From a couple weeks ago. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere and golpista propagandist for the Obama administration Frank Mora is stepping down from his Pentagon post to head Florida International University's Latin American and Caribbean Center, home of SOUTHCOM's very own academic departments focused on providing academic legitimation for the U.S. military occupation of the rest of the hemisphere. Keep up the great work, FIU.

Increase in murders of women in Honduras
Prensa Latina (translation from Greg McCain)

The crime statistics show that this year the murders of women increased by 30 percent compared to the 512 reported in 2011, said Visitación Padilla, coordinator of the Committee of Women for Peace, . More than 480 females were killed through to August, but none of these cases was clarified by the prosecution, she added.

See this post for Sukarieh's previous five CounterPunch articles. Here are the most recent ones:

• December 24, 2012: IMF Policies with a Beard on Them: What Egyptians Say About Their Referendum
• Weekend Edition December 14-16, 2012: More From the Egyptian Counter-Revolution: At the Muslim Brotherhood’s Sit-In
  

Tireless solidarity worker Tanya Kersson now has a new book out. I've ordered my copy. Click the image below to buy yours:

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New from Food First Books: In 2009, Honduran elites financed a coup to grab land and power. The peasants of the Aguán Valley are fighting to grab it back...for their families, local economies and the future of democracy.

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Honduras: The Honduran People under a Permanent Coup d'Etat
From Ofraneh, translation by Stephen Bartlett of Ag Missions

The latest Coup d'Etat perpetrated in the early hours of December 12 in Honduras, when the National Congress voted to remove four Supreme Court justices, places front and center once again the dictatorship the country has experienced since June 28, 2009. The ultra-right of Honduras has been offering up to us for the last three years lessons on their cannibalistic practices.

Click title for original from Friendship Office of the Americas:
Relatives of victims of military operations demand justice
Tegucigalpa, December 13, 2012.

Relatives of people who have died at the hands of military personnel, as well as surviving victims, demanded justice at a press conference held today at the headquarters of COFADEH (Committee of the Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras).

Three years ago today Walter was killed by a U.S.-funded Honduran police death squad. Today, the institutionalization of state-sanctioned homophobic violence has only increased. See, for example, what one of the main supporters and beneficiaries of the coup, televangelist Evelio Reyes, had to say last month about how Christians ought to vote:

Robert Carmona Borjas reared his ugly head again last month, writing an article (or at least allowing it to be published under his name) nearly identical to one published the previous day on Fox Latino by Otto Reich, attacking Yani Rosenthal for getting in the way of their telecom privatization schemes.

Tomas Andino Mencía (my translation)
12-12-12

Today in the pre-dawn hours there was another Coup d'État in Honduras (some call it a Re-Golpe/Re-Coup), this time against the "Supreme" [Court] by the official mechanical majority of the National Congress.

That the Constitution was violated is true. Congress had no powers to do what it did, just as it had no authority to remove Mel from office.

Long story short: following last month's fraud-riddled elections, the National Congress (controlled by the "winning" Charter Cities promoting National Party candidate, golpista Juan Orlando Hernández, Lobo's close ally) kicked out 4 members of the Supreme Court (controlled by the "losing" candidate, golpista Ricardo Álvarez, close ally of Jorge Canahuati and Maduro) in the pre-dawn hours this morning to prevent them from ordering an electoral recount. The military, which is the real power, appears to be backing the winners of this round.