August 24, 2002 - September 12, 2002
Kansteiner's Remarks Should Put Nation On Guard
Posted: Thursday, September 12, 2002
By David Samuriwo, www.glob.co.zw
Recent statements emanating from Washington and attributed to Assistant Secretary of State (for African Affairs), Walter Kansteiner should not be taken for granted.
A brief look at this man's curriculum vitae and his statement calling for the removal of a legitimately elected government in Zimbabwe underscores morbid racism inherent in American and European politicians.
It is on record that Walter Kansteiner, six years ago wrote a paper for the Forum for International Policy on the then Eastern Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) calling for the division of the territory in the Great lakes region.
Kansteiner believes the future of the DRC lies in the "balkanisation"of that state. In the same vein the future of Zimbabwe lies in the removal of President Mugabe from power in order to protect white minority interests especially commercial farmers who own over 70% of Zimbabwe's prime agricultural land.
Kansteiner"s obsession with removing President Mugabe from power partly stems from his previous stint at the Defence Department where he served on a Task Force on Strategic Minerals. After all 80% of the world's known reserves of coltan, also called tantalite, a primary component of computer microchips and printed circuit boards is in abundance in the DRC. Zimbambwe's involvement in the DRC war was therefore a slap in the face for the USA.
President Mugabe's continued stewardship of the Zimbabwean boat will not only affect American interests in Zimbabwe. American interests will be affected in the DRC, elsewhere in Africa and the world at large as communities, nations and regions realise that the often much talked about global village is nothing but a pipe dream designed to benefit the rich and powerful nations.
Kansteiner's remarks should be taken seriously in view of the violence mayhem and murder being perpetrated by MDC supporters at the behest of their party. Only last week, a ZANU(PF) activist and Harare provincial member, Ali Khan Manjengwa was gunned down in a corridor at a flat in Mbare.
The bigger picture in America's gunboat diplomacy, which was mentioned in Kansteiner's utterings is that his government was working with "other groups" in the international community to remove President Mugabe from power.
Such other groups include the Zimbabwe Project based in Uganda. The aim of the project is to recruit teachers, journalists and unemployed youth for military training and various other activities aimed at destabilising Zimbabwe. Senior members of the Ugandan Army are in charge of this project and they report directly to President Yoweri Museveni.
Also of concern are the activities of the Military Professional Resources, Inc (MPRI), a USA private military company based in Alexandria Virginia. Its Vice President for Operations is a former Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency.
MPRI provided covert training assistance to Paul Kagame's troops in Rwanda in preparation for combat in the DRC then known as Zaire in 1996. MPRI is owned and controlled by retired American army generals. Unsuspecting Zimbabweans may find themselves clutched in the jaws of these men who not only survive on the misery they inflict on powerless nations but take pride in planning, and coordinating senseless killing of innocent people worldwide.
While the British Embassy has already admitted that it is recruiting young Zimbabweans for military training, intelligence sources say investigations have established that over 50 young Zimbabweans have completed full military training in the UK.
Current top military men in Zimbabwe are products of the liberation war. Enemies of Zimbabwe, the US and Britain included have completely failed to make inroads in the chain of command. As a long term project Britain is currently on a drive to establish a nucleus of well -trained military men from Zimbabwe for future use.
The above scenerio fits well in Kansteiner's remarks in that the Americans are working with "others" to remove the government of President Mugabe from power.
Reproduced from:
http://www.glob.co.zw/political/kansteiner.htm
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Wheat, flour seized
Posted: Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Herald Reporter
THOUSANDS of tonnes of wheat, flour and cooking oil have been impounded by the Grain Marketing Board at various milling companies, wholesalers and bakeries as the shortage of bread and other controlled products continues to grip Zimbabwe.
Bakers are pressing for a bread price increase, hence the hoarding of flour.
Almost 6 000 tonnes of various quantities of controlled products and 17 000 litres of cooking oil and sterilised milk were impounded over the weekend at various enterprises in Harare and Concession by police and the GMB.
The products that were seized in the joint operation, code-named Chizunza, include 4 570 tonnes of wheat, 884 tonnes of flour, 51 tonnes of maize meal and 230 tonnes of maize.
During the operation, 40,5 tonnes of sugar, 6 040 litres of cooking oil and 10 488 litres of sterilised milk were impounded.
A GMB spokesman said that most of the impounded products were discovered at various milling companies, wholesalers, retail outlets and bakeries in Harare.
At least 60 tonnes of maize were found hidden in an underground trench at a commercial farm in Concession.
Of the impounded flour, the greater percentage was of cake flour rather than ordinary baker’s flour. Millers are producing more cake flour because the price of cakes is not controlled.
Police said they believed that the situation was widespread.
"We believe that there are several companies which are hoarding basic commodities. We would like to warn them that those caught flouting the rules will be dealt with. We will continue with our operation until all the culprits are brought to book,’’ said a police spokesman.
The GMB officials said that they were concerned about the prevalence of hoarding in the country.
"Hoarding of controlled goods has damaging repercussions to the Government and the GMB since most of the blame for poor supply of wheat and maize is directed at us,’’ said the official.
The board appealed to millers, bakers, wholesalers and retailers to put the interests of the consumers first. It said consumers were finding it difficult to buy basic goods and that hoarding was causing untold human suffering to most people.
However, a managing director at one of the companies that was raided defended hoarding saying that it was a way of protesting against price controls imposed by the Government on basic commodities.
A baker said the price of a loaf of bread needed to be increased because it did not match production costs such as electricity and wages.
The Concession commercial farmer who allegedly ordered his workers to hide more than 60 tonnes of maize at his farm which was listed by the Government in April has been arrested.
Police spokesman Chief Superinten-dent Bothwell Mugariri said that the farmer, Aaron Smith of Kwayedza Farm, was arrested on Sunday.
He said police acting on a tip-off raided the farm on Sunday and found the maize concealed in a trench.
Chief Supt Mugariri said Smith was expected to appear on initial remand before a Bindura magistrates’ court soon to answer allegations of contravening the Grain Marketing Board Act.
Some farmers have in the last few months been arrested for allegedly burning and poisoning maize, the country’s staple food, apparently to thwart Govern-ment’s efforts to alleviate hunger in the country.
Reproduced from: www.herald.co.zw
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Zimbabwe accepts GM Food Aid with conditions
Posted: Sunday, September 8, 2002
By Masimba Karikoga, www.herald.co.zw
The federation has indicated that it would import 74,5 tonnes of fortified white maize, 51,4 litres of edible refined vegetable oil, 31 tonnes of edible beans, 13,77 corn soya blend and 5,61 tonnes of brown sugar.
The food, which is worth several millions of dollars, will be distributed through the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society.
An official at the federation said the purchase of the commodities, which had been temporarily put on hold because of the Government's earlier rejection of GMO food aid, was expected to commence soon.
"The reason for this is that Zimbabwe's regulations for importing food items varied from the federation's regulations and standard international practice. The federation's regional logistics delegate was working to arrive at a means of importing the items that abides with the federation's regulations while at the same time respecting the local regulations,’’ said the official.
The federation's country manager and its regional logistic delegate were negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Food Programme which is set to increase the amount of food available to Zimbabwe Red Cross Society for distribution.
The WFP also announced last week that it would increase its monthly food imports into Zimbabwe from 10 000 tonnes to 55 000 tonnes.
The United States Secretary for Agriculture, Ms Ann Veneman, told reporters in Johannesburg last week during the World Social Summit on Sustainable Development that her country had committed more than 500 000 tonnes of food aid to Southern Africa.
She was unhappy that the distribution of the food aid was being hindered by some individuals and organisations opposed to bio-technology.
Several other international organisations are said to have stepped up efforts to bring in more food relief into Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe and Zambia had previously rejected GMO food aid on the grounds that it was a threat to human safety and could contaminate local crops and the environment.
However, the Government reversed the decision after receiving more information and said that it would accept the food aid on condition that it will be quarantined to allow Zimbabwe’s agricultural scientists to closely monitor its shipment, milling and distribution in the country. MORE
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Colin Powell booed
Posted: Thursday, September 5, 2002
From Munyaradzi Huni in JOHANNESBURG
UNITED States Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell's bid to blame Zimbabwe for the prevailing food crisis yesterday backfired when he was booed and jeered by delegates to the Earth Summit.
All hell broke loose when Mr Powell charged that Zimbabwe's alleged lack of respect for human rights and democracy was causing the food crisis in the country and pushing "millions of people to the brink of starvation".
Mr Powell, who was addressing the summit, was scolded by delegates who saw the attack on Zimbabwe as an attempt to exonerate British Prime Minister Tony Blair from the humiliating dressing down by President Mugabe over Britain's interference in Zimbabwe on Monday.
The delegates jeered Mr Powell so loudly that South African Foreign Mini-ster, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma who was chairing the session, had to intervene to enable the American Secretary of State to continue with his address.
Mr Powell was at one point forced to shout back at his hecklers saying: "I have now heard you".
Some delegates described his speech as "shameless and inadequate". MORE
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Mugabe in the cross-hairs
Posted: Thursday, September 5, 2002
www.BlackCommentator.com
Dear Reader,
George Bush is out to make Robert Mugabe into the Saddam Hussein of Africa, a life-threatening condition. When top State Department officials declare that "the political status quo is unacceptable," that Zimbabwe's government is "illegitimate," they are announcing U.S. intentions to remove Mugabe by force, if necessary.
Although there is plenty of old-style, reflexive racism in the current White House, the Bush regime is also a near-pure expression of corporate-globalism. It would be parochial on our part to believe that white farmers are uppermost in the minds of Bush's strategic thinkers.
Yes, Zimbabwe is relatively rich, but the threat to eliminate Mugabe is based on much more than some crude urge to reserve the country's bountiful agricultural resources for the further enrichment of the tiny white minority. Global corporations, which control the international markets that determine the fate of nations, can get along just fine without a few thousand white agribusinessmen. Fundamental regional corporate interests compel the Bush-men to place the cross-hairs on Mugabe's skull.
South Africa is the ultimate prize, as it has always been. Bush and the British are preparing to show South Africa who is boss in the region, even if it takes a bullet in Mugabe's brain to the make the point.
Unfinished Black business
Programmed as we are to see the world in Black and white, many African Americans and progressives slipped easily into the assumption that the struggle for control of the continent's industrial giant, was settled. The smooth transition from Nelson Mandela to Thabo Mbeki, under the African National Congress, served to obscure from international - or, at least, American - public discourse the ongoing debate over South Africa's future. The burning questions remain open: what is the meaning of Black rule in a powerful industrial state? What role will multi-national corporations play? What are South Africa's economic, political and military obligations to its sister nations on the continent?
Although we may not have been paying close attention to the internal struggles within the ANC and South Africa at large, the multi-nationals fully understand their stake in the matter. They know that "socialism" is still a popular word among the people; that Mbeki represents the conservative wing of the ANC, while the ranks are led by the Left; and that the poor majority believe that the revolution is not over.
U.S. and European corporations follow South African political affairs microscopically, as do the West's intelligence agencies and strategic thinkers. The fluidity of South African power relationships scares them. Business interests across the continent can be affected by the political coloration of the ANC, which remains more of a coalition than a political party, yet sits atop Black Africa's strongest state and economy. South Africa's military is formidable, albeit racially unreliable.
Both the South African government and the corporations exert great efforts to present a face of stability and harmony to the world. Yet both must consider the fact that two generations of thoroughly politicized, urban youth grew to maturity and middle age in a struggle to control skyscrapers and all the power these structures represent. Most South Africans are not peasants, or people who strive to be small landowners. They are city folk, and remember the blood shed by so many thousands who believed that the urban centers, mines, and factories belonged to them.
The ANC's 1955 Freedom Charter is still venerated, including the words, "The mineral wealth beneath the soil, the banks and monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole... the land re-divided amongst those who work it."
U.S. television and newspapers ignore these political realities when they visit formerly whites-only golf courses to interview Black executives in stylish gear. Yet the future disposition of the spoils of liberation is always at the center of South African political discussion.
Comrades in arms, not long ago
Mugabe and his military began as freedom fighters in need of help from independent Black "frontline states" in the struggle to throw off white rule. In turn, Zimbabwe became a frontline state for South Africa's liberation forces. Feelings of solidarity linger between the ANC and Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front, and among many average South Africans. Yet South Africa's Black leadership - grouped one way or the other around the ANC - is determinedly democratic, and has been critical of Mugabe's treatment of trade unions and non-ZANU-PF civil society in general.
Under white and Black rule, the same corporations have dominated the heights of both countries' economies. These historical and contemporary commonalities carry weight.
Following the "fraudulent" elections, in March, South Africa attempted to convince Mugabe to share some measure of power with the opposition. He refused, and South Africa continued to pronounce Mugabe's government "legitimate." U.S. and British diplomats could barely contain their anger. They seemed to have expected greater compliance from Mbeki. Now it appears that Bush is prepared to force the issue, first with massive infusions of money to Mugabe's opposition (principally to the Right, especially those already on the take from the white landowners and CIA fronts), to be followed by proxy or direct military action. At least, that is the bald threat.
A U.S. hit on Mugabe, performed with the vulgar arrogance that is George Bush's trademark, will register as a direct assault on the national personality and character of "free" South Africa, the former regional superpower. It will resonate as a South African domestic crisis, with results that no one can predict.
The Bush crowd, wielding blunt weapons, appears to believe that Mbeki will become more malleable once the real superpower sets up shop in the neighborhood - and they may be right. They may also set in motion events that undermine the current, precarious balance between the old South Africa, and the one the people fought for.
Sincerely,
Glen Ford
www.BlackCommentator.com, Co-Publisher
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The Crucifixion Demystified
Posted: Tuesday, September 3, 2002
By Corey Gilkes
In [The Egyptian Great year and Christianity and Easter: origins in a Pagan Christ] the allegorical aspect of the death and resurrection of Jesus was explored to demystify an age-old symbolic myth. As I have shown in the previous essays, there is no question that the events described in the Gospels are not historical. In this essay we will do the same thing by looking at the story of the crucifixion from an historical perspective in order to show that what was written in the canonical texts could not have happened in that fashion if indeed they were historical. As always, the intention is not necessarily to denigrate or make a mockery of Xianity. The intention is to go behind the complex web of events that led to a religion being created and used as a powerful tool by which the political aspirations of certain groups were realised.
