Jenny From a Different Block

Latino music store chain, Ritmo Latino has decided to boycott Jennifer Lopez because she is only promoting her new Spanish language CD in “white” record stores. According to David Massry of Ritmo Latino, he was told by Lopez’s record company that she would not be promoting her new CD in Latino music stores.He was told that Lopez’s appearance at F.Y.E. music store in the Bronx was as multicultural as her promotional appearances would get.

Massry has called for a boycott against Lopez and says that his music stores will no longer carry her music CDs. He also plans to circulate fliers to his customers that accuse Lopez of forgetting her roots:

"This is a Spanish-language CD, and if she wants to discriminate against the Latin community, then we will not sell her product. "This is not the first time this has happened. Celebrities have this notion that when they reach a certain level of crossover appeal, they forget quickly where they started."

Some celebrities do change once they achieve mainstream popularity and Lopez is no exception. She may claim to be "Jenny from the block" but she is one of the richest women in Hollywood. She has parlayed her skills as a dancer into a successful acting and singing career. Like any other famous celebrity with enormous appeal, she has her own clothing line and has not one but two fragrances. Her phenomenal success differentiates her from just about every other Latina in Hollywood. Penelope Cruz, Eva Mendes and Salma Hayek have done well but Lopez has taken her celebrity to different stratosphere.

For Latinos, African Americans and other minorities in Hollywood, the secret to being a crossover success involves looking less "ethnic" than you really are. For minorities, dark skin becomes lighter, wide noses get narrower and brunettes become blonds. No one noticed Lopez when she was a Fly Girl on the 90s comedy series “In Living Color”, she transformed herself from an “ethnic” looking Latina to the multi-cultural beauty we know today. For evidence of this, check out her transformation at AwfulPlasticSurgery.com. She lost some weight and most likely had some plastic surgery though she would deny ever visiting Dr. 90210.

The second part of crossover appeal sometimes requires that celebrities forget their core audience. For minorities, this means shunning your loyal fan base; these are the people in your community who were your fans long before the crossover. In the case of Lopez, it was a bad idea to exclude Latino music stores from her promotional tour. She has a solid Latino fan base and is married to multi-platinum salsa recording artist Marc Anthony but it is the Latino music stores and radio stations who will likely end up playing her new Spanish songs not Top 40 radio stations.

Whether Ritmo Latino's boycott will have any effect on Lopez's CD sales remains to be seen. Massry’s complaints about Lopez are worth considering, if she is snubbing her Latino fans, she should know that alienating them is a potentially career-ending move because loyal fans will be there long after the crossover appeal fades away. Loyal fans are ones who will buy your CDs, wear your clothes and buy your perfume long after the crossover fans have forgotten all about you.

Waxman To Rice: Your Days Of Blowing Off My Letters Are Over

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has a date with California Representative Henry Waxman and the House Oversight and Reform Committee on April 18th. He's been trying to get her to answer some questions regarding the Bush administration's claim that Iraq was procuring uranium from Niger. She has been summoned by Waxman several times but has yet to appear. I would think that if the intelligence was faulty, all Condi would have to do is appear before Waxman's committee and just tell them this unless she's got something to hide.



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SADC Supports Mugabe

The fourteen African leaders of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) reaffirmed their solidarity with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe today in a much anticipated meeting. They also called on the West to end their sanctions against the country immediately. The SADC's decision was extremely disappointing and dealt a low blow to the people of Zimbabwe and for human rights. As far as I can tell, being impoverished, hungry and beaten to a bloody pulp means nothing to these leaders.

Proving that self-interest comes before all else, Southern African leaders are looking to the future and possibly see themselves in Mugabe’s position in a few years with a rotten economy, the world’s highest inflation rate and a restless, hungry population. Just think about it, one of these leaders might want to use his police to brutalize and arrest members of the opposition party, want his political party to select him to run unopposed in the country’s next presidential elections or enlist the help of an ally’s militia to help crackdown on civil unrest. As long as SADC supports Mugabe’s brutal behavior, then Southern African leaders can expect the same kind of support when they find themselves brutalizing their own population.

One of the goals of the SADC is to achieve development and economic growth, alleviate poverty, enhance the standard and quality of life of the people of Southern Africa and support the socially disadvantaged through regional integration. How does mollycoddling Robert Mugabe help achieve these goals for the people of Zimbabwe?

All the SADC did was reiterate that autocrats are alive and well in Southern Africa and will do anything to stay in power. As pigheaded and preposterous as Mugabe is, he’s got fourteen allies who have got his back. Why should the European Union and the United States reward Mugabe for being an oppressive dictator?

(Cartoon by Geoffrey Nyarota taken from wan-press.org)

Hot Link of the Day

Voices from inside Zimbabwe -- BBC News

Saudis Criticize Bush

Earlier this week, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia characterized the Bush administration's democracy-building in Iraq as an "illegitimate occupation". Before a meeting of Arab leaders in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah encouraged his peers to seek Arab solutions to Arab problems. Evidently, this bit of criticism was unexpected and surprised the Bush administration prompting Secretary of State Condolezza Rice to call the Saudi ambassador not to ask Osama bin Laden's whereabouts but to get clarification on this comment.

It shouldn't be news to the Bush administration that we're occupying Iraq, they may call it something else but it's still an occupation. After four years, they insist that U.S. troops are in Iraq at the request of the Iraqi government and by a U.N. mandate.

The Saudis have finally found their voice and criticized Bush for his foolishness in Iraq. Although I am glad they are criticizing him, I haven't forgotten that they were our ally when we invaded Iraq back in 2003 but they weren't the only ones. Other Arab allies of the invasion were King Abdullah of Jordan and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. Not one of these leaders has a solution for dealing with Iraq. In the interim, the Saudis have constructed a fence on their border with Iraq to keep out Iraqis fleeing violence.

(Photo borrowed from Reuters/Ali Jarekji)

McCain and Lieberman in Wonderland

I'm so glad the Senate passed their own bill that puts a deadline for our troops to pull out of Iraq. Four years in Iraq is enough and the majority of Americans know this. Vice President Cheney wants to scare us by declaring that withdrawal from Iraq will invigorate the terrorists. Our presence in Iraq not only invigorates but also impels the terrorists to create new ways to kill people. They've already added a new page to the terrorist playbook by making a more deadly suicide bomb with chlorine gas; if you aren't blown to bits then you will die from the toxic fumes.

