Writer and Critic Dies at 71: “Author and social critic Susan Sontag, one of the most powerful thinkers of her generation and a leading voice of intellectual opposition to U.S. policy after the Sept. 11 attacks, died on Tuesday at a New York cancer hospital. She was 71.
Sontag, who had been suffering from cancer for some time, was known for interests that ranged from French existentialist writers to ballet, photography and politics. She once said a writer should be ‘someone who is interested in everything.'” I will remember Sontag for her fierce intellectual courage and unwavering voice of human response to wars ranging from Vietnam through the Balkans to Afghanistan and Iraq. As a psychiatrist, I have been profoundly influenced by her Illness as Metaphor, a philosophical dissection of the ‘sick role’ and its impact on identity and social interaction. I have wondered where she stood on the nature of her suffering as she struggled with cancer for the past several years.
Daily Archives: 28 Dec 04
Blogs provide raw details from disaster scene
“…(T)he technology proved a ready medium for instant news of the tsunami disasterand for collaboration over ways to help.” (ZDNet)
Urge Bush to Increase Aid for Tsunami Victims:
“Just today, December 28, the United States announced it has more than doubled its preliminary pledge of aid from $15 million to $35 million. However, preliminary estimates of the need are far greater, and Secretary of State Colin Powell and UN representatives have already stated that billions may be needed in what could be the costliest disaster in human history.” (ActforChange)
Death Toll Climbs to 63,000 (Yahoo!)
A Third of the Dead in Undersea Quake Are Said to Be Children: “Survivors arranged for mass burials and searched for tens of thousands of the missing in countries thousands of miles apart.” (New York Times )
Here are some resources for disaster relief, to which you can contribute:
- Oxfam, 800-77OXFAM; or to Asian Earthquake Fund, 26 West St., Boston, MA 02111; http://www.oxfamamerica.org
- The American Jewish World Service Emergency Relief Fund, https://secure3.ctsg.com/AJWS/donation/index.asp?Item=167
- CARE, 800-521-CARE; http://www.careusa.org
- American Red Cross, 800-HELP-NOW; International Response Fund, PO Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013; http://www.redcross.org
- Catholic Relief Services, 800-736-3467; PO Box 17090, Baltimore, MD 21203-7090; http://www.catholicrelief.org
- Direct Relief International, 805-964-4767; 27 South La Patera Lane, Santa Barbara, CA 93117; http://www.directrelief.org
- Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres, 888-392-0392; PO Box 2247, New York, NY 10116-2247; http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org
- International Medical Corps, 800-481-4462; 11500 West Olympic Blvd., Suite 506, Los Angeles, CA 90064; http://www.imcworldwide.org
- International Orthodox Christian Charities, 877-803-4622; PO Box 630225, Baltimore, MD 21263-0225; http://www.iocc.org
- Mercy Corps, 800-852-2100; PO Box 2669, Portland, OR 97208; http://www.mercycorps.org
- Operation USA, 800-678-7255; 8320 Melrose Ave., Suite 200, Los Angeles, CA 90069; http://www.opusa.org
- People to People; www.ptpi.org/donate/donate.jsp
[I cribbed most of these from another site where the author had the temerity to copyright the list. More concerned about getting a feather in their cap for righteousness than disseminating the information broadly and sharing it freely, I guess…]
Quake rattled Earth orbit, changed map of Asia: US geophysicist
“An earthquake that unleashed deadly tidal waves on Asia was so powerful it made the Earth wobble on its axis and permanently altered the regional map, US geophysicists said.
The 9.0-magnitude temblor that struck 250 kilometers (155 miles) southeast of Sumatra island Sunday may have moved small islands as much as 20 meters (66 feet), according to one expert.” (Yahoo! News)
Quake rattled Earth orbit, changed map of Asia: US geophysicist
“An earthquake that unleashed deadly tidal waves on Asia was so powerful it made the Earth wobble on its axis and permanently altered the regional map, US geophysicists said.
The 9.0-magnitude temblor that struck 250 kilometers (155 miles) southeast of Sumatra island Sunday may have moved small islands as much as 20 meters (66 feet), according to one expert.” (Yahoo! News)
