- 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: 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 to be made in the rubble of some 225,000 collapsed homes and at least 25,000 government and office buildings. At least two politically connected U.S. firms have enlisted powerful local allies in Haiti to help compete for the high-stakes business. Randal Perkins, the head of Pompano Beach-based AshBritt, has already met with President René Préval to tout his firm's skills. To press his case, Perkins, a big U.S. political donor with a stable of powerful lobbyists, has lined up a wealthy and influential Haitian businessman, Gilbert Bigio, as a partner." [Miami Herald]
- 'From Copenhagen to Port au Prince: The planet's fate balances on a knife edge, two cities on either side. Which offers hope? You may be surprised.' [The Tyee]
- 'Restore Democracy - let Aristide Return': "The mainstream media did not generally question the explanation: the country needed “stabilising”, security being threatened by “gangs”. But the gangs of marauding looters failed to materialise. Despite the failure of the military-led relief effort to bring food, water or medicine, the survivors responded to their situation with dignity, social solidarity and practical mutual assistance, rather than the predicted violence...For Haiti to rebuild, sovereignty must be restored. Foreign military occupation must end. Aristide should be allowed to return and Haitians should be allowed to decide on their own government and economic policies without any outside interference." [Amanda Zivic, Green Left Weekly]
- US commits to recover all bodies from elite Haiti hotel [Business Week]
- 'Resources differ in search for foreign, Haitian bodies': "Even in death, poor Haitians have been forgotten, hauled off to mass graves after only the most cursory attempts are made at identifying them...Just down the road, a strikingly different scene unfolded at the ruins of the luxury Hotel Montana, where dozens of mostly foreign guests died. There, the recovery of remains is a somber model of order and professionalism..."This is a very methodical search," said Danny Johnson, a U.S. military spokesman. The U.S. military manages teams of French, Canadian and Mexican rescuers at the site." [Vancouver Sun; note that The DRC Group is the private disaster capitalist company hired by the State Department to help look for wealthy bodies, mentioned in Miami Herald piece above]
- 'Some facts Stephen Harper should have on Haiti' [Not that the author, Gerald Caplan, has his own facts straight, as he falls prey to the habit of ignoring Canada's prominent, subversive role there; Globe & Mail]
- BBC report on media coverage of Haiti [via Heathlander; ignore, as someone in the comments section points out the since-refuted crap about Chavez' blaming the US for the earthquake]
- 'Haiti; 'Support of U.S. National Interests.' [Felicity Arbuthnot, via UNObserver]
- 'Haiti Needs to be Free': "A neo-colonial veil has settled on our Western media and brought back the pessimistic view regarding the ability of the 'barbarian' to ever civilise...The earthquake was our chance to start anew and this time we 'would get Haiti right'! We would implement democracy, restore order, bring stability, peace and prosperity. It was not the first time someone would try to 'get Haiti right'. The US claimed such a target after the 2004 coup against democratically elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Moreover, this episode was only the latest Western interference in Haiti's destiny, all of which have left Haiti ever poorer and dependent on our 'generosity'." [Aurélien Mondon for Eureka Street]
- 'Gildan Activewear's profits soar.' [CBC, although these profits of course cannot be attributed to the earthquake, in an update for shareholders today we learn that "Gildan has advanced a significant amount in working capital and equipment to its contractors, and is continuing to provide financing to support the process of rebuilding and providing employment in Haiti" and that "the Company is committed to play a proactive role in supporting its contractors and their employees and to maintain an important strategic presence in the country as part of its global supply chain." (Via CNN); more to follow as it appears...]
- Check out the Global Research Fundraising Initiative for Haiti, in collaboration with AKASAN and the Canada Haiti Action Network.