Of course with yesterday's Senate vote, I would expect Senator Joe Lieberman and former Republican Presidential candidate front-runner John McCain to be all salty about it. They did not disappoint. After the vote, McCain said, "I would not support the status quo. In Iraq today there are real signs that the new strategy is working."

Just yesterday while appearing on Bill Bennett's radio show, McCain praised Bush's troop escalation and went so far as to say that General Petraeus can venture outside the Baghdad green zone in an unarmored humvee. He also gave a special shout-out to all the disbelievers by telling them that they are way behind on the news about Iraq; he says it's really safe there. His statement was rebutted and dismissed by reporters and military commanders alike. What I want to know is where is the real John McCain and who has taken over his body?

As for Lieberman, he's marching to the same war drum as McCain. He too sings the praises of Bush's troop escalation but does not acknowledge that it has failed to reduce violence in Iraq. He was quoted as saying the vote "snatched victory from the jaws of progress". Sorry Joe but the American people and Iraqi people would disagree with you on that one.

Black Folks & Homophobia

For as long as I can remember, there have always been gay men in the black church. From my early church days, I can remember there was always something different about the organ player or the choir director in my grandmother's AME church. Of course everyone knew who was gay in the church, but no one discussed it, not even the minister.

Gay men in the black church? Nothing new to report here, but what’s new is that some black churches are finally acknowledging them. With 51% of all new HIV/AIDS cases affecting African Americans, black churches can no longer afford to classify it as a gay disease. Black women aged 25 -34 are more likely to die from HIV/AIDS contracted from men according to the Centers for Disease Control. That's the down low phenomena, bi-sexual brothers who sleep with men and women but claim not to be gay.

These same religious folks will claim that being homosexual is a personal choice and will give you a reason why they don’t approve of homosexuals. Most will tell you it’s because Bible scripture condemns homosexuality. A quick visit to the Religious Tolerance website shows multiple interpretations of Leviticus 20:13, the scripture most often used to condemn homosexuality. The King James version reads:

"If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them."

There are as many versions of this verse as there are interpretations of the Bible. Sadly, it's all most people need to justify hatred of homosexuals.

It’s amusing how homosexuals are judged harshly by this particular Bible verse while other sinful behavior like committing adultery, bearing false witness and idol worship that also contradict scripture are overlooked. Whatever happened to loving thy neighbor as thyself and the part about God creating everyone in his image? To me, this even includes gays.

Mel Gibson is a Racist Jerk

Apocalypto by Mel Gibson, originally uploaded by mistyeiz2.

I guess anger management wasn't a part of Mel Gibson's recent stint in rehab. This past weekend he was screening his film, Apocalypto at California State University in Northridge. During a question and answer session, Alicia Estrada, a professor of Central American studies, asked Mr. Gibson about the cultural inaccuracies in the film. She intended to challenge his depictions of Mayan culture but Gibson had her removed from the screening but not before he yelled an expletive at her and branded her a heckler. It's not clear if he was on another drunken tirade or just being himself.

Besides blaming Jews for the world's problems in a drunken rage, he appears to have little tolerance for views that don't agree with his. One film about Mayan culture certainly doesn't make Gibson an expert. The problem with him and most of male dominated Hollywood is that they have a habit of misrepresenting every one's culture for the sake of entertainment. At issue here is the excessive violence and depiction of human sacrifice portrayed in the film.

More than one expert on Mayan culture has said that the film is historically inaccurate and ignores the Mayans contributions to art and science. This isn't the first time that a particular ethnic group has been depicted as excessively violent, it's been done before. Most Westerns depicted American Indians as violent savages and that flurry of 'hood movies back in the 80s depicted black men as gun-toting predators. Hollywood is wrought with ethnocentrism and Mel Gibson is certainly no exception.

Congratulations Vanessa Williams!

Vanessa Williams is the ultimate survivor. Crowned the first black Miss America in 1983 she was forced to step down when scandalous girl-on-girl pictures of her appeared in Penthousetelevision and in the movies. Earlier this week, Vanessa received her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was right, success is the sweetest revenge. Congratulations Vanessa! magazine. This stunning blue-eyed beauty rebounded from this misfortune to become the most successful Miss America ever. She has had a successful career as a recording artist and as an actress on Broadway, on

(Photo jacked from Photobucket.com)

Angola Lends Mugabe a Helping Hand

In a story that could only come out of Africa, the despotic President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe has supposedly enlisted the help of paramilitaries from Angola to maintain his grip on power. Fearing civil unrest, Mugabe has asked for more than 1,000 militiamen from Angola. If this is Angola's way of persuading Mugabe to step aside, we can expect to see more turmoil and bloodshed in Zimbabwe.

Throughout this ordeal in Zimbabwe, most African leaders have remained silent as the situation there has worsened but Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa is one of the few leaders who has criticized Mugabe by likening the situation to a "sinking titanic". African countries should find solutions to their own problems but to look the other way when one of your peers abuses civil rights and threatens violence against its citizens just to stay in power, that's a sad testament to African solidarity and bad news for the suffering people in Africa.

In the meantime, Mugabe's claim that the British are responsible for the problems in Zimbabwe was echoed today by former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda. I would expect that from an old school leader like Kaunda who came to power after colonization along with Mugabe and the kleptocratic Mobuto Sesi Seko. I'm not denying the British have had some influence on politics in Zimbabwe, but Mugabe's government has been in power for more than twenty years.

If Angola is really sending troops to support Mugabe's domestic situation, then their involvement could lead to a civil war between his supporters and the opposition.

Gingrich: Let's NOT Get Personal

Newt Gingrich, originally uploaded by Leadmine.
Although Newt Gingrich has done everything but announce his plans to run for president in 2008, he has been anointed by the Reverend Jerry Falwell and has built up a substantial campaign fund. He is campaigning for president. According to The Raw Story, Gingrich thinks the 2008 presidential race should focus only on the issues and not the candidates' personal lives.

I'm sorry but I'm not going to Newt slide on this one. What a politician does in his personal life is a reflection of his character especially when he is seeking public trust and support. Remember Bill Clinton? When you are a politician and celebrity, all claims to keeping your personal life personal are relinquished. This also includes Newt Gingrich.

