Monday, January 31st
Mainstream media misleads on Haiti
UN 'rules out' genocide in DarfurA genocide has not been committed in Darfur, a keenly awaited United Nations report says, according to Sudan's foreign minister. Jakarta rejects Aceh rebels offer Indonesia's government has rejected an offer by Aceh's rebels to put demands for independence on hold in exchange for a referendum on Aceh's future. Tsunami Deaths Up 5,000Just over five weeks after the disaster, the overall number dead stood at between 156,000 and 178,000 across 11 nations with an estimated 26,500 to 142,000 missing. Israelis use barrier and 55-year-old law to quietly seize Palestinians' land The Israeli government has quietly seized thousands of acres of Palestinian-owned land in and around east Jerusalem after a secret cabinet decision to use a 55-year-old law against Arabs separated from farms and orchards by the vast "security barrier". Real freedom still far offFirst, no election held under a foreign military occupation resulting from an unjustified war is legal under international law. During the Cold War, elections staged by the Soviets after invading Afghanistan, Hungary and Czechoslovakia were rightly denounced by the U.S. as "frauds" and the leaders elected as "stooges." The Iraqi Ballot, TranslatedFig-leaf freedomOne election does not a democracy make, writes Brian WhitakerPresident George Bush has pronounced the election in Iraq a success. "The world is hearing the voice of freedom from the centre of the Middle East," he said yesterday. Zimbabwe's Central Bank predicts positive economic growthIn a major economic statement Wednesday ahead of Zimbabwe's elections expected in March, the central bank says the country's economy has turned the corner and predicted a recovery for 2005. Gideon Gono, governor of Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank has become more prominent than any of his predecessors and many analysts believe he is only second in power and influence to President Robert Mugabe. S.Africa urged to tax US films after Oscar nodSouth Africa should tax foreign movies and force cinemas to show more local films to help nurture a fledging homegrown industry celebrating its first Oscar feature nomination, an industry body said on Monday. Scorpions says Thatcher conviction was unlikelySouth African prosecutors said today that they did not have a strong enough case against Mark Thatcher to guarantee a conviction when they agreed a plea bargain over his suspected involvement in a foiled coup. AU summit opens in AbujaThe fourth summit of the 53-member African Union opened Sunday in Abuja, aiming to resolve the intractable conflicts of the world's poorest continent and assess the impact of diseases such as Aids, malaria and polio. South Africans are on a highFar from being a nation of whiners, South Africans are upbeat about the future, with 73 percent of people polled believing that 2005 was going to be a good year. Politics-Ivory Coast: Mbeki Soldiers OnThe past few days have seen South African President Thabo Mbeki push ahead with his initiative to bring peace to the Ivory Coast, even postponing his departure for the World Economic Forum. As the week ends, however, it is clear that the future of the West African state still hangs in the balance. Mainstream media misleads on Haiti The mainstream media seems almost totally unwilling to highlight Canada's connection to the coup and aftermath of violent political repression. Iran to help Venezuela to sell more oil to AsiaVenezuela has enlisted Iran's help to steer its oil exports to China and away from its traditional US market. Qatar's quest: Finding a buyer for Al Jazeera WASHINGTON The tiny state of Qatar is a crucial American ally in the Gulf, where it provides a military base and warm support of U.S. policies. Yet relations with Qatar are also strained over an awkward issue: Qatar's sponsorship of Al Jazeera, the provocative television station that is a big source of news in the Arab world. Report: Under intense US pressure, Qatar moves to sell Al Jazeera TV Following American pressure, a senior Qatari official said that the government is accelerating plans to put Al Jazeera TV on the market. Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and other Bush administration officials have complained heatedly to Qatari leaders that Al Jazeera's broadcasts have been inflammatory, misleading and occasionally false, especially on Iraq.
Africa on 01.31.05 @ 10:37 AM CST [ link]
Sunday, January 30th
Africa failing to meet development goals - Annan
'What a bloody charade'In Baghdad on Saturday they were supposed to be preparing for an election. But they were preparing for war. A Brief Guide to the Iraqi Elections 1. Iraqis are voting not for a party or an individual but for a list. 2. Iraqi people have no opportunity to elect their president or prime minister. 3. None of the elected members will represent a locality. 4. Large areas of the country are not expected to be able to vote. Africa failing to meet development goals - AnnanUnited Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan told African leaders on Sunday they were failing to meet targets for reducing extreme poverty and combating killer diseases five years after agreeing to global development goals. 100 hit in Darfur air raidAlmost a 100 people were killed and wounded in a Sudanese air force bombardment in South Darfur on Wednesday, UN spokesperson Radhia Achouri said on Friday. Hotel RwandaTen years ago, as the country of Rwanda descended into madness, one man made a promise to protect the family he loved, and ended up finding the courage to save more than 1,200 lives. A crisis relived:Real-life hero recalls African refugee ordeal of 'Hotel Rwanda' Another conservative columnist is clueless After years of complaining of a vast left-wing media conspiracy, the conservatives turn out to be running their own racket. The Bush administration's pay-to-sway scandal continues to spread like an oil slick. US firms' war on workersIt is often said there is no smoke without fire, but for workers in the US it is increasingly a case of "any smoke and you will be fired". News black-out on death of former top leader Zhao ZiyangReporters Without Borders today deplored continuing efforts by China's ruling Communist Party to clamp down on all news about former prime minister and party leader Zhao Ziyang on the eve of his funeral tomorrow and called on the international community to press the regime to stop its "ruthless censorship" aimed at "the father of China's economic and political reforms." UN agency applauds Iran cooperationUN nuclear chief Muhammad al-Baradai has praised Iran's cooperation over its controversial atomic programme. Barzani: Kirkuk is a Kurdish Province with the Kurdish Identity Speaking to journalists in his compound in Salahaddin, Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani said, "Kirkuk is a Kurdish province with a Kurdish Identity."
Africa on 01.30.05 @ 11:02 AM CST [ link]
Saturday, January 29th
American host cuts off Iranian press agency ISNA
Reporters Without Borders said it suspected a political motive after US web host The Planet terminated its contract with the Iranian Student's News Agency (ISNA) on 14 January 2005. Full Article : rsf.org
Middle East on 01.29.05 @ 04:13 PM CST [ link]
'Reporters' condemns harassment of Al-Jazeera
Reporters Without Borders condemns harassment of Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera Summary of attacks on the channel in 2004Reporters Without Borders has protested at persistent harassment of Arabic-language satellite TV al-Jazeera as the channel said on 26 January Saudi Arabia had refused to allow it to cover the Mecca pilgrimage for a third consecutive year. Full Article : rsf.org
Middle East on 01.29.05 @ 04:09 PM CST [ link]
Why I Am Not Taking Part in These Phony Elections
I am an Iraqi woman, and I am boycotting Sunday's elections. Women who do vote will be voting for an enslaved future. Surely, say those who support these elections, after decades of tyranny, here at last is a form of democracy, imperfect, but democracy nevertheless? In reality, these elections are, for Iraq's women, little more than a cruel joke. Amid the suicide attacks, kidnappings and US-led military assaults of the 20-odd months since Saddam's fall, the little-reported phenomenon is the sharp increase in the persecution of Iraqi women. Women are the new victims of Islamic groups intent on restoring a medieval barbarity and of a political establishment that cares little for women's empowerment. Full Article : commondreams.orgU.S. Foreign Policy: Question All Assumptions José Martí: Cuba's National Hero´s 152nd Birthday Bolivian Province Gets Boost on Autonomy Middle East presence thinning on US campuses US and Allies 'Kill Most Iraqis' Andeans Want US out of Colombia-Venezuela Crisis 'They can't throw us all in jail' What Kind of Freedom?
