Haiti: WTF?

yeah, i just heard about that governor thing---cynical politicking, you think?

Yep. He's an anti-abortion Dem too, I believe which I'm guessing factored in of course.

Where has Preval been news stories now happening. He just finally spoke to the press again. Haiti can't win, the US govt. tossed the prior charismatic leader for being a commie sympathiser troublemaker and now the quiet technocrat prez doesn't grab the spotlight. Although with all the destruction of government buildings it would be hard for him to do so even if he wanted to (possibly doable but harder).

HuffPo says:

The earthquake that hit Haiti, by the numbers:

THE EARTHQUAKE

_ Magnitude-7.0 at 4:53 p.m. EST (2153 GMT) on Jan. 12

_ Aftershocks: 56 of magnitude-4.5 or greater.

THE TOLL

_ Bodies recovered: 150,000 (includes 54 Americans, 44 Europeans)

_ Estimated dead: 200,000
Story continues below

_ Rescued from collapsed buildings: 134

_ Injured: 194,000.

_ Children who are unaccompanied, orphaned or lost one parent: 1 million

_ People enduring amputations or other surgery: 200,000.

THE DISPLACED

_ Homeless: 1 million.

_ Living in makeshift camps: 700,000-800,000

_ Tents needed for homeless: 200,000 family-size.

_ People who have fled Port-au-Prince for the countryside: 236,000.

THE DAMAGE AND THE NEED

_ Structures destroyed: 70 percent in broad areas of the capital; 90 percent in towns closer to the epicenter.

_ Schools destroyed or badly damaged: 90 percent throughout the capital.

_ People who need food aid: 2 million

_ People receiving food aid: 400,000

THE RESPONSE

Backlog of planes waiting to land at the airport: 800-1,000.

Flights landing per day: About 140.

U.S. military: About 20,000 troops, 18 ships.

U.N. peacekeeping troops and police: 12,500

Donations: More than $1 billion from governments, including $575 million from Europe and $316 million from U.S. government, in addition to $470 million in donations through private U.S. charities.

___

Sources include the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, U.S. Geological Survey; European Commission Monitoring and Information Center; U.S. Agency for International Development; International Organization for Migration; U.S. Department of Defense; The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Save the Children.

If only they'd used condoms.

link?

xp to stevie

Oh sorry http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20100126/cb-haiti-earthquake-glance/

And yeah, that Paul Shirley thing which I don't even think I should bother getting upset about.

http://www.flipcollective.com/2010/01/26/if-you-rebuild-it-they-will-come-by-paul-shirley/

What is alarming, I think, is the sometimes illogical frenzy toward casting those affected by the earthquake as helpless, innocent souls who were placed on the island of Hispaniola by an invisible force.

lol slavery

_ Bodies recovered: 150,000 (includes 54 Americans, 44 Europeans)

Parsing and phrasing stats like this always bugs the shit out of me

54 Americans, 44 Europeans and 149,000 negroes

glad ppl are getting mad about that shirley article. I know we'd much rather ignore these ppl but we don't need people with these opinions having any kind of profile or credibility. We talked abt it on i love hoops last night too fwiw

Sincerely,

The Rest of the World

EXCUSE ME, BUDDY?

“Unfortunately, [Haiti]’s government was not in a position to really do much to prepare for the inevitable large earthquake, leaving tens of thousands to suffer the consequences.”

The sentiment expressed is one of outrage at the government. But, ultimately, the people in a country have control over their government. One could argue that in totalitarian regimes, they do not have much control, but in the end, it is their government. And therefore, their responsibility. If the government is not doing enough for the people, it is the people’s responsibility to change the government. Not the other way around.

this guy is really dumb. or, rather, incurious and uninformed about how gov't works in places like Haiti. i don't think he's a monster, but he reeks of dorm room libertarianism.

so otm, ive read his awful writing occasionally but last night i realized why he's the worst - obv a libertarian

_ Bodies recovered: 150,000 (includes 54 Americans, 44 Europeans)

Parsing and phrasing stats like this always bugs the shit out of me

^^I felt the same way when I read that

There's help on the way:

International Planned Parenthood Capitalizing on Haiti Earthquake with New Fundraiser (from some anti-choice news site).

