Correa to the right…

Only in Spanish (no time to translate at the moment):

Remitimos comunicado de prensa.

Quito, 23 de junio de 2008
BOLETIN DE PRENSA

POLO DEMOCRÁTICO

VAMOS A DEFENDER EL PROYECTO DE CAMBIOS PROFUNDOS
CON LA RENUNCIA DE ACOSTA, CORREA SE CAE… A LA DERECHA

La historia no se repite y cuando lo hace se presenta como tragedia o como comedia. Ahora viene la comedia del 98: allí la movilización social logró un cambio de correlación de fuerzas y obligó a la salida de Osvaldo Hurtado de la Presidencia de la Asamblea , con lo cual se dio un giro, aunque tardío y débil, hacia la izquierda. Ahora la renuncia de Alberto Acosta es un signo de la fuerza que los sectores de derecha han ganado dentro de las filas de Alianza País, señaló Eduardo Delgado, Presidente del Movimiento Polo Democrático.

The doctrine of the Fascist state: the letter (of prominent Jews) that did not exist

Fresh from the inbox is a letter that seemingly has been censored/suppressed for more than fifty years - it was important then and even more so now. It comes with an introduction and notes at the end and it is about the creation of a fascistoid state on Middle Eastern soil. The state colony is of course known as Israel and is a very complex matter, but there is no doubt about it: like all other states it is a social construction from the top down guided by the ulterior motives of a relatively small elite, bound up in connections of blood, networks of industrial interests and, essentially, racism clad as liberal freedom:

77 Hannah Arendt’s + Albert Einstein’s Letter to New York Times 02/04 Dec. 1948

Prominent Jews’ December, 1948
Letter To New York Times
From John Wheat Gibson
From RePorterNoteBook@aol.com
8-2-2

Below is a ‘copy’ in its entirety of a very important letter to the New York Times from Jewish intellectuals including Albert Einstein, Hannah Arendt, and Sidney Hook that appeared on December 4, 1948 While it is quoted from in brief on several web sites, it appears nowhere in its entirety, and it deserves to be disseminated as it originally appears. [THIS (colonos) EDITOR'S NOTE: a .pdf scan of the letter is linked to on the Wikipedia entry for Arendt]

Correa condemns the people to suffering and the climate to change

Here is an article in English that mentions some of the sources referred to by colonos when noting that Rafael Correa don’t give a toss about the indigenous people and campesinos whose self-described saviour he likes to present himself as in the global media’s corporate eye - something which he to quite some extent share with his Bolivian partner in populistic crime, Evo aMoralas, who:

“…rejected oil and gas expropriation, supports Big Oil interests, and embraced business as usual policies. Under nationalizations Morales-style, current contractual arrangements are effectively intact, and the country’s mineral resources have been sold off to the greatest ever number of foreign investors.

In addition, Morales broke his promise to triple the painfully low minimum wage, increased it 10% instead, and maintained previous neoliberal fiscal austerity and economic stability policies. He also tolerates the US Drug Enforcement Agency’s intrusive presence and the Pentagon’s Chapare military base; appointed hard right economic, defense and other ministers; opposed agrarian reform; supports large landowners; provides them large subsidies and tax incentives; and backs the Confederation of Private Businessmen in Bolivia by promoting foreign investment, social spending cuts, prioritization of exports, and other pro-business policies above the interests of the people who elected him. Petras says Morales “excels in public theater” by combining “political demagogy” to his base while backing neoliberal IMF austerity and business-friendly policies”. (Read more about forgotten promises here.)

We’re much too busy to translate, sooo many documents floating about these days, so here goes from Upsidedownworld.org, beginning with a highlight:

“According to the CONAIE declaration, “We reject President Rafael Correa´s racist, authoritarian and antidemocratic statements, which violate the rights of [Indigenous] nationalities and peoples enshrined in international conventions and treaties. This constitutes an attack against the construction of a plurinational and intercultural democracy in Ecuador. Correa has assumed the traditional neoliberal posture of the rightist oligarchy.“

UNASURrender to global capitalism

Rafael Correa is the poster boy of neo-socialism - he wears Quechua shirts and bathes himself in the limelight of indigeous peoples’ struggle in the global media, makes promises to the poor and the illiterate (and also delivers on some of his promises) - but more than anything he is increasingly despised by the indigenous peoples and the campesinos “who mean nothing to him” and who he represses violently if they organise against the foreign companies that Correa contracts their land away to. Also known in international socialist and even environmental circles as the saviour of the Yasuni national park. But nothing could be further from the truth - as has been reported by the colonos blog since before Correa entered office.

