Official Death Toll in Haiti Rises Over 111,000

Posted on 23. Jan, 2010 by M.L. Zupan in Feature, Hot Topics, Video, World

Over 111,000 have been confirmed dead from the 7.0 earthquake that rocked Haiti just over a week ago according to an official government figure released by the United Nations.

Over 600,000 people have been left homeless in and around the capital of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. In order to get a better understanding of what that means we have compared it to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Oklahoma City has an official population of 444,719 people. Over 25% of the people would be dead and the entire population would be without homes and still the numbers can’t compare.

No Food, No Water, No Electricity, No Shelter

The basic things that we take for granted – they have none. Not since the tsunami in Asia in 2004 has there been a natural disaster of  this magnitude.

A Glimmer of Hope!

After more than of week of herculean effort – relief aid is finally starting to arrive in quantities that will begin to do some good. Efforts had been blocked by the destruction in the port and at the airport. Little more than a few flights a day were able to arrive and take-off jamming the small airport. Military personnel and have been working round-the-clock to open the port. Now, Port-au-Prince is able to receive between 120-140 flights per day at their single-runway airport as opposed to 25 flights.

Haiti Is In Desperate Need Of Your Support

Posted on 18. Jan, 2010 by Editor in Hot Topics, Video, World

The Week in Haiti

CBS News’ Jeff Glor is in Haiti and provides a timeline of the events immediately after the devastating earthquake that has wrecked unthinkable destruction.
– CNN News

Now, as the city lies in ruins and rescue workers continue to try desperately for any remaining survivors,  the needs of the living continue to mount.

The needs of the living are many. Among one of the greatest needs is water and basic food items.

We at CIDANews.com would like to urge you to get involved in the rescue and relief effort. In a previous article: Haiti Earthquake Victims – An Urgent Appeal For Help – we talked about what you could do as part of the relief effort if you are unable to give money.

We will continue to bring ideas to the forefront with the hopes that everybody will get involved somehow.

“Texting for Haiti” Relief Fund:

Texting for Haiti is the newest way you can help by giving finances. By texting the word “Haiti” to the following number: “90999″ you will be able to give directly the “American Red Cross” Haiti relief effort. The donation is a $10.00 donation and will be applied to your next cell phone bill.

Also, you can contact your local Red Cross and ask them if you can bring products directly to them that will be distributed to Haiti. Things like:

• Cases of Water
• Cans of baked beans (or cases – they are easier to ship if they can be stacked)
• Cans of beans
• Jars (preferably plastic) of Peanut Butter
• Items high in protein (non-perishable)
• Baby Food will be in high demand – evaporated milk products, dry milk, etc…
• Blankets
• Rice
• Noodles
• Lentil Beans
• etc…

One item at a time can make all the difference in the world.

Haiti Earthquake Victims: An Urgent Appeal for Help!

Posted on 18. Jan, 2010 by M.L. Zupan in Feature, Hot Topics, World

Haiti Earthquake Devastation 2010

Don’t Delay to Help Because Every Second Counts

Over 20,000 dead and the final report is still not in. It may be weeks or even months before they really know how many people have been affected by the largest earthquake in Haiti’s recorded history. These people need your help!

The relief efforts to assist the hundreds-of-thousands and perhaps millions of people who are injured, homeless, waterless, etc… have been enormous – but there is much to be done.

Below are just a few of the places where you can give to help offer aid. They are good, trustworthy organization that have been around for awhile. We list them because it is a quick link to give you an opportunity to respond. But there are other things – more direct approaches that will also offer tremendous relief.

Organizations you can help by giving:

Hospital Albert Schweitzer – Direct Relief to held the Hospital >> Donate Now

To find out more about what is happening at “HAS” here is the latest press release from the hospital: Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti Updates

Oxfam America Haiti Relief Fund:

Make a Donation to Oxfam Earthquake Relief

Redcross
Haiti Relief and Development

“The American Red Cross is working with its partners in the global Red Cross and Red Crescent network, including the Haitian Red Cross, and other partners to assist those affected by this disaster.”

More Direct Approaches to Giving Relief Aid

There are many ways to help the relief effort. These efforts take just a little time, however your offer more aid per dollar spent.

Unfortunately, many large organizations also have high overhead. What does that mean? It means that a portion out of every dollar you give to them goes to operation, administrative costs first. They have employees who work for them full-time, they have relief workers who go out into the field to help in the distribution of aid and finances. They have clerical and administration costs to over see each project.

There is nothing wrong with all of those things, they have families to feed, they work hard, they also deserved to be paid for their time and effort – but what it means is that not all of your support goes directly to help the relief effort.

So What Can Be Done to Help?

1. Contact a local Library, Community Center or Church to see if they would become a gathering point for products such as:
   • cases of WATER – number 1 need in an emergency
   • canned goods high in protein
   • baked beans
   • green beans
   • lentils
   • peanut butter
   • packages of rice
   • dried noodles – like elbow noodles
2. Next: you can contact a local grocery store in your neighborhood and ask them if they will set up a display before the check-out counters with perhaps a half pallet of each of the items listed above. People have the option to purchase a product for Haiti Relief – and then drop it into a “Relief Bin” on the other side of the check-out counter.
3. Find out if someone is already doing something mentioned above and offer to help organize transportation from check-out areas to receiving areas.
4. Or, help with packing so that all items can be shipped by container
5. Assist in the shipping process – organization, securing a shipping company, etc… Perhaps call the nearest military base and see if they are taking supplies to Haiti – and if they can take your storage containers (make sure it is packed properly – best if it can be packed into a storage container)

Let us here from you! We would like to know what you are doing in your neighborhood to make a difference.

Offshore Wind Farms Awarded to Germany Firms

Posted on 09. Jan, 2010 by Editor in Germany, World

North Sea Wind Farm - What Future Dogger Bank Project Will Look Like | Photo: DPA

A series of wind farms has been slated, by the British government, to be built over the next 10 years. The contracts worth over 100 Billion Euro, has been awarded to Germany companies for the North Sea project. The announcement by the British government on Friday said that the electricity produced by this offshore wind project would produce a quarter of their energy needs.

Nine Gigawatts of electricity is expected to be produced in what is being called the “Dogger Bank” wind farm.The wind farm itself will cover an area of 8,600 square kilometers of the North Sea which is equal to approximately equal to 5343 square miles.

The North Sea wind project is not expected to be complete until 2020.

Are We on the Verge of War With Iran?

Posted on 03. Jan, 2010 by Goode Fellow in Iran, Politics

A year into his administration, President Obama has finally found the opening that he needs to take an aggressive step into Iran. While the United States people and the world are hardly supportive of a nation going to war with Iran over their nuclear power reactor program – they will hardly  blame the United States for going to all-out war over terrorist activity.

So what opens the door for an act of war against Iran?

Terrorism!

It is easy to blame terrorism and use it as an excuse for ulterior motives.  Just the thought of terrorist getting close to U.S. soil again stirs the passions in Americans and calls for a sense of action against those involved. So with the bombing attempt aboard a Northwest bound flight for Detroit, Michigan, from Amsterdam, Netherlands is linked to al Qaeda based in Yemen – you have all the support you need. There’s a suspect, there is motive for retaliation and there is a prime target – just because they happen to be the prime targets that the United States has been trying to raise political aggression against for several years just happens to be coincidence.

Or is it!

One of the signs of one nation going to war, or getting ready to go to war against another – even in the midst of talks for peace, or other solutions is when you pull your Ambassadors out of that country. Today the U.S. closed its Embassy in Yemen. According to a U.S. news release it is because of ongoing threats by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to attack American interests in Yemen.

This is a situation that needs a close eye in order to monitor what is the truth and what is convenience. George Bush Sr. had his war in Kuwait and Iraq, Bill Clinton carried on his war in Bosnia for almost his entire presidency, George W. Bush chose his war in Afghanistan and Iraq – is this going to be Obama’s war – Iran?

War is easy – peace is difficult! It takes strength, courage, patience and endurance. It is sacrifice for the benefit of others and hard work. Let us work toward peace!

Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer Bomb Operation

Posted on 11. Nov, 2009 by Goode Fellow in Middle East

Col. Mark Lee, leader of NATO’s anti-bombing campaign, told the Times: “You can turn a bag of ammonium nitrate into a bomb in a matter of hours – this is the first step.”

It is believed that much of the ammonium nitrate-based fertilizer is imported from Pakistan because the chemical is illegal in Afghanistan.

The U.S. and NATO raid in Kandahar was based on intelligence information in an effort to keep the Taliban from obtaining chemical fertilizer.

My Wall Fell the Day After – Berlin Wall

Posted on 10. Nov, 2009 by M.L. Zupan in EU - European Union, Feature, Politics

Fall of the Berlin Wall - 20th Anniversary of Freedom

There are events in history that define life changing moments. They change the way we look at our world and they change the way we look at ourselves. It is in these “landmarks in history” that we also define time. They become the markers of the past and the crossroads for the future.

• Do you remember when… ?
• Where were you when… ?
• What were you doing when… ?
• What did you do before… ?
• What did you do after… ?
• Did it change your life… ?

One of those events human history that we remember in our time is the “fall of the Berlin Wall”. The following excerpt comes from a story written by Dorothea Grass. She was eleven years old when the wall came down. Her story tells of a family of courage, fear, anger and joy.

Weg aus der DDR – Mein Mauerfall am Tag danach

“Ihr Vater war aus der DDR geflüchtet, jetzt solte die Familie nachkommen: Warum unsere Autorin den Mauerfall verschlief – und der 10. Novermber 1989 zum Kuriosum geriet. [Translation: Their father fled out of the DDR, now the family has to follow: why our Author missed the fall of the wall." Sueddeutsche Zeitung

"My personal wall came down the day after

In the May of 1988 my father went to West Germany on a visa for a short term visit. He never returned. Shortly after, my mother started filing papers to initiate the process for family re-unification. Much later my mother explained that this had been their plan all along. But as children we were told that she hadn't known he would not return, simply so we would not accidentally tell anything to the 'Stasi” (secret police) and thus jeopardize the whole process, and all family members involved.

After that nothing ever remained the same. In our sleepy little town in Thuringia we had become those who “are going to leave”, enemies of the state, and were no longer part of the 'normal' world. For us as schoolchildren it meant were no longer allowed to participate in school functions. I learned that being at the same place at the same time does not mean people experience the same things. We had started living in a different world, a parallel universe to that of the “conformed citizen”. Men in gray overcoats randomly came to search our house and dig through our drawers, our telephone line had ominous clicking noises, and all of that to prove there had been a conspiracy to leave the country all along.

Not that we were not used to being different. My family was part of a church, and we were raised with Christian values. My grandfather had managed to keep his private company when all property was being made common good in the 50ties. We had lots of relatives in the west part of the country. Each of these facts alone was more than enough to raise suspicions.

In school everybody who went to a church had to be registered: there were five out of 25. If we didn't know God didn't exist, and Christmas is only a dusty old winter tradition? we were asked.  All the other kids stared at us. We knew in our hearts we would never be able to be “model citizens” and believed even as children we would someday leave.

On November 8, 1989, after much waiting, a year and a half after my father had left, we were told that “someday” would be tomorrow. We were to go to bed early and rise early in order to pick up our papers. How many times had I dreamed to see my father through binoculars standing on the opposite side of the hill, beyond “no man's land” and the border line. But using binoculars we never would have dared. In the weeks prior we had been told to move out of our apartment in expectation of an imminent departure. My mother's parents graciously had offered to let us stay with them during this time. Meanwhile emotions ran high in the country all around us.

So when Schabowski proclaimed on the eve of November 9 that the wall had come down, the TV in my grandparents house had long been turned off. We  slept right through one of the most monumental moments of German history. The next day my uncle told us: “The wall is open!”. We were hopeful and expectant all at the same time. We hurried down to the police station to pick up our papers, only to be caught in throngs of people heading the same way. “Where have they all come from?”, I remember wondering. They had never shown any interest in leaving before. I was getting angry. All our waiting, the undignified searches, all our hopes and fears – it did not seem fair that they did not have to go through the same pain as we had.

Yet, after we had collected all paperwork and made it across the border – when I saw my father standing in a parking lot on the “other side”, I didn't even wait for the car to stop. I jumped out while we were still driving and ran into his arms with tears streaming down my face.

I am glad, of course, that there is no more “DDR”. I am elated to see how much change human courage can achieve. Yet – on that 10th day of November, all I really cared about was that our family finally was happily united."

If you would like to read the original article in its entirety you can find it at: Mein Mauerfall am Tag danach - Sueddeutsche.de

Berlin Celebrates Demise of Wall – UPI.com
Leaders in Berlin Retrace the Walk West – NYTimes.com
World Marks Fall of Berlin Wall – NewsOK.com

Israel – Can We Begin to Understand? – part 1

Posted on 30. Dec, 2008 by Editor in Israel

Israel Becomes a Nation 1897

Israel - Can We Begin to Understand?

It is often believed that Israel became a Nation in 1947; however, that is not true. The ReBirth of the Nation of Israel was conceived over centuries, nurished on hope and prayer and finally given birth by a bold proclamation at a little meeting in Basel, Switzerland; known afterwards as the first World Zionist Congress. The man’s name was Theodor Herzl. Theodor Herzl proclaimed:

At Basel I founded the Jewish State! If I said this out loud today I would be greeted by universal laughter. In five years, perhaps, and certainly in fifty years, everyone will perceive it. — Duvernoy, p. 58

Exactly fifty years later the rest of the world did perceive the rebirth of the Jewish State of Israel. On November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted to establish a Jewish state in Palestine.

“On November 2nd, 1917, Lord Balfour, the British Foreign Sectretary, had issued a declaration stating: “His Majesty’s government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people… ” The Balfour Declaration did not create a Jewish state, but it prepared the way for one.” — Promised Land by Derek Prince, p. 39

Palestine (UN Partition Plan) 1947

Shortly after this time things began heating up in the region and in 1922, then British Secretary of the colonies, Winston Churchill, with a stroke of a pen, partitioned four-fifths of the total territory for Palestine – it became known as Transjordan.

From the time of partition in 1922, no Jewish immigration was permitted to eastern Palestine –i.e., Transjordan. No such restrictions, however, were placed on Arab immigration to the Jewish homeland. Arabs entered freely to take advantage of the higher wages and living standards resulting from Jewish development. In fact, while the Jewish population rose by 375,000 between World War I and World War II, the non-Jewish population increased by 380,000. Interestingly enough, the Arab increase was largest in areas of intensive Jewish development (e.g., a 216% increase in Haifa), and negligible where there was little Jewish influx. — Derek Prince: The Last Word on the Middle East, p.40

During those years, as more and more new settlers reached Palestine, absentee Arab landlords took advantage of the situation and sold swampy, rocky or sandy soil to the incoming Jewish settlers at exorbitant prices. The Jews were not deterred. The drained swamps, watered the deserts, and planted trees and crops and have turned a barren fruitless land into abundant crops.

The World Watches Israel

What is it about this tiny piece of land and the people, that the world watches? What makes this small piece of land worth fighting for for over two thousand years? Two thousand years ago Rome wanted it, of course the people of Rome couldn’t understand why. Crusades were fought over the land by so-called Christians and Arabs for more than two thousand years. Even Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Palestine in 1799. Both World Wars fought over that same region. Hitler tried to decimate the Jews in WWII. After November 29, 1947, when the United Nations voted to establish a Jewish state in Palestine, immediately the Arab Nations rose up and declared war on Israel and vowed to wipe them off the face of the earth.

Why is it that the sons of Ishmael continue to fight against the sons of Abraham? The war between the Arab nations and Israel is the oldest recorded family feud in recorded history.

No other land, in the written history of the world (that we know of) has been fought over as much as the land of Israel. And no other people have been fought against as often as the people of Israel. Why is that?

Has there ever been a time when Israel was not in the news?

These are questions that are worth thinking about. Can we begin to understand the history of this land and these people? Our next article we will look at events from 1950 to present.

We welcome your comments; however, all comments must relate to the topic of the article and are moderated. Profane and abusive comments will not be tolerated.