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StumbleSUN EDITORIAL:
Suffering in Haiti
The United States should rally all the support it can to help in disaster relief
Friday, Jan. 15, 2010 | 2:06 a.m.
The full extent of the damage and death in Haiti won’t be known for days. The rescue crew responding to the 7.0 earthquake that leveled the capital city of Port-au-Prince is still trying to get in — the country’s infrastructure, which was subpar to begin with — has crumbled. News and images from the country are horrific.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, doesn’t have the infrastructure or the building standards that we are used to, as the damage shows. Port-au-Prince’s major landmarks, including the presidential palace, the parliament and the national cathedral, are in ruins. The United Nations’ mission collapsed. Thousands of people are missing, and the Haitian Red Cross estimated Thursday that there could be 50,000 dead, although some officials suggest the number could be significantly higher. The Roman Catholic archbishop is dead, and the U.N.’s top official in Haiti and dozens of U.N. peacekeepers, who have provided security in the country, are among those missing and feared dead.
Search-and-rescue efforts have been hampered by the damage and the fact that many of the country’s emergency personnel are missing. Hospitals are badly damaged and unable to handle the injured. The relief effort has been frustrated because the roads are battered and clogged with debris, slowing attempts to distribute aid. Getting into the country has been difficult because the port is closed because of damage and the airport is overwhelmed. There is a dire need for food and clean water, not to mention places for people to sleep.
The United States’ quick response, along with efforts by the international community, are commendable, but the problems are daunting and will be for some time. It will take an international effort to ease the suffering and rebuild the country.
Sadly, some Americans don’t seem to see this as the human catastrophe it is. The juxtaposition between two of the cable news networks couldn’t be clearer. For example, while CNN was airing heartbreaking footage of the rescue attempts of a girl trapped in the rubble of a building Thursday, the Fox News Channel was busy criticizing President Barack Obama and his domestic policy.
On Wednesday night, Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly said, “Some conservative commentators pointed out it took President Obama three days to talk about the Christmas Day terror incident but just hours to address the disaster in Haiti.”
That is ridiculous. Obama was on top of the terror incident, in which no one was hurt. The situation in Haiti involves tens of thousands of people who are missing, an unknown number of injured and hundreds of thousands suffering.
O’Reilly went on to ask the question, “How much should the world do to save Haiti?” Although he said it was “appropriate” for Obama “to address Haiti quickly,” O’Reilly bemoaned corruption in Haiti and said that “no matter how much charity is given, no matter how many good intentions there are, Haiti will remain chaotic until discipline is imposed.”
Should we wait until there is “discipline” in the country — whatever that means — before helping? Should we let people who are trapped under rubble die or let the living starve to death? Perhaps we should wait for the country to pull itself up by its nonexistent bootstraps?
People’s lives are at stake, and they need help now. Our nation is close and has the resources and know-how to deal with the disaster. The United States has a responsibility to come to Haiti’s aid. Our nation should do all it can to help to ease the crisis, and it should be committed to helping rebuild the country and putting Haiti back on its feet.
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The US is trying to jam everything through the airport
Time for a airlift where we drop the aid in all over Haiti
Why is the insipid LV Sun trying juxtaposition to two different events Maks no sense.
"The United States has a responsibility to come to Haiti's aid."
Says who? Brian Greenspun? That's a typical Las Vegas Sun nonsense statement.
Should we help Haiti? Absolutely, ASAP, without regard to political considerations or cost.
But it's no more the United States' "responsibility" than it is Great Britain's, Brazil's or Iceland's. I'm sure we can all count on those countries' "contributions" for their share of the "responsibilities."
Of course, if Bush was still president, the Sun would criticize him for using the military during the rescue effort, claiming Bush was trying to "take over Haiti."
Comrads !! Party Members,Leaders !!
Airlift is the only thing that makes sense. The minimum is dropping water and rations all over the place by 'chute as this will get these vital life saving provisions to the decimated people immediately. Why is this not being done?
AWOLBush's head of FEMA .... "great job Browine" is happening again only without CriminailBush at the helm.
"The system worked" antother jackass remark by our current head referring to the XXXmas Jet Failed Bomber.
The planet is in deep muck with this kind of brain in leadership. Don't we have 'chutes and palates? People are falling dead every second there as that one runway airport is overloaded and jammed.
Thank God for those who are there doing the good stuff to save people. They are heros, not football players.
Outrage at DruggieLimbaush is building and it looks like he's lost his entire radio audence. His life is based upon hatred as proven by his remarks about helping Haitians.
Comrads !! Step to Leadership !! Go to Clinton.Org and click the little red button and divie up some cash off that credit card you live off and be right. Step with the people!!! Keep your uniforms sparkling and spotless!! Thanks for reading, but for God sakes - listen !
Clinton.Org (the fastest way to get your cash to Haiti)
Seems the LVSun doesn't care as much about Haiti as it does bashing Fox news.Btw, anyone know how much the Chinese government is kicking in for Haiti? The reason I ask is because China now has a 1st world economy, the US owes it massive amounts of money and yet the liberals in the US and abroad are demanding the US "act". Think there could be some pressure from these people to get China to kick in?
Forgot to add that maybe the LVSun editorial staff could use their editorial page a little more productively in getting China to act with it's huge bankroll instead of using this space to pretend to care about Haiti in order to just bash Fox news.
Miiiiisssstttteeeerrrrrr Suuuuuuuunnnnnn, are you letting your grandson near the computer again?
Fox News is an Electronic Disease.
This is not any countries responsibility, it is every human beings responsibility to help these people get back to bread and water and a tent.
If there is money and good will left after that point, we can show them how to become fishermen in a lifestyle way.
To measure our response as suggested by O'Reilly and Limbaugh is to become soulless and cynical. It also comes back on you.
In every way, every day, you reap what you sow.
The Haitians cannot hydrate themselves on discipline, cannot fill their stomachs apologizing for not measuring up to the neocon radio shows hatemongers ideals. They will perish trying to meet these peoples standards.
Yes, you reap what you sow.
Help these people America, in my name too.
This is part of why I pay taxes.
Give freely.
Haiti is a backwards corrupt 3rd world country: What you see today is just what that country is still going to look like 100 years from now.
What's wrong with the rest of the world. Send Billy Boy Clinton down there and I'm sure all problems will be solved after all that's what Obamination assigned him to do. With all these millions going to Haiti who is watching where that money is really going to and for what???????? A new crop of millionaires will be emerging soon.
A caller to the Limpbought show said the USS Comfort got to the tidal wave area in 48 hours but it will take til 1/22/2010 to get to Hatti. It just might have to do with where the ship was when the disasters struck? Sounds like a drug addled dittohead's logic though.
The loco-local ubiquitous hate-talk station manager said this morning: "how do you rebuild a slum?" Such compassion from the "right to lifers."
As bad as I feel for the Haitians, with the problems in our country,tent cities, people living on the street, whose lives are facing the downward turn, it has been far past the time for our government to start helping our people. We have enough jobless, homeless men, woman and children who have needed plenty of help but are still waiting. When we had the most in the world we gave the most. We now don't have the most and we should keep what we have here in the states. I've read where for every $100 you donate to Charities less than $10 gets to the people needing it. Charities have to make money too.
Time to start fixing the USA, we are not the worlds keeper.
The Sun once again is on a smug alert telling us what we all know - Haiti needs our help.
The problem is that once the disaster fades, what then? The entire nation of Haiti is on welfare, aid received from the rest of the world. It would actually be better to cut off much of the aid and specifically target a few infrastructure requirements. Only when the welfare stops can people truly begin to help themselves.
Yes, Haiti is a chronic case of dysfunction - The USA should help at the humanitarian level and rescue phase. Rescue as many as we can, stabilize the fresh-water, food, medical and temporary shelter needs - Help with the mass-burials and some debris removal. The rebuilding phase should be shouldered by Caricom, World Bank, and a consortium of developed nations" but-led by France!
I see the clueless right-wingers are all out in force tonight. No surprise there......
Many of the statements made by the clueless ones clearly shows why they say the things that they do.....you can't fix stupid!
Haven't been able to fix it in this country in 200+ years but its like a puzzle you can't solve; you just gotta try one more time.
Suffering in the United States
The United States should rally all the support it can to help in disaster relief at home.
Does the right know no humanity whatsoever?
Do they have one scintilla of a clue the massive scale of suffering going on in Haiti? How have people become so desensitized?
we have children that go to sleep hungry in THIS country. how about we feed THEM first and THEN we'll spend taxpayer money to feed an uneducated and overpopulated country like Haiti.
how DARE you give $10.00 to help HAITI when we have people sleeping on the street in Las Vegas?
the rich get richer because they WORK, they CREATE.
the poor just sit and complain.
The relief effort is botched. The food is tied up at the airport, the port is not open, gangs are taking over. I am not donating money to have the aid squandered or wasted. You can take the pity party and shove it.
I feel terrible for the disaster in Haiti, the loss of lives, loss of homes. It is very sad that there are people with-in organizations that make big money on disasters. Did you know that out of every $10 donated to these disaster relief funds, if $1 gets to the victim you're lucky.
How can we help Haiti when we haven't even fixed New Orleans yet?
RHG, U.S.A. "disaster relief fund corporations" are making tons of money. It is not that the United States of America is sending the money, corporations whose BUSINESS it is to collect the money is sending it. They have overhead to cover and profit to make, why do you think they are asking for cash donations?
A little hide and seek?
Rush Limpbaugh, Sean Hannity are blocking the aid shipments to make Obama look bad.
The UN troops (lost 37+ people) and 400+ Cuban doctors were on the ground helping Haiti to begin with.
The US military just showed up a day after the fact. Hucklberry, Sean Insannity, Limpbought and Fox won't report the facts. Give credit where credit is due.