January 13, 2010, - 2:15 pm

Quote of the Day + Guess Who’s Rescuing Haiti?

By Debbie Schlussel

Note: roughly half of the population practices voodoo.

Fred Taub of Boycott Watch (who has frequently been on FOX News and FOX Business commenting on Aruba and nearby Atlantic island states). Fred has a terrific, interesting, brief piece on the calamitous 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. He notes how, while his heart goes out to the Haitian people and he hopes for their recovery, he wonders why the United Nations is there in the first place. Plus he notes that, of course, without fail, the country that everyone hates–the United States–is always there to the rescue, as it is now.  Read Fred’s piece. Both of us feel for the Haitian people and pray for their relief and recovery.

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Oh, and speaking of that, as Fred tells me, guess which other reviled, villainous country has already sent a relief team, as it did when natural disasters ravaged Muslims in Bangladesh, Pakistan, etc.?

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US & Israel Are Rescuing Haiti

Yup, the “evil Zionist” state, Israel.   Israel already dispatched a search and rescue team, though IsraAID, and the “evil Zionists” of the Dominican Jewish community, the Chabad Jewish movement in the Dominican Republic, and the American Jewish community are sending money and other aid.  One wonders whether anyone in the Black community will remember this at the next Farrakhan, Sharpton, or Jeremiah Wright event.  Nah.  And I bet Haiti continues its practice of voting against Israel in the U.N., along with most of the rest of the world.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ordered the Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry and Public Security Ministry to provide extensive humanitarian aid to Haiti following the powerful earthquake that struck on Tuesday afternoon.

Israel dispatched a team of engineering, medical, logistic and emergency rescue personnel who will begin rescue work and assess more specific needs.

In addition, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi appointed Brig.-Gen. Shalom Ben Arieh, commander of the Israel Defense Forces’ National Rescue Unit, to lead another team of paramedics, EMTs and doctors.

“From past experience, we know that in the first 24 to 36 hours, survivors can be traced. We will depart as soon as we receive our permits,” Ben Arieh said.

IsraAID is also sending a search-and-rescue team, which includes emergency medical personnel.

Meanwhile, Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch has asked Israel Police to organize a forensic team to help identify the bodies of victims. The police will also be prepared to assist Haitian authorities in maintaining order in the aftermath of the quake should they request help.

Israel and America–the world loves to hate them and hates to love them. But it would be hard-pressed without their existence.

Because a country where half the people are into voodoo can’t exactly take care of itself.  I pray for their recovery.




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52 Responses

This should hardly surprise. Both Israel and America (which early colonists considered “New Israel”) have a long history of helping those in need.

Here’s an excerpt from Richard Clarke’s “Against All Enemies” referring to the aftermath of the attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania:

“The first foreign rescue team to arrive on the scene [Kenya] was from Israel. When my Israeli counterpart had heard about the attack, he had launched an aircraft with a heavy search-and-rescue team on a dedicated aircraft they kept loaded with equipment and on constant alert. The Israelis had not called us [the US] to ask; they knew we would be busy.” (p. 183)

Raymond in DC on January 13, 2010 at 3:07 pm

    And you know why? To paraphrase Pres. Clinton, because we can. We can, and do, also provide more financial and other aid to the world, more than the rest of the world combined. Yeah, the arrogance of it all. Know why we do that? Because we can.

    Ross Calloway on January 14, 2010 at 8:52 am

Way to go Israel!

As for the U.S….can you spare a dime?

Americans constitute 5% of the world’s population but consume a quarter of the world’s energy. (staggering!)

Americans eat 815 billion calories of food each day – that’s roughly 200 billion more than needed – enough to feed 80 million people. (staggering)

Americans throw out 200,000 tons of edible food daily. (staggering)

The average individual daily consumption of water is 159 gallons, while more than half the world’s population lives on 25 gallons. (mind-boggling)

THK (Toronto, Canada) on January 13, 2010 at 3:23 pm

    Thank you for doing your little anti-American diversion. The United States has provided enormous quantities of aid over the years to Haiti. Also, especially under the Clinton Administration, prevented a military coups from successfully taking over the place.

    Finally, could you actually give us real references for your statistics? It might increase your credibility.

    Worry01 on January 13, 2010 at 3:32 pm

    THK – either you are extremely ignorant or just another dumbass. Where is the line you should have included that says – America – the most generous county in the world? But of course you couldn’t say that because you are probably another liberal hoser who voted for and likes socialized health care.

    Jarhead on January 13, 2010 at 3:34 pm

    THK…I am thankful you live in Canada where your healthcare sucks. Hopefully, someone like you will be DENIED service. Please don’t come here for services…we don’t want you.

    sueb on January 13, 2010 at 7:14 pm

It may sound hard hearted but I don’t want ANY of my tax money going to help them or any country while this country is in the shape it’s in. Nothing. Countries with the regimes in power like this should get help from China or Russia, etc. When is the last time they did a thing for us?

Joe on January 13, 2010 at 3:25 pm

    Yes, it is pretty hard hearted and not too bright. If Haiti collapses, you will have a huge wave of refugees attempting to come into the country. Would you rather spend some pocket change now, or boost the size of U.S. welfare rolls later?

    Worry01 on January 13, 2010 at 3:35 pm

      I’d rather slam the door shut on them as well as turn their open hands away.
      I’d say that’s both bright and fiscally responsible. Again where does it say I must pay for the rebuilding of anyone? This country is teetering on the edge as it is. My kid is in the Marines as well and I hope he doesn’t have to go there since he’s probably going to end up in the sand box eventually as well. What a great outlook on life worry01, the U.S. save everyone as everyone tries to destroy her. F’IN GROW UP AND OPEN YOUR EYES.

      Joe on January 13, 2010 at 9:36 pm

    Well this I do know .. the Russians sent three huge planes filled with supplies and rescue teams ON WEDNESDAY.The Russkies, like the Brits were diverted to the Dominican Republic and told to wait til FRIDAY to go in.

    It seems some western nations needed to evac their citizens FIRST!

    THIS IS FACT.

    Then the 2 Russian planes which left Russia on Thursday morning with 2 complete hospitals and over 50 doctors, nurses and ALL the supplies for the hospitals including operatingrooms, xray and labs were told they could land until late on FRIDAY!!

    Now listen up. Getting your citizens out and just bringing in planes of supplies is NOT as important as getting hospitals and rescue teams in.

    Oh, and the Russians also had 2 helicopters which could lift debris, inside the GIANT RUSSIAN PLANES. Wait till Friday to land they were told.

    IS OBAMA PLAYING POLITICS WITH THIS???

    YES HE CAN and YES HE DOES. He wants to be the “savior” of Haiti.

    Sewsalot on January 14, 2010 at 11:18 pm

I hate to bring this up, but what are the chances that Hezbullah might attempt a terrorist act (including a kidnapping) against the Israeli aid workers? They are already well established in this hemisphere.

I_AM_ME on January 13, 2010 at 3:53 pm

DS & Readers,

Just to add some “Paprika” to the story, please read this:- http://ow.ly/WaDD

Alex.

Alexander Münch on January 13, 2010 at 3:55 pm

If Obama is too slow to respond will he be called a racist like Bush was when Katrina happened? Economically this might be the best thing for Haiti. With all the outside foreign aid coming toward a nation that is that just got hit like Hiroshima, it could be a starting point for a better country. Sad so many people will die. For some Katrina was the best thing that happened to New Orleans.

CaliforniaScreaming on January 13, 2010 at 4:19 pm

I guess it shows that no good deed goes unpunished. Similar to the dislike of our country by so many welfare recipients and immigrants, legal and illegal who are enjoying our largess.

Little Al on January 13, 2010 at 5:10 pm

They may hate America and Israel – but no one else takes as good care of victims of disasters as these two countries do. Without them, many of these people wouldn’t have a prayer of survival. No thanks to those who would like to destroy the two most generous nations on earth.

NormanF on January 13, 2010 at 5:22 pm

At the risk of sounding like a racist it is usually the blacks who are the least prepared and who scream the loudest. i wonder if Israel has a catastrophe if Haiti would even consider sending relief? Just what I thought….

chuck on January 13, 2010 at 5:38 pm

The dick from Toronto is speaking for himself. Ignore him. He’s not worthy of a detailed response.

By the way, Jarhead, not all Canucks, who like our provincial medical insurance plans, think like THK. Let’s just attribute his diatribe to the fact that he’s a putz, rather than a Canadian.

Susuu on January 13, 2010 at 5:51 pm

Those EVIL JOOOS…just trying to OCCUPY another FORIEGN country, that’s all. If is wasn’t for ISRAEL, there wouldn’t be a need for advanced medical care ’cause everyone KNOWS that JOOOS cause all the evil in the world. And who needs help from JOOOS anyway? Not Haiti that has the most advanced medical and educational systems in the world and all Haitians have lifestyles that rival George Obama’s (Barak’s half-sib)…

/sarc off

SLOHomemaker on January 13, 2010 at 6:24 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KHRNuclNGs&feature=PlayList&p=6F70114A7432A32C&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1

Indeed they are the most humane army in the world. The video would show many examples.

