Surely, Caryn, you have put your finger on the nub of the issue. After a disaster like the earthquake, where should the priorities be? Saving lives or preserving hatreds? After the Indian Ocean tsunami, two scenarios were played out. In Sri Lanka, they preserved hatreds. In Aceh, they saved lives. The belligerents declared a temporary ceasefire; this became permanent, and then there was a political settlement. The tsunami ended 30 years of war, and tens of thousands of casualties. Obviously Gen Musarraff (sp?) and I have very different priorities. Unfortunately, IMHO, his are the only ones that count.
-- Jim Cripwell. A volante tribe of bards on earth are found,/ who, while the flattering zephyrs round them play,/ on "coignes of vantage" build their nests of clay;/ how quickly from that aery hold unbound,/ dust for oblivion!/ To the solid ground/ of nature trusts the mind that builds for aye. Wordsworth.