It could be a lot worse. Case in point, Burma’s government is worse.

Myanmar’s military government came under pressure on Wednesday to open its borders to more international help after a devastating cyclone that a U.S. diplomat said may have killed more than 100,000 people.

That’s a lot of deaths. In terms of loss of human life, it is a huge tragedy. Dwarfs Katrina although our government’s response to Katrina was less than optimal, ok abysmal.

image credit AFP

Naturally, politics only makes it worse, sounds familiar.

“What remains is for the Burmese government to allow the international community to help its people. It should be a simple matter. It is not a matter of politics,” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters in Washington.

John Holmes, the top U.N. humanitarian official, urged Myanmar to waive visa restrictions he said were slowing efforts to bring in relief experts and supplies to help an estimated one million people affected by Cyclone Nargis.

Even the U.N. can’t get much action here. I listened to Laura Bush speak about this last Saturday but as the death toll wasn’t estimated to be that high, I didn’t blog about it. There was a volcano eruption somewhere else, earthquakes, lots of stuff I missed blogging about. Incidentally, she looked awful like she’s had too tight a face lift. To recap unless this escaped people, it was reported to be a Category 3, like Katrina actually. Cyclone is a hurricane.

The cyclone, with 190 kph (120 mph) winds, slammed into coastal towns and villages in the rice-growing Irrawaddy delta southwest of Yangon on Saturday. Witnesses reported villages destroyed and people fighting for survival by clutching trees.

Reminds me of the tsunami although on a smaller scale, only one country affected. One who’s government is slow to accept aid. Still a major humanitarian disaster.

Disasters can strike anywhere and it is better to be prepared rather than expect government to do it. They tend to muck it up under the best of circumstances. Come to think of it, government can be a disaster. If Newt is right, it just may be come November. We shall see.

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Oil just keeps going up and up. The latest. This hits the pocketbook faster than anything a politician proposes.

Oil futures extended their seemingly relentless advance Wednesday, rising to a new record near $124 a barrel as investors captivated by the market’s upward momentum looked past the government’s report of an increase in crude and gasoline supplies. At the pump, gas prices rose for the first time since last week.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery hit a new trading record of $123.90 in after-hours activity on the New York Mercantile Exchange after settling up $1.69 at a record close of $123.53 a barrel.

That means gas will er has gone up too. And will keep going up.

At the pump, meanwhile, the average national price of a gallon of regular gas rose Wednesday for the first time since last week, adding 0.8 cent to $3.618, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Gas prices are back within a cent of the record $3.623 a gallon set last week, and are expected to rise to an average of $3.73 a gallon next month, according to the latest Energy Department forecast.

And may make it to $4 a gallon sooner rather than later. Not good at all. Hillary has proposed a gas tax holiday for the summer. Problem with that is summer will be here before she or, more likely, Obama gets elected. Any relief, if it is to come, will be from the Bush administration. Dems haven’t come thru with their promise to bring down gas prices either. Typical empty rhetoric.