haiti earthquake relief: how you can help

From the Huffington Post

•The American Red Cross is pledging an initial $200,000 to assist communities impacted by this earthquake. They expect to provide immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support. They are accepting donations through their International Response Fund.

•UNICEF has issued a statement that "Children are always the most vulnerable population in any natural disaster, and UNICEF is there for them." UNICEF requests donations for relief for children in Haiti via their Haiti Earthquake Fund. You can also call 1-800-4UNICEF.

•Donate through Wyclef Jean's foundation, Yele Haiti. Text "Yele" to 501501 and $5 will be charged to your phone bill and given to relief projects through the organization.

•Operation USA is appealing for donations of funds from the public and corporate donations in bulk of health care materials, water purification supplies and food supplements which it will ship to the region from its base in the Port of Los Angeles. Donate online at www.opusa.org, by phone at 1-800-678-7255 or, by check made out to Operation USA, 3617 Hayden Ave, Suite A, Culver City, CA 90232.

•Save The Children has launched an emergency relief effort for Haiti. Donate to their fund to provide medical attention and clean water to children and families.

•International Medical Corps is assembling a team of first responders and resources to provide lifesaving medical care and other emergency services to survivors of the earthquake. The IMC previously helped recovery efforts after September 2009's earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia, and the massive 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. Donate to the International Medical Corps through their 24-hour hotline at 800-481-4462

•Ben Stiller's Stillerstrong campaign will be temporarily diverting all donations to support the Haiti relief effort.

•Partners In Health reports its Port-au-Prince clinical director , Louise Ivers, has appealed for assistance: "Port-au-Prince is devastated, lot of deaths. SOS. SOS... Temporary field hospital by us at UNDP needs supplies, pain meds, bandages. Please help us." Donate to their Haiti earthquake fund.

•As a UN Special Envoy to Haiti, Bill Clinton appeared on CNN on Wednesday to ask for further assistance in bringing relief to populations on the ground. You can donate through the Clinton Foundation or text HAITI to 20222 to donate $10.

•Mercy Corps is sending a team of emergency responders to assess damage, and seek to fulfill immediate needs of quake survivors. The agency aided families after earthquakes in Peru in 2007, China and Pakistan in 2008, and Indonesia last year. Donate online, call 1-888-256-1900 or send checks to Mercy Corps Haiti Earthquake Fund; Dept NR; PO Box 2669; Portland, OR 97208.

•Doctors Without Borders is on the ground and has set up clinics to treat injured in Haiti. Donate any amount so they can keep their efforts going.

•Direct Relief is committing up to $1 million in aid for the response and is coordinating with its other in-country partners and colleague organizations. Their partners in Haiti include Partners in Health, St. Damien Children's Hospital, and the Visitation Hospital, which are particularly active in emergency response. Donate to Direct Relief online.

•Oxfam is rushing in teams from around the region to respond to the situation to provide clean water, shelter, sanitation and help people recover. Donate to Oxfam America online.

•The UN World Food Programme is gathering all available resources to deliver food to the recently homeless and impoverished in Haiti. Donate now to help bring food to those affected as quickly and efficiently as possible.

•The Baptist Haiti Mission is operating an 82-bed hospital that is "overflowing with injured." Donate online to BHM and 100% of your donation will go to the relief effort.

•International Medical Corps is assembling a team of first responders and resources to provide lifesaving medical care and other emergency services to survivors of the earthquake. Donate online.

•Following the earthquake, Catholic Relief Services made an immediate commitment of $5 million for emergency supplies. They are distributing food and relief supplies, and importing plastic sheeting, mosquito nets and water purification tablets from the Domincan Republic. Donate to Catholic Relief Services to assist in these efforts.

•Give to the American Jewish World Service's Earthquake Relief Fund.

•CARE is deploying emergency team members to Port-au-Prince today to assist in recovery efforts. They're focusing their efforts on rescuing children who may still be trapped in schools that collapsed. Donate to CARE.

•Orphans International America reports that they have been able to make contact with their program director in the town of Jacmel, a city about 20 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince that houses OI's hospitals and schools. Orphans International America is attempting to gather food, clean water and emergency medical supplies to Jacmel. You can contribute to them through PayPal.

•The International Rescue Committee is deploying an emergency response team to Haiti to deliver urgent assistance to earthquake survivors and to help overwhelmed local aid groups struggling to meet the immense emergency needs. They will focus on critical medical, water and sanitation assistance. Donate to the IRC Haiti Crisis Fund.

•NetHope is coordinating its response with its NGO member agencies and with the UN's Emergency Telecom Cluster to establish connectivity in Haiti. Seventeen of NetHope's members are already providing aid and deploying resources on the ground. Donate online.

•The Haitian Health Foundation is still assessing the situation of their full-time facilities and staff in Haiti. They regularly provide health care, development and relief to rural mountain villages in Haiti. Donate to the Haitian Health Foundation.

•World Vision has more 370 staff in the country. Staff members from less-affected regions of Haiti are mobilizing, and World Vision's global experts are expected to arrive in the disaster zone as soon as possible. Donate to World Vision.

•The Jewish Federations of North America is partnering with the American Jewish Joint Distribution committee and have created a dedicated Haiti Relief page for online donations.

•United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) is the UN's humanitarian fund responding to emergencies like the earthquake in Haiti. Donate online.

•Friends of the Orphans will use donations to meet the needs of first responders such as first aid supplies, shipping of necessary materials to assist in efforts, and treating the injured. Those interested in helping the relief effort can visit www.friendsoftheorphans.org, or call 888-201-8880 to make a donation.

•World Concern's staff is almost entirely composed of Haitian nationals and will be tapping into private as well as U.S. government supplies to help in the relief effort it hopes will soon be supplemented by cargo ships. Donate to World Concern.

•Merlin USA is sending an emergency response team out to the region and have subsequently launched an emergency appeal to bring urgent medical aid and assistance to those affected. Donate to Merlin USA.

HuffPost Impact is following relief organizations in Haiti and will be updating with their latest messages from the ground.

pat robertson is evil: reason #2177

CNN: Pat Robertson says Haiti paying for 'pact to the devil'

Pat Robertson, the evangelical Christian who once suggested God was punishing Americans with Hurricane Katrina, says a "pact to the devil" brought on the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

Robertson, the host of the "700 Club," blamed the tragedy on something that "happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it."

The Haitians "were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III and whatever," Robertson said on his broadcast Wednesday. "And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.' True story. And so, the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.' "

Native Haitians defeated French colonists in 1804 and declared independence.

"You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other." Robertson has previously linked natural disasters and terrorist attacks to legalized abortion in the United States.

see also:
pat robertson is evil: reason #865
pat robertson is evil: reason #873
pat robertson is evil: reason #704

pastel games

I've occasionally blogged on "fun stuff" like the Submachine Games before along with some other games like Mancala. So in that same spirit I thought I'd mention the Pastel Games website which has a number of interesting point-and-click games by Mateusz Skutnik (including the newest entry in the Submachine series).

last official survivor of hiroshima and nagasaki dies of stomach cancer

The Guardian: Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivor dies (of cancer) aged 93

josiah x

Actually, I "just" realized that Marvel comics already does have a Muslim version of Captain America, namely Justice (Josiah X / Josiah Bradley / Josiah al hajj Saddiq) who is explicitly modelled on Malcolm X. He primarily appeared in a short-lived title called The Crew. (Hmmm, I may have to take a trip to the comic book store soon). His powers derive from the fact that he is the son of the original "Black" Captain America, Isaiah Bradley, a Black soldier who participated in an attempt to create a super-soldier serum, reminiscent of the Tuskeegee experiment. In contrast to Colonel Abdul al-Rahman, Josiah / Justice is actually a clergyman, so he is definitely a Muslim in a theological sense, and not merely in some socio-political sense.

Digital Priest: The Crew
Adherents.com: The Religion of Justice (Josiah al hajj Saddiq)

from hieroglyphics to superheroes...

Just one of the more memorable speeches from the M. Night Shyamalan film Unbreakable:

I've come to believe that comics are our last link to the ancient way of passing on history. The Egyptians drew pictures on walls about battles, and events. Countries all around the world still pass on knowledge through pictorial forms. I believe that comics, just at their core now... have a truth. They are depicting what someone, somewhere felt or experienced. Then of course that core got chewed up in the commercial machine and gets jazzed up, made titillating -- cartooned for the sale rack.

- Mr. Glass / Elijah Price / (Samuel L. Jackson)

draft script for Unbreakable

the 99 revisited / the liberators

Lately I've been thinking again about graphic novels in general and some Muslim characters in particular.

On the one hand, there is the comic book The 99 which I've blogged on before. The premise is that there are 99 mystical gemstones scattered around which endow the person who possesses it with a power or ability related to one of the traditional 99 names of Allah. The comic book has existed for a while but apparently they are in the process of upgrading from a comic book series to an animated format:


The 99 Homepage

Planet Grenada's past
the 99
female, muslim and mutant
pride of baghdad

On the other hand, in the Ultimate Marvel universe there is the character of Colonel Abdul al-Rahman (a kind "Muslim" version of Captain America) of the Liberators (who are a Third World, morally ambiguous version of the Avengers/Ultimates). Abdul al-Rahman is an Azerbaijani youth from Iran who is moved to volunteer for a super-soldier program when Captain America and the Ultimates participate in a U.S. invasion of the Middle East. There is no indication that the character is religious but is arguably "Muslim" in a political sense.

The Liberators have a short career in the Ultimate Universe (They just appear in the Ultimates trade paperback "Grand Theft America". And while some of their members were inspired by pre-existing characters from the standard Marvel universe, Colonel Abdul Al-Rahman was not. But it would be interesting to see if his character would be developed further in the standard continuity.

funeral blues

Funeral Blues
by W.H. Auden



Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

inside cuba; guerrilla blogging

In These Times: INSIDE CUBA: Guerrilla Blogging by Orlando Pardo Lazo

guantanamo is hell on earth

AFP: Guantanamo 'hell on Earth', says Somali detainee

health care reform...

just the beginning...

immortal technique interview

Freeicecream.net: Immortal Technique Interview by Prop Anon.
This interview covers Immortal Technique's latest album, an orphanage he started for Afghan children, 9/11, the nature of religious faith, and higher education.

black is the new white

I'm also in the middle of Paul Mooney's memoir Black is the New White. I've been following Paul Mooney's career for a while so, to be honest, I haven't found much of it shocking or new. But it is still a good read. Mooney has some interesting things to say about the racial politics behind the scenes in Hollywood.

