For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: death toll in Burma could reach 500,000:
THE death toll in cyclone-ravaged Burma could hit 500,000 – more than TWICE the total killed by the Boxing Day Tsunami.
As you probably know, Nobel Laureate Al Gore has already blamed this cyclone on -- wait for it! -- global warming. As our hearts go out to the Burmese, as well as our generous charitable contributions, one must wonder when American media will begin blaming George W. Bush for this horrible cataclysm.
After all, he hasn't signed on to the Kyoto Protocol, and has done little to reduce America's shameful emissions of carbon dioxide. As such, akin to the tsunamis of 2004, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and last year's tornadoes in Kansas, there has to come a point when media will tie this natural disaster to Bush, his policies, or, at the very least, the war in Iraq.
Isn't it only a matter of time?
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
It's George Bush's fault
May 9, 2008 - 10:18 ET by taterIt's George Bush's fault the Burmese government refuses outside help. If he was better with foreign diplomats this would never happen.
(as reported by Keith Olbermann)
"They need to have a course in college called common sense and everyone should take it. Problem is there isn't too many people that could pass or teach it." -my grandfather
Keith Ogremann is an anarchistic disease.
May 9, 2008 - 10:23 ET by jazbo.
.
.
.Those who believe in nothing will believe anything.
It's President Bush's fault...
May 9, 2008 - 11:51 ET by ontheright...the that Burmese Govt. didn't heed the warnings from India 48 hours before the Tsunami hit...sounds right to me. </sarc off>
Very cool video
May 9, 2008 - 10:27 ET by HelenSHere is a video. Six minutes of distilled wisdom and coolness. Or, "why we don't need to insult Islam - they do it very well without our help"
Love this man :o)
"Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war" - Shakespeare
Good video
May 9, 2008 - 10:55 ET by bassndudeGood video Helen....thanks.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!
Don't you people know anything?
May 9, 2008 - 10:28 ET by OldSailor88The knob that turns up the cyclone intensity is right next to the knob that turns up the gas price. They're on the wall in the oval office, you idiots. Geez! Do I have to teach you people everything?
Noli habere bovis, vir!
OldSailor88, I thought that
May 9, 2008 - 11:26 ET by ForeverOnTheRightOldSailor88, I thought that Rove had that evil weather machine. I didn't know that it was upgraded to include an oil price knob. I was thinking that Howard Dean had it on his voting manipulation machine, you know so that the high prices can be blamed on Bush and give Obama and other dimocrats a boost in this falls election.
I have a buddy in the "helping refugees" business
May 9, 2008 - 10:34 ET by sarcasmoIn a chat with me yesterday (edited to remove profanity) he said:
HIM: what they need, right now, is a million 100 ml bottles of bleach
5/7/08 5:06 PM
HIM: and eye droppers
5/7/08 5:06 PM
ME: ya, good point.
5/7/08 5:06 PM
HIM: and instructions that say "put this in water, leave it over night, drink"
5/7/08 5:06 PM
HIM: if you want to be super nice
5/7/08 5:06 PM
HIM: add some vitamin C to put in the water to kill the taste
5/7/08 5:06 PM
HIM: why hasn't that been a standard, stockpiled item with the NGOs for 60 years?
5/7/08 5:07 PM
HIM: or, if not bleach, freaking tablets?
5/7/08 5:07 PM
ME: I dunno.
5/7/08 5:07 PM
HIM: answer: they're f**king idiots.
It does seem rather obvious. People are dying right now from bad water; and bleach, while unpleasant, prevents that problem simply & cheaply. So what did I see the news media hyping last night? Expensive, hypertechnical water filtration equipment which requires lots of electricity to work, of course.
JMR
The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.
Interesting. Aren't there
May 9, 2008 - 10:58 ET by Noel SheppardInteresting. Aren't there typically simple solutions to most problems that go totally ignored once government and media get involved?
Absolutely.
May 9, 2008 - 11:06 ET by sarcasmoMy buddy's other "thing," which I shamelessly promote too, is the Hexayurt Project. The media hates anything cheap and simple that helps poor people, IMO at least in part because its very existence points-out decades of obvious, abject failure.
JMR
The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.
That's true for everything
May 9, 2008 - 12:50 ET by mattmWhy is this?
Obviously because the simple solutions usually don't require politicians or bureaucrats, and are too boring for the drive-by media.
»→ sarc
May 9, 2008 - 11:26 ET by Cool ArrowMaybe Cindy Crawford could drop them some of her $20 PUR water bottles.
Just add fresh water and voila!
