++ [ originally posted by Padovano ] ++
Libero, to make you happy, I will address one of Paul's unaddressed "valid" points.
Firstly robert... you took this totaly out of context and as an attack on america and its people... It wasnt...
It was purely a point that led from something else as a step to another... You make it much more than it is.
Paul claims that the cheap bastard Americans contributed "only" 350 Million Dollars to Tsunami relief. What Paul did not include is that this "paltry" figure is the amount contributed from U.S. government coffers.
Individual American contributions (and I do not have exact figures) probably triple that amount. Why do I say that? Because I know that the united efforts of Raleigh-based (my city) churches collected 1.8 Million dollars for Tsunami victims, in addition to the 1.2 Million dollars raised in the parking lots of shopping centers and the charity car washes across Raleigh over the month of January 2005. So, if a little place like Raleigh (population near 1 Million) can raise an even 3 Million dollars, then I can project that figure to the hundreds of thousands of other communites in the USA and guess that Americans gave more than anybody else.
Now i have to question whether you actually read what i wrote or jus reacted??
Because it is clear as day in what i wrote that the $350 mil was from the US goverment and DID NOT include individual donations.
(a quick comparison - US GOV donated $350 mil -- UK GOV donated $820 mil)
So bearing in mind the first part of my post was only talking about govermant contributions... When i said that the US gov gave less than many tiny (comparitively to the US) european countries... That my friend was true... ANd the observation tied in as an example for the argument...
I said further down that individual contributions were also imo low...
Now i dont know the exact figures (for anywhere other than the UK (£420 mil)) But my comment was based on breakdown of total world wide contributions which was printed across the international press about 2 months ago which listed the US' individual donations as lower than i personally would have expected and not on the top of the list....
Even if your thought of 3 times the gov contribution was right (i dont beleive it tobe, but im not going to question it)... That would be $1500 mil which is still less than a tiny place like the uk with its current economic problems in the face of a massively inflated housing market, but still managing in the region of $1600 mil...
This wasnt about uk v's us either... I was jus using the uk as an example because i know the figures... And too be honest i was absolutely shocked to read somewhere as small and insignificant as us gave more than the worlds only super power... Something i thought was relevant to the discussion as i saw it.
If you wanna take that as anti american or a personal attack thats fine... But in no way was it intended like that
Robert, I may be a cunt, I may not be a nice person... But i do not make things up... If i wrote it... Then it was reported by a reputable source...
( as a long time member you know well enough i have been questioned on what i say many times... and never failed to back up what i had written as 'fact' or as 'reported' when i felt a need to do so)
If you wanna question its validity that is fine as well, afterall i never wrote these things i jus recanted what was reported