I Am A Woman In Love
Barbra has spoken:
Speak! ...Barbra Streisand
Posted on January 4, 2005
When politicians work to deplete the forests and farmlands -- speak. When they threaten the air and waters -- speak. When they undermine the well-being of our neighborhoods -- speak. When they disregard the rights of humankind -- speak. When they disparage the principles of freedom and democracy -- speak. When they ignore the responsibilities that accompany inordinate power -- speak. When they imperil the possibilities for peace -- speak. And above all, when they demand silence -- speak. Never more than now, the hope and promise of America rests on a rising, insuppressible chorus of voices -- whispering, shouting, proclaiming, protesting, advocating, resisting, singing, supporting, celebrating ... and persevering. speak!
-- Richard Nelson
Richard Nelson is an anthropologist and author of numerous books, including Hunters of the Northern Ice and The Athabaskans.
Danged inordinate power, as viewed by the Eddyists (emphasis mine):
The other day, a United Nations official accused the United States of being "stingy" in terms of aid to tsunami victims in South Asia. After criticism from the State Department, the official clarified his position: Americans are not being stingy in helping tsunami victims, only stingy in terms of overall foreign aid as compared with other countries.
This is a familiar attack, which comes up annually when the foreign aid appropriations bill is before Congress. But let's look at the facts. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2003, the world's major countries gave a total $108.5 billion in foreign aid. Of this, the US contributed $37.8 billion, or 35 percent of the total....
The claim of stinginess, however, comes from a different calculation - foreign aid as a share of national income. In 2003, US foreign aid came to just 0.34 percent, well below the world-leading Dutch at 2.44 percent. Other big contributors are Ireland (1.83 percent), Norway (1.49 percent), and Switzerland (1.09 percent)....
The first thing one notices when looking at the big foreign aid contributors is that they all spend very little on national defense. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, in 2002, the Netherlands spent just 1.6 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense. Norway spent 2.1 percent, Switzerland spent 1.1 percent, and Ireland spent a piddling 0.7 percent. By contrast, the US spent 3.4 percent - and this was before the Iraq war. It's easy to be generous with foreign aid when another country is essentially providing your defense free of charge.
Another thing one notices is that the foreign-aid data only reflect "official" (i.e., government) aid...by all accounts Americans are far more generous in terms of charitable contributions than the citizens of any other country.
A 1991 study found Britain to have the second-largest percentage of private charitable giving. But in 2003, charitable giving amounted to £8.6 billion, or 0.8 percent of GDP, in Britain, according to the Charities Aid Foundation, compared with $241 billion, or 2.2 percent of GDP, in the US, according to the American Association of Fundraising Counsel....
Now here's the part that John and Ken will love, when you consider that "foreign workers" = "illegal aliens" in some cases.
In the area of international aid, the official data also exclude private transfers, such as remittances by foreign workers in the US. According to the Inter-American Development Bank, remittances to Latin America alone amounted to $38 billion in 2003 - more than all official assistance combined. And $31 billion of that came from the US. In some countries, foreign remittances came to more than 10 percent of GDP, thus having a significant impact on economic growth and poverty alleviation....
In short, the charge of stinginess is unfounded. The United States carries much of the world on its back, providing other nations with security, aid, and much of their investment and income. It also pays for a fourth of all the salaries of UN bureaucrats.
