Showing posts with label earthquakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label earthquakes. Show all posts

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Time to Listen to Mother Earth - We are Running Out of Time

.


Those of you who follow the CPT are well aware of the political division, partisanship, and downright nastiness that has become a part of the current American culture. Not since the Civil War has there been such a radical divide among Americans and there are no signs things will cool off soon.

It is times like these that we should pay particular attention to the prophecies of the Native Americans and to the scientific data being reported by the government. When I say the "data being reported by the government" I mean just that. There is a lot of data not being reported by the government and that is my major cause of concern.

Science has made a determined effort to control the weather as there are often gray lines between the scientific community and the military industrial complex in most major countries. This has been going on for many decades and there is nothing to indicate it has slowed.

As science unlocks the secrets of nature the military sees that as an opportunity to control nature and use it as a weapon. More important, only the defense and intelligence communities have the unlimited budgets needed to further the work of science in highly technical areas.



Try as it might, however, the control of weather has never been achieved by the military on a large scale but have the experiments to date altered the weather patterns we face? It seems as if the more we know about the weather the less we are able to predict the patterns. That is not consistent with the advances we have achieved.

Could it be that weather is controlled by a higher force, as the Native Americans believe, and that the more we tamper with it the more it will be used against us? If one only studied the astonishing increase in weather records that have been set the past few years, and especially the past year, it may seem that Mother Nature has been quite upset with the human condition.

Record temperatures, rain, snow, floods and damage seems to occur almost daily. That is just the small stuff. When you throw in the most devastating acts of nature, earthquakes, volcanoes and hurricanes, then a pattern does start to emerge.



Major earthquakes striking the Earth have greatly increased the past couple of years. In fact the largest of earthquakes have seemed to be following a pattern of rapid increase while also following a progression of fault lines. For example, there have been a series of major quakes from the tip of South America up the coast along the fault line all the way to the California border.



It seems that when a major quake occurs there is a shifting in the tectonic plates of the earth and a change in the pressure in one place can trigger other such reactions along the length and breadth of the fault line. Of course scientists do not agree.


Continuing what has been an incredible and incredibly horrifying string of large earthquakes around the world starting with the 7.0 Haiti Earthquake, then earthquakes in Guatemala, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, the 7.2 Southern California Earthquake and the Sumatra Indonesia Earthquake at 7.7 on Richter Scale, all by the first week of April.

This is the second time in 2010 Indonesia suffered from a "significant earthquake."


In all there were 173 significant earthquakes of above 6.0 on the Richter Scale in 2010  according to the US Geological Survey. And of those, 22 were over 7.0 on the scale. There were 159 significant earthquakes in all of 2009, 180 in 2008, and 196 in 2007.  In 2011, there have already been about 60 significant quakes and it is only mid-March.

In an average year there is 1 quake over 8.0, 17 from 7 to 7.9, and 134 from 6 to 6.9. At the current rate for 2011 there will be 288 "significant earthquakes", 115 more than in 2010 and far more than in recent years. We are on course to shatter the averages.



Note that the earthquakes hitting the Americas moved from Chile to Northern California along the fault line on the Pacific Coast. If this is the result of a readjustment of the tectonic plates then it will continue up the coast where the population density will be significant.



More ominously for the USA is the threat of a major quake in the Seattle area and two other points, Southern California and New Madrid, Missouri. Each of these areas has been hit by quakes over 8.0 in the past couple of centuries.  In 2011 and 2012, there will be events held throughout the central United States observing the 200th Anniversary of the great 1811 and 1812 New Madrid earthquakes that forever changed the mid-western landscape.

The New Madrid Seismic zone lies within the central Mississippi Valley, centered just below St. Louis, extending from northeast Arkansas, through southeast Missouri, western Tennessee, western Kentucky to southern Illinois. Historically, this area has been the site of some of the largest earthquakes in North America. Between 1811 and 1812, 4 catastrophic earthquakes, at least two with magnitude estimates greater than 8.0, occurred during a 3-month period. Hundreds of aftershocks followed over a period of several years.

