I heard on the earlier versions of the news that the scientists here had one and a half hours notice and if the people had 15 minutes warning they could have gone to higher ground and many would have been saved. They honest to God, and I heard this half asleep but I swear I heard it, that they didn't have names in their rolodexes to call. That has got to be the stupidest thing I have heard in my life. Call the UN. Call the embassies. Put it on the radio and the internet and people could have called people over there. And surely they could have called the weather people in the various countries, the geology departments in the universities etc. I have not heard that particular news bit in recent hours so I bet they are suppressing it. I subscribe to a tsunami warning system at work and get the big quakes even if it doesn't threaten us here (and I am living on a sand spit two blocks from the ocean).

It makes me sad to think of the tragedy and outraged to think of how stupid some people in our government payroll (presumably) can be...what were they thinking? mg

mg