Happy Atheist Forum

The president of Haiti recently said that the death toll due to this 7.0 magnitude earthquake may rise into the hundreds of thousands.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/13/haiti.earthquake/index.html

As many of you know, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, and has been struggling with poverty long before now.

I was going to post a link to what Pat Robertson had to say on the issue, but now that I think about it, I suppose that would be a bad idea.

A few aid organizations: http://www.globalgiving.org/haiti-earthquake/

The aid effort on the social networks is just insane. I've never seen anything like it. It's really, really inspiring.

What's not inspiring, however, are the responses coming from Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh. Robertson said Haiti was hit with the earthquake (and has suffered other hardships) because they made a "pact to the devil" and Limbaugh went on his usual tirade about... well, I don't know. I don't actually hear words when either of them speak. I just kind of hear that sound that adults make in the Peanuts cartoons. Oh, and apparently O'Reilly, Hannity and Coulter(geist) completely agree. Surprise, huh?

Here's Pat's statement:

[youtube:2rd7snwd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5TE99sAbwM[/youtube:2rd7snwd]

And here's Keith Olbermann's response to Pat and Rush:

[youtube:2rd7snwd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPoWOw8Jm5w[/youtube:2rd7snwd]

Anger is an emotion i don't often feel but after watching that clip, my blood is fucking boiling... Why the hell does Pat Robertson even get any airtime?

 

If anyone is interested, the Center for Inquiry has a program that accepts donations for the secular group Doctors Without Borders.  One hundred percent of the procedes (none is kept for operating costs) will be used to help those in Haiti.

https://secure.ga1.org/05/share_earthquake_in_haiti

Admin edit:  if you are not sure if the above link is legit here is the link to it from the CFI site:  http://www.centerforinquiry.net/news/sh ... ke_relief/ (http://www.centerforinquiry.net/news/share_opens_fund_for_haiti_quake_relief/)  It was pointed out to me by @_7654_ on twitter that the url looks fish and that the above domain is registered to "getactive software" so I went directly to the CFI site to make sure everything was okay and it is their project.

Quote from: "jrosebud"If anyone is interested, the Center for Inquiry has a program that accepts donations for the secular group Doctors Without Borders.  One hundred percent of the procedes (none is kept for operating costs) will be used to help those in Haiti.

https://secure.ga1.org/05/share_earthquake_in_haiti

Good find. I was going to donate through AHA. They have a 5% admin overhead for the Haiti fund and they don't yet seem to know what their going to do with it. Above link looks like a better option. Link (http://www.humanistcharities.org/) anyway. Or there's the Red Cross (http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/haiti-update-140110).

Quote from: "curiosityandthecat"Robertson said Haiti was hit with the earthquake (and has suffered other hardships) because they made a "pact to the devil" and Limbaugh went on his usual tirade about... well, I don't know. I don't actually hear words when either of them speak. I just kind of hear that sound that adults make in the Peanuts cartoons. Oh, and apparently O'Reilly, Hannity and Coulter(geist) completely agree. Surprise, huh?

I REALLY try not to think of america as a place full with crazies... but you're just not making it easy for me

Quote from: "MariaEvri"

Quote from: "curiosityandthecat"Robertson said Haiti was hit with the earthquake (and has suffered other hardships) because they made a "pact to the devil" and Limbaugh went on his usual tirade about... well, I don't know. I don't actually hear words when either of them speak. I just kind of hear that sound that adults make in the Peanuts cartoons. Oh, and apparently O'Reilly, Hannity and Coulter(geist) completely agree. Surprise, huh?

I REALLY try not to think of america as a place full with crazies... but you're just not making it easy for me :crazy:  

(edit to combine posts)

The more I think about this (the Pat Robertson thing, not the earthquake thing), the more I kind of like it. Anything that pushes people away from institutionalized Christianity is, in my opinion, a good thing.

Keep it up, Pat. Your crazy just might save a few.

I went with the CFI donation. Thanks jrosebud!

Oh and don't donate through this charity (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2010/0114102wyclef1.html).

Came here to post the Pat Robertson clip.  I've never been a fan of him for obvious reasons, but now he just got added to my "Do Not save in event of Zombie Apocalypse" list, right below Ted Haggard.

