The Other Shoe: News from Around the World

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News from Around the World[/caption]

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Welcome back My Dear Shoevians to The Other Shoe. IT is Friday, May 1^st, 2015 and this is the very first edition of ‘News From Around the World’ in a very long time. I always enjoyed writing and publishing this article series. It took my mind off of the political works I was engaged, and the acrimonious tone of ‘Conservative’ rhetoric. As well, it helped me keep in touch with the happenings outside the borders of our great nation. Sometimes, it is difficult for us Americans to admit, or to realize, that we are but one nation among many. But one voice in the symphony of human thought and action that is the human experience.

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This is not by coincidence, for you see some media outlets would have Americans believe that we are the definitive voice of the planet. Fortunately, for the species, that is not anywhere near the truth. Now, before I delve into this article I would like to take a moment to “Thank” a Shoevian for a generous and much needed and appreciated gift. No, nobody has come forward to assist me… with my ‘problem’ arising out of my two falls last month. Nope, a $3,000.00 tab stands between me and my ability to smile without shame.

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However, that does not keep me from appreciating gifts when they do come, regardless. Today another Shoevian (who has requested his… ooops, identity remain unknown) has ordered a year’s subscription to Time Magazine! From summer 1998 until October 2004 I had a running subscription to this magazine. Not only did it give me hours upon hours of reading pleasure? It, also, gave me innumerable writing ideas for all you, My Dear Shoevians. So, starting in about three weeks look for more editions of ‘News from Around the World’ and other more broad based articles here at The Other Shoe. Oh, and “THANK YOU!” to you-know-who-you-are!

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I do not think that any journalist, worth his snuff, could begin an article about news around the world without starting with the terrible human tragedy in Nepal. First I would like to take a moment and try to put the human suffering into perspective. Saturday, April 23^rd 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Katmandu valley of the tiny nation of Nepal. The earthquake’s epicenter was a mere 9.3 miles beneath the surface of the Katmandu valley. In the following 23 hours there were 31 aftershocks that shook the valley. A 328-yard layer of black clay lays beneath the Katmandu Valley (the remnants of a prehistoric lake). This layer of thick black clay amplified damage and increased the incidence of soil liquefaction[1]. This, relatively, shallow 7.8 magnitude earthquake amplified by the black clay beneath the valley was a ‘Prefect Storm’ of factors that equaled the single worst earthquake in the region since the 8.6 magnitude earthquake that struck August 15^th, 1950 and killed 8,000 people.

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Broken Building Searched for Trapped People and Bodies[/caption]

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(Broken Building Searched for Trapped People and Bodies)

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Even more staggering is the human cost of this terrible natural disaster. As of the most recent number I could research (May 1^st, 2015 1900 hrs) they are as follows; 6,250 confirmed read (it is estimated that by the end of all searches that number will equal or be greater than 10,000), 14,350 have been injured, and an estimated 2.5 million have been displaced from their homes in the Katmandu Valley. The city of Katmandu lies in ruins, as the images below will show. From what I have been reading it could be well into the month of May (the 10^th – 14^th) before any of the totals are finalized. Tens of thousands of residents of Katmandu are living in tents, and under tarps, without four walls.

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[youtube=https://youtu.be/heSOBf-sOm8]

(Real Time CCTV Video of The Nepal Earthquake)

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The video, above, is a compilation of Close Circuit Television footage taken around the city at the exact time of the earthquake. I cannot convey the deep sense of shock and horror that came over me, as I watched this footage. Having lived here in Southern California for the past thirty years, I thought I had (somehow) become desensitized. Desensitized about the effects, and results, of earthquakes. That feeling ended, today. Below is yet another still image of the aftermath. This image is a wide screen image that cover several blocks of the damage, done by the earthquake, in Katmandu city.

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Wide Area Image of Katmandu After the Earthquake[/caption]

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(Wide Area Image of Katmandu After the Earthquake)

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I was driving into San Francisco October 17^th, 1989. I was headed up to coast for a much-needed R&R, and San Francisco was my destination. I had only visited San Francisco once prior to this scheduled vacation. As I drove up PCH I heard the news on the radio. It was 5:20 PM on October 17^th, 1989 and my view of the coastal highway was upstaged by the voice on the radio. A 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck Loma Prieta just after 5:00PM. .

I was well up the coast, having left the L.A. basin before traffic started.

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It was less than an hour before night, and I was hesitant to turn around and head back to Long Beach, so I continued driving through the night. I arrived in San Francisco late in the day October 18^th, 1989. I barely made it into the city limits, when I was greated by two things. One, I was shocked at the devastation a 6.9 earthquake had done to this great city, it stretched as far south as the ‘Cuban District’. Second, I was stopped by a National Guardsman and told that if I was not here as part of the relief effort, or there to locate a missing family member, I was to turn around and head home. I did just that, stopping to spend the night a little further south in Santa Cruz. My Dear Shoevians, I have seen the damage a 6.9 earthquake can do to a modern American city. I shiver deep into my bones at the thought of the death and devastation a 7.8 magnitude earthquake could do to an area like Nepal. Below is another real time video of the earthquake that shook Nepal.

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[youtube=https://youtu.be/XvcrXqwFnfs]

(Nepal Tower Collapsed)

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Just watching these videos makes my heart weep at the horrible human tragedy, the grave personal losses, and the still untold number of deceased family members. It will take, the Katmandu Valley, decades to put this tragedy behind them. I just cannot fathom the; fear, grief, terror and heartache surviving families and people must be enduring as I write this article… and as you My Dear Shoevians read. This is the very first tragedy, of this magnitude; I have covered on the pages of this blog. Having said, I do not know if I am intellectually equipped, or possessed of the writing ability to convey what our eyes see and what our hearts must feel.

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Therefore, in honor of the all the people affected by this horrific tragedy I have decided to make this edition of “News From Around the World’ a single subject edition. I do not want to dwell on the many heart-wrenching images coming out of the Katmandu Valley. I have shared, what I believe, enough to tell the story as a journalist. I fear posting too many images, or videos, will be ghoulish.

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One final factoid that I came across as I researched this human tragedy that I will share with you in this parting paragraph. Starting April 29^th 2015 satellite data, from the earthquake, became available. Most importantly data from Europe's Sentinel-1A radar satellite garnered the most attention by scientists. Even today this data is still being reviewed and studied. However, preliminary results show that a region 75 miles (120 kilometers) long by 30 miles (50 km) wide lifted upward by as much as 3 feet during the earthquake. This information was made available from Tim Wright, a geophysicist at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.[4]

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As we all understand, when tectonic plates shift (move) one plate moves on top of the other plate. This has resulted in many of the world’s tallest peaks to have dropped by as much as an inch. In one day. Further, the Nepal Earthquake sparked a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest, killing at least 17 people and leaving even more missing and feared dead.[5]

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In conclusion, My Dear Shoevians, I just could NOT write about this tragedy… share images and videos from this tragedy… without trying to do something. Something to help the survivors and the families of the lost. Therefore, below I am going to share links to aid organizations that I am aware are helping out with; search and rescue, aid to the survivors and aid to the families of the dead. I am not a man of means. That fact brings me no end of embarrassment… on a near daily basis. However, I am willing to bet that many of you, My Dear Shoevians, if you haven’t already, can and will do what you can to help. Here they are:

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American Red Cross (Select Nepal Eartthquake) – Just Click of the name above to go to the web site. Pick ‘Nepal Earthquake Relief from the drop-down menu.

ActionAid – Nepal - http://www.actionaid.org/nepal

US Aid From the American People _ Nepal - http://www.usaid.gov/nepal

UNICEF – United States Fund – To help the children in Nepal click here

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That, My Dear Shoevians, brings us to the end and close of this singular edition of ‘News from Around the World’. I hope that I have been informative. As well, I really hope that I have not appeared to try and take advantage of this terrible tragedy. I appreciate your visit, and would very much appreciate your ‘Like’ at the end of this article… and if you see fit, please ‘Share’ this article on any/all social media that you desire.

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Thank you!

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Adieu!

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