The American Red Cross - Trying to get it right this time

 

Trying to get it right this time - Sep 19, 2005

By SEAN GREGORY

Read the entire article at:  http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/19/get.right.tm/index.html

Summary:

In the weeks following the last great domestic disaster, 9/11, the American Red Cross stockpiled blood for those who didn't need it, refused to share critical victim information with other charities, and was dressed down before Congress for planning to use relief funds to improve its internal operations.

So is it good news that, as reported by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, of the $1.06 billion American charities have raised for Katrina relief so far -- a record pace -- a remarkable 72 percent or $762.5 million, went to the Red Cross?

Despite the group's past blunders, charity watchdogs insist the $3 billion giant, mandated by Congress to work with federal agencies to aid victims of natural disasters, has risen to Katrina's various challenges.

"The Red Cross has turned over a new leaf,"says Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy.

Fund raising has obviously not been a problem.

to channel money through their websites -- and nearly half its Katrina funds arrived via the Internet.

Though not as forthcoming with details of its spending as critics would like, the Red Cross is at least edging toward transparency.

At the height of the New Orleans flooding, the Red Cross followed government orders to steer clear of the Superdome and New Orleans Convention Center, leaving starving people stranded.

A few posers have slipped through the cracks: a Georgia woman is in county jail for scamming the charity out of $1,300 in relief funds.

In Mississippi, victims have complained about a lack of Red Cross presence.

In Houston, it ran out of debit cards that could be used for cash or supplies and had to write checks by hand.

All of this raises the question: Should Americans continue to pour so much money into a single nonprofit known more for first response than for long-term rebuilding?

The Red Cross, insisting it's in the Gulf for the long haul, aims to raise millions more in donations.

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BBC NEWS | Africa | Mugabe defends urban demolitions

As many readers of this blog know,  I am no fan of the majority of Robert Mugabe's policy.  I often think that he has lost his focus and love for his people.   However, after watching the aftermath of hurrincane Katrina I have asked my policy are we doing any better in addressing the issue of poverty in the US inner cities.  plk

 

BBC NEWS | Africa | Mugabe defends urban demolitions
Read the entire article:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4258508.stm

 

Summary:

Mugabe defends urban demolitions Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has denied his country is in the grip of an avoidable famine, and defended his controversial slum clearance policy.

Mr Mugabe defended the demolitions, insisting that Zimbabwe must move forward, rather than tolerate poverty and haphazard urban development.

He said Zimbabwe would not lower its urban living standards to allow for mud huts and bush latrines, and did not need "development in reverse".

"We find it strange and anomalous that the government of Zimbabwe should be maligned and condemned for restoring order and the rule of law in its municipal areas," he told the UN in New York.

An estimated 700,000 people lost their homes during the slum clearances, which were described as a humanitarian crisis by the United Nations and heavily criticised by Human Rights Watch.

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