Magnitude 7.0 - HAITI REGION

Originally posted by muzzleflash
Wow ! 7 points ouch!

Any word on Tsunamis in the area? A lot of people can be at risk.

This was a big quake.

Any information coming from Port Au Prince yet?

They must be reeling from this right now...I hope things are moderate and turn out to be somewhat ok.

The first info was coming from sources like twitter and facebook. Cell phones are shot, the towers and infrastructure are gone. Phone land lines? Forget about it. I find it odd e-mail seems to work, more or less. If people are using laptops, they are going to need to get some out side power very soon. I would think it;s very stange any computer net work could survive this. Now I find out Hati has no, I MEAN ZERO building codes, makes this whole thing even stranger.

The US military has plans to deal with a community in the US that has been decemated by natural or military/terrorist attack. We can package up this capacity and move it any where in the world. This might be going on right now, but I've been out of the loop for some time.

For the benefit of any Haitian responders checking this thread:

Somebody needs to get a helicopter with a loudspeaker system airborne ASAP.

Use it to communicate across the city, play soothing music, inform the city where services are available. Preferably the president should be the voice they hear, but any familiar voice will work.

Please, if you do this it willl avert a lot of trouble and greatly comfort the people. It should also make coordination a little easier.

reply to post by infinite


Thanks for the news, I was out to dinner and forgot to turn the computer off.

Anything else on the school children?

www.straitstimes.com...

Non-lethal arms sent to Haiti

RIO DE JANEIRO - BRAZIL is to send guns with rubber bullets and other non-lethal weapons to Haiti because of rising fears of riots by an angry population desperate for aid, Defence Minister Nelson Jobim said on Friday.

'Brazil is sending to Haiti non-lethal instruments, like rubber-bullet weapons. According to the president (Rene Preval of Haiti), with the lack of water, fuel and food, people are starting to become restive,' Mr Jobim told reporters in Rio.

The minister, who returned to Brazil on Friday after a two-day visit to Haiti to see the situation of the quake-hit country and speak to Mr Preval, earlier said he feared an explosion of unrest was around the corner.

'As long as the people are hungry and thirsty, as long as we haven't fixed the problem of shelter, we run the risk of riots,' he said.

'We are worried about security,' he said.

Mr Jobim added that what he saw in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince were 'the worst scenes' of his life. Brazil is in command of the 9,000 UN peacekeeping force deployed to Haiti before the quake, and is using its 1,260 troops there for disaster relief efforts. -- AFP

reply to post by infinite


What else can he do he has no choice, the US military and UN will take over no matter what.



[edit on 15-1-2010 by marg6043]

www.straitstimes.com...

US troops spark anger in Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE - TROOPERS from the US Army's 82nd Airborne division fanned out across Haiti's main airport on Friday, sparking angry scenes as they struggled to control crowds desperate to leave the country.

'Back up, back up. I'm not trying to be rude, but you've got to back up,' a soldier shouted as a French official tried to lead a group of French nationals into the airport terminal.

'Passeport americain seulement. Passeport americain seulement,' a frustrated State Department official shouted, as Haitian refugees began to crowd around an ad hoc holding area for US citizens clutching their precious blue passports. The US troops were the first of an estimated 1,000 due to pour into the country over the course of the day.

The United States is deploying as many as 10,000 troops to Haiti over the next few days, although many will remain on an armada of naval vessels gathering offshore, led by the aircraft carrier USS Vinson, the Pentagon said. The US detachment is the largest so far committed to the aid effort, three days after a massive earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince, killing thousands and destroying all semblance of governance in this poverty-stricken country.

The 82nd Airborne troops set up base at the airport, securing the entrance to the terminal where they began filtering US passport holders out of the crowd of hundreds of frustrated would-be refugees demanding flights.

A measure of order was restored, but there were confused and sometimes angry scenes as non-American diplomats tried to extract their own nationals from the crowd to usher them to rescue planes waiting on the tarmac. -- AFP

Originally posted by apacheman
For the benefit of any Haitian responders checking this thread:

Somebody needs to get a helicopter with a loudspeaker system airborne ASAP.

Use it to communicate across the city, play soothing music, inform the city where services are available. Preferably the president should be the voice they hear, but any familiar voice will work.

Please, if you do this it willl avert a lot of trouble and greatly comfort the people. It should also make coordination a little easier.

Well unless the President can speak French that won't accomplish anything... I be even more antagonized if i was in that situation.

I can tell you what's really going to happen. Today these Haitains are singing in the streets, that is until the Chaos sets in...

Which is about to happen. Once they realize there is nothing left for them, and there is no "world" left for them Anarchy will set in.

Desperation and futility... heh

I was just watching CNN, and the U.N. was trying to give out food, a very "intelligent" Haitian attempts to read the package and starts yelling to the crowd to throw down the biscuits because they are no good.

