It’s not necessary for the US to invade anybody.  It largely owns Honduras.  The coup could not have occurred without Obama approval who is stalling until Zelaya’s term runs out. It is Obama’s first coup in Latin America, completed while he states publically that he is against returning to the ‘bad old days.’ 

Obama is now illegally funding the Homduras power structure when the law clearly states that the US must cut off funding in the event of a coup.

  In the US, if the president does it, that means its legal.  We are currently functioning under a lawless police state dissguised as a liberal Democracy.

KD:

If I have to explain a joke then I guess it wasn’t much of a joke.

I didn’t want us to invade Iraq. I don’t want us to invade Iran. And I don’t want us to invade Honduras.

I simply thought it ironic that so many who condemned the coup and demanded action were against action in Iraq…

ITW—That was sarcasm?? Dont get it. Cause knowing US history in the area, we could end up “invading”, even if it is with CIA boys (which we have already done) I thought that you were suggesting that those opposed to coup in Honduras, would want to invade, but, would not go along with “invading Iran”, because of the protests.

I wouldnt invade either one. I thought it was a serious question.

Okay, most of the disagreements here stem from a misunderstanding of the facts. It is a coup because, as the military itself admits, it engaged in the illegal action of kidnapping and deporting Zelaya to Costa Rica. They were ordered to arrest Zelaya and deliver him to proper judicial authorities, but instead he was stripped of his right to due process. I repeat, you cannot argue from a legalistic perspective and ignore things like due process.

Furthermore, it would be a stretch to conclude that this was not a coup despite all the characteristic analogues to other coups in recent history. The interim government has demonstrated its capacity to be highly repressive, by closing down opposition media outlets and initially shutting off power to a major city. Recently, however, a curfew has been removed that was put in place following the coup.

There have also been suspicious activities, including the murder of two leaders of the UDP. Here are some more developments:
http://newsroom-l.net/newsroom/?p=907

Sheesh, KDelphi…
Is your sarcasm-recognition meter broken?

A coup may only be called a coup, by the side who looses! Power struggles seem inherent in our lives starting from the bully on the block when a kid, to our local churches and clubs later in life, then at the local political crap to the Feds.

How the hell does one know what is going on in another country, when keeping up with the crap in our own seems impossible? 

Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Texas, the list goes on!

Forstwalker,

Confusion of the left may be from definitions of coming from the right. Lumping concepts as left and right seems simplistic, what does left mean, what does right mean, anyone left or righter then you?

Bloomberg just had his term of office extended. Maybe they should have flown him to Canada?

No.

We could cut off all military and foreign aid (which , despite reports to the contrary, the US has NOT done) and we could stop training coup leaders at the School of the Americas. (thats called mettling…not “medaling”)

http://www.soaw.org/presente/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=225&Itemid=74#rials

I already posted a longer reply to the “but we’d have to invade” question , but it disappeared. (my browser couldve just “timed it out”—-RAM too low to defrag)

There are a bunch of paid Chicago School type Central Am “free traders” in here who are upset that Zelaya was joining ALBA, decided to trade with Venezuela (ie Chavez) and was trying to do something for the poor,. He was no “peasant revolutionary”, but if anyone thinks that anything happens in Latin Am without US sticking its huge “missile” in, they are mistaken.

More at the site given.

“...Webster “told us that military aid had been cut off, and that the return of Zelaya as president is non-negotiable although the conditions under which he returns are negotiable,” LeCompte said.

Herrera Hernández, the lawyer with the Honduran attorney general’s office, told Webster that the coup government has disseminated misinformation by claiming the coup was legal because the court had issued an arrest warrant for Zelaya for pushing ahead with a non-binding referendum on whether to change the Honduran constitution.

However, the order to arrest Zelaya came a day after the coup, he said. And contrary to coup propaganda, Zelaya never sought to extend his term in office, and even if the survey had been held, changing the constitution would have required action by the legislature, he said.

Whatever legal argument the coup leaders had against Zelaya, it fell apart when they flew him into exile rather than prosecuting him, the attorney said. The legal system has broken down, he added, for if this can happen to the president, who can’t it happen to?..”

Further:

* US Lobbyists with Clinton Ties Hired to Defend Honduran Coup Regime *

Supporters of the coup in Honduras have begun hiring advisers and lobbyists with close ties to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in an attempt to strengthen support in Washington for the coup. A Honduran business group has hired lobbyist Lanny Davis, who served as White House counsel for President Bill Clinton. The coup government has also hired Bennet Ratcliff, a public relations specialist with ties to former President Bill Clinton.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/15/honduras

(I cant watch the video, but saw it on DN news on Independent tv) am assuming this works…

So….when are we invading Honduras?

Isn’t that what all the people who were against invading Afghanistan AND Iraq want????

(I was in favor of Afghanistan and totally against Iraq).

Just ignore them, ardee.  You have to understand that imperialism will always put provocateurs to muddy the waters, just as Zionism does.  The coup leaders, according to recent articles, do not make moves without the approval of an un-named American ‘public relations’ consultatnt who has a translator, and therefore does not speak Spanish well.  No doubt Obama’s man in Honduras.

The Honduras coup differs from the Venzuelian coup in that Honduras has always been a staging area for Amereican military operatons.  The coup against Arbenez in guatamaula, the Cuban invasion, and the Nichrauga death squads all emenated from Honduras.  The military is therefore much more in the US pocket, although a few battalions apparantly revolted.

The real issue is the next election in October, and Obama, who has the world’s only ambassador in Honduras, is orienting the coup to win the next election, and to mute the Honduras uprising.  He will probalby win the battle and lose the war.

this is how history moves forawrd, it sidles sideways like a crab.  The coup by Obama muy be succesful in Honduras, but discredit the US more throughout the Latin American region.  The unified resonse of Latin American is already a vicotry for the Latino people.

If it smells like a coup, sounds like a coup and walks like a coup, it is probably a coup!

To the forum in general

I apologize for the tenor of my response to this group of propagandists who invade this forum to spread lies about the military coup that illegally ousted a democratically elected leader.

I may be caustic but I am honest and sincere, unlike this crew who come here, as they did when Chavez assumed power in Venezuela, only to spread the lies of the CIA and promote military imposition in support of the wealthy elite over a democratic nation.

tripletango, July 11 at 5:36 pm

Gee, I have no trouble responding to a fascist prick….

Dear Ardee,
Enough,  I cannot discuss things with an abusive idiot.

tripletango, July 11 at 2:27 pm #

Perhaps you need an English to Spanish dictionary?

