Myanmar and China are different because . . .

[bushmeister0]

Condi Rice on the brutal crackdown on Buddhist monks in Myanmar . . .

CNN

"'The U.S. is determined to keep an international focus on the travesty in Burma,'" Rice told reporters, using the other name the country is known by. Rice also made the U.S. displeasure clear in a direct response to a statement made by one of the Myanmar officials, according to State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. 'She was very direct,' he said. 'She made it very clear it is unacceptable for the government to use violence against these peaceful protesters.'"

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/09/27/myanmar.pressure.ap/index.html

Rice on brutal crackdown of Buddhist monks in Tibet:

The AP:

"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Sunday on China 'to exercise restraint in dealing with the protests.' Rice said she was 'concerned by reports of a sharply increased police and military presence in and around Lhasa.'" Her statement urged China to release those jailed for protesting."

Not quite as "direct" when it comes to the Chinese I see. I guess she hadn't hear about the 80 or so corpses found so far. Of course, why would such a relatively small body count concern Rice anyway? During the Israeli/Lebanese Summer War in 06' she watched for weeks while Israel bombarded Beirut into rubble and forced half a million Lebanese from their homes and all she could summon up was a call for restraint. With so much blood on your hands to begin with, what's a little more, right?

besides, with the economy melting down, we can't afford to piss the Chinese off. You don't bite the hand that feeds you.

[Jack Rabbit]

1. Well . . .

• China has given the people the worst elements of Communism and capitalism; Burma (or, if it pleases, Myanmar) is a straightforward kleptocracy.
• China has a billion people and nuclear weapons; Burma (or, if it pleases, Myanmar) does not.