I have just returned from a meeting where yachaks (shamans) from various regions of “el Oriente” (basically the Ecuadorian Amazon) have gathered all weekend to discuss, among other things, Correa’s rejection in the constituent assembly processes of collective rights and a range of specific demands made by the indigenous movements as part of the rewriting of the Ecuadorian constitution. Talks are of strikes and some suggest that another uprising is brewing - at any rate Rafael Correa is very unpopular with indigenous people and campesinos, because he arrogantly have stated that he cares not about their demands since “they only constitute a few percent of his voters“.

So what does Mr. Correa care about - well, like the Clintons he seems mostly fascinated by inscribing himself into the white man’s history of conquest of the world through an industrial economy that is essentially based on exploitation of labour and pachamama (mother earth).

“Unasur to boost financial self-sufficiency in S America:

BRASILIA, May 23 (Xinhua) — Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said here Friday that the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) will boost programs to help realize financial self-sufficiency in the region.

After signing the bloc’s constitutive agreement in the Brazilian capital, Correa said it was “a historical day for South America, which brings great expectation and hope.”

“We can do like the European Union (EU). As the EU has to explain why they united, we will have to explain to our children and grandchildren why we took so long to do it,” he told a press conference.”“

Correa’s vision and that of UNASUR is about entrance into an economy that many ever since its inception - with the conquest of new worlds and the industrial production apparatus that makes wars for more profit possible - have been fighting. And for quite some years it has been quite clear that it is a very unsustainable economy that the planet cannot sustain.

Of course it is the rich and the powerful who mostly have to change their wasteful ways, but to happily join that horrible economy that Correa is so blinded by and which accelerates climate change and destroys civilization is plain stupid. However, the middle classes who get better roads (this, the year where it seems like we have to take drastic measure and actions to counter climate change, is the year of asphalt in Ecuador), nicer cars to drive them on and bigger supermarkets to park them by and shop in, and of course the capitalists that exploit the natural resources that he so happily gives to foreign and private interests are laughing all the way to the bank while the earth cries.

The rest of the chinese article follows.

USA Unlimited plans new prison in Afghanistan - good for business!

More concrete detainment - kill and jail anyone who doesn’t agree with your sinister plan to bring sulphuric rain to Mother Earth (freely from Stephen Hawking):

U.S. plans new prison in Afghanistan
Sat May 17, 2008 8:53am IST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States intends to build a big new prison at its main military base in Afghanistan, a shift from earlier aims to transfer most detainees to Afghan custody, The New York Times reported.

A Pentagon spokesman confirmed the report in the Times’ Saturday edition of the planned 40-acre complex at the Bagram military base. “There are plans under way to do that,” Lt. Col. Mark Wright said.”

There is more, if you really want to know…

New Ecuador Constitution Addresses Demand for ‘Plurinational’ State

Indigenous People’s Issues Today runs a series of “Five Key Indigenous Peoples Issues” that in the latest edition features a story from Ecuador…

New Ecuador Constitution Addresses Demand for ‘Plurinational’ State

Ecuador’s new constitution, which a constituent assembly expects to finish drafting by mid-June, establishes a united “plurinational” state, recognising equality along with ethnic diversity, as agreed between the government and indigenous organisations.

“’Plurinationalism’ means admitting that several different nationalities coexist within the larger Ecuadorean state, which is obvious in this country and need not scare anyone,” said President Rafael Correa. “Everyone should have the same opportunities,” he added.

“The next step is to properly define the scope of plurinationalism, which basically means recognizing the different peoples, cultures and worldviews that exist, and for all public policies, such as education, health and housing, to recognize the plurinational dimension,” he said.

The Ecuadorean Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (CONAIE) agrees that the proposed plurinational state reflects reality in the country. Read the rest of the story here….

PROTEST: United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

PROTEST: United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Indigenous Peoples representatives and organizations held a protest at the May 2 2008 conclusion of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York. They were angered by the final report of the Permanent Forum, which ignored Indigenous Peoples stated concerns about carbon trading projects (REDD), Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and other so called” good practise” initiatives.

More info:

RED Climate Change and Forests.pdf:
http://www.divshare.com/download/4285737-1a7

RED Commodifying Forests.pdf: http://www.divshare.com/download/4286100-733

Lessons learned from the CDM.pdf:
http://www.divshare.com/download/4286573-8ea

World Bank and the FCPF.pdf: http://www.divshare.com/download/4286867-1cc

Kampar Peninsula.pdf: http://www.divshare.com/download/4286964-2ae

No Carbon Market for Forests.pdf:
http://www.divshare.com/download/4287207-4a4

a poorly formatted/pasted text follows…

Correa’s War for Oil, Oil for War Machine: Mad Men

Ecuador to buy Brazilian warplanes, reports Ecuador Rising, so now we know for sure: let Brasil (and the Chinese, of course) take the oil out of the Amazon, repress the indigenous people who try to protect their land from severe contamination, and receive war machines in return - that is Correa’s anti-environmental neo-socialism in a nutshell. As if the world needed more of that sort of thing!?!?!?!?!?!

