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Domes for Haiti
Submitted by fyl on Wed, 2010/01/20 - 14:23.
I get a newsletter from Monolithic, the people whose dome design, we have been using at CoolTop. In the newsletter I just received, there is a link to One Dome at a time. The site is looking for donations to help Haiti—not a bad thing—but there is also a short video talking about building EcoShell domes and why it makes sense. Earthquake resistance is, of course, one of the reasons.
Now, if the U.S. would let Aristide return, getting things back together could really get rolling. From Online Journal we see the following:
Aristide, from an exile in South Africa imposed by the United States, France, and Canada, vowed to return to Haiti to be with his people in their time of stress and despair. Aristide, a former Roman Catholic priest, served the people of the Haitian slum of La Saline and he understands best the plight of his people. On the other hand, Rene Preval, the U.S. stooge who was placed in power twice by the CIA and the U.S. Southern Command to replace Aristide, once in a fraudulent election (Preval won in 1995 with 88 percent of the vote in a 25 percent voter turnout) and the other in a coup, could only complain to CNN’s Sanjay Gupta about not having any place to sleep for the night, “I cannot live in the palace. I cannot live in my own house, because the two collapsed.”
Journalism?
The opening paragraph of the article is a good indication of the quality (or lack thereof) of the journalism that follows. The author apparently has no idea why the P-3 was used, does not know its true and varied capabilities, and doens't realize the real source of much data in Google Earth / Google Maps. Doesn't matter though (not to him anyway) as it serves as a foil in his quest to say anything regardless of its truth, as long as it furthers his political cause. Be it anything here from Iceland's rescue people to Dr. Gupta, there is no perspective nor useful facts accompanying anything the author writes. There are reasons for all of these things and they cannot be addressed, no less countered or refuted with vague references, generalizations, and one-liners. Not a single thing is even remotely documented in the piece. That Aristide should have remained in power is a separate matter and belittling current operations or launching yet another conspiracy theory to try to reinstate him isn't going to help Aristide or Haitains. A handful of men on another continent could easily prevent Aristide from returning to Haiti, if that were really the major objective.
There you go again...
Why couldn't you just leave this post as remarking about moon-domes for Haiti? Why the need to link and quote an article full of anti-US rhetoric written in the Toni Solo hyperbole style?
But since you did, maybe I can get some facts past the censor?
Only radical left-wing loons think Aristide is anything but a thieving opportunist.
In 1991 the democratically elected parliament, led by Aristide's own party and with current Haitian President Preval as Prime Minister, voted no-confidence in the government. Under the rule of law of Haiti, the government was to be dissolved and new elections held. Aristide refused to call the elections. He was thrown out by a coup.
In 1994, Slick Willy Clinton forced the Haitian military to take Aristide back and he completed his first presidential term in 1996.
In 2000, Aristide was elected by a "landslide". The opposition party boycotted the elections since Aristide controlled the Provisional Election Commission (Haiti's version of Nicaragua's CSE, controlled by the god-king's buddies) and refused to allow international observers. Election results were announced before counting even began. Turnout for the "landslide" election was less than 10%.
From 2000 until his removal from office in 2004, Aristide was engaged in many nefarious acts inlcuding drug-trafficking, embezzlement, money-laundering, and an extensive scam ripping off the revenues derived from various telecom deals (many set up by the Green God Al Gore). Somehow in these four years, the former Catholic priest (who was run from the Church), managed to accumulate a personal fortune estimated at over US$300 million. All the while of course spewing populist slogans similar to "Arriba los pobres", "el pueblo presidente", et al ad nauseum.
Rather than heap vitriol upon the horrid US, perhaps the current crop of thieving opportunists with their populist slogans should take note of the fate of their "hermano" Aristide?
Alternate history
Hmm, I don't claim to be an expert on Haitian history, but the timeline you're presenting above sure doesn't match up with what I know. Here's a thoroughly researched and heavily footnoted article on Haiti's history which describes these events quite differently. Of course, I'm sure you'll shut down your mind as soon as you see the author's name. But I think you'd have a hard time refuting much of what's said here, as it's basically a series of facts, unlike your editorializing.
http://books.zcommunications.org/chomsky/year/year-c08-s01.html
Though that said, the article linked in the original post seemed pretty heavily biased. I prefer facts over innuendo, regardless of which side it's coming from.
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Life is what happens while we're busy making other plans
You Win
I should have looked for that in the first place. It was also nice that Elliott Abrams didn't spend all his time trying to destroy Nicaragua.
Point taken
Heh, okay point taken. I just find that my bristles go up whenever I read an unsourced statement generalizing what "everyone knows", be it "Only radical left-wing loons think Aristide is anything but a thieving opportunist" or "Obama was garnering praise from such sycophantic White House outlets as the largely-discredited Washington Post". I can agree with the largely-discredited part, but sycophantic? Really? With Dionne and Krauthammer and Kristol on the editorial board, just for starters? And that's just the first thing that jumped out at me. But different strokes for different folks.
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Life is what happens while we're busy making other plans
not conclusive of anything
Not very convincing that my "editorializing" is incorrect - the Chomsky piece you link devotes less than one page to the 1991 coup, provides none of the underlying facts leading up to the coup, and nothing at all to subsequent events.
The Aristide chapter of Haiti's history is a cause celebre of the left-wing loons who blame everything on the USA/CIA (m-o-u-s-e).
And please don't presume I would shut down my mind because of the author's name. You know nothing of me, my belief systems, educational background or professional experience.
Having said all that, YES, the original linked article was beyond "pretty heavily biased" -- it is the kind of "sources" regularly posted here to further the agenda of bashing the USA whenever possible.
What it had to do with moon-domes is still beyond my limited understanding...
crgsmguy are you saying the Bush whackers are
squeaky clean? How much money have they stolen from the American people during their terms?
Aristide is not my man of choice for Haiti. However if the people of Haiti want him back he should be allowed to return. Who is the international ruling class to tell them how to run their lives or their country for that matter.
I know some will say: Just look how much aid we are providing. We have a right to tell them what to do.
I disagree with that sentiment. If they want to attach strings to the help maybe their motives are not the best.
Bush?
I have re-read my post 3x now and see no mention of Bush.
You do realize that the left-wing loons blame Canada almost as much as the USA/CIA (m-o-u-s-e) for the 2004 coup that removed Aristide? The Ottawa Initiative -- it's ALL the canucks fault...
LOL Yes you are right!
And I'm still proud to be Canadian! Imperfect as we are.....
Aha! Now I get it...
and everything makes perfect sense about all of this. Thank you for clearing things up.
Very interesting article, FYL
However, I am wondering who funds this journal, and I also noticed a great deal of rhetoric used in this man's "uncensored and accurate news" which made me wonder about the accuracy of his report. When he uses words like, "sycophantic White House outlets" or saying "Obama is the Max Headroom of America’s political leadership" in lieu of simply reporting facts in a more direct manner, I see a slant to this journalism.
Oddly enough, the slant is probably one I would normally agree with and I know it goes both ways in reporting, but I don't think it serves him well to report this way. I tend to share many of his sentiments about the White House and the involvement of the U.S. in general in the Caribbean, as well as Latin America. But I'm shy to take too seriously, an article with this type of bombastic or florid commentary added to general facts. This article would and has had me doing additional research to unfold other opinions. Simply, I don't like my opinions fed to me this way. I like to read unbiased journalism and then form my own opinions on it.
OK
Thank you, FYL
I will read these and some others I pulled up.