Why we're stingy

[ivolsky]

The NYT editorial page weighs in on the "Are We Stingy?" relief efforts debate and concludes that yes, we are. The paper contrasts the public perception that the U.S. gives 24% of its budget on aid to poor nations and the reality that we only spends a quarter of 1%. In 2003, America gave $16.2 billion in development aid, while the European Union gave $37.1 billion. In 2002, America offered $13.2 billion, while Europe contributed $29.9 billion. Also, very often, the U.S. does not actually deliver all the aid it promises.

Still, all spending is an indication of priority. When a country, a people, or a politician (do you like how politician get her/his own category?) allocate money towards a cause, they acknowledge the importance of that cause. When not enough money is allocated, the cause is deemed less important than a higher spending priority. In this case, the message couldn't be clearer. Helping the poorest nations on earth overcome one of the largest natural disasters in history is less important than the Bush inauguration. The inauguration of Bush is more important than rebuilding the lives of millions.

Now, I wonder. If (God forbid) a natural disaster occurred in the Western hemisphere, or even in the United States, would we, as Americans, not expect all other nations to (1) send their condolences immediately and not wait almost a week <note to Bush: since you're president and all, you'll sometimes have to disrupt your vacation, especially when 80,000+ suddenly die in the poorest region on earth. If you were a true statesmen you would fly to India and Sri Lanka to survey the damage and extend your personal sympathies> (2) contribute all that they can to the relief efforts.

Is it all too much to ask for?
www.politicalthought.net.

[Eagle_Eye]

1. Four Hurricanes in Florida and were was the U. N.?

I do not recall even token help from the UN or any of those South East Asia countries.
The United States has carried the U. N. since 1947, while they publicly bash us on a regular basis. When will the U. N. start to carry its own weight?

[Name removed]

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[K-W]

55. Thats like asking why poor people dont give money to rich people

during the holidays.

[Squeech]

6. We make our own

disaster aid. There's insurance in the private sector, and there's FEMA and government disaster aid in the public sector.

Why do we need (or deserve) extra baksheesh from the UN? Wassamatter, do you think we're needy or weak or something? Why do you hate America?

[Dr.Phool]

9. You ever think about

We're the richest country in the world, and we can usually handle most of our problems, including 4 hurricanes, without the UN? I was hit by 2 of them this year, Frances and Jeanne. I called my insurance company, and they settled the claim over the phone.

Most people have their own insurance and wouldn't expect a poor Indian brutalized Indonesian to kick in for the repairs.

[Eagle_Eye]

13. It is not like we absolutly needed the help, they did not even

make a token offering.

[Dr.Phool]

14. Well, you didn't offer to pay part of my deductible either!!!

[Eagle_Eye]

16. Paying my own deductable took it all. n/t

[MsTryska]

36. Doesn't this fall under

"having your hand out" and "begging for someone to help you"?


why do you hate America?

[Eagle_Eye]

41. No it does not

An offer to help does not imply an answer to begging for help.
You ask "why do you hate America?" You have that back wards. I want to help my state and country first. I recall that phrase "why do you hate America?" coming from the mouth of the right wing town crier Shalom Hannity.

[St. Jarvitude]

107. "Shalom Hannity"?

:wtf: is that supposed to mean?

[Eagle_Eye]

116. It means he is a self righteous jerk

[pnutchuck]

122. As I recall, the damage from the Hurricanes was more financially

devastating than death taking. Although all death is tragic, we are talking about 100s of thousands dead, missing and displaced. You guys are arguing apples to oranges.

[liberalhistorian]

56. Maybe because

we're the richest nation on earth and we're millions of dollars behind in our U.N. dues, possibly? The hurricanes were nothing at all compared to what most of the rest of the world has to deal with all the time, and most of the rest of the world is far poorer than we are and with far less resources. We are so spoiled and pampered, when something happens we act as if it's the worst thing ever to happen in the world and that we're worse off than anyone else, and that's pure bullshit. We live like kings compared to most of the rest of the world.

