Donated goods.

Remember all of the things that were donated following the WTC collapse? Ever wonder what happened to it? Read the article here.

Next time a disaster happens... I will keep my money, and use it to make myself happy for a change.

Thats sad really. But you will never stop peoples compassion.

I'm sure that one day all of the goods will be given out to charities, or passed on.



:)

To the people saying no:
What should have been done with the stuff instead? Donating it to various aid agencies seems to be the best thing to do.

Donations of that nature aren't what we need to help the victims of 9/11 and their families. They help a little, but aren't what they truly need to overcome the catastrophe. Thus, I have a suggestion on how to help them cope. Here goes:

First, we have to capture Osama alive, and bring him back to America. From there, we take him to ground zero, and string him up over a deli slicer set as thin as it will go. We give each family member of a fatality one push on the slicer. If he's still alvie and conscious afterward, we move on to the survivors. Obviously, we do this until it kills him.

There are some details that have to be worked out on this, though. For example, about the time we get halfway up his feet, he's going to be bleeding mighty fast. There needs to be a catch pan at the bottom, with a pump running it back up to the I.V.s that will be plugged into him. There will also be extra blood on hand in case it's needed. I figure it would be pig blood, since it's likely to be the same type. Also, we will need to administer painkillers in order to keep him from passing out from the pain. We will administer JUST enough morphine to keep him conscious through the procedure. If he happens to lose consciousness during any of this, the procedure will be paused until he comes around.


If this method doesn't seem to be causing enough pain, or just isn't inhuman enough, we can always use razor blades to cut off his skin in little pieces (slowly, of course). After all, almost all of the sensory nervous system is in the dermal area. This would be much more gruesome than the deli slicer, but he probably wouldn't live as long.




Of course, all of this will be broadcast on pay-per-view, and all of the profits from that will go to aid the clean-up and reconstruction efforts. If as many people watch it as I think, it would make a considerable impact. Besides, that's where the money is more useful anyway.

I realize that I noone close to me perished, and that I live in a different nation although my city is probably the closest metropolitain to new york city, all these donations seem quite contrived and alot of the celebrities involved seem like their agents beat them over the head with the P.R. stick. Sure people have died, but I constantly hear of homeless people dying in the cold on the streets, or children dying of malnurishment due to poverty. Are their lives worth less than the rich tycoon brokers? I am disgusted by the people who think because the tragedy makes it on to CNN that it is worth their sacrifice. Throughout the holidays I heard nonstop about the homeless shelters and food banks concerned about the lack of donations made to them. The fact remains that the families of the dead still have their houses and still have food while many suffer and die. The new US budget is now into the trillians of dollars much of which is going to defend america. However the people that need help the most are being thrown away and forgotten. How many of us run from the rain and the cold and the snow and the wind, well imagine living in it. This is exactly why Darwinism is such a crock of bull, we are certainly not the fittest species. We die easy, we are weak to harsh weather, we break easily, we cannot protect ourselves from danger. It is arrogant to think that our ability to manipulate the earth has made us the fittest because now look at us, we still die easy, we still break easy, we still run from the wind and rain. Im going to sleep.

#attach <flame.proof.suit>
I'm sorry but i'd probally have to agree with oblio. We need to have compassion for all that are dying. Not just the rich ones.
=)

Oblio, for a minute I actually thought someone hax0red your account for as good as a post that was. I agree completely with you on the fact that it shouldn't take a "national disaster" for people to give food/money for worthwhile causes to keep people alive. I also think that beggars that do nothing but beg "for a living" shouldn't get much of anything because it's their choice. Point in case: I've seen two people, a man and a woman, in Lakeland for 4 years walk up and down the same stretch of road begging from I-4 to Best Buy. The woman wears this bandage that migrates from one knee to the other (depending on whether or not she's actually wearing it), doesn't wear shoes while she's begging, and walks with a limp looking pathetic, trying to get a buck. I've also seen this same woman with said guy running across side roads (off the main aforementioned road) with booze (paperbag anyone?) and cigs in hand with no limp, wearing full-length sweatsuits and her hair isn't stringy/etc. Where does it stop?

As it is, I'll give to someone who's flat out honest and says to me "Hey man, I need a few bucks for a 40oz. and a pack of cigs" rather than give money to someone holding a sign that says "Homeless, please give, God bless" and then watch them buy booze.

One last thing. After I read the article posted, it gives yet more foundation to "donate money, not goods". I donated 100 bucks to the Red Cross after 9/11 because money is what they need, not goods that will be ignored like a majority of what was donated. It sucks. People donate whatever they can, and it's ignored because it's not what they really need. Donate blankets, flashlights, candles, propane lamps, things like that if you're going to donate things. Clothes, food, etc will be bought. Fuel, trucks, etc will also be handled by on-site teams or larger companies (like UHaul, Ryder, etc).

As an Emergency manager, I have to say thanks Vorlin. We ask for (and want) money, not goods. Donated Goods are actually a burden to the emergency response, as we have to pay to store, sort, and guard them. Also we rarely get what we need and want, and so have excess like you saw in the article.

As Oblios point, I can only say that we in DC do not worry about how rich you are, only how we can help...