If he wanted to discuss a divorce settlement with the first wife while she's laid up in the hospital recovering from cancer treatment, I need to know that. I also need to know that he informed his second wife about his extramarital affair and plans to divorce her by phone. I need to know that he is a philanderer and perjurer and betrays the people he vowed to love, honor and cherish. If he's lying to his wife about cheating then he's lying to the public and his constituents too.

Note to Newt: This is not a good front. Trying to change the rules of game because you are ethically and monogamously challenged is pushing your good fortune. You seem to be more of a hypocrite now then when you took an active role in impeaching President Clinton back in 1999. If I had as much to hide as you, I wouldn't want people focusing on my personal life either.

Redacted Transcripts Never Lie

Two days ago, Wallid bin Attash, an al-Qaeda operative held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba confessed to the 2002 bombing of the USS Cole docked in Yemen and the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that happened nearly ten years ago. I find it coincidental that the first two tribunals held at Guantanamo yielded confessions to some of the worst terrorist attacks against the US: 9/11, the USS Cole and the bombings of the two embassies in Africa. Since when did the CIA's intelligence get so reliable?

This second confession via redacted transcript isn't a testament to the CIA's intelligence work but more indicative of their torture techniques. If they were that good at procuring reliable information, we would have known that Saddam Hussein didn't have weapons of mass destruction.

Bin Attash's confessions sound well-rehearsed and were probably fed to him by his interrogator. Am I the only one who is amazed that these guys can fold like a card table when they are being tortured but none of know where Osama bin Laden is ? I'm not believing this confession either.

Lock Up Your Kids, It's Snoop & P. Diddy

SNOOP DOGG WITH HIS BENTLY!, originally uploaded by edoke1983.


In an interview in The Independent Online, West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg was quoted as saying "I think we the best heroes for kids. We been through everything, in music and life. We give the kids the best example to deal with everything." Snoop was referring to himself and rap music mogul P. Diddy, who added "A lotta role models have not been through trials and tribulations. You got to judge a champion by how he get up when he been knocked down."

Let's excuse the grammatically incorrect statements and deal with Snoop and Diddy's claims. In a tour hilariously called 'Puff Puff Pass the Snoop', the two are currently touring Europe. My guess is that Snoop probably was high when he made that statement while Diddy may have been high, he was high off his own vapors.

I like Snoop Dogg but would never ever consider him a role model for anything. I'm glad he was able to channel his energy into a rap career rather than end up as another statistic in L.A.'s gang warfare. He's been arrested for marijuana possession multiple times and has also been caught with loaded weapons in his vehicle. He glamorizes the pimp lifestyle and is often seen with notorious pimp-turned-preacher, Archbishop Magic Don Juan. I wouldn't call this commendable. Unfortunately the degradation of women, promotion of violence and marijuana use are common themes in his songs. Don't forget he was charged with attempted murder back in 1996 and acquitted. Is he ever not high?

Now on to the fabulous P. Diddy. If it weren't for the Notorious B.I.G., Bad Boy records would probably go out of business; every few years he releases some Biggie tunes or does a tribute album, that's one surefire way to sell some records. His role model credentials are lacking as well; whether it's hitting on someone's girlfriend at a club or having someone in your posse fire a weapon in a crowded club, sounds like thuggery to me. Now if I were raising a child to be self-involved and narcissistic, P. Diddy would be an excellent role model. As a man, he is lacking. Having children out of wedlock is nothing to be proud of, whether you support them or not; a real man isn't afraid to make a commitment to the woman he claims to love.

Snoop and P. Diddy are neither heroes or role models; what they have most in common is a good lawyer. As two black men who can't seem stay out of trouble, the money to hire a good lawyer is blessing. Just ask O.J. Trials and tribulations when you are a celebrity are much different than trials and tribulations when you're the average citizen, average citizens go to jail when they're caught with marijuana in their car or starting fights in a nightclub. Claiming to be blessed when you can buy your way out of most anything is disingenuous. Take the money away and in Snoop's case also the marijuana, and you'd have two more black men in jail.

Hillary In the Mud Already

Picture by Stephen Crowley, The New York Times

Oh Hillary you've done it again! You really have a problem admitting your mistakes. Just in case you don't remember, we're talking about your vote for the invasion for Iraq. The one you refuse to apologize for because you thought it was the right thing to do. You were on the war bandwagon in October 2002 when you voted to invade, don't you remember?

Now that Barack Obama is using this issue against you, you have commenced to mudslinging and advised your campaign advisor, Mark Penn to attack Obama. Since when does a question about your vote for the invasion of Iraq have anything to do with Obama? It only makes sense when you want to shift the attention away from yourself; President Bush and his cronies do this all time.

Miss Hillary, your plan to keep U.S. troops in Iraq as a military presence isn't a good idea either, especially when the majority of Americans want us out of Iraq as soon as possible. Remember, nothing you do will change the fact that you voted to invade Iraq but your refusal to apologize for it have been well-documented. You can try to deflect attention away from this by attacking Obama, but me thinks you ought to focus on the issues where you have a clear advantage over your competitors. . . I'm not sure what they are but I bet you will come up with something. In the meantime, you might want to save that mudslinging for later.

It's Beyond Devastation George!

I can't think of anything more patriotic than bringing our troops home from Iraq. As we head into our fifth year of occupation, it's time we started withdrawing from Iraq and allowing the Iraqis to determine their own destiny. Our only role there should be rebuilding the infrastructure and the rest should be left to United Nations peace keepers and other countries in the region.

I'm not interested in hearing anything President Bush has to say about it. He has no credibility with me and judging by recent surveys, he has no credibility with the Iraqi people either. Whatever patience I had about the situation in Iraq expired about three years ago. It's not about weapons of mass destruction, freedom or democracy, now it's down to ego.

More American and Iraqi lives will be lost so that George Bush can save face. He and his people will never admit that their invasion was a failure but what can you expect from people who never make mistakes. The arrogance and lies continue while more people die. So far 3,254 American soldiers have been killed and more than 23,000 have been wounded. For more details on our military casualties in Iraq, please visit GlobalSecurity.org.

