Lady GaGa's Poker Face read by Christopher Walken

Here's a break from the painful stories ...
(sort of anyway, depending on your point of view)




Excellent Episode... check it out!
Great guests and Green Day too...
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross at BBC one -
Full Episode info for Series 17 - Ep.9 @ BBC one



SIDE NOTE:
the Ω OMEGA clock says it is only 17 Days
until the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games

The UN-told Story of Haiti - UPDATE(s)

Originally posted at 1/13/2010 @ 7:20pm

By now the world has heard of the catastrophic earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 12, 2010... but there is recent troublesome political NEWS out of Haiti that is eclipsed by the tragedy.




After the USA and the UN worked so hard for nearly two decades to instill democracy in Haiti, the latest NEWS (1.11.2010) out of the carribean island nation that shares its landmass with the Dominican Republic, was that the current president Rene Preval was excluding the competition from the upcoming February 2010 election.

According to the Dominion Paper Californian Congresswoman, Maxine Waters, "qualified the Haiti's upcoming election to be a set back for Haiti's democratic development".

The U.S. Representative, Californian Congresswoman, a long-time supporter of democracy in Haiti Maxine Waters, qualified the Haiti's upcoming election to be a set back for Haiti's democratic development if these elections will not be fair and credible. Congresswoman Waters expressed her concerns about the upcoming elections in a letter addressing to Haitian President, Mr. Rene Preval.

Representative Waters' letter is one of dozens of letters that have been sent to President Preval, U.N's Secretary General and OAS' Secretary General about the upcoming flawed election in Haiti, scheduled for the months February and March.

Coming soon, more analysis about other letters on Haiti's undemocratic upcoming elections as already qualified by national and international political leaders and human groups.

Below is the Letter of Rep. Waters to President Preval.
December 23, 2009
His Excellency René Préval - President of Haiti
c/o Embassy of Haiti

2311 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
click image below for story

Your Excellency:

I am writing to express my concerns about the decision of Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) to exclude more than a dozen political parties from the Parliamentary elections scheduled for February and March 2010. I am concerned that these exclusions would violate the right of Haitian citizens to vote in free and fair elections and that it would be a significant setback to Haiti’s democratic development.

As you know, I have a longstanding commitment to supporting democracy and development in Haiti. I led efforts in the United States Congress to obtain debt cancellation for Haiti. These efforts culminated in the World Bank’s announcement last June that Haiti reached the “completion point” for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and would receive complete cancellation of its multilateral debts. I am also working to increase United States bilateral assistance to Haiti.

It is imperative that Haiti’s next elections be free and fair and that they be perceived as free and fair. Political parties should not be excluded from an election without a legally compelling reason, determined through a transparent, impartial process.

The CEP, to my knowledge, has not provided a public, written explanation for the exclusions of the political parties from the upcoming elections. The CEP’s failure to explain the justification for the political parties’ exclusions for almost a month raises questions about the validity of these exclusions. The fact that the decision was made by a provisional CEP – one chosen by your office from a list of nominations from organizations selected by your office rather than according to the 1987 Constitution – also raises questions about the fairness of the process.

I urge you to take appropriate action to ensure that the upcoming elections in Haiti are free and fair. This includes taking appropriate action to ensure that the CEP: a) provides a complete, public explanation for the exclusions; and b) allows any political party that was excluded for anything less than a clear, compelling legal reason to fully participate in the February elections.

Please communicate with The Honorable Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State of the United States; The Honorable Eliot Engel, Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere; and myself regarding the measures you take in this matter. I look forward to continuing to work with you to support democratic development in Haiti.

Sincerely,
Maxine Waters
Member of Congress

cc: Hon. Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State of the United States
The Honorable Eliot Engel, Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere

"These efforts culminated in the World Bank’s announcement last June that Haiti reached the “completion point” for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and would receive complete cancellation of its multilateral debts."

I suppose this may be overly cynical in light of the human tragedy, however, though the national debt may be forgiven, the rebuilding of Haiti by companies from around the world will ensure long term return and profits for those companies that participate in rebuilding the devastated nation.

The earthquake also ensures that the entire world, touched by the human tragedy, will equally contribute aid, medical supplies and food to the devasted nation.

The earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince, had aftershocks centered on the Champ de Mars plaza area that caused severe damage to the Presidential Palace.

and I'm sure we'll see the upcoming election be more open to all-comers and political parties - no matter who they may be beholden to.

