The streets of Port-au-Prince erupted in jubilation on Monday, April 4, when the Haitian Provisional Electoral Council declared Michel Martelly to be the preliminary winner of the presidential runoff election. Martelly sailed to victory following the March 20 runoff vote, riding a wave of voter discontent with the performance of current President Rene Preval. The flashy, controversial pop star turned politician captured 67.6 percent of the vote in a sound defeat of opponent Mirlande Manigat, who collected 31.5 percent. While the official results will not be verified until April 20, …
After hitting some minor speed bumps, the Haitian runoff election ran more smoothly than anticipated on Sunday, March 20. The run-off candidates, Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly and former first lady Mirlande Manigat, are still neck and neck in the race to become Haiti’s next president. For a while, the dramatic return of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide threatened to disrupt the process. Fortunately, observers have verified that the results announced on April 16 will be accurate. Fourteen months after the destructive Haitian earthquake, the Haitian people faced a choice between a …
Food prices are on the rise across the globe, fueling much of the political unrest that continues to rage in parts of the Middle East. Unexpectedly severe weather and soaring demand have pushed food prices to “dangerous levels and threaten tens of millions of poor people,” said World Bank President Robert Zoellick earlier this month. “Global food prices are approaching an all-time high,” agreed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her testimony before the Senate last week. If food shortages caused by the rise in prices continue, Latin America could see …
Democracy, stability, and moderation are in the balance not just in Egypt but closer to home in Haiti. On Thursday, Haiti’s electoral board decided that the presidential run-off on March 20 will pit Mirlande Manigat, a former first lady and law professor, against Michel Martelly, known as “Sweet Micky,” a carnival performer and kompa music singer of raunchy chart toppers. Removed from the run-off race was Jude Celestin of the INITE party, who was assigned third place after a technical review of the elections. Celestin’s removal was a blow for …
France’s tricolor, Britain’s Union Jack and even Croatia’s coat of arms have been lifted above those nation’s installations in Haiti. But in the United States camp, “whose contributions dwarf the rest of the world’s,” no flag is allowed to fly. Why? The Obama administration has forbidden it. USA Today reports: The lack of the Stars and Stripes does not sit well with some veterans and servicemembers who say the U.S. government should be proud to fly the flag in Haiti, given the amount of money and manpower the U.S. is …
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is attempting to do what couldn’t be done at the international climate change conference in Copenhagen last December: Transfer large sums of wealth from developed countries to developing ones in the name of climate change. From BusinessWeek: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, said the organization is helping to set up a “green fund” that would raise $100 billion a year by 2020 to mitigate the effects of climate change in developing countries. Strauss-Kahn indicated the fund may use its quotas, which reflect …
Less than two months after the January 12 earthquake in Haiti, another Hemispheric neighbor has fallen victim to the ravages of nature. The earthquake that struck Chile in the early hours of February 27 measured 8.8 on the Richter scale and was one of the most powerful quakes in a century. Again as they did in response to the massive Haiti earthquake, the American people stand with President Barack Obama in expressing condolences and in offering support to the Chilean people in face of such a horrific natural disaster. Chile …
Haiti marks on February 12, the first month after the horrific January 12 earthquake, with a day of national mourning. According to Haitian officials the death toll stands at between 217,000 and 230,000, a staggering figure equaling that of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It is an occasion to reflect also upon the needs of Haitians injured, orphaned, and made homeless in the disaster. February 12 is also a day to recognize the swift and generous bipartisan response of the U.S. to the earthquake. The actions of Americans in response …
In publicizing the President’s State of the Union address, Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett announced that one of the achievements of which the administration was most proud in its first year in office was its action to repair “badly frayed global alliances” and “to restore America’s leadership in the world.” That leadership was not much in evidence in the President’s speech, which is only fitting, because it has been lacking in reality as well. The President name-checked the obvious foreign crises. Haiti, predictably, took pride of place, and here, at least, …
Earlier this week, Tom Miller, president and CEO of the United Nations Association of the United States, told the Westport Rotary Club that “as the richest nation in the world, the United States could do more for Haitian earthquake victims.” Considering Mr. Miller’s position, perhaps it would be instructive to contrast the U.S. contribution and support for Haiti to that of the other members of the U.N. Claudia Rosett does just that in her Forbes.com column today where she observes: … the United Nations’ ReliefWeb database showed contributions from the …
