I'm waiting to see factual not speculative reports. I'm not interested in 'there may be hundreds of thousands dead' but in actual accounts. Why?

Because Haiti is not simply the poorest country in that area - right smack next to the Dominican Republic - which is doing very well; it is one of the most if not THE most corrupt nation in that area. And it's been that way for a very long time with no hint of any change.

I suspect that monies sent to Haiti might - and I admit that I am the one speculating - but might go into the pockets of those corrupt - and Haiti will rebuild its substandard 'housing', set up its substandard services, and repeat itself as the most corrupt and impoverished nation in that area...but with the corrupt set massively enriched by this international aid.

Billions will be spent to prop up that wasteland, Haiti. Nothing will improve. The country is and always has been a total sink hole of corruption, tyranny and ignorance. It cannot be changed nor saved. Haiti makes New Orleans look like Switzerland. It is like a little bit of Africa right here in the Caribbean. What a mess. I am trying to feel sorry for the Haitians, but I can't. There is no point.

In situations like the Haiti disaster, I contribute to Global Medic. The members are volunteers with emergency services backgrounds who do critical work fighting to bring potable water and emergency hospital facilities to ravaged areas as quickly as possible to try to prevent epidemics and further massive loss of life.

http://www.globalmedic.ca/missions/Haiti/earthquake_jan_2010/main.html

Watch as America shoulders nintey percent of the releif and rebuild effort and a year from now the Haitians will be yelling death to America. Just like they did in Indonesia about a year after their sunami.

Some of the comments made so far are sickening.

Steve, many of us will help however we can, but the point remains Haiti is a corrupt hellhole.

Thanks for the link Sgt.

I've traveled extensively in Haiti, usually renting a Suzuki dirt bike in the D.R. then making my way to the Haitian border. No passport required, just a small bribe of about 10 US$ and your in.

Abe is right, when there I always get the feeling I'm in Equatorial Guinea or Madagascar. A group of Haitians once tried to sell me an armadillo for $5. For another $2 they'd tie it to the seat of the motorcycle. I didn't buy it because it seemed to have an attitude problem. In hindsight I could have made a decent profit reselling it to the Hells Angels in Puerto Plata.

Corruption or not, that's not what is important now.

I trust that some of the deplorable commmenters have been watching a little too much Pat Robertson:

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201001130024

Hey Steve,

A good place for you to puke is on the grave of Papa Doc Duval.

Stevie,

Pat Robertson is an idiot and no one pays attention to him but idiots like you who try to lump him in as a normal everyday conservative.

Steve - how much of your hard-earned cash are you willing to bet that the Presidential Palace will be rebuilt before much is done to replace housing for the common folk?

Those are legitimate concerns when it comes to the corrupt government operating in Haiti. It is what it is.

Some of the comments made so far are sickening.
Posted by: Steve at January 13, 2010 3:18 PM

Can't handle the truth Steve?

How many pairs of rose colored glasses do you own?

steve - is it sickening to support corruption?

Are you that naive and quite frankly, stupid, that you would enable the corrupt govt and powerbrokers of Haiti to USE a natural disaster to further enrich themselves?

Do you want to help Haitians who need the help, which their govt has NEVER provided? Did Haitians, before this earthquake, have hospitals, medical service, adequate communication services, clean water, decent housing, hydro, food. No, they didn't. Why not?

Because their govt is corrupt and has been for generations. The CIA report: 'more than 2/3 of the labour force don't have formal jobs; over 80% live below the poverty line; 4 airports with paved runways...and so on.

Do you want this to continue? Do you want to enable this to continue? Yes? Then send your money and exhort govts to send their money to the Haitian govt and Haitian services.

Otherwise, do as sgt lejaune suggests and send ONLY to agencies that employ their own, non-Haitian staff who are NOT in the control of any Haitian authorities.

Haiti is the world center of the Voodoo religion.

Haitians, apart from homosexual males and intravenous drug abusers, have historically been a major nexus for the spread of HIV.

Talking about greed and corruption, would Haiti be more like the Dominican Republic, second largest economy in the Caribbean, if it weren't for the influence of French and Voodoo in Haitian culture?

armadillos, which are mammals, are believed to be the only significant natural reservoir of leprosy apart from humans

corruption or not, that's a sickening and sad revelation of your character lady.

I'm praying for those poor buggers down there. And donating to the Red Cross.

pics here: http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2010/01/13/powerful_quake_ravages_haiti/

they're people for chrissakes. Really poor people horribly unprepared for an event that will make a generation of people.

and all you hyper-politicized gerbils in here can talk about is what a shithole it is.

Why yes, it is.

Why do you clowns insist on putting a foot down on someone's throat - when they're on the ground?

True revelation of the calibre and character of some in here.

I agree the comments here are sickening, but they speak the truth.
We cannot bury our heads in the sand and ignore
the reality that is Haiti.

Leave the French out of Haitian culture, The Haitians threw off the French yoke a long time ago and have had _PLENTY_ to time to at least become a modestly badly run Carribean nation with a serious crime problem.

Instead they have conciously, at every opportunity since independence, shot themselves in the foot. Kleptocracy in action with a "democratic" veneer.

Every seen the country from air? You can _see_ the border with the D.R. the environment is so degraded on the Haitian side due to bad land management and overpopulation.

A terrible tragedy. I feel for the people of Haiti. I hope enough aid gets there fast, and that it gets to the ones who need it.

Thanks for the link Sgt. Legeune.

As for "normal everyday conservative"'s, Abe, please don't do the rest of us an extreme disservice by lumping your comments in with theirs. Snap out of it, buddy. These people deserve compassion and need help, right now. The government of Haiti is a big problem, but you've extended your feelings about them to include their primary victims - the Haitian people. Thankfully your lack of caring is not representative of the everyday conservatives I know, or our current government.

And OZ - disgusting and ignorant. Predictably so.

Oz: Voodoo is just syncretized west African religion and Catholicism.

It's not especially "dangerous" to progress in some magical way.

On another note, however, the predictable conspiracy lunacy has already started, just like with Indonesia.

Every earthquake is the result of secret US "weather weapon" testing, don'tcha know?

My,my.Aren't the lefties upset that it is being pointed out how corrupt,soul destroying,generally people hating their type of gubermint is?And they use a natural disaster as an excuse.Losers
Haiti was a hell hole long before Mother Nature stepped in,and it was a hell hole caused 100% by the dictators running it.Sgt Lejeune has the right idea.Support the groups that directly help the people.Never,ever give your bucks to some feel good,leftie org like United Way,CCF etc.(unless you like helping people steal from those it was meant for)
Now just waiting for the it was Bush's fault...in 3..2

ahh, gosh, hardboiled, and now we find out your True Nature. Bigoted and rejecting reality.

