Breaking News: 7.0 Earthquake in Haiti

[Caliga]

Heck, I'd even accept that the whole land be given to the US, and become something administratively similar to Puerto Rico.

No thanks.

[DisturbedPervert]

The Red Cross estimates 50,000 dead, which seems low to me given the size of the city. After all 80,000 were killed last year in the Chinese earthquake, and Chinese buildings, however deficient by western standards are certainly better than Haitian ones.

It's may be higher, but 'better' buildings isn't always a good thing.  At these strengths almost anything can collapse.  A 5 story concrete apartment building collapsing on you is much more likely to kill you than a single story shantytown hovel.   One reason California does well is it's mostly suburban wooded houses, which tend to hold up well, and even if it falls on you, you can live. 

[Caliga]

The fucked up thing here is that they probably generally want to build more housing out of concrete, because they'll be more likely to survive in a hurricane--since Haiti gets its ass kicked by hurricanes on a nearly annual basis.

[sbr]

Heck, I'd even accept that the whole land be given to the US, and become something administratively similar to Puerto Rico.

No thanks.

Indeed.  Let up clear out our in-basket of some of the other backwater hell-holes we are responsible for now before shoving another in there.

[Barrister]

Can we take advantage of this catastrophe to say that these people cannot rule themselves and put them under some kind of UN control? They have a very poor track record when it comes to independence (the black populations of the Caribbean are the descendents of the original inhabitants of West Africa, who were overrrun by migrant tribes around the XVIth century and later sold by their conquerors as slaves for a wealthy profit - the current West Africans are the descendents of those invaders, not of the original peoples; those are in the Caribbean now).

You're a very strange man.

[Admiral Yi]

I vote we give it to France.

[sbr]

I vote we give it to France.

Excellent.  Two advantages:  they aren't busy and they couldn't fuck it up any more.

[Martim Silva]

I vote we give it to France.

France had a very bad experience with Haiti; they were the first black colony in the world to become independent (in 1804, under their own Emperor) and the wars they waged against the French were very bloody; most white europeans were butchered.

I doubt the French would want that hellhole back.

[Tonitrus]

Or give it to the Dominican Republic and unite the island.

Though if we did that, the DR would take it as a declaration of war.

[Caliga]

I doubt the French would want that hellhole back.

But yet you think the United States would? 

[grumbler]

Still sore about my calling you out on your pseudo intellectual ambitions I see.

Don't know that you ever did that, but if it makes you happy to think that you did it, knock yerself right the fuck out! 

[Neil]

Why rebuild at all?  Why not just finish the job?

[jimmy olsen]

Heck, I'd even accept that the whole land be given to the US, and become something administratively similar to Puerto Rico.

No thanks.

Congress should have let Grant buy the Dominican Republic from that crooked President. Fucking spoil sports.

[jimmy olsen]

Can we take advantage of this catastrophe to say that these people cannot rule themselves and put them under some kind of UN control? They have a very poor track record when it comes to independence (the black populations of the Caribbean are the descendents of the original inhabitants of West Africa, who were overrrun by migrant tribes around the XVIth century and later sold by their conquerors as slaves for a wealthy profit - the current West Africans are the descendents of those invaders, not of the original peoples; those are in the Caribbean now).

You're a very strange man.

Indeed, all the other Caribbean nations seem to be doing fine. Haiti's problems are unique to Hati and have nothing to do with West Africa.

[Caliga]

Congress should have let Grant buy the Dominican Republic from that crooked President. Fucking spoil sports.

My preference would have been for Panama.  A man.  A plan.  A canal.  PANAMA!