Were's the middle east???

[Gunslinger]

Who blamed Iran??

I was poking at Lada!  Seriously poor Iran they are so poor yet they build reactors and continue to refine nuke material.

PLEEASSEE!!!  I might be blind but I didnt see Kuwait on that list?  Rich saudi arabias contribution WAS pathetic at best....they've since raised it.

The truth of the matter is you guys just want to bash the USA.....same as the idiotic comment by that UN guy.  Were was his outcry for the sauds or the kuwaitis or other rich oil barons?

u guys can defend the middle east all you want but truth be told without oil they'd be just another bass ackwords desert that America would be sending food aid too.

Some of the oldest civilizations came from there and some of those countrys are sitting on black gold mines yet they are so underdeveloped.


. <------zoom way in and you'll see the worlds smallest violin playing my heart bleeds for you.

[Saintaw]

Then again, I do not think the list Gunslinger posted, is very accurate (as it is missing Belgium, Holland, Luxemburg, But I bet you thought thoose to be muslim countries, right?)

Hey, whatyagot against Benelux?
Belgium is not far from becomming muslim, heh

[SaburoS]

Sorry Gunny, but you asked for it.

Originally posted by Gunslinger
 Who blamed Iran??

You inferred that Iran hadn't donated anything. You inferred that most, if not all Middle East countries hadn't donated. They had.

I was poking at Lada!  Seriously poor Iran they are so poor yet they build reactors and continue to refine nuke material.[/QUOTE]

Well not surprising that they are developing Nukes. They are scared bigtime of an US invasion. Before we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, Bush labeled Iran as part of the "Axis of Evil." Once Iran has Nukes, we won't invade them. That is their thinking. We've given them nothing to think otherwise.

PLEEASSEE!!!  I might be blind but I didnt see Kuwait on that list?  Rich saudi arabias contribution WAS pathetic at best....they've since raised it.[/QUOTE]

So Saudi Arabia is on your "good" list now?

The truth of the matter is you guys just want to bash the USA.....same as the idiotic comment by that UN guy.  Were was his outcry for the sauds or the kuwaitis or other rich oil barons?[/QUOTE]

BTW, who here is bashing the US's present aid to the tsunami victims? Who here is bashing the US for aid given to any cause?
LOL, why cry about those countries? The US is the most wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth. EVERYONE should be concerned with what the US does, good and bad as there may be direct/indirect influences to everyone.

u guys can defend the middle east all you want but truth be told without oil they'd be just another bass ackwords desert that America would be sending food aid too.[/QUOTE]

Have you seen the modern cities and towns of "those" countries? Pretty modern if you ask me. I personally know someone that comes from Syria. He and his family are Christian. They don't fear for their lives.
How are those countries so "backwards?" If we're talking about intolerance, we only have to go back some 40 years or so to see how "backwards" we were as a nation.

Some of the oldest civilizations came from there and some of those countrys are sitting on black gold mines yet they are so underdeveloped.[/QUOTE]

How so?

[loser]

Why develope the country when you can just exploit what is under it?

[wombatt]

I think alot of us are over looking the main thing here!
And that is getting help to these people.
it dont make a rats butt who sends the most just as long as the job gets done!!!!!!!!!!!

I have got to say this even though I know it will piss alot of you off but here goes.

Good God people what a bunch of ninny's we gave more than you did neener neener!!! now come on how silly is that.

And do any of us really have any clue how much any country has TRULY given?  Both the government and private sector.

And dont forget that there are members of this board who are missing loved ones over there and I can just imagine what they must be thinking of there fellow gamers right about now.

And here is another thing how much if any did you personally donate?

It ain't no bodies beez wax people!!!!!
Some of us are having a hard time right after the holidays and some of us ain't.

And I am no fan boy of the Muslims but they are still human freekin beings and something of this magnitude is something that I would hope would draw the world closer together and not farther apart by some jerks comments from the UN.

Ya know do what ya can for these people and if ya cant afford any money then send out a prayer and if ya dont believe in God then at least wish them well and good luck as they need it.

OK I'm done and sorry If I offended anyone but this has gone beyond silly.

[Gunslinger]

U.N. official slams U.S. as 'stingy' over aid


By Bill Sammon
THE WASHINGTON TIMES


The Bush administration yesterday pledged $15 million to Asian nations hit by a tsunami that has killed more than 22,500 people, although the United Nations' humanitarian-aid chief called the donation "stingy."
"The United States, at the president's direction, will be a leading partner in one of the most significant relief, rescue and recovery challenges that the world has ever known," said White House deputy press secretary Trent Duffy.
But U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland suggested that the United States and other Western nations were being "stingy" with relief funds, saying there would be more available if taxes were raised.



Entire article:

http://www.washtimes.com/national/2...22330-7268r.htm

 

THIS IS WHY I POSTED THIS.  I'm sick and tired of the double standard in this world.  I could honestly give a watermelon who gives what to whomever the aid is gonna get there and these people are going to get taken care of.

