HAITI: Gay Rights Office Attacked

Via the Associated Press:

Amnesty International says the office of a gay rights group in Haiti has been ransacked and two of its members beaten. It said Wednesday that three men carrying handguns and machetes raided the office of the Haitian rights organization Kouraj last week. Amnesty says the intruders said the center shouldn’t be allowed to operate and aimed anti-gay remarks at the two activists who were tied and beaten. The attackers also stole equipment, which included two laptops and files that contained sensitive information about the group’s members.

RELATED: In July, Christian groups staged an anti-gay protest in which they threatened to burn down the national parliament building if same-sex marriage were to be approved. Two men accused of being gay were murdered at the protest.

HAITI: Protesters Threaten To Burn Down Parliament If Gay Marriage Is Legalized, Two Men Reportedly Murdered At Protest

Caribbean 360 reports:

Organisers say they are pleased with the turnout on Friday as more than 1,000 people took to the streets here to protest homosexuality and a proposal to legalize gay marriage in Haiti. The protesters carried anti-gay placards and chanted songs in which they threatened to burn down parliament if its members make same-sex marriage legal. A Haitian gay rights group has said it plans to submit a proposal allowing homosexuals to wed, but a coalition of religious groups said it opposed recent laws in other countries supporting gay marriage.

According to the above-linked article, the protest was organized by several religious groups, including one called the Haitian Coalition of Religious and Moral Organizations. According to another source, two men presumed to be gay were murdered at the protest.

According to sources in Haiti, within the protest against marriage between persons of the same sex, individuals armed with knives (sticks, blocks and other objects) attacked several people, that they accuse him of being homosexual. On Jean Jacques Dessalines Boulevard, at the Iron Market, at about 1:00 PM in the afternoon, 2 people were beaten to death. At 4:00 PM when the information was received on the news desk of The Sentinel, it was said that their bodies were still lying on the ground.

(Tipped by JMG readers Martin and Pierre)

Gay People: Haiti's Scapecoats

This partially animated clip tells how Haitian gays were scapegoated as the cause of the devastating earthquake which occurred two years ago today.

Wyclef Jean Mulls Bid For Haiti President

Former Fugees lead singer and activist Wyclef Jean is mulling a run for president of Haiti.

The Grammy-winning musician's brother, Sam Jean, just told me that Wyclef has already put together the necessary paperwork he will need to file by August 7 if he decides to launch a campaign. "It's an opportunity that he's exploring and exploring seriously," said Sam, who is a spokesman for Wyclef's Yele Haiti Foundation. "But it's not really coming from him, to be honest. Most of the population in Haiti is under the age of 26, I believe, so the youth have really clamored to him. They're the ones who are really excited and have said to him, 'Hey, why don't you run for president?'" Asked if he thought his brother will run, Sam said, "There's a very good chance."

Jean's disaster relief foundation has been accused of financial mismanagement. But he probably couldn't do worse than Haiti's last few presidents.

RELATED: Popular salsa musician and actor Ruben Blades ran for president of Panama in 1994, but only scored 18% of the vote.

The Teabagger Cruise

Wingnut site World Net Daily will be taking the teabaggers to sea.

CALLING ALL PATRIOTS!

Join your faithful like-minded partners at The WND Tea Party at Sea this September 19th - 26th as we sharpen and edify one another during 7 incredible days in the Eastern Caribbean. Joining your host Joseph and Elizabeth of WorldNetDaily, will be Alan Keyes, best selling author of Obama Nation, America for Sale, and The Late Great USA, Dr. Jerome Corsi, as well as David Kupelian, author of The Marketing of Evil and his latest, How Evil Works, and also the author of Schmoozing With Terrorists and The Late Great State of Israel, Aaron Klein. More announcements to come soon!

The itinerary notes that one port of call is "Labadee, Hispaniola." That's Haiti to the rest of the world.

Dubya Wipes Hand On Clinton's Shirt After Shaking Haitian's Hand

The wingnuts on Breitbart think it's hilarious.

57 YouTubers - We Are The World

And it's at least 57 times better than the celebrity version.

(Via - Towleroad)

We Are The World 25 For Haiti

National Enquirer Claims Anderson Cooper To Adopt Haitian Baby

The National Enquirer is claiming that Anderson Cooper and his boyfriend are going to adopt a Haitian baby.

Hard-charging CNN anchorman Anderson Cooper was so moved by the suffering from the earthquake in Haiti, he's decided to adopt a Haitian orphan, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively. The silver-haired journalist and his hunky boyfriend, Ben Maisani, plan to raise the child together in their recently purchased home, a former firehouse they're renovating in New York's West Village, pals say. "The death and destruction in Haiti made Anderson realize what's really important. He and Ben have decided to become dads," a longtime friend told The ENQUIRER. "Ben has been the best thing that's ever happened to Anderson. They both feel they're ready for a baby."

This story is probably crap, but we've learned not to dismiss the Enquirer quite so quickly after their recent string of scoops, most notably the John Edwards story. What are Haiti's rules are for gay adoption anyway?

UPDATE: Andy Towle says Cooper is telling him that the story is false.

Music Stars Record For Haiti Relief

Taking advantage of those in town for the Grammys, yesterday producer Quincy Jones gathered a galaxy of pop stars for a re-recording of 1984's We Are The World. Among the 70 artists lending their voices: Beyonce, Natalie Cole, Barbra Streisand, Usher, Celine Dion, Taylor Swift, Gladys Knight, Rihanna, Harry Connick, Kayne West, Toni Braxton, LL Cool J and Wyclef Jean.

