Posted on 01/04/2005 1:28:19 PM PST by kattracks
The question is why so little of this 1/40th of the income of all the oil sheiks is not being directed toward the tsunami victims, many of whom are even Muslims
Stolen and incorporated into the Koran does not mean that it is actually used as anything but a nice idea. I suspect the reason that Islamics do not help their fellow Muslims is that they dont have any sort of "giving" culture. Christianity has been a "giving" culture since its inception.
Ho-HA! Yes! LOL!
That is the silliest statement I have heard in the longest time.
You should listen to yourself sometime, then. If your paycheck doubled, you sound like the kind of person who would be celebrating even if everything else tripled.
It is the cry of a mentality used to demanding credit for good intentions, not actual benefit achieved.
Also, you are apparently one of those who would praise Bill Gates donation of $10 before the local pauper's donation of $5. An objective appraisal of the quality of giving is not based solely on the absolute value of the gift, but also on the resources available to be given. This is not a new concept.
41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. 42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
I think your formula has a flaw. It should include not only the amount of government aid, but should also include the amount of aid donated by private citizens, churches, charitable organizations and corporations, which in the case of the USA, would amount to several hundred million dollars more.
Even if you did factor in just the amount of government aid, you should not use GDP as the divisor - you should use the amount of GDP that is controlled by the government. The governments of some countries consume 60% of their GDP through high taxation, which of course gives them more of the nation's GDP to be "generous" with.
"...you need to consider ALL factors..."
Certainly, and it's near impossible to be 100 percent accurate. My suggestion is not perfect and you mention other factors that could be considered, but it's better than ranking by absolute dollar amounts. By this logic, George Soros could theoretically be considered more generous than the entire United States if he chose to give a few hundred million dollars.
Four Farthings make a Penny.
Males with the Farthing surname can thus not marry girls called Penny.
$10m from Saudi? DAMN!
The Irish public alone have donated nearly double that this week.
That's shameful.
A lot of people don't realize how true that is.
"There is no beauty like Jerusalem, no wealth like Rome, no depravity like Arabia."
The above quote came from an anonymous contributor to the Talmud in the 3rd century A.D. He lived centuries before Mohammed and Islam, when the worst sins of Arabia were female infanticide and idolatry in cities like Mecca and Ubar. Still, at times like this it seems just as appropriate now.
By their fruits ye shall know them.
"Surely U.N. officials will be calling a press conference any minute now to complain that wealthy Muslim nations are being too stingy with relief dollars."
Don't hold your breath.
You are absolutely right. My main point was that it's ridiculous to use the absolute amount of donations as a basis for judging if one country or another is 'more generous', etc., than another. It isn't hard to come up with something a little more reasonable, if not perfect. As another poster indicated, there are many other factors to consider. In fact, I'd say there are enough factors to consider that to be 100 percent accurate as far as judging how much many each country 'should' give (which in itself relies on personal values) is pretty much impossible.
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