Indian ocean tsunami seen from satellites

French/ American satellites happened to record the tsunami as it occured. Follow this link:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2005-013

A time-lapse view of the tsunami is shown here:
http://www.ioc.unesco.org/itsu/templates/itsu/images/animation.gif

Is fear in the eyes of the beholder?

It might well be. A recent article by Adolphs et al suggests that we recognize fear by focusing on the eyes of the fearful.

A patient, SM, with bilateral amygdala lesions selectively lacks the ability to recognize fearful expressions in others. So, you might think that the amygdala senses fear via
1) selective processing of sensory information by virtue of its neuronal architecture or
2) a selective congnitive deficit that impairs relevant sensory input.

This work, interestingly, suggests that SM's selective deficit lies in her sensory perception. She cannot detect fear because she does not spontaneously look at the subject's eyes while reading facial expressions. But, if prompted to do so, she can actually detect fear.

Adolphs, R. et al. Nature 433, 68–72 (2005)

Questions that follow:
1) Do our abilities to sense facial expressions form a continuum with patients like SM (with lesions) at the extreme ends of a naturally occuring bell curve?
2) Do psychiatric disorders like anxiety or schizophrenia emerge from aberrant emotive perception?
3) Does schizophrenia differ from anxiety in that the former also requires aberrant (and perhaps conscious) post-sensory perception?
4) Do we really differ in how we perceive different emotions when we see the same faces/ expressions?

Satellite pics of Tsunami destruction

As you'll see here, the Indian ocean tsunami dramatically rearranged coastlines and contours!

http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050103/multimedia/050103-2-m1.html

Are Americans stingy in helping the poorest?

Well, are we in fact stingy as Jan Egeland of the UN suggested recently? What prompted this statement was how much development aid we've been giving as the following excerpt shows:

"Americans give 15 cents per day per person in official development assistance to poor countries....We gave 15 cents for every $100 of national income to poor countries. Denmark gave 84 cents, the Netherlands gave 80 cents, Belgium gave 60 cents, France gave 41 cents, and Greece gave 21 cents (that was the lowest share, beside our own)."
- from today's NYTimes

However, we are very generous in times of great need, whether it was to rebuild Western Europe or fund emergency relief for Tsunami victims. So, why these extremes of behavior? In with what Kristof's column in today's NYT offers: 1) We don't like watching awful footage on TV 2) We feel less secure to donate to off-the-spotlight causes as we expect little accountability. And 3) Out of sight, out of mind.

So, what now? At this time of great need, it would help if we realized that these Asian countries are not nearly the poorest on earth and that in fact, more folks die every year of malaria and AIDS than this year's tsunami. And most amazing of all, it would take on the order of a few cents a day to fix the malaria problems and a few dollars a day to address the AIDS cases!!!

Our sense of morality toward saving lives, makes us a lone nation that witholds government funding for stem cell research, so why not use this moral clarity to save millions of lives all over the world? Given the numbers above, from a moral and diplomatic standpoint, it is imperative that we urge our representatives in Congress and our friends/neighbors to fund the eradication of malaria and treatment of AIDS in the poorest nations.

And yes, practically speaking, accountability in funding health initiatives is among the best ways to get results out of international aid money. IT IS HIGH TIME THAT AMERICANS MADE WORLD-WIDE HEADLINES FOR ERADICATING MALARIA AND MAKING AIDS DEATHS A THING OF THE PAST.

Being charitable this year might be profitable as well

"On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee proposed that Congress approve a plan to allow taxpayers to claim a deduction in 2004 for cash gifts to tsunami relief efforts made through Jan. 31, 2005, in part to help support the efforts of former Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton to stimulate private giving."
- from today's NYTimes

IF YOU SUPPORT THIS IDEA, LET YOUR SENATORS AND CONGRESSMEN KNOW.

How reliable is earmarking of charity aid?

