Haiti relief

[tugmoose]

a guide for donating.

[remphish1]

The pictures and news is so devistating. Their prime minister estimates hundreds of thousands dead

 

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/13/haiti.earthquake/index.html

[Sir Stewart]

A massively sad tragedy.

When something like this happens, around here someone eventually yells at everyone else for not turning the corresponding thread into a ten-page effort, but let me say to that in advance: What can you say? You do your part, and listen to the news for updates, and pray, but I for one don't need to see people saying 'awful' and 'terrible' over pages and pages to know people here feel affected by this.

[Guest Speed Racer]

Link to a chat transcript from the Washington Post site that has information about how to track down American citizens in Haiti, donating, and other ways to help. Hosting by a Catholic charity representative, so a lot of it talks about donating to CRS, but aside from that (and the slightly rendundant scope of the chat), it's pretty helpful for those looking for info.

[cryptique]

A massively sad tragedy.

When something like this happens, around here someone eventually yells at everyone else for not turning the corresponding thread into a ten-page effort, but let me say to that in advance: What can you say? You do your part, and listen to the news for updates, and pray, but I for one don't need to see people saying 'awful' and 'terrible' over pages and pages to know people here feel affected by this.

Yup. On the one hand I expect to see a lot of discussion about something like this, but on the other ... I can't say that my first impulse after really awful events such as this one is to come to a band message board and express my feelings about it. On some subjects, sure, but on something like this ... not necessarily.

 

I hope the prime minister's estimate of over 100,000 dead turns out to be absurdly high, and that they're able to rescue a whole lot of people over the next few days. I think I'll go donate what I can to one of the organizations listed at tugmoose's link above. Not sure what else I can do, so I'll do that.

[Edie]

It's clear that a 2004 tsunami-sized relief effort is needed -- which was fast and effective at preventing the massive "secondary deaths" caused by infection and disease. I hope that it happens.

 

Here's a place to start. I would also think that orgs like MercyCorps, International Red Cross and Medecins Sans Frontiere would also be mounting major relief efforts.

[cryptique]

You just knew Pat Robertson would have something to say.

 

And you know, Christy, something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it, they were under the heel of the French, uh, you know, Napoleon the third and whatever, and they got together and swore a pact to the devil, they said, we will serve you, if you get us free from the Prince, true story. And so the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.' And they kicked the French out, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free, and ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other, desperately poor. . . the Island of Hispaniola is one island cut down the middle. On the one side is Haiti, on the other side is the Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic is, is, prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etc. Haiti is in desperate poverty, same Islands, uh, they need to have, and we need to pray for them, a great turning to God. And out of this tragedy, I'm optimistic something good may come, but right now we're helping the suffering people, and the suffering is unimaginable.

Is there any tragedy that Pat won't turn into his own propaganda tool?

[Good Old Neon]

You just knew Pat Robertson would have something to say.

 

 

Is there any tragedy that Pat won't turn into his own propaganda tool?

 

And right on queue, Limbaugh chimes in:

 

Limbaugh: 'We've Already Donated To Haiti, It's Called US Income Tax'

 

Well, it didn't take long for conservative firebrand Rush Limbaugh to use the crisis in Haiti to attack President Obama politically. On his radio show yesterday Limbaugh said the earthquake in Haiti will play right into Obama's hands by allowing him to play up his "compassionate" and "humanitarian" credentials, and that the President will use this crisis to "boost his credibility with the black community."

 

As if that weren't enough, Limbaugh also pivoted off a caller who complained about Obama directing the public to the White House website to find charitable organizations operating in Haiti to promote a conspiracy theory that finding these charities via the White House website puts your money at risk of not reaching Haitians.

 

Limbaugh also seems to feel we've done enough already for Haiti: "We've already donated to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax."

 

Link - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/14/limbaugh-weve-already-don_n_422958.html

 

I feel no shame or guilt in saying that I wish the two of them would just drop dead.

[Doug C]

Both of them are charter members of the fast-growing Fraternal Order of the Sacks of Shit.

[jff]

Anyone know if there's an organization that is accepting items such as sleeping bags, tents, etc?

[Guest Speed Racer]

Letter of the Day in our local paper from my colleague, who suggests that Haitian nationals in the U.S. be granted Temporary Protected Status:

 

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is an immigration status granted to those individuals from a designated foreign country who are in the United States at the time the country is designated. The secretary of Homeland Security may designate a county for TPS if that country has suffered an environmental disaster. It is important to mention that once a country is designated, TPS beneficiaries are allowed to live and work temporarily in the United States, and that TPS does not lead to permanent resident status. It is also important to mention that the only individuals eligible for TPS status are those who are in the United States -- at the time the country is designated. With the chaos that has ensued in the past two days since Haiti was hit by a devastating 7.0 earthquake -- including the lack of a stable infrastructure as the death toll continues to rise and hospitals are unable to care for the injured, many of us are wondering what we can do to help. Certainly, one way we can help individually is to donate money to those organizations providing relief work in Haiti. But another way in which we, as a country, can lend international assistance is by designating Haiti for TPS so that Haitian nationals in the United States at this time can have a protective haven until it is safe to return home. I urge Secretary Janet Napolitano to please grant TPS designation to Haitians currently in the United States, and I ask all of us to second the request.

