U.S. Diplomat: Myanmar Deaths Could Reach 100,000

Myanmar’s military dictators did not warn it’s citizens that a cyclone was coming. NASA told them Wednesday that the huge storm was going to hit them hard, but they stayed mum. India told its people about the storm two days before landfall. Myanmar said nothing.

Now there may be 100,000 or more dead:

Bodies floated in flood waters and survivors tried to reach dry ground on boats using blankets as sails, while the top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar said Wednesday that up to 100,000 people may have died in the devastating cyclone.

Hungry crowds stormed the few shops that opened in the country’s stricken Irrawaddy delta, sparking fist fights, according to Paul Risley, a spokesman for the U.N. World Food Program in neighboring Thailand.

Shari Villarosa, who heads the U.S. Embassy in Myanmar, said food and water are running short in the delta area and called the situation there “increasingly horrendous.”

“There is a very real risk of disease outbreaks as long as this continues,” Villarosa told reporters. Some 1 million people were homeless in the Southeast Asian country, the U.N. said.

State media in Myanmar reported that nearly 23,000 people died when Cyclone Nargis blasted the country’s western coast on Saturday and more than 42,000 others were missing.

But U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said that the cyclone’s death toll may rise “very significantly.”

Villarosa said 100,000 may have died and that 95 percent of buildings in the affected area are demolished.

Humanitarian aid is waiting for the victims, the the junta is dragging its feet on clearance.

But internal U.N. documents obtained by The Associated Press showed growing frustrations at foot-dragging by the junta, which has kept the impoverished nation isolated for five decades to maintain its iron-fisted control.

“Visas are still a problem. It is not clear when it will be sorted out,” according to the minutes of a meeting of the U.N. task force coordinating relief for Myanmar in Bangkok, Thailand on Wednesday.

It said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “will contact Myanmar” Wednesday to arrange a meeting with high-ranking officials on the issue.

Yeah, that’ll work. I’m sure after a good talking to, these thugs will start to respect the needs of the people. These are the same brutal killers that showed so much respect for Buddhist monks protesting for freedom.

George Bush has asked the military leaders to accept help, saying:

“Our message is to the military rulers: ‘Let the United States come to help you, help the people.’”

“We want to do a lot more,” he said. “We’re prepared to move US Navy assets to help find those who’ve lost their lives, to help find the missing, to help stabilize the situation.”

He also gave away $3.25 million dollars we don’t have to these thugs. Oh, don’t believe for a second that this money will be spent on the people.

Tarry up more casualties, ground up in the wheels of Communism. These deaths could have been much less, had the government cared even a little about the people. Or if the people had the freedom to create a free press that would have alerted them to the oncoming storm.

By the way, in his usual fashion of not letting the misery of the masses get in his way of furthering his cause, Al Gore claims that Cyclone Nargis is the result of global warming. All in due time, Al. Let’s get the bodies in the ground first, then we’ll have time for another bunch of wind.

And for good measure, in case you actually believe the Goracle:

In October 2007, CNN Meteorologist Rob Marciano disputed Gore’s claim that there is a strong correlation between intense storms and global warming. He explained that “global warming does not conclusively cause stronger hurricanes like we’ve seen,” pointing out that “by the end of this century we might get about a 5-percent increase.”

While I disagree with federal dollars going to help the victims of this disaster, I am all for charity pitching in and helping. Here is a list of charities helping in this mess, so if you can afford it, pitch in a few bucks.