Haitian Sweatshops are not Relief

New Orleans In the wake of the tragic earthquake in Haiti a “jobs” plan originally requested by the UN and touted by special envoy, former US President Bill Clinton is making the rounds with its claims that it could quickly produce hundreds of thousands of largely textile jobs to assist in the recovery.  The [...]

Kenya Campaigns Coming

Johannesburg Sitting here with a day to kill in the Joberg airport and ruing having just spent 75 rand for a special South African adapter so I can make it through and finding the young clerk at the “Electronics Megastore” joining me in commiseration that there was no free wireless anywhere in the airport, it [...]

Matatus

Nairobi If there’s public transportation in Nairobi, no one knows about it.  There are matatus though by the hundreds.  These are private mini-vans, jitney buses, and even larger buses that hog the roads and rule the roost.  They seem to be semi-regulated, which means that in certain areas in downtown Nairobi a driver will [...]

ACORN! Mabadiliko Sasa

Nairobi It took more than an hour for the members to arrive for the official launch of ACORN Kenya in Korogocho, but once they were all in there were more than 200 and every time one of the speakers said, “ACORN!” the called response was “Mabadiliko Sasa!” meaning “Reform Now!” I fell in love with [...]

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