Click title for original in the New York Times, with links:
In Honduras, a Mess Made in the U.S.
By DANA FRANK
SANTA CRUZ, Calif.
Published: January 26, 2012

Click title for original in Labor is Not a Commodity:
The New Face behind Unionized (and Feminist) Bananas in Latin America
By Lupita Aguila Arteaga, STITCH

Check out Bronx World Film:

Thankfully, this MLK day, I saw more people posting Letter from A Birmingham Jail than the tired and trampled "Dream" speech that white liberals are so bloody fond of. Particularly this quote:

I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

I've had this on my list of things to post when I found time. Don't have time, still, but procrastination is a wonderful thing. Click title for original with photos. Woe to the Caribbean "partners" of SOUTHCOM":

Number 894 • Friday, December 16, 2011
SOUTHCOM to Enhance Cooperation with Caribbean Partners
By L.K. Hewlett

SOUTHCOM Commander U.S. Air Force General Douglas Fraser says the agency is committed to enhancing existing cooperative ties with Caribbean partners.

Thanks to A.M. for reminding me of this fabulous quote, to be read in conjunction with the cluelessly imperialist LA Times op-ed by a PCV last week, below the jump:

The war of borders is a war waged by the West on a global scale to preserve its values. Its expression is always associated with seemingly generous motives and the pass-key ideal to provide a 'richer,' 'more meaningful' life for all men. Whereas its by-now-familiar purpose is to spread the Master's values, comforting him in his godlike charity-giver role, protecting his lifestyle, and naturalizing it as the only, the best way...'Don't they see We are only trying to help?!' The compulsion to 'help' the needy whose needs one participates in creating and legislating ultimately leads to 'bombing people into the acceptance of gifts.'
— Trinh T. Minh-ha

The article titled Graft, greed, mayhem turn Honduras into murder capital of world in yesterday's Miami Herald is particularly well-crafted to appear sympathetic, but its pro-interventionist agenda is clear from:

1. No coup relying on the same police under attack here to enforce it ever took place, and
2. this:
   

   Many Honduran activists [emphasis my own] have called for the United States to intervene and help run the police. American technical security experts will head to Honduras soon. Colombia and Chile have sent teams to help investigate high-profile cases, and the Organization of American States sent a mission to figure out what role that diplomatic organization can play.
   "There’s no question we’re very concerned. It’s important for the Honduran government to do this cleaning-out process and do it willfully and effectively, as quickly as they can manage," U.S. Ambassador Lisa Kubiske told The Herald. "The police do not enjoy the confidence of anybody in the country right now."

My jaw has not yet peeled off the floor after having had this site pointed out to me. 1980s 3-16 member, shadowy private security magnate behind much of the death squad activity of the 00s, and personal adviser to Micheletti following the coup, has paid someone a lot of money to produce his "innocence" in book and film format. See www.billyjoya.com/.

Click image for larger version:

Julieta Castellanos convened an emergency meeting of the university regents for Monday morning in response to congressional efforts to destroy public higher education in Honduras, as described in this El Tiempo article. Her communique, which has been making the rounds this weekend (and seems to have been updated on UNAH's website, reads:

Author event Washington DC: "Tectonic Shifts: Haiti Since the Earthquake"
Date of the event:
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 - 6:00pm

The Center for Economic and Policy Research, TransAfrica Forum and Teaching for Change invite you to an author event and discussion on the newly released book:
"Tectonic Shifts: Haiti Since the Earthquake"

Date: Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 6:00 PM
Location: Busboys and Poets (14th and V)
2021 14th St. NW,
Washington DC, 20009