[LAAMN] Coincidence, conspiracy and class struggle
Coincidence, Conspiracy and Class Struggle By Michael Novick, Anti-Racist Action-Los Angeles/People Against Racist Terror (ARA-LA/PART) A well-noted logical fallacy to which the human brain is particularly prone is post hoc, ergo propter hoc. In English, After this, therefore because of this -- attributing causation to what is merely sequence. It's the basis of most superstitions, probably a lot of religious belief, and definitely many conspiracy theories. However, while correlation does not imply causation, the correlation or coinciding of several related factors or events can often shed light on certain sometimes-hidden or obscured realities. I'd like to explore this in regard to three recent events or developments: the untimely death of Hugo Chavez, the selection of Pope Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the sudden conversion of the US political elite, Republican and Democrat alike, to the cause of comprehensive immigration reform. Whether the cancer that took the life of Chavez was actually induced by covert US action, as some have claimed, will probably never be determined, and is, in a way, beside the point. US hostility toward Chavez is undeniable, as was US willingness to countenance a coup attempt against him under George W. Bush. Christian fundamentalist and former GOP presidential candidate Pat Robertson went on the air quite openly to advocate covert action to kill Chavez. The endless series of CIA assassination plots against Fidel Castro are well documented. The reason Malcolm X described the assassination of John Kennedy as chickens coming home to roost was because the US role in the assassination of its own puppets in South Vietnam was widely recognized. In any event, the main thing is that Chavez's death has focused attention on US efforts to reassert its control over not only Venezuela but all the countries to its south. In turn, that should heighten our awareness that Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, Chile and other nations have been slipping the traces of domination by the US imperial Colossus of the North. Venezuela has developed a relationship with Iran that undermines US/Saudi efforts to dominate OPEC and oil prices. China has been expanding its commercial and diplomatic ties with Latin America, including even Mexico. These all represent both the weakening of US hegemony that has already taken place, and the prospect of still greater threats to US imperialism. The Republican 180 degree volte-face on immigration issues, accepting even a path to citizenship, was so precipitous that it left Jeb Bush, who wrote a book advocating immigration reform, with egg on his face. His effort to nudge his party back towards his brother's position, by moderating GOP hostility to the undocumented with a call for legalization without citizenship, was left in the dust by the time it was published. This required him to do an embarrassingly visible and public flip-flop on the path to citizenship question. Most commentators attribute this rapid-fire change to crass, immediate electoral considerations, but I think something deeper is at work. The Republicans already have more high-profile, high-ranking Latino office holders than the Democrats, including Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz and Gov. Susana Martinez of New Mexico. The shift on immigration reform reflects not just electoral demographics, but the larger question of containing the insurgent impact of increasingly fearless undocumented workers and youth, and grappling with the centrality of migrant labor to the Empire in both the periphery and the homeland. Finally, eyebrows were raised when the last pope resigned, for the first time in over 600 years. There was subdued speculation about what might have precipitated such a remarkable event. Benedict, AKA Ratzinger, had evidenced no embarrassment over his own role in the Hitler Youth in an era when the Roman Catholic Church had given its blessings to Hitler and Mussolini. He had expressed no remorse or remedy for institutionalized child sexual abuse by priests, nor corrected to any significant degree Catholic hostility towards Islam. The selection of a Latin American (though admittedly of Italian descent) may help explain his early departure from the papacy. Again, commentators focus on his successor's alleged humility, simplicity and `orientation towards the poor,' and on the Church's need to build and rebuild in the global South, where its demographic future lies, as well as to stem the tide of conversions to evangelical Protestantism that have been cutting into archdiocese in Brazil, Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America, as well as immigrant congregations in the US. But a deeper look again suggests more at work than demographics and marketing. The Roman Catholic Church, institutionally, is still one of the main forces of reaction in the world, well integrated into
[LAAMN] You Are Invited to a Party for John Johnson ~ Saturday, March 30th, 6:30 to 10:30 PM at The New Peace Center in Culver City ~ Music, Food, Fun Seeing John ~ Please RSVP if You Plan on Coming
You Are Invited to a Special Party/Fundraiser for John Johnson Publisher Editor of Change-Links Progressive Community Calendar The Evening of Saturday, March 30th 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM At The New Peace Center 3916 Sepulveda, Culver City 90230 Located One Block South of Venice Blvd. Plenty of Parking in the Back of the Building With Music, Food, Fun, Drinks Seeing John! Co-Hosted by: Theresa Bonpane Ross Altman Music by: Andy Manoff's Band, Dennis Davis, Ross Altman Jill Fenimore Guest Speakers: Blase Bonpane, Frank Dorrel, Chuck Anderson Others $10 at the Door or More if You Can Afford it! If You Plan on Coming, Please RSVP to Frank Dorrel: fdor...@sbcglobal.net - fdor...@addictedtowar.com - 310-838-8131 So We Can Know How Much Food to Order! John is Home Recovering! He is Doing Well. If you would like to communicate with John, here is his contact information: Email: cha...@pacbell.net Home Phone: 818.782.1412 - Cell: 818.681.7448 If you would like to send John a Donation (which would help him immensely right now) Mail a Check to: John Johnson/Change-Links PO Box 9682 North Hollywood, CA 91609 There will be no March Issue of Change-Links. Hopefully, with our help, John will be able to put out an April issue. www.change-links.org [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] Updates on Venezuela [Audio]: Alan Woods on Hugo Chavez and the Venezuela revolution
Adan Chavez, who is the governor of Barinas, likewise spoke of the need to continue his brothers political project. The people can be sure that due to the instructions of our *Comandante*, we wont fail him, he said. In what was an emotive speech, he added, Well construct Bolivarian socialism and well arrive at the point of no return. Nothing and no-one will stop it. 1. [image: Hands Off Venezuela]*Hands Off Venezuela* @*HOVcampaign*https://twitter.com/HOVcampaign Venezuelan president in charge and Bolivarian candidate @*nicolasmaduro*https://twitter.com/NicolasMadurois now on Twitter 2. 9h https://twitter.com/HOVcampaign/status/313202464839053313[image: Hands Off Venezuela]*Hands Off Venezuela* @*HOVcampaign*https://twitter.com/HOVcampaign US Sec of State R Jacobson supports @*HCapriles*https://twitter.com/hcapriles, says Venezuelan elections too quick to be fully democratic http:// bit.ly/12VP1fa http://t.co/FPJZOTXbA1 *Expand* https://twitter.com/HOVcampaign/status/313202464839053313 3. ** 16 Mar https://twitter.com/HOVcampaign/status/312941238347247616[image: Hands Off Venezuela]*Hands Off Venezuela* @*HOVcampaign*https://twitter.com/HOVcampaign Chavez to final resting place accompanied by the people PICs: http:// laiguana.tv/noticias/2013/ 03/15/4420/ASI-FUE-EL-TRASLADO-DEL-COMANDANTE-CHAVEZ-CON-SU-PUEBLO-AL-CUARTEL-DE-LA-MONTANA-FOTOS-.html http://t.co/r19T1ZL3Yz VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPxSWV kEL5Qfeature=player_embedded http://t.co/xxE19czDai pic.twitter.com/t6S3mage9X http://t.co/t6S3mage9X - *Audio* * * *http://archive.org/details/AlanWoodsChavezLeadOff* * * http://www.marxist.com/succesful-meeting-with-alan-woods-on-chavez-and-the-venezuelan-revolution.htm [Audio]: Succesful meeting with Alan Woods on Hugo Chavez and the Venezuela revolutionhttp://www.marxist.com/succesful-meeting-with-alan-woods-on-chavez-and-the-venezuelan-revolution.htm Written by UCLU MarxistsFriday, 15 March 2013 [image: Print]http://www.marxist.com/succesful-meeting-with-alan-woods-on-chavez-and-the-venezuelan-revolution/print.htm[image: E-mail]http://www.marxist.com/component/option,com_mailto/link,a61df3d51fb9d07ffc34f6426dd419d4a173a0d5/tmpl,component/ The huge response from ordinary people to the death of Hugo Chavez has highlighted the massive impact that the Venezuelan Revolution has had on millions of people worldwide. Never has the Venezuelan Revolution been more relevant than today. This explains why over 70 people came to see Alan Woods - editor ofwww.marxist.com and founder of the Hands Off Venezuelahttp://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/campaign - speak at the UCLU Marxist (University College London) society on the legacy of Chavez and the tasks of the Venezuelan Revolution now that its leader has passed away. [See the end of this report for an audio of Alan's opening speech]** There is a phrase that says nothing can stop an idea whose time has come. That not only explains the influence and respect Chavez was able to command, but also the widely noted influence that Alan Woods and the International Marxist Tendency had on Chavez. Marxist ideas are the only ones which can really explain revolutions and give a consistent, clear revolutionary programme with which to transform society. That is why Chavez recognised the value of Alans analysis of Venezuela and why the BBC and Daily Telegraph have featured Alanhttp://www.socialist.net/alan-woods-speaks-on-newsnight-about-hugo-chavez-and-venezuela.htmin their coverage of Chavez death. [image: alan - chavez]The meeting was started by Alan pointing out the cynical irony with which leaders of Western capitalist nations have attacked Chavez. They have accused him of irresponsibility and recklessness with Venezuelas oil reserves for daring to spend them on social programmes which have halved poverty, ended illiteracy and massively increased healthcare provision. Clearly it is far better to fritter away state finances on bailing out banks! Now theres a vision of sound economic management if ever there was one! In the past, as Alan pointed out, Venezuelan oil wealth went straight into the pockets of American and European multinationals and a few Venezuelan oligarchs, whilst chronic poverty went untouched. The Western press never complained then. Alan then summed up the experience of the Venezuelan Revolution, from the defeated rightwing coup of 2002 to the movement for workers control. The lesson of the Venezuelan Revolution is not the charisma, honesty and boldness of Chavez, although, as Alan pointed out in response to a question as to why the revolution happened in Venezuela and not, say, Chile, that has been vital. No, the real lesson is the heroism, sacrifice and militancy of the Venezuelan working class, which has rescued and driven forth the revolution time and again. This force is also the key to the future for the revolution. The
[LAAMN] The view from abroad: the world is not Billy Bob's Rib Pit
