Monday, January 30th
Zimbabwe: IMF Shifts Goal posts
Zimbabwe: IMF Shifts Goal posts ZIMBABWE should not be upbeat about the current visit by the IMF team, amid revelations that the Bretton Woods institution is now saying its strained relations with Harare stems from the country’s fiscal and monetary policies and not the country’s failure to service its debt with the Fund in time. All along, the IMF has been threatening to expel Zimbabwe citing the country’s failure to pay its dues in time. It has also emerged that barely 48 hours after meeting representatives from the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the IMF team that jetted into the country on Tuesday had already started compiling the report that it is set to present to the Fund’s board. The executive board of the IMF is scheduled to meet in March to discuss, among other issues, the Bretton Woods institution’s future relations with Zimbabwe.Impeccable sources that have been closely monitoring developments between Harare and the IMF told The Sunday Mail yesterday that the Minister of Finance, Dr Herbert Murerwa, and the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Dr Gideon Gono, should not be upbeat about the IMF visit. The UN’s lethal role in Haiti, Ivory Coast
Occupying United Nations troops in both the Ivory Coast and Haiti have been meeting growing resistance. These popular struggles have dispersed, but not dissipated, the smokescreen that the troops provide for the imperialist powers’ maneuverings. UN troops are authorized by resolutions passed by the Security Council, a body where the United States, along with France and Great Britain, call most of the shots.
Tyehimba on 01.30.06 @ 07:06 PM CST [ link] [ No Comments]
Sunday, January 29th
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 unveiledThe 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 crimesMoves to prosecute apartheid-era human rights abusers in South Africa are too lenient, says a victim support group. Nigerians Debate Terrorist Label for Hostage TakersThe 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 TrueIsrael prepared to 'liquidate' Hamas militantsUS plans to 'fight the net' revealed India changes tune, defends IranMarching Backwards on Civil RightsThere'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
Tyehimba on 01.29.06 @ 09:38 PM CST [ link] [ No Comments]
Saturday, January 28th
Eritrea slams U.S. for "evil" moves in border row
S.African farmers weigh pros and cons of GMO cropsSouth African farmer Andre Kilian sees plenty of advantages to genetically modified (GMO) crops, making him a rare voice on a continent where the technology has struggled to find favour. Eritrea slams U.S. for "evil" moves in border rowEritrea has launched a fierce attack on U.S. policy in the tense Horn of Africa region, alleging "evil attempts" to derail an international ruling awarding it a disputed town on the border with old foe Ethiopia. Ray Nagin, White Rage and the Manufacturing of "Reverse" Racism If you're looking to understand why discussions between blacks and whites about racism are often so difficult in this country, you need only know this: when the subject is race and racism, whites and blacks are often not talking about the same thing. To white folks, racism is seen mostly as individual and interpersonal--as with the uttering of a prejudicial remark or bigoted slur. For blacks, it is that too, but typically more: namely, it is the pattern and practice of policies and social institutions, which have the effect of perpetuating deeply embedded structural inequalities between people on the basis of race. To blacks, and most folks of color, racism is systemic. To whites, it is purely personal. GMOs Threatening Seed IndustrySTAKEHOLDERS of the Centre for Development Initiatives (CDI) of the African Biodiversity Network of South Africa have expressed concern about the likely extinction of the indigenous seeds if the country adopts Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). COTE D IVOIRE: UN staff being evacuated as sanctions loom Nearly 400 UN staff are to be evacuated from Cote d’Ivoire by the weekend as consensus mounts within the UN Security Council on slapping sanctions against Ivorian leaders seen as whipping up violence and blocking peace efforts, diplomatic sources said on Friday. HAITI: UN Official Predicts More "Collateral Damage" As Haitians prepare to go to the polls next month to elect a new political leadership, human rights groups have urged the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country against taking any military action that could harm innocent civilians. MADAGASCAR: Authorities on alert as tropical storm heads toward islandA tropical storm threatens Madagascar's southeast coast but officials believe the Indian Ocean island is better prepared for the cyclone season this year. Haiti Seeks Return to Caricom FoldTwo years after he was sworn in as Haiti's prime minister with the backing of the United States, Gerard Latortue is confident that the groundwork has been laid for Haiti's re-entry into the regional integration grouping Caricom. France's Colonial BlowbackThe Business of Legal CocaPolls Show Many Americans are Simply Dumber Than BushChavez taunts Bush, but Venezuela-US trade growsGaza protesters demand Abbas resignThe Most Dangerous Double Standard in the Middle East Israel, Iran, and the Nuclear Bomb
Tyehimba on 01.28.06 @ 10:59 PM CST [ link] [ No Comments]
Friday, January 27th
Justice from an African woman’s standpoint
Justice from an African woman’s standpointThe economic and political crisis facing most of the African countries reveals that, even though there is a lot of scholarly work on the nature of justice, the majority of the people in Africa are yet to experience full human life. The faces of malnourished children in the streets of many cities in Africa, and the choking statistics of death as a result of starvation and other poverty related diseases challenge traditional definitions of justice and demand accountability. Due to the implementation of the structural adjustment programs imposed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, African countries’ economies have declined, which makes it difficult for the majority of them to access basic necessities such as food, water, medical facilities and education. The decline in health care services, education facilities, the growing shortage of food, and insecurity, force us to question the relevance of this global economy and who benefits from it. SOUTH AFRICA: ANC looks to women to curb government graft HALF THE candidates of South Africa's ruling ANC in the March local government elections will be women, the party said yesterday, in what analysts say is a drive to curb graft and end protests over poor services. Curse hangs over African languages in Senegal Linguists say many African languages are dying because speakers believe foreign tongues are more useful. To prepare students for business, linguistics departments in West African colleges usually teach French or English. Nigeria: Oil-Rich Niger Delta Faces 'Shocking' New Wave of ViolenceForeign oil companies accustomed to high tension in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta are being forced to grapple with a new level of violence one industry official called "shocking." Africa faces decent work deficit, says ILO reportBesides having the highest share in working poverty, sub-Saharan Africa`s unemployment rate is the second highest in the world, says the International Labour Office (ILO) in a new report. Hamas under pressure to recognise Israel as Fatah protest turns violent Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, is due to travel to Gaza tomorrow to open talks with the Hamas leadership on the formation of a "national unity" coalition government which would include ministers from the defeated Fatah. Aboriginal activists burn Australian flagAngry Aboriginal activists in Brisbane yesterday burned an Australian flag to protest against celebrations marking European settlement in Australia. Around 300 protesters staged the "Invasion Day" demonstration a short distance from where Queensland premier Peter Beattie was leading Australia Day festivities in the city's Roma Street Parklands. Palestinian people have spoken, says MbekiPresident Thabo Mbeki congratulated the Hamas Islamic movement on Friday on what he described as its decisive and democratic victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections. 'Suicide Seeds' Could Spell Death of Peasant Agriculture, UN Meeting Told Groups fighting for the rights of peasant communities are stepping up pressure on governments to ban the use of genetically modified ''suicide seeds'' at UN-sponsored talks on biodiversity in Spain this week. Bush supports Russian compromise for Iran nuclear disputeHamas under pressure to recognise Israel as Fatah protest turns violent How the BBC hollows out the ‘news’US propaganda aimed at foreigners reaches US public: Pentagon documentBush administration launches campaign of lies in defense of government spyingBush once again playing on fears of U.S. publicLarijani warns West against radical behavior United against the States! US Orders Syria To Do the Impossible Neanderthal man floated into Europe, say Spanish researchers Report: Israel tried to kill bin Laden Saddam's lawyers to sue Bush, Blair Forum Spotlights Problems of Poor Women An Open Letter to the State Department
The US is Violating the Rights of the Cuban Five No voting stations for Haiti's largest slum
Tyehimba on 01.27.06 @ 09:46 PM CST [ link] [ No Comments]
Thursday, January 26th
Haiti: A coup regime, human rights abuses and the hidden hand of Washington
Haiti: A coup regime, human rights abuses and the hidden hand of WashingtonIn a June 2005 Jamaica Observer column about the significance of the Haitian revolution, John Maxwell wrote, “the slaves of Saint Dominique, the world’s richest colony, rose up, abolished slavery and chased the slavemasters away.” Maxwell, one of the more astute journalists covering US foreign policy, added, “Unfortunately for them, they did not chase all of the slavemasters away, and out of the spawn of those arose in Haiti a small group of rich, light-skinned people – the elites, whose interests have fitted perfectly into the interests of the racists in the United States. Between them, last year, on the second centenary of the abolition of slavery and the Independence of Haiti, those interests engineered the re-inslavement of Haiti, kidnapping and expelling the president and installing in his place a gang of murderous thugs, killers, rapists and con-men. Kenyan Police are on a manhunt for the owner of the collapsed Nairobi building In Nairobi, Kenyan Police are looking for the owner of a new five storey building which collapsed on Monday taking 280 workers with it and so far bringing a death toll of 17 people. Liberia: Can 'Mama' Ellen fix it?IN defining an agenda for Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, it is important to first break from the mould of Eurocentric historiography which has painted Liberia as a country founded in 1822 by freed American slaves who were resettled in Christopolis (now Monrovia) as part of the effort of the American Colonisation Society (ACS). This flows from the perverted racist thesis that Africans have no history and that their history revolves around colonial conquests. It is distasteful that in spite of the works of distinguished scholars like Ade Ajayi, Kenneth Dike and Cheik Anta Diop, this pervading Eurocentric view of the history of Liberia still persists. Museveni: Uganda ready to attack rebels in CongoThe Ugandan military is ready to "deal with" rebels in neighbouring Congo who killed eight U.N. soldiers this week, President Yoweri Museveni said on Thursday. THE SELF-SERVING PATERNALISM OF THOSE WHO GIVEDonor countries and