magnitude 6.0 aftershock hits haiti

A strong aftershock hit Haiti on Wednesday morning, shaking buildings and sending people running into the streets.  The preliminary 6.0 magnitude quake hit at 6:03 a.m., about 35 miles northwest of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake struck at a depth of 13.7 miles. The temblor sent scores of people fleeing into the streets, AP reporters in the Haitian capital said.

The aftershock came as the U.S. military announced that is sending additional ships to help with earthquake recovery in Haiti, including one that could remove debris blocking the main port, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday.

Magnitude 6.0 aftershock hits Haiti – Haiti earthquake- msnbc.com.

social web's true impact on china, haiti

We’ve seen some major world events unfold on the social media stage in the past week, the biggest being Google’s threat to pull out of China and the Haiti earthquake.

Google’s actions have brought attention back to the long-standing Internet censorship that blankets China, while the destruction in Haiti has mobilized hundreds of thousands to open their wallets and their hearts.

Just like the Iran election crisis, those events are causing people to reassess the impact of social media on the world. It’s clear that social media has the power to impact world politics and the lives of billions, but some have overstated what social media can actually do. We need to understand what social media really is in order to use it effectively for social good.

iReport: Looking for loved ones in Haiti

Let me explain by highlighting a few examples of social media’s impact on the world stage, and then concluding with how I view social media’s impact in the larger context of mobilization and world discussion.

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Social Web’s true impact on China, Haiti – CNN.com.

blackberry users get fake fundraising spam

Some Blackberry users are getting well-meaning, but untrue, instant messages suggesting 35 cents will be donated to help Haiti when they forward the message to others.

“Because of what has transpired in Haiti recently, Blackberry (sic) has decided to help out and give 35 cents for the cause when you pass this message along to your friends on BBM,” says the message.

“BBM” stands for “BlackBerry Messenger,” an instant messaging program available to users of the smartphone for messaging other BlackBerry users. BlackBerry Messenger is free to use, and messages do not cost money to send. But the information is misleading, said a spokesperson for RIM who asked not to be named.

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BlackBerry users get fake fundraising spam  – Wireless- msnbc.com.

Of Rush Limbaugh, who lamented on his radio program Wednesday that President Obama would benefit politically from the Haiti earthquake, Jon Stewart remarked: “You know, I think I know the cause of your heart trouble: you don’t have one.”

Then it was Pat Robertson, who said Wednesday that Haiti had been “cursed” with the earthquake because long ago the country “swore a pact to the devil.” Stewart responded: “Shut your pie-hole, old man.”

Finally Stewart turned to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. On her program Wednesday night Maddow commented that bolstering USAID (the government agency tasked with providing U.S. economic and humanitarian assistance) is a major part of the Obama administration’s agenda, in

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The Daily Show Takes Apart The Haiti Earthquake Reactions Of Limbaugh, Robertson, And Maddow VIDEO | TPM LiveWire.

Tragedies like the earthquake unite most of us—except the Wingnut fringe, who can’t understand the suffering of those outside their tribe. That’s why Limbaugh and Robertson put such a nasty spin on the devastation, says John Avlon.

With the horror in Haiti’s true dimensions dawning on Americans, leave it to the Wingnuts to find the ugliest possible spin on the devastation.

The Rev. Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh rushed to the ramparts immediately. It’s a reflexive reaction—after all, they’ve found ways to blame Katrina on abortion and the 9/11 attacks on the American Civil Liberties Union. In the wingnut world, fundamentalism beats compassion, and politics trumps principle every time.

As the sun was coming up on the destruction Wednesday morning, Pat Robertson used his televised pulpit on The 700 Club to warm up a fire-and-brimstone chestnut—Haiti deserved it because the country made a deal with the Devil, and the politically correct crowd wants to keep this truth from coming out.

Don’t bother trying to donate to relief efforts. “We’ve already donated to Haiti. It’s called the U.S. income tax,” Rush bloviated.

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Rush and Robertson: Shameless Haiti Wingnuts – Page 1 – The Daily Beast.

pat robertson

Televangelist Pat Robertson said Wednesday that earthquake-ravaged Haiti has been “cursed” by a “pact to the devil.”

“Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it,” he said on Christian Broadcasting Network’s “The 700 Club.” “They were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III, or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, we will serve you if you’ll get us free from the French. True story. And so, the devil said, okay it’s a deal.”

Robertson said that “ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other” and he contrasted Haiti with its neighbor, the Dominican Republic.

“That island of Hispaniola is one island. It is cut down the middle; on the one side is Haiti on the other is the Dominican Republic,” he said. “Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etc. Haiti is in desperate poverty. Same island. They need to have and we need to pray for them a great turning to god and out of this tragedy I’m optimistic something good may come. But right now we are helping the suffering people and the suffering is unimaginable.”

Pat Robertson: Haiti ‘Cursed’ By ‘Pact To The Devil’ (VIDEO).

Haiti in crisis

A major earthquake rocked Haiti Tuesday, causing thousands of homes, the presidential palace, and a hospital to collapse. Up to three million people are affected and thousands feared dead in what the country’s U.S. ambassador is calling “a major disaster.” The quake, centered about 10 miles west of the capital city, Port-au-Prince, had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was followed by at least eight powerful aftershocks–the strongest earthquake to hit the island, experts say, since 1770. The headquarters of the U.N. mission to the island is among the collapsed buildings, and the mission’s chief, Alain Le Roy, is among the missing.

Major Quake Hits Haiti – The Daily Beast.