Today in Labor History—June 19

Juneteenth Celebration, Richmond Virginia, 1905

June 19, 1865 – Slaves were declared free in Texas, a date now celebrated each year as the holiday "Juneteenth." (From the Daily Bleed)

Juneteenth Celebration, Austin, Texas, 1900

 June 19, 1886 – The Kangaroo trial of eight anarchists for the Haymarket bombing began in Chicago on this date. (From the Daily Bleed)

The  Haymarket Martyrs

 June 19, 1888 – U.S. marines attacked Seoul, Korea, (to protect U.S. interests?)  (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1898 --Guam was bombarded by the U.S.S. Charleston (To steal Spanish interests?) (From the Daily Bleed)

IWW leaders Patrick Quinlan, Carlo Tresca, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Adolph Lessig, Big Bill Haywood, 1913

 June 19, 1902 –Silk workers struck in Paterson, New Jersey. The event escalated into a riot. Silk workers had struck several times in the 19^th century and again, in 1913, led by the IWW. (From the Daily Bleed)

Magonistas after capturing Mexicali

 June 19, 1911 – Federales and Maderistas retook Mexicali from the Magonista anarchist rebels, led by Ricardo Flores Magon. (From the Daily Bleed)

A Sandinista flag capture by U.S. marines

 June 19, 1930 – U.S. and Nicaraguan troops battled Sandinista forces. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1937 – The Women's Day Massacre: During the Great Ohio Steel Strike of 1937, there were numerous street battles between workers and police, including the Youngstown Riots & Poland Avenue Riot on June 21st. On June 19^th, there were smaller battles that some believe were initiated by the cops to test the likely extent of union resistance in a real fight.  When the cops in Youngstown couldn't find any union leaders to beat up, they went after women picketers who were sitting in chairs to support the strike. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1938 – Canada’s Bloody Sunday: The RCMP and Vancouver police attacked strikers with tear gas and clubs and battle unemployed workers at a Vancouver post office. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1953 – The Black community of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, began a bus boycott (2 ½ years before the more famous Montgomery, Alabama protest. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1953 – Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were electrocuted in Sing Sing for their alleged sale of atomic secrets to the Russians. In a little known related story, the Rosenberg’s orphaned children were adopted by the poet and lyricist Abel Meeropol, who wrote the anti-lynching song Strange Fruit, later made famous by Billie Holliday. (From the Daily Bleed and Wikipedia)

June 19, 1953 – The ILWU began a four day strike to protest the Smith Act convictions of Jack Hall and six others for suspicion of being communists (See Today in Labor History—June 16). (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1968 – Over 50,000 demonstrators participated in the Poor People's Campaign Solidarity Day March in Washington, D.C. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1981 – Soldiers killed 200 Mayas in Coy, Huehuetenango, Guatemala. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1985 – Gunmen opened fire on an outdoor restaurant in San Salvador’s upscale Zona Rosa, killing 13, including four U.S. Marines and two U.S. businessmen. A broadcast by Radio Venceremos, the FMLN’s pirate radio station, said:  "If U.S. Army members and CIA agents died in San Salvador, it was because they came to attack our people. No one had summoned them; they died as a result of the interventionist policy carried out by President Reagan, whose intervention grows day by day. Reagan will have to assume full responsibility for his deeds." (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1988 – Haiti’s civilian government was overthrown by a U.S.-backed military coup. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1996 – Large parts of the South Korea auto industry were shut down by workers at Kia, the country's second largest auto company, in a wage dispute. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—June 16

Chartist riot, 1838

June 16, 1836 – The London Working Men's Association was formed, launching the Chartist movement.The Chartists took their name from the People's Charter, which demanded universal suffrage for men, regardless of social class. (From the Daily Bleed)

Berlin Revolutionaries

June 16, 1848 – The Berlin arsenal was captured by rebellious citizens. The "German Revolutions" of 1848 swept across 50 European states, mostly affiliated with the German Confederation and Austria. While the middle classes were fighting for a unified German state and increased civil liberties, the working class had more revolutionary aspirations. Participants in the revolution included communist and anarchist revolutionaries like Marx, Engels and Mikhail Bakunin, as well as the composer Wagner. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1869 – In the small mining town of Ricamarie, France, troops were called in to suppress a workers' strike, opening fire on demonstrators protesting the arrest of 40 workers, killing 14 (including a 17-month-old girl in her mother’s arms) and wounding 60 others (including 10 children). (From the Daily Bleed)

Susan Anthony

 June 16, 1873 – Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting. (From the Daily Bleed)

Eugene V. Debs delivering his Canton, Ohio speech.

