Tsunami != Type of Sushi

Quick entry before leaving.. It was tragic, yes. It was shocking, yes. I'm sure thousands of others have sent out e-mails or blogged about the incident, and my comments will only reiterate their pleas for donations or prayers. I would like to write about the incident, but from a different perspective..

Warning: My comments will probably stir up some controversy but that's the whole point - I want *you* to think about it and come up with your own conclusion. I don't mean to be disrespectful to anybody, especially to friends and families of victims in this tragedy. I hope that they can pick themselves up from the rubble that remains, and look forward to rebuilding their homes. I'm merely using this opportunity to point out other inefficiencies in our society today..

Here's a thought, the death toll in the region is now at 130,000, with many more still missing. I am certain that it will most likely climb close to 200,000. The world has poured in money and resources into the region, and now they are talking about planning an early warning system for earthquakes and tsunami in the region because, quite frankly, they have NONE at the moment.

Two points I'd like to make:
1. Why are we, as humans, so reactive instead of proactive to handle situations? Often times we have to wait for something tragic to happen before realising, "Hey, perhaps we should do something about this EARLIER." A perfect example is the 9/11 incident. Before then, the attitude is "Yeah, yeah, we know about terrorists. They won't dare to do anything near the US, so we'll just ignore them because they don't exist in our world." The intelligence system was flawed, and the president dismissed any previous warnings about terrorist activities. Smuggling weapons onto airplanes was like stealing candy from a corner store. After the incident, everybody calls for tighter control on airport security. The world demanded a better intelligence system, and everybody is crying foul to the terrorist attack.

The Asia Tsunami is another good example of this. Before this, there were no formal warning system of unusual earthquake movements or activities in the region. Heck there wasn't even an old man living in a lighthouse with a paper-telephone watching the waves! Now they are saying that we need a better warning system? After 130,000 people died!? Don't you think that's a little too much sacrafice of human life for somebody to realise this?

2. Should we now declare a war on tsunami and all natural disasters because they have killed so many citizens of the earth? Perhaps we should also get rid of sushis and terriyaki because all those words end in "i". That's enough evidence to me that they are linked in some way!

I'm not pointing fingers at anybody or any organisation.. just want to illustrate some subtle points for you to ponder about..

Now off to Amsterdam!