Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, has suffered a magnitude 7.0 earthquake and many strong aftershocks near the capital of Port-au-Prince. The full extent of the damage won't fully be known until the morning, as blackouts and nightfall have hampered the ability to get news in or out of the country. CNN coverage.

NY Times: photos.
MSNBC: video

One of my colleagues has family that lives in Haiti near Port Au Prince and she is freaking out cuz she can't get a hold of anyone and really can't find out anything. I am praying for the best for everyone and will be looking to donate through Unicef or American Red Cross. This is really devastating to a country that is the poorest in the western hemisphere and who was still recovering from recent hurricanes.

Just as we're moaning the most over our own economic problems, comes this reminder that we still have the largest GDP in the world, even if it is fueled by excessive borrowing.

Hopefully it will encourage people to appreciate the importance of managing our economy instead of allowing it to manage us.

This reminds me of the terrible racial prejudice faced by Haitians who crossed the border for work when I was in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. This quake may be a long way from that border but the economic repercussions will eventually reverberate throughout the island.

hundreds of thousands feared dead....

To help,

• Text "haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross Haiti relief.
  
• Text "yele" to 501501 to donate $5 to Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund.

The donations will be automatically charged to your cellphone bill. (The cell carriers pass 100% of the donations to the charities, taking no profit from the transactions.)

And of course the omniscient and benevolent man of God Pat Robertson had to weigh in, saying that the earthquake ravaged Haiti because the country has a pact with the devil. Nice.

I've been following some of the news on Haiti thoughout the day on the Internet. Very sad. Just got home and will see what they're saying on CNN.

Sadly, while people are dying, others like Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh are spouting crazy religion and politics (which is why I started this thread in Politics and Religion... it looks like it's been moved).

Pat Robertson blames Haitians for their own catastrophe because they made a "pact with the devil" when they sought freedom from slavery and French rule.

Rush Limbaugh sees President Obama's response to the disaster as politically-motivated. 'Obama will use Haiti to boost credibility with "light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country"'

As mentioned above, you can donate to the Red Cross, although you may also want to consider Doctors Without Borders. They already had clinics in Haiti and are providing free medical service to the injured and suffering.

Musician Wyclef Jean, who is Haitian, has an organization called Yele that you can support.

Philadelphia 76er Samuel Dalembert is also Haitian. Story on Philly.com.

The Governor General of Canada, Michaelle Jean, is also of Haitian descent.

I had heard this about Pat Robertson and for Rush Limbaugh to politicize this is so ridiculously vile and disgusting. I can't wait until karma gets his ass. You can only spit venom on the world for so long before you get some on yourself. He will get his.

What's interesting about this asshat's comments is I wonder how he explains the deaths of the UN workers who were there? Or any of the other non-Haitians who likely died.

And all the money this charlatan swindled from his "followers" so he could live in the lap of luxury could probably rebuild the entire country of Haiti and he wouldn't even have to seel any of his private jets or gold toilets. What a complete scumbag!

When it comes to Rush and Robertson....truer words have not been spoken

I'm watching Anderson Cooper 360 on his first day in Haiti. The footage is unbelievable and horrific. The bodies laying in the streets. Showing how scary it is surviving at night in Port-au-Prince. Rumors abound with people running from suspected flood waters (not true). It will be sad to see if the country succumbs to civil unrest.
I hope all of us take the time to donate money to one of the many international organizations in Haiti trying to help. It is as easy as sending a text message.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich was practically laughed out of the campaign for the Democratic nomination for president when he started pushing for a Department of Peace.

But now we hear that the US military is hampered by an inability to assess the situation on the ground to determine how and where - or even if - aid can be delivered using the materiel they currently have.

And a spokesperson for a British Haitian organization stated plainly - if hesitantly - that the problem with delivering any aid to Haiti is the lack of a credible "judicial" infrastructure "at the top" which trickles down to inspire corruption throughout the society.

We have long neglected turning our swords into plowshares because of the fearmongerring for the military-industrial complex.

This short-term aid to Haiti will only result in re-establishing a corrupt political structure if it has to be done through the current authorities.

There are a lot of independent aid organizations that can sometimes work within or around such institutions. But a concerted effort to affect change in the human rights situation in all poor countries is what is necessary.

Let's not forget that beneath Obama's careful words about our "long history" with Haiti is that the US strangled and pillaged the country, along with most of Central America, for a century.

President Obama has enlisted the help of former presidents Clinton and Bush to help in Haiti relief. This is smart--particularly getting Bush involved, as he can help bring support from conservatives at a time when conservative leaders (Rush: "We've already given to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax.") and news outlets (while CNN is wall-to-wall Haiti, I've read that Fox is showing much less coverage than the other networks) are downplaying the Haiti tragedy.

