| Author | Message | ||
     sbenois Citizen Username: Sbenois Post Number: 12831 Registered: 10-2001  |
Not a word about it on MOL? | ||
| Rastro Citizen Username: Rastro Post Number: 542 Registered: 5-2004  |
I care. 25k+ people dead. How can you not? It's too large a number to process. I'm still trying to get my head around it. | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 3349 Registered: 9-2001 |
Tragedy! | ||
| tulip Citizen Username: Braveheart Post Number: 1805 Registered: 3-2004 |
I would like to know why seismologists and geologists couldn't warn the people on the beaches in those two hours between the time of the earthquake and the time of the tidal waves. I can't believe no one knew that the waves were rushing toward Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, the Maldives. I can't believe no one could tell them. Regions with major population centers in the developing world who live near the sea should have distant early warning systems to watch out for these things in the twenty-first century. | ||
| wharfrat Citizen Username: Wharfrat Post Number: 1476 Registered: 6-2001 |
1. The technologies necessary to identify tsunamis, and then warn coastal areas cost big $$$. As it stands now, the countries that are part of this early warning system pay for it themselves. 2. What scientists, and by extension public officials understand about tsunamis in the Indian Ocean ill-equip them to identify the formation of tsunamis, and then predict when and where they would hit. Today's NYT op-ed page has an enlightening column on just these topics. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/28/opinion/28smith.html?oref=login | ||
| cody Citizen Username: Cody Post Number: 633 Registered: 5-2001 |
I think the massive scope of this tragedy makes it difficult to talk about, particularly in a flip fashion. 25,000 people got up the other morning expecting to have a normal day and go to bed that night. They never did. How do you explain? How do you understand? I'm sure the grief felt in these countries is extreme. Instead of discussing it here, I'd rather send a donation to an international relief organization and say a prayer for those who died. | ||
| Soda Citizen Username: Soda Post Number: 2233 Registered: 5-2001  |
This weekend you will be hearing calls from the pulpits of ALL denominations for contributions to aid the millions of victims of these horrific events. Sometimes it takes a cataclysm like this to remind us how lucky we are here in SOMA. Maybe we can temorarily lower the volume of the divisive rhetoric we sling so well here, and try to come together with our neighbors to compassionately help those in such distress on the other side of the planet. -s. BTW: Even if you don't attend services, please make an effort to support the work of relief and emergency aid organizations. | ||
| SoOrLady Citizen Username: Soorlady Post Number: 1621 Registered: 9-2003 |
"Maybe we can temorarily lower the volume of the divisive rhetoric we sling so well here, and try to come together with our neighbors to compassionately help those in such distress on the other side of the planet." Amen, Soda. Well said. | ||
| Bobkat Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 7113 Registered: 5-2001 |
On page A12 of today's NY Times there is a list of a dozen or so agencies that are soliciting donations. | ||
| viva Citizen Username: Viva Post Number: 603 Registered: 5-2001 |
44,000 | ||
| jjkatz Citizen Username: Jjkatz Post Number: 482 Registered: 12-2003  |
The death toll is now up around 40,000 and expected to climb higher. Money donations can be made at http://www.redcross.org. A food drive would be a good thing. Does anyone know if any have been organized yet locally? | ||
| CageyD Citizen Username: Cageyd Post Number: 198 Registered: 6-2003 |
JJKatz From what I understand, in these types of international tragedies, relief agencies don't really want food or clothing donations because they are too bulky and costly to ship. Financial contributions are the best way to help the relief effort | ||
| viva Citizen Username: Viva Post Number: 604 Registered: 5-2001 |
just to put things in perspective, the current death toll is roughly the total population of Maplewood and South Orange combined. | ||
| marian Citizen Username: Marian Post Number: 529 Registered: 9-2001 |
Cagey is right. My mother used to work for the Red Cross. She said after any major national or international tragedy, people would come out of the woodwork wanting to "help" and donate things. While the sentiment is nice, money -- and lots of it -- is really what the aid agencies need. | ||
| jjkatz Citizen Username: Jjkatz Post Number: 483 Registered: 12-2003 |
Can't even get the Red Cross site to load. They must be getting swamped with people wanting to make donations. Good news. I'll keep trying and thanks for the advice re: food donations. | ||
| susan1014 Supporter Username: Susan1014 Post Number: 294 Registered: 3-2002 |
I care deeply, and will be giving deeply. It is horrible. But MOL is not where I come to discuss this sort of tragedy. The fact that I'm using my time here to discuss local issues (and restaurant reccomendations) does not mean that I'm not giving close attention (and my prayers) to other issues. Much of my life takes place away from these boards, believe it or not. | ||
| Duncan Supporter Username: Duncanrogers Post Number: 3707 Registered: 12-2001  |
I care about it because my brother and his family are moving to indonesia after living in Ghana for 4 years. And if the technological infrastructure isn't able to tell people at a 5 star resort that a huge tidal wave is coming then I am seriously concerned for them should an event of this nature happen again. not to mention the number of nasty sleeper cells there are in that region. And I agree with Susan on this one. | ||
| jjkatz Citizen Username: Jjkatz Post Number: 485 Registered: 12-2003 |
If there can possibly be an upside to this, it would be finding out that the dead include all the members of those sleeper cells. | ||
| notehead Supporter Username: Notehead Post Number: 1836 Registered: 5-2001  |
Other than wondering how to warn people, and asking how we can contribute to aid (which we can learn elsewhere), I just don't know what to say. I mean, it is so HUGE. There was no malice involved, no politics... it just came out of nowhere, and now there are tens of thousands dead and hundreds of thousands of survivors whose lives are in tatters. Language can not convey the amount of sadness created by this catastrophe, and I know that everyone here feels similarly. I just don't think there is much to discuss, and furthermore I think it makes almost everything else being talked about on MOL rather trivial. I just want to see a lot of cooperation and aid getting to those countries asap. | ||
| Ben Citizen Username: Ros Post Number: 186 Registered: 5-2001 |
For a list of about 25 different agencies accepting online donations, and links to their websites http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/27/quake.aidsites/index.html |