June 16, 1918 –Eugene Debs delivered his famous Canton, Ohio anti-war Speech. America was at war with Germany, at the time, and radicals were being routinely rounded up and jailed, often illegally, when Debs gave this speech. The new Espionage Act was being used to prosecute people for their opposition to the war and Deb’s speech was used to make the case that he had violated the Act. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1920 – The U.S. Marines began fighting in Haiti to defend U.S. “interests” there. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1933 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Industrial Recovery Act, which recognized the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively through unions. The legislation was later found unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, it helped inspire a wave of union organizing and pave the way for the National Labor Relations Act, which was passed in 1935. (From Workday Minnesota)

International Brigadiers at the Battle of Belchite

 June 16, 1937 – The Trotskyist POUM, a significant constituent of the Spanish Republican forces (and the group with which George Orwell fought) was outlawed and its militants persecuted by the counter-revolutionary Stalinists and the Republic's police, thus making the Republic and the Stalinists more vulnerable to the fascists. (From the Daily Bleed). For a good fictionalization of the Spanish war against the fascists, and the POUM's and anarchist's betrayal by the Stalinists, see Ken Loach's Tierra y Libertad.

June 16, 1953 – Jack Hall of the ILWU and six others (the "Hawai‘i Seven") were convicted under the Smith Act for being communists. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1976 – 10,000 students demonstrated in Soweto South Africa, protesting against the requirement that they learn the Afrikaans language in their schools. The uprising spread to seven other black townships. In the end, 128 were killed and 1,112 injured. By the end of the year, thousands had died in demonstrations throughout the country including 700 black children. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1986 – Despite arrests, millions stayed home in a black trade union strike commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Soweto uprising. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1987 – Paper workers struck near Portland, Maine. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1991 – A General Strike began in Madagascar. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1992 – Millions of workers struck in India to protest government reforms. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1993 – 400 nude prostitutes protest police abuse, Matamoros, Mexico. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—August 22

General Toussaint Louverture

August 22, 1791 -- Encouraged by the French and American revolutions, 100,000 Haitian slaves revolted, led by Toussaint Louverture. They first attacked the French, and then went after Spanish and English troops, winning their freedom in 1793. In 1804, Haiti became first free black country in the world. The US refused recognition of Haiti until 1865 as a result of pressure from Southern slaveholders.

August 22, 1893 – Sam Gompers and other trade unionists met with New York mayor Gilroy pressings for a municipal public works program to relieve unemployment.

August 22, 1917 – Italian police opened fire on protesters against the war hunger, most of whom were women. The next day, a General Strike was declared. On the 24^th, a state of siege was declared, but the strike continued until the 26th. Police violence during the strike resulted in the deaths of 60 people. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 22, 1947 – A two-month strike by United Packing Workers began in Canada. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 22, 1978 -- Sandinistas captured the Nicaraguan National Palace launching the Sandinista revolution. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—June 19

Juneteenth Celebration, Richmond Virginia, 1905

June 19, 1865 – Slaves were declared free in Texas, a date now celebrated each year as the holiday "Juneteenth." (From the Daily Bleed)

Juneteenth Celebration, Austin, Texas, 1900

 June 19, 1886 – The Kangaroo trial of eight anarchists for the Haymarket bombing began in Chicago on this date. (From the Daily Bleed)

The  Haymarket Martyrs

 June 19, 1888 – U.S. marines attacked Seoul, Korea, (to protect U.S. interests?)  (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1898 --Guam was bombarded by the U.S.S. Charleston (To steal Spanish interests?) (From the Daily Bleed)

IWW leaders Patrick Quinlan, Carlo Tresca, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Adolph Lessig, Big Bill Haywood, 1913

 June 19, 1902 –Silk workers struck in Paterson, New Jersey. The event escalated into a riot. Silk workers had struck several times in the 19^th century and again, in 1913, led by the IWW. (From the Daily Bleed)

Magonistas after capturing Mexicali

 June 19, 1911 – Federales and Maderistas retook Mexicali from the Magonista anarchist rebels, led by Ricardo Flores Magon. (From the Daily Bleed)

A Sandinista flag capture by U.S. marines

 June 19, 1930 – U.S. and Nicaraguan troops battled Sandinista forces. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1937 – The Women's Day Massacre: During the Great Ohio Steel Strike of 1937, there were numerous street battles between workers and police, including the Youngstown Riots & Poland Avenue Riot on June 21st. On June 19^th, there were smaller battles that some believe were initiated by the cops to test the likely extent of union resistance in a real fight.  When the cops in Youngstown couldn't find any union leaders to beat up, they went after women picketers who were sitting in chairs to support the strike. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1938 – Canada’s Bloody Sunday: The RCMP and Vancouver police attacked strikers with tear gas and clubs and battle unemployed workers at a Vancouver post office. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1953 – The Black community of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, began a bus boycott (2 ½ years before the more famous Montgomery, Alabama protest. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1953 – Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were electrocuted in Sing Sing for their alleged sale of atomic secrets to the Russians. In a little known related story, the Rosenberg’s orphaned children were adopted by the poet and lyricist Abel Meeropol, who wrote the anti-lynching song Strange Fruit, later made famous by Billie Holliday. (From the Daily Bleed and Wikipedia)

June 19, 1953 – The ILWU began a four day strike to protest the Smith Act convictions of Jack Hall and six others for suspicion of being communists (See Today in Labor History—June 16). (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1968 – Over 50,000 demonstrators participated in the Poor People's Campaign Solidarity Day March in Washington, D.C. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1981 – Soldiers killed 200 Mayas in Coy, Huehuetenango, Guatemala. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1985 – Gunmen opened fire on an outdoor restaurant in San Salvador’s upscale Zona Rosa, killing 13, including four U.S. Marines and two U.S. businessmen. A broadcast by Radio Venceremos, the FMLN’s pirate radio station, said:  "If U.S. Army members and CIA agents died in San Salvador, it was because they came to attack our people. No one had summoned them; they died as a result of the interventionist policy carried out by President Reagan, whose intervention grows day by day. Reagan will have to assume full responsibility for his deeds." (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1988 – Haiti’s civilian government was overthrown by a U.S.-backed military coup. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1996 – Large parts of the South Korea auto industry were shut down by workers at Kia, the country's second largest auto company, in a wage dispute. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—June 16

Chartist riot, 1838

June 16, 1836 – The London Working Men's Association was formed, launching the Chartist movement.The Chartists took their name from the People's Charter, which demanded universal suffrage for men, regardless of social class. (From the Daily Bleed)

Berlin Revolutionaries

June 16, 1848 – The Berlin arsenal was captured by rebellious citizens. The "German Revolutions" of 1848 swept across 50 European states, mostly affiliated with the German Confederation and Austria. While the middle classes were fighting for a unified German state and increased civil liberties, the working class had more revolutionary aspirations. Participants in the revolution included communist and anarchist revolutionaries like Marx, Engels and Mikhail Bakunin, as well as the composer Wagner. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1869 – In the small mining town of Ricamarie, France, troops were called in to suppress a workers' strike, opening fire on demonstrators protesting the arrest of 40 workers, killing 14 (including a 17-month-old girl in her mother’s arms) and wounding 60 others (including 10 children). (From the Daily Bleed)

Susan Anthony

 June 16, 1873 – Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting. (From the Daily Bleed)

Eugene V. Debs delivering his Canton, Ohio speech.