Iraq on 01.29.05 @ 09:47 AM CST [ link]
Friday, January 28th
Aristide lectures on slavery
Almost a year after fleeing his country, Jean Bertrand Aristide took up his post at a South African university, delivering a first lecture on African values and the trauma of slavery, "Africa's first tsumani". The 51-year-old former president of Haiti was named three months ago as honorary research fellow at the University of South Africa in Pretoria, which has lauded his knowledge of several languages and his degrees in psychology, theology and philosophy. Full Article : news24.com
Africa on 01.28.05 @ 04:39 PM CST [ link]
On defining genocide
The US decision to use the label ‘genocide’ to the Darfur crisis was correct in law – atrocities needed to be stopped and their perpetrators punished. But it also dragged Darfur into a wider global scheme, a polarity in which Arabs are collectively labelled and stigmatised, and divisive identities imposed upon poor and strife-ridden parts of the world. Full Article : indexonline.org
Africa on 01.28.05 @ 02:15 PM CST [ link]
U.S. Navy surveying waters near tsunami epicenter
The U.S. Navy is surveying the the Malacca Strait and coastal waters off Indonesia for signs that last month's devastating Indian Ocean tsunami altered the sea bed under the world's busiest shipping lane. Full Article : cnn.com
USA on 01.28.05 @ 01:42 PM CST [ link]
Criminals the lot of us
The invasion of Iraq was a crime of gigantic proportions, for which politicians, the media and the public share responsibility Full Article : guardian.co.uk
World on 01.28.05 @ 11:16 AM CST [ link]
Juke Box Journalism
It seems clear now that the disclosure that two syndicated right-wing columnists were paid shills of the Bush administration posing as journalists is really just the tip of a grimy iceberg. With the admission by Armstrong Williams that he had pocketed a cool $240,000 to pimp in his columns for the Bush's "No Child Left Behind" program, and by Maggie Gallagher that she'd taken $21,500 to pimp for Bush's "support for marriage" initiative (sexism is alive and well in the Bush White House when it comes to bribes), comes word that the administration has been spending $88 million on PR for its various schemes. Full Article : counterpunch.org
USA on 01.28.05 @ 10:23 AM CST [ link]
Code Names
A Look Behind Secret U.S. Military Plans in the Middle East, Africa and at Home Full Article : democracynow.org
USA on 01.28.05 @ 10:20 AM CST [ link]
Mbeki, 'Africa's troubleshooter'
With his steady and determined approach to breaking deadlocks in demand across the continent, President Thabo Mbeki is emerging as Africa's main trouble-shooter. While he has yet to claim success in Ivory Coast, Mbeki has showed staying power, taking charge of talks with opposition and rebel leaders this week in Pretoria that stretched into unscheduled third and fourth days. Mbeki cleared his diary to accommodate the men from the troubled west African state, scrapping a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and delaying his departure to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Full Article : news24.com
Africa on 01.28.05 @ 10:13 AM CST [ link]
The US - Colombia Plot Against Venezuela
A major diplomatic and political conflict has exploded between Colombia and Venezuela after the revelation of a Colombian government covert operation in Venezuela, involving the recruitment of Venezuelan military and security officers in the kidnapping of a Colombian leftist leader. Following an investigation by the Venezuelan Ministry of Interior and reports and testimony from journalists and other knowledgeable political observers it was determined that the highest echelons of the Colombian government, including President Uribe, planned and executed this onslaught on Venezuelan sovereignty. Full Article : venezuelanalysis.com
Latin America on 01.28.05 @ 10:05 AM CST [ link]
US prepares invasion of Venezuela: Venezuelan ambassador
The United States is preparing a future invasion of Venezuela to control the petroleum of the South American country as it did in Iraq, said Venezuela's acting ambassador to Paraguay, Elmer Nino. Nino, cited Thursday by local Paraguayan daily ABC Color, said the present diplomatic crisis between Venezuela and Colombia was created by the United States as part of its future plans for an invasion. The Venezuelan oil reserves have a strategic value as they will last 350 years at the present exploitation level, the diplomat was quoted as saying. Full Article : xinhuanet.com
Latin America on 01.28.05 @ 01:32 AM CST [ link]
Taiwan's ties with Grenada to be cut
Ties with Grenada to be cut after its dealings with ChinaThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced at 11:15pm last night that ties with Grenada would be cut. This followed a day of speculation in the wake of Grenada's resumption of diplomatic relations with China. Taiwan's diplomats met Grenada's prime minister and foreign minister earlier yesterday, but were unable to get a concrete idea of what was written in their joint communique with China, the ministry said. Full Article : taipeitimes.com
Caribbean on 01.28.05 @ 01:23 AM CST [ link]
Ethiopia Begins Giving Free HIV Drugs
Ethiopia has began giving free doses of life-prolonging drugs to about 14,000 HIV-infected Ethiopians in a U.S.-funded program, the government said Tuesday. The program, which is being implemented in 20 hospitals and 30 health centers across Ethiopia, began Monday and aims to have 30,000 people on treatment by the end of the year, said Solomon Abate of the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
Africa on 01.28.05 @ 01:20 AM CST [ link]
Eid Al-Adhar in Nablus
A Night of Terror and DestructionAs the BBC and other major media organizations patronizingly 'congratulate' Abu Mazen on deploying 3,000 lightly-armed Palestinian troops to protect the 'security' of illegal Jewish colonists in Gaza, they report that 'it is quiet on the ground' in Palestine. In doing so, they are regurgitating the Israeli propaganda without any reference to Palestinian information sources or to the truth. Full Article : axisoflogic.com
Middle East on 01.28.05 @ 01:12 AM CST [ link]
Thursday, January 27th
India's US-Pakistan suspicions deepen
NEW DELHI - Two facts emerged in the space of a few days last week that have made India deeply suspicious of Washington's intentions in the region. One, US secretary of state-designate Condoleezza Rice told senators that the administration of President George W Bush has a "contingency plan" to prevent "Islamic fundamentalists" from getting access to Pakistan's nuclear weapons if "something happened" to Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf and they succeeded in capturing power. Full Article : atimes.com
Middle East on 01.27.05 @ 04:17 PM CST [ link]
Bush declares war on entire world
President George W. Bush secured his status as an American revolutionary in his second inaugural speech last week. In a nutshell, his speech outlined a global crusade of American-led and enforced democracy. The president returned to his favorite rhetorical trick by casting everything and everyone in black and white, "us against them" terms. According to Bush, every nation in the world faces a choice between "oppression" and "freedom." Oppression, of course, is "always wrong" while freedom is "eternally right." Full Article : thedaily.washington.edu
USA on 01.27.05 @ 02:46 PM CST [ link]
US teeters on explosive line in the sand
Modern-day maps of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia reflect a pattern and a principle ingrained in the foreign policies of major European, and now American, powers - the existence of numerous sovereign Muslim countries. While wars and invasions against Muslim states by outside powers have taken place in the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, none of such major military and political moves in the last several decades sought to redraw boundaries or radically change the modern map of the Islamic world. Full Article : atimes.com
USA on 01.27.05 @ 12:10 PM CST [ link]
Six Million Dying of Aids Amid Tsunami Largesse
Within three weeks after the tsunami disaster ravaged south and south-east Asia, the international donor community responded magnanimously by pledging an unprecedented 5.5 billion to 6 billion dollars for emergency relief and reconstruction. By a coincidence, says U.N. Special Envoy Stephen Lewis, the Global Fund on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria received an identical amount of about 5.9 billion dollars in pledges from the donor community. The difference between the two responses is that it took three years -- not three weeks -- to raise the same amount of money to combat a disease devastating millions of lives, says Lewis, who is U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. Full Article : allafrica.com
Africa on 01.27.05 @ 11:45 AM CST [ link]
Zimbabwe: South African 'quiet diplomacy' tested by recent events
PRETORIA: Recent events may test South African President Thabo Mbeki's 'quiet diplomacy' approach towards neighbouring Zimbabwe, analysts have told IRIN. News of the arrest of an alleged South African intelligence agent in Zimbabwe; more hard-line pronouncements from the United States regarding Zimbabwe; and recent comments by South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC), urging the opening of 'democratic space' in the country, have all occurred in the space of three weeks. Full Article : africaonline.com