The power of the earthquakes was so great the mighty Mississippi River began flowing backwards and there was a 50 foot waterfall in the river after the quakes. At that time, St. Louis and other major cities in the central U.S. were sparsely settled. At least 3 of the series of earthquakes were felt throughout much of the U.S. and as far away as Quebec.

Instruments were installed in and around this area in 1974 to closely monitor seismic activity. Since then, more than 4000 earthquakes have been located. The potential for the recurrence of such earthquakes and their impact today on densely populated cities in and around the seismic zone, has generated much research devoted to understanding earthquakes. A quake with a magnitude equal to that of the 1811- 1812 quakes could result in great loss of life and property damage in the billions of dollars. Scientists believe we are overdue for such a large earthquake.

The power of an earthquake is measured by the Richter scale and is a combination of ground motion and energy released by the quake. Each 1.0 on the scale is an increase in ground motion 10 times and an increase in energy released of 32 times. The energy released represents the destructive force of the earthquake. Thus an 8.0 quake is 32 times more destructive than a 7.0 quake.



However earthquakes are just part of the arsenal of weather catastrophes that are past due here in America. We are also part of the Pacific Rim volcano field and one of the most dangerous volcano sites is Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. This is home to one of the few super volcanoes in the world, a site where an eruption 65,000 years ago might have wiped out civilization. Recent developments in the Park include the eruption of a long dormant geyser, the deaths of a herd of bison from poison gas from the earth, and detection of a growing magma build up about 15 kilometers below the surface of the earth that some estimate is nearly 60 miles wide.



But don't take my word for it, take the time to watch the following National Geographic special on the Yellowstone super volcano to understand the potential catastrophic disaster that could result. If Yellowstone erupts, and the series of earthquakes moving up the west coast could be the trigger, then much of America could be buried in volcanic ash.



I think the government knows the threat to the USA from a physical disaster is far greater than any other threat we face and to avoid panic they are not telling us the truth about the potential. I also believe the ancient Native American prophecies which predict the eruption and natural disaster that follows have been so accurate for so long that we are fools to not consider the probability.

For more information you should research the Hopi Indians of Arizona, the Hopi prophecy, and the teaching of the Hopi elders about the condition of earth. We may not have to wait until 2012 to see the truth in the ancient teachings based on the finding of science as related in the National Geographic special and there is no better source for truth than National Geographic. I was a creative consultant to Nat Geo as we call it and helped create and produce a series called Really Wild Animals.

In my research for other Nat Geo TV specials I learned a lot about the organization and their commitment to understanding earth and our civilizations since they were founded in 1888 and through the 5,500 expeditions they have undertaken. You should not take these warnings lightly.

There are times in the human experience when higher forces do indeed interfere to save us from ourselves. That time may be now.

Double click on the video to enlarge. We are not responsible for the Google ad at the beginning.



.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Earthquakes - Nature's Fury or Mankind's Folly?

.


The Military's Pandora's Box - The HAARP Secret Weapon

The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) is a project of the United States Navy and Air Force with the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, which built a prototype for a ground based "Star Wars" weapon system located in the remote bush country of Alaska.

It is the HAARP system a super-powerful radiowave-beaming technology that lifts areas of the ionosphere by focusing a beam and heating those areas. Electromagnetic waves then bounce back onto earth and penetrate everything -- living and dead.

It's uses range from those claimed to be academic to far more dangerous secret military purposes including weather control that can cause earthquakes to electro-magnetic interference to shut down electrical grids, and it can alter the earth's atmosphere in a far more destructive way than anything carbon based. It is also the HAARP system that could cause the electrical interference that could disrupt the computer systems that operate cars (Toyota) and have many other devastating effects.



This is not science fiction as there are four HAARP systems currently in operation around the world but none with the capacity of the US facility in Alaska. The HAARP technology evolved from the work of the greatest inventor, mechanical engineer and electrical engineer in the world, Nikola Tesla, whose work on electromagnetism and electromechanical engineering was pioneering along with his contributions to the establishment of robotics, remote control, radar, computer science, ballistics, nuclear physics and theoretical physics.



The following excerpts are reprinted from an article prepared to provide a summary of the contents of a book written in 1995, Angels Don't Play This Harp - Advances in Tesla Technology, by Dr. Nick Begich and Jeane Manning, that describes an entirely new class of weapons.


