Link to any stories??
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42170
skiblet
01-01-05, 08:01 AM
Thailand's foremost meteorologists, meeting in a crisis session before the tsunami hit, decided not to issue a warning "out of courtesy to the tourism industry," according to a report in the Thai paper The Nation.
Minutes after the earthquake in the Indian Ocean Sunday morning, Thailand's top meteorological experts met to consider the danger posed to the coast. But the economic impact on the nation's tourism industry dissuaded them from warning those most in danger.
According to the report, the experts considered the fact that there had not been any dangerous floods in 300 years. There was a consensus that the Indonesian island of Sumatra would be a "cushion" for the southern coast of Thailand.
The experts also reportedly believed the quake was an 8.1 on the Richter scale, rather than a 9.0. A similar sized quake hit the same area in 2002 with no flooding at all, according to the report.
Among the meteorological experts, only four had expertise in earthquakes, according to The Nation.
"We finally decided not to do anything because the tourist season was in full swing," a source told the paper. "The hotels were 100 percent booked. What if we issued a warning, which would have led to an evacuation, and nothing had happened. What would be the outcome? The tourist industry would be immediately hurt. Our department would not be able to endure a lawsuit."
whooops.
DVD Polizei
01-01-05, 08:14 AM
I think giving a warning wouldn't have done much. Like people are going to just pick up their bags and go home. They should've said something, just for the sake of it. Most people wouldn't have listened, and it would be their own faults. The news agencies would then be hiring "psychological analysts", who would be labeling and deconstructing those who don't listen to authority figures.
Trigger
01-01-05, 08:14 AM
"The hotels were 100 percent booked. What if we issued a warning, which would have led to an evacuation, and nothing had happened. What would be the outcome? The tourist industry would be immediately hurt. Our department would not be able to endure a lawsuit."
It's probably already been mentioned, but I saw the number reported to be above 150k... in case someone's still changing the title. millions homeless and over half a million injured.
DVD Polizei
01-01-05, 09:44 AM
"We finally decided not to do anything because the tourist season was in full swing," a source told the paper. "The hotels were 100 percent booked. What if we issued a warning, which would have led to an evacuation, and nothing had happened. What would be the outcome? The tourist industry would be immediately hurt. Our department would not be able to endure a lawsuit."
Lawsuit? Sooooo, I guess they are in a better position now? Such brave and honest statements. You have to wonder why such a statement was made.
Goldblum
01-01-05, 10:20 AM
A warning definitely would have helped. I sure as hell know if I were lying on the beach and a tsunami warning was given, at the least I would have gone back up to my hotel room (and would have subsequently survived providing my room wasn't too low). I doubt I'd be alone in this.
MonkeyG
01-01-05, 12:28 PM
Just wanted to share this article that I came across from the BBC.
A man stands in the ruins of his parents' home in Mullaitivu, Sri Lanka
Stunned survivors are trying to come to terms with catastrophe
Arjuna Seneviratna, a 40-year-old IT consultant from Sri Lanka, lives in the capital Colombo but was staying in Beruwela on the south-western coast when the tsunami wave struck.
He witnessed the tsunami, and told the news and current affairs programme The World about the harrowing experience.
When the first wave came in, we were happy that we were seeing something that was really strange, but it was a very mild wave. Then the sea receded back, and we didn't know what that meant.
It was like someone had pulled the plug on the ocean, and crags and outcroppings of rock inside the sea were visible for the first time in years.
We just watched it, and I was taking photographs of it. Then came this massive wall of water. What did I do? I just sat and watched it. I just watched it and watched it as it came in - it took maybe four seconds from the point when I was aware of it to the point when it hit the hotel.
Those four seconds were like a lifetime. Even if someone runs at you with a knife, you can hit him back, or run away or claim insurance or whatever. This time, there was nothing I could do. I could only watch, and it was coming in, and it hit the crags, and I saw those people on the crags just being flung into the air like confetti, just blown out of the water.
'Life terminating'
Then this thing hit the hotel - I was on the first floor of the building in the restaurant - and it was like a bomb hit it. I saw a part of it just get taken off.
