Haiti

[Napoleon]

I just spent the last half hour reading what is going on there and it very well may be the worst national disaster of my lifetime (but if not one of the biggest) with deaths predicted by some as running into the 100s of thousands.

NY Times just posted a report of the first American military ship arriving in the port, which found the channel clear, most or all piers knocked into the water making landing supplies difficult and the commander of the port's coast guard service reporting to the American captain that half his men were dead (this ship will be followed by the Carl Vinson and 3 other ships and apparently 2 C-130s are circling overhead doing an assessment). Every hospital is down or has been abandoned, the capital's airfield is clear but there is no air traffic control with the tower having collapsed and the LA Times reporter at the scene reports that currently there are no outside relief efforts visible at all in the city.

[Gnam]

I hope 500,000 dead is media hype. But it definately sounds like no one is in charge.

The Dominican Republic is gonna be swamped.

[dando]

Truly tragic. Impossible to believe that any natural disaster could surpass the '06 tsunami, but this one might be greater. :(

-Kevin

[Elmo T]

I have a couple friends that could well be on their way soon. They were told to pack and prepare to be deployed. They've done WTC and Katrina, but this sounds even worse (hard to believe).

FD urban search and rescue teams from California and Fairfax, VA have already been deployed. Here is to their safe return.

VA Task Force One (http://www.vatf1.org/)

[datachicane]

No kidding. The scale of this thing and the logistical problems are hard to get your head around. As if Haiti didn't have a hard enough time as it was...

Criminy, right on schedule, noted douchebag and diamond smuggler Pat Robertson has piped up to blame the Haitians for bringing this on themselves. :flame:

[Elmo T]

Just got an email and one is being deployed with NJ's Disaster Medical Assistance Team.

Also heard a friend of my wife's arrived in Haiti on Sunday on a church mission. Still no word...

[Sean Malone]

My thoughts and prayers to all of those in Haiti. Hopyfully the gun wielding thugs that terrorize the country were all caught under tons of concrete.

America will again prove that we are a noble and helpful country.

[Dvdb]

But, but, but............who will make our baseballs???

bad joke, thoughts, prayers and contribution headed that way

[nrc]

My thoughts and prayers to all of those in Haiti. Hopyfully the gun wielding thugs that terrorize the country were all caught under tons of concrete.

America will again prove that we are a noble and helpful country.

Thinking about the chaos there amplified by a disaster of such magnitude is frightening. My thoughts and prayers for both the victims and those who will be doing their best to help.

[TravelGal]

Passing along something I received from the Latin American Working Group this morning. Shows (IF TRUE, sorry to be such a skeptic) that Twitter can actually be helpful.

According to a Twitter message we received from the U.S. State Department this morning, the speed with which you can send aid to help the people of Haiti is truly breathtaking. We hope that you will join us in responding today:

Simply text "HAITI" to "90999" and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

Or, if you prefer more traditional methods (and can make a larger contribution) we suggest you go online and donate to any of the organizations listed below.

Mercy Corps: https://donate.mercycorps.org/donation.htm?DonorIntent=Haiti+Earthquake
Partners in Health: www.pih.org/inforesources/news/Haiti_Earthquake.html
Doctors Without Borders: www.doctorswithoutborders.org

[chop456]

Criminy, right on schedule, noted douchebag and diamond smuggler Pat Robertson has piped up to blame the Haitians for bringing this on themselves. :flame:


The Haitians "were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III and whatever," Robertson said on his broadcast Wednesday. "And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.' True story. And so, the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.' "

True story. I think you owe Mr. Robertson an apology.


I hope the aid being sent is adequate and fast enough for things to get better before they get worse.

Thanks for the links, travelgal.

[oddlycalm]

Yeah, on Tuesday evening when I saw it was a shallow magnitude 7+ almost right under Port Au Prince I knew it was going to be grim and grim it is. :(

oc

[TKGAngel]

Passing along something I received from the Latin American Working Group this morning. Shows (IF TRUE, sorry to be such a skeptic) that Twitter can actually be helpful.

According to a Twitter message we received from the U.S. State Department this morning, the speed with which you can send aid to help the people of Haiti is truly breathtaking. We hope that you will join us in responding today:

Simply text "HAITI" to "90999" and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

This is true. As of 7pm last night, the NY Times reports that this campaign has raised $1.2 million and counting.

[datachicane]

True story. I think you owe Mr. Robertson an apology.


:saywhat: You want to elaborate on that?

[Indy]

^^^ I think that was sarcasm, dude. :rofl:

In a related story, Nielson Ratings reported that the entire regular audience of Pat Robertson missed him blaming the Haitians for the earthquake because they were all online at a very obscure "Indy" racing site complaining about Sarah Fisher being nice to a lesbian.

[TravelGal]

This is true. As of 7pm last night, the NY Times reports that this campaign has raised $1.2 million and counting.

Thank you for letting me know. I generally trust the LAWG but when something seems too good to be true, I throw in a dose of salt. For once, it wasn't needed.

Having been though the Northridge quake, a mere 6.7, I know what damage can be done even to well made structures. The force is simply unimaginable. The shocks opened and closed our refrigerator door 3 times, lifted the house perceptibly off the foundation (to which it is bolted to existing earthquake code), and knocked over 60 feet of retaining wall by snapping the rebar at its base. We were 8 miles from the epicenter but the shock wave hit the surface again exactly at our house. Memories, memories........

