Just a few short takes on what’s happening on planet Earth this week. Got a lot of things going on, as it happens – no excuses. Anyway… here’s what’s bugging the hell out of me.

Haiti. The story is starting to get old, I can see, even though many are still waiting for help, not getting enough food, can’t find a doctor, etc. A large part of the problem is our obsession with security. I’m afraid we’ve been an occupying power for a few too many years; it has had its effect, just as it has on the Israeli Defense Forces. We take a military approach to everything, and we trust no one. The U.N., for the most part, is in the same boat, driving around in secure vehicles even before the earthquake hit. Combine this with the general decay of our emergency management capabilities over the past decade and it’s not hard to understand why even with a significant commitment of resources, people in Haiti have been waiting a long time for a helping hand.

For chrissake – over the past two weeks, I’ve been listening to NPR correspondents blandly reporting how the markets in Port Au Prince are full of food but most people cannot afford to buy it, while relief agencies are struggling to efficiently distribute food and water. And I’m practically screaming at my radio, W.T.F. – THE FOOD IS ALREADY THERE! JUST PAY FOR IT! Take some of the freaking money you’ve pledged to this problem and stuff it in the pockets of these food vendors so that they will GIVE THE NEEDY SOMETHING TO EAT! If anyone out there can tell me why this can’t happen, I’d love to hear about it.  (In any case, please consider supporting Partners in Health – they are not afraid to do what needs to be done, and that’s the kind of help Haiti needs.)

Af-Pakistan. I suppose there’s no point in denying that we are actively engaged in battle in Pakistan, right? Three dead American soldiers tie a firm knot on that one. How many time are we going to kill the “Top Taliban Leader” or “#3 Al Qaeda Leader” by remote control before we realize that these guys are almost always replaced by someone younger and more militant, and that the human cost in terms of civilians killed and wounded in these operations generates many more recruits than can ever be discouraged by martyring militant leaders?  

And another thing. Witness, if you haven’t already, South Carolina Lt. Gov. André Bauer’s comments about poor people, equating them with “stray animals” who should not be fed because “they breed” and “you’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply.” Leonard Pitts Jr. deconstructed this better than I ever could. All I can say is that, if they’re going to replace Mark “Appalachian Trail” Sanford with this tool, old South Carolina will only be trading the blind for the stupid.

That’s all I’ve got.

luv u,

jp