I still kept watching. I don't know why - I think that my mind was so completely numbed by the phenomenon of this, and the power of what was happening. I just stood. I stood my ground, not because I'm Superman, or a superhero, but I didn't know what to think.
Workers searching for bodies walk past one of the few remaining structures in Mullaitivu, Sri Lanka
Very little was left standing after the wave hit Sri Lankan coastal resorts
And this thing blasted through - I heard windows just bursting, not breaking, but bursting. It's a very special sound. It was like a movie. I just watched the whole thing.
I watched it go - I watched it take so much away. I saw so much life terminating, that I was seriously wondering what was more difficult - whether to live watching death, or just to die.
I really don't know if my life was in danger. There were five hotels that were really hard-hit in Sri Lanka - one of them was the hotel that I was at. I know only one thing: that there is no hotel there now. I do not know how I lived.
I wasn't submerged in water. The problem is not being submerged in water - it's the sheer force of the destruction. I think I was relatively lucky that I was very close to the ocean - that meant that only water hit us.
But if I had been 150m (500 feet) inside the coastline I would have been hit by flying debris, by 250 cars, by brick walls, by reinforcement bars. I would not have drowned, I would have been beaten to death.
The only reason I think I survived was that the walls were relatively strong to withstand the initial impact.
'Surviving the aftermath'
Subsequently, literally, I just walked out in three feet (1m) of water. I had an extremely small cut.
But what is more important is not how you manage to survive a 30-second burst of a wave, it's how you manage to survive what comes afterwards, when you see men looking for their wives, when you see mothers looking for their children and screaming their names, when you see people that you have danced the night before away with, not accounted for.
That is when reality strikes.
The night before, I had been dancing. It was Christmas. We danced into the wee hours of the morning. With everyone, everyone bonded. There were Finns, there were Dutchmen and Dutchwomen, there were Brits, there were Japanese - I actually won a dance competition.
The next morning it was like it was a whole big family of 150 people. And then the next day I am seeing one of those people screaming for their loved ones.
Now, I'm drinking a lot. I do not think it helps because right now, I've got a bottle, and it's not helping me - I'm as lucid as ever, I've been lucid since then, and it really doesn't help. What do you do? What do you do?
It's like 9/11. I was on top of the continental ridge on the Rocky Mountains when 9/11 happened. I saw only one thing. What I saw, was what I heard - silence. You know what that the silence was? The silence was that all the planes had dropped out of the sky - and in America, at any given moment, if you look up into the sky, there are at least 10 planes up there. There's a drone, that nobody really notices, until the drone stops.
My nation is silent right now.
X
01-01-05, 12:34 PM
That didn't take long...
Tourists Return to the Beaches and Bars of Phuket
By Miranda Leitsinger Associated Press Writer
Published: Jan 1, 2005
PHUKET, Thailand (AP) - Six days after one of the worst natural disasters in decades, foreign tourists were back on the beaches of this Thai resort island Saturday, frolicking in the gentle waves of the Andaman Sea, riding jet skis, posing for snapshots and sunbathing topless on the sand.
That was mindboggling - and enfuriating - for island resident Aime Yodkaew, as she swept away debris.
"I just figure if everyone uses about an hour of their holiday time (to help clean up), this would help a lot for the locals," said Yodkaew, a Swede who lives on the island with her Thai husband.
But Yodkaew acknowledged that as soon as tourists get back to indulging in the sort of fun Phuket was famous for before the catastrophe - the sooner her husband's sailboard and catamaran rental business will be able to start making money again.
A dozen or so foreigners were out sunbathing Saturday on Karon Beach, still littered with garbage, dead plants and leaves - a reminder of the giant waves that struck on Sunday, killing more than 4,800 people in Thailand, more than half of them foreigners. By Saturday, more than 6,000 were still missing and feared dead. Across southern Asia and eastern Africa more than 123,000 people died.
Along the beach, students from an international school were clearing up debris left by the waves and stuffing it into garbage bags. The foreigners relaxed a few steps from a store with windows blown out by the giant waves.
Tourists are the lifeblood of this beautiful island in southern Thailand and this is the peak for overseas visitors, a warm, dry season coinciding with the depth of northern winters.