Meaning in the UK, American Idol host Simon Cowell gathered a similar group of stars for a recording of a cover of REM's Everybody Hurts. Taking part: Susan Boyle, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, Rod Stewart, Mariah Carey, and many others. Below is the advance audio. Both tracks will be released in the next week.

Rep. Alan Grayson To Christian Right: What About YOUR Pact With Satan?

On the floor of Congress yesterday, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) called out the Christian right for the comments about Haiti and asked Pat Robertson, "What about your own pact with the devil? How's that worked out for you?" Classic Grayson!

Photo Of The Day - Haiti Rescue

Seven year-old Kiki Joachin was rescued by NYC cops and firefighters in Haiti after spending eight days buried in the rubble. (I'd like to thank the 100+ JMG readers who sent this in to us. Now stop.)

Hope Less

Virtually every broadcast and cable network showed the Hope For Haiti Now telethon last night. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Fox News was the lone holdout.

On January 22, a wide variety of broadcast, cable, radio, and internet outlets, including CNN and MSNBC, preempted their regularly scheduled prime-time programming and aired Hope for Haiti Now, a benefit concert and telethon to raise funds for Haiti earthquake relief. But even after receiving criticism for giving little coverage to the devastating earthquake in Haiti on its top-rated programs, Fox News did not preempt its programming and air the benefit concert, instead broadcasting regular editions of The O'Reilly Factor and Hannity.

According to the above-linked Media Matters story, the top three programs on Fox News have each devoted as little as five minutes of coverage per night to the earthquake story.

Haiti Telethon Highlights

Beware The Earthquake Machine

According to Venezuela president Hugo Chavez, it was the U.S. that totally wiped out Port Au Prince with its secret earthquake machine.

Citing an alleged report from Russia's Northern Fleet, the Venezuelan strongman's state mouthpiece ViVe TV shot out a press release saying the 7.0 magnitude Haiti quake was caused by a U.S. test of an experimental shockwave system that can also create "weather anomalies to cause floods, droughts and hurricanes." The station's Web site added that the U.S. government's HAARP program, an atmospheric research facility in Alaska (and frequent subject of conspiracy theories), was also to blame for a Jan. 9 quake in Eureka, Calif., and may have been behind the 7.8-magnitude quake in China that killed nearly 90,000 people in 2008. What's more, the site says, the cataclysmic ruin in Haiti was only a test run for much bigger game: the coming showdown with Iran. The ultimate goal of the test attack in Haiti, the report reads, is the United States' "planned destruction of Iran through a series of earthquakes designed to topple the current Islamic regime."

A Moment Of Light

American rescue workers free a woman trapped for several days in Haiti's rubble as bystanders chant "USA! USA!" This is probably the most jingoistic thing you'll see on this here website thingy.

Haiti Death Toll Hits 200,000, Charges Arise Of American "Occupation"

New estimates put the death toll in Haiti at over 200,000. That number approaches the estimated 230,000 killed by 2004's Indian Ocean tsunami.

With thousands of bodies being shoveled into mass graves, there is no accurate tally of the casualty count. Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said Tuesday that 72,000 bodies had been recovered by the government. The European Commission, citing Haitian government figures, estimated the death toll could reach 200,000. Amid the rising chorus of criticism about the lack of coordination, U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Merten told The Miami Herald that obstructed roads and collapsed buildings made aid delivery a logistical nightmare. "Would we like for there to be the possibility of getting more aid out to people faster? Of course,'' he said. "If people were to realize the challenges we were dealing with here, they would be completely understanding and realize this is an extraordinary operation.'' With hundreds of thousands left homeless and many more who have yet to see aid, Haitian first lady Elisabeth Delatour Préval acknowledged time is running out. "I am not worried today,'' she said. ``But if the relief is not provided soon enough to a population in despair, that might open the door to some violence.''

As the international relief effort escalates, American conservatives are screaming that the Obama administration has achieved a defacto occupation of Haiti. That charge is being echoed by the French government.

United Nations officials must investigate and clarify the dominant US role in the earthquake-ravaged Haiti, Bernard Kouchnet, the French minister said. US forces last week turned back a French aid plane carrying a field hospital from the damaged, congested airport in the capital of Port-au-Prince, prompting a complaint from the French co-operation minister, Alain Joyandet. The plane landed safely the following day. Mr Kouchner warned governments and aid groups not to squabble as they try to get their aid into Haiti. "People always want it to be their plane ... that lands," Mr Kouchner said on Monday. "(But) what's important is the fate of the Haitians." Mr Joyandet persisted: "This is about helping Haiti, not about occupying Haiti."

Secretary of State Clinton responded that American forces will only ever be there to help and have "no intention of supplanting" the Haitian government. What Haitian government? Another strong quake rocked Port Au Prince this morning, a 6.0 temblor that sent rescue workers scrambling.

Everlasting Gobstobber

(Tipped by JMG reader Jeff in FTL)

Haiti: Anderson Cooper Rescues Kid

Anderson Cooper was on the scene as fighting broke out among looters at a Port Au Prince store. After a young boy was struck on the head, Cooper pulled him out of the crowd.

Obama's First Tweet

It was done on the Red Cross account, so he had to write about himself in the third person.