agencies do not always mean well when they give aid to poor countries, often under the misconception that development assistance means "giving to beggars". Belgium ask Senegal to extradite HabreBelgium said on Wednesday it would consider going to the International Court of Justice in The Hague if Senegal refused its request to extradite Chad's former leader to stand trial for torture and mass murder. Africa's Twin Curses2005 was dubbed the "year of Africa" by the G8 and it brought some welcome progress in conflict resolution on a continent which has had more than its share of political instability: a peace deal in Sudan was finalized, U.N. peacekeepers left Sierra Leone, elections were held in Liberia and Burundi, even the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo appeared to be moving forward. Fitzgerald Probes Niger ForgeriesOver the past few months, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has been questioning witnesses in the CIA leak case about the origins of the disputed Niger documents referenced in President Bush's January 2003 State of the Union address, according to several current and former State Department officials who have testified in the case. Hamas celebrates amid sea of greenPresident Bush says he will only deal with Hamas if it stops its campaign to destroy Israel Listening to the Voices of PalestineThe Core of ZionismNSA Accused of Psychologically Abusing WhistleblowersReal international terrorism: How and why the West supports terrorismTaking no legal prisonersThe president of the United States says detainees at Guantanamo Bay and other detention centers are not entitled to the status "prisoners of war" because they are terrorists and illegal combatants. Larijani warns West against radical behavior United against the States! US Orders Syria To Do the Impossible Neanderthal man floated into Europe, say Spanish researchers
Tyehimba on 01.26.06 @ 08:26 PM CST [ link]
Wednesday, January 25th
Africa's Oil Belongs to Africans
UK to Pay Asylum-Seekers to Return HomeBritain is to offer African asylum seekers £3,000 ($5,400) to go home or leave the UK. In a pilot scheme which will apply to all asylum seekers to the UK this year, the British government has introduced the payment in an effort to weed out those who have applied for refugee status merely in search of a better life. Africa's Oil Belongs to AfricansIn Obioku, Nigeria, as a matter of routine, the children collect muddy water from puddles, and take it to their mothers to use for cooking. It is likely that many of the children of this impoverished community have no real appreciation for the extent of the oil wealth that sits beneath their feet. Royal Dutch Shell knows, and the oil giant has jockeyed for the opportunity to have full access to this significant alternative oil source. Army racism drove me to depression THE ARMY look set to be embarassed by new revelations about racism after it emerged that the words "die nigger" were scrawled on the barrack doors of a black squaddie. Satisfaction with an "Afrocentric" MeetingThe first phase of the World Social Forum (WSF), which ended Monday in the Malian capital of Bamako, created a focus on "Afrocentric" issues that was missing in previous forums, said coordinator Mamadou Goita. Africa Slides Down Agenda At Davos As Asia Takes Centre StageAFRICA is gradually slipping down the agenda of the World Economic Forum's (WEF's) annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland, which begins today. Instead, China and India will be centre of attention. Militants Kill 9 in Fresh AttacksMILITANTS operating guns, mounted on speedboats, yesterday stormed the industrial facility of a subsidiary of the Italian oil giant, Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC), in Port Harcourt and shot dead eight policemen and a civilian worker and made away with a yet to be determined amount of money. Sudan loses bid to lead African UnionIn a compromise that tested their commitment to human rights, African leaders persuaded Sudan to withdraw its bid to lead the 53-nation African Union and chose the Republic of Congo, whose leader has a less egregious record of abuses. Morocco denies harbouring terrorists arrested by CIAMoroccan interior minister Al Mustapha Sahel on Monday categorically refuted claims published by a local weekly that Morocco harboured Islamic fundamentalists close to the Al-Qaeda network in secret detention centres operated by the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). S Africa targets apartheid criminalsSouth Africa is tightening the noose around perpetrators of apartheid crimes who shunned the truth commission or were refused amnesty, the country's most senior prosecutor has said. Statue of Egyptian queen unearthed A US archaeological team has unearthed a statue of Queen Ti, one of the most important women in ancient Egypt and wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities says. White House accused of slowing Katrina probeReconstruction chaos as US cash runs dry Sanitised images hide truth about war, says Fisk AMERICA'S CRIME AGAINST HUMANITYKilling the Messenger: The Silencing of Journalism in Iraq"International terrorism does not exist"Scandal Stirs Issues of Race in Atlanta Team unearths statue of Egypt's Queen Ti Bolivian president forms cabinet Social Forum Opens in Venezuela Pakistanis Kept From Visiting Attack Site Study: Army Stretched to Breaking Point Pay as you pollute Thousands take part in anti-US march in Cuba
Tyehimba on 01.25.06 @ 11:32 PM CST [ link]
Monday, January 23rd
New Barriers Hinder African Trade
New Barriers Hinder African TradeJust as developing countries are beginning to overcome some major hurdles in their quest to expand trade with industrial countries, another is rearing its head. As a result of agreements negotiated at the World Trade Organization (WTO), traditional trade protection measures such as tariffs and quotas are falling away. But to some extent they are being replaced by domestic technical regulations that permit countries to bar products from entering their markets if the products do not meet certain standards. Free Trade is Not Fair Trade, Say ProtestersVIOLENT street protests have become a common feature at World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meetings. The Hong Kong gathering last week was never going to be different. Sudan asked to drop bid to lead AU - officialFive African leaders have asked Sudan to withdraw a bid to head the African Union that has prompted worries it could sink the Darfur peace talks and dent the group’s credibility, an AU official said on Monday. 20,000 Flee DRC Fighting, Seek Refuge in UgandaThe United Nations says about 20,000 people have crossed into Uganda to escape fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. A statement from the U.N. refugee agency Sunday says the refugees are camped at two locations and lack food, water, shelter and sanitation. Apartheid business verdict goes to US appeal court on Tuesday A judgment against 87 South Africans, who accused 23 foreign corporations of aiding and abetting the apartheid regime, will be appealed in New York on Tuesday. Unfinished business for Namibia's HereroNamibia's Herero community is seeking reparations from Germany for the suffering experienced during colonial rule. Researcher: Early Man Was Hunted by BirdsSouth African Studying 2 Million-Year-Old Ape-Man's Death Says Ancestors Were Hunted by Birds Depleted Uranium - A Hidden Looming Worldwide Calamity Who's Looking for Porn?Congressional Agency Questions Legality of WiretapsU.S. Obtains Internet Users' Search RecordsOil, conflict and the future of global energy suppliesBring Bush to trial as a war criminalEgypt: West ignores Israeli nukesThe War on the American Republic: Lies and their ConsequencesIran shifts billions from banks in Europe amid fears of UN sanctions Haiti judge drops charges against priest New York City - Rejection takes leaders by surprise Bolivia's Morales Vows End to Colonial Past US message screen angers Castro Slavery Beneath the Golden Arches? The Imperium's Quarter Century New Attack in Haiti
Two Reports from the Haiti Information Project Bolivia's 1st Indian president inaugurated Pakistan PM: CIA attack reports 'bizarre' Latin America's winds of change The UN in Haiti and the Geneva Convention Crackdown Inside San Quentin
Why are They Rounding Up Tookie Williams' Friends? Black and White Families Trade Places on TV
Tyehimba on 01.23.06 @ 08:47 AM CST [ link]
Friday, January 20th
Calm returns after four days of riots against UN
Soyinka raises alarmNOBEL Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, yesterday raised alarm over what he called gradual drifting of the country "towards a total mockery of constitutionalism". Calm returns after four days of riots against UN, French peacekeepersBusiness resumed as usual with cars and taxis back on the streets of Cote d’Ivoire on Friday after protesters demanding the departure of UN and French peace troops called an end to four days of riots by lifting roadblocks and going home.. A Canadian Ban on US Rapper? 50 Cent Solutions to One Dollar ProblemsThere is political opportunism, scapegoating, and desperation, but Toronto Liberal MP Dan McTeague has raised (or rather lowered) the bar with his suggestion that Immigration Minister Joe Volpe ban New York-based rapper 50 Cent from entry into Canada for a series of concerts beginning in December. What is equally surprising is that Toronto’s "leftist" mayor David Miller endorses such a reactionary move. 'Blonde is beautiful' mystique "Is it politically correct for us to see King Kong?" a friend joked when the latest version of the movie classic opened. A movie clip that shows Kong staring mesmerized at the fair Ann Darrow, played by Naomi Watts, caused me some uneasiness because it's hard not to see the subliminal racism in a story about a big black beast falling tragically in love with a pale blonde beauty. Mbeki says AU summit to resolve Darfur unrestThe African Union summit set to take place in Khartoum next week will hopefully contribute towards finding a faster resolution to the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday. Khartoum unsuitable to elect African judgesIn an assessment report released on the eve of African Heads of State and Government summit in Khartoum, Sudan, the Coalition of African Jurists, National Human Rights Institutions, and NGOs yesterday declared that the process of electing judges for the proposed African Court on Human and Peoplesí Rights is ìsubstantially flawed. Soyinka accuses Obasanjo of impeachable offencesA STRIDENT call has been made by Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, on President Olusegun Obasanjo to change his ways and desist from unconstitutional acts inimical to the good health of the nation. Failing this, according to the literary icon, Obasanjo risks the wrath of Nigerians and ultimately is in danger of being impeached from office. Indeed, Soyinka said yesterday, if matter gets to that head and the National legislators fail to heed the call to impeach the President, the citizenry would begin plans to compel them to act. UGANDA: Drought forces Sudanese herdsmen into northeastAn estimated 2,000 armed herdsmen from drought-hit parts of southern Sudan have moved into northeastern Uganda in search of pasture and water, Ugandan officials said on Friday. 40 killed as rustlers raid village Eight Kenyan herdsmen were among 40 people killed when Ethiopian raiders attacked a remote village in Turkana and drove away over 500 animals at the weekend. Rwanda demobilises over 50,000 ex-fighters in 11 yearsRwanda has demobilised 55,000 former fighters from different groups involved in the country`s civil war since the 1994 genocide, according to the chairman of the national demobilisation and social reintegration commission, Jean Sayizonga.
Tyehimba on 01.20.06 @ 01:25 PM CST [ link]
Thursday, January 19th
Africa pays highest price for globalisation
Africa pays highest price for globalisationAnti-globalisation protestors are gathering this week for the first World Social Forum in Africa, the world’s poorest continent which they say is the worst victim of a process aimed at reducing inequalities. Thousands of anti-globalisation activists, debt relief campaigners and African advocates for the rural poor were to meet in the west African country of Mali from Wednesday to discuss alternative development models. Cynicism, hope precede WSF in AfricaWith just a day to go before Africa's first-ever World Social Forum (WSF) gets under way in Mali, attitudes towards the meeting appear somewhat mixed in the West African country. "This forum will not lead to anything; we'll just hear the same speeches," says Aliou Traoré, a teacher in the capital, Bamako, where the gathering is being held. "Before, it was politicians putting us to sleep with their words -- now it's those who question globalisation who are doing so." African 'al-Jazeera' aims to give a fairer view of the continent Eritrea denies US mission’s permission to visit border areaThe Eritrean authorities have denied two U.S. diplomats permission to visit an Eritrean border area that is the object of a simmering dispute with neighboring Ethiopia, a State Department official said Wednesday. Nigerian rebels threaten more oil firmsA militant group attacking oil installations in the Niger Delta has said it will widen its range of targets to include more multinational companies. Five protesters killed as UN peacekeepers open fire in Ivory Coast Ivory Coast is tottering on the brink of renewed civil war after at least five people died in violent confrontations between UN peacekeepers and youthful supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo. Young "patriots" blocked the streets of Abidjan, the country's economic capital, for the third day to protest against a proposal to dissolve the pro-Gbagbo national assembly. Haiti's Elites Pressure the UN Pressure from the elite sector of Haitian society has been mounting against the U.N. Mission in Haiti during the past several weeks. As the on again, off again elections approach the renewed deadline of Feb. 7, the United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH) in Haiti has been led to believe in and listen to Haiti's most reactionary voices. The U.N. is being pressured to crack down hard on poor neighborhoods that remain loyal to ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and who have recently staged large rallies in support of Rene Garcia Preval. Selling the Amazon for a Handful of BeadsIn the midst of an Amazonian oil boom, classified documents reveal deep links between oil companies and Ecuador's military. China, India Urged To Shun Western-Style WasteWhen 'news' is harmful to your healthImperial Mongers of Civilization: From Gladstone to "King George" Is Bush Stupid -- Or Is America?God, Blood, Oil and IraqExclusive: Selling the Amazon for a Handful of Beads MLK in Port au Prince Prison with Fr. Jean-Juste No Child Left Unharassed
The Obstacle Course to School The US is willing to mediate in DR-Haiti issue
Tyehimba on 01.19.06 @ 12:51 AM CST [ link]
Tuesday, January 17th
Do American economic interests threaten democracy in the Congo?
Do American economic interests threaten democracy in the Congo?The United States do not have friends, they say. They only have interests to defend. This is the lesson that anyone who wants to understand international relations needs to take on board in their analyses. For Liberia, a 'break with the past'Greeted by shouts of "Queen of Africa!" and standing before the bullet-scarred capitol of this war-torn nation, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the Harvard-trained banker and stalwart survivor of Liberia's brutal politics, took the oath of office on Monday to become Africa's first woman to be elected a head of state. AU to Extend Mandate in Darfur for Additional One YearChairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Alpha Omar Konare proposed on Thursday to extend the mandate of the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS) despite funding gaps. The Chairperson in his report submitted to the Peace and Security Council of the Union proposed the need to extend the mandate of AMIS for another 9 months. The Peace and Security Council of the AU, which is discussing the report of Konare is expected to approve the proposal presented to extend the AMIS mandate till August 2006. IMF Probing Harare's Funding Source for 2005 Debt Paydown The International Monetary Fund has opened an investigation into how Zimbabwe raised the funds it used to pay down debt service arrears. News of the probe comes as an IMF team prepares for Harare consultations starting January 24 that will factor into IMF Executive Board deliberations in March on Zimbabwe’s membership status. Rwanda gets tough on plastic bagsRwanda is cracking down on the use of plastic bags by shoppers, the environment minister has told the BBC. The drone, the CIA and a botched attempt to kill bin Laden's deputy In the hunt for al-Qaeda, a missile attack on a mountain village killed women and children. The attack was precise, the intelligence was flawed, and the strained relation between Pakistan and the US has been pushed to breaking point. Alarm over Sudan's bid to chair AUMore than 50 African human rights and civil society groups have written to the continent's leaders expressing alarm at Sudan's bid to chair the African Union despite continued violence in its western Darfur region. In a letter dated Monday, the groups warned such a move could destroy efforts to resolve a conflict that has killed an estimated 180 000 people and displaced about two million since 2003. Haiti is Canada’s IraqEgypt’s democratic charadeOn Dec. 30, just before dawn, Egypt’s riot police stormed a public square in the Cairo suburb of Mohandeseen, where 3,000 Sudanese refugees had staged a peaceful sit-in for several weeks. In the process of using water canon and live ammunition, some 27 refugees were killed, including 11 children. Eyewitnesses and the media documented the horrifying encounter. This tragedy has renewed many questions about the Mubarak regime’s commitment to democratic opening and the country’s claim to be a role model in Africa and the Arab world. Eritrea-Ethiopia row continuesEritrea and Ethiopia are continuing to blame each other for their border stalemate, says the United Nations on Tuesday as a US diplomatic delegation prepares to visit the region in a bid to avert a new war between the arch-rival Horn of Africa neighbours. How the West and the West Bank Were WonSeminal questions A curious religious debate is raging in Egypt. The question is: should you keep your clothes on when having sex? India, Iran and the nuclear challengeIran bans CNN journalists after presidential misquote Bush to criminalize protesters under Patriot Act as "disruptors"Caricom offers Haiti assistance with poll preparations Bold Tidings Why the MTL Sale Smacks of Dishonesty Man's racist slurs prompt time in black churches Rise in mental illness linked to unhealthy diets, say studies Haiti is Canada's Iraq Evo Morales, Communitarian Socialism and the Regional Power Block Cancer study patients 'made up' Alabama Remembers Black Soldier's Defiance China beat Columbus to it, perhaps Math Yoga Not a threat to the US This Is Your Brain On Tech Racial Profiling in Public Schools Villagers shun man they believe is dead
Tyehimba on 01.17.06 @ 10:35 AM CST [ link]
Sunday, January 15th
African Union under pressure over Sudan
African Union under pressure over SudanMore than 40 African non-governmental organisations have launched a bid to prevent Sudan from becoming the next chairman of the African Union, claiming the move would jeopardise peacekeeping operations in the country's troubled Darfur region. Putting a spin on colonial history will not make black people feel more BritishAfter years of discrimination and exclusion at every level of British society, black people are now being asked to buy into a new ‘inclusive’ British identity to satisfy the government’s concerns that society is becoming dangerously segregated. South Africa to rename airports South African government headed by President Thabo Mbeki is pursuing its plan to rename the country's airports in a bid to rid its colonial history. Sudan to check AU soldiers for AIDSThe governor of North Darfur State, Mohamed Osman Kibir, has revealed that his government will carry out fresh tests on AU troops in his state. Rwandan soldiers guard the funeral of a man killed by Janjaweed in Al Fasher, North Darfur State March 1, 2005.Kibir pointed out in a press statement that following AIDS-related deaths among AU troops, citizens in the area had become worried. West is in dark ages, says Iran's PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad, the hardline President of Iran, launched an angry tirade against the West on Saturday, accusing it of a "dark ages" mentality and threatening retaliation unless it recognised his country's nuclear ambitions. Europe Complicit in CIA 'Dirty Work': Investigator Bush Authorized Domestic Spying Before 9/11Emotions run high in Alito hearing’s 3rd daySpain defies US on Venezuela dealBush used misinformation to advance the cause of war
Tyehimba on 01.15.06 @ 11:54 PM CST [ link]
Saturday, January 14th
UN whitewashes massacre amid new attacks in Haiti