Africa on 01.27.05 @ 11:42 AM CST [ link]
African Women Have Come a Long Way
NAMIBIA is among the top-ranking countries with the most women parliamentarians in Africa. Although Africa has been viewed as not putting women in the forefront in the male-dominated field of politics, this perception is about to change after Rwanda scored highest in the world when it comes to the political representation of women, with 48,8 per cent of its MPs being women. Full Article : allafrica.com
Africa on 01.27.05 @ 11:39 AM CST [ link]
Pastoralists from 23 countries to meet in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is to host an international gathering of pastoralists, representing 23 countries from across the globe, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced on Monday. Full Article : africaonline.com
Africa on 01.27.05 @ 11:35 AM CST [ link]
Indonesia Government Prepares for Talks with Aceh Rebels
An Indonesian government delegation is in Finland preparing for talks with the exiled leadership of the Aceh-separatist movement known as GAM. The two sides are looking for a solution to the 28-year conflict in Aceh, and the talks have been given extra impetus by the need to cooperate to rebuild the region that was devastated by last month's disastrous earthquake and tsunami. Few observers expect the road to peace to be smooth. Full Article : politinfo.com
Asia on 01.27.05 @ 10:51 AM CST [ link]
Asian bird flu might turn deadly for humans
The World Health Organization has issued strong warnings to Asian governments about the bird flu virus that has recently broken out in their part of the world. The officials say that, if the flu is not properly contained, it could spread to humans and turn into a deadly epidemic such as that in 1918 which killed more than 40 million people. Full Article : newstarget.com
Asia on 01.27.05 @ 10:38 AM CST [ link]
Corruption endemic to South Africa: survey
Corruption is thought to be endemic in South Africa, with about three quarters of respondents to a survey feeling there is corruption at senior levels of government, police are taking bribes and corruption is worsening. This is according to a telephone study released by Research Surveys today. It was conducted amongst a sample of 500 South African adults in metropolitan areas with access to a landline telephone at the beginning of January 2005. Full Article : bday.co.za
Africa on 01.27.05 @ 10:12 AM CST [ link]
Khatami: U.S. most dangerous to global peace
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami responded to U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney's comment that Iran topped the list of world trouble spots by saying, the United States was the country which most endangered global peace. Full Article : aljazeera.com
Iran on 01.27.05 @ 10:09 AM CST [ link]
Crumbs for Africa
The global economy can be a cruel and competitive place, all right. Of the $612 billion in flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) recorded in 2004, just $20 billion went to Africa, as a whole, according to World Economic Situation and Prospects 2005, published by the United Nations. Full Article : m1.mny.co.za
Africa on 01.27.05 @ 10:06 AM CST [ link]
Syphilis rise tied to natural cycle
Researchers say disease increase is not because of unsafe sexA recent rise in syphilis rates in the United States is probably because of natural cycles rather than an increase in unsafe sex or other behaviors, according to a new study. The finding is encouraging to public health authorities who have worried that increasing syphilis infection, especially among gay and bisexual men, is a sign that people at high risk for HIV have grown complacent about practicing safe sex. Syphilis has been on the rise in the United States since 2000, when the incidence of the disease was at its lowest in six decades. In 2003, the most recent year for which data are available, 7,177 cases were reported, compared with 5,979 in 2000. Similar jumps in syphilis incidence have been observed in the past. Full Article : thestate.com
USA on 01.27.05 @ 10:02 AM CST [ link]
Oil curse stalks Africa's new petro-state
São Tomé, a sleepy west coast archipelago with a population of 150,000 people, is seen by many outside as the nation as having perhaps the best chance to avoid the “paradox of plenty” that has made oil-rich African countries among the world's poorest and worst-governed. The auction for the first exploration licence in a deep water zone being developed jointly with Nigeria is expected soon to yield São Tomé about $50m, or almost four times last year's total estimated government tax revenues. Estimates of the amount of oil in the zone run to more than 10bn barrels, although no reserves have yet been proved. Full Article : news.ft.com
Africa on 01.27.05 @ 09:51 AM CST [ link]
Rich countries poach doctors from Africa
LAGOS, Nigeria -- Lagos Island Hospital lost two of its best surgeons and several nurses to Gulf nations, Europe and America last year, leaving it in a dire situation shared by hospitals across the developing world. "It is usually the most skilled and experienced who leave. We lose their skills and there's no one to train new people," Lagos Island's Dr. John Adebowale said Wednesday, the day a new report was released detailing the costs of the migration of medical professionals from poor to rich countries. Full Article : seattlepi.nwsource.com
Africa on 01.27.05 @ 09:39 AM CST [ link]
Bush Administration Targets Cuba and Venezuela
The fact that the Bush Administration is intensifying its anti-Cuba actions while rightwing extremists of Venezuelan and Cuban origin are joining efforts in Miami, was the main theme of Monday's "The Round Table" TV and radio program. The members of the panel began by commenting on the aggressive statements uttered by Bush's choice for Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, who voiced her anti-Cuba rhetoric at a US Senate hearing on her nomination. Full Article : invasor.islagrande.cu
Latin America on 01.27.05 @ 08:54 AM CST [ link]
Loans seen as no solution for Haiti's poorest
"The last thing you want to do is make a poor person even poorer by giving them a loan they can't pay back," said Lauren Mitten, of Development Alternatives Inc., a private contractor that runs a microfinance project in Haiti for the US Agency for International Development, or USAID. "There are lots of microfinance institutions trying to reach the same people with the same products. But no one is reaching the extreme poor." Full Article : boston.com
Caribbean on 01.27.05 @ 08:49 AM CST [ link]
Wednesday, January 26th
Bush talks issues with black leaders
To meet with Congressional Black Caucus on WednesdayPresident Bush told black leaders Tuesday that his plan to add private accounts to Social Security would benefit blacks since they tend to have shorter lives than some other Americans and end up paying in more than they get out. Full Article : cnn.com
USA on 01.26.05 @ 11:30 PM CST [ link]
Report: Helicopter Crash in Iraq Kills 31 U.S. Troops
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A transport helicopter crash in western Iraq Wednesday killed 31 U.S Marines, CNN reported on Wednesday. U.S. military officials in Baghdad said they could not immediately confirm the toll but acknowledged there were casualties. © Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
Iraq on 01.26.05 @ 06:58 PM CST [ link]
S. Africa court suspends nuclear plant approval
A South African court on Wednesday suspended a government decision to let electricity utility Eskom develop a new nuclear power reactor near Cape Town. The ruling by the Cape High Court came after environmentalists objected to the proposed project and lobby group Earthlife mounted a court challenge in November last year. Full Article : alertnet.org
Africa on 01.26.05 @ 04:41 PM CST [ link]
The Ultimate War Crime: Breaking the Agricultural Cycle
"As part of sweeping 'economic restructuring' implemented by the Bush Administration in Iraq, Iraqi farmers will no longer be permitted to save their seeds, which include seeds the Iraqis themselves have developed over hundreds of years. Instead, they will be forced to buy seeds from US corporations. That is because in recent years, transnational corporations have patented and now own many seed varieties originated or developed by indigenous peoples. In a short time, Iraq will be living under the new American credo: Pay Monsanto, or starve." Full Article : globalresearch.ca
USA on 01.26.05 @ 08:46 AM CST [ link]
From U.S., the ABC's of Jihad
Violent Soviet-Era Textbooks Complicate Afghan Education Efforts In the twilight of the Cold War, the United States spent millions of dollars to supply Afghan schoolchildren with textbooks filled with violent images and militant Islamic teachings, part of covert attempts to spur resistance to the Soviet occupation. The primers, which were filled with talk of jihad and featured drawings of guns, bullets, soldiers and mines, have served since then as the Afghan school system's core curriculum. Even the Taliban used the American-produced books, though the radical movement scratched out human faces in keeping with its strict fundamentalist code. Full Article : washingtonpost.com
