Queen of the Franco-phonies loses job but keeps her head

Whatever happened to Michaëllel Jean? That's the question more than one Canadian [How many more? Ed.] has asked about the former Governess-General of Canuckistan, whose term in office expired in 2010, to the relief of Canadians generally and the Liberal government of the day in particular.

As Walt explained in "A Haïtienne who won't be feeling too much pain" (13/1/10), the lovely and fragrant Ms Jean was (supposedly) a "refugee" from Haïti -- this was before the big earthquake -- who came to Canada as a teen and immediately attracted the attention of an older white guy (surprise!) who married her and got her a job at Radio Canada (the French arm of the CBC). Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin named her as the representative of Her Britannic Majesty because she (Ms Jean) was: a black, female "refugee", who was bilingual and a certified member of Canada's chattering classes. Too bad she wasn't disabled, but 5 out of 6 ain't bad.

The big question in 2010 was what to do with Ms Jean after her term as G-G expired? She had acquired a taste for the perqs of the vice-regal style -- the mansion, the limousine, the servants, and her very own regiment of soldiers. Hard to go back to living like a peasant. So favours were called in and, following the disastrous earthquake of 12 January 2010, Madame Jean (as she became) was appointed the United Nations "Special Ambassador for Haïti", to help raise money for the people of that wretched country.

Mme Jean immediately went to, errr, Paris, to establish an office and a residence suitable to her new position and regal lifestyle. After that she appeared on TV a few times -- notably on the CBC, of course -- but if she ever set her dainty feet in the dust of her native land, her visit went unrecorded. Ed. has asked Dr Google who has come up with nothing.

But every cloud has a silver lining. Since she was already comfortably ensconced in Paris, Mme Jean immediately began campaigning for a better job. With the support of both Canada and Québec, she was elected in 2014 as Secretary-General of la Francophonie, an international talking shop which likes to think of itself as the French equivalent of the British Commonwealth. Since the Franco-phony's mission is to talk and talk (in French) and do nothing (in any language), Mme Jean was the perfect fit.

Just as the British Commonwealth has its queen, so la Francophonie now had its queen, or empress... whatever... Mme Jean immediately moved into more palatial digs, racking up queen-sized expenses befitting her status. After all, the surrender-monkeys surely wouldn't want the head of their "organization" to lack anything that the British monarch had, would they?

After four years of wretched excess, Mme Jean's term came to an end this month. To no-one's surprise, Mme Jean refused to go gracefully, and campaigned hard for a second term, even though she was considered a long shot. She appealed to Canada and Québec for their support, and thought she had Canada's ultra-liberal Prime Minister Just In Trudeau -- an ardent feminist and admirer of non-white persons -- on her side.

Sadly for Mme Jean, she was wrong. Last Friday the member nations of la Francophonie, meeting in the well-known French-speaking nation of Armenia [Eh? Ed.], chose a Rwandan, Louise Mushikiwabo, as their new queen/empress/secretary-general. The Rwandan politician said she did not intend to make major changes to the direction of the organization, but she promised more transparency in its spending. Errr, yes....

Some observers have said Canada made a geopolitical calculation in abandoning Jean in favour of the African candidate, hoping it would help its bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council in 2020. Mr Socks, however, denied that Canada abandoned Jean in exchange for African or French support for the Security Council bid, saying the government had wanted a second term for Jean.
"But at the same time we recognized — and it’s a question of simple math — that if there’s an African consensus around a particular candidate, we would respect that consensus," said the Canuck PM, who is himself likely to be turfed out in a year's time. "That is simply the way things unfolded." Errr, yes... yes indeed.

VIDEOS (2): What happens when Canadians exercise their right to speak freely about illegal border jumpers and diversity

The anti-immigrant tide is rising fast in Canada, triggered (if you'll forgive the expression) by the waves of bogus "refugees" and asylum-seekers jumping acorss the border at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle QC illegally (or "irregularly", to use the government-approved jargon). It's costing Canuck taxpayers a fortune (even when converted into real dollars) to these economic migrants -- mostly black people from shitholes like Nigeria and Haïti -- free food, clothing, housing and other benefits while their phoney claims are being processsed.

As you'll see in the first video, one Québécoises is fed up, enough so to gatecrash a Liberal "summer corn roast" at Sainte-Anne-de-Sabrevois, in Québec's Eastern Townships, hoping to put a couple of pointed questions to le Roi Just In Trudeau. After all, Canada's a free country, EH, where one need not be afraid to say what's on one's mind. Here's what happened.



The irate taxpayer said, "I want to know when you are going to refund the $146 million we paid for your illegal immigrants!" She repeated this several times before being shouted down by the crowd of card-carrying Liberals. But Mr Socks did manage to reply without answering the question. "This intolerance towards immigrants has no room in Canada," he said. And then he played the liberal trump card, "Racism has no place here."

That's the liberal way. If someone disagrees with your "progressive" views on, say, immigration... or crime... or anything, call them a racist! Then, while your supports cheer and wet their pants in admiration of your virtue, sic security on them. So much for freedom of speech.

Which brings us to Maxime Bernier's now-famous six tweets in which he said that diversity was destroying Canada. See "Top Conservative says diversity will destroy formerly Great White North", WWW 13/8/18. As the Toronto Sun's Anthony Furey explains in our second video for today, M Bernier did no more than say what hundreds of thousands of dismayed Canucks figured out months and months ago. For his pains, he was denounced as... wait for it... a racist, an Islamophobe, the whole litany of leftist epithets.



