Saturday, April 30th
What have you done?
Ethiopia signs Boeing dealEthiopia's national carrier announced on Saturday the signing of a purchase agreement for five Boeing 787 jetliners within three years and purchase rights for five more. Mbeki: What have you done?South Africans should ask themselves what their individual and community contribution had been to the realisation of a democratic country, President Thabo Mbeki said at the main Freedom Day celebrations at Durban's Absa Stadium on Wednesday. Celebrating Freedom Day with pride in South AfricaIt's now 11 years since the first Freedom Day in South Africa. Freedom Day celebrates the first multi-racial elections in South Africa. Before that, only whites could vote -- now the franchise includes everyone. Truly, South Africa is an outstanding success for democracy. President Thabo Mbeki followed the great Nelson Mandela in the nation's highest office and has proved to be a worthy successor. Now the African National Congress -- the ANC -- is searching for his successor. Engineer turns bacteria into living computersIn a step toward making living cells function as if they were tiny computers, engineers at Princeton have programmed bacteria to communicate with each other and produce color-coded patterns. African leaders try to quell Togo unrestA delegation of African leaders will attempt to broker peace in the west African nation of Togo, as thousands of Togolese and foreigners flee the country. Vietnam remembers victory over USVietnam has celebrated the communist victory of 30 years ago over a US-backed government. N.Korea Says Bush Comments Show He Is a PhilistinePyongyang branded President Bush a philistine and a cowboy on Saturday after he called North Korean leader Kim Jong-il a tyrant earlier this week. Stealth Assassination of Yasser ArafatToday with the publication of this unusual interview with Yasser Arafat's personal physician for over 25 years, Dr. Ashraf Al Kurdi, a few more crucial details emerge into more public view. A Story from Occupied Palestine: A moment that changed my lifePalestinian Self-determination and the Israeli Occupation Scientists in U.S. create 'low-tech' nuclear fusion deviceIn a surprising feat of miniaturization, scientists reported Thursday that they have produced nuclear fusion - the same process that powers the sun - in a small cylinder just five inches in diameter. And they say they will soon be able to make the device even smaller. Too-Hot Ukraine Nuclear Plant Shuts Down Haiti Bid to Rejoin Caribbean Group LagsPapers reveal U.S. intelligence on VietnamNicaragua: Sitting on a powder keg .... Again!With the constitutional crisis in Ecuador not yet resolved, the situation in Nicaragua is certainly hotting up. Two weeks ago a transport strike erupted after fuel prices rises and taxes increased, resulting in an increase in bus fares across the nation. This has been the spark which appears to have ignited a nationwide popular insurrection against Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos. The beauty of wind farmsIraq: A Colonial DictatorshipAfter two months of wrangling and haggling over the forming of the new Iraqi "government", the US got what it wants, a US government. The Iraqi people are saying: 'How could we have elected those people'? And those are the people the US will continue to protect. At gunpoint, the Iraqi people have been denied the right to govern their country and live in peace.
Africa on 04.30.05 @ 11:15 PM CST [ link]
Friday, April 29th
Tsvangirai's Big Head Has No Sanity
Tsvangirai's Big Head Has No Sanity - Mugabe BINDURA, Mar. 31 - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has charged opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) president Morgan Tvsangirai's "big head carries no sanity". And President Mugabe said his government could have killed the colonial master Ian Smith because he deserved to die after the country got independence. I Coast sets election dateAbidjan - Ivory Coast's government announced long-awaited presidential elections will be held October 30, and the top opposition leader said a government decision allowing him to run in the poll was a crucial step toward democracy in the West African state. This rose has thornsSteve Biko's famous maxim "Black man you are on your own!" has found expression in South Africa's only organisation specifically for black lesbians who are going it alone. S. Africa to send more troops to Sudan's Darfur region The government's spokesman Joel Netshitenzhe said that a cabinet meeting Thursday in Pretoria "agreed to respond positively to a request from the African Union (AU) for additional South African personnel in the African Mission in the Sudan." South Africa Peacekeepers to Stay Longer in BurundiThe South African government has decided to extend the deployment of its peacekeeping troops in Burundi until March 2006 in an effort to assist the Great Lakes country to reach a stable democracy. Seven Arab Americans Sue Denny's OwnerRegulator Probe Lenders on Discrimination New York's Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is investigating mortgage lenders to see if they discriminated against minorities by charging them higher interest rates and fees, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office said on Thursday. Cuba, Venezuela Woo Nations on Trade Pact History lost in dust of war-torn IraqIt is two years since looters ravaged one of the world's most important museums, in central Baghdad. How New York City is Failing Black Kids Under the guise of adhering to President George Bush's "No Child Left Behind" policy, powerful and ruthless politicians and business entities are seeking to steal control of local school systems all over the country. The disturbing trend towards marrying education with business is sometimes overt and sometimes deviously disguised, as was the case when the school system in New York City fell prey to the nefarious predators who had been seeking to capitalize off of the valuable fiscal and human resources held by the former Board of Education. With Washington, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and others seeking to drag their city's children into the same quagmire, the New York system's precarious position as guinea pig deserves a closer look. The Left's Media MiscalculationIn the mid-1970s, after the U.S. defeat in Vietnam and President Richard Nixon's resignation over the Watergate scandal, American progressives held the upper-hand on media. Not only had the mainstream press exposed Nixon's dirty tricks and published the Pentagon Papers secrets of the Vietnam War, but a vibrant leftist "underground" press informed and inspired a new generation of citizens. Central American Sequel to NAFTA a Hit with Execs However improbable, the atmosphere in Washington, DC is actually even more rarified and unreal than in Hollywood, as shown by the fact that Congress would even consider the Central America Free Trade Agreement now before it. Cracks in Decaying Shell of Chernobyl Reactor Threaten Second Disaster A leading Russian scientist has claimed that the sarcophagus entombing Chernobyl's broken nuclear reactor is dangerously degraded and he warned that its collapse could cause a catastrophe on the same scale as the original accident almost 20 years ago. Rumsfeld to Free Saddam If He Stops InsurgenceThere are claims that US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during his last visit to Iraq met with ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Downer unhappy with Zimbabwe rejoining Rights CommissionThe Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer says he is disappointed Zimbabwe has been re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Australia will also have a place on the Commission after an election in New York.
Africa on 04.29.05 @ 09:23 PM CST [ link]
Thursday, April 28th
Then They Came For The Children
South Africa rediscovers 'struggle art'This week, South Africa marks a decade since the nation embraced democratic rule and said goodbye to apartheid. As in any struggle for freedom, art and music contributed to creating a sense of solidarity. Ironically, much of the work produced by black artists during the turbulent days of apartheid has never been seen by their countrymen. The white government deemed the works, which were called "struggle art", to be too political. As a result, many of the finest examples were taken out of the country by diplomats and collectors during the 1970s and '80s. Among them were two Australian diplomats who, as well as returning their own collections to South Africa, have played a key role in the mission to retrieve other lost works from around the world. This report from Africa correspondent Zoe Daniel. Ho Chi Minh Still a Giant in Vietnam Duped by Bush: the Persistent Vegetative State of AmericaSlowly, like a person emerging from a coma, around fifty percent of the American people are dimly realizing their president is a pathological liar. Most, however, have not gleaned the whole truth and nothing but the truth-Bush is not only a pathological liar, he is also a mean-spirited sociopath, a warmonger and former executioner (who gleefully mocked the condemned), and has contempt for most people, that is to say the vast majority of Americans who are not his "base," in other words the stinking rich plutocrats who believe they have the right to steal at gunpoint (or cruise missile or bunker buster point). They Were Young Once, and FitWell, I've looked at heaps and piles of facts about what the deranged leaders of this nation are willing to do to the men and women who wear the US military uniform, and I've come to two conclusions. This country's most expendable commodity is its children and, with few exceptions, Americans appear to be both senseless and blind. Then They Came For The ChildrenThey've vanished into the netherworld of a Homeland Security gulag and their story has already disappeared from the headlines, but the shocking case of two 16-year-old girls from New York City arrested a month ago ought to inspire outrage among every American worthy of the name. Since the government's reasons for the girls' imprisonment could apply to virtually any teenager, it should also spark fear. Italy Furious as Report Is Said to Clear GIs on AgentTensions between the United States and Italy surged on Tuesday as Italian opposition politicians and citizens reacted furiously to leaked reports in the Italian media that a joint investigation into the shooting death of an Italian agent in Baghdad would absolve U.S. soldiers of guilt in the incident. Giuliana Sgrena Blasts U.S. Cover Up,
Calls for U.S. and Italy to Leave IraqIn her most extended interview to date in the U.S., Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena blasts a Pentagon report that clears the U.S. soldiers who opened fire on her car, wounding her and killing one of Italy's highest ranking intelligence officials. Sgrena says, "It is important that the Americans press their government to tell the truth. Because it is in the interest of Americans, the truth. Not only of Italians." Gene Study Puts Indians on GuardScientists involved in the Genographic Project will go in search of the genes of indigenous communities worldwide in a bid to decipher the puzzle of how ancient peoples were disseminated around the planet. But their task will not be easy amidst suspicious Latin American Indians. Private Firm to Investigate AIDS Charges Against City Africa Union agrees to a more robust force in DarfurZim to Host 16 Countries At Economic Partnership ForumZIMBABWE will this week host 16 countries at the Eastern and Southern African Economic Partnership Agreements Negotiating Forum with the European Union. China And 'An Africa That Can Say No'CHINA'S renewed engagement with Africa, coming as it has on the heels of years of global neglect of the continent, has been welcomed enthusiastically in capitals across Africa. Comesa Targets China in Enhancing InvestmentTHE Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has identified China as a new lucrative destination for its expansion programmes in enhancing trade and attracting investment.
Africa on 04.28.05 @ 09:21 PM CST [ link]
Wednesday, April 27th
Missing Link
PART 8: Militarism and failed statesMilitarism is the doctrine that military might is the basic source of all security. The doctrine leads inevitably to the militarization of peace as a form of permanent preparation for war. Militarism is not exclusive to dictatorships or authoritarian states - liberal democracies are frequently proponents and willing victims of militarism. Discovery of 450 Million Years Old 'Missing Link'A 15-year search for fossils in Africa has led to the discovery of eight fish specimens that are 450 million years old – 50 million years older than any previous fish fossil on the continent and amongst the oldest in the world. NATO to Consider Aiding African Union Force22 die in Togo poll violenceAt least 22 people have been killed, including eight Niger nationals, and more than 100 people hurt in clashes here the presidential poll, said Togolese officials on Wednesday. South Africa honours Nehru INDIA`S first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was, on Tuesday, posthumously awarded the highest South African honour for foreign nationals in recognition of his struggle against colonialism and racism. Ivory Coast Opposition, Rebels Wary of Presidential DecreesIvory Coast's president, Laurent Gbagbo, has decreed that all candidates will be allowed to run in a presidential election there later this year. But rebels and opposition leaders say they are worried by other decisions the president announced in a televised speech late Tuesday. South Africa's 11 Years of FreedomWe salute the people of South Africa as they complete the first year of the second decade of their country's freedom. A lot has been achieved over the last 11 years, for which the South African people in general, and the African National Congress leadership in particular, deserve a lot of credit. Poverty, inequality still mark SA Deeply entrenched poverty and inequality continue to characterise South African society and, above all, the economy is not generating nearly sufficient jobs, according to the Tripartite Alliance Summit. Mullahs: Iran Not Worried Over Threat of SanctionsDay after day, Iranians shrug off the prospect of U.N. sanctions, Washington's key threat against Iran's unwillingness to abandon nuclear ambitions and for good reason: Tehran has powerful friends with keen financial interests in blocking such punishment. Brazil Supports Venezuelan SovereigntyBelgian Colonialists Rise Up to Defend Former KingBamboos mean dreams, nightmares in Indian stateOnce every 48 years, throughout the misty forests of Mizoram in northeastern India, wild bamboo flowers in unison. When it does, famine traditionally follows. Institutional coup d'etat to hinder Latin American integration?Adventures in Africa
Africa on 04.27.05 @ 10:18 PM CST [ link]
Tuesday, April 26th
Out of Africa
Weapons Inspector Ends WMD Search in IraqWrapping up his investigation into Saddam Hussein's purported arsenal, the CIA's top weapons hunter in Iraq said his search for weapons of mass destruction "has been exhausted" without finding any. Full Article : news.yahoo.comBarbary apes out of Africa DNA analysis today reveals that Europe's only free-ranging monkeys - the so-called Barbary apes of Gibraltar - are all descended from two ancient populations from the forests of Algeria and Morocco. Report Finds No Evidence Syria Hid Iraqi ArmsU.S. investigators hunting for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq have found no evidence that such material was moved to Syria for safekeeping before the war, according to a final report of the investigation released yesterday. Exxonmobil Gives Future Market to AfricaAMERICAN oil multinational, ExxonMobil says African producer nations are well positioned to grab a big share of the expanding global energy market, pointing out that half of the oil and gas reserves that will contain demands by 2010 have neither been discovered or developed. Ethiopian Obelisk Returns Under Watchful Eye of UNOne of Ethiopia's most iconic monuments, the celebrated obelisk of Aksum, has finally returned home 68 years after Italian soldiers carted it off to Rome during Mussolini's invasion, its re-installation eased by United Nations experts who in the process discovered more archaeological treasures under a parking lot. Ghanaian Investors Urged to Invest in Equatorial GuineaThe 'miracle pill' that makes your body tan itselfThe sun is about to set on the tanning industry of northern Europe. Scientists have developed a "self-browning" implant which threatens to leave the sunbed and the spray-on tan in the shade. Massive Biological Attacks Begin Against Axis Forces in Afghanistan While Russian President Travels to Israel in Desperate Attempt to Stop Global War Massive Crowds Show Support for Embattled Mexico City MayorSaudi Arabia Close to Deal on WTO EntryHyde reflects, Shaw reports, Web site revisesOn WLS' 10 p.m. newscast Shaw characterized this as Hyde "admitting for the first time that the impeachment of Clinton was in part political revenge against the Democrats for impeaching a GOP president, Richard Nixon, 25 years earlier." The Nature of CIA Intervention in VenezuelaPhilip Agee is a former CIA operative who left the agency in 1967 after becoming disillusioned by the CIA's support for the status quo in the region. Says Agee, "I began to realize that what I and my colleagues had been doing in Latin America in the CIA was no more than a continuation of nearly five-hundred years of this, exploitation and genocide and so forth. And I began to think about what, until then would have been unthinkable, which was to write a book on how it all works." The book, Inside the Company: CIA Diary, was an instant best-seller and was eventually published in over thirty languages. In 1978, three years after the publication of CIA Diary, Agee and a group of like-minded journalists began publishing the Covert Operations Information Bulletin (now Covert Action Quarterly), as part of a strategy of "guerilla journalism" aimed at destabilizing the CIA and exposing their operations.
