Can We Make A Difference To Asias Crisis ?

[LuvinmyEB]

Originally Posted by -AL-

Luvinmyeb heres a site that might help http://www.charitynavigator.org/
I chose initially to donate to Worldvision because they seemed to be acting quicker but I'd say Red Cross, Care Aus, Oxfam etc are all well established names.
Another group was www.doctorswithoutborders.org
http://www.careaustralia.org.au
http://www.unicef.com.au
http://www.oxfam.org.au
http://www.redcross.org.au
http://www.worldvision.com.au

Thanks for that -AL-, I'll take a look at them.

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Originally Posted by useless

Ian too true mate.You have to wonder though about the good ol USA government who explode bombs in Iraq every minute worth 1/2 million dollars and are the last to offer a realistic hand. I dont blame the people just their greedy government. I do think that children can be fed if unneccesary invasions like these dont sap the worlds' wealth.

Perhaps it was because it was considered to be so far away from the US that they offered such a small amount to start with? Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending the US governments actions in ANY way, just trying to get an understanding myself of why the most powerful and richest country in the world was so stingy in the face of such a huge catastrophe.

Only thing I can think of is the insular attitude that seems to be so common over there, that the world outside of it's borders doesn't matter, or maybe doesn't even actually exist...

Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now.

[b2tf]

Probably didnt want to spend money on people they're worried they might have to kill in a few years time?

[Psycho Chicken]

Originally Posted by The MaDDeSTMaN

Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending the US governments actions in ANY way, just trying to get an understanding myself of why the most powerful and richest country in the world was so stingy in the face of such a huge catastrophe.

You're kidding right? Their economy is snafu right now.

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Originally Posted by Psycho Chicken

You're kidding right? Their economy is snafu right now.

Perhaps their economy has been stronger then it currently is, but they're still doing a lot better then a lot of other countries, and I personally don't think there is an excuse for them to not dig deep and do all they can - financially and otherwise - to help.

[LuvinmyEB]

Originally Posted by The MaDDeSTMaN

Perhaps their economy has been stronger then it currently is, but they're still doing a lot better then a lot of other countries, and I personally don't think there is an excuse for them to not dig deep and do all they can - financially and otherwise - to help.

Well at least we know that the Aussies are digging deep and helping out.

I have to agree with The Maddestman, when it comes to Americans or the majority of the ones that I've spoken to, there is NOTHING outside of their country.

Australia always seems to be the first out of the US and UK to dig deep when it comes to situations such as these and that makes me damn proud to be an Aussie!

[BTTB]

Originally Posted by The MaDDeSTMaN

Perhaps it was because it was considered to be so far away from the US that they offered such a small amount to start with? Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending the US governments actions in ANY way, just trying to get an understanding myself of why the most powerful and richest country in the world was so stingy in the face of such a huge catastrophe.

GWB finally pulled his finger out and increased Americas
contribution TENFOLD (now 450 million)

But considering their country is TEN times larger then ours
I still feel they are holding back a bit :rolleyes:

We have some money aside for the New houses bathroom reno...
I think in the recent light of things... the reno can wait a lil longer and
a portion of those funds could be utilised better elsewhere ;)

[Stav]

Originally Posted by Psycho Chicken

Probably because there's not a satellite over the area at all given times. Also tidal waves aren't that big in the ocean, they only start to get big as they near land.

The earthquake was picked up on seismographs, however they had no contact numbers for authorities in the affected areas. Might be a bit of a crock (how hard is it to call an Embassy?), but still.

And thirdly, who's saying all the satellites were American? Sure not everyone agrees with their global policy, but that's no excuse to assume everything is their fault.

The reports I have seen had stated that the satelites were American owned. But what I had heard today is that they also have satelite footage of when it started.The water raised from the seabed like a mushroom shape not like a 1000 kilometre sea bed fault line. It even looks like an underwater atomic bomb.By the sounds of it , it was either a volcanic explosion or possibly a bomb.An earthquake causing the tectonic plates to move/slide by 10 metres would tend to force the water up in a straighter line and not in a circular uprising.Also worth noting is because of this underwater event it has been established that the earth has shifted 2 degrees out at its north and south poles!!!! I am not blaming them but its about time they pulled their finger out.

[Psycho Chicken]

I would suspect that all the images from these satellites are recorded and there's no one watching it in real time.

[LuvinmyEB]

Originally Posted by Psycho Chicken

I would suspect that all the images from these satellites are recorded and there's no one watching it in real time.

Can anyone else see the irony in that, they spend millions on satellites, record activity on it, yet set it aside to watch later. Now that's money well spent. :rolleyes:

[Psycho Chicken]

Well I'd rather hit the rewind button after something happens than get bored shitless watching a whole lot of nothing for days on end :p

[LuvinmyEB]

They're supposed to be warning systems, maybe they only watch anything that's happening around the U.S. :rolleyes:

[Psycho Chicken]

I'd hardly say spy satellites are warning systems, there's no way to possibly view every inch of the earth's surface at once, nor to have countless experts watching for anything that is possibly going wrong.

Much better suited to finding Osama and checking for nuclear missles being shipped into Cuba.

[mrs xa coupe]

Intrepid Travel are taking donations and are matching them dollar for dollar !!!!!!!!!!! They are going to split the money with MSF (doctors without borders) and PLAN, both reputable organisations.

Please consider donating here so that they will also chip in their bit.


http://www.intrepidtravel.com/appeal...973301af086192


I have made this thread a sticky as I think it is wonderfull that people are opening their hearts to those affected by this disaster.

