World: Natural Disasters Part II

The Xinhua News Agency is reporting that the death toll from the recent earthquake in Sichuan province has now passed 22,000. The Chinese government believes the final death toll could be as high as 50,000. 40,000 people are still buried in the rubble of the quake.

The ever-efficient Chinese government has dispatched 110,000 soldiers to aid in the relief efforts and to plug cracks in the Zipingku dam, north of Sichuan's provincial capital of Chengdu. The Chinese Defense Ministry has dispatched 101 helicopters to assist in rescuing the buried and injured. The helicopters will also airlift residents of the devastated areas to safety, as the roads in and out of much of the province are blocked by landslides.

Chinese authorities believe some 400 dams in Sichuan province have been affected by the earthquake, and some are showing cracks up to four inches across, although, thanks to the swift reaction, currently they are stable. To thwart the vermin who profit from every crisis, the Chinese government has also imposed temporary price caps on supplies in quake areas and is moving quickly to punish those who attempt to fleece the quake victims.

The Chinese Ministry of Finance has earmarked 3.4 billion YuanRMB (~500 million USD) for disaster relief in the stricken areas.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao flew to the scene to direct rescue efforts shortly after the quake struck:

Mr. Wen, who flew in from Beijing soon after the scale of the disaster became apparent, has been photographed and televised repeatedly handing down orders to rescue workers and shouting encouragement to victims. His display of concern, and its swift reporting by the official media, was in marked contrast to the secretive way the Communist Party has handled emergencies in the past.

Would that Preznitwit DisasterMonkey could have been bothered to do anything but fly in for a photo-op when New Orleans drowned!

President Hu Jintao has also personally flown to the area to assure victims of the quake that their Government will take care of them. China has also permitted foreign aid agencies and rescuers entry to assist in the rescue mission. Aunty Beeb informs us:

Thirty-one Japanese experts arrived on Friday morning, state media said, and a second team with sniffer dogs was due there later in the day.

Taiwan, Russia, South Korea and Singapore are also sending teams to help in the rescue effort.

Some five million people have been left homeless by the quake.

Ms. Manitoba requests that we include the information that follows:

China: Premier Wen Jiabao flew there the same day!!! He was actually on the ground right where people are &mdash buried under rubble &mdash not flying over in his pristine jet. Remember Dubya and New Orleans? Oh, it makes me spit I'm so mad. If I outlive Dubya, I would spend money to travel and dance on his grave.

I want to help the folks in Myanmar ... but I don't trust the military there to actually get food, cooking utensils, etc. to the folks that really need it. What do you think? I feel so badly for the people there. I heard on the radio that they are approximating now: 125,000 casulties in Myanmar. Shocking!

However, I feel differently about China. Yes, yes ... communists and all that. I've know communists in my day ... yes, they can be obnoxious (and heaven knows, I have quite a talent in that area meself) ... but I would have helped them out in a pinch. What the people in China's Sichuan province are feeling is a huge crush and crash. I feel that if I donate $$, they will get it. But I do know you have to be careful where you donate. I don't really trust the Red Cross ... too much administrative overhead. Has that changed? Does anyone know?

"I don't want to help a communist country." Gee, I really hope other people in the world don't feel that way about us: "Hey, the U.S. is a big cruel bully why should we help them?" Separation of government from the people ... let's try it.

This website has good info about what's going on in Sichuan province:

The photo gallery is very worthwhile ... but very upsetting. Many schools are completely destroyed ... children are buried under the rubble.

Okay ... this has been plaguing me ... what's a good place to donate? The local paper had an article about local folks who have family in Sichuan province and how they are organizing so that they can send money directly there.

