I would like to thank
- Thread starter Gonz
- Start date
SouthernN'Proud
Southern Discomfort
Good point. I hadn't even thought about that. Maybe we ought to start whining and begging like we hear every time something happens elsewhere. That, or start taking notes.
crystal scan
Banned
what fucking sucks is that i live near Gas Refineis and we pay the highest for GAS 
I liked this story eal well.....
Katrina Prompts Global Support for Victims
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]
Wednesday August 31, 2005 6:31 PM[/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]
AP Photo LADM102
By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - From papal prayers to telegrams from China, the world reacted with an outpouring of compassion Wednesday for the American victims of Hurricane Katrina, even moved to offer aid at the sight of what nature could do to a wealthy and powerful country.
Images of flood-ravaged New Orleans earned particular sympathy in central Europe, where dozens died in raging floodwaters only days ago.
``Nature proved that no matter how rich and economically developed you are, you can't fight it,'' said Danut Afasei, a local official in Romania's Harghita county, where flooding killed 13 people last week.
Throughout Europe, concerned citizens were keeping a close eye on events as they lamented the loss of life and the damage caused to New Orleans, often described as one of the North America's most ``European'' cities.
French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder sent messages of sympathy to U.S. President George W. Bush. Chirac, who has famously quarreled with Bush over the Iraq war, addressed his letter, ``Dear George.''
Pope Benedict XVI said he was praying for victims of the ``tragic'' hurricane while China's President Hu Jintao expressed his ``belief that that the American people will definitely overcome the natural disaster and rebuild their beautiful homeland.''
Queen Elizabeth II sent a message to Bush saying she was ``deeply shocked and saddened'' at the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday.
In the message, the British monarch expressed her sympathies to the people of the United States, ``especially to the families of those who have lost their lives, to the injured and to all who have been affected by this terrible disaster.''
The U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland - a capital at the foot of the Alps hit by flooding last week - said calls were rushing in from Swiss individuals and institutions looking for a way to donate to relief efforts.
``We are getting calls from the Swiss public looking to express their condolences (and) people are also asking for an account number where they can make donations,'' said spokesman Daniel Wendell.
Earlier this week, the American Embassy donated US$50,000 (euro40,990) to help Swiss relief groups. Several communities in Switzerland remain virtually cut off from the outside world and reliant on air transport for essential supplies. The international oil company BP PLC's foundation donated US$1 million (euro819,806) for Katrina victims.
The Internet-edition Vienna daily Der Standard recorded 820 postings commenting on a front-page story on the hurricane. One of the postings, signed ``Emerald,'' asked where donations could be sent, sparking debate about whether a rich country such as the United States needed such aid.
In response, a posting signed ``far out'' said sending aid to homeless in New Orleans made just as much sense as donating to the poor in Sudan.
``Poor is poor, regardless of where,'' the entry said.
Amid the sympathy, however, there was criticism.
Islamic extremists rejoiced in America's misfortune, giving the storm a military rank and declaring in Internet chatter that ``Private'' Katrina had joined the global jihad. With ``God's help,'' they declared, oil prices would hit US$100 a barrel this year.
As U.S. military engineers struggled to shore up breached levees, experts in the Netherlands expressed surprise that New Orleans' flood systems failed to restrain the raging waters.
With half of the country's population of 16 million living below sea level, the Netherlands has been preparing since floods in 1953 that killed 2,000 people. The nation installed massive hydraulic sea walls known as the Delta Works.
``I don't want to sound overly critical, but it's hard to imagine that (the damage caused by Katrina) could happen in a Western country,'' Ted Sluijter, press spokesman for Neeltje Jans, the public park where the Delta Works are exhibited. ``It seemed like plans for protection and evacuation weren't really in place, and once it happened, the coordination'' was poor.
Both Katrina and the floods in Europe prove that all countries needed to be prepared for the worst, said Salvano Briceno, director of the Geneva-based U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.
``Anyone can be affected, any day, anywhere by disaster originated by a natural hazard,'' Briceno told journalists. ``Urban risks, the degradation of the environment and global warming make disaster reduction a top priority for all governments' agenda.''
