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| Britain |
| UK said to be indifferent to US plight |
| 2005-09-01 |
| f British Prime Minister Tony Blair had not been vacationing in the Caribbean yesterday, it seems a safe bet he would have announced to the world that Britain feels deep sympathy for its freshly wounded ally, the United States. He might have been wrong. In fact, to judge by the reaction of some Londoners yesterday to Katrina's rising death toll, Britons seem to feel the United States is overdrawn on sympathy. In an online discussion group set up by The Guardian newspaper, for example, one man sneered that George W. Bush will "blame global warming, or 'ecological terrorism' for this extreme weather event." Another said the disaster will be all the worse because the National Guard, which so often helps in relief operations, "is in Iraq to provide for the comfort of U.S. occupation forces." And there was much snickering over which wing nut televangelist will attribute the devastation of New Orleans to Genesis 6:13, in which God, about to flood the sinful Earth, tells Noah: "The end of all flesh is come before me ... behold, I will destroy them with the Earth." When bombers struck London's transport system on July 7, Mr. Bush stood respectfully behind Mr. Blair for a news conference at the G8 summit in Scotland. It was a pose that spoke to the special relationship the countries share as fiercely principled allies in an unpopular war. In the days that followed, the floral tributes that piled up in Tavistock Square and King's Cross came in large part from tourists, especially Americans. The scene was much the same that day at the British embassy in Washington, D.C., where one man carried a sign saying, "Today We Are All British." And yet yesterday, as London's afternoon tabloids told of 55 dead and counting -- almost exactly the July 7 death toll -- there was not a tribute to be found. At St. Paul's Cathedral, a meagre stream of tourists passed without stopping through the American Memorial Chapel, leaving votive candles unlit. Grosvenor Square in tony Mayfair was full of people enjoying a hot August sun, but there were no flowers at the foot of Roosevelt's statue. And at the U.S. embassy, the metal fencing was completely empty of condolence cards. Not that consular staff invited sympathy. Their flag flew at full staff, and anyone who tried to plant a bouquet would have been challenged by a heavily armed police officer. But it seemed incongruous that such a calamity could pass unnoticed in an allied capital. One woman who joined the Guardian discussion group struck a conciliatory note for those whose disdain for the war on terror seems to have hardened their hearts. "I lived in America once," she wrote, "and whatever my feelings about the current administration, I have great memories of Americans' kindness and hospitality. We need to pray for, or at least to wish well tonight, the people of Louisiana." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #35 that's just nasty |
| Posted by: Jan 2005-09-01 23:49 |
| #34 BTW: Next time Iran gets hit by an earthquake or Indonesia is plowed again by a Tsunami, I'm sending a stool-bag sample of my heaviest excrement, replete with corn, to the nearest Relief Agency collecting on behalf of these nations. |
| Posted by: The Angry Fliegerabwehrkanonen 2005-09-01 23:10 |
| #33 The kindest words of sympathy and offers of Senior Kuwaiti Official: "Katrina is a Wind of Torment and Evil from Allah Sent to This American Empire" |
| Posted by: The Angry Fliegerabwehrkanonen 2005-09-01 23:08 |
| #32 wanker = chronic masturbater see Atom Film's Angry Kid |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-09-01 22:24 |
| #31 mom, whinge is just British for the American whine. Much like wanker is British for ... actually, I don't know what the American equivalent would be, but it isn't a nice thing to be called. Somewhere on the web there is a British/American dictionary that translates many of these terms. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-09-01 22:06 |
| #30 Several German relief organizations have put up accounts where Germans can donate and they say money is flowing in now that people start to realize how huge the disaster is. Germany has also offered to help with water treatment plants and mobile accommodation. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2005-09-01 21:05 |
| #29 Fooey BAR. I was hoping to hear one run. I understand they are loud. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-09-01 18:07 |
| #28 So if he's in the Grauniad he's a Left Whinger then? |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2005-09-01 17:44 |
| #27 mom whinge v. To whinge can best be described as to whine. Likewise, someone particularly partial to whinging is known as a whinger. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom 2005-09-01 16:47 |
| #26 These suckers were brought out of retirement. Fireup the Centennials.... Can't. Only 6936 is in operable condition; all the rest have been donated to various locales (6946 at Portola is in sad shape BTW - rust is beginning to form in places). Of course, UP does have 62 6000HP SD90ACs at its disposal.... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-09-01 15:17 |
| #25 I may have spoken too soon. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,168203,00.html Offers have been received from Russia, Japan, Canada, France, Honduras, Germany, Venezuela, Jamaica, Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, China, South Korea, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, NATO and the Organization of American States, the spokesman said. |
| Posted by: BH 2005-09-01 15:16 |
| #24 It's better to tend bar in the French Quarter with a shutter gun and knee deep in swamp water than to live the PC EU Socialist Slave life. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-09-01 14:54 |
| #23 The world is reminded that they don't have enough dough to help us thru 1 week. Meanwhile the tidal wave is handled thru Uncles pocket change and excess amphibious forces. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-09-01 14:51 |
| #22 I agree with everything you said. I just think that somebody has to point out the discrepancy. If it makes people feel better to send their own money to E. B., go for it. I just think we could throw all the tsunami aid into a pit and set it on fire, for all the good it did. A policy of mutual disinterest might be best for everyone. |
| Posted by: BH 2005-09-01 14:04 |
| #21 If the world wants to say "F*ck you" when the US has a problem, that's fine. Personally, I don't think we need their help. We have plenty of money, equipment, and expertise right here. The problems right now are logistics and bureaucratic bumbling, and foreign assistance is not going to eliminate those. Furthermore, I don't really want to hear later how France sent us a couple of cases of Perrier when we needed it, so we should play along when they want our cooperation on some boneheaded French idea. I'm glad we're rich enough to toss East Bumfuckadoria a few bucks when necessary, which makes them beholden to us (though as you point out they don't always see it that way). That's the situation to be in. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2005-09-01 13:37 |
| #20 It isn't about "manning up", it's about playing by the same rules. If the world wants to say "F*ck you" when the US has a problem, that's fine. We can handle it. But don't be in such a frickin hurry to spend MY money the next time East Bumfuckadoria gets nailed by a typhoon. Maybe we could put Angie on tv to tell them "Man up, you pansies." |
| Posted by: BH 2005-09-01 12:37 |
| #19 Man up, you pansies. Well said Angie. That one is going on my hardhat. The show must go on. Play hurt. |
| Posted by: Zpaz 2005-09-01 12:31 |
| #18 Why is anyone surprised here? Florida got hit with -- what was it? four? -- hurricanes last year. We get earthquakes and wildfires and blizzards and crap all the time. If the British laid wreaths every time something like that happened, the US embassy be knee-deep in flowers, all the time. Man up, you pansies. 9/11 and the London bombies were catastrophies of an entirely different order. What we got here is a bunch of sniggering Canadians trying to prove something by reading the Guardian, fer Gawd's sake. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2005-09-01 12:02 |
| #17 I must say, I found the outpouring of sympathy from the people of Thailand especially heartwarming. I'm expecting to hear -- probably on Saturday -- of all sorts of heartwarming sentiments from the mosques of Indonesia. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-09-01 11:36 |
| #16 Cape Girardeau is a little bit north of the Ohio junction. They're probably stopping Ohio River traffic at Cairo, Il or Paducah KY How much can be rerouted via the Great Lakes? And just where does the term "whinge" come from? It sounds like a cross between "whine" and 'cringe." |
| Posted by: mom 2005-09-01 11:25 |
| #15 I must say, I found the outpouring of sympathy from the people of Thailand especially heartwarming. |
| Posted by: BH 2005-09-01 11:22 |
| #14 The last time there was a grain emergency - 1978? These suckers were brought out of retirement. Fireup the Centennials.... |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-09-01 11:19 |