Africa on 04.26.05 @ 07:06 AM CST [ link]
Monday, April 25th
Mbeki and Palestinians
Iran 'Will Be Dealt With,' Bush SaysPresident Bush told newspaper editors in Washington yesterday that Iran "will be dealt with, starting through the United Nations" if it does not stop developing nuclear weapons and begin total cooperation with international inspectors. Israel has Nuclear WeaponsRussia's Putin: Soviet Collapse a Tragedy Children affected by fighting in ColombiaVenezuela Military Cooperation with U.S. StoppedUK firms involved in diverting Aids drugs British companies have been involved in the diversion of cut-price Aids drugs intended for people in poor countries, some of which have been sold at a profit to the NHS, it emerged yesterday. NHS 'bought Africa's Aids drugs'The NHS bought Aids drugs which had been illegally diverted from developing countries, the BBC has discovered. A Subsidy North and South Can Agree On?UNITED NATIONS, Apr 22 (IPS) - The United Nations, which aggressively campaigns for the elimination of some 300 billion dollars in annual subsidies doled out to Western farmers, claims that unfair agricultural tariffs are killing the livelihoods of farmers in the world's poorer nations. Asia-Africa 'quantum leap' to be led by SABandung, Indonesia - A small Indonesian town, where apartheid was first condemned, has witnessed the birth of a mighty new political and economic Asian and African bloc, with South Africa at the helm. Africa Must Unite Against MalariaTHE cardinals who gathered in Rome to elect Pope Benedict no doubt had a great deal on their minds as they weighed up the different candidates. Fortunately, they did not have to worry a great deal about their health. The unfortunate cardinals who gathered in Rome after the death of Pope Gregory XV in 1623 did. In that 19-day conclave, eight cardinals died of malaria. Today, Africa Malaria Day, we should think about how and why Europe rid itself of malaria, while the disease still claims more than a million lives a year in Africa. Togo: The Coronation of Eyadema's Son?Ethiopian PM speaks highly of China-Africa Cooperation ForumEthiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Saturday the third China-Africa Cooperation Forum, scheduled for 2006 in Beijing, will help African countries boost their multi-dimensional cooperation with China. Mbeki and Palestinians extend courtshipJakarta, Indonesia - The relationship between South Africa and Palestine is set for a quantum leap forward after a meeting between President Thabo Mbeki and Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Nabeel Sha'aath in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Saturday. The 'Chinese tsunami' that threatens to swamp AfricaHerbs Helping Fight HIV And AidsMANY rural communities in most parts of Zimbabwe are realising the importance of using natural remedies such as herbs to treat some HIV-related opportunistic infections because they have been let down by the ailing health system. Class, Not Race, War Grips Zimbabwe"Seeing the bad behaviour of black Zimbabweans in power, my conclusion is that the conflict arising is primarily class; race is only secondary,"
Africa on 04.25.05 @ 06:02 PM CST [ link]
Sunday, April 24th
Togo election
GM industry puts human gene into rice Scientists have begun putting genes from human beings into food crops in a dramatic extension of genetic modification. The move, which is causing disgust and revulsion among critics, is bound to strengthen accusations that GM technology is creating "Frankenstein foods" and drive the controversy surrounding it to new heights. Asia-Africa leaders pay nostalgic Indonesian visitChina-Japan feud steals the spotlight at summitTogo election set to unleash new terror in AfricaAfrica's longest reigning military dictator until he dropped dead from a heart attack two months ago, made a big error in the mid-1990s when the foreign ministers of France and Germany visited Togo to discuss whether European Union sanctions on the west African country might be eased. A crowd gathered in Lomé, Togo's capital, to greet the foreign ministers. The people, overwhelmingly southerners, got a little over-enthusiastic and soldiers, most of them drawn from Eyadema's northern Kabiye tribe, demonstrated to the Europeans the routine Togolese method of crowd control by opening fire and killing several people. Sanctions were not relaxed. Asia, Africa should end energy dependence: Manmohan India has called for Asia and Africa to end their "anomalous" dependence on Western governments and companies for the buying and selling of oil and gas, saying it was high time the two continents - which include some of the world's largest producers and consumers of energy - evolved a "framework" of their own. Drugs for Third World 'sold to NHS' Drugs intended to fight HIV in the Third World are being hijacked and sold to Britain's NHS for criminal profit, it has emerged. Iran resumes defiance on nuke developmentSays it will resume uranium enrichment regardless of talks' outcome N.Korean General Says U.S. Brought Talks to Collapse The United States has brought six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs to a collapse, the chief of the general staff of the North Korean army said on Sunday. Bush's Most Radical Plan YetWith a vote of hand-picked lobbyists, the president could terminate any federal agency he dislikes Aristide ally blasts U.S. policy, officialsHaitian priest and former Miami activist the Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste said two top U.S. diplomats need to resign amid reports the United States sold arms to Haiti. Saying the Haitian people need food, not bullets, the Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste on Friday demanded the resignation of two top U.S. State Department officials he accused of helping to arm Haiti's interim government. Rice changed terrorism report A state department report which showed an increase in terrorism incidents around the world in 2004 was altered to strip it of its pessimistic statistics, it emerged yesterday. School video catches police handcuffing girl aged five Three American police officers who were caught on video handcuffing a disruptive five-year-old at her nursery school are under investigation.
Africa on 04.24.05 @ 06:10 PM CST [ link]
Saturday, April 23rd
Asia-Africa summit
Venezuela Ends Military Program With U.S.Delegations commit to business networks Representatives of businesses participating in the Asia-Africa Business Summit signed a joint declaration on Friday aimed at, among other things, promoting economic and technical cooperation and business networking among the participants. Asian-Africa summit declares war on povertyThe Asian-Africa Heads of State summit ended in Indonesia today with leaders declaring swift and decisive action to reduce the levels of poverty in the two regions. Annan touts UN reform at Asia-Africa summitUN Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday urged Asian and African leaders to back his push to reform the UN, saying the developing world could benefit from plans to increase development aid and boost the world body's role in protecting human rights. Iran's Aref meets with Asia-African leaders at summit Iran's Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref discussed here Saturday a host of issues, ranging from nuclear standoff to Iraq and Palestine as well as a plan for the reshuffle of the UN, with the leaders of Asia and Africa. Togo closes land border for impending presidential pollThe Togolese Interior Ministry has announced in Lome that its land border was closed Friday morning until the end of the presidential election set to begin on Sunday,but the exact open time was not specified. Beijing makes friends and riches in Africa China's headlong scramble for Africa will gather high-level impetus today when President Hu Jintao joins dozens of African and Asian leaders at a celebratory summit in Indonesia. Britain's Absurd Election A familiar, if desperate, media push is underway to convince the British people that the main political parties offer them a democratic choice in the general election on May 5. This demonstrable absurdity became hilarious when Tony Blair, leader of one of the nastiest, most violent right-wing regimes in memory, announced the existence of "a very nasty right-wing campaign" to defeat him. Unfolding Middle-East Quagmire: America is Buying Time
Africa on 04.23.05 @ 04:46 PM CST [ link]
Friday, April 22nd
Mbeki attacks 'unfairness' of globalisation
Venezuela bans US military instructors Venezuela has ordered US military instructors to stop working with its armed forces in an abrupt cessation of a 35-year-old bilateral military exchange programme. US 'Wants Airlines to Vet Passenger Lists' Foreign airlines flying over the United States may soon be forced to provide passenger lists to the US Government, according to reports. US and foreign officials are negotiating over whether the airlines or the US Government would be responsible for checking names against "no fly" watch lists and are expected to make an announcement in a few weeks. Mbeki attacks "unfairness" of globalisationJapan pledges to double aid to Africa over 3 yearsJunichiro Koizumi, Japan’s prime minister, pledged to double Tokyo’s aid to Africa over the next three years and to work towards lifting Japan’s overall aid contribution to 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product. Africa: the Other Side of the CoinTHE former South African president Nelson Mandela has become a money-spinning commodity with family and hangers-on positioning themselves for fortune and fame? He is making sad headlines in the media this time. An elitist international-community African icon and historic reconciler, first black South African president, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Nelson Rohlihlahla Mandela, has become an international brand name, like Coca-Cola and is marketed just like one too. Hu urges Asia-Africa strategic partnershipPresident Hu Jintao said here on Friday that Asian and African countries should vigorously carry forward the Bandung Spirit and strengthen solidarity and co-operation to bring about a new type of Asian-African strategic partnership. Asia-Africa to reassert roleAfrica Battles Dearth of SeafarersAfrica accounts for less than one per cent of the total number of seafarers serving on over 50,000 ships engaged in international trade. This ugly situation dominated discusions at a forum recently organized by the Joint Maritime Labour Industrial Council (JOMALIC). Correspondent, WILLY EYA reports. Utah sits on huge oil reserveAs a prominent advocate for encouraging unconventional energy sources, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) was asked to testify today in front of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on his efforts to develop fuel from a vast untapped domestic oil reserve in tar sandsand oil shale -- a large part of which sits in eastern Utah. Cuba Keeps Terrorist Posada Carriles Case on US BurnerHavana, April 20 (AIN) Challenging the US government to prove otherwise, President Fidel Castro voiced his certainty Wednesday that terrorist Luis Posada Carriles had traveled from Isla Mujeres in Mexico to Miami and that the terrorist continues to be on US soil. News and opinions on situation in Haiti We have on the line with us Dread Wilme, a Lavalas militant and activist in Site SolËy where today there is a massive repression against the population being carried out by United Nations MINUSTHA forces along with the Haitian National Police. Dread Wilme, can you tell the New York area Haitian community through "Lakou New York" at Radio Lakay how is the situation today in Site SolËy? Global Eye: Gut Check With fresh indictments last week, the UN oil-for-food scandal took an unexpected turn into the Labyrinth -- the tangled skein of war profiteering and state terrorism that has seen the Bush Family's lust for blood money emerge in three of the darkest criminal episodes in modern American history: Iran-Contra, Iraqgate and the BCCI affair.
