just a reminder – for all of our blogging friends..

•Text OXFAM to 25383 to donate $10 to Oxfam International. •Text AJWS to 25383 to donate $10 to American Jewish World Service. •Text HABITAT to 25383 to donate $10 to Habitat for Humanity. •Text BABY to 20222 to donate $5 to March of Dimes. •Text HAITI to 90999 to donate [...]]]>

just a reminder – for all of our blogging friends..

•Text OXFAM to 25383 to donate $10 to Oxfam International.
•Text AJWS to 25383 to donate $10 to American Jewish World Service.
•Text HABITAT to 25383 to donate $10 to Habitat for Humanity.
•Text BABY to 20222 to donate $5 to March of Dimes.
•Text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross.
•Text HAITI to 25383 to donate $5 to International Rescue Committee.
•Text CARE to 25383 to donate $10 to CARE.

Friday Nite Twitter was Flattened Again – By Donations and Tweets about the Haiti Crisis.  we were so suprised when it happened that it took a minute to register, what was actually happening. wow, can you imagine 1 billion tweets, all at once ?  supposedly that’s the number that shook the mighty tweety down.  seeing that whale being lifted by those lil birds was really something.

it’s incredible and amazing all at once, the way social networking has impacted our world; and the younger generation. most of our kids don’t remember anything before the internet.  I remember when I was a grad student working on the aarapnet project; wondering what it would look like one day. when it all began, it was all a mass of  numbers. yes not a graphic in sight.   windows 3.1 was the first actual mass produced operating system; which tells you a whole lot.  today we’re giving you two funnies to enjoy.

please be good campers and make a donation to the charity of your choice.  Haiti still need us, really badly

Breaking News: All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash

Don’t You Just Hate when that happens ?

and for those of you who remember AOL – do you think we’ll get to this anytime soon ? apparently facebook is talking about charging by the month for use.  from what I read, that just might turn it into a ghost town. better enjoy it while it lasts, because it could become another AOL.  yikes !

Internet Archaeologists Find Ruins Of ‘Friendster’ Civilization

here’s hoping you have a safe and productive week. Please Remember Our Family In Haiti and do a Good Deed Today.

Give Us A HIGH FIVE for Haiti !

UPS encourages workers to help in crises like Haiti quake

By Jayne O’Donnell, USA TODAY

It was one of many poignant moments for Arnold, who has been volunteering with the Salvation Army in Port-au-Prince since Jan. 15, three days after the massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit. The sales director for UPS’ Northern California region, whose parents spent 42 years as Salvation Army officers, is continuing his family’s and his company’s tradition of service by helping get food, water, medicine and other supplies to people affected by the earthquake. His sales training for UPS’ logistics and supply chain consulting has been invaluable.

“Whenever a crisis occurs, logistics is the first thing that needs addressing,” says Ed Martinez, director of philanthropy and corporate relations for the UPS Foundation in Atlanta.

UPS says it urges its employees to volunteer during natural disasters and other crises. Along with executives who, like Arnold, have their own relationships with charities, the company has a 20-person Logistics Emergency Team in Asia, Europe and the Americas that is trained in humanitarian relief. Team members perform “skill-based volunteering” while still earning their pay.

Team members Bill Torres, UPS’ compliance coordinator for the Americas, and John Vera, health and safety manager in the region, are spending the next six weeks in the Dominican Republic setting up a distribution center for the World Food Programme‘s efforts for Haiti.

In Haiti, Arnold’s base is the Salvation Army’s headquarters, a compound that makes up about four city blocks and had a 15-foot wall with razor wire around it before the earthquake hit. It was a haven in a frequently violent neighborhood for the 1,000 members of the Salvation Army church, 700 students at its school and 52 children at the children’s home, La Maison du Bonheur. “My immediate concern was with them and what I could do to help,” Arnold says. “None of the children were badly injured or killed. … It’s truly a miracle.”

