Why Haiti?

[Dean Thoreau]

today Haiti was hit with a 7.2 earthquake. It hit approximately 6 miles outside of Port Au Prince. the poverty projects 5 story building collapsed. .....And the news continues.
Haiti...within 3 years has been hit by a minimum of 4 horrific hurricanes....killing hundreds of thousands.
Haiti a people who on average live on less than 2 dollars a day...in severe poverty.

Obama has said he will help Haiti, I hope he keeps his word to that better than he has kept his "promise" to end the war in Iraq!

Haiti...if there was any place in the America's that just once should be spared a disaster...it has to be Haiti...We american's cry with anquish when our cars get a dent...throw fits cause we have to wait in line for a movie...and for most the biggest question of the day is which coffee place to stop at on the way to work....and here is a country of people who live on less than our cup of coffee costs, have been hit with more disasters than any of us americans can imagine, and they do not get "government bailouts, disaster relief , or home insurance.....they get promised 10 million and are lucky if they get 305 of it...
Check the records....look at the actual amounts....when all the fancy countries, USA< UK< etc say we are giving ...in AID rarely do they give that much in actuality..
Sad but True....
google it if u don't believe me!

Send Obama a letter and tell him to keep his word and give Haiti the money he says he will!

[Cyclopea]

A terrible tragedy, one of many they have faced. Thank you for posting this Dean T.

[dreadgeek]

That pillar of compassion, Pat Robertson, is at it again! From Talking Points Memo:

Pat Robertson, a Christian televangelist, speaking today about the devastating earthquake in Haiti, said Haitians had collectively "sworn a pact to the devil," which brought on the country's extreme poverty and the earthquake.

"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 ... 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. So the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.'"

"Ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after another," Robertson said, referring to the country's poverty.

Robertson was speaking on the Christian Broadcast Network during a drive by the network, which he founded, to raise money for disaster relief.

"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," he said.

About 80 percent of Haiti's population is Catholic, but many Haitians also practice voodoo, another monotheistic religion.

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo...il.php?ref=fpb



Cheers
Aj

[Cyclopea]

Originally Posted by dreadgeek

That pillar of compassion, Pat Robertson, is at it again! From Talking Points Memo:

Pat Robertson, a Christian televangelist, speaking today about the devastating earthquake in Haiti, said Haitians had collectively "sworn a pact to the devil," which brought on the country's extreme poverty and the earthquake.

"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 ... 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. So the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.'"

"Ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after another," Robertson said, referring to the country's poverty.

Robertson was speaking on the Christian Broadcast Network during a drive by the network, which he founded, to raise money for disaster relief.

"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," he said.

About 80 percent of Haiti's population is Catholic, but many Haitians also practice voodoo, another monotheistic religion.

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo...il.php?ref=fpb



Cheers
Aj

"pillar of compassion" lol.
I'm surprised he didn't blame gay marriage. (since sodomy caused the collapse of the levies in New Orleans according to him.)

[Cyclopea]

From Huffpo:

President Obama said on Tuesday that his "thoughts and prayers" were with the people of Haiti. "We are closely monitoring the situation and we stand ready to assist the people of Haiti," Obama said in a statement. The Obama administration said that the State Department, USAID and the U.S. military were working to coordinate an assessment of the situation and any possible assistance.

Huffington Post Impact is working to collect a comprehensive list of links and ways to get involved in relief efforts, detailed below.

The U.S. State Department Operations Center has set up the following number for Americans seeking information about family members in Haiti: 1-888-407-4747

•The American Red Cross is pledging an initial $200,000 to assist communities impacted by this earthquake. They expect to provide immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support. They are accepting donations through their International Response Fund.

•UNICEF has issued a statement that "Children are always the most vulnerable population in any natural disaster, and UNICEF is there for them." UNICEF requests donations for relief for children in Haiti via their Haiti Earthquake Fund. You can also call 1-800-4UNICEF.

•Donate through Wyclef Jean's foundation, Yele Haiti. Text "Yele" to 501501 and $5 will be charged to your phone bill and given to relief projects through the organization.

•Operation USA is appealing for donations of funds from the public and corporate donations in bulk of health care materials, water purification supplies and food supplements which it will ship to the region from its base in the Port of Los Angeles. Donate online at www.opusa.org, by phone at 1-800-678-7255 or, by check made out to Operation USA, 3617 Hayden Ave, Suite A, Culver City, CA 90232.

•Save The Children has launched an emergency relief effort for Haiti. Donate to their fund to provide medical attention and clean water to children and families.

•International Medical Corps is assembling a team of first responders and resources to provide lifesaving medical care and other emergency services to survivors of the earthquake. The IMC previously helped recovery efforts after September 2009's earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia, and the massive 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. Donate to the International Medical Corps through their 24-hour hotline at 800-481-4462

•Ben Stiller's Stillerstrong campaign will be temporarily diverting all donations to support the Haiti relief effort.

•Partners In Health reports its Port-au-Prince clinical director , Louise Ivers, has appealed for assistance: "Port-au-Prince is devastated, lot of deaths. SOS. SOS... Temporary field hospital by us at UNDP needs supplies, pain meds, bandages. Please help us." Donate to their Haiti earthquake fund.

•Mercy Corps is sending a team of emergency responders to assess damage, and seek to fulfill immediate needs of quake survivors. The agency aided families after earthquakes in Peru in 2007, China and Pakistan in 2008, and Indonesia last year. Donate online, call 1-888-256-1900 or send checks to Mercy Corps Haiti Earthquake Fund; Dept NR; PO Box 2669; Portland, OR 97208.

•Doctors Without Borders is on the ground and has set up clinics to treat injured in Haiti. Donate any amount so they can keep their efforts going.

•Direct Relief is committing up to $1 million in aid for the response and is coordinating with its other in-country partners and colleague organizations. Their partners in Haiti include Partners in Health, St. Damien Children's Hospital, and the Visitation Hospital, which are particularly active in emergency response. Donate to Direct Relief online.

•Oxfam is rushing in teams from around the region to respond to the situation to provide clean water, shelter, sanitation and help people recover. Donate to Oxfam America online.

•The UN World Food Programme is gathering all available resources to deliver food to the recently homeless and impoverished in Haiti. Donate now to help bring food to those affected as quickly and efficiently as possible.

•The Baptist Haiti Mission is operating an 82-bed hospital that is "overflowing with injured." Donate online to BHM and 100% of your donation will go to the relief effort.

•International Medical Corps is assembling a team of first responders and resources to provide lifesaving medical care and other emergency services to survivors of the earthquake. Donate online.

•Donate to Catholic Relief Services.

•Give to the American Jewish World Service's Earthquake Relief Fund.

•CARE is deploying emergency team members to Port-au-Prince today to assist in recovery efforts. They're focusing their efforts on rescuing children who may still be trapped in schools that collapsed. Donate to CARE.

•Orphans International America reports that they have been able to make contact with their program director in the town of Jacmel, a city about 20 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince that houses OI's hospitals and schools. Orphans International America is attempting to gather food, clean water and emergency medical supplies to Jacmel. You can contribute to them through PayPal.

•The International Rescue Committee is deploying an emergency response team to Haiti to deliver urgent assistance to earthquake survivors and to help overwhelmed local aid groups struggling to meet the immense emergency needs. They will focus on critical medical, water and sanitation assistance. Donate to the IRC Haiti Crisis Fund.

•NetHope is coordinating its response with its NGO member agencies and with the UN's Emergency Telecom Cluster to establish connectivity in Haiti. Seventeen of NetHope's members are already providing aid and deploying resources on the ground. Donate online.

•The Haitian Health Foundation is still assessing the situation of their full-time facilities and staff in Haiti. They regularly provide health care, development and relief to rural mountain villages in Haiti. Donate to the Haitian Health Foundation.

•World Vision has more 370 staff in the country. Staff members from less-affected regions of Haiti are mobilizing, and World Vision's global experts are expected to arrive in the disaster zone as soon as possible. Donate to World Vision.

•The Jewish Federations of North America is partnering with the American Jewish Joint Distribution committee and have created a dedicated Haiti Relief page for online donations.

•United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) is the UN's humanitarian fund responding to emergencies like the earthquake in Haiti. Donate online.

•Friends of the Orphans will use donations to meet the needs of first responders such as first aid supplies, shipping of necessary materials to assist in efforts, and treating the injured. Those interested in helping the relief effort can visit www.friendsoftheorphans.org, or call 888-201-8880 to make a donation.

•World Concern's staff is almost entirely composed of Haitian nationals and will be tapping into private as well as U.S. government supplies to help in the relief effort it hopes will soon be supplemented by cargo ships. Donate to World Concern.

[Heart]

two excellent aid organizations for Haiti:

www.carmafoundation.org
www.mercycorps.org

Please give whatever you can.

[Dean Thoreau]

"It seems Mr. Robertson after the taping..tried to excuse his ignorance by stating ” I thought they said “Hades” Which on face value his followers shall nod and say…that’s right Pat..

If you look at his comments it is not possible for that to have been the case. Mr. Robertson spent to much time stating exactly “where Hades” was for him to have been mistaken. We know what the man was doing, now he is getting ignorant people to relate Haiti to HADES…….

We have another Christian Rush Limbaugh making racial inferences that Obama responded to quickly regarding Haiti as compared to the Presidents response to the underwear bomber. Rush…there is a major different between an ongoing FBI investigation…and a natural disaster….

Now before we spend hours, headlines ,and money combating these two ignorant, ungodly, sensationalistic bigoted individuals. I highly recommend we consider the source and their underlying reason…

Why would they say such asinine things?

Both men are smart enough to know that to destroy good before it really gets going all you have to do is say stupid things and the mainstream press will be dumb enough to cover and discuss in ad nasueum”

And there you have it, the reason these two smart men have said stupid things about Haiti. They want the people raising money, heading to help Haiti, the church leaders to stop helping. They want people to talk about their words, debate them and slow down the energy to assist Haiti.

NOW LET US ALL STOP them in their tracks! Forget the idiots, include them in your prayers tonight and lets go on with doing what we need to do.

