Exclusive Video Direct from Haiti

Just returned from an 8 day mission to Haiti. Here is video of some of the destruction of the government buildings and infra-structure that has virtually shut governmental operations down. They were not all that good before the quake. Now they are almost none existent. Foreigners, some well meaning, others not, are swarming all over Haiti and the people are suffering horribly. The video short here was shot by me from a moving car on my second day in Haiti a week ago.

Advance Planning for US Military Haitian Disaster

Why was the US Military practicing for a Haiti Disaster Relief scenario on January 11, 2010, one day before the earthquake hit? Is that just a bizarre coincidence, or did they already know something in advance? There have been more than one report indicating that the Haiti earthquake could have been an act of man and not an act of God. What exactly is the earthquake weapon referred to by US Defense Secretary William Cohen a few years back? Who has it and did they use it in Haiti? Is that how the military knew something in advance? Did it come down the chain of command? If so, who gave the order to detonate the earthquake? Would that have been the Commander in Chief?

Read the article below by Michael Chossudovsky and decide for yourself. Related to that is the complete militarization of aid releif to Haiti. Is that the proper role for our military given the fact that the 20th Century is full of invasions of Haiti by the US military and even a 19 year occupation? How long will the US military remain in Haiti this time?

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A Haiti Disaster Relief Scenario Was Envisaged by the US Military One Day Before the Earthquake
by Michel Chossudovsky
A Haiti disaster relief scenario had been envisaged at the headquarters of US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in Miami one day prior to the earthquake.
The holding of pre-disaster simulations pertained to the impacts of a hurricane in Haiti. They were held on January 11. (Bob Brewin, Defense launches online system to coordinate Haiti relief efforts (1/15/10) -- GovExec.com, complete text of article is contained in Annex)
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense (DoD), was involved in organizing these scenarios on behalf of US Southern Command.(SOUTHCOM).
Defined as a "Combat Support Agency", DISA has a mandate to provide IT and telecommunications, systems, logistics services in support of the US military. (See DISA website: Defense Information Systems Agency).
On the day prior to the earthquake, "on Monday [January 11, 2010], Jean Demay, DISA's technical manager for the agency's Transnational Information Sharing Cooperation project, happened to be at the headquarters of the U.S. Southern Command in Miami preparing for a test of the system in a scenario that involved providing relief to Haiti in the wake of a hurricane." (Bob Brewin, op cit, emphasis added)
The Transnational Information Sharing Cooperation project (TISC) is a communications-information tool which "links non-government organizations with the United States [government and military] and other nations for tracking, coordinating and organizing relief efforts".(Government IT Scrambles To Help Haiti, TECHWEB January 15, 2010).
The TISC is an essential component of the militarization of emergency relief. The US military through DISA oversees the information - communications system used by participating aid agencies. Essentially, it is a communications sharing system controlled by the US military, which is made available to approved non-governmental partner organizations. The Defense Information Systems Agency also "provides bandwidth to aid organizations involved in Haiti relief efforts."
There are no details on the nature of the tests conducted on January 11 at SOUTHCOM headquarters.
DISA's Jean Demay was in charge of coordinating the tests. There are no reports on the participants involved in the disaster relief scenarios.
One would expect, given DISA's mandate, that the tests pertained to simulating communications. logistics and information systems in the case of a major emergency relief program in Haiti.
The fundamental concept underlying DISA's Transnational Information Sharing Cooperation project (TISC) is to "Achieve Interoperability With Warfighters, Coalition Partners And NGOs" (Defense Daily, December 19, 2008)
Upon completing the tests and disaster scenarios on January 11, TISC was considered to be, in relation to Haiti, in "an advanced stage of readiness". On January 13, the day following the earthquake, SOUTHCOM took the decision to implement the TISC system, which had been rehearsed in Miami two days earlier:
"After the earthquake hit on Tuesday [January 12, 2010], Demay said SOUTHCOM decided to go live with the system. On [the following day] Wednesday [January 13, 2010], DISA opened up its All Partners Access Network, supported by the Transnational Information Sharing Cooperation project, to any organization supporting Haiti relief efforts.
The information sharing project, developed with backing from both SOUTHCOM and the Defense Department's European Command, has been in development for three years. It is designed to facilitate multilateral collaboration between federal and nongovernmental agencies.
Demay said that since DISA set up a Haiti Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Community of Interest on APAN on Wednesday [the day following the earthquake], almost 500 organizations and individuals have joined, including a range of Defense units and various nongovernmental organizations and relief groups. (Bob Brewin, Defense launches online system to coordinate Haiti relief efforts (1/15/10) -- GovExec.com emphasis added)
DISA has a Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) Field Office in Miami. Under the Haiti Disaster Emergency Program initiated on January 12, DISA's mandate is described as part of a carefully planned military operation:
"DISA is providing US Southern Command with information capabilities which will support our nation in quickly responding to the critical situation in Haiti," said Larry K. Huffman, DISA's Principal Director of Global Information Grid Operations. "Our experience in providing support to contingency operations around the world postures us to be responsive in meeting USSOUTHCOM's requirements." DISA, a Combat Support Agency, engineers and [sic] provides command and control capabilities and enterprise infrastructure to continuously operate and assure a global net-centric enterprise in direct support to joint warfighters, National level leaders, and other mission and coalition partners across the full spectrum of operations. As DoD's satellite communications leader, DISA is using the Defense Satellite Communications System to provide frequency and bandwidth support to all organizations in the Haitian relief effort. This includes Super High Frequency missions that are providing bandwidth for US Navy ships and one Marine Expeditionary Unit that will arrive shortly on station to provide medical help, security, and helicopters among other support. This also includes all satellite communications for the US Air Force handling round-the-clock air traffic control and air freight operations at the extremely busy Port-Au-Prince Airport. DISA is also providing military Ultra High Frequency channels and contracting for additional commercial SATCOM missions that greatly increase this capability for relief efforts. (DISA -Press Release, January 2010, undated, emphasis added)
In the immediate wake of the earthquake, DISA played a key supportive role to SOUTHCOM, which was designated by the Obama administration as the de facto "lead agency" in the US Haitian relief program. The underlying system consists in integrating civilian aid agencies into the orbit of an advanced communications information system controlled by the US military.
"DISA is also leveraging a new technology in Haiti that is already linking NGOs, other nations and US forces together to track, coordinate and better organize relief efforts" (Ibid)
Related articleThe Militarization of Emergency Aid to Haiti: Is it a Humanitarian Operation or an Invasion?
- by Michel Chossudovsky - 2010-01-15

Cuba to the Rescue!

Bright spark of hope in Haiti.

The following video footage shows what real help looks like. Cuba and Spain are working together and they have set up the most advanced and efficient emergency response hospital in all of Haiti. While the superpowers of the world seem to like to tie themselves up in bureaucratic knots and get nothing done, the Cubans have hit the ground running and are getting the job done. The world needs to take a lesson from their good example, so we can forget the bitter memories of Katrina and the scandalous seeming indifference that is occurring now. We don't need George W and Bill Clinton in charge.

What a sick joke they are.

Viva Fidel!

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Short Wave Radio, A Necessary Part of Survival

One of the aspects of the Haiti disaster is the failure of communications. But one form of communications did not fail - low tech short wave radio! When we think about our 'survival kit' we all think about canned food, candles and sleeping bags. But what about communications? High tech communications like cell phones and Internet will in all likelihood be inoperable at the height of any natural disaster emergency. How will you keep in touch with the world to find out what is going on and to let the world know you are still in it? One low tech answer is short wave radio. It deserves your and my consideration as the leading candidate to keep communications open when all else is failing.

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Low-tech radios connect some Haitians
By John D. Sutter, CNN

Amateur radio provides a back-up link between Haiti and the world
Proponents say radio signals are often the only way to communicate after a disaster
A Haitian man says amateur radio helped him contact family in the U.S.
After initial outages, mobile phone service has been returning to Haiti
(CNN) -- In the brutal aftermath of Haiti's earthquake, Jean-Robert Gaillard turned to his low-tech radio for solace and for a lifeline.
When the earthquake hit, the 57-year-old from Petionville, Haiti, found most of his normal lines of communication -- his cell phone, the Internet, even his ability to walk down the street and talk to someone -- severed by the disaster.
But Gaillard used a neighbor's generator to power up his radio and connect to a handful of amateur radio enthusiasts in the United States -- many of whom were eagerly listening to radio static for calls like his.
Unlike many other people in Haiti, Gaillard was able to contact family members in the United States soon after the January 12 earthquake hit to tell them he had survived.
In those first hellish moments, that connection seemed like a miracle.
"It relieved the tension of my family members," he said, speaking by Skype from Haiti on Tuesday, which he says wasn't possible until more recently. "They could hear my voice. They knew that I was OK."

Much has been made about the role flashier technologies like Twitter, Skype and text messaging have played in helping disaster victims find loved ones and communicate with international aid workers. But it is worth noting that, when all else fails, the low-tech hum of a radio frequency is sometimes the only line of communication that's open.
iReport: Search list of the missing and the found
Enthusiasts of amateur radio -- or ham radio -- are quick to use this as evidence that international aid groups and governments should rely more heavily on radio in disaster situations. Ham radio signals bounce off of a layer of charged particles in Earth's atmosphere, called the ionosphere, and, depending on the conditions, can work at times when other modes of communication fail.
But amateur radio is best viewed as one of many communications options in the wake of a disaster, said Keith Robertory, manager of disaster services technology at the American Red Cross, who has been helping in Haiti relief efforts from Washington.
The best communication technology in a disaster, he said, is whatever happens to work at the time.
"Amateur radio is a very powerful tool if the amateur radio operators are in the area where the disaster occurs," he said. "There's a window of opportunity for amateur radio operators right at the beginning [of a disaster]. ... That's where they are extremely valuable."
Because that window has now passed, cell phone connections, text messages, Twitter posts and Skype calls are becoming more significant, he said.
A 23-year-old woman, for example,
was rescued in Haiti after text messages were sent from beneath the rubble of a school building.
Full coverage Twitter updates
Radio stations in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, have been broadcasting almost since the earthquake, providing the only means of communication for some people, Agence France-Presse reports.
Some mobile phone towers in Haiti fell during the earthquake, and cell phone service was not returned to much of the country until at least two days after the tremors first shook the poor Caribbean nation, according to a mobile phone company operating in Haiti.
About a third of people in Haiti have access to mobile phones, compared to nearly 90 percent of people in the United States.
Reports suggest Internet connections also were spotty in the earthquake's aftermath; and only about 11 percent of Haitians have access to the Web in non-disaster situations, according to the CIA World Factbook.
Aid groups and journalists have relied on satellite phones, which work independently from local Internet and mobile phone infrastructure as long as the sky isn't too cloudy.
Such technology isn't commonly available for disaster victims, however.
Carol Wilson, compliance director for Trilogy International Partners, which provides mobile phone service to about 1 million people in Haiti, said 80 percent of the company's cell towers in Haiti were working as of Tuesday.
The company is donating out $5 worth of free phone calls to its customers and is giving people double the amount of minutes they would normally get so they can catch up with loved ones and communicate with aid groups, she said.

The main problem with mobile phone connections now, she said, may be fuel, since generators are used to power most cellular towers in Haiti.
In the immediate wake of the disaster, before cell phone coverage was restored, William F. Sturridge, a ham radio operator in Flagler Beach, Florida, said he was able to connect a priest living on the remote Haitian village of Ile-a-Vache with his family members in the United States.
On Wednesday morning, the day after the earthquake hit, he said he heard a faint call of "hotel, hotel," which signifies the "HH" letters at the beginning of radio call signs in Haiti. He responded immediately.
"When other systems don't work, [radio] always works," he said. "It doesn't matter -- no matter where you are in the world ... you can get a [high-frequency] signal out and somebody will hear."
After connecting with the priest in Haiti, Sturridge said he called the man's brother to tell him his sibling had survived the earthquake.
"He was super worried," he said. "They hadn't heard from him, and it was wonderful to be able to pass the information and hear the relief in the voice."
Sturridge said he's been listening for radio calls from Haiti almost non-stop, with no sleep, since the earthquake hit a week ago. The 51-year-old is disabled, and he said the radio gives him a lifeline to the outside world as well.
"It's very difficult for someone who is bed-bound to be able to work and be able to enjoy the benefits of helping other people, so this is one way I can do this very easily," he said.
"Certainly, I can't think of anything more rewarding than saving a life."
While the ability for even one person to communicate with the outside world immediately after a disaster has potentially huge impact, the number of people making calls from Haiti by amateur radio appears to be very small.
Brian Crow, who has been communicating with people in Haiti by radio from outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said only three people in Haiti have made contact with the United States by ham radio since the earthquake.

Crow said his primary role has been taking calls, finding out what aid is needed, and relaying the information to Web sites collecting news about missing people.
A number of sites -- including CNN's iReport and Google -- are creating databases with information about missing people in Haiti.
Other groups have put together population estimates based on satellite maps as a way for aid groups to target their relief efforts. And a site called Ushahidi is mapping text messages and calls for help in Haiti to give aid groups a better picture of dire needs for food, water and medical help.
Gaillard, the Haitian man who used ham radio to contact loved ones, said the week following Haiti's earthquake has been absolute hell.
But the fact that he could get on the radio and talk to people outside the situation made him feel connected to the world and has given him the strength to keep going.
"We are in God's hands now," he said.

Statement by Wyclef Jean on Haiti Earthquake

STATEMENT BY WYCLEF JEAN ON HAITI EARTHQUAKE
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 02:05PM
“Haiti today faced a natural disaster of unprecedented proportion, an earthquake unlike anything the country has ever experienced. The magnitude 7.0 earthquake – and several very strong aftershocks – struck only 10 miles from Port-au-Prince. I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse. The over 2 million people in Port-au-Prince tonight face catastrophe alone. We must act now. President Obama has already said that the U.S. stands ‘ready to assist’ the Haitian people. The U.S. Military is the only group trained and prepared to offer that assistance immediately. They must do so as soon as possible. The international community must also rise to the occasion and help the Haitian people in every way possible.” Many people have already reached out to see what they can do right now. We are asking those interested to please do one of two things: Either you can use your cell phone to text “Yele” to 501501, which will automatically donate $5 to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund (it will be charged to your cell phone bill), or you can click here to DONATE.Thank you,WyclefThe regular Yele Haiti website will resume in a couple of weeks. In the meantime our focus is on providing real-time information about the situation in Haiti.

Help Haiti Now!

Support Disaster Relief in Haiti
On January 12, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. Join recovery efforts mobilizing around the world to assist earthquake victims. Your donation will help disaster victims rebuild their lives and their communities. We'll donate $1 million to help organizations provide relief.
Donate to UNICEF
UNICEF has been the world’s leading international children’s organization, working in over 150 countries to address ongoing issues that affect children, such as clean water, education, and emergency response.
100% of your contributions will reach the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to support emergency relief efforts.

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Donate to CARE
CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty.
Our mission is to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world. Drawing strength from our global diversity, resources and experience, we promote innovative solutions and are advocates for global responsibility.

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Also accepting cash and in-kind donations are the following sites: UNICEF (1-800-4UNICEF), Direct Relief, Yele Haiti, Partners in Health, Red Cross, World Food Program, Mercy Corps (1-888-256-1900), Save the Children, Lambi Fund, Doctors Without Borders, The International Rescue Committee, Care
The following organizations are accepting SMS donations in the US only:
SMS text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts
SMS text "YELE" to 501501 to Donate $5 to Yele Haiti’s Earthquake Relief