Petra Nemcova clung to tree in Thailand for eight hours.

[Kire]

Model's partner lost

29dec04

AN international model was left with serious injuries last night -- and her British boyfriend was missing after they were swept away in Thailand.

Petra Nemcova, 25, was on a beach in Phuket when the wave hit, but managed to grab hold of a tree. She clung to it for eight hours despite shattering her hip, breaking other bones and damaging internal organs.

But there was no news of her boyfriend Simon Atlee, a London-based photographer who was inside their holiday bungalow. Atlee, 31, was engulfed by the wave and swept away.

Czech-born Nemcova has dated him for two years. Her New York publicist, Rob Shuter, said: "Petra is in hospital in deep shock and pain.

More: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11801411%255E663,00.html

[mark414]

1. whoa shit

that is strength

[Maddy McCall]

2. Sad for Petra, but what about the 40,000 Indonesian women who...

don't have Petra's fame and fortune who lost loved ones in the tsunami? Petra's in a hospital and will be home in her posh apartment soon. The poor Asian women whose lives have been destroyed by the tsunami will have to rebuild their entire lives.

[Kire]

4. damn, that's cold

well, it is

[Maddy McCall]

6. How is it cold?

[Kire]

7. you figure it out

[Maddy McCall]

9. LOL! So you have no answer?

You said my post was cold, but you can't tell me how it was cold. I'm left only to believe that you spoke before you thought.

By the way, here are some of the victims of the tsunami who were left in the wake of its destruction, without expensive medical care or anywhere to escape to:

[DS1]

10. Actually those people look pretty healthy to me

:shrug:

[Maddy McCall]

12. Cholera and starvation aren't as easy to see as broken bones.

[rppper]

14. mother nature doesn't see rich or poor

this is strangely reminescent of the reggie white threads.....really though...clinging 8 hours to a tree, be you a supermodel or panhandler, is still a feat of self preservation worthy of noting. true enough the model will be back to her luxurious surroundings soon, but what will she take back with her? perhaps she will be moved to lead aid efforts to the region, having experienced it firsthand.....perhaps she can raise more than the paltry 15 million our government is sending(or is it 35 million?). even if she chooses not to do anything and holes up in her house like a recluse for the rest of her life, SHE, not you, is the one who went through it, lost a love, clung to a tree and survived it all.

she gets a free pass for surviving in my book.

i'm not one to glorify the lifestyles of the rich and famous, but you and i both know that her celebrity status will warrant a story on her...this is not her fault...it's just the way it is. what she chooses to do afterward will be her page in history as far as i care, but she is free to live her life as she will. i'm sure you wouldn't want to trade places with her...i certainly wouldn't.

[redqueen]

17. Who said it was her fault?

Why are people being so touchy?

I thought we were all pretty much in agreement here that the media blows up stupid crap and ignores reality.

I guess we shouldn't blame the media... it seems the audience loves it.

:(

[ThorsHammer]

18. Good points, hopefully she can become like Angelina Jolie (nt)

[Maddy McCall]

13. Here are some images on "not pretty healthy" people:

[Beware the Beast Man]

15. For crying out loud,

If the Petra Nemacova story bothers you so much, and the plight of the others concerns you so much, then why don't you go help with the recovery process? :shrug:

[redqueen]

16. I don't think it's the story

It's the media's choice what to talk about... they choose supermodels.

Same thing with kindapped kids. Which ones get on TV?

[Beware the Beast Man]

19. What, there was a tsunami in Asia?

44, 000? Wow. Didn't hear a damn thing about it in the news, with all those breaking stories about that damn supermodel. :eyes:

[redqueen]

21. Oh come now

Nobody's claimed there aren't any stories about the Tsunami.

[Maddy McCall]

22. You completely missed the point.

How many human interest stories about individuals in Phucket have you seen?

[Kire]

28. about 7,090

http://news.google.com/news?q=Phuket&hl=en&lr=&client=firefox-a&tab=in&ie=ISO-8859-1

[Maddy McCall]

30. And how many individual native Indonesians have you posted about?

:shrug:

[Kire]

32. you figure it out

[Maddy McCall]

34. I thought so.

[Kire]

37. Do you have to win this argument?

Is that what's important to you?

[Maddy McCall]

45. No. I don't have to win any argument.

Do you have to post the last word on this?

I'm just another opinionated woman. Too bad that upsets you so.

[Beware the Beast Man]

55. This has nothing to do with gender.

Now you're just fishing for an arguement.

[Maddy McCall]

56. Wait. A guy posts a thread about an injured supermodel...

and it has NOTHING to do with gender?

I beg to disagree.

[Beware the Beast Man]

60. What if it were Tyson Beckford clinging for dear life?

[ronnykmarshall]

62. I'd be there to give him mouth to mouth!

:evilgrin:

[Beware the Beast Man]

65. Heheheh!

:D

[Phillycat]

81. Mmmmm...Tyson Beckford.

Sorry. We now return you to your regular scheduled flaming. :)

[ronnykmarshall]

84. mmmmm! MMM! MMMMMM!

Oh wait, I'm subjecting my homosexuality and treating a man as a sex object.

OH THE SHAME!!! SHAME! SHAME! SHAAAAAAAMMMMMEEE!

[Phillycat]

88. I posted you a little gift on the Heidi Klum thread, too.

You're welcome. :)

[Beware the Beast Man]

92. See? ALL men are pigs.

:evilgrin:

[Kire]

72. I thought it had to do with class.

judging from your "original post", you referenced the "poor native people of Indonesia" -- this is who is important to you, right? Not humiliating me in front of my friends because I have hormones. Or is that laugh out loudable, too.

[Maddy McCall]

75. You are right. It absolutely has to do with class...and with gender

[ronnykmarshall]

57. Oh my god!

You really are fishing now, aren't you?

Did you ever stop to check your profile? It doesn't say what your sex is?

I like that thar lizzard pic!

[Maddy McCall]

63. It doesn't, because I don't want my opinions to be valued or devalued...

based on my gender. I am a woman.

Again, how can anyone say that the disagreement here has nothing to do with gender.

Look at my original response to this thread--the one that upset the couple of people who blasted me--and again tell me that it has nothing to do with gender.

Signed,
DUer formerly known as jchild, who EVERYONE knows is a woman and a feminist.

[ronnykmarshall]

40. Uh, why don't YOU post one?

What the hell is with this jumping Kire's ass over this?


Good gawd!

[Maddy McCall]

48. Read the thread in order.

He called me "cold" because I suggested that there are other victims to mourn.

God at the hyperbole in this thread. I didn't know Petra evoked such hysterical reactions. :shrug:

[ronnykmarshall]

51. You really like being right, don't you?

Has nothing to do with Petra Whatevervich. Your reaction to his original post and constant bickering was what I found offensive.

[Maddy McCall]

66. Like I said...opinionated woman.

:eyes:

[ronnykmarshall]

83. Yeah, right that's it.

:eyes:

You're just attacking ME cuz I'm gay aren't ya??? Huh?? HUH? Admit it! It's true.

It's cuz I'm a homo!

You're threatened by gay men faulting our campyness. You know it's true.


OH WHEN WILL PEOPLE STOP TAKING ME SERIOUS?????

What a world! What a world!

[Maddy McCall]

86. respond to post 59

[Beware the Beast Man]

29. That's a silly question, as most stories regarding this disaster

have profiled a person or people that were there. Here's one:

Here's one:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04363/433506.stm

and another:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04363/433500.stm

and another:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04363/433498.stm

and another:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4127447.stm

and another:
http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1104242943211480.xml&storylist=cleveland

If by human interest, you mean individual accounts of the disaster, these articles each have at least one.

[Maddy McCall]

31. But could you have named a single one without googling first?

No, because you are buying the media line that the the individual victims about whom you should know are the ones like Petra.

[Beware the Beast Man]

36. OK, you win.

Since you are obviously splitting hairs, and no, Yusya Yusman is not yet a household name to me or anyone else. And I am not "buying the media line" since I had no idea who Petra Nemacova was until I read this thread. And FYI, no one in the media, from what I have seen, has even implied that her personal story trumps all others. That's just a silly assumption.

[Maddy McCall]

26. Actually, death toll just updated to 50,000.

Just so you know.

[Maddy McCall]

20. Exactly. Thanks, Redqueen.

You read my mind.

Here are coffins awaiting the dead in Phucket:



Death toll is now up to 50,000. But the media aren't telling the stories of the native people who lost family members.

[redqueen]

23. The spotlight is only so big.

You have to pick the 'special' ones to shine it on.

[Maddy McCall]

25. The Petra story doesn't bother me at all.

What bothers me is that the media chooses to highlight the story of a privileged Westerener.

And there is no "if"--the plight of others does indeed concern me. However, unlike Petra, I have no jet or helicopter to fly me into the midst of the destruction to help victims.

I love the tactic that you use. I can't speak up unless I am actually in Phucket putting dead in body bags. Well, do I have to be in Iraq to criticize the war? According to you, I do.

Some people are awfully protective of their supermodels. :eyes:

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

41. Some people are awfully unfeeling towards their fellow humans.

:eyes:

[Maddy McCall]

44. You misunderstood.

I meant that I have no problem with someone posting the Petra story.

I do have a problem with countless victims being ignored, though.

Do I still classify as "awfully unfeeling?"

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

53. I don't see people being ignored. Its all over every paper and website

[Kire]

42. this is what I meant by "that's cold"

refer to definitions 3, 4 and 5

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=cold

BTW, Petra may have a freaking helicopter, but I think she's too busy being in "shock and pain" right now to actually use it.

[Maddy McCall]

47. I am sorry for Petra. In case you have reading comprehension problems...

I said that in my initial response to your post. My heart is big enough to ache for the OTHER VICTIMS who have to stay in Phucket, to deal with the tragedy.

Why does that upset you so?

[Kire]

49. well, i guess you do have to win

I obviously don't give a fuck about the OTHER VICTIMS.

[Maddy McCall]

54. You are still trying to divert this thread into some kind of competition..

I don't care about winning. I think it's telling, though, that you jumped down my throat after my initial post which said that I was SAD FOR PETRA, but that we should also remember the 40,000 (now 50,000 probably more) women who have to stay in Indonesia and deal with the results of the tsunami.

I think you need to do some introspection to figure out why that bothered you so.

[ronnykmarshall]

67. At LAST you admit it!

You, you, you MAN YOU!!!! :silly:

[Maddy McCall]

70. Huh?

Because I stated MY opinion, I was personally attacked; therefore, I defended myself.

Watch the ad hominem, Ronny.

[ronnykmarshall]

78. Huh back at ya.

I think I was responding to Kire. :eyes:

And I don't have to "watch" anything thank you very much.

[Kire]

79. "personally attacked"

Like this?

"I think you need to do some introspection to figure out why that bothered you so."

Well, I'll tell you what. You get a therapist license, and I'll tell you all about my mother.

[ronnykmarshall]

89. Ohhhhhh!

So now it comes out. YOU have problems with your MOTHER!!!

Hmmm! Seems that we are getting the root of this.

May I ask, why is it that you have selected that Sunbeam logo for your avtar?

Is THAT what your image of women are? The submissive bread eating housewife???

Or is it that your MOTHER never gave you enought bread as a child???

Is that why you hate women so much?

[Kire]

93. actually, my Aunt is the Sunbeam girl

she won a contest when she was a child

her name is Joan, and she lives in Minnesota with my Uncle and my cousins and she is a great and wonderful lady.

[ronnykmarshall]

96. Get out!

I remember the Sunbeam truck that used to deliver to little market in our hood.

[Kire]

98. Her face is all over the place, here in New Jersey.

too bad, she doesn't get any royalties anymore

[ronnykmarshall]

100. That sucks.

How many years did she get $$ for it?

She sure was a cute kid.

[Kire]

103. I'm not sure.

It was like 50 years ago. I went through the pictures only once. I guess that specific quesion never came up. It's really not something she talks about all the time.

[Kire]

110. delete

[ronnykmarshall]

39. Does anyone have a soap box handy?

[Maddy McCall]

59. You know, your issues are important to you. Right?

I suppose you have never posted a response that others would consider "soapboxing."

It is important to me that the ordinary women in the tsunami's wake not be forgotten. If you consider that soapboxing...bring me one.

[Maddy McCall]

73. Funny you chose not to respond to THIS post, Ronny.

:shrug:

I will make a promise to you, though. Whenever you grandstand on an issue in the future, I won't accuse you of soapboxing. I never have and I never will.

[pretzel4gore]

24. don't argue about it; you're both right...

the poor lil thing was innocent regardless of her fame, and the nameless numberless victims were too...best thing to do is try contribute to the relief effort (and try not to unnecessarily create annoyance or anger among the 'army of righteousness' or whatever we call DU'ers)
the bushpigs couldn't have had anything to do with this disaster, but they're (undoubtedly) dancing for joy in their horrorshow lives: that's enough to damn them ....

[Phillycat]

27. Post of the day.

:thumbsup:

[redqueen]

33. I don't call DUers the 'army of righteousness'.

Do you?

[Kire]

35. that would be calling someone out

but I think about it, sometimes

[redqueen]

38. No it isn't.

It's using a pejorative term to refer to a large group of people.

[pretzel4gore]

109. well, we are right...

and an army division is 20 thousand men about...3 divisions= 60k=army corp!
we'll be the 'Army of the Potomac' 2k4 version

[redqueen]

5. My thoughts exactly

Ooooh! A supermodel was hurt! :eyes:

[sundog]

68. I get your point

Like yesterday on CNN, they kept looping this piece on British tourists flying home from Thailand... I kept thinking :wtf: - at least they have a home to return to.

[Maddy McCall]

99. Yes, that's all I intended to say...

Thanks for "getting it."

[Kire]

104. delete

[Shakespeare]

90. Last I checked, they were getting news coverage, too.

And plenty of it. You want an individual story for every single person affected by this tragedy? Not even close to being within the realm of possibility.

Like it or not, this is newsworthy because it puts a recognizable face on the story in the west (and for the west). That's not necessarily a bad thing, you know. It actually further humanizes this overwhelming catastrophe, and your "ooh, a supermodel" slam completely misses that point.

[name not needed]

3. Holy crap

8 hours? :o

[wellstone dem]

8. I've been hearing more and more

about very serious injuries for folks, the number of deaths is just the beginning. What a tragedy.

[Maddy McCall]

11. Yes. 44,000 according to the latest yahoo article I read.

[mcscajun]

43. I have No Problem with this story.

I didn't know who she was before this thread, and in a month I won't remember her name.

Her survival is noteworthy only because she is a "supermodel" (and how I loathe that term). Not her fault if she becomes A Story. She hasn't become THE Story, and there's the difference.

The calculus of pain and suffering...how some people love to split hairs over who is more worthy of sympathy, whose pain is greater, who suffers more and who deserves what they get. Bullshit. All of it.

Yes, there are countless thousands upon thousands dead, with many more thousands to come, hundreds of thousands injured, millions homeless. Most people have read the stories or seen the footage by now...we get it. Doesn't mean we can't feel for Petra's pain and loss as well. We can see the forest for the trees....and still notice One Tree.

She got a few lines in the paper...a couple of paragraphs. Big fucking deal. I also recall a few lines about a girl whose lifeless body was stuck in a tree; I'll never know her name, but I'll remember her next month. And for a long time after that.

[redqueen]

46. My problem is NOT with her.

I fail to understand why people keep saying how it's not her fault.

Um, duh.

What strikes me as stupid is the media's constant hyping of the cult of celebrity.

Oh, and people eating it up. That, too.

[Maddy McCall]

50. Again, I agree.

For some reason, people read over my initial post when I said that I was sad for Petra, and attacked me because I suggested that the other victims should be mourned, too.

Amazing.

[redqueen]

52. Actually I don't find it too amazing.

Sadly.

[Bridget Burke]

82. Then start a thread about the other victims....

Or have you already?

[mcscajun]

58. Got no use for the cult of celebrity, either.

But as long as someone is 'newsworthy' to someone, the story writes itself.

[redqueen]

61. Sure it does

It doesn't, however, post itself here. :)

[mcscajun]

64. Then your problem lies elsewhere...

...not with my reaction to the post/thread.

[redqueen]

69. My problem?

I have a problem?

:shrug:

I only replied to your post since you said what others have... that 'it's not her fault if she becomes a story'... because NOBODY said that. So... anyway...

[Maddy McCall]

71. Again...

I say, "Amazing."

:hi:

[redqueen]

76. Or... not!

:hi:

Thanks... this thread was a HOOT!

[mcscajun]

74. See title to your post #46

but anyway...I'm not attacking anyone...I'm not quoting anyone. My response was generic to the story, the thread, and other threads I've seen in the last few days slamming stories that focus on European tourists, little white boys, and now supermodels.

I deliberately replied to the original story rather than the long chain of replies, as I was trying not to get sucked into that maelstrom.

[redqueen]

77. Oh c'mon it's fun. :)

Oops I forgot I said 'my problem'... yeah ... it's the media... and some other things... but it's anything BUT important... which is why I stay in the Lounge.

:hi:

(note to hypersenstive folks: this is not to say that the victims, or poor little petra, are not important... I meant my 'problem' isn't important... just wanted to make that CRYSTAL clear!)

[Lorien]

101. She's got my sympathy, just like all those whose names

I'll never know have my sympathy. I have a good friend who was a supermodel, and she's no less of a human being than my three friends from Thailand are. If she had gone through such an awful event-sustained serious injuries and lost a loved one- I would be heartbroken for her, just as I would if Orawan, Paitoon, or Took had gone through the same trama. She deserves our prayers and good karma, just as all the victims deserve our prayers and good karma.

[Shakespeare]

105. Well said. n/t

[Streetdoc270]

80. am I in GD?

this is too heavy of a conversation for the Lounge... I'm going back to LBN so I can read some lighter posts

[Kire]

85. consider it a sex thread

and get it locked, already

[redqueen]

87. Well...

Although that first pic is kinda 'woo woo!', I don't think it's enough to get your thread locked.

It would take a LOT more. Well... it used to take a lot more... I think there's less wiggle room lately. :(

[ronnykmarshall]

91. Quick ...

mention a body part!

[redqueen]

94. Vagina!

Did you hear about the kid that sniffed his sister's panties and then posted about it on the net, then someone called his house and told his parents? I think it's a hoax. But still, that's pretty funny.

VAGINA!

[name not needed]

95. I'm gonna go to GD for some lighter disucssion

Thank you. I never knew clinging to a tree for 8 hours while your boyfriend is swept away by a catastrophic natural disaster means jack shit if your famous. Oh, and I'm a man, so I automatically don't give a shit about the 30,000 people killed.

:eyes:

[Kire]

97. but we have to get to the root of the problem

you must tell us now all about your mother, preferrably starting with toilet training

here, I'll give you an example

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=2299493&mesg_id=2300478&page=

[ronnykmarshall]

102. Over 50,000!!

You thing with a penis, YOU!!!

