politics 
In an Emergency, Stick to the Cuny Principles
Fred Cuny was a disaster relief professional who specialized in out-of-the-box thinking. Cuny disappeared several years ago while on mission in Kosovo. The following principles are taken from a book which he authored called “Famine, Conflict and Response, A Basic Guide.”
600,000 need aid in Haiti: UN
The UN has warned hundreds of thousands are in need of immediate aid from severe flooding in Haiti in the wake of Hanna and a previous tropical storm, Gustav
Haiti: Deja Vu All Over Again
SAINT-MARC, Haiti (AP) — Haitian families scrambled onto rooftops and sreamed for help Tuesday in a city flooded by Tropical Storm Hanna, as U.N. peacekeepers and rescue convoys tried in vain to reach them.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
It’s challenging enough for citizens of the United States to come to terms with the content of their character as they consider breaking with tradition and choosing between McCain and Obama, a man who fits nicely the notion of white (Caucasian, non-Hispanic) vs. a man who is neither white nor black, but stands at the multidimensional crossroads of ethnicity and culture that defines most Americans today. But bringing the developing world right at the doorstep of the White House could be just the issue that Obama’s opponents will seize on to argue that breaking with tradition (and Bush Administration policy) may not be in the voters’ best interests.
Haiti: Act III, Scene 1? Check! Scene 2? Still in Development
The lower house of the Haitian Parliament voted by a landslide to approve Michele Pierre-Louis’ nomination as Prime Minister. The nomination had appeared destined for failure when questions about the non-profit leader’s moral core arose and became the subject of an intense political debate. Early supporters of the nominee abstained, fearing that their parties would be cast aside when time came to divide up the spoils of power.
Haiti: Still No End to Act III
Fourteen days from today, Haitians will be commemorating the 93rd anniversary of the landing by American marines in Haiti ostensibly to restore order. The marines quickly took control of the affairs of the country, staying 19 years to remake Haiti in their own image. They left in 1934, after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt decided that… Read More ›
America Imported Torture Techniques from China?
According to the NY Times (July 2, 2008), the CIA and the Pentagon lifted their use of waterboarding and other interrogation methods, that altogether amount to torture, from Chinese techniques used on American soldiers taken prisoner during the clashes over North Korea to elicit confessions from them. Some of the American soldiers had confessed under duress to participating in such things as gem warfare, a claim which the United States strongly denied at the time.
A Weak Strategy Can Deal You a Bad Hand
In Act 3 of Haiti’s political crisis, Préval’s opponents have seized on the nomination of Michele Pierre-Louis to the post of Prime Minister to launch a full-scale assault on Pierre-Louis’ sexual orientation, moral core and fitness for the position. Her supporters have issued a petition which can fall on dead ears because it is addressed to no one in particular.
Haiti: Unintended Obama Faux Pas?
In a May 23, 2008 speech before the Cuban-American National Foundation, Senator Barak Obama vowed to pursue a Roosevelt-style aggressive policy in Latin America and the Caribbean. Wasn’t Franklin Delano Rosevelt Assistant-Secretary of the Navy when the US marines landed in Haiti in 1915? Did he not boast of rewriting the Haitian Constitution to fit US policy goals? Is this a faux pas that will dull Obama’s shine among Haitians and others?
Can Haitians Stop Talking Past Each Other?
It has been a bit over two months since the government of Haiti fell. What do you mean the government fell, say you? Isn’t Rene Preval still President of Haiti? Yes, indeed. Mr. Preval is still the head of state. And yes, the government fell, but this time just as contemplated by the Constitution that… Read More ›
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