Some were missing for a few days, though. One, a girl of about 16, was in a local hospital with minor injuries and had been unable to make contact. A sibling, who was walking home with her from another school when the earthquake hit, was killed.

Before the earthquake, the compound had a clinic with one doctor and a few nurses whose jobs were primarily first aid and handing out medications. After the earthquake, it became an emergency room, thanks to 12 doctors who flew in soon after the earthquake. They saw more than 100 patients in the first two hours. In five days, there were five births and several amputations, Arnold says.

Because so many amputations were done quickly after the earthquake, doctors at the compound are correcting some of the amputations and performing “after care” to prevent infections, using painkillers when available.

“They triage in the playground, and the worst cases end up in the Coleman tent,” Arnold says.

Because of his logistics training, Arnold spends a lot of time at the Port-au-Prince airport helping to unload planes with supplies and making sure aid gets to where it’s most needed as quickly as possible. It’s not always fast enough.

Arnold and a Swiss Army veteran were working with other volunteers last week to find morphine for an amputation being performed at the clinic. They met with one of the United Nations‘ agencies and were able to get some to the clinic, “But by the time that happened, the amputation had already happened,” Arnold says wistfully.

Because the walls of the compound were so “compromised” by the earthquake, Arnold says, thousands of people walk through every day, heading to a soccer stadium where the U.N. estimates at least 12,000 are sleeping. “They ask for food and water every day,” Arnold says. “It’s very difficult to say you can’t do that. If you start with a very small distribution, it will get very ugly, very quickly.”

He says the Salvation Army’s long relationship with the community — the compound has been there since 1960 — has helped bolster efforts to get food and medical care to the residents in a somewhat orderly fashion.

One day last week, Arnold helped volunteers feed 10,000 people without incident. Arnold says he’s working with others to figure out how to repeat the success on a regular basis.

Arnold, who is using vacation time to volunteer, expects to be in Port-au-Prince through this week or until the Salvation Army can find someone to replace him. The experience has been full of highs and lows. For example, he says it was “extremely challenging for me not to break down” when the young resident of the children’s home offered him her water bottle.

“It’s definitely been a life-changing experience,” Arnold says. He’s seen “some things that are horrifying” but is awed by how the Haitians’ “spirit has still been strong, how they don’t give up and how they are still helping each other.”

How you can help Haiti: Text

How best can you help the victims of the Haiti earthquake? Send money, not clothes or other goods. And consider making a charitable donation via text.

Text donations for Haiti relief efforts exceed tens of millions of dollars, and more charities are jumping into mobile giving. However, before you pull out your cellphone, be aware that text donations may take up to 90 days before they reach your charity of choice. As reported by The Miami Herald,”The delay is because the donations aren’t collected until texters pay their cellphone bills.” But with the dire situation in Haiti, some cellphone operators are “trying to shorten the lag time.”

Mobile Commons provides a good roundup of these organizations. A full list of text addresses is at www.mobilecommons.com/blog. Here are some:

•Text OXFAM to 25383 to donate $10 to Oxfam International.
•Text AJWS to 25383 to donate $10 to American Jewish World Service.
•Text HABITAT to 25383 to donate $10 to Habitat for Humanity.
•Text BABY to 20222 to donate $5 to March of Dimes.
•Text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross.
•Text HAITI to 25383 to donate $5 to International Rescue Committee.
•Text CARE to 25383 to donate $10 to CARE.

The American Red Cross has raised $26 million through text messages as of Wednesday, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy. That compares with $200,000 during the 2008 hurricane season.

