New hope as the violence continues

Friends,

As usual, the world continues to be a chaotic place. Over 1,000 people have died as a result of inter-tribal conflict in Southern Sudan- another flare up from the glaring inequality in wealth distribution in Sudan. A handful of "oiligarchs" and war-profiteers are inordinately wealthy while groups in Darfur, and eastern/southern Sudan are disastrously impoverished- a Khartoum-implemented strategy that is leading to the conflicts in Sudan. Conflict-mineral mining in the DRC is continuing to fuel the deadliest war since WWII in the DRC. The American consumer needs to stand up and demand electronics that are conflict- free- a demand that will result in increased wealth for the Congolese citizens and less for marauding militias like the FDLR and LRA- thank you Enough Project for your thorough and sagacious reporting on the aforementioned conflicts.

I am heartened by the comments from the new U.S. ambassador to the U.N., which signaled increased U.S. support for multilateralism, especially the International Criminal Court and the U.N. U.S. support for these institutions is critical in ensuring legitimacy for these bodies that were so de-legitimized during the Bush/Bolton years. How can anybody expect these international bodies to be effective when they are chronically shot in the foot by the U.S. and Israel-and others? the U.S. owes 1 billion to the U.N. in dues and those funds are desperately needed to make the U.N. effective. I agree with the Enough Project that the U.N. and its members, need to start creating peacekeeping operations that are not designed to fail- aka the under-funded UNAMID peacekeeping force. By creating success stories the U.N. will legitimize its actions- it is a self-fulfilling cycle. To initiate a multi-lateral paradigm shift, the U.N. members need to provide the U.N. legitimacy that it so desperately needs- only then will international law be upheld.

Godspeed to a world that respects international law.

-Cameron

The U.S. helps to overthrow Georgia's government

Readers,



I recently read Jeremy Scahill's ground-breaking bestseller, Blackwater: Rise of the World's Largest Mercenary army, which taught me, amongst many other things, that the U.S. had a role in the the "Rose Revolution" of 2003 in Georgia (the country, not the state, for those who are confused). I decided to investigate these allegations much more thoroughly, here is what I found.



The preponderance of evidence suggests that the U.S. had a role in the peaceful overthrow of then President Shevardnadze's government in November, 2003. Thousands of Georgian student- protesters staged non-violent demonstrations in the capital of Tbilsi that lead to the ouster of the President. These demonstrations were a result of electoral disputes during the parliamentary elections- there were accusations of ballot stuffing and other electoral disparities (though these disparities are disputed). Current President Mr. Saakashvili came to power following the coup and urged a better relationship with the United States. Before Saakashvilli came to power, an interim government headed by Ms. Burjanadze, took control.



The influence of the U.S. can be seen as follows:

1) NGO's like the National Endowment for Democracy and George Soro's open Georgia institute helped to finance and train student protesters in civil disobedience campaigns like those which were used to overthrow Slobadan Milosevic in Serbia.

2) The Interim president's first call was to Beyond Petroleum (an Anglo-Dutch oil consortium) to assure them that their oil pipeline "was ok" . The Caspian Sea pipeline is seen as vital to U.S. oil interests.

3)The Congressional Research Project, a congressional reporting agency, confirmed in its own internal document that Georgian pipeline played a role in shaping Georgia's special relationship with the U.S. Georgia is the recipient of over $1 Billion in U.S. aid annually and Georgia's forces have been trained by U.S. and Israeli forces.

4) The National Endowment for Democracy's website describes their work as training domestic workers in carrying out elections.

5) Mr. Saakashvilli is a graduate of George Washington University, located in D.C. He replaced Shevardnadze's overthrown government and implemented an even more pro-U.S. Georgian foreign policy

6) Saakashvilli urged his followers to emulate the civil disobedience campaign that overthrew Milosevic in Serbia- according to Congressional reports. Again U.S. non-profits helped to train students in civil disobedience tactics

http://http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a781239232
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/dec2003/geor-d05.shtml
http://www.ndi.org/georgia-ndi
http://www.voltairenet.org/article30094.html-First
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=2424&l=1-

I apologize for the delay in writing, I am busy with several major campaigns, including a hunger-strike and black-tie banquet. I will write more frequently.

Thank you for reading. Please do net cease in speaking up at town halls, via e-mail, post, etc to your elected officials and anybody else in power. The government of the U.S. is established by the people and can be "altered or abolished" by the people if it doesn't uphold the inherent human rights of every individual. Let's speak out against coups, let's stay informed.

With humble optimism,
Cameron