Nothing will get done

It's getting worse.

In response to the violence, the United Nations Security Council called an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the crisis, but China blocked a Council resolution, backed by the United States and European nations, to condemn the government crackdown.

To quote the narrator from Fight Club, "I am Bill's complete lack of surprise". In some more ineffectual, "international diplomacy" waffle-speak:

At the United Nations, President Bush on Tuesday announced a largely symbolic tightening of American sanctions against Myanmar’s government. The European Union threatened to tighten its own sanctions if violence was used. On Wednesday, the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, said the first step after any meeting of the Security Council should be to send a United Nations envoy to Myanmar.

Symbolic gestures, as people die. So much for G.W. Bush's War on Terror - governments that seize power by force gain legitimacy aren't terrorists, so we don't need to do anything about it.

That's what Al-Qaeda should do to get U.S. troops off their backs - topple a 3rd world nation and rule as a military junta.

Alan Greenspan and the impossibility of Buddhist Fundamentalism

At that risk of sounding sarcastic: Mr George Bush, I beg of you, ramp up from your rhetoric and please make up lies about how the Burmese Government has Weapons of Mass Destruction, promptly assemble a "Coalition of the U.S. trade dependent" and "pre-emptively strike" at the poor impoverished nation, toppling their brutal dictator, before they do anything rash. It would be good if the world's leaders could put their troops where their mouths are (instead of where the oil is) and take some real action, in Burma and in Sudan. I'm sure this is a nation that won't turn into fundamentalist terrorists (I don't really picture a Buddhist monk toting an AK, do you?), and perhaps you'll find a new oil fields or gas deposits you can plunder to service your continued energy needs.

Oh wait, I think the Chinese have beat you to it, if only by proxy.

Myanmar has about 19 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, only about 0.3 percent of the world's total reserves, according to BP's Statistical Review of World Energy at the end of 2006. Although it doesn't currently export gas to China, its supply could potentially help feed a rapidly growing Chinese economy hungry for energy.

- Sign On San Diego, San Diego Union Tribune

At least other authority figures have the courage to speak the truth. Thankyou, Mr. Alan Greenspan.