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42 Comments
- arizonagroove, on 05/14/2008, -1/+5"researchers have already set their sights on the next generation of earthquake prevention."
Somehow I doubt that it's possible to actually prevent earthquakes. - antonycao, on 05/14/2008, -1/+5Q: Can you predict earthquakes?
A: No. Neither the USGS nor Caltech nor any other scientists have ever predicted a major earthquake. They do not know how, and they do not expect to know how any time in the foreseeable future. However based on scientific data, probabilities can be calculated for potential future earthquakes. For example, scientists estimate that over the next 30 years the probability of a major EQ occurring in the San Francisco Bay area is 67% and 60% in Southern California.
The USGS focuses their efforts on the long-term mitigation of earthquake hazards by helping to improve the safety of structures, rather than by trying to accomplish short-term predictions. - synyster, on 05/14/2008, -0/+5if they don't care human life, then why their are rescue teams and troops in the disaster zone? ***** try to look at both side's stories before you comment
- bonecones, on 05/14/2008, -1/+4I really can't see how implementing a real fast inverse square root function would help China right now...
- MacSuxWindozSux, on 05/14/2008, -1/+5No the best Quake Tech has always been the Rail Gun.
- synyster, on 05/14/2008, -0/+2the ironic thing is 50% of the population within the disaster zone are Tibetan.
- GlassAgate, on 05/14/2008, -0/+2Doesn't sfgeek's comments sound like what the US has suffered
with, over the last 200+ years? Just give China some time and they'll
catch up, unless they have no interest in improving themselves. If that
is the case, then...I don't know what to say if that is the case. If they do,
then good. - GawtMilk, on 05/14/2008, -0/+3Anecdotal Evidence :
Judging on my extensive [12+] trips to China, and having lived in Hong Kong for over seven years, the local-level corruption in rural Chinese areas is off the charts. I was with Habitat for Humanity, a well-known organization, building houses in Yunnan. Our hotel said they had "electrical problems" and moved us out of the decent two star rooms into the apartments built during the cultural revolution. No electricity, no plumbing...not a nice place. We check back at our old area, and low and behold, the electricity is not only working, but there are rows and rows of loud, drunk local officials, with shiny black Ford SUVs.
They preceded to get so drunk [after kicking us out of the dining room] that they were chasing around the pre-teen girls on the trip.
It's one thing to drive an imported $40,000 SUV. It's another thing to do it when the villagers you are supposed to be administrating live on dollars a day. It's another thing to kick out a group of multi-cultural foreigners when they're doing your job for you and building your villagers places to live!
It's a passionate subject for me, and I find it humorous that Americans talk about the greed and corruption of federal and local employees of the government. Have you traveled outside the country? Part of the reason so many fatalities occurred during this earthquake was the rapid over expansion that China is going through, and the corrupt construction deals that occurred when the expansion was taking place. - antonycao, on 05/14/2008, -1/+5Emm..sorry, but Western China is less developed than the East...
And would you please give me any link to the news of the newly-built buildings collapse? I haven't heard of it myself.
BTW, how do you know a building under construction has not EQ preventions? I have friends living in Chengdu, about an-hour drive from epicenter. None of the buildings there collapsed as far as I know. Talking about the epicenter, it's another story...7.9 is just too big for anything... - antonycao, on 05/14/2008, -0/+2Any government in the world learns thru mistakes. I believe a lot of US laws and statues are created this way. Something really bad happens, then the government establishes a law preventing it from happening again.
It's the same with China. Ideology is no more on the list of their priorities. All Chinese want is to "get wealthy" as soon as they can, and enjoy the same living standards as westerners do. I don't see anything wrong about this. However, in the process of fast development and pursuit of wealth, some people cheat, manipulate or ill-behave, plus the government lacks rules and experiences dealing with those issues.
Actually every single developed country has a period similar to what China is experiencing. Poisonous food, pollution, slave labor..can be found in the history book of any country. I am not saying that these practices are acceptable, but people should understand it has nothing to do with a nation or a people. It's human nature-greed.
BTW, Chinese are industrious, not due to the government but the culture. You see Chinese from all over the world are actually working as ants -_-;;; And in Chinese culture, it's something to be proud of... - mikadopwl, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1I hope you are kidding... these are innocent civilian lives we're talking about.
- antonycao, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1An EQ of 7.9 equals the power of over 200 A-Bomb.
With much more earthquake knowledge and much better preventive approaches and 1/100 of the magtitude than this one, Japan lost over 6000 lives in Kobe EQ...
When facing such a disaster, you'd better reach out your hand other than bashing its government. - Manchucka, on 05/14/2008, -1/+2Here's a good clearinghouse of coverage of the Sichuan earthquake: http://esinophile.wordpress.com/2008/05/12/chengdu ...
Warning, I write for this blog. - antonycao, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1Bush even would pretend that he cared about people. Who's worse?
- MacSuxWindozSux, on 05/14/2008, -1/+2They have triple the US population and far less money. Yeah they'll probably try to scam their way out of the problem, but that doesn't mean they'd have an easy time if they did things the open and fair way.
