Tsunami

[ccortez]

Some poll asked Americans what percentage of the US budget they thought went to help poor countries in the form of relief aid, dev aid, etc.

The avg. American said 24%.

The truth is 1/4 of 1%.

I think an apt point of reference is the $150 billion we've spent killing people in Iraq. The world sure could use that money, that workforce and those "hearts and minds" about now.

The Bush inaugral will cost more than the $15 mil we originally pledged to Tsunami relief.

[scottbobo2]

Just a little facts....Many of the people on vacation are on vacation to engage in sex with minors,where is the outcry about the many thousands of children that are forced to do these sick acts for the enjoyment of Americans ,European,and Australians.It would seem that we feel all these people who died were saints(far from it).
The story of this earthquake is the same lesson of Noahs ark,one day the fun comes to an end(sometimes with water).
P.S. : do a search on the net about the sex trade in Thailands, Indonesia ,and Sri lanka thats the real tragedy!

[reflex]

Just a little facts....Many of the people on vacation are on vacation to engage in sex...

And many of the people are families or couples exploring the world. It is a rite of passage for many Canadians to travel through that part of the world when they leave school or college.

I agree that the sex trade is a major problem in South East Asia, but your comments are demeaning to many innocent tourists who were horrifically drowned.

[S8 Booster]

Silly.

Indonesia is the by far hardest hit country by more than 100 000 dead up to now and they just don´t bother counting anymore. Hardly many tourists in that particular area of Indonesia.

Additionally it is estimated that 45% of the total death toll are children.

Thailand is one of the less hit countries but there were most video cameras active there for the "scoop".

R

[S8 Booster]

Some historic EQ info. Fore example, China lost 240 000 in 1976.

Some interesting facts about the The Deadliest Earthquake of the 20th Century: Tangshan:

But there were many worse: Deadliest Earthquakes on Record

Earthquakes by date



R

[Uppsala BildTeknik]

Have people gone crazy?
Talking about sex trade and nuclear weapons at a time like this?

A lot of people have gone to these parts of the world for scuba diving, I know a guy who works in a Thailland scuba diving-boat. Haven´t heard from him yet...

And another guy who was down there with his whole family, haven´t heard from them either....

And another guy who had gone there for a diving-trip, haven´t heard from him yet.....

SO QUIT THE SEX TRADE CRAP, NOT EVERYONE WHO DIED FROM THE TSUNAMI WENT THERE FOR SEX WITH CHILDREN!

Although it is a bit problem in this part of the world there are more important issues to waste energy on now!


And nuclear bombs? Why is this even anything to be thinking about now?

Nuclear bombs are horrible and should be minimized whenever possible, but there are so many countries that waste so much money on weapons (not only nuclear) that it is ridiculous, their people are very poor but they have high tech weapons. Sounds very stupid to me.

But who cares about how many nuclear weapons there are in a time like this? It´s not like everyone is going to build huge piles of new nukes instead of using the money to help the Tsunami victims. :roll:

[stoney]

I feel much guilt when I see how much people are struggling in Indonesia,
India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and other places. I also know that I am not
able to fully understand how dire of a situation that many people are in
without being there. I hope that people will take a few moments to
mentally place themselves in those peoples situations and think about
what it really means.

It's is always good to ask what percentage of money donated is
uses for administrative costs and what percentage of money is used
for actual assistance before you donate your money.
You should also ask how much of the money you donate will be used
for the current crisis and how much if any will be used for future
causes that are unrelated.
The American Red Cross had some issues with a substantial amount of
911 money being used for blood collections and related donations instead
of being used for 911 relief. Sometimes they use it to increase their
regular donor base knowing that much of the products collected will not be
used before they expire. I have pretty good sources for this info.

There was an interesting interview of Jeffery Sachs, Director, Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Adviser to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan by Charlie Rose on Tuesday 21Dec04.
He made the allegation that much of the Foreign Aid that is appropriated
in the legislature and makes headlines in the press is not implemented
or spent. I seemed as though he played niave during the interview.
He stated that Secretary Powell replied "Do you know how difficult it
is to get money out of the congress?".

Another unfortunate point is that the Indonesian government might
not have much incentive to quickly bring humanitarian aid to the Aceh
province due to the people wanting to be independent and the Government
use of force over the last several years. Military and police are able to
collect protection money from businesses, so it is profitable as well.
After the Tsunami Japan sent a medical team there, but the military would
not let them in. Though in India, Doctors without borders were not allowed
in either. The local government leaders said that they would think about it. (source was PBS Mcniel Lehr news hour, cannot remember which area
in India this was.)