Thailand's resort islands, like much of the region, were a patchwork of devastation. Some hotels were wiped out, while others were untouched or minimally damaged.
"A lot of people haven't left the island, a lot of people who were there have just continued having their holidays," said John Everingham, who publishes Phuket Magazine for visiting tourists. "Definitely less than 10 percent of hotel rooms in Phuket are closed."
By contrast, another popular but much smaller island, Phi Phi - where the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio movie "The Beach" was filmed - was wiped out almost entirely. The worst loss of life was on the mainland north of Phuket, where more than 3,000 bodies already have been found.
The Finance Ministry estimated that the tsunamis will likely shave just 0.3 of a percentage point from gross domestic product growth in 2005.
"The Thai tourism industry hasn't been affected much by this event," Finance Minister Somkid Jatusripitak told reporters. "Foreign tourists may be scared for a short while, but I think in the next two to three months at most, their fears will fade away."
For some, the fears had faded by Saturday.
On New Year's Eve, hundreds of people quietly clutched white roses and candles as they reflected on the tragedy at a vigil, but elsewhere on Phuket scantily clad women danced in nightclubs while Western tourists drank and partied to loud music.
Jinni Woolf, 26, of Denmark, was on Phuket when the waves hit and was still there Saturday, soaking up the sun on the beach.
"We just can't sit at the hotel and I also think it's very important, like people who have been in a motorcycle accident to ride again to overcome (their fear)," Woolf said.
Charles Vickson, a Buddhist visiting from Hong Kong, said that at Phuket's Laguna resort, which was not badly affected by the waves, he saw bronzed European tourists return to sunbathing by the pool just minutes after the tsunamis.
"They laid out their towel ... and the lady, with her headphones on, resumed her sunbathing as if nothing had happened," he said.
The Cow
01-01-05, 01:01 PM
That didn't take long...
Tourists Return to the Beaches and Bars of Phuket
Why is this news. Why shouldn't they? It's safe now.
Trigger
01-01-05, 04:42 PM
Why is this news. Why shouldn't they? It's safe now.
it's news because it shows that some areas are starting to recover. That's their livelihood... some areas would be nothing without tourism. Just because it's "safe now" doesn't mean anything - many areas have bodies piled up and everything is destroyed and the area smells like death. I think this is news - and good news at that - and much needed good news at that.
Giantrobo
01-01-05, 04:46 PM
..plus now that it's over what are the chances it'll happen again? Sure there's a chance it could happen again but that area is probaly the safest place on Earth from a probability standpoint.
Sdallnct
01-01-05, 05:51 PM
I think giving a warning wouldn't have done much. Like people are going to just pick up their bags and go home. They should've said something, just for the sake of it. Most people wouldn't have listened, and it would be their own faults. The news agencies would then be hiring "psychological analysts", who would be labeling and deconstructing those who don't listen to authority figures.
I totally agree. This reminds me of a Tornado. You warn, you take cover, then you can return to whatever you were doing.
You would only have to get people to higher ground for a short period of time.
Cameron
01-01-05, 06:40 PM
..plus now that it's over what are the chances it'll happen again? Sure there's a chance it could happen again but that area is probaly the safest place on Earth from a probability standpoint.
I don't know...seems like Earthquakes come frequently or don't come at all....i doubt another huge one is on the way soon, but Who knows.
Gil Jawetz
01-01-05, 07:55 PM
So they're not worried about aftershocks anymore?
Sdallnct
01-01-05, 08:48 PM
Look like we got an aircraft carrier in the area now. And that means we have entire carrier unit there. That is very, very impressive. In all honesty, I really do like it when we are able to use our military for good. That is not a slam against Iraq. It is just nice to see another use for these awesome machines and man power.
..plus now that it's over what are the chances it'll happen again? Sure there's a chance it could happen again but that area is probaly the safest place on Earth from a probability standpoint.
I don't think chance has anything to play here. It could happen there again as much as any other coast.
I doubt Kansas will get a Tsunami anytime soon, though :)
al_bundy
01-01-05, 10:35 PM
That didn't take long...
