Can dMw donate £50 to the tsunami relief fund?

[Anonymous]

I've pointed CNN towards this question as well and suggested they may wish to ask the Whitehouse why the US contribution is so small?  :devil:

Maybe we can embarras them into offering more.

[da_Ricci]

GOOD IDEA. I already spend some money to them. they need help asap.

[smilodon]

Good work BB. I'll be interested to see what kind of effect American public opinion will have on the US Government. While there are a lot of people in America who can't even find their own country on a map, their are millions of intelligent, compassionate people there, who I am sure are less that pleased with the US reponse.

[Anonymous]

Although CNN is reporting that the UK Government has raised its offer of aid to $95 million they haven't mentioned the fact that the great British public has dug deep and raised over $61 million in addition to the Government money.

However, all people affected by this will be heartened to read that Colin Powell and Jeb Bush are going to visit the region to assess the damage. I can save them a trip - it's totally flattened! There guys now start sending aid!

[Anonymous]

OK I'll make the obvious comment:

Originally posted by BlueBall@Dec 31 2004, 01:33 PM
However, all people affected by this will be heartened to read that Colin Powell and Jeb Bush are going to visit the region to assess the damage.

[post=73473]Quoted post[/post]

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Well, if anyone can fix things Jeb Bush can!

[Anonymous]

Latest figures (well done Sweden etc for upping the ante)

KEY AID PLEDGES
World Bank: $250m
UK: $96m
Sweden: $75m
Spain: $68m
China: $60m
France: $56m
EU $44m
Netherlands: $36m
US: $35m
Canada: $33m
Japan: $30m
Australia: $27m
Switzerland: $23m
Norway: $16.6m
Denmark: $15.6m
Saudi Arabia: $10m
Taiwan: $5.1m
Finland: $3.4m
Kuwait: $2.1m
UAE: $2m

Source: Reuters, United Nations

[DogMeat]

Not wanting to seem totally heartless, I voted for the donation.  Personally, my preference is for cancer and ex-forces organisations - I've never been in a tidal wave, but I have been here:

"Ex-service personnel, especially single men, are vulnerable to becoming homeless, accounting for at least a quarter of the total number of homeless people in Britain. According to recent research by Crisis, that figure could be as high as a third. Crisis also found that, once on the streets, ex-service men stay homeless for longer. More than half of all homeless ex-service men are homeless for more than 10 years. Ex-service men are more likely than other groups to become homeless for complex reasons: some entered the Army after being in care, while others know little adult life outside the forces. The nature of life in the forces may not prepare them for life outside. In some cases, ex-service personnel suffer psychological damage as a result of serving in the forces, which affects their personal lives and well-being and indirectly affects family relationships."

D "     " M

[smilodon]

I'd agree. It's impossible to support every cause and stay up to date with the relevent activities of every charity. Supporting one specific chairy or cause is a sound idea. We give to something we know about, care about and can learn about the problem and the solutions in greater detail. For my mum it has always been Dr. Banardo's, for me it's the NSPCC.

As long as we spread ourselves across all worthy causes and then maybe do that extra bit when something as awful as the Asian Earthquake happens.

[Anonymous]

Originally posted by DogMeat@Dec 31 2004, 02:36 PM
In some cases, ex-service personnel suffer psychological damage as a result of serving in the forces, which affects their personal lives and well-being and indirectly affects family relationships.

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Yup. Sad to say I'm a fully paid up member of that club

[Gh0st Face Killah]

Apparently the americans have upped their aid to $350m in the past few hours. Good Job BB your pressure on them worked!!

[smilodon]

There's always the possibility that they simply didn't appreciate, like most of us, the enormity of the event in the first few days. It probably takes a while to get authorisation to increase the amount....even if you are the President. Then again it might have been a cynical move once the Bush Administration realised how disgusted the world was with their efforts.

[brass]

Originally posted by smilodon@Dec 31 2004, 07:21 PM
There's always the possibility that they simply didn't appreciate, like most of us, the enormity of the event in the first few days. It probably takes a while to get authorisation to increase the amount....even if you are the President. Then again it might have been a cynical move once the Bush Administration realised how disgusted the world was with their efforts.

[post=73503]Quoted post[/post]

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I was speaking to a neighbour who has just come back from the States and he said " I didn't realise the enormity of the disaster because the media coverage was practically non existent" all that was reported initially and for the first 24hrs was a tidal wave had occurred in Southern Asia. Makes you wonder their priorities.

I would also question the Sri Lankan Governments response to the Tamils in the Nort East of the island.

[RizZy]

Just saw this over on ocuk's forum & thought it showed pretty well the sort of destruction there having to deal with -

Before

After

[TeaLeaf]

Spoke to one of my corporate clients today (I popped into the office this morning to check post etc).  They have a Sri-Lankan subsidiary and all of their employees are safe.  However the same cannot be said for their families.  One employee is the sole surviving member of his family.  The subsidiary company was on the other side of the island to where his family lived.  He lost 27 relatives in the tsunami: wife, children, brother, sisters, mother, father, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews.   He lost everything, his entire family.  It makes you think.

TL.

[Anonymous]

Originally posted by Gh0st Face Killah@Dec 31 2004, 06:37 PM
Apparently the americans have upped their aid to $350m in the past few hours. Good Job BB your pressure on them worked!!

[post=73502]Quoted post[/post]

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BB 1 - Bush 0