French President Emmanuel Macron embraces Barbadian singer Rihanna as they attend the conference "GPE Financing Conference, an Investment in the Future" organised by the Global Partnership for Education in Dakar on February 2, 2018, as part of Macron's visit to Senegal.

When 10 current and three former heads of state and more than 100 ministers gathered at the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Financing Conference in Dakar, Senegal, the conference marked the first time an education financing conference has been hosted by a developing country.

President Macky Sall of the Republic of Senegal and President Emmanuel Macron of the French Republic welcomed the more than 1200 participants including leaders from UNESCO, UNICEF, the World Bank, civil society, philanthropic foundations and the private sector. Rihanna, GPE’s Global Ambassador supported by Global Citizen, also participated.

Thankfully, Senegal's President Sall didn't bow to the generally unreported but very real protests in Senegal, demanding that Rihanna be banned from the event because of her involvement with the 'Illuminati'.

Snopes writes that activist celebrities like Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Madonna and Katy Perry are common targets of Trump's friends -- the conspiracy theorists -- who argue that these pop culture leaders are either Satanists or part of the Illuminati. This top conspiracy theory about the Illuminati posits that ultra-wealthy celebrities, bankers, billionaires and politicians are all globalists who secretly rule the world, putting their party above countries or religion.

Hillary Clinton is considered to be among the most dangerous of the Illuminati, as Alexandra Petri wrote for The Washington Post in October 2016, three weeks before the election in: "The hideous, diabolical truth about Hillary Clinton".

The Illuminati is believed to include many Freemasons. Although the two groups are believed to share many members and common values, they are historically separate. Those shared values are considered dangerous because they reflect Enlightenment ideals like rational thought and democratic self-rule in triumph over the all-powerful, autocratic institutions of the monarchy and the Vatican. Many attribute the Illuminati with being the force behind the French Revolution.

Africa's 'No to Freemasonry and Homosexuality'

In the case of Rihanna's visit to Senegal in her capacity as an ambassador for the Global Partnership for Education, the religious collective known as 'No to Freemasonry and Homosexuality' protesting her visit claimed that the conference “was orchestrated with the complicity of the government, in order to roll out an educational regime that aims to create future generations of loyal disciples of Satan.”

“Rihanna doesn’t hide it,” said Sheikh Cheikh Oumar Diagne, a spokesperson for the collective, “she is part of the Illuminati, which is a branch of the freemasons.” Before being reported by The Guardian, Jeune Afrique was tracking the controversy, explaining that Rihanna's arrival coincided with a meeting planned by the Humanist and Freemason and Malagasy (Rehfram) Meetings scheduled for Feb. 2 and 3 in Dakar. This event was cancelled under pressure from Sheikh Diagne's group and concern about public safety.

In the end, Rihanna's visit to Senegal went off as planned, as Riri rolled up the sleeves of her Ralph Lauren jacket and went to work on behalf of educating the world's children, with a special emphasis on educating girls.

Every Girl Deserves An Education

Addressing the crowd, Rihanna, who became the first ever global ambassador for GPE in September 2016, made a special notation in her pointed remarks: "This is what we've wanted all along. We've made tremendous progress today but of course our work is never done. We have a long way to go. And this is a fight we're never going to stop fighting until every body and every girl has access to education."

Donor countries pledged US$2.3 billion in financing to GPE. This is a substantial increase in funding compared to the US$1.3 billion contributed over the past three years. In addition, several donor countries have indicated their intention to pledge further funds over the course of the financing period.

The biggest source of education financing comes from developing countries themselves. More than 50 developing countries announced they would increase public expenditures for education for the period 2018 to 2020 to a total of US$110 billion, compared to US$80 billion between 2015 and 2017.

According to Unicef's United Nations Children's Fund, there are approximately 264 million out-of-school children and adolescents throughout the world. The majority of these children are denied an education as a result of poverty, conflict, and social barriers including the widespread, entrenched gender bias against girls education.

Rihanna put her 86 million person audience on Twitter to good use as she tweeted U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, Australia's Malcolm Turnbull, and Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg. The BBC reports that England responded with a 50% increase in its support for a global education fund to £75m per year. Responding to Rihanna's request for $200 million from Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, the foreign minister responded seven hours later with a pledge of $90 million. News Corp. reported that Rihanna's tweet was part of a “last-ditch effort” to convince Australia to contribute more to the fund, originally established in 2002.

Even Trump's pal Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg increased her country's pledge to NOK 2.07 billion -- or $27 million -- for 2018-2020, an increase of NOK 600 million compared to their contribution for the period 2015-2017. Little Norway has contributed 9.88% of GPE's funding since its inception.

In the period from 2003-2017, America contributed 4.01% of the total funding for GPE. I'm unable to confirm now what -- if anything -- the Trump administration is contributing to the organization, a spin-off of one of the World Bank's initiatives.

The UAE became the first Arab and regional nation to support the Global Partnership for Education, pledging $100 million for the next three years, with a special emphasis on educating girls.

While Trump chows down in bed at 7pm, feasting on his FOX News Trump-love programming by his senior advisers Carlson & Hannity, with his little hands in his big-boy bag of cheeseburgers, French president Emmanuel Macron and other countries in the world are out working with Rihanna, determined to improve education in those s*ithole countries. Yes, Haiti is a beneficiary of GPE funding.

America's Dark Ages

The USA may be returning to the McCarthy years Dark Ages with a president totally in bed with Putin -- perhaps even literally, who knows -- but I'm not going willingly. Our president may deny global warming and women's rights, but I do not.

Right on, Emmanuel Macron, Australia, wonderful Norway, Britain and the UAE.

The whole activist world is watching and hoping, with the understanding that the greatest deterrent to terrorism is girls education and economic development. Our Bible-toting Republicans have little interest in empowering girls and women, so the US must support the more advanced countries of the world, as we fall into our own Biblical darkness.

Because of their association with the Enlightenment and a rejection of religious dogma, I say bring on the Illuminati. If supporting girls' education and gay marriage, makes me an ally of Satan, count me in. We've tracked the growing influence of religious Americans seeking Biblical rule in the US for a decade. Now that they have a President Trump doing their bidding, it's time to value Enlightenment more than ever before. ~ Anne