[TheRaisin]

So basically you're saying that our reaction to tens of thousands of people dying is a stimulated response and the media are controlling our minds. Bullshit. Have you considered that maybe there's been a huge public reaction because, to some extent, people really DO care about what happens to other people? Call me an optimist, but I don't see this as a media-induced frenzy. Rather, I see it as a sign that there is some humanity left in the human race.

Yes, a lot of people do stand to profit from this. There will always be commercial entities that thrive on disaster. And there will always be media that sway the general public to the side of paranoia and over-reaction to further fuel this fear and consumption-driven economy. Don't insult the citizens of our respective nations, though, by saying that they, or we, don't have minds of our own. I think the reaction to this is genuine.

Bush is a pretty bad example of humanity, but he is human. I would be quite shocked if even he didn't put at least a bit of effort into helping the survivors of this thing. Of course I'm sure he has additional motives.

I'm not really a big donator. I'm an opportunist. I give money to street musicians and those Santa guys that ring bells around Xmas, put change in the collection tin at my school for hospitals, breast cancer funds and the like, but I don't really go out of my way to help people. Come to think of it, I don't really know how to contact any large-scale charities. I haven't even heard of any for this situation. Maybe I should actually read the news once in a while.