Let's hope that the leaders of the nations of this world learn a valuable lesson from this terrible event. You cannot squirrel away the income of your nation, without playing ball and while your citizens wallow in misery, poverty and starvation and, whether by act of God or technology, be allowed to remain in power over a stable intact nation.

UN peacekeepers help prepare for election in Haiti

The United Nations says its peacekeeping mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) is helping the impoverished Caribbean country prepare for upcoming legislative elections.

The UN said MINUSTAH is providing secondary support in logistics, security and raising public awareness, "while leaving the primary organising role to the national authorities".

The senior UN official in the southern region, Marco Donati, told a recent meeting to encourage young people to participate in the February 28 polls that it is the responsibility of the Haitian authorities to organise good elections.

"MINUSTAH is merely playing a secondary role in the elections," he added.

The UN said the mission is also helping the authorities to maintain a "stable political atmosphere, conducive to electing the country's legislators." ...more at story link above

SIDE NOTE:

Will Smith, the Horus-like character of the movie Hancock, recently led an event in Oslo, Norway during the Obama Nobel Peace Prize award, and was offering his art to aid in poverty relief for Haiti.

"The artwork will be sold by UN's World Food Programme (WFP) and the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation on eBay."




Bill Clinton: Haiti Quake Tragedy for Millions, United Nations

Former President, Now a U.N. Special Envoy, Calls on Americans to Donate Cash
By DEVIN DWYER
Jan. 13, 2010
The disaster in Haiti, affecting more than 3 million people, may be one of the most devastating tragedies ever to hit the United Nations, former President Bill Clinton told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in an interview for "World News."
Clinton, who was appointed the United Nations' special envoy to Haiti in May 2008, said the U.N. itself has been hit hard.
"Our U.N. hotel, as you know, [was] five stories [and] completely collapsed. Today, only 10 people [were] recovered alive," Clinton told Stephanopoulos.
At least 16 U.N. employees, including chief of the U.N. mission in Haiti, Hedi Annabi, have died, with at least 56 more injured, a U.N. spokesman told ABC News.
"It's highly likely to be the highest mortality count we've ever had," Clinton said. ... more at story link above

and from the nation next-door to Haiti, the Dominican Republic:
Dominican Drugs Adviser again cites ex U.S. Ambassador in major drugs scandal




UPDATE 1:






*** Be sure to check out the phenomenal work by Andre Heath @ thealienproject.blogspot.com
MYSTERY: Symbols of an Alien Sky, Manmade or Natural Phenomena?


'Fox News Sunday' Transcript: Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush Discuss Haiti Challenge



In this age of bold trickery and deceit in the face of tremendous human tragedy (Like the Haiti EQ, Indonesia Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina - to name just a few) it is difficult for the average person to know exactly which charity will actually make proper use of donations - Which charitable organization will put the money to uses other than the administration and perpetuation of its own existence...

Well, for the immediate future stillerstrong.org (operated by the actor Ben Stiller) is claiming that 100% of all donations will go DIRECTLY to the Haiti relief effort.


A GREY AREA of charitable aid and relief can also occur when one organization (NGO/NFP) raises money and then bulk donates portions of that money, after operating expense deductions to yet another larger or more well known charitable relief organization.

Take time to investigate the percentages of money received versus the percentage of money used for the cause to which you are donating before donating to ANY charitable organization. Remember that bigger or more in-your-face through advertising, TV spots etc. also means more operating / administration expense and often less percentage making it out of the NFP corporation to the people that need it.




UPDATE 2:








Wyclef Jean, a Haitian singer (famous for his song with SHAKIRA - "Hips Don't Lie"), defending his charity YELE HAITI which has raised more than $2 million for relief efforts since the earthquake.



CBC NEWS:
Wyclef Jean Defends His Haitian Foundation on CBC










UPDATE 3:
BBC - Strong aftershock shakes Haiti, week after earthquake

A strong aftershock has rocked Haiti, sending screaming people running into the streets, eight days after another quake devastated the country.

The extent of the damage is not yet known. The magnitude 6.1 tremor struck west of Port-au-Prince at 0603 local time (1103 GMT).

An estimated 200,000 people died in last Tuesday's quake and another 1.5 million were made homeless.

Despite an international aid operation, supplies are slow to reach survivors.

However, international teams are still rescuing people alive from the rubble, including a 69-year-old woman pulled from the ruins of a church in the capital. ...more at story link above...

