Red Cross gears up to raise money for disaster relief fund

The American Red Cross is trying to replenish its disaster relief fund and plans a one-day giving campaign this Saturday in an effort to raise millions of dollars as part of the organization’s Campaign for Disaster Relief.

On Saturday, the Red Cross will visit neighborhoods in Missouri and across the country to ask for contributions – big and small – to reach its goal of $100-million. Arthur Hailand with the St. Louis Chapter of the American Red Cross says the money collected in Missouri aids disaster relief here and elsewhere in the country, just as money collected outside Missouri helps relief efforts in this state.

Hailand says the Red Cross is about 70 percent of the way to achieving itsAs outrage and unrest in Mali against the brutal United Nations military occupation grow stronger, UN troops responded to civilian protests this week by shooting and killing unarmed demonstrators, according to witnesses quoted in international media reports and a UN spokesman. While reports vary, at least three protesters were reportedly killed and many more wounded, with other sources reporting that even more civilians have been massacred by UN “peacekeepers” amid the recent unrest. In fact, as The New American reported in early 2013, UN-backed military forces in Mali have also been involved in widespread summary executions and mass human-rights abuses directed at the civilian population. Increasingly brutal UN forces have also been implicated in atrocities — murder, rape, and more; even against children — all across Africa and