Latin America News Review

Does Brian Nelson have the moral authority to be taken seriously as a chronicler of Venezuela's coup?

2009-07-10T14:18:00.000-07:00

By Justin Delacour

Latin America News Review

July 10, 2009

Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to read Brian Nelson's book about the failed Venezuelan coup of 2002 because I'm swamped with other stuff, but I was able to read Greg Wilpert's interesting critique of the book. After reading Wilpert's review, I must say that Nelson is really grasping at straws if he claims that Chavista gunmen on Caracas' Llaguno Bridge could have been responsible for some of the deaths of unarmed opposition protesters who were at least 1,650 feet away. That hypothesis isn't plausible, especially given the downward trajectory at which the Chavista gunmen were shooting (at armed police, who were probably about 200 feet away, judging from the video footage). Somehow Nelson expects us to believe that the Llaguno gunmen's bullets could have ricocheted more than 1000 feet into opposition protesters. I doubt that's even possible.

Since I haven't read Nelson's book, I'm not going to add any further comments about it, but there is one point that I think is worth adding to a critique of Nelson himself. It's worth noting that Nelson has made statements that call into question his ability to formulate reasoned political judgements in accordance with basic democratic norms. For example, Nelson said in an interview with Francisco Toro that the "logical choice" to replace Chavez was the wealthy businessman and coup leader Pedro Carmona. And just to clarify, I'm not taking Nelson's statement out of context. Nelson's position is that Carmona shouldn't have moved to jettison the Supreme Court, National Assembly and Constitution, but he very clearly states that the military high command's decision to anoint Carmona as the country's interim president was legitimate. That position, in and of itself, demonstrates Nelson's total disregard of basic democratic norms. Nelson's position does not jibe with any contemporary standard of what a constitutional succession would have looked like in the event that Chavez had actually resigned (which he hadn't). Let me just reiterate what I wrote almost three months ago:

When we look around the region over the last 10 years, we find that, in the wake of presidential resignations (in Ecuador, Argentina and Bolivia), the constitutional successor was either the Vice President or a leader whom the legislature selected. That's the only operative standard in a procedural democracy. To say that Carmona was the "logical choice" is to engage in open apologetics for a coup d'état, for there is no other label that so properly describes a form of succession whereby the military selects a new leader.

Thus, I cannot help but conclude that Brian Nelson lacks the basic principles necessary to be taken seriously as a historian of Venezuela's coup of 2002.

Eva Golinger on the coup in Honduras

2009-07-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

GRITtv

July 9, 2009

Since Honduran president Manuel Zelaya was forcibly removed from power in a military coup, the US media have made the argument that the deposed leader was engineering plans to change the constitution in order to stay in power. At least that's how Charles Krauthammer characterized it recently on Fox news, without failing to compare Hugo Chavez to Hitler. That's in the US. But how is the coup in Honduras being covered in Latin America?

We're joined by journalist Eva Golinger who has been covering the political developments from Venezuela. Golinger is a Venezuelan American attorney, writer, and investigator and the author of The Chavez Code: Cracking US Intervention in Venezuela. She joins us by skype.

Latin America news roundup - July 9, 2009

2009-07-10T00:37:00.000-07:00

TOP STORY - In rare U.S. broadcast, ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya discusses coup, Costa Rica talks, U.S. role and more (Democracy Now!)

Bolivia - Bolivia to settle landless peasants along Brazil border (Latin America Herald Tribune)

Honduras - In Honduras, one-sided news of crisis (Washington Post)

Honduras - AP says Honduras' first de facto foreign minister called Obama a "little black field hand" (Associated Press)

Honduras - Latin America experts call on Clinton to oppose early elections option in Honduras (CommonDreams.org)

Honduras - After Honduras coup outburst, Chavez works in wings (Reuters)

Latin America - "Massive transfer of power to the poor” needed in crisis (Inter Press Service)

Mexico - US-trained death squads? (Mother Jones)

Peru - Opposition steps up protests against Peru's Garcia (Reuters)

Noam Chomsky: American Foreign Policy in Latin America

2009-07-09T22:46:00.000-07:00

Second Latin America news roundup - July 8, 2009

2009-07-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

Honduras' pro-coup daily La Prensa airbrushed the blood out of the photo of a fatally wounded protester.

TOP STORY - Honduras: What's black and white and gets the red out? (The Field)

Chile - Meditations on freedom: From oppression to liberty (NPR)

El Salvador - Salvadorans think Funes will be good (Angus Reid Global Monitor)

Guatemala - Poverty In Guatemala (GetMyArticles.com)

Honduras - Honduras coup costs oil, aid as economy stalls (Associated Press)

Honduras - WOLA strongly condemns suspension of civil liberties in Honduras (The Washington Office on Latin America)

Honduras - The church and the military coup d’état (Upside Down World)

Honduras - A coup is not a coup, a not-coup is a coup (History News Network)

Latin America - China replacing U.S. as top trade partner in Latin America (McClatchy)

Mexico - Mexico's Calderon suffers mid-term defeat (Reuters)

Latin America news roundup - July 8, 2009

2009-07-08T01:01:00.000-07:00

Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, center, wife of Honduras' ousted president Manuel Zelaya, receives flowers during a march in Tegucigalpa, Tuesday, July 7, 2009. Honduras' interim government gave hints Tuesday of a possible solution to a crisis caused by a coup, expressing the first signs of flexibility about the possible return of ousted leader Manuel Zelaya. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Honduras - Honduras first lady leads fight for Zelaya return (Associated Press)

Brazil - Rich countries doing little to help poor: Brazil's Lula (Reuters)

Brazil - World trade needs alternatives to dollar: Brazil (Reuters)

Brazil - China, Russia, India, Brazil want currency debate (Reuters)

Brazil - Lula: G8 an idea whose time is past (EuroSavant)

Colombia - Uribe authorizes Cordoba to negotiate FARC hostage release (Colombia Reports)

Honduras - President Zelaya: De facto government’s military repression is a criminal act (Creative-i)

Honduras - Honduras rivals set to hold talks (Al Jazeera)

Venezuela - Honduras and a naked woman in Venezuela (Narcosphere)

World - “Globalisation and the labour market: A social solution to the crisis," with Robert Pollin (Up at Eric's)

Latin America news roundup - July 8, 2009

2009-07-07T22:50:00.000-07:00

Chilean Foreign Minister Alberto Van Klaveren

TOP STORY - Chile may remove Honduran Ambassador from Santiago (Santiago Times)

Brazil - Brazil can face rich countries as an equal: Lula (Xinhua)

Brazil - Goulart’s kin say Brazil not committed to investigating his death (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Chile - Rifle used to kill Chile’s Victor Jara turns up (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Honduras - The battle against the coup makers heats up (Socialist Worker)

Honduras - Support for democracy in Honduras coup reaction (canada.com)

Honduras - The real issue with the Honduran coup (Beautiful Horizons)

Latin America - Latin America: Wounds that haven’t healed (Socialist Worker)

Latin America - Interview: Eduardo Galeano (Oregon Live)

World - The physical and economic devastation of Gaza (Dollars & Sense)

Al Jazeera's excellent English-language coverage of Honduras

2009-07-06T23:17:00.000-07:00

Coup sends Honduras ministers into hiding

Aid-dependent Honduras faces economic backlash

Hondurans troubled by coup impact

Honduran economy hurt by political instability

Latin America news roundup - July 6, 2009

2009-07-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

TOP STORY - Zelaya supporters escalate their fight in Honduras (Associated Press)

Brazil - 'Fordlandia' an engrossing biography of a complex man (Los Angeles Times)

Honduras - Honduran coup not to last long: Brazilian FM (Xinhua)

Honduras - Hondurans mount 'tele-coup' to counter one-sided media (AFP)

Honduras - In pictures: Honduran airport drama (BBC)

Honduras - Zelaya plans another attempt to return to Honduras (Bloomberg)

Latin America - Marta Harnecker: Popular power in Latin America (Links)

Latin America - Report on the second Latin American meeting of worker-recovered factories: "Our solidarity is permanent" (In Defense of Marxism)

United States - U.S. military going from Ecuador to Colombia? (The Latin Americanist)

United States - Robert Gates, meet Robert McNamara (The Progressive)

Honduran coup resistance growing

2009-07-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

Sandra Cuffe: Military resorts to killing, numbers in streets double - even opponents of Zelaya join in

More at The Real News

Real News

July 6, 2009

An interview with Sandra Cuffe, independent journalist reporting from the streets of Tegucigalpa, Honduras on the day the military opened fire on protesters. Tension peaked as unprecedented thousands marched to the airport to welcome the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, a return that was thwarted by the military.

