Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Thursday, December 10, 2009
2009: A Reporter's Notebook of the Year Gone By
In 2009 I began the year by attempting to bring attention to the plight of indigenous Australians - as downtrodden and disenfranchised a group as I have encountered - and ended it discussing issues of freedom of expression, secularism and women’s rights with a Bangladeshi author here in Europe. It was, as it turned out, a year during which I had the opportunity to visit a place that I had long wanted to see but never thought I would be able to get to (Papua New Guinea) and returned to my first love, Haiti, for the first time in three years, only to find it dishearteningly poised to lurch away from tentative progress to yet another politically-inspired crisis.
It was a year that began with great hope as we watched Barack Obama, whose candidacy I strongly supported, inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States, and ended with more trepidation in the wake of the strong whiff of violence, racism and xenophobia that characterized opposition to Obama’s plan to reform America’s broken healthcare system, and the sober realization that 30,000 more American troops would be sent into harm’s way in Afghanistan in the coming months.
As the whittling down of serious, investigative foreign coverage became ever more dire, I found myself speaking to audiences at places such as the Florida International University in Miami, and the Indonesian Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies in Denpasar, Bali, wondering aloud what the future holds for a profession in which many of those in positions of power have become ever-more timid in the face of demands that the news business serve as little more than light entertainment for an otherwise-occupied populace.
Since I began reporting professionally a decade ago, I have never for a moment doubted the value of independent journalism, and how it gives voice to suffering and helps to advance the concerns of the disenfranchised in the global discussion of their fate. I have always believed that the highest goal the profession can have, and the reason that we ultimately have to exist as journalists, is to serve the people, not to repeat what the powerful would have us say.
Those wanting to stifle debate about important issues come in many guises, whether as executives of rapacious big-businesses, or as well-heeled intellectuals who seek to deform the struggles of places as complex as Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo to fit into their own narrow and often dilettantish understanding of the world. But I continue to believe that we as journalists, whatever the cost and whatever the financial and societal pressures we may feel, must continue to work for the poor majority that make up this world and whom, in my experience reporting now for a decade from six continents, want little more than an honest wage and a decent government for all their hard labours.
It is to those people who took time to speak with me this year - people such as the Gurdanji, Yanyuwa, Garawa and Mara of Borroloola in Australia’s Northern Territory, and the peasants of Haiti’s Artibonite Valley - that I dedicate these articles, and with them my hope for a gentler, more human and more just 2010.
Much love,
MD
Women’s untold stories: A Conversation with Taslima Nasrin for Le Monde diplomatique (5 November 2009)
A few notes on the dismissal of Prime Minister Michèle Pierre-Louis for AlterPresse (3 November 2009)
A conflict of interests: Corruption case against three African leaders throws into question economic relationships between developed countries and former colonies for Foreign Direct Investment (15 October 2009)
Haiti: Back to life for Foreign Direct Investment (15 October 2009)
Challenges to Haiti’s Security Gains: An Address to the Applied Research Center and the Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University for AlterPresse (10 October 2009)
Haiti: "We Have Never Had Justice" for the Inter Press Service (21 July 2009)
Tentative calm brings optimism to a 'failed' Haiti for the Washington Times (19 July 2009)
Haiti: Deportees from U.S. Face Culture Shock, Retain Hope for the Inter Press Service (8 July 2009)
"The Elites Are Like a Huge Elephant Sitting on Haiti": Michael Deibert interviews Haitian Prime Minister Michèle Pierre-Louis for the Inter Press Service (3 July 2009)
Measuring the Drowned and the Saved in Sudan: A Review of Mahmood Mamdani’s Saviors and Survivors : Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror for the Social Science Research Council (15 June 2009)
Manufactured diversity: Economies of North Africa’s Maghreb region are branching out into manufacturing as the demand for hydrocarbon exports continues to decline for Foreign Direct Investment (12 June 2009)
Papua New Guinea: Time to explore for Foreign Direct Investment (12 June 2009)
More Calls to Ban Zimbabwe’s Blood Diamonds for the Inter Press Service (24 May 2009)
The Final Testament of Rodrigo Rosenberg for the World Policy Journal (15 May 2009)
World crisis spurs protest from French workers for the Washington Times (11 May 2009)
A Note on Violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University for the World Policy Journal (4 May 2009)
‘‘King of Kings’’ Gaddafi Tries to Flex Regional Muscles for the Inter Press Service (24 April 2009)
Australia’s Parched Landscape for the World Policy Journal, (26 February 2009)
Bone dry to blazing in Australia for the Washington Times (20 February 2009)
Xstrata Dreaming: The Struggle of Aboriginal Australians against a Swiss Mining Giant for CorpWatch (16 February 2009)
Echoes of Obama on Australia Day for the World Policy Journal (26 January 2009)
Selectively shrugging off world conflicts: A review of Stealth Conflicts: How the World's Worst Violence is Ignored for the Miami Herald (20 January 2009)
Drugs vs. Democracy in Guatemala for the World Policy Journal (Winter 2008/09)
Politics of brutality: A review of An Encounter with Haiti for the Miami Herald (4 January 2009)
It was a year that began with great hope as we watched Barack Obama, whose candidacy I strongly supported, inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States, and ended with more trepidation in the wake of the strong whiff of violence, racism and xenophobia that characterized opposition to Obama’s plan to reform America’s broken healthcare system, and the sober realization that 30,000 more American troops would be sent into harm’s way in Afghanistan in the coming months.
As the whittling down of serious, investigative foreign coverage became ever more dire, I found myself speaking to audiences at places such as the Florida International University in Miami, and the Indonesian Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies in Denpasar, Bali, wondering aloud what the future holds for a profession in which many of those in positions of power have become ever-more timid in the face of demands that the news business serve as little more than light entertainment for an otherwise-occupied populace.
Since I began reporting professionally a decade ago, I have never for a moment doubted the value of independent journalism, and how it gives voice to suffering and helps to advance the concerns of the disenfranchised in the global discussion of their fate. I have always believed that the highest goal the profession can have, and the reason that we ultimately have to exist as journalists, is to serve the people, not to repeat what the powerful would have us say.
Those wanting to stifle debate about important issues come in many guises, whether as executives of rapacious big-businesses, or as well-heeled intellectuals who seek to deform the struggles of places as complex as Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo to fit into their own narrow and often dilettantish understanding of the world. But I continue to believe that we as journalists, whatever the cost and whatever the financial and societal pressures we may feel, must continue to work for the poor majority that make up this world and whom, in my experience reporting now for a decade from six continents, want little more than an honest wage and a decent government for all their hard labours.
It is to those people who took time to speak with me this year - people such as the Gurdanji, Yanyuwa, Garawa and Mara of Borroloola in Australia’s Northern Territory, and the peasants of Haiti’s Artibonite Valley - that I dedicate these articles, and with them my hope for a gentler, more human and more just 2010.
Much love,
MD
Women’s untold stories: A Conversation with Taslima Nasrin for Le Monde diplomatique (5 November 2009)
A few notes on the dismissal of Prime Minister Michèle Pierre-Louis for AlterPresse (3 November 2009)
A conflict of interests: Corruption case against three African leaders throws into question economic relationships between developed countries and former colonies for Foreign Direct Investment (15 October 2009)
