South Africa stunned by echoes of apartheid past after video emerges of white students humiliating black cleaners
By IAN EVANS
February 28, 2008
South Africa has come face to face with its apartheid past when a “shocking” video emerged of white university students force-feeding and racially humiliating five poor black cleaners.
The four students are heard referring to the old “Boer” college way of life during the footage, which saw the elderly workers being made to drink bottles of beer, run races, play rugby and then kneel and eat meat which had been urinated upon.
Continue reading Racist video sparks outrage in South Africa
Esme Choonara looks at protests and riots as market madness threatens world’s poor
Revered maximum leader Fidel Castro has decided to demit office as President and Commander-in-Chief of Communist Cuba due to ill health.
A German woman became pregnant after having anonymous sex with six different men who bid on the erotic encounter in an online auction. Now a Stuttgart court has ruled that she has a right to know the men’s identities, despite the Web site’s assurances that their personal data would be kept private.
Monday’s rapid fall of stock indices internationally, provoked by a severe and lingering contraction of the United States economy, the world’s largest consumer market, has seen the lengthening of recession shadows over, not only the US, but Europe and Asia as well. In line will be Latin America and Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean as the US economy, troubled by a pronounced slow down in housing unit starts urged on by a credit squeeze and a fall off in jobs and, consequently, earnings, has not given any indication of righting itself.
I was caught between completing my year-end review for the Business Express and watching television where a miracle of sorts-team West Indies actually flogging South Africa’s bowlers, Chanders edging his way to another century-was taking place, when the telephone rang. “Are you tuned in to BBC?” asked my friend of umpteen years, Mike Bazie. “No,” I replied, telling him about our team’s performance. “They just killed Bhutto! Switch channels. It’s coming across live.” He didn’t have to say which Bhutto, or tell me how she was killed. “Hey,” I told Mike, “I must watch this cricket it’s enthralling we need to make 400-plus runs. I’ll check Bhutto in a while.”
The Jena 6 are six African-American high school students from Jena, Louisiana who were arrested and charged with attempted second degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder after their alleged involvement in an assault on a white student. That the students were charged for what amounts to a schoolyard fight is news in itself, but what is more troubling is that the District Attorney, Reed Walters, chose to charge the students as adults.