Honduras Coup, Act VI, Day 52

More light posting.

(42 year old Juan Orlando Hernández, native of Gracias Lempira, as the only candidate for the office will ascend to the post of Pretendisent of Congress. Image from Tiempo)

Micheletti is taking a vacation, not (as pointed out by HondurasCoup2009), stepping down, which many US newspapers have sloppily misreported. Micheletti said that he will not sit on the council of former presidents if Pretendisent Lobo seats Zelaya. But he’ll freelance, if asked.

Update:

The Radio Globo server remains down.
Radio Santa Rosa has been joined by Radio Actualidad.
Channel 36 is playing music.
Progreso had a few minutes of political talk, now Father Ismael Moreno. Now a Cadena, i.e. a forced broadcast of government directives (!). Martial music and applause in the background. Various political speeches, very vague. “This is the hour of the harvest.” The event sounds like the transmission of credentials by the Electoral Court (the TSE) to the candidates and the installation of what the pro-coup La Prensa calls “the provisional junta” . But it’s like listening to a ceremonial reading of the phone book, but with fewer specifics. They are giving out gold pins with 5 sapphires, if I heard aright (I am listening with half an ear). “The electoral process was the most transparent, clean, blahblahblah.” Again indirectly trying to blame Zelaya for things, saying that interfering with the alternation of political office is treason. Bah: enough.

Defensores en Linea reports on a letter from human rights group to European leaders asking them not to recognize the amnesty and to maintain sanctions, demand a truth commission, and maintain visa cancellations.

Via HondurasCoup2009, the BCIE will resume operations with the Lobo Pretendisency,

Birds of a feather

Some NAFTA blowback, Todd Miller of Upside Down World. One you won’t want to miss:

Following the modern recipe for corporate enterprise, the directors of Mexico’s increasingly powerful murder-for-hire firm, the Zetas, have begun to diversify from the company’s principal activity of providing armed enforcement for the drug-trafficking Gulf Cartel. According to U.S. and Mexican officials, the group has gone into the lucrative business of stealing and selling contraband gasoline. It steals from Mexico’s nationalized petroleum company PEMEX, and resells to Texas oil companies, including one run by a former Bush administration insider.
…
[T]he Zetas have been able to take advantage of NAFTA partly because of the “two way overland highway of contraband,” aptly described by political economist Jeff Faux, that has been greatly facilitated by the agreement, and which now includes companies that cook deals with organized crime.
…
Before the founding members of the Zetas deserted an elite unit of the Mexican army, they received highly sophisticated training by U.S. Special Forces in anti-narcotic operations.
…
Reynolds writes that the “image of Cresenzi – fresh out of Karl Rove’s White House office – sitting across a desk from Zetas’ Heriberto Lazcano [the Ft. Bragg trained founder of the Zetas] in Tamaulipas is like a fantastic scene conjured up from a Soderburgh/Rodriguez mashup.”

Supreme Court gives us “free speech”

The right to free speech has just been upheld by the right-wing of the Supreme Court. That is, corporations will be free to run a limitless number of political campaign ads, drowning out all other voices. A group of a few thousand people, the boards of directors and officers of the Fortune 500, have hundreds of billions of dollars at their disposal to influence campaigns that presently cost at most a tiny fraction of that.

Labor unions, with literally millions of dollars at their disposal, will be able to do the same thing. In other words, Democrats, who put the votes on the court to do this, will be free to either cave in to corporate demands or be defeated at the polls.

Yet another 5-4 decision disrespecting the rights of the overwhelming majority of Americans in favor of the “rights” of a non-living entity. FFFFFF
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Added (crossposted at AtLargely):

There might be a way to gum up the works: Require that corporations receive approval from a majority of shareholders for each and every expenditure of funds.

The expenditure of funds for political advertising, particularly of a specific candidate, is not obviously in the interests of the shareholders. Therefore, it should be voted on. And, if voting takes time, and if there is a threshhold requirement for participation, it might be hard enough and dangerous enough to the officers and Board that they might not use it in the manner that the Robert Court clearly intends.

(Not that anyone listens to Eeyore. ::sigh::)

Honduras Coup, Act VI, Day 51

Light posting continues.

Eight people were gunned down in Gualaco, Olancho by heavily-armed assassins dressed as police and soldiers. [Who, of course, might very well be police and soldiers.] Five were killed at 4:30 PM: Lucio José Rivera Tejada (17), his rancher-father Lucio Rivera (42); bodyguard and cousin Armando Ferrera Tejada (25); and bricklayers Byron Brand Ramírez (22); Manuel Bonilla and brother Wilmer Bonilla. These were apparently seized and executed in cold blood. Then at 4-5 AM, Gregorio Antúnez Oliva (35) was killed and a number of his family wounded. Fredy Francisco Alonso Mendoza (39) and a friend were also murdered.

HondurasCoup2009 links to the OAS Report on Human Rights Violations during the Honduras Coup. The catalogue of severe human rights violation apparently only covers events through September. Just a few excerpts:

Along with the loss of institutional legitimacy brought about by the coup d’état, during its visit the Commission confirmed that serious human rights violations had been committed, including killings, an arbitrary declaration of a state of emergency, disproportionate use of force against public demonstrations, criminalization of public protest, arbitrary detention of thousands of persons, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, poor detention conditions, militarization of Honduran territory, an increase in incidents of racial discrimination, violations of women’s rights, severe and arbitrary restrictions on the right to freedom of expression, and serious violations of political rights.

Since the coup d’état in Honduras, the Commission has received information to the effect that numerous human rights defenders were in danger. Some human rights organizations filed complaints with the Commission about the means being used by the State to harass human rights defenders. These techniques included the institution of police and judicial inquiries, arbitrary detentions, assaults, intimidation, surveillance and stalking.

Officials in the judicial branch were also affected by the coup d’état. The “Asociación de Jueces por la Democracia” [Association of Judges for Democracy] reported transfers, removals from the bench, and appointments not made according to legal procedure. It also told the Commission that those officials in the judicial branch who opposed the coup d’état were threatened, attacked and unlawfully detained. Others judicial authorities were subjected to disciplinary action and other forms of harassment.

HondurasCoup2009 also links to a report in Proceso Digital in which Pretendisent Porfirio Lobo signed an agreement with the president of the Dominican Republic in which Zelaya will be allowed to leave the Brazilian embassy and Lobo will form a government of national reconciliation and unity (with whom, besides Cesar Ham, is unclear).

I don’t think I was aware that the Honduran Congress had actually agreed to amnesty the coup leaders, although it was obvious they would. They have [correction, 1/21/10: The amnesty has apparently NOT been granted. CCTV is the only outlet reporting this and Honduras Coup2009 says that amnesty has not been granted. Yet.]:

The Honduran Congress has approved a decree to grant amnesty to those involved in last June’s military coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya, local media reported Friday.

The decree, approved on Wednesday night, will ensure the safety of post-coup leader Roberto Micheletti as well as that of his family.

Seventeen ministers and vice ministers of the de facto government, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, Jorge Aviles, and General Prosecutor Luis Rubi will also be amnestied.

El Libertador has an interesting editorial. They say that the dictatorship is stronger than ever, that it has its grasp on Pretendisent Lobo. I think it’s an open question how much Lobo is a member of the coup and how much he’s a pawn of it.

Two Kinds Of Terrorists, Two Kinds Of Reactions

AP Photo/Steve Helber

While the Republicans were putting on their show trial questioning of various Obama Admininistration figures concerning How Awful It Is that the Underpants Gnome, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was being tried in a civilian court as a criminal as opposed to being tried in a military court as an enemy combatant or whatever, the Virginia authorities caught a guy named Christopher Speight.

Who’s he? Oh, nobody in particular, just someone who likes to wear military outfits, collect gobs of explosives, and kill people:

Bomb technicians discovered a “multitude” of explosives Wednesday at the home of a man suspected in the shooting deaths of eight people, and crews were detonating the devices as more details about the gunman came to light.

Christopher Bryan Speight, a 39-year-old security guard, surrendered to police at daybreak Wednesday after leading authorities on an 18-hour manhunt following the shootings at a house in rural central Virginia where deputies found a mortally wounded man and seven bodies.

The victims were four adults, three teenagers and a child. They were identified as 16-year-old Ronald Scruggs; 15-year-old Emily Quarles; 43-year-old Karen and Jonathan Quarles; 38-year-old Dwayne and Lauralee Sipe; 15-year-old Morgan Dobyns; and 4-year-old Joshua Sipe.

