Breaking: 7.9 Earthquake in Nepal

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Saturday April 25, 2015 · 2:13 AM PDT

2015/04/25 · 02:13

Last Update: from me for now--have to start my day. There's really nothing good coming out of this, except that the epicenter wasn't actually IN Kathmandu or Pokhara. Death toll is currently over 700, including fatalities in India and Bangladesh, and reports of damage in China (Tibet) as well. 8 climbers have been reported killed at or near Everest Base Camp, while the higher camps haven't been directly affected people are stranded as a major route has been destroyed. Structural damage in Kathmandu is extensive, including monuments/temples in Durbar Square. I'll try to check back in a while.

This seems to be a bad one, unfortunately.

7.9 Earthquake between Kathmandu and Pokhara at 11:56 am local time. Shallow depth--15 km (I had previously stated 2km which isn't accurate). This would be the worst quake in the region since 1934.

Shakemap from USGS.

Reuters is reporting 36 fatalities at the moment but there are accounts of heavy of damage in Kathmandu, and the earthquake could be felt as far as Delhi. Sadly this is the kind of situation where the toll will rise dramatically as resources become available, and teams are able to penetrate hard-to-reach areas, or outlying regions.

Reports I'm seeing on Twitter suggest that Durbar Square in Kathmandu has been heavily damaged, but no confirmation yet.

BBC

I've also seen reports that there have been avalanches on Everest and Base camps 1 and 2 have sustained damage. I DON"T KNOW if Base camp one is the same that all the trekkers end up at, or the next one up.

Anyway, Nepal is an extremely poor country, with extreme crowding, poorly constructed buildings and little recourse for many people. I'm looking for hotline numbers and will post when I see them.

There are any number of twitter accounts where you can get up-to-date information--I've just been using NepalEarthquake for now.

Also live updates from The Guardian (thanks DRo)

**********
Enquiry: Hotline Numbers:

For U.S. citizens in Nepal

+977 1 423 4068

Here's numbers in India (Ministry of External Affairs has posted this)

+91 11 2301 2113
+91 11 2301 4104
+91 11 2301 7905

How to Help: SHELTERBOX Diary is here:
Shelterbox

3:09 AM PT: update: 11 fatalities also reported in India, 6 in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

3:50 AM PT: update: death toll from Reuters is 449 from one report. Although USGS estimates suggest that the final toll could be in the tens of thousands. USGS

5:02 AM PT: update: the historic Dharara tower in Kathmandu, built in the 19th century, has collapsed with possibly around 100 people inside at the time.

Elizabeth Warren--policy/volunteering question

bevenroDEUX

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Thursday April 23, 2015 · 12:13 PM PDT

2015/04/23 · 12:13

Hi. My dad has recently retired from the FDA where he was a chemical analyst for many years. My parents have since moved to Massachusetts, home of Sen. E. Warren, and since my dad greatly respects Elizabeth Warren (as do I) he is looking for ways in which he might be able to volunteer, but at a high level in terms of targeted policy/research where his expertise could be brought to bear, not just as a mailroom intern! He's wondering if there's a way in which his expertise in the inner workings of the FDA as well as the influence of pharmaceutical companies/congress and the entire process might be useful.

Of course I know that we can just contact the office through her Senate website, and he will probably do that as well. But those kinds of emails can be a dime a dozen, so he wanted to try to track down some knowledgeable contacts.

Any advice would be appreciated--either post in a comment or kosmail me--all is good.

Thanks!

(jump below the fold for....ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE)

Poll

6 votes Show Results

Elizabeth Warren

6 votes Vote Now!

Elizabeth Warren

5 votes

1 vote

I've had it with Jew-hate and its proponents.

bevenroDEUX

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday March 07, 2015 · 1:27 PM PST

2015/03/07 · 13:27

FINAL NOTE BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP AT 6:00 AM
I want to thank everybody for keeping their responses to a pretty angry diary very civil and thoughtful--that doesn't usually happen in I/P-related diaries so good on everybody. This diary wasn't easy to write but I felt it had to be said--and I know that for many of you it may not have been easy to comment either. I know I may not change any minds--we're pretty entrenched about these issues--but I've done what I set out to do. Again, thanks.

NOTE: I've toned down the title and first line thanks to Colorado's recommendation. I've change nothing else. Because, frankly, I'm pissed off.

NOTE 2: About this poll. I think I'm starting to understand a lot of why DKos doesn't work at all when it comes to I/P diaries. If 37% think this kind of imagery is fine with no caveats, and 50% say it's never ok, with any caveats--that's a big-ass problem. If any one wants to address that in the comments, it might be a good discussion topic. I'm fine with the free speech aspect of it--but in terms of ethical acceptability? Would the same breakdown hold for blacks, gays, American Indians, women, Filipinos?

************************
First of all, I'm a bit emboldened by the front page post on anti-Semitism at UCLA....the more this sort of thing gets out the better.

Anyway, about 5 minutes ago this image that could be taken straight out of a Himmler storyboard in 1938 scrolled down my facebook timeline (you can click the link).

http://nonalignedmedia.com/...

This by someone I know and whose posts I always respect. I'm not sure if he knows the import of what he just posted, but for my personal reasons I'd rather vent here than there.

The headline to this Jew-hating visual spree, by "non aligned media" (I'm not familiar with them" is:

"French cartoonist Zeon arrested for anti-Zionist work".

Let's go over the fold as I disembowel the hell out of this claim--much as he would claim that I do to Christian babies because of my heritage.

Poll

115 votes Show Results

Is imagery like I've linked to here ever acceptable?

115 votes Vote Now!

Is imagery like I've linked to here ever acceptable?

Yes

28 votes

Yes with caveats

9 votes

Sometimes

6 votes

No with caveats

12 votes

60 votes

Against my better judgment, an I/P diary--on this "right to exist" business

bevenroDEUX

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday March 05, 2015 · 2:50 PM PST

2015/03/05 · 14:50

UPDATE:
Thanks for keeping things relatively civil (so far). I'm in Europe and going to sleep--I won't get to all of the new comments (these diaries are exhausting) but hopefully you all get a sense of my thinking from the diary and comments. Have fun and don't beat each other up.
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This is just a slightly inflated version of a comment I wrote in one of the I/P pie wars...

But I've rarely seen it addressed.

There seems to be some misunderstanding (understatement of the millennium) about the concept of a "right to exist" around here. Israel "supporters" tend to use it as an axiom, sometimes phrased as a fundamental right that comes from somewhere, where as "detractors" say that no such right exists, for Israel or any state, for that matter. In the detractors' view, Israel is there, ok, let's move on and not blab about such nonexistent "rights".

My brief take on it, as a supporter of Israel but a detractor of its current policies is below..

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