Please avoid watching the idiotic politicians “bullcrap” right before the end of the video.

Daniel. on January 13, 2010 at 6:38 pm

Pat Robertson is claiming that the reason for Haiti’s misfortunes was that the nation “swore a pact to the devil” two centuries ago. Can we send him there?

timewave on January 13, 2010 at 7:14 pm

Debbie!! I love this post!

for the canadian person who posted above;

India and China are the biggest consumers and polluters-

moving along…..
thank G-d for Isreal and america to help in this time-Rush borught up a excellent point; a certain leader slammed the usa and went around apologizing all over the world.

as our economy is IN DIRE STRAITS, we are givng aid. Isreal is in danger from islamists and they are giving !!

I am with Debbie as usual, I ask with her, where are thou black leaders? where is say, BET? hmm, silent.

even tho we are insulted, we will still hit the whte house.gov page and give.

we are the most giving people on the face of the planet.

I heard about pat robertson, I offer my sincere apology for his dumb statement, about why this happened.

let us all pray for haiti…this could be us any day. lets pray and hope for the best for eveyrone.

lindap on January 13, 2010 at 7:19 pm

After reading your comments over the years some with great interest others not so much, I often think of your father at certain times. A small child that is injured in this rubble to me is not the spark that ignites the mindset of who is doing what, when, where, why and how. How political is an innocent child be it Israeli, American, Arabic whatever? How do you find time to start this blog with such political ferver and end with a statement about voodoo? When a child will die tonight and tomorrow and so on?
I ask you child, have you grown so complacent about this world? Does the fact that a jet flies so fast and far that a bird has lost its wonder to you? Are you really like that? Have I read your efforts in the past for this? Do you post or attempt to post anything about how people may try to end this suffering for a child who without which will surely die tonight?
You write so eloquently at times about your Dad, what would he say about this article I ask? Would he not have tried to “heal” with something positive first then perhaps discuss this further at a more appropriate time? I don’t think that I will read you much anymore Ms. Schlussel, I tell you to go back and read. Maybe that will inspire your “prayers” for Haiti. It is awfull for me to feel that this is similar to what the rest of the world was doing for certain little children in Europe in the 1930’s now go back and read, and when you are done child “offer” some help of some sort to a child first that is your obligation. Then tell a story if you choose. But offer help first or you abandon your past.

Endingo on January 13, 2010 at 7:49 pm

How long until obambi blames Bush for this too.

ender on January 13, 2010 at 8:09 pm

Yes, it’ll be the Americans and the Israelis to the rescue. (Certainly not the French!)

J.S. on January 13, 2010 at 8:33 pm

I suppose I should remind you…

This will not stop some people from dropping everything they’re doing to provide “relief supplies” to Gaza. As all good LIBS will tell you, Gaza suffers far more than Haiti.

There is NO Santa Claus on January 13, 2010 at 8:45 pm

there’s a Wiki article on “Organisation internationale de la Francophonie”. What is their motto? “Its motto is égalité, complémentarité, solidarité (“equality, complementarity, and solidarity”), alluding to France’s motto.” (Guess that must be “solidarity” but not in times of crisis.) Haiti is a member. (interesting bit in the Wiki article about Israel, since 10 percent of Israelis are also Francophones. But are they allowed membership? Of course not!)

J.S. on January 13, 2010 at 9:09 pm

[Because a country where half the people are into voodoo can’t exactly take care of itself. ]

What’s your point, Debbie? Haiti is a small country hit by a gigantic earthquake. Most people who were the victims of hurricane Katrina were Christian, does that mean anything? What difference does it make if half the people are into voodoo? The other half is Roman Catholic, is it not?

Norman Blizter on January 13, 2010 at 9:49 pm

    Norman Blizter,

    You are shocking me to death!

    What the F****n Voodoo shit & Christian crap has to do with this MEGA DISASTER? Huh?!

    Do you drive with your safety belt ON? Yes? Good!! I bet they DID NOT !
    “Haiti is a small country” you say.
    ( 3 times older then Israel, twice as big, no Arabs as neighbors… with natural resources we can only dream of, etc.).

    Just to remind you Mr. Blitzer, Israel “sits” on the most dangerous Geological split on this planet !
    When (not if!), the “Big One” hits us, guess, how long it will take for the survivors to get drinking water? 6 hours? may be 8?!…

    You say, “my religion is better than yours”. Stupid! I’m just a good “Boy-scout” !… I’m prepared !!

