It's OK -

[kyburg]

Boss called in, talked to Siva - I could hear his voice across the room from the cell phone.

He's fine. Matter of fact, he didn't even know anything had happened.

Boy, is he going to get it when I get to see him again - "Biggest natural disaster in forty years - and YOU DIDN'T KNOW?!"

Weeell, he was in the rice fields...and stuff. Honto.

Jim is down with a bug, so I have to go run to the market for Hawaiian Punch -

In my honest opinion? 15M is nice; adding 20M is a good idea - but fer crying out loud, compared to what we spend on everything else - and how freaking BROKE we are, and keep spending like we do - $35M is like handing these people a $10 gift card to Wal-Mart.

We give a lot; we don't give the most, per capita.

"It's a gift - shut up and love it!"

Uh, yeah. Who got fruitcake this holiday and was told to love it or lump it? Enjoy that feeling?

I'm going to go eBay some stuff - forget them.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/ass_/]

We're footing a bill for $30-$40 mil for the presidential inauguration celebration, for christsake.

[amizadai.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear that your boss is OK. And even if he didn't notice anything when the tsunami happen, I'm sure he'll experience some of the aftermath, even if it's just the massive sense of loss and tragedy of an entire nation. It's not everyday that one is in a country when it goes through something so tremendous.

[sylvia-says.livejournal.com]

We're giving 'em cake. But they need a hell of a lot more. And we can afford a hell of a lot more. We could part with a hell of a lot more without ever noticing the difference. No wonder half the world wants our heads on a stick.

[ersatzinsomnia.livejournal.com]

Well, there are other contributions. In addition to the $35 mil, the US has diverted the USS Bonhomme Richard to the effort. And 5,000 military personnel of the Navy's Expeditionary Strike Group 5 are skipping their holiday on Guam to go to the rescue effort. And several U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo aircraft in Yokota, Japan, are loaded with relief supplies and expected to deploy to Utapao, Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. Further, the U.S. Navy deployed P-3 aircraft from Kadena, Japan, are planning to operate in the vicinity of Thailand with Utapao, Royal Thai Air Force Base, serving as a hub for operations.

Then, of course, there's this: Secretary of State Colin L. Powell hinted that the $15 million U.S. offer was only the first installment of a larger aid package to those countries devastated by 30-foot waves triggered by a massive underwater earthquake.
"We also have to see this not just as a one-time thing," he said. "Some 20-plus thousand lives have been lost in a few moments, but the lingering effects will be there for years.
"The damage that was caused, the rebuilding of schools and other facilities will take time," he added. "So you need a quick infusion to stabilize the situation, take care of those who have been injured, get immediate relief supplies in, and then you begin planning for the longer haul."

It's been less than three days. More reasonable estimates place the initial US reconstruction contribution at around $1 billion. But there's been no real assessment of the damage and reconstruction required, since everyone's just trying to keep people alive right now, and the money is going towards subsistance assistance. The additional $20 mil was added towards survival efforts as the death toll boomed.

In other news, Amazon.com has passed Canada, Spain, Germany, Ireland, and Belgum in its contribution to the relief effort. http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/my-pay-page/PX3BEL97U9A4I/002-4478319-9315253

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

*cracks knuckles* Well, then. That's more like it.

How much of that is loans, though?

And we're a pretty generous lot, we Americans. It doesn't surprise me - that's part of the reason the punk-ass response initially is so infuriating.

But I wouldn't use Amazon as a measuring stick. I didn't use them.

[ersatzinsomnia.livejournal.com]

The Amazon thing was just an unrelated aside I thought people would be interested in seeing. Posted it up in my own journal as well...