Africa on 04.22.05 @ 03:58 PM CST [ link]
Thursday, April 21st
Let's Turn Africa's Hope Into Reality
PRESIDENT GUTIERREZ - BUSH'S PUPPET IN ECUADOR FALLS! Ex-president Gutierrez has just asked for political exile to join Abdala Bucaram who has already fled to Panama. SOUTH AFRICA-ZIMBABWE: "Solution to crisis lies within""The MDC should reconsider its decision, but it is becoming increasingly evident that Zimbabweans should encourage conflict resolution and dialogue [locally] to resolve its own crisis," he said. South Africa Leaves Door Open to Zimbabwe OppositionAristide still popular but won't runDeposed Haitian leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide said Tuesday he would not run in the presidential election scheduled for later this year in his Caribbean homeland. Zim Urged to Explore Trade Opportunities in JapanZIMBABWE should aggressively explore trade and investment opportunities that exist in Japan as part of efforts to turn around the economy, the Zimbabwean ambassador to the Asian country, Mr Stuart Comberbach, has said. Let's Turn Africa's Hope Into Reality - MbekiEmphasising the importance of sharing notes between the two blocks, President Thabo Mbeki today told Singaporeans that Africa had come to Asia to learn, seek co-operation with business communities and governments in efforts to fight hunger and disease facing humanity especially in the Third World. Africa must look South - MbekiWorld Bank And IMF Are Enemies of Africa - TilyenjiUNIP president Tilyenji Kaunda has said that Western countries, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are Africa's enemies. In an interview, Tilyenji, who was in Harare to attend Zimbabwe's independence jubilee celebration, said Africa's contact with the West, IMF and World Bank had not been beneficial to its citizens. The Passing of a legend:Rodolfo 'Corky' Gonzales When in the summer of 1968 President Lyndon Johnson's Attorney General stood up before an audience of Chicano, African American, Puerto Rican, American Indian, and poor white activists, he had no idea he was about to receive a knockout punch delivered by a former Mexican American flyweight contender. When the stocky man with a moustache rose to ask his question, Attorney General Ramsey Clark dismissed him by saying he would not take questions until after his statement. Refusing to be silenced, the man stood again and forced Clark to listen to what he had to say. Toribio AttackedAn attempt to militarize the territory at the heart of Colombia’s popular movement is underway Operation Bury 'Em AliveWhen we look back to the beginning of the 15-year U.S.-Iraq war, we recall incidents that have been forgotten, or were not given public attention at the time. These occurrences are important because they kept escalating the severity of the violence thrust against Iraq from 1991 until today. Once one method was accepted, another came forth with even more dire consequences. The difference it makesCSPAN's decision to record for future broadcast a lecture by David Ray Griffin got me wondering what the United States would look like if most Americans knew their own government colluded in the attacks of 9/11. Then I realized, it wouldn't look very different at all. Since according to polling data, a good many already do. They know many other things, too, for all the good it's done.
Africa on 04.21.05 @ 05:48 PM CST [ link]
Wednesday, April 20th
Africa and Asia Strengthen Ties
Lopez Obrador Supporters Protest Cuba Says 96.66 Percent of Voters VotedVenezuela's National Assembly (AN) passes Land Law reform bill Aristide says U.S. and France behind "black Holocaust" in HaitiFormer Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide charged Tuesday that the U.S. and France were orchestrating a "black holocaust" in Haiti that had killed more than 10,000 of his supporters since he was ousted last year. 'Black holocaust' in HaitiCALL FOR AN END TO SANCTIONS ON ZIMBABWE American citizens and the rest of the world have been urged to call for an end to the racist immoral sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by western imperialist powers. The call was made by a representative of the All-African People's Revolutionary Party, Professor John Trimble, at a press conference in Washington DC, United States, on Wednesday. Africa and Asia Strengthen TiesJohannesburg, Apr (Prensa Latina) African and Asian foreign ministers have met in Jakarta, Indonesia, to discuss ways of enhancing cooperation among countries from both continents, BUA News reports from that Pacific country. Call for an end to the imperialist economic sanctionsI would like to start by thanking the Embassy of Zimbabwe and Ambassador Mubako for this opportunity to share my experiences from visiting and living in Zimbabwe over the past 3 years. I hope this will help provide clarity on what actually is happening in Zimbabwe. Political parties won't be forced to reveal donorsThe Cape High Court has dismissed an application forcing political parties to disclose information about their funding. In a written judgment, Ben Griesel, the judge in the case, ruled that political parties are not public bodies, but private ones. He added that a "compelling case" has been made for regulation of private funds for political parties. UK; Brad Pitt goes on anti poverty crusadeSouth Africa's Tutu disappointed at Pope choiceZimbabwe Doesn't Need Anglo-Americans to Validate ElectionsZIMBABWE'S President Robert Mugabe has declared that his country does not need the Anglo-Americans to validate its elections. Zimbabwe Opposition Cuts Ties with South Africa Zimbabwe's main opposition party has cut ties with the South African government following its endorsement of parliamentary elections won by President Robert Mugabe's ruling party. Land: Central to struggle Mugabe Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe says democracy cannot exist with structural deprivation and racial inequality. 11 million children die annually in poor nations: reportAlmost 11 million children in developing countries die each year before age five, most of them from causes that are easily prevented in wealthier countries, the World Bank report says. Al-Jazeera kicked out of Iran Saddam's fall marked by protests Russia's Putin Has Too Much Power, Says Rice Exceptional Whale Fossil Found in Egyptian Desert Families Wail as UN Checks Angola's Marburg Dead The shadow Iraqi government Kenya is Now Number One in World's Tea Exports China warns new pontiff on Taiwan Good news for heavyweights: Fat may be goodCall for an end to the imperialist economic sanctionsBy John Trimble
All-African People's Revolutionary PartyI would like to start by thanking the Embassy of Zimbabwe and Ambassador Mubako for this opportunity to share my experiences from visiting and living in Zimbabwe over the past 3 years. I hope this will help provide clarity on what actually is happening in Zimbabwe. Since July 2002, I have made five visits to Zimbabwe, the longest being from August 2003 to August 2004 when I lived in Bulawayo and served as a Fulbright professor to the National University of Science and Technology. The most recent visits have been 3 weeks in December 2004 and a week in March 2005, just 2 weeks prior to the elections. While living in Bulawayo, I was able to observe and follow the municipal elections and several by-elections (elections to fill the seats of deceased MPs and in one case the seat of an MDC MP who had abandoned his seat and moved to Britain). In all cases the process appeared fair and peaceful. Full Article : mathaba.net
Africa on 04.20.05 @ 02:36 PM CST [ link]
Tuesday, April 19th
S/Africa Warns Against Foreign-Inspired Policies
Sudan says 'abundant' oil found in war torn DarfurRebels say govt oil drilling in Darfur must stopObesity Danger May Have Been OverstatedStudy: A Little Extra Weight Not That BadThe Middle Kingdom mentality At last China's culture of racism is being contested by Chinese Crucial issues to be discussed during Asia-Africa SummitIndonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here Tuesday that the upcoming Asia-Africa Summit to be held in Indonesia on April 22-23 would discuss a number of crucial issues for the future of the two continents. S/Africa Warns Against Foreign-Inspired PoliciesSouth African government yesterday cautioned African countries against imbibing hook, line and sinker policies initiated outisde the continent, saying international policies were increasingly becoming more dangerous. It added that most of the external influences on the continent are not targeted at the development of Africa. South Africa's President Mbeki to visit Singapore South African President Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki will be making his first state visit to Singapore on Thursday at the invitation of President SR Nathan. Asantehene confers with MbekiOtumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene on Monday commended South African President Thabo Mbeki for his support for African Traditional leaders in their efforts to organise themselves as partners in the accelerated development of their countries. The Asantehene made the commendation when he paid a courtesy call on President Mbeki at his residence on the second day of his 10-day goodwill visit to South Africa. Annan urges China and Japan to resolve differencesUN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has encouraged Chinese and Japanese leaders to meet at the forthcoming Asia-Africa summit in Indonesia and resolve their differences peacefully. Volunteers in Venezuela Get Basic Training Bolivia: President Mesa and two former presidents,
Sanchez de Lozada and Jorge Quiroga to be indictedVoice of America to move part of news division to Hong Kong Venezuela tightens grip on Western Oil Companies
– tax evasion charges planned – joint venturesCancers from US nuclear testing set to double: studyU.S. Military's Elite Hacker CrewThe U.S. military has assembled the world's most formidable hacker posse: a super-secret, multimillion-dollar weapons program that may be ready to launch bloodless cyberwar against enemy networks -- from electric grids to telephone nets. Early signs of mega volcano in Sumatra very close to where the
Tsunami happened - it can be devastating to the human civilization Colombia 'will not try US troops' A group of US soldiers arrested for alleged cocaine smuggling cannot be allowed to stand trial in Colombia, Washington's envoy to Bogota has said.
Africa on 04.19.05 @ 02:28 PM CST [ link]
Zimbabwe: Independence marked new era
www.zimbabweherald.comTHE following is the full text of the speech delivered by President Mugabe on the occasion of the Independence Silver Jubilee celebrations yesterday. Twenty-five years have gone by since that eventful midnight of 18th April, when our country was born, proudly taking up her place among members of the community of nations as a full, independent and sovereign State. This birth followed bitter struggles and wars of resistance waged by our people for nearly a century, struggles meant to dislodge British settler colonialism which, in 1890, had planted itself on our soil through force of arms.
Africa on 04.19.05 @ 07:06 AM CST [ more..]
Monday, April 18th
AU chief calls for strong Afro-Asian partnership
Guebuza Meets With Mozambicans Resident in South AfricaMozambicans resident in South Africa, who met on Saturday with President Armando Guebuza, strongly applauded him for the successful conclusion of negotiations for a visa waiver agreement between Mozambique and South Africa. Egypt to host tri-party summit on Darfur crisisLeaders from Egypt,Sudan and Ethiopia will discuss the crisis in Sudan's western Darfur region on Tuesday, a Sudanese official told Xinhua Monday. AU chief calls for strong Afro-Asian partnershipAfrican Union Commission chairperson Alpha Qumar Konare has called for a strong Afro-Asian partnership, multilateralism in global affairs and sharing of China's experience in developing the economy. Dlamini-Zuma Insists On UN Veto for AfricaForeign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has again insisted that any new African members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council should have veto powers like the existing five members of the council and has promised that SA will work to ensure that the common African position on UN reform is successful. SA, together with Egypt and Nigeria, has expressed an interest in occupying one of two permanent seats on the security council that may be available to Africa when the body is expanded as part of the UN's reform drive. Africa tells rich: quit haggling and drop the debtAngola Says Marburg Outbreak Coming Under Control World Bank path on global poverty is uncertain WASHINGTON As the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund ended, James Wolfensohn, who will soon retire as the bank's president, sought to put the lack of concrete progress on global poverty initiatives in a hopeful light. Volcano menaces Indian Ocean islandsNAIROBI, KENYA - About 10,000 people fled their homes in the Comoros archipelago Monday after lava started flowing out of a volcanic peak. Iraqi president rejects death sentence for SaddamIraqi president Jalal Talabani says he will refuse to sign a death warrant for deposed leader Saddam Hussein but he does not think his two deputies will show clemency. Talabani decided to go public with his view even before Saddam stands trial. If Saddam Hussein is indeed to be executed, the death sentence must be endorsed by the Iraqi presidency. Seventy-Foot Wave Batters Cruise Liner Off FloridaFidel Castro Announces Massive Voter Turnout in Cuba President Fidel Castro announced the conclusion of Election Day voting at 6pm Sunday after Cubans went to polls in massive numbers to elect delegates to the country’s 169 municipal governments. Fidel Castro Votes in Cuba's Local ElectionsKhmer Rouge Soldiers Rue Revolution Mexico should explain how Posada passed through territoryMexico should explain how Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles passed through its territory undetected en route to the United States, President Fidel Castro said Sunday. 5 Years for Passing a Joint: Stop this Bill Now Republican Congressman James Sensenbrenner has launched his next assault on freedom. The full House Judiciary Committee is set to vote as early as next week on H.R. 1528, which creates a new group of mandatory miniumum penalties for non-violent drug offenses, including a five year penalty for passing a joint to someone who's been in drug treatment. US Marshals, local police stage nationwide mass arrestsIn a massive dragnet, US Marshals led more than 90 state, local and other federal police agencies last week in arresting over 10,000 people across the country on outstanding warrants, the Justice Department revealed Thursday. The next move will be against South America, VenezuelaAllure of the blank slateFrom Aceh to Haiti, a predatory form of disaster capitalism is reshaping societies to its own design
Africa on 04.18.05 @ 01:43 PM CST [ link]
Sunday, April 17th
Ivory Coast disarmings start May 14
Asia-Africa Summit aims at new cooperation After 50 years of suspension since the Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung in April 1955, nearly 60 leaders of Asian-African countries are expected to gather in Jatarta from next week to rebuild a bridge and structure for strengthening political and economic cooperation between the two continents. World Bank advises against oil boom optimism Exceptional rises in world oil prices that propelled export revenues in the Middle East and North Africa in recent years have also masked underlying weakness in the region, the World Bank said on Sunday. African leaders to meet in Egypt on continent's opportunities, challengesS Africa's Mbeki brokers Ivory Coast election dealAdvertising South African officials hailed another victory for their quiet diplomacy Friday, voicing confidence that a proposal by President Thabo Mbeki to allow a banned political leader to run for office in the Ivory Coast would be acceptable to all parties. I Coast disarmings start May 14Warring factions in Ivory Coast have agreed to begin a long-delayed disarmament campaign on May 14, the latest bid to stave off a resumption of hostilities in this war-divided nation. Nuking the spin: Former UN weapons
inspector talks to Raw Story on Iran, IraqEU ban bites into S. Africa ostrich tradeEureka! Extraordinary discovery unlocks secrets of the ancientsThousands of previously illegible manuscripts containing work by some of the greats of classical literature are being read for the first time using technology which experts believe will unlock the secrets of the ancient world. Among treasures already discovered by a team from Oxford University are previously unseen writings by classical giants including Sophocles, Euripides and Hesiod. Invisible under ordinary light, the faded ink comes clearly into view when placed under infra-red light, using techniques developed from satellite imaging. Chicano Leader Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales 1929-2005:
"He Was the Fist. He Stood For Defiance, Resistance"Colombia pursues US troop cocaine smuggling caseColombia's defence minister has said a deal giving US soldiers immunity from prosecution was amendable, as law-makers want to charge five US soldiers suspected of cocaine smuggling. US Military Bases in Latin America and the Caribbean Military bases in Latin America and the Caribbean are an interlocking web that supports U.S. objectives for securing access to markets, controlling narcotics flow, and obtaining natural resources, especially oil.
