Clinton wants to occupy Mexico

US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has declared that she wants the USA to intervene in Mexico "against drug gangs", the same it has been doing in Colombia and other countries. In fact she likened the decaying situation of Mexico to Colombia, however she claimed that the Plan Colombia, that has allowed the USA to establish an effective protectorate over the South American country, has been a success, what is plainly false - unless by success you mean taking over a whole country.

In this sense we must not forget that, on a similar pretext, the, until this year, famously demilitarized and rather prosperous, Republic of Costa Rica, allowed a few weeks ago the USA to take over it. Additionally the USA also controls Haiti, a major narcotrafficking hub (because of deep poverty and lack of democracy, thanks to Uncle Sam again). And we must not forget that, what used to be considered the main US base in Central America, Honduras, suffered a reactionary military coup last year, ousting the legitimate President and turning the country in a factual autocracy with US blessings.

Geopolitics of Middle America
Dark blue: USA and protectorates, light blue: US allies and their colonies
Red: Bolivarian bloc (ALBA), pink: other left-leaning governments
Green: Mexico

So now Hillary wants to add Mexico to the cyclops' menu. But this has rallied all Mexican politicians against. Even if this would not be the case, Mexico may indeed be a too big and too resentful piece of meat to swallowed by giant Uncle Sam. Mexico lists among the 20 largest economies of Earth, has a reasonably strong popular movement, and has many historical reasons to be wary of the USA, which took Texas, California and all what is between them and also partly invaded the Aztec country again during the Mexican Revolution.

There is already a lot of opposition in Mexico to the North American Free Trade Agreement (and the less known Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America) which is considered by many as the main culprit of the degeneration the country is suffering in the last decade or two.

The country's political system is however pretty much blocked by the fact that the PAN (conservatives) won the last elections by means of massive vote rigging. However the left is divided between those supporting AMLO and the PRD (social-democrats) and those who see no or little change possible with them. It is a clear case of "revolution needed urgently" and that is precisely why the USA wants to get greater direct control, probably. However it may well backfire, because a US invasion, even if sanctioned by Mexican institutions, would provide a rally point for all proud Mexicans who are never really happy about their beefy neighbor by the North.

News source: The Guardian.

Gulf oil disaster will reach the Atlantic

This is the estimate for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in less than a year, according to simulations by US scientists:

The simulation is based on 5 typical years' climate and does not include any estimate of biological degradation or other accumulation processes such as the formation of tar balls. Whatever the case it is a most worrisome forecast for SE USA, parts of Mexico and even possibly Europe, where the Gulf Stream eventually ends.

The catastrophe, still mostly uncontrolled, has began to be dubbed "the American Chernobyl".

Source: Science Daily.

General who ambushed Che brought to justice

Not for the murder, 41 years ago, of the most famous revolutionary leader ever but because he has been accused of involvement in the recent attempt of magnicide in Bolivia, being linked to the Hungaro-Croatan fascist terrorist Eduardo Rosza.

General Gary Prado is since today under home arrest awaiting trial. Again, I have been totally unable to find anything in the mainstream media. Being the sources of this news item the blog Guerrilleros, habanos y mojitos[pt] and the Bolivarian news site Aporrea[es].

In a related note, La Haine reports[es] that the Spanish (Fundación Iberoamericana EuropeaEuropean Iberoamerican Foundation) linked to the right wing Popular Party and originally led by former first lady Ana Botella, wife of José María Aznar, provided at least 250,000 € for the network lead by Rosza to murder Evo Morales and make a miliatry coup at Bolivia.

The same foundation was involved in the 2002 coup attempt against Hugo Chávez in Venezuela.

The coupist "charity" has in the last year received even greater founds by the Madrid Autonomous Community taxpayers, thanks to the hyper-fascist President of this Spanish region, Esperanza Aguirre, who donated them nothing less than 1.6 million euros, that, according to the most dubious Spanish newspaper El País would be to "strenghen the institutional capabilities and development of the less favored sectors of society" in Bolivia.

The links of this right wing "charity" to Latin American coupists, including strong ties with Guatemala's authoritarian regime, has been unveiled by German research journalist Ingo Niebel from Geheim Magazin.

Latin America buries OAE

33 Latin American and Caribbean countries have decided at Cancún, Mexico, to create a new continental bloc without the USA and Canada, but with Cuba.

This is the first international organization including all or most of Latin America that is not overseen by the USA or Spain. It is continuation of the Rio Group but it aims to establish a real organization, which will be outlined at next year's meeting at Venezuela.

Full Declaration of Cancún at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs [es].

Agriculture spread through cultural diffussion in SW USA

This should not be really surprising to those who have read for instance George Catlin's diary, who reports seasonal use of green maize as complement to an otherwise hunter diet among the Mandan (a people from further north anyhow). Some peoples in the early stages of transition to agriculture may have adopted only certain, more profitable aspects of the new technology, making a slow transition.

William R. Merrill et al., The diffusion of maize to the southwestern United States and its impact. PNAS 2009. Not open access yet, news article at Science Daily anyhow.

The authors conclude that the American staple crop was passed from forager group to forager group through the Southwest of the USA (Texas, etc.) and has no relation with the spread of Uto-Aztecan languages, which in fact pre-dates agriculture and was a north to south migration. SW peoples also show a gradual independent transition to making pottery.

Haitians massively join election boycott

Only 8% of electors casted their votes in the Senatorial polls in occupied Haití. This happened after Fanmi Lavalas, the party of the popular President Bertrand Aristide, ousted by a Franco-US invasion, was forbidden to take part in the polls.

Five years after the imperialist coup of 2004, Aristide and his Lavalas (avalanche) party remain the only popular choice in the impoverished Caribbean country and with good reason. Hopefully one day the imperialist troops (and shame on Brazil for participating in the occupation, by the way) will have to leave and the people's choice will be respected regardless of what the Gringos think about it.
.

Greenland may be independent in 12 years

Greenlanders are voting today on an extended autonomy that opens the gates for full independence in the near future. The North American island, with a majority native Inuit population, has belonged to Denmark for centuries (earlier to Norway) but already abandoned EU in 1985 and is gradually heading to full sovereignity. The new statute will allow Greenland to have some greater say in the foreign policies of the largest island of the World. Another overseas Danish province, the Faeroe islands, will also be voting in expanded self-rule in 2010.