What M Bernier said is right on the money, IMHO, but very few Canadians have the cojones to agree with him in public, let alone speak out themselves, for fear of the PC police, not just in the lamestream media but, in the case of Canada's so-called Conservatives, in their own party. Andrew Scheer, who beat M Bernier for the Conservative leadership in a rather fragrant election, would say only that M Bernier was speaking for himself, not the party. As for himself (Scheer), he can't tolerate intolerance, or racism, or Islamophobia, etc etc etc. What a wimp!

Further reading: "Is diversity really good for us? An American professor's view", WWW 18/8/18.

VIDEO: POTUS' "shithole" comment begs the question the liberals don't want asked... because they have no answer!

It's the epithet heard around the world. President Trump suggested, in a meeting on the subject of immigration, that some of the source countries for immigration to the USA -- countries like Haiti, whole continents like Africa -- are "shitholes". Maybe he didn't use that exact word, or maybe he did, but whatever he said has the liberal establishment, not just in America but around the world, rending its garments and hollering "racist, racist, racist!" In fact the Democrats in Congress are all set to introduce a motion of censure "to punish President Trump for his ignorant, racist words without resorting to impeachment." And yet...

And yet... all the President of the United States did was to ask, in tough terms, the question that millions of Americans (and Australians and Brits and Canadians and Germans and Swedes etc etc etc) ask every day, the question our leaders refuse to even discuss, let alone answer. It's the question I used for the headline of yesterday's post: "Why should USA accept immigrants from "shithole" countries?"

Well??? Why??? Let's be honest. [You expect honesty from liberal politicians and the (((controlled media)))? Ed.] There are certain countries, entire continents, even, which are wretched and dangerous. Haiti is one of them. The so-called Democratic Republic of the Congo is another. Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria are three more. Why are we importing "refugees" and asylum-seekers and illiterate chancers from those shitholes -- there, I said it too! -- when we could have our pick of educated, motivated migrants from traditional source countries like... well, Norway? (Big shoutout to the folks in Lake Wobegon!)

Tucker Carlson picks up that theme in this short (4:32) video. Give a listen.



Meanwhile, from out of Africa come a few voices like that of Mamady Traore, a 30-year-old sociologist in the west African nation of Guinea, who told AP, "President Donald Trump is absolutely right. When you have heads of state who mess with the constitutions to perpetuate their power. When you have rebel factions that kill children, disembowel women as saints, who mutilate innocent civilians."

Breitbart News, who published that quote, reached another African source who said that Trump had only said what many Africans say behind closed doors -- at least about the continent's most troubled nations. "The Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe are 'shitholes' run by assholes," said the unnamed source.

Ah yes, Zimbabwe. Assiduous readers will know that, having lived in that failing state for some years, I had it in mind when I wrote yesterday "I thought 'shithole' was just the right word to describe places like Haiti, Somalia, Nigeria... the list goes on. If you don't believe me, go and see for yourself."

Further reading: "The Value of Calling a Shithole a 'Shithole'", by Frances Martel, Breitbart News, 13/1/18. Conclusion: "Dismissing places where human rights abuses, hunger, and disease are rampant as 'shitholes' without offering a viable alternative for running their governments is unproductive. But silencing anyone who dares speak the truth about these places – and what that says about their ruling ideologies – is even worse."

POTUS: Why should USA accept immigrants from "shithole" countries?

Cazart! The (((controlled media))) have their hair all on fire because President Trump asked the question that millions of Americans are asking, in exactly the words millions of Americans use every day. In rejecting a bipartisan deal on immigration earlier today, POTUS questioned why the US of A would accept more immigrants from Haiti and "shithole countries" in Africa rather than places like Norway.

His pointed question startled the PC lawmakers in the meeting, and immediately revived charges that President Trump is a racist. The White House didn't deny his remark but issued a statement saying Mr Trump supports immigration policies that welcome "those who can contribute to our society."

Walt congratulates POTUS on having the stones to use the word "shithole" to describe the country/continent in question. I've been there -- to Africa that is, not Haiti -- and can confirm that the description is accurate. Haiti, by all accounts, is even worse. Those who emigrate from such places to Europe and North America do so in search of better lives for themselves. They don't come here to make our lives better. So all the President is doing is telling it like it is... at last!!!

Note from Ed.: This is a developing story. Walt may have more to say tomorrow. Right now he's making popcorn to munch while enjoying the evening news.

UPDATE added 12/1/18: The latest Tweet from President Trump says "The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used." I leave it to you, dear reader, to figure out what that means, since POTUS didn't say the word he didn't say! If he didn't use the specific word "shithole", that's too bad. I thought "shithole" was just the right word to describe places like Haiti, Somalia, Nigeria... the list goes on. If you don't believe me, go and see for yourself.

What happens, now that the black "redeemer" has died?

Nelson Mandela died today, at the age of 95. RIP. Now that he's gone to his reward, you can expect an outpouring of breast beating and maudlin sentiment such as has not been seen since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Mandela would be a candidate for instant sainthood, if only he were Catholic. [In today's Church, do you really have to be Catholic? Ed.]

Mixed in with all the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth will be a large dose of anti-colonial, anti-white rhetoric. Comparisons will be made with the plight of the Jews in the Egypt of the Pharaohs. The Afrikaners will be cast in the role of the evil oppressors, while Mandela is portrayed as the Holy Moses who led his people out of bondage and into... well... into what? Into the promised land of black empowerment, equal rights for all (even queers), and all the blessings a "rainbow nation" can bestow.

