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The Honduras Coup: Is Obama Innocent?
Is President Obama innocent of the events occurring in Honduras, specifically the coup launched by the Honduran military resulting in the abduction and forced deportation of democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya? Obama has denounced the coup and demanded that the rules of democracy be honored. Still, several troubling questions remain.
First, almost all the senior Honduran military officers active in the coup are graduates of the Pentagon's School of the Americas (known to many of us as "School of the Assassins"). The Honduran military is trained, advised, equipped, indoctrinated, and financed by the United States national security state. The generals would never have dared to move without tacit consent from the White House or the Pentagon and CIA.
Second, if Obama was not directly involved, then he should be faulted for having no firm command over those US operatives who were. The US military must have known about the plot and US military intelligence must have known and must have reported it back to Washington. Why did Obama’s people who had communicated with the coup leaders fail to blow the whistle on them? Why did they not expose and denounce the plot, thereby possibly foiling the entire venture? Instead the US kept quiet about it, a silence that in effect, even if not in intent, served as an act of complicity.
Third, immediately after the coup, Obama stated that he was against using violence to effect change and that it was up to the various parties in Honduras to resolve their differences. His remarks were a rather tepid and muted response to a gangster putsch.
Fourth, Obama never expected there would be an enormous uproar over the Honduras coup. He hastily joined the outcry against the perpetrators only when it became evident that opposition to the putschists was nearly universal throughout Latin America and elsewhere in the world.
Fifth, Obama still has had nothing to say about the many other acts of repression attendant with the coup perpetrated by Honduran military and police: kidnappings, beatings, disappearances, attacks on demonstrators, shutting down the internet and suppressing the few small critical media outlets that exist in Honduras.
Sixth, as James Petras reminded me, Obama has refused to meet with President Zelaya. He dislikes Zelaya mostly for his close and unexpected affiliation with Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. And because of his egalitarian reformist efforts Zelaya is hated by the Honduran oligarchs, the same oligarchs who for many years have been close to and splendidly served by the US empire builders.
Seventh, under a law passed by the US Congress, any democratic government that is the victim of a military takeover is to be denied US military and economic aid. Obama still has not cut off the economic and military aid to Honduras as he is required to do under this law. This is perhaps the most telling datum regarding whose side he is on. (His Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is even worse. She refuses to call it a coup and states that there are two sides to this story.)
As president, Obama has considerable influence and immense resources that might well have thwarted the perpetrators and perhaps could still be applied against them with real effect. As of now he seems more inclined to take the insider track rather than an actively democratic stance. On Honduras he is doing too little too late--as is the case with many other things he does.
- Posted in
57 Comments so far
Show AllSioux Rose
As for Obama, Mr. Parenti presents a "case" that is strikingly familiar. Obama goes through all the apparent motions of concern about whatever the topic "du jour," but primiarly acts as a facade so that the larger agenda, that which is indisputably beneficial to the elites, continues on course. No matter a bankrupt U.S. treasury, war continues; no matter environmental pending collapse, rapacious industrialization without the faintest signs of EPA constraints continue; without viable bailouts to citizens in need, the bankers "get it all," etc AD NAUSEUM!
Right now (I am visiting a friend who has her TV generally ON) the masses are under thrall to the final tribute to Michael Jackson, an individual absolutely humiliated prior to all this ersatz worship now that he "checked out." It's a great time for our DC movers and shakers to push through the latest egregious legislation; after all, no one is watching. How convenient!
Precisely!
Because of his life experiences, Obama is utterly ignorant of the way the military works. In the hands of the Generals, Obama is putty. He is their puppet. He knows it, but the media does not.
odoco
I, like many of you, have fought this battle since before Bush Jr. took control. I've done it day in, day out, sometimes many hours a day. I delivered the SOA Watch newspaper to my ministerial alliance in my small Northwest Missouri hometown; took it to our two local universities; have written letters and called officials ad nauseum; have marched and picketed; have confronted the idiots in my hometown to the point where I am persona non grata in some circles. I have lots of my money, of which I have little, to groups that support the movement, etc.
The Point: none of it has / is working to change the system. An alternative would be for us in the progressive community to find a way to educate our children to a more humane and sustainable perspective. After years of deliberation I have come to believe this is the only solution - to create and sustain an alternative paradigm in which to view the future. Home schooling is nearly impossible for some, but small school alternatives could begin in larger urban areas where many, many professional educators are more than ready for change and where the possibility of financial assistance might be more available.
