a1338: Re: Otto Reich, Undersecretary of State for American Affairs,says those involved...(#a1294) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: amedard@gte.net

The author of posting #a1294 is openly and sarcastically accusing Olivier Nadal of
corruption, drug trafficking and human rights violations.  That is quite a serious
accusation.  While post #a1249 also represented an attack on Me. Nadal, it was a
published news article, so I can understand why it was posted.  Post #a1294, however,
was not substantiated (except by _heresay_); it was an unprovoqued, blatant,
slanderous and libeling personal attack.

It reminds me of another name-calling post, #a1659, which labelled military personel
as "cretins".  Granted, there must have certainly been "cretins" in the military
(just as there are "cretins" in all walks and groups of life), but blanket name
calling only reflects an opinionated, narrow examination of the facts ... or,
perhaps, of gossip.

Encouraging a wider range of postings, the author of post #a1176 suggested that many


    >  don't stay on this list long as
    >  the list has changed (degenerated ?) into one devoted almost exclusively
    >  to
    >  political bickering


I could not agree more with this analysis.  It is not, however, the political
direction of the list that has become unpleasant, it is the "bickering" and, to use
the words of post #a1176, list members


    >  who perhaps considers half of the list to be
    >  morons (those who don't share the same political views), or to be
    >  Satanists
    >  (those who defend Haitian / African / Black culture)


While the list is certainly a forum for constructive debate and discussion, it is
unfortunate that the list has been reduced to so much bickering, name calling,
unsubstantiated personal attacks and tripotage.  It does not reflect well on the
group or its individual members, and does not provoke cultural, intellectual,
educational or informative exchange.  To again reiterate the words of post #a1176,


    >  Recently, being on the
    >  Corbett list list is more like subscribing to a very opinionated
    >  newspaper,
    >  at times a good source of information, but not a warm and friendly place
    >  to
    >  share experiences.

Is this the image we want to present?  Has our group become as rude as the political
atmosphere in Haiti?

Besides, I thought list protocol excluded personal attacks on list members.


P.S.  Back to Nadal.  Although I am not a personal friend of Me. Nadal, I think it
only fair to balance post #a1294's image of this person with known (and published)
facts.  Did you know that Me. Nadal was not only known to have


    >  crossed social lines by visiting the street vendors in Bel-Air
    >  whose wares were burned during the violent demonstrations
    >  of the past month. He urged support for the demonstration
    >  against violence.

but


    >  was there to assess the damage, ask the government to
    >  compensate the vendors, and to offer to make available
    >  small-business loans from the chamber. He took away a list
    >  of 266 alleged victims whose property was damaged.


     Source:  Center for International Policy <http://www.us.net/cip/nadal.htm>

and is one of the few elite who have had the open courage to speak up:


    >  ``Politicians don't care about the country,'' Nadal says. ``They
    >  have two objectives -- to stay in power as long as they can and
    >  to make money.''
    >
    >  Nadal voices publicly what many say privately, from Petionville's
    >  elite to the slum dwellers of Cite Soleil.  For doing so, Nadal says
    >  his life has been threatened and his dog poisoned.

<snip>

    >  Nadal, of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, notes that
    >  80 percent of commerce in Haiti is informal, based largely on
    >  contraband, which undercuts legitimate national industry because
    >  it ``pays no taxes and doesn't worry about the government.''
    >
    >  "Local industry is going bankrupt because of the contraband,''
    >  he says. ``If the situation lasts too long, we will have to close
    >  down or enter the informal sector.  The government is not
    >  addressing the problems of the private sector. They don't care.''
    >
    >  ``We are headed for anarchy and chaos,'' Nadal concludes.
    >  ``The people are so tired, they can't protest any more.''

     Source <http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/haiti/abyss.htm>

Note:  the aforesaid P.S.does not reflect bickering or opinionated heresay; instead
it describes facts and quotations.