UN whitewashes massacre amid new attacks in Haiti "It was a campaign of fear. Didn't you hear the radio? They told people that if they left their homes they would be arrested by the police and the U.N.," stated Jean Joseph Jorel, a representative of the National Commission of the Family Lavalas Cell of Reflection. Jorel made the comment from Cite Soleil on January 9, the same day the Haitian Chamber of Commerce had called a national strike to condemn insecurity in Haiti and a recent spate of kidnappings throughout the capital. Roadblocks manned by the Haitian National Police and the U.N. went up throughout the capital on January 9 and traffic remained sparse as most residents stayed in their homes. Police detain ex-chief rebel negotiator in Sierra Leone The police in Sierra Leone on Friday confirmed the arrest and detention of Omrie Michael Golley, who formerly served as legal counsel and chief negotiator for the now defunct rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF). South Africa Bans Blood From Gay Men; Gay Groups ProtestSouth Africa's National Blood Service is looking into claims by a gay rights group that some of its members donated blood, in violation of a ban on blood donations from sexually active homosexual men. The ban has drawn widespread criticism. Anti-GM foods workshop stirs controversyDiscussions at a workshop in Accra on the implications if Ghana should accept genetically modified (GM) crops turned into a hot debate from participants and resource persons, with bitter criticisms against MOSANTO, the top GM crop leader. Anti-Genetically Modified Crops Campaigner from Saskatchewan, Canada, Percy Schmeiser made a strong case against GM crops, citing ill health effects, particularly the lowering of the functioning of the immune system and increased rate of breast and prostate cancer as a result of the increased use of chemicals to cultivate the crops. UN Envoy Recommends Robust New Peacekeeping Force for DarfurThe top U.N. envoy to Sudan is asking the Security Council to send a new peacekeeping force to Darfur. The diplomat painted a grim picture of the prospects for ending violence and suffering in the vast western Sudanese region. UN wants Western forces in DarfurThe United Nations wants the United States and European countries to help form a tough mobile force to stop the bloodshed, rape and plunder in Sudan's Darfur region. US blocks aircraft sale to VenezuelaArrested for Exposing TerroristsNarcissism, the Public, and the President
Tyehimba on 01.14.06 @ 11:49 PM CST [ link]
Friday, January 13th
Corrosive prejudice within black community
Sudan says US force in Darfur unwelcomeSudan on Friday rejected a suggestion by United Nations head Kofi Annan that US and European troops be sent to Darfur, saying the international community should give more cash to African forces already on the ground. Forest, ecosystem loss fanning East Africa droughtUN Environmental Programme (UNEP) said here Thursday that the drought currently ravaging parts of East Africa and the Horn of Africa regions was a result of loss of forest cover, grasslands and other key ecosystems. Corrosive prejudice within black community "If you're white, you're right. If you're brown, stick around. If you're black, stay back." It's a playground ditty many African Americans have grown up with. Yet most blacks find its message profoundly painful to discuss. Stalling the Dream Fifty years ago, the late Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, catalyzing history-making events. Imagine, however, if Rosa Parks had lived in New Orleans in September 2005 and was trying to escape from the gathering clouds of Hurricane Katrina. Would she have jumped in her car? Would she have bought a train ticket? It is likely she wouldn¹t have found any bus seat. Would she have survived? 'Old boys' launch Africa Forum A select "old boys' club" of former African heads of state has been established in Maputo, with former president Nelson Mandela as its patron. The veterans had formed the Africa Forum as an informal network to help strategise plans for the development of the continent. Cash crunch may cripple AU mission in SudanA CHRONIC lack of funds could cripple the strengthened African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in Sudan's restive western region of Darfur. AU Commission Chairperson, Alpha Oumar Konare, who gave the warning in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia yesterday, said: "This strengthened presence has indisputably had a positive impact on the situation obtaining on the ground". UNHCR pursues return of 70,000 refugees to South SudanThe UN refugee agency, UNHCR, on Thursday signed the first of seven expected tripartite agreements that will clear the way for some 70,000 refugees to return to South Sudan in the first half of this year. The governments of Sudan, Kenya and UNHCR signed the agreement in Nairobi -- exactly one year and three days after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended 21 years of north- south civil war in Sudan was also signed in Nairobi. Chad raps World Bank for "unjustified" funds freezeChad accused the World Bank on Friday of overstepping its authority by blocking the transfer of Chadian oil revenues from an overseas account in an escalating dispute over an oil law reform opposed by the global lender. The World Bank said on Thursday Citibank had frozen a London-based escrow account that collected revenues from Chad's oil pipeline, including royalty payments from oil major Exxon Mobil Corp. EU authorises genetically modified maizeThe European Commission on Friday said it had authorised the sale of three genetically modified maize lines for a 10-year period. Bolivia strongly rejects Chávez' remarks'No nudity for sex'US army in Iraq institutionally racist, claims British officer Chile: Latest poll shows Bachelet 5 points ahead Victim of Pinochet era asks Chilean voters to make history We'd rather be famous than brainy, say young Britons Taiwan breeds green-glowing pigs Ecuador Police Break Up U.S. Protest
Tyehimba on 01.13.06 @ 09:59 PM CST [ link]
Thursday, January 12th
From Rwanda to Darfur: Lessons learned?
BC vs. The Wall Street JournalFrom Rwanda to Darfur: Lessons learned?What lessons did the international community learn from the Genocide in Rwanda ten years ago, especially in relation to the crisis in Darfur? Gerald Caplan, an expert on the Rwandan genocide, charts the responsstrategic interests, have shown a scandalous disregard for human life and failed to act and prevent genocide.e of the international community in Rwanda and then discusses what the response has been in Darfur. Once again, the international community, with key players only able to serve their various economic and strategic interests, have shown a scandalous disregard for human life and failed to act and prevent genocide. African Countries Jostle for Nigeria SatelliteMore than ten African countries have indicated their desire to benefit from the operations of the yet-to-be launched Nigeria Communication Satellite, known as NIGCOMSAT-1, Director General of the National Space Research and Devel-opment Agency (NSRDA), Prof. Robert Boroffice, has said. Germany 2006 and the African immigration smudge As preparations are underway for the world’s largest sporting event-World Cup 2006- visa and immigration related issues have once again taken centre stage and are very high on the agenda of both the host country -Germany- and participating countries from the African continent in this all-important event. Caribbean slave descendants sue French philosopherDescendants of slaves from France's Caribbean islands are suing a leading French philosopher for making allegedly offensive remarks about the islands' black populations, a lawyer said on Monday. Benin Voodoo Day Pushes for Acceptance of Traditional ReligionsOnce stigmatized, traditional religions and voodoo have gained widespread acceptance in the West African nation of Benin. An annual voodoo festival, officially recognized by the government that once banned the practices, attracts thousands of practitioners and curious visitors from as far away as Europe and America. Rwanda seeks priest's extradition for genocide trialRwandan authorities have demanded the extradition of a Catholic priest exiled in France who is suspected of participating in the country's 1994 genocide, officials said on Thursday. Unearthing the past in NamibiaFor more than 15 years, the sands of northern Namibia have hidden many of the victims of this country's troubled past. In the last few months however, the authorities have been discovering unidentified graves that date back to the struggle for independence from South Africa during the apartheid era. World is failing the Congo, says reportWar-ravaged Congo is suffering the world's deadliest humanitarian crisis, with 38 000 people dying each month mostly from easily treatable diseases, according to a study published on Friday in Britain's leading medical journal. Chad oil account frozen after World Bank halts aidThe World Bank on Thursday said Citibank had frozen a London-based escrow account that collected revenues from Chad's oil pipeline, including royalty payments from oil major Exxon Mobil Corp. IMF to make new mission to ZimbabweA five-member delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to arrive in Zimbabwe later this month as the Southern African country struggles to pay back about $146-million owed to the lending club, the finance minister said on Thursday. AU Won't Allow Former Leaders to Be Tried Outside Africa - KonareAfrican Union Commission chairman Professor Alpha Oumar Konare has said the AU will not allow former African leaders to be tried outside Africa. Politics of Chaos: Gaza’s Turmoil in Context
Tyehimba on 01.12.06 @ 10:40 PM CST [ link]
Wednesday, January 11th
Spain's Little Piece of Africa
Panamanian official resigns, citing U.S. PANAMA CITY, Panama -- Panama's agricultural minister resigned Tuesday, accusing the United States of pressuring the Central American country to accept lower agricultural inspection standards. UN admits civilians may have died in Haiti peacekeeping raid Naked News breaking in Japan marketChavez angry with US over jet rowVenezuelan President Hugo Chavez has accused the United States of blocking a purchase of training jets from Brazil. Two dozen Haitians found dead in Dominican vanThe Katrina fallout in black and white Black Americans and White Americans don't see the world the same way. It's an axiom of race relations. 'GM crops fail in Africa'Ten years after the first significant planting of genetically modified (GM) crops there are no apparent benefits for consumers, farmers or the environment, said a report made public on Tuesday. Spain's Little Piece of AfricaFor half a millennium, the Spanish have held on to this little piece of Africa, an enclave carved by conquistadors chasing the last Moors from Catholic Spain. Melilla and its sister enclave, Ceuta, are sovereign Spanish territory with Spanish citizens and flag, geographically in what is today Morocco: the last remnants of Europe in Africa.
