Web of Democracy

- A translated version of this article will appear in the next issue of the Paris-based French weekly newspaper, Courrier International.

Converging to Resist Vancouver 2010 and its Legacy

By Anthony Fenton

Vancouver, BC,  Feb 8, 2010 - Historical conflicts and contradictions will 'play' themselves out during and after the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Beginning in the 1960s, Vancouver created a legacy for itself as a leading voice among the metropoles of the globe as an advocate for peace, a haven for U.S. war resisters, and a hub of anti-nuclear activism. 

The now-global environmental activist organization, Greenpeace, was founded here. Vancouver remains one of four Canadian cities that has been declared nuclear-free. The high point of Vancouver's peace activism came in the mid-1980's with massive mobilizations for peace and for an end to the Arms Race. 

On the other hand, Vancouver has, in recent decades, been a paragon of neoliberalism, has always had a colonial relationship with the Indigenous peoples whose land they've stolen, and is home to the most impoverished neighborhood in the country. For Vancouver, the neoliberal situation emerged in a period following the last time the city hosted a global event, the world's fair of 1986 (Expo 86). 

Like Vancouver 2010, Expo 86 required gentrification and dislocation of the homeless, argues the Olympic Resistance Network. "Opposition to Expo 86 was difficult to organize, however, as government & corporate organizers…

Haiti updates will continue but may be more sporadic as the Vancouver 2010 Olympics - which we'll be on the streets covering - approach. Follow Fenton's twitter feed for the latest...

- 'The Vultures Circle Haiti at Every Opportunity, Natural or Man-Made': "[T]alk of sweatshops might seem more than a little garish the morning after such a disaster, but this was hardly the first time Haiti had been targeted for such 'sweatshop development' and foreign players are obviously eager to turn the exponential increase in the bitterness of Haitian existence into profitable lemonade." (We'll forgive Boychuk for poaching part of one of our headlines, and strongly encourage you to read the full version over at MRZine, or a Coles Notes version at The Georgia Straight)

- Speaking of sweatshops, on a recent episode of The Current, CBC caught up with a member of one of Haiti's wealthiest families, Clifford Apaid, heir apparent to his father, coup-plotter Andy's sweatshop empire (the Apaid's lost "six mansions" and two housekeepers in the earthquake). CBC gets us up to speed on the current state and possible future of Haiti's sweatshop sector. CBC's correspondent in Port au Prince, David Gutnick, also reports:

"[T]here is a lot of talk in the business community promoting a special kind of tax status for the industrial parks; companies could have things made in Haiti and then import them into the United States or Canada more cheaply. Would it bring more jobs here? Good jobs? It's all just speculation. And Haitian trade unions and human rights activists are watching this very closely." [CBC's The Current; note: we're not sure how much more "special" the tax status could…

UCSB sociologist William I. Robinson interviewed by Chronis Polychroniou, Editor, Greek daily newspaper Eleftherotypia ("free press").

"The Bolivarian process faces contradictions, problems, and limitations, as do all historic projects! I would say that both the Venezuelan revolution and also the Bolivian and Ecuadoran processes, may be coming up against the limits of redistributive reform within the logic of global capitalism, especially given the crisis of global capitalism. Anti-neo-liberalism that does not challenge more fundamentally the very logic of capitalism runs up against limitations that may now have been reached. It may be that the best or the only defense of the revolution is to radicalize and deepen the revolutionary process, to push forward structural transformations that go beyond redistribution. The fact is that the Venezuelan bourgeoisie may have been displaced in part from political power but it is still very much in economic control. Breaking that economic control implies a more significant change in property and class relations. This in turn means breaking the domination of capital, of global capital and its local agents. Naturally this is a Herculian task. There is no clear way forward and each step generates complex new contradictions and Gordian knots. Of course these are matters the whole Global Left must contemplate." [ZNet]

Yesterday, the Associated Press reported on the sanitation and water shortage crisis in Haiti. They also followed up on reports that the U.S. military is refusing to evacuate patients in need of medical care because of disputes over who will foot the bill. The military officer to confirm the potentially life-costing move? Canadian Brigadier-General Nicolas Matern:

"The coordinator of humanitarian assistance with the U.S.-run Joint Task Force-Haiti, Canadian Brig. Gen. Nicolas Matern, confirmed that the evacuation flights were halted on Wednesday."

The website of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, confirms that BG Matern, who arrived there on military exchange in 2007, is still Deputy Commanding General for Operations of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg.

