China, Myanmar and Pakistan, oh my

It's been some hard days in Asia. Between China's earthquake and the cyclone that hit Myanmar, there's a lot of people hurting in Asia. Myanmar's secretive government has claimed that 31,938 people were killed. The U.N. puts the estimated dead between 62,000 and 100,000. Though it did finally admit an American relief plane within the nation's borders, there is discussion that perhaps coercive humanitarian efforts may be necessary. In China the death toll has been placed at a preliminary figure of 8,533 after a 7.9 magnitude earthquake. Add to that the collapse of the Pakistani government only a few weeks after taking office and you have a lot of instability in the region. Though it does appear that Pakistan has been readmitted into the Commonwealth. And even though UK Prime Minister Gorden Brown is kowtowing to the dragon by not receiving him at 10 Downing, the only bright spot in all of this disaster is the dim hope that China may resume talks with the Dalai Lama. Whether this will be a good faith effort or just a publicity stunt to try to satisfy world opinion remains to be seen.