From info-1 at voile.org Tue Dec 28 22:32:12 2004 From: info-1 at voile.org (Voile Abordable) Date: Tue Dec 28 22:49:17 2004 Subject: [Sailing news] Mayday Mayday =?iso-8859-1?q?Mayday=85?= Message-ID: <2114.70.80.131.42.1104291132.squirrel@70.80.131.42> My name is Yves Julien, founder and president of Affordable Yachting. Because of the latest natural catastrophe hitting Asia, I feel oblige to break our own rules of ?Express News?'s mailing list, which is normally used only to promote sailing activities. We all saw horrible images of dead body and destruction spread out in Asia. The worst has yet to come! The survivor needs to "survive" before they can reconstruct! If all of us sailors are not rich, none us are poor by Asian standard. The latest Tsunami has hit the poorest of the poorest. So please make a difference and make donation proportional to your mean. What can you do? * Forward this letter to others. I know you hate chain letter, so do I! But this is different. The more people that get aware, the more can be done. * Do a monetary donation. Most material donation cost more in delivery that the value of the gift itself * Do your donation to recognize organization only. Too often, crocks with no morals take advantage of people?s misery and other?s generosity to enrich themselves I don?t want to promote one organization over another but if you don't know where to give I would suggest the Red Cross. The Red Cross is a worldwide recognizes organization that has been involved is numerous relief activities around the world. I spend several hours watching Canadian, US and French TV news networks and only on the Canadian & US network did I saw the Red Cross phone number and Web Site published. If you can find your local Red Cross (or other legitimate relief organization) you may donate to the Canadian or US chapter of the Red Cross. Your money will end-up in Asia anyway Canada 1-800-418-1111 (Quebec) http://www.redcross.ca US Red Cross 1-800-help-now or 1-800-435-7669 http://www.redcross.org If you have your local Red Cross phone number or Web Site, please forward it to us. I will publish it. Thank you for your help Yves JULIEN Affordable Yachting PS: Message to Mr. Egeland of the United Nation: While writing this letter with my laptop on my thigh, in the comfort of my house drinking a great red wine beside my hot fireplace, I?m watching CNN (US news network). I?m outrage to hear comments from the US Government over Mr. Egeland?s statement. Mr. Egeland was saying ?us? the rich countries by which he clearly mean everyone of the industrialized world were not giving enough. As a Canadian, I agree, even if we are not the richest of all, that my government is not doing enough (1 million $ or ?3 cent per citizen). The US government barely did better with a ?5 cent per citizen. I don?t know how much did the European countries but I?m certain it is as pitiful as us (North Americans). We are so dam concern with our personal pleasure that we forget how much suffering it took our ancestors to reach the level of comfort we now can now enjoy. So Mr. Egeland, many others and myself are with you on this. It?s pitiful that our various governments are spending so much money (thousand of $$$$ per citizen) on destruction weapons and virtually nothing on peace! Our various governments thinks that because they got a majority votes they can do anything but they are wrong. They must represent us at all time. Right now, I would like my government to spend my tax money on something else then bombs. And so are many others...