There Are No Words...

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.google.com/tsunami_relief.html' target='_blank'>http://www.google.com/tsunami_relief.html</a><br /><br /></div>It wasn't until this morning, after reading a news story and watching several videos on the subject, that I fully grasped (if such a thing is even possible) how horrific the earthquake and subsequent tsunamis were that struck southeast Asia. I've been wrapped in post-holiday events and don't normally watch news on TV, so this event didn't become "real" to me until this morning. To those of you who were disappointed we didn't mention this until now, I offer you my most sincere apologies. And to Isaac who sent a rather scathing email to us this morning, you should have known better than to accuse us of not caring. It's always better to ask them to assume.<br /><br />We normally don't post on world events, because it always seems that it upsets someone who has some dislike for the country/religion/ethnicity (which explains a lot of the problems the world has today), the conspiracy theories come up, the finger pointing starts, and we have to lock the thread before our community members tear themselves apart. I've come to realize that there is a time and place for everything, and a Web site about Pocket PCs is not the place to discuss politics, religion, or even most world events. I'm often stunned that, in matters of human life and death, people will be so petty as to bring up the fact that country "X" has a certain political stance that the don't like - as if it justifies their refusal to feel sadness or assist in some way.<br /><br /><b>All that said, I hope that in this case everyone can put aside their personal bias and focus on helping the victims of this terrible tragedy.</b> To the families and friends of people affected by this, on behalf of the staff and volunteers of Thoughts Media, I offer you my most sincere condolences and prayers. If you're reading this Web site, odds are good that you're among the wealthiest 5% of the people on this planet, and it's time to put that to good use. Regardless of how much you can afford, I'd urge everyone reading this to make some sort of financial donation to support the relief efforts that are now underway. Google has a <a href="http://www.google.com/tsunami_relief.html">useful page with several organizations</a> you can donate to. I've made my donation, and I encourage everyone to give as much as they can.<br /><br />Let's unite our efforts and help the people who need it. In honour of the people who have lost their lives in this horrific event, there will be no more posts until tomorrow.

[humayunl]

Thank you for bringing this up Jason. And also pointing us to places where we can make contributions/donations. I was just thinking about where to search for making my donation and you've just made my job a little easier.

I also urge everyone reading this to make whatever contributions you can afford and urge others (non ppct people) to do so as well.

[OSUKid7]

We normally don't post on world events, because it always seems that it upsets someone who has some dislike for the country/religion/ethnicity (which explains a lot of the problems the world has today), the conspiracy theories come up, the finger pointing starts, and we have to lock the thread before our community members tear themselves apart.
I didn't even expect you to post about this tragedy. It really doesn't relate to Pocket PCs or technology, so I don't have any problem not hearing about it on PPCT (or other Thoughts sites). If this event is important enough to post about on PPCT, why not others? IMO, the lack of non-PPC/technology news and discussions is what makes the Thoughts communites so friendly and helpful. I realize this was a huge tragedy, and I too offer my condolences to the victims.

[mel]

I have never donated to a disaster relief organization...but I desperately want to help out now. Can anyone that has already donated money suggest which is the most direct form of aid...Red Cross/Americares/Unicef etc?

[OSUKid7]

I have never donated to a disaster relief organization...but I desperately want to help out now. Can anyone that has already donated money suggest which is the most direct form of aid...Red Cross/Americares/Unicef etc?
I too have that feeling...it's amazing to see the Amazon.com American Red Cross Disaster Relief (http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/my-pay-page/PX3BEL97U9A4I/104-2867334-2853546) page. Refresh it and watch the numbers increase. That's truely amazing.

edit: almost too amazing...eh, sometimes when I refresh the # of Payments goes down...eh, someone want to explain that to me? :huh:

[daS]

Thank you Jason for the excellent points you made here. As much as I'd like to discuss various comments regarding the politics of the reactions to this catastrophe, I will refrain and focus on the little help I can offer. To that end, I urge others to join me in offering a donation to Direct Relief (https://www.directrelief.org/sections/support_us/d_donate_now.html) or one of the other organizations listed by Google. (Great link.)

[bjornkeizers]

Thank you Jason for the excellent points you made here. As much as I'd like to discuss various comments regarding the politics of the reactions to this catastrophe, I will refrain and focus on the little help I can offer.

Then why'd you even bring it up? I'm sorry if I'm about to offend you, but what the hell does this have to do with politics? Who could you possibly want to blame for a natural disaster?

[antlab]

Hi Jason.
I would simply like to thank you, both for the sensitive words and for the links about donations.
Catastrophes like this one lead to really feel our human fragility respect to the forces of Nature. Maybe, as pointed out by some technical people who commented on the issue (e.g. Rifkin), this can be an occasion to better understand the enormous importance to share our advanced technology with less rich people and countries, for example to realize some sort of basic alarm systems that could avoid some of the worst effects.

[Janak Parekh]

Then why'd you even bring it up? I'm sorry if I'm about to offend you, but what the h-ll does this have to do with politics?
Take a look at what's circling around in the media right now, and you'll find your answer. It's human nature to associate nearly everything with politics.

But that's not a discussion for this forum. Take it off-line if you want to discuss it.

--janak

[NLS]

It's way too sad.

It's way too big.

We are way too small.

[i_spock]

This morning I saw a picture of a young boy holding up a sign that said he lost both of his parents and 2 brothers. I tell ya, my wife and I would adopt a child in that situation in a second. If anyone knows of anyone doing any work in this area (finding homes for children orphaned by the disaster) I'd appreciate any info you could give.

[Jason Dunn]

This morning I saw a picture of a young boy holding up a sign that said he lost both of his parents and 2 brothers. I tell ya, my wife and I would adopt a child in that situation in a second. If anyone knows of anyone doing any work in this area (finding homes for children orphaned by the disaster) I'd appreciate any info you could give.

That's an incredibly generous thing to do - I wish you the best in making it happen.

[ChunkyMonkey]

It's way too sad.

It's way too big.

We are way too small.

Well said, NLS.

Something like this should tresend religon, politics, or anything else that seems petty comparied to this horrible loss of life.

[Techtoys]

www.dec.org.uk is accepting donations here in Britain. The site is swamped at the moment, but give it a few hours and it should be OK.

[Kevin Remhof]

Well, I'm ready to make a donation but... I'm waiting for my company to match my donation. They do this for any major event like this (Floria hurricanes, 9/11, etc). As soon as I can "double my money", I'm in.

[gorkon280]

This is a terrible tragedy and it just hit home recently as well. I used to work with a friend who had alot of relatives in India. After we let him go, he went on a visit in Dubai as well as his relatives in India. It appears both countries had some loss of life and I hope he was not one of them. I am praying that you are ok Sunny Singh (Sunny is his nickname).

[drop]

I am still trying to locate a friend who likes to spend many months in Asia scuba diving. I have not yet received an email reply. I hope he elected to stay home during Christmas.

Jason, thank you for the information. Donate through Amazon is really easy.

OSUKid7, I saw there was an option to "unpay" 8O. That might be the reason why the donation could go down.

[ChunkyMonkey]

I gave via Amazon. Very fast and easy!

[Janak Parekh]

edit: almost too amazing...eh, sometimes when I refresh the # of Payments goes down...eh, someone want to explain that to me? :huh:
It's probably not refunds, as drop suggests. It's much more likely that Amazon has more than one webserver behind their firewall/load-balancer, and that the numbers are simply going up way too fast for the updated numbers to be distributed to every webserver in time. When you hit Refresh you're randomly hitting a different webserver. Over time, the numbers should go up, just not uniformly.

Incidentally, I made my donation through Amazon. Since I have an Amazon account, it was literally the easiest way to do it.

(In case you're wondering, I used to work for a company that built such load balancers. If anyone wants to know how layer 3 and/or layer 7 IP load-balancing works, ask, although it's pretty complicated. ;) In simplest terms, it's the opposite of your home NAT router/firewall box.)

--janak

[drop]

There is still hope in humanity, then :wink:

[Janak Parekh]

There is still hope in humanity, then :wink:
Yes. There still is. The fact the numbers are going up so fast bears witness to the power of the Internet in distributing information and coordinating people. Pre-Internet, doing something like what Amazon is doing would be much more difficult -- you'd have to set up telephone banks and advertise numbers on TVs for donations, ignoring the fact that many people don't watch TVs in the midday. No doubt there's negative aspects of both humanity and its technology, but technology does occasionally have the power to help. :)

--janak

[askisaac]

To Jason, the Thoughts team and the community at large

I would like to offer a public apology for the scathing e-mail I sent you guys earlier on today.