NOTE: The writer of this wonder screed could use a good atlas, and I don't agree with him about who is responsible for 911 (I think maybe it was Cheney and/or the Mossad), but otherwise IMHO his POV is RIGHT ON. Romi/Blue The View from Abroad The World is not Billy Bob's Rib Pit By Fred Reed March 16, 2013 Information Clearing House- The United States is the most hated country in the world, followed closely by Israel, and then by nobody. Why? Why not Ecuador? China? Russia? East Timor? The hostility puzzles many Americans, who genuinely believe their country to be a force for good, a pillar of democracy, a defender of human rights. To the rest of the world, none of this is even close. If you have lived abroad, as so very few Americans have, the explanation for the hatred is obvious: Meddling. Relentless, prideful, uncomprehending meddling, frequently military, often with horrendous death tolls. Americans, adroitly managed by a controlled press, historically illiterate, incurious, decreasingly educated, either have never heard of the American behavior that angers others, or believe it to have been inspired by virtuous motives. Nobody else thinks so. Add to unfamiliarity with the wider world the constantly inculcated assertion that America is the greatest, most wonderful nation ever to exist, a light to the world, a shining city on a hill, and you get a dangerously delusional state. Especially now. In the past, American economic and military supremacy were such that the US didn’t have to care what others thought. The times, they are a-changing. It might be wise to compare briefly the view through American and foreign eyes. Consider Iraq. To most of the world, the war on Iraq was brutal, unprovoked, and murderous. More than a few, looking at the ruins of Fallujah, thought of Guernica—of which few in the States have ever heard. Many Americans do not believe that we destroyed Iraq for oil, empire, and the Israel lobby, as was in fact the case. No. We wanted to topple an evil dictator and dispense the precious gift of democracy. It was a question of goodness. Many apparently still believe that Iraq had something to do with the attacks on New York. Again, controlled press, poor schooling, little curiosity. Similarly, Americans tend to see the war on Afghanistan as having to do with ending Terror or sprouting democracy—not as the Great Game (“Hanh?”) redux, or the quest for the TAPI pipeline (“Say whuh?”) or Caspian hydrocarbons. (“Caspian? You mean the Friendly Ghost?”) To most of the world, Afghanistan is just another sorry spectacle of American fighter-bombers killing peasants, of gutted children and drone attacks on half-identified targets. This, the merciless use of overwhelming firepower against lightly armed campesinos, is what the world sees, over and over. Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan. It isn’t pretty. I live in Mexico. In countless towns, probably in every city of any size, you see streets named Niños Heroes, Heroic Children. In Guadalajara there is a traffic circle with an imposing monument to them. These things commemorate the children who tried to fight the American soldiers invading Mexico City. In that (purely acquisitive) war Mexico lost half its territory. Yet how many gringos know that it ever happened, or when, or for that matter have ever heard of the bombardment of Veracruz or Pershing’s incursion? Americans who have some grasp of history sometimes say of the Mexican-American War that Mexicans should “get over it.” Some might tell the Jews to get over the Holocaust, or Americans to get over 9/11. It is much easier to tell people to get over what you have done to them than to get over things they have done to you. Then there is the War on Drugs. Americans believe this to be a campaign against Evil—best conducted, of course, in other people’s countries. There are other views. Thoughtful Mexicans (all I know, but I haven’t taken a poll) do not see why drugs are Mexico’s problem. If gringos don’t want drugs, why do they buy them? Why don’t they solve their own problems? It is no secret internationally that American students in high school and universities use drugs. Why don’t the Americans put their college kids in jail? And, they say, probably correctly, that Washington, by sponsoring the elimination of big drug lords, caused the current fighting among littler lords to control the trade, thus creating carnage. Predictably, the flow of drugs northward was not affected. Truculent patriots at Billy Bob’s Rib Pit know none of this. The combination of clueless ignorance and a sort of Walmart-parking-lot arrogance make mysterious to them much behavior of other countries. Consider their view of Iran, an evil Arab country, somewhere, that wants the Bomb so it can blow up Israel and New York. No explanation occurs to them for Iran’s hostility
[LAAMN] The ironies of the Venezuelan opposition, part 3
http://www.sabinabecker.com/2013/03/the-ironies-of-the-venezuelan-opposition-part-3.html The ironies of the Venezuelan opposition, part 3http://www.sabinabecker.com/2013/03/the-ironies-of-the-venezuelan-opposition-part-3.htmlMarch 17, 2013 Sabina Becker http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embeddedv=8GZ8QAWAEWA Mario Silva, host of VTVs popular media-criticism show La Hojilla (The Razorblade), dissects yet another Venezuelan opposition irony. This time, its the use of a deceased poet and journalist to ridicule a recently deceased president. http://www.aporrea.org/actualidad/n225079.html Only, as is so often the case with hysterical VenOpIronía, the poet-journalist with the sharp tongue turns out to be not one of *their* guys, but *The family of Venezuelan poet and journalist Aquiles Nazoa indignantly repudiated the opinion piece published last Friday by the newspaper Tal Cual, signed by Laureano Márquez, in which the memory of the author was manipulated with the intent to ignore and even judge our much-battered reality of today after the passing of Comandante Hugo Chávez.