Posted on 02/24/2011 4:20:49 PM PST by americanophile
US President Barack Obama on Thursday offered all help in rescue and relief operations, as he called New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to offer condolences over the devastating earthquake that struck Christchurch. During the telephonic conversation, Obama noted that a US search and rescue team was on its way to New Zealand, and said the US was ready to provide whatever further support was needed in this difficult time.
"The President underscored the close and enduring friendship between the American people and the people of New Zealand," the White House said.
Prime Minister Key described the determination of the people of Christchurch and New Zealand in the face of this tragedy, and expressed appreciation for US support, the statement said.
On Tuesday the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said it is deploying its Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) team to New Zealand, which includes the Los Angeles County (California) Fire Department Urban Search and Rescue team (USAR), to assist with the search and rescue efforts.
The USAR component of the DART will be what is called a "heavy team", bringing more than 70 specialised personnel and necessary equipment to make live rescues in even the most precarious situations.
(Excerpt) Read more at hindustantimes.com ...
White people; long-time allies; British empire; no hurry. /s
Maybe he needs to put down his crack pipe. Oh wait it was coke he did in college.
Afterthought ping
In truth, America had men and equipment loaded into aeroplanes and headed to NZ within a couple hours of the quake’s first strike.
FEMA didn’t sit on it’s hands, this time. America was on its way, to the rescue. One of the first to respond, along with Singapore and Japan.
God Bless America, and our other Allies.
“FEMA didn’t sit on it’s hands, this time”?????? Care to explain that??
> Care to explain that??
Sure. Within two hours of the quake, I was sitting shellshocked at my local RSA, watching the local news as it was unfolding (I do not have a TV, so if I want to watch the news, the RSA is where I must do that).
I live in Auckland, on the other island some 600+ miles from this disaster, so I currently have no first-hand info on this crisis. And I was keen to find out what had happened.
TV 3 was on: they are a credible local news source in NZ. A FEMA representative was on camera, telling us the Americans were on the way. There was a camera shot of aeroplanes full of men and equipment — a truly magnificent sight, the sort of thing only Americans can do.
Shortly thereafter — sometime on Wednesday — the Americans arrived in Christchurch, as promised. Or so it has been reported (and I have no reason not to believe it).
FEMA was criticized during Hurricane Katrina for sitting on their hands. Not this time, and not in NZ. The Yanks are here, and we are very grateful.
Which also explains why we haven't seen Hollywood put together a star-studded national telethon to raise money for relief efforts.
Re Motown: The show must go on.
FEMA was UNJUSTLY criticized for sitting on it’s hands by a bias media. The facts didn’t support the accusations. FEMA is NOT a first responder organization. In the case of Katrina, FEMA is a support agency. State and local agencies were to provide first responder support with FEMA providing long-term and broader resources.
I'm glad to hear it; but I haven't heard it on our TV news. I wondered why. Often, it seems that our President is far more concerned with the fortunes of those who have not been friendly to us than to those who have been close to us through the years.
I did not realize FEMA had airplanes, aircraft carriers and the like. The politicians are probably just taking credit for the typical great military response.
I was in Australia and in NZ shortly after the tsunami and received quite a bit of crap from both the Aussies and the Kiwis about the “inadequate” USA response because CNN was showing some UN nitwit from Scandinavia saying we were not doing enough, despite the fact that his country was doing NOTHING. Frankly, I got pretty sick of hearing more USA bashing so I suggested the Kiwis and Aussies send their own bloody aircraft carriers next time there was a natural catastrophe.
I suggest USA take a 5 year moratorium regarding helping other nations and just let the UN provide the help, like they did in Egypt and Libya. Then we will see if anybody misses us.
Snips:
Now, Larry Klayman, founder of Freedom Watch, told WND today he's seeking information about the partying in the White House since the Obamas moved in.
"Barack and Michelle Obama have been throwing taxpayer funded parties nearly every night with their 'friends' and supporters, with Michelle Obama even exhorting them not to 'break' White House property," Klayman's announcement said.
> FEMA is NOT a first responder organization. In the case of Katrina, FEMA is a support agency.
Therein probably lies a problem: their brief and their label are possibly out-of-sync. If they are the Federal Emergency MANAGEMENT Agency, they probably do need to be a first-response organization, as their name might imply.
One cannot manage a situation from a support position. One actually needs to lead it to manage it. Otherwise, one is merely coordinating it — and “coordination” is usually a useless waste of everybody’s time.
Anyrate, no complaints from DownUnder. The Yanks are here, on time, right away. Brilliant response.
God Bless America.
I am opening my pocket...oh wait...it has already been picked.
I pray for all of those families of the missing and dead.
Yanks, you rock! Thanks so much for loading up with all that equipment and all those dedicated rescue crews and doing the long haul down here!
This won't be a sightseeing trip. We're hearing that many victims will only be identified by DNA as they're from buildings that caught fire as well as floors caving in etc.
Prayers to all!
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