Hot Link of the Day: Iraq Body Count

It's hard to believe it's only been four years since we invaded Iraq. Saddam Hussein was tried, found guilty and executed but most Iraqi people are worse off today than they were under his rule. At least Saddam offered a modicum of stability compared to the chaos Iraqis have endured since the invasion. The rift between the Sunni and Shi'a Muslims has escalated into armed conflict and the malcontents, whether Sunni, Shi'a or al-Qaeda, have taken violence to the another level by terrorizing the innocent Iraqis who are attempting to lead a normal life amid the chaos.

Our attempt at establishing a democracy in the Middle East has been a failure but that wasn't really why we invaded Iraq in the first place. According to Iraq Body Count, this year has been the most violent in Iraq since the invasion. We shouldn't be surprised. Read for yourself.

Disingenuous Talk from John McCain

Senator John McCain, originally uploaded by Dave Delay.

Poor John McCain. He used to be an iconoclast in the religiously right Republican party but now that he is running for president, he has lost all of the hell and spitfire that set him apart from his bible-thumping brethren. He has made a noticeable shift to the right.

All I can do now is shake my head when I hear him pandering to the conservative right. Initially he was pro-choice and now that he's running for president, he wants Roe v. Wade overturned. The next step in his conservative progression is to tout abstinence as birth control.

On his "Straight Talk" bus tour, he fielded questions from reporters that got him into some trouble. Realizing he may have misspoken, he claimed ignorance about whether condoms can prevent HIV/AIDS. In the yesterday's New York Times, a transcript of the exchange between McCain and an inquiring reporter went something like this:

Q: “What about grants for sex education in the United States? Should they include instructions about using contraceptives? Or should it be Bush’s policy, which is just abstinence?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “Ahhh. I think I support the president’s policy.”

Q: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”

Having to appeal to the conservative faction of the Republican party must be wearing McCain down. Before he lost his soul, he could have been a moderate Republican candidate that even Democrats could vote for, now he's just one of them.

Disney To Introduce Its First Black Princess

The Walt Disney Co. has started production on an animated musical fairy tale called “The Frog Princess,” which will be set in New Orleans and feature the Walt Disney Studio’s first black princess. The company unveiled the plans at its annual shareholders’ meeting in New Orleans.



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Fox News Attacks African Americans

I'm not a fan of Fox News, never have been, never will be. When I see videos like this, all I can do is smile and shake my head. It's 2007 but you'd never know it by listening to any of these people, black panelists included. We really shall overcome, but will probably have to wait for idiots like this to die off.

There are so many things to work with in this video, but I'm going to address the use of the word 'articulate' first. Bill O'Reilly is clearly perturbed that whenever he uses the word 'articulate' to describe a black person, he's called a racist. Well Bill, it's like this, if you used the word to describe your white colleagues and guests it wouldn't be a problem but when you're using it to describe a black person, it's an insult.

Backhanded compliments work two ways, first to compliment but also to insult. When O'Reilly, Karl Rove or George Bush describe Barack Obama as articulate, what's lurking beneath the compliment is the belief that black people are not articulate.

One of the most alarming things about Fox News is that they play the race card when they're discussing black people. Whether its the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina or other issues that relate to black people, whatever is shown is negative and they will always have a black panelist on to support their views. This way, they are off the hook because a black person "co-signed" on it and they can escape being called racist.

Tutu the Conscience of South Africa

Archbishop Desmond TuTu, originally uploaded by InSitu Photography.

At least one person in South Africa is willing to speak out against the dire situation in Zimbabwe, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Laureate has castigated African leaders, particularly Thabo Mbeki, for their silent complicity. In an article on Independent Online , Tutu asks "How can what is happening in Zimbabwe elicit hardly a word of concern let alone condemnation from us leaders of Africa?" He further goes on to say that Africans should hand their heads in shame about the atrocities in Zimbabwe but called out South African President Thabo Mbeki for his indolence on this matter.

Another Day, Another Confession

In another ridiculous and implausible confession, alleged 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheik Mohammed claims to have beheaded Wall Street Journal reporter, Daniel Pearl. Since he's talking, he may as well confess to being the shadowy figure on the grassy knoll the day President John F. Kennedy Jr. was assassinated.

If you can cherry-pick intelligence, you can certainly get a signed confession under extreme torture. This whole story is just too pat especially when you take into account that Sheik Mohammed was held at some CIA black site and tortured a 1,001 ways to get this confession. I find it coincidental that the first person to be tried at the Guantanamo tribunals confesses to such high profile acts.

If Sheik Mohammed takes the weight for all of the high profile terrorist plots, what are the other alleged terrorists going to confess to? Funny thing is, we'll never know. All we'll have are some redacted transcripts from the tribunal proceedings that no one is allowed to observe.

The person responsible for the Bush administration's 'war on terror' policy is also responsible for changing the definition of torture and crafting policies that allowed the government to skirt the Geneva Convention and hold alleged terror suspects indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay: Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez.

Swinging with Mugabe

Failing governments always deflect attention away from their failures and usually blame outsiders for stirring up trouble, Zimbabwe is no exception:

It's the West as usual ... when they criticise the government trying to prevent violence and punish the perpetrators of that violence, we take the position that they can go hang.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete as reported on Reuters Africa

9/11 Mastermind Confesses?

In transcripts released from those secret Guantanamo Bay tribunals held last week, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (pictured), the alleged mastermind of the September 11th terrorist attacks says:

I was responsible for the 9/11 operation, from A to Z.

Is that it? This sounds a bit contrived to me. How would a real terrorist know that 3,000 people were killed unless he was fed information by his interrogators? Also, what real terrorist would care if women and children were killed? They hate everybody! As for 'undisclosed' terrorist plots against former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter and Pope John Paul II; I don't believe that either.

After seeing this guy's picture, there is nothing about him that screams 'mastermind'. He looks like some poor guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time; we probably caught this one hiding in the closet behind his wife's burqas.

The CIA interrogators probably had that guy on a waterboard or hanging from his toenails at some black site in Eastern Europe to get this lame confession. I ain't buying this one.

So Long Halliburton

The Bush people are intent on keeping us at war which means insane profits for oil companies and defense contractors and more body bags for American soldiers. Halliburton can claim they're moving their operations to Dubai because it's a great place to do business but they're really moving to the Middle East so they can be closer to the action.

With ongoing conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and possibly Iran and the Horn of Africa, that means more no-bid contracts from the Department of Defense. This relocation gives them the opportunity to earn substantially more than the $6.1 billion dollars the Washington Post claims they earned of our tax money last year.

Hillary's Appeal to Women

Artur Davis, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Al Sharpton, originally uploaded by Jonathan Purvis.

Got some mail today from Hillary Clinton. It wasn't addressed to me personally but it was sent out by her campaign for president. I must have been singled out because I'm woman and a registered Democrat. The lack of real choice in either party compels me to pick the lesser of the two evils. Conservative Republican types are dangerous, they poke, pry and peek into people's personal lives, mainly their bedrooms to find out what's going on so they can enact some kind of legislation to prevent gay marriage, a woman's right to chose and Plan B birth control.

Behind African-Americans, women rank as the next group likely to support Hillary's campaign. According to a February survey done by the Pew Research Center, fifty-eight percent of women aged 18- 49 favor Hillary over the other Democratic presidential candidates. The letter I received today was strictly an appeal to women voters touting her as "a strong, smart and experienced woman candidate". Well, okay.

If ever Hillary needed some help from Bill, it would be now. There's no denying that Bill Clinton is attractive to women, he's handsome, bedazzling and clever. Anyone who has the nerve to challenge the meaning of the word "is" in impeachment hearings can't be anything but beguiling.
She dragged Bill out to attend the 42nd anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama a few weeks ago. Before a predominantly African American crowd, Bill made an appearance to help boost Hillary's credibility with black voters. I don't know if this ploy worked but after six years of George Bush, I'm certain they were elated to see Bill.

Now that Hillary is appealing to women, I'd be curious to see if she brings Bill along when she's campaigning in front of large groups of women. It could be a blessing and could be a curse. A blessing because she's managed to keep her marriage together in spite of his philandering and her career but a curse because many people will remember the Clinton years as one scandal after another. Although she has forgiven Bill for his philandering he could be a liability to her campaign.

Silence is Complicity

Robert Mugabe's government is in the last throes of governing Zimbabwe. If his political party Zanu-PF has any mettle, they might challenge his attempt to extend his term for another two years but we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangarai and others were arrested by the police Sunday for staging an opposition meeting.

In case you haven't heard, public gatherings have been outlawed in Zimbabwe for awhile. One of the tactics used by brutal dictators to stay in power is to severely limit personal freedoms. Anything seen as a threat to their power: newspapers, political parties, unions, etc. are always outlawed. Besides this recent arrest, opposition leader Tsvangarai has been charged with treason twice in the past five years and even been accused of plotting to kill Mugabe.

In a country where the unemployment rate is at 80% and people struggle to buy the most basic of life's necessities, people are expected to suffer silently. For now, Mugabe has the support of the police and army probably because he is paying them in British pounds or US dollars and not that worthless Zimbabwean money. As Zimbabwe falls apart, South Africa remains silent.

Mbeki's Quiet Diplomacy Needs a Megaphone

World Economic Forum Annual Meeting New York 2002, originally uploaded by World Economic Forum.

Back in 2006, South African President Thabo Mbeki was all upset about the US calling Zimbabwe an "outpost of tyranny". At that time, he claimed to be a good friend with Robert Mugabe and thought Condolezza Rice's criticism was unwarranted. I wonder now if Mbeki has changed his mind.

It's been almost a year and economic conditions in Zimbabwe have gotten worse, inflation is now at 1,700% , Zimbabwean dollars are practically worthless and people are desperate. Along the border with South Africa, a dangerous smuggling trade has emerged where desperate Zimbabweans brave razor wire fences, crocodiles and even death to escape the dire conditions and find work in Mbeki's South Africa.

With a third of all Zimbabweans now living in South Africa, Mbeki could use his influence to talk some sense into Mugabe assuming it's possible. Mugabe has lived a long life, he might remember how Mobutu Sesi Seko was run out of Zaire ten years ago. If that doesn't work, he should suggest that Mugabe either step down or hand power over to someone else, hopefully someone not in Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF, party.

Mugabe's days are numbered. If Mbeki is really his good friend, he'd tell him so. I'm an advocate of African solutions for African problems but Mbeki's quiet diplomacy has been ineffective.

Bush Attacks Poverty & Illiteracy Abroad

To counter the growing influence of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, President Bush faces some well-deserved criticism for having ignored Latin America for the past few years. Up until he landed in Brazil for his "comeback tour" last week, his foreign and domestic policies have been about Iraq and the war on terror.

While in Sao Paolo, Brazil, President Bush responded to his critics, "So my trip is to explain as clearly as I can that our nation is generous and compassionate, that when we see poverty, we care; that when we see illiteracy, we want to do something about it." The generosity and compassion he claims to have for these issues in Latin America is noticeably absent in his own country.

The compassion and generous spirit that Bush espouses in Latin America was missing during the Hurricane Katrina Disaster. In a party dominated by conservative Christians, many Republicans were noticeably heartless and cruel in their analysis of the predominantly black Katrina victims, many of whom were living in poverty before the disaster. According to the US Census Bureau, 12% of our population live in poverty with the fastest growing segment headed by single women with children.

In his State of the Union address this past January, Bush discussed poverty but only in the context of Africa. His domestic initiatives included energy, health care and spending reforms. He wants to reduce our dependence on gasoline by 20% in ten years. His answer to the growing health care crisis in this country is to allow us to earn our first $15,000 tax free so we can buy our own health insurance. He has already blown his sensible spending initiative with the costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. None of these issues address the concerns of someone struggling to raise on family on poverty wages.

If Bush can't tackle the problem of poverty and illiteracy in his own country, how can he do it in Latin America?

Hypocrisy and the Notorious G.O.P.

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela isn't the only one giving out medals for hypocrisy. I think I'll join him. Since the "gold medal of hypocrisy" is going to George Bush, I think I'm going to give the silver medal of hypocrisy to Newt Gingrich, an admitted philanderer and hypocrite of gigantic proportions. I don't care what Jerry Falwell says.

Looks like trouble on the horizon for some of the Republican presidential candidates. An insipid bunch who more than make up for their dullness with their marital and extramarital escapades, I call them the group of philanderers (G.O.P.). This group includes Gingrich, Rudy Guiliani and John McCain so far. Newt hasn't announced his candidacy yet, but just wait; he's getting the dirty laundry out first so we don't have to bother him about it later.