June 16, 1918 –Eugene Debs delivered his famous Canton, Ohio anti-war Speech. America was at war with Germany, at the time, and radicals were being routinely rounded up and jailed, often illegally, when Debs gave this speech. The new Espionage Act was being used to prosecute people for their opposition to the war and Deb’s speech was used to make the case that he had violated the Act. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1920 – The U.S. Marines began fighting in Haiti to defend U.S. “interests” there. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1933 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Industrial Recovery Act, which recognized the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively through unions. The legislation was later found unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, it helped inspire a wave of union organizing and pave the way for the National Labor Relations Act, which was passed in 1935. (From Workday Minnesota)

International Brigadiers at the Battle of Belchite

 June 16, 1937 – The Trotskyist POUM, a significant constituent of the Spanish Republican forces (and the group with which George Orwell fought) was outlawed and its militants persecuted by the counter-revolutionary Stalinists and the Republic's police, thus making the Republic and the Stalinists more vulnerable to the fascists. (From the Daily Bleed). For a good fictionalization of the Spanish war against the fascists, and the POUM's and anarchist's betrayal by the Stalinists, see Ken Loach's Tierra y Libertad.

June 16, 1953 – Jack Hall of the ILWU and six others (the "Hawai‘i Seven") were convicted under the Smith Act for being communists. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1976 – 10,000 students demonstrated in Soweto South Africa, protesting against the requirement that they learn the Afrikaans language in their schools. The uprising spread to seven other black townships. In the end, 128 were killed and 1,112 injured. By the end of the year, thousands had died in demonstrations throughout the country including 700 black children. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1986 – Despite arrests, millions stayed home in a black trade union strike commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Soweto uprising. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1987 – Paper workers struck near Portland, Maine. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1991 – A General Strike began in Madagascar. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1992 – Millions of workers struck in India to protest government reforms. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1993 – 400 nude prostitutes protest police abuse, Matamoros, Mexico. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—August 22

General Toussaint Louverture

August 22, 1791 -- Encouraged by the French and American revolutions, 100,000 Haitian slaves revolted, led by Toussaint Louverture. They first attacked the French, and then went after Spanish and English troops, winning their freedom in 1793. In 1804, Haiti became first free black country in the world. The US refused recognition of Haiti until 1865 as a result of pressure from Southern slaveholders.

August 22, 1893 – Sam Gompers and other trade unionists met with New York mayor Gilroy pressings for a municipal public works program to relieve unemployment.

August 22, 1917 – Italian police opened fire on protesters against the war hunger, most of whom were women. The next day, a General Strike was declared. On the 24^th, a state of siege was declared, but the strike continued until the 26th. Police violence during the strike resulted in the deaths of 60 people. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 22, 1947 – A two-month strike by United Packing Workers began in Canada. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 22, 1978 -- Sandinistas captured the Nicaraguan National Palace launching the Sandinista revolution. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—June 19

Juneteenth Celebration, Richmond Virginia, 1905

June 19, 1865 – Slaves were declared free in Texas, a date now celebrated each year as the holiday "Juneteenth." (From the Daily Bleed)

Juneteenth Celebration, Austin, Texas, 1900

 June 19, 1886 – The Kangaroo trial of eight anarchists for the Haymarket bombing began in Chicago on this date. (From the Daily Bleed)

The  Haymarket Martyrs

 June 19, 1888 – U.S. marines attacked Seoul, Korea, (to protect U.S. interests?)  (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1898 --Guam was bombarded by the U.S.S. Charleston (To steal Spanish interests?) (From the Daily Bleed)

IWW leaders Patrick Quinlan, Carlo Tresca, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Adolph Lessig, Big Bill Haywood, 1913

 June 19, 1902 –Silk workers struck in Paterson, New Jersey. The event escalated into a riot. Silk workers had struck several times in the 19^th century and again, in 1913, led by the IWW. (From the Daily Bleed)

Magonistas after capturing Mexicali

 June 19, 1911 – Federales and Maderistas retook Mexicali from the Magonista anarchist rebels, led by Ricardo Flores Magon. (From the Daily Bleed)