Admin on 01.11.06 @ 10:22 AM CST [ link]
Africa should set up its own educational standards
Africa should set up its own educational standardsAfrican governments have imposed colonial educational standards on its people for so long and it was time for them to set up their own standards to suit their own situations based on their own criteria, Mr Thulas Nxesi, President of Education International (EI) of South Africa, said on Tuesday. UN admits civilians may have died in Haiti peacekeeping raid The UN has for the first time admitted that a number of innocent civilians may have become "collateral victims" and killed during a controversial raid by peacekeeping forces in Haiti. The admission will likely add to the tension inside the capital city, Port-au-Prince, already wracked by violence and chaos – and the recent suicide of the UN military commander - as it prepares for a crucial election. 3.9 million dead from war in Democratic Republic of Congo: The LancetEight years of war in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have left nearly four million people dead, making it the deadliest humanitarian crisis today, according to a study published on Saturday in the British medical weekly The Lancet. GM crops fail to deliver benefits to AfricaTen years after the first significant planting of genetically modified (GM) crops there are no apparent benefits for consumers, farmers or the environment, a report made public on Tuesday said Voodoo celebrated at festival in the Republic of Benin Thousands gathered Tuesday on a beach to celebrate Benin's once-banned Voodoo, slaughtering animals and welcoming revelers from Brazil and the United States whose slave ancestors took the religion to the Americas centuries ago. Ministers: Donors biased on debt Two Cabinet ministers have accused the international community of discrimination in cancelling foreign debts to poor countries. Finance minister David Mwiraria and his Trade counterpart, Mukhisa Kituyi, said while most African countries had received debt relief, Kenya was yet to benefit from such magnanimity even though the Government has been lobbying for cancellation of external debts amounting to Sh449 billion. Sudan’s new oil wealth still a source of conflictNothing has changed in the way oil wealth is distributed in Sudan, oil and aid workers say, a year after a peace agreement to end a petroleum-fueled civil war in the south of Africa’s largest country. ANGOLA: Oil rich but dirt poorOn the back of record oil prices, Africa's second largest producer, Angola, has one of the continent's fastest growing economies while its people remain among the poorest. AU and the challenge of a summitSenior Correspondent, Victor Onyeka-Ben examines issues surrounding the forthcoming African Union summit noting that the outcome will go a long way towards defining the direction of the African continent's fragile peace. Illegally Imported, Fake Drugs Flood KenyaThousands of Kenyan patients are unknowingly taking wrongly formulated or expired medicines, thanks to a thriving illegal trade in counterfeit and illegally imported drugs, the country's pharmaceutical industry has warned. '10 million girls aborted in India'Up to 10 million female foetuses may have been aborted in India over the past two decades after gender checks, according to a study published in the Lancet, a British medical journal. Zimbabwe: Judge seeks end to colonial era restrictions on the practice of witchcraft A senior High Court judge urged Zimbabwe's government to ease colonial era restrictions on the practice of witchcraft, state-run radio reported Tuesday. 'Fool Me Once...' The revelations that the Bush Administration has engaged in the secret jailing and torture of people in gulag-like conditions in Eastern Europe and elsewhere while pursuing the warrantless wiretapping of Americans at home should send shivers down the spines of all who value our constitutionally protected civil liberties. Yet although the institutions that have reported on these chilling developments clearly deserve our gratitude, the manner in which they have done so nevertheless inspires suspicion and unease. What is happening in Venezuela, was bound to happen at some time!Since World War II, the US and Britain have been busy undermining Human Rights in every area that they were supposed to protect. American liberators or American thieves? Palestine: the People and the Land...
Tyehimba on 01.11.06 @ 05:02 AM CST [ link]
Tuesday, January 10th
Racist attack on Sudanese refugees
S. Africa, Zimbabwe open migrant centerTo address an increasing flow of illegal migrants from Zimbabwe to South Africa, the countries announced plans Tuesday for a joint border migration office. South Africa breaks record in car salesDrought blamed on deforestationNairobi - Kenyan Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai on Monday blamed the drought threatening millions in Kenya with famine on deforestation and urged immediate steps to replace lost trees. Bolivia's Morales visits S Africa Bolivia's president-elect Evo Morales is in South Africa on the latest leg of his world tour ahead of his inauguration on 22 January. GM crops fail to deliver benefits to AfricaJOHANNESBURG – Ten years after the first significant planting of Genetically Modified (GM) crops there are no apparent benefits for consumers, farmers or the environment, a report made public on Tuesday said. Top UK University to improve education in AfricaThe University of Bristol has been leading a research programme in partnership with African universities to improve education in Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and South Africa. Spain's battle against racismThe Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) – hosts of a keynote European anti-racism conference in Barcelona – considers the 1 February event an important milestone in its own campaign to rid football of intolerance and discrimination. Racism blamed for slow changeA City Council member from the East End says racism may be a factor in the slow pace of housing development and other projects in his community. Racism: Essential Readings That racism exists today is indisputable, as evidenced by the resegregation of schools and neighborhoods, the extraordinary numbers and proportions of incarcerated people of color, the higher rates of disabling illness and lower life expectancies among people of color, and the continued presence of racial stereotypes uncovered by social psychologists conducting research projects across the country—to mention only a few indicators. Racist attack on Sudanese refugees(FinalCall.com) - Last week in Cairo, Egypt, between one to two thousand Sudanese refugees camped out in the upper middle-class area of Mohandessin, to protest against the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. According to press reports, the refugees had been there for a little over three weeks. Many of the reports that I read, from both American and international press, stated that the refugees were trying to convince the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to send them to a third country. Many had traveled to Egypt as refugees because of the long bitter war in the Sudan. Although the war recently ended in a peace accord, many who were from southern Sudan still felt that the country was not safe enough to return home with their families. Racial stereotypes in Katrina commentaryThese commentators perpetuate the stereotype that African-Americans who question the white establishment are self-promoting, unreasonable and non-credible. The irony here—that these dismissals of racism themselves echo racist stereotypes—points to the way Americans’ denial of their prejudices can perpetuate the very bigotry they disavow. US African Americans see Bolivarian processVenezuelan Education Minister Aristobulo Isturiz has met a delegation of US African American personalities currently visiting Venezuela to get to know the Bolivarian revolutionary process first hand. Caribbean slave descendants sue French philosopherDescendants of slaves from France's Caribbean islands are suing a leading French philosopher for making allegedly offensive remarks about the islands' black populations, a lawyer said on Monday. Italian atheist sues priest over existence of JesusROME -- Forget the U.S. debate over intelligent design versus evolution. An Italian court is tackling Jesus, and whether the Roman Catholic Church may be breaking the law by teaching that he existed 2,000 years ago. Politically correct racism, White Australia & US EmpireWhat Sharon DidThe Bulldozer's long, brutal career ended better than anyone expected. Teens sent to prison for lynchingMoments before their trial was to begin, five white South Carolina youths admitted their roles in a mob attack on a black teen and received prison sentences from a judge who called their actions "despicable" and "cowardly." Joshua Bey Talks of Life as Black-American MuslimAt 95, Bey is one of the oldest of the estimated 2.5 million Hajis participating in this year’s pilgrimage. He recounted to Arab News his long life as an African-American Muslim. Black hole leaves dent in space-timeScientists say a black hole has chiseled a remarkably stable indentation in the fabric of space and time. The finding may help scientists measure a black hole`s mass and how it spins, two measurements that have long been sought, the astronomers reported at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington, D.C. Another Black Nazarene devotee dies ANOTHER Black Nazarene devotee died at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) on Tuesday morning, a day after a stampede during an annual Roman Catholic procession claimed the life of a 38-year-old man and injured 20 others. Ricardo Escobido did not recover from a heart attack Monday as he and other members of a volunteers' group prepared to start the parade of the centuries-old black statue of Jesus Christ known as Black Nazarene through Manila's Quiapo district, said hospital spokesman Dr. Michael Tee. Escobido was rushed to the hospital at the same time as several men who were left bloodied and unconscious when the wooden cover of a manhole gave in as a massive crowd of mostly barefoot males surged toward the Black Nazarene, Tee said. Pair jailed for raping babyTwo babysitters were jailed today for raping a 12-week-old child and taking pictures of the horrific abuse. Zapatistas tour cements shift for indigenous rightsZapatistas began a six-month tour of Mexico with a welcome extended from Tohono O'odham at the northern border, as Mexico's indigenous joined those of Bolivia and Venezuela to lead a continental shift toward support for indigenous rights. Impeach Blair on Iraq, says general A former general has called for impeachment proceedings against Tony Blair, accusing the prime minister of misleading parliament and the public over the invasion of Iraq. The politicisation of the Sakharov Prize "Terrorism and Its Real Face:
Fake Democracy and the Trade Monster's True Colors" Haitian business leaders strike U.S. Support for 'State Terror' in Latin America Mutes Us Now Perspective: Create an e-annoyance, go to jail Ugly Phrase Conceals an Uglier Truth
Behind the US Government's corruption
of language lies a far greater perversion
Admin on 01.10.06 @ 08:56 PM CST [ link]
