Posted on 12/30/2004 2:36:53 PM PST by SE Mom
Bush to Send Delegation to Asian Tsunami Region
9 minutes ago
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) will send a delegation headed by Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) and the president's brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, to the tsunami-affected region on Sunday to assess the need for assistance, the White House said.
Bush on Wednesday said that a $35 million U.S. pledge for victims of the tsunami was only the beginning and any suggestions America was stingy were "misguided and ill-informed."
Critics have faulted the president, who has been on vacation at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, for not making a public statement sooner on the disaster that killed at least 125,000.
" Critics
One person: Leslie Gelb,...he's been on ALL the cables, all the shows."
Gelb , the William Ginsburg of catastrophes, is just the tip of the spear.
We ain't seen nothing yet.
Wait till the Congressional ( primarily Senate ) bloviators get back to DC and indignantly huff and puff in front of the cameras demanding answers.
Answers, that probably only God can give.
That Senatorial fool from Maine, ( I know, which one ) Olympia Snowe has announced that she will conduct hearings ASAP.
Snowe is "exploring and looking into why NOAA was not able to provide this valuable, life-saving information to the 11 affected nations," Snowe's spokeswoman Antonia Ferrier said.
"But only two countries in the affected region, Indonesia and Australia,
both of which take part in the Pacific Ocean tsunami warning system, received the NOAA bulletin.
Countries located across the Indian Ocean from the earthquake, including India and Sri Lanka, do not take part in the warning system."
"Officials at NOAA's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii have said that they lacked contacts in the Indian Ocean region,
where tsunamis are rare."
"The center is geared toward detecting tsunamis and issuing alerts in the Pacific region, where large, destructive waves are much more common."
"Snowe chairs the Senate's Subcommittee on Oceans, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, which has oversight over the NOAA.
" April Boyd, a spokeswoman for ranking Democratic member John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, said she expected hearings on NOAA's reaction."
Sounds like Snowe and Kerry are going to hang out the Americans at NOAA,( over which Kerry and she had oversight ) because most of the third world nations in the Indian Ocean refused to join the early warning system.
By all means,Snowe and Kerry and the New York Times and Patrick Leahy, let's blame Americans ( ie: conservative Republicans ) for this horrific natural disaster.
I heard a little while ago on the radio, that Thailand was warned about the earthquake which could produce a tsunami heading their way, and they didn't warn anyone because it was the height of the tourist season and they didn't want the hotels to sue them if it was a false alarm.
What do you do if you warn someone and they don't listen---just like some of the people that don't evacuate during a hurricane warning, I guess. You clean up the mess for them anyway, if they survive.
Bush's ranch isn't called the Texas White House for nothing--he has staff with him all the time and is a plugged into world events and the people he needs there, as much as at the White House. I dare say Kofi Annan, whose JOB IT IS TO COORDINATE AID FOR COUNTRIES, didn't have the same set up at the top of a ski slope.
He was working behind the scenes from the moment it happened. He doesn't need the ego-stroking of being in front of the cameras biting his lower lip and telling folks how bad he feels about it. He knows the story isn't about HIM, and he waited what he probably felt was an appropriate time before going public.
I also heard the same report about Thailand declining to pass on the warning.
Plus, the sheer number of island areas ( did they even have phone service ?) and individual resorts to be contacted, may have made it a physically impossible task, anyway.
I wonder if the UN or Olympia Snowe had ever thought it might be important to educate people in countries bordering large ocean masses, about tsunamis?
It sounds like the majority of people watching the initial outflow of the ocean, viewed it with curiousity, more than fear.
I wonder how many of the villagers would have even understood the concept of a tsunami ?
It sounds like very few people, from the locals to Westerners and Europeans had any idea that when the ocean suddenly washed out, a tsunami was incoming.
I know I didn't.
I've visited Hawaii many times and on the back of the hotel doors and in the phonebooks, they have tsunami evacuation plans- like a tornado warning, a siren will sound and you should go a designated place of higher ground.
I don't recall seeing anything about a receding ocean as a harbinger of a tsunami.
Olympia Snowe and Kofi Annan and the New York Times and Patrick Leahy and the rest of the US Senate have been derelict in educating the world about the warning signs of tsunamis and I think there should be hearings as to why they did not. ( sarcasm off )
Meanwhile, those that actually walk the walk, will be out arranging help for the victims, while the usual suspects will be whining and pointing fingers, on Meet The Press.
When I read about Snowe wanting investigations and hearings, etc., it just hit a bulls-eye with one of my pet peeves about Congress.
They don't have very long sessions without some kind of break, for some kind of holiday or some such, but when they ARE in session, they only want to gripe about Bush and hold hearings to find out more reasons to complain, instead of just going to work each day, punching in (so to speak), and doing the people's work.
I've heard off and on since before the election that the Dems were gonna call for hearings and investigations into voter fraud, did we go into Iraq illegally, had Halliburton stolen more money than Koko Annen? You name it, the dems will holding hearings, BUT, they won't get any budget cuts dones, social security fixes, the income taxes made easier and fairer, etc.
I, too, have a feeling that the first week back for Congress will just be one bloviater after another critisizing Bush for the Iraq casualties, the tsunami, the floods in California, the Ukraine elections, the poisoning of one of the Ukraine candidates, I'm sure I will think of more things the dems will make speeches about instead of tackling the hard problems.
$100.00 donated to the salvation army and $50.00 to red cross. I donated an extra $50.00 when i heared DU'ers were saying "This makes 9/11 look like nothing".
Zero.
France sent zero.
Floridians at 3.187 percent. But FOREIGNERS get cash--free and clear.
In America, Americans are second banana to foreigners.
Can someone refresh my mind? How much money did the UN provide for the Florida hurricanes?
Zero.
France sent zero.
After the hurricanes, the SBA issued loans to Floridians at 3.187 percent. But FOREIGNERS get cash--free and clear.
In America, Americans are second banana to foreigners.
I love the Salvation Army & want to make a donation to the tsunami victims, but I never put my credit card information on an unsecured site (no lock).
That's weird. Wonder why the lock doesn't show up on my screen?
We poured over $2 billion in disaster recovery aid into Florida, or about 57 times the $35 million we're sending to Asia. I don't think we needed any outside aid.
I'm not saying that you're wrong...but when did the president start appointing newspaper editors?
I'm not saying that you're wrong...but when did the president start appointing newspaper editors?
Experience:
Columnist, deputy editorial page editor, op-ed page editor, national security correspondent, diplomatic correspondent, The New York Times (1981-93); senior associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (1980-81); assistant secretary of state for political/military affairs (1977-79); senior fellow, Brookings Institution (1969-73); visiting professor, Georgetown University (1969-73); director of policy planning and arms control for international security affairs, Department of Defense (1967-69); executive assistant, U.S. Senator Jacob K. Javits (1966-67).
I'm not asking for his experience. It's just the way that you posted #13. Someone could read it that he was appointed to his editorial position at the Times by Clinton.
I knew what you meant so let me be the first to say it:
It's going to be a long year.
Well, you seem to be the only one who did.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.