This year has been one of high expectations for Amigans, some of which were realised some which inevitably were not. We have had some nice deliveries of hardware and software but we haven't quite reached that first goal, not quite yet, patience will see us through.

However, on the political front everything is booming, hate, malice, misinformation, misconstruing, court cases, court decisions, prejudice, more prejiduce, accusations, rebuffs and so it goes on. So just where is all of our energy going?

Now to put it into perspective, in my region of the world a natural disaster has just occured as you are all probably hearing about. At this stage some 12000 or more souls have perished, that toll I believe will increase dramatically over the coming days.

That natural disaster did not waste energy it came, did not discriminate, destroyed and took loved ones away forever.

Maybe in our dealings with one another next year we'll get it a little better of talking our points out and consider just how lucky we are to even be siting by a computer of any sort.

To the Amigans of the countries directly affected I offer my family's condolences.

ace

@acefnq

I just saw a number of 23000....

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@tomazkid

I just saw these figures:

• Sri Lanka: 10,800 dead
  
• Indonesia: 4,500 dead
  
• India: 2,958 dead
  
• Thailand: 839 dead
  
• Malaysia: 44 dead
  
• Maldives: 32 dead
  
• Burma: 30 dead
  
• Bangladesh: 2 dead

Last edited by _Steve_ on 27-Dec-2004 at 01:15 PM.

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@_Steve_

I have seen numbers of at least 20,000 with several thousand still missing. I am surprised that?if the numbers you saw are indeed accurate?Sri Lanka should have suffered more than double the death toll of Indonesia when the triggering quake happened just off the coast of Indonesia and across the Indian ocean from Sri Lanka (though not all that far across). I think about the magnitude and what that would do to my home town. They are saying that even if it happened over 100 miles away on the New Madrid fault, it would probably level St. Louis.

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@Billsey

Those were taken as of 2 hours ago from the BBC. The revised figures are now:

• Sri Lanka: 11,000 dead
  
• Indonesia: 4,500 dead
  
• India: 3,500 dead
  
• Thailand: 839 dead
  
• Malaysia: 44 dead
  
• Maldives: 32 dead
  
• Burma: 30 dead
  
• Bangladesh: 2 dead

Last edited by _Steve_ on 27-Dec-2004 at 02:53 PM.

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@_Steve_

I just saw the news on the Swedish TV.
They now reported as high as 28000

and still a lot of people are missing

Last edited by tomazkid on 27-Dec-2004 at 03:42 PM.

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Oh crumbs... what can I say?

There's really NOTHING I can say about this.

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Sex doesn't prove to me that sex doesn't suck.

Arthur Clarke lives in Sri Lanka. what a tradgedy.

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@_Steve_

It's getting worse and worse....

Now there is numbers of over 60000 victims...

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@world

This incident, however dreadful, is pretty common in the grand scheme of things. In this age of global TV coverage we hear about these tradegies quickly and don't question them.

Our oceans are littered with lost cities and people whom have become legend. Sadly the human mind is short on recall and in a few centuries, people will begin to live on these areas of land on mass.

Right now, the eastern seaboard of the US is an area of land that will get swamped when the western face of the Canary Island's slip into the sea. Notice I said "when" not "if". and if the archeological evidence is correct (this has happened before), this will produce a wave of 130 meters...

Sadly, money, not technology is the limiting factor when preventing the massive loss of life we've just witnesed. We would rather vote for tax breaks and other short term ideals than have our goverments prepare the world for the enivitable disasters we endure.

The numbers of dead and missing in this tragedy pail when compaired to the numbers who die every year from starvation. If you feel you need to do something to make things right in the world. Support the campaign to abolish world debt that will begin next year.

Sorry if this come across as a political winge, but we have known this event would happen for decades.
If the area affected was not in debt to the west by so much, they could have afforded the early warning system that the pacific enjoys. This could have given up to three hours warning.

My sympathy is with those who have suffered from this. May your suffering not be in vein...

@cecilia

Quote:

Arthur Clarke lives in Sri Lanka. what a tradgedy.

It seems he and his family are OK...but still a most terrible tragedy

Last edited by Jamie_S on 28-Dec-2004 at 11:40 AM.

