Laura Bush held a press conference yesterday complaining about the Burmese junta’s lackadaisical response to a catastrophic storm:

“The response to this cyclone is just the most recent example of the junta’s failures to meet its people’s basic needs.” [Link]

These people are missing the gene for shame, and for irony. If only Burmese storm relief were as effective as in America, as in U2 and Green Day’s bitter fantasy ‘The Saints Are Coming’:

But Laura Bush has a point despite her own lack of standing. The Burmese well understand their junta’s real priorities:

“People are saying, ‘Last September, they were incredibly efficient at clearing 100,000 people off the street, so why aren’t they being as efficient clearing 100,000 trees off the street?’” …

Dissident groups… say the charter [referendum] is simply a tool to legitimize military rule… “When your house is burning, why do you talk about tomorrow’s schedule? It’s outrageous and totally unacceptable.” [Link]