Tsunami

I had a question from one of my loyal readers as to how much we're hearing about the tsunami and the after-effects. You have to remember that I'm living and working with USAID. These people are the Third World disaster specialists. I can already see some of them salivating at the opportunity.

Please don't get me wrong. My USAID colleagues are idealists, they followed this career path because they believe they can effect change in the world, relieve suffering, and help people escape war, famine, drought, and poverty. Very few people understand tragedy like USAID and they've all seen it a lot closer than a 30-second blurb on CNN.

However, they also know that money follows tragedies and there's a backlog of work to be done in Southeast Asia. Besides, the wiped-out beaches of Thailand sound like paradise compared to beautiful downtown Baghdad.