1. Financial Miracle: The tragedy in Haiti would she warmed the heart of the International Monetary Fund?
2. The election of a rightwing president in Chile: the end of a long transition to democracy three decades
3. Bolivia's Evo Morales: the president begins his second term aymarien, more beloved than ever
4. A possible end to impunity: Bill C-300 for mining reform in Canada
5. A vision of the future signed Pentagon: A sky full of drones assassins
6. After 10 years of extensive research, it's official: The Dolphins have the right to be individuals
HAITI THE IMF AND
In the context of earthquakes in Haiti, I spoke last week of the role played by France, the United States and Canada for decades to undermine the country ...
There is also the role of the IMF, which has collaborated with Washington to impose macroeconomic policies on Haiti
Haiti still has a foreign debt accumulated during the Duvalier dictatorship ... A new
recent IMF loan, $ 100 million was added to the existing loan of $ 165 million
At first it was supposed to be attached to funds an agreement that existed between Haiti and the IMF
An agreement which required Haiti to continue with structural adjustment programs would grow even more in Haiti dependency and fragility
conditions such as increasing prices for electricity, freeze higher wages in the public sector except for those earning the minimum wage and keep inflation as low as possible
So when the IMF announced the loan of $ 100 million in debt relief activists worked strong demand for something else
They asked that aid be sent to Haiti in the form grant and not loan
But for the depth of the crisis and the fact that the IMF does not give grants, it was hoped that conditions could be altered and the whole debt, eventually canceled
Well surprise, the IMF a few days ago, announced new conditions to the loan of $ 100 million: this is now an interest free loan, a kind of emergency fund
The IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that his institution would work immediately to eliminate the entire debt to the IMF to Haiti, or $ 256 million
So that means at the same time that the IMF makes a loan to Haiti, he made a public promise to eliminate
This is an unprecedented move, and it demonstrates what can make a Public pressure at a time of disaster to prevent another disaster hit country falls victim to financial predators
Now must support more pressure and ensure that all of Haiti's external debt is canceled. ..
including one with the Development Bank Inter-American: $ 447 million
Development Association of the World Bank: $ 39M
Bottom International agricultural development: $ 13M
Venezuela: $ 295 and Taiwan: $ 92M
But the lesson is that global activism can work, especially at a time when a community was so great need
TURN THE HISTORY OF CHILE
Any surprise took place last January 17 in Chile with the election of the multi-millionaire right Sebastian Pinera in the presidential
With 51.6% of vote only when it has provoked a crisis within the coalition of center-left Concertación coalition
has not had a good performance since the first round of elections Dec. 13, 2009
Yet they were very few believe that their candidate could lose: Eduardo Frei, who has been president of Chile from 1994 to 2000
Regardless, This election represents a profound change, historical Chile
Pinera is the first Chilean to win a conservative presidential election since 1958
And the first man to win the right 50% of the popular vote needed to win the presidency, replacing So President Bachelet who has exhausted his money
Do note that the Concertación has dominated the political arena of Chile since the No vote in the plebiscite on the reign of Augusto Pinochet in 1988
The No side has been two decades since the silent majority, and the camp the yes, the rich and powerful minority noisy
The coalition was strong and always popular, so how their candidate did he lose to?
Well, Sebastian Pinera has had a very good campaign and has avoided the mistakes
It followed the formula of universal conservative populist: be firm against crime, one million jobs and spectacular economic growth
more, an alliance of neo-liberal Renovacion Nacional and the ultra-conservative Independent Union for Democracy has kept the public away from the infighting
But despite all these efforts, only Pinera harvested 51.6% of votes
An important factor is that 200 000 people have deliberately wasted their vote, and thousands of others have completely ignored the polls
What Chileans saw and what they rejected with this election is a coalition of the Concertación had become a patronage network that shared between them the wealth of government
Their presidential candidate was weak, his campaign was not very good
So here, January 17, 2010 marks the end of the alliance between the Christian Democrats, Radicals and Socialists who have held their coalition from a common hatred for Pinochet and the Pursuit of Power
Michelle Bachelet will certainly try to be president again in 2014, and for that it needs the alliance takes
Another candidate of the center-left is Marco Enriquez Ominami, who forged a career by denouncing the elite of the Concertacion ... its best bet is precisely whether the alliance is broken by then
The reign of 20 years of center-left forces ends, therefore, a powerful man of the kind of Sylvio Berlusconi, because they have become complacent with power
Result: a new phase of political history of Chile has just opened
BOLIVIA Evo Morales
Evo Morales is the most popular president that Bolivia has never been
He won re-election last month with 64% of the vote, although he must daily confront the upper classes in Bolivia, which have control country's media
But Morales and his administration also has a long history of tension with Washington, also
The situation dates to 1980, when the U.S. declared its war auxdrogues
and Morales became the leader the federation of indigenous farmers, representing growers of coca plant
U.S. policy has forced eradication of coca plant, transforming the community of Morales in the field of war
Do note that coca is processed into cocaine concentrated to provide the demands of U.S. consumers and elsewhere
But in the Bolivian culture, it represents something else entirely
Millions of Bolivians chew coca every day, because it acted as a stimulant the safe, natural as coffee
and leaves were the center of indigenous religious rituals for centuries
The Morales government has been very serious in its policy of Yes to coca, but not cocaine
And despite the difficult diplomatic relations, Bolivia continued to cooperate with the section narcotics to the U.S. embassy
Bolivian police seized more cocaine under the Morales administration that all previous governments
The government also worked to reduce coca production to small family farms for legal use only
This policy did not work perfectly, but succeeded when even reduce conflicts
And Bolivia produces less cocaine than Peru or Colombia
but to return to the opposition in his country, when Morales won the presidential election in 2005, many did not hesitate to say that Aymara Indian who never finished high school should have the right to govern the country
The right has begun to block parliamentary processes
and still threatens secession of part of the country under its control of regional governments
but support the right has fallen further and Morales is even more popular that front
its policy recognizing the dignity of indigenous poor and redistribute the resources of natural gas
But Bolivia is far from having solved all its problems, and the U.S., even as Obama has still not recognized profoundly democratic process in Bolivia Evo Morales
began his second term last January 22 ... it would time for Washington to normalize relations with this progressive government ... and Ottawa, although, given the Conservatives' policy towards the center-left governments in Latin America, I do not expect miracles
MINING REFORM IN CANADA
The mining operations of Canadian companies abroad have nothing pink or angelic rape, murder, corruption, environmental contamination, impunity ...
What are just some of the burdens and incidents which follow them for years
Now a Canadian legislator has undertaken the task of pushing a reform mining
The Liberal John McKay said the lobby of the mining industry in Canada is just too strong
is indeed a very powerful industry
60% of the world's mining companies from Canada
1010 projects in South America, 578 in Mexico, 703 in Africa, Asia and 345 376 in Australia, ie, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea
Canada also has 19% of global mining exploration expenditures, which totaled $ 13.2 billion
Gold, silver, copper and nickel ores that among its industry research worldwide
In Canada, the industry employed 193 lobbyists
McKay's law, C-300, would empower the federal government to investigate complaints of abuse against human rights and environmental
If ministers who investigate then finds a company guilty of violating the social and environmental standards set in legislation, the company could lose money from the government, but it's
I will give some specific examples to justify such a law
Security guards working for Barrick Gold in Papua New Guinea allegedly raped a local woman
Amnesty International said in December 2009 that the local police of that mine violently expelled from local families and burned édtruit nearly 130 homes and buildings
Barrick has denied these facts from, but eventually accepted the findings of Amnesty
Barrick has also recently been accused of not meeting environmental standards in Chile and the anti-union discrimination in Argentina
On November 27, 2009 Blackfire Exploration has been involved in the murder of an Aboriginal leader against mining in Chiapas
an employee and two former company employees were arrested for murder
It has also been proven that the company paid the bribe to the local mayor $ 1,000 a month to keep opponents of the project under control
Less than a month later, two anti-mining activists have Killed in El Salvador, where Pacific Rim Mining operates
The Canadian company has been widespread resistance to his plans
violence in Mexico and El Salvador is the logical result of a system that gives millions of dollars to people who have no sense of ethics and even local companies with no oversight
Copper Mesa company gets sued for hiring paramilitaries to intimidate members of the community in Ecuador who opposes their project
The Honduran government was investigating jeopardizes the Canadian Goldcorp Inc. that would have contaminated the Valle Siai of toxic metals, remains to be seen whether the new government right who replaced the ousted president will continue the investigation
Note that Goldcorp has supported the coup in Honduras in providing buses for workers who wanted to participate in rallies that supported the overthrow of Zelaya ...
All this is just a sampling of incidents that take place around the world, Burma in Guatemala
Right now, the Harper government considers Bill C-300 as unnecessary and seeks to maintain the status quo
is expected to debate in a room on the proposal in March when it will be voted in committee and would need to be approved by the senate
to you now to put pressure for it to pass
WAR OF DRONES
recent morning in the Afghan province of Helmand, a missile hit a house, killing 13 people
Some days later, two missiles hit a warehouse in the village in northern Degan Pakistan, three people tuan
this is drone attacks, something unusual during the Bush administration has multiplied rapidly under Obama,
And since the suicide bombing of a double agent in Jordan on the basis of the CIA on December 30 last in Afghanistan, unmanned flying machines human hunting in the area of war between Afghanistan and Pakistan has a record
In Pakistan, an unprecedented number of attacks against insurgents and civilians have led to even more fear and anger against foreign forces in western North
in Afghanistan unmanned flights have for years been a mission Main monitor around
but we use them increasingly to assassinate suspected militants
In 2008 there were between 27 and 36 drone attacks in Pakistan
in 2009, there were between 45 and 53
And for the first 18 days of January there were 11 already
All this is part of a Pentagon plan over the next 4 decades to create a fleet of UAVs hyper-powerful and heavily armed
The Pentagon is already gone ahead to purchase a new generation of UAVs by 2013
This year, Ari Force plans 250 000 hours total flight for drones, the equivalent All flights from 1995 to 2007
is expected to exceed 300,000 hours, more flight time means more killing, also
During the Bush years of 2006 to 2009 the 41 drone attacks 454 killed in Pakistan military and civilian
Last year alone, 42 attacks have killed 453
And beyond 2012 and 2013, it will be even worse, there will be drones in the air but also under water
is a future where advanced technology for remote-made targeting and killing more easily than ever
But we will not see anything, because 2047 is the year the Air Force account complete his first great cycle to turn the skies and waters battleground for thousands of drones, hypersonic made here are projected
In 2047, no one can estimate how many drones will fly over the heads across the globe, representing how many millions or billions of hours of flight
or how many people, in how many countries will be killed by his drones flying judges and jury who let go their bombs by remote
DOLPHINS = PEOPLE?
For the last decade, researchers worldwide have measured the length and breadth of communities and societies dolphins, elephants and gorillas, among the species known for their intelligence and social complexity
Despite all the preconceived notions of the rule, researchers discovered that these animals are engaged in complex social interactions between them in- the specific context of their environment
There are a lot of evidence of achievements and cultural transmission of knowledge and skills beyond the Homosapien species
Until recently, science and philosophy on this subject was not supported by a forum acceptable revisions Peer
There were only a handful of scientists who dared to speak openly about it
Speaking specifically of dolphins: the last decades of studies on their behavior has highlighted the extent to which their Communications are really complex
So much so that it is difficult not to draw parallels with the complexities of human communication
And even if their intelligence takes another form, do not underestimate their capacity provided
a panel of three respected scholars have recently discussed ie if the emerging scientific knowledge should influence international policy on the ethical consideration of the treatment of dolphins
Their position is based on a more firm
indicating that dolphins have distinct personalities, a strong sense of self, they can think ahead, and they have the innate ability to learn their complex language
All this in addition to being able to learn rudimentary language based on symbols to communicate with humans
So knowing all this, it is immoral to hurt them, treating them to hurt them psychologically, they must our respect
similarities between dolphins and humans qualifies the moral status of individual, person, and thus it is entitled to appropriate treatment
In the political arena, the debate on this issue already affects the right of apes
with the extension of legal rights of primates in Spain
acquisition of these rights for the dolphins and elephants and other animals comparable is a matter of time
But above all, must begin the process eliminate our anthropocentric bias and let the facts speak for themselves
Centuries of religious ideologies and scientists have created a gap between us and other animals
Does anyone remember that the term is not interchangeable with human, it is not the same thing
A person is a person to whom we give enough respect to confer certain moral rights
A basic right to life, protection of individual liberty and the prohibition of torture
Speaking of giving those rights is to other members of the animal kingdom is deep and serious threat to our future ... and absolutely ridiculous.
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