USA on 01.26.05 @ 08:44 AM CST [ link]
Author airs conspiracy theory on Im's death
The death of retired research Professor Jeong Im has all the makings of a spy novel, and some say that idea isn’t far off base. Someone stabbed the 72-year-old scientist multiple times in the Maryland Avenue parking garage at the University of Missouri-Columbia, put him in the trunk of his Honda and set the car on fire. Adding to the mystery, police say a hooded, masked man was seen carrying a gas can away from the scene. Full Article : columbiatribune.com
USA on 01.26.05 @ 08:42 AM CST [ link]
Israeli psychological warfare unit set up
The Israeli army is set to activate a special psychological warfare unit (PWU) whose main role is to "disseminate disinformation" and "carefully manipulated information" about Iran and other countries in the Middle East deemed to be "hostile". Full Article : aljazeera.com
Middle East on 01.26.05 @ 08:40 AM CST [ link]
Black Americans suspect HIV plot
Almost half of all African-Americans believe that HIV, the virus that causes Aids, is man-made, more than a quarter believe it was produced in a government laboratory and one in eight think it was created and spread by the CIA, according to a study released by Rand Corporation and the University of Oregon. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
USA on 01.26.05 @ 08:32 AM CST [ link]
Tuesday, January 25th
Pedigree dogs of war
Some people who engage in foreign conflicts are called terrorists. Others are about to be government-licensed What is the legal difference between hiring a helicopter for use in a coup against a west African government and sending supplies to the Chechen rebels? If there isn't one, why isn't Mark Thatcher in Belmarsh? Conversely, why aren't the "foreign terrorist suspects" in Belmarsh prison free and, like Thatcher, at large in London? Why is an alleged engagement in foreign military operations called terrorism one moment and business the next? The question is an important one, for mercenaries are becoming respectable again. On Thursday Tim Spicer, Britain's most notorious soldier of fortune, will speak at the School of Oriental and African Studies. Last month he addressed a conference at the Royal United Services Institute. Last year one of the companies he runs won a $300m contract from the US government for security work in Iraq. He moves through the establishment like the boss of any other corporation. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
UK on 01.25.05 @ 09:34 PM CST [ link]
Remembering Africans in the Nazi Camps
T.Wonja Michael was born in Berlin in 1925. Their Cameroonian father, Theophilus Wonja Michael arrived in Berlin in 1894 and had four children with his German wife Martha Wegner. In early 1943, Michael was marched with other Afro-Germans into a forced-labor camp near Berlin.He was there until the camp was liberated by Russian soldiers in June 1945." His three siblings fled to France after "Negroids" were declared "undesirable" in 1936, but Michael chose to remain apparently, out of sheer stubbornness. He worked as a bellhop at Berlin's Hotel Excelsior (before being kicked out by a Nazi guest).The Nazis cast him in a tiny but very visible role in Germany's first color film released in 1943. "Muenchhausen"- which showed him cooling dignitaries with a feathered fan. Later he learned that the movie had been commissioned by propaganda Goebbels and would be used against blacks."In many ways, being a curiosity is just as bad as being a target I happen to be black, but I am German, and I insist on the recognition,"says Michael. Theodoro survived the Nazi terror and is still alive. Many other germans –Cameroonians like Mpundo Akwa, Ngoso Din, Martin Dibobe were deported and murdered in concentration camps. Full Article : icicemac.com
Africa on 01.25.05 @ 08:30 PM CST [ link]
Academy History Made With This Year's Nominees
More actors playing actual real-life people were nominated for Oscars than ever before, and more minorities were nominated in the acting categories than ever before, making some Academy Award history for the 77th year of nominations. Nine of the 20 acting nominations are based on real people, from films like "Ray," "Finding Neverland," "The Aviator," "Kinsey," "Hotel Rwanda" and "Vera Drake." In addition, "Million Dollar Baby" has three more nominations from a fictional book that is based on real-life characters. Full Article : zap2it.com
USA on 01.25.05 @ 05:35 PM CST [ link]
White farmer 'threw worker to lions'
A white South African farmer and two black employees were accused yesterday of killing a black former employee by throwing him into a pen of five lions, which ate him. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
Africa on 01.25.05 @ 05:02 PM CST [ link]
Fury at farmer who 'threw worker to lions'
A packed courtroom echoed to the chants of furious South African demonstrators yesterday as a white farmer went on trial, accused of murdering a black worker by feeding him to a pride of lions. Full Article : telegraph.co.uk
Africa on 01.25.05 @ 04:59 PM CST [ link]
US saber-rattling over Iran causes high oil prices
Venezuela blames US saber-rattling over Iran for high oil prices Venezuela's oil minister said Monday that the recent rise in world oil prices stems from fears the United States may use military force against Iran because of that country's nuclear programme. Full Article : thestar.com.my
Latin America on 01.25.05 @ 04:43 PM CST [ link]
Bolivians Protest Planned Gas Hikes
Thousands of Bolivians took to the streets of this city Monday in the latest in a series of protests against President Carlos Mesa's plans to raise gasoline prices in South America's poorest country. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
Latin America on 01.25.05 @ 04:41 PM CST [ link]
Torture still routine in Iraqi jails: report
Iraqi authorities routinely torture prisoners, a leading human rights group said Tuesday, citing examples of abuse which will sound all too familiar to those who suffered under Saddam Hussein. Full Article : chinadaily.com.cn
Iraq on 01.25.05 @ 04:37 PM CST [ link]
Dream On America
The U.S. Model: For years, much of the world did aspire to the American way of life. But today countries are finding more appealing systems in their own backyards. Full Article : commondreams.org
USA on 01.25.05 @ 04:25 PM CST [ link]
South Africans say corruption becoming way of life
JOHANNESBURG - Almost three quarters of South Africans think corruption is getting worse and is becoming a way of life, affecting police officers and senior levels of government, a survey showed on Tuesday. The poll comes as police prepare to arrest 40 current and former members of parliament over a $2.86 million ($NZ4.04 million) travel expenses scam. Full Article : nzherald.co.nz
Africa on 01.25.05 @ 04:22 PM CST [ link]
Nigeria to host special AU Summit on Jan 30th
Nigeria is to host a special African Union (AU) Summit at the Federal Capital, Abuja on January 30, 2005 to consider a common defence and security policy for the Continental Body. The AU High-Level Committee of Heads of State and Government on the Non-Aggression Pact and the Common Defence and Security in Africa meeting on January 29th would precede the summit. Full Article : ghanaweb.com
Africa on 01.25.05 @ 04:18 PM CST [ link]
ANC backs Cosatu's trip to Zimbabwe
The ANC said today that the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) may go ahead with a controversial visit to Zimbabwe opposed by President Robert Mugabe's government. In a surprise move likely to spark tension between South Africa and Zimbabwe, the ANC said it would have no problems with Cosatu returning to Harare. Full Article : sabcnews.com
Africa on 01.25.05 @ 04:14 PM CST [ link]
Returnig refugees find little is left of their former lives
Elizabeth Adak Shindu paid a high price to return home. She walked for 30 days, endured hunger and disease, and used her life savings. When she finally reached this sprawling, dusty town, she found another family living on her land. Full Article : taipeitimes.com
Africa on 01.25.05 @ 10:44 AM CST [ link]
Protests against Swazi king
Police and security troops were out in full force in Swaziland on Tuesday as hundreds of people gathered in the capital, heeding a call from trade unions to protest the regime of King Mswati III, Africa's last absolute monarch. About 5 000 police and military personnel were deployed in the streets of Mbabane in the southern African kingdom and at the main entrances to the city, stopping buses and taxis for checks. Full Article : news24.com
Africa on 01.25.05 @ 10:38 AM CST [ link]
Africa, Garang wants balance of nations in UN Sudan force
A U.N. peace force for southern Sudan should include countries without energy ties to the oil-exporting region to balance any nations with such interests, southern leader John Garang said on Sunday. The region's oil resources were a factor in two decades of civil war which ended earlier this month with a peace deal between Khartoum and the southern rebels. Speaking after talks with U.N. Sudan envoy Jan Pronk, Garang said more consultations were needed to ensure what he called the neutrality of the proposed peacekeeping force. Full Article : keralanext.com
