There's something missing here ....
 

Usually, whenever there is a major natural disaster in the world, there is a thread on it .... the one on the Burmese event is on page 2 .... but I see that no one has mentioned what is going on in China:confused: Leaves me wondering why? Surely you have all heard of it or read of it or seen it on the boob tube. And it is certainly a disaster of major proportions, makes Katrina look like a flesh wound. Is it because of what's going on in Tibet? I realize that a lot of people have no sympathy for the govt in Bejing, but they are sweethearts compared to the crew running Burma. The loss of life in China, not to mention the thousands buried alive, deserves some expression of sympathy.

Re: There's something missing here ....
 

Eric..I started the Burma thread.
My father was killed there and I have friends who are Burmese.
Some clown asked would the collections tins come out again.
I was in China for three years and still communicate with friends there.
Starting a thread about anything other than local issues is frowned upon and for my pains the same clown and two of his fellow clowns left me bad Karma.
I will put the link on and see how people feel:


BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | China quake toll 'to top 50,000'

Re: There's something missing here ....
 

Thanx for the link Royboy ... I hate to think that sympathy for those suffering unbelievable loss ... families, whole schools full of children .... should be qualified by dislike of the government of the victims. These are human beings, just like us ... and it is appropriate, I believe, to express some sympathy, even in passing. "No man is an island .... " (John Donne: Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions; Meditation 17)

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doubt if theres any sinister reason eric.:confused: anyway why didn't you start it sooner.:D

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I'm shy:hidewall:

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Course you are Eric:p

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Perhaps it may be a good idea to give your thoughts on the current situation in China instead of lurking in 'Who's on line' ready to pounce.

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Perhaps it might be a good idea for you to wind your neck in, go pick on somebody else!!!!

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My neck may be long but my brain is still functioning very well thankyou.
Please get back on subject and either give your input to the subject or if that is beyond your ken.........back off. :p

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Is it your turn tonight Bernie ? To be fair he tries to pick a different person each day to have an argument with. Maybe he hasn't got a mirror :D

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I notice that you haven't the balls to comment on China either.

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People like this don't bother me, think it is sad that all he can do is have a go:(

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And still we don't get back to the topic of China :mad:

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Ok if you want to know my feelings on China, I feel terribly sorry for what has happened there. The thing is my worrying about it isn't going to make things better:(

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OK you have commented and I think that is the purpose of this thread.

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If there is to be any hope at all for humanity, it has to come in the form of a recognition that fundamentally we are all the same. And that we have the capacity to feel sympathy for the suffering of others; the horror of what it must be like to be buried alive! waiting for the sound of a shovel, getting weaker by the minute.

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Will try and put my thoughts into words, I don't think it is that people don't care about what has happened. You could crack up worrying about things that you can do nothing about. I think we all feel sympathy and kind of helpless in situations like this. Hope you really don't think we are an uncaring bunch but we can't do anything to help these poor people.

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I don't think there is any strict protocol. If someone wants to start a thread about international, rather than local new stories, they will, just as you have.

The terrible natural disasters that have happened recently in Asia have been headline stories on the news in the U.K. We are all aware of the heart breaking devastation.

There's not a lot to say really, besides empty platitudes, how you can't imagine the terrible suffering and loss that is involved.

According to the World Health Organisation 30,000 children die every day in sub-Saharan Africa, from either disease or malnutrition, yet we in the west discard literally mountains of food each day. Doesn't really make the headlines though, does it?

Strange old world we live in.

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BBC NEWS | UK | UK gives £12m more aid to Burma

I think working it out by the size of the population, we are one of the most generous countries as far as overseas aid is concerned.

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I meant we can't phsically help and if we sat here worrying about it we would crack up, we all feel sympathy but is that enough? It has to be in my reckoning because we all have our own worries.

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trouble is bernie some view that as being hard/ unfeeling i think, n its nowt of the sort, its called realism, which some sadly lose.;)

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i can see that, it was the other i didnt get:confused: perhaps cos hes over the pond n don't really know us.

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Well I tried to put my thoughts down if folk think I am hard so be it. Think the majority on here know that there is nothing further from the truth.

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At least we can rest knowing that they can afford to make things right, and that they do not need help from the west.But still a very sad situation for the common folk.

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Totally understand what you're saying.

Just a bit suprised that someone thought the reason there wasn't a thread on this little old local forum, about the terrible earthquake in China, was because of the politics of that country.

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I'm sure I read somewhere that more people die from obesity than from malnutrition. Doesn't seem to make a lot of difference though.

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I take it you mean worldwide, and not Africa, as I've never seen any figures published to back up the latter.

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Yet we or at least I feel guilty for not being able to do more, the sad fact is the common folk don't get the help they should be entitled to.

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You take it correctly. I think the article said 55% of Americans are obese and that obesity is itself a form of malnutrition.

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very difficult to digest an AK47:hidewall:

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Agreed, or use one to sooth the weeping ulcers on a baby dying because of A.I.D.S.

Lile I said earlier, it's a mixed up crazy world we live in.;)

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Or indeed -Stop a fox from killing chichens for no reason:egged:

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I think I raised the point more out of surprise than suspicion. I mean, this is a momentous event, and at the risk of appearing trite, a tragedy of epic proportions. Such events usually bring forward a quick response on "this little old local forum". I always hesitate before opening a thread. Not much of which is a big concern of mine, would interest you guys.

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In the great universal scheme of things and without sounding cold or uncaring 50,000 dead BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | China quake toll 'to top 50,000' out of a population of 1.3 billion China Population - The Population of China
works out at about .003 % of the population
or thinking about it in UK terms and a population of 60 million ......its about 200 dead , probably about 1% of Brits who die each year thru infections picked up in dirty hospitals
also in UK terms, abortions running at ....193,700 ( 2006 figure) is on a par to .3% of the population

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I take your point, but thinking back to past threads about worldwide natural disasters, they've usually been started because of some link the person has to that place. I know with the Pakistani earthquake a lot of local people had family in that particular area.

I guess there aren't a lot of us who have ties with China, and despite saying how terrible the suffering must be every time something happens in the world, there isn't much more to add.

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What has surprised me more than anything is that both China and Burma have similar regimes, yet the action taken by both governments is unbelievable, the Burmese don't seem to give a damn about the ordinary people, whereas the chinese have sent thousands of troops into the area to give as much help as posible

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probably to do with the fact that china has become a world power, whereas burma is just a forbidden place? run by a secretive tin-pot dictatorship. whatever the reason, china seems to be going all-out to aid its people, unlike president bush after katerina.:rolleyes:

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I am living in China at the moment and have been impressed by the attitude of the Chinese Government in response to last Monday's earthquake. Only last month we visited Wolong Giant Panda Reserve which is located in the region affected by the quake and according to news reports much of this area has been devastated and the town has been cut-off due to rockfalls and landslides caused by aftershocks. The roads into this mountain area weren't exactly vehicle friendly during our visit, but have now disappeared altogether in some places. :sad8:
Whilst things look bleak at the moment, I suspect that the efficiency of the Chinese Government will ensure that this region (and it's survivors) receive the resources to recover and develop as swiftly as possible.:)

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Far fewer people would have died in China but for the shoddy building practices there. Also, due to China's "one child" policy, it is heartbreaking to see parents lose their only son or daughter.

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it just means there will be fewer to cross the Yalu river , seems your forgetting your history, Barb ;) ;)

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Yeah, but the only people crossing the Yalu these days are the North Koreans, fleeing their ghastly regime.

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update for Barb, they are allowing them to breed ....http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...i020019D94.DTL

more mouths to feed and more cheap labour for western jobs