The sympathy was muted in some corners by a sense that the United States reaped what it sowed, since the country is seen as the main contributor to the global warming that may be behind such furies of nature.
European media in particular raised long-standing criticism of American environmental policy, which they maintain contributes to global warming and natural catastrophes such as Katrina.
The Lausanne-based daily 24 Heures warned that even greater disasters may be around the corner and asked what was being done to prepare by the end of the century for ``the exodus of 150 million refugees caused by the rising of the oceans.''
Joern Ehlers, a spokesman for WWF Germany, said global warming had increased the intensity of hurricanes such as Katrina, but that it was unclear whether climate change had made them more common.
In general, ``natural catastrophes are more extreme and occur more often'' due to global warming, he said, noting that Germany had been struck with three severe floods in the past six years.
Though no conclusions can be drawn from a single event such as Katrina, that storm ``fits into the picture of modern climate researchers. It's a building block in the global warming theory.''
Aside from its tragic aftermath, Katrina might help people understand the urgency of global warming effects, Ehlers said. But do the Americans, infamous for consuming massive amounts of energy, have themselves to blame?
``I wouldn't go that far,'' Ehlers said. ``But it's a fact that the Americans have a big impact on the greenhouse effect.''
Harlan L. Watson, the U.S. envoy for negotiations on climate change, disputed Ehlers' assessment during a trip to Geneva. He denied there was a link between global warming and the strength of Katrina.
``Our scientists are telling us right now that there's not a linkage,'' he said. ``I'll rely on their information.''
--- Associated Press Writers Susanna Loof, Bradley S. Klapper, Alexander G. Higgins and Anca Teodorescu contributed to this story.
[/font]
Katrina Prompts Global Support for Victims
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]
Wednesday August 31, 2005 6:31 PM[/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]
AP Photo LADM102
By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - From papal prayers to telegrams from China, the world reacted with an outpouring of compassion Wednesday for the American victims of Hurricane Katrina, even moved to offer aid at the sight of what nature could do to a wealthy and powerful country.
Images of flood-ravaged New Orleans earned particular sympathy in central Europe, where dozens died in raging floodwaters only days ago.
``Nature proved that no matter how rich and economically developed you are, you can't fight it,'' said Danut Afasei, a local official in Romania's Harghita county, where flooding killed 13 people last week.
Throughout Europe, concerned citizens were keeping a close eye on events as they lamented the loss of life and the damage caused to New Orleans, often described as one of the North America's most ``European'' cities.
French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder sent messages of sympathy to U.S. President George W. Bush. Chirac, who has famously quarreled with Bush over the Iraq war, addressed his letter, ``Dear George.''
Pope Benedict XVI said he was praying for victims of the ``tragic'' hurricane while China's President Hu Jintao expressed his ``belief that that the American people will definitely overcome the natural disaster and rebuild their beautiful homeland.''
Queen Elizabeth II sent a message to Bush saying she was ``deeply shocked and saddened'' at the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday.
In the message, the British monarch expressed her sympathies to the people of the United States, ``especially to the families of those who have lost their lives, to the injured and to all who have been affected by this terrible disaster.''
The U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland - a capital at the foot of the Alps hit by flooding last week - said calls were rushing in from Swiss individuals and institutions looking for a way to donate to relief efforts.
``We are getting calls from the Swiss public looking to express their condolences (and) people are also asking for an account number where they can make donations,'' said spokesman Daniel Wendell.
Earlier this week, the American Embassy donated US$50,000 (euro40,990) to help Swiss relief groups. Several communities in Switzerland remain virtually cut off from the outside world and reliant on air transport for essential supplies. The international oil company BP PLC's foundation donated US$1 million (euro819,806) for Katrina victims.
The Internet-edition Vienna daily Der Standard recorded 820 postings commenting on a front-page story on the hurricane. One of the postings, signed ``Emerald,'' asked where donations could be sent, sparking debate about whether a rich country such as the United States needed such aid.
In response, a posting signed ``far out'' said sending aid to homeless in New Orleans made just as much sense as donating to the poor in Sudan.