Haiti: Back to life for Foreign Direct Investment (15 October 2009)
Challenges to Haiti’s Security Gains: An Address to the Applied Research Center and the Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University for AlterPresse (10 October 2009)
Haiti: "We Have Never Had Justice" for the Inter Press Service (21 July 2009)
Tentative calm brings optimism to a 'failed' Haiti for the Washington Times (19 July 2009)
Haiti: Deportees from U.S. Face Culture Shock, Retain Hope for the Inter Press Service (8 July 2009)
"The Elites Are Like a Huge Elephant Sitting on Haiti": Michael Deibert interviews Haitian Prime Minister Michèle Pierre-Louis for the Inter Press Service (3 July 2009)
Measuring the Drowned and the Saved in Sudan: A Review of Mahmood Mamdani’s Saviors and Survivors : Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror for the Social Science Research Council (15 June 2009)
Manufactured diversity: Economies of North Africa’s Maghreb region are branching out into manufacturing as the demand for hydrocarbon exports continues to decline for Foreign Direct Investment (12 June 2009)
Papua New Guinea: Time to explore for Foreign Direct Investment (12 June 2009)
More Calls to Ban Zimbabwe’s Blood Diamonds for the Inter Press Service (24 May 2009)
The Final Testament of Rodrigo Rosenberg for the World Policy Journal (15 May 2009)
World crisis spurs protest from French workers for the Washington Times (11 May 2009)
A Note on Violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University for the World Policy Journal (4 May 2009)
‘‘King of Kings’’ Gaddafi Tries to Flex Regional Muscles for the Inter Press Service (24 April 2009)
Australia’s Parched Landscape for the World Policy Journal, (26 February 2009)
Bone dry to blazing in Australia for the Washington Times (20 February 2009)
Xstrata Dreaming: The Struggle of Aboriginal Australians against a Swiss Mining Giant for CorpWatch (16 February 2009)
Echoes of Obama on Australia Day for the World Policy Journal (26 January 2009)
Selectively shrugging off world conflicts: A review of Stealth Conflicts: How the World's Worst Violence is Ignored for the Miami Herald (20 January 2009)
Drugs vs. Democracy in Guatemala for the World Policy Journal (Winter 2008/09)
Politics of brutality: A review of An Encounter with Haiti for the Miami Herald (4 January 2009)
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Etazini/Barack Obama : Yon prezidan nwa nan Kay Blanch meriken an
Etazini/Barack Obama : Yon prezidan nwa nan Kay Blanch meriken an
mèkredi 21 janvye 2009
(Read the original article here)
Pòtoprens, 21 janv. 09 [AlterPresse] --- Prezidan tou nèf peyi Etazini a, Barack Hussein Obama, antre nan pòs li, nan palè nasyonal ameriken an, jounen madi 20 janvye 2009 la, apre li fin ranpòte lamayòl nan eleksyon ki fèt nan dat 4 novanm 2008 la, dapre sa moun toupatou .sou latè te ka wè nan televizyon entènasyonal yo.
Barack Obama, ki se premye prezidan nwa nan listwa Etazini, te sèmante l ap respekte konstitisyon peyi l devan plis pase 2 milyon moun ki te mobilize pou asiste seremoni an.
Prezidan ameriken an te fè yon diskou 20 minit, kote li rekonèt ki jan defi, l ap jwenn sou chimen l yo, grav anpil
Gwo kriz peyi Etazini ap travèse jounen jodi a se rezilta iresponsablite ak gwo nanm yon latriye moun, dapre prezidan tounèf la ki fè konnen : eta ekonomi amerikèn lan ye a mande pou poze aksyon fèm epi ki rapid.
Barack Obama fè yon diskou ki pote lespwa. Li te manyen sitiyasyon lagè k ap vale teren nan peyi Irak ak Afganistan.
Madi swa 21 janvye 2009, prezidan Obama pran premye desizyon l an favè prizonye ki sou baz militè Gwanntanamo yo, sou teritwa Kiba.
Obama mande sispann, pou 120 jou, tout aktivite lajistis devan tribinal espesyal yo bay non tribinal esepsyon yo.
Yon desizyon jij militè Stephen Henley koumanse egzekite jounen mèkredi 21 janvye a, kote li sispann demach tande 5 prizonye yo te akize nan atak ki te fèt sou Etazini nan dat 11 sektanm 2001.
Barack Obama deja gen tan pale nan telefòn ak chèf teritwa Palestin nan, Mahmoud Abbas, kote li pwomèt li pral travay pou fè lapè tabli nan zon yo rele pwòch oryan an.
An Ayiti, si anpil moun te gen chans suiv devan televizyon yo seremoni enstalasyon Barack Obama a, anpil lòt te branche ti radyo yo pou te tande sa k t ap pase lakay blan meriken, kote yon nèg nwè rive prezidan premye pisans sou latè.
Nan Pòtoprens, yon gwoup sitwayen k ap mache dèyè Obama te menm fè chante yon mès aksyon gras pou salye enstalasyon prezidan tou nèf la nan Kay Blanch ameriken an.
