Aid Grows Amid Remarks About President’s Absence
The Bush administration more than doubled its financial commitment yesterday to provide relief to nations suffering from the Indian Ocean tsunami, amid complaints that the vacationing President Bush has been insensitive to a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions. As the death toll surpassed 50,000 with no sign of abating, the U.S. Agency for International Development added $20 million to an earlier pledge of $15 million to provide relief, ……
If the mainstream media keeps this up . . by the end of the day, they’ll have blamed GW for the earthquake, itself. Seems someone at WaPo is on vacation.
S.S.D.D.
50,
I’m very aware of that, the pressure that I described would be exerted on Congress, that’s correct. And enough with the Mugabe rap. Its getting old.
thanks pcd – that’s a helpful contribution.
feel better now?
Knowing the eco-freaks they will say its becuase of this earth mother(gaia)poppycock eco-crap they will blame it on global warmming knowing some of these idiots in fact i think it was some actress who claimed that one of those southrn calfornia earthquakes a few years ago was becuse of the gaia nonsense i mean JAMES LOVELOCK and THMAS LOVEJOY subscribe to this gaia sillness
.49 Lord knows that Canada has it to spare, (military). Considering they have nothing going on now.
54,
Canadian troops have just spent the last two years in Afghanistan and many remain, TAC. They are also in Cyprus and Bosnia.
Yeah, when the Iraqi war started off I was in Officer Basic Course. My instructor was an Canadian CPT. One day he was showing us a slideshow on equipment used in OIF, and he made the mistake of saying “alright class, what do you see missing from these photographs?”,,, I raise my had and he said “leftunant *******, what is missing.” I said “Canadians” Brought down the house, even he laughed.
Oh, how many soldiers do they have in Afganistan???? I know.
Bush gala has big donations pouring in
Soldiers will dance free of charge at President Bush’s second inauguration, a record $40 million-plus celebration for “a nation at war” financed by some of the same big donors who bankrolled Bush’s re-election campaign.
:.Holding a military ball in conjunction with the inauguration at the same time that there are troops in harm’s way is inevitably going to raise some questions about spending money on an elaborate event when we’ve just gone through some discussion about adequately equipping the troops in Iraq,” McGlennon said. “The decision to highlight the president’s attachment to Iraq is going to depend on things getting better there:
image/symbols/whatever you want to call it, it counts & matters. a questionm of character.
It is not necessary for our government to succeed any other countries donation. The people will come through out of pocket on this.
57,
Very few now. But 2000 for the last 2 years. And as far as 56, Canada did not participate in Iraq. But none of this makes a point for you.
47: Sandy, I was referring to the media going for ratings.
(Thanks, navy sis
)
I have a way to raise donations. We can throw our own inauguration party. We’ll have pinatas. Shiloh will be the first at $1 a whack. If we can grab Michael Moore, the price on him will be $100 a whack and so on.
PCD.that’s a fantastic Idea!! I’d pay as much as $500 to punch Shitloh in the face….
61,
Sasha, that’s very cynical. The death toll could rise up to 200,000 people when rescuers get to Aceh, and you blame the media for exploiting it for ratings? The biggest natural disaster in recorded history, friend – it deserves to be a story more than anything else right now.
Though I have mentioned that Canada’s aid effort is larger than the US’s at this point, it is true that Bush said that the 35 was only the beginning, and I believe him.
Sandy, calm down. What is the original topic about? What is the header? Since I was the first to comment, don’t you think it was likely in the context of response to what LisaS posted?
If you compare your 61 to my 1, in the context of the topic, do you think you might be jumping to a wrong conclusion, again?
Then let me explain myself, again.
This is the media I’m talking about. If you recall a discussion from a couple of months ago (and if you don’t recall, I’ll link it sometime today), I worked in media relations. They’re cynical, I’m cynical in return. Trust me, they’re all taking the “if it bleeds it leads” approach. And that’s fine. This is arguably an unprecedented disaster, and it should be given the attention it deserves.
But what you didn’t read into my comment was that I’m taking a broader view of this, and the media has a tendency to overdo the coverage. How many times will they show the same interviews, the same footage, on every channel, instead of letting us know what what is happening right now? Update the body count. Let us know if there are outbreaks of disease. What other kind of aid is needed. Unexpected survivors.
I really have no patience for people fighting for air time to get everybody all scared and worked up as if they know when and where the next big wave could maybe might possibly hit. This is what I’m beginning to hear. (Begin hyperbole to make my point) Could there be a tsunami in your lake, your swimming pool…your bathtub? We’ll have those answers when we come back from this commercial break.(End hyperbole)
Do you follow where I was going now?
No, Sandy don’t calm down! Your so cute when you start spinning like a top. Keep going while the rest of us laugh and point.
Kofi Anan came back from HIS vacation today and talked about the tsunami. Now why didn’t anyone freak out and say he was insensitive for being too late in speaking out?
I bet my ass Pres Bush was praying for those people the second he heard the news. He took his time assimilating, thinking before he spoke, exactly what he is accused of NOT doing. Poor man can’t win either way.
63 – that’s so juvenile.
Does anyone think this will do anything to the situation in Iraq? Now that the terrorists aren’t on the front page, do you think they will act up more or less?
64 – the biggest natural disaster in history? why? because of the numbers dead? is that how you calculate?
69,
Its a good place to start.
65,
I don’t think that the coverage can be overdone. As for speculations about tsunami danger and attempting to create local news links, that is a little silly.
44 – I wasn’t accusing YOU of thinking that, I was asking you if you though those who beleive in survival of the fittest would view a natural disaster such as this as par for the course.
68: K, I’m looking at it from a different point of view. I have to wonder if,in light of the past few days, some people demand a halt to the war on terror to focus on this.
72- You mean OBL or our guys?
70: Sandyb, I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on whether the news coverage can be overdone. Think diminishing marginal returns.
If the same thing had happened in an unpopulated area, would this still be the “biggest natural disaster in recorded history”?
Have you noticed some of the most expensive real estate in the US are on low-lying shores and active fault lines?
Makes me wonder why we do things like that. At least, where I am, with tornadoes you can just get out of its path. Then, if you’re fortunate, you go get the roof of your house out of your neighbor’s yard.
73: Demand that we stop this war on terror and focus on the tsunami victims. OBL and his buddies can continue as they were.
Sasha, head over to Reilly’s site. She has a new Blogcess up.
75 – Sasha, how can we halt the war when they are battling us? We’ll have another disaster on our hands…
78: Bingo!
Why say we’re stingy and insensitive when they know we routinely do most of the heavy lifting?
Why would a statement like that come from someone (Jan Egeland) representing an oranization that did not want us to go into Iraq to begin with?
No conspriacies, mind you. Just looking at the puzzle pieces.
What is a blogcess?
go look.
74,
No, if it had have hit unpopulated areas (which it did) it would not have been how I described it. I call it that because more people have died than in any other natural disaster in recorded history, plus there are billions of dollars in property damage, and contamination of vast parts of land with saltwater, other refuse, and bodies. I don’t understand your distinction, or why you seem to be critical of this description.
Noone is going to say that we should abandon any war because of this; a fraction of the money spent in Iraq in a month would go a long way.
No, you always ask for more than you want.
And no, Sandy, I’m not being critical of your definition as much as I just find it interesting to compare your reactions and responses to different situations.
83,
Interestingly veiled and guarded response, Sasha. You never actually state what you mean, only allusions to a shadowy nugget of knowledge. This is probably why I keep mischaracterizing your points.
Yeah, I’m kind of a bastard that way.:twisted:
RAT!,,,,RAT!,,,,RAT!!!
yup yup yup:?:
Glad to see my RW Warmonger brethren..
insensitivity and bad political jusgements go hand in hand on a variety of issues, like the reaching out Bush is doing, by spitting in the Senate Demcrats face by renominating right wing whackos to the bench
Since taking office, though, Mr. Bush has behaved in a way that makes it harder for Democratic senators to act responsibly. He has largely failed to acknowledge their legitimate grievances about how a Republican-controlled Senate treated President Bill Clinton’s nominees for six years. Instead, he bullheadedly sought to fill appeals court judgeships left vacant because of the recalcitrance of his own party, and he did so with scant consultation. What’s more, he sometimes rubbed salt in the wound by nominating people to those seats who have staked out highly controversial and provocative ground, thereby apparently rewarding the misbehavior of his own party.