CrownCast Episode 180

On January 26, 2010, in CrownCast Episodes, by CrownCast

Episode 180 – Haiti cruise stops draw ire, Yellow Journalism?

Episode 180 is now available for download

Hosts: Jamie and Veronica Snyder

Location: Live from the Sea view Cafe aboard Jewel of the Seas

Guest: None

Topics:

What’s on eBay

Join Me On A Cruise With My Family! Royal Caribbean 8NT

Haiti relief: Finding the best ways to help

In the days following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, it’s become increasingly clear that the relief effort needs to be enormous and long-term. Hundreds of organizations are mobilizing to meet the need, but where will your dollar do the most good? We sought out the best advice on avoiding scams and choosing legitimate relief organizations.

Where to help:

An easy way to help is to make a quick donation using your cell phone. You can also donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti by texting “Haiti” to 90999. More than $3 million has been donated so far. The donation itself is added to your next phone bill. Similarly, you can donate $5 with your phone by texting “YELE” to 501501. Money goes to Yele Haiti, a charity founded in 2005 by recording artist Wyclef Jean, Goodwill Ambassador to Haiti .

CharityNavigator.org, which rates charities according to efficiency and disclosure, has a list of established charities providing relief in Haiti. The list includes a summary of star ratings for each agency, plus a link to a full report on the organization.

The New York Times also includes a list of relief organizations, compiled using ratings gleaned from the GuideStar database.

If you don’t want to do a lot of reading, here’s a shortlist of some of the largest organizations mobilizing to help:

Red Cross
CARE International
Doctors Without Borders
International Rescue Committee

Top news stories and rumors of the week

One of the cruise industry’s leading voices spoke out Wednesday in defense of Royal Caribbean’s controversial decision to resume cruises to Haiti in the wake of last week’s devastating earthquake. Seatrade Insider reports Rick Sasso, president and CEO of MSC Cruises USA, offered a passionate rebuttal to criticism of Royal Caribbean’s move during a cruise industry event in New York. “What they’re doing is humanitarian,” the news outlet reports Sasso as saying. “For anybody to criticize or portray this as ‘ghoulish,’ as I saw one newspaper report, makes me sick.”
A 30-year-old American woman sailing in the Caribbean this week on a Star Clippers cruise ship was murdered during a port call in Antigua. In a statement issued today to USA TODAY, Star Clippers confirms several reports in small Caribbean news outlets that the woman, identified as Nina Elisabeth Nilssen, was attacked and killed on Tuesday after she went ashore from the 227-passenger Royal Clipper. “According to Antiguan police officials, Nilssen’s body was discovered around 5 p.m. on a secluded trail at Windward Bay, near Pigeon Point Beach,” the statement says. “Authorities have a description of the alleged assailant, but have not made an arrest.”
Celebrity Cruises this month quietly ended its long tradition of carrying Catholic priests on ships in a move that has some Catholics crying foul. The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights in New York has issued a statement of protest saying the line has given in to “bigots” that had complained about the presence of priests on ships. The Catholic League cites a letter Celebrity sent to priests affected by the change that said the line had received “a great deal of negative feedback is pertaining to the selective support” of one particular religion.

Haiti

Running Time: 61:32

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