In case you missed it, there's a group sending Solar Powered Bibles (ya know, instead of food, water or money):
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010 ... 796032.htm (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/19/2796032.htm)

They are apparently audio bibles, solar powered, with speakers so that large groups can hear.

FTA: "The Proclaimer is self-powered and can play the Bible in the jungle, desert or ... even on the moon!"

Here's their web site if you're so inclined:
http://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com/audi ... hope-haiti (http://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com/audio-bibles-minister-hope-haiti)

Going to the moon to listen to god's word,
JoeActor

I saw the solar powered bibles on Reddit along with a link to an article which linked to this:

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/atheists_love_you._they_just_dont_know_why/


I haven't been this angry at Christians ever.  They are spitting on the secular relief efforts because they are secular and talk shit about the groups that run the charities.  After thoroughly pissing on everyone for giving money to the Haitians they end the article with

QuoteBut we’re glad for the help anyway. Thanks.

I can't type straight right now i'm so angry.  What kind of scumbags do this shit .... well obviously the Catholics ...

Quote from: "LoneMateria"I saw the solar powered bibles on Reddit along with a link to an article which linked to this:

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/atheists_love_you._they_just_dont_know_why/


I haven't been this angry at Christians ever.  They are spitting on the secular relief efforts because they are secular and talk shit about the groups that run the charities.  After thoroughly pissing on everyone for giving money to the Haitians they end the article with

QuoteBut we’re glad for the help anyway. Thanks.

I can't type straight right now i'm so angry.  What kind of scumbags do this shit .... well obviously the Catholics ...

I agree that the tone of the article is very inappropriate in the wake of this disaster.
 
I'm sorry that you're so angry, and we're here for ya.

Quote from: "LoneMateria"I saw the solar powered bibles on Reddit along with a link to an article which linked to this:

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/atheists_love_you._they_just_dont_know_why/


I haven't been this angry at Christians ever.  They are spitting on the secular relief efforts because they are secular and talk shit about the groups that run the charities.  After thoroughly pissing on everyone for giving money to the Haitians they end the article with

QuoteBut we’re glad for the help anyway. Thanks.

I can't type straight right now i'm so angry.  What kind of scumbags do this shit .... well obviously the Catholics ...

What a difficult article to read.  I think the most annoying part of the article for me was the second to the last paragraph -

QuoteI almost hate to inform Mr. Dawkins that his little plot is actually helpful to believers as we believe that no matter what you espouse verbally each man has written on his soul the ability to tell right from wrong. And while Dawkins denies it, his actions indicate otherwise. There is a moral sense which you can ignore but your choosing to ignore or embrace it has no effect on its existence, much like God Himself.

The author of this article is very snarky and ironically prideful of his religiousness, and I think it's these qualities that cloud the author's logic throughout the article.  I don't know specifically if Dawkins has ever wholly rejected the idea of inherent morality, to my knowledge he's only rejected the idea that morality is somehow connected to and dependent on the divine.  Also, the terms the author uses are vague - moral sense?  Is this something different than morality?

I feel like this is another catch 22 situation for atheists.  We are told we have cold hearts, we don't do anything for others, etc. when in fact a lot of us have been involved with outreach programs, community programs, charity and other socially conscious activities for years, we just don't make it a point to make sure people know we're atheists as well as caring individuals.  With the recent influx of atheist groups and organization (in the US at least) people are starting to get together with their atheist groups and reach out but when we do that we're 'just trying to look better'.  Damned if you do, damned if you don't so you just gotta do what you think is right and ignore people like this author - they're speaking out of fear and insecurity, not reason.

It looks like the American Humanist Association came through. I was reluctant to donate through them early on because they didn't know at that time what they were going to do with donations. They delivered supplies to Jacmel and were apparently the first aid to arrive in that city. I think they're still accepting donations, still with a 5% admin overhead though.

http://www.humanistcharities.org/haiti_quake.php

Quote from: "AlP"still with a 5% admin overhead though.

That bothers me....why would it take 5% to basically move money to those who are actually going to use it to do some good?  Of course, maybe they are just more upfront with what they keep for themselves (for offsetting costs and whatever admin overhead is) while other orgs hide it.