[remphish1]

And right on queue, Limbaugh chimes in:

 

Limbaugh: 'We've Already Donated To Haiti, It's Called US Income Tax'

 

Well, it didn't take long for conservative firebrand Rush Limbaugh to use the crisis in Haiti to attack President Obama politically. On his radio show yesterday Limbaugh said the earthquake in Haiti will play right into Obama's hands by allowing him to play up his "compassionate" and "humanitarian" credentials, and that the President will use this crisis to "boost his credibility with the black community."

 

As if that weren't enough, Limbaugh also pivoted off a caller who complained about Obama directing the public to the White House website to find charitable organizations operating in Haiti to promote a conspiracy theory that finding these charities via the White House website puts your money at risk of not reaching Haitians.

 

Limbaugh also seems to feel we've done enough already for Haiti: "We've already donated to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax."

 

Link - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/14/limbaugh-weve-already-don_n_422958.html

 

I feel no shame or guilt in saying that I wish the two of them would just drop dead.

It is scary how Limbaugh makes enough money to say this sh*t. If they axed him immediatley and sent all of his salary to the Haitains thousands of lives could be saved. What a travesty! How are people like Rush any different then the crazy religious preachers on the corner of big cities

[Guest Speed Racer]

Anyone know if there's an organization that is accepting items such as sleeping bags, tents, etc?

 

Overwhelmingly, organizations seem to be urging people to donate money over these goods, on account of the prohibitive shipping costs ($50 to mail your tent, $20 for a charity to buy a tent).

[ih8music]

not sure if it's been mentioned here but if you text "HAITI" to 90999, $10 will be donated to the American Red Cross for the Hati relief effort (charge will appear on your phone bill). quick & easy way to send a little cash to the effort.

[jff]

Overwhelmingly, organizations seem to be urging people to donate money over these goods, on account of the prohibitive shipping costs ($50 to mail your tent, $20 for a charity to buy a tent).

 

 

Makes sense. I've already donated cash, but I was hoping some of my unused stuff could be put to use in some way.

[Dude]

I gave to Doctors Without Borders yesterday. Like everyone else, including the UN, they've had their facilities destroyed by the quake and are struggling to set up tents and makeshift facilities and find their own staff, many of whom are missing.

 

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5htXx4kMYKWHQsKrDeehDo3LP3LeQ

 

Doctors Without Borders loses all three hospitals in Haitian quake

By Michelle Mcquigge (CP) – 19 hours ago

 

TORONTO — The massive earthquake that has toppled buildings and cost untold lives in Haiti has also dealt a staggering blow to a prominent international aid organization, which is struggling to help the injured without the benefit of a single hospital.

 

The 7.0-magnitude quake incapacitated all three Doctors Without Borders medical facilities around the capital of Port-Au-Prince, the group said Wednesday, causing one to collapse completely and rendering the other two so unstable that they had to be abandoned.

 

Workers scrambled to set up temporary shelters, where they are now dealing with an influx of seriously wounded quake victims, Paul McPhun, a member of the organization's emergency management team, told a conference call.

The lack of infrastructure has made it impossible for staff to provide adequate treatment, he said.

 

"The best we can offer them at the moment is first aid care and stabilization," McPhun said.

 

"The reality of what we're facing is severe traumas: head wounds, crushed limbs, severe problems that cannot be dealt with with the level of medical care that we currently have available with no infrastructure, really, to support it."

 

The organization's first priority is to re-establish facilities that will enable staff to perform surgeries and other more intensive procedures, McPhun said. There may be some relatively undamaged buildings that could be converted into a hospital, he added.

 

Jean-Pierre Tachereau, the Ottawa-based head of emergency response for the Canadian Red Cross, said Wednesday he will head the humanitarian agency's international team being airlifted into the earthquake-ravaged country.

Their picture of the situation on the ground is still unclear because the power grid is mostly down and the agency is only getting bits and pieces of information, he acknowledged.

 

The initial Red Cross team will include about 60 volunteers from 10 different countries; teams from Europe, the United States and Canada are being mobilized with special equipment, including portable water and sanitation treatment plants, Tachereau said.

 

The team will likely have to fly into the nearby Dominican Republic and then drive across the border.

 

The Canadian Red Cross has set an initial fundraising goal of $2 million and Tachereau says the public can get more information on donating at the agency's Web site.

 

Tuesday's quake, thought to be the largest the impoverished country has seen in more than 200 years, knocked out telephone and power lines throughout Port-Au-Prince.

 

Communication with people in Haiti has been difficult, and McPhun said the organization is still trying to develop an accurate picture of the severity of the situation on the ground. Thousands are feared dead.

 

For Doctors Without Borders, the task of tending to the wounded is complicated by the fact that they cannot yet account for all of its own staff members.

