HAITI

Jan 13, 2009 --- Remember Katrina and Rita? Those hurricanes that prompted a government response which made most of us ashamed to be American? I am certain that the global response to a devastation far worse, as a result of the Port Au Prince quake, will make Bush's Follies look like a well-oiled machine. Not only is the situation on the ground worse; the governments that might send massive aid are financial and economic basket cases. With the death toll already circling 200,000, and almost all critical infrastructure destroyed, the effort needed would have broken most governments before the collapse. It would take a Marshall Plan. So fuggedboudit. The UN can't help much either. No one can. There will be so many stories of courage, heroism, sacrifice and love to arise from this tragedy. At some point I can just see good souls all over the Gulf with private boats trying to do what they can. Take some fresh water and medical supplies in. Maybe pull a few out before anarchy and disease consume everything. It reminds me of a line Jeff Bridges once spoke: "You human beings are at your best when things are worst." -- That is exactly what must change in us.

We will see lots of footage of aid flights and stories about how other nations are rushing to assist. But it will not be possible to hide the fact for long that Haiti is becoming -- or has become -- a mass grave. Haiti is a stark, cold, and unforgiving metaphor for what we all face... all to soon. We need to listen to and acknowledge the suffering of the Haitian people so that someone might acknowledge ours when the time comes. What happens in Haiti needs to be watched cosely and learned from by those with the stomach for it. The journalist in me wants to be there, right in it.

Our message is spreading quickly. Every day I receive maybe 10 to 15 friend requests on Facebook from all over the world from people who have just seen "Collapse". Almost all say something like, "I thought I was the only one who felt this way." -- almost all are in their twenties. I spend as much time as I can with many to share a few words and bond across a cyberspace that now hums with a lonely echo. An awakening is taking place. Collapse has been invited to the Berlin International Film Festival and I've heard that it is going to be mentioned in one of the largest U.S. weekly news mags this week. Collapse has announced many new theatrical openings around the country and finally in some foreign cities. The awakening has started before the panic that will come... if not over Haiti then over what's coming this year. The faster we reach people, the less damage will be caused by the panic. It is my prayer that the panic can be averted, even if loss of life cannot. There is still time.

MCR
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From Jenna Orkin

War/Crime
Al Qaeda linked to air network
Homeland Security ignored a report detailing a clandestine fleet of executive jets regularly crisscrossing the Altantic on drug runs. The problem is now a global security threat.
Afghan Drone War Spikes Under McChrystal
'Killing the Enemy Is Not The Best Route to Success'
House Rep to introduce bill to ban private security contractors
Risk-averse Britain 'losing stomach for war'
Dutch Government Misrepresented Case for Iraq War
Murdered Iranian physicist acquainted with Israeli scientists (from Rice Farmer)
Police Are Told Not To Talk About Crime As It Might Scare the Public

Economy
Sovereign default risk looms
Real estate downturn will “overshadow” all others
Retail sales unexpectedly fall, jobless claims up
Jobless rate to stay above 8 percent until 2012: CBO
Foreclosures set a grim record in 2009
Swiss cheese recovery had more holes than cheese
Data suggests U.S. still overstating employment
S&P lowers California debt rating, cash crunch looms
Lowered to Third World status.
Financial crisis probe could be too late
US insurers have limited exposure in Haiti
In case you were worried about them.
Marc Faber: "We Are Doomed" -- Sees default in America's future (from Rice Farmer)
Where did all our money go?
HMRC 'spying' on tax evaders
'UK depression is over'
German Economy Shrank 5 Percent in 2009
S Korea scrambles to contain won amid export fears

Environment/Science
US primed for Copenhagen collapse
Bon appétit: Monsanto's GMO Corn Linked To Organ Failure, Study Reveals (from Rice Farmer)
Earthquake worsens health nightmare
Docs seek to stifle patients’ rants on Web sites

Gold
Investor appetite drives gold to new peak
Bullion demand overtakes jewellery, showing speculators’ impact