Murdering union organisers is something I'd expect from third-rate banana republics, not European countries.
Sounds like we might end up partying like we're back in '99 after all... only, back in 1899 rather than 1999.
As an aside, your second link does not take me anywhere.
- Jake If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.
But Martinique and Guadeloupe are in every possible meaning the clsoest thing to a banana republic we have in Europe. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Which to me would appear to mean that the authorities were sitting on the news, at least at 6:00-7:00 CET.
So the news that three policemen were injured could conceivably have got through before the news of the unionist's death.
La situation aux Antilles - Société - Le Monde.fr
10:30 - Jacques Pino, un membre du LKP abattu Jacques Pino, un membre du "collectif contre l'exploitation" (LKP) a été tué vers 00h30 (heure locale) par une balle tirée "depuis un barrage tenu par des jeunes" dans la nuit de mardi à mercredi à Pointe-à-Pitre, indique la cellule de crise de la préfecture de la Guadeloupe. L'information a été donnée dans un premier temps par Europe 1.
10:30 - Jacques Pino, un membre du LKP abattu
Jacques Pino, un membre du "collectif contre l'exploitation" (LKP) a été tué vers 00h30 (heure locale) par une balle tirée "depuis un barrage tenu par des jeunes" dans la nuit de mardi à mercredi à Pointe-à-Pitre, indique la cellule de crise de la préfecture de la Guadeloupe. L'information a été donnée dans un premier temps par Europe 1.
But no, there's apparently nothing fishy.
How impossible would it be for at least some of the youth to be provocateurs ?
Apparently the state has now brought in the riot police, and has started arresting demonstrator - a bit of blood, attributable to the rioters, can be very convenient. Un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères
As you and linca point out, there ARE other suspicious facts. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
But who killed the unionist, and why? That's another question.
Among other things, GBH owns the Citroën importer in Algeria, something I would have expected to be owned by Citroën itself or a local Algerian tycoon. I also notice that a lot of GBH's business seems to involve running franchised branches for big French retailers, trading on their names and reputations.
As a rule of thumb, colonies that has been to weak to break from their former master often resemble third-rate banana republics. A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!
OTOH, the thirteen North American colonies that broke away from their English master finally managed to become...
Oh, wait. Forget about it...
Having traveled through the Caribbean at various times, I can assure you that quality of life in the non-independent islands (Martinique, Guadeloupe) is way, way above that in the independent ones (St Vincent, St Lucie, etc). Some of these places are good examples of hell under the tropic sun.
There would be one exception : the Virgin Islands, Tortola being a more civilised place than St Thomas.
I'd be curious to see the figures, but I assume a lot more money flows into the french islands than the opposite. The real problem seems to be the leechers living off this financial stream.
I am no expert, but I'd say the natural ressource would be tourism, and it's just not competitive with the Dominican Republic or Cuba : high costs, not enough local production, etc. I don't see an easy way to development over there. Just as in many places, too few resources for the number of people and the way of life they are expecting.
