<p>are they okay?
(your family)</p>
<p>I was born near chennai too, but my family there are fine.</p>
<p>It's at 59,186 total right now.</p>
<p>Indonesia: 27,174
Sri Lanka: 19,000
India: 11,500</p>
<p>AceRockolla, iamhung blatantly stated that you can put a monetary value on a human life. That's what nomad was arguing against.</p>
<p>Let's hope this does not reach 100,000.</p>
<p>They had a whole segment about her on Inside Edition today. I don't have that harsh comments about her but I agree it was dumb to single her out.</p>
<p>Why is it dumb to single out a wealthy supermodel? HELLO??? She's worth a ton of money. Our society runs on money. The American society is a meritocracy AND it runs on money. Naturally, people are gonna care. </p>
<p>I can see your side of the story, of course, but I think you're taking it too out of context. And when i stated that you can put a monetary value on human life, it's true. When I die, the insurance company will give my family so much money. When you die, the same will probably happen, too. It sounds wrong that you can possibly put a monetary value on the life of a human, but it happens and is the reality in life. </p>
<p>usna_reject: Inside Edition is a show based on reporting celebs and the such. The supermodel is well, a celebrity. Naturally, she'll be showcased and have her story told on this show. Perfectly normal for a show like this...</p>
<p>I may come off as rather incompassionate, but I think I pale in comparison to Rhizome's statements like "If [Americans] choose to remain ignorant, they deserve to have a dozen more 9/11s. period."</p>
<p>i agree too..i think its stupid to single out people out of the 60 thousand and more who are dead..and the fact they single out americans who are caucasian..im sure asian americans, african americans, and others died too...yeah i know its a way for media to attract americans to watch but i still think its stupid..singling out people just gives one life way too much importance over the other..</p>
<p>I agree that it's unfair and wrong to focus on one supermodel or celebrity in times like these, but if you are going to direct your anger at someone, blame it on the media and not on her. The woman clung onto a tree for 8 hours and shattered her hips. It's not like she planned this to steal media coverage, she can't help it that shows like Insider Edition are only focusing on her and not others and from that interview it certainly didn't seem like she wanted to glorify herself. I'm sure there are tens of thousands of others that went through even more horrifying things over the past few days but is calling Petra a whore going to prove that?</p>
<p>Oh by the way guys although 70,000 people died, the biggest tragedy here is that whore-supermodel's husband . Not worshipping the rich or westerners is racist . I only hope more tourists and westerners would've died and not all the native women and children, it shows you there is no god and no ****ing justice.</p>
<p>Rhizome21-no one ever said that her boyfriend's death was the biggest tradegy here. what happened is too tragic to describe but just how is wishing death and suffering to more people going to help those who needs aid right now? you are arguing that all life is equal and its unfair to give more coverage to one specific person than the rest(which I agree with), but then why are you hoping that Petra is left totally disfigured if you would not wish it upon all of them? Once again, it's not her fault they choose to only focus on her, don't blame her for this.</p>
<p>"no one ever said that her boyfriend's death was the biggest tradegy here."</p>
<p>I know I was only stating about the media perceiving it as the 'biggest tradegy.'</p>
<p>It is quite annoying</p>
<p>Ok people just got the morning papers</p>
<p>Yeah the US is giving the affected countries aid</p>
<p>I posted sometime back that my country was refusing intl. aid.
Evidently that's not true.
The mighty benevolent kind and overwhelmingly generous US of A has announced its relief to Indian Red Cross.
The sum is a princely 44.5 lakh rupees.
Here is the rupee-$ conversion
$1=45 rupees
So basically what we've got is...yeah that's right $100000</p>
<p>Less than what 1 undergrad would spend in 4 years in a US college.And the total amount of aid to all affected countries?</p>
<p>$15 million dollars. There's Christmas spirit for you.</p>
<p>Excerpt from this mornings papers
Yesterday, Jan Egeland, the UNs under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, accused America of being stingy in its response to the natural disaster.</p>
<p>We were more generous when we were less rich, many of the rich countries, Egeland, a Norwegian, said. And it is beyond me, why are we so stingy, really . "</p>
<p>Colin Powell says his bit:"The US has given more aid in the last four years than any other nation or combination of nations in the world"
Gee, I wonder why. I mean it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that the US has more money than any other nation in the world, does it?</p>
<p>BTW, the Indian press isn't doing such a fantastically good job of reporting either.</p>
<p>The tsunami which killed hundreds of people in southern Thailand may also have killed the coral reefs which attract large numbers of foreign tourists
The emphasis is more on the tourists than the irreversible loss of the reefs.</p>
<p>On the TV news channel NDTV/24/7 there are so many more stories about how the governements of the developed nations are advising their national not to visit Asian destnations than about the fact that a fifth of the tribal population in the Nicobar island reserves have died. </p>
<p>There's responsible reporting for you.</p>
<p>The U.S. said that the $15 million was only 'initial' aid. Still, lottery jackpots are often bigger than that.</p>
<p>Um, hey guys, listen i just want to say something, i am getting quite disturbed by the selfishness and "stinginess" you all are reporting, guys we are talking about a tsunami that is equal to 1 million atomic bombs, and right now we are here to aid and support the area affected, we are not here to argue, that is all you guys do (including the international community), look i'm getting sick of people taking sides and fighting all the time, whether you are liberal or conservative, hate america or love america, think or not think that rich nations are being stingy, this is not the time to show your differences, guys in the international world, there is no secret lil guy up there in washington who is smiling "haha those ppl died in asia", stop trying to find enemies and blame people, i think EVERYONE is hurt and disstressed, it's time for the world to unite and with a prolonged effort salvage what we can of the places affected. So instead of arguing, just pay your respects...and please...be content with your life...you are all fortunate to be living...more than 63,000 people (experts say it will reach over 150,000 people because there is actually an island off of indonesia which consisted of 100,000 people, for some reason that island cannot be found, guys...its totally inundated with water...) were killed in just one single day in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar and Thailand as a result of the massive quake/tsunami off the Indonesian island of Sumatra..In country after country, children have emerged as the biggest victims of Sunday's quake, born tidal waves, thousands and thousands drowned, battered and washed away by huge walls of water that have decimated an entire generation of Asians...Most of the children, ages 5-12, were buried as they were found, in their Sunday clothes, without the luxury of a shroud...In Sri Lanka alone, 1.5 million ppl lost their homes...so...instead of complaining.arguing.finding a reason to why this happenend.scapegoating....just give your heart out to the souls lost...if you guys care so much about the tsunami then start donating money instead of arguing.</p>
<p>ps...this goes out to everyone reading, please do not take this as an individualistic thing, i just think it's not the time to show who gives more money, and who is right and wrong, i mean its both sides guys, ppl in north india may think america is cheap for not giving enough money, wth do they know, ppl in america who don't even care to acknowledge the tragedy, wth do they know, ITS BOTH SIDES, just let it go, start uniting instead of separating even more...</p>
<p>actually xindianx, I have donated whatever money I got as gifts on my birthday. Hypocrisy isn't one of my vices.
As for uniting, any suggestions how? Trust me, i am not vehemently anti US or anything, but right now, I'm not feeling particularly charitable towards them</p>
<p>xindianx, im w/ you thas exactly what i said too:)</p>
<p>
[quote]
tsunami that is equal to 1 million atomic bombs
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Uh...what are you talking about?</p>
<p>And secondly, maybe you should be grateful that they're receiving ANY aid. It isn't an innate right that countries should receive aid from other countries because of a natural disaster. The US doesn't have to give anything to those countries. Talk about how "ungrateful blah blah blah" the US is, YOU people are the ungrateful ones.</p>
<p>"And secondly, maybe you should be grateful that they're receiving ANY aid. It isn't an innate right that countries should receive aid from other countries because of a natural disaster. The US doesn't have to give anything to those countries. Talk about how "ungrateful blah blah blah" the US is, YOU people are the ungrateful ones."</p>
<p>A few developed countries that represent less than a 20% of the world's population control 80% of the its wealth. Not everyone gets to live like you, uc_benz. The majority don't have safe food or water. When a tidal wave comes and kills 60,000 and leaves millions homeless, the rich countries are EXPECTED to help.</p>
<p>I don't think countries like begging or being ungrateful, but they don't like bodies washing up on the beach and being unable to do anything about it either. It's you who should be grateful. Grateful for not being born into poverty in a third world country and then getting screwed over by some freak natrural disaster.</p>
<p>Thanks for asking filmxoxo17! Yeah they are fine ! Wow can you believe the fact ithat i was actually talking to my granparents online when the earthquake occured!! THey could actually feel their whole 4 story apartment shaking ! And they actually described the scenes. Chennai, one of the most populated cities in India was almost empty as people were either inside their homes locked up or fleeing frm the coast!</p>