You call me an extremist when you supported a military coup that ousted a duly elected President.Who the fuck do you think you are fooling?

Hi Ardee,  first I have no masters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maMA3PTYoZE
 
Extremist such as you and your buddies are dangerous to any democratic process. 
The ranting and raving of Chavez is echoed in your posts. His continued blasts of everybody and everything in Honduras just demonstrates that he is awfully upset that his lap dog did not quite pull it off according to the new strategies of the caudillo.
By the way in democracies you don’t get hanged for expressing opinions.  Your idol just shut down a ton of radio and TV stations because they would not report his inane and self serving speeches.  That is not democracy.
Get a life dude.

tripletango, July 10 at 11:23 pm #

I have no problem with Chavez helping the poor. I have a problem with Chavez using this tactic to stay in power.
.............................

The fact that you see Chavez’ altruism as a ploy speaks volumes about you and nothing whatever about Hugo Chavez Frias. That he still gets over 65% of the vote must really irk you and your masters.
...............................

tripletango, July 10 at 11:30 pm #

Of course the US govt is willing to sweep Honduran democracy under the rug. You fascists wouldnt have dared kick Zelaya out without the approval of this nation.

Now you pricks are free to rape and pillage,just like the “good” old days.

Cesar Castillo, July 10 at 4:41 pm #

Yeah, Cesar, Ill bet you arent any closer to Honduras that a cubicle in Washington. I have seen this all before, when Chavez rose to power. Then, just like now, there were cockroaches coming out of the woodwork claiming to be Venezuelans, or their cousins, or sisters, or brothers were, or they just returned from there , or worked there still…..Oh yeah, honesty indeed.

Bottom line, you guys usurped the power of the democratically elected govt. of Honduras, spin it all you like. This is a military coup, plian as day, I know it, your fellow states know it, and now you think your business interests are protected from the big bad socialists….

I hope you have nice time, right up until they slip the noose around your neck.

Just to keep you guys up to date as the tide is turning strongly against you who think there has been a military coup. Notwithstanding a 15 minute rant against anything vaguely democratic by Chavez on cnn today.  Here is the latest development.
for your further edification.

July 8th, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen hosted a private meeting for her Republican colleagues with former Honduran President Ricardo Maduro and former Costa Rican Ambassador to the U.S. Jaime Daremblum.

According to the invitation, “President Maduro will help to outline the sequence of events leading to the shift in power in Honduras and removal of Manuel Zelaya; provide insight into Honduran constitutional authorities; and discuss how the U.S. can now work to support the democratic institutions and rule of law in Honduras.”

I have no problem with Chavez helping the poor. I have a problem with Chavez using this tactic to stay in power.
Regarding Mel, in whose veins the blood of Christ flows as he claimed while trying to land illegally in a Venezuelan aircraft in Honduras, has now asked for amnesty.
Now as innocent as he claims to be, why does he need amnesty?

Beyond Chavistas and Anti-Chavistas

January 9th 2007, by George Ciccariello-Maher
“A myth has long existed in commentary on Venezuela, which goes something like the following: when discussing the Venezuelan revolution, the relevant actors can be expressed through the binary “Chavista/Anti-Chavista.”
“Caracas indeed needs “saving,” but we won’t be able to help if we limit ourselves to the Chavista/Anti-Chavista binary, one which in the pursuit of objectivity effectively does the work of the oligarchic opposition. There are a multitude of revolutionaries on the ground struggling for their city and their country, attacking both the right and the corrupt and bureaucratic Chavista center, and we will understand little if we systematically ignore their efforts or rob them of their autonomy through fidelity to an analytic binary whose very validity has been decisively ruptured by the Bolivarian Revolution.”

George Ciccariello-Maher is a Ph.D. candidate in political theory at UC Berkeley. He lives in Caracas.

USAns are naturally anti-ALBA, because they are neo-liberal “free” traders and cant imagine upholding their Imperial corporatocracy without people and resources to exploit. US Empire has always been built on the backs of poor and powerless, whether it be Af Ams, Latin Americnas, poor whites or Iraqis…

It seems that neo-libs never run out of ways to get others to do all the work. The ten families in charge of Honduras were true masters at the art of aristocracy. But the time for uS Capitalistic dominance of all the Americaas is over and US corporatins and their allies will have to adapt to that..

tripletango, July 10 at 9:21 am #

The basic reason for the aggressive expansion of Alba is the huge demand in the world for petroleum.  These funds are used to buy the vote of the poor and to maintain a power base to insure the succession of those in power.

Chavez uses Venezuelan oil money to assist the poor and downtrodden of his hemisphere, and you find fault with this. I recall no instance of Chavez kidnapping a duly elected leader and deporting him.

In Honduras there is no such luxury.  However Honduras has the poor.  So what is the answer.  Well the first step has been taken in upholding the constitution, no matter who supported Mel or did not support him, he is gone because he broke the law.

You claim Zelaya broke the law, and yet you believe a military coup , a kidnapping and expulsion and a usurpation of a democratic government to be legal…Nice try, not really.
Zelaya had called for a non binding vote to see how the people wished to proceed. Spin it all you wish.

This is a great opportunity for the constitutionalists to press for further reforms.  The constitution is the basis for a need to reawaken Honduran politicians who now must be held to the same high standards required by this document, that was used to expel Mel.

This is a great opportunity for all of the Americas to rise up and make it clear that military coups, abetted by business interests panicked at the thought of curbed profits and forced legality, are no longer tolerated.

The basic reason for the aggressive expansion of Alba is the huge demand in the world for petroleum.  These funds are used to buy the vote of the poor and to maintain a power base to insure the succession of those in power.

In Honduras there is no such luxury.  However Honduras has the poor.  So what is the answer.  Well the first step has been taken in upholding the constitution, no matter who supported Mel or did not support him, he is gone because he broke the law.

This is a great opportunity for the constitutionalists to press for further reforms.  The constitution is the basis for a need to reawaken Honduran politicians who now must be held to the same high standards required by this document, that was used to expel Mel.

In South America almost every leader is against the new president of Honduras, Roberto Micheletti. This is because most of that leadership is composed by Zelaya’s populist allies, who are capable of supporting ANYTHING the populist leaders ever do.

Of course, everyone opposed to a military coup that you are quite probably being paid to support is a commie rat bastard…Makes perfect sense…not.

They all condemned the colombian president, Uribe, when he incursed in Ecuador - which is ruled by a populist, Correa - to defeat TERRORISTS from the FARC (Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces). There are strong suspicions that the FARC members had been supported and sheltered by the government of Ecuador.