From today's paper, a list of organizations you can contact to make donations to help the earthquake victims:

• Northern Californian Sichuan Folks Association: (408) 238-3614
  
  
• Sing Tao News, 625 Kearny St., San Francisco, 94108; (415) 989-7111
  
  
• Shin Shin Educational Foundation
  
  
• MercyCorps
  
  
• CARE
  
  
• Save the Children

You can also send donations to

The Sichuan Earthquake Relief Fund
c/o Conestoga Bank
1032 Arch Street
Phila, PA 19107

www.conestogabank.com

or send a check to

American Red Cross International Response Fund
PO Box 37243
Washington, DC 20013
(specify donation is for the China Earthquake)
or contact the Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROSS
or visit www.redcross.org

For those who may have relatives in the area, this site run by Watson Meng, provides up-to-the-minute information. Click English if your Chinese is bu tai hao.

TPC sez: Contrast the swift action of the Chinese government to the actions of the Burmese government. The military junta with its boot on the neck of the Burmese people is now rounding up homeless survivors of Cyclone Nargis for use as forced labour, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The junta also refuses to allow foreign NGOs or rescue workers into the country to assist the suffering people.

CBC reports that 78,000 people have died and 56,000 are missing, although the Red Cross estimates that over 100,000 have died. There are reports that the Burmese military is diverting food and supplies meant for the stricken dwellers in the Irawaddy delta for its own use. This would not surprise us, as the people who have suffered most from the cyclone belong to the poor, rural peasant class and the ethnic Shan minority.

The U.S. Campaign for Burma is encouraging those who want to help to donate here. But if the military can so easily divert food, why should they have difficulty diverting funds?

Do you think a military intervention is called for?

Stumble It!

World: Natural Disasters

No, we're not referring to the Bush-Cheney Misadministration, for once.

An earthquake measuring 7.9 has killed some 9,000 or more in China and injured thousands of others. The epicenter of the earthquake was in Wenchuan county of Sichuan province. The total number of casualties will undoubtedly increase as relief workers gain access to the stricken areas, a task currently made difficult by damage to roads linking outlying areas to the provincial capital in Chengdu.

The Chinese government has released millions in emergency aid and is rushing food, emergency shelter, and supplies to the affected areas. The earthquake was also felt in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan, and as far away as Hanoi, Vietnam, and Bangkok, Thailand, according to the Hong Kong-based Mandarin-language channel Phoenix TV.

Will Mother Gaia succeed in shaking off this irritating plague of humans that is drowning her lands, blackening her skies, and destroying the sweet green peace of her light and comely garment of life?

The last serious earthquake in China occurred in the 1970s and the death toll was 255,000. Our sympathies to the Chinese people in their hour of grief.


Meanwhile, in Burma, the death toll from from Cyclone Nargis is expected to rise to 1.5 million. The Guardian has some excellent coverage available here, some of it &mdash be warned &mdash quite upsetting.

The Burmese government has decided to respond to the cyclone by refusing to permit international disaster agencies and workers access to stricken areas; insisting to the rest of the world that timely warning was provided to the people regarding the cyclone (those of us who saw what happened to the city of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina know quite well that warnings are worth shit when the people have no way of implementing an escape. Heckuva job, Georgie!); and asking its citizens to report any person who complains or "spreads rumours" about the slowness of rescue operations to the proper authorities. No doubt they're planning to cosh such unfortunates, or, as we have it in the common parlance, whup them upside the head and toss the bodies in the already corpse-burdened waters now covering much of the country. Heckuva job, Generals.

If our armed forces were not already bogged down in the twin quagmires of Iraq and Afghanistan inflicting unwonted (and unwanted) distress upon millions, we could be using them to implement the functions required by peace and humanity: bringing aid to the suffering. But we're too busy bombing and murdering women, children, the elderly and the disabled.

In other news, tornadoes have killed 23 people in Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Georgia. While that may seem like small potatoes to some, and we are not of the school of belief in the sanctity of human life, still, every person who dies so is somebody's son or daughter, or sister or brother, mother, father, husband or wife, and there is no comparing pain. Is it worse to lose your entire family, or one member thereof? It's all bad. Our sympathies to all the suffering people and beasts, to the whole suffering planet.

Now do you see why we swear and curse and rant and rave? It's all bad, there is so little we can do to help and comfort the living, and the suffering of every creature merits our compassion.


Today we reflect on the Avalokitesvara Boddhisatva, that divine being who gazes down on the world with compassion; who is known to the Chinese as Guan Yin, to the Tibetans as Chenrezig; whose Sanskrit name is Padmapani, holder of the lotus. One of the legends of Guan Yin/Avalokitesvara is that she, through her countless merits, attained enlightenment, but as she reached the threshold of the Realm of the Pure, she heard the cry of the suffering masses and turned back, vowing not to enjoy the fruits of her merit till she had saved the peoples of the world.

No, we're still not a theist or deist or any kind of godbag. As we remarked over lunch today, if there is a god, it is a very stupid one indeed, and guilty of bad aim. It could have taken out the entire military junta of Burma in one fell swoop. Instead, it landed a cyclone on the heads of the weak, the bereft, the poor, the already suffering. The junta is well-ensconced in power, and appears to fear no threat other than the depradations of the high life and old age. A thousand curses on their bones and may their families wither and die as the families of the poor wither and die and may their names be utterly erased from history.

Yes, we're well aware of the irony of sympathizing with the suffering of the poor while simultaneously calling down curses upon the heads of their exploiters. However, irony adds a delicious flavour to life, and since superstition is not our bag any more than god is, we venture to opine that our curses are merely a safety valve to relieve our rage rather than any viable threat to the many worthless scumbags who prey on the weak and the meek. Otherwise those types would already be extinct, given how many curses we have rained upon their heads lo, these many years.

Our meditation upon Guan Yin is simply a hope that the world will respond with compassion to the suffering. And a search for some way of looking at these horrors that inspires internal peace instead of furious rants. It's hard being a cynical yet compassionate curmudgeon.

Stumble It!

Environment: Global Warming

Photo from The Telegraph

No matter how many times you tell the yobbos that weather is just a subset of climate, they don't get it, of course. Loud and raucous is their laughter as they, for example, point to conditions in the UK today. Agence France Presse (AFP) is reporting that last night, temperatures in the UK fell to -22C, which is approximately -8F. Pretty fucking cold, says your friendly neighbourhood Cat. In case there's anyone out there who doesn't know, cats prefer warmth, at all times.

You can bet your hairy ass this Cat does not like temperatures below, oh, at very worst, let's say in the 50s, Fahrenheit. I remember standing right in Trafalgar Square, with my hand in that very same fountain, back when the fountain's contents were closer to liquid than the very solid appearance in that picture.

And another thing you can bet your hairy ass on: the day won't come when I go swimming like Jocko here.

Photo from The Telegraph

Srsly, why the fuck is this man not some cyan shade of fucking blue? Does anyone know? In case you hadn't guessed, the fool is chipping chunks of ice out of his swimming hole to make more room for other would-be swimmers. Fuckin' loon.

If you're wondering what these temperatures mean, suffice it to say that hundreds of flights from the UK have been scrapped, leaving some very angry passengers — or, perhaps, grateful, given the weather conditions — stranded. Hundreds of Eurostair trains scheduled between London and Paris have also been cancelled.

UK authorities are calling this the coldest winter in 30 years. Britain is rationing both LNG (for heating) and salt for keeping the roads clear, as more cold weather is expected.

Meanwhile, in Norway, temperatures are at -42C (that's approximately -43 Fahrenheit) in some places.

In Poland, some 139 people have died from the cold since November, mostly homeless alcoholics.

Germany is expecting 15 inches of fresh snow plus gale force winds over the weekend, giving rise to warnings about impassable roads.

Temperatures in France are below freezing in some cities, notably Aurillac, and Arles, in the south, has seen about a foot of snow take down power lines, leaving some 15,000 people without electricity — and, no doubt, very, very cold.

Spain is on alert for fresh snowfall, strong winds, and freezing temperatures, and in southern Andalusia, floods.

China is also bracing for additional freezing weather, with Beijing seeing the heaviest snowfall in six decades, and the lowest temperatures since 1971 (that's nearly four decades) this week, reports BusinessWeek. Temperatures in the city of Mohe, Heilongqiang province, are around -37F. Beijing is at a balmy 8F. Balmy for them, anyway. No cat would consider that a balmy temperature without an additional digit.

