77,000 and still counting - unbelievable

[Hywel Jenkins]

Ranting snipped. Did *you* mark it as OT? (Throwing stones and such...)

No he didn't, but then you didn't do it correctly, either.

 

[Hywel Jenkins]

Thats from France thats only gave $135,000. Wheres all the cash they stole
in the Oil For Food scam?

Clearly you didn't read it. I have a limited understanding of US
geography, but I'm sure that Baltimore is in Maryland.

 

[saz]

I'm posting this message to all of the groups I frequent, in hopes that it
might make a difference.

The tradgedy that is happening in Asia right now, due to the quake and
subsequent tsunami, is something that I've been trying to comprehend for the
past several days. I'm trying to fathom the number of people and families
who were here, on this earth, just last week and are now gone. I'm trying
to grasp the number of people who've lost loved ones and still don't know if
they are alive or dead. I'm thinking of the next several weeks and months,
when more people are definitely going to die of hunger and disease from the
aftermath of this event. I think about the total number of people that live
in the five cities surrounding my home...and how the number is smaller than
those that have already died. I'm completely overwhelmed by it.

I also think about how many people on this planet are currently reading
these newsgroups and how we could make a small dent in the suffering if we
all contribute even a little bit. Personally, I've donated to the Red Cross
International Disaster Fund ( http://www.redcross.org )...mainly because its
the one I know. I am asking everyone who reads this to contribute
*something* to any organization that is providing assistance to the people
affected by this horror. Feel free to reply to this message with links to
other organizations raising money for the victims.

My heart just aches right now for all those people going through what must
be pure hell right now...knowing that its going to get worse before it gets
better. I hope we can all take 10 minutes out of our discussions, flamings
and debates to go make an online donation that could just save the life of
someone's child.

--Tina

I sent out an invoice Tuesday, and I immediately donated the full amount
to the Red Cross.

I realize we're not all in the same financial position, but even a small
portion of your next invoice would help.

 

[SpaceGirl]

The US sent ships. I didnt hear if the UK did/was.
I too would donate if I had the cash and knew it was going to the needy
there and not the pockets of the people running the charity.

I'm pretty sure the service men and women on those ships are expecting
to get paid for the time they are offering aid. And someone has to pay
for the fuel the ships use, the resources consumed onboard etc etc.
Volunteers at aid agencies do NOT get paid.

--


x theSpaceGirl (miranda)

# lead designer @ http://www.dhnewmedia.com #
# remove NO SPAM to email, or use form on website #

 

[Joel Shepherd]

: Action Against Hunger
: New York, NY 10018
: http://www.aah-usa.org

Whatever gave you an idea that only Americans make use of Newsgroups??!

If you have local expertise -- know about relief organizations in your
country -- then *use it* and add to the list, instead of whining about
how you have no representation. Please.

 

[Neal]

: Action Against Hunger
: 247 West 37th Street, Suite 1201
: New York, NY 10018
: 212-967-7800
: http://www.aah-usa.org
:
: American Jewish World Service

Whatever gave you an idea that only Americans make use of Newsgroups??!

Whatever gave YOU the idea he knows anything about organizations in
whatever country you're in?

Jeez, does everything on Usenet have to be international?

 

[Duende]

While sitting in a puddle SpaceGirl scribbled in the mud:

I'm pretty sure the service men and women on those ships are expecting
to get paid for the time they are offering aid. And someone has to pay
for the fuel the ships use, the resources consumed onboard etc etc.
Volunteers at aid agencies do NOT get paid.

Cost the same as staying in their home port. Better they should be over
there.

 

[GreyWyvern]

Whatever gave YOU the idea he knows anything about organizations in
whatever country you're in?

Jeez, does everything on Usenet have to be international?

Yesh, or it will be decried by foreigners as implicit xenophobia...
whenever it suits their interests.

It's hard to argue with the "noble", but misguided, position that all
people are residents of Earth first, and citizens of nations second. In
the real world, doing so *might* make you appear logical, clear-headed,
and conscious of reality. However, on Usenet, and especially in *this*
group, it's much more likely to make you look like an intolerant asshole
rumoured to support apartheid and ethnic cleansing.

Grey

 

[Neal]

While sitting in a puddle SpaceGirl scribbled in the mud:


Cost the same as staying in their home port. Better they should be over
there.

Not really, fuel costs are greater going there. And provisioning is more
expensive on the other side of the globe than close to home. It's
definitely more expensive to be away then home.

 

[Neal]

Yesh, or it will be decried by foreigners as implicit xenophobia...
whenever it suits their interests.

I'll remember that next time a Brit complains about "color" or "humor"...

 

[steven]

No he didn't, but then you didn't do it correctly, either.

Oh?

 

[GreyWyvern]

Oh?

You guys sure picked a great thread in which to start getting nitpicky
over thread marking protocol.

Grey

 

[Duende]

While sitting in a puddle Neal scribbled in the mud:

Not really, fuel costs are greater going there. And provisioning is more
expensive on the other side of the globe than close to home. It's
definitely more expensive to be away then home.

The carrier battle group uses nuclear power. no need to gas up over there.
Might cost a bit more to supply them but not all that much. Most supplies
will come from here.

 

[Starshine Moonbeam]

Why donate? They reported on the news that people are dressing up like
releif workers and police and going through DEAD peoples pockets and luggage
and taking cash and other valuables. Plus with all the cheating that area of
the world does at PPC and PTRE sites and the jobs they have taken from the
US they should have more than enough.

Bush said the US may end up giving $1Billion!!! Couldnt the HOMELESS and
POOR here in the USA use that?

Why yes. Yes they could.

 

[Karl Core]

Why yes. Yes they could.

They sure could!
Then again, 100,000+ homeless people didn't die in the last week.

 

[Tina - AffordableHOST, Inc.]

<delurk>

Tina, you could use your sig for that. Then, you would get your message
out with every *on topic* post you make in *every group* that you
frequent.

Instead, you've created an OT monster crosspost which is largely, albeit
silently for the mostpart, unwelcome here.

There is enough coverage of this tragedy on the teevee, along with
endless pleas for help. You would have to be living under a rock to be
unaware of it. You would have to be dead to be unaffected by it.

Well, some of us come here (and to other groups) to get *away* from it,
if only for a little while.

rf made a polite request. It's too late, now, but consider it in the
future when, inevitably, some other catastrophy occurs.

</delurk>

I make absolutely, positively, ZERO apologies for my post....either in
format, subject or content.

To sum up: The people affected by the quake and subsequent tsunami need
help. 117,000 people have died and 10s of 1000s more are going to die. We
can help ease some of the suffering by giving to organizations that are
working on helping these victims. I ask that everyone take 10 minutes out
of their day and give online to the redcross.org or some other agency.

That's all. Have a nice day.

--Tina

 

[Hywel Jenkins]

I make absolutely, positively, ZERO apologies for my post....either in
format, subject or content.

Nor should you. I would think less of you if you did. It's easy for us
to sit here in nice comfortable offices with air con and a water cooler,
isn't it?

 

[Starshine Moonbeam]

They sure could!
Then again, 100,000+ homeless people didn't die in the last week.

Good luck trying to get a billion for the homeless here at any time.

Oh they should all just go out and get jobs at wal-mart for a non-living
wage. *That's* what you'll get instead of a cool billion for the
homeless because they'll just blow it on liquor and drugs anyway.

 

[Augustus]

Man I thought the other thread brought out some bitter replies, but this
one is just... horrible.

A couple of thoughts I have on this thread, this post, this train of thought
and this statement:

1) Everybody has an opinion and a right to their own opinion. Just because
somebody would rather see money allocated to support their own homeless or
people suffering from tragedy doesn't mean they are mean, evil, unkind,
unloving, uncaring, etc... Everybody has their own priorities and opinions
on whats important to them.

2) With this tsunami tragedy I think a case is building for people to be
bitter. Being in Canada I can only comment on what I've seen thus far
(which pertains to the US and Canada, we dont' get much coverage of other
countries here).
So what do we see so far? The US is sending over a crate of money now
and pledging up to $1B in aid... their "thanks" for this: Kofi Annan goes on
TV this morning representing the UN and says to the world that its not
enough and that Americans shouldn't be so cheap. Canada is sending over a
crate of money, part of its army and a mountain of water purifiers... their
"thanks" for this: the WHO goes on TV this morning and says that its not
enough and we should be forking over more.
So I can see people starting to get bitter about it when your country's
aid is rebuffed to the world by high profile agencies and organizations.

3) As far as what somebody else said about the thread in general and that it
shouldn't have been posting in the first place: when it comes to top
posting, cross posting, multi posting, etc... people are very quick here to
quote usenet netiquette about why people shouldn't do it. Posting about
world news and tragedies that people are inundated with on TV and the papers
is also part of the whole "things you shouldn't do in usenet" according to
usenet netiquette.

4) In all this I'm not saying people or goverments shouldn't provide aid or
give more or less than what they are giving... or that I don't feel sorry
for the people being affected by this tragedy. I was satisfied with the
level of aid that Canada was giving (to this and other causes with donations
from both the country and the people) but when I am watching the news this
morning and I see world ogranizations telling us that we aren't giving
enough and we shouldn't be so stingy it does leave me feeling a little
bitter.

 

[Eric Jarvis]

I am also spamming <eg> a message from a guy who's actually there, and
works in tourism, to my friends who work in media and news.

Abridged and roughly translated it says that donations may well cover the
immediate emergency and expenses, but the most important thing is that
people do not forget the countries affected by the tsunami almost
entirely live on tourism, and understand that only a few places have
suffered damages. So, withdrawing a reservation now for next summer means
to cut vital funds on people that need them and on really fragile
economies that have had little more than the tourism to gain an
acceptable (to their standards, surely not to ours) life standard.

It may be worse in Sri Lanka. A lot of the affected communities there are
fishing villages. They've lost all the boats, but worse, not only have
they lost many of the experienced fishermen but many of those who survive
are going to be too traumatised to go back to sea without help. These are
places that have lost everything and have yet to realise that they've also
lost the means by which they could have recovered. It'll be a long haul
for them.