The nerve of some people, objecting to a military action by a leader who supports death squads in his own nation, actions that just happened to be an incursion on the sovereign soil of another nation…The nerve I say!

Zelaya sought a constitutionally allowed and non binding vote on the question of an additional term in office. For that he was kidnapped and exiled, not to preserve democracy, but to preserve business interests and due in part to right wing fear of Hugo Chavez under your bed.

For those of us who didnt learn Spanish at Langley:

ARTICULO 239. - The citizen who has carried out the ownership of the Executive authority could not be President or Vice-president of the Republic. The one that breaks this disposition or proposes its reform, as well as those supports that it direct or indirectly, will stop immediately in the performance of their respective positions and will be disqualified by ten (10) years for the exercise of all public function.”

....and yeah, me neither.

I recall, shortly after Chavez came to power in Venezuela, political forums were visited by first timers who swore they lived in Venezuela, knew all sorts of insider stuff about what an evil man he was, how the people really didnt support him, etc. They disappeared as abruptly as they had appeared.

I think we may be seeing a redux. I suspect these newbies havent been outside a cubicle much less to Honduras….

Folktruther—stop picking on my spelling! Its my typing that sucks…lol

DS1815—its known as AMENDING the Constitution. The US Constitution (which hs now DC toilet paper) has 27.
Isnt it actually the Left Wing ALBA , and, other Leftist forces in the Americas that bothers you? True , Zelaya is not part of a “peasant revolution”—he is a former supporter of NAFTA and neo-liberal Latin American thinking of the ruling class. But, that changed. And he lost the support of the military wind of the govt. Hondoruas is, traditionally, a haven for US Right Wing death squads, like the Contras of Nicaragua.

“...The act that ostensibly saw Zelaya removed by the military was a proposal that the public vote in a non-binding poll to see if there was popular support for a democratic review of the constitution.

One of the alleged changes was a removal of the single-term limit for a president to remain in office. It is this that the coup plotters have focused on. ...

However, the constitution itself has interesting origins. It was written in 1981 when the military reluctantly took a step into the background after 10 years of dictatorship and permitted civilian rule. But only on their terms. They still wield significant political and economic power….

The growing strength and confidence of trade unions and social movements since Zelaya has joined forces with progressive governments elsewhere in Latin America must be a cause of alarm for the military….”

...But, if Zelaya does return, the unity and determination of Latin American leaders to stand up for him and the militancy of grass-roots movements in his defense is likely to strengthen those who seek to bring an end to US imperialism in Latin America.”

http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/8764/

Professional politicians in our country seem to have made themselves a nice feather bed. Occasionally they vote themselves a raise, have a medical plan which should be the envy of most the people,  and I believe they have a not to shabby retirement plan.  After Political time, the good old boy network provides some further job security after the hard political life, maybe working for one the the companies they supported when in office or even becoming one of the lobby folks who frequent the halls of congress, so it is like many never really leave.

Seems, in the Californium were term limits are imposed, the special learning curve needed to partake in the proper running of the land is way too short, many complain much more time is needed to make decisions which support the people. 

So which is it, more time to run the land like royalty or the pope with both great and bad results or is it politicians who run the land with term limits or no term limits to run the land with both great and bad results? 

In, the end the people get screwed and Humphrey Dumpy does not get put back together again. In the great scheme of things, does it really matter to the people?

I am one with my ideological brother Trith against the rigid dogmatism that there is only one right way to spell a word.  KDelphi used to be a bad speller but, unfortunately, she got better.  It’s lonely at the bottom.

Wot’s wraung with FT’s speling, ArTee?

Lukz feine two mee!

Folktruther, July 7 at 1:23 pm #

Yeah, and he spells better than you too!

Sorry FT, couldnt resist, no offense really….

Hey, everybody!

I GOT it!

Let’s pull the troops out of Iraq…..

AND INVADE HONDURAS!!!!!

Hey, now that’s a plan worthy of George Dubya Bush, if I say so myself!

I live here in Honduras and the photos you see of the large gatherings of people dressed in blue and white are the constitutionalists who want their country to be a democracy.  Zelaya basically got himself fired from the presidency as there are no ifs ands or buts about messing with term limits as prescribed in the constitution. The military did him a favor by taking him to CR.  He is still a free man.  If he returns to Honduras he will be arrested and jailed as he broke the law. 
If I was him and had as much money as he has I would quietly fade into the distance as a happy and wealthy man.

That’s interesting.  The US is apparently sending comenters who argue that the military coup is ‘really’ Consititutional.  These truthers are obviously not comming from Honduras or, if they are, are, are Ameican and CIA led.  This cyber-warfare is probably a reason why China is blocking the Internet with the US supported demonstrations in China, as well as the general tendency of all power to repress the powerless.

The truth about the so called Military coup.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0702/p09s03-coop.html

Under our Constitution, what happened in Honduras recently. Soldiers arrested and sent out of the country a Honduran citizen who, the day before, through his own actions had stripped himself of the presidency.

These are the facts: On June 26, President Zelaya issued a decree ordering all government employees to take part in the “Public Opinion Poll to convene a National Constitutional Assembly.” In doing so, Zelaya triggered a constitutional provision that automatically removed him from office.

Constitutional assemblies are convened to write new constitutions. When Zelaya published that decree to initiate an “opinion poll” about the possibility of convening a national assembly, he contravened the unchangeable articles of the Constitution that deal with the prohibition of reelecting a president and of extending his term. His actions showed intent.

Our Constitution takes such intent seriously. According to Article 239: “No citizen who has already served as head of the Executive Branch can be President or Vice-President. Whoever violates this law or proposes its reform [emphasis added], as well as those that support such violation directly or indirectly, will immediately cease in their functions and will be unable to hold any public office for a period of 10 years.”

Notice that the article speaks about intent and that it also says “immediately” – as in “instant,” as in “no trial required,” as in “no impeachment needed.”

Continuismo – the tendency of heads of state to extend their rule indefinitely – has been the lifeblood of Latin America’s authoritarian tradition. The Constitution’s provision of instant sanction might sound draconian, but every Latin American democrat knows how much of a threat to our fragile democracies continuismo presents. In Latin America, chiefs of state have often been above the law. The instant sanction of the supreme law has successfully prevented the possibility of a new Honduran continuismo.

The Supreme Court and the attorney general ordered Zelaya’s arrest for disobeying several court orders compelling him to obey the Constitution. He was detained and taken to Costa Rica. Why? Congress needed time to convene and remove him from office. With him inside the country that would have been impossible. This decision was taken by the 123 (of the 128) members of Congress present that day.

Don’t believe the coup myth. The Honduran military acted entirely within the bounds of the Constitution. The military gained nothing but the respect of the nation by its actions.

I am extremely proud of my compatriots. Finally, we have decided to stand up and become a country of laws, not men. From now on, here in Honduras, no one will be above the law.

Octavio Sánchez, a lawyer, is a former presidential adviser (2002-05) and minister of culture (2005-06) of the Republic of Honduras.

Roberto Micheletti.the usurper President, has publicly stated that fear of the growing alliance between Zelaya and Chavez was seen as endangering Honduran business interests and was a principle reason for the coup.

Its gotta be the USA behind this , all common sense shows that plainly.

Damn right, ardee!

Hands Off Venezuela!!

http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/venezuela_us_clash_in_oas_over_syagogue.htm

“...Also Wednesday, Maduro held what he called a “fruitful” meeting with representatives of the Venezuelan Jewish community, in which he reiterated the government’s repudiation of the attacks on the synagogue….

“We confirm personally in the name of President Chavez our absolute condemnation of this attack on the sacred place of the Jewish Community,” said Maduro. “We ratify our willingness to maintain the lines of communication open and we call on those who practice the [Jewish] religion not to listen to the campaign that seeks to politically manipulate an event that we repudiate.”

The minister expressed little doubt that the attack was an electoral tactic of government adversaries who met with the U.S. government in Puerto Rico last month for purposes that are still unknown.

“We are sure they did this in a specific moment in order to stir up the waters and disrupt the climate of peace in which Venezuelans are living as we approach voting day,” said Maduro. “Could it be part of the Puerto Rico plan?”

Also, Venezuelan Analysis:

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/4205

“...El Aissami said Monday that the hate speech was a diversion meant to impede the investigation and direct blame toward the government, which had dismissed the Israeli ambassador in January to protest Israel’s assault on the Gaza strip. ...

...Maduro also differentiated between Venezuela’s opposition to Israel’s attack on Gaza and its attitude toward the Venezuelan Jewish Community.”

“Foreign policy has nothing to do with our relationship with religious communities… we establish a clear separation between our respect for religious communities and international conficts,” Maduro said Thursday”

There is also the claim by the Jewish community , ie, saying that there was a Jewish “settlement” in Honduras in 1500’s. After seeing what happened in Gaza, it must frighten them, thinking it might be claimed as part of a “homeland”. That might be “paranoid”, but Israel’s action in Gaza have consequences for the planet, not just Israel…..

Speaking of thinking…your accusations against Chavez towards the Jewish community there is innacurate and typical of one who seeks support rather than clarification.

The enmity between Chavez and the Jewish community in Venezuela stemmed from two occurrences; support by Jewish leaders for an aborted coup against Chavez and Chavez condemnation of Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Here is a hardly impartial source for you:

http://www.forward.com/articles/12500/

we “recognize” Honduras, as it is, not for any benign reason, but, to continue our military interventoin and “foreign ” “aid” (neo-liberal “free mkt ” crap)

Also, the US is terrified of ALBA and the Bolivarian Revolution in Latin America.

They are terrified of losing markerts nd resources to pillage. That is all. USAns should stop trying to put a “color” “freedom” sticker on it.

It is what an Empire does. Sick of it? Stop voting the Imperislist Duopoly in, peeps.

http://21stcenturysocialism.com/article/alba_latin_americas_anti-imperialist_economic_project_01110.html

ALBA: Latin America’s anti-imperialist economic project
Cuba, Venezuela and other countries on the Latin American continent are rejecting the neo-liberal model of integration and development.

“The Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America and the Caribbean (ALBA) is a different proposal of integration. Whilst the Free Trade Area of the Americas (ALCA or FTAA) responds to the interests of transnational capital and pursues the absolute liberalization of trade in goods, services and investment, ALBA puts the emphasis on the struggle against poverty and social exclusion and, therefore, it expresses the interests of the Latin American peoples.”[1]

Here’s an article by Alezx Cockburn from 2006 warning us what to expect from Obama (You seemed to recognize that at the time, Outraged…)(as many did here)

http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn04242006.html

Here is a good one by him about “Twittergasms” (Iranian “revolution”) From June 24th

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090713/cockburn

“How much easier it is to raise three—or 3 million—rousing tweets for the demonstrators in Tehran than to mount any sort of political resistance at home! Here we have a new Democratic president, propelled into office on a magic carpet of progressive pledges, now methodically flouting them one by one, with scarcely a twit or even a tweet raised in protest, aside from the gallant efforts of Medea Benjamin, Russell Mokhiber and their comrades at the healthcare hearings in Congress.”

And on the Honduran coup:
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/50017,opinion,did-barack-obama-know-about-the-honduras-coup-plot-before-it-happened

“We can take it as an absolute certainty that CIA and Pentagon advisors were at the elbows of the Honduran plotters, giving the green light and barely bothering to maintain deniability. The coup was modeled on the initial stages of the attempted ouster of Chavez in 2002, before popular resistance put Chavez back in power. Earlier versions of the script are profuse in the archives of the School of the Americas…..

...The first statements from President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton bear all the hallmarks of careful preparation. In the coup’s immediate aftermath they merely urged negotiations with the coup plotters to “restore constitutional order”, feebly urging “all political and social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms, the rule of law and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter”.

Carefully avoided was any tough demand by Obama or Clinton - still hoarse from shouts for “democracy” in Iran - for the legitimate Honduran President Zelaya to be returned to office. The plan was obviously to try and run out the clock with indecisive parleys until Zelaya’s term ends in six months time.

It was only after furious denunciation of the coup and a call for Zelaya’s reinstatement from the Organisation of American States, the presidents of Brazil and Argentina, the Rio Group, the European Union, and the UN General Assembly, that Obama was forced to climb off the fence and declare on Monday that “We believe that the coup was not legal and that President Zelaya remains the president of Honduras…”

As I said on another thread, an article in the Monthly Review states that the US is the only country that now recognizes Honduras.  Obama is looking forward rather than backward again.

Fooosh.  thus I refute Outrage.  Read Alex Cockburn’s July 4th piece on Counterpunch which lays out the (wild-eyed) facts of American imperialism.

