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Posts Tagged 'Authoritarianism'
Autumn of the Patriarch.
Posted on 14:00, August 21st, 2016 by Pablo
Fidel Castro celebrated his 90th birthday a few days ago. During the public celebration of his milestone he sat in a specialised wheel chair between his brother Raul and Nicolas Maduro, president of Venezuela. He is physically frail but his mind is still sharp, as evidenced in a (rather self-serving) editorial he wrote in which he praised his revolution and denounced US president Obama and the thawing of relations between the US and Cuba (which his brother, now president of Cuba after Fidel's abdication due to illness, helped engineer). As part of the month long celebrations of his birth, he is being gifted a 90 meter long cigar, a world record for "puros" of any type. Bill Clinton should be so lucky.
Yet, I felt sadness and some pity at watching Fidel in his autumn years. Like Garcia Marquez's Colonel, he is a man of the past wrapped in memories of what could have been. A man who once was an icon of the Latin American Left, worthy successor to Jose Marti, comrade-in-arms of Che Guevara, patron of the Angolan and Mozambiquian revolutions, inspiration to insurrectionists world-wide, cunning adversary of the US for over five decades and arguably the best poker player the world after he bluffed the US into thinking that he would rather be incinerated rather than relent to US demands during the Cuban Missile Crisis (the USSR eventually agreed to withdraw its missiles from Cuba over Castro's objections in exchange for a US withdrawal of surface to surface missile batteries in Turkey).
But rather than the imposing physical specimen that towered over so many of his emulators both in height and intellect and who attracted the attention of the rich, famous and powerful during his heyday, here sat a stooped, gaunt, hollow faced elder with visible hand tremors and a certifiable fool sitting on his left side. In fact, if Fidel represented the best hopes and aspirations of a previous generation of revolutionaries, Nicolas Maduro represents the terminal decline of the contemporary "Pink Tide" of elected neo-socialists that emerged during the 2000s and who, with few exceptions like the Frente Amplio governments of Uruguay, have been proven to be no less authoritarian, no less corrupt, and equally if not more incompetent than their capitalist predecessors. In some cases, these Pink Tide regimes were not so much socialist as they were kleptocratic, populist-corporatist or sold-out to the corporate interests they ostensibly opposed. And like Fidel, they have fallen on hard times.
Other than Maduro, no foreign leaders of note attended Fidel's birthday party (even the Sandinista government of Nicaragua, a country in which many Cubans spilled blood in the overthrow of Somoza and defense of the Sandinista Revolution, did not send a high level delegation). The rich and powerful were absent. In a sense, Fidel's decline mirrors the struggles of the Cuban Revolution after the USSR withdrew its economic support for it. More tellingly, it symbolises the squandered opportunity of the Pink Tide.
The emergence of elected Left regimes in Latin America during the 2000s was a moment of great hope for progressives in the hemisphere. It followed a wave of so-called neoliberal, market-friendly economic reforms undertaken by a variety of right and populist regimes such as those of Menem in Argentina and Fujimori in Peru during the previous decades. As the negative consequences of neoliberalism began to impact on basic social indicators such as income inequality and child poverty, and could no longer be hidden by creative accounting and statistical manipulation, a window of ideological opportunity opened for the Latin American Left. They were the earliest and fiercest critics of the so-called "Washington Consensus" behind the adoption of neo-liberal reforms. They were the academics, activists, organisers and politicians who marshalled protests, demonstrations and other forms of passive and active resistance to the implementation of market-driven edicts. They were the outlets through which the dislocating effects and social impact of the "more market" approaches were highlighted. And they had one more thing: structural opportunity in the form of a global commodities boom.
With the rise of China as an economic powerhouse in competition and/or concert with other established and new powers (e.g. the US, India), the late 1990s and early 2000s saw the demand for commodities–primary goods, raw materials and especially minerals, metals and fossil fuels–skyrocket. As prices soared on the back of increased demand previously unexploited regions became the subjects of concerted interest by Chinese and other investors. What already existed in terms of commodities–oil in Venezuela and Ecuador, natural gas and oil in Brazil, copper in Chile, even soy, maize and beef in Argentina and Uruguay–saw redoubled investment in extractive export industries. A boom time ensued.
At the turn of the century Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Venezuela elected or re-elected neo-socialist governments (El Salvador, Honduras, Paraguay and Peru did as well but their tenures were short-lived). Every one of these countries benefited from the commodities boom. The question was not so much how to generate public money surpluses but in what measure and how to make use of them. But, just like Soviet subsidies gave Fidel's Cuba an unnatural sense of comfort and inflated standard of living, the commodities boom was a temporary boost rather than a long term panacea for the region's problems, depending on what was done with the surpluses generated by the golden moment.
With the exceptions of Chile and Uruguay, pretty much everywhere else the preferred combination was public spending on popular projects mixed with epic corruption, graft and theft. To be sure, health, education, welfare and housing services improved in the early years of these regimes and social indicators improved relative to the neo-liberal baselines. Income redistribution downwards was accomplished via generous benefits packages provided to the lower classes. Public services such as transport, electricity and gas were heavily subsidised by the State. So were basic food staples. Public works schemes generated employment. But after a while the money provided for such projects began to run out as the demand for commodities stabilised and prices began to drop.
Worse yet, what most of these regimes did not do was invest constructively in long-term productive capacity and infrastructure. Instead, they threw money at popular short term projects and grandiose schemes such as building sports arenas and stadiums. They pushed increased export commodity dependency rather than diversification of the productive apparatus. In parallel, they siphoned off millions in public funds to friends, cronies and family of government officials, when not to themselves. The combination was one of immediate gain (for them and their supporters) at the expense of long-term sustainability, and now those chickens have come home to roost.
In places like Argentina under Cristina Fernandez de Kichner, corruption was elevated to an art form (in a country where it was already a highly developed practice). In places like Brazil and Ecuador corruption was an integral part of the public-private nexus in construction and fossil fuel exploration. But it is in Venezuela where the full depths of the decline are seen. Even before Hugo Chavez died, his "revolution" had turned into a feeding trough for the Boliviarian elites. Billions of dollars were provided to creating anti-imperialist alliances such as ALBA, the anti-capitalist trading bloc that was supposed to counter MERCOSUR and which never got off the ground. Billions in subsidised oil was sent to Cuba to prop up the Castro regime as a form of anti-US solidarity. After Chavez died, under Maduro, Venezuela has become an economic basket case where shortages of basic staples and power outages are the norm and where both government services and private industry have nearly ground to a halt (in a country with one of the world's largest oil reserves). In Venezuela and elsewhere there was a conspicuous lack of foresight or public planning. Few sovereign wealth funds were created to save during times of plenty for the inevitable lean times that come with the boom and bust cycles of the commodities trade. Once the lean times came, the response of the neo-socialist Left was to blame anyone but themselves and to grab as much of the dwindling public reserves for their own benefit.
In some cases, the actions of disloyal oppositions and foreign powers hastened the authoritarian response and increased self-enrichment of Leftist leaders. This was very much true in Venezuela. In other cases the sheer weight of historical patterns of political patronage and private nepotism wore down the resolve of Left politicians to resist the temptation to do things "as usual." That was and is the case of Brazil. In Chile the strength of the military-business network has impeded anything but incremental reform by the most determined Left governments. In some cases (Bolivia and Ecuador) long tenures in power slowly insulated Left governments from the masses and allowed for the development of cultures of impunity in which public officials were no longer responsive to the commonweal and instead focused on maintaining themselves in power. In virtually all cases, again with the exceptions of Chile and Uruguay, public officials treated national treasuries as individual and collective ATMs.
In some countries Left governments have been electorally replaced by Right ones (Argentina and Peru). In Brazil the Left PT government has crumbled under the weight of corruption scandals and succumbed to what amounted to a constitutional coup carried out by no less corrupt right-wingers. In several others such as Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela, the Left continues to rule, however sclerotically and increasingly autocratically. In Chile the Concertacion government of Michelle Bachelet that preceded and replaced the one-term Right government of Sebastian Pinera is more establishment-friendly centrist than anything else (because it has to be in order to keep the coup plotters at bay). Only in Uruguay has the Left, in the form of the Frente Amplio governments of Tabare Vazquez and Jose Mujica, been true to its socialist and democratic principles.
This is just an broad overview. The extent of mismanagement, incompetence, ineptitude and outright criminality undertaken by the neo-socialist Left when governing in Latin American during the last decade and a half has been astounding. The hard truth is that the Latin American Left had its golden windows of opportunity in the 2000s and with some notable exceptions squandered it all.
In a sense, that is a fate they share with Fidel. Had he passed from the scene in the 80s or even 90s he would still be revered in many progressive circles. But he has lingered too long, well after the contradictions and frailty of his revolution have been exposed. In fact, an entire generation of Cubans have been raised in the "special times" of austerity and deprivation that have marked the last 25 years of Communist rule in Cuba and which has forced his brother to open the national economy and seek rapprochement with the US. This has made that generation much less committed to revolutionary ideals and much more committed to materially improving themselves. As an old friend said to me upon returning from Cuba: "Ideology goes out the window when you are hungry."
Worse yet, it now appears true that Fidel was less a committed revolutionary as he was a Cuban nationalist who used the context of the Cold War to bolster his rule and burnish his credentials as a committed internationalist. Mutatis mutandis, that is a trait shared by many neo-socialists of the Pink Tide: they were and are socialists more in name than in deed, and are more interested in enshrining their rule than in truly re-making their countries into viable socialist (or social democratic) societies in which political power is exercised by the people for the people. Revolutionary rhetoric is no substitute for revolutionary praxis and is a poor cover for political and economic mismanagement.
I say this with much regret. One never expects the Latin American Right (or pretty much any Right) to do anything other than enrich themselves and their cronies. But one certainly expects that self-professed socialists will behave differently, especially more fairly and less venally, when in power. Many people, myself included, wanted to believe in the promise of the Pink Tide just as we previously wanted to believe in the transformational impact of the Cuban Revolution. And yet, like the neo-liberals before them, the majority of Pink Tide neo-socialists have been exposed as charlatans, thieves and frauds.
On those grounds Fidel has one thing over them. He may not have accomplished all of the things that he promised that he would, and his "revolution" may have been much less than he promised and more dependent than he admits, but at least he has remained true to himself in his declining years. That cannot be said for the likes of the Boliviarians and their erstwhile regional comrades.
That is why I felt sadness when I watched his birthday celebrations. In the autumn of his life, el Comandante is condemned to the unique solitude that goes with being the last of his kind.
PS: Looks like I am not the only one who thinks that the Pink Tide failed to deliver on its promise (although this author puts a more positive and hopeful spin on things).
The failed coup was Turkish democracy's last stand.
Posted on 08:24, July 20th, 2016 by Pablo
I have observed with bemusement some of the commentary (including here at KP) that views the failed coup in Turkey as a "victory for democracy." As someone who has lived through several coups in Latin America and who has academically studied, professionally written, and worked in developing policy for the US government on issues of comparative civil-military relations (including how to address coups), and who has written at length on the differences between coups d'etat, putsches, revolts and revolutions in the Middle East and elsewhere (some of it here on KP), I find it hard to believe that otherwise sensible commentators (with a notable exception) would think that anything good can come of the coup's failure. This was not a simple matter of Turkish good guys versus bad guys, and the sequels to the violence will not be pleasant but will be long-lasting.
In any event, this week the Herald editorial board wrote favourably of the outcome in Turkey. My colleague Kate Nicholls (a comparative politics scholar) and I were disappointed by it and penned a response. It looks like the Herald will not publish the critique, so here it is:
As students of comparative civil-military relations, we were surprised to read the Herald's July 19 editorial "Coup's failure hopeful sign for democracy." Unlike the Herald's editors we see no positives resulting from the aborted coup. Instead we foresee the death throes of a painstakingly crafted secular, albeit imperfect, democracy, that was the crowning achievement of Kemal Atuturk and which has been under siege since the election of former Istanbul mayor Recep Erdogan to the Prime Ministry in 2003 and Presidency in 2014.
The cornerstones of the Kemalist vision of Turkish democracy were an apolitical professional military, an independent secular judiciary, and a multiparty electoral system characterized by a separation of powers and a system of checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches. Granted, Ataturk's nationalism, which bound the country together in the wake of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, often worked to stifle free speech and repress ethnic minorities, notably the Kurds. Turkish democracy has also always been "guarded", meaning that the military has on occasion acted as unelected veto-player. Yet since the rise of Erdogan to power 16 years ago, things have gotten incrementally but steadily worse.
Since he assumed office, Erdogan has undermined the judiciary by appointing ideological cronies and firing or arresting independent minded jurists; sacked hundreds of senior military officers and replaced them with loyalists; introduced mandatory Islamic Studies into military curricula; censored, banned and/or arrested non-supplicant media outlets and reporters; rigged electoral rules favour of his own party; and instituted constitutional amendments designed to perpetrate his rule and re-impose Sharia precepts on public institutions (something not seen since the days of the Ottomans). He has enriched himself and his friends by using public construction projects as sources of political patronage and illicit gain. All in all, he has destroyed the promise of a moderate democratic Islamism that brought him to power in the first place. Using populist methods to reaffirm his electoral popularity with the rural and urban poor, Erdogan has been steadily eroding Turkish democracy from within.
Erdogan has also proven himself to be diplomatically incompetent. From a position of stability as the regional power in the Levant, under his guidance Turkey now finds itself at war with adversaries on two borders, estranged from the US, Russia, Egypt and Israel as well as the Gulf Arab states, at odds with Europe over a host of political and economic issues, and confronted by a rising tide of domestic terrorism. His tenure has been ruinous for Turkish aspirations for European Union membership and Turkey's increasingly unfavorable international reputation was cemented by its loss to New Zealand and Spain in the 2014 elections for a UN Security Council temporary seat for the 2015-17 term.
Erdogan has blamed the coup attempt on the self-exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose power base is to be found amongst the more educated and liberal sectors of Turkish society and whose brand of Islam appears more compatible with the older secular nationalist vision. Whether Gulen was really behind the coup attempt remains to be seen, but there are reasons to suspect the President's version of the coup's origins, not least that the plot was very poorly planned and doomed to failure from the outset. For example, the plotters did not grab Erdogan or take over media outlets before announcing the takeover; did not move to censor social media in order to deny Erdogan and his loyalists an alternative communications platform; did not have more than a brigade's worth of infantry troops (mostly conscripts) trying to control the entire country; and did not have enough armour or aviation on their side to impose emergency rule. As with many failed coups it was led by junior rather than senior officers, although that is because the senior ranks are full of Erdogan loyalists. One thing about modern day coups is that those leading them have a wealth of history to learn from, learning that does not seem to be much in evidence here in spite of Turkey's history with previous coups and the examples provided by a host of countries elsewhere.
When it comes to the future of Turkish democracy, whether the coup was instigated from Pennsylvania or just a bit closer to the President's own office is in many ways irrelevant. Erdogan is already using the events of the past week to further purge the military of secularist factions with the arrest of at least 6000 military personnel (including 130 officers), and has broadened the retaliatory sweep by suspending 8000 police officers, 15,000 public educators and 3000 members of the judiciary (all of whom are suspected of being opposed to his Islamicisation project for the Turkish state). He has moved to reintroduce the death penalty—a move which both appeals to baser populist tendencies and will be yet another setback in Turkey's fifty-year long negotiation over accession to the European Union. None of this is supportive of democracy.
One of the major consequences of all this will be the reconfiguration of the Turkish military as a praetorian guard rather than professional organization. Based on Roman Imperial Guards, praetorian militaries are those that are heavily politicized, intervene in national politics, engage in domestic repression and serve the government of the day rather than the commonweal. Professional militaries, in contrast, are apolitical and non-partisan, focused on external defense and serve the nation as a whole regardless of who is in government.
What prompts a military to move from professional to a praetorian posture is a combination of push (internal) and pull (external) factors. The former include horizontal (between armed services) and vertical (between ranks) cleavages as well as resistance to government interference in military affairs. The latter include government corruption, stalemate, mishandling of security matters or inability to manage threats to national security, civil society pleading for intervention and loss of business confidence.
All of these factors were at play in Turkey's latest coup. Nearly 300 people died in inter-service clashes. Erdogan loyalists swarmed under-manned and lightly armed soldiers in the streets of Ankara and Istanbul. Seeing that, civilian coup supporters stayed at home. Cynics will note that, in spite of its apparent near-success and the intense violence directed at loyalist-controlled security agencies and parliament, the nature of the undertaking suggested not so much a well-planned and militarily precise operation in defense of democracy as it did an opportunistic manipulation of discontent within military ranks in order to justify a purge of the discontented.
Whether the coup was done as a last ditch defense of the Kemalist democratic legacy or not, the outcome is now clear: Turkey has veered hard towards outright dictatorship with Erdogan as the primary beneficiary. The President's announcement that he will now "clean all state institutions of the virus" that led to the coup is an ominous sign of things to come.
PS: The Herald was kind enough to publish a short version of the original essay on July 21, 2016.
Posted in comparative politics, Democracy, History, Intelligence and Security, Politics | 21 Comments | Read More »
The destruction of brand Trump.
Posted on 11:37, March 13th, 2016 by Pablo
As readers may be aware I am delighted by the Trump candidacy because it is destroying the Republican Party and will pave the way for an epic defeat in the November general elections. Not only will the GOP lose the presidential race because none of its candidates will be able to muster the votes needed to overcome the Democratic advantage (be it Hillary or Bernie who lead the ticket). It could well lose control of Congress on the negative coattails of the presidential race (the entire House and 1/3 of the Senate are up for grabs, with the Democrats needing to win 4-5 current Republican seats in order to gain control of the Senate). It does not matter if Trump is the GOP presidential candidate or if he or another Republican go independent in the wake of the convention, which itself promises to be a bloodbath. The vast majority of swing voters and independents, who tend to vote on the Left in any event, will be galvanised to vote against whatever the Republicans have to offer, Trump in particular. For all his bluster about bringing out new voters on the Republican side, what he really has done is bring out new voters on both sides–most of whom are against him. As a result, the GOP is doomed and could well split into Tea bagger/populist and "moderate" right parties in the wake of what is looming as an electoral catastrophe of historical proportions.
A tipping point has been reached this week with the escalation of protests against Trump at his rallies and the retaliatory violence of his supporters and campaign staff and security against those who dare confront him on his xenophobic bigotry and inflammatory rhetoric (and one has to ask why local law enforcement and the Secret Service act as his praetorian guard when removing peaceful protesters at his behest. After all, they are not in his employ and are not legally authorised to detain, handcuff and arrest people exercising their right to protest in public spaces just because he wants them forcibly removed).