My prayers and pocketbook are with the people of Haiti. Such a proud, wonderful folk. I have sent to three causes to help with the relief. I would like to comment on Pat Robertson saying the land is cursed. In 1791, a group of Vodun houngans and mambo aka the priests and priestesses called upon the Petro loa who are the native spirits of Haiti. They called upon them to free the people from the French colonialists. Did it work? Who can say. But it had nothing to do with the devil nor are the people cursed by magic. It is a seismic fault that caused earthquakes not the devil. SHALOM TO THE PEOPLE OF HAITI. . Alex

While it is true that Haiti - United States relations have been purely in the self-interest of the elites in both countries (the corrupt justice system in Haiti and the military-industrial complex in the US) and has occured over a period of at least three centuries (since the founding of this nation in 1776 and Haiti's independence in 1804), the consequences of the policies pursued by these elites have damaged the average citizens of both nations.

Had the US chosen to support Haitian independence and the formation of a US-style tri-partite government, things might have worked out very differently.

But the fear of a domino-effect causing the mass slaughter of whites in the US made our hypocritical opposition to theHaitian revolution inevitable.

To some extent, the Haitian Revolution was cursed by its own success, as military ventures often are. They established a hero-worship and fear of violent disorganized groups that have plagued the nation to this day. Unlike the US which benefitted from a justice system already developing in England, Haitians had only the role model of the more disorganized violence being glorified in France. Our four countries have shared fault.

Apparently, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines is continuing to dock its boats at a heavily guarded private beach in Haiti. While the cruise line is providing some food aid, how are vacationers supposed to frolic on the pristine private beaches and enjoy all-you-can eat barbecues knowing that just down the road there are dead bodies rotting in the sun, carried away in dump trucks and buried in mass graves?

While I don't begrudge anyone having a holiday... but to do so in the backyard of a country where people are sleeping in the park with no toilet facilities and shortages of food and water... that just doesn't seem right. And some passengers agree.

I've signed a petition requesting that credit card companies forego fees for specific charitable donations such as this.

I won't be getting tax relief for mine (since I have always used the standard deduction) so I think it is the least they can do.

Larry King had numerous celebrities on his show to help raise money for Haiti. On Friday, George Clooney will lead a celebrity telethon airing across many networks and featuring stars such as: Bono, Sting, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Alicia Keys.

My sentiments exactly. And there are far more tourists on the same island in nearby Dominican Republic. I hope they are not oblivious to the suffering next door and that at least some of them are fore-going their pleasure and doing whatever they can to help the victims of this calamity. Practically speaking, there is probably little most of them can do except donate money, but at least that would be a worthy gesture.

The estimated death toll is now 200,000 putting it in the same league as the 2004 tsunami. But the tragedy in Haiti seems to be magnified because the area affected is much smaller.

Reports are saying that Simon Cowell is gathering a roster of stars to perform a benefit recording of R.E.M.'s Everybody Hurts. Susan Boyle, Michael Buble, Rod Stewart, Will Young and Leona Lewis have been mentioned. Other reports say "Robbie Williams, Coldplay, Take That and Paul McCartney have also been approached to participate." The R.E.M. version.

The performances from last night's Hope for Haiti Now telethon will be available on iTunes later this week. Song list and photos. Performers: Alicia Keys, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Shakira, John Legend, Mary J. Blige, Taylor Swift, Christina Aguilera, Sting, Beyonce, Sheryl Crow/Keith Urban/Kid Rock, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Hudson, Emiline Michel, Jay-Z/U2/Rihanna, Dave Matthews/Neil Young, Wyclef Jean.

Hello Outsports Posters: My friend Elemental or Alex has allowed me to post on his outsports email. Thank you so much for your warmth and support of the Haiitian people. My family has been greatly harmed by the disaster. Thank you for your donations to red cross and others. We will survive. Se pou Bondye beni-w anpil. God bless you. Jean Claude Polifrone

The new We Are the World.

Why in the world did they gave the first line to Justin Bieber?! Sorry, but this lineup does not compare to the original.

Honestly, the new version seriously lacks a lot of heart. I'm sorry, but Jaime Fox imitating Ray Charles in the video was strange, Miley Cyrus-Justin Bieber and Jonas bro (whichever)- were unnecessary. I did not like the whole rap/hip-hop portion or the use of any of the singers using a voice coder.

They should have gone with more pure singers and allowed the hip-hoppers to work with the same melody and words and placement as the original.

I am not sure what the singing in the middle did- when he was singing Creole- but that messed the whole thing up. In the finish of the song, it made more sense, but in the middle of the song- it was disruptive shrieking.

Lionel was right- he should have fought his original desire to ever have this song done again.

I don't know who half of those people even are. I wouldn't have known Justin Bieber if they didn't make fun of him on TMZ. I see this song as having much less impact than the original.

the new version of we are the world is utter crap. justin who? crap! miley cyrus is crap. the whole arrangement is just a disgrace to the original.