Conveniently overlooked will be the fact that, for the vast majority of its people, South Africa is no better -- and in some respects worse -- than it was in the days of apartheid. The education system is in freefall, corruption is rife, and violent crime threatens virtually everyone. In other words, South Africa has become like the rest of sub-Saharan Africa under black rule.

Walt hopes that in the last couple of years of his life, Mr. Mandela's faculties were so dimmed by illness and old age that he was unaware of what a shambles his people have made of his beloved country.

Here's a quote from an early work by V.S. Naipaul, an ethnic Indian native of Trinidad, with some experience of Africa and the failings of countries, including his own, in the post-colonial era. This is from "Michael X and the Black Power Killings in Trinidad", which appeared in a fine little collection entitled The Return of Eva Peron, with the Killings in Trinidad (André Deutsch, 1980).

Black Power -- away from its United States source -- is jargon...a sentimental hoax. In a place like Trinidad, racial redemption is as irrelevant for the Negro as for everybody else. It obscures the problems of a small independent country with a lopsided economy, the problems of a fully "consumer" society that is yet technologically untrained and without the intellectual means to comprehend the deficiency. ] [Emphasis mine. Walt]

It perpetuates the negative, colonial politics of protest. It is, in the end, a deep corruption: a wish to be granted a dispensation from the pains of development, an almost religious conviction that oppression can be turned into an asset, race into money.

While the dream of redemption lasts, Negroes will continue to exist only that someone might be their leader. Redemption requires a redeemer; and a redeemer, in these circumstances, cannot but end like the Emperor Jones: contemptuous of the people he leads, and no less a victim, seeking an illustory personal emancipation.

In Trinidad, as in every black West Indian island, the too easily awakened sense of oppression and the theory of the enemy point to the desert of Haiti.

Hmmm. Haiti. Yes. And Mr. Naipaul wrote that in the mid-70s [when you could still use the word "Negro". Ed.]. Look at Haiti today -- more of a "desert" than it was 40 years ago. Look too at Zimbabwe, whose "redeemer", Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe, is only 90, but determined to hang onto power until the desertification of his country is complete. Mr. Mandela, at least, was spared that.

Cherry picking on Haiti

He knows dogs, and he knows hockey. And now, it seems, he knows Haiti. Yesterday Canada's Mouth of the North, Don Cherry, weighed in on the topic of handing out zillions in foreign aid to nations notorious for corruption.

Here's what "Donless" said in a series of tweets on @CoachsCornerCBC.

"You know, I am one of those guys, like most people in Canada, we like to help the countries all over the world. But sometimes it makes you wonder. Maybe it's just me. But Canada gave Haiti 49.5 million dollars last year. Are we nuts? We've got a guy dying in Toronto waiting 3 hours for an ambulance.

"We got people waiting 7, 8, 10 hours, if they're lucky in a waiting room with one doctor for a zillion people. We nickel and dime our doctors, nurses and veterans plus a million other services. Yet we can send almost 50 million to Haiti.

"I'll tell you something. The working guy is getting kind of sick of people spending money like that. It's a good job we got a good guy like Julian Fantino, with a little common sense, in charge.

"50 million? I wonder how much have we given them over the years? Let's smarten up. As the old saying goes, charity begins at home. Am I right or is it just me?"

"Don, you're right!" Walt can hear millions of Canadians saying just that. What you're saying sounds a lot like what Walt has been saying for years, most notably in "Canada gives up on Haiti, freezes foreign aid" a couple of days ago.

Is anyone listening? The minister in charge -- Julian Fantino, whom Don referred to -- said he would be calling Cherry to thank him for his support.

Of course the chattering classes and the lamestream media heard Don's rant too, or at least heard about it. The oh-so-PC producers of CBC Radio's Metro Morning (aka "The Herald of Multiculturalism" -- "sounding like Toronto looks") devoted an entire segment to attacking Cherry's "racism". That would be the same "racism" with which the majority of Canucks in TROC (The Rest Of Canada) agree. But they don't listen to Metro Morning anyway.

Another portion of the same propaganda broadcast -- for that's all Metro Morning is -- featured the usual gang of bleeding heart liberals decrying the "racism" of those who are opposed to the Idle No More "movement". Walt will explain that later today. For now, kudos to Don for being the voice of real Canadians, no matter what the Volvo liberals call him.

Canada gives up on Haiti, freezes foreign aid

Michaëlle Jean, Stephen Lewis, the Canadian International Development Agency, and the 1000s who do well out of doing good... Colour them astonished! Mouths were agape in Ottawa, Paris and New York (wherever the lovely and fragrant Ms Jean is these days), and of course Port-au-Prince, when Canada's International Co-operation Minister said today that Canada will stop funding new aid projects in Haiti until Ottawa finds a better way for the struggling nation to, errr, help itself. Imagine that!

In an interview with La Presse, Julian Fantino said he was "disappointed" with what he considered the lack of progress he saw -- or rather, didn't see -- during his November visit to the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.

So great was the consternation in the homes and offices of the chattering classes, that Canada's lamestream media [meaning the Globe and Mail. Ed.] asked its token francophone if perhaps there had been some error in translation. Or was it possible that the minister was just making it up as he went along? Speaking out of his ass, as the French say? After all, this sort of thing would normally be announced in the House of Commons, and some sort of notice would usually be given to the agencies and dips involved.

