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Where's the AID now??
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| walkindude |
The money that poured into the US from the other parts fo the world when Katrina hit was unbelievable....Millions to a billion dollars from developed countries to the most developed and the most powerful country in the world for their relief effort.
Now, the same countries are donating a few hundred thousands to the relief effort in Pakistan where there are possibly 30,000 people dead.. Whats wrong with this picture???!! |
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| TranceGrooves |
Politics is whats wrong with this picture. Every country in the world has a vested interest in US whereas a third world developing country is just that. Its like being in highschool with popular kid and the nerd kid. Every one wants to do anything for the popular kid but no one wants to do sweet fuk all for the nerdy kid. Meh i can go on and on and on but i wont cos as i read up on the situation back home i am tearful.
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Entire generation wiped out in South Asia quake
CTV.ca News Staff
Pakistan's military spokesman has said an entire generation has been wiped out in the areas worst hit by Saturday's massive earthquake.
Major General Shaukat Sultan told the AFP news agency that children had been the biggest casualties.
Thousands were killed when school buildings collapsed on them in the country's worst natural disaster on record.
Death toll estimates range from 20,000 to 30,000, but some reports put the toll as high as 40,000. At least 43,000 are injured.
Meanwhile shopkeepers clashed with looters and hungry families huddled under tents as they waited for relief supplies after the 7.6-magnitude earthquake razed entire villages and buried roads in rubble.
The United Nations said more than 2.5 million people have been left homeless and doctors are warning of an outbreak of disease unless aid arrives soon.
With landslides blocking roads to many of the worst-hit areas, Pakistan's army was flying food, water and medicine into the disaster zone.
International relief efforts cranked into action, and an American plane full of relief supplies landed at an air base near Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Monday.
Most of the dead were in Pakistan's mountainous north. India reported more than 800 deaths and Afghanistan reported four.
In the shattered streets of Muzaffarabad, where at least 11,000 people died, an Associated Press reporter saw shopkeepers scuffle with people trying to break into businesses.
They beat each other with sticks and threw stones, and some people suffered head wounds. No police were nearby.
Residents of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan's portion of divided Kashmir, said looters also targeted deserted homes.
Survivors lack food and water, and AP reported little sign of any official coordination of relief in the devastated city of 600,000.
People huddled around campfires through the cold night on a soccer field on the city's university campus, where most buildings had collapsed and hundreds were feared buried in classrooms and dormitories.
A doctor, Iqbal Khan, said there was a serious risk of diseases such as diarrhea and pneumonia if drinking water and other relief supplies do not arrive quickly.
"These people feel as if there is no one to take care of them," he told AP.
International relief efforts
Meanwhile, Pakistan said it would accept relief aid for earthquake victims from its longtime rival India, a move that carries immense political implications for the neighbours who have fought three wars since independence from British rule in 1947, two of them over the Kashmir region.
India's Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said his country would send tents, food, blankets and medicine to the hard-hit Pakistani portion of Kashmir.
The announcement came after Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf appealed for urgent help, particularly cargo helicopters to reach remote areas.
U.S. President Bush has promised cash and said he told Musharraf "we want to help in any way we can."
U.S. forces in Afghanistan sent five Chinook transport helicopters and three Blackhawk helicopters to Pakistan Monday to help ferry relief supplies.
Other international aid, including emergency rescue workers, has started flowing in. Planes arrived from Turkey, Britain, Japan and the United Arab Emirates. Russia, China and Germany have also offered assistance.
Senior officials in Pakistan's portion of Kashmir put the death toll much higher than official reports suggest.
The top elected official in the region, Sardar Sikandar Hayat, said that more than 25,000 people had died there with "countless" injured. Tariq Mahmood, the province's communications minister, put the toll at over 30,000.
The quake was felt across a wide swath of South Asia, with damage spanning at least 250 miles, from Jalalabad in Afghanistan to Srinagar in northern Indian territory.
In Geneva, the United Nations urgently appealed for donations, including for at least 200,000 winterized tents.
On the Indian side of the militarized Kashmir border -- where at least 800 have died -- hundreds of Kashmiris spent Sunday night outside in the cold after rumors of another quake.
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My best wishes and heart goes out to everyone and anyone effected by this and may God in this holly month look after our friends and families back home.:sadgreen: |
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| Goashem |
| with all the natural disasters happening so close to each other maybe they just ran out of money.... plus i noticed that theres usually a donation lag of about a week or more. |
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| DigiNut |
| quote: | Originally posted by walkindude
The money that poured into the US from the other parts fo the world when Katrina hit was unbelievable....Millions to a billion dollars from developed countries to the most developed and the most powerful country in the world for their relief effort.
Now, the same countries are donating a few hundred thousands to the relief effort in Pakistan where there are possibly 30,000 people dead.. Whats wrong with this picture???!! |
What's wrong with this picture is that Pakistan could end up in nuclear war at any time. Why invest money in something you know is so unstable?
