Web of Democracy

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…

- 'Shades of Katrina: No Help for Haitians who Need it Most' [SFBayview]

- Neo-con AEI think tank calls on "U.S. soldiers and Marines...to ensure Haiti's gangs - particularly those loyal to ousted President Aristide - are suppressed." [AEI's Center for Defense Studies]

- 2004 coup architect Roger Noriega (also now housed at AEI), calls for trusteeship, saying "The international community should help Haitians run their own affairs." [AEI Journal]

- Greg Palast: 'The Right Testicle of Hell: History of a Haitian Holocaust':

"Bless the President for having rescue teams in the air almost immediately. That was President Olafur Grimsson of Iceland. On Wednesday, the AP reported that the President of the United States promised, "The initial contingent of 2,000 Marines could be deployed to the quake-ravaged country within the next few days." "In a few days," Mr. Obama?" [GregPalast.com]

- 'Disaster Imperialism in Haiti' [MrZine]

- "'It has been four days since this thing,' the man, Jean-Claude Hilaire, began. 'And nobody has come yet. My area, Bel Air, is devastated. About 200,000 people have lost their homes. Twenty thousand — kids, pregnant women — are sleeping hungry in the local park. That's long enough. I need to know: is anybody coming? Is anybody going to do anything?'" [The Guardian, h/t]

- U.S. military turned away by Marines, forced to re-route through the Dominican Republic, "creating a 24-hour delay in setting up a crucial field hospital."

- U.S. posture stokes anger,…

Dan Freman-Maloy asks 'Can we move from crimes-as-charity to actual support for Haiti?':

"Over the past decade, the idea that more Western involvement in Haiti is always better has dovetailed with what Peter Hallward has flagged as "perhaps the most consistent theme of Western commentary on the island: that poor black people remain incapable of governing themselves." At a time when the need for international involvement is indeed urgent, it is all the more important to keep this racist tendency in check." [ZNet]

- Following up on what we flagged yesterday via The Smoking Gun, the mainstream media is now probing allegations surrounding the coup-supporter Wyclef Jean and his Yele NGO. [WaPo, AP]

- Tom Reeves follows up on a piece he wrote nearly six years ago, with 'Haiti, Where America Never Learns.' [Counterpunch]

- Patrick Cockburn laments, comparing Haiti to Hurricane Katrina, 'The US is failing Haiti - again." [Independent]

- Notice the contrast: Cuba lets Canada and the U.S. use its airspace for emergency relief, while the Pentagon takes control of Haiti's airport/airspace. 

- 'The Haitian tragedy and mainstream media response' [SFBayview]

- 'Up to 200,000 feared dead' [Al Jazeera]

- Canada deploying 1,000+ soldiers to Haiti [CTV]

- As always, go to Flashpoints for critical radio coverage of the situation on the ground. 

- Andrew Buncombe writes about Aristide's desire to return to his country, 'Discovered by Columbus, Built by France - and wrecked by Dictators' [Independent]

-…

 - 'Exiled in South Africa, Arisitide Says He Wants to Return to Haiti to “Help Rebuild the Country, Moving from Misery to Poverty with Dignity”: 

""We feel deeply and profoundly that we should be there, in Haiti, with them, trying our best to prevent death," said Aristide." [Democracy Now!, Washington Post, LA Times, US response (publicly) defers to Haitian gov't]

- Randall Robinson, author of An Unbroken Agony: Haiti, From Revolution to the Kidnapping of a President, decries Obama's reaching out to Bush to help Haiti relief efforts, "“Bush Was Responsible for Destroying Haitian Democracy” [Democracy Now!]

- Fidel Castro: 'Haiti's poverty an 'embarrassment for our times.'' [Javno]

- Bill Quigley, 'What the Mainstream Media Will not tell you about Haiti: Part of the Suffering of Haiti is 'Made in the USA,' and  'Ten Things the United States Can and Should do for Haiti.'

