» Archive: December 2004
Chomsky and Carter
Just to revisit some old chestnuts from the past, I redirect your attention to an excerpt of Chomsky from "Radical Priorities".
Happy New Year!
Tsunami Coverage
Justin's Podur's The Killing Train has had good tsunami coverage all week.
World Pulse
World Pulse Magazine - Listening to Leading Women and Children on Global Issues
World Pulse Magazine is founded on the belief that there is a different way to look at the world and the problems facing our planet than the view currently presented to us by most news sources.
Fight for what?
WSWS: Ukraine election: on-the-spot report from Kiev: A fight between millionaires and billionaires
Haiti's de facto Dictator Pays off Former Brutal Military
Port au Prince, Haiti (HIP)-
"The US-installed regime of Gerard Latortue has begun making compensation payments to Haiti’s former brutal military in an apparent move to reward them for their role in overthrowing the democratically elected government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide."
Mayor in Hiding Speaks, Christmas in Haiti
Jean-Charles Moise, democratically elected mayor of Milot, addressed the world on December 23rd, on Flashpoints Radio. Here are his words, heart-wrenching and transcribed.
In a similar vein, please read the Haiti Information Project's recent editorial Christmas in Haiti.
Who is Viktor Yushchenko?
"Viktor Yushchenko’s popularity in Ukraine has been exaggerated both by his supporters within Ukraine and by commentators abroad. The West portrays the ex-premier as a man of the people who understands the market economy, civil society, etc., and is untainted compared with the rest of the Ukrainian political establishment. But Ukrainians see him differently."
This is an extensive backgrounder on Yushchenko, 'first generation oligarch'.
Wake up to Colonial Realities in Canada and elsewhere
A great recirculated piece by Aziz Choudry "Bringing it all Back Home: Anti-globalization Activism Cannot Ignore Colonial Realities"
"Among anti-globalization networks there is widespread coinage of the
terms “colonization” or “recolonization” to describe the
current manifestations of globalization. But does that mean that the
mobilizations and activism against globalization are anti-colonial? For the
most part, I don't think so.
If those of us living in colonial settler states like New Zealand, Australia,
Canada and the USA are prepared to take on transnational corporations,
the Bretton Woods institutions, and the neoliberal agenda we must also
address Indigenous Peoples' struggles for decolonization and
self-determination."
From the West Coast, the Latest Seven Oaks
The latest edition of Seven Oaks Magazine is up, featuring this interview with antiwar veteran Jim Talib.
Jean-Juste and Tom Griffin interviewed
Democracy Now! recently conducted a very important interview with recently released political prisoner and Priest Gerard Jean-Juste and attorney Tom Griffin, who reports on a recent trip to Haiti.
Watch, listen, or read here...
Remember the loony tune in N. Korea?
Just in case we had forgotten that terrorists are lurking *everywhere*, the Canadian government continues to spike the Kool-aid with innocuous pieces about North Koreans climbing the wall of freedom.
Now, check out CBC.ca's coverage of the events. and keep clicking the 'hot links' back to the original September 29th story.
Patriot Act in Canada
Vancouver Sun: "Highly sensitive personal, military and national security information held by the Canadian government is accessible to U.S. authorities under the Patriot Act, according to a document obtained Friday."
Bush Authorized Torture?
"The two-page e-mail that references an Executive Order states that the President directly authorized interrogation techniques including sleep deprivation, stress positions, the use of military dogs, and 'sensory deprivation through the use of hoods, etc.'"
-ACLU
The Guardian's spin on it is a little more subdued: Memos show FBI agents complained about abuses at Guantánamo Bay
Chinese government is arresting journalists, apparently.
An Indian schoolboy took a cellphone photo of his girlfriend in the midst of a sexual act, sold the photo on the Indian equivalent of eBay, and provoked an international incident with eBay's Indian CEO in jail and Condoleeza Rice at the fore of an "diplomatic row".
100,000 people have been displaced by fighting in the Congo.
George Monbiot: "The US government is engaged in a global war with itself. It is like a robin attacking its reflection in a window."