Monday, January 9th
Kenya to reclaim 'stolen' artefacts
Kenya to reclaim 'stolen' artefactsKenya is in the process of identifying several artefacts smuggled out of the country in the late 1970s and early 1980s in a bid to bring them back, senior curator of the National Museums of Kenya, Abdalla Ali Allausy, said here Sunday. Belafonte calls Bush 'greatest terrorist'The American singer and activist Harry Belafonte called President Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world" on Sunday and said millions of Americans support the socialist revolution of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. China-Africa trade jumps by 39% Trade between China and African nations jumped 39% to $32.17bn (£18bn) in the first 10 months of last year, official Chinese customs figures have revealed. A year after, Sudan peace still fragileA year after it was signed, Sudan’s Coprehensive Peace Agreement that ended more than two decades of war has overcome several obstacles but is still threatened on several fronts, analysts say. Bye-bye to Blair, Brown, Bob and Bono - the B stars in poverty pornography Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem says goodbye to the missionary focus on Africa by the likes of Tony Blair and Bob Geldof. “I hope that in the New Year NGOs will start looking more to Africa and Africans rather than to false prophets, saviours and messiahs from outside,” he writes. Racism and Injustice in Alabama's CourtsAll the self-serving, racist noise purporting to justify ridiculously high bail bonds primarily for black people together with all the surreal political nonsense about "locking people up and throwing away the key" gave me reason to take another look at Alabama's criminal justice system. Here is just some of the sickening, racist crap I fully expected and quickly found. Lord, please help us! Chadians React to World Bank Loan SuspensionChad's government is calling for the World Bank to reconsider its decision to suspend loans to the country. The suspension was in response to Chad's decision to change bank-mandated laws. But public reaction to the loan suspension is mixed. U.S. insists on monitoring democracy in NigeriaTOP officials of the United States government have re-affirmed America's interest in Nigeria's democracy. Reiterating the country's recent position, a U.S. official said yesterday that America would not stop monitoring the six-year-old democratic rule of President Olusegun Obasanjo. Haiti’s UN Mission leader found deadThe head of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Haiti, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), has been found shot dead in a hotel room in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Gen Urano Teixeira Da Matta Bacellar’s body was found with one bullet to the head the early hours of Saturday morning. Although an investigation is underway, it’s thought he may have committed suicide. Impeach Blair over Iraq: UK generalthe history of Zionism in the 20th centuryUS Image Problem Rooted in History, Not MediaPentagon propaganda program orders
soldiers to promote Iraq war while homeZapatista leader Ramona diesA Maya Indian rebel leader and women's rights champion who became a Mexican heroine to anti-globalisation activists has died after a battle against cancer. Year of Living DemocraticallyUSA Sanctions 9 Firms Under Iran Nonproliferation ActBolivian Elections: A ten days commented diaryACS Secretary General Concludes Visit to Cuba The NSA Spy Engine: Echelon Pentagon Strike
Tyehimba on 01.09.06 @ 08:58 AM CST [ link]
Saturday, January 7th
The Northern Slave Trade
In Caracas, Belafonte calls Bush terroristCARACAS, Venezuela -- The American singer and activist Harry Belafonte called President Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world" on Sunday and said millions of Americans support the socialist revolution of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. The Northern Slave TradeAmericans excel at ego-boosting myths of exceptionalism: It's our ingenuity, energy and can-do attitude that explain our rise from frontier to world power. But what if slavery were the real secret of our success? The noose tightensSudanese asylum-seekers scattered in churches and hospitals around Cairo tell Gamal Nkrumah about the horrors of the New Year's Eve police raid on their camp U.N. calls urgent meeting on postponed Haiti electionsThe UN Security Council has summoned an emergency meeting on Friday for talks on Haiti’s elections which have been pushed back again. The country has failed to keep a date for elections and has previously postponed four dates since former president Jean Bertrand Aristide was ousted from office in 2004. Its interim government has postponed polls planned for January 8, causing alarm bells in the U.N. Africa Spends Us$4bn a Year On Western ExpatriatesAfrica spends US$4 billion per year, representing 35% of total official development aid to the continent, to employ some 100,000 Western experts. These are recruited to perform functions generically described as 'technical assistance', which could have been done by African experts lost to the brain drain of the western world. Egypt says Sudanese won't be deported after 27 left dead in clashespolice last week Friday. However, there have been reports that some migrants are being held at a military airport near the Egyptian capital and will be deported in days. Nigeria's Odious Debt Anti-debt campaigners and some U.S. lawmakers are joining forces to call on the George W. Bush administration to return debt arrears owed by Nigeria and to let the African nation spend the funds on health and education through a World Bank-sponsored fund. Congressional Black Caucus Says US Should Return Debt Payment to NigeriaEighteen members of the United States Congress are asking the Bush Administration to return the US share of Nigeria’s $12.4 billion debt payment under a forgiveness deal reached with the Paris Club group of creditors last October. King Tut: African or European?Debates over King Tut’s image and identity are not new. In 1922, Howard Carter, an English archeologist, “discovered” the tomb of this young king who had ruled Egypt about 3300 years ago, from 1336 to 1327 B.C. As soon as his reconstructed images began to appear, they sparked decades of debate over his identity. Most European and Euro-American scholars and others persuaded by their point of view claimed that King Tut was essentially a “caucasoid” ancestor of present day Europeans (referring to ”whites” generally). UN threatens to pull out of Eritrea-Ethiopia border disputeEthiopia and Eritrea have been told that the United Nations may have to withdraw its peacekeeping mission from the region following their volatile stalemate over their disputed border. In recent months, the tension between the two countries has heightened with more troops mobilising at the border, as an outbreak of another bloody conflict threatens. From 1997 to 2000, the neighbours, situated in the Horn of Africa, were locked in a war over the border, which left around 80,000 people dead. Nigeria to free many awaiting-trial prisonersNigeria plans to free about 25 000 inmates, many of whom have been awaiting trial for years, in a bid to decongest overcrowded and unhygienic prisons and improve its human rights record. A Black Radical from the 1960s Fights Extradition to the USJust north of the border, in the Canadian city of Toronto, African American Gary Freeman is fighting to stay in the country he fled to 35 years ago. Freeman is being held while a legal battle rages with the Canadian government, which wants to deport him to the U.S. to stand trial in Chicago for the 1969 shooting of a white police officer. Darfur rebels attack AU force, one killed, 10 wounded One Senegalese soldier of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission was killed and 10 others were wounded in an ambush Friday by armed Sudanese rebels in the Darfur region of western Sudan, said the Senegalese military. Cricket & Iraq – Exposing Politically-Correct Australian Racism Apart from record temperatures, huge bushfires and the death of a media mogul, major stories in Australian media in the current holiday season have been beach-side racist race riots, racial taunting of the South African cricketers touring Australia and Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean. Thousands of Rwandan Hutus fleeing to Burundi Around 2,000 Rwandan Hutu refugees have arrived in Burundi in the past month, many saying they feel insecure in Rwanda or are being refused permission to cultivate their land, the United Nations said on Thursday. Eritrea accepts border rulingEritrea has reluctantly accepted an international panel's ruling that it was to blame for hostilities that led to a bloody two-year border war with Ethiopia, but lashed out its arch-rival neighbour for rejecting a binding boundary demarcation. Basis for Spying in U.S. Is Doubted Netanyahu waiting in the wings...with bombs for IranIraq war could cost US 'more than $2-trillion'What White America Doesn't HearMorales: Bolivia needs "partners, not masters" UNH archaeologist uncovers earliest Maya writing system Haiti's Court System
Tyehimba on 01.07.06 @ 11:40 PM CST [ link]
Friday, January 6th
What about the quality of justice from Blacks?
Active Value man to back black Africans Julian Treger, the activist investor known for causing a number of boardroom bust-ups in the City, has emerged as a key player in an investment vehicle seeking to finance black economic empowerment in his native South Africa. Killing continues in Darfur To the Death: George Bush and the Addiction to WarIt was a moment choreographed for spectacle, one that has been replayed countless times throughout history. Although the props were larger and more magnificent, the message was the same: We are the victors and we have won. But grown larger as well were the accompanying lies that say we went to war only with great reluctance; that it was our solemn duty to vanquish the evil other; that we are not in love with war. All addictions require lies. Negative expectations color racial interactionsDespite a culture that increasingly values diversity, many people still find interacting with those from another racial group tense and awkward. What about the quality of justice from Blacks?As I looked at the Black superintendent of police in New Orleans, Warren Riley, on television recently, justifying the killing of a Black man on the streets of the city by his police force – perhaps by bullets fired by the lone Black policeman among the three – I knew that this was not a result for which the civil rights movement was fought. Black leaders urge CU to fight racismBlack community leaders on Tuesday urged the University of Colorado to recruit more minority students and faculty, and to protect them from harassment after a string of racially tinged incidents on the Boulder campus. SA politician claims hotel racist South African politician Patricia de Lille says that she was twice prevented from entering a bar in a Cape Town hotel because she is of mixed race. Grammy-winning singer Lou Rawls dies at 72LOS ANGELES — Lou Rawls, who earned fame with his glorious voice and respect through his prodigious fundraising for the United Negro College Fund, died Friday of cancer.
