Apartheid apology sought in S.Africa
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP)
- Nearly seven years after apartheid
ended, white South Africans
are being urged to formally apologize
for the policy of racial separation
and to give money to help mend
the economic divisions it brought
about. The campaign, coordinated
by a loose-knit group of mainly
white South Africans, asks whites to
sign a declaration saying they
actively or passively supported
apartheid and owe it to South
African blacks to overcome its legacy.
It asks them to donate money
or time to help blacks. "It's necessary
for whites to acknowledge that
we were all beneficiaries of
apartheid and need to respond
with real positive action," campaign
chairman Carl Niehaus said Tuesday.
"There is a sense of
disappointment among the black
community that whites are not
committed to the new South Africa."
The country remains divided
along racial lines, with many
blacks still living in poverty and
many whites maintaining affluent
lifestyles. Racially motivated
violence is not uncommon.
IBM CEO: Expect more outsourcing
NEW YORK (AP) - IBM chairman
and CEO Louis Gerstner said Tuesday that
the Internet should lead to
more outsourcing by companies as a way
to increase business, but not
at the expense of personal privacy.
Speaking at the eBusiness Conference
and Expo at in New York,
Gerstner said Internet taxation
and protection of intellectual
property are important topics,
but consumers remain concerned about
keeping their information private.
The issue of privacy, and using
the information properly, could
have the effect of stifling further
business growth on the Internet,
if it's not used properly, he said
He said thousands of consumers
routinely give made-up information on
Web sites because they're fearful
of how it could be used, or
misused. Just two weeks ago,
IBM named its first "privacy czar,"
Harriet P. Pearson, and Gerstner
urged other companies to do the
same. Gerstner said IBM is looking
at more outsourcing as a
commercial tool of the Internet
economy. He said the company will
spend $4 billion in the next
three years on developing e-sourcing
tools.