Let's be honest about this aid that's been PLEDGED to the tsunami victims...

[Sunday8pm]

I see how we are all arguing about how much people are donating and how much countries goverments are donating, but let's face it, beneath the facade it's a hoax...

A year ago, the ancient Iranian city of Bam was hit by an earthquake and $1bn promised.

The estimates as to how much has reached Bam range from as low as $17m to just $115m.

I wouldn't be half surprised if the figure for Aceh is proportionally the same, no matter how hard Powell throws his rattle out his pram.

Originally Posted by John Davidson, Christian Aid

Pledges are cheap

I see you all openly discussing who's donated what, who's given how much of their paycheque to what but have you really ever thought about where it goes?

Oxfam's policy director James Ensor, who is in Jakarta for the tsunami donors' conference, said that governments must be held accountable if they do not spend the money they promise.

"Ordinary people around the world have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to assist the tsunami survivors. They have every right to be outraged if their government's promises made today in Jakarta do not materialise," he said.

Just food for thought kiddes, but imo it's only more reason for me to validate sponsoring something closer to home where I know my money will be spent well.

EU: $30m already being spent on the ground, $132m in short-term aid, $455m for long-term reconstruction
Australia: $764m, distributed over five years, half the sum in loans
Germany: $674m in aid over the next three to five years
Japan: $500m - half in bilateral aid, half through multilateral institutions
US: $350m in debt relief, no time scale given
UK: $96m in aid of which $13m spent so far, hundreds of millions more promised

lol... I'm betting most of the money that gets seen in this places are your's and your's alone... your goverments could very well be decieving you.

Source

Source

[Yahwe]

It Doesn't Matter How Much We Give Them They'll Only Spend It On Booze.

[Sunday8pm]

Originally Posted by Yahwe

It Doesn't Matter How Much We Give Them They'll Only Spend It On Booze.

Don't make me like you.

[Phang]

Originally Posted by Sunday8pm

Don't make me like you.

you'd need to have some occasional wit for that to happen.

[Sunday8pm]

Originally Posted by Phang

you'd need to have some occasional wit for that to happen.

I am hoping this thread will be the last word on all this tsunami shit however.

[Sarina_Joy]

Sorry what exactly is the point you are trying to make.

Use small words if you need to.

[Sunday8pm]

That you were all muppets in the first place for kicking up a fuss about this, that your donations shall be wasted, that this country really doesn't need aid, it needs a swift kick up the ass and a revolution (preferrably communist cause god knows america needs some new targets) and that we should be putting our money to something more erstwhile, like curing cancer or aids or homosexuality (if it breeds people like yahwe there has to be a cure right?)

[Sarina_Joy]

See how much easier it is if you just say what you mean rather than spamming quotes from news reports and hiding?

I'll leave you to your trolling now, good luck.

[Phang]

Originally Posted by Sunday8pm

That you were all muppets in the first place for kicking up a fuss about this, that your donations shall be wasted, that this country really doesn't need aid, it needs a swift kick up the ass and a revolution (preferrably communist cause god knows america needs some new targets) and that we should be putting our money to something more erstwhile, like curing cancer or aids or homosexuality (if it breeds people like yahwe there has to be a cure right?)

i've never seen a sentence, not even on stormfront or DF3 or freep, where my reaction to every clause it contains has been '**** off'. You've set a new benchmark for being shite, congratulations!

[Boogster]

Originally Posted by Sunday8pm

That you were all muppets in the first place for kicking up a fuss about this, that your donations shall be wasted, that this country really doesn't need aid, it needs a swift kick up the ass and a revolution (preferrably communist cause god knows america needs some new targets) and that we should be putting our money to something more erstwhile, like curing cancer or aids or homosexuality (if it breeds people like yahwe there has to be a cure right?)

You do talk out of your ass sometimes, don't you?

[Nusselt]

I don't see how sunday's stats on gov pledges relates to private donations?

[JonnyBGood]

Originally Posted by Sunday8pm

That you were all muppets in the first place for kicking up a fuss about this, that your donations shall be wasted, that this country really doesn't need aid, it needs a swift kick up the ass and a revolution (preferrably communist cause god knows america needs some new targets) and that we should be putting our money to something more erstwhile, like curing cancer or aids or homosexuality (if it breeds people like yahwe there has to be a cure right?)

You're a failure of a human being.

[Kurashima]

Originally Posted by JonnyBGood

You're a failure of a human being.

Which makes him a winnar at teh Intarweb?

[Sunday8pm]

Gahd you pop some people's bubbles and they get all pissy with you and troll you.

I dunno how some people can even react to my posts when they are so blatantly blind.

[queball]

If people want to rally round every decade or so, pat each other on the back and empty their pockets for the asians on the cyclone-prone floodplain, why stop em?

[Nusselt]

I don't troll, i still don't understand the thread, what exactly are you trying to say?

[Sunday8pm]

Originally Posted by queball

If people want to rally round every decade or so, pat each other on the back and empty their pockets for the asians on the cyclone-prone floodplain, why stop em?

THEY ARE INDIAN GIVERS!

It's not so much as empty their pockets it's like, flash the cash at someone, promise them it later, then just never get around to it.

Or have you just ignored the entire thread just so you could validate your need to post?

[queball]

I was responding to your failure post.

[Danae]

Originally Posted by Sunday8pm

Just food for thought kiddes, but imo it's only more reason for me to validate sponsoring something closer to home where I know my money will be spent well.

What makes you think your money's spent well closer to home?

[JonnyBGood]

Originally Posted by Sunday8pm

Or have you just ignored the entire thread just so you could validate your need to post?

Quoting for historical reference.

[Sunday8pm]

Originally Posted by Nusselt

I don't troll, i still don't understand the thread, what exactly are you trying to say?

Goverments are having a PR field day at the common persons expense and claiming all the credit.

Private donations will most likely make it through indeed and help them out, cept all the governments adn the UN will claim all the credit for anything that happens there, cause let's face it, it wouldn't look good if indonesia etc had to thank private institutions instead of countries...

I want to ask the 1% of the worlds richest people how they feel when the get to claim credit for the donations that the worlds poor make to the worlds poorer and how much they laugh about it at afternoon tea.

[Sunday8pm]

Originally Posted by Danae

What makes you think your money's spent well closer to home?

Cause the government can't possibly claim free PR and credit over it.

[Nusselt]

Ah i see, governments have always been and will always be lying bastards, i gave a private donation because i thought it would help, i never expected do have a tree carved wtih 'nusselt helped you' or even 'see what my money did so i could feel my life had meaning' i had some spare cash i thought they could use it so i gave it to a reputable organisation. I honestly couldn't care less who takes credit.

[LHC]

Originally Posted by Sunday8pm

Cause the government can't possibly claim free PR and credit over it.

What?

[Boogster]

Aren't election campaigns won and lost over various pledges of increased and more focussed expenditure on NHS/schools/crime etc...?

Are you claiming that these pledges are not important?

Are you asserting that governments do not 'claim credit' over these pledges?

What are you saying?

[Vaio]

He is saying 'I'm not coughing up my money cause the government won't hand it over'

~Vaio~

[MrL_JaKiri]

I'm confused about this thread. On the one hand, you're saying that, as most of the money given is as pledges (which I doubt, personally), that it won't be seen at the other end, and then you say 'look at all the money they're getting, there may be a possiblity of them not using it correctly'.

Now, surely, the 2nd set of quotes implies that a lot of money has already been given (indeed, the figures are out of date; the UK, certainly, has given about double that [given! not government pledge, given!]), which undermines your first point.

The justification for the second point is also a quote which is worded in such a way as to imply that it isn't taken to be anywhere near assumed.

[Veil05]

i agree on the part which states we should pump money into curing AIDS or Cancer.. i guess.

[MrL_JaKiri]

Originally Posted by Veil05

i agree on the part which states we should pump money into curing AIDS or Cancer.. i guess.

We've been through that before. The amount of money donated here will make a much greater difference to the quality (or existance) of life of more people than shovelling more money into cancer research would. Sunday just chooses to ignore this because he doesn't think that people who can't choose to move from an area deserve to live.

[Tomkat]

The only few people I know in Thailand are safe and got through it all ok.

I am selfish, and not exactly flush with cash, so I'm not going to hand any money over to a charity aiding there any more than I'd aid any other charity. Petty minded, I know. But it's just how I am. Because of this, I couldn't care less about the one-up-manship that nations seem to be doing, of "who can donate the most" (or claim to at least).

[skiddy]

Sunday, you're a right tosser.

[Tomkat]

Originally Posted by skiddy

Sunday, you're a right tosser.

Potential POTW here...

I've already nominated one person though

[SYMM]

You've really outdone yourself this time.
Conconted some garbage, seemingly aimed at everyone here aside from yourself, which is just completely and utterly wrong.
You slate people for giving donations ('private') and then mock 'us' for having done so, because the money our governments pledge doesn't reach the countries?
Ignoring completely any consideration of the truth behind any of this, WHAT THE ****?

[Aki]

Originally Posted by Nusselt

I honestly couldn't care less who takes credit.

[Aryn]

paul you're forgetting most people have donated money directly to redcross, unicef, world vision, or doctors without borders.