[datachicane]

^^^ I think that was sarcasm, dude. :rofl:
Yeah, I'm sure you're right.
It's just difficult to distinguish that sort of thinking from satire.

[TKGAngel]

^^^ I think that was sarcasm, dude. :rofl:

In a related story, Nielson Ratings reported that the entire regular audience of Pat Robertson missed him blaming the Haitians for the earthquake because they were all online at a very obscure "Indy" racing site complaining about Sarah Fisher being nice to a lesbian.

All the things that are wrong with the IRL today and they're complaining about *that*? If this is what I think we're talking about, don't they realize that SF doing what she's doing might just bring more publicity to the league that they claim to love?

[Sean Malone]

Robert Johnson made a deal with the devil. Never a good idea long term.

[Napoleon]

True story.

Funny thing is, even putting aside the racism and sheer idiocy of his comment, he didn’t even manage to get the actual underlying historical figures and timeline upon which he draped his rant right.


Hopyfully the gun wielding thugs that terrorize the country were all caught under tons of concrete.

That is for sure, although I heard the quake broke open the jail and let all the inmates escape.


Thinking about the chaos there amplified by a disaster of such magnitude is frightening.

Its no secret that the people of Haiti have drawn every bad break that has ever happened to mankind in biblical quantities, but apparently for the first time since, I don’t know, the slave revolt that made them a free country, things actually were somewhat going in a good direction for the place. They have a semi-honest semi-capable government for once, in the last year or so the best or second best growth rate in the Western Hemisphere and an election coming up that looked like it was going to be an honest to God real election and bam, this happens. I hope for their sake that is not the last lucky streak they have for another 200 years.

[Gnam]

USNS Comfort is headed to Haiti.
http://wjz.com/wireapnewsmd/Navy.hospital.ship.2.1426094.html

They expect to be there for months. Sad part is it will only make a small dent in the need.


http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/9914/6210941556kg1khv.jpg

[Andrew Longman]

Something to think about. This crisis is likely to be out of the scale in our experience. There literally may be too little left to recover, especially when you consider where Haiti is coming from.

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/haiti.php


Haiti

People across the country are looking at images of devastation from Haiti and, I think, at the same time they’re actually underestimating how bad this is. We’re accustomed to the idea that a natural disaster can strike, kill many people, be a huge tragedy, and then people will go about rebuilding.

But this earthquake has not only killed a lot of people, it’s going to completely shatter the efficacy of Haitian state institutions. My colleagues Andrew Sweet and Rudy DeLeon note that “The World Bank ranked Haiti in the bottom 6 percent on government effectiveness in 2006.” Back last fall, CAP’s Haiti report stated that “The government does not have adequate funds and systems to provide services to the people in a manner that meets their essential needs and builds governmental legitimacy.” And now public needs have increased exponentially at the same time the main government buildings have literally collapsed. Hospitals and schools are shut down, the port and the airport don’t work, there’s just nothing left.

The US is reportedly sending a few thousand more soldiers to Haiti, to join the already-extant UN forces there. Since Haiti is a relatively small country you could imagine the international community undertaking an effort to send many more forces than that and essentially run the country on an interim basis. Countries like France, Canada, Belgium, and Switzerland can, in principle, offer well-trained soldiers who can communicate easily with the local population which would make such an undertaking more feasible than a lot of other population security missions.

Short of that, it’s worth thinking about the extent to which generous immigration policies could do enormous good for Haiti’s population. In the short-term, what’s most needed is immediate assistance to save as many lives as possible. But Tyler Cowen’s guess that “the country as a whole is currently below the subsistence level and will remain so for the foreseeable future” seems very plausible. The most likely alternative to mass immiseration and death for the survivors seems to me to be large-scale emigration to the developed world. Otherwise you’re going to have millions of people with no means of supporting themselves.

Or massive investment in Haiti by profit motivated capitalists from the developed world... if they can see a return/

Either way, good or bad, better or worse, Haiti is never going to look the same again. IMO

[Sean Malone]

I hope 500,000 dead is media hype. But it definately sounds like no one is in charge.

The Dominican Republic is gonna be swamped.

Somewhat strange, even considering their dislike of Haiti, that the Dominican Republic is not being mentioned much in the reports I'm reading and watching. They do have the larger half of that island.

[cameraman]

They are not being mentioned because there wasn't any damage there.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii35/Cynops/intensity.jpg

[Indy]

All the things that are wrong with the IRL today and they're complaining about *that*? If this is what I think we're talking about, don't they realize that SF doing what she's doing might just bring more publicity to the league that they claim to love?

They have their heads so stuck up their own bigoted asses, they can't imagine that it would not be seen as a negative by the general population. You see, to us they are stupid rednecked gomertards, but they think they are just normal folks.

[Indy]

By the way, I just wasn't fully aware of the scope of the earthquake until I turned on the TV today. I didn't mean to be joking around in a disrespectful way.

Prayers to those poor souls who are enduring this. I hope that we (the U.S.) do everything we can to help them.

[chop456]

:saywhat: You want to elaborate on that?

