This would be funny if it wasn't so sad.
This is the part most relevant to the United Nations operations, excerpted at the dots as well as where indicated.
I nominate this for the official UN slogan.
Are Mark Rich or Kojo Annan involved? That would explain a lot!
Seriously though, the magnitude of this disaster just boggles the mind. I just hope those who need get what they have to have as soon as possible.
The rest is, well, somehow going to be used to line the pockets of UN officials. Until they can figure out how to skim off the top, they'll keep blocking it.
After Oil for Food, how can the UN be trusted with anything?
Hey the military, politicians and assorted warloards/henchmen have to get their cut before it reaches the poeple.
Oh, I'm sure all that donated money is going somewhere...
Somehow I feel sure that this will be blamed on us as well.
I called someone from Sri Lanka. She said to wait before donating.
a lack of fuel for trucks to move it
Cannot possibly be; after all, gasoline comes from trucks.
Comment of the week:
"We are doing very little at the moment," U.N. emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland acknowledged..."
Once GW was reelected, the world was doomed. He's got a tsumani factory in the White House basement. The fiend.
"Lack of fuel" at an airport with literally hundreds of thousands of gallons of jet fuel... TRANSLATION: the airport officials want their cut, probably 10-20%, before the stuff leaves the airport.
the UN is a pathetic collection of lawyers and a den of thieves.
The USA is getting results! A naval/Marine task force is bringing in supplies - setting up a base of operations for helicopter deliveries - water - food - medicines - C130 supply aircraft flying them in to the US base of operations ... We have results!
Wanna bet you will NEVER hear about it from reuters or the dis-Associated press?
Oh yeah - the MSM demands you send them CASH!? Who do you think would actually get cash? the lawyer/politician/dictators/criminals.
UN bureaucrats can't skim off the money that quickly. 25% of the 220 million has to line their pockets first and will take, oh say, two-three days.
"We are doing very little at the moment," U.N. emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland acknowledged in New York. The United Nations estimates up to 5 million people need aid.
"It will take maybe 48 to 72 hours more to be able to respond to the tens of thousands of people who would like to have assistance today -- or yesterday, rather," he said. "I believe the frustration will be growing in the days and the weeks ahead."
Remember the "outrage" over the unspent millions in Iraqi reconstruction funds allocated by the US?
Gosh, it turns out that some things do take time after all.
E-mail addresses for Egeland:
Egeland@un.org
lawday@un.org
bunker@un.org
I saw the Ambassador to Sri Lanka on the news last night and he said there was a bottleneck at the airport but they were working on it. He also said that some of the remote areas are just now being opened up. They've just finished opening up two roads that were washed away.
Well, that's the end of that relief effort!