#Election Haitian Food

[noonesgaylikegatson]

The Haitian Blood Libel that is coming from the republicans and conservatives is so disgusting.

Caribbean folk are one of the most hardest working and educated immigrants this babylon country has ever known. Haiti gave birth to the concept of Freedom to the new World.

The country was severely punished and stifled for having the audacity to end slavery. We would not be where we are right now if Haiti had not changed the course of history.

Even in the present day, self determination of Haiti is stifled by the west. Farmland destroyed, environment destroyed, food sources wiped out, any attempt of liberal change stamped out, election interference, military invasion, the exploitation of people. They got rid of the country’s infrastructure so the people are forced to be dependent on foreign aid, and then they let foreign aid providers like the UN commit crimes from rape to theft to fraud.

If you are an American, you owe the Haitians. You owe them for what this government has done to them. You owe them for starting the wave of independence throughout the new world.

[tomorrowusa]

Trump doesn't want voters to be reminded of his disastrous responses to hurricanes. Trumpnesia may have caused many to forget how he threw paper towels at Puerto Rican victims of Hurricane Maria or how he used a Sharpie marker to try to change the path of Hurricane Dorian.

So to muddy the waters, Trump has been spewing a firehose of falsehoods about Hurricane Helene.

A few of Trump's lies fact checked.

Monday: Trump falsely claims Biden hasn’t answered calls from Georgia’s governor It was immediately clear that Trump’s claim was false. Kemp, a Republican, told reporters earlier Monday that he had spoken with Biden the day prior — and that it was Kemp who had initially missed a call from Biden, not the other way around.

Trump himself has a record of problematic phone calls with Georgia state officials.

Monday: Trump cites baseless ‘reports’ about anti-Republican bias in the North Carolina response Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said at a Tuesday press conference that federal assistance had “been superb,” noting that Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had both called and told him to let them know whatever the state needed. McMaster also said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell had called.

The lies only get bigger...

Thursday: Trump falsely claims Harris spent ‘all her FEMA money’ on housing illegal migrants First, there is zero basis for Trump’s suggestion that the Biden administration is running some sort of scheme to get undocumented immigrants to vote illegally in the 2024 election. Voting by noncitizens is a felony. Second, there is zero basis for claiming that FEMA disaster assistance money was stolen — by anyone, let alone Harris personally — for the housing of migrants.

^^^ That one ranks with the lies Trump and Vance are spreading about Haitian Americans eating pets in Ohio.

Friday: Trump falsely claims $1 billion was ‘stolen’ from FEMA for migrants and has gone ‘missing’ Though Trump’s Thursday claim about FEMA money and migrants had already been debunked by Friday, Trump repeated the claim to reporters at least twice on Friday — and then said it again at a Friday night town hall event in North Carolina.

It's never necessary for Trump to have proof of something. He just makes shit up to further his orgies of disinformation.

Saturday: Trump falsely claims the federal government is only giving $750 to people who lost their homes Trump’s claim is wrong. As FEMA explained earlier in the week on social media andon a web page it created to combat misinformation about the response, $750 is merely the immediate, upfront aid survivors can get to cover basic, pressing needs like food, water, baby formula and emergency supplies. Survivors are also eligible to apply for additional forms of assistance, such as to pay for temporary housing and home repairs, that can be worth thousands of dollars; the current maximum amount for home repair assistance, for example, is $42,500.

For people poor at math, the difference between $750 and $42,500 is $41,750. And I don't think the $750 is deducted from the eventual $42,500.

Saturday: Trump falsely claims there are ‘no helicopters, no rescue’ in North Carolina  This claim about North Carolina is false. There have been numerous government and private helicopters and other aircraft involved in rescue and aid efforts in North Carolina, though some residents died before they could be rescued and a significant number of residents have remained missing or stranded for days. The North Carolina National Guard announced Thursday that its own air assets had “completed 146 flight missions, resulting in the rescue of 538 people and 150 pets.”  The Washington Post reported Friday [ ... ] CNN reported Saturday that air traffic over western North Carolina had increased 300% over the past seven days due to hurricane relief efforts, according to Becca Gallas, director of North Carolina’s Division of Aviation. The state said in an official update Saturday: “A total of 53 search and rescue teams from North Carolina and beyond, consisting of more than 1,600 personnel have conducted search and rescue operations during this event. Search and rescue teams have interacted with over 5,400 people, including assists, evacuations and rescues.”

If Trump says something, it is almost certainly untrue. He is hoping to be heard by low information voters who get news from social media and other unreliable sources. It is up to you to step up your interaction with any such people who you may know personally. Send them articles and vids from reputable sources. Elections are won or lost one voter at a time.

A reminder you can give people: Trump made over 30,000 lies during his four years in office. He is not a reliable source of information.

Washington Post counts 30,573 false or misleading claims in four years by Trump

Would you buy a used car or a second-hand presidency from Weird Donald? 🤨

[zvaigzdelasas]

[Al Jazeera is Qatari State Media]

A powerful Haitian gang leader has rejected attempts by foreign nations for an electoral road map and a path to peace as the country plunges deeper into violent chaos and armed groups control most of the capital following the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Regional leaders of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) held an emergency summit last week to discuss a framework for a political transition, which the United States had urged to be “expedited” as gangs wrought chaos in the capital, Port-au-Prince, amid repeatedly postponed elections.

“We’re not going to recognise the decisions that CARICOM takes,” Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, a former police officer whose gang rules vast swaths of Port-au-Prince, told Al Jazeera. Rights groups [including those funded by the NED] have accused his gang alliance of committing atrocities, including killings and rape.

“I’m going to say to the traditional politicians that are sitting down with CARICOM, since they went with their families abroad, we who stayed in Haiti have to take the decisions,” Cherizier said, flanked by gang members wearing face masks, adding that he rejected plans for a transitional council made up of the country’s political parties.

“It’s not just people with guns who’ve damaged the country but the politicians too,” he added.[...]

Haitian civil society leaders welcomed the resignation of Henry, an unelected leader who was named for the post in 2021 shortly before the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, as a long overdue step.[...]

While some political groups are putting their names forward for the council, seeing it as a way out of Haiti’s current power vacuum, Cherizier said he wants a revolution.

“Now our fight will enter another phase – to overthrow the whole system, the system that is five percent of people who control 95 percent of the country’s wealth,” he told Al Jazeera.

According to Robert Fatton, a Haiti expert at the University of Virginia, Cherizier likes to compare himself to historical figures like South Africa’s Nelson Mandela or Cuba’s longtime President Fidel Castro.

“And he likes to say that he’s essentially a revolutionary … and he’s going to redistribute wealth,” Fatton told Al Jazeera this week.

While Cherizier has distributed some food and resources to people in areas under the control of his G9 gang, “that’s hardly a vision of the future or some sort of revolutionary [act]”, he added.

Once a transitional government is in place it could pave the way for a multinational police force on the ground in Haiti, funded by the US and Canada.[...]

Kenya’s President William Ruto said his country would lead such a force, which Cherizier rejected.

The UN has estimated that gangs currently control more than 80 percent of Port-au-Prince.

Reporting from the Dominican Republic, Al Jazeera’s John Holman said the two rival gangs – the G9 and G-PEP – have formed an alliance called Viva Ensemble to try and prevent foreign troops from entering Haiti.

