Expalin apartheid

It means simply 'apartness'. Basically it was a system where blacks and whites were kept separate. Separate residential areas, separate schools, jobs, churches, parks, shopping areas, etc.

The problem was that blacks didn't have nearly the life opportunities that whites had. Their schools were underfunded and falling down, so a black kid growing up in a black neighborhood didn't have nearly the chance of going to college and bettering himself.

One of the basic fundamental values on which America was founded is the idea that every citizen has the same rights and privileges, the same governmental protections and legal status. This is why we don't have knighthoods or royalty or titles. Segregation violated that principle, making blacks 'second class citizens' for all intents and purposes.

Apartheid is now being practiced in Israel where Palestinians don't have the same rights as Jews. It's not called 'apartheid', but that's what it is.

Pakistani-American Arrested For Times Square Bomb Linked To Taliban?

Shahzad Faisal, a Pakistani-American, was arrested at John F Kennedy airport, a few hours ago, in connection with the attempt to set off a bomb in Times Square New York. The suspect is believed to have been trying to leave the country when authorities swooped.

Faisal, a naturalised American who had immigrated from Pakistan, had recently returned from a trip to Pakistan to his home in Connecticut which will be of major concern in light of videos received recently.

On Sunday the Pakistani Taliban released a video on the Internet in terms of which they claimed responsibility for the car bomb attempt on Times Square, New York.

In a second video, which was released by the Taliban in early April, their leader promised an attack on major U.S. cities "in some days or a month." The video does not make specific reference to the New York attack but the U.S. group monitoring terrorist traffic believes that the video is credible.

In the first video the Pakistani militants confirm that Times Square was revenge for the death of its leader, Baitullah Mehsud, and the recent slaying of al-Qaida leaders Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri, in Iraq.

Police and FBI agents said that they were looking for a second suspect, a man filmed on a tourist’s video camera running from the car shortly after it was parked in Times Square on Saturday.

They also want to identify a white man, aged in his forties, who was videotaped on surveillance cameras removing a shirt and putting it in a backpack.

The authorities will not have missed the fact that Faisal is from Pakistan the home of the Taliban who are threatening to wreak havoc on the U.S.

BP vows to clean up Gulf of Mexico oil slick

Oil giant BP has acknowledged it is "absolutely responsible" for cleaning up a huge oil spill after an explosion at one of its wells off the US coast.

But BP boss Tony Hayward said the firm was not to blame for the accident which sank the Deepwater Horizon rig on 22 April, causing the slick.

He said the equipment that failed belonged to drilling firm Transocean.

Both companies are expecting lawsuits over the slick, which threatens to cause major ecological damage.

US President Barack Obama has described the oil leak as a "potentially unprecedented" environmental disaster.

"BP is responsible for this leak. BP will be paying the bill," he said.

Slick 'heading to Florida'

The US government has been putting pressure on BP to act quickly.

In a BBC interview, Mr Hayward dismissed talk of a rift between BP and US officials.

Hundreds of people have been drafted in to help clean up the oil

"Despite some of the rhetoric we have established an incredible co-operative relationship with the federal authorities," he said.

"It's clear that we're working very well together. In terms of the responsibility, I want to be clear, this was not our accident but it is our responsibility to deal with the leak and clean up the oil."

Thousands of barrels of oil have been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico every day since the rig sank.

Some oil has washed ashore, but officials say the bulk of the slick remains a few miles from the Louisiana coastline.

The oil is already having a devastating effect on the area's fishing industry, and officials fear much wider environmental damage if the full slick hits land.

Forecasters said south-westerly winds on Monday were pushing the slick towards Florida.

Falling shares

Mr Hayward said BP was making a three-pronged effort to stop the leak:

• Undersea robots are working on the safety valve which failed, allowing the oil to escape
• A containment vessel is being sent to the site and would, in effect, suck up the escaped oil
• BP is drilling a new well to help relieve the pressure and stem the flow from the rupture

Experts warn that the cost of clearing up the spill could run into billions of dollars.

BP has said it will honour legitimate claims for compensation from people affected.

The firm's shares continued to fall on Monday, after previous trading had seen about $20bn wiped from its market value since the accident.

UK markets were closed on Monday, but BP's Frankfurt-listed shares opened 8% lower before clawing back some of the losses.

Analysts say the costs associated with the slick are uncertain, meaning that the share price was likely to remain volatile while the leak continues.

In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger withdrew his support for a plan to expand oil exploration off the state's coast.

He said seeing TV images of the spill in the Gulf had changed his mind about the safety of offshore oil platforms in the Pacific Ocean.

He had supported more drilling as a way to ease the state's budget deficit.

What are the different government parties in the USA?

In the USA there are two main parties:

Democrat

Republican

There are many other "3rd" party groups, with the most known being the Libertarian party and the Green party. Although these groups have never won a national election, they can play an important role in taking votes away from one on the major parties. Ross Perot's 3rd party campain in 1992 likely cost George H. W. Bush a re-election victory over Bill Clinton. Ralph Nader (Green Party) probably cost Al Gore the Election in 2001.

Although this is an over simplification and are not true for all members of the party, the basic beliefs are as follows.

Democrat:

Democrats hold a liberal or progressive philosophy towards social issues such as gay marriage (support) and abortion (support). They also claim to support the poor and middle class (i.g. support increase in the minimum wage, labor unions, social programs).

Fically speaking, they believe that the Federal government should take an active take steps to better society as a whole. They believe that the main role of the Federal government is to ensure national welfare. This means increasing taxes, particularly on the wealthy and on businesses who can afford it and using the revenue to fund social programs to help the poor. They are criticized as being the party of big government and government spending. The hero's of their party include FDR and Bill Clinton.

Republican:

Republicans hold a conservative or traditional philosophy towards social issues such as gay marriage (oppose) and abortion (oppose). They claim to support the middle class and small business (e.g. tax cuts and economic growth to create jobs).

Fiscally speacking, they beleive that the Federal government should play a passive role in bettering society because of the belief that private companies and local and state governments are more effective at meeting the people's needs than a large federal government. They beleive that the main role of the Federal government is to ensure national security. This means reducing taxes and ensuring a strong defense industry. They are criticized as beign the party of big business and the wealthy. The hero's of their party include Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan.