America Will Lead Global Relief Effort

[MIKE BURN]

As if the world needs a LEADER here in this case, who thought for three full days that holidays and visiting friends are more important.



How sick, IMHO

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Bush Says America Will Lead Global Relief Effort



By Jim VandeHei and Robin Wright

Washington Post Staff Writers

Thursday, December 30, 2004; Page A01



CRAWFORD, Tex., Dec. 29 -- President Bush said Wednesday that the United States will spearhead a worldwide effort to provide financial, military and humanitarian assistance to the Asian nations devastated by one of the world's deadliest natural disasters.



Speaking publicly for the first time since Sunday's Indian Ocean tsunami, Bush told reporters that the United States, India, Japan and Australia are forming an international coalition to provide immediate relief and rescue assistance, as well as longer-term help with rebuilding.





Bush was criticized for not taking a break from his vacation until Wednesday to address the issue in person and for offering an initial pledge of only $15 million in assistance. The administration was pressed Wednesday to explain the timing and amount of its relief pledge.



But critics noted that the U.S. aid so far is about the equivalent of what the United States spends in seven hours for its military operations in Iraq. "We spend $35 million before breakfast every day in Iraq," said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.



Spain has pledged $68 million, almost twice what the United States has contributed so far. Japan has pledged $30 million, Britain $29 million, Australia $27.6 million, Germany $27 million, France $20.5 million and Denmark $15.5 million, the United Nations reported.

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[answerraire]

"who thought for three full days that holidays and visiting friends are more important."





That sentence should stand alone and have a question mark at the end.

[Rev9Volts]

Why should he get on TV at all and make a speach. USAID and other government agencies were already doing the work...



How many other presidents got on TV?



How much is USA giving compared to other countries?



How many German or French or Chinese or Russion navy ships are on their way to help?

[LarreeMP3]

What is truly sick, IMHO, is the way people are politicizing this world tragedy and using it to bash Bush and the U.S.

Click here to listen to three decades of original Larree music!

[RonOnGuitar]

There's more than a few problems here, Mike.



First, it's a tragedy that hateful politics are being brought into the relief efforts to help the millions impacted by the disaster.



In Europe the citizens are fed a non-stop, steady diet of insane and irrational USA/Bush-hatred, but you'd think they could take a break from that for a few days. But I suppose they keep it up to stop Europeans from thinking about things like their high unemployment and extremely slow economic growth at home!



(Any US politician who would try to make politics out of such a tragedy will probably be chased out of office by the voters!)



Second, the article is either out-of-date or intententionally not being completely truthful - or both.



The Washington Post has always been anti-Bush and has always used most of it's print attacking both the President and America. It keeps losing subscribers at an amazing rate and it's something of a joke to many people in the US.



(In contrast, the newpaper with the largest circulation in Europe, "Dir Bild", endorsed President Bush last October with a "Top Ten List"!)



For example, it claims the America will only spend $15 million dollars to help in this tragedy. And then it cites a US' lunatic fringe politician speaking of "We spend $35 million before breakfast".



Why do you think he picked that number in specific ($35M)?



Simple. The Wash Post didn't mention that the amount that had already been spent by that time was $35 Million! But the Wash Post is usually wrong with the facts, lol.



Now, that $35 mill has already been spent and America continues to fund the immense cost of assisting the people hit hit by this massaive disaster.



America leads the way in actually doing something, instead of just "talking big"!



Okay, now let's look at the key words in the last paragraph - the one you highlighted in bold:



"has pledged".



There's a big difference between "has pledged" and has already spent and continues to spend. Especially when you're speaking of the UN!



It feels good to pledge imaginary zillion and zillion, debate about it for 10 years and maybe pass a dozen resolutions. But it has zero impact in the real world. Macht's nicht.



And since it is only pledges I guess it doesn't matter the pledges are going to a corrupt organization that's in the middle in the biggest money scandal in the history of the world. So it's a good thing that there's no real money exchanging hands anyway. By the time Kofi & Son and their buddies had finished robbing any real collected funds, there might be enough left to buy lunch for two people in Thailand.



Of course, those 2 people in Thailand would have to be UN employees or send half of it back to the Kofi&Son mob, but I suppose that's better than nothing! Great relief effort!!





I can't speak for all Americans, but I think most of us believe in the old American saying - "Actions speak louder than words."



I'm proud that the leaders of the free world have banded together their governments along with all the private charities to do something real and to do it fast to help in this immense disaster and to try to stop the aftermath from being as bad as it could potentially be.



Although Americans and our government are still paying for the massive hurricane damage of this year (and we do it without even one outside pledge!), the average people of America have already actually given more for real and immediate help than the EU and the UN.



That's remembering there is a difference between pledging to an unaccountable, corrupt world organization (the UN-Kofi Mob) and actually giving financial help.



To illustrate this fact we can consult this page at Amazon.com



Amazon - American Red Cross - Disaster Giving



Total Collected: US $6,697,025.79

American Red Cross (disaster-relief)



And now, instead of combining the pledges - to the UN - of all the EU countries mentioned, let's be generous and say they all pledged to give to the UN every Euro that their goverment's have in their treasuries. Let's look at the results.

In the real world

American citizens have spent (in addition to the daily millions being paid through the US Government - i.e. taxes) for direct and immediate relief -

Just at Amazon alone:

Total Collected: US $6,722,809.93

(the total grows bigger each minute)

Compare with what Czech President Vaclav Klaus might call the

"Utopian Dream World"

A pledge to the UN of every Euro in the EU, which - after 10 years of debate, 12 resolutions and UN moneylooting - might end up feeding those two UN employees in Thailand. (And help with the poor Annan family retirement fund)..







