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Afghanistan-Pak-India
Pak schools collapse probe urged
2005-10-15
Maybe Allan isn't happy with you.
ISLAMABAD: Construction experts in Pakistan have called for an official probe into why so many government-funded schools and hospitals collapsed in the massive earthquake as police launched a criminal investigation into the collapse of an Islamabad apartment block that killed at least 40 residents. Many point to years of complacency toward the earthquake threat despite frequent tremors, shoddy building techniques and the open secret of widespread corruption in the awarding of public building contracts.
A little less time in the madrassahs and a little more time in the tech colleges, and you might not have this problem.
The Supreme Court ordered a halt to the construction of a luxury housing scheme near Islamabad and asked the government to consider revising the construction regulations. The UN says 1,000 medical facilities were completely destroyed in the earthquake. In North West Frontier Province, education officials estimated around 8,000 schools had been damaged or totally destroyed.
Posted by:Steve White

#16  ..that depends on what two is.

...and how fast you're moving (it's all relative of course)
Posted by: Rafael   2005-10-15 21:44  

#15  Of course, we all know that 2+2=5*

* For extremely large values of two.
Posted by: Zenster   2005-10-15 22:19  

#14  Oh shut up.
Posted by: Monica L.   2005-10-15 21:37  

#13  "Allah wills it that 2+2 always equals 4"

..that depends on what two is.
Posted by: Billbulbous J. Clintoon   2005-10-15 21:34  

#12  Perhaps it would help if, in the rebuilt schools, there was a permanent engraving over the math teachers' blackboards

"Allah wills it that 2+2 always equals 4"
Posted by: trailing wife   2005-10-15 20:49  

#11  engineers, inspectors, et al enforce codes and laws. Find out who wrote the laws (if any) and start there. Now, bribery or incompetence are different things
Posted by: Frank G   2005-10-15 17:57  

#10  Pakistan's (along with Turkey and Iran's) civil engineering code enforcement officials should be brought up on mass murder charges, found guilty and executed in short order.

As if the uncles, fathers, and brothers who put the inspectors in those jobs would let any investigation happen. It would bring disgrace on the family!

No, much better to simply shrug, say "Inshallah", and let them rebuild the same exact way.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2005-10-15 17:43  

#9  Aside from the lamentable loss of life with so many innocent women and children, all of this is a direct and most welcome demonstration of Cause & Effect. Turkey and Iran were golden lessons in this profound and deeply complex scientific principle. Countries that resolutely refuse to meet minimum building codes are essentially comitting crimes against humanity.

Pakistan's (along with Turkey and Iran's) civil engineering code enforcement officials should be brought up on mass murder charges, found guilty and executed in short order. If this was done each time so many needless thousands perished in such utterly preventable circumstances, entrenched violation of building codes would be treated with a much greater deal of circumspection.

If endemic corruption is Allah's will, His followers had better begin to rethink their belief structure.
Posted by: Zenster   2005-10-15 15:16  

#8  What scares the holy bat pucky out of me is the fact that there have been 75 aftershocks (as of 7PM MST last night), and 72 of them have been within 30 miles of the epicenter of the quake. Geological stresses are not that isolated. We've had the release of one stress, but that just transfers the stress to other points. Jammu & Kashmir can expect another 7+ quake in the near future (now to 10 years from now). It's either do it right, or do it over. I have a hunch they'll opt to do it over.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2005-10-15 11:26  

#7  Maybe the can get some of the fine engineers that worked for the levee commissions of Louisiana.
Posted by: Shereting Omager3789   2005-10-15 08:47  

#6  Inshallah.
Posted by: Flerert Whese8274   2005-10-15 08:24  

#5  A lack of faith JFM, a supreme lack of faith.
Posted by: Fly Ash Liberation Army   2005-10-15 08:16  

#4  the open secret of widespread corruption in the awarding of public building contracts.

Let's see.

A termor in Turkey, lots of dead, lots of buildings destroyed and a line along the open secret of widespread corruption in the awarding of public building contracts.

Then one in Iran, lots of dead, lots of buildings destroyed and a line along the open secret of widespread corruption in the awarding of public building contracts.

Then one in Pakistan, ots of dead, lots of buildings destroyed and a line along the open secret of widespread corruption in the awarding of public building contracts.

Now, what do theese three countries have in common besides governement corruption and quakes?
Posted by: JFM   2005-10-15 06:27  

#3  and a lotta Fly Ass™ - you get that from all the butts in the air 5 times a day
Posted by: Frank G   2005-10-15 01:28  

#2  Nonsense. This clearly calls for more daa'wa. You mix it right into the cement, see...
Posted by: Seafarious   2005-10-15 00:17  

#1  The great tragedy is that most of the death and destruction is preventable with basic engineering principles and enforced building codes, you know, Infidel stuff. But since this is Allan's Country, I guess that it is Insh'Allah and back to restacking the rubble for the next shaker.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2005-10-15 00:04  

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