Disaster Relief as an Opportunity for Neocon Nation Building

Posted by Guessedworker on January 14, 2010, 01:01 PM | #

They could build Manhatton on Haiti for all the good it would do.  Civilisation-building is more than building.

I find it difficult to believe that neocons like Coughlan are so filled up with the rubric of racial equality that they don’t know that.  They must know.  Coughlan is, then, surely engaged in demonstrating that they are still in the game, still have something relevant to say.  He is defending the crumbling walls of their citadel.  And why not?  Words are cheap.  And it isn’t as though anyone is really going to do anything beyond the minimum required for professional compassionates in the NGOs and the charities to sleep soundly in their beds.

As for the rest - the money-men, the geopoliticians, the plain politicians who have re-election to think about - no one gives a damn about Haiti.  It has no strategic significance.  It has no resources.  Nothing.  It will always be allowed to be just what its population daily makes it.

Posted by Bill on January 14, 2010, 01:31 PM | #

Have you noticed the first thing the media do on such occasions?  It is to go into a group huddle and decide on a number deaths in order to define the tragedy. 1000, 10,000, 100,00 hell, why not 500,000?

From the tsunami of a few years ago, to Pakistan and Katrina and others, the name of the game is to introduce a moving target of numbers killed.  Each newspaper, TV channel, vies to outdo each other with their league table projection of numbers killed, it almost reaches frenetic proportions.

No-one seems to question the validity of the figures being banded within minutes of the catastrophe occurring, little regard is given to the sources of information.  Most of these tragedies occur in Third World countries which are not overly renowned for their administrative efficiency.

I am always sceptical of such claims of numbers announced by the media, furthermore, when the circus has moved on, do they ever return to the scene to investigate the accuracy of the official number of recorded deaths.

Do they even care?

Posted by Nog Nig on January 14, 2010, 03:42 PM | #

Basically, Haiti is an object lesson in Malthusianism.
Despite the wretched poverty, the population just keeps on growing and growing - way above carrying capacity of that wretched 1/3 of Hispaniola.‘Foreign aid’ has kept the whole farrago afloat for decades now.
Haiti can be compared to a virulent culture of bacteria that is forever throwing off spores.Most of the spores wind-up in Florida USA - but a good few blow over to la belle France.Ironic really, since 200 years ago black Haitains literally butchered to death their French masters.

Posted by Dasein on January 14, 2010, 03:54 PM | #

There was a good documentary film made a few years ago about the wretched conditions in one of the slums in Port-au-Prince, called Ghosts of Cité Soleil.  It’s also on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2M4DFO_Dj4&feature=PlayList&p=909007709ED4850D&index=0&playnext=1

Posted by Dan Dare on January 14, 2010, 04:31 PM | #

I know the concept of regime change has a bad name these days, but surely this is one case where a change in the way the country is run would benefit not just the people of Haiti but of the entire world.

Wasn’t the old, bad regime already traded-in for a spanking new one not that long ago? That was also a Clinton family enterprise as well IIRC.

Posted by Alex on January 14, 2010, 05:27 PM | #

Yep.  One of the first things that occurred to me about this disastrous earthquake was that the Multi-Cult would cynically use this to further its cause, in part almost no doubt in a great new wave of ‘immigrants’ to other lands, either to be exploited as ‘cheap labor’, or perhaps more likely, as a flimsy fig leaf for that type of exploitation, the ‘asylum seeker’.   

Iraq has produced a great number of ‘immigrants’, largely due to the Multi-cult itself.    Two million are now external refugees.

Posted by danielj on January 14, 2010, 06:53 PM | #

Only 2 of the paragraphs can be read without laughing.

Which ones? I couldn’t stop at all.

Basically, Haiti is an object lesson in Malthusianism.
Despite the wretched poverty, the population just keeps on growing and growing - way above carrying capacity of that wretched 1/3 of Hispaniola.’Foreign aid’ has kept the whole farrago afloat for decades now.

I’m not following. How is it a lesson in Malthusianism if they experience no mass die offs as a result of their overpopulation? Malthus only applies to closed systems and that seems to be the intention of your comment if I’m reading you correctly.