The sense of community on this site is great and together we have seen some tradgedies happen in the last year or three. The sense of frustration in having some of the most turned on and informed people around not even mentioning the disaster for over 48 hours just struck me as really odd. Every news service across the world has focused on this tradgedy and I felt terrible that as a community of readers we had not mentioned a thing.

This is a PPC forum-given, but it's more than that. It's a world wide community who share their love for tech irrespective of where you live, what religion you are or your political leanings. Who cares what you believe and what politics you affirm when you hear of children being swept out to sea and families dissapearing in an instant. Politics must NEVER interfere with human tragedy.

Once again accept my apologies for my initial e-mail and let's get on with the job of doing something to make a difference.

Isaac de Abreu
Johannesburg - South Africa

[bvkeen]

Some people would call us geeks, but this horrible tragedy drives home that none of us should ever be labeled and should not label others. The only label that fits is that we are all human, and all in need of each other to help us survive in this world, where any of us (or our loved ones) can, at any time, be taken out of this world.

I'm proud that PPCT acknowledges that technology is significantly secondary to those it serves, and I appreciate the reminder that nobody helps unless it's those who can afford to do so (and I suspect most of us are very blessed in this regard).

I'll be upgrading my subscription to lifetime, thanks to this post.

[TopDog]

I've donated all the money I was planning on using on new years eve to The Red Cross.

I think it would feel absurd to launch expensive rockets to the sky when I know ten's of thousands of people are dying down there.

[karen]

An excellent post, Jason.

I also would ask the PPCTers help their less-net-experienced friends and family understand that these sort of things also bring out the scammers, in droves.

Please help people realize that charities typically do not send e-mail requesting donations and that all their donations should be sent by contacting the charity directly, not by clicking on an e-mail link sent to them, even it is appears to be sent from a good friend, even if they've donated to the charity before. They can help most by ensure that their money goes where it is supposed to.

I'm letting my family know; you can help by ensure that others know the right was to help.

To everyone, namaste.

Karen

[Paul]

Think of how comfortable and great your Chirstmas was compared to those who suffered through this tragedy. Share with those who are in need.
support the aid groups.

[ricksfiona]

This is a disaster of epic proportions and I think it's a good idea to create a thread from it so we can bounce ideas on how to help.

However, we are being bombarded with information about the disaster right now and most if not all the relief agencies out there are being talked about on all the t.v. networks, Internet news sites, newspapers and radio.. There really is no lack of information right now. God knows all these news sources are trying to 1-up each other right now.

If PPC Thoughts were an amateur business/organization, then I would say "do you what you want". I consider PPC Thoughts a professional business/organization and I rely on PPC Thoughts to give me information that can help me improve my business. There are obviously other companies that consider PPC Thoughts a professional organization due to the advertising they do on this site. CNN, THE news organization, is still reporting on news other than the disaster, PPC Thoughts should still report on PPC information.

Keep up the good work.

[Paul]

Good point Karen. I'd suggest just sending people to the Google home page.

[Ken Mattern]

I have never donated to a disaster relief organization...but I desperately want to help out now. Can anyone that has already donated money suggest which is the most direct form of aid...Red Cross/Americares/Unicef etc?

I give to One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) as 100% that we give goes to those in need. The overhead is paid by Church World Services, member denominations and its sister organizations. http://www.onegreathourofsharing.org/index.html

Contact any of the local member denominations for info on donating. OGHS is not only one hour each year, but an ongoing year round program. OGHS is on the move now.

[pauljacks UK]

My father + my two younger sisters were in a hotel near the shore in southern Sri Lanka when the tsunami hit. The ground floor was wrecked, luckily they were on the first floor. This has brought home to me how far reaching the effects of tragedies like this can be.

Paul

[bdegroodt]

Curious if anyone knows of agencies that are taking volunteers (domestic or international) to help in the relief efforts. I have a bundle of time (through the 10th) that's completely unspoken for and would gladly give it up for my fellow man's future.

[Ken Mattern]

Curious if anyone knows of agencies that are taking volunteers (domestic or international) to help in the relief efforts. I have a bundle of time (through the 10th) that's completely unspoken for and would gladly give it up for my fellow man's future.

http://abcnews.go.com has info for those interested in volunteering.