A Sandinista flag capture by U.S. marines

 June 19, 1930 – U.S. and Nicaraguan troops battled Sandinista forces. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1937 – The Women's Day Massacre: During the Great Ohio Steel Strike of 1937, there were numerous street battles between workers and police, including the Youngstown Riots & Poland Avenue Riot on June 21st. On June 19^th, there were smaller battles that some believe were initiated by the cops to test the likely extent of union resistance in a real fight.  When the cops in Youngstown couldn't find any union leaders to beat up, they went after women picketers who were sitting in chairs to support the strike. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1938 – Canada’s Bloody Sunday: The RCMP and Vancouver police attacked strikers with tear gas and clubs and battle unemployed workers at a Vancouver post office. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1953 – The Black community of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, began a bus boycott (2 ½ years before the more famous Montgomery, Alabama protest. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1953 – Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were electrocuted in Sing Sing for their alleged sale of atomic secrets to the Russians. In a little known related story, the Rosenberg’s orphaned children were adopted by the poet and lyricist Abel Meeropol, who wrote the anti-lynching song Strange Fruit, later made famous by Billie Holliday. (From the Daily Bleed and Wikipedia)

June 19, 1953 – The ILWU began a four day strike to protest the Smith Act convictions of Jack Hall and six others for suspicion of being communists (See Today in Labor History—June 16). (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1968 – Over 50,000 demonstrators participated in the Poor People's Campaign Solidarity Day March in Washington, D.C. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1981 – Soldiers killed 200 Mayas in Coy, Huehuetenango, Guatemala. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1985 – Gunmen opened fire on an outdoor restaurant in San Salvador’s upscale Zona Rosa, killing 13, including four U.S. Marines and two U.S. businessmen. A broadcast by Radio Venceremos, the FMLN’s pirate radio station, said:  "If U.S. Army members and CIA agents died in San Salvador, it was because they came to attack our people. No one had summoned them; they died as a result of the interventionist policy carried out by President Reagan, whose intervention grows day by day. Reagan will have to assume full responsibility for his deeds." (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1988 – Haiti’s civilian government was overthrown by a U.S.-backed military coup. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 19, 1996 – Large parts of the South Korea auto industry were shut down by workers at Kia, the country's second largest auto company, in a wage dispute. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—June 16

Chartist riot, 1838

June 16, 1836 – The London Working Men's Association was formed, launching the Chartist movement.The Chartists took their name from the People's Charter, which demanded universal suffrage for men, regardless of social class. (From the Daily Bleed)

Berlin Revolutionaries

June 16, 1848 – The Berlin arsenal was captured by rebellious citizens. The "German Revolutions" of 1848 swept across 50 European states, mostly affiliated with the German Confederation and Austria. While the middle classes were fighting for a unified German state and increased civil liberties, the working class had more revolutionary aspirations. Participants in the revolution included communist and anarchist revolutionaries like Marx, Engels and Mikhail Bakunin, as well as the composer Wagner. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1869 – In the small mining town of Ricamarie, France, troops were called in to suppress a workers' strike, opening fire on demonstrators protesting the arrest of 40 workers, killing 14 (including a 17-month-old girl in her mother’s arms) and wounding 60 others (including 10 children). (From the Daily Bleed)

Susan Anthony

 June 16, 1873 – Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting. (From the Daily Bleed)

Eugene V. Debs delivering his Canton, Ohio speech.

June 16, 1918 –Eugene Debs delivered his famous Canton, Ohio anti-war Speech. America was at war with Germany, at the time, and radicals were being routinely rounded up and jailed, often illegally, when Debs gave this speech. The new Espionage Act was being used to prosecute people for their opposition to the war and Deb’s speech was used to make the case that he had violated the Act. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1920 – The U.S. Marines began fighting in Haiti to defend U.S. “interests” there. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1933 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Industrial Recovery Act, which recognized the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively through unions. The legislation was later found unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, it helped inspire a wave of union organizing and pave the way for the National Labor Relations Act, which was passed in 1935. (From Workday Minnesota)

International Brigadiers at the Battle of Belchite

 June 16, 1937 – The Trotskyist POUM, a significant constituent of the Spanish Republican forces (and the group with which George Orwell fought) was outlawed and its militants persecuted by the counter-revolutionary Stalinists and the Republic's police, thus making the Republic and the Stalinists more vulnerable to the fascists. (From the Daily Bleed). For a good fictionalization of the Spanish war against the fascists, and the POUM's and anarchist's betrayal by the Stalinists, see Ken Loach's Tierra y Libertad.

June 16, 1953 – Jack Hall of the ILWU and six others (the "Hawai‘i Seven") were convicted under the Smith Act for being communists. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1976 – 10,000 students demonstrated in Soweto South Africa, protesting against the requirement that they learn the Afrikaans language in their schools. The uprising spread to seven other black townships. In the end, 128 were killed and 1,112 injured. By the end of the year, thousands had died in demonstrations throughout the country including 700 black children. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1986 – Despite arrests, millions stayed home in a black trade union strike commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Soweto uprising. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1987 – Paper workers struck near Portland, Maine. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1991 – A General Strike began in Madagascar. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1992 – Millions of workers struck in India to protest government reforms. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 16, 1993 – 400 nude prostitutes protest police abuse, Matamoros, Mexico. (From the Daily Bleed)

America’s Love Affair with Tyrants

Haiti

Obama has told Aristide not to return to Haiti, at least not until after elections. Apparently, his mere presence could destabilize the elections (which is to say, the people might change their minds and NOT vote for either of the corporatist/coupist candidates and support him, instead). Michel Martelly, one of the run-off candidates, is a pop star, Duvalierist, and a supporter of the disbanded military and the death squads known as FRAPH. He supported the coup that ousted Aristide. Mirlande Manigat, the other runoff candidate, is a former first lady whose husband won the presidency with less than 10% of the vote in an election held by the military in 1988. Her husband is said to have advised Duvalier to form the dreaded tonton macoutes, while her opponent, Martelly, actually served in them. The Duvaliers, of course, were brutal dictators supported by the U.S., while Aristide was a popularly elected president who was ousted in a U.S. supported coup.

So Haiti will get another brutal tyrant, or perhaps a slightly brutal one, dressed up in the garb of democracy, and the U.S. can continue its unsavory relations with the nation, unencumbered by allegations that it is supporting a dictator. Meanwhile, the U.S. will continue to do virtually nothing to help house the thousands still homeless from the earthquake, except saddle the nation with debt to pay off U.S. construction companies, or to quell the still growing cholera epidemic, with total cases expected to approach 800,000 this year.

Egypt

We loved Mubarak so much that we gave him $1.3 billion a year until he was forced by his own people to flee. We loved him because his did our bidding, supported our policies in the Middle East, including supporting Israeli and helping them to repress the Palestinians. Therefore, we did nothing to aid his ouster, even when it became inevitable. In fact, we continued to support him until the day he fled, in hopes of maintaining some semblance of control over this invaluable region. (We wouldn’t want a popular government to arise or another Nassir).

Libya

On the other hand, we hate Gaddafi because he has always gone it alone and refused to do our bidding. However, he hadn’t really gotten in our way much lately, and he was a strong dictator who kept the fundamentalists, communists and unionists all completely suppressed. Therefore, we saw fit to let him run amok until now, when it looks like his ouster may come about despite our inaction, possibly to be replaced with a popular government, or at least one that is antagonistic to the U.S.

Now the U.S. and its allies have insisted on using “any means necessary” in order to Libya’s civilians. Yet, in order to enforce a no fly zone, they will have to bomb the country in much the same way they bombed Iraq, which will no doubt result in far more civilian casualties than Gaddafi has so far caused.

The Arabian Peninsula

Then there are Yemen and Bahrain, where the local governments are slaughtering protesters, sometimes with the aid of the Saudi military and mercenaries from Pakistan. Do we care about these civilians or despise their dictators? Not if it might piss off the Saudis, whose oil and allegiance is far more valuable than the lives and safety of their civilians. So we’ll stand back and allow the local despots quash the uprisings and hope that our shock and awe in Libya will dissuade any would be rebels in other Middle Eastern or North African countries.