So, I spent some time watching the John Edwards vs. Dick Cheney debate. It’s on right now. An educational experience I’ll be returning to shortly. I learned that Kerry and Edwards want to strengthen sanctions against Iran. Edwards also seems quite close to calling Cheney a liar, which is good I suppose. He called attention to the real situation in Afghanistan, for example, though only a little. At the point that I left the TV, Cheney was starting to lose his composure. I was intrigued reading Tom Engelhardt’s thought that withdrawal is now entering the public discourse.
Of course, while they debate, the US is smashing Sadr City in Baghdad (winning hearts and minds?), there’s a story in the media about some US soldiers who tortured an Iraqi to death at Abu Ghraib, Israel is continuing to kill Palestinians in Gaza (we’re up to 92 in 7 days). About that latter, there’s no need to worry: the US will be vetoing a proposed UN resolution about the invasion. US Ambassador John Danforth, without any sense of irony given that the ordinance used Israeli and US weapon systems does sever limbs from their bodies quite regularly, is willing to “bet either my left or my right arm that this resolution will not pass”.
Haitian Police are also engaging in major terror operations all over Port Au Prince right now. Today they cordoned off the western slum of Martissant and are “sweeping” their way through. By the sounds of it, it really is a genuine return to the 1991-1994 days of dictatorship and terror: “Dead bodies have been seen lying in the streets and there are even reports of many disappearances. Searches in relevant places such as hospitals or morgues have not revealed the whereabouts of those disappeared. Those who have been wounded in the shootings cannot obtain vital medical treatment for fear of being further targeted. In one known case, the police have intervened to remove someone who has been shot in the stomach from a hospital in Cité Soleil while he was there seeking treatment.”
Believe it or not, though, I hadn’t intended this post to be a roundup of the world under occupation, nor for the title to be a tongue-in-cheek exposure of US hypocrisy. Instead, I wanted to mention an important initiative that is underway that is genuinely about democracy in action. Some readers might be familiar with the unofficial referendum on the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas held in Brazil in 2002, in which about 10 million voted and 98% of them rejected the FTAA. This campaign greatly strengthened the Brazilian government’s hand in the negotiations — it was a very powerful and important move against the FTAA.
Well, Peruvian social organizations are making a push to take the continental campaign against neoliberalism even further. The Brazilian plebescite was unofficial — the Peruvians are trying to force a general referendum on FTAA. They’ll be mobilizing against FTAA on October 12. I’ll report whatever I hear here…
