$50k. That'll entice Italy to send troops to Afghanistan. Wonder if Obama's keeping a list? [rquoter]The United States said Monday it would donate 50,000 dollars in emergency aid to Italy after a powerful earthquake killed at least 100 people. "We send our heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed in the earthquake. Our embassy in Rome will provide 50,000 (dollars) in emergency relief funding," State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters. Italian authorities told the United States they did not need rescue teams, Wood said. President Barack Obama earlier offered his condolences on a visit to Turkey and voiced hope that the United States could send rescuers. The earthquake killed at least 100 people and injured 1,500 more as it reduced medieval buildings to rubble in the central town of L'Aquila. Wood said there were no reports of US citizens among the dead or injured but that the US embassy in Rome was reaching out to Americans living in the region.[/rquoter]
I know it's too hard for a guy acting like a total d-bag in the middle of one of his d-threads to understand, but the budget for the US Embassy in Rome is probably not unlimited, and this is a symbolic gesture that the Embassy is making as a guest in Rome. But spice it with a couple of lies and intentional obfuscation and bang - you have a nice little d-thread.
well, looks like the Material Girl trumps Obama. [rquoter]Madonna vows $500G for Italy earthquake victims - 10 times what the U.S. government sent BY HELEN KENNEDY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Thursday, April 9th 2009, 4:00 AM Not-so-Material Girl Madonna pledged $500,000 for victims of Italy's terrible earthquake on Wednesday - 10 times what the U.S. government sent. The mayor of Pacentro, the Abruzzi mountain village where Madonna Ciccone's paternal grandparents were born, reached out to the pop star, who is practically a holy icon in town, and begged for help. Fernando Caparso, mayor of the medieval village of 1,300 souls about 60 miles from the epicenter of Monday's quake, said the singer quickly called with her generous offer. "I am happy to lend a helping hand to the town that my ancestors are from," Madonna told People magazine. Caparso called it "a beautiful thing" and a big help for the people of the devastated regional capital L'Aquila. On Monday, the State Department announced it was sending $50,000 in emergency relief funds. President Obama has told Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that the U.S. stands ready if called on for help. Dozens of Italian-American communities are also gathering donations. In L'Aquila, the death toll climbed to 272, 16 of them children. About 100 people remained critically injured, 30 were missing and 28,000 were left homeless. Digging will continue until Sunday. As hopes faded that anyone else would be found alive in the rubble, the funerals began. Soccer player Giuseppe Chiavaroli, 24, was carried to his final rest by his teammates, his sky-blue jersey draped across the top of his coffin. Friday has been declared a national day of mourning and a group funeral will be held. The Vatican had to grant a dispensation for the funeral Mass: Good Friday, which marks the day Jesus was crucified, is the only day on which Mass is not usually celebrated. The funeral will be held in a police barracks - all of L'Aquila's churches have either collapsed or are unsafe to enter. Pope Benedict said he will visit "as soon as possible." Berlusconi, visiting the survivors, touchingly comforted distraught seniors but then struck false notes by bragging about what he's been through. "I've beaten a personal endurance record: 44 hours without sleep," said the 72-year-old premier. He brushed off criticism of his comment that those left huddled in tent cities should think of it as a "camping weekend." "Sometimes, even during a tragedy like this, you've got to smile because you can't get results without optimism," he said.[/rquoter]
For a country that is throwing around money like it's nothing, $50,000 does sound kind of insulting. I probably would have exteneded an offer to help as Obama did, but not send the 50,000 unless they asked for money.
Didn't the state department authorize it though? I'm not really trying to bash anyone, just think not sending any money at this time is probably better than sending such a small amount.
$50K may seem a bit paltry, but proportionally it is far more than the U.S. government aid ($500K, under the Bush administration) to China's Sichuan earthquake relief, based on the human casualties and magnitude of destructions. Plus, the U.S. was in a much better shape then (perceptually or otherwise) to offer monetary help.
Keep in mind that Berlusconi has said that Italy doesn't need foriegn aid to deal with the earthquake.
Um... No he's not. Or when you say "territory," do you mean he hasn't posted completely myopic illogical partisan swill based in Italia yet? That could be true.
LOL, use another converter And you know? We are not using Lira since 2002 when they introduced Euros.
well why send money at all to italy? iam opposed to sending money to 1st world countries who are rich and can afford to deal with crisis if we wanna help we dont send money we send men and equipment to help out with the rescue efforts thats all save the money for poor governments and countries that need it
The key there is "AFAIK". Italy's PM has said no to all humanitarian aid offers from other countries, though he is discussing with Obama aid to rebuild some cultural sites. http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SNAA-7QW958?OpenDocument L'AQUILA, Italy, April 7, 2009 (AFP) - Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has declined foreign humanitarian aid following Italy's earthquake, said Tuesday he may accept US aid to restore cultural sites damaged in the disaster. "If the United States wanted to make a concrete gesture of solidarity" it could help in the "reconstruction of cultural heritage and churches," Berlusconi told reporters during a visit to the earthquake zone. The Italian leader said he had made the suggestion in a telephone conversation Tuesday with US President Barack Obama. "He told me it was an excellent idea, and we will talk about it when I see him in Washington," Berlusconi told reporters, referring to a planned visit to the White House on a date yet to be set. In turning down foreign aid offers, the prime minister said earlier: "We are a proud people and we have means."
