Tsunami Donations, Brits Put Rest To Shame

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Stand and think about the people who have died. Yep, I think we've all done that one already. Offer money and other aid to try and restore some kind of normality to the place and try to help in rebuilding their shattered lifes and homes; we're onto that bit now.

What argument are you actually using?

 

Does Sandra Bullock count as a nation?

 

No she doesn't - a nation needs huuuuge...tracts of land.

Seriously, with any luck, other celebs will jump on this bandwagon.

 

I am sure that more celebraties have given donations without making a big deal out of it. Don't get me wrong - its great that she has made a large donation but it hardly needs to make the news headlines.

 

Cesard - normally I would agree with you, but in this case, it might "encourage" other publicity-hungry celebs to donate if they wouldn't have otherwise done so. I generally hate people who try to grab the spotlight, but I think right now it's more important to focus on the results rather than the motivation.

 

Yes you are correct, the most important thing is to get as much help as soon as possible.

 

I don't doubt that Paris Hilton or Anna Nicole Smith, with their lust for media coverage, shall donate enough to put multiple celebrities to shame. And, probably, Oprah.

 

I heard Michael Schumacer gave $10M, any confirmation?

 

yes, 'twas on the Radio this morning.

 

3 minute silence

 

I don't care that much for rich and famous people giving millions or thousands of bukazoids to help. It's nice money flows in, but it are the poor families willing to share their small fortune who are touching my heart.

Still, even with the money needed, there is bureaucracy and a bad infrastructure delaying the help people want to give.

 

Germany pledges 500 million euros

We have a new leader on the list, but the brits are promising another several hundred million pounds. Will we have a different leader tomorrow?

It actually IS becoming a contest

 

Billions and billions to this disaster and not a dime for all the other disasters around the world. It wouldnt surprise me if the stricken countries end up with more aid money than they can spend.

 

If that is the case, hopefully some of the money will be re-directed to Sudan (amongst others)

 

Well looks like it has turned into a political pissing contest. At least the money ends up somewhere nice - in the pockets of New Zealand's major trading partners

 

Well, the World Bank itself is funded by the wealthiest coutries, so its share should be mentioned along with member nations according to their participation.

Either way - Japan is doing a mighty fine job with those donations. It is really refreshing to see that at least some countries are not abandoning their sphere of influence* in its time of need. Seems they've turned the direction of the flow of funds to rather than fro - at least for a while.

*) Most (if not all) Japanese corporations have moved an incredible majority of their manufacturing to SE Asia, China, and some to India.

 

What a major input from Michael Schumacher and his brother Ralph. They are indeed good for 10.000.000 € together. Kudos to them both.

 

"I think Bush has no budget for this kind of thing because he spends it all on the war-effort.."

Yes, he does. He gave a staggering 10.000$ from his own pocket. Wowie! I bet he's a lot richer than that. He probably doesn't even care and just donates something to pretend to.

 

Bah...what I find really sickening is the bureaucrats and politicians are trying to gain political mileage out of this, instead of devoting their attentions to helping the people in need.

For instance, in India itself, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (the state which was hardest hit in India) is demanding RS. 4800 crore which is approximately $ 100 Million. Now the papers are covering the legal tussle between the state and central governments, rather than the poor people suffering in Tamil Nadu.

On the other hand, I really am amazed by the worldwide response in light of this tragedy...

Its times like these you see all the good come out of people.

 

The dumbest idea I heard in years was the blue armring, in Holland you can now buy blue armbands(based on Armstrongs yellow armbands, for the fight against cancer)
For 2 euros you can buy one and most of the money gets donated to SE Asia, great idea huh?

NO, if people really cared for SE Asia, they didn't buy some dumb armband, they donated the money directly to an integer fund, stop trying to show off how much 'better' you are!

@Faraaz, might it be possible that the central government wants to spend the money in other good investments, or are they sticking the money in their own pockets?