Half a world away

You wouldn't know it from watching TV, but the Pakistan earthquake death toll is inching close to 80,000 and will grow tremendously once the nation's bitter cold winter sets in, since hundreds of thousands of residents will be homeless for an indefinite amount of time. I know that Scooter Libby's indictment and Harriet Miers' withdrawal are important, major events, but this earthquake is one of the deadliest of modern times and deserves more than the paltry coverage it has been given by American media. It's especially unfortunate, since the press pounded Katrina into every crevice of our collective consciousness and it turned out to be terrible, but nowhere near as terrible as this earthquake.

If you have anything to give, please do consider doing so. The MSNBC link above contains a listing of charities to choose from, but here a couple of direct links. I can't really vouch for any of these charities, so you might want to do your own research and make sure they're spending your money how you want them to.

Action Against Hunger
Red Cross International Fund
Direct Relief
International Medical Corps
Mercy Corps