Posted on 12/27/2004 2:04:39 PM PST by ejdrapes
I was watching CNN's Inside Politics today (no transcript up yet) and they had a panel on - someone from the Washington Post, LA Times (Ron Brownstein) and Time magazine (Karen Tumulty). They were discussing our response to the disaster and the host of the program mentioned that the UN called our response "stingy". Then the panel went on to talk about how we "fumbled" this and were basically AWOL for one day. This just really made my blood boil. What have other countries done? The Brits say over 10,000 of their citizens were on holiday in that area. It's a large tourist area for Europeans. Where's the criticism of the EU and its member nations? And do we really have to play politics at a time like this?
If you are a co-dependent, until they kill you.
that is the pattern and the USA fits it perfectly.
Unilateralism is ok with the UN when it comes to our unilaterally spending our money.
Hypocrites. Move to Bonn.
On another note, Dan Rather just reported how tsunami dangers are likely to increase in the future because of global warming...any minute now the U.S. will get blamed for this...sigh...
14 million from the State Dept. so far, and that doesn't include military assistance.
Monday, December 27, 2004 Posted: 9:18 PM EST (0218 GMT)
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The United Nations' emergency relief head called the tsunamis that devastated large parts of southern Asia "unprecedented," and warned Monday that it may be weeks before the full effects are known.
The tsunamis were "not the biggest in recorded history, but the effects may be the biggest ever because many more people live in exposed areas than ever before," said Jan Egeland, undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief.
With tens of thousands dead, many missing and millions displaced, still more serious problems lie ahead, Egeland said, including widespread illnesses. And it could take years to rebuild places that were wiped out, he said.
Monday afternoon, he said relief efforts were already under way.
"A lot of airplanes are already being loaded. Some are already airborne and going to the hardest-hit countries, like Sri Lanka," he said, adding that experts had already arrived in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. (Full story)
Six U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo planes, loaded with relief supplies, are on standby in Japan awaiting orders to fly to Thailand, Pentagon officials said Monday.
A public affairs official said the planes are expected to depart Yokoda Air Base between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. ET Tuesday to take basic food, shelter, and medical supplies to Utaphao, Thailand.
The United States also has two Navy ships in the area, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard.
Both have medical facilities and helicopters that could be used in relief efforts, a Pentagon spokesman told CNN.
Navy P-3 Orion surveillance planes have already been deployed from Kadena Air Base to Utaphao.
The planes will be used to conduct "survey operations," a U.S. Navy official said.
In a news conference at U.N. headquarters in New York, Egeland called for a major international response -- and went so far as to call the U.S. government and others "stingy" on foreign aid in general.
"If, actually, the foreign assistance of many countries now is 0.1 or 0.2 percent of the gross national income, I think that is stingy, really," he said. "I don't think that is very generous."
The U.S. government expects to spend $15 million in its initial response to the disaster, the State Department said Monday. The United States' overall foreign aid commitment is around 0.2 percent of its gross national product. (Full story)
The Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress, in an April report to lawmakers, said total foreign assistance -- excluding the costs of reconstruction in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion -- was larger in the 2003 and 2004 budgets than in any two-year period since the mid-1980s.
"The 0.2 percent of U.S. gross national product represented by foreign aid obligations the past two years, however, is among the smallest amounts in the last half-century. The United States is the largest international economic aid donor in dollar terms but is the smallest contributor among the major donor governments when calculated as a percent of gross national income," said the report, which is posted on the U.S. State Department's Web site.
At a White House briefing Monday in Crawford, Texas, CNN asked spokesman Trent Duffy about the "stingy" remark. He said he thinks the United States is "the largest contributor to international relief and aid efforts not only through the government, but through charitable organizations. The American people are very giving, so we'll continue to be that and we'll be a leading partner in this effort that lies ahead."
Egeland, at the U.N. news conference, said the cost of the devastation will "probably be many billions of dollars. However, we cannot fathom the cost of these poor societies and the nameless fishermen and fishing villages that have just been wiped out."
"The important thing is that we give and that we as citizens also demand that our countries give generously to those who have been so hard hit."
The tsunamis were triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, and Egeland said the quake struck less than an hour before Sumatra was hit by the waves. (Explainer: Tsunami and earthquake facts)
UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy told CNN that the agency is doing "everything possible," focusing on getting blankets, medicine and water purification tablets sent to the affected areas.
"Getting clean water to people is crucial," she said, and predicted widespread disease if that is not done.
But that is not an easy prescription, she said, because transportation and communications in many of the affected areas are difficult even in the best of times.
Asked what form of aid would be best for Americans to send, she did not hesitate.
"I know people like to send cans of food or clothing, but the fact is money can get what people need quickest."
Any way to get a phone number or e-mail address for this ungrateful SOB??
I have a dandy idea: let's blow out the U.N. We can take that money that we waste propping up the U.N. every year and give it to the rescue and relief efforts for areas that were hit by the tsunami.
Here's a page on the UN's OCHA website where one can post comments:
http://ochaonline.un.org/contactus.asp
Ask & ye shall receive:
Happpy To help,
Joe
Sonar5
Yeah. Look at that. I don't know about an email addy, but Egeland certainly deserves a good reaming.
I would also try:
egeland@un.org
If they follow the same dumb protocol for their emails...
Muhahahahahhahah.........
Regards,
Joe
This kind of disaster has occurred countless times in history. The US Geophysical Survey warned whomever they could in time, but neither India nor Sri Lanka had a SINGLE BUOY in the Indian Ocean, nor did they subscribe to (free) U.S. alert services. Tens of thousands died needlessly. Accordign to one U.S. expert, we warned them 90 minutes in advance of the waves, and had everyone merely walked inland for 15 minutes, less than 1,000 would have died.
Saudis could give ONE BILLION dollars and it would't phase them.
FUC* THE UN
Hi HTV...
The people from the east coast are the nicest of the lot of us. It's the ones from Ontario you have to watch out for! I'm from Ontario (but I'm the exception) and trust me, it is terribly friendly towards America. They can't help it, though, they are brainwashed by our media. 8^)
Oops. Make that ISN'T very friendly.
well, well, well....not only did that e-mail work but after sending old Jan a nasty note I got a response.
My note was titled "America Stingy?" and was as follows:
Hey Jan...maybe you can go take a collection from the corrupt UN and the dirtbags skimming money off the food-for-oil program which deprived many in Iraq of basic human services.....or maybe you can ask muslim countries to ante up and help their brothers in need...or maybe you can tell those cheap bastards in Europe to give their due...until then shut up!
His response:
I never called US stingy. I asked the rich world to give more than their present 0,2 percent of national income to foreign assistance. Cnn misquoted me and have since corrected this.
the "Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld" was from his note- I, who live in a rich country, cannot afford one.
If nothing else I give him credit for responding.
What I just send them:
Jan Egeland seems to think that the US is 'stingy' in it's sending of humanitarian aid.
I don't seem to remember much in the way of help whenever the US was afflcted by disaster-whether it be natural or man-made.
I seem to remember that, other than "Good Wishes" no help was forthcoming to this nation after the 11 September attacks in New York, Virginia, or Pennsylvania.
The United States, and her people donate far more than other nations, whether it be through direct aid from the US Government or trough charitable donations direct from the people.
Mr. Egeland had best re-think his arrogant, incorrect presumption. If he should not, this nation might well reconsider donations in future.
The people of the United States is tired of lecturing from a lot of tiresome, meddlesome corruption-mongers.
I sent the same challenging email to all three email addresses.
I'll post when I get a response...
Regards,
Joe
What a bunch of horse poop!!!
Time for us to get out of the UN. Let someone else fund them.
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