So why aren’t the Republicans insisting that this guy — who has very likely killed eight more people than Abdulmutallab ever will — be tried in a military court as a terrorist or enemy combatant? It wouldn’t be because he’s not only a white guy, but likely a white conservative Christian guy, would it?

Joe Conason Asks: What Would The GOP Do?

Answer: They certainly wouldn’t retreat or give up. In fact, their past history shows that if anything, they would double down.

Oh, and by the way: Taking advice from Lanny Davis, who is apparently moonlighting from his job of paid lobbyist for the Micheletti coup faction in Honduras, is not conducive to electoral success.

Credo Action Has A Petition

Since the 60-vote Senate is now gone, so is any justification for not using reconciliation to pass decent health care reform.

Credo Action is sending a petition to the White House and Senate Democratic leaders to urge them to use reconciliation. Sign it and tell your friends!

The bank account you save will be your own. Here’s the full text of the Credo letter:

Subject: Message from Massachusetts: Pass a public option with 51 votes

Dear Friend,

The voters of the ultra-Blue state of Massachusetts have decided to elect Scott Brown, a conservative Republican to the Senate in a special election. With the election of a Republican senator from Massachusetts, the Democrats’ so-called “filibuster proof” majority in the Senate is officially dead.

The loss of Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat sends a clear message that the Senate health care bill does not go far enough. While the message might be lost on the power brokers within the Democratic Party, the message of the Massachusetts special election is clear.

Voters did not elect President Obama and a Democratic supermajority in the House and the Senate so that health care reform could be written by the likes of Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson.

I signed a petition telling President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid that the Senate must use reconciliation to pass a better health care bill with a strong public option. I hope you’ll follow the link below and take action, too.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/po_reconciliation/

Go and do.

How Many Other Dems Have Been Hurt By This?

In the wake of Martha Coakley’s losing Teddy Kennedy’s Senate seat to Scott Brown, wanna know what’s really sad?

If Obama and Rahm and Harry had gone with reconciliation from the beginning, rather than pretended that they need 60 votes just to blow their noses, Martha Coakley’s polls wouldn’t have nosedived because of her being forced to back the sellout to Ben Nelson:

— Coakley’s lead dropped significantly after the Senate passed health care reform shortly before Christmas and after the Christmas Eve “bombing” incident. Polling showed significant concerns with the actions of Senator Nelson to hold out for a better deal. Senator Nelson’s actions specifically hurt Coakley who was forced to backtrack on her opposition to the abortion restriction amendment.

I have to wonder: How many other Democrats have been hurt by this? (We know that Vic Snyder was running neck-and-neck with his GOP opponent as recently as November; now, of course, he’s retiring in the face of cratering poll numbers.)

If the Democrats had used reconciliation from the start, they only would have needed 51 votes (50 plus Biden) to get a bill through the Senate. Furthermore, as Jon Walker points out, it would have prevented the bill from being trashed and allowed the conservative Democratic Senators and Lieberman to avoid having to back a bill they still didn’t like even after it was trashed to their specifications.

Oh, and while the White House (through their surrogate Steny Hoyer) is trying to pretend the ‘rush’ strategy is viable, that’s not an option, as Jim Webb wants no part of it for starters.

So guess what, Rahm? Either use reconciliation (as even Chris Van Hollen admits could be done) and get the decent bill we could have had from the start, or dump HCR rather than risk pissing off the PhRMA folk with whom you have a “deal”.

Your choice, bud.

Honduras Coup, Act VI, Day 50

Another light posting day.

Believe it or not, Faluma Binetu, the Garifuna radio station in Triunfo de La Cruz that was torched, will re-open on February 6th.

RNS over at HondurasCoup2009 covered the visa cancellation story. The US State Department continues to cancel the visas of third-level coupistas. Presumably they are trying to make sure that Micheletti doesn’t show up at the inauguration or otherwise deodorize the dictatorship. Unfortunately for them, the dictatorship is just as smelly and proud of it.

Adrienne is trying to rouse some help to support Fr. Joe Mulligan in getting a FOIA on the priest, James Carney, murdered in Honduras in 1983. Instructions on how you can help here.

Watch this film showing what it means to be “just” one of the wounded (via Adrienne).

Deep thought about health care

The Democratic strategy on healthcare reform is to get the camel’s nose under the tent, with the idea that the rest of the creature will follow.

The Republican strategy is to first dip the camel in manure.