Corporations carving up Haiti at World Econ Forum

[dixiegrrrrl]

Phrases I have heard from the conference in the last 10 minutes:
( Thursday's Forum being re-broadcast on Cspan right now)
Ex-Pres. Clinton is heading the conference.

" Big opportunity, there are 10 million consumers waiting"

" Invest there for the right reasons. There is a hug economic opportunity"
Ireland companie's CEO was raving about how "peaceful" the people were,
" haven't had any problems with the population at all"
Then used an example of " a young man who lost a5 family members in the earthquake
but showed up for work"'.
" There are lots of responsible workers."
Clinton: " 70% of the land mass and 60% of the people are not damaged.
It is important to focus on the development
in the rest of country".
Then he talks about how the Cruise lines passengers cand spend any nights on Haiti
because there "are not any over-night facilities there. We need to change that".
Clinton is "aghast that anyone would criticize the Cruise lines there during the earthquake".
because they " brought much needed tourist dollars".

[tosh]

1. Well, surprise, surprise!!

[Mika]

2. Shock Doctrine brings "liberation" and means USAcorps brands of Freedom™

---

[Lorien]

66. Indeed. I wish that I could say that I'm surprised.

:-(

[cali]

3. I have no problem with investment in Haiti

as long as it's equitable and not exploitive.

Your op doesn't really tell me much at all.

[aquart]

4. So much better if corporations ignore Haiti and its people and refuse to invest.

The above OP shows aggressive attempts to bring business (with lots of earth-moving equipment which Haiti can't afford) to a desperate place where the JOBS and BUSINESSES have been destroyed.

And this is a BAD thing in your opinion?

That people who had practically nothing BEFORE the earthquake will now have jobs?

From which privileged suburb with bicycles and playdates does this insight hail?

[Raine]

56. I agree

this is one time when I think some corporate investment could be good thing, Haiti has been ignored to the point of the people having NOTHING. I don't see how they can recover from this horrible tragedy if they don't have some investing in their country.

[woo me with science]

58. Thank you.

I get really sick of this blind bashing without THINKING. Anything that can be shoved into the little ideological box, and facts/circumstances be damned.

Sheesh.

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. Oh god....there is more in the Senate Hearing which followed the forum.

Right after the Cspan coverage of the forum, is a repeat of Senate Foreign Relations Comm. hearing Thursday. Listening to it right now.

And who is presenting?
James Dobbins.
From a Frontline blurb of Dobbins:

James Dobbins' résumé on nation-building is perhaps unmatched in American policy circles. In the 1990s, he served as the Clinton administration's special envoy for Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo, supervising the peacekeeping and post-conflict operations. After Sept. 11, 2001, he served as the Bush administration's special envoy for Afghanistan, working to form and install the new government and reopening the U.S. embassy in Kabul. Now the director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation, Dobbins has co-authored a book with his RAND colleagues, America's Role in Nation-Building: From Germany to Iraq (2003), about America's nation-building record, and the lessons learned, from 1945 to today.
And what does Dobbins say about Haiti at the hearing?
the FIRST thing he says is how we will need troops for "security" in Haiti
"for many years to come".
Then he proceeds to talk about how peaceful the "natives" are, and
"another plus" is that they are "racially homogeneous" so there will be no internal civil conflict issues around religion.
And how NGO's need to be supervised to make sure they are running "the right projects".
Dobbins then says what a neat thing is it that there is no government obstruction
to "development". then he suggests that since there are so many Haitian policemen and other types trained in how to keep order, now living in Miami and other areas of the United States, we think about using them IN Haiti to help keep order.

[EFerrari]

7. OMG. Dodd is suggesting an "international receivership" for Haiti

so the same old crew doesn't steal all the aid.

I wonder how many members of the Senate belong to that "same old" club.

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. Could you believe that???? I 'bout fell out of the chari.

Then one of panel members kinda tactfully answers him and says maybe Haiti's elected leader would have some objections!
I would have loved to be in the room about then.

[EFerrari]

15. DUer magbana, whom I polled before doing an interview with a Haiti guy

asked that precise question: Are there plans to make Haiti some kind of UN protectorate?