The cancellation of a Chicago rally because of protests will only encourage more of them, and they will be increasingly large and organised in nature. That in turn will enrage Trump, who does not have the good sense (or even basic ability) to moderate his venom, which will bring out the full nut case element in his support base (which has already started to appear more and more frequently). Unfortunately, it is now a very real possibility that someone will be killed or seriously injured at a Trump rally, and the perpetrators will be his supporters, not his opponents.
When that happens, the wheels will come off the Trump political cart.
By then the damage to the GOP "brand" will have been irretrievably done. But what I find just as wonderful is that Brand Trump itself is now irreversibly damaged as well. However illusory, it used to represent luxury, opulence, quality, style and the excess that comes with success. It had global recognition. It was synonymous with capitalist high rolling, only in part because of his obsession with casinos.
In the wake of this presidential campaign, that image has been replaced by something less illusory and much darker. "Trump" is now synonymous with racism, xenophobia, buffoonery, demagoguery, narcism, sociopathy, chauvinism, misogyny, war-mongering, bullying, cheating, lying, senseless violence, stupidity–the list goes on. Whatever people may have done by way of word association with the name Trump in the past, my bet is that the first thing that now comes to mind when his name is mentioned is some of the negative terms mentioned above. In fact, the word Trump may well become an adjective or verb, as in "that old white dude went all Trump on me when I said that Obama was not a Kenyan," or "that reactionary fool is just plain Trumped in the head." It could even be used as a noun, for example, as in "Trumpster:" n.: an idiot, fool, dolt, ignoramus, numbskull, someone who is gullible, slow on the uptake, blindly naive or prejudiced in the extreme.
His tarnished brand may survive in the US, perhaps in red neck resort destinations like the Florida panhandle and the coastal Deep South and/or parts of Appalachia. But many Americans, and not just "ethnic" Americans or Democrats, will shun his products, services and anything with his name on it. There may be boycotts and protests organised against them. And with the possible exception of Putin's Russia (given the mutual admiration society he runs with Trump), as a global brand it is finished. Think of the Arabs, Latin Americans, Asians and even Europeans that Trump has scapegoated and insulted. Any current or potential Trump business partner or investor now has to wonder if they will be tainted by association with him and whether their business will suffer as a result. Given daily revelations of his less than salubrious past business dealings, profound dishonesty and myriad failures that have ruined others much more than it has hurt him,what foreign governments other than those of tinpot dictators are going to want a bar of him as an investment partner? Even better, increased scrutiny of his business dealings may well result in criminal charges being laid against him, which will only add to the tarnish on the brand.
The hard fact is that the Trump campaign will prove deleterious for Trump business holdings, which explains why his managerial minions, "the best people" in his words, are currently in the process of putting legal and PR distance on him. The trouble for them, however, remains embedded in that ubiquitous name.
This is the silver lining in the Trump cloud. Not only has he exposed the ugly side of US politics. He has exposed himself and his illusory brand in doing so. He is taking the GOP down along with him, and neither it or his brand will survive the fall intact.
That is truly a good thing.
Posted in Authoritarianism, Democracy, elections, governance, History, Politics, USA | 16 Comments | Read More »
Fiji's strategic pivot.
Posted on 15:13, January 27th, 2016 by Pablo
Last week Fiji took delivery of a shipment of Russian weapons that were "donated" by Russia pursuant to a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in February 2015. The Fijians say that the weapons are needed by Fijian peacekeepers in places like the Middle East because what they currently have in their inventory is obsolete. The shipment includes small arms (squad) weapons, two trucks, tear gas, other non-lethal munitions and possibly one or more helicopters. The shipment will formally be unveiled in February in front of a Russian delegation that will include military trainers who will remain in Fiji to instruct Fijian military personnel in their proper usage.
Fijian opposition figures believe that the shipment is illegal because it was not approved by Parliament and that it could be used against domestic opponents of the current, military-backed government. Let me briefly outline the issues.
The shipment is perfectly legal as it is not part of a Treaty that needs parliamentary ratification. Plus, it is a "donation" of military aid so it does not need parliamentary approval.
The opposition is correct to be concerned about the "dual use" potential of the weapons. Squad weapons, tear gas and non-lethal munitions can be used in peacekeeping but can also be used as instruments of crowd control at home. Given the Fijian Military Forces history, that is a very real possibility.
The arms shipment could trigger an arms race with Tonga, which also has a military and is a rival of Fiji. The Tongans are not likely to view the shipment kindly even if it does not specifically include naval equipment. Squad weapons can and are used by navies as a matter of routine, and the introduction of military helicopters into a regional rivalry is bound to cause alarm in the Kingdom.
Although Fijian military inventories may well be obsolete (meaning Vietnam era US weapons), most UN peacekeeping missions are armed by the UN using NATO-standard equipment. That includes small arms and troop carriers used in "blue helmet" operations. Thus the claim that the Russian arms are needed for peacekeeping is debatable at best.
The MOU with Russia also outlines military educational exchanges. These follow on a similar program with the Chinese military (PLA). The Chinese also have funded and undertaken numerous infrastructure projects such as port dredging and road building that have a parallel "dual use" potential: they can be used for civilian and military purposes alike.
Given the above, it is reasonable to speculate that the Chinese and/or Russians may receive forward basing rights in Fiji in the not to distant future. Under the "Looking North" policy Fiji has clearly pivoted away from its traditional Western patrons (Australia, NZ and the US) and towards others that are less concerned about the status of Fijian democracy (such as it is, and it is not very much). Given these weapons transfers plus bilateral military education and training exercises with China and Russia, the path is cleared for the two countries to use Fiji as a means of projecting (especially maritime) power in the South Pacific. The Chinese are already doing so, with Chinese naval ships doing regular ports of call in Suva. After years of neglect, the Russian Pacific fleet has resumed long-range patrols. So the stage is set for a deepening of military ties with a basing agreement for one or both.
The Chinese and Russians are enjoying some of their best bilateral relations in decades. It is therefore possible that they may be working in coordinated, cooperative or complementary fashion when it comes to their overtures to the Fijians. Both seek tourism opportunities as well as preferential access to fisheries in and around Fijian territorial waters, so their non-military interests converge in that regard, which may limit the regional competition between them.
It is clear that post-election Fiji has moved from a "guarded" democracy in which the military acts as a check on civilian government to a soft authoritarian regime in which the executive branch supersedes and subordinates the legislature and judiciary with military connivance. Instead of going from a "hard" dictatorship to a "hard" democracy, Fiji has moved from a "hard" dictatorship to a "soft" one (for those who know Spanish and the regime transitions literature, the move was from a "dictadura" to a "dictablanda" rather than to a "democradura").
Some of this is by constitutional design (since the military bureaucratic regime dictated the current constitution prior to the 2014 elections), while other aspects of the slide back towards dictatorship are de facto rather than de jure (such as the speakers' order to reduce the amount of days parliament can sit. The speaker is a member of the ruling party yet holds a position that is supposed to be apolitical). Then there are the strict restrictions on press freedom and freedom of political participation to consider. Attacks on the Methodist Church, arrests of civil society activists and claims of coup plotting by expats and local associates contribute to concerns about the state of governmental affairs. Add to that the fact that the first Police Commissioner after the election resigned after military interference in his investigation of police officers implicated in torture, and then was replaced by a military officer (against constitutional guarantees of police and military independence) while the policemen were given military commissions (which insulated them from prosecution thanks to provisions in the 2014 constitution), and one gets the sense that Fiji is now a democracy in name only.
None of this bothers the Russians or the Chinese, both of whom resisted the imposition of sanctions on Fiji after the 2006 coup (to include vetoing UN Security Council resolutions barring Fiji from peacekeeping operations).
All in all, the outlook is two-fold, with one trend a continuation and the other one new. Fiji is once again becoming authoritarian in governance, this time under electoral guise and a facade of constitutionalism. In parallel it has decisively turned away from the West when it comes to its diplomatic and military alignments. This turn is a direct result of the failed sanctions regime imposed on Fiji after the 2006 coup, which was too porous and too shallow to have the impact on Fiji that was hoped for at the time of imposition. The result is a greatly diminished diplomatic influence and leverage on the part of Australia, New Zealand and (to a lesser extent) the US and the rise of China, India and Russia as Fiji's major diplomatic interlocutors. Factor in Fiji's disdain for the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) and its continued attempt to fashion the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) as a counter to it, and the makings of a regional transitional moment are clear.
The sum result of this is that the strategic balance in the South Pacific is clearly in flux. Given the US "pivot" to Asia and the reassertion of its security ties with Australia and New Zealand, that is bound to result in increased diplomatic tensions and gamesmanship in the Western Pacific in the years to come.
The passive revolutionary contribution to Middle Eastern unrest.
Posted on 15:25, January 15th, 2015 by Pablo
This week I attended a talk by Kiwi journalist Yasmine Ryan, currently based in Tunis. Yasmine previously worked for al-Jazeera and now freelances from her Tunisian base. Her talk was about the state of affairs in the Arab world, and more specifically, North Africa.
She had many interesting things to say but I garnered three main points from her talk. First, the the so-called Arab Spring has failed to open Arab politics in any meaningful way. Second, levels of corruption in the Arab world are so high and so pervasive that reform is virtually impossible, especially when foreign interests back the entrenched power elites. Third, state capacity (measured by public infrastructural development, enforcement of norms beyond simple repression and provision of goods and services) is woefully lacking throughout the region, something that contributes to pervasive discontent amongst disempowered groups.
Her bottom line was that although Tunisia is touted as an Arab Spring success story, it is in fact not and yet is the best of a sorry lot of post-dictatorial regimes now governing in North Africa.
As Yasmine spoke, I found myself pondering her use of words. She referred to the Tunisian "revolution" and to the "democratisation" of Arab politics. Her use of these terms reflects standard journalistic practice although she knows well that nothing of the sort has happened in North Africa. Let me explain why.
"Revolutions" properly conceived are popular uprisings that lead to the armed overthrow of the state and the imposition of a paradigmatic change on society under a new political regime in the wake of the overthrow. The first key to revolutionary success is victory over the repressive apparatus, either as a result of combat or because the repressive apparatus switches its allegiances to the new sovereign contenders. The second key to revolutionary success is the scope of paradigmatic change covering political society, civil society and the economic structure of the nation-state. Needless to say, none of this happened as a result of the so-called Arab Spring.
So what did happen? Well, if revolution does not eventuate and democracy does not obtain, then other outcomes are possible. The regime being challenged can use its repressive superiority to reassert its authority and crack down on dissent, thereby quashing the seeds of popular uprising. This occurred in Bahrain, although it took Saudi Arabian troops to help repress the mostly Shiia uprising against the Sunni elite in that country. To a lesser extent it occurred in the 2009-10 election protests and the 2011-12 Arab Spring-inspired "Day of Rage" protests in Iran.
Another alternative outcome is a civil war where the challenged regime is forced into an armed struggle with rebel groups or in which the old regime is overthrown but new power contenders fight each other in order to establish their claim to being the new sovereign. The former is happening in Syria and the latter is happening in Libya. Iraq is a variation on this, with foreign intervention rather than popular unrest being the gateway (if not cause) for post-authoritarian internecine violence marshalled along sectarian lines.
A third option is for the authoritarian regime being challenged to engage in what is known as a "passive revolution." "Passive revolution" is where the regime elite adopts cosmetic changes and engages in reform-mongering to appease popular discontent but does not fundamentally alter the power elite or the institutional bases of their power. One of the cosmetic changes is electioneering rather than democratisation (which involves more than elections and encompasses institutional, social and economic life). This, sadly, is what has happened in Tunisia after the fall of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and in Egypt after the respective ousters of Hosni Mubarak and Mohamed Morsi. In both cases the power elite underpinning the ousted authoritarian leaders regrouped under an electoral facade that allowed them to cloak their rule in a mantle of "democratic" legitimacy. In Egypt's case the scenario had a twist in that Morsi was allowed to become the first freely elected president in Egyptian history, but when his Muslim Brotherhood government pushed its Islamicist-backed constitutional project and Morsi granted himself unlimited executive powers not subject to judicial or parliamentary review, they were deposed in a military coup. The leader of the coup and then head of the Egyptian military, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, is now president of Egypt.
However, for a passive revolution to work it must, along with continuing to selectively repress dissent, deliver goods otherwise not obtained by the discontented masses. Be it as a short term or longer term strategy, the passive revolutionary approach is more than political window dressing because it hinges on giving the appearance of progressive change by providing public goods and services, and material benefits, that previously were unavailable. Yet, in Egypt as well as Tunisia, none of that has occurred because of rampant corruption, lack of state capacity, and an absence of economic opportunity under the power elites that ruled before the regime changes and who continue to rule today. What has occurred is the resumption of repression of those who wish to push for a further and more substantive political opening.
This means that the root causes of popular discontent remain unaddressed, which makes the passive revolutionary approach inherently weak. It is akin to putting a sticking plaster on an arterial bleed–it may staunch some short term dissent but it cannot contain the surge of discontent over the long term.
But there is a twist to the story. It turns out that Tunisia has supplied the largest contingent of foreign fighters to the Islamic State. Egypt also has proved to be a fertile recruiting ground for jihadists, and Libya is overrun with them fighting to overthrow the central government in Tripoli. Why would alienated individuals in Tunisia and Egypt opt to join a foreign war rather than continue to fight for progressive political change at home?
I believe the answer is that those who choose to leave to fight for IS or al-Qaeda see the results of the Arab Spring for what they really are: a reassertion of the traditional status quo under different guise. Understanding the impossibility of affecting significant political, social and economic change at home, these disaffected fighters migrate to foreign conflicts in which the enemy is clear (be it the West, Israel, Iran or Shiia Islam in general) and in which their skills in the management of organised violence can be honed for future use at home should they survive combat. Should they not, they will have died for what they believe to be a good cause.
That is the crux of the "returning jihadi" problem. They pose no existential threat to the West or even stable authoritarian regimes (barring an overreaction by the state and society that makes it appear as if there is in fact a "war" between Islam as a whole and the non-Islamic world). They do not pose an existential threat to stable Muslim dominant societies such as Indonesia and Malaysia. But they do pose a potential existential threat to the passive revolutionary regimes in North Africa as well as in failing or failed states such as Yemen, Somalia and/or those in which civil war is occurring (to include Nigeria even if Boko Harum is comprised of indigenous fighters who for the most part have not traveled abroad).
That is why I see al-Qaeda and the Islamic State as regional rather than global problems–they may have a world wide impact given the decentralised nature of terrorist tactics outside of the Middle East, but their real strategic impact stems from the existential threat they pose to the Middle East itself. After all, even if they use the US, the West, Israel and/or Iran as foils for their violent ambitions, al-Qaeda and IS have their eyes focused squarely on the Gulf petrolarchies as much if not more than they do on any other territorial and political objective.
In the end, it has been the failure of the Arab Spring to deliver on its theoretical promise and popular expectations for real change that has led to the rise of IS and the spreading wave of violent unrest throughout the Arab world. After a moment that promised a thawing of old political structures and the germination of new ideas about the relationship between state and society, the region has proven yet again to be barren ground for peaceful, progressive and lasting social change.
PS: Here is something I wrote in 2011 about Tunisia and other Middle Eastern transitions. Although I do not claim any particular expertise on the Middle East or Arab world, I think that by and large my observations of four years ago have stood the test of time.
Posted in Authoritarianism, comparative politics, Democracy, elections, governance, History, Politics, Social change, Terrorism, Uncategorized | 4 Comments | Read More »
Whither the class line?
Posted on 10:58, November 20th, 2014 by Pablo
In 1995 I published a book that explored the interaction between the state, organised labor and capital in the transitions to democracy in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. The book was theoretically rooted in neo-or post-Gramscian thought as well as the vast literature on collective action and the politics of the case studies. In it I explained how democratic transitions were facilitated by class compromises between labour and capital brokered by the state, which acted as an institutional mediator/arbitrator in resolving conflicts between the two sides of the labour process. I noted the importance of neo-corporatist, tripartite concentrative vehicles for the achievement of a durable class compromise in which current wage restraint was traded for increased productivity in pursuit of future wage gains under restrained rates of profit-taking, all within state-enforced workplace, health, safety and retirement frameworks negotiated between the principles. That way the relations in and of production were peaceably maintained.
One of the things I discovered is that labour or working class-based parties were served best when they had union representation in the leadership. That is because, unlike career politicians, union leaders were closest to the rank and file when it came to issues pertinent to those relations in and of production. As a result, they translated the needs of the rank and file into political imperatives that determined working class political praxis under democratic (read non-revolutionary) conditions.
In contrast,Left politicians tended to be drawn from the intelligentsia and were prone to compromise on matters of principle in pursuit of strategic or tactical gain. Many did not have working class backgrounds, and some spent their entire careers, if not adult lives, currying favour in the pursuit of office and the power that comes with it. More than a few have never held a job outside of the political sphere, which led them to hold an insular view of how working class politics should be conducted. As a result, they were often disinclined to put the material or political interests of the working classes first, preferring instead to pursue incremental gains around the margins of the social division of labour within the system as given.
For those reasons, I found that working class interests were best represented when the union movement dominated the working class party, not the other way around.
But there was a caveat to this discovery: unionists only served as legitimate and honest agents of working class interests if they adhered to a class line. In other words, they had to be genuine Marxists or socialists who put the working class interest first when it came to the pursuit of politics in competition with the political agents of capital. "Class line" was broadly interpreted to include all wage labour–blue and white collar, temporary and permanent, unionised or not. That made them honest interlocutors of the people they represented (the ultimate producers of wealth), since otherwise they would be conceding the primacy of capital and business interests (the appropriators of surplus) in the first instance.
Since the system is already stacked in favour of capital in liberal democracies, it was imperative that the agents of the working class in post-auhoritarian contexts wholeheartedly and honestly embraced ideologies that a minimum rejected the unquestioning acceptance of market directives as a given, much less the idea that capitalism as a social construct was the best means by which societal resources were organised and distributed. The post-transitional moment was an opportune time to press the critique of capitalism, as the authoritarian experiments had demonstrated quite vividly the connection between political oppression and economic exploitation. It was a moment in time (the mid to late 1980s) when unions could impose working class preferences on the political parties that purported to represent the rank and file, and where working class parties could genuinely speak truth to power.
As it turns out, the record in the Southern Cone was mixed. Where there was a Marxist-dominated national labour confederation that dominated Left political representation (Uruguay), the political Left prospered and the working class benefitted the most. In fact, after two decades of failed pro-business government by the centre-right Colorado Party, the union-backed Frente Amplio coalition has now ruled for over a decade with great success and Uruguay remains Latin America's strongest democracy.
On the other hand, where the union movement was controlled by sold-out opportunists and co-opted bureaucrats (Argentina), who in turn dominated the majority Left political party (the Peronists), corruption and concession were the norm and the working classes benefited the least. In fact, in a twist on the New Zealand story, it was a corrupt, sold-out and union-backed Peronist president, Carlos Menem, who used the coercively-imposed market driven economic reforms of the military dictatorship as the basis for the neoliberal agenda he implemented, by executive decree, in Argentina in accordance with the so-called "Washington Consensus."
In Brazil the union movement was divided at the time of the transition between a Marxist-dominated militant confederation (the CUT), led by Luis Inganicio da Silva or "Lula"as he was better known, and a cooped confederation (the CGT) that had emerged during the military dictatorship and which was favoured by business elites as the employee agent of choice. The CUT dominated the politics of the Workers Party (PT), whereas the CGT was subordinated to the logics of the political leadership of the right-center PMDB.
As things turned out, although the PMDB won control of the national government in the first two post-authoritarian elections, and the subsequent governments of social democrat Fernando Henrique Cardoso began a number of social welfare projects designed to reduce income inequality and enforce basic human rights, working class interests did not fully proposer until the PT under Lula's leadership was elected in 2002 (the PT just won re-election for the fourth consecutive time under the presidency of Lula's successor Dilma Rouseff). In the PT Marxist unionists have dominant positions. In the PMDB and Cardoso's PSDB, the sold-out unionists did not.
That brings me to the the election of Andrew Little as Labour Party Leader. Leaving aside the different context of contemporary New Zealand relative to the subject of my book and the question as to whether the union movement truly dominates the Labour Party, consider his union credentials. His background is with the EPMU, arguably the most conservative and sold-out union federation in the country. In fact, he has no record of "militancy" to speak of, and certainly is not a Marxist. Instead, his record is that of a co-opted union bureaucrat who likes to work with the Man rather than against Him. The fact that business leaders–the same people who work incessantly to strip workers of collective and individual rights under the guise of employment "flexibilization"– find him "reasonable" and "thoughtful" attests not only to his powers of persuasion but also to the extent of his co-optation.
But maybe that was just what he had to do in order to achieve his true calling and show his true self as a politician. So what about his credentials as a politician? If winning elections is a measure to go by, Mr. Little is not much of one, having never won an election outside his unions. Nor has his tenure as a list MP in parliament been a highlight reel of championing working class causes and promoting their interests. As others have said, he smacks of grey.
Which brings me to the bottom line. Does he have a class line?
Blog Link: Could Fiji Emulate Singapore?
Posted on 16:20, September 26th, 2014 by Pablo
Although we in NZ have been preoccupied with our own national election, Fiji had one a few days earlier that arguably is far more important when it comes to that country's long-term prospects. Much has been written about this foundational election and the transition from dictatorship to democracy, but in this 36th Parallel analysis I consider the possibility that Fiji may see Singapore as a developmental model worth emulating.
It is not as crazy an idea as you might think at first glance.
Posted in comparative politics, Democracy, elections, governance, History, Politics, South Pacific | 3 Comments | Read More »
Military rule erodes military professionalism.
Posted on 12:03, September 7th, 2014 by Pablo
One of the important lessons taught by the study of military dictatorships is that when the military rules as an institution, such as in the case of the military-bureaaucratic regimes of Southern Europe, Latin America and East Asia in the 1960s through the 1980s, organisational professionalism is compromised. Having military officers sitting at desks as Ministers and department chiefs of non-military portfolios keeps them away from the training grounds and deployments in which military leadership is honed and exercised. Having soldiers patrol the streets and suppressing domestic dissent takes them away from the combat tasks that are supposedly their reason for being. Prolonged tenure in government makes both officers and enlisted personnel susceptible to the temptations of unchecked authority, from material corruption to unethical personal behaviour.
The very nature of military organisation is incompatible with governance. Whether it be collegial or Prussian style or some variant thereof, the military is a pyramidal organisation in which orders are passed from top to bottom and duties are delegated without question. There is no cabinet made up of ministerial equals. Instead, there is either one Military Commander or there is a High Command or Joint Staff comprised of similarly ranked chiefs of different armed service branches, and even then there is a first amongst equals. The further down the chain of command the more immediate and tight the degree of control of superiors over subordinates.
The rationale underpinning the organisational ethos and structure is to promote discipline under fire. There is little room for compromise and stakeholder consultation such as that which is the norm for most public agencies. There is no public consultation and few feedback loops other than after action reports and what soldiers tell their superiors in a chain of command. Superimposing a military organisation on the State apparatus may impose discipline (or at least fear) on the public bureaucracy, but the price paid for that is the softening of the military organisation in question.
The situation is compounded by militaries that use foreign peacekeeping missions as a substitute for combat exercises and as a source of remittances (since UN pay tends to be much high than local military pay in most of the world). Whatever dangers exist in peacekeeping, and there are many, keeping the peace is not, nor can it ever be, a substitute for combat training.
When taken together these factors erode the professional competence of the military as an institution. In countries that have military rule and conflicts with neighbours, this is often seen as a sign of weakness by adversaries. After all, pushing pencils and having long working lunches is not quite living like in a tent eating rations in between live fire exercises. Thus, somewhat ironically, prolonged military rule invites attack by hostile states in which the military does not rule and instead focuses on its combat role.
The capture of 45 Fijian Army peacekeepers in the Golan Heights by the Al-Nusra Front is a variant on this theme. The Fijians were part of a detachment that included a similar number of Filipino soldiers. When the al-Nusra rebels surrounded and attacked their jointly held UN outpost, the Filipinos, who have years of experience fighting Abu Sayyaf rebels in the southern Philippines, staged an armed retreat that allowed all of them to escape capture. They laid down suppressing fire as they drove their armoured column out of the compound at speed, and prevailed in the firefight occasioned by their escape. They suffered no losses.
The Fijians, on the other hand, although being similarly armed and equipped, surrendered without a shot. They are now waiting "divine justice" at the hands of their al-Nusra captors. Neither the Fijian military nor the military government can do anything about the situation, and instead have to reply on UN negotiators for the safe return of their soldiers. Other than appeals to the captors, the only response evident in Fiji is threats to the local Muslim community made by some Fijian nationalists.
The difference between the two outcomes in the Golan Heights is attributable to relative military professionalism. The Philippines Army does not govern and fights on a regular basis with the Abu Sayyaf rebels. They are battle hardened and disciplined as a result. The Fijian Army, in contrast, has ruled Fiji since 2006. Senior military leaders from the rank of major up have held managerial positions in the civilian administration, and the military spends most of its time engaged in domestic repression rather than training for combat. As part of the sanctions levels against it, Fijian military officers were denied admittance to Western military colleges and the Fijian military does not participate in multinational exercises. In spite of a limited military exchange program with China, the Fijian military has not engaged in the types of corporate training that makes for an effective fighting force against other armed adversaries. Instead, it has sent hundreds of soldiers on UN peacekeeping missions, but this is more due to the domestic importance of remittances from Fijian soldiers to their kin (especially in the villages) rather than securing the benefits of operational experience in conflict zones.
The result is that what used to be considered one of the more professional military organisations in the South Pacific is no longer capable of defending itself when attacked by irregular forces abroad. It lacks the leadership and discipline required to engage in organised violence against such armed opponents because it has spent too much time focused on ruling rather than serving its compatriots.
All of this illustrates the point that, beyond the negative impacts of military rule on society at large, the military as an institution is adversely affected by military rule. This is why "enlightened" militaries that stage coups try to relinquish direct control of government as quickly as they can. But others, perhaps safe in the knowledge that they have no immediate adversaries and enjoying the perks of governance, tend to linger in power. In spite of their lofty nation building rhetoric, the longer they retain power the more likely that the military will begin to lose the combat leadership and soldiering skills essential for survival in battle. And should that military ever find itself in battle, it stands a poor chance of victory when confronting hardened soldiers.
That has been proven sadly true for the Fijian Army in the Golan Heights.
Posted in Authoritarianism, Intelligence and Security, War | 29 Comments | Read More »
Transitional Dilemmas.
Posted on 11:20, March 16th, 2014 by Pablo
Military-bureaucratic authoritarian regimes often seek to legitimate their rule and establish a positive legacy by transferring power to elected civilian authorities. However, they do so only under certain conditions and with specific outcomes in mind. One way to ensure that their post-authoritarian vision is adhered to is to run a military-backed candidate (often a retired military leader) as the "official" candidate while actively working to use their control of the election process to promote divisions and disunity amongst the opposition. The way in which the elections are governed and the process leading up to them are used by the outgoing authoritarians to produce a voting outcome that upholds the status quo under elected civilian guise.
In spite of its dominant position in such "top-down" forms of electoral transition, military-backed candidates and/or parties are confronted with several dilemmas that complicate their ability to ensure their desired post-authoritarian outcome. In this 36th Parallel Assessments brief I point out two of them as well as some other political dynamics at play in such scenarios.
Although the analysis is framed broadly, it may be of particular interest to those interested in the elections scheduled for September in Fiji.
Posted in Authoritarianism, comparative politics, Democracy, elections, foreign policy, governance, History, Politics | 5 Comments | Read More »
Blog Link: The Transition Tango in Fiji.
Posted on 11:35, October 3rd, 2013 by Pablo
Over at 36th Parallel Assessments I explore some of the dynamics that are and will be key factors in the political transition to free and open elections in Fiji scheduled for mid 2014. Unique circumstances in Fiji notwithstanding, the success of a transition from military-bureaucratic authoritarianism to freely elected government (if not democracy) hinges on some key factors, particularly the interplay between regime and opposition hard- and soft-liners. The essay explains how and why.
Posted in Authoritarianism, comparative politics, Democracy, governance, Politics, South Pacific | 5 Comments | Read More »


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Here are some highlights of our AFC West chat, which was held earlier Thursday:
Kyle Gasner from San Diego: Would Aubrayo Franklin be a good signing for the Broncos?
Bill Williamson: At this point, sure, as a decent rotational guy. Why not?
Kansas City
Lance from NM: What do you think of the Chiefs' offensive line? They are set at the ends with Albert and Winston, but can they get enough push up the middle to be the number 1 rushing team again?
BW: It's an interesting line. It is going to be very youthful in the interior of the line. But these kids are all talented.
Andy from Chicago: Who is going to be the Raiders TE this year? Does David Ausberry have the ability to be the man?
BW: It's up in the air. I'd like to see a vet brought in, but there aren't many great options. Ausberry will get a chance to show what he can do, but he is very raw.
San Diego
Fred from school: I read things that say the Chargers O-line is still weak and needs to be addressed... I don't see it, what are your thoughts?
BW: If Gaither is the Gaither that the Chargers had last season, they should be fine. But I think we may see another player added for depth.

subset: commoncrawl


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Flattr-y Will Get You … Where?
I'm trying an experiment on this blog. I've Flattr enabled it via plugins, so now you'll see those on both the posts and the RSS entries if you read them via Google reader or the like. I'm mostly doing this as to see where the value lies in this project. I don't expect this blog/podcast […]Tags: bitpass, flattr, micropayments
Cory Doctorow on Macropayments
In his column at Locus Magazine, Cory Doctorow has a piece on "macropayments." It lays out a lot of his thinking in giving away his books for free, but also refutes the whole philosophical basis of micropayments at the same time. I like this bit: Taking someone's money is expensive. It incurs transaction and bookkeeping […]Tags: bitpass, cory doctorow, jill sobule, macropayments, micropayments, scott mccloud


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text: We are thankful to our younger and hipper relatives who told us about Pubbelly. The small-plate dining concept is popular in Miami but many restaurants botch it. The food is very creative and the blend of spices is superb. We ordered 6 plates and the portions were truly shareable which is not always the case. The location is blessedly far... More


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With Instructables you can share what you make with the world, and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts.
i turned an old computer dvd drive into storage. its a good use of an old drive, and it's a great hiding spot.
take apart the entire drive. you'll only need the outer metal case, the cd tray, the thing the tray slides in, and the faceplate. dremel off the front ...
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Returning for another performance of The Christmas Story, The Waverly Consort's eight singers and five instrumentalists recount the events of Christmas with the timeless spirit of medieval church dramas.
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JHSPH Home
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Publications by AMHR
The following publications are organized according to the DIME manual developed by AMHR. The DIME manual consists of 6 modules:
Module 1: qualitative assessment
Module 2: instrument development
Module 3: prevalence studies
Module 4: Program Planning
Module 5: Intervention development
Module 6: impact assessment
Publications relating to mental health in general
Murray L, Burnham G. Understanding childhood sexual abuse in Africa. Lancet. 2009 Jun 6;373(9679):1924-6.
Bass J, Person C, Azur M (2005). Mental health effects of disasters. In Everly GS Jr, Parker CL, editors. Mental health aspects of disaster: Public health preparedness and response. Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness. Chapter.
Bass JK, Bolton PA, Murray LK. Do not forget culture when studying mental health. Lancet. 2007 Sep 15;370(9591):918-9. Invited commentary.
Bolton P, Betancourt TS. Mental health in postwar afghanistan. JAMA. 2004 Aug 4;292(5):626-8. Editorial.
Bolton P, Murray L, Bass J. School based intervention improves PTSD symptoms in children affected by political violence. Evid Based Ment Health. 2009 May; 12(2):47.
Bolton P, Tang AM. Using ethnographic methods in the selection of post-disaster, mental health interventions.Prehosp Disaster Med. 2004 Jan-Mar;19(1):97-101.
Bolton P, Tol WA, Bass J. Combining qualitative and quantitative research methods to support psychosocial and mental health programmes. Intervention. 2009, 7(3):181 – 186. Introduction to Special Issue.
Bolton P, Weiss W. Communicating across cultures: improving translation to improve complex emergency program effectiveness. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. 2002;16(4):252-6.
Burkle F, Chatterjee P, Bass J, Bolton P (2007). Mental Health in Emergencies. In the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) Public Health Guide for Emergencies, 2nd Edition. CHAPTER
Burkle FM Jr, Bass J, Bolton P. Becoming responsible in a "socially seismic" environment: mental health as a marker of community recovery. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2008 Jun;2(2):73-4.
CATS Consortium. Implementation of CBT for youth affected by the World Trade Center di saster: matching need to treatment intensity and reducing trauma symptoms. J Trauma Stress. 2010 Dec;23(6):699-707.
Chomba E, Murray L, Kautzman M, Haworth A, Kasese-Bota M, Kankasa C, Mwansa K, Amaya M, Thea D, Semrau K. Integration of services for victims of child sexual abuse at the university teaching hospital one-stop centre. J Trop Med. 2010;2010.
Cohen JA, Mannarino AP, Murray LK & Igelman R. Psychosocial interventions for maltreated and violence exposed children. Journal of Social Issues. 2006 62 (4): 737-766.
Cohen JA, Mannarino AP, Murray LK. Trauma-focused CBT for youth who experience ongoing traumas. Child Abuse Negl. 2011 Aug;35(8):637-46.
Hoagwood KE, Kelleher K, Murray LK, Jensen PS; Integrated Services Program Task Force. Implementation of evidence-based practices for children in four countries: a project of the World Psychiatric Association. Rev Bras Psiquiatr. 2006 Mar;28(1):59-66.
McDonnell SM, Bolton P, Sunderland N, Bellows B, White M, Noji E. The role of the applied epidemiologist in armed conflict. Emerg Themes Epidemiol. 2004 Oct 7;1(1):4.
Murray LK & Burnham G. 2009 Making childhood safe. Lancet. Invited commentary
Murray LK, Cohen JA, Ellis BH, Mannarino A. Cognitive behavioral therapy for symptoms of trauma and traumatic grief in refugee youth. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2008 Jul;17(3):585-604, ix.
Murray LK, Cohen JA, Mannarino A. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Refugee Youth for Symptoms of Trauma. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America. 2008: 17(3): 585-604.
Murray LK, Fayyad J, Jensen PS, Hoagwood K, Azer M; Integrated Services Program Task Force. An examination of cross-cultural systems implementing evidence-based assessment and intervention approaches. Rev Bras Psiquiatr. 2006 Mar;28(1):76-9.
Patel V, Araya R, Bolton P. Treating depression in the developing world. Trop Med Int Health. 2004 May;9(5):539-41.
Paul Bolton, Laura Murray, Judith Bass. 'School based intervention improves PTSD symptoms in children affected by political violence. Evidence Based Mental Health 10/3/09 15:43:34. (Invited commentary)
Publications relating to the qualitative assessment (module 1)
Betancourt TS, Speelman L, Onyango G, Bolton P. A qualitative study of mental health problems among children displaced by war in northern Uganda. Transcult Psychiatry. 2009 Jun;46(2):238-56.
Bolton P, Surkan P, Gray A, Desmousseaux M. The mental health and psychosocial effects of organized violence: A qualitative study in northern Haiti. (in press, Transcultural Psychiatry).
Bolton P, Wilk C. How do Africans view the impact of HIV? A report from a Ugandan community. AIDS Care. 2004;16(1):123-8.
Bolton P. Local perceptions of the mental health effects of the Rwandan genocide. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2001;189(4):243-8.
Murray LK, Haworth A, Semrau K, Singh M, Aldrovandi GM, Sinkala M, Thea DM, Bolton PA. Violence and abuse among HIV-infected women and their children in Zambia: a qualitative study. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2006 Aug;194(8):610-5.
Murray LK, Semrau K, McCurley E, Thea DM, Scott N, Mwiya M, Kankasa C, Bass J, Bolton P. Barriers to acceptance and adherence of antiretroviral therapy in urban Zambian women: a qualitative study. AIDS Care. 2009 Jan;21(1):78-86.
Poudyal B, Bass J, Subyantoro T, Jonathan A, Erni T, Bolton P. Assessment of the psychosocial and mental health needs, dysfunction and coping mechanisms of violence affected populations in Bireuen Aceh. A qualitative study. Torture. 2009;19(3):218-26.
Wilk CM, Bolton P. Local perceptions of the mental health effects of the Uganda acquired immunodeficiency syndrome epidemic. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2002 Jun;190(6):394-7.
Publications relating to the instrument development (module 2)
Bass JK, Ryder RW, Lammers MC, Mukaba TN, Bolton PA. Post-partum depression in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: validation of a concept using a mixed-methods cross-cultural approach. Trop Med Int Health. 2008 Dec;13(12):1534-42.
Betancourt TS, Bass J, Borisova I, Neugebauer R, Speelman L, Onyango G, Bolton P. Assessing local instrument reliability and validity: a field-based example from northern Uganda. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2009 Aug;44(8):685-92.
Bolton P, Tang AM. An alternative approach to cross-cultural function assessment. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2002 Nov;37(11):537-43.
Bolton P. Cross-cultural validity and reliability testing of a standard psychiatric assessment instrument without a gold standard. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2001;189(4):238-42.
Murray LK, Bass J, Chomba E, Imasiku M, Thea D, Semrau K, Cohen JA, Lam C, Bolton P. Validation of the UCLA Child Post traumatic stress disorder-reaction index in Zambia. Int J Ment Health Syst. 2011 Sep 24;5(1):24.
Publications relating to prevalence studies (module 3)
Bolton P, Neugebauer R, Ndogoni L. Pevalence of depression in rural Rwanda based on symptom and functional criteria. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2002 Sep;190(9):631-7.
Bolton P, Wilk C. Depression and functional disability among an HIV-affected population in rural Uganda. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2004;39(6):442-7.
Bolton P, Wilk CM, Ndogoni L. Assessment of depression prevalence in rural Uganda using symptom and function criteria. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2004 Jun;39(6):442-7.
Publications relating to program planning (module 4)
Publications relating to intervention development (module 5)
Kaysen D, Lindgren K, Zangana GA, Murray L, Bass J, Bolton P. Adaptation of Cognitive Processing Therapy for Treatment of Torture Victims: Experience in Kurdistan, Iraq. 2011 Nov; Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.
McKay MM, Hibbert R, Hoagwood K, Rodriguez J, Murray LK, Legerski J, & Fernandez D. Integrating Evidence-Based Engagement Strategies into "Real-World" Child Mental Health Settings. Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention. 2004; 4: 177-186.
Murray LK, Dorsey S, Bolton P, Jordans M, Rahman A, Bass J and Verdeli H. Building capacity in mental health interventions in low resource countries: An Apprenticeship Model for Training Local Providers. Int J Ment Health Syst. 2011 Nov; 18;5(1):30.
Verdeli H, Clougherty K, Bolton P, Speelman L, Lincoln N, Bass J, Neugebauer R, Weissman MM. Adapting group interpersonal psychotherapy for a developing country: experience in rural Uganda. World Psychiatry. 2003 Jun;2(2):114-20.
Publications relating to impact assessment (module 6):
Bass J, Neugebauer R, Clougherty KF, Verdeli H, Wickramaratne P, Ndogoni L, Speelman L, Weissman M, Bolton P. Group interpersonal psychotherapy for depression in rural Uganda: 6-month outcomes: randomised controlled trial. Br J Psychiatry. 2006 Jun;188:567-73.
Bass J, Poudyal B, Tol W, Murray L, Nadison M, Bolton P. A controlled trial of problem-solving counseling for war-affected adults in Aceh, Indonesia. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2011 Jan 19.
Bolton P, Bass J, Betancourt T, Speelman L, Onyango G, Clougherty KF, Neugebauer R, Murray L, Verdeli H. Interventions for depression symptoms among adolescent survivors of war and displacement in northern Uganda: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2007 Aug 1;298(5):519-27.
Bolton P, Bass J, Murray L, Lee K, Weiss W, McDonnell SM. Expanding the scope of humanitarian program evaluation. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2007 Sep-Oct;22(5):390-5.
Bolton P, Bass J, Neugebauer R, Verdeli H, Clougherty KF, Wickramaratne P, Speelman L, Ndogoni L, Weissman M. Group interpersonal psychotherapy for depression in rural Uganda: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2003 Jun 18;289(23):3117-24.
©, Johns Hopkins University. All rights reserved. Web policies, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205


text:
- This lean chicken sausage gets a sweet and savory edge from tart apples and cracked black pepper. With pale, cream-colored flesh and a medium-coarse texture, it's delectable sliced in squash soup or served for breakfast with apple compote and thick slices of French toast.Claims
- Organic
- Raised Without Antibiotics
- Gluten Free
Organic Chicken*, Organic Dried Apples, Sodium Lactate (From Beets). Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Sea Salt, Organic Apple Juice Concentrate, Organic Spices, Organic Garlic.
*Vegetarian Grain-Fed.
Casein Free.
Applegate Organic Chicken-Apple Sausage, Fully Cooked
4ct, 3oz ea
Like That? You'll Love This.
- $8.49/ea($11.32/lb)
- $8.49/ea($11.32/lb)
- Organic Broccoli1lb bunch$3.49/ea
$3.992 for $6.00
- $2.99/ea2 for $5.00
- $1.99/ea
- $5.99/ea
- 0.50lb | $12.99/lb$6.50
- $7.19/ea($14.38/lb)
- $7.99/ea($12.78/lb)
- ApplegateChicken Nuggets, No Antibiotics Used (Fully Cooked)8oz, approx. 18 pcs$6.99/ea($13.98/lb)
- $0.79/lb
- $4.99/ea
$5.69Any 2 Applegate Sliced Meat for $9.00($11.34/lb)


text:
- Energy saving effect is obvious, its average lamp life is up to 8000 hours.
- In the starting and working processes, it will not strobe so that there is no harm to our eyes.
- Stage lighting, it can turn any room, office or other venue into a fun unforgettable party place.
- Widely used in agriculture for traps insects to feed the fishes and the birds, or kill the injurious insects in the forest and the farm, and you also can use it to detect money, distinguish true-false, and stage lighting, etc.
|Dimension and Weight
|Package Contents
1. Please confirm the voltage first. If the voltage of a product is 12V-24V, then you must use a professional LED voltage converter.If the voltage in your country is 110V,then you should choose a product that voltage is 110v or 86-265v(86-265v is adapt for all country.)
2. Please check the specifications of the product carefully before ordering to insure a proper fit.
3. Do not disassemble any bulbs by yourself.
4. Be sure to cut the power off before beginning installation to avoid personal injury
Inquiry Question


text:
6 servings
A lively accompaniment to simple bean dishes or tortilla specialties.
1 to 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1-1/2 cups brown rice
One 4-ounce can chopped mild green chilies or
1 to 2 small fresh hot chilies, seeded and minced
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro or parsley,
or 2 to 3 scallions, thinly sliced
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1. Bring 4 cups water to a simmer with the bouillon cubes in a medium saucepan. Stir in the rice, cover, and simmer gently until the water is absorbed, about 35 minutes.
2. Stir in the remaining ingredients and continue to cook until everything is heated through. Serve at once.
Variations: To make a quick version of this, use quick-cooking brown rice. Follow package directions for a 6-serving portion.
Calories: 221, Total fat: 3 g, Protein: 9 g, Carbohydrate: 37 g, Cholesterol: 13 mg, Sodium: 103 mg.
The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet
250 Simple Recipes and Dozens of Healthy
Menus For Eating Well Everyday
By Nava Atlas
Broadway Books, June 2001
Paperback, $15.95
Recipe reprinted by permission.
This page created September 2001
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text:
Brandon Westgate
Fan Out: Brandon Westgate on Ricky Oyola
Ricky Oyola is the embodiment of East Coast skateboarding, and Zoo York prodigy Brandon Westgate is its future.
Zoo York "King Of New York" Premiere Recap
Team Zoo York talks about their latest skate video and the ins and outs of ripping in the Big Apple.
Zoo York Rips Through Santiago Chile
Watch as Chaz Ortiz, Brandon Westgate and Travis Glover set it off on a recent South American excursion.


text:
I am just a teenager growing up in a small town in England.
But I'm not just a teenager with a dream of a good life.
Oh no. I'm searching for the answers, wondering why the world is the way it is.
Why, for instance, do people fight one another for a pointless cause?
And why do people assume that religion is the be-all and end-all of life?
Why are babies less important than the military? Why is knife crime so
huge in this country? Why do teenagers in London spend their lives in
gangs? Why are our children growing up to become monsters?
All these questions and more boil up in my mind as I wonder why life
is the way it is. All I know is that I can't find the answers and I never will.
Maybe one day somebody will tell me the answers ... maybe not.
© Copyright 2017 ladygothicka. All rights reserved.
Status: Finished
Genre: Other
It takes a life time to find answers, and even then they often are formed by our own desires and feelings rather than on truth! Some answers we will never find in this life time! Love is the key to life! To live a life of love to others and see how it transforms the island that makes up our existence.
wow, i really liked this. i think you have some serisou talent, and obviously, a rich vein of emotion. comment me if you post anything new!
Lots of good questions. Very interesting.
Book / Romance
Book / Religion and Spirituality
Book / Poetry
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text:
John Grisham's The Whistler Mobile Share App Promotion
Download THE WHISTLER shareable app and enter to win an iPad Mini > https://t.co/WQ9rlHv4x2 pic.twitter.com/hpBs7aTyll — John Grisham (@JohnGrisham) October 14, 2016 Click Here to win a Ipad Mini PROMOTION: John's Grisham's The Whistler CLIENT: Doubleday Publishing PRIZE PARTNERS: Apple Final Stats Coming Soon…...
