[Baketech]

Originally Posted by oldfogey

Just doing my best to encourage everyone, Baketech.

I totally understood that....but you are in intelligent man with a charming wit....the post was a bit beneath you to say the least...

At any rate, there are plenty of us inbred, uneducated, redneck Amerikans that need to get over ourselves already....no sense in lowering yourself into the fray...

[ND4SPD]

No offense to anyone, but can we drop the "my country is better than yours" bs? The number of dead is over 100k now, just put your differences aside and help those that survived. If you don't want to help, fine; but keep the stupid comments to yourself out of respect for those that perished. The bodies aren't even cold yet and everyone's already too caught up in bashing the guy across the street. What a way to remember the holiday season

[nhfirefighter13]

Originally Posted by ND4SPD

No offense to anyone, but can we drop the "my country is better than yours" bs? The number of dead is over 100k now, just put your differences aside and help those that survived. If you don't want to help, fine; but keep the stupid comments to yourself out of respect for those that perished. The bodies aren't even cold yet and everyone's already too caught up in bashing the guy across the street. What a way to remember the holiday season

But.....they started it!

[Baketech]

Originally Posted by nhfirefighter13

But.....they started it!

Yes...but in there defense, they do have the burden of knowing everything there is to know, so it's excusable...

[deez]

Originally Posted by Baketech

At any rate, there are plenty of us inbred, uneducated, redneck Amerikans that need to get over ourselves already....no sense in lowering yourself into the fray...

Ah cut him some slack buddy, he is just following your lead kimosabe

BTW, I hear it's awfully damn hard to remove an edged hook, it rips some flesh when you pull it out

[Baketech]

Originally Posted by deez

Ah cut him some slack buddy, he is just following your lead kimosabe

BTW, I hear it's awfully damn hard to remove an edged hook, it rips some flesh when you pull it out

Edged....?....is that like barbed?

Gots to know your tackle if'n you gonna wet a line in this pond....

[deez]

Originally Posted by Baketech

Edged....?....is that like barbed?

Gots to know your tackle if'n you gonna wet a line in this pond....

You are like one of those bastards I see on the fisherman infomercial. Got damn ****ers have developed these lures, that totally imitate bait, the look, and movement. Poor fish don't stand a chance anymore. I'll sit there and yell at the TV, don't do it fish, it's artificial, don't do it, don't DO IT!

If Baketech was a fisherman, he'd be using one of these lures, with a trolling motor (the ultraquiet one), like some sort of cyberspace Ninja cutting with a chef's precision And he'd have camo on or some other such ****, where the fish would look out above from under the water, and you'd just blend in with the surroundings

[Baketech]

Nah...I'm a hack compared to most of these guys in here...

[deez]

Originally Posted by Baketech

Nah...I'm a hack compared to most of these guys in here...

You can sell that **** down at 7-11, cuz it ain't selling here
If you were a fisherman as your trade, you'd be the big winner at the bass tournaments

[Baketech]

Originally Posted by deez

You can sell that **** down at 7-11, cuz it ain't selling here
If you were a fisherman as your trade, you'd be the big winner at the bass tournaments

That would fit right in with my redneck theme too....

[luvtolean]

This is an amazingly tragic event. I hope everyone's loved ones are safe.

[figment]

Originally Posted by luvtolean

This is an amazingly tragic event. I hope everyone's loved ones are safe.

there's been enough BS discussed here. Move along.

[Red Rider]

OMG...latest reports now have the death toll at 115,000. Countless thousands more will probably never be recovered...

[aussie_929]

Originally Posted by bubba

so which is it? a cretin or an ignorant redneck

Both.

[Bacchus]

Did anyone else see this picture? Just totally sad, and sickening. Scroll down a bit, in the link. We've all heard about it, and read about it, but this picture in today's local newspaper really hits home. I think all of us are in shock, and have yet to realize the magnitude of this disaster. Mother nature rules, let there be no doubt about that! Sighhhh...

That said, I did my thing with the American Red Cross today. A pittance, but it all helps these desparately needy folks.

Not for the weak of stomach

[Bacchus]

OMG, I hate acrobat! Didn't even realize it was here 'til after I posted. What a piece of **** software. Anyway, the picture that pathetic excuse for software is trying to portray is a bunch of dead bodies amongst the other flotsam. Just thought it was one of "those" photos that might jostle others into giving to a good cause. RIP, all.

[oldfogey]

I'm proud to say that my fellow countrymen and women have now contributed, privately, over £35m. so far for the disaster funds. That's around $1.10 per inhabitant, the equivalent of $280m. from the US. One area of competition I'm happy to post on the board to see if we can get a competitive response from our US members. The UK government has now put in £50m. from tax-payers funds in addition.

Sorry if people find this offensive, I just think this is such an enormous tragedy that being provocative is allowed.

[Johnny Diablo]

I was avoiding this dark subject from the get go. Luckily it took someone with stronger spirit and a certain crass levity to crack the ice with "surfs up" and make it something a little easier to talk about... I knew a catastrophe was imminent as soon as I heard a large quake happened offshore Thailand. For that I thank Mr Forest aka my geology101 teacher. Call me stingy.. Call me slow to give but call me an educated American As we motivate I wouldnt be surprised to see some corporate dollar matching incentives.

I don’t trust a lot of the established "aid providers” With the understanding that a lot of times a dollar can go toward lining the pockets of the board members of an organization or scam artists ..... I will choose carefully where my personal contribution goes. I will not be a happy ass and hand over money to the first relief org and gloat about it. The money needs make the affected feel better not just me!

As a taxpayer to the most giving country in the world I am sure that even if I don’t open my wallet personally... I will be contributing in some form or another. Our Country is made up of a conglomerate of ethnicities. We are a country of immigrants. We are made up of all the people that had enough ambition, intelligence, drive and clarity to get out of the hell hole they were born to and emigrate to the land of purple mountains majesty and fruited plains.... We are the United States Of course we will give. Forgive us for thinking it out first. If we didn’t help out... New diseases and plagues could form. Countries may become unable be trade partners. Capitalism would slow. All in all giving it away creates a demand which triggers production which equals jobs for us.. There is always a bigger picture.

On a personal note. I remember a dear man of the cloth who I thought would for sure one day preside over my wedding. A Catholic priest from Sri Lanka...He would visit my xgirls parents and cook the best food. I think I may pay her a visit for once in 5 years. I miss the guy.

[oldfogey]

Tombstone, thanks for the thoughtful and personal response .

[nhfirefighter13]

You know, all picking on Cowboy aside, this was a tragic event. Life happens, however, and lives continue on.

Now...for all of our non-American friends out here who seem to be enjoying throwing up some numbers, I have this for you:

WE'RE STINGY?! HOW DARE YOU EVEN CONSIDER THINKING THOSE WORDS?!!

Here you go:
"The United States Agency for International Development spent $2.4 billion in the last year for emergency disaster relief." -NY Times

Mr. Egeland responded to Mr. Powell's criticism by saying that he had been misunderstood and that he had not been referring to aid for the quake and tsunami victims but to the overall trend in recent years by Western countries in aiding the poor. He said pledges for the current crisis had been "most generous."
"I have been misinterpreted when I yesterday said that my belief that rich countries in general can be more generous," Mr. Egeland added. "This has nothing to do with any particular country or the response to this emergency."
(Backpedaling much?) -NY Times

"In 2000 nearly 9 of 10 U.S. households gave to domestic or foreign charities. Americans also give generously of their time: in 1999 a record 56 percent of U.S. adults over 18 volunteered at home or abroad. In 2000 that share dropped to 44 percent because the revised survey considered only adults over 26. Still, volunteers provided work equal to more than 9 million full-time employees, with a value of $239 billion. In 2000 U.S. universities and colleges gave more to developing countries in foreign scholarships than Australia, Belgium, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland each gave in ODA. Remittances from U.S. immigrants to their homelands exceeded ODA from Japan-the largest provider (in dollar amounts) of government aid to developing countries."
LINK

"U.S. foreign aid goes far beyond official development assistance (ODA)-the "donor performance" measure developed by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD is made up of industrial countries that provide the bulk of development aid to developing countries, and every year the DAC publishes a report comparing the generosity of donors based on their ODA as a percentage of their GNP.
At $9.9 billion, ODA accounts for just 18 percent of total U.S. assistance-public and private-to developing countries (table 6.1). Private international assistance, by contrast, is $33.6 billion-60 percent of the U.S. contribution, and projected to grow to 65 percent by 2010. Every year the publication of the DAC report results in press reports and statements by academics and opinion leaders disparaging America’s "stinginess," asserting that U.S. foreign policy will be ineffective without more ODA, and claiming that U.S. foreign aid programs collapsed after the Cold War. But ODA is a limited and outdated way of measuring a country’s giving. Given the enormous growth in the private sector around the world, donors should reevaluate the measure."
-LINK

"By nearly all measures, the amount of foreign aid provided by the United States declined for several decades but has grown in the past few years. After hitting an alltime low in the mid1990s, total foreign assistance (but excluding Iraq reconstruction)
for FY2003/2004, in real terms, has been larger than any two-year period since the mid-1980s. The 0.2% of U.S. gross national product represented by foreign aid obligations the past two years, however, is among the smallest amounts in the last half-century. The United States is the largest international economic aid donor in dollar terms but is the smallest contributor among the major donor governments when calculated as a percent of gross national income." -LINK

Need I go on? Seriously, go to google and take 5 minutes and you'll all find the same thing.
Now, I see a LOT of the following word... BILLION... in those quotes and, oh my, look at that? It's from the US of A? Wow, I thought we were stingy? But, how could that be?

Consider this my RESPECTFUL disagreement with your opinions. You're entitled to them and so am I but keep in mind that you will get responded to everytime you throw out an unfounded, derogatory comment about OUR country.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post are soley those of nhfirefighter13 and are in no way intended to suggest that anyone else on this planet feels the same way.

[bwhip]

...and I think it's important to note that the US is generous in its aid to countries in time of catastrophes such as these - even to primarily Muslim countries such as Iran and Indonesia, despite the hatred that many in the Muslim world would send our way.

[Baketech]

Even though we are stingy, uneducated, redneck cretins, we managed to bungle our way through the process of donating to the Red Cross this morning....