Out of every tragedy comes a silver lining,

I’m not sure what to call this; wishful thinking, wistful speculation, non sequitor.

and while our main focus at the moment is on the catastrophic earthquake that has devastated Haiti, the one glimmer of optimism to be gleaned from this disaster is the possibility that Haiti might one day emerge from the rubble as a state reborn.

Like after the Great Fires in London or Chicago? Methinks you smokum too much dopem. As GW has already stated, it takes more than buildings to build a civilization. We can swoop in and build all kinds of fancy skyscrapers and lightrail for the Haitians but it one do one damn bit of good.

Ever since the country’s black slaves overthrew their French overlords in the early nineteenth century the country has lurched from one diabolical dictatorship to another

Hmmmm… If this go would just go take a couple of logic classes he might be able to deduce something important from this. Maybe the first part of the rebuilding effort would be importing a French aristocracy.

functioning state where its resources are used for the benefit of the entire country, and not just a few corrupt politicians.

Well, all I can say is tu quoque you stupid fucking Neocon.

Posted by danielj on January 14, 2010, 06:59 PM | #

Sorry about the grammatical errors there. Figure em out yourselves smarties.

Posted by nog nig on January 15, 2010, 05:27 AM | #

danielj,
      If all foreign aid to Haiti was stopped, and the Haitians had to rely purely on their own eforts to survive, then I’m pretty sure they would die-off.
Secondly, have you ever seen that news report that purports to show that Haitains are so famished and that their society is so unproductive that they are forced to eat little discs of baked clay - of no nutrional value whatsoever, in order to stave-off hunger pangs?
All of Haiti’s once lush forests are gone - chopped up as firewood.
Haitians do in fact die-off due to povert, life expectancy is not much greater than 50.If Haiti didn’t export its hordes then the die-off would be even greater.

Posted by danielj on January 15, 2010, 05:52 AM | #

Secondly, have you ever seen that news report that purports to show that Haitains are so famished and that their society is so unproductive that they are forced to eat little discs of baked clay

I thought that was the Sudanese? Regardless, I knew what you were getting at.

Posted by Lurker on January 15, 2010, 10:55 AM | #

Presumably there was a period in the 1800/1900s where Haiti was self sufficient with a much smaller population than today. Nature is always going to be pushing her back to that.

Posted by Gudmund on January 15, 2010, 12:30 PM | #

That guy’s article is pathetic.  Like most Neocons he’s too stupid to understand how stupid he is.  The best thing one can do with the Neocons is smile, ignore them and hope they fuck off soon.

Posted by Gudmund on January 15, 2010, 12:38 PM | #

One thing I always have to ask regarding these non-Jewish Neocons, what’s in it for them?

My loyalty might be for sale but it’s not given away for free.  These idiots cannot understand that their only value to these people is as cannon-fodder or, in the case of the “intellectuals”, shills.  America really has created a mass of people who will literally be slaves to some cause, any cause and they’ll do it for free and think the abuse is a gift!  Unbelievable.

Posted by martin_uk on January 15, 2010, 09:10 PM | #

It will be a long time before Haiti is back to its former natural state of abject dependency and dilapidated ruin .

Posted by Nobody on January 15, 2010, 11:43 PM | #

Ain’t nobody going to touch Iran (except maybe Israel) including the US.  Plenty of talk though.  Iran know the West is full of shit and they certainly aren’t afraid.  Besides, the PRC and Russia will never let it happen either.  Not that they have to do much to keep the 82nd Airborne or anyone else from NATO from showing up.  Shit, most NATOese don’t even make it to Afghanistan.  Many like to trade with Iran anyway. 
The US owes China too much money.  And China is happpy to lend it.  The boys in Beijing know they’ll never get it back, but that’s fine with them.  They’ll get “paid back” in other ways: favors, back-turning, quietness.  Russia enjoys jamming Europe and America. I can’t blame them.  Those guys from LSU roll our ivy league elite on a regular basis and turn off the gas valve to Europe to to remind those in Krautland to put a sweater on.  The West is rotting and those in the ME, Russia and Asia can smell it.