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  • Sweeping the Taliban Aside by Ed Corcoran, 8 Feb 2010 -- "You Have the Watches, We Have the Time say the Taliban. The implication is that the Americans will eventually leave and they will inherit the country. ..."
  • Immigration Undermines Security by Ed Corcoran, 6 Feb 2010 -- "The problem isn't the border fence, it's the job hole in the United States and corrupt leaders worldwide supported by Western money. Immigration complicates both these challenges and diminishes national well being. ..."
  • Riding the Dragon--How the US should Think about China by James Jay Carafano, 1 Feb 2010 -- "US-China relations are back in the headlines after the administration announced it planned to follow though on arms sales to Taiwan and Beijing mad clear it was not happy. The most recent confrontation is reminder that the stability of US-Chinese relations cannot be taken for granted. ..."
  • Al-Qaeda's Financial Pressures by Council on Foreign Relations, 1 Feb 2010 -- "In addition to the ongoing military campaign against al-Qaeda, financial regulators are beefing up efforts to cut the terror group's lines of funding. These efforts are showing signs of progress. ..."
  • Where Will the Jobs Come From? by Ed Corcoran, 31 Jan 2010 -- "In traditional societies everyone works - they have to, just to provide essentials for survival. As society becomes more complex, fewer people are needed to produce essentials, so the society can support luxury items and services, including cultural services that enrich everyone's lives. ..."


Haiti In Brief

Help the Victims

  1. Respond to the Earthquake in Haiti
  2. Haiti Earthquake Children in Emergency

A Dozen Challenges to "Reconstruction"

  1. Political Instability Haiti has never developed a civic culture -- widespread acceptance of the rule of law and institutions strong enough to enforce laws and legal decisions -- to replace the exercise of violence as a means to political power.
  2. Hatian National Police Forces The 8,500 member Haitian National Police (HNP) has sole responsibility for law enforcement and maintenance of order; there are no military forces. The UN estimated that the country needs a force of at least 14,000 police.
  3. Corruption Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index for 2008 ranked Haiti the fourth most corrupt country in the world.
  4. Drugs Haiti is among the four most important countries for drug transit to the United States.
  5. Infrastructure Public and community infrastructures have reached a critical stage of decay. Many of the regions that were previously accessible by road from the capital are now outside the national road system.
  6. Poverty Most Haitians do not have formal jobs. Unemployment and underemployment are rampant. Some estimates suggest that two-thirds of the country’s 3.6 million workers are without consistent work.
  7. Foreign Economic Relations The World Economic Forum ranked Haiti last in its 2003 Global Competitiveness Report. Thus, Haiti’s role in the global economy often has been confined to receiving foreign aid.
  8. Environment Haiti faces a severe deforestation problem. For all practical purposes, forest resources have been depleted.
  9. Health Deficient sanitation systems, poor nutrition, and inadequate health services have pushed Haiti to the bottom of the World Bank’s rankings of health indicators. Haiti has the highest incidence of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) outside of Africa.
  10. Language Nine of every ten Haitians speak only Kreyòl Ayisien [Haitian Creole]. And only about one in twenty was fluent in both French and Creole. Although the majority of Creole words have French origins, the two languages are not mutually comprehensible.
  11. Voodoo Recent estimates indicate that half of the population practices Vodou, most along with other religious practices.
  12. Zombies Ancestral spirits are collectively referred to as zombies. Dead children are especially liable to return to haunt the mother, who will awake some night to find them sitting upon the foot of their bed.

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