Taking Aim
"Taking Aim" is quite possibly the most important radio show you will find this side of "Democracy Now!". Ralph Shoenman and his wife Mya Shone, have archived dozens of their hour-long shows that comb through hundreds of news sources, de-bunking everything we think know.
Go to their site and click on "Program Audio Archive" to see the full list.
Bollywood MP3s
If you have a high speed connection and listen to MP3s, take this opportunity to aquaint yourself with Bollywood music in a systematic way, as the site is likely to get taken down after it gets swamped.
The Sha is Dead
Limited, Inc. is at it again. This is a must read.
News of the Day
CBC North: "After months of negotiation, victims of abuse at an Indian residential school in the Yukon are being told their claims are invalid."
Bitch Magazine discusses "I had an abortion" t-shirts.
You don't hear much about nuclear threats against North Korea.
There was more rape in the US in 2004 than in 2003.
The Progressives who Stole Christmas
FOX is working hard on their incisive story: Christmas is under siege.
Secular progressives realize that America as it is now will never approve of gay marriage, partial birth abortion, euthanasia, legalized drugs, income redistribution through taxation, and many other progressive visions because of religious opposition.A plot to kill Christmas? Sounds fun. But I guess it's already over here. I'll have to join the siege south of the border.
But if the secularists can destroy religion in the public arena, the brave new progressive world is a possibility. That's what happened in Canada.
Not Pinochet
New York Times: 2 Women Lead Chile's Presidential Race
One is a Christian Democrat and a former foreign minister, the other a Socialist and former defense minister. They are the two leading competitors for the presidential nomination of the multiparty, center-left coalition that has governed this country since Gen. Augusto Pinochet stepped down in 1990, and both of them, for the first time here, are women.
Democracy in Venezuela
A while ago, Dave Mitchell passed along this interesting analysis of the tensions between social movements and the Chavez-led government that owes its power to their support. It seems that there are plans to move Venezuela to a system of participatory democracy, but the plans are pretty tentative for the moment.
Exciting to see that the (idea of) neighbourhood-based self-governance that became prominent in Argentina has legs, and seems to be slowly spreading.
MartinWatch
Paul Martin was recently in Libya, making a "strong pitch" for giving Canadian companies access to markets there. What companies? The only one named was SNC-Lavalin.
Where have we heard that name before? Oh yeah, they're the ones who make the bullets that kill Iraqis. I'm glad that Martin--our highest elected official--is so keen to give them a boost on the international stage.
Goff on Haiti
Go to Left Hook, scroll down a ways, and listen to Stan Goff's "What is happening in Haiti?" an important talk given earlier this month to the People's Organizaiton for Progress. Goff, a former U.S. soldier who travels frequently to Haiti, refers to the resistance as a "Haitian intifada" in the face of imperialist occupation, where a number of "no-go zones" have been established by Haiti's resistance in Northern Haiti, indicative of a "rural insurgency" of sorts. If you have a subscription, be sure to read Goff's "The Haitian Intifada: a Story of Politics, Black and White, High and Low" at From the Wilderness
Joining the Dark Side (assuming there's a light side)
Don Martin, Calgary Herald: "Four senior reporters have fled Ottawa newsrooms in the last month to deliver spin over substance for six-figure salaries in ministerial offices, joining another two who quit earlier to join the Paul Martin administration."
Congress to Pharmacos
WSWS: The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the Washington lobby representing US drug manufacturers, announced December 15 that it was naming Republican Congressman W. J. "Billy" Tauzin of Louisiana as its president and CEO.
Guardian on Haiti
The Observer: Revealed: Haiti bloodbath that left dozens dead in jail
The allegations are contested by officials but, if true, the killings at the penitentiary represent another black mark for Haiti's interim government, which has come under fire for allegedly perpetrating and tolerating human rights abuses ever since taking over last March from the ousted former president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
'I saw everything,' said Ted Nazaire, 24, a prisoner who was released two days after the riot and is now in hiding. 'It was a massacre. More than 60 were killed.'