* * In an open letter, signed by nine members of the Nazoa family, headed by Aída and Haydée Nazoa González (sisters of the poet who wrote Humor and Love), rejected the use of Aquiles Nazoas work to justify the disrespect and ridicule felt on the right toward the Venezuelan people, now mourning the physical departure of Comandante Hugo Chávez Frías. We are outraged at the use of Aquiles Nazoa and his work to justify the ill-feelings of those who stubbornly and, to their own misfortune, insist on not being part of this colossal moment of our history in which the infinite love of a man and his infinite struggle has given us our homeland, reads the letter. The Nazoa family pointed out that the decontextualized remembrance of Aquiles Nazoas humoristic works is not even the intention of the poor devil who wrote the article, nor the ventriloquist manipulating him from his hiding-place in the shadows, nor even him who directs this periodical from the catacombs of the Fourth Republic. For the family of the Venezuelan author, it is evident that this manipulation is conceived and conducted from way over there, from the same place from whence came the blows and beatings that killed Leoncio Martínezhttp://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leoncio_Mart%C3%ADnez, whom they also used on their front page to cover themselves. The family of the writer, who was cited by a right-wing newspaper, recalled that Nazoa was a card-carrying revolutionary, a communist without fissures, a poet of the peoples struggle for justice and sovereignty, a staunch defender of the heroic Cuban Revolution, an irreducible militant of popular causes, and a profound connoisseur of the works of José Martí and his cause. For that reason, they expressed their indignation at the disrespect to his memory and that of the late Comandante Chávez: An old strategy of cowards is to use a dead man to point the finger at another dead man, both of the people, both adored, both revolutionaries. * *In the letter, they also emphasize that Nazoa was a portentous representative of our culture and our identity, most profound and a man of transparent, luminous and freedom-loving ideas, who taught them to those of us who were closest to him, and we could see his heart, how his life and his struggle were one and the same, and that in the Revolution, they conjoin with immortality.* Translation mine. Some background is on order here to help understand the depth and absurdity of this bit of irony. Teodoro Petkoffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teodoro_Petkoff, the publisher/editor-in-chief of the opposition-aligned right-wing newspaper *Tal Cual,* is a former Marxist guerrilla. He seems to be one of that sad generation of turncoat opportunists (the late Christopher Hitchens is anotherhttp://rabble.ca/books/reviews/2013/03/review-trial-christopher-hitchens) who saw more profit in repudiating their early political allegiances (one cant really call*them convictions*, since these guys tend not to have any, beyond whats in it for me) than in sticking with them, going deeper, and making history. Petkoff started out in the 1960s, shortly after the last Venezuelan dictator was deposed and US-style duopoly democracy installed, by taking to the hills with a rifle and a copy of the *Communist Manifesto*. When the guerrillas disbanded, around the turn of the next decade, he was forced to take up other means of sustenance, and his revolutionary pretensions began to slide. By the late 1990s, he was so far gone in the opposite direction that he was planning minister for the conservative government of Rafael Caldera, and responsible in no small part for their adoption of financially disastrous neoliberal policies, as prescribed by the IMF *et al*. He who had once been gung-ho for Cuban-style communism, was now equally gung-ho, if not more so, for predatory capitalism. After Hugo
[LAAMN] Attacks threaten female Yemeni revolutionaries
[image: Women Revolution] HIND AL-ERYANIMarch 13, 2013 https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/Author/Hind.Aleryani https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/Author/Hind.Aleryani https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/Author/Hind.Aleryani - https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/Author/Hind.AleryaniA - A - A print article Attacks threaten female Yemeni revolutionaries [image: yemeni women] During the Yemeni revolution of 2011, women made themselves visible in a manner previously unseen in the country's rural north. They took part in protests, staged sit-ins on public squares and delivered speeches in front of crowds of tribal men. These revolutionaries broke many barriers for women in Yemen, lending them a new potential role in society. Women like Tawakkul Karman nicknamed Iron Woman and Mother of the Revolution established themselves as role models, not just for young women, but for people everywhere who challenge dictatorship. Yet these advances came at a price, as it exposed women to new threats. Activists from various political affiliations often came to be targeted, from false accusations and libel and to accusations of apostasy and death threats. Among the key activists who became permanent targets are Amal al-Basha, Tawakkul Karman, Arwa Othman, Samia al-Aghbari, and Bushra al-Maqtari. Al-Maqtari, a writer and a member of the Socialist Party, was accused of insulting Allah in a *fatwa* issued by Yemeni religious clerics. The scholars demanded that al-Maqtari recant an article she wrote under the title Year One of the Revolution, in which she writes: things are no longer ok. Allah, worthy of thanks, is no longer present at night; he has left us to fend for ourselves. Ruthless eyes are emerging from afar with a backdrop of soldiers, tribes, hostile environment and Allah who is