Disasters & The Moans to Not Help People Anymore
UN forces patrolling Port-au-Prince in the aftermath of the January 12 quake
On January 12th of this year, a 7.0 earthquake all but destroyed the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, killing an estimated 230,000 people and left an additional million homeless. Aid from around the world was announced and has since begun to pour into the devastated island nation. Amongst all the aid pledged was a promise of some $379 million from the United States. As has occurred in response to countless disasters in the past, the United States has offered to put its immense resources and wealth to work for those who are less fortunate because in the end (in addition to any medium or long term political goals it may also accomplish) it is the right thing to do.
A little more than six weeks later, an 8.8 earthquake struck the Pacific Rim nation of Chile. Being centered further under ground, much further away from a multi-million-populated urban center, and occurring in a country that actually had building codes, the death toll was much lower - perhaps under 500 people. As the first images from the quake region were being broadcast internationally, President Obama was once again front and center at the cameras, pledging that America would respond in whatever way it could, depending on the need. With the absence of a devastating death toll or a flattened capital city, as of the current writing the largest American commitment to the area has been the setting up of a field hospital in Angol, Chile.
Somewhere between the initial impact of the Haitian earthquake and the Chilean quake (as whatever 'it' is, 'it' was in full swing by then) a curious attitude toward aid to disaster-effected regions began to rise, almost a Oh no, we have to spend more money now to help out poor people? from certain segments of American society. Ironically enough, the segments that it arose from were that of the conservative wings of America, and they had once again formulated and came up with arguments that would defy logic and boggle the mind because, in the event anyone had yet to figure this out by now, everything - every last little thing in the world - is a fair-game political football. Even helping out your fellow human.
The Ron Paul Teabag Singularity Observed!
Ron Paul at CPAC 2010
The 2010 edition of the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, transpired over the weekend of February 18 - 20. Typically a gathering for conservatives to drum up some excitement for the party, this year the conference became an epicenter of gathering for the Tea Party Movement (or in its original iteration, teabaggers). The Tea Party Movement is an eclectic mixture of individuals who are against big spending by the government, but seem to believe that wasteful spending did not begin in Washington until the moment just after Barack Obama was sworn in as President. As a result, we are left with a group of people railing against the spending policies of the administration, screaming against what was fine and dandy only a couple of years before under the Bush Administration.
I suppose budget deficits of 100 to 500 billion per year are acceptable, but beyond that is when it really begins to become a problem.
CPAC, taken over by the teabagger crowd, looked to make a bold statement heading into the 2010 midterms and beyond - they, the fans of Sarah Palin and Glen Beck, looked to show the country who they are looking to propel onto the national stage, and look to as a figurehead as the political clock slowly winds toward 2012.
So they pick... Ron Paul.
Massive 8.8 Earthquake hits Chile; Tsunami generated in Pacific
Quake aftermath: Burning building in Concepción, Chile
Not even two months since the last major earthquake disaster, the Western hemisphere is waking up to another devastating earthquake, this time in the country of Chile. The estimated magnitude is 8.8, and a tsunami as high as fifteen feet has been generated. From the BBC:
The quake struck at 0634 GMT about 115km (70 miles) north-east of the city of Concepcion and 325km south-west of the capital, Santiago.
President Michelle Bachelet declared a "state of catastrophe" in affected areas and appealed for calm.
People are moving to higher ground on Easter Island amid fears of a tsunami. Alerts are in place across the Pacific.
Tsunami warnings have been issued for Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Central America and Pacific island nations.
Santiago airport has been closed and all flights cancelled until further notice, airline officials say. Flights are being diverted to Mendoza in Argentina.
Pictures are beginning to come in from the scene of the destruction. This disaster may not be over yet, however, as a tsunami has been generated that may be spreading across the Pacific ocean as we speak. Tsunami warnings are in effect for the U.S. state of Hawaii, and alerts are up for the coastlines of Japan, Russia, New Zealand, and Australia. The wave is expected to begin impacting Hawaii around 11:20am local time (4:20pm U.S. eastern time)
Tide data for Hilo, Hawaii:
8:54am (1:54pm EST) low tide: 0.04ft
~11:19am (4:19pm EST) arrival of first Tsunami wave
2:30pm (7:30pm EST) high tide: 1.95ft
8:30pm (1:30am EST) low tide: -0.41ftTide data for Honolulu, Hawaii:
3:13am (8:13am EST) high tide: 2.2ft
9:55am (2:55pm EST) low tide: -0.21ft
~11:19am (4:19pm EST) arrival of first Tsunami wave
3:32pm (8:32pm EST) high tide: 1.18ft
9:15pm (2:15am EST) low tide: -0.28ft
Earthquake scales being what they are, this quake is somewhere in the neighborhood of 800x more powerful than the 7.0 earthquake that rocked Haiti in January. There will be more on this story later.
More: USGS information
Global Warming: Fighting Ignorance So Simple, Yet So Vast
Freak weather has always, and will always happen
We find ourselves at this very moment in the month of February. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, this means we also find ourselves in the season of winter. Winter tends to bring us colder temperatures, Christmas, the groundhog, and the chance of snow - increasing more the further north you head. While this is what we have known for the longest time as "winter", in recent years - like another echo building in a chamber - it has come to mean something else: a complete disapproval of the concept of global warming! Here in the hyper-partisan world of American politics anything can, and will, be turned into some sort of political issue with exactly two sides.
