Roundup and update of latest news on Haiti

First, an observation. Since the Tuesday Massachussets Senate election, and President Obama's plans to regulate the banks were revealed, the Haiti earthquake has fallen quite a bit off the front page of the New York Times' website. I plan to do an empirical analysis of how quickly this event fell out of the public eye. There is a benefit on many on-air and cable TV networks tonight, but Friday not is not traditionally a big TV night, although it will be interesting to see whether it raises donations.

Meanwhile, some interesting news items from the last few days:

"Do the Reporters in Haiti Have Their Own Food and Shelter? Plus: Why don't earthquakes get names, like hurricanes do?" [Slate]

"How Do You Measure an Earthquake From 250 Years Ago?" [Slate]

"Airline stands firm on bag policy for Haiti rescue workers" [CNN]

""Why Did We Focus on Securing Haiti Rather Than Helping Haitians? Here are two possibilities, neither of them flattering" [One of the best articles of the week, Slate]

Update
I found, somewhere, mention of the Palace Hotel in Port-au-Prince. The folks running their website are blogging about what is happening there. It appears to be one of the few hotels still open, although it is full for the foreseeable future of journalists and other workers.

Finally

The Lede blog in the New York Times today finally acknowledged that all looting isn't looting. The entire blog is worth a look, but here's the relevant language:

Update | 12:34 p.m. As Haitians wait for aid to reach them, on what local bloggers are calling “Haiti Year Zero, Day 6,” some observers are asking if it is fair to call people who take goods from ruined shops “looters.”

This video posted online by The Associated Press on Monday shows Haitian police firing in the air to disperse young men carrying goods from destroyed buildings in Port-au-Prince:

Looking at video of a similar scene on Sunday, Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré, retired, who took charge of security in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina,told CNN: “These people are trying to survive, and you should not shoot someone over trying to get food - they are [doing] nothing but expressing a human need to get food.” He added, “The president of Haiti needs to declare right now, if we’re gonna make this a better place, that no one will be shot for trying to get food.”