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Post by wondering on Dec 27, 2004 18:55:35 GMT -5
I am saddened that 22,000 plus have perished in South Asia. I hope America doesn't get blamed for this tragedy. We get blamed for everything else. Insane scientists blame us for global warming, ozone depletions and air pollution due to SUVs.
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Post by botany on Dec 28, 2004 11:45:17 GMT -5
I am saddened that 22,000 plus have perished in South Asia. I hope America doesn't get blamed for this tragedy. We get blamed for everything else. Insane scientists blame us for global warming, ozone depletions and air pollution due to SUVs. Or.... it was the godless commies!! How dare they! Or Osama. Yeah, definitely Osama's plot! DAMN YOU!!!! *shakes fist in air* But, I agree it is a great tragedy. It would have been impressive to see, though. andy
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Dawn
Senior Member
Posts: 785
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Post by Dawn on Dec 28, 2004 11:55:37 GMT -5
I am saddened that 22,000 plus have perished in South Asia. I hope America doesn't get blamed for this tragedy. We get blamed for everything else. Insane scientists blame us for global warming, ozone depletions and air pollution due to SUVs. You're so saddened that you're worried about being blamed? For a tidal wave in asia? You must really have connections!
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Brenda
Senior Member
Posts: 652
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Post by Brenda on Dec 28, 2004 20:17:20 GMT -5
This is turning even worse by the day-- my heart grieves for all the families involved--
so scary at how quickly these disasters happen
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Dawn
Senior Member
Posts: 785
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Post by Dawn on Jan 1, 2005 12:21:48 GMT -5
I hope America doesn't get blamed for this tragedy. We get blamed for everything else. Well sure it's our fault. But we had no choice. It's a different world since 9-11. ;D PS, Seriously, 150,000+ deaths. Almost unfathomable.
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Apples
Junior Member
Posts: 153
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Post by Apples on Jan 5, 2005 13:37:00 GMT -5
PS, Seriously, 150,000+ deaths. Almost unfathomable. People like to focus on large body counts. 150,000 sounds like a lot of people but in the scheme of things it is just run of the mill as the earth turns. Not many people pay a lot of attention to the 84,000 children who die every month of malaria in Africa alone. After 9/11 there was an outpouring of aid to the victims (many of who were quite well off) and all the while an equal number of children died, and continue to die, every day of just malaria. WHO estimates that an equal number of children could be saved every day if they just had food. Yet the focus continues to be on the 'out of the normal' deaths. Human nature is an odd thing. We spend billions to protect against another terrorist attack. How many lives are saved? How many could be saved if the funds were used elsewhere? What is a human life worth? Judging from the $5 million rescue of 3 California Gray Whales from the ice just off Point Barrow in 1988, a whale's life is worth $1.6 miillion. My health care provider has a somewhat lower cap for me. Deaths from malnutrition can be prevented at much less than $1 million per person. apples (a slow day in the office)
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Dawn
Senior Member
Posts: 785
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Post by Dawn on Jan 5, 2005 13:53:14 GMT -5
Apples,
I am sometimes amazed at the lengths we will go to to "save human lives". I know this will be unpopular here, but here goes: do you think we place too much value on human life? After all, there sure are a lot of us already, and doing significant if not irreparable damage.
On the one hand, I certainly understand wanting to save the life of a person one loves. But all of humanity, all however-many-billion of us there are today? Shouldn't we want to reduce the population?
Maybe I'm crazy, but I actually doubt it. ;D
Dawn
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Apples
Junior Member
Posts: 153
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Post by Apples on Jan 5, 2005 15:24:13 GMT -5
I know this will be unpopular here, but here goes: do you think we place too much value on human life? After all, there sure are a lot of us already, and doing significant if not irreparable damage. Wow! That is a tangent that I had not expected. And I try to always expect the unexpected! I think thamany people are not aware, or perhaps willing to admit, that there is a price placed on human life. For example, mamograms are not done on younger women (except for unsual circumstances) because the cost is not justified given the number of lives that would be saved. This seems reasonable unless the person who's life is lost is a loved one. Drugs are not made available to many people in poor nations because the cost is thought to be more than the lives are worth. How much should be spend to save the life of a premature infant? Would the money not be put to better use by providing food for the children who will die from malnutrition than to save a child, like William mentioned else where in these forums, who will consume resources for the rest of his life and who's progress is measured not in normal developmental terms but rather by the fact that he is no longer suffering from seizures and he can turn his head. I do not think sciety has yet even begun to come to grips with issues like these that will become increasingly important as more and more advances are made in the life sciences fields. Think of the issues that will surround the first cloned child raised in an artificial womb. apples Really?!? - We'll be the judge of that!
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Dawn
Senior Member
Posts: 785
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Post by Dawn on Jan 5, 2005 15:33:28 GMT -5
I remember several years ago, when my son and I were in an auto accident, my settlement was more than his, because his being younger meant he was not worth as much. There's an actual formula. Yup. But, you do realize you didn't answer my actual question, right?
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Post by get this on Jan 13, 2005 19:48:12 GMT -5
Get this: It is America's fault because we have the technology to warn people in South Asia about tsunamis. Yet many of them can't read and don't have televisions. I guess it is our fault that we knew it was going to happen and allowed it to happen.
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Post by happy unlogged on Jan 13, 2005 22:24:49 GMT -5
I don't know how to post pictures, but you can look at a map and figure this out, or go to the website mentioned.
How Big Was The Recent Sumatra Quake
The recent Sumatra earthquake displaced a section of the ocean floor over 700 miles long and 10 miles wide, nearly 100 feet upward. An equal amount of ocean water on the order of 135 cubic miles was moved violently upward and outward. This massive plunger type motion created huge tsunami waves that brought devastation to coastlines 4,000 miles away. On a map of the world it is hard to gain a sense of how big this thing was. So, on a map of the United States AccuWeather.com has placed the entire length of the fault segment that shifted. As you can clearly see, it is huge covering a distance from Chicago all the way to Denver or from New York City all the way to St Louis.
A devastating earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean just off the coast of Sumatra Saturday night. The quake, rated at a magnitude 9.0, is the most powerful recorded worldwide since 1964. Taking place at a depth of 6.2 miles below the surface of the ocean, the quake caused a severe deformation in the sea floor which displaced 135 cubic miles of water upward and outward much like what a massive plunger would do. This created massive waves called tsunamis that moved outward in all directions bringing devastation and even death to coastlines up to 4,000 miles away
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