But not this time. Fantino indicated that Canada has poured $1,000,000,000 ($999 million in real money) down the Haitian rathole since 2006. And as a former chief of both the Ontario and Toronto police forces, Fantino knows how quickly money can disappear when you have a potent mix of ignorance, incompetence and corruption. Nevertheless, he said, his department will continue to fund programmes in Haiti that are already in progress, provided that even the most minuscule signs of life can be detected.

Minister Fantino, who took over the portfolio from "Limousine Bev" Oda last year, said Canadian taxpayers cannot take care of Haiti's problems forever. (Hey, they can't even take care of their own!) Fantino also compared Haiti's terrible state with much-better conditions in the neighbouring Dominican Republic.

Fantino remarked about the filth and garbage he saw during his recent visit to Haiti. He wondered aloud how a country with so many unemployed people had not found a way to clean it up, like the neighbourhood shown in the picture.

The Canadian International Development Agency said Mr. Fantino would not be available for further comment until he gets his prescription refilled.

Further reading, highly recommended by Walt: 'Most everything went wrong': Three years after an earthquake devastated Haiti, the reconstruction has barely begun - from the New York Times and National Post Wire Services. It's quite possible Minister Fantino may have read this [with his lips moving? Ed.] before giving his bombshell interview to La Presse.   And here's the interview: «Nous ne sommes pas une oeuvre de charité», dit Julian Fantino. For all the Canadians (especially readers of the Niagara Falls Review) who don't speak French, that means "We aren't a work of charity" says Julian Fantino. Indeed.

Prognostications for 2013

Making predictions about what will happen in the future is a mug's game. Rather than put my sterling track record (lifetime pct .988) on the line, let me tell you (mostly) what's not going to happen in 2013.

America will not fall over the fiscal cliff, at least not all the way. Absent an agreement in the Senate, taxes will (effectively) be increased and spending will be cut, as planned. Most Americans will still be able to get by. No-one will be selling apples of Wall Street or Main Street USA.

Haiti will not be repaired, rebuilt or reconstructed. Billions of dollars in aid money will continue to be poured down the rathole with no apparent effect. Michaëlle Jean will continue to be invisible, at least in her native land.

Hellery Clinton will not announce her candidacy for the presidensity. The campaign will move ahead anyway, with the support of the lamestream media and Democrats living overseas who don't actually have to cope with the Obama maladministration.

Zimbabwe's dictator, Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe, will not lose an election to Zuma wannabe Morgan Tsvangirai or anyone else. Indeed, it's quite possible no election will be held. The zimkwacha (Zimbabwe dollar) will not be reintroduced, as remaining supplies are used up as toilet paper.

Pope Benedict XVI will do nothing to lead the Roman Catholic Church back to the traditional Faith of our fathers. But nor will he abdicate, for fear of the fight that would ensue between Cardinal Bertone -- the man who would be pope -- and the thousands of good Catholic clergy and laypeople who think Bertone is the Antichrist whose arrival is imminent.

Bumbling, horse-faced Peter Mackay will not be Canada's Minister of Defence a year from now. The stench of mismanagement and opacity enveloping the proposed purchase of F-35 fighters for the Royal Canadian Air Force won't go away. At least one head must roll, and Machackey's contains nothing but air, so off it comes!

Gary Bettman, the Jewish American lawyer responsible for the Americanization (hence destruction) of hockey, will not be head honcho of the National Hockey League at this time next year. He has the outward support of a majority of NHL owners, but look for someone to check him into the boards shortly after he presents the Stanley Cup.

Christians (in name, at least) will continue to be persecuted, imprisoned and murdered by Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia [We're running out of space! Ed.], and by Communists in China, North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, [Enough martyrs! Ed.] The Church and Western leaders will continue to say we must show tolerance to our poor misunderstood enemies, learn to accommodate them and celebrate diversity!

Note from Ed.: Walt has scribbled a note at the bottom of his manuscript: "That's all I can stands. I can't stands no more!" Hmmm. Well, in spite of his less-than-rosy forecast, Walt and I wish you a New Year filled with peace and prosperity.

Mickey's army

Haitian pop star Mickey "Mouse" Martelly was officially sworn in as President of Haiti yesterday. The lights and audio went out several times during the ceremonies, but rumours of a coup turned out to be unfounded.

The new administration has a few, errr, challenges to sort out. There are still well over half a million people living in squalid camps. A cholera epidemic threatens to spread during the upcoming rainy and hurricane seasons. The legal system is in a state of collapse.

And, in spite of years of investment and training (by the Canadian Mounties, among others) "the police are not well equipped and don’t have the means to be apolitical. They are badly paid and sometimes neglected, which leads them astray." So said the prez himself.

So what's first on Sweet Mickey's list? Why, building a new army, of course! The previous discredited army was disbanded in 1995 by ousted former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

The new army is intended to replace the UN force presently on what's left of the ground in Haiti. The UN force is known as MINUSTAH. It's not known whether this is the local pronunciation of "minister" or an acronym for "Minus The Army of Haiti".
Whatever it's called, the UN troops -- from places such as Nepal -- are tired of being blamed for rape and looting and the spreading of disease, and are going home.

A rebuilt Haitian police force was supposed to take over, but the new president seems to think a good strong army would be better. Not everyone agrees. Many Haitians associate the military with a leading role in political violence under former dictators "Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc" Duvalier, as well as in subsequent coups.

Although it's not clear -- nothing in Haiti is clear -- if a new army will actually be built, dozens of young men are already volunteering their services, according to a report in the Toronto Star.

