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March 2007Zimbabwe's Lonely Fight for JusticePosted: Saturday, March 31, 2007 ¤ Lift Sanctions on Zimbabwe -SADC ¤ Chavez: Takeover of 16 Estates for Land Reform Sixteen landed estates will be expropriated for Venezuela's land reform program, announced President Hugo Chavez yesterday, during his television program Alo Presidente. The total area of land that will thus become available for redistribution to peasants and agricultural cooperatives will exceed 330,000 hectares (815,000 acres) in the Venezuelan states of Apure, Anzoátegui, Barinas, Guárico, Portuguesa and Aragua. The estates, which are all considered to be idle, are located throughout the country, explained Chavez, and will be used primarily for cattle ranching, due to the type of land involved. The effort represents a "true attack against latifundios [large idle landed estates]," said Chavez. He also added that landowners that own productive land do not need to worry, because cultivated land will not be touched by the government. ¤ Zimbabwe's Lonely Fight for Justice Ever since veterans of the guerrilla war against apartheid Rhodesia violently seized white-owned farms in Zimbabwe, the country's president, Robert Mugabe, has been demonized by politicians, human rights organizations and the media in the West. His crimes, according to right-wing sources, are numerous: human rights abuses, election rigging, repression of political opponents, corruption, and mismanagement of the economy. Leftist detractors say Mugabe talks left and walks right, and that his anti-imperialist rhetoric is pure demagogy. I'm going to argue that the basis for Mugabe's demonization is the desire of Western powers to change the economic and land redistribution policies Mugabe's government has pursued; that his lapses from liberal democratic rectitude are, in themselves, of little moment to decision makers in Washington and London; and that the ultimate aim of regime change is to replace Mugabe with someone who can be counted on to reliably look after Western interests, and particularly British investments, in Zimbabwe. ¤ Mistrial in Olympia 15 Case ¤ Unforgettable defeat ¤ The little Saudi surprise: So it stings. Live with it ¤ Worst fighting in Mogadishu for 15 years ¤ General Tried to Warn Bush About Tillman ¤ U.S. steps up campaign against Syrian government ¤ U.S. caught off guard by Saudi king's criticism ¤ Mugabe gets backing of party for five more years ¤ Oil and the Empire ¤ If the Iraqis Get Revenue Sharing, Exxon Gets Their Oil ¤ Iraqi justice minister resigns ¤ Again, It's the US vs. the World ¤ We've Lost The Authority to Lecture Iran ¤ Rosie Opens 9/11 Conspiracy 'View' Debate ¤ 14 killed in Iraq car bombings ¤ Blair's Faked Border ¤ Iraq bombings claim more than 130 lives Lift Sanctions on Zimbabwe -SADC Posted: Friday, March 30, 2007 From Innocent Gore in DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania herald.co.zw March 30, 2007 In a communiqué released at the end of a one-day extraordinary summit attended by 10 heads of state and government here, Sadc also appealed to the British government to honour its obligations and release funds to compensate former commercial farmers whose land was acquired for resettlement. The summit "noted and appreciated the briefing by President Robert Mugabe on the current political developments in Zimbabwe". "The Extraordinary Summit recalled that free, fair and democratic presidential elections were held in 2002 in Zimbabwe. The Extraordinary Summit reaffirmed its solidarity with the Government and people of Zimbabwe. "The Extraordinary Summit reiterated the appeal to Britain to honour its compensation obligations with regard to land reform made at Lancaster House. "The Extraordinary Summit appealed for the lifting of all forms of sanctions against Zimbabwe," read the communiqué. The Sadc heads mandated Sadc executive secretary Mr Tomaz Salamao to undertake a study on the economic situation in Zimbabwe and propose measures on how the regional bloc can assist the country to recover economically. This is the first time that Sadc has collectively called for the lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe and come up with a proposal on how the effects of those sanctions on the country can be countered. The sanctions against Zimbabwe by Britain and her allies follow a bilateral dispute between Harare and London after the country embarked on land reforms in 2000. The British government of Mrs Margaret Thatcher promised to release funds for land reforms at the Lancaster House constitutional conference that culminated in Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980 after a protracted armed struggle. However, the Labour government of Mr Tony Blair has refused to honour that obligation and has instead mobilised its allies — the United States and some countries in the European Union — to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe. Sadc has previously made it clear that the problems in Zimbabwe are a result of a bilateral dispute with Britain, mainly arising from the land reform programme, but had not pronounced itself explicitly on the need to have the sanctions lifted. The Government has said it will not compensate the former commercial farmers for the land because it does not have the money to do so, but that it will pay for the improvements on the land such as dams and other infrastructure. On the political situation in the country, the summit mandated President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa to continue to facilitate dialogue between the MDC and the Government and report back to the troika on Defence, Politics and Security on progress. "The Extraordinary Summit also encouraged enhanced diplomatic contacts which will assist the resolution of the situation in Zimbabwe," read the communique. The summit was held in the wake of a protracted media onslaught on Zimbabwe by the West, with the international media, particularly the BBC and CNN, speculating that President Mugabe had been "summoned" by Sadc leaders to be "dressed down" or "shown the exit". But sources who attended the meeting’s closed-door session said President Mugabe briefed the leaders on the political situation in the country and the MDC terror campaign that has seen the opposition party petrol-bombing police stations in Harare, Chitungwiza, Gweru and Mutare. Suspected MDC supporters also petrol-bombed a Bulawayo-bound passenger train and a supermarket in Warren Park. Speaking to reporters on arrival at Harare International Airport, the President said the summit had also urged the MDC to desist from violence and to recognise him and his Government as he was legitimately re-elected by the people of Zimbabwe in 2002. He said President Mbeki would talk to the opposition and see whether there is need for dialogue with them, but warned them against engaging in violence. The summit also got briefings on the political situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Lesotho by the leaders of those countries, President Joseph Kabila and Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili respectively. The leaders resolved to render unconditional support to Mr Kabila’s government in its quest to restore law and order, maintaining peace and stability and spearheading national reconstruction. It reaffirmed the sovereign right of the DRC to have a single national army and urged former Vice President Jean Pierre Bemba to integrate his remaining armed elements into the national army or to be demobilised. They also appealed to other armed groups in the DRC to do the same. The summit reiterated that the rule of law in the DRC must be observed and respected by all parties in conformity with accepted international conventions. It expressed concern on the loss of lives and urged all parties to respect the sanctity of human life and the principles of human rights. The summit also expressed support to the ongoing efforts for the economic reconstruction of the DRC. On Lesotho, the summit agreed to send a Sadc delegation at ministerial level to assess the situation as requested by the opposition political parties who want the regional bloc to help in dealing with post-election tensions. The other leaders who attended the summit were host President Jakaya Kikwete, President Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi, President Armando Guebuza of Mozambique, President Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia, Prime Minister Themba Dlamini of Swaziland and President Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia. Botswana was represented by its Vice President, Mr Ian Khama, while Angola was represented by its Minister of External Affairs, Mr Joao Bernardo Miranda. Madagascar and Mauritius were represented by their ambassadors. President Mugabe returned home last night and was met at Harare International Airport by Vice President Joice Mujuru, the Minister of State Security, Land Reform and Resettlement, Cde Didymus Mutasa, the Minister of Information and Publicity, Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, service chiefs and senior Government officials. Reprinted from: www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=17068&cat=1 Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Visit: Zimbabwe Watch Chavez: Takeover of 16 Estates for Land Reform Posted: Friday, March 30, 2007 Chavez Announces Takeover of 16 Estates for Venezuela's Land Reform By Venezuelanalysis.com March 26, 2007 Sixteen landed estates will be expropriated for Venezuela's land reform program, announced President Hugo Chavez yesterday, during his television program Alo Presidente. The total area of land that will thus become available for redistribution to peasants and agricultural cooperatives will exceed 330,000 hectares (815,000 acres) in the Venezuelan states of Apure, Anzoátegui, Barinas, Guárico, Portuguesa and Aragua. The estates, which are all considered to be idle, are located throughout the country, explained Chavez, and will be used primarily for cattle ranching, due to the type of land involved. The effort represents a "true attack against latifundios [large idle landed estates]," said Chavez. He also added that landowners that own productive land do not need to worry, because cultivated land will not be touched by the government. Speaking about the estate known as Hato Calleja, from which his program was being broadcast and which comprises 24,883 hectares (62,250 acres), Chavez said, "Starting today it will pass on to be what it always should have been: social property and social production for the satisfaction of the needs of the people." Chavez also announced the implementation of a new Integral Agricultural Development Plan for 2007 to 2008, which is supposed to contribute to Venezuela's "food sovereignty." Currently Venezuela imports approximately 70% of its food needs and the Chavez government has declared that it aims to increase agricultural production so that it no longer has to rely on imports to cover the country's basic food needs. The plan involves state support for strategic food categories, such as for rice, sugar cane, cacao, soy, coffee, cattle, fish, corn, cotton, and others. "The objective of this plan is to promote the new production model on the base of principles of agrarian socialism and of social property," said Chavez. In one of the estates that was being expropriated in the state of Apure, General Wilfredo Silva told of how the army had to repel an attack from armed individuals that day. The attackers escaped and are now being tracked, said Silva. In the process the military discovered a small plane, which he suspects is used for drug smuggling. Chavez affirmed that all too often large landowners are "hiding crimes, drug trafficking and smuggling." According to official figures the Chavez government has so far redistributed over two million hectares to over 150,000 families in the course of the land reform program, over the past five years. Most of this land, though, has so far come from land the state owns. With yesterday's announcement, though, the land reform is poised to shift towards the redistribution of privately held land. Social Property In connection with the new push for land redistribution, Chavez also announced that the constitutional reforms he is proposing will include a section for the introduction of social or collective property. "It's property that belongs to everyone and it's going to benefit everyone," said Chavez. Last January Chavez announced five "motors" for the introduction of "21st century socialism" in Venezuela, of which constitutional reform is one of the five motors. The other four were the enabling law, which allows Chavez to pass laws by decree for a period of 18 months, education reform, the reform of political-territorial jurisdictions within Venezuela, and the "explosion of communal power." Reprinted from: www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=2251 The little Saudi surprise: So it stings. Live with it Posted: Friday, March 30, 2007 WASHINGTON: American officials said Thursday that they were caught off guard by remarks by the Saudi king condemning the American intervention in Iraq as "an illegal foreign occupation" and were seeking clarification. But they sought to tamp down tensions over the comments. "We were a little surprised to see those remarks," Nicholas Burns, the under secretary of state for political affairs, told a Senate hearing, referring to the statement by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at the opening of an Arab League summit meeting in Riyadh on Wednesday. "We disagree with them." Full Article : iht.com Africa Summit Calls for End to Sanctions Posted: Thursday, March 29, 2007 ¤ Africa Summit Calls for End to Sanctions African leaders agreed that President Thabo Mbeki should facilitate dialogue between the government and opposition political parties in Zimbabwe amid calls from Western leaders for strong actions to be taken against President Mugabe and the government of Zimbabwe. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) also called for western sanctions on Zimbabwe to be lifted and appealed to Britain to honour its commitments to assist with financing land reforms in Zimbabwe. ¤ Brit 'Hostage' Drama Pales in Comparison to MI6 and CIA Crimes Against Iran ¤ US and Europe's Disinformation Campaign ¤ Castro warns poor will starve for greener fuel ¤ Britain Must Admit Error, Iran Says ¤ Russian intelligence sees U.S. military buildup on Iran border ¤ Baghdad Green Zone sees spike in mortars, rockets ¤ Shia Police Kill at Least 33 in Retaliation for Bombings ¤ Oil Traders Fear an Attack on Iran ¤ The Queen's Celebration: Slavery Without Regrets ¤ Iraq deaths greet new US ambassador ¤ Wake Up, You Live in America! ¤ Better That Iranians Didn't Go After Yanks ¤ Opposition to the War Growing Among Troops ¤ Bush's Long History of Tilting Justice ¤ Iraq blog spat leads to web chaos ¤ I'll Pay for Your Vacation in Iraq or Afghanistan! ¤ Multiple Bombings Kill More Than 100 ¤ What's wrong with this photo? ¤ Surviving At The Pleasure Of The President ¤ Stuck between Iraq and a Hard Place ¤ Take the word 'terrorism' ¤ America's Continued Crime Against Humanity / Radioactive Genocide ¤ Blood and Irony: No-Flying the Unfriendly Skies of Iraq ¤ The Racist War on Immigrants Zimbabwe: Africa Summit Calls for End to Sanctions Posted: Thursday, March 29, 2007 Zimbabwe Watch March 29, 2007 African leaders agreed that President Thabo Mbeki should facilitate dialogue between the government and opposition political parties in Zimbabwe amid calls from Western leaders for strong actions to be taken against President Mugabe and the government of Zimbabwe. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) also called for western sanctions on Zimbabwe to be lifted and appealed to Britain to honour its commitments to assist with financing land reforms in Zimbabwe. This may seem to be a slap in the face of Western leaders' calls for tough words and actions from African leaders against Robert Mugabe. It is quite obvious that African leaders are not dependant on western sources for news and reports on what is taking place in Zimbabwe. "Of course the appeal to parties is to be cooperative and give this initiative a chance, also for the parties to exercise restraint and avoid anything that's going to inflame the situation," Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete told reporters at a news conference. "The extraordinary summit mandated his Excellency President Thabo Mbeki to continue to facilitate dialogue between opposition and government and report back ... on progress," a statement at the end of the two-day summit said. "The extraordinary summit reiterated its appeal to Britain to honour its compensation obligations with regard to land reforms," the summit statement said. Also Read: Zimbabwe: US and Europe's Disinformation Campaign Africa summit calls for Zimbabwe dialogue Africa summit seek Zimbabwe talks Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Visit: Zimbabwe Watch British pawns in an Iranian game Posted: Wednesday, March 28, 2007 ¤ Zimbabwe Watch | ¤ Somalia's Crisis ¤ South Africa lays Zimbabwe crisis at MDC door ¤ A monstrous war crime ¤ British pawns in an Iranian game ¤ Why the West is Losing the War on Terror ¤ How Americans are Seduced by War Video Lecture ¤ A fake British map? More on the Captured Brits ¤ U.S. Sponsoring Kurdish Guerilla Attacks Inside Iran ¤ 4 die in suicide attack targeting Afghan intelligence chief ¤ Torturers 'must pay victims' - UN ¤ The Missing WMD – in Trucks in Iraq ¤ Crimes and Cover Ups are Not "Missteps" ¤ U.S. launches show of force in Persian Gulf ¤ The new Iraq that Georgie built ¤ Another question ¤ Once Were Soldiers: More Bush Abuse for Cannon Fodder ¤ Counting the cost ¤ Easter Surprise: Attack on Iran, New 9/11... or Worse ¤ Hooked On Weapons: Unfortunately It’s Us ¤ Iran: Britain must admit navy trespassed ¤ A Fake British Map?? ¤ Brits in the Gulf - What We Dont Know South Africa lays Zimbabwe crisis at MDC door Posted: Wednesday, March 28, 2007 By Donwald Pressly www.news24.com Cape Town - The serious conflict in Zimbabwe has arisen because of the perception by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that recent elections in Zimbabwe were not free and fair, said a South African government spokesperson, Themba Maseko, on Tuesday. "I think it is now public record that there were elections in Zimbabwe... at the end of those elections, the MDC were of the view that those elections were not free and fair. "Based on the view of the MDC, we then had a situation in Zimbabwe where there was serious conflict arising out of the premise taken by the MDC that the elections were not free and fair." It, however, was the position of the South African government that the recent elections had been free and fair, he noted. The answer was in reply to a question from a journalist - at a media briefing after Tuesday's cabinet meeting in Cape Town - as to what the government's analysis of the key problem was in neighbouring Zimbabwe. Full Article : news24.com S. African official defends policy towards Zimbabwe South Africa's Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad on Tuesday said his country adopts constructive diplomacy, not quiet diplomacy as described by critics, towards the Zimbabwean situation. During a media briefing at Parliament in Cape Town, he also rejected suggestions that economic sanctions should be imposed as a means to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe, the South African Press Association (SAPA) reported. Full Article : english.people.com.cn Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Visit: Zimbabwe Watch Zimbabwe: Opposition suspected in petrol bombings Posted: Wednesday, March 28, 2007 Petrol bomber arrested Herald Reporter A SUSPECTED petrol bomber has been arrested amid reports that Zanu-PF district offices in Mbare and a police camp in Chitungwiza were bombed yesterday. Police chief spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena said Stanley Mutsendi (35) of Unit G, Seke, was arrested at the weekend for allegedly petrol-bombing a house at Unit N Police Camp in Chitungwiza. He said Mutsendi, a member of one of the opposition's so-called Democratic Resistance Committees – underground groups that have been unleashing orgies of violence to create mayhem and render Zimbabwe ungovernable – was picked up at Makoni Shopping Centre. "We confirm his arrest in connection with the petrol-bombing of a house in a police camp in Chitungwiza and we are going to charge him with public violence," Asst Comm Bvudzijena said. He said Mutsendi was also linked to the bombing of a house belonging to a Zanu-PF councillor in Chitungwiza. "In a period of 12 days, we have had petrol bombs thrown in eight incidents around the country and in different circumstances. These are clearly acts of terrorism. The ZRP is determined to bring to book those who have committed these acts," Asst Comm Bvudzijena said. Full Article : herald.co.zw Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Visit: Zimbabwe Watch Britain's Financial Decision to End the Slave Trade Posted: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 ¤ Celebrating the Madness: Britain's Financial Decision to End the Slave Trade When has Western society ever taken moral precedence over the dollar? All the examples chronicled in our recent and ancient history indicate that the answer is a resounding "never." It is therefore safe to say that the decision to ban the slave trade in 1807 was not about those in authority taking moral and legal responsibility for an injustice but, as historical evidence has proven, was a decision based on the economics of the time. ¤ Zimbabwe: White Liberals Cannot See Truth in Africa Most White liberals and their media (including websites) are useless when it comes to evaluating issues from a Black point of view. They are not only useless when African nations and leaders have to be defended against the aggression of the US and Europe, but some go a step further and are more dangerous by how they spread the racist lies of the West. I guess they only view racism as when someone stands in a crowded place and shouts the "N" word. I did not expect them to be able to evaluate issues from an African point of view, especially as most of them could not even get it right on Venezuela during the coup attempt in 2002. ¤ Mainstream Media Demonizes Mugabe ¤ The American Ghosts of Abu Ghraib ¤ Why George Bush is Insane ¤ The Pentagon's Power to Jail Americans Indefinitely ¤ China shifts to euros for Iran oil ¤ 'NYT' Reporter Who Got Iraqi WMDs Wrong Now Highlights Iran Claims ¤ Truck bombs kill dozens at Iraqi markets ¤ Stop the Killing in Darfur! (I'm Sorry, I Mean Iraq) ¤ Mr. Bush, Your Arab League Summit is Convened ¤ More Funding for the War in Iraq ¤ Iran's arrest of sailors was legitimate, says former UK envoy ¤ Broken Promises and Barefaced Lies ¤ A searing assault on Iraq's intellectuals ¤ Counting the cost ¤ Who won the 'war on terror'? ¤ 'Hundreds killed' in Congo fighting ¤ US in Gulf show of force ¤ Venezuela signs oil deal with China Terrorized by 'War on Terror' Posted: Monday, March 26, 2007 ¤ Terrorized by 'War on Terror' ¤ Scott Ritter: Calling Out Idiot America ¤ Demobilizing America ¤ The crushing fear that stalks America ¤ Where are the Laptop Bombardiers Now? ¤ 666 Days Left For The Devil Down In DC ¤ On India's Growing Violence ¤ The President's Prison ¤ The Administration Thinks You're Stupid ¤ The War Against Google ¤ Ancient Whale Fossil Uncovered in Tuscan Vineyard ¤ A Week in Hell ¤ End the War, Then Impeach ¤ Pat Tillman: Beyond the Hype ¤ Latin America Tells Bush to "Get Out!" ¤ Lies, Bullshit and Something Worse ¤ Sanctioning the next war of aggression ¤ U.S. documentary shows everyday abuse of Abu Ghraib ¤ Chavez asks world to halt alleged planned US attack on Iran ¤ Gang mayhem grips LA ¤ Fire show at Moscow nightclub leads to 10 deaths ¤ Iraqi deaths survey 'was robust' ¤ Iran ‘to try Britons for espionage' ¤ Silencing the Children of Iraq ¤ 'My son lived a worthwhile life' Formation