Web of Democracy

Thanks to ZNet for republishing my post, 'Warriors of Disinformation: Canada, Afghanistan, and the Fake Olympic Truce.' The photo above was taken at the 'Vancouver 2010 Olympic Truce' display at the Vancouver Public Library, February 19, 2010. A report today confirms at least 28 civilians have died as part of NATO's propaganda/counterinsurgency campaign, Operation Mushtarak, in Helmand. Another 27 civilians were killed in an airstrike Monday near Uruzgan’s border with Day Kundi province. Meanwhile, thousands of Afghans are reported to be fleeing Marjah, the focal point of the Op Mushtarak offensive. And the Olympic 'truce' continues. More to come on this soon...

- My latest article is but one of a few that have reported on the emerging role of private contractors in post-earthquake Haiti of late: 'Private Contractors 'Like Vultures Coming to Grab the Loot': 'Critics are concerned that private military contractors are positioning themselves at the centre of an emerging "shock doctrine" for earthquake-ravaged Haiti.' [IPS]

- 'Helping Haiti, for a Price Private security contractors begin to capitalize on the disaster': "With the U.S. government already pledging more than $183 million in aid to Haiti as of late January, it’s “inevitable” that long-term relief efforts will end up being contracted out to private U.S. firms, says David Isenberg, an independent analyst of private military and security contractors and the author of Shadow Force: Private Security Contractors in Iraq." [Jeremy Gantz writing for In These Times]

- 'Watch this Investment Summit on Haiti: Concerns over two-day Miami event': "Caricom, which participated in the Montreal Conference and which has been mandated by Haiti to function as its special advocate at international fora in relation to the country's post-earthquake reconstruction, received no invitation or official information about this upcoming summit. At the time of writing two days ago, the indication given was that it was "most unlikely" that Caricom would have an official present at the scheduled investment summit." [Rickey Singh for the Jamaica Observer]

- The Center for Economic and Policy Research has set…

On the one hand, a so-called 'Olympic Truce' has been activated for the duration of the 2010 Olympic Games. On the other, simultaneously, the largest NATO counterinsurgency offensive since the illegal 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, commenced. The NATO 'surge' into Marja, Helmand Province, dubbed Operation Mushtarak ("together") was preceded by what CanWest calls "weeks of [NATO's] public propaganda about when and where it was going to take place."  The operation is premised on "protecting the population," and seeking to 'clear hold, and build' followed by the roll-out of "government-in-a-box." The public can anticipate massive amounts of propaganda in the days to come, not only in relation to this operation, but a similarly-styled offensive that is planned, this time reportedly under Canadian leadership, for Kandahar Province.

As Derrick O'Keefe wrote over at Rabble.ca, :

"It's now fair to speculate that the Games have been used even more cynically -- as cover for a massive new NATO offensive in Afghanistan that has already claimed many Afghan civilians' lives. Operation Moshtarak, with Canadian Forces participation, was launched in the southern province of Helmand on Feb. 12, the day of the Opening Ceremonies in Vancouver.

It's been widely reported that upwards of twenty civilians have been killed in the offensive thus far.

 The above is a follow up to an important piece O'Keefe wrote previously, '1980 Summer Olympics boycott echoes…

By Anthony Fenton
VANCOUVER, Feb 15, 2010 (IPS) - The 2010 Winter Olympics opened with the largest protest convergence in the history of the Games.

Approximately 3,000 protesters of diverse backgrounds converged on Vancouver Friday afternoon, assembling for a peaceful yet boisterous rally and march through the downtown streets to the steps of BC Place, the site of the Games' opening ceremonies. As throngs of activists filled the Vancouver Art Gallery - indigenous, anti-capitalist, anti-corporate, environmentalist, anarchist, anti-war, pro-civil liberty, and anti-poverty alike - speakers laid out a laundry list of grievances against the Games. [Read on at IPS]

- A translated version of this article will appear in the next issue of the Paris-based French weekly newspaper, Courrier International. [Update: the translated version is here, titled 'Prêts à l’action contre les JO']

Another update: Vancouver Media Co-op has graciously re-posted my article on their website. There, they included the photo above, which was taken by indy photo-journo Chris Bevacqua, whose work you can check out at NoFutureFace.