Re: Folktruther

Your comment: “The president is a liar.  Obama’s duplicity in this case is to OK the coup while publically regretting it.  He has not condemned it as a military coup because tnen he would be required by law to cut off funds for Honduras,”

Mere speculation and accusation, it IS being addressed, aside from YOUR hardline attempts to imply otherwise.  According to you, THE WHOLE WORLD revolves around Pres. Barak Obama, a specious assumption to say the least.  You may want to check with THE WORLD before asserting such wild-eyed speculations.

The LATS:
“The politicians now sitting in the presidential palace argue that the soldiers who rousted Zelaya from his bedroom before dawn Sunday and deported him to Costa Rica were acting to save democracy, after, they allege, Zelaya’s many abuses of power.

Despite some progress, Honduras has remained a country run largely by a small elite, where 70% of the population lives in poverty. (Zelaya, known for populist rhetoric and leftist alliances that made him a polarizing figure, is a wealthy rancher and timber tycoon.) Congress is controlled by two old-fashioned political parties, based more on tradition and family than ideology.
“
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-honduras4-2009jul04,0,229012.story

And from UPI:
“TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 4 (UPI)—Four United Nations human rights experts Thursday joined U.N. leaders in voicing serious concern over last weekend’s coup d’etat in Honduras.

They called for the democracy to be restored immediately and decried curbs on fundamental freedoms. The experts cited reported arrests, threats and harassment of social leaders, journalists and defenders of human rights.”
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/07/04/More-UN-officials-decry-Honduran-coup/UPI-40001246683468/

But this is not necessarily a condition where one “runs in with tanks and guns ablazing”, it needs to be worked out.  The People do NOT want a dictator, right OR left.  The OAS and the UN, HAVE condemned this situation, this includes the United States of America (on both counts), your conjecture that “The president is a liar” is without merit.

However, this is not news, since when have “The People” EVER endorsed these types of dictatorships….. NEVER, never have…. never will.  These articles do not support your premise.  And YES….. they ARE calling it a “coup d’etat”.

The Truthdig article from BBC:
“Speaking to reporters, the OAS chief said: “We wanted to ask that this situation [Mr Zelaya’s removal] be reversed. Unfortunately, one must say that there appears to be no willingness to do this.”

Ending his visit to Honduras, he said the change of government last week had unequivocally been a “military coup”.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8133981.stm

the Obama truth trademark has been to say one thing in rhetoric and to do the opposite.  this confounds people who do not to be so unpatriotic and as call the president a liar. 

The president is a liar.  Obama’s duplicity in this case is to OK the coup while publically regretting it.  He has not condemned it as a military coup because tnen he would be required by law to cut off funds for Honduras, which largely runs on US money of various types.  It’s exactly the same thing that Bush did in Iran with a totally different rhetoric.

If you want to believe the rhetoric, and not look at the facts, in order to support Obama, that is your perogotive.  But why then did you support Nader?  Nader was honest.

Re: Folktruther

My last post was meant to be directed to you (“system problems”) you know how it is.

Anyway, I was addressing your comment:  “NYTIme news indicates that Obama is stalling”

The OAS:

“The Organization of American States (OAS) brings together the nations of the Western Hemisphere to strengthen cooperation on democratic values, defend common interests and debate the major issues facing the region and the world. The OAS is the region’s principal multilateral forum for strengthening democracy, promoting human rights, and confronting shared problems such as poverty, terrorism, illegal drugs and corruption. It plays a leading role in carrying out mandates established by the hemisphere’s leaders through the Summits of the Americas.

With four official languages — English, Spanish, Portuguese and French — the OAS reflects the rich diversity of the hemisphere’s peoples and cultures. It is made up of 35 member states: the independent nations of North, Central and South America and the Caribbean.”
http://www.oas.org/key_issues/eng/KeyIssue_Detail.asp?kis_sec=20

For the record The United States of America is a member of the OAS, check out the link.

Bloomberg:
“Jose Miguel Insulza, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States, travels to Honduras today to meet with de-facto president Roberto Micheletti, the head of the legislature who was sworn in after Zelaya’s ouster. The OAS, along with U.S. President Barack Obama and the European Union, has called for Zelaya’s immediate reinstatement.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aOSQNfG9EKoc

According to you (at least) Obama is “stalling” what are you looking for here….?  Again, my original premise, but a couple MORE:

According to Amy Goodmans article”
”“The coup, led by the Honduran Gen. Romeo Vasquez, has been condemned by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, the Organization of American States and all of Honduras’ immediate national neighbors.”

From Bloomberg News:
”No government in the world that calls itself democratic can negotiate with an illegal government that usurped power through force,” Zelaya said in an interview over a breakfast of fried eggs, toast and an antacid pill at the Sheraton Hotel in Panama City, where he said he got his first night of rest since soldiers forced him out of the country at gunpoint.

Jose Miguel Insulza, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States, travels to Honduras today to meet with de-facto president Roberto Micheletti, the head of the legislature who was sworn in after Zelaya’s ouster. The OAS, along with U.S. President Barack Obama and the European Union, has called for Zelaya’s immediate reinstatement.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aOSQNfG9EKoc

The latest NYTIme news indicates that Obama is stalling while pretending to investigate whether this is a military coup.  The NYTimes says that Obama has been “ardently” against the coup.  You bet.  The same Hope you can believe in that he campaigned on.

Xntrik, what article says that the US is supporting withholding money from Honduras.  that’s good news if its true but it doesn’t sound right.  the NYTimes and the other major outlets don’t say so

Re: Xntrk

Your comment:  “Back to the coup: The US Government has put a hold on all monies scheduled to go to Honduras until there is a legal decission concerning the kind of coup this is. If it a ‘Military’ coup, the money HAS to be withheld. The article said that it is fairly certain the action by the Honduran Military meets the legal definition of a Military Coup.”

Thanks Xntrk, that’s good to know.  Important.

Folktruther, July 2 at 7:07 pm #

As I remember, ardee, you are the first person to openly state that you changed your mind on TD, except for myself.
.............................

As long as we arent the last!

Self examination includes a continual challenging of one most closely held beliefs, if one is to be intellectually honest.

Back to the coup: The US Government has put a hold on all monies scheduled to go to Honduras until there is a legal decission concerning the kind of coup this is. If it a ‘Military’ coup, the money HAS to be withheld. The article said that it is fairly certain the action by the Honduran Military meets the legal definition of a Military Coup.

All of the EU Nations [24 I believe] have recalled their Ambassadors and staffs from Honduras.

The Military continues to block travel in Honduras. Civil Liberties have been suspended: People are subject to arrest in their own home without warrants, and can be held without charges.

