Arthur C. Clarke Reports From Sri Lanka

Jeff Patterson writes "Sir Arthur C. Clarke has filed a damage report from his home in Sri Lanka on the Clarke Foundation page. He is fine, however 'among those affected are my staff based at our diving station in Hikkaduwa and holiday bungalow in Kahawa -- both beachfront properties located in areas worst hit. We still don't know the full extent of damage as both roads and phones have been damaged. Early reports indicate that we have lost most of our diving equipment and boats. Not all our staff members are accounted for -- yet.'"

Comments

i see

[circletimessquare]

you've already decided that iraq and afghanistan are failures

well, with such advanced perception as enjoyed by no other human being on this planet, i have no other choice but to concede to you

(snicker)

ps: if the protests you speak of WERE directed at the suffering in sudan, you would have a point, but protesting loudly against the usa on the street and then saying "oh and uh, i got some stuff on my website about sudan" does not mean your criticisms are proportional or in line with a real human conscience about the suffering in this world

suffering which the usa is hard at work relieving by putting in place democratic institutions which will promote peace and prosperity where there currently is none

Re:i see

[gordo3000]

suffering which the usa is hard at work relieving

I don't believe I have once heard an American president have our country go to war to relieve suffering of another group. It just seems to be our last excuse when we run out of good reasons to do what we are doing. Everyone one of my friends who rapantly supported the war couldn't deal with there not being weapons of mass destruction. First they say it'll take time to find them, then they start comparing the size of hte country to finding a needle in california. And finally, instead of admitting we went to war on a bad reason, try to say its all worth it for the humanity.

Thats all bullshit, the USA doesn't go to war and put american lives on the line so Iraqis sleep well at night, its so americans can sleep better. If there are good consequences(spreading democracy and such) then so be it.

Now on the other hand, the UN, which conveniently ignores the slaughter of innocent people around the globe, should probably be doing some of these altruistic works. But nope. Let all them Europeans have a say, and lots of other countries, nad guess what, the world doesn't come to save the Sudanese or stop the blood shed in Rwanda(I think, Tutsis(sp?) and the Hootu's(sp?)). So all the europeans who say we don't care about human life need to go shove it. Start doing something if you care or just shut the hell up because you obviously are just looking to blame someone else for what your own decadence can lead to.

just as a note, most of the major problems in africa and the middle east have there roots with European foreign policy and only since WWII has america actually involved itself in those things. At least I can always say america wasn't the root of the problem and actaully tries to do something to solve it rather than complain.

Obligatory Conan O'Brien

[Zorilla]

(Rhythmic clapping) Ah'ma gonna go to hell when ah die! Ah'ma gonna go to hell when ah die!

Disaster tech?

[hughk]

One of the big problems with such disasters is identifying the victims, particularly when there are so many tourists involved and complete communities destroyed.

One wonders what tech is available to help people be identified. Whilst I realise that priority must be given to the living, it is still important to be able to trace who has died, or who is stuck unable to communicate in a hospital somewhere.

In my understanding, this was no 9/11 so bodies were usually intact (death through drowning or collision with debris). Eventually the bodies may be identified, but by then the people may have been missing for months. Clearly there is use for some kind of system to allow the information to be spread around so that people may be identified.

Re:depleted uranium?

[Troed]

Similar symptoms have occurred, in Kuwait and are proliferating. It is believed that in Iraq, 250,000 men, women, and children may have been affected. The death rate is high A study carried out in 1993 by three American scientists estimated that about 50,000 Iraqi children had already died during the first eight months after the Gulf War from the detrimental effects of DU projectiles.

link

50000 - in eight months - after the _first_ war. More DU-weapons were used in the second. Most effects are long term and show up several years later.

Before you accuse someone of "bullshit" - at least use Google. That way you'll avoid coming across as a total idiot.