[PST]

11. help from Sri Lanka?

you're joking right? your pc is worth more than what they make a year.

[Eagle_Eye]

19. Arthur C Clark lives in Sri Lanka

http://www.space.com/news/tsunami_clarke_041227.html

Not everyone there is destitute. I doubt that Mr. Clark is a pauper

[Bridget Burke]

22. That's not "Mr Clark"--but "Sir Arthur Clarke"

Yes, there are some wealthy people in Sri Lanka.

I saw on bbc news this AM how the roads were clogged with Sri Lankans from the unaffected parts of the island. They loaded up their cars & trucks with supplies to help. And most of them were not wealthy.

[Eagle_Eye]

25. I send my apologies to Sir Arthur Clarke

I did not know he had been knighted. In fact I thought he had passed away a few years ago. At least one good thing has come out of this thread.

[PST]

24. great logic!

now would that make Sri Lanka a rich country or just a poor country with 1 rich citizen?
look at the stats and learn.

[Eagle_Eye]

27. No, I look at my own bank account and

I look at my friends and neighbors here in Florida after Ivan. Some how I do not have any sympathy for the administrators of the U. N. sitting in their offices in New York City complaining that we are not giving enough.
I put my neighbors and country ahead of the U. N.

[PST]

29. ahead of the UN?

people in 3rd world countries are dying from starvation and diseases right now, if they were lucky enough to survive at all. this is NOT about the UN.

[Eagle_Eye]

32. Fine, I delegate to you to go out and help the third world

I have my own problems after a local natural disaster that are currently taking up my spare resources. this is NOT about being STINGY.

[pnutchuck]

123. Great, 5 rich guys in Sri Lank, they don't need OUR help! n/t

[Ripley]

17. BS

The US has not carried the UN since 1947. We owe them millions in dues. Ted Turner actually paid our country's dues one year.

Get a grip on reality. I suppose you also think the poor people in trailers should pitch in their savings of aluminum cans for donation to the rich McMansion home dwellers that sustain damage from a tornado?

[Eagle_Eye]

20. And there is a reason we owe them millions in dues

The attitude of the United Nations in general toward the United States precipitates animosity. And good for Mr. Turner. At least he kept the French from paying our dues first.

[Forkboy]

31. Good grief

:eyes:

[LynnTheDem]

111. Wow.

:wow:

Ignorance strikes again.

[Spazito]

30. The US has a bad habit of not paying their dues to the UN...

so saying the US has been carrying the UN since 1947 is factually incorrect. The UN was started through the work of a US president and I find it interesting that, because the US can't control all the decisions, it is no longer of use to the US.

[Eagle_Eye]

33. I like the analogy

of you cooking someone a meal and they complain the food is NO good and there is not ENOUGH of it

[Spazito]

35. And this relates to the UN how?

My comment was specific to the inaccuracy regarding 'carrying the UN since 1947' but, since your post doesn't address that and goes on to the stingy comment, the bush admin constantly touts themselves and the US as the 'leader of the free world', the world's protector, etc, etc, etc. If one wants to be a leader, actions speak louder than mere words and embellishments regarding one's generosity, imo.

[Eagle_Eye]

43. We are assessed 22% of the U. N. budget

down from the 25% we paid for 40 years. We gave them property and a building in New York City on which they pay no taxes. The diplomats at the U. N. do not even pay their parking tickets.
As for leadership by example, you will have to take that up with Mr. Bush. The monkey just won't listen to a word I have to say.

[Spazito]

46. For that 22% you have a permanent seat at the table and a veto...

most countries pay their fees with no such advantage. Given how the US has used it's veto, I suggest you are getting good value for your dollar when and if you pay it.

[Eagle_Eye]

52. I would be more inclined to believe

we have the seat on the security council and veto power because of the atomic bombs we dropped on Japan in 1945.

[bpilgrim]

113. aah... our FIRST global SHOCK-n-AWE

you must be/sound proud...

"hiroshima is the second most horrid word in the american lexicon, succeeded only by NAGASAKI" - kurt vonnegut

peace

[Name removed]

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[Eagle_Eye]

53. I am not sure of the total amount of money Florida received, but

I doubt it was all in one day. Plus some money is still being paid. At least most of the money (what ever the actual dollar amount is) stayed in the American economy.
Throwing money at a problem has been one of our country's wasteful tendencies over the years. If we pile on the aid to south Asia when it cannot be effectively utilized, the aid will be wasted. Just like in Florida, so much aid was flowing people in Miami were filing claims for lawn furniture. I know of other problems involving safety and sanitation that need to be corrected before a condo owner gets a new deck chair. I also would not like to see our aid to be flown into south Asia at the risk of our pilots and assets only to sit rotting at the end of the runway because it was in the wrong place.
Haste makes waste.

[PST]

59. "haste makes waste"

try going without drinking water for more than 2 days and see if you still feel that way. have you been following the news at all?

[Eagle_Eye]

63. Try getting your drinking water from a stack 500 miles from

where it is needed because that is where the plane was quickly sent and now there are no planes to move it because they in the repair facility for maintenance.

[PST]

65. I'm sure that has happened

but in general I think organizations like the Red Cross and DWb pretty much know what they're doing. in any case, the last thing I'm worried about right now is that we will send too MUCH aid..

[Eagle_Eye]

68. I just saw in another thread

that the French are going to kick in some big bucks.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,142934,00.html
Good for the French.
Good for us.
Now with this quick infusion of aid, shouldn't we be working smarter not harder (read more expensive) to get the supplies to the folks who need it and not waste it? The world only has so many planes and so many ships. Taking time to make sure the assistance is on target is not being stingy; it is being practical.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

117. Funny

Fox News is your source? I'm amazed considering their love for the French!

[Eagle_Eye]

124. I got the link from

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2884119

[Name removed]

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[Kahutec]

51. Well said!

[Jesus H. Christ]

62. Yes, a 100,000 floridians died in those hurricanes.

Funny how the Christmas spirit up and dies on December 26th, isn't it?

[Eagle_Eye]

64. You got a link to that story, because I missed it

[THUNDER HANDS]

70. i think the U.N. went to find the missing "H" in your version of where.

:D

[Eagle_Eye]

80. Sorry

I tried to edit it, but it seems the edit period has expired. I will try and be more attentive next time.

[PA Democrat]

100. You've got to be f'ing kidding me!

The richest nation in the world does not take CHARITY.

I hardly recall an impending crisis the proportions of which the tsunami victims now face after the Florida hurricanes. Were MILLIONS of peoples' lives at **grave** risk in Florida due to disease and lack of food and water? Were our own relief efforts completely unable to deal with the magnitude of that disaster?

I hate to say it but I find your ME ME ME self-centered interpretation to be disgusting.

[AgadorSparticus]

108. don't waste your breath. this is pure repuke trash being regurgitated

it's always about THEM and screw everyone else and the most we can hope for is that these fuckers suddenly lose their jobs, their homes....their lives.

And MAYBE then, they'll figure out that they have been self absorbed pricks.

[AgadorSparticus]

106. maybe we should all pitch in and help bill gates out.

...you know, volunteer our time and money to feed the rich. we can start a food bank for the poor CEO's that didn't make their benchmark numbers this quarter. boo fucking hoo.

[aneerkoinos]

114. Bill Gates

Has donated $3m.

[TyeDye75]

118. Yeah and youve also been Vetoing the hell out of it since 1947. /nt

[pnutchuck]

121. We don't "carry the UN" we were terribly behind on our dues

until Clinton's second term. And as stated in the main thread, more often than not we don't fulfill our obligations to the UN or aide promises.

