Earthquake Rocks China May 13, 2008
Posted by fitsnews in : Uncategorized , 1 comment so farBUT GOLDFISH IN THIS VIDEO UNHARMED
FITSNews - May 13, 2008 - In case you haven’t noticed, we’re paying a lot more attention to natural disasters here at FITSNews. As it turns out, Sic Willie is all about offering human compassion in the face of unspeakable tragedies.
(Editor’s Note: Of course, he also has a secret plan to start a polygamous sect with the girls from the S.C. Policy Council, and all this Fire-n-Brimstone coverage is helpful in convincing them to join him out at the ranch in Utah).
Anyway, the video above was taken during yesterday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake in China, which has already killed an estimated 12,000 people. For the first five minutes of the clip, it’s a normal day in this Chinese store, but keep your eye on the goldfish bowl at the bottom right of the screen …
Myanmar’s Junta Sucks May 9, 2008
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COUNTRY’S MILITARY LEADERS ARE SEIZING, BLOCKING RESCUE SUPPLIES
FITSNews - May 9, 2008 - You would think that Myanmar’s government would want to do everything it could to speed up rescue efforts to its cyclone-decimated country.
Except not really:
Myanmar’s military leaders seized aid shipments headed for cyclone survivors and told the top U.S. diplomat there Friday that they’re not ready to let in American aid workers despite warnings the country is on the verge of a medical catastrophe …
The U.N. World Food Program said two planeloads of supplies containing enough high-energy biscuits to feed 95,000 people were seized Friday, prompting the world body to say it was suspending aid flights …
Myanmar’s government acknowledged taking control of the shipments and said it plans to distribute the aid itself to the affected areas.
Yeah, because if you can trust anybody it’s a third-world military junta about to see a massive influx of international relief aid. Hell, don’t be surprised if those energy biscuits aren’t up on E-Bay already.
Seriously, screw these people. If they don’t want our help, then we’ll keep our hundreds of millions of dollars to ourselves. After all, we’re sure this guy and this guy won’t have any problem figuring out a way to spend that money.
Death Toll Climbs To 22,500 In Myanmar May 6, 2008
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THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE, PEOPLE
FITSNews - May 6, 2008 - The death toll from a powerful cyclone in Southeast Asia has climbed to over 22,500 people, with over 40,000 people still missing. From the New York Times:
The death toll was the latest in a steadily escalating official count since Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar early Saturday, devastating much of the fertile Irrawaddy Delta and Yangon, the nation’s main city.
At a news conference in Yangon, the minister for relief and resettlement, Maung Maung Swe, said 41,000 people were still missing in the aftermath of the cyclone, which triggered a surge of water inland from the sea.
Amazingly, this tragedy still pales in comparison to the estimated 283,000 lives lost when a tsunami struck Southeast Asia in December 2004.
The deadliest natural disaster in recorded history was the 1931 flood of the Yellow River in China, with estimates ranging from 1 million - 3.7 million lives lost. Another Yellow River flood in 1887 killed an estimated 800,000 - 2 million people.
UPDATE - Here’s an interesting take on how the Burmese government failed its people by not providing adequate warnings of the impending storm.
Thousands Dead In Burma May 5, 2008
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CYCLONE NARGIS’ DEATH TOLL COULD TOP 10,000
FITSNews - May 5, 2008 - A powerful cyclone named Nargis smashed into Burma over the weekend, coinciding with a tidal surge to level up to 75% of buildings in some of the nation’s coastal towns. According to Burmese officials, the death toll from the storm could top 10,000:
Foreign diplomats in Rangoon were told by Myanmar’s foreign minister that he acknowledges that the cyclone death toll could rise to 10,000, after a day during which the official count had gone from 351 to 4,000 dead … “How many people are affected? We know that it’s in the six figures, Richard Horsey, of the United Nations disaster response office in Bangkok, told Reuters. “We know that it’s several hundred thousand needing shelter and clean drinking water, but how many hundred thousand we just don’t know.”
Damn … maybe today’s not the best day to bitch about high gas prices or other petty political crap. Or to make any jokes about what a weird name “Nargis” is. A lot of people are dealing with some serious sh*t over in Burma, and our thoughts and prayers go out to them …
Global Schwarming April 15, 2008
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SOUTH CAROLINA TEMPERATURES TO DIP BELOW FREEZING TONIGHT
FITSNews - April 15, 2008 - We go back and forth on the issue of global warming, people. Some days, we feel like Al Gore has a point. Other days - like today - we think the whole thing is a conspiracy to get us to plant our annuals and perennials early so a mid-April frost can come along and steal our joy.
Anyway, after temperatures pushed into the 80’s last week here in South Carolina, there’s now a frost advisory in effect for most of the state tonight, at least according to WIS-TV’s Alicia Roman.
And why should we believe Roman? Well, according to her bio, “her interest in Meteorology started at a very young age when she used to sit on her porch and watch thunderstorms with her father. The windy conditions and the smell of the rain before the storm is what sparked her interest.”
Awww, that’s really sweet … of course a lot of good it’ll do our prize-winning azaleas tonight …
Dr. Louis Kraus Is In A River In Egypt April 5, 2008
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SO-CALLED EXPERT THINKS ARMED GEORGIA THIRD-GRADERS WOULDN’T HAVE ATTACKED TEACHER
FITSNews - April 5, 2008 - We’re no experts on kids, but given the instant availability of violent stimuli in our world, we’d take it pretty seriously if a group of eight-year-olds got caught bringing a blunt object, a steak knife and handcuffs to school as part of an admitted plot to knock out, handcuff and stab their teacher. But according to kiddie expert Dr. Louis Kraus, there’s nothing to worry about:
Experts said children that age are certainly imaginative and capable of creating elaborate games. But Dr. Louis Kraus, a child psychiatry expert at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said he doubts they would have actually attacked.
“The reality is it is highly unlikely they would have been successful at this,” Kraus said. “Even if it had begun, it’s unclear whether they actually would have followed through with it.”
Most premeditated acts of student violence in schools usually don’t occur until high school, Kraus said. Younger children have been known to bring knives or other weapons to school, experts said, but often it’s more a matter of showing off or acting tough than part of a deliberate assault attempt.
Whatever. “If it had begun” in this case means somebody would have been knocked out cold. These kids were about to set it off, people, and this Georgia teacher is lucky to still have a pulse. Usually we’re not big on kneejerk overreactions, but in this case we would humbly submit that Dr. Louis Kraus is an idiot.
Don’t Kill Yourselves, Allergy Sufferers March 30, 2008
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IT’S JUST A LITTLE POLLEN, PEOPLE
FITSNews - March 30, 2008 - Since we couldn’t decide between covering the Dole recall of Honduran cantaloupes or the great debate over our nation’s cholesterol problem today, we decided to show off our Solomon-esque wisdom by doing neither. Instead, we examined a report that the drug Singulair makes people want to slit their wrists. Which sounded a lot more fun … errr, to write about, anyway.
Of course we didn’t actually examine the report because that would have taken forever. And seeing as we’ve never used prescription drugs before (at least not legally), we’re not even remotely qualified to speak on the subject. We can go out on a limb, however, and say that Singulair is pretty much f*cked if this report is true. Seriously, how do you make one of those obnoxiously chipper prescription drug commercials where everybody’s holding hands and rollerblading when you have to tell people at some point that “possible side effects include wanting to blow your brains out?” Anyway, from MedHeadlines:
According to some reports, Singulair prescribed in the treatment of asthma, allergic rhinitis and prevention of exercise-induced asthma, has been associated with unpleasant mood changes, suicidal thinking and behavior (suicidality), and suicide itself. Merck & Co, Inc has made several changes to the patient and prescriber information issued for Singulair and has worked with the FDA to determine how to communicate the latest changes in the most effective manner.
Yeah right. Nobody’s quite that calm under these types of circumstances, no matter how many kabillionty dollars they may have. The truth is Merck’s executives have probably been crapping in their pants over this and will no doubt be looking for a ledge to jump from themselves once the stock market opens this week.
