Dienstag, 28. Dezember 2004

Die Zeit - Politik : Webbloggs

Die Zeit - Politik : Webbloggs 3:45:42 PM   trackback [] 

The Command Post - Global Recon: Indian Ocean Tsunami Archives

The Command Post - Global Recon: Indian Ocean Tsunami Archives: “Earthquake: How to Help [Updated Extensively 12/28]” 3:42:42 PM   trackback [] 

SMSes from Sri Lanka, and a call for help with live blog

Xeni Jardin: Earlier today, we posted a first-person account from tsunami eyewitness Sanjay (aka "Morquendi"). He's a blogger and TV producer who lives and works in Sri Lanka, one of the areas hardest hit by the disaster. Throughout last night -- as he participated in emergency rescue and relief efforts -- Sanjay text-messaged live observations to his co-editors at the collaborative blog ChiensSansFronteres. Snip:

# I'm standing on the Galle road in Aluthgama and looking at 5 ton trawlers tossed onto the road. Scary shit.

# Found 5 of my friends, 2 dead. Of the 5, 4 are back in Colombo. The last one is stranded because of a broken bridge. Broken his leg. But he's alive. Made...

# ..contact. He got swept away but swam ashore. Said he's been burying people all day. Just dragging them off the beach and digging holes with his hands. Go..

#..ing with gear to get him tommorrow morning. He sounded disturbed. Guess grave digging does that to you.

Link (Thank you, Rohit Gupta)

UPDATE: Mumbai-based blogger Rohit Gupta from ChiensSansFronteres tells BoingBoing,

"We now have two bloggers on the ground in Sri Lanka. Morquendi/Sanjay is recruiting more bloggers for us. Sri Lanka is mobbing. India is not. No reports from Anadaman and the south so far, but that's probably because traditional media already has access. Here's the latest SMS post from Sanjay in Sri Lanka:

There's 1600 bodies found by the LTTE in Mullaitivu, in the Eastern Province, so far. They are not allowing any journalists in till rescue operations are done.

I'm going absolutely insane with the mail that's pouring in. I need more hands and ears and eyes, preferably attached to a human being. BlogVolunteers invited to help us, please email me at fadereu@gmail.com.
Among the eyewitness reports on this group blog, "Lastnode" in the southern city of Matara in Sri Lanka writes:
Just thought I would present some snapshots for the rest of the world to see the real situation in the south. The State run media (if you can even call them media anymore) is presenting a rosy picture of a Government coping well with the issue. Here are snippets from my notebook.

27th November 2004 10:30 AM, Matara Fort / Town: Two men carry a body in from the now calm sea. Hundreds of locals swarm around, trying to identify the boy. Wearing dark blue shorts and a faded red t-shirt, he can't be more than four or five years old. His eyes glazed, he stares at the onlookers. His left skull is fractured, but there is no blood running. The crevice stares ominously at me, a reminder of the untamed power of the sea.

In the Fort, the courts complex is in pieces. Cops stop us as we try to enter the Lawyer's quarters. They're scared as well. Confused. Just orders to sit and guard the place from looters. Former Minister and UNP MP Mahinda Wijesekara's room is gutted, tangled sea weed hanging on his name board. A sign perhaps of the inactiveness of all Politicians. Sure, they're doing something. But, IT'S NOT ENOUGH.

(...) At the mass graves, we watched as bodies were lifted out of vans. No records of death. Only one Policeman on duty. No law. No order. Just people burying the dead. Body after body. Shovel after shovel. All along the Galle Road the destruction just made me numb. The media footage delivered by our FREE media brothers and sisters out there tell the truth. But they don't do the real carnage justice. No, not at all. You have to see with your own eyes bodies by the road. Unknown bodies. Stinking so much you feel the need to wretch. You have to see with your own eyes vans stuck on trees. Trawlers on the main road. Broken bridges. You have to see the power of your sea. And you have to be humbled.

Previous BB posts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

(Boing Boing.)

12:31:18 PM   trackback [] 

Tsunami blog coverage: updates

Xeni Jardin: Rohit Gupta, Jon Lebkowsky, and Dina Mehta at the Worldchanging.com blog have just published a roundup of first-person accounts, aid site urls, and news reports related to the tsunami disaster in Asia. They say this post will be updated regularly, so you can bookmark and return for fresh info as it comes. Link. Joe Gandelman posts another comprehensive roundup here, on his "Moderate Voice" blog: Link.

Wikipedia is also maintaining coverage in a richly linked, well-organized web page with ongoing updates. Link. And Wikipedia Commons offers related media (photos, data animations, and the like): Link (Thanks, Nick Douglas)

Loic Le Meur tells BoingBoing, "On Philsland, a French blogger writes of having been alerted by e-mail three hours before the tsunamis hit the coasts. An earthquake alert was issued by the USGS center three hours before it hit -- we could have saved thousands of people's lives if information had moved faster. This blogger was informed by the alert (Link, in French), and I also talk about it here (Link, in English)."

Image: snapshot from Phuket. Link. Another gallery of "citizen photojournalist" images here: Link.

Previous BB posts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

(Boing Boing.)

12:30:16 PM   trackback [] 

The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation

The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation: “From Sir Arthur regarding the recent tsunamis in South and Southeast Asia” 12:28:56 PM   trackback [] 

Radio Tip of the week: Customize Your Enclosure Icon Image Like a Real Podcaster

"Not satisfied with the small speaker that Radio displays whenever I attach an enclosure to my rss feed, otherwise known as 'podcast', I set out on a quest to change my enclosure icon image. Follow along and change yours too."

(Radio: The Missing Manual.)

11:49:17 AM   trackback [] 

The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami

The SEA-EAT blog for short News and information about resources, aid, donations and volunteer efforts.

Contacts for "Singapore Red Cross Society" The public can send their donations by cheque or go personally to the Red Cross House in Penang Lane between 9.30 am - 5.45 pm on weekdays and from 9.30 am to 12.00 pm on Saturdays. By cheque to the "Singapore Red Cross Society" Please indicate behind the cheque "Tidal Waves Asia". Include name, address and telephone number, as a receipt will be sent to you. You can post the cheque to: The Singapore Red Cross, 15 Penang Lane, Singapore 238486 11:33:58 AM   trackback [] 


ChiensSansFrontiers

ChiensSansFrontiers 11:33:20 AM   trackback [] 

"Photo sequence of tsunami flooding in Phuket...

"Photo sequence of tsunami flooding in Phuket resort"

(Daypop Top 40.)

11:22:19 AM   trackback []