[Ashley Dunn]

There are organizations like Samaritan's Purse, World Vision, etc., who are shipping volunteers over to help out. I'm sure the link from the prior post is a great resource.

I've spent the majority of my day online reading through the droves of news coverage, and I'm stunned. I keep thinking back to how helpless I felt when 9/11 hit, and it was right next door. I'm so grateful that we're able to help out financially as it seems that money is the one way we can ensure that food and medical supplies get to those stranded and who have been left homeless.

My prayers go out to those most directly affected. May God grant you peace amidst the chaos and tragedy.

[Jason Dunn]

I would like to offer a public apology for the scathing e-mail I sent you guys earlier on today.

Apology accepted, and thanks for offering it - that takes courage, which I admire. Someone emailed me the following today regarding my post:

"Don't ascribe to malevolence that which can be accounted for by negligence."

I thought it was an interesting statement - I know that I jump to conclusions too often as well. ;-)

[Jason Dunn]

I consider PPC Thoughts a professional business/organization and I rely on PPC Thoughts to give me information that can help me improve my business. There are obviously other companies that consider PPC Thoughts a professional organization due to the advertising they do on this site. CNN, THE news organization, is still reporting on news other than the disaster, PPC Thoughts should still report on PPC information.

Thanks for sharing Rick. Normally, that's exactly the approach we take - you'll notice we didn't post about any other natural disaster this year...but this one was different. The scope is so much larger, it simply overrode everything else, including my desire to keep Pocket PC Thoughts focused purely on Pocket PCs. Rest assured this won't happen often, but when it does, trust that we're doing it for a very good reason. When companies like Apple and Google change their home page in reaction to this, it's a good indication that it's world-changing enough to divert from the daily grind a little.

[Master O'Mayhem]

Another thought on donating. The place where I work is matching dollar for dolar up to 1000 bucks for eligible 501(c)3 organizations. That would be 2000.00 going toward an organization like the red cross or doctors without borders. You might want to check with your HR department at work. your donation could be doubled by your employer. In this time of need they can certainly use everything you can give.

[bdegroodt]

http://abcnews.go.com has info for those interested in volunteering.
Hmm. I've looked all over that site and can't find anything specific. Do you have a direct link to the article you might be citing?

[Master O'Mayhem]

http://www.peacework.org/tsunami.htm volunteering

[notesguy88]

There are organizations like Samaritan's Purse, World Vision, etc., who are shipping volunteers over to help out. I'm sure the link from the prior post is a great resource.

I've spent the majority of my day online reading through the droves of news coverage, and I'm stunned. I keep thinking back to how helpless I felt when 9/11 hit, and it was right next door. I'm so grateful that we're able to help out financially as it seems that money is the one way we can ensure that food and medical supplies get to those stranded and who have been left homeless.

My prayers go out to those most directly affected. May God grant you peace amidst the chaos and tragedy.

As a survivor of the 9/11 attacks upon the World Trade Center in NYC, this tragedy really hits me hard. It is so heartrending and heartbreaking seeing it as it unfolds. I can attest to the fact that the surivors of this tragedy will experience incredible trauma ( I and many of my fellow survivors went through it in the aftermath of 9/11). It doesn't matter if the tragedy is a man-made disaster or a natural disaster, the loss of life is too much to bear.

I have myself given a contribution to World Vision in response to the tragedy.

Manuel

[ricksfiona]

I consider PPC Thoughts a professional business/organization and I rely on PPC Thoughts to give me information that can help me improve my business. There are obviously other companies that consider PPC Thoughts a professional organization due to the advertising they do on this site. CNN, THE news organization, is still reporting on news other than the disaster, PPC Thoughts should still report on PPC information.

Thanks for sharing Rick. Normally, that's exactly the approach we take - you'll notice we didn't post about any other natural disaster this year...but this one was different. The scope is so much larger, it simply overrode everything else, including my desire to keep Pocket PC Thoughts focused purely on Pocket PCs. Rest assured this won't happen often, but when it does, trust that we're doing it for a very good reason. When companies like Apple and Google change their home page in reaction to this, it's a good indication that it's world-changing enough to divert from the daily grind a little.

I agree with everything you said. I just don't think new information posting should stop. This is REALLY valuable information to me. Most of it for business reasons.

CNBC is still reporting on business news and information. CNN is still reporting on non-disaster information.

I trust the PPC Thoughts folks to make the right decisions and I haven't been disappointed. You guys are great, devotion is impressive and your professionalism is top notch :lol:

I'm just voicing my 2cents and I know mine and all of our voices are heard with the the utmost sincerity.

Again, keep up the great work!

[denivan]

For the Belgians among us, five charity organisations have teamed up and use a common bank account to collect funds.

You can make donations on 000-0000012-12 (which you can read here :
http://www.radio1.be/radio1_master/actua/r1_actua_aardbeving_azie/index.html)

I'm not one to donate easily, maybe because I feel I can't allways afford it, but when you realize the scope of this....I just feel a donations is the least I could do.

Kind regards,
Ivan

[ben100]

Howdy...

I appreciate everyone's views on this, but I must say that as horrifying as this event has been, what's more horrifying to me is the fact that it gets SO much attention when entirely preventable and LARGER scale episodes of human suffering go fairly unnoticed by every day people and mainstream media...

For instance, HUNDREDS of thousans of deaths in the SUDAN, all entirely preventable...

HUNDRESDS of thousands of deaths in Africa from Malaria, all entirely preventable...

HUNDREDS of thousands of deaths from AIDS in Africa, mostly preventable

Massive starvation in N. Korea. Totally preventable...

I feel terrible for the families who have lost loved ones in this current tsunami affair, but I wish that we humans could show the same outrage over the preventable and unnecessary deaths happening all around us, rather than just the unpreventable acts of God such as this one...

Anyways, again, I don't mean to make light or belittle this event in any way, but I thank God I live in the USA, and I am sickened by the amount of preventable human misery in other parts of the world...

Merely my 2 cents...

- Ben

[Ed Hansberry]

http://abcnews.go.com has info for those interested in volunteering.
Hmm. I've looked all over that site and can't find anything specific. Do you have a direct link to the article you might be citing?
Call the Salvation Army or Red Cross. Either of those will quickly direct you to how you can help them out for the next few days.

[bdegroodt]

Call the Salvation Army or Red Cross. Either of those will quickly direct you to how you can help them out for the next few days.

Thanks Ed! Knew you'd have it. You always do.

[Ed Hansberry]

Call the Salvation Army or Red Cross. Either of those will quickly direct you to how you can help them out for the next few days.

Thanks Ed! Knew you'd have it. You always do.
Cool! 8) Let us know how it goes and what you wind up doing. :D It'd be cool if they flew you over there for a week or so to help out, but I suspect there is a TON of work domestically loading up planes, coordinating with your community to collect material donations, etc.

[Jason Dunn]

People, please, I'm begging you: don't turn this into ANYTHING other than what it is. Please don't make me lock this thread because a few of you decided this was a good opportunity to express your opinions about tangental issues. That's EXACTLY the reason why we don't normally post on these issues - because people feel it's a good opportunity to tell us what they think we should/should not post about.

Please. Have some respect and keep your opinion tucked away for another day.

[Greybard]

When I read this evenings post I felt more anger than anything else...

I am a Red Cross Volunteer; I give blood, time, money...not only when there are disasters but all the time.

This makes me rather guilt-proof, I do as much as I can and I am quite stated with that.

Isaac and others I have seen in times of emergency always fretting and yelling at people for not doing enough.

Well they have enough time to gripe, couldn't they do anything more contructive with their time?

Well they can keep their guilt....

Issac, this isn't a help organization web site, or a news main page or even an emergency blog.

IT'S A POCKETPC Site :| !

They help others when their PPC (I sure consider mine a need in daily life!) are down. They are doing a needed service and if they want to spend some holiday time with their familys and not monitor every news story, well that too tough for you!

The world is full is distasters and I am sure they'll help out in the next one...

If you want to yell, you call at the Whitehouse (Though the US is among the most giving nations in the world, but it seems that the official response is a bit lax by some reports), or the UN for debating help too much, or you can just get to helping at a local relief organization!

Believe me this is the most reserved comment I am posting, my earlier ideas had medical clensing procedures recommendations for Isaac's lower digestive tract.

For the rest of you, it's nice that you are all humane enought to care, and noble enough to get active. Really, I think this board has some of the kindest, most generous users and the internet. I have never seen a newbie abused and there is no being talked down, just helping out and teaching.

Let's not guilt or yell at someone to do something.

It's better if they want to do it on their own.

