Chavez Says Israel Committed Genocide
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has accused Israel of genocide against the Palestinian people, telling a French newspaper that the bombing of Gaza late last year was an unprovoked attack. “The question is not whether the Israelis want to exterminate the Palestinians. They’re doing it openly,” Chavez said in an interview with Le Figaro published on Wednesday. The Venezuelan president, who has just completed a tour of Middle Eastern and Arab countries, brushed aside Israeli assertions that its attack on Gaza was a response to rocket fire from Islamist group Hamas which rules the coastal enclave. “What was it if not genocide? … The Israelis were looking for an excuse to exterminate the Palestinians,” Chavez said, adding that sanctions should have been slapped on Israel. Israel launched an offensive against the Gaza Strip on December 27, 2008, with the declared aim of curbing rocket fire from the region into southern Israel. The land, sea and air assault lasted 22 days, and left some 1,300 Palestinians dead, according to medical sources. Chavez said he recognized Israel’s right to exist, as with all countries, but added that the Jewish state must respect the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. The Venezuelan president said he wanted more clarity from the United States on its foreign policy, adding that he was disappointed by recent U.S. dealings in South America, including the installation of military bases in Colombia. “Sadly, the arrival of Obama brought with it a lot of hope, but little change,” he said.

Congolese Court Sentences Two Norwegians to Death
A Congolese court sentenced two Norwegians to death Tuesday after convicting them of espionage and murder, drawing sharp criticism from Norway’s government. The men, former Norwegian soldiers, were convicted in May in the central Congolese city of Kisangani of murdering their driver and attempting to murder a witness. The court also convicted them of spying for Norway because they were carrying military ID cards at the time. Norwegian media identified the two as Tjostolv Moland and Joshua French. Norway does not have the death penalty. “I object strongly to the death sentences given these two Norwegian citizens,” said Norway’s foreign minister, Jonas Gahr Stoere. “Norway is against capital punishment as a matter of principle, and I will contact the foreign minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to give him this message.” But Congolese officials were firm in their decision. The men have five days to appeal before going to prison. “They will not be extradited,” said Claude Disimo, head of the military tribunal in Kisangani that tried the men. Disimo said the court ordered that $60 million in damages be paid. The Norwegian government denied the men were Norwegian spies. “We wish to distance ourselves from the conviction of espionage on Norway’s behalf,” Stoere said. “We also wish to distance ourselves from the court’s decision that Norway is responsible for paying damages. Norway is not a party in this case.” News agency NTB said the court convicted Moland of murdering a Congolese driver, and French was convicted of the attempted murder of a witness. The news agency reported that Moland and French “were found guilty on all charges. They were charged with murder, attempted murder, espionage, armed robbery and the possession of illegal firearms.” NTB also reported that Moland and French were ordered to pay $171,000 to the driver’s family and “associates.”

Missouri Blacks Racially Profiled

Blacks in Missouri are far more likely than anybody else in the state to be pulled over by police, even though they are far less likely to be caught with contraband after being stopped, a new study by the State Attorney General’s Office reveals. In fact, they are 67 percent more apt to stopped than White or Hispanic drivers, according to the report, released Monday. Read the rest.

Obama Says Israel Needs Some Tough Love

In  comments that are not likely to endear President Obama with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said that the United States must be honest and tell its “stalwart ally” the truth – that it must accept a Palestinian state. “Part of being a good friend is being honest,” Obama told National Public Radio in an interview. “And I think there have been times where we are not as honest as we should be about the fact that the current direction, the current trajectory, in the region is profoundly negative, not only for Israeli interests but also U.S. interests. And that’s part of a new dialogue that I’d like to see encouraged in the region.” Read more.

 A day after Israelis raided the Gaza Strip, even ramming the boat occupied by former Georgia Democrat Cynthia McKinney, the African Union Israel’s actions, calling on the United Nations Security Council to force the Jewish state to back down. “The (AU) Commission strongly condemns the ongoing air raids on the Gaza Strip by Israel since 27 December,” the union said in a statement. “This massive and disproportionate attack constitutes a clear violation of international humanitarian law and will further aggravate the suffering of the civilian population, which, as a result of the siege imposed by Israel, has been faced by shortages of food, medicine and fuel.” The African Union urged the Security Council and members of the Middle East diplomatic Quartet “to fully assume their responsibilities toward the civilians in the Gaza Strip by compelling Israel to an immediate ceasefire.” It also pleaded with the nations of the world to increase medical and humanitarian aid to victims of the attacks. On Monday, McKinney, the 2008 Green Party candidate and the first African-American woman elected to Congress from the state of Georgia, joined more than a dozen high-profile leaders who headed to the region aboard a medical supply ship on a humanitarian mission. The yacht, owned by the U.S.-based Free Gaza Movement, collided with an Israeli gunboat, which had fired machine guns into the water to stop the vessel’s progress, FOX News reported. At least 360 Palestinians, including more than 50 civilians, have been killed in the raids, according to officials.

Former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney headed to Gaza Monday, part of a group of activists going to provide medicine to victims in the war-ravaged region. McKinney, the first Black woman to represent Georgia, ran as the Green Party candidate for president after losing her congressional seat in 2006. McKinney’s father, former Georgia state Rep. Billy McKinney, said her mother did not want her to go. “But I think that certain people have missions in life and you can’t deter them,” he said. The trip to Gaza was organized by the Free Gaza Group, which launched its 66-foot yacht called “SS Dignity” from Cypress. The effort defies an Israeli blockade. The supplies McKinney and others are transporting to the area are for people wounded from Israeli bombings against targets in Gaza, in retaliation for rocket fire aimed at civilians in southern Israeli towns. Israel’s aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip continued for a third day on Monday. By Monday, the death toll rose to 364, with some 1,400 reported wounded, according to Palestinian medical officials.