HAARP Boils the Upper Atmosphere

HAARP will zap the upper atmosphere with a focused and steerable electromagnetic beam. It is an advanced model of an "ionospheric heater." (The ionosphere is the electrically-charged sphere surrounding Earth's upper atmosphere. It ranges between 40 to 60 miles above the surface of the Earth.)

HAARP publicity gives the impression that the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program is mainly an academic project with the goal of changing the ionosphere to improve communications for our own good. However, other U.S. military documents put it more clearly -- HAARP aims to learn how to "exploit the ionosphere for Department of Defense purposes." Communicating with submarines is only one of those purposes.

Press releases and other information from the military on HAARP continually downplay what it could do. Publicity documents insist that the HAARP project is no different than other ionospheric heaters operating safely throughout the world in places such as Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Tromso, Norway, and the former Soviet Union. However, a 1990government document indicates that the radio-frequency (RF) power zap will drive the ionosphere to unnatural activities.

Looking at the other patents which built on the work of a Texas' physicist named Bernard Eastlund, it becomes clearer how the military intends to use the HAARP transmitter. It also makes governmental denials less believable. The military knows how it intends to use this technology, and has made it clear in their documents. The military has deliberately misled the public, through sophisticated word games, deceit and outright disinformation.



The military says the HAARP system could:

Give the military a tool to replace the electromagnetic pulse effect of atmospheric thermonuclear devices (still considered a viable option by the military through at least 1986)

Replace the huge Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) submarine communication system operating in Michigan and Wisconsin with a new and more compact technology

Be used to replace the over-the-horizon radar system that was once planned for the current location of HAARP, with a more flexible and accurate system

Provide a way to wipe out communications over an extremely large area, while keeping the military's own communications systems working

Provide a wide area earth-penetrating tomography which, if combined with the computing abilities of EMASS and Cray computers, would make it possible to verify many parts of nuclear nonproliferation and peace agreements

Be a tool for geophysical probing to find oil, gas and mineral deposits over a large area

Be used to detect incoming low-level planes and cruise missiles, making other technologies obsolete



The above abilities seem like a good idea to all who believe in sound national defense, and to those concerned about cost-cutting. However, the possible uses which the HAARP records do not explain, and which can only be found in Air Force, Army, Navy and other federal agency records, are alarming. Moreover, effects from the reckless use of these power levels in our natural shield -- the ionosphere -- could be cataclysmic according to some scientists.



HAARP History

The patents described below were the package of ideas which were originally controlled by ARCO Power Technologies Incorporated (APTI), a subsidiary of Atlantic Richfield Company, one of the biggest oil companies in the world. APTI was the contractor that built the HAARP facility. ARCO sold this subsidiary, the patents and the second phase construction contract to E-Systems in June 1994.

E-Systems is one of the biggest intelligence contractors in the world -- doing work for the CIA, defense intelligence organizations and others. $1.8 billion of their annual sales are to these organizations, with $800 million for black projects -- projects so secret that even the United States Congress isn't told how the money is being spent.

E-Systems was bought out by Raytheon, which is one of the largest defense contractors in the world. In 1994 Raytheon was listed as number forty-two on the Fortune 500 list of companies. Raytheon has thousands of patents, some of which will be valuable in the HAARP project. The twelve patents below are the backbone of the HAARP project, and are now buried among the thousands of others held in the name of Raytheon. Bernard J. Eastlund's U.S. Patent # 4,686,605, "Method and Apparatus for Altering a Region in the Earth's Atmosphere, Ionosphere; and/or Magnetosphere," was sealed for a year under a government Secrecy Order.



The Eastlund ionospheric heater was different; the radio frequency (RF) radiation was concentrated and focused to a point in the ionosphere. This difference throws an unprecedented amount of energy into the ionosphere. The Eastlund device would allow a concentration of one watt per cubic centimeter, compared to others only able to deliver about one millionth of one watt.

This huge difference could lift and change the ionosphere in the ways necessary to create futuristic effects described in the patent. According to the patent, the work of Nikola Tesla in the early 1900's formed the basis of the research.

