First case of dengue fever in Miami in 50 years.
Please take note that Florida authorities are also warning people about Cholera (from Haitians returning/escaping to the United States), and Eastern Equine Encephalitis and a brand-spankin' new outbreak of...hookworms.
At least all that managed to knock bedbugs, whooping cough, and German measles off the front page for day, huh? Give thanks for small blessings, and all that, I suppose.
Showing posts with label Haiti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haiti. Show all posts
Friday, November 12, 2010
Monday, November 08, 2010
This Cholera Epidemic Brought to You By the United Nations...
The current Cholera problem in post-earthquake Haiti may have come from Nepalese peacekeepers.
Well, I guess that's better than what the U.N. usually supplies: widespread child prostitution, AIDS, easy-to-kidnap-unarmed "Peacekeepers", Human Rights Commissions headed by Iran, Cuba and Sudan, Oil-for-Food corruption, Nuclear insecurity, etc.
The United Nations (more like the "Useless Nations") is joke which has far outlived it's usefulness. It was a bad idea when it was founded, and it's only become worse with the passage of time.
Well, I guess that's better than what the U.N. usually supplies: widespread child prostitution, AIDS, easy-to-kidnap-unarmed "Peacekeepers", Human Rights Commissions headed by Iran, Cuba and Sudan, Oil-for-Food corruption, Nuclear insecurity, etc.
The United Nations (more like the "Useless Nations") is joke which has far outlived it's usefulness. It was a bad idea when it was founded, and it's only become worse with the passage of time.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Of Forests and Trees...
I was just watching Cashin' In on FoxNews (Cheryl Cassone is a sexy beast!), where I had occasion to hear two of the guests say more or less the same thing vis-a-vis bringing Haiti into the Stone Age from it's current chaos, and justifying the massive amounts of American aid to Haiti pre-and-post earthquake. Paraphrasing:
Prosperity and recovery will not come [to Haiti] until you are able to create a stable, responsible government, and a permanent infrastructure (to bring clean water, sanitation, transportation and communications to the Haitian people). Until that day arrives, the Haitians will require our "help", and the private sector is unable to provide that sort of assistance; only government can
The implication here is that all of this "aid" that has been flowing into the island for the better part of two decades was somehow being used to do "good". Considering we're watching barely-a-nation disintegrate into a bloody mess of human misery faster than the cheap cement that couldn't withstand an earthquake, I begin to question just what "good" was being done by any government that there is so little to show for all this "investment"? What happened to all of that "aid" so that there are no hospitals? No means of maintaining public order? Armed gangs roaming the streets robbing orphanages? No heavy equipment to rescue survivors?
Two reasons why I find the attitude that only government is capable of solving these problems to be a load of crap;
Reason Number 1, it is an excuse to continue pouring money into a bottomless pit for no tangible results, except for a selected few. I understand that this is all the rage in Washington, D.C., but for those of you who have not been paying attention to Tea parties and Massachusetts special elections, the days of throwing money that has been washed through several layers of bureaucracy at intractable problems are over. If they aren't over, perhaps we're beginning to at least see some people seriously rethink the proposition. The "aid" that isn't siphoned off by graft and corruption is apparently not even barely adequate to provide Haitians with minimal services. If government isn't capable of doing even this at a minimum level, even in a Third-world shithole, then what makes anyone think that the same government, even with different people in charge, is the answer? All the aid in the world (even aid that benefits the U.S. Businessman and politician), all the "government" you can conjure up in your fevered imagination, will not help Haiti because of Reason Number 2;
The problem in Haiti (apart from the immediate issues caused by the earthquakes) are not financial, administrative or legal; they are cultural. Haitians expect to treated like cattle, and so they are. They have stood by and let generation after generation of politician and criminal destroy their society, and sent the message that corruption pays. Until this underlying culture of dependence and resignation is replaced, the corruption, instability and poverty will continue. Replacing that culture is something only Haitians can do and it doesn't require loads of charity. They must simply demand that their society operate by a simple set of civilized rules, and then be diligent in ensuring that those rules, and their consequences, are fairly enforced. it will not be easy, but it can be done.
Without a cultural tradition which recognizes and respects individual rights and liberties, there can never be a government which will be anything except a corrupt kleptocracy, or a murderous tin pot dictatorship, and Haiti has had both. Such governments are incapable of providing security or even "infrastructure" to anyone.
Prosperity and recovery will not come [to Haiti] until you are able to create a stable, responsible government, and a permanent infrastructure (to bring clean water, sanitation, transportation and communications to the Haitian people). Until that day arrives, the Haitians will require our "help", and the private sector is unable to provide that sort of assistance; only government can
The implication here is that all of this "aid" that has been flowing into the island for the better part of two decades was somehow being used to do "good". Considering we're watching barely-a-nation disintegrate into a bloody mess of human misery faster than the cheap cement that couldn't withstand an earthquake, I begin to question just what "good" was being done by any government that there is so little to show for all this "investment"? What happened to all of that "aid" so that there are no hospitals? No means of maintaining public order? Armed gangs roaming the streets robbing orphanages? No heavy equipment to rescue survivors?
Two reasons why I find the attitude that only government is capable of solving these problems to be a load of crap;
Reason Number 1, it is an excuse to continue pouring money into a bottomless pit for no tangible results, except for a selected few. I understand that this is all the rage in Washington, D.C., but for those of you who have not been paying attention to Tea parties and Massachusetts special elections, the days of throwing money that has been washed through several layers of bureaucracy at intractable problems are over. If they aren't over, perhaps we're beginning to at least see some people seriously rethink the proposition. The "aid" that isn't siphoned off by graft and corruption is apparently not even barely adequate to provide Haitians with minimal services. If government isn't capable of doing even this at a minimum level, even in a Third-world shithole, then what makes anyone think that the same government, even with different people in charge, is the answer? All the aid in the world (even aid that benefits the U.S. Businessman and politician), all the "government" you can conjure up in your fevered imagination, will not help Haiti because of Reason Number 2;
The problem in Haiti (apart from the immediate issues caused by the earthquakes) are not financial, administrative or legal; they are cultural. Haitians expect to treated like cattle, and so they are. They have stood by and let generation after generation of politician and criminal destroy their society, and sent the message that corruption pays. Until this underlying culture of dependence and resignation is replaced, the corruption, instability and poverty will continue. Replacing that culture is something only Haitians can do and it doesn't require loads of charity. They must simply demand that their society operate by a simple set of civilized rules, and then be diligent in ensuring that those rules, and their consequences, are fairly enforced. it will not be easy, but it can be done.
Without a cultural tradition which recognizes and respects individual rights and liberties, there can never be a government which will be anything except a corrupt kleptocracy, or a murderous tin pot dictatorship, and Haiti has had both. Such governments are incapable of providing security or even "infrastructure" to anyone.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Danny Glover: Racist Idiot...
You know, I never quite figured out when it was that the great mass of people decided that if someone is "a celebrity", it automatically qualifies them as an expert on anything. If you care to get your foreign policy punditry from Janeane Garofalo or Angelina Jolie, or you economic forecasts from someone who's only claim to notoriety is that he came in second on "American Idol", then that's your problem; just don't be surprised when people snicker behind their hands and call you an idiot.
Angelina is an actress. She makes her living pretending to be someone else. Usually someone who's never actually ever existed. That and looking good. None of that requires a PhD. I'm fairly certain Brad and Angelina don't discuss the works of Proust over the breakfast table. I'm pretty sure neither of them could tell you what the atomic weight of Vanadium is (it's 50.9414... don't ask me how I know).
That's not to say that I necessarily look down on Brangelina, or harbor doubts about their intellectual horsepower; it just means that when it comes to certain subjects, I'm inclined to believe that they are most likely to not know their asses from their elbows. I wouldn't go to either if I needed a box-girder bridge designed, and I wouldn't seek the advice of either on how best to set a fractured leg. These questions and subjects fall outside the scope of their field of expertise, which is "being famous."
Yet, there are many people on this planet who believe that their "celebrities" are somehow well-rounded, super-intelligent individuals who are possessed of a brilliance and sensitivity that is denied to us mere mortals. The truth is probably that 90% of them couldn't find their own asses with both hands and a flashlight.
As proof, I submit Danny Glover.
Mr. Glover (you may remember him from the Lethal Weapon movies with Mel Gibson, who's considered a MENSA in some circles simply because he's the right kind of Christian, you know), as the hard-bitten, older sidekick to Mel's borderline-psychotic with a gun. Be that as it may, Mr. Glover is probably one of the dumbest men I've ever heard speak on any subject. Probably because all of his ideas originate in the same place; his own racism. Danny Glover hates Whitey. With a passion.
He's blinded by his hatred of Whitey so much so that he can say -- with a straight face and no sense of how ridiculous he sounds -- that the earthquake in Haiti was (paraphrasing) caused by white guys who oppressed the Haitian people, and all people of color, and then who failed to sign a piece of useless fucking paper in Copenhagen.
So, that earthquake was caused by global warming, Mr Glover? And Global Warming is part of a conspiracy of the White Man to kill and oppress the people of color? Gotcha.
You can see the whole thing here. See if you can makes sense of what he's trying to say, because he stumbles all over it. It's good to see that someone that brilliant is also so articulate.
After all: He's a famous person, so he must be smart.
Angelina is an actress. She makes her living pretending to be someone else. Usually someone who's never actually ever existed. That and looking good. None of that requires a PhD. I'm fairly certain Brad and Angelina don't discuss the works of Proust over the breakfast table. I'm pretty sure neither of them could tell you what the atomic weight of Vanadium is (it's 50.9414... don't ask me how I know).
That's not to say that I necessarily look down on Brangelina, or harbor doubts about their intellectual horsepower; it just means that when it comes to certain subjects, I'm inclined to believe that they are most likely to not know their asses from their elbows. I wouldn't go to either if I needed a box-girder bridge designed, and I wouldn't seek the advice of either on how best to set a fractured leg. These questions and subjects fall outside the scope of their field of expertise, which is "being famous."
Yet, there are many people on this planet who believe that their "celebrities" are somehow well-rounded, super-intelligent individuals who are possessed of a brilliance and sensitivity that is denied to us mere mortals. The truth is probably that 90% of them couldn't find their own asses with both hands and a flashlight.
As proof, I submit Danny Glover.
Mr. Glover (you may remember him from the Lethal Weapon movies with Mel Gibson, who's considered a MENSA in some circles simply because he's the right kind of Christian, you know), as the hard-bitten, older sidekick to Mel's borderline-psychotic with a gun. Be that as it may, Mr. Glover is probably one of the dumbest men I've ever heard speak on any subject. Probably because all of his ideas originate in the same place; his own racism. Danny Glover hates Whitey. With a passion.
He's blinded by his hatred of Whitey so much so that he can say -- with a straight face and no sense of how ridiculous he sounds -- that the earthquake in Haiti was (paraphrasing) caused by white guys who oppressed the Haitian people, and all people of color, and then who failed to sign a piece of useless fucking paper in Copenhagen.
So, that earthquake was caused by global warming, Mr Glover? And Global Warming is part of a conspiracy of the White Man to kill and oppress the people of color? Gotcha.
You can see the whole thing here. See if you can makes sense of what he's trying to say, because he stumbles all over it. It's good to see that someone that brilliant is also so articulate.
After all: He's a famous person, so he must be smart.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Obama Asks G.W.B To Help With Haiti Relief...
Considering what democrats, including Obama, have said about Bush's handling of the two great disasters of his Presidency, 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, it seems to me to be highly hypocritical for a democrat to ask GWB for anything disaster-related.
But Obama is so desperate to help a sinkhole like Haiti (it'll be good for his "legacy" in that Peace Prize-heal-the-Universe-vein, and besides, if we don't keep the Haitians there, they'll be a mass Inner Tube exodus to Miami) that he'll even turn to someone his 'side' has told us for a decade is the Most Colossal Boob in the Solar System for help.
If it were me, I'd tell Obambi to go fly a kite. Fortunately for the people of Haiti, GWB and his father are better people than that. Fortunately for Obama, they have enough class not to tell him to go fuck himself. They'll help him look more "Presidential" -- but not for the credit, they'll do it because it is the right thing to do.
Pray to whatever you hold holy that when the next disaster strikes (a mushroom cloud over an American city because the Obama Administration won't frisk Muslims in airports), that men like GWB and GHWB are here to actually DO something, rather than just SAY something and then implore others to do the heavy lifting.
In the meantime, if you can manage it in these tough economic times, give whatever you can to he people of Haiti in their time of need. Yeah, I know, they'll never repay the kindness, and the Obama Taxmen won't let you deduct the donation from your taxes because there's an illegal alien who crossed the border because Mexico doesn't provide free treatment for her like chronic dry eye and restless leg syndrome, who needs free medicine courtesy of the US Taxpayer... but do it anyway. It's the right thing to do, and good Americans always try to do the right thing.
There's a baptist church (yeah, in Staten Island, go figure!) around the corner from my home which is holding a clothing drive for Haitian relief. I'm donating whatever old clothes that I can, plus some new stuff, half-a-dozen servicable blankets and an old 4-man tent that I don't use anymore, but which could be put to better use there. Apparently, this church either has, or is associated with, some missionaries already on the island, so I know the relief will go straight to the people who need it, instead of being stolen by corrupt government officials on it's way there.
And don't give the UN a dime.
Update: President Obama has ordered 12,000 American health care workers to be placed "on alert" for movement ot Haiti. It seems that when it's convenient for Our Savior, our excellent healthcare stinks on ice, is unresponsive and kills people in it's spare time, just for fun, but when it comes to providing emergency medical relief in a disaster area they're apparently just the people to call upon. Try explaining that bit of political about-face, Mr. President. Maybe you could do that on C-Span, too? Jackass.
Also, I made my clothing delivery early this afternoon, and I'm told by the church workers I was speaking to that small-scale efforts like theirs will take more time to get relief supplies to Haiti, and that they have been working with Catholic Charities -- which has a great many people in Haiti already -- to collect and distribute relief supplies. You could make a donation there, if you wish to help out.
But Obama is so desperate to help a sinkhole like Haiti (it'll be good for his "legacy" in that Peace Prize-heal-the-Universe-vein, and besides, if we don't keep the Haitians there, they'll be a mass Inner Tube exodus to Miami) that he'll even turn to someone his 'side' has told us for a decade is the Most Colossal Boob in the Solar System for help.
If it were me, I'd tell Obambi to go fly a kite. Fortunately for the people of Haiti, GWB and his father are better people than that. Fortunately for Obama, they have enough class not to tell him to go fuck himself. They'll help him look more "Presidential" -- but not for the credit, they'll do it because it is the right thing to do.
Pray to whatever you hold holy that when the next disaster strikes (a mushroom cloud over an American city because the Obama Administration won't frisk Muslims in airports), that men like GWB and GHWB are here to actually DO something, rather than just SAY something and then implore others to do the heavy lifting.
In the meantime, if you can manage it in these tough economic times, give whatever you can to he people of Haiti in their time of need. Yeah, I know, they'll never repay the kindness, and the Obama Taxmen won't let you deduct the donation from your taxes because there's an illegal alien who crossed the border because Mexico doesn't provide free treatment for her like chronic dry eye and restless leg syndrome, who needs free medicine courtesy of the US Taxpayer... but do it anyway. It's the right thing to do, and good Americans always try to do the right thing.
There's a baptist church (yeah, in Staten Island, go figure!) around the corner from my home which is holding a clothing drive for Haitian relief. I'm donating whatever old clothes that I can, plus some new stuff, half-a-dozen servicable blankets and an old 4-man tent that I don't use anymore, but which could be put to better use there. Apparently, this church either has, or is associated with, some missionaries already on the island, so I know the relief will go straight to the people who need it, instead of being stolen by corrupt government officials on it's way there.
And don't give the UN a dime.
Update: President Obama has ordered 12,000 American health care workers to be placed "on alert" for movement ot Haiti. It seems that when it's convenient for Our Savior, our excellent healthcare stinks on ice, is unresponsive and kills people in it's spare time, just for fun, but when it comes to providing emergency medical relief in a disaster area they're apparently just the people to call upon. Try explaining that bit of political about-face, Mr. President. Maybe you could do that on C-Span, too? Jackass.
Also, I made my clothing delivery early this afternoon, and I'm told by the church workers I was speaking to that small-scale efforts like theirs will take more time to get relief supplies to Haiti, and that they have been working with Catholic Charities -- which has a great many people in Haiti already -- to collect and distribute relief supplies. You could make a donation there, if you wish to help out.
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