Nick Douglas said:
Mj,
You missed my point about the Bin Laden t-shirt and the media. We aren't privy to what the media outlets in those countries portray, so how on earth are we supposed to accurately judge what type of t-shirts are O.K. to wear. Maybe the little guy is militant, but maybe he's just poor and there were people in his area handing out free Bin Laden t-shirts. IMO it's just silly to judge based on a picture like that.
SixFive,
Rationalize it all you want, but the point of your second post in this thread was to discourage folks from contributing to international organizations devoted to tsunami relief.
"Al quaida and other terrorists will steal it and return it to us in the form of bombs."
That is an exact quote taken in context that really qualifies as uninformed, paranoid misinformation. People on this board should know that you give more than just about anyone else I've ever met, but I still find it terrible to actively discourage giving relief to victims of the recent tsunami. Posting that you should be careful which organizations you support: great. Posting that there are other causes that should be supported that may get less publicity: great. Using 'terrorist' paranoia to discourage giving to legitimately needy people: bad.
Last note is that you make great points about ruthless people frequently diverting charity into their own pockets, but in my view that's not a reason to simply give up trying to help. Remember, if the ultimate worry here is that we are making America less safe by giving aid to Southeast Asia, then maybe we need to step back again and look inward at what we've done to make people so aggressively angry towards us. People who argue that, 'it's in their nature,' 'they hate our freedom,' or, 'their religion promotes violence,' have absolutely no understanding of why the conflict exists.
You really are a good person Nick. To even look past the fact that one is wearing a Bin Laden T-shirt after rejoicing over 3000 innocent ppl dieing while he himself is in hiding is more than I could do. You're right in that who knows what his influences are, especially in regards to the US...
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_8-1-2005_pg7_49
As far as Al Quaida using relief funds for their own puposes- I would post an E-Mail from a friend in Thailand that describes how some well meaning ppl put together food, blankets, portable stoves, etc. and drove to help out. It is personal so I will refrain from posting, but it is informative. Luckily, before they started, my friends already told their wives not to take any $, jewlrey or valuables. They were robbed twice, before even getting to the southern Thai coast. The first time the robbers, w/rifles, took only what they could carry and disappeared into the jungle. The second time a few ppl, one person had a pistol, took what money the had- not much- and fled. When they got to the coast they were mobbed by hungry ppl who stripped their truck of the supplies in minutes. Its chaos for the most part. From another perspective off the net...
This Embassy has been running 24/7 since the December 26 earthquake and tsunami. Along with my colleagues, I've spent the past several days dealing non-stop with various aspects of the relief effort in this tsunami-affected country. That work, unfortunately, has brought ever-increasing contact with the growing UN presence in this capital; in fact, we've found that to avoid running into the UN, we must go out to where the quake and tsunami actually hit. As we come up on two weeks since the disaster struck, the UN is still not to be seen where it counts -- except when holding well-staged press events. Ah, yes, but the luxury hotels are full of UN assessment teams and visiting big shots from New York, Geneva, and Vienna. The city sees a steady procession of UN Mercedes sedans and top-of-the-line SUV's -- a fully decked out Toyota Landcruiser is the UN vehicle of choice; it doesn't seem that concerns about "global warming" and preserving your tax dollars run too deep among the UNocrats.
Sitting VERY late for two consecutive nights in interminable meetings with UN reps, hearing them go on about "taking the lead coordination role," pledges, and the impending arrival of this or that UN big shot or assessment/coordination team, for the millionth time I realized that if not for Australia and America almost nobody in the tsunami-affected areas would have survived more than a few days. If we had waited for the UNocrats to get their act coordinated, the already massive death toll would have become astronomical. But, fortunately, thanks to "retrograde racist war-mongers " such as John Howard and George W. Bush, as we sat in air conditioned meeting rooms with these UNocrats, young Australians and Americans were at that moment "coordinating" without the UN and saving the lives of tens-of-thousands of people.
Using 'terrorist' paranoia to discourage giving to legitimately needy people: bad. Nick, this is his $ and if he feels it will be embezzled to fund organizations that seek our demise is his perogative, more so in light of what is happening in Iraq w/ Muslim Extremists shooting their own ppl to prevent elections or assasinating whoever is a member of the local Police Force- not to mention blowing up innocent women& children as examples.
maybe we need to step back again and look inward at what we've done to make people so aggressively angry towards us. Damn! Almost made it to the end.
I enjoy your posts Nick. I don't agree w/many but that does not mean that you don't make me think about your views or ? my own. And you make some very good arguments...This isn't one of them.
http://www.vho.org/tr/2002/3/tr11why.html
That is why Christian missionaries are so reviled in many countries. They bring food and clothing, but you have to take a Bible to get it. I say take the high moral ground and help those who need it when you are able to.
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1306265.html
Many a time I have wanted to strangle ppl who bother or wake me on a Saturday morning to hand out the "Watch Tower" and then start a 'Fire and Brimstone' speech while I explain that my wife is Bhuddist, I have to work a 12 hour shift, blah, blah, blah.