Poor Rudy Guiliani, the thrice-married philanderer, cannot get any traction in his campaign. He was 'America's mayor' but the shine is off that apple. I haven't a clue as to what his campaign is about and you probably don't either. I always say you can learn alot about a man by the way he treats women. Seems Rudy took wifey number 2 by surprise when he announced he was divorcing her at a press conference. This stunt has other woman written all over it, "Divorce her or you'll never see me again!".

Also on wife number 3, Newt deserves his own chapter in the philanderer's playbook. While wife number 1 is in the hospital recovering from cancer, Newt wants to negotiate a divorce settlement. It gets better. The second wife, Marianne finds out by phone that Newt wants a divorce and is having an affair but only after he calls to wish her mother a happy 84th birthday.

Those rumors about Newt's affair with a female Congressional aide were really, really true. Sounds like another one of those ultimatum situations, "I'm tired of being the other woman. Either Marianne goes or I go!" to which Newt replied, "Yes, dear". Faster than you can say "upgrade" the old Mrs. Newt was replaced with a younger, more suitable version.

The new and improved John McCain has admitted to cheating on his first wife but he's only on wife number two. He's got some catching up to do if he wants to compete with Rudy and Newt. Philandering tells us a lot about a man's character. If he's lying and cheating on his wife, he'll be lying and cheating in other areas of his life too. And yes, it means Newt too.

Bush Brings Bad Spirits

Mayan priests and politicians in Guatemala are not happy about President Bush's visit -- Newsday.com

Trash Talking at Its Finest

originally uploaded by ashour_jsc.

The trash talking between President Bush and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez never ends. Chavez tells the Hindustan Times he wants to give George Bush a "gold medal for hypocrisy". Take a number, Boo!

Note to Chavez: If you keep this up, El Diablo will send the CIA down there to overthrow your government. You will most likely be assassinated and replaced with a more cooperative, respectful candidate who will 'recognize'.

Another Face of Islam

Touba mosque, originally uploaded by tj.haslam.


Each year more than a million Muslim pilgrims make their way to Touba, Senegal to celebrate the Great Pilgrimage or grand Magal. This pilgrimage commemorates Cheikh Amadou Bamba, religious guide and founder of the Mouride brotherhood. For most Senegalese, Islam involves membership in religious brotherhoods that are dedicated to the religious guides or marabouts who provide guidance and advice to their followers.

Islam in Senegal differs from Islam practiced in other Muslim countries, instead of fundamentalist interpretations of the Koran, the Sufi tradition stresses love and knowledge through one's personal experience with God. Religous guides like Bamba and his descendents are revered as spiritual beings that embody divine grace and as a result, are very powerful. Of the four major brotherhoods in Senegal, the Mourides are the most influential and have members all over the world including a large contingent in New York City. Mourides are known for their hard work and reverence for their religious guide. Senegal's recently reelected President Abdoulaye Wade is a devout Mouride.

An Unwelcome Guest

President Bush, originally uploaded by Brian Ray.

Greeted by protestors holding signs that read 'Bush Get Out' and 'Number 1 Enemy of Humanity' President Bush arrived today in Sao Paolo, Brazil. He can say what he wants but his visit to region can only be seen as a move to usurp Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez's growing influence in the area. President Luis Inacia Lula da Silva (Lula) is a moderate who has ruled Brazil since 2002.

The overwhelming unpopularity of Bush (a.k.a. as 'El diablo') in the region will no doubt present some obstacles for him as he travels to Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala and Uruguay. He can expect to be met with protests wherever he goes. Opposition to the war in Iraq, American imperialism and immigration issues will hound him during his week long trip. Up until now, his foreign policy has been all about the war on terror.

'El diablo' with checkbook in hand, hopes to buy some allies in Latin America this week with some much needed aid and a pep talk about democracy. Chavez pushes oil, Bush pushes ethanol? Seems like a desperate attempt by Bush to get back into the good graces of Latin America.

Rove's Backhanded Compliment

Karl Rove Thumbs His Nose, originally uploaded by billy_pilgrim.

It's official. Barack Obama is articulate because Karl Rove says so!

Desperation Time in Zimbabwe

“People are hungry and they are fed up. The terrible economy is creating a growing mood of desperation,” said John Makumbe, a political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe. “We have seen battles between police and protesters and this could grow.”

Mail & Guardian Online, March 7, 2007

According to Zimbabwe's central bank, at least $2.5 million is needed to keep the country afloat. Gideon Gono, a central banker says the country needs real money (US dollars or British pounds) to meet the country's looming debts. He may not know where he can get the money but I do. President Mugabe could write a check in US dollars and/or British pounds to bail the government out.

I doubt if the $2.5 million would even put a dent in Mugabe's vast fortune. Gono complained that the country is hungry and broke but if he isn't careful he will be among the unemployed. He should know that Mugabe doesn't take criticism or bad news lightly. Mugabe has been adamant all along that Zimbabwe's problems have been caused by the West and he means it.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Puppet of the Neocons

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, originally uploaded by jackobrinkman.

Outspoken critic of Islam, Ayaan Hirsi Ali is being played by the neoconservative think tank, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI). If you are looking for up and coming neoconservatives, AEI is the place to be. Its board members, scholars and fellows have been appointed to powerful positions within the Bush administration, think Vice President Dick Cheney and presidential speech writer Dave Frum.

Hirsi Ali rubs shoulders with such famous conservatives and elitists like Lynne Cheney, Dick Cheney's wife, Newt Gingrich and the author of the Bell Curve, Charles Murray. This is an unseemly bunch of folks for Hirsi Ali to be tied up with. After being kicked out of the Dutch parliament, Hirsi Ali, was invited to the US by AEI. They were, no doubt, impressed with her seditious views about Islam, most notably that the prophet Mohammed was a pervert and tyrant and that Islam is a backward religion.

Hirsi Ali's inflammatory statements about Islam coupled with her involvement in a documentary about Muslim women and violence have garnered her multiple death threats (fatwahs). Estranged from family and accompanied by bodyguards 24/7, Hirsi Ali is extremely bitter about the brutality she experienced during childhood and adolescence. She has survived some of the worst things that we in the West have come to associate with Islam: maltreatment of women, female genital mutilation and arranged marriage. The only thing that appears to be missing in her family is a suicide bomber.

Our country is in the midst of a war on terror which is perceived by many in the world as a war against Islam. This couldn't be a better time for Hirsi Ali, a former Muslim who paints all of Islam with a broad brush, to spread her Islamophobic ideas here in America. While those people over at AEI can welcome her and her ideas with open arms, I'm a bit more suspicious.

Hirsi Ali's experience does not represent the experience of all Muslim women and her views are not representative of Islam. She is a divisive figure whose views are inflammatory, distorted and misleading.

Secret Guantanamo Tribunals on Friday

US Held Inmates at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba, originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire Photo File.

On Friday, fourteen suspected terrorists rounded up at secret CIA jails will face a tribunal to determine whether they are enemy combatants. Held at Guantanamo since September, these suspects include the alleged masterminds of September 11th and 2002 Bali, Indonesia bombings. Don't expect to see the proceedings on Court TV, they will be held in secrecy. No reporters will be present but redacted transcripts will be released after the proceedings.

You shouldn't be surprise that none of the accused will have lawyers present nor will they have the opportunity to face their accusers or know exactly what the charges are against them. The Geneva Convention Article 99 states the following:

No moral or physical coercion may be exerted on a prisoner of war in order to induce him to admit himself guilty of the act of which he is accused.

No prisoner of war may be convicted without having had an opportunity to present his defence and the assistance of a qualified advocate or counsel.

We invaded Iraq based on faulty intelligence, remember Saddam Hussein was connected to al-Qaeda and the September 11th bombings? He also posed a threat with those weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) that we still haven't found. In spite of evidence that has proved all of these claims wrong, the Bush administration refuses to abandon them. They got it wrong and refuse to admit it.

I'm not convinced that evidence against the people held at Guantanamo is all that credible, especially since I don't know what it is in the first place. Just because they have been accused of being terrorists doesn't make them terrorists. Given the tales about extraordinary rendition and torture, the information against these people is suspect at best. Any type of confession obtained through torture isn't reliable but the Bush administration doesn't care. They will do anything to justify their 'war on terror' even if it means lying about it. You can't believe anything they say.

A $91 Gallon of Gasoline

With an inflation rate of 1,600% and steadily rising prices, life for Zimbabwe's working class gets harder as the days go by. In a page out of the African liberationist playbook, President Robert Mugabe blames the west for his collapsing economy. In what should be an embarrassment to him, one of his cabinet members was arrested last week for not only trying to smuggle diamonds out of the country but for also attempting to bribe the arresting officer. I guess that's one way to cope with the rising prices and inflation.

The freshly minted $50,000 Zimbabwe dollars printed up last week by the treasury helped consumers cope with rising prices by lightening their wallets but did little else to help the economy. The average working person in Zimbabwe can barely afford basics like food and clothing so the poor are really suffering. In true dictator style, Mugabe is ignoring the mistakes made by another president-for-life Mobutu Sese Seko. It is only a matter of time before the brutal repression, crushing poverty and failing economy ignite political and social change there in spite of military crackdowns and suspension of civil and political rights.

Even if we overlooked the fact that Mugabe and his cronies have run that country into the ground, it's the people of Zimbabwe who are suffering. The economy was in a steep decline before the embargo and it has only gotten worse. The telling sign of how bad things are is reflected in the price of gasoline. A liter of gasoline in Zimbabwe costs $24 US compared to $1.22 US in the European Union. For those of us who never learned the metric system, a gallon of gas in Zimbabwe would cost about $91 US.

A Mobutu Flashback

Mobutu, originally uploaded by chillbill.

While Ghana celebrates its fifty years of independence with a lavish celebration in Accra, Alpha Oumar Konare, president of the African Union criticized the continent's 'presidents for life' using former CIA puppet and henchman, Mobutu Sese Seko as an example of bad governance. Whether they heard him is another story.

The late president of Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo), Mobutu Sese Seko ruled the country for more than 30 years until he was deserted by his own army and run out of the country by political opposition leader Laurent Kabila's militia. A self-proclaimed African nationalist, Mobuto amassed a billion dollar fortune while being propped up by his western allies until the early 90s.

With his mad fortune, he was able to seek medical treatment in Europe, buy homes in Switzerland and France while his country descended into economic and political ruin. Mobutu's corruption and greed spawned the term 'kleptocracy'. He was a brutal dictator with no regard for human rights but was also known as a "walking bank vault with a leopard skin cap".

According to the New York Times website, Mobutu embarked on a new economic policy in 1980s that sounds awfully familiar to one going on now in Zimbabwe:

Zaire entered into a period of steep national decline. For years, Mobutu's only answers to the country's problems seemed to be continual reshuffling of government ministers and printing of virtually worthless new money to pay salaries.

When old dude had to flee Zaire in disgrace by May 1997, none of his western cronies would take him in, not even France. He first went to Togo but was quickly evicted and ended up in Rabat, Morocco where he died of prostate cancer. He left a legacy of corruption, greed and debt.

A civil war still rages in Mobutu's homeland, one of the richest countries in Africa. The Democratic Republic of Congo is home to such valuable minerals as cobalt, copper, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver and timber. In the meantime, the country is still bogged down with debt, a weak infrastructure and unable to meet the basic needs of their citizens. Mobutu gave them a good start.

Hillary Uses Bill to Woo Black Voters

Hillary Clinton & Barack Obama (by Evan Vucci/AP), originally uploaded by stijn v..

Capitalizing off hubby Bill's BVQ (black voter quotient), Miss Hillary addressed a crowd of black voters at the First Baptist Church while her challenger, Barack Obama simultaneously addressed a larger crowd at Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Selma, Alabama today.

Warmly known as "the first black president" Bill's presence no doubt provided some with a flashback to the Clinton glory days when blacks were appointed to integral roles in the administration; memories of Ron Brown, Mike Espy and Alexis Herman dancing in their heads no doubt.

Miss Hillary conjured up the civil rights struggle in her speech and appeared to be down for the cause when she said "I come here as a sister in worship". If she is so down with the sisters, she was noticeably silent when former Representative Cynthia McKinney had that trouble with the Capitol Hill police. Miss Hillary didn't open her mouth.

Can't let Miss Hillary slide on Lani Guinier either. Guinier, a friend of the Clintons for over a quarter of the century, was nominated to head the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice in 1993. Before she even got a hearing, she was branded a 'quota queen' by conservative Republicans and dropped by President Bill without so much as a phone call. Sister Hillary was noticeably silent about this too. Last I heard, Guinier hasn't spoken to either Clinton in over ten years.