Barack Obama se karantkatriyèm prezidan peyi Etazini.
Li ranplase nan pòs sa a George Walker Bush ki, apre 8 lane sou pouvwa, se youn nan prezidan ki plis pa gen bon repitasyon tèlman yo te wè l kom patizan kagè detan li te sou pouvwa ameriken an.
mèkredi 21 janvye 2009
(Read the original article here)
Pòtoprens, 21 janv. 09 [AlterPresse] --- Prezidan tou nèf peyi Etazini a, Barack Hussein Obama, antre nan pòs li, nan palè nasyonal ameriken an, jounen madi 20 janvye 2009 la, apre li fin ranpòte lamayòl nan eleksyon ki fèt nan dat 4 novanm 2008 la, dapre sa moun toupatou .sou latè te ka wè nan televizyon entènasyonal yo.
Barack Obama, ki se premye prezidan nwa nan listwa Etazini, te sèmante l ap respekte konstitisyon peyi l devan plis pase 2 milyon moun ki te mobilize pou asiste seremoni an.
Prezidan ameriken an te fè yon diskou 20 minit, kote li rekonèt ki jan defi, l ap jwenn sou chimen l yo, grav anpil
Gwo kriz peyi Etazini ap travèse jounen jodi a se rezilta iresponsablite ak gwo nanm yon latriye moun, dapre prezidan tounèf la ki fè konnen : eta ekonomi amerikèn lan ye a mande pou poze aksyon fèm epi ki rapid.
Barack Obama fè yon diskou ki pote lespwa. Li te manyen sitiyasyon lagè k ap vale teren nan peyi Irak ak Afganistan.
Madi swa 21 janvye 2009, prezidan Obama pran premye desizyon l an favè prizonye ki sou baz militè Gwanntanamo yo, sou teritwa Kiba.
Obama mande sispann, pou 120 jou, tout aktivite lajistis devan tribinal espesyal yo bay non tribinal esepsyon yo.
Yon desizyon jij militè Stephen Henley koumanse egzekite jounen mèkredi 21 janvye a, kote li sispann demach tande 5 prizonye yo te akize nan atak ki te fèt sou Etazini nan dat 11 sektanm 2001.
Barack Obama deja gen tan pale nan telefòn ak chèf teritwa Palestin nan, Mahmoud Abbas, kote li pwomèt li pral travay pou fè lapè tabli nan zon yo rele pwòch oryan an.
An Ayiti, si anpil moun te gen chans suiv devan televizyon yo seremoni enstalasyon Barack Obama a, anpil lòt te branche ti radyo yo pou te tande sa k t ap pase lakay blan meriken, kote yon nèg nwè rive prezidan premye pisans sou latè.
Nan Pòtoprens, yon gwoup sitwayen k ap mache dèyè Obama te menm fè chante yon mès aksyon gras pou salye enstalasyon prezidan tou nèf la nan Kay Blanch ameriken an.
Barack Obama se karantkatriyèm prezidan peyi Etazini.
Li ranplase nan pòs sa a George Walker Bush ki, apre 8 lane sou pouvwa, se youn nan prezidan ki plis pa gen bon repitasyon tèlman yo te wè l kom patizan kagè detan li te sou pouvwa ameriken an.
Friday, December 19, 2008
2008: A Reporter's Notebook of the Year Gone By
I was fortunate enough this past year to report from five continents, something of a personal milestone for me. The work began in Paris and continued throughout Africa, including several months in the Democratic Republic of Congo which left me distressed at the plight of the civilians there and the international community's apparent inability or unwillingness to end their suffering. It continued with a return to Central America, where I was left charmed by Nicaragua, though dismayed at its political situation, and found Guatemala, that most evocative of Latin American countries, seemingly drowning in an ocean of blood and a hail of bullets. The results of my investigation into the causes of the latter will appear in the Winter 2008 edition of the World Policy Journal, published by the World Policy Institute in New York City.
