Time magazine’s Tim Padgett writes an entire piece comparing the damage in the Chilean and Haitian earthquakes without ever once mentioning one huge difference: the Chilean earthquake, although stronger, was deeper and further away from population centers. The Time piece—and … Continue reading →
This sort of story is the reason rescuers will not give up, even though it’s been over two weeks since the quake: A 16-year-old girl has been pulled out of the rubble in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, 15 days after … Continue reading →
It’s only about one small child who was saved, to be sure. But whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world. I have highlighted this story not only because of the heartwarming fact that … Continue reading →
“Only the world can come to our rescue,” says a stricken Haitian. The Haitian government, ordinarily good for nothing save corruption and exploitation, has been hard hit itself. The UN, which would ordinarily coordinate relief efforts, is busy counting its … Continue reading →
…it’s warm there. Can you imagine how much worse it would have been if this had occurred in a cold climate during winter? On top of all the other problems, people would be freezing to death. That’s small comfort, though, … Continue reading →
As if tiny Haiti didn’t have it bad enough, now it has been hit by an earthquake of magnitude 7.0. Buildings in Haiti are flimsy even without a temblor, and many have fallen, with extremely high casualties very likely. Communication … Continue reading →
This year is an especially poignant year to remember 9/11. Each year I write something about 9/11—or reprint something—on the anniversary of this terrible event. Here’s an excerpt from one of my previous posts, updated to reflect the passage of … Continue reading →
Many years ago I lived in southern California in the hills bordering the San Fernando Valley. Every day I drove towards the city on the San Diego Freeway and then back again. Back then the traffic wasn’t as bad as … Continue reading →
This is not good news: Brazil and France disagree over whether any of the debris claimed to have been spotted by Brazil is really from the missing flight. France is saying that the debris located so far is not necessarily … Continue reading →
It was a juxtaposition of two romantic and wonderful cities: Rio and Paris. Who wouldn’t want to take a flight from one to another? Spirits must have been very high indeed on Air France 447 when it departed. The airbus … Continue reading →
It seems impressive that the terrible earthquake in Italy was forecast by scientist Gioacchino Giuliani. Or was it? He predicted one in the general area but not the exact place, and he thought it would come a few days earlier. … Continue reading →
A brief look at the lives of some of the fifty dead in last Friday’s plane crash. Some say that we shall never know and that to the gods we are like the flies that the boys kill on a … Continue reading →