US corporations, private mercenaries, Washington and the International Monetary Fund are using the crisis in Haiti to make a profit, promote unpopular neoliberal policies, and extend military and economic control over the Haitian people. In front of National Palace after Earthquake
Each year, many remember Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s work on behalf of civil rights. Yet the most fundamental piece of his philosophical legacy, his rejection of the utility and morality of violence between individuals and nations, remains at best ignorantly obscured or at worst actively suppressed. In his 1967 book, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, Rev. King wrote that "it is as possible and as urgent to put an end to war and violence between nations as it is to put an end to poverty and racial injustice."
Much of the coverage of Haiti you will see over the next days and weeks will inevitably edit out the struggle and history of Haiti. We will see photos and videos depicting the human suffering that has resulted, but we will not see the dignity that has fused together generations of Haitian freedom seekers, and inspired millions more beyond the bounds of that small island nation. Here's what you can do to help relieve the suffering and continue the legacy of solidarity at the same time.Earthquake Destruction
It's been a good decade for the Pentagon. The most recent numbers from Capitol Hill indicate that Pentagon spending (counting Iraq and Afghanistan) will reach over $630 billion in 2010. And that doesn't even include the billions set aside for building new military facilities and sustaining the U.S. nuclear arsenal. But even without counting the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Department of Defense budget has been moving relentlessly upward since 2001.
Source: Green Left Weekly
The November 26 announcement that the sovereign fund Dubai World would require a six-month pause on payments on its US$60 billion debt sent tremors through international stock markets.
In response, European markets fell 3%, the November 28 Sydney Morning Herald said.On November 30, the government of Abu Dhabi, Dubai’s neighbour and fellow member of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), issued a statement confirming that it would bailout Dubai’s debt.
Not all of it -some banks would still lose something – but enough to ensure that major banks with “exposure” to Dubai World, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, Citi and HSBC, would not again be plunged into crisis.
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