Tidal wave

Every report I see, every newspaper article I read, makes me realize this was a bigger disaster than I was capable of imagining.

Here, courtesy of the AP, is a large and ecumenical list of aid agencies working to assist victims of the Dec. 26 earthquake and tidal wave. Help is desperately needed. So is cash.

(The agencies listed -- a variety of denominational and secular groups -- are members of InterAction, a coalition of aid groups that maintains decent ethical standards, so you can be confident that donations to any of these groups will be put to good and effective use.)

The United States has pledged $35 million to aid countries affected by this disaster. That works out to the cost of about 5 hours of the daily cost of the war in Iraq. So in addition to making a donation yourself, you may want to try to leverage additional assistance by shaming our government into committing further aid -- perhaps even as much as $177 million, the approximate cost of a single day of the Iraq war.

Comments

[bellatrys]

and, as I prophesied, the Rapture Index monsters see this as a plus - two pluses, in fact, "Earthquakes" and, not as you'd expect, "Floods," but "Leadership," because they think this will also cause disruption of government as a result.

I wish I could teleport all these freaks out into Southeast Asia, so they could get a taste of what they claim to want...

[Out and About]

I noticed one of the Bushies today trying to claim that private donations should be included in the US total. Of course, those donations are occurring despite his absence and his failure to act.

[j swift]

Ah yes Bellatrys the end timers are probably all excited, sporting woodies and drooling.

I know they love JC and all but I think they really just want it all to end. It is hard work being sanctimonious and hypocritical.

[patter]

If I weren't such a cursed peacemaker, I'd consider storming CNN headquarters and bashing heads together.

What was their lead story today, you ask? A string-bikini clad model -- whose lovely physique we were treated to not just once, but multiple exposures, frolicking in the water -- had fortunately (for her agent and publicist) survived the tsunami.

Well, thank the good Lord, a white person who lived. Too bad about all those little brown kids.

Fehhhh! ptuii! still wretching....

[Susan Paxton]

The day after the tsunami NPR - NPR!!!!! - led off All Things Considered with this Fox-esque line:

"8 Americans were reported killed in the tsunami yesterday...."

How effing parochial can you get?

[Buhallin]

A few have done this kind of comparison, but I was thinking last night that we should start a long list comparing our aid to various things. Include things like to Shaq's annual salary, the war in Iraq (which Fred beat me to), and Atrios's comparison of Bush's $30-$40 million inauguration ceremony. Maybe even the money spent running TV adds in Ohio during the election.

A little help, Fred? That's mostly joking - normally I'd put a smiley there, but I just can't bring myself to do it with this particular topic.

[Buhallin]

Taking my own advice, the beginnings of a list...

$35 million in aid is roughly equivilent to:

- The cost of President Bush's next inauguration
- 5 hours of the war in Iraq
- A year and a half of Shaquille O'Neal's salary
- 1/5th of the extra income Warren Buffet received from Bush's last tax cut
- One F-18 Hornet
- Six months or so of total salary paid to the U.S. Congress
- The cost to widen 1/3 of a mile of I-10 in Houston

[Jake]

The security for the inauguration is greater than (or damn close to bieng equal to) the amount sent out as official aid isn't it?

And knowing bush's MO, alot of that aid will be conditional.

[lightning]

And knowing bush's MO, alot of that aid will be conditional.

And won't arrive for six months to a year. Or they might just forget about it. Bush & Co are not real strong on followthrough.

[Reuben Schrader]

Well, thanks to my pay finally coming through after being held up through Christmas, I'm in for 50 (NZ$, not US, though we're catching up fast).

Being in New Zealand, I'm somewhat sheltered from your pitiful excuse for television news, however they've now started showing 'Fox & Friends' (who the hell came up with that?) late at night, and I caught a glimpse of what so many posters here and on Plastic and Kos have been telling me is the problem with the US media.

It was an item on the Earthquake and Tsunami, but not a matter of death toll, or infrastructure effected, or the politicisation of relief agencies or anything. It was a 'nyah nyah we told you so' bit about the guy who said the US was being 'stingy' by giving $15 million in official aid. After saying the guy had backtracked on his comments, they went off about 'hey, here's the transcript, he really did say 'stingy', what a loser,' and put up a chart showing the 'staggering' $35 million the US had raised, comparing it to lesser amounts from other countries.

The United States is the richest country in the world. Until the amount being spent on relief, reconstruction and peace efforts matches what goes on 'defence', it is simply not good enough.

