Death Toll from Tsunami Hits 120,000

The wrath of Asia's tsunami grew clearer yesterday as worst-hit Indonesia sharply raised its death toll, taking the number of fatalities around the region to more than 120,000.

Five million people have been made homeless.

Millions have been reduced to scrambling for food and clean water as disease, thirst, hunger and panic threatened survivors of one of the world's most lethal natural disasters.

Hundreds of tonnes of emergency supplies of food, medicine and water purification systems poured into the 12 disaster-stricken nations, but little was reaching injured and hungry survivors.

Indonesia, which bore the brunt of Sunday's catastrophe, raised its toll to 80,000.

Sri Lanka's toll was set to cross 29,000, with most of the 4,500 missing people likely to be declared dead soon, President Chandrika Kumaratunga said.

The Indonesian province of Aceh was "ground zero" of Sunday's 9.0 earthquake just off its coast, which triggered deadly waves all the way to Africa. Aftershocks, rumours and an Indian tsunami warning that proved wrong added to the chaos yesterday in a still terrified region.

Despite the increasing toll, the true scale of the disaster may not be known for weeks, if ever. As rescuers battled to reach remote areas and washed-away towns, and grieving survivors searched for bodies of locals and tourists, the scale that was known grew ever more awesome.

"This isn't just a situation of giving out food and water. Entire towns and villages need to be rebuilt from the ground up," said Rod Volway of Care Canada, one of the first aid teams into Aceh.

David Nabarro, head of a World Health Organisation crisis team, said: "As many as 5 million people are not able to access what they need for living."

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday called for a Group of Eight meeting so the club of rich nations could discuss their response to the tsunami. He proposed cutting the international debt of the affected countries.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations will meet as early as next week to co-ordinate relief and reconstruction efforts.

Four days after the tsunami, most people had given up hope of finding loved ones alive. Indonesian aircraft dropped food to isolated areas in Aceh on northern Sumatra, areas that may not be reached by land for days.

Survivors complained aid was only trickling in, despite a mountain of supplies at the local airport. Aid officials blamed poor co-ordination with the military.

Hungry crowds jostling for aid biscuits besieged people delivering them, so some drivers dared not stop. "Cars come by and throw food. The fastest get the food, the strong one wins. The elderly and the injured don't get anything. We feel like dogs," said one resident.

The UN admits only a fraction of aid is getting to where it is needed. "We are doing very little at the moment," UN emergency relief co-ordinator Jan Egeland acknowledged in New York.

"It will take maybe 48 to 72 hours more to be able to respond to the thousands of people who would like to have help today - or yesterday, rather," he said. "I believe the frustration will be growing in the weeks ahead."

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Cool site for photography enthusiasts...and others! 

Bloglines - Quake Changes Earth's Rotation, Moves Islands

Bloglines user ChuckzBlog (chuckzmail@johnstonz.net) has sent this item to you, with the following personal message:

The "techie" side of the tsunamis...incredible! --Chuck

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Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters

Quake Changes Earth's Rotation, Moves Islands By timothy on shorter-or-maybe-longer-who-knows kernel panic attack writes "This week's deadly Asian Quake and Tsunami may have been so powerful, that it changed the rate of Earth's rotation. In a Reuters article, a NASA geophysicist theorizes that the quake compacted the Earth enough to speed up the planet's rotation by 3 microseconds. A second article says the quake moved undersea tectonic plates by up to 98 feet, shifting islands near Sumatra out to sea an unknown distance. Also, a USGS team wants images from commercial satellite operators to help pinpoint coastline damage. Lastly, an interesting article from the Australian Spaceguard Survey about the need for a Tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean. The author comments that tsunami warnings may not help much, as people often flock to the coastline to see the giant waves." The current estimated death toll is now nearly 70,000; Amazon and Google, among others, have added front-page links to simplify donating to the disaster relief effort.

Sentencing of 'Shoe Bomber' Richard Reid - Netlore Archive

Sentencing of 'Shoe Bomber' Richard Reid - Netlore Archive:

"The shoe Bomber... Richard Reid Ruling by Judge William Young

U.S. District Court Judge William Young made the following statement in sentencing 'shoe bomber' Richard Reid to prison. It is noteworthy, and deserves to be remembered far longer than he predicts. I commend it to you and to anyone you might wish to forward it to.

=================================================
January 30, 2003 United States vs. Reid. Judge Young:

"Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you. "

Visit site above to read entire sentence...

While we're celebrating, let's not forget them! 

Fun & games for adults and kidz... 

Computer Rage - How Not To Destroy Your New High-Tech Gifts

Interesting concept! ;-)

Computer Rage - How Not To Destroy Your New High-Tech Gifts :: University Communications Newsdesk, University of Maryland:

"Computer Rage - How Not To Destroy Your New High-Tech Gifts

At least 10 percent of high-tech gifts this holiday season may fall victim to 'computer rage' - acts of uncontrolled frustration by their owners - estimates University of Maryland professor Kent Norman, a cognitive psychologist who directs the Laboratory for Automation Psychology and Decision Processes. "

Click on the link above to read it all...