Africa on 01.25.05 @ 10:33 AM CST [ link]
Monday, January 24th
US 'terminates' Iranian website
Iran has accused the US government of ordering an American internet service provider to stop hosting the website of an official Iranian news agency. The Iranian Student News Agency said no explanation had been given by the server, called The Planet, for its abrupt move to terminate the contract. Full Article : news.bbc.co.uk
USA on 01.24.05 @ 07:08 PM CST [ link]
One third of the world's urban population lives in a slum
Late in 2003 the United Nations reported that one billion people-approximately one third of the world's urban dwellers and a sixth of all humanity, live in slums. And it predicted that within 30 years that figure would have doubled to two billion-a third of the current world population. Full Article : freespeech.org
World on 01.24.05 @ 04:06 PM CST [ link]
Israel Seizes Tracts of Land in Jerusalem
Israel has quietly seized large tracts of Jerusalem land owned by Palestinian residents of the West Bank after they were cut off from their property by Israel's separation barrier, lawyers of the landowners said. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
Middle East on 01.24.05 @ 04:00 PM CST [ link]
Venezuela's Chavez: US behind Colombia rebel arrest
Thousands of demonstrators backed President Hugo Chavez, who accused US and Colombian officials of provoking a diplomatic crisis between the Caribbean neighbors. "I know where this provocation comes from: from Washington, not from Bogota!" Chavez said before a crowd of cheering supporters. Full Article : turkishpress.com
Latin America on 01.24.05 @ 03:57 PM CST [ link]
Washing away history
It is one of many places in Banda Aceh that has yet to be cleaned up. But the rambling graveyard in the centre of town differs from other monuments in one unique respect - that the dead who are buried there are not Indonesian but Dutch. When the tsunami swept into the port of Banda Aceh almost four weeks ago, killing at least 70,000 people, it also destroyed much of the city's surviving colonial heritage. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
Asia on 01.24.05 @ 10:48 AM CST [ link]
'Tyranny' states strike back
Rice's tough stance has the media up in arms Media in the states dubbed "outposts of tyranny" by Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's nominee as secretary of state, have hit back in no uncertain terms. A Cuban commentary says the declaration is reminiscent of President Bush's "Axis of evil", while state radio in Belarus accuses her of prejudice. In Zimbabwe and Iran, papers view her comments as part of a broader campaign against them. Burma and North Korea have been slow to react, a fact media analysts say is not unusual, as both states often take days to formulate a response. Full Article : news.bbc.co.uk
USA on 01.24.05 @ 10:31 AM CST [ link]
JP Morgan admits US slavery links
Thousands of slaves were accepted as collateral for loans by two banks that later became part of JP Morgan Chase. The admission is part of an apology sent to JP Morgan staff after the bank researched its links to slavery in order to meet legislation in Chicago. Citizens Bank and Canal Bank are the two lenders that were identified. They are now closed, but were linked to Bank One, which JP Morgan bought last year. About 13,000 slaves were used as loan collateral between 1831 and 1865. Full Article : news.bbc.co.uk
USA on 01.24.05 @ 10:27 AM CST [ link]
Liberia's peacekeeping legacy
One of the legacies the former West African peacekeeping force for Liberia (Ecomog) left behind in the 1990s was more than 6,000 fatherless children. Full Article : news.bbc.co.uk
Africa on 01.24.05 @ 10:25 AM CST [ link]
A fantasy of freedom
If Bush wanted to tackle tyranny, he could start with regimes under US control. But liberty clearly has limits, says Gary Younge. Full Article : trinicenter.com
World on 01.24.05 @ 03:04 AM CST [ link]
China's VP heads to Latin America on trade visit
China's Vice-President Zeng Qinghong headed for Latin America and the Caribbean on Sunday on a quest to feed the booming Chinese economy's growing appetite for natural resources and energy. Full Article : tehrantimes.com
China on 01.24.05 @ 03:01 AM CST [ link]
Sunday, January 23rd
Chinese anti-Malaria plant artemisia annua grown in Africa
The Chinese and Vietnamese anti-Malaria plant sweet wormwood or artemisia annua will now be grown in Africa, where the soil and climate are suitable, under a World Health Organisation-US Agency for International Development project. Artemisinin is the extract of wormwood that is useful against Malaria. The demand for the plant from China has exhausted supplies, leading USAID to promote new plantings in East Africa, FrontLines, a USAID publication, says. Full Article : newkerala.com
Africa on 01.23.05 @ 10:36 PM CST [ link]
Ivorians in South Africa yearn to go back home
While political talks take place to end the almost five year crisis in the Ivory Coast. Thousands of Ivorians in South Africa yearn to go back to their country. Many fled almost five years ago because of the violence. Marc Gbaffou (32), who is studying food technology in Johannesburg, wonders, like many others here, if his family is safe back home. Full Article : sabcnews.com
Africa on 01.23.05 @ 10:33 PM CST [ link]
West over-reacts to Iranian leader's visit to Zimbabwe
JUDGING by the abusive reaction of US Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice to the recent visit to Zimbabwe by the Iranian President, His Excellency Feyed Mohammed Khatami, imperialist forces are pretty upset about the consolidation of relations between Zimbabwe and Iran which was demonstrated through the recent visit and the agreements signed. Full Article : zimbabwemail.com
Africa on 01.23.05 @ 06:31 PM CST [ link]
The Radioactive Cover-Up at Rocky Flats
An FBI agent alleges that the government hasn't come clean about the dumping of radioactive waste at a closed Colorado weapons plant - and now the site is being turned into a park. Full Article : truthout.org
USA on 01.23.05 @ 01:02 PM CST [ link]
Inaugural Protests in Many Cities
Photos : commondreams.org
USA on 01.23.05 @ 12:59 PM CST [ link]
Thousands of Cubans protest against US blockade
Over 5,000 people gathered Saturday in Mantua in the western province of Pinar del Rio, demanding an end to the economic blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba. During the Open Tribune of the Revolution, which takes place every other Saturday in Cuba, the demonstrators condemned the hostile policy Washington has kept for more than 40 years against the island country. Full Article : english.people.com.cn
Caribbean on 01.23.05 @ 12:55 PM CST [ link]
Plagiarism Charge Flies Over Discovery
A Peruvian archaeologist is hurling allegations of plagiarism and intellectual plunder at American colleagues over a barren desert landscape where a mysterious culture built pyramids nearly 5,000 years ago. Peru's government and some U.S. researchers have lined up firmly behind Ruth Shady, who has long researched the ruins of Caral, the oldest known city in the Americas. She contends that Americans Jonathan Haas and Winifred Creamer lifted conclusions from her work to advance their own broader study, published last month in the prestigious science journal Nature. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
World on 01.23.05 @ 12:53 PM CST [ link]
The African presence in early Iraq
Evidence of the presence of African people in ancient Southwest Asia, particularly in the country now known as Iraq, stretches far back into antiquity. The Greek writer Homer, for example, describes African people referred to as "Ethiopians" as "dwelling at the ends of the earth, towards the rising and setting sun." The Greek historian Ephorus wrote that "the Ethiopians were considered as occupying all the south coasts of both Asia and Africa, divided by the Red Sea into Eastern and Western Asiatic and African." A very important part of Southwest Asia is the country that we now call Iraq. In truth, Iraq has had an African presence for thousands and thousands of years. Indeed, the first civilization of Southwest Asia, known as Sumer and located in Southern Iraq (formerly Mesopotamia "the land between the two rivers"), was dominated by Black people. Full Article : sfbayview.com
Iraq on 01.23.05 @ 05:17 AM CST [ link]
Saturday, January 22nd
Iraqi Insurgency Growing Larger, More Effective
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The United States is steadily losing ground to the Iraqi insurgency, according to every key military yardstick. A Knight Ridder analysis of U.S. government statistics shows that through all the major turning points that raised hopes of peace in Iraq, including the arrest of Saddam Hussein and the handover of sovereignty at the end of June, the insurgency, led mainly by Sunni Muslims, has become deadlier and more effective. Full Article : commondreams.org
Iraq on 01.22.05 @ 09:48 PM CST [ link]
Farmers Take to 'Supercrops' At Blistering Rate
SA and China are increasing their plantings of genetically modified crops at the fastest rates in the world, according to the International Service for the Acquisition of AgriBiotech Application. SA's acreage of genetically engineered crops rose to 500000ha last year, up 25% on 2003, placing the country among the top 14 growers of genetically engineered varieties, according to the organisation, which promotes biotechnology in the developing world. Full Article : allafrica.com
Africa on 01.22.05 @ 08:37 PM CST [ link]
Rice 'apologist for white sins'
ZIMBABWE'S state-run Herald newspaper today launched a vitriolic attack on US secretary of state nominee Condoleezza Rice, calling her anti-black and an apologist for "white sins". A weekly column compared Ms Rice to her predecessor, Colin Powell, whom it called an "Uncle Tom", a put-down of a black who is overeager to win the approval of whites. "She is a black woman who will be manly and white in her relentless assault on blacks, their liberties and their remnant and dwindling sovereignties," said the column. Full Article : news.com.au
World on 01.22.05 @ 05:42 PM CST [ link]
We don't want your freedom
President Bush: Keep your freedom and democracy to yourselfThe international community does not want George W. Bush's Freedom and Democracy neither does it want its Hearts and Minds won over by Shock and Awe tactics, thank you very much. If George Bush was elected President of the United States of America, why does he address himself to the rest of the world? Full Article : pravda.ru
World on 01.22.05 @ 05:38 PM CST [ link]
Solar storm disruption alert
The largest emission of radiation by the sun in 15 years could disrupt mobile telephone communications as well as television and radio reception, scientists have said. Large solar flares were unleashed when energy stored in magnetic fields above sunspots was suddenly released, according to the scientists at Britain's Royal Astronomical Society. The effects of the solar flares were seen at different points on earth, including brilliant auroras over parts of Britain on Friday night. Full Article : english.aljazeera.net
World on 01.22.05 @ 05:36 PM CST [ link]
Outcry Over Creation of GM Smallpox Virus
Senior scientific advisers to the World Health Organisation (WHO) have recommended the creation of a genetically modified version of the smallpox virus to counter any threat of a bioterrorist attack. Permitting researchers to engineer the genes of one of the most dangerous infections known to man would make it easier to develop new drugs against smallpox, the scientists said. But the man who led the successful global vaccination campaign to eradicate smallpox from the wild said he opposed the move on the grounds that the scientific benefits were not worth the risks to public health. Full Article : news.independent.co.uk
UK on 01.22.05 @ 04:51 PM CST [ link]
The dangers of exporting democracy
Bush's crusade is based on a dangerous illusion and will fail Although President Bush's uncompromising second inaugural address does not so much as mention the words Iraq, Afghanistan and the war on terror, he and his supporters continue to engage in a planned reordering of the world. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are but one part of a supposedly universal effort to create world order by "spreading democracy". This idea is not merely quixotic - it is dangerous. The rhetoric implies that democracy is applicable in a standardised (western) form, that it can succeed everywhere, that it can remedy today's transnational dilemmas, and that it can bring peace, rather than sow disorder. It cannot. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
USA on 01.22.05 @ 12:53 PM CST [ link]
Caracas rejects US State Department imputations
Andrés Izarra, Venezuelan minister for communication and information, affirmed yesterday, Wednesday, that the real negative force in the world is the government of President George W. Bush,. He was responding to comments made in Congress by Condoleezza Rice, the newly-appointed secretary of state, in which she attacked Venezuela and its government. Full Article : granma.cu
Latin America on 01.22.05 @ 03:45 AM CST [ link]
US 'outposts of tyranny' banding together
Branded as "outposts of tyranny" by the US administration, Cuba and Iran have decided to step up bilateral cooperation in banking, farming and biotechnology, state media underscored yesterday. Full Article : jamaicaobserver.com
USA on 01.22.05 @ 03:42 AM CST [ link]
Democracy vow means it's time to take cover in Tehran
LEADERS across Europe and the Middle East could have been forgiven for spending George W. Bush's day of chilly glory in Washington with their fingers firmly crossed. They really have no idea what his second administration will do. His only really close ally in Europe, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, tried to calm down his nation by saying he believed his chum would adopt a more "consensual" international policy. Full Article : theadvertiser.news.com.au
USA on 01.22.05 @ 03:40 AM CST [ link]
Bush Speech: 'Be Very Afraid'
"The message from this coronation is clear: in line with its first mandate and armed with even more self-confidence, this administration will do what it deems to be right without being deflected by anyone else," the paper says. In France, both the conservative newspaper Le Figaro and the popular daily Le Parisien described Mr Bush's address as having "messianic" overtones, particularly on bringing freedom to nations around the world. "Bush has organized his second term along messianic lines that make him happier than the day-to-day management of the details of his presidency," Le Parisien writes. Full Article : sbs.com.au
USA on 01.22.05 @ 03:38 AM CST [ link]
North Korea calls US 'wrecker of democracy'
Seoul: North Korea called the United States a destroyer of democracies, as South Korean experts predicted that US President George W. Bush's second inauguration speech presages a tougher road ahead for the isolated totalitarian country. Bush embarked on his second term, vowing that his new administration would not shrink from "the great objective of ending tyranny" around the globe. Full Article : manoramaonline.com
World on 01.22.05 @ 03:33 AM CST [ link]
Protesters clash with police in Belize
Some 500 protesters clashed with police Friday in front of Belize's House of Representatives, as lawmakers voted to approve tax hikes opposed by a majority of the country's 250,000 people. Full Article : seattlepi.nwsource.com
Latin America on 01.22.05 @ 03:31 AM CST [ link]
White House scraps coalition of the willing list
The White House has scrapped its list of Iraq allies known as the coalition of the willing, which Washington used to back its argument that the 2003 invasion was a multilateral action. A senior US administration official, wishing to remain anonymous, says the White House replaced the 45-member coalition list with a smaller roster of 28 countries with troops in Iraq sometime after the June transfer of power to an interim Iraqi government. Full Article : abc.net.au
USA on 01.22.05 @ 03:29 AM CST [ link]
Icelanders apologise to Iraqis for invasion
A group of people from Iceland have taken out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times apologising to Iraqis for the invasion of their country. Full Article : abc.net.au
Europe on 01.22.05 @ 03:28 AM CST [ link]
Torture at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – Made in USA
Persistent criticism of documented abuses and atrocities against prisoners at the US naval base in Guantamano, Cuba, in the name of the global war on terrorism, have turned human rights into a dead letter. The more than 500 prisoners caught worldwide during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have been illegally flown into eastern Cuban occupied territory, tortured and humiliated without the least concern from the UN Human Rights Commission. Full Article : politicalaffairs.net
Caribbean on 01.22.05 @ 03:26 AM CST [ link]
Friday, January 21st
Flood aid began pouring into Guyana
Flood aid began pouring into the country yesterday with the IDB announcing a $20M grant but many of the worst affected people are still without adequate relief and serious concerns remain over the continuing high water levels. Full Article : stabroeknews.com
Caribbean on 01.21.05 @ 09:09 PM CST [ link]
Rumsfeld cancels trip after accusations
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld cancelled a planned visit to Germany after a US human rights organisation asked German authorities to prosecute him for war crimes, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) has learned. Full Article : aljazeera.net
USA on 01.21.05 @ 08:49 PM CST [ link]
Haitian slum dwellers feel Bush has abandoned them
On the day US President George W Bush began his second term, many Haitian slum dwellers said he has abandoned them after sending US troops here to prevent further bloodshed and ensure a peaceful transition after a violent uprising. Full Article : jamaicaobserver.com
Caribbean on 01.21.05 @ 04:02 PM CST [ link]
Protesting the Bush Inauguration
As I flew into DC's National Airport Wednesday night, I could see celebratory fireworks over near the Washington Monument. It was the beginning of the Bush version of a party-something akin to Nero fiddling while Rome burned. Of course, I couldn't help but think of the much more dangerous explosions that are daily occurrences in the Iraq that Washington's war has made. After retrieving my backpack form the baggage claim, I made my way to the Metro station, purchased a farecard and got on the next train. The first thing I noticed was the numerous white women wearing fur coats and hanging tight to their tuxedo clad husbands. Not your usual subway crowd by any means. Apparently, the three inch snowfall in DC that day had screwed up the schedules of these celebrants' limousines. Ah, the sufferings of the rich and powerful. Full Article : trinicenter.com
USA on 01.21.05 @ 02:00 PM CST [ link]
Africa Faces Challenge of Keeping the Peace
Herb Howe is professor of African studies at Georgetown University in Washington and has written extensively about conflict in Africa. "My worry is that the underlying problems, causes of African conflict, are not yet really being resolved. Until those problems - for example, corruption, kleptocracy, ethnic and religious opportunistic appeals - have been addressed, we're going to have problems, " he says. Howard Wolpe is Africa program director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He says that some foreign assistance programs have unintentionally reinforced the inequities that helped lead to conflicts. "In Burundi, for example, in the past, foreign assistance dollars largely reinforced the efforts of a state that was dominated by a small sub-group of the Tutsi minority. So the foreign assistance dollars had the effect of further entrenching the minority and paid little attention to the exclusion of the vast majority of the population and various kinds of discriminatory and exclusionary policies that were in place," he says. Full Article : politinfo.com
Africa on 01.21.05 @ 01:16 PM CST [ link]
Africa Union offers hand to Haiti
The African Union Thursday offered to help troubled Caribbean nation Haiti to end violence and prepare for its upcoming elections. Full Article : washingtontimes.com
Africa on 01.21.05 @ 01:11 PM CST [ link]
Beijingers flock to Africa
Africa is the desired hot spot for Chinese tourists this winter. Package tours to Africa from Beijing's major travel agencies during Spring Festival are booked up; although most group tours for a one or two week-trip would set you back 15-25,000 yuan per person. Full Article : chinadaily.com.cn
Africa on 01.21.05 @ 01:07 PM CST [ link]
Thursday, January 20th
Shame of slavery blights Brazil's interior
An estimated 25,000 people are working as slave labourers in Brazil clearing the Amazon jungle for ranchers, or producing pig iron in the forest using charcoal smelters, according to a study. An unpublished report for the Geneva-based International Labour Organisation (ILO) concludes that despite the best efforts of the government of President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva to free slaves and prosecute offenders the level of lawlessness in the country's interior means that the practice continues. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
Latin America on 01.20.05 @ 05:18 PM CST [ link]
Caribbean tsunami 'a matter of when, not if'
A dozen major earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater have occurred in the Caribbean near Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and the island of Hispaniola, shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, in the past 500 years, and several have generated tsunamis. The most recent major earthquake, a magnitude 8.1 in 1946, resulted in a tsunami that killed a reported 1,600 people. Full Article : continuitycentral.com
Caribbean on 01.20.05 @ 04:50 PM CST [ link]
Yushchenko Seeks to Mend Ties With Russia
Ukrainian president-elect Viktor Yushchenko moved Thursday to repair relations with Russia, announcing he will visit Moscow the day after his inauguration on Sunday. He will then make a swing through the European Union, which Ukraine hopes to join, before returning home to the former Soviet republic. Full Article : washingtonpost.com
World on 01.20.05 @ 04:48 PM CST [ link]
Venezuela Rejects Meddling Allegations
Venezuela's foreign minister on Wednesday rejected accusations by U.S. Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice that President Hugo Chavez's government is meddling in the affairs of neighboring countries. Ali Rodriguez said that the United States, not Chavez's government, was interfering in the affairs of other nations. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
Latin America on 01.20.05 @ 04:45 PM CST [ link]
Cuba calls on the United States to stop the torture
Cuba calls on the United States to stop the torture of prisoners in GuantánamoOn January 19, 2005, reflecting the indignation of our people at the atrocities committed on prisoners held at the US Naval Base in Guantánamo, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented the US governmental authorities in Havana and Washington with a diplomatic note denouncing the flagrant violations of human rights that the said government is daily committing on Cuban territory illegally occupied by the above-mentioned naval base. This communication called for an immediate end to that inhuman and criminal conduct. Full Article : granma.cu
Caribbean on 01.20.05 @ 04:42 PM CST [ link]
U.S. Disrespectful to the Venezuelan People
GOP Sen. Chafee to Rice: Bush Administration "Disrespectful to the Venezuelan People"At her confirmation hearings yesterday, Dr. Condoleezza Rice reserved some of her harshest language for Chavez, calling his rule, quote, "very deeply troubling." While a number of Senate democrats questioned Rice about Venezuela, the most interesting exchange came from republican Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island. Full Article : democracynow.org
USA on 01.20.05 @ 11:15 AM CST [ link]
Elementary lessons to be learned for Condoleeza Rice
Lawrence Summers, the president of Harvard, has been pilloried for suggesting that women may be biologically unsuited to succeed at mathematics. He may have a point. Just look at Condoleezza Rice. Full Article : mathaba.net
USA on 01.20.05 @ 10:57 AM CST [ link]
Zimbabwe breaks up South Africa spy ring
A South African spymaster has been arrested in Zimbabwe in a sting operation and is accused of running an espionage ring inside the country involving a number of prominent officials. The Guardian has been told that the agent was captured on December 15 in Victoria Falls after being lured into Zimbabwe from Zambia across a bridge spanning the Zambezi river. At the same time five prominent Zimbabweans were arrested, all of whom are closely linked to the inner circle of Robert Mugabe's ruling party, Zanu-PF. All five have been charged with espionage. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
Africa on 01.20.05 @ 10:49 AM CST [ link]
Iran, Zimbabwe insist on nuclear rights
In a rebuff to the United States, Iran and Zimbabwe have insisted nations have a right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy. At the end of a three-day state visit to Zimbabwe, Iranian President Muhammad Khatami and Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, in a joint communique on Wednesday, "noted the dangers of nuclear and chemical proliferation and emphasised the need to ban the use of weapons of mass destruction". "They welcomed the international initiatives to create nuclear-free zones, especially in the Middle East and Africa. They agreed and emphasised the right of nuclear non-proliferation treaty member states to the peaceful use of nuclear energy." Full Article : aljazeera.net
Africa on 01.20.05 @ 10:47 AM CST [ link]
Clinton Kept Hotel Rwanda Open
Paul Rusesabagina still won't go back to his native Rwanda. A decade ago, the courageous former hotel innkeeper saved more than a thousand lives during the genocidal rampage by Hutu death merchants against the Tutsis in Rwanda. The estimate is that a million Tutsis were killed. The movie, Hotel Rwanda, which stars Don Cheadle, and has garnered Academy Award buzz, tells the blood-drenched saga of how Rusesabagina repeatedly risked death to use his hotel to shelter Tutsi refugees. But Hotel Rwanda doesn't tell why President Clinton said and did nothing to stop that genocide, and four years after he left office, and ten years after the slaughter, he continues to hide the truth about his inaction. Full Article : AlterNet.org
Tyehimba on 01.20.05 @ 09:21 AM CST [ link]
Wednesday, January 19th
Tsunami death toll rises to 225,000
The death toll from the Boxing Day tsunami disaster increased to more than 225,000 today as the Indonesian health ministry raised the number of dead in the country by more than 50,000. Full Article : guardian.co.uk
Asia on 01.19.05 @ 10:05 PM CST [ link]
Guinea's Leader Speaks on TV After Murder Attempt
Guinea's President Lansana Conte appeared on state television late on Wednesday, hours after he escaped what his aides said was an assassination attempt. Full Article : abcnews.go.com
Africa on 01.19.05 @ 09:32 PM CST [ link]
BOTSWANA: Court case on San rights resumes
GABORONE, 19 Jan 2005 (IRIN) - The right to live and hunt as their forefathers did in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) is the crux of an application by 243 San Bushmen to overturn their relocation outside the game sanctuary by the Botswana government. The landmark case, which goes to the heart of minority rights in Botswana, resumed on Monday after a two-month break at the High Court in Lobatse, 60 km south of the capital, Gaborone.
Africa on 01.19.05 @ 08:57 PM CST [ more..]