Quote from: "Whitney"

Quote from: "AlP"still with a 5% admin overhead though.

That bothers me....why would it take 5% to basically move money to those who are actually going to use it to do some good?  Of course, maybe they are just more upfront with what they keep for themselves (for offsetting costs and whatever admin overhead is) while other orgs hide it.

Yeah it bothers me too. That was the second most important reason I didn't go through them. It doesn't seem to be unusual for charities either, which bothers me more generally. Looking at the numbers, they say the initial donations came to $23,450 so the overhead will be $1,172.50.

There was another major Earthquake in Haiti.  This time it was a 6.1

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/americas/Strong-Earthquake-Shakes-Haiti-Again-82148427.html

 

Quote from: "pinkocommie"There was another major Earthquake in Haiti.  This time it was a 6.1

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/americas/Strong-Earthquake-Shakes-Haiti-Again-82148427.html

 

I bet we will get blamed for it by sending over atheist charities.  I think its funny though for all the missionaries that have been sent over there and the pedophile gold that Vatican sent and now boom ... another earthquake.  If these people really believe that their god sends earthquakes and other natural disasters to punish the wicked then with the influx of all these religions ... I'm just saying the type of proof they need to condemn others will be ignored because it involves them.

Does anyone know what damage this 2nd earthquake caused?

Quote from: "LoneMateria"

Quote from: "pinkocommie"There was another major Earthquake in Haiti.  This time it was a 6.1

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/americas/Strong-Earthquake-Shakes-Haiti-Again-82148427.html

 

I bet we will get blamed for it by sending over atheist charities.  I think its funny though for all the missionaries that have been sent over there and the pedophile gold that Vatican sent and now boom ... another earthquake.  If these people really believe that their god sends earthquakes and other natural disasters to punish the wicked then with the influx of all these religions ... I'm just saying the type of proof they need to condemn others will be ignored because it involves them.

Does anyone know what damage this 2nd earthquake caused?

I suppose it's actually still considered an aftershock, but 6.1 is a pretty big aftershock.  Anyway, I'm watching out for more info but I'm not finding much.  Sadly I don't think there's much left to destroy.  Or maybe I'm just hoping not very many more people are dead.

Quote from: "pinkocommie"I suppose it's actually still considered an aftershock, but 6.1 is a pretty big aftershock.  Anyway, I'm watching out for more info but I'm not finding much.  Sadly I don't think there's much left to destroy.  Or maybe I'm just hoping not very many more people are dead.

Feels weird calling something that size an aftershock, doesn't it?   Scary, adding insult to injury like that.

This article (http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thehumancondition/archive/2010/01/20/the-cause-of-haiti-s-latest-earthquake-is-the-worst-yet-to-come-a-look-at-the-seismic-science-in-the-caribbean.aspx) sheds an interesting light on the subject.  

QuoteHaiti and its neighbors sit above two tectonic plates (the North American and the Caribbean) that slide awkwardly past one another in an east-west direction at about an inch a year.
...
Eventually, say seismologists, the tension in both places will be released by seismic events equal to or greater than that of Tuesday's quake.

At what point to people give up on an area as uninhabitable and unsafe and look for a new home?  I had the same thought when Katrina devastated New Orleans.

Quote from: "curiosityandthecat"

Quote from: "pinkocommie"I suppose it's actually still considered an aftershock, but 6.1 is a pretty big aftershock.  Anyway, I'm watching out for more info but I'm not finding much.  Sadly I don't think there's much left to destroy.  Or maybe I'm just hoping not very many more people are dead.

Feels weird calling something that size an aftershock, doesn't it?   Scary, adding insult to injury like that.

I've heard cases of earthquakes where the aftershock is bigger then the first tremor.  I was watching CNN at the health clinic today (heather hurt her back) and they talked about the newest one and said the people at the hospitals all dropped to their knees and prayed to Jesus to save them and after they finished it stopped.  You know the implications there but the bitch missed the real story and the real reason why there were so many fatalities in the original earthquake.  Instead of looking for somewhere safe to get to they did the worst thing possible and stayed right where they were ... because Jesus would save them.  If it wasn't so tragic it would be laughable :-(

Quote from: "MommaSquid"At what point to people give up on an area as uninhabitable and unsafe and look for a new home?  I had the same thought when Katrina devastated New Orleans.

