Tag Archives: natural disaster

How to Help in Japan or Libya

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Smoke billows from a fire after the massive wave destroyed houses and roads in Kisenuma city. Photo: Reuters TV

The news from Japan is overwhelming. In effect the nation is dealing with three crises, two natural disasters that have already costs thousands of lives and another potential nuclear meltdown. I am hopeful the problems at the reactors will be contained, though there has already been some leakage. Japan is already devastated. Death tolls are expected to reach 10,000 or more. That number is hard to grasp and Japan far away, but we must wrap our heads around it and step up to help. Japan has done so for the US in its times of crises.

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We are the World I and II

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This is the video for the 25th anniversary version of “We Are the World”, made for the benefit of earthquake victims in Haiti.

This is a noble project.  The disaster in Haiti is certainly one of the worst in recent memory.  As of February 10 the reported number of deaths was 230,000.  Stalin once said “”A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic,” and I confess that 230,000 is a difficult number for me to wrap my head around, so I went looking for points of reference.  Comparisons are hard to find.

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