military aid and the repression and abuse of human rights. To my knowledge, studies date from the early eighties, when Lars Schoultz at the University of North Carolina looked at some strange corollaries in Latin America. Later, Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky found that aid increased to countries as their human rights protections deteriorated, but also that aid rose as market changes were implemented, often those that are called for by the IMF and World Bank, such as removing restrictions on capital flow and foreign investment and ownership, and weakening labor protections. All of these market fixes tend to privilege foreign capital.

Though not as crude as naked repression of the kind doled out by your garden-variety tyrant, market mandates serve a similar purpose—the erosion of citizen power, hemorrhagedBelgian Army parachutist dies on manoeuvres in the US

The Belgian Defence Ministry reports that a Belgian Army parachutist has died while taking part in manoeuvres in the United States. The Belgian died on Tuesday during a practice jump in Yuma in the American state of Arizona.

Wed 28 Feb 16:58

The cause of the accident is currently the subject of an investigation. The Defence Ministry will release more details about what happened as soon as the investigation has been completed.

The Defence Ministry have expressed its deepest sympathy with the parachutist’s family and those close to him.