Compare & Contrast: Katrina vs. Nargis

[You Can Call Me Ray]

There are always oodles of people who come out of the woodwork to demonize the USA, and tell of how everything in our country is a "conspiracy of evil." What is worse is that quite often a great many of the people who demonize the USA are Americans who seem to hate America. We saw all the moaning, crying, gnashing of teeth about how the US Fed. Gov "failed to act fast enough" or "failed to do enough" when it came to Hurricane Katrina. The criticism by people in the mainstream media, alternative media, and just anyone who wanted to rail about the US government was everywhere...and lasted for years (and still is going on with some people who refuse to move on!).

But now, as the title of this thread says... let us compare and contrast what happened then with what is going on now in Myanmar:

1) The death toll is orders of magnitude greater than the death toll or suffering from Katrina. (And how much of this could be due to a failed governing junta that did nothing to improve infrastructure for their citizens?)
2) The Myanmar military junta did little, if anything, to warn or prepare their citizens of the approaching cyclone.
3) The junta-in-power is not only doing little to help their people, they are actively restricting outside countries and agencies from taking broad and rapid actions to help the people of Myanmar who survived and are suffering.
4) Beyond this, the junta siezed the first shipments of aid rather than allow the aid agencies to do the job they do best...distributing and assisting after a disaster!

For all the national and worldwide "outrage" that complained, scolded, and criticized the US government after Katrina (a much smaller tragedy than Nargis)... where is the global outrage that is speaking out, condeming, and acting against the military junta in Myanmar?

Moreover, for all the sorry saps who promulgate their weak conspiracy theories about how "George Bush wants to become a dictator" of the USA, where are they in speaking out against the WELL KNOWN military junta ruling Myanmar???? Where is the outrage against overt fascism such as is going on in Myanmar?

It makes me sick the hypocrisy of those who claim to "speak for the suffering people and freedom for all." Their relative silence in condeming the Myanmar junta shows that, clearly, they are not about speaking out for people... but rather, their only purpose is to demonize the USA. To all you people who constantly criticize the US government (and many of you being US citizens), take note that there are many people like me who are noticing the absence of your voice speaking out against regiemes other than the USA.

I just had to get that rant out. I love my country and I think it is quite obvious that the USA is still one of the greatest forces for good in this troubled world. And to those who constantly have to demonize my country, well you can just bite me.

Ray

[You Can Call Me Ray]

And another thing...

Let me immediately predict and head-off the freaks and backward-thinking people who will, no doubt, come out of the woodwork and "blame" the storm itself on the US government, and allege that we created the storm purposefully (with HAARP, they will no doubt claim) to inflict suffering on other people.

I know it is coming...just wait. Someone will try to get people to believe this. And all I can say is that those people should be shunned, criticized, and incessantly made to feel less-than-zero for implying such while giving the Myanmar military junta a free pass!

Yes... I am damn upset!
Ray

[Chorlton]

Hi Ray.
I understand what you are saying. Lent me rant a little then Ill touch on Burma.
People will always moan bitch and criticise that which they know best, that which touches them or that, that is closest to them,, in this case it their own Government, be it US or UK or whatever. I moan, bitch, criticise and attack our Government here in the UK. I also attack US policy, as I do French policy. I do it because I can, its called democracy.
In actuality I attack Governments (in this case the UK Government and our County Councils) because I think they have lost the idea of what a Government is for and exist now as an extension of the egos of those involved.
I go back to many things Oliver Cromwell said:
".....look on the people you represent, and break not your trust, and expose not the honest party of your kingdom, who have bled for you, and suffer not misery to fall upon them for want of courage and resolution in you, else the honest people may take such courses as nature dictates to them.”"

“no one rises so high as he who knows not whither he is going.”

And one of the greatest Speeches........by an American no less included these words:
"and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. "

In my opinion a Government and to a lesser extent UK Local Councils exist to serve the people. NOT to dictate to them. But thats the point they have lost now, they dont serve the people any more, they simply dictate to them what they can and cant do without consulting them. THAT IS WRONG. OK we dont need consultation on everything but on certain basic things we do. If you dont ask the people, if you dont consult, you have dictatorship and IMHO that is where Democracy is going now. Its gone full circle, freedom is now nothing more than that which 'they' allow you. "Oh you can make your points known in an Election" the snotty little bastards say, but you cant can you, it doesnt work that way.

So I will continue to attack the UK Government, continue to attack the vile Americanisation of the world, continue to poke Frenchmen in the eye, (even though I speak perfect French), and continue to tell jokes to Germans, KNOWING they simply cant understand them. Thats life.

Now Burma. Please dont think no one is saying anything. We here in the UK are saying things and protesting.
I have an interest in Burma as my wife is technically Thai but her mother and father are Karen's. If you want to see how Governments can lie and crap on people take a look at what the UK Government did to the Karens after WWII.
The problem with Burma is simply that a lot of people dont actually understand whats been going on inside the country due to the lack of news coming out. The generals would be far happier if everyone other than the few thousand slaves they have to do their dirty work, died. They have BIG money from Petrochemical companies coming in as well as BIG money from Opium and only need a certain amount of slaves to do their dity work, like building roads and railways with forced labour.
If people dont know about something, they cant bitch too much about it and thats the big problem with Burma, most people dont really know about whats going on inside the country other than getting vague reports about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Dont worry Ray, things are happening, albeit very slowly. But what NEEDS to be done urgently is the money from Petrochemicals being cut off to the Generals and the Chinese being told to back off in support of them (Im still waiting for the flying pigs).
There's facsism all over the world, Its starting to take over in Eurpe now, but look at Zimbabwe where people are murdered by the government on a daily basis and other places in Africa, N Korea, Singapore (YES Singapore) and S America

Keep writing the letters, and sending the emails as I do.