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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…

- CNN thinks that Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier should be the one they interview in order to "get a better understanding of his family’s legacy in Haiti." I say they track down Michel-Rolph Trouillot, author of Haiti: State Against Nation, The Origins & Legacy of Duvalierism.

- 'The 'shock doctrine' for Haiti: Ashley Smith reports that the U.S. is reviving what Haitians call "the plan of death." [Socialist Worker]

- 'Haiti Numbers - 27 Days After the Quake.' Long-time Haiti solidarity activist and law professor Bill Quigley compiles a sort of 'Harper's Index' for the post-earthquake crisis. [Truthout]

- 'If Obama can do it then why can't Haiti's Preval?' [a column by Kevin Pina on a recent press conference held by the Lavalas base in Cite Soleil, calling on President Rene Preval to allow Aristide to Return, via HaitiAction]

- 'Haiti: hunger sparks growing protests': "On Sunday, Haiti saw one of its largest protests since the January 12 earthquake, as four weeks after the disaster, frustration with continuing hunger and homelessness mount. Thousands of demonstrators, most of them women, marched through the streets of Petionville, a Port-au-Prince suburb, denouncing the local mayor, Lydie Parent, for hoarding food for resale and not distributing it to the hungry." [WSWS]

- 'U.S, Firms want part in Haiti cleanup': "It's unclear at this point who will be awarding the cleanup contracts, but there is big money…

Jon Elmer has been pretty much the only Canadian journalist covering the evolution and implications of the controversial program overseen by Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, the U.S. Security Coordinator for the Israel-Palestinian Authority. In 2008, he wrote this key article for Briarpatch, "Fighting in the Gaza Ghetto," followed by 'U.S. Takes Aim Over Jordan's Shoulder' last November for IPS. Today, Elmer has broken further details in a story for Al Jazeera, ''A prescription for civil war':

"Abu Abdullah has never been charged with a crime, but he has been arrested by Palestinian security forces so many times in the past two years that he has lost count...The arrests are part of a wider plan being executed by Palestinian security forces - trained and funded by American and European backers - to crush opposition and consolidate the Fatah-led government's grip on power in the West Bank...Under the auspices of Lieutenant-General Keith Dayton, the US security coordinator, these security forces receive hands-on training from Canadian, British and Turkish military personnel at a desert training centre in Jordan. The programme has been carefully coordinated with Israeli security officials..."

Although the piece only contains a passing reference to Canada's role, the Canadian contribution, dubbed "Operation Proteus," is considered to be integral by the Americans (and, by the Canadians to foreign policy interests in the region, and Canada-U.S.…

- 'Haiti and its Canadian Media Presentation': Analysis of a Maclean's magazine cover story on Haiti ("Horror in Haiti"). [Pacific Free Press]

- 'Building a new Haiti': "News reports still insist on the question of security, as if the pressing problem were the need to maintain public order. This argument has been used to justify placing Haitian society under the direct control of the US military...The assumption of control over the airport and the naval blockade around the island's coasts are, by any definition, acts of occupation...It seems very clear that the US government is controlling Haiti to ensure that its own interests are paramount in the rebuilding process. " [The Guardian]

- Don't forget to tune in to Flashpoints. This week included continuing reports from Pina on the ground, Laura Flynn, and Walter Riley. 

- 'Sowing Panic on the Streets of Haiti' [TheHaitianBlogger]

- 'U.S. Lawmakers, NGOs Call for Debt Cancellation': ""This weekend the G7 finance ministers must respond to the mounting global consensus to drop Haiti's debt," she said. "It's time our leaders announced their commitment to cancel Haiti's debts once and for all, including the new IMF loan. Debt cancellation is a critical step in the long road to Haiti's recovery." [IPS]

- 'Haiti, Still Starving 23 Days Later': "You can walk down many of the streets of Port au Prince and see absolutely no evidence that the world community has helped Haiti. Twenty three days after the earthquake jolted Haiti and killed…