- Mysk, on 05/14/2008, -2/+3It's China. They'll pretend that it didn't happen if they can get away with it, so why would they spend money to prevent disastrous results from things that "don't exist"?
- kingmanic, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1Not on the surface, in certain regions. The eastern coastal areas and mostly the southern guangdong province is the most prosperous, the majority of china's economic growth and wealth creation occurs there with a bit of a trickle down effect on it's neighboring provinces and a secondary growth in Shanghai and Beijing. The rest of china isn't that far removed from the China of the 70's. China is now a fascist state, economically rural areas don't tend to have money flowing in for development. So the things you said about the periphery of china can be said for rural America, decaying, economically barren, lacking infrastructure and services. China is simply letting economic forces shape their country while trying desperate to hold onto the reigns and not get burned like Russia did with it's switch over to capitalism.
- mikadopwl, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1welcome to Digg
- kingmanic, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1China has it's flaws, which are huge. But generally it does treat the average citizen alright. If you keep your nose clean and your head down China won't mess with you and provides all the services any other government does (Law and order, Legals system, Medicine, Military, emergency services). It's only in the instances where someone becomes a thorn in the side of the local, regional, or Republic governments where China shows it's nasty side. Pollution and other issues are become grave health concerns with some response from the centralized governments but not as quickly as in the west due to the lack of vocal criticism. Vocal critics tend to disappear.
- antonycao, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1Chinese PM showed up in the disaster affected area within 2 hours. Is that caring about people? How long did it take Bush to show his ass after Katrina? More than 20,000 soldiers were mobilized right after the quake, is that caring about people?
I am not a big fan of CCP, but sometimes they do things right. - inactive, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1How does this have anything to do with the US? The nutroots need to blame everything on the US, even a earthquake in China, is a new form of mental illness, seriously. Please go back to uncovering aliens in Roswell and stop ruining Digg.com, dumbass.
Name one occasion where earthquake technology ever warned of an impending earthquake. There isnt, the technology is for research so that someday it may help effectively warn people. - vinn02, on 05/17/2008, -0/+0No investigation, no right to speak. Naive!
- LeeSoong, on 05/14/2008, -1/+1China needs help from Steven Hawkings, he's a Quake Master!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXLIzk_7KCE - trollick, on 05/14/2008, -2/+2Misleading title: article has nothing to do with Quake.
- SunAlex, on 08/28/2008, -0/+0Chinese need help.
http://www.antdepo.org
http://sooslic.com/?id=674
http://www.devserve.co.za/
http://www.cidrs.org/about/program.aspx
http://search.ashtech.info/environment - LeeSoong, on 05/14/2008, -1/+1China - YOU HAVE LOST THE LEAD.
HUMILIATION! - 1iProd, on 05/14/2008, -1/+1I feel kind of bad now because I thought the article was talking about id's Quake Tech...
- kingmanic, on 05/14/2008, -1/+1If you are fighting a cultural war, then you are both losing and funding your enemy.
- acdcfanbill, on 05/14/2008, -1/+2Yea, I thought John Carmack was going to be helping China too, oops...
- MacSuxWindozSux, on 05/14/2008, -1/+1Carmack is god.
- sfgeek, on 05/14/2008, -1/+3Why is he being Dugg down? Nothing about China's policy indicates they are particularly caring about the health of their people for the most part. They allow rampant, horrible pollution for decades (until the Olympics comes) and widespread corruption, not to mention disgusting human rights violations, the suppression of free speech including the internet, and Millions of their people starve.
- flyzzx, on 05/14/2008, -0/+0What the ***** with all those naive and ignorant comments about China?
- inactive, on 05/14/2008, -3/+2They need to get Kanye on the case.
- danielkempkens, on 05/14/2008, -4/+4Or he can use fluoride to kill you.
- lynljs, on 05/14/2008, -2/+0u guys sucks
Shame on you - phalkor, on 05/14/2008, -3/+2Why do I feel their government regards the people as ants or some other industrious insect? They got squished certainly, powerful human tragedy.
- inactive, on 05/14/2008, -2/+0Has China ever given any indication that they care about human life?
- inactive, on 05/14/2008, -3/+0To keep some appearance of humanity.
- sesstreets, on 05/14/2008, -7/+7I really think the Chinese government couldn't care less about their people. They're so concerned with the Olympics right now nothing else matters to them.
- hkgfnt, on 05/14/2008, -4/+2On the surface China is prosperous. The infrastructure is decent in big cities. But then everything fall apart when it comes to the outlying areas. The government is too busy to make herself pretty for the Olympics, keep exporting with no pollution control, send more astronauts into space, etc. Getting rid of corruption and improve the infrastructure, especially for the dirt poor peasants are not exactly "important" to them.
- mattnyc99, on 05/14/2008, -6/+7"Early earthquake warning in the U.S. would require upgrades to the existing monitoring system, as well as increased manpower, but it's feasible. In China, though, it's a distant prospect." So Japan and America can get high-tech help, but rural China gets nothing? Is this Katrina all OVER again?
- inactive, on 05/14/2008, -6/+2Why would we want to help China? We don't share they values, we don't like each other.
We are fighting a cultural war, and maybe soon a real one. Their tragedies give us a small advantage.
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