The Divine Horsemen

This movie filmed around 1950 was made by Maya Deren, a dancer who became interested in film. While a book by the same name was published, the film was not finished & released till after she died.
This movie was shot on that stuff called "film" and is really worthwhile to watch on DVD. Also, there is a section on 'Animal Sacrifice' that some people might want to skip which would also be easier to do on DVD.
Overall, a decent & easy intro to Vodou.

Article 246

Should the Cincinnati Charter Review Task Force consider adding something similar to the Haitian Criminal Code's Article 246 into the Cincinnati City Charter?

Is considered a poisoning any attempt on the life of a person through the use of substances which can cause death more or less cleanly, regardless of the manner in which these substances were used or administered, and regardless of the consequences.
Is also considered attempt on life by poisoning the use made against a person of substances which, without giving death, will cause a more-or-less prolonged state of lethargy, regardless of the manner in which these substances were used and regardless of the consequences.
If the person was buried as a consequence of this state of lethargy, the attempt will be considered a murder.

Enacted in 1884, it basically makes making zombies through the use of potions & such, illegal & pretty much an act of murder.
While zombification isn't a huge issue in Cincinnati, better safe than sorry. You can let the task force know about your concern to nip zombification in the bud here

Religion Done Right

While church attendance in America limps along with the same boring tradions, no attempt is made to introduce other traditions to spice up the lives of the faithful. Bavaria has the überkuhl Krampusnacht in December, Haiti adds it's own bit of fun to Easter.
In the week before Easter Judas arrives in Haiti in effigy. The figures are received well as an apostle of Jesus would be but come the Saturday after Good Friday, after hearing of Judas' betrayal, the Haitians hunt the effigies, that have been hidden overnight down & the folks beat, stab, & slice the things to smithereens. By the end of the day effigy body parts are strewn all over the towns, villages & roadways.
cool

HotelMule story here

Is Pat Happy ?
After Haiti was hit by an earthquake about a year ago, Pat Robertson told us a "true story", that the reason for all Haiti's ills are due to a "pact with the devil" made by Haitian leaders to throw off the French yoke. In fact their bad luck started when they got enslaved in Africa & hauled off to Haiti.
Anyway, his message has gotten through & since a cholera outbreak, people have blamed the Vodun & lynched over 45 in recent weeks.
When missionary work doesn't do the job...
I doubt that Robertson wants to see people lynched (not 100%) any more than Scott Lively wanted to see a death penalty for homosexuals in Uganda.
Dumbass, insular, loud mouth Americans just don't understand that different cultures will see their message differently than their native culture will.
hm.... Maybe I oughtta block this blog from foreign countries.

Hey, Pat !

hey Pat! The "Haitians" who were "under the heel" of the French didn't make a pact with "the devil". They were Africans who reaffirmed their own native faith in a war with people who worshipped your god! You know, the one that apparently gave them the green light on trafficking in human flesh? Their poverty came from good Christian Europeans & Americans not recognizing and not trading with their new country. Hispanola is not the natural resource cow like the U.S. is. Their unstable government came out of an ostracized & desperate society in poverty. Their condition was due to the fine Christian folks of your home state, Virginia. It's not magic, Pat. It's racist politics justified by your religion, our fine banking system and a paranoid monied elite that you are part of - thanks to your swindling people in the name of your god.

Video via Media Matters

Haiti Earthquake Registers 7.0


Haiti, our Caribbean neighbor to the south suffered a tremendous earthquake yesterday. Haiti's denuded hilly terrain makes the impoverished country particularly susceptible to damage from hurricanes & earthquakes. They get hurricanes all the time. Now they have had the worst earthquake in their nation's history.
Ways to help the country that should have been a U.S. ally from their beginning:
Red Cross International Response Fund
The U.S. State Dept. recommends Center for International Disaster Information
Oxfam
Partners in Health
Locally, Matthew 25 Ministries
Also, Vodou Aid altho I could find no listing of these guys on the sits that rate charities. They might just be too small.

The Perils of Being on the Radar

When Americans think of animation, they usually think of Disney Studios. Modern Disney has been cranking out stale homogenized formulaic crap for awhile now. The new Disney cartoon, The Princess and The Frog, looks to be more of the same. This cartoon features their first "black" princess, however, so it's time for the PC Nazis to sharpen their knives.
The story takes place in New Orleans in the 1920s. The lead character was to be a maid named Maddy (Madeleine). No Good. I have always liked that name & I have never disrespected a maid. Unfortunately the PC Nazis thought Maddy sounded too much like Mammy. whatever Tiana is a Russkie name that is acceptable, I guess, since the Obamas used Russkie names for their kids it's ok. being a maid was no good because black girls in the 20s NEVER worked as maids. Still, don't. There is a firefly narrator type who is a light hearted semi-toothed fella with a heavy accent & small vocabulary. this is, of course, racist because no such person exists.
?
I'm into Delta Blues. Sorry, these guys exist to this day.
Since Disney is obsessed with magic, it's gotta come from somewhere. In this movie it comes in the form of Vodou. More racism. More stereotyping. Vodou is, of course (overly simplifying stuff here), a mish mash of similar beliefs of the sub-Saharan societies from which the European/American slave traders got their slaves. There is a nationalistic side introduced by seminal Haitian revolutionary Boukman, too, but we won't go into that here. I mean we're talking about The Wonderfully Superficial World of Disney here. Anyway, this has pissed off Vodousaints, neo-Pagans AND Christians. Did these folks have these same complaints about Disney's other wizards ?
Well, probably.
One of the greatest bits of crap from the PC Nazis is that the Prince the chick falls for isn't black. Not exactly whit either. He has a kind of Indian sounding name, but people are griping about him not being black. Do people gripe about Michele Obama not hooking up with a black guy?
I can't believe I have referenced the first family twice in an article about a cartoon. But, that's just it. It's a modern commercial cartoon adaptation of an old fairy tale & people are going off on it like crazy folk. Would they complain as much if the toon came out of france, Poland, Japan or Korea? As far as Disney goes, they should be more concerned with Disney merchandise sold at their stores in upscale malls across the US. Much of the apparel is produced in Haiti under near slave-like conditions. Haitians rioted earlier in the year to boost their minimum wage to $5/day.
ugh
I guess it is more important to have perfect uniform ticky tacky fictional characters flickering on the screen than to be concerned with real folks you can't see.
Like Dr McDreamy said, "Perception is Reality".

Violence in Haiti

Student demonstrators attacked and burned a U.N. police vehicle in the Haitian capital on Wednesday, adding to security concerns ahead of this weekend's scheduled Senate elections.
The student protests, now in their fourth week, are part of a general uptick in violence leading into Sunday's scheduled second-round elections for 11 vacant Senate seats. At least two people have been killed in clashes between political parties elsewhere in Haiti.

Well, rioting ain't too productive but I can see why these folks are pissed.

The student demonstrations began in late May against the elimination of medical school classes but quickly grew into protests against the 9,000-member U.N. force that has been in Haiti since 2004, and in support of increasing Haiti's minimum wage from $2 to $5 a day.
The salary increase has been approved by the legislature but is opposed by business owners, especially owners of factories that produce garments for sale in the United States and elsewhere. An agreement is expected to be announced by President Rene Preval this week.

About the last thing to eliminate in Haiti is modern medical training. As far as a more than doubling of the minimum wage - well, put that way, it's big money, but how about $5 per hour ? While the legislature has passed the minimum wage hike, people believe the president will cave to the business owners and veto the measure.
I think that what really pisses me off about this is that we are so proud to have eliminated slavery in the US but we are apparently fairly dependent on it anyway. Somewhere, somebody is making out. Dunno if it is the Haitian business owners or if the American business owners are squeezing them as well. Regardless, we in the USA are supporting what is tantamount to slavery when buying these products. Big products tend to be textile/garment products frequently sold at big stores like JC Penney, Wal-Mart, Kmart & the like. Apparently, the Disney company likes to use these plants in Haiti.
I cannot find an up to date listing of American companies engaged in these crap practices. This article is over 10 years old (when the minimum wage was less than $2/day) from Third World Traveller:
www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Caribbean/US_Haiti_Connection.html
Third World is kinda funny. Port-au-Prince is a 2 hour flight from Miami.
What's frustrating is that so many Americans are dependent on the cheapest products because they have lost their jobs to the third world countries. Then, equally frustrating is that the people in these countries cannot earn enough to possibly rise out of their current poverty.
And what REALLY burns me up is that we support this shit and I don't even know if I am guilty of being a part of that.
We should have been allies with this country 200 years ago.

"Make good money - 5 dollars a day
Make any more and I'd move away"

Taiwan News story here

Janet Sanderson, Ambassador to Haiti

Haiti before the recent storms
Haiti has suffered poor land management for years.
Heck, Haiti has suffered poor management for years, period.
Deforestation, erosion and poor farming practices on a hilly terrain make Haiti's countryside susceptible to landslides, mudslides and flooding. A good rain can cause serious problems. Four hurricane strength storms in a month are devastating.
In the U.S. we have well built homes, a solid modern transportation, communications and power infrastructure, agencies like FEMA and a kick ass National Guard system that does a lot more than just kick asses.
Haiti has, virtually, none of this.
In the best of times, Haitians suffer poverty and malnutrition, hunger and disease. Roads and communication are spotty. Just keeping the power on day to day is a chore and some people never had power to begin with.
Haiti and the U.S. threw off the yolk of European oppression at about the same time. Haiti's yolk being considerably more oppressive than America's.
We should be allies in liberty in the western hemisphere.
Sadly, due to the political realities of just holding our own nation together, we were never much of an ally in the 19th century (when our nation almost fell apart). In the 20th century President Wilson entered Haiti to stabilize their government (invade, occupy and open the doors to American profiteers who looted the island nation in a way that makes Haliburton in Iraq look like the United Way).
While our governments can't seem to get along, there is no reason we, as individuals, can't help. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies lets you target your donations to the country of your choice.
Haiti has really gotten creamed in the last few weeks.

Why Americans elect politicians with crappy foreign policies.

Breaking News: Something Happening In Haiti