I suppose we all missed the memo about winter ending forever, but the framing for this post comes out of a relatively new political attack ad aimed at two Virginia Democrats in conservative-leaning districts (hey did you know it's an election year!?). The premise of the ad is that because the state has been hit by rather severe snowstorms this winter, this completely destroys the idea that global warming can exist in any sort of way. It's even ended with a clever shot, asking for constituents in those districts to call their representative and let them know how many inches of global warming they have gotten. See for yourself:
To have more, you’ll need to pay more
Run away, run away!
It's an adage that shouldn't need too much explanation, but allow the humoring for the sake of obviousness. If you want something and don't have enough money for it, you can either not get it, or you can save up what you need in order to acquire it. Sure there's gray areas and ways around this logic when you start throwing things like credit into the equation, but everyone will end up paying for that at some point. The simplicity really isn't need something that needs to be drilled into anyone's head, unless you decide to mix in politicians.
America's budget for the next fiscal year is on the table, and it's a whopper. The budget itself is set for $3.8 trillion, with an operating deficit of $1.6 trillion. For comparison's sake, the entire budget ten years ago was a mere $1.8 trillion (just shy of), operating at a quarter-trillion dollar surplus. Obviously, a number of not-so-great things have happened between then and now that would make operating at a surplus difficult to do for most any government, but it is my belief that the current deficit crisis that this country finds itself in takes its roots not in the current plans of the Obama Administration or even the spending impulses of the Bush-43 Administration, but much earlier - the 1980's. The crisis that we face today with the deficit is as much, if not more of a problem of incoming money to the government than it is money actually being spent.
From disaster to political fodder in 48 hours (or less)
Residents wander through one of the many destroyed streets in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (Reuters)
...American politics: they deliver.
In yesterday's post I mentioned that noted religious man/serial nutcase, Pat Robertson, suggested that the 7.0 earthquake that destroyed Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Tuesday evening was in fact God's revenge for Haiti doing a deal with the devil that involved Napoleon III... or something along those lines.
Today the members of the fringe's fringe's fringe continued to out their selves in an attempt to keep pushing that "can you really be that pre-programmed to hate?" bar to further dizzying levels when viewed from the perspective of the rest of us normal folk. The latest member to step up to the plate? Rush Limbaugh.
Save your wallets, Haiti's lack of ability to have a government as successful as other western nations can be tied directly into the citizens of that country not deserving the generous aid of Americans.
Not satisfied with merely stepping up to the plate, Mr. Limbaugh proceeded to try to knock the insanity out of the ballpark:
In the face of utter devastation across Haiti following a huge earthquake, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh took to the airwaves yesterday to blast President Obama for his response to the crisis.
The disaster enables Mr. Obama to highlight his "compassionate" and "humanitarian" credentials and to "boost his credibility with the black community," Limbaugh said.
So, as you can see, caring for Haiti is really a ploy to solidify a base that he won the support of nearly 90% of in the 2008 election - African-Americans. Mr. Limbaugh seems to be out on his own entirely on this one as far as Republicans in Congress are concerned:
"We appreciate President Obama's immediate response to this catastrophic tragedy, and stand ready to assist in any way," House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said in a statement. "In this pressing time of need, I know that the good faith and generosity of our citizens will no doubt help. Our Government and the American people prepared to do all that we can provide assistance, comfort and resources to the people of Haiti and their families."
One of the lucky to be saved
That's a bit of low hanging fruit that you can't afford to not take, no matter the party you are in. Well, unless you speak into a gold-plated microphone daily.
As for the situation back on the ground in Port-au-Prince? Terrible and not getting much better.
A seriously damaged national port. An already swamped airport. Hospitals in shambles. A homeless president. No fuel. A capital city without phone service or electricity.
As military and rescue teams began to stream in Thursday from the U.S. and other countries, veterans of past disasters say the grim realities of the Haiti earthquake set it apart from many other calamities, including the 2004 tsunami that devastated communities around the Indian Ocean, killing an estimated quarter million people.
"There are a lot of dimensions that make this an especially complicated situation," said Steve Hollingworth, chief operating officer at the Atlanta-based relief group CARE.
Haiti's almost nonexistent government and its battered infrastructure are among the top challenges that will plague relief efforts in coming days and weeks, aid veterans say. Also high on their lists: the country's extreme poverty and history of violence.
"When a country's capital city is decimated, you lose a lot in terms of staging and organization," said Randy Martin, head of global emergency operations at Mercy Corps International.
That last line is the most important and most key. Though it's not getting quite the attention that it should just yet, it is becoming very apparent that Haiti has no effective national government to speak of right now. This earthquake accomplished, in essence, a decapitation attack on the Haitian government, leaving what remains behind to fend for itself. The United Nations claims control as a part of their mission there, but their compound was also heavily damaged with over 100 of their own personal unaccounted for. The aid is beginning to get there, but there is no functioning central authority to direct it all. One will have to be established in the near term for the mission to help save as many lives as possible, and one will have to remain in place to help prevent Haiti from becoming an anarchist state along the lines of Somalia. Help is on the way, though...
