WiLL u Be mY VaLenTiNE
So yeah, i hope you had a good weekend and are now celebrating Love because your told to do so. You know, today is the day to be showing Love, not like the other 364 days a year.
Anyways.
Does everyone know what's going on in Haiti right now?? I've been hearing scattered news here and there and all of it is bad and doesn't make sense. The same way lots of things don't make sense, and there I was last night cleaning out my mailboz because it's always between 90-97% full. So I deleted about 140 messages and am now down to 47%. sweet huh? Luckily swirvemail gives me 10M of storage not 2 like hotmail. And waht's the deal?? is it true some people have gottten their Hotmail upgraded to 100M for free lately?? That sounds kinda nice.... is there a hook..... is it even really happenin?? ... . .. I dunno.
So yeah. Haiti right. I found an email I got from my friend last year about Haiti and it definantely hooked up some good information and I thought you too might want to know. Don't believe something in it... please look it up. Let me know.
The email goes like so:
I just wanted to shed some light on the crisis currently facing Haiti; however, I wanted to present it within the historical context of that country. Back in the 1700 Haiti (then called San Domingo) was one of the richest colonies in the world due to the country's lush plantations and the brutal exploitation of half a million slaves forced out of Africa.
Inspired by the French Revolution the slaves of San Domingo rose up in 1791. They fought the colonial forces for more than 12 years; first the plantation owners and armed forces, secondly a Spanish invasion, followed by the British and finally the French. The US, led by Thomas Jefferson at the time, led a campaign to isolate Haiti and recognition of Haiti's independence was refused for 62 years.
During this period the Haitian people were forced to pay France 150 million gold francs (approximately $ 21 Billion today) in exchange for independence - money that was supposed to compensate slave-owners and the heirs. When the first installment was due, Haiti (under military threat of the French Navy) was forced to borrow the money from France, placing the economy in the hands of its former colonial masters. This financial grip continued until in 1915 the US invaded to crush an uprising. What followed was 19 years of military occupation and the loss of 60, 000 Haitian lives.
In 1956 François "Papa Doc" Duvalier seized power backed by the US. The Duvalier dictatorship, which was taken over by "Baby Doc" in 1971, lasted until 1986. Tens of thousands of Haitians were massacred and millions stolen from the national coffers.
In the late 1980's the Catholic Priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide offered the country some hope with his message of liberation theology. He was swept to power in the 1990 elections. Aristide's efforts to introduce reforms were overwhelmed by interference from abroad. The currency lost half of its value, unemployment increased and poverty deepened. Seven months later, a military junta led by US-trained soldiers ousted Aristide. The UN helpfully responded with an embargo, further impoverishing the country.
Three years later, in September of 1994 Aristide returned to power when President Bill Clinton proclaimed to the world he was "restoring democracy". Clinton sent in 20, 000 troops to aid in this endeavor. He did this in order to ease hostility in the US due to the thousands of Haitian "boat people" arriving on US shores and secondly the US had just been humiliated in Somalia and they needed a military success. Thirdly, US authorities feared that the army in Haiti would soon be overthrown by popular revolt.
When Aristide was returned to power he was forced by the US to accept an IMF-dictated program for maintaining low wages, privatizing state enterprises and eliminating tariffs and other controls on imports. In the May 2000 elections Aristide's Fanmi Lavalas Party overwhelmingly beat Washington's favored candidates. The opposition, backed by the Organization of American States, cried foul, the government refused to back down, and Haitians were again punished by an international blockade of millions of dollars of aid. A few months ago Haiti was forced to pay the US $ 30 million in arrears in loans.
All of this is what has led to the current crisis.
All along the US has undermined democracy by backing the opposition and strangling the Haitian economy.
Anyways.
Does everyone know what's going on in Haiti right now?? I've been hearing scattered news here and there and all of it is bad and doesn't make sense. The same way lots of things don't make sense, and there I was last night cleaning out my mailboz because it's always between 90-97% full. So I deleted about 140 messages and am now down to 47%. sweet huh? Luckily swirvemail gives me 10M of storage not 2 like hotmail. And waht's the deal?? is it true some people have gottten their Hotmail upgraded to 100M for free lately?? That sounds kinda nice.... is there a hook..... is it even really happenin?? ... . .. I dunno.
So yeah. Haiti right. I found an email I got from my friend last year about Haiti and it definantely hooked up some good information and I thought you too might want to know. Don't believe something in it... please look it up. Let me know.
The email goes like so:
I just wanted to shed some light on the crisis currently facing Haiti; however, I wanted to present it within the historical context of that country. Back in the 1700 Haiti (then called San Domingo) was one of the richest colonies in the world due to the country's lush plantations and the brutal exploitation of half a million slaves forced out of Africa.
Inspired by the French Revolution the slaves of San Domingo rose up in 1791. They fought the colonial forces for more than 12 years; first the plantation owners and armed forces, secondly a Spanish invasion, followed by the British and finally the French. The US, led by Thomas Jefferson at the time, led a campaign to isolate Haiti and recognition of Haiti's independence was refused for 62 years.
During this period the Haitian people were forced to pay France 150 million gold francs (approximately $ 21 Billion today) in exchange for independence - money that was supposed to compensate slave-owners and the heirs. When the first installment was due, Haiti (under military threat of the French Navy) was forced to borrow the money from France, placing the economy in the hands of its former colonial masters. This financial grip continued until in 1915 the US invaded to crush an uprising. What followed was 19 years of military occupation and the loss of 60, 000 Haitian lives.
In 1956 François "Papa Doc" Duvalier seized power backed by the US. The Duvalier dictatorship, which was taken over by "Baby Doc" in 1971, lasted until 1986. Tens of thousands of Haitians were massacred and millions stolen from the national coffers.
In the late 1980's the Catholic Priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide offered the country some hope with his message of liberation theology. He was swept to power in the 1990 elections. Aristide's efforts to introduce reforms were overwhelmed by interference from abroad. The currency lost half of its value, unemployment increased and poverty deepened. Seven months later, a military junta led by US-trained soldiers ousted Aristide. The UN helpfully responded with an embargo, further impoverishing the country.
Three years later, in September of 1994 Aristide returned to power when President Bill Clinton proclaimed to the world he was "restoring democracy". Clinton sent in 20, 000 troops to aid in this endeavor. He did this in order to ease hostility in the US due to the thousands of Haitian "boat people" arriving on US shores and secondly the US had just been humiliated in Somalia and they needed a military success. Thirdly, US authorities feared that the army in Haiti would soon be overthrown by popular revolt.
When Aristide was returned to power he was forced by the US to accept an IMF-dictated program for maintaining low wages, privatizing state enterprises and eliminating tariffs and other controls on imports. In the May 2000 elections Aristide's Fanmi Lavalas Party overwhelmingly beat Washington's favored candidates. The opposition, backed by the Organization of American States, cried foul, the government refused to back down, and Haitians were again punished by an international blockade of millions of dollars of aid. A few months ago Haiti was forced to pay the US $ 30 million in arrears in loans.
All of this is what has led to the current crisis.
All along the US has undermined democracy by backing the opposition and strangling the Haitian economy.
posted by JuleZ at 8:13:00 AM
2 Comments:
I prefer to celebrate days that are personally special to me and me ol' lubb.
I feel bad thinking of the people that go to sleep crying and feeling fat because all the pre-V days have led them up to this feeling of failure because they don't have someone "special" to share chocolates and a galloping horse ride with.
The Aristide issue had been hugely divisive and has incited violence from both factions (pro and con-Aristide). People like Wyclef Jean were trying their best to keep people on the liberation side from carrying out violence to keep him in.
Haiti is the result of the slave trade and the French, and so many other things essentially rooted in colonialist history (and its ever-accompanying racism).
The issues are complicated and continue. Ne c'est pas?
I definately think it places undue pressure on singles and everyone else too. Not to mention that if you are in a so-so relationship (or a bad one)the outcome of a failed valentines day is a larger seperation. Same probably goes for unspoken expectations which aren't met for a romantic.
I think that if you truly care about the someone you're with you'll make them feel so special everyday (or plenty often) that you'll truly laugh at this commercial holiday and scoff it off.
Props to couples who are healthy enough to even discuss this openly and Mad Props to you who aren't coerced into celebrating.
tip from someone I LOVE: celebrate the day you first kissed. First felt overwhelmin passion for your Love. Or the first time you resolved to stay together forever.. .. .
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