Interestingly, the Army Times ran a piece featuring the 82nd Airborne Division out of Ft. Bragg, 'Haiti aid mission uses lessons of war,' which describes how the experience of "of dealing with counterinsurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan, the lessons learned there...apply here to the job of distributing food and water and providing medical help." Playing up the 'population-centric' propaganda of the neo-colonial COIN efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Times writes, "Soldiers with the 82nd train for humanitarian missions such as disaster relief, but the focus on counterinsurgency has made troops more sensitive."

Recall, ironically, that whereas the mainstream Canadian media has sanitized the February 29, 2004 - August 2004…

Web of Democracy's Haiti earthquake aftermath round-up for January 29-31. Updates as/when necessary. Note: mainstream media coverage is slowing down to a trickle, but this website will continue to follow events closely. 

- Mumia Abu-Jamal, 'Haiti's Suffering': "s we near two weeks after the devastating earthquake and terrifying aftershocks in Port-au-Prince and Zacmel, Haiti, we face the inevitable media wall, that closes up, unless a story emerges of such surprise and delight that it's able to shine through. For the media light, by it's very nature, must move on -- to the new, to the odd, to the freaky...But long before the earthquake of Jan. 12th, Haiti has been exposed to unique and vicious attacks for centuries, for daring to fight for, and win, Black freedom.Many people are amazed that Haitians are being found alive, after being buried under tons of rubble, for 10,11,12 days, with no food or water. I too shared that feeling. Be we forget that poverty and food insecurity in Haiti has meant the average Haitian  ate only one meal every 2 -- or 3 -- days!..They've deserved far more than they've received.  They breathed freedom into the lungs, not only of Blacks, but of millions of Latin Americans who chafed under Spanish colonial rule. They deserve wellness, health, self determination, prosperity, justice and peace. For 200 years, they've received none of this." [ZNet] 

- Isabel Macdonald writes, ''New Haiti,' Same Corporate Interests': "In the wake of the earthquake that…

We'd missed this nearly month-old story

'Canada Takes On The Yes Men After Copenhagen Prank, Fails Miserably':

"Back during the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December, the [Yes Men] teamed up with anonymous Canadian activists and used press releases and fake websites to announce that Canada would adopt science-based emission targets – reducing emissions by 40% over 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% by 2050. The news received enormous media attention across Canada and, according to The Greener Pages, caused at least two embarrassing media moments for Canadian high officials. In response, the government strong armed an ISP into taking down the two fake sites — and simultaneously knocking out 4500 others in the process." [From Ecorazzi, who point to original]:

"The government of Canada has used strong-arm tactics to shut down two parody websites criticizing Canada's poor environmental policy, taking down 4500 other websites in the process...The two websites, "enviro-canada.ca" and "ec-gc.ca", are "directly connected to a hoax which misleads people into believing that the Government of Canada will take certain actions in relation to environmental matters," wrote Mike Landreville from Environment Canada in an email to the German Internet Service Provider (ISP) Serverloft. "We trust you appreciate the importance of avoiding confusion among the public concerning Canadian governmental affairs and that you will assist us in preventing this hoax from spreading further." In a remarkable…

- Every day this week, Kevin Pina is reporting from Haiti for Flashpoints.

- 'Jean Saint-Vil: Canada should own up to hosting 2003 summit to plot Aristide's overthrow': Article accompanies video interview. [StraightGoods]

- Jamie Stern-Weiner's written a great piece, Haiti & Gaza: The Political Economy of Humanitarianism': "The contrast between the response of our political and intellectual classes to the devastation in Haiti on the one hand and the “humanitarian implosion” in Gaza on the other is striking. There was no star-studded ‘Hope for Gaza’ benefit gig last year when US-backed Israeli forces systematically pounded Gaza’s civilian infrastructure to rubble, killing some 1,400 people in the process...This disparity is particularly shameful given that, whereas what is needed in Haiti is a huge reconstruction effort (specifically one designed to empower Haitians rather than further subjugate them to external forces), all that is required in Gaza is that we stop actively participating in and facilitating the destruction." [New Left Project]

- 'Brazilian soldiers spray tear gas at crowd of Haitians rushing for food aid' [Washington Post]

- 'Haiti Earthquake May Have Exposed Gas, Aiding Economy': “A geologist, callous as it may seem, tracing that fault zone from Port-au-Prince to the border looking for gas and oil seeps, may find a structure that hasn’t been drilled,” said Pierce, exploration manager at Zion Oil & Gas Inc., a Dallas- based company that’s drilling in Israel.…

Recall the story reported in Vue Weekly last October:

"Three Canadian companies have recently been involved in attempts to bid on two gas fields and one oil field as part of the First Afghan Hydrocarbon Bidding Round. At least one of the gas fields is expected to feed into the TAPI pipeline."

