It is interesting to see how unequal world opinion can be and how myopic.  In the case of Burma we find the news attacking the regime in power because of a perceived failure to respond to the results of a natural disaster, a cyclone.  May voices are raised supporting regime change or a change in the form of government in Burma.  Did we hear calls like this of the American government after Katrina?

I want to post something I wrote about on by blog on September 12, 2005. There were folks live blogging (was it even called that in '05) Hurricane Katrina from within New Orleans. The most amazing was a group at a data networking facility in the Central Business District (CBD).

As any good data networking facility they had emergency plans. They implemented them and kept a Live Journal blog called Interdictor running. Once they had their facility secure they quickly realized help was not coming.

Now they didn't need any help. They had supplies, fuel (thousands of gallons), power, weapons, heck even Internet access. When they went on armed patrols to attempt to keep their building secure things were dire. Buildings were burning and nobody responded. They could see people gathering at the Superdome. Any type of government response could not be seen. So they took action. Below is their story. Warning, it may cause tears.

With so many comments and so many people contributing to yesterday's entry, I wanted to compile it all in a single entry. I am absolutely convinced that this image (especially its context) is the most powerful image we could use for the general election. I'm serious when I say we should be using it every single day. What follows is a series contributed by the DailyKos community. This first one is my own Photoshopping. Several more pictures and videos below the fold.

As the GOP suffers its third straight major territorial loss, and Obama locks up the nomination with the promise of big coat tails in Republican districts, it is time for us to consider the future, and ask ourselves: What will we do with power, how to use it, how not to squander it, and how we can keep corruption from sapping our moral authority?

I hope that this discussion can be incorporated into the architecture of a plan that I call (with no small hubris) A 12 Step Plan to Save America.

The Washington Post is rightfully attacking China's refusal to allow international experts into Sichuan to help in relief experts, arguing correctly that such refusal not only endangers its own citizens, but provides ideological shelter for the Burmese Junta's similar approach to Monsoon relief:

Yet China is contributing to the mounting man-made disaster in Burma even as it rescues its own citizens. The communist government has adopted the position that it will welcome international aid for earthquake victims, but not foreign aid workers -- the same xenophobic stance that Burma's military junta has taken...

More below the fold...

"Communist China".

I've been hearing those words ever since I can remember--often linked together just that way.  It used to run a distant second to "Communist Russia".  But there's no question who the new big kid on the block is these days.  There's no question who the next superpower will be, if the world as we know it makes it that far.

Thus has China become the new great American bogeyman, the new rising empire that, in years to come, some of our leaders (especially our good Republicans) will attempt to incite us to hate and fear.

History tells us something about the handoff of global power from one state to another: it very rarely comes without a greal deal of bloodshed between the old power and the new one.  

With that, please come with me across the jump...

As idiotic as this is, the extent of President Bush's limitations escaped the vast majority of Americans until Katrina, for reasons I will never, ever understand. Standing in line at a bakery on the day the Chief Justice died, I heard any number of people who had obviously voted for the the President angrily discussing his and the administration's incompetence, based on Katrina but spilling over to the war and, as news came of the Chief Justice's death, the Court, and cronysim, and so on and so forth.  And I stood there, dumbfounded, wanting to scream at these people who seemed to be suddenly discovering the nose on their own faces.

I know the photo of McCain hugging Bush is popular around here, but this may be the most powerful image for the general election:

Just for a bit of history, this is President George W. Bush in Phoenix as he joined John McCain in a small celebration of McCain's 69th birthday Monday, Aug. 29, 2005. The President later spoke about Medicare to 400 guests at the Pueblo El Mirage RV Resort and Country Club in nearby El Mirage.

As if it were bad enough, I copied and pasted the above text directly from WhiteHouse.gov.

Here's what else was happening that day:

Bush told CBS Radio Today:

"Either they are isolated or callous," Bush told CBS News radio in an interview. "There's no telling how many people have lost their lives as a result of the slow response."

He said the "world ought to be angry and condemn" the junta, which has been widely condemned for stalling the disaster relief effort.

Well below the fold is the time line of how Bush dealt with Katrina in the first few days. Maybe he shouldn't throw stones at others in light of his own performance.

Update: Just what I expected. No "love" for this story. I keep telling myself that is cause I can't write, not that people don't care (keep telling myself this). But if you read it play (yes I am bitter) this video of the Dead in the background, will make it somewhat easier.

It seems to me that the Bush administration’s response to the disaster in Myanmar is rather...eh...two faced. Maybe Dubya should send Michael Brown to Yangon.

Bush says "world should condemn Myanmar".

AP says "bloated corpses pile up".

We've been here before.  Heck of a job.

