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Financial Oversight And Colonialism In Puerto Rico

May 5, 2016 By Matt Peppe Leave a Comment

118 years after U.S. troops landed at Guánica, Puerto Rico, the liberal political magazine New Republic asks, “Why Are We Colonizing Puerto Rico?”

The occasion for this comically tardy acknowledgment of Puerto Rico’s colonial status is a Republican proposal to deal with the island’s $72 billion debt problem by allowing a cabal of unelected technocrats to carry out austerity measures against the will of the Puerto Rican people. Or, as the bill puts it: “To establish an Oversight Board to assist the Government of Puerto Rico … in managing its public finances.”

The Republican plan most certainly would “spell disaster for vulnerable Puerto Rican citizens, and create a bonanza for private corporations looking to take over public functions,” as David Dayen writes in the New Republic piece. But Dayen is shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

As I reported recently, vulnerable Puerto Ricans are already facing disaster in the form of cuts to social programs and oppressive increases in taxes. Private corporations have already taken over public functions, including the island’s largest airport and its largest highway. Former Governor Luis Fortuño created the Public Private Partnership Authority to allow the firesale of public assets to corporate vultures nearly seven years ago.

Filed Under: Media & Culture, National News Tagged With: austerity, debt, economy, poverty, Puerto Rico

Puerto Ricans Suffer As Creditors Feast On Debt Colony

February 17, 2016 By Matt Peppe Leave a Comment

Just an hour before my wife an I landed in her native Puerto Rico last month, the island’s government had defaulted on $1 billion in bond interest payments. It was the second default in five months for the cash-strapped government whose debt now totals $72 billion.

None of this was evident as we waded through the crowds in Rafael Hernández airport in Aguadilla, which had been converted into a civilian airport after the closure of Ramey Air Force Base 40 years earlier. People hugged their relatives, welcoming them back home or bidding them farewell. It was a normal scene you’d see at any airport in the world.

But the situation in Puerto Rico is not normal, and you don’t have to spend long there to see how regular people are suffering more every day under the crushing burden of debt.

Filed Under: Civil Liberties, National News Tagged With: austerity, capitalism, debt, poverty, Puerto Rico

A Microcosm Of American Politics: Reports From #MillionMaskMarch DC

November 13, 2014 By Caroline Scullin 1 Comment

This is what makes Anonymous such a novel concept: Instead of specific groupings of activists who come together over a single shared interest, Anon invites and encourages any and all to take a passionate stance against injustices or oppressions that exist in our world. Being that Anonymous is world-wide, the range of issues being presented is vast.

On November 5th of each year, “Anons,” collectively masked with their iconic Guy Fawkes grins and armed with their poignant messages printed on hand-made signs, set out to participate in Million Mask Marches in their respective cities. The purpose of the march is to educate and inform citizens while simultaneously making a loud statement of dissent to the Establishment.

The following accounts outline our personal experiences at the 2014 Million Mask March in Washington, D.C.

Filed Under: Civil Liberties, National News Tagged With: #MillionMaskMarch, 000 results (0.54 seconds) Search Results U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 720, Aaron Swartz, About 6, activism, alternative media, Anonymous, apathy, Barack Obama, capitalism, Chelsea Manning, chemtrails, Climate change, Corporate America, corporate media, corruption, D.C., DC Police, debt, Department of Homeland Security, dissent, economy, Edward Snowden, environment, FBI, Federal Reserve, Ferguson, First Amendment, food, food safety, foreign policy, fracking, Genetically modified organisms, GMOs, Guy Fawkes, Hands Up Don't Shoot, hydraulic fracturing, independent media, J. Edgar Hoover Building, mainstream media, Michael Brown, Mike Brown, Millennials, Million Mask March, Missouri, NSA, Occupy, Occupy Wall Street, OWS, Palestine, Philipos Melaku-Bello, police, police brutality, police militarization, Project Unity, protest, racism, Republican Party, Reuters, RT, Russia Today, September 11, St. Louis, STL, surveillance, The Bilderberg Group, The White House, The Whitehouse, United States Constitution, US Capitol Building, V for Vendetta, vaccines, War, Washington, Washington D.C, Washington Monument, whistleblowers

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