Contributing: By Christie Garton

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we’ve been reading and thinking of the Green Alternatives for rebuilding Haiti.  yes green power and infrastructure will have to be a part of the recovery efforts if Haiti is to step into the present we’re not talking the future, but today.

as you can see from the earthquake and news photos; [...]]]>

we’ve been reading and thinking of the Green Alternatives for rebuilding Haiti.  yes green power and infrastructure will have to be a part of the recovery efforts if Haiti is to step into the present we’re not talking the future, but today.

as you can see from the earthquake and news photos; much of Haiti’s infrastructure is substandard at best.  the buildings are mostly concrete and re-bar.  this is why we are seeing the types and frequency of amputations being performed; to extricate bodies, from collapsed structures in Port Au Prince.  that can not be repeated,  especially in hospitals and schools.

this time around the building process needs to take into account earthquake and hurricane preparedness. this means lots of organic materials should be employed, like Bamboo which grows wild in Haiti and most of the Caribbean.  FYI – bamboo is stronger than steel or concrete and safer used in building projects.  remember the Chinese used it to hold back the mudslide to allow them to rescue their children who were trapped in the school. it worked miraculously.

this is a woman in Asia making her house from Bamboo and Mud.  simple, green and effective. these types of structures are found all over Asia, and the Caribbean.  I’ve seen old houses like this in PR and Jamaica.  one day I wondered out loud how long they had survived only to be told the house was older than Me. WOW.

these houses have everything my house has including plumbing and electricity. they’re just made of bamboo on the outside. notice the floor and the shutters. this is a model home made almost entirely of Bamboo. the construction is green and utilizes many green features that help to reduce the footprint of the house; such as rainwater tank system; whole house greywater and low pressure water systems; passive solar water heater; tempered glass, a flow through roof and shutters; as well as running on power generated from the solar panels which are mounted on the roof. this house was 80% self efficient.even the paint was bamboo and hemp for strength against rain.

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the next time around there will have to be Solar Lights and Wind Turbines generating the nations power; as it should be.  the majority of Haitis’ problems stem from it’s inability to generate enough agricultural or industrial products to export.  the ring of debt that has circled Haitis’ stabilization efforts stretches back to the 1950′s and the papa doc era. you see the imf financed papa doc and baby doc as though Haiti was just their private club, and not a nation of 9 million people.  this is what caused Haiti to remain trapped in the past, with it’s vampire debt.

Haiti has come a long way since then and it’s time that Haiti step up to the challenge of rebuilding it’s nation, with a green focus.  this building above is a 100% green office building, and shopping mall from Asia. this is the standard that the Haitians must insist on following if they are to recover and rebound to become once again the emerald of the Caribbean. international destinations need a draw, and if Haiti wants to draw those international jet-setters as it did in the 50′s and 60′s; it will need that level of commitment from their caricom partners to share the wealth, and visitors.  the rest of the caricom family needs to put their heads together and come up with a hot new brand for Haiti.

Something Mysterious, Something Sexy and Tres Chic.   that always draws the money..

we’ve heard that a couple nations in Africa have offered the Haitians repatriation including a parcel of good farming land.  what a deal.  hopefully some of the Haitian farmers and craftspeople will take this second chance and move forward to establish a new Haitian expat community in Africa; and use their skills to support the rebuilding of Haiti.  Sac Pase’ !

My first thought was about basic things like energy to support life – yes that’s a big one but I think we have it  licked easily.  how about a few large wind turbine farms being erected in the countryside and just offshore; to generate power and to turn waterwheels to supply fresh drinking water to the island.  if they generated enough, they could easily sell some to the DR.

No doubt with Haiti’s deforestation issue, Wind Farms as well as  Solar Farms; will easily pop up in areas outside the city.  allowing an energy co-op to sell the power and make a fair profit for the members.  these should be community projects – not for profit set ups.  if you allow them to be for-profit, you doom the people to continue the deforestation process.  this is the cause of landslides, and the destruction of many communities as we’ve seen over the past few years.

How About a Few Solar Farms in places like Cite Soleil – which in case you don’t know means Sun City

sounds perfect especially if it’s set up as a community based and owned energy farm; who’s earnings return to the community and enlarging their farm.  this could feed alot of people, and give them light in their homes as well – all through green readily available solar power. imagine no more charcoal cooking fires, or wood burning.  Haiti has only 10% of it’s trees surviving due to the extreme need for charcoal, for cooking and heating; used by the 95% of the population too poor to afford cooking gas or a gasoline generator for power.

the schools need to embark on a totally green rebuilding process themselves.  each school needs to be given the tools and support to reconstruct safer green structures.  the schools should include the building trades needed to complete the green rebuilding process, as a part of the schools curriculum offerings. this alone would create a nation of green builders/journeymen who could begin to reconstruct the county’s building trades industry.  the economy would be boosted, and so too the futures of the youth of Haiti who comprise more than 50% of the population. these young green builders could be the green builders of Caricom.

Grid Smart Solar Lighting for Suburban and Urban Areas

Each light is hooked to the electrical grid and provides power to your local utility during the day instead of charging a battery.

• parking lots
• streets
• highways
• schools
• parks and recreation
• gas stations
• airports

Haiti needs partners to assist in it’s green recovery, who understand the process and can provide mentoring and initial start up assistance, by-way of the world bank initiative for Haiti. Solar panels are easy to build and cheap once you get the materials and have a market.  Haiti is 700 miles from the USA; who needs solar panels presently.  why not form a partnership to start this growth up to enrich both economies.  many small school co-ops/companies could produce enough solar panels to export for the entire Caribbean, if they had the partners willing to make it happen.

No doubt i’m taking some of you on a ride to a place far far away; but that’s the point. to make it happen we have to imagine it happening; only then we can begin to work out in our minds, the plan to make it happen.

Won’t you dream with me of a beautiful green Haiti, where everyone has a chance to dream, and become The Reality,

Senegal’s president on Sunday called for Africa to make room for victims of Haiti’s earthquake to restart their lives on the continent from where their ancestors were snatched as slaves.

“The repeated calamities that befall Haiti prompt me to propose a radical solution — to take measures to create somewhere in Africa… the conditions for Haitians to return,” President Abdoulaye Wade told France Info radio. “They did not choose to go to that island,” he added, referring to the mass deportation of African slaves to Haiti, then a French colony, from the 16th century.

“It is our duty to recognise their right to come back to the land of their ancestors.”

His spokesman Mamadou Bamba Ndiaye gave further details of the proposals.

“If it is just a few people, we will offer them a roof and a patch of land,” he told the radio station. “If they come in large numbers, we will give them a whole region.“

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Port-au-Prince, Haiti (AHN) – A [...]]]>

Dear Visitors,

Have you ever read something  that just makes you want to cuss somebody out and  beat them down ?  read this and then continue below please before cussing – you’ll get your chance down lower, trust me :

Doctors Without Borders Relief Plane Not Allowed Into Port-Au-Prince

Port-au-Prince, Haiti (AHN) – A Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) cargo plane carry medical and other much-needed supplies was blocked from landing in Port-au-Prince Saturday, causing a delay in helping thousands who need surgeries and other medical attention.

The plane was rerouted to Samana in the Dominican Republic, causing a one-day delay at a time when every minute is precious in helping the earthquake-ravaged nation of Haiti.

A second plane is scheduled to arrive in Port-au-Prince Sunday, and if it is also blocked it will cause further delays in reaching out to many desperate people in need of assistance.

If allowed to land, an inflatible surgical hospital, with an intensive care unit and 100 beds, can be assembled almost immediately from all the supplies contained on the plane.

Currently only two fully functional medical theaters are operating in the city, making the situation extremely difficult to help all who need it.

Many other nations including France, Russia and Brazil and NGOs (non governmental organizations) have also complained that they have either, not been able to, or have been denied permission to land airplanes in Haiti.

Haitian airs-space has been under U.S. control since January 15, 2010.

(end of news post)

there is no doubt we are outside looking in, but anyone would know better than to allow a small airplane from a govenor to land, before a HOSPITAL ..

The Many photo ops that have become the Haiti Crisis visit by Slick Willie haven’t made one bit of difference. why are you and chelsea claiming to be there to help, but we see you standing around with military and relief personnel who should be doing rescue or delivering aid; taking pics and smiling in the midst of serious calamity. stop talkin and get your butt into gear slick willie. you know how to lift and tote boy.. Ms. Lillian done showed ya long time ago remember ?

This is who the doctors from Belgium are afraid of – why ?

then we have the scary ass Doctors from Belgium.. not enough can be said about your conduct on friday nite mon doctores. we will remember your performance forever. you are afraid for your safety in a country full of critically hurt people. ? why not be honest and say what your real issue is Belgium - Old Fears; because of your history of racism and colonialism – in countries like Haiti.  heck I was more afraid visiting brussells than almost anywhere else I’ve been.  it’s well known you have a kinda preference that your coffee be more cream; than coffee. those jackbooted neo-hitlerite youth you are raising made me see clearly why your city is so “Lily White” shall we say..

I quote one of your own colleagues from the cnn news 01/18/10.  he said to the Dr you deserted friday nite – Sanjay Gupta “I am embarressed to Be A Belgian“.  Right..

this whole scene is like a box of broken crayons

is there an artist among this lot who can pick up a piece and start to draw a map of what needs to be done to help the Haitian People ?

Thankfully People are pledging record amounts of aid by text message daily.  yet we still see no organized efforts to deliver the existing aid to those who really need it most. the cnn reporters seem to be coordinating the entire rescue because you hardly know what is going to happen next, until you hear Anderson Cooper or one of the cnn boots on the ground troops.

Thank God for Brain Surgeon (michigan native) and journalist Dr. Sanjay Gupta being there.  as he’s performed the work of a whole contingent by himself. All with the barest of minimal help and supplies, “Without Fear”.  while we see the US Army preventing the landing of the plane carrying the mobile hospital unit of Medicines Sans Frontier;  and while european doctors were scampering away terrified because they don’t have guns.

wonder why the Israeli Military Docs aren’t afraid ? they’ve been throwing down since they set up their field hospital on thursday, without incident.

Please tell me Pat Robertson is not the militarys’ psychic advisor; because it would explain the continuous US Army gaffes. having a whole aircraft carrier and a coast guard cutter both with space for 1000 Haitians to be Treated In Hospital; JUST SITTING THERE  in the harbor – in full view of everyone WAITING FOR THE AIRFORCE TO CALL THEM ? Not having a Field Hospital set Up YET – honestly, the word stupid just doesn’t go far enough to explain the trail of stupidity being dropped by this US Military id-io-t  team.

They need to be replaced by a professional logistics team, NOW.  Hey Where is UPS when You Need em ?

The military  need to get out there as the military setting up Field HOSPITALS  and  ER Feeding Centers to both triage and assess the wounded; and assist in delivering water and food aid.  they could help the Haitian government start to document the survivors.  this is something that has been neglected for a week, literally.  the dead should have been photographed and fingerprinted before burial, even in mass graves. this was how it was done after the tsunami in indonesia.

there needs to be someway to document the true numbers on both sides.  this dumping  of bodies and not recording their identities;  will end up causing lots of problems for Haiti and the world;  later on – just mark my words..  Renee’ Preval is silent for a reason and the Haitian people need to hear the voice of their leaders; along with what their plan is to return Haiti to normalcy.  until this happens the political situation will continue to become more volatile; and eventually a destabilizing factor in the return to normalcy process.

where are the army corp of engineers – where are those road building bustas at ?

they’ve been rather quiet since Katrina. this could be their time to shine.  they could show up in their C130 with a few pieces of road-building and heavy lifting hydraulic equipment, some trucks; and a few jaws of life. they would be everybody’s heroes.  they could begin cutting through rebar and helping to get stuff out of the roads;  helping with the reopening of the road to the port. that alone would help more than any of those greenheads seemed to have realized.