The Culinary is the Political
"Intelligent Design"
I'd like to thank the author of this cartoon for sparing me the hassle of explaining my stance on "intelligent design".
(via feministe)
Gary Webb, take II
LA Weekly: "First the L.A. Times helped kill off Gary Webb's career. Then, eight years later, after Webb committed suicide this past weekend, the Times decided to give his corpse another kick or two, in a scandalous, self-serving and ultimately shameful obituary. It was the culmination of the long, inglorious saga of a major newspaper dropping the ball journalistically, and then extracting relentless revenge on an out-of-town reporter who embarrassed it."
Ends with this bit of inspiration:
"If we had met five years ago, you wouldn’t have found a more staunch defender of the newspaper industry than me . . . I was winning awards, getting raises, lecturing college classes, appearing on TV shows, and judging journalism contests...
"And then I wrote some stories that made me realize how sadly misplaced my bliss had been. The reason I’d enjoyed such smooth sailing for so long hadn’t been, as I’d assumed, because I was careful and diligent and good at my job . . . The truth was that, in all those years, I hadn’t written anything important enough to suppress."
Fenton on Flashpoints, Debunking Canadian Myths, Anti-Imperialism
Dominion Media Analysis Editor Anthony Fenton was interviewed Tuesday, December 14th on Flashpoints Radio, discussing Canada's role in the extermination of democracy in Haiti. The interview is archived and downloadable.
In other related but more general news, Samir Hussain published an incredible article Canada's Myths and Realities, while Justin Podur posted his engaging interview with David Orchard, Canada, Nationalism, and Empire.
Gary Webb Dead
"Gary Webb, a courageous investigative journalist who was the target of one of the most ferocious media attacks on any reporter in recent history, was found dead Friday after an apparent suicide."
Associated Press: "Major parts of Webb's reporting were later discredited by other newspaper investigations. An investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department found no evidence of a connection between the CIA and the drug traffickers."
Richard Thieme: "His Dark Alliance series was attacked not for what it said (the CIA initially denied then later admitted there were connections between operatives and drug cartels) but for what attackers claimed it said. Webb expected that kind of distortion and created a web site loaded with primary documents, transcripts and audio tapes of interviews so interested parties could read and hear for themselves what sources had said. It was one of the first times the Web was used to support a mainstream story that way and the site had over a million hits."
Jeff Cohen: "Any exaggeration in the Mercury News presentation was dwarfed by a mendacious, triple-barreled attack on Webb that came from the New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times."
A Deadly Reversal
George Monbiot: "On Sunday the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), already responsible for 3.8 million deaths, started again. If you missed it, you're in good company."
Public Mischief
Montréal artist Roadsworth is being charged with 85 counts of "public mischief" for his work, which is being (uncharitably, I'd say) interpreted as vandalism.
Chris at Zeke's Gallery is on the case, with letters, photos of Roadsworth's work, and more.
Asia by Blog
Asia by Blog is a biweekly overview of the latest goings-on in Asia, via people with weblogs who live in its various parts.
Ultimate Control
NYTimes: "[T]he Haida have become used to challenging the rich and powerful, and winning. Today they are in the vanguard of what appears to be a renaissance of Indian nations in Canada that legal scholars and others say could determine ultimate control over many resources vital to Canada's future, including oil, timber and diamonds."
Orange Revolution with a healthy dose of green
Associated Press: "The Bush administration has spent more than $65 million in the past two years to aid political organizations in Ukraine, paying to bring opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko to meet U.S. leaders and helping to underwrite an exit poll indicating he won last month's disputed runoff election."
Haiti is not for sale
Yves Engler: Haiti is not for sale
Enough. The Canadian government must support democracy in Haiti. The first step is to stop providing cover for the terrible repression going on.
Canada must remove itself from all discussions about withholding Haitian sovereignty or making Haiti a UN protectorate. Canada must call for the return of the elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and begin paying reparations to those victimized in the past nine months. Then, we should provide proper levels of aid to build both human and physical infrastructure.
Will Canada do this? Only if we build a movement for Haitian solidarity.