Bio

Sandra Cuffe is an independent journalist and photographer from Montréal, Canada. She contributes regularly to The Dominion magazine in Canada, and Latin American political newsletter, Upside Down World.

You can find her photos from Honduras at: http://flickr.com/photos/lavagabunda

Marta Harnecker's ideas for the struggle in Latin America

2009-07-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

The radical Chilean sociologist Marta Harnecker

#1 - Insurrections or revolutions? The role of the political instrument (Links)

#2 - Convince, not impose (Links)

#3 - To be at the service of popular movements, not displace them (Links)

#4 - Should we reject bureaucratic centralism and simply use consensus? (Links)

#5 - Minorities can be right (Links)

#6 - The need to unite the party left and the social left (Links)

#7 - Reasons for popular scepticism concerning politics and politicians (Links)

#8 - The left must attempt to set the agenda for struggle (Links)

#9 - Respect differences and be flexible in regards to activism (Links)

#10 - A strategy for building unity (Links)

#11 - Popular consultations: spaces that allow for the convergence of different forces (Links)

#12 - Don’t confuse desires with reality (Links)

Honduran Coup Regime Blocks Ousted President Zelaya’s Return; Troops Open Fire on Supporters at Airport Killing Two

2009-07-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

Democracy Now!

July 6, 2009

Video shows Honduran troops shooting protesters' bus tires

2009-07-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

July 3, 2009

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (CNN) -- Honduran soldiers shot out the tires of buses headed for a demonstration in support of ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya, a video obtained by CNN shows.

The video, believed shot within the past two days, shows a line of buses stopped on a road in what is reported to be the city of Limones. The city is about 70 miles (112 kilometers) northeast of the capital, Tegucigalpa.

A noisy, chaotic crowd is milling around the buses while soldiers move among them. Some slight pushing can be seen.

"The people united can never be defeated," many crowd members chant in unison.

Gunfire is heard and the crowd grows quieter. More shots are heard and then the video shows soldiers shooting out the tires on a yellow bus. Air hissing from a tire can be heard and the video shows a flattened tire...

(click here to view entire report)

Al Jazeera's coverage of Honduras

2009-07-06T02:23:00.000-07:00

Army blocks Zelaya from Honduras as violence spirals

2009-07-05T18:52:00.000-07:00

The aircraft carrying ousted Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya flies over the international airport in Tegucigalpa, Sunday, July 5, 2009. At least one person has been killed during clashes around the main Honduras airport as Zelaya was kept from landing Sunday because the runway was blocked by groups of soldiers with military vehicles, some of them lined up against a crowd of thousands outside. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Supporters of Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya, gather around the blood of a man that was shot by soldiers outside the international airport in Tegucigalpa, Sunday, July 5, 2009. At least one person has been killed during clashes around the main Honduras airport as Zelaya was kept from landing Sunday because the runway was blocked by groups of soldiers with military vehicles, some of them lined up against a crowd of thousands outside. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

A fatally wounded supporter of ousted Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya is carried away after he was apparently shot outside the international airport in Tegucigalpa, Sunday, July 5, 2009. At least one person has been (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

An injured supporter of ousted Honduras President Manuel Zelaya is taken away during clashes with Honduran army soldiers outside of the international airport in Tegucigalpa, Sunday July 5, 2009. At least one person has been killed during clashes around the airport as ousted President Manuel Zelaya appealed to the Honduran military to return its loyalty to him as he prepared to land in the capital Sunday, facing warrants for his arrest by security forces defending the airport against a crowd of thousands. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Soldiers try to remove a supporter of Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya from the streets in the surroundings of Tegucigalpa's international airport Toncontin. Zelaya headed back to crisis-gripped Honduras on Sunday, one week after he was kicked out of power and as interim leaders' threats to block his arrival sparked bloodshed. (AFP/Elmer Martinez)

People attend to an injured supporter of ousted Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya after soldiers fired tear gas at a protest at the international airport in Tegucigalpa July 5, 2009. At least one person was killed and two were badly wounded in Honduras on Sunday when protesters demanding the return of Zelaya clashed with troops at the main airport in the capital, a medical worker and emergency services at the scene told Reuters.
REUTERS/Benedicte Dsrus (HONDURAS POLITICS CONFLICT)

Supporters of ousted Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya, one of them with a shirt covered with blood, talks to people next to a bullet-riddled motorbike outside the Toncontin international airport in Tegucigalpa July 5, 2009. At least one person was killed and two were badly wounded in Honduras on Sunday when protesters demanding the return of Zelaya clashed with troops at the main airport in the capital, a medical worker and emergency services at the scene told Reuters. REUTERS/Tomas Bravo (HONDURAS CONFLICT POLITICS)

By Sophie Nicholson

July 5, 2009

TEGUCIGALPA (AFP) — Military vehicles blocked the runway to prevent ousted President Manuel Zelaya from landing in Honduras, shortly after troops clashed with his supporters, killing two, according to police.

