Posted on 01/14/2010 5:35:01 AM PST by myknowledge
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- The commander of the first U.S. ship to reach earthquake-stricken Haiti described devastation all around from her vantage point in the Port-au-Prince harbor.
"It is hard to look out in this harbor and see a building that is not affected ... from the waterfront up the hills to the larger buildings," Cmdr. Diane W. Durham of the Coast Guard cutter Forward said by satellite phone Wednesday afternoon, WTKR-TV, Norfolk, Va., reported.
The Forward, dispatched from the American naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, arrived in Haiti at sunrise and the light of day highlighted the destruction .
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
That’s an accurate assumption- the 82nd AB is on it’s way- and a special Army unit from south Florida that is trained for this kind of operation as well as a Marine Exp Unit...lots of naval ships and coast guard as well.
Also heard Hillary say in 36 hours the AMERICAN PEOPLE have sent $3 MILLION to the Red Cross. Even she was impressed.
Similarly, 100 years ago, Argentina was considered by some to be the third wealthiest nation in the world. Then they elected a socialist who promised hope and change. The twentieth century was mostly downhill for Argentina.
Her rank is commander. Her title is Captain, as with any naval commanding officer.
___________________________________
Here's the rest of the history....
In the 1800s the US refused to recognize Haiti's government even though they came to power the same way we did, by throwing out the colonial power. The fear was that recognizing a former slave nation as now legitimate would create a similar rebellion here. For over a century the US, UK and most of Europe pretended that Haiti didn't exist...iow, no trade. Without trade there is no revenue for growth.
More recently...
After Cuba went communist and with the threat of communism real throughout Latin America and the Caribbean the US took the FP attitude of supporting any dictator in the region as long as he was not a red. This gave us Pinochet, Trujillo, Noriega and, in Haiti, Papa Doc Duvalier.
Duvalier drove the educated creole class out of Haiti and created the Macoute, a kind of uneducated, merciless gestapo, to keep the rest in check through torture and murder. The US supported Duvalier. When Papa Doc passed on his son, Baby Doc, took over. It is a very telling fact that the only foreign diplomat who was present when Baby Doc was sworn in was the Ambassador from the US, a guy named Knox. We continued to support the new Duvalier as he continued his father's rule by terror.
In the nineties Baby Doc was chased out and the true communist Aristede was installed, essentially by us. He was thrown out but Clinton put him back in using the Marines. Aristede was as bad as Duvalier but an even bigger thief. He was again thrown out and now lives in Paris with a couple of hundred million US dollars.
Detroit is likewise a French name.
They look similar.
And prior to the civil war, Louisiana was by far the wealthiest state in the south. Then during reconstruction, the democrats took over.
Here’s a guy that blogs from Argentina on living/surviving there.
Looks very bad.
Ever since I found out the Red Cross is Union, and stopped blood from being delivered to a hospital in the U.S., AND, that Muslim Countries do not want the ‘red’ cross , I cannot bring myself to donate to them.
But I did donate to billygraham.org/Samaritans purse for Haiti.
There is a reason Americans have been prepping and are in survival mode....even though they are laughed at and made fun of....When the SHTF, you won’t find me in a big crowd sitting on my butt and waiting on government to give me water, food or shelter.
One more thought, now do people see why a ‘bug out’ bag needs 3 day supplies of water, food, reflective blankets, tent, bandages etc? In a major hit, it takes at least 3 days to get equipment, supplies etc to a stricken area..
I joke a lot about Detroit, and yes, as in bad shape as Detroit may be, still, not even close to Haiti.
With the Clintons involved, are you kidding?
That’s why I gave to billygraham.org/ samaritan’s purse.
BO is on TV talking about all of the money we are sending...we will rebuild Haiti! Good God, if it looks anything like it looked before the earthquake it is a waste of American dollars.
As to an earthquake in the US, I was in the 89 quake in SF. It was one of the scariest moments of my life, and the aftermath was far worse with the ground shaking and being trapped downtown on top of it. I cannot begin to imagine what these people are going through.
Gosh I love your area, love that whole Palm Springs area, absolutely beautiful!
They have not contributed anything as per Rush yesterday.
Exactly- I stopped trusting the Red Cross years ago- but I didn’t know they were unionized.
My son has friends who actually work with a mission from here in Central Florida located in Haiti- we sent our money there. If not- I would have donated to the Salvation Army or Franklin Graham’s samaritan.org...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.