Admin on 01.06.06 @ 10:24 AM CST [ link]
Henry Louis Gates and the Times: Unfit to Print
Henry Louis Gates and the Times: Unfit to PrintOn December 27, 2005 the New York Times printed an article entitled "Ghanaians' Uneasy Embrace of Slavery's Diaspora." The New York Times rarely delivers on its claim to give its readers "all the news that is fit to print." Even white politicians like John Kerry get biased coverage when they dare to challenge the established order. If a white presidential nominee can't catch a fair break from the Times, then black people are definitely out of luck. Afro-Colombians Driven Off Land in Cocaine WarAlthough Colombia has had a large displaced population for two decades, its size has increased quickly in recent months, experts say, and a disproportionate number of them are, like Garces, Afro-Colombians. They are targeted because they lack political clout and sophistication at a time when their rural homes have become economically attractive. U.N. calls urgent meeting on postponed Haiti elections Emergency talks are being held by the 15 member states on the postponement of the Haiti election The UN Security Council has summoned an emergency meeting on Friday for talks on Haiti’s elections which have been pushed back again. The country has failed to keep a date for elections and has previously postponed four dates since former president Jean Bertrand Aristide was ousted from office in 2004. Its interim government has postponed polls planned for January 8, causing alarm bells in the U.N. Sudanese army deployed along border with EthiopiaThe armed forces in Al-Gadarif State have taken up position in agricultural areas on the border strip east of Al-Atbarawi River in the areas south of Daglash Mountain and east of Sundus and Al-Allaw. Zambia says ban on gene-altered maize standsZambia said on Thursday a ban on gene-altered maize remained in force despite pressure from millers arguing it delayed shipment of grains to the southern African country. Zambia faces severe food shortages and the government declared a national food emergency last year to attract more donor support to save people on the brink of starvation. It says 1.7 million people need food handouts because they are far too poor to afford commercial purchases. The War Against CivilisationOn May 6, 2002, the United States denounced the International Criminal Court, telling the United Nations that it would no longer consider itself bound by the Treaty establishing the ICC – signed by President Clinton in the closing days of his administration. France to rewrite controversial law on colonial past, Chirac saysFrance will rewrite a much-contested law that requires textbook publishers to put an upbeat spin on France's colonial past, President Jacques Chirac said Wednesday. FBI Patents Domestic SpyingThe tactics they use are the same as the ones used on Martin Luther King, Jr. and '60s radicals. IMF Occupies Iraq, Riots Follow What Hillary Clinton Doesn't Know About Palestine
Tyehimba on 01.06.06 @ 05:08 AM CST [ link]
Thursday, January 5th
Democracy is about people power
Democracy is about people power This is a heavily edited version of a lecture by Jerry Rawlings, former president of Ghana, delivered at Witswatersrand University, South Africa last September on democratic reform in Africa. Some 120 Killed in One of Iraq's Bloodiest DaysKERBALA/RAMADI, Iraq - Two suicide bombers killed 120 people and wounded more than 200 in the Iraqi cities of Kerbala and Ramadi on Thursday in Iraq's bloodiest day for four months. Desai to head sports racism probeThe Human Sciences Research Council has by-passed the University of KwaZulu-Natal in funding Durban academic Ashwin Desai to conduct research into traces of racism in South African sport. Activists debate reparations at NAACP conference On Friday, Oct. 3, the Syracuse University National Association for the Advancement of Colored People hosted a "Conference on the Reparations and Peace Movement." The event, held in the Schine Underground, featured guest authors and activists Dr. Raymond Winbush and Sam E. Anderson, as well as SU professors William Wiecek and Arthur Flowers. Travellers flock to South AfricaTravellers are flocking to South Africa, with more and more taking advantage of the wealth of outdoor pursuits the country offers. Libya sends emergency medical aid to Central AfricaA Libyan cargo plane left here Wednesday carrying emergency medical assistance donated by the World Association of Islamic Appeal (AMAI) to the people of the Central African Republic. AIDS's Ravaging of Africa Reaches Epidemic ProportionsTwenty-five years ago, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome — AIDS — was discovered. In that time, the retroviral cause of AIDS has become the most studied virus in human history. Confirmed: PM Ariel Sharon is (At Least Clinically) DeadReliable sources indicate to Israel Insider that PM Ariel Sharon died at 11 am. Israeli media channels still report his condition is "very grave." Director of Hadassah Hospital Shlomo Mor-Yosef officially denies "rumors" of death and says Sharon's condition is "serious but stable." Katrina: A Study - Black Consensus, White Dispute Hurricane Katrina may mark a watershed in Black perceptions of the African American presence and prospects in the United States. "It could very well shape this generation of young people in the same way that the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King shaped our generation," said Prof. Michael Dawson, of the University of Chicago whose team conducted a survey of Black and white reactions to the disaster between October 28 and November 17, 2005. "It suggested to Blacks the utter lack of the liberal possibility in the United States," said Dawson, the nation's premier Black social demographer. Hiding Behind Words: A Glossary of Dispossession Spain cancels Bolivian debt as Morales tour starts Chirac orders new French colonialism law Cambodia's fledgling democracy under attack
Admin on 01.05.06 @ 06:40 PM CST [ link]
Wednesday, January 4th
Congolese Mineral Wealth As Coveted As Ever
Racist Attack On Sudanese Refugees Last week in Cairo, Egypt between one to two thousand Sudanese refugees camped out in protest against the United Nations High Commission for Refugees at an area in Cairo called Mohandessin. Mohandessin is an upper middle class area of Cairo, Egypt. According to press reports, the refugees had been there for a little over three weeks. Many of the reports that I read from both American and international press stated that the refugees were trying to convince the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to send them to a third country. Many of them had traveled to Egypt as refugees because of the long bitter war in The Sudan, which has recently ended in a peace accord. Many of the refugees who were from the south still felt that The Sudan was not safe enough to return home with their families. Congolese Mineral Wealth As Coveted As EverIn a report issued last year, the New York-based non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch noted that Uganda exports 60 million dollars worth of gold annually, even though the country only produces some 25,000 dollars worth of the metal and records no legal imports. The balance of Uganda's exports, according to 'The Curse of Gold', is mined by impoverished Congolese villagers. Democracy is about people powerAfrica’s political history since independence has largely been characterised by a scarcity of verifiable documentation and a dearth of information on the activities of the key players in the struggle for liberation and democratic evolution. Leaders such as Patrice Lumumba never had the opportunity to contribute to our knowledge of Africa’s political development because their lives were cut out prematurely by the anti-liberation forces of their time. Egypt to deport 650 SudaneseEgypt will deport 654 Sudanese refugees who were violently evicted from a protest camp in a Cairo park last week, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman says. African Americans - Foreigners or Relatives?The Ghanaian government is spearheading a campaign to attract people of African origin from around the world to go to Ghana to help rebuild the nation. The campaign will eventually include giving Ghanaian citizenship to African Americans. Britain Denies Laxity in Rape InvestigationBritain has defended itself over allegations it has failed to investigate the alleged rape claims involving its soldiers while training in Kenya. In all, over 2,000 Kenyan women claimed they were raped by British soldiers. Chad Dilutes Oil-for-Development PledgeTension is rising between the World Bank and the African nation of Chad, one of the world's poorest countries, over the latter's decision to seize funds from a controversial Bank-funded oil pipeline and not spend the money on social sectors. 237 illegal migrants detained in Cape VerdeA group of 237 illegal migrants attempting to reach Europe by boat were detained on Tuesday by authorities in Cape Verde, according to reports reaching here from Praia on Wednesday. UN Considers Change in Ethiopia-Eritrea MissionU.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan says the situation between Ethiopia and Eritrea has reached a "dangerous stalemate" and suggested possible changes to the U.N. mission in the region. Annan states Ethio-Eritrea options United Nations (UN) chief Kofi Annan has presented the Security Council with six options ranging from maintaining the status quo to a full withdrawal for the UN mission monitoring the tense Ethiopia-Eritrea border. 48 killed in Iraq violence Not Just A Last Resort? A Global Strike Plan, With a Nuclear OptionRussia and Ukraine agree gas deal Dyncorp and Halliburton Sex Slave Scandal Won't Go AwayUS Headed for Confrontation With IranSecret operations of Bush administration disclosedBritish program uncovers Israel’s secret nuclear plansArgentina begins process to cancel IMF debt Bolivia 'to join Chavez's fight' Bush's Long War with the Truth Prove Christ exists, judge orders priest AN ITALIAN judge has ordered a priest to appear in court this month to prove that Jesus Christ existed. The Link Between Domestic Spying and U.S. Military Aid to Latin America
Tyehimba on 01.04.06 @ 09:40 AM CST [ link]
Tuesday, January 3rd
War Without End
China-Africa ties grow and tip global balance Beijing imports oil, metals and agricultural products too. It makes funds available and exports merchandise, manpower and technical expertise. Political ties are intense, even in the face of opposition from Europe and the US. More than 700 Chinese companies are at work in 49 African countries. Muslim Scholars Were Paid to Aid U.S. PropagandaWASHINGTON - A Pentagon contractor that paid Iraqi newspapers to print positive articles written by American soldiers has also been compensating Sunni religious scholars in Iraq in return for assistance with its propaganda work, according to current and former employees. War Without EndOnly Justice, Not Bombs, Can Make Our Dangerous World A Safer Place Their Riots and OursThe French government's report on the wave of Muslim riots that has swept across France has not yet been written, but if history is a guide, the report's conclusions will be indistinguishable from the American Kerner Commission report on the Black urban riots of the Sixties and Lord Scarman's report on London's 1981 Brixton riots. The Council on Foreign Relations Does AIDSIn July, 2005, on the fifth anniversary of the U.N. Security Council resolution addressing the threat HIV/AIDS poses to the security of nations, the Council on Foreign Relations published Laurie Garrett's study entitled "HIV and National Security: Where Are the Links?" Israel creates a wasteland in Gaza, and calls it peace Iran responds harshly to attacks from US, IsraelNew Year Resolution: Shock and Awe to Replace Troops in Iraq
Admin on 01.03.06 @ 11:18 AM CST [ link]
Monday, January 2nd
Egypt to deport 600 Sudanese in wake of deadly clash
Gloomy Start to New Year As Famine Stalks RegionEast African leaders said today that millions of people in the region faced hunger because poor rains had affected vital crops and pasture, giving their New Year messages a sombre tone. Egypt: Calls to Investigate Refugee Riots As Death Toll Hits 30Human rights groups are calling for an independent investigation into violent clashes between Egyptian security forces and Sudanese protestors last week that left some 30 people dead and scores injured. Egypt to deport 600 Sudanese in wake of deadly clashEgyptian authorities are preparing to deport some 600 Sudanese, part of a group of nearly 2,000 people detained after police forcibly broke up a protest in Cairo, a Sudanese official said Monday War-weary Sudan marks five decades since independenceSudan yesterday marked 50 years of independence, a turbulent half-century of civil wars, humanitarian suffering, frequent dictatorship and a long search for a way to grow as Africa's biggest nation. Third term: Obasanjo begins campaignAs opposition continues to mount over President Olusegun Obasanjo’s alleged third term agenda, there are indications that he might flag-off the campaign in January 2006. Floods in Malawi leave one thousand homelessFloods in Malawi have displaced at least one thousand people and destroyed a much-needed maize crop in one of the areas worst hit by famine in the small southern African country, government officials said on Monday. Maasai herdsmen demand seized cows Tension is growing between Maasai herdsmen and the Narok County Council after over 500 cows found grazing in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve were detained. Morocco, Spain Get Tough On Illegal ImmigrantsIllegal immigrants seeking to start a new life in Europe will now find it impossible to jump the border after Moroccan and Spanish armies have erected a barbed wire between their common frontier. Between 14 and 16 Africans were shot dead in October 2005 after they attempted to enter the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which are both claimed by Morocco. Blood DiamondsAccording to a report by Partnership Africa Canada (P.A.C.), “upwards of 50,000 [have been] killed, half the population displaced, and more than two-thirds of its already severely limited infrastructure destroyed.” Meanwhile, the underground trade of illicit diamonds is booming. Conflict diamonds are valued “between 4 percent and 15 percent of the world total” and generate annual trade revenues of $7.5 billion. Are indigenous languages dead?As the continent marks the Year of African Languages in 2006 to help promote the use of the mother-tongue, does it matter if Africa's indigenous languages are dying out? Torture: The Israeli DenialVenezuela takes over 32 privately operated oilfieldsBush caught in more lies about domestic spyingTowards an 'axis of good'Terrorists in High Places
Tyehimba on 01.02.06 @ 11:42 PM CST [ link]
Uganda in talks with Congo over $10b fine
Uganda in talks with Congo over $10b fine Uganda has begun negotiating payment terms with the Democratic Republic of Congo after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Kampala should compensate the neighbouring country for invading and plundering her neighbour's resources.
