Haiti: News roundup, new satellite images, tweets from the ground

• Ann Curry's report on NBC about the horrific suffering of children in Haiti, even the lucky ones who have been rescued and are receiving medical treatment. The video is hard to watch. (screengrab above: a child receiving surgery without anesthesia)

• Haiti Twitter information, compiled by the ATLAS program at the University of Colorado. Organizers suggest following a standard syntax, to make conversation and connecting more effective.

• A collection point for amateur radio communications data related to the quake is here.

• A Scottish nurse in Haiti blogs about the toll of frequent, ongoing aftershocks:

The Haitian staff are showing signs of stress. Many of us here are experiencing loss of appetite, nausea and headaches. The constant movement of the ground makes our buildings sway and that is causing motion sickness, as well as high levels of anxiety. The children are fairing remarkably well.

• The tweeting Carrier USS Carl Vinson (@CVN70) will serve as a 'floating airport' for Haiti relief operation.

• New satellite maps of Haiti coming in: "Damage evaluation map based on satellite data over the Port-au-Prince area of Haiti, following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake and several aftershocks that hit the Caribbean nation on 12 January. Map based on data from CNES's SPOT-5, JAXA's ALOS and the U.S.-based GeoEye-1 satellites; processed by SERTIT. " Click for full-size.

• Dan Harris, ABC News: "Saw my first real bout of looting in #haiti today. People are openly and increasingly worried re social unrest here."

• Boston Globe's "The Big Picture" blog has two posts with incredible, powerful photographs from Haiti over the past few days. Here is part one, here is part two.

• The New York Times' "The Lede" blog is an excellent source for ongoing analysis and news updates. Also, see this interactive map, using satellite imaging data from GeoEye, which shows the capital city before and after the earthquake.

• Danger Room: tweets from the front line of Haiti relief.

• At night, Port au Prince is lit by burning tires.

• Some 300,000 people have already been displaced by the disaster.

• When Haitian Ministers Take a 50 Percent Cut of Aide Money It's Called "Corruption," When NGOs Skim 50 Percent It's Called "Overhead": Crushing Haiti, Now as Always

• Our Role in Haiti's Plight, by Peter Hallward

• Democracy Now: US Policy in Haiti Over Decades "Lays the Foundation for Why Impact of Natural Disaster Is So Severe"

• Op-Ed, New York Times: A Country Without a Net / Tracy Kidder

• Haiti's largest jail collapsed in the earthquake, and all the inmates fled, according to a UN report.

• Catherine Lainé (Boing Boing Video interview with her in Haiti) tweets, "Things you can do: Call your congressman/senator re: cancelling Haiti's debt. The country will need every penny to rebuild."

• Jay Smooth of Ill Doctrine published this excellent video op-ed today: Mini Doctrine on Haiti.

(Some links in this post via Ned Sublette, Todd Lappin, Kristie LuStout, Brad King)

• [Alan]

  Good info, and a lot needs to be done in Haiti, immediately and over the next decade. However, I take issue with the Patrick Cockburn piece (Crushing Haiti, Now as Always) you link to. Not only does he not give any examples (instead, citing activity in Afghanistan), but he equates Obama’s reaction to this disaster to Bush’s reaction to New Orleans. I’d like to point out a couple of differences:

  Hurricane Katrina was known in advance, and there were no surpises that it was going to hit New Orleans. Preperations could be made, situations could be anticipated. The Haitian earthquake was a bit of a surprise, so it was harder to be prepared.

  New Orleans is in the United States. Resources can be moved more quickly, and the hierarchy to do so it very clear and already set up. Add to that the fact that the bulk of the US wasn’t affected by the hurricane, and it makes it even easier. Port-au-Prince is on an island in another country. Not only does it take longer to move resources to that location (overseas, even), but it has to be done through someone else’s system, in this case a very screwed up system.

  I don’t mind when someone is indignant. I just wish they would make equal comparisons and not just throw things out there. That’s what Rush Limbaugh does.

• [JoshP]

  I scurfed the MSF website and found they lack paypal cabability but do have a podcast up. Gonna check it out. Also maybe somebody who’s on school might think about Haitian debt research…
  ps. does anybody *not* want to play three card monty against Herr Dr. Pr. Smooth… sheesh, he really is smooth.

• [SamSam]

  Agree with #1 on Patrick Cockburn’s piece — comparing Obama’s response time to Katrina is ludicrous. The quake hit Tuesday afternoon. The US Coast Guard was on the ground early Wednesday morning (as Alan says, in another country, and one without a working airfield and no organized leadership).

  I’d comment there, but some people don’t like allowing people to comment on their op-ed columns…

• [Anonymous]

  If someone wants to go down there and help, lend a hand, with good all around skills but no doctor or nurse or anything, just lend a hand literally. How would one do so?

  cheers

• [Anonymous]

  In 1805, the U.S. instituted restrictions on trade with Haiti. By the end of the year, Congress banned trade with Haiti, joining the French and Spanish boycotts. These embargos crippled the Haitian economy, and helped prevent the new black nation from making a success of its independence. READ MORE………………

  Source:

  http://phrequency.ning.com/profiles/blogs/why-is-haiti-so-poor

• [Marchhare]

  Partners in Health is one of the most well-connected foreign charities in Haiti.

  Here is their Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/PIH_org

  Here is their website they set up after the earthquake:
  http://standwithhaiti.org/

• [hawamahal]

  Geographers and GIS folks, datasets are being hosted and linked to from here: http://cegrp.cga.harvard.edu/content/haiti-earthquake-data

  Hydrography and high-res Digital Elevation Models are needed, if there are any out there!

  thanks!

• [Anonymous]

  New high resolution pictures on the destruction from the 2010 Haiti Earthquake have been posted from on the ground in Port-Au-Prince and Jacmel

  http://www.jlaforums.com/album.php?search=haiti&search_cond=Pic%20Description&sort_order=&start=0

  http://www.jlaforums.com/album.php?search=haiti&search_cond=Pic%20Title&sort_order=&start=0