What do you think about the tsunami?

[Renew Deal]

I have a lot of thoughts on this. I'm not sure why it affects me as much as it does. It shows how unpredictable and powerful mother nature is. It shows how unpredictable and fragile life is. This has to be the most devastating natural disaster that I can think of in terms of lives and devastation in my lifetime.

What do you all think?

[nicolemrw]

1. i think i can't grasp the reality.

i honestly can't imagin all those deaths and all that devestation. its just to much to hold in my mind.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

16. It fails to register.

I was drinking beer with friends at the barra da Tijuca beach tonight. I tried to imagine a giant wave coming and wiping out every fucking thing. It didn't register. It was like trying to run a Macintosh program in a PC.

[fluffernutter]

2. devastating, heartbreaking, scary, and very very sad.

[Longgrain]

8. Try driving to work every day

In a Massachusetts blizzard.

Lotsa cars go "off the road" here...

Mother nature can be such a slut sometimes...

[CelticWinter]

3. My thoughts are

that Mother Earth is pissed off and letting us know with tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanos, hurricanes, melting ice caps, etc. If we dont take care of her how is she to take care of us.
Blessings
~~Celtic

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

17. Sorry, I don't buy it.

Global warming, ozone layer going away, species extinctions, diseases, this IS Nature reacting to man's abuse.

But tectonic plate movement? No way. This is just random, pointless shit that happens according to the laws of Physics. "Nature's revenge" is people trying to give it meaning, but the real horror is there's no meaning.

The earthquakes would happen even if we were all saints. That's just how the planet's material is.

[Renew Deal]

24. I think you're both right.

The planet neesd to be taken care of and this was some random shit that would have happened no matter what.

[skygazer]

4. It's just so disturbing

It's hard to wrap my mind around that many deaths in a matter of moments, really. It's just a terrible, terrible tragedy. They were saying on the news today that they think a large percentage of casualties were children and that just breaks my heart. Untimely death is sad enough but an untimely and frightening death for children just destroys me.

[fluffernutter]

6. i completely agree with your last sentence.

i heard that too while watching it on the news and i just cried.

[Renew Deal]

25. I have seen

a lot of dead children. I guess it makes sense in that it's harder for them to fight.

[TXlib]

54. The news reports that got me the most were of children being swept away

I couldn't help but think of my girls in such a situation, scared, screaming, and wondering why Mommy or Daddy wasn't saving them.

I'm a stone-hearted bastard, but that made me cry.

[Bouncy Ball]

5. I think I like the word "tsunami"

but not what it actually is.

[THUNDER HANDS]

7. on italian bread, it makes a great sandwich

with some deli mustard and provologne. Mmmmmm.

[Deja Q]

9. I was thinking it was better with guacamole...

:D

[donheld]

13. If we don't find something to laugh about we go crazy

The reality of it is just overwelming

on italian bread, it makes a great sandwich


with some deli mustard and provologne. Mmmmmm.


I was thinking it was better with guacamole...

[arwalden]

10. I Just Hate It...

... oh wait. I mean I'm "very angry" at it, although I respect it.

[Ilsa]

11. Water is always underestimated...

until you see it move concrete barricades, knock over houses, etc.

[donheld]

12. Phenominal

The fact that it reached from Somalia to Thailand is just amazing. The loss of life is extremely sad.

[SarahB]

14. It's sad of course, but the cynic in me realizes....

That in all likelihood, there's going to be some upcoming made-for-TV movie in a few months entitled "Tsunami" about one coming to the US. :eyes:
Of course a disaster like that could happen, but is it just me or does the mass media stick like glue to anything along the lines of FEAR FEAR FEAR?!

p.s. I know it's not just me!

[Renew Deal]

26. I was thinking the same thing.

There have been movies about earthquakes in NY, California falling in the ocean, and recently some other crazy idea. I don't think anyone thought of this... UNTIL NOW. Bwahahahahaha

[NewJeffCT]

33. I'm sure we'll see one for the May sweeps

Or, November at the latest. Sad, but predictable.

[pfitz59]

15. We are mere gnats buzzing about Mother Earth....

Sometimes she gets annoyed enough to swat us! Puts humanity in the proper perspective.....

[WMliberal]

18. my mouth was agape seeing the footage yesterday. I was

in a trance, until my uncle tried to put some silver lining in the clouds: "at least it'll wash away the feces from the alleys." It was probably the first smile I'd cracked in hours.

I'm sure this has been brough up in innumerable threads while I was out of town this weekend, but, doesn't anyone get rather cynical and flippant when the * admin. tries to sound generous by offering $15 million to fix THIS thing, when we piss that away in an hour in Iraq??? :wtf:

[Renew Deal]

27. Someone commented that we should give India a cruise missle.

That was funny.

[-..__...]

19. Look at the bright side...

maybe those 22,000 outsourced jobs that were lost will come back to this country?

:smoke:

[BeTheChange]

20. That's just ridiculously callus.

Im in technology.. Ive been impacted.

Screw a job. Id rather have 22k+ alive.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

48. well if your country went up in flames....would the rest of the world

be justified in saying...oh well look on the bright side...a lot of natural resources will be saved since those americans are dead?

what kind of a comment is that anyway? :puke:

[KSAtheist]

56. You're a charming fellow.

Please, find me a person on this wall who took food out of the mouth of a hard-working American. Find me a person in this pile who worked making jeans or shoes or sparkplugs.

Not everything is about economics and outsourcing. By reducing the multitude of dead to mere job statistics, you show an inhuman lack of class and decorum.

[Name removed]

61. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jellybelly]

21. anybody consider

the damage that would've occured if the earthquake had occured on land? Maybe hundreds of thousands dead.

[Renew Deal]

28. It's hard to say.

But earthquakes on land don't usually kill that many people (hundreds of thousands). The water is all reaching in some places. You can't really hide from it.

[jellybelly]

58. 9.0 could kill alot of people

the geography would never be same, there would be cities on fire. Aid would be almost impossible.

[NightTrain]

22. I think it's a tragedy of--dare I say it?--Biblical proportions.

In today's HARTFORD COURANT, I read this quote from a survivor: "It was like the sea stood up." Though I have an awfully creative mind, I simply cannot imagine what that could've looked like, particularly to someone who saw it coming straight at them.

If I weren't an atheist, I'd pray for those poor people in Asia. Right now, they need all the help they can get!

[jellybelly]

23. send your peace vibes

that's the atheists version of praying

[Renew Deal]

29. Cash

That's always helpful and they are going to need tons of it.

[ekhunter]

94. I think you could be on to something. the end times are near.

[SweetLeftFoot]

30. It showed me

How good it is to born rich and Western. I am an AUssie (though not living there now) and we, along with the US and Japan, have paid for a big system of warning buoys and satellites to warn of us of tsunami caused by deep-sea quakes out in the Pacific.

Now, some of the nations affected by this horror actaully discussed building a similar system last year but decided they couldn't afford it.

If they'd has a system that allowed even 1 hours warning, probably 75% of those who died would have been able to get to higher ground.

[Renew Deal]

31. The assumption is that you can get people to react to the warning,

Have you ever been in a fire drill? The alarm goes off, but there is no smoke or fire. People tend to not react in a big way without a threat. After 15 minutes people would be back on the beach. It would take incredible coordination to pull off.

[SweetLeftFoot]

64. Still

Worth having nonetheless.

[Renew Deal]

71. I don't disagree

Have you seen this though... http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1101212

It's part of the problem.

[Skittles]

87. they will listen now

:(

[NewJeffCT]

35. The last tsunami that hit the US

We had early warning of the last big tsunami to his the US (I think it was in 1964?) - and, you know what happened? People went down to the beach to watch the incoming tsunami... dozens died.

However, the West Coast of the US also has many cliffs & hills that would prevent a lot of the devastation we see in places like Sri Lanka & Malaysia.

Also, remember, the Indian Ocean area hadn't been hit by a tsunami since like 1883.

[KSAtheist]

57. I don't get this reasoning.

It's not enough to just dump a lot of money in the Thai/Indian/Sri Lankan coffers and trust them to build a warning system. Corruption and bureaucratic stagnation is pretty endemic to the region.

If we had given them $100 million to build their warning system, I guarantee it wouldn't have been done by now.

[SweetLeftFoot]

65. Typical American

It's not enough to just dump a lot of money in the Thai/Indian/Sri Lankan coffers and trust them to build a warning system. Corruption and bureaucratic stagnation is pretty endemic to the region.

Jesus, even Americans supposedly on the left can't escape it. Can you not see what a truly condescending and borderline racist statement you have just made?

Let's deal with it point-by-point ...

It's not enough to just dump a lot of money in the Thai/Indian/Sri Lankan coffers and trust them to build a warning system.

So the funny little dark people shouldn't be trusted with big heap wampum then? They need good old fashioned white men to show them how to manage it? How about you send us a good Yankee over to show us how to manage money - maybe Ken Lay, Henry Blodget, some of the brainicas from WorldCom?

Corruption and bureaucratic stagnation is pretty endemic to the region.

The pot calling the kettle black. Bureacratic stagnation? India has four times the population of the US and you know what, THEY CAN RUN A FREE AND FAIR ELECTION! Methinks Indian bureacracy might just have something that you don't recognise.

Corruption you say. Given the rerlentless corruption of US politics all the way from the local sanitation commissioner with Mob ties to the President who is basically a tool of the oil and pharma lobbies, don't you think it's a bit rich to be pointing the finger elsewhere?

The most sickening thing about all this is that many of the people who died in the horrible event had no choice to live where they did.

However, everytime there is a hurricane in Florida (fairly often)we in the rest of the world are subjected to endless hours of footage of gap-toothed retards bemoaning the fact that the hurricane had destroyed their possesions, despite a large percentage of them having actually moved to the area.

[Renew Deal]

72. That's not borderline racist.

That's ridiculous. KSAtheist makes a legitimate point. WTF does that have to do with racism? Indonesia is a mess. The northern part of the country is held by rebels. Do they not work on the system in that part? Thailand is better off. So is India. Why don't they spend some extra money on it?

You use India as if they are the rule and not the exception in that region. Sri Lanka is the poorest country in the world IIRC. Malaysia is run by a military dictatorship. Indonesia is unofficially split in two. Your charges of racism are rude and ill informed.

[SweetLeftFoot]

76. Hmmmm ...

Sri Lanka is far from the poorest country in the world. Malaysia, while not exactly a perfect democracy (I'd say its on a par with the US) is most certainly not a military dictatorship.

I don't understand what you mean when you say Indonesia is split in two. About 30 pieces would be more accurate, however, nevertheless, they still managed to conduct reasonably free and fair elections last year too.

And you'll note that I said it was borderline racist. Big difference.

[Renew Deal]

79. I mixed up a dictator with a monarch.

Malaysia
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/my.html

Sri Lanka is actually the 5th poorest with it's money coming mainly from tourism. It's also the poorist in Asia according to GDP.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/sri_lanka/49418.stm

There are many islands, but my understanding is that northern Sumatra is held by rebels.



http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/aceh.htm

I had read that it is sealed off from the rest of the island.

[SweetLeftFoot]

82. Sort of

The GAM (Aceh Merdaka - "Free Aceh") have been fighting the Indonesians for about 27 years, with various ceasefires intervening. Aceh was traditionally an independent sultanate until taken over by the Dutch. The idea of Indonesia as a discrete nation is false. It was propped up (brutally) by the CIA stooge Suharto until the late 90's. Now its basically a democratically elected govt in Java and parts of Sumatra with fiefdoms on the other islands.

The 1998 figures you quote for Sri Lanka are well outdated. The ceasefires and peace deals with the Tamil Tigers since then have meant that Sri Lanka has been attracting a lot more investment and money. Laos and East Timor are far more poverty stricken.

[sandnsea]

67. They didn't issue the warning

Because they didn't want to upset the tourism industry if it wasn't actually bad. They had the info. Some places had as much as 4 hours lead time from when the earthquake hit. This wasn't originally released. Plus, you're assuming there will always be that much forewarning on the west coast. I live here, I know there might well be as little as 30 minutes warning. Finally, that area doesn't tend to get hit by tsunamis the way the actual Pacific region does. That's why they didn't have a complete siren type warning system, not just money. And again, what good is a warning system if the tourism industry decides not to use it. In the end, the rich Westerners may have caused the deaths of these thousands of poor people. Between hotels that caused natives to live and work on the coasts where they never used to, changes in the coastline for shrimp beds and construction that used to break tidal waves, and not issuing the warning; I'd say I'm not proud to be born "rich" (ha) and Western at all.

[SweetLeftFoot]

68. I didn't say I was proud

I said I was lucky.

[Renew Deal]

73. I don't think anything would have stopped them anyway.

I doubt a change in the shallow see floor would have made a difference. These things are way too powerful and they come a long distance.

[sans qualia]

32. I learned that a tsunami is a big, watery explosion...

courtesy of somebody here on DU, in fact. I'm sorry if that sounds flippant, but, like a couple of other posters said, I'm haing trouble wrapping my head around a tragedy of this magnitude, especially one so far away. :( As horrible as I know it is, I'm just not feeling it on a personal level.

[NewJeffCT]

34. it's difficult to comprehend

Just like the earthquake in Iran last year. It is a huge tragedy that is awesome in its size & scope, but because it is on the other side of the world, our only views are what we see on television.

[Darranar]

36. No human could prevent this...

If the world was a utopia with complete equality and peace, we'd STILL have tsunamis, and they would STILL cause devastation. All we can do is warn beforehand and help afterward.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

40. if we had utopia though...the clean up after tsunami would be better

[Renew Deal]

44. I guess

But it's hard to get enough people and resources into some of these remote places. Also there aren't enough people to quickly react to that king of disaster.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

45. yes but if third world countries were not so poor

the places would be more accessible.

[Debbi801]

37. I can't completely grasp the entirety of the whole thing...

It is like my mind isn't comprehending it--the vast devastation, the HUGE number of people who have died, the large number of people still missing. The whole thing is awe inspiring, but in a terrible way.

All of the missing and killed children made me cry.

My oldest (12) overheard my husband and I talking last night and started asking questions. He was so frightened.

It boggles my mind. I take for granted just how precious and fickle life can be.

Debbi

[dryan]

38. Very tragic....

one of these tragedies that reminds me of "The Last Days of Pompeii". First a 9.0 earthquake then the tidal wave.

About early warning systems: they only work if you have a population that is willing to listen. During the first hurricane in Central Florida (Charly) which happened at night, we had a all-night curvew. Right around my neighborhood there were hundreds of downed power lines, toppled trees etc. The police were more concerned about someone crashing into a downed tree--well folks, you guessed it, there were still thousands of people on the highways of Central Florida even driving during the storm.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

39. At least with an early warning system

the people with common sense have a chance. There's really not much one can do with someone who has that "it can't happen to me" attitude or doesn't really understand the danger.

I was watching the Japanese news on the International Channel this morning, and they showed film footage of the tsunami that hit Japan in 1964 after the gigantic earthquake in Chile. At that time, they had no modern warning system, and many people died, even though the wave took 22 hours to cross the Pacific. Nowadays, they said, modern warning systems would have allowed plenty of time to evacuate coastal cities.

However, they are concerned that an earthquake in the sea just south of Japan could cause a tsunami that devastated the southern shore of the island of Shikoku.

They also showed a video clip from Kenya, in which a man with a loudspeaker driving up and down the street was the tsunami warning system.

[Squatch]

41. A great opportunity to

analyze what occured and ensure that future events have less of an impact on humans.

[Forkboy]

42. Sobering

My life has gone to shit in the last couple of weeks,but even the thought of being homeless isn't as bad as having my whole family killed.As bad as things are,it makes me realize they could be even worse.

[DinahMoeHum]

43. Natural disaster happens all the time. Earth is a very active planet.

Still, one cannot help but be impressed that the natural world, Mother Nature, what have you, still throws its weight around in various ways just to let you know she's still boss, and it's best not to screw around with her.

:shrug:

[LDS Jock]

46. I'd think the grave dancers on here would be happy about it

[Forkboy]

47. I think the sanctimonious are going to break their arms patting themselves

on the back.

Still bummed about that bigoted shithead White?

[LDS Jock]

53. not so much

He doesn't really matter to me one way or another. Just refuse to celebrate the death of another. You must be one of the haters since you got worked up so quickly.

[Forkboy]

63. So I'm a hater

I'll live.

Cya.

[miss_kitty]

49. MIHOP? LIHOP?

I can't decide

[La Lioness Priyanka]

51. how about neither?

[Renew Deal]

74. Or both

;)

[redqueen]

50. I think mother nature's just getting warmed up.

I hope I'm wrong... I fear I'm not.

[ronnykmarshall]

52. It could happen here easily.

What sucks is that they had NO warning at all. On the west coast there are warnings should that happen here.

[BluePatriot]

55. Awful, and tough to comprehend.

It's really heart wrenching when you think of the scope of the destruction and the helplessness of the victims. :(

[sundog]

59. makes my heart sad

Hard to comprehend. There is now way to measure the grief of the surviving people.

All that can be measured is the body count - each person with his or her own story, family, hopes, struggles, dreams. :(

[Renew Deal]

75. Mine too

It's just painful. I wish I could help in a way other than money.

[Left Is Write]

60. It's mind-boggling.

I don't think I'm at a place where I can even comprehend the devastation left by the tsunami. The sheer numbers of people killed...the rampant destruction of property, communities and livelihoods...the magnitude is difficult to grasp.

[SmokingJacket]

62. Incomprehensible.

I haven't even tried to imagine it.

Too painful, too pointless.

[Rhiannon12866]

66. This disaster totally boggles the mind

I just can't comprehend the loss of life. I got an e-mail, one of the "actions," that many of us take part in, asking The White House to allocate more funds for disaster relief. And I was thinking, when I passed it on, why we couldn't have spent the millions that we spent in Iraq, on this. And I got a reply from my friend, saying that she'd gladly sign, since she'd read that they were spending another $40 million on the next inauguration! For what?!:grr:

And it made me think of this test which I took on DU. What Kind of Natural Disaster Are You? I was a Tsunami, and I still am. Pretty bad, as I now know.;(

http://www.yayajon.com/watercircle/naturaldisasterquiz.html

[arwalden]

69. It's Proof That There IS NO GOD.

[Rhiannon12866]

70. I agree, my friend, but you're in the wrong forum.

See you in the other one. *sigh*;(

[Renew Deal]

77. No it doesn't.

And that's a cheap shot. Thanks for trying to hijack this thread with your personal flame war.

[arwalden]

88. You Asked A Question, Bleachers7... And I Answered.

You just don't like the answer. -- Cope.

-- Allen

I've taken note that you saved your scorn only for *my* response and not anyone else who may not have responded as solemnly as you'd have liked.

[Name removed]

90. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[arwalden]

93. Bleachers7...

>> "It's all about you."<<

Nope. That is incorrect.

Now it's about my responding to the question you asked in your OP in a less-than-solemn way (as did others) yet you selectively post a reply that jumps on my ass and nobody Else's. I wonder why? :shrug:

>> You thought my response in Bertha's thread was about you too.<<

I'm not sure what you're talking about. But since this isn't Kim's thread I have to wonder... What would an old disagreement have to do with anything here? :eyes:

>> It has nothing to do with you. <<

Well make up your mind!! Which is it?? Is it about me or not?? :crazy:

>> Just your lame response to this thread. <<

Oh, I see. I'll try to be less "lame" in the future.

>> You said it proves there is no God. Fine. <<

"Fine"?? -- Really? Your replies indicate otherwise. Apparently it's not so "fine".

>> What's your evidence? <<

Well... the fact that it happened. The "god" that's described by believers would not have let such a thing happen. Or, perhaps the "god" isn't capable of preventing such things. Or perhaps the "god" isn't really in control... or maybe it's that he doesn't care?

>> That was just flamebait. <<

People are free to label anything they disagree with as being 'flamebait'. I suppose that's always easier to do that, and hurl insults and scorn, than it is to post civil messages.

>> BTW, did you notice that I didn't comment on D__S's response about outsourcing in India? <<

Why is this relevant? And you think this is important... beca-a-a-a-ause??? :eyes:

>> Oh yeah, I forgot. It's all about you. <<

Holy cow! Make up your mind! Is it about me, or isn't it about me? :crazy:

I simply answered your original post... you have issues with that, and instead of addressing (or ignoring) my response, you resort to personal attacks... and then accuse ME of baiting. --- Good grief.

[Renew Deal]

96. Like I said, it's all about you.

I'm not picking on you. I've responded to a lot of the posts in this thread. It has nothing to do with how solemnly others have responded. I'm not sure what your point is.

Here is the post I was talking about. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=2294865&mesg_id=2298454&page=

For some reason you thought I was talking about you. My post has nothing to do with you personally, but you seem to think so. That's why I say it's all about you. It's called sarcasm.

It's fine that you think that this proves there is no God. I don't care about that. But you just threw it out there with nothing to back it up. It has nothing to do with disagreeing with you. I might not even disagree you. You just threw it out without backing it up.

I simply answered your original post. You have issues with that. I responded even though you think I should have possibly ignored your magnum opus. That's why I say that (to you) it's all about you.

[arwalden]

97. Bleachers7

>> I'm not picking on you. I've responded to a lot of the posts in this thread. It has nothing to do with how solemnly others have responded. <<

You asked a question. I answered it. The evidence is right there for anyone who cares to open there eyes. It's the tragedy of what happened itself.

>> I'm not sure what your point is. <<

Yes, I can see that. I don't know what else I can do to make it any clearer. Just take some time to try and figure it out.

>> Here is the post I was talking about. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph... <<

Thanks. I'll have to take a look at that post to see what all the excitement is about.

>> For some reason you thought I was talking about you. <<

Well, yes I did! :eyes: Let's see... when you accuse me of posting for the purpose of starting *MY* personal flame war... well... it seems rather OBVIOUS who it is you're talking about. :shrug: Duh!

>> My post has nothing to do with you personally, but you seem to think so. That's why I say it's all about you. <<

Once again, your OP asked a question. I provided a self-evident answer. And you accuse *me* of firing "cheap shots" :eyes: and "trying to hijack this thread" with *MY" "personal flame war".

Why would you say something like that? For what purpose? That was totally uncalled for. The backhanded comments clearly show that if anyone was trying to make it "about me" then that would be YOUR OWN doing.

Just look at what you said and how you responded to me. :crazy: It's there for anyone to see. I'm not making this shit up. The evidence is right there for anyone who's interested. Just scroll up!

(Well... *some* of the evidence is still there.) :nuke:

>> It's called sarcasm. <<

Yeah... uh... it needs a little work. :eyes:

>> It's fine that you think that this proves there is no God. I don't care about that. <<

Clearly you do care what I think. The high-handed tone of your posts and the words you choose demonstrate otherwise.

I suppose I should be flattered that my opinions matter SO MUCH to you that you would respond to me as you did. So... thanks! I appreciate that. It means a lot to me. Really it does. :hug:

>>But you just threw it out there with nothing to back it up. <<

It was self-evident. All anyone needs to do is look at the news reports open their eyes and the evidence is right there for anyone who will pay attention. What more could I have said?

I can't MAKE you pay attention to the news reports of the number of DEAD INNOCENT PEOPLE.

>> It has nothing to do with disagreeing with you. <<

You keep saying that... but you're just contradicting yourself. Because everything ELSE you say would lead a rational person to believe otherwise.

Oh well... go figure.

>> I might not even disagree you. You just threw it out without backing it up. <<

You keep saying that too... so again... I'll just repeat that one needs to only LOOK at the news and the indiscriminate DEATH TOLL to see the proof for themselves.

It's pretty gruesome and horrific. All those children!! I suppose it's easier for many to just look the other way.

>> I simply answered your original post. You have issues with that. <<

Are you referring to where you accused me of posting a "cheap shot"? How was that a "cheap shot"? Whom did I attack with this supposed cheap-shot?

Or are you referring to where you accused me of "trying to hijack this thread with (my) personal flame war"? Is that what I'm NOT supposed to have issues with? Indeed.

I answered your question. You took issue with my response and started in with the baseless personal accusations... and personal attacks. That was over the top. Unnecessary.

>> I responded even though you think I should have possibly ignored your magnum opus. That's why I say that (to you) it's all about you. <<

You keep saying this, but I don't know how you expect any reasonable or sensible person to believe it. Perhaps you're trying to convince yourself, because I'm certainly not buying what you're selling.

[Rabrrrrrr]

78. It shows me how truly insignificant we are

No matter ow much power we muster - even that of the hydrogen bomb - our power is but nothing compared to the power of nature, of earth, and of the universe.

"You gonna spend a few hundred years setting up towns and resorts and shit on a few thousand miles of coastline? Well, then, I the Earth will destroy it all in one hour."

And etc. Same with hurricanes and tornadoes and earthquakes. And the power that is in the sun - something like 1,000,000,000,000 nuclear bombs of every second of energy being converted in the sun. Yeah, we humans look pretty fucking pathetic.

Really makes me think we should just give up trying to outdestroy each other, and work together instead. And work in harmony with nature, and not against it. And come to realize that everything we have is temporary and liminal and evanescent, so we shouldn't get attached to material things at all.

[underpants]

80. Exactly and a horrible horrible day

Mother Nature is the ultimate power.

Sad just terribly sad

[ProfessorGAC]

81. I Heard On TV Last Night. . .

. . .that satellite imagery analysis indicated that the wave was 60 feet tall and hit a beach in India, 1100 miles from the epicenter, at 105mph! A 60 foot tall, one mile wide wave, going 105mph! That'd be like a CITY going 105mph. And all this 1100 miles from the source!

Incredible, the power of nature.
The Professor

[underpants]

83. I haven't been able to get any kind of perspective on this yet

that is the closest I have heard. Good Lord!

The TV coverage, stories, and pics compiled together come close but from the getgo I knew this was WAY larger than anyone could put into words. This was apparently just mind boggling.

[ProfessorGAC]

85. You & Me Both

I was watching one of the local 10pm news shows here in Chicago. I forget which, but it had to be CBS, NBC, or ABC, because WGN and Fox have their news at 9 and i wasn't home yet. One of the weather guys did a special report about it, and that's where i heard it, but i forgot which one.

But, he sounded as astounded as you or i when he was reporting it. Sort of like, "i can't believe i'm saying this, but. . .". Absolutely incredible.
The Professor

[Minimus]

84. It put things into perspective for me. Here I've been crying over my dog

and dealing with a husband who has started doing strange things. I've been feeling sorry for myself and then BAM! I get a wake up call to how bad things can really be. I see the devastation and the dead bodies and the children and I just feel so overwhelmed with the differences in my so called "struggles" and what those people are going through.

My fundie employer did make a comment today that pissed me off. He said "I guess that was god's way of saying that area was getting too overpopulated". I wanted to slap his face.

[alarimer]

99. it was sort of a tacky thing to say

It would have killed just as many people here even though the population density may be higher there. Everything is temporary, even the lifespan of species, including humans. I think this event is something like that which is going to cause the ultimate extinction of the human race, which will happen sooner or later (unless we destroy the planet first).

[Skittles]

86. I'm very upset

they're saying the system they need in the Indian Ocean to give some warning to people - well, at least three hours - will cost 27 million. How much is the world now going to spend? How many people could have been saved? How much has been spent killing people in Iraq? I don't understand this world, I just don't.

I'm terribly affected too Bleachers, as I hope any human would be upon witnessing the utter destruction and despair. I've seen so many horrific images but the one that sticks in my mind is an Indian man clutching the hand of his dead 8 yr old son to his face - you only see the man's face and his son's hand but it is so powerful, the raw, wretched grief in his face.

And again, I am outraged and disgusted by the lack of proper attention from Bush Inc. - although, not really surprised.

Please people, if you can spare 5 bucks or 500, DO IT - there's a list of places on DU's front page. Everyone needs to help - NOW.

[alarimer]

89. Terrible

But it is sort of beyond comprehension, like an asteroid hitting the Earth (which has happened and caused massive extinctions). Natural disasters like this always remind me that we are not really in conrol here. There is absolutely no way it could have been prevented. I am not even sure if warnings would have helped much.

[HEyHEY]

91. I can't even describe how this makes me feel.

It's terrible.

[jonolover]

92. I can imagine,

but cannot fully understand the actual damage. I'm sure it's much more than I think. My family comes from the western coast of India, which didn't get affected, luckily. It's scary.

[Catchawave]

95. Heartbreaking and mind-numbing.

[Taverner]

98. Fuck. Bloody Fuck.

Thing is, I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand from 1992-95. I knew those areas they talk about, and went there several times.