US Disaster Telethon ......... why?

[Ono]

I don't want this taken in the wrong way, and you must understand that I have the deepest sympathy with the victims of the terrorist attacks on Sept 11th but I am not convinced by all these fund raising efforts currently being organised by various film stars etc to go towards the victims.

Many of the victims were highly paid professionals with good personal accident cover on death (I have seen unconfirmed reports that it averages out at $1m each mortality).


Do we need this Telethon thing?


Would not the funds be better appropriated if it went to the poor and needy?


Opinions?

 

[Embattle]

Have to admit I thought the same but not all have such insurance cover plus it shows that people care, including actors etc. The best song was John Lenon's Imagine which seem to fit the past events as well as the coming events.

 

[old.D R E ad]

I have to agree, its not like the USA is a third world country. And I also think some of the celebs involved are just jumping on the band wagon for the publicity.

I also think some of the TV coverage as been quite sick. It seems sometimes they are tring to turn the disaster into some kind of entertainment. I mean, just how many times do we really need to seem the twin towers exploding and falling down?

Also, did anyone here know that only one of the twin towers was insured? they thought the chance of both towers going down was too small.

 

[Embattle]

Originally posted by D R E ad
Also, did anyone here know that only one of the twin towers was insured? they thought the chance of both towers going down was too small.

Yes I did.

 

[Ono]

The insurance cost of rebuilding only one was insured.

The thousands of companies within the towers, the individuals, the shops and indeed the Marriot Hotel next door will all be getting payouts.


It's a sensitive time for the insurance companies as well. One of the biggest commercial insurance broker firms in the world (Marsh) lost about 300 people in the 106th floor. Also the Chairman of Aon (another insurance company) and his wife were killed.

 

[old.Kez]

I can't help but be amused by America's continued retarded approach to world affairs.

A single, that was due to go on sale later in the year, to raise funds for the AIDs sufferers in Africa (in the millions then) has been re-applied and will now go to help the 7000 or so mourning families [or whatever] and will be called 'Whats going on?' - I'm sorry, but the title is just too fucking funny :/

Arrogant spastics :/

 

[Embattle]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1556000/1556117.stm

 

[old.=DI=Penry]

Originally posted by Embattle
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1556000/1556117.stm

America and the UK need to go in and sort out those afghani's ... send everyone they've got in, and flood that country ....




















...With AID !

 

[Summo]

Was about to type a snotty reply until I saw your final comment.

 

[Embattle]

You have to get shot of the Taleban so Afgan can be sorted.

 

[Summo]

I do?

 

[MYstIC G]

tbh I'm a bit divided on this. I think its good that they can come together to try and help in a chrisis, however I'm not sure this is truley a chrisis. Its not like the US wouldn't have the funds for the clean-up operation if this hadn't gone ahead.

I dunno

 

[Summo]

5,000 innocent people from many different nationalities were murdered by an extremist group. Include the other tens of thousands murdered by all the different terrorist factions around the world and I think this adds up to a crisis.


As Tony Blair said, these people have proved they have absolutely no regard for human life. If they could get hold of chemical weapons, they would. If they could use these chemical weapons, they would, with no doubt. We need to stop them now before a single civilian life is lost again.

 

[Moving Target]

AIDs problem is worse

 

[Summo]

In that it's claiming more lives, yes. I dare say that if a particular group of people had manufactured AIDS then the world would have united against them a long time ago.

Different situation though, eh MT?

 

[old.Kez]

Fuck 'em all, we need the living space, die cunts die etc.

Bloody australians have the monopoly on living space, fucking convict bastards etc.

[heh, if anyone takes this at all seriously, they will be cunted for thickness]

 

[old.[q3p]-KS-]

Their *is* cause to worry. Osama Bin Laden and his Al'Quaeda movement are believed to *have* access to sarin, the nerve agent used in the japanese subway attack.

He also allegedly approached a reactor-facility director (in a former soviet republic) to obtain reactor grade materials.