This board is one of the best on the internet because it keeps to what it is, it's a great source of, for and by PPC users. It's not meant to be a news repository or relief agency...and the SysOps shouldn't be hassled in to making it one.

Back to PPCs...

GB

[Jonathan1]

Heh, I figured you would get around to it Jason.
I myself didn't grasp the scale of this tsunami until Tuesday. Honestly you hear about tsunamis from time to time. I think we are all aware of the scale of destruction that they can cause. Heck tsunamis in that part of the world aren't THAT uncommon. But on this scale. My god. The inhabitants of this little planet have taken the relative stability of our little 'o ball of mud for granted. Things like what happened Sunday are straight out of a sci-fi movie. We just don't comprehend what kind of destruction this world is really capable of because it happens so infrequently.

I know it sounds cliché but honestly its times like these we need to reflect on how fragle life is and appreciate what we have now because it can be gone in the blink of an eye and be thankful we have the income that some don't. While I don't know about you guys over the next few months I'm going to give a portion of each paycheck to http://www.careusa.org
Its the least I can do considering I at least have my life, my home, my friends, a full stomach, and a shirt on my back still and there are those who have literally had everything washed away.

I will be praying for all those involved in this act of nature that doesn’t really have a description. (Truly the words disaster\catastrophe\Cataclysm doesn't really convey the scope of this.) For those who survived and will need to cope.
For those who have lost their lives. May you rest in peace.
For those who are going to provide aid and comfort. May the psychological stress this causes you be blunted by the fact that you are helping.
For those in charge who now have a difficult time ahead rebuilding broken cities and nations. May whatever deity you believe in provide comfort and support to you all.

[Jonathan1]

PS- Guys please stop. This thread is here for one reason. You all know what that is. Arguing at such a time is tantamount to a fist fight breaking out at a funeral. So for once could we please give it a rest and let this pass? :cry: Jason was trying to make a public service announcement. Please don't rain on his gesture. Please?

[beq]

I seem to recall a PPCT forum member (Maximus I think) working in Indonesia, I wonder how he's doing?

I also have friends/family working in that country, luckily they were not in the affected region (Sumatra). I'm so thankful for that.

I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't find out about this tragedy until earlier this week (haven't been watching/reading the news since the holidays). I'd talked to some people over there in the interim, but no one mentioned this to me in the beginning.

Edit: My Dad did tell me thought that he'd shipped off money and clothing and the like to that region to help out...

[JustinGTP]

My family was watching the news the other day and they said that the death toll was 23,000 and it could easily double by the next day. Sure enough, today, it is over 44,000. This is really sad.

-Justin.

[Darius Wey]

I seem to recall a PPCT forum member (Maximus I think) working in Indonesia, I wonder how he's doing?

He's been posting lately, so thankfully, I imagine that he is alright.

[Darius Wey]

My family was watching the news the other day and they said that the death toll was 23,000 and it could easily double by the next day. Sure enough, today, it is over 44,000. This is really sad.

Unfortunately, it's climbing. Being close to the region, we're very frequently updated, and it now stands at around ~80,000. :(

Having a lot of friends from the Asian region, I have just learnt of friends who have lost a couple of loved ones, which is really a sad moment. I really appreciate everyone's positive response so far, and if you are able to spare some change, please donate. And to those willing to offer their time to assist in the recovery effort, I commend you and your desire to help others in times of need. Thank you.

For those in Australia wishing to donate, I've listed some agencies you can contact below:
Care Australia: 1800 020 046 (www.careaustralia.org.au)
Oxfam: 1800 034 034 (www.oxfam.org.au)
Australian Red Cross: 1800 811 700 (www.redcross.org.au)
Caritas Australia: 1800 024 413 (www.caritas.org.au)
World Vision Australia: 13 32 40 (www.worldvision.com.au)
Save The Children: (www.savethechildren.org.au)
Unicef: 1300 732 240 (www.unicef.org.au)

Thank you for your generosity.

Edit: Updated list of agencies.

[JustinGTP]

Thanks Darius for correcting me on that. And yes, I just saw the news now and they are at 77,000. They say that all the disease that the water will bring in will push it up to well over 150,000 deaths by the time this whole thing is over.

-Justin.

[Janak Parekh]

I seem to recall a PPCT forum member (Maximus I think) working in Indonesia, I wonder how he's doing?
I PMed him on Monday. He's fine -- he's in Jakarta. I'm sure he'll chime in with more details if he sees this thread.

I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't find out about this tragedy until earlier this week (haven't been watching/reading the news since the holidays). I'd talked to some people over there in the interim, but no one mentioned this to me in the beginning.
Well, part of the problem is that no one really grasped the magnitude until the last couple days. It sort of sprung up on us all, and now it's like a nightmare that keeps getting worse. :(

--janak

[NLS]

My family was watching the news the other day and they said that the death toll was 23,000 and it could easily double by the next day. Sure enough, today, it is over 44,000. This is really sad.

-Justin.

Greek news mention 70000 since yesterday and it's easy to double because of various epidemicies starting up (no clean water, too many dead unburied etc.)

the weird thing is how many people CONTINUE their vacations a few blocks (not even kilometers) away...

I understand that for many it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity they find hard to ruin (maybe paid for it with years' salaries) but it is weird to go for a swim in a beach that has a VERY good posibility to wash ashore bodies or go for a drink just to find that there is no... town if you take the wrong turn

anyway - I hope humankind takes lessons - we need to respect nature MUCH more and we need to understand that as important is for us, our life for Earth is no more important (or hard to take) than a bee's or ant's

it's still sad
thousands of souls... thousands of books with many pages left white... let's not forget that at least 1/3 where kids (that were much harder to hang on something or swim)

we cannot fully comprehend the scale of this


:( :( :(

[alabij]

I made a contribution via Amazon.com way before this thread came up. However, anyone that feels that they needed or expected this site to post a response to the situation has a lot more thinking to do.

I really appreciate the tough stance of Jason posting this thread. I am not offended by it but I'm offended by those who wrote e-mail(s) criticizing this site for not responding.

This is a PPC site. A post on how PPC's are being used in this disaster situation and embedded links on how to contribute would have been just fine.

Yes! A disaster happened, a tragic natural disaster. However life goes on. My favourite saying is; When there is life, there is hope. People should use this to evaluate themselves.

PPC Thoughts does not owe anyone an apology. Anyone who feels that they needed PPCT to inform them of global events is in serious need of self analyssis.

I think this thread should be locked. Links on how and where to contribute funds posted on either of the home page border columns would have done more justice and had more of a neutral impact than this thread.

[JayM]

Well, part of the problem is that no one really grasped the magnitude until the last couple days. It sort of sprung up on us all, and now it's like a nightmare that keeps getting worse. :(

--janak

I saw some video's online (http://www.pocketcasting.com/donate.htm) and that's when it "really hit me". I must of had a hard time "really comprehending” the number 70,000 when I read it in the News. I fealt bad, but when I see it, it really brings it home. I feel for everybody that has been hurt by this. :cry: Please donate if you can!

"You are not the body; you are not the mind; you are pure spirit.

Therefore, perform action always without attachment. For by such work, a person attains the supreme goal. Our duty is to encourage everyone in his/her struggles to live up to his/her highest ideal ... and to make that ideal as near as possible to the truth.

Then that soul is a lamp whose light is steady, for it burns in a place where no wind blows."

[Greybard]

I think this thread should be locked. Links on how and where to contribute funds posted on either of the home page border columns would have done more justice and had more of a neutral impact than this thread.

Ya, let's lock this thread...

Pretty much of value to be said has been said...Let's just hope the New Year brings new happiness.

GB

[Steven Cedrone]

Well, as long as people wish to discuss this disaster, and do so with respect to one another, there is no reason to lock this thread...

Steve

[Ken Mattern]

http://abcnews.go.com has info for those interested in volunteering.
Hmm. I've looked all over that site and can't find anything specific. Do you have a direct link to the article you might be citing?

Sorry, it's gone now. I've been reading about the tsunami at abcnews.com since Sunday and they had a link for volunteering.

[Janak Parekh]

Well, as long as people wish to discuss this disaster, and do so with respect to one another, there is no reason to lock this thread...
Right - the thread will slow down soon after it falls off the frontpage.

--janak

[bjornkeizers]

Well, as long as people wish to discuss this disaster, and do so with respect to one another, there is no reason to lock this thread...