Tourists Return to the Beaches and Bars of Phuket
By Miranda Leitsinger Associated Press Writer
Published: Jan 1, 2005
PHUKET, Thailand (AP) - Six days after one of the worst natural disasters in decades, foreign tourists were back on the beaches of this Thai resort island Saturday, frolicking in the gentle waves of the Andaman Sea, riding jet skis, posing for snapshots and sunbathing topless on the sand.
That was mindboggling - and enfuriating - for island resident Aime Yodkaew, as she swept away debris.
"I just figure if everyone uses about an hour of their holiday time (to help clean up), this would help a lot for the locals," said Yodkaew, a Swede who lives on the island with her Thai husband.
But Yodkaew acknowledged that as soon as tourists get back to indulging in the sort of fun Phuket was famous for before the catastrophe - the sooner her husband's sailboard and catamaran rental business will be able to start making money again.
A dozen or so foreigners were out sunbathing Saturday on Karon Beach, still littered with garbage, dead plants and leaves - a reminder of the giant waves that struck on Sunday, killing more than 4,800 people in Thailand, more than half of them foreigners. By Saturday, more than 6,000 were still missing and feared dead. Across southern Asia and eastern Africa more than 123,000 people died.
Along the beach, students from an international school were clearing up debris left by the waves and stuffing it into garbage bags. The foreigners relaxed a few steps from a store with windows blown out by the giant waves.
Tourists are the lifeblood of this beautiful island in southern Thailand and this is the peak for overseas visitors, a warm, dry season coinciding with the depth of northern winters.
Thailand's resort islands, like much of the region, were a patchwork of devastation. Some hotels were wiped out, while others were untouched or minimally damaged.
"A lot of people haven't left the island, a lot of people who were there have just continued having their holidays," said John Everingham, who publishes Phuket Magazine for visiting tourists. "Definitely less than 10 percent of hotel rooms in Phuket are closed."
By contrast, another popular but much smaller island, Phi Phi - where the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio movie "The Beach" was filmed - was wiped out almost entirely. The worst loss of life was on the mainland north of Phuket, where more than 3,000 bodies already have been found.
The Finance Ministry estimated that the tsunamis will likely shave just 0.3 of a percentage point from gross domestic product growth in 2005.
"The Thai tourism industry hasn't been affected much by this event," Finance Minister Somkid Jatusripitak told reporters. "Foreign tourists may be scared for a short while, but I think in the next two to three months at most, their fears will fade away."
For some, the fears had faded by Saturday.
On New Year's Eve, hundreds of people quietly clutched white roses and candles as they reflected on the tragedy at a vigil, but elsewhere on Phuket scantily clad women danced in nightclubs while Western tourists drank and partied to loud music.
Jinni Woolf, 26, of Denmark, was on Phuket when the waves hit and was still there Saturday, soaking up the sun on the beach.
"We just can't sit at the hotel and I also think it's very important, like people who have been in a motorcycle accident to ride again to overcome (their fear)," Woolf said.
Charles Vickson, a Buddhist visiting from Hong Kong, said that at Phuket's Laguna resort, which was not badly affected by the waves, he saw bronzed European tourists return to sunbathing by the pool just minutes after the tsunamis.
"They laid out their towel ... and the lady, with her headphones on, resumed her sunbathing as if nothing had happened," he said.
i think it was on CNN they said tourists staying in the area is the best thing for the area since it will bring money into the country to help in rebuilding. A flight of tourists from the area will cause financial hardship for the area.
DVD Polizei
01-01-05, 10:40 PM
Eh. In this case, I'd say due to the amount of money rolling in, they shouldn't worry about a trickle of tourism in the following months. If I was a tourist, I don't know how I would have a "good time" or a "vacation", while seeing death and destruction everywhere I went. I would take a vacation elsewhere. It's a little rude to be vacationing. Also, crime is probably at its highest, and tourists will the frontline of the target.
DVD Polizei
01-02-05, 12:20 AM
Bush is ordering the US flag at half-staff? Ummmm, I think this is going a little too far.
CNN now reporting 155,000 confirmed dead :( Very, very sad. The number had gotten so high, I was actually hoping that in all the confusion they were counting some numbers twice and the number would go down after help got in the area. I guess the opposite is happening.