Within a day of the disaster, IPPF had sent out an appeal letter, seeking “urgent” support for their Haitian affiliate PROFAMIL. IPPF, the world's largest abortion provider, claims that funds are needed in order to restore “basic medical services” at the PROFAMIL clinics. According to their letter, PROFAMIL has operated since 1984, providing “low-cost, quality sexual and reproductive healthcare.”

mad kudos to ESPN IMO

reconcile the irreconcilable: "god i wish these poor savages would stop having babies v. so-called reproductive healthcare is just a way to massacre unborn children!!!"

xp what they fired him?

Yeah, it's on the HuffPo link.

good on them

the part of me that feeds on my own indignant rage is perversely hoping that some conservative idiots take up paul shirley as some kind of str8 talkin folk hero, just so i can see him (and the view he represents) excoriated in a more public sphere

dear jon stewart pls make an example of this tool

honestly he's not even worth it. dude had a column on literally the worst part of espn.com that no one ever goes to, and i think only serious nba fans even know who he is.

yeah the views are worth condemning but shirley is a nobody who just deserved to lose his freelance job

Shirley had some of the worst music reviews in that ESPN slot as well, the guy was the worst kind of tool: the kind that thinks he's a genius. The Haiti article he wrote sounds like someone losing his mind.

sorry history of Major League Baseball in Haiti:

http://www.counterpunch.org/damu01222010.html

Words fail:

According to E! Online, Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie are spearheading a 25th anniversary re-recording of the star-speckled, Michael Jackson- and Lionel Richie-penned hit “We Are The World,” with proceeds going toward Haiti relief. In what's presumably an accidental echo of Pat Robertson, Jones is quoted in the piece saying, “It's the 25th anniversary and it's perfect timing … It's not an accident, man. That's God. It will be 'We Are The World' for Haiti."

The report says writer and director Paul Haggis will most likely film a recording session of the song on Monday. And the Showbiz blog at The Hollywood Reporter says the recording of the song was pushed to Monday to capitalize on the star talent lingering in Los Angeles the day after the Grammy Awards. Originally, the planned anniversary recording was to take place today.

The talent list so far includes Usher, Natalie Cole, and John Legend, yet Jones was hesitant to reveal more until names are set in stone. But you can bet the “Hope For Haiti Now” performers are invited.

~barf~

So will Prince show up?

haiti at this point doesn't really need more $$$, it needs people caring about the actual structural issues that created the situation there in the first place, and which will continue to shape its future for the foreseeable future. celebrity fundraisers and the like are great for raising awareness and cash, but unless they somehow convince the american public that we should

a) forgive haiti's debt
b) allow a massive influx of immigrants
c)...other stuff

then most of what we do from now on (now that PIH and MSF et al have received loads of cash) isn't going to help ~that~ much

(sorry, HAITI needs money, but most of the aid orgs are in pretty good shape)

oh god the segment anderson cooper just did on childhood servitude & the earthquake was so, so heartbreaking

What is going on with dying patients not being able to come to US hospitals because the Florida Republican governor want the feds to pay for the expenses and according to him the feds won't.

hadn't heard about that---was under the impression that pts weren't allowed to come up to the states due to immigration issues

in other news: my friend B's Haitian boyfriend is back in the states safe and sound. i had really thought he was gonna be there for months, so this was a happy turn of events

How about them Christian baby stealers eh?

was under the impression that pts weren't allowed to come up to the states due to immigration issues

― avatar 2: the na'vi ending story (gbx), Monday, February 1, 2010

That's what I had first heard also. But then they seemed to bend the rules slightly and allowed some patients (whose info they were carefully keeping track of, so they can send 'em back) to go to Florida hospitals. I wish the Feds would just step up and pay for it---they can carefully monitor the folks and then send 'em back when they have recovered (since politically they have to do that to prevent a mass exodus that's not conducted legally via immigration rules). The problem is that in some Haitian hospitals there's not enough room for both surgery, incoming patients, and recovering patients. Germ and disease-wise, it's not good to have all these groups together.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/world/americas/01airlift.html?th&emc=th

They seem to have worked things out:

from the NYT article-

The White House said patients were being identified for transfer and evaluated by doctors to ensure that they can handle the flights. In addition, the White House said that the government was arranging for in-flight care for children in need, and that Florida was designating which hospitals could receive the influx of patients. Mr. Vietor said the flights would probably evacuate “a couple hundred of the most severely injured patients.”