On a hillside by the sea, past crumpled houses and a graveyard, more than 100 of them line up, stomachs in, chests out, as men who claim to be generals and sergeants from the former army shout military commands.

None boasts a uniform, but many sport hand-painted T-shirts with the letters “FADH” across the front, short for Haiti’s Demobilized Armed Forces. They all voted for Martelly, hoping to soon be re-employed.

Meanwhile, the reconstruction effort continues at a desultory, barely perceptible pace. But yes, Haiti will have its own army...pretty soon. Sweet Mickey has even picked out a name -- "tontons macoutes".

Democracy in dark countries - latest

Lovers of democracy and hip hop will be pleased to know that, according to the BBC, musician Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly appears to have won the rerun of the Haitian presidential election.

He defeated ex-senator and former first lady Mirlande Manigat in a run-off held on March 20th. Turnout in the second round was higher than expected, approximating 120% of the number of registered voters, thus accounting for the delay in announcing the result.

It should be noted, though, that this is only a preliminary result. Officials are busy getting their stories straight, and the final tally is not expected until April 15th...give or take a week.

This is in keeping with Haitian tradition. The run-off was actually supposed to be held in January, but was delayed by the traditional frigging in the rigging. This time the cheating was much better organized, officials said. M. Martelly also benefitted from the support of five candidates eliminated in the first round, including his fellow musician Wyclef "Michaëlle" Jean.

Jude Celestin, who had the backing of outgoing President Rene Préval, took the largest share of the votes in the first round, but was persuaded to withdraw from the second heat. Former dictators ["presidents", surely! Ed.] "Baby Doc" Duvalier and Ex-Father Bertrand Aristide were likewise deterred from throwing their chapeaux into the ring.

Now that a new president is in place, Haiti's corruption, poverty and general misery will doubtless be forgotten as the streets of Port-au-Prince reverberate to the throb of the voodoo drums. Martelly rules!

The compleat failures

Fans of Bob and Ray will remember the story of the Compleat Failure, a hapless man who started his career as bank teller and "progressed downward" until he was reduced to scraping gum off the sidewalk outside the bank, and managed even to get fired from that position.

There are countries like that too, states that start off well enough, then spiral downward in search of rock bottom. Zimbabwe would be a prime example.

This week the Economist features a thoughtful essay on failed states, "Where life is cheap and talk is loose". "States that cannot control their territories, protect their citizens, enter or execute agreements with outsiders, or administer justice," it says, "are a common and worsening phenomenon".

The article has a list of the worst of the worst -- the states with the highest scores on the Failed States Index. Here, with a further comment by yours truly, are the dirtiest dozen black spots.

Country (FSI score*) -- PC problems** -- Non-PC problems***
12. Côte d'Ivoire (101.2) -- post-election deadlock, civil war starting -- African, Muslims vs Christians
11. Haiti (101.6) -- deforestation, destitution, crime -- only African country in the west
10. Pakistan (102.5) -- coups, drugs, illiteracy, terrorism -- Muslim
9. Guinea (105.0) -- destitution, drugs, kleptocracy -- African
8. Central African Republic (106.4) -- desertification, destitution, disease, terrorism -- African
7. Iraq (107.3) -- ruined infrastructure, terrorism -- Muslims vs other Muslims
6. Afghanistan (109.3) -- civil war, drugs, no infrastructure, terrorism -- Muslims vs other Muslims
5. Congo (109.9) -- civil war, massacres, mass rape, looting -- African
4. Zimbabwe (110.2) -- post-election deadlock, economic collapse, kleptocracy, oppression -- African
3. Sudan (111.8) -- illiteracy, tyranny, destitution -- African, Muslims vs Christians
2. Chad (113.3) -- desertification, destitution, next door to Libya -- African, more Muslims
and now... the envelope please...
1. Somalia (114.3) -- anarchy, civil war, piracy -- African, Muslim

I was going to add corruption and incompetence to the list of problems, where applicable, but it applied to every single country on the list and I grew tired of typing the words over and over.

Surely I don't need to point out the commonalities, but just in case... 8 of the failed states (including the worst 5) are in Africa. And we must count Haiti as an African state because almost 100% of its people are of African origin.

7 of 12 are totally or partially Muslim. In Côte d'Ivoire and Sudan, the Muslims fight to dominate the Christians. In places like Iraq, where there are almost no Christians left to persecute, the Muslims fight with each other.

One final point. Almost all of these failed states would also appear on a list of top recipients of western foreign aid. That's how smart our governments are -- not enough sense to stop pouring sand down black, Muslim ratholes.

* Failed states score, out of 120
** Politically correct problems, as listed by the Economist
*** Non-PC problems which everyone knows about but no-one talks about, as listed by Walt.

Why the Japanese aren't rioting and looting

In "Tale of two earthquakes", Walt made a brief comparison of the reactions of the Japanese and the Haitians to disaster in their respective countries. Today "Japanese resilience shines in light of tragedy", by journalist Kieron Lang fleshes out the bare bones of the argument and adds into the comparison the chaos following Hurricane Katrina.

The article begins thus: Looters took to the streets after Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans in 2005, and again when Haiti was rocked by a powerful earthquake in 2010. So what is preventing disaster-stricken Japan from descending into a similar state of lawlessness?

Is this another rhetorical question? Lang shies away from discussing the question of race. Instead he quotes Thomas Lifson, a former professor of Asian Studies at Harvard, on "the unique qualities of the Japanese psyche".

"The sense of community is very powerful in Japan and is maintained not just on the basis of the culture, which is still very strong, but also on the basis of various social, political and geographic realities."

There can be no doubt that Japan is virtually homogeneous society. That is, it's not multicultural. Those aggressively promoting multiculturalism and "diversity" in the west might do well to think about that.

There is another factor of which there can be no doubt, but which political correctness forbids us from discussing. Except for Walt. I'll say it directly this time. The victims of last week's earthquake and tsunami were Asian. The victims of the Haitian earthquake were black.

Haiti, Katrina, Watts, Detroit, today's Ivory Coast... In black communities rioting and looting follow political demonstrations or natural disaster -- any provocation at all -- as surely as night follows day. What conclusion can be drawn, other than that looting and lawlessness are the nature of the beast. Answers on the back of a postage stamp, please.

Tale of two earthquakes

As I follow the news from Japan, I can't help but contrast the reactions and behaviour of the Japanese with those of the people of Haiti, who were similarly afflicted just over a year ago.

One can't help but be impressed by the calmness, verging on stoicism, being shown by the Japanese in the face of a calamity which to us is barely imaginable. The Japanese have seen worse, of course -- the devastation of their country in the last days of World War II, and ultimately Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Perhaps this has given them the collective strength to endure.

Looking at the videos of the survivors, I see sorrow and anguish, but I don't see hysteria. I see people queuing patiently to get their share of the limited food and water. I don't see people looting or fighting like dogs snarling over scraps.

I see supplies and machinery being distributed to people who, even though it's not their job, are pitching in to do whatever they can to clean up the debris and start making their city habitable again. In Haiti, meanwhile, grass is starting to grow into the engine compartments of motor vehicles sent there a year ago, because the Haitian "authorities" demand payment of "customs duties" before the machinery can be moved off the dockside.

And I see the Japanese doing all they can -- themselves -- rather than sitting on their collective ass waiting for boatloads of foreign aid to arrive, along with foreigners to do everything for them. The Japanese will recover and rebuild, just as they did after WWII...themselves.

A couple of days ago, CNN's Jack Cafferty posed the question, "Why hasn't there been widespread looting and crime after the [Japanese] earthquake?" No answer was forthcoming. Perhaps it was a rhetorical question.

"Baskethead" returns!

Incredible news from Haiti! Just when we thought things couldn't get any worse, former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier returned Sunday, nearly 25 years after a popular uprising against his brutal dictatorship forced him into exile in France.

"Baby Doc" -- known previously as "Baskethead" -- succeeded his father, François Duvalier ("Papa Doc") who ruled Haiti from 1957 until 1971. Papa Doc's misrule was a paradigm of the African "big man" style, based on a purged military, a rural militia, a dreaded secret police force known as "les tontons macoutes", and the use of voodoo.

Papa Doc was elected "President for Life" in 1964, according to the same African-style democractic process which we saw on TV late last year -- mounds of marked ballots thrown on garbage heaps, ballot boxes disappearing, would-be voters harassed, etc.

Duvalier fostered a personality cult around himself, and claimed to be the physical embodiment of the island nation. He also started to revive the traditions of voodoo, which he used to consolidate his power. He claimed to be a houngan, or voodoo priest himself. In an effort to make himself even more imposing, Duvalier deliberately modeled his image on that of Baron Samedi, the voodoo loa of the dead (pictured right).

He often donned sunglasses to hide his eyes and talked with the strong nasal tone associated with the loa. The Duvalier regime propaganda even stated that "Papa Doc was one with the loas, Jesus Christ, and God himself". The most celebrated image from the time shows a standing Jesus Christ with hand on a seated Papa Doc's shoulder with the caption "I have chosen him. There was even a Duvalierist variant of the Our Father. Duvalier also held in his closet the head of his former opponent Blucher Philogenes who tried to overthrow him in 1963.

Turned out the "life term" lasted only eight years, as Papa Doc died in 1971, possibly of natural causes. He was succeeded by his son and heir, "Baskethead", seen here receiving his father's blessing.

Baby Doc was widely reviled for being a spoiled playboy and... errr... a "baskethead" (stupid, empty-headed person), and fled into exile in France shortly after his ascension. And now he has returned.

Those who understand Haitian/African culture and politics will not be surprised to learn that Baby Doc has been welcomed by cheering crowds, in spite of being part of a dynasty that presided over one of the blackest periods of Haitian history.

According to Associated Press, Duvalier's stunning arrival at the airport Sunday was as mysterious as it was unexpected. He did not say why he chose this tumultuous period to suddenly reappear from his exile in France, or what he intended to do while back in Haiti. “I'm not here for politics,” Duvalier told Radio Caraibes. “I'm here for the reconstruction of Haiti.”

It is rumoured that former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide will be the next to return to reclaim the throne [president's chair, surely. Ed.]. M. Aristide, a former priest who embraced "liberation theology", was deposed in a US-approved coup in 1994.

If Duvalier and Aristide see an opportunity in Haiti, how can it escape the notice of Michaëlle Jean, the former Governor-General of Canada? Her Jeanness made herself mighty comfortable sitting on the vice-regal throne and is said to be ready to get on the next plane from her Park Avenue suite just as soon as the presidential palace is suitably refurbished.

Canada set to fix flawed Haitian election

Today's Globe and Mail reports that "Call me Steve" Harper is considering sending his fixers to show the Haitians how to run an election that gets the result you want without a lot of unseemly rioting in the streets.

