Whether it's coding club or running or whatever the case may be They have a relationship with Scott that then carries forward to their relationship in the classroom So he'll go to tennis matches or hockey matches or ballet performances or you know Someone's putting on the Lion King and so he'll go watch that Overall what he does I think it means a ton to the kids I played tennis like pre-high level and it was a four-hour match He came and he watched the whole thing if I could wish for one teacher it'd be exactly mr. That relationship that I build with them early on sets me up for success later and sets them up for success When we have the extra curricular opportunities They are here more often our connection and relationship with those kids is so much more strong So we really build a solid foundation for them here from like a student standpoint What's what's most impactful for me as as an educator is is seeing them during those unstructured those extra curricular times? Because you really get to see them shine You


Hello, everyone. This is Asha Bey from the Office of Alumni Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Welcome to our fourth episode of Mentor Talks. Mentor Talks is a series designed to benefit exchange program alumni, as well as others interested in improving themselves and the world around them. This is your opportunity to talk directly with leaders and mentors who excel in their fields, like our guest today, Rhonda Binda. Rhonda is an internationally recognized people's choice leader in developing smart cities. And that's what we're here to discuss today. What is a smart city and how can you transform your city or town into one? We'll find out shortly. First, we'll share a little bit more about Rhonda. She is co-founder of Venture Smarter, an executive director of the Smart Regions Initiative, bringing smart city solutions to the U.S. and around the world. She also runs Binda Business Solutions, a consultancy that supports and advocates for the development of smart and connected communities and high-tech industries. Rhonda is a technology lawyer by trade and has traveled to over 200 cities and 40 countries. During her free time, she works with the Caribbean diaspora and serves on the board for the Guyanese Girls Rock Foundation, whose mission is, in part, to expose more young women to careers in technology. In addition, Rhonda is an alumna who visited Hungary and Romania as an exchange participant of the American Council of Young Political Leaders Program. She'll be going back to her European exchange program roots, visiting Slovakia later this month, to discuss smart cities at several different conferences. For those of you watching from the region, Rhonda will be a keynote speaker at the Slovakia Tech Forum Expo. It's an international conference of innovative companies in industry tech, energy, logistics, and the environment. Be sure to check it out. And with that, welcome Rhonda and thank you for joining us. Thank you, Asha, and hello to everyone watching on Facebook. Rhonda, can you tell us what is the difference between a smart city and a regular city? A smart city leverages technology. They're digitizing government for more efficient government services delivery, and also for smarter infrastructure. They're using public-private partnerships to, in turn, connect with their citizens in a more interactive basis. And they're improving the quality of life to have places that are better to live, work, study, and to visit. Rhonda, can you give us some examples of smart cities? Yes, I'd love to give you some examples. And, you know, in all of these examples, they're built upon about three pillars that are focused on reaching 100% connectivity. And that's looking at 5G, Wi-Fi, it's looking at broadband, 100% mobility. They're looking at improving the transportation of cities to better connect people, goods, and services. And, of course, they're looking at achieving 100% resiliency. And so that's looking at sustainability, security, and cybersecurity, which are paramount to making all of this work. And so I'd like to start today with, of course, an example that's near and dear to my heart. After traveling to so many cities around the world, I came back to my hometown in Queens, New York and really wanted to have my neighborhood benefit from all of the great modern technology that was coming into New York City. We were still somewhat a little bit lagging behind some of the other 399 neighborhoods in New York. But we looked around and we saw there was so much opportunity and underutilized infrastructure there. And not only that, Queens is sort of the gateway to New York with both airports there, but we were missing a lot of the tourists. So we put together a strategy around technology, transportation, and tourism that gained a lot of success and eventually the number one designation by the Wall Street Journal as the hottest city in New York City. But particularly what I'm proud of is that we received an award from the governor for the number one downtown revitalization award for the entire state. But the majority of that money was allocated towards finally bringing broadband to downtown Jamaica around a plan we had for upward mobility around digital literacy. And so, you know, again, looking at those three pillars, we were able to come up with a customized plan for Jamaica to really take it to new heights. Another city that we can't forget that is always almost number one on any global list is Shenzhen, China. Now, they've done incredible things from going from a city that was somewhat unsafe to one of the safer cities in China by looking at intergovernmental cooperation, sharing information from the local police, the city police, the provincial police, and then also the federal, that they were able to really be able to respond quicker. A lot of the law enforcement were able to become more mobile to have, you know, really, you know, quick, quick response times to anything that was happening around the city. And not only that, they have one control center now that where you have all the information, not just for law enforcement and for the city dashboard, but they've also brought in the Metro, the water services, the energy services all under one building to be able to respond better to disasters like earthquakes, for example, that would, you know, for example, that would very much impact their Metro services. Their Metro itself is about twice the size as DC and connects directly to almost to Hong Kong. And so they've been able to really turn around that city. And it is one of the fastest growing and more popular cities in all of China.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention what I'm most excited about right now is my upcoming trip to Bratislava, Slovakia. And they have a really great young progressive mayor, Mayor Valo, who has already embarked on a plan for having a smart and connected community and region coming out of Bratislava, the hub and meeting the other, you know, mayors and working on a regional basis. The country itself also has a plan. And they're really focused on the data sharing among all of these different mayors and municipalities and how they can better look at policy from our evidence-based policymaking. I know that they're also very much focused on clean tech and looking at dealing with the congestion that a lot of cities have in the downtown. You know, there's a fair amount of pollution, but they're looking at taking some of the cars away in downtown to make it more walkable and looking at other options to transportation like scooters and bikes and adding, you know, the capability for more, you know, clean type of vehicles and using electric buses and the sort. Great. So it sounds like citizens can really benefit from smart cities. Is that right? Absolutely. I mean, really it's about empowering the citizens themselves to be able to share the information and give feedback immediately to their elected leaders and creating that virtuous loop where then the city can also respond in real time. You know, a lot of times elected leaders don't necessarily hear back from their citizens unless it's a complaint or there's something wrong or maybe during the election, that what we would like to see is that engagement and that interaction happening between cities and their citizens all the time. So thanks, Rhonda. We have limited time, so let's get to some questions from our viewers. Emmanuel Gojo asks, will smart cities be inclusive? If yes, how can they consider elements of cities like informal settlements, especially in Africa? Yeah, thank you so much for that great question because, you know, smart cities have to be inclusive. You know, the reason why the three pillars, we talk about 100% of all of that, all of those categories is because we really do want every single citizen to be able to access transportation, access the connectivity and all the benefits that come with that and live in 100% resilient community. And so there's an incredible movement called the Smart Villages Movement and you can definitely go to their website and they're really working with the tribal communities, indigenous communities, the villages all around the world, in particular in India, they've committed to over 100 communities and what they're doing is empowering the villages by, for example, giving a cell phone to one of the leaders there to be able to bring goods to market, not just within that community, but now with the phone being able to market their goods globally. And so I'm very excited about the difference that they're already making and it's a movement that's catching on quite quickly. So I encourage you to go to their website, smartvillagemovement.org to learn more. Okay, great. Okay, we have a question from at Spicey Key on Twitter. What does the employment rate look like in an above average smart city? I'm glad you asked that question because of course, we're seeing that these smart city strategies are leading to economic development wherever they're implemented. What you're seeing is that because of the increased collaboration among all the stakeholders through the public private partnership model, you're meeting the goals of the city in a much more aggressive and a much more comprehensive way. So not only becoming more inclusive, but it's proven by the World Bank and the UN that there's an increase simply with even bringing connectivity in GDP. And so I like to say that the smart city strategies really should be used as an economic development catalyst for any community that's looking to definitely lift up and for example, decrease unemployment or just attract more businesses into their cities and their communities. And one practical example that I love to give is when the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, there is a point a couple of years ago where we realized that there were 70,000 open jobs that were only available if you had a car. And so by closing that transportation equity gap, you're immediately able to help bring up the bring down the unemployment rate and bring up people from an economic development standpoint to be able to access those opportunities, whether they're in the workplace or they're in education. But we're really seeing transformative things happen all across cities in the U. S. and globally. So we have another question from Delca. What are some disaster risk reduction measures for smart cities? I'm so glad that you asked that because there is an increase in the number of natural disasters that are happening around the world at an exponential rate. And so we have to be much proactive in building more resilient communities. So some of the things that I've seen that are working really well, not only by leveraging technology like augmented reality and virtual reality to practice and get prepared and get citizens prepared for when a disaster actually occurs, but it's this collaboration of having a central nerve center where breaking down the silos so that the different law enforcement agencies, the first responder agencies, the city agencies, the community groups can be under one control center to react faster when something occurs. Also, with technology, we're able to build in the cloud to make more redundant services. And so in case there's an outage, for example, that we're able to immediately know where that is, make that repair and have and decrease the amount of downtime and impact on citizens and the community and the economy of those communities. Okay, great. So we have a couple more questions. Are there smart villages and what about smart regions? So the movement is really going towards building smart regional movements using the city as a hub, but then having a much more extended impact to be able to work together on the common challenges in the community. And I'd love to give the example of Karachi, Pakistan. So in Karachi, there, a few years ago, you may have known that there was an incident at a cricket match that really hurt the city because tourism decreased after that. There was a moratorium on holding any matches. And so what the city decided to do is work with the 40 or so suburbs and the villages around the city to agree on a smart city plan. And since then, they've been able to decrease the number of criminal incidents from one to three a day to one to three a month by working in a more regional approach. And so this has really been, as I said, transformative for so many places. And now they have ton of tourists and great cricket matches and everyone's visiting again. In terms of working with villages, I once again cite the smart