Reminder: Great suffering in the Philippines

vinlyn

A great time to donate some funds to help those in critical need of food, water, and shelter as a result of the recent typhoon.

anataman

Great respect and loving-kindness for you @vinlyn - 1 week on and someone is raising awareness of the crisis in the Philippines. :aol:

Straight_Man

anataman said:

Great respect and loving-kindness for you @vinlyn - 1 week on and someone is raising awareness of the crisis in the Philippines. :aol:

Facebook has a donation link up, too. Firefox, for anyone who has an "about" page as homepage, has a link up to the Red Cross donation page below the Google entry box. I will give some in my next budget month, cannot do so now without having to beg for funds myself.

David

We have a donation box at the retirement home where I work.

Makes a body think... This is the planet that's the most hospitable around.

Barra

My Rotary club raised $5,000 this morning that will be matched by the federal government. It will see 10 more Shelterbox shelters sent to the Phillipines. There are lots of ways to help.

misecmisc1

may the people currently suffering in Phillipines be healthy, safe and at peace in themselves.

metta to you and all sentient beings.

cvalue

In Canada, I donated to the Canada Red Cross for Philippines (and not to the other charity organizations) because the government matches my donation with Red Cross.

MaryAnne

If you are unsure of the type of donation most needed (clothing & food, etc. vs cash) or
the best organizations to send your donations to, there are sites devoted to rating them:

http://money.howstuffworks.com/10-worst-things-donate-after-disaster.htm

and

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=1659#.UoUCGuKAfec

and

http://www.guidestar.org/rxg/give-to-charity/donor-resources/tips-for-choosing-a-charity.aspx

footiam

vinlyn said:

A great time to donate some funds to help those in critical need of food, water, and shelter as a result of the recent typhoon.

I heard in TV that a Buddhist group Fo Guang has been there to help.

vinlyn

Do you mean Falun Gong? A controversial Buddhist sect.

footiam

vinlyn said:

Do you mean Falun Gong? A controversial Buddhist sect.

No, not Falun gong. This one is based in Taiwan just like Tzu Chi. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fo_Guang_Shan

Dennis1

Since the war they have steadily improved. Then a few radical grab some power and ask America to get it's self out. We did. Sorry to hear they are doing poorly now. Probably too late to ask us to come back. I wish them luck and yes I am Americocentric.

robot

Dennis1 said:

Since the war they have steadily improved. Then a few radical grab some power and ask America to get it's self out. We did. Sorry to hear they are doing poorly now. Probably too late to ask us to come back. I wish them luck and yes I am Americocentric.

What a weird post.
Maybe you didn't realize that they were doing poorly because they got slammed by the worst typhoon in history.

MaryAnne

Dennis1 said:

Since the war they have steadily improved. Then a few radical grab some power and ask America to get it's self out. We did. Sorry to hear they are doing poorly now. Probably too late to ask us to come back. I wish them luck and yes I am Americocentric.

Very odd position to take - considering they are suffering from a natural disaster.... not some sort of economic downturn because they didn't like America running their country....
I don't get you sometimes, @Dennis1.
Can you explain how and why you feel this way about the Philippines? Or should I just assume to know what you mean by "Americocentric"?

Cinorjer

One thing my long years in the military taught me is that the American bases rarely help the average citizen of the host nation. In the countries I either visited or was stationed at, there is a red light area around the main gates where bars and prostitution flourish, and a few jobs on base done by local businesses, but beyond that the only way our presence helped was an active donation program to the orphanages where the babies our American soldiers created were raised. I suspect it's been that way since the Roman times.

Dennis1

MaryAnne said:

Dennis1 said:

Since the war they have steadily improved. Then a few radical grab some power and ask America to get it's self out. We did. Sorry to hear they are doing poorly now. Probably too late to ask us to come back. I wish them luck and yes I am Americocentric.

Very odd position to take - considering they are suffering from a natural disaster.... not some sort of economic downturn because they didn't like America running their country....
I don't get you sometimes, @Dennis1.
Can you explain how and why you feel this way about the Philippines? Or should I just assume to know what you mean by "Americocentric"?

What I am saying is based on my opinion that America is a positive influence in the world. When the Japanese took the Phillipines they were brutalized-pretty badly.
Before that, earlier in their history they were brutalized by the Spanish. I mean killed and raped and treated like property or slaves. When America went in there they built two nurse training hospitals and trained up a lot of nurses. Those nurses created a lot of skill and well being in the Phillipines. The Clark base in Manila spread well being throughout the Islands. America treated the people like citizens and equals. They prospered. If America were still there and they had this natural disaster the USA would spring into action and be of great service to the people there. Because our presence is so greatly diminished that resource is not available to them now.