 

McPhun said the group has not been able to confirm the safety of all 800 of its workers in the country, a number that includes about 30 international staff. He declined to provide further details.

 

Doctors Without Borders has already identified about 70 volunteers that will be coming to Haiti in the coming days to shore up existing resources, though he acknowledged that their arrival may be delayed due to the damage at Haiti's airport and on roads throughout the capital.

 

Despite the lack of information, plans to co-ordinate aid to the stricken region were already getting underway Wednesday morning. Minister of International Co-operation Bev Oda said Ottawa would be providing up to $5 million for "urgent humanitarian assistance."

 

"Our government is deeply concerned about the impact of the earthquake and we want to ensure that the immediate basic needs of the Haitian people are met quickly and effectively," Oda said in a statement.

 

"In the face of so much devastation, we will continue to work closely with local authorities, international organizations and UN agencies to help bring relief to those affected and provide support as people rebuild their lives and communities."

 

Haiti is the largest recipient of Canadian development assistance in the Americas and is currently the Canadian International Development Agency's second-largest development program.

[austrya]

I heard an interview on the radio with Dr. Mary Ann Hopkins this morning. She is a general surgeon at NYU's Langone Medical Center and an associate professor at NYU. She is very involved with Doctors Without Borders and said that the best thing anyone here can do to help is to donate money to an organization such as Doctors Without Borders or the Red Cross. She said that inflatable tents are arriving in Haiti to be used as treatment facilities and that she is on the short list of doctors and is eagerly awaiting her call to go down and help. She described the conditions that they work under and some of the things they have to do without diagnostic tools such as CT scans and MRI's and it is amazing what they can do with such limited resources. They are really an amazing organization and if you would like to donate, you can go here

[OOO]

not sure if it's been mentioned here but if you text "HAITI" to 90999, $10 will be donated to the American Red Cross for the Hati relief effort (charge will appear on your phone bill). quick & easy way to send a little cash to the effort.

 

For someone lazy like me this was a godsend. Completely painless and I generally trust the Red Cross. I did hear all the cell phone companies (except for ATT) would be waiving text message charges if you're donating to Haiti, so there's that as well.

[Dude]

What would we do in times like these without Grade A Jackasses like Robertson?

 

Haiti earthquake: Televangelist Pat Robertson links quake to 'pact with the devil'

January 14, 2010 | 7:24 am

 

By Andrew Zajac

 

Reporting from Washington -- Conservative televangelist the Rev. Pat Robertson on Wednesday linked the earthquake in Haiti to a "pact with the devil" purportedly entered into by the Haitian people in the late 18th century in a bid to defeat French colonizers.

 

"Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it," Robertson said on his Christian Broadcasting Network show. "They were under the heel of the French . . . and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you'll get us free from the French.'

 

"True story. And the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal,' " Robertson said. "Ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after another."

[tinnitus photography]

i just gave some $ to doctors w/o borders...lost their hospitals...man...

[Plumplechook]

Looks like OxfamAmerica have just released a promo video of the Johnny Marr/Jeff Tweedy song 'Too Blue' (from the 7 Worlds Collide project) as part of its fundraising efforts for the Haiti earthquake. Spot the Wilco boys:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSDig28w56k

[Reni]

I found out today that Flo McGarrel, an old friend of mine from high school (who was one of my best friends in high school) was killed in Jacmel, Haiti in a hotel that collapsed. He was working on developing an artist's collective in Jacmel.

 

This all really fucking sucks.

 

Shine on Flo......

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

What would we do in times like these without Grade A Jackasses like Robertson?

 

Haiti earthquake: Televangelist Pat Robertson links quake to 'pact with the devil'

January 14, 2010 | 7:24 am

 

By Andrew Zajac

 

Reporting from Washington -- Conservative televangelist the Rev. Pat Robertson on Wednesday linked the earthquake in Haiti to a "pact with the devil" purportedly entered into by the Haitian people in the late 18th century in a bid to defeat French colonizers.

 

"Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it," Robertson said on his Christian Broadcasting Network show. "They were under the heel of the French . . . and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you'll get us free from the French.'

 

"True story. And the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal,' " Robertson said. "Ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after another."

 

He needs to just go away.

[bobbob1313]

"Mr. Robertson, Mr. Limbaugh. Your lives are not worth those of the lowest, meanest, poorest of those victims still lying under that rubble in Haiti tonight. You serve no good, you serve no god. You inspire only stupidity and hatred, and I would wish you to hell, but knowing how empty your souls must be for you to be able to say such things, in a time of such pain, I suspect the vacant purposelessness of the lives you both live now are hell enough already."

 

-Olbermann

 

 

Spot fucking on.

[Edie]

I found out today that Flo McGarrel, an old friend of mine from high school (who was one of my best friends in high school) was killed in Jacmel, Haiti in a hotel that collapsed. He was working on developing an artist's collective in Jacmel.

 

This all really fucking sucks.

 

Shine on Flo......

 

Vibes Kate.