village movement. But they're also smart islands. And what about the Philippines? Yes, there's so much happening in Asia right now. So I mean, you can attach the name to any community you would like. And I still think it's the same strategy. They're looking at connecting those thousands of islands in a smarter way, using clean energy to do that. And they're part of the larger plan in the ASEAN that's being led by Singapore that's looking at the region as a whole. So yes, you start with the village, you start with the expert, the suburb, you really have to look at the individual communities and what can you do and how can you lead there. But then connecting it back to the city, which tends to be the nerve center for it all. And then again, it's this it's this it's this virtuous loop of feedback loop that that continues to reach and become more and more inclusive. And that's really the vision is that, you know, everyone can be impacted in a positive way and become part of this digital economy that we're in right now. Okay, so an alumni from Nicaragua asks, is digitally mapping cities a part of smart cities to mark hospitals, safe havens, emergency routes, etc. for Christ crisis preparedness. That's definitely a part, especially when we were talking earlier about about being, you know, more resilient and more prepared in the case of any sort of natural disaster or emergency. And so I think that, you know, cities and communities should start with that audit where you are. Where are you in terms of getting to 100% of these areas? And what where the gaps and how can we better than and if there are gaps, say you there are these safe havens, do the citizens know about it? How can we make sure that the information is out there way ahead of time? And that we're we're running drills and and that when something does happen, you've already, for example, put on your, you know, your virtual reality headset and know exactly what you are supposed to do before before and in preparation for, you know, a hurricane, for example, coming to your region. Great. We have another question from Facebook from Mohan. What can smart cities do to prevent cyber attacks in today's environment? So this is such a timely question.  This is really what I've been focused on the most over these past few months has been around the cyber risk. There's been a number of breaches, especially in the United States across major cities. And then there have been some outages that we're not sure if they're related to cyber or not, but have showed the pattern that they may have been. And so there are a number of of precautions that we all need to take a lot of a lot of when it comes to cyber, a lot of what we can work on is really a human problem in terms of being able to follow the procedures that we are supposed to be following that are instructed to us by the companies that maybe provide the hardware and the software. But then again, those companies also have to make their their technology designed in a way that is better for humans to use to be able to take those protective measures. And so we're beginning to see a lot more interaction when it comes to the the technologists and designers and architects of cities and the tools that we're using. But really, you know, we have the technology to keep ourselves protected. It's just about at this point, how can we interact better with the folks that are using it, the citizens, the the staff of the cities to be able to so we can be much more effective and that we can we can avert these these these cyber attacks. There's another aspect of it, which is also a cultural. As I said, we had a lot of it, we have the technology already. But it's being used in certain ways, good and bad. So culturally, you know, right now, we're not necessarily interacting with folks that maybe have found vulnerabilities in our systems. And we have to start thinking about this differently. And those who are able to help cities determine where those are, how can we better incorporate them and build up more of a cyber core and and you know, those who have the skill set and then ask them to come and work with us as we're, you know, trying to manage this, you know, tremendous influx of technology that has come into our lives and come in come into cities so that we're using it in a in a way that's safe. And we're not trading off too much of our safety and security to for the ability to use this this great technology. Okay, we have a question from an alumni in Nicaragua. Could you provide some examples of smart cities for people with disabilities in developing countries? I, you know, I'd love to talk about this topic as well. A lot of time we refer to this type of technology as as accessible technology. And one of my new favorite apps is an app that if you are someone who's blind, if you are somebody who's who's using a wheelchair, you can you can get directions specific to where you where where is the what is the best route, where are the ramps and and it's connected also to public transportation options and, you know, other transportation options and being able to tell you in real time, you know, what what the time it'll take and the route that you should be able to take. In terms of the developing countries, I do think that a lot of these accessible technologies can be adapted as well for for use in developing countries for for especially the disabled populations. And we have a long way to go. This is an area of opportunity that, you know, even in the US where ADA was passed decades ago, there's still a lot of work that has to be done. And so it's somewhat of a of a green green area now. In terms of using the great smart city technology we have, but making sure that it's inclusive of people with from different demographics, including the disabled community. And so I would challenge you to look at the accessible technology that's out there and think about how you how it can be better applied to your community more specifically. OK, we have another question from Facebook. Do you think that the Internet of Things and 5G technologies are ready for the smart cities? What's the main challenge? So this is another hot topic right now. I do think that we're ready that 5G is already here. We're seeing it implemented in places around all across the world. The main challenge is comes back to the cybersecurity and the security of of all of these, you know, thousands and thousands of of devices and making sure that there's the right collaboration between the public and the private sector and that we are as we're bringing them in. We're securing them. You know, some of the challenges that have been highlighted could be just around the amount of radiation that's coming out of some of these devices. And we have to start thinking about our health. And this is why I think it's so important to the earlier point about working across stakeholders and working with those who are designing cities so that we're still have beautiful cities that have green spaces and it's not just all, you know, robots and technology, you know, sticking, you know, coming every which way. But from a design factor, we have to figure out how do we live in harmony with the environment and technology. And this is where I think we're a lot, a lot of this, the movement is going is to look at that harmonious balance that we can achieve between the built environment that we're in and the great technology that can help us improve our lives and the quality of our lives. Okay. So another question. Are there privacy concerns when it comes to smart cities if everything and everyone is connected? There certainly are privacy concerns.  And with the technology we have today, we can actually do that. And the question is, do we want to live in an environment that's 100% safe? Or do we want to have what we have today, at least in the United States, is a right to our privacy? And so these are questions that are right now, I think we're grappling with all around the world. And I think the international community can come together, take examples from what we've experienced and come to, you know, a list of principles that we should follow. This is, you know, a big conversation that's happening at all levels that I hope that in your own community that you can begin to talk more about this because we have technology like blockchain that can help segregate and segment certain information at the same time while making what's happening behind the scenes and with our data more transparent. And so it's, again, finding that balance. And I think it will be, I think it will be custom to, you know, your particular culture and what you're used to and finding out what works best for you in terms of how much technology do you want to use to be able to have a more efficient outcome for your city or for your community?  Okay. And wasn't there a smart cities panel in San Diego? Were you involved with that? Yes. Yes. And the work, they're doing a lot of great regional work out of San Diego. It's an effort called City Launch. And the main conversation there was around this data sharing. And so this is what the great smart people there are looking at right now is how can cities share data with the private sector and vice versa, but also not not necessarily give away that data for free. It could be something that cities can actually monetize and benefit from. And then how much of that should be shared back to local governments or the individual itself? So these are all just, you know, really interesting questions that we're now beginning to think about. Another reason why I'm still looking forward to hearing what our colleagues in Slovakia and in Europe have to say about this next week, because I think it's top of mind, not just in Southern California, but in places like Europe and all around the world. How can we come up with perhaps a set of global standards and principles around data sharing and the ethics of technology? So we have one last question from our viewers. What are some features you think the smart cities of the future will all have that they now don't have? So quickly we're moving into this era of artificial intelligence and, you know, anything from facial recognition to license recognition. We are moving towards this system where we can model based on the data, certain outcomes, and be able to predict, for example, where a car or a certain car that passed a certain intersection may go. So if you're looking for that particular car, you can sort of get ahead of it and be able to meet that person that you're interested in questioning, you know, ahead of time. And so, I mean, this is just, you know, one practical example of artificial intelligence, but the great thing about artificial intelligence, I think, is that ability to do risk the process. If you could model ahead of time, you can, you know, come up with your policies and your procedures and then make a decision whether you're, this is worth implementing or not.  So this is another new area that we really have to start thinking about, again, in terms of what are the ethics around it. I think that, you know, in 50 years from now we'll all have our own individual avatars, our, you know, our virtual equivalent and ourselves, telling us and helping advise us so we have a better day and we can get through it more smoothly. But we want to be able to hopefully shape what that is going to look like and hopefully be able to use it as a vehicle for us to express our creativity and our individual needs and not necessarily something that's programming us in reverse. So I think we're, it looks like we're running out of time. So in one minute or less, Rhonda, if you would give one piece of advice to people who want to make their stays smarter, what would it be? Well, as you know, technology is everywhere and I know that wherever you are there is a conversation that's happening. A lot of times it's at the city level but sometimes it's also at the academic level. And so I would look for where those conversations are happening and encourage your communities to take a more inclusive public-private partnership approach. Come together, determine what the priorities are for your community in a collaborative way and I guarantee you that the resources will start to appear, that the sharing of best practices will happen if you show that you're eager in moving forward in this direction. There's a lot of great information out there and I guarantee you that it's worth the investment. So I encourage you to take leadership wherever you are, whether you're in the workforce or a student or in government, city government itself. Look for those partners and start to strengthen those partnerships. Okay, great, solid advice. Thank you. So thank you very much Rhonda and thank you to you, our online viewers for participating today. You can connect with Rhonda directly on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. She's at Rhonda Binda on all of those platforms. Be sure to keep your calendar open for our next mentor talks in November when we speak with Chef Nasser Jabber about how he uses food to empower others and create positive change in his community. And before we go, we've got a special photo to share. Two ACYPL alumni, our very own assistant secretary Marie Royce and Rhonda, right here in Washington, DC. Would you like to become an exchange alumnus or alumni? Visit exchanges.state.gov to learn more about the right exchange program for you. You can also join us on social media on Facebook and Twitter. Search for the hashtag exchange alumni. Thanks for watching and see you all November for our next mentor talks.