Now, let’s all get back to what we really need to be discussing, Helping the people of Haiti, giving funds to help Haiti, caring about our brothers and sisters in Haiti,..."


Dean

[Dean Thoreau]

www.microplace.com

I just received an email from them.
Thought I would pass along this information. First let me explain microPlace is a for profit place it is a part of Ebay....and at MicroPlace you can invest in "micro-loans" and earn a profit.....this is not like Kiva.....at kiva,,you invest in microloans and then when you get your original investment back you re-invest it again..but u never "earn interest or make money"

microPlace u have the potential to make money or your investment up to 15%...
so anyway MicroPlace just sent me an email telling me they are encouraging people to lend "Fonkoze" some money.....at a price of course...
So if anyone is interested in "investing" by all means you may want to check out MicroPlace*

My Disclaimer: I neither endorse nor do i judge that which I have just passed on in this post to everyone. I have done it for informational purposes only and please by all means do understand I have done this out of my desire to pass on information, not to insult or piss off or annoy anyone, and please be so kind as to not judge me for receiving said types of email.....neither of us has walked in the others shoes so we have no idea why,or how, or what.....

[hippieflowergirl]

Originally Posted by Cyclopea

"pillar of compassion" lol.
I'm surprised he didn't blame gay marriage. (since sodomy caused the collapse of the levies in New Orleans according to him.)

dont forget that Pat blamed feminism and homosexuality for the bombing of the twin towers too. gotta love those queer feminist bombers.

[imperfect_cupcake]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A2q60qg0WA"]YouTube- Rachel Maddow- Haitian ambassador shames Pat Robertson[/ame]

[dreadgeek]

Some Secular Routes for Haitian Relief Efforts

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the impoverished nation of Haiti and devastated the nation's capital and surroundings on January 12 is a disaster of catastrophic proportions. In the wake of this calamity, there are ways to reach out and give support to relief efforts.

If you have not already designated a channel for offering financial assistance, or if you are not yet aware of any routes for secular delivery of aid, then you may want to assess some of those pathways mentioned below. The Brights' Net is conveying information and suggestions from those secular organizations that promptly reported these available channels.

Haiti's high population density, pervasive poverty and wretched architecture have created a full-scale human calamity. Over three million people have been affected by the quake with injuries or deaths in the hundreds of thousands. Communications, transportation, and in fact the entire infrastructure in the area of Port-au-Prince have collapsed, and the network of assistance providers in many arenas who could aid recovery are missing or dead. This impoverished nation urgently requires help in this catastrophe.

Message from the Secular Student Alliance:

The Foundation Beyond Belief has recommended several organizations that have received high ratings from Charity Navigator and take a secular approach to their charitable work. We are reposting their list here so that Secular Student Alliance members, supporters and friends are able to find organizations through which they can support Haitian relief efforts. The links will take you to the Charity Navigator page for that organization, where you can find more information and make a donation.

Foundation Beyond Belief writes: "MADRE is a small organization with a high efficiency rating and a good track record in disaster relief that does not mix worldview with its charity. ActionAid International is an outstanding organization that is efficient, non-sectarian, and works with a small budget. International Relief Teams, AmeriCares, Doctors Without Borders, and Partners In Health all receive high ratings for the secular charitable work they do."

Our hearts go out to those who are suffering in Haiti, and we are happy to put our hands to work to help the survivors. Please feel free to share this information with your local groups, friends and family, in order to demonstrate our humanistic generosity in a time of great need

Message from the Center for Inquiry

The Center for Inquiry is accepting disaster-relief donations through its S.H.A.R.E. program to support those providing care to the survivors of the 7.0 earthquake that struck Jan. 12 near the capital city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

All donations - 100 percent with no operating costs retained - will be sent directly to the secular aid group Doctors Without Borders, which suffered the loss of all three of its medical facilities and is working against difficulties to provide the basics of first-aid care and stabilization.

The needs of those who've lost their family members, their homes, and their livelihoods will be very great. Your assistance will make a huge difference for the victims of this tragic disaster. Please join us and other humanists and skeptics as we help those in need in this time of crisis.

Message from the American Humanist Association

Humanist Charities of the American Humanist Association (AHA) expresses its deep sorrow for the people affected by the massive devastation caused by the earthquake. To ensure rapid and effective response to this tragedy, Humanist Charities has established the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund to support the relief efforts going on right now.

Humanist Charities is working with Sebastian Velez, evolutionary biologist at Harvard University and director of the Children of the Border project, which works to protect the rights and expand access to medical care and education for Haitian immigrants. Humanist Charities has previously supported Mr. Velez and the Children of the Border project when AHA members helped raise thousands of dollars to expand emergency medical service for expectant mothers living in the Haitian border region of the Dominican Republic in 2008.

Mr. Velez is currently in Haiti assessing the situation and will report back to us a humanist or secular organization that can receive funds directly to help with relief efforts. If none is found, Humanist Charities will make a donation to the American Red Cross' International Response Fund on your behalf.

[weatherboi]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Dne1Mla-s"]YouTube- Jimmy Buffett - Text "haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to Haiti Relief[/ame]