♣ a seal
Sarc
May 9, 2008 - 13:03 ET by BlondeI think you've framed the perfect metaphor for the Democratic mindset this election.
I know you're always looking to make a buck....you might want to try selling it to McCain.
I like it!
David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive
I doubt they'd want to pay the likes of me
May 9, 2008 - 13:12 ET by sarcasmoI'm on too many S-lists because of my mouth, and those S-lists seem to trump good ideas. But what about this Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Warren Buffett just gave a bunch of loot? They could do it easily. Bottles of bleach or purification tabs CAN'T cost that much. What do they do instead with all the money, I wonder?
In theory, all that would be required if they'd done this obvious thing is overflight rights, since they can be dropped from planes or helicopters. Thus the idea even solves the visa problem for the dictatorship, and us evil furriner do-gooders needn't even set foot on their unsullied lands to help the victims of this storm. Not that I'd be personally against upsetting the United Nations by droppin' a few other things we used to drop, back when this nation actually believed in the principles behind our Second Amendment.
JMR
The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.
I get the feeling that too
May 9, 2008 - 13:49 ET by Chris NormanI get the feeling that too many of these big charities get just as bureaucratic, bloated, inefficient, and clumsy as any big government. I can see them being attracted to big ticket items and not something basic, like bleach. I may be wrong - but I do get that feeling.
You're probably right, Chris
May 9, 2008 - 14:01 ET by BlondeI worked for NPO's early in my career, and the bigger ones (and this was on the local level) showered their Exec. Directors with all kind of bennies....it was disgusting. As a result of my experience, I am very, very selective about the organizations to which I donate....and I always ask them for their financial statements.
BTW....greetings from Key West. It's beautiful here, I'm done with work....getting ready to have some fun.
David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive
Anyone who is not jealous right now
May 9, 2008 - 14:28 ET by sarcasmoIs clueless about fun in Florida.
JMR
The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.
Even when GWB does something green he gets whacked
May 9, 2008 - 10:56 ET by YahooWatcherhttp://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/inflationpovertyfoodenergybiofuelsus;_ylt=An6T_qTJV3tuMn._GFns3PcDW7oF
Here's the latest - GWB's ethanol policy is ruining everything according to this article. While I tend to agree that ethanol production is causing problems, I find it incredibile that it suddenly GWB's fault. Apparently Congress, Al Gore, the Sierra Club, et al had nothing to do with this dilema.
Wasn't it....
May 9, 2008 - 12:01 ET by ontheright...Dr. Gore who cast the tie-breaking vote with regards to an ethanol bill? Can't remember the details exactly...
Found this:
http://www.foodandfuelamerica.com/2007/10/al-gore-saved-ethanol.html
Me thinks the chickens have come home to roost...
Timeless Message First they Came For...
May 9, 2008 - 11:01 ET by lareeWe don't need more apathy, we need people to learn embace and practice this timeless message.
First they came for ...
http://imustimes.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/let-us-all-learn-by-the-example-of-martin-neimoller/
19th Annual Imus Radiothon update 1.2 million
May 9, 2008 - 11:11 ET by lareeUpdate on the Imus Radiothon May 8th & 9th the phone banks are staying open till monday 1-877-877-6464 or www.wabcradio.com They auction is still open and there is a rolex up for bidding last time I checked.
Imus was fired in the middle of his Radiothon last year he managed to keep his job through the telethon this year. These are National Children Charities. CJ S.I.D.S. Foundation, Tomorrow Children's Fund, The Imus Ranch for Children with Cancer and Blood Disorders, including Suffers of Sickle Cell Anemia and their siblings.
http://imustimes.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/radiothon-update-imus-keeps-his-job/
Last April Imus's soundbyte caused a Media Feeding Frenzy and even though he apologized for failed SATIRE he was Fired.. who has heard of the 19th Annual Radiothon ON AIR in the News cycle ? Silence when it comes to National Children's Charities?
Things that make you go "hmmm..."
May 9, 2008 - 11:28 ET by StarshipA little slow with this observation, but wasn't it interesting that nearly all of the journalists who received awards at the Correspondents Dinner were for negative reporting on President Bush and the Republicans.
And why am I not surprised.
"A life without challenge is no life at all."
Nuclear
May 9, 2008 - 11:57 ET by iveseenitallBecause we have not gone nuclear, because we have not drilled and refined, because we "hate" coal as fuel, we are stuck on stupid with guys like Algore. Have been for decades. We are now suffering from inaction and over-the-top "environmentalism". And our children and grandchildren will not have to worry about "mother earth" dying: these policies are going to lead to much worse. More wars and famine are coming. Thanks Al and company-- you self-centered, short-sighted ignoramuses!