Welcome to what the F is going on in Latin America, CodePink's weekly YouTube program of hot news out of Latin America and the Caribbean. We broadcast every Wednesday, 4.30 p.m. Pacific, 7.30 p.m. Eastern. Tonight, an extensive conversation on current events in Haiti. Following days of national strikes last week, tensions run high in Haiti amid new anti-government protests calling for U.S.-backed president, Jovenel Moise, to resign. To discuss the current political situation in Haiti, we are joined by my good friends. I'm so happy to have you back from the San Francisco Bay Area-based Haiti Action Committee. We're joined tonight by Pierre Labossier, Seth Donnelly, and Judith Merkinson. Before we start our conversation, let me give the audience a brief biography of the three of you so they can see how wonderful your work is and how important your work is. So Pierre is a veteran labor and human rights activist. In 1991, he co-founded the Haiti Action Committee in solidarity with the popular movement in Haiti, struggling to restore democracy after the military coup against President Addisly. Pierre is also a board member of the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund. Seth Donnelly is a veteran high school teacher and member of the Haiti Action Committee as well. Since 2004, he has done extensive work in Haiti as part of human rights and educational delegations. In addition to co-authoring the report on the Lasseline Massacre, Seth is also the author of the book The Lie of Global Prosperity, How Neo-Liberals Distort Data to Mask Poverty and Exploitation. His book is recently published by Monthly Review Press. We're also joined this evening by Judith Merkinson. She is a longtime women's and human rights activist. She has spent decades doing international solidarity work and is a co-author of the National Lawyers Guild 2007 report entitled Seeking Answers, Probing Political Persecution, Repression and Human Rights Violations in the Philippines. Her most recent article is entitled, We Are Seeing Ourselves Being Dragged Back Into a Time When Women Were Dehumanized, Sexual Violence as a Tool of Repression in Haiti. So welcome everyone. I want our viewers to see to know that the three of you are wonderful friends and incredibly successful passionate activists regarding Haiti. I'm so pleased that you were able to join us this evening and have this really, really important conversation on current events and Haiti. So what I would like us to do, let's first start with the National Strike. That was two days, three days, I believe last week, early February. And now also this is leading to a much broader anti-government protest attempting to force the current president, Hoba Nalmoyi, to resign. He is a US-backed president.  Yes, I'm glad you started with the strike. I just wanted to say that way before the strike, teachers, various sectors of the Haitian population have been going on strike. Various protests have been taking place. I have to say that from the, let me back up a bit to go. The roots of the problem is the coup d'etat, the kidnapping coup d'etat of 2004 when President Aristide was kidnapped out of Haiti. And that was the US, France, Canada headed that overthrow of the Haitian democratically elected president. And Haiti was well on its way at that time to have a stable society, a democratic system and what I mean by that is popular participation in the decision making. And soon as the US did that, that started a whole series of subsequent dictatorships, occupation governments that were really dictators on Haiti. And so here we are 17 years later dealing with the consequences and the terrible disastrous consequences of that. So the strike that happened, there were several strikes before that. My teachers were not getting paid by people who were various service workers, health care workers, and various people. And so they did it independently. So there was always this term of taking place. Students won't strike because their teachers were not getting paid and they were not receiving. Their schools were devoid of resources. In the meantime, people could see high government officials really stealing the money, building fancy homes, leaving great lifestyles, very rich lifestyles when everybody knew. And it was scandal after scandal, the Petrocaribe scandals, these are the funds that were being stolen. And as a result, so finally, by last week, there was such a massive things culminated to a point where the unions decided, let's do a general strike. So it was the unions and the population that shut the country down for two days and the whole country participated. The strike was expected everywhere. And following that, constant struggles, constant movement taking place, mobilizations all over the country, and with the brutal repression by the Haitian police and by the Jovenel Moïse government. And that's where we are today. It's fascinating how widespread the strike was nationwide.  I mean, there was such little. And this is, can we just digress for a moment and talk about why Haiti gets so little coverage in the US mainstream media? I would differ to someone else on the planet. Well, I mean, I think part of the reason is that it's a Black Republic. It's the first country in the Americas that freed itself from slavery. And the United States has hated it ever since. And unfortunately, it's not just the media that refuses. I mean, let's face it. We have a media that focuses on things when it wants to and when it doesn't want to. And if they don't want it to, it hasn't happened. And we're also in this area. The country is obsessed with what happens inside the United States.  There isn't very much international solidarity these days, even though people talk about it. And I think that we really have to think when we talk about Black Lives Matter, when we talk about solidarity, we have to talk about Haiti. And it's a blind spot where people really don't discuss it. I mean, even people who talk about Venezuela or Nicaragua or what happened in Honduras somehow don't, don't talk about Haiti. And I do think the root of it is because it's a Black Republic. And also because it doesn't completely respond or correspond to what people think a revolution should look like, because it's really unique. And the model of President Aristide and the La Velaz Party is Haitian, and it's its own. And so I think that we have to respect that as well. And it was also very, very threatening to the United States. The United States has always controlled Haiti for over 100 years. So let's talk about the current government. The current president, Jovenel Moise, is a president by decree. And we've seen national protests pushing for him to resign. Let's talk about the complexion of those protests, why they want him to resign. And then let's talk about how and why he is still in power without elections having happened, because this is really, I think there's very few people viewing the scene that understand how and why he is still in power. But what's driving these anti-government protests now and how widespread it is? What's the complexion of the demographic involved in these protests? Well, I think one of the things, I teach my high school teacher, and one of the things, and we travel to Haiti back and forth pretty regularly until COVID put a stop to it. But one of the things that's really moved my students is a lot of the protests in Haiti are being led by Haitian students and youth. And they are bearing the brunt of horrific repression. There's students when the schools haven't been funded, teachers haven't been paid for years, students have been on the forefront speaking out against not only that, but speaking out against the raw terror. And it's reached a point where a major student activist, Gregory St. Hilaire, a university student, the police went on to campus earlier this fall and he was killed, shot in the back on campus and then denied health care for about four hours, I believe. And we have a photo of him where he's holding a sign saying down with weapons. The US has been funding the police and weaponizing. So that a lot of the faces of movement are these students from popular neighborhoods.  And the massacres, the police repression, the police brutality is against anyone that's questioning the government or their specific politics, the government's trying to repress or is it just anyone and everyone who's against the sitting president? One of the things I'd like to say, I want to put Jovenel Moriz in context of the coup d'etat of 2004. It was a coup d'etat against a government that was implementing a people's agenda. So every elected official from the local to all the way to the national level, everyone from city council member all the way to the president, they were all removed from office. Very few were left if they had betrayed they were left in office, but aside from that, all of them. And it was simply and all the initiatives, the community projects, everything was attacked and systematically destroyed. One of the things that Giffy Leap had targeted particularly, and I said the Giffy Leap and the Haitian Contra, so people can understand that because that's what it was, it was a contra-force.  And at first we were puzzled by it, but someone explained to me that those archives were, for example, deeds, copies of land deeds and what have you. Because the goal was to take lands from the peasantry, take lands from people by claiming you have no title. So you can prove it, if the records are gone, then you can prove your ownership of the land. So it was a systematic destruction. And since the coup d'etat has taken place, Haiti has never had the free open fair democratic election. Everything has been manipulated by the UN and the US, the US-UN occupation, putting in people who they wanted to do their bidding. And so the Jovenel Moïse was not put in there by decree. There was a full new election. I was present and I could see the voter suppression was horrendous. And there was an investigation into that and the tally sheets had been completely changed. And when Fomila Valas went to court and brought out all the details and showed that the overwhelming majority of the samples that were analyzed had been changed fortunately, blatantly, the US stepped in to declare that Moïse had won the elections by 55%. And every other country followed suit in accepting him. But during that period, the Haitian people took to the streets massively. Fomila Valas led almost close to 60 demonstrations within that period. And so many of the communities seeing that their votes were stolen and suppressed took to the streets in protest. Lassalin was one of the very first. And the massacre started really in Lassalin and the community was attacked by the Haitian police. I believe the first attack was on November 26th at one in the morning, where they were lobbying tear gas inside people's homes and three babies ended up dying as a result of ingesting that gas. So that's and further massacres followed suit in various other neighborhoods because people were standing up and saying, not until you steal our votes, but you're stealing our money. You're stealing our tax money. We are not getting services. We have stolen the patriarchary basements that Venezuela provided in order to deal with social programs for the community. So all of those questions were taking what's really culminated in this ongoing, ongoing massive mobilizations from the people.  