Tsunami

[Noel]

So, here we are moaning about the weather, the commercialism of christmas, the rubbish gifts we got over the festive period, crap TV, how our workshop is freezing and complaints about over eating and excessive imbibing. Although we often see and read about casualties of war, the destruction of life through natural (and unnatural) disasters the last few days have been particularly harrowing. The news footage of adults and children been torn from each other and being swept out to sea, countless corpses littering beaches, devastated homes and whole towns and villages destroyed. The death of so many children and the orphaning of countless more. Kind of puts things into perspective, doesn't it?
The emotional suffering so apparent on the various websites where messages are posted by families and friends seeking news of loved ones, fearing the worst and hoping against hope that good news will eventually filter through.
Let's just hope that aid and assistance will be forthcoming in the quantity that the situation deserves, in particular from those countries that feel going to war and spending billions of £/$s is a just cause when disasters like this and the continuing tragedies in the Sudan and elsewhere linger on.

Noel, in a poignant frame of mind.

 

[Anonymous]

Heard toay on the radio that Oxfam received £200,000 yesterday alone in donatons; the most they have ever received in one day

 

[Shady]

No problems with helping Noely - I've just contributed myself via the Disaster Emergency Committee site...But please let's not imply that

those countries that feel going to war and spending billions of £/$s is a just cause

are bad simply because they have taken a decision in a completely different field of foreign affairs that you appear to disagree with - the 3 largest aid pledges at governmental level so far are from: the US, the UK, and Japan.

 

[Shady]

By the way, if anyone else wants to help, the site is 'www.dec.org.uk' - but at the moment it's blocked solid most of the time - keep trying and you'll get through...

Comeon people - you'd want help if it were you...

 

[Noel]

Shady, Tony, my post was not a plea for donations nor was it a direct condemnation of events in the Middle East, purely just airing some thoughts I've harboured over the last day or so. I certainly did not imply that foreign policy decisions of various administrations "were bad", just that it would be good to see some consistency in such matters and that the Wave Disaster and the many other humanitarian crisis should be addressed accordingly. As I originally mentioned, it puts matters into perspective.

Noel

 

[Anonymous]

Whilst I will never condone violence nor taking the lives of others in terrorist acts I might have a little more sympathy for the likes of Bin Laden if it became known that his organisation had done something positive to help those in desperate need, as there are in the asia area presently.

That goes for the likes of Bill Gates as well, who could probably easily afford to underwrite the operation out of his soft-earned money.

But as usual it'll be the hardworking taxpayers who end up footing the bill. I saw a story a short time ago on the net that Gordon Brown has raided the piggy bank and donated £15m to the cause. Can't help thinking that won't go very far.

Let's hope that those who are in desperate need right now come out of this reasonably. The holiday industry out there which depends on western dollars to thrive is most probably going to have a very depressed time over the next few years thanks to this event. So it isn't just them having to take a swim and lose everything they own - a large number of them will be 100% dependent on the holiday industry to survive, and they get hit by something like this. Heaven knows how they will crawl out of this situation to rebuild their lives.

I dare say there will be some good deals going on holidays in that area over the next couple of years.

Andrew

 

[Shady]

Noely - agreed mate... This sort of thing just generates - as you say - some perspectve on one's life.

I may be off-line for a few weeks - waiting to see if my skills are useable: if so, I'll let you all know when I get a chance...

 

[gidon]

By the way, if anyone else wants to help, the site is 'www.dec.org.uk' - but at the moment it's blocked solid most of the time - keep trying and you'll get through...

Or:
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_you_can_do ... ke1204.htm and http://www.bluepeter.redcross.org.uk/ts ... appeal.htm

Cheers

Gidon

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Gidon

Thanks for the links.

Cheers
Neil

 

[trevtheturner]

My tool budget for 2005 has gone to DEC- thought about what I would like, loads of things: what do I actually need and cannot do without - nothing. So there won't be any tool gloating from me during the next year - I just feel incredibly fortunate at the moment.



Trev.

 

[Newbie_Neil]

OK folks, I realise that this is a dreadful tragedy affecting millions of people and my heart goes out to all of those involved.

However, can we please keep politics out of it?

thanks
Neil

 

[trevtheturner]

I included a number of facts, not opinion, in my above post towards putting the situation into perspective. They were not in any way intended to be political, as I mentioned. However, as they have been read in that way I have deleted them!

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Trev

Thank you for that, much appreciated.

Cheers
Neil

 

[Midnight]

This afternoon, I'd taken over the living room to dry assemble the current project (noplace else big enough)... TV on in the background; SWMBO's watchin Fox News which is usually good for some entertainment value (the cricket was finished by this time). In between drilling pilot holes, driving screws etc, I hear that the US is complaining that the UN are taking "cheap shots" at them over the US's "miserly contribution"... said contribution quoted at $35mil. Quick mental calc put our Gordon's donation at around $29 mil... so I start thinkin, maybe the UN have a point.
Drill more holes... drive more screws... miss a few commercials... Que George W looking rather flustered, insisting that said $35 mil was an "initial contribution" and that more would follow... so I'm thinking.. guilt complex maybe???... drill more holes... drive more screws... (it's a bloody big project.. honest) SWMBO's reading out text from the info bar... so and so's contributing so much etc... then she perks up... UK contributing $96mil... this, while the on screen "anchor" is insisting that the US will undoubtedly be the biggest contributor... I got to thinking, has disaster relief sunk to the point where it's just another (pardon the phrase)"pissing contest"?? How sad is that...??????

 

[Noel]

Gotta agree with you Mike, seems to be a case of political goal scoring with Hilary Benn stating that "we are now the biggest contributor". So what? £50 million! Big deal. The UK is the 4th richest nation on earth. No doubt when the next set of tables come out and the UK has been out contributed by the States or somewhere else, we'll get to £75m or £100m. God forbid if the public donations "out contribute" the UK government. BTW there's a clergy man in Belfast who collects for charitable causes every christmas call the Black Santa (he dresses in black). Started collecting for the Wave appeal 2 days ago - £240k so far and I've no doubt there are similar collections all over the UK. Just pisses me off that this government and previous incumbents can't get their act in gear and put the victims first, rather than their own political agenda.
And as somebody mentioned earlier that waste of space and money of a tent in Greenwich could have been put to better use.

Noel, non Daily Mail reader

Noel

 

[trevtheturner]

Got to agree with you completely, Noel. Keeping an eye on the news bulletins, that is exactly what is happening.

Hey, your 'Black Santa' - superb, I take my hat off to him, and all those who have donated so generously.

Trev

 

[Shady]

I'm just avoiding all reference to the politics and concentrating on the aid stuff - and the response of people (as opposed to their governments) has been overwhelming...

Makes you think about your own priorities when something 'makes the earth wobble on its axis', doesn't it? The bit that's got me most puzzled is that it appears that no big tankers/container ships etc appear to have been affected. Not a large issue on the scale of the tradegy, but I'm sure the companies would know by now if one of their rather large assets had stopped talking to them - so the implication is that they're all ok. Maybe this 500 mph, 40 foot tall wave just bulged under them en route?? Any marine experts in our board here?

 

[Anonymous]

Shady,

I'm no marine expert but I think that out in the deep ocean the wave is very long and low (it may not even be that noticeable). It is only when it reaches shallow waters that it builds up.

The thought of a large oil tanker spilling its contents on to the already devastated coasts is too horrible to contemplate.

Howard

 

[Alf]

I'm no marine expert but I think that out in the deep ocean the wave is very long and low (it may not even be that noticeable). It is only when it reaches shallow waters that it builds up.

That's the gist I got too.

The bit that's got me most puzzled is that it appears that no big tankers/container ships etc appear to have been affected. Not a large issue on the scale of the tradegy, but I'm sure the companies would know by now if one of their rather large assets had stopped talking to them

Only if it was a large asset with lots of passengers... Ships are lost at sea all the time; I doubt the shipping world would get excited unless it turned out they'd forgotten to insure them. </cynic>

Cheers, Alf

Cynicism courtesy of my dad's last job running a seafarers' charity, btw.

 

[mahking51]

The height of a wave is a function of water depth and velocity.
A tsunami in the deep ocean is rarely more than a few centimeters high but moving really fast.
As it reaches shallow water it builds in height. The TV footage we have all seen shows that the maximum wave heights were in fact fairly low, ie less than 10 meters, but carrying a vast amount of stored energy.

martin