Bloglines - It's in the Cards - Internet Worm Poses as Electronic Christmas Card

Bloglines user ChuckzBlog (chuckzmail@johnstonz.net) has sent this item to you, with the following personal message:

Not exactly spreading Christmas cheer, hey?

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Lockergnome's Windows Fanatics Freeware, useful Web sites, original PC tips & tricks, critical updates, jargon definitions, and general help for consumers. Tech support with a personal touch!

It's in the Cards - Internet Worm Poses as Electronic Christmas Card By rss_feedback@lockergnome.com (Aunty Spam's Net Patrol) on Aunty Spam's Net Patrol Instead of the Grinch who Stole Christmas, it's the Worm who Sneaks Into Your Computer Disguised as an Electronic Christmas Card. And oh joy, targetted specifically towards Windows systems, just to ensure you a white-out Christmas. Yes, this year it's the dreaded Zani worm which is making the rounds garbed in festive holiday attire. Dressed up as an electronic Christmas card, this cheery yet dastardly worm shows up in your inbox appearing to be from… Direct and Related Links for 'It's in the Cards - Internet Worm Poses as Electronic Christmas Card'

Folgers Raises Coffee Prices as Bean Costs Jump

At last! Something to put the crisis in oil-pricing into perspective! - --Chuck
FOX News

Click on the URL below for the rest of this story:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,140998,00.html

Register your cell phone for the do not call list

Tough question...tough answers! 

Bloglines - The Red and the Mondegreen

Bloglines user ChuckzBlog (chuckzmail@johnstonz.net) has sent this item to you, with the following personal message:

My most long-lasting lyric blunder was from the frequently-sung Doxology. I was in college before I discovered that the correct wording of one phrase was "Praise Him, all CREATURES here below." and not "Praise Him, all PREACHERS here below." Guess, when I was younger, the the latter made more sense to me and it stuck! (And then there was "Gladly, the cross-eyed bear.") --Chuck ;-)

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New Urban Legends Recent additions to the Urban Legends Reference Pages at snopes.com

The Red and the Mondegreen By snopes@snopes.com It's the return of the Christmas mondegreens!

Militant Islam rising threat to liberty rears head in Holland

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Incoming mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 7.0.279 / Virus Database: 265.4.3 - Release Date: 11/26/2004

Surprise, surprise!

Tuesday, December 7, 2004 Posted: 5:54 PM EST (2254 GMT)

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Nurses get top marks when it comes to honesty and ethics, and car salesmen are the least trusted people, according to Gallup's annual U.S. survey of professions released Tuesday.

Nurses were given a "very high" or "high rating" by 79 percent of those surveyed nationwide in telephone interviews with 1,015 adults, aged 18 or older, conducted November 19-21.

Grade school teachers were next highest on the chart of 21 professions at 73 percent, one point higher than pharmacists and military officers.

Car salesmen brought up the rear with only 9 percent rating their honesty and ethics as high. That was one point lower than for people in advertising.

Journalists did not fare much better in public approval.

TV reporters (23 percent) and newspaper reporters (21) ranked below auto mechanics (26) and nursing home operators (24) on the list.

--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.289 / Virus Database: 265.4.6 - Release Date: 12/5/2004

Hey...I remember Elsie from when I was a KID! 

BBC NEWS | Health | Antibiotic hope for Parkinson's

BBC NEWS | Health | Antibiotic hope for Parkinson's:

"An antibiotic used to treat leprosy and tuberculosis is showing promise as a therapy for Parkinson's disease.

"In laboratory tests, rifampicin was found to prevent the formation of protein fibrils associated with the death of brain cells in Parkinson's.
Researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz, also found the drug dissolved existing fibrils. "

Click the link at the top to read the complete story...

From the site's self-description... "10x10™ ('ten by ten') is an interactive exploration of the words and pictures that define the time. The result is an often moving, sometimes shocking, occasionally frivolous, but always fitting snapshot of our world. Every hour, 10x10 collects the 100 words and pictures that matter most on a global scale, and presents them as a single image, taken to encapsulate that moment in time. Over the course of days, months, and years, 10x10 leaves a trail of these hourly statements which, stitched together side by side, form a continuous patchwork tapestry of human life."
 

Yahoo! News - So who were those values voters?

Yahoo! News - So who were those values voters?:

"In the classic western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, there is a humorous moment when Butch and his sidekick in crime are fleeing a posse chasing them across the desert. Unable to shake his pursuers, Butch (played by Paul Newman) finally looks back at the posse galloping on horseback and asks incredulously, 'Who are those guys?'

"Since Nov. 2, when President Bush (news - web sites) won a solid victory in part because of the turnout of conservative people of faith, pundits have been scratching their heads wondering, 'Who are these people, and where did they come from?'
Their existence should not have come as a shock. Faith sparking citizens to action is one of the most persistent themes in U.S. history. "

Click on the link at the top to read it all...

Bloglines - Hacked in Four Minutes Flat

Bloglines user ChuckzBlog (chuckzmail@johnstonz.net) has sent this item to you.

Lockergnome's Windows Fanatics Freeware, useful Web sites, original PC tips & tricks, critical updates, jargon definitions, and general help for consumers. Tech support with a personal touch!

Hacked in Four Minutes Flat By rss_feedback@lockergnome.com (Ken Harthun) on Security Yes, here is yet another of my protect-yourself-or-risk-getting-hacked admonishments. Forgive me. I don’t this to alarm anyone; it’s simply a matter of fact that unprotected PCs connected to the Internet - with the possible exception of those still using dial-up - WILL be compromised. No maybes. To prove it, Avantgarde, a San Francisco tech marketing and design firm, contracted hacker-turned-security-consultant Kevin Mitnick and Ryan Russell, security consultant and author of Hack Proofing Your Network, to… Direct and Related Links for 'Hacked in Four Minutes Flat'

The Man Who Missed Christmas

The Man Who Missed Christmas: "THE MAN WHO MISSED CHRISTMAS

by J. Edgar Park

"It was Christmas Eve, and as usual, George Mason was the last to leave the office. He walked over to a massive safe, spun the dials, and swung the heavy door open. Making sure the door would not close behind him, he stepped inside.

"A square of white cardboard was taped just above the topmost row of strongboxes. On the card a few words were written. George Mason stared at those words, remembering...
Exactly one year ago he had entered this self-same vault. And then, behind his back, slowly, noiselessly, the ponderous door swung shut. He was trapped--entombed in the sudden and terrifying dark.

"He hurled himself at the unyielding door, his hoarse cry sounding like an explosion. Through his mind flashed all the stories he had heard of men found suffocated in time vaults. No time clock controlled this mechanism; the safe would remain locked until it was opened from the outside. Tomorrow morning.

"Then realization hit him. No one would come tomorrow--tomorrow was Christmas. "

Read on...

"Slugging is a term used to describe a unique form of commuting found in the Washington, DC area sometimes referred to as "Instant Carpooling" or "Casual Carpooling". It's unique because people commuting into the city stop to pickup other passengers even though they are total strangers! However, slugging is a very organized system with its own set of rules, proper etiquette, and specific pickup and drop-off locations. It has thousands of vehicles at its disposal, moves thousands of commuters daily, and the best part, it’s FREE! Not only is it free, but it gets people to and from work faster than the typical bus, metro, or train. I think you'll find that it is the most efficient, cost-effective form of commuting in the nation."  

Looking for something to do with all the spare time? (Didn't think so!) Anyway, if you need a couple of minutes away from that report or spreadsheet, try these games from TCK Soft. 

Hong Kong and Taiwan -- Ties that bind

If Deng Xiaoping , the architect of "one country, two systems", was alive today, he would be very disappointed to see that the Tung administration has dimmed, if not shattered, his hopes for Hong Kong to set an example to Taiwan in its implementation of the principle.

Statistics show that Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council commissioned 24 public opinion polls between July 1995 and this September to gauge people's views on whether the formula could solve the cross-strait problems. The largest support for Taiwan adopting this approach was in March, 2001, when 16.1 per cent of the 1,077 respondents backed the idea. Since then, however, support for Beijing's idea to use "one country, two systems" to resolve the problem has remained dismally low. According to September's poll, support has dropped to 12.7 per cent, while 81.4 per cent of the 1,067 Taiwanese respondents rejected the idea - the largest number since May 2000. If the survey results did not manage to sound alarm bells for the Tung administration, the spate of negative Taiwanese media coverage about Hong Kong should add weight to the issue, and force the government to face the problem and seek to tackle it.

Adding fuel to the fire is Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's recent threat to hold a referendum in 2006 to push through a new constitution describing the island as an independent state, and to have the constitution come into effect in 2008.

In drumming up support for his pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party candidates, the Taiwanese presidentis hoping to achieve a ruling majority in the Legislative Yuan following the election on December 11, thus ensuring a popular mandate for his proposals. Should Mr Chen manage to achieve this, there is a very real threat that an armed cross-strait confrontation may result.

Hong Kong owes it to the whole of China to show Taiwan how "one country, two systems" can work, both economically and politically. Given the results of the opinion polls and Taiwan's increased tilt towards a pro-independence stance, it is easy to understand why Beijing is so concerned about the attempts by some Hong Kong pro-democracy legislators to push for a referendum on universal suffrage. When dealing with Hong Kong's political reform, local politicians should always bear in mind the Taiwan factor, as it is right at the top of Beijing's agenda. According to official statistics, more than 1.71 million Taiwanese visited Hong Kong between January and September this year, while more than 236,000 Hong Kong residents visited Taiwan during the same period. Unlike Hongkongers, however, it is estimated that less than 20 per cent of Taiwanese have ever visited the mainland.

Such figures suggest that the Tung administration should endeavour to clarify by all means possible any misunderstandings among the Taiwanese people about post-handover Hong Kong, and to act as a platform to enhance cross-strait dialogue at the district level.

The Hong Kong government should understand that a stable Taiwan is vital to China as a whole, as well as the special administrative region, and that dire consequences will ensue should the increasingly obvious pan-independence force in Taiwan be left unchecked.

Kennedy Wong Ying-ho is a founder member of the Hong Kong Legal Forum and a local delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

 

Something helful for small children who have access to the internet...