The Wall Street Journal reported today:

"Afghanistan to Delay Awarding Concessions for Mineral Deposits':

"Afghanistan plans to delay awarding concessions for a major iron ore deposit and sizeable oil and gas reserves as part of a broader effort to stamp out corruption, the country's finance minister said. The move by Afghanistan could upend the plans of Total SA, [Canada and] Swiss-based Addax Petroleum Corp. and Canada-based Nations Petroleum Co., all of which were among the seven finalists selected last year for oil and gas blocks in the country's northwest...[Afghan-Canadian Finance Minister Omar] Mr. Zakhilwal would not directly say whether he believed bidding for any of the projects - the iron ore deposit, the oil and gas reserves and scores of other smaller mineral deposits — had been marred by bribery, kickbacks or other forms of corruption." [WSJ]

- 'Haitians Disappointed with Preval, Long for Aristide': "[Ms. Danny Dadol]: I'd like for Preval to take care of the country, but the country doesnt want him. They'd rather have Aristide to come and help him out, because Aristide would do a better job." [Audio & Transcript at NPR]

- UN occupation forces use pepper spray on hungry Haitians in aid queue, soldier calls them "animals." [AFP]

- WSWS reports on yesterday's Montreal Conference, '“Reconstructing Haiti” on starvation wages': "Government ministers, international bankers and aid agencies gathered in Montreal Monday to discuss plans for reconstructing earthquake-ravaged Haiti. At the heart of their proposals is the exploitation of Haitian workers at poverty wages. The conference offered nothing concrete in terms of new assistance, instead scheduling a donors meeting at the United Nations in March. Much of the rhetoric coming out of the gathering seemed to bear little relationship to the situation on the ground in Haiti...In reality, Haiti is now being run by the US military, which has deployed over [20,000] troops and unilaterally taken control of the country’s airport and port facilities..." [WSWS]

- Amidst the talking points emerging from the meeting that 'Haiti must lead,' there are already clear indications that the intent is to merely maintain a Haitian facade (as even the Globe and Mail noted in its January 20th editorial, prior to the earthquake "Haiti was already in effect a…

Special to the Web of Democracy, by guest contributor, Dr. Ock.

Avatar: A Sci-Fi Critique of Corporate Imperialism

The new James Cameron sci-fi epic Avatar has been described by some entertainment pundits as a "game changer", taking movie making into a whole new era. Some folks I spoke to couldn't even describe the primary plot line to me because it was so epic, they just said I had to see it for myself. Finally someone told me it was quite political, depicting  corporate capitalisms thirst for resources and the callous destruction of an entire culture in it's wake. Sounds like a fairly progressive theme for a sci-fi thriller, all packed into 3D fun!

So I went to see this ground breaking piece of cinema, all 160 minutes of it. It turns out that the first 60 minutes or so we do see a rather critical portrayal of a "human" (imperialist) mining company trying to extract expensive resources by whatever means necessary, coercion, bribery, trickery, or just plain brute military force that might turn into genocide. Clearly these humans are evil, with the exception of the scientists, who are more sympathetic to the native Pandorians, and prefer to peacefully deceive the natives with generosity and education, so long as they leave their Homeland (actually, Hometree) and make way for the bulldozers. Even less evil are the deceptive "Avatar" (meaning proxy) bodies that the scientists have genetically grown in the labs, so they can pose as Pandorians rather than the white skinned humans…

- 'The Ford Foundation and the Co-option of Dissent': "While most progressive writers have failed to document the power of liberal philanthropy to co-opt the processes of social change, Naomi Klein, in her book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (Random House, 2007), provides a rare counter example. This historical anomaly -- for her and other radical writers -- revolves around her description of the support that liberal foundations provided for training the intellectual elites that seized the reins of power in both Chile and Indonesia in the 1960s and 1970s." [Swans]

- 'Corporations are Citizens - What are We?': "There you have it. Corporations are our new citizens. And you? If you're lucky, you get to make a choice: consumer, warrior or prisoner. Which will it be?" [Truthout]

- 'Taking Stock of the Drone Surge': "[S]ince a devastating December 30th suicide attack by a Jordanian double agent on a CIA forward operating base in Afghanistan, unmanned aerial drones have been hunting humans in the Af-Pak war zone at a record pace. In Pakistan, an "unprecedented number" of strikes -- which have killed armed guerrillas and civilians alike -- have led to more fear, anger, and outrage in the tribal areas, as the CIA, with help from the U.S. Air Force, wages the most public "secret" war of modern times." [Tom Dispatch via CBS]

