For Juan Cole, the earthquake and tsunami remind him of the futility of war:
Every once in a while, amidst our petty wars and squabbles with each other, Nature reminds us that the real threat to humankind comes from her, not from other human beings. Climate change is human-driven, but its danger is in unleashing uncontrollable natural forces of immense power. We are still defenseless against a meteor strike of the sort that helped polish off the dinosaurs. And, we lack good defenses against tsunamis. Unless we can put aside our divisions and work effectively together on these natural threats, humans remain in extreme danger as a species.
Odd that massive earthquakes seem to be more common in the last decade or so. Unless we were less able to monitor them in the past.
(Photo: Mego's Twitpic.)