She's 'way ahead of the curve on Haiti.

[EFerrari]

6. Who didn't see this coming.

:puke:

[malaise]

8. Clinton was very interesting

On the one hand he talked about two people he knew ready to invest in resorts and defended the cruise ship business but then he talked about the exploitation of Haiti by Europe and the US.

We knew from day one this would be more Shock Doctrine - Disaster Capitallism at work.

The strangest thing he said to me was about the Cape Haitien airport which the Venezuelans have already signed on to upgrade. That to me was yet another wake up moment. I got the impression that the US is about to interfere with a signed contract.

[EFerrari]

9. I tried to ask a someone about this last week and I was told

I was being "conspiratorial". Yeah, right.

[donheld]

48. Not all conspiracy theories are false

People better wake up soon.

[EFerrari]

50. The funny thing is, it's not even a theory but simply our history.

Or, it would be history if it was "past".

[donheld]

52. Far too many of the american people are kept totally clueless by

the Corporate media, or at least distracted enough, that "the Shock Doctine," we here at DU are very familiar with, is foreign to.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. That would not be surprising.

One of the underlying comments/tone of what I have been listening to all day is
that the earthquake has "provided opportunities to change" some plans in the works.

I listened carefully to what he was saying at the Forum that was re-televised today.
Under the tone of aid and help, I also heard phrases like " opportunities for development"
"opportunities for investment", and some talk of how to develop the port so that
outside investors could benefit.


btw...just now, in Dobbins testimony, he caught himself saying that the Rand Corporation,
which he works for, "helps the Pentagon all the time".
Then he caught himself and stopped talking to re-collect his thoughts.

[EFerrari]

11. When even a decent man like John Kerry uses a "D-Day invasion" metaphor

to describe this effort, :shrug:

[dixiegrrrrl]

16. I heard him say taht , more in terms of coordination.

I also heard one of speakers talk about how little of aid is actually getting to where it is needed.

[EFerrari]

18. The other day, AP ran a story that said about 30 cents of each US aid dollar goes to the Pentagon.

That's what's missing in the part of the Senate hearing I saw. The elephant in the room.

[malaise]

13. The good news is that it won't work

Hurricanes will destroy their plans - they always do.

[EFerrari]

12. I wish people would rec this thread, not in agreement but so more people can see it. n/t

[scarletwoman]

17. I already rec'd it, but apparently there must quite a few unrec'ers at work.

I saw this thread when it first got posted and wanted to say something, but I was having trouble getting my thoughts together.

Mostly, all I have is a picture in my mind of a group of salivating predators discussing what a fine feast they will have as they gaze on a scene of shock, disorientation, and broken bodies.

sw

[EFerrari]

19. Thanks, sw. This is an important event that is unfolding right in our faces

if we're just willing to see it, imho.

/oops

[scarletwoman]

20. Yes, we can watch it unfold -- but what can we actually DO about it?

The money powers who run the world do as they please -- who's to stop them?

And before some smartass pops in to tell me I "should go down there", it's simply not an option. I WOULD gladly send all the money I could afford to any organization who COULD be on the ground there, taking positive steps to preserve the rights and economic sovereignty of the average Haitian against any assaults mounted on them by the Elites.

But who is there that would do that?

sw

[EFerrari]

22. Besides exchanging information, keeping the story in the light

I have no idea what we can do.

The corruption in our political class is overwhelming.

I literally don't know what to do, which is hard to admit, besides to keep this story alive.

[scarletwoman]

24. Bearing witness...

:cry:

[TheWatcher]

27. We must shine the light and ALWAYS do so, no matter what.

It may not happen in our lifetimes E, but at SOME point, if you keep the light shining long enough, one generation will come along that will take it and run with it, and seize the day.

If we allow the light to go out, then that day can never come.

Even if there is nothing we can do but be witnesses to history, it is our witness that will one day serve as a call to action that will be heeded by those who decide enough is enough.