I don't think an assault on Afghanistan will achieve anything. It's rumoured Osama Bin Laden may have already fled the country. The Taleban leadership is corrupt - but ultimately it will be the afghani people who will suffer. Their are thousands on the edge of starving ffs.

 

[Stazbumpa]

The Taliban are a bunch of fucking hypocritical wankers. They took power a few years ago and whilst briefly bringing stability to Afghanistan, they then seem hell bent on running the country into the ground.

Makes me smile, they spout off at us in the west about our lack of morality whilst happily being one of, if not the, biggest opium dealer on the planet.
Then they decide that all women should not be educated. And wear those stupid fucking outfits where they cant see or even breathe properly.
But if an assault (highly unlikely) of Afghanistan goes ahead, the real losers will be the Afghan civvies, who I dont think asked for any of this, despite the TV footage of those sick fuckers on the West Bank jumping for joy when the WTC collapsed.

As for the Telethon, I think that with all the insurance pay outs and other bits and bobs, the money should be spent elsewhere (as already mentioned by my learned colleagues).


The thing that really pisses me off about all of this though is the way that Blair has been saying such brilliant stuff about how we should band together and defeat world terrorism from a position of relative safety. The only time he's faced danger from terrorism (in the shape of your friendly neighbourhood IRA wankers) he released convisted murderers from jail by the truckload, had tea with Sinn Fein and then gave them a fucking job.
That, to me, puts him on the same hypocritical footing as out Taliban buddies.

And also the amount of do-gooder Yanks who insist on funding the IRA and Sinn Fein. I hope that the American fund raisers for the "freedom fighters of Ireland" have a good long think about what they have been a part of now that boot is quite clearly on the other foot.

 

[old.Kez]

Originally posted by stazbumpa
The Taliban are a bunch of fucking hypocritical wankers

So's Bin Laden, probably more-so infact, what with the fact that everytime you buy a certain brand of fizzy drink [I forget which] you are paying him, as he manufactures something involved in the process - and here he is trying to bring down capitalism? Bravo naivé hypocrisy. Oh, and he's also believed to have invested millions in the stocks 3 days before the attacks, then pulling them out just before [or something] and making another truckload of money, cunning.

And also the amount of do-gooder Yanks who insist on funding the IRA and Sinn Fein.

lol yes, the americans fund every fucking terrorist threat on the planet, and at one time, helped bin laden, how quaint.

 

[old.D R E ad]

Helped him? The guy learnt most of what he knows from the yanks. A few years ago the CIA funded, trained, equiped and helped establish bases for his organisation so they could fight the invading soviets off.

 

[Moving Target]

yes they did

 

[old.=DI=Penry]

Originally posted by Kez
... everytime you buy a certain brand of fizzy drink [I forget which] you are paying him, as he manufactures something involved in the process

minor correction – soft drinks is how he made his fortune but he gets nothing ($) from them now - the family business still does – but the family denounced him years ago – he left the family business with a few hundred million dollars.

 

[old.Kez]

a few hundred million seems to have been enough though

 

[Moving Target]

pfft thats nothing compared to my fortune!

 

[Testin da Cable]

heh I can think of better things to do with a coupla hundred mill

 

[Summo]

Minor correction - The Saudi government froze his assets around 20 years ago when they exiled him. Now he gets £3.60 a week benefit.

 

[Sir Frizz]

Originally posted by SomeGuy
Minor correction - The Saudi government froze his assets around 20 years ago when they exiled him. Now he gets £3.60 a week benefit.

 

[Summo]

Also, If you missed it you can catch the telethon again tonight at 10:20 on BBC1.

See you there!

 

[Stazbumpa]

I dont remember anyone singing their heads off when the IRA bombed Manchester city center or Londons docklands or even when that "Real IRA" bomb went off in Omagh.

'Tis strange.

 

[Wij]

Yeh, but at least Americans now seem to realise that terrorism isn't as glamorous and cool as they previously thought. Plus the fact that they have found out that the IRA has links to Columbian drug barons means that the IRA ain't quite so popular in the US as they were a mere year ago.