16 Mar 24

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Greg Sargent at TNR:

There are still nearly two months to go before Donald Trump assumes the presidency again, but Republicans or GOP-adjacent industries have already begun to admit out loud that some of his most important policy promises could prove disastrous in their parts of the country. These folks don’t say this too directly, out of fear of offending the MAGA God King. Instead, they suggest gingerly that a slight rethink might be in order. But unpack what they’re saying, and you’ll see that they’re in effect acknowledging that some of Trump’s biggest campaign promises were basically scams.

In Georgia, for instance, some local Republicans are openly worried about Trump’s threat to roll back President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into incentives for the manufacture and purchase of green energy technologies, from electric vehicles to batteries to solar power. Trump endlessly derided this as the “green new scam” and pledged to repeal all uncommitted funds. But now The New York Times reports that Trump supporters like state Representative Beth Camp fear that repeal could destroy jobs related to new investments in green manufacturing plants in the state. Camp worries that this could leave factories in Georgia “sitting empty.” You heard that right: This Republican is declaring that Trump’s threatened actions could leave factories sitting empty. 

[...]

Something similar is also already happening with Trump’s threat to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. Reuters reports that agriculture interests, which are heavily concentrated in GOP areas, are urging the incoming Trump administration to refrain from removing untold numbers of migrants working throughout the food supply chain, including in farming, dairy, and meatpacking. 

Notably, GOP Representative John Duarte, who just lost his seat in the elections, explicitly tells Reuters that farming interests in his California district depend on undocumented immigrants—and that Trump should exempt many from removal. Duarte and industry representatives want more avenues created for migrants to work here legally—the precise opposite of what Trump promised. Now over to Texas. NPR reports that various industries there fear that mass deportations could cripple them, particularly in construction, where nearly 300,000 undocumented immigrants toiled as of 2022. Those workers enable the state to keep growing despite a native population that isn’t supplying a large enough workforce. Local analysts and executives want Trump to refrain from removing all these people or create new ways for them to work here legally. Even the Republican mayor of McKinney, Texas, is loudly sounding the alarm.

Meanwhile, back in Georgia, Trump’s threat of mass deportations is awakening new awareness that undocumented immigrants drive industries like construction, landscaping, and agriculture, reports The Wall Street Journal. In Dalton, a town that backed Trump, fear is spreading that removals could “upend its economy and workforce.” At this point, someone will argue that all this confirms Trump’s arguments—that these industries and their representatives merely fear losing cheap migrant labor that enables them to avoid paying Americans higher wages. When JD Vance and Trump pushed their lie about Haitians eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, Vance insisted that he opposed the Haitian influx into Midwestern towns because they’re undercutting U.S. workers. But all these disparate examples of Republicans and GOP areas lamenting coming mass deportations suggest an alternate story, one detailed well by the Times’ Lydia DePillis. In the MAGA worldview, a large reserve of untapped native-born Americans in prime working age are languishing in joblessness throughout Trump country—and will stream into all these industries once migrants are removed en masse, boosting wages.  

But DePillis documents that things like poor health and disability are more important drivers of unemployment among this subset of non-college working-age men. Besides, migrants living and working here don’t just perform labor that Americans will not. They also consume and boost demand, creating more jobs. As Paul Krugman puts it, in all these ways, migrant laborers are “complements” to U.S. workers. Importantly, that’s the argument that these Republicans and industries in GOP areas are really making when they lament mass deportations: Migrant labor isn’t displacing U.S. workers; it’s helping drive our post-Covid recovery and growth. This directly challenges Trump’s zero-sum worldview.

[...] Here’s another possibility: In the end, Trump’s deportation forces may selectively spare certain localities and industries from mass removals. Trump’s incoming “border czar,” Tom Homan, suggests this won’t happen. But a hallmark of MAGA is corruptly selective governance in the interests of MAGA nation and expressly against those who are designated MAGA’s enemies, U.S. citizens included. One can see mass deportations becoming a selective tool, in which blue localities are targeted for high-profile raids—even as Trump triumphantly rants that they are cesspools of “migrant crime” that he is pacifying with military-style force—while GOP-connected industries and Trump-allied Republicans tacitly secure some forbearance.

Donald Trump’s threats to green energy initiatives and resistance to his mass deportation proposals are facing headwinds against him, even from local Republicans who fear losses of jobs in their communities.

Even if Trump does get to implement his mass deportation policy, he’ll likely create several exemption carveouts (mainly for industries likely to favor him) and use selective enforcement (light touch for red states, heavy and punitive for blue states).

[phoenixyfriend]

Calls for Action, Call Your Reps: 3/12/24

This is USA-specific, as that is the place I live and know.

Find your elected officials.

As usual, most of my information on what bills are on the floor comes from GovTrack. I am including some suggested listening/reading (you can find text versions if you google the title and 'transcript') at the bottom of the post. I am also including a current event that is likely to be a very powerful argument, with the right politicians. The event is prefaced with a red warning tag, and followed by event-specific verbiage.

Suggested verbiage and strategies for calling your elected officials. We've recently seen politicians, including Biden, start to pivot towards the "Israel is increasing danger to itself" argument in public statements.

The most immediate and pressing issue at this moment is the famine in Gaza. The air drops are inefficient and dangerous (several people died due to a parachute malfunction), and the floating pier will not be ready any time soon. Trucks across land borders MUST be allowed in.

At this time, the three greatest factors in that famine are:

Israeli bombardment (destruction of existing food stores and farming land).

Israeli blockades of the Egyptian border into Gaza, preventing aid trucks from places like the US from reaching people, and turning away trucks on their own side of the northern and eastern border that contain items like medical scissors, solar panels, and anesthetic.

The cessation of funding to UNRWA, which has been the lifeline to Palestinian civilians for decades, and is currently the best and possibly only chance to save the one and a half million dying civilians

This information is being reported by the WHO, UNRWA itself, UNICEF, and more, along with journalists that are in Gaza at this time.

Both House and Senate:

Reinstate funding for UNRWA. While the claims made by Israel that employees of the relief agency were involved in Oct. 7th are troubling, THEY are not well supported, and western officials did not do their duty in investigating the claims before cutting funding. This arm of the UN is currently providing food, water, shelter, and medical care to the 2.3 million displaced peoples of Gaza. It is especially disturbing and concerning that the many children of Gaza, who are already suffering due to this conflict, are now having this support revoked. Many sources are also claiming that the evidence is flimsy at best.

Urge both Senate and House to refrain from funding Israel, or to at least put some strings on it. The IDF cannot be given funding without some regulations on what they can do with it. They have proven that they are unwilling to take steps to protect civilians.

Sanctions must also be placed on Israel for its continued impediment of aid intended for Gazans, including aid from the US.

Urge for the US to stop vetoing ceasefire demands in the UN. No, the suggested replacement written by the US is not an excuse.

Not directly related to Gaza: It looks like they’re gearing up for another push at KOSA. The canned email responses I’m getting are really proud of being in support of KOSA, which is… bad. It is also bad for people outside the US, including Palestine, apparently. VOTE NAY.

