Today's Links
Here's a tourist video in RealMedia(ugh) format of the tsunami hitting a beach in Phuket, Thailand...
The BBC is collecting firsthand accounts of the tsunamis and their effects - the pictures I've seen so far have been devastating - but these stories put pictures to shame.
So far the Sumatran Earthquake toll has reached 82,351, with between 1.5-2 million people 'displaced' or, essentially, homeless. There are lots of aid links on the Wikipedia page.
The cynic in me wonders two things: One, in the aftermath of 9/11, the survivors of the 3,200 killed in the attacks received $657M in direct financial compensation. The airline industry fund created shortly after 9/11 by the US Government has mounted to $15 Billion... I'm not concerned with the cleanup or insurance costs - but the compensation to the victims, which averages out to $200,000 each, although some received over $1Million and others much less than $200,000... I wonder what kind of compensation the survivors of the Sumatran earthquake will receive? Even given that they are almost exclusively living in some of the poorest regions of the world, and given the incredible numbers of dead, I kind of doubt the survivors themselves will see much personal compensation at all. Which is not to say that they won't see any benefit, or 'silver lining' from the flood of relief aid that is amassing itself around the world...
Two - I read a terrific book a few years ago called "Everyone Loves a Good Draught", by Palagummi Sainath, which details in a series of newspaper articles by the author, how the federal, provincial and local governments of India mismanage funds that are intended to help the poorest of the poor by engaging in vanity projects and siphoning off funds to corrupt officials, etc. The point of the book's title is that there are many who benefit from the financial aid that rains on India when it has an 'event' crisis like a draught or, say, an enormous tsunami disaster - but the people who really need the aid often never see it. And it's not solely the fault of the governments, either - the rest of the world tends to be complicit in its eagerness to help - blindly giving cash without following what happens to it after it's been given. The solution seems to be to accompany the cash with workers and on-the-ground specialists who can talk to the people themselves to see what they need and how best to solve their problems. I would bet that India isn't alone in this kind of corruption - Thailand, Indonesia, etc... all have their own kinds of 'intricacies' built into their democracies.
None of this should stop people from donating or trying to help. We should just make sure that the agencies we donate to have a solid plan to deliver the aid.
On to the links:
iris.edu has a really spiffy World Seismic Monitor tool. Check it out - find out what's quaking around the world right now!
TV Cream's Top 100 Toys of the late 70's/early 80's - i.e. my g-g-g-generation's playthings. I don't agree with all of them... I mean, Weebles in at only #97? Where are the Micronauts? And what about Hot Wheels cars with orange snap-track? But this was a nostalgia ride nonetheless.
R.I.P. Jerry Orbach - died Tuesday at 71. He played Det. Lenny Briscoe on Law & Order, also the dad in "Dirty Dancing" - "Nobody puts Baby in a Corner!"... he also starred in a number of broadway musicals. He was the candlestick in Disney's Beauty & The Beast. Here's a link to Law & Order: Artistic Intent - a group art show with obvious subject matter - many of the Briscoe-inspired works are really good. I particularly enjoy "Standard Procedure".