The corporatists now control nearly everything - and they will someday control the internet - it is just a matter of time. Our only chance for a future guided by humanity instead of depravity is to enlighten our youth to a new set of possibilities. To get them out of the public schools which are being dominated more and more by the system of 'test and forget,' a system in which right wing parents dominate, control the message, and challenge anyone who seeks the truth, accountability, equity, etc.
In closing, I think this is exactly what the 'Right' and the Fascists fear most; they know that the younger generation IS NOT conservative by nature; is not racist by nature; is not nearly as religious as were its parents and grandparents. All those 'mind controls' mentioned above are a deficit factor for the system now in place and that scares the hell out of them.
I often get discouraged when I come here. I have posted for a long, long time, waiting for answers, solutions, guidance. So - EDUCATE OUR KIDS - that is my suggestion. Fight the system with intelligence and planning. Fight the hate and prejudice with a new kind of mindset.
thanks for writing this, Obama seems to represent empire with a smiley face and soft language, but the same m.o.
Bingo. It's great to see Michael Parenti online.
It wouldn't surprise me that Obama ordered the coup himself, from everything I have read. Zelaya cannot be a friend of Chavez or he woud be getting bad press in all the newspapers and TV, the corporate socialists are not friendly to the left. What does the source of all other wisdom, Rush Limberger say, listening to him makes me want to throw up so i refrain? I still have to read some good reporting on this event.
It seems rather obvious that this is a coup MADE IN THE USA and that Barack Obama is no innocent dupe who was `surprised´ by the unexpected actions of others. When are American liberals going to stop playing stupid about Obama?
Where is your evidence and what is your solution? Do you think McCain would have responded differently? A green party candidate (he is so insubstantial, I can't even remember his name - but he is a favorite "savior" of CDers). When we look at other countries we see the complexities of the factions involved, be it religious factions or competing centers of power, yet, when we look at our own government, for some reason we see it as a united force that works together to control the world. Come on guys and gals, try to be a little more realistic. It is quite possible that the Honduran military acted at the behest of the Honduran oligarchy, who work in conjunction with some multinational fruit corporations, but to suggest the Obama was involved in this is bordering on the ludicrous with everything else he is dealing with - the economy, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, etc. What is more likely is that the system which has been in place for nearly a century, that ensures corporate control of resources in foreign, yet not too far, lands, automatically went into defense mode when it felt itself threatened. We can believe Obama was involved and complain, or we can believe that under his administration things will be different, and put pressure on him for the change we were promised. Since most Americans probably don't know where Honduras is, the burden unfortunately falls on those of us who understand US foreign policy to begin shouting, demanding change. How many of you have taken any steps other than the usual criticisms that appear on these pages? I wrote to all of my congressional representatives, Clinton and Obama, demanding an end to all US aid to Honduras until democracy is restored. I might be playing stupid about Obama, but at least I am doing something to try to help the people of Honduras.
Innocent?
Hardly.
The Honduras coup was staged to get back a country that was owned by the US company United Fruit and administered by the US military for many years--
AND to take back bully control of the OAS--which was lost when the other countries voted to lift the ban on Cuba.
Google "United Fruit GHW Bush"
I am wondering how many competing oligarchs there in the US and who is 'in charge' of what. We got the finacial (FIRE) section, the industrial corporatists, the neocons, the neo liberals, the crazy right wing, the crazy religious right wing, the zionists, the food industry, the health industry -- all warring with each other in various areas. And we got Obama in the middle who may or may be controlling some things, or may or not be informed about what one of the other 'powers' is up to.
Odoco-
Your point is well taken. The clear obligation of a humane society is to educate our children about the oppressive nature of this system. This should be done by stressing multiple voices and varied approaches to any issue or value. The one-size fits all syndrome of totalitarian capitalism and unrepresentative democracy is a total failure and must be replaced, as your so eloquently put it, by a sustainable alternative. Those groups that are working for this parallel but interconnected process are growing everyday. A situational linking with these groups: peace, social justice, environmental, radical gender, anti-globalization, hacktivists, anarchists, socialists, etc-can transform our world.