BTW, Al's latest pronouncement concerning Global Warming and Burma is proof of what I just said. The man simply does not know what he is talking about, yet has such influence on policy. And the MSM supports his foolishness to the detrement of us all. It is they who will ultimately kill us, not my neighbor's SUV.
NEVER,NEVER trust a"liberal"
Help not wanted
May 9, 2008 - 12:18 ET by red_dragon311This is a perfect time to show the world that the USA DOES some good.
If the leader does not want help ....eff him... no help for you, move along, nothing to see here, these arn;'t the driods you'er looking for.
They want to show the world they don't need help, let them fall into a world of sh!t then com begging for aid then
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.
-Thomas Jefferson
My feeling is the
May 9, 2008 - 12:20 ET by taterMy feeling is the government doesn't want outside help because it will further expose that they've turn their country into a hell-hole.
"They need to have a course in college called common sense and everyone should take it. Problem is there isn't too many people that could pass or teach it." -my grandfather
Oh, no doubt, this will
May 9, 2008 - 12:28 ET by red_dragon311Oh, no doubt, this will ofcourse find it's way around of how it's The USA's fault for the hell-holeness, we didn't giveenough to begin with so that why they don't want help now.
But really since when is it the US's job to offer aid to anyone but the US?
If they don't want help, eff'em. and good luck.
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.
-Thomas Jefferson
From what I heard today on
May 9, 2008 - 12:33 ET by Dan The Man 2From what I heard today on NPR there is a constitutional referendum this week still going on and they don't want outsiders poking their noses in it. In other words they are going deeper into a dictatorship.
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
That is the reason we need
May 9, 2008 - 13:11 ET by red_dragon311That is the reason we need to let them be...
how many times have we been told to not stick our noses in were it is not wanted......prefect time to listen to what we have been told...evolution will take it's course
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.
-Thomas Jefferson
What's sad is that so many
May 9, 2008 - 14:41 ET by taterWhat's sad is that so many people are dying as a result of this thuggish government selfishness.
"They need to have a course in college called common sense and everyone should take it. Problem is there isn't too many people that could pass or teach it." -my grandfather
I counldn't agree more, but
May 9, 2008 - 15:51 ET by red_dragon311I counldn't agree more, but if we do "help" them how long do you think it will take before somebody says that we are doing it to "get control" of that country.
once again Eff'em
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.
-Thomas Jefferson
Burma - a genocide?
May 9, 2008 - 12:37 ET by Gary HallBurma - a genocide?
It would appear that, over and above what nature dished out, the military dictatorship will be responsible for a large percentage of the deaths (and the immense suffering), whatever the final number will be. It stands accused of refusing to warn the people of the approaching cyclone, of which it was aware; of refusing aid which might save perhaps hundreds of thousands of innocent lives, and now in confiscating the little bits of aid that have managed to get through it self serving blocade.
Politically, even as France petitions the UN to invoke a UN "responsibility to protect" in cyclone-hit Burma to deliver aid without the military junta's approval, the LA Times lead editorial, After the Cyclone, on Tuesday, took a nasty shot attacking none other than First Lady Laura Bush for her bold and worthy public statements as she, "excoriated the "inept" junta for failing to warn its people of the approaching storm." Perhaps I've missed it, but it would appear that the LA Times and others have little problem with France's approach - why attack Laura Bush?.
I note, I don't have a problem with either call. I see little difference with demands to hold accountable, or to ultimately remove from power this horrific military junta, with calls to interfere with genocide in Rwanda, the DR Congo, or Darfur.
Is this the UN's last chance?
Over at the LiveScience
May 9, 2008 - 13:13 ET by HelenSOver at the LiveScience webpage the comments are still accumulating for the "Conservatives are Happier..." article and are up to 77 now. The last three or four seem to be a pretty good synopsis of the way libs see the world -vs- how conservatives see it.
One poster wrote this: "this [article] is so full of lies that this doesn't really deserve a response, but the truth aspect to this is that you don't find anything in this answer that talks about solutions, only problems. The more problems, the better. If we don't have a problem, we'll create one so that we can show everyone that we care more about that non-problem, just in case it ever does pop up, than anyone else. That's the liberal way and that's why you're unhappy....you're focused on problems that don't exist. What's even more of the liberal way is you don't want solutions, you just want people to think you care about the problems. If there were solutions, there wouldn't be a need for liberals anymore. Once those down-trodden do something to help themselves and are no longer down-trodden, then they are now the very person you are describing as hateful above. Your own very existence is based on ensuring that true solutions never get implemented and that doesn't happen. Thank goodness you are wrong and some of the down-trodden decide not to listen to you.
It is so easy being liberal...you don't need to actually do anything, you just need to make people think you care about doing something ('we think of others....we concern ourselves with others....we empathize with suffering.'). Interesting why just doing that in the end still doesn't make you happy...maybe because in your sub-concious you know you aren't really helping anyone.
Just knowing all of this is making me even happier, knowing even more how miserable you really are. What a fun way to start the day."
This was responded to in the following earnest liberal fashion: "I do not by any means come from a privileged background, and given that I have gotten a PhD in physics and have >20 years experience as a physicist, I think it is safe to say that I am not unacquainted with hard work and perseverence. I think that the difference is that I am aware that hard work and perseverence alone would not have been enough for me to achieve the success I have had. I was fortunate enough to be born with the intelligence to achieve what I have achieved. That is not due to anything I did--that is luck. I was fortunate that my parents instilled in me a work ethic--again, that is to their credit, not mine. I was forutunate enough to be born in a country where by hard work, I was able to get a good education and ultimately find employment where I could use my skills. Having served in the Peace Corps in West Africa, I am painfully aware that many of my students there, despite their many gifts and hard work, will never be so blessed.
I contend that if you claim credit for all you have achieved, without acknowledging your indebtedness to your God (or to chance), your parents, your society--and yes, that includes your government--then what you are is not happy, but rather complacent and self-satisfied. Perhaps liberals will not be able to claim happiness, but at least they do not risk breaking their arm patting themselves on the back in self congratulation."
To which I responded: "So... it would appear that without Divine intervention you would just be another loser/parasite."
I can only plead a long week, needing a nap and some cookies, and a severely worsening case of cynicism in the face of the incessent whining and lying and just plain bone-headedness that is so rampant and irritating and so dang ubiquitous.
But I'm happy, dammit!
"Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war" - Shakespeare
No matter how bad it may
May 9, 2008 - 14:17 ET by CortillaenNo matter how bad it may seem, take heart in this: A liberal worldview would make it even worse. I've been poking quite a bit of fun at some of my more liberal acquaintances over this topic. Getting one to start screaming about how all things conservative are evil and Bush is a demon was pretty amusing. I just stood there with a mildly amused stare until they wound down and asked what I thought was so funny. My response, "Thanks, but I really didn't need the object lesson in liberal misery."
One other key difference between liberals and conservatives is in how they view opponents. The conservative argues with and decries opponents on the basis that they're wrong. Liberals approach opponents on the basis that they're evil. It's kinda hard to be upbeat when you think people who disagree with you does so out of pure malice.
www.rhjunior.com Great comics with a hefty dose of Christian and anti-nutjob goodness.
"With your mind as high as Mt. Fuji you can see all things clearly. And you can see all the forces that shape events; not just the things near to you." -Miyamoto Musashi
The Burma cyclone really
May 9, 2008 - 13:35 ET by ckc1227The Burma cyclone really puts Katrina into perspective. This is what happens when government drops the ball and doesn't care about its people for real.
So sad, and so unneccesary.
Global (something)
May 9, 2008 - 14:12 ET by w0tmLet's all just agree on something. Something is something. Everyone is allowed to pick their cause as long as mankind is at fault. Who knows the volcano curently erupting in Chile has already put more pollutants into the atmosphere than man has since the beginning of the industrial age? The media seems not to notice. Who's heard the world's temperature of the last seven years has been the coldest winter in over 100 years? The media seems not to notice. Who's heard April was the COLDEST April on record in the United States and most other countries. The media seemed not to notice. Unbiased scientists are already saying if he volcano in Chile stopped today the earth would cool an extra half degree for the next 3 to 5 years. Shouldn't we be told this to know we are well into a Global Cooling period. Unbiased scientists say this could even be the beginning of the every 500,000 year super ice age that is a natural event. It began in about 1840 but the remnants of an ancient exploded galaxy entered our universe (and is now leaving) that added as much as two degrees to the world's temperature. And the sun had one last burst of it's natural cooling and heating cycle which has caused the earth to warm LESS than Mars. Martian polar caps are almost gone.
BUT, all is not lost! The heat of the ancient galaxy is now almost out of our universe. The sun is cooling and we get a volcano as icing on the cake! The last major ice age occurred in a generation. Temperatures dropped 30 degrees in ten years. That was the one 10,000 years ago. It was NOT the every 500,000 year major ice age. All you GW cheerleaders out there, your wishes have come true. It will be snowing in Miami in ten years. Happy now?