Meanwhile, three days ago, the Guardian reports, an earthquake and a tsunami combined to leave homeless one-third of the population of Rendova, part of the Solomon Islands. Two hundred homes were destroyed by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake, which was followed by waves up to 10 feet high. Relief efforts are under way. Terrible, really. Fortunately, they don't have freezing cold weather to deal with. Coastal dwellers, especially those living in earthquake country, expect more of these events as the globe continues to warm.

Five days ago, the Guardian reports, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake left 20,000 in Tajikistan homeless. Tajikistan is a very poor region of central Asia, and many houses have been damaged, and roads blocked. It is not clear whether relief operations are taking place.

In Brazil, also five days ago, floods killed some 76 people, and mudslides are occurring all over the southern states from heavy rain, also as reported in the Guardian.

USA Toady (no typo) is reporting that temperatures in the midwestern states of the U.S. are expected to drop to -50F. That is some fucking balls-climbing-back-into-your-abdomen cold weather, folks.

Snow and ice are expected in the south, too, from South Carolina to Louisiana. Even Florida is expecting near-freezing nighttime temperatures, although orange growers assure us that the nation's favourite juice crop isn't threatened. With lizards falling out of the trees, this sort of assurance simply makes us at La Casa de Los Gatos go "Humph." Airports in the Chicago area have canceled 500 flights due to the weather. The message seems to be, "Don't travel unless you fucking have to."

So? Whadya think, people? Global warming? Climate change? Or more evidence that there is a nasty old man in the sky who fucking hates us all and is making our holiday season as miserable as he can manage?

Throw another cat on the bed, Matilda, I'm freezing!

ICHC

Stumble It!

World: Big Earthquake Hits New Zealand

Beautiful New Zealand, scenic site of the shooting of fave movie(s) Lord of the Rings, experienced a 6.8 earthquake today, according to its government. The USGS rates the earthquake at 6.6. Although we'd like to take this opportunity to say, based on our experience, that it really don't make much difference what they rate it at, once you hit 6 on the seismometer. It's just a question of whether you can get your stomach out of your teeth and your eyeballs out of the ceiling, at that point.

CNN has the details. The quake apparently originated in the coastal city of Gisborne, which reports some structural damage to buildings, but no apparent deaths or serious injuries. Communications are currently described as "patchy," so if you know someone in or around that area, you might want to wait a day before calling and overloading the phone lines.

No danger of a tsunami, thank Poseidon.

Aside: Those who know us know that we live in a disaster-prone area, and each time one hits, the phone lines are affected. Naturally, everybody inside and outside the disaster zone wants to reassure/contact friends on the other side. Unfortunately, this causes problems. Suffice it to say that when the last major disaster hit (thanks, CNN, for the coverage!), the Authorities (cops, FD, whoever-all wears dem big hats) unanimously requested that frantic callers limit their efforts so that disaster response could take place. While our friends were looking at round-the-clock TV coverage of our stricken homebase, we were not able to get an outside connection to reach them, nor were they able to call in and find out whether we survived.

Stumble It!

Natural Disasters: China Update

The latest information on the earthquake that devastated Sichuan province in China is available here.

The Chinese government has cut its national budget in several areas to ensure that victims of the earthquake will have the aid they need to reconstruct their homes and lives. Currently, they have set aside $13 billion in funds for that purpose.

They are also appealing to the world for tents and other temporary housing assistance to shelter the 5.2 million survivors of the earthquake.

The housing ministry Thursday ordered the construction of one million small homes by August 10 made of light steel, plywood and other materials that are both safe in earthquakes and "recyclable." The houses are supposed to last up to five years.

Well, mud in your eye, America. We still haven't rehoused those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. NOLA's survivors wander the nation, displaced, three years later, often unable to meet voter ID requirements because their records disappeared in that terrible event.

And "recyclable," too. What has happened to this great nation? How far have we fallen that China, until very recently an extremely poor nation with nowhere near our educational levels, our healthcare, our robust economy, our military might, our first-rate infrastructure, can take care of a whole devastated province better and faster than we can take care of one city?