For a time, HAARP researchers could not prove that this was one of the intended uses for HAARP. In April, 1995, however, Begich found other patents, connected with a "key personnel" list for APTI. Some of these new APTI patents were indeed a wireless system for sending electrical power. Eastlund's patent said the technology can confuse or completely disrupt airplanes' and missiles' sophisticated guidance systems. Further, this ability to spray large areas of Earth with electromagnetic waves of varying frequencies, and to control changes in those waves, makes it possible to knock out communications on land or sea as well as in the air.



The patent said:

"Thus, this invention provides the ability to put unprecedented amounts of power in the Earth's atmosphere at strategic locations and to maintain the power injection level particularly if random pulsing is employed, in a manner far more precise and better controlled than heretofore accomplished by the prior art, particularly by detonation of nuclear devices of various yields at various altitudes... "

"...it is possible not only to interfere with third party communications but to take advantage of one or more such beams to carry out a communications network even though the rest of the world's communications are disrupted. Put another way, what is used to disrupt another's communications can be employed by one knowledgeable of this invention as a communication network at the same time."

"... large regions of the atmosphere could be lifted to an unexpectedly high altitude so that missiles encounter unexpected and unplanned drag forces with resultant destruction."



"Weather modification is possible by, for example, altering upper atmosphere wind patterns by constructing one or more plumes of atmospheric particles which will act as a lens or focusing device.

... molecular modifications of the atmosphere can take place so that positive environmental effects can be achieved. Besides actually changing the molecular composition of an atmospheric region, a particular molecule or molecules can be chosen for increased presence. For example, ozone, nitrogen, etc., concentrations in the atmosphere could be artificially increased."

Begich found eleven other APTI Patents. They told how to make "Nuclear-sized Explosions without Radiation," Power-beaming systems, over-the-horizon radar, detection systems for missiles carrying nuclear warheads, electromagnetic pulses previously produced by thermonuclear weapons and other Star-Wars tricks. This cluster of patents underlay the HAARP weapon system.

Related research by Begich and Manning uncovered bizarre schemes. For example, Air Force documents revealed that a system had been developed for manipulating and disturbing human mental processes through pulsed radio-frequency radiation (the stuff of HAARP) over large geographical areas. The most telling material about this technology came from writings of Zbigniew Brzezinski (former National Security Advisory to U.S. President Carter) and J.F. MacDonald (science advisor to U.S. President Johnson and a professor of Geophysics at UCLA), as they wrote about use of power-beaming transmitters for geophysical and environmental warfare. The documents showed how these effects might be caused, and the negative effects on human heath and thinking.

The mental-disruption possibilities for HAARP are the most disturbing. More than 40 pages of the book, with dozens of footnotes, chronicle the work of Harvard professors, military planners and scientists as they plan and test this use of the electromagnetic technology. For example, one of the papers describing this use was from the International Red Cross in Geneva. It even gave the frequency ranges where these effects could occur -- the same ranges which HAARP is capable of broadcasting.



The following statement was made more than twenty-five years ago in a book by Brzezinski which he wrote while a professor at Columbia University:

"Political strategists are tempted to exploit research on the brain and human behavior. Geophysicist Gordon J.F. MacDonald, a specialist in problems of warfare, says accurately-timed, artificially-excited electronic strokes could lead to a pattern of oscillations that produce relatively high power levels over certain regions of the earth ... in this way one could develop a system that would seriously impair the brain performance of very large populations in selected regions over an extended period"

" ... no matter how deeply disturbing the thought of using the environment to manipulate behavior for national advantages, to some, the technology permitting such use will very probably develop within the next few decades."



In another document prepared by the government, the U.S. Air Force claims: "The potential applications of artificial electromagnetic fields are wide-ranging and can be used in many military or quasi-military situations... Some of these potential uses include dealing with terrorist groups, crowd control, controlling breaches of security at military installations, and antipersonnel techniques in tactical warfare. In all of these cases the EM (electromagnetic) systems would be used to produce mild to severe physiological disruption or perceptual distortion or disorientation. In addition, the ability of individuals to function could be degraded to such a point that they would be combat ineffective. Another advantage of electromagnetic systems is that they can provide coverage over large areas with a single system. They are silent and countermeasures to them may be difficult to develop... One last area where electromagnetic radiation may prove of some value is in enhancing abilities of individuals for anomalous phenomena."

Do these comments point to uses already somewhat developed? The author of the government report refers to an earlier Air Force document about the uses of radio frequency radiation in combat situations. (Here Begich and Manning note that HAARP is the most versatile and the largest radio-frequency-radiation transmitter in the world.)

The United States Congressional record deals with the use of HAARP for penetrating the earth with signals bounced off of the ionosphere. These signals are used to look inside the planet to a depth of many kilometers in order to locate underground munitions, minerals and tunnels. The U.S. Senate set aside $15 million dollars in 1996 to develop this ability alone -- earth-penetrating-tomography. The problem is that the frequency needed for earth-penetrating radiation is within the frequency range most cited for disruption of human mental functions. It may also have profound effects on migration patterns of fish and wild animals which rely on an undisturbed energy field to find their routes.

As if electromagnetic pulses in the sky and mental disruption were not enough, T. Eastlund bragged that the super-powerful ionospheric heater could control weather.



Weather Control

Avalanches of energy dislodged by such radio waves could hit us hard. Their work suggests that technicians could control global weather by sending relatively small 'signals' into the Van Allen belts (radiation belts around Earth). Thus Tesla's resonance effects can control enormous energies by tiny triggering signals.

The Begich/ Manning book asks whether that knowledge will be used by war-oriented or biosphere-oriented scientists.

The military has had about twenty years to work on weather warfare methods, which it euphemistically calls weather modification. For example, rainmaking technology was taken for a few test rides in Vietnam. The U.S. Department of Defense sampled lightning and hurricane manipulation studies in Project Skyfire and Project Stormfury. And they looked at some complicated technologies that would give big effects. Angels Don't Play This HAARP cites an expert who says the military studied both lasers and chemicals which they figured could damage the ozone layer over an enemy.

Looking at ways to cause earthquakes, as well as to detect them, was part of the project named Prime Argus, decades ago. The money for that came from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA, now under the acronym ARPA.) In 1994 the Air Force revealed its Spacecast 2020 master plan which includes weather control. Scientists have experimented with weather control since the 1940's.

.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Time to Listen to Mother Earth - We are Running Out of Time

.



Those of you who follow the CPT are well aware of the political division, partisanship, and downright nastiness that has become a part of the current American culture. Not since the Civil War has there been such a radical divide among Americans and there are no signs things will cool off soon.

It is times like these that we should pay particular attention to the prophecies of the Native Americans and to the scientific data being reported by the government. When I say the "data being reported by the government" I mean just that. There is a lot of data not being reported by the government and that is my major cause of concern.

Science has made a determined effort to control the weather as there are often gray lines between the scientific community and the military industrial complex in most major countries. This has been going on for many decades and there is nothing to indicate it has slowed.

As science unlocks the secrets of nature the military sees that as an opportunity to control nature and use it as a weapon. More important, only the defense and intelligence communities have the unlimited budgets needed to further the work of science in highly technical areas.



Try as it might, however, the control of weather has never been achieved by the military on a large scale but have the experiments to date altered the weather patterns we face? It seems as if the more we know about the weather the less we are able to predict the patterns. That is not consistent with the advances we have achieved.

Could it be that weather is controlled by a higher force, as the Native Americans believe, and that the more we tamper with it the more it will be used against us? If one only studied the astonishing increase in weather records that have been set the past few years, and especially the past year, it may seem that Mother Nature has been quite upset with the human condition.

Record temperatures, rain, snow, floods and damage seems to occur almost daily. That is just the small stuff. When you throw in the most devastating acts of nature, earthquakes, volcanoes and hurricanes, then a pattern does start to emerge.



Major earthquakes striking the Earth have greatly increased the past couple of years. In fact the largest of earthquakes have seemed to be following a pattern of rapid increase while also following a progression of fault lines. For example, in the past few months there have been a series of major quakes from the tip of South America up the coast along the fault line all the way to the California border.



It seems that when a major quake occurs there is a shifting in the tectonic plates of the earth and a change in the pressure in one place can trigger other such reactions along the length and breadth of the fault line. Of course scientists do not agree.



Continuing what has been an incredible and incredibly horrifying string of large earthquakes around the world starting with the 7.0 Haiti Earthquake, then earthquakes in Guatemala, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, just last week the 7.2 Southern California Earthquake and now the Sumatra Indonesia Earthquake at 7.7 on Richter Scale, and it's just the first week of April.

This is the second time in 2010 Indonesia has suffered from a "significant earthquake."



In all there have been 53 significant earthquakes of above 6.0 on the Richter Scale in 2010 thus far, according to the US Geological Survey. And of those, 18 have been over 7.0 on the scale. There were 159 significant earthquakes in all of 2009, 180 in 2008, and 196 in 2007.

In an average year there is 1 quake over 8.0, 17 from 7 to 7.9, and 134 from 6 to 6.9. At the current rate for 2010 there will be 92 "significant earthquakes" for 2010, 20 more than in 2009 and 44 more than for all of 2008, and 46 more than in all of 2007. We are on course to surpass the averages.



Note that the earthquakes hitting the Americas have moved from Chile to Northern California along the fault line on the Pacific Coast. If this is the result of a readjustment of the tectonic plates then it will continue up the coast and the next point to be hit will be close to the Seattle area where the population density will be significant.



More ominously for the USA is the threat of a major quake in the Seattle area and two other points, Southern California and New Madrid, Missouri. Each of these areas has been hit by quakes over 8.0 in the past couple of centuries.

The New Madrid Seismic zone lies within the central Mississippi Valley, centered just below St. Louis, extending from northeast Arkansas, through southeast Missouri, western Tennessee, western Kentucky to southern Illinois. Historically, this area has been the site of some of the largest earthquakes in North America. Between 1811 and 1812, 4 catastrophic earthquakes, at least two with magnitude estimates greater than 8.0, occurred during a 3-month period. Hundreds of aftershocks followed over a period of several years.

The power of the earthquakes was so great the mighty Mississippi River began flowing backwards and there was a 50 foot waterfall in the river after the quakes. At that time, St. Louis and other major cities in the central U.S. were sparsely settled. At least 3 of the series of earthquakes were felt throughout much of the U.S. and as far away as Quebec.

Instruments were installed in and around this area in 1974 to closely monitor seismic activity. Since then, more than 4000 earthquakes have been located. The potential for the recurrence of such earthquakes and their impact today on densely populated cities in and around the seismic zone, has generated much research devoted to understanding earthquakes. A quake with a magnitude equal to that of the 1811- 1812 quakes could result in great loss of life and property damage in the billions of dollars. Scientists believe we are overdue for such a large earthquake.

The power of an earthquake is measured by the Richter scale and is a combination of ground motion and energy released by the quake. Each 1.0 on the scale is an increase in ground motion 10 times and an increase in energy released of 32 times. The energy released represents the destructive force of the earthquake. Thus an 8.0 quake is 32 times more destructive than a 7.0 quake.



However earthquakes are just part of the arsenal of weather catastrophes that are past due here in America. We are also part of the Pacific Rim volcano field and one of the most dangerous volcano sites is Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. This is home to one of the few super volcanoes in the world, a site where an eruption 65,000 years ago might have wiped out civilization. Recent developments in the Park include the eruption of a long dormant geyser, the deaths of a herd of bison from poison gas from the earth, and detection of a growing magma build up about 15 kilometers below the surface of the earth that some estimate is nearly 60 miles wide.



But don't take my word for it, take the time to watch the following National Geographic special on the Yellowstone super volcano to understand the potential catastrophic disaster that could result. If Yellowstone erupts, and the series of earthquakes moving up the west coast could be the trigger, then much of America could be buried in volcanic ash.



I think the government knows the threat to the USA from a physical disaster is far greater than any other threat we face and to avoid panic they are not telling us the truth about the potential. I also believe the ancient Native American prophecies which predict the eruption and natural disaster that follows have been so accurate for so long that we are fools to not consider the probability.

For more information you should research the Hopi Indians of Arizona, the Hopi prophecy, and the teaching of the Hopi elders about the condition of earth. We may not have to wait until 2012 to see the truth in the ancient teachings based on the finding of science as related in the National Geographic special and there is no better source for truth than National Geographic. I was a creative consultant to Nat Geo as we call it and helped create and produce a series called Really Wild Animals.

In my research for other Nat Geo TV specials I learned a lot about the organization and their commitment to understanding earth and our civilizations since they were founded in 1888 and through the 5,500 expeditions they have undertaken. You should not take these warnings lightly.

There are times in the human experience when higher forces do indeed interfere to save us from ourselves. That time may be now.

Double click on the video to enlarge. We are not responsible for the Google ad at the beginning.



.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Haiti Earthquake Response - America's Best is not Good Enough

-



Where are the choppers???

It is probably tantamount to a sacrilege to discuss this but it is becoming obvious that America still has a long ways to go to be effective, efficient and timely in responding to natural disasters. I don't say this lightly but in the dark shadow of hundreds, perhaps thousands of victims trapped in the Haiti earthquake who will die before they are rescued.

Because we did such soul searching in ripping Bush and his people to shreds for incompetence after Hurricane Katrina, our failure to respond aggressively in this disaster is even more stunning. However, the facts are facts and rather than tell the world we are in charge and leading the rescue effort and expect the adoration of the world for what we did, we better get our act together before the next disaster.



At daybreak Friday the victims trapped under tons of debris will have spent three nights and 62 hours buried alive, if they are still alive. No doubt many trapped survivors will die. In addition the thousands of injured victims and millions of homeless and terrified residents of Haiti will still be in tents in open fields, most without food, water and medical help.



So far we have demonstrated an ability to open the airport and help supply planes land and unload. Then most of the supplies have sat since planes started arriving more than 36 hours ago. All the while thousands of helpless victims are buried alive and their families try to dig them out from under tons of debris with their hands.

The Obama administration has mobilized for this tragedy at the same pace as they ordered all those new troops to Afghanistan. Obama orders a troop surge and then we discover much of the surge will take 8-12 months. That hardly sounds like an immediate troop surge to attack the bad guys. I'm not questioning that it takes the military so many months to carry out an order. But in a life threatening emergency like the earthquake we have no time for such comprehensive plans, logistical support operations, and all the other things that can be programmed into a war.



In a disaster you get yourself to the site to assess it and then start making decisions on how to save lives. Three days into this disaster and no one is in charge on the ground and no one is coordinating the efforts except a few bureaucrats back in Obama's office. If it weren't for the first responders who flew down to Haiti before any of the Obama gang, three crews and dogs from America and crews from Iceland, France, England, Russia, and China, no one would be searching for survivors yet. The Obama gang is still in Washington planning.

Check out the television reports gang, people are actually dying. We are not staging an invasion of Iran but trying to save lives in Haiti. Field coordinators should have been on the ground the night of the disaster. There are thousands of Americans and humanitarian workers from around the world who were already in Haiti, they have been there for years. Even Doctors Without Borders had over 100 people there. We didn't need press conferences, we didn't even need people the first few hours, we just needed to get supplies to the people already on the ground. They are still waiting.

It was immediately obvious that Haiti was not going to contribute anything to this rescue effort so military should have been taking over police control the next morning. No one has done that yet. It was also obvious roads had to be cleared and heavy equipment was needed immediately, not four or five days later, to find and save the tens of thousands of trapped victims. Three days and the only equipment in Haiti is what the locals grabbed or the Dominicans sent in.



We know Haiti has 2000 pieces of heavy equipment throughout the country. Why didn't we go get it and fly it into the disaster zone with Chinook or Sky Crane helicopters? We know they can carry at least 28,000 pounds, about the size of modest but life saving bulldozers and cranes to lift debris. Surely there have to be a few dozen helicopters sitting around and Haiti is only a few hours away.



Right now, day three, the trapped are dying, the injured are dying, thousands of tons of supplies are piling up at the airport and there are still no roads cleared. Were it not for the deeply religious nature of the Haitians there undoubtedly would have been civil unrest by now. Still we owe them a better chance to survive.

The clean up and recovery may be a cerebral undertaking at Harvard speed but when lives are at stake like the first couple of days of a catastrophic disaster there is no time to meet and plan but only to execute. There are thousands of people from around the world on site and they are making a great sacrifice to be there. It is too bad that Americas first real contingent of soldiers will not arrive until the end of the third day.



We owe a great debt of gratitude to Americans and people around the world for helping out. We also owe it to ourselves to once again dissect our emergency response efforts and try to get it right the next time. No more lives should be lost because of our inability to mobilize instantly and react immediately to the human tragedies like this. America can do much better.



-

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Thousands Die in Haiti's Worst Earthquake in over 200 Years

-



All Americans should join in prayer for the victims of Haiti. The following is an onsite report from the Catholic News Service from Haiti. Over 80% of residents of Haiti are Catholic.

Pope prays for victims of Haiti quake; archbishop's body found

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI prayed for victims of a massive earthquake in Haiti and urged the international community to provide generous assistance to the stricken population of the Caribbean nation.

The victims included Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot of Port-au-Prince.

"The lifeless body of Archbishop Joseph Miot of Port-au-Prince was found this morning under the rubble of the archbishops' residence," L'Osservatore Romano said in a Page 1 story Jan. 13.

Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Vatican's apostolic nuncio in Haiti, told the Vatican missionary news agency Fides: "Port-au-Prince is completely devastated. The cathedral and the archbishop's residence, all the big churches, all the seminaries are reduced to rubble."



Pope Benedict made his appeal at the end of his general audience Jan. 13, some 12 hours after a magnitude 7 earthquake struck Haiti, toppling buildings and causing widespread destruction. The number of casualties was not immediately known, but local officials called it a major catastrophe.

Pope Benedict said he wanted to highlight the dramatic situation in Haiti following the "devastating earthquake, which resulted in serious loss of human life, a great number of homeless and missing, and enormous material damage."

"I appeal to the generosity of everyone, so that our brothers and sisters receive our concrete solidarity and the effective support of the international community in this moment of need and suffering," he said.

He said the Catholic Church's charity organizations would immediately move into action to assist those most in need.

"I invite everyone to join in my prayer to the Lord for the victims of this catastrophe and for those who are mourning their loss. I assure my spiritual closeness to people who have lost their homes and to all those affected in various ways by this calamity, imploring from God consolation and relief of their suffering," he said.



Archbishop Auza said he had toured the capital on the morning after the earthquake and found the country's ministry buildings, schools and supermarkets destroyed. He said the headquarters of the U.N. stabilization force in Port-au-Prince had completely collapsed, reportedly trapping hundreds in the debris.

"I found priests and nuns on the street, who no longer have homes. The rector of the seminary survived, and so did the dean, but the seminarians are under the rubble. Everywhere there are cries coming from under the rubble," he said.



He said a study institute for men and women religious had collapsed, with many students inside as they attended a conference. The nunciature withstood the quake, and there were no injuries there, he said.

"We cannot enter or stay inside for very long because the earth continues to tremble. So we're camped out in the garden," he said.

Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based umbrella organization for Catholic charities, said it was mobilizing to provide immediate assistance to Haiti. On Jan. 13 it had already assembled an emergency relief team to fly to Haiti to assist Caritas members already working in the country. It said there had not yet been contact with the Haitian Caritas office.

Caritas Internationalis humanitarian director Alistair Dutton was leading the emergency relief team, Caritas said in a statement.

"There is a strong Caritas presence in Haiti. We already know that Caritas staff will be providing support to survivors of the earthquake, such as food, shelter and comfort through churches and parish networks," Dutton said.

"A priority for Caritas will be to assess the damage and our local capacity to provide aid to survivors of the quake. Caritas runs more than 200 hospitals and medical centers in Haiti. It is experienced and prepared to respond to humanitarian disasters there as a result of the frequent hurricanes," he said.

"Communication with our staff on the ground is difficult, but we are piecing together a picture of desperate need. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Conflict, recent natural disasters, and poverty have left Haitians with weak infrastructure. Working in that environment will be difficult," he said.



In its statement, Caritas said the cathedral in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince was badly damaged.

Caritas also said the U.S.-based Catholic Relief Services had been in communication with its staff in Haiti. The local CRS office was still standing and CRS staff present at the time of the quake were safe, it said. CRS staff described the quake as "a major hit ... a direct hit."

END