Seven years into her husband’s presidency, First Lady Laura Bush quickly took the opportunity presented by the catastrophic cyclone that hit Myanmar on Saturday to urge the military junta there to accept international aid.

No doubt they can use it. On Sunday, reports feared 350 people were dead. Today, three days after the storm, reports say over 22,500 dead and over 41,000 still missing. These figures are expected to grow.

Laura Bush has been the administration’s voice on human rights in Myanmar since leading a UN roundtable on the country in September of 2006.

If there’s any confusion as to where it is we’re talking about, it could be because the current administration still refers to the country as Burma—like the shaving cream—mainly for sentimental reasons. The military leaders there changed the name to Myanmar in 1989, along with the name of the capital city, formerly Rangoon, now Yangon. (more…)