When will these dunderheads realize that there was no coup. He was removed by a Senate vote.

1. Former President Manuel Zelaya violated Honduras
Constitutional Law, Article 239 by insisting on holding a binding vote, PCM-020 “Public Opinion Survey-Call for National Constituent Assembly” to change the constitution
2.The ballots, sent from Venezuela, were impounded
at the Air Force Base by the Attorney General and theSupreme Electoral Tribunal
3.Zelaya assembled a mob and broke into the Air Force Base, seized the ballots and sent them all over Honduras by unsecure means.
4. Honduras Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant
for Zelaya to the Military.
5. Due to safety and security concerns, the Military
arrested and deported Zelaya
6. Congress voted 123-3 for Zelaya’s ouster across all party lines.
7. Speaker of Congress, Roberto Micheletti, next in line to the Presidency is installed as President.
8. Zelaya’s Cabinet fled Honduras.
9. Arrest warrants issued for Zelaya’s cabinet members for theft from government funds.
10. President Micheletti announces Elections for president will take place as planned Nov 29,2009.
11 The newly elected President will be installed in
January 27, 2010.

World4Honduras.com

Finally in depth Honduras coverage and interviews:

http://www.pjtv.com/video/Specials/Dateline_Honduras%3A_Zelaya%27s_Illegal_Attemps_to_Return_and_the_Bias_of_Media/2282/

http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=library&series-id=All&tag-id=22&from-date=All&to-date=All&include-future=false&sort=date&reverse=true&page=1&library-results-per-page=10&all-text=false&newValue=&video-id=&query-string-library=honduras&gclid=CKmDuMvWnJwCFRwDagod1WxVdQ

Honduran Constitutal Democracy Fact by Fact - Step by Step Video

http://www.laverdadenhonduras.com/index.php/videos/detail/ucd_-_democracy_is_alive_and_strong_in_honduras/

Then why has just about every government in the world condemned the Zelaya ouster as a coup d'etat? Why is there not a single significant international supporter for your ridiculous justification for the ruling class removing (through unconstitutional means, despite your narrative, because the constitution didn't give Congress or the military the right to remove a president in this fashion) this president? Not even he claimed the referendum would be binding, and the courts and legislative branches certainly had the power to ignore the results.
Yet I am impressed and amazed with the speed in which you posted this propaganda to my blog post, and with the solidarity you've shown in denying justice and world public opinion.

Yeah ... we can REALLY count on people in the US to figure it out! See, in Latin America, they ALSO have mega-giant media firms, but the people are smart enough to realize that those mega-firms tell the story that benefits THEM and their OWNERS, and Latin American culture is rich with independent media, labor media, and truly democratic media, which has grown out of 50+ years of opposing US intervention on behalf of military dictatorships in their region.

Dictatorships which overthrow popular presidents. Dictatorships which use the military to illegally depose of presidents who help he people (like Zelaya was doing when his government was toppled) and then strip the people of their constitutional rights, suppress popular protest and, ultimately, kill or disappear anyone who doesn't agree with them or the rich elite who back them. Just like what it happening in Honduras right now.

Just like what they attempted to do in Venezuela in 2002, but failed miserably. And people are doing EVERYTHING they can to make sure it doesn't happen AGAIN in Honduras. EXCEPT OBAMA.

The problem is -- Obama came off like a jerk, today. The TRUTH of the matter is that:
1) Sec. of State Hillary Clinton's colleague and ex-campaign consultant, Lanny Davis, is the one who has been hired by the rich elite of Honduras to "sell" this coup.

2) The Millennium Change Corporation, with a Board that is run by Clinton, has been giving millions of dollars of support to the coup government. So while the US has cut off SOME aid to Honduras, Clinton is shoveling money their way.

Obama is WAY off here. The entire United Nations calls this a coup. The entire European Union calls this a coup and has imposed sanctions. The entire Latin American community -- whether the OAS, the Rio Group, ALBA, or any other formation you can think of -- has ALL called this an illegal military coup d'etat.

The coup plotters THEMSELVES have even admitted that this coup d'etat was illegally executed, but that they weren't going to serve under a "leftist" like Zelaya. That's what the Honduran Army's top attorney told the Miami Herald. And the head of the Supreme Court has also said that no one was authorized to kidnap the president and remove him from the country. -IF- there are charges against him -- and that's a big IF considering the documents published by the Supreme Court of Honduras on this issue -- then they should have been brought in the same way that Clinton's impeachment proceedings were brought. There should be due process. Zelaya should continue being the president while he gets his day in court.

What you DON'T do is send in the army at 3AM, kidnap the guy, and literally dump him on a runway in Costa Rica. THAT'S called a military coup. My e-mail address is listed here. Anyone who thinks they have the facts otherwise, go ahead and write. I've read every Supreme Court decision from Honduras, every act of Congress and I've worked very hard from the day this horrible act of injustice occurred. Write to me, and I'll set you straight with the facts.

But back to Obama. It isn't that Latin America "wants the US out" -- that's absurd. Yeah, in some circumstances, like when US-funded terrorists were raping and murdering nuns in El Salvador, or when US-funded paramilitaries were killing one union leader after another in Colombia, and literally hundreds of other examples of brutality and terror funded, if not directed, by the US Southern Command or the CIA, people have demanded that the "yankee go home."

But what this region needs is a responsible, ethical partner from the US. A partner who shares its tourism industry with a struggling country like Cuba. A partner who gives aid to people trying to heal the wounds of 500 years of colonialism & imperialism. NOT to continue funding an illegal coup regime. That's the point -- and Obama gets it exactly.

The problem is here is the same problem Obama has had in everything else he's done since he got elected. All the CHANGE he promised is really just more of the same. In Latin America, it means an unparalleled expansion of military bases in Colombia. It means lip service towards an illegal military coup but no real action taken -- if anything, sending millions in aid via backdoor channels through Clinton's organizations.

The US should do what every other responsible western democracy has done. End ALL aid to this regime, slap sanctions on them, and the coup would be over TODAY. The coup government in Honduras could not survive without aid from the US like that. Period. And no one would blame Obama -- except maybe a few Republican nutjobs -- because the entire world agrees this was an illegal coup.

Steven T. Jones wrote:
"Then why has just about every government in the world condemned the Zelaya ouster as a coup d'etat?"

Oops, Steven, you are wrong:

Countries recoginzing the Honduran governement are Japan, Germany, Israel, Taiwan, Panama, Columbia & Peru recognize the Honduran government

http://www.pjtv.com/video/Specials/PJTV_SPECIAL_REPORT%3A_Dateline_HondurasSupport_for_Micheletti_Is_GrowingIs_Obama_on_Board%3F/2260/;jsessionid=abc6XGifsKmbabQFmdHls

Anyway what are you worried about, you have all the major networks, wire services and news oganizations and bloggers with your left opinion...with very little to balance it out.

To Huh?
Obama also calls this a coup and said so on Day 1 (much to the chagrin of the other commenters to this post, I'm sure). My point was that the US's options are limited. The US did end aid to Honduras, and even though I agree with you that we should have gone the extra step of imposing economic sanctions, it's naive to think that they would restore the legitimate government today, tomorrow, or any time soon. It hasn't worked in Cuba, didn't work in Iraq, and EU sanctions against Israel haven't stopped that country from its illegal occupation or construction of an illegal wall.
To FH,
I'm not sure who you work or advocate for, but you'd be more effective if you correctly spelled the name of the people you're supposedly defending. And if you could reference more credible news sources or cite more than six of the 190 countries in the world. Even so, half the countries you list have blatantly self-serving reasons for recognize a corporatist government takeover. I'm just saying...

Such nonviolent rallies as described in the article culminated today with setting fire to a bus and a popeyes restaurant in Tegucigalpa, our capital. This caused our government to set a 10pm curfew today for the capital city due to the riots that were taking place. It is true that the nation's wealthiest are very much pro the change in government, but only because they have the most to lose, and it is not only them. Recently I was doing an internship in a maquila, and constantly heard the workers (the poor working class) talking against Mel Zelaya. It is the great majority of the population that is against Mel, yet given the poverty in our country many people are paid 500 lempiras (~$25) to assist the pro mel rallies. Recently it was reported that 3 million dollars were brought into the country to support such rallies, which heated up again as the cash started flowing again.

90% of Hondurans are not online because the system kept in place by the liberal and conservative parties, bolstered with our military tax dollars keeps the majority poor. Most readers of this cannot contemplate the grinding poverty in Central America. If you think that wealth is concentrated in the US, we've got nothing going on Honduras.

The views of the 10% who are online are not representative of much other than the chatterings of the political and better off classes.

The truth is that the Aristide model is the US preferred democratic template that arguably is applicable even to Obama.