[Squeech]

2. Yeah, but

it's even worse than that.

The lion's share of American aid is tied to specific projects that depend on specific American businesses getting the money-- the peace-dividend equivalent of Halliburton being in charge of the Iraq redevelopment slush fund. The aid that trickles down to the people who really need it is a mere fraction of the already stingy allocation.

But I'm not the one to ask: I'm still furious about Dumbya having the cheek to call anybody else "misinformed."

On edit: I was so angry I hit the "post message" button too soon.

[bleedingheart]

4. The Robber Baron US corporations like the cheap labor of Asia

but they don't give a shit about the people...

Read how little Carnegie and Frick did after the Johnstown flood caused by their negligence....only Pitcairn sent in railroad cars with some aid...

[m0nkeyneck]

5. do those #s include private donations?

[Ranec]

7. Would we expect other countries to send us money?

I would find it odd if France sent us $1 million the next time there was a big earthquake in California.

The fact is we are stingy--no question. Not only right now but always. The reason is that there is political will to spend $200 billion to kill and destroy, but $200 million of aid is a waste of money that could be spent on me. Politicians get more credit for budget cutting than humanitarianism. Unless there is some sort of selfish rationalization (anti-communism, anti-terrorism), our country feels no need to help out the areas of the world that are struggling.

I like the idea that I have seen floated around that the UN should set up a permanent standing organization like FEMA that would be able to move in quickly to help in these types of disasters. I don't know to what extent the Red Crescent is able to play this role.

As it is, the millions from the US will take a while to filter down to the people in Sri Lanka and Indonesia. It is much more efficient to have the resources before the disaster actually happens.

Think about the way the Red Cross works in this country, when some sort of natural disaster occurs, they solicit a bunch of donations, but that money is saved up to use in the next disaster. So they are always ready to move quickly and provide assitance in the first few days when things are the most critical.

[nascarblue]

47. FEMA? WHat do you call UNICEF?

And as far as the Red Cross, they've set up a seperate account specifically for this disaster.

[Ranec]

58. Sorry, I guess I'm uninformed.

But I was thinking about people who could supply the big muscles of relief in the first few days:

Cargo planes, bulldozers. Specially trained teams for recovering victims from collapsed buildings. Emergency medical help. Large supplies of food and water.

Rebuilding is a whole different story.

[Streetdoc270]

79. US AID and FEMA USAR teams

do and are doing just that. We have to also remember that these are soverign nations and some of them have their own SAR teams and disaster relief teams. In fact I have seen a couple of stories that basically have India telling us 'If we need you we'll call'. This is a long-term event, you can't send everyting now, or you'll have nothing for later when the poor and needy who are still homeless have fallen off the news radar and people stop sending money because they beleive the disaster to be over because it no longer is new.

I do beleive that many countries offered aid and personel during the Sept 11 events, even Iraq was said to have offered a USAR team that was practiced in recovery from collapsed houses the the US bombed....

[Ranec]

60. Let me clarify my point about the Red Cross.

I think they are doing business the _right_ way. You have to be prepared before a disaster to be really effective.

I was hoping that this disaster will lead to somebody being prepared to help in the next disaster. If there are groups that are in fact prepared in this way then this is not the impression I've been given.

Of course, the nightly news also gave me the impression that most of the people affected by this were German tourists. :grr:

[TyeDye75]

120. Well said

then again id expect nothing less from someone with Jimmy as their avatar

[elehhhhna]

8. We're not stingy-we're BROKE.

[Name removed]

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[phylny]

12. You're new around here, huh? n/t

[Name removed]

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[Ripley]

18. So dumbass made a phone call.

It was Europe and Australia that immediately sent supplies. Which is more noteworthy? Which actually might save a life?

Smirk is only in it for the photo op.

[Name removed]

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[Bridget Burke]

23. Got a link to the story?

That would help.

[Name removed]

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[Forkboy]

28. hell,the Clenis CAUSED the tsunami

We all know it!

[nascarblue]

44. Speaking of photo op...

...They just fed me a bunch of crap on Powell, they showed him writing condolences in an embassy book! Can you believe these guys??

[G_j]

34. that sounds like

a story I'd like to read. Do you have a link?
thanks :-)

[elehhhhna]

37. "Bush Calls Thai President, Begs for expeditious Thai-stick delivery "

...as his vacationis almost over and he "cut more brush than usual" over Christmas.

Some people say that was the headline.

[MsTryska]

38. Strangely enough, Thailand doesn't HAVE a president.

it's been a constitutional monarchy since 1932.


the appropriate ruler would be: H.R.H. King Bhumibol Adulyadej



and that's one to grow on. :)


welcome to DU.

[elehhhhna]

49. Perhaps the President of Unocal's Thailand Division was quoted?

I'll buy that.

[Skittles]

50. WHY should it make headlines for a "president" to do his f***ing JOB?

and THAILAND DOES NOT HAVE A G.D. PRESIDENT, much like WE DON'T EITHER

[Kellanved]

105. name one country that isn't

Not counting Switzerland and other "cheaters". eom.

[AgadorSparticus]

109. apparently not. since 35 million is the cost of 4 hrs of war with iraq.

[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

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[Skittles]

48. I likes your style, catmandu

Skittles
57 too :)

[Flagg]

40. French daily agrees US is 'stingy', compares aid pledged to pet food sales

LE FIGARO AGREES US IS 'STINGY', COMPARES AID PLEDGED TO PET FOOD SALES

Received Thursday, 30 December 2004 16:02:00 GMT
PARIS, Dec 30 (AFP) - One of France's leading daily newspapers, Le Figaro, sided with criticism that the United States had been "stingy" in its aid pledges over the Asian tsunami disaster, comparing the sum promised to the amount spent on pet food and Iraq military operations.
US President George W. Bush's initial promise to release just 15 million dollars in emergency aid was "completely riduculous given the magnitude of the catastrophe," an editorial said.
That sum represented "less than half the daily sales of dog and cat food in the United States," it said.
Put another way, it was "one-tenth of the cost of the daily cost of the war in Iraq for the US army" or "half the price of a new F-16 fighter jet," it said.
It noted that Washington had "hastily" doubled the aid amount to 35 million dollars once a UN spokesman castigated wealthy countries generally for being "stingy," but said the global public relations damage had already been done.
"Its image as a superpower -- whether a bullying one or a caring one -- is at stake," Le Figaro said, adding that the US prestige in Asia has probably taken a hit.
France, the newspaper said, had given proportionally much more, though it opined that Asia's economic prospects might have driven the "diplomatic gesture" behind that sum.
French President Jacques Chirac on Thursday ordered his government to nearly double its aid to the disaster-struck region to 44 million euros (57 million dollars).

http://www.ttc.org/200412301602.ibug2nh19598.htm

[nascarblue]

42. Bush has only sent 6 Red Cross Representatives!

I just watched an interview on MSNBC with the American Red Cross rep who was asking for money! When the lady reporter asked him how many people they have out there. He said "We have one person in Sri Lanka, one person in India, two people in Indonesia, and I'm going to be taking a team of out in a couple of days". Can you believe it? Bush is lying like usual. We STILL don't have anyone out there! I've heard it a few times now when they have interviewed people that are actually out there.

How messed up is it that we've had reporters out there for 3 days and we still don't have any aid workers there?

[Eagle_Eye]

54. I thought the Red Cross was an independent, non-government

organization. What the cheney is the monkey doing giving direction to the Red Cross. Bush needs to stick to his war and let the Red Cross do its job.

[Oversea Visitor]

112. OMG

The RED CROSS hit the ground at full speed when the tsunami strike
They were there and running since Dec 26th in all countries affected
The Red Cross in an International Organisation with thousands of volunteer in each of this country.
The sister organisation is RED CRESCENT and thats the Islamic side.
They cut through all political religious and race barrier.
They done more than any organisations in the world and lots of the funding comes from the people of the world.

[barb162]

57. how much are the rich Arab countries giving? You know what?

Between the US government and the individual American private donations, I bet we will end up giving Puhhhlenty. Bush will cough up because he will realize how dumb he looked by talking about the measly amount he first offered.

How much is Japan giving? Australia? South Korea?

[SemperEadem]

61. A true statesman? How about a true Christian?

Someone please tell me just how Jesus-like * has been during this? For someone born again, he seems to have been born of the devil.

[joe_sixpack]

66. The amount of aid from private citizens

and organizations, and yes, even businesses in this country will dwarf any amount from any other government entity in the world. Does anyone dispute that?

[moondust]

67. Why? Because wingnuts loathe foreign aid.

They consider it throwing money out the window, providing aid and comfort to (non-white) people they hate (potential enemies).

[roenyc]

72. exactly - we would much rather spend billions

on war with the brown people. so much more productive. yes destroy the country. then re-build it. billions a day in Iraq. 45 million for an inauguration. OK. yeah. it works. how much has halliburten stolen from us to date? hmm?

we must help others but i have to say we just used the entire budget to help these countries. will the president ever sacrifice anything? will he ever say roll back that damn tax cut? will he ever say we are in real big trouble and we need cash? so you rich guys are going to have to sacrifice?

no, he will not. but that is what needs to be done. if this country is ever to get back on its feet and be a super power it once was instead of a laughing stock it is now. spending our entire fund for aid to other countries on one disaster only after being embarrassed. shame on you gw.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[JimmyJazz]

75. Read my other post and get back to me.

[Name removed]

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[JimmyJazz]

85. Yeah - m'kay.

:eyes:

Your statement is stupid and without merit. There - I countered it.

[miss_kitty]

84. hahahaha

"coward." sweet and priceless. I love it. super put down. You really no how to stick the knife in. I bet you made JJ cry!

[Name removed]

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[miss_kitty]

92. i agrree

:thumbsup:

I hope you're lurking, mr smartypants Kabelplink. issat German? OOPS! I guess we'll never know...:(

[Tony_Illinois]

93. Your buddy Kabelplink was just

on another thread spewing some bigoted, hateful crap against gays.

[JimmyJazz]

96. He's gone now - I had heard that from someone else, but it

didn't come up when I did the search. Thanks.

[Tony_Illinois]

98. Here is the link to thread with his hateful comments . . .

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2884653

I notified the moderators about this character, but so far I do not believe he has been given the one way ticket out of here.

[JimmyJazz]

99. He's gone - click his profile and your inbox

[roenyc]

87. i dont care who funds it

i am using it as a base to say that 45 million is going to go for a party for one night. understand? perhaps he can have one less case of champaign and donate a million to the shi lanka? ya think! shish.

we are in dire times. we are at war. we have a huge deficit and there is an international crisis! time for some sacrifice.

[JimmyJazz]

89. Nice post! and welcome to DU

:toast:

[roenyc]

115. thank you!

i am guessing things got ugly after i left the board yesterday. thanks for the welcome.

i will never understand the desire for these people to want to come to a Dem board. When i go to the freeper board to check out a thread or sometimes i search on google and it sends me there, i feel like I need to take a shower. i walk away feeling dirty. like i just entered Ann Colter's and rush's private lair. yuck!

go Dem's! :Dem:

[PA Democrat]

101. No, it is the most expensive inauguration on record

BTW, who will be footing the bill for the unprecedented amount of security that the most reviled leader of the free world requires?

Answer: the TAXPAYERS!

[JimmyJazz]

102. Save your breath, he's got a fork in him.

:hi:

[smedwed]

78. Look

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4136153.stm
World Bank $250m
UK $96m
EU $44m
US: $35m
Canada: $33m
Japan: $30m
Australia: $27m
France: $20.4m
Denmark: $15.6m
Saudi Arabia: $10m
Source: Reuters, United Nations

[G_j]

94. & Spain: $68 million

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041230/REPOSITORY/412300361/1013/NEWS03\\

& welcome to DU!


<snip>
The usual U.S. contribution during major disasters is 25 to 33 percent of total international aid, according to Brian Atwood, former director of the U.S. Agency for International Development during the Clinton administration. So far, the U.S. contribution is 13 percent of the $270 million in international aid that the U.N. said yesterday has been pledged since the tsunami struck. Spain has pledged $68 million, almost twice what United States has contributed so far. Japan has provided $30 million, Britain $29 million, Germany $27 million, Australia $27.6 million, France $20.5 million and Denmark $15.5 million, the U.N. reported.

The current U.S. aid also is significantly lower than in other recent natural disasters. After Hurricane Mitch in 1998, when some 9,000 were killed and 3 million were left homeless in Central America, the United States provided $988 million in relief aid.

<snip>

[mr blur]

97. I'm proud to say Britian is sending $96m

and pledges from the British public have reached nearly $50m. It's never enough though, is it? Hundreds of thousands of people are homeless.

[aneerkoinos]

103. Updated

UK: $96m
Sweden: $75m
Spain: $68m
EU: $44m
France: $42m (Including France's share of EU aid)
Japan: $40m
Netherlands: $36
US: $35m
Canada: $33m
Australia: $27m
Germany: $27m
Denmark: $15.6m
Portugal: $11m
Saudi Arabia: $10m
Qatar: $10m
Other European countries, Iran, Kuwait, China: $25m

Sum: $528m



Updated with additional info from
http://www.turkishpress.com/world/news.asp?id=041230183636.soio214u.xml
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/31/content_2399270.htm

Private donations are flowing in, some info collected from
http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=968784&tw=wn_wire_story

UK: $39m
US Red Cross: $18m
US Unicef fund: $37m
Finland: $4m
Italy: $17
Through Amazon.com: $4m
Switzerland: $9m
Netherlands: $13m
Catholic Relief Services $25m

Pfizer: $10m in cash plus lot's of free medicine worth $20m.

World Bank: $250m

[Taxloss]

104. I understand from tonight's TV news that $50m is just the start

Channel 5 earlier said close to a million an hour is being given. I hope the same is true of the USA!

[mr blur]

95. Well, the rest of the world

will no doubt see the Chimp being feted at his inauguration and be happy that the money is being so well spent.
Do you think he has any idea where Indonesia actually is?

[Jack_DeLeon]

110. I'm glad the US doesnt raise taxes specifically to increase foreign aid...

its better that every American decide for themselves which charities or aid groups they will assist, where they want thier foreign aid going to.

[MissBrooks]

119. I just read this on-line

I believe in humankind and know that we will do everything we can to assist our brothers and sisters during this tragedy...

What I read on-line in the last hour...

The United States is pledging $350 million to help tsunami victims, a tenfold increase over its first wave of aid.

France has promised $57 million,
Britain has pledged $95 million,
Sweden is sending $75.5 million and
Spain is offering $68 million, although that pledge is partly in loans.
Australia's government committed an extra A$25 million (US$19.4 million) to tsunami aid relief on Friday, taking its total to A$60 million.

Private companies are donating everything from cash to diapers, antibiotics and creams to mask the stench of decaying bodies.

*** Among the biggest givers are the pharmaceutical giant
Pfizer Inc., which is giving $10 million in cash and $25 million worth of drugs;
Coca-Cola Co., donating $10 million;
Exxon Mobil Corp., giving $5 million; and
Citigroup Inc., contributing $3 million.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged $3 million.