Ultimately, though, evacuations are not a long-term solution to the problem. Dr. Barth A. Green, co-founder of Project Medishare for Haiti, a nonprofit group that has been evacuating patients, said the American government has decided to create “a world-class trauma hospital” at the Port-au-Prince airport along with private relief groups. At the same time, a 250-bed hospital for post-operative care and rehabilitation will be completed, and after that a second 250-bed facility for rehabilitation.

“Things are the way they should be again,” he said. “We’re in sync. We are going to show Haiti what we are capable of.”

i've avoided the rush limbaugh-type comments on the haiti situation. until now, when my sister-in-law had a five-minute meltdown:

• we need to help haiti now, but we've helped them enough;
• we've been pouring money into haiti since before 1900, and it's never helped;
• the courty's leaders are corrupt;
• they killed all the white people after slavery was abolished;
• there was a shameful media frenzy when pres. clinton visited;
• the capital is a "s--thole," all b/c of the people's innate characteristics/behaviors.

barf

now i'm looking for material online to investigate her "points." i'm sure i won't bother discussing it with her, but now i'm motivated to read up on the subject. any tips/links to useful websites appreciated.

oh no, they killed their oppressors! truly unheard-of levels of savagery.

Daniel

I read Ned Sublette's e-mail newsletter. He wrote books including Cuba and Its Music(which also discusses Haiti)and the Year Before the Flood (one of 2 books about New Orleans he has written) and he just mentioned "Laurent Dubois's book Avengers of the New World, which besides presenting the clearest explanation of the twists and turns of the Haitian Revolution is a model of how to write history for a general reader" . Dubois also teaches at Duke and his syllabus might be online. There are several other books out about Haiti.

Here's a recent op-ed that summarizes some of Haiti's history

http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/civil-religion/economy/2010/01/haitian-history-beyond-robertson-and-limbaugh/

thanks! finally stopped fuming about my sister-in-law's comments. read a few articles, which led me to two books about haiti that i'm buying. the article you linked to is fascinating. i'm especially curious about the link between IMF loans -- and the opening of markets they force as consideration for the loan -- and the damage done to haiti's agricultural system. the video link embedded in the article hopefully will provide more detail on that topic.

As I understand it, some blame the economic policies forced on Haiti to get them out of debt with messing up the local economy and sending farmers and others out of rural areas into P o P. Forests and such got stripped and destroyed by desperate Haitians and environmental and economic problems accelerated.

^^^^haven't read the article yet (thanks!), but my impression has been that IMF/WB bailouts have generally lead to devastating economic policies.

this is a vague and probably inaccurate take, but from what i understand: Haiti (and other poor countries) get loan money, with heavy strings attached. generally those involve a) conversion to an export economy and b) lowering of tariffs on foreign imports. if a country doesn't have much in the way of exportable resources, it will "export" its labor by allowing foreign companies to manufacture in-country. the situation can then get so lop-sided to the point where imported food is considerably cheaper than what is produced locally, and arable land is devoted to either commercial products (tobacco, cotton, sugar) or the meanest subsistence. export/service economies produce the trade that is necessary to pay down loan balances, but not at a rate or amplitude to make any progress. superimpose gov't corruption and mismanagement, and the debt gets even larger.

...but i'm cribbing that from, like, naomi klein and other lefties, so ymmv

Yep, just saw that Ned Sublette forwarded Naomi's latest Haiti piece from the Nation, I think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DtwkTS9mq8

Sean Penn (who has done a hell of a lot there, it seems) on the cosmetic nature of NGO work in Haiti:

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11127