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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: sandintoes who wrote (71922)	12/24/2005 6:35:32 AM
From: lorne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

UN Agencies Refuse To Disclose Costs As Third Of Tsunami Funds Go On Overheads noticias.info /noticias.info/ A year after the Indian Ocean tsunami, up to a third of the $590 million so far spent under the United Nations' $1.1 billion disaster flash appeal appears to have gone on administration, staff and related costs, reports The Financial Times. A two-month investigation by financial daily has also found that several UN agencies are still refusing to disclose details of their relief expenditure in spite of earlier pledges of transparency by senior UN officials. The unprecedented international response to the tragedy that struck on Boxing Day last year killing more 220,000 saw governments, companies and individuals pledge more than $13 billion to help affected countries, according to UN estimates. The flash appeal covered the money donated by governments to the UN in the first weeks after the disaster to fund the early aid work. Spending details from that appeal obtained by the FT from UN-affiliated agencies such as the World Health Organization and the World Food Program show 18 percent to 32 percent of the expenditure related to staff, administration and other costs. There is currently no accepted standard on what constitutes reasonable overhead costs for aid organizations, the daily writes. Agencies such as the German development ministry say non-profit aid organizations should claim no more than 10 percent of project funds for administration costs. The figures can be difficult to compare, however. Some UN agencies will not disclose staff costs and others account for items such as transport and equipment differently. Even the most basic overhead breakdowns can be sensitive in the relief world where highly paid consultants are often a significant expense for the UN and its agencies. Details of such costs are usually absent from public material. Alex Jacobs, Director of Mango, a non-profit group that aims to improve financial disclosure by aid agencies, said many also regularly reported either rosy or "meaningless" assessments of their administrative overheads. However, senior UN officials insist its tsunami relief operations have been the most open. The Financial Times also reports in a separate piece that around the Indian Ocean tsunami zone, conflicts and uncertainties over land rights have been a major hindrance to reconstruction and a source of worry for survivors struggling to get back on their feet. In Sri Lanka, the post-tsunami establishment of wide coastal "exclusion zones" - in which construction is now banned on safety grounds - is dispossessing thousands of people from the sites of their former homes. As a result, Oxfam estimates 50 percent of Sri Lankans left homeless by the wave now require fresh land on which to build. But Oxfam says the new rule has raised "widespread suspicion that the tsunami might be used as an excuse to make way for lucrative property deals linked to tourism", especially since the government is making selective exceptions. In related news, an editorial in Le Monde (France) states that one year after the December 26 tsunami, the assessment of the international assistance appears positive overall. The survey carried out by the correspondents of the French daily in the areas hit shows that the inevitable "failures," given the extent of the disaster and the need to make decisions quickly, were rather limited with respect to the use of aid, at least up until this point. The Jakarta Post (Indonesia) writes that despite the billions in international aid pledged, a year after the tsunami the fishing industry in Aceh is yet to recover, and the price of fish in the province is twice what it used to be. People on the Lam Pulo Fish Market, the biggest in Banda Aceh, said the tsunami had decimated the industry, claiming the lives of many fishermen and destroying most fishermen's boats. The increasing cost of production after the fuel price hike on October 1 has also made things more difficult for fishermen, who depend on cheap fuel for their boats, and has ensured prices have not come down although more fishermen are at sea. Reuters meanwhile reports that fishermen in Aceh have more boats now than before last December's tsunami hit the Indonesian province and donors should focus on other strategies to rebuild the fishing industry, a global research body said on Friday. A year later, efforts to replace lost equipment has enhanced fishermen's ability to catch fish, but they have not tackled the problem of over fishing and severe depletion that existed before the tsunami, the Malaysia-based World Fish Center said in a statement. Agence France Presse further notes that the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has announced a revised five-year plan of action worth nearly 1.5 billion euros to assist victims of last year's tsunami. With a total budget of $1.75 billion the plan will concentrate on the reconstruction of housing and rebuilding livelihoods, with 54 percent of the funds earmarked for these fields, it said in a statement Thursday. The plan includes rebuilding or upgrading homes, hospitals and clinics as well as water and sanitation systems, and providing psycho-social support and livelihood support to people affected by the tsunami which devastated Indian Ocean coastlines on December 26, it said.

To: sandintoes who wrote (71922)	12/24/2005 6:35:01 PM
From: American Spirit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Bush's problems these days have nothing to do with Clinton. Apples and oranges. Clinton never lied about anything important. He never cheated to win elections and was not corrupt. In fact, he left office ten million in debt. When GW leaves office he will have something in the neighborhood of 100 million waiting for him. Just watch. If the WSJ crowd wants Bush impeached, he's in deep doo-doo.

To: sandintoes who wrote (71922)	12/25/2005 12:05:21 AM
From: American Spirit	Respond to of 81568

It's FEMA that never helped the victims, until too late. Why? because of massive corruption and inept callous management. Which was proven by Brownie's emails. Except when Bush needed to buy Florida voters before the election last year, then he overpaid thousands who didn't even need assistance, wasting tax-payer money. The former UN corruption is very small compared to Bushie corruption. Quite microscopic actually. Almost all the Un corruption was the fault of middlemen dealing with Saddam. And some of the companies involved read like Bush's best pals; Exxon, Chevron, right down the line. The Bushie cronies which make up the current leadership are the most corrupt gang in the history of the western world.