- 'DynCorp's Iraq Contracts with U.S. are Scrutinized' [WSJ] (Note: From 2003-2006, many Royal Canadian Mounted Police worked alongside…

- 'A harsh history of Canada in Haiti': "Most Canadians are just now catching wind of what the evil Canadian foreign policy has wrought in the region. We’ve got blood on our hands, so forgive me if it’s a little hard for some of us to get excited about all the telethons and such to raise money for relief efforts. Canada for Haiti? Curious." [NowToronto]

- Haiti's PM Jean-Max Bellerive arrives in Ottawa, meets behind closed doors with PM Harper. The Summit is being spun as an opportunity for Haiti to show its "getting its own handle on the crisis," while "[Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon also said he wanted to strengthen Haiti's accountability and its political power at the Montreal conference. "We must and we need to arrive at a common understanding and commitment on certain basic principles of responsibility, accountability and long-term engagement," Cannon said...[S]enior Canadian officials are extremely sensitive to the accountability of the Haitian government - one more reason to begin strengthening its hand so that money isn't squandered or stolen. Senior government officials said Sunday that representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank will be "in the room, at the table" during Monday's talks in an advisory capacity." [CP]

- 'Mea Culpa': progressive writer admits he got it wrong on Canada's role in Haiti: "Sometimes you get things wrong. A couple of people have forcefully…

- U.S. gets more control over Haiti: "The United States on Friday secured formal approval for the U.S. military to help oversee all Haitian air and sea ports, and to help secure Haitian roads in support of international relief efforts, according to an agreement signed in Haiti by the United States and the United Nations. The pact gives Haitian authorities and the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti primary responsibility for maintaining law and order in the earthquake-ravaged country. But it grants the United States broad scope to intervene in civil disturbances, subject to a request by Haitian authorities...Friday's pact simply formalizes powers that the U.S. military has already been exercising in Haiti...U.S. officials said the absence of Haiti's signature on the security agreement does not mean that Haitians are being excluded from the decision-making." [Washington Post]

- Colonial ambitions: The Economist calls for a formal protectorate/"temporary authority" to run Haiti. [The Economist]

- The Nation on the the small victory which found the IMF switch a $100 million loan to Haiti into a no strings attached grant, in the face of popular angst. [The Nation]

- Meanwhile, the World Bank sees a "silver lining" in the disaster, much like they saw a "window of opportunity" for the implementation of the neoliberal death plan following Aristide's overthrow in 2004.

- Headline aside ('Haiti needs international community to keep momentum'), a rare column from Canadian mainstream…

- 'Securing disaster: The US repeats past mistakes in Haiti': "The American-led mission in Port-au-Prince, Peter Hallward writes, has put military stability before humanitarian needs in a painful echo of Haiti’s past." [The National]

- U.S. Occupation Forces in Haiti to Grow to 20,000 by Jan 24th [DoD]

- 'Covering Haiti: When the Media is the Disaster': "Soon after almost every disaster the crimes begin:  ruthless, selfish, indifferent to human suffering, and generating far more suffering. The perpetrators go unpunished and live to commit further crimes against humanity. They care less for human life than for property. They act without regard for consequences. I’m talking, of course, about those members of the mass media whose misrepresentation of what goes on in disaster often abets and justifies a second wave of disaster.  I’m talking about the treatment of sufferers as criminals, both on the ground and in the news, and the endorsement of a shift of resources from rescue to property patrol. They still have blood on their hands from Hurricane Katrina, and they are staining themselves anew in Haiti." [Tom Dispatch]

- '“Civilizing” Haiti': "Amid evocations of a desperate people and festering landscape, the media and the “humanitarian” community continue to ignore the history of the island. Without reference to the foreign occupation, intervention, and exploitation that define the Haitian political experience, we cannot appreciate the sinister politics of Clinton and Bush’s…

"Tracie Washington, co-director of the Louisiana Justice Institute, Washington said today: "The real looting in Haiti is not the people trying to get food to survive. The real looting of Haiti is the economic policies of the U.S. and France, as well as institutions such as the IMF and World Bank, in addition to the disaster capitalism that is fast setting in." [Institute for Public Accuracy]

- Denunciations are circling the web over CNN's sensationalistic coverage. 'Tell CNN to stop hyping fears of violence in Haiti. For shame.' [Mediahacker.org]

- 'Haiti's Classquake': "Geographer Kenneth Hewitt coined the term 'classquake' in examining the 1976 earthquake in Guatemala that cost the lives of 23,000 people, because of the accuracy with which it struck down the poor.  The classquake in Haiti today is much worse, compounded by decades of capitalist globalization and U.S. intervention." [Jeb Sprague via MrZine]

