The Tsunami Disaster

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05/01/2005, 1:37 AM
mypost

Quote:

Originally Posted by Risteard

You're right though in that this really does dwarf any terrorist act such as 9/11.

The only comparison this disaster has with what happened in America is the 24-hour rolling news coverage devoted to it. What happened in New York was Mass Murder on a barbaric scale against Westerners, by enemies of freedom and democracy and our lifestyle.

What happened in Asia was a natural disaster. Earthquakes happen every once in a while. Earthquakes under the sea automatically result in tsunamis. Unfortunately, in places like Asia and other underdeveloped countries, there will inevitably be mass casualties from such a disaster. This one was compounded by the fact that some of the countries affected had between 2-4 hours notice of the resulting catastrophe, and not much was done by the authorities in that time, which contributed to the terrible death toll.

One earthquake killed 50,000 people in Iran on St Stephen's Day 2003. How many people care about them now? Soon enough, another disaster will happen somewhere, then the media, cameras, and charities will leave those affected by this disaster behind, to rebuild their lives alone. The only time you'll hear about them from then on, will be in news reviews.
05/01/2005, 7:36 AM
patsh

Quote:

Originally Posted by mypost

What happened in New York was Mass Murder on a barbaric scale against Westerners, by enemies of freedom and democracy and our lifestyle.

Listening to far too much Fox "News" Propaganda.
05/01/2005, 7:46 AM
Macy

A few things....

1) Disgusting to hear last night about all the Governments that haven't honoured their pledges made to previous natural disasters - eg the Bam earthquake. And credit to ours for being one of the few that always has

2) 3 minute silence today at 11. Fair play, but wasn't their a national day of mourning when a few thousand yanks were killed? Businesses had to be seen to close, whether they wanted/could afford to or not.

3) Hopefully some warning system will be put in place, but terrible as it was, this is a once in 700 years event in the indian ocean - you can't really blame such a system being top priority.
05/01/2005, 8:15 AM
Plastic Paddy

You do your argument no favours at point 2 by belittling the victims of the 11 September 2001 terrorist atrocity in the way you do. Come on Macy, you're better than that, surely?

:ball: PP
05/01/2005, 9:12 AM
Macy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plastic Paddy

You do your argument no favours at point 2 by belittling the victims of the 11 September 2001 terrorist atrocity in the way you do. Come on Macy, you're better than that, surely?

:ball: PP

Seriously didn't mean to belittle the victims of 11th September, but at the same time do a few thousand victims of terrorism count for 150,000 (and counting) victims of a natural disaster? If anything it's the Governments belittling far larger scale tradegies that have occured since 11/09/01.
05/01/2005, 9:35 AM
eoinh

I saw on TV last night that some of the children left parentless by the Tsunami are already being rounded up by those involved in the child sex trade. Apparently, one of the stories related was about a young swedish boy who was rescued with only small injuries and was brought to hospital. A few hours later a "westerner" turned up and walked out with him and he hasnt been seen since.
05/01/2005, 9:40 AM
Babysis

We watched that on Sky News last night. That poor boy's father, was just in shock. Its just disgusting, to think that that boy managed to survive the wave that killed his mother, only to be abducted. It makes me feel sick to think there are people capable of doing that. I just hope they find him safe and well.
05/01/2005, 10:19 AM
patsh

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macy

Seriously didn't mean to belittle the victims of 11th September, but at the same time do a few thousand victims of terrorism count for 150,000 (and counting) victims of a natural disaster? If anything it's the Governments belittling far larger scale tradegies that have occured since 11/09/01.

Bang on. Bertie was extremely quick to decide on a whole day of mourning for the 11 of September victims, so why only 3 minutes for a much larger loss of life?
Why not a second of silence for Bam, Iraq, Darfur, Honduras etc. etc?
Whether it is deliberate or merely simple ignorance, there is a definite value judgement on what is deemed worthy of silence and what isn't, and it appears that the loss of "white"/"first world" lives is the main criteria.

On a different topic, has anybody found that Charlie Bird and particularly, Mark Little, are getting extremely annoying on their so-called "reportage" of the disaster?
Little has for the last 2 reports I saw referred to a "mob" and "fighting crowds" at food handouts. On both occasions, small groups, the "mob" consisted of about 10 people, were simply pushing forward to get what aid they could, I've seen worse pushing in chippers on Saturday nights.
Bird has plumbed the depths of banality with such brilliant reports like "this place, once a paradise, has been shattered by an awesome wave, which managed to uproot trees and move vehicles". He spouted this sh*t last night, 10 days after the event.
RTE would be better donating the large expense these bozos are costing them to some victims who could actually use the money wisely.
05/01/2005, 10:19 AM
lopez

Quote:

Originally Posted by Babysis

We watched that on Sky News last night. That poor boy's father, was just in shock. Its just disgusting, to think that that boy managed to survive the wave that killed his mother, only to be abducted. It makes me feel sick to think there are people capable of doing that. I just hope they find him safe and well.

Some bloke at work's initial reaction to the tsunami was 'wonder how many paedophiles were killed?' He's a bit of a crank and started going on about Arthur C Clarke but the area (especially Sri Lanka) has a reputation as a haven for paedo-tourists. Terrible news. One thing though is that they don't send nonces to a short stretch in Thailand followed by a sensitive rehabilitation programme complete with sheltered accommodation to help them 'reintegrate into the community.' I may be wrong but I believe 'treatment' there is far less 'humane'.
05/01/2005, 10:28 AM
Plastic Paddy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macy

Seriously didn't mean to belittle the victims of 11th September, but at the same time do a few thousand victims of terrorism count for 150,000 (and counting) victims of a natural disaster? If anything it's the Governments belittling far larger scale tradegies that have occured since 11/09/01.

A fair point Macy, and wrong of me to pull you up on it so. I missed the nuance the first time round. :o

:ball: PP
05/01/2005, 10:40 AM
Macy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plastic Paddy

A fair point Macy, and wrong of me to pull you up on it so. I missed the nuance the first time round.

It did sound a bit flippant, but it just annoys me the difference in attitude depending on the country effected.

tbh I wasn't in favour of the day of mourning for 11/09/01, but if the precedent has been set....
05/01/2005, 10:45 AM
noby

Quote:

Originally Posted by patsh

Bird has plumbed the depths of banality with such brilliant reports like "this place, once a paradise, has been shattered by an awesome wave, which managed to uproot trees and move vehicles". He spouted this sh*t last night, 10 days after the event.

I saw that lastnight. I cringed watching him. It's been all over the media with over a week, and he filed a report, as if it was the first we ever heard of it.

While I appreciate you have to go for the local angle, an Irish couple who survived, without a scratch, saying they lost everything (what? a passport, some cash, 2 weeks worth of bikinis and a suitcase) is a bit rich.
05/01/2005, 10:52 AM
dahamsta

Quote:

Originally Posted by Conor74

Jaysus lads, could we ever give up the obsession with ourselves? A thread on the tragedy in Asia, for some reason, brought around to whether we are more corrupt than France...I really think it's of fairly limited relevance in the context of 150,000 people dying...

It's a sidebar Conor, don't get your panties in a twist. And since when is it your place to decide how conversations go around here?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plastic Paddy

You do your argument no favours at point 2 by belittling the victims of the 11 September 2001 terrorist atrocity in the way you do. Come on Macy, you're better than that, surely?

How exactly did he "belittle" them? That comes across as a very zionist "hunt the insult" type of observation. (Oops, just noticed you took it back, sorry. Still though, I wish people wouldn't be quite so quick to jump to conclusions around here.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by patsh

Little has for the last 2 reports I saw referred to a "mob" and "fighting crowds" at food handouts. On both occasions, small groups, the "mob" consisted of about 10 people, were simply pushing forward to get what aid they could, I've seen worse pushing in chippers on Saturday nights.

Sounds like pure Damien Day, from Drop The Dead Donkey. I wouldn't worry about the so-called "mob", it's only a matter of time before he gets them to walk a circle around the camera to make it look bigger...

adam
05/01/2005, 10:55 AM
corkharps

Slightly off the point here, great to see the charitable reaction around the world, but over 100,000 people have been murdered in Iraq over the past year by some of the very same people!This is a disaster that definately could have been averted!
05/01/2005, 11:11 AM
dahamsta

Quote:

Originally Posted by Conor74

I'm not deciding how conversations go at all, that's a matter for moderators. But I am entitled to express an opinion on how a conversation has gone, and frankly found it bizarre that we could turn a discussion on a tragic natural disaster into another attempt at national navel gazing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dahamsta

It's a sidebar Conor, don't get your panties in a twist.

.....
05/01/2005, 1:27 PM
Closed Account 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by eoinh

I mean who now gives a thought to the Iranians of one year age or the earthquake in Bam in Armenia.

Bam is in Iran, about 1000 miles from Armenia - that earthquake was the one at the end of 2003. Armenian (Spitak) Quake was about 15 years earlier - December 1988.

Quote:

Originally Posted by corkharps

Slightly off the point here, great to see the charitable reaction around the world, but over 100,000 people have been murdered in Iraq over the past year by some of the very same people!This is a disaster that definately could have been averted!

What are you trying to say ? There were Indonesians, Indians, Sri Lankans, etc in Iraq over the past year ? Or there were US Marines (or Insurgents or whoever) in the areas affected by the Tsunami ?
05/01/2005, 1:32 PM
Macy

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfdh_edmundo

What are you trying to say ? There were Indonesians, Indians, Sri Lankans, etc in Iraq over the past year ? Or there were US Marines (or Insurgents or whoever) in the areas affected by the Tsunami ?

Is it not obvious what he was trying to say? The US, Britain etc are trying to be seen as saviours with hundreds of thousands killed in the Indian Ocean region, whilst over the last year hundreds of thousands have been killed in Iraq by the US, Britain etc.
05/01/2005, 1:43 PM
Closed Account 2

The way it was phrased I couldnt tell who was being described. The way it looks to me isnt that the governments of US and UK are trying to be seen as saviours, from what I've read theyre giving far less aid (as a % of population etc) than countries like Sweden - even the Russian Government has flown more high quality aid (by that I mean medical stuff etc) into the area than the US or UK or a least they had as at last weekend.
05/01/2005, 1:43 PM
boc123

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macy

Is it not obvious what he was trying to say? The US, Britain etc are trying to be seen as saviours with hundreds of thousands killed in the Indian Ocean region, whilst over the last year hundreds of thousands have been killed in Iraq by the US, Britain etc.

The US, British and West help out and ye accuse them of doing it to become known as "saviours" for their own glory. If they don't do anything then it's the "Wicked West" bullying everyone or ignoring everyone once again.

Damned if you do and damned if you don't :rolleyes:
05/01/2005, 2:01 PM
Macy

Quote:

Originally Posted by boc123

The US, British and West help out and ye accuse them of doing it to become known as "saviours" for their own glory. If they don't do anything then it's the "Wicked West" bullying everyone or ignoring everyone once again.

Damned if you do and damned if you don't :rolleyes:

No, fair play to any country that provides aid. However, can you not see the hypocrisy? I mean the first US Aircraft carrier there was actually on it's way to sit off North Korea and stir things up there when the Tsunami hit.....

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