Exclusively in the new print issue of CounterPunch Ali, Foreman
and the Congo  Rumble in the Jungle at 30   I won $4.00 betting
on Muhammad Ali when he fought the pre-grill George Foreman for
all the marbles in the wee hours of a 1974 Zaire morning. This
was a time when most white kids would regularly root for Ali to
lose…so I took advantage of such nonsense and put my money on
The Greatest.  Today, as we approach the 30th anniversary of
what became known as the "Rumble in the Jungle," far more is
known about the boxers (and a certain promoter named Don King
who got his start in Zaire) than the venue.  The Congo gained
independence from Belgium in June 1960. Within three months, the
CIA helped overthrow the African nation’s first Prime Minister,
the charismatic and legally elected socialist, Patrice Lumumba.
"Lumumba attempted to steer a neutral course between the U.S.
and the USSR-no easy task," says author Mark Zepezauer.
Captured with CIA help in December 1960, Lumumba was "held
prisoner for over a month