Legacy of 1804 | Laurent Lamothe | Bitcoin in Haiti? #LOF1804

Hosts: Daniella Bien-Aimé, Alice 

Guest: Former Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe 

Topic: Bitcoin and Haiti


When: 9AM this Saturday (i.e. this week's show will not be held during our usual Friday at 9PM slot)

MAKE SURE TO CALL IN AND ASK YOUR QUESTIONS!

Places to listen: Player below or at kiskeacity.com  | Phone: 714-242-6119 | BlogTalkRadio Link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pancaribbean/2017/10/07/legacy-of-1804-laurent-lamothe-bitcoin-and-haiti-lof1804





POST-SHOW HIGHLIGHTS/LIVE TWEETS

We had a great and diverse conversation with former Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe with lots of questions from listeners and a very active tweetup which you can find below.  Lamothe explained what bitcoin is and why he believes it is a good technology to adopt in Haiti, including by the Central Bank issuing a haitian cryptocurrency. Such tool would change the way the diaspora sends money, making it cheaper and could be used to streamline the process of paying for government services such as electricity.  Cryptocurrencies would also foster ease of commerce among Haitians and with the world by bringing better payment systems to Haitian micro-enterprises. Lamothe expounded on the need for the diaspora to empower itself through electoral representation in the United States, including to better represent the interests of 68,000 Haitian TPS holders. He felt that the diaspora needs to be as focused on its empowerment in countries where they live as as they are on Haitian politics. He specifically mentioned the use of forums such as LOF1804 in Haiti and the diaspora and potential Haitian Diaspora Bitcoin Associations to educate the haitian public on cryptocurrencies.

We had callers from all over the diaspora including Canada, Florida, Haiti and Boston, among others.

Legacy of 1804 | Daniella Bien-Aime | Recent Haiti Trip #LOF1804

Host: Alice

Guest: Daniella Bien-Aime of The Bien-Aime Post

When: 9PM This Friday (tonight)

Topic: Her recent Haiti Trip



Places to listen: Player below or at kiskeacity.com  | Phone: 714-242-6119 | BlogTalkRadio Link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pancaribbean/2017/09/23/legacy-of-1804-daniella-bien-aim-haiti-trip-lof1804






Post-show highlights

Daniella Bien-Aime and I discussed her recent trip to Haiti including contrasts between Port-au-Prince and the countryside, contrasts between rich gated communities and poor neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince,  transportation issues, small business.

Legacy of 1804 | Kenneth Merten Bamboozles Haitians in Brooklyn #LOF1804 #Haiti

Join me this Friday night (tonight) at 9PM as I summarize and play various reactions to U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Merten's recent visit to Brooklyn where he purported to offer a Retrospective of US Foreign policy in Haiti after two panelists who conveniently spoke only of Haitian government weaknesses. Merten's remarks looking back at US Foreign policy in the last 20 or so years were very short and he scraped the surface of the many serious blows dealt to Haitian rice farming, the Black pig and to the country's infrastructure through the 90s embargo.

But most of all, Merten bamboozled the community when questions were raised about his involvement in announcing election results in 2010 that were contrary to what two electoral council members and a former OAS official found to be the actual result.

The event was protested by KOMOKODA, a grassroots organization who felt Brooklyn College should not have invited someone with Merten's destructive policies towards Haiti to speak at the new Haitian Studies Institute.

Listen to reactions by Dahoud Andre of Komokoda, Daniella Bien-Aimé of the Bien-Aimé Post and Hugues Girard, among others.



You can listen live or archived at the below player or at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pancaribbean/2017/04/01/legacy-of-1804-amb-kenneth-merten-bamboozles-haitians-in-brooklyn-lof1804. You can also listen live only at 714-242-6119.




(This show will likely be pre-recorded as I am jet-lagged and away at an open knowledge conference but there is a chance I may do it live. Please be indulgent as technical problems may arise from my hotel wifi.)



