[Sandwich]

Well, I'm not going in the end. :-/ It's for a combination of reasons. One, my continued back problems preventing me from being able to do any heavy lifting (like bodies, debris, etc). Two, the shots one needs to get before going to such locations take a week to 10 days to take effect, and since I didn't have them a week to 10 days ago, they'd just start taking effect once I got back to Israel. Not the smartest thing in the world. Ah well... the other two guys from my company are still going, so at least someone is.

[vyper]

My mate's girlfriend is going out somewhere over there for medical training next summer: Is she in for a culture shock or what?

[Swamp_Thing]

I just heard that our govt. has donated 8 million euros to the disaster relief. And that got me thinking:
If my miniscule little country gave 8 million euros, howcome the US and Canada are being such cheapskates?? Portugal is a poor country, the size of Florida state, and we manage to give about half of what the biggest economical power on Earth? That shows just how much they care...

[vyper]

U done any conversions on those figures though? What's the exchange rate?

[Swamp_Thing]

The euro is currently exchanging at 1.33 dollars. 8 million euros makes for over 10 million dollars.

[vyper]

Aren't the yanks giving something like 30 Mil?
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=371055

The UK is giving about the same.

[Tiara]

The people of Holland have donated ~4 million dollars themselves (not the government). The government has donates 2.7 million dollars  and is planning to give more. The Dutch Red Cross has donated 140000 dollars.

Thats a total of almost 7 million dollars and the money is still coming through buckets at a time thanks to donations. Tonight there will even be an entire TV-show dedicated to raise money.

That's almost 17 million dollars from Holland and portugal alone (if what Swamp_Thing said was right).

[mitac]

Our government encouraged the people to not spend their money on fireworks for New Year's eve, but rather donate it.

And what does the industry do? They complain that all those appeals for donations may ruin their business.

[Janos]

Originally posted by mitac
Our government encouraged the people to not spend their money on fireworks for New Year's eve, but rather donate it.

And what does the industry do? They complain that all those appeals for donations may ruin their business.

Some idiot told me today that I shouldn't buy any fireworks, instead just give it all to charity.
Me: "OK what if I donate AND buy my fireworks?"
She: "no ur bad just donate it all"
Me: "Because 100 000 people that I don't know at all died somewhere I'm not supposed to have fun in New Year's Eve?"
She: "yes"
Me: "wtf get off my face and let me do whatever I want"
She: "No think of the children!"
Me: "I don't know them, I will donate money but I am not going to spoil my party because of it."
She: "ur bad"
Me: oh ok then i guess so
FIREWORKS ARE A SYMBOL OF SELFISM AND GREED

It's a nice idea to give your fireworks money to charity and whatever, but it immediately spawned so much of holier-than-thou hypocricy and idiotism that later today I decided to buy the fireworks just for the hell of it. The event is sad, but it did not shatter my sanity and I don't cry about it all the time. I'm not even supposed to.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by vyper
Aren't the yanks giving something like 30 Mil?
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=371055

The UK is giving about the same.

Uk has raised its donation to £50m.  Public have donated over £25m overnight.  Queen is giving a 'sizeable' donation.  Doubtless the same in many other nations; but we need to keep up pressure to keep tge governments & people giving more.

NB: spending money on fireworks; there are people out there who are dying from thirst, starvation, drinking from fetid water with dead bodies lying in it.... what's more important - a simple, miniscule gesture of a few pounds (or euros, or dollars) or spending the same money on 10 minutes of flashy lights that go bang.

EDIT; I just donated £50 in case you're wondering - UK people can see www.dec.org.uk for donations

[mitac]

Janos, you selfish, greedy bastard! You should sell your car, your house, anything you own and donate it AT ONCE. Then go begging to the lady's house - she won't even open the door. Practical hypocracy.

I hardly ever buy fireworks for New Year's eve. Nobody will lose profit from me donating a few bucks. If that helps a bit, that's okay for me. I sure won't start telling people how to spend their money and whether they should donate or not. Just the bit of help I'm able to give.

But let's not drift into a debate on charity and selfishm here. Though posting the newest figures for the estimated dead isn't really encouraging.

[karajorma]

Originally posted by Janos
It's a nice idea to give your fireworks money to charity and whatever, but it immediately spawned so much of holier-than-thou hypocricy and idiotism that later today I decided to buy the fireworks just for the hell of it. The event is sad, but it did not shatter my sanity and I don't cry about it all the time. I'm not even supposed to.

I've got to agree with this. If it helps you any tell her to think about the poor sods who are going to lose their jobs in the fireworks industry cause idiots like her are insisting on not giving them any money on their second busiest day of the year (I'm assuming 4th July is their busiest of course).

Donating to charity is good. Making people feel like **** cause they don't want to give up everything they own is not. I fail to see anything wrong in giving the same amount you would have spent on fireworks and still buying fireworks.

[Liberator]

Okay, I'm not going to pretend like what the Government of the USA has sent over thus far(it's only been 4 days remember) is going to be anything like enough.  But where in the budget would like for them to get the money?  We aren't a Socialist state where the government has control of all the money.  You can't budget an aid level for disasters of this scale.  Don't forget that we've also sent a Carrier Group into the area to help with relief efforts.

That said, I'm a little sick of you Euro-peons, whining and *****ing about how the USA is the worst thing since Hitler, but when you need help or money we're you're first stop with you're hand out.  Can you get a little more hypocritical please?

[Hippo]

I have to agree with Lib here... Everyone starts saying the Us is evil and all, and yet we donate millions to countries when disaster strikes, but does the same get done for us? Did you see countries rallying to donate money to the WTC survivors? How about in just about every earthquake to ever hit California. Do you see outside nations donating to releif aid there?

[Janos]

Originally posted by Liberator
Okay, I'm not going to pretend like what the Government of the USA has sent over thus far(it's only been 4 days remember) is going to be anything like enough.  But where in the budget would like for them to get the money?  We aren't a Socialist state where the government has control of all the money.  You can't budget an aid level for disasters of this scale.  Don't forget that we've also sent a Carrier Group into the area to help with relief efforts.

That said, I'm a little sick of you Euro-peons, whining and *****ing about how the USA is the worst thing since Hitler, but when you need help or money we're you're first stop with you're hand out.  Can you get a little more hypocritical please?

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by Hippo
I have to agree with Lib here... Everyone starts saying the Us is evil and all, and yet we donate millions to countries when disaster strikes, but does the same get done for us? Did you see countries rallying to donate money to the WTC survivors? How about in just about every earthquake to ever hit California. Do you see outside nations donating to releif aid there?

Eh?  

Your talking about disasters which are (no pun intended) a drop in the ocean compared to this - during, for example, the 4 hurricanes that hit Florida, most UK aid & charity went to the carribean nations that were virtually wiped out.  Not because we're biased against America, but because the US is the biggest, richest country in the world and needs it least.  It can absorb these, and handle them - did the US even appeal for outside aid and money? (excluding the disaster specialists who would be automatically sent there)

It's that simple; in an ideal world, we'd have enough money to help everyone.  We don't, so we try and help those who need it most.

Just look at India for an example; not only are they declining aid, they're donating to other countries. The same as the US did for aformentioned hurricanes, may I add (to Haiti in particular I believe).

What are you grudging?  Aid to asian nations?  Why are you whining about european nations - we're giving as much as you, more even - meet and beat what europe gives and then whine about us 'standing with out hands out'.

  Everyone, every country that can afford to, should be giving as much as possible.

[Tiara]

Originally posted by Hippo
I have to agree with Lib here... Everyone starts saying the Us is evil and all, and yet we donate millions to countries when disaster strikes, but does the same get done for us? Did you see countries rallying to donate money to the WTC survivors? How about in just about every earthquake to ever hit California. Do you see outside nations donating to releif aid there?

1). America can take care of its own. Its a rich-f*cking-country. South-West Asia is amongst the poorest parts of the world.
2). NO ****ING DISASTER IN THE US HAS CLAIMED OVER A HUNDRED F*CKING THOUSAND DEATHS.

Sorry, but I find it so incredibly dense of you people to even start comparing a few hundred dead in a wealthy country to thousands upon thousands death and dying as we speak. Get off your high horse and smell the pile of ****.

Ow, wow, the US has a little tornado that claims maybe one or two lives. BOO-F*CKING-HOO!  Ow, wow, a plane is crashed into a building claiming a tiny fraction of lives compared to what is happening down there and has billions of dollars to compensate. It's sad that lives were lost in these mere accidents (in comparison to this), but you don't need our help to recover from it. THEY DO!.

Ugh, instead of thinking how you are somehow sad and pathetic and blaming other people for some **** that has absolutely nothing to do with this appauls me.

Stop acting so goddamned innocent and do whats right. Stop acting like you are somehow the victim.

F*cking appauling of you. Seriously.

EDIT: Sorry for the harsh wording here but it just pisses me off immensely how you can turn this around while you're sitting in your comfortable chair probably with a big bag of patato chips and a soda in front of your $2000 computer.

[mitac]

There hasn't been any US-bashing so far. Well, not in excess of the average level.

So, please don't start it now. Hell, I could also start complaining that we Germans are still called Nazis by a lot of people, but as soon as someone needs financial or material aid we are called upon. But that's not the topic. This thread is not about evil superpowers, it's about dead people in southern asia. So, please cut it out.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by mitac
There hasn't been any US-bashing so far. Well, not in excess of the average level.

So, please don't start it now. Hell, I could also start complaining that we Germans are still called Nazis by a lot of people, but as soon as someone needs financial or material aid we are called upon. But that's not the topic. This thread is not about evil superpowers, it's about dead people in southern asia. So, please cut it out.

I'm sorry if my post appeared to be as such.

To put it bluntly; no-one is giving enough until they have nothing left to give.  This is the worst disaster in our lifetimes (certainly in mine), and we have to keep pushing and pushing politically and socially.  

I think the US can afford more, but I think the UK can afford more as well, and probably so can other nations.  And indeed, people.

EDIT; latest death toll is 134,000.

[Tiara]

Originally posted by mitac
There hasn't been any US-bashing so far. Well, not in excess of the average level.

I'm not bashing the US, I'm just bashing the persons that claim that somehow now, the US is the victim here.