"This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. Haggai 2:6
Most of the world's charities helping in the effort are Christian and American. Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim nation, yet Muslim nations, including the fabulously wealthy Saudi regime, have given chump change compared to those countries with majority Christian populations. Don't expect Christians, or Americans, to gain points with those who believe America is the "Great Satan."
Cal Thomas
Quake slightly changed Earth's orbit and shape of Asia--US geophysicists
Throughout the United Kingdom, following the Christmas tsunami that killed at least 150,000 people and changed the lives of their surviving relatives forever, some are asking how a "loving" God, if He exists, could allow such a catastrophe to happen. Another question is, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"
The questions are mostly rhetorical, since by asking them, the questioners don't actually expect, or even desire, an answer. They are asked in an accusatory way, as if the questions themselves indict, try and convict as fools those who believe in God.
One counterquestion should be: Why do good things happen to bad people? The Scriptures say, "Only God is good." All humanity is diagnosed as "sinful" and "not righteous." Our desires are "only evil all the time." Look it up.
What about a "good God" allowing bad things? Death is the destination of all living organisms. Some die sooner than others. Shouldn't a "good God" provide a way to escape the grave? He has, but that requires
faith, which critics and skeptics lack.
Cal Thomas
The ungodly tried to use the tsunami to further their political agenda... just as they try to use every event to further their political agenda. Now they want to pretend that worldly liberals/progressives are more generous than Christians, a contention that can be shown to be another liberal/progressive lie.
The normal human reaction to horrendous disasters, such as the one that befell the tsunami- stricken areas of Southeast Asia the day after Christmas, is incomprehension. "What did we do to deserve this?" was the question asked by victims throughout the countries that were hit. What indeed could any human have done awful enough to call down such destructive forces of nature? Meanwhile, here in Washington the reaction of the press corps can only be characterized as abnormal, though sadly not surprising. Rather than report the news, the media focused on fixing the blame....
You might have thought the presidential election campaign had never finished, and that the media had come up with another reason for supporting John Kerry. Had Mr. Bush been behind the curve? Had he already missed another golden opportunity to lead the world? Why did he not rush home from Christmas vacation at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Didn't he care? Before long, something like "tsunami-gate" was gathering force on the air waves.
So many things are wrong with this reaction that it is hard to know where to begin. A start might be a reminder that Mr. Bush is president of the United States, not God. He does not move the mountains, nor does he command the waves. Mr. Bush was neither responsible for the disaster, nor did even he have the power to assuage a catastrophe half a world away without warning or information.
The real question was and remains, what can each of us do to help? How can we mobilize our resources and our charities to help the victims, their families and communities? The people of Southeast Asia will not benefit one iota from the hot air and pomposity infecting the American media.
Helle Dale
however you see the earthquake and the tsunami, it reminds you that man is not in charge.
Peggy Noonan
Sunday, December 26, 2004
More than 117,000 killed; one million displaced and rising
Entire coastal villages wiped out.
Beach-goers swept out to sea.
9.0-magnitude
250 kilometers (155 miles) SE of Sumatra island.
Scientists estimate: small islands may have moved 20 meters (66 feet)
The northwestern tip of the Indonesian territory of Sumatra may have moved southwest 36 meters (120 feet.
Some experts believe that the island' movement was verticle more than lateral.
"Did you hear about the baby they found floating on a mattress?" "Did you hear about the 2-year-old Swedish kid they found wandering down a street?" "Did you hear about the guys who floated on a refrigerator?" Did you hear about the model, the surfer, the snorkelers?
People are fascinated by these stories, and so am I. It's a little like the first days after 9/11 in New York: "Did you hear about the guy in the wheelchair on the 91st floor?" Soon we will be hearing about massive relief efforts and individual acts of heroism and sacrifice, and those stories will be a relief, and maybe even in some cases an inspiration.
Not everyone distinguished himself. What to say of those who've latched on to the tragedy to promote their political agendas, from the U.N. official who raced to call the U.S. "stingy," to the global-warming crowd, to administration critics who jumped at the chance to call the president insensitive because he was vacationing in Texas and didn't voice his sympathy quickly enough? Such people are slyly asserting their own, higher sensitivity and getting credit for it, which is odd because what they're actually doing is using dead people to make cheap points.
Peggy Noonan
This simple fact has to be driving Osama bin Laden bananas. Only a month ago the news surfaced that al Qaeda operatives were training in Malaysia to carry out attacks in Thailand. Bin Laden's minions have also been active in Indonesia--which is both the world's largest Muslim nation and a democracy--and nearly every other country hit by this disaster. Now that Mother Nature has laid waste to the region herself, the terrorists aren't about to turn around and help in the rebuilding. It's clear that the vision al Qaeda has for the region more closely resembles the beachfronts after the deadly waves came crashing ashore than before, when they were still resort communities teaming with fun.
By responding with generosity, it is also clear that the vision Americans share is of all nations prospering. Liberty for all is more than a political ideal; it's also the foundation of President Bush's foreign policy. Admittedly this is partly for the selfish reason that prosperous countries are unlikely to breed terror. Nonetheless, the policy is benefiting Afghans, Iraqis and Muslims around the globe.
Which brings us back to the Euroweenies and U.N. bureaucrats and American politicians who've spent much of the past three years complaining that Mr. Bush's "unilateralist" policies would alienate key allies in the war on terror. The U.S. government has pledged $350 million in disaster relief--a figure that will almost certainly rise in the coming weeks and months--which is being more than matched by private donations from all across America. The U.N. might talk a good game, but when the water came in around them, the people of Southeast Asia didn't hold much of a grudge with Mr. Bush. Indeed, the question quickly became: What is America going to do to help?
BRENDAN MINITER
The mainstream media did a pretty good job of reporting the humanitarian efforts of the American military after the Asian tsunami. The sad thing is that, apparently due to political motivations, the mainstream media have failed to report all the humanitarian successes of the American military in Iraq. Some have observed that this points out the obvious liberal/progressive bias of the mainstream media... as if another example were needed.
UN Official: Tsunami, Climate Change Not Linked
Some accused President Bush of causing the tsunami. The strange reasoning first assumes global warming, which science denies. Then, it goes on to say that global warming could cause an earth quake. cnsnews.com/ViewFlash.asp?Page=%5CThisHour%5CArchive%5CNTH20050107y.html (Page no longer available)
Of course, the reality is that there is no global warming. Only by using mathematical miscalculations and filtered data have the environmental new age religionists been able to even argue for global warming. The fact is that their calculations use bogus data, bogus math, and often use both bogus data and bogus math.
