How to help Haitian earthquake victims January 14th, 2010

The death toll of the earthquake in Haiti is being estimated to be as high as 50,000. The carnage is simply horrific.

ABC News has compiled a list of foundations to which people can contribute funds to help those affected by the catastrophic tragedy in Haiti.

To lend a hand, please check out the following sites:

Jan. 13, 2010 —

After a magnitude 7.0 earthquake rocked Haiti 10 miles from the capital of Port-au-Prince Tuesday, the United States and countries around the world have shifted their focus to helping those in need.

Click here for our full report on the quake and its aftermath.

U.S. State Department

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the earthquake a “catastrophic” event and said the United States “will be providing both civilian and military disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.”

In a blog post on the U.S. State Department Web site, Clinton’s Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills called for those wanting to help to donate $10 by texting “HAITI” to “90999.” The $10 donation will go automatically to the Red Cross “to help with relief efforts” and will be charged directly to your cell phone bill, the Web site said.

For more information, click here to visit the U.S. State Department Web site.

American Red Cross

Hours after the quake struck, the American Red Cross pledged an initial $200,000 to assist those affected by the devastation. The American Red Cross has partnered with the Haitian Red Cross, which is leading the response efforts.

“As with most earthquakes, we expect to see immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support,” said Tracy Reines, director of international disaster response for the American Red Cross, in a report posted on its Web site.

The American Red Cross offers several ways to donate to various funds, including international relief to Haiti.

Click here to visit the American Red Cross Web site to find out more or donate online.

Those who wish to donate by phone can dial (800) Redcross or (800) 257-7575.

Those who wish to donate by mail can do so by contacting their local Red Cross chapter or by mailing a donation to the following address:

American Red Cross
P.O. Box 37243
Washington D.C. 20013

William J. Clinton Foundation

Former president Bill Clinton is the United Nations special envoy to Haiti.

“My UN office and the rest of the UN system are monitoring the situation,” Clinton said in a statement today. “While we don’t yet know the full impact of this 7.0-magnitude earthquake, we do know that the survivors need immediate help.”

Click here to donate to the foundation’s Haiti Relief Fund and other relief efforts they support.

Mercy Corps

While Mercy Corps does not have a staff in Haiti, the organization does have “extensive experience responding to earthquakes,” according to Mercy Corps contributor Randy Martin.

The agency started planning a deployment to Haiti Tuesday evening and quickly set up the Haiti Earthquake Fund.

Click here to find out more or donate online.

Those who wish to donate by phone can call (888) 256-1900.

Or donate by mail by sending a check to the follow address:
Mercy Corps
Dept W
P.O. Box 2669
Portland, OR 97208-2669

UNICEF

Shortly following the quake’s eruption, the U.S. division of UNICEF issued a statement on its blog calling attention to some of the smallest victims of the emergency.

“Children are always the most vulnerable population in any natural disaster, and UNICEF is there for them,” the statement said.

UNICEF invited people to give by mail by printing out a form on its Web site, which you can find by clicking here.

Those interested in donating can also call (800) For Kids or (800) 367-5437.

Click here for more information from the UNICEF Web site or donate online.

Food for the Hungry

Food for the Hungry has staff located near the earthquake and in neighboring Dominican Republic, according to the organization’s Web site.

The site calls on visitors to donate to “help us respond now.”

Click here to learn more and find out how to donate online.

The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is mobilizing resources and personnel to assist with the international relief effort in Haiti, the group said in a statement today.

The group has been working in Haiti since 1950. At present, they operates schools, clinics, a hospital, feeding programs, children’s homes and church-related activities in Port-au-Prince. They are sending more than 44,000 pounds of pre-packaged emergency rations to the country, along with emergency disaster teams.

Click here to visit the Salvation Army Web site to learn more and donate.

Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders had teams on the ground in Haiti when the earthquake struck who “witnessed significant damage to its medical facilities, injuries to patients and staff and an influx of wounded toward these hospitals in the capital,” according to its Web site.

Click here to learn more about the Doctors Without Borders relief effort in Haiti and how you can help.

Partners in Health

Partners in Health is an aid organization that has a team in Haiti and aims to provide “a preferential option for the poor in health care,” according to its Web site.

Partners in Health has sent their medical director and a doctor to Santo Domingo and are working to get into Port-au-Prince.

Click here to learn more about Partners in Health and get information about donating online.

World Food Programme

In a press statement, the World Food Programme (WFP) said it will “bring urgently needed food assistance to thousands of people affected by the devastating earthquake” in Haiti.