I have been to Pattaya, Bangkok, and Phuket Thailand. Yes, there is much exploitation of women, transvestites, and boys. I saw many Europeans and Americans there. Though I also saw many tourists who
probably did not engage in this activity. I'ts a good thing that I did not
stay any longer. I ate at least five times a day All of the snakes gave
me the willies. I have never seen so many different types of snakes.
I also went to Luzon Phillipines, Singapore, Hong Kong, New territories China and saw similar activity regarding the sex trade. Though it is much
less obvious in places like Singapore or the New territories.

Stoney

[scottbobo2]

S8 booster said: [Additionally it is estimated that 45% of the total death toll are children. ]
I realize that good people perished along with the bad,but if you are in the U.S. the newspapers continually quote that this place was paradise.
The sex trade industry is massive in these countries,it is estimated that suicide by children who were abused is beyond count. Many of these children killed last week were living dead already.In 1999 the vactican(Pope) said the problem is so wide spread that companies should not do business with these sex trade countries(calling it an epidemic).It may not be politically correct with the rest of the world but in the U.S. many still believe God knows what he is doing.
[/quote]

[Uppsala BildTeknik]

Hah! "God" is a freakin joke!

Anyone who really believes in God is insane or blind or brainwashed in my eyes! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Yeah, innocent people killed by this Tsunami and all the abused children and raped women really deserves it! It is only "a test of faith" :lol: :lol: :lol:

God is really great, isn´t he :roll:

[scottbobo2]

So, I suppose the whole universe was created by an accident? Now that is a freakin joke.It always amazes me that man who can't live beyond 100...cant cure the common cold....cant stop the aging process...BUT can tell us there isnt a GOD..I guess you bought the Charles Darwin evolution nonsense that almost every scientist today said is seriously flawed or just plain wrong. I guess Jesus went to the cruxification for a freakin joke.
Bible verse "The fool says there is no GOD"

[Uppsala BildTeknik]

HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!!!

We can talk about this all day, but it won´t change a thing.

When did you see a "miracle" of god? This wave? All of the "justice" in the world today?

HA, HA, HA, HA!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

And I won´t even bother to post anything about the god thing again.
It is just a waste of time. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[scottbobo2]

My last post on this subject....You may one day seek Christ (God)

[ccortez]

Wow, this thread has completely lost the plot.

S8 booster said: [Additionally it is estimated that 45% of the total death toll are children. ]
I realize that good people perished along with the bad,but if you are in the U.S. the newspapers continually quote that this place was paradise.
The sex trade industry is massive in these countries,it is estimated that suicide by children who were abused is beyond count. Many of these children killed last week were living dead already.In 1999 the vactican(Pope) said the problem is so wide spread that companies should not do business with these sex trade countries(calling it an epidemic).It may not be politically correct with the rest of the world but in the U.S. many still believe God knows what he is doing.

If I read you correctly, "God" brought the Tsunami down to cleanse Asia of the sex trade and put miserable, suicidal children out of their misery.

Forgive me, but this does make you sound kinda crazy. It's dangerous commentary IMO in the same vein as crediting "God" w/creating AIDS to punish and cleanse the world of gay men.

Similarly...

Hah! "God" is a freakin joke!

Anyone who really believes in God is insane or blind or brainwashed in my eyes! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Yeah, innocent people killed by this Tsunami and all the abused children and raped women really deserves it! It is only "a test of faith" :lol: :lol: :lol:

God is really great, isn´t he :roll:

Denying the spiritual connectedness and universality of all life seems to me as closed-minded as blindly believing in religiosity or fundamentalism.

Not everybody who refers to "God" means some white-bearded old guy who lives in the sky. Many Unitarian Universalist congregations avoid the term "God" b/c it means different things to different people and carries connotations that make dialog about spirituality more difficult.

FWIW, UU's welcome thinking of all types -- theist, atheist, or otherwise.

[Uppsala BildTeknik]

FWIW, UU's

What does this mean? Just being curious.

[ccortez]

FWIW, UU's

What does this mean? Just being curious.

sorry...

FWIW = "For what it's worth"

UU's = Unitarian Universalists

Unitarian Universalism is a non-creedal, non-dogmatic association of liberal congregations.

OK, that's my probably-not-very-good description. For more info, read:

http://www.uua.org/aboutuua/principles.html