graculus

It was just a coincidence that the government suddenly decided it needed to stick its hand in its pocket again. Honest. Really it was... ;)

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lukitas.livejournal.com

really, really, I'm sure, sure, sure,too :p

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Someone gave you a bigger dose of cynicism for Christmas than me. I saw on the news that the amount had been upped, and the news chappie said the government had now seen video of what had happened and the aftermath, and that had made them up the donation. But seeing the amount of public donations your explanation certainly makes more sense, which is a great shame.

Ah well, in the end there's more money going, and I guess that's the important part.

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I work for local government, remember? Once you get above a certain level, morality and ethics appear to get sucked right out of you (assuming that you ever had them to begin with, which isn't always clear).

What could they possibly have seen now that they didn't see at the time? It's actually The Guardian putting two and two together here, not me, but it makes more sense than the other way around...

And like you say, as long as people get help, it doesn't really matter too much...

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Actually, the thing that bothers me about all this is Bush deciding to jump on the bandwagon late, then say that the US has created a "core" group that's going to organise everything. Of course they have. Because Bush has already shown his contempt for all that the UN are and what they do. *sigh*

This shouldn't be a power play, but with Bush that's exactly what it's become. And, of course, neither Bush nor Blair came back from their holidays. Why would they? They're politicians, not statesmen.

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There's pretty much nothing Bush is likely to do that isn't going to annoy me immensely - I was full well expecting him to start preaching about how this is all the wrath of god against those nasty Muslims, for starters.

Some might say the less those two have to do with anything directly, the better...

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They're already preaching (literally) that in less political arenas. It's sickening.

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Delightful. It's so nice to see people rushing to the aid of fellow human beings.

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Hmm, have just read a Times article that mentions Bush and Colin Powell here (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,18690-1420808,00.html).

It says:

Several countries have pledged more than the United States but Mr Powell said that Washington was "not second to anyone" in its response to disasters.

"The press is trying to make it a contest, to make it an auction, it is very unfortunate," said Mr Powell...

Heh. Of course, it's only the press who's making it a competition, and comments about the US not being second to anyone is just a comment, no competitive undercurrent whatsoever.

And then there's this bit:

But Mr Powell moved to clarify the US action after holding a video conference yesterday with Mr Annan and top UN officials to work out co-ordination issues. He told AFP that he assured the world body the US initiative would be "complementary."

"I would say that the UN will have lead international responsibility for this, but there are a lot of international groupings and organisations that will do their own thing that feed into this," he said.

Which, of course, makes perfect sense. So, having had his hand slapped for the US trying to be the UN, he battles onwards, talking nonsense.

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Of course, if it wasn't for those pesky reporters, the US government would have been oh-so generous and now look what they did! :P

Considering that the US have been a major stumbling block in dealing with the interest rate-related poverty loans to developing countries have suffered under for decades, it's hardly likely they're going to change their tune now...

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Well, other comments were along the lines of the US giving hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, in aid. The comments were about it being spread out so the next few years are covered.

I guess we'll have to wait and see. But this idea of it all being a competition - they seem to be propogating that all by themselves.

Have been thinking on the public donations here, too. While it's great to see such a response, BBC Children in Need raises around 30 million each year. We have 60 million people in this country - that's 50p per person. I know, I shouldn't think of it like that.

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The ante for the competition has just been raised. CNN has a breaking news story that the US has upped it's $35 million dollar donation to $350 million.

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Japan has announced $500 million. That's one heck of a lot of money. Am trying to avoid my cynical thoughts while waiting for Bush's response.

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Oh, don't get me started on Bush. We'll be here all day, and I have to go count inventory. :(

You're right, though. It's a power play and bandwagon jumping.

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Looks like the government might need to put their donation up again. The public's donations have reached £45m. This is all good. Very good. I just wish it was easier to get the aid to those who need it.

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