Zelaya attempted his return to the crisis-gripped nation one week after he was kicked out of power, as tensions reached breaking point, with tens of thousands of his supporters massed at the heavily-militarized airport.

Shortly afterwards his plane landed in Nicaragua, officials in El Salvador said. He was later expected in San Salvador...

(click here to view entire report)

Second Latin America news roundup - July 5, 2009

2009-07-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

TOP STORY - Zelaya vows to return to Honduras despite threats of arrest by coup leaders (Democracy Now!)

Honduras - Ousted Honduran leader departs on flight for home (Reuters)

Honduras - Nicaragua denies troops headed toward Honduras (AFP)

Honduras - Things not pretty for journalists following Honduran coup (Jamaica Observer)

Honduras - EU condemns Honduras coup, demands detainees freed (New Europe)

Honduras - Honduras' de facto chancellor: "Obama is a little black man who knows nothing" (Inca Kola News)

Honduras - Pinocheletti (Global Post)

Honduras - Ousted Honduran leader departs on flight for home (Reuters)

United States - Off dead center: William Appleman Williams (The Nation)

World - What might be 21st Century socialism? (The Case for Socialism)

Latin America news roundup - July 5, 2009

2009-07-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

Supporters of ousted Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya march in protest near the presidential residence in Tegucigalpa, Saturday July 4, 2009. Honduras rebuffed demands by the international community to reinstate President Zelaya and pulled out of the Organization of American States, thrusting the poor Central American nation deeper into political crisis and isolation. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Supporters of ousted Honduras President Manuel Zelaya protest outside of the local offices of the Organization of American States, OAS in Tegucigalpa, Friday July 3, 2009. Honduras' Supreme Court rebuffed a personal appeal from the OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza, refusing to restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya before a Saturday deadline. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya march during a rally to protest against the military coup. Hopes for a rapid diplomatic resolution to the crisis in Honduras were dampened as the Supreme Court told a top regional envoy the ousting of President Manuel Zelaya was irreversible. (AFP/Jose Cabezas)

Supporters of ousted Honduras President Manuel Zelaya protest near the presidential residence in Tegucigalpa, Saturday July 4, 2009. Honduras rebuffed demands by the international community to reinstate President Zelaya and pulled out of the Organization of American States, thrusting the poor Central American nation deeper into political crisis and isolation. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Supporters of ousted Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya protest near the presidential residence in Tegucigalpa, Saturday July 4, 2009. Honduras rebuffed demands by the international community to reinstate President Zelaya and pulled out of the Organization of American States, thrusting the poor Central American nation deeper into political crisis and isolation. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Supporters of Honduras'ousted President Manuel Zelaya shout near the presidential palace after taking part in a march in Tegucigalpa July 4, 2009. The Organization of American States was likely to suspend Honduras on Saturday after a caretaker government refused to restore Zelaya who was toppled in a military coup last weekend.
REUTERS/Henry Romero (HONDURAS POLITICS CONFLICT)

Supporters of Honduras' ousted president Manuel Zelaya try to break a police blockade as they march towards Toncontin international airport in Tegucigalpa July 4, 2009. The Organization of American States was likely to suspend Honduras on Saturday after a caretaker government refused to restore Zelaya who was toppled in a military coup last weekend. REUTERS/Franklin Rivera (HONDURAS CONFLICT POLITICS)

Thousands of supporters of ousted Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya march towards the international airport in Tegucigalpa, Saturday, July 4, 2009. Zelaya announced Saturday that he would return to Honduras to try to retake office following last week's military-backed coup, despite the interim government's insistence that he faces arrest and trial. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Supporters of ousted Honduras President Manuel Zelaya raise their fists as they face off a line of Honduran army soldiers and police at the entrance to the international airport in Tegucigalpa, Saturday July 4, 2009. Honduras rebuffed demands by the international community to reinstate President Zelaya and pulled out of the Organization of American States, thrusting the poor Central American nation deeper into political crisis and isolation. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya take part in a rally near the presidential palace in Tegucigalpa. The head of the Organization of American States called for Honduras to be excluded from the regional group, nearly a week after President Manuel Zelaya was ousted by the military (AFP/Orlando Sierra)

