With all that’s going on here, the global out reach and in-reach of the Biden administration is unbelievable. Thank you for bringing this to us Heather!
With all that’s going on here, the global out reach and in-reach of the Biden administration is unbelievable. Thank you for bringing this to us Heather!
To truly judge a leader, one needs to look at the quality of their support team. While one may rail against some decisions of Joe Biden one should not look past the quality of his team, many of them hand selected. Anyone who questions team quality and impact should read (or re-read) Doris Kearns Goodwin’s great book, Team of Rivals. Personally, I’d stack the Biden team up against any active in my mature lifetime!
Yes Gary! It has been apparent for some time that Biden has put together a very competent team. He has also, in my opinion, really built a strong elected leadership team within the Congress. This is one reason it seemed the “age issue” was blown out of proportion. As Biden moves through a second term he will take steps (again, in my thinking) to build out both elected leadership and executive leaders to take the country forward. As he likes to say, “he’ll finish what he started.”
Vote in 2023. Get others registered and out to vote up and down the ballot.
Outlining a vision and direction, finding talent that can redirect when the vision is off the mark, or driving effective implementation when it is on the right track, is what leadership is all about.
That, and a robust mutually listening conversation between those who are led and those who lead. I read a study decades ago that suggested that managers who spend a lot of time in conversation with those on "the floor", producing whatever obtained superior results to those who remain more isolated. It's not my field and I don't know how subsequently verified these conclusions were found to be; but it seems like "common sense". That said, in my experience, the isolated, imperious manager is all too common.
Seems to me that a president is ideally an organizational manager AND an out-there public leader. In a democracy, a president is not an emperor, so that offer of leadership or advocacy of social movements may or may not attract supporters, since ideally, ultimate leadership lies with the collective will of the public. But a leader's focused vision, whether it arises from "grass roots" or a national election, can provide proposals around which democratic support may gather and grow.
Well J L, it may not be your field but you describe the lessons I took from an MBA and life experience/career. There are some differences from small businesses to corporations to government institutions BUT listening to other voices has always been a winner for me. And it helps to have some compassion and get beyond one’s ego at times.
In fact, whatever happens in November, it occurs to me that in the long run Trumps ego will do him and this country in if those being led ignore the will of the majority. It is interesting to read that folks are now recognizing the shortcomings of Jack Welch’s leadership and that of “Chainsaw Al Dunlap.”
I see encouraging signs, though (even in business) the collapse of bad leadership can cause massive collateral damage. The Subprime crisis for example.
I worked for Hewlett Packard when Bill and Dave were still there and it was an extraordinary company. They had a philosophy of "management by wandering around". I was in outside sales but a couple of times when I was in the office, one or then other would turn up. And wander over to talk. Extraordinary.
I hadn't heard that in quite some time (management by wandering around).
As a computer consultant, I worked with over 75 life insurance companies and that management style, although highly effective is way too rare in that industry.
JL it is true for law enforcement. I can tell you that the difference between a sergeant who sat in the office all night "approving reports" (and whatever other "administrative duties" were called for on the overnight shift) and one who got out of the office, into their car, responded to calls, met for coffee is immeasurable. Our current Sheriff and his Chief Deputy (rank of Captain and department second in command) both work night shifts during the holidays so that deputies with young families can be home with their kids.
The age issue...isn't an issue. The man could run circles and talk circles around me and I am 70. Daily I am impressed by how he will not be bullied by the biggest bullies on the planet.
And I know...am constantly surprised at how he and his team can quickly expose a negative move on behalf of the Rs and the Oligarchs for what it is. Just look at Schumer's move on the border bill!
It is redemption, on the part of the US to support Africa. Good news all around. Thank you HCR....for sharing.
And next time someone asks what Harris is doing as VP....ask what other VPs have done. Biden is using her talents well.
Age is traditionally associated with wisdom, but the teen-aged Greta Thunberg vs elderly Trump proves it ain't necessarily so. I think that age and experience CAN increase wisdom if the opportunity to do so is consistently taken over time In part it seems to involve knowing enough to know how much you don't know, and therefore collaborating with others. Age can be a problem when it robs us of our mind, but some minds are sharp to the end.
We need to cherish wisdom when/where we see it. Preserve it when it is threatened, and refuse to be convinced it is not wisdom when given alternative facts.
Further to the point that you and Gary make, John, I was surprised to see that Meg Whitman was our ambassador to Kenya. I lived and worked in Silicon Valley when Ms. Whitman was making her mark on the world. She's brilliant. I am now even more impressed by Pres. Biden and VP Harris for bringing such an accomplished person onto the team. It's results that matter to them.
One of the attributes of President Biden that is overlooked is his ability to delegate. This has allowed so much more than TFFG's administration to be accomplished.
Little is reported in the media about the team's accomplishments. 56,000 infrastructure projects have been completed or are in progress.
The Department of Energy has been moving hundreds of projects forward and is looking to the private sector to deliver solutions to markets across the US and offshore as well. The progress being made worldwide in battery and fuel cell technology is staggering.
Never in my lifetime has there been a cabinet with so many members qualified to be President.
Thank you, Gary, the words "ability to delegate" in your comment jumped out at me. I may have missed it the media, but I see almost nothing about Biden's ability to delegate. He surrounds himself with really brilliant people and then trusts and allows them to do the necessary work successfully. Your point about "so many members qualified to be President" is a good one also.
Very well put and, in support of your cabinet quality comment, I offer Gina Raimondo, a brilliant, down to earth leader who gets things done. Her leadership as Treasurer rescued Rhode Island’s public employees pension plan. Later she was governor. She’s a centrist and was instrumental to this administration in negotiations for the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act, perhaps the most consequential legislation since Obamacare. We’re talking talent here!
"One of the attributes of President Biden that is overlooked is his ability to delegate. This has allowed so much more than TFFG's administration to be accomplished."
Trump selects obedient Orcs, Bush II on steroids. Trump's ego uber alles. What could possibly go wrong?
How could any human being do an admirable job of running an agency as large and complex as the US Government without a working understanding of what is beyond one's own abilities and expertise yet grasping the essence of what is needed and who as the skills to deal with it. I don't think we talk enough about THAT particular capacity, especially in politics. So many politicians want to HOG the glory (or blame unidentified "staffers" when thing go sour).
In my experience, some businesses, colleges, etc. operate in a culture of collaboration that pervades the whole organization. Some others are tyrannies. "Government" per se was never the problem, but sh*tty governance IS.
Team of Rivals is a masterpiece. I believe, please correct me if I am wrong, that President Barak Obama took many pointers from Abraham Lincoln's structuring of his cabinet.
(Like working with former First Lady Hillary Clinton, who was a rival!)
The trip made by President William Ruto was one of its kind and signalled the Biden's receptive and equal global outreach program. The last trip was made by late President Mwai Kibaki in 2003 when Bush was in power; the results were promising as the country's economic growth increased from 2.5% in 2003 to almost 7% in 2003 due to agricultural structural adjustments program and marked the beginning of AGOA.
Biden's foreign policy on Africa has not been short of praise as it has focused on investments in different sectors. From Agriculture which I saw President Ruto asked him to extend AGOA which has been beneficial to Africa small-scale farmers to digital economy. The state visit saw Kenya designed as non-,NATO member due to its commitment to bolster regional and international security. Kenya has been sending troops to different countries like Somalia, South Sudan, DRC, and Sierra Leone. Already it was agreed when Haiti Prime Minister came to Kenya that 2000 Haitian troops will be sent to Kenya for retraining and later redeployed.
Similarly, I have watched severally Megan, US ambassador to Kenya, and I must laud that she is committed to bolstering the interests of both countries. She has been upto the task, eloquent, and straightforward in championing development. (I wish I will meet her one day).
When asked by Richard Quest to choose between US and China investment, President Ruto said, "Africa is neither facing West nor East, it is facing forward" to mean he is not concerned with power wrangles but only opportunities benefiting the people. Ruto wanted a global platform where no one is superior to the other but equal as partners and can work on something together.
Lastly, HCR echoed what I have been writing that the continent’s population is very young and hungry for digital work. A mean of 19 years old implies that labour force will be coming from Africa In the next decades.
In the spirit of Africa-US relations, I have my own initiative dubbed Mamas Impact which I aim to uplift women as agents of economic change. You can inquire more in my newslette
Thank you, Edwin, for sharing your knowledge about Africa's stance on the global stage.
Several months ago, I started contributing to Women for Women International. Their mission statement: "We work at the critical intersection of women and conflict providing skills, knowledge, and resources that create sustainable change for women, their families, and their communities." In return, I received some beautiful notecards: "Produced from banana leaves, each card is created by hand and sold to help Rwandan women earn an income and care for their families."
Thank you Linell and first and foremost congratulations for your outstanding initiative. I had to head straight to your website and am excited about your endeavour. Coincidentally, I have an initiative which I am still gathering the momentum to begin. I have written extensively about underserved communities with one of them being Mamas Impact. I intend, through this initiative, to show women are the economic agents of change. I am happy you have a similar initiative from a different angle. Maybe we can discuss further (my email is dwinkiptoo@gmail.com)
Edwin, your voice is so important here, because the relationship between the USA and the nations of Africa has been completely under-assessed over the years. I think the US has relied way too much on the postcolonial involvement of prior colonialist countries, like Great Britain and France, to ameliorate the situations in the continent, especially sub-Saharan Africa, but without acknowledging the role that the USA has played in the challenges modern-day Africa faces. I have friends who also have been involved in the movement to bring economic independence to women, particularly in Mali and Senegal, but those initiatives have largely petered out (especially in Mali, where the government proved hostile to them) in the wake of military takeovers and so on. Senegal's stability seems to be hanging on by a thread these days, and South Africa seems to be struggling with all the challenges competing for attention. I find the rejection of pluralism (especially regarding women's equality and LGBTQ people) in many African countries to be extremely troubling, but I also admit that I see those as results of the kinds of 19th-century imperialism that played out in Africa, in which ultra-conservative groups dominated.
Please keep posting. We in the USA hear so little about Africa, which is an appalling state of affairs, as it should be as much a part of the news cycle as everywhere else in the world.
Thank you so much for the reply. Indeed there has bit of misconstrued understanding about Africa concerning what it is today. Again the mainstream media has been only rounding up only popular news considering their major aim is profit optimisation. So the display of the continent has been shallow. There hasn't been deep assessment about the changing and emerging dynamics in Africa. This represention explains why 19th century imperialist perspective is still deeply rooted. Similarly there has been no one to make the continent equal to the rest of the continent in terms of power positioning until when President William Ruto stood upto the task (and so far, he has gotten the attention of the West and East). Equal powers on the table means a lot to the continent; it means their voice would be heard, the continent would not be a battle ground for the west and east. Concerning the issue about underserved especially women, I would like to know how the group you mentioned proceeded to work for women in war-prone countries. I know West Africa is bit challenging because of the constant coups.
A small group of musicians from KC actually got involved in Mali with a campaign to get children to use soap when washing their hands, because of the prevalence of dysentery, which turned into an initiative for women to manufacture soap, which led to a really lively exchange between like-minded folks in KC supporting the soap-making businesses in Mali. Then the coup happened and the whole thing got shut down. Tried to see if it could be moved to Senegal but that was not possible in the end. A very small step that would have been useful as a tiny start-up but fizzled. I also know people involved in a very small way in the bead-making initiatives that are funded through micro-loans. Tiny little steps that get no coverage and almost no support, especially when so many "bigger" things are happening. I also have a friend who was sent by an NGO to Uganda in 2019 and who was consulting over agricultural and food-production stuff (I think that was what was going on) and then got stuck there because of the Covid Lockdown. After he managed to get out (18 months later) the whole thing fell apart when the Ugandan government started wreaking havoc on women and LGBTQ people. I know very little about how systems work in Africa (I know how they worked in the Middle Ages more than now!) but I do know that western colonialism and imperialism did the kind of damage that only huge effort and real understanding of the issues could ameliorate--and neither seems to be in the wheelhouse of the people who screwed it up in the first place . . .
I like those startups that were started but unfortunately wreaked by covid-19. The soap for children turned out to be an initiative for women to manufacture soap. This sounds like a movie, magical in itself. KC had focused on solving another problem but it became a solution for women. These are the things I would like to hear going forward. The functionality of systems in Africa is dependent on specific countries. Countries in west Africa are bedevilled by coups. Uganda is somehow autocratic but with traces of democracy. Sub-saharan is mostly pro-democratic. But am so awe of those initiatives; they appear small but the impacts are bubbling to the deserving.
This was what motivated me to start this newsletter. Thanks a lot
Overall the Biden team has effectively addressed long standing and recent problems. In the context of Republican opposition which is driven entirely by personal politics masquerading as public policy.
Whether on the budget or the border Republicans have gone from McConnell's Party of No to MAGA's Party of Nihilism. At the moment, Republican intransigence is most at play regarding the Hamas Israel war. Not content with the appropriation of Zionism by racist right wing religious extremists, Republicans, whose Red hats barely conceal their White hoods, have taken on the mantle of fighting antisemitism - by supporting the criminal Netanyahu regime's murderously and suicidally disproportionate response to the Hamas atrocities of Oct 7.
The Biden team's diplomatic efforts to build international consensus for sovereign and geographically autonomous Israeli and Palestinian states - opposed by both Israel's Netanyahu regime and Hamas' Sinwar reign of terror - have been hampered by a longstanding US stance mistaking support for Israel with support for bad Israeli officials driving worse Israeli policy. Which has emboldened Netanyahu and his extremist cohort in their drive to destroy not just the idea of Palestine but the Palestinian people - and in the process, the state of Israel itself.
Netanyahu's government has lost all credibility - within Israel and internationally.
The Biden administration - navigating between those who cry 'antisemitism' at any criticism of Israeli policy and those who cry 'genocide' at any support of Israel's right to exist - is risking its own credibility by delaying enforcement of the Leahy Laws and Biden's own National Security Memorandum 20.
The Netanyahu regime is incapable of investigating its own actions for possible violations of international and US law, or of providing credible evidence for its compliance. It is past time for the Biden administration to pause offensive military aid to the Netanyahu regime, for use in Gaza or the West Bank. Biden and his team can and should make a clear argument to the American people, distinguishing between offensive and defensive aid.
I wonder why Bidens slow walking of delivering arms isn't explained in terms of the US is bound by law not to weaponize actions that are criminal? But is characterized as Bidens withholding aid.
Another political move by the Republican party who three months before refused to provide aid?
Yes, to all your comments. I am amazed that the Red hooded repubs can not condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine, their bombing of large housing complexes, public institutions and cutting off of oil supplies in the winter.
Republicans' refusal to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine is two tiered. The Old Cold Warrior line against the expansion of NATO - such as Kissinger blaming Putin's war of aggression on Ukraine's democratic aspirations. Bad enough. Worse yet. Since the 1990's KKK Grand Wizard and GOP gadfly David Duke has been successfully selling Putin as 'The Great White Hope of Christian Nationalism.' Part of Trump's appeal for the Republican base is his obeisance to 'Putin Preserver of White Christian Values.'
Kudos to the Biden-Harris administration for their visionary leadership and commitment to building stronger international partnerships and fostering global stability and prosperity.
Just more and more reasons to vote for a return to sanity by giving Biden - Harris 4 more years!
You are absolutely right. Most unfortunately, however, Biden's global leadership has not been appreciated nor known to most voters. Unless he wins the election, what he is doing now for Afrrican nations will be lost. Our most important task is to get voters excited with Mr. Biden's work here and abroad. We cannot keep telling each other how great he is within this letter circle.
With all that’s going on here, the global out reach and in-reach of the Biden administration is unbelievable. Thank you for bringing this to us Heather!
To truly judge a leader, one needs to look at the quality of their support team. While one may rail against some decisions of Joe Biden one should not look past the quality of his team, many of them hand selected. Anyone who questions team quality and impact should read (or re-read) Doris Kearns Goodwin’s great book, Team of Rivals. Personally, I’d stack the Biden team up against any active in my mature lifetime!
Yes Gary! It has been apparent for some time that Biden has put together a very competent team. He has also, in my opinion, really built a strong elected leadership team within the Congress. This is one reason it seemed the “age issue” was blown out of proportion. As Biden moves through a second term he will take steps (again, in my thinking) to build out both elected leadership and executive leaders to take the country forward. As he likes to say, “he’ll finish what he started.”
Vote in 2023. Get others registered and out to vote up and down the ballot.
Outlining a vision and direction, finding talent that can redirect when the vision is off the mark, or driving effective implementation when it is on the right track, is what leadership is all about.
That, and a robust mutually listening conversation between those who are led and those who lead. I read a study decades ago that suggested that managers who spend a lot of time in conversation with those on "the floor", producing whatever obtained superior results to those who remain more isolated. It's not my field and I don't know how subsequently verified these conclusions were found to be; but it seems like "common sense". That said, in my experience, the isolated, imperious manager is all too common.
Seems to me that a president is ideally an organizational manager AND an out-there public leader. In a democracy, a president is not an emperor, so that offer of leadership or advocacy of social movements may or may not attract supporters, since ideally, ultimate leadership lies with the collective will of the public. But a leader's focused vision, whether it arises from "grass roots" or a national election, can provide proposals around which democratic support may gather and grow.
Well J L, it may not be your field but you describe the lessons I took from an MBA and life experience/career. There are some differences from small businesses to corporations to government institutions BUT listening to other voices has always been a winner for me. And it helps to have some compassion and get beyond one’s ego at times.
In fact, whatever happens in November, it occurs to me that in the long run Trumps ego will do him and this country in if those being led ignore the will of the majority. It is interesting to read that folks are now recognizing the shortcomings of Jack Welch’s leadership and that of “Chainsaw Al Dunlap.”
I see encouraging signs, though (even in business) the collapse of bad leadership can cause massive collateral damage. The Subprime crisis for example.
Maybe Boeing “leadership” should read this…
You can leave off the word "maybe"...
I worked for Hewlett Packard when Bill and Dave were still there and it was an extraordinary company. They had a philosophy of "management by wandering around". I was in outside sales but a couple of times when I was in the office, one or then other would turn up. And wander over to talk. Extraordinary.
Sad it's gone.
I hadn't heard that in quite some time (management by wandering around).
As a computer consultant, I worked with over 75 life insurance companies and that management style, although highly effective is way too rare in that industry.
JL it is true for law enforcement. I can tell you that the difference between a sergeant who sat in the office all night "approving reports" (and whatever other "administrative duties" were called for on the overnight shift) and one who got out of the office, into their car, responded to calls, met for coffee is immeasurable. Our current Sheriff and his Chief Deputy (rank of Captain and department second in command) both work night shifts during the holidays so that deputies with young families can be home with their kids.
Teamwork.
The age issue...isn't an issue. The man could run circles and talk circles around me and I am 70. Daily I am impressed by how he will not be bullied by the biggest bullies on the planet.
And I know...am constantly surprised at how he and his team can quickly expose a negative move on behalf of the Rs and the Oligarchs for what it is. Just look at Schumer's move on the border bill!
It is redemption, on the part of the US to support Africa. Good news all around. Thank you HCR....for sharing.
And next time someone asks what Harris is doing as VP....ask what other VPs have done. Biden is using her talents well.
I needed good news this morning. Thank you
Agree. If you watch the White House Chanel, you see how much Harris has accomplished. Press doesn't begin to capture her many achievements.
The press doesn’t begin to capture Pres. Biden’s many achievements!
Amen! Tfg is taking up the media attention...I am sick of it!
Age is traditionally associated with wisdom, but the teen-aged Greta Thunberg vs elderly Trump proves it ain't necessarily so. I think that age and experience CAN increase wisdom if the opportunity to do so is consistently taken over time In part it seems to involve knowing enough to know how much you don't know, and therefore collaborating with others. Age can be a problem when it robs us of our mind, but some minds are sharp to the end.
We need to cherish wisdom when/where we see it. Preserve it when it is threatened, and refuse to be convinced it is not wisdom when given alternative facts.
Further to the point that you and Gary make, John, I was surprised to see that Meg Whitman was our ambassador to Kenya. I lived and worked in Silicon Valley when Ms. Whitman was making her mark on the world. She's brilliant. I am now even more impressed by Pres. Biden and VP Harris for bringing such an accomplished person onto the team. It's results that matter to them.
One of the attributes of President Biden that is overlooked is his ability to delegate. This has allowed so much more than TFFG's administration to be accomplished.
Little is reported in the media about the team's accomplishments. 56,000 infrastructure projects have been completed or are in progress.
The Department of Energy has been moving hundreds of projects forward and is looking to the private sector to deliver solutions to markets across the US and offshore as well. The progress being made worldwide in battery and fuel cell technology is staggering.
Never in my lifetime has there been a cabinet with so many members qualified to be President.
Thank you, Gary, the words "ability to delegate" in your comment jumped out at me. I may have missed it the media, but I see almost nothing about Biden's ability to delegate. He surrounds himself with really brilliant people and then trusts and allows them to do the necessary work successfully. Your point about "so many members qualified to be President" is a good one also.
Completely agree.
Very well put and, in support of your cabinet quality comment, I offer Gina Raimondo, a brilliant, down to earth leader who gets things done. Her leadership as Treasurer rescued Rhode Island’s public employees pension plan. Later she was governor. She’s a centrist and was instrumental to this administration in negotiations for the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act, perhaps the most consequential legislation since Obamacare. We’re talking talent here!
"One of the attributes of President Biden that is overlooked is his ability to delegate. This has allowed so much more than TFFG's administration to be accomplished."
Trump selects obedient Orcs, Bush II on steroids. Trump's ego uber alles. What could possibly go wrong?
How could any human being do an admirable job of running an agency as large and complex as the US Government without a working understanding of what is beyond one's own abilities and expertise yet grasping the essence of what is needed and who as the skills to deal with it. I don't think we talk enough about THAT particular capacity, especially in politics. So many politicians want to HOG the glory (or blame unidentified "staffers" when thing go sour).
In my experience, some businesses, colleges, etc. operate in a culture of collaboration that pervades the whole organization. Some others are tyrannies. "Government" per se was never the problem, but sh*tty governance IS.
Thank you J L. Well put.
Team of Rivals is a masterpiece. I believe, please correct me if I am wrong, that President Barak Obama took many pointers from Abraham Lincoln's structuring of his cabinet.
(Like working with former First Lady Hillary Clinton, who was a rival!)
And this is why Biden’s age doesn’t bother me. It’s his team!
The trip made by President William Ruto was one of its kind and signalled the Biden's receptive and equal global outreach program. The last trip was made by late President Mwai Kibaki in 2003 when Bush was in power; the results were promising as the country's economic growth increased from 2.5% in 2003 to almost 7% in 2003 due to agricultural structural adjustments program and marked the beginning of AGOA.
Biden's foreign policy on Africa has not been short of praise as it has focused on investments in different sectors. From Agriculture which I saw President Ruto asked him to extend AGOA which has been beneficial to Africa small-scale farmers to digital economy. The state visit saw Kenya designed as non-,NATO member due to its commitment to bolster regional and international security. Kenya has been sending troops to different countries like Somalia, South Sudan, DRC, and Sierra Leone. Already it was agreed when Haiti Prime Minister came to Kenya that 2000 Haitian troops will be sent to Kenya for retraining and later redeployed.
Similarly, I have watched severally Megan, US ambassador to Kenya, and I must laud that she is committed to bolstering the interests of both countries. She has been upto the task, eloquent, and straightforward in championing development. (I wish I will meet her one day).
When asked by Richard Quest to choose between US and China investment, President Ruto said, "Africa is neither facing West nor East, it is facing forward" to mean he is not concerned with power wrangles but only opportunities benefiting the people. Ruto wanted a global platform where no one is superior to the other but equal as partners and can work on something together.
Lastly, HCR echoed what I have been writing that the continent’s population is very young and hungry for digital work. A mean of 19 years old implies that labour force will be coming from Africa In the next decades.
In the spirit of Africa-US relations, I have my own initiative dubbed Mamas Impact which I aim to uplift women as agents of economic change. You can inquire more in my newslette
Thank you HCR for writing about this issue today.
Thank you, Edwin, for sharing your knowledge about Africa's stance on the global stage.
Several months ago, I started contributing to Women for Women International. Their mission statement: "We work at the critical intersection of women and conflict providing skills, knowledge, and resources that create sustainable change for women, their families, and their communities." In return, I received some beautiful notecards: "Produced from banana leaves, each card is created by hand and sold to help Rwandan women earn an income and care for their families."
https://www.womenforwomen.org/
Do you know anything about this organization that you can share?
