h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/19/2796032.htm

I refrain from stating the bleeding obvious at this point.

*wanders off, muttering something about crying out loud*

Argh!



(Hopefully at least one of those ^^ is a working h2g2 smiley.)

Jeeze, they won't even be able to use the bibles for toilet paper or firelighters Although possibly they'll be able to hack the solar hardware into something useful

One day Roymondo, all those <> WILL be smileys and we'll come back to this post and see it in all its glory

Although to be fair to the church group (in a way that ABC news pointedly wasn't), the bibles are being sent to Christian pastors in Haiti, and there is already aid in the form of food, clothes etc being handled by the partner of the bible group.

http://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com/audio-bibles-minister-hope-haiti

But why not send *more* food and tents and clothing and stuff, instead of this rubbish? I suspect the clergy in Haiti are quite capable of muttering a few prayers as they go about their business, without any technological assistance.

Though come to think of it, these things might be ideal for hammering in tent pegs.

I guess we differ here, because while I abhor proselytising (*esp* in a situation like this), I am supportive of people having access to the spiritual and religious comfort of their choice esp in a situation like this. Christian charities do a lot of good work (no idea about this particular one). I don't know much about Haitian culture, and would be interested to know how much of the population are Christian.

As for why they aren't sending useful things, I agree. Although presumably they already have systems in place to send the audio bibles but organising food and clothing is being done by their other organisation. Bragging about the bibles on their blog seems stupid. I'd love to be able to put that in context.

I think their religion of choice is A1019666 and that's possibly why the Bibles are being sent. There's an underlying "worship the right God and you wouldn't suffer such recurring disasters" theme going on here.

The entire situation with Haiti is a bleeping pitiful attempt by the rest of the world. Apparently its easier to launch a major military offensive thousands of miles away involving tens of thousands of troops, when there are some funny forign folk to kill...
but when it comes to helping save the lives of those involved in a natural disaster, it takes days and days before any of the groups and organisations who're ment to help in such a crisis to decide that they might actually do something.
I guess we're all ment to say how great it is WHO and the UN send help, and mutter how fantastic they are in such a crisis but all I can see is utter incompetance and a total inability to be able to act in the way required...
It was pretty disgusting to hear on the news how some of the aid organisations, that already have units and infastructure set up in Haiti didn't even bother to check out the area before setting up warehouses and institutions that weren't even earthquake proof...
Its pretty pitiful really to see just how slow the response has been for no real obvious reason, I mean as a world we've got the infastructure and ability to deal with such a crisis at a moments notice, but either no desire to do so, or just an utter failure of anyone in any power taking descisions to act and actually organising it...
Quite how bibles are going to help people still trapped under rubble is a bit bewildering, they need medacine, fuel, search and rescue teams, accomidation and medical teams and food, not solar powered bluddy bibles.

I hadn't realised the aid response had been slow. I've been avoiding the media coverage completely so far because Haiti is one of those places that's been forced into the most abject of poverty by the first world that it's almost unbearable to think about. I can't bring myself to watch how the first world now responds to a natural disaster when they created an unnatural one in the first place

Its been pitfully slow.
Was listening to a news item on BBC radio a couple days back.
The newscaster, in Haiti, was there, and saying how they knew that in this one building that had collapsed they knew some people were still alive in the rubble. But they'd had to stop digging them out when it got to night, just due to a lack of any lighting or any fuel/generators to run lighting off... Pitiful, we can get a BBC newsreporter out there, but can't take a couple of items from B&Q DIY store out there... All that kind of stuff oughta have been out there in less than twelve hours, I can't really think of any reason why not... No need to 'assess' the situation for days, theere is always certain equipment and supplies that any* disaster needs, power generators, lights medical supplies, emergency accomidation and food/water for example are pretty much needed in every disaster wahtever the individual particulars of that given disaster may be... I'm sure if the world military wasn't all taken up fighting illegal wars, they'd have been able to get a lot faster response.
Mind, at least from the UK perspective we're being quite fair in not responding properly to disasters, our response to the flooding here in the UK a while back was worringly slow and pitiful too... A bluddy scout leader could have organised that better than apparently the UK government and military did

I suppose everyone's worrying too much about who will pay for it, rather than what they can do for people...

See also Dmitri's article in

A61913685

bob, forgive them, for they know not what they do

Don't know what to say, other than what Mala said: read Dmitri's article.

I'm still cross about this. So cross, I can't engage in any sort of rational discussion. There's nothing I can say about christianity that won't cause annoyance to a large number of people and genuine distress to some. So it will be much simpler if I remain silent on that front.

My aversion to this particular religion is not helped by this example of exploitative proselytising.

I know not all believers are this crass.

I also know the aid effort is being hampered not by the lack of will but by the lack of facilities and difficulties of access. There's another reason to send in essential supplies instead of electronic fairytale machines.

I imagine politics is a big part of the problem too

Ivan, this is your journal. Rant away I just got irked by the ABC coverage, but that's a completely separate rant that I should take elsewhere

But I don't wish to rant. Let's just take it as read that I've had a rant. It's better for my blood pressure that way.

As for the politics - well, the US does have a habit of intervening in Haiti, and did so several times in the last century. Now they're back again, to help this time, but there are uncomfortable echoes...

As for the ABC - I find it an antidote to the Murdoch press, and mercifully less tabloid and superficial than the BBC. But there are so many ways it could improve.

I have bogger all cash && have tried to donate every day & night since it happened; the phone lines are constantly engaged & website won't accept my credit card 'cos Ireland doesn't do postcodes.

As to solar powered Bibles; i will ask P, who is solar expert, sounds like a scam to me.

The general response, aid wise, seems to have been pitifully slow; by now, the chances of getting anyone out alive from the rubble are virtually zero; but the infrastructure will take a hell of a long time to rebuild.

These things make newss; but it's after the spectacular videos etc stop, general public become bored....er; anyone know how the tsunami victims are doing these days???

zdt

Hi Terri.

The tsunami victims, as far as I can tell, are currently all hiding from ravening packs of Australian journalists who want to shove cameras right at them so they can get material for their 'Tsunami: Five Years On' pieces. There's been a rash of this sort of stuff over the last month. (Is it five years, or have I lost the ability to count?)

Donations. Have you considered the Irish Red Cross? I assume they have a website, and I assume such a website would cope with postcode-free addresses. These days I'm inclined just to donate to the Red Cross from time to time, and not necessarily for specified disasters. (The tsunami and last year's bushfires were exceptions.)

Back to Haiti. I wonder if it's possible to start a cooking-fire by rubbing two of these hi-tech bibles together. That at least would be useful.