Time for Quiet Contemplation

I've been wanting to write for the past few days, i finally get to take this load off my chest...

You can call me a hypocrite, heartless, bag-of-hot-air, or whatever...but ask me anytime what i think of disasters, and i'll say that no matter how bad a tragedy was, some good will come out of it.
For sure, i do not wish the same fate unto others or even myself; i do feel the heartache and pain of the victims, definitely not to the same degre as them, and i know i won't be able to handle all that burden as most of them have shown.
Most hardest hit will be the children, UNICEF estimates that more than a third of the casualties will be sustained by children, with many more left orphaned by the ordeal.Simply typing this while reading through the articles is hard enough for me, i often stop what i'm doing to think about those affected by the disaster.

"So WTF was that i said about 'something good'?", you may add...
Well, first off the International Community has pledged $500million to help the recovery effort. Now, pause to think before you feel relieved by the effort of the so-called "international community". Half of that amount is funded by the World Bank. Now, think what is half a billion worth today....
about FOUR boeing jets
half a Scottish Parliament building
and a wireless network in India

If your answer is not much, You're Right
On top of that, the US has pledged $35million to the recovery effort.... great, thats about what they're spending in Iraq every 7 hours
One shudders to think how much they will donate if there were rumours that Osama was washed up along the shores of Khao Lak

*edit: the US increases aid to $350million. did someone feel guilty?

On the home front, Mr Sim Wong Hoo of Creative Technologies has made a personal donation of SGD$500,000...in the same article, note that the staff of Creative Tech also collectively donated $250,000.
**On a side note, No. 3 among the richest men in Singapore, Mr Wee Cho Yaw , donated $100,000. Mr Kwek Leng Beng (richest in Singapore) was not listed as an individual donor, but through his Hong Leong Group, which donated $200,000 including collections from staff.**

Alrite, if you haven't seen what i'm driving yet(pardon me, i do tend to ramble), i've just shown that sometimes, tragedy or bad times let us see through life, giving us a broader perception of things around us. It lets you have a feel of what others value life: is it a monetary venture? a worldwide hunt for "weapons of mass destruction"? a personal and heartfelt need to donate just because you know you can help? or just a public show of your "benovolence"?

I don't know, seriously...you decide what you want to do

Heres some ways in which you can find out more about how to help these victims and those affected, directly or indirectly...
http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/
Google help page
Red Cross

Lastly, I do sincerely hope that something good, a silver lining, a rainbow, whatever, will come out of this, to bring hope to the sufferers... and no amount of compliments or appreciation will be enough to laud the volunteers and anonymous donations...they have my outmost respect.

Thats all for now, thanks for listening