NEWS: 9.0 Quake, Tsunamis Strike SE Asia - 275,000+ Dead

AceOfBase

Prove to me they DID NOT pocket billions. Im sure if you ask nicely they will tell you exactly how much Ace.

Old retail saying: "If somebody is willing to steal a dollar, they are willing to steal a thousand."

Another thing I have learned dealing with THIEVES is that they only admit (once cought) to about 30% of the actual stolen amount.

Im sure Anan and crew have enough oil For Food cash to easily match dollar or dollar all the monies committed to the relief so far.

Originally posted by onlyinmydreams

First, I need to make it clear to you: Nobody, and certainly not me, are blaming the US for this. What I am doing is exposing a lie.

Secondly, nor are the regional countries to blame. The tsunami threat was before now considered non existent. Even if there was an early warning system, it would have made no difference.

Thirdly, your comments on demonizing all these countries are almost as laughable as your comments on demonizing us liberal terrorists on ATS

[edit on 29-12-2004 by Indigo_Child]

Originally posted by skippytjc
AceOfBase

Prove to me they DID NOT pocket billions.

So that means you don't have a link and that you can't back up what you're saying. Fox News has warped your mind and your perception of the UN and probably the rest of the world.

C'mon people. There are thousands, maybe over 100,000 people dead, and hundreds of thousands affected by this tsunami. Cant we pleas stay on topic and quit trying to blame ANYONE for a NATURAL desaster? An Insurance company would have called this an act of God.

And as far as the donations go, we should be glad that they are recieving help. At least some of these peopls need will be addressed.

I dont think there is anybody to blame for this. It is just a terrible..terrible loss of life.

I am not going to mingle in the debate whether or not the US is giving enough. However, the EU as an institution has already pledged 34 million Euro, which is more than 46 million US dollars- so it�s untrue that the EU is only giving 4 million US dollars.
www.hinduonnet.com...

Also individual EU nations are giving extra aid such as the Netherlands (2 million Euro, minister Zalm stated that money should not be an issue if further help is needed), Germany (2 million Euro) etc. More importantly however is the fact that the EU has called for a donor conference to deal with the rebuilding of the region.

India has refused foreign aid with the reason that they can handle the disaster, also because they have dealt with much bigger disasters in the past. For me India�s reaction is fair, unselfish and not stupid pride: let the donation be given to the countries that need it the most.

And to those complaining that other nations did not donate to the US when it was struck by hurricanes, honestly what do you think some of these poor nations could have spared?

Blobber

We're not required to donate one red cent. Regardless, we donate more to international relief than many other nations combined.

Norway donates more in terms of it's GDP.

Same with Isreal. For that money going to Isreal, we have a foothold in the region, and a staunch ally in the region. Granted, I'll agree that we give far too much to them, but to use this as an argument?

That's 18% of your budget for the developing countries. Further it destabalizes the middle east. How many developing countries? 50? $316 million each?

Who else is giving India 35 million?

*Listens to those same crickets...*

Listen to Ace of Base. Further that $35 million is not for India, it is for Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Somalia, less than $10 million each. I give my full respects to the leaders of India to reject it.

Personally, if I pissed someone off (i.e. developing a nuclear weapons program in spite of objections) and they were willing to offer me 35 million to aid after I suffered a disaster...I'd be damned thankful for it. To not accept it, would be India's shame for not doing what it could for it's people.

I think India makes $35 million from a single Bollywood film

I wasn't aware we were expected to foot the bill for everyone else's natural disasters when:

1. they never help us, and rarely even offer condolences
2. they constantly bash and resent us

When all is fine and dandy, it's like "American scum"...but when something like this happens, it's always "please sir, can I have some more?"

That's pretty rich for someone who says their country is now a dicatorship.

[edit on 29-12-2004 by Indigo_Child]

Scientific Background on the Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami

Interesting read -includes animation of Sumatra tsunami...

Information relating to the submarine earthquake inbetween Aceh, Indonesia and Sri Lanka of the 26th of December, 2004 has been compiled here. This compilation archives much of the readily available scientific information. Aspects that were not immediately brought out by news reports were:


The 9.0 Earthquake at 6.58 hours at the epicenter (and in Sri Lanka) led to a sequence of 15 other quakes across the Andaman region.


While earthquakes could not be predicted in advance, once the earthquake was detected it would have been possible to give about 3 hours of notice of a potential Tsunami. Such a system of warnings is in place across the Pacific Ocean. However, there was no warning system in the Indian Ocean. In addition, coastal dwellers are educated in the Pacific littoral to get to high ground quickly following waves. However, those in the Indian Ocean were quite unaware.


Tsunamis are rarer in the Indian Ocean as the seismic activity is much less than in the Pacific. However, there have been 7 records of Tsunamis set off by Earthquakes near Indonesia, Pakistan and one at Bay of Bengal.


Earthquakes occur when any of the 12 or 13 plate collide at their boundaries. The present collision is due to compression between the Indian and Burmese plates. Scientists now believe that one plate that comprised the landmass from India to Australia has broken up into two. The initial 8.9 eruption happened near the location of the meeting point of the Australian, Indian and Burmese plates. Scientists have shown that this is a region of compression as the Australian plate� is rotating counterclockwise into the Indian plate. This also means that a region of seismic activity has become active in the South Eastern Indian Ocean.