Sister, Miss Hillary? No matter how hard you try, you will never be my sister in worship or anything else. Next time leave Bill at home. I'm not impressed.

Corruption, African Style

According to the World Bank, corruption costs Africa $148 billion each year. Africa is home to some of the most corrupt countries in the world according to Transparency International (TI). Corruption funnels much needed monies away from desperately needed education, health care and socioeconomic development to the pockets of greedy politicians and government officials keeping the majority of Africans mired in poverty.

The African Union and the United Nations sponsored an anti-corruption conference in Johannesburg, South Africa earlier this week. Whether the attendees paid lip service to tackling corruption remains to be seen, but at least they are acknowledging it exists. In a bizarre story that could only happen in Africa, one of the attendees was fired for corruption. Zambian land minister Gladys Nyirango was quoted in the Mail & Guardian online as saying "Corruption is everywhere -- in the villages, wherever". Hours later she was fired by Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa for awarding land plots to family members.

In spite of this incident, the level of corruption in Zambia is mild compared to other African nations; it only ranks as the 43rd most corrupt according to TI's 2006 report. Guinea ranks as the fourth most corrupt country behind Haiti, Myanmar and Iraq and holds the title for the corrupt nation on the continent. Other African nations in the top ten include Sudan (5th), Democratic Republic of Congo (6th), Chad (7th) and Equitorial Guinea (10th).

The irony here is that the countries that rank the highest in corruption are also plagued by civil war, social unrest and political upheaval.

Restoring Our Moral Authority

In the midst of this war on terror, I am dismayed and perplexed by the Bush administration's need to usurp basic human rights. This means ignoring the Bill of Rights and finding loopholes so that we may torture and detain those accused of being terrorists and enemy combatants.

You may think that the war on terror requires a new approach, whether it's detaining and torturing or whisking someone off to a black site in eastern Europe for some extraordinary rendition, it's just plain wrong and violates the Geneva Convention. Using a variety of techniques to torture people, rarely yields the kind of information we need to fight terrorism. We all know how faulty intelligence got us into Iraq so it doesn't make much sense to detain someone based on the same principle.

Human Rights Watch has devised a list of ten recommendations that could possibly restore our moral authority in the world.

Ann Coulter "Outs" John Edwards

I am not a fan of Ann Coulter. I've heard about some of the ridiculous things she's said but haven't paid her much attention until now. Just from looking at the video, she appears to have the mentality of a 13 year-old girl. Calling John Edwards a "faggot" gets her attention. I gather she doesn't like him but is unable to explain why.

In true mean girl fashion, Coulter has resorted to name-calling. Faggot!? Is she serious? I'm waiting to hear which of the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) attendees, among them Vice President Dick Cheney, Presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rudy Guiliani is going to denounce her unseemly comments. Coulter is neither cute nor funny.

As for John Edwards, his campaign is using Coulter's slur as an opportunity to raise $100,000. If anything, Coulter has given Edwards' campaign some serious publicity, she has piqued interest in a Democratic candidate who currently trails Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

It's Official, Obama Bashing Has Begun

Barack Obama Rally 2/20/07 Los Angeles, originally uploaded by calijbrown.

As the Obama campaign gains more and more momentum, some people are working just as hard to derail his campaign. FoxNews.com is on the case with a story about Obama's maternal ancestors owning slaves just as today's Washington Post publishes an article about his gain among black voters. When asked about Obama's slave-owning ancestors, Obama's campaign representative responded:

While a relative owned slaves, another fought for the Union in the Civil War, it is a true measure of progress that the descendant of a slave owner would come to marry a student from Kenya and produce a son who would grow up to be a candidate for president of the United States.

The timing of this information sounds suspicious especially since he's scheduled to appear in Selma, Alabama tomorrow to commemorate the 1965 civil rights march that later became known as Bloody Sunday. The only other presidential candidate appearing at this event just happens to be Hillary Clinton. It's certainly not a coincidence that she's bringing hubby Bill to boost her black voter quotient (BVQ).

When did slave owning ancestors become a topic in presidential elections? Is this an issue because Obama is the first serious contender of African-American descent to run for president? No one cared when Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton were running for president. Why is it an issue for Obama? If this is such an important issue, why not research all of the presidential candidates' ancestors? Don't just limit this to Obama but also look into John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and the others.

Slave owning ancestors is a non-issue but if I were a running against Obama and appearing before a predominantly black civil rights crowd, I might want to toss this bit of mud out there to see if it sticks.

For Now, Musharraf Appeases Cheney

On Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney paid a visit to our 'ally' in the war on terror, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. In just three short days, the Pakistani security forces have arrested a leading member of the Taliban in the border town Quetta, Pakistan. Mullah Obaidullah Akhund is said to be the Taliban insurgency leader in Afghanistan.

According to officials in the Pakistani government, this raid had been in the works prior to Cheney's visit but I'm not buying it. As former Taliban ally, I bet Musharraf knew where the Mullah was in the first place. This sounds like some staged attempt by the Pakistani government to appease the Bush administration.

It's no secret that the Taliban operates bases on the Pakistani side of the border. Amazingly, all it takes is a visit from Dick Cheney to root these people out. I bet they could find Ousama bin Laden if they were really looking for him. For Musharraf, it looks like he is doing his part to make the world a safer place but he doesn't want his country "bombed into the stone age". He's only our ally because there are no other options. Musharraf is in the business of self-preservation.

Unfortunately, the Taliban are like roaches, you kill one and dozen more appear to share their demented interpretation of the Quran, Islam and holy war.

Picture from Interet-General.info

Go Mugabe Go

Defiant and angry, the people of Zimbabwe took to the streets to protest their dismal economy and lack of human rights. With an inflation rate of 1,600%, basic necessities are so expensive that most people are forced to buy them on the black market. Yesterday the central bank of Zimbabwe introduced new currency in an attempt to keep pace with mind boggling inflation; the new $50,000 note is the equivalent of $200 US.

While visiting Namibia, President Robert Mugabe, ornery and obstinate as ever took the time to dis the International Monetary Foundation (IMF). According to the Mail & Guardian Online, Mugabe called dependence on the crisis lender and other donors tantamount to economic slavery, reducing African countries to beggars. True but distressing coming from Mugabe considering the present state of Zimbabwe.