Supporters of Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya shout and hold posters bearing pictures of Zelaya in front of the local Organization of American States (OAS) office in Tegucigalpa July 3, 2009. REUTERS/Henry Romero

Supporters of Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya walk over graffiti reading "Gorillas Out" during a march in Tegucigalpa July 3, 2009. An interim government in Honduras warned ousted President Manuel Zelaya to stay away but indicated it could be more conciliatory in talks on Friday with the Organization of American States over the country's crisis. REUTERS/Tomas Bravo (HONDURAS)

TOP STORY - Exiled Honduran leader vows return for showdown (Associated Press)

Colombia - Warlord reveals ties to high-ranking Colombian police, soldiers (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Honduras - The counter-revolution will not be tweeted (CounterPunch)

Honduras - Galeano's snippets of history in 'Mirrors' entertains, saddens (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

Honduras - Greg Grandin on Honduras coup (Counterspin)

Honduras - The church and the coup in Honduras (Guardian)

Honduras - Reporting from Honduras: No press freedom in post-coup Honduras (OpEdNews)

Honduras - 21st century coup (Latin America Press)

Latin America - SOA crimes and culture of impunity

Latin America news roundup - July 4, 2009

2009-07-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

TOP STORY - Telesur excels in Honduras coverage (Marketplace)

Bolivia - Bolivia eyes lithium riches in spectacular salt desert (AFP)

Brazil - Brazilian President Lula da Silva brings international attention to free software (Reuters)

Costa Rica - Map of the Week: Why Costa Rica is the happiest place (BBC)

Honduras - In Honduras, a media crackdown (GlobalPost)

Honduras - Ecuadoran president ready to accompany Zelaya back to Honduras (Xinhua)

Honduras - Honduran 'unconstitutional coup d'etat' says Zelaya's then defense minister (Daily Kos)

Honduras - Honduras coup stalls $450 Million of international finance (Dow Jones)

Honduras - Unity helps volatile Latin America handle crisis (Reuters)

Honduras - Venezuelan opposition deny Honduran coup (Venezuelanalysis)

Noam Chomsky on “Crisis and Hope: Theirs and Ours”

2009-07-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

Democracy Now!

July 3, 2009

Noam Chomsky, the MIT professor, author and dissident intellectual, just turned eighty years old this past December. He has written over 100 books, but despite being called “the most important intellectual alive” by the New York Times, he is rarely heard in the corporate media. We spend the hour with Noam Chomsky. He spoke recently here in New York at an event sponsored by the Brecht Forum. More than 2,000 people packed into Riverside Church in Harlem to hear his address, titled “Crisis and Hope: Theirs and Ours.” In his talk, Chomsky discussed the global economic crisis, the environment, wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, resistance to American empire and much more.

Latin America news roundup - July 3, 2009

2009-07-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

TOP STORY - Meet Jim Demint: Apologist for Honduras' coup (CounterPunch)

Colombia - Obama’s big stick and Alvaro Uribe’s ‘entreguismo’ (EcoLogics)

Ecuador - Ecuador asks Interpol to arrest former Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos (Colombia Reports)

Ecuador - Ecuador quits World Bank arbitration tribunal (Reuters)

Honduras - Reflection: An observer's account of Honduras (CounterPunch)

Honduras - The other 9/11 returns to haunt Latin America (Independent)

Honduras - Honduran coup tries to halt advance of Latin America's left (New America Media)

Honduras - US seeks deal between Honduran coup leaders and deposed president (Global Research)

United States - How to deal with America's empire of bases (The Nation)

Uruguay - José Mujica (Uruguay Daily News)

Third Latin America news roundup - July 2, 2009

2009-07-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington June 29, 2009. Obama said on Monday it would set a "terrible precedent" if the coup in Honduras was not reversed and President Manuel Zelaya restored to power. Obama, after a meeting with Uribe, said Washington would work with the Organization of American States and others to reinstate Zelaya. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES POLITICS)

