Nope.

Hotmail sucks.

Hi! I am back from my holiday travels and back at my desk. I've skipped a lot of messages and hope that everyone is well.

vw, that was a lovely story.

ION, my friend who lives in Jakarta and works for USAID was in a plane on her way to Phuket when the tsunami hit. She is safe, and finally back in Jakarta. From her email:

Most staff were in the same situation that I was in, couldn't get a flight back to Jakarta. So things are a bit disorganized. So many people and organizations just start acting without careful thought about what they are doing. We are trying to prioritize what is needed and how to get the needs met. USAID has people up there trying to rebuild housing, others coordinating accomodations for the dignitaries who want to see the site (Jeb Bush!!?). Granted, the US should have a big presence in helping people, but to use the limited staff we have to make sure that Jeb has a comfy place to sleep...?! But we (USAID) have no health person up there to assess the situation. No one to visit the hospitals and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations such as Care, Save the Children, World Vision) to find out who is doing what, what the priority needs are, if we already have disease outbreaks... The U.N. organizations such as UNICEF and World Health Organization are doing a better job I think at this point in coordination, certainly better than they have done in the past.

Sorry, my power went out, just as I was checking to see if your profile address is different. Then I had to go get Chris. Anything yet, vw (if you have spam filters, did you check them, too?), or should I try again?

others coordinating accomodations for the dignitaries who want to see the site (Jeb Bush!!?).

Does anyone else see this as a sign he's thinking about running in 2008?

Does anyone else see this as a sign he's thinking about running in 2008?

I see it more as a confirmation of deeply-held suspicion, but same diff. Yup.

Does anyone else see this as a sign he's thinking about running in 2008?

t covers ears and sings LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Running away, possibly to some uninhabited island, right? RIGHT? Please just say something Gilesian about the good guys wearing white hats.

Does anyone else see this as a sign he's thinking about running in 2008?

I feel like the Bush family is thinking about running him. I have nothing to back this up but my own prejudice, but think the decision will be what's best for the family, not Jeb or the GOP.

Let me just say that I really, really want Bush and all of his cronies to be beset by a humiliating political scandal that will make Watergate look like a case of someone using the wrong fork at a White House dinner.

My e-mail is all wonky today. Dang it. Anne, insent to you whenever I can get it to go out.

vw, I sent something to you a while ago. I doubt it got there.

I do not want to think about another Bush. Argh.

I hope they get stuff coordinated quickly. What a shame that people are falling over one another instead of being able to just do what needs to be done. It must be a huge undertaking, though. I wouldn't want to have to coordinate it.