Just looking at how they run a rescue operation makes me sure that none of them has any idea of what they’re doing.  longtime ago when I was a corporate travel agent one of a large corporations board members asked us to mock up a plan to quickly evac their personnel from a few places, and we did it within a day.  clean and fast – no drama, just motion baby.

it’s as simple as Fly em, Sleep em and Drive em… Get it Army ?

You can bet your green garbage that I WILL BE TAKING THIS TO HEART. The US Army has no right ever prioritizing the landing of a small plane to pick up 25  unharmed well calm people, over a massive field hospital needed in a catastrophe. whom ever is in control of General Gordon needs to get ready to hear from me now. this won’t be forgotten, because I’m deeply rooted in the US Army and I don’t take those roots lightly. this is a humanitarian catastrophe, and we send the three stooges to do the job of popeye.. Sheesh,

Wow America, how does it feel to be such asses in the light of all this camoflaged mess ?

We love green; but not this kind, thank you very much Slick Willie; Mr. Ambassador Get Off Your Ass and Jam

Beyond survival, health crisis looms

“People suffering from cancer, people who need dialysis and even moms who need to deliver their kids –>

Health officials are working to stem a humanitarian crisis: As Garwood puts it, “How do we best provide the type of care that we have access to and that is needed in a setting that has such huge needs and has been so hugely destroyed?”

The most immediate concern, he says, is providing emergency care to the wounded. “If you have untreated wounds, then you have the risk for infection, and infection of wounds is a major secondary cause of death.”

at least eight hospitals or health facilities in the capital of Port-au-Prince were damaged or destroyed in the 7.0-magnitude quake January 12. There are also reports of hospitals in the Dominican Republic being overwhelmed by injured from Haiti.

“People aren’t getting treated quick enough,” Garwood said. “There’s a priority to ensure we can treat the injuries and prevent wound and infection. Then, after that, we start to talk about other things like malnutrition.”

Please GOD, Stop the Madness that’s going on in Haiti, Now

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AskCherLock.com » HAITI HIT BY 7.0 EARTHQUAKE.

Cher wrote this plea for help for Haiti earlier today, and while we put together our own post we are giving you a few thoughts from AskCherLock.  Please Remember Haiti TODAY.

Our Post will go up later this evening – until then, please feel free [...]]]>

AskCherLock.com » HAITI HIT BY 7.0 EARTHQUAKE.

Cher wrote this plea for help for Haiti earlier today, and while we put together our own post we are giving you a few thoughts from AskCherLock.  Please Remember Haiti TODAY.

Our Post will go up later this evening – until then, please feel free to visit ASKCHERLOCK.COM to Add Your Comments.

~RE

HAITI HIT BY 7.0 EARTHQUAKE

The small country of Haiti has been hit by the largest earthquake they have experienced in 200 years. At this time the full impact of devastation is unknown. Haiti is a country for which Rich and I have so much love. We had worked with a missionary group several years ago in its neighboring country of the Dominican Republic. Many of the laborers who worked with the men on this mission to build a church were Haitian. Those of you who have read this blog may recall a post I did about this on November 14th. The post was titled, “Volunteering: A New Meaning to Life.”

I watched an interview on CNN with Wyclef Jean who is originally from Haiti. After Hurricane Katrina, he and Norah Jones did a song together to aid in relief efforts for victims of Katrina. I think of that song now as I worry about helpless victims in Haiti. I have posted that song on our video page. Listen to the heart of the message, then see how you may be able to help in turn with humanitarian efforts for Haiti. Keep in mind that the average wage for Haitians is $2.00 per day.

Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. We are never too poor in spirit to reach out. Here is a list posted by CNN for those who want to aid in this relief effort:

TAKE ACTION
• International Committee of the Red Cross
• World Food Programme
• American Red Cross
• Direct Relief International
• Americares
• Relief International
• International Relief Teams
• More ways to help: NATURAL DISASTERS

—cher

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