Sarcasm, indeed. If I posted what I'd really like to, I'd get sent to the office. :\

Donate some money, people. AA is giving away FF miles for Red Cross donations if that's any incentive.

[Napoleon]

Or massive investment in Haiti by profit motivated capitalists from the developed world... if they can see a return

Part of the problem they have long had is they were perceived as unstable so people do not invest, and that is why in the last few years people have started investing there and Haiti’s growth rate has been good, because they had a stable effective (for them) government that got the gangs off the streets, etc. Of course that is all gone now.






Somewhat strange, even considering their dislike of Haiti, that the Dominican Republic is not being mentioned much in the reports I'm reading and watching.

I heard a radio report on the way home yesterday and the guy was describing problems getting into and out of Haiti and he talked about the road that runs between the two capitals and it literally sounded like some back road you would find in the backwoods of upstate NY. Not much more then an oxcart path. So if by not hearing much of DR you mean DR helping out I wonder after hearing that report whether the two countries are all but effectively cut off from each other and not at all like what you would see elsewhere in the world where most countries are more or less integrated with one another.

[Napoleon]

PS, for those of you that would visit Mid-Ohio where on many weekends at some point would see the C-130s practicing from the Ohio National Guard apparently they were the first transport unit into Haiti.

[Elmo T]

I read the Ohio Task Force 1 (Urban Search and Rescue) was deployed (http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/ohio-task-force-one-waiting-to-fly-to-haiti-to-help-out-492423.html). Also being sent: VA-TF 1, CA-TF 2, CA-TF 5, CA-TF 7, NY-TF 1 (FDNY), FL-TF 1, FL-TF 2. These are all urban search and rescue teams.

[TKGAngel]

Donate some money, people. AA is giving away FF miles for Red Cross donations if that's any incentive.

If any of you live in areas with a Wegmans grocery store, Wegmans is allowing you to donate at the checkout through next Saturday. 100% of donations will go to the Red Cross.

I also heard this morning that the 82nd Airborne is on it's way to Haiti.

[stroker]

Don't want to hijack, but it seems to me like we ought consider offering to renovate one or two of our smaller helicopter assault carriers (or maybe even CVN) that we're retiring for the specific purpose of natural disaster response. Drop a bunch of CH-47's (and eventually, Ospreys) on it and fill it full of MRE's, tents and medical supplies, etc. Maybe paint it white. Put one in the South Atlantic and another in the South Pacific and with any luck at all you could have significant dedicated disaster relief ready to go. I know the staffing and maintenance cost would suck, but it seems like we've got a situation like this happening every few years so maybe it would be cost effective.

[Napoleon]

NY Times as this cool before and after satallite feature where you can use a "slide" bar to change view of various things in Haiti from before to after.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/01/14/world/20100114-haiti-imagery.html

[dando]

Before and after shots. :eek:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/01/satellite-photos-of-haiti-before-and-after-the-earthquake/

-Kevin

[Gnam]

Don't want to hijack, but it seems to me like we ought consider offering to renovate one or two of our smaller helicopter assault carriers (or maybe even CVN) that we're retiring for the specific purpose of natural disaster response. Drop a bunch of CH-47's (and eventually, Ospreys) on it and fill it full of MRE's, tents and medical supplies, etc. Maybe paint it white. Put one in the South Atlantic and another in the South Pacific and with any luck at all you could have significant dedicated disaster relief ready to go. I know the staffing and maintenance cost would suck, but it seems like we've got a situation like this happening every few years so maybe it would be cost effective.
There's usually a carrier or two available for humanitarian work. The USS Carl Vinson arrived in Haiti today to serve as a helicopter base/hospital/supply center.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i2OoezeOmcN_BD3hRwMa1w0qAPtw

Also, the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit is on it's way with the USS Bataan amphibious assault ship, which will also serve as a helicopter base.

http://newledger.com/2010/01/22nd-marine-expeditionary-unit-en-route-to-haiti/

[TravelGal]

Two completely different articles came to my attention today.

There is a charity called soles4souls that collects "gently worn" shoes. Perusing their website, I see they have sent shoes around the globe. They are now collecting for Haiti. It is estimated that there are more 1 billion shoes in the US just sitting in closets. I was surprised at the number of stores very near my house that are collection points. Check it out.

Royal Caribbean International (usually known as RCCL) announced that they will continue their port calls at Labadee. They recognize the immense importance of keeping tourist dollars flowing into Haiti. The ships will also be carrying emergency and humanitarian supplies in their cargo holds.

[SteveH]

Great idea, TravelGal
http://www.soles4souls.org/

Unfortunately, the closet collection point is about 30 miles away for me. But, I think it will be worth the drive.

[Indy]

Bump.

I keep reading more about their history. Morbid fascination, I guess. It is enough to make you lose all hope in humanity (whoops, too late for me). Freed themselves over two hundred years ago. Made to pay reparations :mad: by their former masters, the French, who kept them in debt until 1947. Then come the Duvaliers, who were the puppets of the U.S. (Jean-Claude Duvalier, now 59, is a wealthy man living in Paris today, thanks to the Reagan Administration). They Duvaliers of course got the country back into deep debt and embezzled most of the proceeds of the loans. After suffering for decades under them, the misery of the people has been rewarded by financial torture from the world's banks. Cursed with an irrational religious taboo against birth control (thanks, French masters :thumbup:), they are 9,000,000 living on the dry side of an island which could support perhaps 500,000.

Bottom line, we are witnessing a human sacrifice of millions by the past deeds of the French and Americans. Truly, we (and the French) should be rebuilding this country, its people and it culture.

[Napoleon]

Indy, my favorite part of their history is that they were the second Western hemisphere country to break free of its colonial parent in a war of independance (behind the US) yet the US refused to recongize them as an independant nation for something like 50 years, until the middle of the US Civil War.

[Indy]

It is truly shameful. But that was before any of us were born, and we can make a positive difference now. :thumbup:

[Gnam]

They are talking evacuation now. But where too?

When the British evacuated Montserrat in 1995 it was only a few thousand.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat

[dando]

They are talking evacuation now. But where too?

When the British evacuated Montserrat in 1995 it was only a few thousand.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat

I read reports about FL, but that is like throwing gas on a fire considering the population mix of FL these days. :eek:

-Kevin

[Sean Malone]

Bump.

Bottom line, we are witnessing a human sacrifice of millions by the past deeds of the French and Americans. Truly, we (and the French) should be rebuilding this country, its people and it culture.

The US has given Haiti 5 billion....with a 'b' in the last five years alone. More coming, rest assured.

[Elmo T]

9m7OXtze6CA

[datachicane]

The US has given Haiti 5 billion....with a 'b' in the last five years alone.

According to whom?

Even the celebrated bleeding hearts at Fox (http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/01/19/christian-whiton-haiti-obama-aid-corruption/) say it's less than 1.5 billion over the last twenty years.

1.5 billion? That's considerably less than half JP Morgan's profit this quarter.

[TravelGal]

Oh just shoot me now. The French are complaining that we are "occupying" Haiti by taking over the airport. God forbid anyone should organize it. The Brits (Guardian UK) are COMPLAINING that Royal Caribbean is stopping at Labadee. God forbid the 500 people who live there should get any financial support or the supplies should be unloaded. Can't wait to hear what starts up in the US after the George Clooney-led fundraiser.

:yuck: on all of 'em.

[Indy]

The US has given Haiti 5 billion....with a 'b' in the last five years alone. More coming, rest assured.

Whatever the number, we can't buy our way out of the fact that we participated in their hopelessness. They don't need token aid. They need a Marshall Plan.

But I am very happy to see us being aggressive with our immediate help. **** the French.

[Sean Malone]

According to whom?

Even the celebrated bleeding hearts at Fox (http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/01/19/christian-whiton-haiti-obama-aid-corruption/) say it's less than 1.5 billion over the last twenty years.

1.5 billion? That's considerably less than half JP Morgan's profit this quarter.

Heard it on CNN the night after the earthquake. I'll see if I can find any online reference.

[Michaelhatesfans]

Regardless of what we've done/haven't done over the years, or what we've spent, this is as close as you're going to get to a clean slate (no disrespect intended). Hopefully we'll make the best of this and use this as an opportunity to help them move forward rather than just try to bandage 150 years of post colonial turmoil.

[JohnHKart]

I've been in a news vaccum, with no time to watch any tv at all. I sat down a couple of nights ago to watch some of the coverage and was completely overwhelmed by it. I wish I could do something other than sending ten bucks. Maybe get some different tribute bands together on the bill and put a show for charity on here in LA? I feel helpless watching this coverage. As was said here, that place was already pretty screwed up- this is so horrible!

JH

[Elmo T]

I've been getting updates from a friend on the ground in Haiti. She was deployed with a medical assistance team.

After 25 years in the emergency services, she helped deliver her first baby this AM. Perhaps a small win given all she has seen the past couple of weeks - but a pleasant memory in an otherwise trying deployment for her.

It is nice to know that we have people of the ground making a difference.

[Indy]

Nice coverage on NPR yesterday. Instead of the doom & gloom, fake drama, focus on looting and all of the other garbage reported by the so called broadcast news media, they reported tear-inducing, honest stories of tragedy and heroics. People there are dying and in tremendous pain, but many are also rising to the challenge and behaving magnificently. God bless them.

[Gnam]

Evacuation continues by boat, bus, or on foot out of town. Article mentions setting up tent cities on the outskirts of PaP for the refugees before Hurricane season. But, is a tent the best place to be in a hurricane?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/01/20/international/i032455S83.DTL

One thing this tragedy has taught me is the brutal reality of a mass grave.
I always pictured the last scene from the movie 'Glory'. Not heavy earth moving equipment. :(

[cameraman]

Article mentions setting up tent cities on the outskirts of PaP for the refugees before Hurricane season. But, is a tent the best place to be in a hurricane? Hurricane season doesn't start until June 1. They've got a few months to get something put up. Also a well put together tent is most likely stronger than many of the "structures" in some of the slums of Port au Prince.

[chop456]

George Clooney can't read.

[cameraman]

I missed it. Not a great teleprompter user???

[extramundane]

George Clooney can't read.

Hardly surprising. He can barely act unless he's in a Coen movie.

[TravelGal]

Cut the guy some slack. Chris Rock almost swallowed his adam's apple in panic when he couldn't figure out what came next. At least Clooney organized the thing while others were wondering "what should we do." I admire him immensely for stepping up to the plate time and time again. There were lots of other stars in the phone bank about whom I could say the same. Robin Williams, Steven Spielberg, JACK!, Tim Robbins, Sigourney Weaver, Tobey McGuire, Meg Ryan, etc. etc. When help is needed, they are THERE, no questions. Same for Sting and Bono; Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts; so many musicians and actors are more than just the *****head$ we read about so often.

/rant

[chop456]

^ Nothing against the guy. I'm glad all the people showed up that did. It just surprised me that he couldn't get a paragraph out without stumbling over his words. I can read aloud like a champion and I'm an idiot. :D

[Edit] This is pretty cool: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/23/haiti.barge.of.hope/index.html?hpt=C2

[TravelGal]

Made me laugh. And you do this in front of how many people? I know, he's supposed to be trained to talk into the camera but he was also in charge of the show. He was probably wondering what happened to the sound for the first 30 seconds of first number.

Maybe the telethon can pick up the shipping cost for the second barge. Great story.

[TKGAngel]

Alycia Keys seemed really off during her intro performance. I don't know if her wailing was meant to invoke the wailing in the streets, but there were several notes that were just painful.

Justin Timberlake's "Hallelujah" was just beautiful, however. :thumbup:

[Gnam]

A floating dock with a crane is being setup in PaP, making it easier to unload containers. Now the barge from Puerto Rico will have somewhere to be unloaded along with the aid from other countries. :thumbup:

http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2010/01/25/daily8.html

[KaBoom21]

Justin Timberlake's "Hallelujah" was just beautiful, however. :thumbup:

I enjoyed Matt Morris' contribution to it more than anything else. Gave it the Buckley-esque quality it needed. I give Timberlake credit for knowing his range/vocal limitations. :thumbup:

[chop456]

^ Good to see you back, lOOseR! :)


http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=218678,00.html


People who give to charities providing earthquake relief in Haiti can claim these donations on the tax return they are completing this season, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Taxpayers who itemize deductions on their 2009 return qualify for this special tax relief provision, enacted Jan. 22. Only cash contributions made to these charities after Jan. 11, 2010, and before March 1, 2010, are eligible. This includes contributions made by text message, check, credit card or debit card.

[KaBoom21]

^ Good to see you back, lOOseR! :)
Blame Mel Gibson:
"A wise old man once told me, 'Mel, dig a hole, go away and then, when it feels right, come back.' He was right. The point is, there is nothing better sometimes than a very long vacation."

;)

[TravelGal]

I read yesterday that the ill-fated Hawaiian car ferry is headed to Haiti from Norfolk where it had been laid up. It can hold 848 people and a LOT of cargo. The important part is that it was built to operate in the open ocean. Most ferries run only in relatively protected waters.

[Gnam]

Most ferries run only in relatively protected waters.
It's a valid point, but I don't think the boss will appreciate discussion of the Colts' running game in this thread.

[Napoleon]

[Never mind]

[chop456]

For those of you that have given and itemize your taxes, within certain parameters you can include donations you made to Haitian relief as a deduction from 2009 taxes.

Welcome to 5 posts ago. :p

You should read my posts more carefully. About one out of every thousand contain pertinent information.

[Napoleon]

Welcome to 5 posts ago. :p

You should read my posts more carefully. About one out of every thousand contain pertinent information.

Its worse then that. That is where I got it yesterday and when I was checking in here this morning totally forgot that and thought I would post some useful info.

I am such a moron!

[Gnam]

Perfect. :shakehead
No one is running Barter Town.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704878904575031673153590414.html?m od=WSJ_hpp_LEADNewsCollection

The US military's part in this adventure is troubling. I thought one of the lessons they learned from dealing with ubran populations in Iraq and Afghanistan was to decentralize decision making power to get the job done, not make it worse.

[dando]

Perfect. :shakehead
No one is running Barter Town.

Welcome to Katrina redux. :saywhat: :(

-Kevin

[TravelGal]

Welcome to Katrina redux. :saywhat: :(

-Kevin

Been thinking the same thing. For oh so many reasons.

[Gnam]

Aircraft Carrier USS Carl Vinson departs Haiti, but the smaller flat top USS Bataan and the hospital ship Comfort will remain:
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2010/feb/01/uss-carl-vinson-resumes-journey-towards-san-diego/

Pretty good mission for a new crew. :thumbup:

[Gnam]

2 months after...


Hospital ship USNS Comfort has returned to her home port in Norfolk, VA.
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/03/navy-hospital-ship-comfort-returns-haiti

Haiti's main port is unloading 600 containers a day vs. the 200-250 a month they were handling before the quake. And the main pier with the big cranes is expected to reopen by mid April. US military presence down to 12,000 from a high of 22,000.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Haiti+port+capacity+boosted+repairs+advancing/2608592/story.html

Only US Naval warship still on station is the USS Bataan. It's an amphibious assault ship that can serve as a floating base for US helicopters, resupply vessels, and landing craft. My guess is it will remain to support US troops on the ground as long as they are in Haiti.
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/03/navy_fortmchenry_relieved_031210w/

Great article about a priest named Fr. Rick Frechette and the living hell that is Haiti. Makes Detroit look like Disneyland. :eek:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/love-among-ruins

[Methanolandbrats]

Made me laugh. And you do this in front of how many people? I know, he's supposed to be trained to talk into the camera but he was also in charge of the show. He was probably wondering what happened to the sound for the first 30 seconds of first number.