Tsunamis are not entirely unknown in Sri Lanka. For example, the Tsunami in 1883 generated by the Volcanoes at Krakatoa led to a surge of at least 1 m in Sri Lanka. The damage was much less then. However, one difference was that this particular episode happened in the month of August. In the month of December, under the North-East monsoon, the Equatorial Indian Ocean jet propagates along the equator from Sumatra (near the epicenter of the quake) slightly to the South of Sri Lanka and to Somalia. This may be why the impact of the quake led to severe impacts in Sri Lanka.


Once the large amount of pent-up energy in the compression zones of the plate boundaries have been released, it takes another buildup of energy for another event of similar magnitude. This is unlikely in the short-term. However, in the future, Indian Ocean littoral regions should generate and pay attention to earthquake and tsunami warnings and be aware of the interplay of the seasonal oceanographic currents.

[edit on 29-12-2004 by jazzgul]

Originally posted by jazzgul


Interesting read -includes animation of Sumatre tsunami...

That animation is a site to behold. The waves actually wrap around the islands to hit what ever was behind them. The destructive forces of this tsunami will be remembered for many years to come. The loss of life is just ..... There are no words

Has anyone read anything about disease popping up yet? I imagine the reports will start coming soon. With that much death and decay, it is bound to happen. There are so many dead that they cant be buried fast enough.

They say they will start to become rampant in a couple days. This is insane

Apologies if this has been posted, but 23 pages is a lot to read.






And certainly THIS is some interesting news I had not heard before.

This post has turned from a source of up to the minute news regarding what is potentially one of the biggest natural disasters of our time (if not the biggest. Into something that is truely offensive to read in the same thread. It is certainly not for anyone on these boards to determine how much a nation can and cannot afford to provide in aid. Besides which, the most important form of aid is not the money but the supplies that are being shipped in by all nations involved.

I am sure Mr X would be overjoyed to know that country Y has just donated Z amount of dollars, /sarcasm off. In reality what Mr X cares about right now is access to food, water, blankets, shelter for the night and possibly medicine, due to the upcoming inevitable outbreak of disease that is going to strike all areas involved. All this, not just for himself, but also for his family.

Overall the readers and writers of this board seem to fairly intelligent. I would suggest not allowing yourselfs to be drawn into arguments which might trivialise the current situation.

I urge every one to donate what you can. I have donated $348 in USD. I know its not alot, but its all I have to give. The medical supplies alone will be in the high millions. The disease that will hit these people will be as or more devistating than the tsunami itself. These people need all the help we can give them. Moral and economic support accross the board would be a good show of what humanity is all about.

Please donate

samaritanspurse.org...

We are gathering donations here where I work. I vcannot afford to give as much as Kid did, but collectivly maybe we can get a few thousand together.

Man those poor people. I look at some of those pics and immediatly think of my son...

Originally posted by skippytjc
I look at some of those pics and immediatly think of my son...

Thats what happened with me. I thought of my daughter and the loss I would have felt. BTW, thank you for the compliment on the donation amount, but it really wasnt much. I drained my bank account to $50. Now Im broke, but it doesnt matter. I have my daughter, my Wife, my house, both my cars, a fridge full of food, and whatever else I feel like going down to the store to get. These people dont even have the option of walking to a store.

Unfirtunately, It events like these that open our eyes to how fortunate we really are.

Originally posted by Indigo_Child

Originally posted by onlyinmydreams

First, I need to make it clear to you: Nobody, and certainly not me, are blaming the US for this. What I am doing is exposing a lie.

Secondly, nor are the regional countries to blame. The tsunami threat was before now considered non existent. Even if there was an early warning system, it would have made no difference.

Thirdly, your comments on demonizing all these countries are almost as laughable as your comments on demonizing us liberal terrorists on ATS

[edit on 29-12-2004 by Indigo_Child]

1.Actually... before the true extent of the damage has become known you, and people like you, decided that the US was failing the world.
2.Yes... the regional governments are, to some extent, to blame. I read about the earthquake before the tsunami hit. One would imagine that there would be a single person in the government of one of these countries who keeps an eye on seismic activity. And, sorry, but I did not 'demonize' the countries involved. I don't appreciate your reckless histrionics.
3.I see that you still haven't got a clue as to what I was saying on that other thread. I know that you don't really care, anyways... after all, it seems more than apparent that people who share your beliefs are more than happy to spit out kneejerk, prefabricated responses whenever they encounter something they don't understand.
4.Don't respond to me with BS about how I 'demonize' people ever again. Lame sympathy/victim rhetoric might work at gatherings with your friends... but I can see straight through it and expect not to be insulted by seeing pathetic attempts at playing the rhetoric game directed at me.

Sorry that this post is off topic. I've tried to provide accurate, real-time info on this subject so far. Unfortunately, listening to idiots turn a natural disaster into a moronic anti-US rally is just too much.


[edit on 29-12-2004 by onlyinmydreams]

Edit: Deleted post after realizing that I'm contributing to this thread becoming 'off topic'. I apologize.

[edit on 29-12-2004 by SourGrapes]

I am disgusted.

If anyone in this thread wants to debate politics or talk junk about any nation or group, take it to PTS.
This thread is about the disaster in SE Asia, not a sounding board for anyone's political rhetoric. The millions affected over the last 3 days will not be disrespected in this forum by petty bickering and whining.

Back on topic.
Now.

To respect Banshee, I have moved this reply to the "UN slams US as stingent" thread.

[edit on 29-12-2004 by Indigo_Child]