Earthquakes are far, far less predictable than hurricanes though.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/27/AR2010012701626.html

After reading the above link (or as much of it as I could stomach) I think we need to build some fucking schools in Haiti.  You know teach these superstitious nuts that there are no werewolves and they can stop murdering each other because of it ...

Quote from: "LoneMateria"After reading the above link (or as much of it as I could stomach) I think we need to build some fucking schools in Haiti. You know teach these superstitious nuts that there are no werewolves and they can stop murdering each other because of it ...

They aren't all superstitious. I've been following Doctors Without Borders, partly because I'm concerned about Haiti and partly because I gave them rather a lot of money. Below is the report of an interview with a Haitian surgeon working for Doctors Without Borders (the point being that he does not seem to be a superstitious nut).

QuotePORT-AU-PRINCE â€" Haitian surgeon Dr. Philippe Brouard has worked with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) at Trinité hospital in Port-au-Prince since 2006. On January 13, the morning after the earthquake, he came to work at the trauma surgery centre only to find that most of Trinité had collapsed. Two of his colleagues and several patients had been killed. MSF had immediately evacuated surviving patients from the hospital and was treating them outside, while wounded people from the surrounding areas flooded toward what was left of the hospital. Dr. Brouard performed triage on that first day, identifying patients who needed urgent medical attention. By the second day, he was doing amputations in an improvised operating theater because the ones inside the decimated structure could no longer be used.

Link (http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=4227&cat=field-news&ref=news-index)

I never understood why one of the titles was "Hates Pat Robertson", now I do.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/commen ... 007065.ece (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article7007065.ece)

This article from the Times is an interesting perspective regarding Pat Robertson's stupidity. He is essentially the only Christian not being hypocritical in this instance (according to the article) because he's sticking belligerently and firmly to Christian principles. Three cheers for taking the Bible literally eh? I am disgusted.

It just shows, that if you do stick rigidly to Christian principles, you will more likely than not, end up as a terrible person. However, if you ignore most of them, and fill in the gaps with stuff you made up, you can turn out just fine.

I can't beleive a catholic is accusing US of having such an agenda. The primary concern of catholic missionaries has always been the spread of their religion(And hence the church will inevitably profit from tithes and fees for religious services.). I'm sure they do some good as well but I really doubt they would significantly help a population who outright rejected conversion to their faith. Catholocism is a business.

A while ago I heard similar complaints within my community when "Christian Children fund" changed its name to "Child fund." I work with the elderly, many of whom are well off and I know of at least 3 of them who immediatly stopped contributing to the fund when the name was changed. Why should they care about what the organization is called so long as it helps the needy? It's not like its called "Atheist fund" or anything.

This is another psychotically Christian article I found regarding Haiti, though this one takes a more extreme stance.
http://www.godhatestheworld.com/haiti/godswrath.html (http://www.godhatestheworld.com/haiti/godswrath.html)

QuoteVenezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez has reportedly said the Haiti earthquake was caused by a U.S. tectonic weapons test, also being dubbed The Earthquake Weapon.


Hugo Chavez told Spanish newspaper ABC that  a "tectonic weapon"  launched by the U.S. Navy was capable of triggering a powerful earthquake off the coast of Haiti. Chavez told the newspaper that this time it was only a test and the ultimate target is Iran

Conspiracy theorists have long held that the U.S. and Russia both have "tectonic" capable weapons.

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/hugo-cha ... 60844.html (http://www.nowpublic.com/world/hugo-chavez-haiti-earthquake-caused-u-s-tectonic-weapon-test-2560844.html)
just to add to the crazy people list.
http://reason.com/blog/2010/01/20/chavi ... -us-milita (http://reason.com/blog/2010/01/20/chavista-experts-say-us-milita)

QuoteBoth a Venezuelan state-owned radio and television properties zeroed in on a secret U.S. "weapon of earthquakes" as the cause of the earthquake that struck Haiti last week causing a death toll could exceed 200,000 according to some sources.

yeah the top secret weapon that everyone knows about....