bush_sucks: Tsunami v. USA

yorks (

pleckos) wrote in

bush_sucks,
@ 2004-12-29 21:41:00

Tsunami v. USA
As the death toll from the tsunami approaches the 100,000 milestone, I think it's important for us to remember that 140,000 Japanese died in Hiroshima. That does not include the additional 70,000 that died in Nagasaki.

Mother nature may have killed a lot of people in the past few days but there is no better killing machine than the United States military.

I'd also like to take a moment to note that thus far, the United States has pledged $35M of quake relief aid.

Compare this to the cost of the war in Iraq: $167.5B. That is nearly 5,000x more. Which shouldn't be a surprise that we find 5,000x more value in killing than we do in saving.

That is all.

(Post a new comment)

	ucsbclassics53 2004-12-30 05:42 am UTC (link)
	Canada's pledged 40 million. This is embarrassing. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	unseelie_sidhe 2004-12-30 03:54 pm UTC (link)
	Australia pledged around $10m I think (can't remember exactly). From a country with only 15m people, it makes the USA look really bad. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	ucsbclassics53 2004-12-30 09:04 pm UTC (link)
	We spend 40 million before noon in Iraq. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	rpeate 2004-12-30 05:46 am UTC (link)
	"As the death toll from the tsunami approaches the 100,000 milestone, I think it's important for us to remember that 140,000 Japanese died in Hiroshima. That does not include the additional 70,000 that died in Nagasaki." Why do you think it's important for us to remember that? (Reply to this) (Thread)

(Deleted post)

	pleckos 2004-12-30 05:57 am UTC (link)
	To put in perspective because everyone seems to be shocked that so many people have died in the past few days. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	d1g174lp1mp 2004-12-30 05:52 am UTC (link)
	just how many millions did Ma Nature kill with the Bubonic Plaugue back in the Middle ages?? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	pleckos 2004-12-30 06:02 am UTC (link)
	Ask Jeeves. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	d1g174lp1mp 2004-12-31 06:37 am UTC (link)
	fuck jeeves. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	pasje 2004-12-30 06:32 am UTC (link)
	the spanish flue just after the first world war was bigger. that killed 45 million people in total. yes.. that much. Pasje (Reply to this) (Parent)

	unclejimbo 2004-12-31 03:53 am UTC (link)
	Half of all Europeans as I recall... European Population 1352: 50 million Deaths from Bubonic Plague (1347-1352): 25 million Link (Reply to this) (Parent)

	theblackdog2071 2004-12-30 06:01 am UTC (link)
	How much did the Japanese spend on their military World War II? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	ladycakes 2004-12-30 06:20 am UTC (link)
	How many innocent American civilians died during WWII? Not counting the many that died years later from diseases caused by being downwind from nuclear bomb test sites. (Reply to this) (Parent)

patgund
2004-12-30 06:22 am UTC (link)

As opposed to the Japanese Rape of Nanking, with 80,000 women and girls raped, and over 200,000 to 300,000 people killed by the Japanese Imperial Army? Or the Germans, who killed 6 million Jews, and almost as may Gypsies, POW's, Gays, and other "undesirables". Or the 35,000 to 100,000 estimated killed in the Dresden Firestorm that followed the Allied bombing of that city??

Please, warfare is warfare, and no country on this planet has it's hands clean. Compairing deaths in warfare to deaths from a natural disaster is, well, like comparing apples and oranges.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	pleckos 2004-12-30 06:30 am UTC (link)
	Wow, you're right, we're angels compared to the rest of the world. I'm going to stop commenting to these replies now because it seems my point is completely lost here. I was merely putting numbers in perspective but you guys have really taken off with it. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

butterflydamage
2004-12-30 04:12 pm UTC (link)

i think people understand, but your post was worded in what seems to me and a lot of others i think as almost critical of people's emotional reactions to this disaster...i personally wasn't alive during WWII and during other awful tragedies...if people are shocked and despaired, leave them be...this is an incredibly fragile time for millions of people around the world and there's no need to make one feel guilty or wrong about their reaction

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	finalparty 2004-12-31 07:29 am UTC (link)
	Okay, maybe it's because when we spend a 150B "on" Iraq, it actually ends up in the pockets of, Halliburton, General Motors, and whoever builds stuff that we fight with, along with the GI payroll and their families. And when we shoot off a check for 25M to south asia.. ha, we might never see that dough again. Could that be playing a part in the difference in spending? :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

dieplzthnx
2004-12-30 07:59 pm UTC (link)

Wow, you're right, we're angels compared to the rest of the world.

And way to completely miss the point as well.

If the majority of the posters fail to see your point or find your word choice moronic or offensive, perhaps it's not everyone else's perception/sensitivity at fault. Perhaps it's your own cerebral ability that is the problem. Think that might be the case?

No, of course not, of course it's the rest of us who always miss the point, never you.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	thd3 2004-12-30 02:32 pm UTC (link)
	You took the words right out of my mouth. Not to mention Japan's brutal treatment of American soldiers--including the Bataan Death March. (Reply to this) (Parent)

pasje
2004-12-30 06:31 am UTC (link)

It's quite embarressing.
the dutch people alone (15 million) have put together 3million dollars in the last 2 days!

That does not even include what the dutch government is going to send and we will have a nation wide fundraiser on januari 6th for the victims.

I personally donated 50 euros (67.5 dollars) while i don't really have money to because i don't work enough hours. But they need it more than i do.

(Reply to this)

	divineyaya 2004-12-30 08:52 am UTC (link)
	i'm stealing this. (Reply to this)

	lady_ayana 2004-12-30 12:15 pm UTC (link)
	Pfizer drugs matched the cheap bastards 35 million. I think it was only 15 million to start. What was it 80 billion they sent to Iraq. (Reply to this)

femlove
2004-12-30 04:24 pm UTC (link)

Wow, you're an idiot. Others have pointed out the flaws in your analogy, I'll point out that the $35 million represents USG/USAID cleaning out the emergency funds bank account. A helluva lot more aid will be forthcoming once they can re-allocate money. It's not like the President can promise more money until they requisition it. This is emergency money, dumbass. First response and all, and, since democratic republics frown on elected officials writing personal checks from the U.S. Treasury, we pretty much have to go through the proper channels to allocate money...including deciding where it is best allocated. It doesn't represent the rebuilding efforts to come, nor does it take into account the emergency response work of the U.S. government.

(Reply to this)

kashe
2004-12-30 07:00 pm UTC (link)

Even if the Government doesn't allocate that much more. .
The American people are donating through Red Cross and many others, the world will know that America has a good heart.

It did take out our emrgency fund, and with the government 600 billion in debt ( 200 of it borrowed from the Social Security Surplus) it does make me wonder where the government is going to get the money.

But I guess it's like they say, when you're that broke, what's another billion dollars?

(Reply to this)

	serenitystar 2004-12-31 01:54 am UTC (link)
	I think his point was maybe that it's ironically very easy for the US to kill thousands of people but not very easy for the US to donate money which saves lives? I don't think there's any reason for anyone to get their panties all in a bunch. If you don't agree with him or think it's a dumb point, then ignore it? (Reply to this)

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