Though such events do not leave one overly optimistic for the future, there was one notable cause for celebration this year: The election of Illinois Senator Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States, the first African-American to hold that post. Obama’s election resulted in scenes of jubilation in the United States and beyond, and served as a powerful "answer," in Obama's words, to "anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy." After the eight disastrous years of the administration of George W. Bush, it is my hope that Obama lives up to the slogan that he used throughout his campaign, change we can believe in. The United States and the world at large certainly needs it.
Based in Australia for the next few months, where the affects of climate change are increasingly present, I hope that my travels in the coming year will enable me to report on a more humane, more just and more responsive world, where that which unites us as humanity proves stronger than that which divides us, and we prove ever less susceptible to those who would exploit such divisions.
What follows is my entire oeuvre of reportage from the year 2008. Hopefully it will be of some interest, and the stories of those contained within will hold some resonance.
Much love,
MD
The Cuba problem: A review of The Cuba Wars: Fidel Castro, the United States and the Next Revolution by Daniel P. Erikson for the Miami Herald (7 December 2008)
Trial of Muslims grips Australians for the Washington Times (30 November 2008)
ECONOMY: EU Involvement in DRC Mining Project Draws Protest for the Inter Press Service (28 October 2008)
Mixed signals: What is an investor to make of Africa? for Foreign Direct Investment (7 October 2008)
Garífunas Confront Their Own Decline for Tierramérica (6 October 2008)
Nicaragua’s poisonous political brew for Folha de Sao Paulo (31 August 2008)
"Haiti Is Going From Catastrophe to Catastrophe": Michael Deibert interviews Chavannes Jean-Baptiste for the Inter Press Service (28 September 2008)
Congo: Between Hope and Despair for the World Policy Journal (Summer 2008)
Distilling the ties between Bacardi and Cuba: A review of Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba by Tom Gjelten for the Miami Herald (14 September 2008)
TRADE-AFRICA: New Technology to Sever Timber's Link to Conflict? for the Inter Press Service (8 August 2008)
CULTURE-ETHIOPIA: Debate Swirls Around Fate of Holy Sites for the Inter Press Service (3 July 2008)
A Glittering Demon: Mining, Poverty and Politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo for CorpWatch (26 June 2008)
POLITICS: Is Democracy Dangerous in Multi-ethnic Societies? An interview with Frances Stewart, Oxford University Professor of Development Economics for the Inter Press Service (26 June 2008)
POLITICS-ETHIOPIA : A Tangled Political Landscape Raises Questions About African Ally of the U.S. for the Inter Press Service (21 June 2008)
Ethiopia's Urban Poor Cannot Afford To Eat: Interview with Abera Tola, Director of Oxfam's Horn of Africa regional office for the Inter Press Service (21 June 200*)
TRADE-AFRICA: EU Seeks to Subdue Competitive China for the Inter Press Service (15 May 2008)
RIGHTS: In South Africa, Zimbabwean Refugees Find Sanctuary and Contempt for the Inter Press Service (4 May 2008)
"We Mustn't Think as South Africans That We Have Won the Day": An interview with Bishop Paul Verryn for the Inter Press Service (4 May 2008)
DRC: With Rebel Leader's Indictment, a Tentative Step to Accountability for the Inter Press Service (1 May 2008)
HEALTH-DRC: Water Everywhere, But Is It Safe To Drink? for the Inter Press Service (24 April 2008)
POLITICS-DRC: Cautious Calm Settles Over War-scarred Ituri Region for the Inter Press Service (17 April 2008)
Why I am voting for Barack Obama for Michael Deibert, Writer (15 April 2008)
Extraction from chaos: Embattled by war and corruption but laden with large deposits of diamonds and copper, DR Congo is largely avoided by investors. Might that change? for Foreign Direct Investment (10 April 2008)
The Fruits of Reform: Mozambique, whose history has been blighted by a long liberation struggle and years of civil war, is starting to reap the benefits of recent macroeconomic reforms for Foreign Direct Investment (10 April 2008)
Failure To Renew DRC Expert's Mandate Draws Criticism for the Inter Press Service (1 April 2008)
POLITICS-DRC: In a Governmental Vacuum, Yearnings for a Lost Empire for the Inter Press Service (21 March 2008)
A Review of Peter Hallward’s Damming the Flood: Haiti, Aristide and the Politics of Containment for Michael Deibert, Writer (16 March 2008)
A Humanitarian Disaster Unfolds in Eastern DRC for the Inter Press Service (1 March 2008)
Fidel's view: A Review of Fidel Castro: My Life by Fidel Castro and Ignacio Ramonet for the Miami Herald (27 January 2008)
Though such events do not leave one overly optimistic for the future, there was one notable cause for celebration this year: The election of Illinois Senator Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States, the first African-American to hold that post. Obama’s election resulted in scenes of jubilation in the United States and beyond, and served as a powerful "answer," in Obama's words, to "anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy." After the eight disastrous years of the administration of George W. Bush, it is my hope that Obama lives up to the slogan that he used throughout his campaign, change we can believe in. The United States and the world at large certainly needs it.
