"The IMF Debt Relief Sham"

The IMF Debt Relief Sham
As 2005 holiday celebrations were getting underway last December, the International Monetary Fund pledged a gift to Nicaragua: complete cancellation of the $201 million debt that Nicaragua owed the multilateral financial institution. Many have applauded this move, part of the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, as a needed step towards unshackling historically debt-ridden countries like Nicaragua. In early January I told a group of US citizens visiting Managua that this event may signify an achievement in Nicaragua’s long struggle for self-determination, giving us something, finally, to celebrate. Considering recent moves by the IMF, it appears I was wrong.

Zim state paper brands IMF 'insincere partners'
State media in Zimbabwe on Sunday accused a visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) team of "shifting its position" on the debt-riddled country and said the energetic local central bank governor should not try to "please" the global lender.

Africa's oldest map unveiled
The oldest map of the African continent, dating back to 1389, has gone on display in Cape Town. It is part of an exhibition drawing attention to the history of South Africa and the way it is perceived around the world.

SA 'lenient' on apartheid crimes
Moves to prosecute apartheid-era human rights abusers in South Africa are too lenient, says a victim support group.

Nigerians Debate Terrorist Label for Hostage Takers
The ongoing hostage saga in Nigeria has not only drawn international attention but some say, has portrayed the hostage takers as terrorists, wrecking havoc in the oil-rich territory.

100% of Blacks Oppose Alito and Think Iraq War Unjustified

The Destruction of the World Trade Center: Why the Official Account Cannot Be True

Israel prepared to 'liquidate' Hamas militants

US plans to 'fight the net' revealed

India changes tune, defends Iran

Marching Backwards on Civil Rights
There's a comfort level for white people when they deal with black people. Generally, this comfort level is born of illusion, inspires its own notions of white supremacy and then rationalizes it as necessary and proper. The late New York Senator Daniel Moyniham once said that whites have castrated blacks for so long that the blacks now do it to themselves. That castration occurs in many different forms.

Scientists find frozen methane gas deposit
Scientists have discovered an undersea deposit of frozen methane just off the Southern California coast, but whether it can be harnessed as a potential energy source is unknown.

The UN's lethal role in Haiti, Ivory Coast
In Haiti, U.S. Special Forces seized President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and put him on a U.S. plane into exile in the Central African Republic, and French troops were quickly sent to clamp down on the people's protests over the coup-napping. UN troops from Brazil have replaced them. Aristide is now in South Africa.

Annan's remarks served to hide France's role in promoting and maintaining neocolonial control of the Ivory Coast. The head of the FPI, Pascal Affi N'Guessan, has characterized the UN presence as part of "recolonization of the Ivory Coast."

Serving Capital: A short history of Canada in the Caribbean

Weather Underground, Redone in Pomo, Rises from the Ashes

FDA: You're eating crushed bug juice
That ice cream you're eating or the lipstick you're wearing just might contain extract from crushed bugs. On purpose.

Dry-cleaning murders expose racial tensions

Judge to Rule on Merit of Christ Case
An Italian judge heard arguments Friday on whether a small-town parish priest should stand trial for asserting that Jesus Christ existed.

Mexico suggests GIs aided pot smugglers