"Shortly after the disaster struck, Jack Siegel, a tax lawyer who is developing software to help charities improve their governance, analyzed a list of relief organizations in The New York Times to determine which gave donors a chance to earmark their contributions for the aid effort. He posted his findings on his Web site, http://charitygovernance.blogs.com . Four of the 14 charities he surveyed offered a clear method for earmarking gifts for tsunami relief efforts, he said. The rest were more ambiguous, and Mr. Siegel's Web log advised donors to take care in making their choices."
- from today's NYTimes

As the ability of charitable agencies to effectively earmark their funds is NOT CONSISTENLY GOOD, CHECK THE CHARITY REVIEW AND CONTRIBUTE ACCORDINGLY...

More reliable help for Indian Tsunami survivors

The American India Foundation (AIF) launched a Tsunami
Relief Fund with the goal of raising at least $2
million in the next 90 days.

* AIF will match dollar for dollar the first $1
million in contributions.
* 100% of your contribution will go to provide
assistance to those in India recovering from the
massive tsunami following Sunday's 9.0 magnitude
earthquake.
* Using its national presence with nine chapters
across the country AIF will reach out to the broader
community through direct appeals and fundraising
events in the next few months.

You can help those affected by this crisis rebuild
their lives by making an online donation today at
www.aifoundation.org, or mailing a check to American
India Foundation, Tsunami Relief Fund, c/o McKinsey &
Company, 55 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022. AIF
is a tax-exempt organization under the U.S. Internal
Revenue Code, Section 501(c)(3). Tax identification
number: 13-4159765.
For additional information, contact:
Azad Oommen
American India Foundation
212-891-4614

AIF Honorary Chairman President Bill Clinton reminds
us, "The Tsunami disaster is a tragedy of historic
and global proportions, and though it struck in the
span of hours, its effects will be felt for years to
come. Charitable people throughout the world are
responding with great generosity, but we must not
forget that the need for assistance will continue long
after the story has faded from the front pages. We
must do all we can to help now and support longer term
restoration efforts in the months and years to
come."

Four years ago you responded overwhelmingly to our
Gujarat Earthquake Relief Fund. Through that fund we
rebuilt thousands of homes, educated over 10,000
children, built and supplied four hospitals, and
provided for long-term livelihood support through
small business loans and entrepreneurship training for
over 8,000 people. We will rise to the challenge again
through your outpouring of care and concern.
AIF has set up the Tsunami Relief Fund to receive
tax-deductible contributions from donors wishing to
provide aid to the victims of this horrendous
disaster. In the short-term, deployments from the
tsunami fund will go to appropriate emergency relief
agencies with expertise in disaster mitigation. As the
emergency relief efforts quickly turn to
reconstruction and long-term rehabilitation of the
area, AIF's India team will source best-of-breed local
NGOs, execute memoranda of understanding, and monitor
the progress of our investments in rebuilding
India’s infrastructure. AIF staff in India has vast
experience in sustainable development and is supported
by advisory councils comprised of sector experts. AIF
grants are focused on education and livelihood
projects with a particular emphasis on primary
education and women's empowerment.

Our prayers go out to all those affected by this
terrible tragedy.

We can add hope and effect lives. We can make a
difference today. Please give generously.

Thank You.

Lata Krishnan
President

Reliable Indian groups helping tsunami survivors

• http://www.aidindia.org/CMS/

• http://www.ecc-prayas.org/html/sponsors.html

• http://www.idrf.org

Prime Minister's National Relief Fund
Embassy of India
Attn: Head of Chancery 2107 Massachusetts Avenue,
NW Washington, DC 20008

New Year, Newer healthier forests?

The Bush administration is proceeding briskly with its demolition job on the environmental regulations it inherited from previous administrations, especially the rules protecting the national forests against commercial exploitation.

...it has already removed those protections from the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. Then last week, just before Christmas - the administration's preferred time for unveiling bad news - it announced a radical overhaul of the rules governing the management of the nation's 155 national forests.
-from today's NYTimes

full text at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/01/opinion/01sat3.html?th

IS THIS WHAT AMERICANS IN RED OR BLUE STATES STAND FOR?