Haiti: A Humorous Presentation of the Truth

Why We Must Rape, er, help, Haiti by GlendaBeckk

Transcript of audio:

With everything going on in Egypt it's very easy for us Americans to overlook our poor neighbor to the south Haiti. Hahaha! Let's be honest it's very easy for us to overlook them no matter what. They're just so poor!

But alas we must pay them the slightest bit of intention, because their presidency is up for grabs. And whoever becomes their president could deeply impact our ability here in the U.S. to rape and pillage their people. Buhlluhh! I'm sorry, did I say rape and pillage! Uhh Erhhh, what I meant was profit their people!

The big news is that their former president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, finally was granted a passport to Haiti, and he is on his way back to Haiti, to presumably try to become president of Haiti.

A little background of Haiti, he's a former Catholic priest from the slums of Haiti who is absolutely loved by the Haitian poor, which is basically, the Haitian, everyone! He is also beloved by a lot of Americans -- but not the smart ones.

Because we know that with someone like him in power, it will be very difficult to rape Haiti. Whoa! I'm sorry, did I say, rape. I meant, take advantage of Haiti.

Because you see, Aristide is very anti foreign governments coming in and meddling about in Haiti's business. Which sucks for us!

And that's why smart Americans like George H. Bush and George W. Bush both arranged for Aristide to be covertly overthrown two of the times that he was previously president.

People of Haiti, I know you are looking for someone who understands your needs. Aristide is not the answer.

I now introduce you to Jean-Bertand Aristock! What's that you say. That looks like a sock puppet? No. It' not! This is a human being. And a Haitian human being. And furthermore a human being that a lot of Americans, here in the U.S., think would make a great president for you! Tell them Aristock. Tell them why you'd would make a great president.

Because I want it so that foreign countries, uh can rape Haiti.

Duhhh! What's that you said?

I want foreign countries to be able to rape Haiti.

No ahh! I'm sure that's not exactly what he means. I'm think what he is trying to say is that foreign countries can come in and set up businesses and to take advantage of cheap labor and so forth. Ok. That's not since I was.... Shhhhh! Ok.

Now. tell the people why they should vote for you?

Because I'm black.

Oh my god! I didn't even notice that! Because I don't see color!

People of Haiti, Aristock, not Aristide!

And if you do vote for Aristide, just a little warning, our military will probably have to make a pit stop in Haiti, just to make sure that nothing fraudulent transpired.


HatTip: GlendaBeckk

How NOT to Steal Haiti's Sovereignty and Independence (Q&A)

Original post: How to Steal Haiti's Sovereignty and Independence

What is the take away after reading this story for us non-Haitians who sincerely want to give what we can to add something positive to the situation?

Non-Haitians need to pressure the U.S. government to change their foreign policy towards Haiti. It's clear that the IMF, World Bank, IDB et al's structural readjustment programs haven't worked. Haiti is destroyed. It's clear that "free-trade," privatization and other neoliberal measures have killed the local industries and destroyed food production in Haiti.

While some priorities have changed (the top priority is rebuilding) and TPS has been granted to Haitian immigrants (for now). The list of priorities from this report by Haitian Lawyer's Leadership Network (HLLN) remains relevant: What Haitian-Americans are asking of the next US president

Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.

--Martin Luther King, Jr.

Are our voices as important as our house plans?

Non-Haitian voices are best used when raised in support of Haitian voices and Haiti. Although corruption, injustice and other violations of human rights must be addressed and are top priorities, perspective, sensitivity and context would go a long way in assuring Haitians that there is good will and Haiti's best interest at heart behind calls for transparency, integrity and accountability.

The international community needs to do more listening. The time to have raised Cain was during the political interventions, coups, and the repression. The complicit silence of most of the corporate media, NGOs, religious community and people of conscience in the international community is part of the reason Haiti was mired in political chaos, death and destruction for the majority of these past ten years and beyond. Building infrastructure, institutions and social services was not a priority for the "international community." Evidently, most were in Haiti to make a quick buck -- the Haitian people's welfare was not on the agenda.

And since when does it make sense to dispense democracy from behind the butt of a gun? Pointing guns at hungry, dispossessed and destitute people is criminal. Why fire shots into a crowd of mourners at the funeral of a hero priest Father Gerry - killing one young man? Haitians don't want the UN military occupation. Abuses by MINUSTAH are growing, yet not one blue helmet has ever been held accountable. MINUSTAH either puts away the tanks and guns for tractors and construction equipment or they must all go home.


Or should we with particular skills that are necessary right now be apolitical?

POLITICS: Haitians have been struggling for autonomy and independence for 200 years. The main issue Haiti has faced vis-a-vie the international community has been a lack of respect for Haiti's sovereignty, Constitution, laws, government and people. A lot of it has to do with racism and white supremacy. This also explains the paternalistic nature inherent in the "aid" that Haiti receives.

Point of fact, this Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission is anathema to most Haitians because half of it consists of foreigners and its Chair is Bill Clinton. Haitians see this as a violation of their Constitution and a loss of sovereignty. This is a major issue, which doesn't seem to be permeating the consciousness of the collective "international community."

SKILLS: The problem with the NGOs in Haiti is that they're not building permanent, long-lasting structures or institutions. They're building flimsy ones that will not hold up to the test of time. The fact is, permanent structures would put them out of business and that's not the plan for most.

Questions for you: Are you guys building permanent infrastructures and institutions in Haiti? Ones that you would live in and be governed by?

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you
feed him for a lifetime."

--Old Chinese proverb

Funny or Dead: Prez Says "Grow Some Balls" Obama

"Barack Obama gets a surprise visit in the night from ex-Presidents Bush Sr., Bush Jr., Clinton, Ford, Reagan and Carter to get a few pointers about the Consumer Financial Protection Agency and why it's so important."

Will Farrell, Dana Carvey and Dan Akroyd in Funny or Die's Presidential Reunion video.

Obama goes to bed with concerns about consumer protection. Michelle's advice as she reads Oprah's O Magazine: "Go to bed, Honey. You're heart will tell you what to do."

What is this video getting at you ask? Basically, wake up Obama, your presidency is sinking unless you establish the Consumer Finance Protection Agency and get it through Congress.

Presidents dead and alive, reunite in an all-star SNL skit we would all want to see if SNL was still the hot star minting commodity it was in the 80s and 90s. The video stars Jim Carrey as Ronald Reagan, Will Farrell as Bush Jr., Darrell Hammond as William Jefferson Clinton, Dana Carvey as Bush Sr., Dan Akroyd as Jimmy Carter, Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford, Fred Armisen and Maya Rudolph are Barack and Michelle Obama. Directed by Ron Howard, the comedians of SNL past and present still have a dream.

The Obama character's dream is reminiscent of "A Christmas Carol," but differs in that it is a pep talk rather than a nightmarish scenario. Ebenezer Scrooge's ghosts of the past and the present were ever more scary. This Funny or Die video incapsulates for us the nightmare that has been American leadership over the years. Moving forward a precipice beckons if Main Street does not get more support. Government came to the aid of the Banksters and failing auto giants but so far no real relief for average folks.

The lines from Jim Carrey's Ronald Reagan (spot on portrayal!) most tickled my funny bone: "Well, I'm dead, but I'm going to be a guest on Dancing with the Stars" or "Grow some balls [Obama]" or "I went against Tip O'Neil with nothing but a psychic oracle and these pendulous balls." Instant classic!

Obama, all the presidential funny men affirm: "we messed everything up royally," but "Tag you're it" and "Grow some nuts for the Gipper."

Jimmy Carter was the exception, as the video points out. He warned about the stew the U.S. would be in if there wasn't an effort to conserve energy and do the hard and unpopular things. Of course Reagan came into power and removed the solar panels that Carter had installed on the White House. Ballsy act, but dead wrong.

The Democrats are showing "signs of life." The good news is that there was a forum for open debate about healthcare with the President (the summit on healthcare) and since bipartisanship is not something that interests the Republicans, the Democrats have said they will pass healthcare reform with a simple majority or the reconciliation process that will bypass the Party of no's filibusters.

As a vocal critic of president Obama, I have to give him credit when it's due. Yesterday, Obama made it clear that he'd drawn a line and reached a point where he was moving forward with his health care plan, with or without the Republican party.

This is a decisive, strong leadership move. It's coming late, but better late than never.

Now 35 Democratic Senators support passing a Public Option through reconciliation. Democracy for America has the list. You can become a citizen co-sponsor.

Visit the Funny or Die website for a couple of good laugh.
Funny or Die's Presidential Reunion
"Barack Obama gets a surprise visit in the night from ex-Presidents Bush Sr., Bush Jr., Clinton, Ford, Reagan and Carter to get a few pointers about the Consumer Financial Protection Agency and why it's so important."

When you're done laughing, hold Congress accountable for protecting us consumers and visit this website: The Main Street Brigade is all about protecting the consumer. And that's no laughing matter.

Protesters Demand Sarkozy Pay Up & Return Aristide to Haiti

by Kevin Pina

Port au Prince, Haiti - HIP — Thousands of supporters of ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide took to the streets on Wednesday as French president Nicolas Sarkozy toured the earthquake ravaged capital of Port au Prince. Holding pictures of the ousted president aloft they chanted for France to pay more then 21 billion dollars in restitution and reparations and to return Aristide as Sarkozy's helicopter landed near Haiti's quake damaged national palace. Their demands stem from a long held dispute over compensation a nascent Haiti was forced to pay French slave owners in exchange for recognition of their independence and France's role in ousting Aristide in 2004.

READ FULL ARTICLE: HaitiAction.net

___________________________________________

Protesters clash with police following rain in Haiti

by Kevin Pina

Port au Prince, Haiti - HIP — About one inch of rain fell on the capital of Port au Prince early this morning sparking angry protests that tied up traffic near the airport for nearly four hours.

At 4:30 am as the rain began to fall a collective wail could be heard rising from the makeshift camps of those left homeless due to a massive earthquake that rocked Haiti on January 12. Cries of helplessness and misery quickly turned into shouts of anger and invectives against Haitian president Rene Preval as thousands then took to the streets in several spontaneous street demonstrations.

READ FULL ARTICLE: HaitiAction.net

Aristide Haiti Return- Clinton, Bush & Obama of One Mindset

President Obama formally announces that he is appointing former

Presidents George W. Bush & Bill Clinton to head Haiti relief fund-raising efforts.

Multiple media outlets are reporting that Jean Bertrand Aristide, who was ousted in 2004 in what he called a, "modern-day kidnapping in the service of a coup d’etat backed by the United States" is planning to return to Haiti.

"Aristide, who has been living in exile in South Africa with his family, announced his offer to return to Haiti in Johannesburg yesterday, according to international media outlets.

’As far as we are concerned, we are ready to leave today, tomorrow, at any time to join the people of Haiti, to share in their suffering, help rebuild the country, moving from misery to poverty with dignity,’ Aristide said."

In light of these reports, I thought I would share my thoughts on an article from the BBC website entitled, "The long history of troubled ties between Haiti and the US" by Vanessa Buschschluter.

At first, the piece lays out a largely truthful history of Haiti/US relations, but later descends into half-truths and outright propaganda. I have composed rebuttals to the ones that I found especially objectionable:
_________________

"The ousting of President Aristide by a military regime in 1991 led to a new wave of Haitians headed for the US."

In her account, Buschschluter neglects to mention that in the 1991 regime change in Haiti, the US backed the military intervention--General Raoul Cedras later retired to Panama with a "golden parachute" courtesy of the US. So the "wave" of dispossed Haitians was on account of CIA support of the military junta and by proxy the death squads.
______________________________

"While he enjoyed the support of the Clinton administration during his first term of office, allegations of corruption and links to the drugs trade during President Aristide's second term made for a rocky relationship with Washington.

After an uprising against President Aristide in 2004, US forces returned to Haiti, this time to airlift him out of the country."

Enjoying himself is not exactly the way most would put it, in light of the conditions that the Clinton administration imposed on Aristide for his return. Especially in light of Washington's insistence that Aristide reconcile, negotiate and empower the elements in Haiti that had ousted him--in other words, his enemies.

On a personal note, I can attest to the fact that Aristide did not have an "enjoyable" time when he was in Washington under the "protection" of the Clinton administration after the first military coup d'etat. I and another family member had lunch with Aristide at his apt/bunker, while attending a protest march by Haitians in DC in the early 90s. If he was enjoying the largess of DC so much, why did his hands start to shake uncontrollably while holding his knife during lunch? And there was no avoiding the guy who peered at us across the hall as we left Aristide's apartment. Arguably, the man was only making us aware of his presence (his headset indicated that he had been listening to our visit from across the hall) because he was charged with protecting Aristide from his invited guests.

The lies about Aristide being involved in the trafficking of drugs aren't anything but a smoke-screen for the inevitable interventions from Washington--too tiresome to defend. The "conventional wisdom" goes like this; Haiti should be controlled because it is a major avenue for drugs. The right-wing echo chamber has already started the drumbeat--see "Things to Remember While Helping Haiti."

I like FiredogLake's take on Jim Roberts' proposals for Haiti:

"An intense earthquake has devastated Haiti, the number of injured and dead, and the damage, far exceed that country’s ability to cope. Millions of men women and children are likely lacking adequate food, water and shelter.

Haiti’s need for assistance of all kinds is clear.

At such a time when the need to provide assistance should be first and foremost, certain crass and craven individuals have other less honorable things in mind.

It is disgusting to report this , but people who publish such things need to be exposed, so that they may be repudiated in public."

Interestingly, in his opinion piece dated January 13, Jim Roberts suggested that President Obama appoint former Presidents G.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to head Haiti relief efforts. The next day, rumors circulated that Obama would be making the formal announcement that Bush Jr. and Bill Clinton would be tapped for the job, prompting David Sirota to Tweet:

"@davidsirota: Following orders from Heritage Foundation, Obama appoints George W. Bush to head Haiti relief. Unreal. http://bit.ly/7mpmOm"

Obama's appointment of George W. Bush to head Haiti Relief is a clear indication that Candidate Obama was just mouthing a platitude when he said that he wanted to move past the "mindset that got us into Iraq." George W. Bush's political legacy is the "Bush Doctrine"-- a doctrine of pre-emptive war and war crimes. In light of Obama's escalation of the "war on terror"; the continuing violations of the Geneva Conventions, in particular, the drone and missile air strikes that amount to "collective punishment" because so many civilians are killed in relation to so-called "terrorist", evidently a corrosive mindset is also part of the "Obama Doctrine."
More on the Buschschluter BBC story:
_________________

"Mr Aristide accused the US of forcing him out - an accusation the US rejected as "absurd".

With the crisis averted, US interest in Haiti lessened. A UN-led mission took over from US troops in June 2004 and continues to be present there."

There is documented proof that the US ousted Aristide (again) in 2004--if the writer cared to include it. In particular, evidence suggests that the US trained and armed the "rebels"-- comprised of former military thugs and criminals in the Dominican Republic.

Also, it is untrue that "US interest in Haiti lessened," for one, the U.S. Embassy in Haiti is described as a "behemoth" costing 75 million to build in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. The compound, finished in 2007 is the fourth largest in cost.
__________________

"The election of President Obama and the nomination of Bill Clinton to the post of UN envoy to Haiti, combined with a period of relative political stability, led to a strengthening of US-Haitian ties."

Close ties but not in a way that is positive for Haitian democracy and sovereignty. The US financed Haitian elections and a close source tells me, asked Rene Preval to run for President?

Also, The Buschschluter is not being candid, she is glossing over the fact that the UN was brought in to "stabilize" Haiti--only after the "int'l community' caused the chaos! The US, France & Canada (see the Ottawa Initiative) destabilized Haiti, then by virtue of their oppressive, unbalanced power as voting members of the UN Security Council--brought in a brutal (proxy) military occupation to "protect its interests" and squash resistance and democracy.

It's almost laughable the propaganda that passes for "news" in the mainstream media. The BBC had some shred of integrity for real investigative journalism (ex. Greg Palast)-- but this tears it for me. Is it any wonder that newspapers are going out of business, and increasingly people are depending on blogs, political PACs and unembedded journalists for the truth?

People are waking up to the fact that they cannot trust the media to tell the truth and increasingly they are doing their own research to fact-check stories like this that masquerade as journalism but are in fact littered with propagandist spin.

In writing this, I came across an exposé by The New York Times which told of the U.S. Role in the 2004 Coup against President Aristide. Well, I wasn't aware of this investigative piece, but NYT, it's just literally too little too late. The equivocating title tells the story, "Mixed U.S. Signals Helped Tilt Haiti Toward Chaos."

The Obama administration will likely not welcome a return of Aristide, given the tepid response from Secretary Clinton on news that Aristide's party Fanmi Lavalas has been barred from participation in scheduled Congressional and Senate elections in Haiti.

While Fanmi Lavalas Haiti's most popular party was barred, Guy Phillipe's Front for National Reconstruction was approved to run in the elections by Preval’s election council. Guy was trained by US Special Forces in Ecuador. Philippe and former death squad leader Louis Jodel Chamblain lead "rebels" who were the muscle for the coup d'etat machinery which ousted Aristide in 2004.

"A leader of one of the many community organizations affiliated with Aristide’s Fanmi Lavalas and who spoke on condition of anonymity stated, “It’s clear to us that Obama and Preval never really intended to arrest Philippe but only wanted to send him a message to shut his mouth. While Fanmi Lavalas has been barred from the next elections in 2010, Philippe’s party has been accepted to run by Preval’s election council. Now Philippe openly holds an FRN meeting in the capital…where’s the DEA? He’s right here if they really want him. Obama and Preval are hypocrites.”

The Obama administration doesn't have Condoleezza Rice at their disposal to warn Aristide to stay out of this hemisphere, but maybe Obama could assign UN Ambassador Susan Rice the task.

UPDATE: 01.17.2010

Thank you PB for making me aware of this excellent documentary on the UN occupation. Kevin Pina and Jean Ristil Jean Baptiste (Jean Ristil SURVIVED!) are the intrepid photo-journalist who documented these events.

Healthcare Reform Also Requires Food System Reform

Health care reform demands U.S. food policy and agricultural reform
By Ezili Danto
September 16, 2009

"Lance Armstrong serves on the President's Cancer Panel, which released a report this year concluding that processed forms of corn and soybeans - heavily subsidized commodity crops- are known contributors to obesity and chronic diseases, including cancer. The upcoming reauthorization of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act (the Farm Bill) provides an opportunity that must not be missed to strongly increase support for fruit and vegetable farmers."

There is a connection between farm subsidies, health, and food security -- in both the United States and in countries like Haiti. The US government's food policies and profit priorities harm the planet, as well as the people who eat processed foods, which are full of contaminants such as pesticides, additives, and bacteria from processing. This non-green diet makes us sick and the chronic diseases it causes drive up health care spending.

"That's why our success in bringing health care costs under control ultimately depends on whether Washington can summon the political will to take on and reform a second, even more powerful industry: the food industry." (Big Food vs. Big Insurance.)

Too many people have had family members die of cancer or know someone very close who died of cancer. It's an unspeakable experience. It certainly makes your faith in scientific advancement falter.

Here's a case in point. For many Haitians living abroad it's extremely ironic to see that the generation of our grandparents and great grandparents actually lived longer than our own parents and relatives who immigrated, work and live in the US all their lives. It happened and is happening in this writer's family.

Both my grandmothers who lived their entire lives in a rural town in Southern Haiti and many of their generation survived or are surviving into and past their 80s. My grandmothers lived longer in Haiti than my mother who immigrated to America. So many folks in America are dying young from cancer, diabetes, and/or heart disease. Part of it is the American diet.

In great grandma's Haitian countryside meat was a luxury indulged in just occasionally and dairy was not a daily staple. The old Haitian diet was organic and there was no US government "trying to help the defense industry move over to a civilian use of their nitrate explosives which became fertilizer, and their nerve gas, which became herbicides and pesticides."

That's why taking on the medical cost of health care is one thing, but there is something seriously wrong with the Western food diet, not to mention the US domestic and international harm done by farm subsidies that force US farmers to grow commodity crops such as rice, soy, corn, sugar and tobacco, and use toxic fertilizer that harms the environment, seeps into the river system and kills the fish.

In the article The Carbon Trade , Janet Gilles makes the point, inter alia, that:

"the government pays to pollute the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The United Nations Environmental Group says nitrate pollution is the greatest threat to our fisheries worldwide.

In exchange for cheap corn fed beef, fish, chicken, and pork, which have little nutritional value as the animals are no longer getting the rich assortment of greens from their natural diet, we are killing the wild fish.

Right now, farmers are paid for the number of acres under cultivation for “commodity crops”, which are crops that go to a manufacturer, such as Archer Daniels Midlands, before they go to the table.

Real foods, fruits and vegetables and nuts, are not subsidized. In fact, if a farmer getting his $200,000 a year for growing soy or corn decides to grow a few acres of food for the table (specialty foods in the legislation), say he decides to grow some tomatoes, he loses his entire $200K.

No more crop rotation. Only industrial agriculture gets the subsidy." (The Carbon Trade by Janet Gilles, Sept 11, 2009.)

US farm subsidies don't just hurt US citizens, our children, US food security and the environment, but of course, also other nations these toxic foods are shipped to, like Haiti.

US subsidized rice is inferior to the organically-grown Haitian rice and is actually killing Haitians in Haiti. Here's an example:

In Haiti, the little food that is given to prisoners at the National Penitentiary is U.S.-processed rice. The subsidized US rice that is flooded into the Haitian market destroyed much of traditional Haitian farm life which was the soul and lifeblood of our grandmamas' Haiti. Free trade with its sweatshop factory jobs and subsidized rice pushed farmers off their land and into Haiti's capital in search for factory jobs in the 70s and 80s, eventually creating slums, like Site Soley, in Port-au-Prince when the factories closed shop and left Haiti in the late 1980s.

Sweatshop jobs at free trade wages created the slum of Site Soley that 9,000 UN soldiers are now in Haiti to "stabilize." (See: UN troops to remain in crisis-ridden Haiti.) Today's indefinitely warehoused UN prisoners at Haiti's national penitentiary mostly come from Site Soley, practically all of them have never been convicted of any crime. But, in addition to the inhumane conditions in the overcrowded prison, the abuse and the infectious diseases that incubate in crowded prisons, many are dying of Beriberi because of the lack of nutrition in the US rice they are fed.

"Beri-beri appeared to be devastating the overcrowded prison population... Packed together in squalid conditions and provided meager, irregular meals, Haitian prisoners were fed a diet of rice that ...had lost its natural B1 vitamin/thiamin content, leading to the ultimately harmful (Beri-beri) effects. All the Haitian rice production, which Haitians traditionally grew and consumed as a staple, was a healthy, whole-grain, vitamin B-packed, and native crop. But, due to U.S. policies since the early 1980's preferring U.S. rice producers over Haitians' own sustainable agriculture, tariffs were forced to drop, and U.S. rice flooded the Haitian market.” (HAITI: Mysterious Prison Ailment Traced to U.S. Rice.)

Sustainable US health care reform also demands agricultural and farm policy (subsidy) reform and food system reforms. But so far, food system reform has not figured in the national conversation about health care reform. It doesn't make sense for the US to promote and subsidize universal health care while subsidizing the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup that causes diabetes and heart diseases or nitrate-glazed foods and nutrition-free rice that causes beri-beri. US agricultural and food system policies should encourage food whose nutritional value promotes health rather than disease.

US policies should support wholesome domestic agriculture in the US, in Haiti, and elsewhere. Green food that is produced in an environmentally sound manner – that adds nutrients to the soil, that mitigates climate change, that uses less nonrenewable resources, that gives us better air to breathe and water to drink -- helps the planet.

In this interconnected world that we live in, US subsidies to US farmers for growing organic foods, fruits and vegetables would reduce health care spending, benefit the environment, and improve people's health, while also benefiting the long term food security interests of both the US and storm-ravaged Haiti.

Ezili Dantò/HLLN

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

— Albert Einstein

HAITI: Mysterious Prison Ailment Traced to U.S. Rice

STOP THE FARM BILL

*********************************
“Our communities are flooded with cheap, unhealthy foods that ultimately are helping drive healthcare costs through the roof,” said Dr. David Wallinga, director of the Food and Health Program at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

Seeking Balance in U.S. Farm and Food Policy

Over 300 Doctors, Health Professionals Call For Healthy Farm Bill

Author's Bio: Human Rights Lawyer, Ezili Danto/Marguerite Laurent is dedicated to correcting the media lies and colonial narratives about Haiti. A writer, performance poet and lawyer, Ezili Danto is founder of the Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network, runs the Ezili Danto website, listserve, eyewitness project, FreeHaitiMovement and the on-line journal, Haitian Perspectives.

********************************************************
Forwarded by Ezili's Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network
********************************************************

Please donate to support this Ezili's HLLN work CLICK HERE.

Appeal from Honduras: Communique - Democratic & Labor Forces

Supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya take part in a rally to protest against the military coup in Tegucigalpa on July 1, 2009. (Jose CABEZAS/AFP/Getty Images)

Coup in Honduras

Hillary Clinton called Manuel Zelaya "Reckless" when he attempted to return to his country after the coup d' etat conspirators kidnapped and deported him from his own country.

This seems to be a repetition of the "Bloodless Coup" pioneered by the Bush administration in Haiti and now repeated covertly by the Obama Administration in Honduras...

The following Communique is forwarded by the "International Liaison Committee of Workers & Peoples. Read their accompanying note which follows after the signed communique from workers/unionist of Honduras and Brazil.

_______________________________________

INTERNATIONAL LIAISON COMMITTEE OF WORKERS AND PEOPLES
July 31, 2009

The ILC hereby forwards to you the following Communiqué from Honduras:

----------------------------------

Appeal to the International Workers' Movement, To the Trade Union Federations on the Continent and Internationally, To all Trade Unions in the Americas

Dear sister and brother unionists and workers in the Americas and around the world:

Honduras has been witnessing for the past 33 days horrors, repression, state-of-emergency suppression of basic democratic rights -- all of which are the result of the coup d'etat that was organized by the high military command at the behest of the large landowners and the transnational corporations.

This coup d'etat has put in place a de-facto dictatorial regime that has broken with the institutional rule of law; deposed the legitimate president of Honduras, Manuel

Zelaya Rosales; and interrupted the process of consulting the people via a popular referendum on the proposal to convene a National Constituent Assembly to draft a new Constitution.

The labor federations in Honduras -- together with the grassroots, human rights, peasant, indigenous, youth, and women's organizations -- have formed the National Front of Resistance Against the Coup.

Over the past two days, on July 30 and 31, the National Strike of Public Sector Workers has taken place.

On July 30, the National Front of Resistance Against the Coup carried out its protest actions, with road-blocks. The response of the police and army was to attack the thousands of peaceful protesters with firearms, wood and rubber bullets, and toxic tear gas shot down in canisters from helicopters.

We have reports that many of the protesters were seriously injured and that one teacher, Roger Abraham Villegas, received a bullet to his head and is in critical condition.

Among those injured are Carlos H. Reyes, who is co-coordinator of the National Front of Resistance Against the Coup, general secretary of the Union of Bottling Industries (STIBYS) and a leader of the Popular Bloc. Also detained is Juan Barahona, also co-coordinator of the National Front of Resistance Against the Coup.

We issue this appeal to our sisters and brothers the world over, but particularly to those on our continent:

It is in the interest of working people and democracy across the Americas to defeat this coup d'etat.

We cannot accept "solutions" that would have us place on equal footing the legitimate government of Honduras and the perpetrators of the coup d'etat.

We cannot accept the duplicity of the U.S. administration which condemns the coup, on the one hand, while supporting the perpetrators of the coup, on the other.

The defense of democracy in each and every country, the defense of workers' rights and of the very possibility to forge processes of Constituent Assemblies requires that across the continent workers and peoples support unconditionally the resistance struggle that we are waging in Honduras.

That is why we believe it is necessary to carry out a campaign directed at every government and at the embassies with demonstrations and/or sit-down occupations, as well as a CONTINENTAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY AND MOBILIZATIONS.

Together we can thus promote the interests of workers on the continent and around the world.

We call most particularly on the dock-worker unions internationally so that they can organize the boycott of ships bringing cargo to Honduras.

Sisters and brothers on the continent and worldwide:

Let us join forces to demand:

* Freedom for all the detained unionists and activists!
* Down with the military coup!
*Immediate and unconditional return andreinstatement of Manuel Zelaya Rosales, Honduras' legitimate president!
* Onward toward the Constituent Assembly in Honduras!

signed by:

Joao Batista Gomes
CUT - Brazil

Carlos H.Reyes
General Secretary,
Union of Bottling Industries (STIBYS) - Honduras

________________________

A soldier and a police officer take away a supporter of Manuel Zelaya in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Thursday, July 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Diario La Prensa de San Pedro Sula)

Communique - July 31, 2009

The AFL-CIO has issued a strong condemnation of the coup in Honduras. USLAW has taken no formal position as this struggle is outside the scope of our focus. However, international labor solidarity is not limited to Iraq and the message below from trade unionists in Honduras and Brazil is of sufficient import and urgency to warrant our making an exception to make it available to all affiliates.

We are indebted to Alan Benjamin, Liaison to USLAW from the SF Labor Council, for establishing a direct line of communication to the democratic forces in Honduras, and especially the labor forces, and providing this communique from the Popular Resistance to the global labor movement.

Those who want to continue to receive updates from Alan should contact him directly at ilcinfo@earlthink.net.

A demonstrator lies on the street, asking for help during clashes between supporters of Manuel Zelaya and soldiers and policemen in Tegucigalpa on June 29, 2009. (ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty Images)

Supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya shout at army soldiers guarding a government building during a protest in Tegucigalpa, Wednesday, July 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Please share this communique with others in the labor and social justice movements.

In solidarity, Michael - July 31, 2009

Rumors are swirling that the military is pressuring Micheletti to agree to Arias's proposal to allow Zelaya to return as president. Fernando "Billy" Joya, a former member of Honduras's infamous Battalion 316, a paramilitary unit responsible for the deaths of hundreds in the 1980s, has resurfaced as "special security adviser" to Micheletti's government. At least nine people have been assassinated or disappeared in the past month, with one body dumped in an area used by death squads in the 1980s as a clandestine cemetery.

Among the executed, disappeared and threatened are trade unionists, peasant activists and independent journalists. The US press has focused on Zelaya's efforts to build support for a constitutional assembly; the proposal to revise the Constitution was broadly supported by social movements as an effort to democratize Honduras's notoriously exclusive political system.

The business community didn't like Zelaya because he raised the minimum wage. Conservative evangelicals and Catholics detested him because he refused to ban the "morning-after" pill. The mining, hydroelectric and biofuel 20 sector didn't like him because he didn't put state land at their disposal.

And the generals didn't like it when he tried to assert executive control over the military.

Zelaya likewise moved to draw down Washington's military presence; Honduras, alone among Central American countries, hosts a permanent detachment of US troops at the Soto Cano air force base, a holdover from the 'Contra war.'

Just Foreign Policy - July 31, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/npaaa7

______________________________

International Liaison Committee of Workers & Peoples,
P.O. Box 40009, San Francisco, CA 94140.

Tel. (415) 641-8616;
fax: (415) 626-1217.
contact: ilcinfo@earthlink.net
website: www.owcinfo.org

IMF vs The Bank of the South - IMF to Clean Up Its Act?

At the Group of 20 summit in London last month, President Obama pledged to boost IMF funding to "help countries weather the global economic crisis." On Thursday, May 21st, the Senate approved the IMF funding as a part of the $91 billion funding bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This seems appropriate somehow, since international banking institutions like the IMF have laid waste to the economies of poor countries of the global south.
The IMF, World Bank and International Development Bank (IDB) have similar stated missions: "working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world." However, a 2000 internal World Bank report concluded that poor countries are better off without structural adjustment and that some of their policies do not work. Almost a decade later no significant reforms to these antiquated policies have been made, not at the World Bank, not at the IMF nor at the IDB.
Some of the general issues that are of great concern to countries who have been burned by these institutions are outlined below. Additionally, the human rights abuses perpetrated against Haiti by the IDB are also explained. Unfortunately, when these human rights abuses were happening in Haiti, calls for accountability fell on Congress' deaf ears.
Is the global economic crisis enough to spur legislators in Washington to look into past abuses in order to avoid future missteps by these antiquated institutions? Not likely. Washington's modus operandi is to *move on* from crisis to crisis with no accountability for past abuses. When a crisis results from bad policies, the mantra from Washington is predictable; *we must look forward, and not backward*.
While it's clear that international banking institutions, sorely need to have "pre-conditions" for any new funding, what is not clear is whether the Congress has the will to impose or enforce any existing or new standards. Particularly, if it would require reform of the existing policies of these institutions.
The world banking system has virtually collapsed from greed and corruption, yet aside from show hearings, no real reform or accountability for Wall Street and banks has taken place in Congress. Also, to date the particularly predatory, criminal practices of the IMF, World Bank and IDB have not come under any substantive scrutiny from the mainstream media.
For instance, the IDB is accused of human rights violations in Haiti. An expose in 2008 by the RFK Center's Human Rights Director Monika Kalra Varma and the Director of Zamni Lasante, Loune Viaud sites internal emails at the IDB:

"In 2001, US officials threatened to use their influence to stop previously-approved IDB funding unless Haiti's majority political party submitted to political demands to accept a particular apportionment of seats in a Haitian electoral oversight body. Soon after, at the behest of the US, instead of disbursing the loans as planned, the IDB and its members took the unprecedented step of implicitly adding conditions to require political action by Haiti before the funds would be released. These actions violated the IDB's own charter, which strictly prohibits the bank and its members from interfering in the internal political affairs of member states."
... The results have been devastating. The town of Port-de-Paix, selected 10 years ago by the IDB as the first project site due to its particularly deplorable water situation, has yet to see the implementation of any water projects. A study conducted by Zanmi Lasante, Partners In Health, the Robert F Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, and New York University's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice found no functioning public water sources in the city.
Researchers found three-quarters of water sources in the city contained high levels of coliform bacteria, a key indicator of contamination with faecal matter. A frightening 15% of households reported symptoms likely related to typhoid.

If the US and other member states join the IDB and take on the responsibility to improve conditions in the Americas, they cannot then use their membership to undermine the basic rights of the people they claim to serve simply to advance their own political agenda.
The IDB and the US government must take responsibility for their actions and implement the necessary transparency mechanisms to ensure that such abuses do not recur. Congressional inquiries and annual reviews of the Treasury by the Government Accountability Office could provide the oversight necessary to prevent future political misuse of the IDB and its funds. The people of Haiti, as well as US taxpayers, deserve a system that makes public the status of IDB loans and projects in Haiti in order to ensure that the US and IDB member states uphold their commitments to development and human rights."

The IMF is often criticized for undermining the basic rights of the people they claim to serve.The onerous pre-conditions they impose on poor countries for *development* loans, more often than not perpetuate poverty, underdevelopment and exploitation.

"Some IMF conditions that countries have been forced to comply with can only be described as harsh and undemocratic. Often the devaluation of a nation’s currency has been a precondition for IMF assistance. In order to qualify for IMF loans, some nations have also been forced to lower tariffs, restrict governmental subsidies and spending, balance budgets, as well as sell-off state institutions to foreign interests. In some cases, the IMF has even prohibited wage increases as some countries have tried to do so, in order to compensate for a sharp rise in food prices and other commodities. Environmental and labor rights have also taken a hit as a result of IMF policies. Under the guise of helping economic distraught countries, the IMF is really bailing out foreign investors and multinational corporations. They have further fueled chaos and instability in some of the poorest regions in the world."

-- The IMF: Raping The World, One Poor Nation at a Time

Admittedly, these international banking institutions will most likely never be held accountable for their greed and inhumanity. We have only to look at the bailout of the Wall Street speculators for confirmation of this fact.
A most significant and positive development on the global stage has been the founding of The Bank of the South by Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and his allies in May 2007. The bank is intended as an alternative to the IMF and The World Bank and intends to remedy what some perceive as "a double standard which allows richer countries to use fiscal expansion in the face of recession while poorer nations are forced into stricter economic restraints."
In fact, there has been a significant decrease in "Latin America's dependence on the IMF between 2005 and 2008, with outstanding loans falling from 80% of the IMF's $81bn loan portfolio, to 1% of the IMF's $17bn of outstanding loans.

"In April [2007], Venezuela announced that it was paying off all its outstanding debt with the World Bank—totaling $3.3 billion and dating from before President Hugo Chavez took office in (1999)—five years ahead of schedule. Venezuelan Minister of Finance Rodrigo Cabezas said that because of this, “Venezuela is free ... and thank God, neither today’s Venezuelans nor children yet to be born will owe one single cent to those organizations.” Later that month, in the wake of the Wolfowitz scandal, President Chavez declared that Venezuela was withdrawing its membership in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. "

The Bank of the South has been heralded as a step in the formation of a unified Latin America. As Nadia Martinez of TomPaine.com puts it: Adios, World Bank! Also, the formation of this alternative bank could be effective in pushing the IMF to reform its ways. Free market competition for development funding from The Bank of The South, is more likely than any proposed Congressional oversight to motivate reform at the IMF, World Bank and IDB. Hopefully, this will mean that poor and developing countries can say, adios/goodbye to the antiquated politicies of the World Bank, IMF and IDB.
Interestingly, an article on the IMF website from February 2009 claims that it is focused on "...Bank Clean Up." Of course, they mean the clean up of banks "damaged" by the global economic crisis, but they should examine the IMF banking system itself for reform and "clean up."

Somali Pirates - The Other Side of the Story

A conversation with Somali Rapper Knaan about the Somali pirates

Music: When I get older, I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom, just like a waving flag


[rough transcript]

Knaan (rapping): We should know about the pirates terrorize the oceans
To never know a simple day without a big commotion
It can't be healthy to live with such a steep emotion
And when I try and sleep, I see coffins closing

Knaan: The Pirate situation in Somalia, has been massive in the media. You know what I mean, New York Times, front page, that sort of thing, But, it's never really, it's so interesting to me that, it's never really discussed in the way Somali's discuss it.

So, whenever... I mean, because we are the issue that people are talking about. And whenever Somali's get together and talk about Pirates. Ah.. the Pirates scenario. That... we talk about them as though they're the coast guards of the country.

We don't talk about them as if they are like, this evil group that's disturbing European trade. Which we don't really care about too much. It's like... European trade is fine, as long as it doesn't... as long as we get respected in our waters. In our territories. Our territories and waters has not been respected by the international community for a very long time.

There's been mass illegal fishing from foreign vessels. That are coming into the country. And just taking the resources of the Somali people. But also, even more sinister, is that there's foreign vessels coming in and dumping nuclear toxic waste into our shores.

Interviewer: This is the other side of the story, this is what they don't tell you on CNN.

Knaan: They can't, because they would implicate a lot of their legitimate companies that exist here... are not so legitimate, when they go to places where illegitimate governments. You know, they start to behave... they lose their charm, when they get over there.

Interviewer: So, that is a very accurate description; so you are the coast guard. And this makes perfect sense. I mean, you know for a while I was concerned. Maybe I shouldn't be taking my luxury liner/boat over there. But, now I didn't realize that when they were driving by the horn of Africa passing near Somalia. It wasn't to show us your beautiful country. It was to dump the waste and then go back.

Knaan: Yeah. And it's incredible, how crazy that is to dump nuclear toxic waste on people's shores. Because especially, we're on the Indian Ocean and Somalia is the largest coastal running line in Africa. And so it's completely un-protectable this area. And so what they have been doing, is for a ling time; you know the mobsters that used to be in New York, in the fishing industry, a lot of those guys went into the nuclear toxic waste business. Which sometimes is legitimate, and sometimes very, very illegitimate. And so they've been dumping these containers.

The thing is, if you dump... there's ways to properly package this stuff and get rid of it and put it in the water. And if you do that, usually you do that in cold waters. But the Indian Ocean is warm water. Where it would have taken in the cold water for a container to open up and break apart over a thousand years. In Somalia, in the Indian Ocean it will take just about a hundred years to open up. So were looking and facing an environmental disaster affecting the entire region of eastern Africa. The home of... the world's birthplace basically.

That this could have major consequences on the environment and human lives for generations to come. And you mean to tell me that the US and the Europeans sending all their navy power to stop the pirates, that we see as stopping that criminal activity. That's kinda the problem.

Interviewer: We've been talking a lot here in the US about green jobs and a green economy. You know, I'll just toss this out here again... it seems like that's a pretty green act that the green movement should get behind. And I wonder if more people from the green movement who are running around asking that Japan stop harpooning the whales and other folks that are trying to save the polar bears, see saving the Somali coastline and all the resources there in the same light.

Knaan: Yeah, well. (laughing) It's very interesting. Because the fact is that this has gotten all the way up to the UN Security Council. It's gotten high up. This issue of Somali... the nuclear toxic waste being dumped in Somalia. And then completely vetoed by the major powers. And forgotten about. And kinda just shoved under a rock.

Interviewer: Which major powers? Can you name a couple, so we can keep them on tap?

Knaan: I think France and the US both had interest in vetoing this issue. And of course France is in the waters. The navy is there. I mean, It's a major problem.

I think, what's really the sad thing about Somalia and Africa in general. When it comes to these kinds of progressive movements you have here in the West and in the US. Such as the green movement and the environmental culture and so on. Is once it's Black, green doesn't really matter so much any more.

Interviewer: ...How distorting the news has been, to make it seem like there were a bunch of uncontrolled barbarians running around, you know, just attacking luxury liners and I guess they didn't tell the story. That you all weren't killing people. You were holding them... and you know basically...

Knaan: Not one death. Not one death caused by these Pirates. Not one injury. In fact, they have such rules, such strict rules, guidelines, these Pirate's groups. If you verbally assault a captain, that there is a percentage cut off your pay. Your future pay. And so they are very, very well behaved. And they know what they are doing. They are very professional. They went out there initially to protect us.

Democracy Now! has analysis of the situation on their site.

Analysis: Somalia Piracy Began in Response to Illegal Fishing and Toxic Dumping by Western Ships off Somali Coast

President Obama vowed an international crackdown to halt piracy off the coast of Somalia Monday soon after the freeing of US cargo ship captain Richard Phillips, who had been held hostage by Somali pirates since last Wednesday. While the pirates story has dominated the corporate media, there has been little to no discussion of the root causes driving piracy. We speak with consultant and analyst Mohamed Abshir Waldo. In January, he wrote a paper titled “The Two Piracies in Somalia: Why the World Ignores the Other?” [includes rush transcript]

Is There a Eugenics Experiment Aimed a Depopulating Haiti?

History shows that the AIDs bred in indigenous Africans, did not stay in Africa. So if this eugenics experiment is aimed at depolulating Haiti, is it also aimed at depopulating the rest of the world?