not seeing us. Outraged, Yemeni religious scholars called on the state to take legal action against al-Maqtari, and threatened that they would not keep silent about what she wrote. While this *fatwa*endangered al-Maqtari, it also led to her being awarded the François Giraud prize for peace. Samia al-Aghbari is an activist, journalist, and member of the Socialist Party. She was the target of the same accusations of apostasy as Bushra al-Maqtari, as former al-Islah Party member Akram al-Ghuwayzi filed a lawsuit in which he accused her of mocking and belittling religion because she referred once in a speech to the alliance between religion, tribes, and the military as an ugly alliance. Arwa Othman is an activist and writer who won the Italian international Minerva Award. She is a regular critic of the Muslim Brotherhood, both on her Facebook page and in her writings in official and unofficial newspapers. Her opponents have responded by launching an electronic campaign against her Facebook page to report it as abusive; this campaign succeeded in causing her page to be shut down for about one week. But Amal al-Basha seems to be the woman best equipped to provoke entire political parties. The Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood al-Islah is a regular target on al-Bashas Facebook page, which has gained extensive support from her followers. The party especially detested al-Bashas appointment as the official spokesperson for the National Dialogues Technical Committee. One of her most fruitful actions resulted from her accusation that Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Suhail TV failed to record a government session because her hair was uncovered. The TV channel did not take this accusation lightly, and invited al-Basha as a guest on one of its shows. She accepted the invitation, and her appearance was the first time Suhail TV viewers saw a program guest her hair uncovered. Unlike her fellow female activists, Tawakkul Karman is under attack on various fronts. In addition to hostility from former President Ali Abdallah Salehs supporters, she is regularly attacked by supporters of the revolution who are opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood (the party with which she affiliates). Extremists from Tawakkuls own party also criticize her in their statements. MP Sheikh Abdullah Ali al-Adini recently said she holds weird ideas because she stated in a TV interview that she believes in Islam as values, but not as legislation. Al-Islah Party activist Rafiqa al-Kahali also wrote an article entitled *Tawakkul Karman and the narcissism of the other side*, in which she said that the Nobel Prize winner suffers from a mental disorder and a failing memory. Even though women are clearly enjoying new political freedoms and stature in Yemen, it seems as though the most successful of them are suffering the same criticism that successful women the world over face, from their peers as well as their enemies. However, despite these new obstacles, the doors this revolution in Yemen have opened for women cannot now be closed. This article is a translation of the original
[LAAMN] Haiti: Four of Johny Jean’s UN assailants convicted of “personal violence”
Haiti: Four of Johny Jeans assailants convicted of personal violencehttp://lo-de-alla.org/2013/03/haiti-four-of-johny-jeans-assailants-convicted-of-personal-violence/ *Haitian government has an obligation to stand up for its citizen* [Translation of an article from *AlterPresse Haïti* for March 14. See original here http://www.alterpresse.org/spip.php?article14246 and related articles herehttp://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/peacekeepers-accused-sexually-assaulting-haitian-teen/story?id=14437122singlePage=true#.T66NvFKiof0 andherehttp://lo-de-alla.org/2012/05/case-of-alleged-sexual-abuse-by-un-troops-in-haiti-moves-forward/ .] *Port-au-Prince, March 14* Four of the five Uruguayan marines accused by Haitian citizen Johny Jean of rape have been convicted of personal violence [*violence privée*], the victims lawyer, Gervais Charles, announced in a press release delivered to AlterPresse on March 12. This information reached the lawyer on March 11 through the new Ecuadorian ambassador to Haiti, Raul Pollack Giampietro. Not even the Ecuadorian foreign service was notified formally of the court decision, which was of concern at one level or another to Haitian and Ecuadorian diplomats, according to the press release from Charles office. The ambassador, as strange as it may seem, gave us to understand that he learned of it by means of the press, the document reads. Although he considers the punishment given the assailants to be less than he hoped for, Charles holds it is established that the responsibility of Uruguay and the United Nations Mission for the Stabilization of Haiti (MINUSTAH) is clearly an obligation. The Haitian youths lawyer is awaiting a ruling on the punishment of the MINUSTAH rapist soldiers. Johny Jeans attorney hopes that the case, now in the hands exclusively of the Uruguayan executive, will proceed at a more reasonable pace (than it has so far), which should permit the victim to be compensated for the pain he has suffered. For now, the victim of rape by the MINUSTAH soldiers has regained some self-esteem. But despite the support of his family, the monstrous scar left by his assailants crime blocks the process of calm contemplation of a future for a young man of his age, Charles stated. After the crime of rape committed against him by the five Uruguayan MINUSTAH soldiers, Johny Jean was obliged to leave his birthplace of Port-Salut (in the south of the country) to move to Port-au-Prince, where the living conditions are not what he had hoped for. So far, the current political administration of Haiti has shown a certain indifference to the case of young Haitian citizen Johny Jean, who was raped on Haitian territory by Uruguayan MINISTAH soldiers, in Charles opinion. They [Johny Jeans lawyers] remind the Haitian government of its obligation to stand up for its citizen, the victim of such an odious crime, prevented form pursuing the delinquents by the immunity granted to the Uruguayan MINUSTAH soldiers, they write in the press release. The Haitian government has taken on only a portion of the cost of the trip and the stay in Uruguay for Johny Jean and his mother. On May 10, 2012, Johny Jean testified and identified his assailants in court in Montevideo. The indignation shown by all sectors of the population should make the Haitian government understand that this case should be treated with the government of Uruguay and MINUSTAH as a priority, Gervais Charles advised. In case the Haitian victim of rape does not find justice and suitable reparations, the lawyers are prepared to take the case before the United Nations. If the Haitian government continues to infringe on the right to justice of Haitian citizen Johny Jean, to the benefit of the Uruguayan MINUSTAH soldiers, it is possible we will find ourselves before a tribunal against the government, warns Charles, who intends, above all, to proceed with restraint. Eighteen-year-old Johny Jean was taken by force into the Uruguayan base at Port-Salut where he was raped by United Nations soldiers, as confirmed in a report on an inquiry by the Réseau National de Défense des Droits Humains (RNDDH National Network in Defense of Human Rights), released on September 5, 2012. http://lo-de-alla.org/2013/03/haiti-four-of-johny-jeans-assailants-convicted-of-personal-violence/#more-3824 *Is the Caracol Industrial Park Worth the Risk?* * **by Haiti Grassroots Watch *[image: ...]Last October, officials from the Haitian government and a number of foreign governments and institutions, who call themselvesfriends of Haiti, saw their dream become a reality. Finally, there was earthquake reconstruction progress worth celebrating with the inauguration of the giant Caracol Industrial Park (PIC), which, according to its backers, will someday host 20,000 or maybe even 65,000 jobs. President Michel Martelly was there, as were Haitian and foreign diplomats, the Clinton power couple, millionaires and actors, all
[LAAMN] Two years after Fukushima, Japan's nuclear lobby bounces back
Two years after Fukushima, Japan's nuclear lobby bounces back Published: Friday, Mar 8, 2013, 16:28 IST Place: TOKYO | Agency: Reuters The crowds of anti-nuclear protesters have dwindled since Japan's Summer of Discontent last year, and a new government is keen to revive the country's atomic energy industry, but Morishi Izumita says he is not about to throw in the towel. We can't give up. I'm here every week, said 64-year-old Izumita, one of hundreds gathered outside the prime minister's office one Friday nearly two years after a huge earthquake and tsunami triggered the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986 at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant. We need to be out here protesting. Not giving up is the important thing, he added, as other activists banged on drums and chanted Stop nuclear power, protect our children. As Japan approaches the second anniversary of the Fukushima disaster on March 11, its anti-nuclear movement appears to be struggling and disgraced pro-nuclear forces are rallying. Although a recent survey showed some 70% of Japanese want to phase out nuclear power eventually, an equal number back their new, pro-nuclear prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who wants to restart off-line reactors if they meet new safety standards as he pushes policies aimed at reviving a long-stagnant economy. The anti-nuclear movement will have a chance to show its strength this weekend as Japan commemorates the disaster. The Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes, which organised many of last year's mass protests, has called for a mass rally to protest outside parliament on Sunday, the eve of the anniversary. The March 11, 2011 quake and tsunami killed nearly 19,000 people and smashed Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima plant, triggering meltdowns, spewing radiation and forcing some 160,000 people to flee their homes, many never to return. The disaster also destroyed a carefully cultivated myth that nuclear power was cheap and safe - and mobilised Japan's often apathetic voters in huge anti-nuclear demonstrations during a 2012 summer of discontent. Half a year later, the pro-nuclear Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) swept back to power - not because voters had changed their minds about energy policy, but because neither the then-ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) nor smaller opposition parties provided a credible standard-bearer for anti-nuclear sentiment. Now, the issue seems to have been swept aside amid hopes Abe can revive the economy and restore dented national pride. Two years have passed, the economic situation is getting better ... and it may be true people are forgetting about energy issues, said Hiroshi Takahashi at the Fujitsu Research Institute, a member of the panel that drafted the DPJ government's plan to exit atomic energy by the 2030s. Takahashi, along with most other experts who questioned whether Japan should stick with atomic energy, has been bumped from the panel as Abe's government begins its policy rethink. Abe's government plans to review from scratch his DPJ predecessor's plan to exit nuclear power while boosting renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind power, and wants to restart off-line reactors that are certified safe under standards now being drafted by a new Nuclear Regulatory Agency. The 'nuclear village' is back in the driver's seat, said Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University's Japan campus. The term 'nuclear village' refers to the powerful nexus of politicians, bureaucrats and utilities that for decades promoted atomic power in Japan. All the noises from the government are in favour of restarts ... They own the corridors of power. All but two of Japan's 50 reactors remain switched off after the disaster and no more are expected to be restarted until after July, when the new regulator is due to finalise tougher safety requirements more in line with international norms. That would also be after an upper house election that Abe's ruling bloc needs to win to cement its grip on power. The 58-year-old Abe, who has focused on reviving the stagnant economy since taking office in December, is enjoying sky-high popularity ratings of around 70%. Surveys suggest, though, that anti-nuclear sentiment may be simmering beneath the surface. Fifty-nine percent in an Asahi newspaper poll last month wanted Japan to abandon atomic energy by the 2030s and another 12 percent by a later date. Only 18% said Japan should stick with nuclear energy indefinitely. Nuclear energy supplied nearly 30 percent of Japan's electricity needs before Fukushima and proponents argue it is vital to provide a stable electricity supply, keep down utility rates and prevent Japanese manufacturers from fleeing overseas in ever greater numbers, taking jobs with them. You'd think that people would have acquiesced to the so-called facts, but that doesn't appear to be the case, said Andrew DeWit, a
[LAAMN] Fortress of Lies
Fortress of Lies By James Howard Kunstler on March 11, 2013 9:24 AM History has a special purgatory where it sometimes stashes feckless nations punch drunk on their own tragic choices: the realm where anything goes, nothing matters, and nobody cares. We've surely crossed the frontier into that bad place in these days of dwindling winter, 2013. Case in point: Mr. Obama's choice of Mary Jo White to run the Securities and Exchange Commission. A federal prosecutor back in the Clinton years, Ms. White eventually spun through the revolving door onto the payroll of Wall Street law firm Debevoise Plimpton, whose clients included Too Big To Fail banks JP Morgan, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and UBS AG, defending them in matters stemming from the financial crisis that began in 2008, as well as other companies that needed defending from allegations of financial misconduct, such as the giant HCA hospital chain (insider trading), General Electric (now a virtual hedge fund with cases before the SEC), and the German-based Siemens Corporation (federal bribery charges). A republic with a sense of common decency -- and common sense -- would have stopped the nomination right there and checked the no box on Mary Jo White just for violating the most basic premise of credibility: that trip through the revolving door that shuttles banking regulators from the government agencies to the companies they used to oversee and sometimes back again. Has there not been enough national conversation about the scuzziness of that routine to establish that it's not okay? Does it not clearly represent the essence of dysfunction and corruption in our regulatory affairs? Didn't President Obama promise to seal up the revolving door? So how could Mary Jo White possibly be taken seriously as a candidate for the job? And how is it possible that everyone and their uncle, from The New York Times editorial page to the Sunday cable news political shows to the halls of congress, is not jumping up and down hollering about this? Well, because anything goes, nothing matters, and nobody cares. The funny part is that, when challenged over her past connections to the banks and companies she would now have to regulate, Mary Jo White offered to recuse herself from future cases involving them. So, from the get-go as SEC head, Ms. White would not concern herself with the doings of JP Morgan, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley? How is it that gales of laughter did not blow Mary Jo White clean out of the hearing room? Is there not another qualified person from sea to shining sea who could come in and do the job without one hand tied behind his or her back? Now it also turns out that upon leaving Debevoise Plimpton, Ms. White is scheduled to collect monthly retirement checks from the company amounting to a half million dollars a year -- that's for life, by the way -- while she supposedly runs the SEC. How is that not a conflict of interest? The remedy proposed by Ms. White and her attorneys was for her to take the retirement loot as a lump sum during her tenure as SEC chair, after which she could revert to collecting her pension in the $42,500 monthly payouts. Pardon me, but, well ...what the fuck? What planet are we on? As if that's not enough, Ms. White's husband, John W. White, is a partner at another giant Wall Street law firm, Cravath, Swaine Moore, which frequently tangles with the SEC on behalf of its clients. Mr. White proposed to change his pay structure while his wife runs the SEC. More gales of laughter. He is also on the advisory committee of the Financial Standards Accounting Board, the group that oversees national accounting practices and which, in 2009, infamously changed its Rule157 so that TBTF banks could mark to fantasy the fraudulent CDOs and other bond-like innovative securities that they created -- many of which they had to eat after the housing bubble bust when the collateral for these swindles lost its value and the innovators could no longer pawn the stuff off on credulous pension funds and other client muppets. The silence over this disgraceful matter -- and many others like it, including the dead hand in the empty suit posing as US Attorney General -- indicates that not only is the rule of law extinct in this country, but so are public figures of principle and credible news organs. Nobody has made a noise about it. Anything goes, nothing matters, and nobody cares. So, the objection to it has to come from outside the authorized channels. And the consequences will mount outside the fortress of lies that the establishment has become. http://kunstler.com/blog/2013/03/fortress-of-lies.html [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network
[LAAMN] George Bush Has Painted Over 50 Puppies, And His Teacher Says He'll Go Down In History As A Great Artist
George Bush Has Painted Over 50 Puppies, And His Teacher Says He'll Go Down In History As A Great Artist http://www.businessinsider.com/george-bush-puppy-paintings-2013-3#ixzz2NjRYqyrm [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
Re: [LAAMN] George Bush Has Painted Over 50 Puppies, And His Teacher Says He'll Go Down In History As A Great Artist
How endearing from the man who as a kid use to blow up frogs with firecrackers. So when do we get to see Obama's doodles on his Kill lists? How absolutely entertaining! Just like the Big Media outlets! Through cross-collaboration, we intend to reach a wide audience with a progressive message and report on the developing social, political, and cultural movements of the time, providing a 'voice for the voiceless' throughout the Southland. We are culturally inclusive, opposed to racism, sexism and homophobia and function democratically as a network of working groups around various projects. We stand for tolerance, justice, equality and human rights as opposed to corporate-controlled media which stand for profit and keeping the majority of people ignorant of political, economic and social issues which impact them. Scott George Bush Has Painted Over 50 Puppies, And His Teacher Says He'll Go Down In History As A Great Artist http://www.businessinsider.com/george-bush-puppy-paintings-2013-3#ixzz2NjRYqyrm [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] 2/14 VIDEO: This is how you stand up for immigrant rights at a Senate hearing
Activist Video Service: _http://www.activistvideo.org/_ (http://www.activistvideo.org/) 2/14 VIDEO: This is how you stand up for immigrant rights at a Senate hearing VIDEO: _http://www.activistvideo.org/views.asp?id=3060_ (http://www.activistvideo.org/views.asp?id=3060) Undocumented immigrants are making sure their standpoint is influencing legislation for immigration overhaul. [By: _http://www.mycuentame.org_ (http://www.mycuentame.org/) ] == National Immigrant Solidarity Network No Immigrant Bashing! Support Immigrant Rights! webpage: _http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org_ (http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/) e-mail: _info@ImmigrantSolidarity.org_ (mailto:in...@immigrantsolidarity.org) New York: (212)330-8172 Los Angeles: (213)403-0131 Washington D.C.: (202)595-8990 Chicago: (773)942-2268 * join the immigrant Solidarity Network daily news litserv, send e-mail to: isn-subscr...@lists.riseup.net Please consider making a donation to the important work of National Immigrant Solidarity Network Send check pay to: National Immigrant Solidarity Network/AFGJ National Immigrant Solidarity Network P.O. Box 751 South Pasadena, CA 91031-0751 (All donations are tax deductible) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[LAAMN] 3/13 VIDEO: DC Obama big bucks fundraiser draws drone, Keystone XL protesrs
Activist Video Service: _http://www.activistvideo.org_ (http://www.activistvideo.org/) Projects of Action LA Network _http://www.ActionLA.org_ (http://www.actionla.org/) 3/13: Obama big bucks fundraiser draws drone, corruption, and Keystone XL protesters at Washington DC VIDEO: _http://www.activistvideo.org/views.asp?id=3061_ (http://www.activistvideo.org/views.asp?id=3061) On the 13th of March, President Barrack Obama held a fundraiser for wealthy donors at Washington DC. While police blocked off K st and nearby streets in rush hour, Obama's motorcade had to pass jeering protesters objecting to the Keystone XL tar sands protest, drone murders, and big bucks political corruption. Some of the protesters objected to the fact that those raising in some cases as much as $400,000 had access, and those without money did not. One of the tripod mounted drones was present with the drone protesters. The largest turnout was 350.org and others protesting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which Obama can unilaterally block without asking Congress for anything, Through all of this the cops refused to let even pedestrians cross the streets, shutting down one of the busiest intersections in DC to everyone else for the convenience of the Democratic party and bucks-up donors buying access to Obama. [By: Washington DC Indymedia] 3/16: Solidarity march for Greek antifascists visits Greek, German Embassies, then IMF VIDEO: _http://www.activistvideo.org/views.asp?id=3062_ (http://www.activistvideo.org/views.asp?id=3062) On the 16th of March, Activists from Greece visited DC on their multi-city tour. The IWW, supported by Positive FOrce, Cheaspeake Earth First! and the Anarchist Alliance-DC network staged a solidarity march out of Dupont Circle. [By: Washington DC Indymedia] Action LA Network Action for World Liberation Everyday! Tel: (213)403-0131 URL: _http://www.ActionLA.org_ (http://www.actionla.org/) e-mail: _Info@ActionLA.org_ (mailto:i...@actionla.org) To join the list, send e-mail to: _actionla-subscribe@lists.riseup.net_ (mailto:actionla-subscr...@lists.riseup.net) **WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT! Please support our important works of ActionLA! Send your donations to: ActionLA P.O. Box 751 South Pasadena, CA 91031-0751 (at the memo line write donations to ActionLA/AFSC, all donations are tax deductible) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
