Haiti: Don’t Believe the MSM!

Don’t trust the MSM reporting on Haiti!

To start, here’s a great article: New Orleans’ Heart Is in Haiti

Many New Orleanians have roots in Haiti, and their revolution lent inspiration to our city. The 500 enslaved people from the parishes outside New Orleans that participated in the 1811 Rebellion to End Slavery (the largest armed uprising against slavery in the US) were directly inspired the Haitian revolution.

…Now, just as after Katrina, the media is eager to demonize and criminalize the victims as “looters.”

…Author Naomi Klein reported that within 24 hours of the earthquake, the influential right-wing think tank the Heritage Foundation was already seeking to use the disaster as an attempt at further privatization of the country’s economy. The Heritage Foundation released similar recommendations in the days after Katrina, calling for “solutions” such as school vouchers.

…Our Katrina experience has taught us to be suspicious of the Red Cross and other large and bureaucratic aid agencies that function without and means of community accountability. In New Orleans, we’ve seen literally tens of billions of dollars in aid pledged in the years since Katrina, but only a small fraction of that has made it to those most in need.

Al Jazeera critiques the United States’ weird decision to use the crisis as an opening to militarily occupy Haiti:

Contradicting MSM and US government accounts:

“There are no security issues,” says Dr. Evan Lyon of Partners in Health, reporting from the General Hospital in Port-Au-Prince in Haiti…

This quote comes from the Democracy Now! story: Doctor: Misinformation and Racism Have Frozen Recovery Effort at General Hospital in Port-au-Prince.

From the INCITE! Blog:

Right now, there are many people, organizations, and governmental agencies mobilized to provide immediate aid relief and rescue operations in Haiti. However, there tends to be more readiness to donate supplies and money in the “immediate” time when things are very chaotic and before we know what the conditions are on the ground and have identified the long-term re-development needs as articulated by those most impacted. The long-term vision is critical because, when the dust settles and the big international relief organizations have left, people’s lives will still be devastated, and the need to rebuild will still be there.

…As many of us work to figure out appropriate strategies to support the people of Haiti, it’s important to note that the people most vulnerable–namely, women, LGBT folks, people with disabilities, incarcerated people, children, and elders–can experience a slower unfolding of specific crises that are consequences of the original disaster and the social conditions that preceded the disaster.

Here are the words of Jay Smooth where he calls Haiti a “country of heroes” (also note his links for information and donations):

Ooh, this is getting a little heavy. Well, on a lighter note, isn’t it refreshing that cruise ships are still docking on private, guarded Haitian beaches?

Sixty miles from Haiti’s devastated earthquake zone, luxury liners dock at private beaches where passengers enjoy jetski rides, parasailing and rum cocktails delivered to their hammocks.

…”I just can’t see myself sunning on the beach, playing in the water, eating a barbecue, and enjoying a cocktail while [in Port-au-Prince] there are tens of thousands of dead people being piled up on the streets, with the survivors stunned and looking for food and water,” one passenger wrote on the Cruise Critic internet forum.

Donations:

Global Fund for Women
Partners in Health
Zanmi Lasant Clinic – Partners in Health’s Sister Organization in Haiti
Dwa Fanm (meaning “Women’s Rights” in Creole)
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
International Rescue Committee

Thanks to my roommates who helped me compile all this coverage. Look what one of them participated in to support Haiti!

Top Seven Myths About Public Housing

Megan Cottrell at True Slant wrote this great piece:

Think you know something about public housing? Not so fast. See if you’ve fallen prey to these top seven myths people believe about public housing.

Myth #1: Public housing residents don’t pay rent.

Go read it and bust some myths!

Vancouver Ends Homelessness

LOL YOUR CAPITALIST ECONOMY…

Joke’s on Vancouver. Learn more at Homelessness Is Over.