It is true. Why should the west care? Death is a part of life. Be it "natural" or not. Every one of us will die at some point. We don't know when or how, and in all reality, there is very little we can do about it. We can be prepared and equipped, but death is well beyond our control. I do not want to die, but I know it must happen. Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not a fatalist by any means. I do all that is in my power to prevent the loss of my life, but when it happens, it happens. Who can control earthquakes? Drunk drivers? The 100,000 in SE Asia were all going to die sometime. And remember what Stalin said. To most people, the numbers thrown around today are just statistics. It could be 1,000,000 or 10,000,000. It's not going to make a difference to people who are not personaly affected. Sad but true. I see people who are dying every day here in the US. The homeless, heroin, speed, crack addicts, prostitutes, HIV, AIDS, Hep C patients, alcoholics, car crash victims. Life is fragile. I want to die of old age, but I take risks every day that put me in danger. Even living in the neighborhood that I do increased my chances of being killed. I think that most people need to accept the risks of living - including the 100% fatality rate that comes with it. Do the best you can to keep going, but only God knows when our number is up. I still feel sorry for the loss of so many people in such a short span of time, and I've prayed for the families and survivors every day since the event.

I hope you all don't think I'm some cold harted sob now. Sorry for the rant.

-Jeff