I have to say, I forgot she had it in her. This brought a smile to my face. An exhausted Secretary of State Clinton who was learning of all the horrific and despicable ways the Congolese where treating women, girls and boys. One really can't blame her for getting testy. Not to mention the fact that even though she is still the most powerful woman in the world, people are still asking her what men think.
This women is not baking cookies, she's trying to make serious policy. I do feel sorry for the translator and the student, but it sure is great to see the original Hillary back! Now if only she will remain.
Showing posts with label women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women. Show all posts
August 11, 2009
February 23, 2009
Three Cups of Tea and Hillary
Americans want to do business upfront, then maybe they will find time for a bit of pleasure. This is because most are impatient and want the deal done. The priority is to do the work, then relax and get to know the people across the aisle or maybe not.
Knowing the other is more often than not a U.S. mission. Alternatively, most countries spend hours, days, months and sometimes even years getting to know another party before establishing trust, only then can the real work be done and, I might add, that relationship will usually last a lifetime.
In his book, Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson outlines how learning this enabled him to make incredible strides in Pakistan. Apparently our new Secretary of State has learned it as well.
As news stories and blogs analyze Hillary's style as a cross between stern diplomat and cultural inquisitor who is redefining the role of Secretary of State, field experts like myself are wondering why this type of diplomacy took so long!
I, for one, was completely unsure of Hillary in this job. I did not like her campaign's hawkish rhetoric. Quite frankly the world has had enough of Americans shoving self-interested policy down their throats.
I am now tentatively saying that Hillary may actually know what it takes. A firm stance with honesty and relationship building gets you a lot further internationally than the use of any weapon ever did or ever will.
Dare I say Hillary may be at least one member of this Administration who is truly implementing the change in strategy that more than a few foreign policy experts have spent a long time hoping for. Let's see.
Knowing the other is more often than not a U.S. mission. Alternatively, most countries spend hours, days, months and sometimes even years getting to know another party before establishing trust, only then can the real work be done and, I might add, that relationship will usually last a lifetime.
In his book, Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson outlines how learning this enabled him to make incredible strides in Pakistan. Apparently our new Secretary of State has learned it as well.
As news stories and blogs analyze Hillary's style as a cross between stern diplomat and cultural inquisitor who is redefining the role of Secretary of State, field experts like myself are wondering why this type of diplomacy took so long!
I, for one, was completely unsure of Hillary in this job. I did not like her campaign's hawkish rhetoric. Quite frankly the world has had enough of Americans shoving self-interested policy down their throats.
I am now tentatively saying that Hillary may actually know what it takes. A firm stance with honesty and relationship building gets you a lot further internationally than the use of any weapon ever did or ever will.
Dare I say Hillary may be at least one member of this Administration who is truly implementing the change in strategy that more than a few foreign policy experts have spent a long time hoping for. Let's see.
October 7, 2008
Tricia on the Laura Flanders Show
Me and Robert Fisk on GritTV! Check it out.
GRITtv with Laura Flanders airs Mon-Thurs, at 8pm & 1 am ET, on Free Speech TV (DISH Network ch. 9415), on public stations and online at www.grittv.org
GRITtv with Laura Flanders airs Mon-Thurs, at 8pm & 1 am ET, on Free Speech TV (DISH Network ch. 9415), on public stations and online at www.grittv.org
August 27, 2008
The H Factor: Could Hillary Clinton save Women?
Like most political wonks, I’m spending my week watching the Democratic National Convention and, like most Obama supporters, I am tired of hearing all the hoopla around Hillary Clinton. After all, whose convention is this anyway? It is certainly not hers, but in true Clinton fashion she is not opposed in the least to having the spotlight shine directly on her.
Let us be clear. Although she gave Obama a run for his money, she is not the candidate. He is. And furthermore, you can bet that if the shoe were on the other foot, Clinton would give Obama walking papers. My gut tells me she’d no sooner have Obama on the stage than George W. Bush himself. I wonder if America would be shouting out and sending delegates to vote for him – doubtful.
I completely understand that there is a group of women out there who think that putting her in the White House is somehow going to be the nail that shatters the glass ceiling, but I’m sorry to say they are wrong. Hillary Clinton is no more going to get women equal standing in the world than the Taliban.
Despite the fact that women have risen to be CEOs of PepsiCo, Avon, Xerox, Hewlett-Packard and other companies, their women employees are still making seventy cents on the dollar. Not one of these CEOs ‘saved’ women.
Martha or Operah haven’t cracked that glass and neither have the notable Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Condi Rice. And although the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is third in line for the Presidency, her aspirations to help women gain more power in Congress are consistently undermined by men.
So, if all these amazing women can’t, as Hillary supporters say, “give us our due,” what makes us think Hillary can? Just having a woman in the White House will not solve all our ills. That is something, all women and, dare I say men, are going to have to do together.
Our first steps should be to ensure that as we gain power we bring women with us, as we gain authority we must ensure women get equal benefits and pay, as we gain influence we need to educate men on how important women’s contributions are in all areas.
We must also be accountable to ourselves and each other making sure we do not discriminate against women with children, women who have gaps in their lives because they nursed a loved one and women who missed work time because of their own trials with poverty or illness.
It is ‘we the women’ who need to band together in order to ensure that our everyday actions persuade our husbands, daughters, sons and selves to ‘give us our due’ never allowing our future to be reliant on one person or in this case one woman.
No doubt Hillary should be congratulated on her accomplishments. Her everyday trials of working in a male dominated Congress should never be diminished. We women however should not allow her minor defeat to deter us. We should alternatively embrace it, use it and move forward never allowing it to consume us and overlook the momentous success of another.
Let us be clear. Although she gave Obama a run for his money, she is not the candidate. He is. And furthermore, you can bet that if the shoe were on the other foot, Clinton would give Obama walking papers. My gut tells me she’d no sooner have Obama on the stage than George W. Bush himself. I wonder if America would be shouting out and sending delegates to vote for him – doubtful.
I completely understand that there is a group of women out there who think that putting her in the White House is somehow going to be the nail that shatters the glass ceiling, but I’m sorry to say they are wrong. Hillary Clinton is no more going to get women equal standing in the world than the Taliban.
Despite the fact that women have risen to be CEOs of PepsiCo, Avon, Xerox, Hewlett-Packard and other companies, their women employees are still making seventy cents on the dollar. Not one of these CEOs ‘saved’ women.
Martha or Operah haven’t cracked that glass and neither have the notable Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Condi Rice. And although the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is third in line for the Presidency, her aspirations to help women gain more power in Congress are consistently undermined by men.
So, if all these amazing women can’t, as Hillary supporters say, “give us our due,” what makes us think Hillary can? Just having a woman in the White House will not solve all our ills. That is something, all women and, dare I say men, are going to have to do together.
Our first steps should be to ensure that as we gain power we bring women with us, as we gain authority we must ensure women get equal benefits and pay, as we gain influence we need to educate men on how important women’s contributions are in all areas.
We must also be accountable to ourselves and each other making sure we do not discriminate against women with children, women who have gaps in their lives because they nursed a loved one and women who missed work time because of their own trials with poverty or illness.
It is ‘we the women’ who need to band together in order to ensure that our everyday actions persuade our husbands, daughters, sons and selves to ‘give us our due’ never allowing our future to be reliant on one person or in this case one woman.
No doubt Hillary should be congratulated on her accomplishments. Her everyday trials of working in a male dominated Congress should never be diminished. We women however should not allow her minor defeat to deter us. We should alternatively embrace it, use it and move forward never allowing it to consume us and overlook the momentous success of another.
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