I would say in terms of the repression, yes, it's against everybody, but it's particular also. And I just wanna emphasize that one of the things that's happened recently in the last couple of years is a continuing attack on women. And one of the ways that there's two ways that this has done, one is that they've been burning down the markets. There are attacks on the markets, which is where women work in the economy. And at the same time, there's been a very big increase in sexual violence, which we know always goes along in situations like this. So I think we have to be very cognizant of that as well. But I think the thing about these protests is literally the country has been protesting for years. People have been in the streets for years. This is just the latest, maybe it dies down for a couple of months and then it rises up again because people are so angry and furious about what's been going on. And I think what's different now is sort of how things grow and we talk about quantitative to qualitative change. And what's happened now is that finally, other aspects of the population are joining in, but now there's no legislature that has been done away. What the Supreme Court has been attacked, lawyers have been attacked, teachers and other aspects of the society. So the whole society now is demanding that he go. And his response to that is, other leaders have been kidnapped, other leaders have been overthrown, other leaders have died, but I will be here forever. I'm a chicken bone in the throat of the Haitian people, which like in a nutshell sort of tells the situation. And he was funded by the United States. Funded, and it's like, here we are in this situation where people are claiming that the election was stolen when it obviously wasn't, but in Haiti it was stolen, it really was. And he was elected like 10% of the people and 20% of the people actually participated. It was massively both boycotted, but at the same time they still stole it. Sorry, you... Oh, go ahead. I'm just gonna add to that. I know that the question you raised about who's being targeted, just to add one other thing, the way the US media often spins it, going back to how the US media covers it is that it's just gang violence and it's just kidnapping and insecurity. There's a horrific kidnapping right now in Haiti. The people I've known in Haiti, dear friends and comrades, I mean, they've never been through the worst it's been, but that is definitely a strategy of the regime to terrorize the poor majority. It's the poorest of the poor being kidnapped and there's clear evidence that this wave of kidnapping is linked to the elite and to the regime itself. Secondly, the neighborhoods that like Pierre was saying, the neighborhoods that have been the most active, like a lot of these demonstrations, protesting the stolen elections came out of La Saline, Cité Soleil, Bel Air, they are the neighborhoods that are being hit hardest by the so-called gangs, which are really a paramilitary desk squad called G9 working with the regime that's terrorizing these neighborhoods. So I've got multiple comments here listening to all of you. I can sit here and talk for hours, I think.  May I jump in real quick? Yes. I'm sorry. No, no, no, go ahead. Okay. That's what you're here for. One of the things I wanted to say is that many times Haiti is dismissed as a basket case. People talk about Papadok Duvalier as if Papadok was just, well, it just happened to be Haitian and it's a Haitian thing. People don't really understand that Papadok Duvalier was put in place by the US government. He was put in place through fraudulent elections organized by the Haitian military. And even though he lost elections, very similar to Jovenel Moïse, yet they put him in there and then the US helped train the Tonto Makus. The Tonto Makus were the death squads that Papadok had organized a militia and very vicious. And they supplied them with weapons throughout the decades close to 29 years of Papadok's rule. And what people of my generation and other Haitians are saying is that Jovenel Moïse is following the same playbook with the full support of the US government and the United Nations and the OAS in a similar way that this happened under Papadok and Baby Dog Duvalier. So Haitians are commenting about this. I grew up in Haiti during those years. I remember them very well. And this is towards a terrible nightmare coming back. And we have the new administration of Joe Biden really their policy is following Trump's policy, Obama's policy, the Clinton policy and all the others before that who supported this kind of dictatorship in Haiti. We can do something about this. Well, yeah, we can and we should. And this conversation is hopefully a start to broaden the conversation and lead to better and broader action. So let me, so one of the things just going back to a previous comment that the grotesque and widespread violence, human rights violations. This is fascinating to me. And I would say this is also one of the reasons Haiti is not in the mainstream US media is that the US foreign policy often uses human rights violations as the narrative to intervene in a nation. And here we know that there are human rights violations being committed by a government supported by the United States. And yet we don't hear about that. And I guess the point I'm trying to make is just the abuse of the term human rights violations as a tool of US foreign policy because it's very clear that if the violations are happening in a country supported by the United States they're not declared violations. Yeah, well, I mean. And I think that's important and important thing for our listeners to understand.  It's human rights, there have been many articles and discussions about the use of human rights as an imperialist method. And there's many different ways that one could describe human rights. And the United States has its definition just the same way that the United States has its definition and people have their definition of democracy that only is supposed to be one kind and then what's real democracy. So I think the thing is that the US has always sponsored human rights violations. And I mean, to me if you look at the history of the United States from its very beginnings and people have been talking about this a lot whether it's the enslavement of people, the genocide of the indigenous people. I mean, it's founded on human rights violations. And they've completely reversed and actually what happened. And I think right now people, like we're in this amazing period because on the one hand people are exposing the history of denialism. Really we have a history of denialism. And yet at the same time, the right wing is expressing denialism around the world. So there's this contention between fascism and liberation and we're in one of those periods. And I think people probably saw what's going on in Poland or what's going on in France and all these other countries where this contention is and it's certainly true in the United States and Haiti is really a very good example of that. Let's talk about this dynamic but and how that relates to the Biden administration. How do you see the current administration? You mentioned that the current administration's policy is no different than Trump, no different than Obama. And I would with what I've seen in the past month would agree with that. And particularly for me having done so much solidarity work with Venezuela, the Biden administration overtly continuing the Trump policy of recognizing Juan Guaigo as the president of Venezuela. The faux standup president as we often joke about although it is no joke. And of course the current government in Haiti recognizes Juan Guaigo as the president of Venezuela. So let's talk a little bit about how you are seeing the Biden administration and what may happen down the road and what perhaps those of us in the United States can do to push back on that, push from the left as they say. Well, I think it was a little bit stunning how quickly the Biden administration fell into place. I mean like barely the dust had settled of the inauguration and it was last Friday I think that the State Department under Anthony Blinken, Ned Price, the spokesperson issued a statement that the Biden administration would support and recognize Jovenel Moise as president through one more year, which is February 7th, 2022. And where everybody in Haiti, the people in Haiti, the masses know that that this last Sunday, February 7th, 2021 he was termed out by the Haitian constitution. So that was a green light that the Biden administration gave to Jovenel Moise and not surprisingly two days later he did the crackdown. He arrested the Supreme Court Justice, started arresting others and then just the absolute brutality on protests. So, but meanwhile, there are people in Congress that are taking a different position, including Patrick Leahy, the president pro-tempo of the Senate issue. It said that Moise has got to go, Ilan Omar and Representative Gregory Meeks who's the chair of the House and the House on the Committee on Foreign Relations issued a very powerful letter. He's the new chair. So are we hoping for it? We think that we need an independent movement of all as many hands on deck as possible to pressure this administration to stop recognizing and subsidizing its illegitimate regime. And I wanted to add also that there has been some debate, some people are saying, well, it's a new administration. But I want to remind people that Joe Biden was vice president for eight years. And during his term with Obama, the two of them and through Secretary Larry Clinton, they brought Marty Lee, the founder of the PHTK party. Basically, PHTK means party of skinhead Haitians or party of the Haitian skinhead party. So it shows you the fascist nature of that grouping. And they are basically Duvalierists. It's the children of Duvaliers, children of hardcore Totomac Coots and Duvalierists who are in this organization and basically restarting the old Duvalier dictatorship which fell right in line with the policies of the US. So it's important that we keep that in mind. And it means that we need to push very hard, very strongly to demand a change in US foreign policy. Because on the foreign policy front, money, there is a report and I don't have it handy. I'm supposed to get a copy of it. Already millions of dollars are gonna be donated or gonna be given to Rovnel Moise to organize new elections. And one of the things that he's proposing that he's going to do, he claimed he was going to do, is to change the constitution, issue a new constitution. Now Haitians of my generation, remember that Papadok had also refused to abide by the prescriptions of the constitution. He declared himself president for life but he also created a constitution that supported that. And right now in Haiti, we have all of the judicial instances. We have even the Catholic church, every legal expert in Haiti, all the bar associations throughout Haiti, including, and I mentioned earlier, the superior, the council of the judiciary, which is the top most authority, has said that the Haitian constitution is clear. February 7th, last Sunday, he should be out, he should be gone. And so here we go with the US backing him in the same way they had backed up Francois Duvaluil. You know, it's fascinating that we've watched now how the US, I would just say, starting with the last presidential elections in Honduras, this faux presidency in Venezuela and now with the US telling a president, oh, you can basically stay for another year. And we're seeing this pattern of the US just basically naming the presidents of other countries in the hemisphere of the Americas and historically in other parts of the world as well. But that is a distinct foreign policy, US interventionism behavior. And I just, it's very, I think it's just really important for our viewers to understand that, that this is the practice and it has not changed just because we, because we elected, those of us in the States elected a new president in November. This continual, this timeline of events or this continuum of US foreign policy towards Haiti, you mentioned the Clintons. Let's talk a little bit about this US model, this US vision for Haiti, the Clinton starting with their honeymoon, I believe in Haiti. What is this paradigm that the US is imprinting on Haiti and why? Well, I mean, it's really, it goes back much, much further. I mean, the US occupied Haiti for decades and I just think that their policy is that Haiti should become, there's even more than it is should become their sweatshop, basically. Hillary Clinton said, Haiti is now open for business. And, I think- That's the same thing we heard in Honduras too. Right, and remember after the coup in 2009, it was the same thing. Remember the coup in Honduras followed the coup in Haiti, you know? Yeah. When they took out Aristide, that was, in this era, they've done it continuously, but in this era, so I think their playbook is just what has always hasn't changed particularly. It's just that now it's like under the cover of the United Nations and the OAS. So people think that they have more legitimacy. I mean, the problem about the foreign policy, of course, is that there's bipartisanship in terms of foreign policy and has been for years. And maybe they'll do a little bit different. I mean, it's great that he, you know, his current thing around Yemen and maybe they'll do a little jockeying, this and that and because Trump was so outrageous. But basically there's a bipartisan agreement about foreign policy. And I think that given the fact that, you know, that people have talked about Pierre and Seth and you about the huge uprising that's happening in Haiti, that we have an opportunity to really pressure them about this. And then we have an opportunity to support the grassroots and lava loss.  We don't want to see another neoliberal, if they get rid of Joe Vino Moise, we don't want to see a neoliberal with a slightly better face put in. We want to see really the party of lava loss and the grassroots movement being able to help shape what happens next. And so I think we can talk about both those things at the same time, but I do think this is one moment where people are a little more open and so we should do everything that we can to get rid of this particular guy. So what, go ahead Seth, I'm sorry. I did a model that Haitians, you know, that when I would be down there years ago, people would be talking about the model, they would call it the death plan. And it's the privatization, it's the exploitative sweatshops like the Clintons were working on as a whole industrial sweatshop corridor, but Haiti's resource rich. It's also who controls the land and the minerals, you know, whether it's box side or gold or petroleum. And this, as Merck said, this goes way back. So during their marine occupation, the US literally pressured Haiti to rewrite its constitution to allow for foreign ownership of resources, you know.  Just like the US has removed Salvador and Chile or Lomba from the Congo or Musa Dek from Iran. It's a consistent bipartisan pattern down the generations. And it's up to us to finally, you know, change it. And that has also historical roots, the vision of the US regards to Haiti. When our foremothers and forefathers were kidnapped from Africa, their humanity was not looked, they were not looked upon as being human being, they were as being human beings. They were regarded as being beasts of burden. And so, and that was the whole idea of the colony, the colonization mentality. And this is what is surviving today. I did the translation into English of a statement by one of the members, self-described member of Haiti's elite. It's the vilest, the vilest, most racist thing you could imagine. And that man made that statement in late November, 2016, or early December, 2016. He was stating basically why they are ready to kill anyone who doesn't support that, who will be in the way of Jovenel Moïse becoming president of Haiti. And basically he led the blueprint of what you would find that the worst racist colonists or colonizers would say in regards to people in the most racist language. So, and this is that kind of mentality that exists among the so-called Haitian elite, a tiny portion of Haiti's oligarchy that is ruling the country in collaboration with US imperialism, French imperialism and others. So this is something that the Haitian majority has been very much aware of. And people are saying enough is enough. The more that people are becoming aware of this situation, people are saying, we have to put a stop to this. Put one, say one, we are somebody. And for me, La Valasse embodies because it's forming the people, the population. It's a movement from the population, the political organization from the population. And it embodies all the demands of the people to have a seat at the decision-making table. One of the things that we've seen throughout this hemisphere is the importance, as you're talking about the people, the movement. How different politics evolve if the politics come from a really strong social labor grassroots movement versus the movement coming out of a political party, a political party rising from the movement, having that base that is there, whether or not the party is actually holding seats in the government. Can you just talk a little bit about how important movement building is? Because I don't think those of us in the United States really understand what a movement is and how important the power of a movement is that the politics come out of it. A political party being born out of a movement versus a party co-opting a movement. I'll give you all something to think about. Do you want to take a stab at that, Pierre? Yeah, let me just, and I don't want to monopolize the thing. No, but it's great because you have so much experience. Yeah, I'll give you a very concrete example, an anecdote. I went to, we were a group of us who went to Haiti in the year 2000 as a delegation. And we went to a part of Haiti that's way in the southern part of Haiti. We were with the local priests and we had to stop the car and walk in order to get to that community where we were going. So no real roads for cars. And so at that time, for Mila Vallas had issued its platform in the form of a book called investing and investing in people. And that was their political platform for the elections of 2000. And so as we were there, one of the Robert Roth, he asked me, he said, Pierre, translate this question. Asked, we were meeting with many of the peasant community. He said, ask them if they're aware of that book of investeer dans l'humain. And the response was automatically, we helped write it. Now, this blew our mind because many knowing Haiti, a number of people, the majority of the population is illiterate.  And so they explained to us, they said, look, those were our ideas. We had consultation and we gave those ideas. Those ideas were mixed with other people's ideas from different parts of the country. And for Mila Vallas organized all of that and then wrote this and put it in the book. But it's being discussed on the airwaves, in media, Radio Timon, Tele Timon. And there is the national debate about it. And the final product is this platform that you guys are reading from, but we created it. So that's an anecdote about small example of what it means as something coming from the bottom. Or like when I was there in 2010, we went on this women's delegation and we met with women from all over. And sort of like Pierre, I mean, we went to this small village that, I don't know. It's hard to say how long, how far something is because it takes you longer than you think. But, and it was... Lack of infrastructure. Yeah, you know, hundreds of women, mostly farmers and peasants and market women who are all like talking about their situation. They knew what they needed and they were part of a movement. They were part of the grassroots. And they certainly understood politics a lot better than many, many other people you might meet. And that's the thing in Haiti that it's a highly, highly politicized population. And you know, who really understand when you talk about a movement, that's what makes a movement. I mean, in some ways we can see that here now, but this was a movement for people and really people very clearly understood what they wanted and what they needed, what they had and what they had lost and what they wanted back. And so I think that that's... And how to organize around it. Yeah, and that the part, that the example of President Aristide and his program and the program of Lavalas was something that people really had to, were invested in and was about them. And therefore, when it was taken away, they were determined to get it back and build on that experience. So can we say... Go ahead. Let's just say like whenever I go and if I'm there with students, we're always blown away meeting folks that are so much more aware politically than folks here in the U.S. with all their privileges and resources. And Lavalas in Creole means flash flood, right? That is that each person is a drop of water. We come together, become a flood. And the movement in the 80s and grew and they drafted Aristide to be a candidate. It wasn't that it came to... This is what I mean. I'm happy to bring this up because this is the politics coming out of the movement. Yeah. Yeah, so it's... This is exactly... It's dialogical and he spoke and he's remained true to those principles. But if somebody doesn't, then the movement keeps moving on, right? Exactly, yes. That that's that base, that platform that continues to develop, to promote, to educate, to move the people forward. And sometimes you're in power and sometimes you're not. But that's the importance of the party coming out of the movement versus that the narrative and the actions stay in place and continue. And that is something I don't think we fully grasp in the United States with our politics. And that explains the repression. That's right. That is ongoing against those communities because the whole idea is that the repression is targeting to try to eliminate. But just like when Fidel was taken, was arrested by Batista's forces.  And the Haitian priest once was quoted in a video. And he said, you know, Presidente Aristide, the man and also the program, what he represents because he represents the embodiment of the people's movement. He said he is engraved in the heart of the people of Haiti. So what this means, it's no hero worshiping or a cult leader. It's like a movement of family. Hence the name for Mila Valas, which means we are all a family and we feel for each other, we are moving together to liberate Haiti from the centuries of oppression and exploitation. I mean, one thing I would say also is that, you know, he was taken away for seven years in the bloody coup of 2004 and forced in... This is Presidente Aristide. Presidente Aristide and his wife, Mila Valas Aristide and their children and forced him to exile. But the people demanded that they come back. And they did. And now the Aristide Foundation has built a huge university. When they came back, they said, we know that education is a bedrock for our society. And they built this, they've built this amazing unifah. Which I've been to, Pierre helped organize a delegation to send me there. The fabulous facility. The U.S. did when they came in in 2004 was to smash the medical school. And now actually the unifah has rebuilt the medical school. Rebuilt and they have a law school, a medical school, a dental school, agriculture school, nursing school. And they're graduating hundreds of people. Seth and I went to one of the graduations several years ago. It was the most amazing graduation I think either of us have ever been to. And we've been to lots of graduations. And it was so joyous and so amazing. And it's part of like what, you can see the example of La Velas. You can see the example of the Aristides. You can see this university is sort of like, what it's countering. Like we said when we were there, La Selene is supposed to destroy the university and destroy this incredible example, but the university is just also gonna destroy what resulted in La Selene. And I think that when you see that, you really understand what a movement is about and its power. And they can smash leadership over and over again and they do. I mean, we know that, but then it rises up again. And what's so incredible is that what we've been talking about that these demonstrations literally have been going on for years. Like it's as if the insurrections that happened, the uprisings that happened in the summer with Black Lives Matter, you could imagine it happened, then it happened now, then it would happen again three months later than what happened again. I mean, it totally continual. We'll see if that, you know, there have been periods in the United States like that. So we'll see if that happens, but it has happened and is happening in Haiti. So one of the things before we went on the air that you mentioned, Mark, was that what's the current anti-government protests are broader. It's not simply the working people, the poor communities. It's a much broader mix of the patient demographic at this point that's protesting for the president to resign. Can you tell our audience a little bit, the difference that that makes now, who is now involved in these protests and how broad that is and why that makes, why that may perhaps make a difference this time. Do you want to do that? I mean, I think when you say you have a general strike and the country is shut down for such a long time and you see that he's attacked the Supreme Court, when you see that other people that everybody's calling for him, like the Catholic church and all the different elements that Pierre talked about, then you see, I mean, I don't like just saying it's broader in the sense that the people represent the broadest number of the population. It's always been, but then these other strata that sometimes, you know, will go against the people are now also going against Mollie's, Jovenel Mollies, but that's why I say we have double responsibility, which is we have to demand that he goes and then we have to demand that the grassroots is supported. So in our last few minutes, I don't know about that. How, in our last few minutes, how let's expand on that a bit and, and Seth, maybe you can tell us what those of us in the U.S. can do to help. Sure, I just, did you want anything? I thought anything you were going to add, Pierre, about the opposition question? I thought you were trying to jump in. Two points I wanted to raise. One is that it's not a question of Jovenel Mollies resigning. It's a question that from the very beginning he was illegitimate, he was imposed, but then the U.S. and the U.N. occupation imposed him and his deadline, the term was ended on February 7th. So now the U.S. and the U.N. occupation have made a decision to extend his mandate. So this is something that is incredibly crazy. The other thing that Merck mentioned is about what we have in Haiti is social, it's exclusion, where the majority of the population is not looked upon as being human beings. And so you have until a little strata is, is touched or is, is affected, then these are the people who count. As a matter of fact, when Zippromat did say it, this segment counts. And this is what the whole La Valasse movement is about when Seth mentioned, took moon, say moon.  So I'll stop right there. Go ahead, Seth. Well, I mean, I think what's happening now in Haiti is a test for people who think of themselves as progressive in the United States. Like this is, as Merck was saying, this is the Haitian Revolution was the first independent black republic that overthrew slavery. It's been unrelenting hostility from the United States and France and other imperialist powers since the jump. So now's the time, it's always been the time, but now in particular is the time for all progressive minded people to generate a higher level of solidarity. And we need to really push the US government to stop supporting this regime immediately, to stop funding its police. That's something we didn't bring up too much, but the US has been giving the police millions and millions of dollars. We need to stop deporting. In the midst of this, just, I think it was yesterday or there was 22 children and babies that were the US deported, ICE deported into Haiti, then they've got over 1,000, maybe 2,000 more deportations scheduled. So we need to stop the deportations. We need to stop having our tax dollars used to shore up this regime and to have the Biden administration walk its talk. And I think all people, we need to make us like the solidarity movement was against apartheid in the 1980s. This is the Western hemisphere. This is the cutting edge revolutionary struggle and the fact that it's invisible even to progressives where you can get a newspaper like in these times, recently referred to Cuba as the most undemocratic country in the hemisphere.  Cuba is a model in so many ways and Haiti is here, they're dealing with fascism. And so if left newspapers like that aren't getting it, we need to really challenge each other to get it and act. I think we have to say that Black Lives Matter extends not just in the United States but around the world and in the hemisphere. It's like one of the most important, although I don't like to say one is more important than the other, but in terms of the relationship between enslavement, genocide, et cetera, and freedom is Haiti. And so I think that we really have to look, we have to have a global view of the struggles that we're in. And Haiti is certainly very important and the more people can understand about what has happened in Haiti, I think it will actually also increase how we understand this country and its foreign policy and domestic policy. Yeah, how they're linked, that's so crucial. So can you share with our viewers in these last few minutes how people can get in touch with you, how they can learn more about Haiti, how they can help support the movements in Haiti and what is, what more can we do? Yes, our website, the website of the Haiti Action Committee is HaitiSolidarity.net, HaitiSolidarity.net. And we have a Facebook page, Haiti Action Committee on Facebook. People can, and there's also a Twitter page, but you can find that when you go to our website. Also, I'm a board member, as you mentioned of the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund. The Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, it's HaitiEmergencyRelief.org and all one word, small letters. And we support initiatives from the grassroots school, community schools, clinics. We have provided some assistance to the teaching hospital to UNIFAA and to the University of the Al-Sid Foundation and the teaching hospital that they're in the process of building. So, and so many other things, former cooperatives and what have you that we provide assistance for, to help people be on their feet and rebuild the new Haiti as well as advocacy. And I don't want to talk the whole thing. So, to somebody else, actually. No, that's it, HaitiEmergencyRelief.org, HaitiSolidarity.net, and yeah, that's the key info. And there's all sorts of action alerts once you go to the website about, currently we have an action alert target, trying to put pressure on the Biden administration. And there is a Twitter page in addition to Haiti Action Committee's Twitter page, there is HaitiInfoQuadge. And HaitiInfoQuadge, it's more up to the minute, news and information, networking stuff on Haiti. Those are the trusted sources. Okay, great. Thank you, the three of you. Wonderful, I'm so pleased that you could join us this evening and I'm so happy to see all of you again. I just want to remind our viewers that we have spent the past hour with members of the Haiti Action Committee, Pierre Labossier, Seth Donnelly, and Judith Merkinson. We're so thankful for your time. I'm so happy that we had this conversation and we will continue to amplify the message on Haiti and continue to work with you in lifting the voices and influencing the United States government and the current administration. Thank you. So thank you all of you. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Thank you. I'm so thankful for your time. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you to all of you and for your years of work with Haiti. So thank you. Excuse me. Thank you. Thank you to our viewers and again, I'll just remind you that what the F is going on in Latin America broadcasts every Wednesday for 30 p.m. Pacific 7, 30 p.m. Eastern on Code Pink YouTube. Thanks again, everyone. Bye. Thank you. Bye-bye. Take care, Terry. Thank you so much. Really pleased to have this conversation. Thank you.


To use npm install, let's go into a clean directory. To prove that I have no tricks up my sleeve, I will show you that there's nothing in that directory using ls. Now I can use npm install and I'll use it to install this one called calse. Now the output from that command generated a lot of warnings, but they're not errors. They're just telling me that we don't have a package JSON file. Don't worry about that now, we will cover it in a few lessons. Do know that this was successful. We were able to add a package calse with version 1.2.1. We have this kind of funny message that says we added nine packages and it did that in 1.35 seconds. These additional packages are dependencies of calse. Don't worry too much about that right now, but if you're curious why there's a discrepancy between this number nine and the one package that we installed, that's it. It's just loading other packages that calse needs to do its work. So what changed? Let's run ls again and see what is in our directory now. We have a node modules directory as well as a package lock file. Let's take a look in node modules and see what is inside there. So these are our nine packages that were installed. Calse is the one that we installed directly but it uses all of these additional programs to do the work that it is doing. So what is that work? Well, let's find out. Now that we have it installed, we can run whatever's inside of it. So we'll open up node modules, see what's inside of there, calse, see what's inside of there. And we have this cli.js. I'm gonna assume that that is our program. So let's run that. Cool. Here we have instructions for the calse program. And while there are a lot of options, using it is pretty simple. We just run the command again and give it some text to shout out. Pretty silly. Now this npm install command is going to work inside whichever directory that we're in, installing those dependencies locally into that folder. I'll prove that by navigating out, making a new directory called non-essential npm, navigating to it and again installing calse. You'll notice that this time I use the iAlias and everything worked the same way. We got the same errors for the package JSON. Notice that the package was installed as well as it's eight other package dependencies. If we run ls in this directory, we see that all of that is installed there. And we can check real quick to verify that the essential npm directory still has all of its node modules and package lock file, which it does.


What's going on YouTube? How y'all doing? So I'm back with another video. As promised, I'm dropping more and more trying to get that 100k by the end of your man. That is a goal. That is a goal. I'm just trying to get back into the YouTube thing. But that's my fault.  So in this video, I'm kind of a client of mine. He's actually a pretty dope basketball player. He's in high school. He just may stay, but unfortunately they lost. He is one of the highest recruits in California. I'll put his Instagram in the description. So you guys should go check him out. He's actually pretty dope. And he's actually a pretty cool kid. I've been cutting him since he was like 13, 14, something like that. But now he's, I was coming when he was a little kid. Now he's, you know, like 66 or something like that. In this video, I am doing a high taper with a four against the grain. I always record his haircuts on Instagram. I don't know if you guys follow me on Instagram, but my Instagram is the same or it's going to be right there. Added an enhancement at the end. Stay tuned. I'm going to be dropping way more videos. Trust, trust, trust. But like I always say, peace and love, baby. I'm out. What's up YouTube? How y'all doing? I'm back with another video. Hope you guys enjoy this one. It's going to be a banger. Stay tuned. Comb the hair before cutting the hair down. We're going to be coming in with our number of four guard against the grain. I have it open at first. Make sure that's all even throughout the entire head and then close it just to get the extra doubles. You can never be wrong to double check, triple check or quadruple check. Just make sure that it's all even throughout the entire head.  I'm going to go kind of right below the ear as you can see on the ear and like how it lines up right there. I'm going to try to get it right there if possible because we can do a high taper. So make sure that your ball line is straight. Mine didn't look that straight right here because I was cutting at a certain angle so I couldn't really see. I eventually came in and cleaned it all up and made it more straighter. But in the future just make sure that your ball line is straight. Like how I say straight ball line, straight guideline, straight fade, straight taper, all that. First step of this taper we have our babyless low pros. I like these clippers a lot. A lot of people they don't like them but I feel like they do the job. They a little heavy but I mean I'm as with them. You feel me? Make sure you have the lever all the way open right here. Make the guideline about I'll say about a fingers width or about an inch. Make sure that the guideline is straight. As you can see it is not straight because like I said before I was cutting at an angle so I couldn't really see. But for you guys that are new at cutting hair just make sure that the guideline is straight. So we're going to close it up right here. Take out that bottom line right there. I'm using the corner of the blade. Make sure you always use the corner of the blade so that way you have more control of your clipper. Then we close it up about I mean we open it up about halfway and then open it up all the way.  Just play with the lever to eliminate the dark spots because every lever is not going to do exactly what it's supposed to do.  So that's why I say play with the lever if you see any dark spots you know just close it up and just lighten it all up. So now we have our number one guard. We're going to have the lever all the way open to make the second guideline. Make the guideline about another fingers width or an inch. Again make it straight. As you get to the top you see I'm kind of flicking out when what I'm doing is when I get to the top where I want to stop at I flick out because I don't want to make another hard line and make it hard line it's harder to take out. So once you get to the top of where you want to just flick out. It might take some time to get used to as for the new barbers but eventually you'll know your touch and once you get it you just flick out. So here we have our one and a half guard and right here I'm flicking out. I'm just trying to lighten up that previous line I did with the number one with the number one and a half guard going up there flicking out just to blend it in see what it does to see what the guard does to the hair because not every guard does exactly what it's supposed to do as well. So when we get there we we flick up to the spot that we wanted to lighten up and then eventually we'll just blend down from there. So we have our number two guard right here and we're basically doing the exact same thing we did with our number one and a half guard. Make sure we're lighting up that spot so everything could blend in nice and smooth. So to take out that bottom portion line we have right there we have our zero guard. I have it open all the way just to see what it does light it up and then I eventually close it and then I play with the lever from there on so I close it then do halfway and then open making sure that I'm using the corner of my blade that's the most important part with tapers because tapers is a fade basically in a general area and you kind of want to be precise with your taper so you want to keep that fade in that area you do not want to make it go any higher you don't want to make it too low either so you kind of want to get in the right spot so use your levers to pick out any dark spots. As you can see it is coming together the taper so just make sure you use the corners flick out use your angles use your touch and that's it. So on to the side taper we're going to be doing a high taper so we're going to eliminate the hook so we're just spotting out from where the hooks meets the top of the hairline to the top of the ear so we have our lever all the way open we're basically doing the same exact steps as we did in the back taper. I have my lever all the way open I think it's about it's not an inch about like a half an inch right here I kind of want to keep the fade a little bit lower or the taper a little bit lower so we have the lever kind of out I want to say yeah about half an inch so we're going to be closing up right here the levers close using the corners and as you can see right here I'm going to be opening up just a slight halfway then I'm going to open it up I'm just playing with the levers trying to eliminate any dark spots I see using the corners also while trying to keep the fade low or the taper low in that general area so now we have our number one we're going to make the same guideline about half an inch to an inch on this taper again we're doing the same exact steps from the back taper just make sure that it straight flick out when you when you're supposed to at the top just flick out and um yeah I feel like I'm I feel like I sound like a broken record okay I'll keep repeating myself but you know in barbering it's all about repetition it's all about repeating the same steps it's all about learning from your the steps or the mistakes that you make so I mean don't feel don't be afraid to mess up in barbering because you're gonna mess up you know but with that being said we have our number one and a half and we're just flicking out using the corners just making sure that we lighten up those dark spots but back what I was saying is if you know you're new barbering you don't want to mess up you're gonna have to learn from what you just did so I messed up plenty of times when I when I first started I messed up a lot but you learn from it man you know you can't learn from you can't learn anything without failure so just keep that in mind you guys man just failure creates success so now that we changed up the angles we have our zero guard we're just gonna be taking out that initial line that we made with the one guard guideline so now we're just gonna be fading all out using the lever I have it open and then closed and then halfway I'm just playing with it to create or to take out any dark spots or as of right here I'm doing kind of at an angle I'm cutting this hair because hair grows at a certain angle you also you always want to kind of cut against the grain you don't really want to do cross grain I've done that a lot in my you know learning going cross grain it does cut it but it also kind of like makes it a little patchy so just keep that in mind you guys just trying to go against the grain at all costs and right here we're just using the one one guard just to clean all up just to you know take out any dark spots but for the ear lineup I mean there's really nothing I can say about this is make sure that it is crispy as you can don't go too hard right there because that's a sensitive area you know the neck is kind of soft and just follow the ear use the corner and just follow the ear for the most important part of this haircut the lineup I'm using hairspray to make sure that his hair stays still when I make the line some hair doesn't stay so if you want to do that you know just make it dry off first and then come in I'm starting from the middle of his forehead and then working my way to the left yeah his left are right yeah this makes sure that it is straight try not to push the hairline too far back you can only push the hairline back if it's necessary you don't want to you know push it too far back in this hair you know his forehead is huge so let's push it back as necessary if you have to if you need to match it with the other side then that's fine because some hair some hairlines they one grows higher than the other so just you know keep that in mind you fellas so now we're just finishing up the cut I use enhancements on his front lineup you didn't have you don't have to his hairline is already kind of crispy as it is but I wanted to do it for the sake of the video my camera ended up dying while I was doing it so we didn't get to record that part but with that being said the video is about over I appreciate you guys so much for supporting me my journey 500k is right around the corner I just gotta be consistent and stay grinding so yeah let me know what you guys think at the end of the video or a few seconds it's a fire cut y'all so let me know what you guys think I'm out man peace love I love you man so so much love y'all


What is data science? Maybe you've heard of business intelligence, artificial intelligence, machine learning, computational science, data analytics, data mining, or some other similar phrase. All of these terms can get used in different contexts to talk about working with data and using programming and statistics to solve real-world problems. Data science cannot exist without some sort of real-world problem to solve and working with somebody who has expertise in that particular content area. For example, you wouldn't really do an analysis of MBA statistics without understanding something about the rules of basketball. This course will pose problems in which you already have some content expertise and provide opportunities to gain experience in new ones. This course is designed to be very collaborative and you'll be encouraged to work with your fellow classmates when solving data science problems. So what will you be learning? Data science as a practice has three core activities. The first of which is exploration. Data exploration is figuring out what patterns exist in your data, often through the use of data visualizations. It also helps us discover patterns in the data that just looking at a table of numbers may not uncover. Perhaps we can study the usage data for our web application or maybe something a little bit more light-hearted like the trends in TV shows. The next part of data science that we'll study is statistical inference. Data scientists often calculate a result from a small sample of individuals taken from a larger population. Then they need to determine if that observation was significant or just due to the random chance of drawing a lucky or unlucky sample. Through the use of computer simulations, we can see what kind of patterns would appear in our samples just by chance alone and compare those results with our observed data to determine what, if anything, we can conclude about the larger population. Lastly, we'll be learning how to make predictions from data. This is where we'll have some partial information about something we wanna know more about and we wanna guess about the things that we don't know yet. We'll make informed predictions, not just random guesses, using classical techniques like regression and more modern machine learning processes like classification. In this course, you will learn new technological skills to help you solve problems, but you won't only be programming. This course will consist of a mix of programming and non-programming tasks, some of which you'll complete on your own while others will be group activities. By taking this course, you will be able to understand the statistics and mathematics of data science as well as learning how to program a computer using the Python language to run all of the analysis and simulations. Once you can do all of that, you'll be well on your way to becoming a data scientist.


transcribed ladies and gentlemen the railroad hour here comes our summer show train tonight the Association of American Railroads presents a new Lawrence and Lee opera at a longer goal starring Gordon McRae and his charming guest Dorothy Warren shows our choir is under the direction of Norman Luboff and our music is prepared and conducted by Carmen Dragon yes tonight another delightful musical first is brought to you by the American Railroad the same railroads that bring you most of the food you eat the clothes you wear the fuel you burn and all the other things you use in your daily life now here is our star Gordon McRae thank you Marvin Miller and good evening ladies and gentlemen tonight Dorothy Warren show and I are going to tell you a tale you remember those wonderful golden days the Gibson girl was all the rage and if you had one of those strange contraptions called an automobile everybody would yell at you and do you remember the dances oh sure the slow graceful harvest time dances the mechanical moon in the dance pavilion would twirl around and make a million multi-colored raindrops that fell all around us every day nor a bays used to sing that life was good and we were young in a whole century lay ahead of us this is a story of long ago and it all began with two young fellas named Ned Delaney and Jack Fleming one June night they went serenading a girl's dormitory with mandolin in hand which is a window jack right here I think now look sing good will you this one's the peaches redhead and the whole dormitory okay here we go a one a two by the light of the silvery moon on a school to my honey our crew loves June this is your last chance to date us for the season Ned here and I are off for a whole summer in New Hampshire but tonight our Stanley Steamers waiting ready to chug you to New York what's in New York Coney Island oh come on the sun has scattered the clouds from side in the air for the kids on the sand or the that is talking of walking in June they're going and coming and slumming and humming their favorite summery tune each guy in his dick looking slick as a trick as they pose for a picture cartoon and they'll add me the fun on a Sunday at Coney Island in June there's coins and Kelly's for hot dogs and beer with a mustard and custard and corn off the air we'll bring the bells and to prove that we're strong and there will be near the future you all right dip sanded dip sanded dives what are the people race over to see people chase planning to have in June they're going and coming and slumming and humming their favorite summery tune each guy in his ticker cartoon obviously a suffragette yeah you better get out of here Ned we don't want to get trapped by a woman who wants to vote yeah what's the verdict dr. Bellin I'm afraid you've got a broken leg my boy broken leg I can still go up to New Hampshire can I my dear mr. Fleming you'll only be confined to your sofa for five or six weeks five or six weeks well that's the whole summer I'll go crazy please mr.  Ned Delaney at the pines ride New Hampshire my dear sir I am writing to ask if you would do a doctor a favor I understand you are Jack Fleming's best friend will you write him and try to cheer him up he is now the most dejected young man in America yours very truly Thomas Dylan MD my dear Jack I wish I could come down to New York and cheer you up there is not too much to see up here in New Hampshire or cross away there's a large colonial mansion well what do you know a young lady's just appeared Jack it is a hammock over there and a hammock is very becoming when one is 18 and has flecks of gold in her eyes and a dress like a Dresden China shepherds she's beginning to sing and oh Jack you should hear her she has a voice like a major league angel will you suffer a jet anyway how's your leg make me more about that girl in the hammock would you what's your name who is she my leg oh it's better the sick posture shall be amused her names of Marjorie Marjorie dog and I've met her sure enough up close there are flecks of gold in her eyes and she likes everything that you like even the same song we sat in the moonlight and I told her all about you and almost by magic she began to sing that silly old favorite of yours well that's all for now about Marjorie dog does that make your leg feel better dear Ned your letters are curing me this may sound strange but I think that Marjorie dog somebody I've known in a previous existence especially the flecks of gold in their eyes I lie awake nights with my gaslight turned down to the size of a star thinking of the pines and in the house across the road I longed for a sight of that hammock and a Miss Marjorie dog have you ever had dreams while you were wide awake I seem to be walking down a long cool road the loveliest girl in the whole world is by my side Jastier Marjorie dog May I ask a favor Anything anything in the world Meet me here every night here where everybody's in love and no one ever breaks the lane Every night but how will I get there? What's the name of the place? What train do you take? Very simple Jack just turn your gaslight down to the size of a star Then slowly close your eyes and here you are The world's biggest breadbasket is rolling rapidly across the countryside Yes thousands upon thousands of railroad boxcars are busy at the job of helping turn the vast golden grain fields of the west into bread for the tables of America cereal for millions of breakfasts flour enough to bake a billion cakes much of the winter wheat harvest delayed by weeks of heavy rains is still to be moved and now the spring wheat crop of the northwest one of the biggest in years is starting on the long journey that ends up in your town on your table and making that journey possible from wheat field to towering grain elevator to huge flour mill and onto your local baker and grocer are the railroads that connect them all together at a cost of over a billion dollars a year for the past six years these railroads have put into service nearly 400,000 new bigger and better freight cars and 13,000 new more powerful and efficient units of locomotive power in fact since the outbreak of war in Korea alone the railroads have added 80,000 new freight cars to their fleet recently the Kansas Missouri floods put thousands of boxcars out of commission and disrupted carefully laid plans of building up a backlog of cars for the harvest but despite all that the railroads are going ahead with the job of marshalling the boxcars needed to handle this great movement from grain field to bread box in fact the railroads are the only form of transportation with the capacity and the organization to provide the kind of all season low cost transportation service America needs we're ready for act two of long ago Starring Gordon Macrae as Jack Fleming and Dorothy Warren Shull as the girl he's only seen in his green can't wait to get there I just can't wait those train wheels keep saying her name over and over over and over and over maybe if I close my eyes I can see her and hear her Hello Jack. Dear Jack. Hello Miss Marjorie Doe. That's it. Smile. It won't be long now. Where is she? Where's the Colonial House and Marjorie Doe? Look Jack. The house burned down and she was killed. No, no Jack. No. She ran off with another guy. I can't stand it. Jack, would you listen to me? Well what's wrong? Well Dr. Dillon wrote me that I should cheer you up and that's what I try to do. I had no idea you'd come up here. Ned. There isn't any Marjorie Doe. You made her up. I made her up. I thought you were my friend. Jack, please listen to me. Ned, Delaney, I hope I never see you again. You ever take me back to the station? This last I wrote you. 18 years. 19. I know it was long ago. I guess you heard I married Gert in a suffragette. The one we serenaded that night at the girl's dorm. Oh, it's true that Gert doesn't have flecks of gold in her eyes. Like the girl you made up, Marjorie Doe. But I love her. And she gets such a kick out of voting. Maybe you wonder how I got your address after all this time. Well let me tell you the miracle that happened on my front porch this very afternoon. My daughter bounded up the stairs with a young fellow in tow. And when I looked at him, my jaw must have dropped clear to my lap. Of heaven, it's Ned Delaney. What's that? Why, Dad, how did you know his name? Ned's never been here before. Edward Reginald Delaney. Is that right? Yeah, that's amazing. But there's a junior tack down to your name, isn't there? Yeah, that's right. Hey, gee, your dad's remarkable. Say, are you a mind reader or something, Mr. Fleming? No, no, no. No, no, no, no, no. I used to know your dad, son. He was my best friend once. Well, gee, I'll have to write him and tell him I met you. Oh, no, no, no, please. Give me his address, Ann, and let me write him. Well, sure, Mr. Fleming. We're taking a drive later, Dad. Just after dark, okay? We're going up to Coney Island. Coney Island? Have fun, baby.  A voice out of the past. A voice of a miracle has happened. A miracle of two children meeting. Your image is out there on the lawn swing right now. Holding hands, no doubt, with my beauty. It's twilight.  Good Lord. She's singing a song. A song that seems to be coming out of a dream. I guess the kids nowadays are latching on as they put it to the oldies. Was it yesterday? Or was it 10,000 years ago, Ned? There they are. Your kid and mine. Foolish and full of moonlight as all of us were. God loved them. Oh, I guess I didn't tell you my daughter's name. Gert never knew why I wanted to give her that particular name. But you know, Ned, and I know it's Marjorie. Marjorie Dahl Fleming. You see, she's no longer make believe. And if your Ned looks very closely, I'm sure he'll see the flecks of gold in her eyes. Lovely Dorothy Warnschel will return in just a moment. Meanwhile, our kind thanks to Newton Arnold, Lady Lee, Marvin Miller, and our entire company. Long ago, suggested by Thomas Bailey Aldrich's story, Marjorie Dahl was written as an operetta by Messers Lawrence and Lee. The railroad hour is brought to you each week, at this time, by the American Railroads. Friends, here's a message from the National Safety Council. A message about railroad crossing signs. Those signs to protect people from accidents. And the safety council says that such signs, like other traffic signs along the highways, are signs of life. So when one of these signs warns you of a grade crossing, obey the warning. And obey all the signs of life and live. Gordon, it was fun being both your green girl and your daughter in one and a half hour. Well, believe me, you were enchanting the arts in two generations, Dorothy. It was a great thrill doing the premieres of these new musicals, Gordon. Tell me, what are we premiering next week? Well, I guess I might get a meaty part next week, Dorothy, a lovely Irish legend. We're going to sing the music that comes right out of the heart of the greenest island on this planet. It's called Danny Freel, a legend of leprechauns and love. And our own folk singer, Katie Lee, will add to the Irish flavor. And I'll be practicing up on my Gaelic.  All aboard! Well, sir, looks as though we're ready to pull out and so until next week, and our new operetta, Danny Freel. This is Gordon Macrae saying goodbye and good night. Gray can be seen in Warner Brothers on Moonlight Bay. Our choir is under the direction of Norman Luboff, and our music is prepared and conducted by Carmen Dragon. This is Marvin Miller saying goodbye until next week for the American Railroad. Now stay tuned for your Monday Night of Music on NBC. Hear the voice of Firestone next on NBC.