Devastation in Philippines...
Pics & story at
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2496954/Starvation-fear-land-laid-waste-200mph-typhoon-killed-10-000-Dazed-survivors-scour-streets-food-mobs-attack-aid-trucks-Philippines.html
www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-10/in-pictures3a-super-typhoon-haiyan/5081386
Pretty Devastating. 10,000 dead, 4 million affected. Canadian government is matching it's citizen'd donations dollar for dollar. Our government, meanwhile, has offered a whopping $400,000, or less than 6 month's worth of the former Opposition Leader's personal expense claims. Let's hope they're shamed into upping the assistance a bit.
Related clickbait headline from Fairfax "Kitesurfers caught in typhoon". Actual story: they're safe, they hunkered down in the hills.
www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/queensland-men-on-kite-surfing-holiday-caught-in-typhoon-haiyan-20131111-2xamo.html
Dont whinge about our government not doing enough. We have just had horrible bush fires and cyclone season is coming up.
Charity begins at home.
Select to expand quotemattkennedy said..
Dont whinge about our government not doing enough. We have just had horrible bush fires and cyclone season is coming up.
Charity begins at home.
Let's be clear, what you're actually saying is "Charity ends at home".
The government has just cut 4.5 Billion dollars from the foreign aid budget. Are you really too cheap want to re-allocate some of that savings, even a few paltry million, to the survivors of this crisis?
Dont try and twist my words. What I am saying is dont you go sooking because we havent done enough, we hvae our own problems to deal with and our own people to help first. Simple as that
Select to expand quotemattkennedy said..
End of conversation. This is a kiteboarding forum.
Are you new around here? Conversations over because you say so? LOL. I'd love it if things worked like that. 
This is a thread about the Typhoon, and discussion of our response to the Typhoon is relevant. And important. And will continue.
No conversation is over because this is a kiteboarding forum. If you want to preach your views go do it elsewhere
Oh and dave theres no need to quote what I say before you respond, its already there for all to see
Select to expand quotemattkennedy said..
No conversation is over because this is a kiteboarding forum. If you want to preach your views go do it elsewhere
How do you feel about OP starting the thread in the kiteboarding forum?
dave, please leave your labor bias political rant fin the "foil hat", sorry, "heavy weather" section 
After initially pledging $400,000 for the devastated Philippines, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop pledged announced aid of $10 million.
That is somewhat more appropriate.
Meanwhile there are still houses in brisbane affected from the floods, towns in north qld levelled by cyclones, places in victoria and new south wales burnt from bushfire and are still needing help by do gooders like quoteboy dave want more money to be spent overseas. Its horrible what happened over there but we need our stuff fixed first
My best kiting mate is in the Philippines ,right up north in Saud Beach Pudapud,he is OK,
but his girlfriend went back to Tacloban 14 days ago too visit her family for 2 weeks,she was with 10 family members in a small concrete building with a tin roof the last time he talked to her just as the wind was going mental 
he has not heard from her since the typhoon hit
there is still no electricity or phone signal in Tacolban 
Hope she and her family are OK 
Australians who lose their homes in fires, floods and cyclones are (should be) covered by insurance and for the most part are looked after pretty damn well by our government.
There is simply NO comparison with a family in the Philippines living on $1 or $2 a day who lost their tin shack of a home, all of their meager possessions, their livelihood, have no food or fresh water or medical care and have virtually nobody there to help them. Have some compassion!
Mattkenedy, do you have aksa insurance? Or would you expect the the government to bail you out in the case of a freak accident?
The foreign charity vs domestic charity argument is largely irrelevant anyway. It comes from different bucket and one doesn't impact the other.
www.theage.com.au/world/asia/australian-aid-sets-the-standard-oxfam-20050106-gdzbcn.html
To put the original 400k figure into perspective, John Howard pledged 1 billion dollars in aid after the tsunami.
The reality is that we are very close to, if not, the richest country in the world right now. We can afford to help and we should.
Yeah I do willstar and this is nothing about that. Im saying its crap that we have people likekiteboydave who whinge when we dont do enough for other cocountries yet ours isnt looked after that well is it.
Like I said this is a kiteboarding forum not a place for people like you or him to force your political views down everyones throat
Select to expand quotemattkennedy said..
its crap
people likekiteboydave who whinge
Dont whinge
dont you go sooking
No conversation is over (translation: this conversation is over)
preach your views go do it elsewhere
do gooders like quoteboy dave
we need our stuff fixed first
Im saying its crap
force ..down everyones throat
Considering I've brought only calm, rational discussion (except 1 slightly political line), you're looking a little over-emotional and.. well... not really a very nice human being.
Select to expand quoteKozzie said..
is boracay and cuyu okay?!
I have heard that Boracay is OK,I have friends on Cuyo but have not heard anything from there yet
we gave a billion to Indo and they bombed the flickennnkk outa our Aussie tourists.(twice).....let 'em save themselves I say.
They hate us whether we do or don't help.
The Indo government didnt bomb Aussie tourists, terrorists did. The Indo government (or rather the judiciary) executed them, and all of that took place long before the tsunami. F*ck me there's some ignorant morons on here, I thought kiters were a better bunch than this.
Select to expand quotestabber said...
we gave a billion to Indo and they bombed the flickennnkk outa our Aussie tourists.(twice).....let 'em save themselves I say.
They hate us whether we do or don't help.
How the **** has that got anything to with Philippines you ignorant **** let alone being completely incorrect.
My mum was from tacloban - we've got in contact with the family via a Red Cross satellite phone there all safe.
All il say stab is that I bet you would be one of these guys who has the "**** off were full" sticker on the back of your car. Your lucky this is over the Internet and not in person.
Select to expand quotestabber said..
we gave a billion to Indo and they bombed the flickennnkk outa our Aussie tourists.(twice).....let 'em save themselves I say.
They hate us whether we do or don't help.
if i had knob heads pissing up against my house every night of the week id wanna blow them up
Good to hear your Mums family are safe Arloj, the damage in Tacloban looked absolutely horrendous. You must be pretty relieved.
It's going to be a long way back for those communities.
it always amazes me how those who least deseve or can handle natural disasters are punished, this is the 21st typhoon this year, its amazing how they keep getting back up , aussie spirit ( b88888cks) just my personal oppinion
Select to expand quoteDave Whettingsteel said...
Good to hear your Mums family are safe Arloj, the damage in Tacloban looked absolutely horrendous. You must be pretty relieved.
It's going to be a long way back for those communities.
Thanks mate, the whole city is leveled pretty much. Disease is what's everyone concerned about now
