Stingy?
That's what U.N. emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland accused the richest countries of the world as being when it comes to donating monies to the tsunami disaster relief. And it's got a lot of folks all puffed up and defensive:

The comment reopened the question of how to measure American generosity. The answer ultimately depends on the measuring stick.

The U.S. government is always near the top in total humanitarian aid dollars -- even before private donations are counted -- but it finishes near the bottom of the list of rich countries when that money is compared to gross national product.

The chief of U.S. Agency for International Development, which distributes foreign aid, was quick to point out Tuesday that foreign assistance for development and emergency relief rose from $10 billion in President Clinton's last year to $24 billion under President Bush in 2003.

Secretary of State Colin Powell said assistance for this week's earthquake and tsunamis alone will eventually exceed $1 billion.

But it's interesting to note that the initial $15 million pledge was upped to $35 million after Egeland's comment. Another interesting factoid is this, from the above CNN article:

But even Natsios acknowledged Tuesday that the initial $35 million aid package the administration has crafted for earthquake and tsunami victims has completely drained his agency's emergency relief fund, which already provides assistance from Darfur to Iraq.

That means his agency will need to ask Congress or the White House for more money.

Our charity is officially drained. And it's even sadder when put into context (via Atrios):

The estimated budget for the event is $30-40 million, but that will not cover security costs. 

The Department of Homeland Security has designated the inauguration as a National Special Security Event, which makes the high-profile gatherings eligible for federal money and heightened security overseen by the Secret Service.

What can you do to help? After reading a few articles and listening to NPR, the best thing you can do is to donate money directly to agencies providing the disaster relief--and not donate clothes or food items. This will help to fund the transportation costs of getting the medical supplies, blankets, and food to those areas that will need it. Amazon is making it easy to donate directly to the American Red Cross (they've already gathered over $1.5 million in just over a day and a half). And the Christian Science Monitor has a very extensive list of links to organizations, from Care to Mercy Corps to World Vision.