As for sources of information, I certainly don’t view the Christian Science Monitor as an unbiased news source. It’s pretty right wing for my tastes. Al Jazeera has at least one reporter reporting live from Honduras. That is where I got the above information.

Sounds to me like the Obama Administration may do the right thing. Maybe they read my e-mail!

As I remember, ardee, you are the first person to openly state that you changed your mind on TD, except for myself.

This coup is providing Obushama with his 1st new foreign policy test and it seems to me it’s engineered by the Pentagon to test Obushama on his sincerity or even if he has sincerity. The Honduras generals are all alumni of the Fort Benning SOA, School of Assassins/School of the Americas. The Pentagon had to have knowledge of and/or approved of the coup, if not its instigator. It’s what makes sense. To change the subject, why is it that when Somali’s hijack a ship they are fearsome, inhuman pirates and when Israel hijacks a ship it’s not piracy? Something’s wrong with these pictures!

Old Dude, July 2 at 1:14 pm #

Nice to hear from you again,Old Dude ( different place). I wonder at the articles veracity as it is impossible to know for whom this author toils. I do respect the source however, The CSM is a widely respected news source. We must be very careful here to figure this out correctly.

When I learned of the relationship between Zelaya and Chavez my opinion changed actually.

By the by, FT:
“Ardee orginally stated that that was only my opinion and I could not know the truth of the matter.  Later, to my astonishment, he retracted his criticism as more information came was available.”

The astonished part hurts, really…:-)

Repost 2.

Daily Kos:
“The AP has a headline worthy of a drama queen: Feds Could Seize Calif. Parks If Closed By Budget!  Oh noes!  Shades of the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause!

The reality is different.  The state will abandon these parks and 200 more, thanks to an insurmountable budget crisis.  The specific parks being eyed by the NPS have been bought and paid for by the federal government and/or they’re on federal land, donated by the federal government on the condition that the state keep them as parks; if the state can’t, then the parks revert back to the feds.

Besides the legalese, there’s a better reason for the NPS to take back California state parkland: the NPS can take better care of the lands than the state.  California is utterly dysfunctional.  The NPS is proposing an intervention.”
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/7/1/748867/-Go-Ahead,-NPS,-Seize-These-Cal-State-Parks,-Please!

“An investigation by Sen. John Rockefeller, D-W.Va., shows that nearly 20 regional and national insurers also used Ingenix data. An ongoing probe by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo previously focused on the use of Ingenix data by only a handful of top insurers, including Aetna, Wellpoint and Cigna. About a dozen insurers, including UnitedHealth, have already reached settlements with Cuomo.

Tuesday’s report arrives as President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress step up calls for a public health care option. The idea is vigorously opposed by Republicans and insurance industry executives, who say a public plan would drive private companies out of the marketplace.”
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g4s2x4w7hv-cWoKaCbdWmE1sQecAD991BJOO0

No….it doesn’t appear to be Obama or his admin.(at least not most of them).

Re: Folktruther

Your comment: “Obama eventually said that Zelaya was the legal president but evaded calling it a coup, which would reguire the US legally to cut off aid.”

This comment directly conflicts with the article, which says:

“The coup, led by the Honduran Gen. Romeo Vasquez, has been condemned by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, the Organization of American States and all of Honduras’ immediate national neighbors.”

I don’t say Obama and his admin. are without flaw, but best to wait and see…..‘cause many hate Obama.  still, fight for what we want——without let up. (they don’t like us either)

A repost of my other post:

“The Obama administration announced today an expansion of a key part of its foreclosure prevention program to allow more homeowners who owe more than their home is worth to refinance into lower-cost mortgages.

The effort is an acknowledgment by the administration that falling home prices limited the impact of its housing program, Making Home Affordable. Under the program, homeowners could refinance if their mortgage did not exceed the value of their home by more than 105 percent. Now, the administration is expanding the program to homeowners who are up to 125 percent underwater on their loan.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/01/AR2009070102063.html?hpid=moreheadlines

“June 25 (Bloomberg)—U.S. banks are fighting the Obama administration plan to create a consumer agency for financial services as they seek to protect fees, such as credit-card penalties that have almost doubled to $19 billion in five years.

Fees imposed by banks accounted for 53 percent of industry income in 2008, up from 35 percent in 1995, according to R.K. Hammer Investment Bankers, a credit-card advisory firm. JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, said such revenue doubled in the first quarter. A U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Agency also may add costs by expanding scrutiny.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&si;d=agR2UE7gabLM

”The Obama administration proposed a regulation Wednesday that would shave as much as $87.5 billion from the cost of one expensive component of healthcare reform.

“As part of healthcare reform, the administration supports comprehensive, but fiscally responsible, reforms to the physician payment formula,” says a statement issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.”
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/administration-trims-health-reform-price-tag-2009-07-01.html

”The Obama administration Monday announced it would fast-track solar-energy development in the West, with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signing an order setting aside more than 1,000 square miles of public land for two years of study and environmental review.

The Department of Interior said Monday it will designate 670,000 acres of federal land in Nevada, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah as study areas for utility-scale solar projects.”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009400028_solar30.html

I stated that the Honduras coup could not have occurred without Obama agreeing to it, as other commenters did.  Ardee orginally stated that that was only my opinion and I could not know the truth of the matter.  Later, to my astonishment, he retracted his criticism as more information came was available.

Most Americans war not as generous minded as Ardee and do not want to know the truth as much.  Nevertheless, it illustrates that sincere Americans can change their minds as more information is provided.  And it is the progressive rank and file that we must focus on because the right wingers like Trith are deranged and the Zionist lemmings and Ziofascists are hopeless.  Americans will change their minds as more information comes in and, more important, increase the emphasis of communial truths in their worldviews.

The mainstream American media tell the specific truth from the background of the power interests of the American power structure. But it is also possisble to view specific events from the background of the American people, and ever from a world historical perspective.  When this is done, specific events like the Honduras coup can be seen from a people perspective rather than a power perspective.

this coup resembles the Venzueala coup which the US president supported with financial payments and then backed away from when Latin Americn and the Venzuelan people opposed it.  the Obama public relations trademark is saying one thing rhetorically and doing the opposite.  Obama eventually said that Zelaya was the legal president but evaded calling it a coup, which would reguire the US legally to cut off aid.  He may in fact be stalling to allow Zelaya’s term of office run out in a few months.