Maybe the telethon can pick up the shipping cost for the second barge. Great story.

Always amuses me when celebrities bandwagon something like this. Before the quake most of them probably did'nt even know where Haiti is and not one of them would have gone there because they would not have been able to get the proper mineral water in the hotel. Angelina Jolie might be an exception, she might have stopped by pre-quake in the hopes of adding another specimen to her zoo.:yuck:

[G.]

My sis is going there next week.

[TravelGal]

Always amuses me when celebrities bandwagon something like this. Before the quake most of them probably did'nt even know where Haiti is and not one of them would have gone there because they would not have been able to get the proper mineral water in the hotel. Angelina Jolie might be an exception, she might have stopped by pre-quake in the hopes of adding another specimen to her zoo.:yuck:

You can be amused but this is vintage Clooney. He said at the Oscars that he knew virtually nothing about Haiti when he organized the telethon and it had been a steep learning curve. He is good at raising money and knew something had to be done immediately so that is what he did for Haiti. He also is going to Haiti week so maybe he'll meet G's sister.

[G.]

She could cross paths with him. She's heading to the orphanage first, assuming Angelina doesn't get there first and clean them out. :)

[TravelGal]

She could cross paths with him. She's heading to the orphanage first, assuming Angelina doesn't get there first and clean them out. :)

OOOOOOOOOOOOh. Harsh. And impossible, if the missionaries don't get them, Madonna will. :D

[G.]

Pretty bad over there.

"It looks like i will be staying here at the orphanage for the duration unless they get someone to take my place and i can go to the hospital.. If i return for another medical mission i will probably stay at the hospital. The experience there is unbelievable with trial by fire. it is like being a medic in the army. You would think with the earthquake being so long ago, the ER's would settle down but it is just the opposite. the living conditions are so atrocious and these people are so ill. Some who come in and have not had a meal in 5 or 6 days and are near starved, dehydrated and quite ill. There are some latrines set up at the tent cities but <<---snip bathroom stuff--->> and this last group set up a hospice area outside because there was a need for that type of care. All the inpatient care except for ICU is all outside and there is usually never any nurses to go take care of their needs. The triage area ios a huge tent outside with people lined up for blocks.......and the hospital looks so antiquated it defies description. The one saving grace is the volunteers and the supplies are there. There is every med one could need and plenty of IV equipment. I do have some photos but we'll see if they depict the reality."

[cameraman]

And it will get worse when the rains hit.:shakehead

[TravelGal]

They key here is that she said "with it being so long ago." Unless you've been through an event of this magnitude, you can't quite get that "so long ago" means at least five years. Five weeks means yesterday.

Just to give you and idea: after the Northridge earthquake, here in the first world, we had an insurance adjuster visit within 2 days and a general contractor signed within a week. Even with that, work started 5 MONTHS later and finished 6 MONTHS after that with the roof being delayed a month because the shingles were still impossible to get (nearly a year later).

Compared to Haiti, in the third world, we had every advantage. They literally are building from the ground up.

My thoughts and prayers go out to your sister, G. Thanks for the update.

[G.]

More from Saint J., The Sister of The G.



Ok, where do I start. It is so hot here it is unbelievabe. I was dripping within 5 minutes and did not stop sweating until I came into the lounge, which is the only air conditioned place in the hospital. It is really difficult to stay hydrated. I had a terrible leaving the children at the orphanage this morning. I could not help crying......you know I hate goodbyes. And all the kids lined up to hug me, blow me kisses, hanging onto to me, etc. it was so heart wrenching and I do not know if I can go thru it again. I really would like to go back but it will be tough to leave again. We shall see. The hospital is very, very old, open to air, bugs everywhere, a stick is being used as an IV pole, we put cement blocks under a mattress to raise the head of the bed, there is no privacy. If you are pregnant and need a check, we will do our best to be discrete, but translators and everyone else gets full view. Adult men with hernias just pull their shorts down and are examined in front of everyone. it is survival of the fittest and tomorrow, we will be extremely short staffed, so I hope I can hold up. We are up at 0600, breifings, tnen work until at least 8:00 pm. The food is atrocious.......good thing I have tuna. I think that is what I will be living on. There really are only 2 meals, a yellow one and an orange one. I will be sleeping on a cot in a room full of others and it is extremely warm there, so I am a bit worried on how I will sleep. The patients are very sick that are coming in and we only have cots or really rusted beds. We have very little linen for the beds so they are used patient after patient. We have plenty of supplies. The US is so generous and we have more than we will use. We have huge stores of supplies and when the volunteers leave, this place will be raided and supplies sold off is what eveyone believes. There are also boxres and boxes of things that other organizations have sent that are suppose to go to the children and they ended up here becasue no one knew where else to take them. We have this computer in our breakroom that someone donated and we also have a phone we can use anytime to call the states so i will call you sometime in the next couple of days if i can.


There is so much to tell but I do not want to make this too long. A few things I have learned.....yes, you can wear the same clothes 4 days in a row.....M. you have been right all along! If the food looks disgusting, it tastes disgusting......tuna again. We are at Adventist Hospital which is run by the 7th Day Adventist and apparently Loma Linda, a huge medical university in California, has been supporting sending so many volunteers. Since this is a Christian hospital, they blast church music 24 hours a day, in Creole, but I do recognize a lot of the songs. I gave my one and only ear plugs to another nurse at the orphanage but sure wish I had them here. We do have showers but they r ice cold. Interesting enough as soon as you get out, you start to sweat again and it just does not stop. Miserable night last night; very difficult to keep enough fluids in and all we have is water. I still have a few Gatorade packets left but am rationing it so I have one a day. We are treating lots of malaria, typhoid and dengue fever and seeing a lot of increase in all. I am taking malaria meds, have had typhoid vaccine, but am a bit concerned about dengue. i have been suturing lacerations, opening up abscesses, starting IV's, etc. There have had several deaths….a lady today. They had a 9 year old boy die 2 days ago of typhoid......he was unbelievably ill and had << snip: details most don't need to read >>....really pathetic. Then a baby was found in a ditch and resuscitation was not successful. Someone asked if we have adequate supplies, why don't we have proper Iv poles and patient beds and linens. We did not get any clean linens today....infrastructure not in place. and we just have to deal with equipment we have. We got a container from Florida today that had a ultrasound in it and everyone is ecstatic because before that we had not ultrasound capability.


It is hard to put into words all the things I am seeing and doing. I just got off, so I have put in almost 14 hours today. Haitian docs and nurses were suppose to relieve us but did not show up, so that made the day longer until we could find replacements. A bit about our ER.....it is open air, no windows, just bars over the windows like a jail cell. We have a huge tarp for cover outside where patients wait to be admitted or for labs. I have been starting many peds and adult IV's and you should see everyone line up at the bars to watch what I do. << Snip: My sis has some issues with Haitian toilet habits, apparently. Going on and on about it in emails appears to be therapy for her. (actually, that is of course a real health issue.) >> There are geckos running amok in our ER. Yesterday there was a 12 inch lizard in the OR. We have a 7 year old boy still in the ER who arrived in the morning, has kidney failure, and his mom just left him there. We do not know if she will show up tomorrow or if she just doesn’t want him anymore.

She says lots and lots about the generosity of the good ol' U S of A.

I honestly didn't think that it would be this bad, this widespread.

[SteveH]

Bless your sister, G. :thumbup:

[Gnam]

:thumbup:

Has she seen any signs of reconstruction?

I wonder if it would be feasible to turn 20' & 40' shipping containers into temporary shelters for the camps. They would be hot as hell in the sun but also dry and secure until things get rebuilt. They could ship the containers and building supplies to Haiti and have the locals outfit them.

[dando]

Bless your sister, G. :thumbup:

Amen. :thumbup:

-Kevin

[G.]

:thumbup:

Has she seen any signs of reconstruction?

I wonder if it would be feasible to turn 20' & 40' shipping containers into temporary shelters for the camps. They would be hot as hell in the sun but also dry and secure until things get rebuilt. They could ship the containers and building supplies to Haiti and have the locals outfit them.

Not sure that you could put them anywhere, except on the docks.

[Sean Malone]

Fascinating writing G. Thank you for sharing and props to your sis. :thumbup:

[Gnam]

This company in Tucson is building shelters to replace the tents.

http://www.azstarnet.com/business/local/article_30d765ab-74ce-58b9-849d-af1ff194f94e.html

[G.]

Good morning. I tossed and turned all night last night and I’ll tell you, that is difficult on an army cot. I have over 100 bug bites, I assume mosquitoes. I thought I was protecting myself well enough but apparently not. I am a bit worried about dengue fever, but the symptoms do not show up for 1 to 3 weeks post incubation. I also woke up with my eyes crusted shut but I am not going to treat that until I get back to the states. You can never feel clean here. So many of the people we see are still homeless and tent less, have not had a meal for days and are so prone to infections and other diseases.



Just to describe the heat.....you wake up in a pool of sweat, you sweat all day, you shower in ice cold water, and as soon as the water is shut off, you start sweating again. Most of the people we see have not bathed for weeks or longer; they do not use deodorant so the odors are pretty horrible, but it is amazing what you can work through. Ellissais is a sophomore nursing student with us in the ER and she was stuck with a dirty needle so it was a tense few hours until we got a negative HIV on the patient. She is starting IVs, drawing blood, putting in NG tubes and foley catheters....she will be far ahead of her college peers.


I told you about the 7 year old yesterday who has kidney failure and his mom abandoned him? Well, she showed up and this morning when they needed to transfer him to another hospital, the mom did not want to go and it almost started a riot in the tent city they live in. Everyone was getting so mad and yelling at her. I think it would have gotten really ugly if she did not go.

We had a 9 year old who was a gun shot wound to the abdomen and we got him to surgery so fast. It was so fun....you know I love those adrenalin rushes. We got a couple of IV's in him, a catheter, monitor, and a bunch of other stuff and had him heading to OR in about 5 minutes.......one of the best I have seen. A cop was shooting at a robber and the boy was caught in the crossfire. The dad brought him in so hard telling how long it took because the roads are so poor. There is not much in the way of ambulances. We have families drive up all the time and have to carry their loved one in and put them on a bed. We have had one patient in the ER now for 3 days, a sickle cell crisis patient who is in need of blood. The family cares for him by providing his food and empting the bedside bucket. Note to everyone.....we are desperate for blood. Our patients have to wait days for blood from American Red Cross. Please donate.



