The New Dark Age

15 January, 2010 5:53pm

[I am updating this page as and when I get more newslinks and moving it to the top of the home page. The Ed.]

The Undercovered Country: Haiti as journalists have known it
For once, it seems that journalists are bristling on behalf of Haiti, a place usually painted by wariness and fear and resigned pity. Haitians themselves may be getting something like good press, no small development for the most maligned people in the hemisphere. The urgen…

Talking heads’ comments about Haiti draw fire from both sides
The catastrophic earthquake in Haiti has already elicited a number of controversial statements from some of America’s best-known talking heads. Rush Limbaugh, the Rev. Pat Robertson and Keith Olbermann generated outrage, from the left and the right, for comments that variou…

With Resources Limited, the Media Struggle to Convey Disaster
The Fox News correspondent Steve Harrigan is a veteran of the world’s worst calamities, but on television on Thursday afternoon, as he stood beside one of the piles of rubble that pockmark Port-au-Prince, Haiti, he broke down. He had watched a woman wailing in the street, h…

Destruction in Haiti Causes Array of Communications Difficulties
The devastating earthquake in Haiti has spurred an enormous mobilization of media personnel to the region. But the destruction has thrown up an array of practical and communications difficulties in an already technically lagging country. Fresh water is scarce. Cellular and …

What You’re Not Hearing About Haiti (But Should Be)
In the hours following Haiti’s devastating earthquake, CNN, the New York Times and other major news sources adopted a common interpretation for the severe destruction: the 7.0 earthquake was so devastating because it struck an urban area that was extremely over-populated an…

In Haiti, getting there the hardest part of getting the story
As the magnitude of destruction in Haiti unfolded Wednesday, U.S. television networks scrambled to get reporters into the devastated country, a task greatly complicated by the shaky security and broken infrastructure. With the air traffic control tower at the Port-au-Prince…

WHAT CAN YOU DO:
Conscious Disaster relief with human rights and dignity
http://www.margueritelaurent.com/law/nochange.html#dignity

Obama asks ‘Heckuva job, Brownie’ George W. Bush to help with Haiti relief efforts By Lori Price,
http://www.legitgov.org 15 Jan 2010
Mega barf alert AND gag me with a chainsaw! Because George W. Bush did *such* a great job responding to Hurricane Katrina (aka blown levies), President Barack Obama is asking his killer drone soul mate to help with Haiti relief efforts! Such a request assigns legitimacy to the illegitimate P_resident that was Bush, who was installed in a coup d’etat, and serves to permanently elevate Bush from war criminal and torturer (Shock & Awe executor, Waterboarder-in-Chief) to world-class humanitarian.

Haiti earthquake: corpses used as roadblocks as anger grows 15 Jan 2010
Angry Haitians have used corpses of the dead to set up roadblocks in Port-au-Prince to protest at the delay in emergency aid reaching the country after a devastating earthquake. Shaul Schwarz, a photographer for TIME magazine, said he saw at least two downtown roadblocks formed with bodies of earthquake victims and rocks. “They are starting to block the roads with bodies, it’s getting ugly out there, people are fed up with getting no help,” he said.

US military moves in troops, ships to aid quake-hit Haiti 14 Jan 2010
The first contingent of thousands of US troops headed to Haiti Thursday as the military mobilized an array of ships, planes and helicopters to provide emergency aid after a massive earthquake. A company of about 100 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division were expected in quake-hit Haiti by the evening, with the remainder of their 3,500-strong brigade due to arrive by Sunday, Pentagon officials said. “They will provide humanitarian assistance and relief and security as required,” army spokesman Gary Tallman told AFP.

US Takes Charge in Haiti _ With Troops, Rescue Aid
New York Times
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and the US moved to take charge
in earthquake-ravaged Haiti on Thursday, dispatching thousands of troops
along …
www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/15/us/politics/AP-US-US-Haiti-Earthquake.html

Hollywood Stars Lead Haitian Quake Charity Drive
ABC News
MIAMI (Reuters) – Haiti’s devastating earthquake has moved Hollywood and
pop music stars to lead a rally for disaster relief donations and open
their own …
abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9568077

Rush Limbaugh’s argument against sending aid to Haiti
Los Angeles Times (blog)
Pat Robertson with a little cover when he suggested on-air that people
don’t need to contribute money to Haitian earthquake relief. …
latimesblogs.latimes.com/laplaza/2010/01/rush-limbaughs-argument-against-sending-aid-to-haiti.html

3 students from Florida college believed to be found in Haiti are still …
Los Angeles Times
(AP) — A South Florida college said late Thursday that three students who
were believed to be safe in Haiti actually remain unaccounted for. …
www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-haiti-earthquake-us-students,0,6701036.story

