Despite my day job and this Foreign Policy Association endeavor writing on Cuba, sometimes I do not fully appreciate how challenging it actually can be for Americans to gain U.S. government approval to visit the island. Like so many things, one can talk about this issue every day in a broad sense and in so […]
It bullied rivers over their banks, invaded roads, paralyzed cities and collapsed many houses, sending thousands of people seeking shelter, but it was not done. The week-long rain caused landslides and massive floods; still, it swamped vulnerable camps, trapped many people and, as of Tuesday, tallied 23 bodies for Haitian families to collect while six […]
The Global Commission on Drug Policy releases a study today that is unusually stark: “global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world.” It contends the “war on drugs” strategy needs to change by focusing more on demand, while acknowledging that US policy—America is the largest demand-source for drugs […]
Christine Lagarde visited Brazil on Sunday to buoy her candidacy for the IMF’s top post. At a press conference Lagarde stated: “I will ensure that the Fund represents the diversity of all its members.’’ She went on to indicate that a European should not automatically head the IMF. Perhaps this should be the last time? […]
If, as the report prepared for the U.S. Agency for International Development estimated, the death toll resulted from Haiti’s January 10 earthquake was between 46,000 and 85,000, many people wonder where Haitian leaders found the additional 231,000 bodies in their revised figures of 316,000 published earlier this year on the anniversary of the devastating earthquake. […]
“But, of course she was so fine. Once in her prime, she was sublime! She kept a flow that brought the fellows to their knees.” While few people still honor her existence with such passion, grace and enthusiasm, attendees filled the ballroom with praises and gratitude because it was her night. Exhausted and hurt, her face bears scars of […]
In what was one of his longest speeches to date, last Friday Mexican President Felipe Calderón gave a resounding defense of his administration’s battle against organized crime and sought to compare critics of his governments’ security policies to those who doubted of Churchill’s resolve in confronting the Nazis. Calderón went on extend the comparison between […]
Agustin Carstens, Mexico’s central bank chief and possibly Michael Moore’s long lost brother, is the first official nominee for the post held until last week by Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Since its inception in 1945, the IMF has had a European as its head (America got dibs on the World Bank spot). Now the EU governments are […]
The unprecedented set of circumstances that marked the end of ex-President Rene Preval’s reign left Haitian constitutional scholars spitting fire, talking about high treason and recommending disciplinary actions against current legislators. Many even argued that Preval left the country without a Constitution since some of the amendments voted by the National Assembly on May 9, […]
The unprecedented set of circumstances that marked the end of ex-President Rene Preval’s reign left Haitian constitutional scholars spitting fire, talking about high treason and recommending disciplinary actions against current legislators. Many even argued that Preval left the country without a Constitution since some of the amendments voted by the National Assembly on May 9, […]
“Making Markets Work for Small-Scale Farmers” will air as a live video stream on May 25. Here is the link: http://www.iied.org/sustainable-markets/key-issues/market-governance/provocation-series-making-markets-work-for-smallhol The series is sponsored by the UN Research Institute for Social Development, the International Institute for Environment and Development, Hivos and Mainumby. This will be the fourth segment of a six-part series, and it […]
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNICEF will soon help alleviate the heavy burden of victims of rapes; sexual assaults and child trafficking that quickly spread through Haiti’s displacement camps, following the January 2010 earthquake. These two Nongovernmental organizations will deliver relief through better lit streets in the settlement camps, post traumatic counseling, preventive […]
Port-au-Prince, Haiti – “It was a constitutional coup d’état,” revolted some think tanks, “a parliamentary drive by,” they cried. Others characterized the actions of Haiti’s national assembly as “nothing short of a theatrical performance.” Still, many political observers declared the constitutional amendments “unconstitutional” and called for an annulment of the adopted articles by presidential decree. […]
The total number of Ayapeneco speakers remaining in Mexico: two. The men live some 500 meters apart in the tropical lowlands of Tabasco state. But Manuel Segovia, 75, and Isidro Velazquez, 69, don’t like one another and refuse to talk. The Syndey Morning Herald reports that there are 68 indigenous languages in Mexico; many of […]
Port-au-Prince, Haiti – Power failure inside the Haitian parliament shortly before the inauguration did not deter President Michel Martelly from making history. In fact, the novice head of state was a fountain of smiles waving, spraying charisma to fans, reporters and dignitaries. President Martelly’s oath of office landed on the thunderous applauses of Legislators, national and […]