IRRAWADDY: 150,000 MAY DIE: CAN CHINA HELP?

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MYANMAR JUNTA DELAYS CYCLONE RELIEF EFFORT

WEST THREATENS, CAJOLES, BRIBES, BARGES IN

Only One Country Has Influence With Burma Generals

Today a few hundred aid workers with the Myanmar Red Cross and the UN World Food Programme are working in the disaster areas of Burma. But a massive effort needs to be mounted to clear & repair hundreds of roads, bridges, airstrips, waterways, and get help where it is needed. Literally millions of people are homeless, hungry, dehydrated, sick and dying, a full week after the 120mph hurricane & 12-foot tidal surge swept across much of Burma. It will take thousands of experts in all fields of disaster relief years to begin to put Burma back together again. But the work has been stalled by the brutal, corrupt, incompetent government of Myanmar.

Why?

The Junta fear all the talk of regime change, and seek to profit from the relief effort: They are letting goods and money in, but few aid workers or foreign military. After years of isolating them, no one seems to have any influence with the Burmese military government. Except China. So I wrote them. You can too. Use my letter, or write your own. Chinese government & media websites and email addresses are listed below.

You can also send money online to agencies & NGOs in Burma now:
MYANMAR CYCLONE RELIEF

ONLY CHINA CAN SAVE BURMA

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT

An Appeal To The Great Chinese People

It is in times of crisis that a nation, a people, a government, a leader has an opportunity to show potential for greatness. In the long, proud history of the Chinese people, there have been many such opportunities, and China has many times over proven itself to be among the greatest nations in history.

More recently, such opportunities have been fewer. The opportunities which did present themselves were not always well handled. World opinion, which, in this Olympic year, had been turning toward China with increasing respect, is now pausing to consider a new opportunity, a new crisis.

The terrible natural disaster in Myanmar last Saturday presents the Chinese people with an opportunity to exercise their true greatness, and take their place as first among nations. By the simple act of persuading the Myanmar government to allow aid workers and relief supplies from around the world to be quickly, efficiently, and professionally brought where they are needed, most desperately, China could begin its' tenure as the world's next superpower.

What the United States, France, India and other great nations have been unable to accomplish could be done now by the Chinese. If it is not done, an opportunity will have been missed, and thousands will die needlessly. The world will not forget, and China will be seen for many many years as a nation that has failed to live up to its' promise of greatness.

Let China step up and take charge of the relief efforts. Under their aegis, the Myanmar government can feel secure, and the Burmese people can be saved. Let China bring in and supervise all foreign aid workers, and protect the Junta from any attempt at regime change. Whatever the future may bring, basic human decency demands that aid be delivered properly, right now. The world knows now that it is up to China, and China alone, to do this.

ALL WEBSITES LISTED BELOW ARE IN ENGLISH
All Email Addresses Are From Those English Websites

XINHUA: China News Agcy:
english@xinhuanet.com
Chinese Embassy, Canada:
chinaemb_ca@mfa.gov.cn
Chinese Embassy, Australia:
chinaemb_au@mfa.gov.cn
Editor, Beijing Review:
byao@cipg.org.cn
Chinese government website:
english@mail.gov.cn
Peoples Daily Newspaper:
info@peopledaily.com.cn
english@peopledaily.com.cn
Chinese Consulate, Chicago:
chinaconsul_chi_us@mfa.gov.cn
Chinese Consulate, Thailand:
CGPRCCM@LOXINFO.CO.TH
Shanghai Daily Newspaper:
editor@shanghaidaily.com

Chinese Media Website:
http://www.china.org.cn/

China Daily Newspaper BBS:
http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/forumdisplay.php?gid=2&fid=9
http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/viewthread.php?gid=2&tid=603176&extra=page%3D1

Chinese Television News Feedback:
http://www.cctv.com/english/about/index.shtml

Chinese Embassies Contact Info:
http://www.china.org.cn/embassies/node_1197333.htm