The headline says "Haiti vaccines target 1 million children, women." I believe them. Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Haiti are in the process of vaccinating 1 million Haitians with an oral polio vaccine. They plan to inoculate half of the Haitian population. That's 5.6 million people. A mass inoculation of that size should be suspect. Below are a couple of examples of similar programs carried out by international health officials and their "unintended consequences."

A similar oral polio vaccine was culpable in an outbreak of polio in Nigeria. The AP reported that "A polio outbreak in Nigeria was caused by the vaccine designed to stop it, international health officials say, leaving at least 69 children paralyzed."

There is also a link between the polio vaccine and AIDS. The AIDS scourge has decimated millions in Africa and around the world. The epicenter of the disease was the Belgian Congo. There is documentary evidence that: "American and Belgian missionaries in the Belgian colonies of the Congo widely distributed polio vaccine to a million children in a bid to wipe out the crippling disease; however, evidence now suggests that Dr. Koprowski's oral vaccine may have been tainted, and that the first instances of the disease may be linked to these inoculations."

Haitians are beholden to the foreign donors and NGOs that ply their trade in Haiti. These organizations are depended upon to provide food, medicine, school, clothing and other services. So, the inoculations began last friday and the "Children in neatly pressed uniforms lined up at schools and marketplaces in the Cite Soleil slum to receive injections, drops and tablets."

The stated purpose of the vaccinations which are a "...joint effort by Haitian health authorities, the United Nations Children's Fund, the Pan-American Health Organization and others is ...eliminating deadly diseases."

This experiment unfolds with encouraging words from Bill Clinton. Clinton arrived with a delegation which "...called for more foreign aid and urged Haiti's weak central government to take charge of its own development."

Bill Clinton did the obligatory photo op in the poor community of Citey Soleil where the vaccinations are being carried out.

Bill Clinton's handlers carefully structured his visit so as not to appear political. When "An estimated 6,000 marchers showed up at Port-au-Prince's international airport, wearing President Barack Obama T-shirts and waving signs welcoming Clinton and asking him to return Aristide once again... they arrived long after Clinton and his delegation had left." However, the foreign delegation was unable to avoid the "Thousands ..[that] appeared outside the National Palace in the evening where Clinton, Ban and others in the delegation were attending a working dinner with Preval."

''Bill Clinton, we want Aristide,'' the crowd shouted. ``Ban Ki-moon give us Aristide.''

Clinton simply waved to the crowd before entering the palace while Ban turned to the outside gathering."

Is the Polio vaccine safe?
Polio vaccinations occurring decades ago continue to effect the current US population. A 2001 SF Chronicle story reported that "A growing number of medical researchers fear that a monkey virus [SV40] that contaminated polio vaccine given to tens of millions of Americans in the 1950s and '60s may be causing rare human cancers."

The "Vaccine producers, health officials and most scientists believe that it is safe. Manufacturers say they take elaborate steps to test their vaccine for SV40, and the government says it recently tested vaccine samples back to 1972 and found no trace of SV40. Yet a "growing number of medical researchers fear that a monkey virus that contaminated polio vaccine given to tens of millions of Americans in the 1950s and '60s may be causing rare human cancers."

These rare cancers are Mesothelioma, Brain cancers, Bone cancers, and other cancers, including pituitary and thyroid tumors and lymphomas.

More info here.

Dissenting Dems Are Threatening to Obstruct Obama

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Dissenting Democrats will follow the leadership of the House Republicans... "who happen to be the political laughing stock of the country."

Evan Bayh, Blanche Lincoln and Tom Carper and a group of 15-20 "bleu dog" democrats are aligning as a loose coalition and threatening to obstruct the President's agenda. These Democratic "moderates" plan to focus on deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility -- familiar refrains from the Republican's failed policies.

CONSERVADEM Evan Bayh On the "Spending" Bill:



To paraphrase Rachel: Now you are finding your voice,
your dissent, your bravery!

____________

UPDATE

The Republicans always increase the debt faster than Democratic Presidents.

____________

Obama's plan cuts taxes for 95% of working Americans

The media has been obsessing about President Obama's plan to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans—from 35% to 39.6%—even asking if that makes him a socialist.

But do you know what tax rate the wealthiest Americans paid on the top portion of their earnings at the end of Ronald Reagan's first term? 50%.

Under Richard Nixon? 70%. Under Dwight Eisenhower? 91%!

Obama is proposing a top rate lower than Reagan's first term, lower than Nixon's, lower than Eisenhower's, and lower than FDR's when he pulled us out of the Great Depression. More.

Republicans don't represent "conservative values."

Ron Paul -- No Need for "Civil" War to Get Rid of Slavery

Paul: "Other Western nations all got rid of slavery without a Civil War."

Hughley: "You just make way too much sense, you can't be a Republican."

Ron Paul, the former Republican candidate for President was on the D.L. Hughley program on CNN. He opined (at 7:50) that the Civil War did not need to be fought. The North should have just "bought" all the slaves from the South. After all, he stated, other nations did not fight a "civil" war to free their slaves.

Congressman Ron Paul, the slaves of Haiti bought their freedom from the French, English and Spanish IN BLOOD, more than 60 years before American slaves were "freed." Haiti was the first successful slave rebellion in the world. Haiti was a beacon for the enslaved blacks of North America and the Western Hemisphere. Haiti was the second republic in this hemisphere after the US, but stood first as a truly liberated country -- since the U.S. still held slaves in chains. The slave revolt in Haiti (1791-1803) inspired white abolitionists and black slaves in the US, such as Gabriel Posser, Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey and John Brown. Napoleon Bonaparte was forced to give up his ambition to build an empire in the new world. He sold the Louisiana Territory to Jefferson for a song -- doubling the size of the United States. The South American leader Simon Bolivar of Caracas, Venezuela was the second of his country man (Francisco Miranda -- the first to come, died in a Spanish jail) to come to Haiti seeking aid in fighting to end colonialism. The Haitian president Alexandre Petion provided him with provisions, arms, ships and men with one stipulation; free the slaves too. Bolivar went on to liberate a vast portion of South America comprising the present day countries of Colombia, Panama, Venezuela and Ecuador.

Congressman Paul, maybe the wars to free the slaves in Haiti and South America were not "civil" as you say... but they bloody well did the job of tolling a death knell for chattel slavery in this hemisphere. In fact, other nations did fight to keep slavery, but lost to the heroes of the Haitian Revolution and their protege, Simon Bolivar.

Haitians Shackled by Debt &
Dependency -- Fight Back

In Haiti, the neoliberal policies of the U.S. government have bought about debt and dependency at every geopolitical level.

As Haitians continue to struggle for autonomy and sovereignty, a younger generation is taking up the fight to empower themselves. Their inspiration comes from Haiti's founding father Jean-Jacques Dessalines who declared Haiti's independence in 1804 after a bloody 13 year war.

UPDATE:

HISTORY MATTERS: The Brutal US Occupation
of Haiti - 1915 to 1934

Charlemagne Péralte is a national hero. He took up arms to defend Haiti against the US military occupation of 1915. His army, the Cacos was made up of poor people. In 1919 the US Marines assassinated Pèralte, nailed his body to a door and put him on public display. Haitians saw the parallels to Jesus in the manner of the atrocity, thus solidifying his heroic image.

Charlemagne Peralte's call to arms:

People of Haiti!

Soon a day like the 1st of January 1804 will rise. For four years the [American] Occupation has been insulting us constantly. Each morning it brings us a new offense. The people are poor and the Occupation still oppresses us with taxes. It spreads fires and forbids us to rebuild wooden houses under the pretext of keeping the city beautiful.

Haitians, let’s stay firm. Let’s follow the Belgian example. If they burn our cities, it doesn’t matter! As the inscription on the tomb of the great Dessalines states: “At the first canon shot, giving the alarm, cities disappear and the nation stands up.”

The holy battle in the North is led by brave citizens. The South is only waiting for the right man to follow its wonderful example. Don’t worry, we have the arms. Let’s get rid of those savage people, whose beastly character is evident in the person of their President Wilson—traitor, bandit, trouble maker, and thief.

Die for your country.
Long live Independence!
Long live the Union!
Long live the just war!
Down with the Americans!

From Charles the Great Massena Peralte High Commander of the Revolution in Haiti to The French Minister in Haiti Port-au-Prince

****

Honored Minister,

Despite the principles, of international law usually adopted by civilized nations, and coming out of Great War in Europe, the American Government got involved in the internal affairs of the small republic of Haiti and imposed a rule whose approval by the Haitian Parliament was guaranteed enforced by military occupation.

We were ready to accept this rule and follow its obligations, despite the threat to our autonomy and the dignity of our free and independent people. But the false promises, given by the Yankees, when they invaded our land, brought in almost four years of continuous insults, incredible crimes, killings, theft and barbarian acts, the secrets of which are known only to Americans.

Today we lost patience and we reclaim our rights, rights, ignored by the unscrupulous Americans, who by destroying our institutions deprive the people of Haiti of all its resources and devour our name and our blood. For four years, cruel and unjust Yankees brought ruin and hopelessness to our territory. Now, during the peace conference and before the whole world, the civilized nations took an oath to respect the rights and sovereignty of small nations. We demand the liberation of our territory and all the advantages given to free and independent states by international law. Therefore, please take into consideration that ten months of fighting has been in pursuit of this aim and that our victories give us the right to ask for your recognition.

We are prepared to sacrifice everything to liberate Haiti, and establish here the principles affirmed by President Wilson himself: the rights and sovereignty of small nations. Please note, honored Consul, that American troops, following their own laws, don’t have any right to fight against us.

Dear Sirs (sic), please, accept our distinguished salutations.

Signed by the High Commander of the Revolution M. Peralte

followed by 100 other signatures

Source: History Matters: Bandits or Patriots?: Documents from Charlemagne Péralte

Haiti: News So Bizarre, you have to laugh...

Underaged US Embassy Hire Steals $800K?

CEP: Aristide Sign-Off Needed

____________
Haitian Man Hired to Handle Money When He Was Only 12 by the U.S. Embassy in Haiti Has Confessed to Embezzling more than $800,000

The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a press release announcing that a 25 year old employee named Gary Saint-Joy, who the U.S. Embassy in Haiti claims they hired as a cashier in 1995 when he would have only been 12 years old has confessed and pleaded guilty to stealing "approximately" a total of $849,000.

The U.S. Embassy in Haiti is described as a "behemoth" costing 75 million to build in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. The compound, finished in 2007 is the fourth largest in cost -- coming in first is the U.S. embassy in Iraq. It is located on 10 acres and is entirely self-sufficient -- boasting a large interior atrium in the main building, state-of-the-art climate control, a water treatment plant and extensive landscaping.

In a brief statement, the Department of Justice describes the incident and charges:

"WASHINGTON – A former employee at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti pleaded guilty today to one count of theft for stealing more than $800,000 from the U.S. Department of State, Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Criminal Division announced.

According to court documents, Jean G. Saint-Joy, 25, a/k/a Gary Saint-Joy, a/k/a Garry Saint-Joy, a citizen of Haiti, was employed as a cashier by the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, from approximately 1995 until July 2008.

Beginning in approximately 2003 and continuing until early 2008, Saint-Joy admitted he engaged in a scheme to embezzle funds from the State Department. As part of this scheme, Saint- Joy admitted he submitted and caused to be submitted false and fraudulent documents to the State Department claiming that he required reimbursement for the payment of legitimate embassy expenses."

____________
Haiti's "Provisional" Electoral Council bars a political party from participating in "democratic" elections because some lack former ousted president's signature

President of the Haiti's electoral council Frantz Gerard Verret, escorted by members of special forces, leaves his office in Port-au-Prince, Friday, Feb. 6, 2009. It will not let members of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's party or a former rebel leader compete in upcoming Senate elections, Verret said. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) The Provisional Electoral Council has rejected 40 of 105 candidates for the April Senate elections in Haiti. The Council is not allowing members of Lavalas (Jean-Betrand Aristide's party) to participate, claiming irregularities in their applications. The AP reported that "All candidates of Aristide's Famni Lavalas Party were rejected for the April 19 election — in most cases because their documents lacked the signature of party leader Aristide" [bold mine] Lavalas leaders pledged to fight the decision. Electoral officials had assured the party in December that leaders in Haiti could sign for their candidates, said Maryse Narcisse, the head of Lavalas' executive council. "We think these are political machinations," Narcisse told The Associated Press. "Famni Lavalas followed the law. ... I think this is a provocation." The electoral council said its decision is final on all 17 Lavalas candidates and 23 others who were rejected, including former rebel leader Guy Philippe, whose rebels helped oust Aristide five years ago. Also barred from participation is former U.S. ally in the ousting of former Haitian President Jean-Betrand Aristide, Guy Philippe. Philippe is wanted by US law enforcement officials on unspecified charges. In the early morning hours of March 25, 2008, heavily armed commandos raided Philippe's home following his statements on a Haitian radio station that he was writing a book and was a victim of a political plot involving the US which put his life in danger. "Officials at the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince declined to comment on the raid. The U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of Florida, where media reports say a sealed indictment against Philippe has been brought, also would not comment." Back in 2004, the president of the Provisional Electoral Council, Frantz Gerard Verret, said in an article on the right-wing Boulos family funded Haiti Democracy Project website that "Since Professor Leslie Francois Manigat left power in 1988... the Republic of Haiti exited constitutional legality and never returned to it." The Haiti Action Committee (whose "Members foster extensive contacts with the grassroots movements in Haiti") has a statement on its website describing the history and purpose of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP): "On February 7, 2006, a Provisional Electoral Council, or CEP, established by the so-called International Community, the bourgeoisie, the de facto government, and the traditional politicians, organized tailored elections, clearly in favor of the bourgeois' representative, industrialist Charles Henry Baker (Representative of the Goup of 184) and of the "macoute" sector, intellectual Leslie Francois Manigat. To continue to protest against the bloody coup of February 29, 2004 and to dissociate themselves from all these putschists, Fanmi Lavalas, by far the greatest political force of the country, refused to form part of the CEP and refused to participate in the electoral process. However, bribed by the Embassy of the United States, certain executives of the organization, joined by some opportunists, without the knowledge of the National Representative and other persons in charge of Fanmi Lavalas, could register the organization with the electoral process. Read more. Haiti Solidarity Meeting -- Haitiaction.net

HatTip: Ezili Danto List (Riseup)