It'll be interesting to see if the reality-based community contingent now ripping Limbaugh for accusing the Obama folks of wanting to profit politically from Haiti will direct their wrath on the former first black president for tying Haiti to a Martha Coakley victory.
Or whether they develop Katrina-like outrage over the fact a Clinton is heading down to Haiti but it's not the UN special envoy to Haiti Clinton, who's instead campaigning in Massachusetts saying that a victory for Coakley is like helping rebuild Haiti.
Or the president remaining at home to use his Saturday address not to outline our response to the Haiti crisis but rather to outline his plan to go after the banks. The address really must be seen to be believed. He blamed Bush for the financial collapse, of course, then praised him for TARP (Obama was in favor as well), then said everyone never expected to see the money repaid but it only happened due to his administration's tough policies. Stunning BS.
He's probably right about one thing--the bankers did find a way to repay TARP once they realized how Marxist-leaning the incoming government was, so in a way it was an incentive. But surely this had to torque the White House since it meant they couldn't use the crisis to properly socialize the financial system and decided to enact punishment taxes as a response. Even some liberals have noted the rank populism while applauding.
Shockingly, while there was subtle mention of how dangerous a Scott Brown election could be (since he opposes the bankers punishment tax) there was no mention whatsoever of the shared blame main street holds for the crisis.
Which explains why there is currently no demand that certain politicians return ALL the money Fannie and Freddie provided them in campaign donations before going bankrupt. Or no calls for punishing those still in power who ensured Americans that both organizations looked good 'going forward' when they knew damn well they didn't. And no mention of punishing executives of those same entities for giving bonuses while their taxpayer-funded organizations remain in default.
Obama told reporters at the G20 summit he was through playing the blame game and just wanted to fix the problem. Apparently that only applies to friendlies.
Showing posts with label haiti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label haiti. Show all posts
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Problem in Haiti
Frustrations are increasing in Haiti as millions run low on food and water amidst building heat and a relatively slow emergency response.
One of the biggest issues has to be infrastructure. I'm not an expert on the island--never been there--but Google Earth provides a wealth of information as to roads, waterways, rail and airports. There are precious few of any in Haiti. A cursory glance shows there are only two heavy duty runways in the country, and only one close to the damage. Here's a view of the Port-Au-Prince airport:
One east-west and a crummy ramp:
Not much room there, and it's doubtful they could park anything very heavy on what looks like a dirt area between the runway and ramp. Also, since there's only one taxiway from the main runway to the ramp that limits two-way traffic. Landing aircraft may have to do a u-turn at the end of the runway after touchdown, since there is no parallel taxiway beside the runway. This all makes for a very slow operation as traffic increases. They will have to get real creative.
Neighboring Dominican Republic is a stark contrast even though it's also a fairly poor country. There are freeways, a major deep water port and several airports. The roads leading into Haiti appear pretty spartan. They will have to change this going forward.
The military is even using a Global Hawk UAV to assess the damage and most likely the security situation. While everyone feels for the people in need, we should expect nothing less to ensure the safety and efficiency of any mission to take place down there.
One of the biggest issues has to be infrastructure. I'm not an expert on the island--never been there--but Google Earth provides a wealth of information as to roads, waterways, rail and airports. There are precious few of any in Haiti. A cursory glance shows there are only two heavy duty runways in the country, and only one close to the damage. Here's a view of the Port-Au-Prince airport:
One east-west and a crummy ramp:
Not much room there, and it's doubtful they could park anything very heavy on what looks like a dirt area between the runway and ramp. Also, since there's only one taxiway from the main runway to the ramp that limits two-way traffic. Landing aircraft may have to do a u-turn at the end of the runway after touchdown, since there is no parallel taxiway beside the runway. This all makes for a very slow operation as traffic increases. They will have to get real creative.
Neighboring Dominican Republic is a stark contrast even though it's also a fairly poor country. There are freeways, a major deep water port and several airports. The roads leading into Haiti appear pretty spartan. They will have to change this going forward.
The military is even using a Global Hawk UAV to assess the damage and most likely the security situation. While everyone feels for the people in need, we should expect nothing less to ensure the safety and efficiency of any mission to take place down there.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Haiti
Not much to say except where to send help. Here's my choice,
donate
Socialism is so much better when it's voluntary and from the heart. I have confidence that America, even in the midst of a horrible recession, will come through with millions in aid. And please, somebody make Pat Robertson go away. He is no reflection of decency, much less Christianity.
donate
Socialism is so much better when it's voluntary and from the heart. I have confidence that America, even in the midst of a horrible recession, will come through with millions in aid. And please, somebody make Pat Robertson go away. He is no reflection of decency, much less Christianity.
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