The Griot: Paul Mooney's 'Black Is the New White' is an ode to Richard Pryor
NPR's Talk of the Nation: Black is the New White

Planet Grenada's past:
"it makes my teeth white" - paul mooney
"i like a little salt on my cracker"
"homie don't play that"
okay, maybe he was wrong on this one
word association
bamboozled
richards' racist rant
richards' racist rant (part 2)

[Dec 11, 2009]
I also should have added
negrodamus 1
brian gumbel (sic) is looking like malcolm x?
negrodamus 2

sufi rapper: the spiritual journey of abd al malik

In the middle of... Sufi Rapper The Spiritual Journey of Abd al Malik about a French-born African Muslim who follows a spiritual path.


Here is an excerpt

project censored: top 25 censored stories for 2010

I recently saw the newest Project Censored book, Censored 2010, over at Barnes and Noble today and was sorely tempted to buy it until I realized that the stories were probably also available online. "Enjoy"

Top Censored Stories of 2009/2010

• 1. US Congress Sells Out to Wall Street
• 2. US Schools are More Segregated Today than in the 1950s
• 3. Toxic Waste Behind Somali Pirates
• 4. Nuclear Waste Pools in North Carolina
• 5. Europe Blocks US Toxic Products
• 6. Lobbyists Buy Congress
• 7. Obama’s Military Appointments Have Corrupt Past
• 8. Bailed out Banks and America’s Wealthiest Cheat IRS Out of Billions
• 9. US Arms Used for War Crimes in Gaza
• 10. Ecuador Declares Foreign Debt Illegitimate
• 11. Private Corporations Profit from the Occupation of Palestine
• 12. Mysterious Death of Mike Connell—Karl Rove’s Election Thief
• 13. Katrina’s Hidden Race War
• 14. Congress Invested in Defense Contracts
• 15. World Bank’s Carbon Trade Fiasco
• 16. US Repression of Haiti Continues
• 17. The ICC Facilitates US Covert War in Sudan
• 18. Ecuador’s Constitutional Rights of Nature
• 19. Bank Bailout Recipients Spent to Defeat Labor
• 20. Secret Control of the Presidential Debates
• 21. Recession Causes States to Cut Welfare
• 22. Obama’s Trilateral Commission Team
• 23. Activists Slam World Water Forum as a Corporate-Driven Fraud
• 24. Dollar Glut Finances US Military Expansion
• 25. Fast Track Oil Exploitation in Western Amazon

See also:
project censored
censored stories

day of black consciousness

BRASILIA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Over 12 states in Brazil celebrated on Friday the Day of Black Consciousness in honor of the country's 17th-century anti-slavery leader Zumbi dos Palmares.

In cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, people held parades against racism, discrimination, prejudice, homophobia, sexism and religious intolerance.

Many economic and financial activities around the country were suspended on the day, including the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, which is set to reopen on Monday.

The Day of Black Consciousness was first celebrated in 1978 to commemorate Zumbi dos Palmares, a black Brazilian who led a group of runaway slaves in Brazil, known as the Quilombo dos Palmares, to fight the then Portuguese colonizers in the 17th century and was killed in an ambush on Nov. 20, 1695.

The social gap between black and white citizens has been narrowed drastically since Brazil abolished slavery in 1888 due to governmental efforts.

However, black Brazilians still account for about 35 percent of the country's population living below the poverty line.

Meanwhile, problems such as black Brazilian citizens' lower wages, longer working hours, and worse employment situation in comparison with their white counterparts highlight the urgency to build a more socially and economically equal country.

According to a census conducted in 2000, the black and mulattos make up about half of the total population of 170 million in the Latin American country.

See also: BRAZIL: 'Quilombos' Keep Black Cultural Identity Alive by Fabiana Frayssinet

happy turkey day

happy yawm al-arafat y'all

Wow, so Thursday is the Day of Arafat and Friday is Eid.

It was reported from Abu Qutadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about fasting on the Day of Arafah. He said, ‘It expiates for the sins of the previous year and of the coming year.’ Narrated by Muslim.

Most years there seems to be at least one or two interesting coincidences between Islamic holy days and Christian/Jewish/secular/Gregorian ones... this year it is how the Day of Arafat and Eid al-Adha synch-up with Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Interesting. Fasting and sacrifice contrasted with pigging-out and conspicuous consumption.

fort hood tragedy, islam and america

Fort Hood Tragedy, Islam, and America - updated 11/20/09 by Sheila Musaji is a decent summary of the issues from a Muslim perspective which also includes many different links to other good articles.