At the White House, President Obama said the U.S. was mounting "one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history," and announced $100 million in initial funds for the humanitarian mission.
Exactly the start of what is needed, as we watch the after-effects playing out of a second major city in the western hemisphere destroyed in the past five years.
Up to 1 out of every 100 Haitians killed in Port-au-Prince Quake
Moments after the 7.0 quake, smoke and dust rise from crumbled buildings in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (c/o Boston.com)
"Disastrous" does not even begin to come close to the apparent situation on the ground in Haiti's destroyed capital of Port-au-Prince. The Prime Minister of the country, Jean-Max Bellerive, took to the airwaves in a live interview with CNN shortly after noon eastern today, saying that he fears the death toll in Haiti could exceed 100,000 people - just over 1% of the national population of 9.8 million. Using the USGS' population exposure map, some 4.28m people were in areas that experienced "strong" or worse shaking - giving the quake a mortality rate of at least 2.33% - and we're just getting started.
No body counts have begun though, as perhaps tens of thousands of people lay buried beneath rubble still alive - joined by tens of thousands of others who lay buried beneath the rubble and have already died.
A review from CNN:
Officials fear more than 100,000 people have died as a result of Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Haiti.
The capital, Port-au-Prince, "is flattened," said Haiti's consul general to the U.N., Felix Augustin, who said he believed more than 100,000 people were dead. Hospitals are gone, and medical supplies and heavy equipment are desperately needed, he said.
The country's prime minister said the death toll could be in the hundreds of thousands.
"I hope that is not true, because I hope the people had the time to get out," Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told CNN.
President Rene Preval said he heard reports of death tolls ranging from 30,000 to 100,000 -- but he said the true toll is not yet known.
Rescue operations continued around the clock
A robust relief effort is underway from other powers in the Western Hemisphere including :
- Brazil: $15m in aid & 28 tonnes of supplies (food, water, etc)
- Canada: $5m in aid & Deployment of DART
- United States: Deployment of USNS Comfort, 2,000 marines to assist in ongoing UN peacekeeping mission, several coast guard ships, potential deployment of 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit
If there are any bright sides, and truly there are rather few at this point, the weather is expected to be clear and calm through the rest of the week which should help any relief efforts upcoming get underway without the fear of potential mudslides from the newly exposed sides of hills caused by landslides during the quake.
As time goes on, more so in this case than others, the international commitment will need to be maintained at a higher level than would otherwise be expected - including the involvement as troops for peacekeepers. While the members from the Haitian government are alive, their ability to functionally govern at this moment in time has to be seriously called into question. Haiti was at-best a state limping along when it came to stability, and at this moment the Haitian government has control in name only. UN peacekeepers away from Port-au-Prince are the only serious security force present in the country, aside from still-functioning members of the Haitian national police force.
In a couple of other side notes that I might get into at a later time: kudos to CNN for acting like a real news network and giving the story the breaking coverage that it deserved. I was floored to see CNN covering a major disaster at the same time that Fox News was fellating itself over their new acquisition of Sarah Palin, and MSNBC fellating their anger about Fox News fellating itself over their new acquisition of Sarah Palin. Something far worse, though: the ineptitude of people quite literally knowing no bounds, noted religious nutcase Pat Robertson is already out saying that something something pact with the devil caused this:
(See Boston.com for more images from the quake aftermath)
Major earthquake strikes Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Damaged homes in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (c/o NYT)
Just before 5:00pm eastern time this evening, a major earthquake (USGS: 7.0) struck 10 miles away from the center of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. There is little to no official media contact with the area right now but it is assumed damage will be extreme due to poor construction and dense population, and the death toll is likely to be high. A tsunami watch was issued but later canceled as one did not develop. Via social media, pictures are already starting to stream in from the disaster zone.
New York Times link
USGS summary
Picfog photo stream
Twitter stream
Screenshot of the Picfog stream on the Haiti Earthquake
There is sure to be more about this in the near future.
Update:
Some of the images coming in from the world of social media...
Update:
Video taken moments after the quake completed show Port-au-Prince shrouded in dust, conceivably from the number of simultaneous collapsed buildings and landslides. The comment at the end of the video sums up what must be the feeling there: the world is coming to an end...
When do we mature to talk about “dirty” things?
This story starts and finishes easy enough, with some kid from some college asking a dumb question of the President that he should have already known the answer to. For this we reach back to a town hall discussion held by President Obama in December of 2009 in Pennsylvania, where a sophomore from Lehigh Carbon Community College asked if the President would consider legalizing prostitution, gambling, drugs, and non-violent crime in a bid to stimulate the economy.
The President's answer was quick and to the point:
"I appreciate the boldness of your question," Mr. Obama said during his Allentown, PA jobs town hall, "That will not be my job strategy."
Obama would go on to sing the student's praises for challenging conventional wisdom, which is what college kids are apparently supposed to do - and subsequently stop doing once they reach the real world.
My question is simple: Why?
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