[Mb-civic] A Wave of Questions: Putting a Disaster in Context

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

http://www.altpr.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid
=411&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0


A Wave of Questions: Putting a Disaster in Context

By Mickey Z.
How does one comprehend the magnitude, impact, and context of a
disaster that may claim more than 100,000 lives? But enough about the U.S.
occupation of Iraq...

The recent earthquake/tsunami in Asia raises more questions than
answers. Here's a start:

What's the political context of the disaster?
Reports on the Asian tsunami typically ignore the crucial political
back stories in volatile areas like Aceh and Sri Lanka...and how "aid"
efforts will be exploited for geo-political gain. Without such context,
the coverage is woefully incomplete and irresponsible. Today, Democracy
Now did delve deeper into the situation in Aceh...the military repression,
the role of Exxon-Mobil, and now the earthquake/tsunami.
(http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/29/161219). Do some
research and see for yourself.

Is the U.S. stingy?
Even if we were to trust the estimates of $1 billion in aid eventually
coming from the U.S., that number pales in comparison to the tens of
billions being spent in Iraq to keep the world safe for petroleum. At this
writing, the U.S. has spent an average of $9.5 million every hour on the
war and occupation of Iraq. In a global sense, the U.S. spends $1 million
dollars a minute on war...a percentage of which helps create Third World
poverty and the inability to deal with natural disasters.

Why was there no warning?
There was warning. Here's how the folks at Democracy Now describe what
happened: "Within minutes of the tsunami forming on Sunday, U.S. officials
at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii began tracking the waves.
But the scientists claimed they had no one to contact in the Indian Ocean
region about the possible danger. One exception was the British-owned
island of Diego Garcia that houses a major US Naval base. The Independent
of London reports that U.S. officials in Hawaii did warn Diego Garcia
about the possible tsunami and the island suffered no major damage."

Could any of the affected countries done anything?
It might have helped if U.S. scientists in Hawaii hadn't initially
calculated the earthquake at a magnitude of 8.0 (ten times weaker than in
actuality). "Based on it being an 8.0, we assumed the damage would be
confined to Sumatra and would be a local tsunami event," said Charles
McCreery, director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, "one that
strikes shore within minutes of the event." But even so, we must never
forget that profits outweigh people. An official in Thailand's meteorology
department told the Guardian of London, "A proper warning was not given.
If we had given the warning and then it hadn't happened, then it would
have been the death of tourism in those areas."

Will it happen again? Can it happen here?
As I sit here in New York, with a fault line running across 125th St., I
need only remember that 200 million years ago the earth was one gigantic
continent.

Where does this disaster rank for that area?
The continent of Asia is no stranger to natural events like this. A
1942 hurricane in Bengal, India killed 40,000. A 1970 cyclone Bangladesh
claimed 300,000 lives. Going back to 1556, 830,000 died in an earthquake
in Shaanxi, China. August 1931 saw China's Huang He River flood and kill
3,700,000.

As for man-made disasters, Hurricane Lyndon helped kill 1,000,000 or so in
Indonesia in 1965. Hurricanes Ike, Jack, Lyndon, and Dick wrecked havoc
throughout Southeast Asia for decades...with millions upon millions dead.
We can't forget Hurricanes Gerald and Jimmy...responsible for hundreds of
thousands of deaths in East Timor in the late 70s. The list goes on and
on.

How can I help?
If you're trying to figure out a way to help but do not want your
dollars sucked into a huge bureaucracy, you can help the Indonesian
area of Aceh via the East Timor Action Network.

Another way to help (in a more abstract manner) is to see past the
corporate media coverage of the tragedy and educate yourself on the
deeper issues. The more we know about the world, the harder it is to
fool us. Donate at the link given above. Donate...then educate, agitate,
and demonstrate.

Here in the U.S., we can't honestly say we haven't been warned...

Mickey Z. is the author of four books, most recently: "The Seven Deadly
Spins: Exposing the Lies Behind War Propaganda" (Common Courage Press). 
He can be found on the Web at www.mickeyz.net.


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"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
   ---   George Orwell


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