You can listen to past shows on iTunes by searching keywords 'Legacy of 1804'. Past shows are also available at http://www.kiskeacity.com/search/label/LOF1804. On Twitter: react to or ask questions by using the hashtag #LOF1804.

(Parts of this message may not be visible to those reading via email. Please visit kiskeacity.com if needed.)


POST-SHOW HIGHLIGHTS 

Another amazing show full of serendipity what with Professor Claude Joseph, one of Merten's co-panelists calling in to offer his views of the event. We were also joined by none other than Dady Chéry of the News Junkie Post who offered, along with Hugues Girard, that listeners and guests of this show need our own think tank, one not commandeered by the State Department or dismissive of the protests and concerns of entrenched Brooklyn community groups such as Komokoda. 

We listened to clips of questions asked of Merten at the event by Daniella Bien-Aimé and me respectively on Merten's changing of official elections results in 2010 and the US' role in centralizing the Haitian government in Port-au-Prince. 

We also discussed panelist Vanessa Léon's implied thesis that the problem with US Foreign Policy in Haiti is Haitians and the Haitian government.


More highlights below.

Legacy of 1804 -- 2015 Year in Review: 6 Key Moments #LOF1804 #Haiti

Join me and and guest pundits Hans Roy and Hugues Girard as we go over most significant moments of the year for Haitian and Haitian Diaspora current affairs.

What are the 6 key events? (We review the first 4 moments tonight and will review the last 2 next week during our "2016 New Years' Resolutions" show. Or for all 6 points in one place, you can listen to the full  pre-recorded show in archives.)

1.  Evidence of US and Western Meddling in Haitian Elections in 2010 and 2015 -- From the Clinton Emails to Brazilian OAS Official Ricardo Seitenfus' tell-all Book to Opont's revelation to CEP member Ginette Chérubin's book, Le Ventre Pourri de la Bête.  Leading up to what has been called the August 9th coup. (First hour)
2. The Apparent End of a US-Led Unipolar Word -- Signaled by Russia putting its foot down and opposing U.S. led regime-change in Syria. We go over how this all ties into Haiti. (Starts at top of second hour.)
3. The Baltimore Protests and the rise of #BlackLivesMatter in the U.S.
4. The Deportation of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent from the D.R. to Haiti
5. Developments with non-GMO seeds
6. The Rise of Co-operative Economics in the West and among Blacks in the U.S.

Listen live or archived at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pancaribbean/2015/12/31/legacy-of-1804--2015-year-in-review-lof1804-haiti. Call in to listen at (714) 242-6119.

This show was pre-recorded on 12/31/2015. There will be no live Q&A. 


UPDATE: FULL SHOW AUDIO (INCL. ALL 6 MOMENTS)








LIVE TWEET RECAP

Legacy of 1804 on Conquering Student Debt #LOF1804

Tonight (Friday) at 9PM guest Natalie Jean-Baptiste, Esq., shares tips on how to deal with crushing student debt. (This show was pre-recorded so there will not be a live Q&A.)

Listen LIVE or Archived at 9pm tonight at http://tobtr.com/s/8070969.

You can also listen on the phone at (714) 242-6119.

 Would you like to host a Legacy of 1804 episode? Sign up with your guest and topic at: https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=1b159lp4p16roe3j8ppgk5omak%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York


UPDATE: SHOW AUDIO




Here is the Live Tweet Recap:

Legacy of 1804 on Digicel Blocks VoIPs in the Caribbean #Haiti #LOF1804 #netneutrality

Digicel has blocked VoIP access (Viber, Tango etc) in Haiti, Trinidad and Jamaica. Other cell phone carriers such as Lime have done so as well. This has generated a firestorm on Caribbean social media, at least one petition and a reaction by the Trinidadian Telecom regulatory body which reinstated VoIPs in Trinidad while it deliberates the issue.

