By Nate Nkumbu
Often you look at a banana and you see a table item or a common breakfast food. But many people wouldn’t believe that the fruit holds a dark history in Latin America and that the United States government actually supported dictators for this peel-able food.
The Banana Wars were period between 1898 and 1934 were the U.S heavily intervened in Latin American politics.
Using the legacy of the Monroe doctrine, the U.S invaded countries like Cuba, Haiti, Panama, Colombia, and Honduras to protect the Banana plantations and other investments made in the countries according to Jose Cruz, Director of Research for the Kimberley Green Latin American and Caribbean center at Florida International University.
Cruz said in an interview with RISE NEWS that the period saw many in Latin America view the United States as occupying forces as opposed to being just a neighbor up north.
The Monroe doctrine help to establish America’s dominance in Latin America but in 1904, in an addition to the long standing US posture of dominating influence in the Western Hemisphere, President Theodore Roosevelt upped the ante.
In the Roosevelt Corollary, TR gave the U.S the ammo it needed to justify its intervention in Central and South America by arguing that America shouldn’t just prevent European control in the hemisphere, but that it should also use military force to further American interests there.
A worker offloading bananas in Mobile, Alabama in 1937. Photo Credit: C. Thomas Anderson/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
Cruz said that the most blatant case during the banana wars was the U.S intervening in Honduras seven times between 1903 and 1925.
He said that companies like United Fruit which had owned plantations in Honduras would call on the U.S Marines to deal with political insurrections and that the local elite were supportive of the actions.
So yes. American Marines were basically the private police force of American fruit companies. Just let that sink in for a second and try not to laugh.
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“The local elite in Honduras got paid or received payments from companies like United Fruit to protect their plantations,” Cruz said. “In some places, the people working on the plantations were able to unionize thanks in part to some of the United Fruit workers coming from America helping them, but this was in small amounts.”
Photo Credit: AMISOM Public Information/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
Cruz said that United Fruit had often put down worker’s strikes with violence. One notable case was the Banana Massacre of 1928 where Colombian workers for the company were killed following strikes demanding better working conditions.
Cruz said that the effect of the Banana Massacre is still felt today in places like Colombia.
“Just 10 years ago, Chiquita Bananas was accused of hiring paramilitary troops to put down strikes in their plantations in Colombia, likewise other corporations like Coca Cola,” Cruz said. “It isn’t rare today for actions like this to happen, but during the Banana Wars, it was quite common.”
WATCH: Documentary clip about the Banana Wars.
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Colorado Weed Shops Have Sold Over $1 Billion In 2016
The first ten months of 2016 marked a historic moment for the legalized cannabis industry as Colorado Cannabis shops reached a milestone of a $1 billion in regulated, legal cannabis sales.
New October data from the Colorado Department of Revenue shows that recreational and medical cannabis shops in Colorado have sold over $1.1 billion worth of marijuana products so far this year.
This total eclipses last year’s sales figures which fell just shy of the billion dollar mark at $996 million.
The state of Colorado was the first American state to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012 with the passing of the Colorado Amendment 64.
Photo Credit: John W. Schulze/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
The state had previously decriminalized the drug in 1975 and allowed medical use of cannabis upon prescription in the year 2000.
Marijuana retailers in the state reported record sales in the month of September 2016 when marijuana sales hit an all-time high in Colorado.
$82.8 million worth of marijuana was peddled at retailers in the month of October along with $35 million more in medical sales.
These figures marked a 46% cumulative year upon year increase for October.
The state government has collected over $151 million in taxes from legal Marijuana sales. Three different taxes are imposed on recreational marijuana in the state of Colorado – the standard 2.9 percent sales tax, a special 10 percent sales tax, and a 15 percent excise tax on wholesale transfers of which the first $40 million is earmarked for school construction projects.
ArcView Group, a research firm which specializes in the Cannabis industry, estimates that the legal marijuana industry in the United States could reach a figure of $22 Billion in total annual sales by the year 2020.
It is important to note, however, that the drug remains illegal on a federal level although it has been voted into legalization by several states. It remains to be seen how President-Elect Donald Trump’s administration will deal with the issue of marijuana legalization.
Although Colorado was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana, three more states of Alaska, Oregon and Washington have also launched legalization programs of their own.
Last month, voters in California, Maine, Nevada and Massachusetts have all voted in favor of legalized recreational pot. Medical Marijuana is also legal in 28 states.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: Jeffrey Beall/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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POLL: Donald Trump Jumps 17 Points, Dominates Field Among Likely GOP Voters
A surprising new poll by Reuters/Ipsos finds businessman Donald Trump with a commanding lead over his Republican rivals in the 2016 presidential election.
The poll was conducted over the course of five days and included a sample size of 534 Republicans.
According to Reuters, “The pool of likely Republican primary voters was based on sample of 257 voters with a credibility interval of 7 percent.”
According to the poll, Trump leads with 34 percent while Carson finishes a distant second with 20 percent. Marco Rubio is stuck at 10 percent while Jeb Bush is struggling at 4 percent.
This is big change from the Reuters/Ipsos that was released on November 6th. That poll showed Trump and Carson nearly tied with both around 25% of support.
Since then, Trump has hosted Saturday Night Live and a GOP debate was held.
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Obama Defends ACA To Miami Millennial Audience Just Before Critical Early Vote Period
By Matthew Alvarez
MIAMI- President Barack Obama came to Miami Dade College’s Wolfson campus Thursday afternoon to defend his signature legislative accomplishment, the Affordable Care Act.
He used his speech to highlight the results of the law six years after it was passed, in the midst of a presidential election that may decide the ACA’s fate.
Obama showcased the ACA’s success in states that took advantage of its programs. However, Obama discontentedly addressed our governor (Republican Rick Scott) on Florida’s hostility toward the act.
If Florida were to take advantage of the ACA federal incentive and expand Medicaid, Obama said that more than 700,000 Floridians would have access for coverage.
Hearing some of the crowd’s displeasure with our state government, Obama stopped himself to comment: “If your governor – don’t boo, vote.”
To which the audience proudly cheered.
Even though Obama was focused on building up the ACA, he also wanted to shed light on the fact that it’s not perfect.
The primary problems, according to Obama, lie in two areas: states who are not supporting the act and private marketplaces that have low competition or low consumer incentive.
“That shouldn’t be surprising. If state leaders purposely try to make something not work, then it’s not gonna run as smoothly as if they were trying to make it work – common sense. You don’t have to go to Miami Dade to figure that out.” Obama said.
Miami Dade College students waiting for Obama’s speech. Photo Credit: Matthew Alvarez/ RISE NEWS
The President argued that Obamacare should not be directly blamed for these problems, and outlined a number of solutions such as state cooperation, encouraging states to experiment with ACA implementation, and adding a public plan fallback.
The public plan fallback would give more economic options to rural areas where there is a lack of private competition, which was originally a republican idea.
Attendees, who were mostly MDC students, had been lining up outside the venue since 11:00 am, waiting in the South Florida heat to get to hear what our commander in chief had to say.
The Freedom Tower, which is near Miami Dade College’s Wolfson campus. Photo Credit: Matthew Alvarez/ RISE NEWS
Faculty, visitors, and select students alike were eager to see the president face to face; a rare opportunity for South Floridians.
It was clear that the Miami Dade College community welcomed the President, as they erupted into applause as soon as he took the stage with a surprised smile, returning the favor as he excitingly greeted everyone in the room.
The President spent the bulk of his speech giving context to the ACA and addressing how it has successfully reformed our healthcare system.
He emphasized the statistics – our un-insured rate is lower than ever; insurance companies can no longer discriminate based on gender and pre-existing conditions; there have been no significant changes for the 80 percent of Americans who get coverage through employers, Medicare, or Medicaid; children have been able to stay on their parents plans longer; the inflation rate for premiums has slowed down (but are still increasing); and most importantly, the ACA has insured over twenty million people who previously did not have any coverage.
Photo Credit: Matthew Alvarez/ RISE NEWS
“I don’t want to see anybody left out without health insurance.” Obama said. “I don’t want to see any family having to choose between health insurance now, or saving for retirement, or saving for your kid’s college education, or just paying their own bills. So the question we should be asking is what do we do about these growing pains in the affordable care act and how do we get the last nine percent of Americans covered?”
On the issue of partisanship, Obama welcomed working with Republicans.
He cited that a lot of the ideas for the ACA originated from Republicans, who then turned on the act once Obama himself became heavily involved.
“I don’t care whose idea it is, I just want it to work. They can even change the name of the law to Reagan-care, or they can call it Paul-Ryan-care. I-don’t-care.” He joking added. “Breaking gridlock will only happen when the American people demand it.”
Obama gave his thanks to Miami Dade College for helping spread awareness and putting together free workshops to sign up for affordable healthcare plans through the ACA.
MDC has been preparing to start giving enrollment assistance on November 1st through January 31st, 2017.
Photo Credit: Matthew Alvarez/ RISE NEWS
During this period, MDC students can receive help on getting a health insurance plan or looking at better alternatives.
While directing people how to look at insurance plans, Obama sarcastically repeated throughout his speech: “And you just need to go to Healthcare.gov – which works really well now.”
Miami Dade College hosts students from all walks of life, and the President’s choice of venue was no accident or favor.
A crucial component of the healthcare system is young and healthy citizens (half of which the room was filled with), since their insurance plans pay for the old and sick, which have a profound effect on premiums.
Although the college body broadly supports the ACA, many Cuban students (who tend to be republican) are against Obamacare due to its association with perceived socialist values.
Photo Credit: Matthew Alvarez/ RISE NEWS
Arseni Kusakin, a Miami Dade Honor student in attendance, was very interested in what Obama had to say.
“I hadn’t really considered it cause it didn’t really affect me on a personal level.” Kusakin said. “I like that he was calling for people to work together, I think especially now that’s pretty important. There’s so much divisiveness in this country, and I like that he drove that point home.”
Obama made appearances throughout South Florida later in the day, leaving a trail of traffic and political rallying in his wake.
As early voting officially kick starts in Florida next week, Obama is certainly trying to get the call out to participate, and making his case on which candidates will continue to follow his values and vision along the way.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
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