Africa on 04.17.05 @ 08:54 PM CST [ link]
Saturday, April 16th
Paris hotel fire called accidental
Paris hotel fire called accidental PARIS -- Searing flames and thick smoke sent people jumping from windows of an overcrowded budget hotel before dawn Friday in one of the worst fires in recent memory in the French capital. At least 20 people were killed -- half of them children and many African immigrants and other people without means lodged there by authorities. Many of victims came from Africa PARIS - Many of the victims of the Paris hotel fire were African immigrants being temporarily housed by the city government in the Paris-Opera hotel, near the Gallerie Lafayette department store in the Opera district. The store, popular with Parisian shoppers and foreign tourists, was turned into a makeshift hospital for the injured. Gorilla warfare from Pretoria to CameroonThe International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw) has criticised the South African government for failing to convene a technical committee to facilitate the return of the Taiping Four gorillas to West Africa as promised. Africa deserve membership of the UN Security CouncilNana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said on Friday that Africa deserved a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. He said any UN Reforms worth the support of Africa should consider the need to appoint an Africa country and reverse the status quo, which he described as unacceptable. "Africa has no interest in any proposal for reforms, which seeks to be variant of the status quo," Nana Akufo Addo stated at the opening of an international security think-tank conference in Accra. 30 million guns circulating in Africa There are more than 30 million weapons in circulation in Africa, the vast majority in private hands, a conference was told yesterday. Ivory Coast Rebels Return to GovernmentRebels in Ivory Coast returned togovernment on Friday in line with a peace deal signed in SouthAfrica last week that is meant to shepherd the country toelections in October. UN Trying to Carry Out Washington's Agenda in HaitiThe recent posture of the United Nations appears to be one that is finally yielding to United States pressure to be more forceful and "aggressive" in its "disarmament" efforts. On March 16th, the Washington-based propaganda arm of Haiti's right-wing elite, the Haiti Democracy Project, released their "findings and recommendations" based on a February delegation to Haiti. With respect to MINUSTAH, the HDP characterized the UN mission as too "passive" and "neither aggressive enough nor sufficiently nuanced" in their approach to the occupation and in their ability to prop up the U.S.-installed regime of de facto Prime Minister Gérard Latortue. Declassified: Rogue State BritainThe Blair government’s foreign policy since the invasion of Iraq has been disastrous for human rights. Outside of media and parliamentary scrutiny, decision-makers have been implementing some remarkable steps: Britain is deepening its support for state terrorism in several countries while unprecedented plans are being developed for global military intervention. The government has also announced that, following Iraq, state propaganda operations will increase. WHO: Deadly Viruses Gone Missing The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that two thirds of a batch of deadly viruses misplaced in analysis kits have been destroyed, but that the kits to be shipped to Mexico and Lebanon have gone missing. Ramsey Clark says Saddam's rights being violated It's been over one year since U.S. forces captured Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. When he does face justice, he'll have an unlikely ally: Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General under President Lyndon Johnson, the son of a U.S. Supreme Court Justice and civil rights activist. Dan Abrams interviews Saddam Hussein's attorney. On Thursday's "The Abrams Report," Clark speaks exclusively to MSNBC's Dan Abrams about why he feels Saddam Hussein deserves effective representation and a fair trial. Following are excerpts from the interview: Riverbend Is a Blogger, "Embedded" in the Real Baghdad,
Telling It Like It Is, Helping Us See With New EyesCrisis hits EcuadorAfter three days of growing street marches demanding his ouster, President Lucio Gutierrez dissolved the Supreme Court and declared a state of emergency in Quito in a bid to keep protests under control and find a solution to a deepening political crisis. Castro says Cuban exile should be tried in VenezuelaCuban President Fidel Castro called on the United States on Thursday to extradite a CIA-trained Cuban exile to stand trial in Venezuela for the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner in which 73 people died. Luis Posada Carriles, an anti-Communist militant also accused of plotting to assassinate Castro and masterminding bomb attacks on Havana hotels, applied for political asylum in the United States one month after crossing the Mexican border illegally, his lawyer said in Miami on Wednesday. The Five had no access whatsoever to classified informationThat incredible declaration from a man who obsessively pursued those Cubans he viciously described as "spies" gave the following answer to Zuńiga’s question: "Do you believe that the security of the United States was in danger at any point, or did they have access to any intelligence information that could be valuable to the enemies of the United States?" And Pesquera answered, verbatim: "No," and explained, "For example, in the case of (Antonio) Guerrero, there was a retrospective study of the information he had obtained and the investigation did not indicate that it could have been so." Evidently not – as the rest of the interview demonstrates.
Africa on 04.16.05 @ 03:21 PM CST [ link]
Friday, April 15th
You can't contain Haiti
One Zimbabwe or AnotherIs it me or is there a suspicious number of democratic (sic) revolutions (sic) going on these days? And they come in more colors than the Department of Homeland Security terror code. With Zimbabwe being one the nations suddenly on America's democratic (sic) hit list, my go-to guy is Greg Elich, author of the forthcoming book, "Strange Liberators: Militarism, Mayhem and the Pursuit of Profit." I asked him (and Jack Straw) for a little context on the recent elections. Howard Attacks Blair over Postal Votes Labour was accused by the Tories today of failing to do enough to protect against voting fraud amid evidence that applications for postal votes have rocketed. Asia-Africa Summit to launch new strategic initiative Next week's Asia-Africa Summit in Bandung, Indonesia, will see the launch of a new strategic initiative by the two continents, South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Friday. U.S. Looking to Help Southern Sudan's Ex-RebelsThe United States may soon beginto help southern Sudan's former rebels with militarymodernization as efforts to implement a peace deal gathersteam, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said on Friday. Zimbabwe must face economic problems - IMF official"The authorities know they need to implement one comprehensive programme that revives economic activity in Zimbabwe. With the election over, now is the time to move in that direction," Siddharth Tiwari, a deputy director in the IMF's Africa department, said at a news conference before the start of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington. What the IMF is not saying is that they contributed to hurting Zimbabwe's economy. Read: Zimbabwe Under Siege by Gregory ElichEx-Guantanamo prisoner didn't know of 9/11AFGHANISTAN: Protest against opium eradicationEcuador: Popular mobilization takes political class by surpriseRouge justiceIt was exactly 30 years ago. It still is, and will remain for ages, a collective trauma: every single person in Cambodia has at least one relative who was killed in the dreaded Pol Pot years (April 17, 1975-January 7, 1979) when the Khmer Rouge imposed a neo-agrarian social-engineering folly on a whole nation. Conceptualized by Ieng Sary - based on his own Sorbonne thesis - and implemented by Pol Pot, the return of Cambodia to Year Zero and the terror reign of Angkar (the Party) may have killed up to 2 million Cambodians, out of a total population of 7.7 million, and traumatized everyone else in the country for generations. Saddam's desperate offers to stave off war MINUSTAH, US Proxy. You can't contain Haiti Peacekeeping operations are the weakest link in the UN system. No peacekeeping force can succeed with a US/French/British-dominated UN Security Council directing its activities. Under the big three, mandates to peacekeepers come in one of two forms – go and make it look like you are doing something about a horrible situation or serve as a belligerent proxy for the United States and make a horrible situation even worse. I think MINUSTAH received both kinds of directives in its diplomatic pouch. Ethiopia imposes rules barring thousands from monitoring electionsElectoral authorities have imposed tough rules that effectively bar thousands of local observers from monitoring Ethiopia's third-ever democratic election next month, an official said Monday. EU Election Observation Mission to Ethiopia DeployedThe European Commission has deployed an EU Election Observation Mission for federal and state parliamentary elections in Ethiopia. The Mission will be led by Ms Ana Gomes, Member of the European Parliament, who will travel to Addis Ababa this week to meet relevant stakeholders in the electoral process.
Africa on 04.15.05 @ 03:35 PM CST [ link]
Thursday, April 14th
Your ancestry might surprise you
Ethiopian death toll from AIDS may double in three yearsEthiopia's AIDS death toll may double to 1.8 million in three years unless steps are taken to reduce current infection rates and care for those already taken ill, according to a US study released here Wednesday. Sudan Still Trying to Stop Darfur Violence Your ancestry might surprise youYour family tree may look quite a bit different from you thought it did. Which is to say, you might well be related to the queen of England--but through a common ancestor who lived in Africa tens of millennia ago. In pursuit of such knowledge, the National Geographic on Wednesday announced a five-year, $40 million project to trace the evolution and migration of human beings and their cultures over the thousands of years of human existence. The new data and analysis will be combined or at least compared with existing knowledge and theory, such as the fact that, whether we live in Lake Forest, Ill.; Washington, D.C.; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, or the South Seas, we all have a common ancestry dating back to Africa, where the earliest known remains of humans were found. "That is very clear," Wells said. "That comes out of every genetic analysis that is done. We can trace ourselves back to Africa 60,000 years ago. So, 60,000 years ago, everybody alive is living in Africa." But the second earliest example of human beings was found in Australia, from as far back as 55,000 B.C., when a lingering ice age connected Australia and New Guinea. So much sea water was drawn up into ice that humans could walk across land from Australia to New Guinea. At the same time, the nearby islands of what is now Indonesia were for the most part connected in a single land mass that joined the Asian mainland, again because of the low sea level. DNA project to trace ethnic origins Tucson researchers are looking for 100,000 people with $100 who are curious about their ethnic origins and can handle unexpected answers. The Arizona Research Laboratories at the University of Arizona is working with the National Geographic Society and IBM Corp. to trace human migratory routes 50,000 years and older through DNA. Police arms raids spark violence in South AfricaAIDS to kill 1 in 5 southern Africa farm workers, say expertsNew epidemics threaten AfricaNew epidemics, ranging from the terrifying and extremely deadly Marburg virus, through AIDS to the old enemy cholera, are claiming lives across Africa as crippled health services struggle to cope. Indonesia cranks up security for Asia-Africa summitIndonesia will deploy 50,000 police and soldiers, including snipers on rooftops, to guard a summit of Asian and African leaders next week, focusing especially on preventing terrorist attacks, police said. Some 60 heads of state from countries such as China, Japan, India, South Africa and Nigeria will attend the Asia-Africa meetings in Jakarta and the West Java city of Bandung. South African strike wins some real harmony for workersAgreement to end the strike was reached just before further groups of Harmony workers were preparing to join the 21,000 taking action. Now, some good news from Africa DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania Tanzania has reinvented itself twice. The first time was in 1964, after a bloody revolution had overthrown the Omani-descended sultan who ruled the neighboring spice island of Zanzibar. Tanganyika, as it was then, persuaded the successful African-led rebels to join their island with the mainland, and Tanzania came into being. This union remains precarious because of latent Zanzibari nationalism after too many years of misrule. The second time was when Julius Nyerere, the founding father of Tanzanian independence, stepped down in 1985. Two successive presidents over the last 20 years have ushered in free-market reforms, fundamentally altering the direction of a once moribund socialist economy. Venezuela gov't extends firing freezeUK and US blamed in Iraq oil for food scandal
