Full Coverage: Politics

31.01.2005 "On my way out of the voting site, an American soldier handed me a sticker with the words 'I voted' printed on it. He looked perplexed as I stuck it on his rifle and left." Tongue planted firmly in cheek, Iraqi-American Hawra Karama tells what Sunday's elections meant to him, and how they differed from the ones in which Saddam Hussein made him participate in 1995 and 2002.

31.01.2005 Turnout among registered voters was well above 50 percent in Baghdad Sunday despite numerous deadly attacks, according to Institute for War and Peace Reporting correspondents throughout the capital city. Some are hailing a victory for democracy while others doubt the legitimacy of elections, pointing especially to U.S. control of the political process and the large number of Iraqis who never registered at all.

30.01.2005 Des jeunes qui ont passé une partie de leur enfance et de leur adolescence dans les centres de jeunesse du Québec prennent la parole dans ce film de Louise Rinfret, «L’horizon emmuré». Ils témoignent de la privation de liberté qu’ils ont subie, de leur souffrance et des répercussions sur leur vie de jeunes adultes. Plusieurs des scènes du film ont été tournées clandestinement dans les institutions.

28.01.2005 President Bush has re-nominated a former attorney from his administration and lobbyist for the National Mining Association to a lifetime position on the federal bench. His court would have jurisdiction over three-fourths of all federal lands and decide coutless mining, drilling, grazing, and timber cases. And William G. Myers III--who has never been a judge before--was rejected the first time Bush tried to nominate him.

27.01.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan 26 (OneWorld) – On the eve of a key confirmation vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee, several major U.S. human rights groups called on senators to reject the nomination of Attorney General-designate Alberto Gonzales on the basis of his advice regarding the treatment of detainees in the Bush administration’s "war on terror."

25.01.2005 Singling out HIV/AIDS, human trafficking, and family planning, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton bemoaned the "less-than-friendly" atmosphere women's health advocates face in Washington earlier this month, urging members of the International Women's Health Coalition to hold their leaders accountable for advances--or the lack thereof--on these issues.

24.01.2005 Après les ministres des affaires étrangères du Brésil et de l'Argentine, c'est maintenant le tour du Chef d'État argentin Nestor Kirschner de soulever la question haïtienne devant la communauté internationale.

24.01.2005 President Bush is expected to soon request $100 billion from Congress for the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and less than half of one percent of that amount for the tsunami disaster. You can tell your congresspeople what you think U.S. taxpayers' dollars should support.

21.01.2005 Even as George W. Bush celebrates his inauguration for a second term as U.S. president, a series of opinion polls--in the United States and in 21 foreign countries--show that Americans largely disapprove of his conduct of the Iraq war, and the rest of the world believes he has made life more dangerous for them, too.

20.01.2005 Some members of Congress want to add a provision to the 2006 budget bill opening the U.S. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drillers. Others have introduced legislation to protect the area. The global conservation group WWF wants you to contact your representatives and tell them what side you're on.

20.01.2005 Dutch MP, screenwriter, and critic of Muslim oppression of women, Ayaan Hirsi Ali's name was found on a death-list pinned to the body of murdered filmmaker Theo Van Gogh in November. She ended her long isolation Tuesday with a strong message for those who would intimidate her.

19.01.2005 Last week the group looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq finally gave up the search, noting that not only did Iraq have no serious weapons programs nor the means to begin such programs, it didn't even consider the United States an adversary.

14.01.2005 Le tsunami qui a durement frappé l’Asie et les pays riverains de l’océan Indien en décembre a particulièrement ravagé la province indonésienne de l’Aceh, sur le côté occidental de l’île de Sumatra. Plus de 100 000 personnes ont été tuées, les dévastations sont immenses et une grande partie des cinq millions d’habitants survit présentement grâce à l’aide humanitaire. Au-delà des impacts de la crise immédiate cependant, l’Indonésie et la province d’Aceh sont très fragiles, enfoncées dans la pauvreté et menacées par plusieurs conflits.

14.01.2005 A row over elections--supposed to take place by June according to Congo's December 2002 peace accord--has opposition leaders threatening to pull out of the government. "We will withdraw from the transition and ... call on the public to assume its responsibilities," said the leader of a former rebel group now represented in the government after meeting with the continent's persistent peacemaker Thabo Mbeki.

13.01.2005 As the United States prepares to celebrate Dr. King's legacy on Monday, civil rights leader Wade Henderson reflects on the challenges still faced by minorities and other vulnerable groups, pledging to ensure that only qualified and independent judicial nominees are approved for the federal judiciary or Supreme Court--should there be a vacancy--in 2005.

12.01.2005 Alberto Gonzales--considered by many the key figure behind the Bush Administration "torture memos"--is expected to be approved by the Senate as the nation's next top law enforcement officer. Doing so would undermine American values and security, says defense policy and national security expert Ivan Eland.

12.01.2005 Sixty years after the bombing of their cities ushered in the nuclear age, the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are organizing a Mayors for Peace Emergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons and enrolling Mayors all over the world to join the call for the total elimination of nuclear weapons by the year 2020. Already over 600 mayors worldwide have signed up; find out how you can get your town involved.

10.01.2005 Nepal can trace its history of civil society as far back as 2000 BC. Recent times have been unsettled but civil society today thrives in numbers if not yet in finding its most effective niche in the political process. Pradipna Raj Panta looks at the origins and growth of civil society in Nepal.

10.01.2005 Stefan Christoff interviews for CKUT Radio George N. Rishmawi, from the International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC), who shares his perspectives on the Palestinian elections on January 9th, 2005.

06.01.2005 Tom Barry, policy director of Foreign Policy in Focus spoke with Melinda Tuhus from Between The Lines. After the tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean, he discusses the substantial political and economic strings attached to U.S. foreign aid, and alternative policies that could enhance the nation's true security needs.