Exactly who will be sent is something of a mystery. Her Jeanness, the former Governor-General, is already the UNESCO Special Envoy to Haiti (her homeland), but seems to be fully occupied with her onerous duties in, errr, New York.

It's unusual for Walt to pick up a comment from a reader of another website, but the following, from "Moerbrugge", was appended to the G&M article, and says it all better than I can.

Well certainly all the help - and billions of taxpayers dollars - we have sent to Haiti in the past has made things better.

I rate Haiti just behind Afghanistan as Canada's foreign intervention triumph - Canada's has really made a difference. Both countries are enjoying a period of peace prosperity and good governance thanks to our efforts.

In particular the police forces and military of these two countries have benefited from Canadian training and expertise and are functioning at a high level of efficiency and probity.

You can almost feel the gratitude.

Canada closes embassy in Haiti

Canada has closed its embassy in the strife-torn capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. The embassy will remain shuttered "until further notice" because of riots and protests following the release of presidential election results. (See previous post.)

A spokesthingy for the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DEFAIT -- check your French dictionary) says "We would have closed up sooner, maybe just after the earthquake, but we had Michaëlle Jean coming, so someone had to be there to clean the red carpet. You know how it is, eh."

Democracy in dark countries - Part III

Meanwhile, Haiti also had an election on Nov. 28. The campaign was marked by the unrest (pardon the euphemism) and violence which have characterized elections in Zimbabwe and Côte d'Ivoire -- see today's earlier posts. In

In this case, the unpopular outgoing president, René Préval, was constitutionally barred from succeeding himself, let alone declaring himself president for life. (That had been done before.) But he had a hand-picked successor, Jude Célestin, who might have been a shoe-in but for little problems like the botched earthquake relief effort, an outbreak of cholera and the presence of UN troops (the ones who shat in the drinking water) who were there to ensure the voting could take place in circumstances of calm and fairness.

Candidates other than M. Célestin included former first lady Mirlande Manigat and popular carnival singer [??? rap artist, surely! Ed.] Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly. Former Canadian Governor-General Michaëlle Jean somehow resisted pressure to run.

Not counting the 1000s of ballots found in gutters and garbage dumps, preliminary results of the voting had "Sweet Micky" second to Mme Manigat, with M. Célestin running a clsoe third. This presented a problem to the outgoing government, since the run-off election is supposed to be limited to the first- and second-place candidates only.

So guess what? A new result was announced. Célestin, it was said, had managed to pull ahead of Martelly at the last moment. Reaction of Micky's supporters was as swift as it was predictable.

Protesters set fire to the headquarters of Préval and Célestin's Unity party. Multiple fire trucks responded to the scene as flames licked the roof — an unusual scene in a country with few public services — but in late afternoon piles of charred campaign posters continued to smolder.

"We want Martelly. The whole world wants Martelly," said James Becimus, a 32-year-old protester. "Today we set fires, tomorrow we bring weapons." Other protesters said they would continue to mobilize but do so nonviolently.

For his part, "Sweet Micky" told his supporters yesterday afternoon to watch out for "infiltrators" who might try to incite violence. "Demonstrating without violence is the right of the people," he said. "I will be with you until the bald-head victory."

M. Préval, still president until the dust settles, had earlier urged the candidates to call off the protests. "This is not how the country is supposed to work," he said in a radio speech. "People are suffering because of all this damage."

Indeed. Haiti is not in Africa. It is, however, an African country which happens to find itself stranded on the other side of the Atlantic. All those involved in this farce are African, by which I mean black. Expect corruption, incompetence and chaos and you will not be disappointed.

Corruption in a time of cholera: update on Haiti

Did you give money to help the victims of the Haitian earthquake? If you're Canadian, you certainly did, whether you know it or not. About $220 million was raised through private donations to the Red Cross and other charities. The Canadian government -- sorry, Canadian taxpayers -- added $220 million. And now that a cholera epidemic is raging, they've kicked in another $5 million or so.

That makes $445,000,000 in Canadian aid money which is supposed to be helping the most impoverished and disaster-stricken country in the western hemisphere. Is it?

No need to send your answer to Walt on the back of a postage stamp. Yesterday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation aired a good exposé on where your aid money is going. Watch the video and you'll see a first-hand account -- just one of many -- of how some of your money is being paid directly to corrupt officials of the Haitian government. They're the ones getting fat off your generosity.

From other sources, Walt has learned that only about a third of the funds -- $146 million -- has actually been spent on disaster relief. And that includes the salaries and expenses of all the aid industry workers who are administering and delivering the relief services. Figures on the cost of that overhead are unavailable.

What of the nearly $300 million still in the bank? According to published reports, that's for "reconstruction", which of course can't begin until things settle down. That means having an election to throw out the rascals and bring in new rascals. (No, Wyclef Jean is not running. I'm talking about other rascals.)

It also means getting the cholera epidemic under control. Notice I didn't say eradicating cholera. Cholera is pandemic in Haiti as in many black countries where poverty goes hand in hand with insanitation and disease.

Where in all this, you might ask, is Michaëlle Jean, the Haitian-born woman of colour who spent too long as Canada's Governor-General? I'm happy to report that Her Jeanness landed with her brown bum in the butter. Shortly after being evicted from Rideau Hall she was appointed as UNESCO's "special representative to Haiti".

So she's in Haiti then? Errr, no. She's in New York at UNESCO HQ. But her staff says she's "fully engaged" with Haiti and will be going there "sometime in the future".