Keep shining. :)

[scarletwoman]

37. Eloquently said.

Our responsibility is to be keepers of the truth, and to pass the truth down to the generations that follow.

sw

[dixiegrrrrl]

21. That was well said.

Your image was totally in my mind as I listened to the code words, phrases being used to not very successfully disguise what they were really talking about.
Watching Dobbins at the hearing was instructive. A few times, he got rather excited about the topic and
forgot himself. Reminded me of Dr. Strangelove .

[scarletwoman]

23. Thank you. I wonder how many DUers know what happened in Indonesia after the tsunami.

The predators set to work there, too, to "invest in development". As a result, thousands of poor people got pushed out of the way so the developers could take over the beaches. Fishing villages that had existed for generations were bulldozed over so that big hotels could be built. What used to be land held in common by the People is now private land -- the fishermen can't get to the sea anymore.

There is always a price to be paid for getting "rescued" by the Elites of the world...

sw

[dixiegrrrrl]

30. I knew about that..here's how.

Watched what happened nearby in Biloxi after Katrina as people tried unsuccessfully to come back to their homes near the beach and found themselves priced out, while insurance companies aided and abetted special interests by refusing to honor damage claims. The lawsuits are STILL in the courts, meanwhile the casinos bought up the land that the homeowners were forced to sell, since they could not rebuild.
Then I followed the tsunami rebuilding issue, and the Katrina de-population issue, and the comments made by developers in NO.
So when I hear plans being made to move the people in Port Au Prince to refugee camps outside of the city, and "rebuild the port and surrounding areas for economic development" it seems pretty clear what is happening.
the only question is, how long will people be forced to live in "temporary" housing?

[scarletwoman]

36. And so it goes...

The vultures and the parasites feed well. We, their prey, are left with dust.

sw

[glitch]

25. They truly don't get how disgusting they are, in fact they seem very self-righteous

As if exploitation was the most humane act possible in this situation and they should be thanked.

:puke:

[malaise]

29. That's the problem

Naomi Klein was 100% correct - they're out to steal Haiti from the Haitians.

[scarletwoman]

34. When the Wealthy Elite start talking about "development" & "investment opportunity", it's clear that

the common people are about to get screwed.

sw

[TheWatcher]

26. It's just so frustrating to see so many people in DU unrec or ignore this.

It's just insane.

But then again, this is why we get so much "Shock Doctrine" shoved in our faces and why it is so blatant.

The majority of people either do not care or they don't want to see, so those in control don't even have to be inconspicuous anymore. They can just come right out in the open, and say "yeah, we're doing this. What are you going to do about it, peasant?"

they prefer their rose-colored view of EVERYTHING and simply ignore or deny everything that doesn't neatly fit into it.

Of course, this will mostly be dismissed as "conspiratorial", and "we are reading too much into it with paranoia."

People just DON'T want to see.

Their ignorance and denial are going to facilitate the means to an end to their destruction, and they refuse to see it.

WE are going to end up being a far more dangerous enemy to our own survival than these jackals ever will.

Great Post dixiegrrrrl.

Keep shining the light.

Maybe someday people will learn to see another color than Rose Red.

[dixiegrrrrl]

35. First they came for..........etc.

[fascisthunter]

28. Only 9 recs?

[scarletwoman]

33. This thread is of little interest to those who prefer to have faith that our Masters are

only looking out for the Haitians' best interest.

sw

[bbgrunt]

31. k & r

[Mira]

32. I just read all of this thread

with abhorrence but not with surprise and I wish there were more than one recommendation I could give it.
Thanks Dixiegrrrrl.

[scarletwoman]

38. Kicking for more visibility. nt

[G_j]

39. and the beat goes on

:-(

[JoeyT]

40. This is pretty horrifying

but not especially shocking. Disasters offer an unbeatable opportunity to seize and control things that would have otherwise been troublesome to acquire. As you said upthread, what happened after Katrina is a good example. It wasn't just Biloxi where insurers worked with large companies to force out the people that wouldn't sell voluntarily or to grab a lot of land on the cheap, but it was one of the worst offenders. (It also happened in New Orleans and, to a lesser extent, Mobile AL)

It isn't as if these people have ever had a problem profiting from human suffering before. Even if they have to create the suffering to make the profit.
Or should I say they "Strive to envision a paradigm with unprecedented opportunity to expand their business model while thinking outside the box about the traditional moral standards and trying to shift public perception of events vis-á-vis their new business ventures with a bold targeted advertising campaign created by their friends on the public airwaves."?
It certainly sounds much better than "They fucked the country up, now they're going to reap a second profit from the misery they created and shove any attempt at context down the memory hole, and it'll work because people aren't very bright. Plus they'll claim anyone that doesn't like the plan is either a communist or a terrorist. Creating more misery is an added bonus that they can probably profit from again later."

[scarletwoman]

41. "When I feed the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me

a communist."

Dom Helder Camara,
Archbishop of Recife, Brazil

[EFerrari]

42. kick

[slipslidingaway]

43. knr nt

[scarletwoman]

44. Up you go...

[Subdivisions]

45. A disaster capitalism case study... n/t

[scarletwoman]

46. Yup. There it is, unfolding before our eyes.

We NEED to pay attention.

[varelse]

47. Ghouls

:(

[fallingrock666]

49. Gross

That language is pure propaganda.

Manifest Destiny with media marketing.

[begin_within]

51. Yes, in fact, there are 10 million consumers waiting...

...for food, water, shelter, clothing and medical care. And some for a family to belong to. They are NOT waiting for useless plastic trinkets made in China to be sold at Wal-Mart, they are waiting for the bare necessities of life.

[EFerrari]

54. I saw a horrible little story about a town up in the northern region

where there were NGOs still trying to help the community rebuild from the last hurricane and flood.

The NGOs have decamped for PaP.

I'd call that following the money.

[hack89]

61. Are they waiting for investment and jobs? nt

[sabrina 1]

70. It's the same philosophy that is being applied to

the 45 million uninsured in the US. Up to the point where Democrats used 'mandated insurance' with punishment for not buying it, most decent people's reaction was that it was unacceptable in this country and we needed to do something about it. Especially after seeing Americans lined up outside old horse barns for free treatment from an organization that normally operates in third world countries. We thought, 'how can this be in the US? Now, they will have to do something about it.'

But the predatory Private Insurance business saw it differently. Rather than find it shameful, as Wendall Potter said, 'they saw it as a potential market'. And then they figured out how to get US taxpayers to pay for those millions of new customers. By making it a law that you must be covered, and since you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip, give them subsidies which would go directly to Private Insurance.

The Insurance Reform Bill is Disaster Capitalism at work, and it is being sold to us by Democrats this time.

Poor Haiti ~ and Poor USA as we move closer and closer to second class status in the world.

[leftstreet]

53. K&R

[Karenina]

55. . .

[NuttyFluffers]

57. hmm, i hate it when suspicions of ill will turn out to be true...

but this is also why i love to watch CSPAN. direct source displays of power chuckling about their machinations.

if they want to really help the people, i don't want to hear about corporate investment, i want to hear about microloans so Haitians can choose their own destiny. alas, some wunderkinder around here will say i don't realize how only we industrialist nations know what's best for these in-need consumers, er... people.

[dixiegrrrrl]

59. Funny thing, the words that were missing in all I heard

were "What do the people of Haiti want and need"?
In fact, NONE of the 2 hearings/meetings I listened in to was focused on immediate help.
they were focused on opportunity.

the IMF did agree to another loan, but it comes with the same conditions of the first loan.
No unions, minimum wage pay, etc.
John Perkins was right about how that works.

[Octafish]

60. Always boils down to dollars.

Befor the disaster, these, eh, investors didn't give two cents' attention to Haiti.

[EFerrari]

63. Clinton was out rounding up private investors for Haiti last Fall.

But that was in the aftermath of another disaster, wasn't it?

These guys remind me of the five turkey vultures that sit on our fence overlooking the valley.

When they're flying high, you can mistake them for eagles.


But when you look at them closely, you see they're just vultures.



"The Turkey Vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion."

[EFerrari]

62. Kick

[Mira]

64. Kick

[bluesmail]

65. K&R

[live love laugh]

67. I am a die-hard Dem and I don't think these comments are negative. nt

[EFerrari]

68. Wow. Look at this thread.

No flies on DU.

:loveya:

[tosh]

69. kick.