Haiti

[John]

You raise a good point about our own natural disasters.

There are many people either uninsured by cost or a growing
number who are unable to get cover for flood risk.

Just what government help to rebuild is extended to them - the answer zero.

They provide a kick back Floodline 0845 that can cost up to £2.50 pence
a minute from a mobile.

Why are the flood victims so quiet about all this?

[Aptis]

John

    Because we are of that British character of the last war variety (WW11) Stiff upper lip and take it on the chin. This is why we don’t speak out or make their voices heard.

    Not me, since I retired and found time on my hands I have up to now complained to – The White House, MI6, the Queen, the Japanese embassy, the Israeli embassy, the Danish embassy and the French embassy. As well as all the media outlets in this country, newspapers in America and Australia, D Cameron, my MP and 10 Downing Street.
 
   And it is time that we found some communal backbone and told all these self serving leeches exactly what we expect from them. The primary objective being – Look after the people in this country first. Not those who live in other countries who have their own governments to look after them. It is no wonder that pensioners never get a decent rise because they never push for one; they always sit on their hands and accept what these cretins are prepared to hand out.

   We all seem to forget that each and every singe MP is OUR employee, and nothing more! These people work for us and we let them walk all over us. If anyone wants to give these hirelings some grief then here are a couple of Numbers. Downing Street, by the way, have recently changed it so that they only have a web site and have dispensed with a public email address; so this is why I use their fax number.   

D cameron ---camerond@parliament.uk

10 Downing Street --- (Fax number 020 7925 0918) 

If you want newspaper email addresses – just let me know

[John]

Thanks for that.

You may find it useful to look at matters close to home as well.
That is the local Council and local Councillors.

Many get paid and have expenses etc.

Council Tax is not reducing. Are we really getting value for
money - or  in some areas, any value for money?

You may have looked who actually supposedly represents
your interests from the ground up. There are loads,
most only bothering to communicate when they need
your vote.

Thousands of Quangos to discover etc.

This is why to me the buck stops with Brown on UK matters.

On European matters, one of the European Commissioners
depending on their Portfolio.

The bureaucracy is hardcore of course.

But at least you know the system and can see how much is
being wasted in your name.

An inverted democracy pyramid.

[Oldwrinklyone]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/7005853/Haiti-earthquake-police-open-fire-on-looters.html

Two plane loads of volunteers from the Brixton area of London will be flying out soon to help with the looting.

[John]

Now Now

I could never imagine that - not much I couldn't...

[Aptis]

John


Re: things closer to home

   I am not avers to that either, where I live used to be strewn with litter and there was no real attempt to make matters any better. So about three years ago I locked horns with the local council on the matter, I reported to their site in on a DAILY basis (with pictures) the mess that lay underfoot. I even went to the trouble of opening a web site to shame this council into doing something about the litter in the area, add this to the letters sent to local and national newspapers as well as my MP and eventually things were done. I closed down that site about 6 months ago.

   The point is that if we sit on our hands and wait for others to change our lives ----- it will not happen. You have to make your voice heard, this is how these immigrants get on; because they are not afraid to come forward and ask for what they want. We must do the same and not be backward in coming forward, after all at our age what do we have to lose. And it is so easy now, no buying stamps, no trailing to the post box, just turn on that machine and send an email and COMPLAIN. We as a group (pensioners) have the ability and the voting power to make these government workers (MPs) sit up and listen. If these self-serving, money hungry, greedy, parasites never hear our complaints then they will ignore us! I for one refuse to be ignored, I intend to make as much of a nuisance of myself as is possible.

    Come on in and join me ---- complain --- THEY CANT SHOOT YOU FOR IT

NB
        By the by there is one drawback to sending letters to Downing Street, Cameron or your MP; that is you will start getting letters from the House of Commons. They always reply to you, I have enough letters to paper two rooms, some I have not even opened.

       If you do decide to complain to the House of Corruption then make sure that you ask a question --- that way they have to rely to it.

     “When is this prime minister going to concentrate on those at home who deserve financial help rather than bestowing millions of tax payer’s money on foreigners to make himself look important?”

    This kind of thing; that way it makes them work to send a reply.



This is one that I sent by fax not too long ago was:-

   Now that we have MPs calling for a 70 million cap on the population of this country; and considering that this Labour government is following its own philosophical ideology on the immigration problem, without any regard to what the country thinks:-
 
   What limits does the Prime Minister wish to put on immigration, is it 100 million 150 million, or 200 million?

   Why has immigration been allowed to increase to this level in the first place, without any concerns for the immigrant rate of reproduction and the strain that this puts on our resources?

   When will this woolly minded nonsense stop, in seeking a multicultural society that has already proved to be a failure?

   Will this prospective PM stop the immigration of potential terrorists into this country?
 
    Even if there are immigrants in this country that do not follow the extremists; how can those in authority tell if their children or children's children will not follow that path? 

    Why have so many immigrants been allowed into this country when this was not on any manifesto and there was no mandate for it?
 
    With so many illegal immigrants in this country now, how do we know that we have not breached the 70 million mark already?
 

[Papaumau]

I think you will find that "money" donated to this fund will not go to the country in the form of cash.

There are a number of aid agencies out there that know exactly how to get practical help to those that need it without actually giving them any money.

I mean groups like Medicines San Frontieres, Red Cross and others that are expert in this task. They need money to do what they do best.

The only barriers to doing this - so far in Haiti - is the facts that the security infrastructure of the country is non-existent and the communication infrastructure - and roads and rails - are also destroyed by the earthquake.

This means that practical aid is really hard to get to where it is needed quickly and means that we and others - and especialy America - have to bring in the troops and the rescue-workers and the food, water, medicine, clothing and shelter that is desperateely needed ASAP. This ALL costs money !

[Aptis]

Papaumau


    So you think money would given to Medicines San Frontieres, or other such private concerns to do with as they wish, and once they receive such funds how do we know what use they put it to?
    So let us assume that we give them 10 million, but because of other donations they only use half of that – this means British tax payers money goes into their own coffers for other works. Now if we just stick with Medicines San Frontieres; these are renowned for being in war fronts, so there is no guarantee that British tax payers money will not be used to give aid and succor to the Taliban.
    Would I trust taxpayers money with these private concerns – never, we give too much aid/money to the world as it is. Yet no one gives aid to us. The pensioners get a derisory rise of £2 38 per week and our prime minister gives away millions to African countries for global warming and now another 20 million to help with the quake.
    Oh yes very philanthropic; except where is the aid for the flood victims of a year ago in this country. Why do they still live in caravans and are not back in their homes. Perhaps I hear the answer, “because they were not insured or their insurance was not enough to cover the damage involved.
    Ok this I accept then let’s use this as our yard stick. Why not let the Haitians sort out their own mess because they should have had insurance should they not. The fact that we have people displaced by a natural disaster twelve months on is a disgrace, when we are prepared to help others out of their natural disaster.
    There are a great number of people in this country that cannot see that we no longer have the financial resources to aid all those in this world that need it! 

[Xanado]

Aptis

Absolutely agree, we need to take care of our own before we squander money in foreign lands!


 well said

[Papaumau]

It is sooo easy to fall into the "charity begins at home" cliche and if we all practiced that tenet the whole world would be a lot less civilised !

I have always said that in any rich country like this one, giving to our own poor and destitute should not deny us the chance to give to others that need our help. One should not necessarily be done to the detriment of the other !

Now to Aptis's point......

These international aid agencies are equipped to be able to convert our cash into practical help and such bodies give unqualified help to whoever needs it under whatever circumstances including pandemic diseases, poverty AND war.

Without taking sides in any war these agencies are able to help THE INNOCENTS - who are always the ones that suffer when corrupt or warmongering countries do what they feel the need to do. In fact for us to watch what they do in such difficult circumstances and to stand back and refuse to help where we can says a lot about our ability to call ourselves civilised - or not.

[John]

They also slice at least 10 percent off anything they
get immediately for administration.

That said I am not against Humanitarian Aid.

But it has to be balanced. This is a Country and
People that would come to depend on it.

Do nothing except stand in line all day.

Criminality is bred from laziness, easy money.

[Papaumau]

They also slice at least 10 percent off anything they
get immediately for administration.

That said I am not against Humanitarian Aid.

But it has to be balanced. This is a Country and
People that would come to depend on it.

Do nothing except stand in line all day.

Criminality is bred from laziness, easy money.

I agree that all of these international aid groups have to take some of the money given to finance administration costs, ( this is unavoidable ). What I have always said is that if any of these groups are wasteful or inefficient with this part of the money they should be de-listed from charitable status. Sadly, the authorities are not always good at doing this job.

The international aid packages are usually separated into two forms: 1). The acute needs...and...2). The long-term needs.

These needs are approached in different ways so that the countries that are receiving this aid do NOT become dependent on it in their routine lives.

After the acute needs have been serviced - like rescue, basic medical aid, the delivery of water and food and shelter the delivery of this aid then should shift into the second form of aid.

After the help has been given that is essential for the sustaining of life then the people need to become capable of long term self-help. This is usally done via the delivery of good education and  by helping the national government infrastructure to get back to normal. Once this has been done the effected people can then be left to get on with rebuilding their own lives.

[John]

In an ideal World it is.

If the aid is not distributed properly, it will end up as a black market product.

We both agree on this.

Haiti is particularly prone to this. This is not knocking the people.
They have developed street trading as a way of making a living.

There is very little else within that framework.

If people had a better standard of living - more would have been
killed in better property.

How poverty can sometimes save your life...

[Papaumau]

Black markets rising out of badly distributed international aid are endemic to most of these countries as the local police and militia are often as corrupt as the governments have been.

This is no reason for NOT giving aid as I am sure that for every ten aid parcels that are delivered nine of them will actually get through to the people that need them.

That is why we often need to give security aid along with the rest of the materials that are provided as we are responsible for seeing that the aid that WE pay for gets to those that really need it.

Once the main hiatus is over and lives have been saved by protecting them from disease,  lack of clean water and acute hunger we really have to move out and allow them to help themselves. I have great hope that the aid agencies know all about this.

[John]

There are many myths associated with Haiti.

They have sufficient potable water from at least 10 wells.

They have never been short of water.

Helping each other or even organising themselves is another.

There is also food.

Don't get me wrong - I believe that disasters in the UK would
not have to be that large to bring it to a standstill.

A few people placed on overhead motorway gantries threatening
to jump could do this.

I am saying that any assistance must match the Country
and its ambitions.

That aid must not be put into place - where the populous come
to depend on it.