Typhoon Haiyan in Philippines

[Watercooler]

Ie. The people who live in substandard housing. AKA people with little money. AKA people who can't afford more than tin roofs.



You should care, your students must think you're an idiot.

And why doesn't the government do anything for them? Right, because they are just "AKA" people, why do we need to care for poor people anyway?

As for my students, they don't think I'm an idiot, period. I write differently to them. You know, getting personal attacks really is a sign you can't argue with me. Like I said, I don't care about your opinion on my grammar.

[Watercooler]

p.s. how come the richest country in the world was not prepared for the relatively weak Katrina?

1. Katrina was not relatively weak, it was a Cat 3 storm, more than sufficient to do serious damage.

2. Prior to Katrina, the last really serious hurricane to impact New Orleans was Hurricane Audrey, way back in 1957. Other powerful hurricanes have hit Louisiana (i.e Camille in 1969 or Andrew in 1992), but those did not really hit or cause destruction to New Orleans. So the city was unprepared and unaccustomed for hurricanes.

3. The frequency of hurricanes that hit Louisiana is still less than that of the Philippines, which gets hit by typhoons several times each year.

[usehername]

And why doesn't the government do anything for them? Right, because they are just "AKA" people, why do we need to care for poor people anyway?

Do *what*? Produce building codes for the construction industry which are irrelevant, unworkable and unaffordable for most of the population? Brilliant.

As for my students, they don't think I'm an idiot, period. I write differently to them. You know, getting personal attacks really is a sign you can't argue with me. Like I said, I don't care about your opinion on my grammar.

So you choose to spell incorrectly on here but not at work? That seems likely.

[Watercooler]

Do *what*? Produce building codes for the construction industry which are irrelevant, unworkable and unaffordable for most of the population? Brilliant.



So you choose to spell incorrectly on here but not at work? That seems likely.

I will admit it can be difficult for a government with limited resources like that of the Philippines to produce slam-bang a first world modern building code that is affordable and enforceable in a heart beat.

BUT, just because it is not easy does not mean the government should just leave these poor folks to their own devices whenever a typhoon strikes. Think of the mental and financial anguish these people endure each time a typhoon comes and destroy their homes. Won't it be better if the government could provide some funding, education or some tools to let them built houses that can have a somewhat better chance of surviving a typhoon?

P.S-As for my spelling, no kidding, I really do intentionally put a mistake here and there, that way I can spot the grammar nazis for who they are.

[Char Siu King]

Bless the Filipinos. They endure what seems like tens of typhoons a year, have a completely corrupt and self-serving Government, and work their asses off far away from home - in HK and Saudi as maids with little legal protection, on board ships as cooks and deckhands, in Canada and Australia as nurses, etc, etc. And they do it all with an amazing sense of humour and lightheartedness.

[Watercooler]

Bless the Filipinos. They endure what seems like tens of typhoons a year, have a completely corrupt and self-serving Government, and work their asses off far away from home - in HK and Saudi as maids with little legal protection, on board ships as cooks and deckhands, in Canada and Australia as nurses, etc, etc. And they do it all with an amazing sense of humour and lightheartedness.

Amen to that.

That's what I've been saying here. The Filipinos deserve a much better government than what they have now. Much better.

[usehername]

I will admit it can be difficult for a government with limited resources like that of the Philippines to produce slam-bang a first world modern building code that is affordable and enforceable in a heart beat.

BUT, just because it is not easy does not mean the government should just leave these poor folks to their own devices whenever a typhoon strikes. Think of the mental and financial anguish these people endure each time a typhoon comes and destroy their homes. Won't it be better if the government could provide some funding, education or some tools to let them built houses that can have a somewhat better chance of surviving a typhoon?

So you admit suggesting changes to building codes was stupid? Ok. Good. I agree: funding, education and material support would be great if it could be managed well.

P.S-As for my spelling, no kidding, I really do intentionally put a mistake here and there, that way I can spot the grammar nazis for who they are.

Sure you do.

[usehername]

I'm just waiting for cy to suggest the typhoon was revenge for not apologising for the hostage crisis. Though at least it gives him a way to back down from demanding compensation.

[INXS]

Tacloban devastated; at least 100 dead

As the first reports of the aftermath come in, let's keep the chatter down to a minimum please. I fully respect your right to post what you want and argue or whatever but there may be some people looking for information...

[INXS]

Storm sure hitting Tacloban