So much drug money was at stake in the power struggle that culminated in Mr. Aristide’s departure that Bruce Bagley, a professor at the University of Miami who has studied drug trafficking in Haiti, called the rebellion “basically a narco-coup.”

“The battle was over who is going to control the drug trafficking and the profits of the drug trade,” he said.

In fact it is possible that Aristide himself will be indicted for drug trafficking. Here is the full story. Here is more on Aristide and drugs.

The bottom line: Haitian politics no longer has a viable state at all, just various gangs, mostly in hock to the drug trade.

If Daniel Sumner’s actions be treason, as some of his critics contend, then he is glad the most has been made of it.

Sumner, an agricultural economist at the University of California at Davis, played a key role in an international trade case that is shaping up as one of the most significant defeats the United States has ever suffered on the trade front. An analysis that he wrote helped frame a preliminary decision issued two weeks ago by a World Trade Organization panel, which held that the federal subsidies paid to U.S. cotton farmers violate WTO rules because they cause overproduction, drive down world prices and impoverish farmers in developing countries.

Since Sumner served as a paid consultant for Brazil, which brought the case against Washington, he is being reviled as a traitor by some U.S. farmers. Leaders of some farm groups, furious at Sumner for helping a foreign government win a victory that could end agricultural subsidies in their current form, are vowing to retaliate by cutting off funding for other work that he does.

Here is the full story.

The cotton lobby has called the research “unethical,” noting that it was produced in a state university. Sumner’s Dean questioned his judgment in doing the work. And Sumner himself?

“What is this, the mafia or something? Think of it as a criminal case, and one side says, ‘We’ll put pressure on this guy not to participate.’ That’s not right, is it?”

Here is a brief bio of Sumner, to whom I offer my plaudits.

Some evidence indicates yes:

“It’s not like there’s a massive boycott,” said Miller. “Instead, it seems to be an erosion of support. It’s not falling off the face of the earth, but it is clearly a warning sign for brands.”

NOP found the popularity and consumption of US products had declined for the first time since the research programme was launched in 1998.

Until 2002, NOP found that brands such as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola were notching up healthy annual growth in terms of use and familiarity in international markets.

However, last year NOP discovered that the growth in popularity of all major consumer brands – including those from Europe and Asia – had stalled. Over the past 12 months the positive trend has gone into reverse, with US products hardest hit.

NOP found that the number of non-American consumers who “trust” Coca-Cola had fallen from 55% to 52%, while McDonald’s rating had slipped from 36% to 33%, Nike’s from 56% to 53% and Microsoft had fallen from 45% to 39%.

When people were asked about brands associated with “honesty”, Coca-Cola was found to have declined from 18% to 15%, McDonald’s from 19% to 14%, Nike from 14% to 11% and Microsoft from 18% to 12%.

The total number of consumers worldwide who “use” US brands was found to have fallen from 30% to 27%, while non-American brands remained stable at 24%.

The NOP annual study covers 30,000 people in markets around the world, and the latest survey was conducted between January and March – a period marked by the growing crisis in Iraq.

It also found the decline in interest and respect for US products was reflected in consumers’ view of American cultural values.

The percentage of consumers that believed honesty was an important attribute of American culture was found to be below 50% in a number of major markets such as France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Turkey.

In Germany, only 31% of consumers believed honesty was an American cultural attribute and in Saudi Arabia just 23% thought so.

While consumers in Muslim countries such as Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia were found to be least likely to share American cultural values, NOP also found people in a number of major European markets felt their own values were significantly different to American ones.

Compared with consumers in countries such as Venezuela, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brazil and Australia – over 75% of whom say they share American values – just 65% of UK consumers say they share US values.

If a bottle of coke is branded by the Coke name, we should not be surprised if “Coke” is branded by the international reputation of the United States. Above a certain level of income, at least half of our discretionary consumption is driven by the desire to affiliate and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and what we are doing.