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@tomazkid

I haven't seen that figure mentioned yet, but I don't doubt it could well get there. Currently the confirmed figures are:

Sri Lanka: 18,706 dead
Indonesia: 5,700 dead
India: 4,371 dead
Thailand: 1,010 dead
Maldives: 52 dead
Malaysia: 44 dead
Burma: 30 dead
Bangladesh: 2 dead

With Sri Lanka expecting their death toll to reach well over 20,000.

The problems are doubly bad for these areas, since a fair amount of their income and jobs are based around their tourist industries. In some cases entire communities have just been washed away like the western beach resorts on Phuket. Many areas in other countries are still under water and there is no idea of the amount of people unaccounted for - said to be many thousands. Losing their homes and livelihoods was bad enough, but losing many of their friends and family as well is a terrible burden on the peoples of those nations affected by this tragic event.

Updated Figures:

Sri Lanka: 13,000 dead
Indonesia: 19,000 dead
India: 4,371 dead
Thailand: 1,400 dead
Maldives: 52 dead
Malaysia: 44 dead
Burma: 30 dead
Bangladesh: 2 dead
Somalia: 100 dead
Kenya: 1 dead
Seychelles: 3 dead
Tanzania: 10 dead

Last edited by _Steve_ on 28-Dec-2004 at 01:30 PM.

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@_Steve_

New reports place the death toll even higher around 70,000 dead. It puts everything into perspective doesnt it. All the armies who were fighting each other are now having to co-operate as there is no other option for them.

I can only hope this co-operation continues and that something positive comes out of this tradgedy.

@Thread

On one mailing list to which I subscribe I made an offer, hoping to get a relief project going. This is a mailing list with many, many way left liberals, so I thought that there would be some response. So far not a peep; not a blip. Once I get back home and can get my Mac started and online, I'll do a copy/paste of the message that I posted, and the offer will go here as well.

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@Jamie_S

Quote:

Jamie_S wrote: @cecilia Quote: Arthur Clarke lives in Sri Lanka. what a tradgedy. It seems he and his family are OK...but still a most terrible tragedy

i didn't mean to imply that anything had happened to him personally (i didn't know one way or the other when I posted). only that Clarke always spoke about Sri Lanka and the people there with lots of positive and beautiful descriptions and I felt that this is not some annonymous place at all - even though i've never been there.
I'm sure he and his family are heartbroken at what has happened to his home (meaning the island). as we all are.

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@Billsey

There has now been one response, pointing me to a particular organization's web site. I'll check it out later. I will still post here once I get home.

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@DruidPoet

Yes I was the program on that it will create a wall of water that will swamp the eastren sea board for miles, the reason its so big is that the water will move across the alantic as a huge swell because the alantic is pretty deep and once it hits the contential shelf all the water will be displaced upwards and it will rise to a towering height.

its a volcono isn't it that they think will collapse into the sea.

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@Billsey

Red Cross and the Red Cresent are active in that area of the world and would surely accept donations.

http://www.redcross.org/article/0,1072,0_312_3877,00.html

@Billsey

Quote:

...This is a mailing list with many, many way left liberals, so I thought that there would be some response. So far not a peep; not a blip.

-While I am rather to the right, actually, and I want to help any way that I can.

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@DruidPoet:

Quote:

We would rather vote for tax breaks and other short term ideals than have our goverments prepare the world for the enivitable disasters we endure.

Has there ever been a nation that has taxed itself into prosperity? And why are you wanting the governments to prepare the world instead of wanting the people to prepare the world?

Further, there has been nothing similar to this in this region since the eighteen hundreds, over a century ago. What timetable would you have proposed for such preparations, and how would you have justified it, before the fact?


Quote:

Support the campaign to abolish world debt that will begin next year.

"World debt?" To whom is the world in debt, sir? Various nations are in debt to each other, but not the globe as a whole. How do you propose to "abolish" debt, except to declare that existing debts need not be repaid? And if you succeed at that, who would be willing to lend money in the future?

Last edited by Quixote on 28-Dec-2004 at 08:05 PM.

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