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Back at the helm of the Haitian Senate is former and now recently reappointed president, Senator Simon Dieuseul Desras. Desras had found himself on the outside of the senate last month when the terms for his and nine fellow senators had expired. Today, as Haiti slowly rebuilds its governmental bodies, the Haitian court has reinstated Senator Desras as the Senate President.

Senator Desras met the news with the statement that he'd won. His insistence was that his term, unlike that of the other dismissed senators and members of the lower house of deputies, was not for four years, but for six. As a lawmaker himself, well versed in the circumstances surrounding his mandate, he was able to have the dismissal of earlier this year overruled by the court, setting out his new mandate as senator until September of 2017. Today, the senatorship in Haiti stands at 11 with the reinstatement of Desras; yet, it will not affect the power of the nation's president to continue ruling by decree. In its capacity, the senate will really only be able to give voice to issues affecting the country, but will not be able to effect change by passing any laws.

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Haitian President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe were on hand to welcome the newly appointed Secretary General of the International Francophone Organization (OIF), Michaëlle Jean, to the post. Her appointment was decided in Dakar, Senegal, during the 15th staging of the Francophonie Summit held on Sunday, November 30.

Haitian-born Jean was a refugee when she traveled to Canada in 1968. There she would become a journalist and then take up the mantle as a statesperson and Governor General of Canada. Jean is expected to take on her new duties for the OIF in January of 2015, where she will continue her agenda to promote usage of the French language, and the economic fortifying of French-speaking countries, attributes expressed by President Martelly.

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In one of her first moves as a member of congress, Republican Mia Love has begun to distance herself from her Haitian roots. This news comes just weeks after Haitians celebrated alongside the first Black woman in the Republican party to achieve the feat of becoming a congresswoman. It seems Ms. Love is more attuned to her Mormon side than her Haitian-American roots.

Granted, Ms. Love has made no particular denouncement of the Haitian side of her heritage, her parents both being immigrants from the country, but her repeated references to herself as a Mormon woman has left the impression that is the facet of her past she wishes to acknowledge. It has left many of those who rose up to support her either on the fence or completely now on the other side. Apart from the round-about renouncement, Love's very religion will prove an alienating factor for Haitians, 80% of whom are Roman Catholic. It has also been said that many Haitians will not understand what a Mormon is. Some apparently believe it has something to do with the devil. It is also said that Love's parents were distressed when both she and her sister decided to follow that faith.

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Duvalier State Funeral not Happening. Ex-President Jean-Claude Duvalier, who died of a heart attack on October 4th, is not going to be honored with a state funeral, a relief to Haitian rights groups. A tweet President Martelly posted, saying Duvalier was an "authentic child of the country" caused a surge of fear to spread among the public a state funeral would be held for Duvalier, under whose rule tens of thousands of Haitians were massacred, tortured, abducted, or forced to flee for their lives. Migration of the country's professionals left Haiti bereft of its intelligentsia from which it has never recovered.

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Starting January 12, 2015, the Government of Michel Martelly has become de Facto. New we are being governed solely by the executive branch. No legislative, no judicial, the Martelly government is the only show in town.

On the other hand, the current Haitian Interim Prime Minister, Florence Duperval Guillaume, only has a few days left in this position. Under Haiti's constitution, she can only hold the interim position for up to 30 days before a permanent choice is approval by parliament.

At this point, Mr. Evans Paul must assume the position. There is no Haitian parliament able to ratify Mr. Paul as Prime Minister. He only has two options: reject the offer or accept to become a de facto Prime Minister.

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Jean-Claude Duvalier, the self proclaimed Haitian "President for Life" died from a heart attack on October 4th, 2014 at the age of 63. Duvalier, at the age of 19, inherited power from his father Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier and became the President of Haiti from 1971 to 1986. His regime is considered as one of the darkest, brutal and corrupt regime in Haiti. His father was a doctor (that is why his son was as known as 'Baby Doc') who was more ruthless and corrupt than his son. He established 'Noirisme' i.e., uniting the Haitian black majority with African roots against the mulatto elite in the country. Both father and son ruled the country with iron fists, clamping down on dissidents, crushing opposition, making own tyrannical rules and pocketing public money. His son Duvalier had extensively used a secret police force named 'Tonton Macoutes' which was heavily accused of torturing, kidnapping, and killing up to 30,000 political opponents during the 1960s and 1970s.

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Jean-Claude Duvalier (also known as Baby Doc) who presided over Haiti for 15 years between 1971 and 1986, has died on Saturday October 4, 2014, from a heart attack at the home of a friend in Port-au-Prince where he had been staying. His administration was widely acknowledged as one of the most brutal and corrupt regime that Haiti has ever had. He used to call himself "president for life" but his lavish lifestyle and tyrannical 15-year rule sparked a massive uprising that overthrown and sent him into exile in France for a quarter century. In 1971, he became the world's youngest president at the age of 19 when his father Francois Duvalier suddenly died of an illness and he inherited power from his father. Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier was a medical doctor who turned into a ruthless dictator, far more than his son who was less violent and less repressive than his father. The senior Duvalier was infamous for 'Noirisme' that advocates total control of the state apparatus by black representatives with African roots. It is one kind of racial redefinition of national identity as opposed to multiculturalism and it dictates to respect the African traditions only.

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Sometimes, when one is living inside the glass, it is hard to see that it is as much half full as it is half empty. It then takes the insight of an outsider to help us put things into perspective.

Wesley Clark, a retired US General, gave a recent interview in which he stated his love for the country of Haiti, and his high hopes for its future. Clark said that all the country needed, after being so heavily devastated five years ago by the earthquake which killed hundreds of thousands, and left well over a million homeless, was resources and help from those in a position to lift the country and its people out of poverty. This, he said, could be done by providing assistance to set up infrastructure and other services.

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It is now confirmed that Evans Paul has been nominated by President Michel Martelly to become the next Prime Minister of Haiti. The nomination was done on Thursday December 25, 2014. He now must be confirmed by both chambers of parliament before he can actually put his government together

If approved, Evans Paul will replace Florence Duperval Guillaume who was named interim prime minister less than a week ago after Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe was forced to resign

If ratified, how Evans Paul will work with Fanmi Lavalas of Jean Bertrand Aristide? He is a former ally of Aristide.

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President Martelly appointed Minister of Public Health and Population (MPHP) , Florence Guillaume, as provisional prime minister, substituting for recently deposed Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe. The appointment, it is hoped, will help quell violent uprisings besieging Haiti in recent weeks over the held-back elections pending since 2011.

The Haitian Constitution permits the holding of an interim position for as long as 30 days. By the end of the 30-day period, a permanent prime minister must be approved by Parliament or else it will collapse, allowing Martelly to rule by presidential decree. Lamothe was forced to exit office upon the Consultative Commission's recommendation he resign, which Martelly accepted and Lamothe agreed to, to avert further political upheavals. The U.S. and the U.N. also put pressure on Haiti, fearful whatever gains the country has made over nearly five years would be negated by the country's destabilization.The crisis in Haiti has come to a head. Elections must be held by January 11th, or else the government will be a non-functional body until presidential elections occur much later in 2015.

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