But when this blatent crap comes from what's supposed to be a representative of the WORLD BODY it erks me to say the least and I wonder were the outrage is at the oil rich countrys.

You guys can jump on the Hate America band wagon all you want.  I saw a list from the AP that was current as of this afternoon and it angered me that there wasnt ONE middle eastern country on there.  I dont even recall seeing an ARAB country.  Somone pointed out a new list and I was greatfull to them.  then there was patron who turns this into a hate America must be a religious crusade bit who said one of the dumbest things I've ever read in this forum.  I can only be so polite.

PS.....Chuck sorry sir I dont feel like arguing but did want to give your reply its just deserve.  Welcome back, hope your DHS confinment wasnt too bad.

[Nilsen]

Originally posted by Scherf
Longer list here:

http://dkreiss.blogspot.com/

Bottom of page, not sure of sources. Not my table, so don't ask me.

In case link doesn't work:

Government aid -- Population -- Per head Aid -- Per capita GNI
Qatar $10 000 000 -- 743 000 -- $13,46 -- N/A
Sweden $75 500 000 -- 8 996 000 -- $8,39 -- $25,970
Monaco $133 000 -- 33 000 $4,03 N/A
Japan $500 000 000 -- 127 635 000 $3,92 $34,010
Norway $16 600 000 -- 4 590 000 $3,62 $38,730
Denmark $18 100 000 -- 5 403 000 $3,35 $30,260
Switzerland$21 900 000 -- 7 404 000 $2,96 $36,170
Australia $46 700 000 -- 20 125 000 $2,32 $19,530
Spain $68 000 000 -- 42 525 000 $1,60 $14,580
U.K. $95 000 000 -- 59 675 000 $1,59 $25,510
United States$350 000 000 -- 293 633 000 $1,19 $35,400
Portugal $11 000 000 -- 10 466 000 $1,05 $10,720
Canada $33 000 000 -- 31 892 000 $1,03 $22,390
France $57 000 000 -- 60 033 000 $0,95 $22,240
New Zealand$3 500 000 -- 4 071 000 $0,86 N/A
Singapore $3 600 000 -- 4 199 000 $0,86 $20,690
Kuwait $2 000 000 -- 2 493 000 $0,80 $16,340
Finland $3 300 000 -- 5 222 000 $0,63 $23,890
Luxembourg$265 000 -- 453 000 $0,58 $43,940
United Arab Emirates $2 000 000 -- 4 193 000 $0,48 $9,076
Saudi Arabia$10 000 000 -- 25 131 000 $0,40 $8,530
Ireland $1 400 000 -- 4 057 000 $0,35 $23,030
Germany $27 000 000 -- 82 558 000 $0,33 $22,740
Czech Republic $750 000 -- 10 201 000 $0,07 $5,480
China $60 000 000 -- 1 300 060 000 $0,05 $960
Hungary $411 000 -- 10 077 000 $0,04 $6,330
Greece $397 000 -- 11 000 000 $0,04 $11,660
Estonia $42 000 -- 1 349 000 $0,03 $4,190
Italy $1 300 000 -- 57 816 000 $0,02 $19,080
Turkey $1 250 000 -- 71 300 000 $0,02 $2,490
South Korea$600 000 -- 48 331 981 $0,01 $9,930
Iran $627 000 -- 67 433 000 $0,01 $1,720
Nepal $100 000 -- 24 746 000 $0,00 $230
Mexico $100 000 -- 106 204 000 $0,00 $5,920
World Bank $250 000 000
European Commission $45 000 000

This list is old.

[Nash]

That BS article has already been debunked here in another thread, Gunslinger.

That's what ya get for taking the Washington Times seriously....

[Gunslinger]

Originally posted by Nilsen
This list is old.

ha ha nilsen said my list was better than yours so there  

[Nilsen]

Originally posted by Gunslinger
ha ha nilsen said my list was better than yours so there  

hehe, actually your list is more correct regarding the norwegian goverments dontations anyway.... dunno about how accurate the rest of it is. Things changes so fast  

[Torque]

Originally posted by loser
Why develope the country when you can just exploit what is under it?

Iran has shown in the past, just how dangerous a democracy in the middle-east can be.

Rich saudi arabias contribution WAS pathetic at best....they've since raised it.

irony...at its best.

[wombatt]

Sometimes this helps me to get thru and understand things a little better think about it.


THE SERENITY PRAYER


God, grant me the
SERENITY
to accept the things
I cannot change

 

COURAGE
to change the
things I can

 

and
WISDOM
to know the difference

[Nilsen]

Hope the aid stuff like food, medical supplies, fuel and such are not payed for in dollars.

[wombatt]

The full version

God, grant me the Serenity
To accept the things I cannot change...
Courage to change the things I can,
And Wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.