Steve

Everyone deals with this in their own way. No matter what we or you do, its always going to be the wrong thing. If you don't mention it, people send angry letters. If you start a discussion, people will bring politics into it - something which I don't usually mind, but you'd think when 100.000 people lost their lives, politics would be the least of our worries. I'm disgusted someone brought it up in the first place.

Emotions are going to run high; I for one would like to urge everyone to 'show restraint', as someone who shall remain nameless said to me earlier.

Let's keep it civil and let's do our best to help.

[Darius Wey]

Sorry, it's gone now. I've been reading about the tsunami at abcnews.com since Sunday and they had a link for volunteering.

I've discovered that if you get in contact with some of the agencies listed at this (http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=369925) page and let them know you wish to volunteer to help, they'll be happy to arrange something, as long as they are still accepting volunteers.

[newbie2]

You guys are really generous. I also use the Amazon to donate. By the way, I'm in Penang now. :P

[ctmagnus]

Curious if anyone knows of agencies that are taking volunteers (domestic or international) to help in the relief efforts. I have a bundle of time (through the 10th) that's completely unspoken for and would gladly give it up for my fellow man's future.

I just found this:

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Asian disaster: How to help (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4131881.stm)

[Jonathon Watkins]

Donations are indeed best at the moment as these BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4142601.stm) news stories make clear (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/4141323.stm):

"This Aid agencies have said it is money - and not food, clothing, bedding or medicines - that the victims of the Asian tsunami need. They have also been inundated with offers of help from would-be volunteers, many of them qualified tradespeople who want to work on rebuilding shattered communities.

Most have had to be turned down, although Oxfam has said it wants 10,000 people to help in its charity stores."

It also looks like it may be better to donate, rather than volunteer this time round:

"There was a similar message to those people who generously offered their time to help on the ground in countries such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India. Medecins San Frontieres, the international agency that provides doctors and medics to war-torn or disaster-ravaged areas, is among those not sending first-timers. "We're unable to accept any of them, a spokesman told the BBC News website. "We've got people who are already registered. We don't send out people off the street. It's not good for either side." Claire Lewis, a spokesperson from charity Oxfam, said calls from concerned plumbers, builders and other skilled people offering their services had run into "the high hundreds". But she said the main priority now was money to buy water, food and materials to save lives."

You guys are a generous lot. Lets keep sharing with those in need.

[maximus]

I seem to recall a PPCT forum member (Maximus I think) working in Indonesia, I wonder how he's doing?


Thanks for the thoughts, I am fine.

I am working freelance for a news company, and they shipped myself and several other photographers to aceh (the nothern most region ot the Sumatra Island, where the earthquake and tsunamis did the worst damage), to take pictures.

I was there for 4 days (dec. 29 to jan 1), and I guess I will not forget the horrible sight for the rest of my life. A total of 90,000 people got killed in the aceh province alone. And since the indonesian government are pretty slow in handling this disaster, the supply for bodybags are severely limited. Hence bodies are piled on the side of the roads en masse.

The worse one was in an area called 'Aceh Besar', where I noted a huge pile of bodies were left in front of a moaque. I talked to the security force supervising the area, and he mentioned that there are approximately 4000 bodies in that pile.

It was total annihilation back there. Cars thrown into the 4th floor of a hotel, bodies on top of coconut trees, etc.

The stench are horrifying. I wore oxygen mask, yet the stench still managed to get into the mask. I covered the Bali bombing and the JW Marriot bombing, but those two are nothing compared to this Aceh disaster. In the bali bombing, there are 'only' 200 casualties, and the blast only effected a radius of 200-300 meters. In aceh, the disaster covers 2/3 of the province. There are dead bodies everywhere I go.

I got back in jakarta in the afternoon of January 1 (spent new year in aceh, a once in a lifetime experience), and immediately shipped to a hospital, because I apparently caught viral infection in my stomach. Got a very high fever, pain in my joints, throwing up, and a very nasty diarrhea (got to run the the toilet every 10-20 minutes) ... I stayed in the hospital for 4 days, and just got released earlier this morning.


.
.
.


Well anyway, I am safe, sound and healthy. But I 'lost' both my sigma SD9 and mpx200, and also all the cash in my wallet. I donate them to the local red cross, so they can sell them and use the money. If anyone would like to donate a sigma SD10 and a mpx220, it will be highly appreciated :) Just kidding.

Off to bed now. Stomach still a bit sore from all the antibiotics that I took during the 4 days in the hospital.