-marc

You might want to read this:

http://www.narconews.com/Issue59/article3760.html

"By Bill Conroy and Al Giordano
Special to The Narco News Bulletin

August 11, 2009

"In recent days, Narco News has reported that, in the three months prior to the June 28 coup d’etat in Honduras, the US-funded Millennium Change Corporation (MCC) gave at least $11 million US dollars to private-sector contractors in Honduras and also that since the coup it has doled out another $6.5 million."

"The latter revelation – that the money spigot has been left on even after the coup – comes in spite of claims by the State Department that it has placed non-humanitarian funding “on pause” pending a yet-unfinished review."

While the real reasons behind the coup appear to revolve around the fears and insecurities of the "eight ruling families" of Honduras, it also seems that Zelaya wasn't really going along with U.S. trade policy desires in the region, despite the fact that he signed on to CAFTA a few years ago (in the face of popular protests in Honduras, in fact).

See also:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/08/04/whos_lobbying_for_the_coup

"Reinforcing the idea that a Washington power play is underway, some heavyweight D.C. names are working the issue on Capitol Hill, setting up meetings with House members and senators, taking out advertisements, and helping write congressional testimony for Honduras's business community, who analysts say are standing behind Zelaya's removal -- or, at minimum, working to thwart his reinstatement."

"At the top of that list is Lanny Davis, a former special counsel to President Bill Clinton who is now a partner with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. In July, Davis took up the portfolio of the Honduran chapter of the Business Council of Latin America (known by its Spanish acronym, CEAL). The Cormac Group's Jonathan Slade signed on with the Association of Honduran Manufacturers (Asociación Hondoreña de Maquiladores, or AHM) in June. And Slade in turn hired Ambassador Roger Noriega, a former legislative aide to the late Rep. Jesse Helms and an assistant secretary for Western Hemispheric affairs from 2003 to 2005, to help open doors on the Hill for a week early last month."

Steven:

Yes, Obama has "called" it a coup since Day 1, but the State Department has not officially declared it a coup ... if they had, they would be required by law to immediately end all aid to Honduras, which they have not done. The US has significantly lagged behind Europe in responding to the coup ... and Zelaya, the OAS, and many other Latin American heads of state have called on the US to do more.

There's a big difference between sanctions against Cuba when sanctions were first imposed because the Cuban government enjoyed massive public support. Cuba also had another huge trading partner (the USSR) to support it.

Israel receives sanctions from the EU but massive support from the US. Iraq is another completely different story, with a regime that had been in place for years and years with US support, not a brand new shaky government that no country in the world recognizes.

The point is that Honduras has -one- major trading partner and that is the US. As countless observers have pointed out, if the US were to apply REAL pressure, the coup government would collapse within days. I haven't seen very many analysts who disagree with that.

Beyond that, there is the principle of the matter. There WAS an illegal coup d'etat in Honduras, it should be declared as such, and by US law, aid to Honduras should cease until the coup plotters are removed from power. It is the right thing to do.

At least, the US should do everything it COULD do to end the coup. If that didn't work, well, then at least the US could say that they acted like responsible regional neighbors.

In this case, with Clinton's private fund sending money to the coup government, Lanny Davis representing them in Washington, and Obama insulting people who suggest that he does more, I don't see much room for forgiving this administration. Even people who gave Obama every chance in the world, like Al Giordano, are starting to wonder what the hell is going on in Washington DC regarding Honduras.

If this coup succeeds in its goals, we can expect to see regional destabilization in Latin America that could roll us back to how things way before democratization in Latin America and there are plenty of US and Latin American business elites who would love to see that happen. THAT'S the overall context in which this coup needs to be seen -- it has far more implications than just the immediate consequences in Honduras.

BTW, I don't know the story behind "PJTV" but they are absolutely wrong to insinuate that any of those countries have recognized the coup regime in Honduras. The entire UN General Assembly rejected the regime as an illegitimate and illegal coup occupation and the entire UN General Assembly recognizes President Zelaya as the democratically-elected president of Honduras. Period - no question.

BTW, I don't know the story behind "PJTV" but they are absolutely wrong to insinuate that any of those countries have recognized the coup regime in Honduras. The entire UN General Assembly rejected the regime as an illegitimate and illegal coup occupation and the entire UN General Assembly recognizes President Zelaya as the democratically-elected president of Honduras. Period - no question.