Saturday, December 25, 2004
Happy Holidays!
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Friday, December 10, 2004
All I want for Christmas is…spam
If Christmas is a time for giving then why am I doing so much receiving? Since the beginning of December my email has been under a seasonal spam siege and I know I am not alone. It is estimated that at least 60% of all email traffic is unsolicited. Most email users are plagued by adverts for cheap medication, bargain jewellery, unwanted links to pornography and products guaranteed to enlarge our most intimate body parts. Bill Gates, the most spammed person in the world, gets four-million spam messages a day. He has a department dedicated to sifting his email for legitimate messages. Gates is also worth $46-billion and the richest man in the world. Clearly there must be a correlation between the amount of spam you get and your wealth. Read more... .....
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Chile: Torture Was State Policy
A Chilean presidential commission has provided an overwhelming indictment of the military dictatorship’s systematic use of torture, Human Rights Watch said today. In a report released last night, the commission collected testimony from thousands of torture victims who had never previously reported the abuse they had suffered. "After years of denial, Chile has finally acknowledged its legacy of torture," said José Miguel Vivanco, executive director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch. "This presidential commission has upheld the right of thousands of victims to reparation and moral recognition." Among its dramatic findings, the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture appointed by Chilean President Ricardo Lagos found that 94 percent of the people detained in the aftermath of the coup reported having been tortured. One of the most common methods of torture, reported in more than a third of the cases, was the application of electrical shocks. To read the full statement, click here. .....
Friday, December 03, 2004
Mugabe bowls the world for a duck
England's November and December 2004 cricket tour to Zimbabwe has been receiving extensive coverage in the British press. Last week nearly 60 000 words were printed on it in the London-based tabloids alone. The whole matter has been a fiasco to say the least with particularly the South African and British governments flailing about the issues with no clear direction being given. The South African government is deathly quiet. The British government is prevaricating about taking firm action. The various cricket authorities seem to be ducking the issue and pointing the finger at each other. But, given the desperate situation in Zimbabwe, the time has come for some leadership on this matter at the highest governmental level. Click here for full article. .....
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Judge dismisses the “apartheid lawsuits”
Khulumani released a press statement yesterday noting "On 29 November, 2004, Judge Sprizzo dismissed the so-called “apartheid lawsuits” brought to the New York Court under the US Alien Tort Claims Act. The Khulumani Support Group is not deterred by the judgment made by Judge Sprizzo in dismissing the Khulumani Lawsuit along with the other so-called “apartheid lawsuits”. In contrast to the broader lawsuits of the other parties, the Khulumani Lawsuit has a legal focus which is much more clearly defined. The Khulumani Lawsuit must be considered independently of these other lawsuits, and notice to appeal the judgment dismissing the lawsuit has been filed in a higher court in the USA". Click here to read the press statement. .....
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Digital Archive of Anti Apartheid Periodicals
Thanks to Andie for pointing out to me the DISA Collaborative Digital Archive of Anti Apartheid Periodicals, 1960 – 1994 which contains approximately 55 000 pages of fully searchable text from 40 Journals, some short-lived and others many of us will be familiar with...it is fantastic! .....
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