From Kabul & Abuja to Washington, DC, corruption is the super-rich's operating system -- & calamity results. Only together can we curb it.
Paw Paw, WV
Joined December 2014
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Outside of my usual lane -- but you'll be seeing more of this from me. Those who love the natural world, PLEASE trouble to take your trash out with you. I walk and swim rivers too, and am heartbroken to see how we treat them. washingtonpost.com/opinions/…
U.S. officials mulling how to deal with Taliban going forward? Here's a thought: Narcotics kingpin designations. (Would have been equally valid for Pres. Karzai's brother.) spytalk.co/p/taliban-include…
Thanks, Nancy. What I didn't have time to get into was how the corruption and failure we fostered in the Afghan government mirrors our own. 2 lost wars, econ. meltdown, opioid epidemic...all of whose authors have gained wealth and honor despite catastrophic policies.
Wow. The piece on @TheWorld today about Afghanistan takes no prisoners. @Sarah_Chayes lays out some brutal truths.
Sarah Chayes retweeted
President Biden's urge for global cooperation on climate at the #UNGA rings a little hollow when the US is still set to unleash a 'climate bomb' of fracked gas on countries around the world.
gwitness.org/2PYwPBE
Then there's this: meforum.org/62656/abraham-ac…. Note: Dems. excel at this conversion-of-gvt.-job-into-portfolio-earnings trick, too.
Remember when we told you we had questions about Steven Mnuchin starting an investment fund right after leaving office? Oh, and that he took a $300,000 taxpayer funded trip to the same area he was seeking funding from? Well look at this 👉nytimes.com/2021/09/20/us/po…
Sarah Chayes retweeted
Say what you like about blockchain technology, it appears to make ballot box stuffing immeasurably more efficient.
Sarah Chayes retweeted
A new law in Maine aims to take the cost burden of recycling away from taxpayers to manufacturers. One environmental advocate said the change could be “transformative.” Many nations with similar laws have seen their recycling rates soar.
Sarah Chayes retweeted
1 billion tons GHGs was underreported by countries with large oil & gas industries over the past 5 years. And another billion tons was uncounted by other countries that don't regularly report oil & gas sector emissions fastcompany.com/90677559/thi… @algore @ClimateTRACE @RockyMtnInst
Sarah Chayes retweeted
Saw this great tree up close once. It is magnificent. The walk to the tree was a moving experience. This is awful.
This is what dystopian climate breakdown looks like. The General Sherman is the World's largest tree. It has seen 100s of human generations come and go. Now wrapped in a blanket, in a fight for life, as protection from invading wildfires. Below is my recent visit for @CBSMornings
This is the same Mike Pompeo responsible for the Doha Agreement that essentially handed Afghanistan over to the Taliban...so they'd allow us to withdraw? Why couldn't we just withdraw? What else got exchanged? Americans: Afghanistan is a mirror. Let's look b/f it's too late
The more we find out about Mike Pompeo’s tenure as Secretary of State, the more ethically concerning it gets. citizensforethics.org/report…
Life inside Afghanistan is exceedingly hard. I am trying to gather some financial support for half a dozen families I've known for more than a decade. This is medicine-dropper work, but it matters: gofundme.com/f/economic-reli…
Please see my "Resources" post for latest on ways to help Afghans, and some news from the ground. It's #2 in this series -- can't get Twitter to post the latest version.
sarahchayes.org/blog-1
If Washington wants freedom of movement for Afghans, then pressure on Pakistan is needed. Everyone I know is confirming it is nearly impossible to cross the land borders.
I am ashamed to have to say that this case study in corruption American style is my senator. D. Party: stop courting Joe Manchin. typeinvestigations.org/inves…
CORRECTION to my earlier tweet re rift between southern (Quetta Shura) Taliban and EASTERN (not western -- don't know why I keep doing that) Haqqanis. Haqqanis, based in far eastern Afghanistan and across the Pak. border enjoy close support from Pak mil. intelligence (ISI).
Sarah Chayes retweeted
100% of Americans have opinions about the government and yet...
Just 56% of Americans can name all three branches of government — and that's actually a 15-year high (!!!) studyfinds.org/knowledge-the…
Development finance turns out to be yet another revenue stream for corrupt governments. World Bank and IFC not especially careful.
This independent report on data irregularities in the World Bank's Doing Business indicators has to be read to be believed. The extent to which the highest levels of Bank leadership were involved is stunning: thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc…
From Afghanistan:
* Techtonic rift bet. southern and western Taliban factions still shooting lava. Mullah Baradar (dep. PM) reportedly shot and wounded by rivals.
* Western (Haqqani) branch on top for now, & favored by ISI.