"Tsunami hits Japan after massive [8.9] quake".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709791
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698
I hope that the world community will contribute quickly and efficiently to the rescue and recovery effort.
You are not a shopaholic (are you?), so it's OK for you to simply SEE items that are available for purchase, by the interested conoisseurs:
No, Google, this is NOT spam, because my readers here are responsible adults who are able to just LOOK, without buying compulsively. Sheesh! :)
The best possible safeguard against tsunami: natural, geographic high elevation. The highest sea cliffs in the world, dropping about 3,315 feet (1,010 m) into the Pacific Ocean. - Moloka'i, Hawai'i, USA.
If earthquakes are "acts of God", is God acting up?
"The 1960 Valdivia earthquake or Great Chilean earthquake (Spanish: Gran terremoto de Chile/Valdivia) of 22 May 1960 is to date the most powerful earthquake ever recorded, rating 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale. It occurred in the afternoon (19:11 GMT, 14:11 local time) and its resulting tsunami affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia, and the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.
The initial epicenter was near Cañete (see map) some 900 km (435 miles) south of Santiago, with Temuco being the closest large city, while Valdivia was the most affected city. It caused localised tsunamis that severely battered the Chilean coast, with waves up to 25 metres (82 ft). The main tsunami raced across the Pacific Ocean and devastated Hilo, Hawaii. Waves as high as 10.7 metres (35 ft) were recorded 10,000 kilometres (6,000 miles) from the epicenter, and as far away as Japan and the Philippines."
"Consequences and response [of 1960 Valdivia earthquake]
Human sacrifice
In the coastal village Collileufu, Lafkenches carried out a ritual human sacrifice during the days following the main earthquake. Collileufu, located in the Budi Lake area, south of Puerto Saavedra, was by 1960 highly isolated and inhabitants there spoke mainly Mapudungun.
The community had gathered in Cerro La Mesa, while the lowlands were struck by successive tsunamis.
Juana Namuncura Añen, a local machi, demanded the sacrifice of the grandson of Juan Painecur, a neighbor, in order to calm the earth and the ocean.[10][11]
The victim, 5 year old José Luis Painecur,
had his arms and legs removed by Juan
Pañán and Juan José Painecur (the
victim's grandfather), and was stuck into
the sand of the beach like a stake.
The waters of the Pacific Ocean then
carried the body out to sea.
The sacrifice came to be known after a boy in the commune of Nueva Imperial denounced to local leaders the theft of two horses that were allegedly eaten during the sacrifice ritual.[10]
They were released after 2 years. A judge ruled that those involved had "acted without free will, driven by an irresistible natural force of ancestral tradition."
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If I were God, I would say:
"I don't need any human sacrifice, you stupid people!
Don't I sacrifice you all, so to speak, in due time?
Am I not killing each of you, as I see fit?
Don't I decide upfront the fate of each human, with all the decisions big and small, including the most trivial (now I decide that next you will drink water, now I decide that next you will drop your keys, etc.)?
Alternatively, should you believe that I decide only the big stuff in your life, then why would you attempt, by your prayers, to "twist my arm", to make me change my mind about any catastrophe that I have set aside for you, and others like you?
What if I created mankind indeed, then I stepped back, either watching or not watching the show? [Exogenesis is the hypothesis that life originated elsewhere in the universe and was spread to Earth]
What if I exist in a VERY different way than any person/religion claims that I do?
Here's the kicker: what if I don't exist at all?
Maybe I'm just a figment...:)
Either way, human sacrifices are a tragic and stupid thing to do, so...
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Tragedies happen every day in the world, but we have to avoid descending into total depression...
Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!
Please visit: http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ (wait until Beth posts the today's Linky tool for the meme, then make your entry, if you want to join).
