Segun Los Times de Sudafrica, el sindicato SATAWU [Sindicato de Obrero de Transporte y sus Filiales] rehusaron abrir los productos de armas del barco chino An Jue Yiang y quiere el regreso del barco chino a China [tanto el barco, las armas, y los marineros]. Este desafio al gobierno de Sudafrica ha sido grande. Mientras tanto el Consejo para las Relaciones Raciales de Sudafrica emitio una declaracion contra el uso del territorio de Sudafrica para el transporte de armas chinas hacia Zimbabwe. Segun el Consejo, el uso de territorio sudafricano constituye complicidad del gobierno sudafricano en cualquier intento de represion por Mugabe en Zimbabwe.

REFERENCIA:
The Times: "Union Refuses to Unload Arms Ship"
http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=750957

Mientras tanto, la revista Pretoria News [Noticiero de Pretoria] anuncio la manifestacion de docenas de ciudadanos de Zimbabwe en el exterior frente a la embajada de Zimbabwe en Sudafrica. Los ciudadanos de Zimbabwe en el exterior bajo el mando del Foro para la Diaspora de Zimbabwe y el Movimiento Juventud Revolucionaria de Zimbabwe se apoderaron de la embajada de Zimbabwe y instalaron su embajador la Dra. Joyce Dube. Despues pidieron la renuncia de Mugabe como Presidente.

El Gobierno de Mugabe amenazo con suspender las licencias de los choferes publicos si participant en la huelga y aprobo un decreto donde el precio de un pasaporte para adultos seran ZWD $500,000,000.00 y los ni~nos seran ZWD $300,000,000.00. Acuerdate que ZWD = El Dolar de Zimbabwe y el cambio sigue siendo Un Dolar de EEUU por 30,000 Dolares de Zimbabwe.

Por ultimo, la oposicion MDC [Movimiento Por Un Camio Democratico] pidio la renuncia de Mbeki [Presidente de Sudafrica] como mediador y su reemplazo por Levi Mwanawasa [Presidente de Zambia]. En verdad que la situacion en Zimbabwe se ha deteriorado en las ultimas horas y la comunidad internacional no se ha dado cuenta.

REFERENCIA:
Zimbabwemetro.com: "Gukurahundi On The Way" April 17, 2008
http://zimbabwemetro.com/2008/04/17/gukurahundi-on-the-way/

BBC News: “South Africa’s Zimbabwe Role Attacked”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7352404.stm

Zimbabwemetro.com: “Gukurahundi On The Way”
http://zimbabwemetro.com/2008/04/17/gukurahundi-on-the-way/

The South African National Ports Authority has confirmed that a Chinese Vessel has been cleared to dock at Durban, South Africa. The South African Police Explosive Unit confirmed that the ship's name is An Yue Jiang and is carrying the following:
1. 3,000,000 Rounds of Ammunition for Small Arms.
2. 3,500 Mortar and Mortar Launchers
3. 1,500 Rockets for Rocket Propelled Grenades

The order was finalised on the 1st of April 2008 after the Presidential Elections in Zimbabwe. The arms were going to be transported by land from Durban to Harare.

Zimbabwemetro.com also reported the "presence" of Chinese Soldiers in Mutare. I also saw one comment by a contributor in this article who threatened retaliation against the Chinese Community in Zimbabwe for the support of the Chinese of Mugabe. This is not boding well. Another contributor warns of impending genocide in Zimbabwe being orchestrated by Mugabe.

I had to write this because my conscience dictated it to me. After checking this story and the story that South African Officials also informed the BBC, I decided to publish it in Now Public.com. My conscience dictated that I could not sit back and watch the possibility of another Rwanda or Cambodia repeat itself. I hope I am wrong but at least my conscience is clear.

It should also be said that South Africa has a law in which it cannot interfere in trade deals between two nations [Zimbabwe and China].

REFERENCE:
Zimbabwemetro.com: "Gukurahundi On The Way" April 17, 2008
http://zimbabwemetro.com/2008/04/17/gukurahundi-on-the-way/

This comes in light of the situation reported by the BBC and Zimbabwemetro.com about the possible arrival of the Chinese Ship An Yue Yiang in Durban Harbour South Africa with three million rounds of ammunitions for small arms and AK-47s, about 3 500 mortars and mortar launchers, as well as 1 500 rockets for rocket-propelled grenades [RPGs]. This arrival was confirmed by the the South African National Ports Authority and the SA Police Explosives Unit while the documentation shows that it was ordered on the 1st of April 2008 after the Presidential Elections. After clearance, the arms were to be transported by land from Durban, South Africa to Harare, Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe’s Government has also threatened to remove the license of transport workers who threaten to strike and has announced the increase in the price of a Zimbabwean Passport to ZWD$ 500,000,000 for adults and ZWD$ 300,000,000 for children.

The Pretoria News has reported on the number of Zimbabweans who marched onward to the offices of the High Commissioner of Zimbabwe in South Africa. The purpose of the march [which was lead by the Zimbabwe Diaspora Forum and the Zimbabwe Revolutionary Youth Movement] installed Joyce Dube as their new commissioner and asked for the resignation of Robert Mugabe

SOURCE:
BBC News: “South Africa’s Zimbabwe Role Attacked”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7352404.stm

Zimbabwemetro.com: “Gukurahundi On The Way”
http://zimbabwemetro.com/2008/04/17/gukurahundi-on-the-way/

Dear friend,

I want your opinion and guidance.

What progress can a president make in four years? How about eight? Will the change be lasting?

Those are some of the questions that I wrestled with when developing my issue stances as part of my presidential exploratory committee.

I asked similar questions of myself while in Congress, especially when faced with a tough vote.

Sheer principle drives me to always take the path of liberty but it also drives me to be honest with myself to realize that sticking to principle means making lemonade when given a handful of lemons.

I'll give you a good example, which was my vote for the USA PATRIOT Act. As much it pained me, I cast an "aye" vote for the very piece of legislation that I oppose today. I could have easily voted against it and, believe me, I wanted to.

At the time of the vote, a few weeks after the attacks of September 11th, it was clear that law enforcement had a need to quickly identify and confront additional terrorists threats. There was also a need to protect our liberties in the future, long after an immediate threat had passed.

Rather than casting a no vote, I used the influence that I had with my fellow members of Congress and negotiated a sunset provision for some of the most intrusive aspects of the USA PATRIOT Act. This led to a requirement to reauthorize those provisions, which put those issues back on the table and up for debate long after I left Congress.
The same situation applies to the Defense of Marriage Act, which I authored in order to short circuit the Republican Party's powerful move to ban gay marriage on the Constitutional level. My plan worked. States maintain their rights in relation to same-sex marriage and civil unions.

In a perfect nation, the government would have no role at all in marriage. It is a private, personal contract between two consenting adults to be recognized by the church and society. . . not the state.

In a perfect nation, there would also be no personal taxes and everyone would agree to play nice and respect the privacy, property and life of another.

The pressing reality is that the perfect nation and the perfect government do not exist. It is something that lovers of liberty must fight for, step-by-step and day-by-day.

As a libertarian, I believe in maximum liberty. You should be free to live your life as you choose. You should be free to make decisions, right or wrong, in the way that you see is best for yourself and your family. That freedom should be sustained as long as you do not use force or fraud against another.

Libertarianism is a simple philosophy that balances peace and responsibility. I do believe that one day we can live under such a society. However, we have a long and rocky road ahead to get there.

That is why it is important that we always choose the path of liberty. We will be faced with blocks and hurdles but even if inching forward, we must make progress down a road to freedom.

That is why I have formed the Barr 2008 Presidential Exploratory Committee. The choices offered by the two major parties are steps away from freedom, not toward freedom.

We need a better choice for America.

In my opinion, a strong libertarian candidate is that better choice.

I ask that you help me decide on entering this race by showing your strong support for a potential presidential run.

I passionately feel that the time for real change is now and I am confident that a strong Libertarian presidential campaign will have a lasting impact for liberty in our nation.

It is up to you to show me if that is possible.

Please send me a message so that I can send them in a message of liberty in 2008.

Visit BobBarr2008.com to let your voice be heard and to make a generous donation today. Also please take advantage of the features of my web site to tell your friends and family about this effort.

I deeply appreciate your time and your support.

In Liberty,

The following results [of the Zimbabwean Elections 2008] were obtained from the Independent Results Centre.

Presidential Elections 2008:
With 209 out of 210 constituencies reporting:
Morgan Tsvangerai [MDC]: 50.3%
Robert Mugabe [ZANU-PF]: 42.9%
Simba Makoni [MUT/IND]: 6.8%

Constituency Elections 2008:
Constituencies reporting: 206 [98%]
By Elections: 3
MDC: 48%
ZANU-PF: 46%
MUT/IND: 6%

House of Assembly 2008:
210 seats
MDC: 99
ZANU-PF: 95
MUT/IND: 12

Registered Voters:
Bulawayo : 313,479
Harare: 678,682
Manicaland: 703,399
Mashonaland Central: 491,481
Mashonaland East: 624,631
Mashonaland West: 582,979
Masvingo: 699,202
Matabeleland North: 342,423
Matabeleland South: 342,552
Midlands: 736,736
TOTAL: 5,605,204

The website of the Independent Results Centre is updated on a continual basis and there is a page on how the information was obtained. The following web pages reveal all of this information. I wanted to share this with my Public.

http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/

http://www.zimelectionresults.com/

After George Bush told ABC News he personally approved of the approval of torture - including waterboarding - you'd think the story would be front page news, not just on Countdown and The Daily Show.

But you'd be wrong. There has been absolutely no news coverage and a handful of editorials in the Brattleboro (Vt.) Reformer, Kansas City Star, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News.

If your newspaper is missing, help us organize a Torture News Strike.
http://www.democrats.com/torture-news-strike

Call your newspaper editor and tell him/her you are suspending your subscription until they give Bush's torture confession the serious coverage it deserves either in the news or editorial section, or preferably both. Then call the circulation department and tell them to suspend delivery until further notice.

Contact: Andrew Davis

E-mail: andrew.davis@lp.org

Office: 202-333-0008 ext. 225

Mobile: 202-731-0002
FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY:

Protecting the pajamas journalists

New legislation would protect the few people who can hold politicians accountable

Quick Quotes:

Andrew Davis, National Media Coordinator, Libertarian Party

• "Often, bloggers are the first to expose politicians for lying and corruption, and hold all politicians to a new level of accountability that would have been impossible only a few years ago."

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Libertarian Party is hailing a new piece of legislation introduced by Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) that would protect the coterie of Internet "pajamas journalists" known as "bloggers" from FEC restrictions. H.R. 5699, called the "Blogger Protection Act of 2008," would give bloggers permanent protection from FEC campaign laws when linking to campaign Web sites or editorializing about candidates.

"These guys really don't get the credit they deserve for all the work they've done to create accountability and transparency in American politics," says Andrew Davis, national media coordinator for the Libertarian Party. "Often, bloggers are the first to expose politicians for lying and corruption, and hold all politicians to a new level of accountability that would have been impossible only a few years ago. They fully deserve the same protection from government interference that is given to traditional media outlets."

Bloggers were granted protection two years ago from FEC regulations that would have potentially considered linking to a campaign Web site or editorializing about a candidate a contribution or expenditure when blogging. However, those protections were only regulatory, and could be changed without Congressional approval. H.R. 5699 seeks to make those protections a statute.

The Libertarian Party is America's third largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting www.lp.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.

For more information on this issue, or to arrange a media interview, please call Andrew Davis at (202) 333-0008 during normal business hours, or at (202) 731-0002 during any other time.