Based in Australia for the next few months, where the affects of climate change are increasingly present, I hope that my travels in the coming year will enable me to report on a more humane, more just and more responsive world, where that which unites us as humanity proves stronger than that which divides us, and we prove ever less susceptible to those who would exploit such divisions.
What follows is my entire oeuvre of reportage from the year 2008. Hopefully it will be of some interest, and the stories of those contained within will hold some resonance.
Much love,
MD
The Cuba problem: A review of The Cuba Wars: Fidel Castro, the United States and the Next Revolution by Daniel P. Erikson for the Miami Herald (7 December 2008)
Trial of Muslims grips Australians for the Washington Times (30 November 2008)
ECONOMY: EU Involvement in DRC Mining Project Draws Protest for the Inter Press Service (28 October 2008)
Mixed signals: What is an investor to make of Africa? for Foreign Direct Investment (7 October 2008)
Garífunas Confront Their Own Decline for Tierramérica (6 October 2008)
Nicaragua’s poisonous political brew for Folha de Sao Paulo (31 August 2008)
"Haiti Is Going From Catastrophe to Catastrophe": Michael Deibert interviews Chavannes Jean-Baptiste for the Inter Press Service (28 September 2008)
Congo: Between Hope and Despair for the World Policy Journal (Summer 2008)
Distilling the ties between Bacardi and Cuba: A review of Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba by Tom Gjelten for the Miami Herald (14 September 2008)
TRADE-AFRICA: New Technology to Sever Timber's Link to Conflict? for the Inter Press Service (8 August 2008)
CULTURE-ETHIOPIA: Debate Swirls Around Fate of Holy Sites for the Inter Press Service (3 July 2008)
A Glittering Demon: Mining, Poverty and Politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo for CorpWatch (26 June 2008)
POLITICS: Is Democracy Dangerous in Multi-ethnic Societies? An interview with Frances Stewart, Oxford University Professor of Development Economics for the Inter Press Service (26 June 2008)
POLITICS-ETHIOPIA : A Tangled Political Landscape Raises Questions About African Ally of the U.S. for the Inter Press Service (21 June 2008)
Ethiopia's Urban Poor Cannot Afford To Eat: Interview with Abera Tola, Director of Oxfam's Horn of Africa regional office for the Inter Press Service (21 June 200*)
TRADE-AFRICA: EU Seeks to Subdue Competitive China for the Inter Press Service (15 May 2008)
RIGHTS: In South Africa, Zimbabwean Refugees Find Sanctuary and Contempt for the Inter Press Service (4 May 2008)
"We Mustn't Think as South Africans That We Have Won the Day": An interview with Bishop Paul Verryn for the Inter Press Service (4 May 2008)
DRC: With Rebel Leader's Indictment, a Tentative Step to Accountability for the Inter Press Service (1 May 2008)
HEALTH-DRC: Water Everywhere, But Is It Safe To Drink? for the Inter Press Service (24 April 2008)
POLITICS-DRC: Cautious Calm Settles Over War-scarred Ituri Region for the Inter Press Service (17 April 2008)
Why I am voting for Barack Obama for Michael Deibert, Writer (15 April 2008)
Extraction from chaos: Embattled by war and corruption but laden with large deposits of diamonds and copper, DR Congo is largely avoided by investors. Might that change? for Foreign Direct Investment (10 April 2008)
The Fruits of Reform: Mozambique, whose history has been blighted by a long liberation struggle and years of civil war, is starting to reap the benefits of recent macroeconomic reforms for Foreign Direct Investment (10 April 2008)
Failure To Renew DRC Expert's Mandate Draws Criticism for the Inter Press Service (1 April 2008)
POLITICS-DRC: In a Governmental Vacuum, Yearnings for a Lost Empire for the Inter Press Service (21 March 2008)
A Review of Peter Hallward’s Damming the Flood: Haiti, Aristide and the Politics of Containment for Michael Deibert, Writer (16 March 2008)
A Humanitarian Disaster Unfolds in Eastern DRC for the Inter Press Service (1 March 2008)
Fidel's view: A Review of Fidel Castro: My Life by Fidel Castro and Ignacio Ramonet for the Miami Herald (27 January 2008)
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Haitian-American to be Barack Obama's Political Director.
