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MO takes out options
on "beheadings" in Haiti

Wall Street opportunists try out a "Swift Boat" attack on Kerry

by RAW
October 10 2004

John Kerry has had little to say about the U.S. kidnapping of Haitian President Jean Betrand Aristide since March 4th, but that doesn't slow down right-wing mouthpiece Mary O'Grady (symbol: MO) from trying to jumpstart a new scandal - or an "October Surprise," if you will - to provide her own contribution to the Bush-Cheney campaign. Parroting the latest anti-Lavalas strategy - an intentional misrepresentation that was premiered by Associated Press on October 6th - MO states that Lavalas militants are now employing the "Islamic terrorist" practice of executing infidels by decapitation.

While on the surface, it appears, that MO is up to her usual hijinx, it may be time that folks scratch below the "entertainment" value and closely examine the dynamics of this column...

Why Wall Street Journal (WSJ) doesn't have "Disclosure of Financial Interests" or even "Financial Buddy List" links for it's editors might be something the SEC should look into. [visions of MO sharing a room with Martha Stewart in Camp Cupcake are unavoidable]

...in the past few weeks MO's "The America's" columns seem to have been fabricated in Langley, rather than New York. (Last week she insinuated that Venezuela's President, Hugo Chávez is looking to do a little empire building of his own by invading Bolivia and Columbia - "Mary Anastasia O'Grady: Venezuela´s oil-for- migs program " - dutifully posted on PetroleumWorld.com). In a comprehensive media blitzkrieg "THE AMERICAS - Kerry's Favorite Hatian (sic): 'The Democrat wouldn't use U.S. troops to depose a dictator. But he would use them to impose one.'" appeared on International Republican Institute (IRI) darlings - Haiti-info.com and Transparency International - websites, seemingly, before WSJ hit the streets.

Si w gendan lò lan bouch ou, pa dòmi kote moun sa yo!

"If you have gold in your mouth, don't sleep around these people!" The U.S. intelligence community's favorite export is a comprehensive disinformation campaign. Throw in a couple headless corpses to bolster your message, and you can play the U.S. mainstream media that evening.

The organization that has aligned itself with the deadly agenda of the Haitian elite - Group 184 - has even gone so far as to try and forcibly steal the body of a Lavalas demonstrator (who was killed at one of their demonstrations) so that they could march through the streets claiming that one of their own students was a victim of political repression. The U.S. even created a "human rights" organization - NCHR - that orchestrated a demonstration on the hospital steps that day to certify those absurd claims. Fortunately, the Lavalasien, had a rather feisty wife who was able to fight off the body snatchers with the assistance of a few nurses (the 21st Century ghouls are a rather timid lot).

The September 30th demonstration planned by pro-Aristide activists was the turning point for this latest political turmoil. When the Haitian National Police (PNH) fired on unarmed, non-violent demonstrators several rumors hit the right-wing radio broadcasts. "Credible" sources were claiming that "masked gunmen had disarmed a couple of the policemen, shot them and took their car to the Haitian neighborhood of Bel-Air where it was set on fire." Later reports - on the 30th - by the occupation government's Justice Minister Bernard Gousse claimed, "demonstrators shot and killed three officers, and were believed to have kidnapped a fourth." Nothing was mentioned about "beheadings" at that time.

One would assume that if the virulently anti-lavalas Bernard Gousse didn't have possession of the bodies or - even more so - if they were headless, he would have reported those details on Thursday, September 30. By the morning of Oct 1, unconfirmed reports began circulating that the headless bodies of three policemen were found in another neighborhood, La Saline. Soon after this rumor, other reports surfaced that three policemen were killed in a shootout with "gangsters" (read "drug trafficking") the morning of Sept. 30 before the march began on the other side of town.

• "the U.S.-backed government has not released the identities of the headless policemen. Repeated requests by independent journalists and human rights groups to examine the corpses have been denied by the government." -Haiti Information Project Oct 9

Almost immediately, Associated Press (AP) journalist, Amy Bracken, began spinning the "Incredible Headless Policemen" rumors into the myth that became "Operation Baghdad." Knowingly using biased sources, the AP stringers provided the occupation government with all the justification they needed to begin a violent siege of the impoverished neighborhoods that are Lavalas strongholds.

Over the last few years there has been a pattern of mysterious assassinations of "anti-Lavalas" figures that also seem to have a highly crafted PR campaign that emanates while the bodies are still warm. It was just over a year ago when the Amiot Metayer assassination plied into the U.S. media with several buzzwords and false assertions that hung through the winter to bloom into fuel for the insurgency that preceded democratically-elected President Aristide's kidnapping by the U.S. in February.

What is not often pointed out is that - shortly before he was assassinated - when Amiot Metayer was broken out of prison in a dramatic prison break, former FRAPH death squad leader Jean Tatoune (Jean Pierre Baptiste) was also released from prison. Jean Tatoune had betrayed Amiot Metayer several times in the past. Convincing Tatoune to "take care" of his "friendly rival" to become the criminal strongman of Gonaïve, was rather easy. Tatoune led the bloody insurgency in that area only to be hailed as a "freedom fighter" by the occupation government's Prime Minister Gerard Latortue. Recently, Tatoune's thugs have interdicted the disaster relief supplies in the area to resupply and finance their cartel.

Lately, the forces that are trying to bring back the Haitian Military (FAd'H) have had a few skirmishes with the PNH. Decapitation of corpses and dumping them on street corners is a common practice of the former military and U.S.-trained FRAPH. That the folks who support the return of the military would murder a few "expendable" supporters to further their own agenda, is of little doubt...