of Unified Socialist Party of Venezuela Posted: Monday, March 26, 2007 Chavez Launches Formation of Unified Socialist Party of Venezuela In front of more than two thousand "promoters" for the Unified Socialist Party of Venezuela yesterday, President Hugo Chávez called for all the political parties that support him to unite behind the new party. These "promoters" will carry out the first stage in the formation of a united pro-government party by the end of the year. President Chávez emphasized that a united party is vital for the success of the Bolivarian process. Full Article : venezuelanalysis.com Power vacuum in Somalia as factions fight Posted: Monday, March 26, 2007 The worsening security situation in Somalia is being blamed on miscalculations by the Ethiopian government and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) on the resilience of the Union of Islamic Courts. Also contributing to the situation is the apparent lack of determination of the African Union to take the necessary steps to maintain peace. Mogadishu underwent one its worst nights of violence last Wednesday, with the Somali capital coming under a barrage of mortar bombs that killed at least 20 people and left several wounded in what residents said was the heaviest bombardment in weeks. Full Article : nationmedia.com Now scientists create a sheep that's 15% human Posted: Monday, March 26, 2007 Scientists have created the world's first human-sheep chimera - which has the body of a sheep and half-human organs. Full Article : dailymail.co.uk Rendition and Regime Change in Somalia Posted: Saturday, March 24, 2007 ¤ Getting Away With It: Rendition and Regime Change in Somalia ¤ White Liberals Cannot See Truth in Africa ¤ Mugabe Gets the Milosevic Treatment ¤ Zimbabwe Watch | Somalia's Crisis ¤ Bush's Iran madness ¤ Israel's Last Chance ¤ Yes, Congressman, I Do Have a Problem With That ¤ America The Beautiful? ¤ Why CIA abuse is medieval madness ¤ To Stop War Crimes, Impeach The War Criminal ¤ Afghanistan Proves It ¤ That Thin Line Between National Policy and Sheer Lunacy ¤ Explosive New Vote Fraud Developments Continue To Rock Ohio and Florida ¤ Up to 60 dead in Kinshasa fighting ¤ Welcome to Iraq, Mr. Ban ¤ Weapons depot blasts kill 93 in Mozambique ¤ It is the US military that is engaged in an Iraqi conflict ¤ What's happened to Iraq's oil? ¤ Fooled Again ¤ Where Washington Lets No Good Deed Go Unpunished ¤ Suicide Truck Bomb Kills 11 in Baghdad ¤ Jeb Bush Denied Honor at U. of Florida ¤ Ontario Press Council refused to acknowledge proof of plagiarism ¤ WORDS ¤ Dick Cheney...An Iranian Mole? ¤ ABC (Under)counting Iraqi Dead ¤ America's original sin ¤ More Blood in the Wake of the "War on Terror" ¤ Navigating the web of lies and hoaxes seeded against Venezuela's Government Rendition and Regime Change in Somalia Posted: Saturday, March 24, 2007 Getting Away With It: Rendition and Regime Change in Somalia It's clear that no nation on earth will be allowed to organize its own society as it wishes, or work out its own internal conflicts, if the American elite decides they have some financial or strategic interest in the matter. The only nations immune to this power-mad interventionist philosophy are those who can strike back hard enough to upset the elite's apple cart. And thus we have Bush's "war on terror" – which is, as we've often noted, simply an escalation of the long-running, bipartisan foreign policy of the "National Security State" that has ruled America for 60 years. Continue reading: 'Rendition and Regime Change in Somalia' Zimbabwe: White Liberals Cannot See Truth in Africa Posted: Friday, March 23, 2007 By Ayinde rastafaritimes@yahoo.com March 23, 2007 MOST White liberals and their media (including websites) are useless when it comes to evaluating issues from a Black point of view. They are not only useless when African nations and leaders have to be defended against the aggression of the US and Europe, but some go a step further and are more dangerous by how they spread the racist lies of the West. I guess they only view racism as when someone stands in a crowded place and shouts the "N" word. I did not expect them to be able to evaluate issues from an African point of view, especially as most of them could not even get it right on Venezuela during the coup attempt in 2002. For all the distrust they have of their governments, they are more than ready to believe those same governments when they attack African leaders and nations. A prime example, Haiti. Most of the antiwar and anti-Bush media were quiet on that issue. They did not see the US, France and Canada having a major role in illegally forcing the first democratically elected President of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide out of office and into exile. (Read: The Ouster of Democracy by Gary Younge, March 2004) White liberals who just did not get it can read articles on the Haitian Coup at africaspeaks.com. Some Whites understood the issues in part, but they were not so moved as to sustain a campaign for the return of Jean-Bertrand Aristide as the legitimate, democratically elected president of Haiti, who commands the support of the majority of Haitians along with wide support from Black Africans abroad. Next on the list is Zimbabwe. The US and Britain have been involved in an effort to oust the democratically elected leader of Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe, ever since he turned away from the intangible and unjust IMF and World Bank policies and started reclaiming illegally obtained land from White settlers for redistribution to Black Zimbaweans. They were not against Mugabe for reports of human rights abuses, as in the past, when such reports surfaced, they were still praising Zimbabwe under President Robert Mugabe as a model country in Africa. For more information, although long, this article is worth reading: Zimbabwe Under Siege by Gregory Elich. There is a comprehensive list of additional articles for further reading on raceandhistory.com. Next on the list is Somalia. The US and Ethiopia illegally invaded Somalia and ousted the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) which had popular support. The ICU brought a measure of stability to Somalia for the first time in sixteen years. In the article "A New War in Africa" Gwynne Dyer explains: "This is a war founded on a misconception and driven by paranoid fantasies. The misconception was the US government's belief that the Islamic Courts, local religious authorities backed by merchants in Mogadishu who wanted someone to curb the warlords, punish thieves, and enforce contracts, were just a cover for al-Qaeda. So the US instead backed the warlords who were making Somalis' lives a misery. American support is the kiss of death in Somalia, so the warlords were finally dislodged in Mogadishu last June by an uprising led by the UIC and supported by most of the population." Visit africaspeaks.com for more on the crisis in Somalia. Although some Whites do take the time to examine issues from an African point of view, they are too few and far between. If you doubt me, simply check your favorite antiwar, anti-Bush, anti-imperialism websites and you will see the absence of pro-African commentaries on any or all of these issues. (Even the considerably rated Comedy Central's "Today Show" hosted by John Stewart lacks substance in dealing with African issues.) To informed Africans, most of these so-called liberal Whites are not liberal at all. White Supremacy still comes first to them and has to be first addressed before they can see the truth from a Black perspective. We understand the circumstances that keep many from researching issues properly and not easily breaking away from colonial institutions and neocolonial policies. Many are struggling with bread and butter issues on a daily basis and do not yet appreciate why they MUST make time for informing themselves. Understanding the issues is also about addressing poverty. Those with the means and especially those involved in the media have no excuse for misleading many. Martin Luther King saw the problem with White liberals and in his letter from the Birmingham jail he wrote: "...First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection." Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Visit: Zimbabwe Watch Zimbabwe: Lies, lies, damn lies: British media exposed Posted: Friday, March 23, 2007 By Peter Mavunga March 23, 2007 ZIMBABWE The British media has turned peddling lies about Zimbabwe into a fine art. That they hate the country's leadership with a vengeance is well known. What is questionable is their orchestrated campaign based on twisted facts, lies and damn lies to suit their own ends. I take ITV's main evening news story a fortnight ago as a tiny but interesting example. The bulletin was dominated by an "exclusive" by Martin Geisler who purported to have entered the country to report under cover despite the current ban on British journalists in Zimbabwe. He entered the country clandestinely to report a demonstration in Harare against the Zimbabwe Government's alleged poor human rights record and the country's deteriorating economic conditions. What is interesting is that the report gives the impression that the demonstration that was the subject of his report was only one of many that are taking place everyday throughout the country. He also does what he can to create the impression that Zimbabwe is a police state where people are not free. For dramatic effect, the reporter lowers his voice as he tells his viewers during a car ride that he is en route to a secret hideout where some of the protesters who he intends to interview are waiting for him. Television viewers are shown a handful of protesters who were never the less portrayed as "the whole country" rising up against the Government. Views are told these protesters, who have "nothing to lose" in Mugabe's Zimbabwe, have decided: "Enough is enough" and are now prepared to stop at nothing to bring about change. Indeed we are shown a man taking a piece of concrete from the ground which he lifts up and drops in front of him on the tarmac. To us viewers, this is hardly the actions of a nation in revolt. It is very small beer compared to the poll tax riots we witnessed in the dying days of Mrs Thatcher's government. But the ITV news report wants us to believe a revolution is in the making. And the reporter chooses his interviewees very carefully to convey his message. "You think I am alive?" one so-called protester asks him rhetorically. "I am already dead." This is ITV's idea of objective reporting. It is meant to support the contention that the people of Zimbabwe are so oppressed that they feel they are already dead or that they feel they have nothing to live for and that violence to achieve change is the only viable solution to their plight. The general impression given is that Zimbabweans are now very angry about their country that they see disintegrating before their eyes owing to an economic meltdown with 1 700 percent inflation and no infrastructure to talk about and they see violence as the only answer. So central is this report to ITV's news schedule that it is reported twice on Thursday 1 March 2007, first in the early evening bulletin at 6 o'clock, then again in the main evening news at 10.30pm. It is a clever piece of British propaganda reported without any reference to when the demonstration took place. Instead, the reporter tells his viewers "these protests are happening everyday" and he seems to enjoy the bit when he adds that all the people of Zimbabwe including the police, the army and all — are fed up. The truth is that the demonstration had occurred a week earlier specifically to coincide with certain events taking place in Western capitals. To have reported it as a single, isolated event would not have fitted into the British grand design. It had to be presented as an everyday occurrence even though it was patently untrue. What was also curious was the fact that the few people who spoke to the reporter, including Henry Olonga, did so in full view of the camera without attempting to hide their identity. Not that I did not want to see their faces. I was just confused that the reporter had earlier lowered his voice when talking about his secret rendezvous with the people concerned leaving the impression this was all done hush hush. It was of course all acting, designed to create an impression of impending danger both to himself and to the people he was going to meet. The fact that these protesters were happy to be interviewed on record suggests it was the reporter's ploy to create the impression that Zimbabwe was a dangerous place to be where, as he put it: "you always feel you are being watched and you never know who is behind you." Another contributor to Giesler's report was Fred Muleya, now based in the UK. He was eager to confirm what his interviewer wanted to hear. An example of this was Giesler's leading question enquiring if Muleya did not believe such demonstrations were likely to get bigger? The interviewer sounded a trifle disappointed that the crowd of protesters was not larger but he needed not worry. Muleya was only too pleased to confirm that in his view the people of Zimbabwe had had enough and it was his hope and belief that these protests "will get bigger". This prime time news UK style is a lot of twaddle in my book both in presentation and content. Yet for the innocent eyes and ears of the British public who are bombarded with such anti-Zimbabwe material everyday, it must have been very difficult to disbelieve such a report presented as it was in all seriousness by an experienced journalist through one of the main news channels in the land. Demonstrations such as was reported on 1 March do not happen everyday in Zimbabwe. I know because if they did they would be reported everyday. I keep a close eye on these things. When I visited the country for three to four weeks at a time as I sometimes do, I did not witness these demonstrations taking place everyday. Only in November 2006, my friends were visiting the country and they came back to report no such demonstrations taking place on a daily basis. My own family were in Harare from the end of December to mid January this year but they too reported no demonstrations taking place on a daily basis. In compiling this article, I spoke to a number of people in Zimbabwe who knew nothing of demonstrations taking place everyday as Giesler would want us to believe. It is clear therefore that the ITV's main report on March 1 was a pack of twisted facts, very misleading in the extreme. The demonstration and biased reporting that went with it were two sides of an orchestrated campaign with twin objectives. First, it was to perpetuate the propaganda against the government of Zimbabwe for committing the cardinal sin of attempting to tackle the unequal land distribution created by the minority settler regime. Secondly and more to the point, these were part of an annual ritual designed to facilitate the extension of sanctions against Zimbabwe. The demonstration this year, as was a similar one last year, was orchestrated as a means to provide the IMF and the European Union with the evidence to justify continuing their sanctions against Zimbabwe. They needed fresh evidence that things were bad in Zimbabwe. Television images of protesters in the streets, however contrived, did the trick and Western governments needed nothing else to help them decide to extend or not to extend the sanctions. And decide they did. My point is that their decision was based on lies, damn lies that stank to the core. Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Visit: Zimbabwe Watch Zimbabwe: Mugabe Gets the Milosevic Treatment Posted: Friday, March 23, 2007 By Stephen Gowans March 23, 2007 Arthur Mutambara, the leader of one faction of Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the MDC, and one of the principals in the Save Zimbabwe Campaign that's at the centre of a storm of controversy over the Mugabe government's crackdown on opposition, boasted a year ago that he was "going to remove Robert Mugabe, I promise you, with every tool at my disposal." (1) Educated at Oxford, the former management consultant with McKinsey & Co. was asked in early 2006 whether "his plans might include a Ukrainian-style mass mobilization of opponents of Mugabe's regime." (2) "We're going to use every tool we can get to dislodge this regime," he replied. "We're not going to rule out or in anything – the sky's the limit." (3) Last year Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of an opposing MDC faction, and eight of his colleagues, were thrown out of Zambia after attending a meeting arranged by the US ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell, with representatives of Freedom House, a US ruling class organization that promotes regime change in countries that aren't sufficiently committed to free markets, free trade and free enterprise. (4) Funded by the billionaire speculator George Soros, USAID, the US State Department and the US Congress's National Endowment for Democracy (whose mission has been summed up as doing overtly what the CIA used to do covertly), Freedom House champions the rights of journalists, union leaders and democracy activists to organize openly to bring down governments whose economic policies are against the profit-making interests of US bankers, investors and corporations. Headed by Wall St. investment banker Peter Ackerman, who produced a 2002 documentary, Bringing Down a Dictator, a follow-up to A Force More Powerful, which celebrates the ouster of Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, Freedom House features a rogues' gallery of US ruling class activists on its board of directors: Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Otto Reich, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Zbigniew Brzezinski and Steve Forbes, among others. The campaign to replace Mugabe with the neo-liberal standard bearers of the MDC is rotten with connections to the overthrow of Milosevic. Dell, the US ambassador, prides himself on being one of the architects of Milosevic's ouster. (5) He held a senior diplomatic post in Kosovo when Milosevic was driven out of office in a US-UK engineered uprising. Dell's mission, it would seem, is to be as provocative as possible, sparing no effort to tarnish the image of the Mugabe government. In early November 2005, Dell declared that "neither drought nor sanctions are at the root of Zimbabwe's decline," an implausible conclusion given that drought has impaired economic performance in neighboring countries, and that sanctions bar Zimbabwe from access to economic and humanitarian aid, while disrupting trade and investment. "The Zimbabwe government's own gross mismanagement of the economy and its corrupt rule has brought on the crisis," Dell charged. (6) When not disparaging Mugabe's government, Dell can be counted on to be doling out largesse to the opposition (US$1 million, according to one source, to get the Save Zimbabwe Campaign off the ground earlier this year.) (7) Responding to Dell's call for the opposition to unite, Mutambara has declared his new unity of purpose with MDC opponent, Tsvangirai. "Our core business," he announced, after violent clashes with the police earlier this month, "is to drive Mugabe out of town. There is no going back. We are working together against Robert Mugabe and his surrogates." (8) While Mutambara is certainly working with Tsvangirai to drive Mugabe out of town, what he doesn't explain is what he wants to replace Mugabe with. The opposition, and the powerful Western governments that back it, make it seem as if they're offended by Mugabe's qualities as a leader, not his policies, and that their aim is to restore good governance, not to impose their own program on Zimbabwe. We should be clear about what the MDC is and what its policies are. While the word "democratic" in the opposition's Movement for Democratic Change moniker evokes pleasant feelings, the party's policies are rooted in the neo-liberal ideology of the Western ruling class. That is, the party's policies are hardly democratic. The MDC favors economic "liberalization", privatization and a return to the glacial-paced willing buyer/willing seller land-redistribution regimen – a status quo ante-friendly policy that would limit the state's ability to redistribute land to only tracts purchased from white farmers who are willing to sell. Compare that to the Zanu-PF government's direction. Mugabe's government is hardly socialist, but it has implemented social democratic policies that elevate the public interest at least a few notches above the basement level position it occupies under the neo-liberal tyranny favored by the MDC. A Mutambara or Tsvangirai government would jettison policies that demand something from foreign investors in return for doing business in Zimbabwe. Foreign banks, for example, are required to invest 40 percent of their profits in Zimbabwe government bonds. (9) What's more, the MDC leaders would almost certainly end the Mugabe government's policy of favoring foreign investors who partner with local investors to promote indigenous economic development. And Zimbabwe's state-owned enterprises would be sold off to the highest bidder. Moreover, the land redistribution program would be effectively shelved, delaying indefinitely the achievement of one of the principal goals of Zimbabwe's national liberation struggle – reversing the plunder of the indigenous population's land by white settlers. Mugabe, it is sometimes grudgingly admitted in the Western press, is a hero in rural parts of southern Africa for his role in spearheading land reform, something other south African governments have lacked the courage to pursue vigorously. South African president Thabo Mbeki's reluctance to join in the collective excoriation of Mugabe is often attributed to "respect for Mr. Mugabe as a revolutionary hero (he led the fight that ended white rule in Zimbabwe in 1980, and was a key opponent of apartheid) and because the issue of white ownership of land in South African is also sensitive." (10) Contrast respect for Mugabe with the thin layer of support the US-backed Save Zimbabwe Campaign has been able to muster. It "does not yet have widespread grassroots support," (11) but it does have the overwhelming backing of the US, the UK, the Western media and US ruling class regime change organizations, like Freedom House. Is it any surprise that Zanu-PF regards the controversy swirling around its crackdown on the opposition's latest provocation as an attempt by an oppressor to return to power by proxy through the MDC? 1. Times Online March 5, 2006. 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid. 4. The Sunday Mail, February 5, 2006. 5. The Herald, October 21, 2005. 6. The Herald, November 7, 2005. 7. The Herald, March 14, 2007. 8. The Observer, March 18, 2007. 9. The Observer, January 28, 2007. 10. The Globe and Mail, March 22, 2007. 11. Ibid. Stephen Gowans's Blog Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Visit: Zimbabwe Watch What's Red, White And Blue With Black Eye? Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2007 ¤ Zimbabwe Watch ¤ Hotbed for Terrorists: Ethiopia or Somalia? ¤ Ungovernable Somalia and Collision of Hegemonic Interests ¤ What's Red, White And Blue With Black Eye? ¤ "Damned Proud" of Dead Arab Women & Children ¤ Dazzling new images reveal the 'impossible' on the Sun ¤ The Media's Castration During the Bush Presidency ¤ Employee Warning Letter ¤ The Upcoming Iraq War Funding Bill ¤ Shssh! Don't Tell Americans How We Treat 'Enemy Combatants' ¤ Breathing Lessons ¤ Is There an Executive Privilege to Lie? ¤ Mission Accomplished: The American gun is ¤ UN chief shaken by Baghdad explosion ¤ 27kg of opium in a kitchen ¤ FBI Violations May Number 3,000, Official Says ¤ Defense spending soars to highest levels since World War II ¤ Oil-Rich Kirkuk at the Melting Point ¤ Toxic Waste in the Sub-Prime Market ¤ The Forbidden C-Word Ungovernable Somalia and Collision of Hegemonic Interests Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2007 Beneath the veneer of their mutual strategic interest highlighted by their recent military cooperation against the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) there is an intriguing political undercurrent that is rapidly gathering momentum as Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the leadership of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) continue their "business as usual" approach and implement a successive, haphazard set of initiatives that proven to add fuel to inter-clan deadly polarization and keep Somalia in perpetual chaos. The reckless invasion of the residence of an influential clan leader as he met with other clan elders and the former president of the Transitional National Government is but one such example. The Ethiopian/US invasion prematurely ended a delicate peace process, six months of law and order, and threw Mogadishu back into that all too familiar vacuum of nihilism. Today, motors and artilleries are routinely fired from all directions; assassinations-- including high profile ones-- became part of the daily rituals; robbery and rape became rampant, and a full-fledged insurgency is underway. The latter was ignited by the Ethiopian occupation which is seen by the majority of Somalis as that country's centuries-old hegemonic aspiration coming to fruition. Not only because the TFG Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister recently insinuated annexation enthusiastically, but because of the reports of systematic establishment of new "facts on the ground" that continues to settle thousands of Ethiopian families in various regions such as "Somaliland" and "Puntland" that could, in due course, make annexation of Somalia a tantalizing option. Full Article : asiantribune.com Free Trade Enslaving Poor Countries Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2007 LONDON - The new free trade agreements being signed up between rich and poor countries are proving far more damaging to the poor than anything envisaged within WTO talks, Oxfam said in a report Tuesday. Full Article : commondreams.org Soldiers stoned and burned in Mogadishu Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2007 Somali insurgents dragged the bodies of several soldiers through Mogadishu's streets yesterday before setting them alight during battles with government and Ethiopian troops. Full Article : guardian.co.uk Visit: Somalia's Crisis American's rendition may have broken international, U.S. laws Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2007 NAIROBI, Kenya -- American diplomats on Wednesday paid their first visit to an American who was detained five weeks ago by Ethiopian authorities after a middle-of-the-night secret transfer from Kenya and said he was in good health. But several U.S. legal experts said American officials who questioned Meshal while he was in Kenya may have violated U.S. law as well as international conventions that ban torture and protect refugees who escape to a neighboring country. "It's a very serious concern," said Jonathan Hafetz of the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law. Hafetz is providing legal assistance to Meshal's family in New Jersey. FBI agents who interviewed Meshal in Nairobi in early February believed he was a "jihadist" who'd trained in al-Qaida camps in Somalia, according to an internal U.S. government e-mail that was read to McClatchy Newspapers by officials at two different U.S. agencies. But the agents didn't have enough evidence to charge him with a crime if he returned to the United States. They left him in the custody of Kenyan authorities, who secretly deported him to Somalia on Feb. 10. Full Article : bradenton.com MDC's civil disobedience tactics cheap publicity stunt Posted: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 African Nations Need New Approach to Zimbabwe African nations have been silent too long while Zimbabwe slides into economic ruin. In this hour of contrived turmoil in Zimbabwe it is time for decisive words and actions. African nations need to tell Tony Blair, the rest of Europe and the U.S. that they would not be dictated to. Tony Blair is leaving office soon and would like to force the democratically elected President of Zimbabwe out of office before he himself leaves office. African nations need to send an unambiguous message to the 'West' that they are not buying the European and White settlers propaganda and that they want all sanctions lifted on Zimbabwe. These sanctions have mostly affected the ordinary people in Zimbabwe Zimbabwe: MDC's civil disobedience tactics cheap publicity stunt While the latest demonstrations in Zimbabwe led by MDC faction leader Morgan Tsvangirai have achieved absolutely nothing, on the other hand they exposed a lot. The obvious thing is that the MDC was responding to pressure from Britain and the United States to destabilise Zimbabwe because their masters have invested a lot of time and money in the opposition over the past eight years only to realise that they have failed to unseat the Government. British Prime Minister Tony Blair's legacy in relation to the African continent will mainly be defined by whether or not he was able to force an illegal racist regime change in Zimbabwe, and his sidekick, United States President George W. Bush, is looking for any victory on foreign policy to shift focus away from the Iraq debacle. Zimbabwe: When Others Seek to Overthrow the State Funny the way the recent case of supposed human rights abuses in Zimbabwe attracts great interest in the Western media, while other similar cases hardly or do not get noticed in this same media. Relations between the UK/US soured when Zimbabwe sent troops, together with Namibia and Angola, to defend the Democratic Republique of Congo against a second invasion by Rwanda and Uganda, friends of the US and the UK. (Zimbabwe Under Siege by Dr. Simbi Mubako) When the Mugabe government intercepted arms and a plane load of terrorists (How New Africa Made Fools of the White Mischief-makers, August 2004) sponsored by Britain and the US (Pentagon link to Guinea Coup Plot, September 2004) on their way to violently kill Africans in an attempt to overthrow another oil rich African government, where was the media's reporting in favor of Mugabe's intervention of what would have been more UK/US human rights abuses? Now the US & UK are strangling Zimbabwe and its people. Who, therefore, is cruel? ¤ Iraqis tormented by the invasion of the infidels ¤ Calling time out on UN sanctions ¤ Toll in Pakistan tribal clashes surpasses 100 ¤ Bombings triple in Afghanistan in 2006 ¤ Thinking about Foreign Policy ¤ A U.S. Army Pipe Dream ¤ Poor Iraq. First The Lies and Now, Even Worse: More Help ¤ Zambia seeks new Zimbabwe approach ¤ Baghdad Burning ¤ THE ARCHITECTS OF WAR: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? ¤ CJ suspension: Thousands take to the streets in Pak ¤ US signals support for palace coup to remove Mugabe ¤ Hillary 'Big Sister' Video Shills Neolib Obama ¤ After 4 years: Iraqi Resistance Indicators..Up and Up . Rumsfeld's Metrics..Wet. Hotbed for Terrorists: Ethiopia or Somalia? Posted: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 Africans, especially Somalis, stood by stunned by the manner with which international law was violated, trampled on and discarded by the US-backed Ethiopian war of aggression and invasion against Somalia. Why was the international community as deafeningly silent as innocent Somalis were bombed by US and Ethiopian bombers? Why was there no public outrage as innocent men, women and children were massacred in cold blood by the invading Ethiopian forces and labeled "extremists", "Islamists" etc. etc.? Have we reached the point where human lives no longer merit our concern and that by simply labeling populations as "extremists", "Islamists", "jihadists", etc. etc. that we can look the other way as thousands are massacred in front of our eyes and not care. Do we believe that we are somehow absolved of any responsibility in the carnage perpetuated under the auspices of the "global war on terrorism"? It is high time that we claimed humanity back! Full Article : aljazeerah.info Visit: Somalia's Crisis Zimbabwe: When Others Seek to Overthrow the State Posted: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 When Others Seek to Overthrow the State, What Must Be the State Response? Analysis by Ghifari al Mukhtar March 21, 2007 Funny the way the recent case of supposed human rights abuses in Zimbabwe attracts great interest in the Western media, while other similar cases hardly or do not get noticed in this same media. Relations between the UK/US soured when Zimbabwe sent troops, together with Namibia and Angola, to defend the Democratic Republique of Congo against a second invasion by Rwanda and Uganda, friends of the US and the UK. (Zimbabwe Under Siege by Dr. Simbi Mubako) When the Mugabe government intercepted arms and a plane load of terrorists (How New Africa Made Fools of the White Mischief-makers, August 2004) sponsored by Britain and the US (Pentagon link to Guinea Coup Plot, September 2004) on their way to violently kill Africans in an attempt to overthrow another oil rich African government, where was the media's reporting in favor of Mugabe's intervention of what would have been more UK/US human rights abuses? Now the US & UK are strangling Zimbabwe and its people. Who, therefore, is cruel? Hold strong and firm; for if Mugabe and Zimbabwe were to give room then we are finished as a continent, as a people and as all those seeking to repulse recolonization throughout the world. There are paradoxes that seem divine rather than a willful strategy on the one hand. How they, the resisters, are surrounded with stooges, "NGO's", coward states, church and evangelical groups and if suppressed populations, if not deliberate in their opposition, they are enormously ignorant, and in the Black and Brown case, hating themselves for the color they are. If Africa lets Mugabe slip, then shall we say: good bye Africa! Like him or not, the scene in Zimbabwe is either it's Africa or it's Europe, yet we must also watch out for their marauding cousins', the "US & Israel", with their chisel and hammer diplomacy. It is the stereotype media performance we fail to wise up to. Mugabe is as ironic as Venezuela's Chavez, as Iran's Ahmadinejad, as Kim of Korea, Hizbollah in Lebanon and the Hamas of Palestine. Just pull out your maps and look at the geography, their resources (fullness), their original colors. Indeed, they are so strategic it's as if God placed this resistance (leadership) per region, as the check and balance from the violent dominance of an "outsider". A marauder bearing disguised gifts, often resulting in misery, slavery and racist evangelical democracy as the only medicine for our perceived ills. Ills, if at all there are, were created and perpetuated by the marauders' themselves in their laboratories within Wall Street, the Vatican, Chatham House and NATO. The debase, vicious, glutinous White West, that exchanges weapons for war, disunity, chaos and poverty, offer in their hollow speeches peace, development, democracy and aid that bind us to nowhere but to perpetual troubles. We need no more of your expired consultants, no more of the devil's advice, no Bono aid and to hell with the media. This hypocrisy stinks. Mugabe was never commended for his sole prevention of what would have been mass-murder, hatched and orchestrated solely in the West. Instead he is falsely accused of killing -- allegations typical of the White West toward noncompliant state leaders. On the question of public disorder and violence with a virtual attempt to overthrow legitimate governments - this was okayed in Georgia, in Tiananmen Square and Tibet in China; Caracas, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. The facts are there, the West has a track record of human rights abuses that is undisputable, particularly the critics of Robert Mugabe. Not forgetting history, just look at Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Haiti and the U.S. prison and justice system. Lets not compare, lest Mugabe will come out looking immaculately pious. In fact he isn't, he is a warrior that wrestled his nation from the jaws of colonialism's most barbaric and manipulative empires. Mugabe must be firm and should treat those seeking western-type regime changes as no less than criminals, charged with terrorism, anarchy and sedition. In Britain and the US, peaceful demonstrators are being arrested, charged, manhandled, and intimidated through government spying for staging demonstrations against a corrupt president and his lying poodle to stop WAR. Is Mugabe waginig war? Certainly not. He is defending his country, leading Africa's defence. Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Visit: Zimbabwe Watch African Nations Need New Approach to Zimbabwe Posted: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 By Ayinde rastafaritimes@yahoo.com March 21, 2007 African nations have been silent too long while Zimbabwe slides into economic ruin. In this hour of contrived turmoil in Zimbabwe it is time for decisive words and actions. African nations need to tell Tony Blair, the rest of Europe and the U.S. that they would not be dictated to. Tony Blair is leaving office soon and would like to force the democratically elected President of Zimbabwe out of office before he himself leaves office. African nations need to send an unambiguous message to the 'West' that they are not buying the European and White settlers propaganda and that they want all sanctions lifted on Zimbabwe. These sanctions have mostly affected the ordinary people in Zimbabwe (See: The MDC Must Renounce the Sanctions by Tadios Chisango). They should boldly declare that African nations are not colonies of the U.S. and Britain, and would not be pressured to stand against the democratically elected President of Zimbabwe who commands the majority support in Zimbabwe. African nations should also call on the opposition in Zimbabwe to renounce violence and to desist from using violence in Zimbabwe. If they are resorting to breaking the laws and using violence then the government and the police are right to use brute force to stop such activities. Let us see how many African leaders have the courage to stand for freedom instead of making backdoor deals with Tony Blair and the U.S. for aid in exchange for their conscience. Africans globally are watching... It is your move now. Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Visit: Zimbabwe Watch Zimbabwe: MDC's civil disobedience tactics cheap publicity stunt Posted: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 By Obi Egbuna March 21, 2007 ZIMBABWE While the latest demonstrations in Zimbabwe led by MDC faction leader Morgan Tsvangirai have achieved absolutely nothing, on the other hand they exposed a lot. The obvious thing is that the MDC was responding to pressure from Britain and the United States to destabilise Zimbabwe because their masters have invested a lot of time and money in the opposition over the past eight years only to realise that they have failed to unseat the Government. British Prime Minister Tony Blair's legacy in relation to the African continent will mainly be defined by whether or not he was able to force an illegal racist regime change in Zimbabwe, and his sidekick, United States President George W. Bush, is looking for any victory on foreign policy to shift focus away from the Iraq debacle. President Mugabe's two-word response – "Go hang" – to Western critics of his Government demonstrates to Africans worldwide that we at least have one head of state in Africa that does not toss and turn in bed all night worrying about validation by the imperialist powers. US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell has three main issues on his plate before Bush makes his exit from office. Firstly, he must do everything to make sure Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara reunite the MDC at all costs. Secondly, he will be corresponding with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to exaggerate political violence in Zimbabwe and blame it all on Zanu-PF. Lastly, he will be working with the International Crisis Group to articulate why the Bush administration is justified in increasing sanctions on Zimbabwe. But Zimbabweans will not be fooled by Tsvangirai and MDC's so-called Save Zimbabwe Campaign and are too busy with their bread and butter issues. Thanks to his willingness to be the scapegoat Bush and Blair need to have on the ground in order to convince the entire world that by imposing sanctions they are responding to the wishes of the people. Tsvangirai and the MDC are too brainwashed to understand that using civil disobedience tactics when you are financed by the two most violent warmongers on the planet is at best a cheap publicity stunt. How dare a neocolonialist operation like the MDC try to use positive action as a strategy only a few days after the 50th anniversary celebration of Ghana's independence! This is an attempt by Tsvangirai to politically reinvent himself before Bush and Blair leave office. If he and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions' Wellington Chibebe fail at provoking confrontations with the police, even the Voice of America and BBC might ignore them. Besides, Trudy Stevenson, an MDC Member of Parliament, was severely beaten up by her own membership last year and also another MDC MP David Coltart publicly exposed that youth members in the MDC were planning to kill their director of security Peter Guhu a couple of years ago. This led to the spokesmen of both factions – Nelson Chamisa (for Tsvangirai) and Gabriel Chaibva (for Mutambara) – openly debating which faction was more violent. This means African organisations in the Diaspora should really do their homework and resist the temptation of grabbing a few headlines which they are guaranteed to receive if they blame President Mugabe and Zanu-PF for all political violence in Zimbabwe. Before his resignation from the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People as their president and CEO a few weeks ago, Bruce Gordon sent President Mugabe a letter expressing their concern over alleged police brutality against demonstrators, and, more recently, the executive director of Trans Africa Forum Nicole Lee emphasised the responsibility that Zimbabwe's Government had to protect the basic human rights of its citizens. These remarks have serious political implications. For starters, if they only issue public statements when the MDC and other opposition groups in their opinion are on the receiving end of violence in Zimbabwe, it means they are aligned with them politically or are strongly considering moving in that direction; and, most importantly, they have learned nothing from those who callously validated Mangosuthu Buthelezi in South Africa and Jonas Savimbi in Angola many years ago. The propaganda war being waged by the US and its European Union cohorts against Zimbabwe has forced Africans to arrive at one conclusion: Any organisation in our community which hasn't spoken out about the sanctions against Zimbabwe can keep their opinions to themselves. The concept of criticism is a dialectical exercise and some of us have become so intoxicated by our own critiques that we abandon the responsibility to defend a government and people who expect and deserve our solidarity as opposed to excuses to justify abandonment. The MDC is not a balloon but is definitely full of hot air and Tsvangirai has taken false promises to new unprecedented heights. Last year he promised his British and US sponsors a cold winter of discontent. When that failed, he then went to the United Kingdom and held a Press conference with Labour MP Kate Hoey urging United Nations intervention in Zimbabwe, only to see former Secretary-General Kofi Annan endorse President Mugabe's recommendation for former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa to mediate between Britain and Zimbabwe. The opposition paper called the Zimbabwean leaked a story last year that Tsvangirai was scheduled to be meeting with Botswana's President Festus Mogae which was to give the appearance he represented legitimate opposition in Zimbabwe, only to see Mogae open the Harare Agricultural Show last August and sign a new agreement of co-operation between the two governments reaffirm his support for the land reclamation programme in Zimbabwe and praise Zimbabwe for being its second biggest trade partner next to South Africa. At the beginning of the year, the Financial Gazette had an article entitled "Tsvangirai talks tough" in a rare occasion an opposition paper indirectly suggested he had more bark than bite. Tsvangirai and the MDC also seek to exploit the religious and spiritual tradition of his people to revive his dying support. Why else would these demonstrations attempt to incorporate a prayer? Why has Tsvangirai never rescheduled the meeting with the church leaders in Zimbabwe that were cancelled due to his father's death, where the topic of discussion was supposed to be an appeal for him to stop calling for the West to intensify the sanctions against his own people? Even though Tsvangirai's speeches and political thoughts lack substance and any real vision, his strength is in disguising himself. During his time in the ZCTU, he tried to convince forces outside Zimbabwe like the AFL-CIO, Congress of Black Trade Unionists and the US Deputy Assistant of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Jeffrey Krila that President Mugabe and Zanu-PF were out of touch with the working class and only he was in touch with their aspirations. With the help of imperialist Press he is presently doing his absolute best to reappear as the Dalai Lama in Tibet, which is almost as amusing as when Savimbi wore fatigues to give the public appearance Unita was a guerilla movement and not a CIA-trained and financed group of mercenaries and assassins. The African community in the Diaspora has to make a distinction between examples of military repression and violence and vigilant efforts to defend sovereignty. The coups and assassinations that imperialist forces have orchestrated in every corner of the planet speak volumes because actions do speak louder than words. Last year marked the 40th anniversary of the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah's government in Ghana and 2008 will mark the 25th anniversary of the assassination of Maurice Bishop in Grenada. The premature statements some of our organisations have been writing about Zimbabwe make you wonder: After all of these years, what have we truly learned? Under the guise of civil disobedience, Tsvangirai is seeking total anarchy and confusion. After the outcome of parliamentary elections in 2005, the MDC called for power outages countrywide as a way to show dissatisfaction with the results. The publicity that Tsvangirai and the MDC receive is contingent on how much chaos their demonstrations can stir up. This is what the Blair and Bush administrations expect and demand of them. The MDC will learn the hard way that in Zimbabwe, the people don't accept civilian neocolonialism and an alternative to military neocolonialism. While he is not shooting people in cold blood like his political twin Savimbi, the blood of every Zimbabwean who dies or starves courtesy of sanctions is on their hands. President Mugabe is known and respected worldwide for his defiance and strategic brilliance, therefore if he and Zanu-PF arrive at the conclusion that the MDC is threatening the national security of Zimbabwe, anything short of giving them unconditional support is compromising the future of the nation. Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Visit: Zimbabwe Watch West can't preach human rights Posted: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 ¤ ZANU-PF Fights Back One thing opponents and supporters of Mugabe's government agree on is that the opposition is trying to oust the president (illegally and unconstitutionally if you acknowledge the plan isn't limited to victory at the polls.) So which came first? Attempts to overthrow Zimbabwe's ZANU-PF government, or the government's harsh crackdown on opposition? According to the Western media spin, the answer is the government's harsh crackdown on opposition. Mugabe's government is inherently authoritarian, greedy for power for power's sake, and willing do anything – from stealing elections to cracking skulls — to hang on to its privileged position. This is the typical slander leveled at the heads of governments the US and UK have trouble with, from Milosevic in his day, to Kim Jong Il, to Castro. ¤ Zimbabwe: West can't preach human rights ¤ Chavez offers US$100m aid package to Haiti Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has promised impoverished Haiti aid amounting to just under US$100 million to boost social and economic programmes, saying it was partially a thank-you gift linked to their shared history. ¤ The AIPAC Girl ¤ Understanding Empire: Hierarchy, Networks and Clients ¤ The United States Plans to STAY in Iraq ¤ War for no oil? ¤ Four Years And The Suspects Are Still At Large? ¤ The struggle for oil is not the struggle we are losing ¤ World 'ignoring Iraqi refugees' ¤ Blood and Pork ¤ Militarizing Africa ¤ Asian Development Bank sounds alarm on dollar ¤ Hail Israel Homage to Fear and Fawnin ¤ Four Years After the Invasion ¤ Latin America Has Moved On ¤ Woolmer's death 'treated as murder' ¤ This is not just matter of another defeat :: Pakistani Cricket Fiasco :: ¤ Blowback from Ohio's 2004 Stolen Election is Escalating ¤ Four Years and A Weak Punch Line Later, The Joke's On Us ¤ Fantasyland and a President Devoid of Reality ¤ Winning Afghan hearts and splitting hairs ¤ Peru ruin may lift veil on lost culture Zimbabwe: ZANU-PF Fights Back Posted: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 By Stephen Gowans Stephen Gowans's Blog March 20, 2007 One thing opponents and supporters of Mugabe's government agree on is that the opposition is trying to oust the president (illegally and unconstitutionally if you acknowledge the plan isn't limited to victory at the polls.) So which came first? Attempts to overthrow Zimbabwe's ZANU-PF government, or the government's harsh crackdown on opposition? According to the Western media spin, the answer is the government's harsh crackdown on opposition. Mugabe's government is inherently authoritarian, greedy for power for power's sake, and willing do anything – from stealing elections to cracking skulls — to hang on to its privileged position. This is the typical slander leveled at the heads of governments the US and UK have trouble with, from Milosevic in his day, to Kim Jong Il, to Castro. Another view is that the government's authoritarianism is an inevitable reaction to circumstances that are unfavorable to the attainment of its political (not its leaders' personal) goals. Mugabe's government came to power at the head of a movement that not only sought political independence, but aspired to reverse the historical theft of land by White settlers. That the opposition would be fierce and merciless – has been so – was inevitable. Reaction to the opposition, if the government and its anti-colonial agenda were to survive, would need to be equally fierce and merciless. At the core of the conflict is a clash of right against right: the right of White settlers to enjoy whatever benefits stolen land yields in profits and rent against the right of the original owners to reclaim their land. Allied to this is a broader struggle for economic independence, which sets the rights of investors and corporations abroad to profit from untrammeled access to Zimbabwe's labor, land and resources and the right of Zimbabweans to restrict access on their own terms to facilitate their own economic development. The dichotomy of personal versus political motivation as the basis for the actions of maligned governments recurs in debates over whether this or that leader or movement ought to be supported or reviled. The personal view says that all leaders are corrupt, chase after personal glory, power and wealth, and dishonestly manipulate the people they profess to champion. The political view doesn't deny the personal view as a possibility, but holds that the behavior of leaders is constrained by political goals. "Even George Bush who rigs elections and manipulates news in order to stay in office and who clearly enjoys being 'the War President,' wants the presidency in order to carry out a particular program with messianic fervor," points out Richard Levins. "He would never protect the environment, provide healthcare, guarantee universal free education, or separate church and state, just to stay in office." ("Progressive Cuba Bashing," Socialism and Democracy, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2005.) Mugabe is sometimes criticized for being pushed into accelerating land reform by a restive population impatient with the glacial pace of redistribution allowed under the Lancaster House agreement. His detractors allege, implausibly, that he has no real commitment to land reforms. He only does what's necessary to stay in power. If we accept this as true, then we're saying that the behavior of the government is constrained by one of the original goals of the liberation movement (land reform) and that the personal view is irrelevant. No matter what the motivations of the government's leaders, the course the government follows is conditioned by the goals of the larger movement of national liberation. There's no question Mugabe reacted harshly to recent provocations by factions of the MDC, or that his government was deliberately provoked. But the germane question isn't whether beating Morgan Tsvangirai over the head was too much, but whether the ban on political rallies in Harare, which the opposition deliberately violated, is justified. That depends on whose side you're on, and whether you think Tsvangirai and his associates are simply earnest citizens trying to freely express their views or are proxies for imperialist governments bent on establishing (restoring in Britain's case) hegemony over Zimbabwe. There's no question either that Mugabe's government is in a precarious position. The economy is in a shambles, due in part to drought, to the disruptions caused by land reform, and to sanctions. White farmers want Mugabe gone (to slow land redistribution, or to stop it altogether), London and Washington want him gone (to ensure neo-liberal "reforms" are implemented), and it's likely that some members of his own party also want him to step down. On top of acting to sabotage Zimbabwe economically through sanctions, London and Washington have been funneling financial, diplomatic and organizational assistance to groups and individuals who are committed to bringing about a color revolution (i.e., extra-constitutional regime change) in Zimbabwe. That includes Tsvangirai and the MDC factions, among others. The timing of the MDC rally was suspicious (it coincided with the opening of the latest session of the UN Human Rights Council.) Its depiction as a prayer meeting is flagrantly disingenuous. Those of an unprejudiced mind will recognize it for what it was: a political rally, held in already volatile conditions, whose outcome would either be insurrection or a crackdown that could be used to call for tougher sanctions, even intervention. For the Mugabe government, the options are two-fold: Capitulate (and surrender any chance of maintaining what independence Zimbabwe has managed to secure at considerable cost) or fight back. Some people might deplore the methods used, but considering the actions and objectives of the opposition – and what's at stake – the crackdown has been both measured and necessary. Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Visit: Zimbabwe Watch Chavez offers US$100m aid package to Haiti Posted: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has promised impoverished Haiti aid amounting to just under US$100 million to boost social and economic programmes, saying it was partially a thank-you gift linked to their shared history. Haiti, then ruled by president Alexandre Petion, helped his country secure independence from Spain in 1817, said Chavez, offering "weapons, men and resources". "It is here in Haiti that a group of revolutionaries, among them Francisco de Miranda, waved the Venezuelan flag for the first time," he said during a joint news conference with Haitian president Rene Preval, at the presidential palace. Giving back "By helping Haiti today, we are only giving back a small part of what we owe to this country," said Chavez. "It's just a start," he stated. Full Article : jamaica-gleaner.com Zimbabwe: West can't preach human rights Posted: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 By Reason Wafawarova March 20, 2007 ZIMBABWE THE launch of the long-promised "defiance campaign" by the fractious MDC and its allies has, understandably, ignited debate on the political processes in Zimbabwe. Whatever the merits or demerits of one's argument, it has to start from the realisation that the opposition launched a defiance campaign aimed at toppling the Government. What then ensues is debate centering on the wisdom and acceptability of the strategy adopted and favoured by the opposition as well as the tactics adopted and effected by the Government as represented by its police force. There are few pertinent questions to be pursued in this debate and these questions are centred on law and politics. If one were to pursue questions related to law and maybe to establish the relevant chronology of such questions then there might be need to start with the idea of a "defiance" campaign. A defiance campaign is different from protest and this is very important if one wants to contextualise what is happening within the confines of legality both at municipal or international law. Defiance by definition is "daring or antagonistic resistance to authority . . ." according to The Macquarie Dictionary and protest is defined as "an expression or declaration of objection or disapproval". It is common knowledge that both Arthur Mutambara and Morgan Tsvangirai, as leaders of the two factions of the MDC, have openly declared an official position to preside over a "defiance campaign" and they have not ignored the illegality of such a campaign. Mutambara was quoted as saying following the law would be akin to allowing the Government to tell the opposition how to conduct its struggle while Tsvangirai is on record saying the Public Order and Security Act was there "to be broken." In the context of defiance, the statements from these opposition leaders are in line but there is the question of the legal legitimacy of taking up such a position. Needless to say, at municipal law, that is Zimbabwean domestic law, such a resolve is outlawed as plain rebellion if not treason. At international law, there is the problem of how to balance the doctrine of sovereignty and non-interference with individual human rights such as association, expression, affiliation and conscience. While the Bill of Rights provides for a protection of all these rights, domestic law tends to determine such things as the legality and acceptability of what one associates with, of what one expresses themselves about, of what one affiliates themselves with and what one subscribes their conscience to. To this end these human rights tend to lose their absolute status and to assume a regulated form with what respective governments and people view as acceptable limitations. Before taking any position on the legality and acceptability of what the opposition has done or has resolved to do, let us take a look at the State's response. Firstly, we are told there was a rally that turned violent when the opposition's "Democratic Resistance Commit-tees" clashed with police and there are reports of casualties on the police side. The police responded by evoking a temporary ban on political rallies in specific areas of the capital. They used the powers bestowed on them by the supreme law of Zimbabwe, the national Constitution. The ban was ignored as the opposition vowed to defy it and proceed with its plans, with or without the permission or blessing of the police. The opposition went ahead with the planned rallies, this time using some church leaders as a front. The police moved in and deployed details to seal off the rally venue and some of the invited people turned up for the rally. An argument ensued between the police and the leaders of the opposition and the crowd got excited if not incited. The police rounded up the leadership and ferried it to a police station while leaving a smaller and weaker deployment behind. The crowd and the remaining police officers clashed and one person was shot dead while opposition supporters assaulted several police officers. The crowd was in a confrontational mood and the police were perhaps in a retaliatory mood following the assaults. There were reports that the arrested were beaten in police custody while police maintain they only used the force necessary to effect arrest on those resisting arrest. Again we will not take a position on the legality and acceptability of the police action for now, but we will do that later. Now, the assaults and the shooting were all taken within the context of a defiance campaign until news filtered that the alleged beatings of those arrested included one of the faction leaders, Morgan Tsvangirai. The US, Britain and New Zealand quickly issued statements condemning the alleged beatings; threats and ultimatums were also issued against the Government in general and President Mugabe in particular. British premier, Tony Blair described the situation as "truly tragic" and the Government concurred only for the reasons that it was Tony Blair's tragedy of losing the plot to topple a democratically elected government. President Mugabe responded saying if the West was going to look the other way when the victims of political violence are perceived to be pro-Government and only cry foul for those from the opposition, then they (the West) could "go hang". Now the political questions to be raised here would include the question of the West's political interests in the affairs of Zimbabwe. Who is best placed to serve those interests? The other question is the Government's desire to safeguard its mandate and to protect the national interest. Interest accruing from the gains of the Second Chimurenga, which was a 14-year war of attrition against a conventional force powered by Ian Smith and the apartheid South Africa regime. Zanu-PF sees in the West, an attempt by the erstwhile oppressor to return by proxy through the MDC which is distrusted by the larger rural populace that bore the brunt of the struggle. On the other hand, the West has resolved to topple President Mugabe for alleged bad governance. Part of this includes the Government's decision to compulsorily acquire farms from white commercial farmers for redistribution to landless black peasants. The land reform programme saw the EU, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand slapping ruinous sanctions on Zimbabwe. The Western interest in the MDC has not received the support of African governments. In fact, the MDC and its Western backers have openly expressed frustration with the African Union in general and South Africa in particular for what they perceive as their open support for the Government. The same Western alliance was in Vietnam in the 1960s and 70s pursuing its ideological interests. It had a lot of bad things to say about the Vietnamese regime. The alliance is in Iraq where it again talked itself "right" saying bad things about the Baath regime. It also talked "right" about itself, vilifying the USSR, and got it all wrong when it declared the "end of history" after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989. It again said trash about China's human rights record but again got it wrong, as it now needs China more than China needs it. The point here is the Zimbabwean situation falls in the context of Western battles for imperial authority and supreme control of the world system. The legitimacy of the opposition's call for a defiance campaign is just as debatable as the Government's use of force to thwart such defiance or rebellion. If the opposition at least pretended to be protesting, then it would have been easier to argue its case. Instead it vowed to defy the Government and try to unseat it through violence. Whether the force used to quell the attempted insurrection was proportionate or not is debatable but as it stands the West's biased support for the opposition, and the MDC's vow to continue street violence will only legitimise any action the police might take against those involved in the campaign. The Government says the opposition has no right to disobey the law and the opposition's handlers from the West have no right to interfere in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state, while the opposition claims the laws it is meant to obey are repressive. The question is; is it democratic for a group of people in a country that holds regular and periodic elections to adopt a strategy of using force in attempts to assume power unless there is consensus that the electoral system is undemocratic? Is there such consensus among Zimbabweans, is there any in Sadc, is there any in the African Union and is there any in the United Nations? Without taking any positions on what has just happened in recent days in Zimbabwe, one might just see the difference between talking it right on human rights and actually getting it right on internal contexts of conflicts, based on domestic politics, values, culture and historical factors. This is where the West misses. It seems the West is driven by its own capitalist interests as evidenced by its silence on Pakistan were not less than six demonstrators, not sworn rebels, were shot down by police about the same time one Gift Tandare was gunned down in Highfield. Such double standards make the implementation of law at international level very problematic. Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Visit: Zimbabwe Watch Africans Know Whose Agenda the West Serves Posted: Monday, March 19, 2007 ¤ Zimbabwe: Africans Know Whose Agenda the West Serves Face it: the West is not concerned about the human rights and the well-being of Black Africans. Their biggest concern is to protect the status quo of White land control in Africa. All this commotion from the western media over Zimbabwe is an orchestrated effort to remove President Robert Mugabe from office. Again. For those who might not recall, here is a refresher on the U.S. position in 2002: "The United States government has said it wants to see President Robert Mugabe removed from power and that it is working with the Zimbabwean opposition to bring about a change of administration." (¤ US admits plan to bring down Mugabe August 2002) ¤ Zimbabwe threatens to expel envoys ¤ .S. Funding Armed Groups to Overthrow Iranian Government ¤ Afghan bomber hits U.S. Embassy convoy ¤ China bans firm from selling land on the moon ¤ The Anniversary From Hell ¤ It's STILL The Oil: Secret Condi Meeting on Oil Before Invasion ¤ Iraqi prison population soaring ¤ Study finds one-third in D.C. illiterate ¤ Sick Monsters ¤ New exhibits portray Jamestown colonists as killers and rapists ¤ Blair, Bush could face probe at The Hague ¤ Too Guilty to Fly, Too Innocent to Charge? ¤ Venezuela, Algeria, Qatar, Iran and Russia are launching "gas OPEC" ¤ China's state owned oil company close to signing $3.6 billion Iranian deal ¤ Bhutto waits in wings as axe hangs over Pakistan's PM ¤ Iran must have the Bomb ¤ Blaming The Victims: Covering Up Terrorism In Iraq ¤ Time to Ditch those Bloody-minded, Ungrateful Iraqis ¤ Russian mine blast kills 71 ¤ 'I Wish the U.S Government Had Asked': A Conversation with Baghdad ¤ What about the 'surge' in civilian casualties? ¤ Operation Deepening Nightmare ¤ Europe's Afghan Backlash ¤ Billboarding the Iraq disaster Zimbabwe: Africans Know Whose Agenda the West Serves Posted: Monday, March 19, 2007 By Ayinde rastafaritimes@yahoo.com March 19, 2007 Face it: the West is not concerned about the human rights and the well-being of Africans. Their biggest concern is to protect the status quo of White land control in Africa. All this commotion from the western media over Zimbabwe is an orchestrated effort to remove President Robert Mugabe from office. Again. For those who might not recall, here is a refresher on the U.S. position in 2002: "The United States government has said it wants to see President Robert Mugabe removed from power and that it is working with the Zimbabwean opposition to bring about a change of administration." (US admits plan to bring down Mugabe August 2002) These are Morgan Tsvangirai words as reported by BBC (2000): "What we would like to tell Mugabe is please go peacefully. If you don't want to go peacefully, we will remove you violently" (Police consider Tsvangirai arrest) Without a doubt, there are Zimbabweans with legitimate complaints about their government as is the case with all countries, but there is a functioning democracy in Zimbabwe by which the opposition can attempt to gain office. The opposition cannot be unsuccessful at the polls, resort to violence and then want our sympathies. Morgan Tsvangirai threatened violence and was not condemned by Western governments and the media. That proves they have no problem with violence in Zimbabwe as long as it is to advance their own agenda. It is not like Africans the world over are stupid and do not know what is at stake in Zimbabwe. In a 2004 survey for New African magazine, President Robert Mugabe was voted history's third-greatest African and this should have informed the world how Africans feel about the entire issue of land ownership and the efforts to redress this historical injustice in Zimbabwe. (Mugabe voted history's third-greatest African) Although some African leaders may feel to kowtow to the "West" for aid, all African leaders know that land is central to the liberation struggle in Africa. Most African leaders know the West relentlessly goes about demonizing President Robert Mugabe for daring to reclaim land from White settlers. They have done all in their power to punish the Zimbabwe people through sanctions for supporting President Robert Mugabe's land reclamation campaign. We should not support the White settlers, the U.S. and Europe in their campaign to force African nations to ostracize President Mugabe. The West must not be allowed to choose our friends and enemies for us. If the minority opposition groups are embarking on a violent campaign of resistance in Zimbabwe, then it is expected that the police will defend themselves and the state. Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Visit: Zimbabwe Watch Zimbabwe: Racist anti-Mugabe Assault Posted: Sunday, March 18, 2007 By Ayinde rastafaritimes@yahoo.com March 18, 2007 There are some opposition forces in and out of Zimbabwe whose only response to any alternative view is to send racially denigrating attacks via email. Some also have the false assumption that because my email address is rastafaritimes@yahoo.com, it somehow means I must be as delusional as many Whites... some marijuana smoking hippie. In response to the article, 'Lack of Support for Zimbabwe's Land Reform is Africa's Shame', not one email so far has substantively addressed any of the points I raised. Several have pointed out that the Africans in Zimbabwe cannot utilize the land (of course, not worded so nicely). One responder's reaction was even to foolishly ask, "Why have Africans not been able to grow sufficient food for themselves although colonialism ended many years ago?" while implying that the reason is some characteristic that is lacking in Africans that makes them unable to be productive. He (the respondent) cannot see that the efforts for land reform in Zimbabwe, which he thoroughly opposes, is about addressing this very issue. The reason many Africans cannot grow sufficient food for themselves is because WHITE SETTLERS OCCUPY THE BEST LAND. All of this is part of the racist, dishonest propaganda that clouds the minds of the gullible and ignorant about the real issue of reclaiming lands that were stolen from Africans in Zimbabwe. What is taking place with Zimbabwe is similar to what the Western powers have done with Haiti. They have continually punished Haiti for being the first Black republic after a successful slave revolt. The European powers would never allow Haiti to be a success story because Haiti could become a model and a motivation to Africans to resist White domination. In a similar manner, these White, Western powers know fully well that if Zimbabwe is allowed to succeed with its land reform, then other African nations would follow suit resulting in Western powers having less of a remote control on Africans who may suddenly choose to utilize the land in ways that first serves their own interest. The White dominance agenda depends on the fictional image that Africans in Zimbabwe are unable to utilize their own land productively. Even if that image were true, that is still absolutely no reason for Whites to continually hold on to land that was unjustly handed down to them. If these White farmers feel they should be compensated then they should look to their colonial powers for any compensation. But the argument of unproductive Africans is absolutely false, "as black small farm owners account for the majority of maize grown in Zimbabwe" (See: Zimbabwe Under Siege). This White superiority complex reigns in the minds of many and it is clearly evident in the majority of news reports and email responses from those trying to give the impression that they are concerned with the plight of Africans in Zimbabwe. The West is not concerned with human rights in Africa: they support brutal dictators around the world as long as these dictators do their bidding. How come this same westernized media did not put forth a concentrated campaign to restore Africans to the more productive agricultural lands that they were driven from during colonial rule? How come they were contented with 70% of the best agricultural lands in Zimbabwe being held by Whites and used for growing tobacco and other crops for Europe? Why were they not concerned about all the racist imbalances that remain in Africa as the legacy of slavery and colonialism? The mainstream media, which is mostly White-owned, have defended the status quo of White domination to such an extent that many today actually believe that the Africans, who they see in poverty, are in such a state because of some inherent flaw in their Blackness. Many of these commentators are either ignorant, dishonest or both. Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Visit: Zimbabwe Watch Zimbabwe: The MDC Must Renounce the Sanctions Posted: Sunday, March 18, 2007 There are Economic Sanctions on Zimbabwe by the West, the MDC is complicit and MUST renounce them By Tadios Chisango March 18, 2007 I have a bold claim to make: that nothing but the economic sanctions imposed on our country by the "Western world", with the complicity of the MDC, accounts for the economic decline that we have witnessed. As such, the MDC's connivance with the West to ferment the economic collapse takes away their legitimacy as a Zimbabwean political party. The MDC may legitimately and credibly be against Zanu (PF), but when they deliberately, or unwittingly courted Western sanctions that now render the living conditions of an ordinary Zimbabwe at Machipisa shopping centre insufferable, they downgraded to a much lower and sinister plane where they can never claim any legal, political or moral right: being anti-Zimbabwe. The plan could have been quite astute on the MDC's part, and probably beneficial to the majority of Zimbabweans, if it had worked. Sub-plan 1: engage Western powers, South Africa, Zimbabwe's biggest partner in trade on the continent, SADC, other African countries etc to precipitate the fall of the economy. Sub-plan 2: incite people to revolt against the incumbent Government, either through the ballot, popular uprisings, or through the bullet, oust them, and get into power. Sub-plan 3: Mend diplomatic relations with the West, ask for revocation of sanctions, court their investment, re-establish rule of law etc and you have the ingredients of a bling-bling economy once again. Who would have the last laugh? Morgan. What a good plotter! As it stands right now, sub-plan 1 has worked rather successfully: the West has imposed some sanctions on Zimbabwe, but not South Africa nor other SADC nations nor other African countries. The West stands out as the only bloc of the world that has imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe, and we beg for an answer! Sub-plan 2 has worked to some extent, but has had a quite crucial paradoxical effect: entrenching Mugabe further into power; Sub-plan 3 lies in a perpetual limbo, perhaps never to happen. The MDC have thus put our people in a never-ending crossfire, because they never had a back-up plan in case the sanctions did not work. Did they ever sign an agreement with the Western powers that if the sanctions did not work for a certain period, they would call them off? No, they did not! In fact, what they did not realise was that although they were fighting a common war with the "West" against Mugabe and his Government, the motives only correlated, but did not necessarily originate from the same source. The West won't relent until their ends have been met, and all this while it's our people who suffer. They obviously have nothing to lose if Zimbabweans starve. They will be able to sustain and retain their more dominant motives until they the MDC are able to get into power and satisfy the West's motives. Albeit I am not sure of the MDC's capacity to convince the West to take off the sanctions on Zimbabwe, what I am completely sure of is that they are readily being used as a pawn to justify the sanctions. The sanctions, through a myriad of processes, make it ever more financially difficult for my mother to be cured of her high blood pressure at High Glen hospital! While in the short or long run, the MDC may not be able to use this pawnship to get to power, it is surely destroying our economy. In a nutshell, I believe the benefit-cost ratio of the sanctions to our people and to our economy has since reached a highly negative value whose effects may never be undone. Western Sanctions, the MDC's complicity and the Economy: Enumerating the economic sanctions and documenting their direct effects in total on Zimbabwe is not an easy task, practically. The difficulty of this task should not necessarily mean that there are no sanctions on Zimbabwe, however. What is possible, and that other writers before me have tried to do is to demonstrate that there are definitely some economic sanctions by the West targeted upon the entirety of Zimbabwe, not only Zanu PF officials, which the MDC and its sympathizers deny. Inferences can then be made about the full extent of the sanctions. Far from dismissing the so-called targeted sanctions, I will argue how they have adversarial effects on our economy. I will also argue that the MDC has been complicit in all the sanctions that have been imposed, or maintained, after its inception. The love-hate relationship between the IMF and the World Bank predates the formation of the MDC, for example, but its maintenance and the imposition of further sanctions (such as the Zimbabwe Democracy Bill) that entrenched it and have done further damage, have received the blessing of the MDC. If the MDC supported the sanctions unwittingly, believing they would only damage the interests of Zanu PF, its high time they acknowledged their naivety, and start repairing their damage. As long as they continue playing to the West's gallery, without openly renouncing the sanctions, they are responsible for the suffering the sanctions are meting out on our country. Once they renounce the sanctions, the West will look lame, and not have the excuse for the anti-Zimbabwe din they are currently playing to the world. At least, I hope the evidence and arguments I will present in this article graphically demonstrate the existence of the West's sanctions on Zimbabwe, as I have witnessed much denial on the part of those who support the West and the MDC. The IMF and World Bank's Sanctions Both the IMF and the World Bank suspended balance of payments to Zimbabwe in 1997 after the Government gave gratuities to ex-combatants. This is despite the fact that they had been assured that money would not come from investment funds, but from a package of tax increases and spending cuts. The suspension of the balance-of-payment loans invoked fears of a ballooning budget deficit that resulted in the first ever crash of the Zimbabwean dollar, and has partly facilitated the incessant fall of the Zimbabwean currency up to the present time. It must be emphasized that it is not the payments to ex-combatants that caused the decline of our currency, but the reaction of the IMF and the World Bank. Had they let it pass, as it was a one-off event anyway, I doubt it could have created an impact as huge as the unexpected cutting of crucial balance-of-payment loans. When the IMF finally agreed to provide a loan in 1999, Zimbabwe was, for the first time since independence, $20 million a month behind in its foreign debt repayment, resulting in a $190 million deficit for 1999. The sanctions were re-introduced in 2001, and still stand today. The "Zimbabwe Democracy Bill" (2001) The introduction of the "Zimbabwe Democracy Bill" by the US in 2001 set to entrench the financial starvation of Zimbabwe, which the IMF had been sporadically engaging in, as shown above. On December 21, 2001, US President George W. Bush signed into law S. 494, the "Zimbabwe democracy bill." The law, among other things, instructed American officials in the IMF and multilateral development banks - including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Association, the International Finance Corporation, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Investment Corporation, the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Multilateral Investment Guaranty Agency -to "oppose and vote against any extension by the respective institution of any loan, credit, or guarantee to the government of Zimbabwe," and to vote against any reduction or cancellation of "indebtedness owed by the government of Zimbabwe." The above are virtually all the banks IN THE WORLD which could potentially lend money to Zimbabwe. Disturbingly, Zimbabwe cannot even borrow from Africa's own banks. Prior to the bill, at least Zimbabwe could obtain credit from other international financial institutions when the IMF and the World Bank cut its credit lines. This effectively means that Zimbabwe is one of the very few countries in the world that currently exists without any balance of payments support and external lines of credit. The only external alternative Zimbabwe is left with is borrowing from other governments, which is not very easy. Only recently, Zimbabwe failed to get a loan from both South Africa and China. We should note that in the developing world in general, it is the rule rather than the exception to experience persistent trade deficits that often necessitate government from some of the above institutions. Without such external funding, no economy in the developing world survives, and Zimbabwe is no exception. From the Zimbabwean perspective, this law can only be described as "cruel". On its own, I guess it has been significant enough to plunge the economy in its present down spiral, with any other sanctions/measures only having additive effects. The support the MDC gave to the enunciation of this law renders them an enemy of our people. In addition, the so-called Zimbabwe Democracy Bill vetoes debt relief to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe needs debt relief now more than ever, in order to invest in capital and social development, rather than spend its already depleted foreign reserves on servicing debt. Huge debt is not necessarily a sign of mismanagement, as some people will say, so Zimbabwe should not be punished for it, unless the motive is ulterior. For everyone's information, the most indebted countries have the biggest economies in Africa and India, quite a model economy for us, is easily the most indebted developing country in the world. The US and its allies are throttling Zimbabwe's throat! European Union Sanctions: On February 18, 2002, the European Union's foreign to imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe. Under terms of the sanctions, The European Union suspended budgetary support to Zimbabwe and terminated "financial support for all projects" except "those in direct support of the population." All financial aid would be "reoriented in support of the population, in particular in the social sectors, democratization, respect for human rights and the rule of law." With Zimbabwe banned from obtaining credit from the IMF and the World Bank, prohibited from borrowing money from any other of the World's major financial institutions by the USA, and with Europe terminating its support, the vicious stamp on Zimbabwe comes full-cycle. It is only paradoxical that the EU has "reoriented" its support to the "population" which will inevitably be hurt by its "suspension of budgetary support and termination of financial support for all projects". The European Union denies that it has imposed trade sanctions on Zimbabwe (pdf). At the same time, some evidence at least points to the fact that the EU has withdrawn its sugar export quota it had for Zimbabwe. If these are not trade sanctions, then what the hell are they? This actually reminds me of an interview Jonathan Moyo gave to Zimnetradio.com, in which he appeared to claim that farms seized during the land reform program had been black-listed by the European Union. Having conveniently maintained the EU and the USA as traditional markets inherited from the colonial period, any trade sanctions they impose/have imposed on Zimbabwe, whether de jure or de facto certainly can be expected to have biting effects as building new ones cannot be done overnight. Other De Facto Sanctions: The above example on the trade sanctions suggests that not all sanctions targeted on Zimbabwe are in Black somewhere. The view I have expressed above is buttressed by the following example: "Zimbabwe receives an average of just $4 per HIV-infected person compared with $74 elsewhere, Ms Bellamy told reporters in Johannesburg on her last tour of Africa as head of Unicef...The world must differentiate between the politics and people of Zimbabwe," she said, as reported by the BBC. Can somebody tell me please: what justifies the condemnation of children to death? The fact that they hate Mugabe predicts their desire to actively partake in the demise of these kids!? This is but a tip of the iceberg! They at least feel that they do not really have an obligation, and it's just an act of charity that they are helping these kids, so they have at least the guts to publish their hate. There is much behind the scenes! Another example demonstrates the extent to which the US and British Governments are ready to go, even against individual Zimbabweans. Long after Simba Makoni resigned from the Government, the US Government successfully blocked his campaign for the post of president of the African Development Bank. Surely, it is not at all sensible that they maintain sanctions against Simba Makoni because he is a FORMER Minister of finance. And to suggest, even at the most implicit level, that Simba Makoni is, or was involved in, or supported, or facilitated, or perpetuated, any of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe is sheer nonsense! Simba Makoni is not a full-fledged politician at all, having been incorporated into government as the Minister of finance solely on his business, not political CV and had to be fast-tracked into the politburo to make his position as the Minister get in line with Zanu PF protocols. If the West [The US and EU] say the sanctions are targeted at Zimbabwe's ruling elite, which they accuse of stifling democracy as well as violating human rights, how is Simba Makoni part of the game? How is he stifling democracy? Is he violating/has he violated any human rights? I can only guess there are other de facto sanctions the EU, the US and their satellite states have imposed on us that we haven't yet been able to understand. Depleting our national "goodwill" through Media Demonization I make another bold claim that the demonization the West does of Zimbabwe is tantamount to sanctions. The Herald is a Zimbabwean government owned Newspaper and the BBC is a British owned government owned broadcaster. The Herald is a government owned newspaper in Zimbabwe, and the BBC is a British government owned broadcaster. The Herald is obviously pro Zimbabwe Government and anti-British Government, while the BBC is basically anti-Zimbabwe. One major difference between the 2 is that the BBC is able to harness its resources to inform and bias world opinion on Zimbabwe. The Herald cannot inform World opinion in any concrete way that is comparable to the BBC. They are able to paint the Zimbabwean Government and society as essentially anti-White, for example, such that any "White" person may be hacked to death upon alighting a plane at the Harare airport. They don't tell the world that the majority of the major companies, mines, and conservancies are in fact owned by Whites in Zimbabwe, and that they live quite peacefully in Zimbabwe's picturesque suburbs like Glen Lorne. They paint a grotesque picture of Mugabe willfully starving his people, but don't tell us how much the sanctions they have imposed on Zimbabwe harm ordinary people. They make millions of the world's population believe that Zimbabwe is the hell on earth full of animal-like beings perpetually scrounging for food in the rubbish dumps. To my mind, this produces a profound effect that can be captured in $ terms. The so-called targeted sanctions While we celebrate that Zanu PF "fat cats" are reeling under the effects of the so-called targeted sanctions, they in fact have a broad side-effect on the economy. Who wants to do business with a people whose Government is treated like dare-devils by both the USA and the EU? Again, it's a matter of depleting our national goodwill. While the EU and the USA claim there are no trade sanctions on Zimbabwe (which I have disputed above anyway) is it not necessary for the trade minister of Zimbabwe to meet his British counterpart once in a while, or any other business people in Britain and the rest of the EU, the USA, or in Australia, New Zealand and Canada? Does this have a null effect on Zimbabwe's business capacity and on its business relations with the above countries and in fact the rest of the world? We would only be very naïve to believe the opposite. In addition, some of the Zanu PF officials, no matter that we may not like them, own businesses that contribute to the GDP of the country. Did we not become a bit perturbed the other day when the father of Prince Charles of Britain's son's girlfriend, who runs conservancies in Zimbabwe, had to defend himself on the charges by the West that his businesses dealings help sustain the "Mugabe Regime?" The man lives in Zimbabwe and is not supposed to have business links which are deemed by the West to prop the Mugabe regime? My foot! This gives us a "privileged view" into the devilish intents of the West on Zimbabwe in general, and the Zimbabweans whose livelihoods depend upon Charles Davey's operations. More recently, the Western sponsored International Crisis Group, advocated for the addition of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's Governor to the targeted sanctions list. I am not naïve enough to believe that this would affect Gono as an individual, with zero effect on the Reserve Bank's activities. And somebody would have me believe that the Reserve Bank is part of Mugabe's regime, and not part of the Zimbabwean economy. Pressure on Sadc and other African countries Within the present context, I wish to highlight the fact that the West has also tried to coerce African countries into imposing economic sanctions on Zimbabwe. They were going for a kill! For example, the Extraordinary Summit of the South African Development Community (SADC) opened in Blantyre, Malawi on January 14, 2002, Britain threatened to withhold $18 million in budgetary support from Malawi, the chair of the SADC, unless it agreed to direct the SADC towards the imposition of sanctions against Zimbabwe. This was a significant portion of Malawi's budget. Britain also held the threat of withholding aid for Malawi's food crisis. Similar threats to withdraw budgetary support were wielded against Mozambique. At the summit, President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania announced that British Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Baroness Amos telephoned him directly and urged him not to support Zimbabwe at the SADC and at the upcoming meeting of the Commonwealth. When that call failed, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw then telephoned and attempted to bully him. Despite intense pressure from Britain, African leaders at the March 2002 Commonwealth meeting rejected the demand for sanctions against Zimbabwe. President Mkapa of Tanzania revealed that members of the Commonwealth had endured a "bombardment of an alliance against Mugabe" Accepting that economic sanctions exist All in all, thus, I hope I have shown clearly that there indeed are economic sanctions against Zimbabwe by the West. I have seen a lot of MDC supporters who are either ignorant of, or deny the fact that Zimbabwe as a country is under economic sanctions by the West. The denial or ignorance is in line with the ubiquitous belief that Mugabe has single-handedly "killed the economy". This belief cannot sit comfortably with the fact that the West has knowingly introduced insufferable conditions on ordinary Zimbabweans. It's high time we accommodated the fact that there is a Western plot on our economy and acknowledge that we do not have anything to gain as a country from the sanctions. The difficulty in defining them does not mean they are not there, only to reiterate. It is very easy for powerful bully countries to fire economic "missiles" to states they are in loggerheads with. Unlike military ones, these economic missiles are invisible. We may gladly blame Mugabe the monster for attracting the sanctions, but I cannot see how and why we should justify their existence, knowing fully well that they are hurting the very people we love. What does the West want from Zimbabwe? I have the gumption to say that the West hates the Zimbabwe Government precisely because they are not happy that it seized the land from the "White" farmers. The rule of law, human rights, democracy, method of land reform arguments they use are mere smokescreens to conceal their real aim: they did not want the land to be seized from the White farmers, and the White farmers themselves did not want to give back the land they inherited, even if the inheritance was stolen. They did not however, have the audacity to say so, because their unjust stand would be transparently untenable. So their desire to keep the land manifests via indirect avenues that impress most...they don't fool me. I say so because the timing of the USA and EU sanctions closely corresponded with the first land takeovers. Second, the Zimbabwe Democracy Bill was partly sponsored by Senator Jesse Helms, who has long supported the Rhodesians' cause and opposed the independence of Zimbabwe. Third, the Lancaster House Constitution barred the Zimbabwean Government from re-claiming privately owned land for the first 10 years after independence perhaps to buy time. Fourth, it is important to understand that all the White countries in the World have always made a united stand against Zimbabwe since the land takeovers - USA, EU, Canada, New Zealand, and Britain. It is perfectly sensible to believe that it is only the above countries that care about the democracy and human rights of Zimbabweans. It is amazing that they have not imposed targeted sanctions on Rwanda, as evidence continues to accumulate that the incumbent Rwandan president Kagame is the one who ordered the shooting of the former president's plane, which sparked genocide of about 800,000 people. And it is a historical fact that there was no democracy and human rights for the Blacks in Zimbabwe until they fought in the liberation struggle. Ironically, the same people who never accorded Blacks their human rights all over Africa, in the USA and elsewhere are the ones who are now the ONLY people in the world who care about Blacks' human rights! The same people who racially abuse Black Zimbabweans in Britain presently care about the human rights of Black Zimbabweans in Zimbabwe they have never seen?! Interesting indeed! We can understand the Western perspective, but it is certainly of no benefit to us to justify it, for it is detrimental to our economy. Mugabe has mismanaged the economy, we know. If he is so good at mismanaging the economy, then why aid him with the sanctions? Why introduce the error to the mismanagement through the sanctions, and why deny their existence? Why does it surprise the MDC and the West that Zimbabwe's inflation is the highest in the World when they know that the West has sanctions on Zimbabwe? Or are they in denial, as usual? Why doesn't the West say to Zanu PF, "Ok we know your economy is suffering because of our sanctions, and you know what you must do to avert them: give the MDC power, our favoured choice?" Similarly, why doesn't the MDC say, "You Zanu PF idiots must give us power to avert Western sanctions we called for that are now hurting the people, or else we will remove you violently, with the aid of the people's hunger and frustration and of course with the West on our side"? It's high time they stopped pussyfooting about, thinking that marching in the streets will remove Zanu PF from power. That's merely playing to the Western media, who hatchet up the propaganda. Whether it is Zanu PF or the MDC that is ruling, what we don't want is the suffering of our people. Mugabe is going soon or later. As a human, he will either have to retire or will die. But whether the sanctions destroy the country or not, I do not visualize Zanu PF going away soon (not that I don't want them to go...). What we need now are visionaries that are able to abate the suffering of our people. The MDC can play their part here. Maintenance of economic sanctions to meet political ends - ends that may never be met - is definitely the last thing we need. With Zanu PF cognizant of the fact that the MDC is dining with the people who are making people suffer, then say "ah,look how Zanu PF is making people suffer", what they can only invoke from them is anger. Events like the ones we recently witnessed are set to continue. Let those with ears hear. Let those with eyes see. Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Visit: Zimbabwe Watch Zimbabwe's opposition perpetrating terrorist attacks Posted: Sunday, March 18, 2007 Mugabe accuses MDC of terror news24.com Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has accused the opposition party of perpetrating terrorist attacks on innocent civilians in a bid to oust his government, a newspaper reported Sunday. Mugabe, 83, has defiantly rejected a torrent of international condemnation following the beating of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and a number of his colleagues last week. He says the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is a violent party sponsored by former colonial power Britain and other Western allies. Speaking at a ceremony to mark International Women's Day in the capital Harare on Saturday, Mugabe said the authorities would brook no more lawless behaviour from the MDC. "We have given too much room to mischief-makers and shameless stooges of the West," Mugabe was quoted as saying in the Sunday Mail. "Scores of innocent people going about their legitimate business have fallen prey to terrorist attacks that are part of the desperate and illegal plot to unconstitutionally change the government of the country," he added. He was addressing government ministers, MPs, religious groups and NGOs at a belated ceremony to mark International Women's Day under the theme: Ending Impunity for Violence Against Women. www.news24.com/News24/Africa/Zimbabwe/0,9294,2-11-1662_2085397,00.html Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com All the Signs of US/European Govt Interference in Zimbabwe Posted: Saturday, March 17, 2007 Robert Mugabe: A Servant Not Knowing His Place By K. Elford Posted: March 17, 2007 How do we know that the U.S. and Europe are behind the efforts to overthrow President Robert Mugabe? According to William Blum: "Same way we know that the sun will rise tomorrow morning. That's what it's always done and there's no reason to think that tomorrow morning will be any different." What is going on in Zimbabwe that has brought the western media out in full force? The stories being bandied about and manipulated by the media seem to be focusing on some claims of abuse to Morgan Tsvangirai. According to articles in the media, the opposition party MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai has been operating to take down the current government of Zimbabwe for some time. As far back as 2000, Tsvangirai was threatening violence against Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe. These are calculated activities taking place in Zimbabwe on an ongoing basis. It is reported in the media that Tsvangirai's MDC faction had already made a pledge to organize mass civil disobedience for some time. Other opposition groups, who have ties to the Christian Alliance that spearheads the Save Zimbabwe Campaign with the same agenda - to stop the land seizures being implemented and to remove President Robert Mugabe's government - have been staging protests relentlessly (Save Zimbabwe Campaign's Effectiveness and Viability In Question 30 November 2006). Why all the attention on this particular protest? It can be argued that the excessive media attention is focusing on the opposition leader being injured in what appears to be a violent confrontation with the police. But this is not what we are getting via the media reports that have already declared human rights abuses at the hands of the government. Protests staged in any country often invite violence to later claim suppression and brutalization. Rarely do these worldwide protests receive the amount of media attention glaring on this recent protest in Zimbabwe except when there is a U.S./European backed attempt at 'regime change' in a country. The bottom line on this sudden intensification of interest in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe by western governments and media is in opposition to the White settlers losing the stolen land they once occupied. They intend to punish Mugabe for daring to redress this grave injustice. The United States, Britain, White settlers and organizations formed for the purpose of giving the impression of widespread organized opposition to Robert Mugabe are willing to do whatever it takes to maintain White settler (European) domination in Zimbabwe. The media frenzy involving Zimbabwe goes back to the land seizures from White settlers. The United States and Britain try to cover all their bases as they try to destabilize more targets sighted in their longstanding agenda of world dominance. They do manage to find some unusual bedfellows as accomplices. These deceptions are too common these days to be believable. It would be nice if those making the loudest condemnations against the Zimbabwe government could see these events for what they are. I rather suspect many are simply being paid to make noise. Most of the reports in the western media are saying the same things with the same tone which demonstrates a U.S./European concentrated effort to force the Zimbabwe government from office. Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Venezuela Squeezes Out the International Monetary Fund Posted: Saturday, March 17, 2007 Thursday, Mar 15, 2007 President Bush wrapped up his 5 nation-tour today dodging criticisms on immigration policy and opposition to the war in Iraq in Meridia, Mexico where protestors lobbed concrete rocks at his hotel. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez dogged Bush during his own whirlwind tour of Latin America, signing trade accords to promote regional integration. Part of Chavez's agenda is to squeeze the International Monetary Fund out of Latin America and replace it with a regionally based institution. Full Article : venezuelanalysis.com March 17, 2007 News Posted: Saturday, March 17, 2007 ¤ Lack of Support for Zimbabwe's Land Reform is Africa's Shame Zimbabweans and their government should never cave into the U.S., British and White settlers' plan to destabilize the country. The Zimbabwe government should not allow the minority opposition forces in the country or abroad to chaotically run rampant in order to make the country ungovernable. Africans the world over should be firm in demanding that lands in Africa be returned to the Black Africans they were taken from and that proper monetary compensation be paid. Black Africans should never allow the U.S. and Europe to choose our friends and enemies for us. We should not allow the enticement of economic aid and trade to be used as a weapon against other Black Africans. ¤ Gas sickens more than 350 in Iraq blast ¤ Anti-war Protesters Arrested ¤ US and Iran: Squint-eyed double-dealing ¤ How True Are The True Confessions Of The Terror Mastermind? ¤ Scooter & Gonzo - Fall Guys For A Corrupt Presidency ¤ Worldwide protests mark Iraq war ¤ The Original American Foreign Policy ¤ The Confession Backfired ¤ Storage growth sets a fast pace ¤ The Makings of the American Gulag ¤ Mounting Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq ¤ Another Opportunity for US Diplomacy? ¤ Iran says to sell oil in 'every currency' ¤ The waterboarded evildoer Lack of Support for Zimbabwe's Land Reform is Africa's Shame Posted: Saturday, March 17, 2007 By Ayinde rastafaritimes@yahoo.com March 17, 2007 It appears that Desmond Tutu, among others, have bought the stories of what transpired in Zimbabwe from Morgan Tsvangirai and the Western media, all of whom are against President Mugabe's land reclamation exercise. How else can one explain Tutu's strong condemnation of Zimbabwe's government? There is evidence that the clash between Morgan Tsvangirai, together with his small band of supporters and the police was orchestrated by Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai has been trying to position himself centre stage, despite his defeat at the 2005 polls. He and his cohorts provoked a violent confrontation with the police, then cried abuse. This incident was staged. Little is being said about the police officers that were beaten by this small band of protesters. BBC's Eyewitness account of what transpired shows how youths are being coerced to wreak havoc on the country. President Mugabe's government delayed Zimbabwe's land reform program so that Zimbabwe's liberation struggle would not overshadow negotiations for South Africa's liberation. In the article 'Zimbabwe land reform waited for SA' (28/07/2005) President Thabo Mbeki stated: "The Zimbabwe government delayed its land-reform programme so that negotiations for South Africa's liberation succeeded, said President Thabo Mbeki on Thursday. "They slowed down to get the negotiations in this country to succeed," said Mbeki as he arrived at the land summit without prior notification. He said that when South Africa was negotiating its transition to democracy, around the time which Zimbabwe had started its land reform programme, the Organisation of African Unity had asked Zimbabwe to stop the programme as it would 'frighten the apartheid government in South Africa.'" Zimbabwe under President Mugabe sacrificed much to assist the struggle in South Africa. It is only fitting that South Africa assist Zimbabwe in dealing with outside interferences from the U.S. and Europe in their attempts to prevent the ongoing effort to reclaim lands from the White settlers. Land is one of the main issues in Zimbabwe's liberation struggle. A return of the land that was stolen should be the primary concern for all African nations in the liberation struggle. Shame on any African nation that calls itself free when the best agricultural lands remain in the hands of White settlers. Is it not a shame that a rich continent feels dependant on these former colonial countries? It is a colonial mindset that maintains the fallacy that Africans cannot take care of their own affairs and must have White overlords in order to progress. One of the legacies of colonialism is the dependency syndrome that developed. The worst of it comes from those who hold on to these colonial institutions and their pompous titles. Where is Desmond Tutu's condemnation of the illegal U.S./Ethiopian invasion of Somalia? It seems he has no problem with 'truth and reconciliation' for letting Whites off the hook - the same Whites in and out of South Africa who are responsible for the deaths of countless Africans. His vilest comments should be reserved for George Bush, Tony Blair and others who are responsible for countless genocidal murders along with a multitude of crimes against humanity. It should be obvious to all that the U.S., Britain and their lacquey Morgan Tsvangirai have no respect for the rule of law and democracy in Zimbabwe. Having failed at the ballot, they are trying to force the democratically elected government in Zimbabwe out of office. Zimbabweans and their government should never cave into the U.S., British and White settlers' plan to destabilize the country. The Zimbabwe government should not allow the minority opposition forces in the country or abroad to chaotically run rampant in order to make the country ungovernable. Africans the world over should be firm in demanding that lands in Africa be returned to the Africans they were taken from and that proper monetary compensation be paid. Africans should never allow the U.S. and Europe to choose our friends and enemies for us. We should not allow the enticement of economic aid and trade to be used as a weapon against other Africans. Shame on all who have allowed the U.S. and Europe to get away with genocide. Shame on those not willing to stand for the completion of the Liberation struggle. Reconciliation is a farce! The truth is there can be no reconciliation without justice. Also Read: U.S. and Britain are Fueling Violence in Zimbabwe By Ayinde Zimbabwe: White Lies, Black Victims By Rosemary Ekosso Zimbabwe Under Siege By Gregory Elich Visit Zimbabwe Watch: www.raceandhistory.com/Zimbabwe Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Mr. Blair and Africa: first, do no harm Posted: Saturday, March 17, 2007 The Sunday Times of 7 January 2006 had an article entitled “Blair starts work on building fortune”. As we say back home, on top of whose back does he want to build the fortune? The Sunday Times says that Blair intends to “tour the world fostering the values of democracy, slowing climate change and developing Africa.” Develop Africa? You mean, he is prime minister of a powerful country for ten years, cannot develop Africa, and now wants to do it as a private citizen? Congratulations, Mr. Blair! Such nobility of purpose, such self-sacrifice! Full Article : ekosso.com March 16, 2007 News Posted: Friday, March 16, 2007 ¤ U.S. and Britain are Fueling Violence in Zimbabwe The latest negative media blitz on Zimbabwe manipulates what appear to be injuries sustained by Morgan Tsvangirai following a clash he had with the police after taking part in an MDC organized protest. Apparently, once any group is aligned with the White settlers they can do no wrong in the eyes of the U.S. and Europe. These opposition forces can break any law and be protected by these Western-controlled media. What they want is for President Mugabe and the Government of Zimbabwe to allow these opposition groups, which are being funded and promoted by the U.S. and Britain, to overthrow the democratically elected government of Zimbabwe. ¤ Indentured Servants in America ¤ Don't buy the claims that the military escalation in Iraq is working. ¤ After the event ¤ An Interview with Sibel Edmonds: ¤ The Bush administration manoeuvres to unseat Iraqi government ¤ The Sport of King George ¤ The Easiest Targets ¤ War Without Win - A White Paper On Iran ¤ United State of Minds ¤ The Bush Regime Needs To Be Stopped ¤ How True Are the True Confessions of the Terror Mastermind? ¤ The Political Economy of Diamonds ¤ Suffering from dementia? Over 80? Need a mortgage? No problem ¤ US troops kill five Afghan policemen ¤ Soldier's friendly fire death 'unlawful' ¤ French PM calls for Iraq withdrawal ¤ The Late, Great American Nation ¤ Bush's Shadow Army ¤ White House can't get its lies straight ¤ The truth about fake news. Believe it. ¤ 'I worked as a covert officer for the CIA,' Plame testifies ¤ Chiquita, Its Workers and Colombia's Death Squads ¤ ‘We come not as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators.’ ¤ A Profile in Cowardice For U.S. and Sadr, Wary Cooperation ¤ U.S. to expand Iraq prisons ¤ Closing the gap between torturer and victim The Bush administration manoeuvres to unseat Iraqi government Posted: Friday, March 16, 2007 Despite denials from Washington, there are growing signs that the Bush administration has issued threats to its puppet government in Baghdad to meet US-dictated "benchmarks" or face the consequences. The White House aims not only to end the military disaster in Iraq and open up the country's oil for exploitation, but to fashion an Iraqi regime more supportive of US preparations for aggression against Iran. Associated Press reported on Wednesday that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki feared the Bush administration would "torpedo" his government if it failed to meet US demands. The article highlighted a US threat to withdraw support from the government if it failed to pass a draft hydrocarbons law by the end of June that would open up Iraqi oil and gas fields to American corporations. Full Article : wsws.org Pearl Family Doubts KSM Confession Posted: Friday, March 16, 2007 The father of murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl says he doesn't believe al Queida mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed is the man who beheaded his son, despite Mohammed's confession to a US military tribunal. "He wants to take credit for doing it, and he wants to exonerate al Qaeda, blame Pakistan, and whatever," said Judea Pearl, Danny's father. "When a person confesses and he has nothing to lose. You have to take it with a spice of doubt." Full Article : abcnews.com Zimbabwe: Deal decisively with security threat Posted: Friday, March 16, 2007 By David Samuriwo, www.herald.co.zw March 16, 2007 ON Monday, I attended a Press conference at Harvest House addressed by Thokozani Khupe, the vice president of the MDC Tsvangirai faction. A few Zimbabwean journalists, Western diplomats and mostly foreign stringers disguised as diplomats attended the Press conference. According to Khupe, the "chilling reality was that the police were now using live ammunition on innocent unarmed people, as a result, a well-known MDC activist -- Gift Tandare -- became a victim of police heavy handedness" when he was gunned down near Mhizha Primary School in Highfield. According to sources, Tandare, who was the MDC Tsvangirai Glen View district youth chairman and a member of the security committee, was the ringleader of the assailants. A few years ago, he was also implicated in the burning of a Zupco bus in Glen View. Khupe's version of events was totally different from what really transpired on that fateful Sunday afternoon, when a group of police officers, making their way towards Kutsanana Bar in Highfield, came under heavy attack from MDC youths. The youths were pelting the officers with stones and also firing round metal bolts from catapults. Above all, they were armed with an assortment of teargas canisters which they threw at the police officers. They were being ordered to advance and disarm the police officers. With my own ears, I heard the officers fire at least nineteen rounds of live ammunition, but this did not deter the youths who kept advancing towards the cornered policemen. Left with no other choice, I saw one officer take aim and fire, Tandare fell down. The rest of the group immediately retreated and fled the scene. Sensing danger, I drove home to Kuwadzana only to be confronted by another group of rowdy MDC youths who demanded that I ferry them to Kuwadzana Police Station in my Mazda B16 pick-up truck. A neighbour who recognised me pleaded with the youth to let me go. They eventually did, but after breaking my front windscreen for no apparent reason. I also saw a senior member of the MDC Tsvangirai faction, who is the former president of an income generating project that masqueraded as a political grouping, dolling out money to a group of about 100 MDC youths, part of the group that had damaged my car. This group then made its way towards Kuwadzana Police Station where they threw teargas canisters. The police reacted by firing warning shots in the air and the attackers immediately dispersed. This same group proceeded to the Kuwadzana/Bulawayo Roundabout where they stopped and overturned a commuter omnibus. A few minutes later, another Kombi presumably from Botswana, judging from the luggage, was stopped and the occupants forced out. Their luggage was searched and anything of value looted. The youths then doused the Kombi with petrol, and torched it, reducing it to a shell. Six other private vehicles were stoned, while a Peugeot 404 was overturned. It boggles the mind to fathom how a "small prayer" meeting ostensibly organised under the banner of non-violence, freedom of association and democracy could suddenly turn out to be an orgy of violence, looting and arson. The benefit of doubt could have been given if the violence took place in Highfield alone where the prayer meeting was supposed to be held. That the violence simultaneously took place in different locations does not only suggest a well co-ordinated plan of civil disobedience, but points to well-planned acts of violence calculated to make the country ungovernable. Sun Tzu, a Chinese military strategist who lived about 2500 years ago, saying that "all warfare is based on deception" is still plausible to this day. His critics were also right. They said deception could only be successful if the enemy is unaware of that deception. Khupe cannot fool everyone by stating that a prayer meeting does not require police clearance under the Public Order and Security Act. Sunday's orgy of violence and looting was definitely not a prayer meeting. The deception theory dismally failed here. Khupe's assertion that the MDC remains unwavering in its commitment to bring peaceful change flies in the face of events that occurred on that Sunday and subsequently. According to Khupe, Morgan Tsvangirai and fellow faction leader Arthur Mutambara were arrested while on their way to attend a Save Zimbabwe prayer meeting organised by the Christian Alliance of Zimbabwe. Perhaps it is prudent for Khupe and her sidekicks to re-strategise. Except for fly-by-night journalists, local journalists are aware that the Christian Alliance, Save Zimbabwe Campaign, both factions of the MDC, Lovemore Madhuku's NCA, Zinasu and a host of other such organisations are being fed from the same trough. The American Embassy, through its Ambassador, Christopher Dell recently released funds to support the violent campaign. Security forces have a duty to guard against any usurpation of the country's Constitution. Paid demonstrators will remain just that. They can never be genuine because they lack conviction in whatever they demonstrate against. In essence, they will remain hired hands. If at all, the MDC has the support it claims to have why does it resort to paying its supporters to take to the streets? Last Sunday's orgy of violence is a typical revelation how a country's constitution can be manipulated by paid hooligans. The dolling out of cash at Kuwadzana by a senior official of the MDC said it all. The much publicised report by the International Crisis Group made very interesting revelations. It calls for increased funding for training and other capacity building assistance to all democratic forces in Zimbabwe. This has been going on for quite some time even before this announcement. Capacity building funds have seen the MDC establish a core group of violent youth militias they call Democratic Resistance Committees. On Wednesday, a cell of the democratic resistance committees attacked a house, in military precision, at Marimba Police station seriously injuring three police officers. American secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, gleefully views all this violence as Government orchestrated yet it is precisely her government that is funding the MDC to foment anarchy in this country. Constables Pretty Mushonga, Busani Moyo and Brenda Makamba are now at Parirenyatwa Hospital disfigured by the attack that can at best be described as a military style operation carried out by paid MDC thugs. Also, in a military style attack, Nehanda Police post in Mkoba 16, Gweru was attacked with petrol bombs and teargas canisters almost at the same time as the attack at Marimba. Zimbabwe's neighbours must be told loud and clear that the violence Zimbabwe is currently experiencing is a direct result of enormous funding, especially from the American Embassy, to the so-called MDC DRCs. As such, the Government will not fold its arms while these elements, akin to the then rebel Renamo, and Unita movements of Mozambique, and Angola terrorise the nation. It is obvious that the consequences of such action are too ghastly to contemplate. Already Gift Tandare has lost his life; Constables Moyo, and Mushonga, and to a certain extent Makamba seriously injured, and probably disfigured. How many more innocent Zimbabwean lives are still to be lost through actions of foreign governments bent on imposing their will on Zimbabwe? I had a belief a long time ago and do still believe that without outside interference Zimbabwe could have solved its problems many seasons ago. It is only concerted interference by the US government and its allies in the European Union that has worsened things. The bottom line is, law enforcement agencies should respond to this national security threat in an appropriate and deterrent manner. Any threats, intimidation or noise from powerful, guilty Western nations should be dismissed and ignored with the contempt they deserve. Reprinted from: www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=16410&cat=10 Also Read: U.S. and Britain are Fueling Violence in Zimbabwe Their aim is to ensure that Zimbabwe collapses under President Robert Mugabe and that this collapse serves as a deterrent to other African leaders and nations from reclaiming lands that were seized from Black Africans during colonial rule. Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Zimbabwe: Go hang, President tells West Posted: Friday, March 16, 2007 PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday told Western countries criticising the Government for dealing with violent opposition MDC members to "go hang". He said the West was condemning the Government for punishing perpetrators of violence but ignoring the violent acts of the opposition, which have left a trail of destruction and seriously injured policewomen and men. "When they criticise Government when it tries to prevent violence and punish perpetrators of that violence, we take the position that they can go hang," said President Mugabe. He was responding to questions from journalists at State House after holding talks with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete. "This is the West, which has always supported the opposition here and elsewhere. We do not accept their criticism at all. "Here are groups of persons who went out of their way to effect a campaign of violence. "We hear no criticism of this campaign from Western governments. None of these (Western) missions here have said a word against that campaign of violence," said Cde Mugabe. Full Article : herald.co.zw Here is a link to the Guardian UK's article 'Zimbabwe president defiant but violence may be turning African leaders against him' that shows the divide and rule game the West in playing with African nations is working. The Guardian UK like other Western media has always been hostile to the efforts to reclaim lands from White settlers in Zimbabwe. - Ayinde Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com March 15, 2007 News Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2007 ¤ U.S. and Britain are Fueling Violence in Zimbabwe ¤ Baghdad Under Surge ¤ Mohammed exaggerated claims ¤ Strip-Searching Children ¤ U.S. says car bombs a concern despite Baghdad plan ¤ A week of car Carnage ¤ Barbara Walters Interviews Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ¤ The Exaggerated Terror Threat ¤ Just who is a terrorist and what is terrorism? U.S. and Britain are Fueling Violence in Zimbabwe Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2007 Their aim is to ensure that Zimbabwe collapses under President Robert Mugabe and that this collapse serves as a deterrent to other African leaders and nations from reclaiming lands that were seized from Black Africans during colonial rule. Continue reading: 'U.S. and Britain are Fueling Violence in Zimbabwe' Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com Halliburton: From Bush's Favorite to a National Disgrace Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2007 It is a symbol of American cronyism, the beneficiary of lucrative Iraq contracts thanks to its relationship with Dick Cheney. Now Halliburton is relocating to Dubai - and US politicians are outraged. by Andrew Buncombe The story begins in 1919 with Erle Halliburton sitting up late one night with his wife, Vida, worrying about money. Squeezed together in their one-room home in the Oklahoma dustbowl town of Wilson, the couple were trying to work out how to meet the next payment on Halliburton's fledgling business, the New Method Oil Well Cementing Company. At about 1am, so the story goes, the pale light from a small lamp reflected off his wife's wedding ring. "I sat there admiring it when the thought came to me," Vida would later tell Jeffrey Rodengen, author of The Legend of Halliburton. "Here is the money we need. At first hubby would not listen to me... but I argued we could get it back. So we went to sleep all thrilled with the new idea of cementing, the new means of getting jobs, and the money." The rest, as is so often said, is history. Halliburton pawned his wife's wedding ring and set to work servicing drilling operations not just on the Healdton oilfield close to where they lived in Oklahoma, but also in Louisiana and Texas. The following year he changed the company's name to the Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Company. Full Article : commondreams.org March 14, 2007 News Posted: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 ¤ Global warming: The climate has changed ¤ US fears send shares into fresh dive ¤ 'Pragmatism' Is Prolonging the War ¤ A Journalist Writes Bloody Murder... and No One Notices ¤ The last thing we need ¤ Firings furor puts Gonzales on hot seat ¤ Matt Drudge rules their world...and spreads a Big Lie on Iraq ¤ The Descent of the US; the Rise of Latin America ¤ Black Lawmakers Digitally Redline African-Americans ¤ Crouching Tiger, Tumbling US Economy ¤ Suicide bomb kills six in Afghanistan ¤ U.N. finds evidence that Russian gunships aided in missile attacks on Georgia ¤ Why shorter men were walking tall 4m years ago ¤ 1M archived pages removed post-9/11 ¤ Israel, U.S. storm out of UN nuclear forum ¤ Bush comes up empty-handed in Latin America ¤ A US detour via Syria to Iran Viacom Sues YouTube Over Copyrights Posted: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 Viacom Sues Google's YouTube for Alleged Copyright Infringement, Seeks $1B in Damages Full Article : yahoo.com March 13, 2007 News Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 ¤ Despite Castro, racism lingers ¤ Zimbabwe: Morgan Tsvangirai sent to hospital ¤ Bush Tour Seeks to Drive a Wedge in Plans for Latin American Unity ¤ African Heritage in the Caribbean ¤ Sharaa predicts 'long time' before better ties with US ¤ Iran - Upping the Ante ¤ Whose Oil Is It, Anyway? ¤ Your country needs you... but not you: Soldiers' mother faces deportation ¤ Whose Rights? ¤ The Pragmatism of Prolonged War ¤ Take the Contracts and Run ¤ Relatives of missing Iranian general accuse US of kidnap ¤ Lawyers clash with riot police over Musharraf's removal of chief justice ¤ 160,000-year-old jawbone redefines origins of the species ¤ Viacom sues Google and YouTube ¤ The Forbes 4,000,000,000! Let's Hear it for Trickle-Up! ¤ Invade Mexico? ¤ 1984 and Beyond - Science Fiction Moving Into Reality ¤ The Mideast and India's Growing Power ¤ Dick Cheney is a liar ¤ Iraq: At least 55 killed in another brutal day of U.S. occupation: ¤ The story of U.S. Army interrogator Tony Lagouranis ¤ Iran 'euro-based' oil bourse underway ¤ Anthrax attack on US Congress made by scientists and covered up by FBI 160,000-year-old jawbone redefines origins of the species Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 * North African fossil hints at ties to humans today * Find shows growth of complex society Modern humans were living in northern Africa far earlier than previously thought, according to scientists. A new analysis of a 160,000-year-old fossilised jawbone from Morocco shows that the homo sapiens in the area had started having long childhoods, one of the hallmarks of humans living today. Full Article : guardian.co.uk Windies beat Pakistan Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 Hosts the West Indies won today's opening World Cup match by 54 runs after Dwayne Smith tormented Pakistan with both bat and ball in Group D at Sabina Park. Full Article : news.com.au Despite Castro, racism lingers Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 HAVANA – Leonides Terrero Silot wanted to take me to the Lincoln Hotel. This slender black man with the silver-gray hair and a bushy mustache insisted it's a place that all blacks from the United States should see. The 134-room hotel in the Galiano section of Central Havana, Terrero said, was one of the few places black visitors could stay in this city before Fidel Castro came to power. But his pride in showing me the aging hotel, built in 1926, turned to anger when a white security guard confronted us in the lobby as we tried to take an elevator to the rooftop restaurant. The guard said he had to check whether the restaurant was open before he could let us proceed. "That bastard is just stopping us because we're black," Terrero said softly. Full Article : spokesmanreview.com Zimbabwe: Morgan Tsvangirai sent to hospital Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 Injured Tsvangirai taken to hospital Zimbabwean opposition leader sent for hospital tests after appearing in court with deep head wound from what activists say was attempt by police to kill him. March 12, 2007 News Posted: Monday, March 12, 2007 ¤ Titans make Africa their stomping ground ¤ Bush runs into opposition in Guatemala ¤ Sweet Nothings: Lies my paper told me ¤ Addicted to myths about opiates ¤ Bush looking to rally support for Colombian leader ¤ President Authorized Abu Ghraib Torture, FBI Email Says ¤ Military action against Iran would backfire on Israel, report warns ¤ Bush Seeks Iraq War Funds 'With No Strings' ¤ Behind Burqa, Student Gets An Education In Bigotry ¤ Iraq: the hidden cost of the war ¤ A quarter of US war vets diagnosed with mental disorder ¤ British troops in Iraq face risk of mental illness ¤ Blair used spin to justify Iraq war, says Blix ¤ China may sell U.S. bonds ¤ Why We Reject CAFTA ¤ Bush's Latin American Slip ¤ Bush visit angers Guatemalan Mayans ¤ Send the Bush Twins to Iraq! ¤ Cannabis for the Wounded ¤ Ghost Prisoners, Shadowy Prisons & Secret Trials ¤ Playing Monopoly With Iraqi Money ¤ Media dragged into Afghan conflict ¤ US tries to stop Chávez stealing Bush's thunder ¤ 60 Years of Faulty Logic ¤ The Last Thing We Need ¤ Surge and Destroy ¤ War Without Win: A White Paper On Iran ¤ The Casualties of War Crimes— Who Weeps for Abeer? ¤ Decoding Bush: 'Iran, you're next? ¤ Belafonte's Fires Undimmed at 80 Oprah's school 'too strict' Posted: Monday, March 12, 2007 Johannesburg - The rules at Oprah Winfrey's ultra-posh school at Henley-on-Klip near Johannesburg are apparently so strict they make a reformatory look like a holiday resort. That's the word from upset parents, who say the school rules make it difficult for them to keep contact with their children. They would have aired their concerns during a satellite link-up with the chat show queen a week ago, but that was cancelled at short notice by the school's management body. Meanwhile the school seems to have made the rules even stricter. Until now, the girls could receive visitors every fortnight, but parents can now only visit them once a month. Frances Mans, foster mother of Gweneth Mulder, said last week she would take her daughter out of the school if the rules were not changed. Full Article : news24.com Zimbabwe opposition rally banned Posted: Monday, March 12, 2007 Armed Zimbabwean police in riot gear have sealed off a stadium where opposition groups are planning to hold a prayer rally on Sunday. Teams of officers, many carrying shotguns and tear gas canisters, are patrolling around the stadium in the Harare township of Highfield, where riot police clashed with opposition supporters in February. Full Article : english.aljazeera.net Zimbabwe court orders lawyer access for Tsvangirai March 11, 2007 News Posted: Sunday, March 11, 2007 ¤ Chavez launches biting US attack ¤ 'Smart' rebels outstrip US ¤ Chavez baits Bush with 'Gringo go home' calls ¤ Pilgrims targeted in Iraq blast ¤ Chirac Leaves a Mixed Legacy in France ¤ Texas Mom Charged With Killing Her Kids ¤ Blair is called to account over abandoned troops ¤ Iraq attacks kill 58 ¤ More Sand In Our Faces ¤ Judge Who Sentenced Saddam Flees Iraq ¤ KBR's $400 Million Iraq Question ¤ Twilight Zone / Only twelve years old ¤ Defiant and free: the Iraqi accused of $1bn heist ¤ US cries foul over pilot body snatch ¤ Bush seeks 8,200 more troops for wars ¤ Iraq attacks kill 60 ¤ There's Still Time To Rethink Iran ¤ Global Realignment and the Decline of the Superpower ¤ Americans are being subjected to con job ¤ Torture in Lebanon via a Toronto stage ¤ Documentary shows the impacts of propaganda Jihadi video on young Arabs ¤ A network of the US secret prisons in Africa ¤ America And Britain Asked Poland To Host Secret CIA Gulag ¤ Report: Palestinian child prisoners in 2006 Chavez launches biting US attack Posted: Sunday, March 11, 2007 "Those who want to go directly to hell, they can follow capitalism," Mr Chavez said in the town of Trinidad in Bolivia. "And those of us who want to build heaven here on earth, we will follow socialism," he added. Recent floods in the town left thousands of homeless and their livestock drowned. Venezuela's aid package of $15m (11.4m euros) outweighed the sum offered by the US tenfold. The country also sent in aid workers who attended their president's speech on the airport runway. During his visit, Mr Chavez also pledged more than $1bn (£0.5bn; 0.76bn euros) for oil projects and community radio stations in the country. Mr Bush spent Saturday in Uruguay where he spoke of the US care for the "human condition" and its "quiet, effective diplomacy". Full Article : news.bbc.co.uk Chavez baits Bush with 'Gringo go home' calls Posted: Sunday, March 11, 2007 President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has upstaged George Bush's Latin American tour in a show of political theatre that this weekend saw insults hurled across the River Plate. The White House has said the six-day tour, which started in Brazil and will stop off at Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico, was to show the US cared about the region's crippling poverty. But most analysts agreed it was an effort to claw back influence in a region that has slipped Washington's leash since the election of several left-wing governments, with Chavez the most radical and vocal member of the 'pink tide'. 'We don't even need to make an effort to sabotage [Bush's] tour,' Chavez told the crowd. 'He's a political cadaver. He exhales the smell of the political dead and he will soon be cosmic dust that will disappear from the stage.' Full Article : guardian.co.uk 'Smart' rebels outstrip US Posted: Sunday, March 11, 2007 The US army is lagging behind Iraq's insurgents tactically in a war that senior officers say is the biggest challenge since Korea 50 years ago. The gloomy assessment at a conference in America last week came as senior US and Iraqi officials sat down yesterday with officials from Iran, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia in Baghdad to persuade Iraq's neighbours to help seal its borders against fighters, arms and money flowing in. During the conference the US, Iranian and Syrian delegations were reported to have had a 'lively exchange'. In a bleak analysis, senior officers described the fighters they were facing in Iraq and Afghanistan 'as smart, agile and cunning'. Full Article : guardian.co.uk Priests to Purify Sacred Mayan Site After Bush Visit Posted: Sunday, March 11, 2007 Priests to Purify Sacred Mayan Site of 'Bad Spirits' After Bush Visit GUATEMALA CITY -- Mayan priests will purify a sacred archaeological site to eliminate "bad spirits" after President Bush visits next week, an official with close ties to the group said Thursday. "That a person like (Bush), with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk in our sacred lands, is an offense for the Mayan people and their culture," Juan Tiney, the director of a Mayan nongovernmental organization with close ties to Mayan religious and political leaders, said Thursday. Full Article : commondreams.org President Bush's Trip to Latin America Is All About Denial Posted: Saturday, March 10, 2007 "State of Denial" is the title of Bob Woodward's famous book on the Bush team's road to disaster in Iraq, but it would have served just as well for a description of their Latin America policy. This week President Bush heads South for a seven-day, five country, trip to Latin America to see if he can counter the populist political tide that has brought left governments to about half the population of the region. Carrying vague promises of a joint effort on ethanol production - but no offer to lower tariffs protecting the US market - President Bush hopes to entice Brazil into taking his side against his nemesis, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. This is a fantasy. Full Article : venezuelanalysis.com Lula urges Bush to Respect Sovereignty Posted: Saturday, March 10, 2007 Lula urges Bush to Respect Sovereignty of All Latin American Countries Sao Paulo - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called upon his US counterpart George W Bush on Friday in Sao Paulo to cooperate in Latin America's social development while respecting the 'political decisions of each state.' Without directly mentioning Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Lula said relations between Brazil and the US will be stronger insofar as they 'respect each other, each respects the sovereign political decisions of each state and they can build projects that may help third countries to get out of poverty. Full Article : venezuelanalysis.com March 10, 2007 News Posted: Saturday, March 10, 2007 ¤ President Bush's Trip to Latin America Is All About Denial ¤ Lula urges Bush to Respect Sovereignty ¤ After Bush's visit to holy site, Mayan priests will purify for "bad spirits" ¤ Angry crowds hunt Bush as protests mark start of Latin American tour ¤ Chavez hijacks Bush's South American tour ¤ Venezuela's Chavez To Lead Anti-Bush Rally in Argentina ¤ Brazil's Ethanol Slaves ¤ Anti-Bush demonstration in Rio Video ¤ Chavez: Bush a political 'cadaver' ¤ U.S. Soldiers Accused of Shooting Civilians in Sadr City ¤ Killing U.S. Troops Slowly ¤ US justifies erasing attack footage ¤ 18 killed in Baghdad suicide bombing ¤ Crusade for Consumerism ¤ The Cost of War $2.5 TRILLION ¤ US troops kill Iraqi father, two daughters ¤ Cocktail of additives found in child medicines ¤ You Can't Eat Gasoline ¤ A Predator Becomes More Dangerous When Wounded ¤ The Four Unspeakable Truths ¤ A catalogue of errors in Afghanistan Angry crowds hunt Bush in Brazil Posted: Saturday, March 10, 2007 Angry crowds hunt Bush as protests mark start of Latin American tour Some arrived clutching banners telling "Mr Butcher" to go home. Others brought effigies of "The Warlord" dangling miserably from a hangman's noose. A handful dressed up as the grim reaper, while some women paraded through the streets with stickers of George Bush and Adolf Hitler placed tastefully over their nipples. Fabio Silva had other ideas. He stuffed a sock into his mouth and left it there for three hours. "It means that the Brazilian authorities have tried to censor us - to pretend to Bushy that we don't exist," said the 21-year-old student, using the president's nickname in these parts after briefly removing his gag. "It means that we are remembering the silent victims of Iraq. And it means that the censorship will not shut me up." Full Article : guardian.co.uk March 09, 2007 News Posted: Friday, March 9, 2007 ¤ On war costs, Bush is master of disguise ¤ The Pentagon's Power to Arrest, Torture, and Execute Americans ¤ Guantánamo Is Not a Prison ¤ Surging: the Lie Admitted ¤ To Fight or Not To Fight? ¤ Street protests greet Bush upon arrival in Brazil ¤ Colombian students protest Bush visit ¤ Protests Sweep Latin America as Bush Begins Five-Nation Tour ¤ Leading British institutions gripped by racism rows ¤ Noam Chomsky Connects the Dots ¤ The Bi-Partisan Politics of Oil ¤ Not One Red Cent ¤ Voting Against the War is No Longer Enough ¤ The Private War of Women Soldiers ¤ Is It All About (N)PR? ¤ Anna Nicole Smith Bombs Iran! ¤ The Politician: Tory sacked for attack on black soldiers ¤ A predator becomes more dangerous when wounded ¤ Bush's unpromising Brazil visit ¤ Oil Companies Defy US Sanctions on Iran ¤ British Army used under-18-year-old soldiers in Iraq occupation ¤ Turn off the life support: America is dead ¤ Beyond Quagmire March 08, 2007 News Posted: Thursday, March 8, 2007 ¤ Anger as Bush takes on Chavez ¤ Bush's Latin American Spring Break ¤ Bush Trip to Counter Chavez is Destined to Fail ¤ Anti-Bush Protests In Sao Paulo ¤ Petraeus: Force will not solve Iraq ¤ Israelis 'use girl as human shield' ¤ China Rejects US Human Rights Criticism ¤ China to U.S.: Right Back at Ya ¤ War on Terror, War on Women ¤ Count the Quagmires ¤ The Iraq That George Built ¤ Entitlement and Empire ¤ Violence Against Women Under US Occupation ¤ The Libby waste 'o time ¤ Goodbye yellowcake road Cartoon ¤ Cheney's Henchman Gets His Many Iraqis Look Back With Longing Posted: Thursday, March 8, 2007 4 Years After Invasion, Many Iraqis Look Back With Longing by Leila Fadel BAGHDAD, Iraq - Four years ago, Iraqi poet Abbas Chaychan, a Shiite Muslim who'd been forced into exile during the predominantly Sunni Muslim regime of Saddam Hussein, hailed the American presence here in a poem that praised the top U.S. diplomat in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer. "We have breakfasts of kabab and qaymar," he wrote, describing the new Iraq with a reference to a rich cream that's considered a sign of wealth. "We put, in your stead, Mr. Bremer / Better than a tyrant of our own flesh and blood, and his torture." Last January, shortly after Saddam was hanged, Chaychan again put words to paper. But his outlook had changed. "History is proud to write about him," he said of Saddam. "It wasn't a rope that wrapped around the neck / It was the neck that wrapped around the rope. ... "From his childhood he was a leader, stubborn and against the occupation." Full Article : commondreams.org Children of Shame - Norway's Dark Secret Posted: Thursday, March 8, 2007 Norway's Aryan children go to court over years of prejudice They claim they were locked up in mental homes and denied education, the victims of a monstrous Nazi scheme and decades of public prejudice. Now a group of Norwegian "war children", born as part of a German plan to create a genetically pure race, are taking their case to the European court of human rights, demanding compensation and recognition of their suffering from the government in Oslo. Up to 12,000 children with a Norwegian mother and a German father were born in Norway during the second world war under the Lebensborn - Fountain of Life - scheme, first introduced by SS chief Heinrich Himmler in 1935 to propagate Aryan children. Outside Germany, Norway was the jewel of the programme. Full Article : guardian.co.uk Children of Shame - Norway's Dark Secret After years of keeping a lid on one of its most scandalous secrets, the Norwegian government now faces a whopping compensation lawsuit running into millions and charges of human right violation. Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad, one of the singers of the former pop cult band ABBA is probably one of the most famous Lebensborn-children. Born to a German nazi officer and a Norwegian mother during the German occupation of Norway, Anni-Frid belonged to the "children of shame" – unwanted after the Germans lost the war. Full Article : safepassagefoundation.org Tormented 'war children' take Norway to court Children born to Norwegian mothers and German fathers during Germany's occupation of Norway in World War II claim they've suffered a lifetime of discrimination, ill treatment and, often, abuse. Many have horrifying memories, and they're suing the Norwegian government for failing to protect their rights. Full Article : aftenposten.no Lebensborn Children Break Silence After decades of hushed shame, the children of the Lebensborn program to create a blond, blue-eyed master race have started to speak out. Topic number one is the painful search for their true parents. And then that nagging question: "Was my father a war criminal?" "Founded in 1935, Lebensborn was designed to halt the high rate of abortions in Germany which rose as high as 800,000 a year in the inter-war years because of a chronic shortage of men to marry after World War I. Its aim was to prevent 100,000 abortions and its statute stated that it was to support "racially and genetically valuable families with many children." It enabled unmarried pregnant women to avoid social stigma by giving birth anonymously away from their homes, often under the pretext of needing a long-term recuperation. About 60 percent of Lebensborn mothers were unmarried. Lebensborn ran children's homes and an adoption service if the mother didn't want to keep the child. It even had its own registry office system to keep true identities secret. Most documents were burnt at the end of the war. That, together with the refusal of many Lebensborn mothers to tell their children about the program, has made it very difficult to find the truth." Full Article : spiegel.de March 07, 2007 News Posted: Wednesday, March 7, 2007 ¤ How Much More Harm Can Bush Do? ¤ U.S. picks wrong moment to poke the Russian bear ¤ U.S. criticizes Iraq for abuses ¤ ‘If Iraq don’t kill you, Walter Reed will’ ¤ What Did Israel Know in Advance of the 9/11 Attacks? ¤ The Kuala Lumpur Deceit ¤ Coming in From the Cold ¤ The Fall Guy Has Fallen ¤ Libby: "Fall Guy" For The Real Criminals ¤ Investigators arrive at Java crash site ¤ Suicide bomber kills 30; 3 soldiers die ¤ Legal Experts Rap Media Ban at Gitmo ¤ Al Jazeera detainee 'force-fed' ¤ Liar in the White House ¤ Indonesian jetliner crashes killing 49 ¤ Morons and Magic: A Reply to George Monbiot ¤ Who Gave America the Right? ¤ Psychosis and Mania ¤ 4 Years After Invasion, Many Iraqis Look Back With Longing ¤ Hostages to Policy ¤ Bush's New US Attorney a Criminal? ¤ Tariq Aziz: Iran gassed the Kurds ¤ 'Safest ever' passport is not fit for purpose ¤ Vermont towns seek to impeach Bush ¤ Musharraf: From favorite to fall guy ¤ Iran fires back at the West What Did Israel Know in Advance of the 9/11 Attacks? Posted: Wednesday, March 7, 2007 On the afternoon of September 11, 2001, an FBI bulletin known as a BOLO - "be on lookout" -- was issued with regard to three suspicious men who that morning were seen leaving the New Jersey waterfront minutes after the first plane hit World Trade Center 1. Law enforcement officers across the New York-New Jersey area were warned in the radio dispatch to watch for a "vehicle possibly related to New York terrorist attack": Full Article : counterpunch.org Afghan Children Die As US Drops One-Ton Bombs Posted: Wednesday, March 7, 2007 Nine civilians, including four children, were killed in Afghanistan when US planes dropped two 2,000lb bombs on their mud home. Their deaths came after at least eight civilians were killed by US Marines a day earlier. Full Article : commondreams.org March 06, 2007 News Posted: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 ¤ GHANA AT 50 On March 6, 1957, Ghana became the first country in Africa south of the Sahara to gain independence from colonial rule. 2007, marks 50 years of independence. ¤ Explosions kill at least 115 Iraqis ¤ Why We 'Harp' on Press Failure on WMD ¤ Cheney Converts to Islam ¤ No Confidence? No Kidding! ¤ Liberal Fables About Health Care ¤ Bush is Al Qaeda's Top Recruiter ¤ Libby found guilty; attorney demands new trial ¤ Don't Push Pakistan Too Far ¤ The US of Tyranny ¤ Sick people used like laboratory rats in GM trials ¤ Scores killed as strong quake shakes Indonesia ¤ Afghan children die as US drops one-tonne bombs ¤ Heaven help us: George reportedly is thinking again ¤ Who's Afraid of Nuclear Disarmament? ¤ Mmmm, Tasty Chemicals ¤ The Next Mission: Removing a Tyrant ¤ Nine US soldiers die in Iraq blasts ¤ US ally Musharraf in a tangle over Iran ¤ When a Leader Missteps, a World Can Go Astray ¤ War is a Disaster - An Oil Shortage is Not ¤ The Cold War was not a struggle between the U.S and the USSR. ¤ Gunmen storm Iraq jail, free 140 ¤ Ex CIA Analyst: Saddam Did Not Gas The Kurds ! ¤ FLASHBACK: Saddam never gassed his own people The web works for the grassroots, but... Posted: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 The web works for the grassroots, but political power still lies with the few Whatever happened to Tom Vilsack? Vilsack appeared on the presidential scene without trace and faded with even less commotion. Since, according to a recent survey, Americans have been paying more attention to coverage of Anna Nicole Smith than the 2008 presidential campaign, few have missed him. But on February 23 he bowed out of the Democratic primaries almost a year before the first vote was to be cast. "I have the boldest plan to get us out of Iraq and a long-term policy for energy security to keep us out of future oil wars," said Vilsack in his concession speech. This is not true. Vilsack was a fairly ordinary candidate with fairly ordinary policies. His plans were not bold. In a free and fair contest of content, charisma and character the voters would probably not go for him. The issue is that they will never get the chance. Before he could get his name on a ballot, money had the final say. Full Article : guardian.co.uk Bush Prepares for Trip to Latin America Posted: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 He talked of grinding poverty and called it "a scandal" that democracy and capitalism have not delivered more to Latin Americans. The working poor need change, he declared. He invoked Simon Bolivar, the "great liberator," and vowed to "complete the revolution" and bring true "social justice" to the region. Hugo Chavez? No, George W. Bush. Full Article : washingtonpost.com Ghana splashes out for jubilee Posted: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 Salamatu Abukare, 55, will witness for the first time this week the lavishness that African leaders usually reserve for their own. She will watch agog as a fleet of 50 Mercedes, 50 BMWs and 30 Jaguars, costing about £3 million, ferry the continent's elite to a huge party to celebrate Ghana's 50th anniversary of independence -- an event that was regarded as heralding the end of British colonialism. She will then sit back and watch as the sky is lit up by a fireworks and laser display. Full Article : timesonline.co.uk Congratulations pour in for Ghana's Golden Jubilee Messages of congratulations and solidarity are pouring in from African leaders as Ghana, Africa's oldest independent state, celebrates its 50th anniversary Tuesday. President Thabo Mbeki is joining African leaders and other prominent international figures in celebrating Ghana's jubilee. Full Article : buanews.gov.za Zimbabwe: President Opens Zim Embassy in Ghana PRESIDENT Mugabe is now in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, after a three-day stopover in Equatorial Guinea. According to ZBC News last night, Cde Mugabe was met at Kotoko International Airport in Accra on Sunday by the Minister of Local Government Mr Steve Samoa Boatent and Zimbabwean ambassador to Ghana, Cde Pevlyn Mutsaka. President Mugabe officially opened the Zimbabwean Embassy in Ghana, which moved from Senegal in 2001. Speaking to guests at the embassy, the President said now was the time to take stock over the travel by Africans in their road to independence, adding that Ghana pioneered the de-colonisation process. Full Article : allafrica.com Pride, poverty and promise: Ghana's golden jubilee Ghanaians last night celebrated 50 years of independence with a spectacular fireworks display over the burial site of the country's first president. Thousands of ordinary citizens gathered outside the walls of the Kwame Nkrumah mausoleum in the capital, Accra, to hear an actor recreate the midnight ceremony in which Britain handed over power on March 6 1957. "Ghana, your beloved country, is now free forever," he told a crowd of local and international dignitaries inside the park walls, while the crowd at the street party outside cheered. Full Article : guardian.co.uk Mixed feelings as Ghana celebrates 50th birthday Posted: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 Ghanaians hoisted their Black Star flag across the country on Monday for the country's 50th birthday party and authorities pledged a two-week respite from power blackouts that have plagued them for months. Tuesday's jubilee marks half a century since Ghana became the first black African country south of the Sahara to gain independence from colonial rule, setting a pattern for the continent. But some see the celebrations as a waste of money. Full Article : mg.co.za Thousands cheer Ghana's 50th independence birthday Ghana's 50th Independence Anniversary Impacts Tourism Industry Thousands of tourists, as well as heads of state and dignitaries from around the world are arriving in Ghana, to celebrate the West African nation's 50th anniversary of political independence from British rule. As the euphoria surrounding the March 6 event mounts, the country's tourism sector is enjoying a big boost. Efam Dovi reports from the capital, Accra. Full Article : voanews.com State drops charges against CJ Sharma Posted: Monday, March 5, 2007 TrinidadAndTobagoNews.com Reporters March 05, 2007 In a controversial and stunning development this afternoon just after 1pm, the prosecution has dropped charges against Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma, who was charged with attempting to pervert the course of public justice. The chief witness against Chief Justice Sharma, Chief Magistrate Sherman McNichols, indicated to the court today that he was no longer willing to give evidence in the criminal proceedings against Chief Justice Sharma. The prosecution subsequently discontinued proceedings against Chief Justice Sharma. Prosecutor, Gilbert Petersen, SC, told the court, "Because of the position indicated by the witness, we will not be proceeding further with this prosecution." Lead defense attorney, Pamela Elder described the situation as outrageous and a mockery of the justice system - that one can make an accusation against another and refuse to testify when the time comes for the accuser to face cross-examination. It is alleged that the CJ attempted to sway the Chief Magistrate Sherman McNichols' decision in the trial of former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday. Basdeo Panday was subsequently convicted for failing to disclose a London bank account under the rules of the Integrity Act. He has since appealed the conviction and is out on bail. No reason was given for the decision to terminate the proceedings against Chief Justice Sharma except that it was made after discussions were held with the witness. State prosecutor Gilbert Patterson indicated that reasons would be given in writing at a later date. www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog/?p=198 March 05, 2007 News Posted: Monday, March 5, 2007 ¤ Cherokees eject slave descendants ¤ 'The Iraq war has scarred the world' ¤ America's March Madness ¤ It's Time to Create a Little Shock and Awe in the Streets ¤ Seymour Hersh and Iran ¤ US Nuclear Hypocrisy and Iran ¤ Bush Versus Chavez ¤ Exodus of Iraq's Ancient Minorities ¤ It Doesn't Matter If Hillary Apologizes for Her Iraq War Vote ¤ Why Can't We Talk about Peace in Public? ¤ 16 Civilians Die as U.S. Troops Fire on Afghan Road ¤ Japanese PM unapologetic over 'comfort women' ¤ Good Lack of Interest ¤ The Lamest Show On Earth! ¤ Snatching war out of the jaws of peace ¤ 38 die, 105 hurt in Baghdad market blast ¤ US seizes Afghan shooting footage ¤ BBC's 9/11 Yellow Journalism Backfires ¤ The Big Green Fuel Lie ¤ Attack on Iran would backfire, warns report ¤ Cambodia welcomes its oil wealth, but will it do more harm than good? Japanese PM unapologetic over 'comfort women' Posted: Monday, March 5, 2007 Sorry seems to be the hardest word for Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe. Today, he told parliament the would not offer a fresh apology for Japan's use of wartime sex slaves even if the US Democrat Michael Honda managed to push a motion through the House of Representatives calling on him to do exactly that. Mr Honda was joined at a house subcommittee last month by three former "comfort women", including Lee Yong-soo, who says she was snatched from her home in Korea when she was 15 and taken to a Japanese military brothel in Taiwan. Full Article : blogs.guardian.co.uk Sick People Used Like Laboratory Rats in GM Trials Posted: Monday, March 5, 2007 Genetically modified potatoes developed by Monsanto, the multinational biotech company, have been fed to sick patients in an experiment. Rats that ate similar potatoes in the research suffered reductions in the weight of their hearts and prostate glands. Dr Michael Antoniou, reader in molecular genetics at Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine, said use of humans was "irresponsible and totally unethical, especially when already ill subjects were enrolled. These people truly were guinea pigs." Other scientists said the trials were too short, on too few people, to give meaningful results of long-term effects. Full Article : commondreams.org Cherokees eject slave descendants Posted: Sunday, March 4, 2007 "Members of the Cherokee Nation of native Americans have voted to revoke tribal citizenship for descendants of black slaves the Cherokees once owned." "Slaves were held by a number of native American tribes and were freed after the Civil War in 1866." Full Article : news.bbc.co.uk Cherokee Tribe Faces Decision on Freedmen A federal court hearing Wednesday pits Native Americans against the descendants of African slaves once kept by tribal members. The Cherokee Nation has moved to expel the people known as Cherokee Freedmen. Full Article : npr.org Jim Crow and the Indians "Freedmen," blacks whose ancestors were enslaved by Cherokee and other tribes, are suing to become tribal citizens. But the tribes say they are ineligible because they don't have Indian blood. Full Article : salon.com Native Americans and African American slaves Individuals in some tribes owned African slaves; however, other tribes incorporated African Americans, slave or freemen, into the tribe. This custom among the Seminoles was part of the reason for the Seminole Wars where the Americans feared their slaves fleeing to the Indians. The Cherokee Freedmen, and tribes such as the Lumbee in North Carolina include African American ancestors. Full Article : wikipedia.org Descendants Of Freedmen Of The Five Civilized Tribes The increasing number of Europeans being adopted into the 5 nations through marriage to Indian women brought significant changes to the old tribal ways. These "Indians" brought enslaved individuals of African descent into the tribes, and eventually brought about the enacting of tribal constitutions and tribal acts restricting the rights of people of African descent to obtain citizenship in the tribes and to marry other tribal citizens, even though eventually, many of the individuals of African descent had Indian fathers who were tribal citizens. Eventually most of the tribes also had some restrictions against Free blacks living in the tribe. The tribe which treated the blacks with the greatest equality prior to the Civil War were the Seminoles. The vast majority of the slaves were owned by people who were whites adopted into the tribe or their children who were known as "mixed blood" tribal members. It must be pointed out that some of the "slaves" were only slaves on paper, since the US government had tried to stop large numbers of Free blacks from moving to the Indian territory with the Indian tribal members. Also, Free blacks, living in the tribes were often stolen by whites intruders and carried off to slaveholding states; some were recovered with great difficulty by the Indians, who were often the relatives of the stolen Free black. Full Article : freedmen5tribes.com March 04, 2007 News Posted: Sunday, March 4, 2007 ¤ Relatives demand justice as police go on trial over Katrina killings ¤ Operation Overstretch ¤ Fool Me Thrice? ¤ War Talk ¤ Mr. President, the CIA Is Already Talking to Syria ¤ BBC Is Barred From Showing News Report on a Scandal ¤ Afghans: U.S. troops shot at civilians ¤ US Troops Slaughter Afghan villagers ¤ Internet Archive Authenticates BBC Video ¤ How Barack Obama learned to love Israel ¤ Sects slice up Iraq as US troops 'surge' misfires ¤ Libya 'not rewarded for scrapping N-arms plan' ¤ A Nation of Stupid Children, Who Refuse to Give Up the Lies ¤ We are Wosing ¤ ISRAELI ARMY CAUGHT IN THE ACT ¤ US troops kill Afghan civilians How easy it is to put hatred on a map Posted: Saturday, March 3, 2007 Our guilt in this sectarian game is obvious. We want to divide our potential enemies Why are we trying to divide up the peoples of the Middle East? Why are we trying to chop them up, make them different, remind them - constantly, insidiously, viciously, cruelly - of their divisions, of their suspicions, of their capacity for mutual hatred? Is this just our casual racism? Or is there something darker in our Western souls? Full Article : independent.co.uk March 03, 2007 News Posted: Saturday, March 3, 2007 ¤ Venezuela rejects U.S. drug report ¤ U.N. forces launch new Haiti operation ¤ Al Gore, the Origins of a Hypocrite ¤ War Reporting in Iraq: Only Locals Need Apply ¤ The Fourth World War Started in Venezuela ¤ Do the James Brown! ¤ Four Years of an Unjust War ¤ Haiti: Poor Residents of Capital Describe a State of Siege ¤ Attorney general halts BBC probe ¤ An American Identity Crisis in a Losing War ¤ Signs of a New Sunni Offensive ¤ Suicide car bomb kills 12 in Iraq's Ramadi ¤ Pay no attention to that explosion - it was just "symbolic" ¤ Wounded Troops: Bush's Second Katrina ¤ Ahmadinejad arrives in Saudi Arabia ¤ How easy it is to put hatred on a map ¤ How Far is Iran from the Bomb? ¤ 'Surge' needs up to 7,000 more troops ¤ Tornadoes kill 20 in USA March 02, 2007 News Posted: Friday, March 2, 2007 ¤ How Cheney bombed in Afghanistan ¤ Fears of recession spark further turmoil in markets ¤ Global market chaos, but at least one man made a killing ¤ The Lunatic Right Returns ¤ Before Using an "Inconvenient Truth" in Classrooms, Show "Oil on Ice" ¤ GOD DAMN YOU, DICK CHENEY!!! ¤ The Iraq War Crash ¤ Africa - Where the Next US Oil Wars Will Be ¤ Tornado death toll hits 20 in South ¤ BBC, CNN Employ Magical Psychic News Announcers ¤ A Loud Boom from the Land of Bones ¤ The Wall, Apartheid and Mandela ¤ Beware Growling Bears ¤ Will We Suffer from the Iraq Syndrome? ¤ Mis-Trust on Anti-Trust ¤ A Pig Looking at a Watch: Assessing Iran's Nuclear Program ¤ Leaders Don't Kill People... ¤ Bayoneting a Scarecrow ¤ Afghan opium 'hits record output' ¤ Iraq: The facts on displaced persons and refugees ¤ Even Doonesbury plays U.S. blame game ¤ British Are Coming, British Are Fleeing ¤ Wash. Post parroted White House claim that Iraq war was authorized by U.N. ¤ US Commanders: We Face a Vietnam-Style Collapse ¤ America's March Madness US Commanders: We Face a Vietnam-Style Collapse Posted: Friday, March 2, 2007 by Simon Tisdall An elite team of officers advising the US commander, General David Petraeus, in Baghdad has concluded that they have six months to win the war in Iraq - or face a Vietnam-style collapse in political and public support that could force the military into a hasty retreat. The officers - combat veterans who are experts in counter-insurgency - are charged with implementing the "new way forward" strategy announced by George Bush on January 10. The plan includes a controversial "surge" of 21,500 additional American troops to establish security in the Iraqi capital and Anbar province. Full Article : commondreams.org George Bush's Come to Jesus Moment Posted: Friday, March 2, 2007 The Bush conversion: how the president saw the light and changed foreign policy Aggressive - and ineffective - approach abandoned in favour of diplomacy It is being called George Bush's Come to Jesus moment. As in the midlife realisation that led Mr Bush to give up alcohol and embrace Christianity, the president in his sixth year in the White House has undergone another radical conversion, abandoning an ideological foreign policy for a more pragmatic approach, foreign policy experts say. Within the space of two weeks, the Bush administration has made dramatic steps towards diplomatic engagement of two countries once shunned as part of the Axis of Evil - agreeing to contacts with Iran and opening the door to recognition of North Korea. In Washington, the shift was seen yesterday as a belated acknowledgement that the administration's approach to the world - on Iraq, nuclear weapons proliferation, and Middle East peace - was not just ineffective, but dangerous. Full Article : guardian.co.uk March 01, 2007 News Posted: Thursday, March 1, 2007 ¤ "Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic" ¤ Bush tours Latin America to isolate Chavez and check Iran's advances in the region ¤ Hugo Chavez nationalizes oil and makes foreign investors accept his rules ¤ Is Obama black enough? ¤ Supporting the Troops: "Shut up and suffer6 ¤ Crusade for Fairness ¤ Ahmadinejad blames U.S., Israel for wars ¤ Don't downgrade to Vista ¤ Tony Blair's the Real Decider ¤ Haiti Under a State of Siege ¤ Stop Them! ¤ Blair, and Britain, Slips off the Leash ¤ Thursday: 147 Iraqis, 2 Marines, 1 British Soldier Killed ¤ Vultures circle overhead to feast off Iraq's carrion ¤ Sudan and Iran defy West pressure ¤ Wall Street plunge shakes Europe Wall Street plunge shakes Europe Posted: Thursday, March 1, 2007 Leading shares notched up a third day of losses today after further remarks from Alan Greenspan spooked the markets and Wall Street opened sharply lower. Mr Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, was quoted as telling a meeting in Tokyo by satellite link that a US recession was possible, although not probable this year. Similar comments he made earlier this week helped send share prices lower around the world. His latest comments follow attempts yesterday by current Fed boss Ben Bernanke to soothe fears about US growth. Full Article : guardian.co.uk |
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