And the award for Most Corrupt Country goes to….. Haiti! “Corruption traps millions in poverty,” said Transparency International Chair Huguette Labelle. “Despite a decade of progress in establishing anti-corruption laws and regulations, today’s results indicate that much remains to be done before we see meaningful improvements in the lives of the world’s poorest citizens.” The…
Category: Politics
U.S. Jobs Shape Condoms’ Role in Foreign Aid – New York Times
Great NYT article on the big business of foreign aid. EUFAULA, Alabama — Here in this courtly, antebellum town, Alabama’s condom production has survived an onslaught of Asian competition, thanks to the patronage of straitlaced congressmen from this Bible Belt state. Behind the scenes, the politicians have ensured that companies in Alabama won federal contracts…
Boing Boing: Bush legalizes martial law — what Constitution?
This was on Boing Boing this morning. Scary. Never mind Halloween, this is really scary! cd Boing Boing: Bush legalizes martial law — what Constitution? Bush legalizes martial law — what Constitution? On Oct 17, George Bush quietly signed a bill allowing him to declare martial law. The Toward Freedom website summarizes it: For the…
Could "RDB Phenomenon" occur in US?
The Chairman and I had the good fortune to attend a screening of Rang de Basanti last evening at the Honolulu International Film Festival. Rang de Basanti (Hindi for ‘color of sacrifice’) has become a phenomenon in India – the RDB Phenomenon. The tagline of the film is “The Awakening of a Generation” and the…
If this the same kind of winning as the election of 2000?
WASHINGTON – In a somber, pre-election review of a long and brutal war, President Bush conceded Wednesday that the United States is taking heavy casualties in Iraq and said, “I know many Americans are not satisfied with the situation” there.”I’m not satisfied either,” he said at a speech and question and answer session at the…
Representative Tom Holbrook—You make the call…
A Fukn.us reader sent me the following link. I was unable to verify the information contained there about Tom Holbrook, however, I did find that his wife has been accused of accepting more than $30K in unauthorized overtime. In addition, while the allegations made at the link below may be a smear campaign, they may…
This polarized nation
This is a link to a very informative interactive map by Ken Rudin, a political Editor for NPR. It gives a state-by-state guide of current Senate, House of Rep., and Governors. Most interesting are the “key” states – the ones that could shift control in the Senate. I learned something reading through. http://www.npr.org/news/specials/election2006/map/
Gay congressman's spouse denied benefits
BOSTON – Former Rep. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay member of Congress, was married to another man in Massachusetts at the time of his death, but the federal government will not pay death benefits to his spouse. Studds married Dean Hara in 2004 after gay marriage was legalized in Massachusetts. But Hara will not…
Reuters AlertNet – Iraq and Afghanistan: Optimism gone too far
Many would agree that a healthy dose of optimism is desirable even in the most dire situations. But U.S. Republicans may have gone a step further: They have set aside $20 million for a “commemoration of success” in Iraq and Afghanistan, of all places, Britain’s Independent reports.They are so confident of success in the two…
First U.S. lawmaker convicted in lobbying scandal
First U.S. lawmaker convicted in lobbying scandal WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Republican congressman pleaded guilty on Friday to accepting meals, drinks, gambling chips and other items worth tens of thousands of dollars, becoming the first lawmaker convicted in the Jack Abramoff political corruption scandal. Rep. Bob Ney (news, bio, voting record) of Ohio, who abandoned…