- 'Vancouver activist slams Canada’s role in "undermining" Haiti': "“Every country that has been culpable in the last 25 years for the undermining of Haiti’s economic and social infrastructure definitely shares some responsibility,” [the Canada Haiti Action Network's Roger] Annis added. “[Prime Minister Stephen] Harper’s new to the file. It was the Paul Martin [Liberal] government that sent troops into Haiti in 2004.” Harper has “quite willingly” continued with the policies started by his Liberal predecessor, according to Annis." [Georgia Straight]

- CIA contractor,…

- Democracy Now provides first day of coverage from Haiti:

'Doctor: Misinformation and Racism Have Frozen Recovery Effort at General Hospital in Port-au-Prince'

'Actor and Activist Danny Glover on Legacy of US-Haitian Relations Dating Back to 1804'

'“Haiti is Shaken to the Core”: Amy Goodman Reports from Port-au-Prince'

'“Haiti is Like Gaza”: Sharif Abdel Kouddous on Haiti a Week After the Earthquake'

- Colleague Justin Podur, with whom we travelled to Haiti in 2005, posts video-blog about 'Haiti Earthquake Context.' . [Part 1 & Part 2 can both be viewed here ].

- Echoing the Canada Haiti Action Network, the Canadian Peace Alliance calls for genuine humanitarian relief, not aid militarization. [CPA]

- 'U.S. Military Tightens Grip on Haiti': "Fearing mass protests and riots by desperate Haitians against inadequate rescue efforts, US logistical efforts are focused on massing tens of thousands of troops for use against the population." [WSWS]

- Hip-hop artist Immortal Technique wrote a gripping essay in response to the crisis, ''From the First of the Blacks to the First of the Whites' (Reflections on the Haitian Rev...)' [MySpace Blog]

- One of the most inspiring stories of solidarity to emerge to date. 'Gazans Collect Donations to Haiti': "Palestinians in the impoverished and besieged Gaza Strip gathered on Monday at the Red Cross headquarters in Gaza to offer donations and financial support to the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti." [IMEMC]

- Journalist Reed…

Toward the end of this 4:00 minute clip aired nationally on CTV News last night, Haitian-Canadian activist Jean Saint-Vil used the last minute to flip the script on the news anchor, demanding reparations from France for the billions they stole from Haiti:

"...And while we're speaking about France, there's a lot of connection between France, Canada, and Haiti here. As you know, our Governor-General was born in Haiti, her husband is French, herself, she has French...citizenship, and is a sister that I know as well, even before she became that famous. I am sending a clear message to our sister Michaëlle Jean, asking her to please send that message to President Sarkozy of France, that it is time that France returns the $40 billion ransom that it collected at gunpoint from the Haitian state between 1825 and 1947, totally crippling all abilities of the Haitian state to build an infrastructure for itself coming straight out of 312 of racial slavery which enriched not only the French Crown, the British Crown, and the Americans. It is time now to move away from this paradigm, and use high tech , use all the knowledge that we have in science and technology, that's the world in which I live, and bring that and build university's in Haiti, build research centres in Haiti; we don't need mobilize thousands of soldiers, when people are looking for food, water, and medicine." [CTV.ca]

- Taliban launch well-coordinated attack in Kabul:

"At least 15 people including 10 Taliban insurgents were killed and 62 others wounded in well-coordinated attacks with rockets, bombs and gunfire on high-security government offices in downtown Kabul on Monday...Several blasts were heard as gunshots rang out from 9.30am to 3.45pm across the city after a group of 20 suicide bombers -- led by Mullah Muhammad -- sneaked into the capital and launched coordinated attacks on the Presidential Palace, Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) and the Ministry of Mines...The insurgents also targeted the Ministries of Finance and Justice as well as the high-security Serena Hotel. A number of government servants remained trapped inside the buildings as the guerrillas traded fire with the security forces." [Pajhwok, more at Al Jazeera, video report via Rethink Afghanistan]

- From StopWar.blogspot.com:

Afghans 'do not hide their hatred' of Canadian troops:

In this BBC translation of a January 15 broadcast of Al-Jazeera Arabic, Kabul correspondent Waliyullah Shahin reports on a Canadian Forces operation in the Panjwai district:

(Shahin:) These forces realize that danger is looming everywhere. They proceed with extreme caution in the Taleban movement's stronghold, which lies a few kilometers away from the city of Kandahar. They are trying to win the hearts and minds of the people of the Panjwai District, which was the scene of large-scale operations.

(Captain Peter, Canadian contingent:) We are visiting…