"The wealth of the west was built on Africa's exploitation"

The wealth of the west was built on Africa's exploitation
Britain was the principal slaving nation of the modern world. In The Empire Pays Back, a documentary broadcast by Channel 4 on Monday, Robert Beckford called on the British to take stock of this past. Why, he asked, had Britain made no apology for African slavery, as it had done for the Irish potato famine? Why was there no substantial public monument of national contrition equivalent to Berlin's Holocaust Museum? Why, most crucially, was there no recognition of how wealth extracted from Africa and Africans made possible the vigour and prosperity of modern Britain? Was there not a case for Britain to pay reparations to the descendants of African slaves?

AU peacekeepers killed in Darfur ambush
Two African Union peacekeeping soldiers from Nigeria were killed in an ambush on Saturday in Sudan's volatile Darfur region, a senior AU official said.

Rhetoric and reality in the business of getting rid of black people
Every year or so some right-winger in America lets fly in public with a ripe salvo of racism and the liberal watchdogs come tearing out of their kennels and the neighborhood echoes with the barks and shouts. The right-winger says he didn’t mean it, the President "distances himself" and the liberals claim they’re shocked, shocked beyond all measure. Then everyday life in racist America resumes its even course.

Race, Relief and Reconstruction
The national conversation about New Orleans has shifted from relief to reconstruction. While alliances form among local and national elites, the majority of the city’s population faces being shut out of the discussion entirely. New Orleans is less than 30% white, but the white power structure is poised to seize control of the debate over the city’s future, while New Orleans’ distinct legacies of colonialism, white supremacy and Jim Crow, along with the personal loss and devastation faced by most city residents, has created a cocktail of obstacles in the path of forming a strong and unified resistance.

Ghana qualify for the World Cup finals
Ghana's long wait for a World Cup finals place ended in emphatic style on Saturday when the Black Stars beat Cape Verde Islands 4-0 to qualify for next year's finals in Germany. The four-time African champions ended their long hoodoo in World Cup qualifying with a one-sided win in the island archipelago to finish comfortable winners of African zone Group Two.

Eritrea seeks to up pressure on Ethiopia over border
An Eritrean ban on helicopter flights by U.N. monitors is a calculated attempt to intensify international pressure on former foe Ethiopia to agree to end a border row many fear could spark a new war, analysts say.

Mugabe Announces Date for Zimbabwe Senate Elections
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has set a date for elections to the newly reintroduced senate.

Pretoria Communists threaten 'Zimbabwe-style' farm invasions
South Africa will convene symbolic Zimbabwe-style land invasions this weekend to highlight the plight of the poor and the landless, President Thabo Mbeki's ruling coalition partner, the South African Communist Party (SACP), has said. Two weeks ago, the government said it would move to expropriate the first white-owned farm under a land restitution programme.

Sacked rebel commander kidnapped peacekeepers: Darfur group
A sacked rebel leader is behind the kidnapping of a group of African Union peacekeepers in Darfur, his former comrades said, vowing to help ensure the captives' release.

Weather War?

The Police State Is Closer Than You Think

U.S. military in Paraguay unsettles South America

Hundreds die in Guatemala mudslide

Venezuela wants Argentine nuclear reactor - paper

Venezuelans March in Support of Land Plan

Three Police Officers Arrested in New Orleans Beating

US televangelist says Venezuela threatens US with nuke

GM crop 'ruins fields for 15 years'