Love you, j

:thumbup:

Has she seen any signs of reconstruction?


I asked her to give an accounting of the reconstruction, or lack thereof. She hasn't really gotten out too much, just orphanage and hospital.

She's heading to the states tonight (assuming the plane comes), and when she goes back in a few weeks, I'll try to get her to do more bloggy emails.


Tossed and turned again last night waking up with many more bug bites. I spray everything around me and I still had mosquitoes buzzing me and feasting on me under my net. Went to the 7th Day Adventist worship service this am and was very touching. A lot of the music was very familiar and we sang at least 10 songs and many thanks were given to all the volunteers. I am but one of hundreds if not thousands who are here in Haiti volunteering. You are just hearing from me but there are so many others that are doing so much and sometimes staying for months at a time. I worked with 3 nurses from NYC who were originally from Haiti who got here right after the earthquake that thanked all of us for helping their country.

I really cannot put into words the amount of devastation. I have been thru Port a Prince 4 or more times and I have only seen one piece of heavy equipment. All the other clean up, what there is of it, is being done by hand. There are hundreds of buildings that are only partially destroyed and a huge fear is even with a small tremor, they will come tumbling down and kill more people. I only saw one building that was blocked off by fencing, otherwise, these building lean precariously on one corner support with many people hanging out underneath. There are piles of garbage EVERYWHERE……defies description. People, who are "lucky" enough to own a pig, just let it feed in the garbage and sewers and believe me, these are fat pigs.

Our 9 year old gun shot wound was doing well after surgery but took a turn for the worse over night and we are all praying for his healing. Most of the volunteers here are from the 7th Day Adventist and they will stop what they are doing to pray for or with someone. Their faith is so strong and Haiti is so lucky to have them supporting this hospital. The grandson of the man who built this hospital gave the sermon at the service this morning. Apparently, it was an American architect who designed this building and that is why it is still standing after the earthquake. I want to tell you about our triage system. When we arrive in the ER, the patients are lined up outside. We have an armed guard who helps with crowd control. For the past 3 mornings, I have had to go outside with a translator and decide who gets in the ER and who gets sent to the clinic across the street. The patients are coming from all over Haiti because they know there are Americans here. I feel sometimes like I am trying to play God by deciding who gets in and who does not but we have to control and keep it to the real emergencies. The translators are young men who were going to university, now destroyed, that show up every morning to volunteer to help us help the people of Haiti. They had a ceremony this morning and presented me with a necklace with the flag of Haiti on it....very touching.


She's with these guys (http://www.angelstaffing.net/)

[KLang]

Thanks for sharing G. :thumbup:

[SteveH]

She's with these guys (http://www.angelstaffing.net/)

Quite appropriately named, G. :thumbup:


Shortly after the quake struck TravelGal posted this....


Two completely different articles came to my attention today.

There is a charity called soles4souls that collects "gently worn" shoes. Perusing their website, I see they have sent shoes around the globe. They are now collecting for Haiti. It is estimated that there are more 1 billion shoes in the US just sitting in closets. I was surprised at the number of stores very near my house that are collection points. Check it out.

Royal Caribbean International (usually known as RCCL) announced that they will continue their port calls at Labadee. They recognize the immense importance of keeping tourist dollars flowing into Haiti. The ships will also be carrying emergency and humanitarian supplies in their cargo holds.

I researched soles4souls and was impressed with their efforts. Certainly not as essential as medical care, food or water but there will be life beyond the initial disaster and shoes will be a big part of that. I 'organized' a shoe drive among friends. Emailed each asking them to check their closets and donate unused shoes. Everyone has shoes in the back of their closet that they no longer wear. I specified a collection/drop off weekend and hoped for the best. I also asked for $1 per donated pair to cover shipping. In total, I shipped 94 pair of shoes to soles4souls. Not a big undertaking on my part, certainly nowhere near the effort G's sister is putting forth. But it will help. If you're looking at something else you can do to help, check them out. www.soles4souls.org

BTW - $1/pair didn't cover the actual cost of UPS shipping, probably closer to $1.50/pair. A big box of shoes weigh a lot! I had 5 boxes.

[Napoleon]

I keep reading more about their history.

. . . .


Freed themselves over two hundred years ago. Made to pay reparations :mad: by their former masters, the French, who kept them in debt until 1947.

Today, Bastille Day, France announces that it will return the reparations to Haiti in payments over the next 50 years. (http://diplomatiegov.fr/bulletin.gb-14-07-2010.html)

[Gnam]

Haiti should ask for a smaller lump sum. There's no guarantee France won't be conquered again in the next 50 years. ;)

[cameraman]

Oh boy, here we go. A major cholera outbreak outside of the earthquake area.

This could get very ugly. (http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2010/1021/At-least-135-dead-from-suspected-cholera-outbreak-in-Haiti)

[Gnam]

Hurricane Tomas projected to hit Haiti on Saturday.
:(

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT21/refresh/AL2110W5_NL+gif/023514W5_NL_sm.gif