Honduras - A test for Obama and for the OAS (Deutsche Presse-Agentur)

Honduras - Zelaya plotting return, seeks ‘strong’ U.S. actions (Bloomberg)

Honduras - Hugo Chavez shouldn't be the issue in Honduras (PoliBlog)

Honduras - OAS rejects concessions to Honduras regime following coup (Caribbean Net)

Honduras - Latin leaders unite against junta in Honduras (Christian Science Monitor)

Honduras - Honduras takes control of some media (Wall Street Journal)

Venezuela - The possibility of an Obama-Chavez understanding (TPMCafe)

Venezuela - Chavez to US general: You're the threat, not us (Associated Press)

Venezuela - Venezuela does not rule out FX devaluation -FinMin (Reuters)

World - U.N. General Assembly president urges rich countries to better address the economic crisis (San Francisco Bay Guardian)

Second Latin America news roundup - July 2, 2009

2009-07-02T17:30:00.001-07:00

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez (R) talks to the media after the ALBA summit in Maracay, some 100 km (62 miles) west of Caracas, June 24, 2009. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins (VENEZUELA BUSINESS POLITICS)

TOP STORY - Chávez would go to U.S. if Obama invites him, says returning Venezuela Ambassador (Latin America Herald Tribune)

Argentina - Trade union leader takes the blame for Peronists' election loss, calls on Peronists to reflect about defeat (Buenos Aires Herald)

Colombia - On anniversary on celebrated Colombia rescue, Uribe blamed for stalled hostage releases (Associated Press)

El Salvador - Archbishop Romero helped to change a nation (Preda Foundation)

El Salvador - Interview with Irma and Herbert: Members of El Salvador's Radio Zurda (Upside Down World)

Latin America - 'Made in USA terrorists' in Miami (Tiwy.com)

Paraguay - President and congress face off over agrochemicals (Inter Press Service)

Venezuela - Reviewing Wilpert (ZNet)

World - Naomi Klein: Oppose the Israeli state, not the people (Haaretz)

World - Chris Hedges: Mobilizing against disaster capitalism (Daily Kos)

Fordlandia: Greg Grandin on What Henry Ford’s Jungle City Can Tell Us About US Imperialism

2009-07-02T16:25:00.000-07:00

GRITtv

June 30, 2009

Greg Grandin, author of Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City, takes a fresh look at how American hubris and imperial ambitions led to the establishment of an outpost of the auto industry in the Brazilian rainforest. Ford, in many ways an embodiment of the contradictions of American capitalism (The Wall Street Journal once called him a "class trader") tried to institute what Grandin calls a Ponzi scheme of high ideals in the Amazonian jungle. What was he after and what does it tell us about US empire in the 21st century? Grandin also discusses the military coup in Honduras and Alvaro Uribe’s visit to Washington.

Latin America news roundup - July 2, 2009

2009-07-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

TOP STORY - Anti-coup protests reported across Honduras (NarcoSphere)

Honduras - Behind the Honduran coup (Washington Office on Latin America)

Honduras - Democracy derailed in Honduras (The Nation)

Honduras - A coup with no future (CounterPunch)

Honduras - A coup is a coup: Lessons from Honduras (AC360)

Honduras - Honduras new government is censoring journalists (Miami Herald)

Honduras - OAS chief says sanctions likely in Honduras (Associated Press)

Honduras - Honduran leader's populism is what provoked military violence (Alternet)

Honduras - Latin America media battle continues (Buzz Flash)

Honduras - A clear winner in Honduras: Telesur TV (New America Media)

Honduras' coup leaders are counting on the United States and the European Union for continued aid

2009-07-02T01:16:00.000-07:00

If Washington doesn't pull the plug, what will this say about the ostensibly "pro-democratic" West?

Honduras' coup leader Roberto Micheletti, right, whom Congress appointed president on Sunday, raises the hand of Gen. Romeo Vasquez, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff fired by Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya last Thursday and reappointed by Micheletti, during a rally against ousted President Manuel Zelaya at the central park in Tegucigalpa, Tuesday June 30, 2009. The U.N. General Assembly demanded the immediate restoration of ousted president Zelaya but Micheletti said Zelaya could be arrested if he returns home. (AP Photo)

By Sophie Nicholson

AFP

July 1, 2009

Excerpt from report:

"You know that the European Union isn't going to cut help to this country, nor will the North Americans," Micheletti said...

(click here to view entire report)