Rock and Roll in China

I heard that the quake in China if superimposed over a map of the U. S. would stretch from Main to Arizona. Many people have lost their children. Millions are homeless. Tens of thousands are missing or buried under rubble.  There are dozens of videos making the rounds. There are after-shocks every so often. Remote areas are still cut off. People are living in tents. People are scraping for food and medicine. People are building hand cranked generators to charge their mobile phones. People are sending text messages (SMS) in stead of calling someone because it saves on batteries and doesn't tie up the service as much.

China says the Olympics will go on time. They will also accept help from all those who offer. For all the bitching I have done about China having the Olympics I have to say, it seems to have helped China become a world nation as apposed to a nation willing to be the workhorse of the world. I know the majority of Chinese are rural. The videos show people in office buildings, stores, bars, restaurants, and apartment blocks. running out. Staying out. People are afraid to sleep inside in some cases.

This is all happening a million miles away, in a country that is a whole different culture. It is happening to people I do not know and that I do not really understand. This would have been a news story a couple years ago. Just another bit of background noise passing by on the evening news. Today, however, I get emails with links to videos of people on the street in these places. I get first hand accounts by bloggers on the scene.