Remember who your friends are

[Pete_G]

I see a lot of isolationist proponents and ideas here, but maybe Katrina has shown that we're not quite as capable as we think we are at dealing with disasters of this scale. Terrorists were watching, and they're surely thinking about the fun detonating something nuclear would cause.

Germany offering help and releasing oil into the marketplace

Canada stands by

Of course, many countries have offered nothing more then "condolences"...

Admittedly some barely have any money or aid to spare.

more help and condolences

We may need help in the future, we're not bulletproof. Like many other things wrong with our global policies; foreign aid, both the way it comes in and especially the way it goes out as well as why we're not getting much, needs to be examined.

[BigFish]

This is an example for all of us and I hope the Government takes note....it is time to start taking care of our own!!!!!!!!!! Enough sending millions and millions in aid around the world and none of the countries recieving it appreciates it!!!!!! No more aid I say.....keep our hard earned tax dollars here in our country and take care of our own!

[afterhours]

momma always said to take care of your family first... before the one on the next block.

[Swimmer]

Thats right, family first last, and always.

[Skip N]

Yes no 20 billion dollars for aids relief in africa....Just air drop em all condoms instead and let them go nuts. Its thier own fault they cant keep thier junk in thier pants! I shouldnt be paying for that crap and for peoples stupidity.

[spence]

Originally Posted by Skip N

Yes no 20 billion dollars for aids relief in africa....Just air drop em all condoms instead and let them go nuts. Its thier own fault they cant keep thier junk in thier pants! I shouldnt be paying for that crap and for peoples stupidity.

Sounds like a stupid person making a stupid comment

Love ya skip

-spence

[Squid kids Dad]

Skip..I agree..Condoms or chop chop...It would be for their own good..And for the world...Same should go for this country..

[Skip N]

I know you love me Spence and all my views

[spence]

Well, I'd say the view is of a blindfolded person...but make it plural if you need. Perhaps it's just the local dialect

-spence

[Squid kids Dad]

Spence..Care to offer any other any other resolutions?? No blindfolds here

[Skip N]

The Liberal solution is to throw money at problems and hope it works. 20 billion to Africa isnt going to stop a damn thing

[Bass Babe]

Did we accept the aid from Castro? What a cool dude, offering us stuff when the US is so clearly against Cuba's communism.

[Raven]

that the reason castro stepped up to the plate was humantarian...

more like the port he did many illegal business deals thru is now out of commission....and it's the same deal for venezula's president too...

either that....or they are trying to take advantage of an opportunity to
pay a tribute that will take the heat off of them politically for a short while.

[Skip N]

I hope the Castro being a "cool dude" was sarcasm. They dont get more pitiful than that guy.

[Bass Babe]

Nah, I can think of more pitiful people. He offered medicine, among other things. That wasn't to get his illegal port back online. It was to help people. Yeah, maybe he's thinking ahead to when Cuba gets raped by a hurricane or something, hoping we would offer aid, but I don't think his offering help was all that bad a thing. Maybe I'm just naive or not up on current events, but what horrid things has Cuba done to us in the recent past? Sell us illegal cigars? So they're communist. I think a certain overpopulated country in Asia is as well, but we're okay with them.

[Skip N]

Have you any idea what Castro has done to his people over the years?? He's as bad as they come.

[MAC]

How about the Cuban Missile Crisis? And yes Castro was involved.

[Bass Babe]

The CMC happened when my Dad was young enough and skinny enough to be over there involved in it. That was pretty darn long ago. And Castro's not doing anything to us personally now. Maybe he is a jerkbag to his own people, but why not accept aid? If my neighbor beat his wife and I refused to even look towards his house for years, when my house caught fire and he came outside with a hose, I would not tell him to turn it off.

[Raven]

they make those awesome boats because they love to troll off the cuban coastline.

[spence]

Money is crucial to the problem...without it workers can't help educate the African people.

-spence

[Bass Babe]

Holy heck, I'm really lost on the African thing.

And Raven, I'm fitna get me one'a them Cuban boat thangs. Two vehicles in one!

[Mike P]

I would be willing to bet a substantial amount that Castro offered that money for the sole purpose of embarrassing Bush, knowing that we'd turn it down

Castro is a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them. It's a no-lose proposition on his part. Bush either accepts it and pisses off half of South Florida, or rejects it and looks like an ingrate. Either way, ol' El Jefe comes up smelling like a rose.

[piemma]

Educate hell. I am sick of feeding the masses in Africa so they can make more MASSES. Take care of Americans!!!!

[piemma]

BTW, Spence. You are a great guy. But insulting someone elses opinion is ignorance at the highest level.

[spence]

Paul, SkipN knows I'm just busting his stones. Some people need a little tough love

As for education...I agree we take care of Americans first, but just because Africa is "over there" doesn't mean their problems won't have a negative impact in the USA. The scale of the HIV crisis in some countries is simply beyond comprehension.

-spence

[piemma]

So the answer is for the Good ol' Americans to "educate" them about keeping their weewees in their pants. Not a good subject for an old Vet. Too many memories of "educating" the Far East where a lot of my best friends now lay dead.

[piemma]

Think I should hide for the rest of the day.....

[spence]

It's a completly different problem than STD's in the Western World. People there have no concept of what HIV even is.

I think you could make an isolationist point, if you really didn't believe that HIV around the world had no impact on Americans...but I would think most would agree it does.

This doesn't even include the compassionate aspects of aid, just self interest...

-spence

[Swimmer]

1st, I think we should drop the Cuban thing and established relations with them again. If we did that then eventually Cuba couldn't help but becaome a democracy. They all travel back and forth to here through the other Carribean Islands anyways.

2nd. The condom solution in Africa is silly. When all you have is your body and the pleasure it provides and nothing else no one here has any right to deny them the simple pleasure thier body provides. Throwing money at such an important problem is silly also but thats the liberal democratic way of life.

3rd. I think the residents of the continent of Africa do know what aids is. They see their bretheren die evey day from the disease. Do they have a deep understanding of what a slide looks like in the hemetology department of a hospital that is tainted with aids, probably not. Do they understand how virulent the pink and red hues are on that slide affect thier immune system, doubt it? Can they read and write about it as they sit in the sweltering sub-saharan heat, no? But to say they dont have any understanding is shallow at best and patronizing to the black man at its worst. They watch thiers babies, brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers die from a disease that I'm sure they have conjured up thier own words for.

[Swimmer]

Sorry about the spelling in the previous post.