Oh yeah, I gots one too!

Rock on, bro!

Wanna bruskie?

[WilliamPitt]

106. This is such a fucked up, stupid forum sometimes

One story is posted about one person's terrible experience, and it turns into a flame war between holier-than-thous. Unbelievable.

Some of you need hobbies. Seriously.

[Shakespeare]

108. Ding ding ding ding ding!!!

Aaaaaaaaaaaayup. Supermodels are bad, mkay?

[redqueen]

111. Once AGAIN

not about supermodels.

Mkay?

LOVE the holier than thoughs calling others out for being holier than thou, though... that's GOLD!

[Maddy McCall]

113. Same thing I thought.

Irony is beautiful, isn't it. :-)

[Beware the Beast Man]

114. See, though, I'm not holier than thou.

I couldn't give two shites about her. I just think it's absurd that some folks assume that she is hogging the media spotlight while the plight of others is ignored. That is just not the case. I agree, if ANY personality is affected by such a disaster, the media will focus on her, but to be honest, I had never even heard of her until today.

[redqueen]

117. I didn't say you were

someone else made mention of 'holier than thous'

And I missed whoever said that she was hogging the spotlight, too.

:shrug:

[Beware the Beast Man]

118. No one out and out said it, but it was implied

Oh, who really gives a fuck, anyway?
At this point, I think we're all flaming for flame's sake.

[redqueen]

122. Implied? Hmm....

Okay. I don't really give a fuck. I'm just bored, and I find this entertaining.

Who, me, flame? O8)

[Shakespeare]

115. Of course not. It's allegedly about perspective & the value of human life

What, you thought I didn't "get" it? Oh, I do. And that's why it annoys the shit out of me.

What's just a bit much is the condescension with which we're instructed--subtly but unmistakably--not to care about this trifle of a girl.

Yes, we know there are tens of thousands of non-celebrities who are in far worse circumstances than this young woman. However, making note of her ordeal does not invalidate or lessen what the others are going through, and NOBODY ON THIS FUCKING FORUM IS SUGGESTING THAT IT DOES. That's what a few posters in this thread need to get through their uber-superior heads.

Hers is just one of countless personal stories in this disaster. It was noted. That is all.

[Maddy McCall]

116. Well, at least we agree on one thing.

My head is uber-superior. ;-)

[Shakespeare]

119. Well, we each have opinions about that, as you've already noted.

I'm a very opinionated woman, too.

[Maddy McCall]

121. A toast to opinionated women, then.

:toast:

No matter on which side of an argument they stand. :-)

[Kire]

123. cheers

:toast:

[Maddy McCall]

125. And to you, too.

:toast: :-)

[redqueen]

120. Hmmmm

I can't speak for anyone else, but what bothers ME is the media always focusing on westerners/supermodels/prettyblondegirls when reporting news. This story IS an example.

Yes, what happened to her was tragic. No more or less tragic than what thousands of others have gone through.

Nobody... NOBODY... said not to care. Please cite where that's stated if you honestly believe it's true.

And nobody is suggesting that making note of her ordeal lessens anything. When this situation (the pretty being treated as more important than the unpretty by the media) is brought up in other threads -- no flamewar. Bring it up in a story about a supermodel.. and what ho! It's WAR!

And there are only two people on this thread who have returned to comment on the situation - that's Maddy and me. So... you saying I have an uber-superior head? Huh? Are ya?

[Texasgal]

107. Nominated

for the stupidest argument ever.

[JohnKleeb]

112. Damn

Poor her, being stuck to a tree for 8 hours and losing her boyfriend in the process.

[name not needed]

124. HOW DARE YOU, YOU DIRTY EVIL MAN!

You know that all supermodels and people named Petra deserve to die!!!1

[BigMcLargehuge]

126. locked

Big McLargehuge
DU Moderator