    Alexander Münch on January 14, 2010 at 3:21 pm

Yo, Norman B., what makes you think that practicing Voodoo excludes Christianity? or that Voodoo is mutually exclusive from Catholicism? They can do both.

What this (the Voodoo, etc.) suggests is that far too many in Haiti are superstitious and uneducated (the majority, from the stats I saw at CNN, are illiterate.)

J.S. on January 13, 2010 at 10:24 pm

For GOD’S sake. let us think humanity please.

Daniel. on January 13, 2010 at 11:26 pm

The people living in Haiti are descended from people who exterminated most of the white people on the island back in the 1800s. Since they got rid of their “opressors” you would think they would be able to take care of themselves.

MichiganWolfX on January 13, 2010 at 11:39 pm

    Yes the people of Haiti did get rid of their slave masters; however they have not been a free and independent country since then. America occupied them from 1915-34. Then they supported a number of dictators in Haiti. The majority of problems in Haiti were not caused by their religion, but by outside interference.

    timewave on January 14, 2010 at 10:09 am

One question that I have pertaining to this… where is the great and powerful UN? Oh, yes… I almost forgot what a caring bunch of lazy-a$$ whores they are. If they aren’t receiving money, then there isn’t any need for their actions.

Patspfs on January 14, 2010 at 12:22 am

THK from Canada – What’s STAGGERING is that Canadians use more energy per capita than Americans. How perception and reality differ.

http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-wdi&met=eg_use_pcap_kg_oe&idim=country:CAN&q=Canada+world+energy+consumption#met=eg_use_pcap_kg_oe&idim=country:CAN:USA

Jew Lover on January 14, 2010 at 4:53 am

Just as a quick note:
It just goes to show that in a catastrophe, you cannot rely on the government for assistance. You and your loved ones are totally on your own.

(I know the differences between Haiti and the US are off the charts. But, the basic principle is still the same.)

cirrus1701 on January 14, 2010 at 8:13 am

All the stats I can find Debbie says that over 96% of the population of Haiti is either Roman Catholic or Protestant. That leaves 4% for Voodoo and other religions.

KB: Read Fred Taub’s link in the piece. He explains that. About half of the “Christians” practice voodoo over there. DS

Ken Blazek on January 14, 2010 at 9:01 am

Link to religious breakdown

http://www.nationmaster.com/red/country/ha-haiti/rel-religion&all=1

Ken Blazek on January 14, 2010 at 9:02 am

Ken Blazek, if you look at the 8th line of the link you
provide, you’ll see that it says that half of the population
also practices vodoo, Debbie is correct in her statement.

Olen on January 14, 2010 at 9:14 am

I am just waiting for someone to compare Obama’s response to Haiti to President Bush and Katrina. “Oh, look at how wonderful Obama is…helping out Haiti. George Bush is evil and he couldn’t even help his own country out. Meanwhile, Obama the Great is saving the world…blah, blah, blah.” Besides that, of course Haiti needs help and that is what this country does best..we are always there to help others.

A: Well, President Bush created Hurricane Katrina and told it to hit New Orleans, whereas Barack Obama is the savior who is helping the Haitians, albeit a little late in response, out of the goodness of his heart. (To those who don’t get it, yes, I’m kidding.) DS

Angela04 on January 14, 2010 at 9:31 am

THK…

I’m doing everything I can to maximize my carbon footprint and consume more than I really need just to annoy those who share your worldview.

The Terrorist's Advocate on January 14, 2010 at 9:57 am

The UK is always helping – and always does, although I naturally do understand why you’re concentrating on the US and Israel. We also helped after Hurricane Katrina.

I have to ask though, Debbie, why it’s even relevant to mention the religious practices. Are you trying to say that religious belief and natural disasters are somehow connected? I’m no believer, but one of the most intelligent women I’ve ever met (and I’ve met a few in my time) is a white, English Vodoun follower. It’s not a faith for me, by any stretch of the imagination, but I’d suggest people try to get over the “pins in dolls” stuff since it does have far more to it than that.Ali

A: Please, don’t try to project Pat Robertson’s silly claims on me. I’ve never said anything of the sort. The voodoo practices are relevant in that they show how backward Haiti is and how unprepared the country was for a natural disaster and its aftermath. This is, after all, the country that put both Papa Doc and Baby Doc Duvalier in power. DS