I was watching American Morning today and they had footage of rescue workers looking for bodies. Bodies were just floating in the harbor by the hundreds. So sad...
Myster X
01-03-05, 12:46 PM
Bush is ordering the US flag at half-staff? Ummmm, I think this is going a little too far.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6769602/
What next?
1) Ordering an official Tsunami Stamp be made?
2) National Holiday?
It's probably the most diplomatically way to say America is not at war with Islam.
Geofferson
01-03-05, 12:58 PM
President Bush named his two immediate predecessors [George HW Bush & Bill Clinton] today to appeal for private donations for tsunami disaster relief, saying, "The greatest source of America's generosity is not our government; it's the good heart of the American people."
More here... (http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/03/tsunami.presidents/index.html)
mllefoo
01-03-05, 01:12 PM
If nothing else, we did lose a few Americans in the disaster. Even if you don't think we should fly flags at half mast for all the other deaths, would it make you feel better if we were flying the flags at half mast for our own?
I think it's a nice, if useless, gesture.
MonkeyG
01-03-05, 02:31 PM
When 9/11 occurred, I remember many nations lowered their flags to half-mast in the ensuing days. Maybe it's just me but I appreciated the symbolic gesture.
I think it's appropriate for us to now lower our flags given the magnitude of the tragedy.
DVD Polizei
01-03-05, 02:43 PM
There were many people who died in the Florida and surrounding areas due to terrible storms, but you didn't see a president wanting a half-staff then.
A terrible tragedy has happened, and I think the US has demonstrated their empathy due to donations, in addition to $350 million and rising, but if we were to lower a flag due to worldwide tragedies, we would see the flag at half-staff, year-round, just about every day of the year.
troystiffler
01-03-05, 02:54 PM
Can't we all just GET ALONG?
LorenzoL
01-03-05, 03:00 PM
You think that's bad, the Canadian Federal government only pledged $4.5 million dollars. The province of Ontario has promised $5 million dollars for the relief efforts -ohbfrank-
The Canadian government has upped the aid to $80 million dollars.
Giantrobo
01-03-05, 03:20 PM
The Canadian government has upped the aid to $80 million dollars.
Bush just upped America's pledge to "Elvendy Gabillion dollars".
DVD Polizei
01-03-05, 03:50 PM
:lol:
Sdallnct
01-03-05, 11:52 PM
Bush just upped America's pledge to "Elvendy Gabillion dollars".
And that's a lot of money, right?
Gil Jawetz
01-04-05, 12:09 AM
Has anyone read anything about the impact the tsunami had on East Timor?
Peacock network plans to air a live benefit special in response to the Asian tsunami disaster.
January 3, 2005: 6:03 PM EST
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - NBC Universal on Monday said it will air a live benefit special across all of its broadcast and cable platforms on Saturday, January 15. The program is intended to raise money for the victims of the Asian tsunami.
The hour-long, music and celebrity driven broadcast will air live at 8 p.m. to the viewers on the East Coast, tape delayed on the West Coast.
All NBC Universal broadcast and cable stations -- including NBC, USA, Bravo, Trio, Sci-Fi, MSNBC and CNBC -- are scheduled to broadcast the event.
Phone lines will remain open throughout the evening, according to NBC Universal.
Peacock network plans to air a live benefit special in response to the Asian tsunami disaster.
January 3, 2005: 6:03 PM EST
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - NBC Universal on Monday said it will air a live benefit special across all of its broadcast and cable platforms on Saturday, January 15. The program is intended to raise money for the victims of the Asian tsunami.
The hour-long, music and celebrity driven broadcast will air live at 8 p.m. to the viewers on the East Coast, tape delayed on the West Coast.
All NBC Universal broadcast and cable stations -- including NBC, USA, Bravo, Trio, Sci-Fi, MSNBC and CNBC -- are scheduled to broadcast the event.
Phone lines will remain open throughout the evening, according to NBC Universal.Yay! I was wondering when the celebrities would hit up the Low/Middle classes for $$$. Why not give up some of the bling for a month? Hell, even a week. I'm sure that would help..
shaun3000
01-04-05, 03:17 AM
Good. If we can pull out all the stops when a terrorist attack kills 5,000 people here, we should be able to do even better when a freak of nature kills 150,000+ people overseas!!
kuroiinu
01-04-05, 04:01 AM
Has anyone read anything about the impact the tsunami had on East Timor?
