The old Minutemen punk-rock classic "Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing" will have to be revised - here's a geo-political question to ask while the late Mr. Jackson is getting buried next week: what ever happened in that Honduras coup? Remember? The story that got buried in the USA when MJ conveniently died?
New articles in the last week take interesting views. The Associated Press issued a story on leftist/progressive leaders in Latin America going on heightened alert following the seemingly-successful ouster of the democratically elected Honduran president Manuel Zelaya. And the USA - the biggest military, trade and aid player in Latin America - is never mentioned. Hmmm....
And here is an opinion piece from The Guardian UK on the Honduran overthrow - and how the US government's relative inaction amounts to an approval of the military takeover. From the article:
" A clue...given by the (US) state department's Phillip Crowley, who explained that the coup should be a "lesson" to Zelaya for regarding revolutionary Venezuela as a model for the region."
So the Administration likes democracy as long as it's following the right guidelines - and if not, we'll take the generals supported by the rich men, thanks!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/12/honduras-coup-democracy-barack-obama
" A clue...given by the (US) state department's Phillip Crowley, who explained that the coup should be a "lesson" to Zelaya for regarding revolutionary Venezuela as a model for the region."
So the Administration likes democracy as long as it's following the right guidelines - and if not, we'll take the generals supported by the rich men, thanks!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/12/honduras-coup-democracy-barack-obama
Given the very recent revelation (through declassified documents) of President Nixon working with the military dictators of Brazil to assist the overthrow of the elected Chilean government in 1972, and remembering the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s (which saw Honduras emerge as the pre-eminent US military home base in Latin America), the current Honduran situation should not be a surprise.
The King of Pop once sang that it doesn't matter if you're black or white. For the new Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing, let's change that to: doesn't matter if you're a Republican government or a Democratic one - when it comes to Latin America, Uncle Sam prefers ultra-conservative military regimes to wayward, progressive elected ones.
The King of Pop once sang that it doesn't matter if you're black or white. For the new Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing, let's change that to: doesn't matter if you're a Republican government or a Democratic one - when it comes to Latin America, Uncle Sam prefers ultra-conservative military regimes to wayward, progressive elected ones.
(See D. Boon and Minutemen perform "Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2-CgCyh5YM)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2-CgCyh5YM)
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