At 21:53:09 UTC today (2010-01-12), 04:53:09 PM local time, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the Hispaniolan nation of Haiti. The epicenter of the quake (18.451°N, 72.445°W, 10 km below the surface) was about 10 miles southwest of the nation's capital city of Port-au-Prince. Many of the buildings in Haiti, which were not built to withstand such powerful earthquakes, have collapsed, including at least one hospital and the control tower at the Port-au-Prince international airport. Communication and transportation systems have been crippled by the quake, and casualties are expected to be high.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has a population of 9,035,536 people, but occupies an area slightly smaller than Maryland. 80% of the Haitian population lives under the poverty line, with 54% living in abject poverty. Emergency aid, and aid to help Haiti recover from this catastrophic quake, will likely be provided in large part by the international community, with several countries already offering Haiti aid.

While the tragedy of this event cannot be overstated, it might paradoxically provide a unique opportunity for the Zeitgeist Movement and the Venus Project. Haiti has historically been a nation of great social and economic trouble. Haiti suffers from high inflation, limited infrastructure, and widespread unemployment. More than two-thirds of the nation's labor force do not have formal jobs, and law enforcement in Haiti is currently being supported by a UN peacekeeping mission. With an already struggling nation thrown into veritable chaos by this latest tragedy, there may be no better time for the Venus Project to come to the rescue of humanity.

With much of the nation's infrastructure devastated by the quake, the cost of building new infrastructure is now unavoidable. This could provide an incentive to implement Venus Project designs, because a large part of the resources necessary have already (albeit involuntarily) been committed. More importantly, Haiti has just finished repaying its debt to the World Bank, loosening international banking influence upon its future development.

How will Haiti rebuild from this catastrophe? Will it depend on the World Bank to help it rebuild, placing it once again under the heavy finger of international bankers? Or, will the nation take the initiative to implement a scientifically sound social design that has the potential to mitigate the panoply of social problems that have plagued this nation's history?

It depends. And it depends, in large part, on whether or not the Venus Project is offered as an option in Haiti's recovery...

I recommend that you contact as many people there as possible to let them know.

It is a very tragic situation that left hundreds of dead people... However there are people who live there and have to get up on their feet and they will want to find food and shelter. I hope for no clashes and situations like this.

It would be very nice if we had the budgets to go there and start helping those people. Perhaps by building COB houses for example.

On a side note, I am afraid that the US will show its "generosity" and help them first

apollo schrieb:
On a side note, I am afraid that the US will show its "generosity" and help them first
This morning I heard on German radio that they indeed think about sending the military to help rebuild the country.

It's the only time the military are used for a good purpose, I wish it could be that way all the time.

I don't think we're ready to build a city at this point but a great idea. We're still in our infancy, we must learn to crawl before we learn to walk. We must learn to move our hands, our feet and use our brains before we can crawl. Its just a matter of time but at this stage we need to recruit and the best way we can (again at this point) is by word of mouth.

apollo wrote:
It would be very nice if we had the budgets to go there and start helping those people. Perhaps by building COB houses for example.
The "budget" to help Haiti is forthcoming. Relief organizations, other nations, and the Haitian diaspora are all mobilizing to provide disaster relief, and to begin rebuilding the nation. The question is: How will these newly committed resources be used? Will they be used to build more shanty towns, ghettos, and gangs? Or, will they be used to build structures like Jacque's, to distribute resources in a humane way, and promote a more sustainable social structure?

The best time to consider buying a new car is when the car you're driving is totalled. Haiti is now experiencing historic levels of death, destruction, and unrest. Now would seem to be the best time to consider rebuilding the country "the right way."

If the Venus Project designs formed the blueprint for Haiti's reconstruction, Haiti could realize an improved standard of living completely unparalleled in the nation's history.

But it won't, because no officials know of it and if they did, they'd think of it as "idealist nonsense", just like all the other people who refuse to think about TVP.
I'm not that optimistic that we'll change anything by trying to convince as many people as possible. We just have to start making small changes to the world around us, like doing all we can to push our governments to introduce an "unconditional basic income". This will be the first step to separate work from money, enabling companies to rationalize, modernize, automatize and so on. Enabling them to work more efficiently.

I see where your going but sadly I just dont see this happening yet. People fear change, and a change as drastic as TZM is going to cause a drastic amout of fear in people. I think education is the key at the moment.
If you feel restless go learn and talk to people about it.

However good your intentions may be, this is not a realistic possibility. This movement does not yet have the means to create the abundance necessary. With no abundance, there's nothing that can be done beyond typical aid work.