As for Honduras: We are all hoping that a strong consistent effort by the Honduran people and the radical democratic forces in Latin America and the world, can get Zelaya back into office. He must be given back his job with all the responsibilities and without compromise, and those who perpetrated this coup, should be arrested.
As Parenti says: We knew about it-either because we set it up it or we lurked behind the scenes in support.
Obama will try to cover his ass-and make us look like the good guy.
But he will still try to use his power to topple the forces of democracy of grassroots socialism, which is getting stronger everyday.
Let's see . . . we have degenerate communists in Venezuela and Bolivia. Honduras too. They do not take orders from the American government, the Chamber of Commerce or the AEI. We have to get rid of these MoFo's, mach schnell. Honduras is the easiest mark. We'll start there. I, SLOBama the Merciful, hereby declare: Do not kill Zelaya. Just whisk him cleanly out of the country. Should any demonstrations take place in Honduras as a result, you have my permission to kill the subversives.
Signed, sealed, delivered,
SLOBama the Merciful
Obama is a clueless celebrity with a limited act, no leadership ability and now that he achieved the first African-American presidency, not much more ambition or connection to anything other than the country club.
For some reason I recalled that Bill Clinton pouted when his advisors suggested that vacationing at Martha's Vineyard might appear too elitist to the common folk and it would be better if he stayed at less posh digs.
Where did the Obamas choose as their vacation destination during the worst economic downturn since the depression?
Martha's Vineyard.
Seems they finally got their piece of the pie.
End of story.
I would like to see some evidence Michael. I admire your work, but this column is just a list of suppositions. He must have, he could have, he should have, but did he? Knowing what I know about the Honduran military and power elite, it seems to me that they were perfectly capable of breaking international law and oppressing their people on their own. Yes, they receive millions, billions in military aid from us and yes they are trained at the School of the Americas (or whatever its new rebranded name is), but it does not mean that they are incapable or unwilling to do what needs to be done without consent from the US. I think it is possible that they said, like the Israelis have said many times, phuc it, we're going to do what we need to do and the US will offer a whimpy response, and we might have to fight this in some monkey court, but eventually we will win. What is essential now is not for us to theorize on what happened and who knew, but to put pressure on Congress and the President to halt all military aid to Honduras and withdraw all support and recognition of the military government. We need to treat Honduras like we've been treating Cuba for years. And maybe we need to stop eating bananas too. So instead of all of the finger pointing that gets us nowhere, let's hear a little bit along the lines of organizing us to do something for the people of Honduras. This is one situation where the actions of the American people can make a difference. Honduras is one of our colonies, after all.
You conclude:
"Honduras is one of our colonies, after all."
But you started demanding evidence.
Seems you provided your own.
not necessarily - you obviously don't know about colonies and colonizers. Do they always act in accord with one another? At a certain point, the colonies begin to act on their own behalf and not in a way that would benefit their colonizers. I guess the obvious is not as obvious as you claim.
Parenti often uses the term "comprador class," referring to elites in a country that conspire with outside powers. It's a good description for a common method of U.S. control abroad.
At this point, all that Parenti can do is propose logical paradigms because no one knows for sure what took place and to what extent U.S. officials were involved in the coup. Coups tend to obscure their true motivations, by their very nature. However, if you've followed U.S. foreign policy, especially in Latin America, a U.S.-sponsored coup in Honduras is a strong possibility - for the reasons Parenti lists.
One thing I've noticed, apart from Parenti's observations, is that the Honduran president was kidnapped. It's the same tactic that the United States used when it abducted the elected president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. In that case, the United States government used a mercenary force to do the kidnapping, but it was an effective tactic - although highly undemocratic. The U.S. paved the way for the thugish FRAP coup leaders to take power in Haiti.
-TIA
You may be right, but my problem with this "business as usual" thesis is that it leaves us feeling powerless and offers no solution. If we were to suppose that the US knew about and supported this coup all along, then what do we do? Most people just become disgruntled and sit in front of their computers complaining about how things will never change. If on the other hand, we look at the situation based on what we know - Honduras receives an enormous amount of military aid from the US - Honduras has broken international law, therefore the US has the right to stop all military aid to Honduras, and we as citizens can insist on that. That is the only solution that seems reasonable to me. But if we assume that the US was involved in the coup, we will never insist for such a thing because we will believe that it is useless. Do you see where I am coming from? Did we rise up in protest when Aristide was kidnapped in Haiti? Most people didn't even notice. It is only through those of us who are aware of what is going on, making noise and offering solutions that people will find reasonable - the Honduran military coup was illegal, therefore let's cut off their aid - that true change can happen. Otherwise, what is probably going to happen is that Clinton will negotiate a return to Honduras by Zelaya if he promises not to hold the referendum. The next president will probably be more to the right and the problem will be solved.
Americans do not respond well to conspiracy theories, and to be honest, neither do I. I feel they leave us powerless. What we need is a clear analysis of the facts we know of the situation and some suggestions on how we as activists can work for positive change. Clouding the issue with suppositions does nothing to promote change.
I understand your point. I'm not sure what can be done.
Have you ever been successful writing to your Congressperson? I never have, even when responding as part of an organized campaign by a nonprofit organization. I'm not saying don't do it - just saying I've not seen any results from doing so. I usually write when U.S. leaders are planning to push through something odious.
Only broad social movements seem to be able to effect change, such as the rise of U.S. socialists during the Depression era. That's when FDR pushed through those famous public works programs. He probably avoided open rebellion by doing so.
The Latin American policies of U.S. leaders, including the coup plots, have pretty much received bipartisan support. (The exception may have been Reagan's aggressions against El Salvador and Nicaragua.) The Democratic Party and the Republican Party both funnel taxpayer monies into the National Endowment for Democracy - an open funding source for opposition candidates and coup plotters in Latin America. None of this is a conspiracy, nor secret. It's open policy. The United States has had an aggressive stance toward Latin America ever since the Monroe Doctrine.
Probably the only way to truly stop U.S. mayhem down there is to supplant the Dem/Repug duopoly. But you've seen election results. Third parties get maybe one percent to two percent of the vote. So, a lot of education needs to be done.
-TIA
tanguero ,
You're right about this article having been written in terms in which Michael Parenti doesn't seem certain, is expressing himself using suppositions, but they, instead, should be stated as very much facts. F.e., the U.S. military, some military and I suppose some U.S. government officials, have already stated that they knew about the coup beforehand, though not precisely the extent.
In any case, people should carefully view and listen to the documentary film entitled, "The Money Masters", for which the official website is at www.themoneymasters.com, where the film can be purchased on DVD. I viewed a copy online for free over the past two nights, the film being a little over three and a half hours long and providing a lot of really, very important historical facts, using some from as far back as the Roman Empire under Caesar, through to the downfall of the empire, and a lot of facts since then; mostly about Europe and the U.S., but also some about Russia during the Tsar's time and what lead to him being overthrown.
It's really about the people who truly rule, run, control, ... the government of the USA and how this came to be; how their ilk were defeated a number of times, but how they came to finally hold power over many decades since the establishing of the Federal Reserve. It's the Big Business, the Big Finance "elites", and they are very rich and very powerfully influential.
They and not U.S. voters rule the government of the USA. They are "ruthless", "evil", "vipers", ... as this above documentary provides for quotes from past U.S. Presidents and other political officials, as well as from European or certainly Russian leaders. Those people warned of the extreme power these ruling "elites" of international bankers would have and endanger societies with, if they got to rule.
It's a very important, clearly stated or presented historical documentary that everyone should make a point of viewing. Americans need to make a point of doing so, and it wouldn't hurt if everyone also made this a 'need', instead of only a 'should'.
View it, listen to it carefully, read the quotes carefully, and learn from it; and then understand that Barack Obama is not the real ruler or leader, that he is rather just a figurehead and does as the real ruling "elites" want or demand.
At least two U.S. Presidents evidently were assassinated for having acted in ways contrary to the will of these "invisible government" rulers. Evidently Abraham Lincoln was assassinated for having acted in very contrasting terms to their liking, and another U.S. President was assassinated I believe shortly after President Lincoln was, both for the same reason. It's evidently likely that President JFK was very much assassinated for this same reason.
U.S. citizens definitely need to learn from this film about how the government really is run, controlled, influenced, manipulated, .... And a major contributor to The People not knowing is all of the bogus "news" media that is mostly about propaganda of deception, including through omissions that are either not forgivable, or else are very difficult to forgive.
"Ruthless", "evil", "usurous", "vipers", .... Definitely.
The film is much about the creation of economic crises, depressions, recessions, and also ressucitations or revivals, these "invisible government" ruling "elites" are very or extremely and deliberately responsible for, and they profit, majorly, every time. And they aim for world domination for extreme profit. This includes causing political, social, and therefore also economic crises; including wars. When these people or "vipers" don't create the wars, they nevertheless make sure to fuel them for, as always, majorly profiting; and they'll do that by funding both sides of a war, arming both, ... everything and anything that'll majorly profit them.
The documentary covers all of this very clearly. Three and a half hours of pure and important or crucial [education].
And Obama can't really do much about the crisis in Honduras, for if he did, then he'd have to do other things his administration has no intention of doing; like seriously repairing the crime of and since Feb. 29, 2004, against the Haitian government and people, stopping AFRICOM and U.S. actions of really war vis-a-vis Sudan and some other African countries, fully withdrawing from Iraq, stopping the escalated warring applied to Pakistan, correcting the Israel-Palestine conflict, etcetera.
Given the Obama administration is not prepared to do these other things, it's not particularly capable of doing much about the situation in Honduras. I think, however, that they could withdraw all U.S. military and political, diplomatic personnel from there, but can't really do anything about the coup itself.
I doubt they'll withdraw the U.S. military and other personnel from Honduras though; not unless the real ruling "elites" tell him to do this, anyway.
When the government of the U.S. is actually run in this way, the President is nothing more than a figurehead; nothing, or else very little more than that. They, these ruling "elites", are the people who pull the strings of the U.S. military, CIA, and more. They very much control the Congress and Senate, pretty much the whole government.
Oregoncharles
True. Obama represents the PR faction of the US empire. We use his name, "Obama," much the same way we used Bush's name - to represent the empire.
Oh-balm-ahhhh is exactly what the empire needed. A charismatic half-black man with a soothing style, somewhat Reaganesque, eh? He knows what he must say and do. He knows what his role is. He knows who his bosses are and he knows what would happen to him if he somehow found his heart and began to represent its content. But that's not likely to happen.
Remember, Obama the man is willing to do these things for very wealthy elitists at the expense of suffering people all over the world. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been hired for the job. The empire can always find what it needs in the way of shills. If Obama collapses, another shill will take his place. And, who knows, maybe he has an inkling of doing something, anything, positive, if only smiling and talking nice. You know how it is, most of us do our best to justify the harm we do.
What I would like to see is some of the more visible Obama progressives do whatever they can to break his heart, like he is breaking theirs. They should turn their backs on him and find ways to undermine his backers. The best thing they can do is say, "Ah, now we see who you are. Another shill in a long line of hopefuls."
How many progressives would stop paying corporate health insurance premiums, thus sinking the profits of these evil-doers?
"But for the grace of "God," go there I.
I watched The Money Changers on Google Video -- all 3 hrs. and 35 minutes. I agree, it was very interesting, and I liked the fact that the makers of the film explained their theories, and then, went further to connect the world dots! The only problem I had with the film was that Milton Friedman was the expert economist they used, especially at the end of the film.
If you haven't read Naomi Klein's, The Shock Doctrine, you should consider it. Milton Friedman and his "Chicago Boys" ran wild over the earth for decades!
Yes, a very good movie and I had the same caveat in regard to Friedman.
In regard to the coup and its facilitators: The US government innocent???
Have a look behind the curtain and get THE BIG PICTURE.
It is an intricate web of GREED, DECEIT and CRIME.
It’s the CABAL!
Read below and you will get a picture, which will be extremely hard to swallow, and very painful to digest: “Collateral Damage” by E. P Heidner, part I and II.
>>> www.scribd.com/people/documents/2169400-ep-heidner <<<
The two documents have just recently been published and are very well researched and referenced (over 400 footnotes). The articles are lengthy, some parts not easy to follow and to digest and they need to be read with an open mind. But they are well worth the effort. They provide the most distressing information (some reads like a thriller).
The implications will challenge how we look at politics, economy, history, finance, war and terrorism. Many persons in the documents are well known; many are right now in pivotal positions of politics and finance. These people do shape OUR life and that of our children right now. The details are stunning. The consequences are BEYOND BELIEF.
"It is an intricate web of GREED, DECEIT and CRIME."
Have you seen the 2005 documentary, OUR BRAND IS CRISIS?
