Re: 8/15/14 WDT NSFW to follow this to its logical conclusion the als foundation would be in exactly the same place it is now if they didn't have 23 million dollars?
Re: 8/15/14 WDT NSFW i think their research would be yes. but who knows how good their research is. people are assuming these people are the best in their field, and quite likely they may not be. the rock stars of research are at the nih, cdc, hopkins, etc. throwing money at something does not promise results, thats the history of pharma and medical research. the foundation may be better off, but people are assuming their research is going somewhere, but there's no way of knowing that.
Re: 8/15/14 WDT NSFW cool, so they'll likely fund some r01's and help some guys with their careers. people getting a grant from alsa would be a big deal, so those guys will appreciate that. but will the guy crippled by als feel the effects from this? not likely no, sadly.
Re: 8/15/14 WDT NSFW maybe not this guy, but maybe the next guy will. or the guy after that. it may take tens of million more attention whores pouring ice water on themselves to produce results and hundreds of thousands may die crippled and horrified before someone comes up with something and it may not ever work, but to do nothing because it might not work or because it's not enough money right now is stupid. even suggesting it is stupid.
i'm not saying don't make this you're cause, i'm not saying its worthless for people to attempt to fund. i'm saying if people really want to help someone, like anything else, look at who you donate to. your 20 will do much more if its in a pool of money thats going to someone who's doing something that may lead somewhere than giving 20 to someone who ends up at a dead end.
this feels like the people who say that they don't feel like their vote makes a difference, so they don't vote.
as many of you know, i'm not into 'the popular thing' just because it's cool. but you know what? i think people doing something (as small as it may be in the grand scheme of things (tm)), to help out others is the epitome of cool. so i got nothing bad to say. pour away.
cool, so why not donate to cancer research, why not donate to autism research, why not donate to a million other worthy causes? is this cause more worthy just because people are pouring water on themselves? what about alzheimers research? many more people suffer from that.
you have convinced me to do this not once, but several times, while at the statue of liberty, setting my hair on fire first, and posting on facebook, myspace, and my college alumni web page. i will also be amending my will to leave all of my vast fortune to the als foundation.
he probably doesn't have 5 billion dollars lying around to solve the problem outright, so why bother?
i have made an effort to stay out of a certain recently locked thread knowing it was going to turn into what it did. somehow a handful of you have taken a thread about fucking charity and made it a halftard slapfight. knock the shit off or i'll lock the thread and give some vacation days out. you've already been warned, this will be the last one. jesus you guys. i'm with vi, it's for a good cause, no matter how the funds used it certainly can't hurt the cause in any way. no one is an authority on how the funds are going to be used for any charity. get over yourselves.
you're being ridiclous. although you are correct is that there are many good causes out there for research funds and donations of any kind, at least this is helping one. it is certainly more than was being done prior to the challenge. and btw, i normally don't have any problem with your posts but as far as this one goes you're at the top of my list. be done.
like someone posted it does seem to random als ice bucket challenge caught fire and wounded warriors didn't. personally i'd like it to be alzheimers or cancer as ive had two immediate relatives die from each. lou gehrig? i thought that shit was wiped out when polio was. can we get hotwheelz a fucking blow job by the way? people are really hurting here.
my girlfriend's aunt and grandmother suffered and died because of it, so its very significant to her family. is any charity organization or foundation 100% perfect? probably not, but i'll still donate to them. i think this is helping more people than by doing nothing, so have at it.
Re: 8/15/14 WDT NSFW disease research isn't a short term solution. does that mean it shouldn't be done? you just said we should fund cancer research, but the people i know suffering from cancer aren't likely to feel the effects. really? because that looks like exactly what you're saying: "its simply not enough to actually effect any research." "this whole fad isn't really contributing that much to als research" "the money raised most likely [...] won't make a difference in the research." the interesting thing about novel research is that it's not exactly a 1:1 causative effect with dollars spent. novel research is about funding enough projects that someone makes a breakthrough. that often happens on the shoulders of previous research but when you spend $20 million on research, you aren't funding one $20m project. you're usually funding a dozen $1-2m projects that are all looking at different things. if they can give out a half dozen more r01 grants, that's a half dozen other labs lending their best and brightest. maybe they're the right labs, maybe not - as a donor, it's impossible to identify every individual als research lab and evaluate the quality of their research. but more dollars in the research pool equal more research assuming the organization isn't grossly mis-run (as some charitable organizations are), and more research means more eyes on a problem.
good, maybe the alzheimer's foundation will be inspired to think of something creative to generate awareness that goes viral, and they'll raise a bunch of money next year. i would much rather these things be getting a lot of play than whatever the hell kim kardashian and her stupid family hogging the headlines. also, i think i saw halftard slapfight open for blue oyster cult in 1981.
charity being a public thing doesn't take away from the goodness of it, if anything it hopefully spreads to those around you. this challenge has been awesome for many reasons that have already been mentioned in this thread. 23 million isn't going to cure als, but it's still going to help the cause in other ways. to complain that 23 million generated by the ice bucket challenge isn't really substantial in the grand scheme of "big pharma" is just ignorant, especially considering the challenge's goal was to raise awareness (i'd say they've succeeded). so, basically, stop being a curmudgeon and dump some fucking ice water on your head, have a laugh or two at your own expense, challenge your friends and then donate. if it's too hard to drop a couple bucks accurately from your high horse, then by all means, go volunteer or spend some time with someone suffering from als. my hats off to you and everyone else who has participated, volunteered, or donated.
as far asi'm concerned, i don't care if people are donating only because they get their name lasered onto the moon. as long as they donate, i doubt the researchers and sufferers care much either. elightened self-interest is a great thing, if people get to feel cool and in the spotlight among their friends and a charity benefits? great! win-win. everyone upset by this, including the asshole on my facebook feed complaining about it, is doing a weird form of hipster narcissism. now that it's trendy it's apparently cool to bitch about it. and not being able to solve all problems, or even this problem most efficiently, doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. i'd rather 23 million at 58% efficiency (or whatever) then 1 million at 100%. particularly if the excess money wasn't going to happen anyway! talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth.
i'm glad that all this is paying off for a worthy cause, but i'm using it to see what people i need to unfollow on social media that i haven't already. it's helping me weed out the closet attention whores.