You are utterly indifferent to Haitian corruption but, hmmm, you are obsessed, absolutely obsessed, with what you deem is the corruption of the Conservative government and the Evil Agenda of, in particular, Harper.

And notice, that it's your perception that defines this 'Conservative corruption' and this 'Evil Harper. Not reality. Just your perception all by yourself.

Gosh, that Haitian govt and that corrupt economy - well, 'they are people for chrissakes'. Hmm, so too is our government. So too is Harper.

But what you are ignoring is that this corrupt govt will make millions out of this disaster and how much will go to the people who need it? Hmm? Why do you ignore this? You spend lots of time and space here fuming about the Conservatives and Harper and money - and yet, you have nothing to say about a REAL, ACTUAL corrupt govt in Haiti. Except that 'it's sickening' to talk that way. Is it?

No, the comments here are NOT sickening. What is sickening is the corruption of Haiti - that has set up a situation where there are no regular hospitals run by them but everything is donated and run by other countries and external charitable foundations. Building codes? Non-existent. Education? About half are illiterate; quite something in our day and age; even worse than Afghanistan.

Again - do you want this to continue? Do you support the international world sending its money to the Haitian govt, ...which will continue the corruption and enrich itself?

As I said, if you want to send money, send it only to external organizations that have no contact with the Haitian authorities. And learn a bit about corruption and why Haiti, in contrast to the Dominican Republic RIGHT NEXT TO IT, is a mess.

You know sigivald the problem with your 'touching little analogy' about voodoo is that for some strange reason the way people believe is the way they act. Where Christianity dominates nations like Canada and the USA are produced. Where Islam dominates and you get Iran or Somalia. Where Voodoo prevails Haiti happens.

You stay classy, Kate McMillan.

Stuff your self-righteousness, Steve.

The comments about corruption and the possibility of international relief going straight into the warehouses and pockets of sleazy politicians couldn't be more on-target.

How do I know?

I lived in the Caribbean for a few years and was in the middle of an earthquake larger than the Haitian one. What shocked me most, after surviving the earthquake itself, was what happened afterwards.

I always say that if you're lucky/blessed/fortunate enough to survive a major disaster in a third-world country, your troubles are only beginning.

There was money pouring into the country from around the world -- documented every day in the major daily out of the capital city -- and hardly any of it made it down to the people at the epicentre of the quake, in the middle of a jungle, or to the other people most adversely affected by the quake.

I was gobsmacked to see the corruption, to see who benefited from the international largesse: the politicians in the capital (there was more than a rumour going around that the wife of the president of the country had a warehouse she was stocking for her and her family's personal use) and the local politicians who were handling the "relief effort" (sic) were giving everything to their family members and friends, NOT to the people who were in most need. I saw it with my own eyes.

Those who actually rolled up their sleeves and did effective relief work that made a difference, and as volunteers, were the churches, unions, and co-ops in the area. Their efforts were heroic, with no thanks to the government agencies who barely lifted a finger to help in the human misery caused by the quake.

And, yes, the American military more than pulled their weight and were on the scene within hours. While they were flying people out in Hercules (the roads into the area were impassable and the hospital was operating at only 1/3 capability) and delivering relief materials -- food, medicine, water -- the government operatives, both local and up in the capital, were feathering their own nests, stuffing their own bank accounts, and rubbing their hands together because they could use some of the revenue to pay back the IMF (International Monetary Fund) loan that had just been called in.

Most relief money and resources sent via the Haitian government will be siphoned off for their own use. That's pretty much a given -- and no surprise if you look at the habitual corruption in Haiti.

The best way to send help to the Haitians, who are going through Hell now, is through a church organization or a charity you can trust, like the one that Sgt Lejaune mentions. Very little of the money you donate in this way goes to administration -- and it definitely doesn't go into the pockets of those administering the relief resources.

And pray for them.

Leave the French out of Haitian culture, The Haitians threw off the French yoke a long time ago
~Fred2

Ever notice the difference in quality of life between the average former French colonies and the average former English colonies?
Probably not.

By the way do Haitians still speak French?
I guess speaking and writing in French has no impact on a people's culture so forget I asked.
No Haitians probably read French books or watch French TV shows or listen to French radio ever since they threw off the French yoke in Haiti.

Jimbo, facts are facts.
I didn't say they deserved an earthquake or that no one should give them any aid.
So I guess you don't like me?
Oh well.

Oz: Voodoo is just syncretized west African religion and Catholicism.
It's not especially "dangerous" to progress in some magical way.
~Sigivald

Yeah, I knew it was a syncretism between RC and West African religion.
Did I say Voodoo was dangerous or a bad thing?
No, I checked and I didn't.

Isn't someone going to try and slam me about armadillos?

ET.
The Dominican Republic ain't no poster boy for
democracy either. Just check out their sugar plantations and the Haitian slaves they employ.
In Haiti the Santarian "religion" and the ton-ton m'acoutes have essentially controlled Haiti since the departure of the French. As Dr. Phil would say, "you can't change what you don't acknowledge".
Very sad situation indeed.

One other thing: I was listening to the news a few minutes ago where I heard that Foreign Affairs Minister, Lawrence Cannon, was keeping in touch with contacts in Haiti re the 6000 Canadians who live in Haiti.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/01/13/12445781-qmi.html

"There are about 6,000 Canadians living in Haiti, but only 707 are registered."

How is this possible? 6000 Canadians living in Haiti? 'Another issue, but what the ...?

Pursuant to the post yesterday about the anti-Harper sentiment in the comments on the CBC website related to the Haiti disaster (WTF?), I wonder if PMSH will next come under fire from the CBC for not deploying relief *before* the earthquake struck??

And, then, another thing I meant to mention in my first post: The UN was useless. They sent armbanded personnel down to the area most affected by the quake "to monitor the situation."

I was pretty naive in those days and thought, for sure, that the UN would blow the whistle on the corruption in plain sight for all to see.

Silly me. They didn't do a darned thing about the corruption. Business as usual, boys. Carry on. Of course, UN headquarters was a gated estate in the middle of one of the affluent neighbourhoods in the capital.

My rose-coloured glasses turned red that year.

My condolences to those who lost family/friends.

In 2006, Canada committed to providing $555 million in aid to Haiti over five years, making Haiti the second biggest recipient of Canadian development aid next to Afghanistan. Canada is the second largest donor country in Haiti, which is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
FROM:

http://canadahaitiaction.ca/?p=384

atric - if the Dominican sugar farms employ Haitians, then, by definition, they aren't slaves but employees.

There is no comparison between the two countries. Literacy in the DR is 87% while in Haiti it's 50%. Strong GDP growth in the DR. Unmployment at 14% vs over 60%% in Haiti. Over 80% below poverty in Haiti and 42% in DR. And Haitians, escaping the corruption and poverty of Haiti are the largest minority group in the DR but most are illegals and unskilled.

Could you explain why the DR should support them as equal to their own citizens...which action would result, as in the US, in massive migration OUT of Haiti into the DR, which would be unable to accomodate an unskilled, uneducated population unable to work in any but the most lowly jobs?

What should be done? It's in the hands of Haiti and its govt - and it has refused to act as a responsible govt and educate its people, provide an economic infrastucture, provide a housing and medical infrastructure ...leaving it all up to international organizations to 'carry the people' while the elite get wealthy. That's Haiti.

hardboiled, if you want your charitable givings to go to Haitians who genuinely need it DON'T give it to the Red Cross.

The Red Cross in other countries is administered by locals who tend to favour their families and friends.

How do I know this?

In my situation, I got together a lot of clothing my family didn't need for the children in the tent city that had resulted after hundreds of people had been displaced. When I asked my neighbour how to get in touch with the Red Cross, she looked at me as though I was crazy.

She said, "Don't give it to the Red Cross. They'll give it all to their friends and families." "So," I asked, "how do I get it to them?"

She said I should go down to the tent city myself, walk in, kids would run up to me, their moms would follow -- give it to the moms. So, that's what I did.

sickoids slavering at the mouth to vent their hatred on innocent victims

What, marquis, you think that the members of the corrupt Haitian government are victims? Those are the people who are getting it in the jugular from the commenters here.

Do you have a processing problem, or difficulty reading English, or are you just willfully an idiot?

The comments here are pathetic, and don't belong in a sewer.

You over-politicized anuses are an embarrassment to this blog, conservatism, and the human race.

A massive tragedy - with tens of thousands of lives lost - and a yack it up about corrupt Carribean governments is the topic du jour.

You people....are slime.

I hope Kate pulls the chain on this one, and ends this embarrassment. Shit.

batb, I suspect that it is all three. Liberals love it when other leaders rip off their people to.

"I'm praying for those poor buggers down there. And donating to the Red Cross."
~hardboiled at January 13, 2010 3:56 PM

Would you be donating to the Canadian Red Cross that gave tainted blood to 60,000+ Canadians or the International Red Cross that helped all those Nazi SS War Criminals escape justice?

"I hope Kate pulls the chain on this one, and ends this embarrassment. Shit."

Aside from Kate's brilliance and humor, part of the success of this blog is that it doesn't sensor. It's free speech zone. Something that people like you have trouble recognizing ... dude!

ET, I wasn't trashing the DR, merely pointing out
that they are not especially a shining star in the Caribbean. Yes, they do "employ" Haitians however I suggest you take a look at how they are treated by the plantation owners and how the government overlooks it. Try this for starters.
http://www.iabolish.org/slavery_today/country_reports/do.html
More importantly, a senior Haitian official is quoted as saying the country has totally collapsed.While the loss of life is to be grieved,
perhaps this is what the country needs in order to rebuild and adopt a different form of governance.
I can only hope that what foreign aid is sent to them is spent wisely. I'm not holding my breath, though.

Stuff it, hardboiled. You go and spend a few years in the Caribbean, living with the people, helping them despite all of the corruption, having your house robbed, your kids with parasites, and THEN you can accuse us of being anuses.

You know NADA.

Hardboiled, do you have a reading comprehension problem? No one is saying don't aid the Haitians just do it through proven aid organizations that will get the aid to those who require it not skim it for themselves. There is no difference between Zimbabwe or Haiti in the way their greedy, corrupt government has driven their countries into the ground.

It seems if people don't support your POV their scum and cruel. Go back to your specialty of ripping up the CPC.

I remember flying into the DR some 35 years ago and seeing brown runoff of soil from Haiti spreading miles out to sea as the mountains were denuded of all forestation while the DR was lush green with sparkling beaches. Different people, same island.

hardbubbled

you've done an excellent job over time proving yourself an idiot, give it a rest, we're convinced already!!!

now answer me this, HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A THIRD WORLD NATION AS OTHER THAN A TOURIST?????

What a bunch of pathetic hateful comments we have here. No wonder any reasonable conservative avoids this place like the plague.

"The comments here are pathetic, and don't belong in a sewer.

You over-politicized anuses are an embarrassment to this blog, conservatism, and the human race.

A massive tragedy - with tens of thousands of lives lost - and a yack it up about corrupt Carribean governments is the topic du jour.

You people....are slime.

I hope Kate pulls the chain on this one, and ends this embarrassment. Shit.

Posted by: hardboiled at January 13, 2010 6:20 PM"

+1. Couldn't agree more. This is not the time and the place for those kinds of comments. Embarrassing doesn't begin to cover it.

Soooooooo......when is our beloved,Hatian GG going down to help her fellow people????? Or does she need jimbo and softboiled?

jimbo and hardboiled: reasonable conservatives are the basic population of this site. So if you are going to descend to the childishness of insults at least try to get your insults accurate.

hardboiled is using his comments to get back at people who have criticized his endless irrational rants against the Conservative govt and Harper. He's ignored what people are really talking about here.

And you and he are ignoring that to naively give millions to Haiti - which the Canadian govt for example has been doing for many years - does nothing but enrich and enable the corruption and poverty to continue. Is that your agenda?

Are you giving because it makes YOU feel good or because you are trying to help Haitians. If the latter, then as so many of us have pointed out, you MUST be aware of the corruption. Giving millions now to this govt will not help the people; it will continue the corruption.

The only way to help the people in need is to give only to those agencies that are NOT involved with the Haitian govt and whose members are NOT part of the bureaucracy in Haiti but are external to the country.

Did you know that 2/3rd of the homes in Haiti, even before this earthquake, were essentially shacks that could not withstand anything - hurricane or tremor? Do you know why the devasatation is so large? It's because the monies that have POURED into Haiti for years and years have gone to the govt and the elite.

There is no infrastructure in Haiti; no internal medical infrastructure, no decent educational system, no decent economic system, most of the population are unemployed or underemployed; most live below the poverty line. And the ONLY reason for this situation - is the governance of Haiti.

Do you want this to continue? You do? Well then...urge govts to hand over millions to the Haitian govt.
You don't? Then SPEAK OUT about the corruption and give only to external agencies whose personnel are external to the internal politics and scams of Haiti.

Oh, and enjoy your sanctimonious false morality.

My best friend is Haitian so I hope all his family is okay. Like EVERYONE here, my heart goes out to the victims of the disaster.

None of these feelings change the reality of peoples concerns for the corruption issue. So called "progressive" people should consider that philanthropic dollars that are not lost to corruption are more effective at helping people. A logical person would rather see those dollars help someone somewhere else than have it stolen simply to be part of the vogue cause.

How do you know HB is a liberal?

Besides the obvious, HB still maintains that he's a conservative. It's difficult to definitely demonstrate a wolf in sheep's clothing but I think I've got it.

Politics aside HB, your uncontrollable liberal urge to point fingers and name-call you betrays your guise. It’s analogous to Peyton Manning wearing a Ravens uniform standing in the Ravens huddle, except he’s calling plays from the Colts playbook. Sure he looks like a Raven, but as soon as he opens his mouth everyone in the huddle knows it’s espionage. Fortunately this isn’t football, it’s the internet; and the consequences are not as harsh or painful as it would be getting busted in the wrong huddle.

According to Jimbo the time to discuss the final destination of relief funds is after they've been stolen.

I found Fred2's comment that you could see the border between Haiti and the DR visible from the air a bit hard to swallow.

So I went to Google Earth. And guess what? He's pretty much correct. It's not quite black and white, but you can definitely see that the land on the DR side is usually much greener and darker than the land on the Haiti side which appears brown and deforested in comparison.

But I guess that's just the luck of nature, and has nothing to do with corrupt government.

I will be "donating" through my taxes, which aren't exactly given voluntarily. I may give to Catholic Charities also. Voodoo is, to some extent a form of syncretism but there is also a sect, if I'm not mistaken, that partake in blood rituals and even cannibalism. The aid will get there, from plenty of sources, I only hope it goes to those who need it most.

Yes, we all know that stuff ET. Can you get off your high horse for once.

I sincerely doubt there are more than a small percentage of Conservative politicians who would ever (foolishly) allow their names to be linked to this site. There are indeed some reasonable conservatives posting here, and some brilliant people, but they get beaten down, figuratively, or drowned out by the usual suspects.

Let's see. An utterly devastating catastrophe hits some of the most vulnerable people on the planet. Thousands certainly killed, and many more injured. Unimaginable suffering. A city of millions destroyed. Dead bodies in buildings and in the streets, and many people trapped and injured. Our own Canadian aid workers and police officers among the missing. It's a crisis, and time is of the essence.

Most people's first reaction - we need to get them some help right now. Find a way, or thousands more will certainly die.

Your first reaction - criticize Haitians, their government, and complain about corrupt organizations and government stealing the aid. Anticipate that aid will not help, and label those giving aid as naive and stupid. Sit on the sidelines, doing nothing except offering criticism of aid efforts, indeed criticizing things that haven't even happened yet. Save the criticisms for later, if they are actually warranted.

I get the feeling you and others think compassion is somehow weak "lefty" behaviour, and thereby utterly misguided. Actually, it's human, and to stand by and do nothing, or worse, discourage or get in the way of people who are doing something is inhuman.

I'm completely in agreement that we need to be cognizant of how we donate, and give it to agencies that have people on the ground making a difference. Check it out, and donate, please.

I'm not going to get involved in any spat between hardboiled and some others, but you've certainly provided him with lots of ammo. I may not agree with other comments he's made, but I'm with him here.

Jimbo, who gains if the money good, generous people donate is given to a corrupt government? I think any thinking, feeling human being can conclude that the earthquake is a terrible tragedy and something must be done to help those in need. However, people are at a loss when there are more pockets being lined than people helped.
Just my thoughts.

Oh for G*d's sake, Jimbo -- a Freudian slip had me write Bimbo first:

No one is criticizing Haitians, so stop lying. As ET and others have pointed out more than once, we're criticizing a completely corrupt system that has allowed a devastating natural disaster to do far more damage to the Haitian populace than it should have been able to do if the government had helped its people build houses according to earthquake standards -- often as simple as using cinder blocks with iron rods down the middle, so there's room for movement without the structure falling down. If these initiatives had been encouraged and supported by government agencies, there would have been far fewer collapses and far fewer deaths.

Did you see where the President of the country lived? In an opulent white-coloured taj mahal type building, while most of his people lived/live in hovels, tumble-down shacks. It puts me in mind of the "whited sepulchres" Jesus spoke about.

Open your eyes. All of us here are going to help out, we want to help out -- does that make us "naive" and "stupid," as you allege we view those who want to help -- but we are going to be very selective about to whom our contributions are made. We want to make sure that whomever we entrust our money to ensures that it's the people most in need who will benefit, not the government, not corrupt agencies that, so far, have shown no concern for the average Haitian.

What is it about this approach that you fail to understand? Or is it just willful ignorance?

I utterly resent your statement, "I get the feeling you and others think compassion is somehow weak 'lefty' behaviour." What a pile of garbage. I lived for years in a Caribbean country, where my family and I were part of a local community to which we were able to contribute our time, treasure, and talent out of a sense of compassion -- and I'm no lefty. That's a conceit of people like you.

Jimbo:

I'm just curious - why all the attention on Haiti? The Philippines gets pasted by nature regularly - earthquakes, typhoons, volcanoes, mudslides, etc. - and thousands of people die but I don't ever recall a single person here urging people to send aid to the Philippines. Why is Haiti so different?

I mean, is the Philippines, which is about 95% Roman Catholic and has an almost functioning democracy, somehow unworthy of our attention but Haiti, a corrupt dictatorship populated by people who worship chicken entrails, is specially dispensated to deserve our sympathy?

I'm searching for comments from you and hardheaded pleading for us to send aid to Zimbabwe, another country where mostly innocent people are beaten down (literally) into poverty and death by a filthy and corrupt government, but I'm having a hard time finding them. Maybe you could help.

Here's my point: I find it easier to agree with people whose hearts bleed for everyone, or with people whose hearts bleed for honest, hardworking people who have suffered a tragedy, than I do to agree with people who only seem to get exercised when bad things happen to countries governed by the venal and corrupt, and who suggest we send official aid that almost invariably ends up in kleptocratic hands. Some posters here have suggested sending money to particular agencies that do not go through government channels; OK, that's an option. Personally, I'd rather see the whole place collapse into such a mess that the people rise up and overthrow the dictators.

Was Wiebo Ludwig in Haiti?

When batb, or anyone else, notes the widespread corruption in Haiti, and suggests - from personal experience, in batb's case - that donations to faith-based organizations are more likely to help those in need as opposed to being siphoned off to corrupt officials, that's *NOT* an insult to Haitians, or an indication of indifference to suffering - not in this world or in any alternate universe. If X is starving, for example, and someone points out that if you donate food to Y, Y will not deliver the food to X, how is that an insult to X?

I just don't get it. Batb, I'm going to donate to faith-based organizations, as per your - entirely sound - advice. Thank you. I want my help to go where it's meant to go.

1 billion dollars in aid went to Haiti last year from the United States alone...to a country of just under 9 million people. It's obvious the money is not reaching the people in need, not the hospitals, schools or shantytowns. Where's the money?

My problem is when people like OZ bring up Voodoo, homosexuals, intravenous drug abusers, the spread of HIV, the influence of French culture, and armadillos relationship with leprosy as reasons not to donate money.

I donated to Medicins Sans Frontiers. They have people on the ground now. They're making a difference every day. That's the most important thing.

And as for the following:

"Jimbo:

I'm just curious - why all the attention on Haiti? The Philippines gets pasted by nature regularly - earthquakes, typhoons, volcanoes, mudslides, etc. - and thousands of people die but I don't ever recall a single person here urging people to send aid to the Philippines. Why is Haiti so different?..."

Fair question. It's the magnitude of the disaster and the urgent need. If the pictures on the news doesn't move someone to action, they have no heart.

And, for what it's worth, I regularly donate money to organizations in the Philippines, and more often directly to Filipinos I personally help out (we're trying to help someone start up a small business. If it can break even, I'll be ecstatic) primarily in the Bicol region. They do live in similar circumstances. In fact the volcano has been erupting recently, and that can get very bad, very fast.

I don't see what Roman Catholicism (which you mention) has to do with that, though. But someone might mention that fact to Pat Robertson.

Let's see. An utterly devastating catastrophe hits some of the most vulnerable people on the planet. Thousands certainly killed, and many more injured. Unimaginable suffering.
~Jimbo

You know, Jimbo, a passing acquaintance brought up Haiti today on an elevator and unbidden said, "The survivors would be soon eating better than they had in years, no more grilled rat for them for a while."

The minions of the Haitian President will certainly be in disarray.

They were already living in unimaginable suffering, suspended in that purgatory by my taxes which the Haitian President used to insulate himself from that purgatory and keep his people down.

I think you should look up the September 2006 Haitian election and think about what you learn from reading about it.

OZ I'm sure you can come up with all kinds of reasons not to care, and not to donate. Stick with the armadillo/leprosy angle. It's working for you.

And adding to my comment regarding the Philippines and other areas in need - this thread is about Haiti, and a crisis going on right now. Wanting to help there, and mentioning it in this thread, doesn't mean we don't care about other places. And I'm not a particular "bleeding heart", but no individual can do it all, everywhere. Because I can't donate everywhere doesn't mean I shouldn't donate anywhere.

I urge people who can afford it to help out where they can.

I had a Barbara Bush moment this morning, while watching video from Haiti. I turned to my son, and said that Haitians are used to poor living conditions, so this hardship shouldn't be that hard to get through. Then I started hearing casualty estimates, and remembered that earthquakes kill people.

I wish there were more trustworthy aid organizations. The best way to get aid to those who need it will be US and Canadian military. UN staff will be negotiating with organized criminals for a cut of the proceeds, as usual. The Red Cross will be giving the bulk of their stuff to whoever can pay the biggest bribe. The Haitian "government" will hoarde everything they get their hands on, and pick through it. What's left will be auctioned off, with a cut to the UN people.

I feel as bad as anyone else, but I know those poor buggers aren't going to see much of the aid we're sending. I hope they pull together, because it's the only way they'l survive.

Unfortunately dp they had nothing to pull together before the earthquake, so what exactly are they supposed to pull together now?

So how is the armadillo angle "working for me" when a crank line you is they only one who has mentioned it, Bimbo?

I have my causes, and Haiti isn't one of them.
I'm sure that the Canadian government is going to scoop up as many of those 6000 people with "Club Canada" cards as they can a la Lebanon.

I'm equally sure you'll give freely to Haitian charity, patting yourself on the back until your arm is nearly broken so as to be able to avoid having to think of yourself with a phrase that involves using the word anus, as you do of others, while climbing to your idea of heaven upon their broken bodies, giving thanks all the while for the stairs and the opportunity to elevate yourself in your own esteem.

I'd like to know what you were doing to help Haitians yesterday, Bimbo, you know, before the earthquake.

OZ - If you don't want to donate, that's your choice. I'm not patting myself on the back, and I'm under no illusion that everything's ok now thanks to my small contribution. Criticizing people for wanting to help takes it to another level. But then, nothing you say makes any sense anyway.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to predict the disaster, so I wasn't able to help out with disaster relief efforts in advance of the actual disaster.

I apologize if I characterized others on this forum by lumping them in with this particular piece of work.

And I sincerely thank anyone who helps out, now, for this, and in other circumstances, in any concrete way. I know a few of you do, regularly.

I'm donating $0.00, but they certainly have my best wishes. If they can pull together some semblance of society, during this catastrophy, it might turn a page on their horrible mess of a country. If not, it's just back to business as usual.

batb - thanks for the info. re. the Red Cross. I nearly donated to them yesterday but (luckily) instead chose Sgt. Lejaune's Charity - partly because of what ET said @3:50PM - and also the one most prominently endorsed by the Anchoress, because she's no fool.

The thing about catastophies I suppose is that you need to get aid out ASAP, and there's not much time to research charities.

hardboiled in general, and esp. @6:20 - I'm aware personal insults are strongly discouraged, but I want you to know that I honestly, truely think you might be mental.

Indy @8:10 and EBD - yes. J/Bimbo is not rational.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to predict the disaster, so I wasn't able to help out with disaster relief efforts in advance of the actual disaster.
~Jimbo

Haiti was a disaster zone 48 hours ago.
Haiti was a disaster zone 72 hours ago.
Haiti was a disaster zone 96 hours ago.

You didn't care then, did you Jimbo?

Haiti had TB rates 10Xs as high as those in other Latin American countries before the earthquake.

One third of all Haitian children died before their 5th birthday before the earthquake.

Over 80% of Haiti's people lived in abject poverty before the earthquake.

Nearly 50% were illiterate before the earthquake.

Less than 45 percent of all Haitians had access to potable water before the earthquake.

The life expectancy rate in Haiti was only 53 years before the earthquake.

Ninety percent of all HIV and AIDS infections in the Caribbean were in Haiti before the earthquake: over 300,000 infected people have been identified and deaths from HIV/AIDS had left 163,000 children orphaned before the earthquake.

Is this "piece of work" getting through to you?

Haiti was a disaster zone with people dieing lie flies and living a horrendously brutal lifestyle BEFORE the earthquake and it didn't even register on your radar, Jimbo, and now you're jumping on the "Oh, those poor Haitians!!!" bandwagon because it's the flavour of the day and you think it makes you look good to pretend to care TODAY.

I don't think Haiti is any worse off today than it was last week.
The only difference is that some of their brutal tragic lives are a lot shorter in the last day or so and I don't care more about them today than I did last week, just as a couple of weeks/months from now neither will most of the people who didn't care last week who are pretending to care today just because there was an earthquake.

How many people who peed themselves over the Indonesian tsunami are caring about Indonesia today?
Are the people in the tsunami zone better off today than they were before the tsunami?
No.

Has the Indonesian government improved it's emergency response capabilities?
No.

I sincerely doubt that the Haitian people will be better or worse off next year than they were last year.

They're certainly not going to have significantly changed percentages of illiteracy, TB, HIV/AIDS, or brain damage due to malnutrition and protein deficiency in the population.

Why don't I care?
Not because I'm a "piece of work" but because Haiti has been a disaster zone for my entire life and, unlike some people, I'm not going to lie to myself and pretend that, short of NATO invading Haiti and running the place properly for the next half century, things are going to change in Haiti.

The same goes for Indonesia.

(and it's Oz with a lower case "z" if you don't want me calling you Bimbo whether you think I'm "disgusting and ignorant. Predictably so" or not, Bimbo)

The children of Haiti are as valuable and worthy of aid as any child in the States. My children are fortunate to be Americans and enjoy a society that has stable social institutions. Haitian children are born into into a society that has struggled with corruption and violence for many decades; surely they cannot be held responsible for the failure of their ancestors to create a stable country?? FYI, about half of Haiti's population is under 25! Now their suffering has increased ten-fold. To suggest withholding aid would be barbaric. However, to insist on proper accounting of aid monies is responsible and necessary. And Oz, I don't think it's fair to characterize today's overwhelming concern for Haiti as the 'flavor of the day'; you are minimizing the horror of the situation and denigrating people's sincere desire to help. While we can disagree and debate about the best ways to manage this scenario, suggesting that the only reason, or the overriding reason, for people's deep emotional response to this natural disaster arises from a desire to 'look good' is cruel and NOT TRUE. People want to help because they feel a connection with the Haitians; that connection is our common humanity and our ability to imagine, in our climate controlled, electronics filled, pantry full lives, what it would be like to be in Port Au Prince tonight, or what we would do if in a similar situation. God Bless.

Yes, EBD, faith-based organizations are on the ground, know the people and their needs, and use very little of donated monies on admin.

In our situation, every penny was spent on medicine, chain saws -- for the rebuilding of homes in the jungle -- and rice and beans, and went directly to the people who had been at the epicentre of the quake who, by and large, had been abandoned by the government. Not one cent went to admin. because all of the labour was volunteered.

Another organization that did yeoman's service was the Mennonite Central Committee: 1-888-622-6337 or http://mcc.org/

I hope the person who runs this site takes a good long time reading through these comments. It\'s quite an accomplishment to attract such a repellant group of individuals on one site. As you read the comments from these morons you will likely be tempted to distance yourself from what they\'re saying, but they are all brought here because of you. What a rancid little corner of the Internet you have created here.

"I hope Kate pulls the chain on this one, and ends this embarrassment. Shit."

Translation: "Don't you know people are dead? Why are you talking about all this horrible factual stuff? This isn't the time to think - it's the time to feel, people, feel!"

Ugh. No wonder these sh*tholes remain sh*tholes, when there are so many western apologists attempting to use the very consequences of bad governance to shut down criticism of bad governance.

I must agree that Haiti is a corrupt place although I'll continue to pray for them and did donate to the international red cross. The situation seems desparate.

"Stay classy, Kate"... "What a rancid little corner of the Internet you have created here."

The left: what's better than a drive-by smear? One that has a dead Haitian baby tied to the bumper.

Shame on you for exploiting human suffering to launch politically motivated cheap shots.

There are three separate issues here:

1. Haiti is a corrupt, ill-governed hell-hole and any money channelled to "officials" will likely disappear into guns, presidential palaces, Manhattan real estate and Swiss bank accounts, not necessarily in that order.

2. Some of the most desperately poor and disadvantaged people on the planet have just suffered a further calamity on top of the ongoing disaster they struggle to survive in their daily lives and they need whatever help we can give them now to survive this day and this week.

3. The disaster reinforces my belief that the Canadian Forces need to be equipped with Tarawa class carriers capable of moving an amphibious/airmobile relief effort to follow on a rapid reaction heavy airlift relief force.

4. If they're on the ground my money will be going to the Mennonites.

Okay, so I can't count. its cuz i dint doo verry well in skool.

Speaking of "classy"...Andrea just happened to show up at one of the busiest sites to make a plea for the children, and managed to get in a little free advertising in the process.

It's not a good idea to start assigning value to children's lives. To their families, they are priceless. To a corrupt society, they are a commodity to be used as a bargaining tool. Within a few hours of the earthquake, the Haitian 'government' was already inflating casualty estimates, in order to extort more aid money. Once that money finds its way into their pockets, it will stay there.

"Ugh. No wonder these sh*tholes remain sh*tholes, when there are so many western apologists attempting to use the very consequences of bad governance to shut down criticism of bad governance."

Yes, we all know these "sh*tholes" will be utterly transformed by the sage criticism of the grumbling troglodytes at SDA.

Oh, and that natural disasters are a consequence of bad governance.

"Shame on you for exploiting human suffering to launch politically motivated cheap shots."

Irony much, 'Mensa Kate'?

"Oh, and that natural disasters are a consequence of bad governance."

Collapsible cities are. So is nightmarish inescapable poverty, and a complete lack of govt. infrastructure and accountability.

Who've you donated to, marquis? Or are you headed there yourself?

2 things I noticed right away. The rumbling of the quake hadn't even stopped before radio and TV here were urging - no demanding that Canadians give money "until it hurts." Well oiled machines.

And watching the Haitian Voodoo princess who somehow got from a third rate CBC hack to the head of state of our country sobbing while she certainly maintains a cool, calm visage when greeting families of the fallen soldiers when the coffins come back.

Idiot Bill CArroll on Talk Radio feels we should open our borders and make Canada a refugee camp for millions of uneducated, violent third world folks. Has everyone gone nuts??!!

Oz, you can call me what you want

"I don't think Haiti is any worse off today than it was last week. "

Right Oz. I won't waste any time debating that detail. If you believe that, then you're not all there.

"Shame on you for exploiting human suffering to launch politically motivated cheap shots.

Posted by: Kate at January 14, 2010 9:55 AM "

Wrong Kate.The left never had or will have shame for using ANYTHING to exploit their way.
As can be seen on this post,they number 1 want to shut you down for allowing people the freedom(bad word for leftards)the right to express our views,be they right or wrong.
Number 2,they refuse to accept the fact that most of us posting here have nothing against the people of Haiti,it is the GOVERNMENT there we detest.
Number 3...like batb....I have been to Haiti and have tried to help.I have not given money,but I have given my time and experience with just simple things like a toy for a child,or helping their parents build a better home.We here do not realize what a difference it is to just HAVE a front door on your home,let alone one that will actually close or open to keep the elements out.
And all the time you have some goon from the UN or the local"cops" watching over your shoulder as you help a kid learn to read or write,instead of digging through the local garbage trying to find something to eat,not for themselves,but for their little brother or sister back at home.And meanwhile the goon is eating steak with his buddies back at the "Presidential Palace". Make no mistake,there is nothing "presidential"about it,but this is what the leftards want for all of us,they are the "elites"and
"we" are the others.
My son-in-law just spent a wasted day at the airport in SeaTac...trying to get through security on a flight to Miami,then on down to Port-au-Prince.His crime? He is Brit and was carrying 84 teddy bears our little neighbourhood had collected in under 8 hours to send down.I myself am leaving tomorrow to get down there.And God help the first goon here in Canada,the U.S. or Haiti who tries to stop me from coming in with my chocalate coated almonds,plus my books and my hands,that are ready and able to help try to stop some suffering.And it won't be in Port-au-Prince.It will be in some sorrounding slum,of which there are many.
Sorry for rant,Kate and others.

Good for you, Justthinkin.

"And watching the Haitian Voodoo princess who somehow got from a third rate CBC hack..."

Yow! Combine this with the other 'homosexual' and 'voodoo' stuff evoked here and we get a pretty good idea of the source of the mean-spiritedness which permeates this thread.

Who have you donated to, marquis? Are you catching the same flight as Justthinkin', or something a little earlier?

FYI, about half of Haiti's population is under 25!
~Andrea

Did, you miss the part where I said the life expectancy in Haiti was 53 years before the earthquake?

FYI That early mortality, before the earthquake, is going to statistically lower the average age in any population.
I'm done on this thread, most of what I've written isn't even being comprehended.

Last time:
Nobody who is on this thread with so much short lived media fueled compassion cared about Haitians last week when they were living like rats and dieing like flies.

FOX news is reporting on the same theme many of us have discussed; the corruption of the Haitian govt, and that when you want to donate, don't just FEEL but also THINK. They are warning not to send monies to any Haitian govt organization because it won't get to the people.

Suggestions: Direct Relief and Partners in Health. The latter provides most of the health care in Haiti. Think about that; Haiti doesn't provide its citizens with its own health care; it relies on external sources. Same with education, same with foods, same with other infrastructures. They are either missing for the mass of the population, or supplied as external aid by foreign countries.

The entrenched depth of corruption in Haiti is unbelievable - and nothing will change that until aid stops propping up the elite sector of Haiti, that 1% who live so very well, off that aid.

Just as an example of Haitian assistance to their own people; there's no police or fire presence in the area; this is being supplied by external military and police. Where are the Haitian police? What's going to be done about looting?

Oh - and where is the govt? The press is reporting that the Presidential Palace (ah, how nice to live that way) was destroyed and that the president, mercifully spared, can't find any members of the current govt. Hmmm. Were they among the few who left on the last planes with passengers? Where are they?

There's no water services; they were haphazard before. No electricity, equally unreliable before. Essentially, this country was operating as a massive scam, bleeding international aid around the world to prop up its elite class - with almost nothing going to the population.

It's vital that aid in this current disaster NOT go to the same elite. Therefore, don't send it to any Haitian organization.

Wow. I am shocked at the barbaric comments found here. Is it because the morons posting here have better jobs, better medical care, better lifestyles that they are so heartlessly indifferent to the plight of the Haitians? Clearly you are proving you don't have any better education. What jerk would fault the entire Haitian population (Haiti is filled with orphaned children I'm sure who desperately miss their parents!), as being responsible for Haiti's inability to be something more than a "shit hole," third world country?

Haitians have long been victims of their own government and that is nothing new. But there are still hundreds of thousands of Haitians who I'm certain pray daily that they are delivered from that, desperately trying to provide for their families, receive standard education, who simply yearn deeply for a better life.

I hope those of you posting such negative B.S. about it don't ever find yourselves in a similar circumstance, needing assistance of some sort - while people openly kick you while you're down saying you don't need or deserve it. What a damn poor pitiful shame. Clearly some much needed soul searching needs to take place.

All human beings are deserving of compassion in times of need such as this. To say Haitians aren't worth even that much because their government is corrupt is indeed sickening.

Hope you don't ever come my way starving, injured, frightened with your kids in tow...pure total desperation in your heart and soul. You'll get a dose of your own medicine. Sheesh.

Justthinkin, good for you. I'll say a prayer for you and your son.

I wasn't actually in Haiti. It was another Caribbean country, not in as dire straits as Haiti but, still, not very robust. 'Lots of corruption and fear of naming it.

THAT'S what keeps so many of these corrupt regimes afloat: the people's fear of speaking up, of saying anything. They fear retribution/vengeance, which is an integral part of the game: If they say anything, they and their families are at risk of violence or worse.

So, claire, did you read the whole thread?

I doubt it. Most of the comments here are compassionate towards the Haitians, but find the Haitian government and other money-sucking agencies despicable.

Don't come here spouting your self-righteousness until you've read every comment. 'Care to name the "morons" and detail the "barbaric comments" -- because it appears that you just don't get it.

So, is the consensus here that no Canadian aid should be sent to Haiti because of its corrupt government?

No, Kaplan. The consensus here is that you cannot read.

Wow,nothing froths at the mouth like a lefty,which there are no shortages on this thread.Nothing like a disaster to bring out the hypocritical ravings of the left,or the willful ignorance,witness Kaplan's post.

Well, I thought this thread was done. Guess not. I think Canada and the Canadians are donating as much as possible, "in different ways". As for myself, I have and will give to the people in need. Just not to the sanctioned corporations whom are holding their hands out, taking their cut and more, helping very few and preaching about what they have done.

Zowie!

I think I need a shower.

(No self-righteousness intended, but may be implied.)

@ claire - After tearing a strip off people for saying that Haitians don't deserve help, you finish off by saying that these same people shouldn't come to you for help because they won't deserve it.

If it's fine for you to turn your back on people in need for reasons you deem valid, it should be fine for others to do exactly the same thing.

I have to agree with those who want to ensure that the donations go to the "man on the street". I have asked some collegues and many suggested Doctors without Borders. Is that a good one?

I would hope that this disaster brings into question what is happening to all the foreign aid given to Haiti and others. Should we/could we make it that foreign aid is administered to some degree by our own government rather than seeing it disappear into the great abyss? Thereby ensuring it's disposition for the good of the PEOPLE. Is that not what it's all about, not about us "feeling" good about how much we contribute. I would rather have it cost us a million dollars more to staff such an endeavour than see the money going to those abusing our generosity and failing THEIR people.

To batb and kathryn,

Yes, I did read all the posts available prior to the time I made mine. And to Kathryn, here is one comment that sparked my reply:

"Billions will be spent to prop up that wasteland, Haiti. Nothing will improve. The country is and always has been a total sink hole of corruption, tyranny and ignorance. It cannot be changed nor saved. Haiti makes New Orleans look like Switzerland. It is like a little bit of Africa right here in the Caribbean. What a mess. I am trying to feel sorry for the Haitians, but I can't. There is no point."

In particular, the last sentence about there being no point. That, I feel, is pathetic. And as to my "tearing a strip off" and saying these same people shouldn't come to me for help, I said they would get a dose of their own medicine and quite simply, what comes around, goes around. Why would someone who believes there is no point in feeling sorry for someone else's devastation deserve help when faced with their own? The point being, how would that feel to someone else seeking help in their time of need?

Furthermore, it goes without saying that the individuals who did post positively know that they did. And their support and concern is obvious. Unfortunate that needs to be explained. Also unfortunate that corrupt or not, the people of Haiti, whether Voodoo worshipping, Catholic, HIV-stricken, etc., need assistance - those who will do what they can, will.

Two thumbs up for Justthinkin, good luck....

Just asking for clarification, seeing as how most of the regulars exhibited some of that patent mouth-foaming I was accused of a few posts up.

So, everyone's in favour of Canadian aid flowing to Haiti then. Good to hear - reconfirms my faith in humanity. I can see how others might have misconstrued your ultimate intents, but I'm glad the readers of SDA can put aside their rabid partisanship and support aid going to the people of Haiti. Heck, even Harper's doing it.

Just to learn a bit about Haiti, try to google the phrase 'the elite in Haiti' and read, read, read what comes up. It's quite enlightening.

It enables one to ask now, where is the Haitian govt? Why have all the members of this govt simply melted away? Where are they in this crisis?

Of course, we know that there is no infrastructure of medical care, electricity, sanitation, roads, schooling..for the 96% of Haitians (who mostly speak creole) who are not part of this family-networked French-speaking Elite..but...where are the Elite of Haiti in this crisis?

It's this elite and their control of Haiti, its economy, and their corruption and abuse of the mass of Haitians - that one must be careful of in sending aid to Haiti. It's these masses who are suffering; the elite as I said, seem to have disappeared. But one has to be careful that aid goes to the people..and not, as is usual, to the elite of Haiti.

Canada to open door for Haitians

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Canada+open+door+Haitians/2441168/story.html

First thing off the plane, fill out refugee status form...good luck tying to get them to go back.

Bad, bad idea. Rent some resorts in the DR to house them, cheaper in the long term.

Canada a first-responder:

http://www.ottawasun.com/comment/columnists/greg_weston/2010/01/13/12455426-qmi.html

"In particular, the last sentence about there being no point. That, I feel, is pathetic."

Claire - you seem to be very good at the "feel" thing.

The think part, not so much. Instead of denouncing the writers, try refuting the legitimacy of the content.

I suspect that's why so many default to the emotional in cases like this. Your rational side draws a blank because you realize that every word you've just denounced is likely to be the truth.

Like the Sri Lanka tsunami – Send half a billion dollars and they replace the washed out shanty villages with resorts and vacation condo’s, then move the actual victims into new ghetto’s 1/2 mile off the beach.

The money never reached the people it was intended to reach, just the government bureaucrats and their mobster friends.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091226/wl_sthasia_afp/srilankatsunamieconomygraft5years

What’s new?

I don't have an active blog anymore, but at the risk of being seen as spamming, I'm posting this link in the comments on blogs that I visit that have any info/comments re: Haiti. Here it is in full:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/whtsnw/tms/rthqk-haiti-eng.html

Anyone reading this who has a blog will hopefully consider posting this link. Among other things, it gives info on which charities are on the up-and-up. Unfortunately, there are reports of scams involving fake charities out there. The last thing anyone would want is to have their donation go to some criminal.

Claire

Kate''s reply should convince you of the foolishness of responding to these animals.

Her condescending admonition for you to 'think' instead of 'feel' in responding to the trash on this thread is laughable. What is any rational person to 'think' about the vile mean-spiritedness and racism exhibited here?

If there were such great concerns about the governance in Haiti, why was it not a regular feature here at SDA until this unspeakable natural disaster? And in any case, is there no sense on the part of these commenters that the time to insult the place and the people might not be just at the time they're experiencing an unthinkable humanitarian crisis?

Fact is these people glory in their hatred and ill-wishing. They love to attack victims because they think the only real victims are themselves - they love to whine and bitch about how they're overtaxed, persecuted, being overrun by lax immigration laws, etc. etc., ad nauseum.

Their 'ideology' is an elaborate justification for these 'feelings' of hatred and spite. Just as in the case of their heroes Limbaugh and Robertson. Thankfully the mainstream sees them and rejects them for what they are.

Sure idiot,that's why the "mainstream" voted in Harper,and not your loser left wing candidate,guess that pretty well makes you a loser as well,now go cry somewhere pussy boy.

Marquis, you're still here? Let it go son, your liberal rant has fallen on deaf ears, we've all moved on to a different thread...you're determined though, how cute.

"The comments here are pathetic, and don't belong in a sewer.

You over-politicized anuses are an embarrassment to this blog, conservatism, and the human race.

A massive tragedy - with tens of thousands of lives lost - and a yack it up about corrupt Carribean governments is the topic du jour.

You people....are slime.

I hope Kate pulls the chain on this one, and ends this embarrassment. Shit.

Posted by: hardboiled at January 13, 2010 6:2

Bravo! Nothing more to be said really.

*Puts rock back down and walks away slowly*

Just back for a peek.

On the 13th, when this thread started, the numbers that the MSM were throwing around were 200 thousand to 500 thousand dead.

Now it's only "tens of thousands".

Whoo-hoo, are we life savers of what??!!!/