, S.C. is OUR CITY; but there is something about this video that just makes you feel good while watching.

    Let’s just say we’ve seen some great musicians and some awesome music videos get birthed in this town; but honey, Ranky Tanky did THAT! What’s that you ask? Ranky Tanky took us through downtown Charleston, they took us to church, they took us to the juke joint, they made us clap our hands and throw them up. We were two-stepping and soul clapping while watching all these familiar faces we see everyday have a good old Lowcountry time. Blacks and whites partying and dancing together, and looking good while doing it!

    Ranky Tanky didn’t just give us a music video, they gave us an experience and a feeling. They gave us a good feeling, down home, slap ya momma and cuzzin’ nem, sangin’ good time, work of art!

    I know the people in Starbucks think I was crazy because I was smiling and bobbing my head so hard while watching this dope vidoe. Aye Ranky Tanky – ya’ll did THAT! Make sure you all check out the credits to see all the lovely producers and participants that made this happen.

    Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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    Dear Ranky Tanky, Ya'll Did THAT! When was the last time you watched a music video that made you smile from start to finish? Now,...

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    The Godfather of Tennessee Whiskey - Uncle Nearest The next time you order your Jack & Coke, Manhattan, Whiskey Sour, or Irish Coffee, if they...