Two Frenchmen have a Difference of Opinion
It's Easier to Curse Those Accursed Capitalists When Certain Facts Are (Conveniently) Ignored"French Foreign Minister Kouchner claimed that the airport had become "an annex of Washington," according to France's ambassador to Haiti, Didier Le Bret, after the Americans diverted a French relief flight to the neighbouring Dominican Republic.
This account, however, is strongly contradicted by Duncan Dee, the chief operating officer of Air Canada. He was in the cockpit of a Boeing 767 as it delivered 22,000 kilograms of supplies for emergency relief Saturday to Port-au-Prince that had been donated by the airline.
"What I saw was extremely well-organized under very challenging circumstances," said Mr. Dee, who also listened in on all communications between ground control and aircraft. "The U.S. is not favouring its own flights.
"The big problem they are facing is space at the airport," he explained. "The second big problem is planes arriving totally unannounced seeking entry to the airport. All probably well-meaning but not anticipated or planned.""
"As Barack Obama does his utmost to destroy the American (and thus, the world's) economy, Serguei applauds (while further denigrating capitalists) and Le Monde's readers say he isn't going far enough.
On the front page of the same issue, meanwhile, Plantu depicts foreign aid for Haiti after the earthquake in the form of a generic hospital ship and of the United Nations dove (in tears, like everyone else) heading for the stricken island (in the form of its flag).
What the Europeans ignore, of course, is that again, as usual, the with the most humanitarian help just happens to be (by entire coincidence, of course) the planet's foremost capitalist nation. Claudia Rosett:
In Haiti, the UN has been reporting that it has some personnel working on the ground, and is preparing to mobilize more. But the basic picture so far is that once again the American military is shouldering the chief burden of immediate relief.
One thing I will never forget about the 2004 tsunami in Asia is seeing news reports on French TV describing "the UN's" help and efforts for the victims, all the while, showing images of naval crews from the USS Abraham Lincoln and helicopter crews in the air sporting the US flag on their sleeves."
posted by Louise at 7:15 am
2 Comments:
I would love to give the Haiti E-quake problem to the French, the original glittering class. I'm afraid that pesky Monroe Doctrine would get in the way, tho.
Even if the French did take on Haiti, they would no doubt clog-up American ports with relief supplies being the only place big enough to handle the quantity of goods required.
It's nice to know the French are argueing to get something they know absolutely not going to get. A very glittering thing to do.
Maybe we could call them the littering class.
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