Food Relief

[skywalker]

I saw a report on CNN (do I watch anything else, I need to get out more!) which was uplifting and sad, too.

It was about how food packets were dropped on a village in Afghanistan at about 2:00 AM. They thought the were being attacked by unexploded bombs. They came out to see it was food packets from the USA. A man said one hit about several meters from his wife and she took ill from shock. He was happy though that his family had food. The recipients praised us for such kindness!

They said the dropping was not well spread out and most of it was falling in big bunches and the people who got them, ate there fill and sold the rest. Many villagers with no monet watched as the neighbors with food or money ate while they still starved. So sad!

You'd think they would pull together and share in this time of trouble.

Mark

[Ryanamur]

Don't worry, some people do. Unfortunately, they are the minority. No matter how small an amount, money in a Third World country, is a very valuable commodity...

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I'm the Wanderer without a clan... I bring justice without favorism. Though you may not agree with it, my judgement is final... and inconsequential

[Ronn_Bman]

Unfortunately, you'll find this type entrepreneur in every corner of the world

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"Your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins."

[Hiram Sedai]

It would be nice if they dropped some food on Camden, NJ!!



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"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
-Robert McCloskey

• Token lackwit of HADB
  
• Sycophant to the Wolf of Azure Hue
  
• Long lost brother of DragonMage
  
• Bearer of a work of art created by Sazerac
  
• Jeg burde blive gennembanket for min flatulens.[/list]

[Ryanamur]

Originally posted by Hiram Sedai: It would be nice if they dropped some food on Camden, NJ!!

I was actually thinking of something similar the other day. How many homeless people within our countries could benefit from this little extra help. Just a thought!

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I'm the Wanderer without a clan... I bring justice without favorism. Though you may not agree with it, my judgement is final... and inconsequential

If you live in a big city in the US, you know that there is a homeless/hunger problem here that didnt go away through the prosperous 90s. Feeding the Worlds hungry, particularly the children, should be a high priority for anyone of conscience.

For the first time UNICEF is giving the entire take from thier halloween collection drive to one cause: feeding the kids in Afganistan.

The food relief effort is handicaped by the airstrikes and threat of more attacks. Further more the money and resources being used to bomb the talibon could be directed to humanitarian efforts. "Food not bombs!" instead of "Bombs and food!" Of course one could argue that as long as the talibon is in power in Afganistan, even more will suffer, so the fact that more people are on the brink of starvation now is irrelevant because they would be suffering anyway. The talibon didnt bother food-aid workers before 9-11 unless they broke one of their many laws, like trying to convert muslims to christiananity. The infrastructure that supported humanitatarian efforts there has all but gone since the the bombs began dropping.
I dunno, if I had a choice between getting food to millions or bombing a few I'd give the food.

What ever your side is, If you have a say in your govermant, state your case to them. Email your representatives and leaders. Tell them where you stand.

[Ronn_Bman]

Originally posted by G'kar: If you live in a big city in the US, you know that there is a homeless/hunger problem here that didnt go away through the prosperous 90s. Feeding the Worlds hungry, particularly the children, should be a high priority for anyone of conscience. For the first time UNICEF is giving the entire take from thier halloween collection drive to one cause: feeding the kids in Afganistan. The food relief effort is handicaped by the airstrikes and threat of more attacks. Further more the money and resources being used to bomb the talibon could be directed to humanitarian efforts. "Food not bombs!" instead of "Bombs and food!" Of course one could argue that as long as the talibon is in power in Afganistan, even more will suffer, so the fact that more people are on the brink of starvation now is irrelevant because they would be suffering anyway. The talibon didnt bother food-aid workers before 9-11 unless they broke one of their many laws, like trying to convert muslims to christiananity. The infrastructure that supported humanitatarian efforts there has all but gone since the the bombs began dropping. I dunno, if I had a choice between getting food to millions or bombing a few I'd give the food.

Feeding them would be great, but we can't feed Afghanistan's population for the Taliban, while allowing them to harbor those who would plot to kill American's.

If feeding all the people in Afghanistan would stop terrorism, I'd say stop the bombing right now. But it won't stop terrorism, if anything, it would enable it. If we continue feeding the many (we already were doing this before 9-11), and stop bombing "the few" despite their association with Osama Bin Laden and his murderous activities, what would be the deterent to the few? What message would be sent to others who mean Americans harm? We feed their population, and they do what they want to us without fear of retaliation? It doesn't work on any level.

And to paraphrase some of what was said above, we can't even feed everyone in America, how could we justify feeding those who kill American's.

Love and friendship won't stop a bully, or a backstabber, unless you first draw "the line". Even then, it won't happen immediately. The best we can hope for, in this situation, is to temper justice and punishment with mercy.


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"Your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins."

[This message has been edited by Ronn_Bman (edited 10-30-2001).]

Originally posted by Ronn_Bman: Feeding them would be great, but we can't feed Afghanistan's population for the Taliban, while allowing them to harbor those who would plot to kill American's. If feeding all the people in Afghanistan would stop terrorism, I'd say stop the bombing right now. But it won't stop terrorism, if anything, it would enable it. If we continue feeding the many (we already were doing this before 9-11), and stop bombing "the few" despite their association with Osama Bin Laden and his murderous activities, what would be the deterent to the few? What message would be sent to others who mean Americans harm? We feed their population, and they do what they want to us without fear of retaliation? It doesn't work on any level. And to paraphrase some of what was said above, we can't even feed everyone in America, how could we justify feeding those who kill American's. Love and friendship won't stop a bully, or a backstabber, unless you first draw "the line". Even then, it won't happen immediately. The best we can hope for, in this situation, is to temper justice and punishment with mercy.

You make some excellent points.

[Hiram Sedai]

What I have the most difficulty with is the amount of money I hear being pledged to support the relief efforts. I truly wish we would spend that amount of money on the inner city youth. If the poor families were fed, housed, and job centers were created, then I wouldn't feel so bad about spending such huge amounts of money elsewhere. I know that we do have welfare and HUD housing, but that system seems inefectual. My mother works for the local welfare board and she is quite frustrated with the current system and it's inadequecies.

We are quite benevolent with helping out countries after we bomb them. See Berlin and Hiroshima and what we did to airlift supplies. This seems to be the first time, in my memory, that we would provide relief while we bomb them.

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"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
-Robert McCloskey

• Token lackwit of HADB
  
• Sycophant to the Wolf of Azure Hue
  
• Long lost brother of DragonMage
  
• Bearer of a work of art created by Sazerac
  
• Jeg burde blive gennembanket for min flatulens.[/list]

[Ronn_Bman]

Originally posted by Hiram Sedai: What I have the most difficulty with is the amount of money I hear being pledged to support the relief efforts. I truly wish we would spend that amount of money on the inner city youth. If the poor families were fed, housed, and job centers were created, then I wouldn't feel so bad about spending such huge amounts of money elsewhere. I know that we do have welfare and HUD housing, but that system seems inefectual. My mother works for the local welfare board and she is quite frustrated with the current system and it's inadequecies. We are quite benevolent with helping out countries after we bomb them. See Berlin and Hiroshima and what we did to airlift supplies. This seems to be the first time, in my memory, that we would provide relief while we bomb them.

The American Welfare system is terrible! It's so huge, it's ineffective. It works for some, but many receive more than their entitled to, and others receive too little, or nothing.

I do believe in the Work First program. Recipients who make welfare a career, and the bureaucracy that allows it to happen, are the real problem.


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"Your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins."