Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: microhoogle! who wrote (93019)	12/31/2004 3:25:45 AM
From: Neeka	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793858

It took the US approx 34 hours to pledge 15 million dollars and the promise to lead efforts after the earthquake and tsumani. I suppose it would make some happy if it had been sooner. I know it took me at least that long to comprehend the scope of the devastation and what actually took place, even though I'm privileged enough to be blessed with some of the most sophisticated communications equipment on earth. M US pledges lead relief role in Asian tsunami tragedy Mon Dec 27, 7:40 PM ET U.S. National - AFP WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States pledged nearly 15 million dollars in immediate aid and promised to lead relief efforts after a mammoth tsunami battered Asia, killing nearly 24,000 people. AFP Photo Reuters Slideshow: Asian Tsunami Disaster Latest Headlines: · Death toll in Asian quake disaster nears 125,000 AFP - 3 minutes ago · Bjorkman to donate Chennai Open money for tsunami relief efforts AFP - 12 minutes ago · Indonesia Deaths Likely More Than 100,000 -- Minister Reuters - 13 minutes ago -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Coverage At least eight Americans were killed and several hundred others were unaccounted for, officials said, after Sunday's powerful underwater earthquake caused giant tidal waves, which spread destruction across the Indian Ocean. President George W. Bush (news - web sites) and Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) expressed condolences to leaders of the worst-hit nations and promised to contribute heavily to the massive assistance effort launched by the international community. "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," White House spokesman Trent Duffy said outside the Texas ranch where Bush was on holiday. Administration officials said they would provide nearly 15 million dollars in cash and relief supplies to the most devastated countries. Some 400,000 dollars had already been sent through embassies in India, Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Another four million dollars would be donated to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which had launched an appeal for more than six million dollars. A further 10 million dollars in US aid was also pledged, they said. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) mustered 21 members of its disaster assistance response team for the region and the Navy dispatched three P3 reconnaisance aircraft from Japan to help in rescue operations in Thailand, officials said. "This is indeed an international tragedy, and we're going to do everything we can to assist the nations that have been affected," Powell told a news conference, signaling Washington's readiness to provide additional aid further down the track. He said the 15 million dollars was an initial response. "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." Ed Fox, USAID's assistant administrator, said they were able to draw upon pre-positioned supplies in the region both from the Philippines and Dubai, where the United States has shelter, food, water cans and other items. Fox said more than a million people may have been displaced and in need of such supplies, as well as medicine and sanitation facilities. The US-based aid group CARE said it was feeding 14,000 Sri Lankans. Ahuma Adodoadji, CARE's emergency relief director, told CNN television the organization was mounting a "major operation" to aid more victims. There were no details immediately available on the deaths of the eight Americans. Powell said that those unaccounted for were not necessarily casualties: "It just means we haven't been able to reach out and get contact with them." The Chicago-based family of 33-year-old US real estate agent Ben Abels, missing on the Thai island of Phi Phi, awaited news of his whereabouts. "Anything you can do to help us find him and bring him home -- please," said Hope Abels, appealing for news of her son, who has not been heard of since the deadly waves struck Thailand's coast early Sunday. A seasoned traveler, Abels had stopped off in Thailand after visiting Cambodia and Hong Kong, family members said during a press conference outside their Chicago area home. A friend of Abels was trapped for several hours in the ruins of the bungalow they were sharing. Libby North lost a hand and her leg was crushed, but she was eventually rescued and was recovering at a local hospital, according to the Abel family. Tragically, a tsunami alert system in Hawaii that warns Pacific countries about devastating tidal waves actually detected Sunday's earthquake off the coast of Indonesia. But the absence of a regional alert system meant the information could not be sent out fast enough. news.yahoo.com