Posted on 12/28/2004 9:09:32 AM PST by Smogger
And that jerk from the UN had the nerve to call US stingy.
These are just the initial aid packages and I'm sure they will end up much, much higher - with America contributing the most as usual.
Here's the article:
U.N. official slams U.S. as 'stingy' over aid
By Bill Sammon
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The Bush administration yesterday pledged $15 million to Asian nations hit by a tsunami that has killed more than 22,500 people, although the United Nations' humanitarian-aid chief called the donation "stingy."
"The United States, at the president's direction, will be a leading partner in one of the most significant relief, rescue and recovery challenges that the world has ever known," said White House deputy press secretary Trent Duffy.
But U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland suggested that the United States and other Western nations were being "stingy" with relief funds, saying there would be more available if taxes were raised.
= = = = =
The UN is really getting on my nerves!
I fear it's going to be well over 100,000 when it's all said and done.
Noticed that too? Why should they pony up, they never have before. Europe has long been dependent on US $. More than just Europe. I think all foreign aid should be redistributed to the countries affected by the tsunami.
QUESTION: How much time passed between the quake and the wave hitting Sri Lanka and India? These countries have telephones, televisions, and internet and NO ONE could say, "Hey, there's been a large earthquake east of us. Maybe we should tell people to get away from the beaches." ?
Their too busy making nuclear missiles.
The long term problems will also kill many more. The fishing fleets in the area were destroyed. Rampant starvation througout the area will be occurring.
This is the 'enlightened' east. They are more in tune with nature and Gaia then us materialistic westerners.
Lemme guess. Mr. Egeland is from a country which has much higher taxes than the U.S. and is one of the 25 EU countries that together pitched in a whopping one fourth of the U.S.' initial donation (which, BTW, was raised today from $15 to $35 million).
The tsunamis hit various major disaster areas from 1 to 2.5 hours after the quake (though the northern part of Indonesia, where the quake's epicenter was, got hit within a few minutes). My big question is about all the educated, wealthy foreigners who continued sunbathing on the beaches and swimming in the sea long after news of the quake had spread around the world. These people are perpetually glued to their cellphones and Blackberries, yet it sounds as if few if any of them put 2 and 2 together and figured out that if one of the biggest quakes in a century had just hit in the middle of the sea that they were on the edge of, they were in huge danger of being wiped out by a tsunami. I seem to recall first getting the quake-tsunami connection burned into my brain in 4th grade.
Even more telling are the people who didn't get the hint after the sea started receding right before the waves hit.
Would you have? Really?
I know enough that if I suddenly see fish flopping where before there was water, that is never a good thing.
I'll give you that ... I just don't know that I would have automatically translated that into RUN NOW!
Sure as heck will now.
At total or at least partial crock. After a 9.0 underseas quake, tsunamis follow. Every government in the area should have put every coastal community under alert. and for that matter, every coastal community mayor or whatever should have done the same thing. And furthermore, every tourist hotel manager should have warned tourists.
I caught the tail end of a Nightline interview with some idiot climatologist from U Hawaii who claimed they had alerted "every country who subscribed to our system but the infrastructure wasn't in place to alert other countries." Words to that effect, anyway, which made me blow my top! The idiots couldn't have picked up a phone? Liberal bureaucrats killed thousands of people, IMO, through their unwillingness to use their common sense.
Meanwhile, an organization I know of personally has an outpost on the beach in Kerala, India. Members contacted them by phone from the US, gave them the head's up, and they saved every one of the 2500 people in their compound, even the pet elephants, which were guided upstairs into a strong building.
Had that conversation yesterday. I had read 2.5 hours to get to Sri Lanka.
Most of those foriegners were from Europe. Or election rigging socialistic Europe. They use modern electronics to converse about the screwed up non-socialistic countries and they also use modern electronics to help brainwash the masses and steal elections. They dont use modern electronics to warn themselves when their god GAIA is upset. If GAIA did get upset, it was probably Bush's fault and there was nothing they could do about it anyway. Therefore, sleeping on the beach is okay.
Doesn't that just say it all... the prevailing thought of the libs.
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