I'm not saying that people shouldn't help, just that considering the situation the numbers aren't very surprising.
You can call it politics if you want... I call it economics. |
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| TranceGrooves |
| quote: | Originally posted by DigiNut
What's wrong with this picture is that Pakistan could end up in nuclear war at any time. Why invest money in something you know is so unstable?
I'm not saying that people shouldn't help, just that considering the situation the numbers aren't very surprising.
You can call it politics if you want... I call it economics. |
and u think US or any other country cant end up in a Nuclear war :S ? hell US is fighting wars that arent even theirs lolz. the only country Pakis could have Nuke war with is India and for past year or so the relationship between the two countries has been great. its ok for US or any other BIG country to have nukes but god forbid if a small country gets them. thats not economics my friend thats pure politics. if this earthquake was in France or England or some place like that the world will be running over to help. |
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| MLB |
| quote: | Originally posted by TranceGrooves
and u think US or any other country cant end up in a Nuclear war :S ? hell US is fighting wars that arent even theirs lolz. the only country Pakis could have Nuke war with is India and for past year or so the relationship between the two countries has been great. its ok for US or any other BIG country to have nukes but god forbid if a small country gets them. thats not economics my friend thats pure politics. if this earthquake was in France or England or some place like that the world will be running over to help. |
well said, besides india and pakistan keep good ties , except for the ty situation in J&K |
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| TranceGrooves |
I just spoke with a Pakistani oficial here in Toronto and i have set up a donation thing with him. If anyone wants to donate to the relief efforts in Pakistan please feel free to forward your donations to Pakistani Embassy or Red Cross with indication of releief efforts in Pakistan or feel free to email me at [email protected] or call me 416 888 3516. Thanks
Tyler. |
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| walkindude |
| quote: | Originally posted by TranceGrooves
I just spoke with a Pakistani oficial here in Toronto and i have set up a donation thing with him. If anyone wants to donate to the relief efforts in Pakistan please feel free to forward your donations to Pakistani Embassy or Red Cross with indication of releief efforts in Pakistan or feel free to email me at [email protected] or call me 416 888 3516. Thanks
Tyler. |
Good job Ty! Finally, somebody put their money where their mouth is!!
:D |
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| ChemEnhanced |
| quote: | Originally posted by TranceGrooves
if this earthquake was in France or England or some place like that the world will be running over to help. |
If it happened in France they would just give up and go drink some wine.:toothless |
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| DigiNut |
| quote: | Originally posted by TranceGrooves
and u think US or any other country cant end up in a Nuclear war :S ? hell US is fighting wars that arent even theirs lolz. the only country Pakis could have Nuke war with is India and for past year or so the relationship between the two countries has been great. its ok for US or any other BIG country to have nukes but god forbid if a small country gets them. thats not economics my friend thats pure politics. if this earthquake was in France or England or some place like that the world will be running over to help. |
Yes, you're absolutely right - the situation is with India and only India. Pakistan and India are currently in a "mutually assured destruction" standoff, very similar to what the Americans were in with the Russians during the Cold War. MAD is actually a very interesting topic - you should read about it, not just for the sake of this argument but for general knowledge.
I find that a lot of people take exception when the subject of nukes comes up in the context of Pakistan or N. Korea or Iran, usually in the form of "why is it OK for the USA to have them but not [insert name of war-torn country here]". And while that is a very valid objection, it's important to note that the real issue is not one of moral superiority but of political stability. That is, it's not just about whether a country *has* nukes, but also whether or not that country's incentive to *use* them might outweigh their potential losses.
There are many complicated issues that factor into it. Tension with neighbouring countries/regions is a huge one. The type of political leadership and its attitude toward protecting its civilians is another issue (for example, if a dictator murders his own people, he probably won't care if another country lobs a nuke his way, so he has more incentive to use his own weapons). The bottom line is, it doesn't really hurt the USA's political stability to have nuclear weapons, but it most certainly does hurt the political stability in Pakistan and India. |
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| St_Andrew |
It's not like US isn't paying back. So far it seems like they are doing a better job in the relief effort there than they did after Katrina. Not only are they supporting with helicopters and other material stuff, but they have pledged 50 million USD. Seems like US are doing their fair share if that's what you were whining about. And for example my own government (the swedish), took them almost a week to offer aid to the US, after less than a day they offered help to pakistan, so it's not like the rest of the world is just sitting watching.
That said I don't think the world is doing enough. We will never do, and it's something we have to live with I guess.
What's pissing me off more is how the aweful effects of Stan in Guatemala and Mexico went by most ppl pretty much without noticing it. |
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| Jayx1 |
Canada has pledged 20 million dollars and the province of ontario 1 million.
I dont think people should be complaining about lack of aid. |
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