ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
 This is brilliant.  Absolutely brilliant.

 JustineFromWyoming wrote: 
Thanks

 Manbird wrote: 
Fixed...

 jadewahoo wrote: 
Yes, you are right.

 dionysius wrote: 
It is the people of Haiti, the residents of Port au Prince, who are indisputably the most effective and dedicated people on the ground in the rescue effort.

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
Ha! I was backscrolling, saw HOJ's post, googling, posting and eating a very late supper, all at the same time

 dionysius wrote: 
I was listening to NPR tonight and a guy said that 'proportionately,' this is equivalent to Katrina killing the entire state of Louisiana.

 hobiejoe wrote: 
Hey Mr Johnny Come Lately

 helenofjoy wrote: 
Actually, there is an exceptionally cool charity from our part of the world called Shelterbox, with 10 international affiliates - see the homepage - and they do what it says on the label - boxes containing the barest essentials for family groups ready to be shipped to where you need them.
 
We had a gig tonight, and the guys passed around the hat in aid of Shelterbox, so that's another couple of hundred bucks on their way.
 
 

*edit* Oh, SFW is way ahead of me. Same guys, brilliant people.

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
Thanks, Scott. I am stll trying to wrap my head around the enormity of what has happened. This is MUCH bigger than Katrina. I wonder how we Americans would react to a disaster of this scale in a city that has almost three million people in it.

Mark Pearson, who was one of the first on the ground after the Indian Ocean Tsunami, said: ‘This is worse than the tsunami. It's utter chaos at the airport. Buildings have been completely destroyed, the hospital has been destroyed. It's a full scale emergency, there's so much destruction.

‘The priority at the moment is search and rescue and then after that emergency shelter provision, so obviously there's frustration. There's no fuel and people are hunting for water. It's difficult to but the scale of destruction into words.'

.

ShelterBox.

Your local chapter of Rotary International will be happy to direct your donation to this cause. Call a Rotarian!

Enough threadjacking. There's misery and death everywhere; the people of Haiti should be the focus of our especial solicitude right now. Here's a question: WHICH aid group or governmental agency is, in your opinion, is doing the most (or is being the most efficient) in delivering aid right now, on the ground? The slowness of governments to act has been the subject of debate and criticism already. How are the NGOs doing in comparison? This is of special concern for me.

For a few minutes anyway.

 romeotuma wrote: 

True enough. Though that should be wars, plural. I don't regard Afghanistan as necessary, either, despite my early hesitations on the subject. Nothing we can do there to help our security here.

 dionysius wrote: 
He is a not-too-smart guy who got taken for a ride by the Republican Party. Kinda like Sarah Palin was being groomed for.

 hippiechick wrote: 
Yeah, he's not a bad person per se. He's not Limbaugh or Robertson. 

 KurtfromLaQuinta wrote: 
I have no problem with recognizing honest worthy actions by a person.

 hippiechick wrote: 
A big warm fuzzy hug!

Sarcasm not intended.

See.
We can all get along.
For a few minutes anyway.

I would like to acknowledge Pres George W Bush for participating in the aid of Haiti.

 katearhar wrote: 
http://www.usaid.gov/