Chavez says U.S. occupying Haiti in name of aid

Goober

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How many times do i have to tell you - read the warning labels - Drano should not be drunk - Don't say i didn't warn you though.
 

MHz

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Well perhaps you didn't know...the US and Canada has been screwing them because...

because...

Ummm...
They were the first black people to gain freedom from physical slavery. See history with France.

History of Haiti - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Haiti is the world's oldest black republic and the second-oldest republic in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States. Although Haiti actively assisted the independence movements of many Latin American countries – and secured a promise from the great liberator, Simón Bolívar, that he would free their slaves after winning independence from Spain – the nation of former slaves was excluded from the hemisphere's first regional meeting of independent nations, held in Panama in 1826. Furthermore, owing to entrenched opposition from Southern slave states, Haiti did not receive U.S. diplomatic recognition until 1862 (after those states had seceded from the Union) – largely through the efforts of anti-slavery senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts.
Upon assuming power, General Dessalines authorized the Constitution of 1804. This constitution, in terms of social freedoms, called for:
1. Freedom of Religion (Under Toussaint, Catholicism had been declared the official state religion);2. All citizens of Haiti, regardless of skin color, to be known as "Black" (this was an attempt to eliminate the multi-tiered racial hierarchy which had developed in Haiti, with full-blooded Europeans at the top, various levels of light to brown skin in the middle, and dark skinned "Kongo" from Africa at the bottom).3. White men were forbidden from possessing property or domain on Haitian soil. Should the French return to reimpose slavery, Article 5 of the constitution declared: "At the first shot of the warning gun, the towns shall be destroyed and the nation will rise in arms."[13]"I guess the cruise-ship property will be coming back to be Haitian property again once somebody notices #3.
 

taxslave

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I was reading a forum on structural engineering, and the posters there (who are pretty much all structural engineers) commented on the almost-complete lack of rebar in the pictures...very little reinforcing of any kind, typical of poor countries.

Common in the parts of Canada that do not have building inspections too. Up until about 1990 many towns with building inspections had cinder block buildings with little or no rebar. All are still standing. It wasn't until someone claimed we were past due for a shaker that we started using rebar. Our regional district has five firehalls , all built in the early 80's that have little or no rebar and are not worth retrofitting so we will be getting new ones. I hope.
 

petros

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Is there a specific fund that supports the zombies? Being a minority there would be numerous times as rough especially if if you're a zombie.
 

#juan

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I was reading a forum on structural engineering, and the posters there (who are pretty much all structural engineers) commented on the almost-complete lack of rebar in the pictures...very little reinforcing of any kind, typical of poor countries.

You are right unfortunately. Even private homes were not immune. One, two, and three story homes just fell down on whoever was in them. The problem is so widespread that it has been impossible to get to a lot of these people on time.
 

petros

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Nov 21, 2008
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Quoting TenPenny
I was reading a forum on structural engineering, and the posters there (who are pretty much all structural engineers) commented on the almost-complete lack of rebar in the pictures...very little reinforcing of any kind, typical of poor countries.

You are right unfortunately. Even private homes were not immune. One, two, and three story homes just fell down on whoever was in them. The problem is so widespread that it has been impossible to get to a lot of these people on time.

We have the same problem with brick construction on the west coast and east coast.

No where is immune from an earthquake.

They use alot of cinder blocks in poor countries it's not so much the reinforcement (they stuff scrap metal in as much as possible) but the quality of the mortar.

Our newer wood frame homes would never work there.

They'd rot in 4 years if they made it that long before a storm blew them to Jamaica.

The best way to engineer the rebuilding would be to go steel and cinder modular.

Heavy equip stays pretty much in one local knocking off piece after piece efficiently as possible and neighbourhoods are basically bolted together.

Lime and shale are abundant on the island but granite isn't so pressure rated concrete is super expensive to have barged in. Modular won't blow away and flexes with the wave motions of quakes. They work great in middle east quake areas.
 

MHz

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Adding rebar to cinder block buildings will not make them quake-proof (in strong quakes) The freeways that fell in the US had re-bar cement, they still failed. The solution was a thin veneer of sheet steel. That is the current building code.
Haiti could use the same method that a few have been experimenting with in North America. Old tires are stacked and tied together and then the inner void is filled with 'packed earth'. The exterior is fire-proofed via a tin layer 'mud'. Since Haiti has lots of cement (and lots of cement rubble). The world has enough old tires to rebuild all of Haiti, the only question is how much we need to give them to accept our 'rubbish'.
Laid in the upright position they would make excellent tubes for utility lines, also less prone to damage in future disasters if they are flexible and above ground.
 

MHz

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Mar 16, 2007
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We have the same problem with brick construction on the west coast and east coast.

No where is immune from an earthquake.

They use alot of cinder blocks in poor countries it's not so much the reinforcement (they stuff scrap metal in as much as possible) but the quality of the mortar.

Our newer wood frame homes would never work there.

They'd rot in 4 years if they made it that long before a storm blew them to Jamaica.

The best way to engineer the rebuilding would be to go steel and cinder modular.

Heavy equip stays pretty much in one local knocking off piece after piece efficiently as possible and neighbourhoods are basically bolted together.

Lime and shale are abundant on the island but granite isn't so pressure rated concrete is super expensive to have barged in. Modular won't blow away and flexes with the wave motions of quakes. They work great in middle east quake areas.
A lot of the 'rock' is coral, not much strength. It does have excellent insulation value (for a rock) You might need a 3ft thick wall but it would hold ice for a long time.
 

lone wolf

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Nov 25, 2006
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Nothing is quake proof - but it can be built to withstand substantial ones. Old tires or bales of straw (reinforced and coated with stucco) are relatively inexpensive - more build for the buck
 

AnnaG

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Nothing is quake proof - but it can be built to withstand substantial ones. Old tires or bales of straw (reinforced and coated with stucco) are relatively inexpensive - more build for the buck
Hemp should be easy enough to grow there.
 

#juan

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Aug 30, 2005
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We have the same problem with brick construction on the west coast and east coast.

No where is immune from an earthquake.

They use alot of cinder blocks in poor countries it's not so much the reinforcement (they stuff scrap metal in as much as possible) but the quality of the mortar.

Our newer wood frame homes would never work there.

They'd rot in 4 years if they made it that long before a storm blew them to Jamaica..

I worked in the construction field as mechanical engineer in various parts of Canada over the last thirty odd years. I'm not convinced that well engineered wood frame construction building on a decent foundation would not work in Haiti. We've had earthquakes as large, or nearly as large. Remember, a lot of the buildings that fell down in Haiti, had probably been there for a hell of a long time and they have certainly had earthquakes before.

There was an earthquake in Alaska a few years ago that was something over 9.0 on the Richter scale. Quite a few ordinary buildings survived with minimal damage. It is pretty hard for a building to survive if the ground turns upside down and drops into a hole, but it is surprising what buildings survive just a really good shake.