Much of world thinks Bush is dangerous
A wide majority of people questioned in a BBC World Service global opinion poll published Wednesday believe that US President George W. Bush has made the world more dangerous. Full Article : turkishpress.com
World on 01.19.05 @ 08:22 PM CST [ link]
SPLA, Khartoum Deal is a Gamble
If the peace agreement signed in Kenya on January 9 really ends the 21-year-old Sudanese civil war, the killing will stop and millions of refugees will be able to go home - but the deal carries a big risk for Africa. As The Nation put it in Nairobi: "One of the elements of the settlement is that the south has the right to secede after six years. This is the first time in Africa that a peace settlement has recognised the right to secession." That's not strictly true, since the almost equally long war in Ethiopia ended in the early '90s with independence for Eritrea. But Eritrea could be treated as an exception because it had already been a separate entity in colonial times; the Sudan deal is different. The basic rule that Africa's old colonial borders must never be changed, adopted by the Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union) at the dawn of independent Africa, is starting to break down. Full Article : allafrica.com
Africa on 01.19.05 @ 08:15 PM CST [ link]
Standoff between Venezuela and Colombia Continues
President Lula of Brazil and Peru's Foreign Minister have offered to mediate in the Colombian-Venezuelan crisis. Also, the Colombian Defense Minister offered to resign. Still, the standoff continues as Chavez insists on and apology and Uribe says Colombia did nothing wrong. Last week, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez recalled his ambassador to Colombia, vowing that official relations will remain frozen until Bogotá apologizes. According to statements made by Chávez and his minister of the interior, Granda was illegally kidnapped in Caracas in a complete breach of international law and Venezuelan sovereignty. Full Article : venezuelanalysis.com
Latin America on 01.19.05 @ 01:35 PM CST [ link]
Feds Made Interracial Sex America's Taboo
In his PBS documentary Unforgiveable Blackness, on black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, filmmaker Ken Burns masterfully captures the vitriol that whites (and some blacks) showered on Johnson for thumbing his nose at America's rabid phobia over sex between black men and white women. Johnson paid a heavy price for that defiance. He was prosecuted, forced into self-imposed, and eventually imprisoned. Full Article : alternet.org
USA on 01.19.05 @ 10:48 AM CST [ link]
Rice puts Venezuela on notice
Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rice noted that the United States has had a long history of friendship with Venezuela and said "it is extremely unfortunate" that the govenrment of President Hugo Chavez "has not been constructive." She said the United States cannot remain indifferent to what Venezuela is doing beyond its borders. "We know the difficulty that that government is causing for its neighbours," she said, also taking note of "its close association with Fidel Castro of Cuba". Full Article : jamaicaobserver.com
Latin America on 01.19.05 @ 10:45 AM CST [ link]
Rice Names 'Outposts of Tyranny'
In an echo of President Bush's "axis of evil," Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday named Cuba, Myanmar, Belarus and Zimbabwe as "outposts of tyranny" requiring close U.S. attention. Full Article : news.yahoo.com
USA on 01.19.05 @ 10:36 AM CST [ link]
Tuesday, January 18th
President Khatami's visit bolsters Zim-Iran ties
THE visit by Iranian President Seyed Mohammad Khatami to Zimbabwe is the hallmark of the strong ties that exist between the two countries and reflects the depth of engagement of Zimbabwe and its Middle East partner on issues of mutual concern. Full Article : zimbabweherald.com
Africa on 01.18.05 @ 07:48 PM CST [ link]
A deadly reversal
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, yesterday's victims have become today's aggressors Full Article : guardian.co.uk
Africa on 01.18.05 @ 05:26 PM CST [ link]
Indonesia Wants Foreign Troops Out Soon
Amid reports of increasing missionary work in the biggest Muslim nation on earth, Indonesia stepped up its effort to assert control over international relief operations, saying all foreign troops have to leave the country by March 26, and that its own forces would take over. The move comes one day after Indonesian military imposed sweeping restrictions on foreign aid workers in tsunami-hit Aceh amid reports that some evangelical groups are mixing Christian missionary work with humanitarian aid. Full Article : islam-online.net
Asia on 01.18.05 @ 04:32 PM CST [ link]
ON-AIR REMARK: Activists condemn racial slur
Blair, the station's weekend weather forecaster, was delivering the extended forecast early Saturday when he said, "For tomorrow, 60 degrees, Martin Luther Coon King Jr. Day, gonna see some temperatures in the mid-60s." "I don't think it was slip of the tongue, no way," said Gene Collins, director of the Las Vegas branch of National Action Network, a civil rights group founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton. "I think (Blair) felt he could say it and get away with it by just saying he's sorry. Sorry isn't going to cut it. I think the station should be commended for doing the right thing and dismissing him." Full Article : reviewjournal.com
USA on 01.18.05 @ 01:50 PM CST [ link]
Iran, Zimbabwe seek sustainable development
Visiting Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said on Monday Iran and Zimbabwe seek sustainable development and cooperation in the fight againt unilateralism. During a meeting with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Khatami said that the freedom and independence achieved by Zimbabwe was a great event in history and an important factor in the struggle to end discrimination and apartheid in Africa. Full Article : iranmania.com
Middle East on 01.18.05 @ 01:37 PM CST [ link]
Bush Uses Tsunami Aid to Regain Foothold in Indonesia
Besides improving Washington's image in South and Southeast Asia, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush is hoping to achieve something more concrete from its aid efforts in the aftermath of the Dec. 26 tsunami that killed over 175,000 people along the coasts of the Indian Ocean. In particular, it is reviving its hopes of normalizing military ties with Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, whose strategically located archipelago, critical sea lanes, and historic distrust of China have long made it an ideal partner for containing Beijing. Full Article : dissidentvoice.org
USA on 01.18.05 @ 01:33 PM CST [ link]
The Ideology of American Empire
And like the repressed, history also returns. The repressed of the neo-liberal maximizer of utility returns. Self-directed, self-interested man looks into a warped mirror and finds homo religiosis. The sublime of religion that appalls us, also fascinates. What shows itself in the scenes of prison abuse does not appear as only defensive, the planned, rational response of threatened modernity but as something more burdened with emotion, something that simmers under the glassy surface of "no-touch," something sharp, frenzied, even exhibitionistic. It calls attention to itself. Underneath the neo-liberal rhetoric of a defensive war of modernity against the rise of a new barbarism, we must ask if we find instead a war of religion, an aggressive war against an ancient enemy, a new Crusade. There are those who think so. Full Article : dissidentvoice.org
USA on 01.18.05 @ 01:30 PM CST [ link]
Jump the gun or reinvent the wheel?
The last time Africa ruled herself, it did so on human labour just as anywhere else. The next time, things had changed, and it was a significant change. Machines did most of the work. The computer was set to change the way we thought, how much we thought and even to question the necessity for thinking. The industrial age, which we missed, had come to a natural end, and what we had was a technological age, and we were destined to miss it also. Full Article : vanguardngr.com
Africa on 01.18.05 @ 01:26 PM CST [ link]
Mark Thatcher is 'home with mommy'
London - Mark Thatcher, who pleaded guilty in South Africa to charges linking him to a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea, was on Monday at his mother Margaret Thatcher's home in London, a report said. The sentence was condemned as too light by some of his critics, while his mother expressed delight at the plea bargain. Full Article : iol.co.za
Africa on 01.18.05 @ 11:16 AM CST [ link]
Britain should butt out of Africa
Mark Thatcher, son of the former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, must have learnt a lesson or two out of his alleged involvement in the Equatorial Guinea coup case. Not only must he be embarrassed for having been found guilty of "unwittingly financing the acquisition of a helicopter" to have been used in the coup, but he must also have learned that Africa has the intellectual and legal means to combat unnecessary interference in its affairs. Credit should go to all those who have contributed to stopping the coup, for they have done exactly what the great African diplomat Kwame Nkurumah asked for when he said: "In order to halt foreign interference in the affairs of developing countries, it is necessary to study, understand, expose and actively combat neo-colonialism in whatever guise it may appear." Full Article : thestar.co.za
Africa on 01.18.05 @ 11:08 AM CST [ link]
Tsunami survivors live in fear of ghosts
PHUKET, Thailand -- Since the tsunami, taxi driver Wiwat Sakuldee is afraid of the dark and won't go near the beach. Like a lot of Thais on this resort island, he believes many of the disaster's victims have become restless spirits who haunt the streets after sunset. Full Article : boston.com
Asia on 01.18.05 @ 01:13 AM CST [ link]
CBS 'Memogate' Fallout
From the media interest surrounding CBS's investigation into "Memogate," one would think that the credibility of 60 Minutes' report on George W. Bush's National Guard service was the most pressing media issue facing the nation. Full Article : zmag.org
USA on 01.18.05 @ 01:11 AM CST [ link]
Stun The Right, Outrage The Left
The paradox of president Lula's first 24 months in power is that his greatest accomplishment has been the implementation of the very policies against which his own party was created. All assessments of these two years, whether celebratory or oppositional, are prey to this paradox and respond to it. Full Article : zmag.org
Latin America on 01.18.05 @ 01:08 AM CST [ link]
Monday, January 17th
A final round for the great Jack Johnson
JACK JOHNSON could evade almost any punch, and in his prime, no white boxer could ever defeat him. But outside the ring, he was hardly a match for a blatantly racist society. There are still many unanswered questions about Johnson's life and times -- he was flamboyant and notorious for telling stories that blurred fact and fiction -- but now, more than a half-century after his death, one question lingers beyond the rest. Will the U.S. government, in the form of a presidential pardon, make amends for its malicious pursuit and treatment of a man who was a legitimate American hero yet was wrongly prosecuted because of the color of his skin? Full Article : sfgate.com |
