Now it seems that aid workers and indeed all foreigners are being prevented from entering the disaster areas, and local "officials" are seizing food aid and selling it to the highest bidder. At the same time people are literally starving to death.

What a pity Burma doesn't supply the world with oil. GWB would certainly have invaded it by now if it did.

I feel disgusted that people/governments are so pusillanimous as to allow this sort of regime to exist.

Compare this with the way the Chinese are dealing with the aftermath of the dreadful earthquake that's just happened there. The authorities are throwing in every resource they have, and the outside world is being openly informed and involved. We may complain about deficient human rights in China, but compared with Burma it's a very liberal and caring country.

I'm sorry, I know people here aren't really interested in what's happening on the other side of the world. But we should be - the global village is shrinking all the time, and these are our neighbours.