"Bush's Grand Plan for Blacks"

Chavez Venezuela backs Iran in nuclear row with US
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, whose country is a major U.S. oil provider, said on Friday he backed Iran in its dispute with the United States and Europe over its nuclear program.

Elephant Talk
"The president makes policy decisions based on what the best policies for the country are, not politics."
- White House spokesman, in response to allegations that scientists have been pressured by the administration to change scientific conclusions that don’t support Bush policies, 2/21/05

"We're an empire now, ... we create our own reality."
- unnamed "senior advisor" to President Bush, 2002.

These quotes recall the joke about the man who tried to take his elephant into the city park, only to stopped by a policeman who told him elephants were not allowed in the park. Unfazed, the man pointed to a slice of bread on the elephant’s forehead and another on its tail, and countered: "This is not an elephant. It’s a sandwich."

American Business and Genocide Linked Again
The Asian American Hotel Owner Association (AAHOA), despite strong protests from several civil rights organizations and the Coalition Against Genocide is determined to honor Narendra Modi at their annual convention in Ft. Lauderdale, FL (March 22-24, 2005). Narendra Modi was indicted by many international humanitarian organizations for perpetrating a pogrom of mass murder, rape and arson against religious minorities in Gujarat in 2002 while he was the Chief Minister of that state in India. Even Indiaís Supreme Court acknowledged his complicity in the pogrom against minorities.

Cote D Ivoire: Rebels Warn of Imminent Government Attack
Rebel forces in northern Cote d'Ivoire have accused government troops of preparing an imminent assault following last week's attack by loyalist militias on rebel positions.

Quake in S. Africa may be caused by mining activity: expert
A strong earthquake injuring a dozen of people and evacuating thousands in northern South Africa on Wednesday was probably caused by mining activity, experts said.

Bush's Grand Plan for Blacks
It is a great mistake to view the Bush regime's ferocious assaults on Black and poor America as simply a more vicious version of standard Republican behavior since Ronald Reagan's presidency. The Bush crowd is different than their predecessors; they don't just want to defeat Black political leadership, but to replace it.

Microsoft to give software "patches" to US government before anyone else
Microsoft Corp will prioritise the fixing of security holes in Windows and other Microsoft software for the US Government, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

Israeli Textbooks Incite Racism, Hatred
Israel's education curricula aim at psychologically mobilizing youngsters for war, inciting "hostility, grudge and hatred" against Arabs and tarnishing the Arab image, according to a new study.

Annan attacks erosion of rights in war on terror
The UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, launched a fierce attack on Britain and the US yesterday for weakening human rights in the name of the war on terror.

British companies fuel corruption in Africa
It is clear that the report of the Commission for Africa will identify corruption as a major impediment to development, and it will recognise that countries in the north will have to restrain their own companies from fuelling that corruption. But to what extent is the UK itself fulfilling that obligation?

Global sheriff is slowly gaining
on the US and its cavalier way with the law
In the opinion of many legal experts, the US government broke international law when it waged war on Iraq without explicit UN backing. Unrepentant, it has reserved the right to take similar action again, unilaterally if need be.
But another key pillar of global jurisprudence - laws concerning individual liberty, dignity and human rights - is proving harder for Washington to ignore: like a sheriff with a posse of deputies, international law is slowly catching up with the Bush administration.

Haiti's Aristide Maintains Right to Return
Ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide said Wednesday that recent demonstrations in his home country proved there was a groundswell of support for his return, and he urged an end to continuing political violence.

Mesa confirmed as President by Congress – what comes next?
Yesterday evening, the Bolivian Congress unanimously rejected the resignation of President Mesa – which according to Prensa Latina was expected - who will now continue in power. In his acceptance speech Mesa made a call to the Bolivians to "take to the streets countrywide on Thursday, to demonstrate against the blockade and to combat racism and intolerance". In addition, he announced the first measure of his confirmed presidency to approve a new Hydrocarbon Law which will respect the one passed in national referendum on July 18th 2004.

Bolivia's Indians Vow to Keep Up Blockades
Bolivia's Indian leaders vowed Wednesday to set up more road blockades until the country's embattled president drops his opposition to their call for increasing taxes on foreign oil companies.

Maiko Zulu Makes It Three With Reggae Unlimited
ZAMBIA'S first nominee to the Kora Awards formerly known as St. Micheal and now called Maiko Zulu, is this week expected to release his third album, a 14-track compilation titled Reggae Unlimited.