WHY IS MIKE MCROBERTS IN HAITI?

TV3 like sending newsreader Mike McRoberts off to far-flung 'trouble spots' and this week the 'I've Been Everywhere Man' is in Haiti.

He may as well remained in TV3's Auckland studios for all the good he's doing.

So far he's told us nothing that we don't already know. On Nightline last night he basically told us that there:

A. There has been an earthquake in Haiti.
B. Many people are dead or injured.
C. An 'international rescue mission' is underway.

Why exactly does McRoberts have to be in Haiti to tell us this? Is his trip just about giving TV3 News some kudos in the ratings battle against TV1? I think it is.

Like the rest of the New Zealand media, McRoberts is ignoring how a century of political and economic oppression - driven by the United States- has contributed to Haiti's plight

Since he is in Haiti, perhaps McRoberts could go and talk with some Haitian activists and find out exactly why thousands of Haitians are living in slums - slums that were flattened by the earthquake.

Perhaps he might like to ask why two million people are living in Port-au-Prince, the capital city, which possessed an infrastructure that had neither been modernised or expanded since the days when it had a population of just 50,000. Could this possibly explain why the city's infrastructure just collapsed in the aftermath of the earthquake? Who is responsible for this?

Any answers Mike or are you just going to continue with your hopeless 'Tourist From Hell' reports? Even the ludicrous Petra Bagust could write this pap.

And the 'noble international rescue mission' is also not so unproblematic as McRoberts seems to think.

It's becoming increasingly clear that Obama's priority in Haiti is maintaining political and economc control.

Immediately after the earthquake, Obama sent in thousands of marines and the 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers (a 10,000 force contingent once in place).These people are armed killers - not humanitarian personnel. It starkly exposed Obama's motives.

More US troops are likely to follow and will be reinforced by UN Blue Helmets and Haitian National Police under Pentagon command. A long-term commitment for militarised control is planned, not humanitarian relief, reminiscent of the 20-year 1915 - 1934 period when US Marines occupied and oppressed the Haitian people.

The US military took over the Port Au Prince airport , reopened it after its brief closure, and set up a temporary air traffic control centre. Military personnel now decide what gets in or out, what's delivered - and how fast

The US military have deliberately slowed the disbursement of arriving search and rescue equipment, supplies, and personnel, As a result, trapped Haitians have perished, whereas a concentrated, sustained airlift, including heavy earthmoving and other equipment, might have saved a lot more lives.

Care to comment, Mike?

There are also independent reports that say Washington is trying to block Cuban and Venezuelan aid workers by refusing them landing permission in Port-au-Prince.

Anything to say about this, Mike?

What has gone unreported in the New Zealand media is that Cuba has been assisting the Haitian people for many years. At the time of the earthquake it had over 400 doctors and healthcare personnel working in Haiti, providing free services. Cuba has trained over 400 Haitian doctors.

And Cuba is a country that has long been blockaded by the United States

I don't imagine any of this will get mentioned in McRoberts news reports. Like the rest of the New Zealand media he is seemingly intent on giving us a sanitised picture of Haiti's misery.