Quite by accident, I ran across a review of this film, and the reviewer recommended it as one of the most important films of the year. Afterwards, I found a copy, and watched it. The filmmaker is Rachel Boynton.
I can not begin to tell you why this film shocked me -- I, too, have been protesting in the streets, writing letters, signing petitions, etc., for most of my life. And, I know that the Democrats do not represent us, "we the people," the citizens of this country, any more than the Republicans do.
From the back cover of the DVD, "For decades, U.S. strategists-for-hire have been quietly molding the opinions of voters and the messages of candidates in elections from the Middle East to the South American jungle. OUR BRAND IS CRISIS follows James Carville, Jeremy Rosner and a team of political consultants as they launch a media-savvy campaign for Bolivian presidential candidate Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada. With unprecedented access to think sessions, media training and the making of smear campaigns, witness a shocking example of America "spreading democracy" overseas and its earth-shattering aftermath."
I quoted, because I can't say it any better, or in a more concise way. Of course, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada was running against the populist Evo Morales, who did actually pull it off, winning the election. For me, the story of Bolivia is a very inspiring story!
Sounds like a great film. Thank you for the suggestion! It is now added to my list.
THIS is the beauty of the Net: networking.
Thank you for the link to the film. I will check it out and pass it on.
Whether or not Obama is innocent about any of these things depends. If he is, then it means that he is [extremely] ignorant and incompetent, but it's doubtful that he's this ignorant; and his incompetency would therefore be more of the sort that can be called moral weakness, moral spinelessness, allowing himself to be manipulated, controlled by others, as if he has no mind of his own. He's a law graduate and he most definitely knows that he's acting against a number of U.S. laws. He can't be so ignorant that he would realise the latter. His moral spinelessness, letting himself act like he's a puppet for the real ruling "elites", instead of taking morally correct and firm stands as U.S. President, albeit he wasn't capable of doing it as a U.S. senator, either; well, this also makes him an opportunist, a racketeer, complicit in racket anyway.
When the real ruling "elites" of the U.S. government perceive that they strategically can profit from demanding a correction to the situation in Honduras, then they'll do this, and again, as always, for profit. But like said in my first post in this CD page, the U.S. can't really force a correction in Honduras, given the U.S. would have to correct it's own extreme crimes in many other cases.
If the U.S. military, CIA, ... are really controlled by these ruling "elites", then also is the formerly called School of the Americas, SoA, which has been renamed WHINSEC, the Western Hemisphere ..., maybe Institute of or for Security, but the definition should be easy to find with simple Web searches. It's WHINSEC. Oh, the definition is surely available at www.soaw.org, SoA Watch, f.e.
"Seventh, under a law passed by the US Congress, any democratic government that is the victim of a military takeover is to be denied US military and economic aid."
When was this passed?
As usual Michael Parenti from the streets of New York is right on the mark. It must be his working class background. People who are working class, if they get taken in by their high school and later college US history text books figure out what the real deal is. It's about corrupt bastards having power and privilege and never damn wanting to give it up, not really so different from European monarchs of old who claimed they ruled by the grace of God. This is what it's really all about, folks. If we would share the power, we will have to take it from these S & M dawgs and pimps of our political system.
If the president want' to act he can simply go to the UN to get a resolution, which he should, calling for a resolution authorizing all member states to use whatever force is necessary to restore the democratic government of Honduras, and not have the least fear of any veto. We have a right to expect he will do it, if he's for real. Even that nominally Democratic president did it in 1994.
AD
This in my comment should have said "don't get taken in by their high school and later college US history text books figure out what the real deal is.
AD
Jeremy Scahill (who sometimes gets his srticles posted here on CD) has another excellent post about the Honduran coup. Check it out here:
http://rebelreports.com/post/132342133/a-few-thoughts-on-the-coup-in-honduras
American presidents are ALWAYS innocent -- at least in the same sense Ronnie Raygun was innocent. What it really comes down to is the exculpation of the U.S. itself, which is why no U.S. president will ever be tried in his own country for crimes against humanity no matter how egregious they may be in reality. It would be too much like self-incrimination for the so-called "sovereign" people of the republic.
Notice how many articles CD ran on the "fraudulent" Iranian election compared with an actual coup in Honduras.
Yup. I've often thought (and have occasionally said under a previous identity) that many of the comments on this site are more profound and insightful than the chosen articles. But I don't think the admins here appreciate any such critical commentary very much.
Amen.
· Yr Obd't Servant
If I recall correctly, Noam Chomsky has said that one ought not pay too much attention to news played up in the mass media.
Chomsky and Edward Herman wrote a book on the topic called "Manufacturing Consent."
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/
Manufacturing-Consent/Edward-S-Herman/e/9780375714498/?itm=1
-TIA
Try to get OBAMA-lovers to believe this story....they will not hear of it....Obama can do NO WRONG!!! Michael is right on this as he is on many other issues....I just wish there was something we could do about it.
Obama talks loudly and carries a small stick.
Good article, and reflective of what many of us having been saying all along. Only problem, none of the bobbleheads in mainstream media are saying the same thing.
It is easy to blame Obama. I don't see many Americans protesting in the streets and demanding that their government cut off military aid to Honduras. Politicians need to be forced to do the right thing.
So what are you suggesting, we shut up if we don't do a street protest? We are living in the 21st century. The internet is a way of communication and organization. Do I need to organize a health care street protest to blame Obama for compromises? Do I need to organize another Guantanamo protest to protest his continuing encarceration of untried prisoners? Do I need to organize another street protest to protest his policies in the Middle East? I can go on and on. Blogging is one method of communicating, organizing and protesting, similar to a townhall meeting. By the way, here is a link to the street protests here in Houston this past weekend. It didn't make the mainstream news but still was a contribution.
http://houston.indymedia.org/news/2009/07/67700.php
Americans have been protesting in the streets, for many years, against the various wars, started under Bush and now continued and enhanced under Obama. To a large degree, these protests have been ignored. Obama owes his election, in part, to a fake antiwar stance. He's pretty much abandoned the antiwar constituency that supported him.
-TIA
where have the protests been since Obama was elected? Seems to me they stopped a long time ago.
A FEW Americans have been protesting while the apathetic, consummating, listless mental low-fliers, who make up the majority of voting sheeples, have been sucked in again by MSM , lobbying banksters and bullshiticians.
The two party oligarchy that manages the profit and wealth flow for a small elite have been able to keep the voting masses in a state of acquiescence and convenient ambivalence. Common lifestyle was provided by loan, education is geared around producing useful subjects rather than freethinking, the masses were kept occupied with inane entertainment, silenced by welfare payments, manipulated by corporate controlled mass media and kept preoccupied by hope-inducing wishful hogwash that we have a choice under this system. The rest is managed by shock doctrine.
Millions of gullible ignorami, appeased with banal consumerism, decide on the fate of this planet. Democracy, in its current form, is tyranny of the ignorant majority and will bring down this planet. Intelligent participation in democracy requires a minimum of knowledge of history, politics, social systems and economy. Don’t blame the wolf for the stupidity of sheep. Intelligence cannot be consumed. You have to use your brain.
I can hear the roar of laughter in the White House and Congress: Change we can believe in HAHAHA. It doesn’t matter that even the dumbest halfwit realizes slowly but surely that they had been duped again. This system has got method.
Read this and despair: “Collateral Damage” by E. P Heidner, part I and II.
>>> www.scribd.com/people/documents/2169400-ep-heidner <<<
Really?
Do you think you could've forced Bush?
Where's the fire and brimstone that inspired millions to campaign for and elect him? Where is this fire now to lead the fight against climate change, for health care for all, for the employee free choice act, against mountian top removal, and on and on? Now, he sounds more like Harry Reid; and Harry Reid is like watered-down water.
In treating Chavez, Morales, and Zelaya as outcasts he stands
with Bush in defense of the oligarchs who guarantee freedom for the transnational corporations to run roughshod over the native citizens and the enviroment.
Why do we keep arming nations that never fight one another? To enable them to supress their own people and to meet the requirements for acepting campaign and lobbying $ from the "defense" contractors.
Thanks, this now hangs together.
It's past time to close the School of the Americas. American tax dollars should not be used to train dictators and death squads in Honduras or anywhere else.
Tell President Obama: close the School of the Americas now!
http://tinyurl.com/closeSOA
For my money, it doesn't much matter whether Obama knew about the coup beforehand or not. It is entirely possible he did not. The telling thing is his toothless response. To not cut off aid to the govt. of Honduras constitutes criminal complicity on his part with coup plotters.