Amelia Bedelia's Family Night Program
PROMOTION: Family Night Program Featuring Children's Book Amelia Bedelia RUN DATES: August 5th- September 6th, 2016 CLIENT PARTNERSHIP: Harper Collin's Children's Books and Ovation Brands PRIZE PARTNERS: MSC Cruises Final Stats (300+) Ovation Brands restaurants nationwide (36,135,669) Total campaign media impressions (27,024) Total sweepstakes entries...
Batman The Telltale Series Release
PROJECT: Batman The Telltale Series Release FLIGHT DATES: September 6 – September 30, 2016 MEDIA PARTNERS: national targeted networks, local market affiliates and independent television stations and cable systems CLIENT: Telltale Games PRIZING PARTNERS: MSI FINAL STATS (20) Contracted outlets 1,964 On-air spots $783,200 Total Media Value...
Summer '16 Read Program
PROMOTION: Summer Read Program FLIGHT DATE: July 11th, 2016 – August 11th, 2016 MEDIA PARTNERS: Radio stations in select markets CLIENT: Source Books FINAL STATS (10) Contracted national radio stations $79,450 in media value for radio campaign 363 On-air mentions AIR CHECKS...
2 Broke Girls and Johnny Rockets
PROJECT: 2 Broke Girls CLIENT: Warner Bros. TV MEDIA PARTNERS: Johnny Rockets Highlights Coming...
Two and a Half Men and Tilted Kilt Sweepstakes
PROJECT: Two and a Half Men Sweepstakes CLIENT: Warner Bros. Television MEDIA PARTNERS: Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery & national television stations FLIGHT DATE: Highlights Coming...
Telltale's Minecraft Story Mode
PROMOTION: Minecraft Story Mode FLIGHT DATE: October 2015 – November 2015 CLIENT: Telltale Games FINAL STATS 36,640,925 Total media impressions 553 Total Domestic Market Area's (DMAs) 895 Stations reached 1,993 Total number of on-air mentions 2,479,540 Total estimated viewers...
Boohoo Back To School Campaign
PROMOTION: Boohoo Back to School Campaign FLIGHT DATE: August 2014 MEDIA PARTNERS: Daily Buzz, Daytime TV CLIENT: Boohoo PRIZING PARTNER: Boohoo provided 10 x $200 shopping sprees FINAL STATS (2) Contracted national morning shows Over 7.5 Million impressions Over 685,000 estimated viewers 6 total mentions 314 stations 275 markets...
|Since 1992 EMG has helped brands successfully navigate the waters of promotional advertising. Our world class network and knowledgeable staff allow clients to take full advantage of television, radio, online, retail, morning television, and other promotional opportunities not commonly available through other media firms or agencies. Our extensive menu of partnerships with major brands creates leverage with our media partners. Throughout our website you can see various examples of past projects for which our programs have proven to be an effective marketing asset.
EMAIL: email@example.com
Everywhere, but to be more exact...
1750 Ocean Park Blvd. Suite 204
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Most Recent Articles
Batman The Telltale Series National Comic Book Store Promotion
FLIGHT DATE: August 5th- September 6th, 2016
CLIENT: Telltale Games
MARKET PARTNERS: Comic book stores nationwide
PRIZE PARTNERS: MSI and Logitech
- (421) Comic book stores nationwide
- 18,945,000 Total impressions
Read More


text: Disc-oh! David Stewart Asheville I started going to raves in '94 in the Memphis warehouse scene. It was that super underground vibe where you'd call a number on the flyer that told you to meet the Cat in the Hat on the corner of something and something to get directions to the party and we'd get shut down at one place and move to another until they shut us down there and we'd go to another. I was a house head, mostly Chicago house ala Paul Johnson and Derrick Carter and the west coast stuff like Spun and Garth and the Wicked Crew, so when I started collecting records I naturally went to the house bins. I came across a speed garage tune, only one in the store, Waiting from the Dub Monsters and It's a London Thing (S. Garcia)on the flip. I was hooked and when they started putting 2-step remixes on the B-sides, Johnny 2 Badd was born. Since then I've always tried to stay ahead of what's going on in bass music while retaining a strong foundation in house music and am constantly bouncing back and forth as far as what has my attention at the moment. Super Star DJ Disco Dave Dynamite was the joke that garnered me the nickname Disco way before well before I ever played as Disc-Oh!, which get's it's spelling from the desire to come up in Google searches. Disc-oh!'s tracks Lurchfest Barnstorm 2015 Set by Disc-oh! published on 2015/09/10 04:21:53 +0000 Garage Sessions Vol. 1 by Disc-oh! published on 2015/03/25 16:04:20 +0000 Disc-Oh! - Live @ March 2014 Full Moon Gathering by Disc-oh! published on 2014/04/22 02:23:44 +0000 Disc-Oh! - Star Bwoy Walk 2011 Riddim Mix by Disc-oh! published on 2014/03/09 22:29:16 +0000 Disc-Oh! - WIFEY by Disc-oh! published on 2014/02/16 18:34:16 +0000


text:
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Industry News
[January 14, 2013]
Polycom to Report 4Q and Calendar Year 2012 Financial Results
Jan 14, 2013 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- Polycom, Inc., the global leader in open standards-based unified communications and collaboration, plans to report financial results on Wednesday, Jan. 23, for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31.
According to a release, financial results will be announced following the close of market, followed by a conference call and webcast at 5 p.m. EST, hosted by Andrew Miller, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Eric Brown, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer.
To participate from US/Canada, please call 1.800.707.8704, and outside US/Canada, please call 1.303.223.4360. The passcode for the call is Polycom. Polycom will also provide a live video webcast of the call on polycom.com.
For callers unable to attend, a replay of the call and webcast will be available. The replay number for US/Canada callers is 1.800.633.8284, and for callers outside US/Canada, 1.402.977.9140, using passcode 21643789. A replay of the webcast will be available on polycom.com/investors for approximately 12 months.
Polycom is a provider of unified communications and collaboration solutions.
((Comments on this story may be sent to firstname.lastname@example.com))
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text:
Power Cords Schucko Plug Socket Extension Cable Reel - Chinaprice: contact company for price
power cords, plug, extension cords, cable reel, plastic part, sockets in
east china-http://www.asianplug.com.
mainly to be the subsidiary of general using connectors series
(AC and DC), such as pc electronics products, household appliances,
dynamic tools, our products have got safety approval of UL, CUL
in U.S.A, VDE and GS in Germany, NF in France, IMQ in Italy, CSA
in Canada, SAA in Australia, also in other European countries,
as a specialized manufacturer of power cords, cord sets and
cable reels, we are devoting ourselves to exceed more competitive
products and high quality services to our customers around the world.
we have got ISO9002 quality system certificate, with sixteen years
professional experiences and achievements in this field, we believe
that the cooperation between you and us will benefit for both of us,
so if you are interested in our products, please feel free to contact
with us, we will give prompt reply for you any inquiry.
Power Cords Schucko Plug Socket Extension Cable Reel
Feel free to contact us with all your questions
Company Contact:
- Posted By: ZXG Electronics Group Co.,Ltd
- Phone: 8657466890298
- Address: 105, ningbo, China
- Email:
- Website: http://www.aaazxg.com
Published date: September 7, 2012 -
- Business Description: involved in international trade import export of goods, products, and services
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We are specialzed in exporting Ceiling light, Down light, Spot light, Energy saving lamp, Street light, LED bulb, flood light, LED street light, LED light, CFL, Work light, Halogen light, Project light, LED tube, Cabinet light, Panel light, Special l...
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text:
Ivan Touko Model
Mike Hodson PhotographyPhotographer Male Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
My Website: Mike Hodson Photography
Mayhem # 1281051
About MeI am a photographer based in Edmonton. I usually shoot weddings, family portraits and landscapes but I'm always looking to expand my portfolio.
I have shot some hair/fashion and would love to do more.
I can shoot on location (with or without lighting) or in a studio.
I also teach photography with the Canadian Photography Learning Centre.
I'd be willing to do some TFP if the situation is right, so if you're also looking to expand your portfolio, or want to collaborate on something, contact me and we'll talk.
Have you worked with Mike Hodson Photography? Add Credits for Mike Hodson Photography! >>
Ivan Touko Model
HelenRetou... Retoucher
Taichi Hatano Retoucher
Rasha Retoucher Retoucher
hakima noure Model
Theganjafa... Makeup Artist
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text:
Please select a location
To experience genuine Canadian Rockies hospitality, book your stay at Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre Jasper. Our full service resort style hotel features 152 spacious guest rooms and suites with the rustic charm you'd expect in Jasper National Park.
From our warm hospitality to authentic Canadian cuisine, Sawridge Inn provides a luxurious place for you to kick your feet up after exploring what Jasper has to offer.


text:
Kiss me, my Fool
Kiss me once,
Kill me twice,
Hold me close,
Remove all doubt.
Kiss me again,
Kill me tomorrow,
Hold me forever,
Choke the doubt.
Kiss me now,
Kill me always,
Hold me,
Choke me.
© Copyright 2017 Lex The Damned. All rights reserved.
Status: Finished
Genre: Poetry
Short Story / Other
Poem / Poetry
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