Here's one Australian account of who pledged what (amounts in millions):
African Union $US0.10 ($A0.13)
Algeria $US2.00 ($A2.57)
Australia $US46.48 ($A59.8)
Austria $US10.80 ($A13.9)
Bahrain $US2.00 ($A2.6)
Belgium $US16.32 ($A21)
Britain $US96.00 ($A123.5)
Bulgaria $US0.14 ($A0.18)
Canada $US66.00 ($A84.9)
China $US60.42 ($A77.7)
Cyprus $US0.37 ($A0.48)
Denmark $US54.88 ($A70.6)
EU $US31.29 ($A40.3)
Finland $US6.12 ($A7.9)
France $US66.38 ($A85.4)
Germany $US27.21 ($A35)
Hungary $US0.37 ($A0.48)
Ireland $US13.62 ($A17.5)
Italy $US95.00 ($A122.2)
Japan $US500.00 ($A643.3)
Kuwait $US10.00 ($A12.9)
Libya $US2.00 ($A2.6)
Luxembourg $US6.80 ($A8.8)
Netherlands $US34.00 ($A43.7)
New Zealand $US3.60 ($A4.6)
Norway $US181.90 ($A234)
Poland $US1.00 ($A1.3)
Portugal $US10.88 ($A14)
Qatar $US25.00 ($A32.2)
Saudi Arabia $US10.00 ($A12.9)
Singapore $US3.10 ($A4.0)
Slovakia $US0.23 ($A0.3)
Slovenia $US0.11 ($A0.14)
South Korea $US5.00 ($A6.4)
Spain $US68.02 ($A87.5)
Sweden $US80.00 ($A102.9)
Switzerland $US23.81 ($A30.6)
Taiwan $US5.25 ($A6.8)
Turkey $US1.25 ($A1.6)
UAE $US2.00 ($A2.6)
USA $US350.00 ($A450.3)
Venezuela $US2.00 ($A2.6)
World Bank $US250.00 ($A321.6)
Note that several Third World countries - and not just the rich oil nations - are on the list of donors.
The baby seal clubbers are firing bullets:
The voices of the entertainment elite were energized against President Bush during the recent election campaign, but they have yet to respond to this international emergency. Our “heartless” President raised the U.S. relief pledge tenfold in less than a week to a staggering $350 million. How long would it take to organize a Tsunami-Aid concert via Pay-Per-View to collect donations? By the time Bruce Springsteen, Bono and the others return to the microphones, thousands more will die from starvation and disease. Activist actors such as Ben Affleck, Susan Sarandon, Al Franken, P. Diddy, and Barbra Streisand have not been heard from. Oh, and where is George Soros and his billions when you need him? Too busy distributing rolling paper and needles for addicts?
President Bush was roundly criticized by the media for failing to issue an immediate statement from his Crawford, Texas ranch regarding the devastation. However, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was given a free pass. Amidst this serious global catastrophe the Secretary General remained in Colorado on holiday for three additional days after the tsunami hit. When confronted by a Fox News reporter why it took him so long to return to UN headquarters, Kofi replied that he monitored the situation via the Internet while away. Perhaps the Secretary General was plotting with his son how to auction off the remaining Iraqi food-for-oil vouchers on e-Bay.
Unfortunately, the baby seal clubbers got it wrong. The commie wackos are getting into the act:
Singers Sheryl Crow, Christina Aguilera and Tim McGraw have signed up for a Jan. 15th benefit for tsunami victims to be broadcast on NBC and its sister cable networks including MSNBC and USA, but network officials said they had still not worked out many details. Actor George Clooney, who was closely involved in the 9/11 telethon as well, is helping to line up celebrities for the event....
Willie Nelson...will headline a country-themed benefit on Sunday in Austin, Texas, with proceeds going to the American Red Cross, UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders.
Two days after the Dec. 26 tsunami hit Indonesia, Thailand and other countries, taking more than 150,000 lives, rock band Linkin Park announced it was launching a nonprofit organization, Music For Relief, with a $100,000 donation and requests for its fans to send money to the charity, which is relaying contributions to the American Red Cross.
Veteran singers Cliff Richard, Boy George and other British music stars plan to release a song to raise money for victims, the song's composer told England's Sky News television.
Inifinty Radio Los Angeles is committing its eight radio and two TV stations in the Southland for a daylong fundraising effort slated for Monday, with proceeds being sent to the American Red Cross. Infinity also will have representatives at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park on Monday collecting donations from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
And tonight at 7 p.m., NBC's 14 owned-and-operated stations, including KNBC in Los Angeles, will air a one-hour special to benefit UNICEF, with appearances by Sarah Jessica Parker, Tea Leoni, Clay Aiken and others....
Meanwhile, actor Sandra Bullock donated a reported $1 million to the American Red Cross, while Leonardo Di Caprio, who filmed the 2000 film "The Beach" in Thailand, gave an undisclosed sum to UNICEF.
And director Steven Spielberg and his family donated $1.5 million Tuesday to relief groups Save the Children, CARE and Oxfam.
"Although they generally make their donations anonymously, they are making this public to further encourage others to make donations of any amount to these and other organizations aiding the relief effort," a Spielberg spokesman said in a statement.
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