Africa on 04.14.05 @ 01:14 PM CST [ link]
Wednesday, April 13th
Zimbabwe Criticism Unfair
Zimbabwe Criticism UnfairThe US and British, as well as the mainstream media's concern are over one issue: Mugabe took back lands from whites and returned them to blacks. Black Zimbabweans will have other internal issues that are more about their day-to-day survival, but the Western interest is about controlling Zimbabwe's Land. They also want to destroy the Zimbabwean land reclamation example, before it takes hold throughout the continent. The Stolen Election audio collection:
Vote Fraud is Real- Wake Up AmericaIf you listen to all five audios, you will understand that beyond doubt, something fishy went down in Ohio. The point being that there were tons of irregularities, glitches and even intentional fraud, yet the media AND the democratic 'leadership' dismissed this as something to fix for next time. The proof of the stolen election is in the coverup (and of course all of the facts that were covered up). If there was nothing wrong, then these problems would have been addressed by the media. Instead, there was a massive mainstream media blackout on all election problems. The absolute refusal to cover obvious stories amounts to complicity. The best Republican arguments against election fraud was, "Even John Kerry accepts the results, so it must not be true," or "If there was fraud, the 'news' would have covered it." Insane- they use their own media blackout to 'prove' there was no fraud. For the millions of Americans that know the truth, this was not good enough, but they didn't care about convincing us, just about burying the story from the masses. New epidemics threaten AfricaNew epidemics, ranging from the terrifying and extremely deadly Marburg virus, through AIDS to the old enemy cholera, are claiming lives across Africa as crippled health services struggle to cope. West Africa: Roving Warriors Recruited for New ConflictsThousands of young men and boys, many of whom have committed atrocities while fighting in West Africa's brutal civil wars, face re-recruitment into the region’s emerging conflicts, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. International efforts to disarm these fighters must provide them with alternatives to war. Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea, two countries marked by growing political instability, are the current theaters into which these young fighters are being drawn, according to Human Rights Watch. Ex-fighters locked in hopeless circles of warDakar - Thousands of poor, disillusioned ex-fighters are being lured back into battle in West Africa and unless they are given viable alternatives to war and its spoils, they will keep feeding conflicts, a report said on Wednesday. Angola Struggles to Contain Viral OutbreakDisease experts struggling to contain the largest recorded outbreak of the Marburg virus said Tuesday it will take weeks to determine whether a long-term crisis can be averted in Angola, where the disease already has killed at least 194 people. 210 people die of Marburg virus in AngolaThe death toll from the outbreak of Marburg virus in Angola has climbed to 210 after seven more deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, according to the Angolan Health Ministry on Wednesday. West Africa is in transition towards peace and stabilityPresident John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday said the West African Sub-Region was now in a transitional period towards peace and stability. Brazil must show goodwill for Africa in practical termsPresident John Agyekum Kufuor on Tuesday said Brazil's goodwill for Africa must be converted into practical applications in the spirit of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and South-South Cooperation. New Species of Ancient Amphibians Found in AfricaWHO: Urgent Need for Vaccinations in Africa The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Jong Wook Lee has announced that more investments are needed in human resources and scientific research to greatly increase the vaccination levels in Africa. Maputo, SA Sign Deal to Waive Visas for VisitsSA is to sign a visa waiver agreement with Mozambique on Friday. Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula announced yesterday that this would allow citizens of both countries to stay in SA or Mozambique for a period of 30 days without a visa. Cancel Africa's Huge Debts, Social Workers Tell DonorsHundreds of social workers from all over the world, who are gathered in Nairobi for a five-day conference, yesterday said the fight against poverty in the continent could only be won if debts were waived. Nigeria, Brazil call for Latin-Africa summitBrazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva left Nigeria to continue an African tour yesterday with a call for a summit between the leaders of Africa and South America to discuss deeper ties. The Big Fix Let's face the facts. The game is over and we - the "reality-based community," the believers in genuine democracy and law, the heirs of Jefferson and Madison, Emerson and Thoreau, the toilers and dreamers, all those who seek to rise above the beast within and shape the brutal chaos of existence into something higher, richer and imbued with meaning - have lost. The better world we thought had been won out of the blood and horror of history - a realm of enlightenment that often found its best embodiment in the ideals and aspirations of the American Republic - is gone. It's been swallowed by darkness, by ravening greed, by bestial spirits and by willful primitives who now possess overwhelming instruments of power and dominion. Legal Mexican Migrant Workers ProtestSezer Begins Two-day Visit To Syria"No force can disrupt our national unity and integrity of our country. Nobody should be suspicious that Turkish Republic will be protected," Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said on Wednesday. Cuba President accuses U.S. hypocrisy of war against terrorism President Fidel Castro accused the government of the United States on Monday of the worst hypocrisy for offering refuge to Luis Posada Carriles and other terrorists of Cuban origin while launching a pretended crusade against international terrorism. Venezuela Issues Extradition Request for Terrorist in U.S.Venezuela formally asked U.S. authorities to extradite an escaped prisoner who was responsible for the bombing of a Cuban airliner in 1976, in which 73 persons were killed. The former prisoner, Luis Posada Carriles, is a Cuban exile who had escaped a Venezuelan prison in 1985. For a while he lived in Panama, where he was also captured for planning an assassination of Cuba's President Fidel Castro in 2000. He was then pardoned in Panama, though, and entered the U.S. about a month ago. The Vietnamese Alternative to PesticidesFighting Dengue Fever with Bats and BirdsIn the February 12, 2005 issue of the Lancet, Brian Kay and Vu Sin Nam describe their two-pronged mosquito control program: (1) distribution of a crustacean predator which feeds on mosquito larvae; and (2) community education and involvement in cleaning up containers of stagnant water. Tehran to take legal action against U.S. for funding Iran opposition Iran said on Monday it plans to take legal action against the United States government for funding the Islamic republic's opposition forces, AFP reported. The dangers of thinking
Africa on 04.13.05 @ 07:24 AM CST [ link]
Tuesday, April 12th
Unforgivable Blackness
Microsoft Warns of 5 New Software Security FlawsPre-packaged 'news'More than 20 different federal agencies used taxpayer funds to produce television news segments promoting Bush administration policies. These "video news releases", or VNRs, were broadcast on hundreds of local news programmes without disclosing their source. Japan and China Tensions and Washington's Asia GeopoliticsDrugs, Weapons and Death Squads in Haiti Two weeks ago Flashpoints Radio broke the story of the United States government secretly and illegally arming the U.S. installed coup government of Haiti. Since that time more details have surfaced in terms of the extent of the illegal arms flow, and how these back door deals are working. Indeed, as we reported, the United States has quietly begun to ship these arms to Haiti’s interim government, despite a 13-year arms embargo on the Caribbean nation. The new arms are meant to brace up a shaky security force, so they say, but the reality is that they could actually undermine security and fuel the actions by the death squad national police and a whole bunch of drug dealers running around the streets....[Kevin Pina,] first of all bring it back to where it started and then give us some more information. Mbeki slams critics over Zim 'noise'"Why is it so easy to ignore the death of three million people and make extraordinary volumes of noise about another country where only a few people have died. There is something not right about it," he said. The living legacy of jihad slaveryA public protest in Washington, DC, April 5, 2005 highlighted the current (ongoing, for centuries) plight of black Mauritanians enslaved by Arab masters. The final two decades of the 20th century, moreover, witnessed a frank jihad genocide, including mass enslavement, perpetrated by the Arab Muslim Khartoum government against black Christians and animists in the Southern Sudan, and the same governments continued massacres and enslavement of Animist-Muslim blacks in Darfur. Fossils of Apelike Creature Still Stir Lineage DebateThe discoverers described the fossils as belonging to the earliest known humanlike primate, or hominid. They named the new species Sahelanthropus tchadensis and commonly call it Toumai, meaning "hope of life" in the local language of Chad. But several other researchers disputed the interpretation, contending that the skull was too apelike to be a hominid. Ancient African Kingdom May Anchor Cross-Border Conservation AreaAn Iron Age archaeological site will likely form the centerpiece of a cross-border conservation area under negotiation by three southern African countries. The proposed Limpopo-Shashe Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) will link land in South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. World scholars discuss role of religion in Africa at conferenceSeveral scholars from around the world discussed the role of Christianity in Africa at the African Diaspora and the Study of Religion Conference held Thursday and Friday in the Bryant Conference Center. More than 75 people attended. Ghana-Brazil Chamber of Commerce to be inauguratedThe inauguration of the Ghana-Brazil Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Accra on Wednesday would form part of the programme drawn for the visit of Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva's visit to Ghana. An economic case for helping poorest of the poorAbout 1 billion people live in what is called "absolute" poverty. That means they try to survive on the equivalent of $1 or less per day. Many of these people are sick and most are chronically undernourished. An estimated 8 million people around the world die each year as a consequence of extreme poverty. Africa coverage 'too negative'American media coverage of Africa has concentrated on bad news to the exclusion of more positive developments, hurting investment in and aid to the world's poorest continent, African leaders say. Unforgivable Blackness50 years after vaccine, polio's legacy enduresIran buys 60,000 T S.Africa yellow maize - sourceExploring deeper rhythms from Africa Oil, Geopolitics, and the Coming War with Iran As the United States gears up for an attack on Iran, one thing is certain: the Bush administration will never mention oil as a reason for going to war. As in the case of Iraq, weapons of mass destruction (WMD) will be cited as the principal justification for an American assault. "We will not tolerate the construction of a nuclear weapon [by Iran]," is the way President Bush put it in a much-quoted 2003 statement. But just as the failure to discover illicit weapons in Iraq undermined the administration's use of WMD as the paramount reason for its invasion, so its claim that an attack on Iran would be justified because of its alleged nuclear potential should invite widespread skepticism. More important, any serious assessment of Iran's strategic importance to the United States should focus on its role in the global energy equation. Russia shocks BP with demand for $1bn in back taxBP's flagship investment project in Russia suffered a major and unexpected setback yesterday after its joint venture TNK-BP disclosed it had received a back tax bill for almost one billion dollars.
Africa on 04.12.05 @ 02:36 PM CST [ link]
Monday, April 11th
Mbeki says Zimbabwe criticism unfair
english.aljazeera.netSouth African President Thabo Mbeki has rebuked Zimbabwe's critics for focusing on that country while ignoring bigger African crises such as the war in Congo.
Africa on 04.11.05 @ 10:21 PM CST [ more..]
Avoiding past mistakes in Africa
Veronza Bowers new release date is set for May 8, 2005On March 21, 2005, a hearing examiner recommended, for the second time, that Veronza be granted Mandatory Parole after serving a full 30-year term in federal prison, in addition to nearly one year of illegal detention beyond his sentence. His new release date is set for May 8, 2005. US accused of seizing Iraqi womenAmerican forces were yesterday accused of violating international law by taking two Iraqi women hostage in a bungled effort to persuade fugitive male relatives to surrender. Update on political prisoner Veronza BowersSA defiant as Cameroon demands gorillasSouth Africa has once again been challenged to return four young gorillas illegally smuggled out of West Africa three years ago. Avoiding past mistakes in AfricaWe need to act now, or in 10 years, we will have to express heartfelt regrets about another genocide. The Origin of AIDS: an Ethical InquiryOne woman's bid to make a difference in South AfricaPan-African Parliament to dispatch special missions to Cote d'Ivoire The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) resolved on Monday to send in May fact-finding missions to hot African spots of Cote d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Tesco accused of having part in exploiting African labour WOMEN working to supply fruit to the supermarket giant Tesco live in "dreadful conditions" and cannot afford to feed their families, a charity claimed today. Sudan seeks $2.6 billion to heal Africa's longest feudSudan Seeks $2.6 Bln; U.N. Urges Darfur PeaceEx-African leaders to mobilize resources for the continent at US talks Former African heads of state areset for new round of talks in the United States next week, and they will make a fresh appeal to donors to improve their resource allocations to help fight escalating poverty in Africa. Retired Presidents Meet in South AfricaFormer President Daniel arap Moi was yesterday among 10 retired African presidents attending a conference in Johannesburg to discuss the continent's economic and image problems. Crowd riots in DRC after Africa cup tie postponedA capacity crowd of 20 000 in the Kenya stadium in the southern city were told after the scheduled kick-off time that the game was being postponed because the match officials had not arrived. There were no reports of any injuries or damage. Pitso Mosimane, the SuperSport United coach described the incident as a very frightening experience. Saddam May Yet Be the Ultimate Survivor Now even Saddam Hussein might survive to see the new Iraq - if and when that benighted country emerges from a post-invasion gloom that has just entered its third year. An idea being floated in Baghdad is that if Saddam's punishment was jail for life, rather than the execution he is widely assumed to face, the Sunni minority who enjoyed power and prosperity while he controlled Iraq might save face and break with the insurgents. Afghan City Mourns Its Lost Children, Looks Back to TalibanEnd economic blockade of CubaNEW DELHI, APRIL 10. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) today demanded that the United States stop all acts of "illegal aggression" against Cuba and immediately lift the economic blockade, as resolved by the United Nations. Native Americans Launch Own CigarettesA Native American tribe in Washington state is preparing to make and sell its own brand of cigarettes at a fraction of the cost of mainstream brands in an effort to diversify its income for tribal members. KLM plane denied access to U.S. over passengersMuslim Schoolgirl Detention Irks US TeachersMarburg Seeding Linked To Child Vaccine Program?Kyrgyzstan: Parliament Accepts President's ResignationCell history: 'The Brick' - 10 years, $100 million in costs
Africa on 04.11.05 @ 12:24 PM CST [ link]
Sunday, April 10th
Too Much Short-Term Thinking
US 'regime change' could 'effect SA security'Kader Asmal this week warned in parliament that the United States's policy of "regime change" could potentially have profound implications for South Africa's security. Former education minister Asmal, who is chairperson of parliament's portfolio committee on defence, made it clear that he was not suggesting South Africa itself was under threat from the US, but that military interventions by the superpower on the rest of the African continent could have an impact on "our own security". It would also be "most unwise" for South Africa to neglect its conventional deterrence capabilities, he told parliament. US unilateralism could impact SA's security, says Asmal There's Too Much Short-Term Thinking in Africa - Prof ChanNew Immigration Branch to Monitor RefugeesGovernment is to launch a new branch to discourage illegal migration into South Africa by encouraging foreign nationals to apply for different permits to legalise their stay in the country. Mugabe unfazed by boycott Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said his ruling party would be undeterred if the main opposition party boycotted a new parliament to be sworn in this week and "run the country in the normal way", a newspaper said on Sunday. Zimbabwe opposition to challenge pollZimbabwe's opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said yesterday it would go to the country's electoral court in an attempt to expose the "fraud" it blames for its defeat in the general election on 31 March. New York Times Relentless anti-Mugabe Demonizing CampaignThe US and New York Times are not bothered by US sponsored genocide.345 violations during week eight of cease fire (Israeli/Palestinian)A report prepared and published by the Palestinian National Information Center revealed that the Israeli army violated the truce, arrived at the Sharm Al-Sheikh summit in Egypt, 345 times, including 60 shooting incidents against civilians; 48 were injured. Is America Preparing for Martial Law?The Department of Homeland Security recently carried out an extensive anti-terrorist exercise entitled TOPOFF 3 (April 4-8, 2005). The "drill" was described by officials as "a multilayered approach to improving North American security". The stated objective of the TOPOFF 3 "Full Scale Exercise" was to "prepare America" in the case of an actual bioterrorism attack by Al Qaeda: Oil for dollars, and dollars for US deficitThe Asians remain shocked and in disbelief. Just when Japan, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong had accumulated enough dollars to buy oil to keep them warm for many winters, it's all over. In broad daylight, the Americans and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cheered as the price of oil popped up from US$30 a barrel to more than $50. SA to continue 'quiet diplomacy'DESPITE allegations of massive irregularities and rigging by the opposition MDC in the recent parliamentary election, the South African government looks set to continue with its 'quiet diplomacy' stance towards its northern neighbour. Khatami calls meeting with Israeli president fiction Flores Withdraws From Race to Head OAS
Africa on 04.10.05 @ 04:53 PM CST [ link]
Saturday, April 9th
Africa's Sequel
S. Africa's apartheid party takes final bowThe party linked to decades of white racist rule in South Africa formally left the political stage yesterday, with its leader apologizing for "a system grounded in injustice." The Genocide and the Box Office: Africa's SequelWHEN it opened five months ago, "Hotel Rwanda" garnered admiring reviews, especially for the performances of Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo. It went on to receive three Academy Award nominations and a raft of prizes. And it has been credited with increasing awareness of the 1994 genocide that killed some 800,000 Rwandans, most of them Tutsi. Somalia's secret dumps of toxic waste washed ashore by tsunamiTHE huge waves which battered northern Somalia after the tsunami in December are believed to have stirred up tonnes of nuclear and toxic waste illegally dumped in the war-racked country during the early 1990s. US Forces in Europe Focus on Africa Terror Havens US forces stationed in Europe will increasingly shift their stance towards Africa and the former communist eastern bloc countries as they move to a more agile force countering post-Cold War threats such as terrorism, Nato’s top European commander says. S. Africa's Mbeki slams Zimbabwe criticsMbeki contrasted Zimbabwe's situation with instability killing 1,000 people every day in the Democratic Republic of Congo, mostly from hunger and disease, on top of the 3.8 million people who have died since the war began in 1998. "Why is it so easy to ignore the death of 3 million people and make extraordinary volumes of noise about another country where only a few people have died. There is something not right about it," he said. US government indicts Pakistani businessman, IsraeliThe US government has indicted Islamabad-based Pakistani businessman Humayun A Khan and his Israeli partner Asher Karni for illegally exporting devices from the US that could be employed to test, develop and detonate nuclear weapons. Darfur rebels destroy villageMore than 350 militiamen destroyed a village in Sudan's conflict-wracked Darfur region in the worst attack since January, the United Nations and the African Union said on Friday. Gypsy Holocaust survivors in need of aid Labour tactics stir media unrest International Campaign to Stop Smallpox Genetic Engineering AnnouncedAn international alliance of non-governmental organizations has launched a campaign to urge the World Health Organization to reject a proposal that would permit the genetic engineering of smallpox and to instead ensure that all remaining stocks of the virus are destroyed within two years. Debate on the proposal will take place at the World Health Assembly (WHA), which meets in Geneva, Switzerland beginning on May 16th. Who Forged the Niger Documents?A former counterterrorism chief claims that the now discredited documents that showed Iraq trying to purchase uranium were fabricated right here in the United States. A Day Of Infamy
Africa on 04.09.05 @ 07:45 PM CST [ link]
Friday, April 8th
Annan Admits UN Slacking on Human Rights Abuses
France 'should be charged' for Rwanda genocide Rwandan government officials claim that new proof of France's role in the 1994 Rwanda genocide has emerged during the UN's Rwanda court hearings. Not only was France training the genocidal militias prior to the genocide, the French government was even today providing perpetrators of the genocide a refuge. France has earlier been criticised by a European court for not trying genocide suspects. What you need to know about the
UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of CongoUS media coverage of Africa largely negativeAmerica's media coverage of Africa over the past decade is anything but fair and balanced - and focuses overwhelmingly on the negative, Joaquim Chissano, the former Mozambican president, said today. "Coverage of Africa, by the leading forces of American media, is, at best, dismissive of the continent's progress and potential," he said. Fake Microsoft security updates circulateAn e-mail campaign designed to lure people to a bogus Microsoft Web site is making the rounds as part of an attempt to install a Trojan horse, antivirus company Sophos said Friday. Attackers are sending out fake e-mails that claim to come from Microsoft's Windows Update. People who click on the link in the message are steered to a site that looks like Microsoft's security update site, where they are urged to download fake patches. Ethiopia prepares for return of obelisk next weekMarburg 'still to peak' - WHOA top World Health Organisation official chose Angola to celebrate World Health Day on Thursday, saying that the death toll has "not yet peaked" from the killer Marburg virus in the poor southern African country devastated by 27 of civil war. Brazilian head to visit AfricaPresident Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will visit Africa next week to bolster trade and political links with five nations, the foreign ministry said on Thursday. Original axis of evil: Colonial empiresNot only did Prince William and the elite with their native-mocking costumes pay homage to the military atrocities of their ancestors, but so few in Europe today question the deaths of millions of Africans, Asians, and American Indians. The real scandal is that nobody views this celebration of colonial brutality as a scandal! Annan Admits UN Slacking on Human Rights AbusesUN Secretary General Kofi Annan has stated the international organization is failing to protect against human rights abuses. Irish Demand Freedom for Cuba FiveThe Irish campaign for the release of the five US-imprisoned Cubans will reach seven national stages later this month, with the presentation of the film Mission Against Terror, the Free Miami 5 Organization announced in a release for www.plenglish.com. Fears that Marburg virus has reached South AfricaThere are new fears that the Marburg virus has reached South African soil. A child with Angolan ties with symptoms of the infection is reportedly being treated in Johannesburg. Child deaths and malnutrition at emergency levels in IDP campADDIS ABABA, Mortality and malnutrition rates among children at Hartishek, a former refugee camp in southeastern Ethiopia, are critically high, aid agencies warned on Wednesday. Pope John Paul II Blew the Opportunity to Contain AIDS in AfricaPope John Paul II championed human rights and better treatment of the poor. He condemned war and many world leaders listened. Yet the conservative Christian had a glaring weak spot: AIDS and the pandemic in Africa. Not in my name How dare Tony Blair genuflect on our behalf before the corpse of a man whose edicts killed millions? Did the Pope spread AIDS in Africa?The evidence is less than compelling.What do you know about Pope John Paul II? He was a Catholic. He travelled a lot. He's now dead. And he apparently did more to spread AIDS around Africa than 'prostitution and the trucking industry combined' (1). That last claim has won the status of established fact among critics of the Vatican since the Pope died, tripping off the tongues of various left-leaning commentators and radicals who claim that the Vatican's condemnation of condom-use in turn condemned many in Africa - where over 100million are Catholic - to long and painful deaths. It Rings a Bell:
Trade Liberalization and the Power of a Monopolist
- Sierra Leone a Case StudyTrade liberalization and monopoly are two opposing economic concepts, the latter hardly survive where there is an effective and properly implemented trade policies in a market situation. Transport costs a trade barrier for the continentUN warns of new war in Horn of AfricaInternational failure to break the border stalemate between Ethiopia and Eritrea could lead to a renewal of conflict, a senior UN official warned yesterday. Ethiopia tries to woo Diaspora investors Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday its diplomats in South Africa have held discussions with Ethiopians and foreign citizens of Ethiopian origin living in Namibia and Botswana, trying to persuade them to invest in the country. S.Africa may ship 60,000 T maize to AsiaNIGER: South Africa to develop coal minesSouth Africa has agreed to help develop coal mines in Niger to provide cheap cooking fuel for local people and to promote exports of beef and cattle hides.
Africa on 04.08.05 @ 12:48 PM CST [ link]
Thursday, April 7th
The United Vegetative States of America
The relevance of the upcoming Asia-Africa Summit"The despised, the insulted, the hurt, the dispossessed -- in short, the underdogs of the human race were meeting. Here were class and racial and religious consciousness on a global scale. Who would have thought of organizing such a meeting? And what had these nations in common? Nothing, it seemed to me, but what their past relationship to the Western world had made them feel. This meeting of the rejected was in itself a kind of judgment upon the Western world!" Wright says that the Asia-Africa Conference was the first world summit that gathered former colonized Asian and African nations without interference from any Western force. At the conference, Indonesia’s first President Soekarno proclaimed: "For long years we Asian and African people have tolerated decisions made in our stead by those countries which placed their own interests above all else. We lived in poverty and humiliation. But tremendous changes have taken place in the past years. Many peoples and countries have awakened from centuries of slumber. Tranquility has given way to struggle and action. This irresistible force is sweeping the two continents." Brad, Bono team up for AfricaBrad Pitt is among the leading celebrities featured in new public service announcements for a campaign led by U2 singer Bono to fight poverty and Aids. S.Africa's Imperial sells stake to black group S.Africa says to tighten black empowerment lawsNew Domain Poisoning Attacks Microsoft ServersThe DNS cache poisoning that first struck more than a month ago and led to users being redirected from popular Web sites to malicious sites that infected their machines with spyware, is continuing, said the Internet Storm Center (ISC) Wednesday. The attacks are taking advantage of vulnerabilities and design flaws in Microsoft server software. Mbeki to discuss poll concerns with ZimbabweThe South African government will discuss certain concerns with its Zimbabwean neighbour in days to come following last week's elections, the department of foreign affairs said at parliament on Wednesday. Zimbabwe's Mugabe in Rome for Pope's funeralD.C. May Lose Out in Vote for OAS Chief Yushchenko's Gambit
Revisiting the "Orange Revolution"The war against us allThe war against us all. This war in Iraq isn’t the end; it's the beginning of wars to come all around the world at the whim of the neo-cons in the White House. Iraq War Coverage Reminds Me of Vietnam So you've heard all the analogies between Iraq and Vietnam. I know I thought I had -- that is until the other night, when I watched Apocalypse Now Redux, the enhanced version of Francis Ford Coppola's classic Vietnam horror film. Dubya's secret tax hikeBy President Bush's definition, allowing a tax cut to lapse is effectively a tax increase. Thus, by the president's definition, his administration, through inaction, is hitting the taxpayers with a large and fast-expanding tax increase. Ecuadorians Rising Up Against Pardons Granted to Fugitive Ex-PresidentsTwo ex Presidents of Ecuador, Adbala Bucaram and Gustavo Noboa returned to the country after having corruption charges dropped against them by the Supreme Court. Bucaram was exiled in Panama since 1997 and Noboa in the Dominican Republic since 2003. This is the straw that could break the proverbial camel's back in Ecuador. 30,000 U.S. military troops not citizensMore than 20,000 military personnel have become U.S. citizens since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to the Pentagon. Another 5,000 have applications pending for citizenship, with that process being expedited for military members, shortening the wait from about nine months to 60 days. The United Vegetative States of AmericaAmericans never fail to astound the world with their penchant for sensationalism. Just when it appears that they’ve scaled new peaks, they manage to notch themselves up yet higher into the dizzying summits of luridness. While the carnival of mayhem is progressing ahead in full tide in Iraq, the Americans love and sympathy for the plight of Terri Schiavo is the very embodiment of duplicity. Hypocrisy in its truest form, it speaks volumes of their OJ Simpson syndrome. 304 U.S. soldiers ordered killed by Pentagon in IraqAbout 304 recalcitrant U.S. soldiers have been killed by the Pentagon’s special team, intelligence sources in Iraq have revealed. The sources quoted high-ranking U.S. officers as saying that since the U.S. occupation of Iraq in March 2003 more than 304 U.S. military forces have been executed in spurious clashes at the behest of army commanders and with the knowledge of the Pentagon. Mexico City Mayor Stripped of Immunity Canada, Racism, Genocide, and the BombFew Canadians know of Canada's link to Little Boy, the so-christened uranium bomb that exploded over Hiroshima, and Fat Man, the plutonium bomb that devastated Nagasaki. The uranium mine was developed by the Canadian government to satisfy US needs for the World War II effort to construct an atomic bomb. From 1942 to 1960, the Sahtugot'ine worked at the mine in Port Radium, unknowingly polluting their massive freshwater resource and irradiating themselves. In the early 1960s, the danger became apparent. The Sahtugot'ine workers started to die from lung, colon, and kidney cancers -- diseases previously unknown to them. Jewish settlers poison Palestinian fields in HebronPalestinian farmers say that Jewish settlers dropped wheat pellets laced with a deadly chemical on grazing land near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, killing 20 of their sheep. The Next Wave Of Offshoring Colombia 'will not try US troops'A group of US soldiers arrested for alleged cocaine smuggling cannot be allowed to stand trial in Colombia, Washington's envoy to Bogota has said. Colombian senators have been calling for the men, who were based in the country, to be extradited from the US. But US ambassador William Wood said the soldiers are immune from prosecution. More than 200 Colombian citizens have been extradited to the US to face trial for drug trafficking, under a bilateral deal between the two countries. Colombian politicians have asked the government to push for the US to hand over the men, arguing that the extradition agreement works both ways. COINTELPRO's long shadow
The importance of the John Graham caseIn February, British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Bennett decided in favour of the United States government's extradition request against John Graham. Far from accepting the dictates of the American government, Graham's Defense Committee continues to ask for solidarity as they prepare appeals in this case.
Africa on 04.07.05 @ 11:36 AM CST [ link]
Wednesday, April 6th
West's scribes serving colonial edifice
Diamonds and Apartheid South Africa's racist colonial history left black people disenfranchised, landless and vulnerable, a situation that was exploited by mine owners after the discovery of diamonds. Each act and law passed in the interest of mine owners and white laborers sowed the seeds for apartheid. It could be said that the discovery of rough diamonds polished racism into apartheid. Peace in Ivory Coast Signed in Tshwane, South Africa With the mediation of South Africa´s President Thabo Mbeki, the warring factions in Ivory Coast have signed a peace agreement in Tshwane on Wednesday and agreed to hold elections in October. All Africa Conference of Churches
Comments on Mugabe's Zimbabwe Election WinChief Can Cut Inmates HairShe noted too that while some people believed they had a right to wear hair a certain way for religious purposes, they had to understand that the Constitution did not confer any absolute right on anyone. She said too it did not mean the superintendent would immediately set about cutting every prisoner's hair, since there were the reasonable grounds of public safety and security that had to be satisfied. Hands Off!! TOUCH THE HAIR of the Rastaman and face a class action suit! Rastafarians yesterday condemned Parliament's amendment of the Prisons Act, giving the Superintendent of Prisons discretionary powers to cut the hair of any male inmate. West's scribes serving colonial edifice Like journalists, politicians communicate to influence, but this is on the understanding that they have integrity and are well disposed towards telling the truth. But, in the pursuit of power and influence, journalists can tell monstrous lies. Global Fund grant to come through, finallyAfter a three-year delay, a US $10.3 million grant to Zimbabwe by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is "very close to signing", an official told IRIN on Monday. Infrastructure development could stave-off food shortagesRehabilitating irrigation schemes and major dams in Zimbabwe's arid Matabeleland South province could help ease its perennial food shortages, experts told IRIN this week Horn of Africa's thorny dispute THE growing probability of a military standoff between Eritrea and Ethiopia - witnessed by growing offensive military deployment in the temporary security zone - is likely to continue for as long as a political solution to the dispute between the neighbours is not found. This is the only real potential for all-out interstate conflict on the continent this year. Booming SA-EU Trade Ties See Envoy Leaving in High SpiritsMuch as government may wish to diversify the country's trade and economic contacts, the European Union (EU) is by far the largest trading and investment partner - and aid donor - to SA. About 30% of South African exports head for Europe, and SA receives around 40% of its imports from Europe. At the end of his tour of duty as EU ambassador to SA, Michael Lake returned to Brussels over the weekend upbeat about the relationship with Pretoria. Critics Say Law Would Make Florida 'Wild, Wild West'The House approved the proposed law that expands people's rights to use deadly force when they are attacked any place they have a right to be. The Senate already approved the bill that allows people to meet force with force. The bill would allow people in the street or someplace like a baseball game or bar to legally kill someone in cases of self-defense. Ethiopia plans to expand Internet accessBombing and looting Iraq's heritageONCE again the dictum which says that countries which have no history should not wage war in regions of the world with glorious histories has been proven true. Although the first Bush administration was warned by US scholars who had worked for decades in Iraq that a new war would damage the country's rich cultural heritage, George Bush and his minions went ahead with their project which involved invading the country with tens of thousands of troops, toppling the government, and installing an occupation regime. They're Talking Up ArmsMilitary recruiters are fortifying their outposts at high schools, hoping a chummy familiarity will entice students to enlist. Some decry the tactics. Is Washington planning a bloodbath in Caracas? The US is targeting Chavez because of his role in encouraging the mass mobilisation of Venezuela's poor. However, killing Chavez would only be prelude to further intervention aimed at physically crushing the revolutionary masses. The death of Chavez, the leader of the revolution, could trigger the kind of confusion and chaos that Washington could use to justify military intervention — directly, through US allies in Colombia or through counter-revolutionary Venezuelans. This would almost certainly be accompanied by a violent campaign to exterminate the popular organisations and the revolutionary militants in the cities and countryside, just as was done in Chile in 1973 when the CIA-backed Pinochet dictatorship overthrew the democratically elected President Salvador Allende. Study puts Oakland dropout rate at 52%
Mayor decries crisis -- district questions research accuracy
Africa on 04.06.05 @ 07:56 AM CST [ link]
Tuesday, April 5th
Genetically Modified Lies?
Genetically Modified Lies or An Honest Mistake?Contaminating the world's food supply is becoming a habit for big agribusiness. Back in 2000, a genetically-modified (GM) corn called StarLink was discovered in Taco Bell tacos. Manufactured by Aventis, StarLink was modified to be more insect-resistant through the insertion of a bacterial toxin into the corn's DNA. When eaten, however, it can provoke intense allergic reactions, including anaphylactic shock. The EPA had banned StarLink corn from human consumption, but allowed it to be grown for animal feed and let Aventis regulate itself. Mysteriously, though, StarLink corn ended up at Taco Bell. In the ensuing scandal, more than 300 food products were recalled. But the story didn't end there. Sloppy Criticisms of Zimbabwe Elections They are using the structural deficiencies that most politicians usually exploit in all so-called democratic countries, as an excuse to demonize President Robert Mugabe. The same 'democratic deficient structure' exists in the U.S. The state media is usually dominated by the party in power, while they all seek the interest of their investors. Members from their party are appointed to the best government jobs. Bush and Blair are leaders in these type of party politics. The ruling party and opposition use scare tactics compounded by inflammatory statements. Accept Zimbabwe's Election ResultsDespite being declared free, fair and a reflection of the will of the Zimbabwean people by both the South African Observer Mission and the Electoral Commission Forum of Southern African Development Community (SADC), the conduct of Zimbabwe's last Thursday's parliamentary elections cannot be said to have been anywhere near perfect. There are still many flaws and a number of areas that need improvement. But whose conduct of elections can be said to be perfect or near perfect? No one. Even the United States' conduct of elections - as witnessed in the last two elections - is nowhere near perfect; they still have flaws of one form or another. Venezuela to Create Military Reserve Force of 1.5 MillionVenezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced on his weekly television program Aló Presidente that a military reserve force of 1.5 million Venezuelans will be trained in order "to defend, with the people, the sovereignty and greatness of this land." The Commander General of the Army Reserves, Julio Quintero Viloria, will be in charge of what is to be the largest reserve force in Venezuelan history. Speaking from the western state of Apure, Chávez explained that although the armed forces will train, equip and prepare the reserves, only the active military officers will be armed, clarifying that although the military reserves and the forces of national mobilization are two complementary mechanisms, they are distinct and have different purposes. Call for Tsvangirai to resign after pollZimbabwe's main opposition party is in crisis as the fallout from a heavy, if disputed, election defeat at the hands of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF turned to criticism of its campaign and tactics. Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), is expected to face calls to stand down in favour of its spokesman, Welshman Ncube. Instead of harnessing popular support by presenting alternative policies, the MDC campaigned on an anti-Zanu-PF ticket. Consequently the opposition was perceived as a party of protest rather than a credible alternative. Its open-door approach to international financial institutions, such as the IMF and World Bank, did not play well with an electorate that has painful memories of the "structural adjustment" of the 1990s. Zimbabwe poll flawed, says Straw Jack Straw said yesterday that Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections had been flawed and expressed disappointment that other African nations had accepted them as fair. Morality of Straw:
Where were you when there were similar complaints about the last two U.S. Elections?British Councillors guilty of postal votes fraudA Judge has delivered a devastating indictment of the postal voting system championed by ministers as he found six Labour councillors guilty of electoral fraud. He said checks against corruption were "hopelessly insecure" and accused the Government of being in denial about the risks to democracy. Richard Mawrey QC, sitting as an electoral commissioner in Birmingham, found "overwhelming" evidence of fraud in last year's city council elections that would "disgrace a banana republic". The elections, where several Labour candidates bucked the trend to win, were dogged by claims of intimidation, bribery, "vote-buying', impersonation and even the creation of a "vote-forging factory". The judge's comments yesterday, a day before the expected announcement by Tony Blair of a 5 May general election... Death of Pope Preempts Misery of Iraq"By the time President Bush ordered U.S. troops to disarm Saddam Hussein of the deadly weapons he was allegedly trying to build, every piece of fresh evidence had been tested-and disproved-by U.N. inspectors, according to a report commissioned by the president and released Thursday," the Washington Post reports early today. In other words, Bush groomed a passel of lies and passed it off as a pretext to invade a sovereign nation and kill more than 100,000 innocent Iraqis. Now the Strausscons wants to blame this defective intelligence--i.e., lies--on the CIA and the "intelligence community." Hanoi Jane and The City Of God Egypt Students Demonstrate for DemocracyPalestinians Decry Israeli Trash Dump PlanIsrael plans to dispose of garbage on Palestinian land in the West Bank, and a Palestinian official immediately denounced it Monday as violating international law, saying, "We are not a dumping ground." Russia Official Warns Against Infighting Fiery priest may seek Haiti's presidencyPhilippine craftsmen keep centuries old boat-making tradition aliveMedford hotel owners say Bush Admin. left them with unpaid bills
Africa on 04.05.05 @ 02:57 AM CST [ link]
Monday, April 4th
Zimbabwe's neighbours endorse contested polls
Mbeki jump-starts Ivory Coast talksSouth African president Thabo Mbeki began crucial peace talks at the presidential guest house in Pretoria, South Africa, on Sunday with the leaders of war-torn Ivory Coast. Rebels reject Darfur summitOne of the main rebel groups in the troubled western Sudan region of Darfur on Monday rejected a planned summit in Egypt this month to discuss the two-year-old conflict. New threat for Africa - burning wood for fuelWidespread use of wood as a household fuel in sub-Saharan Africa will cause ten million premature deaths by 2030 and make a significant contribution to climate change, says a study published in Science on Friday April 1. Thatcher's son denied U.S. visaThe son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher has been denied a visa to live in the United States with his wife and children. Zimbabwe's neighbours endorse contested pollsZimbabwe's neighbours yesterday endorsed elections overwhelmingly won by President Robert Mugabe's ruling party, brushing aside opposition complaints of fraud and countering criticism from the United States, Britain and other western governments. UK: Judge quashes 'fraudulent' council electionsA High Court judge today launched a scathing attack on the current postal voting system after quashing the results of last year's elections in two wards on Birmingham City Council. The Commissioner has confirmed our fear that there is every likelihood that the forthcoming General Election will be blighted by postal vote fraud. Covering Iraq: AMW interview with Patrick CockburnThatcher is refused US visa over coup plot convictionCORPORATE ASSASSINGeorge W. Bush is a murderer, and a prolific one at that. He has deployed surrogates to kill more than one hundred thousand Iraqi civilians in a ruthless slaughter that is ongoing. The fact that he murders via remote control from the Oval Office does not confer legitimacy to his crimes. If anything, it makes them all the more despicable.
Africa on 04.04.05 @ 07:32 AM CST [ link]
Sunday, April 3rd
S. Africa endorses Zimbabwe's parliamentary poll
African Observers Say Zimbabwe Poll Free, CredibleEcuador Ex-Leader Vows Revolution of Poor Khmer Rouge Haunts Cambodia 30 Years Later Thirty years after the rise of the Khmer Rouge revolutionary peasant army, the horrors of their brutal, murderous rule still stain the fabric of this impoverished Southeast Asian kingdom. The White House Plays Extreme Dodge BallUnlike the 9/11 Commission, the presidential commission charged to examine pre-Iraq war intelligence failures dodged the ball. On the key, tough issues such as use of the intelligence and White House pressure on analysts, the Silberman Commission avoided asking the tough -- or the right -- questions. So once again, everyone is responsible but no one is accountable. U.S. Recruits Mercenaries for U.S. Led Drug InterdictionThe U.S. Dept. of Defense (DoD) and the State Dept. are preparing to intensify and expand drug interdiction and aerial crop-eradication efforts in South America, Central America and the Caribbean. Based on a review of recently distributed federal-procurement documents, the U.S. government is actively soliciting the help of mercenaries whose sole function will be to locate and rescue missing or captured Drug War personnel. S. Africa endorses Zimbabwe's parliamentary poll South Africa said Saturday that Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections which gave the ruling party a favorable majority reflected the will of the people. "It is the view of the mission that the 2005 parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe reflect the free will of the people of Zimbabwe," said South African Labor Minister Membathisi Mdladlana,who led a observer mission for the elections. Mdladlana said the elections on Thursday "by and large" conformed to election guidelines adopted by Southern African Development Community leaders last year for holding a democratic vote. President Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) won a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections but the opposition Movement for DemocraticChange (MDC) labeled the just ended the sixth parliamentary poll as unfair. ANALYSIS: Zimbabwe opposition seek options vs MugabeZimbabwe's opposition, defeated again in polls it says were rigged, risks slipping into obscurity unless it can come up with fresh ways to challenge President Robert Mugabe. Political analysts said the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) miscaculated when it bowed to pressure to contest parliamentary polls at the last minute -- leaving it poorly prepared to fight an election its leadership believed was already impossible to win. Party leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his team may well be persuaded to allow fresh faces to steer the party into presidential elections in 2008 with a radically expanded support base, they said. "They should have foreseen this kind of scenario a few months ago and the leadership of the MDC, its president Morgan Tsvangirai and others, must take the blame," said Nel Marais, of the Executive Research Associates in neighbouring South Africa. Gbagbo ready to smoke the peace pipeIvory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo arrived on Saturday for crucial weekend peace talks in South Africa, now a key player in attempts to end the West African country's lingering civil conflict. Angola's Marburg death toll climbsAngola's Marburg epidemic has claimed 14 more lives, taking the death toll in the worst recorded outbreak of the virus to 146, the country's health ministry said on Sunday. Report: Poor Health Care Hurting BlacksBBC: Observers back Mugabe party's winZanu-PF has rejected the opposition's accusations of a flawed vote. "These were the most free and fair elections in the world," Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa told the BBC. In 2000, Zanu-PF won a majority of seats but fell short of a two-thirds majority which allows the constitution to be changed. Mr Mugabe has long said he wanted to amend the constitution to establish a second parliamentary chamber. Critics accuse him of wanting to pack the chamber with his own supporters to extend his influence after he retires. Comment:Well come on, do they expect him to pack the chambers with opposition members?
Africa on 04.03.05 @ 01:49 PM CST [ link]
Saturday, April 2nd
Accept final election reports
www.zimbabweherald.comAs Zanu-PF started celebrating its almost-certain two-thirds majority in Parliament yesterday, the badly bruised MDC was crying foul and trying to arrange meetings with the European Union, of all people. This is wrong. In every election there are winners and losers, and in a democracy the losers of today can easily become the winners of tomorrow if they figure out correctly the reasons for their loss and plan a more winning strategy.
Africa on 04.02.05 @ 08:53 PM CST [ more..]
Contradicting views on Zimbabwe elections
The election observer team of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) today gave a generally positive assessment of yesterday's general elections in Zimbabwe, saying they were "peaceful, credible and dignified." The opposition however protests, and is supported by the British government, saying the polls were "seriously flawed." South Africa's Minister of Minerals and Energy, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who leads the SADC election observer mission, today issued a statement generally positive on yesterday's polls in Zimbabwe. Ms Ngcuka in the statement extended SADC's "congratulations to the people of Zimbabwe following the holding of a peaceful, credible and dignified election."
Africa on 04.02.05 @ 02:24 PM CST [ more..]
SADC observers happy with Zimbabwe elections
Vatican confirms that the Pope is dead Papal candidate gives pro-Zionist talkA cardinal considered a candidate to succeed Pope John Paul II delivered a strong message in favor of Jewish settlement in the Holy Land on Wednesday night, rejecting the claim that European Christians' support for the State of Israel is based on Holocaust guilt and saying that all Christians should affirm Zionism as a biblical imperative for the Jewish people. Spain Rejects Claims of Fueling Arms RaceFinal food aid donation from UN program The United Nations' World Food Program is making its final food donation to China after more than 25 years of providing aid, it said. Terri Schiavo, 84,000 Black Men,
and Dominant Media's Selective Morality The death of Terri Schiavo versus recent reports showing that unequal health care contributes to more than 100,000 black Americans dying earlier than whites each year. Thanks to that media's obsessive coverage of the Schiavo tragedy, nearly every moderately cognizant American adult has an opinion on whether it is right for doctors to act to release Schiavo from her dreadful vegetative state. Sadly, only a small number of Americans have any kind of opinion on a recent report showing that middle-aged black men are dying at nearly twice the rate as white men of a similar age. Veterans Group Calls on Congress to Impeach George W. Bush and Richard CheneyIraqi blogger on martial lawSoldiers 'smuggled' cocaineFive United States army soldiers are being investigated for allegedly trying to smuggle 16kg of cocaine from Colombia aboard a US military aircraft, US and Colombian officials said on Thursday. SADC observers happy with Zimbabwe electionsThe Southern African Developing Community (SADC) election observer mission says Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections were conducted in an open, transparent and professional manner. The mission has issued its report on yesterday's poll, the first by a major observer mission. Zimbabwe Opposition Seems to Crumble after Parliament Elections In spite of knowing itself in possesion of over 20 seats in urban zones against two of the ruling party ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe opposition seems today on the verge of lowering their flag after Thursday´s elections. As Prensa Latina got to know, the general headquarters of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) informed that the main opposition force estimates it won´t obtain even 50 of the 120 benches in discussion. If that is so, the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) is about to obtain the two-thirds of the seats it expected according to the Constitution in order to deepen the program of transformations begun after achieving independence in 1980. Rice Says Zimbabwe Vote Unfair, Not Free Mugabe's Party Wins Majority in ZimbabweMoyo makes a comebackPresident Robert Mugabe's disgraced right-hand man, Jonathan Moyo, was elected on Friday as an independent candidate in parliamentary polls in Zimbabwe, the election commission said. Zim's elections at a glanceSADC observers happy with Zimbabwe elections
Africa on 04.02.05 @ 01:28 AM CST [ link]
Friday, April 1st
TB Reaches Alarming Levels in Africa
'Unique Skills' Land Aristide Top Cabinet JobGOVERNMENT intends making a dramatic new cabinet appointment by naming former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide as Minister of the African Diaspora to help boost the repatriation of Africans - and particularly American Africans - to the continent. Rounding Out Iraq's HistoryI just read a news report from Ramadi, Iraq that detailed an armed takeover of a hospital there by US forces. It seems that there was an explosion in the town and the soldiers invaded the hospital, interrupting medical care, including a caesarian section, and holding some of the staff at gunpoint. As most anybody who follows the occupation of Iraq knows, Ramadi is a stronghold of rebel resistance. Meanwhile, I'm reading a new history of Iraq recently published by Haymarket Books that describes the history of the workers and popular anti imperialist movements in Iraq, especially that of the Iraqi Communist Party. The sad story of that party's collaboration with its enemies can only lead me to wonder how the Iraq situation might have been quite different if the communist movement's history had also been different. War Crimes Tribunal Asks Colombia for InfoMicrosoft files suits in fight against 'phishing'SEATTLE: Microsoft has filed 117 lawsuits against unknown internet site operators who used "phishing" schemes to obtain personal and financial information from unsuspecting consumers, the world's largest software maker has said. CoolWebSearch, Dubbed Adware's 'Ebola,' Tops Spyware Threat List CoolWebSearch is the "Ebola" of adware and easily the most significant spyware threat on the Internet, an anti-spyware security firm says. Saddam Denied Basic Right to Fair TrialThere is an old saying in the legal profession that everybody deserves a fair trial. But that is easier said than done when it comes to the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein. After being captured over a year ago by American forces, Saddam has been held in a military detention center without charges being filed and without access to legal counsel even though his family has hired over 20 lawyers, including several Americans. Credit, Conspicuous Consumpition and Crisis in Black America It seems that were it not for bad news there would be almost no news in Black America these days. Black folk, in case you hadn’t heard, are in the midst of yet another crisis. This time it’s a debt crisis, particularly in short-term revolving debt (primarily credit cards, but also payday loans, car title loans, etc.). Though Black families are less likely to have credit cards than White families those who do are much more likely to carry a monthly balance. According to data compiled by Demos from the most recent Survey of Consumer Finances (2001) just over half of White credit card holding families carry a monthly balance (averaging $4,381) while 84% of Black families carry monthly balances (averaging $2,950). Even though Black families carry smaller monthly balances a higher percentage of their financial worth goes into servicing debt. Return to the Bad Old Days?On March 9, 2005, police forces in Guatemala City fired tear gas and beat demonstrators who were protesting the ratification of the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). President Oscar Berger deployed 500 soldiers wielding truncheons to the city's historic center armed with water cannons and with the intent to halt nearly 1,000 union members, farmers, students and indigenous people who were demanding a national referendum on the contentious issue. Flu 'Oddities'Revelations from an InsiderWhistleblower Daniel Ellsberg on the Bush Administration, Civil Disobedience and the Eternal Fires of Hell TB Reaches Alarming Levels in AfricaWHILE the fight against tuberculosis, the world's second biggest killer, is proceeding according to plan in most parts of the world, the disease has reached alarming levels in Africa, the World Health Organisation said in a report released Thursday. Ivory Coast sliding into state of oblivionIn the two years since Ivory Coast tumbled from its pedestal as a powerhouse into the morass of conflict and economic ruin, little has changed but the venue for peace talks. 150,000 Burundian refugees to be repatriated: UNUp to 150,000 Burundian refugees in camps in Tanzania are to be repatriated this year following improvement in the political situation in Burundi, Xinhua reported. In Africa, marriage can be deadlyLIVINGSTONE, Zambia -- Sex kills all the time, particularly here in Africa. But prudishness can be just as lethal. President Bush is focusing his program against AIDS in Africa on sexual abstinence and marital fidelity, relegating condoms to a distant third. It's the kind of well-meaning policy that bubbles up out of a White House prayer meeting but that will mean a lot of unnecessary deaths on the ground in Africa. The outbreak of Marburg in Angola has claimed 127 lives Fear Marburg Has Spread to the Democratic Republic of CongoWorld Health Organisation (WHO) spokesperson Fadela Chaib said two other suspected cases had been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), across the border from the north Angola area where the outbreak began and has claimed 127 lives out of 132 cases. Spain, Venezuela Sign Defense, Energy AccordsSpanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has wrapped up a visit to Venezuela by signing a series of defense and energy deals with the Andean nation. America backs down on Darfur inquiry The international criminal court was poised to launch a war crimes investigation yesterday into the mass murder and rapes in the Darfur region of Sudan, after international pressure forced the US to withdraw its objections. MDC slams poll as Mugabe's party takes the leadS.Africa trade union's Zimbabwe protest falls flatSouth African Traditional Leaders Send Election Observers to ZimbabweAmong the groups that have sent election observers to Zimbabwe is South Africa's "National House of Traditional Leaders." The seven-member mission was invited to Zimbabwe by the government, as part of an agreement signed with traditional leaders in that country. US says Zimbabwe poll biased but calmVote Counting Begins in Zimbabwe's Peaceful General ElectionMDC has no faith in SA observersStraw criticises Zimbabwe election
Africa on 04.01.05 @ 10:53 AM CST [ link]
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