Heckuva job, Georgie. The Chinese government is also taking steps to assist the displaced and traumatized population in many different ways, at every level:

At a sports stadium in Mianyang where thousands of homeless are living, more than 1,000 children attended classes in hastily erected tents, reflecting government efforts to restore some semblance of normality.

"Many of the children don't know each other but that's OK. Kids of that age make friends really fast," said geography teacher Chen Qian, 27, as the children stood up to sing the national anthem together.

The health ministry said it had started sending thousands of the most seriously injured people by trains and planes to other parts of China from the overwhelmed hospitals in Sichuan.

Authorities also sent out the first team specialised in treating disabilities, which are expected to afflict many of the 288,431 injured people.

In a bid to cheer up survivors, organisers announced that they would bring the Beijing Olympic torch through Sichuan from August 3 to 5, making it the final stop before the Games open on August 8.

Wow. You think maybe the Chinese government cares for its people? You think maybe Kanye West was right, when he said George Bush doesn't give a damn about Black people?

For a list of organizations to which you can donate, click here.

Stumble It!

Environment: Snippets

Environmental news over the past half year has been uniformly depressing, I'm afraid. Okay, there are little pockets of WTF? in a pleasant way, occasionally - the goddamned daffodils are finally blooming in the garden at Casa de Los Gatos, after who knows how many years - even the bougainvillea is blooming, it's like fall never happened, just an endless summer. But that's not good news, really. It's supposed to be cool and rainy, right now, not warm and sunny. Today the inhabitants of La Casa were sweating like pigs while fixing dinner.

In the meantime, over in Sulawesi, Indonesia, July brought rains with attendant mudslides, although a lot of that is due to the slash-and-burn farming practised there, and the absolute greed of loggers. Death toll so far, 66, and another 23 are missing. Aid helicopters are stuck on Borneo, unable to fly supplies to people desperately needing them.

A series of major earthquakes struck Sumatra island in Indonesia, killing 23 people, wounding 88, and damaging over 15,000 buildings. A small tsunami also hit the islands of Mentawai group, off Sumatra.

High winds destroyed 200 homes in the historic Kampung Ayer (Water Village) of Brunei, inhabited by some 30,000 people. The houses are built on stilts over the water, much like the kelongs of Southeast Asia, and are an important tourist attraction. Kampung Ayer pic from this Brunei site

At least China has begun acknowledging the serious impact of pollution, and is taking steps to reduce it, although with a population of 1.5 billion, the sheer magnitude of the problem must be overwhelming. China's Vice-Minister of State Environmental Protection recently authored a column acknowledging the existence of a Five-Year Plan and insisting that environmental protection is a priority. The Plan suggests that development should, in future, be measured in terms of "Green GDP." Let's see how it works.

Liu Jian qiang, a visiting scholar at Beijing University, believes that the growing environmental crisis is fostering greater openness and the growth of democracy, as China's population begins to fight the environmentally unsafe practices of its government.

The urbanisation of Asia is being blamed for an epidemic rise in cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever, a more serious variant of dengue fever which is caused by the Aedes mosquito. Kampuchea suffered 25,000 cases this year, resulting in the deaths of 300 children under the age of 15 years. Indonesia suffered 100,000 cases. Malaysia's infection toll rose by 50 per cent over the previous year, with 1,000 people being admitted to hospital each week in July, and 56 deaths recorded in June. Vietnam's toll rose by 40 per cent over the previous year, with 33,000 people infected and 32 deaths. There is no vaccine for any of the four known strains of the virus and no one strain confers immunity from any other strain.

Dr Axel Kroeger, a WHO dengue research coordinator in Geneva, said: "We always think next year it will get better but we always find next year it gets worse. There's a very clear upward trend."

An earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale hit the Pacific island of Vanuatu in August. No tsunami warning was issued, nor were there any reports of death or serious injury.
August in Japan brought some of the hottest temperatures the island nation has seen since 1933, resulting in the deaths of 13 people as temperatures soared to 40.9C (106F). Hundreds of people were hospitalized due to heat-related illnesses and injuries.

Typhoon Nari, with winds of 155 mph, is churning across the East China Sea, heading towards Japan at 20 kph. It is expected to bring heavy rain to southern Japan and Korea. Earlier, typhoon Fitow hit eastern and northern Japan, killing 2 people and injuring 82 others.

An earthquake of 6.7 magnitude hit the Solomon Islands in mid-August, striking 1.1 miles below the sea. Previously, the islands had been hit by an 8.0 earthquake and tsunami in April which killed 50 and displaced thousands. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no real risk of a tsunami but warned of possible local tidal waves.

Between June and September, the annual monsoons left 13.5 million stranded or displaced in India and Bangladesh. Over 2,200 people died in India, and over 1,000 more died in Bangladesh. The storms and flooding were reported to be the worst in decades. Additionally, landslides and floods have killed at least 185 people in neighbouring Nepal. The rains have also destroyed millions of acres of food crops, threatening food shortages. Victims of the flood are now trying to cope with water-borne illnesses.

Forest fires in Spain have forced 10,000 from their homes and destroyed 60,000 acres of land in the Canary islands in August. Special prosecutor for environmental crimes Guillermo Garcia Panasco described the fire as one of the worst ever suffered by the islands. High winds contributed to the conflagration while impeding firefighting helicopters. Low humidity and temperatures above 104F kept the fires going as well.

Meanwhile, voles have infested nearly a million acres of land in the Castilla-Leon region of Spain, leading farmers to use controlled burning as a means of coping with the rodents. Castilla-Leon's Agriculture Minister, Silvia Clemente, said

"There has never been a plague like the one we have now."

Stumble It!

Environment: Earthquake Hits Greece

A powerful earthquake - 6.5 - hit Greece on Sunday, January 6th. The epicenter was located 120km southwest of Athens and 51km underground. No casualties reported so far. The quake was also felt in Italy. According to Auntie Beeb, Greece is the most earthquake-prone country in the world. Further details available here.

Stumble It!

Environment - Huge Earthquake Hits Peru

An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale rocked Peru today, damaging buildings in the capital city, Lima, and uprooting trees. The quake was centered approximately 90 miles south of Lima. Government bodies are working to restore water, power, and communications.

Yet another reminder, if one be needed, of how fragile our civilization, our cities, and our lives really are.

From Raw Story.

Stumble It!

World: Quake Hits Turki

An earthquake measuring 5.7 rocked Turki's capital city, Ankara, on the first day of the Eid festival. CNN has the details.

Unsurprisingly, the USGS rates it at 5.3. I sense a trend here (see previous post on New Zealand's earthquake).

The quake was the third of the day, the other two measuring 3.9 and 4.0 respectively, and was centered in the town of Bala, approximately 50 miles south of Ankara. No deaths or serious injuries have been reported.

Stumble It!

LOOTING: Warning to Business Owners in My Neighborhood

Let's get this straight: If there's a terrible earthquake and everything's destroyed and I can't get to my larder and the armed forces are too busy delivering food and water to the nicer neighborhoods and it's gone on for 4 -5 days now ...

I'LL BE LOOTING YOUR STORES FOR FOOD AND WATER ... AND POSSIBLY ADVIL FOR MY TREMENDOUS HEADACHE.

As I said after Hurricane Katrina:

THE REAL LOOTERS - BUSH, CHENEY, AND HALLIBURTON!

Stumble It!

Environment - Peru Earthquake Update

Raw story reports that the death toll is rising as more bodies are discovered:

"The toll has jumped to between 500 and 510 dead and 1,600 injured," the head of the country's firefighter service, Roberto Ocno, told AFP from Peru's southern coastal area, struck late Wednesday by a massive tremor.

"There are dead trapped under houses," he said. "There are several bodies in the streets, people who may have died from heart attacks."

And, despite the assurance that there would be no tsunamis, tsunamis have struck coastal villages after all:

Tsunamis flooded fishing villages on the Paracas bay, causing some damage, according to the locals.