To most devout Xians, there is no questioning the death of Jesus or the way in which he was put to death - one does not question or worse still challenge articles of faith. To those who have studied Roman and Jewish history, however, the biblical narratives about the crucifixion and the sequence of events that led up to it aroused much suspicion.
It is important that one examines closely extra-biblical sources regarding Palestine and Rome of biblical times in order to make sense of what took place and ultimately understand what really led to the development of Xianity as we have come to know it. It cannot be said too often that the Gospels are not reliable as historical documents. They are riddled with inconsistencies, forgeries and historical inaccuracies and are not even eyewitness accounts. The events are not completely mythical, however - in fact they are loosely constructed around historical events. Nevertheless, considerable suspicion should be raised because of the virtual absence of references to the political turmoil and intense revolutionary activities that were taking place around the time Christ Jesus allegedly existed as well as during the period in which the Gospels were composed [between 70-200 CE]. The Palestine of this period was a hotbed of revolutionary activity as Hebrews, labouring under Roman domination attempted to throw off the yoke of Roman colonisation. To counter the threats the Romans resorted to cruel repressive measures, murder, and public executions including crucifixion. Indeed, historical accounts show that rather than just one significant event, there were hundreds of crucifixions every week. This of course is noticeably absent from the New Testament which has a very noticeable accomodationist, pro-Roman tone.
The reader must always keep in mind that when the Gospels were being written - much of which was during and after the Jewish revolt of 68-74 CE - the Hebrews had effectively ceased to exist as an organised social, political and military entity. The four canonical Gospels [as opposed to the other Jewish and Essene texts that were hidden or suppressed] were written and edited with the intention of shifting attention and blame from the colonising Romans to the Hebrews. All references to Roman atrocities had to be played down, glossed over and their weekly crucifixions of hundreds of revolutionaries had to be presented as sympathetically as possible.
According to the gospels, Jesus is initially condemned by the Sanhedrin who then bring him before Pilate and request that he pronounce against Jesus. Historically this makes no sense at all. In the three Synoptic Gospels [Mark, Matthew and Luke] Jesus is arrested and condemned on the night of the Passover, but by Judaic law the Sanhedrin was forbidden to meet over the Passover. Neither were they permitted to convene at night, in private houses or anywhere outside the precincts of the Temple. The Gospels give the impression that by hauling Jesus before Pilate, they were not authorised to pass death sentences. In fact, they were so empowered - by stoning, not crucifixion, in the case of blasphemy - with no need to go before Pilate at all.
The very accounts of Jesus' arrest and execution gives some indications about the revolutionary - rather than the benign, spiritual character blissfully aloof from the events around him - person to whom the Jewish people pegged their hopes for deliverance from Roman domination. One of the first clues are the number of soldiers sent to arrest him; most bibles give no clear indication as to the exact number of soldiers sent to arrest Jesus in the garden. The popular image conjured up in the minds of most people are between ten and thirty soldiers along with a couple representatives of the High Priest. However, in older Catholic bibles, such as the Vulgate, the word cohort is used. In the Roman army a cohort was one tenth of a legion - six hundred regular soldiers. If, however, they were auxiliaries, as in the case of Palestine, the number could be as many as five hundred to two thousand troops.
So
Why would so many soldiers be employed to arrest one spiritual person with a party of twelve? Perhaps the answer lies in the company this "gentle" prophet kept. Simon Peter, for one was obviously named because of his strength and burly size. In fact the names "Simon" and "Peter" both mean "rocklike", which suggested that this was a rather tough character. He certainly displayed his violent streak by cutting off the ear of one of the High Priest representatives. Then at least two individuals in his immediate entourage belonged to a group of Jews who were fanatical even by today's standards - the Zealots. This group of fanatical assassins enforced discipline and rigid adherence to the Law - in fact their name stems from Josephus who wrote about these people who had a fanatical "zeal" for the Law. Now this then means that Jesus' admonition to "render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's" was yet another fiction because the Zealots were the ones who ruthlessly dealt with anyone who was suspected of betraying Jews to the Romans. By their names alone Simon Zelotes and Judas Iscariot [Sicarii - "dagger"] were unwittingly exposed by the Gospel writers as having belonged to this fanatical group of fundamentalists.
The Roman "custom" of freeing a condemned prisoner on the Passover is another biblical fable; no such custom existed. Additionally, the image of a weak Pilate reluctantly bowing to the pressure of a Jewish mob makes no sense either. The historical Pilate was a ruthless Procurator and in any event it would have been unthinkable for a Roman Procurator to show weakness to the conquered Jews. In the face of a Jewish mob on the verge of rioting, the real Pilate would have summoned the army to ruthlessly put down the disturbance at once. Also, the fact that the Jesus character was crucified shows that a Roman court tried him, for a Roman crime, and executed by an instrument reserved for the enemies of Rome - crucifixion was reserved for political crimes, such as treason. So someone who preached spiritual messages or claimed to be the messiah would hardly have been a candidate for crucifixion. Unless that messiah was planning revolutionary activities couched in religious terms.
Jesus is called the Messiah. Most Xians are unaware that this was just a temporal title given to every priestly king of the line of David. Additionally, as a legitimate claimant to the throne, Jesus would also be a very wealthy person; the tradition in Xianity that Jesus was of poor humble parentage stems largely from a misunderstanding of Mark's account and the view that Joseph, Jesus' earthly father was a simple 'carpenter'. In actuality a carpenter in that period would have been the equivalent of today's high priced architect. This skill was often passed on from one generation to another and was a very prestigious title. Thus Jesus would have had to have been a very wealthy person, with wealthy, influential friends: the kind of friends one needs when planning to overthrow or undermine the colonial Roman government.
Now the crucifixion itself as it is related in the gospels, is quite suspect and is wide open for very intense scrutiny. Given the historical fact that hundreds of crucifixions occurred on a weekly basis during the Roman occupation, they would obviously have had it down to a fine art. Therefore, had the one in the bible actually taken place, there was no reason why it should have been fatal.
The Roman practice of crucifixion adhered to very precise procedures. Upon being condemned the victim would be severely flogged until he bled. Then his outstretched arms would be fastened - often by thongs but sometimes with nails - to a heavy wooden beam placed horizontally across his neck and shoulders. Bearing this beam he would be led to the place of execution where he raised by the beam upon a vertical post. This put intense pressure upon the victim's chest and made it impossible for him to breathe unless his feet were fastened to the stake. Then he would be able to press down on them and gain some temporary respite. In this way a fit person - despite the agony - would be able to stave off death for at least a day or two. Victims have been known to survive for up to a week before succumbing to exhaustion or thirst, or if nails were used, blood poisoning. The breaking of the legs, such as what occurred in the biblical accounts, was actually a form of mercy - a way to avoid prolonging the person's agony for with nothing to support his weight, the person would quickly die by asphyxiation. Now according to the narrative, Jesus' legs were not broken, therefore - albeit in theory - he should have survived for at least two more days. Yet he dies on the cross after only a few hours. Even Pilate is surprised upon learning of his death [Mark 15:44].
So what caused his death? One may say that it was a combination of exhaustion, the trauma of scourging and general debilitation. But - barring the odd case when someone dies from a single relatively harmless blow - it is almost impossible to die so soon and very strange that he did. In fact, his death comes almost too conveniently, at just about the right time. It occurs just as soldiers are about to break his legs. And by so doing, it allows him to allegedly fulfill some Old Testament prophecy. Many religious scholars agree that Jesus modeled his life and movements to deliberately coincide with ancient Jewish writings that spoke about the coming of a Messiah and the tribulations he would undergo. Dr Hugh Schonfield, in particular, argues that virtually every aspect of Jesus life and "death" was staged-managed to conform to Old Testament writings. It was for this reason that a mule and an ass had to be acquired from Bethany on which he could mount and ride into Jerusalem. Likewise, the details of the Crucifixion seem to have carefully engineered to conform to the details of Old Testament "prophecy". Now note that he was not the only one who maintains that the crucifixion was a fraud: Basilides claimed that as well, that Simon of Cyrene and not Jesus was executed upon the cross. Another early Xian bishop, Papias, insisted, on the authority of what "the disciples of the Lord used to say in the old days", that Jesus lived to a ripe old age. Yet another, Irenaeus, who questioned "how is it possible that the Lord preached for one year only?", goes on to tell us in Against Heresies:
"..from the fortieth and fiftieth year a man begins to decline towards old age, which our Lord possessed while He still fulfilled the office of a Teacher...and he remained among them up to the time of Trajan [Roman Emperor 98-117 CE].
Then in one of the Nag Hammadi texts, the Second Treatise of Great Seth, relates Jesus saying:
"I did not succumb to them as they had planned….And I did not die but in reality but in appearance, lest I be put shame by them….For my death which they think happened [happened] to them in their error and blindness, since they nailed their man unto their death…it was another…..who drank the gall and the vinegar; it was not I. They struck me with reed; it was another, Simon, who bore the cross on his shoulder. It was another upon whom they placed the crown of thorns. But I was rejoicing in the height over…..their error….And I was laughing at their ignorance".
Further, as late as the 7th century we have the Qu'ran maintaining the same assertion.
Make of that what you will
Within the canonical texts certain clues may be found that shows that the biblical crucifixion was a less then transparent affair. In the Fourth Gospel Jesus, hanging on the cross, says that he thirsts and is given a sponge allegedly soaked in vinegar. Tradition has it that this act was an act of derision, but in actuality vinegar - or soured wine - was a temporary stimulant with effects similar to smelling salts. It was often used to resuscitate exhausted galley slaves. For an exhausted man, a sniff or taste of vinegar would induce a restorative, rejuvenating effect. Surprisingly, in Jesus' case the effect is exactly the opposite. As soon as he tastes or inhales the sponge he expires. This is physiologically inexplicable, if indeed it was vinegar. On the other hand if it were a sponge soaked in a soporific drug - a mixture of opium and/or belladonna, for instance, commonly used in Palestine at that time - unconsciousness would occur, giving the impression of sudden death. But why should this be done at all? If this conjecture is correct, it appears that we are witnessing a very complex and elaborate charade designed to produce a semblance of death when in fact the "victim" was still alive. Such a hoax would not only save Jesus' life but would have also realised the Old Testament prophecies of a coming Messiah.
It of course leads to follow that this could not have been accomplished without some collusion on the part of the Roman authorities in the area, particularly Pilate. Now by all accounts the historical Pilate was a cruel, bloodthirsty tyrant. He was also corrupt and would not have let slip a chance to make a tidy sum of money - and perhaps a guarantee of no further political agitation - in exchange for sparing Jesus' life. In the canonical texts he acknowledges that Jesus is the king of the Jews, he expresses, or pretends to express, surprise that Jesus' death occurs as quickly as it apparently does. Most significantly, he has Jesus' body handed over to Joseph of Arimathea. This runs counter to Roman law at the time, which denied a crucified man all burial. Guards were often posted to keep relatives or friends from removing the bodies. The victim would be left on the cross to decompose and be at the mercy of the elements and carrion birds. This strongly indicates complicity on the part of Pilate. It may also indicate something else as well. In the Greek version when Joseph asks for Jesus' body, he uses the word soma - a word that only applies to a living body, whereas Pilate, assenting to the request, uses the word ptoma - corpse.
There is little historical information about this Joseph of Arimathea. The Gospels have him as a secret disciple of Jesus, was very wealthy and belonged to the Jewish Council of Elders, the Sanhedrin. It would thus seem apparent that this Joseph was a very influential man: this may be confirmed by his dealings with Pilate as well as yet another of the many anomalies found in the New Testament.
According to the canonical Gospels Jesus is crucified at a place called Golgotha, 'the place of the skull'. Later tradition paints a picture of Golgotha as a barren, skull-shaped hill to the north-west of Jerusalem. Yet the Gospels themselves state that the site of the crucifixion is not atop the 'place of the skull'. In fact, John 19:41 explicitly states "Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid". Now popular tradition has it that he is executed in a public place with a very large crowd gathered around the cross. But the Gospels state that they saw the crucifixion from "afar off" [Luke 23:49], according to the Gospels then he is put to death, not in a public place, but on private property. Many religious scholars argue that the actual site was the Garden of Gethesemane. If indeed this garden belonged to one of Jesus' secret disciples, it would explain why Jesus, prior to the crucifixion had free access to the place. Needless to say an execution on private property leaves considerable room for a hoax. There would be only a few people immediately present and so to the general public standing at a distance, the trick would not be apparent, they would not know who was being crucified or if he was actually dead.
It is this writer's opinion that what we have is a story about a messiah, or several messiahs, since there were priest-king before and after the time Jesus was supposed to have existed, - at least one of them a legitimate claimant to the throne - living in a particularly turbulent hotbed of revolutionary activities, embarking on an attempt to regain his throne. He, being a devout Jew, adhered to the Law and the many rituals and mystery-rites practised by the priestly caste. Indeed going so far as to carefully his daily life along the lines of ancient, poetic Jewish prophecy. He attracts a large following of disciples from both the rich and poor. Indeed, some of his most devoted following belong to the affluent part of the Jewish community, one of whom is a member of the Sanhedrin. He is also part of a fraternity, a brotherhood and uses these connections to gather support for his claim to the throne. His enormous influence is viewed with suspicion and hostility by other influential Jews and the Roman authorities, who fear that he may be growing too powerful. One or both of these groups contrive to sabotage his bid for the throne but their attempt on his life is unsuccessful as he, utilising his influential friends, manage to bribe a corrupt Roman Procurator. A mock crucifixion is staged along a quasi-symbolic ritual that has the deceased rising from the dead. Again, in keeping with the mystery-rites, has the actual king changing places with a pretender. A form of role reversal that is still practised in related Carnival/Mardi Gras traditions today in Africa, Trinidad, Cuba, New Orleans and Brazil. At dusk, the "body" was moved to an opportunely adjacent tomb, from which the "body" was taken out, "miraculously" disappearing only to symbolically reappear in much the same way as the ancient dramas of the death and resurrection of avatars were enacted in the priestly rituals of Egypt and Persia.
Later this was taken, "historicised" and embellished by the early Fathers of the Church who were trying to gain acceptance by the Roman authorities while simultaneously advance their secular political aspirations. This, in turn led to a chain of events and historical accidents that has shaped the course of world history to this day. Later we will focus on some of the more glaring forgeries and pious frauds in and out of the bible that aided the Church Fathers and colonists to achieve their goals.