Tyehimba on 01.02.06 @ 11:13 PM CST [ link]
Remembering 'Rio's holocaust
Drought-hit East Africa faces acute hunger-monitorGunfire, explosions rock military barracks Unidentified gunmen attacked the main military barracks in Ivory Coast's largest city on Monday, authorities said as gunfire and heavy explosions shook the area after dawn. Zambia to benefit from South Africa's food aidZambia and six other countries in southern Africa will share 22 million U.S. dollars as food aid provided by South Africa to alleviate food shortages in the region, according to Times of Zambia on Monday. African-Americans aren't getting lung cancer surgeryEven when they have equal access to specialized care African-Americans with potentially curable lung cancer are about half as likely as whites to undergo surgery that could save their lives, according to a study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers in Boston, Mass. What it means to be black and gayLast February, when the debate over gay marriage had reached a particularly ugly juncture, the Rev. Gregory Daniels, a prominent black minister from Chicago, announced from his pulpit: "If the KKK opposes gay marriage, I would ride with them." Back to AfricaIN THE face of the current xenophobia in Europe against immigration and the mass movement of Africans, the unsuspecting observer may sympathise with the Europeans, justify their angst and look with apathy at the hordes of African immigrants whose dead bodies are washed ashore every day on the beaches of the Mediterranean sea. Report reveals racial coup in U.S.That story began to unfold a couple weeks ago when a commission created by the North Carolina Legislature issued a draft report on the causes of a bloody racial clash in 1898. It concluded that the so-called Wilmington race riot was actually a coup staged by a group of white supremacists to seize power from the coalition of whites and blacks that dominated the political life of what was then North Carolina's largest city. Remembering 'Rio's holocaustRIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - The remodeling project at a 19th century home in Rio's old Gamboa district came to an abrupt halt. Laborers digging in the yard to check the foundations had found human bones. Thousands of them. The homeowner, Ana de la Merced Guimaraes, soon discovered that her house was sitting on the Cemeterio dos Pretos Novos - Portuguese for Cemetery of New Blacks - a crude burying ground for African slaves that historians had thought was lost. Zapatistas' Marcos quits armed struggleThe pipe-smoking, balaclava-wearing, but no longer gun-toting leader of Mexico's Zapatista rebel group, subcomandante Marcos, emerged from his jungle hideout yesterday for a six-month nationwide tour to promote a new, non-violent political movement. Last year, the politics of global inequality finally came of ageA year ago, we were told we had 12 months to make poverty history. So, in the bleary cold light of the new year, how does our achievement stack up? Did a year of unprecedented focus on Africa - rock concerts, 250,000 demonstrating in Edinburgh and an extraordinary degree of political engagement at the highest levels - succeed? Blood Flows With Oil in Poor Nigerian Villages "This region is synonymous with oil, but also with unbelievable poverty," said Anyakwee Nsirimovu, executive director of Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in the Niger Delta. That combination is an inevitable recipe for bloodshed and misery, he said. "The world depends on their oil, but for the people of the Niger Delta oil is more of a curse than a blessing." Towards an 'axis of good'Evo Morales, the president-elect of Bolivia, will travel to Venezuela this week from a visit to Cuba. But he would have been happy to travel to the US - except that Washington did not invite him. Looking back: 45 years of Viet Nam-Cuba tiesteleSUR en vivoWatch a live video stream of teleSUR, a media collaboration between Argentina, Cuba, Venezuela, and Uruguay, twenty four hours a day at www.telesurtv.netVenezuela regains control of 32 privately operated oil fields Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said in a statement on Sunday that 32 privately operated Venezuelan oil fields returned to state control with the start of the new year. Bitterness returns to D.C.-Havana relationsAfter months of relative calm on the U.S.-Cuba diplomat front, the two nations have returned to the caustic rhetoric that has often characterized their relationship since Fidel Castro took power in 1959.
Admin on 01.02.06 @ 08:15 AM CST [ link]
Sunday, January 1st
Sudanese refugees death toll rises to 27
UN Agency Blamed for Sudanese Refugee DeathsArab and Middle East civil society groups are accusing a United Nations agency of collaborating with Egyptian police in action which caused the deaths of at least 25 Sudanese refugees in a downtown Cairo park on Friday. Sudanese refugees death toll rises to 27 - embassyThe death toll from Egypt’s violent clearing of a Sudanese refugees camp rose to at least 27 today as a presidential spokesman expressed sorrow and garbage collectors moved in to clear the trash from a failed three-month protest. Nigerian army kill 12 caught stealing oil Nigerian troops killed 12 men caught stealing crude oil from a pipeline in the southern state of Delta, the head of a government task force on pipelines said on Sunday. Blair's heroes of democracy who embraced oppressionMELES ZENAWI was hailed last year by Tony Blair as a leading member of a new generation of African leaders, and was praised for his enlightened approach to the continent’s problems. Indeed, the Ethiopian Prime Minister impressed Mr Blair so much that he asked him to become a member of his much-vaunted Commission for Africa. Kenyan President Declares Famine National DisasterKenyan President Mwai Kibaki has declared the food shortages ravaging the country a national disaster.Mr. Kibaki made the announcement Sunday during a New Year's Day speech. He says nearly 2.5 million people will need food aid, which he estimates will cost more than $150 million. Meanwhile, Down in Haiti...Haiti's Judicial and Executive Branches are both getting what they deserve this holiday season- each other. After 22 months of close collaboration to trample Haiti's Constitution and democracy, they have now turned their destructive energies on each other. The Cour de Cassation (Supreme Court) outraged Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue on December 8 by decreeing that Dumarsais Simeus was wrongfully disqualified from the upcoming Presidential elections. Latortue retaliated the next day by firing five of the Cour's justices, replacing them with henchmen. The judiciary went on strike, which has shut down the justice system for four weeks. Theft of black Santa, graffiti signs of racismTheft of black Santa, graffiti signs of racism, observers say Kibaki calls food crisis a 'famine'Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Sunday declared food shortages ravaging parts of the east African country a "national disaster" and for the first time used the word "famine" to describe the crisis Trade Liberalisation Is Not Development Rumsfeld Admits to "Ghosting" Detainee2006: The Year of Revelation?Bush Defends Domestic Spying ProgramCuba, Bolivia to strengthen co-op despite US worries Secret Invasion: US Troops Steal into Paraguay The Bush administration has sent troops into Paraguay. They are there ostensibly for humanitarian and counterterrorism purposes. The action coincides with growing left unity in South America, military buildup in the region and burgeoning independent trade relationships. In a speech on July 26 in Havana, Fidel Castro took note of the incursion and called upon North American activists to oppose it. Racism contributed to action against Sudanese refugees Einstein Against Racism Many people know of Albert Einstein's sentiments for peace, but fewer know of his concern for racial equality. Even before his hurried escape from Nazified Germany, he had involved himself in the worldwide campaign to save the "Scottsboro boys," as they were then known. His participation in this campaign to save from death these nine Black teenagers, accused in Alabama of committing rape, earned him his first-ever entry in what would become an extensive FBI list compiled by J. Edgar Hoover on the great scientist.
Tyehimba on 01.01.06 @ 10:04 PM CST [ link]
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