.. Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Well, HH if lie that makes it easier for you to sleep at night, then OK. You're my friend. But it is far from the truth...especially considering that the only real function of gummint is to protect its citizens. And we have already covered the levee & FEMA issues; and the "protecting their property" meme... Regards, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bust Posted May 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Yet again a thread becomes a pissing contest between a couple of AAMERICAAANS.....so Latest figures by officials predict the death toll could be as many as 80,000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Sorry mate. But sadly we are more likely to impact Yank politics here than Myanmar-ese politics. That country is just fucked beyond all repair (uh, FUBAR) and even optimistic me cannot find any bright spots. Sad too, as I really like folks from Burma... Regards, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooNoi Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Yet again a thread becomes a pissing contest between a couple of AAMERICAAANS.....so Their cyclones are probably bigger and better than the rest of the world's cyclones. TIA. (Same same TIT but different). Sorry.. twisters. Whatever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooNoi Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 That country is just fucked beyond all repair (uh, FUBAR) and even optimistic me cannot find any bright spots. Well if Georgey Boy is so into "liberating" places.. why doesn't he go in and "liberate" Burma? (Amongst other locales that need "liberating"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogueyam Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 SD...what makes Katrina "so disgusting" was that the local "leadership" in N.O. and the State of Louisiana didn't know whether to shit or go blind. Then. the locals go and re-elect the same dumbshit who helped nature maximize the losses. That is really, really disgusting. Hugh - I agree completely with what you wrote here but please give the folks of my beloved home State some credit. Yes the New Orleanians re-elected "Chocolate Ray" (given a piss poor alternative), but the befuddled Governor lady ("Mee Maw") was sent packing by the wonderful Bobby Jindal, who ran as a reformer promising to "change everything except the food." That sounds like a plan to me (although I'd add the music as well) and Bobby is off to a good start. Geaux, Bobby, geaux! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted May 8, 2008 Report Share Posted May 8, 2008 Cyclone deaths may exceed 100,000 More than 100,000 people may have been killed in the cyclone in Burma, a US diplomat said, citing information diplomats were receiving from the devastated Irrawaddy delta region of the Southeast Asian country. "The information that we're receiving indicates that there may well be over 100,000 deaths in the delta area," said Shari Villarosa, the head of the US embassy in Burma. An estimated 80,000 people have died in the remote district of Labutta, a local military official said today. Labutta sits in the Irrawaddy delta, which bore the brunt of the storm's fury when it struck overnight on Friday. Dozens of the 63 villages surrounding the town of Labutta have been wiped out, said Tin Win, leader of a ward within the town. "So far the estimated death toll in those villages is about 80,000,'' he told AFP. Shari Villarosa, US charge d'affaires in Rangoon, said there could be more than 100,000 dead in the Irrawaddy delta region where 95 per cent of buildings were reported to have disappeared. State radio and TV, the main official sources for casualties and damage, reported an updated death toll of 22,980 with 42,119 missing and 1383 injured in Asia's most devastating cyclone since a 1991 storm in Bangladesh that killed 143,000. Most of the victims were swept away by a wall of water from the cyclone that smashed into coastal towns and villages in the rice-growing delta southwest of Rangoon. "We estimate upwards of one million people currently in need of shelter and life-saving assistance," Richard Horsey of the United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told Reuters in Bangkok. He added that 5,000 square km of the delta were under water. Aid began trickling in today, but there were worries abroad over whether the country's ruling military junta would overcome its distrust of the outside world and open up to a full-scale international relief operation. Thailand, China, India and Indonesia were flying in relief supplies and the US president and Australian prime minister appealed to the Burmese government to accept their assistance. France called for the UN Security Council to get involved. The top UN humanitarian affairs official, John Holmes, said four Asian members of a UN disaster assessment team who do not need visas had received clearance to enter Burma tomorrow. A fifth non-Asian member is waiting for a visa. Speaking at a news conference in New York, Holmes also called on Burma to waive visa requirements for aid workers. Political analysts and critics of 46 years of military rule say the cyclone may have long-term implications for the junta, which is even more feared and resented since last September's bloody crackdown on Buddhist monk-led protests. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted May 8, 2008 Report Share Posted May 8, 2008 5000 sq km of Burma ABOUT 5000 sq km of Burma's cyclone-hit regions remain underwater, with more than a million people in need of emergency relief, a UN spokesman says. "We're talking about 5000 sq km under water,'' said Richard Horsey, a Bangkok-based spokesman with the United Nation's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "The bottleneck (in aid) is getting it out in the delta. That needs boats, helicopters, trucks .... there are upward of one million people in need of help,'' he said. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bust Posted May 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2008 By WAI MOE As Burma deals with the pain of one of the greatest humanitarian disasters in recent history, one face is conspicuous by its absenceâ?? that of commander in chief of the Burmese armed forces and chairman of the ruling SPDC, Snr-Gen Than Shwe. Than Shwe and his close aides, generals Maung Aye and Thura Shwe Mann, have all but disappeared since Cyclone Nargis hit Burma. People in Burma who read and watch the state-run media told The Irrawaddy that Burmese Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein and other ministers are constantly featured in news reports, meeting with survivors and distributing food and water. However, there is no sign of Than Shwe and his top two generals. As head of state, Than Shwe has not even responded to world leaders who sent messages of condolences to the people of Burma. Than Shweâ??s the last appearance in the Burmese media was Friday, May 2, the day the cyclone struck. Instead of issuing a cyclone warning, the state radio and television reported a backdated news item that Than Shwe had personally picked up Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein from the airport in Naypyidaw. The juntaâ??s propaganda machine has since banned footage in the national media of monks helping survivors and providing assistance. â??I was so annoyed when I saw a TV report showing a donation box with the name of Lt-Gen Myint Sweâ??a member of the ruling juntaâ??plastered on it,â? said Ko Htoo, a student in Rangoon. â??This is no time for propaganda. We need accurate news on the crisis.â? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted May 8, 2008 Report Share Posted May 8, 2008 from the Democratic Voice of Burma May 8, 2008 US considering food drop to cyclone victims A US official says the US is looking at the possibility of air-dropping aid to victims of a devastating cyclone in Burma even without permission from the military government. The director of the US office of foreign disaster assistance says air drops are one option to help victims if the generals continue to limit outside aid and expertise. But Ky Luu cautions that dropping aid by air is not the most efficient way to get food and supplies to those in need. He says that victims would most benefit by having US and other aid workers allowed into the country. He says a food drop may cause more harm than good in a country with a poor infrastructure. Luu says victims urgently need access to clean water and temporary shelter. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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