Myanmar

[marty]

Do we really care?

The Myanmar govt/military has made it quite clear they do not want to help/do not want to help, so should we feel sorry for them as a whole? Should we really be giving a military dictatorship $$$?

They have made their bed, now they shall find themselves lying in it.

[yod]

Do we really care?

The Myanmar govt/military has made it quite clear they do not want to help/do not want to help, so should we feel sorry for them as a whole? Should we really be giving a military dictatorship $$$?

They have made their bed, now they shall find themselves lying in it.

who made the bed?

who is lying in it?

[Flatcap]

Too bad they have no oil......

[Edbear]

who made the bed?

who is lying in it?

Mmmm! Noted the opulence of the Governmental buildings and the rulers don't seem to be too badly off...:wari:


Too bad they have no oil......

Now, you're just being cynical...:whistle:

[jrandom]

They have made their bed, now they shall find themselves lying in it.

The people whose bodies are rotting in the streets of Yangon right now didn't make the bed they're lying in.

[Hitcher]

The Myanmari administration hasn't said they don't want help. They've just demonstrated their inability to cope with complex ambiguity. The UN should just "invade" the place with aid and assistance and tell the Myanmaris that if they're not interested in helping their citizens, they should just fuck off and not impede the progress of those who want to help.

[Mom]

Do we really care?

The Myanmar govt/military has made it quite clear they do not want to help/do not want to help, so should we feel sorry for them as a whole? Should we really be giving a military dictatorship $$$?

They have made their bed, now they shall find themselves lying in it.

I agree with you, but....

I struggle with the suffering of the people directly affected on the ground by this cyclone. Personally no money of mine will go there until I can be sure it will get to the ground root problems.

I hurt my back a few weeks ago and have been ringing in vain to get an appointment with the doctor recommended physio. Seems she and her husband are currently in Myanmar. They go there each year for 3 months. They have thankfully survived, but guess they will be a bit longer in coming home.

If I was a really good person, I would go there in an instant to help where I could. Alas I am only a good enough one, so am staying at home, and avoiding the news reports.

[Flatcap]

The Myanmari administration hasn't said they don't want help. They've just demonstrated their inability to cope with complex ambiguity. The UN should just "invade" the place with aid and assistance and tell the Myanmaris that if they're not interested in helping their citizens, they should just fuck off and not impede the progress of those who want to help.

That would require the UN to make an actual decision

[Hitcher]

That would require the UN to make an actual decision

The UN places too much sway on that whole geopolitical clap trap. Particularly when there are atrocities being committed (e.g. Bosnia and Rwanda) or other forms of human suffering (e.g. Indonesia and Myanmar) being endured by the poor and downtrodden.

[Flatcap]

The UN places too much sway on that whole geopolitical clap trap. Particularly when there are atrocities being committed (e.g. Bosnia and Rwanda) or other forms of human suffering (e.g. Indonesia and Myanmar) being endured by the poor and downtrodden.

I'm sure they will put together a task force and come up with a disaster relief plan to implement in the final quarter of 2008

[BiK3RChiK]

The people who are directly affected seem to be crying out for assistance. My heart goes out to them. I don't give a shit what the government is. Just get the people who need it the assistance a suffering human deserves. This is my 0.02..

[Usarka]

I saw Rambo 4 the other week, i thought he was wreaking havoc over there again.

just because a government is corrupt and shit doesn't mean the people on the street deserve to suffer...../serious

[kevfromcoro]

Too bad they have no oil......

Dont think they have no fuck all of anything now....
See on the news to-night where they used to produce a lot of rice for export.
But most of it is stuffed..and looks like they are going to have to import it..
Where the money is coming from...who noes??
Do feel sorry for the poor village people.looks like over a million have been affected.....
Not there fault,,wot nature has served them..
Pisses me off the way the goverment is handling this....
there seems to be lots of support from UN and neighboring countries..
But having trouble getting it in..

[Swoop]

There is nothing like an inept, corrupt, inbred and pathetic military dictatorship. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see robert mugabe show up at some stage... The immaculate pressed uniforms, the jungle-jangle of bright shiny medals everywhere, but not even a glimmer of compassion to the countrymen and women who are dead and dying around them.

How long until the diseases start appearing?

Aparently the head bitch complained that the palace didn't have any power (electrical, of course).

A small flock of cruise missiles, targeted on the palace, wouldn't be inhumane would it?

[marty]

The people who are directly affected seem to be crying out for assistance. My heart goes out to them. I don't give a shit what the government is. Just get the people who need it the assistance a suffering human deserves. This is my 0.02..

i actually agree with this - i was just being a troll.

no amount of $$$ aid is going to help though - it has to come in the form of physical aid - i saw on tv that the govt was charging 500 kyat (NZ$100) to clear trees off a house - the average annual income in myanmar (or Burma as it used to be known) is NZ$300.

i really feel for the people on the street - it must be absolute hell there. the military govt though is typical of all dictatorial military govts - full of their own importance and self-satisfaction.

[Dave Lobster]

i really feel for the people on the street - it must be absolute hell there. the military govt though is typical of all dictatorial military govts - full of their own importance and self-satisfaction.

It's not just military governments.

[Number One]

it is all a very sad state of affairs but what I find really sad about too is that USA has been soo quick to jump onthe bandwagon and offer aid when they haven't yet really sorted out their own house after Katrina.

Bet all those still suffering the effects feel a little miffed that their govt is so concerned about being seen to be helping out overseas when it took them so damn long to swing into gear and sort out their own people when that devastation hit...yet they were channelling so much resource into their WAR effort.

Disgusting actually!

[Jiminy]

I've never been there, and have no idea of what the situation in Myanmar really is after the recent events, so I can't judge or advice anyone. However, keep in mind that a sudden import of foreign help might destroy local support networks based on extended family and tradition. Short-term relief can sometimes prove worse in the long-term.

Whatever your conclusion is, don't take the news report at face value, but make your opinion after considering different views.

My 2 cents.

[Swoop]

it is all a very sad state of affairs but what I find really sad about too is that USA has been soo quick to jump onthe bandwagon and offer aid...
One of the functions of a US CBG (Carrier Battle Group) is aid and relief in a disaster zone. The nearest CBG is normally on standby when information of a disaster comes in.

[Number One]

One of the functions of a US CBG (Carrier Battle Group) is aid and relief in a disaster zone. The nearest CBG is normally on standby when information of a disaster comes in.

Fairy nuff

Still think it's a sad state of affairs when they can 'afford' to help other nations around the world when they do a seemingly crap job of taking care of their own.

Agree too with what someone else said that their (Myanmar's) government stance on whatever shouldn't mean that the innocent and suffering public should go without help

[Hoon]

I was part of the relief efforts for the Western Province earthquake/Tsunami last year. The locals are just innocents trying to live their lives and probably have nothing to do with the political situation. They need help.


One of the functions of a US CBG (Carrier Battle Group) is aid and relief in a disaster zone. The nearest CBG is normally on standby when information of a disaster comes in.

In Western Province a US Marine Expeditionary ship came in and flew us around (yay Blackhawk rides!). One thing that really annoyed me was that the various relief organisations don't co-ordinate their efforts. One day we'd take Red Cross people out to some area and drop off supplies to the villages (clean water, rice and biscuits). The next day we might be escorting AusAid or Oxfam etc and they'd want to go to the same area and drop off more stuff even though we'd tell them they were already sorted. It was like it was just a big race to tick off as many villages as possible instead of getting relief to the places that needed it asap.


no amount of $$$ aid is going to help though - it has to come in the form of physical aid.

Money and international assistance is exactly what is needed. Everything cost money. You need foreign help to bring in all the aid. Even in the Solomons planes were flying non-stop and that was just a fraction of the size of Myanmar. The scope of what needs to be done there just boogles the mind.