3A
NEWS/tCte C|iarl«ne $ot
Thursday, December 29, 2005
;j.
Unemployment threatens Africa
By Thalif Deen
ISTERSAIIOXAL PRESS SERVICE
UNITED NATIONS - High
rates of unemployment are
the primary cause of growing
povoty in the African conti
nent, according to a new U.N.
report.
‘TJnderiying this trend (of
expanding poverty) is the fact
that the majority of people (in
Africa) have no jobs or secure
sources of income,” says the
new study titled ‘Economic
Report on Africa 2005:
Meeting the (I!hallenges of
Unemployment and Poverty”.
The 279-page study was
written by the Addis Ababa-
based U.N. Economic
ODmmission for Africa.
(Africa has the) second and
third hi^iest unemployment
rates, with the Middle East
region experiencing the hip
est rate,” according to the
study
Max Lawson of the interna
tional relief agency Oxfam
placed blame on policies laid
down by the World Bank and
the IMF, that leave local coun
tries little leeway to act on
their own.
“They should stop pushing
African governments to pur
sue models that do not work,”
Lawson said These govern
ments should be allowed to
control theii* own economic
policies, he added.
But for Kwame Akonor,
director of the African
Development Institute, the
problem can be traced to
African leadership.
"Tlie onus for Africa’s devel
opment failures, despite
almost half a century of inde
pendence frx)m Eui*opean
empires, lie piimarily with its
political leaders,” he said.
The original laptop
reading experience
Ci^arlotte
Domestic spying sparks talk of sanctions
Continued from page 1A
offenses.”
Lewis continues: “This
executive order takes us back
to the dark past when our
government spied on civil
rights leaders and Vietnam
War protesters. Without
obtaining the judicial autho
rization required to wiretap
American citizens, the
American people have no pro
tection against the misuse of
this program for illegal or
vindictive means.i
Bush adamantly defended
the program, first disclosed
two weeks ago by the New
York Times. He said at a
White House news confer
ence, “I've authorized this
program more than 30 times
since the September the llt^i
attacks and I intend to do so
for so long as tlie nation faces
the continuing threat of an
enemy that wants to loll our
American citizens.”
The revelation of the secret
domestic spying program has
angered both Democrats and
Republicans.
Sen Arlen Specter (R-Pa.),
chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, said he
would conduct hearings on
the warrantless monitoring
of international phone calls,
faxes and e-mails of U.S. citi
zens or residents since 2002.
“There are limits to what
the president can do under
the Constitution,” Specter
said on CNN’s “Late Edition.”
‘Whether it was legal is a
matter that ou^t to be
examined.”
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)
has asked why Bush failed to
^t the warrants fium the
court imder the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act
(FISA) of 1978, which set up
an 11-member court to issue
warrants to investigate U. S.
suspects in national security
cases. In recent years, the
secret court has issued more
than 4,000 warrants and
denied less than a dozen
requests by the administra
tion.
‘Why did the president
choose not to use FISA?”
McCain asked on “This
Week,” an ABC news show.
‘’That’s a legitimate ques
tion”
Meanwhile, a member of
that court, U.S. District
Judge James Robertson,
resigned from the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance
Court, apparently to protest
Bijsh's decision to bypass spe
cial court.
According to the
Washington Post, two sources
familiar with his decision
says that "Robertson private
ly expressed deep concern
that the warrantless surveil
lance program authorized by
the president in 2001 was
legally questionable and may
have tainted the FISA court’s’
work.!
Former Nixon White House
counsel John Dean, a
Republican who expressed
deep ojncem about the reve
lation, has publicly described
Bush as being ‘’the first pres
ident to admit to an impeach
able offense.”
Dean was responding to a
question fix)m U.S. Sen.
Barbara Boxer (D-Calif), the
first lawmaker to Vaing up
impeachment. She asked
Dean and other legal scholars
for tl^ir opinions of Bush’s
admission.
U.S. R^. John Conyers, D-
Mich, ranking member of the
House Judiciary Ccmmittee,
has introduced legislation to
form a Select Committee
with subpoena power to
investigate alleged miscon
duct of the Bush administra
tion r^ated
House Res. 635 would form
the commit
tee. But
Conyers has
also intro
duced House
Res. 636 to
censure the
president and
House Res.
637 to censure
"Vice Presidait Dick Cheney
for Iraqi war-
related activi
ties, which he
says Eire also
impeachable
offenses.
Censure is
when
Ckingress or a
governing
Conyers
library accounts or otherwise
invade their personal lives,
with no over
sight or
accountabili
ty,” said Ralph
Neas, presi
dent of the
People for the
American Way
“Law-abiding
Americans
Rice
Boxer
Cheney
body publicly reprimands,
condemns or expresses
strong disapproval of the
actions of a leader.
Allegations in such cases
could lead to impeachment,
which means the actual
bringing up of formal
charges.
Conyers’ bills was in
response to the release of a
273-page Investigative
Status Report by the House
Judiciary Committee
Democratic Staff, a compila
tion of the alleged Bush
administration war miscon
duct
“They're all abuses of
authority There is how they
connect, up. This is the first
report that documents all of
the alleged abuses of this
administration,” saj^
Conyers in an interview with
the NNPA News Service.
“The thing is out of the box
now. People have had as
much as they can stand. He
has taken for himself more
authority than any other
president in the 2()th century
I think censure will highlight
the incredible number of mis
takes, manipulations of intel
ligence, the encouraging of
torture of prisoners, the sur
prising amount of retaliation
that this administration has
indulged in against its critics
and how they determined to
go to war before they had
Cbngressional authorization.
It may lead to consideration
of articles of impeachment.
For that reason we have
formed a select committee to
investigate all of these mat
ters,”
The controversy over
domestic spying will no doubt
become increasin^y heated
in various political forums in
2006 as raging debate over
whether to re-enact the USA
Patriot Act resumes in
Congress.
Three days before
Christmas, the Congress
passed a short extension of
the Patriot Act, just imtil Feb.
3. It was set to expire on Dec.
31.
^th the backdrop of the
domestic spying revelations,
even arch Bush supporter
Rep. James Sensenbrenn^*,
R-WTs., chairman of the
House Judiciary Committee,
fought some Republicans
who wanted a six-month
extension, revealing deep
divisions even among
RepublicEins over issues of
investigations Eind privacy
President Bush had fou^t
for full reauthorization of the
act and implied that it was a
partisan issue.
Human and civil rights
activists and civil libertarians
also continue to wei^ into
the debate.
“Law-abiding AmericEins
deserve to know that their
government will not secretly
tap their phones, read their
medical records, access their
also deserve to know that
when law
enforcement
can show an
impartial
judge clear evi
dence of crimi
nal activity or
a threat to
national secu
rity, swift and
decisive action will be teiken
to protect the public. That is
the balance we must
achieve.!
A new website,
www.censureBush.org has
been set up to push Conyers!
censure bills. The website has
been set up by the After
Downing Street (Coalition, a
group of more than 100
peace, veteran and pwlitical
activist groups formed to
expose what it calls lies friat
laimched the war.
Both Secretary of State
Cfondol^zza Rice and Vice
President Dick Cheney have
come to the defense of Bush,
saying he had the right to spy
on Americans without war
rants.
On ABC’s ‘’Nighthne,”
Cheney denied charges by
former Sen. Bob Graham, (D-
Fla.), that the White House
failed to fiiUy brief him on the
extensive secrecy of the pro
gram when Bush administra
tion officials briefed him as
head of the Senate
Intelligence Committee, in
2002.
‘He knew,” Cheney said. He
claims Graham was fully
briefed in his office by Lt.
Gen. Michael V. Hayden,
then head of the National
Security ^ency now deputy
director of national intelli
gence.
Cheney says the pregram
was reviewed every 45 days
by Bush his legal counsels
and justice department offi
cials.
Rice defended the president
on “Meet the Press.”
‘Tm not a lawyer, but the
president has gone to great
iCTigths to make certain that
he is both living under his
obligations to protect
Americans fix)m another
attack and to protect their
dvil liberties,” Rice said
‘What the presidrait wants
to prevent is the use of
American territory as a safe
haven for communications
between terrorists operating
here, or people with terrorist
links operating here, and peo
ple operating outside the
country,” Rice said
Though no lawmaker has
publidy stated that special
surveillance programs are
not needed to protect
Americans fitim terrorism,
many now scoff at the Bush
Administration's repeated
assertions that it engages in
questionable operations in
order to fi^t terrorism.
“The president must stop
usii^ the threat of terrorism
and the tactics of fear to
invade the privacy of
American citizens,” Lewis
said. “President Bush and
Vice President Cheney have
said that the White House
informed the leadership of
COTigress and ranking mem
bers of the intdligence com
mittee about this question
able program. However, it
seems clear that there was no
respect for the objections of
those elected representatives
who raised concerns about
this domestic spying pro
gram. I look forwEud to fur
ther inquiiy in the House and
Senate on these matters. The
Americtin people deserve the
truth,”
Que Tee Pies Boutique
3444 N. Davidson St. (Near 36th St.)
NODA DI.STRICT • Charlotte, NC 2820.5
704-371-4166 & 704-763-7543
H
**Excell€nt Quality^ Affordable Prices^
Mr. John
Jack McConnell
1 B. Bolling
Bellini
And Others
Hours: Wed. ■ Sat. HAM • 5:301*.M
or By Appt.
Parking in the rear
End of Year
Sale
ADVERTISE!
704
376-496
KEZIAH’s FURNITURE
YEAR END CLEARANCE
yaughan
Bassett
6 Pc
Bedroom Suit
$999.““
Reg $1,299“
Sealy Mattrcs.s Sale - Queen Set $299.“
2 Locations To Serve You
Open Mon. - .Sat. 9ani - 6pin
Financinji Available
S(M)4 Blair Rd. (Ilijjli»a.v .‘tll Mint lltll 704.57.5.61.51) LA
2914 Oibliun Rd. toiT i-n & i.)t.5Ktari(itu.. n.c 704.5%.7427 ^ "
12 mouths same as cash • Hip Give Our Customers The Rest Price!
News that’s worth reading
Cljarlotte
Y
McCrorey Family
YMCA
presents
Monday, January 16, 2006
Hilton Hotel
222 E. 3rd Street
(Between College and Brevard Streets)
Doors Open at 6:30 a.m.
Program Begins at 6:45 a.m.
'mdim
President, Dream Builders Communications
pMtUde (fM, witA tAc IpuwUtuM. ^
“SudcU*u^ 'D’leami ”
Ticket Price $20.00 • Open Seating
For tickets call: 704-716-6500
McCrorey YMCA
3801 Beatties Ford Road
Table Sponsors & Event Sponsorships Still Available
(A portion of the ticket price is tax deductible)