[wvns] Haiti, Palestine & Louisiana: Land of no cement

Haiti, Palestine & Louisiana: Land of no cement
By Jane Stillwater
http://jpstillwater.blogspot.com

The main difference between Cuba and Haiti seems to be that Cuba finally gave up waiting around for the powers-that-be in Washington to do right by it and decided to go its own way -- whereas Haiti was pretty much forced to stay sheltered under the wing of American corporatists' benevolence for the past century. Cuba now offers all of its citizens a free education up to and past university level and there is no one starving in Cuba. Just compare that to the shape that Haiti is in now -- and was in even before the earthquake.

It's the little things that count I guess.

The main difference between Vermont and some of our less fortunate states -- states like Mississippi, Louisiana, California and others that had bought the whole "privatization" package and now appear to be on the verge of bankruptcy after having given a bunch of corporatist con-men all of their money -- seems to be that Vermont didn't fall for all that private-businesses-can-do-it-better corporate welfare propaganda crap being pumped out by the media. Instead, Vermont simply developed its own healthcare system, remained solvent and went its own way.

No matter what they may tell you, no one can make a profit from performing necessary-but-unprofitable functions that benefit the public -- unless of course you either charge extra money to cover your profit margin as well as your goods and services or else deal out shoddy merchandise. Duh.

The main difference between Israel and Palestine appears to be that parts of Palestine have no cement. Israel apparently played ball with the American globalization rich kids and Palestine didn't. And as a result, now no one is allowed to import CEMENT into Gaza. Cement? Can you imagine life without cement? If you can't, stop by Gaza and see for yourself -- if you can get in.

There's a moral here somewhere and I personally believe that the moral is this: If you play ball with the Washington-driven "Ugly American" globalization One-World-Order get-rich-quick-at-any-cost privatization profit machines, then sooner or later you too are gonna end up looking like Palestine, Haiti or post-Katrina Louisiana. But if you don't play ball with the rich kids, you may risk ending up with no cement. Either way, the rich kids win and the rest of us lose.

PS: If anyone has any suggestions on how I can be allowed into Haiti (or even Gaza or Afghanistan or Louisiana!) as a journalist or as a volunteer (I have knowledge of and experience with emergency pain relief, infant nurturing and hospice care), please let me know.

PPS: Speaking of states that have fallen for corporatist propaganda to their own peril, I'd really like to recommend that a hand-recount of the ballots in Massachusetts be undertaken immediately. We all know who brought that electronic vote-counting software to the Boston tea party on January 19 -- and it wasn't We the People.

But if Scott Brown did win the January 19 election fair and square (which I doubt), then the people of the great state of Massachusetts have just cut off their noses to spite corporatist Barack Obama's face -- by electing yet another one of the corporate foxes who helped invade their hen house in the first place. It's a lose-lose situation for yet another American state. And it's a good thing that Massachusetts isn't prone to earthquakes.

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From Smirking Chimp: Why Is The Haiti Disaster Response So Screwed Up?: ...Lacking outside support, civilians have worked communally to try to save their own families. Supplies were sent but many have yet to get out of the airport. Troops have not been assigned to help deliver water or guard medical facilities. There is a fear of the wrath of a people that are pissed off at hearing about aid and money donated, and then seeing nothing trickling down into their neighborhoods.

And there is a deeper fear -- a political fear. With President Aristide, the man the US considers too radical for its tastes, anxious to return, there is fear that a possible revolt against the lack of help could turn angry and political. Hillary Clinton keeps telling the Haitians that we are their friends -- but many doubt it. They know that Aristide's Lavalas party is the most popular in Haiti and wants a more profound transformation than the US wants to allow. It had been banned from taking part in scheduled elections next month, that are likely to be canceled now. Haiti's president Preval is weak and dependent on US largesse.

Let's admit it, this disaster response is itself a disaster. And it's helping promote a new disaster to come.
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/26151

From Larry: For all the crazies who have been touting "no Global Warming" (because they don't understand CLIMATE CHANGE) because of all of the snow and cold this year --- well, here ya go.

Climate Change means that, as the world warms, the climate gets more extreme; the warms are warmer, and the colds are COLDER. Extremes! Get it? (sheesh -- having to explain something that a child could find out by Googling is really frustrating)

Crazies ---- er... deniers also ignore the lake levels in the huge reservoirs of the West and how, in the near future, they will go dry. How about a pic?http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/LakeMead/. ; Gad. Morons.

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From Arla: Palestinians in Gaza donate to Haiti

http://www.euronews.net/2010/01/18/earthquake-in-haiti-palestinians-in-gaza-donate-to-haiti/ :

It might be one of the world's poorest areas, besieged by its neighbour Israel, but Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip have been donating what little they have to help those struck by the earthquake in Haiti. Among the donations collected by a Red Cross representative: toys, toiletries and sweets – small luxuries that Gazans know only too well can brighten spirits in the face of devastation. Some also gave money.

Dr Jamal Khudari, from the Palestinian Committee against the Siege said: "It's a symbolic donation for the people of Haiti, for the children of Haiti, to tell them that we feel the suffering." There are ruins in the Gaza Strip reminiscent of the scenes in Haiti. These were not caused by a natural disaster, but by bombs and shells in Israel's deadly assault on Gaza, which drew to a close a year ago. Israel blamed attacks by militants for sparking the offensive. The reason for the destruction might be different, but Palestinians say they understand Haiti's pain.

By Magbana: HAITI: Is the US Setting Up a Military Jump Out Squad Focused on Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua?: I love it when I run into analyses that flesh out in detail what I have been surmising in my head. Here is another case. When I got back from a delegation trip to Haiti after the 2004 coup, many people asked me why the US would be involved in the overthrow of Aristide. Of course, there are many reasons. Aristide had doubled the minimum wage, expanded literacy programs enormously, and was resistant to privatization of state-owned companies. The elite of Haiti are primarily involved in the manufacturing business and many Americans companies own sweatshops there — the last thing they need is a better-paid, better-educated workforce. There are also interests in various mineral resources and off-shore oil.

BUT, I have always thought that one of the unspoken reasons for US intervention in Haiti is strategic positioning. If you look at a map, Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua sit on the shores of the Caribbean Basin (see below). Also, Haiti is very accessible to COLOMBIA as well. I happened to find someone on the Media Lens discussion forum, who I think has outlined a plausible scenario for what might be going down (see further below). More on this topic later, but chew on the following info for now. Stay tuned!
http://hondurasoye.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/haiti-is-the-us-setting-up-a-military-jump-out-squad-focused-on-cuba-venezuela-and-nicaragua/

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Please sign my petition to stop Congressional lobbyists from owning our country:


Constitutional Amendment to Stop Lobbyists: Congress has spent the last few decades avoiding enacting a decent election reform law. Let's help Congress along by demanding a Constitutional Amendment that will require political candidates to take ONLY $500 or less in campaign contributions from any given person or organization.

It's time for lobbyists to stop owning our government.

We can do this!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/constitutional-amendment-to-stop-lobbyists
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