I'll let the millions of victims decide which route they prefer.



Here's a link to the International Red Cross - Red Crescent



Those who believe sending real money to Kofi is the better route can either look up the snailmail address of his mansion or just send your $$$ and Euros to "Kofi & Son, Oil4Food Accounting Dept, UN". Give til it hurts!





Now, Mike on the Christmas thing. I suppose the President could have issued a worldwide order that banned the earth's citizens (including himself) from enjoying the holidays with family and friends, but I'm not quite sure exactly how that would have stopped the tsunami or solved the longtime real world needs of the survivors.



Flowery words, speeches and pledges might work to satisfy some folks, but they don't do much to stop a tidal wave or to heal those whose bodies, minds and lives have been ravaged by disaster.



(In the time it took me to type this the figure at Amazon went to $6,913,330.58 )



Mike - forget governments, the UN and other shameful groups who would want to play "political football" with the suffering of millions. Governments can do whatever they will do or won't do, but it's the individuals who make the difference!



All of us can do what we can do, as individuals and as groups!





Einen guten Rutsch zu Sie und zu Ihre Familie!

Frieden in der Welt auch Wohlwollen zu allen Leuten für 2005, hoffnungsvoll.

[RonOnGuitar]

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How many German or French or Chinese or Russion navy ships are on their way to help?

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Com'n, Rev - you do realize that France has pledged to an unconditional surrender to waves (or even water ripples) as it's contribution, don't ya?

[RonOnGuitar]

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What is truly sick, IMHO, is the way people are politicizing this world tragedy

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Yup, yup,yup & amen. The deepest shame on any politician, bureaucrat, leader here or abroad who tries to exploit a massive tragedy like this.



But to look at it internationally, I believe it's as I sez, Larree:



they (some nation's leaders and their state-controlled medias) have do it, otherwise their own citizens would start complaining about life in their own countries!



e.g. Leaders of country X and Y (failed socialist-bureacracies) knows that it's best to keep the people's anger focused elsewhere at a free, successful country Z rather than to work to improve the conditions in their own countries of X & Y.



Just so much diversion for the bureaucratic leaders to keep thier jobs and get big approval. "Scapegoating" wasn't even a new trick when Adolf tried it out!

[Galmin]

I want some of the stuff you're on, Ron.

[ANSWERAIRRE]

Hopefully good ol' Galmin has blessed us with the last gratuitous insult of the year.

[Galmin]

Hopefully in 2005 the admin of this BB will put and end to the 'anonymous trolls' phenomenon. Have a nice day.

[RonOnGuitar]

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Hopefully good ol' Galmin has blessed us with the last gratuitous insult of the year.

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LOL, but not to worry. If I had expected Galmin to have posted a logical, unemotional refutation here I would have been disappointed. But if all a fella's got at hand by way of intellectual give&take is the grat-insults, then he's actually only doing his personal best.



As I sez to Mike (above post) - individuals do what they can.



Ces't la vie, and sh-boom, sh-boom.

[RonOnGuitar]

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I want some of the stuff you're on, Ron

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Psstt, Gal....shhhhh....I'll tell you the secret....it's called "freedom". You want some, I can fix you up:



Go south to about Denmark, turn west toward London (stop there for bangers and mash) and after dinner continue westward until you meet a lady with a torch, she'll be your connection for the freedom stuff. Tell her Ron sent ya.



Good luck - you're be your own then - along with freedoms come self-responsibility. No cradle to grave nannying, sorry. Carry on best you can.

[Galmin]

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Go south to about Denmark

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I'll not go around the world just to get some cool aid

[Galmin]

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continue westward until you meet a lady with a torch, she'll be your connection for the freedom stuff.

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You mean la statue de liberté (the madam kept upright by an Alexandre Gustave Eiffel structure)?

[MIKE BURN]

1. You can read the Bush statement "America will LEAD global relief effort" meanwhile also on CNN and other American news sources, not to speak of European ones. Left, Right, Middle, Center, Communist, Republican and I don't know what.



2. European leaders were on TV since day 1



3. European help teams incl. dogs, doctors, nurses, psychologists, coordinators, provisional tent-hospitals were on the ground since day 2 (think about 14 hours flight from Europe to Thailand for example)



4. Up to day 2 no American ship, no American airplane and no American doctor was on the ground in the region



Today we read:

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Today we read:





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CRAWFORD, Texas (CNN) -- A U.S. delegation headed by Secretary of State Colin Powell and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, brother of President George W. Bush, will travel to southern Asia Sunday to assess humanitarian needs, a White House spokesman said Thursday.



Their itinerary will be set by the State Department, deputy White House spokesman Trent Duffy told reporters.



He said President Bush had been closely monitoring the unfolding tragedy.



The United States has pledged $35 million in cash assistance, and Duffy said the president is satisfied that international coalitions are coming together to address the tragedy.

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It is good to read about the $ 35 million U.S. cash assistance.





Meanwhile Britain boosted its pledge from $30 million to $95 million, the World Bank added $250 million to the $250 million pledged by the international community and the European Union boosted it's pledge to 400 million. Together with Spain and Australia's 100 million this makes now 1 billion and more.



The people in need will have relief and I hope they get more and more, by the international community and with the lack of self-announced leaders.