An extraordinarily perceptive comment by Gudio Bertoloso! When Naomi Klein writes of "disaster capitalism" she of course refers to the opportunity that disasters provide for remaking countries' economies to the advantage of neo-liberalism. But here Bertoloso peels back another layer of opportunism, which seems to occur frequently when people engage in "assistance" to the needy of any kind. Extreme Makeover might be seen as something of the passion play for a celebrity-crazed culture. Rather than charity being done quietly if not anonymously, these vanity-displays are clearly to the benefit of the celebrities themselves.

DARKNESS
"The Americans are extraordinary" and its all the fault of NGO's, those Non Governmental Organizations.

And as such fiction is the same smoke screen coming at us from all of corporate owned and funded News media, what is the horror our corporate rich have in store for their enslaved colony Haiti?

My though is, this is a premeditation genocide by starvation, dehydration and infection. And after a year of exposure to the harsh elements, the death toll could exceed one million.

The ultimate conclusion of the grand scheme of things, planet earth an intelligence dictatorship, by intelligent design and to prove the harm in it. Ingrates most greedy and cruel that our filthy rich ruling class be.

Yes, there is an element of the "drama triangle" in all of this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karpman_drama_triangle

That, said, having read some blogs from Haiti, I am sure that the scale of the disaster is enormous, so I'm unwilling to be too judgmental of the efforts people and governments are making.

"He expressed doubt over the efficacy of having so many US military personnel involved. "It's a truly powerful show of force but it's completely out of touch with reality"

Hey, SOMBODY has to shoot the survivors...

Old Europe once again raises it head against a military build up. Let’s rename spaghetti “Freedom Noodles”. Everyone knows we need the island to bring the cocaine in from Columbia. After all we give the Columbians everything they need to grow, process and deliver cocaine. Since the standard of living in Mexico is far better than many parts of the United States we need a new drug hub. Plus our military in Venezuela needs to spend more time undermining every South American government that tries to help its citizens have a better live by using some of the government money to improve their living conditions. Those leftwing bastards using tax money to help the poor. We just might rename bananas “Freedom Fruit”.

O yes this was suppose to be about the Haitian aide, LMFAO, like we care!

So what's Blackwater doing in Occupied Haiti?

I thought I was going to be a sole opinion here agreeing with the Italian gentlemen, but I am glad to see so many commondreamers are open to see that this is more of an Occupation than a rescue mission, at least on the part of the U.S. Government and Military.

I mean the people who really want to help, like Doctors without Borders, they aren't even allowed in to the country.

"... but when you are facing a situation in chaos they tend to confuse military intervention with emergency aid, which cannot be entrusted to the armed forces ..."

The United States Answer for EVERYTHING is Military Force, but while sending in the Troops they will stand there talking out of the other side of their mouths saying it's Helping those in need and it's for safety and National Security. And Obomber is much better at selling WAR to the American people than Bush was, thats a Fact.
I mean just look at how all the Anti-WAR Left basically disintegrated as soon as Obomber started Selling WAR as Peace and PEACE as WAR.

I really do feel for those poor people in Haiti, I was in Haiti years ago and those people lived under some miserable conditions, I couldn't even imagine having to deal with all that and then a devastating Earthquake on top of everything else.
I hope they get some real help to those people - and that WE the People can somehow demand the Military to be pulled out of Haiti!

If all you have is a hammer
everything looks like a nail.

"Vanity parade" is also the main component of the "Charity events" now hosted around the world.

'Vanity parade' is a good synonym for 'Star Filled Charity Event'.

"Later today, the Haitian prime minister, Jean-Max Bellerive, will join Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, and ministers from Canada, France and other nations in Montreal to begin planning his country's long-term reconstruction."

Translation from the Newspeak:

"Schemes to exploit this disaster in Haiti for the economic benefit of the Global Oligarchy begin negotiations in Montreal later today."

-matti.

You guys have been watching too much Glenn Beck.

Ray Berthiaume

The U.S. military is doing for the Haitians what they did for New Orleans.

Look at this:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/22/haiti-aid-effort-earthquake

The huge effort to rescue people buried under the rubble took priority over the maimed and wounded many of whom are now dying of infections. No one says people oughn't to be rescued but the disproportions here are tragic. Gun toting G.I.s are virtually useless in such situations.

I think New Orleans and Haiti will suffer the same shoving out of the poor!

Google Earth shows thrown together huts everywhere!

Watch commercial building take their place.

"... The Italian government does not share these statements," Frattini told reporters in Washington.

Translation: The Italian government has not the courage to share these sentiments.

There should be countries in this part of the world taking part in the rebuilding discussion. Not only countries with money, but countries that could benefit from a possible trade and security partnership. Thus far neither the United States, France, nor canada has done anything great for the Haitians. As a matter of fact haiti was food self-sufficient 30 years ago and leadership self-sufficient 6 years ago. I wont to know how many haitians of great intellect will be in montreal and will they be at the forefront of the development plans. Further more whatever plans our hammered out it is the haitian worker who needs to get the lions share of any jobs. If the haitians get paid to rebuild then money will filter down to all sectors. What haiti needs is a free leadership and a energized labor force.

..."but it's completely out of touch with reality."

Many Americans think buildings naturally explode into dust and planes vaporize too.

Jeevee

Is there any morality left in "our" government?

Thank you Guido Bertolaso for helping to get the truth out: this recovery effort smells like, well, it smells like a dead body actually.

I was just thinking the other day how the Italian quake was handled so well and yet until now I failed to think of bringing that up to support statements I have already made about the Haitian government's failings being a major problem for the recovery of Haiti. (That the US military will do relatively little good in the recovery effort is so obvious to me that I have seldom mentioned that aspect. Is there anything left that the civil government should do that the military is NOT asked to do anymore?)

You either have a good government that has real capabilities, some of which become far more needed after an earthquake, or you don't. Italy has a decent government with real capabilities and Haiti does not. Haiti is far right and Italy is not. Enough said on that topic for now.

Shame on Italy's foreign minister for indirectly knocking his own countries fine earthquake relief job.

In the old days the common narrative coming from the right was that governments are bad because they are bureaucratic, which automatically means they are less efficient than other organizations, including private corporations and non-profit organizations (cutely referred to nowadays as NGO's). Like all the other lies about government, this one is today seen for the farce that it is. We see today in general and after this earthquake in particular that most if not all private corporations and some but not all non-profit organizations have burdensome bureaucracy and needless “rules and regulations” as well. Everything has to be run through the corporate committees and through the corporate chain of command, you know, and this guy, that guy, and that lady over there have to review things and sign off, you know. Every "i" has to be dotted and every "t" has to be crossed.

The vast majority of people who might want to physically go to Haiti to help out are simply not allowed to do so due to one bureaucratic reason or another. Many corporations and large NGO's today act like little tyrannical governments with nasty bureaucracies.

And of course, for anything more than pocket change to be deployed, there has to be a big flashy meeting featuring a lot of convoluted discussions in Montreal among elites who wouldn't know how to dig for a survivor if a shovel hit them on the rear end.

So much for the idea that only government is subject to being partially paralyzed by too much bureaucracy. No, the relevant issue is whether the bureaucracy problem is under control or not. It can be under control, or not, in government, or in non-government organizations. The best combination is government that avoids needless bureaucratic burdens, which apparently Italy enjoyed after their quake.

Oh, and I am so enthusiastic about Jean-Max Bellerive taking charge of things! I'm bubbling over. I'm sure given the dire circumstances that the Americans will loosen up his dog collar and allow him a greater length of chain, laugh out loud.

Then again, maybe not: since Bellerive has a European education that the Americans will not trust, they might keep him on a very short leash despite the circumstances.

And if the debt is not cancelled, the whole recovery effort is nothing more than a joke, and in that event people should have the right to have their donations refunded. Because there isn't going to be any real recovery in Haiti unless the debt is cancelled.

Links to my favorite CD articles, the Romney clown, and more:
http://www.unity-progress.blogspot.com

According to news WEB page below, the U.S. still refuses to distribute food or water to 90% of disaster victims. So now the U.S. is distributing small amounts of food to large crowds knowing it will cause a riot, and give them an opportunity to respond with rubber bullets and tear gas.

For we whites are exception and full of inner goodness, as we are the ultimate perfection of evolution.

Whereas blacks are only animals and full of inner badness, as they have yet to fully evolve into humans.

And just to show you how primitive those black animals in Haiti really are, thousands upon thousands of them still believe they were created in the image of God, believe they were created perfect just 6,000 years ago.

http://hcvanalysis.wordpress.com/

Perhaps this is what BLACKWATER was doing there
I was digging around in the web this evening and found this headline-

Collapsed CARIBBEAN MARKET Sat On Huge Cache of COCAINE and DRUG MONEY. Owners Block Rescue Attempts. Many Died In Direct Result.

http://www.haitian-truth.org/

I looked a bit more into the site, and there is a TON of information there that you all will find a very interesting read.

Haiti once was a properous country and even was of help when America was young, but soon lost to the US greedy. More recent when Aristide told Bush Sr. Haiti wanted to be the first independent Black country without the help of the US, Bush created the coup, had Artstide forced out into exile in the States. Clinton enters, has Aritide returned, and with the help of Cuba, restore medical centers schools and such, until Bush Jr comes in, has the CIA kidnap him to Africa where he is now. What right do the Bush regimes have to force countries to let the United States own them?? Since Prescott Bush who tried to overthrow FDR, the Bush family has been behind qiite a bit of the action. It was Bush SR. that twisted the arms of the Supreme court to give Bush Jr the right to be president, we had our Reichstag, invaded Afghanistan, and Bush lied though his teeth to invade Iraq, and almost forced other countries to go along, just like the Bush puppet Obama is doing now to invade Iran. No matter how you see it the dots connect with what the Bush regimes and their elite want, the oil pipe line to run from Russia, Alaska, middle East on though to Afica and under the power of the United States, will will do whatever to become the dictator over all.

The people in Haiti are living in make shift tents made out of bed sheets and pillow cases...They did not need the Clinton Circus that ruined our economy and outsourced our industrial base to China. The Citizens of this country are not being told the truth about the economy by the press, especially the New York Times. A coverup for the Clintons is in the process.
All Haiti needs now is a good Drainage contractor to create a system for tents that will allow cover for the Haiti Population. Clinton and Wall St are not the answer, the people need help now.

Have a look at how much the Cubans have achieved in Haiti:
http://www.counterpunch.org/kirk04012010.html

Perhaps everyone should be as unselfish as this!