Thank you Linell and first and foremost congratulations for your outstanding initiative. I had to head straight to your website and am excited about your endeavour. Coincidentally, I have an initiative which I am still gathering the momentum to begin. I have written extensively about underserved communities with one of them being Mamas Impact. I intend, through this initiative, to show women are the economic agents of change. I am happy you have a similar initiative from a different angle. Maybe we can discuss further (my email is dwinkiptoo@gmail.com)
Thank you, Lynell, I get those cards too and love to use them. Happy memories of living in Zimbabwe for 5 years many years ago.
Sally, so good to hear you get those cards. They really are lovely cards!
Morning, Lynell! I'm going to look into "Women for Women".
Morning, Ally! Have you seen this yet? It's a 30-second video about Beethoven in the 21st Century. I must have played it 50 times so far!
https://x.com/weirddalle/status/1791617948370538648?s=46&t=V7VfS2X8f7Tb8bB5srchIg
That is so freaking cool!! I hadn't seen it.
Them bro's are right: He Don't Miss!
I just watched it about 10 times. Love it.
Lynell, thanks for this. Have you heard of Kiva? I have been giving to them for many years. Based out of San Francisco: www.kiva.org
This Kiva sounds wonderful, Marlene. Thanks for letting me know about it. I like the concept of not a hand-out but a loan.
Edwin, your voice is so important here, because the relationship between the USA and the nations of Africa has been completely under-assessed over the years. I think the US has relied way too much on the postcolonial involvement of prior colonialist countries, like Great Britain and France, to ameliorate the situations in the continent, especially sub-Saharan Africa, but without acknowledging the role that the USA has played in the challenges modern-day Africa faces. I have friends who also have been involved in the movement to bring economic independence to women, particularly in Mali and Senegal, but those initiatives have largely petered out (especially in Mali, where the government proved hostile to them) in the wake of military takeovers and so on. Senegal's stability seems to be hanging on by a thread these days, and South Africa seems to be struggling with all the challenges competing for attention. I find the rejection of pluralism (especially regarding women's equality and LGBTQ people) in many African countries to be extremely troubling, but I also admit that I see those as results of the kinds of 19th-century imperialism that played out in Africa, in which ultra-conservative groups dominated.
Please keep posting. We in the USA hear so little about Africa, which is an appalling state of affairs, as it should be as much a part of the news cycle as everywhere else in the world.
Thank you so much for the reply. Indeed there has bit of misconstrued understanding about Africa concerning what it is today. Again the mainstream media has been only rounding up only popular news considering their major aim is profit optimisation. So the display of the continent has been shallow. There hasn't been deep assessment about the changing and emerging dynamics in Africa. This represention explains why 19th century imperialist perspective is still deeply rooted. Similarly there has been no one to make the continent equal to the rest of the continent in terms of power positioning until when President William Ruto stood upto the task (and so far, he has gotten the attention of the West and East). Equal powers on the table means a lot to the continent; it means their voice would be heard, the continent would not be a battle ground for the west and east. Concerning the issue about underserved especially women, I would like to know how the group you mentioned proceeded to work for women in war-prone countries. I know West Africa is bit challenging because of the constant coups.
A small group of musicians from KC actually got involved in Mali with a campaign to get children to use soap when washing their hands, because of the prevalence of dysentery, which turned into an initiative for women to manufacture soap, which led to a really lively exchange between like-minded folks in KC supporting the soap-making businesses in Mali. Then the coup happened and the whole thing got shut down. Tried to see if it could be moved to Senegal but that was not possible in the end. A very small step that would have been useful as a tiny start-up but fizzled. I also know people involved in a very small way in the bead-making initiatives that are funded through micro-loans. Tiny little steps that get no coverage and almost no support, especially when so many "bigger" things are happening. I also have a friend who was sent by an NGO to Uganda in 2019 and who was consulting over agricultural and food-production stuff (I think that was what was going on) and then got stuck there because of the Covid Lockdown. After he managed to get out (18 months later) the whole thing fell apart when the Ugandan government started wreaking havoc on women and LGBTQ people. I know very little about how systems work in Africa (I know how they worked in the Middle Ages more than now!) but I do know that western colonialism and imperialism did the kind of damage that only huge effort and real understanding of the issues could ameliorate--and neither seems to be in the wheelhouse of the people who screwed it up in the first place . . .
I like those startups that were started but unfortunately wreaked by covid-19. The soap for children turned out to be an initiative for women to manufacture soap. This sounds like a movie, magical in itself. KC had focused on solving another problem but it became a solution for women. These are the things I would like to hear going forward. The functionality of systems in Africa is dependent on specific countries. Countries in west Africa are bedevilled by coups. Uganda is somehow autocratic but with traces of democracy. Sub-saharan is mostly pro-democratic. But am so awe of those initiatives; they appear small but the impacts are bubbling to the deserving.
This was what motivated me to start this newsletter. Thanks a lot
Detailed and very informative. Thank you!
Welcome Alan!
Yes. Vote for a ticket and elect team.
Overall the Biden team has effectively addressed long standing and recent problems. In the context of Republican opposition which is driven entirely by personal politics masquerading as public policy.
Whether on the budget or the border Republicans have gone from McConnell's Party of No to MAGA's Party of Nihilism. At the moment, Republican intransigence is most at play regarding the Hamas Israel war. Not content with the appropriation of Zionism by racist right wing religious extremists, Republicans, whose Red hats barely conceal their White hoods, have taken on the mantle of fighting antisemitism - by supporting the criminal Netanyahu regime's murderously and suicidally disproportionate response to the Hamas atrocities of Oct 7.
The Biden team's diplomatic efforts to build international consensus for sovereign and geographically autonomous Israeli and Palestinian states - opposed by both Israel's Netanyahu regime and Hamas' Sinwar reign of terror - have been hampered by a longstanding US stance mistaking support for Israel with support for bad Israeli officials driving worse Israeli policy. Which has emboldened Netanyahu and his extremist cohort in their drive to destroy not just the idea of Palestine but the Palestinian people - and in the process, the state of Israel itself.
Netanyahu's government has lost all credibility - within Israel and internationally.
The Biden administration - navigating between those who cry 'antisemitism' at any criticism of Israeli policy and those who cry 'genocide' at any support of Israel's right to exist - is risking its own credibility by delaying enforcement of the Leahy Laws and Biden's own National Security Memorandum 20.
The Netanyahu regime is incapable of investigating its own actions for possible violations of international and US law, or of providing credible evidence for its compliance. It is past time for the Biden administration to pause offensive military aid to the Netanyahu regime, for use in Gaza or the West Bank. Biden and his team can and should make a clear argument to the American people, distinguishing between offensive and defensive aid.
Excellent comments and assessments, lin•. "...Red hats barely conceal their White hoods..." is chillingly accurate.
I wonder why Bidens slow walking of delivering arms isn't explained in terms of the US is bound by law not to weaponize actions that are criminal? But is characterized as Bidens withholding aid.
Another political move by the Republican party who three months before refused to provide aid?
Yes, to all your comments. I am amazed that the Red hooded repubs can not condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine, their bombing of large housing complexes, public institutions and cutting off of oil supplies in the winter.
Republicans' refusal to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine is two tiered. The Old Cold Warrior line against the expansion of NATO - such as Kissinger blaming Putin's war of aggression on Ukraine's democratic aspirations. Bad enough. Worse yet. Since the 1990's KKK Grand Wizard and GOP gadfly David Duke has been successfully selling Putin as 'The Great White Hope of Christian Nationalism.' Part of Trump's appeal for the Republican base is his obeisance to 'Putin Preserver of White Christian Values.'
AMEN lin! AMEN!
Kudos to the Biden-Harris administration for their visionary leadership and commitment to building stronger international partnerships and fostering global stability and prosperity.
Just more and more reasons to vote for a return to sanity by giving Biden - Harris 4 more years!
Can anyone imagine Trump managing this complex set of international relations? How do we get "America First" followers to understand why this matters?
You are absolutely right. Most unfortunately, however, Biden's global leadership has not been appreciated nor known to most voters. Unless he wins the election, what he is doing now for Afrrican nations will be lost. Our most important task is to get voters excited with Mr. Biden's work here and abroad. We cannot keep telling each other how great he is within this letter circle.