[MrL_JaKiri]

Originally Posted by Flavius

I still don't understand Paul's obsession of going against everyone else, and fighting untill the end just so he can be right, even if his arguments have been beaten to the ground again and again.

He will die a bitter, bitter young man.

Fixed for hope and justice!

[Sunday8pm]

Everyone else being the simple minded sheep that have to post in every thread debate am I right?

I mean I think there are about 5 people who have posted in this thread that I'd consider I may be going against with this stance and in some respects it doesn't look like I'm against all 5 as polarised as people seem to exaggerrate. I don't think the rest have enough brain cells between them to create an intelligent opinion on any current or world affair.

I mean it's only fair I make this post seeing as the thread has been derailed already by the goof troop, who make some of Hollywoods recent teen comedies seem strikingly deep and thoughtful.

[Sunday8pm]

Originally Posted by Flavius

I'd just like to announce that I donated 1 euro by sending an SMS to a special number in belgium.

I have no clue where the money is going to, nor what it is going to be used for, but I feel better.


I will now sit down and see Sunday attempting to destroy any happiness in me.

You'd need a soul worth having first.

[Sarina_Joy]

Should I have underlined my 'enjoy your trolling' line and put some flashing red text in too?

Why do you folks insist on letting this little man rile you all so much?

Ninja.

[SYMM]

It passes the time

[Snurx]

Sunday's posting reminds me of the geeks at school. The fat ones that lost their lunch money. That actually gives me some satisfaction.

[MrL_JaKiri]

Originally Posted by Sarina_Joy

Why do you folks insist on letting this little man rile you all so much?

I don't see people getting riled, just gaining a sense of superiority.

[Sunday8pm]

Originally Posted by Snurx

Sunday's posting reminds me of the geeks at school. The fat ones that lost their lunch money. That actually gives me some satisfaction.

Wow way to sounds like a total asshole while failing to try and insult me.

Sure makes me look bad...

[Sarina_Joy]

Originally Posted by MrL_JaKiri

I don't see people getting riled, just gaining a sense of superiority.

A lot of it strikes me as 'riled' possibly whilst gaining a sense of superiority.


*Shrugs*


I was just curious.

[Aryn]

sunday you're either trying to debate or trying to troll.
ignoring my previous comment i'd think it's the latter.

[Aki]

ofc its troll

[MrL_JaKiri]

Originally Posted by Aryn

sunday you're either trying to debate or trying to troll.
ignoring my previous comment i'd think it's the latter.

Clause 3 : Trolling Clause

Trolling for a reaction by posting obscene and/or insensitive information on these boards is not permitted. A moderator will close your thread or delete it. If you dont like it then please refer to Clause 1. Eventually you run the risk of losing your account which will reduce your post count to 0. If you persistently troll for responses then you will be banned. Trolling is a hard area to define and does not always have to obscene or insensitive posts. More subtle trolls will manage to stay with the rules but at the same time aggravate users and cause a response. Whether or not someone is trolling or not comes down to moderator discretion and action will be taken as they see fit. Any complaints about the
action taken by a mod must be taken up with an admin.

You know what I like about that rule? That it states that you run the risk of LOSING YOUR POST COUNT.

O shi guys.

[Sarina_Joy]

I don't understand this thread one bit. Ok Paul. You don't see the point in giving money? You think the ammount of money already 'given' has been exaggarated? You think too much money is being given and it is not all needed? Whatever? I just don't understand why it's necessary for you to try to make people feel like they are stupid for giving money to what they see as a worthwhile cause.

And so what if the money given is largely from individuals and not taken out of the governments coffers!? You can choose to give money to whichever charity you please. You can choose not to give any of your money to anyone else or to any charity or 'worthwhile cause'. I will not look down on you for it. I will not judge you for it. I may well do the same thing myself.

I simply do not understand why you feel the need to make yourself superior to others (in your own mind) about this subject. Do you really think people give a **** what you think? If people want to give money to charity/appeals they will, whether it makes them feel better on the inside or whatever reason they may have for giving let them give. (Remember - people are not giving on the basis that the government is giving too. They are giving because they think the money is needed, and I'm quite sure that if Tony Blair/whoever turned round tomorrow and said '**** you all - we lied - we're giving them nothing' that the public would continue to donate money anyway, in fact donations would probably increase. )

[Dark-Strider]

Sunday does have a point in a way. As most Goverment pledges come out of our money anyway. The tax payers. It will be interesting how much of the "Goverments" pledges are personal donations by the members of parliaments. I figure not many.

[SYMM]

Hey, guess what: when Gordon Brown says he's increasing NHS spending, it's not actually coming out of his paycheque...