This is a very pessimistic
May 9, 2008 - 14:38 ET by NL207This is a very pessimistic view of the situation and is not presentky supported by the facts as I am aquainted with them.
Yes, there is an ice age supercycle evident in the geologic record, just like there is a thermal optima supercycle. The most recent extremely long and warm thermal optima occurred 120000 years ago. The present thermal optima is likely to be similar in intensity and duration to the one 410,000 years ago. The Milankovitch supercycle thought to drive this is 413,000 years.
Look at the chart on the link. The thermal optima labeled TV is the one to look at. It lasted close to 30,000 years and got significantly warmer than today. We are only 12,000 years into TI. We should have quite some time in human terms before the next glaciation.
Funniest AGW-headline ever
May 9, 2008 - 14:27 ET by sarcasmoI love The Reg.
JMR
The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.
sarc... That was laugh
May 9, 2008 - 14:48 ET by bigtimersarc...
That was laugh out loud funny...great article!
Since I am here on OT I'm going to put this link here although it is a different subject...but this is what McCain has to look forward to on down the road with the msm...guess this was in the WaPo too today...the general election is going to be a different story.
While I'm at it just for fun, I found this rich because I too have said the same thing to my other half regarding this fleeting thought.
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Churchill
I do hate to be green here,
May 9, 2008 - 14:47 ET by mister josephI do hate to be green here, but I'm curious. Why is it some places (like NB and Fox) refer to the country as Burma, and the MSM refer to it as Myanmar? Is there something about the name, is it a political thing, or what? I've never read anything about why there are two names for the same place. (hint hint--would like to read something on NB about it, or, if not here, someplace else!)
Good point.
May 9, 2008 - 14:56 ET by sarcasmoDictatorships, for the sake of confusion/politics or perhaps in an evil plot with map/globe makers to sell more product, change the names of their countries. Invariably, they change from easy for me to pronounce (Burma/Rhodesia) to hard for me to pronounce (Myanmar/Zimbabwe). It's never the other way around. And invariably, the government is even bigger in the new version of the hellhole than it was in the old version, so ordinary people unlucky enough to be stuck living there tend to suffer even more. I still say "drop Liberators," if only because that's the idea nobody in the UN's dictatorship protection racket ever wants to consider these Second Amendment challenged days...
JMR
The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.
I think the name change has
May 9, 2008 - 15:27 ET by taterI think the name change has to do with when their horrible government overthrew the bad government of whatever European country was leading it.
There's a lot of African, South American, and Asian countries that have had name changes in the 20th century.
"They need to have a course in college called common sense and everyone should take it. Problem is there isn't too many people that could pass or teach it." -my grandfather
Burma Shave Nuke em til
May 9, 2008 - 17:09 ET by Dan The Man 2Burma Shave
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
Friends
May 9, 2008 - 15:30 ET by okiehawk44Burma has 2 newly rich friends next door who can provide the aid that America used to.
INDIA & CHINA
Let's see if they are ready for the "big leagues".
absolutely - I think we're
May 9, 2008 - 15:38 ET by TruthMongerabsolutely - I think we're busy enough with the ultra-heavy lifting - blowing terrorist dictators off the map:)
wouldn't it be nice for Bush to repeat your comment from the podium?
I suppose there would be liberal demands for impeachment again tho
The imlosion gains momentum
May 9, 2008 - 16:55 ET by misterbillJudicial Watch:
"Blaming the nation’s illegal immigration crisis on racism against Mexicans, commissioners in a major Texas county passed a resolution to stop construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border and halt local enforcement of immigration laws.
The El Paso County Commission voted 3-1 in favor of a measure blocking the federally mandated border wall and prohibiting local police from enforcing immigration law. The new measure also places a moratorium on immigration raids and halts all programs that criminalize illegal immigrants."
Idiots like these are
May 9, 2008 - 17:11 ET by Dan The Man 2Idiots like these are always saying its a Fed problem and look what they do.
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
The gambling story in editors' picks
May 9, 2008 - 19:40 ET by sarcasmoIs very good (but it's Stossel, so I'd be likely to say that). Note use by the US Navy and proposed use against terrorists. Yes, if people would get over the moral objections (as if stock/currency markets are somehow any different!) they might understand what I hope is obvious from the article. Gambling can be harnessed to make us safer. It's an information marketplace, so it should of course be free for best results to humanity. Besides, "Britney going back to rehab" sounds at least as strong as any bank stock to me. :)
JMR
The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.