History is pretty clear.
When America was asked to leave we left. That was their loss. In a way I am responding to the question about America's military bases by saying, those bases are an asset to the people where they are located. Those bases are removed when the people don't want them. Tyrant Nations don't operate like that. America is a blessing.

Some of the people on this site Are not Americans and they hear Americans putting down their own country and maybe they don't understand. We have freedom and opportunity here as no where else. If those who are here who are ignorant of world history or have a hidden agenda don't feel that way, well I'm sorry about that.
I love this nation and if it fails to be that golden mountain that so many want to get to, because it makes wrong decisions and is equivocal about what is right action and what is destructive of humanity and virtuous aspiration, then that will be a great loss to humanity. So that is what I mean by Americentric.

There is right action and there is wrong action. Buddha made that clear and it is pretty easy to see which is what. Ignorance can cloud important issues. Hidden agendas can complicate simple questions. I am devoted to the Buddha's teachings. I have been for 48 years. I know what he taught. I have learned to discern causes and conditions.

I happily spread the joy of the Buddha's wisdom and accept any help along the way.
If people don't agree that is ok by me and they have a right to speak their own mind-at least here in America. So do I. I do. Best to you, Dennis

MaryAnne

Well @Dennis1, I'm not one to argue the details of history, and it seems you've probably gotten most of that history correct anyway, but how does that explain your apathy for the devastation of the Philippines?

I also love my country, (America) but I'm practical enough to realize it's NOT perfect. We are no longer at the top of the list when it comes to "being First" in a lot of things. Not only are we not at the top number one position (IF we ever were, that is...) but in many cases we're down past the 10th, 15th and even 30th position!

Education? No longer first. Infant Mortality? Not first. Technology? Not first. Leading the world in manufacturing and exporting quality goods? No longer first.
Income equality and standard of living? Not first. And the list goes on....

How did America The Great handle their OWN disasters?
Did you forget Katrina? I know it's been several years- but there are whole neighborhoods that have not survived, or made a "come back" even now. The American government essentially abandoned them.
Superstorm Sandy just happened a little more than a year ago, and thousands of people are still homeless. (My sister in law is one of them). Entire neighborhoods are also still empty, awaiting bulldozers and some relief and help to rebuild...
So I still don't understand your reasoning, that if the Philippines had allowed America to establish themselves in their country - as some sort of a Godfather like presence - well --- that typhoon wouldn't have happened?

Steve_B

Let's say I have a houseguest. The houseguest has a gun, and I say, lovingly, no guns in my house, I'm sorry but the gun can't be here. Then years later a storm destroys my house, and that old previous houseguest graciously brings me supplies. I would be very grateful, but it would not make me wish the guest and the gun had been in my house all along.

robot

As it turns out, many Philipine people would like to see an American base back in their country. The Chinese have been aggressively laying claim to territory in that region lately.
It makes having the other superpower helping to defend your borders more appealing.
I don't think they will have to beg the US to come back either.

http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/operations/231257-philippines-re-opens-military-bases-to-us-forces-

MaryAnne

robot said:

As it turns out, many Philipine people would like to see an American base back in their country. The Chinese have been aggressively laying claim to territory in that region lately.
It makes having the other superpower helping to defend your borders more appealing.
I don't think they will have to beg the US to come back either.

http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/operations/231257-philippines-re-opens-military-bases-to-us-forces-

I'm not so sure this is a good idea.
Are we going to re-establish ourselves as a military presence in the Philippines - and then what? China or the Philippines start some shit with each other (as has already happened) and then there we are- all poised to fight another country's battles, like the Big Brother Bully of the World.

We really need to stay OUT of all the other countries of the world and mind our own business here on our own turf. There are plenty of areas around our own borders and sea coasts that can do with a little military fortifying, instead of fortifying other countries. We could save many many Billions of dollars per year just by bringing our troops home from overseas bases around the world and stopping the flow of money for the leasing (rent) of those bases.

riverflow

Dennis1 said:

Some of the people on this site Are not Americans and they hear Americans putting down their own country and maybe they don't understand. We have freedom and opportunity here as no where else.

...

If people don't agree that is ok by me and they have a right to speak their own mind-at least here in America.

What on earth are you going on about? Have you ever lived outside the US? There are a great deal of countries (OECD) besides the US that have plenty of freedom and opportunity (in certain respects, some countries may even have more than the US). I'm sure many of the non-American folks here can personally attest to that-- I don't think anyone here has been sent to the gulag for speaking their minds...

The US has got a lot of great things about it, and some not-so-great things about it. Like all countries, it's a mixed bag. The US is not the center of the universe. Which reminds me...