"Democracy Movements"
WSWS: What US-backed "democracy movements" have produced in Serbia and Georgia
The protagonists of the “Orange Revolution” in Ukraine openly acknowledge their debt to the “Rose Revolution” carried out in Georgia against Eduard Shevardnadze and the “Peaceful Revolution” in Serbia, which led to the fall of Slobodan Milosevic. Activists of the Serbian Otpor group have advised the Georgian Kmara and the Ukrainian Pora movements.
In Belgrade, Otpor activist Alexandar Maric now leads a “Centre for Non-Violent Resistance,” which trains activists and, according to the Zurich newspaper Tagesanzeige, “exports the Belgrade revolution worldwide.” His clients include the opponents of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, the Zimbabwean opposition under Morgan Tsvangirai, and activists from Georgia and Ukraine.
Canada to host Haitian Criminal Latortue
Montreal Conference with the Chalabis of Haiti
Below is an announcement of a Conference to be held by the Chalabis of Haiti
and their International sponsors in Canada on December 11 and 12, 2004.
The same Canadian officials, who conspired to destroy Haiti's democracy with
the forceful removal of Haiti's elected government, are currently in the
process of following through with the international communities' ultimate plans to
place Haiti under direct occupation with the pretext of an "international
protectorate." To that end, Canadian foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew iis
holding a meeting with the Chalabis of Haiti on December 10, 11, 2004. The
Government of Canada is proceeding with its war on the Haitian people in the form of this new conference ostensibly to be attended by the "leaders in the Haitian community abroad." However, the leaders in the Haitian community who have credibility with the grassroots movements for democracy in Haiti are not invited or welcomed to attend this meeting. Yes! Authorized Lavalas officials and
grassroots leaders from Haiti and abroad are not invited. Thus, this is simply
another Canadian attempt, like the Ottawa Initiative, to further humiliate the
people of Haiti.
Dahr Jamail Interviewed
Hear Canadian chronicler Jason Chesworth's interview with Iraq War correspondent Dahr Jamail, today at 5 PM EST, on CIUT 89.5's Newspeak.
Ukrainian Fairy Tale (and elections)
Killing Train: The Ukrainian Elections: A Dangerous Fairy Tale
US-backing for opposition forces in the Ukraine - which has already been exposed in some progressive and main-stream publications (see links below) - has been well documented. What hasn’t been addressed, however, is the way in which the reality of the situation on the ground has been obscured in the main-stream press in order to confirm old Cold War stereotypes and perpetuate the current mythologies of Empire globally. The ‘fairy tale’ of the Ukrainian elections is designed to legitimate attempts to reorder to post-Soviet space – through the agency of NATO, the IMF/World Bank, and civil society promotion outfits like the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), USAID, the Open Society Institute, etc. - in ways that serve the geostrategic and economic interests of Empire.
Kill the Sunni
Check out this trenchant post on this perspicacious blog. It is a must read. Really.
Sexual Trafficking, Canada
Élaine Audet: Canada Contributes to the Sexual Trafficking of Women for Purposes of Prostitution
According to the Minister and the spokepersons of this ministry, "Canadian women do not want to work any more in this profession ". They argue that the "scarcity" of perfomers such as lapdancers could only be filled by recruiting women abroad and by granting them special visas. According to the Minister, "there are needs in the exotic dance industry” and the government has "the obligation to answer them.". Under cover of this spurious excuse, immigration officers worked hand in hand with organized crime to supply the owners of clubs with a constant renewal of foreign women to meet the alleged "needs" of the prosperous Canadian sex industry.
Halifax protests Bush
Frantic energy reached a peak in Halifax this morning, as about 5,000 people rallied against the state visit of George W. Bush. The march began in Grand Parade square, and proceeded south along Barrington street to Victoria Park, where the Halifax Peace Coalition had organized a roster of speakers. Eager protesters continued to march down Marginal Road, heading closer to the location of the official speeches at Pier 21. Some of the crowd broke off and took a stand back at the park, but from what I could see the large majority of the crowd descended past the police pylons, down the hill towards Pier 21.