CNN.com - Aid agencies working in the quake zone/Earthquakes

CNN.com - Aid agencies working in the quake zone - Oct 10, 2005

Help is needed now. ASAP. Needed badly. Please do help.

Some thoughts on the Pakistan earthquake...

Thought #1:

Isn't there some way Third World countries can build their buildings "quake-proof"? Isn't there some way it can be done effectively, while at the same time affordably? Seems there should be if people would just put on their thinking caps about it.

Note that the U.S. and Japan have 6- and 7-magnitude quakes often - and what kind of death tolls do we have? I can't remember over a hundred victims for a quake here in Calif. There's usually a couple of deaths because the quake scares the people to death (aka heart attacks). The few buildings which do fall apart are usually old ones that were not yet retrofitted. We know better than to build our buildings with brick or stone, as so many buildings Back East can get away with. Loosely-built woodframe is what most residences are here. Buildings with a lot of give, that can sway and creak and rattle - without falling apart. Not as weather-proof as Back East, but considering the climate here and the quake factor, that's okay.

Bottom line: why can't a way be found for quake-proof buildings for, as the Spanish say, todo el mundo? For everybody - for all the world. Why not?!

Thought #2:

There must be Muslims interpreting this awful earthquake as Allah's Will. Interesting implications to this.

Along that line, isn't (wasn't) Bin Laden living in some cave in this area? I wonder how he is.

Consider the implications if Bin Laden happend to be killed in this earthquake. (Also, see "Allah's Will" mentioned above.)

Thought #3:

Closely related to Thought #2.

If we were extremely generous and helpful to these Pakistan area quake survivors, wouldn't it be awfully hard for Al Qaeda and the other jihadists to consider us the "Spawn of Satan." How could they keep declaring us Evil when we do so much Good for them in their time of need? (Factor in also how helpful we were to the Muslims in the tsunami.) Being good to them weakens their arguments of how evil we are. Not to sound too evangelical, but wasn't this Jesus' teaching and M.O.? Guess what - maybe he was right, maybe it really works! What a concept.

Thoughts done, except for, let's just help out these Pakistan area quake survivors, anyway. Regardless of any of the above, just because they're our fellow human beings, our neighbors on this Planet.