very simple

I spent a few hours today trying to figure out something coherent to say about the absolutely terrible events in Asia today, but then I realized that there’s nothing I can say that would make any difference.

Except that Atrios is going to post links to reputable charitable organizations as they come in, and I will as well.

Here’s the first one – the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is providing assistance to the affected regions – I can’t find a link for direct donations for this effort in particular, but money is fungible, and the more you donate, the more they’ll be able to give (and if your specific dollars end up in Darfur, that’s a worthwhile cause as well). Please note: the IFRC is related to, but is not the American Red Cross, which is the organization investigated a few years back regarding their shady fundraising efforts surrounding 9/11. The ARC is only one member of the IFRC.

Update: Matt Yglesias links through to a couple of other resources, but it really appears that the various branches of the Red Cross are still the main vehicle for help.

A few weeks ago, I wrote an entry to encourage people to donate to Pamie’s second annual book drive, and mentioned that I donated two books myself – well, yesterday, I received the following note from the Youth Services Librarian at the Spring Valley Branch of the San Diego County Library:

It made me happy – not to be thanked, per se, but to have concrete feedback that others would have the opportunity to benefit from the donation. There’s just something about that feeling, that vibe, that stays with you for at least a little while.

Pamie is having her second annual book drive, this time for the San Diego library system. I’ve just donated The Outsiders and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to the Spring Valley branch (I picked the branch because it shares the same name as one of the towns I lived in as a kid – on the other side of the country, of course, but it seemed like as good a method as any!). These were two books that truly affected me growing up, and I wanted to be able to share them with some other kids. Even if you don’t want to donate through Pamie, it’s always a great idea to bring your used books to your local library.