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PressTV, Wed, 30 Apr 2008
Brazil’s Defense Minister Nelson Jobim has said that Ecuador would buy 24 warplanes made by Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer.

“It’s a done deal,” Jobim told Reuters during a visit to Ecuador’s capital Quito when asked if Ecuador had agreed to buy the turboprop Super Tucano planes.

Earlier, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said he planned to strengthen country’s air force to protect its border with Colombia after the country bombed a leftist rebel camp inside Ecuador.

Jobim did not say how much Ecuador will spend for the planes, but local media speculates it could cost more than $200 million.

“I don’t know the price… the purchase details were arranged by the Ecuadorian government and Embraer directly,” Jobim concluded.

Face2Face with a Dragonfly: Photos from a rare encounter.

I recently had the rare opportunity of coming face-to-face with a Dragonfly in the rain forest near Loreto in the Napo region of the Ecuadorian Amazon - this is what it looked like (click on pix to see a slightly bigger version or ask for originals, if you have a good idea for using them):

and coming up close to the bugger…

—– great pattern, init?!?!?

This is a link to a 1200×803px JPEG shot of the Dragonfly - cropped a bit and compressed with The GIMP:

and also an un-cut 1024×768 on MyShutterSpace:

Thousands still homeless two months after floods in Ecuador.

In the entry below you can see what the Ecuadorian state is occupying itself with - and here you can see what they ought to concern themselves with:

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS BY NO MEANS AN ENDORSEMENT OF OXFAM, WHOSE PRACTICES IN MANY CONTEXTS WE DISTANCE OURSELVES FROM HERE AT COLONOS!!!!!!!!!!

Oxfam Press Release – 02 May 2008
Thousands still homeless two months after floods in Ecuador

Oxfam International assists 24,000 people with water and sanitation.

Two months since President Correa declared a national emergency in Ecuador following floods that affected large parts of the country, nearly 10,000 people remain homeless and hundreds of thousands more have limited access to clean water, said international agency Oxfam.

Miembros del Centro de Medios Independientes: Arrestados en Ecuador!

Four independent media activists from Indymedia-Ecuador have been arrested without charges, making the reason for arrest obviously political - and (as such) in violation of human rights and of article 24(4) of the Ecuadorian constitution. It is an attack on the freedom of speech in Ecuador - as in so many other places in the new world order and permanent global state of exception. Spread the word, show your support and keep struggling for human rights and the freedom to speak your mind!

====================

COMUNICADO DE PRENSA
Ecuador. Francisco de Orellana, 07 de mayo del 2008. (hora: 11:50)
REMITIMOS COMUNICADO DE PRENSA.

Quito /Ecuador / INREDH

Comunicadores independientes víctimas de arresto arbitrario. El día martes 6 de mayo de 2008, entre las 10 y las 12 de la noche, fueron arrestados los comunicadores sociales Carlos Andrade, Santiago Cadena, Diana Cabascango y Francisco Jaramillo. miembros del Centro de Medios Independientes Indymedia-Ecuador.

El fiscal del caso, Doctor Francisco Noboa, encabezó el operativo de allanamiento a los domicilios y captura. Dicho fiscal se negó a informar al abogado de los detenidos sobre las razones de su detención, no quiso informar cual era el juez que conocía la causa, no mostró la orden de detención, ni la de allanamiento.

Esta actuación es violatoria al artículo 24(4) de la Constitución, el cual señala: Toda persona, al ser detenida, tendrá derecho a conocer en forma clara las razones de su detención, la identidad de la autoridad que la ordenó, la de los agentes que la llevan a cabo y la de los responsables del respectivo interrogatorio.

Por esta razón, el INREDH presentará una denuncia en contra del agente fiscal mencionado. El personal de la Policía Judicial no permitió que los detenidos se entrevisten con su abogado, por lo cual se configura una situación de incomunicación, por lo que el INREDH denunciará ante asuntos internos de la Policía Judicial esta falta para que se impongan sanciones a los policías responsables.

Estos hechos configuran una detención por conciencia, es decir una detención cuyo móvil es político. Las actividades comunicacionales de los detenidos eran de constante crítica al sistema constituido y de denuncia por los atropellos del poder a los derechos de las personas. Los bienes incautados de sus domicilios fueron computadoras, documentos de trabajo y afiches alusivos a su tendencia política.

