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Ear to the Ground

Massive Earthquake Shakes China

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Posted on May 12, 2008
rubble
news.bbc.co.uk

A magnitude-7.8 earthquake in southwestern China has killed more than 8,500 people, a number that could rise as authorities continue to assess the damage. China’s Xinhua news agency reported that rescue workers had difficulty reaching the epicenter because of obstructed roads.


BBC:

A powerful earthquake has killed at least 8,500 people in China’s south-western Sichuan province, up to 5,000 of them in just one county.

Many more are feared killed and injured in other parts of the country after the 7.8-magnitude quake struck at 1428 local time (0628 GMT).

At least 50 bodies have been recovered from the rubble of a school where an estimated 900 students were buried.

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By Douglas Chalmers, May 14, 2008 at 4:30 pm Link to this comment

Eat bitter…....

As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, China has reported 14,866 deaths…... more to come

DONATIONS -  Chinese Red Cross Foundation (CRCF)’s Emergency Relief Fund http://english.cri.cn/tools/online/crcf/index.htm  Wenchuan county in Sichuan Province

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By purplewolf, May 14, 2008 at 4:05 pm Link to this comment

Bush is just doing to America what he has done to every other business he ever ran. Right into the ground and bankrupt. Of course there is never any money for the disasters that strike here. He and his neocons have stolen all of Americas money. That is why he has been borrowing money to pay for his war since he started it. And how does he expect the world to look at his offer of help as sincere when they can see how well he takes care of the problems here at home. Oh say like the electric grid fiasco in his first term, 9-11, Katrina, the bridge collapse, the foreclosure problem, the insurance problem, job loss problems, illegal immigration, world war 3, Bush’s rush to dominate the world. And would he borrow the money from China to sens aide to China? We are out of money over here.

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By Lester Ness, May 13, 2008 at 3:46 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Evidently quite a lot of school children have been killed or trapped inside their school buildings.

Lester Ness, alive in the bitter sea

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By samosamo, May 13, 2008 at 11:52 am Link to this comment

msnbc has reports of 12000 confirmed dead and another 18000 in the city at the heart of the epicenter are missing. The final toll will be staggering to say the least.
This is but a sample of how a catastrophic event will effect a region. As more and more people are put on this planet then the events that can and will take place will certainly be capable of being very catastophic. And this isn’t even a part of climate change that would affect the food supply.

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By coach777b, May 13, 2008 at 10:08 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Disaster Overseas

This Administration is very good at critiquing disaster response when the disaster occurs overseas. But they could not respond to Katrina, or the proliferation of tornadoes in the South and Midwest. The U.S. had relief forces on station within days of Myanmar and the chinese earthquakes. There must be a plan, a method to their madness. Neglect U.S. disasters unless they can make some money from them. Can you spell contractors?

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By Fadel Abdallah, May 13, 2008 at 8:56 am Link to this comment

My Heartfelt Sympathy!

My heartfelt sympathy with the great people of China on the occasion of this natural disaster. I am sure such great people, with a long history of civilization, will be able to cope, recover and reemerge stronger than ever before.

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By Douglas Chalmers, May 13, 2008 at 6:20 am Link to this comment

Just watched some idiot from the BBC on a video clip saying that China had to admit that it wasn’t big enough to take care of this disaster itself, duh. They only have 1.3 billion people and the world’s largest army including their own trained search + rescue teams with sniffer dogs, heaps of aircraft, etc etc etc.

Apart from that, they have had immediate offers of help from neighboring S.Korea, Taiwan and Japan. Despite their problems, they are still assisting with sending aid to neighboring Burma http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSPEK2059520080513?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

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By hippy pam, May 13, 2008 at 6:05 am Link to this comment

DCHAL-you are RIGHT ON AGAIN…I saw something on T.V. the other day about the QUADRILLION TON DAM
ACTUALLY PUTTING A STRAIN ON THE EARTH SPIN???a slow down of a fraction of a second???Could ALL THAT WEIGHT ON AN ACTIVE[extremely active] FAULT LINE have
[maybe] something to do with the QUAKE???Yes-I AGREE -this is a tragedy-So is the Myanmar Disaster-
BUT AMERICA IS OUT OF $$$$$-WE CAN NOT EVEN TAKE CARE
OF OUR OWN[New Orleans/Katrina comes to mind]and the
storms and disasters in the MIDWEST have NOT BEEN ADDRESSED by “THE BULLSH*T BUNCH”.He and his crew WILL BE REMEMBERED[as total *ssholes and losers] FOR THE TRACKS THEY LEAVE.I hope he goes away SOONER THAN LATER….

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By Douglas Chalmers, May 13, 2008 at 5:40 am Link to this comment

So disappointing to see at least one Western journalist standing in some damaged town somewhere in China and whining that there were no soldiers cleaning up or helping and no aid. Then he started about China being unsafe for people to visit during the Olympic games.

That’s like saying that you shouldn’t visit LA because there has been a tornado in Kansas. And there were many 1,000’s of troops deployed for search and rescue immediately and more the next day.

WASHINGTON (CNN)—President Bush said Monday the United States is “ready to help in any way possible”...... The United States has search-and-rescue teams on standby….. also prepared to send a disaster assistance response team….

“But the quickest way to help would be funding”,  said the director of foreign disaster assistance for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Is that some sick joke? Where does America get its money from these days anyway? That’s right, Japan and CHINA, uhh!!! http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/12/china.reaction/index.html

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