Of course the military dictatorship in Myanmar deserves utter condemnation but they are only following their self-interest much like their anti-democratic counterparts in Washington DC, i.e. George and Dick, have done all these years.

While politics shouldn't be inserted into this unfolding tragedy of biblical proportions, someone nevertheless needs to tell George Bush to shut his mouth.  George Bush has lost his right to say anything to anyone about slow responses to natural disasters for the rest of his life. He needs to leave such criticism to people that haven't themselves caused widespread death due to cronyism, corruption, and ineptitude.

Everything George McBush says here can and should be held against the Republicans in the fall:

"Either they are isolated or callous," Bush told CBS News radio in an interview. "There's no telling how many people have lost their lives as a result of the slow response."

He said the "world ought to be angry and condemn" the junta, which has been widely condemned for stalling the disaster relief effort.

http://news.yahoo.com/...

I have always wondered if the democratic party where as faithful to Blacks in American the same way the Blacks are faithful to it.  I know that the Republicans see Blacks as inferior, but never Obama’s party.  The party usually gets at least 80% of Blacks votes in almost anything, but when will the Democratic party actually come out to fight for its closest ally when it matters most.

The party will always count on their votes, but hardly speak out against Black discrimination, unemployment, Katrina, police brutality, or the justice department.  Today, Rev. Al Sharpton was arrested for taking a stand in New York against the murder of Sean Bell by NYPD.  Where was the Democratic Party to stand beside the Rev. for the life of a man that would have most likely voted for the party?  Even his widow was arrested for fighting for the murder of her husband who was killed on his wedding day.  

Be honest, does the Democratic care about Blacks, or they are just the stepping stones to get elected?

http://www.usatoday.com/...

The. Chutzpah. Is. Unbelievable.: In a press conference yesterday, Laura Bush took the Myanmar junta to task for failing to prepare its citizens for the recent cyclone (est. death toll: 10,000) and for spurning foreign aid.

Asked whether she worried that US aid might not reach Myanmar's people, Laura Bush replied: "I'm worried that they won't even accept US aid."...

Gee--it's too bad the junta couldn't learn how to lead from Boy Bush's government:

In one exchange, State Department officials anguished over whether to tell Italy that its shipments of medicine, gauze, and other medical supplies spoiled in the elements for weeks after Katrina's landfall on August 29, 2005, and were destroyed....And while television sets worldwide showed images of New Orleans residents begging to be rescued from rooftops as floodwaters rose, U.S. officials turned down countless offers of allied troops and search-and-rescue teams. The most common responses: "sent letter of thanks" and "will keep offer on hand," the new documents show.

http://www2.nysun.com/article/53433?page_no=2

This is from the blog, Last Kaul.

Distracted by the fun of watching the Obama/Clinton steel cage, death match in North Carolina this week, I almost missed the opportunity to celebrate the five-year anniversary of "Mission Accomplished."  Five years ago Thursday, George Bush dressed up as a fighter pilot and had a real one set him down on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.  All decked out in his costume, he paraded in front of the assembled crew and press, like a kid getting ready for Halloween, and then stood in front of the now infamous banner and told the nation, "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended."

John McCain's presidential campaign has apparently found help to battle its extreme case of Bush separation anxiety.  Desperate to distance the Republican nominee from the most unpopular president in modern American history, the McCain camp is closely coordinating with the White House to create the facade of separation between John McCain and George W. Bush.

Why? Because Mr. Straight Talk is actually Mr. Double Talk. Just watch, wait, and listen. You'll hear a policy position you agree with on every issue. Just ignore what he's saying out of the other side of his mouth. (This advice actually goes for ALL Americans, conservative OR liberal.)

Need an example? Well, how about this?

Giuliani later defended Mukasey's formulation, suggesting that the liberal media was "misreporting" how waterboarding was done. McCain then laid into the former New York mayor today, saying, "They should know what it is. It is not a complicated procedure. It is torture."

But meanwhile, McCain's evil Bush-clone twin was busy voting against the Dem's 2008 anti-torture bill.

A maverick in his own mind, John McCain, is now spouting revisionist history concerning both his comments on Monday and what the appropriate federal response to Hurricane Katrina should have been. McCain , 71, told reporters on Monday that he had no idea what he might have done differently than President Bush, but on Thursday he was criticizing the President and denying that he ever suggested tearing down part of the Lower 9th Ward.

Is this the type of bold leadership voters can expect from Admiral Airhead? For someone campaigning on experience, Senator Senile acts unprepared and confused when asked about his New Orleans plan.

I watched ABC news tonight.  I know that I am not supposed to, but ABC is my only local station, and I was watching local news, and didn't change the channel as I was making dinner.  They started out by talking about how terrible the economy was and how states are going broke because of the housing crisis.  Then they got to McCain in New Orleans.