Tsunami continued...

Not much to update since my last post other than the death toll (now over 60,000 and still rising), but apparently the US media is still ignoring the risk these landmines pose. The Independent (UK) is reporting that UNICEF has apparently stepped in to educate residents of Sri Lanka of the potential dangers of (and how to identify) displaced landmines:

Children are among the worst affected victims of the tsunami, the aid agencies said. Up to one third of the estimated 10,200 dead in Sri Lanka are thought to be children, according to Unicef. A spokeswoman for Unicef said: "Most of the people who live along the affected coastal areas are families, and their children live and play and help their parents on the beaches in the area. An added problem is that the disaster has displaced many landmines, so we are starting immediate awareness campaigns in an effort to prevent further deaths and injuries from them."

Albeit rather tongue-in-cheek, Jeremy Blachman (aka "Anonymous Lawyer") has a the "op-ed piece we're not going to see this week".

If there's one lesson to be learned from the tragedy in Southeast Asia this past weekend, it's that the people in Florida are wimps. At least 25,000 dead from the disaster, as opposed to what in Florida? Maybe 100? And yet all we saw on the news this fall was Florida this, Florida that. "Oooh, it's craaazy down in Florida. We've got floods and, oooh, my car is underwater, and, oooh, my house just fell apart, and, oooh, everything I own in the world is floating away and so is my baby daughter." Give it a rest, Florida. You were just looking for sympathy. Well, you're not gonna get it from me. Take your $42 billion in property damage and go cry to someone else. Letting a hurricane upset you. Weak. Weak, Florida. First you screw up an election, and then you complain about a little rain. Newsflash: it isn't all about you. And that's the big lesson from this week's events: Florida, we just don't care anymore.