We are all here because we enjoy cars, and many of us are lucky enough to spend a sizeable amount of money to persue our hobby. Something like this makes us realise how lucky we are to live in a part of the world where our biggest dilemma is what mod to do to our toy next. Its great to hear this softer size to our little community.

Keep up the good work guys! Today I am proud to be part of the fordforums.com.au community.

[LuvinmyEB]

Los Angeles Times - January 1 2005
By Barbara Demick, Times Staff Writer

When an earthquake hits, shock waves travel through the Earth and within minutes begin jiggling sensitive equipment at some 350 monitoring stations around the world. Those stations, in turn, relay data by satellite to computers at the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.

Don Blakeman, a USGS geophysicist, was about to have Christmas dinner when his pager went off — a computer-generated warning that a major quake had just occurred. A colleague, Julie Martinez, also was paged and began analyzing data on her home computer as Blakeman drove to the office.

As data from more and more stations began to arrive, Blakeman revised the estimate of the temblor's magnitude to 8.5 — a threefold increase in size. He triggered a computer program that notified the White House, State Department and major relief agencies of a massive quake.

The information also went automatically to the tsunami warning center in Hawaii, where director Charles McCreery, 54, had abandoned plans to assemble his young daughters' pink bicycles and joined his colleagues watching the computer readouts.

McCreery saw that the quake was much larger than previously thought and therefore more likely to cause a tsunami. He decided to send out a second bulletin:

NO DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI THREAT EXISTS FOR THE PACIFIC BASIN BASED ON HISTORICAL EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DATA.

THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF A TSUNAMI NEAR THE EPICENTER.

Roughly an hour had passed since the quake. Unseen by experts, the wave already had traveled halfway across the Indian Ocean and claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Information was sent to the Whitehouse...

[LuvinmyEB]

Originally Posted by mrs xa coupe

Intrepid Travel are taking donations and are matching them dollar for dollar !!!!!!!!!!! They are going to split the money with MSF (doctors without borders) and PLAN, both reputable organisations.

Please consider donating here so that they will also chip in their bit.


http://www.intrepidtravel.com/appeal...973301af086192


I have made this thread a sticky as I think it is wonderfull that people are opening their hearts to those affected by this disaster.

We are all here because we enjoy cars, and many of us are lucky enough to spend a sizeable amount of money to persue our hobby. Something like this makes us realise how lucky we are to live in a part of the world where our biggest dilemma is what mod to do to our toy next. Its great to hear this softer size to our little community.

Keep up the good work guys! Today I am proud to be part of the fordforums.com.au community.

That's great stuff, I was just looking at the Doctors without Borders site, but I didn't see any links to that. Sounds like that will be the charity I'll be donating to.

[Stav]

Heheh , this thread has made it into the sticky section. This is good.Guys at the end of the day I started this thread to possibly help others and raise awareness for those in need.If we can muster some more support for the victims that would be wonderful.
I have no intention of bringing further negative ideas on anyone. At the end of the day my emotion got the better of me after seeing the deluge.
I still however believe that this disaster was caused by a combined earthquake and volcanic underwater eruption/ explosion.

[kooky]

The company Mrs Kooky works for donated $1 million to Red Cross and $100k to Unicef, then set up a site for employees to make donations and the company would then match those dollar for dollar. We donated through that site. They are also working with organisations to donate water, medical, and electrical supplies.

Other than making donations, theres little else we can do really

[Stav]

Just to see the magnitude of the tsunami go here.. WARNING*** disturbing videos of tsunami

http://www.waveofdestruction.org/videos/

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Originally Posted by useless

Just to see the magnitude of the tsunami go here.. WARNING*** disturbing videos of tsunami

http://www.waveofdestruction.org/videos/

Some pictures and video on that site that almost defy belief. And the scary part is, it's real, not some hollywood movie! I'm speechless after looking around that site.

[galaxy xr8]

I'm watching the Australia unites reach out for Asia donation's, and so far Mazda and Hyundia have donated to the cause but I'm yet to hear Ford or Holden, come on Mr Gorman dig deep, some of Ford's bussiness lie's within the Asian countries.

[seano14]

if holden can spend so god damn much on advertising surely they can part with 200,000. would be great for ford to chip in too

[galaxy xr8]

BMW just chipped in too, come on Ford and Holden.

[MethodX]

A bit of a shock to read the views of average Americans.

have a squizz
http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=546785


(and please dont say cos they r GM ppl)

[FRDGAL]

We donated and will continue to do so as long as we can. We donated through World Vision because I started sponsoring a baby girl through them last year and wanted to donate through the same charity. My kids both decided to donate ½ of their weekly pocket money for 6 months. Every week they put their money into tins at the shops.

And you wouldn't believe what we overheard the other day at the Plaza. While sitting having a coffee, we overheard 2 ladies complaining how they're sick and tired of hearing about the Tsunami 'thing' and how 'it's not our responsibility'. That made me sick!! I mean I can understand if you can't afford to help, no-ne is being forced to donate anything, but come on, have a heart for f***s sake!

[Kermit]

Originally Posted by useless

Hmm..God Bless America!!!

wow! Talk about rednecks in America...omfg!!!!

this has to be my favourite quote so far during a debate between 'chaman' & 'dvboard' on that disturbing forum:-

Originally Posted by chaman

Please learn how to write...you sound like you have someones genitals in your mouth...

and the response from DvBoard

how woudl anythign to do with my mouth effect how i type? really, mouth speaks hands type. i think you got one ****ed up body/brain to be tring to connect those 2.

:hihi:

Gotta stop reading this link....they are all in lala land.

[AUIII XR8 MAN]

Yes I've gotta to agree they are a mess up bunch over there. It's a shame but your always going to get some :tosser1: