Video blogs are peaking

Source: Wall Street Journal

1. Tsunami blogging: The curl in the wave, first hand - The National Business Review
2. Blogs' new place at the media table - The Guardian
3. Tsunami Prompts Online Outpouring - Washington Post
4. Video Blogs Break Out With Tsunami Scenes - Wall Street Journal
5. A Catastrophe Strikes, and the Cyberworld Responds - New York Times
6. Internet Sparks Outpouring of Instant Donations - Washington Post

Desolation row

A cemetery in Sri Lanka. Photo: Jason South

The Archbishop of Canterbury's comments on God's role in the tsunami disaster are easily the most sensible after a week of hand wringing and teeth gnashing by various religious identities and commentators.

No doubt for some, though, Dr Williams' comments will ring too true with Humphrey Appleby's opinion of the Church of England: "Theology is a device for enabling agnostics to stay within the church".

Poor taste award

Matthew Parris, writing in The Times, walks away with the prize for most insensitive comment on the tsunami disaster:

"A small, insistent voice in the back of my head says: 'Isn’t this amazing!' A minor but insuppressible part of me has almost relished — yes, relished — those huge numbers. As the newspaper headlines spoke greedily of the numbers of dead 'approaching' twenty, then fifty, then eighty, then a hundred thousand, something undeniable twitched in the back of my brain. It was a sort of excitement as the figures mounted; as though some great auctioneer of calamity were taking bids from the media floor, and I was willing the bidding to carry on upwards. When will it reach a hundred thousand? Could it reach a quarter of a million? Was this a record? How did it stand in the history of these disasters? That high! Wow!"

Can you believe it?

Cognitive dissent couldn't:

"There certainly is something awe-inspiring and humbling about the power of nature, particularly when on such ferocious display, but recognizing and respecting that power is something completely different than hoping that it runs up the bodycount."

Via Tim Blair.

Tsunami aid

Another collection of the best ways you can contribute has been built by
Team Zoo Station.

Plus, AD in Hong Kong has another list of tsunami related blogs and sites.

Amit Varma is in Tamil Nadu with Aid India and reporting on his blog.

Here's to 2005

And a happier new year!

The papers have done their annual roundup of the year. No names, but geez it's been dull reading. The biggest story of the year had to be squeezed in somehow but despite the production schedules you'd have thought they could do a better job.

So what about online?

Not much difference. The local sites have shovelled the print copy online but that's about it. But some sites have put a bit of effort into online features. Check out El Pais.es, El Mundo, and La Vanguardia.es.

What were you searching for in 2004?

Bloggers in Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Fred Robarts is blogging from Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka.

Sarath Seneviratne, also in Sri Lanka, reports friends dead and missing.

Primary0 is blogging from the Maldives - eyewitness accounts and pictures.

More photos from the Maldives at Vakaruge.

Galle, Sri Lanka

Bodies line the corridor in a hospital in Galle, Southern Sri Lanka. Photo: Jason South

Smart mob donations

Amazon tsunami donations have hit $3.2m. Driven wholly by online promotion - Glenn Reynolds has been instrumental in spreading the word - this is a terrific response. Hit 'refresh' and watch the numbers click over.

Keep it coming.

Small miracles

Some relief comes with the small miracles of survival and cooperation amidst the horror stories of death and destruction following the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Robert Phillips from Bermagui was propelled through the collapsing walls of his hut and swept about a kilometre through a nearby lagoon.

An Australian couple diving off the Maldives in the Indian Ocean were dragged about a kilometre out to sea before being rescued.

A Swedish toddler has been reunited with his father after the boy's picture was posted on the internet.

Anonymous acts of kindness.

A pair of Israeli newlyweds described how a Palestinian couple came to their rescue, paying for them to fly back home after they had lost all their cash.

An Indian teenager was found after clinging to a door in heavy seas for two days.

About 3000 Sri Lankan villagers believed to have died in the island's tsunami disaster were found alive yesterday.

A 20-day-old baby survived, thanks to a floating mattress.

A Canadian survived for 10 hours by clinging to a dead fisherman who was wearing a lifejacket.

Death toll continues to rise

Relief efforts are stepped up and calls for donations become more urgent as the extent of the catastrophe continues to unfold.

Group blogs at tsunamihelp.blogspot.com and tsunamiupdates.blogspot.com are providing continuous news and information about resources, aid, donations and volunteer efforts.