And I'll not be surprised if once the news cycles over the pledge disappears into thin air. He's done it on everything else, he'll do it again. It must be nice being faith-based.

[Andrew]

Thank you for the reference to InterAction. Any idea why the Mennonite Central Committee and Samaritan's Purse aren't listed as members? Or how I could find out why?

[F-Stop]

I think another point of reference (how much IS $35 million), could be the cost of building a modern shopping mall...($200 million I think).

[patvogel]

How about doing another comparison, this one between the deaths caused by the tsunamis and the deaths caused by our presence in Iraq? As of this writing, 77,000 deaths are being reported from the natural disaster. Compare that to the 100,000 deaths The Lancet medical journal estimates as a result of our invasion. Just call us Tsunami Nation.

[Phoenician in a time of Romans]

Well, thanks to my pay finally coming through after being held up through Christmas, I'm in for 50 (NZ$, not US, though we're catching up fast).

Mmm. I have to go into the doctor tomorrow and deal with an infected leg and associated medical expenses, but I'll head into a bank and kick in at least a $20 myself. I heard on the TV that NZ $350,000 in private donations have been raised so far and we've just started. The government has pledged $5 million and has sent a 10 man body processing team.

53 New Zealanders missing and unaccounted for in the affected areas (another 250 or so unaccounted for elsewhere in the affected countries).

[bellatrys]

Phoenician - get well soon, and be sure to take all your antibiotics, [/nag] you don't want to end up lopsided.

Whoah. There are a *lot* of New Zealanders in progressive-Christian/peace blogging!

[sophia8]

The BBC news site has a page listing aid agencies(mostly UK-based): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4131881.stm

[D]

I would love to hear someone ask President Bush about his familiarity with this passage.

Mark 12:41-44

The Widow's Offering
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,[a]worth only a fraction of a penny.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything–all she had to live on.”

[Edward Liu]

Howdy,

For those of you working for sufficiently large companies, make sure you look into matching gift donations, too. One of the major benefits of being a cog in a large industrial machine -- you can get the company to cough up for all sorts of interesting things that they probably wouldn't otherwise. The money may take a little longer to get there (check vs. credit card), but I think more money is as useful as fast money.

-- Ed

[Nate Cull]

Yeah, there do seem to be a bunch of us Kiwis here...

'Fox and Friends'? I'll have to check that out. Or, er, not.

[Reuben]

Nate - don't feel compelled to switch on to Fox, I'm sticking with my assumption that it causes cancer. Just watch Maori TV, I'm sure it's much more edifying. As far as kiwi numbers here goes, maybe we all need to have a get together. After all, everyone knows that NZ is a tiny country, and we all know each other. :P

D - that verse from the Bible is something that really gets through to me, though I'm an atheist. What it does do is match my left-wing ideals very closely, and I've spent a fair bit of time in the last few days watching my spending and thinking about how I could do more, and more and more, to help other people instead. It's called liberal guilt, I think. It gets really bad when I don't feel like you can devote your whole life/income to those in need, but the sheer disparity of human existances on the planet overwhelms me.

Don't really have an answer to that, except try to help where you can, be good to those around you, try to effect some sort of official change that may make a difference on a larger scale. Ideas?

[Reuben]

Ugh, just checked the newest NZ headlines - Death Toll Up to 120,000 and Three More New Zealanders May Be Dead.

I've seen criticism some places for US news focussing only on US dead, as in being really parochial. Past a point, that sort of reportage just gets insensitive, but one's fellow nationals do tend to be more real, and for me at least it's a way in to try and grasp some sense of the scale and horror. So it's 3 people that I may have walked past in the street sometime in my life. Times 40,000.

Cartoon in the paper the other day, group of people staring at a giant's feet as the giant, labelled 'Nature' towers out of the panel. People say, "Just when we thought we ran this place..."

[rita]

If the numbers I saw a while back that 100,000 plus/minus Iraqi civilians had been killed are anywhere close, then we have dueling disasters. One act of God and one act of man. We seem pretty complacent in the face of the man-made disaster.

[Scott]

Fred Phelp's (evil) take:

http://rawstory.rawprint.com/1204/westboro_tsunami_statement_1230.php
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/12/31/32251/589

[Scott]

More nutcase perspective:
http://www.raptureready.com/rap4.html

These Olivet Discourse prophecies were given not for this present age, but for the tribulation era. However, like in the case of every other tribulation signal God has graciously allowed to be seen in our time, there seems to have been added in this Church Age, for those who study God's prophetic Word and interpret it literally, yet another definitive signal to the mix of end-time forewarnings.

The phrase "seas and waves roaring" has been thought to mean primarily the seas of humanity. However, there is a possible literal application. With the explosions of hurricanes in the Atlantic, massive typhoons in the Pacific, and now the tremendous tidal waves in the Indian Ocean that took perhaps, when the count is finalized, in excess of 130,000 lives, the prophecy Jesus spoke takes on more profound implications for our time.

Jesus said a couple of verses later: "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your head, for your redemption draweth nigh" (Lk. 21:28).

[Scott]

Via Jesus Politics, more 'proof' this means Jesus is a-comin':

http://blogs.salon.com/0003494/2004/12/30.html

[pharoute]

Reuben: it's not liberal guilt, it's compassion, suffering with, the unconscious knowledge that us and them are actually one. It is perhaps the key test of a religion or any moral belief system: does it lead to compassion? (hence all that stuff about orphans and visiting prisons etc...)

"try to help where you can, be good to those around you, try to effect some sort of official change that may make a difference on a larger scale." Perfect.

[Autism Awareness Campaign Sri Lanka]

TSUNAMI IN SRI LANKA : AUTISM AWARENESS CAMPAIGN SRI LANKA'S INTERNATIONAL APPEAL

SRI LANKA'S URGENT NEEDS

The tsunami has devastated Sri Lanka - also affected are Sri Lankans with disabilities.

Ten of thousands of Sri Lankans have died and thousands more will die through disease - Sri Lanka urgently needs doctors and medicine from overseas to cope with outbreaks of typhoid, dysentery, cholera.

The Autism Awareness Campaign Sri Lanka are not collecting money ourselves but we are working with partners all over the world to reach out to all Sri Lankans including the disability community who have been affected so badly by this deadly tsunami whgich struck the island on the 26th of December 2004 and has caused so much devastation.

How you can help

Sri Lanka urgently needs:

Tents, blankets,linen, clothing.
Food - pre-cooked or ready to eat meal packs
Water purification tablets - approximately 2 million
Wheat, flour, pulses, rice.
Drugs: paracetamol, antibiotics, dressing, suture material, disposable syringes
Intravenous infusions - saline and dextrose.
Portable generators.
Disabled people will need wheelchairs.

You can send donations to the Rotary Club of Colombo - the Autism Awareness Campaign Sri Lanka are working in partnership with the Rotary Club, a well respected international organisation who have teams working in the diaster areas.

The Rotary Club of Colombo Regency, plans to implement the relief effort in phases in order for it to be effective.

The immediate need is for water and dry food items like biscuits, and canned fish, as displaced people are unable to cook meals just yet. In addition, basic medicines and clothing are also essential.

The second phase in a few days will be to provide dry rations, milk powder etc. as hopefully by that time people would have been moved into refugee camps.

The third phase (5 to 7 days) would be to conduct health camps to prevent/treat any outbreak in disease caused by polluted water and lack of proper sanitation etc at the refugee camps.

In the longer term, rebuilding of life and property would take an enormous effort and would need worldwide help.

If you wish to contribute by way of any items listed above or by cash or kind, please write into this site or phone/email -

Tharanga Gunaratne +94 777 389075, tkg_lk@yahoo.com

You can send cash contributions in the form of Cheques/Drafts/Money Orders as per the details given below:
Beneficiary - "Rotary Club of Colombo Regency"
Account No: 001-003771-002
Bank Name : HSBC
Postal Address : 24 Sir Baron Jayatilleke Mw, Colombo 01, Sri Lanka
SWIFT Address : HSBCLKLX

For items sent from overseas, The Rotary Club have arranged for duty waivers. Please make sure that you specify the beneficiary as the "Rotary Club of Colombo Regency", c/o Bary Jaleel, 15 Cambridge Place, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka.

However, send an email The Rotary Club with your full name, contact details and your contribution amounts and modes, so that they could keep a track. You can also log onto http://www.lankafood.com/ and select the items you would like to sponsor, and pay for on line. Details of items needed and their rates will be published on this site.

Sri Lanka desperately needs help. They say the island needs 1 billion pounds to cope with this terrible disaster. Whole communities have been wiped out. Schools and homes have been devastated and scores of little Sri Lankans have perished. Please support Sri Lanka in her hour of need.

Ivan Corea WRC FRSA
Autism Awareness Campaign Sri Lanka
http://members.tripod.com/autism_srilanka
autismsrilanka@hotmail.com