WFP already has stocks of food located in Haiti, and intends to first “distribute nutritious high energy biscuits, which require no cooking” to victims.

In addition, there are plans to airlift 95 tons of food from the WFP’s emergency hub in El Salvador. “This will allow us to feed 30,000 people in urgent need for food for up to seven days,” the statement said. WFP emergency staff will also be deployed to the country.

Click here to learn more about WFP in Haiti and get information about donating online.

CARE

CARE has 133 people on the ground in Haiti and is deploying additional staff immediately to distribute food, hygiene kits and water, as well as to deliver emergency health services. The organization is coordinating with other U.N. agencies and aid organizations to assess damage and on-the-ground needs.

Click here for more information and to donate online, or call (800) 422-7385.

AmeriCares

AmeriCares has put together a $3 million relief package in the form of medications, trauma supplies, intravenous solutions, pain medication and other medical supplies.

Click here for more information about AmeriCares.

Samaritan’s Purse

Samaritan’s Purse is sending medication, plastic for emergency shelter, blankets, water filters and water purification solutions to Haiti, along with doctors and disaster specialists.

Click here to learn more and to help.

Operation Blessing International

Operation Blessing International, the seventh largest international charity, has disaster relief teams on the ground and more en route. The organization is assessing the damage and beginning relief efforts.

Contact information:
977 Centerville Turnpike
Virginia Beach, Va. 23463
(757) 226-3401

Click here to learn more and find out how to help.

Action Against Hunger

The mission of Action Against Hunger is to save lives by eliminating hunger through the prevention, detection and treatment of malnutrition, especially during and after emergency situations of conflict, war and natural disaster. Click here to learn more about what Action Against Hunger is doing in Haiti and find out how to help.

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity is addressing shelter solutions for low-income families affected by the earthquake. The group says on their Web site that their ability to respond effectively to this disaster will require support from donors, volunteers, corporate partners and other community organizations.

Click here to learn more and donate to Habitat for Humanity’s effort.

Merlin (Medical Emergency Relief International)

Merlin is sending four people to Haiti, including a doctor specializing in tropical diseases and public health. The group is appealing to trusts, foundations, companies and individuals to help it raise funds for its immediate emergency response.Click here for more information.

Oxfam America

Oxfam America is working to send water and sanitation resources for a push into Haiti in the coming days.

Click here to learn more and find out how to help.

International Medical Corps

The group’s first response team is en route to Haiti via Santa Domingo. Its doctors are trained in crisis medicine.

Click here for more information.

International Rescue Committee

The International Rescue Committee, a global leader in humanitarian assistance, is deploying its Emergency Response Team to Haiti to deliver urgent assistance to earthquake survivors and help overwhelmed local aid groups struggling to meet the immense emergency needs. They will be focusing on critical medical, water and sanitation assistance.

Click here to help.

World Relief Corporation

The organization has 40 staff people on the ground in Haiti. It is sending an assessment team down that will include emergency kits, food and water.

Click here to visit its Web site.

Hope for Haiti

It has eight staffers in country and serves about 500,000 Haitians a year — children and adults — through education, nutrition and medicine. The staff is traveling to Port-au-Prince with two doctors, support staff and 1,000 emergency relief buckets that contain items such as chlorine tablets and fortified food.

Click here to find out how to help Hope for Haiti.

Save the Children

Save the Children has been working in Haiti since 1985, and has offices in earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince.

The charity has begun to assess needs and damage, and has already started to help affected children and families. The agency was already sending out teams by motorbike in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday morning, and is flying in additional staff to help support the emergency response.

For more information, or to donate, click HERE.

Food for the Poor

Food for the Poor has been working in Haiti since 1996, according to its Web site.

The organization said in a statement that it is accepting “cash donations, canned meats, fish, condensed, evaporated and powdered milk and water. The agency is immediately sending 400 containers of rice, beans, water, blankets, lumber and repairing zinc. We cannot accept clothing at this time.”

Click here to donate or to learn more about Food for the Poor.

Catholic Relief Services

Catholic Relief Services made a $5 million commitment for emergency supplies and is preparing to send water purification tablets, plastic sheeting, hygiene kits and mosquito nets to Haiti from the Dominican Republic, according to its Web site.

Click here to find out how to help Catholic Relief Services.

CLICK HERE for information on safely making charitable donations during a crisis.

For more resources on how to help, please visit Whitehouse.gov.

ABC News’ Daniel Arnall contributed to this report.

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Boozing it up at the State of the Alcohol Industry Briefing December 14th, 2009

This post is featured on Plight of the Pumpernickel.

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Last Thursday, I finagled an invite to the first annual State of the Alcohol Industry Briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

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Cantor predicts Republican future at The Economist summit December 8th, 2009

Originally featured on JTA’s Capital J blog.

Predictions for what 2010 will bring were aplenty yesterday at The Economist’s summit in Washington, DC celebrating the release of its World in 2010 edition.  The event featured several influential speakers who gave their two cents on issues of economic, political and cultural significance.

Among them was House Minority Whip Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va), who stressed that one of the most talked about topics of next year will be the “progress or lack thereof on the jobs front.”

Cantor also predicted that Democrats would lose control of the House, largely due to what he called a disconnect between the rhetoric and the actions of the White House.

“People in this country have a real sense of pessimism right now,” explained Cantor.  A “very grumpy electorate,” he feels, will oust Democrats from power.

World in 2010 editor Daniel Franklin questioned Cantor’s forecast of Republican triumph in the House, asking “do you foresee it, or do you want it?”

Franklin also asked the nature of the Republicans’ game plan. 

“What is the idea?  ‘Jobs’ is not an idea.”

Cantor rebuffed the notion that Republicans were all talk, saying that he and his colleagues had brought several ideas to the table.

“[It’s] not that sexy of a story for the media to cover our ideas,” said Cantor.

Cantor also said that if implemented in 2010, cap and trade would cut jobs.  He also expressed concern that the temporary TARP funds allocated this year would prove to be slush fund.

As for future players of the Republican Party in 2010, Cantor broke into a wide smile when fellow panelist and Meet the Press host David Gregory mentioned Sarah Palin.

He was mum on the subject, but was adamant that Republican gubernatorial successes in New Jersey and Virginia were signs of things to come.

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“Eating Animals” author Jonathan Safran Foer takes a stand for ethical eating December 3rd, 2009

Originally posted at JTA’s Capital J blog:

Award-winning author Jonathan Safran Foer took the stage at 6th & I Synagogue in Washington, DC Tuesday night to discuss his latest book and first work of non-fiction, Eating Animals.

The book addresses the ethics of animal agriculture and the mainstream American diet from a personal and often emotional perspective. A vegetarian since childhood, Foer discussed the morality of eating meat prepared by what many consider a warped and environmentally destructive system.

Foer often relies on his Jewish upbringing to articulate how tradition and family enter the equation (his grandmother, who is the subject the book’s first chapter, was even sitting in the audience). Despite the book’s strong narrative elements and the author’s background in fiction, Foer adamantly stressed that “as far as nonfiction goes, this is very nonfictional.”

In classic Jewish fashion, the event was kicked off by Foer‘s unmistakably proud mother, Esther Safran Foer. But it wasn’t just a chance for her to kvell; the elder Foer serves as the executive director of 6th & I, a synagogue that has gained cross-cultural appeal by holding a wide range of events in its sanctuary, including rock concerts, comedy tours and of course, book talks.

“I knew Jonathan before he was a reader and before he was a writer,” she said to two floors of jam-packed pews. “I even knew him when he was a vegetarian for the very first time at 9. And as many of you know, I’m his mother, so I can say these things.”

Foer was then introduced by Andrew Sullivan, former editor of The New Republic, blogger and Foer admirer. Sullivan cited his esteem for Eating Animals, noting that the book had touched upon concerns with which he himself grappled.

“To see what is in front of one’s nose is a constant struggle,” Sullivan admitted before ceding the stage to Foer amid loud applause.

Despite the touchy nature of his chosen subject, Foer laid off the sermonizing. The issue of ethical eating is best broached “not by a lecture, not by a reading and certainly not by an argument.” Rather, Foer spent his hour and change at the podium by taking questions from what seemed to be a veggie-friendly audience.

Though he did not advocate vegetarianism (“We don’t have to become vegetarians . . . [that] implies that we have to do everything or nothing.”), Foer emphatically emphasized the necessity of reforming the meat industry and consumer awareness. Knowing where your meat comes from, said Foer, is essential.

In addition to citing the prevalence of animal cruelty, Foer noted that according to recently released figures by a World Bank affiliated magazine World Watch, animal food production is responsible for about 51% of all Greenhouse Gas emissions.

One question addressed the place of hunting in the ethical eating debate, highlighting the argument that hunters are closer to their food source and therefore present an ethical alternative to buying store bought meat.

Foer dismissed this assertion, saying “I don’t think that’s why people hunt.” He stressed that people who choose to hunt are not hunting to eat – they eat what they hunt, an important distinction.

“These are people who I’m sure have access to supermarkets . . . it thrills them to kill things,” said Foer. “Any other explanation is disingenuous, it’s not true.”

The mood took a more lighthearted turn when Foer was asked his thoughts on where Judaism stands on hunting. To this, he responded, “Jews don’t recoil from hunting for ethical reasons, but more that, like, it’s feh.”

The loud guffaws heard across the sanctuary suggested this was an audience familiar with the Yiddish exclamation.

Whether or not audience members were convinced by Foer’s argument, it seemed as though he had given them food for thought. Regardless of their opinion of Eating Animals, Foer asked them to “act on [their] values, even when it’s not convenient, when it’s more expensive, when it’s socially awkward.”

The event, which was co-sponsored by 6th & I and local DC independent bookstore Politics & Prose, concluded with a book signing and light vegetarian desserts.

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Vigorous Student Protests at UCLA over UC Tuition Hike November 24th, 2009

This post is also featured at the Sum of Change blog.

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News of a steep hike in tuition fees at University of California public schools have students riled up at campuses across the UC system.

The UC’s Board of Regents met at UCLA on Wednesday to approve a plan which will raise next year’s undergraduate fees by an astounding 32%. UC President Mark Yudof told The New York Times that the fee increase was the university’s only choice in light of significant state budget cuts in the last decade. Yudof explained that the university system currently receives half as much, per student, as it did about twenty years ago.

Despite current measures in place which have slashed staff salaries, laid off teaching assistants, eliminated free printing for students and cut library hours, the board insisted that the university will be unable to maintain the same level of academic excellence without raising tuition.

Anger within the student body was most acutely felt at UCLA, where students from across the university system rallied outside the board’s meeting. Protests at times turned nasty, leading to the arrests of several students and accusations of police brutality.

Darlene Tran, a sophomore at UCLA, received bruises to her chest and wrist courtesy of officers responding to protests outside the meeting. Tran said she was chanting with a mass of students blocking the board members’ exit from a university building. She explained that she and others were demonstrating peacefully, but officers used unnecessary force when they pushed through the crowd to clear an exit path.

“From my perspective, I understand why they did it,” admitted Tran. “But I don’t think they needed to have been so aggressive. It was almost brutal, in a way.”

Tran noted that the Board of Regent’s meeting had originally been scheduled to take place on a day earlier on Thursday. She believes that the rescheduling was a deliberate attempt to thwart students’ plans to assemble. Students representing every institution in the UC system planned to bus to rallies at UCLA, but arrived a day late.

“We thought it was very sketchy,” said Tran.

In a last ditch attempt to convince the board to reverse its decision, some students stormed Campbell Hall, a building on UCLA’s campus, and occupied it from 2 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday in protest.

Tran noted that the protests had hit a particularly sensitive chord with students.

“We’re students, we can not handle this fee increase,” said an exasperated Tran. She believes many students will be forced to drop out of school because of the increased fees. “We’re smart and we’re knowledgeable. We know there are other ways, there are other solutions, but we want to be protesting.”

Senior Sharya de Silva said the vigorous demonstration was a unique display of a particularly emotional student body.

“It was more students than I have seen in a long time. When it first started on campus, I would say at least 300 kids [were protesting],” explained Silva. “But then when we walked down Westwood Blvd…another group of students showed up. I think while marching we had around 600 kids.”

She described the scene outside Covel Hall, a building on UCLA’s campus, as “a mad house,” and said she believes about 1000 were protesting there.

Silva echoed sentiments of undue police force against what she described as passionate but nonviolent protest.

“I saw one officer swinging a baton around to try and clear room,” she said. “In the process he hit two guys and almost hit me. This one girl was actually trying to help the cops by calming the crowd down, and they got her. It was sad, she just hit the ground.”

Silva believes the police “didn’t know how to handle the volume of students with that much passion,” and their actions were preemptive measures taken in fear that protests would turn violent.

Despite the widespread discontentment in regard to increased fees and the fervor demonstrated by protesters, some students questioned the effectiveness of such displays.

“Everyone is unified in their opinion about it, well, sucking, but not everyone supports the protests,” said junior Nathan Stein. He said the demonstrations are “causing a lot of disturbance to people living in the dorms and not accomplishing much.”

Both Tran and Silva confessed that they believed the decision made by the Board of Regents will likely stick.

Protests have currently died down, though students continue to stew over the possible implications the increase.

For now though, students must turn their thoughts to another problem: finals. Exams for the fall semester will begin taking place in a matter of days. Little time, said Stein, to worry about tuition.

“I think most students are spending their time studying,” he said.

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