Tragedy in Sichuan

Our thoughts go out to those caught up in the disaster of the earthquake centered in Sichuan province. The rescue effort has been shown non-stop on the local channels with some harrowing scenes of successes and failures. The coverage has been very candid for China - quite unusual for a state media so often criticized for censorship (as noted in the New York Times here) and in stark contrast to scenes in Myanmar after the recent cyclone - a disaster of even greater proportions that will take some considerable time to play out. Time to be grateful for what we have, again.