| #13 Cape Girardeau is above where the Ohio enters the Mississippi, isn't it? Where's Ohio traffic being stopped? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-09-01 11:11 |
| #12 southbound shipping traffic on the Mississippi has been stopped at Cape Girardeau. They just slow down there to pay respects to Rushbo's birthplace. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-09-01 11:09 |
| #11 The grain harvest is due in the next few weeks. It usually comes down the Mississippi, where the port had the necessary grain elevators etc. for exporting it, both to sell and as aid. And as I read in some article someplace (can't remember where), southbound shipping traffic on the Mississippi has been stopped at Cape Girardeau. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-09-01 11:04 |
| #10 History 101 - Why did Jefferson buy Louisiana? Because he understood that the trans-Appalachian regions of the US needed a port at the end of the Ohio-Mississippi [and soon to be added Missouri] river complex by which bulk commerce could move. That is true today as it was in Jefferson's day over two hundred years ago. As lotp points out the fall grain harvest is due soon. Any country or region that is a grain importer [like Europe] is now faced with throughput shortage. Sort of like when when a refinery planet goes down. Mechanical problems create a shortage. The price of grain is going to driven up, just like gas. Grain is going to have to be locally stored to await its turn in the limited transit system or be further transported increasing costs. Food prices are going to rise for a lot of people in the world. This is just one of the commodities that transited NO and the Gulf Coast. |
| Posted by: Slereger Slitle6846 2005-09-01 10:37 |
| #9 The grain harvest is due in the next few weeks. It usually comes down the Mississippi, where the port had the necessary grain elevators etc. for exporting it, both to sell and as aid. Right you are about impacts .... |
| Posted by: lotp 2005-09-01 10:15 |
| #8 When you consider the mass of US commerce that transits NO and the Gulf Coast, we are about to get an economic impact that will be uncomfortable at best. However, the world is going to really suffer as a consequence, something that hasn't hit them yet. They generally haven't grasped yet how closely their fate is tied to ours. They are about to. |
| Posted by: Slereger Slitle6846 2005-09-01 10:11 |
| #7 What is there downside? We sold food to the Soviets and offered aid to the Iranians after their earthquack. If we help our enemies you can be damn sure we'll be there when our friends need us even if they disrespect us. And we don't need their sympathy or their aid. What we do need is for them to fight the war on terror in their own little corner of Europe. They seem to be doing that these days. I hope they stay focused. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2005-09-01 10:09 |
| #6 Look, really, what's to be surprised about? We always end up digging ourselves out alone whenever there is a tragedy in the US. For example, do you really think that pissy little UN guy from Norway is going to go off about "stingy" nations not donating enough to our relief efforts? Me neither. 9/11 had some sympathy from the world, but precious little material assistance. The carping about how we deserved it began within days. I didn't expect anything different this time. |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2005-09-01 07:54 |
| #5 Oh, I suspect much of the British populace is equally indifferent, if not quietly satisfied. Anti-american kneejerk reactions have been spreading throughout Europe for several decades. I encountered it in the 80s and 90s ... resentment of the Americans in joint businesses, or quiet condescension if not rudeness in stores etc. I am so deeply angry about the state it's reached that it's beyond words for me now. They can all go phuck themselves royally -- and I'll be damned if I'll let them hedge me/us in with EU rules either. It's not just Phrance and the Heil Leisure guys in Germany. It's Britain too and as far as I am concerned they're all a lost cause. |
| Posted by: Omerens Omaigum2983 2005-09-01 05:24 |
| #4 I think the headline should read, UK Media Indifferent to US Plight. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-09-01 05:06 |
| #3 Same old whinge, different day. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom 2005-09-01 03:22 |
| #2 In reality, do we really need/expect regrets? The lack of emphathy is more a reflection of them than us. My donation is in, may double it. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-09-01 02:55 |
| #1 Don't expect anything sensible from Guardian readers. |
| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2005-09-01 02:39 |