REFERENCES:
• Colliers Encyclopedia
• The Catholic Encyclopedia
• The Encyclopedia Biblica
• Tertullianus Against Marcion - Tertullian
• History of Christianity
• World's Crucified Saviors - Rev C H Vail
• Afrikan Origins of the Major World Religions - Prof. Yosef ben-Jochannan
• Irenaeus Against Heresies - Irenaeus
• African Origins of the Major "Western" Religions - Prof. Yosef ben-Jochannan
• Holy Blood Holy Grail - Henry Lincoln, Michael Baigent
• Messianic Legacy - Henry Lincoln, Michael Baigent
• Echoes of the Old Darkland - Charles S. Finch MD
• History of the First Council of Nice
• Introduction to African Civilisations - John Jackson
• Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth - John Jackson
• Man, God and Civilisations - John Jackson
• African Presence in Early Europe - edited by Dr. Ivan Van Sertima
• Black Athena Vol. I - Martin Bernal
• Ancient Egypt the Light of the World [2Vols.] - Gerald Massey
• Gerald Massey's Lectures - Gerald Massey
• Dead Sea Scrolls Deception - Henry Lincoln
• Who Is This King of Glory? A Critical Study of the • • Christus/Messiah Tradition -- Alvin Boyd Kuhn
• The Dictionary of Bible and Religion - editor William Gentz
• Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol. I - Edward Gibbon
• Forgery in Christianity - Joseph Wheless
• The Women's Encyclopedia of Myth and Secrets - Barbara G. Walker
• The Dark Side of Christian History - Helen Ellerbie
• Women, Food and Sex in History -Soledad de Montalvo [4 vols.]
• The Passover Plot - Hugh Schonfield
• The Confessions of Augustine s- St Augustine
• The Holy City of God - St Augustine
• James; the Brother of Jesus - Robert Eisenman
• Crimes of the Popes - G W Foote & J Wheeler
• The World Christopher Columbus did not Discover - videotaped lecture by Dr John Henrik Clarke
• The Gnostic Gospels - Elaine Pagels
• Personal interviews with the late elder Clemey George
• The Columbus Conspiracy
• Capitalism and Slavery - Eric Williams
• Documents of West Indian history - Eric Williams
• The Secret Relationship between Blacks and Jews - edited by the Nation of Islam
• The Grandees - Stephen Birmingham
• African presence in Early Asia - Runoku Rashidi
• Critical Lessons in Slavery and the Slave Trade - John Henrik Clarke [ed.]
• The Log of Christopher Columbus - translated by Robert Fuson
• The Destruction of Black Civilisation : Great Issues of a • Race from 4500 BC to 2000 AD - Chancellor Williams
• Women, Food and Sex in History - Soledad de Montalvo
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Nujoma attacks British premier over Zim
Posted: Tuesday, September 3, 2002
From Innocent Gore in JOHANNESBURG
NAMIBIAN President Sam Nujoma yesterday attacked British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair for creating problems in Zimbabwe to protect the interests of white settlers.
Departing from a prepared speech in the plenary session of the Heads of State and Government attending the Earth Summit here, Cde Nujoma also attacked developed countries for the slave trade and discriminating against Africans.
But Mr Blair refused to respond to the attacks by Cde Nujoma saying he would do so at another forum.
"Here in Southern we have a problem created by the British government of Tony Blair who is here. They created the situation in Zimbabwe and campaigned successfully to the Europeans Union to impose sanctions against Zimbabwe.
"British colonialists today own 70 percent of land in Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe is a tiny country and has 14 million indigenous people who have no land. The whole land is occupied by British settlers," charged President Nujoma.
President Nujoma said the World Summit on Sustainable Development should make money available for land reform in Zimbabwe and asked the EU to immediately lift the so-called smart sanctions against the country, "otherwise it is useless to come here and talk lies".
The Namibian leader, whose speech was interrupted by applause from mainly heads of State from developing countries, said it was pointless to talk of equality of all human beings when Africans were enslaved and were still being discriminated upon in North America and Europe.
"We the African people suffered more than any other nation in the world through the slave trade. They are talking about equality of human beings but what’s equality of humanity when the Africans who were taken as slaves are the underdogs of this world?" he said.
Cde Nujoma said there was need for developed countries to make available funds for research to find a cure for Aids, reduce the debts for poor countries and end poverty.
He said there should be political will to reduce the gap between the rich and poor countries.
Mr Blair, who was the second speaker after Cde Nujoma, did not respond to the attacks, but instead spoke of his "passion for Africa" and the need for the developed world to open up their markets to products from the poor countries.
He challenged the summit to set a clear direction for the future. MORE
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You can keep your aid, Nujoma tells West
Posted: Tuesday, September 3, 2002
TANGENI AMUPADHI
PRESIDENT Sam Nujoma returned from the UN Earth Summit yesterday evening boasting "I told them off" and that Africa no longer needs aid from Western nations.
Nujoma was speaking to Prime Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab and Foreign Affairs Minister Hidipo Hamutenya, in the presence of journalists, at Windhoek's Eros airport after flying in from the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg South Africa.
The strident tone was set at the Summit earlier in the day, when he launched a stinging attack on British Prime Minister Tony Blair, charging that he was the cause of Zimbabwe's ills.
As the motorcade waited to whisk the President off to State House, Nujoma briefed his newly chosen Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs chief.
"I told them off," he said to his two Cabinet colleagues as they laughed hesitantly.
"We are tired of insults [from] these people. I told them they can keep their money. I told them that these political good governance, human rights, lesbians ... that they want to impose on our culture ... they must keep those things in Europe."
Said Nujoma: "I had about 40 minutes with BBC ... I told them off."
The statements are the strongest Nujoma has so far made against the industrial world on an international stage.
NBC national radio, whose journalists Nujoma reminded "you are under my control", reported last night that the President told Britain to change its attitude towards Africa because Africans were no longer slaves.
In his interview with the BBC, Nujoma demanded that the European Union immediately lift sanctions against Zimbabwe or else Africans will also "mobilise the African Union to impose sanctions on Europe", NBC radio said.
While an anti-Mugabe march was in progress outside the hall in the plush Sandton suburb of Johannesburg, Nujoma told 1 500 heads of state and government officials that Africa's problems should be laid at the doors of the colonisers and slave masters.
However, Zimbabwe, he told delegates, had an immediate enemy who was in their midst. Then he began to wag his finger in Blair's direction.
"We here in southern Africa have one big problem, created by the British. The honourable Tony Blair is here, and he created the situation in Zimbabwe," Nujoma said.
Blair spoke for 10 minutes after Nujoma. He did not immediately respond to the Namibian President's attack.
The British Prime Minister stressed the main theme of the summit - the need to fight poverty - saying the industrialised world had to open up its markets to developing countries.
Outside the conference later, Blair told the BBC that President Nujoma was defending the "utterly indefensible behind the cloak of colonialism".
A spokesman said the British PM remained unruffled by Nujoma's attack.
"(Blair's) focus is exclusively on the outcome of the summit," the spokesman said, adding that Nujoma's words were not a surprise. "He has been saying it for years."
During his summit speech, Nujoma demanded that: "The EU, who have imposed the sanctions against Zimbabwe, must raise them immediately, otherwise it is useless to come here."
The EU imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe following what many foreign and some African observers said were fraudulent elections and in response to the seizure of white-owned farms.
Nujoma said he wondered why Europeans wanted land in Africa, especially Namibia and Zimbabwe, while Africans didn't have land in Europe.
Speaking largely off the cuff at the summit, Nujoma said: "The British colonial settlers in Zimbabwe today, they own 78 per cent of the land in Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe is a tiny country. It has 14 million indigenous [people] who don't have land."
Nujoma blamed most of the problems of Africans and black people in general on slave trade and colonialism.
"The Africans who were taken there are being discriminated [against] in America and South America ... They are underdogs, they are the poorest of the world."
Nujoma also demanded that developed nations find a cure for AIDS, alluding to previous statements he has made in which he said the origin of HIV should be blamed on Western countries.
Nujoma's speech drew applause, especially from some African delegates.
"He had the most dramatic speech." said a delegate. "Others were ordinary. He showed no diplomacy as he waved the finger."
On his arrival in Windhoek, having cut his trip short, Nujoma told Gurirab that he did not stay longer because he had work to do.
He told the media at the airport that Namibians had to work "24 hours" because Africa was rich and could uplift itself.
"Even in Namibia we have enough wealth," he said. "We have already enough meat, we are exporting meat. We have enough fish, we are exporting fish to other countries. Now, why should we cry to these imperialists.
"I told them today that we don't need your money. We can develop ourselves."
Speaking at the Summit, Mugabe criticised those condemning him saying "let no one interfere with our processes".
"Mr Blair keep your England, and let me keep my Zimbabwe," an eloquent Mugabe said.
Reproduced from:
http://www.namibian.com.na/2002/september/news/02805D4E9F.html
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Hands off Zimbabwe, Mugabe tells Blair
Posted: Monday, September 2, 2002
Abstract: Guardian UK
The Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, hijacked today's proceedings at the Johannesburg earth summit to denounce Tony Blair, telling the British leader: "Let me keep my Zimbabwe."
Mr Mugabe defended the seizures of white-owned farms.
To a round of applause from the conference hall, the Zimbabwean leader declared: "So Blair, keep your England and let me keep my Zimbabwe."
Mr Blair had already left the summit complex after delivering a short speech this morning, in which he called Africa a "scar on the conscience of the world", and urged leaders to find the political will to implement solutions to the continent's poverty and ill-health.
But speaking on the same platform this afternoon, Mr Mugabe told delegates: "We have fought for our land, we have fought for our sovereignty, small as we are we have won our independence."
Zimbabweans were "prepared to shed our blood" to protect the nation, he said.
Mr Mugabe has vowed to press ahead with the eviction of 2,900 of the 4,500 remaining white commercial farmers despite legal challenges at home and criticism in the west, particularly from the country's former colonial ruler, Britain.
Mr Mugabe said that white commercial farmers often owned several farms and would be allowed to keep at least one. "No farmer is being left without land," he said.
"We are threatening none."
Earlier, Mr Blair was also criticised by Namibia's president, Sam Nujoma, for contributing to southern Africa's problems.
In his address to the summit, Mr Nujoma said: "We here in southern Africa have one big problem, created by the British. The honourable Tony Blair is here, and he created the situation in Zimbabwe.
"The EU, who have imposed the sanctions against Zimbabwe, must raise them immediately otherwise it is useless to come here.
"The British colonial settlers in Zimbabwe today, they own 78% of the land in Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe is a tiny country.
"It has 14 million indigenous [people] who have no land." MORE
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Zimbabwe says No to GM food aid
Posted: Monday, September 2, 2002
From Wisdom Mdzungairi in JOHANESSBURG
ZIMBABWE will not accept food aid containing genetically modified organisms, Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement Minister Cde Joseph Made said here yesterday.
However, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation director-general Dr Jacques Diouf urged countries in Southern Africa to carefully consider current scientific knowledge before rejecting the food aid containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Asked if he was prepared to discuss the food aid issue with the United States officials at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Cde Made told reporters that there was nothing to discuss between the two countries concerning the issue of GM food aid.
"Zimbabwe will not accept genetically modified food aid.
"There is nothing to discuss (with US officials) . . . You cannot use the Zimbabwean population as guinea pigs," the minister said.
Although the WSSD Summit is an opportunity for poor countries to voice their thoughts about the impact of Genetic Engineering and cloning of farm animals, many countries facing starvation, in particular Zimbabwe and its regional partners, are experiencing a difficult ethical dilemma as a result of the widespread use of Genetically Modified crops.
Zimbabwe has a longstanding policy against GM food on the grounds of human safety and the potential threat that GM crop contamination could pose for the local environment.
"You cannot talk of the morality of the American position. They always carry double standards when it comes to the developing world . . . There is no way we can bring that material into Zimbabwe which is a very clean environment," said Cde Made.
Other African countries were also finding themselves ill-equipped to deal with the GM issue.
Zambia’s permanent secretary for Information Mr David Kashweka said: "Our position on genetically modified foods is that they should not be allowed to be consumed in the country without knowing fully the implications and consequences thereof. Unfortunately when your people are starving there is little choice."
Mr Kashweka added that his government has yet to finalise the policy on GM organisms in Zambia "vis-à-vis imports or growing of such materials".
A senior Government official said regional scientists would meet in Zimbabwe next week to debate the GM foods issue.
Southern African countries were more concerned about the GMO as the agenda was driven by the biotechnological multilateral industries whose main objective was to make huge profits under the pretext of ending famine and poverty in Africa.
The local small-scale farmers who have reproduced their seeds using indigenous knowledge systems treat this debate with suspicion.
Director of Kenya’s Indigenous Information Network Ms Lucy Mulenkei said genetically modified seeds would kill traditional agriculture.
She added that the large amounts used to genetically modify plants would be better spent on helping women maximise their traditional knowledge in sustaining families.
Dr Ellie Osir who works with the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in Nairobi, Kenya said there were risks that poor countries could expose themselves to when they accept GM foods.
ICIPE is currently testing a GM crop called BT maize, produced by Monsanto.
The maize has been genetically altered to produce the bacillus thuringiensis (BT) bacteria, a toxin which kills insects.
Traditionally BT was sprayed on crops, like a pesticide.
But when the BT gene is put inside the plant, it continues to produce the toxin itself.
BT maize has long been used in the US and recently in South Africa but this does not mean that it is safe for Africa.
The FAO director-general, however, said at a Press conference that there were currently no international agreements covering trade and aid involving food containing GMOs.
He said an ad hoc committee of Codex Alimentarius, the joint FAO-WHO food safety body, was working to develop appropriate standards.
"In the meantime, the important thing is that all donated food meets the safety standards of both the donor and recipient countries. FAO together with WHO and the World Food Programme takes the view based on information from a variety of sources and current scientific knowledge that the food being offered to Southern African countries is not likely to present a human health risk and may be eaten.
"The UN therefore believes that in the current crisis, governments in Southern Africa must consider carefully the severe and immediate consequences of limiting food aid available for millions of people so desperately in need.
Their plight must weight heavily in government decision-making," Dr Diouf said.
He said he recognised that there were concerns about potential risks to biological diversity and sustainable agriculture, however, these potential risks should be judged and managed by individual countries on a case by case basis.