``Poor is poor, regardless of where,'' the entry said.
Amid the sympathy, however, there was criticism.
Islamic extremists rejoiced in America's misfortune, giving the storm a military rank and declaring in Internet chatter that ``Private'' Katrina had joined the global jihad. With ``God's help,'' they declared, oil prices would hit US$100 a barrel this year.
As U.S. military engineers struggled to shore up breached levees, experts in the Netherlands expressed surprise that New Orleans' flood systems failed to restrain the raging waters.
With half of the country's population of 16 million living below sea level, the Netherlands has been preparing since floods in 1953 that killed 2,000 people. The nation installed massive hydraulic sea walls known as the Delta Works.
``I don't want to sound overly critical, but it's hard to imagine that (the damage caused by Katrina) could happen in a Western country,'' Ted Sluijter, press spokesman for Neeltje Jans, the public park where the Delta Works are exhibited. ``It seemed like plans for protection and evacuation weren't really in place, and once it happened, the coordination'' was poor.
Both Katrina and the floods in Europe prove that all countries needed to be prepared for the worst, said Salvano Briceno, director of the Geneva-based U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.
``Anyone can be affected, any day, anywhere by disaster originated by a natural hazard,'' Briceno told journalists. ``Urban risks, the degradation of the environment and global warming make disaster reduction a top priority for all governments' agenda.''
The sympathy was muted in some corners by a sense that the United States reaped what it sowed, since the country is seen as the main contributor to the global warming that may be behind such furies of nature.
European media in particular raised long-standing criticism of American environmental policy, which they maintain contributes to global warming and natural catastrophes such as Katrina.
The Lausanne-based daily 24 Heures warned that even greater disasters may be around the corner and asked what was being done to prepare by the end of the century for ``the exodus of 150 million refugees caused by the rising of the oceans.''
Joern Ehlers, a spokesman for WWF Germany, said global warming had increased the intensity of hurricanes such as Katrina, but that it was unclear whether climate change had made them more common.
In general, ``natural catastrophes are more extreme and occur more often'' due to global warming, he said, noting that Germany had been struck with three severe floods in the past six years.
Though no conclusions can be drawn from a single event such as Katrina, that storm ``fits into the picture of modern climate researchers. It's a building block in the global warming theory.''
Aside from its tragic aftermath, Katrina might help people understand the urgency of global warming effects, Ehlers said. But do the Americans, infamous for consuming massive amounts of energy, have themselves to blame?
``I wouldn't go that far,'' Ehlers said. ``But it's a fact that the Americans have a big impact on the greenhouse effect.''
Harlan L. Watson, the U.S. envoy for negotiations on climate change, disputed Ehlers' assessment during a trip to Geneva. He denied there was a link between global warming and the strength of Katrina.
``Our scientists are telling us right now that there's not a linkage,'' he said. ``I'll rely on their information.''
--- Associated Press Writers Susanna Loof, Bradley S. Klapper, Alexander G. Higgins and Anca Teodorescu contributed to this story.
[/font]
crystal scan
Banned
samcurry said:
to much to read
Gato_Solo
Out-freaking-standing OTC member
SouthernN'Proud
Southern Discomfort
samcurry said:
Not another fucking dime to anyone anywhere, except Switzerland. Ever.
errrrr...That's a province.Gato_Solo said:Nice. One town.
And...they're not really in a twist, although I know you dearly wish they were.
I was just saying um Gonz, NOT. Since he brought it up and all.
Oh, and since your news agencies are everso informative, link, it isn't just one province.
Sorry, no fight. Please try again.
crystal scan
Banned
Leslie said:
i am a internet whorev
Gato_Solo
Out-freaking-standing OTC member
Leslie said:errrrr...That's a province.
My bad.
I knew it was a province, but I also thought it was a town. 
Leslie said:
Just so's I could untwist them when Paul ain't lookin.
Leslie said:
It was when this was first posted.
Leslie said:
But you turn the most attractive shade of violet...
crystal scan
Banned
so is any one else a internet whore