He was confusing the Packaged date which was 2008 with the Best by date which is Nov. 2010...

So take that for what you will but it's a mess that is just going to get worse.

They're even telling the Doctors to pack up and get out, because Riots are going to begin soon.

reply to post by JBA2848


Is going to be a lot of troops in order to keep the crowd from attacking the aid workers as they distribute needed food and other necessities.

www.defense.gov...

Pennsylvania Guard to Broadcast to Haitians
By Airman 1st Class Claire Behney
Special to American Forces Press Service

HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 15, 2010 – The Pennsylvania National Guard is sending a uniquely equipped plane to Haiti to provide radio and television broadcasts to keep the people of the earthquake-stricken nation informed as rescue and humanitarian missions continue.

Airmen assigned to the 193rd Special Operations Wing of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard load a C-130J as they prepare to depart Middletown, Pa., for Haiti, Jan. 15, 2010. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Master Sgt. David Hawkins
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

About 50 airmen and three C-130 aircraft assigned to the 193rd Special Operations Wing will provide rapid communications response capabilities to all of Hispaniola, which comprises Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Two of the aircraft are cargo aircraft. The third, named Commando Solo, is an airborne radio and television station that will provide important information to the Haitian people as U.S. and international search and rescue and humanitarian aid missions continue.

In what he described as an "unprecedented humanitarian mission," Gov. Edward G. Rendell said that the Pennsylvania Air National Guard had been called out to support the Air Force Special Operations Command mission in Haiti.

One of the aircraft departed late on Jan. 14, the other two aircraft left Middletown, Pa., today.

"Our National Guard is honored to extend a helping hand to the people of Haiti. I am proud of these dedicated airmen, who are always ready to answer the call of duty, whether it is for combat missions or to aid those in need," said Army Maj. Gen. Jessica L. Wright, the adjutant general of the Pennsylvania National Guard.

The 193rd was last called to serve in Haiti more than a decade ago. In 1994, Commando Solo was used to broadcast radio and television messages to the citizens and leaders of Haiti during Operation Uphold Democracy. This is, however, the first humanitarian mission of its type for the wing.

(Airman 1st Class Claire Behney is assigned to the Pennsylvania National Guard.)

reply to post by Brainiac


I meant their president.

Sorry, I thought that would be obvious.

Given the religious nature of the place a some appropriate music mixed with information might get them through the night easier.

www.nytimes.com...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will fly to Haiti on Saturday to get a firsthand look at the earthquake relief effort as well as to help evacuate some Americans caught up in the disaster.

""I will not be leaving the airport area, so I will not be using assets like automobiles that should be better used for transporting rescue workers or medical personnel," she said.

Clinton said the trip would give her and her team a firsthand look at how the relief effort was unfolding, which she could then convey to other world leaders, adding the United States backed the idea of a donor conference at some point in the future.

"I've spoken to a number of foreign ministers and heads of state who are asking questions about how things are operating and what they can do to contribute. It just gives you a level of credibility," Clinton said of the trip.
.

And in other words "I think the pictures will be great next time I campaign."

reply to post by JBA2848


I'm glad they're going there, but I'm kind of baffled by their expectations.

Where are the TVs and radios they will be broadcasting to? If there are any, what electrical grid are you going to plug them into?

Loudspeakers will work better for the next few days at least.

www.brazzilmag.com... ons.html

Brazilian Army Burying the Dead in Haiti According to Religious Traditions
Brazil will help bury the bodies spread through the streets of Port au Prince, Haiti's capital. Thursday, in a meeting with the country's president, Rene Preval, Brazil's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, asked him to designate a field where hundreds of bodies can be buried.

Brazil's ambassador in Haiti, Igor Kipman should see to it that the bodies are buried following the religious traditions of the country where there are Christians and adherents of voodoo.

According to Jobim, Brazil is authorized to recruit Haitian labor so that the bodies of the voodoo followers be handled only by voodoo faithful observing all the proper rituals.

The Haitian president, according to Jobim, assumed the commitment to indicate an area to begin the burial as soon as possible.

I just heard that Israel will opening first surgical facility in Haiti for emergency surgeries of victims.

This is just incredible, they can just put a tent and have the necessary equipment to perform surgeries.

I am amazed at the technology, the white tents are equipped with air conditioned.

A lot of amputations been performed after 72 hours of victims waiting for help.

I only imagine how to be wounded with no care and infection setting in.

"(CNN) -- An earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 5.6 struck eastern Venezuela on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported."
www.cnn.com...

WTF is shaking the earth?

reply to post by JJay55


I think Pat Roberson have the answer to that, he knows everything because everything that is natural disasters is because people are sinners.