Este arresto arbitrario esta siendo denunciado ante organismos internacionales como Amnistía Internacional, la Federación Internacional de Derechos Humanos, la Organización Mundial Contra la Tortura y la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos.

Exigimos que se frene la incomunicación de los detenidos, que se señalen las causas de su detención, que se sancionen al Agente Fiscal y a los oficiales de la Policía Judicial por la violación de los derechos
humanos de los detenidos y que si los supuestos legales no se cumplen se los deje en inmediata libertad.

Pedimos a la opinión pública que se mantenga vigilante de estos hechos que parecen configurar un ataque a la libertad de expresión en nuestro país.

Más información: Comunicación INREDH
Amanda Trujillo: 2526365 / 088994039
Ana Cristina Vera: 096200423

Marlon Santi on Correa’s government and the Constituent Assembly

Interview with Marlon Santi, New President of Ecuador’s Indigenous Confederation
Written by Patricio Zhingri T.
Thursday, 17 January 2008

And so it goes, that history repeats itself and the day after the revolution anyone is a conservative, I think Hannah Arendt once wrote. The morning after in Ecuador - after the floods - and we know which way the wind blows. For that we don’t need a weather man.

Here is, however, what CONAIE’s new president, Marlon Santi, reckons about the Correan revolution and the reconstructive Constituent Assembly - well no news there, really, it is business as usual:

“PZT: As the new president of CONAIE, how would you evaluate the first year of this government?

MS: Proposals from the Indigenous movement and other social sectors from the coast, highlands, and Amazon are not present on the national government’s political agenda. Nor are they on the agenda of the Constituent Assembly. The government says a lot and they say that they are going to open petroleum explorations, that they are going to privatize water, rivers, páramos (high communal grasslands). Nothing has changed. The only change is when the Indigenous movement rises up, because even in light of this we have made some advances in Collective Rights and other demands. Rafael Correa has not recognized the demands of Indigenous nationalities and peoples, and he should do so.

PZT: How will the government of Indigenous Nationalities and Peoples act with the current government of Correa?

REPSOL “in contempt of court”

On January 1 of this year, a major oil spill occurred in the Yasuní UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve as part of the workings of Spanish oil giant REPSOL. REPSOL is working in the oil fields of concessionary Block 16, which happens to overlap Huaorani ancestral territory.

Even though several months have passed since the spill was detected, and despite the severity of the event and the insistent pleas of the Huaorani community Dícaro that the company may undertake the necessary clean up and remediation, no action has been taken by REPSOL.

Contextualizing Yasuní.

(This article was first published in an abridged version by CarbonWeb)

The Ecuadorian National Park and UNESCO Worldwide Biosphere Reserve, Yasuní, has recently become the main stage for discussions alluding to, insisting on, and negotiating pathways to an oil-free future – or rather to a future where oil remains undisturbed in its subterranean place of origin. Some oil at least. The “Leave the oil in the soil” proposal, instigated by environmental grassroots organisations, and taken on by Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa, who announced it at the UN High Level Meeting on Climate Change last September, is to not drill for oil in some parts of the Yasuní National Park. Ecuador will leave the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) oil fields untouched in exchange for international compensation. Compensation of about US$ 450 million per year for ten years would entail a commitment by the South American state not to exploit nearly 920 million barrels of petroleum, and hence has been presented as preventing the emission of around 111 million tons of carbon. (At the moment Ecuador is South America’s fifth-largest oil producer, with a daily production of about a half-million barrels of crude.)

It seems that the neo-socialist revolution in Ecuador has found its sunshine story that has already inspired similar proposals with regard to oil and other natural resources in several other countries. But behind this glamorous initiative lurks the reality of the wider project of Ecuadorian reform in the context of contemporary geopolitical change.

A History of Botanical Exploration in Amazonian Ecuador, 1739-1988

Just came across this article called A History of Botanical Exploration in Amazonian Ecuador, 1739-1988 and thought it could deserve a little attention, even if it comes from the conservative Smithsonian Institute, for those interested in knowing more about the Ecuadorian Amazon

It begins:

“In proportion to its area Ecuador is the floristically richest country in South America. This botanical wealth is undoubtedly due to the diverse ecological conditions created by the Andes, rising in Ecuador from sea level to nearly 6300 m altitude. The country accordingly has attracted the interest of numerous naturalists, many of whom crossed Ecuador on their way from Bogota to Lima or visited various ports of South America, including Guayaquil. Among the earliest were La Condamine and Joseph de Jussieu (174Os)