Alison on January 14, 2010 at 11:57 am

    Sincere apologies, Debbie. It just seemed a little iffy to have that mentioned. I’m HUGELY relieved that you put that straight. In the words of Savage Garden, “I believe that God does not endorse TV evangelists”. There’s a LOT about the US that I admire, but I’m glad we don’t have those over here. 😀

    Alison on January 14, 2010 at 12:10 pm

If anyone wants to help out in Haiti, a donation to Americares, which is based here in CT-Stan would help.

http://www.americares.org/

Bob Porrazzo on January 14, 2010 at 11:59 am

Since the U.S. never really gets worldwide respect and admiration for being the most generous country in the world, let’s make some changes to how we respond to disasters around the world. Since Haiti is much closer to Cuba than the U.S., send the casualties to the worderful Cuban socialized health care system. This would be the humanitarian thing to do, since the political weasels in DC have told us that the socialized Cuban health care system is better than ours.

Jarhead on January 14, 2010 at 12:14 pm

[DS:The voodoo practices are relevant in that they show how backward Haiti is and how unprepared the country was for a natural disaster and its aftermath.]

So basically your point is “my religion is better than yours”.

Norman Blitzer on January 14, 2010 at 12:21 pm

Debbie, why oh why do you feel the need to bring up the fact that they belong to the Voodoo religion?
I doubt you know anything about the actual Voodoo religion.
It has a lot of Christian elements.
So what if they practice Voodoo?
Voodoo is a religion, just like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Wicca, Taoism, Shinto, Hinduism, Buddhism, Satanism etc, etc.
It’s a religion, it’s not like you see Vooodoo practioners blowing up buildings or hijacking planes or causing wars.

Charybdis_SeaStar on January 14, 2010 at 1:07 pm

Well, Jordan has troops over there as well as many other smaller nations.

A: Jordan? Hilarious. Yeah, I doubt anyone’s betting on a “Jordanian search and rescue team” (does Jordan even have any–I doubt it) to rescue them. If I’m buried beneath rubble, I’m hoping on my life that the Israelis are there to find me and dig me out. You can wait on the Jordanians. DS

Amy on January 14, 2010 at 3:03 pm

Norman Blizter,
You are shocking me to death!
What the F****n Voodoo shit & Christian crap has to do with this MEGA DISASTER? Huh?!
Do you drive with your safety belt ON? Yes? Good!! I bet they DID NOT !
“Haiti is a small country” you say.
( 3 times older then Israel, twice as big, no Arabs as neighbors… with natural resources we can only dream of, etc.).
Just to remind you Mr. Blitzer, Israel “sits” on the most dangerous Geological split on this planet !
When (not if!), the “Big One” hits us, guess, how long it will take for the survivors to get drinking water? 6 hours? may be 8?!…
You say, “my religion is better than yours”. Stupid! I’m just a good “Boy-scout” !… I’m prepared !!

Alexander Münch on January 14, 2010 at 3:23 pm

[Just to remind you Mr. Blitzer, Israel “sits” on the most dangerous Geological split on this planet !
When (not if!), the “Big One” hits us, guess, how long it will take for the survivors to get drinking water? 6 hours? may be 8?!…

You say, “my religion is better than yours”. Stupid! I’m just a good “Boy-scout” !… I’m prepared !!

Alexander Münch on January 14, 2010 at 3:21 pm]

Well it is stupid to criticize voodoo right now. You sound more like an idiot than a boyscout, Alex. It looks like Deb has the ability to move around comments. Never seen that before, interesting.

Norman Blizter on January 14, 2010 at 6:16 pm

Its fantastic that yet again the US and Israel are helping out. Many other countries have sent in aid, with Reuters having compiled a list of the most significant contributers so far: BELGIUM BRITAIN CANADA CZECH REPUBLIC FINLAND FRANCE GERMANY ICELAND IRAN IRELAND ISRAEL NETHERLANDS SLOVENIA SWEDEN US http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE60D24J.htm

Plus many more are helping via the UN and EU…

Oh, and a bit confused about the voodoo debate on here. Practising voodoo is no more backward and ignorant than believing in the Cloud Guy with the Big Book.

Max on January 14, 2010 at 8:24 pm

you who speak should think deeply first. from what “largess”? where do you think your wealth, the wealth of the west came from? from the free labor built upon the backs and dead souls of the african people for hundreds of years. your corporations, your banks, the land stolen from the native people, from the mexican people. think before you speak about the poor, the immigrants, those you despise after they were used up. the same catastrophe that happened to them can happen to you and your descendants.

sam on January 16, 2010 at 9:40 am

Hi debbie can you comment on this story please :
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3848105,00.html

iuirti on February 18, 2010 at 7:33 pm

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