belated Sichuan earthquake post

No "schadenfreude" here- my first reaction was to let my Chinese friends from Chengdu know so they could contact their parents.

My second reaction was admittedly cynical- I had just read an article that the PRC was blocking action by the UN Security Council on the catastrophic cyclone in their client state of Burma/Myanmar, so while I didn't enjoy seeing Chinese schoolchildren pulled out of the rubble (I taught English for two weeks to Chinese kids myself 2 years ago just south of Shanghai), I didn't want the earthquake to deflect criticism directed toward China of their helping to keep international aid out of Burma.

The quake has, of course, focused attention in the Chinese media itself on the shoddy construction of area buildings/structures/schools and may yet prove to trigger some mininal accountability on the part of the CCP towards its citizens.