If the people had a background of a people context, rather than the power context of the US media, they could easily make serious charges like the American president is sponsoring violence and illegality.  that is, they could tell the simple reality-based truth even if it were unpatriotic and uneducated to do so.  It is uneducated because we are indoctrianted by schools, universities and other learned bureaucracies to perceive reality from a power perspective rather than a people perspective.

But this can be changed over historical time to allow the population to look at their traditional power systems with a cold eye.  Especilly those nearly the end of their life cycle and whose economic and political systems are obsolete.

Outraged,

Comments on corporatist politics are most interesting, after all the new world order is only a change change in scope, not necessarily a change in the people pulling the strings. Opportunism always has been and will always be, 80 percent of the people voted against opportunism or business as usual, so opportunists took action to protect their opportunism. After all the ignorant masses do not need wealth.

I’m not the best at geo-politics, but to me it seems the overriding issue here is multi-national corporations, not the U.S. goverment.  While we know our government is infected with these elements and has been corrupted by them, the pressure is on to tamp down on these crooks.  When that happens, they will retaliate, send out their propagandists and create issue after supposed issue.  Remember, they still have some power in our government, but they are losing it, it is being exposed.

Article quote: ”“Most of this military have been trained by the School of America. ... They have been guardians of the multinational business from the United States or from other countries. ... The army in Honduras has links with very powerful people, very rich, wealthy people who keep the poverty in the country. We are occupied by your country.”

And Xntrk:
“As for who supports whom, the wealthy Oligarchs support the Coup. They do not constitute ‘80%’ of the country. The peasants and the workers are in favor of Zelaya - they elected him after all.

Over 70% of the population live below the poverty level. Over 50% are existing on less than half of the supposed poverty level. One of Zelaya biggest crimes was raising the minimum wage by 70%.”

And KDelphi’s post:
“One provision, which Zelaya chose not to ratify, calls for common defense in case one of the member states is attacked by the US.”

Since the US has incorporated Mexico, Colombia and Peru with “free” trade agreements, it sees ALBA as a threat to Intl corporatism that serves the elites of all countries, but, primarily the uS.”

So why would Zelaya NOT ratify (that was Oct 2008), could it be because he knew it was NOT the U.S. Goverment he had to fear, George Bush’s Government sure…. but not the one slated to win.

These elites would want to make it APPEAR that the goverment’s behind this (now that Obama is president), but is “the government”..... or is only the portion the crooks still have control of?  Remember, these facsists have been infiltrating our government for YEARS, and logic says a portion of them are still there.

From November 21-23, the annual November vigil to close the SOA/WHINSEC at the gates of Fort Benning will follow the election of President Barack Obama by two weeks. It will be an opportunity for the progressive movement to set an agenda for a new direction in U.S.-Latin America foreign policy.
http://www.soaw.org/article.php?id=1668

A bill to abolish the school with 134 co-sponsors was introduced to the House Armed Services Committee in 2005.

In June 2007 the McGovern/Lewis Amendment to shut off funding for the Institute failed by 6 votes. This effort to close the Institute was endorsed by the non-partisan Council on Hemispheric Affairs who called the Institute a “black eye”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_the_Americas

Pressure is increasing to close SOA….. then enters the other “black eye” or Blackwater, now know as Xe.

“Cofer Black, the company’s current vice chairman, was director of the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center (CTC) at the time of the September 11 attacks in 2001. He was the United States Department of State coordinator for counterterrorism with the rank of ambassador at large from December 2002 to November 2004. After leaving public service, Black became chairman of the privately owned intelligence gathering company Total Intelligence Solutions, Inc., as well as vice chairman for Xe. Robert Richer was vice president of intelligence until January 2007, when he formed Total Intelligence Solutions. He was formerly the head of the CIA’s Near East Division.  Black was senior advisor for counterterrorism and national security issues for the 2008 Presidential election bid of Mitt Romney.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_usa

Fascists always operate a shadow army or police force, and they infiltrate the real one.

I knew about Cubans being in Ethiopia and Angola, Trailing Begonia, but not Libya. I thought it was the Soviets in Libya. Oh, well; Fidel’s boys used to get around the world pretty good, eh?

And since when was I offended in any way?

Paul

Would it surprise you to know that not only was Cuba in LibYa and Angola but also Ethipia?  See, someone made a good point that Americans are being ‘informed’ by the MSM media which is a dangerous thing.  They also get their ‘facts’ and ‘truths’ from other gringos who write books without having ever set a foot on the country they’re writing about, yet, somehow, they appoint themselves as experts and, once it goes down in black & white, it becomes “the truth.” 

But, whatever, I see by your little comment that you have taken offense so, whatever!  Go on reading Yahoo News and books written by gringos.  What do I care?  It certainly ain’t my problem.

Daryl Davis:

Ahem…Haiti is NOT a Latin American country!

Nice “democracy” Honduras now has:

Congress passed laws on Wednesday which will allow police to arrest people in their own homes without a warrant during a nightly curfew that has been in place since Manuel Zelaya was ousted.

“The deputies have decided to suspend several liberties, among them the liberties of free movement and association - people can be arrested for 24 hours without having any rights,” Al Jazeera’s Mariana Sanchez, reporting from the capital, Tegucigalpa, said.

As they say in politics, I voted for it, but hoped it would not pass or I did not vote for it, but hoped it would pass. 

It seems, US finger prints are all over the planet! It feels so nice to know our government is protecting us.

Perhaps it would be helpful for some of the people who seem to know everything about Honduran politics and its Constitution, to read news from Latin America rather than the MSM.

Three sites I would recommend are: http://aliveinhonduras.org/

http://upsidedownworld.org/main/

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/

The problem with the media here and in Europe is that the military has shut down the TV and radio, limited electricity, and blocked transportation into Tegucigalpa. Makes it a bit tough for the well-known journalists to broadcast 27/7.

The current ‘President’ was not the VP, he was the head of the Congress. Zelaya canned the General, which is within his powers. At least it was till the SC declared otherwise. As for who supports whom, the wealthy Oligarchs support the Coup. They do not constitute ‘80%’ of the country. The peasants and the workers are in favor of Zelaya - they elected him after all.

Over 70% of the population live below the poverty level. Over 50% are existing on less than half of the supposed poverty level. One of Zelaya biggest crimes was raising the minimum wage by 70%.

He was originally elected as just another big time Oligarch. However, the effects of CAFTA, which his predecessor signed, increased unemployment and poverty so much, that Zelaya broke with his class, and moved to the Left. I guess you could call it empathy for the starving public.

See what happens when you actually read some of the news that isn’t controlled by the Corporate Media? Sometimes, you can even learn something!

If you’d like to read a truly Left-Wing view, Check out Fidel’s latest Reflection, at either http://www.granma.cu/ingles/, or the Prensa Latina web site.

The media “obsession” with Jackson & Sanford is deliberate & furthers their agenda of manipulating reality for powerful interests. Nothing new there. Iran became a huge story largely thanks to the Internet & telecommunications.

Honduras can be viewed as a big piece of American Guilt. The SOA and Ronny Raygun’s adventures in Central America are without merit and embarrassing. Even people in this country are becoming aware of high crimes committed & uncharged. “We didn’t know” and “we trusted our leaders” are rapidly becoming a chorus to shout down “I prefer to concentrate on the future” and “I have a full plate.”

Retraction…

I have resisted the notion that the US was behind this coup. However, as the facts continue to roll in, including the relationship between Zelaya and Hugo Chavez, coupled with Zelaya’s joining ALBA, well, looks like I owe FT an apology!

Excuse me, Trailing Begonia, but “Lybia”? You mean “Libya”, don’t you? And I thought Cuban troops were in Angola during the `80s, not in Libya.

Anyhow, if Zelaya hasn’t got capable, battle-ready international friends to bring him back home triumphantly, he’d best prepare for a long exile ... like the rest of his life. They may not even let his dead body back in after he dies.

Paul;

Cuba is actually weaker than you think…What I related to you are facts, given to me by my family who are still there. 

The technology that Cuba has was given to them by the Russian, slightly absolete by now, I doubt that Venezuela has much more.  Cuba is also not as beligerant as it was and haven’t been in any quagmire since the early 80s in Lybia.  But I agree with you, hopefully, they’ll find a peaceful solution to the problem.  Maybe if Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua get together and do a show of false bravado, threaten to go in and mobilize some troops to the border where it’s visible, this guy will back down but there’s no guarantee.  These bullies can be very thick-skulled, at the expense of the people, of course.

As for the US, hey, don’t forget that it’s 3 quagmires not just 2 (Pakistan is almost full force) and I doubt that they’ll wanno go into Honduras, it has no oil and it ‘poses no threat’ to Israel.  So, there!

Great column and I learned so much about the real issues that are going on in that country.  The DemocracyNow! show was brilliant today.

Thanks Ms. Goodman for excellent work.  I watch your show everyday.

Trailing Begonia, I hope this mess will be resolved without violence; I was speculating. Cuba may not be as weak as you think it is—especially if Chavez transports Cuban paratroops alongside his own in whatever aircraft he has at his disposal (as I see it, what’s needed is not American-style space-age high-tech, but low-tech in the form of a well-trained, primarily infantry invasion force—something the USA hasn’t got, bogged down in two quagmires as it is).

From the article Bliss Doubt quotes at wsws.org

“..The official speaking to the Times complained, however, that the administration did not expect that the Honduran army would go so far as to carry out an overt military coup. The Obama administration was evidently seeking to engineer a de facto coup, but with a gloss of constitutional legality. Thus Washington’s main complaint about the Honduran coup is not that the army intervened in politics. Rather, it is that the Honduran army’s open intervention has exploded the democratic veneer that the bourgeois media tries to give to US foreign policy….

...Seen in the context of Honduras’ historical role as a center of US-backed counterrevolution, the ouster of Zelaya constitutes a sharp warning to the working class in the Americas. Prompted by concern over the political ramifications of Zelaya’s links to Venezuela, a US-backed coup in Honduras could well be the signal for a broader regional campaign by US imperialism against Venezuela and allied regimes throughout the continent”

The real reason for US “fear” of “trends” (and Chavez and Moralesw…and on and on)in Latin America:

“..Zelaya was overthrown because his populism was seen as a threat both to conservative sections of the bourgeoisie in Honduras and to US strategic interests in Latin America and the Caribbean….

...In October 2008, Zelaya joined the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA in Spanish), a regional alliance organized by Chávez that includes Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Cuba, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda. Member states receive subsidies coming largely from Venezuelan oil earnings. One provision, which Zelaya chose not to ratify, calls for common defense in case one of the member states is attacked by the US.”

Since the US has incorporated Mexico, Colombia and Peru with “free” trade agreements, it sees ALBA as a threat to Intl corporatism that serves the elites of all countries, but, primarily the uS.

Amy, I cannot resist, adding to “Undo the Coup”:

Coups have things in common: lies, blocking out information in the media (also known as a GAG rule).
I heard the segment this morning, on WBAI.  The “coup” in progress (the second in a decade) at WBAI had put on a GAG rule and there are lies by the coupsters, who say as they wish on the air.  (Dem.Now has been used as a tool to cut into the early morning show, and cut it by one hour, and it had been Amy Goodman and Bernard White’s WakeUpCall when it began.  Amy and Juan Gonzalez protested this use of Dem.Now.)

For information of the radio/Pacifica Network coup, and some good video, including Lynne Stewart, go to
http://www.wbixradio.org Also visit the ON-DEMAND section for list of videos.

And for good videos and update on Gaza humanitarian aid ship taken, people arrested (including Cynthia McKinney), see http://www.wbaix.org WBAI-in-Exile

The coup of a decade ago, was undone by listeners of the Pacifica Network.  We shall undo the coup at WBAI (and it’s ongoing at the other Pacifica stations also): goal by the coupsters is to make radio corporatized
as is goal in military coups.

Paul:

I agree with your sentiment but, it’s easier said than done?  What is Cuba gonna fight them with?  Shoes, perhaps?  Oops, no, they ain’t none of those to spare over there…

Sadly, Cuba - like the US - can’t even support its own people, the economy is a joke (waaay past non-existant), the people are litteraly living on air slices and their military arsel died with the collapse of the Soviet Union.  They’re not in the business of ‘spreading Communism’ like they once were back in the roaring 70s and 80s and today (this is no joke), their soldiers ride horses to the military parades because they don’t have vehicles or the fuel for whatever junk they’ve got.

I think it’s obvious that Zelaya won’t be returning to power unless an international “restoration-of-democracy” force, perhaps led by Venezuela and Cuba, invades Honduras and he rides home on its coattails.

And what will Mordor-on-the-Potomac say or do then? I imagine they’ll squawk like angry wet chickens, but they won’t be able to do much more, thanks to the two quagmires this country has bogged itself down in.

What’s needed now is the will to act, in Caracas and Havana—and to hang tough and defy the gringos when they make noises. Have they got it? Stay tuned.