The terrible tragedy in Haiti is almost too awful to even contemplate.

I find myself getting increasingly angry and frustrated by the lack of distribution of aid to the people in such an incredibly bad situation.

On the news yesterday, the cable networks were carrying some of the "good things" that were happening in the city. I was proud to see Fairfax County on the ground (It's where I am mostly "from") It is easy for me to "root" for them, and to pay close attention when they are mentioned in the stories.

It would appear that they (and other rescue teams) are prioritizing efforts based on nationality, (and class?). The 1st person I saw rescued by them was a UN worker... (white guy)

Those that have been following this might recall that as of yesterday there were 27 (28?) rescue teams on the ground in Port au Prince.

A couple of the cable news networks carried an on-going rescue effort at a luxury hotel where many of the journalists covering the story have stayed in the past. I believe they stated that 200 of the 300 people staying there are believed dead.

There were 3 teams there, and those 3 teams saved 8 people, one of which was a Haitian.

3 teams out of 27. 15 hours and counting as they were reporting.

Heavy equipment and helicopters. The ONLY place in that whole nightmare of a city that I heard of that type of effort yesterday.

No mention of what sure looks like extremely preferential treatment for the "European-type" victims.

Like I said, it's probably just me.

They say they cannot air-drop supplies due to the danger of the drops, coupled with the supplies causing riots.

I say they are idiots.

The Haitians have been respecting the sanctity of the Presidential Palace and the fenced greenspace surrounding it.

Establish an armed perimeter around the palace, air-drop into it, distribute in 360 degrees (so as to minimize the mobs), truck the parachutes and gear back to the airport, and bring aircraft and airborne assets from throughout the world to drop on the palace, one after another.

Stop dicking around at the airport by warehousing supplies, and the complete f$cking morons (aid agencies) that landed aircraft on that one lone airfield without enough fuel in their aircraft to get the hell out of there immediately... the people that made that decision should be shot. How friggin' dangerously stupid are some people, and why do they seem to flock to the rescue business?

Once the people see how that works, it would be easier to create greenspaces to make additional drop zones. Right now you are not going to be able to move people from their tents/tarps, etc.

Those parachutes do something else. They give the people a psychological boost. It is a graphic and impressive display that something is being done to help them. When you contemplate the very real possibility that the whole damn place could erupt into the chaos of a desperate populace at any moment, that aspect cannot be overstated.

You can create an "infrastructure" by connecting the various zones and the airport, expand accordingly from them... trucks, helicopters, etc.

We don't need that friggin' port, btw. Let's get the GD Navy to get their GD LCAC's in there. We should be establishing a maritime bridge to that country, in addition to the land bridge being established from the Dominican Republic. Let's MOVE, people!

If I was the CO of that Air Force unit that finally unf$cked that airport...

I would have gone plane-to-plane.

"You either take-off immediately, or we are going to bull-doze your aircraft against the airport fence, you stupid f$ck."

yep...it's just you. j/k.

i can only imagine what it must be like there - a war zone with no troops to protect the innocent people. must be a living hell & for those who made the immediate choice to go & help - i can only commend them.

It probably is just me.

If anyone is watching the news today, I would imagine that there will be coverage of Hillary landing on scene.

Just to prove beyond any doubt that it is in fact just me...an example:

Her body (on the aircraft she arrives on) is displacing approximately 18 gallons of diesel fuel that could have been put in the tank of a piece heavy equipment used to lift a piece of concrete off someone that is probably either dead or damn near dead, via a profoundly bottle-necked logistical stream.

I will "weigh" her contribution to the relief effort against those 18 gallons + per person of her entourage, the media, etc. I already know what is going on without her special insight, and if the rest of the world doesn't...

Well, God help them.

Gimme the diesel fuel, again, for example, thank you very much.

She should be whirl-wind touring this planet putting the arm on the various leaders, despots, cheapskates, etc. -- I'd suggest diverting that plane to the House of Saud, for starters...

French aircraft refusing to take off from the airport until 72 French refugees are loaded on board per orders of the French president, (I would have shot the pilot-really-this would have the additional benefit of getting the other recalcitrant pilots/governments/aid organizations moving along smartly)civilian aircraft that take hours to unload vs. minutes for military aircraft, the aforementioned landing without adequate fuel- the Dutch aircraft carrying search dogs diverted to Curacao (shoutout to Rock and his country--ship on way also)because there is no place to land--see French plane..friggin' French...

David - It's not just you. I see it too. It's not just for rescuing white people though. I've seen A LOT more help to the people hurt by that tsunami than help to Haiti. It's like, Haiti is in our own backyard, yet we'd rather help people on the other side of the world.

I don't get it. I seriously don't. Why are we always fixing things over there when we should be fixing things over here? Haiti is here. They are our neighbors. Has America forgotten the Monroe Doctrine?

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It's one fucked up situation, that's for sure. We don't get the amount of coverage that you're getting by far. I've seen some of those horrible vids on CNN, though. Kids with dots on their heads, marking how badly they're wounded.

And kids that have such mutilated faces that there's nowhere to safely put the dott.

I don't know enough to say anything about this, but that it's screwed up and that, once again, help is organized quite poorly. There are very little plans for places like Haiti. Politics getting in the way does not help at all.

Didn't these people learn a god dam thing from the tidal wave that hit last christmas??? Get supplies there...drop that shit everywhere and alot of it. You drop enough supplies there will be no fighting. A strange thing happens in emergencies...the strong and healthy take care of the weak.
Give people a fighting chance and they will take it. You would be suprised how compassion and understanding overtake greed in situations like this.

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HILLARY is landing there???
Haven't they suffered ENOUGH???

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lol Cheesey..

Lets hope the Haitians cannabalize Hitlery.

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This morning I saw where they are developing a strategy to "drop it where they aren't". Water and food in places where people are not congregated.

The analogy given was "Build it and they will come." This will supposedly prevent riots.

They could have done this 3 days ago via air drops, and could have been doing it continuously. Am I to seriously infer that they are first landing this stuff at the airport, warehousing it, then picking it up via helicopter and dropping it...4 days after the quake? I HOPE it is but one of the methodologies being employed from the carrier, not the airport, but were I a betting man, I'd bet that the shit is coming from the airport.

I also want to know how that strategy is going to help the sick, injured, elderly and children. Sounds more like a great idea to supply only the most able-bodied. I have no problem with them dropping these supplies, but damn is it late, and too narrowly focused. I get a deepening sense that no one knows what the fuck they are doing. In the meantime, all those people lay buried under the rubble, dying, (or most likely mostly dead) along with all the injured that are receiving little or no care, alongf with everyone thirsty and hungry.

Piss poor operation, so far, and the so far is costing tens of thousands of lives.