Death toll from tidal waves surpasses 52,000

-ANDI DJATMIKO, Associated Press Writer via SFGate -

Death toll from tsunami disaster passes 121,000 as military ships, planes deliver supplies to ravaged areas

- CHRIS BRUMMITT, Associated Press Writer via SFGate -

Help:

Agencies planning to aid victims in Asia (list also via SFGate):

-- Dharmapala Institute
409 S.Temple Drive
Milpitas, CA 95035
(408) 934-3985

-- Tamil Rehabilitation Organization
517 Old Town Road
Cumberland, MD 21502
Bay Area chapter:
(408) 736-8094
www.trousa.org

-- Action Against Hunger
247 W. 37th St., Suite 1201
New York, NY 10018
(212) 967-7800
www.aah-usa.org

-- American Jewish World Service
45 W. 36th St., 10th Floor
New York, NY 10018
(800) 889-7146
www.ajws.org

-- ADRA International 9-11 Fund
12501 Old Columbus Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904
(800) 424-2372
www.adra.org

-- American Friends Service
Committee (AFSC Crisis Fund)
1501 Cherry St.
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 241-7000
www.afsc.org

-- Catholic Relief Services
P.O. Box 17090
Baltimore, MD 21203-7090
(800) 736-3467
www.catholicrelief.org

-- Direct Relief International
27 S. La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
(805) 964-4767
www.directrelief.org

-- Doctors Without Borders/
Medecins Sans Frontieres
P.O. Box 2247
New York, NY 10116-2247
(888) 392-0392
www.doctorswithoutborders.org

-- International Medical Corps
1919 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 300
Santa Monica, CA 90404
(800) 481-4462
www.imcworldwide.org

-- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
P.O. Box 372
CH-1211 Geneva 19
Switzerland
41-22-730-4222
www.ifrc.org

-- International Orthodox Christian Charities
Middle East Crisis Response
P.O. Box 630225
Baltimore, MD 21263-0225
(877) 803-4622
www.iocc.org

-- Lutheran World Relief
P.O. Box 17061
Baltimore MD 21298-9832
(800) 597-5972
www.lwr.org

-- MAP International
2200 Glynco Parkway
P.O. Box 215000
Brunswick, GA 3121-5000
(800) 225-8550
www.map.org

-- Mercy Corps
P.O. Box 2669
Portland, OR 97208
(800) 852-2100
www.mercycorps.org

-- Northwest Medical Teams
P.O. Box 10
Portland, OR 97207-0010
(503) 624-1000
www.nwmedicalteams.org

-- Operation USA
8320 Melrose Ave., Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(800) 678-7255
www.opusa.org

-- Relief International
11965 Venice Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(800) 572-3332
www.ri.org

-- Save the Children Asia Earthquake/Tidal Wave Relief Fund
54 Wilton Road
Westport, CT 06880
(800) 728-3843
www.savethechildren.org

-- US Fund for UNICEF
333 E. 38th St.
New York, NY 10016
(800) 367-5437
www.unicefusa.org

-- World Concern
19303 Fremont Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98133
(800) 755-5022
www.worldconcern.org

-- World Relief
7 E. Baltimore St.
Baltimore, MD 21202
(443) 451-1900
www.wr.org

-- World Vision
P.O. Box 70288
Tacoma, WA 98481-0288
(888) 562-4453
www.worldvision.org

Bad Cat, 1990something, pen & ink
Posted by Hello

- Surprise?, 1990something, pencil -
Posted by Hello

To the Suckling Child

Nurse, child, long and well,
cradled safe in loving arms.

Beyond that embrace the world is hell
and waits to do you harm.

An old one.

The child who inspired this couplet (glimpsed on BART) must be about 7 years old now.

I hope he is doing well and proving my pessimistic side wrong.

Home on the Strange, 1990something, pencil
Posted by Hello

The night before my father's memorial service, my sister informed me that my mother had been diagnosed with ALS.

Prior to this diagnosis we had been told that her increasing difficulty speaking was due to a series of minor strokes.

A visit on 12/1 to The Stanford University School of Medicine, Neurology Department confirmed that my mom had not suffered any strokes and that most likely the diagnosis of ALS was correct.

Further tests await, and such meager treatments as are available, and no doubt tears and pain and love and death.

But, hey, that's life, isn't it?