[Gunslinger]

All in all criticism somtimes isnt all that bad.  Here's an article from the LA times that basically reiterates the points I've been trying to make.  Some sections I've highlighted for emphasis.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-arabs5jan05,0,2717195.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Criticism Spurs Boost in Aid From Arab Nations
Despite the increase, many people in Mideast still fret that the region, flush with oil wealth, appears stingy in its tsunami relief efforts.
By Megan K. Stack
Times Staff Writer

January 5, 2005

CAIRO, Egypt -- Amid a swelling debate in oil-rich Arab countries over the size of their donations to aid tsunami victims, several Persian Gulf governments have hurriedly fattened their cash pledges.

The increase in aid from countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates came after a debate over whether governments were damaging their images by failing to dig deeper into their pockets. A more esoteric discussion on Islamic Web sites and chat rooms focused on whether the aid effort qualified as an Islamic cause, even though the majority of those who died were Muslims.

Of an estimated 150,000 dead, about 94,000 are from Indonesia, a country far from the Islamic heartland in the Middle East that is nevertheless the world's largest Muslim country. Most of the others killed were in Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand, all of which have Muslim minorities.

Even after the pledges were increased in recent days, many Arabs and Muslims continued to fret that their offerings lagged behind the region's growing oil wealth and fed anti-Arab stereotypes. The hand-wringing in the Arab world mirrored American worries that the United States damaged its image by responding too slowly.

Analysts in the Persian Gulf said state-run media responded sluggishly to the disaster, and that some potential contributors were concerned they might unwittingly choose charities accused of funding terrorism.

The Saudi government tripled its offering from $10 million to $30 million Tuesday. The United Arab Emirates increased its aid from $2 million to $20 million and began airlifts of relief supplies. And Kuwait, after being blasted for stinginess on the front page of a prominent Sunday newspaper, upped its pledge from $2 million to $10 million.

Newspapers in Kuwait and Lebanon have been among the most outspoken critics of the Arab response.

"Caricatures of white-robed sheikhs sailing their luxury yachts on seas of oil and using $100 bills to light their Havana cigars will only be reinforced in the face of collective miserliness in this hour of human need," warned an editorial in Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper. "Especially if the petroleum-rich Gulf states do not dig a bit deeper into pockets that have become quite deep indeed over the last few years of high oil prices."

The rumblings came to a head in Kuwait, where a leading newspaper published an editorial criticizing the government's offering and reminded Kuwaitis of the intimate links that bind the desert nation to Southeast Asia.

The well-off in Kuwait and other Persian Gulf countries hire people from South Asia and Southeast Asia for menial tasks they are loathe to tackle themselves.

"We stepped into the modern world with them, and through them," said the article in al Qabas. "Its sons are helping today in building our country and raising our children."

After a debate in parliament, Kuwait boosted its offering to $10 million. But some Kuwaitis remain mortified.

"If the tragedy was presented as a `Muslim tragedy' you could have found a stronger response," said Waleed Nusf, editor of the newspaper. "Some would even go as far as saying what happened was God's wrath on people who deserved it. Unbelievable."

Fahad Kharaiji, a professor of mass communications at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, said he wanted the government to organize a national campaign to collect private donations.

"Everybody wants to participate," he said, "but we don't know how."

"I think the money is not enough," he said. "Saudi Arabia has a responsibility as a Muslim country and as the largest oil-producing country."

But the government has been leery of cash contributions, he said, ever since Saudi charities were shut down after the Sept. 11 attacks in an effort to stanch the flow of money to terrorists. "They're very careful when it comes to cash moving out of the country," he said.

Heba Raouf, a political-science professor at Cairo University, said these countries had no history of offering aid to non-Muslim countries.

"They are focused on religious solidarity rather than global society," she said, adding that the debate over how much to contribute was an indication that their societies were changing.

On Islamic Web sites and in chat rooms, questions included the following: Would Muslims who died in the tsunami be greeted in Paradise as martyrs? Is it all right to donate to tsunami victims, even though some of the goods and money could end up in the hands of nonbelievers?

"Is it permissible for us, as Muslims, to (appeal to God) for those human beings afflicted there even if those people include Muslims and non-Muslims?" asked one person who logged onto Live Fatwa, an online forum where an Islamic scholar answered religious questions.

"There is no harm or prohibition to pray for those people who lost their lives in that natural disaster," replied Sano Koutoub Moustapha, a professor from the International Islamic University in Malaysia. "However, your beloved Muslim brothers and sisters deserve more and more of your prayers and (appeals to God). They deserve your moral and financial assistance."

Moustapha told the readers that money given to non-Muslims did not count as zakah, or the percentage of a Muslim's wealth that he or she is obliged by the Quran to give to the needy.

"The Muslims among them fall under the category of needy people," he wrote. "As for non-Muslims, they might deserve donation or any other form of assistance, but not zakah."


If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at latimes.com/archives.

Article licensing and reprint options
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times
 

ACCORDING TO THIS ARTICLE and people like patrone it is the arab world that is looking at this in a religious fasion.  (crusade like?)  

I think its terrible that these countrys don't give more.  Especially about the part that alot of their workers get imported from countrys like these and alot of the people killed were in fact muslim.  I wonder how much some of these govts make from oil in ONE DAY?  I bet it would stagger $10 million.