Chilean Earthquake: How is it better and worse than the Haitian earthquake?

The 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Chile early on Feb. 27 was 500 times stronger than the 7.0 quake that killed an estimated 200,000 Haitians last month. Yet the death toll for this earthquake is still in the hundreds. Far fewer people were rendered homeless than in Haiti, and much of the telephone service in Santiago and parts of central Chile had been restored within five hours. So why is that the case? Why is the (relatively) weaker earthquake more damaging?

Well it all boils down to the government. Both Chile and Haiti sit on huge fault lines. However the Chilean government is extremely strict with its building policy. All buildings have been constructed so that in the event of an earthquake, less damage is caused. Haiti, on the other hand, lets buildings be constructed with little or no government oversight. A few bribes in the right hands and the Haitian government will turn a blind eye. For example, in 2008, 91 students and teachers died when their school in a Port-au-Prince suburb collapsed. The school’s owner was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after admitting he barely even used mortar to hold its concrete blocks together.

Many people are defending Haiti because it has been pointed out that Haiti is the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. Not only that but the last time Haiti was hit with an earthquake was 1751, which is before Haiti was independent. On the other hand Chile has the best economy in South America and is far more experienced in handling earthquakes. While these facts are definitely a factor in government response time, you have to take into account that out of 195 countries, Chile is ranked 25th in overall lack of government corruption, while Haiti is ranked 168th. So is the Haitian government’s horrible response due to how poor the country is or is it caused by their own corruption?

Applause to…(My semi-regular weekly shoutouts)

So we now come to another edition of the weekly shoutout. If you want to nominate someone or something for a shout out, then just tell me in the comments.

So the first Random Blog Gold Dollar goes to…Kurt Warner! Kurt Warner announced his retirement Friday. The veteran QB led the St. Louis Rams to their only Super Bowl win. He retires holding the record for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd most yards in a Super Bowl. He started as a grocery bagger, then went to Super Bowl QB, then becoming labelled a has-been whose only role was to teach new quarterbacks the game, before reviving his career once more.Still he deserves the shout-out for walking away from a lot of money and giving his family the priority in his life. Some sports writers speculate that he will be back because “nothing fills the void” like football. I would disagree because Kurt Warner is also a fine Christian and I believe that he has many more years ahead.

Our 2nd Gold Dollar goes to…AT&T! (I know I said I wouldn’t feature corporations but here me out on this one) As most of you know, texting HAITI to 90999 results in a $10 donation to help the earthquake victims in Haiti. Well one AT&T employee decided to use the live display phones in the store to text the donation to Haiti. Essentially he donated to Haiti using AT&T’s money. It’s unclear whether AT&T will release the funds but if they do they will have earned their award!

Third, a Gold Dollar to the GOP. Again not a popular choice for me. To quote the President, “It was about as popular as a root canal.” Still I appreciate their invitation to the president to meet with them and to talk about issues that they agree and disagree with. While I doubt that this will produce results (I’m a skeptic at heart.) the gesture earns them an award.

Finally, a Gold Dollar to my readers! You guys are the only 2nd time winners so give yourselves a hand! Seriously this week was one of the most viewed weeks in this blog’s short history so I thank everyone for that! Cause really (besides from the relief at airing out my opinion) you guys are why I write this so, keep coming back and commenting!

U.S Presidents United for Haiti, or are they?

So recently former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, along with President Obama, gave a joint appeal on behalf of Haiti. Obama remarked, “In these difficult hours, America stands united. We stand united with the people of Haiti who have shown such incredible resilience, and we will help them to recover and to rebuild.”

President Bush then stated that while people want to send blankets and water, the most immediate need was money.  “The most effective way for Americans to help the people of Haiti is to contribute money. That money will go to organizations on the ground who will be able to effectively spend it.”

President Clinton then spoke and in his remarks he said that the priority for now to ship food, medicine and water to Haiti.

Now this confused me. So the priority is to ship food, medicine, and water, but instead of doing that we should give money to organizations so that they can do it? This seems to me like a roundabout way of getting the job done. Either that or even in unity, the former presidents can’t agree! Either way, the point is a good one. So go ahead and do your part to help the people of Haiti!

(All quotes taken from the AFP)

Predictions, predictions, predictions

Well let’s see. I’ve done a movie review, talked about a comic-book related movie, dabbled in what could pass as politics, I guess that leaves sports that I have yet to talk about.  So in this post I’ll be talking about the NFL playoffs and my predictions about the games ahead.

Before I go there, I’d like to take a quick timeout(see the sports theme here?) and say that I am incredibly saddened by the devastating effect of the earthquake in Haiti. The images coming from that country are truly heartbreaking. I urge you all to pray for them and donate money if you can. That said I’m not going to talk extensively about it because every other blog and news organization are doing a great job of covering the story. I don’t think anyone expects me to say anything new and the only thing I could do is say something incredibly stupid a la Pat Robertson. (If you haven’t heard his comments on why Haiti was struck by an earthquake, don’t. It’s painful)

Anyway, (I’m doing a fantastic job of staying on topic) the most interesting match up on Sunday will be the red-hot Baltimore Ravens vs. the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts are known for their offense which is led by Peyton Manning. Against them is the perfect ying to their yang, the Baltimore Defense, led by Ray Lewis. This match up is always an interesting one. The real difference in this game will be the Baltimore offense against the Indy D. Joe Flacco is hurt which means that they will probably be relying heavily on the legs of their Running backs. Indy’s ability to stop the run has always been their Achilles’ heel. They will need to have a good game if they want to beat the Ravens. That said I predict that the Colts will win in a nail biter.

The other matchups are:

The Dallas Cowboys vs. the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings seem like the smart choice. With Percy Harvin, Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen, and Bret Favre, they seem like the obvious choice. The Vikings have sent more players to the Pro Bowl this year than any other team. Still anyone who watched Dallas play knows that this team is for real. Not only did they beat the Eagles 3 times, they also ended New Orleans bid for a perfect season. It’s going to be a good game, but I’m picking the Cowboys.

The Arizona Cardinals and the New Orleans Saints. The Saints are under a lot of pressure. They have not played well their last couple games and enter the playoffs with no momentum. Of course that’s not everything, but you can’t deny that it’s important. The Cardinals are playing like the team to beat. Their game against the Packers was incredibly entertaining. Still I’m worried that game may have taken too much out of them. I’m going to say that the Cardinals will win, but I’m not counting out the Saints. (See how I chose both to be safe? I really have no idea but I have to pick one!)

Finally it’s the San Diego Chargers vs. The New York Jets. Two words: Chargers win.

As always comments are welcome. I realize this post is long and I’m sorry, I just get carried away when if comes to predictions.