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Limited cyclone aid begins moving

YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) — Myanmar’s military government began allowing aid agencies into the country Thursday to respond to the dire needs of those who survived the killer storm but is still being criticized for acting too slow.

Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV-4) announced that shipments from Bangladesh, China, India, Singapore, Italy and Thailand arrived Thursday at Yangon’s international airport.

The state-run station said the military was using helicopters to deliver medicine, food and several generators throughout the Irrawaddy delta, the hardest-hit region, specifically in the areas around Bassein and Pyapon.

The secretive military junta that rules Myanmar says more than 22,000 people died after Nargis struck Friday into Saturday, but the top U.S. diplomat in the country said the toll could exceed 100,000.

Tim Costello, president of World Vision Australia, a Christian aid group, told CNN Thursday that the Myanmar government estimates 60,000 people are missing.

The tropical cyclone hit with a force equal to a Category 4 hurricane — stronger than U.S. hurricane Katrina in 2005 — with winds in some areas topping 240 kilometers per hour (150 mph).

It pummeled Yangon and the delta area to its south for more than 10 hours from Friday night into Saturday, dumping 20 inches of rain. Watch how a Buddha statue survived intact

As many as 6 million people lived in the delta, the low-lying region that suffered the brunt of the storm.

CNN’s Dan Rivers, reporting from a delta village, said one man told him he had lost his granddaughter, grandson, daughter-in-law and sister in the storm.

There is absolutely no help here at all. We are the only outsiders they’ve seen — no government soldiers and no aid agencies, Rivers said.

There is talk of entire villages having been wiped out, of numerous bodies still floating in the water, he added. We’re not sure how long the refugees can last without help from the outside world. Watch Dan Rivers’ report from Myanmar

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined a chorus of people Thursday chastising the Asian government for waiting so long to let aid in.

This is already the sixth day since May 2, when the cyclone hit Myanmar. We have lost several very vital few days at the outbreak of this cyclone. So this is already very late for the international community to take urgent first actions, Ban told CNN.

Now, before it is too late, I would urge Myanmese officials to be flexible in dealing with these humanitarian issues with a strong sense of urgency.

He also urged Myanmar to delay Saturday’s scheduled referendum on a constitution backed by the junta. The government has postponed the voting in areas affected by the cyclone.

It may be prudent to focus instead on mobilizing all available resources and capacity for the emergency response efforts, Ban said.

Aid workers, in particular, complained that supplies aren’t getting into the country fast enough. Watch how some aid is getting through

This is a real worry for us, said Tony Banbury, regional director in Asia for the U.N. World Food Programme, which unloaded a plane carrying 7 metric tons of high-energy biscuits on Thursday.

Banbury said the situation in the delta is so desperate, there is a real risk that there will be food riots, social disturbances, people attacking the convoys.

Of the 7 tons of biscuits, four tons were dispatched to Labutta in the delta, and the rest were to be distributed Friday by Medecins Sans Frontieres in the Yangon area, Chris Kaye, WFP director in Myanmar, said in a written statement.

Kaye said the government had cleared two more WFP flights to land — one stocked with temporary warehousing and medical kits from the World Health Organization, and the other carrying 18 tons of high-energy biscuits donated by the Italian government. One ton of biscuits can feed 2,500 people for a day.

WFP workers were also carrying rice by truck to its new office in Labutta, and planned to distribute the food Friday. Two temporary warehouses have been set up to house the food, the group said. Look at satellite pictures of the damage by the flooding

Relief agencies say authorities in Myanmar have been slow to issue visas to a small army of relief workers gathered in Thailand who are poised to fight a tide of hunger and disease.

People are sleeping outside with no food and no sanitation, and Costello fears the onslaught of diseases such as malaria, dysentery and cholera.

Even in the former capital, Yangon, people whose homes were destroyed are sleeping in temples and other public buildings, he said.

It is still perilous, and it is a race against time, he said.

Costello said the military rulers would rather depend on groups already in the country, and also may be worried about possible interference in Saturday’s voting. Learn more about Myanmar’s recent history

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New PM Berlusconi next faces confidence votes

ROME, Italy (AP) — Italy’s Premier Silvio Berlusconi was sworn in Thursday to head his third government.

The 71-year-old media magnate, whose conservatives swept elections last month, took the oath of office with his Cabinet ministers in the ornate presidential Quirinal Palace.

Berlusconi signed the oath in front of Italy’s head of state, President Giorgio Napolitano.

I pledge to be loyal to the Republic, to faithfully observe the Constitution and laws, and to exercise my duties in the exclusive interest of the nation, said the billionaire businessman, who has been dogged by conflict-of-interest criticism since he burst onto Italy’s political scene 15 years ago.

Berlusconi’s resounding victory in April 13-14 elections gave him a comfortable majority in both the Senate and lower Chamber of Deputies, where his government — Italy’s 62nd since the end of World War II — faces mandatory confidence votes.

The Chamber vote is expected on May 14 and the Senate vote later that week.

Several of the key ministries, including those for foreign affairs, the economy and interior, which includes police and intelligence matters, are held by political allies who served in Berlusconi’s earlier governments.

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Sean Federline and nanny visit the gym

Sean Preston Federline, the 2 ½-year-old son of Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, was photographed with his nanny at a gym in Los Angeles, CA on Tuesday, May 6th.

Photo by Ramey.

Drs technologies

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Rotting corpses pile up as Myanmar stalls on aid

YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) — Myanmar’s cyclone survivors have insufficient fuel to burn the rotting corpses of the dead as the country’s military junta continues to block access for aid groups.

Relief agencies say decomposing corpses litter ditches and fields in the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta area as survivors try to conserve fuel for transporting much-needed supplies.

The international community is growing increasingly frustrated with the junta’s lack of progress in granting visas for relief workers and giving clearance for aid flights to land.

They are concerned the lack of medical supplies and clean food and water threatens to increase the already staggering death toll.

Myanmar’s military government says more than 22,000 people died when the killer cyclone battered the country’s low-lying delta region over the weekend. The top U.S. diplomat in the country has said the toll could top 100,000.

A World Food Programme plane carrying high-energy biscuits landed in Myanmar on Thursday to provide a small dose of assistance amid a mushrooming humanitarian crisis.

Another plane has received permission to land, but the status of other flights remained uncertain even as a clearer picture emerged of the scope of death and desperation in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma.

We have gotten valuable cooperation. The first steps have been taken, WFP spokeswoman Bettina Luescher told CNN Thursday morning. But it’s taking too slow. It needs to go much quicker.

We have lots of experience in situations like these. We know how to do this, Luescher said. We just need the cooperation.

Paul Risley, another WFP spokesman, told CNN there were reports of civil unrest in the worst-hit areas where people were scrambling for limited food supplies.

He said U.N. assessment teams had observed large crowds gathering around shops — the few that were open — literally fighting over the chance to buy what food was available.

There are also reports of price gouging in urban areas around Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city and former capital, Risley said.

Shari Villarosa, U.S. charge d’affaires in Yangon, said the situation in the delta sounds more and more horrendous.

The delta region had few roads to begin with, many of them were now under water and the storm had washed away numerous bridges, Villarosa said.

Look at satellite pictures of the damage by the flooding

CNN’s Dan Rivers, one of the few international journalists to have visited the hardest-hit areas of Myanmar, said relief had not reached the people who needed it most.

We’re hearing dreadful stories of hundreds of dead bodies left lying in the fields, decomposing, he said. These people need help immediately.

China urges Myanmar junta to ‘open up’

Meanwhile, China urged close ally Myanmar to work with the international community to help overcome the disaster.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Thursday it hoped the country would cooperate with the international community to help overcome the disaster quickly.

The U.S has also been pushing for access, pledging $3.25 million and offering to send U.S. Navy ships to the region to help relief efforts.

The U.S. military had already flown six helicopters on to a Thai airbase, as Washington awaits permission to go into the south Asian country, two senior military officials told CNN’s Barbara Starr.

In addition, several C-130 cargo aircraft aboard the USS Essex, which was conducting an exercise in the region, were available for relief missions.

Eric John, the U.S. ambassador to Thailand, told The Associated Press Thursday that they had still not been given permission to send relief flights to Myanmar despite reports to the contrary.

The U.S. and other nations do not recognize the military junta — which maintained control of the country even after 1990, when an opposition political party won victory in democratic elections. The country’s name was changed from Burma to Myanmar in 1989. Learn more about Myanmar’s recent history

Aid strategy: Don’t ‘flood’ Yangon

Gregory Beck, of the International Rescue Committee, said the struggle to get aid workers and supplies into the country continued.