Originally posted by marg6043
reply to post by JJay55

 

I think Pat Roberson have the answer to that, he knows everything because everything that is natural disasters is because people are sinners.

Heh. Pat Robertson. And he was a presidential candidate, wasn't he? heh.

Yeah, Haiti is a voodoo nation but I don't think the volcano God got angry. Pat Robertson is a loon. But he is spreading the 12th Imam thing, and a product of the Holy War. These opportunist make me sick. Even Sanjay Gupta is over doing it.

Alonzo Mourning just interviewed on CNN calling Haiti a "beautiful" country. What happened there one of the most tragic natural disasters that has ever happened. But come on! What the hell is wrong with people. Haiti is and has been a complete and utter failure economically, socially, politically. You've got a city that was only ever meant to support 50K people supporting over 2 million. Haitians have destroyed 96% of their forests. Are people like Alonzo Mourning just DUMB? Haiti a beautiful country? Gimme a break. This is part of the problem why Haiti came to be in the situation that it is in.

It's like parents who keep spoiling their children and making excuses for them and when they finally get into trouble keep bailing them out. And I don't mean what the world is doing now because of the Earthquake. I mean before this the world has been making excuses for countries like Haiti and have made them dependent on the "world system" of welfare for decades. So when disaster does finally strike the country is completely and utterly destroyed. All one has to do is look to their neighbors the Dominicans and people will understand why Haiti is in the situation that it is in. No one wants to talk about the corruption that has plagued Haiti for eons.

The whole Haiti thing is turning into a big pony show in my opinion for everyone to show how much they care about a country that has been exploited on so many levels and by so many people. It's disgusting in my opinion. The world has been giving Haiti fish for a long time instead of teaching them HOW to fish.

I would NEVER imply that Haiti or any other group of human beings DESERVE what has happened to them. But nature has a way of cleaning itself up in my opinion. Less than 4% of Haitian forests exist.

China is also one of the biggest polluters in the world and look at the natural disasters that have struck that place. The world works in mysterious ways people especially when it comes to population contorl.

www.washingtonpost.com...

Groups raise doubts about Wyclef Jean's charity

LOS ANGELES -- Groups that vet charities are raising doubts about the organization backed by Haitian-born rapper Wyclef Jean, questioning its accounting practices and ability to function in earthquake-hit Haiti.

Even as more than $2 million poured into The Wyclef Jean Foundation Inc. via text message after just two days, experts questioned how much of the money would help those in need.

"It's questionable. There's no way to get around that," said Art Taylor, president and chief executive of the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance, based in Arlington, Va.

Taylor reviewed Internal Revenue Service tax returns for the organization also known as Yele Haiti Foundation from 2005 through 2007. He said the first red flag of poor accounting practices was that three years of returns were filed on the same day - Aug. 10 of last year.

In 2007, the foundation's spending exceeded its revenues by $411,000. It brought in just $79,000 that year.

An Associated Press review of tax returns and independent audits provided by Jean's foundation showed that it was closely intertwined with Jean's businesses.

Three of the five foundation board members - Jean, Jerry Duplessis and Seth Kanegis - are involved in his personal music and business endeavors.

According to an IRS tax return from 2006 reviewed earlier by the Web site The Smoking Gun, the foundation paid $250,000 to buy airtime from Telemax S.A., a for-profit TV station in Haiti that is majority owned by Jean and Duplessis.

Part of that money went to pay for a concert in Haiti put on by Jean himself, Locke said.

Another $160,000 that year was spent on a concert in Monte Carlo that Jean participated in, of which $75,000 paid for backup singers and $25,000 went to Jean through a company he owns with Duplessis, Platinum Sound Recording Studios Inc., Locke said.

"I'm not saying he didn't benefit from it," said Locke, who says his own salary is $8,100 a month after taxes. "We were paying that to Platinum Sound because that covered the cost of him participating in the event."

Locke argued that the foundation took in "several hundred thousand" dollars in exchange for Jean's work through the proceeds of an auction.

The foundation also rents office space from Platinum Sound, paying about $2,600 a month in New York. Locke said the foundation also plans to partner with Jean's Sak Pase Records to build a music studio to provide vocational training to Haitian children.

I hate to say it but I told you so. Watch out for where you donate money folks! This article is about the scam from Yele Haiti Foundation.

[edit on 15-1-2010 by JBA2848]

Originally posted by apacheman
reply to post by Brainiac

 

I meant their president.

Sorry, I thought that would be obvious.

Given the religious nature of the place a some appropriate music mixed with information might get them through the night easier.

Ah, no he can't do anything. Their President has no power...
He's as useful as their broken buildings.
He'd be on the ship out of Haiti with the rest of them.
That's why i didn't even acknowledge "their" President, ... Correction it's taken The Haitian President 3 days to finally be found to be talked to.


[edit on 1/15/2010 by Brainiac]