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Monday’s Buzz followed up on the disaster that forced Myanmar to reach out for help, the virus that pushed China to utter reassurances, and the refunds that compelled financial experts to administer common sense.

Requests for Disaster Aid
The death-toll numbers coming in from Myanmar were already mind-numbing at nearly 4,000, but Cyclone Nargis—which the AP described as having turned the “country’s largest city into a pre-modern state of existence”—may claim up to 10,000 lives. The situation prompted the country’s isolationist government to reach out for help, and other nations’ governments and celebrities to lend their aid. Early reports of the disaster prompted searches for Asian tsunami of 2004, but the follow-up coverage generated Buzz revolving around two Laura Bush stories: one about The First Lady scolding the country (referring to it by its old name, Burma) for not warning its own citizens in time, and another about her press conference going off on a tangent about an upcoming wedding.

Assurances of Health Safety
A virus has sickened hundreds and killed 25 children so far in China’s southern provinces. Although the World Health Organization has said the contagion will not affect the thousands expected to converge in Beijing for the upcoming Olympics, the enterovirus 71 (aka EV71 virus) has not yet run its course and has spread to the capital. The intestinal virus is a regular occurrence among children, but Time.com reported that this season’s atypical symptoms are preventing proper diagnoses.

Advice for Tax Rebates
Retailers may be flying like buzzards around your tax rebate check, but a
Yahoo! Finance story suggests investing that chump change in its list of
the 10 best mutual funds. U.S. News & World Report also recommends five low-entry investment funds to earn the bragging rights to say, “Yeah, I got me a port-fol-io.” In case the advice sounds way too sensible, New York Magazine’s suggestions run the gamut from retirement accounts to custom-made fake ponytails.

Other stories spiking in Buzz …

• At the 161st convention of the American Psychiatric Association, attendees talked about how about 1 in 5 soldiers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and/or depression, and the need for public care to address this long-term issue.

• You’d have to pool a bunch of tax rebates to get 50 Cent to perform at a bar mitzvah. TheStreet.com breaks down how much the talent costs, including a one-nighter with Madonna (no, not that kind of a one-nighter), or having J.Lo at your wife’s 30th birthday party. How much for the opportunity to say, “You’re much hotter than J.Lo?” Priceless.

• With more primaries looming, the Democratic contenders’ gas-tax ads have undergone critical scrutiny worthy of a quickie dissertation. The Washington Post posits gas, already laden with environmental baggage, as political shorthand for class issues—working stiff vs. elitist effete. Meanwhile, Salon delves into accuracy and a bit on just what the federal gas tax is, which may help those searchers looking up “federal gas tax” and “federal gas tax holiday” online. In case that holiday never comes, Mashables has pulled together an online list of cheap-gas trackers.