We can’t delay on this — this is a huge disaster and the longer [Myanmar] waits the worse it’s going to become. Watch a report from Rivers on the growing desperation in Myanmar

Myanmar’s government has asked for international aid, but the junta has balked at allowing assessment teams into the country — a step that most agencies and countries take before deciding how much and what kind of aid to provide.

The strategy is not to flood Yangon with aid workers, but get 30 to 40 experienced U.N staffers into the country, according to Richard Horsey, a spokesman for the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

It’s quality over quantity, he said from his office in Bangkok.

Horsey said Myanmar’s government is more open to goods rather than aid workers, but said it was understandable considering the military regime’s reticence to engage with the international community. But he pointed out that such a major disaster would overwhelm any government.

Horsey said the regime had provided a number of helicopters and a larger number of boats to the relief effort.

He said the main hurdle was getting them into the flood-soaked delta, where nearly 5,000 square kilometers (2,000 square miles) remained underwater.

When vast areas are flooded.. helicopters can’t land, Horsey said. When you get down to the tip of the delta, it’s not much above sea level. When you get a major storm surge … it doesn’t drain back again.

The problem, he said, was compounded by the current monsoon period in South Asia.

One of the hardest-hit areas is Pyinzalu, a small town on the tip of the Irrawaddy delta, which has not fully recovered from the 2004 tsunami, according to World Vision health advisor Dr. Kyi Minn in Yangon.

Survivors from the delta villages described bodies along the road and floating in the rivers as they walked more than 100 kilometers to Yangon. That, Minn said, has had a significant mental impact on the survivors.

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Rock the boat lyrics

Medtronic UltraLink.

As I mentioned last week, there was a random package from Minimed left on my doorstep. And being the big geek that I am, I think I actually clasped my hands together and said “Oooh, what’s this?” Funny how an unexpected diabetes gadget can bring such instant joy. The techno-joy in me implodes and I’m eager to rip open the box and push all the shiny new buttons.

But I’ve digressed again. Imagine that?

I’ve been using the Medtronic UltraLink for a few days now, watching as the results ping directly to my insulin pump. This is a good thing, because I never, ever entered my blood sugars manually before this. I’m quick to test but not very vigilant with data management. Having tools like the Dexcom and now this UltraLink are useful because I can go about my daily diabetes business and then load up the data every few days. For someone like me, with a schedule that doesn’t allow for much mucking around, this convenience is crucial.

The UltraLink is a bit bigger than my Ultra2 - not by much but apparently by enough to make the meter case about 25% bigger. Thankfully, syncing my meter up to my pump was very easy. I just needed to go into my pump settings, input the serial number on my meter, and viola! it’s pinging results with a happy little beep. The ping is almost instant and the results are logged in my pump, so when I upload my data to Carelink, it’s easier to see the Big Picture, with insulin doses and corresponding blood sugars hanging out there together.

I’m all for convenience. Because I, unfortunately, do not have the time to do all this blood sugar logging. Making the process all-inclusive is a nice change from “Okay, grab the meter, load up the results to my blood glucose spreadsheet, then write in the insulin doses manually … what the … ugh, the thing turned off while I was scrolling through … I can’t remember if this bolus went with that result … is Nip/Tuck on? I’m sick of this crap already.”

The lancing device that came with UltraLink is smaller, by comparison, than the older device I was using. Funny how the meter got bigger but the lancer got smaller. It’s the same one that came with my UltraMini, so I was already accustomed to it’s teeny shape. A smaller lancet device works best for when I am sporting some fancy dress and teeny purse combo, forcing me to ditch my meter case and leave my testing goodies roaming loose in my purse.

Overall, I’m finding the UltraLink to be a convenient, relatively painless switch over. I’m still using my Ultra2 in addition to the UltraLink because I don’t have enough brain cells these days to make any management changes. Once the wedding is over and my brain starts to regain a recognizable shape, I will most like swap meters and go with this UltraLink version.

So, rest o’ the blogosphere, what’s your take on the UltraLink? Are you using it faithfully? Does its size make you a little “eh” about it? Are you tempted to cover it with stickers and give it a name? (I’m looking for small squirrel stickers and am planning to call it “Harrison,” but that’s yet another digression.)

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