George Clooney, MTV team for Haiti quake relief telethon
Los Angeles Times
As the first wave of international aid arrived today in Haiti, MTV
announced that actor George Clooney will host of a bi-coastal telethon next
week to raise …
www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/celebrity/la-et-mog-george-clooney-jan14-link,0,7239090.storylink

Marines to aid Haitian earthquake relief. But who’s in command?
Christian Science Monitor
Some 5700 US marines and soldiers are expected to join Haitian earthquake
relief efforts this weekend. The UN says its peacekeeping force should be
in …
www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2010/0114/Marines-to-aid-Haitian-earthquake-relief.-But-who-s-in-command

Help Haitians Help Haiti
New York Times
President Obama made a promise to the people of Haiti on Thursday. “You
will not be forsaken,” he said. “You will not be forgotten. …
www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/opinion/15fri2.html

NJ families wait to hear from relatives after Haiti earthquake
The Star-Ledger – NJ.com
With Haiti still reeling from Tuesday’s massive earthquake, New Jersey
residents waiting to hear from relatives on the devastated island are
facing what one …
www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/nj_residents_wait_to_hear_from.html

Haiti – Paul Krugman Blog – NYTimes.com
By By PAUL KRUGMAN
Those with the power to help are doing what they can.
krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/haiti/

The Help That Haiti Needs – Room for Debate Blog – NYTimes.com
By By THE EDITORS
Given Haiti’s political instability and crumbling infrastructure, what kind
of aid should be sent and how?
roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/the-help-that-haiti-needs/

Internet Usage in Haiti | Blog of Metrics
By Ken Kovash
Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti devastated hundreds of thousands of lives and
the aftershocks are felt physically and emotionally throughout the world.…
blog.mozilla.com/metrics/2010/01/14/internet-usage-in-haiti/

Global Voices Online “ Caribbean: Helping Haiti
By Nicholas Laughlin
Bloggers around the Caribbean react to the catastrophic earthquake in
Haiti. Some appeal to the public to support relief efforts; others
scrutinise how Caribbean governments and media have responded to the crisis
facing the Haitian …
globalvoicesonline.org/2010/01/14/caribbean-helping-haiti/

Updates on the Rescue Effort in Haiti – The Lede Blog – NYTimes.com
By By ROBERT MACKEY and PATRICK LYONS
The Lede is tracking news coverage of the rescue effort in Haiti on the
Web. We are also looking for personal accounts posted online and are asking
readers to help draw our attention to any news and first-hand accounts they
come across.
thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/updates-on-the-rescue-effort-in-haiti/

Haiti Travel Alert
The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to the situation in Haiti and
urges them to avoid travel to Haiti in the aftermath of a powerful
earthquake …
travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_4630.html

YouTube – Haiti Earthquake Aftermath
“CBS News RAW”: daytime pictures of the aftermath of the Tuesday’s
earthquake in Haiti. There were crying victims among the downed buildings.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IySBl2aq-A

Haiti president René Préval describes ‘unimaginable’ devastation …
Tens of thousands lose homes in 7.0 magnitude quake • UN headquarters,
schools and hospitals collapse.
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/13/haiti-earthquake-disaster-hundreds-dead

14 January, 2010

Haiti Earthquake Live Blog
Join Truthout as we provide you with day two of continuing updates on the aftermath of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Haiti.
messenger.truthout.org/ss/link.php?M=239627&N=461&C=76a196c220c6b4abf0e0378da6549ca1&L=3882

Ten Things the US Can and Should Do for Haiti
Bill Quigley, Truthout: “Allow all Haitians in the US to work. The No. 1 source of money for poor people in Haiti is the money sent from family and workers in the US back home. Haitians will continue to help themselves if given a chance. Haitians in the US will continue to help when the world community moves on to other problems.”
messenger.truthout.org/ss/link.php?M=239627&N=461&C=76a196c220c6b4abf0e0378da6549ca1&L=3897

Red Cross: Up to 50,000 Killed in Haiti Quake
January 14, 2010
The Haitian Red Cross has said that between 45,000 and 50,000 people were killed by Tuesday’s earthquake, with a further 3 million hurt or homeless.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24395.htm

Help Haiti
The Unforgiven Country Cries Out
By Chris Floyd
Hope must not be blind; you have to acknowledge the grim realities in order to know just what you’re up against. So let’s take a long, hard look.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24393.htm

Our Role in Haiti’s Plight
By Peter Hallward
If we are serious about assisting this devastated land we must stop trying to control and exploit it.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24392.htm

Haitian Earthquake:
Why the Blood Is on Our Hands
By Ted Rall
As grim accounts of the earthquake in Haiti came in, the accounts in U.S.-controlled state media all carried the same descriptive sentence: “Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere…” Gee, I wonder how that happened?
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24391.htm

Pat Robertson: Haiti ‘Cursed’ By ‘Pact To The Devil’
Video
“They got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, we will serve you if you’ll get us free from the French. True story. And so, the devil said, okay it’s a deal.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24390.htm