Private Citizens Outdo Officials in Aid Efforts (washingtonpost.com)
MADRAS, India, Dec. 31 -- As the first chilling images of the death and devastation caused by the tsunami flashed on Indian television Sunday, Tara Kaushal, 21, a freelance writer and accessories designer, started receiving text messages from friends on her cell phone. She in turn messaged others about the disaster, expressing a need "to get together and do something."... The next morning, Kaushal's extended group of friends circulated e-mail asking for contributions to an effort to buy relief supplies. Money poured in -- from young fashion designers, teenage students, lawyers, corporate executives, software professionals, aerobics and yoga instructors, cooks and car drivers. Survivors in the southern state of Tamil Nadu said the relief efforts organized by wealthier, urban do-gooders such as Kaushal's friends arrived more quickly and had been much more visible than government assistance.

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I thought it was interesting that the Norwegian UN twerp--excuse me, official--who was complaining about "stingy" nations based his numbers entirely on government contributions, ignoring private charity entirely as if it didn't exist. I guess if you are a Scandinavian socialist that makes some kind of sense.