Obama picks former lobbyist as political director
By Elana Schor in Washington
Friday November 21 2008
The Guardian
(Read the original article here)
Barack Obama is reported to have chosen Patrick Gaspard, who was registered as a labour union health lobbyist as recently as election day, as the next White House political director.
The Gaspard pick, first reported by the New York Daily News, elevates a skilled Democratic hand to a post made famous by hard-driving Karl Rove, who was political director during George W Bush's first term, and Rahm Emanuel, who held the slot under Bill Clinton.
Gaspard was the political director on Obama's presidential campaign and associate personnel director for the White House transition team, making the 41-year-old Haitian-American a powerful contact for anyone seeking a job in the new administration.
Gaspard's lobbying experience could draw further scrutiny to Obama's vow to prevent the Washington influence industry from infiltrating his administration. Some Democrats have suggested that Obama entirely abolish the political director position – created under Ronald Reagan – as a symbolic healing gesture after the partisan wounds Rove opened.
The most recent issue Gaspard lobbied on for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) healthcare workers arm was the US children's health insurance programme, which Democrats fought to expand before losing out to a Bush veto last year.
Gaspard played a crucial role in SEIU's decision to come out against New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg in his bid to overturn term-limits rules and run for re-election, according to the Daily News report.
In an interview with the New Yorker magazine this week, Gaspard related an instantly famous remark Obama made during his job interview with the president-elect.
After noting that he appreciated opinionated advisers, Obama told Gaspard: "I think that I'm a better speechwriter than my speechwriters. I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. And I'll tell you right now that I'm gonna think I'm a better political director than my political director."
By Elana Schor in Washington
Friday November 21 2008
The Guardian
(Read the original article here)
Barack Obama is reported to have chosen Patrick Gaspard, who was registered as a labour union health lobbyist as recently as election day, as the next White House political director.
The Gaspard pick, first reported by the New York Daily News, elevates a skilled Democratic hand to a post made famous by hard-driving Karl Rove, who was political director during George W Bush's first term, and Rahm Emanuel, who held the slot under Bill Clinton.
Gaspard was the political director on Obama's presidential campaign and associate personnel director for the White House transition team, making the 41-year-old Haitian-American a powerful contact for anyone seeking a job in the new administration.
Gaspard's lobbying experience could draw further scrutiny to Obama's vow to prevent the Washington influence industry from infiltrating his administration. Some Democrats have suggested that Obama entirely abolish the political director position – created under Ronald Reagan – as a symbolic healing gesture after the partisan wounds Rove opened.
The most recent issue Gaspard lobbied on for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) healthcare workers arm was the US children's health insurance programme, which Democrats fought to expand before losing out to a Bush veto last year.
Gaspard played a crucial role in SEIU's decision to come out against New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg in his bid to overturn term-limits rules and run for re-election, according to the Daily News report.
In an interview with the New Yorker magazine this week, Gaspard related an instantly famous remark Obama made during his job interview with the president-elect.
After noting that he appreciated opinionated advisers, Obama told Gaspard: "I think that I'm a better speechwriter than my speechwriters. I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. And I'll tell you right now that I'm gonna think I'm a better political director than my political director."
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