Join me in my capacity as LOF1804 weekly host and head of  the Americas Desk  at Internet Without Borders this Friday July 11 at 9PM EA as I welcome:

• Gerard Best, a tech blogger and T&T Guardian contributor;
• Michele Marius from the ICT Pulse blog in Jamaica;
• Pascal Antoine, President of HaitiXchange and tech entrepreneur in Haiti and 
• Gary Dauphin, LA based Haitian-American digital media manager who spoke about net neutrality on LOF1804 a few weeks ago.

For more background on the issue:

http://buff.ly/1jtAEYn


Listen live at http://tobtr.com/s/6670679 or on the phone at 323-927-2913.

You can listen to past shows at http://www.kiskeacity.com/search/label/LOF1804 or by searching "Legacy of 1804" or subscribing to the Black Whole Radio feed in iTunes.

UPDATE 1:

We have a new show link because of technical difficulties:
I'm broadcasting live on the air! Listen in now at http://tobtr.com/s/6670679. #BlogTalkRadio #lof1804 #digicel #VoIPs


UPDATE 2 (SHOW AUDIO):

UPDATE 3 - HIGHLIGHTS:

Speakers gave us an update of where things stand in their respective jurisdictions. In Trinidad services have been restored while TATT deliberates. In Haiti and Jamaica, applications are still blocked.

Pascal Antoine pointed out that Digicel's competitor NatCom has not blocked VoIPs.

Panelists answered the following questions and more:

Why have Haiti's Conatel and its Jamaican equivalent still not pronounced themselves on the VoIP block?
Why are cell phone providers doing this block now?
Have workaround applications to the block surfaced in the Caribbean?
How long have cell phone providers wanted to block VoIPs? According to Michele Marius this is just the latest development in a long battle between carriers and VoIPs.
Is this a dangerous precedent for net neutrality in the region and globally? What if Digicel decides it wants to block an app by a Haitian congressional candidate it does not like?
What is the state of Caribbean innovation?

New Education Podcasts with Black Whole Radio on BlogTalkRadio

Gerard Best generously curated the following links for us during the show:

REGIONAL
ICT Pulse: Mixed Signals http://www.ict-pulse.com/2014/07/case-mixed-signals-blocking-voip-caribbean/
Bevil Wooding—Defending An Open Caribbean Internet: http://www.siliconcaribe.com/2014/07/07/defending-an-open-caribbean-internet/
Jacqueline Charles—Miami Herald: Cellular providers block ‘free’ call apps in Caribbean angering consumers: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/07/10/4229297/caribbean-cellular-provides-block.html

HAITI
Digicel Haiti blocks VoIP: http://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2014/06/25/digicel-haiti-blocks-voip-applications/
Digicel Haiti and Conatel in talks: http://m.lenouvelliste.com/lenouvelliste/article/133181/Il-ny-a-pas-que-de-mauvaises-nouvelles.html#.U70gAKd86KQ.email

JAMAICA
Digicel mulls banning Viber, other 'unlicensed' VoIP services in Jamaica: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/.../business/business2.html
Digicel, LIME follow through on VoIP blockade: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/.../business/business3.html
Digicel and LIME Jamaica block VoIP: http://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2014/07/03/digicel-and-lime-block-voip-providers/

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Digicel wants Viber, Tango, Nimbuzz providers to pay
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2014-07-06/digicel-wants-viber-tango-nimbuzz-providers-pay
The T&T Guardian reported that Digicel agreed to allow its customers to access VoIP applications Viber, Tango and Nimbuzz once again after the Telecommunications Authority of T&T (TATT) started an investigation into complaints made about Digicel’s action. http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2014-07-09/digicel-returns-voip-services

Kiskeácity Daily | Instagram | @kiskeacity| Facebook | Tumblr

Legacy of 1804 Haiti News and Blog Review #ZafenonKiva #LOF1804

Join me tonight at 9PM EA as I review recent Haiti news.

Topics:

- Zafen/Kiva small business loan partnership with Katleen Felix of HHTARG.
- Digicel investment into Fonkoze;
- Recent NY Times article on Haitian culture;
- Clinton and Haitian peanuts.


Listen live or archived at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blackwholeradio/2014/07/05/legacy-of-1804-haiti-news-and-blog-review-lof1804 or 323-927-2913.
You can listen to past shows on iTunes by searching keywords 'Legacy of 1804'. Past shows are also available at http://www.kiskeacity.com/search/label/LOF1804. On Twitter: react to or ask questions by using the hashtag #LOF1804


UPDATE: SHOW AUDIO

Articles discussed tonight:

Haitian Art and Dance in Brooklyn - http://t.co/uDEZqT3sCe

Zafèn News http://t.co/tmvlp0XoH1

Haïti-Santé : Une bonne partie du "manba" ou beurre de cacahuètes empoisonnée... http://ht.ly/yNDL7

Clinton, le "dieu" des Tèt Kale de nouveau en Haïti - Le Monde du Sud// Elsie news
http://elsie-news.over-blog.com/2014/07/clinton-le-dieu-des-tet-kale-de-nouveau-en-haiti.html

Haïti – Agriculture : Bill Clinton annonce le lancement d’une chaîne logistique d’eantreprises en Haïti http://ht.ly/yNDI5

Discover Culture Internet Radio with Black Whole Radio on BlogTalkRadio

Kiskeácity Daily | Instagram | @kiskeacity| Facebook | Tumblr

Legacy of 1804 #15 with guest Pascal Antoine #Haiti

Join me this Friday at 9 PM as I welcome France born and Brooklyn raised Pascal Antoine to discuss the nuts and bolts of his recent move to Haiti despite having no close relatives there.

Pascal Antoine is the founder of www.HaitiXchange.com, a multi-media website that features Haitian news and culture. He is a media entrepreneur, video editor, producer and voice-over actor. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he was born in Paris, France and raised in Brooklyn New York by Haitian parents. He has recently decided to make Port-au-Prince, Haiti his home, following a lifelong desire to contribute to the country’s advancement from the source itself.

 Listen Online http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blackwholeradio/2014/01/11/legacy-of-1804-with-guest-pascal-antoine-haiti or on the phone at (323) 927-2913.

You can listen to past shows on iTunes by searching keywords 'Legacy of 1804'. Past shows are also available at http://www.kiskeacity.com/search/label/LOF1804.

On Twitter: react to or ask questions by using the hashtag #LOF1804.

Theme song for the show is 'One Note Rara' from the album ‘Blues in Red’ courtesy of Buyu Ambroise and the Blues in Red Band.

TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE NEWSLETTER AND/OR INVEST INTO MY EFFORTS, TEXT YOUR EMAIL TO 917-746-7050.

UPDATE  1/10/2014 - SHOW AUDIO

New Culture Podcasts with Black Whole Radio on BlogTalkRadio

Kiskeácity Daily | @kiskeacity| Facebook

Raoul Peck Takes the Creole Version of Fatal Assistance on the Road in Haiti

My hero Raoul Peck has now translated Fatal Assistance into Creole and is taking the film on the road in Haiti. The below video is a conversation that happened after a screening of the film in a Port-au-Prince university. It is a kickass discussion between Peck, several journalists and the students who came to see the film.

At minute 25, Peck says that he believes that by giving their workers the same pay as people going to Kabul and Bagdad, certain NGOs are entertaining and encouraging fear about Haiti. Meanwhile, as he points out, those very workers pack the discos in Pétion-Ville and the beaches of the country. I could add they also take over whole  coastal towns such as Port-Salut.

Peck also stressed at the one hour mark that it was important to him to show Haitians in their truth: working people such as doctors and ironsmiths. He contrasts this with images of screaming helpless women that the western media like to bombard us with.

At 1:13, a woman in the audience concludes that NGOs are poisonous to countries around the world. At 1:19 Peck says "depi ayiti kreye yo trangle nou.  Yo pran resous nou, yo fè nou peye on pakèt kòb. Gen on pati nan kòb sa-a fòl retounen. Annou chanje retorik lan." At 1:22 journalist  Roberson Alphonse says "Jodi-a nou wè rezilta èd la. Nou pral goumen ak kominote entènasyonal la." At 1:24 "Wi mwen kontan ke Bill Clinton demaske nan fim nan."



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIyawY3Cu64

Some key points about the film:

• Shows how the "international community"  made it clear to Préval during the last presidential election that either their candidate (aka Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly) made it into the first round finalists or they would not recognize the result of the elections;
• Unveils the "dictatorship of aid";
• Shows particularly telling images about Bill Clinton's mismanagement of IHRC;
• Contends that reconstruction is a myth.

Here are some key points and quotes made by Peck during the film's US premiere during the Human Rights Watch Film Festival  in New York ("HRW") earlier this year:

• He worked hard to disprove the leitmotiv of some in the NGO industrial complex that the reason for the failure of relief and reconstruction was Haitians themselves;
• The theme of Haitian government corruption favored by the Western media is the war in rhetoric that we lost. The real problem is "What good is development aid"?  Africa has already reimbursed 5 times the amount of money that it borrowed. In the US, corruption is called "lobbying";
• "Haitians would love to be left alone";
• "The UN and the Clinton Foundation would love for the film to go away";
• Clinton never said no to being interviewed but each month he would push it back. Clinton staffers told Peck "we are here to defend the Clinton brand";
•  Peck is offended by the fact that so many reports  on the EQ showed dead Haitian bodies. There are laws against that in France; 
• Western media did not show the images of the Haitian doctors who provided care to fellow Haitians after the EQ;
• The aid world's "Do No Harm" rules include "Don't kill the local economy" and that rule was not respected in Haiti;
• "Yes the money has to go directly to the people, anything else is unacceptable because by the time everyone in the NGO world has taken their cut, there is nothing left for the people";

Priscilla Phelps, the female voice in the film, was in attendance at HRW and agreed that the money should in this case and in the future go directly to the people. She added that a lot of the agencies who had agreed with her book about funds going directly to the people were the same who got in the way of that advice in Haiti.  She added that since people have their own best interest at heart, funds given them directly will be spent wisely.


Kiskeácity Daily  @kiskeacity| Facebook

kiskeácity daily is out ! Edition of Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011 #HAITI #BLOGS @anedie01 @citizenhaiti #Caribbean #crafts

VIEW FULL PAPER 

Call this the Miss Haiti Universe and arts and crafts edition!

Miss Haiti Anedie Azael (@anedie01) posts a video of her every move on the pageant trail and so we are going to see a bunch of her until pageant night. There are 4 videos of her in today's edition (at the gym, putting on a mud mask, hanging out with Miss Turks and Caicos) but if you go to her YouTube page, there should be even more, including her tryouts as a chef this afternoon. That she manages to document and upload her every step while also partaking in the vertiginous Miss Universe contestant activities is a testament to her energy.

My favorite for today is one of her speaking creole with half-Haitian Miss Turks and Caicos. Haitians do get around the Caribbean and Latin America and this is a good illustration!





I also discovered the ingenuous Haitian Findings blog today which is a treasure trove of Haitian crafts and artisanal foods and products of the sort that will make you home sick and nostalgic. Under the Leisure and #Haiti tabs you will find posts on a crochet blanket, a recycled rice bag purse, a local alcoholic energy drink that should out compete vodka red bulls, a wooden necklace, Bèlzèb herbal hand made soaps, Jacmel based Moro Barouk creations and more. The recently started blog is written by Haitian born and raised  MadeinHaiti and I really hope she keeps it up!

