Le merveilleux gazon du Palais National…The pristine lawn of the National Palace

Ok, you’ve all seen the aerial and sattelite “before and  after” shots of the broken down National Palace…but did any of you notice that there isn’t not even one seoul trempling upon its pristine lawn…everyone is kept at bay on the other side of the 12 foot fence. The Champ-de-Mars next door is overcrowded with survivors and so are the other public areas around those government complexes. But definitely NOT “le gazon”…why not? Mr Preval, what better public relations coup you could have made by opening the gates to your delapidated “palace” and let some folks pitch a couple of hundred tents right there for the world to see and admire. You could even have directed that the American and French contingents be at opposite ends of the yard to minimize international assistance good will gone bad and CNN could befinitely use some new stock footage for their 24/7 coverage – enough pictures of bodies already! But you know, I do remember rather fondly as an elementary school student having to practive for days on end for the big “sport” demonstration parade in front of Papa Doc of all people…right there on that hollowed ground of the “presidential” palace lawn which may have been the way we refered to it back then…yes, I’ll admit, I was scared to death and filled with anticipation all at the same time setting foot on that manicured “gazon” even if for only a fleeting moment now so long ago. You see, I had to walk pass that fence on my way to and from school from 21 Avenue N to St Louis de Gonzague twice daily, a trip I managed to get down to exactly 30 minutes on foot…often times trying not to get caught by the playing of the national anthem at the exact hour of 8 every morning…for everyone within a 1 km radius of the palace who had to of course stand at attention during the entire rendition and mouth the words…well, this would of course cut down on the amout of time one had left for playing in the school yard prior to having to line up at the sounding of the bell…

Project on hold for Alternative Spring Break Haiti…

OK folks…unless you’ve been living under a very large rock…you by now know what happened to Haiti on 12 January…the Alternative Spring Break Haiti project is officially on hold since the country would most likely sink to the bottom of the Caribbean Sea if one more group where to arrive to try to help…We’ll be sure to let you know when we kick everything back into gear…
In the mean time…I will be blogging about general observations I have been making about the overall situation and relief efforts in particular…so stay tuned. Phil A.

A week in the life of Haiti Cherie Internationally supported project just six months away…

“A Week In The Life Of Haiti Cherie” Internationally Supported Project Just Six Months Away

Released on: August 17, 2009, 12:48 am
Author: Paul Philippe Anglade
Industry: Travel

“A week in the life of Haiti Cherie” internationally supported project just six months away.

Seoul, South Korea – August 17, 2009 – Today marks the six months point from the launching of “A week in the life of Haiti Cherie” the photo book and school project slated for Haiti.

More than 20 international photographers and photojournalists have volunteered to travel to Haiti in order to document all aspects of Haitian life for one week and produce a large format volume as a testament to Haiti.

“This is going to be the most talked about photo book on Haiti ever” predicts the project founder and current program manager Phil Anglade. “We have been planning this for more than 10 years and to see it finally come about is truly gratifying” The international photographers and photojournalists who will be contributing their time and effort to the project are from Hungary, Taiwan, France, Estonia, The Netherlands, Thailand, Israel, South Africa, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, Venezuela, Korea, USA and of course Haiti…to name a few. They will travel to every corner of Haiti and truly experience Haitian life before, during and after Carnival 2010.

A documentary film entitled “Behind the scene of Haiti Cherie” will also be produced with support from various universities and media professionals.

A full week of activities is envisioned starting with a mega musical performance by various artists and numerous other activities throughout the week and ending with the ground breaking ceremony for the school.

The “Haiti Cherie” photography and media production school will offer a wide variety of courses to equip under privilege young adults with marketable skills they will in turn be able to use in order to support themselves.

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Contact Details: Paul Philippe “Phil” Anglade
weekinhaiti@gmail.com
PSC 450 Box 435
APO, AP 96206
Ph: +8210-6696-8323,
Skype: angladep
website: http://members.tripod.com/~HaitiPhoto/

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Spring is almost over…

Yes, spring and spring break along with it are almost over…now is the time to start planning for next year…contact us if you have any questions.

http://sites.google.com/site/alternativespringbreakhaiti/

Where exactly is Haiti again?

Paris Confused Over Her Namesake
September 28, 2006 at 8:12 AM
Paris Hilton’s back–to reassert her idiocy as a world traveler. Popsugar reports the Ms. Hilton signed up to shill for a line of new “eco-friendly” bags. For every bag purchased, the company plants a tree in a needy area.
The company turned to Paris, in hopes she would accompany them on a trip to Port-Au-Prince to plant 40,000 trees next month. Apparently, when Paris was told about the trip, “she had no idea where Haiti was.” Well, of course, there are poor people there (gasp!). When told the country is primarily French speakers, Paris replied with, “I wouldn’t mind spending a few days there and a weekend in Paris.”
No word on whether our favorite clueless heiress is still hawking for the line or not.
http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/9/27/105215/707/travel/Paris+Confused+Over+Her+Namesake

Only two weeks to go…

There are only two weeks to go before the official start of the 2009 spring break season…make your travel plans now and take into account the opportunities to volunteer during your week in Haiti…

contact alternativespringbreakhaiti@gmail.com

http://sites.google.com/site/alternativespringbreakhaiti/

Web site is up and running

http://sites.google.com/site/alternativespringbreakhaiti/

The “speech” – you’ve heard it, now it’s time to take action…

Below is the full transcript as prepared for delivery of President Barack Obama’s inaugural remarks on Jan. 20, 2009, at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land – a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many.

They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted – for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things – some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions – that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions – who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them – that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works – whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account – to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day – because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control – and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart – not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort – even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West – know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.

We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment – a moment that will define a generation – it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends – hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism – these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility – a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence – the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed – why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

“Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Strategies for Finding Cheap Airfares in 2009

 

Sign Up for Deal Newsletters and Price Alerts

by Molly Feltner, SmarterTravel.com Staff – January 19, 2009
You can find great deals the same way we at Smarter Travel do: by signing up to receive airfare sale emails from the airlines and other providers. “These days, good deals are gobbled up quickly. By signing up for newsletters and alerts, consumers can make sure that they are the first to know about the latest and greatest travel deals,” says Clem Bason, vice president of merchandizing for Hotwire.

Not only will you find out about general sales, you may also gain access to exclusive subscriber-only sales. “Sign up for every airline’s newsletters and frequent flyer programs, and reap the rewards of promo code fares,” says George Hobica, founder of Smarter Travel’s sister-site Airfarewatchdog.com. “These are the real bargains now as airlines attempt to drive traffic to their websites.”

Besides sale and promo code emails, you can also register for customized emails from sites that monitor prices on specific routes and alert you to pricing trends. These sites may help you decide the best time to buy fares. In my opinion, Farecast’s alert service is the most reliable such tool out there, although it doesn’t work for some smaller airports.

Number of college and university students in the US and Canada?

Can anyone guess as to the numbers of college and university students in the US and Canada?
Whatever that number, I would like to suggest that 1/100th of 1 % consider spending their spring break in Haiti this year…do you think that is asking too much?