Take care with donating to Aussie Bushfire Relief

[grympy]

This of course applies to Aussies and everyone else: Take care if you  want to donate a to Aussie Bush fire relief, even $1. From Huffpost  US today 10 January:

THE SCAMMERS ARE OUT ON  Instagram: 

"Popular Instagram profiles are exploiting the crisis for personal gain, making empty promises to plant trees or donate money in exchange for traffic with posts such as, “1 LIKE = $1 DONATION.” Some falsely claim to be affiliated with legitimate aid organizations. Others have promoted personal PayPal accounts, urging their tens or hundreds of thousands of followers to donate to them directly while vowing to give those funds to charity later on."

https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/...ri18n=true


Perhaps donate  directly to say Red Cross  or other charity you trust.

In Oz, I think you can donate at any branch of any bank. 

Human beings are so predictable; natural  disasters bring out our very best AND our very worst.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I read about this on another site, yeah. Agreed that Red Cross is your safest avenue.

You, @SYZ, and other Aussies here, how's things where you are? Give updates.

Have your bug-out bags ready: vital documents, a couple of changes of clothes (extra socks and underwear!), charger for phone and/or laptop, and dry/canned goods. Make sure your vehicle is fully-fueled. Have your evac route planned out ahead of time.

[grympy]

I read about this on another site, yeah. Agreed that Red Cross is your safest avenue.

You, @SYZ, and other Aussies here, how's things where you are? Give updates.

Have your bug-out bags ready: vital documents, a couple of changes of clothes (extra socks and underwear!), charger for phone and/or laptop, and dry/canned goods. Make sure your vehicle is fully-fueled. Have your evac route planned out ahead of time.

 See my post . "what are you doing" dated today 10 January.

I have a bushfire plan; I can be out of here in about 5 minutes, with Major.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I read about this on another site, yeah. Agreed that Red Cross is your safest avenue.

You, @SYZ, and other Aussies here, how's things where you are? Give updates.

Have your bug-out bags ready: vital documents, a couple of changes of clothes (extra socks and underwear!), charger for phone and/or laptop, and dry/canned goods. Make sure your vehicle is fully-fueled. Have your evac route planned out ahead of time.

 See my post . "what are you doing" dated today 10 January.

I have a bushfire plan; I can be out of here in about 5 minutes, with Major.

I forgot to mention cash, in case lines are down.

[no one]

Humans suck! They are vile, despicable, good-for-nothing, worthless scum!
Have I ever mentioned how much I hate them?

[Thumpalumpacus]

Humans suck! They are vile, despicable, good-for-nothing, worthless scum!
Have I ever mentioned how much I hate them?

You have, yes.

[no one]

Are you sure?

[Thumpalumpacus]

Are you sure?

I could make you hate me by digging up your previous posts, but I won't.

[grympy]

Humans suck! They are vile, despicable, good-for-nothing, worthless scum!
Have I ever mentioned how much I hate them?

Not that I can recall. But then I'm old and forgetful.


As it turns out, I too am a misanthrope. I was born with the handy ability to endure the suffering of others with great aplomb . . 

We seem to differ a bit in degree and subtlety :   On the one hand, you seem to have a higher opinion of the human race as a species than I. .   On t'other hand ,there are a few humans I quite like, several, quite a lot.  (first degree blood relatives)  Generally speaking I don't mind most folk on internet  atheist forums.  (with some obvious exceptions ) 

 Perhaps that's  why I have always liked George Carlin so much: 

[no one]

Persons are good. People are not.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Persons are good. People are not.

If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?

During the life of any heart this line keeps changing place; sometimes it is squeezed one way by exuberant evil and sometimes it shifts to allow enough space for good to flourish. One and the same human being is, at various ages, under various circumstances, a totally different human being. At times he is close to being a devil, at times to sainthood. But his name doesn't change, and to that name we ascribe the whole lot, good and evil.

Mahatma Gandhi was a wife-beater. Hitler loved his dog. It's just another tricky day.

[Cavebear]

Always be suspicious of disaster charity websites. Search about them. Read criticisms. Examine the URL carefully for odd characters or typos. If they ask for debit card info, leave.

[SYZ]

I read about this on another site, yeah. Agreed that Red Cross is your safest avenue.

You, @SYZ, and other Aussies here, how's things where you are? Give updates.

Have your bug-out bags ready: vital documents, a couple of changes of clothes (extra socks and underwear!), charger for phone and/or laptop, and dry/canned goods. Make sure your vehicle is fully-fueled. Have your evac route planned out ahead of time.

Yep... all of those things.  I also carry our vital documents and PC backups in a waterproof,
1-hour fire-rated carrying  case which if it gets lost or left behind will save that stuff.  Our
town's designated safe place is within walking distance of our house, but if it came to the
worst, I've got a 4WD diesel vehicle for a quick escape.  I've also got a couple of big LED
flashlights, one a thrower and one a wide spreader in case shit happens at night.

We have 5 sealed roads in and out of our townsite, and our fire station is the regional
command centre for our CFA (Country Fire Authority).

Thankfully, there are no bushfires in our region yet, but the fire season still has at least two
months before it eases up, so we're certainly not being complacent.  Our fire station has a
tower-mounted air raid type-alarm linked to the CFA command centre, so we get instant
warnings.  We also have battery radios tuned to the national fire emergency frequency. I've
also got a 5-watt hand held CB radio—as the mobile coverage in our region can be very
patchy at times.  Our terrain is very flat here, so lines of sight for the CB are good.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Glad y'all are safe, and here's hoping that stays the same.