• Rémicinthe Ravix gives the interim government 48 hours to resolve the problem of violence in   Port-au-prince
  
  Port-au-Prince, October 6, 2004 (AHP)- The self-proclaimed commander of the Haitian demobilized armed forces,   Rémicinthe Ravix, declared Wednesday that he is setting a 48 hour deadline for the interim government to resolve the problem of violence that is being fed, he said, by Fanmi Lavalas supporters in Haiti.  
  
  Rémicinthe Ravix said he is ready to re-enter Port-au-Prince with his troops to put an end to the situation of terror that has been created, according to him, by the people of  Bel-Air. 
  
  He stated that he will not hesitate to act against those who, he said, are terrorizing the population and beheading police officers and demobilized soldiers.  
  
  "We are here to serve the population and we are prepared for this type of situation", declared Rémicinthe Ravix. - AHP October 6, 2004 11:30 AM 

$21,685,135,571.48 is not enough

Columbus Day is a holiday for the Federal Bank, the markets stay open but nothing settles...

While MO might want you to belive that her concern is for the good of the U.S., the truth here is that there's a growing global presence on the horizon - or, should I say "of Verizon?"

Globalization - by the transnational companies - needs to express itself by brutal accumulation in newer markets. Here in the USA the battle is being fought to privatize every last feature of the public sector, the war is almost over for healthcare and the costs for that sector are rising for the monopolies. Tax benefits for schools are steadily being cut and the corporate takeover of prisons is underway.

In Iraq the higher value placed on the global contract soldiers over "our troops" was evidenced in Fallujah. The same day MO's column hit the streets, the Republican majority in the house narrowly passed, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert's (R-Ill.) Intelligence Reform Bill. The Orwellian possibility is that transnational corporations will now be able to turn a buck, profiteering off the torture of liberation fighters whom have been labelled as terrorists by military courts (that have been "privatized" as well).

The county that was most impacted by Christopher Columbus doesn't have a holiday Monday, October 11 to honor that genocidal Father of Globalization. On Monday, another 2,000 Teleco workers in Haiti see their options expire along with their job. Verizon has had its sights on Haiti for some time, their growing global presence won't have much room for unionized Haitian workers in it's force but - if MO has her way - this "minor" detail might even help her old buddies at Merril Lynch.

Yup! Follow the money. MO isn't being paid by the corporate media to enhance global conditions. Mary Anastasia O'Grady lives to enhance the global capital accumulation of the Polyarchy. Monday is the start of "Expiry Week." Her column may have had more to do with influencing the short term volatility of Verizon and IDT Corp, than by any (self-serving) sense of justice.

In the face of a "bear flag" MLCO pumped VZ by upping its capex. IDT saw the opposite treatment on Friday as MO's former employer wrapped up these positions and will sandbag the rest to keep them out of the money. Of course, that is of little concern for the namesake of Jesse Helms piggy bank. The MLCO pump will help the VZAH that was scored on expiry week in July. Like I said, the SEC should start requiring some disclosure links on WSJ.com

Christopher Columbus never made it to that amorphous blob to the north that would become the USA, but that didn't stop us from naming all sorts of things in his honor. From salami to Columbus, OH where Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH) might be celebrating his own contribution to "opportunistic brutality."

The H.E.R.O (Haiti Economic Recovery Act) was passed by the Senate recently. The Reeps are so busy drooling at the "visions of sweatshops dancing in their heads" that they could care less about the ongoing violations of its human rights provisions, that they never had any intention of enforcing anyway:

• d) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS- Haiti shall be eligible for preferential treatment under this section if the President determines and certifies to Congress that Haiti is meeting the conditions of subsection (e) and that Haiti --
  
  (1) has established, or is making continual progress toward establishing...
  
  (B) the rule of law, political pluralism, and the right to due process, a fair trial, and equal protection under the law...
  
  (D) economic policies to reduce poverty, increase the availability of health care and educational opportunities, expand physical infrastructure, promote the development of private enterprise, and encourage the formation of capital markets through microcredit or other programs...
  
  (F) protection of internationally recognized worker rights, including the right of association, the right to organize and bargain collectively, a prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory labor, a minimum age for the employment of children, and acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health...
  
  (3) does not engage in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights or provide support for acts of international terrorism [what about domestic terrorism? -ED ] and cooperates in international efforts to eliminate human rights violations and terrorist activities.

If you want to enhance your cynicism you'll look at the other "Eligibility Requirements."

So, there we go. It's a plan of action for the the friends of the People of Haiti. Sharpen your pencils. Tell your representative to hold up the passage of the H.E.R.O. Act (S2661 / H.R. 4889) in the House until the Occupation Government is brought into compliance of these particular "Eligibility Requirements."

All of which, were violated on Friday - alone.

See also:

Black Commentator:US Corporate Media Distort Haitian Events: The Amulance Chasers or How Many Journalists and AP Photographers Can Dance on the Head of a Pin?

Black Commentator: Propaganda War Intensifies Against Haiti as Opposition Grabs for Power - October 30, 2003

Plan Would Let U.S. Deport Suspects to Nations That Might Torture Them
By Dana Priest and Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 30, 2004; Page A01

"Another march was planned for September 30th marking the thirteenth anniversary of the military coup that overthrew Aristide in 1991. Although organizers for the march received permits from the Haitian National Police (PNH) it was clear from the beginning something was amiss. The first noticeable difference was the absence of police escorts that normally ride shotgun at the head and tail of these types of sanctioned demonstrations. These days the police are also aided by roving UN vehicles that monitor the negotiated route of the demonstration. They were conspicuously absent as well." - Oct 1 Haiti Information Project