Other interesting stories from the blogs include:

• Cooking with Madame Sara's typical Haitian meal complete with ingredients and cooking instructions. (Headline tab)
• Sitwayen Ayiti/Citizen Haiti walks us through a bee farm in Haiti and thinks honey can be the future of the country. (Headline tab)
• Tande (i.e. literature Professor Régine Michelle Jean-Charles) explains how she chooses which writers to research, mentioning a tendency by academics to over-study E. Danticat, J. Roumain and J.-S. Alexis. 
• Laurie of Caribbean Living tells a tale of child sexual abuse in a small rural town in Haiti by a catholic priest. (Stories tab.)

In the news: 

• Guy Philippe named as a prime suspect in American narcotics investigation. (www.miamiherald.com under Headlines tab.)
• Earthquake aftershock in Haiti Friday afternoon injured one and caused a landslide in the West department. (Réseau Citadelle re-posting an unknown news source under Headlines tab.) 

To read more Haitian blogs in real time, please check out my collection of Haitian blogs at www.haitianbloggers.collected.info.

Enter your Email

kiskeácity daily is out ! Edition of Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011

VIEW FULL PAPER

Haiti News - Martelly's statements on tax collection for Governance Week (FR, www.haitilibre.com) . Martelly meets with Bill Cinton yesterday afternoon (FR, Le Matin). Clinton-Bush Foundation starts $2 million fund for small business (FR, www.haitilibre.com). Wyclef Jean returns to his evangelical roots in Port-au-Prince (FR, www.haitilibre.com). Note that all www.haitilibre.com stories can be found in EN under the english tab on its website.

From the Blogs - www.culture509.com celebrates Radio Heritage's anniversary (FR).

Video- Tele Métropole News for August 16th contains the following stories (FR): Parliament heads refuse to negotiate a Prime Minister nominee with Martelly's presidential commission because they claim the commission is unconstitutional. Martelly's governance week. Monseigneur Kébreau clarifies his statements about Martelly needing to govern like his band leader alter ego Sweet Micky. Investigation under way and arrests imminent in Cap Haitien cathedral vandalism.


Enter your Email

kiskeácity daily is out ! Edition of Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011

VIEW FULL PAPER

Former presidential candidate Mirlande Manigat breaks her silence and weighs in on Martelly's education plan which she deems unrealistic. She also has some terse advice for the President on how he should handle a parliament he does not control. (See Metro News Aug. 9 video.)

Also: opening of application period for Yele's hotel studies training, IDB's $11 million fund for small and mid-sized business and yesterday's Cardicis3 newsletter about information and communications technologies (ICTs) in the Caribbean contains interesting news about Blackberrys and teachers in Jamaica.








Enter your Email

Banque et décentralisation en Haiti selon Kesner Pharel

Extrait d'un article d'haitilibre.com sur le lancement récent de Kay Pa'm, programme de crédit dans l'immobilier:

« C’est une opportunité qui s’offre au système bancaire haïtien avec ce projet [Kay Pa'm] », a commenté pour sa part l’économiste Kesner Pharel, qui a insisté sur la nécessité d’ouvrir ce programme aux autres villes de province. « La décentralisation nécessite la création d’opportunités dans d’autres régions d’Haïti. 86% des dépôts d’argent à l’intérieur du pays sont faits dans les banques à Port-au-Prince, les 14 % restant concernent les autres banques de la République. De plus, en dehors de la capitale, suivant une étude du Groupe Croissance, moins de 5% des détenteurs d’un compte en banque ont accès au crédit bancaire. Cela témoigne de l’injustice qu’il y a dans le système. »

Article complet: http://www.haitilibre.com/article-3411-haiti-reconstruction-le-programme-kay-pa-m-est-lance.html


Enter your Email

kiskeácity daily is out ! Edition of Thursday, Jul. 21, 2011

VIEW FULL PAPER

Topics include: renewed pledge by Martelly to implement his education program, launch of Kay Pam mortgage program by government, Haiti en Folie festival in Quebec, beginning of reconstruction of government buildings and other regional news.


Enter your Email