The Red Cross has sent two planes loaded with supplies. The UN is mobilizing assistance. Peru's regional neighbours are sending aid, as are other nations around the world, including Italy and France. Firefighters Without Borders and Oxfam are among the groups sending aid.

George W. Bush is sending $100,000. I guess he's cutting the twins' allowance.

Stumble It!

2012 Book List

Photo copyright K. Smokey Cormier

Last year's final book review is up at the sisterblog, as is this year's book list. It's not complete, but that's because I can't climb up to the top shelves. If ever there's an earthquake, I'll be crushed to death by my own fucking books.

Anywho. Checkidout, place yer bets, and consider buying me lots of books for the new year, or lending me them, even. Also recommendations are welcome. Gotta remember to take the fucking pain meds even if it does make everything move at the speed of molasses.

Stumble It!

China Offers Special Postage Stamp

It's not being talked about in U.S. newspapers -- yet -- maybe they'll eventually print it. I heard on the BBC news on the radio last night: The Chinese government is printing a postage stamp commemorating the people who died in the earthquake. It will be offered for sale today. Proceeds will be donated to the people in Sichuan Province.

Why couldn't Bush et al come up with this after Hurricane Katrina? Why? Why? Why? Does a Communist government care more about their people than a democratic one? Oops, forgot the quotes ... I meant "democratic" one. (Remember, I believe they stole the election.)

Stumble It!

Our Money Flows Into War Effort While Country Goes Down the Tubes

SEVERE ALERT: Our country's resources are severely low.


[Thanks to Harry Shearer who alerted us about this today on Le Show, Shearer's wonderful radio program. Go here to find out more. Shearer talks about news that we don't ordinarily hear about. I really find out a lot from him. Plus, he's very funny.]

Most parents I know try to teach their kids about consequences: If you do such and such, what do you think might happen?

How do we teach our leaders about consequences? They all seem to be oblivious. If you start a war, you will end up spending lots of money. Is that where you really want to be putting your money?

My belief is that this war is just transferring money from our pockets into our leaders' pockets. They're smirking all the way to their Swiss bank accounts.

And we live with the consequences.

Here are today's examples.

-- Toxic fumes in the Yosemite Wawona tunnel. The electrical system is outdated and the fans in the tunnel aren't working correctly -- they need to be replaced. The toxic fumes could become so bad at the height of tourism in the summer that it could cause a fire in the tunnel. Were you planning to travel to Yosemite this summer? Probably not because you can't afford the gas.
-- Thirteen schools run by the Dept. of Interior for Native American school children were found to have shoddy conditions.
-- Nearly 60 dams managed by the Dept. of Interior are at *HIGH* risk of breaking or overflowing. (I guess that would be ORANGE in Homeland Security parlance.) As Harry Shearer said: "Well, they can always call on the Army Corps of Engineers." He's broadcasting from New Orleans these days.
-- Near Jackson, Wyoming there is a condemned fish hatchery where Interior employees themselves worked in peril until last year. The building had been closed to the public since 2000 because of dangerous structural flaws, but employees continued to use some of the facility to restock endangered trout.
-- Yellowstone National Park water systems are significantly deteriorating and the now-closed Dinosaur National Monument was "literally falling apart" atop shifting soil in Colorado, putting irreplaceable fossils at risk.
-- At Grand Teton National Park, an office headquarters building located on an earthquake fault is not built to seismic codes. A maintenance building there is plagued by unhealthy conditions and has needed repair for at least 10 years, but won't be fixed for another six.

Could it be that there is no money to fix these problems? All the money flowing from us to ... war efforts ... to war profiteers?

Can't afford to travel to a foreign land for holidays? Were you planning to visit one of our natural treasures? Better do some research on it before you go. Make sure it's safe for your family to be there.

Are you surprised to learn that Deputy Assistant Secretary Paul Hoffman, a former congressional aide to Vice President Cheney, had been the most senior agency official in charge of safety at the Dept. of the Interior?

Want to read about the audit report that uncovered all these problems at the Dept. of Interior? Go here.

Stumble It!