- Upwards of 10,000 US soldiers could be in Haiti by Monday, in part for anti-people measures, ie. "prevent rioting," coping with "civil unrest." The soldiers will be under US, not UN command.  [NYT]

- Already, the propaganda effect of a US military presence for humanitarian purposes is being cited. Lawrence Korb of the imperial brain trust's Center for American Progress, said, citing previous efforts in Indonesia, the Empire's "image...shot up as a result... “The use of the military in this way really undermines the Al Qaeda narrative,” he says." [CSM] 

- 'Cuba Increases Aid to Haiti' [Granma] 

- Estimates are…

URGENT APPEAL FOR THE PEOPLE OF HAITI

From the Canada Haiti Action Network

http://canadahaitiaction.ca/

January 14, 2010 Two days ago at 5 pm local time, a powerful magnitude-7 earthquake struck in Haiti. It was centred near the capital city Port-au-Prince and has caused massive destruction. The Canada Haiti Action Network urges Canadians and others around the world to contribute generously to emergency relief.

You can contribute to the Haitian Red Cross through its international partners in the International Red Cross. Contributions are tax deductible. The Canadian Red Cross is at:http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=33900&tid=001. We also encourage contributions to the following organizations. Remember that you must provide a name and return mailing address in order to receive a tax-deductible receipt:

Zanmi Lasante/ Partners in Health

The Zanmi Lasante medical center is located in the Central Plateau of Haiti and delivers health care through a network of clinics in that region of the country. It also trains Haitians as doctors and health professionals. The health center survived the earthquake and is moving to deliver aid to the disaster zone. Donations in the U.S. are tax deductible. To donate, go to:

http://www.pih.org/home.html

By mail, "Haiti Earthquake Relief" in cheque memo line to:

Partners In Health

P.O. Box 845578

Boston, MA 02284-5578

Doctors Without Borders/ Medecins sans frontières

Doctors Without Borders operates clinics in Port au Prince and surrounding…

We've been delinquent, in that we haven't yet reviewed this book yet (we've read it, and highly recommend it). But here is an opportunity to get the gist, from the author, David Gibbs, whose lecture aired on CSPAN last September, and is now available at Serbianna.com.

Peter Hallward, philosophy professor and author of Damming the Flood: Haiti, Aristide, and the Politics of Containment, writes in the Guardian:

"Any large city in the world would have suffered extensive damage from an earthquake on the scale of the one that ravaged Haiti's capital city on Tuesday afternoon, but it's no accident that so much of Port-au-Prince now looks like a war zone. Much of the devastation wreaked by this latest and most calamitous disaster to befall Haiti is best understood as another thoroughly manmade outcome of a long and ugly historical sequence...Along with sending emergency relief, we should ask what we can do to facilitate the self-empowerment of Haiti's people and public institutions. If we are serious about helping we need to stop ­trying to control Haiti's government, to pacify its citizens, and to exploit its economy. And then we need to start paying for at least some of the damage we've already done." [Guardian]

Nasser Hussain analyzes the doctrines behind the current COIN era in the latest Boston Review:

"At first blush, then, the counterinsurgency efforts appear a tactically superior, yet more humane and culturally sensitive alternative to earlier U.S. strategies in Iraq and Afghanistan. But a deeper understanding requires a sense of history. And even a cursory review of that history reveals the colonial roots of contemporary counterinsurgency theory and practice. Thus we have to ask: how feasible is a counterinsurgency strategy without the support of colonial institutions and practices?" [Boston Review]

- In the same issue Nir Rosen writes a blistering critique of COIN in Afghanistan; while COIN pundit/advocate Andrew Exum responded disingenuously with his 'hope' that "the Third Counterinsurgency Era will soon draw to a close." (For some reason, for Exum, the 'Indian Wars,' aka the colonial wars of extermination against indigenous peoples, evidently don't qualify as the U.S.'s first 'counterinsurgency era').

- In her article that exhibits wishful thinking more than an accurate assessment of the fate of COIN, 'The COINdinistas: Last Year’s News,' Kelly Vlahos nevertheless provides some useful insight. [Antiwar.com]

"Haiti hit by the first large earthquake in 240 years

Thousands may have been killed and tens of thousands left homeless. This is a moment in which your solidarity is of critical importance.

January 13, 2010

Dear Friends of Haiti:

Haiti has been hit by the first large earthquake in 240 years. The enormity of the effects of this devastating 7.0 quake are only barely understood at this time. Thousands may have been killed and tens of thousands left homeless. This is a moment in which your solidarity is of critical importance.

Haiti’s grassroots movement – including labor unions, women’s groups, educators and human rights activists, support committees for prisoners, and agricultural cooperatives – will attempt to funnel needed aid to those most hit by the earthquake. Grassroots organizers are doing what they can – with the most limited of funds – to make a difference. Please take this chance to lend them your support.

This is a time for all of us to act."

Got to Haiti Action for further details.

"In Canada, with the exception of a few editorials in the mainstream media, little attention has been paid to what is certainly one of the most important events in the hemisphere over the last decade. While Canada’s links to Central America are much less significant than those of the US, they are still worth exploring." [Dawn Paley, recently returned from Honduras, explores for The Dominion]

Flashpoints' Nora Barrows-Friedman writes for Electronic Intifada about the struggle for academic freedom on U.S. campuses around the question of Israel-Palestine:

"Educators who openly align with the BDS movement, or speak out against Israeli-US policy in Palestine and the region, are being harassed, threatened, blacklisted, denied tenure and fired from their academic posts......[B]y attacking, censoring and firing professors because of their political activism specifically on this issue, university students are disallowed the broad-based political education necessary to understand the reality in Israel-Palestine. The overall situation in this respect will only deteriorate unless, in contrast to the McCarthy era, public and academic outcry, organized protest and transformative praxis are marshaled to bring about a constructive reversal in the current, nefarious trend..." [Electronic Intifada] 

- On the Gaza front, Egypt has bolstered its support to the Israeli occupation by announcing a ban on aid convoys into the besieged Strip, days after deporting British MP George Galloway, who had led the most recent convoy, sparking clashes with Egyptian security forces. (Watch Al Jazeera's report, 'Inside Story: the politics behind the Viva Palestina convoy'; further details in Counterspin's recent interview with Sam Husseini). Meanwhile, Egypt continues to build the 'wall of death' in conjunction with Israel in order to shut off the tunnel system that helps keep the population…

 - 'Olympics, 21st Century Style': "Restrictions on art displays and signage critical of the upcoming February 2010 Winter Olympics and the creation of a massive high-tech security network are putting a damper in some residents' minds on what should be a celebratory sports extravaganza in Vancouver." [Paul Weinberg, for IPS]

 - 'Greenwashing at the Games: Heavy polluters look lighter as Olympic sponsors' [Chris Arsenault for The Dominion]

- 51 years running, 'Cuba registers 2nd lowest child mortality in the Americas' [Chinaview]

 - 'Cuba seeks sustainable socialism' [Al Jazeera]

 - 'Cuba rejects inclusion on U.S. terrorism black list': Cuba "does not recognize any moral authority of the U.S. government to certify its inclusion and that of the Cubans on this type of list." [La Prensa]

- Although the headline is misleading in that the aftermath of the bombing of the CIA's Forward Operating Base in Khost on December 30th has not yet verified that DIA contractors were either targeted or killed*, Eva Golinger's recent article, 'CIA Agents Assassinated in Afghanistan Worked for “Contractor” Active in Venezuela, Cuba,' provides important context, including the largely ignored targeting of a DAI office in Gardez province on December 15th, reported here. 

- The New York Times reports the latest concerning the detained DAI contractor in Cuba: "A Cuban official said Wednesday that an American contractor detained last month in Havana for distributing communications equipment to community groups worked for “the American secret services." [NYT]

- *Jeremy Scahill reports that two of the killed in Khost were Blackwater/XE contractors, whose ties to the CIA were supposed to have been cut: "A leading member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has told The Nation that she will launch an investigation into why two Blackwater contractors were among the dead in the December 30…

This is one of the most interesting articles we've yet come across in this new decade:

"The technique of a coup d’état, more recently also referred to as "coloured revolution", finds its origins in an abundant bibliography dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. It was successfully applied by the U.S. neo-conservatives to set the stage for "regime change" in a number of former Soviet republics. However, the technique backfired when it was tried in a different cultural environment (Venezuela, Lebanon, Iran). John Laughland*, who reported on some of these operations for the Guardian, sheds new light on this phenomenon." [Voltairenet]

*Laughland, heard regularly on The Taylor Report, is European Director of the European Foundation, of which we know little.

"Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa revealed on Sunday that his administration has discovered a conspiracy aimed at destabilizing the government and prepare the floor for a coup d’état, the local media reported...In a public broadcast, Correa assured that they have "intelligence reports that support with data and figures that conspirators have being receiving help not just from the US government, but from US right wing organizations." [Periodico 26, WSJ]

- In related news, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has denounced Newsweek for its prediction that the military will "depose Chavez":

"In a lengthy televised New Year's address, Chavez, who has taken Castro's position as Latin America's leading critic of U.S. power, described Newsweek as "the empire's magazine." "They feed on hatred and the wishes of the imperialism that they represent -- big money, big newspapers, the TV stations of the global bourgeoisie," he said." [Reuters]

...via a disturbing development from inside one of the countries that comprises the anglo-American 'Australia-Canada-New Zealand-UK-US working group':

"NEW CYBER-MONITORING measures have been quietly introduced giving police and Security Intelligence Service (SIS) officers the power to monitor all aspects of someone's online life. The measures are the largest expansion of police and SIS surveillance capabilities for decades, and mean that all mobile calls and texts, email, internet surfing and online shopping, chatting and social networking can be monitored anywhere in New Zealand. In preparation, technicians have been installing specialist spying devices and software inside all telephone exchanges, internet companies and even fibre-optic data networks between cities and towns, providing police and spy agencies with the capability to monitor almost all communications...Official papers obtained by the Star-Times show that, despite government claims that it was done for domestic reasons, the new New Zealand spying capabilities are part of a push by United States agencies to have standardised surveillance capabilities available for their use from governments worldwide." [Sunday Star Times]

- Speaking of disturbing developments, 'First body scanners in Canadian airports by March':

"The federal government says it is moving to install X-ray body scanners in 44 Canadian cities including Toronto's Pearson Airport. The first eight machines in major airports across the country would be…

The Star's Haroon Siddiqui, who says Mr. Harper resembles an "elected dictator," explained before the Conservatives arbitrarily suspended Parliament until March 3rd, 2010 (they did so on December 30, 2009):

"Stephen Harper is centralizing power in the PMO on an unprecedented scale; defying Parliament (by refusing to comply with a Commons vote demanding the files on Afghan prisoner abuse); derailing public inquiries (by a parliamentary committee and the Military Police Complaints Commission); muzzling/firing civil servants; demonizing critics; and dragging the military into the line of partisan political fire...The extent of Harper's misuse of power becomes clearer when you realize that the Conservatives are replicating some of the worst practices of the Republicans under George W. Bush and Dick Cheney..."[More at the Toronto Star; h/t: December in Review Part II]

Elsewhere, Murray Dobbin writes:

"The second prorogation of Parliament in a year demonstrates an absolute contempt for democracy. It is, even to the compliant and conservative media pundits, a transparent effort to cool off the Afghan torture issue which threatened to regain momentum, lost when Parliament recessed for Christmas. The arrogance of the government was further demonstrated in its half-hearted effort to even come up with an excuse -- saying that a new Parliament is needed now that the economic crisis has moved to the recovery stage." [Rabble]

Also check out Keith Jones' '…