Not related to Gaza:

The US, France, and Canada are meddling in the Haitian government and pressing for "peace" under US terms. The international community cannot continue to seed problems in this country for their own purposes. Also, feel free to drop a note about how France and the US need to pay reparations for the double debt.

Domestic affairs: Press for a less harsh immigration policy than the one currently in Congress. Press for investigation into the Boeing whistle-blower death, and for stricter oversight and safety regulations on large corporations.

[pumpkinsy0]

What's Going On in Haiti Rn

tldr: barbeque (leader of revolutionary gang, isnt a cannibal btw) says hes trying to liberate Haiti to free the oppressed groups in Haiti from not only the rich ppl who live in Haiti but also from imperialism so Haiti can get better, but moving along from that, theres canals being built in Haiti so Haitians can actually make their own food and won’t rely in others

alright, I’m making this post, not only because I dont see many people talking about it, but also because they just aren't really telling the exact full story and theyre only using what the western media is saying and not really using any haitian sources or anything like that, for this post Im NOT picking sides or anything of the sort, I just want people to be more aware of what's actually going on in haiti

so where all of this gang stuff is going down is in the CAPITAL of Haiti, this isn't going on all across the country, everything really violent is happening in PORT AU PRINCE. As you know, there's this man called Barbecue who is essentially running Port Au Prince with his gang or group or whatever you want to call it, no Barbecue didn't get his name because he's a cannibal or anything like that, he got it because his mom would sell bbq chicken for people in his neighborhood. The cannibal claims that were going all around on social media was spread by alt right twitter users like elon musk and some other famous alt right twitter users.

NOW when it comes to the gangs in Haiti, what Barbecue is trying to do is "liberate this country, once and for all"(in his own words not mines), and he's done that by trying to bring together all the past gangs of Haiti and they've formed this one big group called "Revolutionary Forces of the G9 Family and Allies" or I'll just call them G9, and now they control 80% of Port Au Prince and many civilians themselves who live in poverty and terrible conditions are with them because they just want a life with rights to healthcare, education, and housing, things that are hard to get because of politicians and rich people oppressing them and taking away their resources and forcing them to live with the scraps. Another group of people who's followed him is this group of men he's broke out of jail. In this jail as far as I know, these people were never actually given trials or anything and they as well were forced into terrible living conditions with, lack of food, space, that kinda thing. When it comes to G9 getting the prime minister, Ariel Henry, to step down, the reason why they wanted him to step down (as far as i remember) was because he just pushing the election for a new president back and back each time, and people were/are under the impression that he just wanted to get more power. On top of that Ariel Henry was NEVER SWORN INTO HIS POSITION. Plus, after the Haitian president's assassination in 2021, INSTEAD of working with Haitian civil society groups that were open to give solutions to fix the situation, the US, Canada, France, and other places, put their trust into Ariel Henry, and saw him as the connection to the Haitian public. Henry is not well liked by the public of Haiti and he is now not in Haiti and is in Puerto Rico, essentially exiled from Haiti. Now dont take this as me putting Barbecue in this shining light, he did use to be a police officer, and he has closed off Port Au Prince from the rest of the country and people are finding it hard to get food, water, go to school, and much much more, Im just laying out what's happening and his goal as he says it. If you want more info, watch some interviews Barbeque has done.

When it come to the US intervening or ANY country for that matter intervening is because in the past, forcing interventions in haiti has only led to worse. There was terrible treatment to the citizens and they stole money, their only way of intervening was literally through weapons against innocent civilians. Many haitians do NOT want any country, especially the US coming near them AT ALL because theyre are scared for what theyre going to do to them and their livelihoods, and you can't blame them one bit, the US is quite literally a genocidal empire who only looks out for itself.

ON SOME MORE BRIGHTER NEWS, idk if you heard, but theres this canal thats close to being finished, that will allow Haitian farmers to grow and make their own foods so Haiti wont have to rely on other places of getting stuff like rice!! The canal gets water from the massacre river however, Dominican politicians dont like that and are claiming that the canal will weaken the water supply of the river, despite the DR having like 11 canals using the river and Haiti has 1 (the one being built rn). To slow down the water flow going into the canal, Dominican officals have these pumps that are constantly flowing to take away water from the canal, however the canal is still able to flow a good amount of water into Haiti, to Haitian farmers :)

on top of that, Haitian farmers in another part of Haiti has gotten inspired to take action to make their OWN canal (that has NOTHING to do with the massacre river before yall start) and are currently making their own canal so they can have water so WOOOO🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹

anyways pls share and make sure to listen to Haitian voices and media to understand whats going on, dont use media from the same niggas that assisted a Dominican dictator that committed a Haitian genocide :P

to learn more about whats going on theres this Haitian news source called Haiti Liberte that discusses whats going on in Haiti and they have a documentary on youtube that goes more in depth with Barbeque and his ideas/wants and some Haitian citizens

as for the canals, on tik tok theres this woman whos been at the forefront of it all, discussing whats going on with the canals, giving updates, and shes actually in Haiti, and you can see the canals for yourself, her @ is @bertrhude

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

* * * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

September 13, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Sep 14, 2024

After bomb threats today, officials had to evacuate two elementary schools in Springfield, Ohio, and move the students to a different location. They had to close a middle school altogether. This is the second day bomb threats have closed schools and public buildings after MAGA Republicans have spread the lie that Haitian immigrants there have been eating white people's pets. Haitian immigrants, who were welcomed to Springfield by officials eager to revitalize the city and who are there legally, say they are afraid. 

Hunter Walker and Josh Kovensky of Talking Points Memo today explained where the lie had come from and how it had spread. More than two months ago, they wrote, Ohio senator J.D. Vance, who is Trump’s vice presidential running mate, began to speak about Springfield at a Senate Banking Committee hearing, trying to tie rising housing prices to immigrants. The next day, at the National Conservatism conference, Vance accused “illegals” of overwhelming the city. 

On August 10, about a dozen neo-Nazis of the “Blood Tribe” organization showed up in Springfield, where one of their leaders said the city had been taken over by “degenerate third worlders” and blamed the Jews for the influx of migrants. The neo-Nazis stayed and, on August 27, showed up at a meeting of the city council, where their leader threatened council members. On September 1, another white supremacist group, Patriot Front, held its own “protest to the mass influx of unassimilable Haitian migrants” in the city. Right-wing social media posters pushed the story, usually with “witnesses” to events in the city coming from elsewhere.

In late August, posting in a private Facebook group, a resident said they had heard that Haitian immigrants had butchered a neighbor’s cat for food. Vance reposted that rumor to attack Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, on whom he is trying to hang undocumented immigration although it was Trump who convinced Republicans to kill a strong bipartisan border bill this spring. Springfield police and the city manager told news outlets there was no truth to the rumors.  

Nonetheless, on September 10, Vance told his people to “keep the cat memes flowing,” even though—or perhaps because—the rumors were putting people in his own state in danger.

Trump repeated the lie at the presidential debate that night, claiming, “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.” Today, President Joe Biden demanded Trump stop his attacks on Haitian-Americans, but Trump doubled down, promising to deport the Haitian immigrants in Springfield if he is elected, although they are here legally. 

The widespread ridicule of Trump’s statement has obscured that this attack on Ohio’s immigrants is part of an attempt to regain control of the Senate. Convincing Ohio voters that the immigrants in their midst are subhuman could help Republicans defeat popular Democratic incumbent senator Sherrod Brown, who has held his seat since 2007. Brown and Montana’s Jon Tester, both Democrats in states that supported Trump in 2020, are key to controlling the Senate. 

Two Republican super PACs, one of which is linked to Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), have booked more than $82 million of ad space in Ohio between Labor Day and the election and are focusing on immigration. 

Taking control of the Senate would enable Republicans not only to block all popular Democratic legislation, as they did with gun reform after the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, but to continue to establish control of America’s judicial system. So long as their judges are in place to make law from the bench, what the majority of Americans want doesn’t matter.

In 1986, when it was clear that most Americans did not support the policies put in place by the Reagan Republicans, the Reagan appointees at the Justice Department broke tradition to ensure that candidates for judgeships shared their partisanship. Their goal, said the president’s attorney general, Ed Meese, was to “institutionalize the Reagan revolution so it can’t be set aside no matter what happens in future presidential elections.” 

That principle held going forward. Federal judgeships depend on Senate confirmation, and when McConnell became Senate minority leader in 2007, he worked to make sure Democrats could not put their own appointees onto the bench. He held up so many of President Barack Obama’s nominees for federal judgeships that in 2013 Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) prohibited filibusters on certain judicial nominees.

McConnell also made it clear that he would do everything he could to make sure that Democrats could not pass laws, weaponizing the filibuster so that nothing could become law without 60 votes in the Senate.

McConnell became Senate majority leader in 2015 when voters gave Republicans control of the Senate, and when Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, McConnell refused even to hold hearings for President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland. McConnell’s justification for this unprecedented obstruction was that Obama’s March nomination was too close to an election, but the underlying reason for the 2016 delay was at least in part his recognition that hopes of pushing the Supreme Court to the right, especially on the issue of abortion, were likely to get evangelical voters to the polls.

Trump won in 2016, and Republicans got control of the Senate. In 2017, when Democrats tried to filibuster Trump’s nomination of Neil Gorsuch to fill Scalia’s long-empty seat, then–majority leader McConnell killed the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees. The end of the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees meant that McConnell could push through Trump’s nominees Brett Kavanaugh, with just 50 votes, and Amy Coney Barrett, with just 52 (in late October 2020, with voting for the next president already underway). 

Throughout his tenure as Senate majority leader, McConnell made judicial confirmations a top priority, churning through nominations even when the coronavirus pandemic shut everything else down. Right-wing plaintiffs are now seeking out those judges, like Matthew Kacsmaryk of Texas, to decide in their favor. Kacsmaryk challenged the FDA’s approval of the drug mifepristone, which can be used in abortions, thus threatening to ban it nationwide.

Meanwhile, at the Supreme Court, Trump appointees are joining with right-wing justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito to overturn precedents established long ago, including the right to abortion. 

Controlling the country through the courts was the plan behind stacking the courts with Republican nominees and weaponizing the filibuster to stop Democrats from passing legislation. In March 2024, in Slate, legal analyst Mark Joseph Stern noted that McConnell “realized you don’t need to win elections to enact Republican policy. You don’t need to change hearts and minds. You don’t need to push ballot initiatives or win over the views of the people. All you have to do is stack the courts. You only need 51 votes in the Senate to stack the courts with far-right partisan activists…[a]nd they will enact Republican policies under the guise of judicial review, policies that could never pass through the democratic process. And those policies will be bulletproof, because they will be called ‘law.’”

When he took office, President Joe Biden went to work putting his own mark on the federal judiciary. Almost two thirds of his appointees are women, and 62% are people of color. He appointed the first Black female justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, to the Supreme Court. But now, Republicans are hoping to retake the Senate to make sure that those appointments will stop, along with any more legislation. Their right-wing appointees to the courts will take the business of lawmaking out of the hands of American majorities.

Republican leaders are throwing everything they’ve got at the Senate races in Montana and Ohio, where they hope they can pick up the seat they need to take control of the Senate.

Attacks on immigrants in Ohio might move that needle. 

In 1890, Republicans faced a similar problem. They had lost the popular vote in 1888, although they installed Republican president Benjamin Harrison in office through the Electoral College, and knew the Democrats would soon far outnumber their own voters. So they set out to guarantee that they could never lose the Senate, which should enable them to kill popular Democratic legislation. 

But they misjudged the electorate, and in the 1890 midterm election, voters gave control of the House to the Democrats by a margin of two to one, and control of the Senate came down to a single seat, that of a senator from South Dakota. In those days, state legislatures chose their state’s senators, and shortly after it became clear that control of the Senate was going to depend on that South Dakota seat, U.S. Army troops went to South Dakota to rally voters by putting down an “Indian uprising” in which no people had died and no property had been damaged. 

Fueled on false stories of “savages” who were attacking white settlers, the inexperienced soldiers were the ones who pulled the triggers to kill more than 250 Lakotas on December 29, but the Wounded Knee Massacre started in Washington, D.C.  

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[autumnhobbit]

if there’s one thing i gotta credit republicans on it’s the ability to completely miss the point.

i thought our economy was in shambles and nobody can afford a house or food etc etc? we have to elect trump because the haitians are eating our cats now? what does that have to do with anything? how’s he going to prevent it? it’s already animal cruelty and would probably be considered poaching in most towns, also causing a public disturbance?

[televisionenjoyer]

i know you made that post like a week ago but the idea of the u.s. having unobstructed democracy is literally just one of the myths used to convince people that its a morally superior country. like black people and immigrants and poor people in general have to jump thru so many hoops to register to vote. and the bipartisan system is so forced that quite literally it does not work to vote third party in federal elections. i really fucking wish it did but it doesnt. the usamericans online who are all fighting over voting for biden or not voting at all are a tiny minority and they couldn't get a third party candidate elected even if they all magically agreed on one. if it was a real democracy than they would be doing what you want them to do, not agonizing over all the other shitty options that they have

AND leftists wouldve actually been successful in voting against imperialism for the past 200 yrs.. like this is not our choice. i know most americans are total pieces of shit about everyone else but the actual allies and sympathizers of the u.s.'s victims really are powerless within the system

Hi! I've left this ask simmer in my head for a whole day because I really wanted to digest it and put it down in a way that made some sense.

Fair warning I'm about to get rlly political about imperialism under the cut

I've received a lot of comments in that post about how democracy in the US is not as straightforward as it appears —I've gathered as much, which is why i referred to it as a perfectly crafted illusion of free will. But what I think most people missed from the post is that I was referencing, in its opposition, countries that literally had to bounce back from nondemocratic, violent governments through popular organizations rebelling against the system, which put their lives at immeasurable risk.

Throughout history all types of seemingly unmovable systems rose and fell. Kingdoms, dynasties, dictatorships, monarchies, caliphates, colonies, republics, you name it, its been made and destroyed. A common denominator within revolutions such as the french revolution, the haitian revolution, the american civil war and countless others was an overpowering sense of necessity within its "rebels". An overwhelming amount of people were poor, starving, and/or getting killed left and right because of their stations, races, ideologies, religions, etcetera.

It is my deeply cemented belief that the American Dream is in fact a device of the empire to keep the average usamerican content and compliant. As long as you have food on your plate, Netflix on your TV and an iPhone in your hand, you're not going to pay that much mind to which happens outside. You have the luxury to see an update on the current situation in Palestine, reblogs it, say to yourself "thank god it isn't happening to me", and move on to another amiable day in the suburbs. I'm not saying the life quality is anywhere near perfect, but it by far surpasses that of the "global south", "the third world" or however you'd like to name us.

It's strategic, calculated, a small sacrifice that the empire has to make to protect its exploitative endeavors: provide for those who have actual civic impact (reminder: puerto rico still can't vote). It's a necessary dent in the empire's funds, one they'd like to keep to a minimum, hence the dubious immigration policy and carefully crafted housing crisis in a country of such an extent — The American Dream can't be for everyone, otherwise there'd be no one else to exploit.

In essence the reason why the current democratic system has not yet been overthrown is quite simply that the usamerican people, those who have actual civil impact on the inner politics of the country, are not motivated enough to make it change. There is a reason why a significant number of the people who are most involved in the political cause of palestine happen to be marginalized sectors: people from the global south, arabs, people of color — understanding this imperialist oppression firsthand makes it harder to ignore. There is a reason aaron bushnell self immolated: his occupation put him in a position that made it outright impossible to ignore the horrors.

Furthermore, there is the knowledge that one win against the empire helps ton for the overall cause of mitigating this regime. A damn good motivation for us, not so much for the people who benefit from the current system.

TLDR you can always overthrow the government and demand a fairer system, but the the average american finds no strong real reason to.

[news-of-the-day]

5/30/24

Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of the hush money trial, making him now a felon. His sentencing hearing will be on July 11th. Maximum is four years in prison, but he's a first offender and it's a nonviolent crime, so even if he were just a regular Joe Shmoe, he may receive home confinement or even probation. This isn't a federal case so he can't pardon himself later. I'll try to write slowly over the weekend to describe this case better. Some of his more serious cases, like the Georgia one, are also state level but aren't scheduled until after the election.

In a massive, massive reversal, the Biden administration is now allowing the Ukraine to fire US-made weapons into Russia proper, but only near the borders. This is due to the sudden Russian advances, because until now the US has been trying desperately to avoid escalating the situation.

Israel is now allowing food produced in Israel and the West Bank to be sold to Gaza, the first time since the war. Ever since the Rafah offensive started, pretty much all aid has ground to a halt, and people are starving. Whatever gets in will undoubtedly not be enough.

Garry Conille was voted in as Haitian prime minister by the Presidential Transition Council. After Prime Minister Moise was assassinated in 2021, the country — which admittedly already wasn't the most stable — kinda started slipping into chaos. The next prime minister, Henry, was under suspicion for the assassination. He also started losing control of the country to gangs, to the point that he once couldn't land his plane from an international trip because gangs had taken over the airport. He resigned a few months ago and the council stepped in. Conille has led the country briefly and has a lot of experience in the UN, but it's a very, very perilous situation with over 4000 people since January dying due to gang violence. He will lead the country until the next elections, but there haven't been any held since there's too much violence in the streets. There's literally no functioning legislature due to this.

Slovakian Prime Minister Fico was released from the hospital after he was shot during a meeting with supporters. The shooter, a 71-year-old man with no strong political affiliations, seems to have gotten entrenched with political fervor. In recent years political tension in Slovakia has ratched up and there are even talks of possible civil war, ever since a journalist was killed in 2018 whilst investigating corruption.

Fourteen Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were convicted and two were acquitted for subversion. They were amongst 47 others who were arrested in 2020 by organizing an unofficial primary to pick candidates to run for office and were accused of trying to overthrow the government.

India is suffering a horrible heatwave with at least 115°, with one city reaching 126°. Only ten people have died so far, but many have been hospitalized and there undoubtedly will be more to come.

1) Politico, Washington Post 2) BBC 3) Reuters 4) CNN, BBC 5) NYT 6) Al Jazeera 7) Times of India

[ultimatebottom69]

Hi I am reading the thread right now and frankly after that I am going to actually sleep.

You all saw the whole world watching you with abject horror since 2016. And thought we were scared/judging only the MAGA people ? Like I am so sorry but in what world do you live for you to beleive the WHOLE world is judging ALL of you.

Yes in France we have difderent parties. We have the right to vote. We have the right to not say who we vote for too. In fact we have a sort of republican party.

And you know what we get horrified when this guys even make 3% votes more then usual mind you it's been a steady 20% for 20 years now it's a resounding 33%. Why ? Because Donald Trump happened. And the USA site is very enthousiastic in telling us how rascist we are. Yes. We are.

We are filthy colonizer but may i say the reason the USA is a less popular colonizer is simply because your country is too fucking young. Anyway.

The difference though is here when someone is rascist. Well you better be joking Carole cause your reputation could be destroyed unless you are rich. And even that stops protecting you after 10 years.

Hi Mister Zemmour. No one misses you.

Yes Zemmour. You know. The fucking comedian. Why he presented himself ? BECAUSE TRUMP HAPPENED BRENDA ! Bro thought he could get elected by being his usual mysoginistic self as if one does not need a degree.

You need a degree to become a clothing hanger nowadays Bella. Trump looked so incompetent to us that, a fucking comedian thought he stood a chance in a president race.

And you know what some people actually voted for him. Even if it's a mere 5%. 5% still voted for a guy with no degrees, qualifications, or even a programm. And it's because he was a Trump on TV aka very blatant and boy did it not fly.

Meanwhile as I speak to you all I am watching a France 5 interview and I have an Old lady who lives in Springfield who just casually said to the camera deadass "They never spilled their blood for this country what we work for they get it for free-" after just saying she herself go take free food. To Haitians people. Deadass.

This would never fucking fly on our news channel you would have to be 10 times more subtle about it and even then you could get red handed caught in a scandal that will be spread on tiktok.

You all have no sense of shame at all and that's why none of you can kill any President ever.

But I am drunk so. Anyway. If Trump wins I 100% expect another rise of fascism in all countries. Just like 2016. Palestine ? Oh you mean the new Israel ? Cause that's what's going to happen if he fucking wins. Like I need all of you to understand just how much you all fucked over at least 30 countries. And I am not going to even extend the economy subject and how the inflation is going to hit you like a Smooth Criminal. Cause it will go up again but higher then we all predicted.

Now. Am I telling you all to be doomers ? Well the planet still turning Stacy. Do something. Unionize. Actually do something. Don't wake up on election night. Wake up early and stay awake.

Trump winning won't be the end of the world but it will definitely feel like it. For too many people. Frankly good luck babe per Chappell Roan for the people who did not vote per choice.

If Harris wins you all better fight that Cuntmala all the way for her to bend to your desires to help Palestine, she will listen now to convince Congress is another fucking proboem.

Your election system is so fucked.

And for fuck sake stop voting third parties.

Enfin bon. J'ai bien remonté les bretelles maintenant passez une bonne journée, bonne merde et welp. *ricktus* J'allumerais un sierge pour vous peu importe le resultat. Je vous aime mais putain de merde l'amour c'est vraiment vache.

[newstfionline]

Sunday, October 20, 2024

Teen Burnout (Vox) A new study of 1,545 teens surveyed by researchers found that many of them are working hard to dive into adult habits such as “completely burning yourself out” and “obsessing about your future at an unhealthy level.” Of those surveyed, 56 percent said they felt pressure to have a game plan for their future lives and 53 percent said they felt pressure to be impressive through their achievements. Overall, 27 percent of teens said they were actively struggling with burnout.

Biden envoy told aid groups Israel too close an ally for US to suspend arms (Politico) The top U.S. official working on the humanitarian situation in Gaza told aid groups in August that the U.S. would not consider withholding weapons from Israel for blocking food and medicine from entering the enclave—a rare admission by someone in the administration. At the Aug. 29 meeting in Washington, Lise Grande told the leaders of more than a dozen aid organizations that the U.S. could potentially consider other tactics to convince Israel to allow life-saving aid into Gaza—such as applying pressure through the United Nations, but stressed that the administration would continue to support Israel and would not delay or stop weapons shipments. That account is based on conversations with three people in the meeting and two others who were briefed on it, along with a set of detailed notes from the encounter reviewed by POLITICO. A humanitarian aid official who attended the meeting said Grande noted that Israel is one in a “tight circle of very few allies” that the U.S. will not oppose, nor will it “hold anything back that they want.”

Gangs attack neighborhoods across Haiti’s capital in new wave of violence (AP) Multiple gangs attacked several communities in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on Friday, setting fire to homes and a church as bullets whizzed through the area. At least one woman was killed as gangs opened fire in Solino, St. Michel, Tabarre 27 and other neighborhoods, with panicked residents calling radio stations since late Thursday pleading for help. It wasn’t clear what prompted the latest attack, which comes just days after Haitian and Kenyan police launched an operation killed at least 20 suspected gang members in an area controlled by the 400 Mawozo gang that operates mainly in Tabarre. Gangs control 80% of Port-au-Prince, although communities like Solino have been fighting attempts by gunmen to control it.

Three Americans among latest to be detained in Venezuela over alleged anti-government plot (AP) Venezuela detained five more foreigners, including three U.S. citizens, for their alleged connection to a plot to destabilize the country, the interior minister announced Thursday, marking the latest round of arrests for what authorities have characterized as anti-government activities following the disputed July presidential election. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello did not provide proof to back the allegations that the detainees were linked to terrorist activities. As in similar previous announcements, he also claimed without showing any evidence that U.S. intelligence agencies planned the activities. Last month, Cabello announced the arrests of three Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech citizen whom he accused of traveling to Venezuela to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro. Cabello said the foreign citizens were part of a CIA-led plot to overthrow the Venezuelan government and kill several members of its leadership. The Maduro administration has previously used Americans imprisoned in Venezuela to gain concessions from the U.S. government. In a deal conducted last year with the Biden administration, Maduro released 10 Americans and a fugitive wanted by the U.S. government to secure a presidential pardon for Alex Saab, a close Maduro ally who was held in Florida on money laundering charges.

UK now home to more atheists than Christians? (TCW/UK) The UK is now home to more atheists than Christians. This is a conclusion from the three-year ‘Explaining Atheism’ project led by Queen’s University Belfast. The interdisciplinary research team surveyed nearly 25,000 people from across six countries (Brazil, China, Denmark, Japan, UK and USA) to find out why they become atheists and agnostics. They also brought together converging results from the British Social Attitudes Survey and World Values Survey to show the UK now has a relative majority of atheists. The report concluded that the strongest influences on belief are parental upbringing and societal expectations. The team leader, Professor Jonathan Lanman from Queen’s, explained: ‘Our large cross-cultural surveys reveal that while many factors may influence one’s beliefs in small ways, the key factor is the extent to which one is socialised to be a theist. Many other popular theories, such as intelligence, emotional stoicism, broken homes and rebelliousness, do not stand up to empirical scrutiny.’

Building A Wall In Brussels (AP) It’s not a secret—E.U. leaders are focused on clamping down on the flow of asylum seekers into their countries. Yesterday, as leaders from across the 27-nation bloc met at a summit in Brussels—there, they agreed that they need to implement more restrictive immigration policies, but acknowledged that such changes would take time. Many E.U. governments are apparently looking to Italy, which has a policy of shipping asylum seekers to Albania, where they’re held in Italy-run facilities as their asylum applications are processed. Others are looking to mimic Finland, which simply suspended asylum rights entirely in July. The European Commission has already promised to put forth a proposal for a bloc-wide arrangement similar to Italy’s deal with Albania, where member states would establish contracts with non-E.U. countries to hold their rejected immigrants.

Two days of torrential rain bring major flooding to central France (AP) France’s prime minister said Friday that firefighters and other rescuers have been involved in about 2,300 operations, some of them lifesaving, in what appears to be the biggest flooding in 40 years in central France. Michel Barnier visited French authorities’ crisis center in Paris and said there hadn’t been such violent rain in many people’s memory. Over 1,000 people were evacuated. Most of them were able to go back home on Friday. French weather agency Meteo France said as much as 700 millimeters (27.5 inches) of rain fell in in 48 hours in some local areas in the regions of Ardeche and Lozere.

China’s demographic crisis (SCMP) If China’s fertility rate remains on its downward trajectory, for every newborn in the future, six people would die—a trend that threatens to intensify the nation’s demographic crisis, a demographer has cautioned. “With the current half-hearted incentive policies, not only is it impossible to raise the fertility rate, but even maintaining it at 1.0 seems out of reach,” warned a recent report published by the YuWa Population Research Institute. “Anti-marriage and anti-childbearing sentiments are intensifying, and the pro-birth policies aren’t even enough to counter this downward trend.” China and South Korea have among the world’s lowest birth rates, dragged down by high child-rearing costs, intense societal pressures, educational competition, and unaffordable housing.

Hezbollah’s web of tunnels (AP) Israeli forces have spent much of the past year destroying Hamas’ vast underground network in Gaza. They are now focused on dismantling tunnels and other hideouts belonging to Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military has combed through the dense brush of southern Lebanon for the past two weeks, uncovering what it says are Hezbollah’s deep attack capabilities—highlighted by a tunnel system equipped with weapons caches and rocket launchers. With Israel’s air power far outstripping Hezbollah’s defenses, the militant group has turned to underground tunnels as a way to elude Israeli drones and jets. Experts say Hezbollah’s tunnels are not limited to the south. “It’s a land of tunnels,” said Tal Beeri, who studies Hezbollah as director of research at The Alma Research and Education Center, a think tank with a focus on northern Israel’s security. Eva J. Koulouriotis, a political analyst specialized in the Middle East and Islamic militant groups, said tunnels stretch under the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah’s command and control are located and where it keeps a stockpile of strategic missiles. She said the group also maintains tunnels along the border with Syria, which it uses to smuggle weapons and other supplies from Iran into Lebanon.

Freedom of expression threatened more seriously in Gaza than in any recent conflict, UN expert says (AP) Freedom of expression has been threatened more seriously in Gaza than in any recent conflict, with journalists targeted in the war-torn territory and Palestinian supporters targeted in many countries, a United Nations expert said Friday. Irene Khan, the U.N. independent investigator on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, pointed to attacks on the media and the targeted killings and arbitrary detention of dozens of journalists in Gaza. “The banning of Al Jazeera, the tightening of censorship within Israel and in the occupied territories, seem to indicate a strategy of the Israeli authorities to silence critical journalism and obstruct the documentation of possible international crimes,” she said. Khan also sharply criticized the “discrimination and double standards” that have seen restrictions and suppression of pro-Palestinian protests and speech. She cited bans in Germany and other European countries, protests that were “crushed harshly” on U.S. college campuses, and Palestinian national symbols and slogans prohibited and even criminalized in some countries.

Negative stereotypes in international media cost Africa £3.2bn a year—report (Guardian) Africa loses up to £3.2bn yearly in inflated interest payments on sovereign debt due to persistent negative stereotypes that dominate international media coverage of the continent, according to a new report. Research by consultants Africa Practice and the advocacy non-profit Africa No Filter suggests that media portrayals, especially during elections when global coverage is heightened, focus disproportionately on conflict, corruption, poverty, disease and poor leadership, widening disparities between perceived and actual risks of investing in the continent, and creating a monolithic view of Africa. “We’ve always known that there’s a cost to the persistent stereotypical media narratives about Africa. Now we’re able to put an actual figure to it,” said Moky Makura, executive director of Africa No Filter. The organisations involved in the report say that the figure is a “prejudice premium” that could fund the education of more than 12 million children or immunisations for more than 73 million, “clean drinking water for two-thirds of Nigeria’s population” or help the continent as it faces some of the worst climate change impacts.

[beardedmrbean]

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced Tuesday that he would resign once a transitional presidential council is created, bowing to international pressure to make way for new leadership in the country overwhelmed by violent gangs.

Henry made the announcement hours after Caribbean leaders and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Jamaica to discuss a solution to halt Haiti’s spiraling crisis and agreed to a joint proposal to establish a transitional council.

“The government that I’m running cannot remain insensitive in front of this situation. There is no sacrifice that is too big for our country,” Henry said in a recorded statement. “The government I’m running will remove itself immediately after the installation of the council.”

Henry has been unable to enter Haiti because the violence forced the closure of its main international airport. He arrived in Puerto Rico a week ago, after being barred from landing in the Dominican Republic, where officials said that he lacked a required flight plan. Dominican officials also closed the airspace to flights to and from Haiti.

It was not immediately clear who would be chosen to lead Haiti out of the crisis in which heavily armed gangs have burned police stations, attacked the main airport and raided two of the country’s biggest prisons. The raids resulted in the release of more than 4,000 inmates.

Scores of people have been killed, and more than 15,000 are homeless after fleeing neighborhoods raided by gangs. Food and water are dwindling as vendors who sell to impoverished Haitians run out of goods. The main port in the capital of Port-au-Prince remains closed, stranding dozens of containers with critical supplies.

The meeting in Jamaica was organized by Caricom, a regional trade bloc that has pressed for months for a transitional government in Haiti while violent protests in the country demanded Henry’s resignation.

Guyana President Irfaan Ali said the transitional council would have seven voting members and two nonvoting ones.

Those with votes include the Pitit Desalin party, run by former senator and presidential candidate Moïse Jean-Charles, who is now an ally of Guy Philippe, a former rebel leader who led a successful 2004 coup and was recently released from a United States prison after pleading guilty to money laundering.

Also with a vote is the EDE party of former Prime Minister Charles Joseph; the Fanmi Lavalas party; the coalition led by Henry; the Montana Accord group; and members of the private sector.

Henry served the longest single term as prime minister since Haiti’s 1987 constitution was approved, a surprising feat for a politically unstable country with a constant turnover of premiers. He was sworn in as prime minister nearly two weeks after the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

Critics of Henry note he was never elected by the people or Parliament, which remains nonexistent after the terms of the last remaining senators expired in January 2023. That left Haiti without a single elected official.

As Haiti prepares for new leadership, some experts question the role that heavily armed gangs who control 80% of Port-au-Prince will play.

“Even if you have a different kind of government, the reality is that you need to talk to the gangs,” said Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia. “You can’t suppress them.”

He said officials will still have to deal with them and try to convince them to give up their weapons, “but what would be their concessions?”

Fatton noted that gangs have supremacy in terms of controlling the capital. “If they have that supremacy, and there is no countervailing force, it’s no longer a question if you want them at the table. They may just take the table.”

On Monday, Blinken announced an additional $100 million to finance the deployment of a multinational force to Haiti, plus another $33 million in humanitarian aid. He also announced the creation of a joint proposal agreed on by Caribbean leaders and “all of the Haitian stakeholders to expedite a political transition” and create a “presidential college.”

He said the college would take “concrete steps” he did not identify to meet the needs of Haitian people and enable the pending deployment of the multinational force to be led by Kenya. Blinken also noted that the U.S. Defense Department doubled its support for the mission, having previously set aside $100 million.

While leaders met behind closed doors, Jimmy Chérizier, who is considered Haiti’s most powerful gang leader, told reporters that if the international community continues down the current road, “it will plunge Haiti into further chaos.”

“We Haitians have to decide who is going to be the head of the country and what model of government we want,” said Chérizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue, who leads the gang federation G9 Family and Allies. “We are also going to figure out how to get Haiti out of the misery it’s in now.”

Powerful gangs have been attacking key government targets across Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince since Feb. 29. When the attacks began, Henry was in Kenya pushing for the United Nations-backed deployment of a police force from the East African country after it was delayed by a court ruling.

Late Monday, the Haitian government announced it was extending a nighttime curfew until March 14 in an attempt to prevent further attacks.

[reasoningdaily]

Dr. Paul Farmer on How US Haiti Policy, Revealed By WikiLeaks, Undermines Democracy & Health

DemocracyNow.org - Dr. Paul Farmer, who was worked in Haiti for nearly three decades and now serves as the the U.N. Deputy Special Envoy for Haiti, discusses how U.S.-backed coups and neo-liberal programs have not only subverted Haiti's democracy, but also seriously weakened its public health.

On Democracy Now!, Dr. Farmer addresses the U.S. influence in Haiti in the context of recent WikiLeaks disclosures of classified U.S. diplomatic cables that documented the United States supported recent elections, despite the exclusion of Haiti's most popular political group, the Famni Lavalas.

The cables also documented that the United States also advocated behind the scenes to block an effort to raise the minimum wage in Haiti. Dr. Farmer's new book, "Haiti After the Earthquake," has just been published.

Violence and instability in Haiti as ongoing crisis deepens

Gripped by gang violence, a new cholera outbreak and widespread shortages of food, water and fuel, the crisis in Haiti has worsened in recent months. Many are calling for international intervention, even as the U.S. continues to deport Haitian migrants back to the island nation. Jacqueline Charles, who covers the Caribbean and Haiti for The Miami Herald, joins Geoff Bennett to discuss the crisis.

[mariacallous]

On May 28, Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council elected former Prime Minister Garry Conille to lead the country once again and head its transitional government, which holds a mandate through 2026. No women were interviewed for the position. Although the move offers a step toward stability amid the widespread gang violence that has marred the country in recent months, the council still has much to achieve, especially when it comes to prioritizing women’s empowerment and addressing gender-based violence.

Haitian women are on the front lines of the country’s crisis: as first responders, as political and civil society leaders, and disproportionately as victims. Yet the council’s seven voting members are all men; one woman, Régine Abraham, is a non-voting observer. As the transitional council will wield significant power over Haiti’s response to instability and state reconstruction, women’s voices and needs must be represented.

It has now been more than seven years since Haiti held elections; its last elected officials left office in January 2023. In April, acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry stepped down in the face of a violent insurgency as gangs united to demand his resignation and greater political involvement. Although gang violence is a long-standing issue in Haiti, the current crisis was triggered by the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.

The power vacuum created a space for gangs to expand territorial control and exercise a greater monopoly on violence, including through rape. In addition to overseeing the planned Kenya-led international security intervention, the transitional government aims to create a national security council to respond to gang violence and establish a government action control body, which would oversee government budgets and pursue accountability. Even still, it needs to do more when it comes to prioritizing women’s inclusion and safety.

The lack of female voting members on the transitional council is at odds with Haitian women’s demonstrated leadership. Since the Haitian Revolution began in 1791, women have played a vital role in the country’s history. Although they remain underrepresented in politics, they have served at Haiti’s highest levels of government, including as a provisional president, prime ministers, Supreme Court justices, mayors, ambassadors, government ministers, parliamentarians, and leaders of political parties.

Excluding women from leadership roles thus deprives Haiti’s transition of crucial expertise.

Today, women are at the forefront of addressing Haiti’s gang conflict. Women-led organizations provide lifesaving humanitarian aid and are in close contact with the needs of those most impacted. Women leaders have also achieved rare victories in ending gang violence. Yvrose Pierre, the mayor of the northern port city of Cap-Haitien, joined forces with the National Police to aggressively tackle gangs—in part by demolishing structures on the city’s outskirts—and has maintained its continued stability.

Haitian women also bear the brunt of gang violence. Fighting remains characterized by brutal sexual violence, including gang rape, which predominantly targets women and girls. In the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Cité Soleil, according to a study published in May 2023, 80 percent of women reported having experienced gender-based violence, and the number of identified survivors has increased throughout 2024. Women are disproportionately affected by poverty, food insecurity, displacement, and lack of medical care caused by gang violence, as well as the decimation of public services.

There is a critical window of opportunity to identify and address these harms: If the needs of Haitian women are not accounted for within the unfolding leadership transition, it risks prolonging their suffering and exposure to violence.

There is a legacy of women’s leadership generating tangible gains for Haitian women, with women leading the establishment of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Rights, achieving the vote on the constitutional principle of a 30 percent quota for women’s participation in public service, and enabling the passage of legislation reclassifying rape as a crime and criminalizing trafficking for both sex and labor.

Women’s expertise will be an asset to achieving a just political transition and security for all Haitians, in addition to furthering the specific needs of women and girls. Cross-national research finds that women’s inclusion in peace negotiations strengthens the durability and quality of agreements reached, while greater gender equality is associated with more resilient democracies.

The current lack of female voting members on Haiti’s transitional council also raises the specter of impunity for gang members for widespread rape. Haitian gangs are pushing for greater inclusion in the political transition and amnesty to protect them from prosecution. The absence of women’s voices may lead officials to abandon accountability for sexual and gender-based crimes in the service of negotiation. Doing so would deny justice to victims, inhibit efforts to address socioeconomic vulnerabilities that fuel gender-based violence, and risk signaling that these violations are tolerable. In other cases, such as that of Peru or Colombia, such impunity and normalization have driven high rates of post-conflict violence against women and girls.

Yet there is hope. Haiti’s National Commission on Truth and Justice, established in 1995, was the country’s first commission to explicitly include sexual violence in its mandate. Although its impact was limited, its final report identified how sexual violence was weaponized against women and recommended enhanced legal protections against rape. This demonstrates that inclusion of sexual violence in present-day justice efforts is possible.

Tackling impunity and the underlying socioeconomic drivers of gender-based violence is even more urgent given the pending deployment of the Kenya-led mission. Although the intervention could help stabilize the country, past international interventions in Haiti have been marred by reports of sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by foreign troops, including U.N. peacekeepers—another gender dimension that Haiti’s interim leadership must consider and address.

A failure to recognize and condemn sexual violence by gang members could create an enabling environment for future abuse by other actors. Poverty is a significant underlying factor in sexual exploitation and abuse; taking steps now to support economic opportunities and job creation for women is a key part of prevention. With U.S. personnel already laying the groundwork for the international mission in Haiti, time is running out.

As a first step, the transitional council must seek to more meaningfully include women in its decision-making now. Doing so requires enhanced protection for women leaders from both online abuse and physical violence. UNESCO Ambassador Dominique Dupuy was initially named to be on the council but quickly stepped down due to harassment and death threats. On June 11, the new members of Conille’s cabinet were named; the appointment of two women—Ketleen Florestal and Dupuy—to head the finance and foreign affairs ministries, respectively, is an initial victory for women’s leadership.

Women and women’s organizations, including those in the Haitian diaspora, must also be central to the design and implementation of any transitional justice mechanisms. Strengthening relationships with other women-led organizations can help Haitian women learn from past experiences and best practices. Although implementation remains fraught, examples of gender-sensitive peace agreements, such as that of Colombia, could offer further insight into advocating for women’s comprehensive inclusion within negotiations.

Second, women leaders and organizations should use the current window to advocate for women’s rights and organize in advance of the establishment of a long-term government. For example, women’s organizations should encourage the transitional council to adopt legislation on the prevention, punishment, and elimination of violence against women, which was tabled by the Senate in 2018 but ultimately not enacted. The bill was introduced by Sen. Dieudonne Luma Étienne, the only woman in Haiti’s most recently elected Senate.

Women must also use this time to prepare to run in future elections and take on leadership roles in public service, including in the police, judiciary, and military. These efforts must be paired with a sincere push by the council to excise corruption. Research across 182 countries finds that women’s political inclusion is associated with greater development outcomes only when corruption levels are low.

Third, the transitional council and the newly appointed prime minister and cabinet must adopt a gender-responsive approach across relief and recovery efforts. Recognizing and pursuing accountability for sexual and gender-based crimes are vital to ending cycles of violence against women both during and after conflict. A gender-responsive approach is needed to minimize harm for Haitian women and girls who come forward in any consultation, investigation, or justice process, as well as to navigate complex cases in which women were forced or coerced into joining gangs.

Fourth, sexual and gender-based violence committed by gangs, including rape, must be addressed as a critical public security issue. The current crisis highlights how these violations are tools to sow instability, force displacement, and control territory. Ending sexual and gender-based violence is thus central to preventing the recurrence of future insecurity in Haiti. In fact, research in other conflict settings finds that a high rate of sexual violence—even when fighting among combatants has declined—is associated with a greater likelihood of resumed violence.

Ending these violations requires accountability for sexual and gender-based crimes and the elimination of the underlying inequalities that fuel this violence. Creating additional employment opportunities for women, strengthening and enforcing policy and legal protections from gender-based violence, and better integrating women into the justice system are starting points. But both interim actors and the next government must also prioritize long-term support for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.

For Haitian women, the stakes of the current political transition are enormous. This moment is an opportunity not only to achieve women’s immediate protection but also to enshrine their long-term rights, inclusion, and security. Harnessing women’s collective power is necessary to achieve a better future for all Haitians.