Co-host Mika Brzezinski asked Huffington Post reporter Sam Stein to define Clinton's message as a presidential candidate in 10 seconds, something she's asked others like Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA). Like Kaine, Stein had difficulty articulating what it would be...
Welcome to Haiti (aka Clintopia)
The Washington Post has some good reporting on the Clinton Foundation's extensive activity in the impoverished country of Haiti. These efforts, it turns out, have been met with considerable skepticism by locals:
[T]he Clintons are facing a growing backlash that too little has been accomplished in the past five years and that some of the most high-profile projects they have backed - including a just-opened Marriott, another luxury hotel and the industrial park - have helped foreign investors and Haiti's wealthy elites more than its poor.
"Bill Clinton is a good guy and well-intentioned, but the people here don't think so - they think he's here making money," said Leslie Voltaire, a former government official who worked with Clinton on post-earthquake reconstruction. "There is a lot of resentment about Clinton here. People have not seen results. … They say that Clinton used Haiti."
In January, Haitian expatriates picketed the Clinton Foundation's New York headquarters, demanding to know why more progress has not been made with the billions in international aid pledged after the quake.It's not hard to see why this is the case. Bill Clinton, speaking at the grand opening of the $45 million Marriott hotel, praised the project for giving Haitians "the chance to show the real Haiti to the world that will come to this hotel." Right. Because what better way to experience the "real Haiti" than from the La Sirene Bar and Restaurant at luxury hotel financed by one of the most powerful political couples in the Western hemisphere?
Haiti, in many ways, functions as a sort of Clintopia. Cuba won't have its hipster charm and poverty chic motif much longer, thanks to capitalism. Fortunately, there's Haiti, where wealthy plutocrats can experience an authentic voodoo ceremony, just as the Clintons did shortly after their wedding in 1975. (The trip was a gift from a rich friend, Dave Edwards, who has since helped Bill Clinton secure more than $20 million in funding from the Saudi government for a Middle East studies program at the University of Arkansas.)
It's an ideal place for moneyed elites to visit for photo-ops and investment opportunities, but without having to experience the "real Haiti." It's a disaster area that provides convenient cover for foreign governments to donate money to a charitable foundation tied to a sitting Secretary of State, in violation of administration rules.
And, most importantly, it looks good on a presidential resume. Who cares if the actual residents of Haiti don't appreciate all the good the Clintons have done for them? Think of all the good Haiti has done for the Clintons and their associates.People like Tony Rodham, for example. Hillary's brother...
Also read:
Don't Give Your Money to Clinton Son-in-Law Marc Mezvinsky
Donors Explain the Most Direct Ways to 'Cultivate Favor' with the Clintons
No comments:
Post a Comment