In sub-Saharan Africa 70 percent of the population live in the rural areas and depend on subsistence agriculture for livelihoods. Almost 40 percent of them live in abject poverty because of failing yields, poor commodities markets, high cost of crop inputs and erratic weather conditions as the technology for irrigation is still miles away from most rural farmers.
The main challenge is that the GMOs are also protected under Article 27 Section (3b) of Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of the Multilateral Trading agency – the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The world body advocates for market liberalisation so that products from the North rich countries find their market in the poor South countries, in particular Africa but not vice-versa due to high tariffs and non-tariff barriers.
In South Africa GMO maize was introduced in 1998 and thousands of hectares were put under the crop. Although they have claimed that it was mainly meant for animal feed one cannot rule out the possibility of human consumption.
Meanwhile the Minister of State for Information and Publicity in the Office of the President Professor Jonathan Moyo rejected accusations that the land resettlement exercise was responsible for the food shortages in the country.
"We uphold certain political values such as sovereignty, independence and pan-African solidarity. These are the things we have to pursue here. The fast-track land resettlement is over.
"There are no people who need to move in, there are no people who need to move out. We are now praying that God gives us the next thing, the rains.
"God is not something in the control of the British. It’s in God’s hands and you cannot define the success of the land reform programme by the drought.
"While we are having drought they (Europeans) are having floods. Are they able to do anything with those floods? Are they able to grow anything? No. So you cannot judge us on such issues as the drought," Prof Moyo said.
Reproduced from:
http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?id=13721&pubdate=2002-09-02
• More views on GM food aid
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Zimbabwe not on agenda of Earth Summit
Posted: Wednesday, August 28, 2002
www.herald.co.zw
ZIMBABWE’S land issue will be kept off the agenda of the Earth Summit amid reports that Namibian President Sam Nujoma was preparing to get tough with what he called "arrogant white farmers" who were resisting his country’s land reforms.
South Africa’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Mr Aziz Pahad said his country, which is chairing the summit, was determined to keep the agenda focused on such issues as sustainable development, ending poverty and environmental degradation.
"We hope that no particular issue, whether it is Zimbabwe or the situation in the Middle East, should detract us from the fundamental issues which people have come here to discuss," Mr Pahad said.
Zimbabwe’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dr Tichaona Jokonya, who is attending the summit, said the country was not on the agenda of the gathering.
"Zimbabwe is not on the agenda. We resisted that move despite efforts by some countries for it to be placed on the agenda," Mr Jokonya told The Herald in Johannesburg.
Mr Pahad said South African President Mr Thabo Mbeki would only hold discussions on Zimbabwe with Australian Prime Minister Mr John Howard and Nigerian President General Olusegun Obasanjo at the "earliest opportunity" after the summit.
The three leaders constitute a troika mandated by the Commonwealth to deal with the Zimbabwean issue.
Mr Pahad’s statement comes in the wake of efforts by Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to put Zimbabwe on the agenda of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. MORE
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Mugabe's new economic and political war Cabinet
Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2002
Herald
PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday described his new Cabinet as an economic and political war Cabinet to tackle the current economic problems and the British-led Western vilification campaign against Zimbabwe.
"We have just sworn in our new Cabinet and Deputy Ministers who . . . are really an economic war Cabinet on one side and taking into account the actions by Britain and its allies, they are on the other hand a political war Cabinet.
"If you look at them, they are men and women full of fight and punch," Cde Mugabe said.
The President was speaking to journalists after swearing in the new Cabinet at State House.
He said from now on the Government must be practical and be in touch with events on the ground as much as possible.
"What we need now is a Cabinet of ministers who will always be on their feet ensuring the programmes that we have agreed on are taking place and those already taking place are moving. MORE
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MDC demo flops in SA
Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2002
Herald
A DEMONSTRATION planned by the MDC to continue its vilification of Zimbabwe at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa flopped yesterday.
According to delegates attending the summit which began yesterday, the MDC demonstration failed to materialise after only a handful of people turned up for the protest in Johannesburg.
The flop was mainly attributed to a warning given by the South African government that it would deal with those bent on disrupting the Earth Summit. Denials by South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique indicating that they were not part of the United States plot to oust President Mugabe and the Government had also dampened the spirits of MDC supporters in South Africa, the delegates said.
"It is also a fact that a big number of Zimbabwe-ans working here are illegal immigrants and they would not dare risk to be arrested in demonstrations and face deportation," the delegates said.
The MDC has been on a campaign to demonise the Government at major summits calling for the imposition of sanctions against the country. MORE
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Zimbabwe's cabinet after the shuffle
Posted: Sunday, August 25, 2002
Harare - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on Sunday announced his new cabinet, replacing the finance minister.
Here is a list of ministers in Mugabe's new cabinet, according to state media.
Minister of Special Affairs in the President's Office: John Nkomo (moved, new portfolio)
Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement: Dr Joseph Made (retained)
Minister of Defence: Dr Sydney Sekeramayi (retained)
Minister of Environment and Tourism; Francis Nhema (retained)
Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs: Patrick Chinamasa (retained)
Minister of Transport and Communications: Witness Mangwende (new appointment)
Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing: Ignatius Chombo (retained)
Minister of Finance and Economic Development: Herbert Murerwa (moved)
Minister of Health and Child Welfare: David Parirenyatwa (promoted)
Minister of Home Affairs: Kembo Mohadi (promoted from another ministry)
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Stan Mudenge (retained)
Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare: July Moyo (retained)
Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education: Swithun Mombeshoro (moved)
Minister of Education, Sports and Culture: Aeneas Chigwedere (retained)
Minister of Energy and Power Development: Amos Midzi (new appointment, new ministry)
Minister of Mines and Mining Development: Edward Chindori-Chininga (retained)
Minister of Rural Resources and Water Development: Joyce Mujuru (retained)
Minister of Youth Development, Gender and Employment Creation: Elliot Manyika (retained)
Ministry of Industry and International Trade: Samuel Mumbengegwi (moved)
Minister of State for State Enterprises and Parastatals: Paul Mangwana (promoted from another ministry)
Minister of State for Information and Publicity: Jonathan Moyo (retained)
Minister of Small and Medium Enterprise Development: Sithembiso Nyoni (promoted, new ministry)
Minister of State for Science and Technology Development: Olivia Muchena (moved)
Minister of State for the Land Reform Programme: Flora Bhuka (moved)
Minister of State for National Security: Nicholas Goche (retained)
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Genetically engineered seeds self-destruct after 1 crop
Posted: Saturday, August 24, 2002
by Pianke Nubiyang
GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SEEDS SELF-DESTRUCT AFTER ONE PLANTING, FORCING FARMERS IN "THIRD WORLD" NATIONS TO CONTINUALLY DEPEND ON FOREIGN COMPANIES FOR THEIR SEEDS.
One may not believe their eyes after reading this (AFRICANS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA, TROPICAL AFRICA, INDIA, THE WORLD, LISTEN GOOD).
According to the September issue of Scientific American Magazine, seed companies and their scientists are now thinking about developing genetically engineered seeds, from natural foods found in the tropics. These seeds will only be capable of producing foods ONCE, and the genetic engineers will have the power to sell more seeds, while the local seeds would become contaminated and local farmers would have to depend on foreign companies for their seeds.
In California, there is about 11 months of dry weather. In fact much of California is in the high mountains or desert regions, some of it is near the coasts or the far north. Yet, most of California's best land is in regions that were dry lake beds or deserts that are sometimes identical in looks to parts of West Africa Sahel and the regions of Sudan and Southern Africa. In fact after Texas, California has the type of hot climate (110-125 degrees F, that one finds in parts of Africa), yet because of good and efficient irrigation, California's billion-dollar industry is agricultural produce. (hear this African leaders...West Indians others...its agriculture)
Therefore, the idea of taking African seeds and having foreign scientists genetically engineer seeds to produce only once is really committing genocide. How can any nation on earth agree to this scheme of destruction and dependence?
Here is the scheme again. Seed producing companies and scientists are planning to create genetically engineered seeds that will produce crops only once. After that, nations will have to depend on the seed companies to create more seeds, because the crop seeds will not be of any use.
AFRICANS/OTHERS AROUND THE WORLD MUST UNITE IN STOPPING THE DESTRUCTION OF CROP YIELDS AND PLANT LIFE
In stead of creating seeds that self-destruct after one planting, so that farmers will be held like slaves to the producers of seeds that originated in tropical lands, farmers around the world should unite and work to stop the attempt to control the production of food by a few people. Let's get farmers and Ministers of Agriculture from Africa, the Caribbean, China, Europe, America, Australia and other lands to unite on this issue.
Farmers are the people who keep the world alive. If there were no farming, civilization would not exist. Farmers, especially Black farmers in the U.S., some White family farmers in the U.S. and Europe, farmers of China, Japan, India, Africa, the Caribbean and around the world are a breed of people who make great sacrifices, and many of us have seen what they have to go through on the news or read it in the paper. Imagine being a farmer in Trinidad and Jamaica, St. Lucia or Haiti and planting a crop, tending it and watching it get near harvest, only to have a hurricane wipe it out. That is heart breaking. Imagine you are a farmer in Europe and floods destroy all your livestock and crops. Imagine a farmer in China having to cut down because its not attracting people, who prefer to move in the cities. Imagine a Midwestern U.S. farmer selling his equipment due to being broke. Imagine peasant farmers in parts of Southern Africa having no land and have to work on the farm of foreigners like semi-slaves for a few dollars, while a few people control the entire system of agriculture.
FARMERS AND GOVERNMENTS SHOULD BE AWARE AND PREPARED
Farmers and governments in Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, Latin America and elsewhere should be very careful about the trickery of selling their national heritage in the form of seeds, so that companies can control the food supply of the entire world and hold the rest of humanity hostage with their scheme to genetically modify seeds and crops.
Zambia must take GM crops or starve
The United States, which grows genetically modified, or GM crops, provides 75 percent of the food WFP distributes to southern Africa.
The Zambian government says it is concerned about the safety of biotech food, and is afraid that GM grains might be planted, thus contaminating its food crop.
Donors are exaggerating food crisis
www.zamnet.zm - PRESIDENT Levy Mwanawasa has saild Government's rejection of Genetically Modified maize does not warrant a smear campaign from some donors who are now exaggerating the extent of hunger in the country.
Mr Mwanawasa said contrary to assertions by some donors, it was not true that 2 million Zambians face starvation now that Government had rejected the GM maize.
Speaking in Sinazongwe at the start of his tour of Southern Province yesterday, the President warned that Government may be forced to give matching orders to such donors if reports that 2 million Zambians may die of starvation persist.
"If these people think we have committed a sin to reject the GMOs, then they should go before we give them matching orders," the President said when he addressed Sinazongwe residents yesterday.
Mr Mwanawasa said if the donors had information that some people in areas they know were dying of hunger, they should go to his office where upon he would give them relief food.
"If these people know who is starving because of lack of food, let them come to me and say so and so is starving. We will give them relief food to give those people," Mr Mwanawasa said.
The President said the government's decision to reject the GMOs did not mean that the country undermined the people who offered her food.
He said the decision was made in the interest of the public and he did not have any regrets for taking such a stance.
Mr Mwanawasa stated that no one would die of hunger for as long as the MMD government remained in office.
Mr Mwanawasa underscored Government's decision to provide for the hungry when he announced that 100 metric tonnes of maize had been supplied to Sinazongwe while 150 tonnes were destined for Choma.
The President wondered how else the country could have accepted GMOs when in fact these foods had been rejected in Europe.
"If Europe has rejected the GMOs why should we accept them just because we are poor," Mr Mwanawasa asked.
Mr Mwanawasa said if Zambia produced GMOs, Europe would have been the first to reject the items.
He said Zambia should be proud that her agriculture products were accepted in Europe because they were not genetically modified.
Mr Mwanawasa urged the people of Sinazongwe to work hard and ensure there was food throughout the year to feed themselves.
He said it was a shame that despite having been independent for the past 37 years, Zambia depended on food imports.
Mr Mwanawasa said the winter maize project going on in the area should be supported because it would create employment and ensure food security.
He warned the people not to steal the produce from Agriflora because doing so would frustrate investors who may end up leaving the area.
Mr Mwanawasa said he was impressed with the performance of the winter maize project in Sinazongwe.
And KELVIN CHONGO reports that Agriflora general manager Niel Sledge said their farm was making K400 million per day in agricultural products exported to European markets representing sales of K12 billion per month.
Mr Sledge said the company supported the government's efforts and policy on agriculture.
Speaking when he took President Mwanawasa on a conducted tour of the farm, Mr Sledge said the farm has employed 7,000 workers and at full scale can produce 20,000 metric tonnes of winter maize and a similar quantity of rain-fed maize.
He said from the current winter maize grown, his company would produce 800 metric tonnes of maize.
Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Mundia Sikatana said he was happy with the project because it had also guaranteed employment throughout the year to the villagers.
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The US government is to launch a trade war over GM crops in an attempt to force the European Union to back down in its tough stance against GM.
Will GM crops deliver benefits to farmers?
African nations ban biofood aid despite famine
San Francisco Chronicle - (Aug 23, 2002)
Hungry nations balk at gene-altered food
Boston Globe - (Aug 23, 2002)
Panel Urges Caution on Cloned, Engineered Food
Reuters - (Aug 21, 2002)
Better rice, less global warming
BBC - (Aug 20, 2002)
GM crop trials spread pollen
The Guardian (UK). - (Aug 19, 2002)
Zambia Rejects U.S. Genetic Corn
Associated Press - (Aug 17, 2002)
Zambia turns down GM aid
BBC - (Aug 17, 2002)
Zambia to Refuse Modified Food Aid, Diplomat Says
Reuters - (Aug 16, 2002)
Genetically Modified Seed Found
Associated Press - (Aug 15, 2002)
Unauthorized genetically modified seed found in crop trials
Associated Press - (Aug 15, 2002)
Scientists shocked at GM gene transfer
The Guardian (UK). - (Aug 15, 2002)
Biotech firms didn't isolate GM crops properly: U.S. agency
CBC - (Aug 14, 2002)
EPA accuses two biotech companies of failing to properly isolate genetically modified crops
Associated Press - (Aug 14, 2002)
Ore. Measure Aims at Modified Foods
Associated Press - (Aug 12, 2002)
#
Credits : www.zamnet.zm, www.herald.co.zw,
http://community.webtv.net/nubianem
Compiled by: Trinicenter Staff
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