Page 699 – Toward Freedom

Drone aircraft are increasingly engaged in counterdrug missions over South American jungles and Mexican cities.

The drones represent the latest high-tech escalation of Latin America’s anti-drug efforts.

Unlike the U.S. military’s Predator drones used to shoot missiles at suspected terrorists in Pakistan’s tribal areas, the models known to be in use in Latin America limit their roles to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Latin America’s unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs- as drones are known in aviation circles- are not known to have flown armed missions. read more

Haitians Will Defend Their Sovereignty

The Real News Network February 2, 2010 The Real News Network

Source: The Real News

Ronald Charles: Providing aid like this is a way to humiliate us and many Haitians will not accept it

Ronald Charles is a Ph.D. student in Biblical Studies at the Department of Relgion, University of Toronto. He is a poet and a violinist. And he was lecturer at Christianville University College in Haiti, where he translated parts of the Bible into Haitian Creole.

Transcript

PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome to The Real News Network. I’m Paul Jay. Aid has begun to trickle to the people of Haiti, but apparently still only a trickle. To help us understand what’s going on in Haiti, we’re now joined by Ronald Charles. He’s a Ph.D. student in biblical studies at the school of religion at the University of Toronto. He’s a poet and a violinist, and he used to lecture at Christianville University college in Haiti. Thanks for joining us. read more

Tony Blair: The Middle East Peace Envoy’s Thirst for War

Stefan Simanowitz February 2, 2010 Stefan Simanowitz

In a speech in May 1997 newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair stated: "Mine is the first generation able to contemplate the possibility that we may live our entire lives without going to war or sending our children to war." Last week, two disastrous wars and countless deaths later, Tony Blair appeared in front of the Iraq Inquiry. He was supposed to be there to answer questions on the war in Iraq but used the opportunity to also make clear that he favored military action against Iran. In the course of his testimony he mentioned Iran no less that 58 times, the Middle East peace envoy once again showing his thirst for war.

Tending ‘the Grow’: Marijuana at a Crossroads

Michael Polson February 1, 2010 Michael Polson

Photo by Joshua Smith

In the warm, luminescent glow of the dust encrusted light fixture, the carpeted and dank hallway disappears into unvacuumed recesses. Darren grabs an unobtrusive handle along the wall's flimsy wood paneling, pulls, and a crack of light pierces the gloom. Pushing aside a black screen of Hefty bags intended to block light and trap heat, he reveals his miniature grow closet. A heavy, supple branch tumbles out. It brushes my hand, leaving a telltale streak of sticky, stinky moistness. The resin goes away with a bit of water. The smell stays.

Howard Zinn (1922-2010): A Tribute to the Legendary Historian

Democracy Now! January 28, 2010 Democracy Now!

Source: Democracy Now!

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

We pay tribute to the late historian, writer and activist Howard Zinn, who died suddenly on Wednesday of a heart attack at the age of eighty-seven. Howard Zinn’s classic work A People’s History of the United States changed the way we look at history in America. It has sold over a million copies and was recently made into a television special called The People Speak. We remember Howard Zinn in his own words, and we speak with those who knew him best: Noam Chomsky, Alice Walker, Naomi Klein and Anthony Arnove. [includes rush transcript] read more

Avatar is Real: Pandora is in Central and South America

Carlos A. Quiroz January 28, 2010 Carlos A. Quiroz

Source: Green Left Weekly

Avatar is real: the fictional planet of Pandora exists in South and Central America, and the Na’vi peoples are being displaced and killed right now. The names are different, but the facts are almost the same.

In the next generation, Central and South America will be the battlefields for rich countries to fight over natural resources, which they need to continue growing and keeping up to their consumerist, excessive ways of life. The last pristine, virgin forests on Earth will be taken over by rich and powerful military armies, working on behalf of the interests of multinational corporations.

It’s happening already in the tropical forests and mountains of the continent. Mining, oil, tourism, real estate and other corporations are trying to take over the indigenous peoples’ ancestral lands, in complicity with the local puppet governments. read more