Elon Musk's Family History in South Africa Reveals Ties to Apartheid & Neo-Nazi Movements

 

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Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-de... Elon Musk was born in 1971 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and raised in a wealthy family under the country's racist apartheid laws. Musk's family history reveals ties to apartheid and neo-Nazi politics. We speak with Chris McGreal, reporter for The Guardian, to understand how Musk's upbringing shaped his worldview, as well as that of his South African-raised colleague Peter Thiel, a right-wing billionaire who co-founded PayPal alongside Musk. "Musk lived what can only be described as a neocolonial life," said McGreal. "If you were a white South African in that period and you had any money at all, you lived with servants at your beck and call." Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET. Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe

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Watch now   Meidas Pod on Billionaire Handouts and Harvard Crackdowns (Ad-Free) Watch the latest episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast ad-free right here on the Meidas+ Substack! Brett Meiselas, Ben Meiselas, Jordy Meiselas, and MeidasTouch Network May 23 The latest episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast is now available ad-free exclusively for Meidas+ Substack subscribers. To support ad-free episodes like this, please consider joining as a paid subscriber today! Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. On today’s episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast: House Republicans ram through their latest tax scam in the dead of night, slashing essential programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and food assistance—all to bankroll giveaways for billionaires and corporations. But Democrats didn’t go down quietly, staging an all-night protest to expose the cruelty buried in the bill. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is escalating its war on education and diversity, revoking Harvard’s ability to admit international students in a disturbing new authoritarian move. We also break down the global fallout from Trump’s humiliating and racist meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, plus more breaking news and analysis you won’t hear anywhere else. Ben, Brett and Jordy break it all down.

            

Watch now   Trump’s Oval Office Meltdown with South African President Was a Global Embarrassment From begging for a private jet to peddling racist conspiracy theories, Trump turned a diplomatic meeting into an unhinged spectacle. Ben Meiselas and MeidasTouch Network May 21 By Ben Meiselas I wish I were exaggerating when I say that Donald Trump just turned a presidential meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa into one of the most humiliating spectacles in modern diplomatic history—but no, this actually happened. Let’s walk through this disaster together. Trump sat down with President Ramaphosa in the Oval Office and immediately made it about himself, noting that unlike Qatar, South Africa didn’t offer him a gold-plated private jet. Ramaphosa responded with the kind of awkward silence reserved for watching someone faceplant in public. Trump followed that up with a straight-faced, “I would like another private jet.” I mean… seriously? And then it just spiraled. In front of Ramaphosa and the South African delegation, Trump went full scorched-earth on an NBC reporter. Not only did he scream and call him a “terrible reporter” and a “disgrace,” he dragged in Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, claimed the media should be investigated, and cut off all questions so he could start ranting about how someone gave the U.S. Air Force a jet. It was full-on MAGA performance art, orange-faced and raging, right in front of a foreign head of state. But that wasn’t even the most deranged part. Trump began holding up right-wing propaganda claiming there’s a “white genocide” in South Africa. He showed Ramaphosa a video of what he described as “burial sites” for murdered white farmers, using the footage to push a conspiracy that South Africa is engaged in racially targeted killings. Trump Caught Lying About “Burial Site” Here’s the truth: Trump lied. Again. Thanks to our researcher J.D. Wolf over at MeidasNews.com, we now know exactly what Trump was showing. It’s not a burial site—it’s a controversial private monument called the Witkruis Monument, located in Limpopo province. And guess what? There are no graves. Just a field filled with white-painted metal crosses meant to represent victims of farm attacks. As J.D. reports for MeidasNews.com, the monument has faced years of scrutiny for only honoring white victims and ignoring the fact that rural violence in South Africa affects people of all races. In fact, the South African government has confirmed that Black farmers are disproportionately affected by stock theft and other forms of agricultural crime. Making matters worse, online images show individuals at the Witkruis Monument flying the apartheid-era South African flag—further evidence that the site, and Trump's use of it, plays into a white nationalist narrative divorced from the facts. Back in the Oval Office, Ramaphosa—joined by both Black and white ministers, including an opposition figure from his own cabinet—repeatedly and calmly debunked Trump’s claims. But Trump wouldn’t stop. He just kept going, kept lying, kept embarrassing this country. And then he brought up Elon Musk, because of course he did, saying Elon “doesn’t want to get involved” but is “from South Africa,” as though Musk’s nationality somehow validates Trump’s conspiracy theory. Then, out of absolutely nowhere, Trump attacked New York Attorney General Letitia James. Yes, during a foreign policy meeting. This was not a presidential meeting. It was an international humiliation. And let’s be clear: this isn’t just about optics. This kind of behavior weakens our alliances, strengthens our adversaries, and makes America look more like a rogue state than a global leader. You can bet the BRICS bloc—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—was watching this closely. So was Xi Jinping. And you can be damn sure they liked what they saw: a chaotic, delusional America led by a wannabe dictator clutching racist tabloids and yelling at reporters. We’ll continue exposing the truth at MeidasTouch—every lie, every meltdown, every moment that puts our democracy and global credibility at risk. If you’re as fed up with this madness as I am, help us grow. Subscribe to the Meidas+ Substack. Add the MeidasTouch Podcast now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Let’s do this together. Let’s fight back with the truth. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Top News: GOP Officially Defends Jan. 6 Insurrection as 'Legitimate Political Discourse'

 

February 04, 2022 Top News GOP Declares Deadly Capitol Attack 'Legitimate Political Discourse' "January 6th was not 'legitimate political discourse'—it was a violent insurrection on our Capitol," Rep. Pramila Jayapal retorted. "I didn't know if I'd make it out alive. Some didn't. We cannot let the GOP whitewash what happened." by Brett Wilkins 'Major Breakthrough': South African Scientists Replicate Moderna Vaccine "We didn't have help from the major Covid vaccine producers, so we did it ourselves," said Gerhardt Boukes, chief scientist at the South African company Afrigen. by Jake Johnson Warren Warns 'Corporate Vultures' Are Circling Medicare on Biden's Watch The Massachusetts Democrat said Biden "must shut down the Direct Contracting model," a Trump-era ploy to privatize Medicare. by Jake Johnson 'I Remember WMDs in Iraq': Reporter Calls Out US Official on Russian Intel Claims "You just come out and say this and expect us just to believe it without you showing a shred of evidence that it's actually true," said Associated Press reporter Matt Lee. by Jake Johnson MORE NEWS Opinion Now Is the Time to Electrify the US Postal Service Fleet The postal service truck could become America's favorite electric vehicle, if the Biden administration plays hardball. by Adrian Martinez Means Testing Will Ruin the Expanded Child Tax Credit Restrictive means tests keep Americans poor, sick, hungry, and homeless. It's time to debunk the tired old lies they're based on. by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, Shailly Gupta Barnes MORE OPINION Common Dreams PO Box 443 Portland, ME 04112 United States