Typhoon Gener, Climate Change Wreak Havoc in Philippines

Commentary by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery | Elena L. Aben and Ellalyn B. De Vera, Manila Bulletin | By Staff, Sun Star. Large farming towns north of the capital Manila, as well as heavily populated coastal areas remain under waist-deep floods. Fierce winds and heavy rains from slow-moving Typhoon Gener (international codename Saola) have battered the country, killing at least 39 people and displacing about 200,000.

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Canada’s Infamy Per Capita

By David Swanson/Douglas Ou-ee-ii-jay-ii Jack, War Is a Crime. The great majority of Canadians are unaware of their status as world leaders in activities such as mine development, energy development, deforestation, consumerism, and weapons sales.

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Canada’s Foreign Aid Minister Swap in Haiti

By Staff, Defend Haiti | Meagan Fitzpatrick and Staff, CBC News Online | Sheila Dabu Nonato, National Post. Canada Foreign Aid Minister Bev Oda — the woman responsible for the relocation of hundreds of thousands from the tent camps on Champs de Mars, Port-au-Prince, Haiti — has resigned. She was replaced by Julian Fantino, a former policeman risen to the ranks of police chief, Member of Parliament, and Defense Minister. Mr. Fantino has been followed in every political post by allegations of corruption.

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U.N. Uses Private Military and Security Contractors

By Kim-Jenna Jurriaans, IPS | UPDATE from Haiti Chery. The United Nations is increasingly hiring Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) for its missions across the world, raising concerns over the use of firms known for participation in human rights abuses, as well as an overall lack of accountability structures governing these contractors within the U.N. system. UPDATE 1: DynCorp boasts of having trained 400 “Haitian police” and is awarded a $48.6 million contract to insert 100 contractors and 10 advisors into the “UN police force” in Haiti.

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Documentary Tracks Cultural Genocide of American Indians

By Rose Aguilar, Truthout | YouTube. From 1879 until the 1960s, more than 100,000 American Indian children were forcibly removed from their homes and taken to boarding schools. Families risked imprisonment if they stood in the way or attempted to take back their children.

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ACTA Killed By 478 to 39 Vote in EU Parliament

By Staff, RT. Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement ACTA received a knockout blow from the European Parliament as MEPs voted overwhelmingly against it, with 478 votes against and only 39 in favor. There were 146 abstentions.

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Final Vote on Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement ACTA on July 4th

By Georgi Gotev, EurActiv. A European Parliament Committee rejected the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) on June 21st despite pro-business lobbying by Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, who insisted that Parliament should not decide before the European Court of Justice gives its opinion. A final vote in the full Parliament is expected on July 4th.

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Drones, Cholera in Broadened UN ‘Peacekeeping’ Mandate | Le ‘mandat étendu’ de la MINUSTAH

PRESS RELEASE, UN via RadioTV Caraibes | Translation by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. The heads of the UN peacekeeping missions forces in the Congo (MONUSCO), Haiti (MINUSTAH) and South Sudan (MISNUSS) said that these operations have broad mandates: from classical peacekeeping to conflict mitigation, and even the fight against cholera. (English | French)

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Crucial ACTA Vote Kept Open and Honest, ACTA Soon to Depart

Press Release, La Quadrature du Net. The “International Trade” (INTA) committee of the EU Parliament will adopt its draft report on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), on Thursday June 21. Under pressure from the EU Commission and industry lobbyists, members of the committee could decide, potentially in a secret vote, to call for the adoption of ACTA or postponement of the final vote for years. Citizens participation is crucial to ensure the Parliament follows the general interest and votes a clear rejection of ACTA.

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Mouseland: A Metaphor About the Lobbycracy | ‘Mouseland’, una metáfora de la lobbycracia

Originally by Clarence Gillis, as told by Tommy Douglas, Information Clearing House | You Tube | Mangas Verdes | Haiti Chery. “Mouseland was a place where all the little mice lived and played, were born and died. And they lived much the same as you and I do. They even had a Parliament. And every four years they had an election…. And every time on election day all the little mice used to go to the ballot box and they used to elect a government. A government made up of big, fat, black cats.” (English | Spanish, with video)

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Withdraw UNASUR’s UN Troops from Haiti!

By Staff (sgl/emw/mgt/jrr) Prensa Latina | Commentary by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. At a meeting of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), Member countries discussed a timetable for South America’s withdrawal from MINUSTAH. But the plan so far looks more like one for a gradual replacement of Latin American troops with Asian and African troops.

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Corruption by ‘Peacekeeping’: The Lure of Foreign Exchange

By Staff, AsiaOne | Editorial comment by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Bangladeshi UN “peacekeepers” have sent home nearly $1.24 billion during the past three years. In 2010 Bangladesh sent its first female MINUSTAH contingent, a group of 110, to Haiti.

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The Rush to Haiti’s North | La ruée vers le Nord

By Roberson Alphonse, Le Nouvelliste | Commentary and translation by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. According to Dieuseul Anglade, director of Haiti’s Office of Mines and Energy in Haiti, during the negotiations for mineral exploitation, the Haitian State will keep a close watch to ensure that Haitian citizens benefit from the country’s wealth. Meanwhile, the mayors have been dismissed, and land prices have skyrocketed. (English | French)

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Nurses Lead Protest Against NATO, For Financial Transactions Tax

By David Moberg, In These Times | Haiti Chery. At a Friday, May 18, 2012 rally in Chicago to kick off no-NATO protests, nurses wore Robin Hood attire to demand a financial transaction tax, also called the Robin Hood tax.

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