Chinese News Radio Comments:
http://encom.chinabroadcast.cn/netvote/viewmessage.aspx?id=61

http://english.cri.cn/

Chinese Consulates Contact Info:
http://www.visarite.com/chnConsulate.htm?gclid=CMeFtOTKnpMCFQuYggodxwvdoA

Beijing Review, Forum:
http://www.bjreview.com.cn/forum/node_10089.htm

Shanghai Daily Newspaper Online, Contacts:
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/contact.asp

Chinese Government Website:
http://english.gov.cn/

Chinese English Newspapers:
http://www.world-newspapers.com/china.html

Hong Kong South China Morning Post:
http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/
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SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: BRING THEM ALL HOME ALIVE, NOW!

BURMESE HURRICANE DEATH TOLL HITS 10,000

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CYCLONE NARGIS DEVASTATES MYANMAR

U.S. DOES NOTHING

You Can Help Now: Donate Online & Contact Your Representatives In Congress

Bush will do little or nothing until it is too late. Why don't YOU do something now? Disaster-relief donations online, linked below.

VIDEO:
Cyclone Devastates Myanmar


"Myanmar believes cyclone killed at least 10,000: diplomat"

"By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military junta believes at least 10,000 people died in a cyclone that ripped through the Irrawaddy delta, triggering a massive international aid response for the pariah southeast Asian nation.

'The basic message was that they believe the provisional death toll was about 10,000 with 3,000 missing,' a Yangon-based diplomat told Reuters in Bangkok, summarizing a briefing from Foreign Minister Nyan Win. 'It's a very serious toll.'

The scale of the disaster from Saturday's devastating cyclone drew a rare acceptance of outside help from the diplomatically isolated generals, who spurned such approaches in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

The secretive military, which has ruled the former Burma for 46 years, has moved even further into the shadows in the last six months due to the widespread outrage at its bloody crackdown on protests led by Buddhist monks in September.

The official toll on state media stands at 3,394 dead and 2,879 missing, although those figures only cover two of the five declared disaster zones, where U.N. officials say hundreds of thousands are without shelter or drinking water.

The casualty count has been rising quickly as authorities reach hard-hit islands and villages in the Irrawaddy delta, the former 'rice bowl of Asia' which bore the brunt of Cyclone Nargis's 190 km (120 miles) per hour winds."

"States, aid agencies offer to help storm-hit Myanmar"

"WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN SCOTT STANZEL

'We are concerned about the reports coming out of Burma and mourn the loss of life. The U.S. embassy is in touch with Burmese authorities. The ambassador there has released some assistance funds under her authority and that money will go through the World Food Program and other aid entities. It doesn't necessarily go directly to the government. But we're in the process of assessing what more we can do.' "

Meanwhile, U.S. President George W. Bush excoriates Asians for eating too much, driving up the price of ethanol.

FUEL FOR THOUGHT: 'LET THEM EAT ETHANOL,' DUBYA


DISASTER RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS
donate online:

"RED CROSS RED CRESCENT"

"WORLD VISION"

"CARITAS INTERNATIONALIS"

"Relief Web"

"CARE INTERNATIONAL"

"OXFAM UK & IRELAND"

"UNICEF"

"OXFAM CANADA"

"MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES"

"SAVE THE CHILDREN"

"MERCY CORPS"


POLITICAL ACTION:

EMAIL YOUR PRESIDENT

FIND & EMAIL YOUR SENATORS & CONGRESSMAN/WOMAN




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.

TO POST A COMMENT: CLICK ON "COMMENTS," "Post a Comment" or "# of COMMENTS" just below the SOCIAL BOOKMARKING LINKS (Digg, Delicious, etc), about three inches down from here. Please do comment. Thank you.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM YOUR BLOGGERS:

Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: BRING THEM ALL HOME ALIVE, NOW!