Where's a good place for a refugee to land?

If you were a refugee from an island which is a pretty rotten place to live -- say Haiti or maybe Sri Lanka -- where would you go? You want to find someplace where life is better than it is at home. And it would be nice if they'd let you in.

The latter consideration pretty much lets out the U.S.A., which gets tougher on illegals by the day...especially if you try to enter via Arizona! But there are other countries, adjacent to the U.S.A., which are more welcoming.

One of them is the Bahamas, one of Walt's favourite vacation destinations. You can just about swim to the Bahamas from Haiti, so when the earthquake stuck, that's pretty much what a lot of Haitians did. Drinking heavily of the milk of human kindness, the Bahamian government temporarily halted roundups of "undocumented aliens" -- mostly Haitians -- following the big shake.

Seven months later, the Bahamas Immigration Department is warning any illegal migrants in the islands to go home or be subject to arrest and immediate deportation. The free ride is over.

And unlike another neighbour of the U.S. which has also received thousands of dispossessed Haitians -- that would be Canada -- illegals have no right to appeal, no taxpayer-funded lawyers to stretch out the process for years while the illegals disappear.

The Bahamian government said today that they are compelled to resume immigration enforcement, because the number of Haitians trying to enter illegally has actually been increasing over the last six months, this in spite of the millions of dollars in foreign aid pumped into Haiti to make it a little more fit to live in. (See WWW passim, ad nauseam.)

Canada has ignored the many Haitians who have crossed its porous border with the U.S.A. Right now they have a more pressing problem -- the arrival of hundreds of Tamil boat people, including suspected Tamil Tiger terrorists.

Flash back to October 2009 when the MV Ocean Lady arrived in British Columbia, disgorging 76 men who looked rustier than the ship. These Sri Lankans were arrested, but released when they hollered "Refugee! refugee!" Their claims are still "pending" and many of them have melted into the huge Tamil diaspora in Toronto.

At the time, the government of "Call me Steve" Harper, feeling the outrage of public opinion, said that kind of queue-jumping wasn't the Canadian way, dontcha know, and they would act immediately to make sure it didn't happen again. LMAO.

Apparently the Ocean Lady was kind of a test, for about three months ago the Thai-registered MV Sun Sea left Sri Lanka with a human cargo nearly seven times larger, most of whom had paid around $40,000 for passage to a sucker country.

They tried Australia, which told them they could put ashore at Christmas Island. Christmas Island has become Australia's holding camp for boat people. Conditions there are said to be so bad that those housed there wish they'd never left home.

Next the Sun Sea eyed the U.S.A., but realized that America actually has a navy and a coast guard which might...err...blow the boat out of the water. So of course they changed course for Canada.

The Canadian government had roughly two months' notice that they were coming. Vic Toews, Harper's public safety sheepdog [Which is it? ed.], said on Thursday, “While our government believes in offering protection to genuine refugees, it is imperative that we prevent supporters and members of a criminal or terrorist organization from abusing Canada’s refugee system.”

So what action was taken to keep the ship from entering Canadian waters? None. Was any effort made to keep the ship from docking? No. Were the 490 Tamils still alive arrested? Well...err...not exactly. They have been housed in "holding facilities", or sent to hospital, given food and of course legal aid, all at Canadian taxpayers' expense.

Welcome to Canada! Make yourselves at home! And congratulations on your cleverness in choosing to come to Canada by boat without bothering to ask if it was OK.

Now the Canadian government says it has intelligence [Really??!! ed.] that there are two more boatloads of refugees about to leave Sri Lanka, to follow their countrymen to the land of milk and honey [and chumps, surely. ed.]

Mr. Toews says the federal government of which he is a part will act immediately to prevent the ships from setting sail, because once they're on the high seas we have to take them, because of an obligation in international law. What action, exactly, is Canada going to take? Answer comes there none.

Wyclef Jean by the numbers

Wyclef Jean's candidacy for the Presidency of Haiti came up at last night's pre-season meeting of the Curling Club and Literary Society.

Egbert "Eggy" Sousé (pronounced Soo-SAY) said that if Jean wanted to the Exalted High Potentate, he (Sousé) couldn't see why not, considering that there had been precedents [presidents? ed.] in other countries, including the good ole U.S. of A.

Eggy pointed to the Philippines, where movie star Joseph "Erap" Estrada was elected and lasted a couple of years before being impeached for corruption.

In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu former Bollywood star "iron lady super wonder woman Jayalalithaa Jayaram" served as Chief Minister for a while, and still leads the official opposition. Closer to home we have Ahhnold in California, which also produced Pat Brown...and of course Ronnie Regan.

So if the Haitians want to elect a hiphop "artist" who speaks English rather than the local Créole, and may not have spent enough time in the country to qualify for the office, why not?

Agent 3, being a legal beagle, liked the appeal to precedent, but pointed out some interesting facts about M. Jean's background. One of his (Jean's) dubious qualifications for the job is that he was (until two days ago) founder and director of a charity which has been raising money to help the poor people of Haiti dispossessed by the big quake.

• Amount of money raised so far = $9,000,000
• Amount spent (subject to audit) = $1,500,000 (includes fees paid to M. Jean)
• Balance being held somewhere = $7,500,000
• Amount allegedly owing by M. Jean to the IRS for back taxes = $2,100,000
• Who's in charge of the money now? = not known

Stay tuned for further developments as Haiti gets set to vote!