I'd have to think that they were not affected because they are geographically "shielded" from the earthquake. They are still very unfortunate people.
Giantrobo
01-04-05, 09:33 AM
Yay! I was wondering when the celebrities would hit up the Low/Middle classes for $$$. Why not give up some of the bling for a month? Hell, even a week. I'm sure that would help..
That's what I said earlier. Tons of them made MILLIONS over the last year when many Americans are jobless, wroking multiple jobs to make ends meet, or only working part-time. They should be able to come up with some serious change.
Giantrobo
01-04-05, 09:36 AM
And that's a lot of money, right?
Not according to critics....
Actually, in Middle Earth, adjusted for inflation it's around 3 shillings.
Giantrobo
01-04-05, 09:47 AM
The latest bad news I've heard mentioned:
1. There have been reports of child abuse in some of affected areas due to large numbers of orphans. They also say there's a concern that "child predators" will take many of them away. Great, 1st you lose your parents then you're abused. :(
2. The coral reefs in the ares where the quake occured have basically been turned to sand and rubble strewn across the sea bottom. This means coral dwelling sea life is now homeless. I wonder how this will affect the ecosystems in those areas?
Thor Simpson
01-04-05, 10:58 AM
Just saw a roommate from college on the news... he was on Phi Phi island or something and the place he was staying in was destroyed. He and his wife are in a Bangkok hospital right now and coming home soon, only minor leg injuries.
DVD Polizei
01-04-05, 11:14 AM
The latest bad news I've heard mentioned:
1. There have been reports of child abuse in some of affected areas due to large numbers of orphans. They also say there's a concern that "child predators" will take many of them away. Great, 1st you lose your parents then you're abused. :(
2. The coral reefs in the ares where the quake occured have basically been turned to sand and rubble strewn across the sea bottom. This means coral dwelling sea life is now homeless. I wonder how this will affect the ecosystems in those areas?
De Silva gave few details of the case of the gang-raped 17-year-old girl, which occurred in the area of Galle on the southern coast but not in a refugee centre. Hours after being washed ashore and left orphaned and homeless, she was raped by six men, he said.
Since Friday, two other cases of suspected abuse of children were reported, including one by a man who attempted to molest his granddaughter, de Silva said.
Homeless coral: "Say brother, can you spare a plankton?"
Myster X
01-04-05, 12:00 PM
Sandra Bullock donated 1 million. The EU, with a population size equals the US donated 35 million, heard this on Joe Scarborough last night. Who's being stingy now?
General Zod
01-04-05, 12:03 PM
Sandra Bullock donated 1 million. The EU, with a population size equals the US donated 35 million, heard this on Joe Scarborough last night. Who's being stingy now?
Doesn't matter what the U.S. does or how much we donate - we will always be seen as stingy, wrong, and somehow the underlying cause of it all.
Gil Jawetz
01-04-05, 12:12 PM
Leonardo DiCaprio gave an unspecified amount. Given that he had a pretty big experience shooting The Beach on an island over there that was totally destroyed and that he's done a lot of environmental work over time, I suspect that "unspecified" means "HUGE."
Linkin Park gave 100k and started a fundraising initiative, Jackie Chan and Chow Yun Fat gave a lot. We'll be hearing a lot more of stuff like this over time.
DVD Polizei
01-04-05, 12:34 PM
Actually, I think he donated less. Kinda odd the amount wouldn't be mentioned. It could only help him. But if he only donated $100,000, and then compared to Sandra Bullock, then I can see why the amount is kept private.
zuffy
01-04-05, 12:40 PM
Chow Yun Fat gave a lot
I forgot which newspaper... maybe a chinese one but he donated $25k. I wouldn't call that a lot for a celebrity.
DVD Polizei
01-04-05, 12:41 PM
Chow Yun Thin Do Na Shun.
brizz
01-04-05, 12:55 PM
Doesn't matter what the U.S. does or how much we donate - we will always be seen as stingy, wrong, and somehow the underlying cause of it all.
De Silva gave few details of the case of the gang-raped 17-year-old girl, which occurred in the area of Galle on the southern coast but not in a refugee centre. Hours after being washed ashore and left orphaned and homeless, she was raped by six men, he said.
Since Friday, two other cases of suspected abuse of children were reported, including one by a man who attempted to molest his granddaughter, de Silva said.
Some people should be shot.
Gil Jawetz
01-04-05, 01:09 PM
I forgot which newspaper... maybe a chinese one but he donated $25k. I wouldn't call that a lot for a celebrity.
After the Triads take their cut his paychecks aren't that big. ;)
Anyway, that's a lot of money. A lot of good will come of a donation of that size.
General Zod
01-04-05, 01:14 PM
Just stop it. -ohbfrank-
so tiresome.
But so true. Make it stop being the case and i'll stop mentioning it. Until then, you're going to have to live with the reality.
Aldarion
01-04-05, 01:33 PM
Sandra Bullock donated 1 million. The EU, with a population size equals the US donated 35 million, heard this on Joe Scarborough last night. Who's being stingy now?
The EU has upped their contribution to 240 million Euros (a bit over $300 million US). That's about equivalent to the US contribution based on GDP. I'm not sure how European private contributions compare to American private donations, which have been quite generous.
Good to see that the EU has stepped up and contributed.
Gil Jawetz
01-04-05, 01:38 PM
I hope this doesn't turn into a competition. I mean, it would be nice if more money was donated out of competitiveness but it does seem kind of stupid to constantly compare who gave what.
General Zod
01-04-05, 01:41 PM
I hope this doesn't turn into a competition. I mean, it would be nice if more money was donated out of competitiveness but it does seem kind of stupid to constantly compare who gave what.
I don't think it will. I think there was a lot of wait-and-see going on by lots of countries. At first, it was so hard to tell exactly where was worst hit and what supplies would be needed.. I think in the aftermath it's becoming more obvious and that makes allocating the money easier
DVD Polizei
01-04-05, 01:59 PM
I agree.
Listen to General Zod.
Rub up against DVD Polizei. :up:
brizz
01-04-05, 02:03 PM
But so true. Make it stop being the case and i'll stop mentioning it. Until then, you're going to have to live with the reality.
No, I think you need a little dose of reality. The only criticisms of the US have been domestic and pretty few and far between...the vast majority of this sentiment exists only in the minds of people like you who can't seem to let this persecution complex go. This is neither the time nor the place for such crap.
Giantrobo
01-04-05, 04:56 PM
Peace guys. Or else members will secretly e-mail Mods to shut you both down.
al_bundy
01-04-05, 05:24 PM
drudge is reporting that private US donations have topped $200 million
Nazgul
01-04-05, 06:51 PM
Apparently, NBC Nightly News was reporting that a leading Egyptian Newpaper is concluding that the Tsunami was a result of underwater American, Israeli or Indian nuclear tests.
:)
nevermind
01-04-05, 07:04 PM
Apparently, NBC Nightly News was reporting that a leading Egyptian Newpaper is concluding that the Tsunami was a result of underwater American, Israeli or Indian nuclear tests.
Foreign Ministry director general Ron Prosor met Tuesday with senior Indonesian officials after an El Al plane landed in Indonesia for the first time in the company's history, delivering 80 tons of emergency supplies to tsunami victims.
The visit came despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations between Israel and Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim country.
Prosor delivered a condolence letter from Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who has instructed Israel to provide aid to all countries affected by the December 26 earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 150,000 people across southern Asia.
"We have been arranging this flight for a week," the plane's captain said from Indonesia. "We have been very excited, considering that this destination is not usually visited by Israeli planes."
The El Al flight was arranged with the help of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry.
The most recent state visit to Indonesia was made in 2000 by then-minister of regional development, Shimon Peres. Former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin also visited the country, in 1993.
The plane's passengers included two captains, two first officers, two flight engineers, a mechanic, a ground operations controller in charge of the plane's cargo, security personnel, and several state escorts.
The aircraft had touched down the previous night in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, where it unloaded 15 tons of supplies, also for tsunami relief.
Buy: