almost hourly. Since I began doing live hits, it has risen from 5,000 to 7,600 and now I'm reading it could be over 8,000. As soon as I post this, I'm sure it will be outdated. I also notice that, as far as I can tell, only the New York Times is reporting that the tremors felt in Beijing likely weren't the same ones from the earthquake in Sichuan. It claims a second quake hit Tongzhou shortly before 3pm which caused the swaying buildings and chandeliers in the capital.

schools are gone. Important infrastructure has been wiped out. Imagine 1 in 10 of your friends/neighbors/co-workers gone. Close your eyes and whisper a small prayer.Be grateful that you are not lost in this tragedy. images from The New York Times

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to the way China handled the Tangshan earthquake, or the way the military junta that rules neighboring Myanmar has managed the aftermath of a giant cyclone that killed nearly 32,000 people there this month, according to Burmese government estimates.source

The deadly earthquake (7.9 magnitude) in Sichuan, China on May 12th took at least 12 thousand precious lives so far and the death toll is sure to rise since some of the towns in the quake center are still not accessible at this point. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/world/asia/13china.html?bl&ex=1210910400&en=4350a6cfda5b8c73&ei=5087%0A

President Bush attends Council of the Americas  - May 13, 2008 China sends troops to Sichuan as quake kills 10,000  - May 13, 2008 Obama: Endorsement by Hamas makes sense  - May 13, 2008 Quake kills thousands in western China  - May 12, 2008 Information tags along everywhere you go  - May 12, 2008

affected area, will this tragedy help improve China-Tibet relations? QUOTE "Hang on a bit longer...The troops are rescuing you. As long as there is the slightest hope, we will never relax our efforts." REFERENCES Jake Hooker & Jim Yardley. "Powerful Quake Ravages China, Killing Thousands." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/world/asia/13china.html?hp New York Times (accessed May 13, 2008) William Foreman. "Nearly 10,000 Perish in China Quake"

bills pending, states that have long histories of racism. (See The New York Times story.) Earthquake in China Kills More Than 10,000: An earthquake in western China is reported to have taken the lives of more than 10,000 people, according to today's New York Times. Early estimates were that the quake reached a 7.9 magnitude. The epicenter is near the Wolong Nature Reserve, which is the largest panda reserve in China.

including many schoolchildren still buried under rubble over the weekend. This earthquake was even stronger than the Tangshan earthquake of 1976, which killed more than 240,000 people died and it is feared that the death toll could go far higher. The tremors from this quake shook buildings throughout China and were felt as far away as Thailand and Vietnam, according to interviews and reports in China’s state media.

neighbors clustered on the roadside, shielding themselves from the downpour with plastic tarps. The earthquake originated here in the lush farm fields and river valleys of Sichuan Province, killing almost 10,000 people and trapping thousands more. Click here for the longer Times report containing even more basic facts about the tragedy. But the story, again, lacks a second layer. It’s that “Why?” question that would be asked in some cultural contexts, but not in others.