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and Olympia Greece - SIRIUSly!

As the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games commence in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on Feb 12, 2010 at 18:00 (6pm) PST the star SIRIUS, the famous star in the constellation of Canis Major (Big Dog), will be rising at the HorIzon in the East.

For the curious, at the same time, Meissa, the head star of the constellation Orion the Hunter, will be at 33 degrees ALT.




(click images below for larger versions)

Vancouver EAST view @ 1800 PST 2.12.2010


Vancouver SOUTH view @ 1800 PST 2.12.2010


Vancouver WEST view @ 1800 PST 2.12.2010




At that very same moment (02-12-2010 @ 1800 PST) over Olympia, Greece Sirius is setting to the Hor-I-zon in the West.

Olympia, Greece EAST view @ 1800 PST 2.12.2010



Olympia, Greece SOUTH view @ 1800 PST 2.12.2010


Olympia, Greece WEST view @ 1800 PST 2.12.2010





Thus, on the scheduled date and time of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics' Opening Ceremony, Vancouver, BC, Canada and Olympia, Greece are symbolically linked through the rising and setting of the star Sirius.



For more on the topic of SIRIUS, see most of my posts from the latter half of last year and the excellent multipart series by Chris Knowles @ The Secret Sun - "Stairway to Sirius"




SIDE NOTEs:

In synch with the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games commencement in just 30 days, we will witness the mystery object (NEO 2010 AL30) pass by Earth today (1.13.2010) !

The object, called 2010 AL30, is set to pass within 76,000 miles (122,000km) of the Earth, or just a third of the distance out to the moon, around lunchtime on Wednesday.

Its discovery earlier this week has baffled scientists, with some astronomers speculating it may be space junk given its width is similar to a man-made object.

Nasa said it was more likely to be a tiny asteroid, one of approximately 2 million such objects in near-Earth space.

Measuring between 33 to 50 feet (10 to 15 meters) wide, experts say it is too small to cause any damage to the earth.

The object, which will pass the earth at 1247 GMT, was discovered by, NASA-funded Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research programme on Monday and pictured by the Australian Skylive-Grove Creek Observatory in Trunkey Creek, New South Wales.

Experts say professional astronomers will be able to see it shining with a brightness of a 14th-magnitude star similar to that of Pluto in the constellations of Orion, Taurus, and Pisces.

Italian scientists Ernesto Guido and Giovanni Sostero, from the Remanzacco Observatory, told Ria Novosti, the Russian News Agency, that it had an orbital period of almost exactly one year and might be a man-made object such as a spent rocket booster.

...more at telegraph.co.uk

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/30436/1066/

http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2010/01/neo-2010-al30-close-approach.html





For those not up on norse, greek and roman mythology ZEUS/Iupiter/WOTAN are all the same character.
Zeus is the head (chief god) of the Olympians.
Wednesday is WOTAN's DAY.
Today, Wednesday, January 13, 2010, Wotan's Day thereby also Zeus's Day, will witness the near pass of NEO 2010 AL30 exactly 30 days before the start of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic games - a games historically held in honor of Zeus and the 12 Olympian gods.

Zeus lived and held court on Mount Olympus with the 12 Olympians: Zeus, Hera (Juno), Poseidon (Neptune), Demeter (Ceres), Apollo, Artemis (Diana), Ares (Mars), Hephaestus (Vulcan), Aphrodite (Venus), Hermes (Mercury), Athene (Minerva), and Hades (Pluto).

You'll also note more interesting astronomical positioning if you, armed with the names of the 12 Olympian deities, return to the images posted above for a second look.

Aside from the obvious 30 days before the Winter Olympic Games, another interesting timing fact of this object passing Earth (NEO 2010 AL30) is that today (1.13.2010) is also New Year's Eve (12.31.2009) via the old Julian calendar system. The Julian Calendar System and the Gregorian Calendar System (our current and main calendar system used in the "West") are separated by about 13 days.



In synch with the SHE WOLF / Shakira articles from last year, and the 2010 Vancouver games, my fellow Winnipeger, WERMES @ The Synch Hole notes that February 13 - February 15 is the ancient roman festival of Lupercalia



If you'll be in "The V", or around, during the 2010 Winter Olympics here's a list of some notable concerts and performers around the Vancouver and Whistler areas.



(check out the rest of the Olympic Coverage!)



Here's some comic relief from my fellow Canadian Mike Meyers: