Posted on 10/09/2004 1:06:18 PM PDT by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
The new secretary general of the Organization of American States resigned yesterday because of accusations that he took a bribe in 2001 while president of Costa Rica. In a letter to the 34-nation organization, Miguel Angel Rodriguez denied he did anything wrong. "With humility, pain and anguish, I ask you and your countries for forgiveness for making you endure this difficult period," Rodriguez said in his letter, which was read to OAS members here yesterday by Costa Rica's ambassador to the OAS, Luis Guardia. Rodriguez wrote that he was leaving because he did not want to expose the OAS to a "cruel and long persecution of its secretary-general" in Costa Rican courts and in the news media. Rodriguez has been accused of receiving a bribe in connection with the awarding of a $149 million contract to the French telephone company Alcatel in 2001 for cell phone service. Yesterday, the former president learned that Costa Rica's attorney general had concluded that Rodriguez does not enjoy immunity from any prosecution resulting from the allegations. The resignation represented a surprising and sudden turnaround at the OAS, where Rodriguez had become the first Central American to serve as secretary general.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Tick tock... your time will soon come, Chirac.
fyi
Craig Washington disagrees. The executive director of the Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Center cited King's words -- "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" -- and said there are parallels between oppression based on race and on sexual orientation.
"There is no evidence that King supported oppressing gays," Washington said.
King never spoke publicly on the subject, but his widow has supported gay rights.
What also has sparked debate is the use of King's image and words -- with the family's permission -- in advertising for Alcatel, Cingular Wireless and Apple Computer. Garrow says the practice "cheapens King's historical reputation and image by depicting him as simply a commercial symbol available for rent."
To Julian Bond, chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the use of King's name is "a tribute to both how powerful his image remains and how antiseptic he has become."
"In life, he was a radical figure," Bond said. "He was a severe critic of the very capitalism that is now exploiting him."
(/snip)
----- Source: "King Jr. Name Invoked to Sell Causes"
Posted on 06/18/2004 4:40:43 PM PDT by MadIvan
France has been accused of agreeing to a crackdown on exiled opponents of Iran in return for lucrative commercial contracts.
Lawyers for France's human rights league, speaking on the anniversary of a huge police raid on the National Council of Resistance of Iran near Paris, pointed out "troubling coincidences" in the timing of the operation and a series of deals with Teheran.
In March last year, the regime signed a large contract with the French telecommunications group Alcatel for a telephone network....
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